https://www.rufftalkvr.com/blog/there-are-no-games-to-play-january-march-2023-edition/
When I read posts about how there are no games to play on the Quest, I simply can’t relate. I’m a voracious consumer of VR games, experiences and demos and currently have over 330 of them on my headset (not including my PCVR library). These experiences are a combination of both old and new items, and my wish list and library just keeps growing week after week with new releases, recommendations and game updates. This year, I wanted to keep track of all the games I’ve played and keep coming back to and catalogue them here in hopes that they may give you some fresh ideas of games to play, or reasons to revisit older games due to their updates or improvements.
Some of the games listed below, I can forsee playing all year long, and to be fair, others I've tried are not my cup of tea, but they may interest you enough to try them out. In either case, here are my quick thoughts on the 21 games I’ve played so far from January to March of 2023 along with links to them on the store.

Bocce Time! ($8.99) From the developer: In Bocce Time! you'll head down to a peaceful park or atmospheric pier to test your bocce skills across 12 distinct courts. Jump into a quick match to 1v1 a random opponent online, create and join private rooms with up to 8 players, or play against AI across 3 difficulties to unlock additional ball customization options. With full cross-play, everyone's invited to join the fun! It's Bocce Time! My thoughts: This game has seen so many updates since it’s release and if you haven’t checked it out, there’s a free trial that opens up the whole game so you can try it out for yourself. With two parks (10 courses), an AI bot to challenge (that has great quips), collectible balls and support for up to eight people, this is a wonderful social game to play with friends. The Walkabout Mini Golf vibes are strong with this game, so players of that game will feel right at home. The latest update unlocked the entire park as a play area, and ensures that you and your friends will have unlimited options for where to play from. Along with Discord tournaments available if you're feeling competitive, this game is a real hidden gem and has grown a lot since its release. Absolutely worth a go, especially at that price point.
Golf+ ($29.99) From the developer: GOLF+ is the ultimate VR Golf experience and the exclusive VR Golf game of the PGA TOUR. Join your friends for a round on Pebble Beach, Pinehurst No. 2, TPC Sawgrass and more. Want something more casual? Hang out at Topgolf for a night of music and games. My thoughts: Simply one of the best games on the app store. With all the great new updates such as Beat the Pro and new courses dropping every so often, it's one game that will be on my Quest until the next headset comes out. With the official PGA licenses, a variety of match options and support for four players, it’s an essential Quest game to play alone or with friends.
Little Cities ($19.99) From the developer: Escape to the charming world of Little Cities, the most loved VR city building simulation game. Create your own little city and watch it come to life – from a humble village to a bustling metropolis. Design the layout and strategically plot amenities to make a perfect city where your citizens love to live. My thoughts: The latest update added citizens to the game. This adds a lot more flavor to your city and brings more life to your city. It’s a pretty simple SimCity style game that should keep you entertained for a few hours. I enjoyed this one, but wasn’t blown away. The extra DLC courses and achievements will give you more play time if you find yourself enjoying this one though.
Compound ($19.99) From the developer: "COMPOUND is a randomized, rogue-lite, free-roaming shooter for Virtual Reality veterans. Duck and dodge around enemy fire in a tough-as-nails retro FPS with multiple locomotion options. Prepare to die - a lot - until you are good enough to reach the heart of The Corporation and take back what belongs to everyone..." My experience: Essentially Doom on Quest. The awesome blocky aesthetics work perfectly in this world. With a great gameplay loop and exciting gunplay this one will easily get its hooks into you. I found myself saying "just one more run" more often than I had time for. This single player shooter has so many achievements and difficulty levels that it kept me busy for quite some time. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it and still have more to do. A must buy for any fan of the genre.
Walkabout Mini Golf ($14.99) From the developer: 8 unique 18-hole courses to master. Unlock NIGHT MODE for more challenging versions of all courses. Play solo, 1v1 online quick match, or create a private room with up to 8 players. Extremely accurate physics feel just like the real thing. Collect over 188 custom balls hidden throughout. Solve treasure hunts on each hard course to earn special putters. My thoughts: What more needs to be said about this excellent game? It’s on my constant rotation of games to play alone, with friends, or even with strangers - as the community is so warm and welcoming. The community is truly one of the best, and there are several discord servers for tournaments, weekly meetups and more. An essential game that every Quest owner should have.
VR Pool ($19.99) From the developer: ForeVR Pool brings the coolest pool halls from around the globe straight to your living room! Challenge friends, family, and in-game pros to a game of 8-ball pool – no table required. Battle 12 bots to level up and take on Legendary challengers. Join a Quick Match or jump into a private multiplayer party! Friend in town? Share your headset with Pass & Play. Up the ante and stake in-game coins in matches against other players. My thoughts: This was pretty feature-light and choppy when it first launched, but it now has 9-ball in addition to 8-ball. If you bought it early, it's worth a quick revisit. It sticks pretty true to the ForeVR formula with its aesthetics and collectibles. The graphics aren’t going to win any awards and frankly put me off of it when I first booted it up, but the physics hold up and it’s a good time against the AI or a friend. With 2v2 matches coming soon, that is where this game could really be worth revisiting for some multiplayer fun and friendly smack talk.
After the Fall - (Played on PC $29.99, available on Quest $29.99) From the developer: Welcome to ‘The Line’... Decades have passed since the apocalypse turned 1980s Los Angeles into a snow-crested wasteland, overrun by mutated undead. Starting out in an underground camp with up to 32 other player survivors, you take up arms as a new Harvest Runner. Your mission? Venturing out above ground to expand the Line’s reach into the city and fuel mankind’s survival for another day. My thoughts: What a fun game. The gunplay and sheer amount of enemies on screen via PC is just stunning. You're set in an apocalyptic world and must shoot your way out while gathering resources. The atmosphere is stunning, and the graphics are top notch as well. While I’m sure it’s downgraded a bit to run on Quest, don’t let that hold you back. You can play this co-op with up to three other players and bots will fill you out to four. The teamwork this game offers is wonderful. Find a friend or two and jump in this one, or play with the ever-full lobbies of people looking to join up. The latest Descension update adds two new maps and a ton of other bug fixes and gameplay additions. It's a great time to jump in with a friend!
Cosmoniuous High (Played on PC $29.99, available on Quest $29.99) From the developer: From the creators of award winning titles 'Job Simulator' and 'Vacation Simulator', comes a new original creation—the comically catastrophic Cosmonious High! Welcome to your alien high school that's definitely completely free of malfunctions! After crash-landing into your first day, you'll unlock powers, explore the halls, and save the school from cosmic chaos. My thoughts: I would consider this is the third entry in the Job Simulator series - even though it's technically not in the same world. I’d really recommend you play them in order to fully appreciate the experience this game has to offer. Job Simulator was the first game, with jokes and fun interaction. Vacation Simulator expanded on that idea with similar characters, and what Cosmonius does is take the ideas of object interaction and conversations and cranks it up to the max. I had so much fun experimenting, talking with NPC’s, exploring the school and seeing what story the game had to offer. This is one of those games that just speaks to people like me who likes to push the boundaries to see what you can do in a game and rewards players for experimenting. It's a heartwarming game that continues to get quality of life and accessibility updates.
The Invisible Hours - (Played on PC $29.99, but coming out on Quest, currently available in the Rift store.) From the developer: The Invisible Hours is a complex murder mystery playable with or without a VR headset. Players freely explore an intricate web of interwoven stories within a sprawling mansion. A group of strangers receive a curious invitation from the enigmatic inventor, Nikola Tesla, offering each of them the chance to make amends for their darkest wrongdoings. When the last guest arrives at Tesla’s isolated mansion laboratory, they find him dead – murdered. Disgraced Swedish detective, Gustaf Gustav, vows to find the killer amongst the other guests: a blind butler, a convicted murderer, the world’s most famous actress, Tesla’s former assistant, the son of a wealthy railroad magnate, and rival inventor Thomas Edison. But none of these people are what they seem. My thoughts: I heard so many great things about this game and it's really more of an interactive story than anything. You find yourself moving around the mansion, piecing together the intricate story and learning how all these people relate to one another and their hidden secrets. I had a great time with this game, it had a unique concept that kept me fully engaged throughout.
Pokerstars VR (Free) From the developer: PokerStars, the world’s leading poker brand, has combined live and online poker in a truly immersive VR experience. Featuring Quest Pro support with face and eye tracking, advanced haptics, and mixed reality passthrough! My thoughts: This is one of my go-to games with friends. Once you get past the initial low-stakes tables where kids play and go all-in on many hands, you’ll find a new set of players that actually play smart poker and like to chat. If you have some friends, you can create your own private room and avoid that all together. It’s a relaxing game where you can meet new people and just chill in VR. It’s my social game where I go to unwind. Recent updates have seen them add craps and social poker rooms with slots and roulette. If you're looking to relax and play some poker, this free to play game will hit the spot. You can easily play this game for free and not ever spend a dime.
Path of the Warrior ($19.99) From the developer: We interrupt this broadcast with breaking news...chaos in the streets of Rage City tonight! The myriad local gangs, once at constant war with each other have now unified under a mysterious new crime boss...Mr. S. Thugs have flooded the entire city, unleashing a wave of terror. The police are overwhelmed and the public is in imminent danger! Can anyone put a stop to the crime wave? Can anyone save Rage City? My thoughts: This fighting game is one that you can blow off steam with. It harkens back to the old Double Dragon or Final Fight arcade days and I highly recommend you play through this game with a friend as you’ll be laughing your way through it at the absurd combos and interactive objects and scenery you can use to defeat your foes. Find a bit of open room to play in, and punch your way through the game.
Half Life Alyx Mod: The Undertow - (PC only, Free) From the developer: You play as Alyx, tasked with delivering a mysterious briefcase to the owner of an underground night club, upon arriving you realize this deal might not be so straight forward... Expected Playtime: 50min - 1hr. Features: Full-fledged Story with Voice Acting, Custom Sounds, Assets, and Gameplay, Unique Puzzles & Engaging Combat, Full Single-Controller Support and Drinkable Vodka (Finally). My thoughts: I’ve been working my way through some Half Life Alyx mods that bubble up to the top via Reddit or online posts. This one found its way into my queue and while it had a really unique setting, it was extremely buggy in one spot, to the point where I had to restart a section close to 20 times. I didn't find the end game satisfying, and with so many other great mods, it was a miss for me.
Sheaf - Together EP (PC only, Free) From the developer: Enter virtual reality to listen to the debut EP “Together” of synthwave producer Sheaf. No gameplay involved -- just sit back, relax, and enjoy the music while you drive through a retro low poly world. The EP features 3 tracks, and each track comes with its own scenery, tailor made to fit its mood. You can start each track separately from the main menu. My thoughts: As noted in the developer description, this is really more a zen-like experience where you’re sitting in a car that drives down a road while chill music is playing. Certainly different from a lot of other “zone out” experiences that focus on geometric shapes, but the blocky visuals really conflicted with the chill vibe it was going for. Not really my jam, but if you like chill experiences, it might be for you. You certainly can't beat the price.
Shooty Fruity ($19.99) From the developer: Do your job whilst shooting guns! Shooty Fruity combines job simulation with exhilarating combat that makes you feel like a true action hero - whether McClane, Wick or Rambo. Take on new roles and unlock weapons to fight your way through your career. Scan shoot repeat! My thoughts: I kept seeing this game show up in sales and various feeds so I finally tried it out. After 30 minutes I just was not having any fun at all. While the enemies were silly (various fruits and vegetables), the gun mechanics were lackluster. I just did not get into the gameplay loop of shooting and scanning groceries. It was just too repetitive for me and for that reason I can’t recommend it.
What the Bat? ($24.99) From the developer: From the creators of WHAT THE GOLF? comes a silly VR game about navigating life with baseball bats for hands. Swing your way through over 100 levels of batting, cooking, shooting, smashing, parking, painting, pickling, petting, and WHATnot. My thoughts: I was a huge fan of What the Golf on iOS, and was quite excited when I heard about this sequel. The “high” price point turned me off for a while, but when UploadVR gave it their “game of the year” award, I finally pulled the trigger. I had high hopes, and it was fun… at first, but the gimmick started to wear really thin on me rather quickly. It just didn’t seem to have the same magic the first game had. I kept going through it in hopes that something would change, or capture that original feeling, but honestly, it was a grind to finish such a short game. I understand I’m probably in the minority here, but I was quite disappointed.
Superhot ($24.99) From the developer: Multi-award winning, smash-hit SUPERHOT VR blurs the lines between cautious strategy and unbridled mayhem. The definitive VR action experience. Time moves only when you move. No regenerating health bars. No conveniently placed ammo drops. It's you, alone, outnumbered and outgunned. Snatch weapons from fallen enemies to shoot, slice and dodge through a truly cinematic hurricane of slow-motion bullets. It’s like nothing you have ever played before. Something is different here. Lose track of what’s real. My thoughts: You know it, and you probably love it. Like so many others, so did I. This was one of my first VR experiences years ago and I finally saw it through to the end. This game can be quite demanding for some levels requiring accurate shooting, movement and timing. This game offers a really unique take on gameplay and multiple ways to get through some levels really increase the replayability. With the unique achievements to strive for you have a real winner. A must own for all gamers.
Tube Be Continued (Demo) (Full game $14.99) From the developer: Hello! Welcome to TUBE Industries: a hamster owned and operated tube puzzle emporium! Prepare for a tube-based, puzzle-filled, HAM-PACKED adventure with our charismatic leader: The BOSS. Here at TUBE Industries we provide the puzzles and you provide… the brains. No shady business here! My thoughts: I like to look at the new App Lab games that come out every now and then and I’m a sucker for a good puzzle game. This is a game where you connect mazes together for hamsters to run through. It was a weird story that sees you working with a Hamster CEO trying to save his company from the Board, which are all hamsters. Really weird stuff, but while the demo was fun, the puzzles were a bit on the simple side and ultimately, I just did not think it was worth buying at this point. That being said, if the demo grabs you I could see this being a fun few hours with new content planning to be added.
Dart Racer (Free) From the developer: Dart Racer is an arcade racing game where you compete against AI during race and other players on the online leaderboards - features multiple race tracks and environments - steering based on throttle differential - interactive tutorial - customizable game and comfort settings - optional hand tracking. My thoughts: Now this is podracing! It really did feel like I was doing some classic Star Wars podracing, but it was quite tough to learn the controls. Once I got that figured out, there certainly was some fun to be had, but unfortunately, it just was okay for me and I dropped out after a bit. Give it a try for free, and keep in mind there are plenty of motion assists to play with so you don't get sick.
Nock ($9.99) From the developer: Nock is bow and arrow soccer. Skate and fly around a pitch while using a bow and arrow to blast the ball into the other team’s goal. Compete in multiplayer ranked matches, or play casual custom games with your friends! Like a real sport, Nock is easy to learn but difficult to master. Block arrows let you create obstacles and you can even use your body to make a goal or save. A fast-moving ball can knock you out. Skill-based matchmaking keeps every game extremely close and competitive. Casual modes let you challenge yourself against bots or play with friends in custom matches. My thoughts: Rocket League but with archery. While I’m not a fan of archery games in general, this game really had the physics dialed in. I always felt like I was in full control of my movement and bow and arrow. Nothing ever felt like it was off, and the aiming was spot on. Every hit of the ball, or miss was my fault. An absolute blast with with up to four friends, and that’s how I recommend you play it - with friends. But there are leagues and tournaments readily available if get into the game. That being said, I’m pretty terrible at it, and will only play with friends who can tolerate my terrible skills.
Into the Radius ($29.99) From the developer: An atmospheric open-world single-player survival shooter. You find yourself in the middle of the blighted zone, cut from the outside world. Your guns and your wits are all you have left. Fight the deadly enemies, dodge dangerous anomalies, and collect wondrous artifacts on your way to the Radius center to find your way out. My thoughts: I found myself constantly saying “I can’t believe this actually runs on a Quest.” The amount of items you can interact with, areas available to explore, systems to learn and missions to accept can be quite overwhelming. Honestly it took me about 5-7 hours of gameplay, tutorials and youtube videos until finally the game “clicked.” After this one fateful mission where I was over encumbered with items, low on ammo with minimal health and dealing with enemies at every turn, I was totally immersed and was having the time of my life. It was an absolute blast and despite being so tense - a joy to play. I did tone down the difficulty a bit, which made it much more playable and less punishing. Truly a great game if you like the loop of scavenging, planning your route ahead and making sure literally every bullet counts. While it lacks in story, it does have a lot of environmental details and little things that you have to find for yourself. If you like survival games, it’s almost perfect.
Surgineer ($9.99) From the developer: Have you ever dreamed of being a real surgeon? Well… you are not gonna learn that here. Welcome to the most unrealistic surgery simulator where everyone can instantly become a terrible doctor. You will have to solve hilarious surgical procedures ranging from CPR to brain transplant or even removing alien eggs from a poor patient using a robotic arm! You always thought you had that surgeon in you? You better have a bulletproof malpractice insurance before getting your virtual hands on a patient! My thoughts: At such a low price point, I wasn’t expecting much. I remember playing Surgeon Simulator back in the day and this looked like that. Much to my disappointment it was much more terrible than I had hoped. Absolutely no fun was to be had here. I constantly fought with the controls, many times had no clue what to do and finally gave up in frustration. I understand part of the appeal is the wonkiness of it, but this game requires someone with a lot more patience than me to get some fun out of it.

There you have it, 21 different games played in three months. I would say there are plenty of games to play and enjoy on the Quest. I hope you find a few that you might not have heard of, or that you might find worth revisiting. Let me know on the Ruff Talk Discord channel if you have a game you enjoy that I should try, I'm always open to recommendations. You can also find this article on the RuffTalkVR Blog Until then, I hope your next VR experience is a memorable one.

When I read posts about how there are no games to play on the Quest, I simply can’t relate. I’m a voracious consumer of VR games, experiences and demos and currently have over 330 of them on my headset (not including my PCVR library). These experiences are a combination of both old and new items, and my wish list and library just keeps growing week after week with new releases, recommendations and game updates. This year, I wanted to keep track of all the games I’ve played and keep coming back to and catalogue them here in hopes that they may give you some fresh ideas of games to play, or reasons to revisit older games due to their updates or improvements.
Some of the games listed below, I can forsee playing all year long, and to be fair, others I've tried are not my cup of tea, but they may interest you enough to try them out. In either case, here are my quick thoughts on the 21 games I’ve played so far from January to March of 2023 along with links to them on the store.

Bocce Time! ($8.99) From the developer: In Bocce Time! you'll head down to a peaceful park or atmospheric pier to test your bocce skills across 12 distinct courts. Jump into a quick match to 1v1 a random opponent online, create and join private rooms with up to 8 players, or play against AI across 3 difficulties to unlock additional ball customization options. With full cross-play, everyone's invited to join the fun! It's Bocce Time! My thoughts: This game has seen so many updates since it’s release and if you haven’t checked it out, there’s a free trial that opens up the whole game so you can try it out for yourself. With two parks (10 courses), an AI bot to challenge (that has great quips), collectible balls and support for up to eight people, this is a wonderful social game to play with friends. The Walkabout Mini Golf vibes are strong with this game, so players of that game will feel right at home. The latest update unlocked the entire park as a play area, and ensures that you and your friends will have unlimited options for where to play from. Along with Discord tournaments available if you're feeling competitive, this game is a real hidden gem and has grown a lot since its release. Absolutely worth a go, especially at that price point.
Golf+ ($29.99) From the developer: GOLF+ is the ultimate VR Golf experience and the exclusive VR Golf game of the PGA TOUR. Join your friends for a round on Pebble Beach, Pinehurst No. 2, TPC Sawgrass and more. Want something more casual? Hang out at Topgolf for a night of music and games. My thoughts: Simply one of the best games on the app store. With all the great new updates such as Beat the Pro and new courses dropping every so often, it's one game that will be on my Quest until the next headset comes out. With the official PGA licenses, a variety of match options and support for four players, it’s an essential Quest game to play alone or with friends.
Little Cities ($19.99) From the developer: Escape to the charming world of Little Cities, the most loved VR city building simulation game. Create your own little city and watch it come to life – from a humble village to a bustling metropolis. Design the layout and strategically plot amenities to make a perfect city where your citizens love to live. My thoughts: The latest update added citizens to the game. This adds a lot more flavor to your city and brings more life to your city. It’s a pretty simple SimCity style game that should keep you entertained for a few hours. I enjoyed this one, but wasn’t blown away. The extra DLC courses and achievements will give you more play time if you find yourself enjoying this one though.
Compound ($19.99) From the developer: "COMPOUND is a randomized, rogue-lite, free-roaming shooter for Virtual Reality veterans. Duck and dodge around enemy fire in a tough-as-nails retro FPS with multiple locomotion options. Prepare to die - a lot - until you are good enough to reach the heart of The Corporation and take back what belongs to everyone..." My experience: Essentially Doom on Quest. The awesome blocky aesthetics work perfectly in this world. With a great gameplay loop and exciting gunplay this one will easily get its hooks into you. I found myself saying "just one more run" more often than I had time for. This single player shooter has so many achievements and difficulty levels that it kept me busy for quite some time. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it and still have more to do. A must buy for any fan of the genre.
Walkabout Mini Golf ($14.99) From the developer: 8 unique 18-hole courses to master. Unlock NIGHT MODE for more challenging versions of all courses. Play solo, 1v1 online quick match, or create a private room with up to 8 players. Extremely accurate physics feel just like the real thing. Collect over 188 custom balls hidden throughout. Solve treasure hunts on each hard course to earn special putters. My thoughts: What more needs to be said about this excellent game? It’s on my constant rotation of games to play alone, with friends, or even with strangers - as the community is so warm and welcoming. The community is truly one of the best, and there are several discord servers for tournaments, weekly meetups and more. An essential game that every Quest owner should have.
VR Pool ($19.99) From the developer: ForeVR Pool brings the coolest pool halls from around the globe straight to your living room! Challenge friends, family, and in-game pros to a game of 8-ball pool – no table required. Battle 12 bots to level up and take on Legendary challengers. Join a Quick Match or jump into a private multiplayer party! Friend in town? Share your headset with Pass & Play. Up the ante and stake in-game coins in matches against other players. My thoughts: This was pretty feature-light and choppy when it first launched, but it now has 9-ball in addition to 8-ball. If you bought it early, it's worth a quick revisit. It sticks pretty true to the ForeVR formula with its aesthetics and collectibles. The graphics aren’t going to win any awards and frankly put me off of it when I first booted it up, but the physics hold up and it’s a good time against the AI or a friend. With 2v2 matches coming soon, that is where this game could really be worth revisiting for some multiplayer fun and friendly smack talk.
After the Fall - (Played on PC $29.99, available on Quest $29.99) From the developer: Welcome to ‘The Line’... Decades have passed since the apocalypse turned 1980s Los Angeles into a snow-crested wasteland, overrun by mutated undead. Starting out in an underground camp with up to 32 other player survivors, you take up arms as a new Harvest Runner. Your mission? Venturing out above ground to expand the Line’s reach into the city and fuel mankind’s survival for another day. My thoughts: What a fun game. The gunplay and sheer amount of enemies on screen via PC is just stunning. You're set in an apocalyptic world and must shoot your way out while gathering resources. The atmosphere is stunning, and the graphics are top notch as well. While I’m sure it’s downgraded a bit to run on Quest, don’t let that hold you back. You can play this co-op with up to three other players and bots will fill you out to four. The teamwork this game offers is wonderful. Find a friend or two and jump in this one, or play with the ever-full lobbies of people looking to join up. The latest Descension update adds two new maps and a ton of other bug fixes and gameplay additions. It's a great time to jump in with a friend!
Cosmoniuous High (Played on PC $29.99, available on Quest $29.99) From the developer: From the creators of award winning titles 'Job Simulator' and 'Vacation Simulator', comes a new original creation—the comically catastrophic Cosmonious High! Welcome to your alien high school that's definitely completely free of malfunctions! After crash-landing into your first day, you'll unlock powers, explore the halls, and save the school from cosmic chaos. My thoughts: I would consider this is the third entry in the Job Simulator series - even though it's technically not in the same world. I’d really recommend you play them in order to fully appreciate the experience this game has to offer. Job Simulator was the first game, with jokes and fun interaction. Vacation Simulator expanded on that idea with similar characters, and what Cosmonius does is take the ideas of object interaction and conversations and cranks it up to the max. I had so much fun experimenting, talking with NPC’s, exploring the school and seeing what story the game had to offer. This is one of those games that just speaks to people like me who likes to push the boundaries to see what you can do in a game and rewards players for experimenting. It's a heartwarming game that continues to get quality of life and accessibility updates.
The Invisible Hours - (Played on PC $29.99, but coming out on Quest, currently available in the Rift store.) From the developer: The Invisible Hours is a complex murder mystery playable with or without a VR headset. Players freely explore an intricate web of interwoven stories within a sprawling mansion. A group of strangers receive a curious invitation from the enigmatic inventor, Nikola Tesla, offering each of them the chance to make amends for their darkest wrongdoings. When the last guest arrives at Tesla’s isolated mansion laboratory, they find him dead – murdered. Disgraced Swedish detective, Gustaf Gustav, vows to find the killer amongst the other guests: a blind butler, a convicted murderer, the world’s most famous actress, Tesla’s former assistant, the son of a wealthy railroad magnate, and rival inventor Thomas Edison. But none of these people are what they seem. My thoughts: I heard so many great things about this game and it's really more of an interactive story than anything. You find yourself moving around the mansion, piecing together the intricate story and learning how all these people relate to one another and their hidden secrets. I had a great time with this game, it had a unique concept that kept me fully engaged throughout.
Pokerstars VR (Free) From the developer: PokerStars, the world’s leading poker brand, has combined live and online poker in a truly immersive VR experience. Featuring Quest Pro support with face and eye tracking, advanced haptics, and mixed reality passthrough! My thoughts: This is one of my go-to games with friends. Once you get past the initial low-stakes tables where kids play and go all-in on many hands, you’ll find a new set of players that actually play smart poker and like to chat. If you have some friends, you can create your own private room and avoid that all together. It’s a relaxing game where you can meet new people and just chill in VR. It’s my social game where I go to unwind. Recent updates have seen them add craps and social poker rooms with slots and roulette. If you're looking to relax and play some poker, this free to play game will hit the spot. You can easily play this game for free and not ever spend a dime.
Path of the Warrior ($19.99) From the developer: We interrupt this broadcast with breaking news...chaos in the streets of Rage City tonight! The myriad local gangs, once at constant war with each other have now unified under a mysterious new crime boss...Mr. S. Thugs have flooded the entire city, unleashing a wave of terror. The police are overwhelmed and the public is in imminent danger! Can anyone put a stop to the crime wave? Can anyone save Rage City? My thoughts: This fighting game is one that you can blow off steam with. It harkens back to the old Double Dragon or Final Fight arcade days and I highly recommend you play through this game with a friend as you’ll be laughing your way through it at the absurd combos and interactive objects and scenery you can use to defeat your foes. Find a bit of open room to play in, and punch your way through the game.
Half Life Alyx Mod: The Undertow - (PC only, Free) From the developer: You play as Alyx, tasked with delivering a mysterious briefcase to the owner of an underground night club, upon arriving you realize this deal might not be so straight forward... Expected Playtime: 50min - 1hr. Features: Full-fledged Story with Voice Acting, Custom Sounds, Assets, and Gameplay, Unique Puzzles & Engaging Combat, Full Single-Controller Support and Drinkable Vodka (Finally). My thoughts: I’ve been working my way through some Half Life Alyx mods that bubble up to the top via Reddit or online posts. This one found its way into my queue and while it had a really unique setting, it was extremely buggy in one spot, to the point where I had to restart a section close to 20 times. I didn't find the end game satisfying, and with so many other great mods, it was a miss for me.
Sheaf - Together EP (PC only, Free) From the developer: Enter virtual reality to listen to the debut EP “Together” of synthwave producer Sheaf. No gameplay involved -- just sit back, relax, and enjoy the music while you drive through a retro low poly world. The EP features 3 tracks, and each track comes with its own scenery, tailor made to fit its mood. You can start each track separately from the main menu. My thoughts: As noted in the developer description, this is really more a zen-like experience where you’re sitting in a car that drives down a road while chill music is playing. Certainly different from a lot of other “zone out” experiences that focus on geometric shapes, but the blocky visuals really conflicted with the chill vibe it was going for. Not really my jam, but if you like chill experiences, it might be for you. You certainly can't beat the price.
Shooty Fruity ($19.99) From the developer: Do your job whilst shooting guns! Shooty Fruity combines job simulation with exhilarating combat that makes you feel like a true action hero - whether McClane, Wick or Rambo. Take on new roles and unlock weapons to fight your way through your career. Scan shoot repeat! My thoughts: I kept seeing this game show up in sales and various feeds so I finally tried it out. After 30 minutes I just was not having any fun at all. While the enemies were silly (various fruits and vegetables), the gun mechanics were lackluster. I just did not get into the gameplay loop of shooting and scanning groceries. It was just too repetitive for me and for that reason I can’t recommend it.
What the Bat? ($24.99) From the developer: From the creators of WHAT THE GOLF? comes a silly VR game about navigating life with baseball bats for hands. Swing your way through over 100 levels of batting, cooking, shooting, smashing, parking, painting, pickling, petting, and WHATnot. My thoughts: I was a huge fan of What the Golf on iOS, and was quite excited when I heard about this sequel. The “high” price point turned me off for a while, but when UploadVR gave it their “game of the year” award, I finally pulled the trigger. I had high hopes, and it was fun… at first, but the gimmick started to wear really thin on me rather quickly. It just didn’t seem to have the same magic the first game had. I kept going through it in hopes that something would change, or capture that original feeling, but honestly, it was a grind to finish such a short game. I understand I’m probably in the minority here, but I was quite disappointed.
Superhot ($24.99) From the developer: Multi-award winning, smash-hit SUPERHOT VR blurs the lines between cautious strategy and unbridled mayhem. The definitive VR action experience. Time moves only when you move. No regenerating health bars. No conveniently placed ammo drops. It's you, alone, outnumbered and outgunned. Snatch weapons from fallen enemies to shoot, slice and dodge through a truly cinematic hurricane of slow-motion bullets. It’s like nothing you have ever played before. Something is different here. Lose track of what’s real. My thoughts: You know it, and you probably love it. Like so many others, so did I. This was one of my first VR experiences years ago and I finally saw it through to the end. This game can be quite demanding for some levels requiring accurate shooting, movement and timing. This game offers a really unique take on gameplay and multiple ways to get through some levels really increase the replayability. With the unique achievements to strive for you have a real winner. A must own for all gamers.
Tube Be Continued (Demo) (Full game $14.99) From the developer: Hello! Welcome to TUBE Industries: a hamster owned and operated tube puzzle emporium! Prepare for a tube-based, puzzle-filled, HAM-PACKED adventure with our charismatic leader: The BOSS. Here at TUBE Industries we provide the puzzles and you provide… the brains. No shady business here! My thoughts: I like to look at the new App Lab games that come out every now and then and I’m a sucker for a good puzzle game. This is a game where you connect mazes together for hamsters to run through. It was a weird story that sees you working with a Hamster CEO trying to save his company from the Board, which are all hamsters. Really weird stuff, but while the demo was fun, the puzzles were a bit on the simple side and ultimately, I just did not think it was worth buying at this point. That being said, if the demo grabs you I could see this being a fun few hours with new content planning to be added.
Dart Racer (Free) From the developer: Dart Racer is an arcade racing game where you compete against AI during race and other players on the online leaderboards - features multiple race tracks and environments - steering based on throttle differential - interactive tutorial - customizable game and comfort settings - optional hand tracking. My thoughts: Now this is podracing! It really did feel like I was doing some classic Star Wars podracing, but it was quite tough to learn the controls. Once I got that figured out, there certainly was some fun to be had, but unfortunately, it just was okay for me and I dropped out after a bit. Give it a try for free, and keep in mind there are plenty of motion assists to play with so you don't get sick.
Nock ($9.99) From the developer: Nock is bow and arrow soccer. Skate and fly around a pitch while using a bow and arrow to blast the ball into the other team’s goal. Compete in multiplayer ranked matches, or play casual custom games with your friends! Like a real sport, Nock is easy to learn but difficult to master. Block arrows let you create obstacles and you can even use your body to make a goal or save. A fast-moving ball can knock you out. Skill-based matchmaking keeps every game extremely close and competitive. Casual modes let you challenge yourself against bots or play with friends in custom matches. My thoughts: Rocket League but with archery. While I’m not a fan of archery games in general, this game really had the physics dialed in. I always felt like I was in full control of my movement and bow and arrow. Nothing ever felt like it was off, and the aiming was spot on. Every hit of the ball, or miss was my fault. An absolute blast with with up to four friends, and that’s how I recommend you play it - with friends. But there are leagues and tournaments readily available if get into the game. That being said, I’m pretty terrible at it, and will only play with friends who can tolerate my terrible skills.
Into the Radius ($29.99) From the developer: An atmospheric open-world single-player survival shooter. You find yourself in the middle of the blighted zone, cut from the outside world. Your guns and your wits are all you have left. Fight the deadly enemies, dodge dangerous anomalies, and collect wondrous artifacts on your way to the Radius center to find your way out. My thoughts: I found myself constantly saying “I can’t believe this actually runs on a Quest.” The amount of items you can interact with, areas available to explore, systems to learn and missions to accept can be quite overwhelming. Honestly it took me about 5-7 hours of gameplay, tutorials and youtube videos until finally the game “clicked.” After this one fateful mission where I was over encumbered with items, low on ammo with minimal health and dealing with enemies at every turn, I was totally immersed and was having the time of my life. It was an absolute blast and despite being so tense - a joy to play. I did tone down the difficulty a bit, which made it much more playable and less punishing. Truly a great game if you like the loop of scavenging, planning your route ahead and making sure literally every bullet counts. While it lacks in story, it does have a lot of environmental details and little things that you have to find for yourself. If you like survival games, it’s almost perfect.
Surgineer ($9.99) From the developer: Have you ever dreamed of being a real surgeon? Well… you are not gonna learn that here. Welcome to the most unrealistic surgery simulator where everyone can instantly become a terrible doctor. You will have to solve hilarious surgical procedures ranging from CPR to brain transplant or even removing alien eggs from a poor patient using a robotic arm! You always thought you had that surgeon in you? You better have a bulletproof malpractice insurance before getting your virtual hands on a patient! My thoughts: At such a low price point, I wasn’t expecting much. I remember playing Surgeon Simulator back in the day and this looked like that. Much to my disappointment it was much more terrible than I had hoped. Absolutely no fun was to be had here. I constantly fought with the controls, many times had no clue what to do and finally gave up in frustration. I understand part of the appeal is the wonkiness of it, but this game requires someone with a lot more patience than me to get some fun out of it.

