My childhood dog Angel is 6 years old now and she deserves the rest and attention of a queen. I would love to give her that but we also have a puppy named Coco nearing one year and he’s very energetic.
In order to explain the situation fully I’ll give a quick rundown of my dog history. Angel was the og, and then a year later my dad got us a sweet shih tzu we named brownie. They were best friends and they understood each other. Then, this year august, the dogs went outside earlier than usual (like 4 am instead of 6) and brownie was missing the next day. We think it was a coyote. So then my dad thought to buy a new dog who kinda looked like brownie but is totally different breed (portie)
The queen and the puppy obviously would have a battle for attention but coco kept chewing things and my dad kept getting mad at him. Now coco has a thing about Angel since she’s the favorite and everyone’s pissed at him. Literally the only way to have peace is to separate them between rooms.
Angel doesn’t have much time left I’m sure, but cocos behavior should be corrected and as a student I’m not sure how I can help bc my dad refuses to get him trained

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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.’ 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.

So, I've been hunting for information about this for a while because it's a project I've had on my mind for a while, but it seems like the few people that have done something like what I have in mind have not really documented anything on what it took.
Now that I'm done being vague, I bought a Gen 2 1500DX Civic Coupe from a friend of mine that has a blown engine. I love the first and second gen civic, that said, I don't love peaking at about 70 HP. I'm planning to engine swap this, and the best I've found was a Youtube video of someone making a pull in a D swapped second gen, no actually documenting his swap though.
Has anyone come across anyone that's documented their struggles trying to swap a second gen? I'm ready to struggle figuring this out on my own, though it'd be supremely helpful to at least get an idea of some of the roadblocks I might be looking at as I tackle this.

​
Don't mind the mess!
A few weeks ago in-game, a saurid woman wished to join my colony. I have already had something similar happened and the previous person turned out to be a traitor, but I let her join anyway.
And just like the previous person, she turned out to be one the most contributing member (before the other guy betrayed me), since the MC of my story is missing an arm, a leg, and eyes, and the other members were a Wimp and an Addict.
The saurid lady researched like the wind, excelled at urban warfare with her auto pistol, cooked meal, and is also a cannibal (red flag right there, should have seen it lmao), meaning food for her was easy to come by, and just when I was missing a person who can butcher humans and receive the hate of everyone too! She was super useful in general.
Then one day during a raid, Saurid lady suddenly collapsed from a heart attack. Thus came a 3-day long battle where our best doctor tried to help her fight it, he keeps failing at 11-13% chance and only succeed a few times in between, and finally, she succumbed to the heart attack caused by her MINOR artery blockage.
Then she turned into a Mime. She was a Mime the whole time! Snuck into my colony to consume human flesh no doubt. We kept her so well fed and happy with the meat of our enemies, she never bothered to hunt us.
But now she's dead, and I have mixed feelings...

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- Special
These item only swap for listed weapon
- List
V FSS 1S Sheepsquatch Staff swap for V FSS 25LVC Sheepsquatch Club/Staff
V FSS 40LDWPA Chainsaw swap for V FSS 25LVC Chainsaw/Ripper
V 50C 25LVC Pepper Shaker swap for V 25FF50H 25LVC Pepper Shaker
I'm looking for V FSS 25LVC Mole Miner Gauntlet/Power Fist. Thanks.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Energy Heavy Weapon
AA 25Aim RW GP
B 50C 15VCF Cryo
B 50C FR Cryo
B 50C 25LVC UGL
B 25FFR 250DR GP
Ber 25FFR RW GP
F 25FFR 25LVC GP
F 25FFR 25LVC UGL
J 25FFR 25LVC GP
J 50C FR Pepper Shaker
- Ranged Weapon
Rolled 419 Dragon
AA 50C 25LVC Tesla
AA 50C 15VCF Railway
AA 25Aim FR Gatling Gun
AA 50C 25LVC Hunting Rifle
AAE SF Gatling Gun
AAE SF Handmade
AA 25FFR 25LVC Handmade
AA 50C 250DR Handmade
AA 25FFR 250DR The Fixer
AA 50C SF The Fixer
B 50C 25LVC Tommy
B 50C 25LVC 10mm SMG
B 50C 25LVC Radium
B 50C 25LVC 50cal
B 50C 25LVC LMG
B 25FFR 15VCF Handmade
B 25FFR 15VCF The FIxer
BE 25LVC Hunting RIfle
BE 15VCF LMG
BE 15VCF Pipe Revolver
B 50C 15VCF Gatling Gun
B 50C 15VCF Handmade
B 50C 15VCF The Fixer
B 50C 15VCF AR
B 50H 50BS AB
B 50H 15VCF The Fixer
B 50H 15VCF Handmade
B 25FFR FR Minigun
BE FR Minigun
IE FR Lever Action
I 50C 15VCF Crossbow
J 25FFR FR 50Cal
J 25FFR 25LVC Minigun
JE 15VCF Hunting Rifle
J 50C 25LVC Crossbow
J 25FFR 90RW LMG
J 25FFR 15VCF Laser Rifle
J 25FFR 15VCF ULaser Rifle
J 50C 15VCF Laser Rifle
JE 15VCF Pipe Revolver
J 50C 15VCF Pipe Revolver
JE 15VCF Combat Shotgun
JE 15VCF DB Shotgun
J 50H FR Handmade
J 50C 15VCF Lever
JE FR Pump
J 25FFR 15VCF Gamma
JE 90RW Minigun
J 50C 25LVC Railway
J 50H 25LVC Railway
J 50C 25LVC The Fixer
J 25FFR 25LVC Tesla
J 50C 25LVC Tesla
Q 50C 25LVC 50Cal
Q 25Aim 25LVC 50Cal
Q 25FFR FR Auto Pipe Pistol .38
Q 50C FR Radium
Q 50H FR The Fixer
QE 50DR The Fixer
Q 50C 250DR Handmade
Q 25FFR FR AR
Stalker 50C 25LVC The Fixer
TSE 25LVC Pipe Revolver
TSE FR DB Shotgun
TS 25FFR FR Gatling Gun
TS 50limb 25LVC AGL
TS 25Aim 50DR AGL
TS 50H 50BS Fatman
TS 50H RW Missile Launcher
TS 25FFR 25LVC Missile Launcher
TS 25FFR 25LVC The Fixer
V 50C 25LVC 10mm SMG
V 50C 25LVC Railway
V 50C 25LVC Crossbow
VE 25LVC Railway
V 25FFR 250DR The Fixer
- Enclave Plasma Rifle
Med 25FFR 25LVC EPR (Standard Capacitor , Stabilized Splitter , Stabilized Stock , Reflex Sight)
V 50C FR EPR (Refined Beta Wave Tuner , True Flamer Barrel , Stabilized Stock , Reflex Sight)
TS 25FFR 25LVC EPR (Standard Capacitor , Aligned Automatic Barrel , Stabilized Stock , Reflex Sight)
- Melee Weapon
AA 40PA 15C Shishkebab
AA FSS 40LDWPA Tenderizer
AA 40PA 40LDWPA Tenderizer
J FSS 40LDWPA DCG
V FSS 1S Board
V FSS 15Block Power Fist
V FSS 15Block DCG
V FSS 50BS Power Fist
V 40PA 1S Power Fist
V 40PA 1S Sheepsquatch Club
- Armor
Ass AP Sent Trapper RA
Ass AP Cav Leather LL DR: 17 36 Sturdy
Ass AP Cav USA RL
Auto Stim AP Sent Combat LA DR: 20 20 Heavy
Auto Stim AP Sent Raider RA DR: 22 10 Sturdy
Bol AP Cav Trapper RL
Bol AP Sent Combat RA DR: 12 12 Light
Bol AP Sent Marine RA
Bol AP Sent Robot LA DR: 13 13 Sturdy
Bol AP Sent Trapper RL x2
OE AP FDC Robot CP DR: 24 24 Light
Uny 1I Sent Trapper LL
Uny 1S Sent Wood RA
Uny 1S Sent Raider LL DR: 22 10 Sturdy
Uny 1S Sneak Leather CP DR: 21 59 Sturdy
Uny 1S Sent Combat LL DR: 15 15 Sturdy
Uny AP FDC Metal CP DR: 51 11 Light
Uny 1P FDC Marine CP
Uny 25RR FDC Raider LL DR: 28 13 Heavy
Uny 25RR Sent USA RA
Uny 25EDR Sent USA RL
Van AP FDC USA CP
Van AP Cav Combat RA DR: 12 12 Light
Van AP Cav Leather CP DR: 16 45 Light
Van AP Sneak Raider CP DR: 42 15 Light
- PA
Ass AP Sent Ultracite Torso
OE 1P WWR T51b RA
OE 7LED Sent Raider Torso
- Plan
Pepper Shaker x2
- Mask
Buffoon x2 , Raven x1 , Deathclaw x2 , Hag x1 , Winterman x1 , Loon x1
- Apparel
WP JS , BOS JS

Recently bought an AR as a first gun and started looking at this sub. Got me thinking about what kind of weapon was best for apartment/suburbian life. I know a handgun comes with pros of cheaper ammo and conceal carry possibilities but a rifle has more stopping power and versatility for hunting.
What's the consensus with other liberal gun owners? Whats a good beginner rifle/handgun?

#1 Mazic vs #8 Venlil

The Magic are large Proboscids originating from the world of Khoa. According to the Wiki, “These sand-colored mammals evolved in the hot, arid desert, but proved their adaptability to many climates.” As the higher seed, this means that the match will place in the arid deserts of Khoa. Furthermore, from the wiki, “A fluke genetic mutation separated the toes of their front paws, compared to the flatness of their hindlegs.” This means that they have the ability to grasp things. It can be not unreasonably assumed from Cupo’s aggressive questioning of Noah that Mazic have at least somewhat of an aggressive nature and response to threat. Also, with their opposable thumb and pinky, for lack of better terms, they evolved early for tool use. This Mazic will have a small bushtree sharpened into a sword/knife-like weapon for this battle.
The Venlil are bipedal caprines originating on Venlil Prime. According to Space Paladin, the Venlil reach human shoulders, meaning that they would generally reach 5’ tall. Due to their lack of strong natural weapons or size, as well as their adaptation for easy fright and bipedalism, it is assumed that their natural response to danger is to run. With Slanek and Marcel on the battlefield of the Cradle, it can be assumed that an athletic Venlil and an athletic human can run at similar speeds, though pre-civilization Venlil would probably have been faster, needing to run from predators, and with a bit more stamina than seen in Slanek.
A Venlil bends down, and inspects the grass for signs of burrowing. Seeing some, they begin munching down, until the yummy grass turns into the rough texture of sand! They spit it out, and look up and around. It is only when they turn around that they see an angry Mazic, surprised by the sudden presence of the caprine. The Mazic grabs their weapon, and begins to charge at the unarmed Venlil. The Venlil springs off their feet and tries to run, but the Mazic runs faster, at a top speed 8 feet per second faster than the Venlil, 30 feet per second, at the Venlil, trampling them before they can run out of the zone of fight. To end it, the Mazic takes their weapon, and stabs the downed Venlil for a quick death.
MAZIC WIN

