Walmart curtains for sliding glass doors

We're back to the happy series! I recommend y'all take a look back and re-read the last chapter before going into this one since it has been a while, but for those of you who don't want to. Here's a TL;DR:
Our protagonist thanks his rescuers by treating them to a night of drinking. A croc-o-gator makes its way into their shuttle forcing them to spend the night in the bar. Sunny is not a tiger.
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The sun came over the horizon with a vengeance rousing me from a fitful post-binge-drinking slumber. The bastard decided that it just had to shine its godforsaken rays right into my eyes as it crested the window sill. Defeated by mother nature I dragged myself out of bed grabbing my cane on the way up, after all, mornings aren’t kind to someone who has lived nearly four of their originally planned lifetimes. Taking a moment to stretch out the old croc-o-gator bite wounds I got moving.
I didn’t get far before I hit my foot on a remnant of the night before. Spread around the floor of the sleeping quarters of the bar were three mattresses containing the sleeping forms of two Dlamisans and a human. The memories suddenly flooded back and I stood there shocked for a moment that my reality now contained two hung-over aliens and a human from the future sleeping on mattresses on my floor. Diligently I stepped over and around the sleeping forms and out into the bar proper. I had just gotten started on Frank’s patented hangover cure, which is really just dunking your head in a bucket of cold water when Nadia stumbled through the door.
“Sunny and McCoy are still asleep,” She stated as if it were the strangest thing in the world.
“Yup, moonshine will put you down for a while. Take dunk, it’ll scare the hangover away” I replied, sliding another pale of cold water down the bar to her.
Nadia looked at it hesitatingly before sighing and shoving her head into it, coming up shivering and cursing before speaking again, “No you don’t understand. Those guys are scouts I’ve never seen them sleep more than a few hours at a time and they’ve been out all night!”
“Ah, I’m sure they’re fine. All they need is a little motivation to get up is all,” I said.
“Oh? Do tell Frank. What motivation would that be?” Nadia asked.
“Croc-o-gator bacon! Best damn hangover cure I had in my life and I’ve had a lot of hangovers to test it on,” I stated proudly, happy I’d get to show these folks something nice we’d come up with here.
I continued my explanation as I reached under the bar, “The best part is, we’ve got a fresh one just waiting to be nabbed from that shuttle of yours! I tell ya, we cook that puppy…”
Nadia made a sucking noise through her teeth at my turn of phrase. Clearly not happy with the word choice I had used. “Be glad those two were asleep for that one. They’re a bit more literal than you or I, so puppy-killing metaphors don’t tend to go over well,” Nadia interjected.
Wincing at the thought of those two turning those sharp-looking claws on me I solemnly vowed to carefully think out my metaphors before loosing them on my guests. “Thanks for the heads up. I’ll be sure to avoid that kind of mess. Now as I was saying, those beasties are about the tastiest thing that this swamp has to offer. Combine them with a little salt and some of the dried herbs and you’ve got a damn fine breakfast!”
Popping back up over the bar with my croc-o-gator knife in hand I made to head to the shuttle to get the morning meal. “Come on! I’m going to need a hand dragging it inside,” I shouted over my shoulder at Nadia as I left.
I heard her trudging behind me as we made out way to the snow-dusted shuttle. Cane in one hand and knife in the other I walked through the fresh snow on the ground until I reached the open door to the shuttle. Helpfully one of the roving patrols had placed a few large rocks in the door of the shuttle, preventing the reptile from escaping and wandering the town. Moving them out of the way I reached my cane in, tapping along the door frame and floor just inside the shuttle until I heard it. A long low hiss emanated from under some of the seats in the middle of the passenger bay.
Tossing my cane to Nadia I jumped into the shuttle and began circling the seats looking for an opening. It didn’t take long to find one. The ugly lizard was staring at me through a gap in the legs of the seat, hissing and bellowing at me. Naturally, I went to the other side of the seating aisle and found the tail of the thing, a much safer part of the creature to grab than its head, and dragged it out from under the seat. I pulled the slightly frozen croc-o-gator out of the shuttle and tossed it onto the ground, stunning the thing before I leaned down and finished it with the knife. Fortunately, those things were about as active as glaciers when they get too cold, so it wasn’t a difficult kill.
What was difficult was the cleanup. Poor Nadia wanted to have no part in it, and really I don’t blame her. They’re downright messy to take apart, but we luckily only needed a few pieces, the rest was donated to some very hung over looking couples watching their children scream and shout as they played tag. They were pleased, to say the least.
Back inside the bar, Nadia watched as the cuts of meat sizzled on the grill over the fireplace. It really was a test of both of our patience as we waited for the bacon-like meat to finish cooking. Fortunately, we survived the ordeal and divvied up the meat into four plates. Nadia and I immediately dug in. Her absolute silence as she devoured the food was the highest praise a chef like me could ever ask for. While she savored her food I delivered the remaining plates to the two sleeping beauties still occupying their mattresses like lords in a castle.
In front of the nose of each, I placed a plate. At first, it seemed like nothing was going to happen. Then suddenly a twitch came from McCoy’s nose, then one from Sunny’s. Next out came the tongues, desperately searching for whatever that glorious smell was haunting their dreams. When McCoy’s tongue made contact with the bacon his eyes snapped open, and before I could even offer a hello or good morning he had begun to snap up the food on his plate like he hadn’t eaten in weeks. Sunny was not far behind, waking suddenly, and unlike McCoy, sat up before demolishing the bacon in front of her.
After less than a minute, there were two clean plates sitting on the ground in front of me. I couldn’t help but laugh at the mournful looks the dlamisans were casting at the plates, clearly longing for more of the food.
“You guys enjoy that?” I asked still laughing.
McCoy had decided to lick his paws to savor the imagined remains of any of the bacon, answering my question. Sunny on the other hand stood and stretched, asking a question of her own, “What was that marvelous thing?”
“That would be the remains of the tenant of your shuttle,” I responded. Receiving only blank stares back from the two dlamisa I continued, “...but you don’t remember that?”
Sunny and McCoy confirmed my assumption with their confused head tilts. Deciding not to keep them in the dark I brought them back up to speed and filled in the gaps in their memory. Once I finished explaining how they had ended up here instead of the shuttle McCoy’s ears dropped and he turned to Sunny, before speaking his mind.
“Sunny, does that mean we forgot to send that check-in message to the Captain?” McCoy asked.
Sunny’s tail made a thump as it hit the floor. She did not look too pleased with McCoy’s question. “I was going to send it from the shuttle… fuck… fuck, Fuck, FUCK! She’s gonna be so mad McCoy. Maybe if we send a message from the shuttle now she won’t be too angry,” Sunny replied.
If I’ve learned anything over my centuries of life, it’s that you do not under any circumstance tempt the universe. You will only end up causing your worries to coalesce in front of your very eyes. That, unfortunately, was exactly what happened to Sunny and McCoy as one of the community’s scouts entered the bar yelling about a big metal bird. Standing up I clapped Sunny on the shoulder, told her “Go get em tiger,” to which I received a confused head tilt as I walked out of the bar, with her, McCoy, and Nadia close behind.
To say this ‘metal bird’ was big would be a disservice. It put the little shuttle on the ground to shame. The thing looked like it could carry at least 50 people and enough gear to keep them happy for days. I was absolutely shocked that something that huge was able to just sit above our heads. Really reminded me of that old Independence Day movie… Heh. Must really be old to y’all if it’s old to me, but I digress.
I carried another of our emergency flare guns out into what once was a corn field, now fallow, pointed it vaguely in the direction of the floating behemoth, and fired. The pilot wasted no time once they had seen the flare. In less than a minute the floating vessel landed softly on the field with little more than a whisper as the snow crunched beneath the landing legs. As the boarding door opened Sunny and McCoy stepped in front of me and Nadia, almost in an attempt to shield us from what was coming.
Standing in the doorway of the new ship was a tall red and orange dlamisa who seemed none too happy with the group of people she was staring at. A group of people that unfortunately included me.
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Comments are neat, I like reading them, and your ideas do make appearances in the story. Here's how I imagined Frank would deal with the cold croc-o-gator.