There you have it, 21 different games played in three months. I would say there are plenty of games to play and enjoy on the Quest. I hope you find a few that you might not have heard of, or that you might find worth revisiting. Let me know on the Ruff Talk Discord channel if you have a game you enjoy that I should try, I'm always open to recommendations. You can also find this article on the RuffTalkVR Blog Until then, I hope your next VR experience is a memorable one.

When I read posts about how there are no games to play on the Quest, I simply can’t relate. I’m a voracious consumer of VR games, experiences and demos and currently have over 330 of them on my headset (not including my PCVR library). These experiences are a combination of both old and new items, and my wish list and library just keeps growing week after week with new releases, recommendations and game updates. This year, I wanted to keep track of all the games I’ve played and keep coming back to and catalogue them here in hopes that they may give you some fresh ideas of games to play, or reasons to revisit older games due to their updates or improvements.
Some of the games listed below, I can forsee playing all year long, and to be fair, others I've tried are not my cup of tea, but they may interest you enough to try them out. In either case, here are my quick thoughts on the 21 games I’ve played so far from January to March of 2023 along with links to them on the store.

Bocce Time! ($8.99) From the developer: In Bocce Time! you'll head down to a peaceful park or atmospheric pier to test your bocce skills across 12 distinct courts. Jump into a quick match to 1v1 a random opponent online, create and join private rooms with up to 8 players, or play against AI across 3 difficulties to unlock additional ball customization options. With full cross-play, everyone's invited to join the fun! It's Bocce Time! My thoughts: This game has seen so many updates since it’s release and if you haven’t checked it out, there’s a free trial that opens up the whole game so you can try it out for yourself. With two parks (10 courses), an AI bot to challenge (that has great quips), collectible balls and support for up to eight people, this is a wonderful social game to play with friends. The Walkabout Mini Golf vibes are strong with this game, so players of that game will feel right at home. The latest update unlocked the entire park as a play area, and ensures that you and your friends will have unlimited options for where to play from. Along with Discord tournaments available if you're feeling competitive, this game is a real hidden gem and has grown a lot since its release. Absolutely worth a go, especially at that price point.
Golf+ ($29.99) From the developer: GOLF+ is the ultimate VR Golf experience and the exclusive VR Golf game of the PGA TOUR. Join your friends for a round on Pebble Beach, Pinehurst No. 2, TPC Sawgrass and more. Want something more casual? Hang out at Topgolf for a night of music and games. My thoughts: Simply one of the best games on the app store. With all the great new updates such as Beat the Pro and new courses dropping every so often, it's one game that will be on my Quest until the next headset comes out. With the official PGA licenses, a variety of match options and support for four players, it’s an essential Quest game to play alone or with friends.
Little Cities ($19.99) From the developer: Escape to the charming world of Little Cities, the most loved VR city building simulation game. Create your own little city and watch it come to life – from a humble village to a bustling metropolis. Design the layout and strategically plot amenities to make a perfect city where your citizens love to live. My thoughts: The latest update added citizens to the game. This adds a lot more flavor to your city and brings more life to your city. It’s a pretty simple SimCity style game that should keep you entertained for a few hours. I enjoyed this one, but wasn’t blown away. The extra DLC courses and achievements will give you more play time if you find yourself enjoying this one though.
Compound ($19.99) From the developer: "COMPOUND is a randomized, rogue-lite, free-roaming shooter for Virtual Reality veterans. Duck and dodge around enemy fire in a tough-as-nails retro FPS with multiple locomotion options. Prepare to die - a lot - until you are good enough to reach the heart of The Corporation and take back what belongs to everyone..." My experience: Essentially Doom on Quest. The awesome blocky aesthetics work perfectly in this world. With a great gameplay loop and exciting gunplay this one will easily get its hooks into you. I found myself saying "just one more run" more often than I had time for. This single player shooter has so many achievements and difficulty levels that it kept me busy for quite some time. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it and still have more to do. A must buy for any fan of the genre.
Walkabout Mini Golf ($14.99) From the developer: 8 unique 18-hole courses to master. Unlock NIGHT MODE for more challenging versions of all courses. Play solo, 1v1 online quick match, or create a private room with up to 8 players. Extremely accurate physics feel just like the real thing. Collect over 188 custom balls hidden throughout. Solve treasure hunts on each hard course to earn special putters. My thoughts: What more needs to be said about this excellent game? It’s on my constant rotation of games to play alone, with friends, or even with strangers - as the community is so warm and welcoming. The community is truly one of the best, and there are several discord servers for tournaments, weekly meetups and more. An essential game that every Quest owner should have.
VR Pool ($19.99) From the developer: ForeVR Pool brings the coolest pool halls from around the globe straight to your living room! Challenge friends, family, and in-game pros to a game of 8-ball pool – no table required. Battle 12 bots to level up and take on Legendary challengers. Join a Quick Match or jump into a private multiplayer party! Friend in town? Share your headset with Pass & Play. Up the ante and stake in-game coins in matches against other players. My thoughts: This was pretty feature-light and choppy when it first launched, but it now has 9-ball in addition to 8-ball. If you bought it early, it's worth a quick revisit. It sticks pretty true to the ForeVR formula with its aesthetics and collectibles. The graphics aren’t going to win any awards and frankly put me off of it when I first booted it up, but the physics hold up and it’s a good time against the AI or a friend. With 2v2 matches coming soon, that is where this game could really be worth revisiting for some multiplayer fun and friendly smack talk.
After the Fall - (Played on PC $29.99, available on Quest $29.99) From the developer: Welcome to ‘The Line’... Decades have passed since the apocalypse turned 1980s Los Angeles into a snow-crested wasteland, overrun by mutated undead. Starting out in an underground camp with up to 32 other player survivors, you take up arms as a new Harvest Runner. Your mission? Venturing out above ground to expand the Line’s reach into the city and fuel mankind’s survival for another day. My thoughts: What a fun game. The gunplay and sheer amount of enemies on screen via PC is just stunning. You're set in an apocalyptic world and must shoot your way out while gathering resources. The atmosphere is stunning, and the graphics are top notch as well. While I’m sure it’s downgraded a bit to run on Quest, don’t let that hold you back. You can play this co-op with up to three other players and bots will fill you out to four. The teamwork this game offers is wonderful. Find a friend or two and jump in this one, or play with the ever-full lobbies of people looking to join up. The latest Descension update adds two new maps and a ton of other bug fixes and gameplay additions. It's a great time to jump in with a friend!
Cosmoniuous High (Played on PC $29.99, available on Quest $29.99) From the developer: From the creators of award winning titles 'Job Simulator' and 'Vacation Simulator', comes a new original creation—the comically catastrophic Cosmonious High! Welcome to your alien high school that's definitely completely free of malfunctions! After crash-landing into your first day, you'll unlock powers, explore the halls, and save the school from cosmic chaos. My thoughts: I would consider this is the third entry in the Job Simulator series - even though it's technically not in the same world. I’d really recommend you play them in order to fully appreciate the experience this game has to offer. Job Simulator was the first game, with jokes and fun interaction. Vacation Simulator expanded on that idea with similar characters, and what Cosmonius does is take the ideas of object interaction and conversations and cranks it up to the max. I had so much fun experimenting, talking with NPC’s, exploring the school and seeing what story the game had to offer. This is one of those games that just speaks to people like me who likes to push the boundaries to see what you can do in a game and rewards players for experimenting. It's a heartwarming game that continues to get quality of life and accessibility updates.
The Invisible Hours - (Played on PC $29.99, but coming out on Quest, currently available in the Rift store.) From the developer: The Invisible Hours is a complex murder mystery playable with or without a VR headset. Players freely explore an intricate web of interwoven stories within a sprawling mansion. A group of strangers receive a curious invitation from the enigmatic inventor, Nikola Tesla, offering each of them the chance to make amends for their darkest wrongdoings. When the last guest arrives at Tesla’s isolated mansion laboratory, they find him dead – murdered. Disgraced Swedish detective, Gustaf Gustav, vows to find the killer amongst the other guests: a blind butler, a convicted murderer, the world’s most famous actress, Tesla’s former assistant, the son of a wealthy railroad magnate, and rival inventor Thomas Edison. But none of these people are what they seem. My thoughts: I heard so many great things about this game and it's really more of an interactive story than anything. You find yourself moving around the mansion, piecing together the intricate story and learning how all these people relate to one another and their hidden secrets. I had a great time with this game, it had a unique concept that kept me fully engaged throughout.
Pokerstars VR (Free) From the developer: PokerStars, the world’s leading poker brand, has combined live and online poker in a truly immersive VR experience. Featuring Quest Pro support with face and eye tracking, advanced haptics, and mixed reality passthrough! My thoughts: This is one of my go-to games with friends. Once you get past the initial low-stakes tables where kids play and go all-in on many hands, you’ll find a new set of players that actually play smart poker and like to chat. If you have some friends, you can create your own private room and avoid that all together. It’s a relaxing game where you can meet new people and just chill in VR. It’s my social game where I go to unwind. Recent updates have seen them add craps and social poker rooms with slots and roulette. If you're looking to relax and play some poker, this free to play game will hit the spot. You can easily play this game for free and not ever spend a dime.
Path of the Warrior ($19.99) From the developer: We interrupt this broadcast with breaking news...chaos in the streets of Rage City tonight! The myriad local gangs, once at constant war with each other have now unified under a mysterious new crime boss...Mr. S. Thugs have flooded the entire city, unleashing a wave of terror. The police are overwhelmed and the public is in imminent danger! Can anyone put a stop to the crime wave? Can anyone save Rage City? My thoughts: This fighting game is one that you can blow off steam with. It harkens back to the old Double Dragon or Final Fight arcade days and I highly recommend you play through this game with a friend as you’ll be laughing your way through it at the absurd combos and interactive objects and scenery you can use to defeat your foes. Find a bit of open room to play in, and punch your way through the game.
Half Life Alyx Mod: The Undertow - (PC only, Free) From the developer: You play as Alyx, tasked with delivering a mysterious briefcase to the owner of an underground night club, upon arriving you realize this deal might not be so straight forward... Expected Playtime: 50min - 1hr. Features: Full-fledged Story with Voice Acting, Custom Sounds, Assets, and Gameplay, Unique Puzzles & Engaging Combat, Full Single-Controller Support and Drinkable Vodka (Finally). My thoughts: I’ve been working my way through some Half Life Alyx mods that bubble up to the top via Reddit or online posts. This one found its way into my queue and while it had a really unique setting, it was extremely buggy in one spot, to the point where I had to restart a section close to 20 times. I didn't find the end game satisfying, and with so many other great mods, it was a miss for me.
Sheaf - Together EP (PC only, Free) From the developer: Enter virtual reality to listen to the debut EP “Together” of synthwave producer Sheaf. No gameplay involved -- just sit back, relax, and enjoy the music while you drive through a retro low poly world. The EP features 3 tracks, and each track comes with its own scenery, tailor made to fit its mood. You can start each track separately from the main menu. My thoughts: As noted in the developer description, this is really more a zen-like experience where you’re sitting in a car that drives down a road while chill music is playing. Certainly different from a lot of other “zone out” experiences that focus on geometric shapes, but the blocky visuals really conflicted with the chill vibe it was going for. Not really my jam, but if you like chill experiences, it might be for you. You certainly can't beat the price.
Shooty Fruity ($19.99) From the developer: Do your job whilst shooting guns! Shooty Fruity combines job simulation with exhilarating combat that makes you feel like a true action hero - whether McClane, Wick or Rambo. Take on new roles and unlock weapons to fight your way through your career. Scan shoot repeat! My thoughts: I kept seeing this game show up in sales and various feeds so I finally tried it out. After 30 minutes I just was not having any fun at all. While the enemies were silly (various fruits and vegetables), the gun mechanics were lackluster. I just did not get into the gameplay loop of shooting and scanning groceries. It was just too repetitive for me and for that reason I can’t recommend it.
What the Bat? ($24.99) From the developer: From the creators of WHAT THE GOLF? comes a silly VR game about navigating life with baseball bats for hands. Swing your way through over 100 levels of batting, cooking, shooting, smashing, parking, painting, pickling, petting, and WHATnot. My thoughts: I was a huge fan of What the Golf on iOS, and was quite excited when I heard about this sequel. The “high” price point turned me off for a while, but when UploadVR gave it their “game of the year” award, I finally pulled the trigger. I had high hopes, and it was fun… at first, but the gimmick started to wear really thin on me rather quickly. It just didn’t seem to have the same magic the first game had. I kept going through it in hopes that something would change, or capture that original feeling, but honestly, it was a grind to finish such a short game. I understand I’m probably in the minority here, but I was quite disappointed.
Superhot ($24.99) From the developer: Multi-award winning, smash-hit SUPERHOT VR blurs the lines between cautious strategy and unbridled mayhem. The definitive VR action experience. Time moves only when you move. No regenerating health bars. No conveniently placed ammo drops. It's you, alone, outnumbered and outgunned. Snatch weapons from fallen enemies to shoot, slice and dodge through a truly cinematic hurricane of slow-motion bullets. It’s like nothing you have ever played before. Something is different here. Lose track of what’s real. My thoughts: You know it, and you probably love it. Like so many others, so did I. This was one of my first VR experiences years ago and I finally saw it through to the end. This game can be quite demanding for some levels requiring accurate shooting, movement and timing. This game offers a really unique take on gameplay and multiple ways to get through some levels really increase the replayability. With the unique achievements to strive for you have a real winner. A must own for all gamers.
Tube Be Continued (Demo) (Full game $14.99) From the developer: Hello! Welcome to TUBE Industries: a hamster owned and operated tube puzzle emporium! Prepare for a tube-based, puzzle-filled, HAM-PACKED adventure with our charismatic leader: The BOSS. Here at TUBE Industries we provide the puzzles and you provide… the brains. No shady business here! My thoughts: I like to look at the new App Lab games that come out every now and then and I’m a sucker for a good puzzle game. This is a game where you connect mazes together for hamsters to run through. It was a weird story that sees you working with a Hamster CEO trying to save his company from the Board, which are all hamsters. Really weird stuff, but while the demo was fun, the puzzles were a bit on the simple side and ultimately, I just did not think it was worth buying at this point. That being said, if the demo grabs you I could see this being a fun few hours with new content planning to be added.
Dart Racer (Free) From the developer: Dart Racer is an arcade racing game where you compete against AI during race and other players on the online leaderboards - features multiple race tracks and environments - steering based on throttle differential - interactive tutorial - customizable game and comfort settings - optional hand tracking. My thoughts: Now this is podracing! It really did feel like I was doing some classic Star Wars podracing, but it was quite tough to learn the controls. Once I got that figured out, there certainly was some fun to be had, but unfortunately, it just was okay for me and I dropped out after a bit. Give it a try for free, and keep in mind there are plenty of motion assists to play with so you don't get sick.
Nock ($9.99) From the developer: Nock is bow and arrow soccer. Skate and fly around a pitch while using a bow and arrow to blast the ball into the other team’s goal. Compete in multiplayer ranked matches, or play casual custom games with your friends! Like a real sport, Nock is easy to learn but difficult to master. Block arrows let you create obstacles and you can even use your body to make a goal or save. A fast-moving ball can knock you out. Skill-based matchmaking keeps every game extremely close and competitive. Casual modes let you challenge yourself against bots or play with friends in custom matches. My thoughts: Rocket League but with archery. While I’m not a fan of archery games in general, this game really had the physics dialed in. I always felt like I was in full control of my movement and bow and arrow. Nothing ever felt like it was off, and the aiming was spot on. Every hit of the ball, or miss was my fault. An absolute blast with with up to four friends, and that’s how I recommend you play it - with friends. But there are leagues and tournaments readily available if get into the game. That being said, I’m pretty terrible at it, and will only play with friends who can tolerate my terrible skills.
Into the Radius ($29.99) From the developer: An atmospheric open-world single-player survival shooter. You find yourself in the middle of the blighted zone, cut from the outside world. Your guns and your wits are all you have left. Fight the deadly enemies, dodge dangerous anomalies, and collect wondrous artifacts on your way to the Radius center to find your way out. My thoughts: I found myself constantly saying “I can’t believe this actually runs on a Quest.” The amount of items you can interact with, areas available to explore, systems to learn and missions to accept can be quite overwhelming. Honestly it took me about 5-7 hours of gameplay, tutorials and youtube videos until finally the game “clicked.” After this one fateful mission where I was over encumbered with items, low on ammo with minimal health and dealing with enemies at every turn, I was totally immersed and was having the time of my life. It was an absolute blast and despite being so tense - a joy to play. I did tone down the difficulty a bit, which made it much more playable and less punishing. Truly a great game if you like the loop of scavenging, planning your route ahead and making sure literally every bullet counts. While it lacks in story, it does have a lot of environmental details and little things that you have to find for yourself. If you like survival games, it’s almost perfect.
Surgineer ($9.99) From the developer: Have you ever dreamed of being a real surgeon? Well… you are not gonna learn that here. Welcome to the most unrealistic surgery simulator where everyone can instantly become a terrible doctor. You will have to solve hilarious surgical procedures ranging from CPR to brain transplant or even removing alien eggs from a poor patient using a robotic arm! You always thought you had that surgeon in you? You better have a bulletproof malpractice insurance before getting your virtual hands on a patient! My thoughts: At such a low price point, I wasn’t expecting much. I remember playing Surgeon Simulator back in the day and this looked like that. Much to my disappointment it was much more terrible than I had hoped. Absolutely no fun was to be had here. I constantly fought with the controls, many times had no clue what to do and finally gave up in frustration. I understand part of the appeal is the wonkiness of it, but this game requires someone with a lot more patience than me to get some fun out of it.

There you have it, 21 different games played in three months. I would say there are plenty of games to play and enjoy on the Quest. I hope you find a few that you might not have heard of, or that you might find worth revisiting. Let me know on the Ruff Talk Discord channel if you have a game you enjoy that I should try, I'm always open to recommendations. You can also find this article on the RuffTalkVR Blog Until then, I hope your next VR experience is a memorable one.

When I read posts about how there are no games to play on the Quest, I simply can’t relate. I’m a voracious consumer of VR games, experiences and demos and currently have over 330 of them on my headset (not including my PCVR library). These experiences are a combination of both old and new items, and my wish list and library just keeps growing week after week with new releases, recommendations and game updates. This year, I wanted to keep track of all the games I’ve played and keep coming back to and catalogue them here in hopes that they may give you some fresh ideas of games to play, or reasons to revisit older games due to their updates or improvements.
Some of the games listed below, I can forsee playing all year long, and to be fair, others I've tried are not my cup of tea, but they may interest you enough to try them out. In either case, here are my quick thoughts on the 21 games I’ve played so far from January to March of 2023 along with links to them on the store.

Bocce Time! ($8.99) From the developer: In Bocce Time! you'll head down to a peaceful park or atmospheric pier to test your bocce skills across 12 distinct courts. Jump into a quick match to 1v1 a random opponent online, create and join private rooms with up to 8 players, or play against AI across 3 difficulties to unlock additional ball customization options. With full cross-play, everyone's invited to join the fun! It's Bocce Time! My thoughts: This game has seen so many updates since it’s release and if you haven’t checked it out, there’s a free trial that opens up the whole game so you can try it out for yourself. With two parks (10 courses), an AI bot to challenge (that has great quips), collectible balls and support for up to eight people, this is a wonderful social game to play with friends. The Walkabout Mini Golf vibes are strong with this game, so players of that game will feel right at home. The latest update unlocked the entire park as a play area, and ensures that you and your friends will have unlimited options for where to play from. Along with Discord tournaments available if you're feeling competitive, this game is a real hidden gem and has grown a lot since its release. Absolutely worth a go, especially at that price point.
Golf+ ($29.99) From the developer: GOLF+ is the ultimate VR Golf experience and the exclusive VR Golf game of the PGA TOUR. Join your friends for a round on Pebble Beach, Pinehurst No. 2, TPC Sawgrass and more. Want something more casual? Hang out at Topgolf for a night of music and games. My thoughts: Simply one of the best games on the app store. With all the great new updates such as Beat the Pro and new courses dropping every so often, it's one game that will be on my Quest until the next headset comes out. With the official PGA licenses, a variety of match options and support for four players, it’s an essential Quest game to play alone or with friends.
Little Cities ($19.99) From the developer: Escape to the charming world of Little Cities, the most loved VR city building simulation game. Create your own little city and watch it come to life – from a humble village to a bustling metropolis. Design the layout and strategically plot amenities to make a perfect city where your citizens love to live. My thoughts: The latest update added citizens to the game. This adds a lot more flavor to your city and brings more life to your city. It’s a pretty simple SimCity style game that should keep you entertained for a few hours. I enjoyed this one, but wasn’t blown away. The extra DLC courses and achievements will give you more play time if you find yourself enjoying this one though.
Compound ($19.99) From the developer: "COMPOUND is a randomized, rogue-lite, free-roaming shooter for Virtual Reality veterans. Duck and dodge around enemy fire in a tough-as-nails retro FPS with multiple locomotion options. Prepare to die - a lot - until you are good enough to reach the heart of The Corporation and take back what belongs to everyone..." My experience: Essentially Doom on Quest. The awesome blocky aesthetics work perfectly in this world. With a great gameplay loop and exciting gunplay this one will easily get its hooks into you. I found myself saying "just one more run" more often than I had time for. This single player shooter has so many achievements and difficulty levels that it kept me busy for quite some time. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it and still have more to do. A must buy for any fan of the genre.
Walkabout Mini Golf ($14.99) From the developer: 8 unique 18-hole courses to master. Unlock NIGHT MODE for more challenging versions of all courses. Play solo, 1v1 online quick match, or create a private room with up to 8 players. Extremely accurate physics feel just like the real thing. Collect over 188 custom balls hidden throughout. Solve treasure hunts on each hard course to earn special putters. My thoughts: What more needs to be said about this excellent game? It’s on my constant rotation of games to play alone, with friends, or even with strangers - as the community is so warm and welcoming. The community is truly one of the best, and there are several discord servers for tournaments, weekly meetups and more. An essential game that every Quest owner should have.
VR Pool ($19.99) From the developer: ForeVR Pool brings the coolest pool halls from around the globe straight to your living room! Challenge friends, family, and in-game pros to a game of 8-ball pool – no table required. Battle 12 bots to level up and take on Legendary challengers. Join a Quick Match or jump into a private multiplayer party! Friend in town? Share your headset with Pass & Play. Up the ante and stake in-game coins in matches against other players. My thoughts: This was pretty feature-light and choppy when it first launched, but it now has 9-ball in addition to 8-ball. If you bought it early, it's worth a quick revisit. It sticks pretty true to the ForeVR formula with its aesthetics and collectibles. The graphics aren’t going to win any awards and frankly put me off of it when I first booted it up, but the physics hold up and it’s a good time against the AI or a friend. With 2v2 matches coming soon, that is where this game could really be worth revisiting for some multiplayer fun and friendly smack talk.
After the Fall - (Played on PC $29.99, available on Quest $29.99) From the developer: Welcome to ‘The Line’... Decades have passed since the apocalypse turned 1980s Los Angeles into a snow-crested wasteland, overrun by mutated undead. Starting out in an underground camp with up to 32 other player survivors, you take up arms as a new Harvest Runner. Your mission? Venturing out above ground to expand the Line’s reach into the city and fuel mankind’s survival for another day. My thoughts: What a fun game. The gunplay and sheer amount of enemies on screen via PC is just stunning. You're set in an apocalyptic world and must shoot your way out while gathering resources. The atmosphere is stunning, and the graphics are top notch as well. While I’m sure it’s downgraded a bit to run on Quest, don’t let that hold you back. You can play this co-op with up to three other players and bots will fill you out to four. The teamwork this game offers is wonderful. Find a friend or two and jump in this one, or play with the ever-full lobbies of people looking to join up. The latest Descension update adds two new maps and a ton of other bug fixes and gameplay additions. It's a great time to jump in with a friend!
Cosmoniuous High (Played on PC $29.99, available on Quest $29.99) From the developer: From the creators of award winning titles 'Job Simulator' and 'Vacation Simulator', comes a new original creation—the comically catastrophic Cosmonious High! Welcome to your alien high school that's definitely completely free of malfunctions! After crash-landing into your first day, you'll unlock powers, explore the halls, and save the school from cosmic chaos. My thoughts: I would consider this is the third entry in the Job Simulator series - even though it's technically not in the same world. I’d really recommend you play them in order to fully appreciate the experience this game has to offer. Job Simulator was the first game, with jokes and fun interaction. Vacation Simulator expanded on that idea with similar characters, and what Cosmonius does is take the ideas of object interaction and conversations and cranks it up to the max. I had so much fun experimenting, talking with NPC’s, exploring the school and seeing what story the game had to offer. This is one of those games that just speaks to people like me who likes to push the boundaries to see what you can do in a game and rewards players for experimenting. It's a heartwarming game that continues to get quality of life and accessibility updates.
The Invisible Hours - (Played on PC $29.99, but coming out on Quest, currently available in the Rift store.) From the developer: The Invisible Hours is a complex murder mystery playable with or without a VR headset. Players freely explore an intricate web of interwoven stories within a sprawling mansion. A group of strangers receive a curious invitation from the enigmatic inventor, Nikola Tesla, offering each of them the chance to make amends for their darkest wrongdoings. When the last guest arrives at Tesla’s isolated mansion laboratory, they find him dead – murdered. Disgraced Swedish detective, Gustaf Gustav, vows to find the killer amongst the other guests: a blind butler, a convicted murderer, the world’s most famous actress, Tesla’s former assistant, the son of a wealthy railroad magnate, and rival inventor Thomas Edison. But none of these people are what they seem. My thoughts: I heard so many great things about this game and it's really more of an interactive story than anything. You find yourself moving around the mansion, piecing together the intricate story and learning how all these people relate to one another and their hidden secrets. I had a great time with this game, it had a unique concept that kept me fully engaged throughout.
Pokerstars VR (Free) From the developer: PokerStars, the world’s leading poker brand, has combined live and online poker in a truly immersive VR experience. Featuring Quest Pro support with face and eye tracking, advanced haptics, and mixed reality passthrough! My thoughts: This is one of my go-to games with friends. Once you get past the initial low-stakes tables where kids play and go all-in on many hands, you’ll find a new set of players that actually play smart poker and like to chat. If you have some friends, you can create your own private room and avoid that all together. It’s a relaxing game where you can meet new people and just chill in VR. It’s my social game where I go to unwind. Recent updates have seen them add craps and social poker rooms with slots and roulette. If you're looking to relax and play some poker, this free to play game will hit the spot. You can easily play this game for free and not ever spend a dime.
Path of the Warrior ($19.99) From the developer: We interrupt this broadcast with breaking news...chaos in the streets of Rage City tonight! The myriad local gangs, once at constant war with each other have now unified under a mysterious new crime boss...Mr. S. Thugs have flooded the entire city, unleashing a wave of terror. The police are overwhelmed and the public is in imminent danger! Can anyone put a stop to the crime wave? Can anyone save Rage City? My thoughts: This fighting game is one that you can blow off steam with. It harkens back to the old Double Dragon or Final Fight arcade days and I highly recommend you play through this game with a friend as you’ll be laughing your way through it at the absurd combos and interactive objects and scenery you can use to defeat your foes. Find a bit of open room to play in, and punch your way through the game.
Half Life Alyx Mod: The Undertow - (PC only, Free) From the developer: You play as Alyx, tasked with delivering a mysterious briefcase to the owner of an underground night club, upon arriving you realize this deal might not be so straight forward... Expected Playtime: 50min - 1hr. Features: Full-fledged Story with Voice Acting, Custom Sounds, Assets, and Gameplay, Unique Puzzles & Engaging Combat, Full Single-Controller Support and Drinkable Vodka (Finally). My thoughts: I’ve been working my way through some Half Life Alyx mods that bubble up to the top via Reddit or online posts. This one found its way into my queue and while it had a really unique setting, it was extremely buggy in one spot, to the point where I had to restart a section close to 20 times. I didn't find the end game satisfying, and with so many other great mods, it was a miss for me.
Sheaf - Together EP (PC only, Free) From the developer: Enter virtual reality to listen to the debut EP “Together” of synthwave producer Sheaf. No gameplay involved -- just sit back, relax, and enjoy the music while you drive through a retro low poly world. The EP features 3 tracks, and each track comes with its own scenery, tailor made to fit its mood. You can start each track separately from the main menu. My thoughts: As noted in the developer description, this is really more a zen-like experience where you’re sitting in a car that drives down a road while chill music is playing. Certainly different from a lot of other “zone out” experiences that focus on geometric shapes, but the blocky visuals really conflicted with the chill vibe it was going for. Not really my jam, but if you like chill experiences, it might be for you. You certainly can't beat the price.
Shooty Fruity ($19.99) From the developer: Do your job whilst shooting guns! Shooty Fruity combines job simulation with exhilarating combat that makes you feel like a true action hero - whether McClane, Wick or Rambo. Take on new roles and unlock weapons to fight your way through your career. Scan shoot repeat! My thoughts: I kept seeing this game show up in sales and various feeds so I finally tried it out. After 30 minutes I just was not having any fun at all. While the enemies were silly (various fruits and vegetables), the gun mechanics were lackluster. I just did not get into the gameplay loop of shooting and scanning groceries. It was just too repetitive for me and for that reason I can’t recommend it.
What the Bat? ($24.99) From the developer: From the creators of WHAT THE GOLF? comes a silly VR game about navigating life with baseball bats for hands. Swing your way through over 100 levels of batting, cooking, shooting, smashing, parking, painting, pickling, petting, and WHATnot. My thoughts: I was a huge fan of What the Golf on iOS, and was quite excited when I heard about this sequel. The “high” price point turned me off for a while, but when UploadVR gave it their “game of the year” award, I finally pulled the trigger. I had high hopes, and it was fun… at first, but the gimmick started to wear really thin on me rather quickly. It just didn’t seem to have the same magic the first game had. I kept going through it in hopes that something would change, or capture that original feeling, but honestly, it was a grind to finish such a short game. I understand I’m probably in the minority here, but I was quite disappointed.
Superhot ($24.99) From the developer: Multi-award winning, smash-hit SUPERHOT VR blurs the lines between cautious strategy and unbridled mayhem. The definitive VR action experience. Time moves only when you move. No regenerating health bars. No conveniently placed ammo drops. It's you, alone, outnumbered and outgunned. Snatch weapons from fallen enemies to shoot, slice and dodge through a truly cinematic hurricane of slow-motion bullets. It’s like nothing you have ever played before. Something is different here. Lose track of what’s real. My thoughts: You know it, and you probably love it. Like so many others, so did I. This was one of my first VR experiences years ago and I finally saw it through to the end. This game can be quite demanding for some levels requiring accurate shooting, movement and timing. This game offers a really unique take on gameplay and multiple ways to get through some levels really increase the replayability. With the unique achievements to strive for you have a real winner. A must own for all gamers.
Tube Be Continued (Demo) (Full game $14.99) From the developer: Hello! Welcome to TUBE Industries: a hamster owned and operated tube puzzle emporium! Prepare for a tube-based, puzzle-filled, HAM-PACKED adventure with our charismatic leader: The BOSS. Here at TUBE Industries we provide the puzzles and you provide… the brains. No shady business here! My thoughts: I like to look at the new App Lab games that come out every now and then and I’m a sucker for a good puzzle game. This is a game where you connect mazes together for hamsters to run through. It was a weird story that sees you working with a Hamster CEO trying to save his company from the Board, which are all hamsters. Really weird stuff, but while the demo was fun, the puzzles were a bit on the simple side and ultimately, I just did not think it was worth buying at this point. That being said, if the demo grabs you I could see this being a fun few hours with new content planning to be added.
Dart Racer (Free) From the developer: Dart Racer is an arcade racing game where you compete against AI during race and other players on the online leaderboards - features multiple race tracks and environments - steering based on throttle differential - interactive tutorial - customizable game and comfort settings - optional hand tracking. My thoughts: Now this is podracing! It really did feel like I was doing some classic Star Wars podracing, but it was quite tough to learn the controls. Once I got that figured out, there certainly was some fun to be had, but unfortunately, it just was okay for me and I dropped out after a bit. Give it a try for free, and keep in mind there are plenty of motion assists to play with so you don't get sick.
Nock ($9.99) From the developer: Nock is bow and arrow soccer. Skate and fly around a pitch while using a bow and arrow to blast the ball into the other team’s goal. Compete in multiplayer ranked matches, or play casual custom games with your friends! Like a real sport, Nock is easy to learn but difficult to master. Block arrows let you create obstacles and you can even use your body to make a goal or save. A fast-moving ball can knock you out. Skill-based matchmaking keeps every game extremely close and competitive. Casual modes let you challenge yourself against bots or play with friends in custom matches. My thoughts: Rocket League but with archery. While I’m not a fan of archery games in general, this game really had the physics dialed in. I always felt like I was in full control of my movement and bow and arrow. Nothing ever felt like it was off, and the aiming was spot on. Every hit of the ball, or miss was my fault. An absolute blast with with up to four friends, and that’s how I recommend you play it - with friends. But there are leagues and tournaments readily available if get into the game. That being said, I’m pretty terrible at it, and will only play with friends who can tolerate my terrible skills.
Into the Radius ($29.99) From the developer: An atmospheric open-world single-player survival shooter. You find yourself in the middle of the blighted zone, cut from the outside world. Your guns and your wits are all you have left. Fight the deadly enemies, dodge dangerous anomalies, and collect wondrous artifacts on your way to the Radius center to find your way out. My thoughts: I found myself constantly saying “I can’t believe this actually runs on a Quest.” The amount of items you can interact with, areas available to explore, systems to learn and missions to accept can be quite overwhelming. Honestly it took me about 5-7 hours of gameplay, tutorials and youtube videos until finally the game “clicked.” After this one fateful mission where I was over encumbered with items, low on ammo with minimal health and dealing with enemies at every turn, I was totally immersed and was having the time of my life. It was an absolute blast and despite being so tense - a joy to play. I did tone down the difficulty a bit, which made it much more playable and less punishing. Truly a great game if you like the loop of scavenging, planning your route ahead and making sure literally every bullet counts. While it lacks in story, it does have a lot of environmental details and little things that you have to find for yourself. If you like survival games, it’s almost perfect.
Surgineer ($9.99) From the developer: Have you ever dreamed of being a real surgeon? Well… you are not gonna learn that here. Welcome to the most unrealistic surgery simulator where everyone can instantly become a terrible doctor. You will have to solve hilarious surgical procedures ranging from CPR to brain transplant or even removing alien eggs from a poor patient using a robotic arm! You always thought you had that surgeon in you? You better have a bulletproof malpractice insurance before getting your virtual hands on a patient! My thoughts: At such a low price point, I wasn’t expecting much. I remember playing Surgeon Simulator back in the day and this looked like that. Much to my disappointment it was much more terrible than I had hoped. Absolutely no fun was to be had here. I constantly fought with the controls, many times had no clue what to do and finally gave up in frustration. I understand part of the appeal is the wonkiness of it, but this game requires someone with a lot more patience than me to get some fun out of it.

