PICOT: population are the medical students printing progress notes. Intervention considered, hiding the paper from the attendings. Comparison alternative intervention, sending the medical student to find a Doppler instead. Outcome fewer medical students jam the printer and get hit with hammers. Time frame is until the nurses lose interest because a charge nurse got a nurse and a tech pregnant in the course of a week.
Attendings carry dangerously long patient lists, because running an outpatient addiction clinic in Meth City beats working in a hospital for a bunch of administrators with MBAs from Southeast Arkansas School of Business and Television Repair.
As a consequence, the remaining attendings are busy making sure they have fulfilled 72 discrete administrative tasks and practices holistic medicine with all of their patients. They are also responsible for an unknown number of residents. Finally they are responsible for making sure the APRN knows the difference between levophed and labatilol, and why you can’t give either to a patient during an outpatient MRI.
Many APRNs from the Hollywood Upstairs Online Graduate School of Nursing have trouble distinguishing between drugs that start with the same letter and will only prescribe drugs that start with the same letter each day of the week. It’s a terrifying 26 day cycle, not unlike the time the attending had a pregnancy scare during their MCAT prep.
As a result medical students on rotation are the absolute lowest priority. The attending, however, has been instructed to find something for those little shits to do. So the medical students are assigned the task of printing all of the progress notes for all of the patients on the attending’s list. Inevitably the medical student jams the old as fuck printer. This is because the hospital is spending money on CRNA Appreciation Day’s golf outing and the medical student has not learned the ways of the the printer.
Learning the ways of the printer is harder than learning how to do a radical neck resection to repair soft tissue cancers extending from the hard palate to the esophageal sphincter. Micro stitching is much easer than applying 2.4 psi of pressure with a slight anti-clockwise rotation of the head of the one specific plastic screw, with the rotation not to exceed 7 degrees or 0.04 pound feet of torque, which causes the printer to print without jamming. If done incorrectly this will cause the printer to smoke and the student will be hit with a hammer.
Loss of a printer is inconvenient, because IT is in a Section 8 apartment in the housing projects across town. The hospital used a janitor’s paystubs to get the apartment. It’s very economical and the janitor and his family are allowed to live in the Provider’s Lounge. IT takes approximately 4 days to make it to the unit and then has to order the parts from North Korea. Every time someone needs to print, and can’t, a medical student gets hit with a hammer. Hammer injuries don’t pay well, so administration wants to reduce the number of med students in the ED.
The proposed intervention is hiding all of the paper. The working theory is that if a pleasing nurse in Figs tells the attending that they are out of paper. Then the medical students will have to sit and watch an APRN try to perform a bedside neck resection on an awake and alert 43 year patient recovering from an ACL repair after a drunk pickeball injury.
It is not going well. If a medical student tries to stop the neck resection, then they will be hit with a hammer. APRNs are the future and if you make them mad, they will leave the hospital and go open their own clinic specializing in Botox and ketamine. If you make an APRN sad, you will be hit with a hammer. Just stay quiet and go along with the “no paper” story.
Alternative intervention, a RN tells the attending that they don’t have time to doppler pulses on the fem-pop. They are busy buying Figs and applying to CRNA school. The attending will send the medical students to find a Doppler and then have them doppler the pulses. This works because there are no dopplers left in the hospital. They got lost in the bedding after a code and went to hospital laundry. The administration wants to cut Doppler costs this year, so no replacements are available. The fem-pop was unsuccessful, the foot turned blue, and it’s taken 4 more surgeries to repair - so many ICD-10 codes to enter.
Sidebar: rumor is that next year administration is cutting EKG machine costs, because someone said a 3 lead is just as good. The cardiology residents are already building their own EKG machines and testing them on forensic patients. So far the machine works well, with only a small number of burns. Unfortunately, these machines don’t read the EKG for them, but ChatGPT gives decently accurate reads.
Back to the study. I’m not sure if sidebars are allowed in APA 7th, but the APA 7th can suck my floridly psychotic patient’s left nut.
The medical students will spend their entire rotation finding the Doppler. This prevents any medical student caused printer issues and subsequent hammer bearings.
Proposed outcome. Fewer medical students with poorly reimbursed hammer injuries and fewer problems with the federal government every time a package full of printer parts and a class-traitor’s hand arrives from North Korea.
Time frame: at least a week or two. It will probably get abandoned when news breaks that James the charge nurse has been pursuing chunky RNs and techs and missed the pull out.
James knows that if the Figs are tight at the seams and she’s talking about getting a tattoo of her Pitbull that died of police gunfire after it attacked a school bus, then the panties are coming off after he buys them Applebees twice. Unfortunately James doesn’t know that the pullout method is ineffective, especially in the break room on the unit that’s closed for plumbing repair. Anyway, he’s gotten two of them pregnant in the same week.
The RNs have all been watching him try to gaslight the tech into believing that they’ve never actually had sex. He’s simultaneously trying to get the nurse to pickup some extra shifts to pay for her own abortion and cover some staffing holes.
Barbara the unit secretary figured it all out, because James, the tech, and the nurse all treat her like their work grandma.
Unfortunately Barbara said that the tech has been gaslighted before and isn’t falling for it again. Also the RN is a born again Christian and won’t get an abortion, wants her baby raised in a Christian household with a daddy, doesn’t know about the tech, and is straight fucking crazy.
So the study will probably end when news breaks. Side benefit, everyone is picking up to see it happen, so staffing has improved.
Statistical analysis: none, cause fuck statistics.

• [ ] There is nothing you can do to avoid a hammer beating even though its ICD-10 code reimburses at less than a flu shot.

I wrote this for a nursing theory class in my psych APRN program, and got an A, because nobody cares what we do. APRNs are the future.

