BANGGOOD Deals Compilation (8.6.2023)!
Check products in compilation image: https://i.imgur.com/TKjg0vz.jpeg or https://i.ibb.co/mJLphwT/80235cd7f6d4.jpg
-1- MUSTOOL MT008 Digital Multimeter Pen
✅ https://bit.ly/3WY1HjE
🚨 Price: 7.99 USD / Lowest: 8.99 USD
-2- ENJOYWOOD 5PCS 19/20mm Woodworking Quick Release Bench Dogs Clamp
📌 https://bit.ly/3P1qcKX
💥 Price: 9.99 USD / Lowest: 9.99 USD
📍 Coupon: BG2f1624
-3- Aluminum Chainsaw Sharpener with 2pcs Stone Grinders
👌 https://bit.ly/43FLrpO
👌 Price: 11.43 USD / Lowest: 11.56 USD
🔑 Coupon: BG23a372
-4- Drillpro Adjustable 300mm Aluminum Alloy Combination Square Scriber
📌 https://bit.ly/3J1f2BU
💥 Price: 11.99 USD / Lowest: 12.99 USD
💵 Coupon: BG19a665
-5- Flydigi Q1 Keyboard Mouse Converter
✳️ https://bit.ly/3PfTWQx
💣 Price: 11.99 USD / Lowest: 19.99 USD
-6- Ganwei Aluminum Alloy Woodworking Clamp Presser
👉 https://bit.ly/3D9sIpy
👌 Price: 12.99 USD / Lowest: 12.99 USD
🏆 Coupon: BG710259
-7- Convoy S2+ SST20 Flashlight
🔗 https://bit.ly/3CjkV9O
🚨 Price: 12.99 USD / Lowest: -1 USD
-8- DATA FROG PS1 TV Game Console
❗️ https://bit.ly/3UaT6IV
✌️ Price: 12.99 USD / Lowest: 16.99 USD
-9- Ulanzi VL49 RGB LED Video Light 2500K-9000K [EU]
📌 https://bit.ly/3QSv8zj
🚨 Price: 13.99 USD / Lowest: 13.99 USD
👉 Coupon: BGaf9465
-10- Convoy S2+ T6-4C 4300-4500K Flashlight Black
📌 https://bit.ly/43LhG6T
📉 Price: 14.69 USD / Lowest: 13.59 USD
📌 Coupon: BGBLF29
-11- Convoy S2+ T6-4C 4300-4500K Flashlight Black
🛒 https://bit.ly/43LhG6T
🥇 Price: 14.99 USD / Lowest: 13.59 USD
-12- Stainless Steel 45 Degree Miter Angle Corner Ruler
✳️ https://bit.ly/3p5JhNv
📉 Price: 16.99 USD / Lowest: 17.99 USD
🖍 Coupon: BGd1bfb8
-13- FONSON Upgrade Extended Woodworking Thin Rip Guide
❗️ https://bit.ly/3WT3iav
📉 Price: 18.99 USD / Lowest: 18.99 USD
❤️ Coupon: BG9d43c6
-14- Drillpro Upgraded Double Feather Board
❇️ https://bit.ly/3WXxEbQ
🚨 Price: 18.99 USD / Lowest: 19.99 USD
🎯 Coupon: BGdde408
-15- Lenovo C8 Bluetooth V5.0 Smart Sunglasses
❗️ https://bit.ly/3FOlLyw
💰 Price: 18.99 USD / Lowest: 19.99 USD
🏆 Coupon: BG32737f
-16- Flexible Desk 22cm 5X LED Magnifying Glass
👌 https://bit.ly/3P01x9m
⭕️ Price: 19.99 USD / Lowest: 19.99 USD
❤️ Coupon: BG0ba985
-17- Astrolux BC6 2000lm Bike Headlight
🌍 https://bit.ly/3oQwphW
💣 Price: 21.99 USD / Lowest: -1 USD
📌 Coupon: BGALBC66
-18- HONGDUI 3 In 1 Measuring Drill Depth Gauge
👉 https://bit.ly/3MQCTFA
💣 Price: 22.99 USD / Lowest: 22.99 USD
💵 Coupon: BGc3b879
-19- M2 SSD Hard Drive Enclosure Case M.2 NVMe/SATA
❗️ https://bit.ly/3M8TftZ
⭕️ Price: 22.99 USD / Lowest: 24.99 USD
-20- BlitzMax BT06 Audio Transmitter Receiver BT5.2
✅ https://bit.ly/3JTuSPX
🥇 Price: 23.99 USD / Lowest: 25.99 USD
⏳ Coupon: BG8c0fbc
-21- Royal Kludge RK61 Bluetooth Keyboard Golden/Ice
🛒 https://bit.ly/3L5eMmQ
📉 Price: 23.99 USD / Lowest: 27.99 USD
🎯 Coupon: BG030005
-22- Drillpro Red Aluminum Cabinet Hardware Jig 4mm 5mm Drill Guide
❗️ https://bit.ly/45KmCuq
〽️ Price: 27.99 USD / Lowest: 24.99 USD
🔓 Coupon: BG463acc
-23- BlitzWolf BW-HP2 Pro Bluetooth Headphones
✌️ https://bit.ly/3RKVCDw
💣 Price: 27.99 USD / Lowest: 27.99 USD
🖍 Coupon: BG58644f
-24- BlitzWolf BW-FYE13 Bluetooth 5.2 Earphones QCC3040
📌 https://bit.ly/43ryGPN
💣 Price: 28.99 USD / Lowest: 28.99 USD
🏆 Coupon: BGf14887
-25- Folding Bluetooth Keyboard With Folding Touchpad Leather Case
🔗 https://bit.ly/44oScgL
👉 Price: 32.99 USD / Lowest: 34.99 USD
-26- 18V 6.0Ah Battery For Makita
🌀 https://bit.ly/3AsIwVX
👌 Price: 36.37 USD / Lowest: 31.99 USD
✏️ Coupon: BGd6d4c6
-27- 10KHz-1.5GHz MF HF VHF UHF Digital NanoVNA-H Vector Antenna Analyzer
👉 https://bit.ly/3P0Erzm
🔹 Price: 36.99 USD / Lowest: 39.99 USD
📌 Coupon: BG53ef2b
-28- FNIRSI-GC01 Geiger Counter
🌐 https://bit.ly/3EIdERY
💰 Price: 40.99 USD / Lowest: 42.99 USD
🔖 Coupon: BG90f536
-29- Wireless Air Pump 15000mAh 150PSI
🌍 https://bit.ly/43qXMhP
✌️ Price: 42.49 USD / Lowest: 42.49 USD
👉 Coupon: BGLMQ15
-30- HONGDUI SC-14 Woodworking Fixing Clamp
❗️ https://bit.ly/3xoVGRA
📉 Price: 44.99 USD / Lowest: 44.99 USD
❤️ Coupon: BG289044
-31- VIOLEWORKS 288VF 1/2inch 800Nm Impact Wrench with 2 Batteries [EU]
📌 https://bit.ly/3NAH1bf
💰 Price: 45.25 USD / Lowest: 39.84 USD
🖍 Coupon: BG7fe2ec
-32- Woodworking Bearing Roller Feeder
✅ https://bit.ly/3IXAPus
👉 Price: 45.99 USD / Lowest: 45.99 USD
🔑 Coupon: BG07813e
-33- BlitzWolf BW-HP5 Bluetooth Headset ANC
🌐 https://bit.ly/3TVrS7G
🚨 Price: 47.99 USD / Lowest: 47.99 USD
💎 Coupon: BG39d279
-34- WPL E1 Crawler Transport RC Vehicle with 2 Batteries
❇️ https://bit.ly/3CoTxqR
👌 Price: 48.97 USD / Lowest: 49.99 USD
✏️ Coupon: BGb9bf49
-35- MUSTOOL MDS120M Professional Digital Oscilloscope
🌀 https://bit.ly/43MUrt1
💲 Price: 61.99 USD / Lowest: 63.99 USD
🔓 Coupon: BGc16d3c
-36- JJRC X28 Drone RTF with 2 Batteries
👉 https://bit.ly/43BeZ7T
⭕️ Price: 79.99 USD / Lowest: 79.99 USD
💵 Coupon: BG3621a4
-37- MJX 16207 HYPER GO 1/16 Brushless RC Car
❗️ https://bit.ly/40sl9WG
🔹 Price: 112.65 USD / Lowest: 113.99 USD
⏳ Coupon: BGc3b067
-38- MJX 16208 16209 HYPER GO 1/16 Brushless RC Car with 2 Batteries
🌐 https://bit.ly/3CiQD76
✌️ Price: 119.51 USD / Lowest: 115.19 USD
✂️ Coupon: BGd7ddec
-39- BlitzWolf BW-PCM9 16 Inch 1920x1200P Type-C Portable Monitor
👉 https://bit.ly/3WmTlBV
👌 Price: 159.99 USD / Lowest: 159.79 USD
🔖 Coupon: BG649899
-40- Hiseeu Wireless Security Camera System 2K with Solar Panels
🔗 https://bit.ly/3MZnClM
🚨 Price: 187.99 USD / Lowest: 199.99 USD
👉 Coupon: BG589b2e
-41- ROYALBABY STARGIRL 14 Inch Bike [EU]
📌 https://bit.ly/3MSJPC9
〽️ Price: 199.99 USD / Lowest: 199.99 USD
-42- FunWater SUPFW02A 12-15PSI Inflatable Paddle Board 320x84x15cm [EU]
✳️ https://bit.ly/43IkTUw
🔹 Price: 201.00 USD / Lowest: 215.99 USD
💎 Coupon: BGCZBP17
-43- ROYALBABY STARGIRL 16 Inch Children Bike [EU]
🌀 https://bit.ly/3CiABKy
🔹 Price: 208.99 USD / Lowest: 208.99 USD
-44- RoyalBaby Freestyle Kids Bike 14 Inch Children Bicycle [EU]
📌 https://bit.ly/43KrVID
⭕️ Price: 209.99 USD / Lowest: 209.99 USD
-45- RoyalBaby Freestyle Kids Bike for Children 16 Inch [EU]
📌 https://bit.ly/3oK2tEl
🔹 Price: 217.99 USD / Lowest: 217.99 USD
-46- FunWater Inflatable Stand Up Paddle Board SUPFW04A 320x83x15cm [EU]
🌐 https://bit.ly/42W45sR
💲 Price: 218.00 USD / Lowest: 241.09 USD
👌 Coupon: BGCZBP18
-47- FunWater SUPFW10A 12-15PSI Inflatable Paddle Board 330x84x15cm [EU]
✌️ https://bit.ly/3oSuEkp
✌️ Price: 219.99 USD / Lowest: 249.99 USD
👉 Coupon: BGCZBP16
-48- FunWater 320x82x15cm Inflatable Stand Up Paddle Board SUPFR03A [EU]
✳️ https://bit.ly/43ffww5
💲 Price: 221.00 USD / Lowest: 242.95 USD
🖍 Coupon: BGCZBP20
-49- FunWater Inflatable Stand Up Paddle Board SUPFR01A 350x84x15cm [EU]
📌 https://bit.ly/45WaO8r
〽️ Price: 223.00 USD / Lowest: 257.55 USD
💵 Coupon: BGCZBP19
-50- Anycubic Kobra FDM 3D Printer [EU]
🔗 https://bit.ly/3WUay5K
💲 Price: 239.00 USD / Lowest: 321.08 USD
-51- Excellway 2200W Gasoline Power Station Generator [EU]
❇️ https://bit.ly/3UPnPuy
👌 Price: 375.99 USD / Lowest: 379.99 USD
🏆 Coupon: BG4869c2
-52- SCULPFUN S30 Pro 10W Laser Engraver [EU]
🌐 https://bit.ly/3A0RDeX
👌 Price: 399.00 USD / Lowest: 399 USD
✌️ Coupon: BG390273
-53- Geemax S1 Professional Folding Treadmill 1-16km/h [EU]
🌍 https://bit.ly/41OGDg4
💣 Price: 449.99 USD / Lowest: 449.99 USD
▪️ Coupon: BGea5297
-54- SCULPFUN S30 Pro Max 20W Laser Engraver [EU]
🛒 https://bit.ly/3z9Rq8X
💲 Price: 659.00 USD / Lowest: 665 USD
✂️ Coupon: BG51795a
-55- Flsun V400 400mm/s 3D Printer [EU]
❇️ https://bit.ly/3C1gGiY
📉 Price: 759.00 USD / Lowest: 769 USD
⏳ Coupon: BG5b53b4
-56- Anycubic M3 Max 7K SLA LCD UV Resin 3D Printer [EU]
✳️ https://bit.ly/3qzSRMT
💰 Price: 999.00 USD / Lowest: 1103.08 USD
-57- ADO A20 AIR 36V 10.4Ah 350W 20inch Electric Bicycle [EU]
✌️ https://bit.ly/3MmDGOn
📉 Price: 1349.95 USD / Lowest: 1353 USD
✏️ Coupon: ADOA20AIRK
Products compilation image: https://i.imgur.com/TKjg0vz.jpeg or https://i.ibb.co/mJLphwT/80235cd7f6d4.jpg

