Based on commentary from the creator, it's clear that Bojack didn't die in the finale. In the words of Bob-Waksberg, "I don't think BoJack dying at the end was ever seriously discussed at any point, making the show. I don't think... That wasn't something I was interested in. We kind of knew the ending as we were going a little bit in this last season specifically."
That being said, it's still possible that he made the whole thing up in his head. Here are a few talking points from my previous post, that still stand:

1. In Episode 16, everyone seems to be doing just fine. If that's not proof on its own, Bojack seems to make amends with all those he's wronged, and they all forgive him, despite all he's done. Also, after every conversation it cuts to black, something that has never happened.
2. At the beginning of the episode, there's a flatline, matched by one at the end of the episode, which both then start spiking again.
3. His dance with PC is very telling: Bojack essentially tells her that he wished there would be some kind of problem he could fix. He wishes that he was needed in the lives of those around him, but then realizes everyone is just fine without him.
4. For all those who say Bojack had information he couldn't have known in TVFHD, he could've learned about Judah and Carolyn, or just assumed correctly after seeing them together.

Now, this alone is decent evidence. But Bob-Waksberg says specifically that Bojack didn't DIE at the end. We know this isn't the kind of show that just puts out random easter eggs for no reason, and that every detail has a purpose. What did the heartbeat at the beginning and end mean? Why did it stop and start twice? Potentially, it's because Bojack was fighting for his life.
In that same interview, he said this: "I want to be very careful when I talk about the ending, because I feel like what I like about it is that it's open to interpretation, and I worry that if I share too much about my interpretation, that will be read as the correct interpretation. I don't want to shed new light on the end of BoJack, because I want people to have their own interpretations. Those kinds of examinations really frustrate me."
Also, Raphael talks about how he doesn't want the last we see of Bojack to be him alone. In the same paragraph, he also says that the show is ultimately about Bojack and his experience. Bojack's greatest fear is being completely alone, so it makes sense that his brain would try to rationalize its perceived incoming death.
Now, I'm not trying to cherry-pick quotes, and I'm sorry I wrote a book. But I do think I might be on to something. I do have more talking points, but I can share them in the comments.

Results of previous poll: say nothing
Story: The school bell rang. You went through the halls to your locker. Being a fire hydrant isn't so bad. You get to shoot water at people you don't like. The school bully Mark came up to you with a half eaten sandwich. He tossed it at you and started laughing. His laughing ceased immediately when you threw the sandwich back after getting it wet and soggy. Enraged, Mark threw a punch at you, forgetting that you were a literal fire hydrant. He clutched his fist in pain and ran off. Many people were giggling, but you focus on one person. You make eye contact with Mr. Ham, the teacher who let's almost everything slide. He nods and gives you a thumbs up. People are patting you on the back, sharing it on social media. It's time for 1st of 5 classes. Math. When you walk in, your teacher, Mr. Ham, starts smirking at you.
Chapter 2: "let's give it up to Hydrant for retaliating against Mark!" Mr. Ham shouted. A few people clapped, others stayed silent. After class, you decide to go to a vending machine. The drink vending machine. You needed to refuel somehow. You tor a bottle of water and emptied it. You then filled the bottle with boiled water which was in a faucet in the cafeteria. It's almost time for class 2. Your least favorite class, Language arts. As you walk in, your teacher Mr. Kang walks up to you and shows you your essay. You got a 30/95. Mr. Kang ordered that you explain it. You apologize and say you'll do better next time. Mr. Kang orders you to sit down. The class dragged by, but there was only three weeks left of school.
Chapter 3: In the halls, a girl comes up to you and asks you out on a date. She's pretty. She asks you where you want to go. You asked if she wanted to go to the mall. She gleefully accepted. After achool you walked to her house and knocked on the door. Her dad came outside. He told you to come in. It was awkward when you sat down, so you thought of a conversation starter. You think of three ideas. You decide to talk about your date, Jenny. You tell her dad how kind she is, and her somewhat high popularity in school. Her dad just nods and dismisses you when Jenny comes down. The two of you go outside and you want to think of something to say. You tell her that she's beautiful and she smiles, thanking you. You both chat but when the two of you are about to reach the mall, three men come up to you with knives. They order you to give you their money, but don't notice Jenny. You sprayed the with the boiled water you drank earlier that day. You think about turning back and acting all heroic.
Chapter 4: You turn back, all heroic, and then realize: "bad idea if I wasn't a fire hydrant". One of the robbers swing a metal bar at you. Once it hits you, it completely bends. Suddenly, a cop tackles the criminals and artests them. Jenny called the cops quietly. What do you mean when you chose "say nothing"
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(Warning, super long post incoming)
Ok, humour me, this is a rant I'm releasing on the story of FGO, now that I've finally managed to finish all the story up until LB 5.2(I haven't done Heiyan-kyo yet, gonna do that one later, after LB6).
So uh yeah, I managed to complete it all, all up until Olympus, and here are my thoughts on everything.(My thoughts on Arc 2 are especially controversial I think).
Definitely nice, it improved quite a lot, went from just a boring plot thread meant to get us from fight to fight, to an honestly unteresting story, with great character writing and genuine themes.
In terms of Arc 1, I'd obviously say the last three singularities were the best, and of them I honestly preferred Babylonia the most, followed by Camelot, followed by Temple of Time.
I think Arc 1 had some nice stuff in it, it was a cool introduction, and the first four singularities were a frankly great way to lower my standards right before hitting me with some genuinely good content in the form of Camelot and Babylonia.
For me, Babylonia was the best singularity as it was honestly the best combination of both story and presentation. It had both story chapters, awesome music, great presentation, the inclusion of field effects, and just some really fun gameplay. That's nothing to say of the story itself either of course, which really hyped me up, made me appreciate Gilgamesh, made me laugh, and also genuinely made me gape in awe at a few scenes, so yeah, it was certainly one of the best ones.
Now, Arc 1.5 was also pretty special, my personal favourite singularity here was Shimousa with Shinjiku at a close second. I mean, I really like them both, and both had some really cool stuff in them, but Shimousa still took the cake because of some stuff-
For one, Shimousa had a really kickass soundtrack, it introduced Blood Wind, Unalloyed Blade Works etc. It also had a really cool asthetic, and an awesome concept too, it had a surprising amount of cinematography in it's finale, and let's not forget some incredible scenes like the Tsumukari Muramasa and A DUEL BETWEEN MIYAMOTO MUSASHI AND SASAKI KOJIRO(seriously, unbelievably hype.)
And finally, when we get to Arc 2, the lostbelt continuum, I get a lot of my hot takes ready, and detailed explanations to go with them.
For one, I gotta preface by saying that I was kinda dissapointed by Olympus, like, it had great presentation, but story wise, it was actually super dry right up until the finale. Like it was basically just us slowly fighting all the gods, and while the fights were really hard(F*ck you Demeter), it was honestly kinda dissapointing how little good story content there was right up until the finale. And don't get me wrong, that final stretch is great, it's really awesome and had tons of really cool moments, but in the end, one good final section just isn't enough to completely make up for a kinda boring start and mid way point. Also that final showdown with Zeus was... really bad, like god awful.
Firstly Zeus's design was not intimidating, the music was underwhelming, and his voice was ridiculous, like really though, I spent all that time thinking that Zeus had a heavy and intimidating voice, his actual voice was just dumb, like it genuinly really threw me for a loop, but uh, I digress.
With all that said, my two favourite lostbelts were 100% Yugakurukshetra and Atlantis, LB 4 and 5.
But uh, I was surprised to find LB 4 to be... well really underrated, like huh, I LOVED LB 4, I genuinly thought it found a fantastic balance between presentation and story, with both it's presentation and story being amazing, and I'ma be honest, NOTHING, has hyped me up more than that final fight between Karna and Arjuna. And Nothing has topped the sheer gameplay satisfacton I got after soloing Godjuna with Super Karna.
But also, uh, I really don't see a lot of LB 4 love online, most people just kinda ignore it, and most of the time, people prefer everything over it, even Olympus, and some really average stuff. Like, it genuinly surprised me.
The best guess I can give as to why LB 4 is so under-appreciated as compared to everything else, is just because no one really knows much about the Mahabharata I guess, I mean, I can understand that, since the Mahabharata is really friggin long, and also an entirely Hindu religious text, so I can see why people wouldn't quite understand the significance of KARNA AND ARJUNA HAVING A REMATCH(and here I thought that Musashi v/s Kojiro would be difficult to top in hype).
Also, uh, maybe the LB is difficult to understand and appreciate if you don't have experience with the Mahabharata? It never felt that way to me, but I already know plenty about the Mahabharata, so I don't exactly think I can be a fair judge of that metric.
But all that aside, LB 4 was fantastic, it had incredibly hype moments sure, but it also had good writing, Arjuna's breakdown makes a lot of sense, and our entire conflict with him had some really good themes and questions about what it means to be a god, what makes a god, and divinity in general.
Furthur in the good writing department, Lakshmi Bai was a really cool representation of survivors guilt, and was just in general a really cool character, especially considering that she was a real person and a real freedom fighter.
And of course, poor Ganesha/Jinako who had to put up with the most pain and bullcrap out of everyone, and really put up with some genuine torture for everyone's sake.
I also found the whole gifted divinities thing to be a really interesting concept, alongside all the ensuing chaos with the time travel stuff to be suitably awesome, and what really can be said about that epic finale, other than that it gave goosebumps in a way nothing from FGO ever has.(Seriously, I'm really curious to see if FGO can pull out a fight that tops the sheer magnitude of a rematch between Karna and Arjuna).
Of course, that only leaves me with Atlantis to discuss, which yeah, was really nice, I really found Atlantis to have one of the most distinct atmospheres in FGO, like, it FELT different, it seemed a lot more chill somehow, a lot more focused on characters and comedy, but also some really touching and heartwarming stuff.
Now, I have my personal gripes with the story here as well, for one, a lot of it just felt like running around island to island, collecting power-ups and equipment, the 'story' in this case was very barebones, but that was made up for by the fact that Atlantis really seems to put a huge focus on it's characters, seriously, everyone fits really well.
All the characters in this one are awesome, and I really mean it, Achilles proves why he is one of the greatest heros of all time by holding off an entire army AND Chiron, despite being shot in the heel and losing both his Armor and Shield, still does spectacularly. Orion really pulled of something really sweet and honsestly heartwarming with his final game plan, meanwhile Jason was the true MVP of this lostbelt.
Seriously though, Jason was fantastic, this lostbelt did something I couldn't have expected ever, it made me genuinely like Jason. Like legit though, Jason is goddamn hilarious, he is so crazily aware of, and traumatized by his source material that I often found myself laughing at some of his comments, pieces of advice, and confessions of trauma.
Personally i didn't actually care much about Charolette, and the romance between her and our MC, I just wasn't that invested, it didn't exactly have a fantastic build up, a cool end ig, but I just didn't care too much, it was decent, just average.
I personally think it would have been much better if it focused slightly more on Orion and Artemis's romance, but hey, the LB was still pretty good.
And that about concludes my thoughts. I have a lot more on my mind of course, and a lot more I can talk about, but for now I think I'll just leave it that.
My personal favourite stories were Camelot, Babylonia, Yugakshetra and Atlantis, tho I'm having some difficulty comparing them.
Definitely found Yugakshetra to be the most underrated, wish it got a bit more love, I personally really liked it, but that's about it, I'm planning on putting this post in the grandorder subreddit as well.
So, finally, any thoughts on my thoughts?
EDIT: (This post got removed... I think because I didn't spoiler tag it? So I'm just gonna try and repost it with the proper tags, please tell me if there's any other reason it got removed).