If you are ages 25-up's!! Slide on my DM 🤗
Hi, here's how you know me:
I am someone who can be outdoorsy sometime. I'm just new here but I love exploring new places when I have free time.
I'm single, I don't have kids and never been married. no no not for that haha lol. Hbu?
As for hobbies; I am an adventurous gal, I enjoy watching movies mostly in Netflix, I'm a homebuddy but I'm into outdoor activity too; more on biking and hiking but haven't done those things since Im a bit busy now :( I'm just a homebudy and doing homebody stuff like cooking thats my faveeee!!!
My days passed like in couch chilin there,watching movies sometimes scrolling on my soc med.
I you're here in USA and ages 25-up, send me message 📩

Hey all, I have experience with training dogs and caring for them, but for a good 10 years of my life I was gone for 10-11 hours per day 5+ days a week.
Things have changed with hybrid working and a new job. I'm now gone 2-4 days out of 7 for around 8-9 hours. There isn't anyone who can watch the dog during the day aside from paying a dog walker, but I can give the dog access to the exterior with a 3 seasons room I have. I live in the country part of the city so it's fairly quiet from a people/cars perspective, but there's deer, squirrels, rabbits, etc..
Most would say get a cat i know, but I also like walking a lot and being outside or hiking. So I'm looking for a companion to do things with and walk every day. I'm also allergic to most cats :(
Can I get away with taking them for however long of a walk they need in the morning and the evening on days that I'm gone. I definitely want to make sure my dog is happy and loved, but it's just me. Thanks!
Will this be your first dog? If not, what experience do you have owning/training dogs?
First dog that I am primarily responsible before but experienced in training not necessarily caring for a dog
2) Do you have a preference for rescuing a dog vs. going through a reputable breeder?
I would prefer to rescue a dog
3) Describe your ideal dog.
Small to medium sized. Happy loving and hungry
4) What breeds or types of dogs are you interested in and why?
I’m not sure I was looking at beagles recently
5) What sorts of things would you like to train your dog to do?
My dog will be trained on his day to day and his capacity to continue to learn beyond that would be stimulated but I don’t really want my dog to do “something”
6) Do you want to compete with your dog in a sport (e.g. agility, obedience, rally) or use your dog for a form of work (e.g. hunting, herding, livestock guarding)? If so, how much experience do you have with this work/sport?
No
Care Commitments
7) How long do you want to devote to training, playing with, or otherwise interacting with your dog each day?
2 hours max
8) How long can you exercise your dog each day, on average? What sorts of exercise are you planning to give your dog regularly and does that include using a dog park?
For me I understand the dog needs daily exercise but some days it’s 20-30 min and other days I have 2-3 hours of walking. For reference I averaged 3.5 miles walked per day working from home last year. I’ve walked/hiked 20+ miles in a day though
9) How much regular brushing are you willing to do? Are you open to trimming hair, cleaning ears, or doing other grooming at home? If not, would you be willing to pay a professional to do it regularly?
I do not want to regularly have to brush and trim hair. I have significant issues with my hands that make things like that difficult. I would hire someone if I could not perform
Personal Preferences
10) What size dog are you looking for?
20-50 lbs
11) How much shedding, barking, and slobber can you handle?
Barking and slobber are eh prefer not to much shedding but definitely not a deal breaker I’m outside a lot so I track in my fair share of dirt
12) How important is being able to let your dog off-leash in an unfenced area?
Not important
Dog Personality and Behavior
13) Do you want a snuggly dog or one that prefers some personal space?
I want a dog that is ok if I give it tons of attention but I’m gone for 8 hours
14) Would you prefer a dog that wants to do its own thing or one that’s more eager-to-please?
Does not matter to me we are all our own person or in this case dog 🙂
15) How would you prefer your dog to respond to someone knocking on the door or entering your yard? How would you prefer your dog to greet strangers or visitors?
Someone at the house let me know I live in a semi secluded area on a walk or in a park i definitely want them to be friendly to people and dogs
16) Are you willing to manage a dog that is aggressive to other dogs?
I can manage and train a dog that reacts incorrectly but would prefer not to have to do that
17) Are there any other behaviors you can’t deal with or want to avoid?
No
Lifestyle
18) How often and how long will the dog be left alone?
I’m gone for 4-8 hours every day, but I’m a giver I go out of my way to give to others so I’d prefer a dog who isn’t going to freak out
19) What are the dog-related preferences of other people in the house and what will be their involvement in caring for the dog?
N/a
20) Do you have other pets or are you planning on having other pets? What breed or type of animal are they?
N/a
21) Will the dog be interacting with children regularly?
N/a
22) Do you rent or plan to rent in the future? If applicable, what breed or weight restrictions are on your current lease?
Own home
23) What city or country do you live in and are you aware of any laws banning certain breeds
N/a USA no covenants
24) What is the average temperature of a typical summer and winter day where you live?
North Carolina hot and cold
Additional Information and Questions
25) Please provide any additional information you feel may be relevant.
Just looking for a Best bud to share a large home that I live in alone. I cook and walk/hike a decent amount so a buddy to enjoy that with
26) Feel free to ask any questions below

I'm 27 and single, never married. Right now I'm working in my aunt's catering service as a office clerk and socmed handler. In my free time, I spend it watching netflix and anime series at my apartment, but I'm also quite the adventurous type; I love to hike, camp and do fishing when I can.
When it comes to talking to men, I tend to stick with those aged 25 and above. I'm a mature individual, and I'm looking for men that have that same level of maturity, especially when it comes to their work or careers. I find that the more mature the better, and that's something I'm really looking for.
I'm here on Reddit to meet new people and hopefully find the right person for me. If you're a mature adult and looking for the same, feel free to to message me so we can start a conversation.
Thanks for reading my post! USA Only! If you are not in USA don't dm please respect thanks!

Hey I’m just chilling at my place browsing through Netflix trying to find something to watch and wouldn’t mind some conversation. I’m in the USA if that makes a difference. Hope we can chat soon.

Selling my Watch Series 7
Originally purchased December 2021 with apple care expiring March 20th 2023
Repairs: None
The watch is in excellent shape. Buttons and screen respond properly, and bands slide in and out with ease. Worn for 3-4 months continuously and then on and off for a couple weeks at a time.
The Watch is equipped with a black sport band & the midnight case.
$230 shipped via UPS First Class.
Images: https://imgur.com/a/hNDtbFW

