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As soon as the blue lights of time faded and Kagome found herself standing in the bottom of the well, blue sky overhead, a tremendous feeling of excitement mixed with trepidation mixed with relief rushed through her. It was a strange, conflicting sensation, to be so nervous and overjoyed at the same time, but she'd been gone for three years and she knew she shouldn't get her hopes up. She had absolutely no idea what to expect.
Even so, she was home now, and one thing she did know was that the village would welcome her back with open arms. She was sure Kaede would take her in, provided the elderly miko was still in good health, but even if, heaven forbid, she...wasn't an option, then Kagome knew the village headman would help her figure things out if nobody else was still around. That was her fallback plan, if it turned out her friends had all moved on, although she was pretty sure Sango and Miroku had had plans to settle down within the village, and hopefully, provided they were still there, then Inuyasha would still be, also.
On the one hand she wanted to believe that of course Inuyasha would still be around. Why would he leave? But on the other hand, three years was a long time. What if staying near the well had been too painful for him? She knew her questions wouldn't get answered just standing around at the bottom of the well, though, and so she quickly nodded to herself in determination in that moment, as she started the daunting task of climbing out of the ancient time portal this one, final time.
It's a good thing I've stayed in practice, she mused, maneuvering her hands into what she knew were the best places to grip.
Suddenly, though, her senses were almost overwhelmed by a sensation she hadn't felt in a long time: a rapidly approaching demonic aura. She slipped in her surprise, gasping softly.
I'd hoped he'd still be around, but I hadn't expected to be greeted at the well like this! she thought excitedly with a huge wave of relief as a shadow fell over her. Looking up, she grinned broadly as Inuyasha stuck his hand down into the well for her to grab.
Grab it she did, and he immediately hoisted her out. Placing her left hand on his right shoulder for balance, Kagome stood for a moment on the lip of the well, her right foot propped on the edge, Inuyasha's left hand on her right side for extra support. Wordlessly, they gazed into each other's eyes, and their faces were so close together that Kagome felt the sudden urge to kiss him. She wasn't quite brave enough to be so bold out of nowhere, though, and so she broke the silence in that moment, instead.
"Inuyasha, I'm sorry...were you waiting...?"
Her voice cracked some as she spoke, and she could feel her eyes tearing up again. For him to rush to the well right as she returned, he'd obviously been near enough to sense her arrival. She was so relieved, so pleased and so proud of him, that he hadn't run off into the wild to do kami knew what in her absence.
"Kagome..." he replied then, his tone of voice revealing his awe.
She's back, she's actually fucking back... he thought in wonder. If this was a dream, he'd kill whichever dream weaver had sent it to him as soon as he woke up.
Resisting the urge to kiss her, knowing she probably wouldn't mind it but still not feeling quite brave enough to be so brazen out of the blue, he sat her on her feet on the grass in that moment, instead, wrapping his arms around her. She eagerly returned his embrace.
"You idiot..." he murmured softly, the supposed insult having no bite. "What have you been up to?"
Before she could answer, Kagome felt it as Inuyasha stiffened, turning his head to glance over his shoulder, the hanyou's ears picking up the approaching footsteps she couldn't hear yet.
"What is it?" she asked quietly, furrowing her brow at his displeased expression.
Damn it, can't even give me five fucking minutes... he thought, frowning.
He couldn't really say he blamed them, though. They loved Kagome almost as much as he did.
"We're about to have company," he murmured softly, the look in his eyes strangely regretful. She didn't get a chance to respond.
"Ka...!" came Shippou's broken, shocked exclamation, followed immediately by Sango's voice crying out "Kagome-chan!" in disbelief and amazement.
The miko immediately understood where Inuyasha's shift in mood had come from as their other friends arrived, and a small...very small...part of her was disappointed by the interruption as well. Even so, she was very glad to see their other friends, having strongly suspected they'd settled down based on Inuyasha's appearance but having admittedly not known for sure.
And they've got kids! Cute! she squealed in her mind, answering aloud with, "Miroku-sama, Sango-chan, Shippou-chan, I'm back."
The next few minutes were a blur as Sango said they had to inform Kaede of her return, and then Kagome and Inuyasha both found themselves ushered by their friends towards the elderly miko's domain. Kagome did her best to answer all of Shippou's questions along the way, and sharing a few stolen glances with the hanyou walking beside her, Inuyasha's eyes held a playful apology for Shippou's antics but also primarily his simple and tremendous joy at seeing her again.
"What took you so long? Did you bring back any ninja food? What have you been doing all this time? Are you here to stay now? Why didn't you come back sooner? Did you bring me any pocky? Do you still have to study for those tests? You're not going to leave again, are you?"
Laughing, Kagome replied with, "I didn't mean to be gone for so long, no I didn't bring any food with me, I mainly spent my time studying so I could finish high school, yes I'm here to stay, the well wouldn't let me come back any sooner, sorry, no pocky, and no, no more studying for anymore tests and I'm not going anywhere."
Inuyasha chuckled a little under his breath as they neared Kaede's house, impressed with Kagome's ability to keep up with the kitsune's interrogation. The runt had asked the most important question, as far as he was concerned, and hearing that Kagome was in fact there to stay, he could just bask in that knowledge without even hearing about what she'd been up to for the last three years, although granted, he was curious.
When they reached Kaede's, the elderly miko was just as surprised and ecstatic to see that Kagome had returned as the others had been, especially given the conversation she'd had with Inuyasha that very morning. She and the inu-hanyou shared a brief look, her genuine happiness for him impossible for the hanyou to miss, and he nodded, letting her know just how happy he was for himself, too.
"Come in, come in, child! This is cause for celebration!" Kaede stated enthusiastically as she gestured for everyone to enter her one-room hut. Inuyasha snickered as they all piled inside, thinking back on Kaede's comment about missing the company. Careful what you wish for.
Shuffling inside with everyone else, Kagome did her best not to feel overwhelmed by the flurry of activity, a task that got a little harder when she was suddenly glomped by an eleven-year-old.
"Kagome-sama!" Rin squealed in delight.
It took the future-born miko a minute to recognize the girl.
"Rin-chan! Is that you?"
Releasing Kagome, Rin nodded enthusiastically.
"I didn't think I'd ever see you again! Rin missed you so much."
Kagome smiled tenderly at the cute mixture of both first and third person, which was how she remembered Rin had spoken in the past. She assumed the girl had picked up the third-person speech from being around Sesshoumaru, who did it a lot in that pompous kind of way aristocrats tended to do. For Sesshoumaru to speak of himself using first-person vernacular in your presence meant that he thought highly enoughof you to consider you not as far beneath him as the dirt on his boots; a true compliment, indeed.
Not that I can recall ever seeing dirt on his boots. Kagome mentally chuckled at the thought.
She'd figured that Mr. High and Mighty would've been long gone now that Naraku was dead, but Rin's presence in the village suggested otherwise. She'd find out more about that later, she supposed. There was a bunch of stuff she knew she needed to get caught up on, the most important being the three newest members of the inu-tachi.
"And who might these lovely ladies be?" Kagome asked her friends then, walking up to Miroku who was still holding the girls. Shippou hadn't let anybody else get a word in edgewise during the walk to Kaede's.
The kitsune jumped down from Miroku's shoulder as the monk bent over to set his daughters back on their feet, introducing them to Kagome at the same time.
"This one is Mizuki," he began, gesturing to the girl wearing the dark kimono. She waved hello shyly. "And this lovely lady is Misaki," he elaborated. She hid her face in her father's robes.
Sango chuckled at the younger twin's reaction, and then explained their names to Kagome.
"They were born at dawn, Mizuki arriving while it was mostly still dark out with only the faintest bit of light to the east, the full moon setting in the western sky. Misaki joined us with the sun, as the flowers were opening, so we figured 'beautiful moon' and 'beautiful blossom' were fitting names."
"Well I agree that they're both beautiful," Kagome stated then, bending forward enough to meet both girls at only a little above their eye level.
Misaki glanced up at her for a moment before turning and burying her face again, and Mizuki giggled at her sister for a moment, but then hid her face as well when Kagome smiled at her for giggling.
The young miko straightened back up, then, and met Sango's eyes. "They're adorable." Not forgetting about the baby still strapped to Sango's back, Kagome asked next, "And who's this little guy?"
Feeling a little left out all of a sudden, Inuyasha chimed in before anyone else could answer. "Keh, that's Ichirou, and if the bouzu has his way, he will be the first of many sons."
Miroku only chuckled, not about to deny it. He then assisted Sango with unstrapping Ichirou, the pair taking a seat as Kaede urged everyone to settle down, stating that she'd put on some tea. Kagome's stomach growled a little as she sat down beside Inuyasha, something she was going to ignore, but the hanyou heard it and his ear twitched as he turned and looked her way with tender concern in his eyes.
"Have you eaten, Kagome? Are you hungry?" he asked.
She blushed a little at the question, mildly embarrassed that her stomach was making such noises against her will. Food had honestly been the last thought on her mind, but... "I actually did kinda skip lunch. This all just happened so suddenly, and eating first wasn't an option."
"Ah, then let me put on some rice for you, Kagome. Won't take but a few minutes."
"Thank you, Kaede-baa-chan."
"Would you like me to go catch you something?" Inuyasha asked the younger miko then. "You should eat more than just rice," he stated matter-of-factly.
Kagome chuckled softly at his conviction, the look in her eyes both genuinely grateful and amused. She was honestly touched by his open show of concern, but found it unnecessarily ardent.
"You can go catch me something for dinner if you want, how's that? I don't want to send you away right now, I just got here," she replied, sending him a playful smirk and wink.
He blushed mildly, but muttered a complacent "Keh."
"So, you must tell us, what happened all of a sudden? We're thrilled to see you, but we hadn't expected your return after all this time," Miroku spoke up in that moment.
Accepting her tea from Kaede, Kagome launched into her story, starting from the beginning and what had happened as soon as Inuyasha had been yanked back down into the well, and how she'd felt at that time. She emphasized her fears, and expressed her realization of how it had most likely been those fears that'd been holding her back for the last three years. Besides that, she also expressed how graduating high school had been important to her, as a goal she'd previously set for herself and something she hadn't wanted to give up on for that reason, not to mention the blemish on her family's honor it would have been for her to drop out after having already been accepted. It would have been a lesser disgrace to simply not go in the first place, since high school wasn't mandatory, but just about everybody went, and it basically meant you were a failure if you didn't pass the tests needed to get in. Since she had gotten in, even though the only reason they'd accepted her was because they'd had an open seat, to fail after the fact and quit without completing would have been a much bigger disgrace, and something she simply hadn't been prepared to do.
Every time she'd tried the well, wishing and hoping and praying to see them all again, a nasty little voice in the back of her head had spoken up with doubts and fears, all about what if she got trapped in the past. While those fears had primarily been about how she'd feel never seeing her family again after never even getting to say goodbye, she'd also worried about how her family would deal with the school board if that happened, asking them where she'd gone, and how it would've forced her grieving family to lie on her behalf. And what if somebody discovered she was actually gone? Sometimes, the paranoia had run away with her and she'd taken the fantasy all the way to a police investigation, and her family getting in trouble with the law because of her 'suspicious' disappearance, although most of the time she'd been rational enough to realize that that outcome wouldn't really have happened. Her grandfather would have just called the school up, like he'd gotten used to doing all throughout their mission to slay Naraku, and he would've most likely told them that her health problems had come back and were so severe that they were pulling her out of school. Nobody would've come by to verify it, and her three school friends had already been filled in on the truth of everything, so at least they would've known what had really happened.
Even so, it had been a possible scenario she had simply not been emotionally prepared to deal with back then, getting cut off from that world before finishing high school, before she'd felt adult enough to leave her childhood home and mother behind.
"I've done a lot of growing up over the last three years, and I realized today that I wasn't afraid to leave home any longer. I realized today that if I really did have to choose, that I'd choose this time, with you guys. This place has felt like my true home for a long time now, ever since you guys first became so important to me."
She cast a sideways glance Inuyasha's way at her words, blushing mildly as their eyes met, which caused him to blush mildly as well before they both looked away. Miroku and Sango shared an amused, knowing look as the couple across from them did their dance.
Ah, clearly still in love, even after all this time apart, Miroku thought.
Inuyasha had admitted his love for Kagome to him, once, but it would be amusing to observe how long it took for the hanyou to admit it to Kagome, herself.
She'll probably have to be the one that broaches the subject, and if she doesn't then I'll have to have Sango pull her aside for a little talk.
He would give them a few days to figure things out on their own before interfering, though.
With her own thoughts running along similar lines, Kagome actually wanted to admit to the whole group that it'd been Inuyasha, himself, who was the most important person to her, that he was the one she hadn't been able to fathom living without, and she was even pretty sure it wouldn't be a surprise to anyone in the room if she said it, but she chickened out at the last minute, to put it bluntly, cursing herself as she looked away. It just didn't feel like the right time, she told herself. She wanted it to be her and Inuyasha alone, just the two of them, when they had that discussion. They shouldn't have to have an audience.
Feeling Miroku's eyes on her after a moment, Kagome glanced the houshi's way and sent him a 'you shut your mouth' glare at his knowing look, his position on the matter communicated perfectly.
Inuyasha wasn't paying attention, too busy staring at the far wall, chanting a silent mantra in his head to not make a fool of himself in front of everyone. Noticing Inuyasha's distraction, Kagome cleared her throat and addressed the whole group again, ignoring the elephant in the room for the time being as she continued with her tale.
"Even though I'd been an adult three years ago by this world's standards, my world had still considered me a child, and even though my family had let me come here because they'd known how important it was, I hadn't been old enough to permanently leave home. Now, though, I'm an adult, and I've graduated high school. My responsibilities to that world are over. I've fulfilled my obligations, and as such I'm finally free to do what I want. Now, my family won't get in trouble with the authorities for me becoming a 'missing child'; I'm just a grown up daughter who's moved away."
"Perhaps, then, the well did indeed know what it was doing these last three years, preventing you from returning before it was truly time, before you were truly ready," Kaede stated, nodding her agreement to Kagome's hypothesis as she handed the young miko a small bowl of rice and a pair of chopsticks.
Of course, she too knew what had to have been the true driving force behind Kagome's desire to return, but she wouldn't give the young couple any teasing looks like their friends were currently doing. At the first opportunity, she'd have a serious discussion with Kagome.
"Thank you," said eighteen-year-old stated as she accepted the proffered rice, growing quiet for a moment as she began eating, which allowed the others a moment to contemplate things.
Inuyasha watched her eat in silence for a moment, casting glances at the others, who were also watching Kagome with something akin to wonder in their eyes. Except for young Mizuki and Misaki, of course, who were hardly paying the adults any attention, preoccupied with some kind of game they were playing between themselves. Looking back at the young miko sitting beside him, something started nagging at the hanyou in the back of his mind that needed to be addressed.
"Your family...wasn't upset with your decision to come here?" he asked hesitantly.
During her rundown she'd only said how upon making her decision the well had opened for her right then and there, and how she'd told her family a quick goodbye in the well-house before leaping in, too afraid to even pack anything in case the well's offer had only been temporary.
Kagome sighed at his question as she sat her rice down, getting a far off look in her eyes for a brief moment before glancing his way and offering him a warm smile.
"They were sad to see me go, but encouraged me to come here, knowing it was what I wanted most, knowing that this world is where I belong. They didn't beg me to stay, where I had to be cruel and put my foot down that I was going no matter what. They'd known for a long time that I wasn't happy, and I think...I think they'd probably known that this possibility might happen one day. I'll always love them, and I'm sure at times I'll get sad, missing them more on some days than others, but I will never regret my decision to come here."
"Rin is glad you decided to come back to our world, Kagome-sama. I think this is where you belong, too," Rin said, the eleven-year-old girl the only one out of the loop regarding the young miko's deeper feelings for their hanyou companion.
"Thank you, Rin-chan," Kagome replied, offering the girl a warm smile.
"Rin's not the only one happy that you're back," Shippou commented then, sending a very obvious look in Inuyasha's direction.
The hanyou blushed mildly again, but only replied with a quiet "Keh..."
Embarrassed or no, he wasn't about to do something stupid and potentially detrimental to his future like deny his feelings outright, like the old and stupid him would have done in the past.
Finished with her rice, Kagome handed the bowl and chopsticks back to Kaede, who accepted them and put them aside to wash in a few minutes. The future-born miko then turned and glanced Inuyasha's way again, their eyes locking for a moment. Smiling shyly, she leaned into him a little bit, bumping his shoulder with her shoulder. He chuckled under his breath and bumped her back.
"It's good to have ya back, wench," he said then, his eyes sparkling with teasing mirth at the old, previously dreaded nickname.
Kagome didn't mind it in the slightest. In that moment, hearing Inuyasha's voice say anything was like a balm on her soul. Looking into each other's eyes for a moment longer, Inuyasha could see the thousands of things swimming in her stormy eyes that she wanted to say, but it wasn't hard to guess why she was holding back. He didn't exactly want to spill his guts in front of the others, either. They'd have to find the opportunity to get some alone time, although he knew it'd be too rude to take her away from the others so soon. As Kagome continued to gaze into his eyes, she could see his thoughts on the matter reflected back in their golden depths, and she knew their silent agreement was understood by the both of them. They had lots they needed to say, but not now. She turned back to address the others, then.
"Now," she said to officially change the subject, clapping her hands together enthusiastically. "It's your turns! I want to hear everything I've missed over the last three years."
Choosing not to comment on the moment that had obviously been shared between hanyou and miko, Miroku got things started at her request, launching into his tale of how he'd spoken with the village headman three years prior and had arranged for he and Sango to have a home built for themselves within the village. There had been nowhere else they'd wanted to go, which had worked out perfectly since the local villagers hadn't wanted to letthem go, either, even going so far as to have Buddhist temple buildings added to the shrine grounds so that Miroku, despite being married to Sango, could also take on the role of monk for the locals who wanted it. He was only too happy to oblige, since he wasn't a farmer and really had no other way to contribute to the village and earn his keep. If they wanted a Buddhist temple and monk to go with it, they got it.
Hearing the monk talk about his and Sango's house, Kagome turned to Inuyasha and asked him, politely and conversationally, trying not to sound too nosy or hopeful, if the villagers had also built him a house.
With the miko successfully masking her deeper reason for wanting to know, Inuyasha didn't immediately catch on and merely explained how and why he didn't have a house of his own, explaining how he hadn't really felt he'd neededone, and how he hadn't wanted to press his luck with the locals or especially the hired carpenters from the neighboring villages. He told her how he still just stayed with Kaede on the rare occasions he needed shelter, and that the rest of the time he was more than happy to hang around out in the eastern forest that bore his name, telling her how the local villagers had even dubbed him their resident forest dwelling youkai protector.
The simple fact that nobody feared or hated him those days was far more than he'd ever thought he could ask for, the occasional hunter venturing into the forest sometimes even murmuring a short prayer for his protection against predators, like he was some kind of a kami or something. It was an amazing experience for the hanyou, and he took his role of protector seriously, patrolling their borders often and keeping lower youkai and even mortal predatory animals away. He also told Kagome about his and Miroku's pseudo-career as youkai slayers, the two of them still doing the occasional extermination for anyone in need, but for a price, not that there was anything wrong with that. Miroku did have a family to provide for, after all, and even so, even with as much of a swindler as the monk could be at times, he was a good man at heart, and never charged anybody more than what he knew they could afford. If somebody in need honestly couldn't afford to pay anything at all then they'd still get rid of the youkai problem, free of charge.
Smiling at her husband at Inuyasha's words, Sango then told Kagome how Kohaku was doing those days, the boy off with Kirara doing his own youkai extermination jobs, training to become a strong taijiya. He came by to let them know how he was doing every once in a while, although he never stayed for very long, his sister's house 'too crowded' for him as he'd teased them once, after the twins were born.
When it was his turn to speak, Shippou also told Kagome all about his regular trips to the Kitsune Inn, studying with the older foxes to get better at his kitsune magic. He'd never used to understand why she had to go away to go take tests at school all the time, but now he understood, he told her then, since even though it was very different in a way, in another way what he did was just like going to school and taking tests.
Rin also chimed in during their conversation and told Kagome of how Sesshoumaru came by every once in a while, so even though he had told her to stay at the village for the time being, he hadn't forgotten about her or abandoned her.
Kagome was glad to hear that, feeling happy for the girl that her lord hadn't turned his back on her, since Rin's admiration for Inuyasha's half-brother was all-too apparent in the young girl's voice. Kagome had also seen for herself just how important Rin had actually seemed to Sesshoumaru back then, even though she hadn't quite understood why, and so she'd honestly been surprised upon arriving at Kaede's to see that he'd apparently left the girl behind. She was pleased to learn now that he did still come by from time to time, and not just for Rin's sake, actually. She cast a playful glance in Inuyasha's direction, amusement sparkling in her blue-gray eyes.
"Does this mean you two can finally look at each other without trying to kill each other?" she teased, having always secretly wanted the brothers to get along, for both their sakes. They were family, after all.
He snorted at her sense of humor, amused, and replied boastingly with, "Feh...he's coming into my domain, so he knows to behave himself."
Rin giggled behind her hand.
Visiting would have lasted longer, but the twins started getting fussy in that moment, and Ichirou needed to be changed.
"Please join us for dinner this evening, Kagome-chan," Sango said then, as she and Miroku both rose to excuse themselves for the time being. "Inuyasha was already invited, and the more the merrier."
"I'd be delighted," the future-born miko replied, smiling as Miroku picked up their daughters, Ichirou held in Sango's arms, as the family began heading for the door.
"Keh, that's if we can keep word of her return under wraps, otherwise the headman will probably want to throw a feast in her honor," Inuyasha said, his tone of voice only mildly perturbed by the notion, and not the least bit sarcastic.
"You make a good point, my friend," Miroku agreed from his place in the doorway. "Let's tell Haruto-sama the good news tomorrow, then, after we've had a chance to have Kagome-sama all to ourselves for a while longer."
He sent the hanyou a wink at his words, earning reddened cheeks in response, although Inuyasha didn't offer a verbal retort or deny his desire to do just that.
The exchange didn't go unnoticed by Kagome, of course, who chuckled a little under her breath and shook her head in amusement at Miroku's antics, sharing a brief, knowing look with Sango before the group was finally out the door and on their way.
"Keh, nosy bastard," Inuyasha grumbled then, earning a louder giggle from Kagome that time.
"Oh come on, he wouldn't be Miroku-sama if he didn't tease like he does. You know he only does it because he knows it'll get a rise out of you."
Inuyasha couldn't deny that, and he stared at Kagome in wonder again for a moment, simply trying to take in the fact that she was actually there, that she'd actually come back to him- them. She'd actually come back to them.
Keh, gone for three years but she can still make such a comment and be right; she knows me so well, and Miroku too, for that matter. Hell, she knows all of us, and that's why she came back; this is her home, and we're all her family.
Of course, the thought of 'Kagome' and 'family' together had the hanyou blushing again and quickly looking away to hide it. Now he wished he would've let Miroku talk him into seeing if the villagers wouldn't have minded building him a house, after all. Although, on the other hand, he didn't know if he'd have really been able to be so bold as to offer her a place to stay with him in his own personal home even if he had had one. Miroku would have teased him until his face turned a permanent shade of red, for one thing, probably causing him to blow up and say something stupid that would have ruined his chances with the miko and defeated the purpose of her staying with him like that, anyway.
Besides, he shouldn't really allow himself to think such thoughts until he heard it from Kagome herself that she still felt that way about him. Three years was a long time, and he knew feelings could change, and even though the fact that she'd given up everything to come back to their world did tend to suggest there had been something very important that'd caused her to make such a decision, she hadn't said as much in her explanation. She'd only told them that she'd been miserable in her world, and that she'd missed it there, in their century, and that she'd missed all of them and that they'd all been so important to her that she hadn't been able to handle the thought of never seeing them again.
Sure, he thought the little glances he and the miko had shared throughout her story had meant what he'd hoped they meant, but he still wanted to make sure, first, before risking making a total fool of himself. If it turned out all she actually wanted from him anymore was friendship, well, that would still be good enough to bring him a sense of contentment. He'd missed her so terribly, and just to have her back in his life, in any capacity, would be a thousand times better than life without her.
Kaede immediately noticed it as Inuyasha's thoughts went off to a place far away, as he'd turned away from Kagome to conceal his reddened cheeks, and she spoke up in that moment, engaging the younger miko so that Inuyasha could be alone to his thoughts without further embarrassment.
"Kagome, I have a few of your things," she said, drawing the future-born miko's attention as expected. "Your pack had been left behind when you disappeared into the meidou, and the bow from Mt. Azusa returned with Inuyasha after he saw you safely to your family."
Hearing his name pulled Inuyasha from his thoughts, and he turned back just in time to see Kagome's surprised, delighted expression.
"Oh! I'd forgotten all about my bow," she admitted, blushing a little herself that time since she knew how important that bow actually was.
"At the time, I'd let go of it at some point while floating in the meidou with Inuyasha, but it'd stayed floating right beside us, and when we suddenly found ourselves in the well-house and my family was right there, I ran out of the well and into Mama's arms without a single thought about the bow. I remembered it later that night, and noticed it was gone, when I'd been in the well-house staring into the well, crying and praying for Inuyasha to return..."
She cast a shy glance Inuyasha's way as she let her words trail off, blushing mildly at her confession, but he only offered her a reassuring, and somewhat apologetic smile.
"Anyway, that was three years ago, and so coming here now, I'd completely forgotten all about it."
"I did try to return to you, Kagome. I tried all the time, but the well wouldn't let me through, either," he explained.
"Well, thank you for returning my bow to Kaede-baa-chan for safe keeping," Kagome said then, meeting Inuyasha's eyes with gratitude.
He scoffed.
"Keh, what was I gonna to do? Chuck it in the river?" His eyes and tone of voice were playful, teasing.
"I suppose not, no," Kagome agreed, chuckling a little. "And I'm glad my bag is still here, too. I had a small mirror in my backpack, and a hairbrush, toothbrush...a few familiar comforts will help make my transition to living here much easier, I'm sure."
At those words, her eyes widened marginally at her presumption, realizing she hadn't even asked Kaede yet if she could stay with her, she'd just been assuming. Although by 'here' in that sentence she'd more or less been referring to their century as a whole she did need a roof over her head, and while she was about 99.9% positive it wouldn't be a problem to stay with Kaede she really ought to ask first before just outright presuming. Casting a shy, slightly embarrassed look in Kaede's direction, then, her unasked question was clear to the elderly miko, who chuckled some at the teen's obvious nervousness.
"You are of course welcome to stay here, Kagome, do not even ask," Kaede stated, her good eye reflecting her mirth. "My home is your home, for as long as you wish it."
Kaede sent a knowing look Inuyasha's way at her words, letting him know her home was also his for as long as he wished it, too. Bashfully, the hanyou nodded his understanding and agreement, not about to turn down her offer this time since there was one very good reason why he should indeed stay with her rather than out in the woods all by himself. Their silent communication was an exchange Kagome missed since the young miko was too busy mentally scolding herself for her own foolishness.
"Thank you, Kaede-baa-chan," she replied, clearly relieved, her eyes revealing her gratitude.
She hadn't really thought it'd be a problem, but even so, she'd hated the fact that her appearance was so presumptuous in and of itself, in a way, forcing somebody to take her in since she was basically homeless. She'd known that somebody in the village would undoubtedly take her in, but she hadn't honestly wanted to stay with anybody other than Kaede until she could figure out something more permanent for herself. The elderly miko was like a grandmother to her.
Of course, if Inuyasha'd had a house of his own I wouldn't have minded staying with him, although that might have been too presumptuous, too, in a different way, she thought, blushing again and turning away from the hanyou so he wouldn't notice, pretending instead to focus on whatever Shippou was saying to Rin in that moment.
Thinking about it, Kagome quickly decided that perhaps it was for the best, after all, that Inuyasha more or less still lived with Kaede and Rin, himself. It was much less likely for her hormones to get the better of her with their elderly chaperone and a small child both in the same room, after all. She wanted to be with Inuyasha, and had fantasized about it for years now, but the last thing she wanted to do was to ruin a potential fairytale romance by jumping into bed with the guy right out the gate. Three years was a long time to be apart, and she wanted, no...needed to make sure she knew where his heart truly lied. She wanted him, but only if he honestly wanted her in return. She would not throw herself at him and risk ruining their friendship. What if he felt so guilty afterwards that he couldn't even look her in the eyes anymore?
Baby steps... she told herself then, the silence of the moment having thankfully been filled by Shippou and Rin's chatter so that she'd been permitted her moment of wandering thoughts unnoticed by the other occupants of the hut.
"May I, Kaede-sama?" Rin asked her guardian then, Shippou having asked Rin if she wanted to go play with him and the other village children, whom he could hear were playing a game out by the paddy fields.
"Aye, Rin, you're finished with your chores for the time being, and Inuyasha is not presently away with Houshi-dono. Go and have fun," Kaede answered, passing an expectant look Inuyasha's way.
He nodded his response and rose to his feet, holding a hand out for the mildly confused Kagome as Shippou and Rin both eagerly dashed outside.
"Come on," he said to the future-born miko as he helped her to her feet, explaining, "I always keep an eye on Rin whenever she's out playing. Sesshoumaru would have my ass if anything happened to her, so Kaede only lets her go off with the other kids when I'm in town, just in case. A skinned knee ain't no big deal; I don't coddle the girl, just keep a sharp look out for potential threats."
"Ah, right," Kagome stated in understanding then, waving a quick goodbye to Kaede as she followed the hanyou outside.
It was sudden and unexpected, but the perfect opportunity to be alone with him, and since he hadn't even asked her if she wanted to stay and get settled in with Kaede or go with him, automatically acting like her place was by his side, Kagome wasn't about to show any hesitation regarding her desire to follow him anywhere. By his side was exactly where she wanted to be.
3. There's no place like home
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c ++ - Google Kickstart Round A 2019 - Training - New and Fresh Private + Public Proxies Lists Everyday!
As a football coach at your local school, you have been instructed to choose a team of P students to represent your school. There are N students to choose from. The i-th student has a skill rating of Si, which is a positive integer indicating his skill level.
You have decided that a team is right if it counts exactly P students and that it has the same rankings. In this way, everyone plays as a team. Initially, it may not be possible to choose a fair team, so you will need to give some students individual coaching. It takes one hour of coaching to increase the skills assessment of every student by one.
The competition season starts very soon (in fact, the first match has already begun!), So you want to find the minimum number of hours of coaching you need to give before you can choose a fair team.
The first line of the entry indicates the number of tests, followed by the TT tests. Each test case starts with a line containing the two integers N and P, the number of students and the number of students to be selected. , respectively. Then another line follows containing N integers Si; the i-th of them is the skill of the i-th student.
For each test case, specify a line containing case # x: y, where x is the test case number (from 1) and y is the minimum number of hours of coaching required before you can choose a case. good team of P students.
Time limit: 15 seconds per series of tests.
1 ≤ If ≤ 10000, for all i.
2 ≤ P ≤ N.
2 ≤ N ≤ 1000.
2 ≤ N ≤ 105.
In case example 1, you can spend a total of 6 hours training the first student and 8 hours training the second. This gives the first, second and third students a Skill Level of 9. This is the minimum time you can spend. The answer is 14.
In case example 2, you can already choose a right team (the first and the second student) without having to coach. The answer is 0.
In the typical case # 3, P = N, so that each student is part of your team. You must spend 6 hours training the third student so that he has a 7 hour skill like everyone else. This is the minimum time you can spend, so the answer is 6.