The soldiers lined on Ardenholms beaches. Their bright, jewel encrusted armor flashed brightly in the glaring summers sun. The warriors were eager to get on with their game of conquering and subjugating. They were Ardenholmites, Humilauians, and Pommedorans, as well as Tuberite religious warriors hailing from Solanum. They were gathered in Ardenholm to prepare for an imminent invasion from Veritas and their leader, BB.
Ardenholm, Humilau and especially Pommedora were in open rebellion from BB. They thought of him as a tyrannical leader, levying heavy taxes and other unreasonable demands. They finally decided to declare themselves separate from BB, but the turmoil quickly devolved into a fight for control of the entire island chain.
Pommedora was a Tuberist nation, so they called upon their Solanarian brothers to help the fight. The Tuberists, thinking it would be an easy battle, happily joined in.
As the Tuberites made the short voyage to Pommedora, tensions arose. There was an attempt to reestablish diplomatic relations which quickly broke down, resulting in a raid from Veritas on Pommedora, their closest neighbor.
The Tuberites arrived far too late to join the fray, but fortunately the raid was mostly scared off before any real fighting could occur, and the casualties were 6 in Pommedora, after a single arrow barrage and 8 Veritasian raiders who brought their boat too close to the walls and were sunk by a well placed explosive firework.
Thus began an alarmingly fast arms race. Both sides were on islands, so a full force invasion was not viable…yet. Seemingly overnight the once windswept and backwater islands in rebellion turned to industry. The once salty and warm air choked with the smoke from the flames of fires roaring in their mighty hearths. Peaceful and sunny harbors because overrun with heavy bots of war.
Veritas kept pace with the industrial might and the islands were equal in strength. Both bought mercenaries to fight, but Veritas gained a significant upper hand by taking a hefty loan from bankers overseas and buying much better metals than could ever be reaped from the earth on the barren island chain.
Finally the mines were depleted of what little resources they could muster. Though bright earthen metals were occasionally still warm from being melted and pounded into their molds.
With no more brawn games to play, both sides made a quick shift to mind games. Spies. Spies everywhere. In the streets. In the factories. In the harbors. Everywhere. Private conversations became public knowledge overnight. The town square of Ardenholm ran red with the blood of those suspected of treason.
Next came the starvation. The already small fields had been neglected because the farmers had been made to become factory workers. This time, the rebellion got the upper hand, with the Tuberists providing food from their vast fields back in Solanaria. Veritas attempted a naval blockade to stop the shipment of food from arriving. The Tuberists didn’t slow down. The naval commander ordered them to hold. The Tuberists, already very near to the maximum pace, almost appeared to speed up. Finally they stopped just outside of cannon range. They waited in a locked stalemate for 3 days until the Veritasians ran out of water and were forced to return to port. Thus, they spent the winter on meager rations and had to sell some of their newly bought steel to pay for food.
Finally, after a long and cold winter of light eating and intense stare-offs, the spring blossomed in the remaining fields.
The Veritasians had survived the winter by the skin of their teeth and knew that they could not survive another winter. This years winter had been astoundingly warm (by West Phagosian standards). In fact, this was the warmest winter ever recorded.
Over on Pommedora, which at this point had been established as the capital, the situation was almost as grim. The Tuberists, who were creeping up on a years time spent on an island were becoming increasingly obstinate and downright treasonous. They longed to go back to their homeland, and run on green fields, with gently rolling hills bordered by lush, fertile marshes, encased by the great mountains far to the west, just where the eye could see them. They downright despised the cramped island.
Tensions were starting to boil over on all sides of the war, until finally the spy game did its job. The Pommedorans received definitive proof that the Veritasians would be sailing for a “surprise” attack on Ardenholm in one months time. This was the break they needed and with this knowledge they could easily win the war.
Under the cover of darkness they began to very slowly and methodically ship soldier to Ardenholm. They arrived on mail boats and pleasure crafts, in wine barrels and tiny crude rafts. Simultaneously, these same craft evacuated the women and children, bringing them safely to Pommedora.
Then, the day before the battle, an idea was had. It was decided that instead of defending the city they should go on the offensive while the opposing military was away. The idea was they would go quickly to Veritas and slay BB, and then swiftly bring his head back over to Ardenholm where his army, seeing that they had nothing to fight for, would surrender.
There were problems with this plan, though. The entire army was already on Ardenholm, and Pommedora was still the closest island to Veritas, so it would make no sense to keep an army anywhere but there. Also, the ships would probably sail right by each other on their way to conquer their respective islands.
“None the matter with these details” said the commanders, “This plan is too good to pass up.”
And thus we pick up where we started, with the solders, armed to the teeth, sitting in the early morning sun, waiting for their boats to take them to Veritas.
They boarded and set off. 1/10 of the army was left behind to There was nothing but excitement as they lost sight of the shore. The soldiers were tremendously confident in their plan.
The boats sailed for 38 minutes without interruption.
Suddenly, a lookout sounded their horn. The soldiers instantaneously switched from their excited and eager chatter to silence as they looked on the horizon, expecting to see a fleet of opposing ships.
Instead they saw a tiny island. Barely even an island. More like a sad sandbar. The entire island was completely covered in Veritasian troops. They were all standing on the island, their bodies facing the fleet. They were all watching the fleet sail by.
All wielded a dull blue trident, the color of cold and drear ocean
Then one, the commander most likely, stepped forth and walked slowly to the edge of the shore, about 10 feet. He stopped at the edge and dipped the pronged fork of his trident into the water
Not a single eye strayed from his trident as it leapt to life. It’s dull and sad color replaced by an electric blue. The blue started from where the water touched the prongs and snaked down the trident at a decently fast pace.
Then he did the most unexpected thing of all, and fell face first into the water. All eyes remained on where he fell. The seconds ticked by. 15. 30. 60. 90. Was he dead? 120. Then at 133 exactly he sprang from the water. His right hand clamped so tightly around his trident his knuckles were bleached like dead coral. He sailed 50 meters in the air, well above the masts of the boats, and about 150 meters towards the boats.
Then his army all seemingly sprang to life and walked swiftly to the waters edge. It was a trap! They didn’t pause for dramatic effect like he did, diving headfirst into the water and sailing through the air with almost no delay.
The archers attempted to ready their bows but the boats were already packed tight with men, horses, cannons, and all sorts of equipment of war.
The tridenteers sprang forth and plunged into the ocean like rain. A hundred a twenty, they numbered. They rapidly began closing the distance. The archers pulled back their bows and waited for them to get into firing range. They quickly closed in. Finally, they were in shooting distance and they fired. None of the shots struck. In fact, none even came close. The soldiers were simply too small to hit accurately, especially from a rocking boat.
The tridenteers then passed overhead, and did the most unexpected thing of all. A few reached into their pouches and pulled out a single gray stick about the size of a baton. They then dropped them.
All of the tridenteers possessed 8 of these sticks, so most waited until they had clear shots to drop. A few thought they did right then, and threw their sticks towards the ships.
All except one missed. It was tremendously hard to fire accurately while trying to dodge projectiles.
The one that didn’t miss sailed down, down, down until it landed barely on the port side of a medium sized Humilauian cruiser. The wood of the boat was no match for the explosion that rang out. The front port side was torn. The water spout produced from the explosion went 15 meters into the air.
The ship sank in 2 minutes.
Immediately it’s neighboring boats turned sharply to rescue the screaming survivors. The tridenteers passed about a kilometer away from the boats before veering to the left and turning to made another pass.
The ships were thoroughly spooked, and most moved to do evasive maneuvers.
Suddenly, three powerful horn blasts rang out. This was the sign to press forth. The ships readjusted course to fan out, but 9 blasts rang out, the sign to stick together.
A second pass was made with 2 ships sunk. Another pass was made, but no ships were sunk. Than another with no ships. Another with 1. Another with 1. Another with none. This continued until 87 passes were made. There were 137 boats in total at the beginning, 7 large, 38 medium and 94 small. 93 remained. There were 4 large boats remaining (the 3 that were sunk had been sunk at the very beginning), 15 medium boats, and 75 small boats. Almost all of the surviving medium and large boats had tied themselves together with rope and formed a sort of floating pontoon. This greatly increased the sailing time, and a journey of 3 hours took 6.
Not all of the ships that were lost had sunk. Of the 19 small boats that were not present in the final fleet, only 2 had actually been sunk.
There had been a sort of mutiny aboard some of the smaller boats after the 8th pass. 2 of the 7 large boats had been hit and were sinking and the situation was looking very dire. In the rear, 9 of the small boats and 8 of the medium boats (the medium boats were the very end of the fleet) all mutinied against their captains, with three being stabbed to death and one being cast into the sea and turned around back to Ardenholm. Watching them sail away nearly caused the entire fleet to break apart but they were guided by a common foe.
A few of the boats lagged behind. 4 medium boats couldn’t keep pace due to being non-fatally struck and turned around. The tridenteers were given orders to at least damage the ships heavily enough to force them to turn around, so they allowed those ships to flee.
3 small ships, in an interesting turn of fate, were nearest to the islands when the bombing started. They were the ones who had sounded the alarm. The tridenteers had passed over them entirely without dropping a single bomb. They were still horrified watching the preliminary carnage before the ships could form up, and decided to run themselves aground on the tiny island the Veritasians had started out in.
They hid under the 6 palm trees for 8 days, not knowing anything about the status of any of the nations. They survived by eating the horses they had brought and drinking the wine they had brought which they were going to celebrate with once the island of Veritas was conquered.
Finally, after 6 hours, the boats sighted Veritas. The midday sun was high in the air and the archers could not see the trident wielders through the sun, accelerating their losses.
Veritas looked abandoned. The alarm has been raised but very few troops were on the walls, looking very frightened.
The soldiers let out a halfhearted cheer upon laying eyes on the island. The Veritasian tridents veered right after the fleet made their way into the smooth natural harbor.
The tridenteers had only lost 11. 7 from lucky bow shots, 3 from the binding from their wrists to their tridents slipping off, and 1 stupid soldier who tried to land on a small boat and was instantly slain.
The boats neared the docks of Veritas. The harbor wasn’t much of a harbor at all, only having a narrow wave-breaking sandspit that only extended past a third of the docks.
The boats made passes towards the docks, with some soldiers being so desperate to get off of them they leaped from the boats and swam to shore.
The boats all started to unload as normal, with horses being placed on the shore and equipment to breach the great gate of Veritas being unloaded
Suddenly the great gate of Veritas, which was expected to be a large obstacle swung open and half of Veritas’s army (still a formidable number mind you) roared forth, banging their shields, and sprinted at the unprepared rebels.
This was not expected at all, and no precautions for this had been taken. The rebels on the beach all turned to run back to the boats when, alas! The tridenteers reappeared from out of nowhere behind the boats. They hurtled towards the crafts, flying much more recklessly now, and dropped their bombs. The boats were not moving or fighting back this time and 8 were struck.
In the same run, 47 of the tridenteers dropped their explosives on top of the docks, blowing all except two up. Those two would be decommissioned in the next run.
This mostly stranded the peoples on the shore, whose only option now was the rowboats from the large ships. Some ran towards those but right then the charging army from the gates slammed into those on the shore.
18 rowboats were cast off, from the beach and the rest were not able to and were scuttled. The battle for the beach was a terrible situation for the rebels with them being completely pinned against the sea.
The battle lasted 15 minutes. There was no command from any officers due to most still being present on the boats. No definitive line was formed up and many men swam out to sea to try to wait out the slaughter. Most men threw their weapons on the ground and begged for mercy.
1/6 of the seaborn army was slain and 1/6 of the army surrendered on the beach, totaling 1/3 of invasion, or exactly 642 men.
The boats tried to leave the harbor but all tried to leave at once and a few collisions occurred. The boats that made it out were harassed by the tridenteers the entire time. A few tridenteers were observed landing on the decks of boats and stabbing sailors as they tried to get the boats under control before running away
To top it off, the winds were blowing in an awful direction and most of the boats were blown far to the right. They nearly crashed into an unwalled peninsula. The horn of orders was silent because the ship they were on had taken a direct hit and was rapidly sinking. The commander of the entire operation, on that ship, had died instantly in the blast. The entire senior commanding force had migrated to that boat during the trident harassment because it was centrally located and the safest option. None of the senior officers survived, as the bomb quite literally split the ship in two, and as they were gathered midship below the upper decks they had either been torn up from wood splinters or went down with the ship and were drowned.
Due to the lack of orders, all ships had their own idea of what to do. Most of them thought that the wind was far too unfavorable to set into open water so decided to land on the peninsula. About 1/3 decided to try the winds and sailed in various directions to various islands. This time, the tridenteers could harass them all they wanted and most would not get far. One tridenteer was assigned per boat, which ended up being a large blunder on Veritas's part because most were out of ammunition and could not do any damage.
Those who landed on the peninsula were met with an immediate problem. Unloading. Most of the men jumped overboard to swim to shore and some ships went completely unmanned before being either sunk or captured by the opposing force. Some men who didn't take of their armor were weighed down by it and drowned. The same happened for the archers, who's quivers filled completely with water instead of arrows, and if they were unable to get the quiver off they drowned.
There was one final factor that was at play. The peninsula itself. It was very long and narrow. So narrow that a tridenteer could safely jump all the way over it without being dashed apart on the rocks.
A single tridenteer sprang fourth. Their bright blue trident electric against the sky, which was growing progressively cloudier. They reached into their pocket and pulled out one of the sticks. They lazily let it go before safely landing in the water on the other side.
They didn’t even have to aim. It exploded on the top right corner of the peninsula and some were caught in the blast.
The other tridenteers followed suit. There were only 26 archers still armed as almost all of them had either abandoned their gear or were weighed down by it trying to swim over.
The entire peninsula was scourged. The walls extended to the beach on either side, and the coast became far too treacherous and rocky to swim around.
40% of the entire army was slain on the peninsula. A further 20% (of the men on the peninsula) surrendered and only 19 men escaped. 9 on a rowboat that was let go because of its irrelevance and 10 somehow survived the swim around the walls and ran up the island before stealing a sailboat and escaping.
Those that turned around and fled immediately suffered casualties, but not to the scale of this. About 5% of the army died on the sail back from getting picked off. Most of the tridenteers ran out of ammunition.
A grand total of 67% of the army perished in this advancement. A further 14% surrendered and of those, 1% died in prison from disease or starvation. 1,531 men in total lost their lives.
As for the boats, of the ones that made it to Veritas, none of the large ships survived, 4 of the medium ships made it back (2 were captured, 9 sank) and 29 of the small ships made it back (38 sunk, 8 captured). Of the 18 rowboats that were on the beach during the initial beach attack, 15 landed on the peninsula, with the other three rowing all the way to Pommedora.
Those that escaped ended up on all manner of islands in the surrounding area. One boat drifted with only one man on board for 8 days. He too survived off of horseflesh but also was lucky enough to get rainwater.
The other half of Veritas’s army had taken a longer route to Ardenholm. Ardenholm somehow managed to pull off an astonishing victory, despite being outnumbered 5-1. They were helped by the crew that had mutinied initially. They made use of their thick walls and used a turtle strategy to wait for help, until after 24 hours when they realized that something had gone seriously wrong they then went on a sudden offensive catching the Veritasian army completely by surprise because they had grown used to not being shot at.
The Ardenholm fighters used bows and a ridiculously large pile of arrows to shoot at the invaders non-stop until they finally gave up and went home. They were significantly hampered by not having the other half of their army. Both sides suffered relatively minor casualties, with Ardenholm losing 19 men and Veritas losing exactly 100.
Veritas lost 58 of their 120 tridenters, with the vast majority being lost by flying too close to the boats and being shot with arrows. Interestingly, 82% of those that landed on boats to stab individual sailors would perish. Their army suffered a loss total of 329.
This defeat left the rebels in shock. Their entire standing army had been effectively wiped out. They would start having to recruit younger men and paying more for mercenaries.
The Tuberists had taken the highest casualty rate, with an unimaginable 80% casualty rate and 16% captured. Only 4%, or just 16 men on one small boat, which they never left, managed to make it back. When the elder potatoes learned about this, they were understandably shocked and devastated and justifiably withdrew all future support to the rebellion. They claimed that the Tuberites had been used as cannon fodder and that that was an stupidly high casualty rate for a defensive mission. They had lost every single one of their ranking officers they had sent on that mission and demanded insanely high rates of compensation. It wasn’t until the battle was thoroughly explained and they were promised that all the islands would convert to Tuberism that they agreed to help once more.
The defeat didn't spell doom for the rebels, but would certainly go on to hamper their future efforts.
And that is the story of one of the worst strategical blunders in Stoneworks history.
This story is based around the truth. Ardenholm was indeed attacked by Veritas and BB after rebelling with Pommedora and Humilau. The Tuberists did indeed help out for religious reasons. There was indeed a failed charge counterattack which was poorly planned and the casualty numbers are accurate if you combine the dead and captured and just consider them all dead. The Veritasians did indeed use tridents to pick most of us off, and I myself died. This would have easily cost us the battle as we lost 80% of our total gear and didn’t really have enough time to make a proper repot. We used the good old 0-armor-stone-axe-rush strategy and only won because they placed capture points underwater which is illegal. So yeah the next battle is in a week (I think) and we have a LOT of grinding to do haha.
Also Stoney hmu if you ever want any scriptwriting help. I love to do this.
If you read this far um gg I guess
- lnedible

