Chinese grocery stores near me

Got my swanky 2023 Tacoma Sport w an extended bed and have just ordered some BamBeds sleeping platforms. I am under 200 lbs, as would any person who shares the sleeping arrangement with me. Would would not be storing any significant weight underneath the platform. Should I be installing bed stiffeners?

It’s been 9 days (today included) since my last binge. I haven’t gone longer than 2-3 days in…months. All of 2023 has been dark for me.
I went shopping today for some household snacks, which is always a binge trigger because in my past, I had to eat as much food as possible after grocery trips since I didn’t know when/if we’d get good tasting food in the house again. Even vegetables and fruits were a mystery. So now every time I have a stocked kitchen, I get that urge and it’s hard to pull back. But I got myself some snacks and I enjoyed some of it tonight, without binging. But the urge was still there after. So I ate a banana and some leftovers from lunch yesterday and drank 4 glasses of water over the course of an hour. In total I ate an extra 250 calories ish when it totally could’ve been a 1000+ calorie binge.
I am realizing how much control -I- can have over what goes into my body. My brain keeps signaling that I need to eat all the food I bought because I’m in danger. Because I am stressed. Sad. Not knowing when my next meal will be. Or what it will be. But that thinking should be gone. I am in a much better place now. And yet, every stressful emotion brings on an urge to binge.
My brain doesn’t know how else to deal with these emotions because I’ve been using food and binging as a way to cope. So now -I- have to rewire my brain.
Learning this is so hard. Practicing this has been SO hard. The urges can feel terrible and sometimes I have to compromise with it to not go overboard. But this recovery is one step at a time.
Lastly - I am just so tired of feeling like shit because of binging. I do not want to feel like that anymore and I think that is what is driving me more than anything.

I've been on nexplanon for nine years and am on my fourth implant which I had inserted about a month ago. The previous 3 I had were in my bicep, but for this new one, my doctor explained that the guidelines have been updated and they no longer place it on the bicep due to nearby nerves; instead, they put it over the tricep.
I had an easy removal/reinsertion process, but ever since the implant has been over my tricep, I feel discomfort in that area while working out. Im a swimmer and I also lift weights,, so it's nearly every day that I'm feeling the ache. Some exercises like dips or pullups are so uncomfortable that I need to stop. It feels like there's something grating against my tricep muscle -- because there literally is!
It's also waaaay more visible than it was previously. I used to have to really press on it to see the outline of it poking up, but now I always have a faint line going down my arm without even touching or manipulating the skin around it at all. It's not super obvious, but it's there if you look.
I went back to the doctor to ask to have it moved either back into the bicep or into my other arm, and she basically told me that my only option was to remove it completely (not even offering any other type of BC), or suck it up. She told me that she'd never heard of it being uncomfortable like this, and claims that it was placed "perfectly." I felt so dismissed. She had no empathy for the fact that it's uncomfortable and getting in the way of my normal physical activity.
I feel really upset and don't know what to do. I've LOVED nexplanon prior to this and have had nothing but a good experience on it, but the new location is just unbearable. I literally never gave it a second thought for NINE YEARS and now all of a sudden it's constantly on my mind. This can't be right.
Has anyone else experienced this? I'm thinking of maybe getting a second opinion before I go and remove it completely, because I really just can't believe that this level of discomfort and visibility is normal, even with the new location.

所以我做了工作和學了一點中文。
vs
所以我做工作和學一點中文了。
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Hey，ChineseLanguage. I'm back again with another simple grammar question that I can't seem to wrap my head around. I understand that 了 can be placed after a verb to denote past tense and I also oftentimes see it placed at the end of the sentence for the same reason. However, I'm having a hard time understanding the nuance of the difference between these two instances.
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Is there a meaningful difference between the two usages in meaning? Are they essentially the same and interchangable? Obviously I asked google translate already but it seems to be giving me the exact same English translation. Are there good examples of how these 2 sentences would directly translate to English?
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I appreciate anyone willing to answer this question. I know it's probably a very simple explanation but I am still learning and I hope my question can also benefit others that wonder the same thing. 謝謝你們！

Does anyone have photos of the inside of the old children’s museum? Was talking about it with people today, remembering different pieces, & I want to see photos- the cow, the fire truck, grocery store, whale(?), news reporting green screen?