#2 Cusyd vs #7 Yotul

The Cusyd are massive suids from the planet Kasuyd. They roamed the dense forests of the planet’s vast landmasses. They rival the Mazic in size, slightly longer but slightly shorter. As they developed tools sophisticated enough aiding them in this fight as part of the development of civilization, they will not be using one. They have six legs, and are known for their aggressiveness and territoriality. They have large tusks, and three eyes to see above them, as well as for stronger sight in front.
The Yotul are medium sized marsupials. By account of their body plan, and their similarity to Australian marsupials superficially, it can be assumed that they find themselves more comfortable in more wide-open scenarios. If Onso is to be taken as an example, they seem to have a more of a fight response to threats like the Mazic and Cusyd than the Venlil’s flight response. I would wager that they used bipedalism for intimidation, and blunt force to defend themselves if need be.
The Yotul is far from home. They walk through the trees, looking behind every bush with a small melee spear-like weapon in hand. They do not notice the stepped-on grasses and trails of a large hectaped in their attempt to find a way out, or to other Yotul. The Cusyd, however, spots the marsupial in the distance, it dare step into its territory? The Yotul begins to feel pains in their chest, the extreme oxygen levels and stronger gravity doing its work on the poor being. They are too focused on the pain and their escape to notice the charging beast until its too late, and its head would be impaled with a massive tusk before it even noticed.
CUSYD WIN

#3 Takkan vs #6 Sovren

Takkans are large bipedal ceratomorphs. They are purely terrestrial, and their skin is very rough and thick. It can be assumed that they have large, strong legs, in order to allow for sustained bipedalism. They had very simplistic weapons at this time, only extending blunt force attacks and adding a horn to their head, mimicking some of their close evolutionary relatives.
The Sovren are small bovines from Venrov. They have massive horns and thick, muscular bodies meant for fast escapes, or strong charges, at their planet's sneaky predators. They do not yet have weapons, but they do have shields they attach to their backs when need be. They're jumpy and aggressive, used to sneak attacks from invisible predators.
The Sovren carefully walks across the desert, looking for any vegetation that might have arisen near the watering hole, but alas, no dice. They strut around when the Takkan approaches the same watering hole. The Sovren and Takkan circle the hole for a while when the Takkan is distracted by a pack of smaller predators approaching. Seeing the opportunity, the Sovren charges at the Takkan and pierces their thick skin. While the Takkan hide is a thick one, a Sovren horn is durable and strong enough to pierce through the skin of almost all animals, especially at their top speed of 28mph. And so as the Sovren flees to greener pastures, the Takkan is eaten by the predators, the quick interaction over as quick as its started.
SOVREN WIN

#4 Sulean vs #5 Iftali

Believe me or not, this was an accident.
Both the Suleans and Iftali originated on the same world, and have relatively equal showings in strength and size. The Suleans are plains cervids, with black and white stripes, large antlers, and three grasping toes. They had sophisticated weapons early, like the Mazics and Humans, advanced by their opposable toes. They favored bows and arrows. They were, toe to head, slightly shorter than their omnivorous counterparts. Their best advantage will be their antlers and their home-field advantage.
The Iftali are the omnivorous desert walker counterparts to the Suleans. Somewhat large pink tylopods, they are easily noticeable by their pink fur. They have their own tools, favoring sword-like weapons for their hunting and combat, giving them some benefits in melee, though the antlers could help present a problem.
The Iftali walks onto the grassy plains. They are out of their territory, and not knowing what is going on. In front of them was the Sulean. The Sulean shows their antlers, and steadies their bow. The Iftali, frightened, turns heel and runs away, out of the battle-field
SULEAN VICTORY
The Hub: https://www.reddit.com/NatureofPredators/comments/121855j/nop_march_mammal_madness_the_bracket/

During the 19th century, there are half a dozen of Minie-rifles musket with various size, caliber, and weight, many of which ending up in the American civil war. Generally, when discussed about these rifles, source on the internet claimed, without proof, that the 1853 Enfield is generally considered to be the best, the 1854 Lorenz the worst, and the 1861 Springfield passable.
But when I read "Killer Angels" it was mentioned that the men were eager to trade their 1853 Enfield for Springfield, claiming that the Enfield would often jam. Given that all the guns of the days were almost the same in mechanism, what leads to this? And what is the opinion of both sides of the Civil war regarding their Minie rifles?

Okay, so I have a few questions as I've been playing the game over the course of a few days now.
So how exactly do you increase mod capacity? I've seen that some mastery ranks increase mod capacity, but is there anything else that does?
I know prime versions of items and warframes are just objectively better(in fact ive set the personal goal of getting prime hildryn) but are there other items and weapons that are better? I'm still using the base weapons(leto, skana) only recently replacing the bow with the boltor. I'm making the heat sword but idk if it's gonna be superior.
What are the mods I should be keeping an eye out for?
Does getting a different k drive actually do anything or is it just set dressing/cosmetics? Same question for the wings which I have yet to make.
How does trading really work? I've looked stuff up but nothing clear. I have found the warframe market site and made an account but obviously that's just for connection not actual selling
Best way to raise mastery rank? I've maxed out my equipment thus far, and I think progressing through levels raises it?
Related to my hunt for prime hildryn, what is the fastest way to raise affinity in the vallis? I know hunts help, but animals seem to spawn really slowly and disappear quickly
What exactly is the story...? I've made it to the beginning of Mars but I don't really know what's going on other than grinder bad, corpus and nef suck(but that i only found out due to my focus on the vallis), and lotus is... someone? Maybe? I'm still not sure if there an AI or a person.
What are the bug main resources I should look out for and where can I find them?
There are more but it's late where I am, I'll add em when I can think of them again