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Everything in my inventory is up for trade. The most valuable items are listed here, the rest you can find in My Inventory

Feel free to Add Me or even better send a Trade Offer. Open for any suggestions: upgrades, downgrades / knives, gloves, skins / stickers, patterns, floats.

All Buyouts are listed in cash value.

KNIVES

★ Butterfly Knife Freehand FN #1, B/O: $2500

★ Butterfly Knife Ultraviolet FT, B/O: $822

★ Butterfly Knife Scorched FT, B/O: $616

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★ Bayonet Tiger Tooth MW #1, B/O: $1300

★ Bayonet Autotronic FN, B/O: $1050

★ Bayonet Tiger Tooth MW, B/O: $629

★ Bayonet Bright Water FT, B/O: $326

★ Bayonet Safari Mesh BS, B/O: $233

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★ Karambit Lore FT, B/O: $1110

★ Karambit Damascus Steel FT, B/O: $840

★ Karambit Freehand MW, B/O: $784

★ Karambit Bright Water MW, B/O: $759

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★ M9 Bayonet Fade FN, B/O: $1801

★ M9 Bayonet Fade FN, B/O: $1801

★ M9 Bayonet Damascus Steel FN, B/O: $751

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★ Nomad Knife Fade FN, B/O: $1156

★ Nomad Knife Slaughter MW, B/O: $544

★ Nomad Knife Blue Steel WW, B/O: $318

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★ Flip Knife Marble Fade FN, B/O: $646

★ Flip Knife Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $574

★ Flip Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 1) MW, B/O: $552

★ Flip Knife Case Hardened FT, B/O: $257

★ Flip Knife Freehand FT, B/O: $255

★ StatTrak™ Flip Knife Bright Water FN, B/O: $287

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★ Huntsman Knife Lore FN, B/O: $461

★ Huntsman Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $436

★ Huntsman Knife Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $353

★ Huntsman Knife Autotronic FT, B/O: $212

★ Huntsman Knife Bright Water FT, B/O: $129

★ Huntsman Knife Forest DDPAT MW, B/O: $129

★ Huntsman Knife Forest DDPAT BS, B/O: $123

★ StatTrak™ Huntsman Knife Rust Coat BS, B/O: $127

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★ Bowie Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 2) FN, B/O: $375

★ Bowie Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 1) FN, B/O: $363

★ Bowie Knife Tiger Tooth FN, B/O: $269

★ Bowie Knife Crimson Web WW, B/O: $192

★ Bowie Knife Bright Water FN, B/O: $159

★ Bowie Knife Ultraviolet FT, B/O: $126

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★ Stiletto Knife Slaughter FN, B/O: $616

★ Stiletto Knife Crimson Web FT, B/O: $412

★ StatTrak™ Stiletto Knife Night Stripe FT, B/O: $227

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★ Falchion Knife Lore FT, B/O: $214

★ Falchion Knife Autotronic FT, B/O: $192

★ Falchion Knife Scorched WW, B/O: $105

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★ Survival Knife Crimson Web BS, B/O: $216

★ Survival Knife Case Hardened FT, B/O: $198

★ Survival Knife Scorched FT, B/O: $111

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★ Shadow Daggers Fade FN, B/O: $368

★ Shadow Daggers Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $228

★ Shadow Daggers, B/O: $201

★ Shadow Daggers Damascus Steel FT, B/O: $108

★ Shadow Daggers Ultraviolet FT, B/O: $105

★ Shadow Daggers Black Laminate FT, B/O: $99

★ Shadow Daggers Forest DDPAT FT, B/O: $85

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★ Gut Knife Doppler (Sapphire) MW #1, B/O: $1700

★ Gut Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 1) FN, B/O: $223

★ Gut Knife Marble Fade FN, B/O: $203

★ Gut Knife Doppler (Phase 2) FN, B/O: $191

★ Gut Knife Case Hardened BS, B/O: $127

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★ Navaja Knife Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $199

★ Navaja Knife Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $199

★ Navaja Knife, B/O: $138

★ Navaja Knife Damascus Steel FN, B/O: $111

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★ Classic Knife Urban Masked FT, B/O: $146

★ StatTrak™ Classic Knife Stained BS, B/O: $168

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★ Ursus Knife Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $476

★ Ursus Knife, B/O: $375

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★ Skeleton Knife, B/O: $1137

★ Talon Knife, B/O: $608

★ Paracord Knife, B/O: $305

★ Survival Knife Forest DDPAT FT, B/O: $97

GLOVES

★ Moto Gloves Transport MW, B/O: $204

★ Moto Gloves Polygon BS, B/O: $142

★ Moto Gloves Blood Pressure BS, B/O: $84

★ Moto Gloves Blood Pressure BS, B/O: $84

★ Moto Gloves 3rd Commando Company BS, B/O: $63

★ Moto Gloves 3rd Commando Company BS, B/O: $63

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★ Specialist Gloves Crimson Kimono WW, B/O: $1215

★ Specialist Gloves Tiger Strike FT, B/O: $672

★ Specialist Gloves Lt. Commander FT, B/O: $305

★ Specialist Gloves Lt. Commander BS, B/O: $140

★ Specialist Gloves Crimson Web BS, B/O: $137

★ Specialist Gloves Buckshot FT, B/O: $75

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★ Driver Gloves Crimson Weave FT, B/O: $359

★ Driver Gloves Imperial Plaid BS, B/O: $229

★ Driver Gloves Overtake BS, B/O: $77

★ Driver Gloves Racing Green FT, B/O: $48

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★ Sport Gloves Omega FT, B/O: $739

★ Sport Gloves Amphibious BS #2, B/O: $733

★ Sport Gloves Arid BS, B/O: $292

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★ Hand Wraps Giraffe MW, B/O: $212

★ Hand Wraps Leather FT, B/O: $160

★ Hand Wraps Desert Shamagh MW, B/O: $101

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★ Broken Fang Gloves Yellow-banded MW, B/O: $185

★ Broken Fang Gloves Needle Point FT, B/O: $67

★ Broken Fang Gloves Needle Point WW, B/O: $59

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★ Hydra Gloves Case Hardened BS, B/O: $65

★ Hydra Gloves Emerald FT, B/O: $65

★ Hydra Gloves Emerald BS, B/O: $62

WEAPONS

AK-47 Case Hardened BS, B/O: $130

AK-47 Bloodsport MW, B/O: $79

AK-47 Fuel Injector BS, B/O: $76

AK-47 Fuel Injector BS, B/O: $76

AK-47 Bloodsport FT, B/O: $70

AK-47 Neon Rider MW, B/O: $60

StatTrak™ AK-47 Aquamarine Revenge FT, B/O: $72

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AWP Fade FN, B/O: $1039

AWP Asiimov FT, B/O: $139

AWP Asiimov FT, B/O: $139

AWP Wildfire MW, B/O: $95

AWP BOOM MW, B/O: $93

AWP BOOM MW, B/O: $93

AWP Duality FN, B/O: $81

AWP Asiimov BS, B/O: $79

AWP Asiimov BS, B/O: $79

AWP Chromatic Aberration FN, B/O: $60

StatTrak™ AWP Hyper Beast FT, B/O: $68

StatTrak™ AWP Hyper Beast FT, B/O: $68

StatTrak™ AWP Electric Hive FT, B/O: $55

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Desert Eagle Blaze FN, B/O: $623

Desert Eagle Emerald Jörmungandr FN, B/O: $241

Desert Eagle Cobalt Disruption FN, B/O: $81

Desert Eagle Cobalt Disruption FN, B/O: $81

Desert Eagle Cobalt Disruption FN, B/O: $81

Desert Eagle Printstream FT, B/O: $54

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M4A1-S Blue Phosphor FN, B/O: $434

StatTrak™ M4A1-S Bright Water MW, B/O: $55

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M4A4 Poseidon FN, B/O: $1465

M4A4 Asiimov BS, B/O: $55

M4A4 Hellfire MW, B/O: $50

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USP-S Kill Confirmed MW, B/O: $72

USP-S Printstream FT, B/O: $69

StatTrak™ USP-S Kill Confirmed FT, B/O: $139

⎯

AUG Flame Jörmungandr FN, B/O: $234

P90 Run and Hide FT, B/O: $147

Five-SeveN Candy Apple FN, B/O: $61

Trade Offer Link - Steam Profile Link - My Inventory

Knives - Bowie Knife, Butterfly Knife, Falchion Knife, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Huntsman Knife, M9 Bayonet, Bayonet, Karambit, Shadow Daggers, Stiletto Knife, Ursus Knife, Navaja Knife, Talon Knife, Classic Knife, Paracord Knife, Survival Knife, Nomad Knife, Skeleton Knife, Patterns - Gamma Doppler, Doppler (Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, Phase 4, Black Pearl, Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald), Crimson Web, Lore, Fade, Ultraviolet, Night, Marble Fade (Fire & Ice, Fake FI), Case Hardened (Blue Gem), Autotronic, Slaughter, Black Laminate, Tiger Tooth, Boreal Forest, Scorched, Blue Steel, Vanilla, Damascus Steel, Forest DDPAT, Urban Masked, Freehand, Stained, Bright Water, Safari Mesh, Rust Coat, Gloves - Bloodhound Gloves (Charred, Snakebite, Guerrilla, Bronzed), Driver Gloves (Snow Leopard, King Snake, Crimson Weave, Imperial Plaid, Black Tie, Lunar Weave, Diamondback, Rezan the Red, Overtake, Queen Jaguar, Convoy, Racing Green), Hand Wraps (Cobalt Skulls, CAUTION!, Overprint, Slaughter, Leather, Giraffe, Badlands, Spruce DDPAT, Arboreal, Constrictor, Desert Shamagh, Duct Tape), Moto Gloves (Spearmint, POW!, Cool Mint, Smoke Out, Finish Line, Polygon, Blood Pressure, Turtle, Boom!, Eclipse, 3rd Commando Company, Transport), Specialist Gloves (Crimson Kimono, Tiger Strike, Emerald Web, Field Agent, Marble Fade, Fade, Foundation, Lt. 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Hi guys! This is my first NoP fanfic, and the first fanfic in general that I’ve ever published. In addition, it’s only the second that I was able to complete a single chapter for. What I’m trying to say here is that I might not be the best writer due to my lack of experience, so please don’t hate; I’m trying my best. However, if there is something you think I can improve on, feel free to leave polite, constructive criticism in the comments.
Also, though I do have plans for more chapters (in fact, actual NoP stuff won’t happen until chapter 4), I might not be able to complete them, at least not with any haste. I apologize if this is an inconvenience, but do keep in mind that all of this is free and thus offered solely at my discretion. That said, I hope you find this very entertaining! (and yes, that’s a Hazbin Hotel reference, for those of you in that fandom… and perhaps a bit of foreshadowing… ^`v´^.)
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This file is a collection of memory transcriptions chronicling the tale of first contact with the Larul species.
CONTENT WARNING: The contents of this file are rated “M-V” for Mature-Violent according to the classifications outlined in the Galactic Content Rating Board. This means that this file is not suitable for the following audiences:

• non-yotul herbivorous species
• individuals of any species that are more than one solar rotation younger than legal adult age.

