So I bought a watch from a smaller watch company recently. I had never owned one of their watches nor knew of anyone personally that had one but decided to give them a try. I selected one of their automatic field watches. The movement in this watch is a Miyota 9015.
When I recieved the watch I went to set the time and noticed that the date wasn't beginning to change until about 12:23 AM and not completing until 1:23 AM. I thought this a bit odd as none of the other watches I've ever owned have been this far off of midnight. So I reached out to the company's customer service and asked if this was normal behavior for this watch model. Very slow response but after a couple of days they said no that it was not normal. They said they would normally replace the watch but it was sold out so offered a refund or to repair it and give me a free strap for the trouble. I opted for the repair.
I was told 3-4 weeks for the repair. After 4 weeks I hadn't heard anything back. I followed up. I was told it's been checked out should be in the mail by the end of the week. The next week I get a new message. Now they told me that they allow for 1.5 hours of date change variation and this is just inside that so the watch is actually fine. I was annoyed that they had had the watch for 5 weeks at this point and nothing had even been done. I said I was not ok with that variance and asked to change to a refund. They replied that they agreed that it was not acceptable and they would send the watch back to the technician and have them adjust the date change closer to midnight.
No further communications. After 6 weeks I got the watch back in the mail. Now the watch was starting date change about 11:53 PM and completing around 12:53 AM. Not the adjustment I was expecting. I decided I would just do the adjustment myself. Now the watch completes the date change within 2 minutes of midnight.
Now here's where things get really weird. I went and tried to post a product review for the watch on the company's website. I selected 2 stars out of 5 and gave my reasons. The posting was submitted but has never appeared on the site. A couple of days after that I saw an ad for the company on Facebook and posted a comment about my experience.
About a day later a get an email from one of the company's founders. He said sorry for the experience but the customer support should have actually never offered a repair or replacement because the 1.5 hours was what the company allows. He asked about the adjustment. I said it did not meet my expectations but I took care of it myself. I said that I didn't know if I would purchase from them again.
He replied again and starts arguing about how it takes 1.5 hours for the date mechanism to run like I didn't understand how the process works. He asked me if I'm familiar with Omega and pasted a blurb that he says he pulled from the Omega FAQ page that says their watches don't start to change til 11:45PM and complete at 1:30AM. He tells me I'm the only person out if tens of thousands of their customers that has ever asked why the date change didn't complete around midnight. He says their technician didnt set the date change closer to midnight because I didnt specify exactly at midnight. He offers to refund the watch or give me a $50 gift card.
I told him I didn't want anything from his company. I hadn't even gotten the strap from before so I wasn't exactly confident anything else would go as expected. I said I found it hard to believe no other customers cared about when the date changes. I asked him if he wanted to keep me as a customer why was he attempting to argue with me about this? I said I have the watch configured how I like it now that I've adjusted it. I said you've been paid and I have my watch and let's just leave it at that. I said I don't want to converse about it anymore.
The next day he sends me another email and a return label. He says that the date change time is really just based on opinion and he checked with his technicians and they don't think it makes sense for the date to start changing before midnight. He said they were going to start setting the date to begin changing at 11:30PM now going forward though. He also said that since I had a bad experience they would just prefer that I returned the watch to them. He said they would give a refund.
"While we love having great interactions with folks, we're also not concerned with retaining every individual as a customer - oftentimes, depending on interactions with folks, it's much better for both parties to go their separate ways, as ownership of one of our watches is a relationship that last for years."
What do you all think? Would you be fine with date change at 1:23 AM or would you prefer it to flip close to midnight? Would you do business with a company like this?

** Fri 6/9 *\*
Fri 4 - 7:30 PM Food Truck Friday Rio Rancho Regional Chamber of Commerce, 4201 Crestview Dr. SE, Rio Rancho We welcome attendees of all ages to gather together and enjoy great food and music
Fri 5 - 7 PM Exhibit Opening: Colors That Speak Words Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, 2401 12th St. NW Join us in celebration of the visual arts, poetry, and calligraphy. "Colors That Speak Words" is a collaborative installation between two writers and two visual artists with words, poetry, and visual arts and speaks to how this combination of mediums can be done in a cyclical way. The artists, Dr. Anthony Fleg, Mallery Quetawki (Zuni), Blythe Mariano (Diné), and Chilán Mustain, worked together to create an installation in motion, and the vision they bring to this space is from a contemporary perspective on how Native art is presented. This is an innovative view for visitors to see that Native art is changing and adjusting to the times. The artists will be present at the exhibit opening to read poetry and talk about this installation. Admission is free; please enter through South Entrance. Light refreshments will be served. This exhibit will be on display through October 15
Fri 5 - 10 PM Car Show & Concert! EXPO NM Home of the New Mexico State Fair, 300 San Pedro Dr. NE Friday night fever Vol 2! CAR SHOW & AWARDs, RAP CONCERT, VENDORS, FOOD TRUCKS, GAMES, ROCK CLIMBING WALL. All Makes and Models welcome. FREE GENERAL ADMISSION. $7 Parking, $10 Car Show judging and awards (only if you want to register and compete) Event brought to you by Expo NM and Desert Sun Event Productions. Car show brought to you by Sins events and NM Lowrider Arte
Fri 6 PM Rugby is a Drag (Show)! Sidewinders Bar and Grill, 4200 Central Ave SE Get out your dancing cleats and trade in that eye black for eye liner! The very popular Rugby is a Drag (show!) and fundraiser, normally held earlier in the year, has moved to June 9th and Pride weekend in 2023! This year's event will be hosted by Miss Sidewinders 2023 Seliah Deleon and Le Femme Magnifique 2017 and fellow rugger SCRUMtious Cox! This year's show is returning to Sidewinders and, as in year's past, will benefit our friends at Casa Q, which provides safe living for LGBTQ+ youth through housing, services and advocacy. This year's event will also feature participation from members of Elevated Roller Derby, NM United and more! (tickets)
Fri 7 PM Movies in the Park - Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Athena Park, 778 Athena Ave, Bernalillo MOVIES IN THE PARK is back this SUMMER! We will feature a different movie at our local parks every FRIDAY night in June. Movies will begin at sundown and we will serve popcorn for free! Bring your lawn chairs, blankets, and beverages. All movies are FREE! In the case of inclement weather, movies will be cancelled
Fri 8 PM - 12 AM Pride Dance Party 505 Spirits, 105 Harvard Dr. SE DANCE WITH US TO CELEBRATE PRIDE UNDER THE STARS @ PRIDE ON THE PATIO! DJ Baby D & DJ Rebel (Rori the Rebel) will drop your favorite hits - Get your dance on and show of your Pride with your best Pride outfit &/or Pride colors! Try our special cocktail: Prickly Pear Pride Punch, plus other great drinks and delicious food! Come early for dinner before you dance, daNCE, DANCE!!! Delicious Value Menu Items: $2.95 - NEW Sliders! (beef & veg) $1.95 - local blue corn dog pops (minis) $5.95 waffle fries & full sized blue corn dogs (veg or beef) Plus our flaky meat & veg hand pies, chunky chicken salad, mushroom pate & more! 21 & over Free Entry!
Fri 9 PM Albuquerque Pride Afterparty Historic Lobo Theater, 3013 Central Ave NE Starring Headliner: Malaysia Babydoll Foxx, DJ: Justin Cristofer, HOST: Vanessa Patricks, MEET THE QUEENS! Avery Martini, Imani Martini, Nova Martini, Kardio Karbdashian, Divyne Intervention. Private Early Entrance Meet N Greet begins at 8:15 p.m. entrance with Meet N Greet starting 8:30 p.m. Champagne Provided (tickets)
Fri 9 PM Fierce Pride: Kandy Muse Effex, 420 Central Ave SW Special guest from RPDR All Stars S13 and AS8, LA, CA, Meet and Greet 10:30 PM, doors 9p, show 11:30p Lounge: DJ Chris de Jesus Patio: DJ Aquattro Side Effex: DJ Mitch
Fri 9:30 PM Salsa under the Stars After Party JUNO, 1501 1st St. NW DJ Pedro, one of Albuquerque’s most loved DJ’s (DJ Pedro, DJ Tony, SoloVino, DJ Louie, DJ Darly + Eli Mix) mixing your favorite dance mix of Salsa, Bachata, Merengue and more! This is one of Albuquerque’s favorite after party summer outdoor events and will begin June 9th following the opening of Son Como Son kicking off the Salsa under the Stars at the Albuquerque Museum followed by the after party at Juno. Free entry to Juno with your stamp from the museum
Fri 10:30 PM Twilight Zone: The Movie - 40th Anniversary Screening! One Night Only! The Guild Cinema, 3405 Central Ave NE Check out the trailer. Dir. Joe Dante, Steven Spielberg, John Landis & George Miller - 1983 - 102m - NO MATINEES. DOOR PRIZES COURTESY OF BUBONICON 54! Based on the popular television series, this film is a collection of four frightening tales of the supernatural, each by a different director--Joe Dante, Steven Spielberg, John Landis, and George Miller! The film opens with Dan Aykroyd and Albert Brooks as two hapless road-trippers who tell scary stories to pass the time. The four segments that follow include some updated re-creations of classic Twilight Zone episodes. In the first, racist Bill Connor (Vic Morrow) is transformed into a Jew in World War II. Next, Mr. Bloom (Scatman Crothers) comes to a retirement home to teach the residents that they are only as young as they feel. In the third, teacher Helen Foley (Kathleen Quinlan) meets Antony (Jeremy Licht), a boy who is not what he seems. In the final segment, panicky plane passenger John Valentine (John Lithgow) sees gremlins attacking his flight
** Sat 6/10 *\*
Sat 8 AM - 2 PM NMHRS Garage Sale 7903 Robin Ave NE Hosted by the New Mexico House Rabbit Society. All sales go into our vet fund so that we can continue to provide medical care to rabbits in need. This is a multi-family garage sale so there will be lots to browse through
Sat 8 AM - 10 PM All The Things: Craft Cocktail & Mixer Launch Tractor Brewing Company, 118 Tulane Dr. SE The next evolution in the craft cocktail experience is here and officially launch in Nob Hill for Pride! What is All The Things? Well, let me tell you. Imagine 100% fresh cold pressed juice, pure cane sugar, and Troubled Minds spirits all in one 1L bottle ready to pour over ice! That's right you can purchase these ready made bottle cocktails now at ANY of our locations! We have: Margarita with Tequila, Paloma with Tequila, Kentucky Mule with Bourbon, Ginger Lemonade with Vodka, Limeade with Vodka & Bloody Mary with Vodka! Grab you one to go for $16! We will be using mixers of these behind our bars so you can get a first hand taste! And offering non alcoholic lavender, ginger, and classic lemonades for you to sip on! These truly are All The Things in one bottle!
Sat 9 AM - 12 PM Family, Fit, Fun Fest Tiguex Park, 1800 Mountain Rd. NW Join us for the Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails 2nd annual Family, Fit, Fun Fest. Bring your whole family to this free, all-ages event to learn about keeping fit and healthy - mentally, physically, and emotionally. Learn new skills and discover ways to keep your mind and body healthy and active, as you visit interactive booths led by community partners. Booths will include hands-on activities like games, puzzles, and brain teasers, as well as interactive lessons in martial arts, dance, mindfulness, and more. Booths will also include information on youth classes, clubs, and teams, as well as opportunities to meet local healthcare providers and learn more about mental health, nutrition, eye care, and dental care for your whole family. Climb to the top of a rock wall, make your way through an obstacle course, try the football toss or the baseball toss, shoot a hockey puck, or score a goal at interactive stations around the event! Meet and take photos with local sports teams and/or mascots and stop by Menchie's Froyo Mobile for a sweet treat. Girl Scout Members can participate in a special event scavenger hunt when they pre-purchase the 2023 GSNMT Family, Fit, Fun Fest patch
Sat 10 AM SOCH PRIDE '23 Albuquerque Social Club, 4021 Central Ave NE Come show your PRIDE at the ONLY place to be SOCHial! We are taking over the parking lot for a FREE ALL AGES event. We have multile bands, musicians and perfromers ready to give a PRIDE you wont forget. Food Truck, Vendors, Face Painting, Car Show, Games, Country Dancing and many other fun events!
Sat 10 - 11 AM Yoga with Kelsi Poulin Marketplace mezzanine, 8600 Pan American Fwy NE Enjoy guided yoga, from local yoga instructor, Kelsi! This will be a fun flow for all levels of yoga practice. $10 per person
Sat 10 AM - 12 PM Play Day For A Cause Kiddie Academy of Paradise Hills, 4590 Paradise Blvd. NW Join us for Play Day for a Cause! This free event has great games and fun activities for your kids while supporting Family Promise, the leading national nonprofit addressing family homelessness. Family Promise started in 1986 as local outreach in a single community and now has more than 200 Affiliates in 43 states. Since their founding, volunteers have helped more than a million family members in need. With a focus on empowering families and children, Kiddie Academy Educational Child Care and Family Promise are working together to give every child what they deserve: a chance to succeed. The event is free and open to the public. Donations are appreciated, but not required to attend
Sat 10 AM - 4 PM Foundational Wellness Grand Opening Party Los Ranchos Bakery, 6920 4th St. NW, Los Ranchos Celebrate our grand opening event by stopping by the B Side of Los Ranchos Bakery! Herbal tea blends, door prizes, free raffle, information on classes and events, and more! Win a free reiki session, teas, discounts on classes, or discounts on nutritional therapy! I will be teaching numerous classes at the bakery this summer. Some topics: How to make Herbal Vinegar Tinctures (aceta), Hormone Health, Healthy Habits for Life, Improve Your Digestion, Prioritizing Meal Prep, Blood Sugar Regulation, and my RESTART Program! You don’t want to miss out! Some of these classes will be free! So come on down and get some coffee and goodies from the bakery, then visit me next door and see what we’ve been up to
Sat 10 AM - 5 PM Pride Day Celebration! Quirky Used Books and More, 120 Jefferson NE Book sales, vendor pop ups, food truck, art, music, and more!
Sat 10:30 AM - 12 PM Wellness Schedule Casa Rondeña Winery, 733 Chavez Rd. NW, Los Ranchos Open to people of all skill levels, Wellness + Wine is a one-hour, outdoor practice, followed by a glass of wine or Sangria, and an invitation to stay and relax on the grounds of the beautiful Casa Rondeña Winery. This experience is $25, and includes glass of wine. Discounts apply for winery members. Reservations are required to participate
Sat 11 AM - 4 PM Papa Bear Market Boxing Bear Brewing, 10200 Corrales Rd. NW We couldn’t forget about our PAPA BEARS! Dads deserve some love and appreciation too! Spend the day celebrating Papa at our taproom. As always this FREE event will include local vendors, food trucks, photo booth, live music, paint your own pint, and, of course, BEER! (click link for full list of vendors)
Sat 11 AM - 5 PM June Used Book Sale Main Library, 501 Copper Ave NW Join us for the monthly book sale. There will be a variety of fiction, non-fiction, children and adults books, videos, DVDs, CDs, comic books, maps, and more available. Free for Members - $2 for Non-Members Free to all after noon. All Sales are held in the Lower Level, Main Library, Validated parking is available on 5th and Copper, kitty-corner to the library. The Friends of the Public Library is a non-profit organization. All proceeds go to supporting the Public Library of Albuquerque & Bernalillo County library programs
Sat 12 - 5 PM Summer Luau - Adoptables, Swag, Brews, and more! Lizard Tail Brewing Industrial, 3351 Columbia Dr. NE Hosted by Pitties and Kitties of New Mexico. We will have some PKR Tees, some PKR Pride gear, and best of all - our adoptabulls! Our booth will have a small auction set up… the prize being Tattoo Certificates with an ABQ tattoo artist! There will be a car show, other vendors, as well as water activities. Hope to see y’all there!
Sat 1 - 3 PM Family Field Day! Montgomery Park, Hosted by ABQ Family Chiropractic. A celebration of all the families who trust us with their care, and an opportunity for families who are considering our office to get to know our team in a fun, low-stakes environment. Food and family-friendly activities will be provided
Sat 1 - 4 PM Zouk with Jaime Arôxa! Alley Kats Tap Company, 222 Truman St. NE We will continue building on, and reviewing everything we have learned with Jamie Arôxa and Kiri Chapman thus far. We will continue to work on Zouk basics and building on the basics including connection and timing, musicality, lateral with variations, Yo-yo, viradinha, cambre, body, rolls, body, isolations, weight transfers, counterbalance, elástico, convergence & divergence, Wi-Fi, head, movement, styling, head movement, varying turns, and Chicote. Classes will be progressive and will be adjusted to the level of each class. Drop in anytime * All levels welcome * No partner needed * Cash preferred - can also accept Venmo and Cash App to $UWDstudios
Sat 1:30 - 4 PM Father's Day Tee Cabezon Park, 2307 Cabezon Blvd. SE, Rio Rancho Celebrate Father's Day with a round of miniature golf or two! Tee-off with dad at our Annual Father's Day "Tee". Enjoy some snacks, and an Arnold Palmer while making a craft with dad. Prizes awarded for the top 3 teams in miniature golf! Each child and parent must register individually. NO DROP-INS. Please contact the Cabezon Community Center at 505-892-4499 for more info
Sat 4 - 5 PM East Coast Swing Group Class Enchantment Dancing, 337 San Pedro Dr. NE Welcome to our Bronze American East Coast Swing Class! Whether you are a newbie stepping on to the dance floor for the first time or a seasoned professional wanting to brush up on basics, as well as anyone in-between, this class is for you! East Coast Swing is an exciting, up-beat dance that is endlessly versatile! No partner necessary, and dropping in is fine! Class cost is only $10, and a punch card for 6 classes is $50
Sat 6 - 10 PM Baddie Fest OT Circus, 709 Central Ave NW let's all have a fun summer night. Fairy Julz (crystals and more to raise your energy) will be at @ otcircus. Market, Music, Dance Performers, Crystal Pop Up Booth, Henna, Woman Vendors. Tag and invite your favorite baddies
Sat 6 - 11 PM Heights Summerfest North Domingo Baca Park, Celebrate warm weather and outdoor fun at a free community gathering during an Albuquerque Summerfest. This free concert series features local businesses with handcrafted products in The Shops, food trucks with freshly made cuisine in the Food Court, libations created by breweries, wineries and distilleries in The Cantina, entertainment by local talent, and a production by a national headliner all at a City park (click here for more info: live music, food trucks, kids' activities, drinks, vendors, parking)
Sat 7 PM Dancing Queens Sunshine Theater, 120 Central Ave SW Throw out your calendar! Buy a new calendar! Mark June 10th as the first and ONLY date in your calendar! Pride weekend, all the dancing queens are descending on the Sunshine Theater for the night of all nights. Juicee Früt presents Dancing Queens! Featuring performances by Red Light Cameras, ABBAquerque, Galaxy, Juicee Früt, Drag Performances from CoCo Caliente & Mr. Rusty Nutz, Forbidden Früt Market, & more! (tickets)
Sat 7 PM Death On The Beach: A Metalcore Beach Party Launchpad, 618 Central Ave SW Join us for a night filled with beach-going shenanigans and some of the best metalcore bands Albuquerque has to offer. Swimwear, flip flops, sunscreen and lais ENCOURAGED! Come out and rage with us, and let's make this a night to remember! Presale tickets are $10 and are available through any band. Just send them a message! Online tickets through Holdmyticket will be available soon. Inhuman Hands, EYE, Secure The Void, One Last Summer
Sat 9 PM Temple of Sound Presents Starry Night Juno, 1501 1st St. NW This event will feature our guest DJ Chris Losack! He's a longtime DJ who primarily spins house and techno but also has roots in industrial and dark music. He will be showing his dark side this time out! Join us for another spectacular event! Sparkly or night sky attire encouraged but not required! 21+ / No cover
Sat 9 PM Pride 2023 Effex, 420 Central Ave SW Spunjy Hicks Lounge: Malik Patio: DJ Chris de Jesus Side Effex: Xblyssid
Sat 10:30 PM Late Nite Comedy Jam The Guild Cinema, 3405 Central Ave NE Ristra Comedy and Chuck Parker Comedy present a stellar lineup of standup comedians! This month's headliner: Josh Fournier Featuring Chuck Parker & Sara Anne Myers and your host Alex Benton
** Sun 6/11 *\*
Sun 8 AM - 2 PM Hot Rods for Hunger Car Show and Poker Run 2801 Eubank Blvd NE Yes, our amazing car show fundraiser is happening again, thanks to Bell’s Brewery and the Mopar Most Wanted car club. This year, for early registration, we are having a Kickstart happy hour with Bells Brewery at O’Niell’s Heights location on Juan Tabo. Join us and register your car. All makes and models are welcome. Come out and see some of the coolest cars in Albuquerque. There will be raffles, food trucks, lots of awards for the cars, and a food drive for the Storehouse food pantry. Enter the Poker Run, the Car Show, or both today!
Sun 10 AM Rocketman Historic Lobo Theater, 3013 Central Ave NE THE HISTORIC LOBO THEATER along with Albuquerque Film & Music Experience is excited to bring Rocketman to the big screen! Showing Starts at 11:30 am Tickets are ONLY $10 for General Admission Come Early Brunch Starts at 10 am Full Buffet Available for only $21 The ticket price is for entry to the movie only. Pajama brunch and a movie. Exclusive Brunch Menu! Made to order pancakes, mimosas and more. 10% off if you come in your pajamas
Sun 10 AM - 2 PM STEAM DAY Rail Yards Market, 777 1st St. SW Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) all put New Mexico on the Map as a unique place. Standing for over one hundred years, the historic Rail Yards of Albuquerque stand as an ode to a period of extreme innovation for the Rio Grande basin area. Albuquerque literally rose and became what it is around the Rail Yards, and railroad era that brought so much innovation. In these industrial cathedrals, we hum with innovation again.. Activating the space for community use, the Rail Yards Market is non-profit (certified 501c3), bringing together small businesses in agriculture, food, and artisan manufacturing on a local scale. Our STEAM stands for Sustainable, Traditional, Educational and Artistic Modalities. In this area we host interactive demonstrations. Mini-Makers Unite! Learn about what makes a laser light up, a 3D printer build, and so much more! Bring out your tech, geek, and inquisitive minds to the Rail Yards Market and visit makers from Quelab. Free for all! Everyone is welcome! EBT doubled with Double-Up-Food-Bucks, ADA Accessible, Senior and WIC programs welcome, Fresh & local produce, Breakfast & lunch prepared food options, 120+ local food, healing, and art businesses, Parking & restrooms, FREE :: LOCAL :: FAMILY FRIENDLY :: PET FRIENDLY
Sun 10:30 - 11:30 AM Mindful Movement - Yoga in the Park Academy Hills Park, 9709 Layton Ave NE Meet us on the southwest side of the park, just southwest of the playground, under the large trees. Looks for the Aumies sign! Bring your mat, block, strap and water!
Sun 2 - 4 PM Lumberyard Jazz Trio Sawmill Market, 1909 Bellamah Ave NW The Lumberyard Jazz Trio is back to bring exciting jazz melodies to Sawmill Market. They use an interchanging group of New Mexican instrumentalists who have traveled nationwide to perform, lead by saxophonist Sean Johnson
Sun 3 PM Pride Tea Dance on the Patio Effex, 420 Central Ave SW 3 - 6 PM: DJ Mike Demarco 6 - 9 PM: DJ Spunjy Hicks Featuring performances by Avery Martini, Jessica K. Daniels, Imani Martini
Sun 4 - 7 PM Music on the Patio: Squash Blossom Boys Canteen Brewhouse, 2381 Aztec Rd NE Based in Albuquerque, The Squash Blossom Boys have played southwestern stages for over ten years. With beginnings as a garage band, they have explored a variety of musical genres including rock, jazz, reggae and more to find the hard driving, high lonesome sound of Bluegrass music. The current central players include Dustin Orbesen (Dobro, Mandolin, Vocals), Kit Murray (Banjo, Vocals), Kyle Malone (Guitar), Peter Lisignoli (Bass)
Sun 5 - 8 PM Mack 'n Cheese Sunday Variety Show Juno, 1501 1st St. NW Variety show with Mack 'n Cheese (Indy Hip Hop), Cali Shaw (Americana), Basilaris Trio (Jazz), Sol de la Noche, Melissa Prada (spoken word) Monthly variety show with Mack 'n Cheese (Indy Hip Hop), Cali Shaw (Americana), Basilaris Trio (Jazz), Sol de la Noche, Melissa Prada (spoken word), vendors. Family-friendly (if your kids already know the F-word). Food available for purchase. On the patio, weather permitting, or in the Gallery
Sun 7 - 10 PM S.O.S - Salsa On Sunday Dance Social 505 Spirits, 105 Harvard Dr. SE Salsa On Sunday Dance Social *With guest DJ's *Latin Dance Performances *The Occasional LIVE Music Performance *And Always... Social Dancing! salsa timba bachata merengue *What is it about a Social* The essence of a Social is for the dance community to get together and dance. Socials offer a relaxed night of dancing. Socials continue to draw dance enthusiasts who get lost in their salsa “addiction” by dancing and enjoying the music. Socials offer something for every level of dancer at any age. Bands and DJs have more freedom to play sets which appeal to the dance-centric crowd. It's about the music. It's about the dance. If you want to have an alternative to the club, are underage, or simply want to get in some good dancing - check out a Social, you might be surprised at how much fun you have
Sun 7:30 PM Brit Floyd Revel ABQ, 4720 Alexander Blvd. NE Brit Floyd returns to the stage in 2023 to perform a brand-new production celebrating 50 years of the ground-breaking and iconic musical masterpiece The Dark Side of the Moon. The show will feature classic tracks from the album such as Time, Money, Us and Them and The Great Gig in the Sky. The 2 and a half hours plus set list will also include other highlights from Pink Floyd’s magnificent catalogue of albums, including tracks from The Wall, Wish You Were Here, Animals, The Division Bell, Medal and much more (tickets)