I tried to keep it short but felt like you would need some background to understand the full situation.
The setting: I'm (57m), wife is (55f), we have 4 grown children and 13 grandchildren. My daughter (30f) twice divorced lives with us with her 5 children that she has full custody of. She's been here 7 years and just graduated Nursing school. All of her kids (15f, 13f, 12f, 7m, 5m)have lived in my house longer than anywhere in their lives, this is their home. My wife and I were empty nesting for about a year before she moved back in. She and the kids are not the issue. We used to have our other children and grandchildren over once a month or so to celebrate birthdays and just get together. So we enjoy having family around and we finally have a good routine with my daughter and grandkids in the house. The get togethers don't happen anymore, partly due to the situation that follows.
About 2 years ago I was finally able to locate a half brother and sister of my wife's (her mother put them up for adoption before she married). My wife knew about them, but never had contact. I never had enough information until her mother passed and we found clues. The brother passed in 1992. Her sister (58f) had a terrible childhood and her adoptive parents have passed. Fast forward a little and her half sister was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. After about 6 months of chemo, she couldn't take it and wanted quality of life over quantity and opted to stop treatment and go on Hospice. We live in Texas, she lived in the Boston area. Anyway, my wife decided to spend Christmas with her and intended to stay until she passed away. After a couple of months, the sister decided she wanted to be around family in her dying days and since she had no one except an adopted sister there, we moved her into our house, made a temporary bedroom out of the dining room. Figured we couldn't deny her dying wish and while we knew it would be difficult in our hectic lives, we could manage it for 6 months to a year.
Hospice covered most everything necessary, she's on disability and Medicaid. I've spent money on things, but that's not an issue. This was 2/2022. She gets here and she is in bad shape, where she was, Hospice was about to move her to a 24/7 care facility. We were concerned she could make the flight. The expectation was that she would live no more than 6 months. She's happy that we took her in, she doesn't smoke in the house, we have a very nice patio that she spends hours on every day. We can't enjoy it anymore because we can't stand the cigarette smoke. About 3 months after she moved here, Hospice says, your bloodwork and everything doesn't really match your "supposed" condition, we'd like to have you evaluated. So we get her into an Oncologist (actually my oncologist for the last 10 years) and he finds no trace of Cancer and no eminent heath issues to keep her on Hospice. SUPRISE! They kicked her off of Hospice, now she's on Palliative care, which really means nothing. As for positivity affecting your health, she has completely perked up and is more active, though she still can barely walk to the car without being completely winded. She manages to climb the stairs 1 or 2 days a week to get a shower. She does have COPD and smokes 3 cartons a month. Her pulmonologist gives her 1-2 years. Recently (2 weeks ago) my oncologist has said her Multiple Myeloma is back, but he thinks he can keep it under control with mild chemo pills. So probably the COPD will get her first. Last episode landed her in ICU for 4 days. She does have a DNR, and her pulse ox hit 37. We didn't think she would pull through, but she did.
So, my wife had me redo the room to a more "semi-permanent state" and make her more comfortable. Now comes the problems. She was given permission to "get onto" the kids (by my daughter) if they were doing something dangerous or something they know not to do. It was when she was in bad shape and appeared to be dying, so mainly it was if the kids came into her room or were outside by themselves. Now that she is not actively dying, she sometimes takes that privilege too far by our standards, like telling them what to do when their mother or others are in the room, sometimes for mundane things. Like when I, my daughter, and the kids were at the table eating. My wife was upstairs with a migraine (often) and the sister was just passing by, not eating with us and she stopped to tell the 7 year old boy (not so politely) to stop drumming something on the bench. She's not even sitting with us, just passing and it wasn't bothering any of us. I turned to her and sternly said he wasn't hurting anything. She decided to tell my 12 year old granddaughter something that her mother was not ready to tell her about. I made it clear that it is not her place to make those types of decisions for my daughter and not her place to raise my daughter's kids and my daughter has first say, then I and my wife.
But what really drives my daughter and I crazy is that she is in the dining room off of the kitchen downstairs which is also open to the living room where most of the day-to-day activities take place. She never sleeps more than a couple of hours at a time, so she's awake all hours of the day and night. She spends all her time walking from her bed to the back porch (about every 30 minutes) which takes her through the kitchen and living room. This means there is no escape except at night when we all go upstairs to bed. (all bedrooms are upstairs). The sister is constantly in everyone's business, commenting on everything, needing to know everyone's schedule, where they are going, etc. She stopped her trek to the patio one day around 12 and asked my daughter who was picking up the kids from school for no reason, she never goes with someone to do that, and I refuse to let her drive any of my vehicles. We do take her on outings if we feel she can manage it, but most of the time she doesn't want to go anywhere. My daughter is on constant guard feeling like she has to be hard on the kids, or leave the house to keep them from getting in trouble, even for just being kids (the youngest is 5 and mildly autistic). She tells me that the sister makes constant remarks through the day that feel passive aggressive. I also feel very self conscious (never have before) because the sister always has something to say. She comments on what I wear "oh, you must be going to the office today, or must be working from home today", "oh look, Papi's (my granddad name) not wearing shoes!", "Oh, Papi's naked!" this is if I happen to be not wearing a shirt, like going to the pool with the kids. In fact she always calls out that people are naked if they are missing a piece of clothing, it seems an odd statement to us. "I've never seen you eat oatmeal before." "You sound nasally this morning, you must be getting sick" "You should get that cough checked out." If it was conversation, it would be different. It's not conversation, it's commentary, like my life is being narrated! We feel like we have a mother figure over us all the time and we are becoming resentful and stressed. I go to the office more to escape, my daughter tries to do outings with the kids now that school is out. She will start a job when school starts, it'll be easier to work out childcare since we can't count on my wife. I've talked with my wife, who spends an average of 5 days a week in her cave due to migraines and not downstairs. My wife says we are being too sensitive. She defends this activity by saying that she had a hard life, has nobody, and has nothing to do, she just wants to be included. She doesn't realize she is causing her to be avoided and excluded. I feel like my wife is saying that I need to put her half-sister's needs over mine and my daughter's well-being. Her sister has been talking about planning to join my wife and I in our retirement plans of travelling, my wife has even told me how we could do it. I never planned on a second wife! I've already postponed my retirement date due to the financial impact. Part of me thinks I'll never retire so that I'll have an excuse not to be home.
I've wanted to try and talk to the sister. I feel if she understands that her "nosiness" and "parenting" is driving us crazy that she will try to address it. I had hoped my wife could talk to her, but my wife doesn't see the problem and is not good with confrontation, as well as not even realizing that it is a problem. I know we could get along civilly if we all understand and respect each other's boundaries. I think she would be happy in an assisted living situation where she would have activities and care, but my wife says she wouldn't want to go because what she could afford would not be nice and she wouldn't be allowed to smoke. So if that option is out, someone has to talk to her. I know I can, she and I talk on occasion and she has told my wife that she enjoy talking with me, but I'm not sure how to start and what exactly to say. My wife did say that she was going to find a counselor for us to go to and it would be something we could ask about, but obviously it is not a priority because after a month she still hasn't done it.
Advice on how to broach the subject and keep it civil. I'm sure there will be some hurt feelings, but I firmly believe if you approach a person with respect, you can work through it. It's not like she is intentionally mean to any of us. I really don't think she realizes how it is affecting us. Can't we all just get along?

So my gym has 1 machine dedicated to benching, which it what I have been using mostly for the 1 year plus change I've been seriously lifting. I never really liked it much; the bench itself sits kind of low and the rack where the barbell rests moves back and forth so it's hard to get myself into a fully set position directly below the bar and it also sits a little high so it's difficult to reach it at the right grip width while also being able to fully retract my scapula. But hey, it was made specifically for this, right?
I was making pretty steady progress for a while, and then things started to slow down considerably (which of course is to be expected to some degree). However the other day the machine was occupied when I wanted to start my set so I just set up a bench in one of the squat racks instead and completely shocked myself at how much I was able to crank out. I set new personal bests in terms of max weight as well as # of reps. I walked out of the gym, immensely satisfied, but also figuring that the day I used a different set up also just happened to be a day I was particularly on my game, although I did feel like I was able to get noticeably more leg drive on the higher bench in the squat rack.
As an experiment, I benched in the squat rack again for my next few workouts, and made about the incremental progress you would expect over the week or two I did so. Today I went back to the dedicated bench and couldn't even match, let alone surpass, what I was lifting in my recent sessions. I am now adamantly convinced that there is something inherently inferior about the dedicated bench machine, although can't be certain about what. Perhaps it's the lower height of the bench itself, how high up the bar sits, or the fact that it moves backwards and forwards, but I don't really know enough to be able to say if any of those are directly attributable to the difference in my capabilities. Anyone with some more experience able to chime in?
Also is there a standardized size for bench height and length or does it depend on the manufacturer?

DC Next proudly presents:

KARA: DAUGHTER OF KRYPTON

In The Dreamer
Issue Seven: First Day
Written by ClaraEclair
Edited by AdamantAce
 
<< < Previous Issue Next Issue > Coming Next Month
 
 
“So, if you’re really going to go through with this, you’re going to need a costume,” said Nia Nal, standing in front of Kara within the Fortress of Solitude. Kara furrowed her brow.
“Why?” she asked.
“Well, one; so you’re easily recognizable,” Nia continued. “And two; I don’t think wearing a space suit like that—” she pointed toward Kara’s one-piece space suit that she had been wearing since arriving on Earth, “—is going to cut it in terms of iconography.”
“But it’s comfortable,” Kara replied, looking down at herself. “I don’t see why I need to have some sort of ‘super’ suit.”
“Kara, has that suit you’re wearing ever been washed?” Nia asked, giving an accusatory look.
“I shower!” Kara exclaimed in response, crossing her arms.
“Yeah, I asked about whether the suit’s been washed,” Nia said, tilting her head slightly, raising her eyebrows. Kara remained silent. “Right, so get on that later, first—”
“Why do I even need something like this anyway?” asked Kara once more. “Is there some quirk in human biology that prevents you from remembering my face or, I don’t know, my powers?” Nia sighed. “I see the point you’re making, but if I’m helping people, isn’t that the point?”
“Why not both?” Nia asked, shrugging her shoulders. “You can be both immediately recognizable and focus on helping people. Why don’t we start with something simple? I know you don’t want to be Superwoman or have any moniker, but why don’t you wear something with your family crest on it?”
“That was the plan,” Kara interjected.
“Perfect, I can make—” Nia paused as she looked down at Kara, who was slowly tapping away at the crest of the House of El on the chest of her space suit, a smug expression on her face. Nia sighed. “Alright, fine,” Nia conceded, “wear it. Just wash it first, please.” With a self-satisfied smirk, Kara stood from her seat and walked toward the nearest wash room, leaving Nia behind.
 
 
Nia’s own suit was constructed out of pure Dream Energy, a seemingly mythical substance that only she seemed able to exert control over. Every so often she saw an ominous face on the back of her eyes, but she could never make out any features beyond pitch black eyes reflecting the universe back at her. All memories of the face save those piercing eyes disappeared from her mind the moment her eyes would open.
“What do you hear?” asked Nia, looking up at Kara, who was floating a few metres above the skyscraper they both stood upon. Kara’s face seemed in a permanent wince, dozens of thousands of individual sounds of a city containing millions of citizens.
“There’s… everything,” Kara said, her voice strained against the effort of trying to filter every minutiae of the world around her. “I can’t tell anything apart.”
“That’s alright,” Nia said, her voice soft. “Take your time. If you need help, I can–”
“No!” Kara nearly shouted, interrupting the oneiromancer. “I can do it… I just need to focus.” Nia nodded without words, watching the Kryptonian closely, prepared to soften the psychic blow if anything were to change. “I can… someone’s in trouble…”
“Can you tell where they are?” Nia asked excitedly, prepared to travel anywhere the two would be needed.
“I–” Kara began, her voice breaking as the cacophony of sound breached her mind, obscuring the calls for help she had only barely caught. Someone was in trouble, and yet they were left to suffer simply because Kara could not differentiate simple sounds. Her head pounded, as if she were being hit repeatedly by a hammer, enough to feel it in her jaw, resonating through her body and rattling in her knuckles. “I can’t–!”
Nia tried once again, interrupted a second time by the struggling woman floating above her. “Kara, I can–!”
“No!” Kara shouted once more, pushing through the pain as best she could, desperately searching for the voice. High pitched shouting, low rumbling of cars and planes, barking dogs, and pens scraping paper infiltrated her mind before the sound of a man crying out for help finally arose through the static of life, returning to her senses just enough for– “That way!” Kara said quickly, pointing eastward, toward the pacific coast.
Quickly throwing her hands over her ears as she floated back down toward the roof, Kara took a series of long, deep, instinctual breaths.
Rao help me, I can’t do this, she thought to herself, forcing her eyes shut. A few moments passed before she noticed Nia’s gentle hand on her shoulder, pulling her back to reality. Rao, be my guide. Mordo, my strength. Telle, my mind.
“Are you okay?” Asked Nia, concern in her voice. “If you need to sit out…”
“No,” Kara interrupted her once more, shaking her head harshly as she removed her hands from her ears and looked toward the direction she had pointed to. “I can do it.”
Without further words, Kara shot into the sky, ripping through the air toward her destination.
 
 
As Kara touched down outside of the coastal fishing shop, Nia appeared next to her, discomfort clear on her face.
“You’re lucky that rats dream, Kara,” she groaned, wiping her forehead. “But I’d rather avoid travelling through the dreams of animals.”
“Sorry, I…” Kara began, her turn to be interrupted.
“It’s fine,” said Dreamer, looking forward to the shop, pointing a quick finger at it. “That’s the place?” Kara nodded.
“There was a metallic echo in his voice, I think he’s in some sort of cellar or something,” said Kara, using her alternate vision to scan the building. “There are a lot of people in there, more than six.”
“How do you want to do this?” Nia asked, looking over at Kara, curious as to how she would approach the situation.
“We can’t let anyone get hurt,” Kara said. “We need to get the person in trouble out of there as fast as possible. It looks like they’re in a chair, hands tied behind their back. Most of the people inside are standing in a circle around them, a few are in different rooms.”
“You wanna head in the front and distract them while I project into the room and get whoever’s in trouble out of there?” Nia asked.
“That works for me,” Kara responded, slowly making her way toward the front of the shop. It was an innocent looking building, filled with fishing tackle and other supplies, lined on numerous shelves and clothes racks. Entering was easy enough, the door was unlocked and none of the men inside seemed to be looking that way.
Crouching behind a shelf, Kara took a moment to think of how she would approach her distraction.
Looking across the room, the opposite side of the entrance, Kara pressed her fingers together and, using her newfound super strength, snapped her fingers so tightly, so powerfully, that the sound began inaudible, dissipating enough as it travelled to form the sound on the other side of the building.
One of the men muttered to themselves after his head shot toward the entrance, unsure of what would have caused the sound. Cautious as he approached, he pulled a pistol from his waist and prepared to fire as he turned around a shelf, looking at the vending machine across from Kara. The moment he stepped out in front of her, she zipped forward, palming him harshly, sending him flying across the store, colliding with the vending machine.
The loud noise gave Nia the signal she needed, examining the back room for the very moment that the hostage-takers cleared out. The noise Kara was causing at the front of the shop was more than enough to catch their attention, however not all of them left. Dreamer could handle fighting three men more than well enough.
Kara found herself surrounded by four men, aiming weapons at her, yet visibly nervous. She had thrown their friend multiple feet across the shop, and even then, they didn’t know her true capabilities.
“You’re holding someone back there,” said Kara, pointing to the door at the back of the room, a cocky grin on her face. “Either you let them go without issue, or I fight through you and take them anyway.”
Without hesitation, a shot was fired directly at Kara’s face, the bullet speeding through the air, only to come to a complete stop against her cheek, ricocheting off and embedding itself in the wall to her left.
“I did warn you,” Kara said, shrugging her shoulders as she let out a quick puff of air, throwing two of the four men — as well as various shelves and fishing products — across the room.
Shifting to an ethereal form, using latent dream energy from the world around her, Dreamer walked through the back walls of the shop, seeing the three remaining men guarding their victim. Shouts of shock arose from one before Nia returned to corporeality as she threw her arm in his direction, snapping her fingers to send a sparkling flow of dream energy through his eyes and forcing him asleep standing up.
Forcing a nightmare, Nia proceeded to pry a vicious beast of darkness from the sleeper’s dream, equipped with sharp, blade-like claws and gnarly teeth. An ear piercing roar erupted from its throat, breeding fear in the minds of the other two men, who immediately dropped their weapons, backing away in fear as the beast approached.
With the twist of her hand, each of the light bulbs in the room were destroyed, leaving the room pitch black, eliciting terrified screams from her prey. Pulling the victim from their chair, Nia returned to ethereal form to get them out of the building, at the same time dissipating the illusory beast.
Kara dispatched her own remaining opponents easily, barely expending much energy to incapacitate the two last men. Meeting Dreamer outside of the shop, Kara quickly unbound the man with her incredible strength and helped him sit on a bench nearby.
“Are you alright?” asked Nia, kneeling in front of him.
“Y-Yeah, I’m…” began the man, shuddering as he wiped his eyes. “I’m okay.” He took a deep breath, running a hand down his face before looking up at Dreamer. Every emotion seemed to leave his face as he realised just who was in front of him. “You–?!”
“Me?” asked Nia, sharing a confused glance with Kara. “Do I know you?”
“Dream Girl, right?” asked the man, leaning away from her as she nodded with a crooked face. “You’re supposed to be dead.” Without warning, the man pushed Dreamer back, causing her to lose balance and fall on her rear as the man stood and began running down the street, slowed significantly by the limp caused by his captors.
Nia stood, dusting herself off, and furrowed her brow, watching him slowly run down the street.
“Think he knows something?” Kara asked incredulously, her eyes heating up slowly.
“Probably,” said Nia, her demeanour shifted down to sorrow. She learned more about who the Nia Nal of this earth was — a hero — and more seemed to be revealed of just who this world had lost.
With a brilliant flash of light, Kara’s eyes emitted a long, bright magenta beam of light that fried the ground around the man’s feet, sending him cowering to the ground, shouting various expletives in fear and anger.
“Listen, man,” Nia said as she and Kara approached him. “We just want to know what happened to me.”
“Shouldn’t you know?” He shouted in response, slowly crawling back away from them. “It’s you who’s supposed to be dead!”
“Well, it’s not that easy,” Dreamer replied. “I just need to know who did it.”
“I don’t know!” He shouted, turning onto his stomach to crawl. “I don’t know nothing!”
“The longer this goes on, the more frustrated we get,” Nia continued. “I don’t think you want to find out how strong Kryptonians are.” Kara flashed Nia a puzzled look, her turn to furrow her brow, to which Nia simply responded by shrugging her shoulders.
“A Kryptonian?” he muttered under his breath quickly, “Fine!” Turning back over, he looked up at Dreamer and Kara, his lower lip quivering, and sighed. “I don’t know who did it, but I heard — heard — that my boss, Johnny, was involved somehow.”
“How?” Nia asked.
“I don’t know! I’m not his priest!” The man shouted. “His name’s Johnny Reb, he hangs out on the east side, in a dive called Al’s.” Nia nodded, satisfied with the information, and turned away.
“Stay out of trouble!” Kara called out as she followed behind her friend, leaving the man in the street.
 
