General description of the Club: Following in Versus Wolves footsteps, I say we should challenge each other to similar Experiences, essentially treating this thread like as a sort of Monthly Quest Board where we post up challenges and then look through what others put up and try it out yourself, explaining how it went in the following months thread.
Happy end of April folks. Woolie has Gon and John has apparently dropped the "facade" he's built up and Super Eyepatch Wolf is going to experience a truly insane multicultural creation known as Cybersix. Truly their recommendations are all about duality and unmasking.
My two recommendations for the month:
Paid: For those with cash, I highly recommend Strange Scaffold. A game developepublisher with a wide array of games, with a new release out recently with Life Eater and new breakout hit El Paso, Elsewhere. With that in mind, my challenge for those with money... Play El Paso, Elsewhere and Life Eater. A double feature. If you've already played one (or both), then I recommend just buying their other games to sub in. And if you're the rare one to own and play all their games... I dunno, go play some Devolver games then. I don't know what to say.
Free: Last moth I gave a simple free option, as that was a new idea to introduce. NOW. Now I'm going to recommend something that requires a bit of elbow grease and internet searching. This will be dangerous if you look in the wrong place, but it is worth it. I want whomever takes on this challenge to watch, preferably with friends...
"Wizard Guns, Dear Reader"
AKA

The True Bastardization of One Harry Potter To Spite Known Bitch J.K. Rowling.

The process includes thus: Finding a full copy of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Weapons", (probably on meganz or internet archive, the finding it part is truly up to you) and then, either with sick editing skills or very sick timing, replace the audio track of the film (either by lowering down the volume enough so you can only hear the guns or whatever preference you have), and then layer over... Wizard People, Dear Reader by Brad Neely. And of course pausing and re-aligning when necessary.

Nowadays, I am trying out things to find my forever hobby. I made mead and it turned out pretty good for a first timer in my opinion.
I am so excited bcs summer is almost here and i can finally go to garage sales. I LOVE Garage Sales and Thrift Shops because you never know what you can find. If you do as well, please send me your best find.
I have also decided that I want to learn Latin so if anyone speaks Latin, i'd appreciate any advice.
Couple of my interests:
-Metal, rock, house kinda music
-Anime, movies, and shitty reality tv shows (Kitchen nightmares, 90 day fiance, my 600lb life, extreme cheapskates etc.)
-For anime genre; isekai, action, or anything with magic basically
-Recently started reading manga&manhwa. My first manhwa was solo leveling and it was the best (still couldn't find anything as good as that).
-I like photography as in, i basically take pics of anything i like (it is usually buildings, nature, or anything i think it looks cool).
-I also love Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts, Star Wars (recently started).
-I love random photo trade like things you took pics of, random junks you found at a store etc etc.
-I have weird curiosities like how do wizards make galleons in Harry Potter? (I know they work but how does that economy run etc.)
-I have a small humanmade skull collection such as skull rings, candles, globe etc.
I know my profile looks like NSFW but i got that when r4r went NSFW for a while and i was posting so thats why.
I live in EST time zone so similar time zones would be better.
Please send a chat request with introducing yourself a little.

hi!
im almost done with my first year of university and im excited for the summer! i’d love to get to know some new people and make some new online friends!
send me an interesting chat and tell me about yourself! please be able to hold a conversation and put effort into our talks. im super down to talk about literally anything as long as we vibe! but don’t just hit me with “hey”/“hi”/“what’s up”/etc.
tell me about your passions. vent to me about your job. tell me about how amazing your relationship is or how messy the break up was; im here for the tea. tell me if you’re team kendrick or team drake (there’s only one right answer). are you watching the nba playoffs? tell me about your summer vacation plans. your fav new show or song. tell me if current events worry you. tell me if you’re happy with life. talk to me about anything; let’s have a great conversation? :)
a little about me:

• im lebanese / canadian
  
• im bisexual / pansexual
  
• im a goofy sarcastic person at heart, i love to make people laugh, im pretty open minded and if you need someone to rant to or vent im a good listener
  
• i have an older sister
  
• i love back and forth playful banter, roasting each other and all things that energy
  
• im a night owl (est time zone, bonus points if you can keep me company late at night)
  
• in my freshmen year of university in canada; i want to be a doctor eventually
  
• i have have the cutest cloud dog
  
• im super outgoing and outdoorsy and want to travel the world as much as possible, i love to visit different areas and take part in new experiences! hiking through mountains, kayaking, rafting, camping, soaking in the sights and the atmosphere, and trying all the amazing local food. love going out with friends to concerts, to dance, to go on road trips and cottage trips
  
• i love to stay active, im a big basketball fan. (also a casual nfl fan)
  
• i have progressive / leftist views. pro-choice, lgbtqia+, etc
  
• love hiphop and r&b the most but a listen to a bit of everything else too
  
• some shows i love: breaking bad, the bear, russian doll, game of thrones (before it became terrible), avatar the last airbender, house md (also i watch a few anime)
  
• some movies I love: everything everywhere all at once, spiderverse 2, the dark knight, interstellar, the incredibles
  
• i don’t play video games
  
• i love to read too; hot take, the percy jackson (and sequel) series > the harry potter series
  

if any of that interests you send me a chat and let’s talk 💕 (i may get too many chats to reply to everyone so I apologize in advance! please keep that in mind but I’ll try to eventually get to everyone that grabs my attention thank you!)