If you belong to either of these demographics, please exit this page immediately and ensure content filters are enabled. DO NOT PROCEED past this point. We at the Memory Transcription Initiative™ promise you are not missing out on anything worth potentially causing permanent psychological harm.
This file includes depictions of murder with cannibalistic intent. We at the Memory Transcription Initiative™ understand that such topics may cause serious discomfort for many individuals; thus, we have included this content warning. We will not be held responsible for any emotional damages that may arise from reading this file. Proceed only at your own risk:
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Memory Transcription Subject: Skoy, Larul hunter
Date (standardized human time): December 18th, 2141
It was a pleasure to kill. Ever since my first hunt, 3 La-cycles [local years, each approximately 1.5 Earth years long] ago, I had relished in the many joys of the process. From stalking prey down, waiting for the perfect time to strike, to the climactic triumph of finally swooping in for the kill. It satisfied something deep and instinctual within me, for I was a predator. And there was nothing wrong with that. Animals have to consume other lifeforms to survive. It is simply the way of things.
Still, it was also a pain. It was a pain to take the life of an animal, to take the life of a creature that felt fear and felt pain, to take the life of a creature that cried in desperation for that mercy which was not and could not be given. As I slit the throat of my prey – as his warm, dark orange blood coated my hands; its sweet, savory, rich, metallic, saliva-inducing scent wafting into my nostrils; tantalizing me with the promise of the feast that was to come – I felt hunger, yes. But I also felt as if a bowstring inside of me was pulled taut and then mercilessly released, letting loose a proverbial arrow that pierced my soul just as deeply as an actual arrow would pierce a creature’s heart. And from that wound, a shadow of grief spread throughout my entire being, like a thundercloud threatening to drown me in sorrow. As I watched the light leave his eyes, it felt as if the light within me dimmed a little bit as well. One couldn’t tell it from my detached expression, but I was overwhelmed with emotion. It was almost as if I actually cared about those I killed. Stupid empathy. Always such a bother; always trying to get in the way of what has to be done. I was a hunter; I had killed countless times before and should be beyond such things. Though I suppose I had never killed prey of this kind before. Prey of my kind before. But desperate times called for desperate measures. Better they get hurt than someone in my tribe. Better them… than Kolas.
Kolas was my youngest sister, still just a child. She’d be 6 La-cycles [9 Earth years] old now, barely a pre-adolescent [12 y.o. human maturation equivalent]. It would be a couple of La-cycles [3 Earth years] until she was old enough to join me in the Pack – if she wanted to, that is. I mean, she has never been anything but a shining epitome of kindness; not really the type to kill anything, let alone… this. But I’m sure that given time, she would come to understand the necessity of our role, and could learn to take the lives of at least our normal prey. But most importantly of all, if she joined the Pack, she would be given the chance to learn how to fight: which meant she would finally be able to defend herself.
Kolas was always a bit smaller and weaker than the other children her age, and they, recognizing her as an easy target, bullied her relentlessly for it. But perhaps her greatest bully of all was no child, but her own mother. Sabwo - our mother, and that of the tribe – had no patience for anything she saw as weakness. She believed that brute strength and might were incredibly important in a leader, and as her heirs, any lack of these qualities was unacceptable in us. She also believed that the best way to forge these attributes in a person was to beat it into them – both emotionally and physically – until their hides grew tough and their souls grew hard. I was lucky in that I had little trouble keeping up with her expectations; I was born a strong, healthy baby who was able to grow into a strong, healthy adult. Plus, I was naʻa [nonbinary], and thus considered sacred, so the village wouldn’t have let her get away with treating me too roughly. Our middle sister, Kovoy, though not protected by her gender and its associated status, was similarly advantaged in other ways: she grew up to be even stronger in body and tougher in spirit than I. Of course, things weren’t as easy for Kolas, my dear youngest sister.
Physically, she was put at a disadvantage with her naturally smaller frame; she didn’t stand a chance against the other kids – who were almost twice her weight – let alone Sabwo, who was not only an adult woman, but a rather large and muscular one at that. And emotionally, Kolas always had a very soft and sensitive nature. Sabwo always taught us that a leader must never let their emotions overwhelm them, nor should those emotions be allowed to sway one’s judgement. She also taught us that a leader should always handle themselves with aplomb, never betraying any sadness, fear, or even joy they may feel. The only emotion she ever showed freely, or encouraged us to show freely, was a sort of cold animosity that sent shivers down the spines of anyone who dared to find themselves at the wrong end of her ire. Kolas’s personality, of course, was the exact opposite of this. She was the type to be both driven by and easily overwhelmed by her emotions, and to always show them outwardly. On top of that, there wasn’t a mean bone in her body.
Speaking of bodies, I was brought back to the reality of my current situation by a sharp pain on my left side, right below my ribs. I hadn’t had a bite to eat for 7 A-cycles [local days, each lasting 18 Earth hours; 7 A-cycles≈5 Earth days] now; I was looking forward to finally having a proper meal. Yet, as I looked down at my kill, that lifeless corpse, that used to be someone, someone with a life so similar to mine, *even more similar to my sis- …*no. I couldn’t think like that right now. As I stared at the… meat, because that’s all this was now, I reminded myself that really, I was saving the lives of those I loved. When I and the other hunters left my tribe, the crops were failing. And as we set out to look for game, we found none. I knew that if we did not return with something soon, Sabwo, as leader, would have to kill her own people so that we wouldn’t all starve. And knowing her; in all of her cold, calculating, loveless, glory; she’d slaughter the member of the tribe that she saw as contributing the least. Even if that person was her own youngest daughter – that little sister I loved so much.
“That was a close one, wasn’t it?” a hushed, but still-too-loud voice exclaimed in a poor attempt at whispering.
“Quiet, or we’ll get caught!” I hissed.
Lashayu, the owner of that voice, recoiled and shrunk to a quadrupedal stance, his long, bushed-up tail tucked between his legs and his ears lowered and pinned back in submission. Though I couldn’t help but notice that those ears were a rather dark shade of orange. Almost as if he were… flustered? No, that couldn’t be right; he was a child – and one that I’ve been nothing but cold to at that.
Our hunt chief, Hwoy, sent Lashayu to help me with this hunt. He had jumped down from a higher branch – one of many this treetop village was built upon – so that he landed right in front of our prey. With Lashayu’s presence as a distraction, it was easier for me to sneak up from behind and make the kill. Though a one-to-one fight would have been fairer and thus more honorable, we could not afford to care about such abstract values when the survival of our tribe depended on the success of this hunt. And apparently, even though Lashayu was armed with both a hunting knife and a rather long stick, our prey would have kicked his ass had I not been there to swiftly dispatch him before he could do so. Hence his earlier comment.
I really couldn’t blame him for his incompetence though, as he was so young and so new to the Pack. A, he was younger than I was when I joined, and barely older than Kolas was now! And unlike me, he didn’t even want to be here! Most boys are excited when it comes time for them to be drafted; having had it drilled into their heads from a young age that “it’s your sacred duty!” and “an honor to go out into the wilderness to provide for your tribe!”. But some, of course, are unpersuaded. The wilderness, after all, is a dangerous place. For one, we weren’t the only hunters out here. There were quite a few creatures higher on the food chain than us; losing a hunter was the most probable end to an encounter with them. Even those below us on the food chain could be dangerous; a hunt gone awry could spell disaster. On top of having to face such perils, Lashayu was forced to enact decisions that no 7 La-cycle old [11 y.o.; 15 y.o. human maturation equiv.] child should. To take any part in murder, even if it was for your own survival, would surely cause some lasting emotional effects. All things considered, perhaps I shouldn’t be so hard on Lashayu; he was dealing with a lot and didn’t deserve my criticism.
Besides, I couldn’t complete this hunt without him; I would need another person to help me carry out the body swiftly so that we wouldn’t be caught. Otherwise, an all-out war between our peoples could occur. Though we were obviously not above murder, we wanted to avoid such excessive bloodshed as war; it would just be a waste, really.
So, Lashayu pulled out two small lengths of rope from his pack, which we used to tie the wrists and ankles of our prey to the long stick Lashayu carried. That way, it would be much easier to transport the body. Now that I think about it, it was kind of fitting that Lashayu be the one to carry the stick we would use for this since his name literally translated to “stick”. The humorous play on words coaxed a small smile and tail flick from my previously stone-cold countenance. But I digress.
As we set off to bring the body back to the group, I returned to my musings about my sister. I tried to imagine Kolas as a hunter taking the kill, and couldn’t help but huff in amusement, for the sheer implausibility of her ever committing such an act was almost laughable.
No, she would not join the Pack. Even if it would bring us together, even if it was her best chance of escaping the constant harassment she faced back home, she would not do it.
“What’s so funny?” Lashayu inquired once we reached a distance where it was unlikely anyone would hear us as long as we remained quiet. “I- if I may ask, sir,” he quickly added, stumbling over himself in awkward, overexaggerated deference. It was honestly kind of cute. Not in a weird way of course, more like the way a small animal is cute. And not that I could tell him that anyway; a friendship between us could prove messy; it was for the best that our relationship remained strictly professional.
Processing his question, I heaved a wistful sigh, tail and ears lowered, a sad smile on my face. “Oh… it’s…” I stopped myself before I could get too personal. Could I really let him know just how worried I was about my sister?
He might think I’d gone soft. He might think I was weak. And I couldn’t, ever, be weak.
No, I must maintain my uncaring façade. So, I put on that mask of aggression that never failed to hide what was going on underneath; I pinned my ears back, gave my tail a good thrash, and snarled through gritted teeth: “It’s… it’s none of your business.”