Hello,
I work in healthcare and many of my patients speak only Spanish and I would like to be conversationally fluent in Spanish. I would like to at least get to a B2 level. I am not looking to become a certified medical interpreter, but my main goal is to be able to hold "spontaneous" conversations.
My background:
I took AP Spanish in high school and passed the test (Idk how lol) but I know that my Spanish skills are not very good. If I had to guess my level of Spanish is probably an A1 or A2 since it's been a while since I've actively tried learning Spanish. Despite taking three-ish years of Spanish classes in High school, my listening and speaking skills are probably very poor to be quite honest.
I am looking into using Italki for it's flexibility and and lower prices. I am looking for structured lessons that provide me with clear cut lessons and goals to work on each week. I do not think my vocabulary, speaking, listening, or grammar are sufficient to have mainly conversation-based lessons.
Side note: I originally looked at in-person classes but many of them are very expensive. One place near me was $900 for 4 weeks of two 90 minute classes per week ( that's about $75 per hour)! Many of the other in person classes were $60-$70 per hour and I'd rather not pay that much at this time.
Do the professional teachers provide structured lessons? What is the difference between a community tutor and professional tutor? Do most of the professional teachers hold teaching degrees or qualifications for language teaching? When you are learning a language with a tutor, do they offer workbooks, textbooks, worksheets, or homework assignments or do you have to find your own written and textbook resources for non-speaking practice? Do teachers use google doc or something like that to provide worksheets or textbooks? Also are there any considerations or downsides that I should consider when using an online tutor versus an in-person tutor ( asides from technical difficulties/ Wi-fi problems, etc.)?
Additionally, what do you think is a sufficient amount of hours per week for lessons? How long should a lesson be usually? I want enough time to ask questions and learn but I do not want 2 hour continuous lessons because I would find that personally tiring to do that much learning at once. Would two sessions of 60-90 minutes per week be sufficient ( with outside studying, studying, and personal practice of course)?
TLDR: What I am looking for is structured lessons that provide a balance in learning to speak, read, and write in Spanish. Is Italki a good resource for my goals?

Hey everyone.
My boyfriend and I hit 6 months today. Waited till midnight his time last night to say happy 6 months (we are long distance for the summer).
For context, this is my first relationship but not his first. I never really knew when to celebrate milestones. So much so that I went all out for our one month 🤦‍♀️. Made it public that I was with him, did private writings for him and some other things.
He’s made it evident that he doesn’t really like posting about me. Not that he doesn’t like me - He has a business that he advertises on his socials, and I’ve talked about how I don’t like how I look and rarely share it online. But I try posting him at times, and I don’t nearly post as much online generally. Anyways - I just thought that maybe today would be different, and he would post celebrating us?
This doesn’t just go for anniversaries/monthiveraries. It’s about any celebration or milestone between us. On Valentine’s Day, he didn’t post me but I posted us. When out doing things, he posts what’s around and himself but not include me or tag me.
And this isn’t just about posting - I guess my whole question is genuinely related to when I should celebrate… because it doesn’t seem like he celebrates these milestones. He gave a brief text back saying “I love you too” today. We talked all day today and he never mentioned it was our six months. (I will mention he got his wisdom teeth out today lol so it wasn’t a great day for him. But he and I have been talking on call and text throughout the day so I’m not sure how much slack to give lol.) I guess I’m just not sure when to celebrate these things, and if he probably thinks these aren’t yet milestones to celebrate with each other.
I will also mention that we are deeply in love with each other and have been intimate in ways both he and I have never experienced, and we have a true connection. But I’ve noticed this is a point of “tension” (not really even sure to call it tension, I’m just confused lol) that I’m trying to figure out.
Is there a good point where we should celebrate things? Am I taking this wrong? Am I doing anything wrong? What’s going on?

Sold a designer skirt for $150 last Wednesday. Girl who bought it with no history messaged me saying “can you ship ASAP I need it by Friday I have a concert.”
I let her know I would ship same day but I can’t control USPS. I got an overall suspicious vibe- so I took a ton of photos of the garment next to the shipping label. Skirt gets there Saturday and surprise surprise- she files a case for a return.
Buyer: “Too small” Me: “Hi i am so sorry- but poshmark doesn’t allow returns based off of fit- feel free to re-posh”
Buyer a few hours later: “Received skirt with Zipper broken” And proceeds to post a pic with the seam coming undone near the zipper- not even a broken zipper, just a seam coming loose from what looks like stretching of the garment.
Me: “Hi- I photographed the skirt right before shipping. As you can see in these close ups next to your packaging and shipping label, the zipper is in perfect condition and the skirt is like new, do you think there is a possibility it may have accidentally torn a little when you tried it on since the skirt is too small?”
Radio silence from the buyer.
After 3 grueling days- poshmark denies the return and releases my funds.
I think two things happened- the buyer didn’t get it on time, and when she tried on the skirt (which was too small) she may have pulled hard at the zipper causing a rip. Also- if she really received the skirt with the zipper broken and was unhappy with the quality- I doubt she would have tried it on at all and complained about the sizing, she just would have filed the return. Having these photos saved me from her sneaky buyers remorse!
I have been in the habit of taking these photos for every purchase over $100. Never needed them until today but I’m so glad I had them. Highly recommend you do the same with any expensive items