I didn't know what tag to put on this so here we go.
TW: Mentions of death, suicide, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, dysmorphia, C-PTSD,
I'm writing this without the intention of posting it, I'm uncertain if this is something I want to share, but, I feel as if I have no other choice. This is a lot, but I'm trying to trace things back to their possible beginnings. I have no idea if I'm doing this right, I hope that I am.
I ended up posting it.
SECTION ONE: DEATH & EDUCATION
​
I am a 20M, I don't use reddit for much. I'm born and raised in the United States and I'm GEN Z. I've been in college for almost 5 years and my grades are good for the most part despite my utter burnout. I have several mental conditions both diagnosed and some which I have discovered on my own. I intend to verify with some sort of mental health professional the ones I'm uncertain of. I am confirmed to have Generalized Anxiety Disorder, ADHD, Insomnia. However I believe that I also have some sort of eating disorder as when I'm anxious I eat a lot in order to stop thinking about it, BDD [Body Dysmorphic Disorder] which i'm 100% certain about and depression. My psychologist when I was in high school argued that I have complex PTSD relating to school/academic environments. While I'm not entirely sold on it myself I thought I would include it until I can get a second opinion.
When I was younger I had constantly been told that "You are so mature" and "You look so old/big" that it had become part of my personality, and part of the way I lived my life. I typically agreed with this when I was younger, I didn't find enjoyment in school in fact quite the opposite. I loathed it.
See, I was always the "bigger" kid. I mean big, like I had childhood obesity big. My parents weren't worried however because my doctor at the time had said something along the lines of "As he grows he'll shed some of the weight" however this was not the case whatsoever. I grew up with a lot of weight and when I was younger there was plenty of teasing and bullying. I discovered how cruel people could be when I was very young, as I wasn't as physically fit I found myself unable to have fun as there wasn't something I could go do where I sat away from people. My parents as wonderful as they are never seemed to be able to comprehend why I loathed school to the point where I was pretty much willing to say I had anything just not to go. I had told them how uncomfortable school makes me and they had once proposed to me and asked if I wanted to go to a different school. (We were well off in comparison to most of our area) However what little friends I did make I wanted to keep and I worried that as a new student at a different school I would draw even more attention.
Since I stayed I had to deal with the bullying, I was too afraid to leave what few friends I had. I never understood why they were mean to me. I had always been kind, and I hadn't been afraid to talk for myself however at a certain point I started to believe everything they said. So I started staying in my house more often, the neighbors who I had been friends with since I was very young I fell out with because I didn't want to be physically outside and risk embarrassing myself as I had always done. My favorite hobby was playing video games in the living room, I had nothing else besides my Nintendo DS for Pokémon or other games that my brother and I shared. Looking back I probably made a couple of people feel bad, but I had felt awful too. If I could go back I'd change it. However there is nothing I can do.
Eventually I just stopped letting myself be seen.
My brothers friends became my friends, however as time went on one of them utterly abandoned him because he came out as gay to this friend we'll call Chad. While I didn't know this at the time, one day one of the friends I had made core memories with simply disappeared and I never found out why until I was 16. The year after another one his friends (we'll call him Wedge) lost his sister to cancer, and he eventually stopped hanging out with us due to grief and an onset of mental illness. (I still communicate with him, but for private reasons I can't go into why I can't befriend him please understand). Eventually, another one of our friends (We'll call Jack) had also gotten cancer, he had survived but had been in and out of the hospital so much that we lost our connection. Lastly, the cousin (We'll call her Allison) I was closest with someone who I really related too suddenly dropped out of my life due to inter-family drama with our parents. Bare in mind, this all happened within the span of 2 years when I couldn't have been older than 6 or 7. I became used to people coming and going. In fact it's been the key theme in my life, that people will die, and are unfortunately temporary and I had to learn this young. Some family members had come around when my great grandfather was dying assuming he had money so they started hanging out with us only for them to depart shortly after his death after realizing there was nothing he had to give. I think subconsciously I had become emotionally jaded instead of mature. It didn't become any easier when people at my school killed themselves or tried to stab one another
So I gained a fear of abandonment. Future events didn't help it much either. While my brother began to despise talks about emotions (he was 5 years older than me) I began to need someone to talk to more and more.
My family never understood why I had so many issues with education despite doing so well. I had always been bad at communicating my feelings until recently (not that it has changed anything in my life) so they always believed that it was simply me being a boy and not wanting to go to school. This never changed until middle school, it took years for them to finally listen to me when I told them I get chronic migraines I even had a diagnosis for it alongside the CPTSD and GAD. Yet by this time it was too late for anything to be done. Education had been a nightmare for me, unsympathetic teachers, difficult administration that said they didn't believe me because I wasn't one to show I was anxious.
There's more, but I feel like I've painted a clear enough picture of my early childhood. One year my migraines had gotten so bad that I spent all 365 days inside without any connection, and the year after as well. I had been so anxious about high school that I dropped out in 10th grade, and got a GED through some loopholes. I went to college the semester after, entirely online.
So for four years I was locked inside a house. Four years. This doesn't even include all the issues I had dealt with in terms of parents, or the intricate social issues I had online which was my only source of interaction, and remains to be my only source of interaction. In fact 50% of my life was either in school or at home. There was no other location which I went too. I didn't have any friends as they had all ditched me for objectively more put together people in high school. Despite all my academic anxieties doing college online was a breeze for me, I got 4.0 GPA my first three semesters until I transferred.
But we'll come back to this. I want to go over some other things.
SECTION TWO: HOME & FAMILY
All I had was home and videogames. It was what kept me going. For the longest time I had to sit in the living room in order to play multiplayer games with strangers who often treated me better than people in real life. I eventually met some people I stayed friends with for 10 years, however around year 3 I realized that I had always been the but of their jokes, or one who was always worst one in the group. There was a bully of mine in that group, but I liked the other people so much that it was worth it. However anytime I said I didn't like how they made me feel I was met with further ridicule until eventually I simply decided to play with them only when they were on. However I had the burning desire to prove myself and that I wasn't the worst in the group like I had always been in my real life. However this took me years to accomplish and by the time I did it felt hollow.
My parents often would yell at me if I spoke too loud which is typical in most families, however the walls were paper thin, so too loud was talking at a casual indoor volume which often caused me a lot of embarrassment which they never seemed to care about. Sometimes they'd break my things and I'd get super sad and only after they realized how much pain they caused me would they do anything. They didn't realize that being online was one of the most important things to me when I was younger, I don't blame them, however . . .