 
“I don’t think I’ve ever been in a dive bar before,” said Kara as she and Nia arrived out front of Al’s, hidden behind a warehouse on the outskirts of National City. While Nia had dissipated the form of her suit, Kara was still equipped in her simple pod suit, sticking out more than a sore thumb.
“Yeah, that’s clear,” said Nia, clearly agitated. Her hands never stopped moving, constantly twiddling her thumbs or fidgeting with a set of keys. “Look, stay close and I can dream you up some clothes to wear. You really don’t fit the vibes with this getup.” Kara tilted her head, wincing slightly as she began listening to her friend’s heartbeat, still trying to filter out the extra noise of the world.
“You alright?” she asked. “Your heart’s going crazy.”
“I’m fine,” Nia dismissed her, trying to turn and walk up to the door to knock and deliver the passcode.
“Nia…” Kara began, reaching out for Nia’s arm.
“I’m scared,” Nia said suddenly, shaking Kara’s hand away. “It’s not like finding my own murderer is a fun romp around town. I’m happy to have you here, but actually being here isn’t something I ever wanted to face.”
“What do you mean?” Kara asked.
“I mean that I could always just say that I couldn’t find any leads, or play it off like it’s some complex mystery, but even just the thought of coming face-to-face with someone who knew how I died on this world is terrifying.” Kara remained silent as Nia spoke, unsure of what to say.
Kara lost her planet, but she always had herself, her mind, and her experiences. Nia had every aspect of herself erased when she changed universes, thrown into a world where, not only was her equivalent self dead, but nothing she knew ever existed as she knew it.
“I know we’ve both lost everything we held dear,” Kara began, her voice soft. Nia took a deep breath. “But there’s room for closure here, Nia. You can set things right, find out what happened and finally move on. I can’t… and I really want to help you find your way. We just have to keep moving forward.” With a deep sigh, Nia nodded.
“Yeah,” she said solemnly. “Yeah, you’re right.” There were no more words from the woman as she moved toward the door, waving her hand in front of Kara to form an illusory glossy leather jacket over her torso, skinny jeans, and a pair of leather boots. “Let’s go.”

Wanting to know if this is a fair estimate I received. The first line item is just to add 4 outlets on a wall next to a tool bench. The second is a ceiling fan install in a kitchen that already has an existing dome light. Third item is an exterior outlet install.

Link to Hub

Recapping 2022

2022 was a dangerous year to be a Vikings fan, especially if you have a pre-existing heart condition. While a season of 13 wins -- tied for the most since 1998 -- may seem like the team is in a position to make a Superbowl push, the actual quality of the team is a lot more... well, mediocre.
The 2022 Vikings ranked 19th in offensive EPA per play, 25th in defensive EPA per play, 27th in Overall DVOA, and 15th in Pythagorean Wins (with 8.4 expected wins). Kevin O'Connell always preached the performance of the team in priority situations. The team finished 12th in 3rd down conversion rate and 8th in red zone conversion rate. And the team led the league -- by far -- in the number of 4th quarter comebacks and game winning drives. When it was time to put up or shut up, the team put up hard. Except for in the playoffs.

2023 Offseason

All of that made the future of the Vikings tough to read. But Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the rest of the front office told us what they thought of the team with their free agency moves. In a league where teams are trading the farm for Hall of Fame QBs and giving $20M/Year deals to nose tackles and guards, the Vikings' big free agent splash were a one year deal on an injury-prone DE and a good-not-great corner that doesn't even crack the top 20 highest AAVs at the position. Concurrently, the team parted ways with half of the team's 2022 captains to try to get under the cap. All of this while the team is not done with transactions -- Dalvin Cook still presents as a cut candidate due to his age and contract structure.
Notable Departures:

• WR Adam Thielen ($6.4 Saved / $13.5 Dead)
• LB Eric Kendricks ($9.5 Saved / $1.93 Dead)
• CB Patrick Peterson (Unrestricted Free Agent)
• DT Dalvin Tomlinson (Unrestricted Free Agent)
• EDGE Za'Darius Smith (Post-draft trade)

Notable Arrivals:

• CB Byron Murphy (2Y / $17.5TOT / $8.1GTD)
• EDGE Marcus Davenport (1Y / $13TOT / $10GTD)
• TE Josh Oliver (3Y / $21TOT / $8.2GTD)
• DT Dean Lowry (2Y / $8.5TOT / $4.2GTD)

Other Notable Transactions:

• Re-Signed C Garrett Bradbury (3Y / $15.75TOT / $5.15GTD)
• Re-Signed RB Alexander Mattison (2Y / $7TOT / $6.35GTD)
• Re-Signed FB CJ Ham (3Y / $5.6TOT / $3.3GTD)
• Re-Signed All-Pro LS Andrew DePaola (3Y / $4.025TOT / $1.515GTD)

The other major change that influenced how the team addresses the draft was the shift from Ed Donatell's Cover 2 shell defense to Brian Flores's aggressive man defense. Compared to the 2022 Vikings, Flores's 2021 Dolphins blitzed over twice as often and played with light boxes at roughly half the rate. On top of the front seven, one of the biggest changes in scheme is the Cover 2 alignment, which Donatell employed on nearly half of all defensive snaps compared to just 12% for Flores's 2021 Miami team. With one crop of rookies and free agents brought in to play in a Fangio style scheme, the defense would have to undergo a massive shift to succeed in a scheme that can only be described as the complete opposite of what was run in 2022.

Draft Needs

Cornerback - Arguably the Vikings' biggest need, the team was without a true CB1. Byron Murphy comes aboard as the most experienced player. Pegged a slot-only player through his first three years, Murphy spent most of his time in 2022 outside and had a career year. After that, the team looked to rely on improvements from their 2022 draft class with Andrew Booth and Akayleb Evans, two players that combined for fewer than 300 defensive snaps last season primarily due to injury. You can see how KAM and crew, confident in their scouting ability, are betting on health to affect the secondary for the better. But taking another bet on a young player is a smart move at a position where depth is always a good thing.
Interior Defensive Line - The loss of Dalvin Tomlinson -- who played 551 snaps last year and compiled 14 pressures -- leaves issues next to Harrison Phillips. Jonathan Bullard was third on the IDL with 319 snaps last season and returns on a one year deal. Tonga and Lynch had some flashes, and the team brought in Lowry. The rotation (optimistically) can get to competent. But finding a true winner on the inside of the line was viewed by many as a priority.
Wide Receiver - The Vikings starting personnel at WR heading in to the draft was Justin Jefferson (stud), KJ Osborn (decent), and... Jalen Nailor? Brandon Powell? Oh dear Lord don't tell me it's Jalen Reagor. The loss of Adam Thielen was expected, but nevertheless leaves a gaping hole next to JJ and KJ in the lineup. Keenan McCardell is arguably the best WR coach in the league, and playing with Jefferson would give one-on-one opportunities for any receiver. But having somebody that can actually win those one-on-ones remains a question.
Inside Linebacker - Eric Kendricks's jersey change marks the true end of an era at LB. Kendricks struggled in Donatell's scheme last season, as did most players. But he was a longtime leader on the defense and a valued community member. Jordan Hicks, Brian Asamoah, and Troy Reeder sit atop the depth chart. Hicks can be solid and Asamoah had flashes, but counting on this group as every down players is a risk to say the least.
Offensive Guard - Ed Ingram was one of the worst starting guards in the league last season. But he's a rookie. Maybe he gets better in year 2. Maybe he stays terrible. Even if you're optimistic there, Ezra Cleveland is entering a contract year at left guard. Adding interior offensive line depth is always smart.
Quarterback - This offseason, reports surfaced that the team and QB Kirk Cousins could not finalize a contract extension. That means for the first time in his Vikings tenure, Cousins is entering a contract year. Cousins has been an above average QB during his time in Minnesota. Last year saw him finish 4th in yards, but he was painfully mediocre at efficiency stats like TD percent (17th), ANY/A (18th), and ADOT (20th). Entering his age-35 season, it would be wise to look for a successor even if the team plans on retaining Cousins past 2023.

The Draft

*Indicates measure is taken from Pro Day
1.23 WR Jordan Addison, USC
Profile: Jr 5'11 173lbs 31.5 Arm\ 8.75 Hand 75.125 Wing* 4.49 40 1.57 10 34 VJ 10'2 BJ 4.19 SS* 7.05 3c 5.95 RAS*
2022 Stats: 11 Gm 59 Rec 875 Yds 8 TD 2 Drops
Steve Smith Sr: "Addison has one of the highest ceilings among WRs in this draft due to his blend of route running chops and his all around athleticism. He is a three level route runner: intermediate, deep, and short... The way he can get in and out of his breaks is so natural. He uses leverage. And he manipulates the DB consistently"
Addison -- a Biletnikoff Award winner during his Pitt days -- is one of the highest floor players in the class. He is a route running technician with proven dominance playing inside and outside. He had more than 3 yards per route run in two different offenses. He understands how to marry his athleticism and quickness with the breaks in his routes. He finds the DB's blind spot and forces them to lose. Addison is a bit on the small side, but not abnormally so given this draft class. He does have some concerns with his hands -- his drop rates as a freshman and sophomore were 14% and 10%, respectively -- but he showed improvement in this as a junior.
The need here is clear. As mentioned earlier, the WR depth past JJ and KJ is abysmal. Even with Thielen and Osborn on the roster in 2022, the Vikings needed juice in the WR room. The 2022 Vikings had one top 5 WR in yards per route run (Jefferson). There was no other receiver in the top 100. Teams were not worried about Thielen or Osborn. Teams could put two or three defenders on Jefferson without any fear of what anyone else might do to their defense. Hockenson fixed this a bit down the stretch, but an outside playmaker was still needed.
The real question here is why the team opted not to go for CB Joey Porter Jr, who filled what many considered to be the team's biggest need and was a higher ranked prospect for Lance Zierlein, PFF, Danny Kelly, Matt Miller, and Dane Brugler. The answer here -- if I can take a guess and stretch my logic a bit -- is that the need at WR2 was greater than the need at CB. Patrick Peterson was the biggest loss in the secondary, and the team brought in Byron Murphy to try to fill that role. On offense, Minnesota had not brought in a replacement for Adam Thielen. The depth chart past Jefferson and Osborn was filled with bodies that might not make a 53-man roster on a lot of teams.
Trade: SF gives 3.87 to MIN for 3.102, 5.164, 7.222

	Jimmy Johnson	Rich Hill	Fitzgerald-Spielberger	Harvard
Total give	155	48	737	115
Total get	117.7	45	1334	197
Absolute Diff	-37.3	-3	+597	+82
Percent Diff	-24%	-6%	+81%	+71%

The biggest thing to consider when evaluating this trade is that the Vikings came into the draft with 5 picks, only two of which were in the top 100. In my biased opinion, this was a home run trade, even if the traditional charts disagree. To take three swings at the bat instead of one is a humble and wise strategy, especially for a team with limited draft capital. The move looks even better in hindsight because there were no CBs taken between 87 and 102.
3.102 CB Mekhi Blackmon, USC
Profile: 6Sr 5'11" 178lbs 31" Arm 9.25" Hand 74.625" Wing 4.47 40 1.47 10 36 VJ 10'5" BJ 11 Bench 7.44 RAS
2022 Stats: 14 Gm 66 TKL 2 TFL 1 FF 15 PD 3 INT
Brett Kollman: "Feisty, physical press corner who definitely has to play more under control in the NFL to avoid flags, but he has all the competitiveness you want to see from a potential CB1 at the next level. Never backs down from anyone. Has easy gas to stay in control of a route from top down, even against true burners. Legit 4.4 speed and gets up to it quickly. Outstanding ball production... Held up extremely well despite being targeted often. Battle tested, aggressive, and confident... Very similar to Desmond Trufant."
An unrecruited high school positionless player out of high school that signed with JuCo San Mateo, Blackmon followed up four seasons at Colorado with a breakout 2022 campaign as one of the best defenders on the USC defense. The Trojans played a man-heavy scheme, which let Blackmon shine. He has great anticipation and instincts. His production this year says as much. He plays bigger than his size, and he has inside-outside versatility. He will have to clean up some of his physicality to avoid flags at the next level. He will also have to refine his technique to stay with the more complex routes he'll see. But he is a strong culture and scheme fit for what Brian Flores is bringing to the defense.
The need at CB was obvious even before hiring Flores. The Vikings ranked 31st in passing yards allowed, 26th in Passing DVOA, and 24th in EPA allowed per pass attempt. Bringing in Byron Murphy helps. So do the healthy returns of Booth and Evans. But Murphy has not yet shown that he can be a consistently great player (or at least not markedly better than what we got out of Patrick Peterson last year). And Booth and Evans are unproven. Blackmon -- taken with the last pick on Day 2 -- is not expected to come in and be Jalen Ramsey or Sauce Gardner. But in a shift to a more aggressive man-coverage defense with a thin CB room, Blackmon is an upside player that will have every chance to take a starting spot on a porous defense.
Trade: MIN gives 4.119 to KC for 4.134, 2024 5th\*

	Jimmy Johnson	Rich Hill	Fitzgerald-Spielberger	Harvard
Total give	56	24	578	88
Total get	58.4	24	898	133
Absolute Diff	+2.4	0	+320	+45
Percent Diff	+4%	0%	+36%	+34%

On top of entering the weekend with a mere 5 draft picks in the current year, the Vikings also entered with a mere 5 draft picks in the 2024 class (3rd rounder traded for Hockenson, 5th rounder traded for Reagor). Dropping 15 picks in a relatively flat part of the draft while adding a mid-Day 3 pick is good business given this team's lack of capital.
*Here we assume a future pick in round n is valued at the middle pick of round n+1, not accounting for compensatory picks. In this case, a 2024 5th is equated to pick 176.
4.134 S Jay Ward, LSU
Profile: Sr 6'0.5" 188lbs 32.5" Arm 8.25" Hand 76.875" Wing 4.55 40 1.54 10 34.5 VJ 11' BJ 4.35 Shuttle\ 7.31 3c 16 Bench 6.70 RAS*
2022 Stats: 13 Gm 60 TKL 2.5 TFL 5 PD 1 INT 2 FR TD
Nate Tice: "A ton of fun. I just like this fit because of Brian Flores's defense. Just picture all of those mixture guys that the Patriots have used over the years... Jay Ward can be that"
A three year starter with reps at safety, slot, and outside CB, Ward is one of the most versatile players in the class. He possesses excellent length and movement skills. His experience at CB make him a fluid player in coverage. In the run game, Ward's size is a concern. His 188lbs Combine weight puts him in just the second percentile for safeties. This translates to issues with taking on blocks. He is a very aggressive player, beelining to the ball as soon as it's out. But his size coupled with his impatient playstyle lead to a lot of missed tackles. He was also flagged seven times last season.
In his final season in Miami, Flores was extremely creative with how he employed his safeties. Jevon Holland had the 2nd most blitzes in the league at the position. The number 1 player? His teammate Brandon Jones. With the defense taking on Flores's amoeba identity, an aggressive player with experience at multiple positions has the potential to find a role early on. The defense will look to utilize him similar to how Jevon Holland was used as a rookie. And with Harrison Smith well into the twilight of his career, Ward is a timely pick as the team attempts to thread the needle in their competitive rebuild.
Trade: MIN gives 5.158, 6.211 to IND for 5.141

	Jimmy Johnson	Rich Hill	Fitzgerald-Spielberger	Harvard
Total give	32.4	13	722	103
Total get	36	15	492	74
Absolute Diff	+4	+2	-230	-29
Percent Diff	+10%	+13%	-47%	-39%