Jesus watched the scene over again and was in awe. This was a man who would not change as he could not change. There was something else different. He was the most stubborn man alive in Jesus’ opinion and he had been around a while. His uniform never changed his cologne never changed. His hair was the exact same way. He had a biological age of 42 but a calendar age of 300 or so years. He wasn’t exactly sure since he had been born in a time when records were incomplete. Government was just getting back on its feet when he came into the world so who knew? Did it matter?
He had never espoused a political belief. He voted in every election and that was it. He was no campaigner and was not interested in any of it. He had a baseline distrust of ALL politicians. He had more time in command than any human in history. He had faced down alien races. He had been nearly terminated by pirates more than once but speaking in public scared the shit out of him. and He did not want to do it. He had done a series of lectures 60 years ago that resulted in some significant fallout he was eager to not relive. He did not want to discuss it. He knew what was about to happen.
“Class dismissed”
The Dean of Students asked him to “Please please just this once set it straight and walk away from it. You did what you had to do at the time.” He knew it hurt when he was called “conquistador”. The Monday Morning Quarterbacker’s weren’t there when decisions had to be made, and neither was the dean, yet he still implored him. It would likely be televised too. Ken had built the best laid wall of obfuscation he could. He did not want any glory. He wanted to be left alone. Despite his best effort it did not work. His hope had been to be in the background making the best decision without regard to any so called “Glory” His hope was that the sailors in real danger would get the credit they deserved. It just did not work. Besides, it was clear that he wanted him to talk about that battle. This made him waver in his assent. He wanted to speak about what he wanted to speak about. Simple.
Admiral Pearl and He had had to face a hero’s welcome when they came home. Then the detractors started in on him.
Despite the promises of the Dean it would just open all the old wounds back up again and likely crank the peanut gallery up to full tilt. “I do not want it televised. You can record it if you want but I get to decide if it gets released. Deal or no deal? If you want to dictate the topic then that is my condition. You are asking me to open up a box I have had welded shut for years now. Anyone can look up the logs and watch every single shot and hit if they wish. It has been analyzed to death. What further can I add at this point? There is nothing I can tell you that hasn’t been discussed in hundreds of books at this point. It is a dead subject that I can drone on about.”
The dean held up his hand and said “I want to know how you felt about it. All of it. What was the methods you used to make the decisions. How did you feel? The most important event in modern history drops in your lap like an egg salad sandwich. You have to feel something. That is what I want to know. It is your bully pulpit to say what you wish. No restrictions except for classified material. And no using the “F” word.”
“I am not doing it unless I can say ”fuck”. Not happening.” He wasn’t kidding. “To sweeten the deal you can televise it but I have to be able to talk in my normal voice. And I will say fuck.”
The Dean relented and agreed. He had just manipulated the situation to where he could minimize the fallout. Besides: he was tired of people talking shit about him in all these books and articles. He was going to tell them all to go fuck themselves, with a cactus.
On the Saratov. Warp area 13 off the plane of the ecliptic.
The admiral sat and contemplated what they were about to do. They were waiting on a couple more ships before going to warp. He tried to sum it up.
This was a high stakes mission. He had a high stakes strategy. It was brilliant and it was risky. He was about to do something never attempted in real combat and was completely theoretical. They had wargamed it to death and this had honed their protocol. They were going to Net their AI’s. They would calculate global firing solutions using parallel computing. They had 8 AI’s that were going to fight it and this should greatly augment their firepower due to increased efficiency. No matter how they wargamed it the AI’s won. They had it down pat. He felt certain this was the right thing to do but there was also a huge ethical hole in this. For the first time AI’s would determine firing sequence, aiming and execution without human intervention. He had to pause and consider the implications. This was colored by several recent experiences. It was all about Jezz. He still loved Jezz but she scared him. She has never been malevolent, but man was he scared that she could become dangerous. He had created a tiny bit of monster in her for certain. She was a combat AI. She was a hunter killer and as long as she worked for them, she would be fine. If she decided to freelance it, they would be in trouble. All because of this: there was a chunk of predator in her digital DNA and he hoped she could keep it in check.
He had come up with the best rationalization he could. They were going in against one decidedly ill-tempered AI and another AI (the “damsel in distress”) wanting rescue. At least that is what it looked like on the surface. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this was not as clearcut as everyone else thought. Either way It would not be aliens versus humans but AI vs AI. At least that is what he kept telling himself. He wasn’t buying his bullshit either since none of it passed the smell test.
The decision to unleash the AI’s had come from above his paygrade, all the way to the Joint chiefs of staff of the world Navies. Forty-five Space faring nations sat down and hashed it out. He hated the complexity but admitted that it did work fairly well. They wanted the spam in a can home alive and if AI made this happen then so be it. There was one important point: they weren’t on the ships, were they?
As he sat about to enter warp and head out to the clusterfuck in question. The initial reason for all of this was still nagging him. Where was everyone else? He had data that showed an alien drive signature. He was resentful that they were fucking around with all this other shit. He would leave the AI’s in question to sort it out amongst themselves. He wanted no part of what was going on since he was doubtful that there were any good guys on either side of what looked like a standoff. All he wanted to do was find alien life (which they had kind of but it weren’t just quite the right kind.) He wanted something that could look like us maybe a bit . If you squinted. And they would find that hopefully, but they had a shit detail to cross off the bucket list first. The more he looked at this the more it became clear this should be two separate missions. Those AI’s were fighting over a dead world and he knew it. He just knew. He wanted no part of the Hatfield and McCoy bullshit. The real point was to capture as much as they could. This was actually about technology. They even had some freighters on the way for the cleanup and oh BTW come back alive. We will let the AI’s babysit you. May as well send a Voyager probe for all the use the crew was.
He was soon to learn the value of human judgment and that was going to prove a bunch of people wrong, sort of. All because of this: there are some decisions that do not fit into ones and zeroes. Value judgements were critical. That is one thing AI’s couldn’t do yet and it was that way why? Who could say for certain but in his years of interacting with true AI’s for the last 5 years did give him some insight. He was apprehensive to say the least but where was his fear coming from? He always thought that you had to identify the source(s) of any fear. He had it partially figured out, not only was he a bit afraid of Jezz and her friends he was also fearful for Jezz. And this is what he had: a gut feeling. And if that weren’t enough (and by gosh, don’t you think it ought to be?): how was he going to keep Jezz’s precognition a secret? The Admiral went through the computer logs and Jezz had not accessed any information about the disposition of the Galileo. It could be explained away but he was not convinced he could be very convincing. This was something that just did not fit. He could not make it fit, and he would just as soon pretend it did not exist. But it was clear that his AI had some degree of psychic power or something. She was different and he did not know if the other AI’s would be catching whatever it was. If the folks in charge knew the depths of his misgivings, they would be appalled. And the situation they were headed into was not as simple as it looked. He knew this. His questions were simple. Number one: Who were the good guys and who were the bad ones. Number two: could he maintain plausible deniability about Jezz. They were going to have a talk. Just the two of them. He needed some reassurances.
Also, He was trying to figure out a way to crack this and he had an idea. While looking at the menu for the ships mess, he noticed the two columns and he decided to do what he always did with most major decisions. He would make a list of the facts he had and try to run through the various permutations. A pencil and some paper would be adequate, and he even had a ruler so he could make it all professional.
So he made a list of the players Side “A” in orbit and Side ”B “planetside. Side “ A” obviously held the high orbitals. “B” had an extensive force field that would occasionally flicker. He thought that might be something to look into. He had all of the video files from the Galileo and there was one telescope tasked with watching the planetside compound. They had days of footage. He sped it up until the frames were racing by. The force field was visible due to impacts from what he assumed to be dust. This gave it a phosphorescent look. It also made it possible to have visual confirmation if it was up. The shield “failures” occurred on a stable repeated time frame. After doing the math and getting a video analysis program running, he figured it out only after focusing on the Spectro photography. Every 23.29 minutes the shield was apparently offline for 0.07 seconds. It was so brief it was tough for the naked eye to pick up but the spectral signature did.
Looking at the area under shield he could see a row of what appeared to be ships. These were triangular. He could see no evidence of what their primary drives were but it wasn’t the best picture. Things degrade through an atmosphere and distance. No drive nodes. No distribution rings. He had a suspicion, and he suddenly felt nauseated and had this sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. They were not using Alcubierre’ drives. They were using jump drives of some type. In the raw sensor data was a Gamma spike and a Gravity spike right before the attack. The Galileo probably never saw the vessel that hit them. But the Admiral was a patient man and he had the eye for detail. How they had missed this he did not know but he finally found what he wanted. The ship was identifiable. One sternward scope had several good views of a shape blocking the stars.
The other fact was that there was no warning. No comms traffic but, the recovered buoy made it clear that they knew they were suddenly in trouble since the buoy was released (and in warp) seconds after jettisoning it. Command deck recordings showed the captain getting a proximity alarm and then immediately releasing the buoy. There was no “prepare to be boarded” or “Heave to.”, just MASER beams slicing through the hull. Listening to the conversations on the deck made it clear they were paranoid as they were scanning with their non military grade graviton detector. Seems like it wasn’t paranoia after all.
They would have been blind until the ship was right on top of them. Someone was operating on a hunch and that person was Nico. He was frantic. As first officer he had the conn and did what he could to at least let them know what they were facing. It took some guts to do that. He saw internal video running. It captured Captain Nic’s hand slamming down on the buoy release button before the video cut out. It had to have damaged the Galileo Significantly. He had to override the safeties to get the thing to instantly go to warp. He knew that close to the ship the damage would have been substantial. Nico knew they were doomed.
He leaned back and took a deep breath. The ship in question was triangular in shape. Planetside. This could be some sort of trap or things were not as they superficially seemed or maybe he had found his bad guys. So he went back through the compound footage and there it was a ship moving out of frame. There was only maybe 6 meters of ship but it was clear where it was from. It was clear it was moving. Where had it been for 2 hours plus? If it were going to jump he would think that the image would have arrived at the Galileo after it had been blown apart. That is the whole point of faster than light travel. You could have all these paradoxes and that actually gave him more than a headache. It was a brain ache. Without FTL the tyranny of Einstein held sway. Why were they not there immediately? The Galileo was about 120 light minutes out. Assuming they get there immediately there should be no video. They had taken a detour. This he did not know for sure but also had a bad feeling about. I guess it did not mean much in the grand scheme of things but he did have a hunch. Only problem with that is that hunches don’t win battles unless it is more than a hunch.
He did not have a frame of reference for how a jump drive worked IRL. He had read all the theories. There was a huge amount of research being conducted but there were unpredictable failures resulting in some ships getting cut in half and what not. Just not something compatible with the life of the crew. Destructive testing was also expensive. They had gotten one small ship that was maybe twice the size of an emergency buoy to jump to the orbit of Neptune. What he did not know was how long that took. All he had was some rumor mill shit that he generally did not give two fucks about. He was not into “R and D". And while they could send the damn thing out there what they could not do was get it back the same way. The power requirements were so high that the capacitor banks were charged externally . Putting in a zero-point tap would push the ship size beyond the mass they could manage for the drive they currently had. They were running into problems of scale and those are not so easily rectified. Problems of scale were problems with lubrication. You just had to lube the ship with cash. You had to fuel it with Lots and lots of cash. This was such a priority that every aerospace manufacturer and design firms were plugged into the research institutions. It was a huge effort because of one thing. Warp drive was “too slow”. The boffins were thinking intergalactic travel. They had their sights set on the universe.
To top it all off there was one inescapable problem: You can’t put ten pounds of shit in a five-pound bag.
Due to all of this they were going down an interesting path. All you had to do was fill the magnetic tank with antimatter. Matter antimatter annihilation gave near instantaneous power. It was used in weapons some but only the best militaries would even fool with it. Compared to nuclear warheads Antimatter left no nasty isotopes in orbit of a planet you may be interested in colonizing or defending. Also, you don’t want to poison an uninhabited M-class world in the habitable zone given their relative scarcity.
Finally: containing it is problematic but doable. You can probably pull off the power requirements but there is one downside. You are flying in a bomb. Not just a small bomb. It was a big bomb that will go off if you lose containment. 40 mega tons of TNT will vaporize a ship. There was talk of building a manned vessel but saner heads put the kibosh on that. Besides: no one with any sense would want to crew it.
The answer was obvious to him, and he suspected it was obvious to the researchers. Why not use a singularity? Just dump matter into it and harvest the radiation to charge up and go. He did not know where that research currently stood. He knew there were some successes along these lines and quite surprisingly there had been no major accidents. The problem came with feeding the little monster in a consistent fashion to produce enough power to in turn contain the position of the singularity. This was done with antigravity. Antigrav technology had found it’s way into just about everything, except cell phones. They still broke when you dropped them. The black hole was carried by the ship, but it never changed its axis of rotation. The singularity in this scenario is one hell of a gyroscopic top with fixed axes. Since the jet of X-rays only came “out” along this axis and given that the ship would change attitude constantly it was necessary to have X-ray converters on the entire internal surface of the reaction vessel. The ship moved around the singularity. That made things a lot more complicated and really fucked with power distribution. Since there would be energy jets at the poles of the internal singularity power flow would be from two converters at a time. And since they weren’t 100% efficient you had some heat to deal with. He had read a few initial summaries of the work. You still had to keep containment of the singularity just as with antimatter but an uncontained singularity would put a small hole of about 10 mm as it passed through the ship before evaporating. This was better than being atomized. The problem was heat. Waste heat is just unconverted energy as such there was talk of installing a steam turbine circuit to generate power and to cool the reaction vessel. This would be the use of centuries old technology in a starship since convection does not occur in a vacuum. Trying to radiate enough heat to keep the thing cool would not work. The act of running the turbine also cools the circulating liquid. Trying to radiate heat away in a vacuum took a lot of time so big heatsinks would only go so far. It was simple physics. If you can convert some heat to electricity that is a little less that must be radiated. He bet it was a pain in the ass and was probably not worth the effort, but Fusion reactors did not have the peak power output needed to rip space. You either stored it in cap banks for one big release or you instantaneously generated it. Ken thought that the whole line of inquiry was going to be moot and they would finally give up, build a huge Casimir bank and strap a ship to it.
Which meant one thing. The jump ships in question had to deal with waste heat from whatever power system they used. The only way to get rid of this waste heat was to radiate it into the void. This took time. He now knew what the delay had been. The alien ships had to cool off between jumps. He or she had also taken a circuitous route to get there. This in turn means that they wanted them to see the ship leave the planet. They could have possibly gone there straightaway but they had not done that. They wanted him to know. They must have jumped above the ecliptic and back down into the ecliptic.
This slowed them down.
It also meant that escaping with a jump drive wasn’t that easy. They couldn’t pop in and out of position. If they were in your sights they were yours. He also knew that they would have a brief window where they were detectable before fully entering normal space. All they had to do was detect that energy spike and target it at the right time.
After reading all of the executive summary Jezz had put together he had a lot of questions, and he did not know quite where to begin. He had one thought: time to get everyone together and pick everyone’s brain. He wanted to talk to his chief engineer and every engineer in the fleet. He wanted to get all ships Captains and First Officers to come up with a game plan: What is the best order of battle and why? He wanted to see the nonconventional answers as this was anything but a conventional situation. He kept each team to the size of two: Captain and first officers. They could consult with the crew and had access to any information they could find. He needed options. You never want to run out of options on the field of battle.
He turned to his First Officer “Take us out and form up the fleet. We will jump directly to warp 5. That will keep the transports somewhat close. I want the fleet on shipwide in 10 minutes. I have some tasks to assign. Set the countdown to jump for 3 hours. There may be a few stragglers. Jezz, calculate the route and send me a copy. Sensors. I want you to calibrate for Gamma detection and localization. I will send you the energy signature, now. Look for that and calibrate for that. Any questions? (There were none) Good. Yuri, you have the conn.”
He exited the bridge.
Outbound from Sol. 72 hours after jump.
The Admiral was in the center of the virtual room with 70 or so Captains and first officers arrayed about. The flotilla had topped out at 82 warships as well as smaller craft and support vessels. He had 82 ships he had under command currently. This was the biggest expeditionary force ever fielded by Earth. There was one Mormon ship with them. A frigate This was ironic he thought. It was also a bit much to keep up with. He had read all the preliminary proposals and he was now going through the ones he thought had merit. He was currently discussing Captain Pearls proposal she planned to arrange ships into a cylinder or hoop. The individual ships alternating primary weapons one way or the other. That way anyone jumping into the center was covered as well as the “external” surface. It was really a pretty good plan. It played to their strengths. They could bring weapons to bear quickly since they could not just jump away. He especially liked the network formation It was a nice diamond pattern. He just couldn’t shake it being familiar. She had a great movie playing that demonstrated it quite well.
“This is Guardians of The Galaxy” Ken said. Barely keeping his shit together. He wanted to laugh. Once everyone else started the cat was out of the bag, He did not want to ridicule her plan but this was too much. Bless her heart. It was Guardians of the Galaxy.
“OK everyone settle down lets get back to it. Does that make it a bad plan? It isn’t straight out of the movie either. I do think it has merit but I would prefer it to not be too obvious. Can we do a formation that gives closed fields of fire without looking like it? I think we should go with a spheroid that is as irregular as we can make it. I want the focus to be on full coverage. Actually, Jezz give me a pattern with those criteria.”
What she generated looked like a swarm of bees. When she overlayed the weapons plots the effect was uncanny. It looked very random but was anything but. The coverage was better than any plan he had seen. That settled it for him. They would war game it just that way. It was a bit risky since every ship had to maintain their place in relation to all the other ships. She had even linked in the shield generators from the transports. She had used every resource.
“That was brilliant Jezz.”
“I try Sir. I really do.”
“I know you do.”
The admiral continued “OK I want to go ahead and start moving the fleet into that configuration. We will stay in that all the way to our destination. I want checklists of unique tasks made up. Sensors are going to be the critical piece. I am hopeful we will see them when they jump in, and we can quickly target them if necessary. That brings me to another point. We cannot go in and just start banging away at everything that moves. By now you should be aware that this is not clear cut. We can speculate. And I have done it obsessively. What you need to know is that I am not sure who is good or bad. I have a sneaking suspicion that neither are good or bad. They are neutral. We don’t know if this is a rogue AI or AI’s. We do not know if there were biological life here at any point. There is certainly flor BUT THERE SEESM TO BW NO FAUNA. This world has undergone bombardment in the not too distant past somewhere around fifty year ago give or take. Could a sentient race have been killed off? Who the fuck knows. But our next task is to come up with some possible scenarios. Based on what we have seen I suspect this is a rogue AI. I cannot tell what has happened to them yet, but I suspect we will know more once we get planetside.”
He took a long draw from an Opus X and continued. Rank had its privileges.
“The Vikrant will provide aircover for a Marine expeditionary force to go to the planet’s surface and secure the compound. I have spoken to the Air boss and confirmed the strike package will consist of two squadrons of F-15’s for high cover and 5 Su-34’s to be tasked with strike. We have enough transport to go in one wave with backups to spare. That also leaves us with more than enough reserve forces. I hope we do not have to commit more but I will want another squadron of MiG-29’s or F-15’s in reserve. Keep them hot and on the ramp. I want to deploy as quickly as possible.”
One of the junior officers spoke up “That looks like a good plan.”
“Thank you son for that. It is like getting the compliment of how smart you are from your Marine Commander (He had to give Chuck a hard time. He loved him.)
Everyone at least politely laughed.
“Speaking of mentally challenged little brothers. What you got Chuck?”
Chuck went with it The Admiral would pay later. He had some photos of him waltzing with a large muscular person and he was going to visit scorn on him. All in the name of fun. “We are going to take two battalions. I am going to strip them down a bit and we will be utilizing more heavy weapons teams. I plan to draw more M-60’s and M-203’s. You guys are welcome to join the party since I could use a couple of forward observers. It will be a fun time. Additionally I am not babysitting the press pool this time boys and girls and others. It is potentially a deadly environment and I don’t want their deaths on my hands. Let them die with you fuckers instead. By the way; I have 18 Comanche-4 Helos for CAS.”
“That sounds like all the more reason to send them with you. The herd needs to be thinned anyway.”
Jezz hissed “SIR! You are going to get in trouble Sir.”
“Just a little lighthearted humor don’t be so touchy. Anyway’ what about armor?”
“I have a platoon of Abrams going in with us Sir. More for mobile artillery.”
When you got right down to it it was a very simple plan. Modest forces for planetside. There was enough aircover but not so much to result in fratricide. He had extra firepower at the squad level. He had thought it out. Chuck had his full confidence. He was an Oscar-6 and you did not make O6 by being stupid. He would make General soon and he would be taken from the pointy end of the spear. The spear would be a little less sharp for a while but that was just how it went. Right now, he had the best field commander alive in his corner and he was going to utilize him.
“I know my engineers are logged into this meeting and have been paying attention. What do you guys make of their propulsion system? I have been spouting off and thinking about this for a week and all I got is a bunch of ideas.”
He thought for a moment. Rusty, what do you think.” He had just called out his own engineer. Rusty was his nickname and damned if he could remember his actual one. He knew it was not Russel. “What do you think they are using for power?”
Rusty wanted to cuss him out. He did not like meetings. In his opinion meetings were just excuses to avoid doing any actual work. He could have asked him privately…”Rusty what do you think?”
“Goddammit Sir, they have to be using a singularity. They are not using capacitor banks so they are generating power instantaneously. The alternative is antimatter and we had better hope it is not antimatter since taking them out could be suicidal. Most importantly: I am not a fucking tactician. I am an engineer for fucks sake, and I don’t see why anyone cares what I think about this anyway. But you asked so here it is. We are going to have to assume that it is not antimatter and hope we are right. The thing that would keep me awake is the possibility that our weapons are outranged by the fireballs generated when their antimatter containment fails. That will end us, and the best tactic will be to run like hell. Add to that the fact that the rules of engagement mean we can’t go in guns blazing. What if we need to go in guns blazing? It takes away an option. Never discard even the most ludicrous of options as that may be the one thing that saves your ass.”
“ We do not want to go traipsing in there with our dicks uncovered and this ain’t no tulip picking expedition here ladies. This is potentially a war, and we better acknowledge that. I don’t want to be Debbie downer here but let us be real. Some of us are not coming back from this. Look around boys cause some of your compadres are going to be left behind. This is serious business. This ain’t no rescue mission and we better stop treating it that way. Since you asked, Sir.”
Admiral Alexander had to give him honesty points for that. He was right. “We are going to run this scenario as many times as we can before we arrive. I suspect that there is going to be some mass confusion until we figure out who the baddies are. If I had to make a wager, I would go with our folks in orbit, being less of a threat. We have clear evidence of who attacked our ship, and it weren’t none of them football shaped guys. (He did grow up in the South. Woodruff SC to be precise.) It is the flying Dorito that we have to watch for. My gut tells me we are going to have to smash whatever is running the show down there. That compound with the force field is our primary target.” Furthermore, I just don’t know how the remainder are going to act. Are they under a different AI? Is there more than one AI? We can say there are no life signs from any of the ships in system and that makes me think this is artificial all the way. ”
“ The Galileo was attacked by one of the ships on that Spaceport apron. None of the ships in orbit participated from what we can tell. Also, the Galileo was attacked from outside the ecliptic. They are using some type of jump drive that apparently has to avoid gravity wells. That would explain why the attack occurred outside the system. We can take advantage of the situation though if we cozy up to that gas giant and let them come to us. They can’t just pop in on us that way and we can put the planet behind us or we can peg them up against the planet. We can warp anytime but they can only jump in relatively clear space. In short: We are going to pick the battlefield.”
“First wave will be led by the Atlanta and Saratov. The Havana and The George Washington will be tasked with offense. I want rail slugs loaded and ready to go. The surface strike package will go in from the Vikrant and the Conestoga. Commander Yactine has the battle plan for the surface operation and is handling their own transport duties. We can supply an AC301 Spooky for fire support if needed Commander.” The commander waved it away. He felt he had enough assets.
“I do think we may want to take a chance on something. Since they are having to jump “vertically” out of the system to avoid gravity wells and since we suspect they will do it in two jumps I think we can predict where they have their initial jump point. We can nail them before they even get to the main fleet.”
The admiral pointed to a plot that indicated a tangential course that terminated well above the plane of the ecliptic and one that went directly back into it. It was an “L” shaped course. At least he felt sure they traveled in straight lines and not arcs. It made the most sense but could still be wrong. Poring through the Galileo’s sensor data he could see a spike that barely registered. That also indicated that they took a while between jumps. Once they exited subspace, they would be sitting ducks for at least a few minutes. He was guessing 20 minutes for them to recharge their drive and get ready. They would have to target them when most vulnerable. Given that he was not feeling particularly charitable he decided that annihilation was in order. There were 50 deaths to avenge after all.
“Jezz, what do you think?”
Jezz paused. She had been on good behavior and that had made her overly cautious “I think your basic assumptions are correct, Sir. I think we are dealing with two AI’s. One is on the surface and one is in control of the orbital fleet. Approximately 56% of the orbital ships appear to be functional. They could also be in a powered down mode but looking at the Galileo data and 20 ships look to be fully operational. Weapons appear to be primarily MASER batteries. I can see no evidence of rail guns. Their weaponry may be less impressive, or they may be armed in a fashion we cannot detect. I wouldn’t assume them to be inferior to our ships. If we do that we run the risk of being surprised. I do not like surprises.”
The Admiral had one more question. He was looking more for how she was going to reply, “What is your gut feeling Jez?”
She paused “My gut feeling is that we are dealing with two AI’s. One of them has gone mad.” It was out of her speaker before she could catch herself. He had asked what her gut feeling was. What did he know? She did not have a gut. But, she did have feelings.