Bermuda Triangle
Following their victory in Double or Nothing’s main event over The Elite, Blackpool Combat Club promptly return their attention to The Lucha Bros after interference from The Young Bucks cost them their shot at the ROH World Tag Team Championship. A Six-Man Tag on Dynamite sees Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler YUTA destroy Rey Fenix, Penta El Zero Miedo, and Bandido, a screwdriver and Seatbelt Clutch from YUTA bloodying Fenix for the win! With Rey out of commission, Bandido steps up in defence of his former home of ROH, agreeing to defend with Penta against Claudio & YUTA.
In a valiant effort, Penta & Bandido manage to hold off their ruthless foes for the most part, but when Bryan and Mox interject themselves, the numbers start to become too much. That is, until… PAC’S MUSIC HITS!!! Nailing the two with his trusty hammer, he levels the playing field for Penta to hit the Fear Factor on Claudio to retain! As a ticked BCC leave with their tails tucked, PAC helps the Tag Champs up… BEFORE NAILING BANDIDO TOO!!! Penta’s stunned as PAC coldly informs him the Bandit’s purpose is up, forcing Penta to follow him out.
With the Bastard back, he sets his sights on reclaiming his throne – the International Championship. Facing an angsty YUTA in a Forbidden Door 4-Way Qualifier, Misawa-lite’s overzealousness becomes his downfall as PAC destroys him like he did a year prior, proving nothing’s changed between them. Alas, he meets rival Orange Cassidy at the PPV, along with Tomohiro Ishii and Shingo Takagi. Like no time has passed, PAC and OC leave each other in ruin, though a closing Black Arrow is intercepted by a screwdriver from Claudio, allowing the Orange Punch to win out!
Pissed, Death Triangle challenge BCC for their NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship at Fyter Fest as PAC tries to reclaim his other throne… except, that was never the plan. As Lucha Bros go to nail the Double Stomp/Fear Factor, PAC NAILS FENIX WITH THE HAMMER! PENTA EATS IT TOO! Walking out on them, BCC retains…
​
Why PAC, Why?
PAC explains that before his injury, he had the world, two titles over his shoulders. But you know what took that from him? Death Triangle. Divided attentions cost him his All-Atlantic strap, and Fenix’s initial hesitance to use the hammer on The Elite told him enough about his weak-minded company. As Bandido steps up to avenge his friends, a Brutaliser massacres him, PAC stealing his mask after the match! With the Bros still injured, PAC declares a hitlist on anyone like Rey & Penta that’ve wronged him in the past, starting with…
Will Ospreay’s been nipping at BCC’s heels ever since their interference in his Omega rematch cost him the win, Mox stealing the title for himself. Once The Elite are vanquished in Blood & Guts, Ospreay’s set to fight them on Dynamite with Kyle Fletcher… except, he finds his partner out cold, a hammer and a note on his chest, extending a challenge for ALL IN! As PAC defeats Michael Oku the night before at RevPro’s 10 Year Anniversary in their rubber match, Ospreay gives his acceptance in person with an OsCutter! A rematch 4 years in the making sees PAC finally vanquish Will at Wembley!
But as PAC celebrates, flaunting Bandido’s mask, he’s chased off by the returning Lucha Bros, setting the stage for ALL OUT! The long-awaited Triple Threat implosion to DT sees PAC submit Penta, though when he tries to steal the mask, he’s ran off by Fenix. Out for nothing but vengeance, a bloody ‘Grave Consequences’ match a la Lucha Underground sees PAC finally end the Phoenix, tearing his mask as a reward!
​
International Bastard
With one year approaching on Orange’s reign of dominance, the knackered champion lays his title on the mat, welcoming his next challenger, and not having forgotten who dethroned him, out walks PAC! The 4 Year Anniversary Dynamite is capped off by a thrilling 2-out-of-3 Falls match, where PAC reclaims the International Title, putting OC out of his misery!
Kickstarting his own iron fist reign, PAC uses the title as a platform to pit him against higher-profile names, claiming he’s been overlooked since the company’s start, deserving to have won the World Title long ago. Destroying Fletcher to put a bow on his attack on the Aussie, Full Gear has him face BCC’s Konosuke Takeshita! After robbing Ospreay’s chance at revenge, saying he has first dibs on the group, he finally makes good on that, proving his DT betrayal a good long-term investment when he submits DDT’s Ace to the LeBell Lock!
Naturally drawing Bryan Danielson’s attention, the two meet at Winter is Coming to end the Bastard’s saga with BCC, PAC proclaiming himself better than the one who called himself the ‘Best in the World’ upon his heel turn, managing to avenge his losses to Danielson from his early indie days with the Brutaliser to show how far he’s come. Jack Perry and Adam Page bite the dust next, PAC knocking off a Pillar before revisiting his feud with the Hangman at Beach Break for costing him in the World Title Eliminator Ladder match three years prior.
Once he’s met by Komander though, ‘Mask the Ripper’ is reminded of his old ways and tries to strike again after passing him out, BUT FENIX MAKES THE SAVE!!! Sporting a darker and crimson mask since PAC stole his, Rey’s unlocked the killer instinct PAC claimed he lacks, and at Revolution, a rematch sees three straight Fenix Drivers end PAC’s reign!
​
Bastard-Eye View
Freed of his responsibilities, PAC turns his attention to the one victim that’s continued to elude him – AEW World Champion Kenny Omega. Saving the company from MJF’s reign of terror, his defeat of Jay White at Revolution paves the way for one more match, three years on from their last World Title match together, where PAC finally claims the crown in a gruelling 60-Minute Iron Man match!

So have been thinking about a hypothetical Fallout RTS that could be interesting and Bethesda would have options for factions and mechanics so I thought of some.
Major Factions on launch
Minutemen
East Coast Brotherhood(Fallout 4)
Railroad
Institute
No particular reason I chose the Fallout 4 factions over the New Vegas ones I just wanted to have 4 factions on launch
DLC Factions Ideas
Realistic options
NCR
Caesar’s Legion
Vegas
Master
Enclave (Fallout 2)
These guys have decent options for content and useful array of troops that they would be realistic factions options
Possible factions
Enclave (Fallout 3)
East Coast Brotherhood (Fallout 3)
West Coast Brotherhood
Nuka World Raiders
Some faction from Fallout 76
These factions are possible but can't really think of much to flesh them out like how can I make the West coast Brotherhood stand out from the east coast variants. Thinking that the West Coast Brotherhood, Fallout 3 Brotherhood and Fallout 3 Enclave can be subfactions that you can chose when you start the game up
Strengths and weaknesses of the Base game factions
Generally how I thought of the Factions abilities is that I based on Lore and stuff we see in games, example give with the Enclave from Fallout 2 we see that they don't like outsider so that will be reflected in how they work
Minutemen- Good all arounder with easier time capturing settlements (more on that in the Gameplay) for resource production with maybe access to T-45 so they can hold their own against the Brotherhood. Also I am thinking they would be more defensive of the four base game factions as they will generally want to defend areas to hold out for reinforcements.
East Coast Brotherhood(Fallout 4)- Access to high end energy weapons and Power Armor. Weakness more Expensive Units and slower to build said units and capture time on settlements is slowed
Railroad- Smallest armies of the base game factions but higher quality troops and relying more on Hero like units such as Deacon and Glory and good tech options with Gauss rifles and Railroad Heavy Armor
Institute- Cheap and disposable units in Gen 1 and Gen 2 synths and powerful units in Coursers with maybe some Super mutants for fun. However Coursers are not cheap and slow to build and the Institute will have a terrible time capturing Settlements.
Some DLC factions Strengths and Weaknesses
NCR-access to good units in the form of Rangers and Heavy Troops but both will have a limit and are costly, for the majority will have to be the standard trooper. Along with this lack of good hero like units or none at all, can’t think of any charter that would fit except maybe Oliver or Boone along with a penalty to working with minor factions (I will touch on those in a bit)
The Legion- Cheap troops that level up the more combat they experience becoming better and better until reaching a limited number of Praetorian Guards. Good heroes in the form of Lanius, Joshua Graham, and maybe Ulysses. Downsides lack of a good tech tree with your better units coming from your soldiers being upgraded. Also when they capture settlements they enslave them for a time penalty on resource production as the settlers adjust to the new rule.
Vegas- Powerful Securitron Mk 1 units and has an easier time getting caps and can gain access to Mk 2 series. Downside said Mk 2 series requires the Platinum chip to be gained, an expensive and slow tech to research that would take a while to gain and would be an end game tech for Vegas. Along with a lack of good units outside of the Securitrons, after all the White Gloves run at the courier with dressing canes
Master- Strong mutants that can hold their own along with nightkin for more hit and run tactics. Downsides Mutants require a new resource specific to the Master, Humans which he will need to make new Mutants that can be gain from settlements of all types but is gained slowly and the Master has an option to take people from settlement for a cost of resource production for a time
Enclave (Fallout 2) best Power Armor available in the form of the Mark 1 and access to Gen 2 mutants to perform as a stop gap troop. Can not capture settlements only wipe them out and colonize faster than other factions and gain a production boost for them as well and gain more resources from their buildings
Gameplay
Every Faction has access to Hero Units on top of their standard units. These will be either Companions from said faction, Preston for the Minutemen, faction leaders Legate Lanius, or both if they have good options Maxson or Danse from Fallout 4. Each one will be better in different roles when compared to others like Danse would probably be one of the better ones from a combat perspective but Preston would be better in a support role.
There will be minor factions on the map like Boomers, Great Khans, Children of Atom or Brotherhood chapters if no player is a Brotherhood faction. They can give you rewards in the form of troops or abilities to aid in the battle if you manage to secure their loyalty, or be wiped out so no one can get it though it will be difficult. Also should note if they are secured by one faction then they will not be able to be taken control by another faction so they will have to be killed, though if the faction like the NCR gets the loyalty of the Boomers and the NCR is defeated then they go back to neutral. You can think of them like shops from Warcraft 3 where you can buy potions or items from them
Along with the more neutral factions there would be one the map hostile like raiders or hostile fauna that can be kill for exp for heroes or Legions soldiers
The map will have settlements around that are the key to getting resources such as food, water, caps and other items that can be captured and can act as staging ground for attacks. Idea based of the resource points from Company of Heroes
Once a settlement is taken it will have to be captured by force for a cost of production for a time or destroyed so the opponent can’t take it back. I am thinking that player owns it they can destroy it to prevent it from falling to the enemies hands
If a settlement is wiped out the player will be able to recolonize it for the same benefit. Thought it will be while for it come back online. This could be annoying to programed but it would be interesting to see
You can also build resource production buildings in your base that can give you resources but they will produce less than settlements but some factions will be able to get more out of them such as the Enclave and Institute.
Tech
How tech would work is that you can research it in dedicated buildings, for example a “research hub” is where you would research better armor or weapons. Another way is to have specific buildings to get it like in Starcraft, for example to build NCR rangers at your barracks you would need a Ranger station or something like that.
There would also be unique tech for some factions as mentioned before Gauss rifles and Railroad Heavy armor would be given to the Railroad and Mark 1 Power Armor for the Enclave.
Conclusion
So here are some of the ideas and general concepts of how I think a Fallout RTS would work and would like to hear what everyone else thinks.

I apologize if this comes across a little intense. My writing tends lavender.
I can’t describe it but it’s like I’m constantly forgetting I’m real. I am not an old man, hardly a man by most cultures definition. About to hit my mid twenties and I have wasted so much time staying alive. My childhood is something I can not describe in metrics. It wasn’t good, it wasn’t bad. We were well off, rich even. So I was never struggling in that regard. What happened was I was property up until I was old enough to hit back. No personal belongings, no art on my walls or friends in the house. I spent winter nights huddled on the porch after being locked out. I have a 4 inch long scar on my arm from my mother stabbing me when I was 13. That was childhood.
For full disclosure yes I fought back. That’s something I’m proud of. I fight back. It’s why I’m still alive. I’m too stubborn to die. I yelled and screamed, sometimes I started it. I was a child. It just made things worse. I can’t pinpoint any motivation beyond animal in those years. When I wanted something I stole it.
This experience stunted me developmentally and aged me mentally. When my peers were planning college and careers. I was to insecure to even conceive of that. I don’t mean cerebrally. In the sense that I was actively processing my actions. I mean in the deepest sense I just didn’t think of myself as “one of them.” I still don’t. The cruel thing is through my perceived isolation I created an identity of actual isolation. I didn’t just think I was different I WAS different. Maybe it was a deep seated desire to be noticed despite my “flaws” but I made myself known. I was the class clown, the good one. The one you would want to be in a group with. I almost gave my high schools senior address. I can be a good writer with enough of a prompt. Everyone said “he’ll either die young or die famous, maybe both.” Well I’m still here but it’s been close.
Outcasts don’t go to college. They don’t care how they look. What they do, who they do it with. I submerged myself in denial. Tricked myself into thinking that was freedom. Constantly bouncing between the next boost. The group laughing at my joke, the bottle hidden from my parents, the girls I’d sneak in. All of it well being a loser! Somehow I moved out, kept a job and kept getting better ones All well being this fucked up thing. That’s how I looked at myself. If I was dirt let me be the king of dirt. I never went too far. On paper it sounds intense but the reality was just… reality. One day there’s a stranger in my bed, the next my roommates smoking with a felon. Nothing strange when it’s happening to you. I have done things which I can’t believe were me. I am proud to say the only person I’ve hurt is myself.
I found a relationship somewhere in all of that. I think I’m ok now. Wiser but the pains gone. Maybe. I haven’t had one sense. Not officially. She was confused and I can’t blame her for that. I’ve been confused. I can say it’s changed the way I trust. I used to not understand what It was. I can’t say I’m an expert now but I know what it means to me.
I had a roommate try and kill me. Both my parents had a good shot at it too. Not intentionally but when you fight shit happens. I’ve seen two people die. One peacefully one violently. I have seen many dying and I have been to many funerals. Death is constantly crossing my mind.
I haven’t mentioned yet but I have struggles with substances. I’ve cut down a lot in the past 6 months. I cut off a bad relationship round then too. Decided that I needed to start looking at myself and it’s been great. Lots of personal successes. It’s crushingly lonely. I can’t help feeling chewed up, way older than I am. Like a cyclone spit me out on the moon. I really can’t understand a lot of people. I find it hard to find anything real. I can’t sleep and I have weird hallucinations and flashbacks. Each day is its own reward and it’s own hell. I’m beyond hopeful for tomorrow, yet I’m terrified for the day when I realize where I’ve been.
Thanks for reading this is you have. I’m not one of those “why does the world hate me” people I’m an optimist at the end of day. If someone’s where I’ve been my advice so far. it gets different. The betters on you

Hi! I’m wondering if I could get some advice on how to continue my content review if I’m testing 8/25. Currently about 4 chapters into each of the Kaplan books (except P/S and CARS not using those) and I’m just kinda reading through and highlighting stuff. Minimal notes. Obviously I’m not retaining anything by just reading through, so I’m wondering how I should proceed. Bought UW so should I be doing prac questions after each chapter as well as Anki cards? (Feel like this would take me all day which I don’t have time for since I’m also doing part time research). And then after I finish Kaplan books, do I keep doing UW but also mix in AAMC? Overall just don’t know what to do and I’m getting a little overwhelmed about balancing content memorization + practice. So many lovely ppl on here so I thought I’d just try to get some advice :)
For context: I’m a biomed science major with most prereqs completed (except for p/s and genetics) and my BP HL diagnostic was 503 (although it was untimed)