A special thanks to u/bluefishcake for the wonderful original story and sandbox to play in.
A special thanks to my editors LordHenry7898, RandomTinkerer, and Swimming_Good_8507
And a big thanks to the authors and their stories that inspired me to tell my own in this universe. RandomTinkerer (City Slickers and Hayseeds), Punnynfunny (Denied Operations), CompassWithHat (Top Lasgun), CarCU131 (The Cook), and Rhion-618 (Just One Drop)
Hy’shq’e Ay Si’am (Thank you noble friends)
​
​
Chapter 21: A Prince, and a Pauper
Andy sat awkwardly in the middle seat of the back bench between Kalai and Sitry. He’d taken off his hat and had readjusted his blanket to wrap completely around his shoulders and chest before he’d been politely ushered into the flying vehicle. He sat silently watching the three parents fuss over their children with a stab of jealousy. Andy could feel a tension building, as he was grateful to be mostly ignored as the shuttle rocketed up towards whatever destination it was headed towards. He hadn’t quite caught where the rather intimidating rabbit man had told their pilot to go, but it didn’t sound like anywhere he knew, and he didn’t want to have to try and figure out how to get home if it meant booking a flight that he couldn’t afford.
“I want to thank you for saving me back there, If you wouldn’t mind, I’d just as soon be out of your hair. If you could drop me off at the old Bellingham airport, that’s closest to my home,” Andy voiced his concern when a lull had fallen in the conversation about ‘poor Naranjo’s cuts and bruises’. It almost made Andy laugh seeing the parents fuss over Naranjo, while Sitry and Kalai by comparison were told, in a kind and loving way, to suck it up. It was a sentiment he’d grown accustomed to hearing from his own grandmother, ever since they’d been reunited.
The man turned around in his seat towards the front where he sat with his wives and his son. “Nonsense, Alfred-”
“It’s Andy,” Naranjo interjected, ”And dad, you heard the woman!” He gave a worried glance back at Andy. Andy could feel the two girls beside him suddenly tense and shift ever so slightly away from him, as though they were afraid.
“Andy…I’m terribly sorry. I’m Rhaxiid Vaida and I-” The man continued jovially before Naranjo again interrupted his father.
“He means to say Don-Conde-Professing-Practitioner Rhaxiid Vaida. Granmaestro of Ecological Sciences, your highness.” Naranjo switched into High Shil and it took a moment for Andy’s brain to make the switch. He’d not touched High Shil since his last stint in solitary when he completed the advanced literature course. “Allow me also to present Dona-Marquite’-Professing-Practitioner Sakalbi Vaida, Maestra of Oceanographic and Environmental Restoration and my birth mother. This is Dona-Marquite’-Professing-Practitioner Aftasia Vaida, Maestra of Climatology.”
“My birth mother, your highness. I want to apologize for our behavior when we met; it was inappropriate,” Sitry added after Naranjo finished introducing the family. All had inclined their heads, save for Rhaxiid, and it suddenly hit him why they were suddenly all on pins and needles.
“Ok, please stop!” Andy spoke deliberately in Vatikre, and he could feel himself flushing a bit from embarrassment. He tried to get control of himself but he couldn’t quite keep the nervous laughter out of his voice. “I am not actually royalty, I’m not even nobility in any sense of the word. Char’dania is repeating a racist joke that I’m not entirely sure she knows is racist.” Andy didn’t want to have to explain the whole Indian Princess stereotype and how quite a few of the women of the local garrison had taken to using it to describe Andy and some of his peers in the tribe.
“I have no titles except what I am, and I am Andrei Shelokset. If you want to be very formal, my ‘Indian name’ is Tsu’ti’tsi’uqw, which was my great grandmother’s name, and I am of the Bear Clan Salish of the North Straits Salish Band. Everyone just calls me Andy, and it is an honor to meet you all.” Andy let the silence that followed his speech hang for a moment before he spoke again, hoping to break the tension and change the subject. “I can’t stress enough how very grateful I am for you saving me from Char’dania and the rest of her goons. I raise my hands to you.”
Andy brought his hands up in the traditional sign of thanks and honor. The last thing he wanted was to give Si’catreese or any Interior Agent any more ammunition to arrest him by having anyone actually think he was trying to claim noble status.
“But the Lieutenant called you…and she was going to have the Interior….and they’re the only ones that can arrest nobles….” Naranjo sputtered worriedly, switching back into Vatikre and fixing his parents with a fearful glance.
Kalai jumped in, her voice soft and shy, “Everyone at the Smokehouse was listening to you. You were the one giving orders and-”
“I’m a tumulh and those were stommish! Those trigger-happy idiots listening to me was just a cultural thing, it has nothing to do with me personally!” Andy could feel himself getting a bit defensive and fought to reign in his rising frustration and embarrassment. He didn’t exactly like being the center of attention, and outside of his training as a Speaker in cultural events or in a crisis, he hated public speaking and being in crowds.
“Well, young man, from the way these three tell it, you stood alone against a veritable army of cutthroats and murderers to save their lives. You tended their wounds, gave them clothes, fed them, and saved them multiple times in a single night. This might be an impertinent question, but do you have children of your own?” Aftasia’s tone was gentle and her encouraging smile was soft, putting Andy a bit more at ease. He could see the similarity between Sitry and her mother in their smiles.
“Uh, no…no I don’t, I’m still a bit young for that.” Andy felt himself blush, and was thankful that he wasn’t the only one. Sitry and Kalai both flushed different colors while Aftasia gave a knowing nod and a small chuckle.
“Then you don’t know how much we owe you.”
“Indeed. We’ve been beside ourselves with worry ever since this little burr sent her guards back to Seattle and gave us a false address to find her at!” Naranjo’s pale, white haired and red eyed mother Sakalbi shot a glare at Kalai that could have burned a hole through the shuttle and Kalai wilted into her seat. “Though this little embellisher seems to be a bit overwrought.” She turned to look at her son who sat next to her and Naranjo flashed her a nervous smile. “Narny seems to think you were being shot at, which is just silly…isn’t it?” Her abrupt tone at the end and the hard and piercing stare was turned on Andy and he instinctively sucked in his breath. He felt in that moment like he was staring down an angry Kodiak Grizzly Bear who’d caught him with her cub.
“No, thankfully we weren’t being shot at, but some of my cousins were.” Andy’s response was quick, and he instantly regretted adding the second part. He’d meant to be reassuring but instead it seemed to ignite her barely contained rage even further.
“You mean to tell me that there really was a battle in the islands last night?” Her voice raised two octaves, causing her three adult children to flinch. Even Andy felt himself quail underneath the invisible assault.
“My rifle isn’t for decoration, and it was more of a skirmish.” Andy recovered slightly, trying to stand his ground. Remembering that he was still armed was a bit reassuring, even though the weapon was just out of reach on the floor of the shuttle behind his feet.
“What exactly were you doing out there in the first place?” Sakalbi’s tone turned icy and her eyes narrowed at Andy. “The island ecosystem is still imperiled and the shock of humans-”
“IT WAS CRAZY! There was dancing, and drums, and costumes like I’ve NEVER SEEN BEFORE! He said that it’s their environmental and ecological record dating back thousands of years!” Sitry’s excited outburst crashed like a wave on the shore, breaking the invisible hold the woman had on Andy. Sitry leaned in, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder as she physically moved herself in between Andy and her Kho-mother, taking her attention away from him.
“Well that can’t be true, can it? Human records in this area are only around one hundred and fifty of this planet’s years old, two hundred at the most. There was no written record prior to that.” Rhaxiid spoke tentatively, as if suddenly he wasn’t exactly sure of something that had been a fact up until that moment.
“That’s technically true, Don-Konday? Forgive me if I’m mispronouncing-” Andy spoke again, as Aftasia cleared her throat pointedly at Sakalbi, causing the irate woman to turn back around.
“Oh please, it’s Rhaxiid, sir. No need to stand on ceremony,” he responded jovially, waving a hand as though shooing something away from his face.
“Well, written language was only introduced to my people around two centuries ago, that part is true, but our traditions, sacred sites, and cultural practices have been passed down since time began.” Andy found himself again in the position of trying to explain his people’s history, but given how it seemed to have been misconstrued, he suddenly wasn’t as sure about talking to these aliens about it as he had been the night before.
“Humans have only had written language for two hundred years? How is that possible? You’ve gone from preliterate to an advanced industrial society in only-”
“My people, being the Salishians. The indigenous race of humans from these islands and the surrounding mainland,” Andy clarified. Rhaxiid smiled as he made an “oh” sound and nodded.
“Our studies indicate that humans were an invasive species to this continent. That your species originated from one of the larger continents on the other side of the planet.” Sakalbi spoke without turning around. There was something in the woman’s tone that rubbed Andy the wrong way. An undercurrent of resentment and superiority in how she spoke that reminded him of so many of his teachers. Andy fought hard not to let his hackles go up.
“You’ll find burial sites and remains of villages between twenty five and twelve thousand years old, and my people are as indigenous as Cedar trees, bears, salmon, and bald eagles. We’ve been living in this place long before the Imperium united under the Tasoos, and we’ll keep fighting to protect our ancestral homeland until the very last of us is no more.” Andy’s jaw tightened as he rattled off an old defense of his people’s rights and threw a shot back that he knew would get a rise out of any Imperial. Sakalbi simply scoffed in response.
“You know Imperial history?” Aftasia asked, giving her Kho-wife a hard stare and a curt shake of her head.
“Courtesy of your empire’s fine residential school out in Nebraska. It’s where I learned to ‘speak good Shil,'” Andy responded, bitterness creeping into his voice.
“So you’re a graduate? Wonderful! Tell me, at what level did you achieve?” Rhaxiid replied brightly, and beside him he could feel Kalai and Sitry turn in surprise.
“I finished the Imperial Assimilation course in five Earth years, and graduated from junior academy in another two.”
“YOU WHAT?” The chorus from all six aliens at once was deafening.
“You graduated in only two human years?” Rhaxiid’s voice took on a tone of awe and respect, and Andy felt suddenly self conscious as the eyes of everyone were suddenly glued to him.
“Well it helps if you don’t get vacations…or weekends…or free time. Besides, there wasn’t much else to do in solitary for repeated escape attempts, so I just put my nose in the school omnipads and just banged the coursework out. The classes were pretty easy once I figured out the language and the math system, then it was all just spitting out the answer the teachers wanted.”
“Are you some kind of genius?” Sitry asked breathlessly, and the excited smile that lit up her face made Andy’s heart skip a beat. Whether it was fear or something else, Andy wasn’t sure. He turned to look at Kalai and saw the same look mirrored from the other side of him and Andy couldn’t help but pull into himself and blush. He looked down and began studying his feet and spoke in a bit of a self deprecating tone.
“No…no, I’m no genius. I was just motivated to not get hit anymore, and to keep from going crazy in the little oubliette they kept sticking me in and I-” Andy stopped as the mood in the shuttle drastically changed, and he at the looked up to see all the looks of admiration turned to looks of confusion and horror.
“I’m guessing you’re not too aware of what they did to us after they kicked us out of our homes, are you?” Andy ventured shyly, and he saw them all shake their heads almost in unison.
“I’m sorry, I’m having trouble understanding a few things, you said ‘escape attempts?’ As in, prison? Were you convicted of a crime?” Sakalbi asked tentatively, her ears swiveling back defensively.
“No, unless you count ‘Being Indian in the Twenty First Century.' I hear you can get two years in Walla Walla for that.” Andy tried to turn the very painful memory of red garbed Interior thugs pulling him away from his screaming grandmother into a joke. He fought against the rising panic as the memory of those goons throwing him into an alien bus with about fifty other crying children before being carted away from the internment camp in Oklahoma washed over him.
“That can’t be…using a school as a prison…that’s horrific! I can’t even begin to fathom how you could…You poor dear.” Sakalbi’s voice was small for the first time, and full of pity.
“I’d rather not talk about it right now, if you don’t mind. To tell you the truth, I’ve been roughly on my own except for my grandma for the past five years. Before that, I spent just over seven in a residential school for human boys, courtesy of Governess Ta’naios and the Interior. They tried to make us good Shil’vati by any means necessary, and that’s all I’ll say about it.” Andy felt his hands start to shake and he clenched his fists. His mouth started to feel dry and his heartbeat started to quicken as he took short, shallow breaths. He thought about the half pack of Lucky Strikes he still had in his pocket, but decided against it for now. As soon as they dropped him off, he’d find a drink and kill the rest of the pack.
“So you’ve held a Junior Academy diploma since you were…?” Rhaxiid left the question hanging as Andy felt Kalai shift and hold out her hand to him. He looked down in the silence that hung for a moment and he tentatively placed his hand in Kalai’s, and she gave it a reassuring squeeze.
“Around nine in Shil years. Thirteen or fourteen in Earth years.” Andy shrugged. “The Empress ‘pardoned’ us, or something and then they just kicked us out with a bus ticket to anywhere we wanted to go. So I wrapped up the last of my classes and got my diploma online or whatever and I came home and found grandma trying to put the pieces back together. Since then, I’ve been running around trying to get those of us that were lost, found; and keep my people out of trouble. My grandmother runs our government in exile with what’s left of the Council-”
“I’m sorry, what? Government in exile? So…you ARE a prince.” Naranjo interrupted.
“No, it’s…she….” Andy’s train of thought was completely derailed at the sudden return of the topic.
“Your grandmother runs the government in exile, you said. That sounds like that makes you a prince-” Naranjo pressed while Sitry stifled a giggle.
“It’s NOT a hereditary position! She was the last elected Chairwoman of the Tribal Council and she’s been trying to get Ta’naios to recognize us ever since the Empress tore up our Treaties and exiled us from our homelands! The Chief of my clan is my grandfather who is…not here in this region. I’m not lying or being untruthful; there is nothing ‘princely’ about me!” Andy leaned forward and his blanket slipped down a bit, revealing his shoulders and chest. The sudden embarrassed squeaks from Sitry and Kalai, coupled with the hard stares from their parents as Andy pulled his covering back up as Sakalbi flicked Sitry’s ear and Aftasia fixed Kalai with a hard stare that made Kalai twist her whole body away from Andy.
“So then when your grandfather, the Chief, passes on, then your father… or mother takes over making you the…?” Aftasia asked, seemingly letting Kalai off the hook.
“Both are gone, so it would fall to my older brother who is also…not here in this region, and since there’s only the four of us in the Clan left, it’s a bit of an empty position, if it ever even was one to begin with.”
The adults traded inscrutable looks while Sitry’s wide and mischievous smile caught his eye. “I AM NOT A PRINCE!” Andy shouted, and pulled the blanket up to try and hide in.
Rhaxiid spoke earnestly and leaned towards him after another glance at his wife Aftasia. “Please forgive us for being obtuse, it’s just we haven’t had an opportunity to speak to very many humans, and we’ve never spoken to a Salishian before. Our ignorance of your people and your customs is not born of malice and we are genuinely curious. Please, sub-chief Andrei-”
“Please just call me Andy, or Mister Shelokset.”
“Alright, then Mister Shelokset, We’d like to insist that you allow us to host you for a day. I wasn’t being facetious when I said there’s a prospectus to write. We’ve been trying to study Hydras, or…Jellyfish…and all the other species in your people’s biome, and it has not been going well. Sitry says you’re immune to their venom, and that the antivenom is readily available to you?” Aftasia spoke quickly and leaned in beside her husband, her ears swiveling forward.
“Kalai was also very insistent that you are well versed in the unique ecology of this region, and that you know why we’ve been having trouble finding the natural equilibrium. As much as it pains me to say it, we don’t know why our efforts to restore the ecology are creating such mixed results. Would you mind if we asked you to speak with us about what you know and how we can improve?” Rhaxiid added with a nod, his floppy ears twitching as he adopted a similar posture to his wife.
Andy felt relieved at the change in the conversation, and emerged slightly from where he’d been trying to make himself as small as possible. “You mentioned invasive species. What others have you identified?”
“None, there are no extraplanetary creatures allowed on earth save for military service animals, and all those must have IUDs to prevent unauthorized breeding,” Sakalbi answered with pride, her own ears still pulled back as she gave Andy a side eye.
“We’re very proud of the fact that to date, there have been no reports of any problematic species transfers to Earth,” Aftasia added, happily. “Have you noticed any extraplanetary flora or fauna that may have escaped our quarantine procedures?”
“Well that explains a few things,” Andy huffed as he felt his confidence returning. “Let me ask you, as a litmus test if you will…can you tell me what the difference is between an Atlantic Salmon and a Pacific Salmon, and which one belongs here and which doesn’t?”
Andy noticed that Sitry, Kalai, and Naranjo looked at their parents’ general confusion as they quietly conferred with each other. The two looked to Sakalbi and she turned to look Andy in the eye. “They’re both trouts, aside from the name being dissimilar, there isn’t much else that is fundamentally different at all between the two species.”
Andy couldn’t help the sigh that escaped him and he nodded. “Yes they’re both ‘trout,' but Atlantic salmon are ‘salmon’…while ours are Yommich and Chinook for Kings, Suh’key for Sockeye, Huh’nun for Humpies, Kuh’ch’ks for Cohos, and Kwa’lukh for Dogs. You see, we have names for them, ancient names because our people have cultivated and harvested them for generations. We have no Salishian name for Atlantic salmon. It was introduced as a farmed fish less than one hundred years ago, and due to mismanagement by underregulated fisheries, they got out. They taste like hot garbage and they’re small as hell compared to the giants that are native to the waterways here.”
The look of surprise on the adults' faces was gratifying and Sakalbi looked like she was going to speak, but Andy continued. “Let me guess, you’ve been trying to farm the Atlantics but when you release them, their fry keep dying en masse and the adults you release just starve to death and cause all sorts of problems when they do, right?” Sakalbi’s mouth was open and she was blinking, as if she couldn't believe her ears. Rhaxiid was doing his best to suppress a smile but his eyes twinkled happily while Aftasia put a hand over her mouth and silently chuckled.
“Another example, and one I gave to Naranjo.” Andy leaned forward, finding it easier to talk now as he jerked a thumb at him. “Did you know there are two kinds of blackberries here? One is native, and the other is an invasive species. Do you know how to tell the difference?”
There was a slow shaking of heads from the adults, and Andy smiled. “The native species is a crawler. It stays low to the ground and sends out tendrils. Its thorns are small and relatively soft, and the berries are small as well. The invasive one, the Himalayan Blackberry, is a menace to the forest. It forms thickets six to even eight feet high of brambles and their thorns can gouge flesh! These damn things will choke out all the native groundcover and restrict movement of the bigger animals. It’ll even cut off the smaller animals from their old habitats and it will outcompete a lot of indigenous animals’ food sources. I know you’ve been having problems with animals that usually stay out in the forests, because they’re wandering around in the open and causing problems in town," Andy continued excitedly.
“I’m also guessing you’re having problems accessing those areas that are getting taken over by the brambles and you’re losing a whole lot of plants to them, right?” Andy looked at Kalai and Sitry, both of whom were looking from him to their parents while Rhaxiid and Aftasia stared pointedly at Sakalbi, who had folded her arms and pursed her lips angrily.
“And you and your people know all this because of your language…” Rhaxiid made it a statement as he looked over at Aftasia and raised an eyebrow, quirking a half smile at her.
“We have the stories, ancient and modern, that record the memory of our homeland and how we survived as a part of the whole system. How we managed it and cultivated it,” Andy finished proudly. Here, finally, was a person who seemed to be listening, and he felt the last vestiges of his fear and nervousness melt away.
“Stewards and caretakers, from the Song of the First People," Kalai volunteered, and Andy felt his heart glow and he gave her a look of thanks.
Aftasia flashed her eyes at Sakalbi and gave her husband a small nod. Rhaxiid turned and fixed Andy with an appraising look before speaking. “Andy, would you…” he paused as though considering his words. “I would like to formally offer you a role as a contractor with the Vaida Warren and the Ministry of Sciences, to advise us and to tell us more about your homeland and your people’s stories.”
“Sugar, you CAN’T be serious!” Sakalbi squawked, looking at her husband in surprise.
“I’ve never been more serious in my life! The ancient Erbians recorded ecological management and transference in the same manner!” Rhaxiid spoke with conviction, silencing his white-haired wife. “Please, Mr. Shelokset. No human in this area will work with us, and our Warren’s fortunes and reputation are on the line. We’ve been working for close to twelve of your years. While we’ve been making great strides with repairing the climate damage globally from fossil fuels, our restorative efforts with the biomes are becoming…fraught with failures. Help us, help you. Come work for us as an ecological advisor. Help us identify these invasives that don’t belong in your biome, and we can use our expertise to remove them ‘leaf, stem, and root’! How does a thousand credits a week, plus benefits sound?”
Andy couldn’t believe his ears. His mind spun around at the offer that the dark haired rabbit man had just made him, but a dark cloud appeared in his mind. “I’m not sure, I’ll not be some token Indian to be used as a prop to sell out my people and my homeland, will I?”
“Of course not! No, I’m offering a true advisory position, not a mouthpiece. Young man, the Empress charged our Warren with the restoration and safeguarding of this world’s environments. With you to advise us, I’m sure we could put it back to the way it was, and restore it to its former beauty and diversity.”
“I…I’d need to discuss this with…with my grandmother.”
“Of course, we’ll draw up a contract, and you can discuss it with your quee…er…grandmother. I don’t suppose you have an omnipad stashed away in your…blanket?”
“Uh, no. I don’t have one…at all.” Andy felt the embarrassment return in force.
“Why not? Everyone has one! I mean they’re not that expen…oh.” Naranjo spoke hastily as Aftasia rounded on him and he found both his ears flicked at the same time by his kho-mother and his father.
“You can…send me a message on the datanet. I’ll get it, eventually. I’ve a buddy or two with an old smartphone, and I’ve a head for remembering things like phone numbers. If you give me your omnipad for a sec, I’ll add my old email.” Andy held his hand out and quirked a half-smile. The looks of pity he got from Sitry and Kalai immediately got under his skin. “Look, I may be poor, but I’ve never gone hungry and I do just fine, thank you. I don’t need your pity.” Andy felt suddenly defensive and his tone was challenging.
“Of course you don’t, Mr. Shelokset. You have our respect, and our thanks for coming to our childrens’ rescue.” Rhaxiid was conciliatory, and he emphasized the word as he shot his icy glare at Kalai and Sitry. “All of our contractors are issued an omnipad. One of the many perks of working with the Vaida Warren, we spare no expense when it comes to planetary restoration and shilforming. We take very good care of our people and we only use the best equipment.”
“Our Warren’s the best in the empire-” Sitry started in but Andy held his hand up to stop her.
“Whoa, wait, hold on a second. I’m not exactly clear what a Warren is, in this context?” Andy looked back and forth between the aliens. “What is it, a company?”
“Not quite,” Aftasia jumped in, “It’s more like the whole of our family network. In terms of people, it’s all of our blood relations and their spouses. It’s their businesses and their contacts, resources, educational expertise, job experience…everything. It’s the sum total of our family, our wealth, and our connections.”
“You sound more like a nation, not a company,” Andy observed. Kalai’s description of who his hosts were was suddenly becoming a bit more real to him.
“You’re not entirely wrong. Before our people were annexed by the Shil’vati, Warrens were essentially nations. The Vaida Warren, our Warren, is one of six that are formally recognized by Her Imperial Majesty. Our Warren is known for its expertise in planetary engineering. Almost every colony world founded and colonized in the last five centuries had Vaida engineers and scientists managing the shilforming processes at various levels. The few that weren’t, were taught by us.” Sakalbi deigned to speak then, fixing him with a superior stare.
“If you’re so good, why do you need my help?” Andy answered her back, raising an eyebrow at her.
“I appreciate your candor,” Rhaxiid jumped in as his wife huffed and looked away. “The truth is, almost every colony world has to be engineered from below the ground up. We are experts in creating a system from scratch, and we’ve turned it into an artform. Earth’s challenge is that it has multiple complex ecosystems, in various states of ecological health, interacting with an industrialized nuclear powered civilization that we don’t quite…understand yet.”
“Climatewise, your world had a run-of-the-mill fossil fuel based greenhouse effect throwing off the natural warming and cooling cycle, topped off by a ruptured ozone layer and some residual radiation contamination in areas around nuclear waste disposal failures. In planetary engineering terms, it’s a relatively easy fix," Aftasia bragged for the first time, smiling proudly. “Where we struggle is with the xenobiology and xeno-ecology of Earth. Up until about ten minutes ago, we’d assumed certain things about the global spread of certain species. We'd also made assumptions about the management and extent of the ecological transference of various species. In just what you’ve told us, and based on what Narny, Sitry, and Kalai have said of your evening, certain observations of ours are making much more sense.” Aftasia smiled brightly as she weighed in, and Rhaxiid nodded at her assessment.
“And that’s why you want to hire me?”
Rhaxiid canted his head to the side. “Yes. The fact that you stood up to your own people to save these three’s lives tells me that you would at least be open to the possibility of working with us. The fact that you were able to navigate the islands at night with no instruments tells me you know this area quite well and would be an excellent guide to areas we may not know about. The fact that you were able to silence my wife…” Rhaxiid looked over and gave Sakalbi a loving wink, “...tells me that your expertise may be able to fill in the gaps that we know we’ve been missing.”
Andy could still hardly believe what he was hearing. All he could do was blink. If grandma signs off on this? The money alone is…it would be worth it, even if I’m just their token Indian! That kind of cash could really help! But…working with the Purps….or rabbits…this Warren? We need this, though! We could finally move forward with our plans!
Andy spoke slowly and deliberately, looking to either side of him to see an encouragingly nodding Kalai and an excited Sitry who was gently vibrating in her seat. “I think it might be best, then, if I were to speak with my grandmother sooner rather than later. I appreciate that you’d like to host me, but the last any of my people saw was the four of us sailing out of a…sticky situation…and I was headed towards an Imperial military base after having broken several laws and ordinances.”
“Ah…oh I see, yes. I agree that perhaps our return home to Victoria can take a small detour in the interest of building a working relationship with your family and your people.” Rhaxiid wrung his hands as a look of dawning comprehension crossed his face.
“I know I wouldn’t wish the last twenty four hours we’ve had on even our worst enemy. We’d be happy to take you directly to your home in order to make it as easy as possible for you to let your grandmother know you’re safe,” Aftasia stated firmly.
Andy nodded and smiled. “Bellingham Airport…well, the Militia base at ‘Fort Bellingham’ now, would be the smartest. From there I can get a vehicle that doesn’t make me look like an Imperial lackey or a hostage and we’ll have a better shot at receiving her blessing.”
“That might be for the best, sugar. We need to get Kalai to a hospital soon. She’s already missed one dose, a second missed might be fatal.” Sakalbi added, looking over at Kalai.
“PILOT! Change of plans! Land at Fort Bellingham and then take us to St. Joseph’s Hospital!” Rhaxiid banged on the wall separating the cab from the cockpit, and the shuttle began a slow bank back towards the mainland.
​
First:
https://www.reddit.com/Sexyspacebabes/comments/yz0u3h/the_cryptid_chronicle_chapter_1/
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https://www.reddit.com/Sexyspacebabes/comments/11u8h8y/cryptid_chronicle_chapter_20/
Next:
To be posted 4/2/23