I love the Super Mario Bros franchise and all the games in it (except the worst ones) however there was a certain point, in which I never liked Super Mario Bros 2 (the one from the United States and the one from japan) because both games (in my point of view) I didn't even see them as the Mario franchise and I watched YouTube videos of them (I even have a bad eye for Super Mario Bros 2 from USA because that game is not even the true Mario game because that game is based on "Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic" an NES game that was released only in Japan) but all that changed today, I saw a gameplay of Japanese Super Mario Bros 2 on NES and curiously I charm out of nowhere, so I poor it on the Nintendo Switch Online and played the All Stars version first and was surprised that it's very addictive for many reasons (like it's the true sequel to Super Mario Bros 1, it has many things that later appear in other games in the series, etc) and I gave the game a 10 out of 10 and while the original version (NES) I'm playing it right now and it's wonderful at first glance 😍😍😍, because I know what it is like the first game (in graphics and gameplay) but at least they did something different in that game like they added a new character (the red carnivorous plant), it has things that give nostalgia and among other things and the one from the USA none of that happens because to start with the characters in the game are not original Mario characters (which were later considered characters from the Mario franchise and it's kind of silly for me) but they are from the original game from Japan and the game is weird because seeing Mario in a zone Other than not from the Mario games is weird. My conclusion is that Japanese Super Mario Bros 2 should be considered as the true sequel to Super Mario Bros 1 and not that US game since it doesn't seem strange to you that it is not a true Mario game? When I found out about that, I instantly hated the Super Mario 2 USA until the versions of the game (All Stars and Game Boy Advance) since I can't look at that game with the same eyes since it seems cheesy that Nintendo would agree to make a different game for Super Mario Bros 2 being based on Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic instead of the Japan version of the original Mario Bros 2 and people must recognize that the real Mario 2 game is the one from Japan (there are some who believe that it is the one from the United States United, but as I already said, it is based on Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic and it is not an original game by Mario and apart from that, the characters from that game do not appear anymore after that game and only Shy Guy and Birdo appear in other games Mario, but at the end of the day I prefer Japanese Super Mario Bros 2 because it is the truest game in everything and besides, Super Mario Bros 2 from the United States is not canon because it is even confirmed in everything, so to finish Super Mario Bros 2 Japanese is the true Super Mario Bros 2 in everything and the other one (the one from the United States) is nothing because it is not at all

So I was doing some work on my car and the guy said will take 3-4 hours didn’t wanted to leave the car bc Uber is almost $100 each way back to my home so there was a poker game going literally 10 mins from where I drop the car I had a thought about going there and kill some time and play poker but I was clean for 43 days today and didn’t wanted to relapse and reset my app so I instead took a $8 Uber went to cineplex and watch Transformer movie spent $40 watch nice move ate good popcorn and now I am driving my home it was very tough for me to walk away from poker game bc m buddy works there and he kept calling me to come but I had my self control and I ignored his number for time being now I feel so good bc literally my $300 car repair could have been $2000 if I went to gamble now I feel so good Day 44 … I just hope I never go back to that miserable life …!

Hey there! my name is Mark and I'm here to try my luck at this. Are you seeking a man who knows how to cook your favorite meals with no complaints because its something hes passionate about? Seeking a man who will always be there for you and supportive? A man who can watch movies with, video games, and anything your heart desires because he's always down to try new things and go on new exciting adventures? If you are sitting there nodding to any of the above then do continue to read along!
I'm single (Duh right?) and I've built a life I'm happy with but I haven't found someone to share it with. I'm a kind soul who only wants to share happiness with someone. I live in Michigan, but it doesn't matter and it doesn't matter where you live either. In the USA would be the easiest just for timezone sake and ease of relocation.
I want someone to cuddle while we watch Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Rick and Morty or any comedy because who doesn't enjoy a good laugh, directly followed by literally any Quentin Tarantino movie.
I'm a bigger guy, 6'3 to be exact and just like the 3.99 burrito supreme from Taco Bell, you might be intimidated by my size. But once you get into me, you’ll realize just how warm and cheesy I am! If a sudden explosion occurred, I could wrap you in my arms and you'd be safe and sound :D Despite being a big guy, I've always been very athletic and into sports of all kinds. One of my goals is using my culinary prowess to better educate myself on healthy choices that are also delicious.
I will one day become a chef in a good restaurant, a loving husband, and a fantastic father. What do I want? A sweet, open minded woman who can accept my flaws as I would accept hers. I am more attracted to personality than anything, but being pretty is always a plus.
Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. <3
If this piqued your interest I'd love to hear back from you!
If You read through this whole post please tell me what your favorite Disney movie is when you reach out to me :)

For context, I live in USA, at 26 you are locked off of your parent's private insurance if you were ever lucky enough to be on it. I turn 26 in a few days and I'll lose my insurance then. My whole life I've been in pain with nothing really in particular wrong that any Dr. could find, lots of sprains, dislocations, general body aches, lots of other things wrong, lots of symptoms but ultimately my whole life I've been told im dramatic, or it's just anxiety, it's in my head, I take a lot of medication for quality of life now that I'm older and Drs believe I have symptoms but it was a lot of gaslighting as a kid and a lot of "sorry, we don't know" as an adult. Recently I found out I have a genetic disorder that's caused all this my whole life. I'm not crazy, there IS something wrong, there IS something that can be done. I turn 26 this month and it feels cruel, I just got answers and already I'm going to lose any possibility of fixing anything. I'm fighting for disability again(I did previously but without a diagnosis they told me I wasn't sick enough) but if that falls through I lose everything, my ability to see my care team, my ability to get my medication. If I'm being honest I don't really see a light at the end of the tunnel here, my only option is to let my loved ones watch me deteriorate and I'm scared. I don't know how long I'll last. I don't know. Just needed to tell literally anyone, I can't burden my family with this. Sorry.

Hey there! my name is Mark and I'm here to try my luck at this. Are you seeking a man who knows how to cook your favorite meals with no complaints because its something hes passionate about? Seeking a man who will always be there for you and supportive? A man who can watch movies with, video games, and anything your heart desires because he's always down to try new things and go on new exciting adventures? If you are sitting there nodding to any of the above then do continue to read along!
I'm single (Duh right?) and I've built a life I'm happy with but I haven't found someone to share it with. I'm a kind soul who only wants to share happiness with someone. I live in Michigan, but it doesn't matter and it doesn't matter where you live either. In the USA would be the easiest just for timezone sake and ease of relocation.
I want someone to cuddle while we watch Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Rick and Morty or any comedy because who doesn't enjoy a good laugh, directly followed by literally any Quentin Tarantino movie.
I'm a bigger guy, 6'3 to be exact and just like the 3.99 burrito supreme from Taco Bell, you might be intimidated by my size. But once you get into me, you’ll realize just how warm and cheesy I am! If a sudden explosion occurred, I could wrap you in my arms and you'd be safe and sound :D Despite being a big guy, I've always been very athletic and into sports of all kinds. One of my goals is using my culinary prowess to better educate myself on healthy choices that are also delicious.
I will one day become a chef in a good restaurant, a loving husband, and a fantastic father. What do I want? A sweet, open minded woman who can accept my flaws as I would accept hers. I am more attracted to personality than anything, but being pretty is always a plus.
Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. <3
If this piqued your interest I'd love to hear back from you!
If You read through this whole post please tell me what your favorite Disney movie is when you reach out to me :)

I'm 27 and single, never married. Right now I'm working in my aunt's catering service as a office cleark and socmed handler. In my free time, I spend it watching netflix and anime series at my apartment, but I'm also quite the adventurous type; I love to hike, camp and do fishing when I can.
When it comes to talking to men, I tend to stick with those aged 25 and above. I'm a mature individual, and I'm looking for men that have that same level of maturity, especially when it comes to their work or careers. I find that the more mature the better, and that's something I'm really looking for.
I'm here on Reddit to meet new people and hopefully find the right person for me. If you're a mature adult and looking for the same, feel free to leave a comment and we can start a conversation. Thanks for reading my post!
Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day reading this. Please message about yourself if you take an interest in me :3 I will not reply to low effort messages or just a "hey". Please tell me your name, age and location right from the start so that we'll know where to start. Please USA only..