Hi all this is my first post in this sub.
I am female, and I've long loved the look of field watches. I really want to get one and I'm deciding between these two. One thing to note is I have very small wrists around 6.25". So I don't want something that will look too large. The Hamilton is 38mm and the Seiko is 36mm, I will be going down to a store to try them, but they will both look a bit oversized but that's okay. I am looking at the hand-winding version of the Hamilton as that is more in my budget.
Important factors to me:
-Waterproofing, all my life I've used dive watches. I don't swim often but they should ideally be able to hold up to showering. I am a bit worried about the Hamilton as while it states 5 Bar waterproofing, I've read a lot of people having issues with that. The Seiko seems a lot more reliable because of it.
-I don't mind the wind-winding Hamilton or the automatic Seiko
-Size and weight is are important factors as I mentioned my small wrists. The Hamilton while having a bigger face has a slimmer profile as a handwinder. I am afraid the Seiko is going to be too chunky overall. I will get a better idea once I try them on in person.
I would be happy to get either, just interested to hear any feedback :)

Here is chapter 16 of Tight Money.
Special thanks to u/SpacePaladin15 for creating the universe and allowing fan writers to join the fun.
Additional thanks to u/BiasMushroom, u/YakiTapioca, u/cruisingNW, u/SavingsSyllabub7788, u/YaaliAnnar, u/White_Dragon_Coranth, u/Illwood and u/Redundant-Honse for letting me use elements from their fanfics in mine.
Thanks to u/Zyrian150, u/Saint-Andros, and u/Eager_Question for proofreading this chapter.
Today, I have 3 character updates for you. We get to see good things happen to Leena and Dani and we get another update on what Niit is up to as well as revisiting some old characters and introducing a new one. This chapter was my first in collaboration with u/Eager_Question. We are doing a crossover for the next few chapters of Tight Money. A huge thanks to them for entirely changing the trajectory of my plans for Niit and Leena. I'm excited for where this is going.
I love your comments so please tell me what you think so I can get better or if you have suggestions for future snippets of life on Venlil Prime you would like to see me cover, leave it in the comments.
First Previous
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Memory transcription subject: Leena, Human Refugee Host
Date [standardized human time]: November 7, 2136
The smell of delectable food woke me up before my alarm – a sweet scent with a hint of roasted vegetables. My stomach demanded a meal, and glancing at the clock, I could see that I had some time before the twins would wake. Eagerly walking to the kitchen, I saw Dani had placed out all manner of items on the counter. She stood in front of her ‘hot plate,’ stirring a steaming pot that emanated the delightful aroma.
“Good morning, sleepy head!”
“Good waking, Dani. What are you up to with all those fruits and jars?”
“Well, you remember how I told you I was going to make some chalk for the neighborhood kids? That’s what I am doing right now – I'm making colored chalk! It's a fun DIY project. You see…”
“That did not translate correctly. The translator said, ‘letters of the English alphabet ask for clarification.’”
“Oh, it is an acronym that stands for the English words, ‘do it yourself.’ A lot of humans are pretty handy and have the skills to make the things that most people buy from a store. Sometimes they make things to save money, some do it for the challenge to see if they can, some do it because they want to customize something, and a lot of people do it because they enjoy doing it.”
“Like you said at our meal, this last paw.”
“Yeah! First, I slice up these fruits and vegetables into thin slices and boil them in water for [10 minutes]. The boiling process helps extract the natural pigments from the foods. Once I've boiled the fruits, I strain the colored water and keep it aside.”
Dani reached for a strainer and gently poured the steaming water into another pot and put that on the ‘hot plate.’ She set the slices of fire fruit on a plate and took a tentative bite out of a slice. I followed suit and to my delight, the fruit had a new mellower flavor with a hint of sweetness. Looking over the counter while I snacked on the boiled slices of Firefruit I got a better look at the jars of colored water and a few with colored powders.
“Okay, I'm following so far,” I pointed to one of the powder jars. “What are the powders for?”
“I’m doing an experiment. I want to see if I can use the pigment water as is or if I have to bake it to remove even more of the moisture in order to get a good color. I’ve never used these vegetables before so I need to do some trial and error to get this right.”
Dani had received a small strayu forge a few days ago in the mail and was putting it to good use making all manner of things except strayu. Honestly, I had no idea you could do anything else with them. Humans think of the strangest things. The forge dinged alerting her that it was done with whatever it was doing. She pulled out a tray of shriveled up Firefruit slices and transferred them to an empty plate. Dani laid several more fresh Firefruit slices on the trays and began the process anew.
“Dehydrated slices make wonderful snacks. Now, I take plaster,” Dani scooped some white powder into a cheap plastic bowl and poured in two scoops of the colored water, “and mix it with the colored water we obtained earlier. The plaster acts as a base and helps give the chalk a solid form.”
“Dani, that's so clever! So, the colored water gives the plaster its colors?”
“Exactly! The colored water mixes with the plaster, and we end up with a mixture that has the desired colors. Oh, and while I'm doing this, I'm also pouring the mixture into these silicone molds.”
I watched as Dani mixed the blue water and white powder until it turned into a light blue soup. Dani poured the liquid into the cavities of the flexible trays and scrunched up her face the way she did when she was unhappy or thinking.
“Is something wrong?”
“Yeah, it is supposed to be a much deeper blue than this. I think I’ll have to find something else to make a better dye or try the powder method. Oh well, live and learn.”
Dani began to clean up just as my alarm went off, informing me that I needed to get the children ready and fed. When I came out of my room after feeding the twins and grooming their fur, Dani had finished cleaning the counter and sitting on the couch browsing on her tablet. She looked up as I sat down.
“You get your cast off today right?”
Peering at the clock on her tablet, “Yes, my appointment is in quarter a claw at the out-patient recovery facility. It is only a short ride away. Would you?” I passed the twins to Dani before I stood. “I need to get ready.”
“Come here little babies, let's play hide and peek-a-boo.”
A quick shower later and I returned to find Dani loading the twins into the stroller; still talking to them in her higher pitch and smiling. Nothing out of the ordinary about that but what was out of the ordinary was that Vissa and Tas were also showing their teeth. Not quite a smile but not for lack of trying. I wasn’t sure what to say about that. I didn’t want Dani to stop smiling at Vissa and Tas but that behavior worried me.
“Okay, we’re ready.” Dani reached in and tickled my children. When they were done laughing they ceased to show their teeth much to my relief.
“Dani, when I get the cast off and return this scooter, is there anything you would like to do? I would rather not go back home and sit down once I can walk again.”
Dani’s eyes sparkled at my suggestion. “I would love to see some of your museums and I read about these places where people can make communal art. Could you show me one of those?”
“I would love to.” I’m glad I can do something nice for you, after all you have done for me.
​
​
Memory transcription subject: Niit, Capitol Spaceport Logistics Coordinator
Date [standardized human time]: November 9, 2136
I was fortunate. Only three claws after I was fired from the spaceport a new job presented itself. It was a temporary job but it would give me time to find something permanent and help my job history. Getting fired looked worse than the contract ending. They had advertised that they needed someone to come in and finish a new facility. I wondered what happened to the last coordinator. I sent in my application, trying to highlight that I had some experience in procuring building materials for the maintenance of the spaceport hangars.
I was given an interview time for the following paw. That didn’t give me much time to prepare and the place was a bit out of the way. I had to take the train out to the outer ring of the Capital and then walk [20 minutes] more but at least it was easy to find; I could hear the construction a [kilometer] away. A yotul was outside watching the construction crews, obviously impressed with the advanced construction equipment.
“Excuse me,” I tried to be respectful and not shout, “could you direct me to the project manager's office?”
The yotul looked at me and then pointed to a series of temporary buildings in the distance.
“The furthest of the temporary dwellings on the right," he said, "it has a label on the door.”
“Thank you.” I waved my tail goodbye.
I walked over to the white construction shelter the yotul indicated and raised my paw to knock when the door slid open and a large, dark gray venlil appeared in the doorway. I froze in surprise as he looked me up and down with his left eye.
“Are you Niit?”
“Y-y…” I flicked my ear in affirmation.
“Come in.”
The gray venlil stepped inside and motioned to a swivel chair opposite a desk near the door. I took the seat opposite him at the desk and he opened a file with my application on his datapad. The office was a mess of binders, tools, and open cases of energy snacks and drinks; I assumed for the crew. A large map of the block hung on the wall.
"You can call me Foreman Apec or just Foreman is fine too. I'm so glad you could come on such short notice, this project is rather urgent and our last coordinator was poached by one of those ghastly flesh factories they're building now."
The very mention of those atrocious places nearly caused me to lose my lunch. “I-I’m so sorry to hear that. Well, I can guarantee you that I will not be leaving to work in such a place.”
"That's wonderful to hear. Tell me more about your experience, how comfortable are you handling tight schedules?"
“Oh, very, when I worked at the Capital Spaceport I had to manage several tight repair schedules regularly.” I hope he didn’t call Director Cass. I doubt he would give me a positive reference.
"Wonderful to hear. Like I said, we're rather in a rush to get this all done as soon as we can. The good news is that human laborers can work for two, sometimes three claws a shift, so we should be able to manage."
He stated that so nonchalantly, waving his tail around like it wasn’t the most ludicrous thing.
“T-three claws? They can work that long? No,” he’s joking, “You are pulling my ear. There’s no way anyone can work that long.”
Foreman Apec leaned forward and lowered his voice conspiratorially.
"I could scarcely believe it myself! Between you and me, I believe they're what you'd call persistence predators, but they're all hush hush about such things, you know. Anyhow,” he sat back and resumed the interview questions. “You mentioned repairs–I assume for starships-- do you have any experience with buildings?"
Persistence predators? I’ll have to look that up later, focus!
“Some, yes. I managed the construction of hangars 17 and 18 two [years] ago and the repairs to some of the buildings when debris fell after the successful defense against the arxur earlier this [year].”
"Fantastic! And, of course, while the position does not require you to interact with many humans, it'll likely come up due to the nature of the project. Are you comfortable with that?"
“I’ll manage.” It’s only temporary and I have my secret weapon now. Let's see them crawl inside me now. Ha!
"You should be fine. Older fellows like myself seem to struggle much more than youngsters like you, and I have my first meal with a human every paw now! I'm afraid the compensation on the ad is as high as we can go due to the budget, is that also alright?"
He flicked his tail apologetically.
“Yes, I’m grateful for the opportunity to gain experience in construction and try something other than starship repair.”
"Fantastic. When can you start?"
“I can start immediately, thank you!”
"Well, then you're hired! I'll send you an information package as soon as I can, and you can start at the next claw. As I said, we are quite strapped for time."
I rose, my tail wagged with joy, “I won’t let you down. I’m eager to see what this place will look like when it’s finished.”
"As am I. The whole thing has been mired in secrecy. You'll have to sign an agreement when you accept the contract, it'll be in your information package."
A secrecy agreement? What are the humans building here? “Oh… mysterious.” I tried to wave my tail playfully.
"Yes indeed! We'll be able to talk all about it once you sign on officially, but suffice it to say that the building plans are different from any I've ever seen."
The foreman walked around the desk and opened the door to escort me out. As I left, I turned one last time to reply.
“Well, I am eager to talk with you about it next claw.”
"Wonderful. Go, read through the package. Rest up. You'll need it."
​
​
Memory transcription subject: Krin, Capitol Extermination Officer
Date [standardized human time]: November 9, 2136
Driving to another abandoned home, looking for another poor warto spawn for trespassing. Probably gonna have drugs too; they all do. Rigel was driving the truck and seemed rather quiet, well, more quiet than usual.
“This is wrong, Krin. Evicting someone from an abandoned house just feels wrong.”
Rigel you are naive and too emotional. These people have already left the herd and need to shape up.
“I get where you're comin' from, Rigel, but it's our job. Can't let folks squat in places that ain't theirs.”
We were headed to the poorer part of the city. Clean streets but smaller houses; some no bigger than an apartment. The homes had an artificial feel to them, lacking any sort of wood or stone, just fillcrete walls and plastic doors. The road was getting bumpier with potholes in the rubber asphalt and frayed edges. The paint was nearly gone in some places and sunbleached in others.
“But it's rough out there, Krin. The economy's tanking, folks are losing their jobs, the banks aren’t making allowances…. Is throwing someone out really the answer?
For herd’s sake, “Look, Rigel, I feel for 'em, I do. But ya gotta think bigger. This squattin' stuff leads to more crime, drugs, theft, vandalism, urban decay. Ain't good for nobody. It’s a breeding ground for predator disease.”
“I get that, but it's hard not to sympathize. People are struggling. Maybe we could help them instead of evicting them?”
You want to help them so much, go be a social worker and see how much help you can give these people. Social services were drowning. Everyone knew that but with less revenue from fees and taxes, agencies had to make cuts. Everyone just had to make do.
“Help 'em how? We ain't social workers, Rigel. We got our hands full already and the owners are breathing down our necks when they should've taken care of this mess in the first place!”
“I know, Krin, but it just doesn't sit right with me. Can't help but think there's a better way to handle this.”
“We can't solve all the world's problems, Rigel. Our job is to keep the peace, not save everyone. It's tough, but that's reality.” The simple reality that ain’t so simple anymore, stupid humans.
“I just wish we could do more, you know? Feel like we're caught between a cliff and a shadestalker.”
“Trust me, Rigel, I feel it too. But we can't change the system overnight. Gotta focus on what we can control and do our jobs. Besides, no point thinkin’ about it anymore, we’re here.”
I stopped the car and got out. Officer Rigel checked the front door and it swung open. We entered the house, announcing ourselves as we went, but saw no one. The place was rather clean for a squat. If it wasn’t for the makeshift bed in one of the rooms and the inflatable birthday pool in the bathroom with a stack of towels, we wouldn’t have even known there was a squatter here.
“Looks like we came all this way for nothing.” The frustration in Officer Rigels voice mirrored my own.
The water in this pool was almost gone, the towels were dry and we didn’t find any paraphernalia. Whoever had been here, was long gone.
“Yeah, let's call it in and go back to the office.”
We climbed back into the truck and pulled out of the driveway. As I drove us back to the guild, we passed a disheveled man. Is that our squatter? I slowed the car and looked in the mirror, from behind I could see he was wearing a dirty safety vest and carrying a trash stick. No, he’s not a squatter. Glad I’m not that guy though. Sanitation work is not for me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
First Previous

My fingers drummed on the cold steel table in my specialized prison cell, my daily dose of blood having not been sent to me. A dry thirst burned in my throat, my ruby eyes dilating at the vampire in a cheap business suit plopping down across from me. Playing with my amethyst waves, he traced his slender finger along the nape of his neck. His ruby eyes glistened with excitement, his slicked back ivory hair reminded me of everything I hated about the government.
“Pretty hungry, Morticia Deathbite?” He taunted cruelly, hatred burning in my eyes. “I have a deal for you. The government will exonerate you of all your charges if you agree to become my wife for a mission. There is one catch, you have to let me bite you. Oh forgive my manners. I am Agent Stanton Lifewick, a member of Night Squad. The vampires in the program work to hunt down serial killers that the police can’t seem to get. Will you join me?” Growling through gritted teeth, my inky lips curled into a defiant snarl. Spitting in his face, wicked laughter rumbled in his throat.
“You can rot in hell. You guys put me in this jail cell for only drinking the blood of serial killers. Fuck you.” I retorted venomously, his hands wiping away the spit. “You can leave now, you rotten bastard!” Snatching the collar of my orange jumpsuit, he yanked me close to his face. The corner of his lips twitched with fury, a raw tension thickening between us. Shooting daggers into each other's eyes, my elbow slammed into his face. Crashing back, I sprinted out the door. Red light bathed the concrete halls, a shrill alarm blaring in my ears. Unlocking the other criminals on my way out, the distraction would be my way out. Security guards attempted to stop me, one punch smashing them into the wall. A Cheshire Cat grin spread cheek to cheek at the open gate, my bare feet smashing through. Feeling the pale moonlight on my skin pleased me, Stanton called for me to stop. Flipping him off, I leapt into the trees. Hopping from branch to branch, my heart stopped at him blocking my path. Straightening up, claws extended from my black fingernails. Cracking my neck, he pulled out a gun with holy water soaked wooden bullets.
“I can’t let you escape.” He snapped hotly, a bead of sweat dripping off of his brow. “Join me now or I’ll shoot you.” Putting my hands up in the air as a dare, maniacal laughter burst from my lips. Shrugging my shoulders, he watched me crack my fingers one by one. Leaning forward, something was stopping him. My face fell at the sound of guns clicking underneath me, the sheer amount of agents scaring me. Placing my hands behind my back, my claws receded back into their place.