I know I'm not supposed to let my dogs off the leash anywhere in the City of Riverview and I'm not supposed to have them on school grounds. The school grounds across the street from my house are a special place. I played there as a kid with my dogs. I think of it as mine; after all, me and my sister discovered it. It's about 2 square miles total with a marsh and woods adjacent to it adding 2 more square miles and a golf course behind it. I know I'm making the wrong choice when I let my dogs off the leash, but it's too darn fun not to.
The grounds are a flood plane for the Frank & Poet Drain now called Creek. Originally, it was an arboretum planted by the farmer who owned the land as insurance against the lean years. There are a variety of hardwoods including some massive English and White Oaks. The purpose was to grow burl wood to sell. Burl wood is highly prized by carvers and goes for a good price.
On the school grounds they cut all the scrub trees, so it's hardwoods and grass. A beautiful piece of property. Excellent habitat for all kinds of critters, hawks, owls, night hawks, bitterns, the occasional eagle, ducks, geese, herons, raccoon, deer, coyotes, skunks, groundhogs, minks, weasels, frogs, toads, salamanders... I could go on. It's as wonderful at night as it is during the day.
I have walked and trained my dogs back there for decades encountering very few people. They put in a disc golf course about ten years ago and more and more people show up with their dogs. I stopped going in the daylight hours. I usually go at 5 am, but occasionally after 9 pm.
The night of this incident I was not feeling that great and took my dogs back there around 8:30 pm. I seldom run into people after sundown. It was very dark, with no moon. I saw a white thing move fast toward my dogs. My first thought was it's a coyote. I've encountered them before. I immediately took a deep, calming breath and clapped my hands. It was not a coyote. They don't move like that and they usually hang back, watch the dogs and take off when I clap my hands. It must be a stray dog. I was about to turn and head the other way quietly calling my dogs when a woman said,
"I'm sorry."
She was walking her dog(s) off-leash. I thought it was the Doodles again. A group of 2 Doodles and another dog I've encountered before.
I said in a normal voice, "I think they're okay."
The woman calls the dog with a note of panic, "Hunter!" It wasn't the Doodles.
I was thankful she didn't yell because that would ensure a big dogfight. It was enough to start a scuffle, though, or my hand clapping did. I heard a bunch of yelping and did not know if it was my dogs or the other dogs. Henry was by me and I put him on a leash. Not wanting to make it worse, I quietly called my other two and leashed them. The woman was gone. Never saw her or the dog. It was too dark.
Dogs are sensitive to changes in their human's emotions. If you are anxious about another dog, it puts your dog on guard. They read energy. Yelling, flailing your arms, or calling your dog can put them into fight mode. That's why when you have an encounter with another dog the best thing to do is turn around and calmly walk the other way. Another tactic is to stand them down by making yourself big and making a loud noise. I usually say, "Sit!" in a commanding bark because it's the one command most people teach their dogs.
The hardest part for me was learning to be calm as opposed to acting calm. You can't fake it around your dog. I have stopped many dog altercations by forcing myself to accept the sudden appearance of another dog as normal.
When off-leash, my dogs were great with other dogs. What has changed is there are more dogs around since the pandemic. New 2020 dog owners tend to treat their dogs like humans and not dogs. I don't mean that in a bad way. Dogs are not human. To treat them as such puts an expectation on them that is unfair. They are canines, they do not understand sentences. They understand energy. Many dog owners don't get this. Many dogs aren't properly socialized because of it. There is an alarming trend in my area of socializing a dog by tethering it in the front yard. That's how you teach them to be aggressive.
When the woman called to the dog the note of panic in her voice signaled danger and put the dog on guard. My dogs were attacked by loose dogs 5 times in my subdivision since 2020 while they were leashed. That's not counting the number of charging dogs I was able to stop before they made contact with mine. One attack resulted in a $1600 vet bill and GG losing a canine tooth, the guy never paid. My girl GG, a 12-year-old Ridgeback mix, is quick to defend because of it. It wasn't an issue at the school until this incident.
After the woman was gone I let my dogs loose again and continued my walk. I went home, finished some work, and went to bed around 11 pm.
At about midnight, I woke to my phone lit up. I should have ignored it. I didn't. This was the message from Matt Dominski.,
"Are all your dogs up in their shots? Mine is the one yours went after at Seitz and bit. He has a large bite on his leg."
The person with the dog was a woman. Who is Matthew Dominski and how did he get my number? My first instinct was to ignore it and go back to sleep, but I didn't. I regret it. I replied,
"What? When?"
The message was through Facebook Messenger and it dawned on me it was the guy who ran for the school board. Why would he be messaging me about my dogs?
It was his wife with the dog. The messages were aggressive and continuous. I denied it was me. He's a bully and right away issued threats. He asked me if I was calling his wife a liar. I said nothing. Then this,
"Ok, that must have been someone else with two poodles and a brown dog. The school has new cameras up. I'll contact principal hill (Gill) in the morning and get some pictures maybe you can help identify the dogs for me since you walk all the time."
I could not see the woman or dog at all. How could she see my dogs and that one was brown? I don't believe for a second he can get pictures. The school told me the footage can only be viewed by law enforcement or for incidents pertaining to school security. Not for private use.
He sent me more threatening texts the next day, while I'm at work, about his dog's injuries and threatened to post photos of me on social media. I sent a text about the lady that has two Doodles and another dog that runs on the school grounds. It irks me that I get blamed for a lot of stuff because me and my dogs are easy to recognize.
When I get home from work, I make a report to the Police about the incident. I admit to them my dogs were loose, but so was the other dog. I told them exactly what happened and about the threatening messages. Only then did I admit to Matthew D. that it was me and I told him the entire story as it happened. Of course, he had to belittle me because I lied about it, and he started running me down as all bullies do when you don't bow to their will. I had no obligation to tell him anything. He was not there, it was his wife with the dog. I don't have an obligation to tell her anything either. I wished I said nothing.
Here's the deal, when you let your dog off-leash and there is an incident like this, it is your fault. It doesn't matter whose dog did what. Dogs will be dogs. It is your fault. You made the choice to release your dog. End of story. If your dog is on a leash and attacked by a dog, not on a leash, the owner of the unleashed dog is at fault almost without exception. Leashes longer than 6 feet are the same as the dog being off-leash in most jurisdictions. In this case, it did not matter if the dogs were leashed or not--they were not supposed to be on the school grounds.
I blocked Mr. D. and hope he does post those photos, I think the Superintended of the school district and parents would like to know how easily the Principal of Seitz Middle School provided pictures from the school security system for the personal use of a board member.
At the end of the day, it is the dog owner who is responsible, but you can't accuse others if you don't have clean hands. Mrs. D. and I were both wrong, but what Mr. D did was worse.
My 12-year-old dog was injured. That is my fault. I sorely regret replying to that message. I cannot explain why I did it other than I don't like to be bullied; especially by men. I've put up with enough of that in my life.
As I trained myself not to react to strange dogs, I need to train myself not to react to bullies.