text:
Getting an Unrecognized Disc Out of a MacBook
by Ed Oswald
Unrecognized discs can be ejected from your MacBook's disc drive.
Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
1 Why Is My MacBook Pro Not Recognizing a Blank CD-R?
2 Troubleshoot the Optical Drive on a MacBook
3 Can I Put a Blu-Ray in My MacBook Pro?
4 Cannot Open the Required File Sources\Install.Wim
The DVD drive in your Apple MacBook is built to give you years of trouble-free service. On occasion, though, hardware or software issues may lead to the SuperDrive failing to recognize that there is a disc inserted. This makes ejecting the disc difficult but not impossible.
Disc ejecting issues are problematic on MacBooks due to the design of the laptop itself. The SuperDrive is slot-loaded, meaning the disc is inserted into a slot in the front of the drive and mechanically drawn in, rather being placed on a tray. This prevents users from using the traditional paper clip method to pop open the disc tray to retrieve jammed or unreadable discs.
Several possible reasons exist for discs failing to eject. Apple requires that discs inserted into SuperDrives must be the standard 120 millimeter size. Other, smaller discs may cause damage to the drive or become stuck. MacBooks will also fail to read discs that were burned in an improper format or are warped, heavily scratched or cracked. A MacBook will also sometimes fail to recognize a disc following a computer crash, although such occurrences are rare.
In most cases, ejecting an unrecognized disc will require only a few extra steps. First, attempt to get the disc drive to eject by pressing the Eject key (located on the top right of the keyboard) several times. If you hear the disc spinning, gently stick a piece of thin cardboard into the drive until it touches and stops the disc and repeat the process. If these steps fail, restart the MacBook while holding the trackpad button. The disc should eject.
A reset of the System Management Controller (see Resources) may be needed in order to troubleshoot the most problematic drives. Never attempt to manually remove the disc, though: there is a high risk of permanent damage to the SuperDrive which also could result in the MacBook's warranty being voided. Stuck discs that cannot be removed by any of Apple's recommended processes should either be taken to an Apple Store or sent to Apple for repair.
Apple: Troubleshooting the Slot-Loading SuperDrive
Raymond.cc: How to Eject a Stuck CD or DVD from MacBook SuperDrive
Apple: If You Can't Eject a CD or DVD or Open the Drive Tray
Apple: Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
Ed Oswald is a freelance writer whose work appears on several technology sites as well as on Demand Studios. He has been writing since 2004 and graduated with a degree in Journalism from Temple University.
Oswald, Ed. "Getting an Unrecognized Disc Out of a MacBook." Small Business - Chron.com, http://smallbusiness.chron.com/getting-unrecognized-disc-out-macbook-62760.html. Accessed 17 January 2020.
Oswald, Ed. (n.d.). Getting an Unrecognized Disc Out of a MacBook. Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/getting-unrecognized-disc-out-macbook-62760.html
Oswald, Ed. "Getting an Unrecognized Disc Out of a MacBook" accessed January 17, 2020. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/getting-unrecognized-disc-out-macbook-62760.html
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Clearing the Haze | If you think legalizing marijuana won't affect you... Think Again.
The Gazette kicks off a four-day perspective series, "Clearing the Haze," that examines health, social, regulatory and financial issues associated with the world's boldest experiment with legal marijuana.
The ugly truth is that Colorado was suckered. It was promised regulation and has been met by an industry that fights tooth and nail any restrictions that limit its profitability.


