Hey there, fellow hoop enthusiasts! Let's dive into the world of portable basketball hoops and discover the ultimate solution for on-the-go basketball action.
Portable basketball hoops are the ultimate game-changers, offering the flexibility to set up a court wherever you desire. No longer bound by fixed locations, you can transform any space into your very own basketball sanctuary.
When it comes to choosing the best portable hoop, a few key factors should be on your radar. First and foremost, stability is paramount. Look for hoops with sturdy bases, reinforced supports, and solid build quality to ensure they can handle intense play and weather conditions.
Adjustability is another game-changing feature. The ability to raise or lower the hoop height is crucial for accommodating players of all ages and skill levels. Whether it's a friendly family game or a competitive match, the best portable hoops allow you to fine-tune the height to match your needs.
Portability is where these hoops truly shine. Seek out designs that offer hassle-free assembly, lightweight construction, and convenient transportation features such as wheels or foldable mechanisms. This way, you can easily take your hoop to the park, the beach, or your neighbor's backyard for a quick pickup game.
We all want a hoop that will stand the test of time, right? Durability and quality craftsmanship are key. Look for hoops made from sturdy materials that can withstand the elements and the rigors of regular use. You want a hoop that will be your trusty companion for countless games and memories to come.
So, whether you're a dedicated athlete, a weekend warrior, or a parent looking to inspire your little ones, a portable basketball hoop is the way to go. It brings the game to you, wherever you may roam.
Have you discovered a portable basketball hoop that exceeds expectations? We'd love to hear your recommendations, personal experiences, and any tips you have for finding the perfect hoop. Share your thoughts in the comments below and let's keep the discussion rolling!
Game on, fellow ballers! 🏀
#PortableBasketballHoop #HoopsOnTheGo #GameChanger