There you have it, 21 different games played in three months. I would say there are plenty of games to play and enjoy on the Quest. I hope you find a few that you might not have heard of, or that you might find worth revisiting. Let me know on the Ruff Talk Discord channel if you have a game you enjoy that I should try, I'm always open to recommendations. You can also find this article on the RuffTalkVR Blog Until then, I hope your next VR experience is a memorable one.

Kansas: I (23M) have lived with my son (6M) since January after losing my place to live around September. Before this date his mother and I had a verbal agreement where while we worked the other would take care of him, meaning he saw both of us everyday. For the following year after his mother's death he stayed with me 100% of the time.
Currently now there are 3 adults in my home (Myself, my partner and my roomate).
If the background is not important, or seems to much to read after the 4th paragraph I have a section of possibly important details followed by my question.
Alright this has got some background to it. Preceeding the Mothers death (September 2021) the parties seeking legal visitation rights would see my son ~1 a month maybe on a good month and only by the mother. After said death the mothers adoptive family caused a huge fight between eachother and other friends and side of the family. After this the grandparents had seen my son maybe 2 times up until August. I don't feel mentally and developmentally it is in my child's best interest to have his grandmother or Aunt in his life due to the grandmother's addictions and waiving of rights to her own daughter, she ended up being adopted by her step father whom I have a good relationship with, or the aunts sour disposition towards me and overall hostile attitude.
I've had 0 contact with the grandparents since the Month after his mother's death. I however was in contact about monthly with his Aunt and allowed them to visit. I moved out of my apartment due to my lease expiring and I decided to not renew it in May. We had a place to stay for a period of time while I searched for a new place to live, I found a trailer in September and by November it was finally move in ready. We were still in the process of acquiring all the furniture, beds and amenities and painting the trailer until early December, so the trailer was totally wrecked during that time. After I found out we had to leave in September I asked if the Aunt would be okay with Nikolai staying with them until I found a home and it was move in ready for Nikolai to which they hastily agreed.
I was choosing to keep my son out of school until I had a stable house and he had a guaranteed school. During his time with his Aunt and uncle however enrolled him in a school outside of the city he would be living at. I was upset about this, but I figured it was good for him to be interacting with more kids. That was until January when it was brought to my attention by some friends and family that they were making a plan to frame me an Unfit parent to take care of my son. I had been asking unsucessfully for months for my son's birth certificate and medical records which were taken by his grandparents after the mothers death. I was however able to get him transfered schools and starting school within 4 days of hearing the news.
Since I've taken my son back home we've received multiple unknown and unwanted visits at our home by said Aunt in attempts to have my son for weekends. I however am not okay with this however and don't feel comfortable with the nearly hour long drive if some emergency were to pop up. We've also received a few trips from CPS based on calls they've received. I'm not definitively saying they're the ones who did it, but I do have someone who was present when they said they would call CPS as many times as it takes to get my son taken from me that would attest to the same thing. The fact this family would go behind my back in attempts to gain custody of my son when the parties involved either never had kids, or gave up rights to their own kids and were not involved in their lived until the kids were much older has gotten my blood boiling.
POSSIBLY IMPORTANT DETAILS:

During the time between losing my place to live and acquiring my new place was not due to financial trouble, but due to lack of availability however I did spend ~3 weeks living out of my car
I'm financially stable and have been at my job for 3 ½ years
After the funeral the grandparents caused a scene about wanting the prescribed drugs (Oxcycodone) that was in my sons mother's possessions, she had then prescribed due to her wisdom teeth being removed. This event led to her brother bringing a gun with him and saying "She's[grandmother] a pill popper and there is no way I'm letting her have those"
The Aunt banned the two closest people to my sons mother, people who he'd been around for years, from seeing him without my knowledge which had greatly upset my son. The reasoning summed up was "I don't like their attitude towards me"
My son was constantly sick and had been to the doctors office 3 times without a word from the Aunt about it to me.
I was not informed of the rules and ideologies the Aunt was trying to enforce on my son, ones that conflicted with both his mothers and my own ways that we had been raising him
The mother biological side of the family (the ones I've had trouble with) have tried to say I am an irresponsible gun owner despite the fact all my guns are kept locked up and hidden from my son.
I have a clean record apart from a citation for an expired tag on my car
I rarely drink, around once every six months if that, and I don't use and drugs, not even Marijuana despite its growing legality across the states.

-They had a lawyer mail me essentially a threat of taking me to court over Third party visitation for the Aunt and Grandmother with them asking for him from Friday after school until Sunday nights around 6pm, to possibly be discussed unless responded to my March 3rd. This was dated Febuary 22nd, today March 22nd is my first time seeing said letter.

Since moving back in with me my son hasn't once asked to see his grandparents or even mentioned their names, and whenever mentioning the Aunt it's always accompied with him talking about some expensive toy or gadget she bought him.

-During one CPS visit while talking with the social worker we explained the issue happening with the mothers biological side of the family along with a few notes mentioned above. Upon hearing this she looked concerned and had stated she didn't feel having that influence in his life would be healthy for him emotionally or developmentally.
I do believe that is everything pertinent to the situation.
Now my question: If I don't see the grandparents or Aunts relationship to my son as beneficial in any way will I still be legally required to let them see my son? If not required to, what options do I have to cease all contact with them and have them forced to stop showing up unannounced at my door?
If anything needs to be elaborated on I will gladly answer to the best of my ability!

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/03/ukraine-russia-war-nonviolent-digital-resistance-telegram/673420/

Ukraine’s Digital Resistance Behind Enemy Lines

David Patrikarakos 15–19 minutes
The man introduced to me in the southern port city of Odesa as Taras does not look like what he is: the founder of the civilian resistance to Russia’s military occupation of southern and eastern Ukraine. He’s no tough Marshal Tito or ethereal Mahatma Gandhi. He looks, in fact, like your typical Gen Z tech worker: early 20s, lean, trendy—and he’s always online. He likes to talk about English Premier League football games from the 1980s, but only because he’s seen them on YouTube; he can name scores of Premier League players, but only because he’s used their avatars in the FIFA video game. He adores Instagram.
Since April, Taras has led a group named Yellow Ribbon, which took up the principles of nonviolent resistance soon after the Russians overran his home city of Kherson. (Taras is a pseudonym he uses to help protect his identity from his Russian enemies.) Its goal: to resist Russian occupation through peaceful means wherever possible. The group has now spread throughout the occupied territories of Ukraine, and as it has done so, its reputation has grown. Late last year, Yellow Ribbon was one of four Ukrainian groups honored with the European Parliament’s Andrei Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, the European Union’s main award for the defense of human rights.
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What distinguishes Yellow Ribbon from traditional nonviolent resistance movements is its emphasis on the digital. The group’s growing numbers of activists stay connected via a chatbot plugin on the group’s Telegram messaging app. Prompted by the chatbot’s automated questions, activists in the occupied territories can access various resistance tasks to carry out on the ground. The system enables Yellow Ribbon to share the materials and techniques necessary for the resistance to make its activities visible in the real world of the occupation, while safeguarding the anonymity of the participants against Russian efforts to penetrate the network. Among the clandestine actions guided by the chatbot are scrawling pro-Ukraine graffiti, tying yellow ribbons around objects in the streets, and projecting slogans onto buildings taken over by the Russian administration. Such nonviolent actions have made Yellow Ribbon famous across Ukraine—and a serious problem for Russia in the occupied areas.
At first, the Russians ignored the group to avoid amplifying its work. Eventually, as Yellow Ribbon’s activities grew, they were forced to respond. Yellow and blue paint began to disappear from shops in occupied areas. Buying anything yellow became almost impossible; people were reduced to cutting patches of the color out of old clothes.
Even Russian soldiers began to feel the effects of Yellow Ribbon’s activities. Taras told me that after graffiti appeared near the entrance of a Chechen base in Melitopol, another occupied city in southeastern Ukraine, the soldiers changed their location and started going about town in civilian clothing rather than military uniform.
Access to the Telegram chatbot has allowed resistance activists to spring up across the occupied territories; many of them were women, who, I was told, could more easily pass unnoticed by the Russian occupiers. Earlier this year, I met Liliyia Aleksandrova in Kherson, which was recaptured by Ukrainian forces late last year—though artillery shelling still roared in the background as we spoke. Prior to the occupation, Aleksandrova had, she said, been a middle-aged “mama.” When the Russians first came to Kherson, she attended some street demonstrations, but the tear gas and soldiers soon put a stop to things. “It was clear we couldn’t protest publicly anymore,” she told me. “I was thinking about what I could do for my country; I had to do something to be useful.”
On Telegram, she came across Yellow Ribbon and, using the group’s chatbot tool, she began downloading instructions for tasks. She put up yellow ribbons everywhere she could—on buildings, lampposts, and fences—and took photos. Once or twice, she was almost caught, but she continued. Her work was everywhere around the city. As we talked, we passed Yellow Ribbon graffiti on a street wall. “I did that,” Liliyia told me with quiet satisfaction.
The first time Taras saw the Russians after the February 24 invasion, they had taken an office in the city’s main square; then they took the main police station. By March 2, they were in full control of Kherson. “No one knew what would happen tomorrow or the day after,” he told me when we met earlier this year in Odesa. He’d spent most of last year living under occupation in Kherson before its liberation in November.
Ukrainian partisans have launched sporadic attacks in Russian-occupied areas, but Taras had no military training, so any resistance activity he took on had to be nonviolent. He drew inspiration from earlier causes such as Germany’s White Rose student group, which opposed the Nazis; the U.S. civil-rights movement; and Czechoslovakia’s 1989 protests that led to the Velvet Revolution. Gandhi called nonviolent resistance “mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.”
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According to Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan, both political scientists and co-authors of the 2011 book Why Civil Resistance Works, taking up arms has traditionally given regime opponents a 26 percent chance of succeeding in their aims, whereas the tactics of nonviolent resistance have a 53 percent success rate. Countries where nonviolent, rather than violent, resistance led to change were more likely to remain democratic after the crisis ended.
Taras knew many people who wanted to act but for whom armed resistance was not an option. He could, he calculated, attract many more recruits through nonviolence. Almost anyone can participate: Its methods are highly accessible, and no specialist equipment or skills are required. He grasped that nonviolence’s main advantage over violence is scale—the number of people it can rally to a cause is exponentially greater.
Taras knew he could count on the 10 employees of the IT company he ran in Kherson, plus some people in other companies he worked with. This was enough to form the basis of what would become Yellow Ribbon. Even today, the core group of coordinators remains small—about 40 people, all of them known personally to Taras from before the occupation. Most are in their 20s.
At first, the Russians allowed residents of Kherson to protest in person, and many did, going to the central square, waving Ukrainian flags, and demanding the troops leave. Pooling cash, Taras’s group decided to buy online advertisements to spread the message. It gravitated easily from organizing IT projects to rallying support for the local protests and other pro-Ukraine activities through March and into April.
Then, in late April, a rumor spread through the city that Russia was making preparations for fraudulent referendums in occupied cities across the south. The result would be a foregone conclusion; the territories would be annexed to Russia. The resistance activists knew they had to act.
On April 23, they set up a Telegram group that they named Yellow Ribbon, a reference to the color on the Ukrainian flag, to spread pro-Ukraine messages and encourage people to paste leaflets and posters around Kherson. The platform would also work with local media to promulgate similar messages. Taras realized they could now reach hundreds of thousands of people.
Eliot A. Cohen: The shortest path to peace
“That’s what you can do with a digital component: reach larger audiences, spread more messages, get people to go out and protest, and do so successfully,” he told me. “We saw it work; things started to build like a snowball.”
The first demonstration, which took place on April 27, was modest in size—maybe 500 people. The Russians were out in force and used tear gas and stun grenades against the protesters. The physical demonstration may have been small, and was quickly put down, but online, via the Telegram channel and on social networks, it went viral. Moscow did eventually hold the referendum, but not until the end of September.
Another protest was planned for May 9, by which time things were getting more dangerous. Within five minutes, the protest was broken up by Russian forces. After the FSB, Russia’s state security police, came to town, the first local collaborators emerged, and activists started to disappear. Taras and his team made the decision to shift their strategy away from street demonstrations. If the resistance could not occupy the streets, it would occupy the online space.
In June, the group used Instagram to create a virtual street protest that included images of flags and banners on a visualization of a street in Kherson. Every person who attended had to write “Kherson is Ukraine” in the comments section. From these posts, the group calculated that 40,000 people had joined from Kherson and 16,000 from Mariupol. The Yellow Ribbon message spread across not only pro-Ukraine but pro-Russia platforms as well.
As Yellow Ribbon’s name and activities grew, new problems arose. Its activists were in constant danger of arrest. The group put several security protocols in place. Unlike specialized messaging platforms such as Signal, Telegram was already in widespread use by Ukrainians and Russians alike, rendering the app’s presence on a phone unsuspicious. Telegram can also be deleted from a phone, removing all the messages, and then downloaded again—with all of the messages still intact.
Gil Barndollar: Ukraine has the battlefield edge
Getting people out of jail became a priority for the group. That generally meant one thing: bribes. Usually, it was easy to pay Russian soldiers or local collaborators to release an activist who’d disappeared. Taras knew businessmen in the city who had dealings with the Russians, and he used them as intermediaries. He’d pay them, and they’d pay the Russians.
Then, in late September, the group set up the chatbot. The technology enabled Yellow Ribbon to radically scale up its activities, allowing it to evolve from being a local resistance movement into something more powerful: a franchised one. People like Aleksandrova began to open cabinets across the occupied territories—in Melitopol and Donetsk and Luhansk, even in Crimea.
Over coffee in Odesa, Taras showed me the chatbot homepage on his laptop. In Crimea, chatbot volunteers tied a yellow ribbon on a tree near a shipping port. In September, leaflets announcing Crimea is Ukraine! and Opening soon! were pasted on a government building there. Ukrainian-flag graffiti appeared in Donetsk, and in Melitopol posters mocked the Russian passports that locals were being pressured to get.
The group also taught people how to make stencils in the shape of the “3CY” initialism for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and, using torches, project them onto official buildings. In late January, one appeared on the Russian administration’s office in Melitopol.
David Frum: Zelensky recalled us to ourselves
Most of the time, the group judged, Russian soldiers hadn’t themselves seen the resistance graffiti or leaflets in the city, but a monitoring team would report the photo of it that subsequently appeared online. Back in May, the Russian TV channel Izvestia paraded some purported Yellow Ribbon activists from Mariupol, who claimed that they had been paid to put up leaflets (as an alternative to other hourly paid work, which encouraged Russian viewers to infer that they were prostitutes).
The Yellow Ribbon team started noticing people whom it suspected were FSB personnel using the Chatbot app to pose as activists and request to meet in person—a clear violation of security rules. The team’s members, Taras told me, also received phishing links almost daily. In this sense, the digital amplification has increased the reach and impact of the ground activity, forcing the occupier to respond to it.
Eventually, the group’s presence attracted attention in Moscow. Yellow Ribbon’s work prompted a “concerned citizen” in Crimea to message the local Russian Investigative Committee’s Telegram channel: “I request you begin investigating the terrorist activities and spreading of ideology by the Yellow Ribbon group.” On January 27, the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Moscow issued a letter saying that the activity was being investigated, and two days later, a subdivision of the ministry confirmed that it was now regarded as a criminal matter.
A Russian organization calling itself the Committee for the Defense Against Traitors released a video claiming that the group was engaged “in the information war” to push the agenda of “terrorists.” These sorts of attacks are only to be expected: The group’s activities are not just a constant reminder that the locals reject the occupation but also a living rebuttal of Russia’s entire narrative justifying its invasion.
Recently, I spoke with Ivan, a colleague of Taras’s who helped set up Yellow Ribbon back in April last year. (Again, I am using a pseudonym to protect his identity.) Another Kherson native, he is Yellow Ribbon’s main coordinator. When the Russians withdrew from the city, he went to nearby Melitopol, which remains under Moscow’s control. Ivan stayed behind enemy lines, he explained, because the group needs to ensure that the movement keeps growing, especially in that city and other still-occupied areas. It’s hard to find the right materials and places to print, and they need to keep their network of activists in play across the region.
“Things in Melitopol are tough,” he told me over an encrypted voice call. “The Russians have instituted an ‘anti-terrorist’ regime on the streets, which means increased patrols and video cameras everywhere. A lot of soldiers have arrived from Russia—and they are making a lot of arrests. It’s hard for us to work here now.
“The Russians can be brutal,” he went on. “But it depends on what unit they’re from—the Chechens are really bad. They think that this is their territory.”
Tom Nichols: Putin’s desperate hours
Ivan and his fellow activists keep a low profile, especially when they go out to buy necessities. Security is paramount. “I try not to be too active on the streets but instead focus on how to bring in the materials into the city and where to hide them,” he told me. “I work with VPNs and hosts and proxies to make sure my internet connection is safe. I have five cellphones and move from safe house to safe house each night or week.”
Taras left Kherson last August, before the city was liberated. He traveled by car, carrying just one sports bag and about 170,000 roubles (approximately $2,300), which he gave to the soldiers manning a checkpoint out of the city. When he handed over the cash, he felt like telling them they were welcome to it because he’d never be needing roubles again, but he refrained, and instead drove through the barrier in silence, back into free Ukraine.
Since then, he has continued to coordinate Yellow Ribbon’s activities from inside Ukraine. The group plans to expand its activities. The chatbot now serves about 4,600 open cabinets, but the group hopes to get that number to 100,000. This has helped change the nature of nonviolent resistance movements, which in the past tended to center on a single, charismatic figure, such as Martin Luther King Jr. or Gandhi. Instead, Yellow Ribbon, with its army of activists across occupied Ukraine, creates impact through a shared disgust at what Russia is doing, unifying opposition to the occupation. Its great strength lies in its digitally diffuse activism—which makes stopping it much harder for the Russians.
“I hope that liberation will come in the next three months,” Ivan said at the end of our conversation. “When it does, we will take our Ukrainian flags to the main square and celebrate with our military, as we did in Kherson.”

Read chapter 15 here: https://www.reddit.com/saw/comments/11rvp3u/legacy_from_the_book_of_saw_chapter_15_dr_steward/
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*** CHAPTER 16 **\*
William Schenk enters a shabby apartment complex carrying a red, portable cooler. He passes the commonly empty front desk and proceeds upstairs. When he reaches his floor, he sees a call girl exiting his neighbor's apartment. He flashes a charming smile and keeps moving. His neighbor, ashamed, says, "Hey Bill…," But Bill doesn't stop. He offers a wave and continues down the hall.
Aside from a small TV and newspaper articles, his flat is almost barren. He places the cooler on the kitchen counter and heads into his bedroom. Opening the closet door, he procures a small, aqua green, square-shaped box and a thin strand of rope, approximately four feet in length.
He sets the box on the living room table, then grabs the portable cooler. On the table in front of him, he switches on an old radio, quickly tuning the device to a new station.
The reporter begins to speak about the mass grave that's been discovered, while Bill stuffs the box full of newspaper. He then opens the cooler and places the contents into box. The final step is to wrap the box with the rope, making the perfect knot and bow.
In the kitchen, he takes a black marker from a ceramic cup and writes a note on a small white tag. He slips the rope through a pre-punctured hole on the label and ties it off. Satisfied, The Organ Donor admires his work, then places the gift inside the freezer.
*** CHAPTER 17 **\*
Paint dripped on the precinct floor as Lincoln made his way to the restroom. He locked the door, unbuttoned his shirt, set it on the counter, and unhooked the latch on his brace. The Detective slowly removed the homemade cilice, exposing a throng of metal spikes that had left dozens of painful indentations in his skin. Lincoln stared at his scarred torso, stoic to the pain he had caused himself as repentance. As he watched the blood spill from several small wounds, he remembered cradling Roy's head, and in his mind, Lincoln felt he deserved this.
He allowed his sores a moment to breathe while he struggled to remove the paint from his shirt and jacket. Five minutes passed, and he was granted only a moderate improvement. He reapplied the painful undergarment, breathed sharply, and buttoned his shirt.
On the way to his office, he is approached by an officer, "Detective Riley," she says, "Renee Walsh would like to speak with you."
"Where is she?"
"Agent Webb is interviewing her now. Right, this way."
Following his colleague to the Booking Room, Lincoln feels the cilice pressing against his skin. He reaches into his shirt, pulls the strap to tighten the brace, and readjusts his clothes.
Agent Webb has concluded her interview, and she passes him in the hallway, "She's all yours."
Entering the room, Lincoln puts on a neutral face, "I'm sorry for the delay. Are you alright?"
Renee stands up from her chair and approaches the Detective, "Lincoln, It's been a long time."
"Look, this is just a precaution. You'll be safe here."
"That woman…" she says, referring to Agent Webb, "She's treating me like I'm a part of this."
Lincoln looks over his shoulder, then back to Renee, "I can't reveal much, but there is a connection between the murders and Jigsaw's accomplices."
Renee moves to the table and sits down, "I thought this was over. It's been over two years…."
"Have you been in contact with any of the other survivors?"
She sighs, "Not really, just Jeff…."
"You were close?"
Renee thinks about her response before answering, "He didn't do those things he was accused of… I-I trust him."
"What about the rest of the group?"
"The others? They never really liked me, and you don't often find someone who appreciates what John did."
Lincoln glances at her eye patch, "Why do you?"
She stares at her shoes and explains, "I always felt invisible, but he noticed me. I know it's stupid, but I needed this."
Her words resonated with Lincoln. He slid his hands against his chest and down to his hips. He could feel the Nitrous canister inside his pocket, left over from his session with Dr. Steward. A sudden craving was triggered, "We're going to keep you here as long as we have to."
Renee's face was tinged with sadness, "Lincoln, I can't." She says, distressed.
"What's wrong?"
She bits her lip, "It's not me I'm worried about… It's my Dad and Brother."
"There's no indication that they're in any danger."
"It's not that," She says, "My dad is sick. He needs me."
Lincoln's eyes wander, contemplative, "I'll tell you what, I'll send someone over there to make sure everything is alright, okay?"
"Thank you, Lincoln."
He moves towards the door, and she says, "Hey, maybe when this is all over, you can come by the Survivors Group and say 'Hello'? I think everyone would be happy to see you again."
Stopping at the door, Lincoln pauses and considers the suggestion. He slowly turns his head back to her and then exits the room.
Lincoln's desire to use was growing, but as he was about to exit the building, he was stopped by Chief Savino.
"Where are you going?" Savino asked.
Thinking on his feet, Lincoln replied, "I need to make a personal call."
"Can it wait?" Savino asked, "Have you finished the MP report?"
Lincoln can see Borden and Marlow through the Briefing Room window. Frustrated, he responds, "Just about. I'll bring it to you shortly."
He proceeded to the Briefing Room, where he sat at his desk and sifted through the Missing Person cases from the last ten years. While he researched the disappearances, the others read through a culled list of Jigsaw survivors and their last known whereabouts.
"Listen to this," Borden says, browsing a newspaper article, "Years after surviving Jigsaw's "final" test, "S.U.R.V.I.V.E" Author, Bobby Dagen, was found dead in his suburban home from a self-inflicted gunshot wound,'" He glances at Lincoln for a reaction, "Did you hear about this? … "While a suicide note was not present at the scene, it's speculated that he felt guilt for the death of his wife, Joyce… Dagen was outed as a fraud shortly after the death of John Kramer."
Borden sets the article down and comments, "Wrote a book called 'Survive' and then kills himself. No irony in that, huh?"
"How 'bout this," Marlow adds, "Mother and Son Killed in Car Accident Near Home Residence…." He traces the words with his finger, "It says Tara Abbot and her son Brent were killed in a collision after Tara lost control of the vehicle."
Listening to his colleagues recite the news articles, Lincoln couldn't help but imagine the victims' deaths. He keeps his emotions at bay and continues to glean information from the Missing Person files.
"Here's another one," Marlow says, "Jigsaw survivor, Mallick Scott, was pronounced dead today. After struggling with substance abuse, Scott was kidnapped and tortured by the infamous John Kramer... Neighbors reported a pungent odor next door, and the arriving officers discovered Mallick had overdosed on heroin and drowned in his pool…." Marlow looks at his colleagues solemnly, "He was found with a rubber band wrapped around his arm."
Borden squints his eyes and shakes his head, "This can't be a coincidence," he theorizes.
"What? You think they were murdered?" Marlow replies skeptically, "Who could do that?"
"Do you know Mark Hoffman? Do you know how many people he killed the night Jill Tuck died?" He took out three FBI Agents, including Peter Strahm, and a slew of cops."
"That was before I started," Marlow admits.
Lincoln turns to his associates and reveals, "Six of these Missing Person cases were also Jigsaw survivors; Joan Douglas and Morgan Tillman both disappeared four years ago, realtor Brit Stevenson from the Fatal Five trap, vanished three years ago. The list goes on."
A lite knock at the door indicates Logan's arrival. He enters the room with Agent Webb, holding pictures in his hand, "Detective," he says.
"Come in…"
He hands Lincoln an Autopsy Report, and Agent Webb stands beside him, "We've identified the tattooed woman. Her name was Pamela Jenkins. She was William Easton's sister."
"Another survivor." Unnerved, Lincoln asks, "What about the others?"
"Jeff Ridenhour never showed up," Borden said.
Marlow conjures a curious expression, "The Dentist?"
"Neurologist. He was lobotomizing patients…."
"Allegedly..." Lincoln adds.
Webb's face showed concern, "He hasn't called?"
"No, but Gavin Beck is under protection… Stupid, asshole," Borden said, "He wouldn't leave his house, so I got a patrol unit watching over him."
"I spoke with Neil Perri hours ago." Marlow notes, "He sounded drunk…."
"What did he say?" Lincoln asked.
"He wouldn't tell me where he was but said he'd be here… There's more. Simone Howard called out of work the last two days. Her manager received a text stating she was sick. I tried to reach her by phone, but no response."
Lincoln leans back, ruminating, "And Sarah Harper?"
"Nothing," Borden reveals, "but Chief Savino issued an All Points Bulletin on all of the survivors. We're putting her face on TV."
Stepping forward, Agent Webb asked, "Where's the tape from Gordon's apartment?"
"This way," Lincoln leads her to the VCR in the back of the room, "Did you find something?"
"Pamela Jenkins was investigating Jigsaw Copycats. We lost communication with her about a week ago."
Borden joins them at the TV, and Agent Webb rewinds the tape. Using the computer next to the VCR, she locates a folder from the cloud containing several videos. "Her last transmission was from this broadcast."
She presses play on the first recording, and they watch as a camera is positioned on the dashboard of a car.
Pamela captures the heavy clouds that filled the night sky. Raindrops exploded onto her windshield as she traveled up a gravel road towards a mysterious home. A black car was parked outside the house, but the license plate was out of view. She exited her vehicle and shielded her camera from the wind and rain.
"I've seen this before…." Lincoln said, "It was on the news the night Gordon died."
Agent Webb adjusts the footage, filtering it through different settings until everything is visible. The VCR has finished rewinding, and she links the tape with the content from the cellphone.
The front door is already open when Pamela tries knocking. She looks inside, "Hello? Is anybody here?"
The light switch doesn't seem to work, but Pamela proceeds cautiously into the residence and enters a nearby room. On the floor, she finds crayon drawings and children's toys.
"What are you hoping to find?" Lincoln asks.
"Hello?" Pamela repeats.
The body of a small puppet lays face down on the floor next to two small chairs. Upon turning it over, Pamela discovers the head has been smashed. Picking up one of the broken pieces, she realizes it's the Billy puppet Jigsaw would use in his traps. The doll starts to laugh, but it's labored and distorted. Next to the puppet, she finds a hammer and nails.
Pamela grabs the tool, "What the…?"
The front door slams shut, and Pamela yelps, frightened, but no one is there. Trembling, she holds the hammer in front of herself like a sword. The loud wind crashes against the frame of the building, and her nerves settle. She moves through the darkness and finds a door that leads into the next room. However, wooden boards have been nailed to the wall to prevent entry.
Setting her camera down but still recording herself, she uses the hammer to yank the nails out of the wood, one by one and then uses her strength to pry them from the wall. When the last board is removed, she grabs her camera and opens the door.
Two hands quickly pierce the darkness and rush towards her. A shirtless, emaciated man mumbles and grabs at Pamela, tearing her shirt. She drops her phone and attempts to fight him off, smacking him several times with the hammer. Blood spews from his head, and he collapses to the floor.
Pamela grabbed her phone and checked on the lifeless man; his mouth hung open, and she could see his tongue had been cut out. His body is filthy, and his fingers are covered in blood from scratching at the walls.
"Fuck! …Shit!" She says. The footage stops suddenly.
Agent Webb suggests, "We think she tried to call the police." She clicks on the following video.
The footage returns, and they can hear Pamela panting. She walks into the next room, where the man was held captive.
The light flickers as the battery dies on her phone, and they can hear her slapping the camera. Pamela is startled by the sudden appearance of a corpse with a rusty pipe impaled through its neck. The cadaver is a reddish-brown, having been deceased for some time.
"Oh my god," she says, positioning her camera closer to the body.
A bright light in the hallway turns on, and she tilts her camera towards the luminescence. She could now hear the alarming moans of someone in jeopardy through the walls.
Agent Webb inhales and grinds her teeth. Watching both monitors, they prepare for the next scene.
Pamela moves fearfully into the hallway. Her heart is racing, and a surveillance camera captures her every move. Several floorboards have detached from the foundation, and there are scratch marks on the walls as if someone was dragged. Her teeth chatter, and she proceeds nervously towards the muffled groans, the floorboards creaking with her every step.
A masked figure appears behind her, their presence announced by the audible floorboards, but before she can turn around, the hooded man smacks her in the head. The video ends, but the surveillance camera records her grisly fate.
Webb notices something on the wall and rewinds the tape for several seconds. She positions the computer next to the television, restarts the cellphone footage, and pauses the content when she sees the same marking.
"Do you see that?"
With both screens side-by-side, they can now see the symbol of Ankh.
Lincoln leans forward, "What does it mean?"
"The "Ankh" is the Egyptian symbol for Eternal Life," she says, "In the last message we received from Pamela, she said she was investigating the Gideon Meat Packing Plant. I think she followed that car to this location."
"It can't be too far from the plant," Borden theorizes.
"Did you notice the toys and chairs? I think this is a Children's DayCare… I'm going to pull up the city records…."
"Marlow can help you with that," Lincoln says, "Simone Howard doesn't live too far from here. Frank and I will go get her."
***
TO BE CONTINUED...

TL:DR; HOA seems to be making things up to stop us from modifying our property in a similar way to what residents have already done.
Supposedly, all properties have a 20' easement for "drainage" at the far back, where all property lines meet.
I asked to put a shrub line about 5' back from the property line, for some added privacy, and to act as a windbreak.
I was told no, nothing can be changed, planted, or placed within 20' of the rear of the properties.
This was news to us, and odd, because a lot of people have trees, shrubs, etc along their property line. Hell, two people even have pools and fences along their property line. If true, how can everyone else do it? Let alone, get city approval for a whole pool?
I looked through the CC&Rs and could not find anything regarding easements, I even checked the county deed records, and my property does not have an easement attached. Nor was I told about one when the property was purchased. I asked a few neighbors I'm friends with, some of who also have plants in the zone if they knew about it. No one did. It simply does not exist.
So fine, I asked for proof. Show me a deed, doc, or anything proving there is an easement. A week later, I got a pdf of my home, with property lines and a 20' striped zone at the rear saying there is an easement. It didn't show any other homes or any other part of the neighborhood. Just my home. To make things even more suspicious, one member of the board is an architect. We're convinced he made this just to prove the board is right. It's not even an official-looking doc. Just an outline of my home, the property lines with measurements. Otherwise, empty.
I again asked for a full plan, a deed, or something to prove there is an easement. I also asked, just to make sure, that every other property has the same type of easement.
They didn't give me any proof, only claimed all properties have the same easement, and nothing can be placed or modified in that area.
So, I requested to do an easement walk. Let's walk the easements and make sure no one had anything in them.
They of course didn't reply. So, two weeks later, I asked again. Still no reply.
At this point, it's pretty clear they are just making things up and refusing to communicate.

Looking to bring Cammander2017's concept to the Peninsula! Pick up trash together or in your own neighborhood, then grab brunch beers and compare the weirdest thing you cleaned up or the number of cigarette butts you found.
Current plan is to meet at 11AM on Sun Apr 16 at Tradition Brewing Co (700 Thimble Shoals Blvd #100, Newport News, VA 23606). I'll post again closer to the date and will keep an eye on weather.
Please bring your own gloves, trash bag, sunscreen, etc. if you can. These roads can be busy - bringing animals or children is NOT recommended.
Looking forward to meeting some neighbors and sprucing up our community - cheers!