Logan Maire
265 Clove Rd, New Rochelle, NY 10801
New Rochelle, New York 10805
Date
2/16/2023

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield

United States Mission to the United Nations

799 United Nations Plaza New York, NY 10017

Dear: Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield
Hello my name is Logan Maire and I am a dual citizen of Jamaica and German descent. I moved to the USA in 2019 but before that during my time in Jamaica I lived with my predominantly German family. My Opa’s name was Heinz Becker and he was a man who I spent a large portion of my life admiring and asking questions about his life in Germany. With this in mind when my history teacher tells us that we are doing an assignment that we have to talk about: enduring issues, natural assets and without hesitation the nation I decided to pick was Germany based on the fact that most of my ancestry comes from there. With that ancestry in mind I want to shed a modern light on German enduring issues and talk about some of its assets that I view most important.
Germany is a scenic and beautiful country with a burgeoning economy and a committed and devoted people. Germany is the richest country in Europe with a GDP of over 3.5 trillion dollars. Germany also has the most castles out of any nation in the world with an estimated 25000 castles which spans over the entire country. Germany is packed to the brim with rivers, mountains and forests that further expands its natural beauty in regard to other european nations.
I believe currently despite all of Germany's many stated assets that there are still underlying problems in German society. The main one of these problems is inequality in German society. As stated by human rights watch on inequality in the German state “Official statistics published in May showed an increase in politically motivated crimes in 2020, particularly hate crimes carried out by right-wing extremists. Anti-immigrant and antisemitic crimes increased by 72 and almost 16 percent, respectively, over the previous year.” Germany needs to work on the rate of inequality that these immigrants and Jews are facing. A solution I came up with was the need for further modern global anti hate crime laws on the internet and social media which PBS states “neo-Nazi groups are using internet platforms to recruit and to organize.” As our UN representative you could bring my solutions to the UN as this is an issue that not only affects Germany but the world as a whole. These laws could be used to criminalize the formations of hate groups on social media and the internet as a whole and mitigate hate groups use of these platforms to continue to spread their twisted philosophies. I hope these reforms will help to mitigate the spread of hate in our modern society.
Sincerely [Logan Maire](mailto:[email protected])

Want to gift someone a watch se gen 2 or series 6/7 so it must be bnib or open box.
SE Gen 2 - 150 Series 6 - 165 Series 7 - 200
Local 08540

So here I am looking for my forever partner, someone who really knows what they want in a partner, someone who’s family oriented, someone we can both build a home together and someone who’s a goal getter.
I’m 30 years old single with no kids and never been married but hoping to change that with someone we both share almost the same interests such as, long distance road trips, hiking, watching stuffs on youTube, I workout to keep my body healthy and in a good shape, going on a long vacation, taking long walk at the park and I want to try new things.
Feel free to Pm or message me from the USA or Canada as I am also open to LDR too. Looks are important so be sure to include a picture of yourself.

What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.

• Mostly Stable Diffusion, with some gaming. I’ve been thinking about getting something for light gaming for awhile (mostly to play CoD/Battlefield/fotm shooter with friends), but it’s always been on the back burner. Lately though, I’ve been spending a ton of time on Stable Diffusion, and I want to get something that’s better at rendering (or will at least let me offload the heavy, high-res editing jobs so I can be free to work on other stuff). Needs to be able to handle high-ish resolutions (3840x3840 after 4x upscaling).

What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?

• $800-$1000. I’d prefer to keep it at the lower end if possible. I’m willing to go slightly over the upper end, but only for a really, really good “bang for your buck” improvement.

When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.

• As soon as I figure out which parts I need.

What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc)

• Everything but the monitor and peripherals.

Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?

• USA, Georgia, yes

If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.

• LG Monitor

Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?

• I have absolutely no idea. Help?

Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)

• NVIDIA graphics card - from what I’ve read they’re much more compatible and faster with Stable Diffusion. Based on this guide I’m thinking RTX 3070 or better?
  
• As much VRAM as possible - my understanding is the VRAM is more important than speed, especially for higher resolution images.
  
• 1 TB storage, minimum. While working on a project, I might literally have 50-100 GB of temporary images and model mixes, so I need to make sure I have a large buffer to work with. 2 TB would be ideal, but not required.
  

What type of network connectivity do you need? (Wired and/or WiFi) If WiFi is needed and you would like to find the fastest match for your wireless router, please list any specifics.

• Both Wired and WiFi. I’m planning on using WiFi, but if the latency for games ends up being too much I’d like the option to fall back to wired.

Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?

• No strong preferences, but all else being equal would probably choose smaller case over bigger one.

Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?

• Yes. I’d assume Windows 11 Home? Are there any pitfalls I need to watch out for? (in terms of UI preference I’m coming from Mac, so it’ll be unfamiliar to me whichever version I get).

Extra info or particulars:

• If these requirements at this budget are unreasonable, what’s the lowest reasonable cost I should be looking at?

Thanks in advance!