Compilation of all unedited questions and devs answers from DBD Dev Team AMA - June 07th 2023:
Q: In the past, the team had stated that there would only be human/humanoid killers in the game. Obviously with the Stranger Things license, a killer really could not be humanoid, especially given the seasons released at the time. However, with the release of Dredge and now Singularity, we have now gotten a few original monstrous killers. What changed with the design philosophy of DbD that allowed this to happen, and can we expect further creative visual designs like them in the future?
A: Well well, I'm not saying this is a lie, but the fact we said we would only do humanoid was not a design philosophy but more because of technical/scope limitations at that time. If you've been with us for a while, you probably remember us saying we'd put Christine (the car) and Cujo (the dog) in DBD if we could. Every worthy bloodthirsty creature has a space in the world of The Entity!
So what allowed us to do so? We levelled up! The team is bigger, more experienced all thanks to the growth of the community of course! Characters with different structures are definitely going to happen again as we continue to explore more possibilities in DBD.
-Dave
Q: Whatever happened to the promised Twins rework? It was talked about to be the next killer update after Legion/Ghostface though we haven’t heard anything about it and afaik Twins are still plagued by many bugs as well.
A: Due to limited space in each release and the unexpected complexity of the update needed for the Twins, the update has been delayed a LOT longer than we wanted. :D However, it's been designed and we are working on releasing something in early 2024.
-Michael
Q: Hi! Glad you guys came by to answer questions. My question in particular is about map design. I primarily play killer, and sometimes it feels like the outcome of a game is decided before it even starts depending on what map I end up on. Either when chosen via offerings or by RNG.
When designing maps, what, if anything, is done with structure and layout to make maps fair for both sides?
A: The intention when we create maps is not to favor one side more than another.
This is why we currently want to rebalance the maps. We are using data collected and feedback we get from the Community. We have started in the last year to rebalance the maps and we are going to continue and be active when it comes to maps that already exist and same with newly released maps. We want to bring the best experience for everyone to enjoy.
Example: the Raccoon City Police Station , split, the update in the Junkyard and soon Farm maps.
-Andre
Q: What was the real reason you removed Maurice initially? 🤔 I know it’s a pretty unserious question but I’ve always been curious.
A: Honestly, when Peanits saw The Dredge's lobby animation with the suspiciously familiar-looking horse head flopping out, he jumped on the opportunity.
He posted that animation on our social channels with a caption that read "MAURICE NOOO" and the community's reaction was immediately huge. So much so that we decided to to push the joke all the way, removing Maurice from the game. And the rest, as you know, is history.
-Justin
Q: What is it about the new survivor, Gabriel Soma, that makes him stand out from his fellow survivor cast?
A: Gabriel is purposefully designed so that most of us can relate to him, even though he lives in a time period that is very otherwordly to us.
The hardship he faced (even before going in The Realms of The Entity), his resolve and resourcefulness make him a fun character to play. Gabriel is also our first survivor from a possible future, making his wardrobe quite unique and pretty cool if you are into sci-fi pants and space shirts.
His story is not over, there are more unrevealed truths about Gabriel. And he's very good looking: Shirtless Gabriel when?
-Dave
Q: How long, from concept to release, does it take to design a full killer? Not including perks, survivor, or map, but just the killer and their power?
A: It fluctuates (depending on the weather!) but in general about 11-12 months overall from start to finish.
-Janick
Q: Thanks so much for doing this AMA, and happy anniversary!
Out of curiosity, were there any other concepts that the team was considering as powers for the Singularity before deciding on biopods, or was this what they set their sights on right away when brainstorming?
A: The Pods were in the concept from the beginning.
Originally, the Killer had two mechanics it could use: One involved shooting the Pods to teleport to Survivors and the other one allowed it to shoot Survivors to teleport them to its location.
Ultimately, it was deemed exceedingly disorienting on the Survivor side so we removed it and brought back more opportunities for the killer to Teleport later in the creation process.
-Janick
Q: Are there any plans to rework or change freddy in any way?
A: I can't give you any super-secret details but I can tell you that he's on our radar for killers to update.
-Michael
Q: Has there ever been any thoughts on adding alternative game modes or queues? Of course this would be a massive undertaking but I'm curious if it's ever been given any real thought. A ranked mode or mode with different rules like draft picking perks or anything honestly would be really cool to see.
A: It's an idea that has always been in the back of our minds. I can confirm this is something we are actively prototyping. We plan on starting small and doing game modes as limited time modes and building up from there. We are hopeful that we'll have more to share with you all later this year!
-Justin
Q: With the seemingly new trend of original/licensed survivors getting lobby voice-lines, can we expect to see this implemented for previous survivors aswell? So survivors like Dwight, Meg, Claud, David etc.? And would this include the possibility of original survivors interacting with each other similar to the Resident Evil survivors and Renato/Thalita?
A: Never say never. DBD is a game in constant evolution and past content is still living and evolving with it :)
-Dave
Q: Has it been considered to clean up some the more usless offerings on the bloodweb such as the ones that only slightly buff bloodpoints?
A: We are actually exploring the offerings and their system as a whole right now on the design team! I can't give you any hints about what might be changed or where we might end up yet, but we are exploring new effects and actively designing ways to make this system better overall. :)
-Michael
Q: will mobile cosmetics be ported in anytime soon?
A: We will start porting some mobile cosmetics over, starting sometime in the next year.
The first batch will be small, with just 4 outfits (2 killer, 2 survivor). Also worth noting they won't be a 1:1 port. We will make some small colour and/or texture changes before being brought into Dead By Daylight.
Lastly, to manage expectations, there will be some mobile outfits that never get ported over.
-Justin
Q: Is there a reason more survivor emotes haven’t been added yet? It feels like a no brainier since you could make a fortune from selling them and it’s not like it’d break immersion since this game is long past that point now (look at some survivor and even killer cosmetics)
I feel like even small things which could be sold like hand gestures and stuff would be such a nice addition with time however things like dances would be amazing, even better if killer could do them at some point
A: Survivor emotes was an idea we played with many years ago. We even got so far as to implement a few of them in a prototype build. Unfortunately, we found them to often either break immersion, or encourage negative gameplay behaviours. For that reason, we haven't revisited the idea for a number of years.
Never say never, but survivor emotes certainly won't be coming anytime in the near future.
-Justin
Q: Was there anything noteworthy that stuck out to the team when designing The Singularity? I love his design and I would like to get to know more about how he was designed.
A: It was a weird concept and not an easy sell as a great power originally.
(it sound bland on paper)
Although while prototyping we managed to make the pods usable in chases and realised their versitility, that is when it started to shine.
We could see how much fun and potential there was in the concept.
-Janick
Q: The mori for the Singularity is probably the most that a survivor has been actually maimed. It's brutal, disgusting, and I absolutely love it. However, it has been previously stated that moris have to avoid actually doing too much damage to a survivor's body for various reasons. Is this still within those limitations, or did something change that allows the team to make more brutal moris? And can we expect the possibility for some more of that brutality in the future?
A: We're glad you loved the mori, we do too, it was a blast to create! On the level of brutality and gore, there is one thing that we keep in mind except for the actual technical/scope feasibility of an idea. One of DBD's core pillars is that we want to be an horror that is accessible to all. This means many things for different facets of the game, but in this case it means that some brutal actions and level of gore may make the game inaccessible in some regions! We don't want that.