It started on community day where me and my sloop mate u/another_gamer29 were casually hunting for my first curse, the sunken curse. We scan our horizon and notice a sloop in the distance. We decide to leave them be and go on our merry way for our first stop. At our first stop this sloop meets us and attacks us! Having just our starting gear we eventually sink them and continue our voyage.
We get towards the end of our quest quite quickly and we are now at a shrine which my buddy suggested he do alone so that i could watch the ship. Low and behold the same sloop finds us and they are mad! They come at me with everything they can and im forced to leave my buddy behind. Luckily they leave him and chase me. Heres the best part: THEY CHASED US FOR A WHOLE HOUR AND A HALF ACROSS THE ENTIRE MAP! (note: we had no valuables and had freshly spawned)
I noticed a tier 3 reaper on the map and at this point we are desperate and running on fumes. We end up pleading for this reaper ship to help us and they came in to help us survive barely!
Now we turn to success, after looting the evil sloop me and my buddy part ways with the reaper and go back to our voyage when we pass a new sloop attempting to start a fort of fortune! We warned them of our reaper which we allianced and decided to allow them to join it as well. As we are raising alliance the new sloop spots ANOTHER new sloop. This sloop starts attacking and even almost kegs my sloop!
We soon come to realize that our goals were the same and we would benefit more from all joining an alliance, which we do. The fort is taken down quite swiftly and my duo goes to finish his puzzle for our curse.
But thats not all, we realized we had 4 sloops...8 people...GLITTER BEARD!!! Me and my duo already have it but we wanted to share this glory with these other fine pirates that chose community over violence. After all thats what makes a true community day in my opinion. I will now end this tale with the setting sun, becalmed playing in the back ground, and a secret entrance awaiting us...
We shall sail TOGETHER!!!

I am looking a unyielding, AP, heavy leather left arm, with weapon weight, Or maybe cavalier or sentinel.
Other things I am interested are. A unyielding, +1 strength, weapon weight reduction, marine left arm.
A unyielding, intelligence, sentinel, wood left arm.
AA/V, bash, 90% reduced weight, Miniguns. Vampire, power attack, strength, chainsaw.
A matching set of weightless armor, with slowly removes rads. May buy individual pieces for caps depending on what it is.
chameleon, weapon weight reduction, excavator power armor with a good second star, I don't need a left leg.
Now what I have for trade.
​
Rare outfits
​
tattered field jacket
blue ridge caravan outfit and and gas mask
both scout masks
white powder jumpsuit
responder fireman helmet
winter man mask
crazy guy mask
deathclaw mask
brahmin mask
demon mask
hag mask
buffoon mask
raven mask
​
weapons
​
Some enclave plasma rifles ready for rolling, and some mod boxes too.
​
ranged
​
aristocrats, explosive, less vats cost, double barrel shotgun
anti armor, explosive, V.A.T.S. critical meter fills 15% faster, radium rifle
anti armor, 50 more vats critical damage, less vats cost, pepper shaker
berserkers, 50 more vats critical damage, less vats cost, fixer
bloodied, explosive, breaks 50% slower, fixer
bloodied, faster fire rate, 90 reduced weight, minigun
bloodied faster fire rate 90 reduced weight gatling laser
bloodied, explosive, faster reload, submachine gun
bloodied, 50 more vats critical damage, less vats cost, gatling plasma
bloodied, 50 more vats critical damage, less vats cost, lever action
bloodied, faster fire, rate 90 reduced weight, radium rifle
instigating, faster fire, less vats cost, handmade
junkies, explosive, faster reload, handmade
junkies, explosive, 90 reduced weight, handmade
junkies, explosive, less vats cost, light machine gun
junkies, explosive, less vats cost, 50 cal machine gun
junkies, explosive, less vats cost, pipe revolver
quad, 50 more vats critical damage, faster reload, fixer
quad, explosive, less vats cost, pipe revolver
quad, faster fire rate, faster reload, gatling gun
quad, faster fire rate, faster reload, assault rifle
quad, explosive, less vats cost, assault rifle
quad, explosive, less vats cost, bolt action pipe rifle
quad, explosive, faster reload, hunting rifle
tse, less vats cost, pipe bolt action pistol/rifle
tse, faster reload, pump action shotgun
tse, less vats cost, combat shotgun
tse, faster reload, handmade
tse, less vats cost, radium rifle
tse, 90 reduced weight, 50 cal machine gun
two shot, faster fire rate, less vats cost, railway rifle
vampire, faster fire rate, less vats cost, railway rifle
vampire, explosive, less vats cost, railway rifle
vampire, explosive, faster reload, pipe revolver
vampire, explosive, less vats cost, assault rifle
vampire, explosive, faster reload, combat rifle
​
melee
​
anti armor, 50 more vats critical damage, less vats cost, chainsaw
anti armor, swing speed, + 1 strength, pole hook
anti armor, swing speed, + 1 strength, shovel
aristocrats, power attack, breaks 50% slower, chainsaw
aristocrats, swing speed, + 1 strength, chainsaw
berserkers, power attack, + 1 strength, chainsaw
berserkers, swing speed, + 1 strength, chainsaw
bloodied, power attack, breaks 50% slower, chainsaw
bloodied, power attack, 90 reduced weight, chainsaw
bloodied, AP, 90 reduced weight, chainsaw
bloodied, power attack, + 1 strength, grognak axe
bloodied, swing speed, + 1 strength, assaultron blade
bloodied, swing speed, + 1 strength, sledgehammer
bloodied, swing speed, + 1 strength, hatchet
bloodied, swing speed, + 1 strength, multi purpose axe
furious power attack, + 1 strength, chainsaw
junkies, swing speed, +1 strength, pole hook
junkies, swing speed, +1 strength, cultist dagger
junkies, swing speed, +1 strength, death tambo
junkies, swing speed, +1 strength, chinese officer sword
junkies, swing speed, +1 strength, tire iron
junkies, swing speed, +1 strength, pickaxe
instigating, swing speed, +1 strength, super sledge
vampire, +25% damage while standing still, + 1 strength, chainsaw
vampire, swing speed, less vats cost, chainsaw
vampire, power attack, less vats cost, chainsaw
vampire, power attack, 90 reduced weight, chainsaw
​
armor
​
chameleon, ap, sentinel, heavy combat armor right arm
overeaters, + 25 fire resistance, weapon weight reduction, urban scout right arm
overeaters, receive 7% less explosion damage, sentinel, sturdy metal right arm
overeaters, + 1 perception, cavalier, trapper left arm
overeaters, poison resistance, weapon weight reduction, urban scout chest
overeaters, AP, cavalier, trapper left arm
overeaters, 25% disease resistance, weapon weight reduction, trapper left arm
unyielding, radiation resistance, cavalier, marine chest
unyielding, 1 strength, harder to detect while sneaking, forest scout chest
unyielding, 1 strength, sentinel, sturdy leather chest
unyielding, 1 strength, sentinel, heavy metal chest
unyielding, 1 strength, cavalier, forest scout left arm
unyielding, AP, cavalier, urban scout right leg
unyielding, 1 perception, weapon weight reduction, light leather left arm
unyielding, 1 intelligence, cavalier, heavy leather left arm
unyielding, 1 intelligence, weapon weight reduction, wood right arm
unyielding, 1 intelligence, sentinel, wood right leg
unyielding, 1 luck, sentinel, light leather right leg
unyielding, poison resistance, cavalier, forest scout left arm
unyielding, AP, sentinel, heavy combat armor chest
unyielding, AP, weapon weight reduction, light combat armor right leg
unyielding, AP, cavalier, trapper right arm
unyielding, radiation resistance, harder to detect while sneaking, marine left arm
unyielding, 1 luck, sentinel, heavy raider chest
unyielding, AP, FDC weight reduction, heavy combat armor right arm
unyielding, 1 intelligence, harder to detect while sneaking, trapper right leg
unyielding, 1 intelligence, cavalier, marine right leg
unyielding, AP, harder to detect while sneaking, sturdy robot right leg
unyielding, 25% cryo resistance, AWR, marine left leg
vanguard, radiation resistance, weapon weight reduction, heavy combat armor chest
vanguard, radiation resistance, weapon weight reduction, heavy robot chest
vanguard, ap, harder to detect while sneaking, forest scout right arm
vanguard, 1 strength, sentinel, heavy combat armor left arm
​
power armor
​
assassins, AP cavalier, excavator torso
assassins, radiation resistance, sentinel, excavator right leg
assassins, poison resistance, AWR, excavator right leg
assassins, + strength 1 , weapon, weight reduction, excavator left leg
Auto stim, AP, sentinel, excavator torso
Auto stim, AP, sentinel, excavator right leg
Auto stim, AP, FDC weight, excavator torso
Auto stim, AP, FDC weight reduction, excavator torso
Overeaters, receive 7% less explosion damage, weapon weight reduction, t45 right arm
Overeaters, Fire resistance, weapon weight reduction, excavator right leg
Overeaters, radiation resistance, weapon weight reduction, excavator torso
Overeaters, 25% disease resistance, weapon weight reduction, excavator right leg
Overeaters, + 1 endurance, FDC weight reduction, excavator left leg
Overeaters, 25% disease resistance, AWR, excavator left leg
Overeaters, 25% disease resistance, AWR, excavator left leg
Overeaters, Fire resistance, sentinel, excavator right arm
Overeaters, + 1 strength, sentinel, excavator left arm
Overeaters, poison resistance, sentinel, excavator torso
Overeaters, poison resistance, cavalier, excavator torso
Overeaters, + 1 strength, AWR, T60 right leg
troubleshooter's , 1 strength, AWR, excavator right leg
vanguard's, AP, weapon weight reduction, excavator right leg
vanguard's, + 1 strength, sentinel, t51 right arm
vanguard's, + 1 intelligence, FCD, weight excavator right arm
​
plans
​
I have most rare plans such as.
I believe I have all the rare Ultracite power armor plans
dense trapper torso plan
dense marine torso plan
T60 full set of plans
And much more. If there is a plan you are after feel free to ask if I have one.