The title makes no sense because neither did this whole scenario. I worked for a music store that offered PA rentals. We would get calls asking for freebies, but after explaining how providing gear for their event is our business, they’d either kick rocks or book a rental.
One day a lady calls asking for a free PA rental for a local community event that helps people from the local community to get jobs in the local community and this is a great way to help the local community.
Me: Wow that’s cool that you’re doing that to help the local community. What part of town is the event going to be?
Her: Kentucky (2hrs away across state lines)
Me: Oh right on. Which non profit is this with?
Her: This is my first event there. I’m from Texas
Me: Oh right on. That’s pretty cool that you’re volunteering to help people find jobs. How do people looking for work get signed up?
Her: They pay a fee to get on the list.
Me: Oh right on. Well, we do work with a lotta charitable groups. Usually, if we donate a rental it’s for a homeless shelter or food bank event. I can make sure you’ve got an excellent system, but we do have to bill for the equipment.
Her: Tell you what, you think it over, I’ll think it over. Count your money, have a good day. *click
It’s been 8 years and I’m still thinking this one over… and counting my money.

YES in several ways. One possible effect is that a default or a near-default could increase the demand for cryptocurrencies as a hedge against inflation, currency devaluation, and financial instability. Some investors may see cryptocurrencies as a safe haven or an alternative store of value in times of crisis, especially if they lose confidence in the US dollar and other fiat currencies.
Another possible effect is that a default or a near-default could trigger a sell-off of cryptocurrencies as investors seek liquidity and risk-off assets. Some investors may need to sell their crypto holdings to cover their margin calls, repay their debts, or meet their expenses. A default or a near-default could also cause volatility and uncertainty in the crypto market, which could deter new entrants and reduce trading activity.
A third possible effect is that a default or a near-default could impact the monetary policy of the US Federal Reserve and other central banks, which could influence the crypto market indirectly. A default or a near-default could force the Fed to tighten its monetary policy to stabilize the economy and the financial system, which could raise interest rates and reduce liquidity. This could make borrowing more expensive and less attractive for crypto-related businesses and projects, and also reduce the appeal of cryptocurrencies as a low-cost and high-return investment.

Hello all,
I had a very shocking and rude experience today at the Hornsby Warehouse of art supplies. To preface, the location is almost in an industrial park and is mostly an online store- however they allow for in-store shopping.
I was pleased by the selection and prices of most things however the prices in store are not updated and can be different once you go to pay.
The reason I am upset is because I was called annoying straight to my face and reprimanded for taking a call in store. The owner told me that phone calls weren't allowed and I immediately put down the phone, however what I found weird was that when I was leaving/ going to pay, I received a lecture about how rude it is to talk on the phone inside stores and that it is not normal to speak inside stores and that I was very annoying for having done so. I was so close to tears at this point because I was being gaslighted and I knew that this was a weird situation; their rationale was that since they're mostly an online business they need the area to be quiet which I have no problem with however their way of going about it was extremely rude. I suggested that they have signs in the store to ask customers to be quiet and I was again reprimanded that this was "common sense" and I was then further called annoying for even suggesting that. I was also reprimanded for touching art supplies which I did twice to check the classification of paint so I could correlate to the prices they had as it was on the back of the tube. I genuinely do not understand the point of having a store open to public if people aren't allowed to speak or touch anything. It's not a library nor a museum.
Overall, please avoid this business or at the very least don't go in store to save yourself from being insulted.

A life coach recently told me (even though I didn’t ask) to ditch dating apps and go hang out at a hardware store and this just seemed ludicrous to me. Suddenly, I’m seeing advice everywhere (even though I wasn’t looking for advice) to take art classes etc to meet men. Are single men taking art classes to meet women? Which dating apps are least likely to have sixty-year-old men saying they’re forty and looking for a live-in maid that they plan to pay in mediocre sex?

Link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/BFIDNW3NzVXFCwtd3dg63m
If the link doesnt open the whatspp app directly, it might open in a mobile web browser. If the Join Group button inside web browser redirects to play store or app store, turn on the desktop-site mode in web browser.
This group chat called "Interstellar @ Surat" will act as a dedicated group for the Interstellar event only. I encourage you to join the group only if you are willing to participate. The group will make the discussions streamlined and quick. Will give us better idea about number of participants.
Someone shared a whatsapp group link called "The Meetups @ Surat" in the comment section of previous interstellar posts. Me and my friends have made a new dedicated group for the following reasons: 🔹"The Meetups @ Surat" existed before this movie plan and has most members unaware/uninterested of the current plan. 🔹 Only admins can send messages to "The Meetups @ Surat" 🔹Entry to "The Meetups @ Surat" needs to be requested and approved mannually by 2 random moderators.
By all means, enjoy the [email protected] group, but using it for this specific purpose feels unoptimized.