It's a bit strange to see Adofo-Mensah move away from the analytics charts in favor of the traditional ones, but the value swap here is not absurd. The real question with this trade will be if Roy ends up being a true contributor.
5.141 NT Jaquelin Roy, LSU
Profile: Jr 6'3" 305lbs 32.75" Arm 10.125" Hand 78.125" Wing 5.13 40\ 1.82 10* 26" VJ* 8'5" BJ* 5.00 Shuttle 8.01 3c 30 Bench 3.72 RAS*
2022 Stats: 13 Gm 49 TKL 3.5 TFL 0.5 SCK
Lance Zierlein: " The more you watch, the more you like the way Roy plays the game... Despite limited starting experience at LSU, he already displays signs of a rush plan and the athletic talent to execute it. Roy is an ascending talent with the potential to become a quality starter. "
After a 30 tackle, 1.5 sack campaign as a rotational player in 2021, Roy shifted from a penetrating 3T position to more of a traditional nose tackle under new HC Brian Kelly. This transition let Roy shine as a run stuffer. He eats space and is incredibly tough to move from his spot. He averaged almost 52 snaps a game in 2022 and his motor never let up. He has some work to do if he wants to be a three down player, particularly as a pass rusher. His bend and balance in this front are especially lacking.
The Vikings' front office seems to be a lot more comfortable with the current IDL room than I am. Harrison Phillips is a plus starter. Past that, the roster is filled with unproven youth or proven subpar players. As a 5th round pick, Roy has an uphill battle to separate himself from that group. But he's a good lottery ticket at this price. His positional versatility ensures that the defense can simply put their best players on the field.
5.164 QB Jaren Hall, BYU
Profile: RSr 6'0" 207lbs 39.75" Arm 9.5" Hand 71.875" Wing 4.63 40\ 1.59 10* 4.19 Shuttle* 7.06 3c* 7.96 RAS*
2022 Stats: 12 Gm 248 Comp 376 Att 66% Comp 3171 Yds 31 TD 6 INT 86 Rush 789 Rush Yds 9 RUsh TD
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah: "We added a really talented player that has a ton of upside... The ability to make decisions, throw the football accuracy, deal with conflict when it comes his way, and sometimes try to make a play outside the framework of the playcall. He does all those things at a really great level... That's an outstanding young man. I'd like to see him lead my team or any organization I'm a part of."
Despite being the third oldest prospect in the QB class, Hall only has 24 starts under his belt due to two years on religious mission and one year with a hip injury. But when Hall took over for Zach Wilson in 2021, he hit the ground running. BYU went 10-3 in that first year with Hall compiling a 4:1 TD:INT ratio. He is a two time team captain, and all reports of his character are off the charts.
Hall is a poised pocket passer capable of extending plays and picking up yardage on the ground. He was only sacked 12 times in 2022, which is a testament to both BYU's offensive line and Hall's ability to create under pressure. There are conflicting opinions on Hall's upside and arm strength, with Lance Zierlein calling his arm "unimpressive" while Kyle Crabbs claiming that hall has a "live arm with the ability to throw with juice off platform". Where there was near-universal agreement was in his understanding of the scheme, as Hall operated BYU's RPO-heavy offense like a machine. He has a clean release and quickly gets into a rhythm. His largest universal concerns are his age (he turned 25 in March) and his injury history (missed 20 games in the last 4 years). He also has ball security issues with 13 fumbles over his career.
I expected the Vikings to draft a QB in this class. The only question was if it would have been via a trade up on Day 1 or a flyer on Day 3 (or a falling Will Levis). With his age, size, and injury history, there are plenty of questions about what Hall can be. He will have a year in practice to put together his audition tape to be Kirk Cousins's replacement -- it's certainly a viable path for this team to take a RiddeHowell/Mills-esque year to evaluate Hall while they continue retooling the defense. But the more likely path is that Hall becomes a long-term backup for the team. Cousins has been the model of health, but that doesn't mean that QB2 is an unimportant position. Sean Mannion, Kellen Mond, and Nick Mullens have manned that position to various degrees over the past few years. None has shown that they can be a competent plug-in player if needed. There is some hope that Hall -- who operated the BYU offense with a mechanic efficiency -- can be that player.
7.222 RB DeWayne McBride, UAB
Profile: Jr 5'10" 209lbs 30.625" Arms 9.5" Hands 73.125" Wing 20 Bench\*
2022 Stats: 11 Gm 233 Att 1713 Yds 19 TD 7.4 Y/A 2 Rec 10 Rec Yds
Dane Brugler: "Overall, McBride is unproven as a pass catcher and blocker, which might restrict his NFL role, but his contact balance, vision and lateral agility are among the best this running back draft class has to offer"
In an era of advanced metrics and Combine showmanship, perhaps the trait that has gone underappreciated more than any other in RB scouting is balance. McBride may have the best balance in the entire RB class outside of Bijan Robinson. He comes from a heavy outside zone scheme at UAB, where he led the FBS in yards per game and set school records for single-game and single-season rushing. McBride absorbs contact like a sponge. His short area burst is strong, and he makes defenders miss with power and finesse. McBride has ideal size and toughness. His concerns are simple. He was not utilized as a receiver in college, and he had more career fumbles than catches in that time. McBride profiles as a two-down player at the next level. Although Adofo-Mensah has voiced his belief that McBride's passing game usage was a product of scheme rather than ability, McBride still has to prove that he is more than just a short yardage runner in the NFL.
After spending a pick in back to back years on RB and re-signing Mattison to a modest contract, RB was a bit of an unexpected pick for this regime. Dalvin Cook still seems to be movable (a likely cut candidate at this point), which would make this pick more logical. Chandler struggled with injuries as a rookie, but both he and Nwangwu profile more as speedy scatbacks than true between-the-tackle runners like Mattison. Even Mattison has never been a true three-down back. McBride plays much more similarly to Mattison than the other backs on the team. He will try to carve out a role behind him as the future thunder to the lightning provided by Chandler and Nwangwu.

UDFA

FB Zach Ojile, Minnesota Duluth
Profile: 6Sr 6'0" 241lbs 31.5" Arms 8.5" Hands 75.5" Wing 4.78 40\ 1.79 10* 31" VJ* 9'1" BJ* 4.40 Shuttle* 31 Bench* 4.15 RAS*
2022 Stats: 11 Gm 12 Rush 53 Rush Yds 3 Rush TD 25 Rec 289 Rec Yds 5 Rec TD
A Twin Cities native, Ojile was a late addition to the roster, joining after a May rookie minicamp tryout. Ojile played LB, QB, FS, and RB in high school but found a role as an H-Back at UMD. He served as a team captain the past two seasons and finishes his collegiate career with over 1100 total yards and 24 total TDs. He was an All-Conference player for the DII NSIC Bulldogs. Whether Ojile participates at FB or TE, he'll need to prove his versatility to beat out the veterans on the depth chart. Working in his favor is Kevin O'Connell's shift to a more base-heavy offense in 2023.
WR Cephus Johnson, Southeastern Louisiana
Profile: 6Sr 6'4" 223lbs 33.25" Arm\ 8.5" Hand* 78.625" WIng* 4.57 40* 1.59 10* 36.5" VJ* 10'1" BJ* 4.39 Shuttle* 7.25 3c* 18 Bench* 9.48 RAS*
2022 Stats: 11 Gm 184 Pass Att 65% Comp 1354 Pass Yds 10 Pass TD 5 INT 89 Rush 488 Rush Yds 5 Rush TD
Johnson is making the fulltime switch from QB to WR as he attempts to latch on to an NFL practice squad. He earned the starting role for South Alabama as a redshirt junior before transferring to SE Louisiana, where he took some snaps at WR in spring games. Johnson's stats were unimpressive as a starting QB, notching just 1354 yards and a 2:1 TD:INT ratio in 11 starts. He has good size and instincts as a runner, but he has basically no experience playing WR.
WR Lucky Jackson, W Kentucky / XFL DC Defenders
Profile: RSr 6'0" 179lbs 9.624" Hand\ 32.25" Arm* 75.875" Wing**
2023 Stats: 10 Gm 36 Rec 572 Yds 5 TD 1 Fmb
Jackson last put on a college uniform before the pandemic for Western Kentucky, where his 2019 season saw him put up over 1100 yards on 94 receptions. Following his college days, Jackson spent time in the CFL and the Spring League before joining the XFL's DC Defenders and becoming an All-XFL receiver.
WR Malik Knowles, Kansas St
Profile: RSr 6'2" 196lbs 32.25" Arm 8.75" Hand 77.625" Wing
2022 Stats: 14 Gm 48 Rec 725 YDs 2 TD 8 Rush 164 Rush Yds 3 Rush TD 23 KR 592 KR Yds
Knowles is a vertical threat with good size and length. He offers value as a kick returner and leaves Kansas State with a top 5 rank in all-purpose yards. Knowles is an undeveloped route runner that struggles with quick change-of-direction. He also has trouble with press coverage. He'll need to prove his value on special teams, where he has plenty of collegiate experience as a kick returner.
WR Grant Maag, North Dakota
Profile: 5Sr 6'4" 206lbs 9.25" Hand\ 31.875" Arm* 77.625" Wing* 4.49 40YD* 1.60 10YS* 40.5" VJ* 10'5" BJ* 4.34 Shuttle* 6.90 3c* 8.50 RAS*
2022 Stats: 12 Gm 41 Rec 540 Yds 5 TDs
Maag was brought in following the announcement of Ben Ellefson's retirement. He is an Inver Grove Heights native and a graduate of St Croix Lutheran in St Paul. He leaves North Dakota with over 2000 yards over his five years and served as a team captain the past two seasons. His size gives him an advantage with a shorter WR group ahead of him, but Maag is a far cry from a roster lock.
WR Thayer Thomas, NC State
Profile: 6Sr 6'0" 198lbs 9" Hand\ 30.125" Arm* 73.5" Wing 4.56 40* 1.63 10* 37" VJ* 10' BJ* 4.03 Shuttle* 6.93 3c* 15 Bench* 7.85 RAS*
2022 Stats: 13 Gm 57 Rec 642 Yds 4 TDs 2 Rush Att 44 Rush Yds 1 Rush TD 17 PR 128 PR Yds
A multisport athlete that was drafted by the Red Sox in 2019, Thomas walked onto the Wolfpack football team and got onto the field any way he could. In 2018, he saw work as a receiver, punt returner, and passer. Thomas has good hands (a career drop rate of 4%) and a high work ethic, but he is an undeveloped route runner that struggles to create much after the catch. He will need to prove his worth on special teams if he wants to make the roster.
TE Ben Sims, Baylor
Profile: RSr 6'4" 250lbs 33.125" Arm\ 9.5" Hand* 80.125" Wing* 4.58 40YD* 1.56 10YS 36" Vert* 10'2" Broad* 4.41 Shuttle* 7.46 3c* 15 Bench* 8.40 RAS*
2022 Stats: 12 Gm 31 Rec 255 Yds 3 TDs 2 Drops 1 Rush TD
Sims projects as a blocking tight end with limited ability as a receiver. He's a patient run blocker with good balance and toughness, but he is still cleaning up some technique. He isn't a creator with the ball in his hands and his tape fails to demonstrate the explosiveness that his testing suggests.
OL Alan Ali, TCU
Profile: RSr 6'4" 301lbs 32.875" Arm 9.5" Hand 77.625" Wing 5.23 40\ 1.89 10* 26.5" VJ 8'5" BJ* 4.91 Shuttle* 7.94 3c* 3.80 RAS*
A 5 year starter for TCU and SMU, Ali is a fundamentally sound center prospect with good body control and core strength. He has experience playing at all 5 OL positions but spent most of the past 4 years at center. His lack of athleticism and length are likely the reason he went undrafted.
OT Jacky Chen, Pace
Profile: RSr 6'5 1/4" 299lbs 10" Hand\ 34.5" Arm* 80.75" Wing* 5.41 40* 1.81 10* 29" VJ* 8'10" BJ* 4.74 Shuttle* 7.90 3c* 24 Bench* 5.39 RAS*
It's hard to find very much information on an undrafted lineman from a DII school whose toughest opponent was the University of New Haven. Chen is an OT prospect that is viewed as a ball of clay. Chen's 40 yard dash and 3 cone were underwhelming to say the least, but he was an above average tester in burst and explosiveness drills. That combined with his length make him an interesting project.
EDGE Andre Carter II, Army
Profile: Sr 6'6.5" 256lbs 9.375" Hand 33.275" Arm 81 Wing 4.91 40\ 1.65 10* 30" VJ 9'1" BJ 4.36 Shuttle 6.97 3c* 11 Bench 6.29 RAS*
2022 Stats: 10 Gm 41 TKL 7 TFL 3.5 SCK 2 PD
The highest profile UDFA signing of the class, Carter was getting 1st round buzz this time last year. At that time, Carter was coming off an 18.5 TFL / 15.5 sack season. However, Carter struggled to repeat his production as a senior, notching just 3.5 sacks. Carter finished out the draft cycle with lackluster testing, failing to run under a 4.90 in the 40 yard dash and weighing in at a mere 256 lbs -- a big concern given his 81 inch wingspan and towering stature. Carter has a ton of upside, but he doesn't have the frame to be a real NFL player right now. After 4 years training to be an officer in the US Army, he will need at least one season (maybe more) in an NFL weight room where he can focus on building muscle mass. He'll look to follow the mold of fellow Army player Alejandro Villanueva, who added 43 lbs to his 277 lbs frame entering the league before becoming a 7-year starter. Luckily, he joined the team with one of the best training facilities in the league.
EDGE Junior Aho, SMU
Profile: 6'2" 260lbs 9" Hand 33.875" Arm 79.875" Wing 4.58 40\ 1.66 10* 33.5" VJ* 10'3" BJ* 4.90 Shuttle* 7.38 3c* 9.38 RAS*
2022 Stats: 13 Gm 23 TKL 2 TFL 2 SCK 1 FF
Quite simply, Aho is an athletic freak that should find his way onto the team thanks to the International Player Pathway roster spot. He takes pride in his speed and athleticism, but he also understands the limitations to his game. Aho was a solid rotational player for SMU. He will look to follow in the footsteps of other International Pathway players like Efe Obada and Jordan Mailata.
DT Calvin Avery, Illinois
Profile: RSr 6'1" 343 lbs 10" Hand\ 32.5" Arm 81.87" Wing 5.37 40* 1.84 10* 30.5" VJ* 8'5" BJ* 8.01 3c* 31 Bench* 3.12 RAS*
2022 Stats: 13 Gm 23 TKL 2 TFL 1 PD
Avery is a former four star recruit out of Texas, earning snaps in 12 games as a true freshman. He started 12 games in 2022, primarily at nose tackle. He has a wide, large frame that makes him hard to move. However, he is an underwhelming athlete to say the least, and his statistical production is nearly non-existent.
LB Abraham Beauplan, Marshall
Profile: RSr 5'11" 241 lbs 9.25" Hand 31.75" Arm 77 1/4" Wing 4.62 Shuttle 35.5" VJ 9'9" BJ 7.33 3c 22 Bench 4.52 RAS
2022 Stats: 12 Gm 66 TKL 6.5 TFL 1 SCK 3 PD
Beauplan started the draft process by making an appearance on Bruce Feldman's Freaks List, reportedly squatting as much as 565 lbs and benching as much as 285. The few reports that exist on Beauplan suggest he's an urgent, downhill run defender that will look to carve out a role on special teams early on.
LB Wilson Huber, Cincinnati
Profile: 6Sr 6'4" 241lbs 9.75" Hand 32.375" Arm\ 80" Wing* 4.70 40* 1.66 10* 35" VJ* 10'4" BJ* 4.45 Shuttle* 6.91 3c* 18 Bench* 8.34 RAS*
2022 Stats: 13 Gm 54 TKL 6.5 TFL 1 SCK 1 PD
A 3 star recruit out of Indiana, Huber started his career at Cincinnati as a TE. He played a hybrid role in his first 2 non-redshirt seasons, earning snaps on offense, defense, and special teams. He made a full role switch to the defensive side of the ball in 2020 and eventually earned the team captain moniker in 2022. Huber had some solid testing despite profiling as more of a thumper.
LB Ivan Pace Jr, Cincinnati
Profile: Sr 5'10.5" 231lbs 30.25" Arm 9.5" Hand 72" Wing 4.59 40\ 1.70 10* 35" VJ 9'8" BJ* 4.40 Shuttle * 7.18 3c* 22 Bench* 5.71 RAS*
2022 Stats: 13 Gm 137 TKL 21.5 TFL 10 SCK 3 FF 4 PD
Ranked the 11th best LB for Daniel Jeremiah, 9th for Dane Brugler, and 7th for PFF, many thought Pace could have gone as early as Round 3. Pace was a one year starter for the Bearcats after transferring from Miami (Ohio), and he hit the ground running. He led the AAC in tackles and TFLs. He is a smaller player (although not abnormally so in today's game) that plays with his hair on fire. He gives tremendous effort on every play and is always around the ball. Pace is a super tough player that loves to tackle. His size is a concern; he gets washed out of plays too easily. He is also lacking in coverage skills, struggling to stay connected in man coverage. Still, it's incredible that Pace went undrafted. He's an easy special teams projection as a rookie with the upside to be put in position to win under Flores.
CB CJ Coldon, Oklahoma
Profile: 6Sr 5'10" 186lbs\ 8.375" Hand* 31.125" Arm* 75.125" Wing* 4.60 40* 1.58 10* 37 1/2" VJ* 10'5" BJ* 4.24 Shuttle* 7.31 3c* 3.92 RAS*
2022 Stats: 12 Gm 42 TKL 2 TFL 4 INT 6 PBU
Coldon is an instinctual football player that relies on his feel to create ball production. He spent 5 years at Wyoming before transferring to Oklahoma and leading the team in INTs and PBUs. In zone, Coldon watches the QB and looks for the right cue to understand when and where the ball is headed.
CB NaJee Thompson, Georgia Southern
Profile: 5'10" 200lbs 9.125" Hand 32.75" Arm 76.625" Wing 4.57 40\ 1.63 10* 32" VJ* 9'8" BJ* 4.56 Shuttle* 7.40 3c* 13 Bench* 1.59 RAS*
2022 Stats: 13 Gm 37 TKL 1 TFL 11 PD 1 INT
Thompson's love for the game is undeniable. After struggling to latch onto the Georgia Southern WR room, Thompson approached his head coach asking to be exclusively a special teams player. He relishes being a gunner on punts. He eventually got moved to CB in 2021, logging 557 snaps at the position in 2022. He's undeveloped at the position, but his special teams prowess gives him a good shot at the roster.
CB Jaylin Williams, Indiana
Profile: RSr 5'9" 184lbs 9.125" Hand 29.875" Arm 71.75" Wing 4.43 40\ 1.58 10* 34.5" BJ* 9'11" BJ* 4.20 Shuttle* 7.01 3c* 13 Bench* 5.54 RAS*
2022 Stats: 10 Gm 40 TKL 2.5 TFL 7 PD 1 FR 1 BLK
A longtime role player for the Hoosiers before becoming a fulltime starter in 2019, Williams's 6 career INTs were the most amongst active players on the team last season. He earned second team All-Confernece honors in 2020 and was an honorable mention in 2021.
K Jack Podlesny, Georgia
Profile: RSr 6'0" 195lbs 29.25" Arms 9" Hands 74.75" Wing
2022 Stats: 31 Att 26 Made 50 Long 109 Kickoff 72 Touchbacks 74 PAT Att 73 PAT Made
Ranked as Dane Brugler's 4th kicker and Lance Zierlein's 3rd kicker, Podlesny enters Vikings camp following a career that saw him walk on to Georgia's football team and finish with an 82% hit rate. He hit all but one extra point last season for the national champion Bulldogs. A concern with Podlesny is his leg strength. His accuracy beyond 40 yards falls to just 54%. His clutchness may also come into question as he missed two kicks in the national championship semifinals against Ohio State.