Intro:
47, male. BQ'd at Houston January 2022 with a 3:16. Trained for a 3:30 at Boston 2023, but wasn't quite feeling it 8 weeks before the race so I revised my goal to 3:40. Nailed a workout 4 weeks pre-race - I was capable of a 3:35. Ended up with a 3:55.
Back-story:
Training throughout 2022 and into 2023 was going well. Spent too much time on the dreadmill in a nasty Minnesota winter, but was hitting workouts for a 3:30. Some time in March I shoveled a very heavy snowfall, and since that day had neck and left arm pain here and there. Had my chiro do some neck adjustments and started taking ibuprofen. Still running despite that, really no pain while running. But soreness levels and frequency were increasing.
Race day:
Set a goal of 3:40 with a negative split - training results and my Coach said this was going to be a walk in the park. Paced a teammate the first 4 miles at 8:35 and let her go on ahead. My plan was 8:30s to the top of Heartbreak and then race the rest. Got to 18 feeling good. But then had to stop and pee for the first time ever in a race. Then the rain picked up for 2 miles. Top of Heartbreak I found my pace again, but on the downhill I just couldn't run any more - had to walk a bit. It wasn't my quads, it wasn't my glues, I just couldn't run. Walked a minute, ran again but couldn't find that pace I wanted. Ended up walking 7 times.
Finished the race highly disappointed and wondering WTF just happened. As soon as I hit the finish, my neck was in severe pain. What was supposed to be the end of my victory lap at Boston was horrible. I didn't enjoy one second of time from the finish line until about 60 minutes later when I could finally handle that free Sam Adams in the Park Plaza lobby. My teammate called me to meet up, and I brushed her off - I told myself I'd rather die than socialize right now.
The Aftermath:
After Boston, I knew something was wrong. Talked to the Chiro and scheduled an MRI. Herniated disc and bone spur in C6-7 putting pressure on the nerve going to left arm. Got a specialist appt within 2 days. Based on MRI, exam, and my inability to do even one left-arm wall pushup, surgery to replace the disc was needed. I said yes right away. Scheduled surgery for May 31 (3 days ago). I knew this problem was impacting not only my physical health but my mental health too.
In my pre-operation exam, my iron/hemoglobin was low. All that ibuprofin put me into a state of mild anemia. My bonk at Boston was a few factors - I knew about the hills, my mental attitude, the rain, taking a pee. But I didn't know about the anemia and a herniated disc at the time.
So, three days after disc replacement surgery, my neck and left arm pain is completely gone. I have full range of motion in my neck. I quit painkillers only 60 hours after surgery.
Unfortunately I can't run for 4 weeks, but solving the neck and arm pain, getting rid of the mental toll, and knowing about the anemia - I feel like I'm coming out ahead. This fall I'm running the Superior Trail Marathon and Chicago Marathon - they'll be fun runs - but I'm happy I got this figured out and can run without those issues from July 4 onward.
Listen to your body.

Demographics
Gender: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Asian
Residence: SoCal
Income Bracket: Upper Class (No Aid)
Type of School: Public (10 to T20s yearly)
Hooks: None
Intended Major(s): Econ (Prelaw Track)
Academics
GPA (UW/W): 3.92/4.46
Rank (or percentile): N/A# of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc: 13 APs, 5 DEs
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, Multivariable Calculus, AP Spanish, AP Environmental Science, AP World History, AP Studio Art, DE Marketing
Standardized Testing
SAT: 1600
PSAT: 1510
AP/IB: 4s on 3, 3 on 1 so far (will get all 5s on my 4 this year fs)
Extracurriculars/Activities

1. Board/Director at a 501(c)(3) PVSA certified npo that fills a huge niche niche related to poverty. have 500+ volunteer hours (10-12)
   
2. local in person unpaid economics think tank internship, published a lot (11)
   
3. upcoming National paid remote research internship with a US economic institution (12)
   
4. upcoming hybrid research internship at T5 university, maybe authorship? (12)
   
5. Book about economics for hs/ms students, have a literary agent and getting it published, but not till after applying (11-12)
   
6. DECA club president, 3x intl qualifier, state champ 6x, one of the biggest chapters in the state, helped a bunch of members win at internationals (9-12) (prez 11-12)
   
7. Forensics Event Leader, won a lot of small tourneys, placed at states, TOC bid tournaments, and nsda quals in my event. Broke to quarters at NIETOC and finalized at states. Also will prob be an academic all american (11-12)
   
8. MUN Club vp, organized trips and attended national conferences, 80+ members, global econ committee (9-12) (vp 11-12)
   
9. Varsity Pickleball (11-12)
   
10. Paid Tutor to family friends (9-12)
    

Awards/Honors

1. News Features for NPO
2. TOC Quarters, NSDA hopefully? State finalist
3. DECA Intl 1st & 2nd
4. National Economics Challenge Top 5
5. Scholarships (National Merit Semi/Fin, Coolidge Senator, future stuff etc.)

What more can I do to improve my chances? I’m aiming either for HYPSM or a T20 on a very high merit scholarship…?