While a villager from this Civ is collecting food from the hunt, it doesn't rot.
Thoughts? Who would benefit the most from this? How strong is it? Which Civ does this fit best with? Etc.
I think it would be especially good for new players who like to gather from all sheep at once.

On one of my nightly strolls, I saw something interesting. Usually, I walk the same route. After work, I change, grab my raycons, and take a leisurely 2-to-3-mile walk, depending on how I feel. It starts out in my neighborhood, a condo community that spans over a couple city blocks. There’s a nice park I cut through. It has a bridge that I take a moment to admire the river that runs through. More of a creek, but it’s still pretty. If I’m lucky I’ll catch a pair of swans or a mallard family, mom in front, several tiny babies trying their best to follow.
Before I exit the park, there’s a big open area on both sides of the walking path. On most days it’s filled with the normal park-going activity. Picnics, parents monitoring their children on the playground, baseballs or frisbees being thrown, and a handful of older folks watching the sun go down.
What caught my eye was a fairly large pink sign. Even as dusk set in, it was such a brilliant shade of pink, it radiated. From about 50 feet away it looked out of place. I certainly have never seen it before. Finally getting closer I can make out the cursive writing:
Easter EGG-stravaganza 1st annual egg hunt, please bring your children for a day of family fun Easter Bunny will be here!
And then the requisite who/what/where/when details followed underneath. Well, that seems pretty nice actually. This park usually doesn’t do any events so it’s good for the community. Thinking nothing more of it, I finished my walk. Noting that not one other person was out that night.
It’s been a week since my last walk. Busy, busy, unfortunately. It’s Saturday night. Most people would be out having fun, or a nice dinner with their significant other. Me, I’m at work. Enough of that. I’m going for my walk. Beside, I can see if they set up for the Easter “Egg-stravaganza.” Easter is tomorrow after all.
Same process. Change, raycons in, setlist of creepy stories ready. What I saw again, was interesting.
When I got to the park, not much had changed. No people, which is odd. Especially for a Saturday night, and the same sign spouting tomorrow’s festivities. I can’t say why this gave me a weird feeling, I suppose I was expecting to see more things set up, booths, fenced off area for the egg hiding, something. Standing there for a while, I finally told myself to move on. Again, not sure why this seems odd to me, I ju—
(hears twig snapping)
What the hell was that?
I snapped my head back to where I thought the sound came from. I should have just left when I heard the branch breaking, or whatever it was. Walking into the tree line, where the forested part of the park begins, was a giant rabbit. I don’t mean an actual rabbit of course, clearly, it’s a person in a bunny costume. From where I stood, maybe 100 yards away, the upright walking rabbit must have been over 6 feet tall. It was just passed dusk, but the “fur,” was white. It was moving methodically as I froze in place watching. Then it turned, locking eyes with me like it knew EXACTLY where I was.
I turned and kicked it out of there. Not running but walking very fast. I’m not too proud at all to admit that. I don’t want anything to do with the next killer clown fad of 2016, if that’s what this is. Except with people dressed as bunnies.
The worst thing about that rabbit looking at me.. its eyes reflected, as if it were a real animal. It could of course be part of the mask. There could have been working lights underneath. I don’t know why, but it’s possible. Either way, I wasn’t waiting to ask.
All night I thought about this. Why hasn’t anyone been in the park the last two times I was there? Why is there just a sign in the middle of the park? There’s no trailers, no roped off area, no nothing. And last but not least, why the shit did I see a giant easter bunny walking into the woods? I’m not a detective, and usually run from any kind of danger. But this I was intrigued with. I had to figure out what the end of this story was going to be.
Sunday morning, 10am. I haven’t been to church in some time, but I assume in another hour most people will be exiting their places of worship, only to drag their screaming kids to hunt for plastic eggs that contain sugar, little toys, or even money. What a weird tradition linked to the day of Jesus’ reanimation.
I’m on my way to the park. Thank goodness, a huge breath of relief. It’s not busy yet, but children and their parents are trickling in. An area has been set up to take what I assume is pictures with the Easter Bunny. For right now I’m just going to wait and observe. Yes, I understand this might not look great, but I’ve dressed in my usual running gear, and I’m trying to look like I’m warming up for a run. I don’t know. Anything to not seem too out of place here.
In the middle of my warmup, there it is. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. The same man in a bunny outfit, about 50 yards from the children, hiding easter eggs. Do the kids not see that that thing is just blatantly placing their little plastic prizes down right now? Shouldn’t that have been done way ahead of time? Come to think of it, there doesn’t seem to be other employees around either. Maybe the parents showed up too early, and they weren’t ready to set up yet. But the parents aren’t really paying attention. Strangely.
It reminded me of a movie called “Harvey,” starring James Stewart. This imaginary bunny follows the main character around, and he’s the only one that can see him.
The bunny man gets closer. Now my skin is going cold. Could he possibly recognize me? It’s most likely a he now, the closer it gets. Broad shoulders, even under the outfit. Over 6 feet, I can clearly see now. The walk though… just seems off. Like an animatronic. One more thing I do not like is the suit itself. It’s dirty. There’s long dark spots staining the front. Like a car exhaust backfired onto it. And most bunny costumes have that hula hoop type thing inside to make the appearance of a bigger belly. Even though he had broad shoulders, I could tell he was very slight. Disturbingly so, even. The costume hung off of him. An emaciated rabbit is more sickening to see than I thought.
“Welcome!” I almost fell at the sound of the bullhorn. My earbuds were in, but not on, and it was still loud enough to give me a nice little jump scare. A man dressed casually in khakis and a pastel purple shirt was the voice behind the noise amplifier. He went on to say the festivities will begin shortly, get ready for the easter bunny, etc. A squeal erupted from the crowd of kids that had now grown to about 75 or so. Some parents clapped, some admonished their children for screaming so loud. I looked back to where the sickly easter bunny was. He was staring at me. We stood looking at each other for maybe 10 seconds, and then he slowly walked back to the woods. I had to ask the man behind the bullhorn about this.
I did my best to gain my composure. Taking a deep breath, I made my way towards him. “Um.. Hi, hello,” I said, trying to sound as normal as possible. He politely turned to me with a half-smile and his eyebrows raised. A “How may I help you,” kind of look. “Yes, um, my kids are so excited for this egg hunt.” I figured I should throw in the farce of having children here to not set off any alarm bells.
“Aaaand, I just thought it was strange that you had the “Easter bunny,” hiding eggs while the children were here. Not a huge deal or anything but-“
The man’s head moved back slightly, pushing his chin into his neck. His face scrunched up in confusion. Laughing, he spoke. “Sir, we made sure to hide the eggs early this morning, when no one was around. We certainly wouldn’t have the easter bunny here in full view hiding eggs.”
That familiar feeling of my blood turning into ice slowly crept back in. I tried my best to keep my cool. “But I, I mean, clearly he was just here, I saw hi-“
Before I could finish my sentence, the man looked over to the chair and booth where the children would be taking pictures with the Easter bunny. A proper bunny costumed person come out from behind the curtain set up.
The man once again put the bullhorn to his mouth. This time when he used it, It sounded like he was speaking underwater.
“OH my GOODNESS, the Easter bunny is here kids! Parents, please line your children up. We will take pictures first and then can start the exciting egg hunt!”
I stood frozen, feeling like everything was moving in slow motion. The children ran up to the start of the que. Patient parents stood by, making sure the kids didn’t get too out of hand. As the first child got up to the Easter bunny, I hustled back over to the man I was speaking too. This time he seemed more annoyed as I gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder.
“Sir, look, I’m sorry to bother you again, but.. I’m just wondering why you would have two easter bunnies here.”
“We don’t HAVE two easter bunnies, ok. I don’t know what you are talking about, and frankly this is starting to sound a bit odd to me. Are you ok?”
I tried to say something, but my mouth had gone dry. I think I just moved my head up and down.
“Ok, well then line up with your children so we can get these pictures done.”
With that he went back into host mode, encouraging the kids to smile as the photographer took pictures. He made sure to remind them that the egg hunt would be full of fun prizes.
Thoroughly confused, I stepped away to get a view of the woods, to see if this now “imposter,” Easter doppelganger was still around. Just as I had, the fake bunny rabbit had just slipped into the woods.
I wiped a disturbing amount of sweat away from my forehead, for the first time realizing that I truly must appear to be a real piece of work. I turned to the poor organizeMC to apologize for my strange behavior, but he was long gone directing children to the “start,” line where the happy chubby cheeked kids were ready to hunt for their precious treasure-filled eggs.
I’m too far in now. I followed the dirty rabbit into the woods. Wonder what those parents thought of some random guy walking through the park into the trees. Be very very quiet, I’m hunting rabbits. . . As soon as I broke the threshold into the tree line, time and space appeared to stop. I’m being dramatic of course, but it was noticeably darker inside the woods. I’ve never walked through here. Why would I? There are no trails that I’m aware of, and I don’t make it a habit to—
(running sound)
What was that? I swear I just heard something running close to me. This can’t be happening. Quick look to my left and right reveals nothing. A twig breaking again snaps my focus dead ahead. Slowly, I soldier on. After a few minutes I’m getting worried. I expect to see this degenerate bunny impersonator holed up in a serial-killer looking shack. Silly, now that I think about it, I’m sure there’s no housing structures built inside of a small forest that’s also inside a major suburban area.
Before I know it, the forest clears, and I’m on the other side. I wasn’t there as long as I think, I imagine. Looking around and getting my thoughts straight, I know where I’m at. It’s a side of town I’m familiar with. Everyone here knows this place, it’s the “bad,” part of town. There’s no reason to be here. I avoid this area if at all poss—
There he is. Not staring at me this time. I just happened to catch his dirty cottontail shimmy into the apartments. Everyone knows these apartments. Sketchy tenants at best. Like I said, I’m in too deep now.
I quietly make my way to the side of the apartment. I only glimpsed a shadow going into the main door, and it appeared to make a right. No way I’d be able to see where he went, unless he left his blinds up. One window.. nothing. Next apartment window.. nothing. Maybe you should just call it a night. An intense rotting smell smacked me in the face that almost took me off my feet. I should have left.
I knew as soon as I saw it. A window with crusty newspaper covering it from the inside. But unfortunately there was a small piece near the bottom that was missing. I put my good eye up to it. Son of a bitch that’s him. All I can make out is a man, sitting at a folding table. His back to me. How could I tell it was him? He still had that stupid costume on, minus the bunny ears. The back of his head had patchy dark hair, and his neck was .. dirty. Just.. fear-inducing.
Realizing I was holding my breath I did my best to quietly exhale all the air I had. Which made the rabbit jerk his head to the left. Shit. I ducked. What I saw before I did haunts me. The best way I can describe what his side profile looked like was a methed out Voldemort. After being fairly sure I had not soiled myself, I slowly peeked again. He was gone. On the table… were eggs…. plastic easter eggs. . . And next to those eggs…. Were parts. I hesitate to say what they were because it makes me want to vomit.
Eyes. Fingers. Nails. I think I saw a nose. They were small. Dear God, how many easter egg hunts are there today.