It wasn't just online. It was vacations, hotel rooms, in public, in private spaces, school, or anything. Every vacation we had ever taken I cried on due to the yelling and bickering that took place between my parents who continually said that it was typical for both of them. However, it never felt like that and for some reason I was always caught in the middle. No matter where I was it always felt as if something was going to go wrong, like someone was going to embarrass me. While I'm aware now the only people they embarrassed was themselves, it is awful that I live with this and feel unable to be myself in any public space. Their justification always was that's how they always were and they always explained how it wasn't going to change and that I'd just have to learn how to live with it. I fear going anywhere with them.
While they're somewhat better now, I can't help but wish they were better then.
SECTION THREE: ONLINE DATING
Being locked in a house for so long does a number on you I think its something that most people can sympathize with at least now. You wish and long for social interaction craving the feeling of someone else around you and eventually it turns to this deep obsession and longing that you cant get rid of or replace. For me, the cure was hearing "I love you." I'm not physically attractive in person, at least not conventionally. I'm 350lbs, but I appear to carry it well so I actually look lighter than I actually am (Thank God). It's safe to say I'm not someone's first choice, and that's okay. I'm good at other things and have skills in other areas. I met a girl online one day and we became friends but we lost each other in school work, a year later we had met again online by chance alone and we spent time with one another. It lasted for about three years with intention to meet up, had I been more mature I'm sure the relationship would've lasted, but it was a right person wrong time situation. She was nice and caring and taught me a lot about religion, I too this day credit her for what little faith I have left in a God.
This isn't the first time I've dated online (by online I mean no physical contact not like dating apps), nor was I the first in my family. My brother had been dating his partner for about 6 years at that point, now he actually brings his partner over and stuff which was super nice to see. She built up my self confidence and practically said every word right when it needed to be said, eventually she cheated, she had come and told me immediately and against my better judgement I forgave her, and then at the end of the relationship she did it again. Was it stupid? Yep. Did I set myself up for it? Yeah. Does it still bother me? Sometimes. However, hearing those words were sweet and gave me a reason to wake up in the morning as stupid as it may sound.
Since then I haven't met anyone, nor do I think I could no matter how much I know it would make my life better. I wouldn't want to burden someone. Plus, I've never had anyone show any interest in me whatsoever, only time people have been willing to give me a chance is if they never saw how I looked and only experienced my personality. (This does wonders for my self-confidence) [clear sarcasm]
SECTION FOUR: WEIGHTLOSS & LACK OF FRIENDS
I've heard all manner of arguments against people who are obese. From the "Control yourself" argument or "eat a salad" or just simply "eat less." However these arguments often come from people who haven't ever dealt with the condition before. It makes life a struggle to live and one would think if things were that simple everyone would be physically fit. However this isn't the case. Yes, all of those things are important, but I've been trying to lose weight since I was 14. That is 6 going on 7 years. With BDD I look myself in the mirror in self hatred, and given that I have a bigger stomach its with me everywhere I go. I predominantly wear baggy clothes in order to cover this up, but even I know that they make me look even worse. The closest I ever got to being below 300 was 310, then I was put on a medication which made me suicidal and all this progress was gone because I had basically been put on home arrest by my family (reasonably so).
Even still, I haven't gotten that close in such a long time and I'm wondering if it'll ever look how I want too. I wonder if people will ever see me as someone other than that fat guy who is mostly socially awkward but can be funny sometimes. I never got to develop the necessary social skills for dealing with people that most kids who grow up bigger do. I don't have a fun sense of humor, I'm very dry, but I feel the need to be funny which never works out. I spent my whole life without friends to the point where I don't even know where to begin in making them.
The amount of sleepless nights ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alright, now you know everything which leads up to my present day at my current campus and my current life. Thank you for reading up until this point, but now lets get into the finishing portion. Today and tomorrow.
FINAL SECTION: Today and Tomorrow
Remember how I said that I transferred colleges after my third semester? Well, I went to college at 16, and transferred at my last couple months as a 17 year old. I commute and it's about a 30min drive. (I don't know how to drive, COVID-19 ruined my chances at learning when I was supposed too.) At the time I just dropped off a distance away from the campus and walked there as I was embarassed that my parents had to still drive me. Freshmen Orientation was awful, I tried to make it good for myself but the people I was around wanted nothing to do with me and I knew why. I just wasn't good enough. I called the campus to see if there was anything that could be done, and the figured something out, however the second group was no different. I tried connecting with people who were having similar issues to me through digital means to arrange meetups on the campus however this went even worse and I was frequently ghosted. My psychologist at the time believed that I had become triggered from this experience on the first day of classes where I had a severe panic attack where I practically relived 20 years of pain in a couple of seconds. I was reduced to a blabbering mess wondering what I had done wrong, and where I went wrong.
See I had been told my whole life when I suffered through public school that college was going to be this wonderful experience where people find themselves and learn to do things all on their own. I was the first generation to go to college in my family and each person had told me these great things. To me it was pretty much my last vestige of hope. When it all went wrong I had been devastated. To this day I have tried to make friends, I do my best to approach first and be polite with those in my classes. I behave in a helpful fashion and always try to be useful to others. Yet time and time again I've failed. For the first three weeks of my first semester I didn't go to a single class due to horrible anxiety when my only hope was that for once in my life I could be myself.
With all this, I feel alienated, worthless, ugly. Something not worthy of love nor compassion from others, an outsider who doesn't belong. I've slowly carved at all the things I'm confident in out of my mind as I have become burnt out from years of being "so smart." Now I can barely lift a finger for an assignment that is two hours do from midnight either because I'm having a mental breakdown or I'm thinking about having a mental breakdown. I have so many conditions, fears, phobias, and health issues I feel as if my life would be better lived by someone else. All the love and praise I do receive from my professors and family feels wrong and despite my family trying to accommodate my unique needs it always seems like I have to clash with them in order for them to understand I am not the same as them as in I can't just function as they all do. I come from a very hardworking family so to them despite my conditions I'm just lazy and I don't understand how to deal with all of it.
It feels like I was in the character creator and decided to do all negative traits to see how long I would last before I die or go insane. Sometimes I don't know if I've grown to deal with it or if I have become numb to my own feelings and needs which have never been addressed. So with all of this, how do I live? How am I supposed do anything if I can't even do the simple things like go to classes or control how I respond to stress? I feel as if I'm missing out on everything from knowing what my body can possibly do if it was fit, to not getting the social experience I need and so desperately crave even though I know I don't belong.
Everyone responds to life differently and I hope everyone can understand that what may not bother you could bother someone else. I hope people understand I'm not trying to sound cringe or anything, but genuinely receive some form of help. I probably didn't do how I'm feeling justice, or what I've experienced, but this is my first time expressing myself in a online setting.
Good luck everyone! I hope everyone is doing well and if you aren't were in this together.