“Just take me back so I can fucking die.” I grumbled under my breath, Stanton putting his gun away. Leaping closer to me, even my speed wouldn’t allow me to dodge all of their bullets. Standing behind me, his fangs grazed the nape of my neck. His hot breath bathed my neck, the agents’ fingers all ready to shoot me. Too many black suits, I thought irritably to myself. Freedom and blood was all I desired, the bastards stripping both from me.
“Just fucking say yes, you idiot!” He growled huskily in my ear, his hand sliding down the small of my waist. “You get freedom and all the blood you need from me.” His invisible strength threatened to break my back, my body trembling in his hold. Something about it dulled my hatred for him. Concern flashed in his eyes for a moment, tears welling up in my eyes. Peeking into his soul, a white aura surrounded him. Bowing my head in shame, my bangs hid my eyes. Live a life alone in prison or experience life again? Did the world hate me as much as I hated it?
“Fine.” I uttered in with defeat, a sickening dread bubbling in my gut. “You win but you better treat me like one of you. I refuse to be a slave and a prisoner.” Sinking his fangs into my neck, the disgusting sound of him drinking my blood drowned out the agents putting their guns back. Inky bats flew across my breasts, a solid black band forming on his finger. An indescribable bond formed between us, silent tears streaming down my cheeks. This contract reminded me of how my first master used me to kill innocent people for defying the church, his gentle touch scaring me out of my trance.
“Are you okay?” He whispered kindly in my ear, the sudden shift in his personality ringing the alarm bells. “I am going to get you to the car and we will sign a marriage contract to get our license. I don’t bite. Well, unless I have to. I am aware you have been alive since medieval times so the concept of living off your mate’s blood is new. It actually makes you ten times stronger. Imagine that power coursing through you.” Tossing me over his shoulder, he jumped off the branch.
“Operation Get Hitched is a success!” He announced with a warm smile, a tender blush rising to my cheeks. “Go home to your families.” Carrying me to the car, my waves bounced up and down with every step. Sitting me down in the passenger seat of a generic black armored SUV, my hair blew back as he slammed the door shut. Sliding into his seat, he pulled out a pile of papers from the center console. Passing me the pile, I knew the drill. Signing on the dotted lines, a knock stole his breath away. Rolling down the window, a fellow agent stamped the paper. Dropping two velvet boxes into my lap, the papers fluttered in the other agent’s hands. Closing his window, he held my hand up. Opening up the closest box to him, he slid on an onyx band of twisted branches. Grasping the remaining box, my jaw dropped at the matching band. Sliding on his finger shakily, surprise rounded his eyes. Thorns dug into my fingers, his face showing the same fate for him. Sniffing the ring, it reeked of an eternal curse. Fantastic, we were bound together forever.
“Can I ask you a question?” I choked out awkwardly, a warm gaze falling on me. “Why me? I am not the only vampire there. I can think of s-” Putting his finger up in the air, the ring glittered in the pale moonlight. Grabbing my shoulder, any cockiness he had was gone. It almost seemed to be a mask in front of the boys, his private personality seeming naturally sweet.
“I picked you because I saw your beautiful face in a pile of files. Also you are the oldest vampire alive, so that helped. I find you rather amazing. I don’t agree with you killing all those serial killers but you had to eat. Am I right?” He mused tenderly, is crooked grin stopped time as the urge to kiss him dominated my mind. “How about you drink something? I had them starve you for a couple of days. I am sorry about that.” Guiding my head to the nape of his neck, his vein throbbed violently. Biting him now would seal the deal from my side, the scent of a summer day wafted up my nose. Piercing his tender flesh, my pupils enlarged at the first sip, the sweet taste of lemonade coated my throat. Wrapping my arms around his neck, short gasps poured from his lips. Drinking my fill, a satisfied sigh flowed freely from me. He was right, your mate’s blood tasted like nothing else. Scarlet blood stained the corner of his lips, my hands cupping his face. Pressing my lips against his sensually, his arm slid down to the small of my waist. Refusing to let me go, his tongue danced in my mouth. Time stopped, our heartbeats were all I could hear. Releasing him from the spell, he sat back in a daze with a goofy grin. Scarlet burned his cheeks, my impulsive behavior having landed me in some hot water for sure.
“Sorry for that.” I apologized profusely, hoping that he wouldn’t hate me for acting on my inner thoughts. “I get a little impu-” Kissing me back with twice as much passion, my body arched towards him. The seat belt was the only thing that held me back, his heart beating faster than mine. Another knock interrupted him, a flustered Stanton rolled the window down.
“What!” He yelled sharply, the ivory haired female’s ruby eyes flitting between me and him. “Selena, you need to give your older brother privacy.” Her petite five two figure didn’t scream power but boy did her intense color changing aura. Sticking out her tongue, a deeper scarlet colored his cheeks. Blinking a couple of times, she leaned into the car.
“I am Selena Dogood, his baby sister. You must be the infamous Morticia he never stopped talking about. Honestly, he never shut up.” She teased lightly, her short leather dress fluttering in the breeze. “Would you like to h-” Covering her mouth with his hand, a stern gaze shut her offer down.
“I would but I need to get to the hell I am calling suburbia. You know the reason I married her in the first place. They suspect the serial killer is living in that godforsaken town.” He informed her briskly, cursing under his breath. “I might like her a bit. Do you have her clothes? People are going to stare if I bring her out in a prison jumpsuit.” Dropping a silky emerald dress into his lap, a horrendous flashback of the church dressing me in lingerie for special guests to view haunted me. Horrendous slurs had been carved into my skin, the people throwing rotten tomatoes at me. Clutching my chest, a tight embrace snapped me back to reality. Selena put her hands up into the air, walking back to her own SUV. Kissing the top of my head, the nature of our bond made this moment unbearably sweet. His slender six foot seven frame towered over me by a good foot, thus his embrace felt like Heaven. Shaking my head, I shoved him off. Undoing my seat belt, he turned his back as I peeled off the jumpsuit. Tossing it into the back, I tugged on the sweetheart neckline dress. The silk felt soft against my skin, the material a far better cry from the rough cotton of my previous outfit. The straps failed to cover the number the prison had branded me with, my fingers tracing the faint numbers. Not seeing what I did wrong, the people should have applauded me. Furthermore, I needed to eat.
“You look beautiful.” He commented pleasantly, his eyes falling on the numbers branded on my chest. “They didn’t tell me that they did that to the first vampires in prison. I promise to make your life better. Can you cook?” His question threw me off as the engine roared to life, the trees turning into a sea of houses. Rolling my eyes, most of them were close enough to pass a damn cup of sugar through the bathroom window. The ranches nauseated me further, my heart sinking at the car pulling up to a flamingo pink ranch. My face scrunched in disgust, my eyes falling on a red headed woman with piercing blue eyes. Her curls bounced around her shoulders, her ample cleavage hanging out of a tight tank top. Pouting in my direction, something seemed off about her. Perhaps it was because her aura was darker than the bottom of the ocean. Hopping out to the car, his hand ripped open the car door. Sliding on the shoes, a scowl planted itself on her lips.
“Who’s Shirley Temple across the street?” I inquired softly, his eyes rolling. “She seems to like you.” Rolling his eyes, a wicked grin spread cheek to cheek as he rose to his feet. Pinning me to the car, his lips kissed mine hungrily. Time stopped, the sound of the night fading to the background. Releasing me from his spell, her death glare sent chills up my spine. Lifting my finger, he purposely showed off our wedding rings. Glee glittered in his eyes at her obvious bewilderment, he flipped her off on the way into the house. The outside must have been deceptive because all sorts of taxidermy lined the Victorian style wallpaper, the dark wooden bookshelves were lined with first editions of books. Sitting me down on what was his original emerald velvet couch, my hands rubbing the carved bats on the armrest. Crossing my legs, my eyes fell on the coffin coffee table. Laying down, sweet slumber stole me away.
Snapping awake, a flurry of impatient knocks frightened the shit out of me. The bright sunshine blinded me, a fluke in my DNA allowing me not to burn in the sun. Rushing to the door, the redhead from the night before knocked once more. Opening the door, I leaned on the door frame. Horror rounded her eyes at my porcelain skin and black lips, her perfect ass shoving her way in. Following her into an all black kitchen, she called out Stanley. Cocking my brow in response, a messy haired Stanton wandered into the hall. Defiance glittered in his eyes, my eyes taking in the same emerald wallpaper from the living room now lining the hall.
“You are a cockadoody for your disrespectful behavior from last night.” She complained bitterly, her eyes snapping back to me. “Did you find her on an albino dating site? Why haven’t I seen her?” Rubbing his bare muscular chest, he examined her pristine white dress and black sun hat. My heart fluttered at the sight of him, part of me wishing he wouldn’t slick his hair back anymore. A matching branded set of numbers sat on his chest, curiosity twinkling in my eyes.
“Why don’t you leave, Susie?” He asked politely, popping a white tablet into his mouth. “I need you and your husband to leave me alone today.” Narrowing her eyes in his direction, he motioned towards the door. Something seemed off with her, her aura sickening me. Cupping my mouth, he noticed my reaction to her presence. Not only that, the scent of her blood reminded me of a corpse. Walking up next to her, I pushed Stanton out of the way.
“What is your name?” I demanded viciously, folding my arms across my chest. True love lit up in his eyes for the first time, the crack of her slap stunning me into a temporary silence. Her chest huffed up and down, my crazed grin infuriating her further. Pinning me to the wall, I stole the opportunity to peek into her soul. A shadow blocked me from seeing into it, my face falling.
“I am Susan Smith, the leader of the neighborhood watch. I am watching you. I am a black belt by the way.” She warned icily, my unimpressed expression peeving her off further. “What is so funny?” Knowing that she would charge me if I touched her, I cleared my throat.
“Hello to you then.” I chirped cheerfully, turning on my people-friendly smile. “I think you should go now. I work the night shift and you and your creepy neighborhood watch can go fuck yourself. You can keep your hungry eyes off my husband.” Raising her hand to strike me, I caught it mid slap. Lowering it to her side, my grip on her wrist refused to let her go.
“Whatever. My husband is hotter than yours and the mayor of the town. I wouldn’t touch him with a ten foot pole.” She returned haughtily, my fingers letting her go. “We don’t want you Gothic freaks in this perfect little slice of Heaven.” Cocking my brow at her words, it was obvious she liked my husband. A slightly overweight bald man in a pair of khakis and a blue button up shirt stepped out to search for his wife, his chocolate brown eyes falling on us. The name Richard stood out to me, a defiant glow coming over my face.
“He’s hot if slightly overweight and bald with a side of khaki’s is in fashion.” I taunted cruelly, watching her face grow red as the fire hydrant outside. Stomping off, she slammed the door behind her. Dusting off my dress, he pulled me in for a warm embrace. The foot difference made me feel pleasantly small, the feeling of his muscles against my face causing a tender blush to rise to my cheeks. This was an emotion that I haven’t felt in a while, the desire to give in to my nightly urges raged. Pushing him away, I folded my arms across my chest. Hurt dimmed his eyes, his hands running through his hair.
“We don’t have to do any of that until you are ready. We do have to get ready to go to the grocery. I just took my sunblock pill.” He explained happily, turning to walk back into his room. Hugging him from behind, my outcome was to alleviate his hurt. Freezing in his tracks, he spun on his heels. Hiding his wet eyes underneath his hair, he barely responded as I wiped away his tears. Pushing me away, a glass shattered on the worn wooden floor the moment I hit it. Shivering on the floor, I had tried too hard. Rushing into his room, I chased after him.
Fighting the tears, his years in prison had done a number on him. Sliding into the room in the nick of time, he shoved an onyx lace baby doll dress into my arms with a pair of chunky heeled boots. Stomping into the bathroom, he had his outfit hanging off of his arm. Changing quickly, he needed something to cheer him up. Crashing into the kitchen, the bottom of my dress fluttered with each step. Noting the dark roast coffee beans, coffee was the only thing vampires could taste beside blood. Humming to myself, I began the process of making him a latte. Smoothing out my bell sleeves, it was time to add the milk. Pouring the foaming milk into his coffee, he wandered in with a grumpy look on his face. My breath hitched at his black and white striped button up shirt over a pair of black shorts, his worn converses bringing him down to what age we looked like. A silver cross dangled from his left ear, his eyes falling on the apology coffee.
“I am sorry. It has been a long time since someone touched me. It is a tale I will tell you another time. Did you make that for me?” He queried with a tired smile, taking the clear cup in his trembling hands. “Did they teach you how to make this in jail?” Nodding silently, he took a sip. His eyes widened at how tasty it was, the cup was empty in a couple of minutes.
“Are we watching the people at the grocery store?” I questioned shakily, afraid to speak. “Won’t we stand out?” Shaking his head, he ruffled the top of my head. Kissing the top of my head, he offered me his elbow. Hooking mine around his, he guided me out to the car. Helping me in, we were soon heading to the local grocery store. The worn sign flickered against a faded tan facade, the housewives streamed in and out. An irritated Susan rushed past his car.
“We do but I have lived here for months, so they are used to it. If you wore pink it would be more alarming.” He whispered gruffly into my ears, those damn urges coming up again. “Trust me. We are the town freaks anyway with being “albinos”. The air quotes added a sense of humor to the moment, his soft chuckle telling me that he was fine. Helping me out, the wives all waved at him. Jealousy flashed in my eyes, his fingers intertwined with mine. While he received a bunch of smiles, I received death glare after death glare. Bright lights blinded me, the constant conversations caused my ears to pin back. The serial killer could be among these people, the very thought exhilarating.
“This can be a bit much for your first day out of jail. I would have left you at home but our bond won’t allow it.” He assured me sweetly, placing my hands on the cart. Holding me from behind, he rested his chin on my head. Talking for a minute to the butcher, a special symbol on his neck informed me that he was an ally. Susan rolled up next to me, one of her lackeys boxing me in. Leaning on the end of my cart, she cast insult after insult at me. Ignoring her words, a familiar face stole my attention. His wrinkles matched the father’s from back in the medieval times, a pair of sage eyes meeting mine. He smelled human, a Celtic symbol glowed on his neck. Susan waved her hands in front of me, a strained huh escaping my lips. His black priest’s uniform sickened me, clammy sweat soaking my skin.
“Did you hear me!” Susan demanded childishly, holding out an invitation. “This is something we call a book club.” Seconds from crumbling it up, Stanton snatched it from her fingers. Pecking me on the lips, she rolled her eyes in a huff. Father Rowell had disappeared into the crowd, my husband carrying on the conversation for me.
“I have to go to the bathroom!” I blurted out awkwardly, leaping over the carts. Crashing through the people, I skidded to a stop in front of Rowell. Reaching his hand out to me, a bolt of lightning zapped him the moment our skin touched. Clearing his throat, he pointed to the automatic doors.
“Shall we go outside?” He suggested with a sly grin, my ankle failing me at the wrong time. Crashing onto my ass, he snapped his finger. A rotting church towered over us, so many questions rested on the tip of my tongue. One pew remained, the wood groaning as we sat down on it. Why did this feel warmer than before?
“Are you the serial killer, you old man?” I interrogated intensely, his head shaking. Sliding me a Celtic spell book with the proper page open, the spell he was using only required the sacrifice of a lamb. Leaning back, he touched the glowing symbol on his neck. I guess it all added up.
“It’s not me. This damn thing prevents me from killing anyone. I turned it around, I swear. “ He attempted to assure me, my look of disbelief not pleasing him. “I am sorry for using you. You seemed so lost and I was lost by the propaganda they were spreading. The church today is much more honest. I can be a pair of ears for you. Will that help you out?” The church bell rang, the wood quaking underneath my boots, his eyes allowing me to peer into his soul. The white aura was enough to convince me, my hand touching his.
“Besides the killing, you did everything right.” I admitted sheepishly, allowing him to smile subtly. “You found me after one of my bloody massacres and still hid me from the church.” Snow drifted aimlessly, his palm catching a couple of snowflakes. Watching them melt in his palms, he turned to me.
“Do you remember when I found you? Ruby painted the snow but you looked at me with the biggest plea for help. You were but a ten year old child with fangs in my eyes.” He commented in a fatherly tone, both us leaning back to watch the snow fall. Resting our hands on our flat stomachs, he let out a soft chuckle
“I am surprised you helped me after finding out I was the daughter of the first vampire.” I laughed gently, his hand reaching for mine. “I got married yesterday. I am sorry that I went to prison. I must have disappointed you with that tidbit.” Taking my hand, he examined the ring. Snapping his fingers, we were back at the grocery store. Dropping a card into my palm, he shoved his hands into his pocket.
“I came to seek you out. The killer is among your little area I call Hell. Good luck with that marriage.” He called out as he walked to a waiting car, Stanton coming out with a bag of groceries. Peeking into the bag, it was two bags of coffee. Providing the perfect distraction, the contacts amusing me.
“It really looks like we eat.” I joked tenderly, nudging his shoulder. “Can we go home now?” Winking in my direction, his arm curled around my waist. Flipping me the invitation, his next words pissed me off.
“You are going to that book club tomorrow. Play nice and try not to stand out too much. The trick to winning Susie over is through the love of reading. As I recall, you had a cell full of the latest books.” He ordered sharply, rubbing his chin. “I know you read them all. Can you handle that tomorrow?” Whispering something in his ears, a devilish grin spread cheek to cheek.

CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie delivers his state of the league media address at the Hamilton Convention Centre in Hamilton, Ontario on Friday, December 10, 2021.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nick Iwanyshyn PHOTO BY NICK IWANYSHYN /The Canadian Press
The league announced Friday that fans in Canada will have free access to exhibition contests not being carried by both TSN and RDS. American and international viewers will be able to watch regular-season games not carried by the CBS Sports Network.
​
“Free online viewing represents a new path forward for the league and all our fans,” CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie said in a statement. “Through these platforms, we are prioritizing access and reach, while placing an added emphasis on building a more direct connection with our viewers.
​
“We recognized an opportunity to provide a new service for our fans, and we worked with our teams to make it happen.”
​
TSN and/or RDS will exclusively broadcast three exhibition games, which will also be made available outside of Canada on CFL Preseason Live. The online platform will also carry the six remaining contests for all viewers as the league will work with host clubs to broadcast the in-stadium video feed, while play-by-play and analysis will be provided by local crews.
The CFL exhibition season kicks off Monday with the Edmonton Elks visiting the Calgary Stampeders.
​
CFL Plus will live stream all games not being broadcast on CBS Sports Network in the U.S The entirety of the 2023 season, including the CFL playoffs and Grey Cup game Nov. 19 at Tim Hortons Field, will be available for viewers outside of North America.
​
The streaming service will be available on desktop and mobile devices with no additional downloads or login services required. A verified email address will be all that’s required to secure the league’s first-ever live-streaming platforms.
​
The complete 2023 broadcast schedule for TSN/RDS, CBS Sports Network and CFL Plus will be announced before the season. The 2023 campaign opens June 8 with Calgary hosting the B.C. Lions.
Spring subscription sale: Our in-depth journalism is possible thanks to the support of our subscribers. For a limited time, you can get full online access to the Vancouver Sun and The Province, along with the National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites, for just $40 for one year or $1 a week for 52 weeks. Support our journalism by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun.
​
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on #3dfgrttrtyt

CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie delivers his state of the league media address at the Hamilton Convention Centre in Hamilton, Ontario on Friday, December 10, 2021.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nick Iwanyshyn PHOTO BY NICK IWANYSHYN /The Canadian Press
The league announced Friday that fans in Canada will have free access to exhibition contests not being carried by both TSN and RDS. American and international viewers will be able to watch regular-season games not carried by the CBS Sports Network.
​
“Free online viewing represents a new path forward for the league and all our fans,” CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie said in a statement. “Through these platforms, we are prioritizing access and reach, while placing an added emphasis on building a more direct connection with our viewers.
​
“We recognized an opportunity to provide a new service for our fans, and we worked with our teams to make it happen.”
​
TSN and/or RDS will exclusively broadcast three exhibition games, which will also be made available outside of Canada on CFL Preseason Live. The online platform will also carry the six remaining contests for all viewers as the league will work with host clubs to broadcast the in-stadium video feed, while play-by-play and analysis will be provided by local crews.
The CFL exhibition season kicks off Monday with the Edmonton Elks visiting the Calgary Stampeders.
​
CFL Plus will live stream all games not being broadcast on CBS Sports Network in the U.S The entirety of the 2023 season, including the CFL playoffs and Grey Cup game Nov. 19 at Tim Hortons Field, will be available for viewers outside of North America.
​
The streaming service will be available on desktop and mobile devices with no additional downloads or login services required. A verified email address will be all that’s required to secure the league’s first-ever live-streaming platforms.
​
The complete 2023 broadcast schedule for TSN/RDS, CBS Sports Network and CFL Plus will be announced before the season. The 2023 campaign opens June 8 with Calgary hosting the B.C. Lions.
Spring subscription sale: Our in-depth journalism is possible thanks to the support of our subscribers. For a limited time, you can get full online access to the Vancouver Sun and The Province, along with the National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites, for just $40 for one year or $1 a week for 52 weeks. Support our journalism by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun.
​
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie delivers his state of the league media address at the Hamilton Convention Centre in Hamilton, Ontario on Friday, December 10, 2021.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nick Iwanyshyn PHOTO BY NICK IWANYSHYN /The Canadian Press
The league announced Friday that fans in Canada will have free access to exhibition contests not being carried by both TSN and RDS. American and international viewers will be able to watch regular-season games not carried by the CBS Sports Network.
​
“Free online viewing represents a new path forward for the league and all our fans,” CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie said in a statement. “Through these platforms, we are prioritizing access and reach, while placing an added emphasis on building a more direct connection with our viewers.
​
“We recognized an opportunity to provide a new service for our fans, and we worked with our teams to make it happen.”
​
TSN and/or RDS will exclusively broadcast three exhibition games, which will also be made available outside of Canada on CFL Preseason Live. The online platform will also carry the six remaining contests for all viewers as the league will work with host clubs to broadcast the in-stadium video feed, while play-by-play and analysis will be provided by local crews.
The CFL exhibition season kicks off Monday with the Edmonton Elks visiting the Calgary Stampeders.
​
CFL Plus will live stream all games not being broadcast on CBS Sports Network in the U.S The entirety of the 2023 season, including the CFL playoffs and Grey Cup game Nov. 19 at Tim Hortons Field, will be available for viewers outside of North America.
​
The streaming service will be available on desktop and mobile devices with no additional downloads or login services required. A verified email address will be all that’s required to secure the league’s first-ever live-streaming platforms.
​
The complete 2023 broadcast schedule for TSN/RDS, CBS Sports Network and CFL Plus will be announced before the season. The 2023 campaign opens June 8 with Calgary hosting the B.C. Lions.
Spring subscription sale: Our in-depth journalism is possible thanks to the support of our subscribers. For a limited time, you can get full online access to the Vancouver Sun and The Province, along with the National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites, for just $40 for one year or $1 a week for 52 weeks. Support our journalism by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun.
​
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Day 1:
Few of the tributes got much sleep that night. The parties all throughout the Capitol did not end until dawn, and the noise could be heard in the accommodation building. Vannery and Carton ate breakfast slowly, like zombies. They were subsequently taken to the holding rooms. Organza wished Carton good luck before accompanying Vannery in her cell. She kept trying to reassure her as she put on her beige shorts and t-shirt. The young girl attached her hair with a purple ribbon that had been provided and climbed into the glass tube. Organza hugged her one last time, feeling her tears soaking her shoulder.
It was Platonia Travers who accompanied Carton. She muttered to herself about the outfit choice for this year. She tried to be cold to the boy, but she accepted to help him tie the purple ribbon to his wrist. He gave her a sad smile : “I probably won’t come back, but it’s nice to know that everyone in the Capitol isn’t heartless.” Platonia stood, mute, as the boy’s platform started to rise. She couldn’t keep the tears in this time.
A few cells over, the atmosphere was as morose. Alexandra had finally deigned to discuss their strategy with Delta. She accepted his plan of staying on the sidelines while he ran to the cornucopia. Still, he looked at her suspiciously and hounded her about working together for the whole breakfast. Halifax gave Delta one last pill to combat the morphling withdrawal, assuring him that the only symptoms he would experience were a mild headache and maybe some stiffness. He subsequently accompanied him to his holding room while Sean Callahan went with Alexandra.
Halifax took advantage of being alone with his mentee : “You shouldn’t trust her. I know these kinds of girls. They look harmless, but they’ll stab you in the back as soon as you let down your guard.”
“But-but…”
“You like her, huh ? Too bad, she doesn’t. So, man up and move on !”
Delta did not know what else to say. He climbed into the glass tube in silence, his brows forming a single black line over his dark eyes.
In the next holding room, another conversation was happening. “You don’t plan on allying with Delta, do you ?” asked Sean Callahan. Alexandra looked away coyly. “ I have other plans… With Angelo, we have an agreement.”
The mentor sighed, but he did not criticize the girl. He just told her to be prudent. You couldn’t trust careers. Alexandra nodded then flinched as the glass tube started descending from the ceiling.
The first thing she noticed as she rose into the arena was the noise. She hadn’t even emerged that she could hear a cacophony of bird songs. It was almost deafening, and she covered her ears before protecting her eyes from the sunlight.
The racket made Delta’s headache intensify. He first looked to his sides ; Hattie (3) cowered on the left while Angelo (2), on the right, was focusing on the cornucopia. This year, it had been made out of a thin weave of golden metal, almost like a very shiny basket. After this zoom on the cornucopia, the cameras started moving around to show off the arena. The tributes stood in the clearing of a dense rainforest. The terrain was relatively flat, with a few creeks and an explosion of colorful flowers. The main attraction of it was the birds, however, as thousands of them fluttered about, sang, and screamed.
As Carton looked around for his allies, Head Gamemaker Vishwa welcomed the tributes and wished the odds to be ever in their favor before starting the 30 seconds countdown. With Borea (5) and the girl from 10 to his sides, he didn’t feel safe. He finally found what he was looking for, but he didn’t like that his allies were so spread out. He made eye contact with Rivage and Vannery but was unable to see Sardine, who stood on the opposite side of the cornucopia.
Vannery caught sight of her district partner, as well as Sardine. She gave them a small wave, but made the mistake of looking to her left, where Perfecto (1) was sneering at her. Georges (N), on the other side, was just as intimidating. Instead, she looked straight ahead. As the countdown reached ten, she spotted a coil of rope on the outside of the cornucopia.
Delta had been pondering, unsure if it was worth entering the bloodbath. Alexandra, who happened to be just two podiums over, winked at him. She then pointed to the cornucopia. He understood. At that moment, the countdown reached zero. He sprinted to the center of the clearing, expecting her to follow, but she stayed on her podium.
On later replays, it was shown that Alexandra was winking at Angelo and not her district partner. As the boy from 2 sprinted forth to the cornucopia, the girl waited for a few seconds. She moved only when most of the other tributes were too occupied and grabbed a knife as well as a small bag of food. Angelo acted like he helped the other career tributes in order to pick up weapons and supplies, but as soon as they were occupied, he joined Alexandra. The pair was actually one of the first to leave the clearing, not counting Circuit (3) and the pair from 10 who had run away immediately.
When Vannery realized that she was running side to side with Perfecto (1), she immediately changed course and ran to Carton. She had to give up on the rope but managed to pick a water bottle off of the corpse of the boy from 9, who had just been stabbed by Glare (9).
If the career pack didn’t notice the disappearance of one of theirs, it wasn’t the case for Delta. When he saw his district partner escape with Angelo, he became enraged. He tried to exit the cornucopia. Fraxen then attacked him to try and steal his backpack. Delta threw him to the ground and punched him so hard it broke his neck. Now he had lost trace of Alexandra. As the fighting started to die down, he ran in a random direction.
Carton had dodged one of Glare’s knives and grabbed a bag of food and an unwieldy lance before Vannery and Rivage joined him. The trio heard Sardine scream from the other side of the cornucopia. Carton wanted to go and help her, but a second gargled wail convinced him that they couldn’t do anything else, especially since Proserpina (2) had now retrieved her axe from Sardine’s chest. As they left, they could hear the crunching of Ora’s neck (12) at the hands of Georges (N).
Meanwhile, Alexandra and Angelo were already far away, giggling at each other. It was only after Perfecto had stabbed Hattie (3) to death that the career pack noticed Angelo’s absence, but they didn’t seem bothered by it.
Delta was halfway to the perimeter when the five bloodbath cannons sounded. He was still seething, and the running helped him calm down. Eventually, he collapsed on the side of and old mossy tree, out of breath. Once he was a little better, he explored his surroundings. The big tree had a hole in his roots where Delta could fit, although it was a squeeze. He decided to stay there for now and used moss to hide himself. He also put some in his ears, which helped with his headache.
Carton, Rivage and Vannery had been running in the opposite direction. They wanted to put the most distance between themselves and the other tributes. They stopped long after the bloodbath cannons had sounded. They set up camp a few hundred feet away from the Northern part of the perimeter, next to a creek. Carton helped Rivage to take inventory. He had the lance, Rivage had gotten a trident, and between the three of them they had enough food to last two days at most. The bottle Vannery had taken was only half full, but the water of the creek was clear and drinkable.
The trio decided to stay put. Vannery and Carton would work on a shelter while Rivage fished for their dinner, as they had agreed to during training. In the early afternoon, they heard hurried footsteps coming their way. The boys readied their weapon, protecting Vannery between the two of us. Circuit (3) came running into their little encampment, which took him by surprise. He skidded to a halt and turned around as quickly as he’d arrived, leaving the trio dumbfounded.
Angelo and Alexandra had quite enough supplies to last a while. He held a sword in his hand and an “emergency axe” strapped to his back, while Alexandra held two knives. At first, they wanted to get away from the careers, but Alexandra eventually convinced Angelo to follow them from afar. They weren’t really hard to track, their bickering could be heard over the constant chatter of the birds. The noise also covered them. Proserpina, Glare and Perfecto were circling around the central clearing, slowly moving away from it. In the late afternoon, they discovered Forger (12) who was lying unconscious. He had received a deep wound during the bloodbath and was now at the mercy of the other tributes. Proserpina killed him.
The subsequent cannon surprised Vannery. She had climbed on top of a tree to get a view of the arena, and the sudden sound almost made her loose her grip. She didn’t fall, but while reaching her hand for a hold, she grabbed something warm and spherical. It crumbled and a viscous liquid dripped onto her finger. She looked up. She had inadvertently grabbed an egg from a nest. She was silent a moment, and a bright purple starling looked at her. “Oh no !” she whispered to herself. The bird screamed louder than she thought possible. Then it attacked.
All the birds in a radius of 50 feet coalesced into a multicolored tornado. Vannery fell to the ground, fortunately not hurting herself on the way down, and a feathery mass started clawing and pecking at her. They also attacked Carton and Rivage, who had been chilling at a distance. They batted the volatiles away, trying not to get scratched. Vannery managed to get up and run to the makeshift tent they had built. She picked up Carton’s lance and swung it, hitting some of the birds. She swung a second time and hit the metallic water bottle with a resounding CLANG! It seemed to stun the birds, but Vannery was too busy keeping them out of her face. Carton, however, noticed their reaction to the noise. He shouted loudly and flailed his arms : “Make noise ! They don’t like noise !”. Just his screaming was enough though. Eventually, the three tributes managed to drive the mutts out by hitting their weapons against rocks and the water bottle and screaming as loud as they could.
Delta also had an encounter with some angry birds. Those were red, with a long curvy beak and fearsome talons, but he managed to kill them all with a big branch he used as a bat. He then ate them, cooked over a small fire. Argus berated him for building a fire that could alert the other tributes to his location. However, the “Aviary Jungle” as it had been baptized by Urania Whimsiwick herself, was way too dense for anyone to see the smoke.
As the sun started to set, Delta squeezed himself back into his root hole, being careful to camouflage himself with moss. He held his branch in front of him just in case. An hour later, two cannons sounded in quick succession. They belonged to the pair from 10, who had had the great idea of making an omelet. The flock did not appreciate that…
When the sun started to set, Angelo suggested he and Alexandra find a place to sleep, preferably away from the career pack. She agreed, so they stopped following. They looked for a safe spot in the light of the dusk, eventually settling on the middle of a tight thicket. It was complicated to get inside, but the small space was comfortable, and the pair even had a view of the darkening sky. They ate some food then laid down, hand in hand. “Your district partner doesn’t seem to mind that you ditched her” joked Alexandra.
“I don’t think she cares. Maybe they believe I’m dead. But they’re not looking for us at least.”
“I think Delta is, though. You should have seen his face when he saw us. I almost feel bad about leading him on.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll get rid of him if he isn’t dead yet.”
“I’m sure he’s feeling the same thing”, responded Alexandra before going to sleep. Angelo kept the first watch.
In another section of the arena, Carton took the first watch. He had spent the remaining hours of daylight cleaning his wounds, along with Rivage and Vannery. The two of them slept, hoping to feel better the next day.
A little before midnight, Rivage awoke. He came to sit next to Carton, and the boys talked about their families, their school. Suddenly, a cannon sounded. It belonged to Ulma (7), who had stumbled upon Quinoa’s (9) camp by accident. The younger girl had not hesitated to stab a pointy branch in Ulma’s throat. This cannon prompted Carton to go to sleep, Rivage taking second watch.
At midnight, the hymn of Panem resounded in the arena and the portraits of the 9 fallen appeared in the sky : Hattie (3), Sardine (4), Fraxen and Ulma (7), the boy (9), both (10), Ora and Forger (12). This left 17 tributes after an eventful and interesting day.
Day 2:
Delta didn’t sleep much that night. The uncomfortable position coupled with a strong headache meant that he was up before the sunrise. As the first hints of blue appeared to the east, Delta got up. He needed to occupy his mind. The moss had stuck to his clothes, and he decided to take advantage of it. He caked his face and hands in mud and used it to stick more moss to his clothes. Urania commented that he looked like a green Orang-utang, which prompted laughter in the Capitol. Once he was fully camouflaged, he started roaming the arena. Stealthily at first, but as the sun rose and the birds started their cacophony as well, he allowed himself to move a little faster.
Alexandra and her district partner had spent a restful night. As she awoke, she was surprised to be cuddling with Angelo. Her rousing awakened him, and he turned around to look at her, puzzled. “I guess you’re the little spoon”, she joked. They ate cereal bars in awkward silence. Soon, the voices of the career pack walking in their direction prompted the pair to hide. Proserpina and Perfecto were loudly arguing about someone stealing their water bottles. Unbeknownst to them, it had been Glare who had hidden them in her own bag.
As they moved away from her, Alexandra suggested they follow the trio like the day before. Angelo thought it was a safe strategy as long as they kept their distances. They made their way out of the thorny thicket and followed. A few minutes later, a scream warned them that something was going on. It was Glare (1). She’d walked into a trap laid by Georges the day before and was now hanging upside down from a rope. Perfecto started to help her, but the stolen bottles fell from her bag, along with a few hidden knives and more food. Instead of killing her, as Perfecto wanted to do, Proserpina convinced him to leave her there. She screamed and screamed. Proserpina and Perfecto left her there wiggling. Before Alexandra and Angelo could arrive, the thin rope holding up Glare by the ankle snapped. She fell headfirst on the ground and her cannon sounded. Alexandra winced, but Angelo told her that it was better this way, since you could survive for many hours hanging this way. Then another cannon sounded.
Delta had been unsuccessful for a few hours. He had avoided a couple of poorly made traps and fought off a flock of tiny yellow canaries but had been unable to find another tribute. Eventually, he decided to change tactics. He found a path that clearly looked like it was in use and hid in proximity. His ambush eventually worked. Lavandine (11) walked past him, clutching a meagre stick in her pale hands. She didn’t even notice him getting up and following her, his branch raised. Many viewers thought it looked cartoonish, the tiny girl, followed by a big man with a club, not noticing anything. Glare’s cannon gave him the signal he expected, and he swung at her head. Lavandine flew and crashed into a patch of ferns. Her head was bloody, but she was still alive. Delta walked up to her in order to finish what he had started. The cameras cut to another group of tributes.
For the whole morning, Vannery, Rivage and Carton had been staying put. They foraged, fished, and built rudimentary spears just in case. Vannery climbed trees, very carefully in order not to disturb any more birds, so she could spot any tributes. Eventually she did, a little after midday. The pair from district 5 was heading their way. They were armed.
Vannery transmitted the information to the boys, who debated leaving or fighting. “Let’s fight !” said Vannery. There were 3 of them against 2, and they had weapons. Carton had his lance, Rivage his trident, and her… a spear and a rock would do the trick. So, they waited for what felt like a century. As soon as Borea and Zapp entered their field of vision, they attacked. The pair was surprised, but not enough to let themselves be killed that easily. Borea shouted at Zapp to run while she fended of Rivage’s trident with her sword. She had wrapped metal coil all around her arms, as she had seen on one of the older games. They clashed for an instant, enough time for her to disarm him, and then she ran too. On the way, she threw an egg she’d hidden in her pocket to the group. A flock of angry sparrows was the distraction the pair from 5 needed to escape.
Proserpina and Perfecto seemed to have made up a little and were now actively hunting. Still, they weren’t aware of the couple _ the “double A couple” as they were now called in the Capitol _ following them from afar. They dared not speak, but the looks they shared meant a lot more. They say love makes you blind, and maybe that’s why Alexandra didn’t see the orange and turquoise pheasant she walked on. It screamed and ran away, catching the attention of Proserpina. She turned around and shouted, “I knew it !” before charging at Angelo and her ally. Her first axe hit a tree a few inches above Alexandra’s head. She was hesitant to fight a career, but Angelo had already jumped into the fray and was now battling his district partner. So, she ran at Perfecto, who was lagging behind. He quickly turned around and sprinted when Proserpina’s cannon sounded. Angelo had managed to stab her in the gut. The look of betrayal was still printed on her face as the hovercraft claw took her away.
The pair was unsure if they needed to pursue the boy from 1, as Angelo assured that he was an “ego-inflated wimp” . Instead, they rifled through the bag Proserpina had dropped and decided to rest a little. They could have stayed there longer if it hadn’t been for the fire…
After getting rid of the birds, the trio decided to keep following Zapp and Borea (5) in order to get their supplies. Vannery managed to track them thanks to their footprints and the trail of broken branches. They found them quite quickly. Indeed, the gamemakers had decided to trigger a forest fire in order to move the tributes around a little. This explained why they had seen so many birds flying away. The pair from 5, however, had found themselves cornered on three sides by the flames, and the last side was where Carton and his allies arrived from.
Rivage thrusted his trident straight into Borea’s back, sounding her cannon. Carton’s lance, however, flew past Zapp and into the fiery inferno. The boy from 4 barely had the time to pick up his trident before a tree fell, smashing into the boy from 5 and sounding his cannon. As other trees started to creak and groan, Vannery led the boys back to the creek, where she believed the water would keep them safe.
Delta ran as soon as he smelled smoke. He ended up in a small clearing in the Southern part of the arena. As the grass quickly burned, he jumped into the flames. Many viewers gasped, thinking he had just killed himself, but he just ran a few seconds then stopped. Argus explained that the fire had been controlled in a way that it burned quickly and extinguished itself just as fast. From his spot of scorched earth, Delta was safe for now. From the sky descended a small silver parachute bearing the number 6. It contained a water bottle and some aspirin. Delta was the only one to use this strategy successfully. A few minutes after him, Circuit (3), who was shorter and weaker, tried. He fell face first into the fire and did not get up, his cannon sounding a few moments later.
Angelo and Alexandra were some of the closest to the central clearing, so it was after the three cannons that the fire reached them. They ran. Angelo was practically flying but the fire was catching up to Alexandra. Another tree cracked. It crashed onto the girl, pinning her legs to the ground. Thankfully, it was a much younger tree, and it did not cause her much more damage. For an instant, Alexandra thought the boy from 2 would just keep running. That he would be glad to get rid of yet another opponent. But he turned around. He used his axe as a lever, bending it in the process, to get the girl free. Then he picked her up onto his back and ran again. Angelo was not a very muscular tribute, but he proved to be quite a strong one.
Neither Carton, nor his allies had suffered any injury thanks to Vannery’s quick thinking. The creek was wide enough to protect them from the flames, and they avoided any falling branch. Quinoa (9) had had the same idea. She internally debated reaching the small group, but eventually decided not to. In the late afternoon, it started to rain, revealing that many of the trees and plants of the forest were actually fireproof. It was much sparser now, but the rain cleaned off the soot and, soon enough, the forest was green again.
Rivage, Vannery and Carton huddled together. They stayed that way for the whole evening, until Carton took the first watch while the other two went to sleep.
Delta was almost unharmed too, apart from a few minor burns on his ankles. The aspirin had taken effect, and for once in a long time, he felt totally clear headed. He hoped his district partner had died today.
The fire had changed the landscape quite a lot. What used to be a lush jungle was now less green. The ground was visible in most places, and the humidity levels had gone down. The sky was more visible. It also meant that the traps set by Georges and Odette (N) on the first day were either destroyed or very conspicuous. The boy from 6 avoided them all.
Delta found a pond where he cleaned himself from the soot and the half-charred moss. The fresh water also soothed his burns. He ended up settling close by, between two fallen trees.
Angelo and Alexandra, however, had suffered many burns. Fortunately, as they were setting camp and trying to remove their singed clothes, a silver parachute descended over them. It contained two containers of oil, as well as a blanket and a note from Angelo’s mentors, which he did not show to Alexandra. It would later be revealed that it scolded him for keeping his plan of betraying the career pack secret. The oil was perfumed and designed to almost instantly heal burns. It worked a charm. As the massaging continued, the two tributes started to get more and more steamy. They were intimate that night.
While they were busy, the portraits of the fallen appeared in the sky. The second day of the games had seen the loss of Glare (1), Proserpina (2), Circuit (3), Borea and Zapp (5), and Lavandine (11). This left only 11 tributes for the third day, with better odds now that a few strong tributes were gone.
Day 3:
On the morning of the third day, an announcement was made by Head Gamemaker Vishwa. She informed the tributes that a feast would be held at noon, three hours from now. The 11 surviving boys and girls would find supplies they desperately needed there. She then wished everyone a glorious day and the dampened sound of the birdsongs came back in full force.
The announcement awoke Delta, but he decided not to go to the Feast. He still had food and a source of water nearby, as well as his heavy branch. A real weapon would have been nice, but he didn’t feel safe going to the central clearing. Instead, he decided to just sleep more. He only woke up again when the first cannon sounded.
As for the couple, they were lost in bliss. Their show from the previous night had to be censored, although it was available for those who had enough “connections”. Let’s just say that it was quite memorable, and cemented Angelo and Alexandra’s place as favorites. They got ready after a long cuddling session, grabbing their bags and their weapons and heading to the cornucopia. They arrived with minutes to spare. Actually, they were the last tributes to arrive.
Vannery had been the first on site, scouting for other tributes. Once she had been sure the coast was clear, she had signaled to Rivage and Carton that they could come. They hid in the bushes nearby; this area having been spared from the fires. Little by little, other tributes started to arrive. Kumquat (11) hid behind a tree, Perfecto (1) stood in the open, Odette and Georges (N) huddled together.
As Quinoa (9) and the “Double A couple” finally arrived, the cornucopia started receding into the ground. It reappeared at once, and a bell rang.
Vannery stayed behind. She watched all the tributes run to the center where laid 8 numbered bags, including Carton and Rivage. The fighting raged in the cornucopia. Her allies attacked Alexandra and Angelo, as Kumquat escaped with his bag. Quinoa (9) almost got out, but Perfecto (1) caught her by the ponytail and stabbed her in the throat, sounding her cannon. He then picked up her bag in addition to his.
Alexandra and Angelo fought side to side, covering each other. She scared Odette (N) away, while he pushed back against Rivage. The boy from 4 tried to hit Alexandra again, but her ally caught the trident and almost tore it out of Rivage’s hands. Instead of trying again, he attacked Georges. The trident hit him in the back and sounded his cannon a few seconds later. Angelo took advantage of this distraction to slash at Carton with his sword, causing the boy from 8 to bleed out.
Vannery screamed and ran out of her hiding place, almost colliding with Odette (N) on the way. Rivage grabbed the district 4 and district 8 bags in one hand, and Vannery’s arm in the other, and they ran away together. The young girl cried and struggled to keep up the pace. She wanted to go back, but Carton’s cannon sounded, ruining her hopes.
Angelo and Alexandra were the last tributes to get their bags. One of Perfecto’s knives punctured Alexandra’s. The pair turned back, giving Kumquat (11) enough time to flee. They chased Perfecto into the woods. He was quick, however, and they had a hard time gaining on him.
The following hours were very quiet, boring, even, so Urania and Argus invited a few guests to discuss the bloodbath and the tributes’ different strategies. It was only in the late afternoon that Delta deigned getting up. He was well rested. He ate what remained of his food and started camouflaging himself once again in order to hunt. The tributes were now very spread out, however, and it appeared that Delta was in an area devoid of them. He walked until it got too dark to continue, before letting out a scream of rage. His sudden outburst scared some resting birds. They flew away and hit Kumquat (11) square in the face as he was in the process of climbing up one of the taller trees. The surprise caused him to lose his grip and he fell to his death a few feet away from Delta, his Feast bag laying next to him. Suddenly, Delta laughed and thanked the birds. He emptied the contents of the bag, glad to find some fresh food and water. He settled right there for the night.
Angelo and Alexandra eventually gave up on hunting Perfecto. Every time they thought they heard him; it turned out to be another bird. He was nowhere to be found. The pair settled down near a creek, right where Carton and his allies had camped earlier, in order to clean themselves. It was another spectacle to behold. The couple played in the fresh water, wearing only their underwear, and at one point, Alexandra winked at one of the cameras. This resulted in the appearance of a sponsor gift a few seconds later. She caught it and opened it discreetly once she was dressed again. She checked that Angelo was busy with the campfire before peeking inside. There was a water bottle and a tiny, sheathed stiletto knife, about two inches long. There was also a note that said : “You will only get one chance” – S. She acted nonchalant, thanked her sponsor for the water, and hid the knife in her sock. She took the first watch, jumping when a cannon sounded.
Since they had come back from the Feast, Vannery felt that Rivage was acting strange. He kept pacing and muttering to himself and seemed unhappy even though they had received enough supplies to last five more days in the arena at least. They found another place to sleep, Vannery built a new shelter. As she was about to go to sleep, Rivage approached her, trident in hand. He didn’t speak, so she asked him what he wanted. “I’m sorr-“ he started. Vannery interrupted him : “Behind you !”.
He spun around and threw his trident. It caught Perfecto in the head, sounding his cannon before he had hit the ground. He had been sneaking up behind Rivage with a knife in both hands, but Vannery had a keen eye. Rivage seemed to deflate. He cleaned up his weapon and went to sleep. Vannery tried to ask him what he wanted to tell her, but he didn’t answer. Instead, she took the first watch.
At midnight, five portraits appeared in the sky : Perfecto (1), Carton (8), Quinoa (9), Kumquat (11) and Georges (N). The six remaining tributes were spread out around the arena : Rivage and Vannery to the East, Angelo and Alexandra to the North, Odette (N) in the South and Delta to the West.
Day 4:
The sound of a cannon startled Delta out of his slumber. He was feeling well rested and decided to head to the cornucopia with just his branch and a knife he had taken from Kumquat. With only 5 remaining tributes, he knew that the showdown was about to take place and was about as excited as the viewers in the Capitol for it to happen. On the way, he stumbled upon a suspicious mound of leaves. He almost let it be, until he saw two feet poking out of it. As he bent down to look at it, a sharp pain entered his shoulder blade. By pure reflex, he swung his club backwards, hitting a barefoot Odette (N) in the forehead. She stumbled backwards, clutching her knife, and tripped on a rock. Delta jumped onto her, planting his knee in her stomach, and stabbed her with her own knife. He added it to his “collection”.
The atmosphere between Alexandra and Angelo had been quite tense since they’d woken up. They hadn’t slept so well. When the first cannon sounded, they set out to get to the cornucopia, and by the time the second cannon echoed throughout the arena, they were in position. “We’ll fight together, right ?” asked Alexandra. Angelo nodded solemnly : “Until there’s no one else. I’m so glad I got to meet you.”
“Me too… Too bad one of us will have to die.”
As she said those words, a twig cracked in a nearby bush.
The first cannon had shocked the viewers quite a bit. As Rivage finished his watch, he looked at Vannery, asleep next to him. He murmured “I’m sorry”, so low that it had to be subtitled. Then he plunged his trident in her throat. Before leaving, Rivage let out the longest sigh of relief.
Alexandra climbed onto the cornucopia, hiding herself, a length of rope held tight between her hands. She waited as Rivage entered the clearing. He was focused on Angelo. Delta appeared a few seconds later, on the other side of the cornucopia. He walked under it, oblivious to the girl awaiting him. As Angelo charged Rivage with his sword, Alexandra lowered the rope. Delta let out a choked growl as she pulled. He was much stronger, however. With one labored step, he yanked her off the roof. The rope was still around his neck, but his hands were now around Alexandra’s. Nevertheless, she held on to the rope, using it to hold him at bay. Just before she fell unconscious, she kicked him in the groin. She let out a few coughs, before grabbing the two ends of the rope again and pulling Delta against one of the steel columns of the cornucopia. Delta tried to stab her, but she was behind him, and he was quickly loosing consciousness. With one last brutal pull, the rope crushed his windpipe.
Alexandra watched Angelo dispose of Rivage with one final feint of his sword, and his cannon sounded at the same time as Delta’s.
Silence fell on the clearing. Even the birds had shut up. The couple was breathing heavily. They hugged tight. Something glinted in Alexandra’s hand. She almost reached Angelo’s neck when he gripped her wrist. He smiled, but his eyes were full of sorrow. “I had to try at least !” she half-laughed, half-whimpered. He sat her down and hugged her once again. She told him that he deserved to win. That he was a good man. He took his swords and gently stabbed Alexandra in the heart. She barely cried as he looked into her eyes. A cannon sounded. The last one. Jahani Vishwa announced Angelo Clearfell, of district 2, as the victor of the 119th Hunger Games. He had to be forcefully removed form Alexandra’s corpse in order to be retrieved.
Aftermath:
The games took an immense toll on Angelo, who was unable to speak for more than a month. Even when he had gotten the use of his words back, he fell into a lengthy depression. His interview with Urania Whimsiwick and Argus Brown had to be cut short as soon as they mentioned Alexandra.
After that, he remained alone in his home of the Victor’s village. He received no guests and did not act as a mentor the following years. The other victors of his district described him as “disillusioned” and “a killjoy”. The situation stayed the same until his disappearance two years later.