Projected Depth Chart

Pos (Projected 2023 Rostered Count / 2022 Rostered Count): Starter, Rookie, Cuts
QB (2/2): Kirk Cousins, Jaren Hall, Nick Mullens
RB (4/4): Alexander Mattison, Kene Nwangwu, Ty Chandler, DeWayne McBride, Dalvin Cook
FB (1/1): CJ Ham, Zach Ojile
WR (5/5): Justin Jefferson, KJ Osborn, Jordan Addison, Jalen Nailor, Brandon Powell, Trishton Jackson, Jalen Reagor, Blake Proehl, Thayer Thomas, Cephus Johnson, Malik Knowles, Lucky Jackson, Garrett Maag
TE (3/3): TJ Hockenson, Josh Oliver, Johnny Mundt, Nick Muse, Ben Sims
OL (9/10): Christian Darrisaw, Ezra Cleveland, Garrett Bradbury, Ed Ingram, Brian O'Neill, Chris Reed, Austin Schlottman, Oli Udoh, Blake Brandel, Josh Sokol, Vederian Lowe, Alan Ali, Jacky Chen, Sam Schlueter
DT (7/6): Harrison Phillips, Dean Lowry, Jonathan Bullard, James Lynch, Esezi Otomewo, Jaquelin Roy, Khyiris Tonga, Ross Blacklock, Sheldon Day, TJ Smith, Calvin Avery
EDGE (4/5): Danielle Hunter, Marcus Davenport, Pat Jones II, DJ Wonnum, Luiji Vilain, Curtis Weaver, Benton Whitley, Kenny Willekes, Andre Carter II, Junior Aho
ILB (4/4): Jordan Hicks, Brian Asamoah, Troy Reeder, Ivan Pace Jr, Troy Dye, William Kwenkeu, Abraham Beauplan, Wilson Huber
CB (5/6): Byron Murphy, Andrew Booth, Akayleb Evans, Mekhi Blakmon, Joejuan Williams, Kalon Barnes, Tay Gowan, John Reid, CJ Coldon, Najee Thompson, Jaylin Williams
S (5/4): Harrison Smith, Lewis Cine, Jay Ward, Josh Metellus, Camryn Bynum, Theo Jackson
K (1/1): Greg Joseph, Jack Podlesny
P (1/1): Ryan Wright
LS (1/1): Andrew DePaola
KR: Kene Nwangwu
PR: Brandon Powell

2024 Needs

Starters Needed: QB, OG, EDGE, DT -- Whether due to expiring contracts (Cousins, Cleveland, Davenport, Hunter) or overall suckitude (Ingram, Lowry), we need to find new starters at this positions in 2024. Could we go on with average-level free agents? Maybe. Should we? Maybe not.
We'll see how the group plays: CB, LB, RB -- These are positions where the front office is counting on young players (Booth, Evans, Asamoah) to fill the roles of departed starters. If those players take that step up, these positions drop on the needs list. Otherwise, we're in for a rough season.
Depth needed: WR -- The depth after Jefferson, Osborn, and Addison is not great. And Osborn is entering a contract year. Unless Keenan McCardell works some magic with Jalen Nailor or Trishton Jackson or Thayer Thomas, this should be a position we add to next year.

Final Thoughts

Versatility. When we look at this Vikings draft class, that's the first word that comes to mind, and it comes in big bold letters. Addison has inside-outside versatility. So does Mekhi Blackmon. Jay Ward is the most versatile of the group, capable of playing every DB position plus some spot snaps at LB. Roy has been productive everywhere from 0T to 4i. And the team has talked about how much they believe McBride can contribute as a pass catcher on top of his bruiser mindset as a between-the-tackles runner.
On offense, this shift seems to stem from a philosophical change following the TJ Hockenson acquisition last year. O'Connell's unit went from trying to copy-paste Sean McVay's outside zone scheme (largely a 3WR offense) to Kyle Shanahan's outside zone scheme (largely a TE-FB offense). And in that mold, O'Connell was looking for players he could use to create the illusion of complexity. That is, how can we employ versatile players to present defenses the threat of multiplicity?
On defense, the answer is a lot simpler. By bringing over Brian Flores, the team is hoping for a jolt in tenacity and an overall move to a hybrid amoeba scheme. You can look historically at how Bill Belichick has utilized flexibility in his defenses to maximize his gameplan for whatever offensive scheme is next on the menu. You can look at players on the line of scrimmage that have experience in both 43 and 34 schemes (Hunter, Phillips, Lynch, Bullard). And in the secondary, look no further than the selection of Jay Ward as an attempt to clone players like Jevon Holland and Kyle Dugger.
As Adofo-Mensah has repeatedly said, he approaches his job with humility. He listens to those around him and he finds the point where stories marry data to make informed decisions. And in O'Connell, he found someone who shares that mentality. With the emphasis on versatility, that mindset can now be applied on a weekly (and play-by-play) basis to opponents. We'll see how successful that strategy is as the team continues to straddle the line between competitive and rebuilder, but there is certainly an energy around the fanbase with the continued success of the offense and the addition of Brian Flores.

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Imagine walking into a burning building, and everyone laughs and tells you the fire’s all in your head. When no one believes you, are you going to stay to burn up with them? Every passenger in that crowd waiting to embark on the luxury cruise was already dead—they just didn’t know it yet! I stared through the windows of the terminal at the magnificent Seastar, at the broken glass and spatters of blood that only I could see… and then I fled.
Without warning a single soul.
What would have been the point? My name is Cassandra—I see death six days before it happens, and can feel it if I shake a cold hand—but no matter what I do, I can never, ever prevent it.
My flight took me as far as the escalators before a flash of purple brought me screeching to a halt. Lily Tsuki? No—it wasn’t the purple-haired musician who’d given me with cruise gift card. But suddenly I remembered how I’d been looking forward to hearing her performance aboard this very vessel…
Oh God…
It was one thing to turn my back on doomed strangers. Terrible as it sounds, it’s a bit like reading about a catastrophe in the news. Quite another thing to abandon somebody I knew! Could I really leave her to become one of the bodies putrefying in the belly of the Seastar? Every time I ordered a drink at my favorite bar, I’d remember I hadn’t even tried to save her!
“Fuck!” I cried, fumbling for my phone. “Oh, fuck me sideways… how much time…?”
Ninety minutes.
Ninety minutes to get on board, find the musician, and… what? Convince her to disembark?
How?
And yet my feet were already turning toward the gangplank—because as it turns out, I would rather plunge headlong into a ship full of the rotting dead than face an empty piano bench and the guilt that no amount of alcohol would ever drown. But to have any chance at persuading Lily, I’d need to know how the passengers died. This meant that in addition to finding a purple-haired needle in a Titanic-sized haystack, a horrifying task loomed ahead of me. I was going to have to do something I had not done in a very long time—plunge directly into my vision. Walk into its very maw and face whatever gruesome horrors lurked at the source of that nauseating odor.
I was going to have to find the bodies…
… and whatever killed them.
Boarding
The stench was so overpowering after crossing the gangplank that I dropped to my knees and dry heaved. The flow of passengers moved around me past the concierge desk. I must have looked exceptionally sick, because a pretty girl in a suit skirt approached, asking if I needed assistance. She reached out a hand to help me up—cold!
I staggered away from her and inside. Then—because I felt I might throw up—quickly found my way out to the promenade deck and the blessed breeze.
Lifeboats hung overhead. Beyond the rail, the sea sparkled in the afternoon sun. Cushioned loungers lined the deck. None were in use, presumably because the pool, patio, spa, and other amenities on the upper decks had much more attractive areas for lounging. I leaned against the rail and gulped the air, listening to the waves splash against the side of the boat, noting blood spatters further down—but nothing signifying the cause of the blood. Just vague signs of violence.
After circling the entire promenade deck and spotting only the occasional bloody spatters, I gritted my teeth, pulled my shirt collar up over my nose, and plunged into the nearest door.
The Seastar’s interior had the atmosphere of a luxury hotel. People milled about the restaurant and shopping area, buzzing with excitement, talking about cabaret shows and fine dining, while perky crew members answered questions, all perfectly oblivious to the putrid sweet rotting stench. I’d most likely find Lily Tsuki at the piano lounge, but since I didn’t yet have any plausible explanation for what had happened to the passengers, I continued wandering, entering a bustling café overlooking the ship’s grand staircase. Stepping over an enormous blood stain on the carpet, I passed the counter, nauseated by the fancy pastries behind their glass cases, peering among the tables and chairs. Paused when I spotted an eyeball in a teacup. No trace of how it got there. No body with an empty socket. Just the eyeball, swirling in a congealed bloody jelly at the bottom of the cup…
I scurried away, snatching a cloth napkin to cover my nose.
The interior darkened as I ascended the central staircase. No electricity, I noted as I clutched the railing. Why would the power be cut? A storm?
But storms don’t scoop out eyeballs with a dessert spoon….
Coming onto deck 6, I peered down a long, dim corridor lined with passenger cabins. To passengers coming and going, the hall was illuminated by electric lighting—but since I was seeing the ship six days in the future, the narrow hallway vanished into blackness. With no way to enter the cabins, and nothing much to see here or in the other dimmed halls of the passenger decks, I ascended until I reached the pool.
Pool Deck
Deck 9 opened to wide panoramic windows, dining, a spa, and of course the pool. I emerged outdoors with relief, removing the napkin from my nose as the sea breeze gave some respite from the odor.
Around me, people partied in bikinis and beachwear and suits, sipping all manner of drinks around the sky-blue swimming pool. A young woman stretched on a blood-spattered lounger, oblivious to the gore beneath her tanned figure. A few bodies floated among the swimmers, bloated and discolored. My vision shimmered briefly as a teen boy swam right through one of the bodies, splashing as if it were not there. My heart lurched when I realized that it was his own, albeit dressed in different clothes—
“Oof!” I grunted as a small figure bashed into me, her arm grazing mine.
“Sorry!” cried a little girl in a pink swimsuit, bolting by as her mother yelled at her to watch out for people.
I tried not to think of how cold the little girl’s arm felt. Counted the bodies: eight in the pool. One by the towel bin, head caved in. I made a circuit of the pool, occasionally brushing against people—cold, cold, cold.
No survivors, it seemed.
But why?
That was when I spotted a shirtless old man sitting at a table under an umbrella. I froze, goosebumps prickling along my skin. Unlike the floaters, there was no obvious reason for his death. His back was to me, the bare skin of his shoulders gray and blotchy. In his hand he held a broken drinking glass. He was positioned in repose… so what killed him?
My heart quickened as I moved round to the front of him.
His mouth hung open, shards of glass and a mangled tongue lolling out, crimson trailing down his shirt front. The source of the chewed glass was obvious—the cup in his hand was broken, its jagged edges bloody.
He’d died choking on the glass.
“What the fuck is happening here?” I whispered.
Forward Stairwell
The jogging track and the sundeck—decks 10 and 11—offered a stunning bird’s eye of the pool and ocean, but I did not stop to take this in as I circled to the bow, opting to take the forward stairs down, rather than central.
The stench hit me like a cloud.
I had to stop as I descended into the dim stairwell, clinging to the railing, doubled over, gagging. It was so so bad. My eyes watered. My stomach bucked. And it was dark. Thank God for my phone’s flashlight. I fumbled it on and, napkin firmly over my nose, plunged down into the depths… The phone’s thin illumination flashed along the carpeted stairwell and the hall of the first of the passenger decks. I kept descending. Paused at an unidentifiable slick red mound. I was examining it under my light when a crewmember jogged up to me and asked, “Lose something, miss?” “Just my marbles,” I muttered, shooing the crew member away and inadvertently brushing his hand. Cold. I turned my attention back to the mound.
A slimy pile of intestines on the stairwell… trailing down to a disemboweled body.
Intestines… eyeballs… eating broken glass… nothing about this makes sense! I swiveled the beam to check further downward.
That was when I found the source of the odor.
My path down was obstructed by a mass of bodies. The ones underneath seemed to have been trampled, but the ones on top… I squeezed my watering eyes and retched against the wall. Some of the bodies bore horrible mutilations—fingers bent and twisted, joints out of alignment, faces smashed in and jaws torn open. Many more appeared to have been crushed in the press of bodies. Best guess, there was a wave of panicked people rushing upstairs from below, colliding with a wave of others fleeing down from above.
Why this staircase? What was near this part of the ship?
The cabaret lounge, I realized. No electricity. No elevators. This was the nearest stairwell to the auditorium.
Closer. I was inching closer to uncovering the fates of the passengers. And yet, I still had no idea what the passengers were fleeing from. Who were the attackers? Or… I thought of the eyeball. The glass chewed and swallowed.
An icy pinprick at the base of my skull whispered the question I didn’t want to ask…
Why? Why did some of the passengers go mad, and do it to themselves?
Piano Bar
I took the long way round to the cabaret theatre, going all the way back up the stairs and coming down on the central staircase, only to detour on hearing the notes of a piano. I found myself in a cozy lounge and spotted a purple-haired figure at the keys. And just in time—the ship was due to depart in less than half an hour!
“Lily!” I rushed over.
The musician’s face lit. “Oh it’s you, friend! You made it!”
“You’ve got to get off the ship!”
“Off the—”
“I know it seems crazy but you’ve got to! Everyone on board is going to die—I’ve seen it because I’m psycho!” I heard it a second later and smacked my forehead. “I mean—psychic! PSYCHIC!! I can see the future.” At her scrunched eyebrows, I burst, “Look I know how I sound, but I’ve been able to see things since I was a little girl, and I am telling you that this ship is going to go dark! The engines will cut out! People are going to flee and trample each other on that forward staircase…” Launching into a rapid-fire recounting, I was just getting to the eyeball in the teacup when she interrupted:
“You’re afraid of some sort of terrorist attack?”
“No, no! No! It’s almost like… a kind of madness, a contagion, that spreads through the ship—”
“A zombie apocalypse?”
“Not zombies…”
“Poltergeists? Possession?” She played a riff from a horror movie. “Should we call an exorcist?”
“We should leave!” I checked my phone. “Quickly!—"
“What an odd duck you are! I can’t imagine any sort of catastrophe as big as you’re saying. You know this ship has tons of safety protocols. And even if I did believe some disaster were drawing near—do you really think I could abandon crowds and crew?” She looked at me over her glasses, shimmering purple lips curving in a smile. “Listen friend, if this were the Titanic and I was the only one who could see the iceberg, I’d stay to steer us right, not run off leaving everyone to die!”
Icy fingers raked along my spine. Even if she wasn’t taking me seriously, she was right—I did have a moral obligation to save people. An obligation I’d been trying to fulfill ever since I was a little girl, until the attempt killed my brother, and even after, I kept trying for years and years…. until at last I realized that there is no way to change anything. That is why I call myself Cassandra. For the Greek prophet doomed to predict the future but never be believed. Try and prevent what I’ve foreseen? You might as well try and pluck the stars from the sky!
Every hand I’d touched was cold. Everyone on board would die.
My fists balled, fingernails digging so hard into my palms they bled. “You really have no idea what you’re asking of me…”
“Oh, I’m not telling you to stay. I’m just explaining why I have to. Besides, I’m under contract.” She winked and focused on her playing as guests entered and sat at nearby tables.
She had no idea! None whatsoever! If I thought there was even a sliver of a hope, I wouldn’t abandon people! Oh, if this happy-go-lucky musician understood the futility!!
But she will, came another, darker thought. She will know the full depth of the horror coming…
“No,” I whispered.
“Huh?” She shouted, “Wait—friend, where are you going?”
But I was not listening. The cabaret theatre—was the answer there? The reason for the crush of bodies in the forward stairwell? I rushed past the cafe with the eyeball in the teacup, through the grand doors into the cabaret hall—
—but the cabaret hall was surprisingly quiet, save for a light touch of classical music. A few passengers mingled here or there, unnoticing of the cadavers draped on chairs and tables. The stage itself was pristine, the wood smooth and polished in the fading orange light through the windows. Apparently, the origin of the panicked flight up the forward stairwell was not this grand entertainment venue—nothing here supported that theory.
Nonetheless, I gave the place a thorough search until my phone’s battery ran low, and then I returned to the grand staircase.
In one direction lay passenger cabins. In the other, the gangplank back to the port terminal and safety.
“It’s not too late to be a coward, Cass,” I said. “Run from the ship, run from the empty piano bench at the bar, find a different, cheaper hole in the wall to crawl into like—like the cockroach you are…”
Always the survivor, eh…?
Or… or, I could try just one more time. “‘Hope,’” my brother always said, “is the thing with feathers.”
And look what happened to him! flashed through my mind. My heart slammed against my ribcage. I’d just die too, unless I left in the next—how many minutes? I checked my phone, but it was dead. Like I would be if I stayed.
A horn sounded the Seastar’s departure. A distant cheer rose up from the upper decks and balconies. I felt a brief panicky impulse to run back out on deck and throw myself off the ship… but in truth, my fate had already been decided before the ship’s horn blew. I hadn’t been paying attention earlier, but I’d been rubbing and rubbing my hands, and finally realized they were cold. Probably had been since I’d boarded. I shuffled leaden feet toward the passenger cabins, guided by my phone’s light to the brass number plate for 4044—my cabin. Reached for the knob and stopped.
That smell—dread squeezed my intestines like a wet rag.
Smoke. Burnt meat.
I wrinkled my nose and opened the door.
Orange rays shone through the window, the sunset so vivid it almost gave the illusion that the room was on fire. The walls and ceiling were charred. The edges of the mattress and sheets a smoldered ruin. But the worst damage was the small sofa by the coffee table. Broken bottles scattered round. And there on the sofa—
My fingers went limp on the door handle as I stared into melted sockets of a body charred beyond recognition. A dark line encircled its wrist. The blackened remnants of a charm bracelet.
My bracelet.
While the man on the pool deck swallowed glass, I would succumb to the insanity here, dousing myself in alcohol and flame—
—immolating myself.
[Part 1]
[Part 3 UPDATE]