Hello people, I hope you are well, this is going to be my first video game Reddit post which is impressive (considering that I'm always on the political subreddit haha) and it occurred to me to think about Mario Party, after having played it a lot and thought a lot.
It is one of my favorite Mario sagas and video games in general, always revolutionizing the term as franchises such as Mario Kart do, but unfortunately it declined a lot throughout its games and was highly overexploited.
RULES:
I will not include the following games:
- Mario Party-e (Game Boy Advance e-Reader peripheral, 2003)
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- Mario Party Island Tour (Nintendo 3DS, 2013)
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- Mario Party Star Rush (Nintendo 3DS, 2016)
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- Mario Party The Top 100 (Nintendo 3DS, 2017)
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- Mario Party Superstars (Nintendo Switch, 2021)
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The reasons are because they are games that I didn't play, The Top 100 and Superstars are more a remake or even remaster, and one is more of a board game with just a few minigames with a peripheral that I doubt very much that those who had a GBA would have had it.
The very rare and exclusive Japan-exclusive Mario Party arcade games made by Capcom and Banpresto will also not be included and no unofficial games will be included.
I will put positive and negative points and with a note at the end based on my personal opinion and I will use some other criticisms that I will leave in the description if you want to find out more
And in case I need to say it, from the worst to the best
Now that it's all said, let's get started and enjoy:
First I will start with the bad, horrible or what would only be mediocre.
13 - Mario Party Advance
Of all the Mario Party, this is possibly considered one of the most disappointing, boring and bad
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Bad points:
1- The game changed completely, going from being a party game to grab coins and have the most stars with mini-games. To a bad and generic single player RPG game replaced with minigames to solve missions
2 - The main mode and the important thing of the game, Shroom City and next to the missions, makes the game very repetitive
3 - The multiplayer game is quite poor, something curious considering that it is a game OF THE PARTY GENRE
Speaking of the previous point, although it has fifty (50) mini-games, forty-two (42) of them ARE ONE-PLAYED, which means that there are only eight (8) multiplayer mini-games.
4 - Some missions consist of trial and error like the search for Klepto and the search for Dolphin.
5 - There are also repetitive and easy missions such as characters like Goomba, Mole Monty or a penguin who needs help with GAMBLING ADDICTION (WTF?, on top of that the game has an E rating)
Ironically those minigames tend to be very easy.
6 - The music and sound are recycled soundtracks from Mario Party 3 and 4 but with low quality, and their soundtracks are among the worst in the franchise
7 - There's no minigame practice and no image or video of minigame gameplay during the instruction screens (the latter is something that's been used since the first Mario Party game), which means new minigames will be harder to figure out understand for an average player, and by the time the player understands the basics of the minigame, it is likely that they have already failed the minigame at least once. Technically, you could use practice as a power-up in Mini-Game Attack, but you can't practice a minigame otherwise.
8 - Some minigames are very difficult to complete in Shroom City due to lack of time or very high objective scores, for example Sled Slide and Sort Stack. In most cases, there is little to no room for error, and usually making a mistake once in a minigame is all it takes to lose the entire minigame.
9 - After getting all the Gadgets and minigames in Shroom City, there is little replay factor. For the most part, you have to complete the Challenge Land modes to try and earn enough coins to get the remaining items in the shop, which includes a Power Star device that costs 100,000 coins (good luck trying to win fifteen mini-games in Mini-Game Attacks or all eight dueling minigames in Duel Attack to get the required 100000 coins, because minigames only get much harder over time and messing it up once will force you to start over).
10 - If you manage to complete most if not all of the mini-games successfully and complete all tasks quickly, it will only take you a few hours (6-18) to complete Shroom City, and it's also easy to complete Shroom City in a single run (minus some quests that are character specific, like a quest from Mr. I that requires playing as Peach and one from Dorrie that requires playing as Yoshi).
11 - No voice acting at all. Even the announcer at the beginning of the minigames that says "Start" or "Finish" has been replaced with a Lakitu. While it would be excusable if it was one of the first Game Boy Advance games, this game was one of the last GBA games to be released and previous Mario games such as Super Mario Advance and Mario Golf Advance had voice acting. Even the previous "portable" Mario Party game, Mario Party-e had voice acting.
12 - Only four playable characters, being Mario, Luigi, Peach and Yoshi. Even in Mario Party 1 and 2 you can choose up to 6 different characters.
Good points
1 - It was the first Mario Party game on a laptop, so thanks for the try
2 - The graphics are pretty decent (or even good) for a late GBA game
3 - The music, although it is recycled, can be a memory for Mario Party 3 players mainly.
4 - Some other minigames are entertaining, like the two-player minigame that parodies curling or some platform.
5 - Some of the Gadgets are quite nice to play, and there are actually more Gadgets (61) than there are minigames. Some Gaddgets are also multiplayer on a single console, which means that it is possible to play all Gaddgets properly without the need for another Game Boy Advance.
6 - The game also comes (in its box) with a paper bonus board, which can be played by cutting out the parts from the game manual and using the game to roll the dice and play the gadgets and mini-games.
Final Calification: 4.52/10
12 - Mario Party 9
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Possibly one of the most controversial and controversial games in the series (although hey...not as much as The Last Of Us Part II either) Due to its large number of changes
Bad Points:
1- First and foremost, this game introduced the car mechanic, which was a very bad idea to begin with and made many fans of the series upset. This was primarily due to previous Mario Party games receiving weaker reviews from critics for the repetitive concept, so Nd Cube attempted to rework the series in hope of gaining better reception from critics without any consent or care to fans.
The joke of Mario Party was a board game, with large and creative maps in which a lot of things could happen to you, even if you were lucky or last (Or roll ten (10)) The board can handle you so that I didn't win, basically it was UNPREDICTABLE, but in this game they changed the freedom of being able to move to a horrible car and with smaller maps to compensate for it.
In fact, the game pretty much removes the luck factor from the previous games, to the point where only winning the minigames (with the exception of one or the other lucky minigames)
2 - Items are the worst in the franchise, they changed items like orbs or even candy from the previous game and replaced them with DICE, literally one of the "Best Items in the Game" It's just a 10 sided die, something that SINCE THE FIRST, MARIO PARTY AND ANY OTHER BOTH DESKTOP AND PORTABLE WAS SOMETHING YOU ALWAYS HAD.
3 - The music isn't bad, but it's not as memorable as the Gamecube, and it's not even on the heels of the Nintendo 64.
4 - Bob-omb Factory and Magma Mine are infamous for having crippling methods of losing many Mini-Stars. In Bob-omb Factory, you get a Bob-omb on your car that explodes after moving ten spaces. In Magma Mine, lava will eventually rise and rolling too low can result in getting caught in it. Both the Bob-omb and the lava make you lose half of your Mini-Stars, and it is extremely crippling to the point where having a Bob-omb explode on you or being burnt by the lava is instant loss of the game.
5 - The 2-vs.-2, battle and duel mini-games are gone.
Speaking of battle mini-games, there's a battle space and you can still battle for Mini-Stars, but you just play the same old free-for-all mini-games instead of unique 4-player mini-games.
6 - The battles with Whomp and King Bob-omb in the Bob-omb Factory are annoying since they are mostly luck based.
7 - The story mode is literally three (3) player games (although at least it's better than Mario Party 8)
Good Points:
1 - The graphics increased the quality better, unlike those of 8 that were recycled from 4 (or 5 and 6) But with better shading quality, mainly for being the last official Mario game for the Wii
2 -Bowser Jr's minigames are quite good in themselves and can remind you of the minigames of the Mario Party 2 item minigames in which Koopa Kid appeared
3 - It has 7 boards, which, although they are linear, can have their fun moments.
4 - The cars themselves are pretty well designed for the dashboards (at least)
5 -It is the first game in the series where everyone earns coins depending on their position without counting the coin minigames and the 4 player team minigames from Mario Party 1 where you could also lose coins, which is a good thing that later installments would use.
5 - AT LEAST he tried to renew himself and be different, although he did quite badly.
Final Calification: 4,89/10
Now I'll start with the mediocre to average
11 - Mario Party 8
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Bad Points
1 - The story is rather bland and simple, being a candy contest
2 - Although this point will be ambiguous, on the one hand it is very good that they take advantage of the control mechanics for the minigames, exploiting their capabilities like WarioWare, it also makes a large part of the minigames boring because they will be somewhat repetitive.
3 - The boards without counting Koopa's hotel board (the most original board in the game) and Bowser's final board (with its unique elements such as Bowser Candy reminiscent of the Bowser Mushroom from Mario Party 2, 3 and 4) are very linear. or designed for the CPU to literally bowl you more.
4 - The graphics feel recycled from Mario Party 4 with better shading.
5 - The game has fewer minigames compared to previous installments, having only 73, Mario Party 5 had seventy-five (75) minigames and Parties 6 to 7 had more than eighty (80) minigames.
Add to that that of the 75 mini-games, 27 ARE DUELING
6 - Test for the Best, can be VERY FRUSTATING if you want to pass all the minigames perfectly, as a curious fact time will change if it is the PAL version of the game so as not to make it so complicated
Good Points:
1 - The carnival theme of this game works very well with a series like Mario Party.
2 - The Candy mechanic is fun to use, some can transform you into things like a ball and a vampire
3 - 14 playable characters. You can play as a Blooper and a Hammer Bro Now and you can even play as your Mii in certain Minigames.
4 - The extras in this game are very well done, the minigames and you can even buy taunts while waving the remote.
5 - There are some fun extra minigames such as Moped Mayhem and Canyon Crusaders.
The game even had a somewhat mixed reception, giving it a 5.2/10 on IGN and a 6.5/10 on Gamespot which are very low ratings for a Mario game, New Super Mario Bros 2 was rated better and that's what a lot of people thought complain that it was too easy
Final Calification: 5.65/10
10 - Mario Party 10
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Bad Points:
1 - Compared to the previous game, it feels like a more watered down version of Mario Party 9, but stripping it of all the stuff that made it at least somewhat salvageable, as almost every feature in 9 became more sterile. thanks to the devs who made the game easier and less fun than before and the reason 9 was bad was because it was easier for newer players and changed certain things about the formula which while not bad innovate but it did it in a bad way, which was less in this one since it is much more simplified and repetitive than 9, which considering that this was going to be the second NDCube title for home console should have given the small studio time to improve the Mario Party 9 stuff, but sadly they didn't.
2 - Speaking of which, It has the same flaws as Mario Party 9, such as the not well executed car mechanic, generic boards, and the music sometimes being forgettable.
3 - To play traditional Mario Party (in the form of Amiibo Mode), you need Amiibos. (At least is only a mod, and isn´t the garabe of Animal Crosiing: Amibo Festivial)
4 - The Amiibo mode itself is just a bare bones version of the traditional Mario Party, and the board itself is just a square.
5 - There isn't a Story Mode nor any Rival or Adventure that serves as the main campaign for the game unlike in the Hudson Soft games (expect 1 and 2) and Mario Party 9, as your only limited to either the Mario Party, Bowser Party or the Amiibo Party modes instead which don't have a lot of content in them and can feel a bit stale at times.
6 - While Bowser Party isn't a bad mode, Bowser is extremely overpowered:
Bowser can use multiple dice blocks, which makes easy to get to Team Mario. However, even if a player is eliminated (meaning that the maximum Team Mario can go with the dice blocks is 18), he always has 4 (meaning that the maximum is 24).
Some of the Bowser Party minigames takes away more hearts than they should, especially Bowser's Clawful Climb.
As if Bowser wasn't already overpowered, if he rolls low enough, he gets to roll again, which is unfair, as there aren't any spaces for Team Mario to reroll.
Only 3 of the 5 boards are playable in Bowser Party, which is rather questionable since the other 2 boards available could've at least fit well with Bowser Party since all they needed to do was tweak them a bit and that's it, which they sadly didn't do unfortunately, making the Bowser Party mode a wasted opportunity in general.
7 - The game doesn't support Pro Controller. Without the GamePad, you're forced to use a Wii Remote instead.
8 - The game does not have an online mode, which is already UNACCEPTABLE considering that it is an Eighth generation game from 2015, and he was able to take advantage of the fact that at that time Nintendo still did not charge for online
Good Points
1 - Amazing and beautiful graphics.
2 - Improved character roster, which pleased many fans of the series. Rosalina and Spike make their Mario Party debuts as playable characters, Donkey Kong makes his return since Mario Party 4, while Toadette makes her return since Mario Party 8.
3 - The mini-games are fun and most of them are already unlocked at the start.
4 - Bowser Party is an interesting mode and fun mode, even if it could've been better (if it was more balanced).
5 - It brought back 2 vs 2 minigames.
6 - The amiibo party mode is an interesting idea and was an attempt at bringing back the traditional Mario Party gameplay, and there's a minigame at the end of each round.
Final calification 5.75/10
9 - Super Mario Party
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Bad Points:
1 - Although this Mario Party made many improvements compared to its somewhat badly received predecessors. He also made several setbacks
2 - Character dice still go from 1 to 6, and for the worse now they each have their OWN STATS, which can make it very unfair.
3 - The allies in the game aren't bad, but they don't offer as much material as they did in Mario Party 3's duel mode, they just give you some extra dice that can help you beyond that from time to time.
4 - There are only 4 BOARDS, while in the previous games there were at least 6
Speaking of which, a lot of his boards are very short and easy without a lot of events to make it unique.
5 - Some items like the classic dueling glove or the double star card only appear in certain scenarios.
6 - Although they added online mode, it is only something unacceptable for minigames knowing that it was already an obligation to put it in party mode.
Good Points:
1 - The game has very good graphics and very shiny character designs
2 - The minigames are very well done, and it is one of the few games on the Switch to use and exploit the control functions well.
3 - A huge number of characters, having a total of 20, with 16 starters and 4 to unlock and even some of the previous Mario Party returns
4 - The elements although they are not that good, they return to their classic mode instead of simple dice and some are very useful to use
5 - This Mario Party is the first since Mario Party DS to go back to the classic formula with new stuff, so at least an attempt was made to do so.
6 - In an update, they FINALLY added the party mode online
Speaking of this last point, the coins also make a comeback and even with the addition of Mario Party 9 in which depending on your position you will get more or less coins instead of always only 10
Final calification: 6.15/10
Now let's go for the good games
8 - Mario Party DS
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Good Points:
1 - Pretty decent graphics for a DS game
2 - Very good minigames, which make good use of the capabilities of the consoles
Speaking of which, a good number of minigames surpassing Mario Party 8 by one (74 minigames)
3 - Good story and the context in how the minimizer shrinks all the characters
4 - The Toadette board and the Bowser Pinball are very good
5 - You can play multiplayer without cable and only with a copy of the game like in New Super Mario Bros, something that few DS games have
6 - The boss battles are entertaining, mainly against Kamek and the final boss.
7 - The game has a better single player experience unlike the bad Mario Party Advance game.
8 - Many of the older puzzle minigames such as Bob-Omb Breakers (from Mario Party 4) and Piece Out (from Mario Party 5) return in this game, which can be a throwback to fans of Mario Party 3 through 7.
9 - Lots of replay value, especially collected items
10 - It is probably (at least from the ones I played and from my point of view) the best portable Mario Party
11 - Good way to say goodbye to the saga being the last game released by Hudson Soft before it dissolved and merged with Konami.
Bad Points:
1 - The story mode is somewhat short and easy, mainly because there are only 10 turns, when in the past it was at least 20 for the best duration
2 - The first battle against Petey Piranha is known to be the most difficult (in my childhood, I had a hard time beating him) And the others like the Hammer Bro and Dry Bones are extremely easy, except the one with Bowser
3 -Items and items are pretty bad in this game
Hexes (known as hexes) are just a cheap replacement for the Mario Party 6 and 7 orbs, which while it's nice that they're free to use, aren't as much fun as the old ones.
The main problem is the items, which although they have returned to the form of an element since Mario Party 4, have several problems
First of all there are useless items like Warp Dice Block that just teleports you to a random place
There are also super advantageous items like the star pipe (which is a replacement for the magic lamp from Mario Party 2, 3 and 4 or the flutteWigger orb from Mario Party 5, 6 and 7) which is a very cool item though , the problem is that it is too cheap costing only 15 coins, while the items in other games cost between 20 to 30 coins.
Worst of all is that you can now buy ALL THE ITEMS UP TO THREE SPACES IN YOUR INVENTORY BY PASSING ONLY ONCE IN THE STORE, although this sounds good in practice it is very unfair because you can have more than 45 coins and if you are lucky and the item is in the store (normally, at the last five rounds) You can buy three star pipes winning the game more easily.
Mario Party DS received mixed to positive reviews. It currently has a 7.3 on IGN, who called it "a huge leap over the last portable rendition."
Final Calification: 6.59/10
7 - Mario Party 6
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Good Points:
1 - The graphics are decent, although they use the same designs as Mario Party 4 and 5
2 - They added day and night that changed every three turns on all boards, like the horror land board from Mario Party 2
3 - There are a fair number of mini-games and a great selection
4 - You can make purchases with stars of many things
5 - Mario Party 5 orb slots improved them, even if you fall into your own trap, it no longer affects you and gives you five coins
6 - The boards are very large and entertaining
7 - Finally you can buy your own orbs, unlike the previous game where they were given to you for free, but it was totally random.
8 - It has several quite good game modes including the extras.
Bad Points:
1 - They added something new that ended up being crap, which is the microphone, an accessory that connects to Slot B of the Gamecube Memory Card
The problem that it is very imprecise and you have to know and speak English perfectly and it is very difficult to use it
Luckily it's not required to play, you can disable the microphone minigames or just play with the L and R button actions
Besides that the microphone accessory was made only for SIX GAMES: Mario Party 6, Mario Party 7, Karaoke Revolution Party, Odama, Chibi-Robo!, and Densetsu no Quiz Ou Ketteisen. (and of those three are exclusive to Japan)
2 - The Soundtracks are hardly memorable compared to the fifth game and back.
3 - The Endurance Alley mode is a TOTALLY BROKEN mode, you have to play 100 random minigames without losing, the problem is not that the difficulty increases, but that there are minigames that are literally based on luck like Pitifall that can go out there and if you lose you go back to start from the beginning
Also it is not mandatory or necessary to unlock anything and you earn almost nothing worthwhile, just 10 STARS, although fortunately they corrected this in the PAL version a bit
Curiosities: Trap Ease Artist, Same Is Lame, Pitifall, and Trick or Tree are not available in the Endurance Alley in the PAL version of the game, the reason likely being that they are all luck-based.
Final calification: 6.72/10
6 - Mario party 7
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Good Points:
1 - Graphics improved quality in part at least
2 - The character-specific color coding was eventually removed.
3 - The game is the first to offer six bonus stars, all of which are random instead of three as in previous games making it much more competitive.
4 - The boards are gigantic, based on different places in real life such as China and Japan
5 - It is one of the Mario Party with the largest number of minigames without counting the recycles or remakes like the top 100 or the Superstars, having 88 minigames.
Speaking of which, it's the classic Mario Party with fewer mini-games of pressing a single button very quickly.
6 - Toadsworth's microphone minigames are like Mario Party 3 Game Guy, but better because your bet is optional
7 - Pretty good story mode of traveling to different parts of the world on a cruise (who knows you Oddysey)
8 - There is a store to buy many of the things in the game that is literally called "Duty Free Shop" Apparently in an anarcho-capitalist paradise
Bad Points:
1 - Koopa Kid is no longer a playable character and this is his last major appearance.
2 - The character orbs, while useful in their own ways, are imbalanced. The Triple Shroom and Magic orbs are extremely good and can be used at anytime, while others like the Fireball or Egg orbs are situational and can only be good when the opportunity presents itself.
3 - Speaking of which, although it has a very good amount of mini-games, unfortunately there are very few 4-player ones with only thirteen is these.
Final Calification: 6.89/10
5 - Mario Party 4
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https://preview.redd.it/9gj5xn0d40qa1.png?width=320&format=png&auto=webp&s=5600e3809fcfc4707022f9db2272cb9d8d17e6f7
Good Points:
1 - The graphics are spectacular, and the character models are very well done for being from 2002, so much so that the character designs remained almost unchanged until Mario Party 8 on the Wii.
2 - The minigames are very well done and it is possibly the Mario Party with the most entertaining and fair minigames
3 - It is one of the last Mario Parties to have memorable soundtracks, they are not as good as the first ones but they are quite good
4 - The gift mode lengthens and makes the duration of the game replayable
5 - It is the first Mario Party that can be played as a team in party mode.
6 - It is the last game in the series (until Mario Party 10) in which Donkey Kong is playable.
It is also the last game where the magic lamp and the Bowser mushroom appear (although the latter is almost impossible to see in action).
7 - It has good game modes and extra minigames like Beach Volleyball, where you can play with all the characters in the game, including the non-playable ones that are the hosts like Toad, Koopa Troopa, Shy Guy, Boo, and even Koopa Kid and Bowser (only exception is Goomba because is the referre)
8 - Some memorable boards like the one with the casino-themed Goomba
9 - The dialogue can be humorous at times, an example is when the rules of Darts of Doom is being explained, a Koopa Kid says "The player with the least points..." and then the fan holding Koopa Kid says "Gets a back rub!"
10 - It is the first, last and so far only Mario Party to use a CGI scene in the intro and also to be the first to have the 3D boards, although the direction of the map is flat until Mario Party 5
Bad Points:
1 - There aren't many minigames even though they are super cool, there are only 60, while Mario Party 2 had 65 minigames (although some of those were enhanced editions of the first game) and Mario Party 3 had 71 minigames.
Other than that there is no/they removed the duel category in the minigames, the closest thing is the minigames against the hosts but they can only be played in story mode and when you win a board
2 - Speaking of the previous point, the minigame against Boo IS SUPER UNFAIR and very lucky to win it.
3 - Bowser's Big Blast minigame from Mario Party 2 returns, coincidentally being one of the worst minigames that could return for being one of battle and luck
4 - The special gifts, which are the gifts in which you have to achieve certain objectives in specific minigames, can be very frustrating like Shy Guy's plate or the worst and most difficult of all the Goomba Clock
Also, if you don't have that gift, you won't be able to have the star trophy
​
https://preview.redd.it/0cp8ruz4c0qa1.png?width=400&format=png&auto=webp&s=4393aa4dc8c97ca8c6c25744cd35d16c2ff6bd52
5 - Bowser's mushroom made it the RAREEST item not only in the game, but almost in the saga (although not as much as the miracle capsule of Mario Party 5) In that unlike Mario Party 2 and 3, it only appears when Bowser does a gift falling into his box and almost never comes out, believe me when it is easier to win the lottery of 100 game coins several times than to get the bowser mushroom.
6 - The Doors Of Doom minigame in the extra mode is possibly one of the worst minigames in the saga, because it is practically and randomly to chance, all the doors have an already determined pattern that you cannot avoid even with tricks, although fortunately it is not in the main mode.
Final calification: 7.10/10
4 - Mario Party
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https://preview.redd.it/4jznk9khe0qa1.png?width=380&format=png&auto=webp&s=c9bb68df9759a107dfd3d6b558e92281cd94ec91
Good Points:
1 - It has a new, interesting premise for a Mario game: Mario and friends having a party and Bowser wants to ruin it. Because of its originality, this game was a great success and created the Mario Party franchise with a lot of great sequels in future Nintendo consoles.
2 - This game, like the Mario Kart franchise, revolutionized a concept in video games, in the first it was a karting game with elements of the franchise and fun settings and the second a board game but with playable minigames and a variety of boards and traps.
3 - The controls, despite the mini-games of crush buttons, are pretty decent and solid.
4 - Good graphics by the standards of the late 1990s.
5 - Playing on the island of minigames was a pretty good challenge, which is to play all the minigames in order to advance
6 - The soundtrack is very memorable and possibly the best music Mario Party ever.
7 - They have unique elements that no longer have in later installments, such as the Mushroom space, in which you can double dice or leave you immobile for one turn, and the one-player minigames, which were only seen again in the shit of Advance and in Mario Party 8. , (although there are only three and nothing else to appear in story mode)
Bad Points:
1 - THE INFAMOUS AND HORRIBLE MINI-GAMES OF ROTATING THE STICK, these include Tug O' War, Paddle Battle, Pedal Power
2 - Unlike Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64, which did have their elements as something revolutionary in the genre, There are no items in this game, which cuts out a significant amount of strategy the player can play. The closest thing to "items" are the random dice blocks and the warp block, but they only appear randomly. Due to these factors, it is near impossible for a player who is behind to catch up to the person who is in first, the only real way they can do so is with chance time.
3 - You also have to be careful, because it is the only Mario Party where you can lose coins even in 4-player minigames
Final calification: 7.25/10
3 - Mario Party 5
​
https://preview.redd.it/mg81kmgvh0qa1.png?width=352&format=png&auto=webp&s=7c23d4cfe2798cfe66c57b0215e169e2279ae699
Good points:
1 - Of all the Mario Parties that used the orb formula, this is the best.
2 - Good story mode in which it is based on preventing the world of dreams from becoming the world of nightmares
3 - They removed Donkey Kong and added Toad as a playable
4 - Besides that they added the category of Donkey Kong minigames which are very good
5 - Lots of great modes, like Party Mode, Story Mode, Mini-Game Mode, Super Duel Mode, and Bonus Mode. Beach Volleyball that returns from the previous game or the battle mode with ships (Super Duel Mode), in which you play a tournament or with a friend a battle with a custom ship, besides that the more minigames you win, you unlock improvements for that way
6 - The capsules are great items, as you can place them on the boards or use them on yourself (which will cost you coins), and is a nice new technique of using items introduced in this game.
7 - This game marks the playable debuts of Toad, Boo, and Koopa Kid.
8 - The Star Spirits from Paper Mario are the hosts of this game, and are very enjoyable to watch, as they represent the dreams very well, being that stars are out at night when everyone’s dreaming.
9 - The Duel minigames that had been taken from the fourth game returned.
10 - The new boards are fully rendered in 3D, and are all fun to play, with many being enjoyable Dream worlds, and the final board, Bowser’s Nightmare, being outstanding, showing not all dreams are good.
11 - It is possibly one of the last Mario Party to have memorable soundtracks
Bad Points:
1 - MANY OF BOWSER'S MINI-GAMES are very frustrating or almost impossible to save and there are many consequences for losing whereas in the fourth game, Bowser's mini-games had only one loser (although the good thing is that Donkey Kong can save you from time to time in return to lose 20 coins, although it is rare)
2 - Some of the dueling minigames get very unfair because they are very luck based and adding the fact that from this Mario Party stars are bet on duels makes it more fucked up.
3 - It is also the classic Mario Party with the most mini-games to press the button quickly
4 - Combining it with the colon, the worst of all is Button Mashers, because you have to press a lot of buttons at the same time very quickly.
5 - Despite the capsules being great items, the Capsule System itself is inferior compared to the items. Instead of deciding which item to buy, you get a random capsule. Not only that, but you also need to pay if you want to use the capsule on yourself, and no matter if you throw your capsule on a space, your own capsule will harm you, which can make the game pretty unfair at times. Thankfully, Mario Party 6 did it right with the orb mechanic along with making the orbs purchasable too.
Also see action the miracle capsule is almost impossible to see
Final calification: 7.50/10
2 - Mario Party 2
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https://preview.redd.it/lb6ikon4m0qa1.png?width=500&format=png&auto=webp&s=dc968339d93c41aef4fa4cea5dc298d3f5e4e966
Good Points:
1 - Good graphics by the standards of the end of the 1990s.
2 - The soundtrack is good and it has memorable songs like Bowser Appears, Keepin on the Path, Going Somewhere, Let The Game Begin, Horror Land and Couldn't Be Better.
It is the second game along with the first with the best soundtrack
3 - The game has 6 boards and in each changes the appearance of the characters to suit the theme of the board, This dramatically increases the game's replay value. Although there's fewer boards than its prequel, their much higher in quality.
4 - There are over 65 minigames in this game, which is a slight improvement on the 50 minigames from the previous installment. Compared to its predecessor, Its minigames are of much higher quality. It also ports over many of Mario Party 1's minigames, but are improved.
Nintendo learned the lesson of the minigames where you have to roll the analog stick about and since Mario Party 2, the analog stick has been used sparingly and by the time of the GameCube, Nintendo's analog sticks have gotten much more comfortable to use. Nintendo also did not create more mini-games that rely on using constant rotation of the analog stick to win until Mario Party: Island Tour.
5 - It is the first Mario Party to include items, Allowing much greater amount of strategic play.
6 - The game has a pretty decent amount of content for an N64 game released in 1999, with there being a lot more features and a better UI than the previous game, which is very impressive and quite the nice amount of accomplishment to take the new at the time spin off series in a new turn by expanding the gameplay a bit and fixing some flaws that were previously apparent.
7 - It was responsible for setting the foundation for later installments, as with the new features implemented into this games like items would also see a decent amount of changes in later installments, and some of the newer games would tend to spice things up a bit to make the formula fresh and exciting.
Bad Points:
1 - The fact that many of the minigames are ports of the first game can be a turn off. About 1/3rd of the minigames are recycled from Mario Party.
2 - You can only carry one item in this game, which either decreases or increases an items value. Skeleton Keys are essentially worthless if you don't intend on going through a gate immediately, and the Plunder Chest is overpowered as it can prevent any other player from getting strong items like Magic Lamps, Boo Bells, Gold Mushrooms, or even other Plunder Chests without their items getting stolen. The other players essentially have to team up to counter the player with the plunder chest.
Final calification: 7.88/10
1 - Mario Party 3
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https://preview.redd.it/0ezp58asn0qa1.png?width=250&format=png&auto=webp&s=c9490e600d418c004a809f594b90d76ec53fb246
1 - Duel Mode was interesting, and was a fun new mode to add.
2 - The game has 12 boards, 6 from Battle Royal, and 6 from Duel Mode, and it beats out Mario Party 1's number of boards: 8, as each of these new boards have their own new functions, which were really fun, including Waluigi's Island, our first character themed board since Mario Party 1.
3 - There are 71 minigames in the game, which is a slight improvement compared to Mario Party 2's 65 minigames.
4 - Introduced some fun new mini games, like Storm Chasers, Eatsa Pizza, Vine with Me, and Toadstool Titan
5 - The first Mario Party game to expand the roster, as Daisy and Waluigi make their playable debut.
6 - Like Mario Party 2, good graphics by 2000 standards.
7 - The soundtrack was good, especially during the mini games. Some memorable songs are Genie’s Theme, Chilly Waters, Stardust Battle, Spiny Desert, and Panic!.
8 - Gave us our first boss fight mini game, being vs the Millennial Star, Stardust Battle, which was awesome.
9 - Introduced Story Mode, which was great.
10 - While Tumble was basically a Toad knock-off, he was still a favorite cute character as he was the first of the unique Mario Party hosts of each game, especially when he's revealed to have the true Millennium Star, who is super adorable, at the end of Story Mode.
11 - In Battle Royal, you can now carry 3 items, compared to just 1 in Mario Party 2.
12 - There are item minigames, as well as item questions for item spaces, making this more interesting, and you can get a rare item from the question if you pick the most honest answer, but only if you are answering Toad's question.
13 - They have an impressive total of 20 items, some new and some returning from Mario Party 2.
Bad Points:
1- Game Guy was not a fun mode, as these mini games are hard and would result in coins being lost if you end up losing in these mini games. Thankfully, this was the only Mario Party game to have this.
2 - The Lucky Lamp is way too cheap to buy, it costs 20 coins to get. In the previous game and next game, it was 30 coins. The lowered price makes it very easy for players to get stars with ease.
Final calification: 8.20/10
And what is your favorite Mario Party? put it down
Now I will leave the sources of Wikipedia, MarioWiki and some other person who influenced my opinions to give credit
See you soon Superstar!

Current location: VHCOL (San Francisco)
Current salary, including bonus, benefits, & perks: $260k base, $53k bonus, $260k RSUs (private company), 3 meals/weekday, free car service within SF and to/from airport
Age and/or years in the workforce: 30 years old, 7.5 years in workforce
Brief description of your current position: I code, write papers, set project direction for my team, give talks at conferences
Degrees/certifications, if any, and whether they're applicable to your current position (Also mention how/how much you paid for these and how they've been helpful.): I have a bachelor's in math and master's in CS. I went to a private college that had good financial aid, so they covered my tuition except for $18k in government student loans which I paid off within a few months at my first job. I paid for my master's degree by being a teaching assistant. I taught undergrad linear algebra for three semesters (2 lectures/week, writing homework, writing exam questions, grading, and holding office hours). This paid me a grad student stipend and covered my tuition.
A complete history of jobs leading up to your current position. Include job title + salary (hourly wage, if applicable) with each step of your salary story, along with job description/duties, and whether you negotiated for pay raises/promotions in that role.
2011: Lab assistant, $9.25/hr. Freshman year of college. This was a campus job where I worked in a wet lab, pipetting stuff. I was extremely bad at it. I would pipette 1 mL instead of 1 μL and ruin everyone's experiments. I once centrifuged some glass test tubes (should have used plastic tubes), and the glass shattered all over this 10k machine. My postdoc tried to fire me by telling me to go home and don't come back. I didn't know what to do when he said this and felt super awkward but also didn't want to go home so I just stayed and continue doing the job, and we just never spoke about it again.
2012: Intern, $4,000/month. Sophomore summer. I honestly didn't know what the hell this internship was going to be like when I applied, and it turned out to be the only internship offer I got that year so I took it. I remember the interview being like some guy calling me on the phone and asking what my favorite class was, and then after the call I got an acceptance email to my inbox. The company was this early stage software ideation company that spins up startups and then sells them to some business school types to build a customer base, hire permanent employees, etc. I worked with two other interns, and for the whole summer we just sat in a room just thinking of ideas we could build. We ended up coming up with an app idea where people could list trash they were going to throw out that day, like furniture, so other people could swing buy and pick it up before trash got collected. Facebook marketplace before that became a thing, I guess. I didn't know how to code so I kind of just played with Python while the other interns made the app. I think it got profiled on TechCrunch a few months later, which caused it to crash and then never recovered.
2013: Finance internship, $6,000/month. Junior year summer. I learned about sales and trading, but I wasn't a very good intern (was chronically late which is apparently! very! important! in finance), so I didn't get a return offer. The internship was very fun though because the company put a lot of effort into making the experience memorable. We played a lot of poker as part of "work," sat front row at a Mets baseball game, and the full timers even brought all the underaged interns to strip clubs but that was totally down low (not a sanctioned event).
2014: Software internship, $9,000/month. Senior year summer. I actually programmed a lot during this internship. I basically learned to program during this internship. I also played a lot of foosball. I did get a return offer this time.
2014-2016: Teaching assistant. $3,000/month + tuition. I taught linear algebra to overachieving undergrads. It was supposed to be a 20 houweek job because I was *technically* supposed to spend the other 20 hours doing coursework + writing my thesis for my master's degree, but it was easily over 40 hours total between 2x/week lectures, writing homework, grading homework, writing exams, grading exams, holding office hours, replying to emails, and comforting anxious students. It did get easier in subsequent semesters as you get the hang of teaching and have last semester's coursework to fall back on, but it is easily the hardest job I've ever done. I got pretty average to below average student reviews, but they still renewed my contract for three semesters which I was happy about because I didn't want to have to borrow money to finish my master's.
2016-2017: Finance job. $150k/year salary + $28k/year bonus. I tried to negotiate my salary with the argument that "I need to pay off student loans," but they wouldn't budge because "everyone got paid the same." I only stayed for 8 months because I hated it (really toxic all-male environment), but when I left I got a nice 6 months of "garden leave" which is where they pay you your base salary (not including bonus) to not work.
2017-2020: Statistician. $130k/year base salary (2017) which increased to $150k/year base salary (2020) + $150k/year stock + $10k/year bonus. I did negotiate my salary on this, from $115k/year base salary -> $130k/year base salary and $120k/year stock -> $150k/year stock. The stock was private when I joined but went public sometime in the last 5 years, so it wasn't completely paper money. This job included other perks like lunch and snacks, and if I stayed past 7pm I could order DoorDash and expense it. I did get small inflation raises but the stock stayed more or less constant. I got laid off in 2020, so I got 3 months of severance + 1 month of stock and also claimed unemployment for as long as I could.
2020-2021: Research engineer. $200k/year base salary + $150k/year stock + $30k signing bonus + 18% pro rata bonus. The negotiation process for this company was super weird. The initial offer was $200k/year + $100k/year stock + NO signing bonus. I asked if this was negotiable and the recruiter said this was "the highest offer she could make" and anything else was "impossible and needs to be escalated to a VP which could take several days blah blah," but if they could get $130k/year stock would I sign immediately? They basically made me pre-sign a contract saying if they got that offer, I would agree to join the company. Then a couple hours later they replied saying not only did they get approval for my request, they bumped it up to $200k/year base salary + $150k/year stock + $30k signing bonus. At this point I felt rather manipulated (like clearly it wasn't such a big deal after all), and my (male) friend got SUPER annoyed and said the recruiter tricked me to not negotiate when I could have. Anyway, I ended up joining anyway because I really liked the company.
Other perks: 3 meals on weekdays, barista during working hours, free car service around city limits, and 50% 401k matching. You have the option of going fully remote without any salary adjustment, but I like going to the office. The stock is private, but they do have a buyback program every few years where you can sell your RSUs to them for face value. However, I don't participate in that and even participate in RSU purchase programs so I can put more money into the same company, because I hate diversification apparently.
2022: Same research job, got a raise. $215k/year + $200k/year stock + $40k bonus.
2023: Same research job. Got promoted, so my salary jumped to $260k/year + $260k/year stock + $53k bonus.
Optional: In the spirit of transparency and helpfulness include any of your supporters (family, spouse, network, other women - anonymously of course), things and people that kept you going, or inspired you, books, boot camps, podcasts, networking groups, etc. Also share your struggles, if you ever felt like giving up, if you were underpaid or are still underpaid, if you had to reskill, were laid off, or struggled to find work. Tell us about your work/life balance over time and challenges or changes in priorities.
Definitely my parents. If I ever lost my job or my money, I know I can move in with them into my old room indefinitely, and I know they would be really happy to have me. Also, my parents would have supported me through college if they had to. Thankfully they didn't have to (because my college had great financial aid), but they were prepared to sell their house and move to an apartment to pay for my tuition.
After that, various men I've dated throughout the years also supported me I guess? Like in college I had a bit of a spending problem and once had to "borrow" $5,000 from my then-boyfriend to pay off credit cards 😬 I still spend a LOT (almost all of my paycheck not including stock/bonus). I put borrow in quotes because I never ended up paying it back, I let him live in my apartment for a few months when he was between apartments and just said "well I guess we'll just write that off as the rent you owe me" lol.
I don't think I'm underpaid. I'm overpaid compared to how hard everybody else in the world works. My work life balance is fine, albeit a little all over the place. For example, on Weds-Fri I usually work between 10am to 3pm, then I go exercise for 2 hours, have dinner, and maybe work 2-3 more hours after that, but not always. Recently my job has been super stressful though, because I've being pushed more and more into a product management role. As an introvert, I prefer to just...code and do technical work rather than talk to people. I keep wavering between quitting or trying to find a new job first.
During the pandemic I worked a LOT, easily 12 hours/day, because there was nothing else to do and nowhere to go.
Feel free to include as much or little as you like to tell your Salary Story.
**Please use the "Salary Stories" flair when posting.