Hey! I’ve been studying Japanese for a few years now, I started off just in duolingo, I like the streaks on there as watching it go up makes me feel more accomplished lol, but I’ve come to find it’s not the most accurate in terms of Japanese language; I went to school for Japanese for a bit so now on my own I study with books and various sites/YouTube channels. I found a site called shovel (https://ovel.sh/room for those interested) that is just for general studying, but It has a streak feature like duo that I like and other useful features that make my studies feel more productive. For reading I’m currently reading Harry Potter in Japanese, I’m far from proficient but it’s great reading practice! I also like to listen to Japanesepod101, and other conversational Japanese pods for listening practice, but I feel like I need more material to study, even though I read and listen I feel like there has to be other material I can study,,, any recommendations??

Hey! I’ve been studying Japanese for a few years now, I started off just in duolingo, I like the streaks on there as watching it go up makes me feel more accomplished lol, but I’ve come to find it’s not the most accurate in terms of Japanese language; I went to school for Japanese for a bit so now on my own I study with books and various sites/YouTube channels. I found a site called shovel (https://ovel.sh/room for those interested) that is just for general studying, but It has a streak feature like duo that I like and other useful features that make my studies feel more productive; plus I recently picked up Korean so I can kinda organize all my studies in a way that really makes it easy for my adhd lol. For reading I’m currently reading Harry Potter in Japanese, I’m far from proficient but it’s great reading practice! I also like to listen to Japanesepod101, and other conversational Japanese pods for listening practice, but I feel like I need more material to study, even though I read and listen I feel like there has to be other material I can study,,, any recommendations? Especially for Korean I’m currently just using Anki and learning 5 new words a day and journaling them in my shovel account so I can go back and reference what I’ve learned so far.

hi!
im almost done with my first year of university and im excited for the summer! i’d love to get to know some new people and make some new online friends!
send me an interesting chat and tell me about yourself! please be able to hold a conversation and put effort into our talks. im super down to talk about literally anything as long as we vibe! but don’t just hit me with “hey”/“hi”/“what’s up”/etc.
tell me about your passions. vent to me about your job. tell me about how amazing your relationship is or how messy the break up was; im here for the tea. tell me if you’re team kendrick or team drake (there’s only one right answer). are you watching the nba playoffs? tell me about your summer vacation plans. your fav new show or song. tell me if current events worry you. tell me if you’re happy with life. talk to me about anything; let’s have a great conversation? :)
a little about me:

• im lebanese / canadian
  
• im a goofy sarcastic person at heart, i love to make people laugh, im pretty open minded and if you need someone to rant to or vent im a good listener
  
• i have an older sister
  
• i love back and forth playful banter, roasting each other and all things that energy
  
• im a night owl (est time zone, bonus points if you can keep me company late at night)
  
• in my freshmen year of university in canada; i want to be a doctor eventually
  
• i have have the cutest cloud dog
  
• im super outgoing and outdoorsy and want to travel the world as much as possible, i love to visit different areas and take part in new experiences! hiking through mountains, kayaking, rafting, camping, soaking in the sights and the atmosphere, and trying all the amazing local food. love going out with friends to concerts, to dance, to go on road trips and cottage trips
  