-Dave
Q: Will there be any plans to have more diversity in body shapes of survivors? Would love to see some more plus size representation
A: Inclusivity and representation is very important to us. Body shapes and height is quite challenging at the moment due to technical limitations and gameplay components / metrics. Thank you for letting us know that this is important to you, every voice count.
Q: Are there any plans to make Custom Games easier to set up for tournaments and other events?
It's been years since the introduction of "Custom Matches" and we haven't really had any new settings since. Options to limit item & add-on rarities, options to enforce non-duplicated perks on all Survivors, better spectator controls, etc... Any of these things would REALLY help to make DBD events faster to set up and more viewer-friendly.
A: This is a topic that has recently made it onto our radar, and one we can clearly see the value in. The Custom Matches features has been left untouched for far too long. Unfortunately, it's still too early to give an ETA on when you could expect to start seeing some of these improvements in the game.
-Justin
Q: What caused the sudden shift to add more clutter and obstructions into the new maps and reworks? In my experience it causes nothing more than frustration for both sides.
A: Hey great question! As clutter you might be referring to two different things, so I'll do my best to answer both meanings.
1- Clutter as in more objects making navigation more difficult. As our team grew during the graphical rework, a lot of details were added to make the maps richer. Lots of lessons were learned during those days (and we are still learning) on what elements and metrics makes it difficult for navigation. Our level design team is actively working with the environment artists to make sure each asset found in a map (colliders, vegetation, etc), especially when it comes to navigation, follows game metrics.
2-Finding objectives/visual clutter - As the graphic fidelity evolves in DBD so does our gameplay need to evolve in terms of visual elements, which have not always followed. We are looking into that one now. The idea is to have level of priorities in how easilly perceivable elements are on the screen. This pass will make gameplay elements POP compared to the details that are great, but less important to manage your objective.
-Dave
From the level design perspective, we are in the process of addressing the clutter issue. the focus is clarity, readability and navigation. We had this issue with the Toba Landing in PTB and are addressing that in next week's release. We will revisit all maps and themes and make sure it makes sense for everyone.
-Andre
Q: Regarding individual killer balance, will you start taking feedback from people who have spent countless hours playing them? If at least to see what they want out of their killer without being unbalanced.
A: Our external playtesting methods and processes involve a large variety of player types, all of which range widely in skill level & experience in the game.
Veteran players with many hours in DbD have super valuable feedback, especially when it comes to breaking our rules and exposing balance issues.
It's important to point out though that beginner, intermediate and casual players also have important contributions & insights to share that we need to also take into consideration and use to balance our designs.
-Michael
Q: Thanks for doing this AMA.
In the recent public test build, you guys tested out a buff to Pyramid Head which gave him the ability to torment survivors hit by Punishment of the Damned. You guys understandably walked back this buff as it allowed for some unfun situations for survivors. In the following developer update, you revealed the reason for testing this change was that you were looking for additional ways to let Pyramid Head apply torment. This would lead me to believe that the balance team has been looking to buff certain elements of Pyramid Head's kit.
I also would be kicking myself later if I did not take this opportunity to mention his addons. Pyramid Head's addons, aside from the range addons, do not feel like they impact his gameplay much at all when compared to other killers. His iridescent addons, while unique, are too restrictive in their requirements to get much value out of them. If you're looking to do something to Pyramid Head, which is the impression I got from the recent PTB, it seems that the addons would have been the first thing considered.
So can we expect any more attention for The Executioner going forward, or are you happy with the spot he and his addons are in?
Thanks again
A: You are correct that we initially wanted to change Executioner because we believe he can be improved. :) That hasn't changed and we still want to release an update for him in the future. Your suggestion about looking to the add-ons is noted!
-Michael
Q: Any updates on console to pc cross progression?
A: There's currently no further update unfortunately. We know it's something desired by the community as a whole but we cannot say if/when it will ever be able to be implemented, other than on the platforms we've already confirmed.
Q: What’s the meaning of life?
A: 69 - Mandy
420 - Andre
A great Monty Python movie. -Michael
s̵̘̀à̷̟̭̀̆̏t̶͎̀̾͛͝ǐ̴̘̗͇̜̝͘a̴͉͂̌̒̿͝t̶͍̺̻̾e̷̥̦̔̇̽ ̸̨͇̩̎͗̒͆͠h̵̲̘̫̹͉̀ŭ̵̺̽̎ṇ̴̈́g̵̦̞͆̀̆͊͛͜ȩ̵̤̽̚r̴̛̤͚̘̍̽͝ - Unknown?
Q: New unique items for survivors?
A: It just goes to show how brilliant minds think alike - we've been discussing this very recently! No concrete plans as we're still very early in the process, but we are talking about when and how we could put out some new items in the future. Plan on it (at some point)!
-Michael
Q: As the game continues into its 7th year, I think the community deserves an official comment from the devs on the flagship killer, the Trapper. The character who is on most, if not all advertising, and is perhaps the most recognizable killer in all of Dead By Daylight’s original roster has been the worst killer in the entire game for years, by an increasingly significant margin. Unlike any other killer in the game his power requires full minutes of setup, can be easily countered by good communication, and depending on the map can just entirely cease to function due to no/sparse/thin grass. Most new maps released in recent memory have no grass whatsoever, and are so large that it can add an additional minute or two just retrieving your power, which again, no other killer has anything close to that level of setup time.
All of that to say that for the Trapper, things just seem to get exponentially worse with every update. Does the dev team have any plans on reworking or updating the Trapper, which in my opinion he desperately needs? Or will he stay the undisputed worst killer for years to come?
A: I hear you. It's been a topic of conversation across our teams, but at the moment we do not have significant gameplay updates planned for Trapper. Partly because our data shows that his kill rate is pretty much where we want it to be (on average, even at high MMRs) but also because he holds a very important role as one of the simplest and easiest killers in the game. He's great for onboarding new Killers and we don't want that to change too much.
That said, we do have a small but very fun update in the works for our terrifying flagship killer! Those of you who watched the Anniversary broadcast may have seen the segment about the Naughty Bear Legendary skin coming for Trapper (which will have its own unique Mori). This will ship later in the year, along with a killer update.
-Michael
Q: Can you please hide survivor prestige levels until the end of the match? A lot of killers target and harass high prestige survivors
A: Harassment in game is a topic we are always looking for more ways to tackle, and this has been one of the ideas we've been discussing for some time. I'm going to use this question as an opportunity to re-ignite the topic and opened a new Jira request for it today.
-Justin
Q: All I have to say is thank you making this game because without it, we would not have this unique community
A: Thank you for being a part of it! We feel really grateful to have such an engaged, creative, and supportive community of players.
Thank YOU, you are the Legends!
-Andre
Q: In the past, the team has stated that maps take by far the most development time out of anything else in the game. How long does it usually take to make an original map such as Toba Landing/Dvarka Deepwood, from concept to completion? Also, how difficult is it to modify maps once they are in the game, such as adjusting the strength of loops, changing tile spawn logic, or even changing the size of the map?
A: To answer your first question: Depending on the style of the map, it can take up to 6 months to create.
When it comes to updating and modifying existing maps, we collect data non-stop and are always investigating player concerns. To use Toba Landing as an example, player feedback during the PTB helped us identify & implement certain adjustments on loops and map visibility that will be going to Live servers.