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Without that horrendous bat flapping around and causing a mess for me, I'm now able to focus all of my efforts on bringing down the blinded bear colossus. It is unfortunate that I lost too many owls in the aerial battle, and that Alexa is too exhausted to help out herself, as that means I won't have any reinforcements available from them coming to Jackie’s aid any time soon. That being said, I know just the fish who might be able to make an early return in their stead.
Since they’ve been resting since the start of the battle, Selene and Hecate have been able to recuperate a bit of their mana pools already. Considering that I’m near 100% confident that it doesn’t matter how much the big bear regenerates if it can’t breathe, plus the fact that it doesn’t take too much mana just to hold some water in place, there’s not much reason to keep them benched much longer. Somehow though, I doubt it’s going to be quite that easy to take the bear colossus down. So why don’t we improve the chances of success a bit with all of this free manna I find myself currently swimming in?
Thanks to the sheer quantity of invaders Deepholm is swarming me in, I’ve got more mana to make use of than ever before, and I’d be a fool not to put it to good use. The steep requirement of having to pay 4 times the mana as any of my other scions to upgrade them is hardly an issue at this moment, so I begin the process of pouring my power into my fish. All the while, I keep an eye trained on the battle at hand, waiting for whatever it is the bear will try next. Deepholm scions don’t just meekly turn over and accept their defeat after all.
While I’m only halfway through providing upgrades to my fish scions, my caution is proven entirely warranted as the bear scion bellows its frustration and rage at the top of its lungs. Unable to proceed along a straight path due to Jackie’s constant interference, the colossus hunkers down for a moment in my lake and covers its head with its paws. Then, as soon as its eyes have had a chance to regenerate once more, it peeks out and gets a lock on my location before Jackie inevitably puts more arrows through the freshly grown eyes. This time it hardly pays the attack any mind, reaching down to its flank with those huge claws and ripping free a sizable chunk of its own flesh. With a great heave, the bear scion sent the chunk sailing through the air where it crashed with a meaty splat against the trunk of my tree.
First of all, …gross. Secondly, that bear has surprisingly good aim to be able to nail the part of my tree trunk that is perfectly in line with where my core is. Lastly, heh-heh, I’m in danger. Unable to use its sight, and no longer able to rely on the bat scion for its sonic guidance, the bear has resorted to using smell to guide its way. And what better trail to follow with one’s strong sense of smell than the stench of one’s own blood and viscera? Without a moment of hesitation, the bear scion is back on its feet, and charging forward once more.
This time, there’s truly nothing we can do to stop its advance, the bear’s nose is too big to fully destroy the bear’s sense of smell, even with Jackie’s arrows desperately blasting pieces off of it. With a tremor that I can feel throughout the entire island, the bear scion slams headfirst into the high cliffs, which only serves to daze the beast for but a moment before it starts awkwardly clambering upwards. I curse vehemently, at this rate the colossus will reach my tree before I’m done with upgrading the twins. I can cut it short and make the current upgrade the last one, but it will still take a minute or so for the twins to become accustomed to their strengthened bodies.
It doesn’t take long for the bear’s claws to scramble against the top of the cliffs, digging in for extra purchase, shortly followed thereafter by the beast’s snarling and arrow-riddled cranium. The twins have only just finished absorbing the mana from the latest upgrade, they’re not going to make it in time. It is at that moment that my saviors made their gallant entry into the fray. Cutting a swathe through the remaining army of normal invaders charged not any of my scions, but the brave surviving members of my defensive forces. Having abandoned their defensive chokepoint in the entrance cave, a combined throng of brawler bunnies and leopards led the way as my froglings and flechette-pines provided cover fire. Beside me, I can feel the consternation roll off of Giorno as he tries to keep some semblance of organization in place amidst an attack that he had most certainly not ordered.
Though our tactics have done a great deal in leveling the playing field in the battle between denizens, there are still a lot of enemies left to deal with, and this attack will only open us up to many more unnecessary casualties. Underneath his annoyed countenance however, I do detect a hint of pride in their reckless attempts to buy me more time. An attempt that certainly pays its dividends.
With a series of tremendous leaps, the brawler bunnies and leopard forces bound up to the limbs of the bear scion and begin hacking away at it with sharp claws and stone swords. They scale up the beast, slashing at every joint and every digit along the way. The colossus roars in pain and slips from the cliffside as the tendons in each limb are systematically severed time and time again. But this moment of victory comes at far too steep a cost.
When the bear scion crashes back into the lake, its sheer mass flattens dozens of my brave denizens at a time. From there it thrashes about, crushing some more of my stalwart defenders and sending others flying through the air. Not wasting the opportunity, my denizens lead the enemy scion over to the remnants of the invader army, where both sides become equally devastated by the beast’s angry flailing. I try to call my denizens back, telling them to retreat, that they’d done enough already. When that failed, I resorted to using some of my mana to make it a direct order. Retreat already! The twins are on the way, swimming around the south side of the island as we speak. There’s no need for any more of you to die!
I can feel the mana drain away as the orders take hold, but then I got a unanimous response back through Alexa’s network. Every single one of them started the retreat and then volunteered themselves to be a rearguard to help cover the escape. Even though technically they were following through with my order, not a single denizen so much as turned around or took a single step backward. They were loopholing me! Those damnable, brave, fools were refusing to leave until my scions could arrive. Who the heck taught you bastards to test the limits of the rules and look for ways to bend them in your favor anyhow!?
It took less than a minute for my twins to arrive. But it took even less time for the bear colossus to finish with its rampage. Now the only living combatants faced each other over a lake stained to the same red as the bear scion’s eyes. As a healer, Selene has seen more than her fair share of nasty injuries, as well as plenty of corpses from my previous encounters with Deepholm’s invaders. But even still, all that experience could not have prepared her for the sight of the slaughter before her. All the violent thrashing had thoroughly frothed the water of the lake, but rather than help hide the bodies below with the white foam it only served to accentuate them by clinging to whatever pieces remained above water.
It left my poor fish heartbroken. Disgust and despair raged inside her alongside a powerful wave of guilt at not recovering fast enough to be able to come to their aid in time. I know, sweetie, I know. But those denizens out there? They bought us enough time to stop any more atrocities from happening. They bet everything on you two and Jackie, and now it’s time to make sure we don’t waste a single death. All that anguish and sorrow you’re feeling? I need you to use it. Use it to hone a blade in your heart to turn against those who spread such senseless violence. It’s time to take up the second half of the saint’s job and smite down that walking calamity of a bear. And you’re not alone, Hecate is right beside you along with Jackie, and together, I know you all can do this.