Press J to jump to the feed. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcutsJump to contentCreate PostSearch within massachusetts📷massachusetts11Calm_Local_552721 karmaUser account menu📷Create a crosspost📷By participating, you acknowledge that you have read and understood the rules and that you agree with all the stated rules and policies. https://www.reddit.com/massachusetts/about/rules**296/300**[**massachusetts**](https://www.reddit.com/massachusetts/)•Posted byu/Calm_Local_55277 minutes agoRichie Neal Slides Pedophile Protecting Catholic Church $2mil Fed Grant Ed Ryan Seeks to Divert Fed. Cash to Spfd MA Brothers in Rifle St. Hood Now Broken by Poverty. Ryan Begs AOC on Metaphoric Bended Knee To Call Out Neal as a 'Stinking Lying Corporate Fu#K' who Buggers Schwarzman for Nickels.NEWS📷
see; YouTube Ed Ryan Reform [email protected]
Richie Neal Corruption Now in District in Real Time.
Ed Ryan for Mayor of Springfield to end Richie Neal and Friends from Robbing and Impoverishing Springfield like a Greed Sick Crew of White Supremist Racist. Springfield City Hall has been under the Control of Richie Neal Corruption for too long. Mayor Sarno lies to the people adulating Neal as Sarno Presides over Massachusetts Poorest City , a place where over 50,00 people now Languish in poverty. Ed Ryan Promises to appoint a Co-Mayor, A Vibrant Young Leader from Springfield's Ignored and Impoverished Hispanics Community and Eds Ryan Donate Half His Mayoral Salary to Pay him as Ed Ryan is all about Establishing Real Racial, Economic and Social Justice that will Stimulate prosperity as Ed Ryan's project to Build a World Class Sister UMASS Campus in the Heart of Springfield will bring prosperity and Make Springfield an Academic and Art destination. This I promised do my best to Attain and I have little Doubt Springfield will be denied as the truth comes out that the UMASS President ( Marty Meehan the ex-congressman and extremely close friend of Richie Neal most likely knew about and assisted with the RICO Criminal Conspiracy in the Alex Morse UMASS Hate Smear, a dirty hate crime that violated Federal Election and Civil Rights laws while destroying the people’s faith in Democracy, goes uninvestigated by an FBI that is a secret police organization wrongly emmeshed in American political system protecting Corporate Democrats from any Prosecution for the often racist and hate Corruption and Corporate Pay for play that enriches and empowers Congressman like Richie Neal to now go forth at Ways and Means and write tax law after tax law that allows the Millionaires who have bought our congress, to continued not paying taxes as in the 2021 Richie Neal refusal of Bidens request to eliminate the 'step up' capital gains tax loophole used to pass down too heirs untaxed wealth at death. This Tax loophole still being used thanks to Richie Neal being bought off and denying Bidens request, and cities like Springfield, festering in poverty, are being denied by Richie Neal corruption the money needed to begin to cure this unholy, diabolically constructed mess, that is destroying the lives of so many good people. My friends, Teflon Richie Neal Corruption needs to go to jail, full stop period. Things are ugly as thousands of people, mostly of color, are thrusted into horrible lives of poverty ,thanks to Richie Neal and Friend’s Corruption in the form of these criminals literally Pillaging Springfield, and the entire district, over 30 plus year span. This Crime onto Humanity needs to end. Hopefully, things will get better soon as Ed Ryan, runs for, and is elected to Mayor of Springfield. In the spirit of always trying to do the right thing, Ed Ryan now promises to use half his mayoral salary to pay the salary of a co-mayor that Ryan will appoint from Springfield’s forgotten Hispanic community.
Yes, the story is sickening, our Hispanic brothers and sisters, and so many others in Springfield, have been buried under a slash pile of corruption that Richie Neal and friend's, like Springfield Mayor Dominic Sarno, Atty Jim Roosevelt and UMASS President, Marty Meehan (the guy who sees fit to pay a Football Coach over $850'000 per season rather than investing a dime in the great City of Springfield),and Springfield Power Law Firm Buckley Richardson's Atty Melinda Phelps, who acts as a racist administering housing grants in Springfield issued by Rich Neal to be used to stop low class minority encroachment into middle class neighborhoods. This are high end well educated people in powerful positions pretending their doing right, when, in reality their bunch of greed sick bigoted racist who need to learn what the inside of a jail cell looks like when door clangs behind you. Yes, my friends, no wonder their is so much apathy, as people trust their leaders less and less. And to top it off, the FBI now protects the Corporate Democrats so they can get a cut a cut of the corporate cash flowing like the champaign fountain at a Donald Trump wedding. And you will learn more of the sordid details as you read in the Sludge account below. But know this, it still goes on today in real time as Congressman Richie Neal recently issued a series of 2023 grant letters to a bunch of cohorts across district. Besides supplying grant money payola in the form of funding at least 10 non-essential projects across the district at a time when the cities die in poverty, Richie Neal now ‘gets down’ with his Catholic Church masters issuing a 2 million dollar grant to the Elms College to paint the yellowed walls of Catholic Church Property. Yes, in a certain scheme to allow Richie Neal and his bag men, along with the Bishop, with crews of tight lipped white collared priest, to loot the 2 million dollar slush fund with a papal kick-back designed by Vatican. If I am wrong, then ‘my bad’ but my gut is churning, and it is rarely wrong. So give me a break Richie Neal, you now enrich the same crew of sickos who allowed at least two bishops and an multiple of priest to damage untold number of boys with their twisted pedophile predilection. And now we see a Cardinal or Bishop in NYC paying lobbyist 2 million dollars to loosen up the child sexual assault laws so that priests and bishops, and others, can continue their sick ways fearless of being prosecuted. That's a fact Jack. Catholic Priest pedophile sexual abuse of boys is still going on today, and you ,Richie Neal ,and your Buddies at the Springfield Law Firm of Egan and Flanagan, the church lawyers, profit off it, as you do your best to help sweep this sick reality under the rug. In doing so the Church will continue to whisper support of you to the loyal flock members , and fund dark money PACS to destroy your opponents with Alex More Like Hate Smears. And All this warped corruption allows you to continue con folks with Irish Catholic phony piety. You sir are a dangerous corrupt bigot, says Ed Ryan. Yes, Ed Ryan was addicted, in the gutter years ago, but now, healed by adhering to Existentialist principles of not believing any Bible based superstition sold by the church because falsehood as truth corrupts logical intellectual abilities. So I am a godless atheist who is now, fully transparent, and serious as a heart attack about always doing the right. Thus I now adhere to the most important existentialist tenant, that being to defeat evil as best I can when I met up with it, and I have met it in learning about you along with the jam packed ongoing crew along for the ride ion the criminal concern you that you king pin. So I will l now singlehandedly, make sure that the Elms College does not see dime of that 2 million dollars on the table, even if have to sue in Federal court on the principle of separation of Church and state, or call the Pope and telling him what’s up. But, I’m sure he already knows as 2million is a worthy, holy chunk of change, even for a pointed hatted pope, sore in the elbows from waving at the hordes of brainwashed victims of church religiosity, That’s my promise mister, and know this, you are in a Donnybrook, and I am going to Donnybrook your corrupt butt, out of Congress. This I promise. ed ryan
see; YouTube Ed Ryan Reform [email protected]
Richard Neal’s Inner Circle of Corporate Lobbyists and Real Estate Developers, from Sludge Friends, family, and staff of Rep. Richard Neal have all benefited from the revolving door linking Springfield and K Street, at great cost to Massachusetts residents Neal, in his 16th term, finds himself in a single-digit race against progressive Holyoke mayor Alex Morse, according to two recent polls. On August 19, Rep. Richard Neal’s powerful D.C. lawyer Brian Svoboda sent a cease and desist letter to local news station WWLP-22, in Massachusetts’s First Congressional District. An outside ad had been hammering the incumbent over his record of taking more money from corporations than any other member of Congress. Writing on behalf of Neal, Svoboda claimed that the ad, from Justice Democrats, conflates taking “money from corporations”—a felony under federal law—with taking money from corporate PACs. The legal counsel for Justice Democrats described the letter as “not valid from a legal perspective.” ADVERTISING The letter comes as Neal, in his 16th term, finds himself in a single-digit race against progressive Holyoke mayor Alex Morse, according to two recent polls. The primary is on Tuesday. Semantics aside—and he is in fact the single largest recipient of corporate (PAC) dollars in all of Congress—Neal has used his powerful position as chair of the Ways and Means Committee to grease a revolving door that shepherds friends, family, and staffers between his office and the lobbyist firms that advocate on behalf of his biggest donors. Before threatening a local news provider with legal action, Neal made no small effort to conceal his fealty to the powerful special interest groups funding his campaign, corporate interests that have a dramatic impact on the lives of his constituents. More from Daniel Bogus law For example, Neal’s former legislative director Melissa Mueller has taken to lobbying for organizations that have donated considerable sums to the Neal campaign this year. At Capitol Tax Partners, Mueller took in $460,000 from Verizon, insurance companies like Northwestern Mutual Life, and big energy firms like NextEra and Terra-Gen Power. In 2020 alone, corporations compensating Mueller for her lobbying efforts donated over $290,000 to Neal’s campaign. After twenty years in Rep. Neal’s office, former chief of staff Ann Jabulon also began working as a lobbyist at Capital Counsel, a bipartisan D.C. lobbying firm, in 2016. Public lobbying disclosures show that in 2020, Jabulon’s firm received over one million dollars in income from the same hospital, pharmaceutical, and doctors’ associations that have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Neal’s campaign this cycle. Notable among them is the American Medical Group Association, which opposed legislation that would have curbed surprise billing that Neal ultimately killed and Jabulon lobbied against. The surprise-billing fiasco has damaged lives across the country, including those in Massachusetts. The surprise-billing fiasco has damaged lives across the country, including those in Massachusetts. A review of over 330 pages of complaints to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office, obtained by the group Fight Corporate Monopolies, reveals the way numerous patients have been victimized by unexpected medical bills in the state. Time and again, Massachusetts patients check and double-check that they would not be hit with an out-of-network change for anesthesiologists, radiologists, or emergency room doctors, are told everything will be fine, and still end up owing thousands of dollars. One patient treated at Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, Massachusetts, got a bill from “Rhode Island Imaging,” for having their radiologist read X-rays. When the patient questioned “why someone at Sturdy would be billing separately by a Rhode Island company, I was told ‘That’s just the way it is.’” Another patient went for a colonoscopy at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton because that was listed “in network” on her insurance company Cigna’s app. The bill from Cigna then stated “that Cooley Dickinson was out of network … I owed $1,730.06.” The same thing happened to a patient in Salem, who was assured before getting a mammogram that the services would be in network but found out later that the radiologist was not. A fourth patient from Waltham received a $4,321 bill for an out-of-network anesthesiologist. A fifth from Somerville had to pay $5,557.78 for an out-of-network doctor. A sixth from Newton racked up over $10,000 in charges from out-of-network healthcare providers, after confirming that the doctor was in-network. Trade groups representing hospitals, radiologists, and anesthesiologists have devoted over $600,000 to Neal’s effort, both through direct funding to the Neal campaign and third-party spending. WHILE NEAL’S FORMER EMPLOYEES have turned to lobbying, former lobbyists have in turn joined Neal’s staff. Picking up where Mueller left off, Neal’s deputy chief of staff on the House Ways and Means Committee, Elizabeth O’Hara, previously spent six years lobbying for O’Hara Federal Strategies, where her father now serves as principal. One of O’Hara Federal Strategies’ chief clients is Norfolk Southern, which has donated more than $25,000 to Neal over the last four election cycles. In between her former role as Neal’s legislative director and her current role as Senior Counsel to the Ways and Means Committee, Peg McGlinchey lobbied on behalf of Deloitte, Baxter Healthcare, PhRMA, Baxalta, and AmerisourceBergen. Combined, these companies have donated some $52,000 to Neal since 2014. Beyond friends and staffers, a member of Neal’s nuclear family has also come to benefit from the tremendous power that flows from the gavel of the Ways and Means Committee. Neal has also supported the endeavors of friends in addition to congressional staff. Melinda Phelps, head of the government strategies group at the powerful Springfield law firm Bulley Richardson, is also a former member of Neal’s mayoral campaign and a close friend of Neal’s. Phelps sits on multiple boards that have received donations from Neal. Data compiled by the Center For Responsive Politics for the Prospect shows that one of the boards that Phelps sits on, The Spirit of Springfield, has received $15,355 from Neal’s Congressional committee. While Spirit of Springfield is a civic pride organization, Develop Springfield, a privately funded development non-profit where Phelps serves as vice chair, has also received help from Neal. The congressman has written multiple times to the Springfield Community Preservation Committee advocating for public subsidies for private developments supported by the group. Neal has appeared at Develop Springfield events, and touts his record securing federal matching for their projects. None of the projects listed on Develop Springfield’s website mention low-income housing or community-based development, despite their requests for taxpayer dollars intended for projects that “preserve the character of the community.” This falls in line with Phelps’ statements describing community development projects as “encroachments” on middle-class neighborhoods. Phelps’s law firm Bulley Richardson has received $1,800 for “fundraising,” per Center For Responsive Politics records, and hosted a pre-gala VIP reception with Neal last year. Phelps also attended a Spirit of Springfield fundraiser co-chaired by Neal and MassMutual CEO Roger Crandall, although photo galleries on MassLive covering both events disappeared from their site, displaying an “internal server error” message, after the Prospect began contacting sources as part of its investigation into Phelps last week. The removal of the photos comes on the heels of The Intercept’s reporting on the tilted local media coverage of the MA-01 race. As of Sunday, the galleries seem to have been restored. Beyond friends and staffers, a member of Neal’s nuclear family has also come to benefit from the tremendous power that flows from the gavel of the Ways and Means Committee. As The Intercept reported earlier this month, Neal’s son Brendan was able to secure a lucrative lobbying job with Trestle Energy, a California-based biofuel company, after Neal helped the biofuel industry win a $3 billion dollar tax credit. As Lee Fang wrote, “The legislative gift followed a series of PAC donations from the largest ethanol and biofuel companies in America to Neal’s campaign, a tradition that enriches the campaign war chests of most legislators on the tax-writing committee.” Total biofuel industry donations to Neal this cycle are over $20,000. In addition to taking biofuel money, Neal has also advanced legislation that would give massive tax incentives to biomass energy providers like the embattled Palmer Renewable Energy, which has fought a prolonged battle with activist groups and city councilors to build a wood-burning biomass plant in East Springfield. Already suffering from the highest rates of asthma in the country, Springfield residents have raised the alarm over the plant’s potential to worsen public health, a sentiment that activists and local politicians have echoed. In 2010 Palmer Paving, whose owners the Callahans are also investors in the east Springfield plant, donated $5,500 to Neal. Between 2012 and 2020 members of the Callahan family donated an additional $2,500.
see; YouTube Ed Ryan Reform [email protected]
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First Entry
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Eighth Entry
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Journal of Camille Lambert - April 14th
​
When the fires finally died, there was almost nothing left of Puriysk. Just about every building was scorched and blackened. Most of the tents had been destroyed too, with only a tattered handful remaining on the far side of town.
​
Driving through the ruins felt almost like driving through a corpse. Everything was so dead… and yet despite the recent fire, I could already see new life growing on the ashes. Small flowers with petals that seemed to shimmer like distant stars. They were both beautiful and unsettling at the same time, although I noticed Dr. Di Cesare… or Gretchen, I suppose… looking down at them with quiet apprehension as we passed.
​
“We should visit what remains of my lab first,” She said. “I had some equipment that should offer suitable protection against any airborne toxins. Atmospheric saturation should currently be low, but best practices recommend not to take any unnecessary risks!”
“Sister, we’re way past best practices right now,” Nina replied sardonically. “Exactly how often were you dealing with this shit if you’ve got ‘suitable protection’ just on hand?”
“Often enough,” Gretchen replied. “Not in some years though… decades, really. I keep it now as a precaution. When studying pocket realities, one can never be too prepared. The Rosen Prince exists in far more than you could possibly imagine.”
​
“And now you’ve gone and brought it here,” Nina replied.
“While I understand you disapprove of my course of action, I stand by that the choice I made last night was the one with the highest probability of a favorable outcome.”
“‘Favorable outcome.’” Nina repeated, before giving a sigh of exasperation. “Whatever you say. I figure that one way or the other, this is gonna end with one of us saying ‘I Told You So’ and I hope to God it’s you.”
“As do I…” Gretchen admitted.
​
We pulled up on what was left of Gretchen’s RV. The roof had been completely peeled off and the entire front end was smashed, but it seemed like the lab portion was still somewhat intact… somewhat.
​
Gretchen got out of the car, pausing to survey the state of her lab. For a moment I thought that she almost looked upset, but if she felt anything at all she buried it quickly and pushed ahead.
“We’ll be out here,” Nina said. “Don’t take too long.”
“I’ll help you look,” I said, getting out of the car as well and following Gretchen into the ruined RV. She was already going through some of the drawers when I joined her inside.
​
Despite everything, the lab part of the RV was almost in good condition. Almost. Papers had been strewn all over the floor and scattered everywhere among shards of broken glass. I heard something crack under my shoe and looked down to see a framed photograph on the floor. I reached down to pick it up. The photograph depicted a group of women, around 14 of them, I think. I recognized one in the corner as Gretchen. I wondered if this was her family.
​
I looked up at her, to see her pausing at one particular drawer, before taking out a series of respirator masks.
“Elastomeric respirators. Good for keeping out paint, dust, and spores. Small particles that can harm the lungs. I’ve found they reduce spore exposure by over 90%. Not foolproof, but helpful.”
She counted four out of the selection she had, before putting one on and handing the rest off to me. I set the photo down to take them and put one of the masks on myself. As I did, Gretchen took a bone handled knife out of her coat.
​
“I do have one further precaution that I use… where would you like to be scarred?”
“I’m sorry, what?” I asked, taking a step back. Gretchen tilted her head to the side slightly, before realizing that I didn’t understand whatever the hell she was talking about.
​
“As a precaution, I think it would be wise to mark a rune into your flesh. It won’t necessarily protect you against the Rosen Prince, but it will guarantee you die before it takes control of you… here, let me show you…”
She slid off her coat and gingerly hung it over a chair. I could see the revolver resting in a shoulder holster she wore underneath. She rolled up the sleeve of her shirt. Above the Aquarius tattoo on her wrist, I could see several runes scarred into her arm.
​
“Scarification is a deep form of magic. Not for the faint of heart, but deeply effective. This one here…” She pointed at one about halfway up her forearm. “It’s a curse. Were I ever to be infected by the Rosen Prince, it would drain my life away, killing me before I could be fully claimed by it. Personally, I think it’s the merciful alternative. Assimilation into the hive mind technically does not kill you, but it is not a fate I would wish on most. Everything you were, everything you are lost within an ocean of voices so that you no longer remain because you and It are now one and the same.”
​
“Are you going to do that to Nina and Dom too?” I asked warily.
“I already did Nina this morning. And I’ll offer it to Dominic before we depart. I can not force you to accept this… the spell does not work unless you do it yourself. However I do recommend it.”
I stared at the knife for a moment, before grimacing and rolling up my sleeve.
“Just show me what to do…” I said.
​
Gretchen nodded and beckoned me over to the chair. She knelt by my side and helped me guide the knife.
“It only needs to be a shallow wound. Enough to draw blood and leave a lasting mark,” She said. As the knife pierced my arm, I winced in pain.
“Very good! Now, let me guide you…” She placed a hand over mine. “Look at my rune. We’ll copy it exactly.”
​
I nodded before trying to do just that, gritting my teeth in pain and trying not to scream. Gretchen guided my hand, but I held the knife and I was the one who pushed it into my skin… it wasn’t the worst pain I’d ever felt. But it came very close and I didn’t last long before I had to stop, sucking in air as if that might numb the pain as I felt tears filling my eyes.
“How the hell do you do this to yourself?” I gasped.
“The rewards are worth the pain,” Gretchen replied. “See this?” She pointed to another rune on her arm, “It’s an elemental brand. It’s how I was able to control the fire, last night. And this…” She pointed to another one, “This one allows for limited spatial manipulation. It took me three tries to get it right. Each time I had to carve away the old skin and heal it to begin anew.”
​
I flinched at the thought of it and she cracked a small smile that I think was meant to be reassuring.
“Oh, I assure you that’s nothing,” She said brushing past her long stringy hair and leaning forward so I could see the back of her neck, exposing a far more complicated rune.
​
“This here? That’s an attribution spell. It’s one of the hardest to get right, but once you’ve done it, it keeps you safe.”
“Yeah… howso?” I asked.
“If someone were to pull a gun and shoot me now, I would feel no pain. The wound would manifest on their body instead. Given the fact that he was able to obtain the heart of an Old Fae, it’s possible that Calhoun bears a similar mark. Most powerful witches do. My sisters, for example. Long ago, we each learned this rune and one by one, we carved it into the backs of our necks as a means to ensure our survival. It’s useful… although not foolproof. Stab me, and I feel no pain. Throw me on to a knife and… well… ” She shrugged. “Of course, my little spell would do nothing to protect me from this…”
​
She took the revolver out of her holster and showed it to me.
“There’s no magic in existence that would save you from Malvian Ice. I modified this gun to amplify it’s properties. To ensure every shot was lethal. But the bullets?” She opened the cylinder and took one out. It looked almost like a regular bullet, although the tip seemed crystalline and had a pinkish shine to it.
“They don’t need the gun to be effective. Put this in the heart of Calhoun… and there is no magic, no God, nothing in existence that could offer him salvation. This bullet… this is Death herself. Absolute, inescapable, and final.”
​
She reached over and gently pressed the bullet into my hand.
“You should carry it. The other three bullets may be needed elsewhere. It would be wise to save one.”
“You’re the one with the gun, why don’t you take it?” I asked.
“At heart, I am a scientist not a fighter.” Gretchen said. “I can use this weapon, but as of right now I only carry it for safekeeping. I suspect Valentine may get more use out of it than I will. She would certainly be the better shot… although given her demeanor and what lies ahead of us, I do not want to risk the possibility that she might use all four of our remaining bullets before we reached Calhoun. Therefore… I entrust you with this.”
​
I looked down at the bullet in my hand, before giving a half nod,
“I’ll keep it close,” I promised.
“Excellent! Now… you’re halfway done. Shall we finish the rest?”
I looked down at the bleeding rune on my arm and nodded slowly. Gretchen showed me her rune again, and I pressed the knife back into my skin.
​
The cut was already throbbing with pain… and maybe that was why finishing the rune was easier than starting it was.
“Excellent work,” Gretchen said. “You may have a future as a witch someday… perhaps.” She stared down at the blood on my arm thoughtfully, before tearing her attention away.
​
“You’re a vampire, right?” I asked. “When’s the last time you…”
“Three hours prior to yesterdays incident,” She replied, standing up again. “Strictly speaking I only need to feed once every few days, once per week at minimum. Biting you will not be necessary… although I will admit, your blood does smell…nice. I personally prefer an older male specimen, maintained in reasonable health however just because one likes merlot doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy a good rosé. But I digress. You need your strength and I have other provisions to ensure I make do.”
​
She walked over to the far side of the lab and opened a cabinet, rifling around in it for a few minutes before taking out what looked like a wine bottle.
“A little side project some of my sisters entertain. Hardly a full meal… but the wine masks the taste of stale blood. I was saving it for a special occasion. But, it will suffice for now.” She pulled the cork and took a drink from the bottle, before going through the cabinet again and coming back with a white first aid kid.
“Let me wrap that wound for you, at least until the bleeding stops,” She said. I gingerly held out my arm and let her work. It didn’t take long.
​
Outside, I could hear the car horn honking impatiently. Gretchen ignored it, gently cleaning my wound.
“There we go…” She said gently, “All set. Bring the masks outside, I’ll join you momentarily.”
​
I nodded and got up to leave. Looking back, I noticed her standing over the photograph I’d picked up earlier. She stared down at it, before taking the picture out of the broken frame and slipping it into her pocket before finally taking her wine bottle and following me out.
​
***
​
The tents on the far side of town were still mostly intact, although seeing them abandoned still felt a little surreal. The shimmering flowers grew along the ground, and among them I could see creeping red weeds sprawling across the ground. Those weeds had even started to grow over some of the tents.
​
Nina regarded them with unease, before checking to ensure her mask was on right and going in to investigate. She held her rifle at the ready the whole while.
“Fuck… how the hell do you do this to yourself?” I heard Dom seethe from behind me and looked back to see Gretchen helping him scar himself.
“In time, you learn to accept the pain,” She said. “Now breathe. We’re nearly done.”
​
Dom looked up at me as Gretchen guided his hand. I went over to put a hand on his shoulder and stay with him through the pain.
“There… there… now we’re done,” Gretchen crooned. “Let me wrap that for you. You did well.”
“Christ…” Dom panted, “All this over some fucking flowers?”
“Those flowers have ended Universes and brought entire civilizations to their knees,” Gretchen warned. “There is no caution you cannot take with them.”
​
Dom looked over toward some of the glowing flowers. I noticed Nina was giving them a wide berth.
“If they’re that dangerous, why even summon them?” He asked.
“I had four bullets, and more than four approaching targets. Even the more offensive spells at my disposal would not have offered sufficient protection. We were in a dire situation. I needed something that would serve as both a formidable distraction and that could reverse our fortunes. I made a judgment call. The Pocket Reality I opened has been claimed by the Rosen Prince for some time. I’ve done some research there before and I imagine he’s been waiting for my return ever since. I suspected that the moment I gave him a door, he would come scampering… and he did not disappoint. His infection will spread rapidly, but so long as we use the correct precautions, we should be fine. I can not say the same for Calhoun’s local militia and his Nightwalkers, on the other hand. I doubt they are equipped to deal with him.”
​
“No shit, they aren’t…” Dom murmured, “I gotta ask, what exactly happens if this thing reaches Calhoun before we do?”
Gretchen frowned.
“Hard to say,” She admitted as she finished bandaging Dom’s scar. “I don’t have enough data to be certain. But…”
​
“But?” I asked.
“Last night, McClellan said something I found… interesting. He mentioned that there were other towns ‘ripe for the picking’ out there and then said something about Calhoun getting the rest of the 5000 souls he needed. I’ve been trying to figure out what he meant by that.”
“Did you come up with anything?” Dom asked.
“Unfortunately, I did,” She admitted. “I don’t suppose Nina has told you two where your Nightwalkers come from, did she?”
“Something about another pocket. She called it The Midnight Grove,” I said. Gretchen nodded.
​
“Correct. Now… the entity that controls the Midnight Grove, The Lugal. It is known for making deals. Offer it souls and it can be bargained with. And with 5000 souls… well, in theory, the rewards would be great.”
“In theory?” Dom asked.
“There’s a very good reason the wise don’t deal with the Lugal. Whatever he offers you shall inevitably corrupt you, until you are little more than just another of the shambling, mindless beasts who wander his domain. Personally, I’ve found that you can get a better deal elsewhere. But that’s neither here nor there. The future state of Calhoun’s soul is really not important to us. If he completes his deal, then killing him becomes significantly harder… and I have little doubt that he has the means to complete his deal.”
​
“How?” I asked.
“When Mr. Durand first reached out to me about joining this operation, there was some discussion on how Ben Calhoun was able to enter and leave this pocket reality. At the time, I’d theorized that he had established a permanent means of doing so. It would not be that difficult… the correct runes on certain doors would likely suffice and would permit him to come and go as he pleased. We theorized that he had set up such doors in other towns he may have been interested in. I had hoped we may be able to find one such door. I even went so far as to look for small towns in the United States that had similarities with the ones we already knew existed in this pocket, that just so happened to have a resident there by the name of Ben Calhoun.”
​
“And what did you find?” I asked.
“Hundreds in the United States alone,” She said. “Enough so that exploring my theory further was not an option… however considering what McClellan said about ‘other towns ripe for the picking’ however I can not help but wonder if my theory is correct. McClellan said that Calhoun needed 5000 souls. To that end, I’ve put together a rough estimate of how many more he might need based on the estimated body count from his… actions… in the other towns.”
​
I felt my stomach sink a little bit.
“Between Rankin Mills, Bakersfield, and Thompson Falls, I estimate casualties of 1500, 2000, and 500 respectively for a sum of 4000 give or take. Puriysk had approximately a thousand people living in it… had we not intervened, Calhoun would have had his 5000 souls. And if I’m right about him having doorways to other towns, then I think I know how he might try and make up the deficit.”
“So he’s going to try and bring another town into the pocket…” I said quietly, before the rest of the realization hit me. “And if the Rosen Prince takes Calhoun, it could use any of those doors to get out of here!”
​
Gretchen nodded.
“It may not even need to take Calhoun,” She said. “All it would need to do is make it to Parsons and fine a door. Those outside would have no means of identifying where it would show up, delaying their ability to form an effective response and at minimum, resulting in further loss of life.”
“Jesus Christ…” Dom said under his breath, “You knew this and you still let that thing out?”
​
“As I said, I made a judgment call,” Gretchen said. “If we get to Parsons first, we can eliminate Calhoun and render all of this null and void. Kill Calhoun, and there is no pocket reality. No pocket reality means no Rosen Prince and if I am correct about those doorways…”
“That’s how we get out,” I said. Again, she nodded.
​
“You can be upset with me for what I did last night… I agree, it was a reckless move and not one that I made lightly. But I traded certain death for a ticking clock and an effective distraction. I stand by that decision, whatever the consequences.”
Dom just sighed and shook his head.
“Well… like Nina said, I guess. This is gonna end with somebody saying ‘I told you so’ and we better fucking hope that it’s you.”
With that, he went off to follow Nina toward the tents.
​
We spent the better part of an hour going through what was left from the FRB’s supplies and even some of the things we did find weren’t exactly useable. One tent which had been used as something of a mess hall was completely overgrown with those glowing flowers, leaving any food in there practically inedible. Most of what we found that we could use was guns and ammo.
​
“Trust me, we’re gonna need this shit,” Nina said as she opened the combination padlocks to the gun lockers. She tossed them aside and pulled the locker open, sorting through the contents before finding something and handing it to me. It had the body of a pistol, but with a stock and a sight.
“Kel-Tec CP33. Should be good for you,” She said before reaching for something else. She admired it for a moment, before setting her current rifle aside.
“Holy shit… I knew they were bringing in some heavy shit, but God Damn!”
​
“What is it?” Dom asked, watching as she took out something that looked like a bigger, smoother version of the rifle she already had
“It’s an AA-12… I’ve never actually gotten to fire one of these before. Should be fun! Hey Dom, you want one too? They’ve got a few in here!”
“What’s it do?” He asked.
“It’s a full auto shotgun with 20 shell drum mag. Basically - it turns anyone you don’t like into ground beef. Should be useful against the Rosen Prince…” She got down, checking a lower shelf and taking out boxes of ammo.
​
“Let’s see… I heard Milo mention something about Dragons Breath rounds. He thought they’d be effective against the Nightwalkers. Lemme just… oh fuck yes!”
She held up a box of shotgun shells, grinning from ear to ear.
​
“Thank you, Milo! Gretchen, think you can help us curse these?”
“I should be able to,” She said, going over to take the box from Nina. She sorted through a few other boxes of bullets on the lower shelf, before sliding one over to me.
​
“Try these out,” She said. “Lemme know if you want something different. We’ve still got a lot out here.”
I nodded before picking up the box. I set it down on a table, took the magazine out of the gun Nina had given me, and loaded it up just the way she’d shown me before. Then I went outside to give it a test run.
​
As I stepped out, I looked over toward the ruins of Puriysk. I could see one charred building that had once been an apartment, now overgrown with red vines and glowing flowers that made the ruins twinkle in the most surreal way. In a sense, the building almost looked infected. The vines seemed more like cancerous growths than real plant life. Looking at it, I was reminded of the state that Bakersfield had been in… and I was reminded of the corpse of my mother, her eyes half open in death. The memory made my stomach turn.
​
I raised the gun up toward the distant building, knowing that if I shot at it I couldn’t kill what was ahead of me, but hoping it might make me feel better. I pulled the trigger, firing into the void.
​
“Hello?” A distant voice called, making me pause. “Hello, is someone there?”
“Hello?” I called back, lowering the gun and trying to follow the voice.
“Hello?!”
Up ahead, I could see a man stumbling past a few of the tents. Judging by his uniform, he’d been part of the FRB.
​
“Oh thank God…” He said, “Thank God I thought I was the only one left!”
“So did we!” I said. I noticed that the name on his uniform read - ‘Gideon’. I looked back toward the tent that Nina and the others were in.
“Are you hurt?” I asked, “We’ve got Dr. Di Cesare with us, I think I saw some spare masks in her lab too. We can get you one!”
“Masks?” Gideon asked, “Why? What’s going on here?”
“I’ll let Dr. Di Cesare explain, come on.”
​
I gestured for him to follow me into the tent. As I turned to go in, I saw Nina coming out.
“I’m hearing voices out here…” She said, before noticing Gideon. Gretchen came out behind her, eyes narrowing slightly.
“We’ve got another survivor,” I said and Nina looked over at Gideon with a raised eyebrow.
“Shit, really?” She asked, although didn’t sound particularly enthusiastic about it. She glanced over at Gretchen who was on top of Gideon almost immediately.
​
“Fascinating, how did you survive the night?” She asked, already poking and prodding at him. From the corner of my eye, I could see Dom coming out of the tent, holding the shotgun Nina had given him.
“I… I just stayed out of the fire!” Gideon said, “I let the monsters fight each other! I didn’t know what to do, I couldn’t get to the trucks before they left and then the radio went silent… what are you doing?”
​
Gretchen held him by the chin and leaned in to sniff at his neck.
“Did you know a vampire's sense of smell is over ten thousand times more accurate than a regular human's?” She asked, her voice as calm as ever. “It enables us to detect imperfections in the blood and avoid drinking anything that might be adverse to our health… and right now, I can smell the spores in yours.”
​
Gideon locked eyes with her, looking panicked for a moment before his lips slowly began to curl into a knowing rictus grin.
“You were always so astute, Gretchen…”
​
I saw his skull split apart suddenly, revealing rows upon rows of teeth inside. He tried to bite down on her head, but Gretchen seemed to be expecting that. I saw the ground beneath her shift, pulling her back a few feet.
​
Nina raised her shotgun and fired at Gideon before he could make another move. A column of sparks flashed out of her gun, setting Gideon’s body alight. He howled in pain and as he did I saw his body changing. The skin and flesh on his hands peeled back turning his fingers into claws. An inhuman screech escaped him as he lunged for Nina, only to be blown back by another flaming blast from her shotgun and sent crashing to the ground in a twitching, screaming pile of burning flesh.
Nina let out a shuddering, almost orgasmic sigh.
“I love you,” She said to the gun.
​
Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, a chorus of inhuman screams echoed through the air around us, seeming to come from everywhere at once.
“That doesn't sound good…” Dom said.
“Oh, it’s not. He makes that sound when he’s hungry,” Gretchen ‘assured’ us. “We should leave.”
​
She motioned with her hand, beckoning some of the fire off the burning remains of ‘Gideon’ and allowing them to form into a ball in her hand.
“But we’ve got supplies here!” Nina said, “We’re not getting through Parsons without them!”
“And he’s got the bodies from last night.”
​
Almost on cue, several shapes rounded one of the tents a few feet away. Gretchen casually let loose the ball of fire she’d taken, sending it flying toward one of the creatures racing toward us.
“Then we’ll just bring the car here, load up and leave!” Nina said. “Dom, keep them out of the tent, Cam, grab everything you can carry!”
“I have to state for the record that this is an ill advised-”
“Just shut up and help me get to the goddamn car!” Nina snapped, cutting Gretchen off before raising her gun to unleash hell upon the creatures that came for us.
​
I wasted no time running straight for the tent. Nina had opened a few of the lockers and had been going through the contents. She’d set aside the dragon's breath rounds, and I figured those were probably the ones she was looking to bring. She’d opened up a metal ammo box and had already been setting the shells inside. I didn’t really have the time to set them up in order the way she’d been doing, but I did have time to carelessly dump them in there like an idiot.
​
I could see the flashes from outside as Dom fired at some of the Rosen and judging by the sounds he made, I couldn’t tell if he was having fun, terrified for his life, or both.
​
I grabbed a second ammo box, hastily dumping the remaining shells in there. I didn’t count them and hoped to God that it would be enough, then I grabbed another box of the .22 ammo that my gun used, stuffed that in my pocket, and closed up the boxes. I figured it was as good enough.
“Let’s go!” I yelled to Dom, grabbing both boxes by the handles. They were heavier than they looked, but I did what I could to tough it out.
​
He fired a few more rounds at some of the passing Rosen, bathing them in sparks that caught their bodies alight and sent the ones near them scurrying away. From what I could see, no two were exactly the same. Some of the smaller ones, who looked as if they’d once been human either wore tattered FRB uniforms or the loose ensemble of the Sheriff’s Boys. Although most had discarded their clothes entirely, embracing the monster that now puppeteered them. Their heads opened like flowers, and some even had the same shimmering petals as the glowing flowers that dotted the ruins. Many had those same flowers blooming on their skin, only in their center were sickly yellow eyes. They loped about on all fours like wild dogs, howling and shrieking all the while, trying to escape the flames that bathed them but never quite giving up their single minded pursuit.
​
A few of them ran for me, although Dom dealt with those quickly, washing them in columns of fire with every pull of his trigger. Together we retreated back toward the car. In the chaos, it was hard to keep track of events. There were just so many… too many to count. I left the shooting to Dominic, my only focus was on staying out of his way and reaching the car.
​
I could see flames rising up into the sky a few feet away and knew that Gretchen and Nina were still fighting. We were getting closer to them. A fresh column of fire tore through one of the nearby tents, burning it away almost completely along with the Rosen who were unlucky enough to be caught in its path.
​
As we rounded that tent, I saw Nina hastily backing toward the SUV, unloading her last few rounds into the advancing crowd of Rosen and buying herself enough time to get inside.
​
Gretchen was doing the same, pulling the fire from the burning corpses and forming burning walls between her and the living. Behind the horde, I could see one twisted figure standing atop one of the tents, watching her with a single yellow eye.
​
“A RIPE NEW WORLD TO USHER IN TO SPRING EVERLASTING!” A voice howled through the chaos. I think it came from the thing that watched Gretchen. “How kind of you, Gretchen Di Cesare… an apology for your many insults? Or a failure. The newest of many?”
​
She didn’t humor the Rosen Prince with a response, or at least not a verbal one. A tendril of flames shot out of the wall she’d summoned, to engulf the thing that had spoken to her. Killing it, did nothing to stop the voice, which seemed to come from everywhere at once now.
​
“Shall you outrun me again, Child? Or do I at last claim you as my own?”
Gretchen just turned, and pulled open the car door, getting in as Nina keyed the engine. The wall of flames pivoted, cutting violently across the path before the car and burning anything there before quickly parting. Nina hit the gas and sped toward us, while Gretchen’s trail of fire followed.
​
I saw the Rosen shrink back as the car and the fire drew near. We took the opportunity while it was there. Dom pulled one of the doors open for me and I hefted the ammo boxes inside, looking back to watch him dive in behind me. We didn’t even get a chance to close the door before Nina was driving again. Gretchen rolled down the window and pulled the fires from behind us forward, launching them in front of the car to burn away the Rosen in our path. As she did, I could hear the demonic laughter of the Rosen Prince in the distance.
“RUN IF YOU MUST, DEAR CHILD! FOR I ALREADY AWAIT YOU!”
​
I looked out the back window to see that the Rosen had already given up chasing us. I wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not. Judging by the look on Gretchen’s face, it wasn’t.
“We need to move, quickly,” She said. “Dominic, you can get us to Parsons, correct?”
“I think I should,” He said. “I’m sorry, did that thing just say it was already waiting for us, did it already get to Parsons?”
​
“I suppose we’ll find out shortly…” Gretchen admitted. “If so… we should still have time. The Rosen Prince shouldn’t have the biomass to launch a particularly large assault right now. He’ll need more bodies… but I still suggest we move, the clock is ticking.”
​
Nina pulled the car onto the road leading out of Puriysk, watching the rearview mirror anxiously as she did. The mists of the forest swallowed us up as we left Puriysk behind. All that remained now was ahead of us, at the end of the road.