-Andre
Q: For original chapters that take place around different nations (Chile, Japan, Brazil, among others), and even around different periods of time, what’s the process like for the research and implementation of different elements to properly represent that in the lore and even inside of their respective maps?
A: Inclusivity and diversity is always top of mind for us, with a focus on making sure the representation we have in the game is as accurate as possible.
We have multiple steps in our creation process that ensure due diligence in this regard: internal & external consultation with regional partners, extensive research, and immersion are some of them.
A recent example would be with Thalita & Renato characters' cosmetics, which were designed by our very own Brazilian artist!
Fun fact: She's the one who thought of including the Caramelo tattoo on Renato's arm :)
-Dave
Q: Is there going to be an update where survivors can always recover from the dying state (like the one-off with Unbreakable)? Think I remember reading about that once. Cheers.
A: I can tell you're dying to know. (sound of crickets) Nevermind...
No, we are not planning on making that part of the base game.
If you are referring to the Finisher Mori, we tested that in the PTB but it was an early prototype test. There was a lot of feedback and we are still working on that feature, but again - we are not planning on putting Unbreakable in the survivor base kit.
-Michael
Q: Can you tell us a bit about the process the team goes through when deciding to nerf/buff an addon?
It feels so frustrating seeing certain addons getting a nerf for being popular (e.g. Twins: Toy Sword, Nemesis: Marvins Blood, Hillbilly: Engravings) when other addons are so weak/situational they are rarely worth using.
A: This is a question that has been considered heavily within our design team in recent months. We are continually learning where our priorities need to be when it comes to live balance and our process is changing as a result. Recently we have shifted to an approach that rests on three foundations:
Design Intent
Community Feedback
Data and Statistics
We watch for issues on all three of these fronts and prioritize from there. We are also cautious about vetting our changes with the community management team to get a read on how our updates will be received before release.
Some decisions (especially those based more on data or design intent) may not always be 100% clear for everyone, and that's okay. That said, we want to be attentive to the needs of our community and what will be most healthy for the game longterm.
-Michael
Q: Admist the PTB testing there were a few concerns regarding Made for This, particularly in regards to its interaction with Hope allowing survivors to keep pace with 110% killers like hag during the endgame.
Is this something the team is aware of, and will they be continuing to monitor Made For This for balancing purposes when the chapter is live?
A: We are aware that Made for This has had quite an impact.
We're going to be watching out for feedback and data once the community has opportunity to test this.
We already have plans to address Made for This (like we had for Hyperfocus) if and when it becomes a problem.
-Thomas
Q: Will you ever expand the daily rituals to give 1 survivor and 1 killer daily each day? Also would weekly or monthly rituals ever be added for a bigger payout? Thanks.
A: Nothing concrete on the roadmap (get it?) but multiple ideas have been explored to improve the system.
Thank you for your suggestion! We're open to reading the community's ideas and feedback on the topic and will be considering them when discussing next steps.
-Thomas
Q: How does the Entity choose it's victims? Both survivors and killers.
A: Who knows!
-Dave
Meatier alternative - No one knows how The Entity or why The Entity or even when The Entity? Maybe darkness in the life of the survivors and killers grab Its attention, or maybe its the other way around, maybe its the Entity's attention that makes their lives miserable. Or maybe its random! Who knows.
-Dave
Spicy Alternative- The Entity works in mysterious ways.
-Dave
Q: Will the black bubble after hooking someone be adressed soon? I like the effect, but in a ton of scenario's I cannot see if the killer is going towards me, even with the effect of kindred.
A: The intention of the bubble's design is to hide the Killer's exact position after a Survivor's been hooked.
However, it is an old design so maybe it's time for us to review if its use and appearance are still ideal.
-Dave
Q: Will there be a shift away from relying on pure statistics and instead listening to experienced players more/qualitative feedback in general?
The statistics based approach for balancing has been a huge pain point the past 7 years.
A: While data is crucial in balancing in general, it is not a substitute for player or design feedback.
Our approach to balancing is a bit more complicated than this, and I can say it does not solely rest on game design.
-Thomas
Q: Is there any discussion regarding raising killer FOV (or a FOV slider) to help reduce motion sickness for those effected?
A: Short answer: Yes!
Long answer: we have a design that is in development and the release date is in our field of vision. You can expect to see something later this year or early next year.
-Michael
Q: Are there any plans to update earlier licensed killers (Shape/Cannibal/Nightmare/Pig) with their own music tracks as has been a trend with other killers as of late? Given Ghost Face being licensed and receiving a unique chase theme last year, there's been confusion regarding this. Thank you!
A: We would love for all the killers to have this feature, nevertheless licensed content will sometime have limitation out of our control. We might get a track for all of them at some point, but no promise. Shape already as a unique music track! So enjoy that in the meantime!
-Dave
Q: I think many people would agree with me in saying that HillBilly needs some addons adjusted. But also, why is the overheat mechanic still a thing? It's pretty much a "non-factor" and there are addons to increase the overheat limit anyway.
A: I feel you. Billy occupies a squishy (albeit violent) place in all of our hearts, and we've been working on him! An update has been designed for our Billy-boy (including addons). No specific date planned for implementing this just yet, but you can expect news from us sometime in the next year.
Sharpen your chainsaws.
-Michael
Q: What's the process for figuring out general balancing and new perks as the game continues to add in new killers and survivors?
A: The process is naturally data-informed, but the major part lies with the design team, who is aware of what comes next, whether its perks, killers, or any other feature that will impact gameplay and balance.
In short, if a perk is both ubiquitous and powerful, it probably needs to be addressed in the near future.
-Thomas
Q: Do you think we can get outfits based on the later Halloween movies, or does the copy right prevent that from happening? I’ve been wanting an older Jamie Lloyd from Halloween 4 to get in as a legendary skin so bad, I made a petition about it and even asked the actress herself about it. Link to the petition and video
A: Thank you for your passion and dedication. Indeed, working on getting licenses can be a challenge!
-Dave
Q: Question for the art/design team: in the lore for Hux and Gabriel, it mentions that Gabriel damages Hux pretty severely directly before they are taken into the Fog, with flesh melting off his frame. Is the look for The Singularity we see in game the result of that damage, or is that pre-facemelt? If it's the former, is there any chance we might see Hux's original, "perfect" design he had for himself as a skin? Or was the lore even fully complete while you all were working on his design?
A: Hux's look in the trials is post-melt incident! We wanted to make sure we offered a good level of body horror with this character. We might see its "prime" look later, but keep in mind that even this would be horrid, The SIngularity is using flesh in a very wrong way.
-Dave
Q: Could you guys do something like a shirt related to Puppers in honour of him and what he brought to the DBD community?
A: Puppers' passing has been a huge loss for our whole community and has been deeply felt here on the team.
We have seen the discussions amongst players on how best to remember him and honor him, and we've been following it closely, and have been similarly discussing it within the team. While we have a strong desire to do something, it's simply too soon right now to say what we might be able to commit to.
Q: Deleted question.
A: Nothing concrete on the roadmap (get it?) but multiple ideas have been explored to improve the system. Thank you for your suggestion! We're open to reading the community's ideas and feedback on the topic and will be considering them when discussing next steps.
-Thomas
Q: Is it possible to get new moris for killers as a customization option? Not just tied to a skin.
A: Cries in Backlog