Pep talk done, Hecate gives her sister a loving nuzzle under her chin before turning her hate-filled eyes to the bear scion as well. She isn’t taking kindly to all the desolation wrought by the colossus either, and is especially pissed by how upset it is making her kind-hearted twin. The white crescent moon mark on her forehead glows faintly in response to her roiling emotions, while after a few deep breaths, Selene’s black crescent moon mark does the same, her eyes now steeled in vindictive determination.
As one, they lifted a massive ball of water into the air and slammed it into the bear scion’s face, completely covering it in a matter of seconds. Meanwhile, I begin the process of funneling mana into Jackie for her own upgrades. The beast hasn’t shown any magical capacity besides its regeneration, but who knows? Maybe it has something up its sleeve that would save it from the same fate as its companion. Better safe than sorry in this case, no?
Evidently, I was correct to prepare for the backup plan, because rather than struggle against the water bubble encasing its face, the bear colossus calmly slurped the water down. The vast amounts of suction overwhelmed the amount of mana the twins could use to keep the water in place, and so it simply disappeared down the beast’s gullet with a taunting smile that seemed to say, “Thanks for the refreshing drink, I was feeling rather parched”. Not a smidge of magic was used, or needed, to easily trounce my hopes of drowning our problems away. What stood before us surely could not be described as anything but the epitome of relentless brute force, a fact which has now been hammered home rather insultingly by the defeat of my plans through lung power of all things.
With a challenging roar, the bear plowed forward while ignoring the twin’s follow up attacks. Right, plan B it is then. If we can’t suffocate him, then we’ll just have to overwhelm his regeneration with more damage than it can keep up with! In but a moment the bear scion has slammed into my cliffside and begins scaling it once more. This time, Selene and Hecate are there to stop it from making any meaningful progress, their watery slashes biting deep into flesh and disabling limbs long enough for the next attack to land. Where Hecate’s attacks strike necrosis quickly follows, seeping into the flesh until the entire mass falls off to be replaced by newly regenerated meat. Meanwhile, Selen’s strikes shine with the radiant power of her light mana, her slices digging deep through muscles, tendons, and all the way to the bones beneath.
Together they manage to keep the colossus pinned in place to the craggy wall of my island, allowing Jackie all the time she needs to hop around and unleash a torrent of her aether arrows. Rather than strike into the beast herself however, I have her shoot the cliffs themselves where she then sprouts much more massive vines than usual to grasp at the enemy scion and bind it in place. I know that the twins will run out of mana long before I can bleed this invader dry in a battle of attrition, so instead my goal here is to line Jackie up for one big shot to put an end to this colossus once and for all.
Bounding up to the top of the cliff, right over the massive head of the bear, Jackie grows the limbs of her bow out further than even its longbow form, one side planting itself firmly into the stone. With a mighty heave, she stands upon the bow’s limbs and pushes down with all the strength in her legs while hoisting up on the drawstring with her arms. A ballista-sized arrow grows into place, aimed straight down to the skull of the beast below. Through this, Jackie channels the full force of her wind aether. With my hand on her back, I speak softly to into her mind through the bond we share.
“The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Let’s do this Jackie, together!”
Through my hand I channel even more mana into Jackie than before, really packing it into her as fast as the upgrades can handle. 2 more, then 5, then 10. The power swirls around her like a maelstrom that would have left anybody else gritting their teeth to ride out the storm. But not my Jackie. As much as I pushed the mana into her, she matched me by pulling it into her control right away, weaving it into her aether flawlessly. Around the arrow tip the air began to swirl, faster and faster, like a drill turned up to turbo speeds.
This obviously did not go unnoticed by the bear scion, but it was too late for the behemoth to avoid its fate. Bound up tightly in Jackie’s vines while Selen and Hecate kept its prodigious strength locked away through their continuous onslaught. Their mana has already depleted dangerously low once again, but their combined efforts have bought us all the opportunity we need. All the enemy can do is flounder uselessly in its restraints, glaring balefully at Jackie and its impending doom.
With a boom the arrow disappears from Jackie’s bow, boring a path straight through the entire length of the bear scion and continuing deep into the ground beneath it. Jackei’s wind arrow had accelerated freely without any resistance, twisting the air in front of it out of the way and turning the space in front into a devastating drill. Meanwhile, just behind the shaft, the collapse of the resulting vacuum pushed the arrow along even faster than any projectile has ever flown before in this world.
The twisting motion of the air and the shockwaves from the collapsing vacuum bubble didn’t just serve to speed up the arrow however. Like a delayed reaction after the arrow had already sped through, I watched as a spray of blood exploded from the bear’s body, accompanied by the splash of water beneath its feet. I watched as the beast’s jaw was ripped away to hang loosely by a strip of flesh on the right side of its head. From there the arrow had traveled down into the beast’s shoulder and blazed a path all the way through its chest cavity, the aftershocks ripping the bear’s body apart and leaving its left side barely attached anymore. It looked as if some giant had cleaved its axe down the bear’s side, all the way from the shoulders to the hips.
The scion had managed to avoid an instantly fatal blow by twisting its head as far to the side as possible, but that proved to only postpone the inevitable at this point. With that much damage to the internal organs, it couldn’t hope to recover in time. We’d done it, we’d won!
Joyfully, I turned to Giorno, ready to send some mana down to Kelvin next, but what I saw froze me in my tracks. This whole battle, Giorno had been his usual calm and composed self, issuing orders and cooly commanding our forces. But now, he was trembling with a visual amount of fear, his skin blanched of all color. Thoroughly spooked, I racked my brain for anything I might have missed, but I got my answer sooner than expected.
“Kill it, kill it now! We don’t have any time, finish it before it's too late! It’s going to do something to the bear!”
Dutifully, Jackie and the twins ready their next attacks to hasten the bear scion’s demise, but something Giorno said stuck out to me. Wait, the bear is the subject of his sentence, not the object for some reason. But…, that would have to mean…
With wide eyes, I come to a dreadful realization, I never got a mana notification for the bat scion. No, no! No WAY that bastard survived, right? Feeling the sneaking march of dread closing in on my throat, I check the spot where the bat scion had crashed into my island. There it lay, wings in tatters and its chest caved in from impacting the ground, lying in a pool of its own blood. By all accounts, it appears to be dead. But that’s when I notice something off. The pool of blood is moving.
Right before my eyes, I watch as little bubbles capture air inside, and then get mixed in the blood as it slowly circulates out of the lethal wounds and then back into the bat’s body. It must have kept conscious through the crash and is now using its blood magic to just barely keep itself alive. Would that be all the bat was up to, I would have breathed a sigh of relief. But no, all around the crash were scattered splotches of fresh blood, drawn out into a foreboding set of interlocking symbols when viewed from above. The bat was casting something, using its own life as fuel. With a weak wheeze in place of a laugh, the bat scion spoke for one final time.
“Glory be to the Mountainlord. Blood Arts: Sacrifice.”