I got a seller who wants out of this 3br 1 bath house. Near downtown anchorage. He wants to sell his 1940s home and go back to his home state. Strong foundation! Strong house. I need a buyer! PM me!

All he does is complain and complain about how “my father shouldn’t be so interested in his daughters sex life” and “my father misgenders me constantly but thinks occasionally calling me daughter makes up for it” and “it feels like my father is overly concerned about my dating life”
Clearly my friend is in the wrong. Maybe his father just doesn’t want to fuck him? He should just accept that his father is a creep and a moron and be glad his father hasn’t killed him
Uj/ near all my friends are cishet men, why don’t women like talking to me :(
Like literally there are cishet misogynistic racist boys at my school with more female friends then I do, it doesn’t make any sense
Im cutting my dad off when I get old enough i swear
Rj/ trannies are the real groomers!!!

First off I take Viibryd which while not approved for anxiety is basically an SSRI + buspar comboned, so a lot of people have said it helps. Now that that’s out of the way….
For the last 2 weeks I have been experiencing stretches of time throughout the day in which I feel an insane combination of anxiety, stress and dread. Lasts about 1-3 hours I think. During these times I feel utterly hopeless and overwhelmed. I get an adrenaline rush from all the emotions so even if Ive been tired I’ll be pacing around my house with no problem or fatigue. I nearly cried multiple times today which is very unusual for me-I literally almost couldn’t hold my tears in. My eyes got watery but luckily I was able to stop myself from having a huge crying spell (didn’t want a whole thing to start with my family being worried bc I’m crying).
It’s to the point where during these times I have been feeling very strong urges to engage in a self-harming behavior I used to in the past. These feelings got very intense today / have actually been getting worse, but I’ve managed to control myself so I don’t need medical advice or consultation with this, and I already have a therapist / see a nurse practitioner.
But here’s the weird thing, this eventually ends and I’m later able to think about the problems that triggered me earlier except during these times im not freaking the fuck out.
This would all be fine if it wasn’t for the fact that what I’ve been describing has been happening in cycles throughout the day, meaning I am going to experience all this AGAIN.
What should I do??? I was experiencing the same thing 3 or 4 months ago for like a month and a half but figured it was just me adjusting to the Viibryd. I guess it’s not :( , my sleep hasn’t been good so that’s probably having an impact as well, could be a coincidence but during that other time i experienced this my sleep wasn’t good either. I’ve been a bit more stressed lately so my mind / body does not want to sleep even though I’ve been experiencing fatigue- I’m also waking up SO MUCH and having more nightmares too.

So I had a spur the moment idea to quit cold turkey this morning... I have been tapering for a while and I was just so done and ready to be free from this drug that I decided today is the day. Don't know why, I wanted to make this leap everyday for the past 3 years.
Anyway, luckily I can take the time off work and I spent all day in bed just trying to distract myself with Netflix shows and sleep but I know full well that some exercise and fresh air would help me a lot. The WD are just so uncomfortable, I step outside and feel like every nerve in my body is frozen. For me, the worst part is the body aches. I feel like I have a terrible fever and nothing helps the pain.
I'm terrified of what the night will bring... and all evening I've been tempted to take a microdose just to alleviate some of my discomfort while sleeping tonight. I could continue tapering down until I'm at a much lower daily dose... I've done well tapering before, but I've also screwed up and now that I'm nearly 24 hours into no kratom.. I wonder if I should just continue on and go for it.
(for context, my last previous dose was about 8 gpd (2g 4x/day)
Help?