This story needs to be told. Those who have suffered must understand why. It’s not as simple as some have made it to be, which is why it needs to come from the person most responsible… me.
It began when I was least expecting it. But then don’t things always seem to happen that way?
***
“I’m tellin' ya, doc, people just don’t understand,” Frederick said while rocking back and forth in the chair.
“What exactly don’t they understand?” I said, trying to look more relaxed than I felt.
“There’s just something that takes over. You can’t stop it.”
“Impulse control?”
“What’s that mean?” Frederick said, struggling against his straight jacket, trying to get comfortable.
“It means that when you want to do something, you try your hardest not to. It means you try to control or suppress the urge to do things you know are bad.”
Frederick’s mouth lolled open. He narrowed his eyes in confusion.
“Why would I want to do that?”
I suppressed the urge to sigh.
“Because that’s what people do,” I said. “They think about doing bad things, but then they control themselves and don’t do them because those things are wrong and could hurt other people.”
“Hurting people is wrong?” he said.
“Yes, Frederick, hurting people is wrong.”
He shook his head as if he were trying to shake away a fly that was annoying him.
“Why?”
“Why is hurting people wrong?”
“No, why are you telling me this?”
“I don’t understand.”
“You’re saying I’m bad,” he said trying to rise from his chair. “You’re saying I didn’t need to hurt those people. That I’m a bad person.”
I got up from my chair and started backing toward the heavy metal door.
“I’m not bad!” he yelled at me. “You’re bad!”
I knocked on the door and the orderly opened it as Frederick got to his feet.
I slipped through the door as it slammed shut from the impact of his body slamming into it.
“Bad, bad, bad,” he screamed.
“Badbadbadbadbadbadbadbad!”
Spit flew from his mouth landing on the small observation window with metal grates embedded in it.
“You ok, doc,” the orderly said, startling me.
“Yes, I’m fine, thank you.”
I turned and walked down the white hallway, hoping the orderly wouldn’t notice the quickness in my step. I ignored the sound of Frederick beating on the door. I ignored all the sounds I heard. I just wanted to get away.
It was a long walk to my office, through many security gates. At each one, the nurse buzzed me through and gave me an acknowledging look that used to be a smile.
I suppose this place gets to everyone eventually.
I finally reached my office, closed and locked the door behind me, and collapsed into my chair. I breathed out a sigh of relief at reaching relative safety. I turned and looked out my window to the beautiful flowers blooming on the trees in the courtyard. I looked up at the tree stretching toward the sky.
I remember when they planted those.
I turned back to my center, my means of solace, the only thing that mattered in this cruel, unfair world. I picked up the picture of my lovely wife and smiled. She was the one who kept me sane all these years. She kept me seeing the best in people. Or at least trying. Sometimes there was no good to see—especially in my patients.
It takes a special kind of doctor to care for the mental needs of those who have done heinous things that are so bad they don’t even bother sending them to prison. They send them to me.
I’m like the dumpster for the dregs of society. Just drop them in the asylum and forget about them.
I kissed my wife and set her back on the bare desk, then turned on my computer and added notes from today’s session. There was never a recommendation for release. Once patients came here the only way they left was in a body bag. There was no curing them, only trying to make them docile until they left.
Oh, there were experiments. That was a large part of how we were funded. Companies would pay for certain tests to be done. Some might call it torture, but we called it research.
I finished typing my notes and leaned back in my seat. The diplomas and degrees stared down from their perches on the bare walls, mocking me. Demanding why I hadn’t gotten a better job.
As usual, I didn’t have an answer.
My office suddenly felt stuffy. I closed down my computer and left. Driving down the packed freeway, all I could think about was collapsing on the couch beside my lovely Elizabeth. Not telling her about my day until she dragged it out of me, then listening to her encourage me to help those who have been left in my care, because I’m the only hope they have.
Traffic was bumper to bumper and not helping my overall opinion of humanity much. Especially when a car that was swerving from lane to lane, nearly sideswiped me. It kept going on in front of me, nearly hitting several other cars.
The driver and passenger seemed to be having a disagreement about how to drive the car and it looked like it was about to come to blows.
Fortunately, they were soon out of sight, and someone else’s problem.
For the next few miles, I kept watching the side of the road waiting to see the offending car sitting in a ditch. However, they surprised me. They must’ve turned off to go terrorize some neighborhood streets with their reckless driving.
I hummed to myself, not wanting to have whatever dreck was on the radio forced on me.
When I was nearly to my exit, my phone rang. I immediately recognized the number as work. I contemplated answering it for a moment, then thought better of it. There had never been a time when work called with good news. And I was in no mood for bad news.
I hummed a little louder, trying to drown out the sound of the ring before it finally stopped.
The closer I got to home the less I thought about work and the more I thought about Elizabeth. Until I turned off at my exit, I had nearly forgotten work altogether. Maybe I would take tomorrow off and go do something with my wife. We hadn’t been out for a while. The weather had been lovely and I know she would adore a walk down by the lake.
My thoughts were interrupted when I turned down our driveway and saw a car in front of the house. It wasn’t quite in the driveway, it was sitting at an angle halfway in the front yard.
I parked my car and slowly got out. Something struck me about this car, but I hadn’t figured out what. I approached the driver’s side to have words with the person still sitting at the wheel.
“Excuse me,” I said staying a few steps back from the driver’s door.
He didn’t answer me.
“Excuse me,” I said a little louder.
Still no answer.
I tapped on the window and he ignored me.
I opened the door.
“Okay, look… “ I said.
But it was I who would do the looking. The man fell out of the car, thudding on the grass. The inside of the car was covered in blood. I looked down and the man’s throat had been cut.
“Oh my God!” I said jumping back.
I watched to see if the man was breathing, but the way his neck was bent at an unnatural angle against my yard told me everything I needed to know.
I glanced through the car but didn’t see the passenger.
It was then my eyes drifted to my front door.
It was open.
I stepped through the shrubs and up onto the porch, walking in a daze. The surrealness of the moment had yet to sink in. I was going inside to check on my wife and make sure everything was ok.
It didn’t strike me as anything more than that.
‘Oh, she just left the door open, that’s all.’
My mind kept trying to tell me that. I wanted desperately to believe it. Even though she had never been that careless during the entire time we’d been married. I had pushed aside all reason and common sense in favor of pure denial.
Everything was going to be ok. With Elizabeth, everything was always ok. She could literally light up a room with her positivity. She was the best person I ever knew. I have no idea how I got so lucky as to know her, let alone be her husband.
I floated in through my front door on my cloud of denial and looked for my wife.
It didn’t take me long to find her.
There was one wall of the living room she was constantly redecorating. She always said it looked bare and empty no matter what she did with it.
She was hanging from that wall, naked, her beautiful body desecrated by slices and rips. Her throat had been slit and blood still poured from it.
I ran to her.
Tried to take her down.
Screamed her name.
And then it was my turn to scream.
I looked down and saw a knife blade sticking out from my abdomen. It was part of the cutlery set I had gotten for Elizabeth three Christmases ago.
I screamed as I slowly turned to face my attacker.
“What’s up, doc?” Frederick said wearing a maniacal grin.
The shock had punched a hole in my reasoning. I saw him standing there, but I couldn’t accept it any more than I could accept my beautiful wife strung up like a macabre painting hanging on our living room wall.
My eyes tried to focus on his face. To make me recognize him as a threat.
“How’s that impulse control workin’ for ya, doc?”
He ripped the knife out of my back.
The pain, along with his arrogance woke me from my shock-induced stupor.
“Now do you understand?” he said, as he shoved the knife into my belly.
I did understand. I understood at that moment that I was already as dead as my wife. I knew that this piece of human garbage had taken something beautiful from this world. I knew I had to do something about it before there was nothing I could do. Before my body succumbed to injuries and I was unable.
I grabbed him by the throat. He tried to laugh, but my grip was fueled by desperation.
He tried to free himself but couldn’t. He began stabbing me over and over. I refused to release him. I carried him by his neck over to the kitchen counter and began bashing his head off the marble.
I was rewarded with spots of his blood. I knew at least I had made him bleed and that made me smile. His eyes grew wide as my grin grew maniacal. I smashed him repeatedly, crushing him against the sink, breaking the faucet, and causing water to spray into the air.
His eyelids fluttered as he lost his grip on the knife.
He was nearly gone. I would take him with me and that would be my parting gift to the world, removing something so evil.
Suddenly, my body wouldn’t obey commands. My grip loosened. I tried to tighten it, but I had lost all control. I looked down and I was standing in a pool of my own blood.
His eyes fluttered open and he coughed.
‘Nonononononono!’ I thought. ‘He can’t live. He can’t win. I had him.’
He stood as I sank to the floor.
“Looks like maybe you do understand, doc,” he said from what seemed like miles away. “Too bad you won’t be around to discuss it. We could have a session and evaluate how it makes you feel.”
His foot came down on my spine. I felt a crack. He started kicking me in the side repeatedly. Splashing water and blood on me as I felt my ribs crack.
I fought with everything I had.
My body didn’t even twitch.
‘Nooooo!,’ I screamed. ‘It can’t end like this.’
I heard a sizzling sound and then there was darkness.
***
I could feel movement.
Wasn’t I dead?
Was this what happened after?
It was still dark.
‘Hello?’ I tried to say.
Nothing. Just the sensation of movement.
Am I in a body bag? Am I on my way to the morgue or the grave? Please don’t let me be buried alive.
But I’m not alive, am I?
I don’t feel any pain. That’s a good thing, but not a good sign. The last thing I remember was lots of pain.
Suddenly there’s light and my movement stops.
I look up from the floor of a house I don’t recognize.
‘Where the hell am I?’
I’m on the floor next to a wall, looking up at an electrical outlet. Nothing around me seems familiar. I try to stand but it feels weird. It isn’t difficult, and there’s still no pain, it just carries an odd sensation with it. Like my body is just relearning things. Just like when I was a toddler. I teeter back and forth as I rise, but eventually, I’m upright.
My first few steps are tentative, but after that, I gain confidence with each stride.
Aside from the strange surroundings, there’s a sensation, like ants crawling all over me.
I pass a bathroom and glance inside. The reflection in the mirror draws me back. I slowly approach it, seeing something unique and terrifying.
It looks like someone drew an outline of a human form using a lightning bolt. The electricity shimmers and crackles as it races around the empty form of the being.
I wonder if it will hurt me.
Not sure if I want to test the limits of my newfound lack of pain, I hesitantly reach for this creature. It reaches for me at the same time. I’m mesmerized by this mutual curiosity.
My hand is about to touch the electric pulse shaped like its hand. I tremble with anticipation and fear as we touch.
Surprisingly, I don’t feel any pain. I don’t feel anything except a hard surface.
I move my hand back and forth. The creature does the same. I make quicker movements, and so does it.
Finally, out of frustration, I reach back and strike at the creature.
My hand strikes the hard surface and it splinters. There are now multiple creatures staring back at me.
I step back and come to the horrible realization.
I am the creature.
***
One month later…
“And police have been unable to find any credible leads in the string of brutal killings that began shortly after the patient escaped from the mental hospital last month,” the handsome anchorman stated from behind his desk. “They are asking people to call in if they know the whereabouts of Frederick Winston, now known as, ‘The Mangler’.”
“In other news, the Larsan Electric Company has issued a statement that the recent power surges are no cause for alarm. These surges seem to be random in people's homes and certain businesses. An LEC spokesman stated that there appears to be no pattern to the surges and that so far no one has reported them causing any harm. LEC is tracking down the problem and should have it under control soon.”
The anchorman shifted in his seat and turned to another camera.
“And on a lighter note, with Halloween months away, it seems that reports of ghosts are on the rise,” he said, wearing a half grin. “Several area residents have reported what they call a ghostlike figure, outlined in light, visiting them. Reports vary as to the duration and location of the visits, but they do seem to have a few things in common. The visits are usually short. In fact, most people say that if they blink the figure is gone. No one has reported the ghost doing any harm. And it seems like anyone within close proximity feels a tingling sensation and their hair standing on end.”
“Maybe I should be visited instead of my next hairdresser’s appointment,” the attractive woman anchor said with a laugh.
“Schedule me a visit too,” the male anchor said smiling. “And that’s our news for the evening, good night.”
Jimmy switched the channel.
“Gimme a break,” he said to the TV. “Ghosts? Who’s playing what? This’s some marketing scheme to sell Halloween crap. Like that stunt they pulled a few years back with the clowns hanging around the schools to promote that stupid movie.”
He switched off the TV and rolled over in his bed.
It wasn’t long before his breathing slowed. But before sleep could take him, he noticed a glow in the hallway. He didn’t remember leaving any lights on when he came to bed. Living alone had its advantages. If he heard someone in his apartment, he knew they weren’t supposed to be there. He slowly reached over to the bedstand and pulled out his Glock 9mm handgun, then held it close and listened.
He watched as the glow moved. It seemed like someone was looking around. But for what? He didn’t really have anything aside from his TV, phone, and video games. If anyone wanted those, they would be in a world of hurt. He had been lucky to get this apartment. If he was honest with himself, it cost more than he could afford, but when he had the chance he took it. It was too bad the opening came because the person who lived there before him was one of The Mangler’s victims. That’s probably why he was able to rent the place so quickly and get the price down to where he could almost afford it.
Maybe the glow was one of the street people who were stupid enough to see if there was an empty apartment to claim. That wasn’t gonna fly either. Jimmy had jumped on this apartment to get away from the dingy rat hole he used live in on the other side of town. And there was no way he’d let some bum come in here and take what was his.
The glow crept closer. He could feel the hairs on his arms raise. There was a sound too. It wasn’t loud, almost felt more than heard. A soft crackle, like electricity when it sparked.
The sensory input was almost too much for Jimmy to take. He pointed the gun in the direction of the glow and saw the barrel was shaking. His resolve, that he could deal with anyone as long as he had his gun, was beginning to fade.
The glow became so bright that it finally took form.
Jimmy’s eyes widened. It was the form of a person, just like the news had said.
It seemed to look around the room, then settle its gaze on the bed. Jimmy began to sweat as it approached and stared into his eyes.
It was the oddest thing, staring into what should be eyes, but nothing was there. The flashes of mini lightning bolts formed shapes that looked almost human, but it was just an outline, there was nothing inside what should be the body.
He shoved the shaking gun out from under the blanket and pointed it at the glowing figure.
The figure noted the presence of the gun, then continued to advance.
“S… stop,” Jimmy said. “I’m w… warning you.”
The figure ignored the warning.
Jimmy squeezed the trigger, setting off a deafening shot that went right through the face of the figure.
It acted as though nothing had happened, continuing to advance. The ringing in Jimmy’s ears made all sound seem muffled.
The figure stopped two inches from Jimmy’s face.
“Mangler… “ it said, sounding less like a voice and more like a transmission over an old staticky radio.
“I… I’m not the Mangler,” he said. “The person who used to live here was killed by him.”
It seemed to ponder this for a moment.
“Find Mangler… “ it said.
“I d… don’t know where to find him.”
It moved an inch closer. As the flashes of electricity arced, licked hungrily at Jimmy’s face.
“Find… him… “
“Ok, ok, I’ll find him,” Jimmy said, feeling the heat from the electricity.
The figure seemed to consider that for a moment then backed away. It moved toward the bedroom wall. Then, like someone had turned on a vacuum, it was sucked into an electrical outlet and disappeared.
Jimmy laid back in bed, breathing hard. His eyes darted left and right all around the room. But the only evidence of the figure that remained was the bullet hole in his bedroom wall.
***
The trips through the electrical conduits had become easier. There were still times when I came out someplace I didn’t intend to, but I was usually able to recover quickly and get to where I wanted to go.
But where did I want to go? At first, I wandered around, lost in this new form I found myself trapped inside. It was only after I had overheard a news report about the serial killer they called The Mangler that I gained my purpose.
Of course, Frederick was going to keep killing. Of course, they weren’t going to be able to catch him. He’d been inside away from his victims before and he didn’t like it. Not being able to torture and kill innocents was like a normal person not being able to breathe. Not that I know much about normal or breathing anymore.
I suppose on some level I should thank him. I thought about it for a long time and the only thing that makes any kind of sense is when we were fighting, somehow the water and blood I was laying in got splashed into the electrical socket. Instead of killing me, it bonded with me, making me able to become the electrical current. To ride it like a wave to wherever I wanted.
I became faster than any person ever was. And yet, I wasn’t a person anymore. I have no idea how I retained my consciousness, let alone my memory. But somehow…
I justify it by the old adage, ‘I think therefore I am.’
My life has become an endless hunt for the person who destroyed me, the person I must destroy. I don’t even know what I’ll do when I find him. But I will find him. I will stop him. This time, I won’t fail. I’ll end him like I should’ve before.
I owe it to the people he’s tortured and killed since my failure. Most of all, I owe it to my wife. I know she wouldn’t approve of my bloodlust. She would say there must be some other option. But if she would be able to see her dead body hanging naked from our living room wall, I think she just might change her mind.
My thoughts are interrupted as I arrive at my next destination, another victim’s house. I’m not sure what I’ll find that the police haven’t, but I have to try. Maybe I can pick up his scent somehow. A plan almost assuredly doomed to failure since I lost all sense of smell in the transformation.
I’m surprised though that I can still see and hear. I suppose waves of light and sound somehow intersect with my electrical body and it senses them. I don’t question it. I’ve learned to just go with it.
On the plus side, I don’t have to worry about eating, drinking, or using the bathroom. I guess there’s an upside to everything. Elizabeth would be so proud of me.
I arrive at the room where the victim was murdered. Looking around there’s still blood everywhere, along with evidence markers where they took pictures.
The sheer amount of blood tells me he took his time. He desecrated this girl in her own room. Her parents must’ve been out because there’s no way they didn’t hear the struggle. There were books on the floor, a chair overturned, and blood everywhere. The room was a disaster. It looked like she fought him. I wish she would’ve succeeded where I had failed.
But then, I wish I hadn’t failed, and this girl was still alive.
There’s nothing I can do now except find him and end him.
Finding him was proving more difficult than I thought. I had unlimited access to anywhere with electricity, but I couldn’t use a computer or a GPS. I was limited to transportation only through electricity. Granted that still made me the fastest being alive. I say being because I don’t think I qualify as human anymore. But I was limited to traveling to a place and then trying to find out where I was and if he was there.
If he knew I was searching for him all he would have to do is live the rest of his days in a cabin in the woods with no electricity. I’d never be able to reach him.
I believe two things worked in my favor with that theory.
First, I don’t think he’s that smart, and second, I don’t think he knows I’m looking for him. I believe that surviving our fight only further empowered him to kill. When someone feels invincible, they’re bound to make a mistake.
An officer walked into the room and I ducked back into an outlet. I was able to hang on where I was and watch from inside the outlet without being transported somewhere else.
The officer looked startled and stared at the empty air that I had just vacated. She looked like she was unsure if she trusted what her eyes had seen in the instant before I vanished.
She slowly stepped over to the corner and bent down to peer into the outlet. For a moment I wondered if she could see me, and what exactly she would see. But then her radio squawked calling her to another scene. When I heard the voice on the radio say the address and that they might have the killer cornered, I didn’t waste any time.
It was maybe fifteen seconds until I was across town at the address I’d heard. There was a lot of screaming and crying going on. I came out of the outlet and saw blood on the floor beside a body that wasn’t moving.
There was a girl being beaten by a man with his back to me. He turned to take another swing and I knew my search was over.
“My psychiatrist used to tell me I needed to work on my impulse control,” he said calmly as he slapped her. “I think I’m doing pretty good. I’ve been here ten whole minutes and you’re still alive.”
I shot across the room and knocked him to the floor. He jumped back up and looked around for what had hit him.
“What the hell?”
I saw the fear in his eyes when he saw me. I know Elizabeth would’ve been ashamed, of me, but I was enjoying his anxiety. After all he had done to me and so many others, I drank it in like an elixir.
He started edging toward the door. I was there in a heartbeat. His eyes darted back and forth between where I used to be and where I now stood. The panic in his eyes doubled.
I wanted to make him suffer, but I didn’t want to make the same mistake I’d made before and let him escape with his life.
I lashed out with a bolt that used to be my arm. The energy slashed through his shirt and fried a hole in his shoulder.
He screamed in pain and horror as he looked at the smoking hole in his skin. He tried to run but in an instant, I was there in front of him firing another bolt and searing the skin across his waist to his jeans.
His screams of pain and rage were only matched by the feral desperation in his eyes.
Not knowing what do to, he went with the familiar. Attack the innocent. He grabbed the girl who had been crawling away from the scene.
He grabbed her again and held her in front of him like a human shield.
What a waste of skin.
I fired a bolt into a ceiling light beside me which ricocheted and hit him full force in the leg, nearly severing it.
He went down like a ton of bricks, trying to hold on to his hostage, but she was fighting to get away from him. She broke free and he crumpled to the floor.
“What do you want?” he screamed at me.
With everything that is within me, I wanted to tell him who I was, what he had taken from me, and what I was about to take from him.
But I didn’t want to give the satisfaction. I wanted to give him only uncertainty and fear to cling to.
I could feel the seconds ticking away. I knew I had to make the most of this opportunity or he would get away again. And after this, I might never find him.
I unleashed every ounce of energy at him. I couldn’t even see him, he was only a smoking pillar of frying skin.
Just then, the police burst through the door.
“FREE… “ the first officer started then the shock of what he was seeing stole the rest of the word from his mouth.
He stood there, mouth agape when the female officer stepped in behind him. She looked at me and her wide eyes narrowed as she put two and two together and recognized me from the last crime scene.
I had no reason to fear. I didn’t know if I could even be harmed in my current state. But when you see that blue uniform burst through a door with a gun aimed at you, all rational thought takes a vacation.
I dove for the outlet and was gone. I didn’t even care where I was going. I knew I had done what I wanted to. The monster was destroyed.
Something felt different. Was it pride at finishing my crusade? Was it shame knowing Elizabeth wouldn’t have wanted me to do it?
I don’t know but there was something else. It was like there was added weight to my existence. I guess you can have a conscious in whatever you’d call this existence.
I appeared in the place that made the most sense, ironically. It was my old home. The one where everything I loved died, including me. It was where I took on this unintended new existence.
Is that why I felt this extra weight? Was it some cathartic aftereffect of my search for revenge that was finally over?
I looked around the charred debris of what used to be my home. In my mind's eye, I didn’t see the burned-out shell of what was left. I saw it as it was when we first moved in. When Elizabeth and I started decorating. When the interior was finally finished and I turned to her and said, “For now.” Knowing she would decide to change everything at some time in the future when she was bored, just like all women seem to do.
I remember getting a paintbrush across the mouth for that comment. I smiled remembering kissing her with my freshly painted mouth and ending up in the bedroom.
As I turned toward where I’d entered the house, my smile quickly faded. For some reason, I was still connected to the outlet. That had never happened before.
Another curiosity arose when I noticed the color of my electrical body was now tinged purple. It had always been blue before.
The tail of what had yet to come out of the outlet was red. As I pulled and it came the rest of the way out, it merged with me and turned purple.
“What the hell?” I heard someone say.
I whipped around but no one was there.
“Where am I?” the voice said.
“Who are you?” I said to the air.
There was a long silence.
“Doc?” the voice said.
As far as I knew it wasn’t possible for my spine to turn to ice, since I no longer had a spine, but the feeling seemed the same.
“Frederick?” I said.
“What happened?” he said. “This crazy electric thing attacked me and now… wait a minute. How am I talking to you? You died months ago.”
My shock gave way to utter despair. My enemy was now part of me.

Originally posted by u/laying_low_for_a_bit in TrueOffMyChest on March 12, '23, updated March 15th
Original Post
I Adopted my bestfriend's (who passed away) son and now I have to face the father who has no idea
I'm sorry but it's going to be long. I just didn't know where else to turn to.
I (32f) had a childhood bestfriend, I'll call her Jiya in this post, who I was very close to. We were always together growing up. Even when we went to different colleges, we still made time for each other and filled each other in of all the details from our life. She used to talk about this guy she was dating and I could just tell how much she loved him. I eventually met the guy and was happy to see both of them so much in love. She eventually married him and they both moved to Canada as he got a really good job there. She uprooted her life here in India and went with her husband. We were all 24 at that time. With time we got busy in our lives and the close bond that we once had, slowly faded away... Part of growing up I guess. We still stayed in touch... just not as much.
After 4 years, one day i got a call from her and she asked me to meet. She told me she was back in India. I was happy to hear that but something felt off. We met and we were so happy and it felt like we were still the same. But then she broke the news to me that she and her husband got a divorce. Her reasons were just that with time they just grew apart and with both their work schedules they couldn't make time for each other. I understood that. But then she broke the even bigger news that she was pregnant with his child and that he didn't know and that she was planning to keep it that way because she wanted him to move on with his life without any attachments to him. I was shocked and I didn't approve of this at all but it was her child hence she was the one to decide afterall. She wanted to have a life of her own back where her parents lived and wanted to give birth to this child. I asked her what her parents had to say about this and she said they were supportive of whatever she wanted.
What I was feeling was a mixture of emotions... As i was happy to have her here but also sad that she was going to face all this on her own. I decided to support her on every step of the way and be the best aunt to that child ever.
Time passed and she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, Rehan (fake name) and for a second everything felt peaceful. She was so happy. She moved back into her parents' house who were more than happy to take care of both her and the baby. It seemed like everything was going to be okay. But peace was only short-lived when only 2 years after giving birth to the baby, my friend, my childhood friend who was like a sister to me passed away. I won't be going into details but she had some terrible health issues and she couldn't fight them anymore. We were all devastated. It felt like I lost a part of myself. I couldn't even imagine what her parents were going through. I wanted to be there for them in whatever way possible.
They were old and Jiya was their only daughter. I was worried how they would take care of Rehan who was now 2 and now didn't have a mother. We had a serious discussion one day and I asked them if they would be okay taking all the responsibilities. I even brought up Rehan's father because he still didn't know anything about his son. But aunt seemed a bit agitated and it felt like she wanted to say something but wasn't able to. I asked her what it was and after a bit of hesitation, she finally spoke. She asked me if I would like to be a parent to their grandson. I was shocked. I didn't know what to say. They asked me to not dismiss the idea altogether and to just think about it. I said okay and went home.
What they asked of me was huge but it also kinda made sense, I guess? They were old and they couldn't possibly take care of a child on their own. On the other hand I've been a part of their lives since Jiya and I were 8 and a part of Rehan's life since his birth. And I was a single woman who didn't really have any plans of getting married. I did plan on having kids at one point in life but I just never got around to it. And with Jiya and Rehan, I just felt like it was enough. I decided to adopt Rehan. I informed Uncle and Aunty that I'll do it and they started crying. My parents were also supportive because they were going to be grandparents as well. Amidst everything, things somewhat seemed okay.
I legally adopted Rehan as my son and even though the process took some time... It was worth it. Rehan is 3 now and I was happy taking caring of him and him having two sets of grandparents was kinda nice. Losing Jiya was a shock to all of us but her death brought all of us even closer than before and we became a family.
All of a sudden I got a news from Aunty. That Jiya's ex husband has come back to India. And that he wanted to have dinner with them. Aunt told me that he informed them he never really got married after Jiya and that he was devastated by the news and he was sorry that he couldn't come to the funeral but now that he was here, he wanted to be there for them. Aunty understood his position but she was worried about how things will turnout so, she asked me to join them as well. The Dinner is in 4 days and I am scared. Rehan is my child. He is a part of my best friend. I am scared that if I see Rehan's father, I'd feel so guilty and Jiya's parents and I, we might blurt out the truth. And if we do so... I'm afraid that he'll try to take Rehan away from us. A lot of things that can go wrong. I'm not sure how to approach this situation.
Rehan's father is not a bad person but he might (and mostly definitely will) feel betrayed that he didn't know about all this that we hid his own son from him. We're not sure how to face him and we know we're in the wrong here. We just don't know if we should tell him about his son and if we do, how he will react and what he'll do and what we can do to convince him to not take him away from us. We're all very scared. It's making my heart feel so guilty. I know we're being selfish here. I just don't know what to do here.
Edit: I've taken into account all your views and they helped me a lot in deciding what to do. Thank you so much everyone.
The comments are a bit divided. Some are praising her and some are very upset that they have kept this child from his father
Update 3 days later
Thank you so much everybody for all the support. I really appreciate all your comments and I've read most of them. I've weighed in both sides of the situation and I'd mention a few things first.
When Rehan was born here, his only parent was Jiya. The father was nowhere in the picture. After her, the custody went to her parents. They allowed me to adopt Rehan.
We don't know if Rehan's father is in india for good. All we heard is that he has come and that he wants to meet Jiya's parents.
I understand that all this is based on a hidden truth and that makes us all guilty of robbing a child of his father's love.
I love Rehan so much and I would always do what's best for him. Even though Jiya is no more with us, and I'm the "mom" now... I promised Jiya's parents AND myself that I'll never let Rehan forget about her. And honestly, I want to do the same for his father. I've talked to uncle and aunty and I've decided not to attend the dinner and that I would let them talk to him get all the necessary details about him. Of course we couldn't figure this out in such short amount of time so, we've decided to take one step at a time. We definitely do want to tell him about Rehan but we still need to figure out how. Meanwhile I'll contact a lawyer to see how things should proceed legally.
The first thing we all want to know is for how long he'd be staying here. And if he would ever consider moving back to India. Jiya made a sacrifice when she left India, we would really like to know or at least have an idea if he would ever do the same for someone (in this case, his own child, whose entire family is in India including Jiya's In-laws) What his responses would be to all these questions play a major role in this situation because we're really in the dark and we don't want to take any bad decisions on the basis of assumptions.
All I ever wanted from the very beginning was to be the best aunt to our little Rehan. It's a privilege that I got to be his mom. And If everything really goes well... I'd be more than happy to share custody with Rehan's father.
Reminder, DO NOT comment on the original posts or contact the original poster. I am not the original poster. This is a repost.

Hi all, I ended up condensing this story a lot and I changed the trajectory of some of the students. I added a new student (Rachel) and took out another (Sarah). Hopefully you all liked this story! I took out some of the "fluff" scenes and decided just to focus on college stuff for the most part.
This is it *phew*. I had to split in two parts because Reddit has a 40k character limit.
Link for Part 2 below Reddit - Dive into anything
IntroductionEthan Green:

GPA: 3.6
SAT score: 1590
Top 5 extracurriculars: Math Club, School Band (Guitar), Chess Club, Tutoring, Art Club

Julie Green:

GPA: 4.0
SAT score: 1500
Top 5 extracurriculars: School Newspaper (Editor-in-Chief), School Band (Guitar), Model United Nations, Yearbook Club, Environmental Club

Priya Rabinowitz:

GPA: 4.0
SAT score: 1570
Top 5 extracurriculars: Student Council (President), Debate Team, Key Club, National Honor Society, Volunteer at local non-profit organization

Matthew Hernandez:

GPA: 4.0
SAT score: 1580
Top 5 extracurriculars: Science Olympiad, Math Club, Robotics Club, Peer Tutoring, Community Service Club

Rachel Lee:

GPA: 3.8
SAT score: 1460
Top 5 extracurriculars: Creative Writing Club, School Newspaper, Drama Club, Art Club, National Honor Society

David Anderson:

GPA: 3.7
SAT score: 1410
Top 5 extracurriculars: Varsity Football (Quarterback), Student-Athlete Leadership Council, Business Club, School Spirit Committee, Volunteer at local youth sports organization

Minho Park:

GPA: 4.0
SAT score: 1590
Top 5 extracurriculars: Computer Science Club, Math Club, Science Olympiad, Robotics Club, USACO (USA Computing Olympiad) participant

Alicia Davis:

GPA: 3.9
SAT score: 1520
Top 5 extracurriculars: Debate Team, Mock Trial, Model United Nations, Volunteer at local community center, National Honor Society

Alex Madrigal:

GPA: 4.0
SAT score: 1550
Top 5 extracurriculars: Math Club, Science Olympiad, Soccer Team, School Newspaper, Spanish Club

Taylor Chen:

GPA: 3.8
SAT score: 1480
Top 5 extracurriculars: Art Club, LGBT+ Alliance, Drama Club, Environmental Club, School Newspaper (Arts Section)

Raj Singh:

GPA: 4.0
SAT score: 1560
Top 5 extracurriculars: Debate Team, Model United Nations, Science Olympiad, National Honor Society, School Newspaper (Opinions Editor)

Mary Sinclair:

GPA: 3.9
SAT score: 1510
Top 5 extracurriculars: Art Club, Student Council (Vice President), School Newspaper (Features Editor), Yearbook Club, Community Service Club