Accompanied by the ding of a new notification, I watched in horror as all the blood was forcibly wrested from the bat scion’s fresh corpse, instantly mummifying it into a dried-out husk. Then that mass of brackish liquid moved faster than it had any right to, thin tendrils shooting out from the main body quickly dragging the blob to the edge of the island. Before any of my scions could react, it had already latched onto the dying bear’s head and begun pouring itself forcibly through every orifice it could reach.
Writhing in agony at the black-red liquid shoving itself down its throat, nostrils, and eye sockets, my scions lashed into the bear’s body with as much strength as they could, but to no avail. The wounds would begin closing before their attacks could even finish, and from the bear’s torso sprouted several bloody tentacles which wrapped themselves around the dangling left side, pulling it back into place with a wet squelch. The newfound regeneration didn’t, perhaps couldn’t, stop there however. All over the colossus’s body something churned beneath its hide.
Every single muscle in the behemoth’s body squirmed as it doubled, then tripled in size, in some places rupturing the skin as it struggles to contain the roiling mass of flesh. Muscle fibers sprung from the fur like weeds sprouting out of fertile ground, twitching and flailing about looking for something to connect to, until the beast’s entire form was nothing but a bulging mass of undulating flesh vaguely shaped like a bear. From the monstrosities head, the repaired jaw split open far wider than anything still attached to the skull to allow, revealing row after row of sharp fangs growing into place all the way down its throat.
With an unearthly screech, the monstrosity easily tore itself free of the vines and took a swipe at Jackie with its misshapen foreleg. Nobody must have told Deepholm that inflating your musculature so much is a direct reduction in flexibility however, because the blow was slow and cumbersome, allowing Jackie to easily vault backwards out of reach. But Deepholm didn’t need to care about such silly things like flexibility, or the limits of a physical body, as halfway through the swing a series of cracks could be heard as the bear monstrosity’s muscles broke every single bone in its arm, causing it to suddenly stretch out on just the muscles and ligaments, increasing in speed as the limb turned into an impromptu flesh whip tipped with giant claws.
Caught completely by surprise, Jackie could only try to form a hasty shield of roots with her life aether, but the abomination’s claws sundered it with ease, cleaving through her bow, then her arm, and finally raking across her torso. My girl hit the ground, hard, and didn’t get back up. Meanwhile, the twins were still desperately flinging any kind of attack they could think at the bear horror, all to no avail. This affront to nature had such strong regeneration now that nothing in their repertoire could hope to leave any lasting damage.
With thundering steps, the abomination practically oozed up onto my island, all four legs standing firmly upon my territory for the first time. A few steps brought it close enough to brush up against my trunk, and then it sunk its claws deep into the bark and tore a ginormous chunk of wood free. As easily as tearing apart cardboard, Deepholm’s monstrosity began to dig its way deeper and deeper towards my sanctum, and inevitable destruction. From beside my core, a loud snap rang out as the inspector’s white-knuckle grip finally crushed the handle of her kanabo.
“Damn it all, I can’t just sit here at let this happen! I have to–”
Whatever she was about to say was cut off as she took her first step forward, weapon raised with the intent to join the fray. Instantly she was beset by floating swords made of light on all sides, not even given enough time to swear before they all plunged into her body. With a gasp Lydia fell to the floor, covered in wounds. She’d managed to use her ki to shift the trajectory of enough blades away from her vital organs, but she was still grievously wounded and wouldn’t be doing any fighting any time soon.
In what felt like no time at all, the fleshy abomination had reached the final bit of wood separating me from the outside world. With a psychic scream of determination, Leonardo charged forth, combining his life and kinetic affinities to try and brace that final barrier, but his efforts were carelessly brushed aside as the bear’s claws crashed through anyways, collapsing a pile of splinted timber down upon my peaceful crafter. From above and behind, Alexa had joined the twins in trying to drag the enemy scion back, but with barely a sliver of mana left between the three of them, they were little more than flies buzzing uselessly through the air to it.
Fully exposed to the outside world for the first time since my birth into this world, I was now face to face with the monstrosity as it raised its claws for one final strike. But oddly, all the fear and terror that had frozen me still before was utterly absent. I couldn’t even focus on the looming mountain of death in front of me, nor on the panicked shrieks of my scions as they struggled to the last. Rather, my gaze fell upon the prone form of the very first scion I had designated. My strongest defender, and the most earnest girl you would ever meet. With my focus beside her, I could tell that my brave girl was just barely hanging onto life, but she wouldn’t last long at this rate. Every shaky breath was accompanied by a wave of anguish washing over the bond.
Even without a proper physical form, I knelt beside her and gathered her up into one final embrace. I’m so sorry Jackie. The UI might call you guys scions, but truthfully you have all been a family to me, right from the start. I never had one, back in my previous life, so I know I must have messed up so many times, in so many ways. But even still, I had a blast getting to know each and every one of you, wishing for each day to stretch into infinity so I could enjoy our time together forevermore. But I’ve failed you, I’ve failed you all. I’m sorry I couldn’t give you a life full of happier days, and I hope whatever comes in the next life, you can forgive me.
“You’ve been the best daughter I could have ever asked for. I love you.”
Jackie PoV
Everything hurts. My ears won’t stop ringing, and everything around me is moving in super slow motion. Through blurry eyes, I can see my arm lying just out of reach, still clutching my bow tightly, well, half of it anyways. Further away, I can see the blurry shape of the gross thing from Deepholm tearing its way through Mama’s tree. The twins and Alexa were swooping around behind it, but there was no stopping the beast anymore. Pain throbbed through my chest, my heart heavy as it slowly pumped my blood out onto the ground.
I’d failed, again. Right when it mattered most. Some huntress I’d turned out to be. Sure I was able to handle the regular invaders, but against every enemy that ever posed a serious threat, I’d been beaten every time. When I first lost to Miss Lydia, it hadn’t been so bad. Mama told me to learn from it and grow stronger for next time. I’d been useless too against those water birds on the first day. So I trained, and then I trained and I trained and I trained some more. Till the calluses on my paws were bleeding, I practiced every day.
For some reason Mama didn’t like that though, so she forced me to take breaks pretty regularly after that. At first, it felt like she didn’t have faith that my efforts would help with anything, but that feeling faded pretty quickly. She’d always have a bowl of those red fruits she calls strawberries ready for me by her core. Then when I would get settled in beside her and begin munching on the sweet fruit, she would tell me unbelievable stories about the world she remembers from her past life.
Apparently, her old world had jackalopes too, or at least stories of them. Mama says they supposedly had lightning in their veins they could move so fast. Lightning! The big flashes in the sky that make the air go boom. That stuff! The jackalopes from Mama’s world must be really amazing if they could do that. Nervously, I asked her a bit more about it, feeling rather inadequate by comparison, but she ended up talking too much about how technically lightning is in every living creature, but just really really small amounts of it? And something even more confusing about something called eel-ektons that makes it charge based on if they’re in a good mood or not?