First Entry
Second Entry
Third Entry
Fourth Entry ​
Fifth Entry
Sixth Entry
Seventh Entry
Eighth Entry
​
Journal of Camille Lambert - April 14th
​
When the fires finally died, there was almost nothing left of Puriysk. Just about every building was scorched and blackened. Most of the tents had been destroyed too, with only a tattered handful remaining on the far side of town.
​
Driving through the ruins felt almost like driving through a corpse. Everything was so dead… and yet despite the recent fire, I could already see new life growing on the ashes. Small flowers with petals that seemed to shimmer like distant stars. They were both beautiful and unsettling at the same time, although I noticed Dr. Di Cesare… or Gretchen, I suppose… looking down at them with quiet apprehension as we passed.
​
“We should visit what remains of my lab first,” She said. “I had some equipment that should offer suitable protection against any airborne toxins. Atmospheric saturation should currently be low, but best practices recommend not to take any unnecessary risks!”
“Sister, we’re way past best practices right now,” Nina replied sardonically. “Exactly how often were you dealing with this shit if you’ve got ‘suitable protection’ just on hand?”
“Often enough,” Gretchen replied. “Not in some years though… decades, really. I keep it now as a precaution. When studying pocket realities, one can never be too prepared. The Rosen Prince exists in far more than you could possibly imagine.”
​
“And now you’ve gone and brought it here,” Nina replied.
“While I understand you disapprove of my course of action, I stand by that the choice I made last night was the one with the highest probability of a favorable outcome.”
“‘Favorable outcome.’” Nina repeated, before giving a sigh of exasperation. “Whatever you say. I figure that one way or the other, this is gonna end with one of us saying ‘I Told You So’ and I hope to God it’s you.”
“As do I…” Gretchen admitted.
​
We pulled up on what was left of Gretchen’s RV. The roof had been completely peeled off and the entire front end was smashed, but it seemed like the lab portion was still somewhat intact… somewhat.
​
Gretchen got out of the car, pausing to survey the state of her lab. For a moment I thought that she almost looked upset, but if she felt anything at all she buried it quickly and pushed ahead.
“We’ll be out here,” Nina said. “Don’t take too long.”
“I’ll help you look,” I said, getting out of the car as well and following Gretchen into the ruined RV. She was already going through some of the drawers when I joined her inside.
​
Despite everything, the lab part of the RV was almost in good condition. Almost. Papers had been strewn all over the floor and scattered everywhere among shards of broken glass. I heard something crack under my shoe and looked down to see a framed photograph on the floor. I reached down to pick it up. The photograph depicted a group of women, around 14 of them, I think. I recognized one in the corner as Gretchen. I wondered if this was her family.
​
I looked up at her, to see her pausing at one particular drawer, before taking out a series of respirator masks.
“Elastomeric respirators. Good for keeping out paint, dust, and spores. Small particles that can harm the lungs. I’ve found they reduce spore exposure by over 90%. Not foolproof, but helpful.”
She counted four out of the selection she had, before putting one on and handing the rest off to me. I set the photo down to take them and put one of the masks on myself. As I did, Gretchen took a bone handled knife out of her coat.
​
“I do have one further precaution that I use… where would you like to be scarred?”
“I’m sorry, what?” I asked, taking a step back. Gretchen tilted her head to the side slightly, before realizing that I didn’t understand whatever the hell she was talking about.
​
“As a precaution, I think it would be wise to mark a rune into your flesh. It won’t necessarily protect you against the Rosen Prince, but it will guarantee you die before it takes control of you… here, let me show you…”
She slid off her coat and gingerly hung it over a chair. I could see the revolver resting in a shoulder holster she wore underneath. She rolled up the sleeve of her shirt. Above the Aquarius tattoo on her wrist, I could see several runes scarred into her arm.
​
“Scarification is a deep form of magic. Not for the faint of heart, but deeply effective. This one here…” She pointed at one about halfway up her forearm. “It’s a curse. Were I ever to be infected by the Rosen Prince, it would drain my life away, killing me before I could be fully claimed by it. Personally, I think it’s the merciful alternative. Assimilation into the hive mind technically does not kill you, but it is not a fate I would wish on most. Everything you were, everything you are lost within an ocean of voices so that you no longer remain because you and It are now one and the same.”
​
“Are you going to do that to Nina and Dom too?” I asked warily.
“I already did Nina this morning. And I’ll offer it to Dominic before we depart. I can not force you to accept this… the spell does not work unless you do it yourself. However I do recommend it.”
I stared at the knife for a moment, before grimacing and rolling up my sleeve.
“Just show me what to do…” I said.
​
Gretchen nodded and beckoned me over to the chair. She knelt by my side and helped me guide the knife.
“It only needs to be a shallow wound. Enough to draw blood and leave a lasting mark,” She said. As the knife pierced my arm, I winced in pain.
“Very good! Now, let me guide you…” She placed a hand over mine. “Look at my rune. We’ll copy it exactly.”
​
I nodded before trying to do just that, gritting my teeth in pain and trying not to scream. Gretchen guided my hand, but I held the knife and I was the one who pushed it into my skin… it wasn’t the worst pain I’d ever felt. But it came very close and I didn’t last long before I had to stop, sucking in air as if that might numb the pain as I felt tears filling my eyes.
“How the hell do you do this to yourself?” I gasped.
“The rewards are worth the pain,” Gretchen replied. “See this?” She pointed to another rune on her arm, “It’s an elemental brand. It’s how I was able to control the fire, last night. And this…” She pointed to another one, “This one allows for limited spatial manipulation. It took me three tries to get it right. Each time I had to carve away the old skin and heal it to begin anew.”
​
I flinched at the thought of it and she cracked a small smile that I think was meant to be reassuring.
“Oh, I assure you that’s nothing,” She said brushing past her long stringy hair and leaning forward so I could see the back of her neck, exposing a far more complicated rune.
​
“This here? That’s an attribution spell. It’s one of the hardest to get right, but once you’ve done it, it keeps you safe.”
“Yeah… howso?” I asked.
“If someone were to pull a gun and shoot me now, I would feel no pain. The wound would manifest on their body instead. Given the fact that he was able to obtain the heart of an Old Fae, it’s possible that Calhoun bears a similar mark. Most powerful witches do. My sisters, for example. Long ago, we each learned this rune and one by one, we carved it into the backs of our necks as a means to ensure our survival. It’s useful… although not foolproof. Stab me, and I feel no pain. Throw me on to a knife and… well… ” She shrugged. “Of course, my little spell would do nothing to protect me from this…”
​
She took the revolver out of her holster and showed it to me.
“There’s no magic in existence that would save you from Malvian Ice. I modified this gun to amplify it’s properties. To ensure every shot was lethal. But the bullets?” She opened the cylinder and took one out. It looked almost like a regular bullet, although the tip seemed crystalline and had a pinkish shine to it.
“They don’t need the gun to be effective. Put this in the heart of Calhoun… and there is no magic, no God, nothing in existence that could offer him salvation. This bullet… this is Death herself. Absolute, inescapable, and final.”
​
She reached over and gently pressed the bullet into my hand.
“You should carry it. The other three bullets may be needed elsewhere. It would be wise to save one.”
“You’re the one with the gun, why don’t you take it?” I asked.
“At heart, I am a scientist not a fighter.” Gretchen said. “I can use this weapon, but as of right now I only carry it for safekeeping. I suspect Valentine may get more use out of it than I will. She would certainly be the better shot… although given her demeanor and what lies ahead of us, I do not want to risk the possibility that she might use all four of our remaining bullets before we reached Calhoun. Therefore… I entrust you with this.”
​
I looked down at the bullet in my hand, before giving a half nod,
“I’ll keep it close,” I promised.
“Excellent! Now… you’re halfway done. Shall we finish the rest?”
I looked down at the bleeding rune on my arm and nodded slowly. Gretchen showed me her rune again, and I pressed the knife back into my skin.
​
The cut was already throbbing with pain… and maybe that was why finishing the rune was easier than starting it was.
“Excellent work,” Gretchen said. “You may have a future as a witch someday… perhaps.” She stared down at the blood on my arm thoughtfully, before tearing her attention away.
​
“You’re a vampire, right?” I asked. “When’s the last time you…”
“Three hours prior to yesterdays incident,” She replied, standing up again. “Strictly speaking I only need to feed once every few days, once per week at minimum. Biting you will not be necessary… although I will admit, your blood does smell…nice. I personally prefer an older male specimen, maintained in reasonable health however just because one likes merlot doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy a good rosé. But I digress. You need your strength and I have other provisions to ensure I make do.”
​
She walked over to the far side of the lab and opened a cabinet, rifling around in it for a few minutes before taking out what looked like a wine bottle.
“A little side project some of my sisters entertain. Hardly a full meal… but the wine masks the taste of stale blood. I was saving it for a special occasion. But, it will suffice for now.” She pulled the cork and took a drink from the bottle, before going through the cabinet again and coming back with a white first aid kid.
“Let me wrap that wound for you, at least until the bleeding stops,” She said. I gingerly held out my arm and let her work. It didn’t take long.
​
Outside, I could hear the car horn honking impatiently. Gretchen ignored it, gently cleaning my wound.
“There we go…” She said gently, “All set. Bring the masks outside, I’ll join you momentarily.”
​
I nodded and got up to leave. Looking back, I noticed her standing over the photograph I’d picked up earlier. She stared down at it, before taking the picture out of the broken frame and slipping it into her pocket before finally taking her wine bottle and following me out.
​
***
​
The tents on the far side of town were still mostly intact, although seeing them abandoned still felt a little surreal. The shimmering flowers grew along the ground, and among them I could see creeping red weeds sprawling across the ground. Those weeds had even started to grow over some of the tents.
​
Nina regarded them with unease, before checking to ensure her mask was on right and going in to investigate. She held her rifle at the ready the whole while.
“Fuck… how the hell do you do this to yourself?” I heard Dom seethe from behind me and looked back to see Gretchen helping him scar himself.
“In time, you learn to accept the pain,” She said. “Now breathe. We’re nearly done.”
​
Dom looked up at me as Gretchen guided his hand. I went over to put a hand on his shoulder and stay with him through the pain.
“There… there… now we’re done,” Gretchen crooned. “Let me wrap that for you. You did well.”
“Christ…” Dom panted, “All this over some fucking flowers?”
“Those flowers have ended Universes and brought entire civilizations to their knees,” Gretchen warned. “There is no caution you cannot take with them.”
​
Dom looked over toward some of the glowing flowers. I noticed Nina was giving them a wide berth.
“If they’re that dangerous, why even summon them?” He asked.
“I had four bullets, and more than four approaching targets. Even the more offensive spells at my disposal would not have offered sufficient protection. We were in a dire situation. I needed something that would serve as both a formidable distraction and that could reverse our fortunes. I made a judgment call. The Pocket Reality I opened has been claimed by the Rosen Prince for some time. I’ve done some research there before and I imagine he’s been waiting for my return ever since. I suspected that the moment I gave him a door, he would come scampering… and he did not disappoint. His infection will spread rapidly, but so long as we use the correct precautions, we should be fine. I can not say the same for Calhoun’s local militia and his Nightwalkers, on the other hand. I doubt they are equipped to deal with him.”
​
“No shit, they aren’t…” Dom murmured, “I gotta ask, what exactly happens if this thing reaches Calhoun before we do?”
Gretchen frowned.
“Hard to say,” She admitted as she finished bandaging Dom’s scar. “I don’t have enough data to be certain. But…”
​
“But?” I asked.
“Last night, McClellan said something I found… interesting. He mentioned that there were other towns ‘ripe for the picking’ out there and then said something about Calhoun getting the rest of the 5000 souls he needed. I’ve been trying to figure out what he meant by that.”
“Did you come up with anything?” Dom asked.
“Unfortunately, I did,” She admitted. “I don’t suppose Nina has told you two where your Nightwalkers come from, did she?”
“Something about another pocket. She called it The Midnight Grove,” I said. Gretchen nodded.
​
“Correct. Now… the entity that controls the Midnight Grove, The Lugal. It is known for making deals. Offer it souls and it can be bargained with. And with 5000 souls… well, in theory, the rewards would be great.”
“In theory?” Dom asked.
“There’s a very good reason the wise don’t deal with the Lugal. Whatever he offers you shall inevitably corrupt you, until you are little more than just another of the shambling, mindless beasts who wander his domain. Personally, I’ve found that you can get a better deal elsewhere. But that’s neither here nor there. The future state of Calhoun’s soul is really not important to us. If he completes his deal, then killing him becomes significantly harder… and I have little doubt that he has the means to complete his deal.”
​
“How?” I asked.
“When Mr. Durand first reached out to me about joining this operation, there was some discussion on how Ben Calhoun was able to enter and leave this pocket reality. At the time, I’d theorized that he had established a permanent means of doing so. It would not be that difficult… the correct runes on certain doors would likely suffice and would permit him to come and go as he pleased. We theorized that he had set up such doors in other towns he may have been interested in. I had hoped we may be able to find one such door. I even went so far as to look for small towns in the United States that had similarities with the ones we already knew existed in this pocket, that just so happened to have a resident there by the name of Ben Calhoun.”
​
“And what did you find?” I asked.
“Hundreds in the United States alone,” She said. “Enough so that exploring my theory further was not an option… however considering what McClellan said about ‘other towns ripe for the picking’ however I can not help but wonder if my theory is correct. McClellan said that Calhoun needed 5000 souls. To that end, I’ve put together a rough estimate of how many more he might need based on the estimated body count from his… actions… in the other towns.”
​
I felt my stomach sink a little bit.
“Between Rankin Mills, Bakersfield, and Thompson Falls, I estimate casualties of 1500, 2000, and 500 respectively for a sum of 4000 give or take. Puriysk had approximately a thousand people living in it… had we not intervened, Calhoun would have had his 5000 souls. And if I’m right about him having doorways to other towns, then I think I know how he might try and make up the deficit.”
“So he’s going to try and bring another town into the pocket…” I said quietly, before the rest of the realization hit me. “And if the Rosen Prince takes Calhoun, it could use any of those doors to get out of here!”
​
Gretchen nodded.
“It may not even need to take Calhoun,” She said. “All it would need to do is make it to Parsons and fine a door. Those outside would have no means of identifying where it would show up, delaying their ability to form an effective response and at minimum, resulting in further loss of life.”
“Jesus Christ…” Dom said under his breath, “You knew this and you still let that thing out?”
​
“As I said, I made a judgment call,” Gretchen said. “If we get to Parsons first, we can eliminate Calhoun and render all of this null and void. Kill Calhoun, and there is no pocket reality. No pocket reality means no Rosen Prince and if I am correct about those doorways…”
“That’s how we get out,” I said. Again, she nodded.
​
“You can be upset with me for what I did last night… I agree, it was a reckless move and not one that I made lightly. But I traded certain death for a ticking clock and an effective distraction. I stand by that decision, whatever the consequences.”
Dom just sighed and shook his head.
“Well… like Nina said, I guess. This is gonna end with somebody saying ‘I told you so’ and we better fucking hope that it’s you.”
With that, he went off to follow Nina toward the tents.
​
We spent the better part of an hour going through what was left from the FRB’s supplies and even some of the things we did find weren’t exactly useable. One tent which had been used as something of a mess hall was completely overgrown with those glowing flowers, leaving any food in there practically inedible. Most of what we found that we could use was guns and ammo.
​
“Trust me, we’re gonna need this shit,” Nina said as she opened the combination padlocks to the gun lockers. She tossed them aside and pulled the locker open, sorting through the contents before finding something and handing it to me. It had the body of a pistol, but with a stock and a sight.
“Kel-Tec CP33. Should be good for you,” She said before reaching for something else. She admired it for a moment, before setting her current rifle aside.
“Holy shit… I knew they were bringing in some heavy shit, but God Damn!”
​
“What is it?” Dom asked, watching as she took out something that looked like a bigger, smoother version of the rifle she already had
“It’s an AA-12… I’ve never actually gotten to fire one of these before. Should be fun! Hey Dom, you want one too? They’ve got a few in here!”
“What’s it do?” He asked.
“It’s a full auto shotgun with 20 shell drum mag. Basically - it turns anyone you don’t like into ground beef. Should be useful against the Rosen Prince…” She got down, checking a lower shelf and taking out boxes of ammo.
​
“Let’s see… I heard Milo mention something about Dragons Breath rounds. He thought they’d be effective against the Nightwalkers. Lemme just… oh fuck yes!”
She held up a box of shotgun shells, grinning from ear to ear.
​
“Thank you, Milo! Gretchen, think you can help us curse these?”
“I should be able to,” She said, going over to take the box from Nina. She sorted through a few other boxes of bullets on the lower shelf, before sliding one over to me.
​
“Try these out,” She said. “Lemme know if you want something different. We’ve still got a lot out here.”
I nodded before picking up the box. I set it down on a table, took the magazine out of the gun Nina had given me, and loaded it up just the way she’d shown me before. Then I went outside to give it a test run.
​
As I stepped out, I looked over toward the ruins of Puriysk. I could see one charred building that had once been an apartment, now overgrown with red vines and glowing flowers that made the ruins twinkle in the most surreal way. In a sense, the building almost looked infected. The vines seemed more like cancerous growths than real plant life. Looking at it, I was reminded of the state that Bakersfield had been in… and I was reminded of the corpse of my mother, her eyes half open in death. The memory made my stomach turn.
​
I raised the gun up toward the distant building, knowing that if I shot at it I couldn’t kill what was ahead of me, but hoping it might make me feel better. I pulled the trigger, firing into the void.
​
“Hello?” A distant voice called, making me pause. “Hello, is someone there?”
“Hello?” I called back, lowering the gun and trying to follow the voice.
“Hello?!”
Up ahead, I could see a man stumbling past a few of the tents. Judging by his uniform, he’d been part of the FRB.
​
“Oh thank God…” He said, “Thank God I thought I was the only one left!”
“So did we!” I said. I noticed that the name on his uniform read - ‘Gideon’. I looked back toward the tent that Nina and the others were in.
“Are you hurt?” I asked, “We’ve got Dr. Di Cesare with us, I think I saw some spare masks in her lab too. We can get you one!”
“Masks?” Gideon asked, “Why? What’s going on here?”
“I’ll let Dr. Di Cesare explain, come on.”
​
I gestured for him to follow me into the tent. As I turned to go in, I saw Nina coming out.
“I’m hearing voices out here…” She said, before noticing Gideon. Gretchen came out behind her, eyes narrowing slightly.
“We’ve got another survivor,” I said and Nina looked over at Gideon with a raised eyebrow.
“Shit, really?” She asked, although didn’t sound particularly enthusiastic about it. She glanced over at Gretchen who was on top of Gideon almost immediately.
​
“Fascinating, how did you survive the night?” She asked, already poking and prodding at him. From the corner of my eye, I could see Dom coming out of the tent, holding the shotgun Nina had given him.
“I… I just stayed out of the fire!” Gideon said, “I let the monsters fight each other! I didn’t know what to do, I couldn’t get to the trucks before they left and then the radio went silent… what are you doing?”
​
Gretchen held him by the chin and leaned in to sniff at his neck.
“Did you know a vampire's sense of smell is over ten thousand times more accurate than a regular human's?” She asked, her voice as calm as ever. “It enables us to detect imperfections in the blood and avoid drinking anything that might be adverse to our health… and right now, I can smell the spores in yours.”
​
Gideon locked eyes with her, looking panicked for a moment before his lips slowly began to curl into a knowing rictus grin.
“You were always so astute, Gretchen…”
​
I saw his skull split apart suddenly, revealing rows upon rows of teeth inside. He tried to bite down on her head, but Gretchen seemed to be expecting that. I saw the ground beneath her shift, pulling her back a few feet.
​
Nina raised her shotgun and fired at Gideon before he could make another move. A column of sparks flashed out of her gun, setting Gideon’s body alight. He howled in pain and as he did I saw his body changing. The skin and flesh on his hands peeled back turning his fingers into claws. An inhuman screech escaped him as he lunged for Nina, only to be blown back by another flaming blast from her shotgun and sent crashing to the ground in a twitching, screaming pile of burning flesh.
Nina let out a shuddering, almost orgasmic sigh.
“I love you,” She said to the gun.
​
Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, a chorus of inhuman screams echoed through the air around us, seeming to come from everywhere at once.
“That doesn't sound good…” Dom said.
“Oh, it’s not. He makes that sound when he’s hungry,” Gretchen ‘assured’ us. “We should leave.”
​
She motioned with her hand, beckoning some of the fire off the burning remains of ‘Gideon’ and allowing them to form into a ball in her hand.
“But we’ve got supplies here!” Nina said, “We’re not getting through Parsons without them!”
“And he’s got the bodies from last night.”
​
Almost on cue, several shapes rounded one of the tents a few feet away. Gretchen casually let loose the ball of fire she’d taken, sending it flying toward one of the creatures racing toward us.
“Then we’ll just bring the car here, load up and leave!” Nina said. “Dom, keep them out of the tent, Cam, grab everything you can carry!”
“I have to state for the record that this is an ill advised-”
“Just shut up and help me get to the goddamn car!” Nina snapped, cutting Gretchen off before raising her gun to unleash hell upon the creatures that came for us.
​
I wasted no time running straight for the tent. Nina had opened a few of the lockers and had been going through the contents. She’d set aside the dragon's breath rounds, and I figured those were probably the ones she was looking to bring. She’d opened up a metal ammo box and had already been setting the shells inside. I didn’t really have the time to set them up in order the way she’d been doing, but I did have time to carelessly dump them in there like an idiot.
​
I could see the flashes from outside as Dom fired at some of the Rosen and judging by the sounds he made, I couldn’t tell if he was having fun, terrified for his life, or both.
​
I grabbed a second ammo box, hastily dumping the remaining shells in there. I didn’t count them and hoped to God that it would be enough, then I grabbed another box of the .22 ammo that my gun used, stuffed that in my pocket, and closed up the boxes. I figured it was as good enough.
“Let’s go!” I yelled to Dom, grabbing both boxes by the handles. They were heavier than they looked, but I did what I could to tough it out.
​
He fired a few more rounds at some of the passing Rosen, bathing them in sparks that caught their bodies alight and sent the ones near them scurrying away. From what I could see, no two were exactly the same. Some of the smaller ones, who looked as if they’d once been human either wore tattered FRB uniforms or the loose ensemble of the Sheriff’s Boys. Although most had discarded their clothes entirely, embracing the monster that now puppeteered them. Their heads opened like flowers, and some even had the same shimmering petals as the glowing flowers that dotted the ruins. Many had those same flowers blooming on their skin, only in their center were sickly yellow eyes. They loped about on all fours like wild dogs, howling and shrieking all the while, trying to escape the flames that bathed them but never quite giving up their single minded pursuit.
​
A few of them ran for me, although Dom dealt with those quickly, washing them in columns of fire with every pull of his trigger. Together we retreated back toward the car. In the chaos, it was hard to keep track of events. There were just so many… too many to count. I left the shooting to Dominic, my only focus was on staying out of his way and reaching the car.
​
I could see flames rising up into the sky a few feet away and knew that Gretchen and Nina were still fighting. We were getting closer to them. A fresh column of fire tore through one of the nearby tents, burning it away almost completely along with the Rosen who were unlucky enough to be caught in its path.
​
As we rounded that tent, I saw Nina hastily backing toward the SUV, unloading her last few rounds into the advancing crowd of Rosen and buying herself enough time to get inside.
​
Gretchen was doing the same, pulling the fire from the burning corpses and forming burning walls between her and the living. Behind the horde, I could see one twisted figure standing atop one of the tents, watching her with a single yellow eye.
​
“A RIPE NEW WORLD TO USHER IN TO SPRING EVERLASTING!” A voice howled through the chaos. I think it came from the thing that watched Gretchen. “How kind of you, Gretchen Di Cesare… an apology for your many insults? Or a failure. The newest of many?”
​
She didn’t humor the Rosen Prince with a response, or at least not a verbal one. A tendril of flames shot out of the wall she’d summoned, to engulf the thing that had spoken to her. Killing it, did nothing to stop the voice, which seemed to come from everywhere at once now.
​
“Shall you outrun me again, Child? Or do I at last claim you as my own?”
Gretchen just turned, and pulled open the car door, getting in as Nina keyed the engine. The wall of flames pivoted, cutting violently across the path before the car and burning anything there before quickly parting. Nina hit the gas and sped toward us, while Gretchen’s trail of fire followed.
​
I saw the Rosen shrink back as the car and the fire drew near. We took the opportunity while it was there. Dom pulled one of the doors open for me and I hefted the ammo boxes inside, looking back to watch him dive in behind me. We didn’t even get a chance to close the door before Nina was driving again. Gretchen rolled down the window and pulled the fires from behind us forward, launching them in front of the car to burn away the Rosen in our path. As she did, I could hear the demonic laughter of the Rosen Prince in the distance.
“RUN IF YOU MUST, DEAR CHILD! FOR I ALREADY AWAIT YOU!”
​
I looked out the back window to see that the Rosen had already given up chasing us. I wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not. Judging by the look on Gretchen’s face, it wasn’t.
“We need to move, quickly,” She said. “Dominic, you can get us to Parsons, correct?”
“I think I should,” He said. “I’m sorry, did that thing just say it was already waiting for us, did it already get to Parsons?”
​
“I suppose we’ll find out shortly…” Gretchen admitted. “If so… we should still have time. The Rosen Prince shouldn’t have the biomass to launch a particularly large assault right now. He’ll need more bodies… but I still suggest we move, the clock is ticking.”
​
Nina pulled the car onto the road leading out of Puriysk, watching the rearview mirror anxiously as she did. The mists of the forest swallowed us up as we left Puriysk behind. All that remained now was ahead of us, at the end of the road.

