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Hello everyone, this post is made on a mobile phone like everything I do, so formatting will be, well... Nonexistent. I'll color code things so you can tell which topic is which. Welcome everyone, to the first edition of Rucio's Game Rant! I was thinking of a strong first topic for this, something that would be able to help tie people into this, so I figured what better topic than the things that got me into gaming? I can hardly imagine a time I'm not within a 5 foot radius of a device I can use to play a video game, phone included. It's hard to believe that the first video game I ever owned was actually a Vision training game for old people! ~Rucio's Gaming Origins~ Around when I was 9 or 10, the DS came out, and I remember seeing some ad for a game claiming that "Hand-eye coordination is not a joke." This game was meant to help improve reaction times and eyesight in older people, ranging from 20s to late 70s and 80s. I saw it, and my idiot self at the time wanted it REALLY badly. On Christmas that year, I got my dream: a blue DS, with the game Flash Focus: Vision Training for Just Minutes a Day. Along with that were 3 games for the GBA slot of the DS: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Spongebob: Atlantis Squarepantis, and one other I honestly can't remember... I don't think it ever worked, unfortunately. I loved ALL of them, and if it wasn't for that one game, I might never have become the gamer I am today. I still have that copy of Flash Focus, and I can confirm my eyesight has gotten worse. That being said... Flash Focus isn't a game, and you can find it for a whopping 99 cents at a US GameStop now. Neat concept at least. Cannot be properly ranked due to the fact it's not quite a game. ~My First RPG~ My first proper RPG doesn't fall far from the Christmas Tree (literally). The day after Christmas, I woke up to see another DS game sitting on the kitchen table, which was odd as nobody had left the house since the Eve. The game was very Touch-Screen based, like Flash Focus, but... It was so much different... Capturing monsters, elemental advantages... This game was NOT Pokemon, but actually LostMagic, a Taito release. I was hooked on this game, though I never beat level 5 until I was 16 and bought a new copy after losing the first one years before. The game was a release title for the DS, and as a result was pretty awkward looking back, but the story was actually pretty intact and consistent, and was a LOT darker than my younger self had realized. Now that I understand what everyone meant, some parts cause me to actually cry due to how serious the problems are. The gameplay is great, except for one fatal flaw. Lag. The great game killer. The enjoyment ender. Lag is what kills this game really badly. When more than 5 sprites are on the screen, the game suffers badly, due to the lack of a decent CPU/optimization. To make matters worse, there's almost always at least 10 sprites, and the game chugs often. Like, a LOT. Holy shit if nostalgia didn't help me, I never would have completed this game. I love it though, and if they fixed that one bug, rereleased it on 3DS with the same graphics, I'd give it a whopping 9.5 out of 10 due to how enjoyable it was for me. Unfortunately, due to near fatal frame rates, this game gets an abysmal 4/10. You can get this game at GameStop for about 3 USD if you can find a copy. Definitely worth it, if it wasn't so risky. ~Conclusion~ Okay, so the first issue was just me rambling about my first few days with my DS, and that might not be interesting to you. I don't blame you for thinking that, to be honest, but I think it helps me put myself out there, and allows you, the reader, to understand where I come from in the vast world of gaming. I didn't grow up on TV or anything, so a thing with TWO screens that lit up was mind blowing. This was my entry point into the gaming world, and without it, I probably wouldn't be trying to make a game today... But that's for another issue, much later when I know what the hell I'm doing. Thank you all for reading this, and if there's a game you'd like to hear my opinions on, I'd be glad to try it out sometime when I can and review it! Have a great day everyone, and game on!