Ibandr, during the morning and afternoon so full of life and sound and laughter, slowed as the sky darkened above. The sun had set for some time and the shadows of the city were erratic and scattered in the evening torchlight. There were many lit throughout the city at sundown, many in the city center, some south by the riverbank to ward off animals, and some in the west by those who grew cotton and made goods. Shadr held one of these torches now. He was a young man, having grown up in Ibandr and never knowing the starving times, although his father always spoke of them. He had also talked to him about the day the city spilled its own blood. How he had been part of the fight to retake Ibandr from the Zivold and how he barely survived, losing an arm for his efforts. When the eastern man had come - Barnam had been his name - his father jumped at the chance to sabotage the man who stole their lives, even if it had been so long. Shadr’s father was too old but Shadr himself was not, the young man eager to serve his family however he may. So now he stood as the sun set, stick alight with flame, looking at the large pile of dried grass and hemp and cotton. Waiting.
Over a hundred men on horses galloped toward Ibandr. Barnam rode at the head, taking one last glance over his shoulder at the men riding behind him, Shahadr’s Point falling further in the distance. It was getting darker by the gallop, the sun having set to their right. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. The rhythm of horseback calmed Barnam. He felt at home, at peace on horseback now. His life with the Albayet had been good to him, prepared him for his duty. He looked at the sky as he rode, the first twinkling stars shining in the dusk. He blinked. What was that? Another! A streak of light shot through the blackening blue of the heavens. Some time passed then, another!
“Vastatn blesses us on this night!” Barnam called to the riders behind him, pointing to the sky at the shooting stars making their way across the world. He gripped the spear in his hand tighter. Good fortune was to come.
Ibandr was more difficult to see as they rode on the flat plains between Shahadr’s Point and the city, but in the darkness he could just make it out. Flames. The old boys have done it then, he thought. When last in the city, he found an old friend of his father and that man’s son, Shadr. There were a handful of others but all too old or afraid to move against the Zivold. Shadr, though, was eager. Setting fire to the cotton in Ibandr’s west had worked well enough, if he could see the flames from here. The sky darkened as they neared the city. It was almost time.
He was close enough to hear shouting over the sound of the horses around him. Then, a great bellow louder than he’d ever heard. A bellow sounding across the city, the plain, again and again in long, slow bursts. An alarm? A call for help? Someone must have seen them. A hundred men on horseback would be hard to miss, but Barnam did not care. “It’s time, Albayet! Ride to our glory! Ride for Kalliza!”
Shouts of Kalliza, victory, to war called out behind him as the hundred split into three groups, one stayed straight behind Barnam while the others spread out in two directions, one to the west to the fire and the other to the east.
“Victory!” Barnam heard himself shouting as he burst into the city, the vastness of the plain suddenly replaced by houses and canals and patchwork fields of sorghum. Men, women, children had come out of their peripheral homes to answer the commotion, and Barnam looked at their terrified faces as they saw him and his horsemen ride toward them.
A scarred, weathered, bearded man, in billowing clothes carrying a spear in his right hand and a scythe tied to his hip, screaming as he charged on a horse. A sight to see. A last sight to see. He did not want to kill innocents, he did not mean to kill them, but you have to be realistic about these things. In the heat of war, Barnam would not stop to question each and every life he took. Today was a day of new beginnings, of a cleansing of the city and washing it in a new path. The stars streaking above were the ushering of a new dawn on the Luzum and Barnam would be damned if he would get in the way of that. He thought all these and more as his horse ran down the man who stood defiantly in front of him. As they made their way to the city, the screams confirmed that the first man was only one of many. You have to be realistic about these things.
The city had no way to prepare for what was coming. Through his whole life Barnam scarcely had heard of any meaningful raids on the city, or great battles between one city and another. Ibandr and its people had not been tried and tested as Barnam and the Albayet had.
With that Barnam could not have expected the first fighters they saw. Ten men burst forward down a street between two larger houses, two had spears and the rest holding hoes or scythes. They came so suddenly Barnam and the horseman next to him, Gudenle, had no time to move. Bunched up as they were they had no time to fight. One with a spear burst it through Gudenle’s horse, throwing him to the side. Another ran to finish Gudenle off but was stopped by a second spear bursting through him, Barnam having flung his own to defend his man. The defenders stood shocked for an extra breath, and Gudenle, with Kalliza watching over him, landed well and was on his feet. He swung a scythe from his hips into his arms and Barnam did the same. Barnam, Gudenle, and the other horsemen fought through the men then, losing two more horses but no tribesmen.
Having bested their first challenge, they trudged on. Barnam and the Albayet fought for quite some time as they made their way to the city center. Those who came to defend the city were few and far between, but they fought fiercely and bravely. By the time they reached the great storehouse of Ibandr and the Temple of Kutenr, only Barnam, Gudenle, and eleven others remained. Barnam dismounted from his horse to confront the sight before him. He and his Albayet stood opposite a tall, lean man dressed in cotton and some foreign leather clothing, with others around him. All stood fierce and tall, with either spears or blades of copper or stone. The tall, lean man held a copper blade in his right hand. Beyond, dozens of citizens were running either into their homes or making a dash to leave the city. Flames blazed in the west and a cacophony of screaming, neighing, and yelling filled the air.