It was Friday night, and I had the whole weekend to myself. My parents had left for their anniversary trip and my little sister was at a sleepover, leaving me, a 16-year-old, alone in our big house. The weather forecast predicted a blizzard, but I wasn't too worried about it; I had stocked up on snacks and had a whole list of movies to watch.
As the snow began to fall, I settled in on the couch, wrapping myself in a cozy blanket, and pressed play on the first movie. The wind howled outside, whipping the snow against the windows, making the house creak and groan. It was the perfect atmosphere for a scary movie marathon.
A couple of hours into my movie marathon, I paused to make some popcorn. As I waited for the kernels to pop, I glanced outside and saw the blizzard had picked up. The snow had piled up high, and visibility was almost zero. Even though I knew we lived far away from our neighbors, I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy at the thought of being so isolated.
Shaking off the feeling, I took my popcorn back to the couch and resumed my movie. My phone buzzed with a text message. It was my best friend, Sam, checking in on me.
"Hey, you surviving the blizzard?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, just watching scary movies and eating popcorn," I replied.
"Be safe! Don't let any creepy strangers in," Sam teased.
"Thanks, Sam, now I'm going to be paranoid all night!" I responded with a laugh.
We said our goodbyes and I returned to my movie. Just as I was getting engrossed, I heard a loud thud from upstairs. My heart raced, but I tried to rationalize it as the wind or maybe some snow falling off the roof.
I turned the volume up on the TV to drown out the noises from outside, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. As I watched the movie, I felt like I was being watched. Every so often, I would glance out the window, but I couldn't see anything through the swirling snow.
The next thud came from the front door. This time, I couldn't ignore it. I muted the TV and listened, straining to hear any other noises. The wind whistled, and I heard the faint sound of footsteps crunching in the snow outside.
My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to rationalize the situation. Maybe someone was lost in the blizzard and needed help. Or maybe it was just my imagination running wild. I decided to investigate, grabbing my dad's flashlight from the kitchen drawer.
The cold air hit me as I opened the front door, and I was instantly blinded by the snowstorm. I stepped out, shining the flashlight in the direction of the footsteps. As I followed them, I noticed they led to the side of the house, near the garage. Suddenly, the footsteps stopped, and I realized they led to a set of ladder rungs that led up to the roof.
My pulse quickened as I thought about the earlier thuds and the implications of someone climbing onto our roof. I rushed back inside, locking the door behind me. My mind raced, trying to figure out what to do. I remembered my dad had installed security cameras around the house, and I could check the footage from my phone.
As I pulled up the app and began scanning the footage, I noticed something strange. There was a figure dressed in dark clothing, seemingly trying to hide behind a snowbank. I couldn't make out any details, but the person was definitely watching the house.
I called Sam, my hands shaking. "Sam, there's someone outside my house, and they were on my roof. I don't know what to do!"
Sam's voice wavered, "Call the police, right now. I'm coming over, too. Just stay on the line with me until I get there."
I dialed 911 and explained the situation to the operator. They assured me that they would send a patrol car, but with the blizzard, it could take a while for them to arrive. I felt a pit in my stomach, realizing I was on my own until help arrived.
I locked all the doors and windows, double-checking each one. As I did, I couldn't help but feel like the figure was watching my every move. I glanced out the window, and for a brief moment, I saw the dark figure standing near the edge of our property, still watching the house.
I retreated to the living room, turning off the TV, and sat in the darkness, waiting for either the police or Sam to arrive. The only sound was the howling wind, punctuated by the occasional thud from the roof or the walls.
Time felt like it was dragging on, and I couldn't help but feel increasingly paranoid. Every small noise made my heart skip a beat, and my mind raced with possibilities of what the intruder might do. I clutched the flashlight tightly, as if it were a lifeline, and I kept my phone close, waiting for a call or message.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I heard a car engine approaching. Relief washed over me, thinking it was either Sam or the police. Peeking through the window, I saw Sam's car pull up, the headlights cutting through the darkness and snow.
I quickly unlocked the door, letting Sam in. Their face was a mix of worry and determination. "Are you okay? Have you seen the person since you called?"
"No, I haven't seen them, but I keep hearing noises," I replied, my voice shaking.
Sam suggested we wait together in the kitchen, where we'd have a clear view of the front and back doors. We sat in silence, the tension in the room thick as the snow outside.
Suddenly, a loud bang echoed through the house, followed by the sound of shattering glass. We both jumped to our feet, my heart pounding like a drum. The noise had come from the back of the house.
We cautiously moved towards the sound, flashlights in hand. As we turned the corner, we saw the back door wide open, shards of broken glass scattered across the floor. The intruder had made their way inside.
Sam and I exchanged terrified glances, knowing we had no choice but to confront whoever had invaded my home. We moved through the house together, checking each room, but found nothing. The intruder seemed to have vanished as suddenly as they appeared.
As we neared the staircase leading to the second floor, we heard a door creak open above us. We looked at each other, fear in our eyes, and began to ascend the stairs. Our flashlights revealed a trail of wet, muddy footprints leading down the hallway. We followed them, our hearts pounding in our ears.
The trail led us to my parents' bedroom. We hesitated, unsure of what we might find behind the door. Taking a deep breath, we pushed the door open, revealing the intruder standing by the window, their face hidden behind a dark mask.
We froze in terror, our flashlights illuminating the stranger. And that's when we heard the sirens, growing louder as the police approached. The intruder looked at us, then back to the window, before disappearing into the blizzard.
The police arrived moments later, searching the house and the surrounding property. They found no trace of the intruder, who had seemingly vanished into the storm. The officers took our statements, assuring us that they would do everything they could to find the person responsible.
Sam stayed with me that night, both of us too shaken to be alone. We huddled together in the living room, watching comedies to try and take our minds off the frightening ordeal.
The next morning, the storm had subsided, leaving a thick blanket of snow covering everything. As we stepped outside to assess the damage, we noticed something unusual. Near the broken back door, there was a small, snow-covered object. Curiosity piqued, we brushed off the snow to reveal a strange, intricately carved wooden box.
The box seemed to have no visible lock or latch, but it was clearly sealed shut. We exchanged puzzled glances, wondering if the intruder had left it behind. It was then that we decided to call the police and inform them about the mysterious box.
The officers arrived shortly after, taking the box with them as potential evidence. They promised to keep us updated on any new developments. Days turned into weeks, and the memory of that terrifying night began to fade. The police never found the intruder, and we never heard anything about the strange wooden box.
Life eventually returned to normal, but the feeling of being watched never completely went away. Every creak, every howl of the wind, would bring back memories of that harrowing night. The intruder had disappeared into the storm, leaving behind a lingering sense of unease and the haunting mystery of the wooden box. And in the back of our minds, we couldn't help but wonder if one day, the stranger would return to finish whatever they had started.