What use is an all in one PC, especially by HP of all OEMs? Watching YouTube or listening to music in the Kitchen, of course. Naturally. I found this one whilst browsing on eBay. It was marked down as broken; specifically “The Screen is Cracked” but it otherwise powered up. It included everything internally - HDD, RAM, processor, etc. But did not come with a power pack. There was no excitement with this one, I put down a maximum bid of £20, with the intention of taking it up to £30, and I pretty much won it at the end of the seven day listing for the listing price of £5 +£8.99 Shipping. Although I knew I would need to make other purchases, so £13.99 is not all I paid for it. Honestly I was surprised to have won it as over the last few days I kept getting bid sniped on everything (Where someone comes in and put in a bid with a few seconds to spare so you can’t react to it) so I didn’t expect to win it. But I did and I was ecstatic. Immediately after paying I put in a call to a well known supplier of odds and sods of computer parts to see what kind of deal he could offer me for a HP Pavilion AiO LCD Panel; after taking the part number, he told me he could get one for £39.99. I thought that, that was a reasonable price, but I said that I was going to do some shopping around first. Credit to this supplier: He did say that if I can find a cheaper price to contact him and he’ll see what he can do. A few days later I found one for £17.49 on eBay; that was pulled from a fully working MS215UK model HP AiO PC. Now these OEM computers sometimes use the same components as similar models, such as it were I found out via HP’s Partsurfer that the same LCD Panel is used in the MS215UK as the MS228UK and a handful of other HP AiO’s. It was a risk; but I decided that it was worth going for it. After I had gotten the AiO, I noticed that there was no power supply; so I needed to shop around for one. I found an aftermarket one for £10.49 and after testing it on the computer I was able to turn it on. However my problems started with it, which I will explain later. So I went and purchased a genuine power supply for £22.90, and I have sent off the aftermarket one back to the seller for a refund. There are several items that made this possible. Item: HP Pavilion MS228UK All in One Desktop PC Price I paid: £5.00 Shipping: £8.99 (Courier) Total Cost: £13.99 Came With: An entire family’s private data including pictures, bank information, passports, password files, pay slips, tax information, memes and music. Item: HP Pavilion AIO MS215 LCD panel Price I paid: £17.49 Shipping: Free (Courier) Total Cost: £17.49 Came With: Enough bubblewrap that @Neptune will be happy for a while. Item: HP Part Number: ‘594294-001’ Power Supply Price I paid: £10.49 REFUNDED Shipping: Free (Royal Mail) Total Cost: £10.49 REFUNDED Came With: UK Mains (Clover Power Cord) Item: Genuine Original HP Compaq 594294-001 90W SMART AC PSU Price I paid: £22.90 Shipping: Free (Royal Mail) Total Cost: £22.90 Came With: Nothing. Grand Total Cost: £54.38 As you can see from the above image; I was successful in repairing the AiO PC. I am quite confident at repairing computers and I have been doing off and on for over two decades. My first computer that I repaired was when I was five or six years old; and it was at school. The school teachers knew I was great with computers - it seemed to be this ‘Natural Talent’ I had, and I remember telling them frankly “I get on with computers better than I get on with people.” Which is still true today. I had always owned a computer (My first ever being a Basic Amstrad CPC464) so when I was presented with a C drive error and my teacher had no idea what was wrong with the computer, I told her that I could fix it; I knew how to put Windows into DOS and perform a ‘Scandisk’ of the C drive; which found errors and fixed it. When the computer booted up afterwards it worked perfectly. In my primary school after this incident; I became the primary school’s defacto IT technician as they didn’t have a real one; and back then things were much simpler. If there was a problem with a computer somewhere in the school; that teacher would end up sending a student to come to the class with a note to the teacher, and I’d be excused to go fix it, although I always had time limits (10 Minutes, 20 minutes, etc). This all changed when a new headmaster came in, and I don’t think this headmaster liked me very much; but that’s a different story. My point is; from a young age I’ve been learning and studying computers. Playing around with them at home trying to break and repair them on a software level and learn how they work. Reinstalling Windows, and DOS, playing around with the various settings and such. Back then there was no Internet in the house so I had to teach myself everything. It’s precisely those lessons that I applied here, I have a set of diagnostic steps which I use to identify and repair faults, then I fix them. For a start on the listing I knew the screen was cracked - common fault on LCD monitors. Usually this is caused by a person; especially if the screen is cracked. I knew that there is no point in repairing the actual panel; it’d need to be replaced. I have never had a HP AiO before; so I opened it up. First of all I opened the two panels on the back - one was for the RAM, the other was for the Hard Disk Drive (HDD) but had a screw in there that held the CD drive in place. I ejected that and set this components aside; I took the HDD out of it’s caddy and put it into a hotswap bay on my PC only to discover that it had a full Windows installation on it. OH DEAR. OH DEAR… We’ll come back to that. Going back to the actual computer now; when I finally got it opened, I was presented with a shocking display: The whole system was caked in dust, and I knew instinctively that if this thing had an integrated GPU; on the same copper pipe as that one heat sink (Which I could already tell was infinitely likely) then there was going to be a problem with the GPU on this, which is a common fault caused by overheating that the original XBOX360 owners will know all too well. Opened up the metal panel cover the motherboard, disconnected the fan and then unscrewed it before pulling it away from the board. I was then able to see how clogged the heatsink was: Yeah - that’s not a good thing. There is very few fins that the air can escape through. On top of that, dust can be an insulator; and that coupled with heat is not good. I thought for sure - this computer is going to have suffered overheating damage. This wasn’t good. I was not going to boot this up in this state. Taking this off of the motherboard was an absolute pain in the arse to be quite honest with you. The problem is, is that it was practically glued onto the CPU. There was such a tight seal between the two with the thermal paste between them which had hardened that I actually delidded the AMD processor under it, which I did finally remove it. I cleaned up all the thermal paste that was on it and replaced it immediately with Arctic Silver 5 (Including the processor chip under the IHS), and then cleaned the heat sink with some compressed air, and an old tooth brush with Isopropyl Alcohol to clean it up. When I was satifiied I attached it back to the board and then I looked at the fan, and took it apart. The fan was in a shocking state as well. I’ve cleaned up desk fans before and I’ve noticed with all of them that if there is a lot of dust built up on the blades, the amount of air that they push out seems to be diminished. If they’re cleaned up they noticeably push out a lot more air. I haven’t scientifically tested this, but it is something I have noticed, and I wonder if the same principle applies here. Here is it after just a basic cleaning: I finished up on it and made it look as good as brand new. Taking a look at the motherboard; I could see no obvious signs of capacitor wear and tear; nothing exploded or bulging: But I did notice that as I suspected the GPU was on the same heat pipe as the the CPU, all on one heat sink… Oh boy. USB Ports Ethernet Port (I think it only does 100Mbps, I’m not sure) Power Port SATA Wireless Card SD Card RAM Slots (4GB Max, DDR2) Central Processing Unit Graphics Processing Unit Monitor Connection I knew straight away that the GPU was going to be iffy and would need reflowing (The act of heating up the chip to ‘reflow’ and refresh the solder) which was extremely risky. In everything I had tried this on, I had failed and made things worse - I had NEVER successfully reflowed/reballed a chip a before… So I was hoping that I didn’t have to. I didn’t take any pictures replacing the screen; but needless to say it was a tedious and careful process. I had to remove a lot of screws and connections, and carefully note what I had done so I could reverse it when I wanted to put everything back together again. Taking my time, and being as careful as I could, I attempted for the first time ever to put in the screen; and when I did it and had almost everything back together, I breathed a sigh of relief. I powered on the machine and saw! Nothing. The power light came on, the fan span up, but then everything went dead, the power light was still on and it was powered up, but nothing appeared on screen. SHIT! I thought. I then tried to diagnose the problem, and according to a HP forum post I read this was likely to be a power pack failure. At this point I was using the after-market power pack and I tested the power output through an AMECal ST-9905 (As used by BigCliveOnline, one of my favourite YouTubers) and found that the output voltage was at 16.32 and dropping (The last test I did with it, it was at 14.59V). The computer needs 19V to operate, and the amperage needs to be 4.79A which surprise - surprise this Power Supply wasn’t and was all over the place. Not acceptable. I started a refund and returns for this power supply and got a genuine HP one which took some finding as they’re quite difficult to come by at a reasonable price nowerdays. When that arrived I plugged in it; and booted it up. The screen came on, and everything seemed to work, for a moment. Then everything went dead again. There was another problem; and after a lot of diagnosing and avoiding what I knew in the back of my mind to be true, I came to the conclusion that the GPU needed to be reflowed… I don’t own a heat gun… I do however own one of these bad boys from my weed smoking days: Let there be fire It’s basically a lighter that’s more like a fucking mini-blow torch. Risky… Very fucking risky. This has the tendency of quickly setting fire to things, and so I wanted to be extremely careful with it. Turning it on, I ran it over the chip for thirty seconds, making sure to keep it moving, and not too close to the chip as I moved it around making sure to cover each part of the chip equally. Afterwards; I hovered my hand over it afterwards to feel that it was hot, but I did not touch it - and nor should I. I let it cool down on it’s own without touching it any further for the duration of an episode of Star Trek the Next Generation and put the heat sink back on… Oh I also replaced the HDD with a WD Black 1TB Drive, and installed Windows 10 Home. The result: It worked. To be clear though it only works with the Genuine HP Power Pack; the other power pack has the same problems I described earlier. Therefore I can deduce that the aftermarket brand Power Pack is not fit for purpose. I installed Windows 10 Home, and spent some time setting up the machine, which will be in our kitchen so we can watch things on YouTube, or BitChute whilst we’re in the kitchen - or have music playing. So now I’ve been through the repairs, and this machine is 100% operational again, let's get right into this shall we? CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 250u AM2+, 45nm Chip K10 Microarchitecture (64 bit) Dual Core @ 1.60GHz L1 Cache 2 x 64 KB 2-way set associative instruction caches 2 x 64 KB 2-way set associative data caches L2 Cache 2 x 1 MB 16-way set associative caches 24.9W Typical Power Consumption (25W TDP) 4GB Max Supportable RAM* Chipset: AMD RS780M + AMD K10 IMC (Northbridge) and AMD SB700/710 (Southbridge) RAM: 4GB DDR2 (2 x 2GB) 2x SK Hynix (2GBN Each) Non-ECC RAM Bandwidth: PC2-6400 (400 MHz, DDR2) Timings: @ 400 MHz 6-6-6-18 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS) / 24-51-3-6-3-3 (RC-RFC-RRD-WR-WTR-RTP) @ 333 MHz 5-5-5-15 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS) / 20-43-3-5-3-3 (RC-RFC-RRD-WR-WTR-RTP) @ 266 MHz 4-4-4-12 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS) / 16-34-2-4-2-2 (RC-RFC-RRD-WR-WTR-RTP) Model: HMP125S6EFR8C-S6 Optical Media: HP DVD A DS8A4LH SATA CdRom Device Firmware: DHD5 Can read: CD-R CD-RW DVD-R DVD-RW DVD+R DVD+RW DVD-RAM DVD+R DL DVD+R9 DL Can Write: CD-ROM CD-R CD-RW DVD-ROM DVD-R DVD-RW DVD+R DVD+RW DVD-RAM DVD+R DL DVD+R9 DL Network Cards: Qualcomm Atheros AR5007EG Wireless Network Adapter (b/g only) Realtek RTL8139/810x Fast Ethernet Adapter (10M/100M) Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics (Integrated) No external output. Upto 256MB shared memory PSU: 1 x External “Laptop Style” Genuine Original HP Compaq PSU (594294-001) 90W Model 594294-001 HDD: 1 x 1TB (Originally: WDC WD5000AAKS-65V0A0, 500.1 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA II) WDC WD10 EALS-002BA0 SATA Disk Device (1 TB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II) Monitor: (Reportedly) Samsung LTM185AT01 (18.5”), but is actually a AUO M185XW01 V2 (18.5”) Sound: Realtek High Definition Audio (ESS1869 Chipset, I believe) Stereo 2x 2W Internal Speakers (Built in) Remember when I said that we’d come back to what I found on the hard drive? Yeah; we’ll let's talk about that shall we? So I rebooted my computer and booted into that windows installation to see that it was Windows 10 Home, upgraded from Windows 7. The user account that logged in, which I will call ‘User 1’ didn’t have a password so I was in - instantly. I then discovered that the hard drive seemed to be taking a long time to do anything. It was at that point I decided to terminate the session as I believed I was looking at a dying hard drive. Long story short: I was correct. I rebooted back into my Windows 10 and took ownership of the /users/ folder, then copied off to my hard drive; I then ran a file recovery program on it, and recovered a massive payload of deleted files that had not been overwritten. Whilst this was doing that, I had a look at the files I copied over to my hard drive; and oh deary me… This hard drive wasn’t even formatted before being sent to me. In the Users Folder I found five (5) different user accounts; User 1, User 2, User 3, User 4, Admin 1 (I’ve removed the names), and I have permission to share the details of what I found in there, and what happened. In total I recovered 38GB of information from the drive. I didn’t find any porn; or porn collections but I’ve not fully gone through everything. What I have gone through and seen on this hard drive is the following: Lots of family pictures and selfies, including pictures of people using this very computer. Bank information, such as sort codes, account numbers, card numbers and pin numbers for those cards. Scans of passports Unencrypted text files containing: Passwords Pay Slips Tax information Tame Memes One or two spicy memes Music Documents Homeworks, coursework information and so on. Pirated Movies Internet Browsing Histories of 5 people Autocomplete passwords access Their contact information (Names, Addresses, Phone Numbers, Email Addresses, etc) This is why I left the feedback: And no I won’t be doing that, I'm not that sad. Within this treasure trove of information I found the names, addresses and phone numbers (And even a passwords text file) of the family and made contact with them. Yes; I called them up, and spoke to the father, which was quite risky. I asked if I could have five to ten minutes of his time, and that I wasn’t trying to sell him anything or do market research. He agreed and I thanked him. I then explained to him why I had called… I told them that I had brought this computer off of eBay and described the computer to him; I told him that all of their data was still on it's hard drive. The man wasn’t very happy - and I don’t blame him at all. He told me that they had an an accident something got knocked over and smashed into the screen, and they took it to a repair shop to get it repaired. However… They were told that it was beyond economical repair, that it wouldn’t be worth repairing the PC, but they will if they wanted them to; it’d just cost £199. The father went home to discuss this with his family, however when he got home he found his son setting up a brand new PC that he had brought with his own money (I think he was the one who broke it) to replace the broken one for the whole family to use. Now that’s sweet, isn’t it? A young person taking personal responsibility for his actions. You don’t see that too often nowadays. So the father went back to the repair shop and told them “Categorically”, to "Destroy the Hard Drive, and dispose of the PC as you see fit". So to find out this after the fact; you can imagine that they were not happy with the shop to say the very least, and I can’t blame them. The family were not aware that their PC was sold on eBay either! I told them that I would be very happy to send the files back to them, via a flash drive in the post - completely free of charge, and I confirmed their address, however they wanted it sooner and so it was emailed to them instead. They were extremely happy that I was able to recover their files and I had sent it back to them, but the father (Admin 1) said it was a little surreal that I called out of the blue and offered to do something extremely kind. Meh; that’s the kind of person I am, I guess. I told them to change their bank pin, and debit cards and passwords as I had access to that information and if I did; whoever’s hands the computer has been in before I got it, could have it too. I also told them that I was able to repair it for about £20; and that this repair shop was nothing short of extortionists. I sent the files back to them and they have received it and thanked me. They even offered me money for my assistance (£100) which I have declined; although that would have completely paid for this PC and then some. The hard drive after all this got completely corrupted; and it was clear that there was something going on under the hood. So I pulled up Crystal Disk Info: Yikes. 9,773 pending sectors (9,773 * (Sector Size(4096 bytes)) / 1024 = KB / 1024 = MB = 38.17578125MB of the drive is unstable) and 15 uncorrectable sectors. I would not use this hard drive for anything at all. Still - I zero wiped it twice and this didn’t change. So I’m inclined to believe that this drive is on its way out. I will not be selling it - so I might play around with it, or take it apart for the magnets, and assign it to physical destruction (I have a place that I can go to that allows you to chuck them into this giant shredder.) I want to urge everyone here; if you’re selling your computer/laptop then please at least do a proper format (Not a Quick Format), or worse yet don’t just *delete* your files or “Restore Windows from a Factory Image” and call it job done, it most certainly isn’t. Do not be lazy about this. Overwrite that data. So assholes like me can’t come along and recover it; I really can’t stress that enough. In most cases a single pass of random bits will do, but if you want to be sure, 3 passes like with the DoD 5220.22-M is usually a good idea, but if you’re a little paranoid, a 7 pass write like DoD 5220.22-M ECE I guess is alright. But if you’re extremely paranoid - just don’t sell the hard drive, and physically destroy it, and sell/give the rest of the computer. Chances are if you’re reading this, you probably don’t need to be told that. There are far worse people out there and I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve purchased second hand hard drives online, that people haven’t properly formatted the hard drives of. I’ve had access to various kinds of sensitive materials that have either been too hot to handle or have been wiped properly by myself. But the stuff I will talk about openly is that I’ve also had access to a company’s customer database which included names, addresses, phone numbers and credit card information of their customers. But most commonly I’ve had access to people's private and personal files, and in one case I got access to someone’s private porn library. Even if you’re taking your computer to a repair shop and tell them to dispose of it- as for the hard drive back! Don’t trust them with it! This is exactly why you shouldn’t. To see someone actually take data protection seriously and to wipe their drives before selling them is a good thing to me. I actually like that they do it properly. But I always format again; just to be sure, it roots out any bad sectors, and makes sure that the drive is properly cleaned and conditioned, ready for use. You don’t need to use the Gutmann method (35 pass write) because that is most certainly overkill. For more information you can read the following: • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_remanence • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_forensics • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_erasure • https://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/secure_del.html - Secure Deletion of Data from Magnetic and Solid-State Memory (Floppy/Tape/HDDs) • https://www.cs.jhu.edu/~astubble/600.412/s-c-papers/remanence.pdf - Data Remanence in Semiconductor Devices (Flash/SSDs) Due to the fact that this drive was dying I put a 1TB HDD that I had spare. I thought it was a WD Black; but apparently it’s a Blue. Which is strange because the label is black. Hence the assumption. Either way I think it’s only capable of SATA II, so it’d be a waste of time putting in a SATA III drive. Despite HP’s reputation for overheating; when I ran AIDA64, and told it to stress the CPU, FPU, Cache and System Memory, I couldn’t get it past 40-45oC. I don’t think any thermal throttling was going on either. The air coming out of the top of the device was pretty much cool and the system was running fine without breaking a sweat. In fact I was concerned that the stress test wasn’t even running. Strangely however despite that kind of temperature the cores of the CPU seemed to be running at about 20-25oC which is about a 20oC (50%) difference to the rest of the CPU. I’m not really sure what was going on here, as I’ve never worked with AIDA64 before. But Prime95 and Speedfan, as well as HWInfo produced the same data. Apparently the maximum operating temperature of the CPU is between 55°C - 81°C so to get what I’m getting - I consider that to be extremely good. I know the CPU is vastly underpowered (25W) but that is incredible results to me. Especially for a a HP. By this point I had already refreshed the thermal past of the CPU and GPU; when I repaired it. But this is actually highly encouraging. It’s a shame I can’t overclock the CPU. CPUID doesn’t display correctly for this either. The Socket has AM2 printed on it, the CPU is AM2+ (Or AM2 Revision 2) and yet CPUID reports it as AM3: This small CPU clock of 1.6GHz pretty much reminds me of the crappy netbooks that was quite popular about about ten or so years ago, and the computer does struggle from time to time especially when things are loading up, but that could be a hard drive bottleneck as well as in Task Manager I’d frequently see the HDD activity stuck on 100%, and the CPU would be fine. It might be something I consider later, buying a cheap SSD to slap in there so that it boots up quickly and we can truly use it as a PC-TV. That said it seems to be able to run videos be that from YouTube, BitChute in 720p and the DVD Drive plays our Star Trek and Babylon 5 episodes just fine. So for the purpose I’m using it for, it’s fine. EcchiDreams loads in the browsers, no problem too. So that’s also good. Although I’m not ever going to sign into EcchiDreams (Because my staff account is a high security account, and I’m not even allowed a duplicate account) and I do not consider this machine to be a high security machine. For a start; doing a full disk encryption for the system drive is most certainly going to slow it down to a crawl. Secondly I can’t even put in a BIOS level password. Where I showed a picture of the motherboard, look carefully towards the edge of the motherboard in box 7; You can see two sets of two silvery looking contacts, one says “CLEAR PASSWORD” and the other says “CLEAR CMOS”. Instead of hiding this further into the board, where it can’t be easily accessed, all you need to do is remove the memory cover, and press on the two contacts to remove password with your screwdriver to clear the password and boom. Job done. You’re in. I don’t consider this to be a good thing, and is a prime example of convenience defeating security. As this has been designated a low security machine on my network, it doesn’t have access to any network resources such as any of the servers, or the NAS or our computers which means music and stuff needs to be manually loaded onto it via flash drives. It doesn’t have a username or password so you can just turn it on and it’ll go straight into Windows. The USB ports on this machine are all USB 2.0 from what I can tell, which means it’s capable of 480Mbps maximum and there are six USB ports on the device. Four on the back and two on the side. It also has a built in SD Card reader; which I can honestly see using that instead of putting in DVD’s, or holding music libraries on that and having and SDCard case next to the computer as SDCards are dirt cheap nowadays. We’ve got this computer set up in the kitchen so that we can watch videos, or listen to music whilst we’re cooking or cleaning up, or just to have a ‘Stereo’ of some sorts, but let's talk about the sound quality shall we? It’s bearable, but compared to my dedicated set up with the Matrix Mini-i Pro and HE400s it’s fucking awful quality. Watching things that mainly have dialogue isn’t too bad, but music sounds tinny, and frankly like they’re coming out of a set of laptop speakers from 2009/2010. I suppose I shouldn’t have expected much considering A) It’s age B) What it was intended to be used for and C) It's not specialist equipment. Lol Despite having a sticker over the webcam, I actually disconnected it and left it disconnected (On purpose) whilst I was in there, and I think it’s on the same board as the microphone which was connected too because it’s on the same cable. I’m that type of guy who covers these webcams (And front facing cameras on their phone) for a damn good reason. It is something I have done to every laptop I’ve ever owned, where it’s been included. So I haven’t tested these out, but I am sure if I did it’d be absolute dogshit; given that it’s a VGA Webcam so I expect it to be around 0.3 - 1.3 Megapixels, and it’s from around 2009/2010. It’s a Chicony CNFA09921004171LH (Model: HP CFNA099-A2) (Part: 537546-001) If you’re interested. Do not count on this machine to play any games; it doesn’t have the processing capability or the graphics power that would be required. All in all I can say that I like this machine and it will serve its purpose in the kitchen just nicely. What I don’t like about this machine, is that in order to clean out the heatsink and fan, you need to take the whole damn thing apart which isn’t all that easy. But it’s something I will do yearly. I do not want to let this PC overheat again, otherwise I’m going to potentially have to reflow the solder; again. Other than that it’s a neat little thing and everything is very well contained. In my experience I wouldn’t call the internals ‘Desktop Components’ but more like Laptop Components, that’s neither a plus or a negative for me, although it does limit its power. I suspect that I could replace the CPU with a 260u; but I probably won’t, and I don’t know if it can take more than 4GB of RAM; according to the CPU Spec - it can, but according to the PC Spec, it can’t. I don’t have other sticks of laptop sized DDR2 RAM so I can’t test it. It goes to show that there is a use for these older machines today; although as an everyday working computer? Probably not. I’ll close with some AIDA64 Benchmarks: RAM Memory Read: 8,934 MB/s Memory Write: 5,811 MB/s Memory Copy: 8,089 MB/s Memory Latency: 97.9 ns Central Processing Unit Benchmarks CPU Queen Score: 5,809 CPU PhotoWorxx Score: 3,122 MPixel/s CPU ZLib Score: 40.7 MB/s CPU AES Score: 212 MB/s CPU Hash Score: 524 MB/s Floating Point Unit Benchmarks FPU VP8 Score: 1,156 FPU Julia Score: 2,005 FPU Mandel Score: 1019 FPU SinJulia Score: 509 SIMD-enhanced Ray Tracing Benchmarks FP32 Ray-Trace: 303 KRay/s FP64 Ray-Trace: 160 KRay/s Next on: "Shit I've bought from eBay" - Viglen Genie Ultra Small (2009/2010) (Coming Soon)