“Where is the Zivold?” Barnam bellowed above the clamor. “I am Barnam, son of Huttl, a righteous man who walked in the light of the Paroxl. He was murdered by Attarnap, a coward and a thief, and I demand his presence in front of me today!”
The tall man raised his eyebrows and gasped. Behind him, the storehouse glowed in the light of the flames, encroaching closer and closer. “Barnam? Is that really you?” He started to laugh. “The little boy who lived on the edge of the furthest part of the city. Amazing, even the dung can come back to haunt you. And here I thought I was being punished for killing my father.”
“Your…” Barnam couldn’t believe what he had heard. “You killed… Attarnap? You killed the Zivold?”
The man who Barnam knew as Belis only nodded. “My father was complicated, Barnam. He was complicated and he was a fool. He thought he could take more and more, demand more and more of the people, and everything would be fine. This temple, those canals, that lake to hold the flood waters for a drought? Do you know how many died for those Barnam? Too many. Too many times there were riots like the one your father tried to start and I fear that if he stayed alive that would be the end of our,” he gestured to the men around him, “position in the city.”
Barnam could not believe what he was hearing. The men around Belis moved forward, and Barnam’s men did the same. “No!” Both men shouted at once. “He’s mine,” Belis said, and Barnam grunted in agreement. How dare he?
Barnam let out a roar. “How dare you take what was mine by right?” Barnam took a step forward, Belis almost stumbling to step back, keeping his distance. “Your father took the life of my own. Theft in its many forms is the only sin worthy of punishment by Marryagai the thief, is it not?” He held out his right arm, scythe in hand, rounding it on those who stood by to watch. Then, pointing at Belis, “and your father Attarnap stole the life of Huttl, stole a husband from a wife, a father from a son. and now you steal my revenge from me? You, Belis, lowlife of lowlives, believe you can take your father’s place. You, Belis, murderer of your own kin, your own father believe you can steal vengeance from me?” Bantam raised his arms, “Look at what you stand against! I am Barnam, son of the union between Mauair and Huttl, chosen by the Albayet to lay waste to what you claim, summoned by Samvastatn to bring glory to this earth. You call yourself Kutenr, as your father did?” He stepped closer. “Do you remember who Kutenrs nemesis is? Do you know the story of Kalliza, Paroxl of horses and creator of the plains, champion of the world when the greed of Kutenr and his grains grew too great. Look around you, Belis. I am Kalliza manifest in flesh and bone.”
Barnam cackled as he looked around him once more, taking yet another step toward Belis, and pointed with his scythe. “The gods have forsaken you, murderer! Dezmedetem rages behind you laying waste to all that you were. Samvastatn courses the sky with light, laying waste to all that you will be. And here I stand, I, Barnam of the Albayet, Barnam of Mauair and Huttl, Barnam the bane of Belis, Kalliza reborn, true lord of Ibandr, to lay waste to all that you are!”
With a guttural cry, the would-be conqueror flew at Belis. It was all Belis could do to raise his copper blade in time, a loud clang misshaping both scythe and sword as the two men connected. Barnam came at him with the fury of gods, whirling his scythe on Belis faster than he ever had. Belis stumbled back with each strike. Barnam was practiced, experienced, weathered from his life in the east, while Belis had only ever killed those around him with treachery, not skill. Belis was slower, weaker and more fatigued with each strike he had to block. But there was a chance. Barnam was the more skilled fighter, yes, but the fury of the gods which coursed through his veins made him move faster, think less. The maddening smile on Barnam’s face blinded him to any outcome but his victory. The Zivold’s eyes darted around with every chance, desperate to unearth some victory.
As the two men moved in their melee, Belis saw his chance. Barnam arced high and Belis, in one move, turned to yank a torch jutting from the ground, grabbing it with his left hand. The blade in his right flew at Barnam’s scythe while his left burst forward, torch in front, at Barnam’s face.
A howl of pain burst through the chants around them. Shocked by his own success, Belis stood there, mouth agape, torch and blade in hand. Barnam reeled from the strike, face almost smoking, and when he looked at Belis the right side of his head was a scarred and seared mass of red and pink flesh. Barnam stared at Belis, right eye almost blocked by the puffing of his face, and muttered something to him.
“What did you say, brute?” spat Belis at the hulking man in front of him.
“Burn me,” Barnam repeated, “and you burn the world.” The words of the Paroxl Kalliza, when he struck down Kutenr in their battle for the heavens. Barnam leapt at Belis once more. They fought again but this time there would be no mistake on Barnam’s part, and Belis felt it. Barnam pushed him further and further back toward the great storehouse. As they stood at the entry way, Belis’s arm outstretched with his balde in hand, Barnam brought his scythe down hard on the man’s wrist. A second howl of pain and a clang as Belis’ blade fell to the ground and his wrist was carved through. His hand was still attached but he’d be getting no use from it any longer.