I've written this trip report 3 times now and keep losing the draft. It's gonna get long, so please forgive me. The actual action will be a few paragraphs down. Little background, I'm non-Japanese Asian American and don't speak any Japanese. Was on a solo trip to Japan, so I figured I'd check out the scene, although my pre-trip research was pretty lacking. Japan's hobby scene is a bit anti-thetical to this sub, but I thought I'd share in the interest of science. If nothing else, you can avoid being a bumbling idiot like me.
I think most people know what Soaplands are, but basically a spa with benefits. They are very common around Japan, but many are not accessible to foreigners. Those that do take foreigners tend to charge a "foreigner tax", which is very high fees. There is a message board Tokyo Adult Guide with some helpful tips, but I'm pretty sure all of those people speak some Japanese. The no foreigners thing is not necessarily a racist thing. They just don't want to get in a situation where inability to communicate might be dangerous for the girls (some management is just too lazy to deal with speaking a foreign language).
From my limited research, I settled on Hisyo in the north of Tokyo (about 1.5km walk from Asakusa). It's located in a district with a bunch of soaplands back to back. Their schtick is that the girls all dress like secretaries. And not like American Halloween slutty secretary. Like actual Japanese company secretary uniform. It's not why I picked them but it didn't hurt either. I had looked up online their lineup for the day and settled on Sora. Didn't know at the time, but she's a mixed Japanese former AV star. So I landed at Haneda about 5am. I had my luggage shipped to my hotel, so I didn't bother stopping by there and just walked around Tokyo all day. After a couple of meals that I had to either wait or put my name down, I finally headed to Hisyo about 8pm (I had intended to go at 12pm, then 3pm, etc... but got caught up doing touristy shit or waiting for my next meal). There was a tout out on the street side, but you shouldn't go with those guys. Found the door to the soapland, asked the tencho (kind of the manager) if English would be OK. He said yes, but Sora was Japanese only (not true, but I wasn't gonna argue). I'm not sure if I had spoken Chinese if she would have been made available. Also, I was dressed like a bum. Jogger pants, Jordans, and sweatshirt under my nice overcoat. I was dressed for the plane and the cold. All my clothes were pretty expensive, but athleisure is still athleisure. Not sure if that affected anything but it's a possibility. It's not that you need to dress up, but not looking like a foreign bum helps. Fee was quoted 75K yen for 2 hours which is about double the price that locals pay. I was kind of prepared and had the budget so I agreed. This is where some weirdness started
I took my shoes off at the entrance, was put in a waiting room and given a hot towel and iced tea (standard practice). Waited about 10 minutes and the tencho came back with 5 cards for me to pick the girls from. I went with a girl named Luna. Pretty, skinny girl, in her early 20's. Tencho said ok, took my money, and left me to wait about 10 minutes. He came back and said we're going to meet her at a different location and walked me about 4 buildings down. Again took my shoes off, put in the waiting room, given a hot towel and tea, and wait for about 15 minutes until he came back again and said another location and took me 2 buildings back toward where we started (remember I said there are a lot of soaplands in that neighborhood). At this point, I'm starting to wonder if I got scammed, was going to be killed, or what. Another 5 minutes, and he said another place again, and we walk to the next building again (this one doesn't make me take off my shoes at the entrance). Then I'm in the waiting room for about 20 minutes. He comes back, I'm ready to move to a new location but they said Luna's ready for me!!!
I'm shown to a 2 person elevator where this cute girl (sure enough dressed as a secretary) bowed to me and beckoned me to enter. She greeted me with limited English but enough to get the job done. We went up to the room, took our shoes off at the entrance and enter. The room is like a small hotel room with a large bed and a closet and tables. It steps down into an open bathroom that's a bit bigger than the hotel room side itself. Those that watch Japanese AV will know what I'm talking about, It was quite a large bedroom.
Now, this is where I believe Japan sets itself apart from other countries as far as service. Luna was professional, but not mechanical about everything. This would be a running theme in my few times I saw providers while there. She called down my drink order then helped me undress. After I was relieved of my clothing, I helped her out of hers, and we stepped over to the bathroom side. I was shown into the tub while she prepared the open shower. Remember this is called soapland. We traded some small talk while she prepared a little wash bucket of soap suds. Gave me a toothbrush, toothpaste, and rinse. So you brush in tub and can spit it outside because that's all shower drain area. Took a few minutes to prepare but then she had me exit the tub and join her by the shower with a stool. She rinsed me while standing, then had me sit on a plastic stool but not like the ones typically seen in JAV. This one was shaped like an M that wasn't connected in the middle. She spread the suds onto one body area at a time (one arm, leg, etc...) and used her tits, ass, kitty to rub it all in. Needless to say, I'm pretty turned on by all this. I'm rinsed off while sitting on the stool, and then she proceeds to lick me from face to toe, including bbbj. At one point, she slid her whole body under my seat and rimmed me a bit. Not usually my thing, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I stood up for more bbbj before being shown back into the tub. She takes a while to first wash all the soap from the shower area floor, rinse out the towels that I had been sitting on (to keep from sliding on the plastic stool) and prepared the next item on the agenda.
2nd half was nuru time. She had prepared the warm nuru gel, placed the air mattress where we had previously been sitting, all while I was sipping some iced tea in the tub. When she placed the mattress down, she used the wet towels to cover the head and foot rest area so we could control our sliding. These girls are trained well and execute their jobs even better. Anyway, we started with me face down while she spread the nuru gel all around by rubbing her gel covered body all over me again. The massage was better than 90% of AMP here, but the best part is when she could squirm under me and grind my dick with her body. The flip was a surprise. I'm 6' and 200lbs and she was maybe 5'3" and 100ish. Her flip move was to lie on one side of me, stick her arm under me, grab my opposite hand, then pull and I'm on my back. It probably wasn't as cool as it felt but in the moment I was surprised. Now that I was on my back, she continued the sliding. If she wasn't pretty flat it probably would have been even better but that's nitpicking. she still slid under me a bit, licked my nipples a lot (they really like doing that, although I'm not super into it), and then bbbj. She then asked if I was ready for the cover. While I would prefer not to use one because I believe Japanese providers are magically disease free (/s), of course I agree. She rode me CG for a long time, but I couldn't finish. It got to a point where she was checking the clock and indicating she was worried we'd run out of time. So we took off the cover, went back to bbbj and hj, and I was finally blew a big load for her. She was really relieved that it happened (I believe she would have been more embarrassed than I would have been if I didn't). She showered the gel off me, sent me to the tub while she cleaned up the mattress and shower area, then joined me in the tub to clean off as well. I had fun washing the gel off her in the tub. Time was running out, so we dried off and she helped me get dressed.
Some little details to note. When she undressed me, she took time to hang up each article of clothing. Socks and underwear were folded inside of individual towels. -This was not gfe, but I think that varies by girl. -According to message boards, the price I paid could’ve bought me a ticket to Thailand, hotel for a night, and 2 trips to Thai soaplands. Not sure if it's the same type and level of service. So make of that what you will. -They made me wait in the waiting room after for about another 10 minutes for tencho to come take me outside. Once outside, he said that I'd have to walk back (I was planning to anyway) and left. I walked away wondering wtf I had just waited 10 minutes for that.

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“The gorgeous pageant has passed — the roar of battle has ceased — the multitude has sunk in the dust — the empire is extinct."
– Thomas Cole
Catalogue Description: Diary of Princess Elita sif Panya of the Lamfu Protectorate, Log 4 - English Translation
Date: 0-Pacpuf-436 (Panyan Royal Calendar) November 20th, 2162 (Gregorian Calendar)
Held by: The UK National Archives, Kew
Legal status: Public Record(s)
Apparently, there were thousands of frozen primate embryos aboard Erebus 2.
The disease, famine, and conquest which the Senghavi had inflicted upon the Terran civilization—whether intentional or not—had been devastating. Their “United Nations” had worried that humanity might fall below a minimum viable population. In equipping Erebus 2 with frozen embryos and Senghavi habitat fabrication technology, they had hoped to restart their civilization away from the prying eyes of the Crown.
It was true that, like the carnivores, the Senghavi were a species for whom the Gods had modelled an exponentially-increasing evolution of resources and energy. But even they would have trouble spotting a single, cloaked spacecraft amid the infinitude of space. Erebus 2 was meant to deliver humanity out of the darkness by ferrying its frozen offspring into the vast black of the cosmos—hence the mission name, an ancient Terran deity which personified darkness itself.
“This ‘Wormhole Empire Theory’ is… consistent with the theories of the secularists and sapientists within our scientific community,” my father replied. “You would call us an ‘Isolate,’ and the carnivores, an ‘Empire.’ I assume you did not want to… offend our religious sensibilities, so publicly over the video feed.”
“Well, you people seem to really like ‘the order of nature,’" Doctor Usman said abashedly. "But the moment that a species becomes advanced enough to punch through the fabric of space-time, then seize resources and planets at an exponential rate, seems a lot more like an unstable ‘equilibrium’ than a natural, stable one. I’m not sure if it’s compatible with what you… think of your Gods.”
“Do you have an understanding of how these wormholes are created?” my father asked. “You went through one to get here. Did you create it with stolen technology, or did you use one that had already been made?”
“The latter, Your Majesty. We believe a species becomes an Empire when it is able to use quantum entanglement and negative energy to puncture vast distances of space with wormholes. That sort of thing is… far beyond the capabilities of mankind, even before we were colonised.
“The physical details behind it aren’t really my area of study. I can tell you it involves fields of negative energy density, and I think they somehow use threads of quantum information stretched between quarks and antiquarks. There’s something in there about an electric field and a fourth dimension… You’ll have to ask Doctor Kuznetsov when we all meet up at the Red Citadel. He’s one of the most brilliant physicists our species has to offer.”
The semi-arid plains seemed to flow like a river as our police-escorted motorcade sped along the expressway. Electric aircraft crawled lazily through the opaque atmosphere, while colossal harvesters extracted aluminium and gallium-rich minerals near the Denfalli surface. Apparently, relative to Denfall, Earth had a less-dense planetary crust and a more heterogeneous distribution of metals. In order to access their own resources, the native Terrans had needed to resort to bombs and drills, forcing deep pits and shafts into their planet.
That was, if one believed that they had once had a complex society at all, as I did.
“Half of our thirty-one year journey was spent verifying the existence of, and searching for, a wormhole we theorised was orbiting Neptune—the eighth planet from our sun. We’d detected its gravitational effects and its distortion of light, and we thought that an error in the Senghavi’s cloaking technology must have exposed the structure’s throat. We had no idea where it led, but… we went through anyway. Thought had to be life on the other side. Maybe someone that could help us.”
The realisation hit me like a sudden noise, making me jump in my seat, and my heart flared in my chest. “You found a real-life wormhole in your solar system, and you went through without any idea of what was on the other side? That must have been terrifying! You could have ended up… in another galaxy, or at the edge of the universe, or something!”
Through his visor, I could see Doctor Moore’s face become sorrowful. Doctor Usman had the best grasp of Circpi, being the crew’s linguistic expert, but the other primates’ clumsier, more thickly-accented hold on our language was more interesting to listen to.
“That was not the hardest part,” said the dark-skinned biologist. “We were desperate. What made us more afraid... it was the situation of our species; the extinction of our culture and our sovereignty. And the distance away from our families... of my daughter. I want her to live in a better world, but it's not... easy, to be so far from my daughter, on a planet thousands of light-years away from Earth. It's not easy, being far away in space, when my daughter lives without her father for thirty-one years.
“When... We hear your conversations for the first time... Your communication that you have by neutrinos ... It was a sensation, an emotion, like no other. Finally, we had found extraterrestrial life! If I have to, I would travel a hundred times, again, through mysterious tunnels in space, just for this discovery. You are the greatest scientific discovery in the entire history of mankind.”
“Thirty-one years!” I exclaimed. “How long is your lifespan in the first place?”
“Most humans live to about seventy-two years on average,” Doctor Usman replied, suddenly seeming just as sullen as Doctor Moore. “Most of us left Earth in our early thirties. We’re over sixty now. Before our comms system failed, I kept in touch with the love of my life. Watched him age, as I did. My last message from him… I hold it close to my heart.”
The sheer isolation and loneliness of the Erebus 2 mission was difficult to wrap my mind around. Doctor Moore’s small, binocular eyes were moist and red. It seemed that crying was an emotional response in the primates, just like us!
I huddled next to Doctor Moore, putting my plastic-bound paw on his glove. I didn’t know what else I should do to comfort an extraterrestrial, so I resorted to physical affection, as is the habit of us Lamfu. To my surprise, the primate rubbed me behind the ears. Despite the barrier of polypropylene against synthetic fibres, his firm touch sent a tingly sensation down my skull and spine, and I leaned into it.
Through natural selection, us Lamfu evolved tall, sensitive ears to detect predators lurking in the wilderness, so that we might be more likely to survive and pass on our genes. Thus, we had a lot of nerve endings in those regions. Perhaps human fingers could stimulate them in a way our paws could not? It was all the more reason to sway our desperate extraterrestrial friends away from the far more impressive Imperium!
“We’d never be able to take on such a task,” the King said solemnly. “I can’t imagine many would. The carnivores and mantids must not be entirely right about you. We thought that, due to being palaeolithic hunter-gatherers, your species would have been barbaric and violent. But your lack of technology and connection with your primal nature has clearly made you more humble and honourable than us supposedly ‘civilised’ folk! You are, in a sense, noble savages!”
I knew he meant it as a complement, but it only seemed to anger Doctor Usman.
“We’re not… nevermind!” she snapped, blinking tears from her eyes. “We’ll talk about that part later. Now, the Senghavi have been mentioning this ‘Imperium of Orion’ since their boots first touched Terran soil. We theorised that this civilisation was another instance of an Empire—one potentially competing with the Senghavi. They take tribute from your planet, an Isolate, without sharing any of their science or technology with you.
“When we heard about the Prey-for-Protection system, we thought it was cruel… but your species doesn’t seem to have a problem with it, and we figured we couldn’t assume that human morality applied to extraterrestrials. Do you think the carnivores could help us?”
My father froze. Even our driver looked uncomfortable.
“N-No, no. It’s best to avoid them. Well—they help us, yes. They are vessels of the Gods. But… Well, you do not fit nicely into the faith of Krucuv Mishan. You violate the order of nature merely by attempting to resist being civilised by the Senghavi. Orion is no more likely to aid you than Parimth.”
I almost wanted to say “you are much safer with us,” but I stopped myself. If the primates caught onto our selfishness, they might forsake us. We all feared they would, in the unlikely but nerve-wracking event that, come the day of tribute, the Imperium would want these newcomers to join their interstellar empire.
“The way that Empires brainwash Isolates,” Doctor Usman sighed, shaking her head. “It’s disgusting. You’re probably half-right, Your Majesty. I bet the Imperium wouldn’t want anything to do with a puny Isolate like humankind—and we are under the control of their rival, anyway. But you’re wrong if you think resisting an imperialist is against the ‘order of nature.’ You’re letting your own inferiority complex cloud your view of us. Don’t tell anyone I said this…. but the Imperium of Orion and the Parimthian Empire can go fuck themselves.”
Such vulgarity in the presence of the King! But I could feel the tension in the air relax. We’d swayed at least part of the crew of Erebus 2, at least for now.
Still, the other five primates were still aboard their spacecraft, zipping around in Denfall’s orbit at [27,000 kilometres per hour]. How we were to prevent them from falling into the fold of our carnivorous protectors, it was far less certain.
At last, we neared our destination. The Red Citadel is where my father crafts his royal decrees, consults with his justices and knights to enforce them, and holds royal courts to settle the disputes and pleas of nobles.
The lords of Parliament meet in Denfall Castle, which isn't far from the Red Citadel. Though they are vassals of the King, they've carefully manoeuvred over the years to force this “King’s Code” on my family. Nowadays, my father needs their consent to levy extraordinary taxes, and they can compel him to redress the grievances of other nobles.
The Red Citadel loomed in the distance as we approached in our luxury groundcar. Doctor Moore gave my paw a gentle squeeze in the glove of his environment suit. Through his visor, I could see his mouth falling open at the sight of the mighty Citadel. As of the time that I am writing this, I cannot think of a more memorable structure. It is protected on all sides with mighty walls of clay-red sandstone, ivy creeping along their sides, battlements lining their tops. And today, behind those battlements, snipers were posted to ensure the safety of our new diplomats.
Natural selection and evolution had pushed us herbivore Lamfu to run and hop away in fright from predatory threats, so that we might be more likely to survive and pass on our genes. That trait has forced us to become excellent at the art of the defensive fortification, from which we can snipe our enemies from afar! A rebellious noble attempting to lay siege to the Red Citadel wouldn't last a day.
Peeking above the walls are the spires and buttresses of the royal manor. Overlooking the manor is the abbey, its pinnacles reaching much further beyond the crenellated walls and towers. The abbey is decorated with stained glass windows and minarets, which overlook the glittering lakes and fruit orchards.
Like the surrounding walls, the abbey, manor, and other buildings are also built of red sandstone. In contrast, Denfall Castle, where the lords of Parliament invariably congress with one another, is beige like its namesake: this planet of ours itself, arid or semi-arid all over. Smaller than the Red Citadel, Denfall Castle is more of a singular fortification than a protected complex.
My tail and ears lifted with gentle happiness as I thought of the old Abbot Eli. He administers the affairs of the abbey—a monastery centred on the faith of Krucuv Mishan. One of the fondest memories from my childhood was Abbot Eli showing me the huge tapestry of Fenya the Brave, which hung in the great south hall of the abbey.
The legendary Lamfu woven into the tapestry was depicted with a sniper rifle slung over her shoulder, unfurling a scroll in her hands in order to reveal divine scripture. Before her was a horde of ignorant canids, serpents, and vulpines, not realising that a meagre herbivore was going to enlighten them as to the order of nature.
I could still feel Abbot Eli’s comforting paw on my shoulder as he described the legend, his aged voice echoing in my mind. In the face of certain death, Fenya the Brave wasn’t fearless—but in her passion to solve our overpopulation and the suffering it entailed, she had stood up against her fear.
The great iron portcullis of the Red Citadel was raised to permit entry of our luxury motorcade. My father was already talking excitedly about grand feasts and festivities. As my family and I disembarked, we escorted four Terrans through the courtyard: Doctor Usman, Doctor Moore, Doctor Kuznetsov, and Miss Malone.
“We’ve got plenty of plants and meats for you to enjoy!” my father declared. Sprinklers washed over the manicured grass, a subtle reminder of our semi-arid homeworld’s limited vegetation and water supply. “You are an omnivorous species, correct?”
For a moment, it didn’t look like anyone was going to reply, as every Terran was struggling to process my father’s offer. Finally, Doctor Moore broke the silence.
“That is correct. We can eat many things, but… I'm going to have to examine some food you bring to determine what we can eat.”
“You sure, Moore?” Doctor Usman asked, raising an eyebrow. It must have been a courtesy to us that she spoke in Circpi to her fellow Terran. “Shouldn’t we wait a lot longer? I mean, this is the first truly alien ecosystem known to mankind. We’ve only been here a day.”
“We were in orbit for many months. I am done having fear. And they are not kind towards us? I am confident with the science and examination I can do to determine what we can eat. At a minimum, one person has to… examine what happens when they eat the food, correct?”
I was certain Brother Mopsi—the old, plump chef of the Cavern Hallow below the great red abbey—had outdone himself. During the moon-periods since we’d learned it was likely that the primates could ingest our food, he and his Kitchen fellows had toiled relentlessly. In preparation for the feast my father had wanted, they had undoubtedly prepared enough wines, seafood, and pastries to feed the entire Red Citadel for [~1 week].
“Forgive me,” Princess Ilyafi chimed in as we approached the abbey’s sculpted bronze doors. “You all seem… dazed? Or is it just the grandeur of the Red Citadel? Are you in shock?”
“Yes, I think,” Miss Malone said, rubbing her comparatively dainty shoulders. (Apparently, she was a skilled pilot and aerospace engineer). “All this is very… fast.”
“You are omnivores, so I’m guessing you evolved as both prey and predator. We evolved as just prey, and we’re quite familiar with the cardiovascular effects of fright and anxiety. Sustained stress can lead to hypovolemic shock and heart failure. Are you sure you are okay?”
“We are very, of course okay,” Doctor Kuznetsov assured us. The pale-faced physicist chuckled faintly, brushing a bit of dust from his visor. “Us humans are stronger than that. But Erebus 2 went through space for thirty-one years. Half of that was a voyage to the entrance of a wormhole near the edge of our solar system. We searched for the life that the Senghavi do not reveal to us. I had a… mate, and a… litter of children. I leave and they are alone, without me.
“And then… we heard patterns in the neutrino detectors. Something that must be man-made. Alien-made. After, the months in orbit go fast. And now we are here. We did not yet remove our suits. Yet, we are walking into a big castle, and you already offer this big feast. It is just like a dream. I almost think I simply hallucinate in Erebus 2, in some far place in the Milky Way, light-years far from any alien life.”
Another pang of sympathy sank into my heart. To witness the fall of their species, and then to be separated from their kits and their mates by thousands of light-years, must have pained the primates beyond my imagination.
Right as we reached the abbey’s entrance, a distant rush of air and the tapering purr of anti-grav generators resonated through the atmosphere.
My heart dropped with the weight of an anvil. Us Lamfu rose to crouch on our hind legs with upright posture, our ears high in the air for alertness, while the Terrans just looked blankly at the sky. A dark and massive shape swept down through Denfall’s opaque cloud cover.
The Imperium of Orion is here.
As we watched dumbly from the courtyard, their ship dropped [100 kilometres] in a mere [60 seconds]. In contrast, the landing shuttle of Erebus 2 had taken [~25 minutes] to go from the boundary of the atmosphere all the way to its landing strip.
We soon could not see the ship beyond the battlements of the Red Citadel, but my father ordered the portcullis open in order to let our carnivorous protectors in. Doctor Moore’s eyebrows were pressed together, the Terran’s lipped mouth having gone somewhat limp.
The fright which this arrival inflicted upon me nearly put me into hypovolemic shock. I say such a thing for two reasons.
For one thing, it was unprecedented that the carnivores entered Denfall directly like this. They only took such an action on very special occasions. Usually, we sent the tribute to them by flying the victims of Prey-for-Protection out to their space stations ourselves.
And for the other, even when they did enter Denfall, I’d never actually seen one in person. Well, except for my glimpse of the Kursef diplomat, that frightful night as a child.
Yet here I was, watching a delegation of two more extraterrestrial species and one Denfalli species march into the courtyard. They had disregarded personal protection gear entirely. With such great exposure to the universe and such advanced technology, they were confident enough not to care about alien diseases.
Beyond the opened portcullis, the ship perched upon the sands outside the Red Citadel was a fortress of black stone, fringed with defensive bastions, its gun turrets peering through battlements. A dark bird of prey, into whose predatory talons I would soon be swept into.
“Jesus Christ,” Doctor Moore murmured, so quiet as to verge on inaudible. He absently dropped his bag of scientific instruments, seeming completely awestruck. “Usman, what are we looking at?”
“Empire,” Doctor Usman replied, her voice glassy.
“And three more confirmed extraterrestrial species,” Doctor Kuznetsov added. “And… our crew!”
Among the delegation of soldiers and dignitaries were two species I had previously not seen more than once: the serpentine Kursef and five more primate Terrans. There were also two species I’d never seen in person at all: the hulking, canid Warcs and the delicate, vulpine Pondwir.
“Hawthorne!” Doctor Usman yelled, her voice carrying across the courtyard. “What… What is this?”
One of the five primates within the delegation broke away from them, jogging towards our primates. He cut a curious figure in the grass, a slender biped in a moss-green EVA suit. He, too, was crying behind his visor. His eyes were red with tears. My gut felt a madness in those eyes.
The UN logo that was supposed to be on his shoulder looked like it had been painted over with the fang-on-star insignia of the Imperium of Orion.
“It is the culmination of these thirty-one years,” Hawthorne said to Doctor Usman, his voice breaking with emotion. He, too, spoke Circpi instead of English, but it was likely out of pressure from the carnivores, and not as a courtesy to us. “God has given it to us. We have braved the trials of space, and He has rewarded us. There really is another Empire, and it has taken our side!”
“What?” Doctor Usman asked. She glanced at my father, who shuffled uneasily. “What you’ve encountered is incredible, Hawthorne. What are these species?”
Hawthorne gestured at the delegation of soldier-protected dignitaries. “The Warcs are intelligent canid-like mammals. They evolved on this planet, adapting to hunt these Lamfu as their staple food source. It was by coevolution of predator and prey adaptations that both Warcs and Lamfu developed sapient intelligence.
“Then, there are the Kursef. They are serpent-like reptiles who swallow their prey whole—just like Earth snakes. It’s a remarkable example of convergent evolution! They are the ones who founded this Imperium.”
Imperium. The word seemed to stab Doctor Usman in the stomach. She looked at my father again, her eyes as hard as rock.
“I thought… you said they wouldn’t aid us?” she asked.
But my father, the King of us Lamfu, was silent in his shame.
“Then, the Pondwir,” Doctor Hawthorne went on. I assumed he should bear the title Doctor; the humans considered such a word to be a title, and he seemed to know as much about biology as Doctor Moore. “They are vulpine-like mammals who were nearly hunted to extinction by the colonisers. By the Senghavi. Their hides were coveted for the softness of their fur.”
“Hunting sapient beings?” Doctor Usman huffed. ”The Senghavi just keep getting better and better.”
As the rest of the delegation caught up, my ears perked up with that sort of stress and anxiety which is amplified through millions of years of coevolution at the near-bottom of the food web.
I did not mind the Pondwir, and might in fact have felt fascinated by them. They were far shorter and daintier than primates, despite their ecological role as carnivores.
The limbless, emotionless Kursef gave me chills, though that fright was more likely rooted in my childhood sighting of a Kursef than anything else. Indeed, they were animals who fed on prey, but they were too different from mammalian life to have imbued an innate fear within me. That my fear of them was somewhat of a learned, paranormal one, rather than a rational one, was comforting, in a way.
But the Warcs… Just as my anxiety was one swollen through millions of years’ worth of drawing adaptations from random mutations in a nightmarish evolutionary arms race, so, too, were their hunting adaptations. In muscle and body mass, the canid Warcs surpassed the primates threefold. The fright they caused me was neither learned nor fantastical. It was primal, an unshakeable decree by the state of nature; a feeling as natural as hunger, thirst, mating, or self-preservation.
The Warcs and us Lamfu are what we are because of each other.
The blind watchmaker selected for us our sensitive ears and wide eyesight to detect the Warcs. The Warcs evolved razor-sharp smell and keen vision to track us down. We passed on genes for powerful, digitigrade hind legs to flee them. They evolved an athletic, durable body to pursue us. Those of us with camouflage to hide for our lives were then the ones to survive and reproduce. Yet the Warcs, too, evolved camouflage to hunt so they would not starve. We rose above our animalism into a sense of reason in order to better protect ourselves. They evolved their own sense of reason, so that they might create tools to hunt and live.
In that sense, we and the Warcs owe our lives to one another. It is basic primary-school knowledge that both species attempted coexistence for millennia. Both sides did their best, truly. And both sides screwed up. The Red Citadel is built in the very metropolis that once shone as the crowning jewel of coexistence, partnership, and peace between predator and prey.
Yet, in the end, we proved we were all merely animals. The Warcs’ exodus from Denfall, into the dark infinity of space, is among the most significant and complex chapters in Denfalli history.
Perhaps the primates were lucky, in that they did not share a homeworld with the Senghavi. Their civilization had suffered a fatal devastation, indeed, but they had the privilege of a black-and-white world.
After all, I could only imagine the confused moral state in which the humans would find themselves, had they suddenly needed to grapple with the idea that the Senghavi had originated from Earth.
I huddled closer to Doctor Moore, instinctively reaching to grab his tail for support—only to remember the primates had lost their tails millions of years ago. In an action I construed as protectiveness, he positioned himself in front of me.
“A single Pondwir hide was worth the equivalent of trillions of euros,” Doctor Hawthorne said solemnly. “When the Pondwir tried to resist their slaughter at the hands of the colonisers, their homeworld was glassed by the Parimthian Crown. But the Kursef and Warcs lifted them from the ashes. Together, they are the Imperium of Orion—and we can join, too!”
Doctor Usman looked uneasily at the towering Warc ambassador, shaking in her environment suit. She lifted a hand to gesture to the opaque sky. “S-slow down! If you’re all here, then who the hell is operating Erebus 2?”
“Erebus 2 is meaningless now. Don’t you see? We are talking about a civilisation that produces [400 trillion terawatt-hours] of energy in one hour. Their ships number in the hundreds of thousands, just like the Senghavi. Their reach spans thousands of light-years. We’re saved, Usman. All of us.”
Flanked by soldiers, the colossal Warc ambassador took a menacing step forward. My father might have perished of heart failure right then and there. The Warc’s dark fur accentuated his gleaming yellow eyes. “My Princess is as beautiful as always, Your… Majesty. Indeed, her devourment will so glorify the order of nature, she alone will earn Paradise for thousands of your people!”
“My” Princess? As always? I shouldn’t have been surprised that the Warcs knew so much more about us than we knew about them, but the focus on me by a creature I’d never seen made me squirm in my personal protection suit.
“Yes, yes; it seems as such,” the Kursef diplomat hissed, its side-facing eyes like orbs of cold-blooded glass. “What a glorious day it has been! We are not only treated to royal flesh and bone, but we have finally seen a proper introduction to these fascinating primates.”
My father struggled to find his voice. “Y-You were not… Supposed to arrive, until… W-Why are you here so soon?”
“The human tribes of Earth may be snivelling, pagan things so far,” the Warc announced heartily, “but the Senghavi missed out on something big. Something big indeed! This species is full of fire, Your Majesty. We didn’t realise how brightly they burned with potential.”
At this point, all members of the Royal Security Service had scampered away. In my tense nerves, I had forgotten that they were even here. My siblings remained, however, and Ilyafi spoke up. She had always been the bravest of us.
“We will remember my sister as more than a sacrifice,” she said defiantly. “We will celebrate her devourment as the holy will of Nisma and Unatl, but we will celebrate her life and her memory in kind.”
“Hawthorne,” Doctor Usman said steadily. “These creatures constitute an Empire. They don’t care for Isolates. We are Astronaut-Ambassadors who represent the UN. They practise expansionism, conquest, and murder on a galactic scale. The values of the Charter of the United Nations are incompatible with such a civilisation.”
Doctor Hawthorne’s gaze hardened. “We travelled for thirty-one years for the salvation of all mankind. I watched my children grow up from light-years away—and for what, if not this? This is a gift from God, Usman. The Senghavi were merely His wrath upon a godless, decadent humanity. This is His forgiveness. This is His Grace.”
“If you want to bring faith into this, Hawthorne… Doctor Moore considers himself ‘saved,’ just like you. But he will back me.”
The remaining crew members of Erebus 2 stood securely among the delegation of carnivores. As Doctor Usman and Doctor Hawthorne stared each other down, I found myself hugging the leg of Doctor Moore’s environment suit.
Now, I truly understood my species’ galacto-political selfishness. Doctor Moore wouldn’t leave me for the Imperium… Would he?
“And what of the embryos, Hawthorne? We can’t take any risks, and we know next to nothing about extraterrestrial society and psychology. I am the commander of Erebus 2, and I won’t allow their seizure at the hands of these… these imperialists!”
“We cannot make a… rash choice,” Doctor Moore added, his emotions only highlighting his poor proficiency in Circpi. “Seeing the… way, the character of the Imperium is easy, just through seeing their actions and their manners. We cannot… insult their evils, if we do those evils to… other Isolates. And Usman is right. We are still the UN.”
“Half, then,” Doctor Hawthorne breathed. “You might still fancy yourselves as UN employees, but we don’t. The number of embryos is intentionally redundant. You take 10,000. We’ll take the other half. Just—please—don’t try to stop us.”
Then, to everyone’s shock, Doctor Hawthorne drew steady, confident hands towards the neckline of his helmet. He manipulated its various clips and devices with those dexterous primate fingers the humans had. His grey-irised eyes were closed as he undid the final latches, and the helmet jerked upward slightly, jets of oxygen puffing out from the neckline.
At that moment, those grey-irised eyes snapped open, their gaze suddenly bleeding with fear. His legs and gloved fingers were trembling, devoid of the bravery that seemed to have once been coursing through his veins just seconds ago. He looked uneasily at his crewmates while lifting the helmet, its various lights and indicators blinking out as the wires were disconnected from the suit.
He took a deep, sighing breath, letting our planet’s warm, dry air pour into his respiratory system. His eyes never left his crewmates, who still seemed on-edge, despite the ease with which he breathed.
“Okay, Hawthorne,” Doctor Usman replied softly. “Half. Let’s start there. And let’s talk about this in the abbey.”
“If it is your wish to bless the unblessed sands of this simpering pit that is Denfall with 10,000 more of you,” the Kursef ambassador purred, “that is your call. But as our vulpine companions can attest, the galaxy is an undulating, unruly tide. It can be hard to predict the steady future into which the Gods have offered for you to settle.
“Your rightful place, humanity, is at the top. But don’t consider it a fate unto which you will tend regardless of where you start. Only our Imperium can provide you with the proper conditions such that you can endure your hardship with faith in your deliverance. Such is the order of nature.”
“Krucuv Mishan,” Doctor Kuznetsov murmured. As he was a physicist, I wasn’t surprised he could recognize the maths-infused patterns of our religious faith within the Kursef’s spiel. “You used it to have dominance over the Lamfu. Now, you want to have dominance over us, too.”
“Don’t shirk this opportunity, primates,” the Pondwir ambassador said softly. “My people understand your quiet rage.”
Everyone looked at the Pondwir, even my family and I. He seemed full of sympathy. Only a little taller than us, it was the first time the short little creature had spoken since the delegation entered the courtyard of the Red Citadel.
The Warc diplomat froze me in his gaze. Hunger—both as the physiological adaptation of an apex predator, and as the lust for dominance over others that exists in all sapient beings—burned with the heat of molten gold in his yellow eyes. “We have someone to take before you go through those doors… Doctor Moore. The beauteous and maidenly Princess Elita is mine, not yours!”
Defiant, my primate companion stood between the Warc and I, while my father whimpered.
“Look towards this, Hawthorne,” Doctor Moore cried. “We are part of the UN. We promote rights of humans. This is not rights of humans! This is not life or liberty, or the idea that God creates all equal! This is a second-class citizen and murder that the law allows!”
“‘Equality,’ ‘liberty,’ ‘sapient rights,’ and ‘sapientism’ are mere colonialist ideals imposed upon your species by the decadent Senghavi colonists,” the Kursef ambassador hissed. “You already know they manipulated and perverted your history. Don’t bend your knee to your oppressors.”
The manicured grass left my polyethylene boots as Doctor Moore lifted me from the ground, backing away from the massive Warc. The Warc snarled, hackles raising.
A hairless mammal with hardly any natural weapons at all was stealing the prey—me—of a carnivore that had evolved specifically to kill and feast upon organisms like us. The tears in my eyes blurred my surroundings.
Doctor Moore didn’t stand a chance—and given the chilling words of these diplomats from the Imperium of Orion, neither, I thought, did Doctor Usman’s side of Erebus 2.