Full dislcaimer below. TL;DR: We're not Bethesda staff, this is an automated post.

Filthy Casual Links

• Discord
• Seasonal Even-Pace App
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From Bethesda.net

Read on to catch a preview of the latest and greatest items and offers that are currently available in the Atomic Shop, including this week's free items.

Free Items

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Fireworks, get your fireworks here! The Catherine Wheel Fireworks Stand is available for all Fallout 1st Members until July 4.
Perk up! Get one Perk Card Pack, free for all players until June 13.

Item	Available Until
Catherine Wheel Fireworks Stand (Fallout 1st)	July 4
Perk Card Pack x1	June 13

Visit the Atomic Shop on these days to claim a different reward, like consumables, in-game currencies, and more. Each of the items below is available until 12:00 p.m. ET the following day.

Item	Available on
Caps x250	June 6
Carry Weight Booster	June 7
Lunchbox	June 8
Scrap Kit	June 9
Vault-Tec Supply Package (Level 2)	June 10
Lunchbox	June 11
Repair Kit	June 12

Don't forget to claim these items to celebrate Pride Month, free for all players!

Item

Pride Flag Bundle Pride Flag Icon Bundle Pride Photomode Frame

Limited Time Offers

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These bundles are all 30% for a limited time only, so grab them while you can!

Item	Atom price
Big and Tall C.A.M.P. Bundle	2500 1750 (30% off!)
Brotherhood Reclaimed Deluxe Bundle	2400 1680 (30% off!)
Missile Silo Shelter Bundle	2000 1400 (30% off!)
Burbling Brew-haha Nukashine Bundle	1500 1050 (30% off!)
Country Flair Bundle	1500 1050 (30% off!)
Grelok Villain Bundle	1500 1050 (30% off!)
Ghillie Netting Bundle	1800 1260 (30% off!)
Stash Box Bundle	1000 700 (30% off!)
Summer BBQ Bundle	1000 700 (30% off!)
Framed Paintings C.A.M.P. Bundle	1200 840 (30% off!)
Snow Fighter Bundle	1500 1050 (30% off!)
Clean Ranch Housing Bundle	1500 1050 (30% off!)
Halloween Costume Bundle	1800 1260 (30% off!)
Season 3 Vault Décor Bundle	1800 1260 (30% off!)
Season 2 Antagonist Bundle	1200 840 (30% off!)
Power Patrol Outfit Bundle	1000 700 (30% off!)
Photomode Frame Bundle	600 420 (30% off!)
Photomode Four Pose Bundle	900 630 (30% off!)

Last Week

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Some of last week's items are still available for a limited time.

Item	Atom Price
Drive-in Dolly Bundle	1400
Mistress of Mystery Bundle	1800
Drive-In Dolly Outfit	700
Neon Sign - Nuka Quantum	300
Hot Rod Power Armor Bench Model	700
Sugar Bombs Pip-Boy Paint	600
Tire Toilet Outhouse	300
Unstoppables! Bed	300
The Unstoppables Stash	500

The Drive-in Dolly Bundle includes: * Drive-In Dolly Outfit * Neon Sign - Nuka Quantum * Hot Rod Power Armor Station * Wave Pose * So Hungry Emote * Sugar Bombs Pip-Boy Paint * Tire Toilet Outhouse * Corvega Diner Seat * Hot rod on blocks
The Mistress of Mystery Bundle includes: * Mistress of Mystery PA Paint Set * Mistress of Mystery Sidekick Costume and Underarmor * Mistress of Mystery Sidekick Mask * Mistress of Mystery Player Icon * Unstoppables! Bed * The Unstoppables Stash

Greatest Hits

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Some of our favorite items have returned to the shop for a limited time. Each item listed below is available until 12:00 p.m. ET on June 13.

Item	Atom Price
Park Ranger Bundle	1800 1440 (20% off!)
Season 2 Antagonist Bundle	1200 960 (20% off!)
Vault-Tec Bomber Jacket Bundle	1000 800 (20% off!)
Hellfire Regulator Prototype Power Armor Paint Set	1200 960 (20% off!)
Viking Costume	700 560 (20% off!)
The Flying Fortress	700 560 (20% off!)
Sports Nostalgia Wallpaper	500 400 (20% off!)
Pip-Boy Pose	150 120 (20% off!)
Bye Now Emote	100 80 (20% off!)

Headed for the Vault

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Some existing items are heading out of the Atomic Shop and into the Vault this week. Be sure to pick up anything that catches your eye, because these items will only be available until 12:00 p.m. ET on June 13.

Item	Atom Price
Bowling Team Bundle	1200
Bad Idea Bundle	1200
Doll Set Bundle	600
Bowling Ball Loot Bag	500
Big Fill & Bigger Fill Ceiling Light	350
Antique Gas Pump Brewing Workbench	500
Flame-ingo Paint (Flamer)	500
Daredevil Bodysuit w/ Helmet	800
Annebelle Porcelain Doll	250

The Bowling Team Bundle includes: * Bowling Ball Rack Display Case with 5 Balls * Black Alley Cats Bowling Ball * Vault 76 Blue Bowling Ball * Gold Hornwright Bowling Ball * Red Atom Bomb Bowling Ball * Resin Vault Boy Bowling Ball * Alley Cats Bowling team outfit * Big Fill Lights * Bowling Ball Loot Bag
The Bad Idea Bundle includes: * Antique Gas Pump Brewing Workbench * Flame-ingo Weapon Skin * Nuclear Glare Pose * Daredevil Bodysuit w/ Helmet
The Doll Set Bundle includes: * Annabelle Porcelain Doll * Porcelain Doll * Heirloom Blue Porcelain Doll

Weekly Offers

Check out the daily deals this week in the Atomic Shop! Each of the items below is available until 12:00 p.m. ET the following day.

Item	Atom Price	Available From	Available Until
Revolver Set - July 4th (Fallout 1st)	500 250 (50% off!)	June 6	June 13
Nuka-Cola Quantum Bundle (Fallout 1st)	500 375 (25% off!)	June 6	June 13
Dying of Thirst! Emote	300 150 (50% off!)	June 6	June 7
Ambulance Gurney Set	250 125 (50% off!)	June 7	June 8
Directors Hunting Rifle	500 250 (50% off!)	June 8	June 9
Black Shovel Backpack	500 250 (50% off!)	June 9	June 10
Roadtripper Blouse and Capris	400 200 (50% off!)	June 10	June 11
Camden Park Cooking Stove	500 250 (50% off!)	June 11	June 12
Responders Power Armor	1500 750 (50% off!)	June 12	June 13

Previous Posts

Title	Post Date
Atomic Shop Weekly Update: May 30 – June 6	2023-05-30 17:50:11
Atomic Shop Weekly Update: May 23 – May 30	2023-05-23 16:10:05
Atomic Shop Weekly Update: May 16 – May 23	2023-05-16 16:50:05
Atomic Shop Weekly Update: May 9 – May 16	2023-05-09 19:00:04
Atomic Shop Weekly Update: May 2 – May 9	2023-05-03 15:10:04