This is my opinion and philosophy of BDSM. Feel free to disagree but if you do please do so in an respectful manner. First a little about me, I have been practicing Domination or living the lifestyle if you will for almost 15 years. I have been reading about BDSM for even longer, attended conventions, munches, seminars and clubs. I am heterosexual and have owned 2 slaves. All that I write below is written from that perspective. What is to be Dominant? The simplest definition is that you get to be in control in a relationship. You get to set the rules, customs, rituals of a relationship. But I would say this definition speaks only of your rights not your responsibilities. It is a surprisingly coming mistake made by many who claim the title of Dominant to believe you can just order others around and expect them to do your bidding. What is to be a Master? It's a more intense, formal and serious arrengement than merely because Dominant. Your rights increase but so do your responsabilities. The difference between the two is akin to the difference between boyfriend and husband or the difference between being a soldier and a marine. Responsibilities - You are responsible for those who submit to you. The more submission you demand of them the more responsible you are for them. - You want control, then know how to use it, know when to push and when to soothe. Your submissive well being is paramount. - To achieve the above two tasks, you should know your submissive and understand her well. The way I see it, the submissive devotes herself to you, she puts you above the rest of the world including herself, but in return you are her shield. You protect her from the world, from herself if need be. You are her protector, her guide, only then can you call yourself hr Master.

*As the world around Soma disappeared, a new one formed around him. No longer was he in his office at work but it looked like he was somewhere near the centre of Patrioit's Park, where the Amplitheatre was and where the statues of the heroes that died during the Outsider War were. It looked like an excellent reconstruction of Patriot's Park by the look of it, apart from the fact there was no people here. Everything like all the seats, water fountains, rubbish bins, paths, lights and utilties were all where they were in the 'reali world'. Whoever made this had done a really good job in modelling it. This was very odd, as Patriot's Park was always full of people and life. Here, he could not hear any signs of life. There didn't seem to be anyone here but himself. For a few moments, silence would reign in this strange place. Suddenly, his Arm Computer let out a beeping noise as it projected a screen out in front of him. It stated that the 'Game Field Stage' had been automatically selected for him for the sake of convenience but if he wished to change the 'Stage', he could do so by saying 'Stage Select' and using motion controls (via swiping and pressing the projection in front of him) to select a new stage for himself. Of course, the screen made obvious that he could skip this step by making an appropriate voice command. After selecting an appropriate stage, if he chose one or stuck with the one he had, the projected screen in front of Soma changed to a new one telling him that he would notice that he had now 'transformed' and that his clothing was now changed. The computer gave Soma a few moments to register this as the screen on his Arm Computer changed to something like a status screen like those found in shooters. It was then that the Arm Computer projected a new screen explaining that he was about to meet an AI character that would help him learn about how to use the functions of his Arm Computer.A few seconds after Soma read the screen completely, the projection ended and the screen disappeared. It was then that something really odd took place. A giant treasure chest, the kind you would find in an RPG game, phased into existence a few metres in front of Soma. Now, the treasure chest was SO big that it towered over Soma, as it was a few metres in height! It didn't look like it was immediately threatening to topple over or anything, it being flat on the ground. However, before Soma got to react, his Arm Computer indicated that he was receiving a phone call from somewhere. Now, usually when one receives a call from another person on the Arm Computer, it would have Caller ID on it. However, this call did not have anything on it, not even a number! Assuming Soma would answer it, which he should, he would get a rather strange call.* "Hello Soma, I am the AI that has been assigned to help you." the AI started the conservation politely and seemingly professionally. The voice seemed male and a bit too formal though. "I'm calling you from inside the chest I've been mysteriously spawned it. I don't know if this is someone's idea of a joke but it's preventing me from doing my job. So if you would kindly back away from the chest...just a metre or two would do, it would be appreciated. Please stay on the line." *Assuming Soma complied with this strange request and backed away from the chest, which he would hopefully do, something even weirder happened. A few seconds after Soma backed away, the front of the chest mysteriously...was cut diagonally in half and the bottom half of the diagonal cut started to fall forward towards Soma...but it never reached him as it quite quickly disintegrated into 'light'...as did the rest of the treasure chest! Inside the treasure chest stood a figure, who looked like some sort of person wearing a knight's armour* "Sorry about that waste of time but this looked like someone's attempt at a challenge. But as I always say, there's is nothing I cannot cut."

Fifty Shades of Slytherin.

"Whew..." Dorian breathed, slumping down into his chair after finally getting everything moved in. The visage of everything in it's correct place bringing him an errant sense of satisfaction. "Now what...?" he said aloud to himself. Something he did often. Some say talking to oneself is a sign of insanity, but it was the other way around for him. Kept his thoughts focused and concentrated, as his mind was prone to wander. His eyes peered around his apartment for something to occupy his mind.. TV... computer.. stereo.. pile of books.. guitar.. canvas.. "Might as well commemorate the new pad.." he muttered. Dorian opened the bottom drawer of his desk and opened up a lockbox he had stashed within. From it, he removed a small square of paper, placed it under his tongue and quickly locked it back up and closed the drawer before approaching the blank canvas he had set up in the corner. He was by no means a professional painter, but a hobby he enjoyed on occasion. Before starting, he turned on his stereo, making sure it wasn't loud enough to disturb any of his neighbors. As the hypnotizing wails of blues and classic rock guitars began to emanate from the speakers, he set to work. "Happy trees..." he smiled to himself as he began mixing paints. With no image in mind, he began spreading colours, drawing lines and curves to whatever the music and his mind guided him to. Eventually his body began feeling very light and incorporeal, the lines of coloured paint he drew stretched off of the edge of the canvas, floating in the air like neon lights in the sky. The soft words from the music speaking directly to him as the sound of the music visualized in the air like a flowing tapestry. He suddenly noticed he felt very warm and seemed to snap back for a moment. "Oh man..." he set his brushes and paints down and wiped his brow, "I need some air.." He reached into his pocket for his pack of cigarettes and almost instinctually lit one up before he caught himself. He was unsure of the landlord's policy about smoking in apartments, and figured it better to take it outside. Best not to get kicked out after the first day, after all. He took a deep breath before opening his front door and heading out into the hallway. Fortunately, it was late and there wasn't anyone else around. The hallway seemed to stretch infinitely as he made his way towards the back entrance. He eventually made it and stepped outside, feeling the cool night air on his face. Lighting up his smoke, he took a slow, deep inhale, feeling his anxiety lower slightly as he exhaled. He scoped out the surroundings, while trying to look as "normal" as possible. Scoping out his surroundings, he took note of the clubhouse as well as the pool; a couple places he'd have to check out one of these days. He stared up at the night sky.. infinite darkness with millions of little twinkling eyes in the distance staring back at him. "Home sweet home.."

Being overcome by lustful nymphs and assailed with soft lips and wet tongues, Dorian realized the former pleasant taste of pancakes replaced by something a bit salty he couldn't quite-oooooohhh... Once they freed him enough for some air and retreated momentarily, Emi displayed herself for him, beckoning for his tongue. Rolling over, Dorian crawled towards her open legs. Leaning forward he made a few kisses along her inner thigh as he worked his way towards precious pudenda between. Teasing her a bit with a few light laps over her bottom lips and a kiss. He then proceeded with a deeper lap, feeling them part slightly around his tongue, making his way upwards to the sensitive bean, curling his tongue around it with an oral massage.

Sophia was somewhat disappointed to feel Kay pull out of her body. Every moment she'd had his dick inside her body was an incredible blessing. Her mind was gone, her body destroyed and her soul completely warped yet she wouldn't have it any other way. This feeling of bliss was unlike anything she'd ever felt. If it was Satan's grasp on her then she would let him fuck her right on the cross. She loved the mindless little whore she'd become and the intense love she was making tonight was a strong testament to that. This was only the start of her new life. She was going to get fucked by every man in the city. Every single cock. If each one was like this, she would be living out heaven on earth. But why should she stop with just cock when she had such a perfect piece of woman right in front of her, too? "Thank you, sir~" Sophia moaned out before pulling herself up more firmly toward her new pet. It was clear that Kay and Shez were going to be a bit distracted, so she decided to take this time to affiliate herself with her new roommate. She practically purred as she heard the newly formed kitsune accept her new place. The squeal that followed as Shez pulled out of her, the sight of her adorably stupid face and the visual of the cum leaking out of her delicious cunt heated Sophia's body once again. Like a thirsty animal, she lunged at the girl, pinning her down and scooping her dangling tongue into her mouth, sucking on it while grinding her body against Emma's. She didn't care how hard she was gripping the girl. She didn't care if it was too much, if it hurt her, if it would be called rape. She did this to herself. Sophia forced her tongue deep inside Emma's gaping throat, one of her hands gripping her neck and choking her while the other pinched and pulled on her nipple.