Thanks and Credits in the Comments Section due to LONG chapter.
Chapter 31: A Whale of a Tale and it’s All True
“IT’S FUCKING J-POD!”
Kalai watched in shock and awe as the two humans collectively lost their minds, hopping up and down and letting loose a series of high pitched vocalizing as she, Papa, and Mama Sakalbi stared in confusion at the two ecstatic aliens.
Andy turned and ran back to where Kalai and her parents were still staring in amazement and held his hand out, face alight and happier than she’d ever seen him before. “Binoculars! Quick! I want to see who’s out there!” Mama Sakalbi tentatively held them out, and he took them with a nod of thanks before rushing back to the bow. Kalai started as he jumped up on the bow and balanced against the roller horns to spot the black and white whales that were swimming fast towards the net.
“Eyes on Mama Shachi! Look, over there, see her?” Kalai approached cautiously as Andy pointed in the direction of a cluster of porpoising black shapes that were coming nearer.
“Eyes on! I got Grammie Slick out there too; the WHOLE POD’S HERE!” Jackie cut loose an undulating cry and waved her hands as little geysers of water and air shot out from the water on the other side of the net.
Kalai nearly jumped when a miniature version of the Orcas from the clone tank at Headquarters breached the water, leaping almost twice her height into the air before splashing back down in a massive wave.
“Look at that! Butterball’s getting some good air these days!” Andy crowed as he hopped back down from the bow and passed the binoculars to Jackie.
“Butterball?” Mama Sakalbi asked as she and Papa joined them. Kalai stared as the Orcas formed a line and charged at the middle of the ‘S’ bend in the net before diving down in front of it, sending a wave that pushed the corks back. She saw the spouts and the dorsal fins rise again for another charge at the net.
“He’s the baby, only about four years old. Grammie Slick’s taking the family hunting, see how they’re flattening the net out? We’re about to have a great fucking day!” Andy took Jackie’s shotgun and took it back to the cabin as Kalai and her parents crowded the rail.
“What are they doing?” Mama Sakalbi’s question was directed at Jackie and the woman turned to answer with a gigantic smile.
“Herding! See the ones circling around the net?” Jackie pointed to the two dorsal fins that were almost invisible in the fog that was starting to burn off in the morning sun that had started to clear the eastern mountains. “They’ll be starting to round up small schools of salmon once they’re done turning our net into a reef. Right now, they’re running along the line and probably seeing what they have to work with.”
Mama Sakalbi did a double take, “You must be joking, that level of intelligence would almost be-”
“Human?” Jackie interrupted with a smile, “Yeah, that’s our original teachers out there. We learned to fish from them.”
“I was going to say ‘sentient’, but I take your point. What I want to know is, what are they doing?” Mama Sakalbi gestured out at them, with a bewildered look on her face.
“They’re using the net as a sea wall. Thing is, the net’s hard to see in the water, but the fish can feel it. They’ll put their heads into the net, but that doesn’t catch them. They’ll try to swim around it so that’s why we put an ‘S’ bend. That’s where most of the fish get tangled.” Andy returned and picked up the explanation. “See in the center of the line? That fin with the black and white little checkmark behind it? That’s Grammie Slick, the Matriarch. She’s around sixty now, and grew up out here LONG before you all came down. They don’t always do this, but I guess with you all keeping the fishing fleets docked, she saw the net and wanted a big meal for the family. They’re going to keep pushing the net until it’s in the shape of a crescent and herd a bunch of small schools into a big baitball with pickets to keep the fish pinned in the middle. You watch, there’ll be salmon jumping all over in the middle as they school up.”
“That’s when you’ll see them charge up the center and take big old mouthfuls of salmon. It’ll be a smorgasbord for ‘em!” Jackie pulled up Andy’s omnipad and started recording.
“Wait, but you hate seals for competing with you for food, why are you this excited about Orcas who take so much more?” Papa asked as he also took out his omnipad and started recording as the pod of Orcas finished repositioning their net just as Andy described.
“Because they’re using the nets as a reef to trap the fish! See? Look! There they go! The wolves are out scaring every salmon in the area here!” Kalai dug her own omnipad out at Andy’s words and watched as the dorsal fins sank below the waves, with only a faint and fading wake to tell where they’d gone.
“Now watch ‘em set pickets! They’re going to start patrolling the outside of the net. When they get enough salmon in the middle, they’re going to charge. When they do, watch the entire middle section of our corks go under from the salmon trying to get away. They get whole heaping mouthfuls of food and we get a full net!”
Kalai watched the Orcas swimming in circles around the net like Helix Sharks, and felt a pang of fear seeing the big predators that seemed so gentle and inquisitive in the tank. “But what if they get caught in the net?”
Jackie suppressed a laugh before sweeping an arm out at the net. “I’ve never seen that happen before, and I haven’t even heard of it happening before… at least not here in the Salish Sea. All our Orcas grew up around these nets, so they’ll either avoid them or use them like they are right now.”
“I think it’s because they can see them and the fish can’t. Either way, we’re in for a show!” Andy patted Kalai on the back before pushing Kalai and Mama Sakalbi forward.
For a long while, the surface was calm, save for the circling Orcas as they all watched. Then, by degrees, there was movement on the surface of the water as fish the length of Kalai’s arm started to jump and kick in the baitball. Kalai watched, fascinated, as Orcas seemed to appear and disappear along the edges but never approached the middle of the net.
All the fins disappeared from the surface and an eerie stillness settled over the water. Suddenly, the water in the middle of the crescent erupted, with hundreds of fish shooting out of the water and a sudden surge that hit and pushed the corks outward before they sank completely out of sight. Jackie and Andy started vocalizing those strange undulating cries again, raising their fists in the air before shouting something in their language. From as best as Kalai could guess, it was encouragement as the Orcas started breaching and jumping. In those moments, Kalai could catch glimpses of their mouths full of salmon.
Kalai watched as the terrified fish swarmed towards the net, and watched as many seemed to jump over it and swim away as the Orcas gorged themselves on the enormous school of salmon they had trapped. It was an awe inspiring sight to see, and Kalai lost herself in the moment watching the amazing display of symbiotic hunting and fishing between them and the Orcas.
The engine of the boat turning over broke the spell they were all under as Andy moved the boat at a dead slow pace back towards the net. “Alright, let’s haul it in and reset for ‘em! Jackie! Get on the bow with the billhook!” Jackie whooped in agreement and gently pushed passed Kalai to grab a long pole with a small metal hook at the end.
“We’re gonna have to work fast. They’re hungry, and we all want salmon today,” Andy called over the sound of the engine as they approached the giant buoy that marked the end of the net. “Doc! Open that hatch back there and watch your step! Mrs. Vaida, stand clear in the cabin; I want no accidents today, and three on deck’s going to be a crowd with how many fish we’re going to be taking in. Kalai, I want you back in the-”
Kalai shook her head as she put her omnipad away. “I can do it! Let me help!” she was riding the high feeling of watching the Orcas, and seeing Andy and Jackie preparing to go to work while she was to be just a passenger galled her.
Kalai saw Andy give Jackie a look that she couldn’t quite interpret. “Alright, but you’ll work with me picking fish. Jackie, you’re on the Drum; trade places with me!”
Kalai saw Jackie huff and give Andy a piercing look as she handed off the billhook. “Watch out for jellies, they tend to explode,” the native woman muttered to Kalai as she took over at the net drum’s controls. Kalai was about to volunteer to grab the line with the hook, given her longer reach, but Andy had already leaned almost all the way over the side. Kalai had a momentary scare as Andy seemed to dip forward, seemingly in danger of falling overboard, until he seemed to almost levitate himself using his lower legs back into the boat and pulled the line over the roller horns. She stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do when Andy braced a foot against the side and began to pull on the line and feed it back towards Jackie.
“Way, haul away, we’ll hang and haul together! Way, haul away, haul away Joe!”
Though she didn’t understand the words, Kalai knew a sailing song when she heard one and didn’t wait for any instruction. She moved forward opposite Andy and lent a hand, pulling the heavy line in to the cadence of his chant. After two verses, Kalai heard the whine of hydraulics and the slack in the line behind them went taught.
“Stand back! Here we go!” Andy called to her and the line began pulling the net back aboard. Kalai looked back to see that Jackie had wrapped the line around the center pole of the drum, with the wheel turning to pull the line and net in out of the water. A small set of guide poles that moved when Jackie twitched the controls kept the line evenly distributed on the drum as the first corks and the dripping wet net began to appear out of the water.
“Put your hoods up!” Andy yelled at her over the noise of the machines, and demonstrated the motion. “It’ll keep the water, seaweed and Jellies out of your face and eyes, and take this!” Andy tossed her what appeared to be a handkerchief and he mimed the act of tying it around her face like a mask.
“What about you? You’re sleeveless!” Kalai’s voice was slightly muffled from the cloth as she tied it around her face before pulling up both hoods.
Andy didn’t respond, except to grin at her as he leaned out to watch the net coming up out of the water before it got pulled aboard.
From behind her, Kalai heard Jackie start singing another human sailing song. It was a bit fast paced, and Andy joined in for the chorus. On the third time she heard it, she joined in too.
“Blow ye winds in the mornin’, Blow ye winds, high ho! Haul away your running gear, And blow ye winds, high ho!”
“Coming up!” Andy shouted as there were several loud thunks before six large salmon appeared in the giant fluorescent green tangle of the net. The drum stopped, bringing the fish to a halt as Andy pulled on the corkline and scurried his hands back and forth, gathering the net up as he did until he reached the first fish. Kalai watched in awe as he seemed to magically pull the fish from the tangle and shake it out onto the deck. The second one seemed to be resting on top of the tangle and he flipped it over the corkline and shook the fish out onto the deck.
“Just watch these first few. When you get a feel for how I’m doing this, jump in. Until then, slide these beauties back towards the stern. Jackie’ll pitch ‘em into the hold.”
Kalai nodded and watched Andy’s movements intently. It looked like sorcery, with how fast he moved his hands and zeroed in on a fish. As soon as he was done, he’d whistle to Jackie, who kept singing the cadence out to pull more of the net in, only to stop when more fish were pulled up and over the horns.
The song changed twice before Kalai felt confident enough to jump in. She almost got tangled in the net herself trying to pull out her first fish, but Andy gave the net a quick tug and she was free again. Maddeningly, the fish had simply fallen out of the net without any help from her, and she fumed just long enough for Andy to point to one that was closer to her.
“Hoist up the thing, batten down the whatsit! What’s that thing spinning, somebody should stop it! Turn hard to Port! That’s not Port, NOW I GOT IT! Trust me, I’m in control!”
On the second refrain, Kalai managed to dig her first fish out and drop it to the deck. She let out a whoop, and Andy paused for a moment to give her a quick applause.
“That’s one, girl! There’s a thousand left if we’re lucky!” Jackie called out as Andy sang a verse and tackled another fish in the net.
“Keep an eye on the lead line; make sure it doesn’t go over the corks!” Andy called as Kalai ran down her second fish and was about to throw the excess net over the other side. She stopped, and Andy helped her get the fish without tangling the net.
It took until the end of the song for Kalai to find her rhythm, and soon she and Andy were running down fish in the net in a crisp and quick manner. Kalai felt like she could go faster, but Andy had cautioned her to keep pace with the songs, as there was still a lot of net to go. When Kalai spared a glance at the length of net still in the water, she saw that Andy wasn’t kidding. It looked like they hadn’t even really started to reel it all in. Ok, it’s hard work, but so is sailing, and he’s my size so I should be able to keep up with him. If he can do it, I can do it!
“Haul away you rollin’ kings! Heave away, Haul away! Haul away you’ll hear me sing, We’re bound for South Australia!”
Andy was impressed. Kalai had jumped in without complaint, and she was very coachable. He could feel himself start to flag as they were starting to come to the last third of the net, but Kalai’s persistence, even though she was sweatier and more haggard than he was, kept him going.
The pile of salmon was almost as deep as their calves, and the deck was getting slick with fish slime. For that matter, so was Andy. In a momentary lull in the fish coming over the horns, Andy caught a glimpse of himself shimmering with all the scales that had flown off the fish as they scraped against the net to hit the deck, flopping. He took a big gulp of air and Kalai groaned as she straightened up, cracking her back as she twisted and bent to relieve her aching muscles.
Andy groaned a bit and looked back towards the stern. It was getting hard to see over the amount of net they’d pulled back in, but he could see Doc and Mrs. Vaida doing their best to help throw and shove the piles of salmon into the hold. Everybody’s getting their hands dirty today. Andy smiled and heaved a happy sigh. This, this is what I want. Being out on the water and doing good, hard work.
“SHIT, JELLYFISH!” Kalai shouted as she twisted away to hide her face behind her rain slicker hood. Andy blinked just in time as a wet squelching sound sent a spray of disintegrating jellyfish exploding all over the bow as the net bunched up and got squeezed together.
Andy felt it splatter all over his arms, neck, and face, before he felt it start to slide down his shirt to his chest. Almost immediately, he started to feel the burn. His arms, neck, and chest he could stand, but the blossoming pain on his lips, eyelids, cheeks, and most horribly the inside of his nose overwhelmed all his conditioned pain tolerance.
“FUCK!” Andy screamed. “FUCKING FUCKER! RIGHT IN MY FUCKING FACE! GOD FUCKING DAMNIT! FUCK!” Andy only barely avoided bringing his hands to his face. It was a hard fought thing to deny his instinct to try and scrape it off, but he felt his boots loose purchase and his feet slide out from under him. He hit the pile of fish that surrounded him hard. He was aware of Kalai yelling for her father and Mrs. Vaida, while Jackie’s braying laugh carried over everything else.
Andy felt Kalai trying to grab him, but her gloves were too slick to get a grip and all she did was spread the stingers more evenly over his arms. Andy kept his eyes squeezed shut as he heard Jackie start to direct the confused and panicking aliens.
“Hold your breath, cuz, vinegar incoming!”
Andy felt the bitter stinging splash as Jackie poured a steady stream of vinegar out from what he assumed was the giant jug he kept for these occasions underneath the little kitchenette in the cabin. Though nothing about the intensity of the burn changed, in the back of his mind, Andy knew that it was killing the stinging cells.
“Alright, Kally, take that bucket and fill it with seawater from over the side, then dump it on him.”
Andy sputtered a bit and spit as he scrabbled onto his knees. He steadied himself with one hand on the rail beside him and the other which found the corkline. He kept his eyes shut and growled as the burning spread from his hairline down to his navel. A sudden bracing splash of cold water nearly bowled him back over. Without warning, Andy hadn't had time to get a breath and he sputtered and yowled as the water soaked down under his rain gear.
Andy shook his head like a dog, whipping his braid back and forth before daring to open his eyes. “Son of a BITCH!” Andy growled as he got a look at Kalai holding an empty bucket, while Jackie was shoo’ing Mrs. Vaida and Dr. He’osforos away to give him some room.
“Jesus, quit your bawlin,’ you big baby, you’re acting like you’ve never been stung before!” Jackie called back to him as Andy ripped the gloves off his hands and plunged them over the side to clean off the stingers.
“It’s in my fucking nose you horse’s ass!” Andy shouted back as he splashed his face. A few strings of purple stingers fell into the water and Andy reared back aboard. “Ugh, get another bucket of seawater! I can still feel this shit!”
“Andrei, as a medical professional, I advise you to cease work and-”
Andy looked over as Dr. He’osforos spoke but waved him off mid sentence. “I appreciate it Doc, but I’ve had it far worse than this. There’s a brown and yellow bottle in one of the drawers under the bench that says ‘Motrin’. Get me the bottle or enough to tranq a cow, and I’ll go back to work just fine.”
Kalai let loose a piercing scream and Andy looked over just in time to see her rocketed herself backwards, dropping the bucket over the side. The Doctor caught his daughter before she fell into the hold, but he too had a look of fear plastered on his face. Andy and Jackie moved to the side to see what had scared her so badly, and the two of them couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Grammie Slick and two of her daughters were there, sticking their heads out of the water with their mouths open, while Butterball was playing with the bucket.
Jackie laughed and stuck her hand out, rubbing the Orca matriarch on the snout. “Raggedy Andy’s fine, Grammie Slick! He’s just milking it for sympathy from these gullible hwun’eetums!”
“What in the Balance of Nature is going on here?” Mrs. Vaida’s shocked voice caused Andy and Jackie to look at her as she stared dumbfounded at the Orcas that were gathering alongside the boat.
“Oh they’re just saying ‘hi.’” Andy shrugged with a smile, despite the burning.
“More like ‘What the hell, cousins, you still got fish to pick. Quit loafin’ around and get another set in!’”
“Jackie, Motrin… NOW!” Andy growled at her. Jackie blew a raspberry at him before diving into the cabin.
“They’re pretty friendly, if you’d like to be introduced,” Andy held out a hand and motioned for Kalai and her father to step forward. Andy dipped his hand in again to make sure it was clear of any stinging cells, before he gently guided the hesitant Kalai to stick her ungloved hand out toward Grammie Slick.