Henry's Life Story
I was born in 1950! Yes, I was shiny and new once upon a time. No one kept track of my first ten years of life. I was 'just a truck' to my previous owners. I ended up in Ocotillo Wells, California, run to death, with my old flathead six motor froze up. My owner at that time sold me to Denny DuVall for $35 in 1960, and thus begins my story.
Now as you look at my old primer paint, with my dents and rust, you might believe that I am still on my death bed. However, if you look under my hood, you will see a new 350 horse GM Crate motor. I'm also sporting a Cadillac clip, with disc brakes, power steering, tilt wheel, and an aluminum cross flow radiator. Topped off with a rebuilt Chevy truck transmission. A "Vintage Air" a/c unit, and tempered glass in all my doors!! OK, now back to 1960. Denny's original plan was to go in with a friend of his, buy me, resell me for a couple of hundred dollars, split the money between them, and run.
Now I must tell you that Denny's friend was not able to come up with his half of the $35. (That's $17.50 to those of you who are paying attention!!) Now Denny, being the "Financial Wizard" that he is, took another two weeks to come up with the kings ransom of $35 to rescue me from certain death!! I almost signed up for counseling on that one!!
Then – Denny buys an old wrecked '51 Ford for $15.00 (money is no object to him) and installs the flat head six motor in me. I didn't realize that he cleaned swimming pools, and he would drive me 100 miles a day, six days a week. So, a year and a half later, that motor gave up the ghost, and I limped home, with my rods banging, two cylinders gone, smoking something terrible, and no oil pressure. In spite of my internal hemorrhaging, I got him home!
And so, began the legacy of a total of ten used motors, that Denny would install in me, over the following forty years of continuous service. Not to mention the million miles that went along with that! It's a miracle that I look this good!!! In 1961, Denny got married. They had Michelle in '63; Lissa in '64, Ben in '67, and Matthew in '69. Life in Borego was good. I was into motor three by then. This family life is pretty cool. Once when Chelle and Lissa were still quite small, maybe five- and six-years- old, they were playing, "drive the panel truck." Somehow, Chelle got my motor started.
Lissa sat on the floor and worked the pedals, Michelle steered. Wegot about 150 feet on our journey, when "fleet foot" Denny caught up with us, and brought our adventure to an end. Perhaps the girls and I will continue our journey at a later date.
In '73, Denny's Dad passed away. He and his family moved to Escondido with his Mom, so she could be closer to medical facilities. She passed away in '74. Three months later his fourteen-year marriage came to an end. This was not a very happy time for him, or me. All I could do was take him from place to place, and give him shelter.
For the next five years or so, (in Denny's quest to find his 'center') consisted of going from place to place. He would stay long enough for the wind to change direction, and we would be off, again!!
The hum of my motor, and the changing scenery, would comfort him, as we headed out on a new adventure. I guess I should also tell you that his other, "source of comfort," was his lady friends. We would all take trips to the redwoods, Oregon coast, the desert, etc.
Not to tell stories out of school, – Denny went through more, "relationships" than I've gone through tires and oil changes combined in my forty plus years with him!! Oy Vey, the sacrifices I've made!!!
As time goes by, "Tumble Weed" and I end up in South Carolina for four years. During that time we go back to Pa. to meet his birth Mother (another story-another time) Then it's to Deer Lodge, Montana. Of course, Denny (in his ultimate wisdom) gets us there in December, when it's colder than a mother-in -law's kiss. Hell, my gasoline even froze up!!! Will any of my wisdom ever rub off on him?? If I ever find that person he got that $35.00 from, he'll have tire tracks on himself, from head to toe!!! By mid-January, Denny has had enough of Montana. He's down to .37 cents, and very cold. He calls his cousin Tom. Tom sends us $200, and we're off for Southern Ca. Cousin Tom has a job waiting for Denny at San Onofre. He works Continued from Page 11there for a year. Then we relocate in the Escondido area. Denny meets a lady there, and they hook up for ten years. We all move up to Ramona. This ten-year thing was not destined to last. In '93 he and I move to the Julian area, where Denny does his paint and body thing. A trade that he has been in and out of since '57. "Tumble Weed," by now has acquired a 28' motor home to live in, and a '61 "manx." A road legal sand buggy – for those of you who don't know. Yes – I've learned to share Denny with other vehicles. It gives me a well deserved rest, from time to time!!
So – from '93 through '99 it's living in or around Julian, Borego, Fallbrook, Escondido, and Poway. Going from place to place, working on other people's antique cars and hot rods. As you can tell – He didn't do any paint and body work on me !! Nooo, I got to carry the commercial compressor, and all of the paint and body tools in me, run to Escondido for paint and supplies etc. While he made everyone else beautiful!!! But I'm NOT bitter – honest I'm not!!!
Now during that time from '93 through '99 there were trips every Sept. to Bellingham, Wa., to see his kids, and grandkids. Plus trips to different states for different reasons. One of these days, my wheels will just FALL off !!! Don't get me wrong – we have a LOT of fun on these trips. We meet lots of neat people, and make lots of great friends along the way! Now – maybe, if Denny would sit still long enough, some nice lady could drive a nail through one foot, and I could have a nice home with a BIG garage and a – never mind He's got me on "high test" and my mind wonders from time to time. Hey, I have my fantasies too you know!! OK – well, would you believe in '99 Denny moves to Poway and gets a (hang on to me) REAL JOB!!! You know, show up at 8 a.m., leave at 5 p.m., Monday though Friday, pay check every Friday thing!!!! Several of his friends are still in therapy over this deal!! I hope they get better soon!! This, has also contributed to all of the things that have been done to me over the past year, and more to come!!! I just LOVE it!!

So I have a couple of NPCs that get invisible bodies. It's not a lot, but it's enough that I notice it. Is there anyway to fix this? I think the most obvious NPC with this error is Kematu.
Here's my modlist. Hope you guys can help!
#Mod_Priority,#Mod_Status,#Mod_Name