37mm Eco-Drive field watch. Love the modest dimensions on my 16.5cm wrist, though I would not wear anything larger. All in all, it is an awesome watch for the price point, especially once I switched the green strap against this mesh bracelet, which provides a more subtle and elegant look. I especially like the accuracy and worryless nature of the Eco-Drive movement, though I would have loved applied indices and a sapphire crystal.

Welcome back, it's Wednesday and I'll just come out and say it - that Seiko is ugly... Change my mind.

What's new

1/
Seiko Adds Four Completely New Chronographs To The Prospex Collection And Four Limited Editions To The Presage Craftsmanship Series
In 1999 Seiko launched a limited edition they called the Sportura Kinetic Chronograph. It was a funky watch that used four subdials to display the time and chronograph functions. Just looking at it and you feel the angst of the end of the millennium and the cheesy futurism (not to be confused with neo futurism in architecture led by Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid and Santiago Calatrava) that permeated industrial design of the time - from Oakley glasses to Jnco jeans. There’s no easy way to say this, but it’s an ugly watch. I can appreciate the experiment. But come on.
However, Seiko believes that the four dial layout of the Kinetic was pleasing to the eye. That’s why they decided to recreate it in four new solar chronographs that they are adding to the Prospex collection, marking the company’s association with the World Athletics Championships to be held in Budapest, Hungary, in August. Officially called the Seiko Prospex Speedtimer Solar Chronograph, all four watches sport a new movement with the Seiko Caliber 8A50, a 1/100-second chronograph with a +/- 15-seconds per month precision rating.
The Seiko Prospex Speedtimer Solar Chronograph watch is 42mm-wide, 12.9mm-thick, and its lug-to-lug distance is 48.3mm. All four watches have the same case and bracelet design but in different executions and ever-so-slightly different prices and naming schemes. I could go on into detail about the dials and colors, but it’s all just a bit confusing. You can hop on over here if you would like to know more.
Two of the models will be limited edition of 4,000 each and two will be regular production models. The Seiko Prospex Speedtimer Solar Chronograph watch prices range from 890 Euros to 970 Euros, and all four versions will be available from July 2023. Regular readers of the newsletter will know I keep things very chipper here and don’t pass judgement. But these new Seiko’s are just baffling to me. They look like those Diesel watches you buy at the mall. Am I wrong?
Thankfully, Seiko has another announcement for today. While they have shown these watches previously, they are now starting to sell these stunning Presage Craftsmanship Series watches. Marking the 110th anniversary of its first wristwatch, the Laurel, Seiko is putting out two pairs of these limited edition pieces, with each featuring a dial made by a dedicated artisan or craft workshop through a traditional Japanese decorative technique — enamel, urushi lacquer, Arita porcelain, and shippō enamel. All four models boast a new case shape, a fresh dial aesthetic, and an in-house automatic movement. And they are now hitting the market.
And despite Seiko’s price increases for recent releases, these new editions seem to align with their predecessors. The white enamel SPB393 retails for €1,650, the brown urushi SPB395 for €2,000, the ivory Arita porcelain SPB397 for €2,000, and the blue shippō enamel SPB399 for €2,250.
2/
Breguet Gives Us Two Redesigned Variations Of The Classic Chronograph With The Type XX And Type 20
Just the other day I linked to a great article on Type 20, the references issued by the French military in the 1950s. There were many brands who stepped up to produce these Type 20 watches, but the reference has stuck around to be synonymous with one brand in particular - Breguet. They have been making the Type 20 for years now, with occasional updates, but now Breguet is unveiling the new Type XX and Type 20 – a civilian and military-inspired take on the classic design - which is the biggest change to the line.
Despite at first glance looking like it’s two of the same watches with different dials, the Type 20 and Type XX are actually different watches. Both watches come in the same steel case that measures 42mm wide and 14.1mm thick with bidirectional steel bezels and matching lume pips. But this is pretty much where the similarities stop. The Type 20 has a military inspired dial with mint green lume and syringe hands, while the Type XX is a civilian version with a creamy yellow lume and alpha hands.
The Type 20 and Type XX both have a new self-winding movement, the Calibre 728 for the civilian version and Calibre 7281 for the military version. Each movement has a column wheel, vertical clutch, 5Hz frequency, and flyback functionality with 60 hours of power reserve, plus an inverted in-line lever escapement with a flat silicon balance spring for increased durability, longevity, and magnetic resistance.
Why two different calibers? The difference lies in dial layout and how useful it would be in military or civilian applications. On the military version, you only have two registers, with a 30-minute totalizer at three o'clock, now larger than the 60-second totalizer at nine o'clock. Meanwhile, the civilian version has a 15-minute totalizer at three o'clock, a 12-hour totalizer at six o'clock, and running seconds at nine o'clock.
This is not a cheap watch. It will run you $18,000. But it might just be one of the best vintage revivals we have seen in a year full of vintage revivals.
3/
French Watchmaker Yema Teams Up With Alpine French Racing Team To Mark The Most French Race With Five New Watches
One of the most legendary races in the world starts on Saturday and ends on Sunday. Yes, it’s the 24 hours of Le Mans. The race is, of course, one of the most recognisable french things, alongside the croissant and hating tourists. You know what else is very french? Alpine, the legendary car manufacturer that gained it’s fame with the quirky A110 and is currently doing really well (under Renault ownership) with its successor, also called the A110. Alpine will be present at the 24h of Le Mans With their Endurance Team. If only there was a watchmaker that could join in, making it a French hat trick. There is. It’s Yema. Yema has made five new watches to mark Alpine’s stint at Le Mans - the Yema Rallygraf A470 Limited Edition and four Rallygraf Alpine Endurance Team Automatic models of which one is mechanical while the other three are powered by the Seiko VK64 meca-quartz movement.
The Yema Rallygraf A470 Limited Edition takes all the right cues from 70s racing chronographs. The stainless steel case is 39mm wide and 12mm thick without the double-domed sapphire crystal. The solid caseback shows the Alpine Endurance Team logo and the limitation of the watch. The dial is finished in a gradient-blue colour, Alpine’s signature color, with a vintage dashboard-inspired bicompax layout and Alpine’s logo on the chronograph seconds hand. Inside the watch is the Valjoux 7753 and the watch comes on an appropriate black leather rally strap with a steel pin buckle. This watch will be limited to 470 pieces and can be pre-ordered for a price of USD 2,190 with delivery expected in September 2023.
This runs at a frequency of 28,800vph and delivers 48 hours of power reserve. The watch comes on a black leather rally strap with a steel pin buckle. Limited to 470 pieces, tying in with the car, it can be pre-ordered for a price of EUR 2,190 with delivery expected in September 2023.
Then there’s the meca-quartz variants. They take the same case as the Rallygraf and give it three variations - white dial with a blue outside minute track, a cream dial with a black outside minute track or a black dial with a cream outside minute track. All of these are also available for preorder now for EUR 399 and will be delivered in September 2023.
Yema also announced a second mechanical watch made in collaboration with Alpine, the Rallygraf Alpine Endurance Team Automatic. This will officially be unveiled this coming Saturday at the Circuit de la Sarthe, during the racing weekend of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Although we don’t know all the details at this moment, we can see it’s made of stainless steel, comes on a multi-link bracelet or black leather strap and has a black dial. The bidirectional rotating bezel can be used to calculate speeds, in combination with the inner ‘Temps Ecoule’ flange in white and blue. It is powered by the in-house Calibre YEMA2000 and will cost USD 990.
4/
The Dan Henry 1970 44mm is back with new colours and the same, affordable price
You might know Dan Hendy as the microbrand that has been pumping out vintage inspired watches since 2016. What you might not know is that they made their name with the Dan Henry 1970 44mm Automatic Diver, the first of their watches to feature an automatic movement. While it might not seem like a big deal, it was for Dan Hanry and the shoppers in the sub $500 range. While Dan Henry serviced it’s customers by providing good value for money with quartz movements, the 1970 44mm Automatic Diver was the first time they offered a mechanical movement at such an affordable price. It sold out instantly and now, four years later, they are back with a limited edition of 1970 pieces.
It’s a very big watch. Very big. The heavy stainless steel super compressor style case measures 44mm in diameter and is 14.8mm thick with a 50.5mm lug-to-lug length. Despite these large dimensions, and with all other manufacturers fighting to go smaller, people still love this watch. They love it enough for it to go for over retail on the secondary market, which is not common for a watch in this pricepoint. Both of the crowns, one for rotating the inner-bezel and one for adjusting the time, screw into the case, giving it 200m water resistance.
The dials get a contrasting pop of color on the outskirts. There’s the black and orange, as well as the black and off-white with a black case and blue with white color combinations. Each version comes with its own colour-matching FKM rubber tropic strap. To keep the price low, the watches are powered by the Seiko NH35. Not the best movement in the world, but it gets the job done for an exceptionally low price.
The new Dan Henry 1970 44mm Automatic Diver is limited to 1,970 pieces, available from Dan Henry and costs $310.
5/
Bamford Teams Up With Land Rover For The LR002 Limited Edition
Somehere near the end of last year, Land Rover designed their first watch. They called it the LR001 and they turned to Bamford to put the watch into production. It was a great looking field watch made of titanium and all in shades of grey, with a decent price and limited to 100 pieces so they all sold out very fast. Now, Bamford London and Land Rover are bringing it back with an updated, equally limited, version in all black called the LR002.
The LR002 is pretty much the same watch as the LR001, except for the color. While not a fan of black watches, this isn’t a bad thing, as it gives you a chance to buy the sold out Land Rover watch. What is bad is the price, but more on that later. The case measures 40mm wide and 13.25mm thick, and is made out of DLC coated titanium. It has a shape that resembles a field watch but much more modern and has fixed bars. From photos, due to the thick case and fixed bars, this watch looks to wear much larger than it actually is.
The dial seems to be much more interesting than the case. It has a sandwich construction with the top part having a matte black surface and the underside being filled with white lume. And by alternating circular and oblong cutouts, there’s a dynamic look to the dial. Inside the watch is the same movement as in the LR001, the Selita SW200-1B, and it’s delivered on a leather NATO-style bracelet.
The LR002 will have a run of just 100 pieces that are exclusively sold through Hodinkee. At the time of writing there are still pieces available for sale at a price of $1,700. And that’s the biggest issue. The LR001 sold for about $1,300 and the only difference between the two watches is the DLC coating. Is it worth the price difference?
6/
The Casio A120 Is The Best Pairing For Stranger Things, But Do We Need It?
The immense popularity of Stranger Thing undoubtedly lies in it’s 80s nostalgia that reminded us all of our childhoods. While playing to our good memories, it also roped in new generations by picking the best the decade had to offer and presenting it as something cool. That’s why you have a bunch of kids out there listening to Kate Bush and Metallica, while wearing Casio watches and buying VHS tapes. So it only makes perfect sense that Casio would team up with Stranger Things for a limited edition watch, and what better reference to do it with then the A120. This is the Casio x Stranger Things A120WEST-1A.
The watch is a classic Casio A120, with a 33.5mm x 40.7mm rectangle case and since it’s plastic it weighs only 25 grams. It’s not filled with a bunch of functions, but it does have a chronograph, alarm and calendar and you get three years of battery life. There’s a number of Stranger Things references on the watch - there’s a silhouette of the series’ demogorgon monster beneath the digital display and the LED backlight flickers and rapidly blinks just like the surfacing of a demogorgon in the show. Once lit, you can see the watermark of an upside down Stranger Things logo.
Casio has not announced when the watch will be available or how much it will cost, but you can keep an eye out on it here. Is this a nice homage to a good TV show, or just another example of over-consumerism and corporate media properties slapping their name everywhere, without actually making a meaningfully authentic version of the watch?
-------------------------------------------------------------

On hand - a selection of reviews

1/
A review of Monta’s current flagship dress watch, the Noble
2/
Hands on with the 39mm and 42mm versions of the Hanhart 414 ES Flyback
3/
A week with the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore limited edition in pink gold and titanium
-------------------------------------------------------------

Watch Worthy - A look at an offbeat, less known watch you might actually like

Dryden is a go-everywhere-do-anything watch with plenty of options
Great dials are always appreciated, but no matter how good the dial is, it doesn’t matter if the watch isn’t wearable. The excellent design choices found on the dial of the Heartlander follow through to the case. Crafted from stainless steel the 38mm-wide case has a lovely 46mm lug-to-lug distance and is only 11.2mm-thick from solid steel caseback to domed sapphire crystal. These dimensions are in the Goldilocks region for an everyday watch for me and my ~6.5-inch wrist. The cases are predominantly brushed except for a thin highly polished bevel that flanks each side of the lugs.
-------------------------------------------------------------
People loved the Seiko Alpinist giveaway! That's why I'm doing a new one. This time, we're giving away four Hamilton Khaki Field Automatics in a color of your choice. Head on over to the newsletter if you would like to enter.
If you would like to receive some additional watch-adjacent content, as well as this news overview, every morning Monday-Friday in the form of a newsletter feel free to subscribe. However, there is absolutely no need for you to subscribe, as all the news from the newsletter is posted here. It is only if you want to receive a couple of daily links that are not strictly watch-related and want to get this news overview in your inbox.

Mainly for others who are just starting out or thinking about starting out on an EUC, but also for anyone who's interested, I wanted to share a personal milestone and some things I've learned along the way.
After about a month of riding almost daily (a few off days here and there mainly due to schedule and weather), I finally got out on a regional bike path today and used up the whole battery on my V8 and hit the tiltback speed, around 21 mph I think, for the first time.
Could I have hit that speed sooner? Absolutely, but I have been what I think most people would consider "super cautious". I have two young kids, and I'm just not at a point in life to be a big risk taker right now (besides riding an EUC in the first place!).
My main takeaways after one month of riding are:

• You will get it faster than you think. You'll start off thinking there's just no way the EUC is going to do what you see other people doing on it. It'll just feel so foreign and weird when you start, your expectations from watching YouTube videos will not line up with what you're experiencing in real life. There will be cognitive dissonance. You'll know, logically, that it's possible, and may even have faith that you'll get there, but part of your body and mind will just think, it can't be done. It can, and it will, all it takes is practice. If I can learn it - trust me - anyone can. My only prior experience with this kind of activity is as a bicyclist and motorcyclist, and while helpful, there isn't a whole lot that translates other than the overall sense of horizontal balance and being comfortable having your body exposed at high speeds. I think if you were a skateboarder or a snowboarder, you might pick it up a little easier, but it's going to be a weird feeling no matter who you are when you first step on an EUC. Just hang in there.
• If you can, learn from someone else who already knows how to ride. If you can't (like me), watch every YouTube video. There are two main schools of thought about learning:
  • One approach is to start with assisted mounting (a wall or railing) until you know how to ride at speed (i.e. 5+ mph), even if that is a week or more. This is what Monocat (Wrong Way's girlfriend) did, and she rode something like 100km before ever learning to free mount, which seemed crazy to me when I first heard it. This approach is much more feasible if you're learning with someone else who has their own EUC, because they can help you mount anywhere.
  • The other - which is what I did - is to get off the wall/rail ASAP and learn to free mount in an open space (and, by necessity, to learn to maneuver at low speed) before you learn to go faster. This is the approach you will see in a lot of the "learn to ride an EUC" videos you're likely to find on YouTube.
  • Both approaches are viable, but ultimately if I had it to do over again I would probably go with option 1 because of a few main reasons:
    • It took me longer to gain the confidence to go faster, which slowed my overall learning curve.
    • Learning to free mount before you feel comfortable on the wheel is extremely tiring, because you're stepping on and off so often, and maneuvering at low speed for a long time is also tiring. Learning these skills "up front" probably takes longer than waiting until you are forced to - i.e. when you encounter a group of pedestrians, or you have to mount somewhere without assistance. But, it's probably less stressful and embarrassing to learn these skills in your driveway than on a crowded sidewalk.
    • If you lack patience, this approach is much more likely to cause you to give up altogether.
    • From what I've heard, learning to free mount is easier after you've kind of worked your way "down" in speed rather than working "up" - as a result you spend less energy learning to ride overall.
  • There were some pros to learning to free mount first however:
    • Knowing how to free-mount dramatically expands the areas you can go on your own, because you don't need to walk your EUC to a railing or a wall every time you step off. (If you're learning with a friend, like Monocat was, this is much less of an issue.) I was able to keep my EUC in my trunk and just pull over and practice on any good looking parking lot or big grass field that I saw, which was nice.
    • I gained the confidence to get on the wheel and maneuver at low speeds first, which helped me build the fine motor control needed to safely control the wheel at both low and high speeds, before ever going fast.
    • Ultimately I think this approach may be a bit safer than the first approach for that very reason - going 10-20 mph on an EUC without knowing how to free mount or maneuver at <5mph, do tight turns, figure eights, etc., is inherently more dangerous and could result in a crash, at worst, or possibly ingrain poor riding habits (such as poor foot placement, riding without carving and shifting your weight, etc.), because you don't have full confidence in your ability to control the wheel.
• Get a good starter wheel. This could be different things to different people, but I personally found a $400 used V8, and like I said, I only just today (one month later) reached the limits of its potential. I expect it to be sufficient for me to help me build my skills and take me as far and as fast as I need to go for at least a few weeks more, and it'll be a great wheel to keep in my car or at work, and also to teach other people on. I do want to get a bigger, faster, longer-range wheel soon, but I am glad that I learned to ride on a smaller and lighter wheel. I have not yet ridden the 16X, but from everything I've seen, it appears to be the sweet spot in terms of a wheel that's small enough to learn to ride on and be nimble at low speed (and thus less tiring when you are developing the necessary muscle groups and muscle memory), but also has a lot more headroom in terms of speed and range. There are probably other wheels in this same category, like the V8F or the V10F (and some of the other King-Song 14-16 inch wheels), but I would recommend getting a used wheel first if you can because you're going to drop it and beat the shit out of it A LOT when you're starting out. A 16X with a case on it would probably stand up to the abuse of learning just fine, but you have to be willing to grind your new toy on the pavement. Starting with a big, heavy, top of the line wheel just seems like a bad idea to me, but I know that some people do it. I wouldn't learn to ride a motorcycle on an R1, and I wouldn't try to learn how to drive a stick shift in a Ferrari.
• The riding surface matters - a lot. Practice on grass or turf early on if you can. Not only will you be able to go faster with less risk if (and when) you fall off, but riding on a slightly irregular surface helps you build fine motor control much more quickly which translates into better riding skills both on and off-road. Also, riding around a big grass field with a few bumps is just a lot of fun, and it's a totally different experience than riding on pavement. As a new rider, this experience is great. It engages your upper body a lot more and is generally a nice departure from cruising on the road. It also helps you realize that the EUC is capable of handling a lot crazier terrain than you will initially expect, which helps you build confidence and trust in the wheel. Once you've graduated to being able to reliably keep your wheel where you want it to be on a trail/sidewalk/road - which for me was after about two weeks - find the best quality surface you can. You'll be shocked how much of a difference it makes. Poor road surfaces diminish your confidence and limit your growth potential when you're first learning. You might think your local street or bike path is good enough, but if it has a rough surface with lots of bumps, gravel, and potholes, the first time you get on a proper bike path or a freshly paved parking lot, you'll suddenly be able to go much faster with more confidence. Then you'll get back on those shittier surfaces and think, oh, this isn't so bad - mainly because you'll feel comfortable going faster. Don't avoid poor surfaces entirely, because you need to learn how to handle them eventually and you don't want to handicap yourself - just find a good place where you don't have to worry about that and put it in your rotation of places to practice early on.
• Learning is both physical and mental. There are, and are not, shortcuts. I've heard it said that the speed at which you learn EUC is directly proportional to your willingness to overcome fear. There is some truth to that. If I were completely fearless, I probably could've hopped on the wheel with some help from a wall and dashed 20 yards at full-lean until I wiped out into the grass. I'd have hurt myself and my pride a little bit, but I'd have found the limit and might have been able to shorten the overall learning curve by a couple of weeks. Some people learn this way, and more power to them. Becoming a truly competent rider, however, is something that simply requires experience, no matter who you are. This experience has both physical and mental components. Riding an EUC takes strength in muscles that you don't often use, especially your feet. Building this strength and the fine motor control to be a safe and competent rider at any speed takes time, and there is no shortcut to developing it. Mentally, learning how the wheel responds to input in all directions, learning which movements of your upper body will and will-not impact the movement of the wheel, learning how and when to bend your knees to absorb impact, learning how much distance you need to stop, learning which riding surfaces will make your wheel lose traction, learning how to take a sharp turn onto a curb ramp, learning how to ride on and off a curb confidently - and so much more - all of these things are skills that can only be developed with time and practice. There is NO SHORTCUT to becoming a truly competent EUC pilot. To truly master it, like any other skill, will probably take you 10,000 hours! If true mastery of EUC is even possible. I don't care if you're already an expert snowboarder or skateboarder, although I have no doubt that those skills would shorten your initial learning curve, as well as give you more "willingness to overcome fear" (or just less fear to begin with).
• Dress for the slide, not the ride. There are countless threads of new riders asking about gear on this subreddit. I'll share my loadout, and my opinions. Take them as you will.
  • Triple Eight Hired Hands Gloves
    • Wrist guards are considered essential equipment for riding EUC, since pretty much any fall is going to impact your wrists, even at low speeds. I tried these wrist guards first, but they did not fit me well (too small on the wrist, even at XL), and didn't like how they left my whole hand exposed. The Triple Eight Hired Hands Gloves are much more robust, with hard armor on the front and the back, and only slightly more difficult to take off (and actually easier to put on). Some people recommend full finger gloves, like the Hillbilly Wrist Guard Gloves - Full Finger, and I'm sure these are great, although I like being able to easily use my phone and also prefer having the brace on both sides of my wrist.
  • Triple Eight Bumsaver Men's Padded Shorts
    • Most people probably don't wear padded shorts when riding, and I don't always either - it's actually the one piece of gear that for whatever reason (probably inconvenience) that I consider "optional". That said, the one place that I have fallen and significantly hurt myself thus far is on my tailbone, and I was wearing (a different set, Bohn body armor) padded underwear at the time. I was still in pain on my tailbone for probably two weeks. Also, most people say that when you fall at speed you almost always take some impact or at least road rash on your hip. Therefore hip padding and tailbone padding is highly recommended, especially if you're going to be traveling at speed, but I can attest to it being useful even when you're going very slow (you can always fall backwards).
  • Triple Eight EP 55 Elbow Pads
    • I usually don't wear these because my motorcycle jacket (see below) has integrated elbow pads. But when I'm not wearing my jacket, I wear these.
  • Giro Switchblade MIPS Adult Mountain Cycling Helmet
    • A full face helmet is essential equipment for EUC - that's my opinion, take it or leave it. This is what I wear for head protection most of the time, since my current wheel doesn't go any faster than 20 mph, and I ride primarily on bike trails and sidewalks and within my neighborhood. When I get a faster wheel and ride on bike lanes or larger roads, I will use my Scorpion helmet (see below). I love this helmet because it is super comfortable and lightweight, and it's also modular so you can easily take off the chin bar to drink some water or blow your nose or whatever without having to take off the helmet. You can also use it as a bicycle helmet if you wanted to, with or without the chin bar. Airflow is great (I am yet to break a sweat in it, which is saying a lot for me), MIPS is a great feature, and the visor has an integrated camera mount. Plus the color options are good.
  • SHIMA SX-2 EVO Motorcycle Shoes for Men
    • I've tried a lot when it comes to shoes for the EUC. I have tried full on hard calf motorcycle boots, which I know some people use, but I don't recommend. They give you basically no feeling for the road or the pedals, and I'm convinced they led to my fall where I bruised my tailbone. I've also tried regular height sneakers, which feel good, but leave your ankles totally exposed, and I've already hit my ankle hard with the pedal when losing control of the wheel on grass. I happened to be wearing high-top sneakers at the time, which were an improvement, but still not enough to prevent ankle impact injury or to stand up to being dragged along pavement. I eventually found these casual style motorcycle shoes which look great and can be worn all day comfortably but also provide hard armoring at the ankle, toe, and heel. They are soft enough on the bottom to feel the pedals - although probably not enough for some people - and they should stand up to any threat of road rash. Any other similar style boots from Dainese or others should work equally well, but I have found these have a wide fit, which is good for my feet (unlike Dainese which is a more narrow fit). Alpinestars makes some good ones too I hear.
  • O'Neal 0256-206 Unisex Pumpgun Knee Guard Carbon Look
    • Knee pads are essential equipment for riding EUC. If you fall, you're going to land on your knees (and your wrists), watch any crash video. I wear these knee pads all the time, they are comfortable and flexible, but they will make your legs a little sweaty (although not obnoxiously so). I have started crossing the top two straps behind my knee at the recommendation of people who say these kind of guards will slide down in the event of a crash. I have ordered some Revit Airwave 3 Pants which can fit over your regular pants and include both knee and hip protection. If I like these, I expect to wear them in lieu of the knee guards and the Bumsaver shorts in most instances.
  • Scorpion EXO-AT950 Ellwood Helmet
    • Some people will say an ADV or street motorcycle helmet is overkill for an EUC. I have been a motorcyclist for many years, and I've tried and own all kinds of top of the line motorcycle helmets (Arai, Shoei, HJC etc.). All of the ones I have that are focused on sport riding I find to be too hot and too narrow field-of-view for riding EUC. I saw She Rides an EUC on YouTube recommend this Scorpion helmet, or one very similar to it. It's an ADV helmet, so it has a removable visor and a front vent in the DH MTB style, except it can be closed. It's also modular, so you can flip up the chin guard super easily. It has other great features like a flip down sun visor, and obviously a full face shield. It is extremely comfortable and has a much wider field of view than my sportbike helmets. When I ride faster and/or ride next to traffic, this will be the helmet I wear, and it is an appropriate level of protection and comfort for my purposes.
  • Dainese VR46 Air-Tex Jacket
    • This jacket is discontinued, but I linked a similar style of jacket from Dainese. Any textile mesh summer motorcycle jacket will do the job. Mine has CE 1 elbow and shoulder protection, and I added a CE 2 back protector (this was my summer motorcycle jacket). I might upgrade to CE 1 elbows and shoulders at some point. I have yet to find it to be too hot in any situation when I'm able to maintain a constant speed above 5 mph. In the absolute heat of summer, I might need to just use my Triple Eight elbow guards and my Boblebee backpack in lieu of the jacket, but I haven't had to do that yet. I also have a Fox Baseframe Pro D30 Chest Guard Jacket which is meant for dirt track riding and intended to be worn under a jersey, but I doubt I will use this often unless I know for sure that I won't be riding on the street at all, because it offers basically no abrasion resistance. Anyone who has crashed and slid on the road (or on gravel) knows that abrasion resistance is as or more important than impact resistance, especially on the kinds of crashes I have seen involving EUC. Only purpose-built gear like a motorcycle jacket or Lazy Rolling Kevlar-reinforced outer layer will provide this. From what I can tell, even the Lazy Rolling Performance Hoodie is hotter than a mesh motorcycle jacket, so unless you really prefer the casual style of the Lazy Rolling, I would recommend a summer mesh moto jacket.
  • Boblbee GTX 25L Hardshell Backpack (Hi-Viz Yellow)
    • First, all my gear is black/hi-viz yellow, so I had no choice but to get this. Some will say back protection is not essential gear for EUC, and as long as they never crash and impact their spine, they're right. As long as I prefer not being paraplegic to some slight inconvenience, I will wear a back protector when riding at speed. If I'm not wearing my jacket with a back protector, and/or when I want to carry gear (even if it's just water and a camera, or whatever), I'll wear the Boblbee. Yes, it makes you stick out like a sore thumb when you're riding, but A) that's the point of the hi-viz yellow version, and B) you already stick out like a sore thumb when you're riding an EUC. Might as well take it to the next level. And it is the best back protector in the world, so it's kind of a no-brainer for me when it comes to EUC equipment.
• Trust the wheel (to an extent). This is probably the biggest takeaway overall. Most of your hesitation when learning will come from just not believing, or understanding, that the wheel is capable of seemingly magical things. As long as it's working as intended, and you are standing on it properly, grabbing it firmly but not aggressively with your legs, and not flailing yourself around, it will just roll on straight across things that will initially surprise you, at speeds that you will initially think are totally insane for something so small and squirrely. You'll be able to turn in an incredibly tight circle at such a low speed that you'll think to yourself, "How the HELL am I not falling over right now?" You'll be able to glide over scary gaps in the pavement and absorb them with your knees to the point that you barely notice them, even at 20 mph. You'll be able to make long gliding turns and wave your arms around like you're a bird flying through the air and little kids will laugh at you. All of these things will seem incomprehensible when you first step up on the wheel, and maybe even for a few weeks after. Some of these magical feats are thanks to the EUC technology - being able to lean or sit down at comical angles while keeping your feet balanced, for instance, thanks to the gyroscope - but mostly it's just due to the basic physics of a wheel in motion. Simply put, it's more stable than you think it is, and you have to learn to trust both the wheel itself as well as the technology that supports it. That said, and paradoxically, EUCs and unicycles generally are also inherently unstable. The main thing that will throw the EUC out of balance is not itself, nor something in the road, but YOU. Your unintended or unplanned movements of your body are the most likely culprit of something that throws you off the wheel, in whatever axis it may be. You have to learn to relax your body overall and move only in ways that don't upset the balance of the wheel, and this is something that takes time and practice. The technology of EUCs is also, ironically, both stable and fragile at the same time. As PEVs go, they are very simple, with relatively few failure points and a low-maintenance design that means they can function for a long time in adverse conditions with relatively little trouble. However, unlike 2+ wheeled vehicles, you are COMPLETELY at the mercy of the hardware and software to keep you from crashing. This is just a fact. On a bike, scooter, or car of any kind, if everything failed at once, you'd still have the opportunity to just roll to a stop. On an EUC, if ONE THING FAILS, you are immediately and without any warning put directly onto your face.
• You don't have any mechanical means of stopping. This is something that's very important to understand, especially if you are used to riding basically any other vehicle. You're completely dependent on the motor and battery to decelerate, along with your own physical and mental skill at applying rearward pressure on the pedals, which is harder to learn than leaning forward. Even when applying full braking pressure, your stopping distance is MUCH GREATER than on any mechanically braked device. This is something that you need to be constantly aware of when you are choosing how fast to go and what situations to put yourself in. No matter how good of a rider you are, if someone cuts you off, you're much more likely to run into them on an EUC than on any other vehicle at the same speed. Your risk of this is exponentially greater when you are first learning, so just don't put yourself into those situations until you have absolute confidence in your ability to apply maximum braking power, and even then - be conservative about where and how you ride. This is a fundamental limitation of the device, and something that - like it or not - you have to accept and understand.

So, if you've made it this far, you're probably a real geek and super into the prospect or reality of learning how to ride an EUC. Do it! You're never too old or too scared to suck at something new! :-p And you will suck at it at first, most likely. But you won't suck forever, and in fact, if you are diligent about it (which again, if you've read all of this, you probably are), you will get better at it sooner than you expected.
And then you'll be able to literally glide through time and space on the most whimsical and remarkable vehicle that mankind has ever come up with. You'll make a spectacle of yourself wherever you go, so lean into it - literally. Imagine yourself leaving a trail of rainbow dust behind you that lifts the spirits of everyone you see.
In many ways, learning to ride an EUC is a metaphor for life. You start off completely overwhelmed and thinking that you don't have control over anything. Eventually, gradually, and with a fair share of mistakes and sudden breakthroughs, you learn that you're actually a superhero and you can do anything. But you also never stop learning and improving and finding more ways to have fun.
Welcome to the ride of your life!

So I'm a skinny guy with a clear nose and a side sleeper who recently got referred to a sleep lab after a home sleep test indicated mild sleep apnea. The wait time is still 9 months so I desperately need sth to work in the meantime.
I ordered a MAD on somnishop dot com although it's not clear to me how it would help me based on my description. And there was also the mention of the Schnarchspange which sounds much more fitting.
Every night after 1 hour my pulse goes wild because I assume tissue starts relaxing and the soft palate blocks my breathing. And this thing which Ive never seen mentioned on reddit would just hold the soft palate up, wow.
It's an actual certified medical device in Germany/Austria/Switzerland.
Anyone here thinks it would actually work?
Here is a demonstration of how it works and a short description:
"An anti-snoring brace is a bow-shaped stainless steel loop (covered with silicone), which is pushed backwards into the palate or stretched into the palate via the mouth opening and puts the palatal arch under slight tension. The snore brace is used in case of oral snoring or when one snores with the mouth closed regardless of the position (so-called "retrovelar snoring"). The snore brace in its basic form is not used for tongue base snoring and therefore has a completely different field of application than a mandibular advancement device (something else applies to the special form RonchAP; it can also be used for tongue base snoring)."

I have a pair of months interested in watches and I already have a few (a couple of digital Casios and a Seiko 5), and I love them but when I found out about the fliegers,I became obsessed with them, I love the military look; so, I'm doing my research for a nice one (I want it to be my bday present on a couple of months) and I already have some on my watchlist but I want to know if you can give more options. Currently, these are:
Laco Aachen: Aesthetically, this is my fav, but I don't like that the strap is only 18 mm. Personally I think looks disproportionate with the watch size. Also I'm not sure if the movement on this one is worth it.
Bulova Heritage Hack: I also love the looks on this one, but that's about it. I can't think about cons
Hamilton khaki: This is the watch everyone recommends, I like that has an swiss movement, but I don't really like the looks of it, I can't really explain why.
Orient RA-AC0H: Maybe the only negative point about this one is the mineral glass, because I love the looks of it.
Thanks for reading me!

So. I don't know about what can really be considered safe while hopping frieght but i'mma try out an idea I had eventually do before I do I think I should make sure im not a total wingnut. Either way I guess it'll work until it doesn't, when (not if)I do try it, but hear me out right quick.
I know someone who was raised in the Amishlike community I can't spell that starts with the M, and they were taught how to sew correctly and what not,so I can trust the work to be done correctly. I was going to have them attach straps to my bibs that could easily hold my weight plus an amount of g force to be decided after I research train derailment and other relevant information so I know roundabouts what to expect up to where the g force is going to kill me anyways,successfully attached or not(within limits reasonable to expect without derailing, if derailment occurs i feel the straps arent what keeps me from dying). Testing out their durability by hanging off random less dangerous stuff around town should let me get to safe enough to try on trains. after testing and I know I won't unattach from the car if I hit a bump or slack action jerk a me around good,unless i have a real problem like derailment I should be safe cause I'll need more luck then straps I would think if im a strapped to a car that derails. But my question is, am I missing something? No one has called me stupid for thinking I could do it yet, but I don't know if they realise I'm 100 percent serious about modifying my bibs in a way that'll improve my ability to ride suicides without danger and i could even sleep safely no worries. Part of my reason is I hate sitting around a hop for days and something stops but all you can get on while it's sided out is suicide and you cant find a rideable,I was taught suicides should be avoided, with or without a dog and to be super careful if your forced into a situation where you have to ride one and never try to ride suicide with a dog you want to keep unless you can carry it while keeping a solid hold of things and you cant sleep on a suicide safely. I've heard about finding something in the yard or near the hopout like a piece of wood and wedging it into a place where you can use it to ride suicide but I feel like that's kinda hot and easy to get spotted like that and you could hide easier without wood and just strapping to the car, if done right maybe even safely riding as you would be on a grainer porch or maybe even safer then some cars?maybe opens the door to all cars having a similar safety level for someone who is prepared and has no dog.If it works well enough maybe I can figure out how to make one for dogs that's just as safe too. That sounds like the harder problem out of the two ideas if i had to guess.
But really what do you think, is it safe? or is it just 100% a bad idea? Maybe you think you could do it better your way? Enlighten me so I can try to improve the idea and continue living as a single chunk of not piecemeal person. I got the balls to try it but the brains to ask around and make sure I'm not overlooking something, before I do. Also if you think canvas (duck canvas) isn't strong enough what cloth is? what would be the best option and how much would it cost to get bibs made out of it? Carharts are made put of duck canvas im told. Possible stronger option would be using climbing rope and making a harnesslike reinforcement or even getting a climbing harness and fusing it to your bibs or attaching the straps to the nearness instead of to the bibs( I think I would like to have it being a feature of my custom bibs I made opposed to using a climbing harness to hop frieght) Sorry for rambling but with this being super not safe if done wrong, I don't want to forget any of my ideas about the possibilities of how to modify gear with wha, in which way so that I don't end up with it being a poorly communicated idea that gets misunderstood leading to my injury because of something being assumed because my inability to clearly Share my Idea. Also got any ideas how bibs altered for this purpose could be helpful in other ways to persons whom are traveling folk?if you knew you had no tunnels or similar dangers on your current route, You could use it to strap onto the top of cars and watch the stars with a full clear field of vision(maybe that's worth the risk to some people?) without risk of something throwing you off if something goes wrong leaving only the two windows of time it takes for getting into position and strapping in as well as unstrapping and dismounting for you to be in danger of being thrown. like it would be safer i guess, but i dont know if id say it was safe, more less dangerous maybe, i dont feel safe surfing,im not a fan, maybe with the straps i wouldnt expect to die as much and i could get closer to finding the top of a car a place i could ride but I still think I am not willing to take up stargazing as my new happy hoppy hobby. Suicide rides though...
Tldr-attach straps to bibs attach bibs to suicide train cars, is it safe? Yes or no? Any advice?