And so it was as Emi proclaimed, and soon Dorian was brought to release! Just at the right moment too: both girls shared a kiss with the very tip. The first thick rope of white erupted against their lips, prompting the girls to open wide for the rest! One after another ejections of cum splattered against their lips, cheeks, noses, outstretched tongues, and occasionally even within their mouths! Soft fingers squeezed and pumped along the throbbing length all the while. When the great torrent of semen finally settled down the two leaned in, kissing each other between giddy giggling. Tongues lapped at each other's faces, working to clean away as much as possible. The girls then set their sights upon Dorian himself, leaning in once more to plant little kisses and drags of their tongues against his length. Much of it was centered upon the tip as they did their best to clean him up, although they occasionally leaned further down to play with his sack. Once all was cleaned the two girls dragged themselves up along each of Dorian's sides, hugging his arms against their soft chests. Each planted a quick kiss against his cheeks. "How was that? Think you're ready to maybe return the favor?"

Was this a training session? Dorian thought as he observed Emi appearing to teach Chiyako how to felate him. Listening to her instructions, it appeared Emi knew what she was doing as she prepared to put him into her mouth. Yeah.. yep... AAAhhhmygodyes... she definitely knew what she was doing. He groaned, feeling her lips wrap around the tip as she slowly engulfed his penis and felt her soft, moist tongue caress him. It was amazing how she managed to look so cute even during such an... uncouth act. He squirmed a bit and clenched the sheets tightly, trying to keep himself from bursting as she fervently sucked and bobbed on his cock. Dorian emitted a large exhale.. receiving a moment of respite when Emi released him from her mouth, edging him. She had come quite close to getting him there, probably getting a taste of some precum.. but nonetheless, she licked her lips as she instructed Chiyako to do the same as she did. And again, his toes curled with Chiyako going down on him now. Only this time it was.. tighter.. the small hint of teeth, not painful, only added to the sensation. He writhed, feeling the sensation surge through him. The girls must have noticed as well, Chiyako freeing him from her mouth and both of them proceeding to make out with his tip as they proficiently jacked him off. His body tensing up as he white-knuckled the sheets, Dorian flung his head back with a wail as he erupted immensely between the two girls.

Shez smirks at the sight of Sophia suddenly becoming completely dominant over Emma before ramming her tongue into the newly turned Kitsune's mouth, making her squeal with excitement at such a forceful entrance. It takes her a second before she finally begins to swirl her tongue around Sophia's, rather enjoying being completely dominated by two people and having no say in the matter. Her eyes roll back as Shez continues to pound into Emma's tight cunt, the fleshy spikes rotating faster around his cock against her walls as he suddenly rams into the poor girl and begins to ejaculate with no warning. Emma's squeals of mixed pleasure and pain around Sophia's tongue when she feels her womb being completely filled to the point of her stomach beginning to bulge even more with the excessive amount of cum being poured into her and Sophia's nails digging into her skin as the other girl screams at Kaylaen not to pull out of her until she'd milked him of every single drop he had. Emma gasps as she absentmindedly responds to Sophia, giving her a dreamy, lustful "O-Oui, M-Maîtresse~". Shez grins and suddenly rips his cock out of Emma's body, watching as the cum that he had been storing into her womb suddenly gushes out of her, soaking the bedsheets and making her give the cutest little squeal that he had ever heard as her eyes roll back and her tongue lolls out of her mouth in such a lustfully stupid look. Her tail begins to wave happily as she gives a broken little giggle up at Sophia. Shez gives a growling purr down at his masterpiece before slowly moving his gaze towards Kaylaen. "Kay~ Once you're done, come here~"

For about a minute the girls became a little too enraptured with one another. Lips remained pressed together, tongues swirling about between them, occasionally dipping into each other's mouths although Emi was clearly the more aggressive of the two. Each removed a hand from Dorian's cock, brushing fingers through each other's hair while they embraced. But at least each kept a hand upon the man's length, pumping swiftly from base to tip. Finally Emi broke off the kiss, a line of drool briefly shared between the girls before the blonde leaned in to lap it up. With a giggle Emi looked down towards Dorian's penis. "When it starts throbbing thats when ya know its almost ready. I'm going to try putting it in my mouth. You watch and learn." The little blonde smiled and nodded, sitting up on her knees now while Emi pulled herself closer still to the man's lap. Lips parted, settling around the very tip of Dorian's penis, and then very carefully she lowered her head. One hand remained upon the base of the shaft, holding it in position while the other hand pushed hair away from her face. Eyes closed while the man's length was squeezed into her maw, tongue dragging along the underside with short licks. When about half had entered her warm mouth she halted, suckling slightly upon him, pressing the ridged insides of her mouth against Dorian's penis. Slight bobs of her head drew the top half mostly in and out from her body. After a couple of minutes Emi slipped the entire shaft out from her mouth, licking her lips with a grin. "Your turn. Bring him real close and then take him out so we can share! Its okay if we get messy" she explained, rolling onto her side while Chiyako leaned in to take over for her friend! Once more Dorian's cock was plunged into a girl's mouth, although Chiyako's was smaller and took quite a bit more effort. Try as she might she couldn't keep her teeth from scraping against the sensitive flesh, but only slightly. When she did finally notice some throbbing Chiyako removed the penis from her mouth, prompting Emi to scoot in close once more! Their lips met together at the tip of the meaty helmet, suckling and kissing against it while all four of their hands worked along the now lubricated length. "Here it comes!" Emi warned between kisses, one hand moving behind Chiyako's head in order to pull her into an embrace against Dorian's lower head.

It looks pretty nice in the kitchen And it's nice to have something to watch while cleaning up and cooking. You did a good job with this one, @Temaelrin :3

While Dorian worked on stripping down the two girls did the same! It was only fair after all. Chiyako's task was simple enough: after untying the sash on her robes she simply allowed them to slide off her body, pooling around her waist. The fabric was then tossed off the bed. It was a nice robe after all and she didn't want to rip it with their shenanigans. Emi had to deal with her bra, but it was simple enough to remove and toss aside. She laid back afterwards, lifting her hips while her panties were slipped away and then, along with her bra, also tossed off the bed. The girls sat up, wrapping their arms around each other's shoulders, leaning in to deliver a kiss to one another, tongues dancing back and forth between each other's lips. They were actually pretty similar. Both girl's hair reached down to their waists, both were a little on the paler side with smooth unblemished skin, and both of their mounds were kept devoid of any pubic hair. Save for the eyes, the hair color, and their height the differences came down to Chiyako's simply being flatter and slimmer. After a few moments they broke their kiss, resting their heads together in thought. Then Emi came up with an idea! "Why don't you lay back?" Thankfully Chiyako seemed to get the message and soon both crawled their way over towards Dorian, laying out on either side of his legs. Both pairs of hands reached in to grope and squeeze and softly pump against the man's erect cock, but they didn't stop there. Each leaned in as well, planting soft kisses against the tip, occasionally meeting each other's lips. It appeared they both planned on getting well acquainted with Dorian's penis first!

*As Cassandra opened the door to the vault and the server room, both Alez and Cassandra were engulfed in a strange light as the world around them disappeared. Even Cassandra had to shield her eyes from the strange light, as they taken from this world into another. It seemed that whatever force that Mr Enron was messing with were quite well equipped. Both Alez and Cassandra had now entered the Domain of some powerful entity and what was about to happen would certainly be a lot stranger than the events that had preceeded this. As the light they were engulfed in started to fade and their other senses started to take over, both of them would tell that something was radically different in their surroundings. For one, they could smell...fresh air and feel the cool night air on their bodies. It seemed that they were outside...but that was impossible as they were supposed to be inside a building and a vault to be specific. Cassandra opened her eyes to take in the new surroundings, quickly looking around for the door they entered in...but it was not there. There was no door and they were certainly not in a modern building anymore. They were in the great outdoors, on a grassy slope which was slightly wet with the moist night air. Cassandra immediately frowned and surprisingly looked a bit nervous. Her mind was screaming at her to run...and run far away but she knew that was impossible. She knew she could not run from this and even if she wanted to, there was nowhere she could run to. Both Alez and Cassandra were stuck in this Domain, a portable distortion in reality that powerful entities liked to use and tailor to their use..until they found its Master and successfully killed it. Cassandra took a deep breath and smelt the air...and instantly recognised where she was. But that was impossible...this place no longer existed in her world, where it belonged when it existed. It was from another time, in the past, in her wide universe in a place that no longer existed. The smell of wild flowers and this fresh air...yes...this smell was nostalgic. Yet, she was not enjoying it as her heart sank. She knew this could only mean one thing: her 'Punishment' was now beginning in earnest. It appeared that the force that ruled her universe and created her...now knew she was compromised and could no longer serve them and thus her 'use', value and her part in the 'Divine Plan' was now void. Now, her Punishment for 'betraying' 'god' and the rules of her universe was now beginning in earnest...and what that would entail would test her perhaps beyond what she could manage. Cassandra looked around for Alez and saw that she was nearby and seemingly okay, if a bit disorientated. For some odd reason, that relieved her even she also knew the girl was not exactly the best at fighting. Why was she feeling relieved? Perhaps she know realised how alone in the world she was...* "Alez, are you alright...?" Cassandra asked Alez, concern obvious in her voice. But she was trying to hide her own fear and nervousness. If she was right...and the signs now pointed to yes, she knew that she would need to take Alez a short distance from here towards a small outdoor theatre which was nearby this location. Even now, Alez and Cassandra would be able to hear wonderful music and the sounds of joy and laughter.

Dorian was pleasantly surprised as Emi's tongue made it's way into his mouth, greeting it with his own, sliding it along hers.. so many intertwining tastes and flavors of pancakes coming together in this moment. The arm around Emi moving up her side to her chest, then down towards her hip. His other hand, still caught between Chiyako's legs gave her a light squeeze. Meanwhile, so many hands were fondling his manhood he had a difficult time keeping track of who's hands were doing what. Also painting some strange image in his head of some layer of hell where arms of lost souls seeking human contact emerge from walls of flesh to capture lost wanderers. You can't just let yourself enjoy anything, can you? he thought, chasing away his peculiar imagination. In any case, his attention was diverted as Emi pulled her lips away and suggested to relocate. "Lead the way." he concurred.

As Dorian leaned in to kiss her Emi settled up on her tippy toes, hoping to further bridge the height difference between them, although his sitting down did help somewhat. One arm held the man's in place against her body while soft lips pressed against his. She of course took it a step further, pushing her tongue against his mouth, lapping softly against it in order to properly taste both him and Chiyako. Her now free arm also moved down, hand gripping around the top of the man's shaft beneath the meaty head, assisting Chiyako with her stroking. Meanwhile the shorter of the two girls picked up the pace, pumping her little fingers rapidly along Dorian's length. She turned a little more in her seat, careful not to hurt the hand trapped between her squishy thighs. The hand formerly settled atop the man's penis drifted down, curiously fondling against the wrinkly sack holding his balls. A glance was cast towards Emi. After a few moments she finally broke off the kiss, licking her lips. "Shall we take this to the bedroom?"

A slight shiver of glee raced up along the little blonde woman's spine. Fingers brushed against her squishy lower lips. Their shared kiss was also quite pleasant! Caramel bananas were pretty yummy. For a brief moment her tongue revealed itself, drawing across her lips to bring in more of the tastes. Still, she tried to keep his hand nice and contained between her thighs. Not that she didn't want more, just the opposite in fact, but if she got too excited too quickly then Emi would be left completely open to do as she pleased! At least she was the first to play with Dorian's penis. Both hands moved down towards it, the other no longer holding open her top. The fingers of one gripped as best they could around the base, which was difficult given how small she was overall, squeezing softly before they glided upwards in an exploratory stroke. Her other hand cupped a small palm over the meaty head, the tips of her digits working around the fleshy rim, peeling back any hints of foreskin which may have existed. All of her attention now was upon the man's length. To someone of her size, and especially with her being so new to these things, it seemed quite massive! But they weren't alone for long. Emi slid up against Dorian's other side, wrapping her arms around his arm closest to her. She held it close to her body. Much of her pale form was exposed. On top of being taller than Chiyako her hips were just a little wider as well, giving her a slight curviness in comparison with the shorter girl. Unlike Chiyako she also seemed to have breasts! They were still pretty small, an A cup at the most, but it was still a noticeable difference even if only slightly. At the moment she wore only her glasses and a matching set of white and blue horizontally striped bra and panties. At least her skin was equally as smooth and soft as her room mate's. "Mind if I join in?"