text:
Breastfeeding is not associated with risk of developing childhood leukemia in the sultanate of Oman
Mostafa I. Waly*, Amanat Ali, Muna Al-Saadoon, Yahya K. Al-Mukhaini, Yasser A. Wali
Background: Recent case-control studies on breastfeeding and childhood leukemia risk have indicated that longer duration of breast feeding (> 6 months) is associated with decreased risk of the disease. Objective: To investigate the relationship between duration of breastfeeding and risk of childhood leukemia in Oman. Materials and Methods: In a case control study all recently diagnosed and registered cases of childhood leukemia at the National Registry during (1999-2009), a total of 70 cases, were recruited. For each case, a gender and age matched control was selected either from the family relatives or from the neighbors of family siblings. Results: Breastfeeding is culturally favored for longer periods of time (up to 24 months) in Oman. Data of this study revealed that 21% of cases and 12 % of their gender and age matched controls were breastfed for an average duration of 6-12 months. In 75% of the cases and 81% of controls the period of breastfeeding was between 12-24 months. Only 4% of the cases and 7% of controls were breastfed for a period more than 24 months. No significant (P <0.05) differences were observed between the cases and controls with respect to breastfeeding and the risk of childhood leukemia. Similarly the duration of breast feeding did not have any significant (P > 0.05) effect on the risk of childhood leukemia in Oman. Conclusion: This study indicated that duration of breastfeeding was not associated with risk of childhood leukemia in Oman and there may be some other environmental and genetic factors that might be responsible for the occurrence of this disease and must be explored further.
Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
Childhood leukemia
Negative risk factors
Fingerprint Dive into the research topics of 'Breastfeeding is not associated with risk of developing childhood leukemia in the sultanate of Oman'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Oman Medicine & Life Sciences
Breast Feeding Medicine & Life Sciences
Leukemia Medicine & Life Sciences
Registries Medicine & Life Sciences
Waly, M. I., Ali, A., Al-Saadoon, M., Al-Mukhaini, Y. K., & Wali, Y. A. (2011). Breastfeeding is not associated with risk of developing childhood leukemia in the sultanate of Oman. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, 12(8), 2087-2091.
Breastfeeding is not associated with risk of developing childhood leukemia in the sultanate of Oman. / Waly, Mostafa I.; Ali, Amanat; Al-Saadoon, Muna; Al-Mukhaini, Yahya K.; Wali, Yasser A.
In: Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, Vol. 12, No. 8, 2011, p. 2087-2091.
Waly, MI, Ali, A, Al-Saadoon, M, Al-Mukhaini, YK & Wali, YA 2011, 'Breastfeeding is not associated with risk of developing childhood leukemia in the sultanate of Oman', Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, vol. 12, no. 8, pp. 2087-2091.
Waly MI, Ali A, Al-Saadoon M, Al-Mukhaini YK, Wali YA. Breastfeeding is not associated with risk of developing childhood leukemia in the sultanate of Oman. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention. 2011;12(8):2087-2091.
Waly, Mostafa I. ; Ali, Amanat ; Al-Saadoon, Muna ; Al-Mukhaini, Yahya K. ; Wali, Yasser A. / Breastfeeding is not associated with risk of developing childhood leukemia in the sultanate of Oman. In: Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention. 2011 ; Vol. 12, No. 8. pp. 2087-2091.
@article{43dceba83dec4fc3836f43a24e8abf2f,
title = "Breastfeeding is not associated with risk of developing childhood leukemia in the sultanate of Oman",
abstract = "Background: Recent case-control studies on breastfeeding and childhood leukemia risk have indicated that longer duration of breast feeding (> 6 months) is associated with decreased risk of the disease. Objective: To investigate the relationship between duration of breastfeeding and risk of childhood leukemia in Oman. Materials and Methods: In a case control study all recently diagnosed and registered cases of childhood leukemia at the National Registry during (1999-2009), a total of 70 cases, were recruited. For each case, a gender and age matched control was selected either from the family relatives or from the neighbors of family siblings. Results: Breastfeeding is culturally favored for longer periods of time (up to 24 months) in Oman. Data of this study revealed that 21% of cases and 12 % of their gender and age matched controls were breastfed for an average duration of 6-12 months. In 75% of the cases and 81% of controls the period of breastfeeding was between 12-24 months. Only 4% of the cases and 7% of controls were breastfed for a period more than 24 months. No significant (P <0.05) differences were observed between the cases and controls with respect to breastfeeding and the risk of childhood leukemia. Similarly the duration of breast feeding did not have any significant (P > 0.05) effect on the risk of childhood leukemia in Oman. Conclusion: This study indicated that duration of breastfeeding was not associated with risk of childhood leukemia in Oman and there may be some other environmental and genetic factors that might be responsible for the occurrence of this disease and must be explored further.",
keywords = "Breastfeeding, Childhood leukemia, Negative risk factors, Sultanate of Oman",
author = "Waly, {Mostafa I.} and Amanat Ali and Muna Al-Saadoon and Al-Mukhaini, {Yahya K.} and Wali, {Yasser A.}",
journal = "Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention",
publisher = "Asian Pacific Organization for Cancer Prevention",
T1 - Breastfeeding is not associated with risk of developing childhood leukemia in the sultanate of Oman
AU - Waly, Mostafa I.
AU - Ali, Amanat
AU - Al-Saadoon, Muna
AU - Al-Mukhaini, Yahya K.
AU - Wali, Yasser A.
N2 - Background: Recent case-control studies on breastfeeding and childhood leukemia risk have indicated that longer duration of breast feeding (> 6 months) is associated with decreased risk of the disease. Objective: To investigate the relationship between duration of breastfeeding and risk of childhood leukemia in Oman. Materials and Methods: In a case control study all recently diagnosed and registered cases of childhood leukemia at the National Registry during (1999-2009), a total of 70 cases, were recruited. For each case, a gender and age matched control was selected either from the family relatives or from the neighbors of family siblings. Results: Breastfeeding is culturally favored for longer periods of time (up to 24 months) in Oman. Data of this study revealed that 21% of cases and 12 % of their gender and age matched controls were breastfed for an average duration of 6-12 months. In 75% of the cases and 81% of controls the period of breastfeeding was between 12-24 months. Only 4% of the cases and 7% of controls were breastfed for a period more than 24 months. No significant (P <0.05) differences were observed between the cases and controls with respect to breastfeeding and the risk of childhood leukemia. Similarly the duration of breast feeding did not have any significant (P > 0.05) effect on the risk of childhood leukemia in Oman. Conclusion: This study indicated that duration of breastfeeding was not associated with risk of childhood leukemia in Oman and there may be some other environmental and genetic factors that might be responsible for the occurrence of this disease and must be explored further.
AB - Background: Recent case-control studies on breastfeeding and childhood leukemia risk have indicated that longer duration of breast feeding (> 6 months) is associated with decreased risk of the disease. Objective: To investigate the relationship between duration of breastfeeding and risk of childhood leukemia in Oman. Materials and Methods: In a case control study all recently diagnosed and registered cases of childhood leukemia at the National Registry during (1999-2009), a total of 70 cases, were recruited. For each case, a gender and age matched control was selected either from the family relatives or from the neighbors of family siblings. Results: Breastfeeding is culturally favored for longer periods of time (up to 24 months) in Oman. Data of this study revealed that 21% of cases and 12 % of their gender and age matched controls were breastfed for an average duration of 6-12 months. In 75% of the cases and 81% of controls the period of breastfeeding was between 12-24 months. Only 4% of the cases and 7% of controls were breastfed for a period more than 24 months. No significant (P <0.05) differences were observed between the cases and controls with respect to breastfeeding and the risk of childhood leukemia. Similarly the duration of breast feeding did not have any significant (P > 0.05) effect on the risk of childhood leukemia in Oman. Conclusion: This study indicated that duration of breastfeeding was not associated with risk of childhood leukemia in Oman and there may be some other environmental and genetic factors that might be responsible for the occurrence of this disease and must be explored further.
KW - Breastfeeding
KW - Childhood leukemia
KW - Negative risk factors
KW - Sultanate of Oman
JO - Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
JF - Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention


In this June 30, 2015, file photo, tourists visit the ancient Acropolis hill, with the ruins of the fifth century BC Parthenon temple in Athens, Greece.
For Americans accustomed to just booking-and-going when it comes to European travel, an additional step will soon require some additional planning.
In two years, most European Union countries will begin implementing a new travel visa as a requirement for U.S. citizens and citizens from 59 other countries to enter.
The visa website cited concerns over illegal migration and terrorism as the reasons for the increased security measures.
Currently, Americans traveling to Europe for 90 days or less don't need a visa.
Beginning Jan. 21, 2021, all Americans looking to travel to a European Schengen-zone country, including France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and others, will need ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) authorization. This includes minors.
For those who have never had to get a visa, a visa is an endorsement placed within a passport that grants the holder official permission to enter, leave or stay in a country for a specified time period.
In order to get one, you'll need a valid passport, credit or debit card and an email account.
The visa is valid for three years and is "multi-entry," so you don't need to apply every time you want to visit.
Obtaining the ETIAS visa should be "affordable, simple and fast," with an estimated one-time cost of just 7 euros or 8 dollars, according to a press release from the European Commission.
"Completing the online application should not take more than 10 minutes with automatic approval being given in over 95% of cases," the release said.
Thanksgiving, Labor Day, Memorial Day and the Fourth of July are busy — real busy. Find out just how much more time you are likely to spend on the road when traveling for these holidays.
The visa website did not list the cost but said payment must be paid in advance online when applying with the traveler's contact information and passport details. Registration will also include some basic security questions.
The ETIAS is similar to the ESTA, which is what Europeans currently need in order to enter the U.S.
With the impending Brexit deal between the U.K. and the EU, Americans will not need a visa to enter the U.K. or Ireland.
The visa change also applies to Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City.
James Spader talks with Seth Meyers about the 24-hour news cycle and childhood trips his family took around Europe in a VW Bus.