On one of my nightly strolls, I saw something interesting. Usually, I walk the same route. After work, I change, grab my raycons, and take a leisurely 2-to-3-mile walk, depending on how I feel. It starts out in my neighborhood, a condo community that spans over a couple city blocks. There’s a nice park I cut through. It has a bridge that I take a moment to admire the river that runs through. More of a creek, but it’s still pretty. If I’m lucky I’ll catch a pair of swans or a mallard family, mom in front, several tiny babies trying their best to follow.
Before I exit the park, there’s a big open area on both sides of the walking path. On most days it’s filled with the normal park-going activity. Picnics, parents monitoring their children on the playground, baseballs or frisbees being thrown, and a handful of older folks watching the sun go down.
What caught my eye was a fairly large pink sign. Even as dusk set in, it was such a brilliant shade of pink, it radiated. From about 50 feet away it looked out of place. I certainly have never seen it before. Finally getting closer I can make out the cursive writing:
Easter EGG-stravaganza 1st annual egg hunt, please bring your children for a day of family fun Easter Bunny will be here!
And then the requisite who/what/where/when details followed underneath. Well, that seems pretty nice actually. This park usually doesn’t do any events so it’s good for the community. Thinking nothing more of it, I finished my walk. Noting that not one other person was out that night.
It’s been a week since my last walk. Busy, busy, unfortunately. It’s Saturday night. Most people would be out having fun, or a nice dinner with their significant other. Me, I’m at work. Enough of that. I’m going for my walk. Beside, I can see if they set up for the Easter “Egg-stravaganza.” Easter is tomorrow after all.
Same process. Change, raycons in, setlist of creepy stories ready. What I saw again, was interesting.
When I got to the park, not much had changed. No people, which is odd. Especially for a Saturday night, and the same sign spouting tomorrow’s festivities. I can’t say why this gave me a weird feeling, I suppose I was expecting to see more things set up, booths, fenced off area for the egg hiding, something. Standing there for a while, I finally told myself to move on. Again, not sure why this seems odd to me, I ju—
(hears twig snapping)
What the hell was that?
I snapped my head back to where I thought the sound came from. I should have just left when I heard the branch breaking, or whatever it was. Walking into the tree line, where the forested part of the park begins, was a giant rabbit. I don’t mean an actual rabbit of course, clearly, it’s a person in a bunny costume. From where I stood, maybe 100 yards away, the upright walking rabbit must have been over 6 feet tall. It was just passed dusk, but the “fur,” was white. It was moving methodically as I froze in place watching. Then it turned, locking eyes with me like it knew EXACTLY where I was.
I turned and kicked it out of there. Not running but walking very fast. I’m not too proud at all to admit that. I don’t want anything to do with the next killer clown fad of 2016, if that’s what this is. Except with people dressed as bunnies.
The worst thing about that rabbit looking at me.. its eyes reflected, as if it were a real animal. It could of course be part of the mask. There could have been working lights underneath. I don’t know why, but it’s possible. Either way, I wasn’t waiting to ask.
All night I thought about this. Why hasn’t anyone been in the park the last two times I was there? Why is there just a sign in the middle of the park? There’s no trailers, no roped off area, no nothing. And last but not least, why the shit did I see a giant easter bunny walking into the woods? I’m not a detective, and usually run from any kind of danger. But this I was intrigued with. I had to figure out what the end of this story was going to be.
Sunday morning, 10am. I haven’t been to church in some time, but I assume in another hour most people will be exiting their places of worship, only to drag their screaming kids to hunt for plastic eggs that contain sugar, little toys, or even money. What a weird tradition linked to the day of Jesus’ reanimation.
I’m on my way to the park. Thank goodness, a huge breath of relief. It’s not busy yet, but children and their parents are trickling in. An area has been set up to take what I assume is pictures with the Easter Bunny. For right now I’m just going to wait and observe. Yes, I understand this might not look great, but I’ve dressed in my usual running gear, and I’m trying to look like I’m warming up for a run. I don’t know. Anything to not seem too out of place here.
In the middle of my warmup, there it is. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. The same man in a bunny outfit, about 50 yards from the children, hiding easter eggs. Do the kids not see that that thing is just blatantly placing their little plastic prizes down right now? Shouldn’t that have been done way ahead of time? Come to think of it, there doesn’t seem to be other employees around either. Maybe the parents showed up too early, and they weren’t ready to set up yet. But the parents aren’t really paying attention. Strangely.
It reminded me of a movie called “Harvey,” starring James Stewart. This imaginary bunny follows the main character around, and he’s the only one that can see him.
The bunny man gets closer. Now my skin is going cold. Could he possibly recognize me? It’s most likely a he now, the closer it gets. Broad shoulders, even under the outfit. Over 6 feet, I can clearly see now. The walk though… just seems off. Like an animatronic. One more thing I do not like is the suit itself. It’s dirty. There’s long dark spots staining the front. Like a car exhaust backfired onto it. And most bunny costumes have that hula hoop type thing inside to make the appearance of a bigger belly. Even though he had broad shoulders, I could tell he was very slight. Disturbingly so, even. The costume hung off of him. An emaciated rabbit is more sickening to see than I thought.
“Welcome!” I almost fell at the sound of the bullhorn. My earbuds were in, but not on, and it was still loud enough to give me a nice little jump scare. A man dressed casually in khakis and a pastel purple shirt was the voice behind the noise amplifier. He went on to say the festivities will begin shortly, get ready for the easter bunny, etc. A squeal erupted from the crowd of kids that had now grown to about 75 or so. Some parents clapped, some admonished their children for screaming so loud. I looked back to where the sickly easter bunny was. He was staring at me. We stood looking at each other for maybe 10 seconds, and then he slowly walked back to the woods. I had to ask the man behind the bullhorn about this.
I did my best to gain my composure. Taking a deep breath, I made my way towards him. “Um.. Hi, hello,” I said, trying to sound as normal as possible. He politely turned to me with a half-smile and his eyebrows raised. A “How may I help you,” kind of look. “Yes, um, my kids are so excited for this egg hunt.” I figured I should throw in the farce of having children here to not set off any alarm bells.
“Aaaand, I just thought it was strange that you had the “Easter bunny,” hiding eggs while the children were here. Not a huge deal or anything but-“
The man’s head moved back slightly, pushing his chin into his neck. His face scrunched up in confusion. Laughing, he spoke. “Sir, we made sure to hide the eggs early this morning, when no one was around. We certainly wouldn’t have the easter bunny here in full view hiding eggs.”
That familiar feeling of my blood turning into ice slowly crept back in. I tried my best to keep my cool. “But I, I mean, clearly he was just here, I saw hi-“
Before I could finish my sentence, the man looked over to the chair and booth where the children would be taking pictures with the Easter bunny. A proper bunny costumed person come out from behind the curtain set up.
The man once again put the bullhorn to his mouth. This time when he used it, It sounded like he was speaking underwater.
“OH my GOODNESS, the Easter bunny is here kids! Parents, please line your children up. We will take pictures first and then can start the exciting egg hunt!”
I stood frozen, feeling like everything was moving in slow motion. The children ran up to the start of the que. Patient parents stood by, making sure the kids didn’t get too out of hand. As the first child got up to the Easter bunny, I hustled back over to the man I was speaking too. This time he seemed more annoyed as I gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder.
“Sir, look, I’m sorry to bother you again, but.. I’m just wondering why you would have two easter bunnies here.”
“We don’t HAVE two easter bunnies, ok. I don’t know what you are talking about, and frankly this is starting to sound a bit odd to me. Are you ok?”
I tried to say something, but my mouth had gone dry. I think I just moved my head up and down.
“Ok, well then line up with your children so we can get these pictures done.”
With that he went back into host mode, encouraging the kids to smile as the photographer took pictures. He made sure to remind them that the egg hunt would be full of fun prizes.
Thoroughly confused, I stepped away to get a view of the woods, to see if this now “imposter,” Easter doppelganger was still around. Just as I had, the fake bunny rabbit had just slipped into the woods.
I wiped a disturbing amount of sweat away from my forehead, for the first time realizing that I truly must appear to be a real piece of work. I turned to the poor organizeMC to apologize for my strange behavior, but he was long gone directing children to the “start,” line where the happy chubby cheeked kids were ready to hunt for their precious treasure-filled eggs.
I’m too far in now. I followed the dirty rabbit into the woods. Wonder what those parents thought of some random guy walking through the park into the trees. Be very very quiet, I’m hunting rabbits. . . As soon as I broke the threshold into the tree line, time and space appeared to stop. I’m being dramatic of course, but it was noticeably darker inside the woods. I’ve never walked through here. Why would I? There are no trails that I’m aware of, and I don’t make it a habit to—
(running sound)
What was that? I swear I just heard something running close to me. This can’t be happening. Quick look to my left and right reveals nothing. A twig breaking again snaps my focus dead ahead. Slowly, I soldier on. After a few minutes I’m getting worried. I expect to see this degenerate bunny impersonator holed up in a serial-killer looking shack. Silly, now that I think about it, I’m sure there’s no housing structures built inside of a small forest that’s also inside a major suburban area.
Before I know it, the forest clears, and I’m on the other side. I wasn’t there as long as I think, I imagine. Looking around and getting my thoughts straight, I know where I’m at. It’s a side of town I’m familiar with. Everyone here knows this place, it’s the “bad,” part of town. There’s no reason to be here. I avoid this area if at all poss—
There he is. Not staring at me this time. I just happened to catch his dirty cottontail shimmy into the apartments. Everyone knows these apartments. Sketchy tenants at best. Like I said, I’m in too deep now.
I quietly make my way to the side of the apartment. I only glimpsed a shadow going into the main door, and it appeared to make a right. No way I’d be able to see where he went, unless he left his blinds up. One window.. nothing. Next apartment window.. nothing. Maybe you should just call it a night. An intense rotting smell smacked me in the face that almost took me off my feet. I should have left.
I knew as soon as I saw it. A window with crusty newspaper covering it from the inside. But unfortunately there was a small piece near the bottom that was missing. I put my good eye up to it. Son of a bitch that’s him. All I can make out is a man, sitting at a folding table. His back to me. How could I tell it was him? He still had that stupid costume on, minus the bunny ears. The back of his head had patchy dark hair, and his neck was .. dirty. Just.. fear-inducing.
Realizing I was holding my breath I did my best to quietly exhale all the air I had. Which made the rabbit jerk his head to the left. Shit. I ducked. What I saw before I did haunts me. The best way I can describe what his side profile looked like was a methed out Voldemort. After being fairly sure I had not soiled myself, I slowly peeked again. He was gone. On the table… were eggs…. plastic easter eggs. . . And next to those eggs…. Were parts. I hesitate to say what they were because it makes me want to vomit.
Eyes. Fingers. Nails. I think I saw a nose. They were small. Dear God, how many easter egg hunts are there today.