Dorian savored the kiss they shared, her lips soft and tender, with a slight taste of the chocolate chip pancakes lingering. He wondered if she could taste the caramel banana on his. It would almost be a shame if she didn't... they were delicious! Once his hand met her crotch, he was pleasantly surprised to feel how smooth she was before she clenched his hand between her legs, ceasing their kiss, yet he still caressed her gently with his his fingers. Meanwhile, she became engrossed in freeing his member from his trousers. Relieved he had trimmed recently, Dorian noticed she seemed quite fascinated with it. Had she never seen one before? He wouldn't say he was massive by any means, but the general consensus being he was above average, or "just right," whatever that means.. as well as circumcised with a prominent tip. He never got caught up in the obsession some guys have over penis size, but was happy with what he had and was nearly fully hard at this point. While Chiyako was... examining him.. he did look up and noticed that Emi was no longer in the kitchen. He began to wonder if this was cause for concern or not. Where did she go, anyway?

The sudden noise did cause Chiyako to pause, black orbs widening just a bit out of surprise. But then her friendly smile twisted into somewhat of a grin. Was that a weak spot she detected? Oh Emi was going to enjoy that! Of course so was she but that was besides the point. Suddenly their lips met! Her small soft ones pressed firmly up against Dorian's, eyes half closing while she enjoyed the feeling. Lips parted just slightly when she felt the man's fingers trace across her sex, a huff of hot breath escaping from between them. Her soft mound was bare and smooth like the rest of her, completely devoid of hair. The squishy mons was just a little warm as well from her excitement. Hoping to tease Dorian just a bit Chiyako closed her tender thighs around the hand, trapping it between her small legs. Meanwhile her fingers worked to free the man's cock from anything worn beneath his pants, hoping to release it from its prison! The kiss was broken, eyes cast down to look upon the first penis she'd get to see in person! Was it really what it looked like in the things she read and watched? How big was he? She did lean her body a little closer against his as well. At this point she was really getting into it. Emi at this point had finished the dishes. However she didn't interrupt the two just yet. In fact she remained quiet, carefully undoing her apron. After folding it up and setting it aside she ventured off behind the two, all while working on her own clothing. There wasn't any reason not to join in, after all.

Feeling himself begin to swell slightly as he felt Chiyako's hand move over his lap, he returned her affection by leaning his head against hers. The re-nuzzling! This of course also gave him a clear view of her chest as he worked up the robes on her leg with his fingertips until he felt skin. Maneuvering beneath them, he slowly began to slide his hand up her inner thigh. These interactions of course making Dorian completely oblivious to what Emi was saying, "Um... yeah.. right!" he improvised.

The tiny blonde girl's cheeks warmed up once more with a tint of red. Now one of Dorian's hands were on her leg! It was still somewhat covered by the silken robes but it'd be quite easy to invade the sleek fabrics. Beneath that she wore nothing at all. But as it turned out she didn't seem to mind. One of Chiyako's hands drifted off to the side, fingers brushing teasingly along the taller man's thigh. It stopped just an inch away from his dick, pressing down for a light squeeze. Her other hand was less subtle, lifting up to open her top just a bit, allowing a complete view of her bare flat chest. Of course her head remained where it was, nuzzling affectionately. She did enjoy a good nuzzling! "Oh? Well perhaps we could have some fun today if you're up for it. I'm sure Chiyako might be. Right?" she asked, somewhat oblivious to Chiyako's advances due to her being occupied by the dishes.

Dorian looked across at Emi with a smirk, feeling the mysterious rubbing along his ankle as she explained their situation to him. They seemed to have quite an open, free relationship. He had to admire it, liberating as it had to be. As she asked her questions and got up to clean the table, he pondered for a moment. Not that there was much to ponder about. Let nothing be lost upon you. Be always searching for new sensations, and all that. "Yeah.. I'm not seeing anybody at the moment.." he began to explain as Chiyako appeared to nuzzle up to him. "I'm always open to.. trying new things." as he stated, moving his hand under the table over to Chiyako's leg.

"Caramel bananas..." Dorian's eyes widened as his brain painted the image and his stomach agreed, "Yeah.. do that, please." he requested, watching Emi get busy cooking. Perhaps he should have offered to help, but as he saw how meticulously she collected all of her ingredients and utensils he figured he probably would have just gotten in her way. Dorian's mind, as it is often prone to, began to meander. Slow, funky jazz began to play in his mind with a smooth saxophone wail over top amidst visions of caramel banana pancakes as Emi began to move in slow motion and then--- He snapped out of his haze as he saw a figure move past him. It caught him off guard for a moment, but then he realized this must be her roommate. As she walked over to Emi and they kissed, Dorian raised his eyebrows. Interesting. As Emi introduced them, Dorian smiled and waved back to her, "Good morning."

"No problemo." Hands settled upon her cheeks, allowing her head to rest while she observed the topless boy. Hips playfully swayed from one side to another behind her, concealed thankfully by the back of the couch. "I wonder what else ya haven't unpacked." Once the new tenant was finally dressed Emi rolled off the bed and to her feet! Arms stretched out overhead. It was a pleasant show while it lasted. "Yep! Shall we?" And with that she turned to lead the way out for her apartment! They weren't too far. Room 123 was their ultimate destination. Upon arriving she'd unlock the door and lead the way in, waving for Dorian to enter! The place was modestly decorated. There weren't many works of art and most things present were more for utility. Of course they had multiple gaming consoles hooked up to the living room's television and it was open concept between it, the dining room, and the kitchen. Immediately Emi ventured into the kitchen, slipping an apron on over her clothes! Then she'd begin retrieving the necessary ingredients for chocolate chip pancakes! "Anything special you want on yours? Or any other requests?"

Oh my. Steamy. With such a quick shower Emi repeatedly was forced to clear away her glasses. But once Dorian exited she was treated to a fine show. She almost whistled in approval! However she was able to just hold herself back. Legs pressed together, squeezing in glee at the thoughts that came to mind. But she didn't want to keep all the fun to herself! Besides, once the boxers were on the show was essentially mostly over. And so she crept away, flopping onto the man's couch to await his return. When she heard him exit Emi sat up on her knees, peeking up over the back of the man's couch. "Oooh. Nice. A show."

Dorian wasn't used to taking fast showers, typically predisposed to enjoying the amenity of the hot water and the solitude, but he didn't want to keep Emi waiting long. Nonetheless, he made certain to clean the.. essential areas... just in case. Though the thought had crossed his mind that if he stayed in here long enough, maybe she would join him. Then again, he was looking forward to meeting her roommate as well.. not just for the possibility of seeing her birthday suit.. But had he heard Emi correctly earlier when she mentioned that she couldn't talk? Or was it just that she didn't talk? Either way, no wonder Emi seemed so sprightly if she had to talk for two, in a sense. Dorian finished, stepping out of the shower. He smirked to himself, feeling that he had eyes on him, but he didn't make it known that he was aware.. taking some time to dry himself off. Once dry, he slid on a pair of clean boxer shorts and pants. Looking around for a fresh shirt, but to no avail.. he figured they were in a box out in the living room. If she had been watching him dry off this whole time, he didn't think she'd be too shocked to see him come out of the bathroom shirtless. With that, he turned to make his exit.

"Fair enough." Of course Emi was joking, but she was also totally not joking. She'd always wanted to do fun naughty things. Home had been a little too restrictive to let loose, but ever since she'd moved into the apartment she'd been free to do as she pleased! And just as importantly: who she pleased! Chiyako was just the start of her grand adventures! Thankfully Chiyako was also totally okay with that. "Still has that new apartment smell, huh? Nice. If you want any help finishing with the moving maybe we can swing by later." Most of the heavy work was at least finished, right? They could surely assist with the little things. Heck it might even get them dirty enough for another shower! A three-way shower! That'd be pretty hot. The music was a pleasant greeting. She also managed to finally locate just where all the paint had gone. As it turned out Dorian was an artist! That was pretty neat! "Haven't even unpacked and you've already got something made, huh? That's pretty productive. Well, I mean, as far as the whole making art thing goes." Body paint? Oh now he was just flirting. Or perhaps not. It did bring a wide grin to her lips. "Maybe you could teach me that one sometime. Oh! Do you ever do paintings of people? If you need a model or two I'm sure I could drag Chiyako over for something." When the man excused himself for a shower Emi didn't follow. At least not initially. She lingered behind, taking her time to look around, but after giving it a couple of minutes she decided to explore the apartment in the general direction of the shower! And of course when she noticed a cracked open door she peeked right on in. Why would he leave it open if he wasn't up for some peeking?

"Thanks, but if you want me to be quick, we'd probably not." He half joked.. not completely sure if her comment was a joke or not. He closed the door behind her as she entered, looking about curiously. He thought for a moment, making sure he didn't have anything particularly incriminating laying about, but the only things he could think of were locked away in his desk. "Nothing very interesting in here, I'm afraid.. just moved in yesterday and all.." He gestured. Most of his furniture and necessities were all set up, yet were still some boxes filled with various items. Music still softly played through the stereo system and the painting which he hadn't really seen himself through normal perception... a barrage of colours arranged in eloquent patterns. He chuckled, gesturing to it, "I guess I got a little carried away. I'm no professional, but I like to experiment from time to time with different paints.. oil based.. watercolour.. even body paint..." He figured that last one may peak her interest. "But.. I shouldn't keep you waiting.. make yourself at home, I'll be right back." Dorian excused himself to the bathroom for a quick shower, purposely leaving the door partly open.. wondering exactly how curious this girl was.

Score! Not only was she bringing him to her place, but she'd maybe get to play a little prank on Chiyako! Or things could just get sexy. Really, really sexy. It was a win regardless. "Sounds cool! You'll be fine. She might get a little grumpy at me but I'll make it up to her later. You'll love her. She's just the cutest thing! Can't speak a word so if she doesn't talk to you don't think it's cause she dislikes ya or anything." But fate wasn't done being kind to her yet! "No problem! To be honest I was curious as to what it was you were actually painting in there. And which color. You got quite a few splattered." With the invitation given Emi slid her way past the larger man and into the apartment, curious brown orbs already darting about in order to take in her surroundings! "I'd probably offer to help wash ya up if I hadn't just taken a shower myself. I mean I suppose I still could."

Dorian was never a fan of these situations, mainly due to his indecisiveness. He didn't want to keep the lady waiting, so he decided to just go for it. What did he have to lose? Free food and possibly a show? Worse things could happen. "Well.. since you were nice enough to offer, some breakfast does sounds good if you don't mind.. hopefully your roommate won't get too mad." he laughed. Looking over the situation and himself, he realized he should probably get out of these paint-spattered clothes he had slept in and freshen up a little bit before he went anywhere. He turned back to Emi who had been waiting patiently, "Is it alright if I change and clean up a bit before we go? I should put these cookies away, too." he rubbed the back of his neck, "You can come on in while you wait." he said as he held the door open, "It shouldn't take long."

"Mmm. I suppose she might. A little. Ah, well, perhaps another time then. We could go and grab some coffee if you'd like? Or I suppose I could go and wake her up before ya hop on over." As options were listed off a hand drifted up, cupping around her chin. They had plenty of options available to them. It really depended upon what the new tenant wanted. He was the one to choose in this situation, right? Or perhaps she should just choose something herself? "She wouldn't get upset at you though. Eh, well, whatever you wanna do. So what'll it be?"