text:
Bedside manna
"Some doctors have an intuitive rapport. For others it's a work in progress."
Keren Levy
A series of health scares recently put me in the way of varied styles of medical communication. After a fainting episode at work necessitated a number of anxiety-inducing tests, I discovered that scary terms such as cardiogram and biopsy can become wondrously gentler things when delivered by way of empathy.
And in my case, often, they were. Wired with cables, attached to primary-coloured suction tabs, one can be forgiven for feeling like a human game of Twister. But the nurse administering my heart monitor understood the balance between listening and informing. Her simple statement that something was routine and her anecdotes providing context brought normality into the midst of alienating technology. It was welcome.
Yet a slight ambiguity persists to the term bedside manner. It can excuse as much as compliment, perhaps because it is still regarded by some as the preserve of polite society. The possession of a good bedside manner is "incumbent on a fashionable lady's doctor", stipulated an article entitled "Modern Requirements", in the Yorkshire Evening Press in 1891.
In the same era, a Punch cartoon by George du Maurier pictured an urbane male doctor, coffee cup aloft, at the bedside of an indisposed female. "Oh, that's your doctor, is it? What sort of doctor is he?" reads a visitor's speech bubble. The patient's reply: "Oh well, I don't know much about his ability; but he's got a very good bedside manner."
Fast-forward a century and there is a definite shift. Critical diagnostic ability and the manner of its communication are regarded as more of a unit. A 1991 film, The Doctor, loosely based on Dr Edward Rosenbaum's autobiographical A Taste of My Own Medicine, documents the experience of throat cancer which took him from being surgeon to patient. Being on the "receiving end" transformed his views about conveying information. Evident sympathy became his priority, with the aim that patients feel comfortable, reassured, and welcome.
Some doctors have an intuitive rapport. For others it's a work in progress. I understand this most where empathy is absent.
"We'd better include an echocardiogram," said one GP, tartly and without further explanation. "Is there an additional problem shown in my scan?" I asked.
"Well, it's not normal to faint for no reason, is it? I do have other patients." Both are true. The trick is not to make you feel it.
Bedside manner isn't always intended as praise. But it should be.
Ideally, a person should occupy the space of a person. This should rule out the trailing of collision-prone wheeled suitcases
Border bard
"Patrick Kavanagh wrote about an Ireland that "froze for want of Europe". He was thinking of an Ireland that history had removed from the mainstream of European culture"
Michael Duggan
Snack attacks
"Greggs was supposed to be safe from the liberal metropolitan elite. The vegan sausage roll showed that it wasn't"
Louise Perry