On one of my nightly strolls, I saw something interesting. Usually, I walk the same route. After work, I change, grab my raycons, and take a leisurely 2-to-3-mile walk, depending on how I feel. It starts out in my neighborhood, a condo community that spans over a couple city blocks. There’s a nice park I cut through. It has a bridge that I take a moment to admire the river that runs through. More of a creek, but it’s still pretty. If I’m lucky I’ll catch a pair of swans or a mallard family, mom in front, several tiny babies trying their best to follow.
Before I exit the park, there’s a big open area on both sides of the walking path. On most days it’s filled with the normal park-going activity. Picnics, parents monitoring their children on the playground, baseballs or frisbees being thrown, and a handful of older folks watching the sun go down.
What caught my eye was a fairly large pink sign. Even as dusk set in, it was such a brilliant shade of pink, it radiated. From about 50 feet away it looked out of place. I certainly have never seen it before. Finally getting closer I can make out the cursive writing:
Easter EGG-stravaganza 1st annual egg hunt, please bring your children for a day of family fun Easter Bunny will be here!
And then the requisite who/what/where/when details followed underneath. Well, that seems pretty nice actually. This park usually doesn’t do any events so it’s good for the community. Thinking nothing more of it, I finished my walk. Noting that not one other person was out that night.
It’s been a week since my last walk. Busy, busy, unfortunately. It’s Saturday night. Most people would be out having fun, or a nice dinner with their significant other. Me, I’m at work. Enough of that. I’m going for my walk. Beside, I can see if they set up for the Easter “Egg-stravaganza.” Easter is tomorrow after all.
Same process. Change, raycons in, setlist of creepy stories ready. What I saw again, was interesting.
When I got to the park, not much had changed. No people, which is odd. Especially for a Saturday night, and the same sign spouting tomorrow’s festivities. I can’t say why this gave me a weird feeling, I suppose I was expecting to see more things set up, booths, fenced off area for the egg hiding, something. Standing there for a while, I finally told myself to move on. Again, not sure why this seems odd to me, I ju—
(hears twig snapping)
What the hell was that?
I snapped my head back to where I thought the sound came from. I should have just left when I heard the branch breaking, or whatever it was. Walking into the tree line, where the forested part of the park begins, was a giant rabbit. I don’t mean an actual rabbit of course, clearly, it’s a person in a bunny costume. From where I stood, maybe 100 yards away, the upright walking rabbit must have been over 6 feet tall. It was just passed dusk, but the “fur,” was white. It was moving methodically as I froze in place watching. Then it turned, locking eyes with me like it knew EXACTLY where I was.
I turned and kicked it out of there. Not running but walking very fast. I’m not too proud at all to admit that. I don’t want anything to do with the next killer clown fad of 2016, if that’s what this is. Except with people dressed as bunnies.
The worst thing about that rabbit looking at me.. its eyes reflected, as if it were a real animal. It could of course be part of the mask. There could have been working lights underneath. I don’t know why, but it’s possible. Either way, I wasn’t waiting to ask.
All night I thought about this. Why hasn’t anyone been in the park the last two times I was there? Why is there just a sign in the middle of the park? There’s no trailers, no roped off area, no nothing. And last but not least, why the shit did I see a giant easter bunny walking into the woods? I’m not a detective, and usually run from any kind of danger. But this I was intrigued with. I had to figure out what the end of this story was going to be.
Sunday morning, 10am. I haven’t been to church in some time, but I assume in another hour most people will be exiting their places of worship, only to drag their screaming kids to hunt for plastic eggs that contain sugar, little toys, or even money. What a weird tradition linked to the day of Jesus’ reanimation.
I’m on my way to the park. Thank goodness, a huge breath of relief. It’s not busy yet, but children and their parents are trickling in. An area has been set up to take what I assume is pictures with the Easter Bunny. For right now I’m just going to wait and observe. Yes, I understand this might not look great, but I’ve dressed in my usual running gear, and I’m trying to look like I’m warming up for a run. I don’t know. Anything to not seem too out of place here.
In the middle of my warmup, there it is. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. The same man in a bunny outfit, about 50 yards from the children, hiding easter eggs. Do the kids not see that that thing is just blatantly placing their little plastic prizes down right now? Shouldn’t that have been done way ahead of time? Come to think of it, there doesn’t seem to be other employees around either. Maybe the parents showed up too early, and they weren’t ready to set up yet. But the parents aren’t really paying attention. Strangely.
It reminded me of a movie called “Harvey,” starring James Stewart. This imaginary bunny follows the main character around, and he’s the only one that can see him.
The bunny man gets closer. Now my skin is going cold. Could he possibly recognize me? It’s most likely a he now, the closer it gets. Broad shoulders, even under the outfit. Over 6 feet, I can clearly see now. The walk though… just seems off. Like an animatronic. One more thing I do not like is the suit itself. It’s dirty. There’s long dark spots staining the front. Like a car exhaust backfired onto it. And most bunny costumes have that hula hoop type thing inside to make the appearance of a bigger belly. Even though he had broad shoulders, I could tell he was very slight. Disturbingly so, even. The costume hung off of him. An emaciated rabbit is more sickening to see than I thought.
“Welcome!” I almost fell at the sound of the bullhorn. My earbuds were in, but not on, and it was still loud enough to give me a nice little jump scare. A man dressed casually in khakis and a pastel purple shirt was the voice behind the noise amplifier. He went on to say the festivities will begin shortly, get ready for the easter bunny, etc. A squeal erupted from the crowd of kids that had now grown to about 75 or so. Some parents clapped, some admonished their children for screaming so loud. I looked back to where the sickly easter bunny was. He was staring at me. We stood looking at each other for maybe 10 seconds, and then he slowly walked back to the woods. I had to ask the man behind the bullhorn about this.
I did my best to gain my composure. Taking a deep breath, I made my way towards him. “Um.. Hi, hello,” I said, trying to sound as normal as possible. He politely turned to me with a half-smile and his eyebrows raised. A “How may I help you,” kind of look. “Yes, um, my kids are so excited for this egg hunt.” I figured I should throw in the farce of having children here to not set off any alarm bells.
“Aaaand, I just thought it was strange that you had the “Easter bunny,” hiding eggs while the children were here. Not a huge deal or anything but-“
The man’s head moved back slightly, pushing his chin into his neck. His face scrunched up in confusion. Laughing, he spoke. “Sir, we made sure to hide the eggs early this morning, when no one was around. We certainly wouldn’t have the easter bunny here in full view hiding eggs.”
That familiar feeling of my blood turning into ice slowly crept back in. I tried my best to keep my cool. “But I, I mean, clearly he was just here, I saw hi-“
Before I could finish my sentence, the man looked over to the chair and booth where the children would be taking pictures with the Easter bunny. A proper bunny costumed person come out from behind the curtain set up.
The man once again put the bullhorn to his mouth. This time when he used it, It sounded like he was speaking underwater.
“OH my GOODNESS, the Easter bunny is here kids! Parents, please line your children up. We will take pictures first and then can start the exciting egg hunt!”
I stood frozen, feeling like everything was moving in slow motion. The children ran up to the start of the que. Patient parents stood by, making sure the kids didn’t get too out of hand. As the first child got up to the Easter bunny, I hustled back over to the man I was speaking too. This time he seemed more annoyed as I gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder.
“Sir, look, I’m sorry to bother you again, but.. I’m just wondering why you would have two easter bunnies here.”
“We don’t HAVE two easter bunnies, ok. I don’t know what you are talking about, and frankly this is starting to sound a bit odd to me. Are you ok?”
I tried to say something, but my mouth had gone dry. I think I just moved my head up and down.
“Ok, well then line up with your children so we can get these pictures done.”
With that he went back into host mode, encouraging the kids to smile as the photographer took pictures. He made sure to remind them that the egg hunt would be full of fun prizes.
Thoroughly confused, I stepped away to get a view of the woods, to see if this now “imposter,” Easter doppelganger was still around. Just as I had, the fake bunny rabbit had just slipped into the woods.
I wiped a disturbing amount of sweat away from my forehead, for the first time realizing that I truly must appear to be a real piece of work. I turned to the poor organizeMC to apologize for my strange behavior, but he was long gone directing children to the “start,” line where the happy chubby cheeked kids were ready to hunt for their precious treasure-filled eggs.
I’m too far in now. I followed the dirty rabbit into the woods. Wonder what those parents thought of some random guy walking through the park into the trees. Be very very quiet, I’m hunting rabbits. . . As soon as I broke the threshold into the tree line, time and space appeared to stop. I’m being dramatic of course, but it was noticeably darker inside the woods. I’ve never walked through here. Why would I? There are no trails that I’m aware of, and I don’t make it a habit to—
(running sound)
What was that? I swear I just heard something running close to me. This can’t be happening. Quick look to my left and right reveals nothing. A twig breaking again snaps my focus dead ahead. Slowly, I soldier on. After a few minutes I’m getting worried. I expect to see this degenerate bunny impersonator holed up in a serial-killer looking shack. Silly, now that I think about it, I’m sure there’s no housing structures built inside of a small forest that’s also inside a major suburban area.
Before I know it, the forest clears, and I’m on the other side. I wasn’t there as long as I think, I imagine. Looking around and getting my thoughts straight, I know where I’m at. It’s a side of town I’m familiar with. Everyone here knows this place, it’s the “bad,” part of town. There’s no reason to be here. I avoid this area if at all poss—
There he is. Not staring at me this time. I just happened to catch his dirty cottontail shimmy into the apartments. Everyone knows these apartments. Sketchy tenants at best. Like I said, I’m in too deep now.
I quietly make my way to the side of the apartment. I only glimpsed a shadow going into the main door, and it appeared to make a right. No way I’d be able to see where he went, unless he left his blinds up. One window.. nothing. Next apartment window.. nothing. Maybe you should just call it a night. An intense rotting smell smacked me in the face that almost took me off my feet. I should have left.
I knew as soon as I saw it. A window with crusty newspaper covering it from the inside. But unfortunately there was a small piece near the bottom that was missing. I put my good eye up to it. Son of a bitch that’s him. All I can make out is a man, sitting at a folding table. His back to me. How could I tell it was him? He still had that stupid costume on, minus the bunny ears. The back of his head had patchy dark hair, and his neck was .. dirty. Just.. fear-inducing.
Realizing I was holding my breath I did my best to quietly exhale all the air I had. Which made the rabbit jerk his head to the left. Shit. I ducked. What I saw before I did haunts me. The best way I can describe what his side profile looked like was a methed out Voldemort. After being fairly sure I had not soiled myself, I slowly peeked again. He was gone. On the table… were eggs…. plastic easter eggs. . . And next to those eggs…. Were parts. I hesitate to say what they were because it makes me want to vomit.
Eyes. Fingers. Nails. I think I saw a nose. They were small. Dear God, how many easter egg hunts are there today.

My favorite long distance weapon in D2 is the pulse. My favorite pulse of all time is Inaugural Address from the year 1 raid. Something about it. I love the way it feels. I had high hopes for the new IB pulse rifle. (I have high hopes for every new pulse rifle). But I got one and I hate the sight. I hate it so much I can probably not use the gun.
What is everyone elses favorite pulse? I seem to do better with an adaptive frame. So far the one I have the best luck with is Ogma PR6. But it only feels about 80% as good as my old y1 pulse.