Location: Village of Ryn’tur. Rowan noticed how quiet Natia was when she dropped down into his eyes. Gone was that sweet little smile of hers, making him wish he could do something to bring it back. But he understood why she was being so quiet and withdrawn. She was scared and nervous. He would be, if he were in her position. He gently lowered her to the ground, but kept one arm wrapped around her shoulders and kept her close to his body. He looked at Baellator and told him, “Stay here.” The huge Aelda snorted, bobbing his head up and down for a moment before he shifted and leaned his head forwards to nuzzle Natia gently. His way of trying to help calm her down. Rowan petted him on the neck with his free hand before he gently stirred Natia towards the shop. Rowan pushed open the door, causing a gentle tingling to fill the room as he did so. The room was warm, and richly decorated with more mannequins that were dressed up. There were also multiple rolls of material. It smelt of cloth, and faintly of vanilla. The Keza allowed the door to close behind him, causing the sounds of the marketplace to become muted. There was a shuffle before a rather plump woman came through a door near the counter. She has brown hair tied up in a tight bun, and warm brown eyes. She had a kind face, if a little flushed. She saw them and smiled at them, “Ah, welcome! How may I help you?” She then paused and looked down at Natia curiously before she frowned a little as she noted what the girl was dressed in. “I want some clothes for my… fiancée. Everything she had was lost.” Rowan said, being quite casual about his intentions and feelings towards Natia, even to a complete stranger. He also didn’t lie to the woman, as Natia had indeed lost everything when she had been kidnapped from her tribe. The woman’s frown disappeared as she said, “Oh, you poor little dear!” She then tutted as she moved around the counter, picking up a basket that had various tools such as scissors, tape measures, sewing needles, threads and pins, “Robbers are an absolutely frightful group to encounter. Why, it was only last week that my brother was robbed while on his way to Selil. Took everything he had!” She said as she came over and apprised the small white haired girl before giving her a friendly smile, “My name is Glenda. What’s your name, dear?” She asked almost completely ignoring Rowan in favour of Natia. The Keza was a little amused by this, however he remained watchedful. Location: Town of Kalath Glenn had come over, holding the door open to the kitchen, staring at the little bunny girl in shock. Lorna looked up from where she been stirring the stew pot, blinking in surprise as not only Alice rushing through the basement, but Luna coming in and hovering about the door leading down into the basement. At least it meant that whatever was done there, couldn’t slip past Rayvenne. Both Glenn and Lorna blinked in surprise at the sudden turn in topic, clearly unused to the way Luna spoke. After a moment, Lorna said, “There… there is a bathing tub upstairs. I can have heated water brought up to you, so you can have a bath. It will cost you five coppers more, though. We have some soaps that you can use as well.” She looked at Glenn who gave her a perplexed look before he shook his head a little at their strange guests before he retreated back into the tavern. Neither Luna nor Alice seemed like trouble makers, thus they didn’t seem bothered by the fact that they were technically in an ‘employee only’ area of the tavern. Down in the basement, Rayvenne took the rope offered to her. She used it to tie the squirming and protesting goblin tightly, preventing it from being able to escape. She stood up, picking the creature up and tucking it under her arm, ignoring the fact that it was kicking its feet and wriggling as it tried to get away from her. She turned her dark gaze towards Alice, silent for several moments before she replied, “Possible. Either that, or he snuck in through an open window and snuck down into the basement.” She shifted the goblin, holding it in front of her so that Alice could get a better look at him, “It’s a Hobgoblin. A rather solitary goblin that loves to play pranks on people. Relatively harmless, actually.” She explained. “I would appreciate it if you weren’t talking about me, as if I wasn’t here!” The goblin said indignantly. Rayvenne snorted slightly in amusement before she asked, “How did you get in here?” “Through an open window, when the weather was warm. It’s not like as if they have any locks!” The hobgoblin said, squirming even more. Rayvenne gave Alice a rather blank look before she said, “That answers that.” She then tucked the goblin under her arm again before she moved over to the stairs and climbed them only to find Luna guarding the top. She raised an eyebrow slightly, wondering why both Alice and Luna were even there. After all, she worked alone and was comfortable with that fact. She just gave the bunny girl a little nod before saying, “The problem has been taken care of.”

*As Katsumi got herself and the rest of her stuff into the vehicle, the woman put Katsumi's 'contraband goods' into the back, in a large secure box where there was no chance of getting things lost, stolen or...inconveniently exploding. Since that was done and the box secure, the woman entered the car through the same door that Katsumi got in through. She wasn't too surprised that Katsumi chose to sit nice and close to her, seeing that Katsumi was treating this as a date. Though the woman had to admit that Katsumi was not her type, being too young and all, there was something endearing about the way she was acting. Well, apart from the weapons and the explosives and the extensive criminal record the girl had...* "What's for lunch?" the woman repeated to Katsumi. "Well, what did you feel like? You should know you will be getting VIP treatment at least for today so we can get whatever we want." *The woman was actually being rather honest with this. The Consortium treated its employees relatively well and especially those doing rather dangerous work like these two. The woman, who was also a Game Image Tester like Katsumi was going to be, knew that this was like fringe benefits for their job which could be quite dangerous at times. While she had been doing this for some time, she still got nervous doing assignments. This was probably, for her, one of the more easy assignments she had been given. She thanked her 'lucky stars' for that.* "Anyway, my name's Angela and I'll be your handler and mentor...I guess you could call it?" the woman said politely.

--------------------location----------------- kalath Thump, thump, thump. She could feel her heart racing at what possibly could be happening at the end of her travels down within the basement. Her mind always going to worst of possibilities, which is why she had rushed, it wasn't doubt in Rayvenne’s ability, but more so her concern in the woman’s well-being that lifts her feet into irrational movement. Perhaps a bit reckless considering she didn’t know the situation beforehand and it could’ve led to her getting harmed- but she had her own skills and strengths, thus she didn’t doubt her ability too much to take down whatever this was. However, it seemed it twists its attention within Alice’s direction and decides to cause disruption, but before it could cause any inflictions upon her – Rayvenne is on the move. Like a predator pouncing its prey, she is successful in pinning the little green critter to the basement’s floor. In a moment of daze realizing Rayvenne hadn’t been harmed and was completely fine, she’d freeze examining the situation. So it wasn’t that big of a deal, huh? A nervous laugh escapes her lips when the woman decides to acknowledge her presence, breaking the momentary silence, “Right!” Of course, she’d get some rope from her travel-pack, it held essentials for surviving the wilderness, so a rope was no big deal to obtain. “Here!” Complete compliance with the demand gives Rayvenne exactly what she wanted to hold that little guy in place securely, “I wonder…where did he come from?” There is a tap to her chin in thought, how did he manage to get inside of the basement without anyone noticing his entry? “Must be an opening down here somewhere, right?” Or teleportation magic!

*Cassandra was waiting where she said she would wait for Alez while the other did their scouting. As she waited for Alez to return, while she didn't expect to be long, she took a minute to gain composure. She figured she wasn't going to have time to relax when they went after Mr Enron, Cassandra was expecting some sort of conflict to occur. Whether it would be Mr Enron or something else she and Alez would be facing, it didn't take too much thinking to see that some sort of conflict here would be inevitable. Now, for Cassandra, the situation was more unusual than normal because she was fighting along side some one else. Usually, when she fought, she fought alone and only had to think about herself. To fight along side someone else meant she would have to consider people and things other than herself, which she honestly was not used to doing. To be fair, she found fighting alongside others a potential disaster if only because of an unsual reason. That reason was that if her allies died while fighting with her, she would count their deaths as her responsibility. Now, one would think this to be highly unusual, if not selfish for her to think this. Given her past as a deity, it made sense for her to feel guilt for the death of others under her 'care'. When Alez returned to the room, Casandra noticed the obvious change in the girl's form, especially the ethereal nature of the girl's body. She raised an eyebrow and then reasoned that perhaps, given the girl's present ethereal nature, walls and such would present her with no difficulty. That would be quite a handy ability and one Cassandra herself lacked.* "I will do my best to follow you to our mutual destination. Just be aware that I cannot walk like you do, through walls and such." Cassandra told the girl, making a self depreciating joke.

I didn't get my hands on a DS until a couple of years back, with the New 3DS XL. My very first handheld console was a Gameboy Colour, which my mum bought for me, along with some of the Pokémon games (Pokémon Yellow was the first I had played). I still have that Gameboy Colour. It's sitting right underneath the keyboard I am writing this post with, in a locked drawer under my desk. It still works, although I have no games for it right now. I keep it for memories sake.

*The woman scanned Katsumi with the device, the output from the scanning device would be displayed on the person's Arm Computer. The device obviously picked up the grenades that Katsumi had but also the switchblade, meat cleaver and handcuffs. The woman took a cursory glance at the output on her Arm Computer, seeing that Katsumi had those items on her. The woman sighed a bit before speaking to Katsumi. "You know, bringing handcuffs on a 'first date' is a bit much don't you think? Especially since I'm not exactly enarmored for snuff and BDSM. If you would kindly hand those over, along with your melee weapons, we can get on with our trip." It appeared that the woman had expected Katsumi to carry explosives of some sort and goodness knows what else. Maybe she read some sort of dossier on her or something, which would indicate that they had been watching her for some time. "As for 'our' date, we'll get to that when we're at our destination. Meeting over lunch would be preferable."

*The figure that came out of the pipe looked at Donovan curiously, though it was kind of hard to tell if that was the case given that Donovan wouldn't be able to see the person's expression under all of that suit. Donovan would have to guess how the other was acting based on their body language and what they said.* "So you're the one that THEY chose, huh?" the figure said to themselves mysteriously as they checked Donovan out. "Well, I guess we'll see if they made the right choice. Anyway, on to introductions! I guess you can call me 'Mighty Action X' for now!" the figure said, performing a pose for seemingly no reason at all. Perhaps this really was a game character or some sort of weird AI. If so...what kind of person designed this?! "Right, now we need to get you armed up and get a bit of training into you before you start." *It was at that point that an update came up on Donovan's Arm Comptuer screen, saying that the Game Armanent(s) had been unlocked and to pick a primary weapon. A new 'touch screen' projection came out of the Arm Computer, showing him the options he had to select. From the looks of it, they had quite a selection of small arms to choose from. She could also choose to go single handed or dual wielding as well. Once he chose their weapon, the comptuer would tell them she could customize the 'skin' or appearance of their weapon at any time at no cost. *It was then that the projection did mention what the figure just said and indicated that the Shop option had been unlocked. It looked like the Shop option used a different currency than what Donovan was used to, so that the money he had at the moment in the 'real world' had no bearing on what currency they had at his disposal in the Shop. It could be advantageous or disadvantageous. The computer also mentioned that the currency for the Shop was a special currency for itself and the Hero OS. After Donovan picked his primary weapon and his preferred cosmetic skin, the figure calling itself Mighty Action X then snapped their fingers...causing rather strange block to appear in random places in the area, some even floating in the air!* "Right! Now, let's start off with some of the basics shall we." MIghty Action X stated as he raised his right arm into the air, his hand wide open as if to grab something. Suddenly, a strange looking hammer-like weapon phased into existence into their hand and he lowered his arm. "We're going to spar for a little while, so you can get used to how things are done here."