• Justin

Q: Why has the map team not advanced substantially in the balance department in the past few years? The community has been clear in that the maps are unbalanced,yet it seems the dev team simultaneously understands the issue i.e Nerfing Eyrie yet released Red Forest 2.0
A: We began the work some time ago, but recently the speed at which we're able to push it forward has been greatly improved thanks to new hires & resources on our team. Now, we're able to tackle urgent day to day tasks while simultaneously making regular progress on live balance for existing maps.
Regarding the Eyrie of Crows, the intention of our balancing efforts there was to address how strongly Survivor-sided it was. We're still monitoring the results though (data and feedback) and we wont hesitate to go back for more tweaks if we feel that they're needed.
When it comes to Red Forest, we frankly just didn't have the ressources at the time for the scope of work required. Now that we do, I've scheduled an update for both Mother's Dwelling and Temple of Purgation that will hopefully address player concerns.
Q: Any plans on improving daily rituals? A permanent 60K BP instead of the 30K we're getting now and the ability to choose between survivor or killer rituals would be nice
A: Nothing concrete on the roadmap (get it?) but multiple ideas have been explored to improve the system.
Thank you for your suggestion! We're open to reading the community's ideas and feedback on the topic and will be considering them when discussing next steps.
-Thomas
Q: The Swamp realm had a unfinished map featuring a village structure, as well as the Bloodwillow tree from the artbook, possibly related to The Wraith back when he was still part of the Swamp Realm. Is there any plans in the future to bring this map as a playable one in Dead By Daylight, maybe with a visual upgrade of The Swamp?
A: The tree will eventually make its return to The Swamp.
However, at the moment, we're focusing our efforts on bringing visual & gameplay updates to existing maps. In The Swamp realm specifically, we're going to remove the generators in the corners of tiles, as well as some elevations that don't have a significant value add gameplay-wise.
-Andre
Q: The Skull Merchant is a polarising character currently. Are you happy with how Skull Merchant turned out? Do you plan on any future revisions for her?
A: Skull Merchant has problems on live and we are very aware of that. We feel the killer is fun and interesting in general, but there are some unfortunate playstyles that make her kit frustrating to play against. 2 things to say here:
She is getting an update. We are currently trying to determine when that can go out - stay tuned. 2. Her most oppressive games tend toward the 3-gen strategy. This is problematic in our game as a whole, but especially against certain killers (Skull Merchant being the most egregious). We are currently working on a systematic solution to deal with 3-gen games, which will ALSO help with playing against the Skull Merchant.
-Michael
Q: Will BHVR fix the visibility issues? My girlfriend is color blind and cant see most colors (no the color blind features don’t help her) so it’s a bit depressing for her to realize that she’s at a significant disadvantage when playing the game. Even for me its hard to see sometimes!
A: We are definitely ramping up our attention to accessibility in our game. It's unclear if/how we will adjust our support for colorblindness in the near future, but I can say we have a dedicated UX designer heading up our accessibility efforts and you can expect to see more accessibility-centered features coming out in the future.
-Michael
Q: Are we going to have sales on characters by the iridescent shards in the anniversary
A: I'm not supposed to say, because it's a secret. But yes.
-Justin
Q: The Shrine of Secrets is used as a way to make all perks accessible to players who do not want to spend additional money for the game other than the cost of the base game, but with over 200 perks in the game now, that system is not a reliable way to acquire specific perks. This leads to arguments that players who are willing to pay extra are given an advantage over others since meta perks can be locked behind that paywall.
What are your thoughts on replacing the Shrine of Secrets with a menu of teachable perks that can be purchased at-will for the same price they currently cost on the Shrine? What are reasons that a system like that would not work?
A: I can definitely say that the problems with the Shrine are no secret.
We are very aware that the system needs an update, however it remains on the backlog for now, which means its on our radar but not being actively worked on yet. We will hopefully get to it sooner rather than later.
-Michael
Q: Are there ever plans to make totally new maps but with the same realm as old locations?
I’d love another map that uses the Snowy theme of Ormond.
A: That's absolutely something i would love to do.
We don't have any plans to do so yet, but i'd love to add maps on a few existing realms. Ormond for sure, Grave of Glenvale comes to mind as well.
-Andre
Q: Are there any plans to unlink currently linked sets for original characters?
A: Short answer: No.
Long Answer: Original characters cosmetics are locked for technical reasons. Having them mix and match would cause bugs and a variety of clipping issues or gaps in their modesl at the waist or neck lines. Unfortunately, for these reasons, we have no plans to make them unlocked in the future.
-Justin
Q: The amount of representation the game gets is great.
But when will we get Ace Visconti actually represent Argentina?
A: Hey, good point! We've had a lot of fun with Ace's personality and used it as the main driveinspiration for his outfits. Some Argentinian representation would be great!
-Dave