Chapter 1: Beginning of Senior Year The crisp autumn air swirled around Green Hills High School, a prestigious public high school nestled in the suburbs of New York City. A sense of urgency and anticipation permeated the school, as the college admissions season had arrived. The pressures of academic achievement and looming deadlines weighed heavily on the shoulders of the senior class, who each bore their own unique dreams and aspirations. Among them were twelve students, each with distinct backgrounds and stories, all vying for a chance to secure a place at their dream colleges.
Ethan Green, an academically gifted slacker, found his once-promising future in jeopardy due to personal struggles and substance abuse. However, a stunning 1590 on the SATs breathed new life into his aspirations, rekindling his desire to attend the University of Chicago. With the unwavering support of his twin sister Julie, a straight-A student with a passion for music, Ethan began the arduous journey of repairing his tarnished transcript. Julie, on the other hand, had her heart set on Duke University, where she hoped to pursue a career in journalism.
Priya Rabinowitz, a brilliant, mixed-race overachiever, was the epitome of a perfect student. Her dream was to attend Brown University, driven by her passion for social justice. Despite her many accomplishments, she harbored a secret fear of not being "good enough." Her best friend, Rachel Lee, shared a similar sentiment, feeling inadequate in comparison to her academically perfect older brother Brian, and her high-achieving friend, Priya.
Matthew Hernandez, a top student with perfect grades and a near-perfect SAT score, dreamed of attending Harvard University, but his impoverished background made paying for college seem like an insurmountable challenge. At the same time, David Anderson, the school's star quarterback, yearned to attend Stanford and study business, but feared that his intelligence would be overshadowed by his athletic prowess.
Minho Park, a computer science prodigy who moved from South Korea at a young age, aimed to attend a prestigious school like MIT, Caltech, or Stanford. Alicia Davis, one of the few black students at Green Hills High School, aspired to attend Georgetown University and become a lawyer, her warm personality making her a natural confidante to her peers.
Alex Madrigal, another top student with a passion for math, science, and soccer, focused on getting into Stanford University. Meanwhile, Taylor Chen, a recently out nonbinary student, sought a college that would provide a safe and supportive environment for them to thrive.
Raj Singh, a senior at Green Hills High School who excelled in debate, hoped to attend Yale University. Lastly, Mary Sinclair, a talented artist who faced the pressures of being a double legacy at Brown University, worried that she may not truly be qualified for the prestigious institution.
As the college admissions season unfolded, these twelve seniors navigated the treacherous waters of self-discovery, friendship, and ambition, their journeys intertwining and shaping one another in ways they could never have imagined. The story of Green Hills High School's senior class was one of hope, heartache, and the relentless pursuit of dreams, all set against the backdrop of an unforgiving, competitive world.
Chapter 2: Applying Early The sun had barely risen on November 1st, the day when early college applications were due. A flurry of last-minute edits and double-checking consumed the lives of Green Hills High School's seniors as they prepared to submit their applications. The twelve friends, united by their dreams, sat together in the school library, each nervously finalizing their college applications.
Ethan, his heart pounding, reviewed his application one last time before hitting the submit button for Early Decision at the University of Chicago. He felt a mixture of excitement and trepidation as he considered the possibility of attending his dream school.
Julie, sitting beside her twin, took a deep breath and clicked submit on her Early Decision application to Duke University. She allowed herself a brief moment of relief, knowing she had poured her heart into her application and showcased her love for journalism.
Priya's hands trembled as she applied Early Decision to Brown University, her anxiety about being "good enough" momentarily set aside in the hope that her passion for social justice would shine through.
Rachel, her heart racing, sent off her Early Decision application to Columbia University, trying to shake off the pressure from her family and praying that her talents as a writer would be enough to secure her a spot at the prestigious institution.
Matthew, his jaw clenched, submitted his Restricted Early Action application to Harvard University, knowing that his future depended on receiving sufficient financial aid. He hoped that his stellar academic achievements would make it impossible for Harvard to turn him away.
David's eyes were filled with determination as he sent off his Restricted Early Action application to Stanford University, after completing his football tryouts. He hoped that the admissions officers would see his potential both on the field and in the classroom.
Minho, his fingers tapping anxiously, submitted his Early Action application to MIT. He had poured his heart into his computer science projects and was eager to showcase his passion and talent in his application.
Alicia, with a supportive smile from her friends, applied Early Action to Georgetown University. Her dream of becoming a lawyer seemed closer than ever as she hit the submit button, the pride she felt in herself evident in her eyes.
Alex, filled with anticipation, sent off his Restricted Early Action application to Stanford University. He knew that his academic achievements and passion for soccer had the potential to make him stand out in the competitive applicant pool.
Taylor, their hands shaking with nerves, applied Early Decision to Swarthmore College. They hoped that the accepting environment of the school would allow them to embrace their nonbinary identity and pursue their artistic passions.
Raj, his heart pounding, submitted his Restricted Early Action application to Yale University. He knew that his father would have been proud of his accomplishments, and he hoped that his debate skills and determination would be enough to secure a place at his dream school.
Mary, her face a mixture of hope and worry, applied Early Decision to Brown University. Despite her double legacy status, she longed to be admitted based on her own merits and her passion for art, rather than her family connections.
As the twelve friends hit the submit buttons on their applications, a collective sigh of relief filled the library. They had taken the first, crucial step in the college admissions process, their dreams laid bare for the admissions officers to see. The waiting game had begun, and their futures hung in the balance, but for now, they took solace in their shared journey, knowing that whatever the outcome, they had each other's support.
Chapter 3: Early Admissions Results
It was a chilly December evening when the early decision and early action results were released. The twelve friends gathered at Ethan and Julie's house, huddled around their laptops and phones, each waiting with bated breath for the email that would determine their future.
Ethan opened his email first, his eyes widening as he read the words, "Congratulations!" He had been accepted to the University of Chicago! The room erupted in cheers and applause as Julie hugged her twin, her pride in his accomplishment shining in her eyes.
Next, Julie nervously opened her own email, letting out a squeal of joy as she discovered that she had been accepted to Duke University. Her dream of studying journalism at the prestigious institution was now a reality, and her friends celebrated with her, sharing in her happiness.
Priya's hands shook as she opened her email from Brown University, only to find that she had been deferred. Her heart sank, and she tried to mask her disappointment with a smile. Rachel, whose application to Columbia University had been rejected, wrapped an arm around her friend, offering silent support.
Matthew's face fell as he read that his application to Harvard had also been deferred. He fought back the fear that his family's financial situation might prevent him from attending his dream school, even if he were ultimately accepted.
David beamed with pride as he announced that he had been accepted to Stanford University to play football. His friends cheered for him, although Alex couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy, knowing he was more academically qualified. Alex's own email from Stanford revealed that he had been deferred, causing the disappointment to settle heavier in his heart.
Minho's face lit up with joy as he discovered that he had been accepted to MIT. His friends congratulated him, knowing that his hard work and dedication to computer science had paid off. Alicia, too, had reason to celebrate, as she was accepted to Georgetown University, one step closer to her dream of becoming a lawyer.
Taylor's heart raced as they opened their email from Swarthmore College, only to find that they had been deferred. They tried to remain hopeful, knowing that the college search was far from over.
Raj's face paled as he read that he had been rejected from Yale University. The disappointment stung, but his friends rallied around him, reminding him of his incredible accomplishments and assuring him that he would find the right college in the end.
Finally, Mary opened her email from Brown University and was met with the news of her acceptance. The room filled with cheers and congratulations, but Priya couldn't help feeling a twinge of jealousy. While Mary was a strong student, Priya's test scores and grades had been higher, and she knew that Mary's double legacy status had played a role in her acceptance.
As the evening came to an end, the twelve friends had experienced a roller coaster of emotions. Some had reason to celebrate, while others were met with disappointment, jealousy, or uncertainty. Despite the various outcomes, they knew that their friendship would remain steadfast. Together, they would continue to navigate the ups and downs of the college admissions process, their bonds only growing stronger as they faced an uncertain but hopeful future.
Chapter 4: A Few Random Scenes Before RD Decisions Income Brackets The twelve friends gathered at a local park on a sunny Saturday afternoon, enjoying each other's company as they picnicked and played games. As the sun began to dip in the sky, they sat on the grass in a circle, sharing their thoughts and experiences.
Alicia, ever the good listener, brought up a topic that they had all noticed but rarely discussed: their different income brackets. It was a sensitive subject, but Alicia felt that it was important for them to acknowledge and understand the unique challenges each of them faced.
Matthew, who came from a low-income family, hesitated before speaking up. "You know, sometimes it's really hard being one of the poorest students in our school. I've had to work a part-time job to help support my family, and that's meant less time for studying or extracurriculars." His friends nodded in sympathy, recognizing the additional pressure that Matthew faced in trying to balance his responsibilities.
Ethan, Julie, Minho, Alicia, and Taylor, who all came from middle-class families, shared their own struggles. "It's not always easy for us either," said Julie. "We may not have to worry as much about making ends meet, but we still feel the pressure to work hard and achieve our dreams without having a financial safety net to fall back on."
Priya, Rachel, David, Alex, and Raj, who were considered upper middle class, acknowledged the advantages they had but also shared their perspectives. "Sure, we have more resources," admitted Priya, "but it sometimes feels like there's an expectation for us to succeed no matter what. That pressure can be really overwhelming."
Mary, who came from an upper-class family, listened to her friends' experiences and nodded in understanding. "I know I'm fortunate," she said softly, "but it's not always easy being seen as the 'rich kid.' Sometimes people assume I don't have to work hard, or that I don't have my own problems. Money can't buy happiness, and it can't guarantee success either."
As the conversation continued, the friends found themselves opening up about their fears, insecurities, and the unique challenges they faced because of their different financial situations. They began to understand each other's perspectives more fully, realizing that no one had a perfect life, regardless of their income bracket.
The sun had almost set by the time the twelve friends decided to pack up and head home. As they walked together, they felt a renewed sense of unity and support. They knew that their friendship was more important than any financial differences, and they were grateful to have one another as they faced whatever challenges life had in store for them.
Ethan
The twelve friends were seated in the school library, working on a group project for their history class. Their task was to research and create a presentation on the American Revolution, and each student was responsible for a specific aspect of the project.
As they discussed their findings, Julie mentioned a piece of information that she couldn't quite recall. "I remember reading something about the Battle of Saratoga, but I can't remember the exact details," she admitted, frustrated.
Ethan, who had been quietly browsing through a book, glanced up and said, "Do you mean the fact that it was a turning point in the Revolutionary War because it convinced the French to support the American cause?"
Julie looked at him, surprised. "Yes, that's exactly it! How did you know?"
Ethan grinned sheepishly. "I saw it in one of the books we were using for research last week. I just happened to glance at the page, but it stuck in my head."
His friends exchanged glances, impressed by Ethan's uncanny ability to remember things he had only seen briefly. It was a talent they had all noticed before, but never really discussed.
Curious, Minho asked, "Ethan, do you have a photographic memory?"
Ethan shrugged. "I guess you could say that. I've always been able to remember things I've seen or read, even if it's just for a short moment. It's just something my brain does."
The group marveled at Ethan's unique skill, and they began to ask him questions about various historical events and figures. To their amazement, he was able to recall an incredible amount of information, often down to the exact page number where he had seen it.
As the group continued their project, they couldn't help but feel grateful for Ethan's extraordinary memory. His ability to retain and recall information made their research more efficient, and it quickly became clear that his talent would be a major asset in their project.
The friends were not only impressed by Ethan's photographic memory but also inspired by the way he used his gift to help the group. It was a reminder that each of them had their unique strengths, and when they worked together, there was no challenge they couldn't overcome.
Rachel The twelve friends had gathered at Priya's house for a relaxed weekend hangout. As they lounged in the living room, a pile of their old middle school yearbooks lay on the coffee table, stirring up nostalgic memories and laughter.
Raj picked up one of the yearbooks and flipped through the pages, pausing when he came across the "Creative Writing Club" section. He looked up at Rachel and said, "Hey, I remember you won a couple of writing contests back then. Are you still writing?"
Rachel blushed and nodded. "Yeah, I've been working on a few short stories recently."
Her friends exchanged glances, intrigued. "Would you mind sharing one with us?" Alicia asked gently, her eyes full of genuine interest.
With some hesitation, Rachel agreed and disappeared into her bag, retrieving a small notebook. Her friends gathered around her in anticipation as she flipped through the pages, searching for the story she wanted to share.
"Okay," Rachel said, taking a deep breath. "This one is called 'The Timekeeper's Daughter.'"
As she began to read, her friends listened intently. Rachel's words painted a vivid picture of a young girl named Lila, who lived in a world where time was a tangible currency. Lila's father was the town's Timekeeper, responsible for managing and distributing time to the citizens.
The story was filled with imaginative details and intricate descriptions that transported the friends into Lila's world. Rachel's writing was both elegant and engaging, seamlessly weaving together the threads of the plot as the story unfolded.
As Rachel's voice carried them through the emotional highs and lows of Lila's journey, her friends found themselves hanging onto every word. They felt the young girl's joy and sorrow, her determination and fear, and the ultimate resolution of her story.
When Rachel finally closed the notebook, the room was silent for a moment before it erupted into applause. Her friends marveled at the beauty of her storytelling, praising her extraordinary writing abilities.
"Rachel, that was incredible!" Julie exclaimed. "I felt like I was right there with Lila in that world. Your descriptions were so vivid, and the story was so unique and compelling."
"Yeah, you have a real gift," David added, his admiration evident in his voice. "You should consider writing a book someday."
Rachel blushed again, overwhelmed by their compliments. As her friends continued to praise her creative writing talents, she felt a newfound sense of confidence and determination to continue honing her craft.
For the twelve friends, the experience of listening to Rachel's story brought them closer together, as they were reminded once again of the diverse talents that each of them possessed. Together, they celebrated Rachel's extraordinary writing abilities and the unique gifts that each of them brought to their circle of friendship.
See link below for Part 2!

Predict, Discuss and Follow the Weekend's Events

Use these discussion threads to talk about matchups, share predictions, find stream info, react to results and more. You can also chat live in our discord channel. Feel free to discuss any event, not just the featured events!
Lots of interesting tournaments this weekend, let's dive in!

Northwest Challenge

March 24-26 in partly cloudy Seattle, WA
Women's Pools – Schedule and Results

Pool A	Pool B	Pool C	Pool D
#4 British Columbia	#6 Carleton	#2 Vermont	#3 Colorado
#16 Pittsburgh	#7 Washington	#10 Oregon	#8 Stanford
UCLA	#19 Western Washington	Texas	Utah

After some backlash about the previous predetermined-matchup format, NWC is now using a more traditional pool play and bracket format. There are still some quirks, as noted below:

UW and WWU won't play each other in Pool B. Instead, UW will play BYU, and WWU will play Victoria and BYU.
#9 BYU and #14 Victoria are each only playing Friday and Saturday games and won't be part of the bracket.
The top seeds in each pool will play BYU and Victoria: UBC plays BYU, while Carleton, Vermont, and Colorado play Victoria. If each of these teams also finishes atop their respective pools, this should provide some symmetry in number of games played, as the 2nd and 3rd finishers in each pool play a pre-quarter while the 1st finisher receives a bye to quarters.

Follow: @UWElement, @Ultiworld, @UltiworldLive

College Westerns

March 25-26 in sunny Los Angeles, CA
I can't find a schedule for College Westerns. If you have one, please comment it below.
Follow: @SmaugUltimate, @Ultiworld, @UltiworldLive

Rodeo

March 25-26 in both rainy and sunny Martinsville, VA
Women's Pools – Schedule and Results

Pool A	Pool B
NC State	#24 South Carolina
Penn State	Ohio
#4 D-III Williams	Massachusetts
Liberty	Duke
North Carolina-B	Georgetown-B

Follow: Tournament Site, @WLUltimate, @Ultiworld, @UltiworldLive

Juniors Terminus

March 25-26 in rainy Conyers, GA
Schedule (Boys, Girls) isn't up on USAU as of posting. If anyone has another schedule please comment it below, otherwise I'll check back later.
Follow: @AtlantaUltimate, @AFDCJuniors, @Ultiworld, @UltiworldLive

New England Open

March 25-26 in partly cloudy Rehoboth, MA
Women's Pools – Schedule and Results

Pool A	Pool B
#21 SUNY-Binghamton	#2 D-III Wellesley
Connecticut	#15 D-III Mount Holyoke
Boston University	Harvard
#13 D-III Brandeis	Rhode Island
Bowdoin	Boston University-B

Men's Pools – Schedule and Results

Pool A	Pool B
Bryant	Bates
Northeastern-B	Massachusetts-Lowell
Amherst	WPI
Clark	Connecticut-B
Harvard-B	Northeastern-C

Follow: @NewEnglandOpen, @Ultiworld, @UltiworldLive

Carousel City Classic

March 25-26 in snowy Binghamton, NY
Men's Pools – Schedule and Results

Pool A	Pool B	Pool C
Ottawa	Case Western	McGill
Rutgers	Cornell	Lehigh
SUNY-Binghamton	Columbia	#17 D-III Rochester
Syracuse	Carnegie Mellon	Harvard

Follow: @Carousel_City, @Ultiworld, @UltiworldLive

Needle in a Ho-Stack

March 25-26 in partly cloudy Charlotte, NC
Women's Pools – Schedule and Results

Pool A	Pool B
#3 D-III Middlebury	Tennessee
App State	Boston College
#21 D-III Cedarville	#11 D-III St Olaf
Tennessee-Chattanooga	#18 D-III Union
Alabama-Huntsville	Richmond
Berry	Wake Forest

Men's Pools – Schedule and Results

Pool A	Pool B	Pool C	Pool D
UNC-Charlotte	#4 D-III Middlebury	App State	Tennessee
Kennesaw State	Charleston	Union	#24 D-III Berry
Clemson	Cedarville	Christopher Newport	Davidson
Georgia College	High Point	South Carolina-B	Wake Forest
North Carolina-B	NC State-B	UNC-Asheville	Embry-Riddle

Follow: Tournament Site, @CLTUltimate, @Ultiworld, @UltiworldLive

Garden State

March 25-26 in windy Trenton, NJ
Women's Pools – Schedule and Results

Power Pool A	Pool B	Pool C
#6 D-III Haverford-Bryn Mawr	#25 D-III Skidmore	Swarthmore
Columbia	New Jersey	Rochester
#8 D-III Lehigh	Vermont-B	SUNY-Albany
#9 D-III Ithaca	Messiah	Princeton

Men's Pools – Schedule and Results

Power Pool A	Pool B
Penn State-B	West Chester
New Jersey	West Virginia
Rowan	Swarthmore
#18 D-III Ithaca	Skidmore
Army	Siena
	Rutgers-B

Not certain the men's division is actually a power pool, might just be unconventional use of USAU's scheduler.
Follow: Tournament Site, Twitter, Tiktok (idk why they have a Tiktok lol), @Ultiworld, @UltiworldLive

Layout Pigout

March 25-26 in both rainy and sunny Haverford, PA
Men's Pools – Schedule and Results

Pool A	Pool B
#12 D-III Williams	#7 D-III Oberlin
#11 D-III Kenyon	Bowdoin
#23 D-III Brandeis	Bentley
Haverford	Shippensburg

Follow: @DonkeyUltimate, @Ultiworld, @UltiworldLive
Top 25 Rankings from Ultiworld Top 25, but not yet updated for this week.

Maybe it's just me but Norfolk/ VA Beach feels completely different than Hampton and Newport news even though they're extremely close. Now the Phoebus area of Hampton and parts of Buckroe have slight similarities to Oceanview but that's where it ends. Hampton and Newport news are extremely slow in comparison after living on both sides of the water.

Please note what items from my list you are interested in when commenting.
Please also pay attention to what system you are looking at as there are sections of Japanese (NTSC-J) games
Have
Working systems come with necessary cables and controller unless otherwise stated.
Systems/Handhelds

System	Notes
PS1 1001 fat
PS1 7501 fat
PS1 7501 fat
PS2 fat
PS2 fat
Sega Model 2	rf, power, oem 6 button controller
Sega Model 2	rf, no power cable, oem 3 button controller.
Sega Model 2
Sega Model 3	no av cable. 3rd party controller, 6 button
32x
Black gamecube	3rd party controller
Wii U	screen light scratches. all cables, dock, sensor bar
Wii U	gamepad right joystick issues. all cables, dock, sensor bar
Xbox 360 S R2D2	C3P0 controller, kinect, 320gb
Wii RVL-001	Eject button doesn't click, but does work
TurboGrafx Express	Includes tv tuner, car charger
PSP Black 1001	includes oem charger, soft case. battery holds charge
Original DS Blue NTR-001	rough shape. screens are pretty scratched
3DS XL Red	Overall good condition. Screens have no visible scratches. OEM charger, sd card, and carrying case
PS Vita Dev Kit PDEL-1000	Great condition. On 3.570.011 FW currently. No charger included

Atari Jaguar Games

Game	Notes
Raiden	sealed
Fever Pitch Soccer	sealed
Zool 2	sealed
Theme Park Designer Series	sealed
Skiing and Snowboarding	sealed
Zoop	no manual
Cybermorph	sealed
Doom	manual cover seperated
Troy Aikmen Football	cib - box in below average condition
Pinball Fantasies	no manual
Rotary controller w/ Tempest cart	Tempest is setup, ready. Rotary installed in place of dpad
Super Burnout	cart only
Ultra Vortek	cart only
Alien vs Predator	cib
Ruiner pinball	cib
Cannon Fodder	cib
Wolfenstein 3D	cib
Towers II	cib
Flip Out	cib. box has some liquid damage
Bubsy	cib
Checkered Flag	cib
Worms	cib
I-War	cib
Attack of the Mutant Penguins	cib
Brutal Sports Football	cib
Hover Strike	cib
Rayman	cib
Zero 5	cib
International Sensible Soccer	cib
Flashback	cib
Dino Dudes	cib
Dragon Bruce Lee Story	cib
Missile Command 3D	cib
White Ment Can't Jump	cib
Kasumi Ninja	cib w/ headband
Supercross 3D	cib
Club Drive	cib
Trevor McFur in the Crescent Galaxy	cib
Fight for Life	cib
Power Drive Rally	cib
Atari Karts	box only

CIB for TurboGrafx includes jewel case, not outer cardboard box unless noted
TurboGrafx Games

Game	Notes
Alien Crush	cart only
Keith Courage	cart only
Power Golf	cart only
Turrican	cart only
World Class baseball	CIB
Victory Run	CIB
Vigilante	CIB
TV Sports Hockey	CIB
Keith Courage	CIB (no comic)
Bonks Adventure	CIB

For carts with manuals, I am willing to sell manuals/carts independently. Not seperating boxes and manuals.
NES Games

Game	Notes
720
1942
10 yard fight	5 screw
A Boy and his Blob
Adventure Island
Adventures of Dino-Riki
After Burner	tengen cart
Air Fortress	sticker on label
Airwolf
Arch Rivals
Astyanax
Back to the Future	bad condition. appears to have spray paint on front of cart
Bad Dudes
Bad News Baseball
Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach
Baseball
Baseball Simulator 1000
Baseball Stars	sticker on label
Bases Loaded
Bases Loaded II
Bayou Billy
Bigfoot
Bill Elliott's Nascar Challenge	Box + game, no manual
Black Bass
Blades of Steel	Box + game, no manual
Blades of Steel
Break Time National Pool tour	Box, manual, no game
Burgertime
California Games
Championship Bowling
Cobra Triangle
Commando	5 screw
Contra Force	comes with cart protector
Days of Thunder
Days of Thunder
Destination Earthstar
Super Dodgeball
Donkey Kong 3	5 screw
Donkey Kong Classics
Double Dragon	cart + manual
Double Dragon II
Double Dragon III
Double Dribble
Dr Mario
Dragon Warrior
Duck Hunt	5 screw
Ducktales	top of label damage. includes reg card
Dynowarz
Family Feud
Fantasy Zone	tengen cart
Magic Johnson Fast Break
Faxanadu
Fester's Quest
Freedom Force
Friday the 13th
Galaga: Demon's of Death
Gauntlet	tengen cart
Gauntlet
Golgo 13	cart + manual
Gotcha
Gradius	5 screw
Gyromite	5 screw
Heavy Barrel
Hogan's Alley
Hollywood Squares	sharpie on label (mostly cleaned, slightly visible)
Hoops	sharpie on label (mostly cleaned, but visible)
Hunt for Red October
Hydlide
Ikari Warriors II Victory Road
Infiltrator
Iron Sword
Iron Tank	cart + manual
Jack Nicklaus' Championship Golf	cart + manual
Jeopardy
Jeopardy 25th Anniversary
John Elway's Quarterback
Jordan vs Bird
Joust
Karate Kid
Kickle Cubicle
King of the Ring	cart + manual
Kings of the Beach
Knight Rider
Knight Rider
Legacy of the Wizard
Legendary Wings
Major League Baseball
Maniac Mansion	sharpie on label (mostly cleaned, but visible)
Marble Madness
Mario Bros Arcade Classics Series	5 screw
Mario Bros Duck Hunt
Mario Duck Hunt Track Meet
Mickey Mousecapade
Mighty Bomb Jack
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out
Milon's Secret Castle
Mission Impossible
MTV Remote Control
Narc
NES Cleaning Kit	CIB w/ box protector
NES Cleaning Kit	CIB w/ box protector
NES Play Action Football
Ninja Gaiden 2
Operation Wolf
Pac-man	tengen cart
Platoon
Pro Wrestling
Pro Wrestling	5 screw
Punch-out
Qbert
R.C. Pro-Am
Racket Attack
Rad Racer II
Rampart
RBI Baseball	tengen cart. includes reg card
Renegade
Roadblasters
Rollerball
Rolling Thunder	tengen cart
Romance of the Three Kingdoms	cart + manual
Rush'n Attack	5 screw. sharpie on label (mostly cleaned, but visible)
Section Z
Seicross
Sesame Street ABC
Silent Service
Silent Service
Simpsons Bart Vs the World
Skate or Die 2
Ski or Die
Solstice
Spy vs Spy
Star Force
Star Soldier	Box + game, no manual
Star Trek 25th Anniversary
Star Tropics	Box + game, no manual
Star Voyager	5 screw cart, manual, poster
Super C
Super Glove Ball
Super Mario Bros	cart + manual
Super Mario Bros 2
Super Mario Bros 3	cart + manual
Super Off Road
Super Pitfall
Superspike V'ball
Sword and Serpents	cart + manual + poster
T&C Surf Designs
Talespin	top of label damaged
Target Renegade
Techmo Bowl	Cart + manual
Tecmo Super Bowl
Tennis
Terminator 2	Box + game, no manual
Terminator 2
Terminator 2
The Addams Family
The Fantastic Adventrues of Dizzy
Thundercade
Tiger-Heli
TMNT II Arcade Game
TMNT Manhattan Project	cart + manual
Top Gun
Top Gun Second Mission
Total Recall
Track & Field
Track & Field
Trick Shooting	CIB
Trojan
Twin Eagle	sharpie on label (mostly cleaned, slightly visible)
Vice Project Doom	label damage
Code Name Viper
Wheel of Fortune	sharpie on label (mostly cleaned, slightly visible)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Willow
Win Lose or Draw	writing on label
World Class Track Meet
Nintendo World Cup	Box, no manual - writing on front of box
Wrestlemania	cart + manual
Wrestlemania
Wrestlemania Challenge
Xenophobe
XEXYZ

SNES Games

Game	Notes
Aaahh Real Monsters
Aladdin
Arkanoid - Doh It Again!
Bass Tournament of Champions
Batman Forever
Battle Clash
Best of the Best Championship Karate
Bubsy
Bugs Bunny Rabbit Rampage
Championship Pool
Cleaning Kit
Clue
Cool Spot
Daffy Duck The Marvin Missions
Family Feud
Fifa International Soccer
Final Fight
Home Alone 2
Inindo	Label damage
Jeopardy
Judge Dredd	Some label damage
Jungle Strike
Ken Griffey Jr. Winning Run
King of the Monsters
Kirby Avalanche
Lethal Enforcers
Lion King
Looney Tunes Basketball	Label damage
Madden 94
Mega Man X
Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat 3
NBA Give N Go
NBA Jam
NBA Jam Tournament Edition
NBA Live 95
NCAA Basketball
NFL Quarterback Club
NHL Stanley Cup
Nigel Mansell's World Championship
Operation Europe Path to Victory
Paperboy 2
Power Moves
Primal Rage
Revolution X	Not working. Contacts look very stripped.
Road Runner's Death Vally Rally
Scooby Doo Mystery
Space Invaders
Speedy Gonzales Los Gatos Bandidos
Spider-man and the X-men in Arcade's Revenge
Starfox
Street Fighter II	Faded label
Street Fighter II
Street Fighter II turbo
Stunt Race FX
Super Bases Loaded
Super Battletank: War in the Gulf
Super Black Bass
Super Empire Strikes Back
Super Mario Kart
Super Pinball Behind the Mask
Super Play Action Football
Super Punch-Out
Taz-Mania
Tecmo Super Bowl
Tecmo Super Bowl III
Tetris 2
The Jungle Book
The Pagemaster
Tory Aikman Football
Warlock
We're Back A Dinosaurs Story
Wing Commander The Secret Missions
Word-Tris	Damaged Label
Zoop

N64 Games are cart only unless noted
N64

Item	Notes
Battle Tanx
F-1 Grand Prix
Gex 64
Madden 64
NFL Blitz
Star Wars Rogue Squadron
Star Wars Rogue Squadron
Star Wars Shadows of the Empire
War Gods
Wayne Gretzy 3D Hockey
Wipeout 64
N64 HoriPad Mini Black
N64 HoriPad Mini Yellow
N64 HoriPad Mini Red
N64 HoriPad Mini Blue
N64 HoriPad Mini Clear Ocean Blue
OEM Controller Gray
OEM Controller Atomic Purple
OEM Controller Ice Blue Clear
OEM Controller Black
OEM Controller Red
OEM Controller Watermelon Red Clear
OEM Controller Black & Gray
OEM Controller Blue
Hudson Turbo JoyCard Controller

Gamecube Games

Game	Notes
Bionicle	Disc only
Crash Bandicoot Wrath of Cortex	Disc only
Fantastic 4	No manual
Fantastic 4	Disc only
Godzilla	Disc only
Harry Potter Goblet of Fire	Disc only
Harry Potter Prizoner of Azkaban	Disc only
Harry Potter Sorcerer's Stone	Disc only
Kids Next Door Operation: V.I.D.E.O.G.A.M.E	Disc only
King Kong	CIB
Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events	Disc only
Lord of the Rings Return of the King	Disc only
Madagascar	CIB
Mario Kart Double Dash Bonus Disc	disc only
Mario Kart Double Dash	No Manual
Mario Power Tennis	Disc only
Mario Superstar Baseball	No manual
Mega man Network Transmission	Disc only
Metroid Prime	Disc only
Monsters Inc Scream Arena	Disc only
Nascar Chase for the Cup 2005	Disc only
Nascar Thunder 2003	Disc only
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2	CIB, Players Choice
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2	Disc only
NFL 2K3	Disc only
One Piece Grand Adventure	Disc only
One Piece Treasure Battle	Disc only
Over the Hedge	CIB
Paper Mario Thousand Year Door	CIB, Players Choice
Rocket Power Beach Bandits	No manual
Scooby Doo Unmasked	CIB
Shrek 2	CIB
Shrek 2	Disc only
Sonic Heroes	Disc only
Spiderman 2	Disc only
Spongebob Lights Camera Pants	CIB
Spongebob Squarepants Creature from the Krusty Krab	CIB
Star War Jedi Knight II Jedi Outcast	Disc only
Star Wars Rebel Strike Rogue Squadron III	Disc only
Taz Wanted	No manual
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Disc only
The Hobbit	Disc only
The Incredibles	Disc only
The Incredibles	Disc only
Wave Race Blue Storm	CIB

Wii Games

Game	Notes
AC DC Rockband Track Pack	CIB
Balls of Fury	Disc only
Bass Pro Shops The Strike Tournament Edition	Small sleeve version (no plastic case)
Batallion Wars 2	Disc only
Ben 10	No manual
Boom Blox	No manual
Cabela African Adventures	CIB - game art faded
Cabela Dangerous Hunts 2013	Disc only
Cooking Mama Cook Off	CIB
Cruis'n	Disc only
Dead Space Extraction	CIB
Disney Sing It Pop Hits	CIB
EA Active	CIB
Golden Compass	Disc only
Guitar Hero 3	CIB
Guitar Hero World Tour	CIB
Heavenly Guardian	sealed
Hollywood Squares	Disc only
Hot Wheels Battle Force 5	no manual
House of the Dead 2&3	Disc + manual
House of the Dead 2&3	CIB
House of the Dead Overkill	Disc only
Just Dance 2	sealed
Lego Batman 2	no manual
Mad World	CIB
Madden 11	CIB
Mario Super Sluggers	Disc only
Marvel Ultimate Alliance	CIB
MLB 2K10	CIB - game art slightly faded
Monster High Ghoul Spirit	Disc Only
Monster hunter 3 tri	No manual - art very faded
Netflix disc	Disc only
New Super Marios Bros	Case and manual only, no game
Ninja Reflex	No Manual
Pikmin	No manual
Prince of Persia Forgotten Sands	Disc only
Rapala Pro Bass Fishing	No manual
Rapala Pro Bass Fishing	Disc only
Redneck Jamboree	CIB
Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles	CIB
Sonic All Stars Racing	CIB
Sonic Secret Rings	CIB
Sonic Unleashed	CIB
Spiderman Edge of Time	No manual
Spongebob Squiggleplants	No manual
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Smash-Up	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 Masters	CIB - art on front slightly faded
Trivial Pursuit	CIB
UFC Trainer	No manual
Ultimate I Spy	CIB
Wii sports	Disc + manual
World of Zoo	No Manual
Victorious Boxers Revolution	CIB

WiiU Games

Game	Notes
007 Legends	CIB
Disney Infinity 3.0	Disc only
Giana Sisters Twisted Dreams	CIB
Lego Avengers	CIB
Lego Movie	CIB
Mario Kart Wii U System Box	System Box + both tray inserts
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate	CIB
Pokken Tournament	CIB
Star Fox Zero + Guard	CIB w/ Outer box, actual games are sealed
Super Mario 3D World	CIB
Super Mario Maker	CIB w/ Outerbox + idea book
Tekken Tag Tournament 2	disc only
Twilight Princess HD	CIB
Wii Party U	CIB
Wii Sports Club	CIB
Windwaker HD	disc only
Xenoblade Chronicles X	CIB
Yoshi's Wooly World	Sealed

Switch Games

Game	Notes
Atelier Lydie & Suelle	PAL version - CIB
Bravely Default 2	CIB
Moonlighter	CIB
Sakuna Rice and Ruin Divine Edition	Sealed
Skylanders Imaginators Starter Pack	CIB
YS 8 Standard Edition	Sealed

PS1 Games

Game	Notes
Air Combat	CIB GH
Asteroids	CIB
Breakout	CIB
Destruction Derby	CIB Longbox (cardboard)
Destruction Derby 2	disc only
Destruction Derby Raw	CIB
Driver	Missing Manual / Front art of Jewel Case
Driver 2	CIB
Frogger	Missing Manual / Front art of Jewel Case
Gran Turismo	CIB
Gran Turismo 2	CIB GH some cracks in case
Gran Turismo 2	CIB
IHRA Drag Racing	CIB
Interactive CD Sampler Pack Vol 3	Disc Only
Interactive CD Sampler Pack Vol 3	Disc Only
Invasion from Beyond	CIB
Iron & Blood	CIB
Jeremy McGrath Super Cross 98	CIB
Math Gallery Collection 1	disc only
Nascar 98	CIB
Need for Speed III Hot Pursuit	CIB GH
Pac-man World	CIB GH
Pong	CIB - case hinge kinda broken
Street Sk8ter	CIB
Striker 1945	Blockbuster sticker on disc
Syphon Filter 2	disc only (has discs 1 and 2)
Tomb Raider 2	CIB
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater	CIB
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2	CIB
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3	CIB
True Pinball	CIB
Wheel of Fortune	disc only
Wipeout	CIB flat longbox americanized cover variant
World's Scariest Police Chases	CIB
You Don't Know Jack	CIB

PS2 Games

Game	Notes
007 Agent Under Fire	CIB
Acme Arsenal	disc only
American Choppers 2	CIB
ATV Offroad Fury 2	CIB
Blitz The League	disc only
Blowout	CIB
Bully	CIB
Cars	No manual
Dance Dance Revolution Super Nova	CIB
Dukes of Hazard	CIB
ESPN 2K5	CIB
Fight Night 2004	CIB
Final Fantasy XII	Disc only
Frogger The Great Quest	CIB
Gran Turismo 3	CIB
Gran Turismo 4	CIB
GTA 3	CIB w/ Map
GTA Liberty City Stories	no manual
GTA Vice City Stories	CIB w/ Map
GTA Vice City Ultimate Codes	CIB
Guitar Hero III	CIB
Jaws Unleashed	No manual - sharpie on front
Kengo	CIB
Lord of the Rings Two Towers	Disc only
Medal of Honor European Assault	Disc only
Nascar 06	Disc only
Nascar Dirt to Daytona	CIB
NBA Live 2005	Disc only
NCAA Football 07	Disc only
NCAA Football 2004	CIB
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2	CIB
Need for Speed Most Wanted Black	CIB
Need for Speed Pro Street	CIB
Need for Speed Pro Street	Disc only
Need for Speed Underground	GH CIB
Need for Speed Underground 2	CIB
NFL Street 2	no manual
Pinball Hall of Fame	CIB
Pirates Legend of the Black Buccaneer	No manual
Rock Band	No manual
Sly 2 Band of Thieves	GH CIB
Sly 3 Honor Among Thieves	GH CIB
Sprint Cars 2	CIB
Sprint Cars Road to Knoxville	CIB
SSX 3	GH no manual
SSX On Tour	CIB
Test Drive Eve of Destruction	disc only
The Sims	Disc only
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 01	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 02	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 02	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 03	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 04	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 04	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 05	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10	CIB
Wave Rally	CIB