*As Alez looked for signs of Mr Enron in the building and the surrounding area, she would note that there appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary out the building. Everything seemed pretty 'normal' as far as normal goes for beings like here. There were not many people on the streets at this hour, unless they had business being out this late. In this kind of neigbourhood, one would be wise to keep one's head down and doors locked...especially at night. Alez wouldn't be able to sense anything weird out there at the moment, as there wasn't anything to sense out there. She would also see that there was a private underground and secure carpark under the building that Alez and Cassie were in. If Alez looked there, she would find his car there and see that he hadn't been to it yet. It seemed that he hadn't left the building at all! Yet, if she looked around for him 'normally', she would never find him! Though obviously Alez' search method was FAR from normal so she would be able to find something. In fact, she would find something totally abnormal! In the back area, where her pendant and other valuables were stored, there was something very strange back there. Alez would be able to sense that Mr Enron and SOMETHING else was there. In that room where that computer and servers were, she would be able to sense something obviously wrong there. However, unlike other places, she would not be able to see into the room. It was as if there was some giant blot in the room, blocking her from seeing the content of the room. Perhaps this would suggest to her that some really evil thing was in the room, a powerful thing. Hopefully, this would dissuade her from entering the room. At the same time, Cassandra was waiting in Mr Enron's office, wondering where Alez had gone off to. She felt some sort of magical 'phenomenon' occur outside the office, just around the corner. Cassandra had the idea that Alez had done something to make her scouting easier, though she hoped that whatever that girl did, Alez would still be careful. Cassandra hoped the girl would note run straight into a fight, given what she had seen of Alez' capacity to fight. Then again, perhaps the girl was tired or conserving energy or perhaps faking it.*

Location: Along with Ageon River, North of Rosayia Forest. Rowan grew even more amused when Natia further stroked Baellator’s pride. The Aelda seemed to preen at it and he swore that his head seemed to jerk up a little straighter. If they weren’t moving at a canter, Rowan would be sure that Baellator would be strutting. Clearly he felt that Natia’s opinion of him was very important, a fact that rather pleased him especially since she was so far removed from the Eldyrannth and thus Baellator shouldn’t even be friendly with her. But then he seemed to be an unusual one, as Rowan himself was only a Keza. However, Rowan wasn’t going to complain. He was a fine, companionable beast, and he loved watching him and Natia interact with one another. He was snapped back from his thoughts by her melodic voice and he looked down at her with a smile as she brushed herself up against him. He tightened his grip around her, enjoying the warmth of her small body against his own. The moment she asked what he wanted to see her in, his mind immediately wondered to some very sexy clothing including corsets and sexy undergarments. The kind that showed off her flawless, pale flesh. Of course, the best mental images of her was of her wearing absolutely nothing at all. He had to try and control himself to prevent himself from getting an erection would no doubt poke her. He coughed a little, clearing his throat before he was brought back to reality by her soft lips pressing against his own for a moment before she buried her face in his chest. He tilted his head a little, peering down at her as he caught a flash of a bright red cheek and he couldn’t help but to smile. The hand that was wrapped around her waist, stroked the curve of her waist gently as he said, “Oh, I can think of several things I would love to have you wearing. But that’s the kind of thing that would need to wait until we get home and I get you into my bedchambers.” He smirked a little, “Yes… I have some very nice ideas there… but for now, we’ll get something a little more appropriate for travel. A nice little dress. Nothing too fancy, though. I can’t picture you in something that the ladies of the court wear. They do that for status symbol, and to try and make themselves look beautiful. You, however, don’t need that. You’re beautiful already.” He then smiled, as he couldn’t resist complimenting her like that, especially with how she reacted. He loved seeing her so flustered. As he raised his eyes, he could see the top of the town beginning to come into view, rising over the swell of the land. He then turned his eyes towards the river, his keen golden eyes looking for the ford that would allow them to cross without getting too wet. Location: Town of Kalath In the main tavern room, when both Luna and Alice returned, Glenn had been standing there, nervously cleaning one of the tankards. At Luna’s question, he coughed a little before saying, “She never left. She’s just… down in the basement at the moment, trying to help me with a problem.” He then saw Alice almost flying towards the door into the kitchen, and he had a half formed protest on his lips to try and stop her, but before even a single sound could escape him, she was through it and darting down the basement. He shook his head, “She shouldn’t be doing that. Rayvenne knows what she’s doing. I just hope your friend there doesn’t get herself hurt.” Down in the basement, Rayvenne frowned at the boxes that had almost tried to bury her. She turned her head, trying to listen for the sound of moving feet however the sound of someone running down into the basement covered up any noise the mysterious prankster could be making. In a soft hiss, she said, “Be quiet!” She then drew back and moved between the storage crates again, her ears straining. There was a slight snickering sound, in front and slightly to the right of her before she could hear the air rushing against objects. She tensed, expecting to be hit however it seemed obvious that whomever they were, was aiming at the new person; Alice. Clearly it saw her as a new person to play with. Deciding to use this distraction to her advantage, Rayvenne paused as she put the torch into one of the rings on the wall to make it look like as if she had stopped. She then moved forwards on silent feet, following the noise that the creature was making. She moved around the corner of a crate, where she could hear someone taking things from another box and was throwing them. She paused, giving herself a moment as she pinpointed exactly where they were. The figure had a slightly earthy smell to them, as well as the scent of an unwashed body. He also smelt a little like leather. He didn’t sound very tall, either, which lead Rayvenne to believe that he was nothing more than a prankster goblin who was after some attention and had chosen Glenn’s establishment. Not waiting any moment longer, Rayvenne darted forwards and tackled the creature, causing it to let out a loud squeal of alarm as she pinned it to the floor, “Alright now. Your mischief time is over.” She told him with a slight growl as she easily pinned the struggling goblins arms to its sides. She then asked out loud to Alice, “Is there any rope around?” While she was annoyed that she had simply barged in like that, her appearance had distracted the goblin long enough for her to pin him to the floor. So Rayvenne wasn’t going to be too annoyed with her.

===================================== kalath “I admire your generosity.” After-all, not many people had it, including herself – while she did acts that risk herself in order to protect other people, she wasn’t on the level of Luna. She could see why Rayvenne was very protective of the bunny now. However, gradually the evening was leaning towards night and their adventure within the market had come to its conclusion. “I should pay for a room--” The woman concludes- a yawn escaping her lips, they would probably get up early in the morning to go towards the mountains to confront the Dragon up there. Though as soon as they entered within the Inn commotion from the basement catches her attention, the question Luna had was left in the dust when Alice doesn’t hesitate to perhaps intrude upon Rayvenne’s encounter down below, while it was something Rayvenne could more than likely handle on her own, taking that chance was risking her life and whoever was here. Or perhaps it was Alice’s trauma that made her react the way she did because she believed not acting was worse than acting, while it wasn’t her business- she wouldn’t allow the woman to risk herself without assisting in her someway. Alice doesn’t make it halfway down the basement steps before she is practically leaping off them and thudding against the basement floor, dress flying up, sword gripped in hand, seemingly prepared for whatever was happening. She didn’t even bother to ask and acted on instinct rather than logical sense in hopes of preventing any calamity.

Natia's soft face scrunched up with a grin and she giggled in amusement as she watched Rowan shiver. She couldn't imagine Rowan would be called cute very often, but that reaction was simply adorable. But before she could comment on it, Rowan explained Baellator's thoughts and Natia just nodded and patted his side again. "I'm sure you could! You took down those monsters and trekked out of that forest like it was nothing! You're a mighty protectorate indeed~" She hoped that her constant praise wouldn't come off as patronizing to the creature, but she found that animals of all sizes tended to enjoy being praised frequently, and Baellator seemed quite proud of his role and seemed to enjoy the praise he'd received so far. So, she figured it wouldn't hurt to butter him up a little more. Natia's face glew a soft pink once again as Rowan commented on her beauty. "Oh, stop... I'm a mess right now. If only you could see me with my magic." She slowly brushed her body up against Rowan. "But uh... what type of clothes would you like to see me in~?" She was genuinely curious what Rowan's tastes were, especially considering she had no idea what outsiders considered attractive or fashionable. She wanted to be as beautiful as she could possibly be for her mate. "I can't wait to see what I can wear for you~" She leaned up to kiss rowan's lips, choosing her words carefully. She wanted Rowan to know that he could choose anything he wanted for her without being so upfront about the fact. She appreciated that he put her concerns first, though if were honest, she doubted any outsider clothes could even come close to matching the natural beauty of the clothes she would forge herself from the elements, and she certainly didn't want Rowan shelving out tons of money just for a pretty dress that comes close... Unless, of course, Rowan simply wanted to see her in something like that that badly... just the idea made her blush harder, causing her to bury her face in his chest again to hide it.

Location: Town of Kalath. Oh! Someone else! One more sickly customer had arrived in order to take up the offer of free healing! Luna was all too happy to assist of course. She could understand why this person was late too: obviously they had troubles moving around. After slipping a stool out from the wagon Luna assisted the woman with seating. Palms were raised up towards her body. A soft warmth left them, as did a soft glow of white light. This was all quite taxing on her but it was an easy price for her to accept. Helping people was its own reward, after all. Once the woman's ailments had been removed she pulled out some bread, meat, and a couple of carrots she had tucked away for her journeys! "Here you go. Please find somewhere warm to rest for the night if you can." With the food handed off to the clearly undernourished woman Luna awaited her departure, slipping the stool away once more after she'd left. The wagon was then closed and locked up for the night! After all she was rooming with Rayvenne. "Thanks Alice! Lets head inside now. Or, well, I'm gonna head inside now if you wanna come!" Humming softly the bunny turned, venturing into the tavern! As soon as she entered she lifted a hand, waving towards Glenn! "Hello again Mister Glenn! Has Miss Rayvenne returned?" Of course a sudden crashing in the basement caused both of her ears to stick straight up! What the what?

Location: Along with Ageon River, North of Rosayia Forest. Rowan couldn’t argue with Natia on the score that her people hiding away from the world was no different from locking their doors. It was similar. It was both means at which people protected themselves and their livelihood. There were advantages, and disadvantages to each of their societies. Natia’s sounded as if they would be far safer from each other, but they were so like it sounded like a boring place to live. But with them, they had far more variety of people but one had to better watch one's back although most people tended to just want to live in peace. It was the few that one had to look out for. He switched his attention back to Natia when she spoke again before he smiled. He then blinked as she reached up, scratching one of his ears which caused a shiver of pleasure through him. He smiled down at her, “I’m looking forwards to it.” He said, as Baellator let out an indignant snort. Rowan chuckled before saying, “Blaellator wants you to know that he could go at a dead run all day long and still only be a little tired at the end of the day.” His smile was of amused tolerance, especially since Baellator was so prideful of his abilities. But he turned his attention back to Natia as he said, “And I’ll buy you some proper clothes. Befitting of a beautiful young lady such as yourself.” He couldn’t imagine she was the type to wear jewelry, although he had to privately admit that he liked the sight of the collar wrapped around her pale neck. Perhaps he could get a choker or something to replace it once it was removed? He tried to shake that thought out of his mind. He doubted that she would be interested. He looked up when he could see the river ahead of them as Baellator turned and started down the river, heading west as if he already knew where the ford was. Rowan straightened a little, but couldn’t see the town just yet. Location: Town of Kalath When Rayvenne finally looked up from her work, she noticed that the sun was getting quite low on the horizon. She frowned a little, displeased that she had been so immersed in her task that she had wasted so much time. Rayvenne had hoped to be able to do their shopping today, and head out early in the morning, but that was unlikely to happen now. She let out an irritated sigh before closing Maed’s book and returning to the bag, locking it up so that it couldn’t be stolen. After all, it was a rare and powerful book and she didn’t trust anyone but herself with it. She then stood up and brought her arms up above her head, curving her back as she stretched. She let out a soft moan as her spine cracked and popped before she relaxed completely and allowed her arms to fall to her side. She then picked up the parchment that she had been writing on and rolled it up before slipping it into her pouch so that she could give it to Luna later. Once everything was put away, she left the room and headed downstairs where she found Glenn alone at the bar. “Hello.” She greeted softly. The man looked up and gave her a friendly smile before she asked, “No more customers?” “Not a single one.” Glenn said with a sigh of annoyance. “Where’s the stairs to your basement? I’ll try and see if I can take care of it.” Rayvenne offered. Glenn looked so relieved as he told her, “Just behind the kitchen door, there’s a door that heads down to the basement. You will be careful, won’t you?” “I will attempt to.” Rayvenne assured him, although she doubted it wasn’t anything dangerous. Otherwise Glenn and Lorna would have been hurt by now. It sounded as if it was something merely mischievous. Perhaps a goblin that liked playing pranks. She moved around the bar and entered through the door where she found Lorna standing next to a firespit where she was turning a pot of stew. She looked up and gave her a friendly smile, “Hello, dear. Looking into our problem?” She asked. “Yes.” She replied, gripping the handle of the basement door but found that it was locked. She looked over at Lorna, who pointed to the wall where there were some keys, “The bottom one on the far right.” She said. Rayvenne went over and took the heavy iron key before going back to the door and unlocking it and opening it up. It was dark within the basement, so she picked up the nearest torch from the wall and stepped down the steps, closing the door behind her. Her steps seemed to echo around her as she descended into the basement. Once she reached the bottom, she raised her torch a little, causing it to illuminate several boxes nearby. But there wasn’t anything immediately obvious. She stepped further into the basement room, her steps as silent as smoke. The only sound she could hear was the faint crackling and gurgling of the torch fire. When she had reached halfway onto the room, there was a sudden pattering of bare feet against stone behind her causing her to turn around but she couldn’t see anything. Her black eyes narrowed as she remained still, her ears straining as she tried to listen. There was a sudden swishing sound to her right before she gasped in pain as an apple collided with the side of her head, followed by a mischievous giggle. She shook her head a little before moving towards the sound of the projectile, seeing an open crate of apples. As she moved away to continue searching for the source of the mischief, there was an alarming creaking sound, causing her to snap her head to the left where a tall box of crates was leaning forwards a little too much for comfort. She quickly jumped forwards and out of the way as the boxes fell down, landing on the stone floor with a mighty crashing sound that mingled with another cackle from the unseen foe.