Yesterday and today are the final straws. I got caught on Lower Hulls with not a single blip on the radar or any chance of showers showing when I set off yesterday afternoon. Today, the foothills are under a black front with the sound of Thunder in the distance. The highest percentage of precipitation I found between three sources? 18%. What the hell is up with this nonsense? Using Clime (NOAA) Apple Weather, Weather Chsnnel apps.

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​

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I had been wondering why the bikes weren't out yet this year... CDPHP Cycle just sent out this update and I thought others here might be interested (emphasis mine)
-----
Dear Valued CDPHP Cycle! Members –
As you know, we have experienced delays in getting season seven up and running. We have made several innovative and important improvements to make this season our best yet, including the addition of electric bikes and upgraded pedal bike technology. As we have been making those upgrades, we have run into implementation delays, which has unfortunately delayed the start of season seven.
We are happy to let you know that e-bikes will be the newest bikes to hit the road first. We expect to have those up and running in the next two weeks. Pedal bikes will follow shortly after that. We want you to know, we will keep the bikes out as long as possible this season, weather permitting, and CDPHP Cycle! will hit the road at the start of the season in 2024 which is in April. We also want to assure you; seasonal memberships will be prorated this season. Be on the lookout for our new website www.cdphpcycle.org and upgraded app (available in both the App Store and Google Play stores) both available this week for updated information and access to memberships.
Stay tuned to our social media channels for the latest information on the program. We appreciate your continued patience and your membership and look forward to seeing you riding soon!

My tires on my 2015 A4 Quattro sedan mine are almost shot at this point even though I never go anywhere. Anyway I’m trying to decide between the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S or the new Michelin CrossClimate2. I haven’t seen much about the cross climate yet for reviews but I live in NJ so we do encounter some snow and the typical lovely Northeast rain, ice and weather changes so I want and all weather that is also decent in snow and a lot of them are not. Any advice on this? Thanks

Hi, so since a few days ago I watch the Windy Weather radar because I see a Anomaly in the weather readings. I perceive it as a Radar like cone around 2 mayor points in Poland, I googled what I could be and came to the conclusion that it must be a Doppler-Lidar to get weather readings. The problem is that around middle Europe there is nowhere near a similar Anomaly like this. Normally it has a "natural" shape or not linear, like clouds are shaped.
Why is that so?

Severe Thunderstorm Warning - Adelaide Region for DAMAGING WINDS and LARGE HAILSTONES
For people in Adelaide and parts of Onkaparinga, Mount Barker, Adelaide Hills and Western Alexandrina council areas.
Issued at 4:02 pm Wednesday, 7 June 2023.
Severe thunderstorms approaching the Adelaide area. The Bureau of Meteorology warns that, at 4:00 pm, severe thunderstorms were detected on the weather radar near Brighton, Hallett Cove and Semaphore. These thunderstorms are moving towards the east to southeast. They are forecast to affect Adelaide City, Glenelg and Noarlunga by 4:30 pm and Meadows, Modbury and Echunga by 5:00 pm.
Damaging winds are likely, with large hailstones possible.
The State Emergency Service advises that people should: * Secure or put away loose items around your property. * Move cars under cover or away from trees. * Keep clear of fallen power lines. * Stay indoors, away from windows, while storms are nearby.
The next warning is due to be issued by 5:05 pm.
A more general severe thunderstorm warning is also current for the Riverland and parts of the Adelaide Metropolitan, Murraylands, Mount Lofty Ranges and North East Pastoral districts. refer http://ow.ly/MgkI50OHwnE

The National Weather Service in Boise has issued a

• Flash Flood Warning for... Northeastern Ada County in southwestern Idaho...
  
• Until midnight MDT.
  
• At 900 PM MDT, Doppler radar and automated rain gauges indicated thunderstorms producing heavy rain across the warned area. Between 1 and 2 inches of rain have fallen. Additional rainfall amounts of 0.5 to 1 inch are possible in the warned area. Flooding is already occurring. HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by thunderstorms. SOURCE...Radar and automated gauges. IMPACT...Flash flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses as well as other poor drainage and low-lying areas.
  