• i love to stay active, im a big basketball fan. (also a casual nfl fan)
  
• i have progressive / leftist views. im bisexual. pro-choice, lgbtqia+, etc
  
• love hiphop and r&b the most but a listen to a bit of everything else too
  
• some shows i love: breaking bad, the bear, russian doll, game of thrones (before it became terrible), avatar the last airbender, house md (also i watch a few anime)
  
• some movies I love: everything everywhere all at once, spiderverse 2, the dark knight, interstellar, the incredibles
  
• i don’t play video games
  
• i love to read too; hot take, the percy jackson (and sequel) series > the harry potter series
  

if any of that interests you send me a chat and let’s talk 💕 (i may get too many chats to reply to everyone so I apologize in advance! please keep that in mind but I’ll try to eventually get to everyone that grabs my attention thank you!)

“Get the fuck out of my house with this ‘ old country’ shit Sylvia, I’m serious. “ I hear my dad say from the kitchen downstairs.
“I give children and idiots three warnings. That’s your first. “ It takes me a second to recognize my aunt’s voice. I’ve only met her a handful of times, and it’s nearly 2am.
“Syl, he’s right, this is crazy. I’m Roma, I’m proud, but your part of the family, and mine are two separate things. “ My mom interjects. Her voice is calm and level.
I woke up about half way through whatever is going on, and I’m fuzzy on the details, but everyone involved is three kinds of pissed.
“So you say, but just because you ignore the other side, doesn’t mean the other side ignores you. “ Aunt Syl replies, I could never quite place her accent, but it makes her statement all the more sinister.
“Might as well make that the family motto.
Syl, there are a couple dozen other kids Nikolas’ age in the family. Half of which are already hip deep in whatever is going on nowadays, you don’t need him. “ Mom isn’t pleading, but I can hear she’s worried.
“Why are we trying to reason with your crazy aunt? Time to go Syl. “ My dad isn’t worried, he’s angry.
“That’s two. “ Aunt Sylvia replies.
I hear a chair squeak then fall to the floor.
“That’s three. “ Sylvia says, her voice is cold, and I swear I could almost hear an echo.
I can hear my dad start to quietly cough, he sounds like he’s trying to talk but can’t. My heart starts to race, I don’t understand what’s going on, but I know it’s bad.
“Syl! Jesus Christ, that’s my husband. “ Mom sounds more offended than scared now. I wish I could say the same.
I stand next to my cracked door, fear beginning to take hold.
I can hear my dad start to take long wheezing breaths, I have no idea if this is a good or bad thing.
“Happy?
Now that any hope of doing this quietly is over, Nikolas and I have a long drive ahead of us. He’s 16, he has a license, yes? “ I hear Sylvia say, sudden footsteps walking up the stairs.
“No, he’s not interested in driving. You can’t take him Syl. “ my mom sounds frantic, Sylvia’s steps are measured and heavy.
“Not interested? You sure we are related? You raise soft children. “ Sylvia ends this with a dismissive laugh.
The few minutes that followed were kind of a blur, with my mom trying to convince me that I was just going to visit family, as if I didn’t just hear everything.
It's a couple hours into a long drive in a small car when my brain finally catches up to the fact that I’m awake, and going 30 miles an hour over the speed limit.
Aunt Syl sits in the driver’s seat, she’s 40 something, olive skinned with pitch-colored hair. Her style, it’s, something.
Her outfit was the middle of a Venn diagram of hippie, punk rock and carpenter. Bracelets, flannel, paisley, and enough piercings I lost count.
“Any chance of putting both hands on the wheel? “ I say, I’m mad, but I don’t even really know why.
She holds up her left arm, and I’m shocked. It’s an ancient looking blued steel prosthetic. She flexes, the clawed, almost mitten-like hand.
“Go through too many steering wheels that way. “ She says with a smirk.
“What’s going on? “ I ask, after an agonizing fifteen minutes of silence.
“You’re a big boy, so if you want the truth, I’ll give it to you. There’s a job that needs to be done, a dangerous job. And I want you to do it.
Now, I want you, not because you’re strong, or smart, or special. We have many strong, smart, special boys.
You, I want, because you’re unknown, and, little one, disposable. “ Sylvia lets this comment hang like rotten fruit.
The next hour goes in silence, at no point do I even entertain the notion this is some kind of joke. Something about this woman’s energy, about the way she carries herself, it scares the shit out of me.
We board a plane, somehow she had all of my travel documents. Even stranger is that we get escorted past the security checkpoints, into first class.
The next words I say to Sylvia are, “You have to put that out! “ as she lights up a short, yellow, hand-rolled cigarette.
She grins, taking a long drag, it smells horrible, the cheapest roughest tobacco odor I’ve encountered.
She relaxes, a cloud of thick, grey smoke forming.
I’m stunned, not a single person says anything. At first I think maybe she’s some kind of, I don’t know, mobster or something.
But that isn’t quite right. No one is looking at her in fear, no one is telling anyone else not to say anything. It’s like no one notices what she’s doing.
“How does she do this? The little boy wonders.
I don’t come offering you a thankless task Nik. I come with an opportunity. “ Sylvia says before crushing the cigarette on the arm of a chair and tossing it into the isle.
I had questions, and between the fear and the confusion I asked every one of them.
The only response she gave me was, “You’ll see when we get there. “.
She was right.
The flight lands, and after an hour or so of driving the world’s oldest pickup through the English countryside, we wind up at an old farm house, in the middle of nowhere outside of Hammersmith.
The sign outside says “ Gritt Auctions” the letters are old, bronze and tarnished, the grounds are littered with car parts, statues, and errata of every type.