*Inside the video file, once Soma decided to view it, was actually the same video that all Authority Security Force users of the Hero OS got upon getting it. It was known as the 'Induction Video' by most and was made the the Consortium, much like most Arm Computer related technology. In the Induction Video, there was a representative from the Consortium with one of the high ranking officials of Authority's Security Force attending. It was quite a high production value video, it must be said with all the bells and whistles. Soma could pick and choose what sections of the video he wanted to watch, much like a Blueray movie. In the video, the representative of the Consortium was talking about the HERO OS product and the related product, the Game Images (GIs for short). Now, if Soma was up-to-date with his news, he would know that the Consortium had won a large government contract to help develop a new 'defense program' a year ago and it seemed from the video that this was the result. It appeared that this "Hero OS' update was in limited release for security and police personnel. From the sounds of it, this was not so much a live 'beta-test' where there were still bugs but a full release prodcut specifically made for the Security Forces, including police personnel. As the video continued, the various functions of the Hero OS were described and demonstrated. As it turns out, the Hero OS does a few things more than the ordinary OS that Arm Computers have. For example, the Geo-Location and 'Map' capabilities have been changed and modified to allow for real-time information on sighting of threats to be uploaded and tracked. In other words, if anything bad in MegaCity 1 happened, those with the HERO OS would get a notification on the threat, its location and its nature and be able to track it in real-time. Another example of the functionality of the Hero OS was access to a special 'App' Store, linked to the Game Images. It turned out that one could purchase special functionality and quality upgrades for the Arm Computer and the Game Images from this Store, which was unusual as most Arm Computers were not easily upgradable.* *Also, the video would speak of the Game Images or GIs for short. It seemed that the GIs were essentially kind of like a specialised 'loadout' or configuration that people could use to defend themselves with. It seemed to be some sort of advanced technological development that allowed for rapid deployment of armed units to react and respond to threats. There were limited livedemostrations of the technology in the video, showing how the GIs functioned and what exactly they did. The operation of using the GI was quite easy, almost idiot-proof despite how mindbogglingly compelx the actual technology was. From the video, Soma would learn the basics of how to use a Game Image and that there were more advanced tutorial features in the Hero OS product, under the How To Guide section in the OS GUI itself. It appeared to offer advanced simulations and helpful advice on how to use the OS and the GIs.* *The text file...was probably the oddest bit of the update. Not only was the file encrypted and asked for a password...but the strange thing was that it gave a hint of the password in plain text. The password hint was 'What you value most'. Inside the text file appeared to be a letter from someone, addressing Soma by name. The letter said the following...* To Soma, I would have loved to have done this in a less obtuse and mysterious manner but circumstances have prevented me from doing so, please accept my humble apologies for this. By now, you would be wondering how you have received this 'Hero OS' update and why tomorrow, you will receive your first Game Image at work tomorrow. Unfortunately, all I can say to you now is that you have been chosen by myself to partake in what I hope will be an ultimately fulfilling experience, one that will have drastic and major ramifications for Altech. There are those that would have me stay silent and do nothing in the face of what is and will occur and my conscience will not allow me stand by and do nothing. I cannot say much now, even though you must have many questions about this. What I can say is that you must trust and belief in yourself, no matter what happens after tomorrow. If all goes well, I will contact you again and perhaps be able to answer some of your questions.

================================== location: kalath How long had it been since someone, so kind fell into her lap? She didn’t see many people selfishly giving their services to the people. Herself included, she had charged for defending villages and people alike, she was greedy—Luna put her to shame. Though the situation also makes her reminisce about the past, a girl of similar talents, mainly healing- was as kind. She saw so much of her in Luna that it almost hurt, they had different personalities, but held to the same sentiments and believes when it came down to their healing. Alice had once asked why she gave it for free when it could give her wealth and the little White Mage just shook her head at the thought; “Helping people is my purpose, Alice. It’s why I’m a healer.” So the woman just stared at Luna vacantly and her aid momentarily, lost in her own thoughts and memories, 'I wonder if they’re around the same age too?' She questions herself in thought, continuing to stare hopelessly at the similarity of someone she’s lost. Up until one of the elderly approaching Luna’s free check-up had almost stumbled across the ground, Alice immediately pushing herself up from her past and seat to aid them from falling – quickly her arms go underneath the woman to keep her balanced, she figured falling would do more harm than actual good to the woman. She looked sickly and fragile, like someone easily broken by a stone. “Oh. Thank you.” Cough, the old woman remains standing thanks to her shift movement, “No problem! Luna, we have one more.” Alice would aim to help and guide her to Luna’s healing palms, where her malnourished frame and ghastly pale skin would begin to look more flourished than before, though the woman probably needed more than just a healing palm to truly get her back onto her feet, but for now, that seemed to help her weak-body from completely collapsing. Alice would release the elderly woman now into Luna’s care – going back to watching over the market place, she’d glance off towards its edge, sort of whispering to herself, “It’s been two years, huh?” Then there is a shake and her composure would return, “Keep up the good work, Luna!” Her thumb would push up into the air, praising her deeds and allowing the healer to continue her duties.

Location: Town of Kalath. "Uh huh! Thanks for keeping watch!" She trusted in her new companion. It was just in Luna's nature. Sure, there were plenty of times when that'd ended up working against her, but she wouldn't change it despite the issues it often caused. Most of the time things ended up just fine! After all, she was still kicking around and she still had her own little merchant's wagon. Quite a few people at least browsed her wares. A few even promised to return in the morning! Of those Luna expected maybe a fraction to actually honor their word. Not that people were untrustworthy. They just sometimes forgot or they ran out of money after getting more important items. At the very least she could help the village with their injured and sick. A good dozen people actually stopped by her cart for those services. She couldn't replace lost limbs or anything. Not yet. But still present wounds were an easy if not slightly tiring affair, and minor illnesses were quickly relieved through her healing palms! "I like to leave things better off than how I find them if possible! Also its good to help people. Many people could use it too. And you never know who might be around when you yourself need help, right?" As the day wore on the market ultimately started to close up shop. So too would Luna, having only sold a couple of minor health potions. But she'd healed quite a few people and she'd chatted with plenty of villagers. All in all it was a win for her! Once her cart was closed on up she'd begin leading it back for the tavern, sequestering Lucky away within the stables. His reigns were unhooked as well once the cart was properly put into park. "Thanks Lucky. You can rest now."

==================== location: kalath “Well, hey there Lucky!” She’d greet while watching Luna interact with her small horse and wagon filled with probably her materials. Either way, that didn’t seem to bother her, thus she’d follow the two to the market, where Luna’s wagon would transform into a venturing stand for sales! Too be honest, it wasn’t too much of a surprise her, she expected the woman to sell her works to make a living, they had already discussed prior. “So I was right, you already sell your creations.” A smile comes to the woman’s lips, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure everything goes right.” The two didn’t seem very intimidating to the crowd probably, Luna was small, and Alice was approachable, holding to a large smile amidst the group that would probably glance and grander at Luna’s wares. She’d take a seat by the horse, not interfering with Luna’s business. Though she’d keep her eyes out for anyone of suspicious nature, even while it was a small and seemingly quiet town, she knows first-hand how quick the atmosphere and situation could change, it was like a blink of an eye that things could go wrong. “Free check ups huh?” That was kind, she wasn’t charging for medical treatment like many others did, though they were doctors for a living- so it’s kind of made sense they’d charge. To her though, personally- medical treatments like this should’ve been free, so people didn’t have to worry or fret over dying because they didn’t have the proper coin-purse to give. "That's kind of you, Luna."

Location: Along with Ageon River, North of Rosayia Forest. “I said that they were not nice like me, not that they were slavers. Just because someone isn’t entirely nice, doesn’t mean that they’ll enslave someone. The world isn’t that black and white. My father brought them up better than that, and he wouldn’t put up with that kind of foolishness in his house. And believe me, we don’t like angering our father.” Rowan told her, wondering where exactly that came from as he had said nothing to suggest that his family were a bunch of slavers. He then added, “You must have a very skewed view of the world if you think everyone is a potential slaver. I can pretty much promise you; that is not the case.” He shook his head a little. Her imagination was running completely wild, assuming the worst. Clearly he had to be a little more careful with what he said. While his family had slaves and servants, they weren’t the unwilling kind. They were ones that willingly put themselves into that situation and that was the only kind that King Kail allowed for in his palace. He would no doubt have to explain the difference between those kinds of slaves, and the kind she was to be. But he decided that he would do that later. It was no doubt going to be one of those topics that was going to involve a lengthy discussion. Location: Town of Kalath Once Maedoc was comfortably settled for the night, and happily eating the hay that was provided, Rayvenne collected up her bags and left the saddles. She noticed that Lucky and the wagon was gone, meaning that Luna was undoubtedly in the marketplace. There was still a couple of hours of shopping time left, which meant that she might be able to pick everything up she needed. She slipped back into the tavern, finding that it was empty of both Luna and Alice. It was only Glenn, cleaning a tankard. She came up to the counter and asked, “So what is wrong?” Glenn looked up, glancing around as if to make sure that they were alone before he turned back and said, “I think we have a mischievous critter. In the evenings, during the usual drinking times, we hear bangs, crashes and other sorts of noises coming from downstairs in the basement. I’ve tried to have a look, but I can’t see anything. It’s driving all the customers away, because they think the place is haunted.” Rayvenne frowned a little before she nodded slightly, “I’ll have a look later, Glenn. Hopefully I’ll be able to sort it out.” She said, causing Glenn’s posture to immediately relax as he smiled at her, “Thank you, Rayvenne. That means so much to me.” He said. “It’s the least I can do.” Rayvenne told him before she moved off, opening the door that lead upstairs where she quickly ascended the steps and found the room she had rented with Luna. She dropped her bags down in the corner, next to to the wooden desk. She then paused before moving to one of the bags and pulling out Maed’s old Spell book. Due to its age, it looked a little worn but it was still readable. She moved it over to the desk before opening it up and shifting through it until she found what she wanted. The spell of Familiar Summoning. This was a fairly potent one, as it would cause Luna to enter a dream-like state. At least, that was how it would appear from the outside. However, her soul would be thrust into the Spectral Realm, where she would be allowed to wonder until she found a Soul that was compatible with her. Once she had chosen it, she would then place that soul within an animal of her choosing who would become its vessel. She returned to her bags and pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill before returning to the desk and beginning to write down the ingredients necessary to make a single attempt. Whether Luna purchased more than that, was up to her. But she was needed to make a special summoning chalk, if she didn’t already have one so that a summoning circle could be made. Then she needed to decide on what animal, of even creature she wanted. She also needed a special dream catcher that required a special spell to be enchanted on it that would send her to the Spectral Realm as well as anchor her soul to her body so that she didn’t become lost. Otherwise her spirit would forever wander the Spectral Realm and never return to its place. She wrote down the particular materials she needed to make the Dream catcher, such as raven and swan features, as well as spun cotton for the web inside of the actual catcher. The actual ring required a pure ring of gold, as gold was a fantastic element to conduct energy. To wrap around the ring, required a material to wrap around the metal to insulate it. This was a discretion, allowing Luna to pick whatever material she wanted such as suede or velvet. Or even plant-vines if she wanted to make it more natural and in-tune with nature. The brilliant thing about making this dream catcher was that once she had made it, she could use it again. With a slight shake of her head, Rayvenne continued to write down the ingredients list.