Mama does that a lot, going off on tangents about difficult subjects for a long period of time, but even though I couldn’t understand most of it, it is nice just to sit back and listen to her speak. Eventually, she would always notice her rambling, and swap to asking me questions instead. I felt really proud when she asked me so much about my experience training with ki, and later on aether as well. She’d always thank me for my hard work, and for helping her figure out how things work in this world. It made me happy to think that Mama needed me, and that all my efforts were slowly paying off.
And it really felt like I had been improving too! I’d wrangled all the rowdy brawlers into line, and chased off that group of novices. But then that big flying scion came and knocked me out of the fight before I could even tell it was coming. Kelvin was barely a few days old and he had to handle that nasty bat all on his own! And despite all the work I put into developing my aether, I then lost to Miss Lydia again right after that. It felt like I was stuck in place, running as hard as I could but never getting anywhere with it. I did my best to hide it from Mama since she’s so perceptive, but it really hurt.
And now, even after all the faith and strength Mama poured into me, I’d still managed to let her and everybody else down. They’re all going to die, because of me. I’m not sure which is worse at this point, the pain from my injuries or the pain from my failures washing over me. I watched through bleary eyes as the gross bear tore open the deepest part of the tree, and revealed Mama’s core for all the world to see. It’d been a few weeks since our last break together, so when I saw the soft green glow of Mama’s core, it stirred up a weird mix of relief and regret in my heart. I’d missed that comforting glow, but also the only reason I could see it now is because I’d doomed it to oblivion.
Grief filled me up to the brim, and all I could do is wordlessly apologize over and over again.
To my surprise, however, I could feel her presence nearby, and that comforting warmth brushed aside my apologies to fill our bond with light instead. I don’t get it, why is she here? Why is she focusing on me, when the enemy is literally right in front of her core, staring her down? Why is she wasting her time on me when I can barely even move anymore?! And even if I could, we both know I would just let her down some more. So why, why does it feel like I’m back by her side, listening to her tell stories at length, feeling so comfy and secure?
“I……ry….J..ki”
Go on, go! Leave already and focus on someone else, maybe they have a chance to save you, to fix things. Haven’t I failed you enough? I, I can’t do anything but disappoint you. I…I can’t be like the jackalopes from your stories Mama. I’m not good enough for that. I’m sorry.
“..b..en….f…….to me……..t…….ro……sta…”
Despite shoving my weakness, my numerous defeats and doubts to the front and finally showing Mama everything I’d tried to keep hidden from her through the bond, absolutely nothing changed. If anything, the feeling of closeness only increased and that warm feeling wrapped me up even tighter, never wavering for a moment. For a moment, the ringing in my head subsided, but my eyes must still be playing tricks because I thought I could see a bunch of golden sparkles floating in the air around me, forming the vague outline of a person with her arms wrapped around me. The next words came through confidently and clearly, and finally put a name to the feeling I always felt when Mama’s attention was on me.
“I love you.”
…Why? When I’ve already let you down so many times, when you’re about to die because of me…why spend your last moments on this worthless rabbit who couldn’t save anything? The bond held no answers for me, only that same persistent warmth, refusing to relent for so much as a moment. Over in the tree, the bear monster had raised its claw into the air, readying the final strike that would take Mama away for good. A few tears slipped free from my eyes and dropped down to join the blood at my feet. Belatedly, I realized that at some point I must have stood up, but that doesn’t really matter right now.
In fact, standing there, basking in the feeling of being wrapped up in Mama’s love, it felt like a lot of things didn’t matter. My doubts, my fear of not being good enough, and the pain of being proven right. It all felt like wisps of smoke being carried away on the wind. They scattered against the constant reinforcement pouring out from the bond, powerless before it. She’d seen all of my shortcomings, witnessed every downfall, and yet this was always her response. Yellow sparks crackled through my fur, and larger arcs of energy began to flicker back and forth between the branches of the antlers on my head.
Slowly, all the world began to fall away. The ground beneath my feet, the stench of death hanging upon the wind, even the tree itself, along with the slow-motion bear scion bringing its claws down for the kill. There was just me, and there in the distance, the light of Mama’s core, calling me home like a beacon. Under her light, I remembered the simple truth that Mama has always seen and understood so much more than me, guiding me as best she could and celebrating both my success and failures alongside me. For this moment in time, all those complicated and difficult subjects stopped being important. All those times spent hoping I could measure up to the lofty heights she spoke about seemed a silly waste of time. All I had to do was stop trying to become something else. Maybe, just maybe, I was already everything that Mama could see in me, and I just hadn’t realized it yet.
I crouch down low to the ground, those strange sparks increasing in intensity, coiling inside of me like a power I never knew I had. My ears and paws were starting to char black from all the energy flowing through me, but I didn’t feel a thing. After all, none of that mattered. With a mighty leap, I left the feeling of solid earth behind. Wait for me just a little longer, ok Mama? I’m coming to your side.
Blood flash-boiled.
Flesh charred into shattered lumps of charcoal.
Bones fragmented and caved under the tremendous forces at play.
Jackie never got to experience the joy where in this, her latest challenge to a race between herself and the sound carried along through the air, the wind finally lost.
Neither did she get to see how, for the first time in its life, the bear scion’s body was lifted fully up off of the ground and flung to the side like gravity had suddenly reversed its direction.
But perhaps..., someday, there would come a time when she’s relaxing with a bowl of those delectable strawberries once more, and she’ll get to listen to Mama’s voice as she regales her with another one of her wild stories. A story where one little rabbit made all the difference in the world, and through her actions did save the day. Now wouldn’t that be nice?
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Author Notes://
Here it is, the big one! I've had this chapter in mind since before I even started writing this story. In fact, it's what made me say fuck it, I'm gonna try writing it out and see what happens. Sorry again for the long delay on this chapter, I didn't want to split it into anything smaller, so it ended up pretty long. Also, yay! First scion PoV, just like you guys wanted right? xD
I hope you enjoyed reading this part, and I'll see you all again next time for the final conclusion to the Deepholm Arc.

Hello!
After a long week at work, I’m excited to finally have reached Friday! I plan to have a relatively lazy weekend, so I thought this would be a great time to make some new friends.
I’m 24, female, and I’m from the USA. I work full-time, but I do have quite a bit of free time at work. When I’m not at work, I enjoy watching sports, roadtrips (preferably as the passenger), movies/tv, documentaries, reading, amateur photography, and lots more! I would much rather get to know you though conversation and we definitely don’t have to have the same interests. I’d love to learn about yours!
I’m looking genuine connections. Hopefully long term. :) other than that, please just be 18+ and give me somewhat of an intro if you decide to reach out! Just to give me some insight as to who I’m talking to.
I look forward to hearing from you! And if not, I hope you find what you’re looking for :)
Side note: I’m not really into voice calls. Maybe once I get to know someone but definitely not at first. I understand if that’s a dealbreaker!