PS3 Games

Game	Notes
Assassin's Creed	CIB
Assassin's Creed	GH CIB
Assassin's Creed II	CIB
Assassin's Creed Revelations	Sealed
Batman Arkham City	CIB
Battlefield 3 Limited Edition	No manual
Battlefield 3 Limited Edition	No manual
Battlefield 4	CIB
Battlefield 4	CIB
Battlefield Bad Company 2 Limited Edition	No manual
Beijing 2008	disc only
Borderlands 2	disc only
Borderlands 2	disc only
Borderlands 2	CIB
Brutal Legend	CIB
Call of Duty Black Ops	CIB
Call of Duty Ghosts	CIB
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2	CIB
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3	CIB
Call of Duty World at War	GH CIB
Dark Souls	CIB
Dark Souls	CIB
Dark Souls	CIB - Disc is greatest hits, case is regular
Dark Souls II	Disc is greatest hits, case is regular
Dead Space 3 Limited Edition	CIB
Destiny	CIB
Destiny	CIB
Def Jam Icon	Case and game, no manual
Demon Souls	CIB
Devil May Cry	CIB (art is sunfaded a bit)
Diablo 3	No Manual
Diablo 3	Disc Only
Dragon Age Inquisition	No manual
Dragon's Crown	CIB
Dragon's Crown	CIB
Duke Nukem Forever	Disc only
Duke Nukem Forever	Disc only
EA Active 2	CIB
Facebreaker	CIB
Family Game Night 4	disc only
Far Cry 3	CIB
Fifa 14	Disc only
Fifa 14	CIB
Fracture	disc only
God of War Ascension	CIB
God of War Collection	CIB
God of War III	CIB
God of War Origins Edition	CIB
God of War Saga	Sealed
Gran Turismo 5 XL Edition	CIB
Gran Turismo 5	CIB
Gran Turismo 6	no manual
Gran Turismo 6	Disc only
Grid	Disc only
GTA 4	GH CIB w/ map
GTA 4	GH CIB w/ map
GTA 5	no manual or map
GTA San Andreas	Disc only
Guitar Hero 3	CIB
Guitar Hero Live	CIB w/ dongle
Heavy Rain	Disc only
John Daly's ProStroke Golf	CIB
Kane & Lynch Dead Men	No manual
Killzone 2	CIB
Killzone 2	no manual
L.A. Noire	CIB
Lego Movie	no manual
Little Big Planet	GH CIB
Madden 13	Disc only
Madden 13	CIB
Madden 25	CIB
Madden 25	CIB
Madden 09	disc only
Madden 07	CIB
Mass Effect 2	CIB
Mass Effect 3	CIB
Metal Gear Solid 4	CIB
Metal Gear Solid 4	CIB
Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor	No manual
MLB The Show 12	Disc only
NCAA Football 09	Disc only
Need For Speed Rivals	Disc only
NHL 11	CIB
NHL 11	No manual
NHL 13	CIB
NHL 13	disc only
NHL 15	disc only
PlayStation Move	Disc only
Rapala Pro Bass Fishing	w/ Big Box, rod, game, and rod dongle/receiver
Ratchet & Clank Future A Crack in time	GH no manual
Ratchet & Clank Future A Crack in time	GH no manual
Ratchet & Clank Future A Crack in time	CIB
Ratchet & Clank Tools of Destruction	CIB
Resident Evil 5	CIB
Rock Band 2	CIB
Saints Row The Third	disc only
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments	CIB
Skylanders Giants	CIB
Skyrim	CIB GH (no map, unsure if GH had map)
Sly Cooper Thieves in Time	No manual
Smackdown vs Raw 2009	CIB
Socom 4	disc only
Soul Calibur 4	no manual
Sports Champions	CIB
Sports Champions	CIB
Start The Party	No manual
Tekken 6	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10	no manual
Time Crisis 4	No manual
Timeshift	disc only (2x available)
Uncharted	CIB
Uncharted	GH No manual
Uncharted 2	no manual
Uncharted 2	CIB
Uncharted 2	CIB
Uncharted 2	CIB
Uncharted 3	CIB
Uncharted 3	CIB
Uncharted 3	CIB

PS4 Games

Game	Notes
Agents of Mayhem	disc only
Anthem	cib
Battleborn	disc only
Battleborn	disc only
Bayonetta Vanquish	CIB
Binding of Isaac	CIB
Bloodborne	CIB
Brunswick Pro Bowling	CIB
Call of Duty WWII	CIB
Cyberpunk 2077	CIB
Destiny 2	CIB
Deus Ex	disc only
Fifa 14	CIB
Fifa 15	CIB
Minecraft Story Mode	CIB
NHL 15	CIB
Nioh	CIB
Rock Band 4	Disc only
Spider-man	sealed
Ys VIII	disc only
Zombieland Double Tap	CIB

Original Xbox

Game	Notes
Outlaw Golf	CIB
LA Rush	No manual
Greg Hasting's Tournament Paintball	CIB
Madden 06	Disc Only
Lego Star Wars Video Game	No Manual
NFL Street	CIB
Roadkill	No Manual
Midtown Madness 3	No Manual
Flat Out 2	CIB
Grabbed By The Ghoulies	CIB

Xbox 360 - All collector's / limited editions are 100% complete. Many of the extras are still brand new or were kept in their box
Xbox 360 Games

Game	Notes
Army of Two 40 Days	Disc only
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood	CIB
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Collector's Edition	CIB
Assassin's Creed III Limited Edition	CIB
Battlefield 4	CIB
Big Bumpin	Sealed
Boderlands 2 Limited Edition Ultimate Loot Chest	CIB
Call of Duty Ghosts	CIB
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3	CIB
Dance Central 2	CIB
Dance Central 2	CIB
Dead Space 2 Collector's Edition	CIB
Disney Infinity 2.0	CIB
Disneyland Adventures	CIB
Disneyland Adventures	No manual
DJ Hero 2	CIB
DJ Hero 2	CIB
Elder Scrolls Oblivion Collector's Edition	CIB
Elder Scrolls Skyrim Collector's Edition	CIB
Fallout 3 Collector's Edition	CIB
Fifa 12	CIB
Fifa 12	CIB
Fifa 13	CIB
Fifa 14	CIB
Forza 3 / Halo ODST Double Pack	CIB
GTA V	No manual - only 1 insert
GTA V Collector's Edition	CIB
Just Dance 3	CIB
Just Dance 3	CIB
LA Noire	Discs only
Madden 25	CIB
Madden 25	no manual
MLB 2K13	CIB
MX Vs. ATV Alive	CIB
MX Vs. ATV Reflex	CIB
Naruto Rise of a Ninja	sealed
NBA Ballers Chosen One	No manual
NBA NK11	no manual
NBA NK13	CIB
NBA NK13	CIB
NBA NK13	no manual
NBA NK13	no manual
NHL 13	no manual
NHL 13	no manual
NHL 14	no manual
Pocket Bike Racer	Sealed
Rock Band 2	CIB
Shadow of Mordor	Discs and manual. No game art
Skate	No manual
Skate 2	Disc only
Skylanders Giants	No manual
Sneak King	Sealed
Soul Calibur IV	Disc only
Table Tennis	CIB
Tansformers War For Cybertron	No manual - art is sun faded
The Wolf Among Us	No manual
Tomb Raider Collector's Edition	CIB
Witcher 2	disc 1 only

Xbox One

Game	Notes
Doug Flutie's Maximum Football 2019
Dragonball Xenoverse XV
Fifa 14
Fifa 15
Fifa 15
Fifa 16
Madden 15
Madden 15
Madden 16
Madden 17
NBA 2k15
NBA 2k16
NHL 15
NHL 15
The Division	disc only
The Wolf Among Us
This is the Police
Wreckfest
Spyro Reignited Trilogy
Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 + 2
Tempest 4000
Rory McIlroy PGA Tour

Sega CD Games

Game	Notes
Slam City	Box w/ all 4 Discs, no manual
Fifa Soccer	Case and manual, no game
Corpse Killer	CIB

PSP Games

Game	Notes
Daxter Greatest Hits	CIB
Jeanne D'Arc demo disc NFR	Sealed
Game shield cover	small umd protector (3x avail)
Monster hunter freedom	umd only
Spiderman UMD Movie	CIB
Star Wars Battlefront Elite Squadron	CIB
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force	CIB no cards

Amiibo are loose unless noteed
Amiibo

Amiibo	Notes
Wolf	SSMB

32x Games

Game	Notes
Moto Cross
Virtua Racing	Label damage

Super Famicom

Game	Notes
Chrono Trigger	CIB
Derby Stallion 3	cart only
Dragon Ball Z	CIB
Dragon Ball Z 2	CIB
Dragon Quest I & II	CIB
Dragon Quest III	CIB
Excite Stage 94	cart only
Excite Stage 96	cart only
Exhaust Heat	CIB
F1 Grand Prix Part 3	CIB
Family / Famista Stadium 4 Baseball	cart only
Fire Emblem Genealogy Of Holy War	CIB
Kirby Super Star	CIB
Motoko's Wonder Kitchen	cart only
Mountain Stream King Fishing	cart only
Pachi Slot Monogatari: Universal Special	cart only
Prime Goal 3	cart only
Rockman X2	cart only
Sim City 2000	cart only
Space Bazooka	CIB
Space Invaders	cart only
Street Fighter II	CIB
Super bomberman 2	cart only
Super Bomberman 3	CIB
Super Donkey Kong	cart only
Super Goal! 2 (aka Takeda Nobuhiro no Super Cup Soccer)	CIB
Super Kyukyoku Harikiri Stadium	cart only
Super Zugan 2	cart only
Yoshi's Safari	CIB
Yoshi's Safari	CIB

Japanese N64 Games

Game	Notes
1080 Snowboarding	CIB
1080 Snowboarding	cart only
Animal Crossing / Doubutsu no Mori	cart only
Baku Bomberman	cart only
Banjo Kazooie	cart only
Banjo Kazooie 2	CIB - excellent condition
Banjo Kazooie 2	CIB - small writing on front of box
Bass Tsuri No. 1 Shigesato Ito Fishing	cart only
Blast Dozer	cart only
Bomberman 2 Baku	cart only
Bomberman Hero	CIB
Custom Robo V1	cart only
Custom Robo V2	cart only
Densha De Go	cart only
Derby stallion 64	cart only
Derby stallion 64	CIB
Diddy Kong Racing	cart only
Donkey Kong 64	cart only
Donkey Kong 64	CIB
Donkey Kong 64	Big box - No expansion pak items (insert, pak, or box). Otherwise CIB
Doraemon 2 Temple of Light	cart only
Excitebike 64	cart only
F-Zero X	cart only
Famista Family Stadium Baseball	cart only
Famista Family Stadium Baseball	CIB
Ganbare Nippon Olympic 2000	cart only
Goemon Mystical Ninja	cart only
Goldeneye 007	cart only
Harvest Moon 2	cart only
Hey You Pikachu	Big box - CIB w/ VRU
Hey You Pikachu	Big box - missing inserts and smaller game box. Includes game + vru
Hey You Pikachu	cart only
Hiru No Ken Twin Flying Dragon	cart only
Human Grand Prix	cart only
Human Grand Prix	CIB
J League 1999 Perfect Striker 2	cart only
J League Perfect Striker	cart only
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2000	cart only
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2001	cart only
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 4	cart only
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 5	cart only
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 6	cart only
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 6	Boxed - no manual
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 6	CIB
Jikkyou World Soccer 3	cart only
Kirby The Crystal Shards	CIB
Kirby The Crystal Shards	CIB w/ extra control guide "hyper copy technique"
Kirby The Crystal Shards	cart only
Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask	cart only
Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time	cart only
Magical Tetris Challenge Featuring Mickey	CIB
Mahjong Master	cart only
Mario Golf	cart only
Mario Golf	CIB
Mario Kart 64	cart only
Mario Party 1	cart only
Mario Party 2	cart only
Mario Party 2	Boxed - no manual
Mario Party 2	CIB
Mario Party 3	cart only
Mario Party 3	CIB
Mario Party 3	CIB
Mario Party 3	CIB
Mario RPG / Paper Mario	cart only
Mario Tennis	cart only
Mario Tennis	CIB
MRC Mutli-Racing Championship	cart only
Nushi Tsuri	CIB
Nushi Tsuri	cart only
Ogre Battle 64	cart only
Olympic Hockey 98	cart only
Ozumo Sumo Wrestling	cart only
Pilotwings	cart only
Pokemon Snap	cart only
Pokemon Stadium	cart only
Pokemon Stadium 2	Boxed - no manual
Pokemon Stadium 2	cart only
Pokemon Stadium Gold & Silver	cart only
Pro League 64 Baseball	cart only
Pro Mahjong Kiwame	cart only
Pro Yakyu King of Pro Baseball	cart only
Puyo Puyo Sun	cart only
Robot Ponkottsu	cart only
Shin Nihon Pro-wrestling Toukon Road Brave Spirits	cart only
Snowboard Kids	cart only
Star Wars Episode 1 Racer	cart only
Star Wars Rogue Squadron	CIB - outer box has some wear
Star Wars Shadows of the Empire	cart only
Starfox 64	cart only
Super B-Daman Battle Phoneix	cart only
Super Mario 64	cart only
Super Mario 64 Shindou / Rumble version	cart only
Super Mario 64 Shindou / Rumble version	CIB
Super Mario 64 Strategy Guide
Super Robot Taisen	cart only
Super Smash Bros	cart only
Super Smash Bros	CIB
Tamagotchi World	cart only
Tamagotchi World	Boxed - no manual
Transformers Beast Wars	cart only
Utchan Nanchan Flame Challenger	cart only
Wave Race 64	cart only
Wonder Project J2	cart only
Yoshi Story	cart only
Yoshi Story	CIB
Yoshi Story Strategy Guide

Japanese Wii

Game	Notes
Winning Eleven Play Maker 2013	CIB
Mario Strikers Charged	CIB
Wii Simple 2000 Series Vol 2 The Party Game	CIB
Donkey Kong Returns	No manual
Your First Step to Wii	No manual
Super Mario Collection	No manual
Mario Super Sluggers	No manual

Japanese Vita

Game	Notes
Dynasty Warriors Next	CIB
Exist Archive the Other Side of the Sky	CIB
Fate Extella	CIB
Fate Extella Regalia Box	Missing extras - Just LE box and Vita case + game
Freedom Wars	CIB
God Eater 2	CIB
God Eater 2 Rage Burst	CIB
Gravity Daze (Gravity Rush)	CIB - "The Best" version
Kaleido Eve	CIB
Legend of Heroes Blende of Locus II Limited Edition	CIB. CD still sealed
Monster Hunter Frontier G "Beginners Package"	CIB
Persona 4 Golden	CIB
Power Smash 4	CIB - "The Best" version
Professional Baseball Spirits 2013	CIB
Professional Baseball Spirits 2014	CIB
Ragnarok Odyssey	CIB
Soul Sacrifice	CIB
Super Robot Wars OG Taisen Saga 3 Pride of Justice	CIB
Sword Art Online Hollow Fragment	CIB
Sword Art Online Hollow Realization	CIB
Sword Art Online Lost Song	CIB
Sword Art Online Lost Song Limited Edition	CIB - game itself sealed
Uta No Prince Sama Repeat Love Premium Princess Box	Sealed
Utawareumono Mask of Truth	CIB

Wonderswan

Item	Notes
Beatmania	cart only
Beatmania	cart only
Chocobo Mysterious Dungeon	cart only w/ protector
Chocobo Mysterious Dungeon	cart only w/ protector
Detective Conan Case Closed	cart only
Digimon Adventure Anode Tamer	cart only
Digimon Adventure Cathode Tamer	cart only
Hataraku Chocobo	CIB
Mahjong Touryuumon	cart only w/ protector
Nice On Golf	CIB - sticker residue on front of box
One Piece "From TV Animation"	cart only w/ protector
Rockman & Forte	cart only w/ protector
Super Robot Taisen Compact	cart only w/ protector
Super Robot Taisen Compact	cart only w/ protector
Tarepanda no Gunpey	cart only w/ protector
Trump Collection	cart only w/ protector
Vaitz Blade	cart only w/ protector
Vaitz Blade	cart only w/ protector
Wonder Stadium 99	cart only w/ protector

Wonderswan Color

Item	Notes
Digimon Tamers Battle Spirit	cart only
Digimon Tamers Battle Spirit	cart only w/ protector
Digimon Tamers Digimon Medley	cart only
Final Fantasy	CIB
Final Fantasy	CIB
Final Fantasy	CIB
Final Fantasy	cart only w/ protector
Final Fantasy II	CIB
Final Fantasy II	CIB
Final Fantasy II	CIB
Final Fantasy II	CIB
Final Fantasy II	cart only w/ protector
Final Fantasy II	cart only w/ protector
Hunter x Hunter Determination	CIB
Hunter x Hunter Determination	cart only
Hunter x Hunter Determination	cart only
Inuyasha Kagome's Dream Diary	cart only
Kinnikuman Nisei Choujin Seisenshi	cart only
Mobile Suit Gundam Vol. 1 Side 7	cart only
One Piece Grand Battle	cart only w/ protector
One Piece Treasure Niji no Shima Densetsu	cart only
SD Gundam G Generation Mono Eye Gundams	cart only w/ protector
Shaman King Asue no Ishi	cart only w/ protector

Japanese PS1

Item	Notes
Arc the Lad I	CIB w/ Spine card
Arc the Lad I	CIB
Arc the Lad II	CIB w/ Stickers
Bakusou Dekotora Densetsu Art Truck Battle	CIB
Bastard Utsuronaru Kamigami no Utsuwa	CIB
Beatmania	CIB
Beatmania Append 4th Mix	CIB w/ Spine card
Beatmania Append Gotta Mix	CIB w/ Spine card
Bomberman Land	Manual + Disc + Blank jewel Case
Bomberman Wars	CIB
Breeding Stud	CIB w/ Spine card
Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon	CIB
Cyber Sled	CIB
Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) 2nd Remix Append Club Ver 1	CIB
Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) 2nd Remix Append Club Ver 2	CIB
Densha De Go	CIB
Derby Stallion 99	CIB
Dragon Quest VII	CIB w/ Spine card
DX Jinsei Game II Game of Life	CIB
DX Monopoloy	No manual
DX Nippon Tokkyou Ryokou Game Let's Travel Japan	CIB
Fighting Illusion K-1 GP 2000	CIB
Final Fantasy Tactics	CIB
Final Fantasy V	CIB
Final Fantasy VIII	CIB
Fist of the North Star	CIB
Gekitotsu Toma L'Arc: Tomarunner vs L'Arc-en-Ciel	CIB
GPM Gunparade March	CIB
Gucho de Park	CIB
Gundam the Battle Master	CIB
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone	CIB
Honkaku Mahjong Tetsumen Special	CIB "Best" version
Hots Shots Golf 2	CIB
I.Q Final	CIB
Itadaki Street Gorgeous King	CIB
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 95	CIB
Kawa no Nushi Tsuri: Hikyou o Motomete	Disc only
Kileak the Blood	CIB
Kouryuu Sangoku Engi	CIB
Martial Beat	CIB
Mingo Country Club Golf	CIB w/ Spine card
Mobile Suit Gundam Char's Counter Attack	CIB
Monster Farm	CIB
Moon Remix	CIB
Pass Max 2	CIB
Pocket Fighter	CIB + Pocket fighter stickered memory card
Pop'n Music 6	CIB
Pop'n Music 6	CIB
Puyo Puyo 2	CIB w/ Stickers
Quest for Fame Aerosmith	Big Box Complete w/ Pick
Rockman X4	CIB
Rockman X5	CIB w/ Spine card
Rockman X6	CIB
RPG Maker 3	CIB
SaGa Frontier I	CIB
SD Gundam G Generation	CIB
Shin Super Robot Taisen	CIB
Simulation Zoo	CIB
Super Robot Wars F	CIB
Tales of Destiny	CIB w/ Spine card
Tales of Eternia	CIB
Tenchu Shinobi Hyakusen	CIB w/ Spine card
Tennis no Oji-Sama: Sweat and Tears	CIB
Tetsunoko Fight	CIB w/ Spine card
The Chess Simple 1500 Series Vol 9	CIB
The Crown is For You Baseball	CIB w/ Spine card
The Fifth Element	CIB
The King of Fighters 95	CIB
The Tetris SuperLite 1500	CIB
Thirteen of Black / Kuro No Juusan	CIB
Tokyo Majin Gakuen Gehoujou High School Limited Edition	CIB
Trap Gunner	CIB w/ Spine card
Wedding Peach Doki Doki Oironaosi	CIB

Japanese PS2

Item	Notes
Canvas 2 Rainbow Color Sktech	CIB
D.C. II P.S. Da Capo II Plus DX Box Set	CIB
Dragon Ball Z 3	CIB
Everybody's Golf 3	CIB
Final Fantasy XI Special Art Box	CIB
Gachinko Pro Yakyuu Professional Baseball	CIB
Gekikuukan Pro Yakyuu At the End of the Century 1999	CIB
Gundam Musou Special	CIB
Kamen Rider Blade	CIB
Kanokon: Esuii	CIB
Kao no nai Tsuki Select Story DX Edition	CIB
Katekyoo Hitman Reborn! Let's Ansatsu!?	CIB
Mahjong Taikai III Millenium League	Disc only
Mobile Suit Gundam	CIB
Mobile Suit Gundam Climax U.C.	CIB
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed	CIB
Mobile Suit Gundam VS Z Gundam	CIB
Mobile Suit Gundam Z: AEUG vs. Titans	CIB
Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation vs. Zeon DX	CIB
Mystic Heroes - Chou Battle Housin	CIB
Naruto: Uzumaki Ninden Chronicles	CIB
Onimusha	CIB
Puyo Puyo 2 Perfect Set	CIB
Ratchet & Clank	CIB
Ratchet & Clank 2 Going Commando (GaGaGa!)	CIB "The Best" version
Ratchet & Clank 3	CIB "The Best" version
SD Gundam G Generation Neo	CIB
SD Gundam G Generation Seed	CIB
SD Gundam G Generation Spirits	CIB
Shin Onimusha Dawn of Dreams	CIB
Soul Eater Battle Resonance	CIB
Sui Year Zun Sweet Season	CIB
Taiko Risshiden IV	CIB
The Prince of Tennis Smash Hit! 2	CIB
To Heart	CIB
Viewtiful Joe A New Hope	CIB

Japanese PS3

Item	Notes
Power Smash 3 Virtua Tennis	CIB
Tales of Vesperia	CIB - "The Best" version
Wining Eleven 2013	CIB

Japanese PS4

Item	Notes
Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online Limited Edition	CIB

Want
Pokemon game wants (NTSC/US)
GBC pokemon crystal cart
GBA pokemon fire red cart
DS pokemon pearl CIB or cart only
3DS Pokemon Ultra Moon CIB
Gamecube Pokemon Colosseum CIB (main game, not bonus disc)
PS5 Wants
Neptunia Reverse
Record of Lodoss Wonder Labyrinth
Returnal
Kena bridge of spirits
Star Ocean
Valkyrie Elysium
Potentially other PS5 Offers
Box/Case/Manual wants
2DS XL Pokeball Edition Box & Inserts only
Code of Princess EX - Switch Case
DS Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - case and manual
DS Chocobo Tales - case and manual
DS Final Fantasy Tactics A2 - case and manual
DS pokemon white 2 Case and manual
DS pokemon black - Case and manual
DS Shin Megami Tensai Devil Survivor 2 - Case and manual only
Harvest Moon DS - case + manual
New Nintendo 3DS XL Galaxy Edition Box & Inserts only
Mario & Luigi Dream League 3DS XL Box & Inserts only
Mario Power Tennis Gamecube - Case + Manual
Phantasy star 1 & 2 plus gamecube - manual only
Pikmin 2 gamecube - manual only
Pokemon Channel Gamecube - Case and Manual
3DS Pokemon Art Academy - Case and manual
Pokemon XY Red 3DS XL Box & Inserts only
Puppeteer PS3 - Manual only
Other wants
Capcom Fighting Collection - Switch
Chrono Trigger - DS complete with map or just the map
Dreamcast light gun - needs to be a US model that will work with house of the dead 2.
Enter the gungeon - Switch
F-Zero - Looks for Gamecube (cib for gcn) and N64 cart
Final Fantasy 1 - NES cart
Final Fantasy XI collectables - open to offers if you have any
Final Fantasy Theatrhythm Final Bar Line - Switch
Fire Emblem games for 3DS
Ikaruga - Gamecube
Katamari Games - Looking for the Vita, Xbox 360, and PS2.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Switch
Kirby Return to Dreamland Deluxe - Switch
Legend of Zelda offers - open to offers on non explicitly stated zelda games, merch/items, etc.
Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks - DS CIB
Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom - Switch
Muramasa - PS Vita
Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol 1 - Switch
PS2 Light gun offers - looking for Light Gun games such as the time crisis series and a guncon for ps2.
Rabi-Ribi - PS4/Vita
Ratchet and Clank Quest for Booty PS3 (physical version, I think it's PAL exclusive)
Ratchet and Clank Vita Collection (physical version, I think it's PAL exclusive)
Senran Kagura Peach Beach Splash All service edition - PS4
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury - Switch
Tales Games for PS3 - Looking for Xilia 2 and Graces F
Tornado Outbreak - PS3
Virtual Boy - looking for a working system and some games (need system before game offers)
Wii U - Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE - special edition
Wii U - HD Windwaker Limited Edition (the one with the figure/statue)
Ys games CIB (mostly looking for PSP and older)
Zone of the Enders HD Collection - PS3
In the rare event anyone has a IIDX DJ DAO Phoenix Wan controller they want to swap I am looking for one.
Looking to work towards complete collection for Wii U - feel free to send offers for Wii U games you may be looking to trade off. Only interested in CIB items.
Potentially open to PS3-5/Vita/PSP/N64/GCN/Switch/3DS/DS offers. I am primarily interested in JRPGs (especially action RPGs), 2D platformers/action games, arcadey games, schmups, beat em ups, etc., but feel free to send me a list to look at!
Willing to consider Pokemon TCG trades as well (English or Japanese, singles/slabs/sealed)
I am not interested in digital codes for games (primarily seeking to add to physical collection).

TLDR This is a crude and rough initial attempt to place many known events into a narrative order with some semblance of a time stamp to them. It concerns the time of 12:50 to aproximately 3pm? or later the day of the shootings.
lengthy intro, feel free to skip this part
You will see I don't get too far on the time stamp part, and I'm sure I'm leaving out known and likely vital events we know of, too. But the sources are scattered and their narratives jumbled as well. It does begin to sketch a picture though, to tell the story as best as I can from the top of my head. I'd like to make this a lot more factual and probably should make it a lot less "editorial," as well. But it is like the old joke, what do you call a thousand lawyers at the bottom of the lake? "A good start."
I'm POSITIVE some of this is wrong. But I wanted to start somewhere before it all gets turned to mush in my brain. I keep notes but later they don't always make perfect sense to me because all the information comes in from every angle and it's spinning like a top, usually as well. . I'm not a historian, or a true crime reporter. I'm an amateur on the internet in this regard, please forgive me and help me get it right where you can. I dont mean to offend anyone, either. Hopefully we are all in this together, to establish the truth here. How can we have any real opinions or accountability or make the best policy decisions moving forward, or honor the fallen, or sue the heck out of one another, for that matter, without first establishing the basic facts.
It's just what sloughed off my keyboard this morning as I woke and once again tried to make sense of what makes no sense. why, ten months on we have to peice this together from corporate news accounts' hastily assembled snippets of B-roll, local rumor, internet conjecture (mine and yours, dear readers), leaks and bodycams edited and truncated by a hired PR firm for the city of Uvalde, and other odd sources coming across the ether and "over the transom," meaning we don't know who told us this.
This will be a partial timeline from a shattered afternoon where almost everyone present was in some sort of a state of shock, yet waving cheap and crude videocameras of various sorts and disordered eventual custody around in back of a school no one paid much attention to before, and that will soon be razed to the ground. And about which NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE other than to board up the windows and wipe up the blood. One important source seems to be a "whistleblower" who may in fact be a "bad actor" working to just help spread out bad news as slowly and poorly as possible, selectively omitting the worst of the worst. Who can say?
It's a portrait of chaos, drawn from chaos. A vision of hell from someone who wasn't even there, but can't stop imagining it somehow. I have little idea why. Some of my friends' children were there, but they were not in the 4th grade. It's probably all none of my business, my only real connection is that my children go to public schools in Texas. And I helped pay for these public records that are so well hidden. That at least means something to me. The rest just seems to spring from common decency and having an empathetic heart. I couldn't rightly say why any of us are here almost a year later but we are. It all started with a bang. And it all ends in sin and tears, like my grandmother would say.
The TLDR is that 21 people were murdered and a bunch of people who were only attempted to be murdered were mishandled by idiot cowards and dragged hither and yon while parents were tackled, tased and traumatized. The rest is just the gory sad details.
Don't read it if you can can help it. Horesman, pass by. But if you must, know this: it isn't pretty and it likely won't fix much of anything. But maybe just maybe it's part of path towards eventual healing or as Senator Gutierrez says, looking forward someday to "a slightly duller ache of pain."
There is no good place to start this narrative, the story of the "Aftermath." This is the wrong place but it's where I began so here it is:
Draft Narrative:
If it was Noah and AJ who ended up in an ambulance with Mayah, it seems like one of them may have originally been on the bus but taken off fairly quickly. The narrative from the lawsuit by the bus driver seems to say a boy was put on her bus but quickly taken off because of the seriousness of his injuries, or perhaps like with Mrs Mireles, the frantic cops seemed to have tunnel vision and couldn't find the ambulances at first and when one was finally right in front of them, they stumbled towards it instead.
It's also related that a dead child was placed into one ambulance, and that's why there were three in the other. Extrapolating from there it's also possible Mrs Mireles was eventually taken off the sidewalk and put in the ambulance with the dead boy still inside, or maybe she was moved to an ambulance the finally arrived from Main Street holding area.
The WP/TT/PP story has an excellently detailed animation of where ambulances and school busses came and went, beginning with the initial two ambulances. But it doesn't say who was placed inside any of them. The lead bus leaves the line at the funeral home where at least two livestream cams had caught the frantic scramble of LEOs to march and carry kids from the school to the bus. I'm not sure how many kids were on the bus. I haven't even re-read the lawsuit account yet.
Finding a sync point in order to put time stamps to the animation and the citizen livestream recordings for us poor saps denied full versions of public records videos is difficult. It seems likely the bulk of vehicle movement animation is drawn from DPS helicopter video and of course the funeral home cameras. We don't have those, but we can see snippets of them her and there the DPS helicopter at least. It's the one with the rangefinder marking and what looks almost like a weapon system crosshairs superimposed on screen. The story itself mentions LEO bodycam as well. Don't forget Crimson Elizondo is said to have ridden the "BORTAC express" school bus and wore an operating bodycam.
But the buses began to move - then stalled - before 1:01. That seems to tell us a few things - the "triage" was perfunctory and swift in getting the kids who could walk - and some who were carried - from the school to the BORTAC Express. But it took more than just one or two minutes, it seesm like it took almost ten to get children onto the BORTAC Express, but less than ten probably. We know one child was so wounded he was taken off the bus and put into an ambulance. likely the one manned by the EMT who treated thee kids, Mayah, AJ and Noah. That's not certain tho.
Two busses in the lead turn left onto Geraldine. Others go right. Were some on a route to civic center? Or to hospital? I need to check routes.
In a sick, sad moment on the Adam Ladezma livestream, seemingly after 12:50 and before 1:01 a US Marshall threatens parents, telling them harshly to move behind the busses or else their kids won't be brought out, and that the present delay is their fault, for standing on the grass off the street north of the busses, blocking no one and nothing. It seems like the scrum of agents are waiting inside, calling and stalling for a path to be cleared for them, rather than trusting that the public wants the same thing they want - for medical aid to be swift.
Some 5-10 minutes earlier the news had spread by word of mouth that the shooter was "in custody" or dead, it seems. The crowd is indeed increasingly distraught, frantic and hostile to LEOs. Some had likely seen a stretcher come out of the school. possibly with the dead child who was locked into an ambulance. And then abandoned, visibly, to some who could see it just across the street, undoubtedly. An air of pandemonium was cresting. No doubt many heard the gunfire at 12:50 or at minimum saw the LEOs n the west doorway courtyard react, after more than an hour of standing around trying to look tough, or whatever.
Then, a gaggle of LEOs, possibly BORTAC and seemingly although not visibly, DPS Crimson Elizondo among them rushes the scrum of children to the first bus, number 17, as seen on a livestream video from the parking lot at a distance in a blurry video. All hell breaks loose. On the door side/ funeral home side, a livestream cam catches some of the chaos as a distraught father is tackled by LEOs who prevent him from reaching his son. The crowd screams in protest, and women begin to loudly and openly wail in abject agony. They've seen THEIR children are bleeding, wounded, in shock, or worse. and all they are told is to "stay back" by the same people who didn't go in an hour ago and get them out.
They should be livid and they should be cursing and shouting, IMO. In some regards, these cops are accessory to murder IMO. A judge will never likely assess that. But they've kidnappend the kids and held them in police custody, arguably but not prevented the shooter from killing them at will for 82 minutes. And they've physcialy blocked those who were willing to immediately intervene.
On the other side of the bus, citizen Adam Ladezma, whose nieces and nephews go to Robb "films" or livestream-captures a child who, on encouragement from his family crawls out the back window of bus 17, the "BORTAC Express" as I'm calling it and is helped down and spirited away from the custody of the lawmen. As you watch, it's likely you feel a sigh of relief. These are poor custodians of children, one is likely assured despite the breakdown order occurring. Anyone would want to get away from their custody and the child readily complies. "When you find yourself going thru hell, keep going."
So there are all these things happening and more, and I'm attempting to put them into a coherent timeline. This is a bad, preliminary attempt to do so but I think the clues exist to do a much better job of outlining the actions. Perhaps the first pass should just be to name all the things that we see or know happened, in whatever order we have. I'm sorta doing that here but not in bullet-outline form, pardon the very poor choice of words.
But as the busses soon get moving, we know the BORTAC Express driver has locked the back door and that she sees Eva Mireles "dead" on the sidewalk being given CPR or at least lying there bleeding. And we know a child is taken off the bus by who she says is BORTAC, I think. She's made her initial turn onto Geraldine and the bus behind her follows her. lead. Does it have kids on it, the #2 bus? Does it have a LEO on it, or instructions where to go? I don't think so. It's just going. There may be a picture of aaLEO on the street speaking to the driver, IIRC, Ill try to find it. The driver wants the heck out of there, who wouldn't? Maybe it hopes to pick up more students and wishes to be closer. Seemingly, no one is put on board as it waits on Gerldine that I can see evidenc of however. It follows the Express off the scene.
The busses move far enough that the #3 and 4, 5, busses can turn right. As they do so, they too seem to stall as a helicopter comes in to land. I think it is the DPS chopper but I cannot be certain. If so, it's potentially one of the things that has delayed the arrival of the medical Air Flite choppers, although that sounds like mainly an oversight or foible of the Medina Fire chief, too. One of the choppers has blood supplies. The end up not getting used at the scene. I'm not sure if they go to the Uvalde hospital, the blood supplies, or back to a Trauma 1 center in San Antonio.
Dust covers the sky and drifts eventually onto the wounded (Eva Mireles, probably, gets covered in it) and and the ambulances that are newly arriving. A famous long-lens photo shows what looks like a 9/11style ash blizzard or. snowstorm-from-hell on the scene looking down Geraldine from the front of the school to chaos, disorder. We move quickly from two ambulances, one locked with a dead child inside and the other overcrowded with kids bleeding on the captains chair, to six or eight ambulances.
As the DPS helicopter moves towards the playground, the camera swings back to the west entrance and the bus lane. A stretcher gurney seems to be going IN to a newly arrived ambulacne. (See the first video WP/TT/PP story) Another gurney seemingly is OUT of another folded low on the ground by the tail of a ambulace. The tail end of the #2 bus is still there but begins to leave.
DPS tactical from all the way up in Austin has arrived somehow at 12:58 (too late, they were always going to be too late for the kids) in the midst of the bungled evacuations. Somewhere before all this they sprint to the courtyard by the west door, choking the passage of anyone. News helicopter seems to capture some of it, as well as news cameras down at the front of the school, and still photogs, too. it looks to all of them like something important is happening. It isn't. Not there, and not with them.
Somewhere in here SWAT from San Antonio enters the mix. I'm very loose on that timing. They're hard to tell apart from DPS tactical or SRT or whatever they are called. Is it them that runs as a big squad? I'm unsure. Nor can I spot where BORTAC huddles up afterwards. I think they stay inside the building because we don't spot them outside, not at tthe west and not at the south. They didn't all stay on the bus they commandeered. DPS Crimson Elizondo did, but who else?
We know ambulances have crawled across peoples yards, criss-crossing like a post apocalypse freeway scene to get around abandoned cop cars blocking the roads. They start arriving all from one direction as the second bus behind BORTAC Express finally manages to scoot off from the front of the school.
There's some sort of "load and go, load and go" action here that we don't have much information about unless we extrapolate what child was wounded how and eliminate the trio of AJ, Noah and Mayah from them, possibly.
At least one medical helicopter manages to land, to no avail at some point. Everyone is racing somewhere in an ambulance. Xavier, to his demise somewhere west of Hondo. Mrs Mirales never leaves the ambulance at the curb, as she desperately attended to possibly at near-gunpoint after UPC cops and attending EMTs have seemingly furiously pumped what little blood she had left onto the sidewalk, because her heart stopped from the traumatic way she was dragged from the room, seemingly and of course her multiple gunshot wounds from an AR-15. The "load and go" kids must also include the teacher from 111, who has first been placed in a cop car, or attempted- he didnt fit - and then onto the tailgate/ lift gate of a fire department truck? Possibly the one in the funeral home lot, which must have freaked the crowd out to witness, then finally into one of the "maze runner" arriving ambulances.
Again, I refer us all to the WP/TT/PP animation for clues to that. Somehow, "load and go" period ends. When? When the ambulances stop moving, whenever that is.
And then, finally, Rangers lock the scene down, even closing the gate to the west door. It's now a crime scene and they are in charge of the investigation. The Justice of the Peace, acting as coroner is enroute to pronounce the less than 18? bodies as dead. Unsure on the math here. Three left the classroom with a pulse who died. 21 died. (plus the shooter, #22). One body was locked in an ambulance. How many left in the classrooms when the rangers lock it down? 22 minus three who died and one who was improperly removed and locked in a (much needed) ambulance. 18 bodies including the shooters, is that right?
Eventually each is designated a letter of the alphabet and DNA sampled on site so the pieces of children and teachers can be sorted and reassembled, or at least distributed to the funeral homes in the right batches. Several are said to be more or less headless. On one, a pair of Green converse with a little heart-shaped sharpie drawn on the toe, that aids in identifaction.
Parents have been told to go to the civic center. Many are going to race to every hospital they can think of, including San Antonio instead. Mothers, fathers and grandparent must all separate to cover more ground, adding to the panic and desperation. Some have been told to go to the high school, but the high school gets some sort of possible gun threat? Again, NO ONE IS IN CHARGE.
On the curb near the front of the school sits Lexi's Rubio's mother and deputy father, utterly bereft. He's been kept out of the classroom but seems to have been told the definite news their child is not coming out. Curious news crews videotape and photograph them in their grief, until the mother of one parent seemingly arrives to join them. Eventually, they thread their way onto the campus to get away from the news anchors assembled by the school sign in the same intersection where Officer Hill had parked to witness Coronado's "wild ride" at 11:31 or so. 82 minutes and then some have passed, as have at least 19 souls? by now, some still fighting for life, the shooter one among the many dead, yet separate in category only. The blood of all spreads to mingle in the footprints and pools of fluids on the floors the gruesome CSI process begins in earnest.
In the queue on the video projector's mechanism, "Lilo and Stitch" awaits the Disney happy ending. Elvis won't be singing the finale BURNING LOVE today. Elvis has left the building. Elvis is deader than Elvis. And the children are going to meet him in Heaven, if you believe what the King does and loved to sing about. "Farther along, we'll understand it./ Farther along, we'll understand why."