text:
621/Burn the House Down
From Heroes Assemble MUSH
Burn the House Down
Date of Scene:
The house doesn't actually burn down.
Cast of Characters:
Douglas Ramsey, Samuel Guthrie, Amara Aquilla, Alex Summers, Jennifer Stavros, Joshua Foley
Douglas Ramsey has posed:
1:00 AM. Xavier's School for the Gifted. The Library.
The funny thing about this old house? Unless you have super-hearing, sound doesn't carry. Which is why Doug can, while he's pulling books off the shelves looking for SOMETHING, put his speaker on, and sway to the beat - he picks up a folio and flips through it, as he puts a little hip action into it, putting those Stevie Hunter dance lessons to good use.
"Way up, way up we go, been up and down that road / Way up, way up oh no, we gon' burn the whole house down-"
Samuel Guthrie has posed:
Sam Guthrie comes walking into the library. He smells of pizza, and that maybe the uniform or the pizza he carried. He looks over seeing Dancing and chuckles a bit. He will walk over putting the pizza and a six pack of cokes on one of the tables.
Amara Aquilla has posed:
Amara Aquilla Is not far off she, of course, hears the music mostly cause she's int he same place, but she's sitting in one of the reading nooks reading a book called modern culture for dummies. She looks over when she spots sam but doesn't speak the blond just watching for now though that smell of food brings her to stand up and start to walk closer. Tummy rumbles override logic.
Alex Summers has posed:
Alex Summers....is not a student. Or at least, not a student at the mansion, and thus does not necessarily have to come here for research. While he's been someone people might have seen around the mansion of late, as he's getting help with his sudden undiscovered mutant powers, he isn't actually part of the X-Men either.
On the other hand.
When you suddenly are faced with what seems to be an invitation to a very formal gala in a few weeks time, it seems like like a good time to do a little research, just to see, you know....how to act. He's not sure if he'll find something like that in the library, necessarily, but it's a start.
Thus, he wanders in, raising a brow at Doug and his dancing, shortly after Sam, starting to meander towards the magazine rack.
Jennifer Stavros has posed:
Jen smells pizza. She hears music. She senses dorkery in the offing. The first two are positives. The third exists only to be stomped out. "AJR, Ramsey?" she says from the library doorway in a tone that would receive a blatantly ignored 'shush' from any half-reasonable library. "I suppose your taste could be worse. Maybe." She saunters in, tight jeans, blue tee that reads 'green.' in lowercase red letters across her chest. "How do we feel on the subject of Marshmello, hmm?" She comes to stand close to Sam. "Hello, Sammy. You're looking well," she chirps, one hand reaching toward his pizza box, eyes never flickering from his face.
Doug looks up, and other than a slight pinkening of his cheeks, he doesn't stop. "I've still got the old routine down!" He enthuses. "I don't know if I could still pull off my solo of 'Mr. Saxobeat' anymore, though." He gives a little grin, and then says, "Jenny! *Amara*!" He hadn't seen her in the alcove. He's a little embarassed about that.
"I can't." Doug says to Sam, "It's not my cheat day." And he doesn't have a calorie-sapping power like other people do.
Then he glances up. "Alex, right? This is an Xaviers' School tradition. Impromptu midnight library dance party. The goal is to see how long you can stretch it out before Ororo wakes up and-- well she doesn't *yell*, but she sort of crosses her arms and you can feel the static electricity in the room--"
Amara Aquilla Chuckles and clearly plans on running away before that starts though she snakes her hand into the pizza box to grab za.. she frowns when it comes out though only to wave her hand under it a few times before it holds up and stops drooping " Better " She says before she bites with a clear crunch of hot crispy crust.
Sam Guthrie smiles and opens the box and inside is a meat lovers with extra cheese. "Well any who wants some free game to it." He will smile a bit and says "I was going to hit the Rec room but some kids fell asleep down there so figured here would work ad made sure to bring enough to share." He smiles at the others.
"Tradition, huh?" Alex says bemusedly, then shrugs. "Hey, do what you like then, don't let me interrupt." He turns as Jen walks in, then points at her. "That. Is an awesome shirt." he enthuses. "How many people have you had ask you why it's wrong yet?" he says amusedly. The pizza box does draw the eye, but he doesn't try to steal a piece himself. Not his pizza. Now if someone offers....totally.
Which Sam does, meaning Alex changes course to snag a piece. "Thanks...my lunch kinda got cut short and I missed dinner."
"You're too kind, Sammy. Much too kind," Jen says, flashing him a bright smile that she reserves for those who can be suckered into letting her eat their food. Meat lovers wouldn't be her first choice -- she feels obligated to request veggie pizza when she goes out, whether or not it's her favorite -- but any port in a storm. She claims a slice and seems unbothered by the droopiness of it. Nom.
Joshua Foley has posed:
Josh carefully looks into the library. The pizza, well the pizza carries in ways that sound doesn't carry. He leans against the door frame and peers at the gathering of people.
Honestly he is so new that he doesn't recognize really anyone but... Guthrie. That is enough to get him to sort of linger leaning against the doorjam and take in the lay of the land over yonder.
Damn, smells good.
The track changes to Bruce Springsteen's 'Dancing in the Dark' - Doug has playlists for everything, even being up in the middle of the night.
"I was actually just looking through old photos of... us." Doug says, before he holds one open. "See Sam?" He says, "They always said you'd grow into your ears. I'm feeling a little nostalgic, which is best saved for one o'clock in the morning when you're not bothering anybody else with it." He looks at the... weird looking creature in the group photograph, and then closes the album with a snap, before he steals a loose piece of ham from the box, tosses it up in the air and catches it in his mouth.
"...Hi!" He says, to Josh, "I'm Doug. This is Amara, Jenny, and Alex. C'mon in."
Sam Guthrie looks over and holds up a soda to Josh "Join us Josh, food and drink and some guys you can ask questions about if you want to know anything about the school but were worried about asking the teachers."
Amara Aquilla Give a shy smile to Jennifer since the two are at the table enjoying za . She pulls out a chair and sits down with her back straight even as she munches the goodness. She hmmms frowning " This tastes different than the pizza I had before.. the top seems different ? " . Her voice is still some what stiff and with a strange heavy accent.
"It's all about the toppings, Amy," Jenny says cheerfully. "Different people like different stuff. Me, I go for the vegetarian pizza most of the time, but you can't look a gift slice in the mouth. Not that it has a mouth, except in old Twilight Zone episodes." Her eyes go to Doug and his soundtrack. "I vote we put on different music. Doug just went from marginally acceptable to 'my dad has that album'. Hi, new kid," she adds, nodding to Josh.
Alex promptly rolls up the pizza to keep any toppings from escaping and munches on it as he leans against one of the study stables, nodding to Josh as he come sin as well. "Mm, I'm more a supreme or pepperoni/sausage...after a while you've got to omuch meat to pick out the individual flavors." He ponders. "Bacon however. Bacon can be substituted for either of those. And added to supreme.
Okay well Sam didn't do anything but invite him inside, okay that is a good sign the pizza isn't a trap or anything.
He raises his hands shooting a wave to the various people mentioned there "Hi.. uh.. Josh like he said." of course. He wanders over towards the gathered folk and snags a coke and then a slice of pizza.
"I got here last week... so.. I pretty much don't know much of anything. I mean I know the high school course work.. regular stuff but..." a shrug.
Amara Aquilla Smiles and grins to Alex " Don't worry, I didn't know about electricity till about two years go " She shrugs, " Don't feel left out ".
She grabs another slice, and again she waves her hand under it.. causing the air to grow hot and seem to wave as she gives sit a tiny extra cook to cook the dough under it give it more crisp.
She looks over at the coke and how others are drinking it picking up the can and checking it out a bit like it's something she's seen before but never messed with .
Jenny reaches over to Amara's can and pops the top helpfully. "Like this," she says. She knows the girl's not from around here -- kid seems nice enough, and could definitely manage the cool factor with some proper education. Efforts will be made. "Now." She retrieves her phone from her pocket and brings up her own music, something more modern, more awesome, more generally not Doug's style. "Springsteen is out, Ramsey."
"It's called 'music' Jenny! You can tease me all you want, but the Boss is the voice of the highs and lows of living in America, no matter what generation you belong to. Now when I get to the Bangles, then you can start to make fun of my song selections." His gaze flicks up, and he says, "I'd seen you kicking around, but I've been so busy, and this place can be -- a lot. A lot of a lot. So giving you a week to acclamate yourself seemed pretty fair go."
Then Doug adds, "If you run into any demons, they're just Illyana's. They're harm--" He stops. "...They won't hurt you or anything."
"Probably."
Sam Guthrie smirks a bit and says "You may encounter.... you will encounter odd things around here Joss, sorta comes with the scholarship, but most of the time it is harmless and if it aint you will either see someone blasting it or running away from it." He looks over to Doug and says "May need your help with trying to figure out where the best apartments are between here and New York Doug.
Alex glances over to Amarah, raising a brow. Ah. girl is new here. He can just...imagine how she might deal with the stuff he's been learning. Even setting aside the time traveling future apocalypse stories, there's plenty of other things that might...yes. Like the demon thing that Doug just mentioned.
They really don't do the whole 'easing people into things' stuff here, he's noticed. Just dropped into the deep end.
"You're thinking of Westchester?" he says absently to Sam as he mentions apartments. "I mean, depends where, mostly. Pretty cheap out here compared to the Big Apple."
Amara Aquilla Nods " running is a very important skill " She beams a smile sitting straight in her chair like some noble lady.. though when the drink is opened " ahhh that's now " She peers at the tab and takes a sip of the drink and curls her nose " Nope still not okay with the bubbles " she sticks out her tongue.
"Buy it use it break it fix it, trash it change it mail upgrade it, charge it point it zoom it press it, snap it work it quick erase it..." Jenny doesn't have him foxed THAT easily, he likes Daft Punk too. Sort of an omni-consumer of media, our Douglas.
Doug holds his hands out to Sam in a shrug. "I bought a place in Maine. Illyana and I are still figuring out how to set up a stable gateway that doesn't shortcut through Limbo. A demon ate all my frozen pizza, and got into a fight with the raccoon that lived in the tree outside." He shakes his head, and says, "That raccoon beat the hell out of that demon."
"I'll... see what I can find Sam? But you might have to settle for Newark."
"Demons?"
Josh pauses very long and hard there, then takes a bite of pizza. "Are you hazing me.. demons?"
That name again and gaetways. Well that is a thing. He sips his coke and takes another bite of pizza shaking his head.
"I met Laura and Gabby earlier. Gabby seems nice." note, he does not extend that to Laura.
Sam Guthrie says, "Well not sure if they are biblical demons but close enough. Beings from another dimension with a nasty attitude most of the time." He nods over to Doug, and says "Will need to be two bedrooms, I think I have Alexis ready to leave her dad's control but not ready to admit she is a mutant yet." He admits."
"Why...would you want to stay in Maine? it's cold and rocky and windy 90 percent of the year, and the rest of the time it's freezing cold. I mean, seriously, you could have gotten a house in Buffalo. Wait, is this the demon girl you were going to ask out or whatever?" Alex notes, munching on his pizza between conversations. "So you're moving in together? Moving fast there, tiger."
Amara Aquilla Blinks as she bites her pizza her head snapping here and there is this what they call teen drama .. ohhh it's juicy! so she just listens a bit while eating her pizza watching with big blue eyes as they talk and try to connect the dots.
"I'm really not the person to ask about that." Doug says. "After you've spent a little while existing as singular life-form fused with your space alien best friend," Doug says, "And you've got a swanky techno-organic prosthetic arm as a consequence of that," Doug flexes his black and gold hand, "...You really cease to be qualified to provide an opinion on what is and isn't weird."
Then Doug sighs, and says, "Sam, I get that she needs help, but you're playing with fire by playing chicken with that guy and his dime-store Hellfire Club. He seems like the *really* vindictive type. And if she's being stubborn..." He pinches the bridge of his nose, looks up, and down, and then he says, "You're going to have to bring her here, you know. You get an apartment, he'll find you. Here, he can't touch her. He has lawyers, Xavier has bigger lawyers. He has money, Xavier has more money. Your domestic bliss is gonna have to wait... just tell her the place you're living now is the Oldest of Old Money. It goes Jamestown. Puritans. This place."
"Oh, heh! Did. Did ask her out." Doug says to Alex, "...We're figuring out the dating thing. It's got its ups and its downs but it's nice to... have someone. And she's *really* a decent person. She just has a certain... aethetic. With a lot of spikes and demons... but you know me! I like living dangerously." Said the Mormon son of two lawyers from Salem Center, who looks like he was a boy scout - and *was* one.
Josh... well poor Josh just takes another bite of pizza and stares at Doug there. Techno-organic.. he peers at Doug's arm there and then considers. Then he looks over at Sam and considers.
"So.. .what... is techno-organic?" he is watching Doug's arm as he asks then looks up, right eye contact. Soda sip. Be cool. Yeah he knows they seem to be having a serious conversation about like relationships and girl's with dangerous dads or something.
Jenny blinks slowly at Doug. She zoned out for awhile there. There are often just so many better things to think about and do than school. In this recent moment, for example, she was thinking about how it was so silly because she could easily just saunter over to Vegas with a fake ID, win a couple of jackpots quietly, and live a millionnaire's lifestyle by making some stock broker very lucky. And then there was something about using her money to get the attention of Johnny Storm and...
Well, that's not really important. What is important is that "Doug Ramsey got up the guts to ask out the queen of Hell?!" These words are, yes, spoken aloud with complete incredulity. "Okay. Okay, Ramsey. Maybe you are not completely a useless, over-brained dweeb. Bruce Springsteen still sucks, though."
Amara Aquilla Blinks Wait, what " Did thou say that correct queen of hell? " She frowns while being a mutant comes with lots of perks and strange and interesting things you learn about .. she frowns " What's hell?" She tries to remember what it means..Grabbing a small book, she looks it up " Is that like Tartarus? " She asks softly
Sam Guthrie looks over to Joshua, and says "Sorta the flesh and blood of a mutant alien friend of ours who is currently on walk about getting to know the world better I am sure." The last part perhaps to help reassure Doug. It is what Doug's arm here is made of now as well." He looks over to Amara "Somewhat yes, there seems to be different forms of it." And then looking over to Doug "She aint ready to admit she is a mutant bringing her here might de difficult."
Something about what Sam says draws Alex's attention as he pauses. "Hellfire Club? The one downtown? She's the kid of one of the board or whatever there?" he says thoughfully. "I mean, getting her to run away from home is a serious thing, especially if you're bringing her here and her dad comes looking for her. She old enough to be on her own? If she's an adult, it's one thing, if she's still a minor..."
"Well your window to persuade her's closing." Doug says, before he rolls his fingers, experimentally. "It's a -- long story. Uh, did you ever play Mass Effect? Remember the ending that everyone complained about?"
Then he sighs. "I was infected by a strain of an alien virus that converts organic tissue into a sort of malleable multimorphic nanocarbon-circuitry compound." He holds techno-organic arm up, and for a moment from the forearm down it transforms into various shapes. A nerf bat, a tennis racket, the bat signal, which... projects a batman symbol onto the ceiling, and then back into an arm.
"But near as I can tell, the strain I'm infected with is benign. It saved my life." He rubs the back of his neck. "Or at least it's only rendering me inhuman one piece at a time. His organization's like the Hellfire Club without the swagger. Sam's new girlfriend was his golden child, meant to exemplify the superiority of Homo Sapiens Sapiens over all deviant and deficient genetic outliers. Only she's a mutant. Whoops!"
"But the guy is rich. And well-connected. And isn't the sort of person who takes no for an answer."
"...You all act like she's some unapproachable ice queen, but she's really not! Seriously. She's a lot of fun, and more sensitive than you think. She's just..." He says, "She's got a unique sense of humor."
"Technically it's Limbo. Totally different from hell. It's just full of fire and demons and whatnot," Jenny explains to Amara. "And Ramsey, if there is one of your little gang that is cool, it is her. I mean, if nothing else she's practically my twin, which gives her points right there." She pauses. "Moonstar could probably get a pass too. But, the point is not that she is demon queen of another dimension. The point is, you asked her out. And she said yes. Which blows. My. Mind. Because as we all know, you are King Geek of... oh!" She nods suddenly, everything right with the world in her head again. "You're King Geek. A queen's gotta have a king. Whereas..." She gestures at herself. "Princesses are free to do their thing. Right, Ames?" This last clearly directed at Amara, who may not realize she has at least a half dozen nicknames in Jenny's head already.
Amara Aquilla Blinks totally confused but one thing she's learned at this school dunno what's going on just roll with it till you figure it out. She just nods her head " Yup," she says softly as she sips the pop again not thinking before she scrunches her nose " Uggg wrong one, I need wine " .
Josh takes all of that in and looks then snags another slice of pizza, because well no one else is snagging it right. He takes a bite then when Doug gets to the part of explaining about Sam's new girlfriend well. "That is such a mood..."
"Wait.. is it contagious or safe to touch?"
Sam Guthrie smiles and says "Well sorry Mara, I just brought soda up." He looks to josh and says "Doesn't seem to be,. And yea she just turned 18 this week, she was the one standing up to power girl at her early birthday party last week, and speaking at the Genosha rememberance ceremony before that.
Jenny leans over, murmurs to Amara, "Talk to me later. We'll get you wine." A pat to the other blonde's arm. She gets it. Sometimes you just need a drink. Every other damn country in the world knows that. America. Full of suck.
This was why Alex came back a bit tipsy a few nights back. Being at the mansion is just...something that occasionally requires copious alcohol. He shrugs at Sam. "Don't know her, sorry, didn't see any of that. I'd ask one of your teachers though if you're going to bring her here, just so they've got a heads up?" He pauses to snag another piece of pizza, rolling it up again, then says sympathetically to Amara. "It's a lot to take in here. Why I go out sometimes. Open offer really for anyone who wants to tag along next time who needs some normal pub time." He tilts his head at Josh. "...I'm gonna hope non-contagious...though you're taking the whole 'merged with an alien' thing well." he compliments him. Alex himself is just...kinda numb to the craziness by this point.
Doug extends his hand. "It's fine, go ahead. You'd only risk infection if I physically integrated the techno-organic arm with your body, and even then it'd take repeated exposure over the long term for you to be infected unless I was TRYING to pass the virus to you. Warlock and I were -- repeatedly merged into a singular entity. Him, me, we, us, I. It - well. You're not the same after something like that." He pauses, and then clears his throat. "I'm told that I'm also the world's cutest nerd, so... you do what you can with what you've got, right?"
Then he muses, and says to Alex, "You are *not* a lot like Scott. I mean, I like Scott but you seem more... relaxed."
Amara Aquilla Sighs growing up in nova roma the water wasn't exactly safe to drink so everybody drinks wine even the smaller kids just they drink a weaker version. She is still getting used to all the drinks of the modern world but still prefers her wine. She nods to Jennifer and beams a smile "Awsome.. " She frowns " That was the right word right awsome? "
Sam Guthrie looks over to Jennifer giving her the eyebrow raised, while alex may not be much like Scott, Sam can be at times. He will eat another piece of pizza quiet for now listening.
"That's the word," Jenny agrees cheerfully, her brows rising at Sam. Jennifer Stavros can be the picture of innocence when she wants to. She's not averse to using that look even on people who won't believe it for a second. She pops the last bit of her pizza's crust into her mouth.
"The fabled Summers stick does not come standard shoved up somewhere sensitive." Alex notes dryly, before taking a bite bite of the pizza and chewing, as he gestures with it a bit. "...who exactly is telling you you're the cuted nerd? Because if it's your girflriend, there's some subjective bias built into that assertion." he says amusedly, then ponders, looking over the group. "Okay, he's a self declared super nerd...would any of the rest of you know anything about going to fancy galas and how to not screw up too badly when going to one for the first time? I got invited to one, but I don't really know how to act at stuff like that."
Sam Guthrie looks to the group, and says "Well I worked tonight and I am tired, Jenny and Mara might be able to help you, Jenny more modern, Mara classical, but I am going to head out. Doug make sure it is all cleaned up for me man." He asks of the one he trusts to do it the most.
Josh reaches and grabs a napkin so he isn't messing with Doug's arm with pizza grease then he slips to his feet and moves closer. He carefully reaches out and touches his two fingers to the arm sort of like he is taking a pulse.
Which in a way he is, he is still learning and knows next to nothing, but the different ways that 'life' feels under his touch is an ever expanding fascination.
He blinks and pulls his fingers back a little startled. "Okay.. yeah... that feels REAL strange.... but it is alive... I think." pause "Maybe."
"Yeah, it's weird, isn't it? It's me but it's not me. As it was explained to me, when a living thing is infected with transmode it's transformed into a Phalanx, which is... well. Horrible. It's a Gray Goo meets the Borg scenario, except that the Phalanx's goal are to build a 'Babel Spire' which they believe will allow them to ascend to heaven to be one with their gods -- but it's actually a giant signal array which will summon a planet-eating alien that. Uh. Eats the planet. But that's not happening to me. But everything about Warlock was different from the usual Technarch."
He looks up at Sam and waves a hand. "Get some sleep, we'll talk more about how to help your girlfriend tomorrow." Then he glances around at the others, and his shoulders raise and fall. "Well I can see I'm being a giant downer."
"Like nobody else can clean up," Jenny says drily, making absolutely no move to clean up after the small feast. "You're not the king of cleaning things, Doug." She shakes her head. Jeez, Sam, like she's never lifted a finger to help. To Alex, though, "I know a bit about etiquette and galas and that sort of thing. Even if I hate it all. I'm probably not going to ruin things for somebody else."
"You are saying words... but ... yeah pretty much none of it makes much sense Doug." he smiles though and slips up to his feet with a stretch. "Thanks to whoever brought the pizza... " he pauses and looks to Jenny then the box .. I mean there is still pizza in it so he snags the papertowel he used and his soda can to bus those at least. "Uh... night all..."
The teen has a lot to think about, mostly how damn strange everyone in this school is.
"Ehm." Doug says, he looks up at Alex and then says, "...Betsy. You want to talk to Betsy." He rubs the back of his neck and yawns, and then says, "Does anybody want more of this pizza? I'll leave what's left out in the kitchen and it'll magically be gone by sunrise. Seeya, Josh. Have a good night." He glances at Jenny and the corner of his mouth turns up. "It's good to see that you're doing so well, Roulette."
"Seeya, new kid!" Jenny calls after Josh. She probably knows his name. But really, so much of what Jenny is keyed to annoy somebody. And anyway, she's totally normal! Just, you know, normal awful. "I'm always doing well, Doug," she replies, rising and collecting more pizza as she sways toward the door. "I'm gonna have to track down 'Yana now. Have a good night!"
Jenny always gets in the last word.
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Roleplay Logs