• "0000","+","DLC: HearthFires"
• "0001","+","DLC: Dragonborn"
• "0002","+","DLC: Dawnguard"
• "0003","+","Creation Club: ccQDRSSE001-SurvivalMode"
• "0004","+","Creation Club: ccBGSSSE037-Curios"
• "0005","+","Creation Club: ccBGSSSE025-AdvDSGS"
• "0006","+","Creation Club: ccBGSSSE001-Fish"
• "0007","+","Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch"
• "0008","+","Bug Fixes SSE"
• "0009","+","HD LODs Textures SE"
• "0010","+","DynDOLOD Resources SE"
• "0011","+","DynDOLOD DLL SE"
• "0012","+","DynDOLOD DLL SE - Scripts"
• "0013","+","PapyrusUtil SE - Modders Scripting Utility Functions"
• "0014","+","ApachiiSkyHair SSE"
• "0015","+","RaceMenu"
• "0016","+","Fores New Idles in Skyrim SE - FNIS SE"
• "0017","+","FNIS Creatures"
• "0018","+","FNIS Spells"
• "0019","+","Kaidan Immersive Features"
• "0020","+","FNIS Output"
• "0021","+","SmoothCam"
• "0022","+","Maevan2's Eye Brows SE"
• "0023","+","KS Hairdos SSE - Female"
• "0024","+","ApachiiSkyHairFemale_v_1_5_1"
• "0025","+","The Eyes Of Beauty SSE"
• "0026","+","The Eyes Of Beauty SSE Elves"
• "0027","+","Caliente's Beautiful Bodies Enhancer -CBBE-"
• "0028","+","SG Female Eyebrows"
• "0029","+","Better Brow Texture SE"
• "0030","+","[namida"
• "0031","+","High Elf Preset Angel SE"
• "0032","+","High Elf Preset Mid"
• "0033","+","Onmund by CrimsonFairy"
• "0034","+","Bijin Wives SE 1.1.2"
• "0035","+","Bijin NPCs SE 1.2.1"
• "0036","+","Pandorable's NPCs"
• "0037","+","Kaidan 2.1.1"
• "0038","+","Hunky Farkas with Companion Wolf Armor"
• "0039","+","KS Hairdos Renewal - Male"
• "0040","+","Handsome Vilkas 1.2"
• "0041","+","High Poly Head SE"
• "0042","+","SkyUI"
• "0043","+","Enhanced Lights and FX"
• "0044","+","ELFX Fixes"
• "0045","+","Kori - A High Poly Female High Elf Racemenu Preset"
• "0047","+","Bijin Skin - CBBE"
• "0048","+","Aredhel High Elf Follower and preset ESP-FE"
• "0049","+","High Elf Preset - Aurora"
• "0050","+","Bijin Warmaidens SE"
• "0051","+","Lucien"
• "0052","+","Opulent Robe Retexture 4K SE"
• "0053","+","Immersive Armors - Realistic Armors replace SE FULL"
• "0054","+","Female Makeup Suite - Face - RaceMenu Overlays of Eyeliner EyeShadow Contours and Highlights - Special Edition"
• "0055","+","Summer's Custom Eyes"
• "0056","+","Community Overlays 1 (0-30) Bodypaints Warpaints Tattoos and more made for the Community (Special Edition)"
• "0057","+","Community Overlays 2 (31-50) Bodypaints Warpaints Tattoos and more made for the Community (Special Edition)"
• "0058","+","Convenient Horses"
• "0059","+","Enhanced Volumetric Lighting and Shadows (EVLaS)"
• "0060","+","Convenient Horses Anniversary Edition Patch"
• "0061","+","Skyrim Horses Renewal SSE"
• "0062","+","Contextual Helmet Equipping - Combat"
• "0063","+","JK's Skyrim all in one"
• "0064","+","JK Skyrim No Lights Compatibility"
• "0065","+","Address Library for SKSE Plugins"
• "0066","+","Nether's Follower Framework"
• "0067","+","RS Children Overhaul"
• "0068","+","Brows"
• "0069","+","FineFaceTextures_by Urshi_Version_B_2_0"
• "0070","+","Improved Eyes Skyrim"
• "0071","+","-Giselle- RaceMenu Preset and Screenarchery Tips"
• "0072","+","R246 Female Presets for RaceMenu and ECE"
• "0073","+","Natural Eyes"
• "0074","+","BodySlide and Outfit Studio"
• "0075","+","Anastasia - High Poly HighElf Racemenu Presets"
• "0076","+","DreamBurrow Regal Huntsman Armor-SSE-2-0"
• "0077","+","Crimson Ranger Armor SE 1.0"
• "0078","+","Noble Skyrim Mod HD-2K"
• "0079","+","Rogue Light Elven Armor"
• "0080","+","Expressive Facial Animation -Male Edition-"
• "0081","+","Kaidan Replacer"
• "0082","+","ENB Helper SE"
• "0083","+","Smooth Sky mesh - SSE"
• "0084","+","Skyrim_Particle_Patch_for_ENB"
• "0085","+","ENB Light"
• "0086","+","Expressive Facial Animation -Female Edition-"
• "0087","+","Immersive Armors 8.1 SSE Test"
• "0088","+","Immersive Armours - SSE CBBE BodySlide"
• "0089","+","Immersive College NPCs"
• "0090","+","Hedge Mage Armor SSE"
• "0091","+","Fast Travel for Survival Mode"
• "0092","+","Face Discoloration Fix"
• "0093","+","DCR - King Crusader Mega Pack"
• "0094","+","Campfire - Complete Camping System (Supports Skyrim VR)"
• "0095","+","Campfire 1.12.1SEVR Release"
• "0096","+","Increase Carry-Weight on Level-Up"
• "0097","+","Soul Collector"
• "0098","+","Silver Dragon Armor"
• "0099","+","Dragonblood Etched Armor - Standard ESP"
• "0100","+","Legolas Ranger Armor"
• "0101","+","L u n a"
• "0102","+","Touring Carriages"
• "0103","+","Skaal Village Overhaul 1.1"
• "0104","+","Actually Attractive Elves for Racemenu"
• "0105","+","Song of the Green 1.3"
• "0106","+","Auri Replacer"
• "0107","+","Ciri's Outfit 1.5"
• "0108","+","Independent Arsonist Armor (CBBE-3BA-Himbo)"
• "0109","+","King Panther Armor"
• "0110","+","Kaidan 2 - HD Armor Retexture"
• "0111","+","Elven Defender - Armor"
• "0112","+","Studded Elven Armor"
• "0113","+","Gritty Paladin Armor (Standalone)"
• "0115","+","Name Your Horse SE"
• "0116","+","Immersive HUD - iHUD"
• "0117","+","Better Males Remesh for Skyrim SE"
• "0118","+","Smooth Male Body - NEVERNUDE Version with underwear"
• "0119","+","Forgotten Magic Redone SE"
• "0120","+","Better Dialogue Controls"
• "0121","+","Blood Witch Armor"
• "0122","+","Raven witch armor and Apex Werewolf"
• "0123","+","Dragon Bone Mage Armor by Natterforme"
• "0124","+","Aesthetic Elves"
• "0125","+","Common Clothes and Armors"
• "0126","+","Simple Wearable Lanterns"
• "0127","+","Bandolier - Bags and Pouches Classic"
• "0128","+","DX Tembtra Thief Outfit - UNP"
• "0129","+","Black Mage Armor SE"
• "0130","+","Sounds of Skyrim Complete SE"
• "0131","+","Frostfall 3.4.1 SE Release"
• "0132","+","Cloaks of Skyrim SSE"
• "0133","+","Cloaks Of Skyrim Retextured SE"
• "0134","+","My Home is Your Home"
• "0135","+","Alternate Start - Live Another Life"
• "0136","+","Ugly_Zodd Dunmer (Dark Elf) Preset"
• "0137","+","Layla the Dark Elf racemenu preset"
• "0138","+","Arcane Mage Armor"
• "0139","+","(Now High Poly) RaceMenu Presets for Expressive Facegen Morphs"
• "0140","+","INIGO"
• "0141","+","Truly Light Elven Armor (female) for SSE - Replacer - Standalone"
• "0142","+","Static Mesh Improvement Mod"
• "0143","+","Misc. SMIM Fixes"
• "0144","+","Immersive College of Winterhold"
• "0145","+","Nibenean Armors and Outfit SE - UNP - UNPB - CBBE"
• "0146","+","Particle Patch for ENB"
• "0147","+","SkyUI SE - Flashing Savegames Fix"
• "0148","+","Gigaduex's Armor Sets SE"
• "0149","+","ApachiiSkyHairMale_v_1_5_1"
• "0150","+","A Quality World Map"
• "0151","+","BWB Kaidan 4.0"
• "0152","+","Kaidan and Inigo"
• "0153","+","Kaidan NPC Overhaul"
• "0154","+","Lucien Replacer 2"
• "0155","+","Hvergelmir's Aesthetics - Brows"
• "0156","+","High-Poly Inigo Replacer"
• "0157","+","Cathedral Weathers and Seasons"
• "0158","+","Alternate Conversation Camera"
• "0159","+","Dark Elf preset commoner"
• "0160","+","Regalia Armor for UNP CBBE and CBBE Bodyslide SSE"
• "0161","+","RaceMenu High Heels (Height Fixes)"
• "0162","+","Truly Light Glass Armor (female) for SSE - Replacer - Standalone"
• "0163","+","Battle Mage Armour"
• "0164","+","Lunar Guard Armor"
• "0165","+","Seasoned Traveller Armor SE-AE"
• "0166","+","Crimson Twilight Armor - CBBE SSE"
• "0167","+","Tribunal Robes and Masks for SSE"
• "0168","+","SSE Display Tweaks"
• "0169","+","Shadow Boost"
• "0170","+","HG Hairdos"
• "0171","+","Traveling Mage - My version SE-AE"
• "0172","+","Twilight Princess Armor Mashup"
• "0173","+","COCO Raikou - CBBE-TBD-BHUNP SE"
• "0174","+","Kinnari Armor - TBD"
• "0175","+","The Fancy Witch Armour UNP CBBE"
• "0176","+","Lind's Elven Eyes"
• "0177","+","ELFX - Exteriors Fixes"
• "0178","+","RANs HeadMesh Variants"
• "0179","+","Dark Elf Preset Natsh"
• "0180","+","Heartfire Multiple Adoptions"
• "0181","+","Hololive Shirogane Noel Outfit"
• "0182","+","Nightshade Bodysuit"
• "0183","+","Footprints"
• "0184","+","Noble Skyrim Mod HD-2K - SMIM Patch"
• "0185","+","SKSE 64"
• "0186","+","Obsidian Mountain Fogs"
• "0187","+","Apachii Divine Elegance Store"
• "0188","+","ApachiiDivineElegance_SSE_CBBE_by_ughitsmegan_v_1_9"
• "0189","+","JS Armored Circlets SE"
• "0190","+","The Witcher 3 Female Armours - SSE CBBE BodySlide"
• "0191","+","Mage Hunter - Outfit and Flintlock"
• "0192","+","Blended Roads"
• "0193","+","Landscapes - Cathedral Concept"
• "0194","+","Cathedral - Plants"
• "0195","+","Shanoa Armor CBBE port with Changes"
• "0196","+","Faith - Breton Preset"
• "0197","+","Majestic Mountains Main"
• "0198","+","Majestic Mountains Main LOD"
• "0199","+","Water for ENB"
• "0200","+","[NINI] Ceara"
• "0201","+","Winter Is Coming SSE - Cloaks"
• "0202","+","Fuz Ro D-oh - Silent Voice"
• "0203","+","[NINI] Bless RB 0004"
• "0204","+","Calling of the Conjurer"
• "0205","+","DynDOLOD TexGen Fixes"
• "0206","+","Moons And Stars - Sky Overhaul SKSE"
• "0207","+","Happy Little Trees"
• "0208","+","Happy Little Trees Add-On - DynDOLOD 3"
• "0209","+","Happy Little Trees Add-On - DynDOLOD 3 0 DLC 1 Pine"
• "0210","+","Happy Little Trees Add-On - DynDOLOD Solstheim Broken Pines"
• "0211","+","TexGen_Output"
• "0212","+","DynDOLOD_Output"

I have always loved science. I love everything from astronomy to zoology. I have wanted to be a scientist for as long as I can remember. Sadly for me, I did not love studying or taking tests or, you know, any of the things which would make me into a real scientist. I eventually realized that the closest I would come to being a real scientist was to make friends with the nerds. So that's what I did: I'm a pretty, witty girl and I love nerds. I even ended up marrying one of them. Think Penny from Big Bang Theory and you get me.
My husband did biological science and he got hired on at a small lab in New Zealand a few months out of college. We were thrilled to move to such a beautiful place and he got me a janitor job at the lab so I could be close to the works. It was wonderful working there and getting to see science happen and advancements being made. The staff was small and, even though they spent their days sequestered in Pods of three or four working on specialty specific projects, they were all friends who ate together in the cafeteria before leaving to go to their homes.
It was this camaraderie which made it very peculiar when Pod V started to sit alone at the table in the corner of the caff and whisper to each other, giving everyone else the evil eye if they tried to join. I noticed this odd behavior about three days before my husband came to me and told me that he was going to be consulting for Pod V because they had come up against a problem that the virologists couldn't work out. He was as excited as a kid on Christmas to get started and, a few days later, he was equally excited to tell me that they had figured it out and their experimental treatment was going to work. It would revolutionize medicine and corner the market for “age defying” products. I was a little bit nervous when he said that he'd volunteered to be the human test subject in the trial the next day. He assured me that everything was going to be fine and that I shouldn't worry.
So, he did it. He let the folks in Pod V inject him with their new treatment. At first, he was great. He said that his eyesight was sharper, his memory was improving, and his skin felt stronger and firmer. Everyone on Pod V was over the moon about these results. After this success, Pod V rejoined the main populace of the rest of the staff with lots of apologies for the extra focus. My husband was thrilled to have been the one who made the breakthrough.
It's now a week later, and everything had fallen apart. I went into the lab that Pod V was using to clean up and refill the food and water for the animals who were all sleeping. This was unnerving because they were never all asleep at the same time. I filled the water and food, then restocked the bathroom before beginning to sweep the floor. I was about half way done when I heard a growl. I turned to see a small monkey pressing his face against the glass of his enclosure, staring at me and baring his teeth. Then, I gasped as another monkey leaped up and attacked the first. They screeched and rolled around, scratching and biting each other, never drawing blood or causing any apparent damage to each other. I was mesmerized by this, and had absorbed enough that I understood the import of this. I dropped my broom and ran to the back wall where I pressed the big red button with a thumbs up symbol on it; the panic button would bring Pod V running.
The scientists were there in minutes, having run from the cafeteria, and they immediately began bustling around pressing buttons and preparing syringes. I stepped back into the corner of the room, not wanting to get in their way, and I'm glad that I did. I don't remember the technical things they were saying, but the gist of it was that the treatment was having unexpected side effects. It was basically the T virus: they had created zombies.
One of them happened to look up and noticed me standing there, probably looking terrified, and I saw the light dawn in his eyes as he remembered my husband. He ran over to me and commanded me to call him and get him to the lab. I wasn't allowed to mention what had happened, though, I was just allowed to ask him to come to Lab V as quickly as he could.
His phone rang a worryingly long amount of time before clicking over to voice mail. I shook my head at the scientist beside me as I left a semi-calm message asking him to come to Lab V as soon as possible. He nodded and rushed off to whisper in the ear of another scientist who then darted out the door, presumably to find my husband. We heard the screams when he opened the door. He was so very brave that he ran toward the screams, returning in a moment to tell us that my husband was attacking the others in the cafeteria and they were going to have to find a way to tranquilize or trap him.
He must have finished with the rest of the staff when we heard him bellow and then he was rushing toward Lab V. The first scientist grabbed my arm and told me to stand in front of the open door to an empty enclosure and dart out of the way when my husband ran at me. It seemed like a cray plan but I was so panicked that I just did what I was told. I was just lucid enough to dash out of the way when he dove at me and the scientists managed to get the door closed before he spun around to come after me again. Just like the monkey, my husband bared his teeth and pressed his face against the glass. Then he grinned and pressed his thumb against the locking mechanism, opening the door himself. I saw him attack the nearest scientist, a woman we both liked really well, and bite into her cheek before I slipped into the bathroom and locked the door.
So that's where I am now. I'm hoping my husband falls asleep the way the monkeys did so I can sneak out of the lab and find help. I don't know how I'll know, though, so I just keep calling out to him or knocking on the door and listening to him bang against the door. I can only pray that he didn't retain enough of that mental aptitude to realize that I'm just waiting him out to escape.
Wish me luck and keep an eye on New Zealand. When the zombie apocalypse starts, it will start here.

I’m not sure if this is the sub, but i don’t know where else to post this question.
I’m a guitarist in a metal band, and i am practically blind without my glasses. Every head motion has them slide down my face, and sometimes i even have to quickly just whip my head and toss them on the ground because i can’t keep them on.
Contact lenses aren’t an issue, i just don’t have a current prescription and for the time being i need a way or some sort of life hack to make sure my glasses stay on my head the entire time.
any advice?

Please comment any titles you're interested in down in the comments, just to make keeping track for other folks easier. Then I’ll DM for PayPal info
Flat $5 for shipping/handling, unless you want more than $40 worth of stuff, then shipping/handling is free (on me).
Disagree with a price? Tell me what you think it’s worth. I’m flexible on a lot of stuff.
US only, please. International shipping is expensive and gets tricky, and I don’t feel like dealing with customs stuff. Please dib in comments first, then we’ll do DM so I can send you an invoice. I’m in NJ right near philly.
Not really looking for any trades. My keeper library pretty much has everything I want. Unless you have a copy of Comet Gain’s Casino Classics, Kent's Isola, Hot Cakes by The Darkness, a copy of the bootleg record of And All That Could Have Been - Still by Nine Inch Nails, or the 20th anniversary edition of Suede's Coming Up (with the B-sides bonus record) you’d want to trade. These are pretty much the only albums on my want list.
Happy to provide any pics if you like. Just ask.
I also have a bunch of unusual band shirts and a couple T-shirts that had been cut down to become back patches that I’m selling. (Bands like Mono, Battles, Graveyard, and more traditional stuff like Metallica). As this is a sub for records, I won’t list them individually as part of the post, but if you want a list and prices, comment or dm me for that. If it's okay by the mods, I'll list them in a comment.
Antony And The Johnsons. Cut The World. $12
Atlanta Rhythm Section - A Rock And Roll Alternative. Free with any order.
Baroness. First and Second. Olive green vinyl. Never played. Only open because it came with the shrink split to see color. $25
Baroness. Live At Maida Vale BBC. Clear with black splatter and gold screenprint on side b. Played once or twice. $25
Baroness. Yellow and Green. this versionBought new. Played a handful of times. Hardcover book cover has mild corner dings that were there when it arrived in the mail to me. $70
Beach Boys. Made In USA (comprehensive compilation). $10
Beach Boys. American Summer. $3
Beach Boys. Endless Summer. $8
Take all three Beach Boys for $18
Beatles white album. this versionGot for Xmas one year. Played once or twice. $45
The Beatles. Abbey Road. Old pressing. Apple label. $20
The Beatles. Let It Be. Old pressing. Apple Label. Corner cut (overstock). $15
Black Oak Arkansas. Raunch N Roll Live. $4
Black Tusk. Passage Through Purgatory. Blue vinyl. Ltd to 350. Never played. Opened to check color. $25
Boomtown Rats. Tonic For The Troops. Shrink and hype stickers intact. $2
Jackson Browne. The Pretender. $5
Jackson Browne. Hold Out. $4
Take both Jackson Browne joints for $10
John Carpenter Lost Themes III this version Sealed. $45
Castlevania III soundtrack. this version. Sealed. $65
Patsy Cline. Country Great! $5
Crosby Nash. Live. $5
Daedelus. Invention. $30. I’ll throw in the “Something Bells” ep with this for free if you want it.
Deep Purple. Burn. $5
Deodato 2. $11
Neil Diamond lot: “Gold: Live at the troubadour”, “Touching You Touching Me” “Hot August Night”. $12
The Dirty Cut. Self-titled. Philly band who sound like they learned all the right lessons from Nirvana. Sealed. $10
Doobie Brothers. Minute By Minute. $5
Earthless. Rhythms From A Cosmic Sky. OG pressing on black. $45
Earthless. Sonic Prayer Jam 10”. Black. $25
Earthling - Dark Path. $9
Egon. Curse Of The Evil Badger. $8
Gil Evans/Gary Evans. Dedication Series Vol IX The Great Arrangers. $11. (Promo Cut out)
Dan Fogelberg. Captured Angel. $6
Dan Fogelberg. Nether Lands. $6
Take both Fogelberg joints for $10
Steve Forbert. Jackrabbit Slim. $3
Gates Of Slumber - Hymns Of Blood And Thunder - Transparent grey vinyl - $30
Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell. Greatest Hits. $10
Philip Glass. The Photographer. Shrink still intact. $7
Goatsnake. 1/Dog Days. Black vinyl version. $25
Grand Funk Railroad. Phoenix. $4
Gwar - Scumdogs Of The Universe (30th anniversary version. red smoky vinyl) $26
Nate Hall. A Great River. [this version](https://www.discogs.com/release/4524121-Nate-Hall-A-Great-River](https://www.discogs.com/release/4524121-Nate-Hall-A-Great-River)). New/never played. Dude from US Christmas. Heavy Neil Young "Le Noise" feels. $14
Isaac Hayes. Live at the Sahara Tahoe. 2LP. $5
Heart. Self-titled. $6
History Of British Rock. 2lp comp of solid British rock. $15
Holly Hunt. Prometheus. Green vinyl. $15
Ian Hunter. Self titled. $6
Ian Hunter. You’re Never Alone With A Schizophrenic. $6
Take both Ian Hunter joints for $11
Jefferson Starship. Dragon Fly. $6
Jefferson Starship. Earth. $6
Take both JeffStar joints for $11
Kansas. Song For America. $5
Kendrick Lamar. Mr Morale and the Big Steppers. Standard black vinyl. Sealed. $30
John Lennon. Mind Games. $5
Manfred Mann’s Earth Band. The Roaring Silence. $5
Mono. Gone - A Collection Of EPs 2000-2007. Black vinyl. $22
Mono. Holy Ground: NYC Live. Black vinyl with unplayed DVD. I bought this new, but I can’t remember if I ever played it. $35
Mono. For My Parents. $15
The Moody Blues. Octave. $3
Willie Nelson. Without A Song. $3
Neurosis. Sovereign. Clear repress. Sealed. $50
Neurosis. Fires Within Fires. Sealed. $35.
New Riders Of The Purple Sage. The Adventures of Panama Red. $3
Thee Oh Sees. Drop. First pressing. $15
Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Return To The 36 Chambers (The Dirty Version). OG promo record, with the songs out of proper album order. Jacket is rough. Records are beautiful and play/sound amazing. Pics $55
Mike Oldfield. Hergest Ridge. $5
Ozzy Osbourne. Patient Number 9. Walmart color variant. Sealed. $27
Prefuse 73. Surrounded By Silence. $12
Queens Of The Stone Age. Villains. Sealed. $30
Quannum Spectrum compilation. (Blackalicious, DJ Shadow, El-P, etc) this guy. Bought at a Blackalicious concert in 2000. Played a couple times. Shrink still intact. $50
The Rolling Stones. Metamorphosis. True OG. Cover is a little rough. $12
Salem’s Lot score this version sealed. $90
Boz Scaggs. Silk Degrees. $4
Seals & Crofts. Diamond Girl. $3
Simon and Garfunkel. Bookends. Looks like a true OG pressing, but the record is rough. 3
Springsteen On Broadway 4LP sealed. $50
Bruce Springsteen. Nebraska. Cover looks so so. Record is immaculate. $17
Steely Dan. Pretzel Logic. $21
Survive. HD015. this version. Open, but shrink and hype sticker intact. Played once or twice. $17
Survive. RR7349 (black vinyl. Never played. has “Stranger Things” hype sticker on the bag). $17
Avey Tare (from Animal Collective). Down There. Shrink intact. $12
Three Dog Night. Golden Biscuits. Free with any order.
Robin Trower. Long Misty Days. $5
William Tyler. Behold The Spirit. $6
US Christmas. Bad Heart Bull. Two Sealed copies avail. Could be any of three awesome colorways. $35 each copy.
US Christmas. Eat The Low Dogs. Black vinyl. New/never played. Number 126/400. Awesome psychedelic/space rock. For fans of Hawkwind. $66
US Christmas. Run Thick In The Night. Sealed, clear vinyl pressing, limited to 100 copies. $100.
Edgar Winter Group. They Only Come Out At Night. $5
Witchcraft. Legend. [this version](https://www.discogs.com/release/3963340-Witchcraft-Legend](https://www.discogs.com/release/3963340-Witchcraft-Legend)). $66
Gary Wright. The Dream Weaver. $5
Neil Young. A Letter Home. Sealed. $23

Black mold has been growing on my curtains for a year but I haven't done anything about it because I haven't physically been able to clean the curtains. I have spent most of my time within a few meters of the mold. There is not a massive amount of it but still significant. Tomorrow I have arranged for a friend to clean the curtains but am now panicking that the damage may have been done.
I have severe chronic fatigue and long covid symptoms which were triggered by exercising too soon. The mold did not appear until after I got long covid, but my condition is slowly worsening over time and a lot of the symptoms I have match up with toxic mold exposure (though could be long covid too).
Right now I am panicking. Does 1 year qualify as long-term exposure? How do I know how bad a situation I am in?
EDIT: The curtains are in front of the doors that are the only source of air into my room. These doors have been water leaking ever since I have lived here (7 years) and getting worse over time. There is mold in the cracks under the door too, so I'm going to ask my landlord if the door can be replaced.

Even if discounting the overwhelming net-negative impact on a community's ability to generate and keep wealth, Walmart's prices only saves a family $640/year, and only if spending there exclusively and making ~$80k+/year.
In a thread about a recent looting of Walmart a few Redditors were sticking up for the company, as if the conglomerate needs their support or protection.
What was more curious was the claim that Walmart is good for poor people because of their low prices.
The thread was locked before any could reply back to my point, that Walmarts are almost entirely net-negatives for the communities they're in, forcing out competition and driving down wages for everyone. The stores and the entire organization's business model is to extract money from consumers while intentionally disenfranchising its employees and all of those in the area.
I didn't think this was a controversial take, but in being challenged I went to find some sources.
It's clear that these stores funnel money directly away from communities and into the pockets of a single family. But what wasn't clear was how much savings a family could miss out on by shopping with integrity and not giving Walmart any of your hard earned money.
Less than $700. And despite the article being written a while ago, the facts still remain, and perception of savings even more delusional given the staggering increase of inflation in recent years.
And those "savings" are only really ever present artificially just to get you in the door. Once there you'll likely buy something else that's not the deal the original item might have been. Furthermore, those "savings" can usually be had at other stores as well. Like, all of them. Retailers are very sensitive to being beat on price, and will adjust to get closer to Walmart's prices.
The very few instances where Walmart may be of any use is in desolate rural communities that have absolutely no other viable options but mildly regional store placed within a modest drive, of which the article stated there are few.
CMV: I haven't heard any convincing data or opinions about anything of value Walmart stores do for poor people outside of a quick and temporary cost saving on very few goods. The articles I read were old, and perhaps Walmart has modernized their business practices to be more economically viable for the communities they're in.
Links to articles I was looking at:

• https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/2405-real-cost-walmart.html -https://www.marketplace.org/2009/11/23/does-wal-mart-really-save-you-money/

Edit: Thanks for weighing in y'all. Feel like this discussion keeps getting bogged down in things that aren't talking about my view. It's kind of run its course.
I really only created this thread so I could hear what those other folks were saying in that locked thread.
But it's all good, I got what I needed from this post, and I do genuinely appreciate everyone being respectful in explaining their views.
It's late where I live, and need to go to bed. I don't know if that means this thread will get locked because I won't be responding for quite a few hours (I got stuff on in the morning).
If it's not locked tomorrow I can try to respond to some of the responses to my own. But this is kinda exhausting and not that fun. So probably would rather not unless someone wants to talk about it more.
Walmart sucks, but if you need them I won't be judging anyone for their choices on this matter. Cheaper shit ain't always the answer y'all.
Holler