One of the daughters blew a spout before sliding back under water, but Grammie gave a few clicks before briefly touching Kalai’s outstretched hand. “Kalai, this is Grammie Slick, Matriarch of J-Pod. Grammie, this is Kalai… a purple hwun’eetum.” Andy laughed a bit at the look of incredulity on Kalai’s face and the concern on her father’s.
There was a series of shutter clicks from behind Andy, and he turned to see Sakalbi snapping pictures as fast as she could. Kalai was clearly torn between fear and wonder as she held perfectly still and silent for Grammie, who was letting her touch her before she slid back under the water herself. Andy laughed as several clicks and whistles from the pod reverberated through the hull of the boat and he leaned back in.
“Alright, break’s over,” Andy called as he caught the flying bottle of pills Jackie threw at him. He popped two and swallowed them dry before washing the gloves off and putting them on. The extra rinse would have to wait, and he’d have to tough it out until they got back to shore. His boots squelched as he picked his way through the fish on the deck to get back to his station and nodded for Jackie to restart the drum.
It was another twenty minutes before the last of the net was pulled aboard and they were able to clear away all the fish into the hold. Andy stuck his head in and smiled. In a single set, they’d filled three quarters of it, and they had more than enough fish for the gathering and to feed another ten to fifteen families besides. The spouts and the clicks of J-Pod hanging around the boat, however, told Andy that they wanted their reef back and were still hungry.
Andy ordered them to prep the net for another set and helmed his boat again, only to bomb out in a straight line and let J-Pod take care of the fishing from that point on. Once they’d finished, Andy moved the boat out of the Orcas’ way and stood outside the cabin with Jackie while the three aliens crowded the bow, watching and recording the whales going to work a second time.
“Ok, I think we might get a moment to talk,” Andy muttered to Jackie in Salishian. “New orders from the Council. There’s going to be a raid.”
Jackie sucked in a breath and looked at him, all levity gone. “Cambrians, Militia, or the Dummy Bunnies?”
“Militia and the Interior.”
Jackie whistled softly in surprise as her eyebrows shot up. “Really poking the bear, cuz… When and where?”
“Uncle Willy wants us to hit the Militia Supply Depot out by Tanner on Saturday,” Andy growled quietly as he watched Kalai pointing to Grammie Slick’s dorsal as she swam out on the picket around the net.
“You mean the one close to the Snoqualmish?”
“Yeah. Full raid, we’re to hit it and take any supplies, especially military, that we can and destroy what we can’t. The messier we can make it the better. We’ll meet up with the Resistance on the old Bessemer Logging road by Hancock Creek and they get half for taking the credit. Me and Chuck’ve been assigned to ‘lead’ you.” Andy nodded and tried to flick some of the fish scales off himself, but got nowhere.
Jackie sat down on the rail with a groan before looking back up at him with a smirk. “You mean babysit on overwatch while we do the real work.”
Andy pursed his numb lips together and considered the ramifications of folding his arms on the jellyfish burns that had started to go quiet thanks to the Motrin. “Grandma and the Council want me to ‘get my hands dirty.’” He gritted his teeth in frustration.
“What? I’m sorry, that sentence made zero sense.” Jackie shook her head like she’d just been slapped.
Andy couldn’t keep the frustration and anger out of his tone when he spoke. “Apparently there are doubts about my loyalty to the tribe and whether or not I’ve lost my way.”
Jackie huffed in amusement. “Everyone knows the Council’s fucking stupid, but this is a new level of dumb. You got us land back, you got them to allow you to break the rules to feed our people, they’re fixing the fuck ups on our waterways because of you and they think you’ve gone to the dark side?” Jackie started laughing at the nonsense of the politics.
“Last time we talked, you thought I was playing with fire and-” Andy started to throw back at her before she snorted loudly.
“Results talk, cuz. Three of our Hatcheries returned, and my whole family drawing good money in Imperial Credits? Fuck, even if you had sold out, we need more Clan Heads doing the same thing.” She smiled as she nodded towards their guests on the bow.
“They still don’t trust that I know what I’m doing,” Andy growled as he folded his arms unconsciously and immediately regretted it.
Jackie snorted. “Of course they don’t. You didn’t talk to them or get their permission first. Hell, I’m surprised your grandma didn’t chuck you out on your ear for even suggesting that you should work for the dummy bunnies.” Jackie stretched and hopped up and around Andy to grab a water bottle. “But it’s working out. There’s land being returned, money in our hands, and food about to be on our table. You’re doin’ what a Chief is supposed to do.”
Andy scoffed and started to object. “I’m no Chief-”
Jackie gave his shoulder a slap and grinned evilly as a starburst of pain and burning cut through the painkillers, shutting Andy up mid-protest. “You keep saying you aren’t, but that don’t make it true.” She resumed her seat as Andy fought the yowl of pain back so as not to give her the satisfaction. “I mean, case in point, what are you going to do with all these fish Grammie’s catching for us right now?”
Andy blinked a few times as he regained his composure and thought seriously about his answer. “We’ll pull fifteen for the gathering they got invited to… Then all the fish you can pack into the truck goes to the Exiles. The rest? I’ll call Chuck and get some folks from the Council to claim the rest and distribute it to the families that need it.”
Jackie deepened her voice and adopted a cowboy drawl. “He never eats until he sees the pots are full of meat in the lodges of the widows and orphans-”
“That’s Comanche Law, not Salish, and that’s from a John Wayne movie, you ass.” Andy huffed and Jackie giggled wickedly, flipped him off.
“Still haven’t refuted my point, cuz.” Jackie’s singsong voice caused Andy to glare spitefully at her, until she raised her hands defensively. “Alright, you’re not a Chief. So, Not Chief Tsu’titsi’uqw; you need to get your hands dirty and lead a raid. I’ll scrape up what we need and scout the target. You just meet up with us Saturday night at the Snoqualmish Casino and I’ll put a gun in your hands. Don’t worry, we’ll only get dirty enough to make the Council happy.”
“I’ll be a bit late; I’m escorting them to the Hwatcom Family Gathering on Friday.” Andy took a step back as Jackie stood up and twisted a bit to stretch out.
“No surprise there, grandpa’s an old school traditional Indian. They’re dummies, but they’re trying to do right by us, finally. Again, thanks to you, Chie-” Andy slapped the back of her head hard and growled at her, but she just started laughing, making him even madder.
“Alright, enough. Let’s get on the bow and not look like we’re sketchy Indians plotting to attack an Imperial fort.” Andy snarled, shoving her past him while she just kept laughing.
Andy stomped forward, aware of the wet sounds his boots made as he walked. Kalai turned and smiled at him as he moved to stand beside her and her father. “So how are they doing out there?”
“They just started their attack. This is fascinating! Their coordination, their ingenuity, and adaptation to human activity is astounding! I wish I had brought observation drones!” Sakalbi was glued to the binoculars and holding her omnipad up while she muttered observations into the speaker. Andy was content to watch as the pod put on a repeat performance and the net sagged again until they all came up and started swimming lazily around the net and the boat. All of them except Butterball and one of his older brothers. The two seemed to be getting into a jumping contest.
“He’s feeling a bit hyper. Must be nice to be full,” Jackie commented as the two whales took turns jumping out of the water and twisting in the air. Andy smiled and nodded and felt a hand go to his shoulder. He looked down and saw it was Kalai making eyes at him. Andy hid the grimace at the burn and gave her a wink.
“That one’s getting closer, should we be concerned?” Andy looked over at Dr. He’osforos and Kalai quickly moved her hand as they watched Butterball getting closer and closer with each jump.
Jackie hopped up and straddled the railing as Andy and Kalai shared a concerned look. Jackie hooked a hand around one of the roller horns and peered down into the water. “I don’t think so, I mean he knows we’re-”
The sudden appearance of a flying adolescent Orca only a scant few feet away from the boat right next to the lot of them cut Jackie off. Most of them only had enough time to watch the little playful bastard hang in the air for a moment before he twisted to almost shoulder punch the water as he came back down. Andy had just enough presence of mind to pull Kalai and her father down, and braced himself as the plume of water rose from where Butterball landed.
“Oh shi-” Andy heard Jackie say before water cascaded down on them and drenched them all, sending the boat rocking violently.
It took a moment for Andy to recover and he helped the two Shil back to their feet. “Quick check, is everyone alright?”
“HEY! WHAT THE HELL, BUTTERBALL! GRAMMIE! YOU HAVE A TALK WITH YOUR GRANDSON! HE’S GONNA GET SOMEONE KILLED ONE OF THESE DAYS!” Jackie screamed at the water, shaking her fist.
A camera shutter sounded and a dripping wet Mrs. Vaida stood, wide eyed in fear, staring out over the water.
Andy started laughing at the sight of his boss soaked to the bone, her hair and her fur a dripping mess. “That picture right there? You can title it: ‘Angry Native Woman Yells at Whale.’”
Kalai looked like she was on Krek’s doorstep. Akil’eas knelt next to her as he finished his examination and was looking over the readings on his omnipad. His daughter sat in front of the cabin on the little step, legs splayed out in front of her while she leaned against the railing on the side of the boat. Her father stood next to her as he finished a quick check of her vitals and her viral load.
“Unsurprisingly, you’re a bit elevated, but given your numbers over the last week, that’s saying that you’ve come back up to your normal levels.” Akil’eas had been worried. When they’d hauled in the net the second time, Kalai had stayed on the bow with the boy, Andy, while Akil’eas’d stood over the human woman’s shoulder and studied the controls.
Akil’ieas had also pitched in and helped fill the hold, but when he and Sakalbi could no longer stuff them in, they’d given up and stood out of the way. His old friend and colleague had spent the rest of the time recording, either the large predators that continued to circle and play around the boat, or the seemingly inefficient fishing practice of Andy and his people. No wonder he was so big, and his brother had been that strong. It beggared belief that their people worked at that backbreaking pace for so long, but there Andy stood, proud and tall at the end of it, while he and Sakalbi struggled to stay standing.
Akil’eas had to focus on keeping his hands from shaking and retrieved another water bottle for his exhausted daughter. Andy had them moving at a slow pace back towards a different harbor from the one they’d left that morning. They’d stopped briefly at the pier they’d started from to allow Jackie to disembark. The two humans packed all the fish that couldn’t fit in the hold up to Jackie’s truck and filled the bed of it without any help. She drove off with close to a hundred fish.
Now with the deck cleared, Andy told them they were on their way to the harbor most of his Band used. The trip had been slower going than the morning had been, but only because they were riding much lower in the water than they had been.
“King Triton’s farewell,” Kalai muttered looking up. Akil’eas followed his daughter’s gaze up to see a flock of white and gray seabirds calling out loudly as they kept pace with the boat as it headed towards the docks.
“It means work’s almost over. It’s a great sound, isn’t it?” Andy called out from the cabin where he sat at the helm.
Kalai shifted herself with great effort to look around the door to the cabin. “It sounds amazing.”
The smile Andy gave Kalai caused Akil’eas to have a pang of fatherly protectiveness, and only fatigue kept the scowl off his face. “Just wait, we’ll clean a few once we’ve off-loaded to the families. Fresh salmon tonight for everyone, and I’m cooking! Doc, we’d love to have you, too.”
“I’d love to but-”
Kalai grabbed his arm and stopped him. “Trust me, Papa, you don’t want to miss it.”
Akil’eas chewed his tongue for a moment, looking from Andy to Kalai. Sakalbi caught his eye and nodded emphatically. “Alright, if you’ll allow me to help. You must be exhausted.”
Andy beamed at Akil’eas, “You won’t hear me turn down free help.”
“Vaascon fellas don’t have no frills, Haul away, haul away! They’re plain and skinny as a lodthfish gill, And we’re bound away for Vaasconia!”
Kalai sat back and started singing between sips of water. Akil’eas sat down next to her and joined in the chorus for a Vaascon sailing song. It was strange to think that these humans also sang to their sea gods to placate them and coordinate the work. What else could you expect from a sailorman? Some things call to the soul across time and evidently even the gulf space and peoples.
“So heave him up my Turry Turry girls, Haul away, haul away! Heave him up and let the sails unfurl! And we’re bound away for Vaasconia!”
Andy’s voice joining in on the chorus startled Akil’eas and Kalai and they both turned to look back at him.
He gave them another wide grin, “I started learning some of the sail songs after Kalai told me about sailing on Shil.”
“Akil’eas, a word?” Sakalbi motioned with her head towards the bow and offered him a hand up. He followed her to the bow, leaving the two children singing together.
The harbor mouth was coming up fast, and between the noise of the engine and the net drum keeping them out of sight, there was some privacy. “I’ve heard some rumors about your feelings toward humans…” Sakalbi leaned against the railing, giving him the look that every teacher and professor had when questioning a belligerent student. When Akil’eas didn’t answer her, save to throw her back his own look, she continued. “Kalai is quite taken with Andy. It’s been quite a refreshing thing to see her come out of her shell.”
“It’s a vacation romance, nothing more.” Akil’eas felt his stomach clench and couldn’t stop himself from looking back.
“I don’t think so, Akil’eas. This is the first time I’ve seen her so on thorns and thistles around anyone, much less a male. She’s been very keen around him.” The smile she gave him was a bit galling, but he had to admit, he didn’t really know Kalai as well as Sakalbi and her spouses.
“He is… I’m sure he is a very nice young man, but as a fit consort for a soon to be Duchess? No, and I’ve yet to meet a human that is.” The thought of a human becoming the next Duke He’osforos was absurd. Sure there had been the occasional non-Shil Kho-liebhaberin or even the one Duke Aurar’ian He’osforos who was a Triki, but a human? “They’re far too individualistic and self centered to rise to the responsibilities of the Peerage.”
“That’s not exactly as large a sample size as you think it is, Leas. If you had Andy in your class, or on your crew, disregarding the fact that he’s human, what would your read on him be?”
Akil’eas locked his jaw and pursed his lips, defiantly. “I don’t know.”
“Come on, Leas, you’re better than me at reading people, and I’m damn good at it.” He hated how Sakalbi’s eyes flashed and her right ear would twitch when she thought she had the upper hand in an argument. He huffed a sigh and decided to play her little game, just to humor her enough so that she’d drop the subject.
“Dependable, fastidious and competent, judging by the state of his equipment and his boat. Self sacrificing, diligent, hard working, given what I’ve observed today. He’s got a temper, but it takes a bit to get there, and he’s carrying some pretty heavy emotional scars.” He’d not seen very much of Andy, but the old Sailing Master and Professor in him started to come out and assess the boy just as he would any of his students or junior sailors.
“That’s my read, too. Doesn’t sound so individualistic and self-centered to me. Blighted Nature, Leas, from what I’ve learned about him and his people, he broke with several of their traditions and customs to help us. He’s stuck his neck out far further for us than we would have for him and his people, for no other reason than to try and save his homeland. Were he an Erbian on Myr or even back home in Vaasconia, there’d be Groom-War over his hand.”
Akil’eas was a bit piqued about her statement, “What about your daughter? Kalai made no secret about little Sitry mooning after him, and her disapproval of their courtship.”
“She thinks she’s in love, and it very well might be that she is, but Kalai’s disapproval should tell you what it tells me, given your own rather astute assessment of the man.”
“HEY DOC! TAKE THE WHEEL, I GOTTA DRUM US IN!” Andy’s voice cut their conversation short as Akil’eas turned to look back around the drum. Andy waved him back as he slowed their approach to come in. “Take us to Dock 5, straight back and to port.”
“Straight back and to larboard, aye!” Akil’eas rattled off as he traded places with Andy at the helm.
Kalai heaved herself up to stand as Andy grabbed a large leather circle and ran forward to jump up on the bow. As Akil’eas piloted the boat into the harbor and made the turn, he saw a large crowd of humans gathered on the pier and the shore. As soon as they were in sight, he watched as Andy, standing tall, began to drum a beat and vocalize, projecting his voice over the water to those on shore. Akil’eas sputtered a bit in surprise as he guided the boat slowly towards the open mooring.
“That’s their call. His family’s song lets the people on shore know who he is and that he’s friendly.” Kalai looked back at Akil’eas before moving inside the cabin to stand next to her father. “All the families know it, but only he is allowed to sing it. It’s their version of a family crest and coat of arms. Elder Hwatcom taught us about those. There’ll be a reply in a second granting us permission to come ashore.”
There was indeed a response of drumming and singing from the assembly of humans as many started to crowd forward carrying what appeared to be coolers. Andy reappeared and took the controls back and reversed to kill their forward momentum as Sakalbi threw out their mooring lines to the waiting humans. Andy killed the engine and moved quickly out of the cabin to speak in a language that Akil’eas did not recognize. There seemed to be a bit of confusion from those gathered on the dock, but Andy opened the hatch to show the hold full of fish.
“Don’t thank me, thank them. Sockeye and Kings to all comers, courtesy of the Vaidas and the Vaida Warren!” Andy shouted happily in Vatikre as he pulled two giant fish out by their gills and handed them off to the applauding humans.
Sakalbi managed to shoot Akil’eas a smug look before she plunged her hands into the mass of fish and began helping Andy hand them out to the people.
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Possible Late Post Due to Vacation. I will try to post on time, but it may be as late as 6/12/23