After the completion of Navadvipa-dhama parikarma, Srila Narayana Maharaja returned to his Giridhari Gaudiya Matha in Govardhana, where he will remain until March 25th. He will then spend three days in Mathura to celebrate Rama-navami, and then proceed to Delhi (Noida) for a 3-day pandal program before leaving for his Western tour.
Every morning at about 6am he goes for a morning japa walk, during which time he also answers devotees' philosophical questions, and he returns at 7:00am. He then enters the temple and circumambulates the Deities of Sri Sri Radha-vinoda-bhiharji and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and the assembled devotees circumambulate with him.
During the day, Srila Narayana Maharaja translates the acaryas' Sanskrit commentaries of Srimad-Bhagavatam into Hindi, answers numerous letters, and meets with devotees.
He was invited one day to a nearby village named Shonk to speak about the Gaudiya-Vaisnava philosophy, and he also initiated 30 villagers there.
"Do not commit any offense towards the holy dhama. Also, do not criticize any Vaisnava. Perform bhajana.
"This place is very sacred. Srila Rupa Gosvami, Srila Sanatana Gosvami, Srila Lokanatha Gosvami, Srila Bhurgarba Gosvami, Srila Gopal-bhatta Gosvami, Srila Jiva Gosvami and the other Gosvamis, Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura and Sri Baladeva Vidyabhusana have performed bhajana here and are eternally present in Seva Kunja. And some special Gaudiya Vaisnava temples are here. You are very fortunate to be here. Be surrendered to Srila Gurudeva and Sri Sri Radha-Krsna.
"Be careful. Be wholeheartedly surrendered to Gurudeva and Radha-Krsna conjugal. What I have told in my classes about your aim and object of your life, you should realize here.
"You have heard this verse many times. Try to follow it. It is a very important verse. It is the essence of all instructions of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila Rupa Gosvami.
"I am also fortunate that I am here in Vraja. Sometimes I am here, sometimes in Mathura, sometimes in Govardhana, sometimes in Navadvipa, and sometimes in Radha-kunda. Perform bhajana very sincerely and try to be totally surrendered, with no duplicity or hypocrisy, and thus your lives will be successful."
Every evening at Govardhana, at about 5:30pm, Srila Narayana Maharaja walks on the grass while intermittently doing his japa and meeting with devotees and guests. During this 30 minute period, devotees sit on the ledges and temple steps to chant along with him. Most evenings, after this japa period, he gives short classes in the temple room. One night he spoke about the discussion between Nemi Maharaja and the Nine Yogendras concerning the process by which conditioned souls can attain liberation and ultimately Krsna-prema. One night he spoke about the significance of the Holi festival. On the night following the solar eclipse, which had taken place between 6.28am and 9.55 am, he spoke about the significance of the solar eclipse. He related the history of Krsna and His associates performing pastimes at the time of the eclipse at Kuruksetra, 5,000 years before.