• Some locations that will experience flash flooding include... Eastern Boise, Garden City. FLASH FLOOD...RADAR AND GAUGE INDICATED Instructions: Turn around, don`t drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. Be aware of your surroundings and do not drive on flooded roads. Target Area: Ada
  

Pt 1 If you haven't read it.
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Pt 2 If you haven't read it.
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Pt 3 If you haven't read it.
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Hope you enjoy Pt 4 and happy reading!
​
*Flick* "Aligning descent profile for re-entry." I had made all the final preparations
*Flick* "Prepare for comms black out in 10" William began the countdown.
"9"
"8"
"7"
"6"
"5- when you get back I absolutely *have* to show you this really old movie, interstellar, its a classic" Will interjected.
"4-Oh my stars we're about to enter the atmosphere of Ix-5 at 7km/s and all you can think about is showing me some old movie when we get back?!"
"3- Fine."
"2"
The plasma had begun to lick around the edges of the heat shield and up onto the windows.
"1"
The comms began to make a static hissing sound.
"Just breathe." Will muttered to himself.
The whole shuttle began to shake violently.
"PASSING MAX-Q" Will had to shout to be heard over all the rattling.
Just like that, it began to quiet down, the fiery inferno of re-entry plasma died down and we began our coast down to find a suitable landing spot. Comms had also returned.
*Click* "I'd just like to let everyone know that we made it through re-entry just fine." Will had radioed back to the ship.
The sound of faint cheers from bridge could be heard.
"Engaging cloaking device" *Flick*
A loud hum could be heard as the cloaking device not only prevented us from being seen by eyes, but also seen by any radar, sonar, or other means of detection spun to life.
"So where should we land?"
"Oh just a few more kilometers to shore, then I'll just find a nice, secluded spot and we'll spend the next couple of days getting to know the locals!" I responded gleefully, as this was my first time with a civilization that didn't just learn how to farm.
After carefully gliding down we landed in a patch of grass-like vegetation. Will pointed out all the leaves were all black, to which I responded by telling him that the vegetation had to adapt to capture more of the light spectrum than the vegetation on Earth, because of the dimmer, red dwarf this planet orbited.
We had set up the basics, communications equipment, synthesizers, and a variety of other scientific tools.
"Hey, remember when you said you wanted to see an example of human food! Because I do!" Will exclaimed giddily.
After plugging in a drive and pressing a few buttons, the machine whirred to action, printing out a most unusual dish.
"So keep in mind this is just one dish out of... out of well I don't really know how many different kinds of dishes we have, all you need to know is that it's a very large number... But here's too hoping you enjoy it!"
What came out were this white, almost sphere like but more so a squat raindrop shaped... things. Will called them "Dumplings", and they smelled delicious, though he had dipped them in this brown liquid he called "Soy Sauce" that I really did not care for as far as smell goes.
I carefully picked one of these dumplings and bit into it.
"Oh my" I said, albeit muffled by the food.
"It's good isn't it! I told you!" Will grinned.
"That's quite the... texture. I don't really know how to process this. It's so soft and yet firm. Nutrient packs are so much easier, they don't make a mess and they're just so efficient, I mean, you could probably play around with the recipe, make them tastier. Right?"
"You just don't get it do you." Will said, shaking his head.
"Oh well, more for me." He grabbed at my half eaten dumpling.
"Hey! That's mine!"
"So you DO like it then!"
"No, just, ugh, leave me and my dumpling alone, I've already had my Nutrient Pack for the day I'm going to hibernate now."
Will rolled his eyes at my response.
"Fine." He said in that same begrudging manner as before.
I walked on over to the hibernation chamber, a circular area just big enough for me with a warm, gentle breeze flowing over. As I was going inside I heard Will behind me closing up the door after bringing everything inside.
"Wait... you were going to tell me about.... sleep..." I muttered out.
"Oh yes so hold one, could you just fully wake up for a little bit so I can explain, so your species, and for that matter every other alien species I've met, sleeps one hemisphere or one part of their brain at a time, but humans sleep the whole brain all at once."
"What's that like?" I replied, still in the grip of hibernation.
"So for starters we are like, FULLY unconscious the whole time, we can be woken up but we have a very, VERY limited understanding of what's going on around us. We also go limp so we don't move around accidentally, we still do. It's not perfect but it works enough to where I can say, "yeah we go limp"."
"But aren't you... what happens... if... someone ambushes you at night?"
"In all likelihood unless we happen to be right next to a weapon or something good enough, we die."
"Oh my. How... how did this not drive your species extinct?"
"I'm left wondering that same question too Tomō."
This might be the first time I've heard about a human ever being truly defenseless. Will had disappeared off into another room to change, returning in only a pair of shorts. Which left me examining his exposed torso. Human skin is wrapped quite tightly around the internal structure, and there seems to be very little, if any, loose skin, it also seemed to only be composed of one layer, most others I've meet without loose skin have special layers that can break off. Perhaps humans might be less sturdy than I had come to expect. No no that can't possibly be true I thought to myself, or as much as I could with half a brain working.
The morning was punctured by this infernal clattering from Will's bed, his arm swung up and smashed down on a small table next to him, causing the sound to stop.
"What was that?! Did someone find us?!"
"No... it was just my [Yawns] Alarm, we need to be startled to wake up and that [Will yawned again] was the startling noise."
Will climbed out of bed, shuffled over to another table (Those humans have a lot of tables) grabbed a fresh change of clothes and made his way over to the bathroom to change.
That's when I heard it, a loud SHHHHH sound from the bathroom, I made my way over to the locked door and shouted:
"EVERYTHING OKAY IN THERE WILL?"
"YEAH, JUST TAKING A SHOWER."
"A WHAT?"
"SHOWER"
"WHAT'S THAT?"
"I DON'T CARE FOR THIS CONVERSATION RIGHT NOW."
"OH OKAY."
I shuffled back over to my hibernation chamber, pulling the divider closed I took in a bath of UV sterilizing light and changed out of yesterday's uniform, and into todays, which on scout missions is always a set of cloths made to imitate the look of whatever cloths are common on whatever world we're scouting. In this case it was a brown turtleneck sweater, some black pants, 6 pairs of gloves as the basic orbital scan of their unencrypted communications revealed they obsess over cleanliness, often sporting multiple pairs of gloves for specific tasks, kept in separate pockets, land lastly, a sort of shawl like piece of fabric, apparently used to protect yourself from the midday dust and wind storms.
The disguise of our more... alien features was provided by some makeup, changing our skin to a sort of pale grey. We also made use of some printed prosthetic noses, wigs, and ears, which made our faces impossible to distinguish from the local inhabitants.
Once I had finished applying all my disguises, I exited my chamber and walked over to where Will was, standing by the synthesizer watching it print up a breakfast.
Will, who hadn't even donned the appropriate clothing at this point (he was wearing a simple outfit of black shorts and a grey t-shirt), was oddly enough, sopping wet. His hair had turned a jet black color due to its saturation of water, releasing its store down his face and his neck, resulting in the back of his shirt, and the front collar turning a visibly darker shade and sticking to his body, at this point I also noticed that his skin was covered in beads of moisture glinting in the sun.
"Why are you so wet?" I asked him.
"It has to do with a shower, I get myself under this sort of, simulated rainfall, only the temperature is nice and hot, and use soap, not the same kind you use to clean your hands, but the function is still the same, I then put some stuff in my hair which gets rid of oily build up, the water rinses everything off, but by the end I'm soaking wet, I will need to dry off properly though before I put on all the disguises."
As he grabbed his tray with his hands, still damp from the shower, and the skin around his fingers was all shriveled up.
"Your fingers look like mine now! See!" I asked, moving right up next to him to better show him my fingers.
"It just increases the surface area so I can grip things better underwater, only happens if they get wet."
"Why wouldn't they be like that all the time?"
"Once again I'm left wondering that question myself."
"So what's on the menu for "break-fast"?" I asked
"Well for starters, it's just one word, breakfast, and secondly, I'm having two slices of buttered toast, an egg, and a black tea. Standard human breakfast, though Coffee is more popular."
"Black tea...?" I had heard of Coffee before and its danger to other species, and was hoping that this tea drink lacked any of this substance known as Caffeine.
"Yeah just a little caffeine to wake me up."
"CAFFEINE?! That's... that's a.... that's a Class IV chemical weapon! They banned that centuries ago! How?! What?! Oh my... Oh my..." I began to hyperventilate.
"Relax! There's only what... 50 milligrams in a cup."
"FIFTY?! FIFTY!?! ONLY FIFTY?!? THAT'S TEN TIMES THE DEADLY DOSE! WHAT ARE YOUR THINKING!" I shrieked, though deep down I did take note of how that was less than that of Coffee.
"Shhh, you'll risk us getting caught, calm down, don't worry I'll have the cup disposed of properly, I've done this every day and so far, no one's gotten hurt." Will said in his standard, nonchalant attitude that has become so typical of him, a tone which did not seem anywhere near appropriate for the situation.
"SO FAR?!" I was not heeding his instructions to calm down, it's typically very hard to do so when faced with something that could lead to a violent death.
"Look, look, it's totally harmless for us humans, besides, the Federation strictly manages our recreational use of substances highly dangerous to other species, such as but not limited too: Caffeine, Capsaicin, and Cocoa. I make one wrong move and my ass is sent to jail."
I was shocked, frozen with shock, at least I wasn't screaming but I felt like I couldn't move a muscle. Capsaicin was last used by the Rx'lac to murder billions, Cocoa I hadn't heard of before so it must have been something unique to Earth, but it terrified me still. In my frozen state I waited for the cup he drank from to be destroyed, and at this moment I began to regain my motor functions.
After rigorously drying himself off with a towel and this awfully loud machine he pointed at his hair, Will began to
"Now, could you help me apply the makeup?"
Human hands, while much sturdier than what most of us use, in the case of Captain Reloxyn, she has 6 tentacles which can vary their diameter, and in the case of Zorxians like myself, we have the two hands attached to their respective arm much like a human, but the geometry of the fingers themselves are different, each finger is made up of 3 fluid filled sacs, attached one after another in segments, each sack is attached to the previous with a variety of muscles, which gives each joint the ability to make movements with a full 120 degree range of motion, in any direction. While this makes them far more fragile, due to the lack of skeletal structure, this makes us quite dextrous.
But yet, I noticed that Will's right hand, arm, and ankle were already painted, which puzzled me, if he could paint his right side, then why couldn't he paint his left?