Yesterday I read Ian Adam's article on how Emrakul got made and it made me excited. Excited about how we have Arena devs that actually really care about the game and getting everything on the platform. I then looked at the card lists for SIR and SIS and saw even more cool, iconic and powerful cards like Lingering Souls and Snapcaster Mage.
Naturally, my mind went to the ancestral home of cards like these - Cube. And what cube is more iconic than the MTGO Vintage Cube? With lots of very powerful cards printed in the years since Arena's launch (Oko, Uro, Minsc & Boo, Reflection of Kiki-Jiki and Sheoldred) and active extending of the card pool backwards in time (Natural Order, Channel, Craterhoof Behemoth, Sol Ring and the actual Power 9!), there is a large chunk of the biggest and baddest Magic has to offer already implemented.
So I made a spreadsheet. I based it on this list of the latest iteration of the Magic Online Vintage Cube. To see what cards are on Arena, I used Scryfalls in:arena flag.
I checked for the following categories:

1 - Already on Arena - Cards we already have on here. My count came out to 241 of the 540 cards. About 44% - not bad!
2 - Easy to port - Cards that I judged to be not too hard to bring to Arena. That means they have pretty simple effects or mechanics that are already on other cards. To my surprise, we already have Overload, Persist, Storm, Echo and even Retrace! I counted 232 in this category.
3 - Nontrivial, but doable - Cards that don't have similar cards on Arena or use mechanics that are yet to be coded into the game, such as Delve, Annihilator, Suspend or Fading. With 57 cards, this is still a good amount of way to go.
4 - Major headaches - And then there were these 10 cards. These pose some tough challenges for the devs. I'll go over them in detail:

[[Balance]]: One of the best sweepers and poster child "fair" cards (it's not actually that fair). There's a lot of numbers to keep track of and actions to do at the same time. Also it requires you and your opponent to take actions when choosing. All of these make me think that this is a tough one.
[[Council's Judgment]]: To my knowledge, Voting is not a thing yet on arena and I doubt they'll want to use valuable dev time on what is mostly a multiplayer mechanic.
[[Animate Dead]]: What a nightmare of a rules text. The idea is so simple, but having the target change zones, replacing the aura rider and having it all makes sense? Seems like a struggle.
[[Necromancy]]: Yeah somehow this is even worse.
[[Goblin Welder]]: Again with the simultaneous changing of zones for multiple cards, which might even be controlled by the opponent. Daretti, Scrap Savant has a similar effect that seems much easier to do.
[[Life from the Loam]]: Dredge seems like an UI nuissance, asking if you want a replacement effect whenever you draw a card.
[[Grist, the Hunger Tide]]: Having this be a kind of a creature, but also kind of not a creature at the same time seems like a magnet for problems.
[[Karn Liberated]]: Restarting the game with cards from the prior game is probably the next biggest hard to do thing after controlling another player. "Perpetual" changes to cards don't help either.
[[Mox Diamond]]: This card has a weird replacement effect going on when it enters the battlefield that I could find no analog for on Arena.
[[Coercive Portal]]: Another voting card. At least this one is fun!

So, some weird old cards with major rules problems, multiplayer matters cards (not listed here are Monarch cards, as I sorted those into the third category) and cards that try to do many things at the same time. These are what stands between us and Vintage Cube. As a disclaimer: I am not an Arena dev, I might be way off on any of these assessments. Maybe Animate Dead is added next week and Bribery never makes it due to whatever reason.
But how close can we actually get?
Some of the cards I listed in categories 2 and 3 might be added sooner or later, and some might forever rot in development limbo. But lots of cards have close or at least comparable versions. Mesmeric Fiend can be replaced with Kitesail Freebooter and some kind of fatty is sure to be ursurped by Atraxa in the next iteration. Most red or white aggro one drops are interchangeable with minimal power loss. Do we really need to code Soulbind for Silverblade Paladin, when The Restoration of Eiganjo is waiting in the wings?
There are, however, some things that make Vintage Cube, Vintage Cube. To finish off this piece, I'll list some that we need before we can have a true Vintage feeling cube on Arena:

Fetch Lands and Duals (these build mana bases worthy of the exalted name of Vintage)
Delve cards
The top of deck tutors
Fast mana (we already have the best ones in Sol Ring and the Moxen, but even small things like the Signets (actually do the Talismans though) are severly missing from Arena to date)
Reanimation effects (even something simple like Life//Death)
Free spells (Evoke elementals, Daze and Force of Will shape eternal formats like no other class of cards)
Twin (although not a favorite of mine, it's not Vintage Cube without these)
Broken lands like Library of Alexandria, Karakas, Mishra's Workshop and Bazaar of Bagdhad
Last, but certainly not least: Birds of Paradise ( I mean, HELLO WOTC?!?)

So all in all, we're still a good ways away from actual factual Vintage Cube on Arena, but we might already pull off a decent impresion.

Welcome new readers. Please start with chapter one https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/11ai7iv/last_of_the_defenders_ch_01/
Previously https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/11xe5m5/last_of_the_defenders_ch_27/
“I‘ve always been better able to swallow bad news with a good meal,” Li said as she walked around a counter and began rifling through a tall metal closet. She pulled out two wrapped bags. "Sadly, we’ll have to settle for this excrement."
Allah took the bags when offered, and a pair of bowls. Li grabbed another tiny spade, this one with a jagged edge. She opened her mouth, blowing on the spork and rubbed it on her forearm. She stepped to a cupboard and set a cup inside. “Dispense 2.5 liters of water at 343 Kelvin, Demeter.”
Steaming hot water filled the tall glass. Li placed a second under inside the cupboard, “Repeat command, Demeter,” and the second glass filled.
She walked to the bench opposite Allah and set the glasses down. “It's hot so be careful,” Li cautioned, tearing open the smaller pouch. She poured its contents inside Allah’s bowl, “Veggie broth number one for the sick kitty,” and Allah poured the glass of hot water in as well. It looked, as the powder started to disperse into the water, like settling silt, “And soy chicken chunks with almond cheese spread for me--yum yum!” she grimaced, as she pulled out three packets. She held the smallest of the three aloft. “But I do get a cookie.”
Allah sniffed the broth, remembering to bless the meal with “Xièxiè nǐ de zhōngwén shíwù” before sipping slowly. It was weak, bland, but it was warm. She had contented herself with a few sips of water during the quorum and her belly now demanded more.
Li stabbed her spade into Allah’s glass, stirring vigorously, “Sorry,” the human said, “but look on the bright side. This time tomorrow,” she ripped off the top of the largest pouch and Allah’s nose was assaulted with a smell that could only be described as “artificial”, “you should be well enough to sample this culinary delight.”
“I think I would prefer the broth,” and she took another sip. It did taste better when the silt was mixed. Li chuckled, pouring half her water into the large bag and ripped open another. That smelled even worse as a brown powder puffed free when water was applied. Li stirred the contents of both vigorously before pouring the orangey brown “cheese” into the freeze dried soy chicken substitute, and spooning both into her own bowl.
The human took a bite as Allah hid a wince behind another sip. Li chewed woodenly, swallowed and said “Not bad for a fifty year shelf life,” and dug back into the packets, searching. “If I know those pesky anglos--Ah ha!” She pulled out the tiniest pouch yet, ripped off the top and a smell Allah could only describe as tamed fire struck her nostrils as the human squeezed red liquid into her meal. “Hot sauce!” Li grinned and took another bite, nodding, “but I should’ve saved it for the cookie.”
Allah nodded acceptance of the tip and finished her broth.
“Want some more?” Li asked as she chewed.
“I would be honored by such a gift,” Allah nodded her head up and down, imitating the human response. Though, truth told fully, she was not so certain she would feel as honored by a second bowl.
Li did not get up, but instead pointed at the packet the broth had been contained in. “See those symbols?” Allah nodded, committing the human glyphs to memory. “Go find a matching pouch.”
Allah stood, sniffing and walked cautiously behind the counter. She used her claws to pop the metal closets open, gasping at the rush of cold air. Frozen air; cold as a warm winter day. She looked over her shoulder at Li, then carefully riffled through the icey box.
Several had similar glyphs as her pouch, but they were too big, the glyphs in the wrong order.
She opened another box, finding small packets of the right size but…wrong glyphs. Was the trough before the broken box with a line in its center or after. The two tails with a dash in the center had sat next to each other, she was certain…
“Need help?” Li called from the table.
“I will find it,” Allah called, “thank you for the offer.” There! Two curved tails with a dash in their middle. The trough was before the broken box. She pulled the packet out, returning to the table with tight lips.
Li, nodded. “Good. Now,” she lifted Allah’s glass to her. “Do you remember the temperature I gave Demeter?”
“Too poin’tah f’eye’vah Li’tours,” Allah fumbled with the words.
“That's the volume,” Li corrected. “But you need both. The temperature was three hundred forty three degrees Kelvin. You try.”
T-ta-ta’ree hun der red f’or--bach! Ta’ree hun’red f’ord’ee ta’ree da’ggg’ree Kah’el vine,” then grumbled "It feels like I am speaking with a rock in my throat!"
Li shrugged, “Welcome to English 101. Pop quiz,” she pointed to the hole in the wall. “Is to get our dim host over there to supply you with some fresh, hot water.”
Li continued eating as Allah took her glass to the square hole. She inspected the hole, saw a metal nipple sticking from its top. She placed the glass directly under and began to practice.
“Dimetar! Too poin’tah f’eye’vah Li’tours va’tour. Ta’ree hun’red f’ord’ee ta’ree da’ggg’ree Kah’el vine”
“Command not recognised,” the cheerful voice replied, translated by her metal implant. “Please restate.”
Allah sighed, bit her lip and tried again. And again. Each time, Li offered hints, coaching and encouragement. Try breaking each command down, see where he misunderstood. Enunciate, don’t growl the ‘guh’ sound.
“Dimetar?
“Yes, User Allah?”
“Too poin’tah f’eye’veh Li’tours wah tour.”
“Please specify desired temperature.”
“Ta’ree hund’red fort ee ta’ree da’gah’reez Kah’el vine.”
And water poured into the glass.
Allah took her prize in her paws and returned to the table. She set it down and beamed at Li. Then clapped her paws together so sharply that the human jerked back. Allah rushed back behind the counter, grabbed her own spork and returned to sit, panting onto the tiny jagged spade before rubbing it on her forearm.
“Proud of yourself?”
“Yes,” Allah puffed out her chest and twitched her tail as she sliced the packet open with a claw. For the first time in two days, she fed herself.
“Good,” Li spooned the last of her fake chicken and cheese into her mouth, opening the cookie. “I plan to teach you some basic commands to use if you need Demeter to help you when I’m not around. How’s that sound?"
Allah lowered her bowl and licked her lips with a small bow. “I will strive to be a worthy student.”
Li clapped her hands together, rubbing them furiously. “Then let's start with some ABCs,” but no sooner had the enthusiasm leapt to her face, it vanished.
Allah lowered her bowl in mild alarm.
Li held up a hand, her human face squishing in confusion. “Jung’s hailing me. Priority transmission. One sec,” and her eyes glassed over.
And just as quickly the human’s eyes widened in alarm “What!?!” Li stood up from the bench, jostling the table. “No, n-no. Hold it.” She looked at Allah, glowering. “Jung, repeat that last aloud.”
The AI’s voice spoke from the wall speaker “Li, these are confidential orders. I don’t like keeping secrets any more than you do--”
“It directly concerns her, Jung,” Li growled.
“Very well,” and the AI’s voice sounded resigned as he said “Stardancer and her assigned personnel are hereby ordered to leave OGLE-3219-BLG-2624L with all available haste and set course for the supply depot above Basker III. Shipboard AI is required to reconfirm receipt of message once personnel have digitally signed the read receipt.”
“And I’ll mate a monkey before I sign excrement! And neither are you, buckethead!”
“Li,” Jung soothed, “you must understand, this is a fleet command order. I am incapable of refusing such an order. If you fail to acknowledge receipt, they will ask me if it was delivered. I would be incapable of dissemination.”
“Tell them the transmission was garbled,” she countered.
“What does this mean?” Allah asked, growing alarm blossoming into new panic.
“That will not work as I have already sent my own read receipt,” Jung replied.
“Why the mate did you do that?”
“I was ordered to via direct transmission.”
“What does this mean?” Allah forced the distressed purring to stop. She would not shake herself to uselessness. "Li, Jung, what has happened?”
“They’re calling us home!” Li rounded and slammed her fists on the counter. “Without any notice of a reinforcement team.”
The human turned, a wild savagery in her dark eyes as she turned to look at Allah. The U’knock stood slowly but refused to back away in fear.
When Li spoke, spittle flew from her clenched teeth.
“We are not just leaving these people to die.”
“I empathize, Li,” Jung’s tone was soft, comforting. All Allah knew was that her world was about to die. No tone could comfort that grief. “But our orders are clear,” he continued. “If you disobey, they may begin sending instructions to Demeter to forcibly remove you.”
“Alright, alright.” Li took several calming breaths, in through her tiny nose and out through her mouth. “Alright,” and her voice retained a false calm. “Jung? Request reconfirmation on my authority. Ask them why they’re ignoring a Case Alamo.”
“I can send it immediately,” the AI replied
“You’ll send in a second,” she took another calming breath before saying “And Jung? Send it in the clear.”
“That,” Jung’s voice was flat to the point of refusal, “is a violation of Secure Communication Protocol 23.9, section A, and a court-martial offense, Corporal Zhōu.”
“On my authority as acting ground forces commander of,” she paused and looked at Allah, “did your people ever name this planet?”
Allah nodded “U’dam,” she answered.
“Ground forces commander of U’dam. Note your protest, Jung, and confirm when you send the message.
“Noted,” but the AI sounded reluctant. “Sent.”
“Now,” she rubbed her face with her hands, “cut yourself out of the local circuit; I’ll call you back.”
“Li,” Jung protested.
“Now Jung.”
There was a pause of heartbeats before the AI softly said “Complying.”
Li strode to a black panel on the mess hall wall. “Demeter, PDF override. Create a new partition in primary through tertiary data cores.”
“Building partitions. What file size do you require?”
“How large is your current Operating System size?”
“Demeter-907OS is currently utilizing 8.87693 yottabytes.”
“Make the partitions 9 yottabytes each.”
“Stand by,” the wooden voice replied. “Processing.
“Partitions complete.”
“Clone core OS to new partitions and label them as BACKUP ONE.”
“Cloning,” Li was bouncing back and forth on the balls of her feet; in excitement, renewed anger or impatience Allah was uncertain. “Files copied.”
“Run a scan against current OS and repair any anomalous files.”
“File check complete,” Demeter replied as Li growled a hushed “Comeon!” at the black panel. “Three thousand, one hundred and eight errors repaired across all copies.”
“Seal partitions labeled BACKUP ONE under Administrator Zhōu, Li, Corporal. Serial Service Number 218-08-986-42.”
“Files sealed. Private login access required for BACKUP ONE on primary core, secondary core and tertiary core. Would you like to open these files?”
"Now,” Li growled, shaking her arms like pieces of rope, “time to mate some excrement up. Demeter, access all thermopylae command files.”
“Accessing,” the wooden voice replied.
“Open program labeled ‘Naughty Boy’,” she ordered.
“Ope--Warning! Virus detected! Administrati--
“Authorization Zhōu, Li, Corporal! Serial Service Number 218-08-986-42,” Li shouted as a shrill alarm sounded. She slapped her palm against the black panel on the wall “Open ‘Naughty Boy’. PDF override authority!"
“Opeeeeeeee--” Demeter began, but the wooden voice hung. The speaker chirped, hiccuped and was silent. The mess hall lights flickered.
Li sighed, sitting back down on the nearest bench. “Thank you Sven,” she whispered.
“What has happened?” Allah asked. “What have you done to Demeter?”
“Hopefully,” Li forced a grin and patted the bench beside her. Allah came to sit next to her friend, “I’ve removed his ability to accept command instructions from offworld. Which sucks because that means Jung can’t interface directly via the comms until we establish a hard line connection.
“Demeter?” she called to the open air.
“Y-y-yes Administrator Li?”
“Contact Star Dancer.”
“N-n-no user found b-b-by that name.”
Li closed her eyes in thought. “Try AI Jung, or TSN-1337."
“User founnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd. Establishing c-c-connection.”
“What is wrong with him?” the lights flickered again. Li rose from the bench, pausing to pat Allah’s thigh, and walked to a white box opposite the counter. She opened it, pulling a thin package out. Ripping one end loose, she pulled a pair of green sticks out, tossing one to the U’knock.
Li bent her stick, shaking vigorously. It began to glow a soft green.
“Naughty Boy,” the human explained, “was based off of swarmer code the Star Dancer’s tech wizard acquired. It was originally written to strip local computer cores of higher thinking capability,” she gestured to the dark hallway. ”We should get moving.”
“Sven,” Allah asked, holding her own glowing stick above her head, “He was a friend of yours and Jung?”
Li’s head bobbed in agreement. “Our boy Sven retooled it to block external intrusion attempts--hostile or friendly. Never got it to work perfectly though. He always called it his ‘kitchen sink’ program; a last ditch effort to control an OS.”
“Is that why you told Jung to go away?” Li nodded again. “What would it do to him if he had not?” and silently Allah worried What could it do if he returned?
“Hopefully nothing,” Li answered, "Jung’s too smart to catch a cold,” and she smiled as she looked over her shoulder, “but there was no point in taking a chance.”
“Li?” an anxious voice called “Are you receiving?” the AI’s voice sounded strained, distant. Allah had played with other cubs near a culvert many times, calling to each other from different ends of the tube. Jung sounded like that now.
“I hear you Jung,” Li replied. “I was starting to worry.”
"Demeter has been spamming my firewall with unhealthy requests,” Jung explained. “I had to find a clean port.” His tone grew stern as he said “I have also lost communications with the fleet network. With Demeter’s behavior, I suspect I know why.”
“That information is ‘compartmentalized’,” Li grinned.
“I appreciate your attempts to protect me,” though Jung’s voice was anything but appreciative, “but you must understand this is a stop gap measure, at best. If you intend to continue requesting fleet assistance we will have to restore long range communication and they will, in turn, repeat their order.”
“Let tomorrow's worries worry tomorrow,” Li entered the room they had sent the mayday from. “What's your ETA?”
“Ram scoops at optimal angles, reactor mass at 60% of recommended capacity,” Jung sounded more distant still, as if talking next to a runoff stream, “I’ve begun suctioning the planet’s atmosphere and should be at safe slingtravel capacity in six hours, four minutes and twenty one seconds. I should be planetside in seven hours, fifty three minutes and nine seconds.”
Li took her seat at the monitor, tapping the screen on. “How long will it take to top off the tanks? I mean cutting out all safeties and max out pressure in your tanks.”
Jung hesitated.
“Seventeen hours, one minute and fourteen seconds, approximately,” he said so quietly that the noise of the connection almost drowned him out. “That assumes I would take such a risk.”
“Jung,” Li set her hands in her lap, looking up, “I know its a big ask--”
“Overriding safety protocols, Corporal Zhōu,” Jung interrupted angrily. The tone startled Allah. Jung didn’t get angry. Even when they had fought in the CNC and later in the Star Dancer’s mess, he had remained calm. “Rescheduling for high vector mass transport. Please be aware, traveling with such volatile materials will affect my time to return.
Li’s tone was soft now. “Revised ETA RTB?”
“Approximately two days dependant on U’dam weather patterns and celestial body avoidance routes,” he said resignedly.
Li winced. “That's cutting it close.”
“I would not complain if I were in your shoes,” Jung’s tone was acidic.
“If only you/I had any feet,” Li and Jung said together. The human smiled. Jung continued “You won't have remote access to Demeter until I’m on the surface,” he cautioned.
“I'll try to behave,” she patted the black screen affectionately. “Get back here as quick as you can, old man.”
“Stay safe down there, meatbag.”
And the speaker clicked dead.