Dozens, maybe even a hundred people mill about each stopping for a moment to give a suspicious look at the interloper in their midst.
Sylvia seems amused at my nervousness. I try and give the rough looking folks around me as much space as I can.
“They’re family, mostly, by blood or marriage, with a handful of lost souls and hangers on. “ She explains.
I probably should have guessed, seeing my mom’s family name on the sign, but my brain is basically nothing more than fear, anxiety and jet lag at this point.
“When do I get to know what’s going on? “ I say, waving at a cousin of some form and receive a uniquely English rude gesture in return.
My ear is ringing, and I stumble , the left side of my face burning. I’d say Syl slapped me, but it was more of a polite punch.
“Don’t whine. You’ve been stolen from your mother, treated like a dog, and judging by Robert’s attitude, rejected by your family.
I don’t want to hear whining, you angry, soft boy? “ Sylvia stops and turns toward me. I notice the people around us stop their tasks, interested in our conversation.
“No… “ I begin, not wanting to piss her off.
I don’t even see the next slap, but it puts me on my ass.
“Next one’s with the left hand.
Are you angry Nikolas? “ Sylvia looms over me like a raven.
I feel something before I get to my feet, a hot, quick flash of hatred. A context free rage at the fucked up situation I’m in.
“Answer is still no. Because to be angry, I’d have to know a God-Damned thing about what’s going on.
But my lunatic aunt just picked me up and now I’m standing in the middle of whatever the English equivalent to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre family is.
For all I know, I’m your new King. So no, I’m not angry, I’m annoyed, and maybe a bit worried my gene pool really needs some chlorine. “ I’m shocked at what I’m saying, but I see some smiles, hear a few laughs.
Sylvia’s face seems to soften slightly.
“There’s the Gritt in you. “ She says, starting to walk to an old barn.
I catch up to her as I attempt in vain to dust myself off.
Sylvia opens a small, strangely modern looking door, inside a row of lights automatically flip on.
In contrast to the rotten wood exterior, the inside of the barn looks modern, design wise it’s half way between a hospital and a car repair shop. Equipment of unknown purpose, gurneys and cages of all sizes and types surround me.
Sylvia walks to a door at the back, then pauses.
“Before I open this door, you need to understand something.
There is no fortune telling, or reading of cards here. The cloak of the traveller, the bangles of the gypsy, these are all ways of navigating the world to us. Ways to exist on the fringes of society.
The Gritt family, we trade in the unknown. We find, we collect, and we sell. And ours is no petty collection of trinkets and tools not meant for the hands of man.
Our grift, is livestock. “
The woman opens the door, and what I see, sitting, chained in one corner of the industrial cement walled cell shakes everything I thought I knew about reality.
He's six and a half feet tall, his skin a waxy yellow, and every spare inch is festooned with black stitching, rusted pieces of metal or small splinters of bone.
His face is noseless and asymmetrical, almost as if repaired or modified over and over. One eye is a small, sinister looking orb with a red pupil, the other a massive, almost reptilian thing, wildly twitching about.
He wears no shirt, but a long, grey hide Trenchcoat hangs down to his knees. I start to shake as I see it’s made from layers of stitched human skin.
He sneers at us, long, conical teeth catch the harsh halogen light.
The thing strains against the chains, but they bind him tightly enough to the wall he can barely move.
“You’re not lasting more than 4 seconds kid. Just turn the fuck around. I’ll have you slitting your wrists in the corner by nightfall. “ The thing says, it’s voice is foul, almost a physical force. Grating, rage filled, and with a lunatic edge to it that makes me question exactly how much those chains can take.
“ 3/10, Augustus, who do you think you are scaring with that limp dick of a threat? “ Sylvia says, confidently walking up to the creature.
It snaps it’s jaws with a sound like a rifle shot. No where near Sylvia, but enough to make me jump on the other side of the room.
“If I could stop being threatened and hearing my aunt talk about dicks, I’d be a huge fan. “ I say, something deep within me, pushing past the fear and lack of sleep, “And if anything feels like just telling me what’s going on instead of being vague and creepy, even better. “
The chained thing looks to me, curious. Sylvia smirks.
“Augustus is going to be forced to fight others like him until eventually he gets what’s coming to him for years of evil.
You, are going to stand next to him while he does it. “ Sylvia begins to walk away from the thing, ignoring vile threats of both the violent and carnal variety.
I try to follow her out the door and she blocks me.
“If your still sane and alive in the morning, I was right. Good luck soft boy. “ She says before closing the heavy metal door.
Without her, I feel tiny, that spark of rage is snuffed out and replaced with a cold sense of dread.
“You’re going to have to turn around sometime kid. “ The chained creature says.
I turn, slowly, resolving to make eye contact with the thing. I manage a second or two before looking away, the creature cackles, mocking me.
“Holy shit, they sent me an honest to God pussy. Whole family full of void fucked apes and they send me you?
The best part is, you don’t even get it. I can see what you’re thinking kid, I can see that tiny collection of hormones and goo you vainly call a brain going into overdrive trying to figure this out… “ Augustus starts.
The creature kept going, I don’t have an exact count but it was at least twelve hours.
I can only describe it as a verbal assault. Augustus drew from some dark wells, how it knew half of the things it did scared me as much as it’s clawed hands or, piranha-like teeth.