"Do you really need my help? You did just fine painting the right side of your body."
"Tomō, do you really know so little about humans?"
"You know you're the first human I've met!"
"Humans tend to have what's called a dominant hand, what it means is that there's one hand I am really good at using, and another that I'm not so great at using, I *could* train myself to use both hands equally well, but I never really had a need, and even when it would've come in handy, there's always been someone else who can help me. Like you!"
"Aww, thanks!" I responded.
"In my case, my dominant hand is my left one, fairly uncommon. Only about 10% of people are like that, the rest are right handed, and a very small number are born with both hands being of equal capability."
"But you really should get on it with the whole training your right hand. There won't always be someone to help you."
"And yet there always has." Will responded jokingly.
"We ready?" I asked.
"Just have to get some things ready, hold on, if this society is so obsessed with cleanliness, how come they don't wear face masks? I doubt they've gotten to a point where they've already eradicated all diseases. That should take them at least another century."
"Oh, this is the really cool thing about this planet! So basically, airborne diseases never evolved! They just... don't exist here!"
"Absolutely fascinating." Will responded.
"Everything we need is now in the bag." He pointed to the black bag slung over his shoulder made from the local flora.
"And we should be ready to go!" Will enthusiastically marched over to the shuttle door, opening it at saying;
"After you!" With a look of pride on his face, odd, if anyone should be proud, it should be me, after all, this mission is already off to a good start considering he's a rookie.
The red light of Ix bathed the planet in this warm glow, Ix was rare for a red-dwarf system, as most habitable planets are tidally locked, but we marched through the woods, noting observations of the local ecosystem that we stopped periodically to jot down in our notepad.
About halfway through the forest Will stopped suddenly, turning back to face me.
"You forgot to tell me what bridge came up with for our secret identities? Oh stars, saying it like that makes me feel like some kind of super-spy!"
"Oh yes, I must have gotten distracted..." I reached for my communicator.
"Okay, so we're two hikers, you named Po'ol and I named Gra'aul, and we just finished up a nice long hike and so we're off back to Hl'Ix, population 12.8 million, and about a 2 hour train ride. Oh by the way, I have to share the language file hold on... yup that should do it! Congratulations you are now fluent in Ix!"
A requirement of working for any Federation job was the implantation of a language chip which allowed the user to become fluent in all 608 languages and, what they called "Significant Dialects" spoken in the Federation, though for people working on exploration vessels like me and Will, we had access to a file sharing system so we could download new languages for the planets we visited after the central computer processed them.
"Thanks!" Will responded from a meter or so ahead of me.
We continued our march down to the road, where we walked parallel to it as cars zipped by. Eventually the forest we had landed in cleared way for farmland, which after about 5 kilometers or so more walking, started to turn to houses with expansive yards, which gradually became smaller and smaller as we neared the center of town.
"You getting tired yet?" Will asked me, we had decided it was best for him to walk behind me, so we could make sure we stayed together.
"Yeah, but just a bit longer until we make it into... whatever the name of this town is."
"Alright."
We continued to make our way into the town, named Urup and with a population of about 3 thousand. When we got there it was almost devoid of any activity, and the wind had started to pick up, which carried in dust. Thankfully we anticipated this, having donned contact lenses to keep debris out of our eyes, and using the shawl to cover up our mouth and nose. At this point will stopped to pull out a small, and very thin, weather sheet, which he released into the wind. This device would record the weather conditions as it gets carried by the wind. Just after doing this, he turned to me and said,
"Weather at time of release: Temperature: 10 degrees Celsius. Wind speed: 56 Kph, rising. Feels like: 5.2 Degrees Celsius, falling. It wasn't able to get a good reading on dust concentration because it's rising too fast so that should tell you everything you need to know."
The wind nearly blew Will's shawl off, but he grabbed it just in time, and me, being too focused on Will, had let my own shawl blow away in the wind, and while Will had tried to reach for it, the wind carried it away far too quickly for him to get it in time, only missing his fingers by a handful of centimeters. I quickly covered my mouth with my sweater, though this did leave part of my midsection exposed to the elements, a suboptimal position to be in during a dust storm of this magnitude.
"Dammit! Almost had the blasted thing!" Will shouted, the rush of the wind was beginning to drown out our voices.
He put his hand in one of the many pockets on his pants, that's something everyone can appreciate about Ix fashion, anything below 10 pockets is simply unacceptable. Anyways, Will pulled out a small pair of scissors, and quickly removed his shawl.
"What are you doing you can't remove your shawl in these conditions!" I shouted back at him.
"I'll be quick, don't worry!" Will responded as he cut his cloth in two.
"Here!" He said handing me the now removed half of his shawl, and quickly covering his face with the remaining half.
We continued on, though this time much slower than before, as we didn't want to loose our balance and be toppled by the wind. Never before had I ever had to deal with wind this intense, no wonder they assigned the human.
"Squat down! Boundary layer winds should be slower!" He shouted to me while bending down to waddle his way across the street to the hotel.
Squatting down only provided minimal relief, as I suppose one would have to crawl to truly take advantage of this effect. Slowly but surely we made our way across the road, over to the hotel. Opening the first set of doors we were met with a powerful blast of air, which prevented any dust from getting in. Only until after the doors had closed, and our clothes were sufficiently purged of any particulates that had somehow lodged their way into the remarkably dense fabrics. Eventually though, the blast died down, and the second doors opened automatically.
The doors opened to reveal an interior with a largely brown, beige, and black color pattern. The whole lobby was lit with a quite warm color tone, with the lightbulbs occasionally flickering and all the windows had been sealed off behind steel plates. Eventually Will turned his head to face a desk spanning quite a large distance, located just in front of a large board with all the room numbers located next to a light.
We could vaguely hear someone talking to another person, emanating from behind a door marked "Employees Only", Will glanced at me, pulling my attention to his gloves, which he began to swap out for a new pair. I quickly followed suit. Eventually, just moments after I finished putting on a new pair of gloves, one of the people from behind the door exited.
"Why on Ix would there ever be customers walking in during the middle of the storm! We issued the alert 2 hours ago!" The woman said to the man who stayed in the room as the door closed behind her.
Turning around to face the two of us, and walking over to the main part of the check in desk, she began to speak to us.
"Hi my name us Za'ul!" She said, showing us her name tag.
"Now what can I do for the two of you! Must've been miserable trapped out there in the storm!"
Will began to approach the desk, seeing this I decided to sit down and catch my breath, the 10 kilometer walk had exhausted me, it was remarkable to see Will barley fazed by it.
"Hi my name is Po'ol and this is my hiking buddy Gra'aul, we just finished up the most beautiful of hikes through that nearby forest, so we're on our way back to Hl'ix! I was wondering if you could get us a room please and thank you ma'am." He said in a sort of folksy manner, not too dissimilar from the way Za'ul spoke.
"Alright you want one bed or two?" She responded.
"-Two please." He said, almost cutting Za'ul off.
"All right! You want first floor or second floor?"
"Oh second floor would be lovely."
"Well here's your key and have a lovely stay!"
Will walked over to me.
"Got us a key for room 203, here's your key" Will had switched from his folksy mannerisms to a soft whisper, but I just let the key hit me, I was far to tired to catch it.
"Well I see our hike took quite a bit out of you, so just come up when your ready, I got the bags don't worry."
I nodded my head in silent agreement, I was exhausted, but I knew I should probably go upstairs to the room with him.
"Hold on.." I said, slowly lifting myself up onto my feet and carefully making my way over to the elevator.
Standing in the cramped elevator I noticed Will suddenly had this terrible and persistent oder.
"You okay?" I asked him
"Yeah... why do you ask?"
"It's just... you smell kind of... bad."
"Oh!" He chuckled with that same old chuckle I had heard a million times before.
"Yeah, uh, I'm sure after I explained to you what a shower was you were probably perplexed as to why we don't do the standard UV bath, but basically humans smell bad after a long day, or after a long enough, or intense enough period of physical exertion. Showering gets rid of the smell. I did notice the Ix had only a single layer of skin, and hopefully this means they too have the scent issues that humans have, and thus also make use of showering."
"I see. Can you take another shower when we get to the hotel?"
"Tomō! That's... don't say that to other humans okay, you can be direct with me like that but... a lot of other humans will not take that kindly. Just letting you know that."
ding
The elevator had made its way up to the second floor.
"Let's see, 203... 203... here it is!"
Will unlocked the door and opened it.
"Oh thank the stars they have actual beds and it wasn't just a translational error!" He cried out in relief.
Will ran over to the bathroom.
"And they have showers too! Just Wonderful! Don't worry a shower should adequately clean you too."
"Oh I brought my own portable UV sterilizer, I'll be fine."
"You just relax down I'll take care of the report back to bridge."
I made my way over to the beds and just collapsed into it. Hibernating while laying down was not ideal, but at this point I'd do anything not to be on my feet anymore. Eventually I decided that I didn't care for lying face down, and instead rolled over to face Will, just to make sure he didn't botch the report.
Eventually once he finished his report, he walked over to the rooms corners and placed the sound barriers, which would cancel out our voices making sure nobody heard us. Which he, well, I was supposed to do first thing upon entering, though I was far to tired, and Will must've only just noticed. You know, when he first got here he really just annoyed me to no end, but now, he's really settled in and has gotten really into the hang of things, and sure, he's weird, but you know what, he's a human, he's not weird, just... different.
​
Hope you enjoyed reading and here's Pt 5!

I’m visiting Los Angeles this weekend with some friends and checked the forecast, the highs are not expected to break 70 degrees F which seems unusually cold for June for a city in the Southwest US. I’m from North NJ (close to NYC) and it’s solidly in the 70s at this point and I’m currently living in Tucson AZ, not ridiculously far from LA, and temps are in the 90s every day and we’ve already had a few days exceed triple digits.
I’ve been to LA once before in March 2017 and it was in the 50s/60s then so this seems really unusual. Can someone from LA or a weather expert explain?