The aim of value engineering is to systematic identification and elimination of unnecessary costs. It is applied for existing products rather than new products.
Increased profits – With the cost reduction of a product, the profits of an organization increased. This results in time reduction. It also ensures greater returns on invested capital. The competitive position of company also improves.
Improved product Design – With the modification in design, the customer will get a new and more acceptable product.
Efficiency – It increases the efficiency of employees as it motivates them to come forward with their creative ideas. It also makes contributions to improve human factors such as creativity, team work and positive attitude among employees. The team approach also improves the decision making.
Time consideration – A product has value for the customer if it is available to him on time. So time element has great importance in value engineering. It may have no value if it arrives later.
Improvement in quality – This results in improvement in quality, reliability, performance and maintainability of a product.
Orientation/preparation – Make a team for design, marketing, purchasing etc and fix a proper schedule.
Innovation/Creativity – A brainstorming session can be held to explore all possible alternatives.
Option evaluation – Evaluate all possible solutions and select the best alternative.
Implementation and monitoring – Make a plan for implementation of change.


Research allows us to explore people's lives: how they live, their routines, their likes & dislikes, their attitudes & opinions, their beliefs. In today's rapidly changing world, understanding people and uncovering their truths, has never been more central to business in meeting their customers' needs.
This paper explores the shifts that are taking place within the consumer insights industry; beginning with the origins and evolution of research approaches, followed by the current state of play and what this means for tomorrow.


This game is remake of old and very popular game - River Raid. Staggering gameplay, 50 levels - from very simple to complicated, a lot of enemies with different types and behavior, wide variety of special effects and stereo sound - guarantee of 100% joy and satisfaction.
Your task is guide your fighter near above river's bed and terminate as more enemies as you can. Fuel tanks at your aircraft is not fathomless so you need to refuel time to time. Enemy's forces will try to prevent you with your mission and you need to be careful. Beware of antiaircraft defence units!
Good luck! And have a nice ride!
Do you like River Shoot? River Raider is the just popular one. Guide your fighter to blast the enemies to the best of your abilities. Whether the scene or the sound is good, but compared with River Raider II, River Raider seems to be little limited.
Glory Zone - You will drive the best space plan to combat with thousands of unknow alien who want to conquer our world.
Championship Checkers Pro - Revisit this Classic and Learn Flying Kings!
Barons Bonanza - Pokie Magic - Barons Bonanza is an Aussie style poker machine simulation.
Mah Jong Adventures - A brand-new game by Skunk Studios!
Bombardix - Bombardix is a Bomberman remake!


***UPDATE-Graveside Services will be held on Friday, September 21, 2018 at 11:00am in Macclesfield Cemetery.
Andy A. Baker, 56, passed away on Monday, September 10, 2018 surrounded by his family.
The family will receive relatives and friends at Carlisle Funeral Home in Tarboro on Wednesday evening from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. The memorial service will immediately follow with the Rev. Julian Thompson, Jr. officiating.
He is survived by his loving family which includes his daughter, Logan Elizabeth Ann Baker; son, Jordan Andy Baker and wife Macy Pierce Baker; grandson, Gavin Avery Baker; parents, Alvis and Mary Ann Baker; brother, Jimmy Baker and wife Kathy Baker; his former wife Terri C. Baker; and his companion Diana Etheridge.
Andy was born in Tarboro on September 4th, 1962. He graduated from Edgecombe Community College and obtained his electrical license in 1995. He was the owner of Maccripine Electric Service for over 17 years where he valued his work and community. He was an exceptional father, son, grandfather, and friend. He enjoyed golfing, playing cards, traveling to the lake, and spending time with the ones he loved. He was always such a joy to be around, and would do anything for anyone. His selfless and loving personality is what most people will remember him by.
In lieu of flowers, Andy requested that donations be given to His Vision Ministry at address, 3393 NC Hwy 111 S. Pinetops, NC 27864 for the building of their new church.


The Princeton Arts Society is calling for entries in a "Small Works III" Annual Members Christmas Sale and Exhibit.
The exhibit will be held on Friday, November 30, from 7 to 9 p.m., Saturday, December 1, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, December 2, from 12 to 4 p.m. at the Princeton Center on Boylston Avenue. Members are invited to exhibit up to three pieces of original art, paintings, drawings, sculpture, pottery, photographs, artists prints, ornaments, jewelry, DVDs, audiotapes, clothing and any small gift items. All entries will be for sale. Exhibitors are all Princeton Art Society members with paid '07-'08 membership. New members are welcome.
For more information call Jean Murphy at (508) 764-6735.


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Finished in a beautiful rich cream shade with a shabby chic distressed finish this decorative shabby chic cream umbrella stand makes a beautiful accessory for a hallway or porch.
Featuring a wire umbrella frame this metal umbrella rack offers ample storage for all your umbrellas. In a neutral country cream shade this umbrella stand will complement any hallway decor.


text:
Q: Java - JScience define a new unit I want to define a new distance unit in JScience. The "Tutorial" section of the project website just leads to Javadoc which, while fairly complete, is a bit too dense for me to fathom how I actually go about defining my own unit.
Could you provide an example?
Cheers.
Pete

A: I know this is an old post, but.. i'm going to post the answer anyways, maybe it'll be useful to someone
In order to define a custom unit in JScience, you have to extend the class SystemOfUnits and define here all your custom units.
Check the exemple below (i'm defining the unit for ACREs)
public class MyUnits extends SystemOfUnits
{
   private static HashSet<Unit<?>> UNITS = new HashSet();

   private static final MyUnits INSTANCE = new MyUnits();

   public static final Unit<Area> ACRE = myUnits((SI.METER.pow(2)).times(4046.8564224).asType(Area.class));

   public static MyUnits getInstance()
   {
      return INSTANCE;
   }

   @Override
   public Set<Unit<?>> getUnits()
   {
      return Collections.unmodifiableSet(UNITS);
   }

   private static <U extends Unit<?>> U myUnits(U unit)
   {
      UNITS.add(unit);
      return unit;
   }
}

A: perhaps this other SO question about units in Java can help.

A: Please have a look at how JSR 363 RI does this (the successor to 275 which was implemented by JScience 4)
https://github.com/unitsofmeasurement/unit-ri/blob/master/src/main/java/tec/units/ri/format/SimpleUnitFormat.java
The default flavor of SimpleUnitFormat supports UTF-8, while ASCII is for limited environments or devices that may have no GUI or limited character sets:
DEFAULT.label(MetricPrefix.MICRO(Units.LITRE), "µl");
ASCII.label(MetricPrefix.MICRO(Units.LITRE), "microL");
Note, the label() method will be introduced to JSR 363 API in the next candidate release for Public Draft. Currently it's part of the RI (https://github.com/unitsofmeasurement/unit-ri, not JScience, though it may eventually migrate to the new standard, too in V5)

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