I lost something that night. The fears that thing drug up, the insecurities it played on, the secrets it knew, it crushed any childlike notions of safety or understanding the world I had.
Don’t take that the wrong way, I don’t mean it toughened me up. It broke any sense of confidence I had, took away any feeling of safety. That God Damned thing in the trenchcoat, changed me.
I’ve lost track of how long it’s been since I’ve slept, but I’m brought a tin plate heaped with eggs, sausage and for some twisted reason, brown beans. And realize it’s been at least a day since I’ve eaten.
I sit around an abused, graffiti carved picnic table with an eclectic combination of family I’ve never met. Syl sips a tea I can smell from ten feet away and looks at me like I’m a used car.
“I’m always right soft boy. Remember that. “ She says.
It takes a half dozen guys built like construction workers, with Sylvia following behind whispering things that wilt vegetation, to wrangle the creature into the back of an old, reinforced horse trailer.
The inside is covered in totems, runes, and other spooky looking errata. The entity becomes sluggish and disoriented as the heavy wooden doors close, and get sealed with a massive brass lock.
My mind begins to wander on the three hour trip through the back country of the UK. The sun sets, and my brain screams for sleep. That scream is silenced by the sense of mounting dread as we get closer to our destination.
We pull up to an abandoned theme restaurant, the parking lot is full, the windows are boarded, and the walls covered in graffiti. The place is huge, more the size of a small stadium than a diner.
The parking lot is full, the sputtering, sparking neon sign flashes “Faron’s Funhouse. “
It’s a few minutes outside of a town I forgot to catch the name of. We can see lights on the horizon, but there’s a feeling of wrong surrounding the building that makes them seem a million miles away.
A half dozen ‘cousins’ of mine move Augustus into a strange, almost coffin-like box made of wood, steel and glass, covered in trinkets and symbols. The thing sneers groggily from within, it’s mismatched eyes rolling in it’s skull.
I don’t hear Sylvia approach, I notice her as she smacks me in the back of the head hard enough to make my ears ring. The old, cruel woman is walking toward the doors of this meeting place.
“Eyes forward, sneer on your face, and walk like you know where you’re going. “ Are her only instructions.
For once, they’re clear and simple. What I see inside easily keeps my attention, and I’m equal parts scared and pissed off, so looking edgy and miserable is my default state.
At one point, this place was exactly what you’d think. I know you’re all expecting it to be a run down, rat infested haunted house now, but it was, stranger than that.
The place was well kept on the inside, but everything was either in use or repurposed to house the couple hundred eclectic customers milling around. In the centre, is a massive Lucite Cube, crystal clear and housing a ball pit, jungle gym and what looks to be a functional canteen, complete with a deep fryer and popcorn machine. It’s a couple hundred meters a side, and shaped like a flawed rectangle.
Smoke hangs in the air, my aunt greets old friends in a handful of different languages, I smile and nod, still trying to understand what the hell this place is.
We see Augustus being wheeled to the Lucite box, Sylvia cuts a laughing Cyrillic conversation short, and her and I make our way to the box that barely restrains the hatred and death inside.
At the other end of the Lucite Cube I see a few people dressed in blue and maroon uniforms ( if I were to guess vintage, from when this place served shitty food instead of violence.), they surround a massive, hulking, lanky thing. It’s obscured by smoke, and poor lighting, but it’s nine foot frame, and unnatural gait are clear.
The box holding Augustus sits about ten feet away from me, inside the massive cage. The front opens, my instinct is to step backward, get as much distance between me and the thing inside as possible, but instead, I’m shoved, before I can catch my balance, a workbook clad foot is in front of me.
I fall and stumble into the cage, I turn around to try and get out as fast as I can, I’m standing inches away from the creature, but I see Sylvia closing the clear, impermeable door.
It hits me then. For the first time since this ordeal started, I realize how grim things are.
Just like everyone else here, I’ve been raised on spooky shit packaged to be marketable. Little monsters, The Adams Family, Harry potter, hell let’s throw Pokemon and the like in there as it’s basically just dog fighting with a cute hat on.
And I thought what was happening to me, was somewhere on the Venn diagram of those things.
But as I see the impassive look on the face of a woman I’ve known since I was a child, ( at a distance or no.) as I’m locked in here with God knows what, I get it. I really get it.
His laughter is like an ice pick, I turn to face him, Augustus brushes himself off, casually looking around the massive arena.
“Just hit ya didn’t it, bud? “ He says, walking over to me, his steps impossibly quick, almost insect-like, “You’re not my trainer, or my wrangler, you certainly aren’t my fucking partner. “, the entity grabs my chin between two clawed fingers, “ You’re a bait dog. Something for me and that new blooded walking pun to fight over. “
My blood runs down his thumb, his grin cracks his face like a rotten melon, the monster pulls down, throwing me to the floor.
A buzzer sounds, and a three minute timer, projected in transparent red appears on the walls of the Lucite arena.
“If I’ve got to hunt you down in this shit-hole, things are going to be a lot worse for you. Stay put, bud. “ The trenchcoat clad thing says, casually walking toward the creature on the opposite side of the arena.
Closer now, I see it clearly. Inside of a pristine uniform, is a twisted attempt at the human form. The torso is lumpen, asymmetrical, but lean. It's arms nearly drag on the floor, yellow, infected looking flesh, weeping pus like a snail’s foot.