“Stay back!” Belis screamed, waving the torch in front of him. On the floor in front, his shadow danced in the light of the growing fires in the western district. The flames were nearing them now, the heat coursing through the air. “Stay back you demon! You’ll get no more from me, you and your horseback brutes will not take this city while I live!”
Just as Barnam was to respond, “Then die,” Belis turned and ran into the storehouse. Barnam raced after him. “Take this monster!” Belis yelled as he shoved the torch onto an open pile of grain. The dry sorghum burst into flame, sparks flying and fires licking the roof. “Take this as your payment for your father’s death,” Belis was screaming now as he ran further in the storehouse, laying fire to piles of cotton, throwing off jar lids and burning the seeds and fibers within. Barnam could do nothing, impotent with his scythe, as a wall of fire separated him from Belis. Enraged, he bellowed and ran outside and around the storehouse to the Temple of Kutenr. Belis stood there now at the base. Behind him the storehouse was just beginning to burn as a whole. In front of him the temple, and behind the temple the fires of the western districts were finally upon them.
“So Barnam,” Belis stood at the base, torch flames licking the air and wrist dripping with blood, “is this was you wanted? Is this what you wanted to claim as your own?”
Barnam ran at him, raising his scythe and in one motion bringing it down on Belis’ neck. His face froze in horrified surprise and the scythe dug into his shoulders and neck, blood spurting from the wound. “Let it burn Belis. Let it all come to the ground from which we sprouted.” He brought his scythe out of Belis, who fell to the ground, gurglilng, and brought it back down to hack again and again. “Let it burn!” He was shouting, hacking, laughing, “Let it all burn! You stole my vengeance so now I shall have it back twelve-fold! Let it burn! We shall rebuild! We shall rebuild! We… shall… rebuild!” And with the final cut Belis came apart, head, neck, shoulder, and arm separated from the rest of him, face still looking on in horror at Barnam.
He was panting now, the man turned conqueror, his old and rutted copper scythe dented and broken from the fighting and the effort. He tossed it aside with a clang. His face burned from the torch, his lungs burned from the flames beside him, his muscles ached from the battle.
But above? Above the sky was a light with the streaks of a thousand stars, coursing through the sky as though it was Samvastatn and Niovollin creating the earth once more, sending stars from the heavens to course their energy through the world as rivers. Thousands and thousands of stars streaked across the sky, heralding the rise of a new man. A new Zivold. A new God.
“Barnam!” He looked behind him. Gudenle was coming from one of the round homes next to the storehouse, dragging a small, frail man behind with him. “Is this him?”
The man fell in front of Barnam, wrapped in bundles of cotton and hemp, thick matted hair gray and white with age. “Hadr,” Barnam breathed and knelt at him, putting his hands on the man’s shoulders.
Hadr brought his face up to look at Barnam. One thin, shaking hand came to rest on Barnam’s cheek, and he breathed a staggered breath. “Is that you Barnam? Is that you my boy?” A tear welled in his eye and he started to shake his head. “No, no, no,” Hadr muttered, “no, no no. Do not give me your empathy, my dear boy. I have wronged you.”
Barnam could not understand. Gudenle was saying something about needing to leave as the fire was only growing, but Barnam waved his hand and stared at Hadr. “It was me, Barnam,” the old man said through tears, “I betrayed your father, your uncle, everyone that day. I told Attarnap when i got you and your mother out of the city. It was me Barnam! I’m the reason your father is dead,” and he shook in his sobs, muttering, “let me die, boy, let me die.”
Hadr fumbled with his hands in his rags, but Barnam could barely see for the red that covered his vision. Hadr had betrayed his father, his family. Hadr had betrayed him. He grabbed Hadr by his hair and yanked his head up, putting the two men face to face. “You don’t die yet old man,” and he spat in his face. “You come with me. When the fires abate, you will proclaim me Zivold of Ibandr. You will proclaim that I am the vessel from Kalliza on this world. You will put me higher than any Zivold has ever been, and only then will you be allowed to die. I will do it myself.” He spat in his face again and pulled him to his feet by his hair.
“Let me DIE!” Hadr screamed as he was yanked up. His hands fumbled through his rags and they emerged gripping a small blackshine [obsidian] blade from his rags. He pulled his arms out and thrusted into his belly, but Barnam grabbed his arm like a vice, inches from death.
As he twisted the blade from Hadr’s hands, Barnam only repeated, “You do NOT die yet old man,” and threw him forward. He nodded to Gudenle, and the company walked away from the flames of the city center.
Flames swallowed Ibandr. For two days and two nights, Barnam, the Albayet, and the prisoner Hadr waited at Shahadr’s Point as they watched the city burn on the riverbank. Refugees fleeing from the burning and seeing where the conquerors had gone had come to be with them, either to curry favor or through sheer terror of seeing their home burning. Others stayed by the farms in the homes that survived or camped by the great reservoir.
When the fires abated, the survivors, the conquerors, and Hadr the prisoner walked into the city, faces of terror and horror and grief staring back at them. Some houses stood, others charred, and still others broken and brittle. Barnam had tried to stop the pillaging of the city but you have to be realistic about these things. He was Kalliza on earth. The city needed to be burned before it could be rebuilt.
When he arrived at the city center, the storehouse was a charred ruin and the temple behind it stood charred and blackened. The fires had raged and the once great city of Ibandr now stood charred but still proud. The Albayet went and corralled those who remained in the city center, and still others had come to the core now, refugees in their own lands, fleeing the fires that burned without remorse. Many had come to Barnam and the Albayet but others had stayed in the city, finding refuge in this or that district that survived the fires.