From FC Mods

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FYI, this is a story COLLECTION. Lots of standalones technically. So, you can basically start to read at any chapter, no pre-read of the other chapters needed technically (other than maybe getting better descriptions of characters than: Adam Vir=human, Krill=antlike alien, Sunny=tall alien, Conn=telepathic alien). The numbers are (mostly) only for organization of posts and continuity.
OC Written by Charlie Stastarrfallknightrise,
Typed up and then posted here by me.
Proofreading and language check for some chapters by u/Finbar9800
Future Lore and fact check done by me.
Keep in mind: never skip leg day!
Previous First [Next](link)
Want to find a specific one, see the whole list or check fanart?
Here is the link to the master-post.
The human pulled to a stop, huffing and puffing, hands on his knees as he took in great big breaths. Krill could see ribs through his skin as the great bellows expanded and then contracted. Sweat slicked the skin as the body desperately tried to cool itself.
"Heart rate 165."
The human straightened himself out, coughing once or twice to clear his throat, reaching out and wiping his face with a towel.
He threw the towel over one shoulder and stretched the large muscle groups in his chest, stomach and back, pulling tight.
Sunny leaned against the wall just to their right, both sets of arms crossed over her chest,
"So, what is this supposed to be for? Is this like a dominance thing or something?”
The human wiped his face again and raised an eyebrow,
"It's exercises, Sunny. You know? So I can be fit enough to pass the UNSC PT exam, or perhaps so that I can do my job better, or maybe because I look better when I'm more fit.”
Sunny turned her head to look at him, her eyes scrunching down a little, as Krill went to take notes on a clipboard.
"You mean... You didn't just grow to being that size?”
The human glanced down at Krill incredulous,
"IS she serious? Do the Drev like, not have to work out?"
Krill shook his head,
"Drev do not have subcutaneous fat deposits like humans do. Any acquired deposits are stored below the carapace between the connective tissue, padding them down and giving them more protection."
Sunny looked between them in confusion,
"Wait, hold on... I'm confused."
The human toweled off his hair,
"I have to work out to look like this Sunny. If I don't use it, I lose it."
She turned to look at Krill.
He tucked the holo-pad under one arm,
"You see, Sunny. Humans are meant to adapt. They can adapt mentally, and they can adapt physically. The body changes to match the requirements of its environment. Sometimes this takes years to do, for instance if you take a light skinned population of humans and put them somewhere with a lot of sun, and keep that population in complete isolation, after a few generations, the skin will darken to compensate for the increased UV light. However, these things happen on a smaller level. The body fluctuates to adapt to the amount of physical work which is required."
The human nodded,
"Exactly. Running strengthens the heart, and it increases the hemoglobin in my blood, so that I can run for a longer time with more oxygen. If I were to stop running, I would lose all of that and have to work back up."
Sunny stared at him incredulous,
"So, you have to force your body to be able to perform correctly. Like, it can't just DO what it needs to do, but you have to convince it over years of training to be able to do what you want?”
The man shrugged,
"Well anything sucks when you phrase it like that."
He turned and motioned them to follow,
"Historically, humanity was evolved in an environment with little food. We ate a diet heavy in proteins, fiber, and natural carbs from fruit. Fat is an essential part of a human's diet, but it is relatively difficult to find in nature. Because of this, the body adapted to make humans love and crave fatty and sugary foods for energy. Well since well into the twentieth eighteenth century, fatty foods were becoming commonplace, and easy to get our hands on, but the body wasn't aware of that, so it continued to treat these new fatty foods the way our bodies would have treated them back when we were huntegatherers storing every last bit up for use later."
Sunny followed after in fascination,
"I see, so now you have... Too much of a food that your body craves."
The human looked over his shoulder,
"You got it, and the body doesn't know when to stop storing fat. It'll just keep going. So, if I were to sit on my ass all day eating chips, I would lose the muscle and I would get bigger as fat deposits were stored up for energy."
Sunny shrugged,
"What is the problem with that?"
The human tapped his chin lightly,
"A few things, I guess. For me, at least, if I were to just stop working out, I wouldn't be able to do my job as well, I wouldn't be able to run as far, or to jump as high, or to lift as much. And lifting myself up in a pullup would be impossible, and considering the amount of times we have all almost fallen off a cliff, or had to haul ourselves up rope, you would think that would be a bad idea. Not to mention that the larger you are, the harder your heart has to work as the blood supply is forced to expand, and since you aren't working out your heart it gets weaker but has to do more work, which –in turn– increased the risk of heart issues. Compounding all that I wouldn't be able to sit in a cockpit or pilot a jet properly."
Sunny shook her head,
"That seems like a very... annoying model. You can never just relax. You always have to work to keep your body where it should be. And the amount of self-control you have to have..."
The human laughed,
"You have no idea how much self-control I need when a box of doughnuts gets in my way."
He sighed,
"Keeping my abs has been a real struggle, but luckily the UNSC drilled some self-discipline into me when I was still young."
"So, you weren't always this big?”
The human snorted,
"No not in the slightest. In fact, I was so skinny, you could see my heart beating through my rib cage.”
Sunny grimaced.
"Yeah I know, kinda gross. Those are your two directions. If you don't work out your either super scary skinny, or you get a bit big. If you're working out right, you get muscles."
He turned around, flexing proudly for them to outline the lines of his biceps, chest and stomach.
Sunny would have rolled her eyes back into her head, but she supposed, now that she knew he had to work for it, she was at least somewhat proud of him.
"Ok, I have a question then."
"Shoot."
"Can you get bigger?"
More laughter,
"Oh yeah, totally, but I'm not THAT dedicated."
They were just coming around a corner when the commander skidded to a halt, eye to chest with an absolutely massive human.
Even Sunny stepped back in surprise.
This human was large enough to look Sunny in the eye, with shoulders about as wide as her, and a chest that looked like it could have benched a small car.
It was almost comical, a moment ago Sunny had assumed that the commander was a large human.
"Wow there, big man. I'd rather not get steamrolled today, thanks."
The large human glanced down at the commander.
"Sorry sir."
He grunted, before stepping around and walking up the hall.
Sunny watched him go,
"What do you have to do to get that big!?”
"You practically have to live at the gym."
They turned the corner, walking into a large room, with strange machines of unknown use.
And in here there were humans of all sizes and shapes, but most of them absolutely massive. Those who lacked height, did not lack muscle.
Male humans, female humans, all of the above.
A tiny female human stood at one of these machines, carrying a bar on her shoulders with enough weight that sunny assumed it might crush her. Instead, she squatted down to the floor and stood back up.
The captain blinked and motioned towards her
"Holy shit."
"She squats more than me by the way. You see these guys are insane. I work out to maintain, these guys do it because it’s their hobby."
Krill floated upwards to whisper in Sunny's ear,
"For the muscle to enlarge, the fibers must tear open, and then the body comes back and repairs the tear to withstand the pressures that tore it in the first place.”
Sunny stared at Krill incredulously,
"So you're telling me, they just... Tear themselves apart to get like that?”
The commander left them standing in place, walking over to the wall and jumping upwards, catching his hands around a black bar welded to the wall, the muscles in his back, just below the shoulder blades flexed as he pulled himself upwards, the muscles in his shoulder blades rolling under the skin.
They continued to watch as the commander did his set, a little bit of everything for demonstration purposes. Getting off one of the leg machines, one of these large female humans walked past, sitting where he had just sat, reaching out, pulling out the peg and bringing the weight almost to the bottom of the plates.
The commander leaned in,
"See her, she could probably crush your skull using just her legs."
He sighed,
"Man, I only WISH I could be that badass."
”Yeah, I am sure THAT’S whats you are wishing when you see those thighs…”
He looked up at Sunny,
"Sometimes I come here just to knock myself down a peg."
Across the room, one of these massive humans was hauling a huge bar, lined with weight on either side up over his head like it was nothing.
"You see that, that would probably invert my spine if I tried to do it."
"Must you be so graphic?"
"Yeah, because that's how much of a wuss I am."
Looking around, Sunny wasn't convinced entirely of his status as a wuss.
He had all the requisite muscle groups of even the largest humans, and more than some. There were great swatches of the human population who, even here, were missing some things.
A few of the humans had large arms, but small legs, big legs, but small arms, no chest, or chest and no abdominal muscles.
Yes sure, he may have been smaller than their largest, but he WAS well rounded…Arms, chest, stomach, legs, back and shoulders.
She found herself surprised at the smug satisfaction in comparing her human to the other humans.
Sure, her human couldn't bench THAT much, but he also had better legs, so there.
"You ok, Sunny?"
She turned her head to look at him.
"Just thinking."
She said and he shrugged at her and returned to do his workout.
It's hard to be a human.
They have to work for everything they have, especially when it comes to their body.
Previous First [Next](link)
Want to find a specific one, see the whole list or check fanart?
Here is the link to the master-post.
Intro post by me
OC-whole collection
Patreon of the author
Thanks for reading! As you saw in the title, this is a cross posted story written by starrfallknightrise and I'll just upload some of it here for you guys, if you are interested and want to read ahead, the original story-collection can be found on tumblr or wattpad to read for free. (link above this text under "OC:..." ) It is the Empyrean Iris story collection by starfallknightrise. Also, if you want to know more about the story collection i made an intro post about it, so feel free to check that out to see what other great characters to look forward to! (Link also above this text). I have no affiliations to the author; just thought I’d share some of the great stories you might enjoy a lot!
Obviously, I have Charlie’s permission to post this and for the people already knowing the stories, or starting to read them: If you follow the link and check out the story you will see some differences. I made some small (non-artistic) changes, mainly correcting writing mistakes, pronoun correction and some small additional info here and there of things which were not thought of/forgotten or even were added/changed in later stories (like the “USS->UNSC” prefix of Stabby, Chalar=/->Sunny etc). As well as some "biggemajor" changes in descriptions and info’s for the same stringency/continuity reason. That can be explained by the story collection being, well a story collection at the start with many standalone-stories just starring the same people, but later on it gets more to a stringent storyline with backstories and throwbacks. (For example Adam Vir has some HEAVY scars over his body, following his bones, which were not really talked about up till half the collection, where it says it covers his whole body and you find out via backflash that he had them the whole time and how he got them, they just weren't mentioned before. However, I would think a doctor would at least see these scars before that, especially since he gets analyzed, treated and goes shirtless/in T-shirts in some stories). So TLDR: Writing and some descriptions are slightly changed, with full OK from the author, since he himself did not bother to correct these things before.

I really like the design of this outdoor furniture because it stores additional chairs inside it when you’re not using them making the whole set take up much less space.
This is the company’s website
The problem is they seem to have a real quality problem with their other products (mostly an expandable table and bench) and even the reviews on their own website are not particularly flattering. There are almost no reviews of the outdoor furniture and given the relatively simple design I’m thinking “how bad can it be”.
Anyone dealt with them before? Thoughts?

With the imminent signature of Manuel Ugarte to PSG, the Uruguayan midfielder has been a hot topic of conversation amongst the Parisian community. Unless you've already been following Sporting CP or the Primeira Liga these past couple of seasons, many of us will have been unfamiliar with the player expected to join PSG this coming transfer window. Thankfully, CulturePSG's latest podcast did a great cover of the player's profile in large part due to this week's guest Jordan, a French fan of Sporting CP. Since many fans on this subreddit are not necessarily fluent in French, I took it upon myself to create a few bullet points paraphrasing and/or summarizing some important information regarding Ugarte.

• Manuel Ugarte is a midfielder in a role variant between a 6 and an 8. He alternated roles with his midfield partner Hidemasa Morita in a dual pivot in Sporting CP's 3-4-3 formation. Ugarte is not a prototypical sentinel who sits in front of his defense similarly to Casemiro or Grzegorz Krychowiak. Yet he is categorized as a defensive midfielder for his ability to harass opposition and regain possession either high up on the pitch or while chasing down the ball-carrier in a counter-attack. His defensive profile is more akin to mobile defensive box-to-box players such as Idrissa Gueye or N'Golo Kanté who are able to cover most of the pitch.
• At his arrival, the midfield pair of João Mário and Palhinha is dislodged when the former leaves for Benfica and is replaced by Matheus Nunes. With a departure of Palhinha seemingly improbable, Ugarte arrives at Sporting CP as his substitute. He spends the first half of his first season on the bench, but when Palhinha is injured for a period of 3 weeks to a month, Ugarte inserts himself very well as his replacement and very quickly develops an effective partnership with Matheus Nunes. Reassured by his performances, Sporting CP is comfortable in letting Palhinha leave to Fulham that following summer and Ugarte becomes a starter alongside Morita who replaces Matheus Nunes, gone to Wolverhampton. He shines in a mostly disappointed Sporting CP side where Jordan places him in his top 3 of best performers over the season, if not the best performer.
• Jordan alludes to Ugarte's pressing and tackling abilities as referential, there are very few players with that level of defensive technique and those players are already priced out. For 60 million euros, PSG secures an expert in the art of recovering the ball in a market with a very low supply of similar profiles. In a side that has spent an entire season leaving opposition midfielders run completely unopposed, Ugarte presents himself as an invaluable asset to close this gap and allow the team to play higher without being so vulnerable to counter-attacks.
• His ability to cover the pitch is reminiscent of former PSG midfielder Blaise Matuidi although Ugarte does not provide the same lung-bursting forward runs as the French international. He runs effectively and not without aim, as his number of duels completed and his number of duels won put him amongst the elite this past season. This includes very few aerial duel which the player does not seem particular prone to.
• Despite his superb defensive technique, he picks up a moderate amount of calculated yellow cards. This is mostly due to tactical fouls committed to end dangerous counter-attacks.
• With a famelic number of goals and assists, Ugarte should not be expected to participate significantly in offensive phases. When he regains possession and eliminates his opponent, he seems content laying it off to his more creative partner or to the nearest option depending on the situation. He makes very few progressive passes and carries, reducing his role in build-up plays.
• However this does not mean that he lacks technical skills to fit into PSG's system. Ugarte is very effective at shielding the ball under pressure, and can retain possession after a regaining the ball against multiple opponents until he is able to pass it off. He makes good use of his body orientation when receiving the ball and while he may not create defense splitting passes, he can be considered a safe option to recycle possession (unlike Gueye who was often targeted successfully by opposition presses when he received the ball).
• There are no alarming injuries regarding his physical condition.
• In regards to the possible arrival of Julian Nagelsmann at PSG's helm, Ugarte's profile corresponds to the German coach's expectations: a player with a high volume of defensive runs who is able to come back and bring balance in transition, fits into a central dual pivot and can replicate the roles of Tyler Adams/Konrad Laimer at RB Leipzig or Sebastian Rudy at Hoffenheim. His ability to cover the pitch subscribes entirely to the German playing philosophy of Gegenpress. Another player likeness was made with Leon Goretzka with the notable differences that Ugarte exceeds the German's defensive contributions and Goretzka has a presence in the opposition box that Ugarte will never have.

Although this was to supposed be an excerpt from this week's podcast, I can concede that the length of the post may be not be concise enough to keep the attention of the reader. Let me know if I should keep it more brief as I may write a similar post for Marco Asensio who was also a profiled in the podcast by another guest, Ryan Chase, a French Real Madrid fan (although the analyis was much more sober). Cheers!

Let's address this upfront: the Celtics are not considering trading Jaylen Brown. While he may have his flaws, there is no realistic scenario where the team improves by parting ways with him while maintaining a championship-contending window for the next three or more years. Brown will likely be offered the super max contract, and attempting to negotiate it down would be futile since the Celtics are already operating beyond the second tax apron. It's best to avoid upsetting him and creating unnecessary drama.
Regardless of whether Grant Williams is in their long-term plans or not, the Celtics can comfortably afford to retain him. If they can re-sign him for a contract spanning three years, valued between $40 million and $45 million, it would be an ideal arrangement, offering both flexibility and the potential for a tradeable contract if required.
Furthermore, I propose bringing over Madar and Begarin now to assess their skills and potential. Perhaps they could be signed on two-way contracts, allowing them to develop in Maine while being part of the organization.
Overall, I believe there is no need for significant, drastic changes to the team's core, such as trading Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, or Robert Williams, who have been frequently mentioned in trade rumors. Instead, minor adjustments can be made to the bench unit while preserving the integrity of the main core.
EXTENTIONS:

• Jaylen Brown, 5 years, $290 million
  
• Grant Williams, 3 years, $42 million ($14 million/yr)
  

TRADE:

• Malcolm Brogdon, JD Davison & Justin Champagnie to DET for Bojan Bogdanovic & Alec Burks

DRAFT:

• 35th, Julian Strawther, F Gonzaga

SIGN:

• Javonte Green, G
  
• Yam Madar, G (Two-way)
  
• Juhann Begarin. G/F (Two-way)
  

DEPTH:
G Marcus Smart / Alec Burks / Payton Pritchard / Yam Madar
G Derrick White / Sam Hauser / Javonte Green / Juhann Begarin
F Jaylen Brown / Bojan Bogdanovic / Julian Strawther
F Jayson Tatum / Grant Williams / Danilo Gallinari
C Robert Williams / Al Horford / Mike Muscala
Why does Detroit engage in this strategy? Well, they have already announced their intention to exercise Burks' team option for the purpose of trading him this offseason. With the arrival of Monty, they may be seeking to acquire an experienced point guard who can lead the team alongside the younger players.
As for Boston, they are essentially exchanging high-caliber bench players, aiming to address specific team needs. A desired wing player who can contribute more than 18 points coming off the bench, while also adding Burks as a secondary ball handler. It's worth noting that Burks shares a close relationship with Tatum.
A draft pick might need to be included to facilitate the deal, but regardless, this trade would be highly advantageous for the Celtics. Thus, by acquiring Bogdanovic and Burks, the Celtics would significantly bolster their team's versatility. However, if they wish to further enhance the center position, which is also a need, I believe there is another move Brad and the F.O. should consider.
TRADE:

• Payton Pritchard, Mike Muscala, Luke Kornet & 2024 second-round pick (via SAS) to MEM for Steven Adams

SIGN:

• Patrick Beverley, G

DEPTH:
G Marcus Smart / Alec Burks / Patrick Beverley / Yam Madar
G Derrick White / Sam Hauser / Javonte Green / Juhann Begarin
F Jaylen Brown / Bojan Bogdanovic / Julian Strawther
F Jayson Tatum / Grant Williams / Danilo Gallinari
C Robert Williams / Steven Adams / Al Horford
Why would Memphis consider this trade? There's speculation surrounding Ja Morant's availability for the first half of the season. If that turns out to be accurate, Memphis might opt for a minor rebuild during his absence. They'll likely be competing for a play-in spot next season. Additionally, Memphis boasts a talented frontcourt with young players like Jaren Jackson Jr., Xavier Tillman, and Brandon Clarke.
In this scenario, Boston could offer Payton Pritchard to Memphis. Pritchard could step in as a valuable scoring option off the bench while Ja is out (assuming Tyus Jones starts), and we've seen his ability to light up the scoreboard given the opportunity. This trade would also provide Pritchard with a chance to showcase his skills.
For Boston, the trade addresses their need for help at the center position. They could start either Steven Adams or Robert Williams, with veteran leadership from Al Horford coming off the bench as needed. It's reasonable to expect Horford to focus on staying healthy for the playoffs, possibly playing around 65-70% of regular-season games while providing veteran guidance to the team in their quest for Banner 18.
Furthermore, adding Pat Beverley to the roster would inject some attitude into the team, something that has been lacking since the days when Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics.
Overall, the core of Tatum, Brown, Smart, White, and Williams remains intact. The team maintains a deep and valuable bench featuring players like Alec Burks, Bojan Bogdanovic, Grant Williams, Steven Adams, and Sam Hauser. Moreover, Danilo Gallinari and Al Horford serve as extra insurance. This roster would provide tremendous lineup flexibility and depth.

I thought I had something. Really thought 2012 was the year.