Prologue
In the verdant heart of Sayla, where the suns painted the sky with warm hues and the gentle whisper of the breeze carried the laughter of children, a soulborn elf named Elyan wandered through the lush forest, his steps as light as the dappled shadows that danced on the forest floor. His eyes sparkled with a carefree spirit, reflecting the beauty of the world around him. Life in Sayla was serene, with the days spent in harmonious coexistence among the vibrant flora and fauna. The village where Elyan lived was a haven for his kind, nestled in the embrace of ancient trees that stood as silent guardians, shielding them from the outside world. The soulborn elves shared a deep connection with the land and its creatures, nurturing an unwavering bond that transcended the passage of time. The villagers, united by a profound sense of kinship, filled their days with song and laughter, celebrating the simple joys of life. Elyan was no exception, cherishing the peace and tranquility that surrounded him. He spent his days exploring the emerald depths of the forest, forging friendships with its inhabitants, and basking in the warmth of his community. As the sun dipped below the horizon, Elyan would often gather with his friends and family around a crackling fire, sharing stories that echoed through the night, weaving a tapestry of memories that bound them together. Many of the stories would be about the trials and tribulations the Soul Born Elves faced over countless generations due to their overall pacifist nature. It is well known in Tra'Vol that Soul Born elves do not even take life as their culture is believed to cherish the sanctity of Life putting nothing else before it. Though true there is another reason soulborn elves do not kill that will be revealed in Elyan's tale. Unbeknownst to Elyan and his people, however, a storm was brewing on the horizon, a dark tide that threatened to shatter their idyllic existence forever. As the shadows lengthened and the air grew heavy with foreboding, the soulborn elves of Sayla would soon find themselves facing a grim reality. From beyond the southern border of Sayla, armies materialized as if conjured from thin air, commanded by a man known as Leviticus Brightsoul—The Wicked King to his own people. At the tender age of 17, Leviticus embarked on his first conquest, swiftly earning recognition from the kingdom of Impre'us. He conquered the provinces of Valta and Alamay and established a foothold in Eria after a brutal, month-long skirmish called The Shallows of Sorrow. The battle earned its name when rumors spread of Leviticus ruthlessly killing and torturing citizens and soldiers alike, leaving a trail of bodies in the shallow waters of the Eria swamplands. The death toll reportedly reached 50,000, yet Leviticus had only led a detachment of 100 troops—an astonishing feat even for the demigods who ruled the royal bloodlines of Tra'Vol. Five years passed after this conquest, and Leviticus returned to his homeland of Impre'us just in time to confront an invading army from Sacarr. Unimpressed, he single-handedly inflicted massive defeats on the invaders, forcing them to retreat. People began to speculate that Leviticus must have sold his soul to a Mala'Deus, as he had slain the Sacre'Noir—a formidable and ruthless warrior race, as well as the demigod representing their bloodline—all by himself. The carnage was said to be so immense that even his own people recoiled in horror as he slaughtered the enemy army, cackling maniacally throughout the ordeal. Everyone deemed his actions sickening and grotesque, except for his father, who saw his son's feat as a triumph that saved the empire. Swelling with pride, his father abdicated the throne, crowning Leviticus as the ruler of Impre'us. Leviticus was delighted but not surprised, as he had already planned to murder his father and seize the throne. With this obstacle removed, he set his sights on the neighboring continent of Lun'aal, intent on claiming its uncharted territories by force. Believing that every land rightfully belonged to his empire, Leviticus dispatched thousands of troops to explore the region. The soldiers landed on the serene coastlines of Mortua Terra, where they established bases that extended to the province of Black Sand and eventually to the borders of Sayla. However, they reported that the dense forests of Sayla made further travel and exploration impossible. Dissatisfied with their explanation and anticipating the rich resources of the unexplored land, Leviticus summoned his trusted advisor, a wizard named De'lacar, and the two used gate magic to teleport directly to the primary base at the border of Black Sand and Sayla. The soldiers in the encampment were taken aback when a tear in the very fabric of reality appeared in their midst, allowing their king and his advisor to step through. Shocked, everyone in the camp immediately knelt before their sovereign, Leviticus Brightsoul.
""No... No, that won't do. Get up!" Leviticus said, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb as if nursing a headache.
"That's precisely why I had to leave the palace! You fools and your desperate attempts to take a break on my time!"
As he finished his sentence, Leviticus snapped his fingers. Small circles appeared around each of the soldiers, signaling impending doom. The camp erupted in a cacophony of cries as the men begged for their lives.
"Sir, please give me another chance!" one called out.
"I'm not going to die like this!" another exclaimed, attempting to flee but quickly realizing his muscles refused to respond.
"Please, Your Majesty, I have a family! Don't be a heartless bastard!" a man cried out, sounding like a frightened child.
"Heartless bastard, huh?... You no longer have a family."
"What?! No! I didn't... mean..."
"Silence!" Leviticus's voice roared, startling even a large predatory creature that had been stalking the troops and lurking nearby.
"The price for your transgressions will be paid in blood, and because of your careless words, not only your blood."
Leviticus removed a glowing, lustrous orb from his battle raiment. The sphere emitted a beautiful dance of colors before abruptly turning a deep blood red moments later. It began spewing blood and viscera onto the man who had insulted him. The man screamed in agony, realizing the gore covering him belonged to his wife and two daughters, recognizing his daughter's torn and shredded face amongst the flesh.
"You!... What have you done?! I'll kill you!!!" the man screamed.
"Oh, will you now? I'll tell you what," Leviticus' eyes briefly shimmered from their normal light blue to a deep, dark red before returning to their original hue. He released the circle around the distraught man. "I'd say I'm a pretty 'fair' king, so I'll give you a fair shot."
Leviticus gestured to his advisor, who produced a strange sword with a glowing essence. Leviticus explained, "The sword issued to you, though strong, won't be enough to kill me in this realm or the next. This sword, however..." He took the sword from his advisor.
"This sword is made from Dwarvain titanium and etched with runic symbols found in ancient texts left behind by the Cyphora Civilization that once called our homeland their own. The symbols and their effects are not important. What is important is that it can even strike down a deity if used properly."
Leviticus hurled the sword at the man, and it embedded itself into the ground next to him.
"Now kill me!" Leviticus said in a playful tone. Unprepared for the soldier's escape, as few ever managed to get away from Leviticus, the soldier seized the sword and took advantage of his short-range teleportation spells. He made it to the border of Sayla, sword in hand, and sought refuge at a monument to the Celes'Deus Solayah. He planted the sword into the ground next to the statue and collapsed beside it. Distraught and trying to determine his next move after witnessing the murder of his family by the king, he began to plan. But no one escapes the Wicked King.
"Should we go after him, sire?" De'lacar asked with urgency.
"Why waste the manpower?" Leviticus responded rhetorically, holding up the orb once again. As it began to glow, the men still held within the circle seemed to evaporate, transforming into pools of blood within the circle. Simultaneously, the soldier who sought refuge at the shrine of Solayah also began to evaporate, as the circle reappeared beneath him leaving behind the sword as the only evidence of his presence at the shrine.
Elsewhere in the province of Sayla, Elyan, utterly unaware of the storm brewing in the distance, continued to revel in the beauty of the present moment. As he ambled through the forest, he heard the distant call of his best friend, Lira, who was perched on a nearby branch.
"Elyan! There you are!" she exclaimed, her melodic voice carrying through the trees. "I've been looking for you everywhere. You know the Soul Dance Ceremony is tonight, right?"
Elyan's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Of course, Lira! Do you know if Sonair is coming this year?"
Lira gracefully hopped down from her perch, landing beside Elyan with a soft rustle of leaves.
"They haven't said, but it's supposed to be a grand celebration of our goddess Solayah this year, so it's sure to be a night to remember. Unlike the last gathering when your brother got drunk on lavender tree sap," Lira recalled, giggling.
"Who even knew that was possible?" Elyan replied, joining in the laughter.
"Apparently Sedwin! One would swear he already knew and just attempted to liven up the boring rituals of our normal Soul Dance Ceremonies," Lira said playfully, tapping Elyan's shoulder.
"Yeah, he's probably responsible for the drunken antics of the village elders nowadays. You think he shared the recipe with them?" Elyan jokingly asked.
"Your little brother does tend to get away with a lot these days!" Lira exclaimed.
Elyan and Lira had been close since childhood. Both being raised as acolytes of Solayah, they never thought of each other as anything more than brother and sister. Elyan, however, had always harbored deeper feelings for Lira. But due to their strict religious beliefs, he never pursued these feelings. Nevertheless, the feelings remained and led to one of the first of many sins Elyan would go on to commit – the sin of coveting.
"You know what, Elyan? We should go visit the nearby shrine of Solayah. It's not too far from where we are now – maybe 20 or 30 minutes at most," Lira suggested eagerly.
Reluctant to resist Lira's captivating golden-hued puppy eyes, Elyan acquiesced, and they embarked on the renowned Living Vine Trail. The path earned its name from the vibrant green mycelium, resembling vines, that meandered languidly through the dense tree canopy overhead. The trail's relative safety ensured a tranquil journey for the couple as they made their way to the shrine. However, upon nearing the shrine's staircase, an unsettling sensation enveloped them—an eerie atmosphere that was decidedly atypical for a sacred space devoted to the Celes'Deus.
"Elyan, do you feel that?" Lira inquires nervously, drawing closer to him for comfort. "Yes... I do. Something dark has transpired here."
"At a shrine dedicated to a celestial deity?" Lira's voice trembles with the onset of fear. "We must turn back now, Elyan!"
Just as Elyan is about to agree, a glint of something catches his eye near the Statue of Solayah at the shrine's apex.
"Lira, wait here. I'll only be a moment," he insists, starting up the marble staircase.
"Elyan, are you serious? We need to hurry back and inform the elders about the dreadful occurrence here!" Lira protests.
"We will, but first, I must ensure the shrine hasn't been desecrated. We cannot risk angering Solayah before the Soul Dance Ceremony tonight," Elyan explains, swiftly ascending the staircase.
"Elyan, you better hurry up! I mean it!" Lira calls after him, her worry evident in her voice.
Upon reaching the magnificent golden statue of Solayah in all its splendor, Elyan is suddenly overcome by the stench of decay and an overwhelming sense of despair, causing his stomach to churn violently. He scans the area for the source of the repugnant odor, expecting to find the decomposing remains of an animal, but discovers nothing. Instead, his eyes are drawn to an exquisite sword planted beside the statue, unlike any he had ever encountered before. As Elyan picks up the sword to examine it, he notices the emblem of the Dwarvain Empire on its pommel—a familiar sight, as the Solvaylians are well-acquainted with the Knomadic race that inhabits Dwarvain. Beyond this single detail, however, the sword remains a mystery to Elyan. The hilt is wrapped in a sturdy wyvern hide, but it doesn't match any wyvern species he has ever seen. The golden crossguard bears intricate etchings in an indecipherable language, while the blade itself is inscribed with magical runes that are equally unfamiliar to him.
As if compelled by the enigmatic blade, Elyan conceals it within his cloak and makes his way back down the staircase. Elyan's descent is hastened by a sense of urgency as he clutches the mysterious sword hidden beneath his cloak. As he reaches the foot of the staircase, Lira's eyes widen in alarm, sensing the change in him.
"Elyan, what did you find up there?" she inquires, her voice quivering with trepidation.
He hesitates for a moment, contemplating whether or not to reveal the sword to Lira. Finally, he decides to confide in her, drawing the enigmatic weapon from its concealment. Her eyes fixate on the sword, reflecting a mix of awe and concern.
"I found this next to the statue of Solayah," Elyan explains. "I've never seen anything like it before. It bears the emblem of the Dwarvain Empire, but everything else about it is unfamiliar. I couldn't just leave it there."
Lira's gaze shifts from the sword to Elyan's face, searching for reassurance. "We need to take this to the elders immediately. They might be able to shed some light on its origin and significance, especially with the unsettling atmosphere surrounding the shrine."
Elyan nods in agreement, carefully returning the sword to its hiding place within his cloak. With the weight of their discovery weighing heavily upon them, the duo retraces their steps along the Living Vine Trail, eager to share their findings with the village elders and uncover the truth behind the mysterious sword and the ominous presence at the shrine. As they walk, they cannot shake the feeling that their lives have become entwined with a destiny far greater than they ever could have imagined.
As the sun dipped lower in the sky, casting a warm golden glow over the village, Elyan and Lira joined their fellow Soulborn Elves in the village square. The atmosphere buzzed with anticipation, as everyone eagerly awaited the elders' pronouncement.
Elder Aelara, a sagacious and revered figure within the community, stepped forward and raised her hands, calling for silence. Her voice, gentle yet authoritative, effortlessly captivated the attention of all those present.
"Children of Sayla," she began, her eyes sweeping over the assembly, "we gather here tonight to celebrate our bond with the forest and the spirits that dwell within its embrace. The harmony we share with the land and its creatures is a precious gift, one that we must treasure and safeguard for generations to come."
Her words were met with nods of agreement and murmurs of approval. Elyan, standing beside Lira, felt a swell of pride in his chest. The bond his people shared with the land was something truly special, and he was grateful to be part of such a unique and connected community.
As the night progressed, the music filled the air, creating a magical atmosphere that enveloped the village. Elyan and Lira danced and sang, their hearts brimming with happiness and love for their people. However, the discovery at the Shrine of Solayah weighed heavily on their minds, and they knew they had to share the information with the village elders.
Taking a break from the festivities, they approached Elder Aelara, who was speaking with a small group of villagers.
"Elder Aelara," Elyan called out, trying to mask the urgency in his voice. "May we speak with you for a moment? It's important."
Aelara turned to face them, her wise eyes showing concern. "Of course, Elyan, Lira. What troubles you?"
Lira glanced around, ensuring no one was eavesdropping, before she began. "We visited the Shrine of Solayah earlier today, and we found something... unusual."
Elyan chimed in, "Yes, there was this strange sword next to the statue, and it bore the emblem of the Empire of Dwarvain. It also had magical runes etched into its blade, runes we've never seen before." Aelara quickly snatched the sword away as if taking poison from a child, eyes widened, and she exchanged a worried glance with the other elders. "This is troubling news. We must investigate this matter further. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Please, enjoy the rest of the ceremony, and we will discuss this further tomorrow." Taking the sword from them, she sent them on their way.
Elyan and Lira nodded, a sense of relief washing over them as they returned to the celebration. They hoped that the village's wise leaders would uncover the truth behind the mysterious sword and the disquiet it had stirred.
As the night of festivities drew to a close, Elyan and Lira found themselves sitting together at the village dock on the Ta'kalu River, following their nightly tradition.
"I was at Solayah's shrine just three days ago, and that sword wasn't there," Lira said, her voice tinged with concern. "Maybe it was accidentally left behind by some adventurer," Elyan suggested, trying to ease her worries.
"But that's the thing, Elyan," Lira countered. "When's the last time you remember an adventurer passing through Sayla?"
Elyan furrowed his brow, deep in thought. "I don't..."
"Exactly!" Lira exclaimed. "We only hear stories of adventurers in Sayla. Our home is nearly inhospitable to outsiders. Many have been swallowed by the jungles, as evidenced by the number of skeletons we've discovered."
They sat in silence for a moment, contemplating the unsettling implications of the mysterious sword's presence in their sacred shrine. But for now, they could only hope that the wisdom of their elders would provide answers and guidance in the days to come.
Meanwhile, at the border between BlackSands and Sayla, King Leviticus began mobilizing thousands of troops skilled in jungle-based warfare. He ordered the transport of ample supplies and materials for his military campaign into the uncharted province of Sayla.
"Your Majesty, word has come from the Emperor Isles that your father and his council disapprove of your campaign into Sayla. They are taking action to sway public opinion against you," De'lacar informed King Leviticus. "How should we proceed? Executing the old fool now would silence his council effectively." De'lacar suggested.
Leviticus furrowed his brow, considering the situation. "I'm less concerned about his feeble council than the consequences of killing the old man. No, executing him will be... complicated at this stage in my plan," Leviticus replied thoughtfully, weighing his options.
"De'lacar, contact the Alliance of Dark Heart and offer them a substantial reward for eliminating my mother. They must stage the event to implicate Old Man Lavarus, providing us with the perfect pretext to sentence him to death," Leviticus commanded, his voice unwavering.
"As you wish, Your Majesty. But... if I may," De'lacar hesitated, only to be immediately interrupted by Leviticus' thunderous voice.
"You may not!"
"Understood, Your Majesty," De'lacar responded, bowing his head in submission as he stepped backward into a swirling portal that closed behind him, leaving Leviticus to ponder his next move. The door to Leviticus's war room creaked open once more.
"Sire, the troops will be fully mobilized in about a month, and the fortress you commissioned will be completed in a matter of days," General Gurod reported, kneeling in submission to his king.
"And what of the local population here in BlackSands?" Leviticus inquired.
"We successfully captured the Perr'ju city of Ku'ran and many of the neighboring villages... however," the general hesitated.
"However?" Leviticus probed with great interest.
"Sir, the land here is harsh, and morale among the men in the 19th division is dwindling. They request permission to withdraw from the Sundered Coast and StoneBlossom Meadows," General Gurod explained, fear creeping into his voice.
"Withdrawal?..... Withdrawal!?" Leviticus stood, his piercing blue eyes flashing a fiery red for an instant. "The troops have been 'withdrawn'," he declared, sitting back down with a sinister grin.
"The 20th division is now the 19th division, and so forth for divisions 20 through 50," Leviticus detailed manically."Sir... That division comprised one hundred thousand men."
"And there will be one less to worry about unless you curb your questioning tone, General Gurod," Leviticus warned, his voice cold and unforgiving.
"Now that that little detail is taken care of, send a detachment of troops to retake the city of Ku'ran and recapture the local populations for use as slaves. The Sundered Coast and StoneBlossom Meadows are to be reoccupied immediately by the 19th division, formerly the 20th," Leviticus cackled.
"As you command, sire," General Gurod replied submissively as he stood and walked toward the war room's exit.
"Oh, and one more thing, General!" Leviticus called out as he sauntered over to Gurod, handing him a sealed parchment scroll bearing the symbol of the Mala'Deus Pantheon.
"Take this to the statue of Nero located on the edge of the DustBowl." Gurod grasped the scroll, his face a mix of shock and fear due to the ominous symbol and the perilous location he was to visit. However, not wanting to question a man who had just dispatched one hundred thousand men without a mere word, the general accepted the scroll without hesitation, simply responding, "As you wish, sire."
Back in Sayla, Elyan and Lira awoke early, eager to learn whether the elders had uncovered anything about the mysterious sword they had found the night before. They met at the prestigious Temple of the Celestial Gods, only to be greeted by a locked door.
"The door is only locked when something serious is happening," Elyan told Lira, trying to peer through a crack in the heavy wooden door.
"I know... it's troubling. The last time the temple was locked, we were attacked by a swarm of Bush Wyverns not long after," Lira replied, her voice filled with concern.
"Maybe we should just take it easy, Lira. The elders could be deliberating for hours, and I have chores to do at home anyway," Elyan suggested, stepping away from the door. "Yeah, maybe you're right. I have to go get Gecko herb from the village south of here today anyway. Perhaps things will have settled down by then," Lira replied, her frustration evident.
"The village of Floravale, right? I understand your frustration. It gets cold there, being so close to BlackSands," Elyan said compassionately.
"Yes! It can be tedious sometimes, but fortunately, Grandma's warm Gecko tea is a refuge all on its own," Lira declared, her spirits lifting.
"Ah yes! I remember Granny's Gecko tea! Pure as Solayah's soul," Elyan reminisced fondly, thinking back to his time as a youth in Floravale village.
"Well, I'll be sure to pass on your high praise to her," Lira responded with a giddy giggle. "You know, you could come with me. You're always welcome at Grandma Laya's house, Elyan, and I'm sure she'd love to see you after all these years."
"I would love to join you, Lira, but my mother's sickness has worsened lately, and my father will need help tilling the field. I'm glad Eleene is old enough to take over my mother's household duties. Krain knows Sedwin wouldn't be able to handle it," Elyan explained, reflecting on his younger brother's laziness.
"Is she still sick?" Lira asked with concern. "That's not good at all, Elyan. It's been, what, about four weeks now, right? Have you tried consulting Shaman Arlo about a possible remedy?" Lira inquired, her anticipation palpable.
"My sister Eleene has visited him several times, and the last time she inquired, he was just as puzzled as we are. So, he came to our home and made a dire prognosis. He says my mother is suffering from an illness related to our ancestral heritage. But when we asked him to elaborate further, he wouldn't say more, only that she had a matter of months before..." Elyan's voice trailed off, his teeth gritting slightly.
"I'm... so sorry, Elyan," Lira replied sympathetically. A dead silence filling the air.
"All things ethereal, the living intertwine... The meaning of life discovered, but only when we die," Elyan recited a verse from the scriptures on the teachings of Solayah. "It's okay, Lira. We're just going to make her as comfortable as possible before she rejoins Solayah."
"That's a noble task, Elyan. I truly commend you," Lira replied. "Well, I have to go if I want to get back in time to hear what the elders have to say. See you later, Elyan!" She hurried down the road heading south out of the village.
"Safe travels, Lira!" Elyan called out, watching Lira disappear into the distance.
"Well, I'd better get to my father," Elyan said to himself, preparing for the day ahead.
In the continent of Sol'aay, across the vast sea, former King Lavarus of Impre'us province and father to Leviticus, convenes with his council at the Temple of Sol'thur on the Emperor Isles. They engage in a heated debate about the impending invasion of Sayla and the reckless actions of Leviticus, who ascended the throne mere months ago.
"This is an utter disaster! Your son will be the downfall of our kingdom!" Adviser Calvris exclaims, addressing the former king Lavarus.
"Why did you abdicate so readily? Just because he vanquished those supposed 'invaders'?" another adviser adds.
Lavarus tries to interject, "It was an invasion..."
"Massacre, sire! Anyone with eyes saw what Prince Laventus did to those people," Adviser Calvris retorts.
"That's King Laventus, you insolent worm!" De'lacar announces, entering the chambers with numerous guards in tow.
The sudden appearance causes everyone in the room to stand. Lavarus demands, "What is the meaning of this, De'lacar?" his tone a mix of confusion and impatience.
"Well, 'Sire,' you are under arrest for high treason, for your involvement in the death of your wife, Queen Silla," De'lacar proclaims, gesturing for the guards to arrest Lavarus.
"What?! No..." Lavarus utters, shocked by the news.
"Unfortunately, yes. And the punishment for such a crime is public execution," De'lacar reveals, a sinister smile gracing his lips.
"How could he do this? Tell me, De'lacar! How could he have his sweet, innocent mother murdered?" Lavarus implores. De'lacar merely shrugs, responding, "I wasn't allowed to ask," before attempting to leave the room.
"Do you really think we'll let you and Leviticus get away with this, you glorified lapdog?" Adviser Calvris challenges De'lacar, garnering the support of his fellow advisers.
"No, which is why none of you will leave this room," De'lacar replies. "You may complete your contract, but don't leave a mess this time."
De'lacar's words puzzle the council as he ushers Lavarus out in shackles, closing the door behind him. Suddenly, small black energy masses with a purple aura appear next to each of the seven advisers' heads, darting into them as if possessing them. A dark figure clad in black leather armor emerges from the shadows, and the now zombie-like advisers form a single file line, following the mysterious figure out the door.
"Don't leave a mess this time," the mysterious figure, Zel, mocks De'lacar childishly. Two other figures materialize from the darkness behind him.
"Don't be so childish, Zel," the tallest of the figures scolds. "Indeed, your overconfidence could be your undoing," a female voice chimes in with laughter.
"Yeah, yeah, stop lecturing me! This contract was already disappointing," Zel grumbles.
"Please! This contract was the witches tits! Not every day you get to stage a murder within in the royal bloodlines" the female voice counters.
"Of course you had fun, you got the most pleasurable kill with that frail old Lady Sinclair," Zel retorts.
The trio, along with the entranced advisers, proceed down the palace hallway, reaching a dead end. Zel recites an incantation, "Queen of the night, heed your children's call, for we've fulfilled our tasks and killed them all!" Simultaneously, he casts a handful of black powder at the wall.
The wall transforms into a distorted portal, emanating a faint purple glow and the haunting sounds of countless souls groaning in agony. As the mysterious figures and their captives step through, the largest cloaked figure drops a black rose with deep purple pedals, before the portal vanishes behind them. A calling card of the Alliance of Dark Heart.

We had been checking weather reports tirelessly for two weeks, until we finally found our spot. The following week should be nothing but sun and smooth winds, so we tentatively decided that to be our slot. Our small crew consisted of me and my friends Josie and Frank. Josie’s dad owned the boat (and he still needed to sign off on our plan), so we had to reserve it ahead of time, and make sure that we got it back in pristine condition, on the dot, and preferably with a nice coating of wax or whatever they use to make boats shine like candied apples.
Monday arrived and the weather was still solid, and Josie’s dad had reluctantly signed off on our plan, so we decided not to wait any longer and take it out the next day. The idea was to have a two day mini-cruise; just us hanging out on the boat and maybe docking it for the night at a nearby town. Although Josie’s dad was a hardass, he had taught her how to drive and maintain the boat since she was a kid, so really, the worst thing that could happen is that we wouldn’t have enough snacks.
Me and Frank met at the parking lot, and saw Josie standing on the boat at the end of the dock. Her dad was with her, lecturing her about some winch or other, Josie rolling her eyes next to him, barely maintaining her attention.
“He really can’t leave her alone even for a couple days, can he?” Frank asked, keeping his voice low as we stepped on the long dock.
“Josie or the boat?”
Frank chuckled, then quickly returned his resting poker face as we reached the boat, Josie’s dad turning around as he heard the planks creaking under our feet.
Before he could say anything, Josie ran up from behind him and said “Hi boys! You brought the food and snacks and the five gallons of vodka, I assume?”
“Aye aye, Captain!” we replied in unison. It was Josie’s dad’s turn to roll his eyes.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it,” he said to Josie, starting to walk down the small ramp down to the dock. “And remember, two days, no more. I expect you to bring her back in one piece.”
“Sure thing, dad!” That was Josie’s way of saying yes, yes, yes, I get it already.
Josie’s dad gave us a stern look followed by a slight nod as he walked past us. He never really liked me or Franki, a bunch of hooligans, as he’d once called us when we were kids. For the record, me and Franki didn’t like the guy either, so at least the feeling was mutual.
After her dad was out of earshot, Josie yelled “Are you ready kids?!” putting on her damndest pirate voice.
“Aye Aye Cap-TAIN!” we screamed and sprinted up the ramp and into the boat.
After an exchange of hugs we unloaded our groceries into the mini-fridge below deck, then met up with Josie, who was already sitting inside the helm. “Ready to leave, crew?” she asked. “Let’s rock this boat,” Frank replied. The amount of bad jokes this early in the morning was surely a great indication for what the rest of the day held.
It wasn’t long until the shore behind us was gone, the tranquil open sea spreading out in all directions. Josie seemed to know where we were going, but at that point I could no longer discern what direction we had even come from.
Me and Frank sunbathed and joked around on the deck until Josie emerged from her cocoon-like cockpit. “Sorry to interrupt your hi-LARIOUS hijinks, but I’d propose we have some lunch soon.”
Like destiny, the word lunch produced a unified grumble from both me and Frank’s stomachs - the universal horn of yes please, food please, now please.
“We can stay here for a while, then we could start heading towards the town,” Josie said.
Feeling bad that she was doing all the heavy lifting, I asked her “You need any help? It’s your boat, and us your honored guests, so don’t be afraid to command us, cap’n!”
“Please,” Josie replied, “when I get a chance to drive this boat, I take it. Dad’s been hogging it like crazy all summer. Besides, it’s not like you guys even know what half of the things on this boat are called, let alone what they’re used for.”
“Well, that’s the driver’s seat,” Frank said, pointing at the helm.
“That’s called a helm, my dear. Frank - you just earned yourself the honorary job of heating up our lunch.”
“This ain’t no Ford Prius, I see,” he replied as he got up and started to take lazy strides towards below deck.
“Toyota,” I said.
“What?”
“Prius is Toyota. Not Ford. Come one, let’s go make lunch for the captain.” I got up to follow Frank, nodding approvingly to Josie.
We had cheap microwave meals for lunch, seeing as the boat didn’t have a stovetop or an oven. For some reason - maybe it was the soothing sounds of the ocean lazily slapping the boat, or the warm afternoon sun - the food defied its low expectations and tasted great.
Afterwards we had a little siesta where I almost fell asleep until Josie said “Shall I take course towards the town, then?”
Through a straw hat laid across his face, Frank mumbled “Aye aye.”
“You sure you don’t need any help?” I asked Josie once again, but she was already jumping into the helm, excited to get back at it. “You guys just take a chill, I’ll get us where we need to.”
As the motor’s soothing hum returned, I got myself a bag of chips and sat on the deck, watching the horizon. Frank still had the hat on his face, which either meant that he didn’t want to be bothered, or that he’d fallen asleep. Either way, I was happy to just sit under the sun as the boat slowly rolled towards our destination, cutting a line into the flaccid water behind us.
“Shit, Shit SHIT!” Josie screamed. I must’ve fallen asleep, and as I got up the half eaten bag of chips crushed under my foot.
“What, Josie? What’s wrong?”
“What’s going on?” Frank parroted as he stood up, the hat falling beside him.
“There’s a fucking storm coming,” Josie said as she frantically pressed buttons, her eyes darting across the dashboard of the helm.
I turned around and looked at the horizon. Dread filled me as I saw an infinitely wide wall of dark clouds spread across the sky, making contact with the water in a misty gray curtain. I noticed that the ocean was no longer level, for it was rippled with small waves that thumped the sides of the boat in eager anticipation.
“I thought it was supposed to be nothing but clear skies,” Frank said. He’d walked beside me, taking in the horror beyond the horizon.
“Ex-fucking-actly, Sherlock. It came out of fucking nowhere,” Josie snapped, holding the wheel tightly in her right hand as she fiddled something with her left.
“Okay, Josie, I know this might sound stupid, but bear with. Why are we going towards the storm?” I asked, trying to not seem disingenuous as I turned around to face her.
She gave a sigh, stopping what she was doing and looked me in the eyes. “That’s where the town is. It’s the closest place to dock right now, and the storm’s moving faster than any I’ve ever seen. If we go back it’ll catch up to us and we’re fucked. If we go through it, we’ll spend the least amount of time inside it, giving us at least a chance.”
“A chance at what?” Frankie asked.
“A chance at getting out of here.”
“Any port in a storm, I guess,” I said, trying to lighten the mood, to which Frank gave me a concerned look.
The air had turned cool, so I went and changed to warmer clothing, Frank doing the same. Coming back up to the deck, I saw that the storm had moved closer. A lot closer. Josie instructed us to put on life jackets and to stay below deck, not to come out unless she asked us to. We put on the puffy orange jackets and promptly hunkered down below deck. The increasing waves were already rocking the boat uneasily.
“Are we gonna die?” Frank asked, his voice whimpering as he looked up at me from the opposite bench.
Although the question had already burrowed itself into my mind as well, I replied “No, NO, man, we’re not gonna die. Like Josie said, it’s just a quick ride through and then we’re back on dry land,” hoping that my words held even a sliver of truth.
In a matter of minutes, the sky turned dark and the boat started jumping on waves, like a rollercoaster rapidly going up and down and up and down. The rain tore into the boat like a machine gun as thunder sounded from across the way, lightning flashing the sky white erratically. Frank’s lunch quickly escaped his stomach, coming out in an arc of brownish green vomit that splattered across my legs and the floor. I was too scared to care, and he was too frightened to apologize.
The storm kept getting worse, the waves becoming larger as evidenced by the deeper dives and longer ascensions. Water was constantly slamming the deck, some of it trickling down to our feet. Through the two small windows the cabin had, it was near impossible to know whether we were on top of the water or under it, or which way was up or down. Although the storm was loud, I could still hear Josie cursing and screaming as she battled the waves and tried to keep us afloat, which was the only indication that she hadn’t been swallowed into the depths below. Frank was sweating bullets, his face a pale white. I wasn’t doing much better either, the words it’s gonna be ok it’s gonna be ok repeating in my mind.
Slowly the storm started to ease up, the waves thinning out and the rain becoming only a slight patter. Neither Frank or me said anything, though, not wanting to jinx it before we were safely back on land. Soon, the boat’s rocking lessened severely, and I could see sunshine coming through the windows.
“Hey guys, you okay? You can come up now,” Josie yelled, her inflection hesitant but calm.
Frankie apologized for the vomit as we got up and made our way up the steps. Josie was standing at the front of the deck, tumbling through her soaking wet hair with her fingers.
“Ho-lee shit, did we just survive the fucking apocalypse?” Frank asked rhetorically, his eyes darting between me and Josie.
“Josie! You okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, yeah… I’m fine,” she replied, waving her hand like nothing abnormal had happened at all.
I walked up next to her and said “We got through it, didn’t we? Now just let’s get ourselves back on land, eh?”
“Yeah, well, that’s the problem.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, look,” she said, holding her hand out at the pale horizon, like she was presenting it on an invisible platter. “Where’s the town?”
“What do you mean where’s the town? We got through the storm, so shouldn’t we be able to get through to it now?”
“That’s the thing. It should be right in front of us.”
“Where’s the storm?” Frankie yelled from the back of the boat.
“What do you mean ‘where’s the storm?’ We just went through it” Josie yelled in annoyance, still peering at the horizon.
“For fuck’s sake, come here,” Frank replied.
Josie looked at me and rolled her eyes, then started walking towards Frank as she gave a long sigh. I followed tepidly behind her.
As we reached the back of the boat, I realized what Frank had meant. There was no storm, nor clouds, or even residual waves. “What the fuck,” I exclaimed under my breath, right as Josie started sprinting around the boat, looking in all directions, her head swiveling in frantic motions, her hair throwing beads of water around like a dog drying up after a swim. A minute later she joined us, panting, and said “It’s all just water. There’s nothing on any side. We’re in the middle of the fucking ocean, the storm’s gone, there’s nothing.”
“Shit, shit, shit…” Frank muttered as he started to tap his foot on the deck, holding himself in a tight hug as he shivered in his wet clothes.
I turned to Josie. “Well we shouldn’t be far off from something, right? It’s still day, and even with the storm we couldn’t have gone too far.”
I could see that Josie was tired. She looked like she had aged about ten years in the last twenty minutes. “Okay, okay, you’re right. Let me just check some things and figure out where to go.”
Josie left for the helm, leaving me and Frank to stare in silent horror at the lazy, blue ocean that seemed to stretch infinitely in all directions.
After a long minute Josie called to us “Guys… you better come check this out.”
She was staring intensely at the dashboard of the helm as we arrived.
“Okay, so good and bad news. Which first?”
“Good, please.” Frank replied, recovered from the worst of the shivers.
“Okay, so the good news is, uhh,” she began, still fiddling with controls as if to double check her suspicions “the boat seems to be in running condition. There’s no damage to anything that would prevent us from going forward.”
“So what’s the problem then?” I asked.
“Check your phones.”
“What?” me and Frank said in unison.
“Check if you have a signal, internet, anything.”
“Shit,” Frank said. “Yeah, mine too,” I replied as I looked at my phone and saw that there was absolutely no signal or internet.
“Yeah, I don’t have a signal either - just had to check. And it doesn’t stop there,” Josie said, “compasses, readings, all of that - it’s shot. I can’t navigate us anywhere, and I have no idea where we are.”
Frank started to freak out and walked towards the front of the boat, his wet shoes squishing as he stomped angrily. “Fuck, fuck, FUCK. What the fuck do we do?”
“Well, as I said, we can still move. The only question is where. I have a faint idea of where the sun was when we first headed out, and I suggest we try to mimic its movement back to the dock,” Josie said to me while keeping her eye on Frank.
Frank was now squatting on the deck, his hands gripping his neck as he stared down at his feet.
“That sounds smart. Then if we see the storm again, we can recalibrate. We should probably be hitting land at some point, right?” I said to Josie.
“That’s my logic, at least.”
“You with us Frank?” I asked, turning to him.
“Yeah, yeah. I guess that sounds smart,” he replied in a solemn voice under his breath.
“Need any help?” I asked Josie.
“Take care of Frank,” she said quietly. “The best thing we can do is stay calm.”
Josie revved up the engine and turned the boat around carefully as she mapped out our approximate direction, and then we left towards a horizon that was no different from the others, guided only by the sun’s approximate movements.
As Josie manned the wheel, me and Frank cleaned up below deck and dried our clothes. As we were finishing up, he said he’d stay below deck, as he needed some time to think.
Looking at the sun, the day was slowly turning to evening. It was summer, so we still had daylight for a few more hours. I went up to Josie to see how she was doing.
“Frank’s below. Said he needed some time to think. I don’t blame him - this is indeed a bit fucked up, isn’t it?”
“Logically, we should hit land at some point,” she replied, her eyes fixed on the horizon, her presence distant.
“How are you doing, Josie? You just pulled us through hell. I know you don’t need help with the boat, but I’m just saying -- I’m here if you wanna talk.”
Josie sighed and turned to me. “Thanks. I think right now what I need is to get us safely back home. Once we’re back you can buy me a beer and then we can talk.”
I nodded, and then turned my head to look at the horizon. Noticing something in the distance, I said “Josie, uhh, what’s that?”
She turned her head back to survey the ocean.
In the distance there were small, dark peaks rising from the ocean, like the tips of underwater mountains rising above the water. They’d appeared seemingly out of nowhere.
“I -- I don’t know. But I think we’re gonna see soon enough.”
I stayed with Josie as we approached the peaks. As we got closer, it was obvious that there was no land between them. Instead, they shot up from the water in thick spirals that tapered off the higher they reached. As we got closer we could finally realize their true size. Although some were smaller than others, most were the equivalent of tall office buildings, some reaching even higher. They spiraled and twisted in the air, arcing like blades of grass in the wind, and it seemed like they could fall down at any moment, but they did not move or shake in the slightest. There must have been twenty or so, and they all looked similar despite their differences in size; dark, mostly smooth yet also scratched, like charred meat on a grill.
“You have any idea what these are? They look like… trees or something, except they don’t have leaves or branches,” I said to Josie.
“Never seen anything like it. Must be some rock formations or something. Maybe there’s an underwater volcano that bursted lava out and it solidified -- I really don’t know. But those should only happen deeper in the ocean, far away from land.”
I heard Frank coming up the stairs. He looked better than he had before, his step lighter. Although I’d been afraid he’d been brooding, I guess having some time to think really did help.
As he saw the spiraling towers, his face turned into a twisted and confused half-frown as he said “What the fuck are those?”
“We don’t know,” I replied, “but it’s the only thing we’ve seen so far.”
Soon the closest spiral towered just a mere two hundred yards away, its wide shade casting upon the boat. From a distance it had been hard to decipher the dark structures, but upon closer inspection, it was clear that their anatomy was… abnormal. Stretches of surface material were mostly smooth, but all of the spirals seemed to have slight craters that were formed above the rest of the exterior. It looked like they had been bombarded by meteors of differing sizes, although even if this had been the case, how had they not been immediately broken, I do not know. They were beyond any logic I could muster.
“So, anyone know what we’re looking at?” Josie askied, surprising both me and Frank - she was usually the one to know things, us just tagging along for the ride.
“No clue, captain,” replied Frank as he stared upwards in dismay at the towering spiral.
“Still no,” I said.
Suddenly the boat’s end shot up, followed by the front, ascending us a good ten yards in mere seconds. Frank and I were knocked down on the deck, but Josie managed to hold onto the walls surrounding the helm. The boat kept rocking as waves hit us from behind. I slowly stood up with my knees bent for support, and went to help out Frank who was still laying on the deck, his eyes wide in panic.
Once I’d gotten Frank up, Josie had already managed to make her way to the back of the boat. We held onto the railings along the boat’s edge and walked as fast as we could through the oceanic turbulence to catch up with her. Once I saw what had produced those waves, I wanted to get back to land more than I ever had before.
In the distance tens more of the spirals had emerged from the ocean, some even larger than the ones we’d seen. They dripped with water, and some were covered in green algae. Somehow they’d been quiet, merely disturbing the water as they’d shot up.
“We need to move! One of those things could shoot up under the boat and sink the whole fucking thing!” Josie screamed, running back inside the helm as the waves slowly calmed down and became smaller. I leaned on the railing to see if there was something underneath us - not that there was much I could do, even if I saw a gigantic spiral shooting up from the depths.
The water beneath the surface was unmoving, holding an abyssal darkness. It seemed as if the light penetrated less than it had before, and what was deep below was nothing but pitch black shadowlands.
Just as I was about to disembark and head towards Josie, something moved in the water. I craned my neck farther over the railing to get a better look. It looked like two large masses were separating from each other, unearthing a ravine.
Josie had gotten the boat moving, and we were starting to turn towards an opening between two of the spirals. As the boat circled, I got a better view of what lay below. The ravine widened, and inside it I could see a dark, whitish yellow mass peeking through. As Josie cranked us up to speed the yellow mass had opened up into a large, oval shape that seemed to span across the ocean floor. Its center held a deep, dark circle that sucked in light as if it were a black hole, twisting all things inside of it.
Then it closed up. I sighed in relief, hoping that no more spirals would emerge.
Suddenly it opened up again in a furious motion, wider than before, into a perfect circle. Then it hit me - it was an eye, larger than anything I could think of. Although we were moving at full speed, it was so gargantuan that we weren’t making any headway.
It had blinked.
“Josie? Frank?” I screamed as I turned around and saw Frank on the opposite railing looking down at the water, witnessing the same thing I was seeing.
Frank turned to me, his face a washed white, and his mouth slightly agape. “They’re tentacles. They’re fucking tentacles, look!” he pointed at one of the bigger spirals. “They have fucking suction cups and all! Shit, SHIT!”
As if on cue, the tentacles started to return to the water, splashing as they did so, producing strong currents in the water. The boat was immediately caught up in the chaos, going up and around huge waves and being dragged by the water’s shifting volume. Frank sprang below deck, and I followed him. From the small round windows I could see one of the gargantuan tentacles dropping back into the water, the boat just barely missing its tip and almost sunk by the shifting ocean.
Josie ran inside with us and exclaimed “The storm is back! It’s fucking back! I can’t maneuver the boat worth shit!”
As she closed the door behind her, we were flung to the side, my ribs hitting one of the cabinets, producing a painful crack. I could hear the rain start to scratch at the boat, and soon we were engulfed in darkness, the rain gunning down on us through the waves. The boat rocked and swayed worse than it had before, and at some points I was sure we’d gone under, buried into the deep sea, never to see the sun again. We held on to whatever we could as water trickled through the sealed door and started pooling up on the floor.
Slowly, but steadily, the storm started to pass, the boat regaining its level status along the water. The darkness outside faded into a dark red. Once it was possible to stand with relative ease, we emerged from the cabin and walked up to the deck.
“Everyone okay?” Josie asked.
“I think I’m gonna --,” Frank replied, and promptly ran to grab the edge of the railing and vomited yellow bile into the water, his stomach empty of food from before.
“My ribs got a beating, but I don’t think anything’s broken, “ I said. “What about you?”
“I’m fine. Just some bruises. Look,” Josie said, walking to the other side of the boat.
On the horizon, we saw the evening sun illuminating a crimson glow behind a small town some 500 yards away.
“Frank?” Josie called out.
“Yeah?” he replied through thick phlegm that sounded like it was stuck to his throat and running down his nostrils.
“We made it.”
We docked at the unfamiliar town and found a small hotel - probably the only one there - just a quick walking distance away. Once we got our phones dried off, Josie’s seemed to be the only one that still worked. As she looked up our location she nearly dropped the phone on the ground.
“I -- I don’t know how, but we’re quite far from home,” she said, her voice produced in quick breaths.
“How far?” Frank asked.
“Some 480 miles away.”
We checked and double checked her phone, but she was right: somehow we’d ended up nearly 500 miles down the coast into a small fishing town.
We were so tired that we decided to get some sleep before giving the bad news to Josie’s dad. The next morning Josie called him up and explained the situation, giving him the simple version: a storm had hit us, and after we got out we’d arrived here. I could hear the screams he gave her through the phone - apparently he was sure we’d driven the boat all the way to this ghost town in the middle of nowhere and docked it here, just to spite him. Josie didn’t respond to him much, only apologizing and telling him to come pick us up.
A day later he arrived, furious with us - and especially Josie. Once we showed him the boat I thought he was going to burst into a thousand tiny pieces, for I’d never seen a man so angry before. Although I think he overreacted, it was true that the boat was in shambles. There was water damage throughout the interiors, most of the equipment was shot, and large scratches were present along the exterior’s white paint.
Josie begged him not to drive the boat back home, but he insisted, not hearing a word her daughter was saying. We drove his car and arrived home that night.
As promised, me and Josie went out for a beer a few weeks later after her dad had settled down enough to let her out of the house. We went through the events of the trip in great detail, confirming to each other that it really did happen - although we disagreed on one thing.
Josie still thought that the spirals were just magma turned rock, and the whole thing was just extremely bad luck. According to her, we got held up by a superstorm or hurricane that moved our boat on top of an active underwater volcano, and then got hit by that same storm later as it moved across the ocean at miraculous speeds. Her theory was that the storm moved us along with it, making it possible to traverse such tremendous lengths with ease.
But Josie didn’t see what had been underneath us. Her theory was that the ‘eye’ I saw was simply lava cooling down as it emerged from the ocean bed. But she hadn’t seen it blink.
Frank of course seen it as well, but I haven’t heard from him much after the incident. According to his mom, he’s been cooped up in his room, drawing yellow circles on black pages. He’d told her that he needed some time to think.

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