Barnam announced who he was, why he had come, and what the future held for Ibandr. “Belis was a fraud! Attarnap was a fraud!” He brought up Hadr. “A fraud held up by this man against the Paroxl, against our gods!” He walked to the ruins of the storehouse. “I am no fraud. I am Barnam, Kalliza reborn. Kutenr is nothing to the light of Kalliza and it is in his name which this city will be rebuilt.” In one year Barnam promised they would be returned to their former glory and poised to reach greater, grander heights than ever before.
The conqueror’s bloodthirst had been quenched. Knowing Attarnap was dead, killing his son, and laying waste to Ibandr had been revenge enough against those who wronged his father and those who stood by and done nothing.
Barnam the conqueror became Barnam the rebuilder. Over the year he convinced the Albayet to move west, abandoning the Duf river in a great migration to Ibandr, calling the union between the Hortens of Ibandr and the Hortens of the Albayet the Hemoph Hortens, or Union of the Hortens. He replaced the storehouse with one of similar grandeur, but on the side walls and pillars were carved intricate images and forms of Barnam as Kalliza, striking down Belis of Kutenr. The Temple to Kutenr was stripped bare and its walls adorned with images of Ibandr, or stories of the Paroxl, and above all of Barnam the Magnanimous, images carved to tell his story and his journey from refugee to god.
At the year’s end, Barnam held the Festival of Kalliza. It was here that he brought out the imprisoned Hadr, old and shriveled and frail. He had not been kept in a prison or in solitude or tortured. Barnam let the man walk free under supervision. “Let those who died by his hand torment him,” Barnam once said. They had forbidden him from holding weapons of any kind lest he take his own life, but the sight of the free Sinnamit, free by the mercy of Barnam the conqueror alone, did much to grow the new Zivold’s legend.
Hadr announced Barnam as a god reborn, lord of the new world and Zivold of Ibandr, son of a man and woman wronged and champion to all those that had been wronged. Never mind that Barnam had created so many wrongs when he burned the city. No, never mind all who died for one man’s vengeance. You have to be realistic about these things.
At the height of the ceremony came Barnam’s final act for the new city. As Hadr finished proclaiming him god of a new dawn on the Luzum, Barnam repeated all of Hadr’s transgressions. His slights against his father, against his city, against the gods. His cowardice and failures as Sinnamit. Barnam called Hadr a necessary sacrifice to give for the life of Ibandr, and slit the old man’s throat on the steps of the new temple, bringing all of the Sinnamit’s powers into his own.
Ibandr rose back to its prominence prior to the Albayet Sacking, and rose further still. Barnam learned of the projects built by Attarnap, of how Ibandr had risen from its people and its lands and by harnessing the power of the river Luzum to control the fate of their crops. To defend against the dry seasons and the wet. Ibandr was rebuilt and Barnam ensured that it was he who was credited. He played his factions of the loyal Albayet families and those who felt were allies within the city, against those who wished him to be gone. Barnam kept ownership of the grain but for other goods he allowed families to hold their own. His reign was tenuous in reality but the image of Barnam as greater than he was, as a god among mortals, a step in a new direction, the rosy fingers of the coming dawn, cemented any fears against his hold and guaranteed he would not often be tested.
Barnam had three daughters and two sons with his wife, married from the time he was with the Albayet, and when he died his son, Askalladr, was appointed the Zivold by the strong families, the Illir as they were coming to be known. The Zivold was now the strongman of the city, emblematic of the gods on earth, priest-king, god-king, father-king, all were encompassed by the great and powerful Zivold.
Attarnap and Belis were nothing. They were glorified tribesmen who hoarded wealth. Barnam was something else, a ray of heaven on the ground. Askalladr’s ascension was only further proof that now, indeed, there was a new Dawn on the Luzum.
Context: Was a lot of fun writing all this. This last piece may not be as strong for evidence of statehood but in connection with the other r rp posts I hope this is enough to establish season 5’s first true city state! There’s a lot more to develop in the next week but hopefully this is solid enough ground for Ibandr to gain prominence on a larger stage. I will definitely be sticking to shorter pieces in the future lol

I dropped off my disposable camera about 6 weeks ago, and at the time the person that was working there seemed to be really confused and not know what he was doing, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt, and he assured me that he'd make sure to send it and have the manager give me a call.
I ended up calling a few days later to confirm, and he said it was sent off. It has been 6 weeks, and I decided to call, and they said that it is still not here and to put my name down to double check. I am unsure what the next steps are because I heard that it is usually 2-4 weeks, and 6 is pushing it, but I know they can check their system, but they don't seem to know what they are doing. Every time I call, it is always with the same person and no one else, and the manager never seems to be there.
I guess my question is if I should call again and ask to speak directly to the store manager and have them check, or should I just wait and take my L. Or if anyone has any suggestions. At the end of the day, worst comes to worst. It is fine; it is not the end of the world, but I would definitely prefer to retrieve those photos.