Need a couple active managers to replace a few who went awol this season. Most of the league is all managers from the start 3 years ago. Very active league, lots of trading typically as well.
​
Please let me know if interested in one of the teams below (serious, active managers only please and thanks!).
Team 1:

• C - Heim
• 1b- Tellez
• 2b- Polanco
• 3b- Segura
• SS- Berti
• IF- Adames
• OF-Julio Rodriguez
• OF- Carroll
• OF- Bellinger
• UT- Conforto
• UT- Brian Anderson
• Bench- Oneil Cruz, Bader, Moncada
• SP- Burnes
• SP- Gallen
• RP- Doval
• RP- Hader
• P- Morton, H. Greene, Mikolas, Montgomery, Roansy, Luis Ortiz

​
Team 2:

• C- JT Real
• 1b- Pete Alonso
• 2b- Brandon Lowe
• 3b- Nolan Arenando
• SS- Stott
• IF- India
• OF- Yelich
• OF- Tyler Oneil
• OF- Stanton
• UT- C Walker
• UT- Benintendi
• Bench- Blackmon, Hays, D'Arnaud
• SP- Max Scherz
• SP- Wheeler
• RP- Pressly
• RP- Raisel
• P- Robbie Ray, Sewald, Jon Gray, Sonny Gray, Stripling, Suarez

​
Team 3:

• C- Salvy Perez
• 1b- Freddie Freeman
• 2b-Thairo Estrada
• 3b- Riley
• SS- Correa
• IF- Gleyber
• OF- Schwarber
• OF- Happ
• OF- Nootbar
• UT- Rizzo
• UT- Myers
• Bench - Gurriel, Andrus, TJ Friedl, B. Rodgers
• SP-Fried
• SP- Rodon
• RP- Bednar
• RP- Bard
• P- Gausman, Lynn, H. Brown, Taillion, Steele

[SELL][CANADA to USA & Canada][PERFUME]

$20 Minimum Please!
TAT 3 calendar days or less
SHIPPING TO USA: $11 without tracking and $15.75 with tracking. I'm shipping from Canada.
SHIPPING TO CANADA: For samples only, $3. With tracking, it starts at $15. Tracked shipping price in Canada varies by region.
All samples or decants, unless marked as FS.
All purchased new, unless marked as RIS.
ALL PRICES ARE IN USD. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASTRID

• ALCHEMY & SURF, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $4.25: Aquatic ozone, metallic gold accord, vetiver, rosemary, benzoin, fig, and moss.
• AQUAMARINE, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $4.25: Peach blossom, cucumber, water lily, green cognac, a blend of citrus, blue musk, Japanese peppermint, and sunny sea water accord.
• COVER, 1/4 Bottle, RIS, $6: An enveloping blanket of rice flower, sandalwood, cream, and a touch of cooling bergamot mint.
• FLOATING ON THE WAVES FOREVER AND EVER, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $4.25: Honeydew melon, aquatic ozone, jasmine, lemon, and wild lilies.
• MERCI #27, decant in a thick vial, $2.75, RIS: Lotus, orchid, banana, tropical ivy, and torrential rain accord
• RAIN ON THE OCEAN, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $4.25: Aloe, salt water accord, juniper, pale patchouli, white musk, eucalyptus, and a whisper of spearmint.
• SPELLCASTING ON THE ROCK, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $4.25: Sun-warmed wood, sand, amber, rose geranium, and patchouli.

BPAL (all purchased new)

• CYCLING FOR PLEASURE, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $5.5: Sea water, sea salt-dusted cypress, pink carnation, oakmoss, and white vetiver.
• O HUSHED OCTOBER MORNING MILD, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $5.5: Dried forest pansy leaves, grape vine, grass, lavender buds, thyme, creeping fig, paw-squished soil, and a whiff of coffee drifting down from the kitchen.
• RING OF LIGHT, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $5.5: Radiant pale musk, artemisia, white lavender, neroli, white pepper, and zingy white aldehydes.
• SURPRISE EJACULATION, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $5.5: White pear, white champaca, pink grapefruit, and effervescent white musk.
• THE LAST SYLLABLE, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $5.5: Photos pinned to cool plaster walls, discarded papers, a web of strings, a mirror, a doll, singed straw, scattered books, and unfurled magnetic tape.
• UPSLOPE FOG, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $5.5: Moist clouds rolling lazily up and down low hills of wild grasses, sagebrush, and wildflowers, curling gently around gnarled oaks, majestic pines, and craggy stones.
• URBAN UNDINE, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $5.5: Ocean spray, sea salt, ambergris accord, and lavender.
• WATER OF NOTRE DAME direct , $3.5: Aquatic

DECONSTRUCTING EDEN (all purchased brand new)

• ALCUIN, $2.75: White musks and white amber, the pale greens and grays of his marque, with moss and a chypre accord and a base of soft wood.
• AQUARIUS $2: a blend of air with an undercurrent of water, topped with sparkling aldehydes.
• BURN BOOK, $2.75: College ruled notebook paper, cookie crumbs, indelible ink, glitter lip gloss, and an undercurrent of ruthless ambition.
• CELEBRATION OF SPRING $2 label taped: Pale alabaster, smooth jade, amber light, water lilies
• HOMESICK, $2.75: Dogwood, wisteria, tulips, sunflowers ocean air.
• JEUNE SAINTE AU LYS $2: pale skin, muted notes of polar, pine, and wood, pale white lilies
• JOSCELIN $2: White musks, blue of the summer sky, the sharpness of the cold winter air and grey wool.
• MASTER OF THE STRAITS, $2.75: Stormy sea water, driftwood, bay rum, oakmoss and a couple of drops of hyacinth.
• MOULIN ROUGE, $2.75: a frou-frou of red satin, a frisson of velvet, wooden floorboards, blonde tobacco, red wine, and a drop of absinthe.
• MY GIRLFRIEND’S GIRLFRIEND, $2.75: white musk forms the base. Heart notes of jasmine, soft rose, freesia, lily and black currant. Top notes of pink grapefruit, bergamot and mandarin orange.
• NERVE, $2.75: Blue musk, green clover, soft grey suede, jet fuel, and, white peach tea
• SNOW WHITE, $2.75: Clean white musk, blood-red roses, ebony wood, and a touch of the forest, and that infamous apple.
• TALENT, $2.75: Crisp linen, beeswax coated silken threads, Alban rose, and Earl Grey tea.
• WATER ME, $2.75: coconut, dark amber, skin musks, clean water, and satin sheets

FANTOME (all purchased new) $5.5 each

• BUNE: Damp subterranean air, nagarmotha, smooth cave walls, davana, a cold marble altar, & glittering green dragon scales
• STOLAS: Bluebells, an unburnt cedar offering, cool night air, lavender, soft owl feathers, blueberries, & a hint of dark chocolate

NAVA

• COUNT CHOCO, Ajevie Slink, $4: Count ChocoCocoa Absolute of Persia, India and the West Indies, Cocoa liquor, Wheat, Cocoa Powder, Vanilla Powder, Mallow and Chocolate Soy Milk.

NUI COBALT DESIGNS (all purchased new)

• DEEP HEALING, 1.15 ml, $3.5: Deep ocean water, bracing wind, cold clary sage, and fresh rain-drenched greens.
• DENDROPHILIA - THE LOVE OF TREES, 1.15 ml, $3.5: The love of Trees.Moss-covered deadfall, birchwood and pine, lingering resins and sunlight through the leaves, a trace of woodsmoke, the memory of vetiver and cedar.
• FROST GIANT , 1.15 ml, $3.5: Himalayan cedar, towering oak, nagarmotha, frozen sage, moss-covered stone, cucumber, and fog.
• GREY WOLF, 1.15 ml, $3.5: White sandalwood, black amber, icy sage, cashmere, stone musk, lichen, softly smoked birchwood, grey suede, mountain springwater, and white peppercorn.
• MERFOLK, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $3.75: The mineral scent of sand, salt, and shells upon the mist, ambergris accord, turquoise musk, warm orris, olive trees, and neroli.
• ORNITHOPHILIA - THE LOVE OF BIRDS, 1.15 ml, $3.5: A wistful effusion of angelica, kava kava, elderflower, linden, mugwort, saffron, acacia wood, purple heliotrope, and mugwort.

POSSETS (ALL PURCHASED NEW; unless marked as FS, all are samples from direct or decant from Ajevie that are $2.5 each)

• 4 SEASONS OF SUMMER: Bamboo, silk, Japanese incense, a hint of water, and fresh green shoots, and a small introduction of sandalwood in the mix to send a cooling breeze your way.
• ALASKA: the chill in the air, but also the perfume of the riot of summer blossoms as they race the sun every year.
• ARC OF VENUS, FS, Brand New Never Used, $16: Sexy sandalwood base, black lavender, calendula, “abstract” musk, sharp grey musk
• BERENICE: Champagne musk, pink grapefruit, a dash of lemon zest, a veil of dragons' blood
• BIRTH OF VENUS: jasmine, aquatic blend, light citrus blend
• BRIDAL CHORUS, FS, Brand New Never Used, $16: a lot of Hawthorne here, a very sugary musk, a kiss of a ""silky musk"" and it's all about silky skin
• FASCINATOR: sparkling, very high-key bright crystalline musk, emollient backup musk, sandalwood, cedar and rosewood.
• FLYING HORSE: Bamboo, grated ginger, green tea, luan wood, white floral note
• FROG PRINCESS: To an aquatic base, subtle hints of coconut and mint are added.
• HATSHEPSUT: Bitter beautiful galbanum pairs with the smoothness of labdanum, a bit of oude gum, and a very small amount of the best skin amber.
• HEATHCLIFFE AND CATHERINE EARNSHAW: Heather of the moors, lavender of English, a drop of wildness, oude
• HYLAS AND THE NYMPH: pooled water, lush vegetation, and sneaking scent of sex
• ISABELLA: rose are combined with a light resin, white tea leaf and a rare honey/milky/cream musk. A light dusting of familiar spices.
• LOLA MONTEZ: green of Irish grass accord, deeply green aquatic note, dark and thick labdenum, tonka infusion, animalic musk.
• LOTUS OF THE NILE: The lotus is the prime fragrance in the bouquet, but it is followed by bits of roseate beauty, a sort of dark incense which has been winnowed through the air, and faint aquatic background scent.
• SWAN: cool with a light kiss of olive leaf, a blend of three blue musks (from light to dark and a mid tone one), a bit of cork (!) extract, a small amount of osmanthus.
• TERRA NOCTURNA: violet, vetiver, leather, ozone, pepper, sugar, and a crystal musk
• THE WATER BURNS: The essence of earth and high greenery--a hint of smoke but smelled from far away, boxwood, galbanum, and a light hint of Mysore sandalwood.
• XUONG CUONG: A cold green leaf bats against a ghost wood, a lash of green chlorophyll and crystal musk, a bit of luan wood, and a soft ambient earth scent, finished off with sandalwood and yuzu, the latter adds an air of almost black walnut and nutwood-like nuance to the whole.

SIXTEEN92 (all purchased new unless marked as RIS)

• ALL IS BRIGHT Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials). $4: Quiet snowfall, brisk winter ozone, warm peppermint tea, tightly laced ice skates on a glistening frozen pond
• ALL IS BRIGHT, $5: Quiet snowfall, brisk winter ozone, warm peppermint tea, tightly laced ice skates on a glistening frozen pond
• ANDROCTONUS AUSTRALIS, $5: Rum, wild fig, dry papyrus, sweet tobacco, oud
• AQUILA, $5: Juniper, chilld white tea, mountain laurel, soft cotton, airy musks
• AQUILA, $5: Juniper, chilld white tea, mountain laurel, soft cotton, airy musks
• AQUILA, $5: Juniper, chilld white tea, mountain laurel, soft cotton, airy musks
• BEAUTIFUL. POPULAR. LOVED. FEARED. Ajevie 2020 Half Slink, $1.5: Moonflower, tiare, bitter almond, blond woods, heat lightning, asphalt
• BEFANA, $3.5 (decanted into a thicker vial that’s approximately 2/3 full but measured to be around 1/5 of a bottle): Black currant and dried fig, black pepper, forest berries, pressed flower petals, creamy amber, winter spices
• BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials). $4: Dusty magic shop shelves, dried sage leaf, crystal ball, darkened amber musks, a puff of smoke
• BOOK OF STARS, $3 (decanted into a thicker vial that’s approximately 1/4 full): The smell of space (meteor dust, ozone, metal, ethyl formate) blended with grounding white sandalwood, papyrus, & earthy musks.
• CHILLED CHAMPAGNE, $3.5 (decanted into a thicker vial that’s approximately 2/3 full but measured to be around 1/5 of a bottle)
• CHIROMANCY, $5: Orris, worn leather, ink, porcelain, black truffle
• FOOL FOR LOVE, $5: Leather jacket, chipped black nail polish, burning roses, bad poetry
• GRETA, $5: Frosted glass, chilly aldehydes, citrus blossom, elderflower, snow accord
• GRASS HARP, $3.5 (decanted into a thicker vial that’s approximately 2/3 full but measured to be around 1/5 of a bottle): Orange blossom, clover, hyacinth, ruby red grapefruit, sweet basil
• HELIOPHOBIA, decant in chonky vial, $3: Climbing ivy, faded magnolia blooms, moonlit vines, cracked solarium glass, splintered wood, peeling wallpaper, humid air, fog & shadow, feral musk
• I AM ATREYU!, $5: The hopes of all Fantasia: Luck dragon fur, glimmering gold and worn suede, sumac, fire, equine musk
• I AM ATREYU!, $5: The hopes of all Fantasia: Luck dragon fur, glimmering gold and worn suede, sumac, fire, equine musk
• LOUISE, Direct, $5: Sultry amber, red ink, black kohl, night blooms, Tonkin musk (synthetic), wormwood, soft suede, glistening strands of pearls
• LYCANTHROPE, Ajevie Slink, $3.5: Monkshood, warm fur, tuber, elm bark, artemisia, galbanum, weathered rock, silver moonlight
• LYRA, $5: Misty aldehydes, mandora blossom, spring hyacinth, forsythia, new leaves, melted snow
• MIDWINTER DUSK, $5: Chilled evergreen boughs and bunches of mistletoe, a blanket of evening frost, distant sleigh bells, the soft glow of gas lamps on snowy cobblestone streets
• MIDWINTER DUSK, $5: Chilled evergreen boughs and bunches of mistletoe, a blanket of evening frost, distant sleigh bells, the soft glow of gas lamps on snowy cobblestone streets
• SAVE FERRIS, Ajevie Slink, $3.5: "Funnel cakes & lemonade from Wrigley field, salted pretzels, bright blue skies, cool Lake Michigan breeze, Bueller… Bueller… "
• SINTERKLAAS, $3.5 (decanted into a thicker vial that’s approximately 2/3 full but measured to be around 1/5 of a bottle): Cake flour and sugared dough, royal icing, mulled wine, foil-wrapped candies, speculaas cookies, a cozy hearth
• SOLSTICE BONFIRE, $5: Dark rum, grey ash, black amber, firewood bales, pine needle, charcoal, cedar, & billowing smoke on crisp winter air
• TALIA, $5: Vanilla, moss, ivy, soft musk, stone
• THE NOTHING, $5: The emptiness that’s left: Black clouds, stormy winds, broken mirrors, deep water, rock dust, I will just sit here and let it take me away too
• TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT, $5: Swirls of tranquil incense, flickering farolitos, piñon and juniper wood, far-off carols drifting on desert wind
• TURTLE DOVES, Ajevie Slink, $3.5: Frasier fir, frozen sidewalks, snowy park benches, twinkling fairy lights and silver bells, a flurry of soft feathers, warm mittens, a wooden toy chest, delicate porcelain musk
• VILLAINS, $5: Candle soot, pine rosin, blood red pomegranate, howling forest winds, darkened crystals, sacred herbs
• VULPECULA, $5: Pools of rainwater, soaked pebbles, tomato leaf, decaying tree bark, wild brambles, dusty fur
• WAKING IN WINTER, half decant in a thicker vial, $3.5 (decanted into a thicker vial that’s approximately 2/3 full but measured to be around 1/5 of a bottle): fir needle, hemlock, soft snow, pale woods, delicate mint, frost-blanketed leaves, cold metal, distant hearthsmoke

SORCELLERIE all Sorcellerie are RIS (some cheaper than others to account for fill level differences)

• A PARTY OR SOMETHING, $1: Marigolds, yellow cake, white chocolate, pistachio buttercream, Iso E Super, Cashmeran

STEREOPLASM

• ENCHANTED DEW DROPS, 4.5 mL Roller, $9.5: (dew/jade/light smoke/stone moss) - A glowing vial containing healing dew from the misty peak of treacherous Mount Eumedes (will appear in rain during spring equinox if an acceptable offering of fire is made).
• FAIRY FROST, Doll Size, $3: Frosted fairy breath, clean baby skin, frozen bath bubbles and pink bubblegum[camphorous-fairy musk/skin musk/bubble bath/bubble gum]
• KING MOONRACER, Doll Size, $3: Oceanic musk, cool night air, sea salt, pu-erh tea and night-blooming jasmine.
• OGOPOGO, Doll Size, $3: Cool Rippling lake, water lily, seaweed and snake skin.
• PAPERBACK CAFE, 4.5 mL Roller, $9.5: Old books, Earl Grey latte, Japanese plum, ginger and Crème brûlée
• PICKEREL FROG (LITHOBATES PALUSTRIS), 4.5 mL Roller, $9.5: Night blooming jasmine, wet grass, algae, and tomato leaf.
• SNOWMALLOW, Doll Size, $3: Bright pineapple, tangelo and Mojito mint buried under heavy vanilla and heaps of coconut cream[vanilla/pineapple/tangelo/coconut cream/mint/lime/white rum]
• TOTALLY IN LOVE 4.5 mL Roller, $9.5: Soft purple and glowing from within; raspberry cotton candy with a delicate bouquet of jasmine, rose and heliotrope while shadows dance at sunset.