It's eyes are black caves, with just the hint of something deep within. It’s face is blank, a torn, haggard looking grey tongue runs over rotting green teeth.
The kid beside it looks around my age, he’s big though, just as confused and afraid as I am. He wears a similar uniform to the creature, but his looks, abused, torn, blood stained. Like it's been handed down from one unlucky owner to the next.
As the buzzer rings, the lanky, disgusting creature moves in a flash, tearing off the kid’s right arm and beginning to chew it.
The blood didn’t set me off, as terrible as it was. It was the three seconds between the act, and the poor kid realizing what happened that pushed me over the edge.
He started to scream, a horrible trapped animal kind of noise. He backs away from the monster beside him, gripping the crushed and torn remains of his forearm.
Augustus laughs, his trenchcoat drags on the floor, leaving a streak of blood as he walks.
“Man after my own heart.
So, I say, we split these sides of beef for two minutes then talk shop for a bit. Fuck these pretentious apes and their show. “ Augustus looks up to the massive thing. It remains impassive, gnawing on the hand.
“Don’t be like that. We both know two halves are better than one whole . Win-win for both of us“ Augustus gets a noise that sounds like an angry sewer pipe, and a dismissive wave of a long snake-like arm in response.
The thing in the trenchcoat shrugs, turning around and stalking toward me.
“You have no luck at all kid, I was going to let you go last.
But the pinworm back there wants to be a dick about things, so looks like things are getting started early. “ Augustus grins, his mouth opening shark like.
I stare down certain death, Augustus radiating fear, seeming to become more demonic with each step toward me.
From behind him, a noise.
I would have just assumed it was some part of the worm-like, filth ridden thing eating. Augustus clears up that misconception.
He turns, shaking, body language that of a wild animal.
“Was that a fucking snicker? A giggle? Are you fucking laughing at me, you literal fucking worm. “ He’s panting, hands twitching like dying insects.
He stands, inches from the other creature, dwarfed by it, teeth grinding, muscles straining.
The worm thing casually tosses the flesh bare hand toward Augustus. As it touches his coat, the arena erupts into a kind of wild, senseless, limitless violence.
It doesn’t feel like watching a fight, it’s more like a car wreck, or natural disaster. Pieces of jungle gym turn into lethal shrapnel as the blurred, filth spewing scrum destroys them.
I see the timer, 2:15. My mind starts to catch up, and I see the other kid, pale, whimpering, and trying in vain to staunch the blood spurting from his arm.
I’m running, low and likely poorly, pulling my belt from my pants, and thanking myself for actually listening when I was forced to take a first aid course for a summer job last year.
The kid is scared, he tries pushing me away, but I’m determined, and not down a couple pints of blood. I pull the belt with two hands, pull it through again and twist, it’s ugly, it’s not perfect, but the flow of blood begins to slow, then stop.
We crawl behind a prize counter, decades old candy and stuffed animals surround us as we cower. A liquid filled roar loud enough to crack the cheap glass cases fills the room.
The kid is looking rough, blood still trickling from the torn stump of his forearm. I see some plastic bags and get an idea.
I lean over to get them, and feel something strange, at first I think I pulled a muscle.
Then there is a deep, burning pain, instinctively I pull away, and turn around.
The kid is on his knees, sanity has left his eyes, a cheap hunting knife in his remaining hand he has a look of panic and determination on his face.
“We have to win. “ he says, lunging at me with the blade.
He’s slow, and I avoid it, but not by as much as I’d like. Blood runs down my back, for a moment I wonder how bad I’m hurt, but it doesn’t really matter right now.
I retreat, but the only thing keeping us from being torn apart by the whirlwind of shrapnel caused by the creatures is the counter, I can’t escape.
It's a stalemate, I’m no athlete, and the kid is built like a rugby player, but he’s missing a hand, and delirious from blood loss. I plead, I try and reason, and I dodge crazed strikes by increasingly narrow margins.
Something large, either thrown or knocked loose destroys the counter behind me. Suddenly all is chaos. I’m thrown into the kid in the uniform, plaster dust surrounds us in a grey cloud.
By the time the air clears the kid is on top of me. I have his wrist in one hand, keeping the split tip of the blade inches from my face.
The angle is too awkward, I can’t get any leverage. It’s not a stalemate, it’s a war of attrition that I’m losing.
I catch a glimpse of the two creatures. The worm thing is striking at Augustus, who stands still, limbs moving in arcing blurs deflecting the blows and tearing off chunks of foul, tainted flesh.
The tip of the knife begins to dig into my cheek. A drop of blood hits my eye.
I grab the makeshift tourniquet with a free hand and roughly yank forward. The kid on top of me screams, bloods begins to pour. Torn flesh and a gore soaked belt hit the ground.
For a moment the weight on me eases up, and I push the knife forward. But the kid, he’s too stupid or far gone to just back off. As I feel is strength start to fade, he presses himself harder.
I expect him to back off as I begin to drive the roughly sharpened back edge of the knife into his neck. But he doubles down, leaning forward, trying to press the knife toward me.
For a moment, every other fucked up thing going on around me doesn’t matter. The world is small, silent, and consists of nothing more than the image of the knife ripping away a fist sized strip from the kids neck.
He backs off when he realizes the extent of the damage. Staring at me shocked, as if just not realizing the consequences of his actions.
He dies slowly, poorly, and within inches of me. I feel no victory, no sense of being a winner, just a dark pit in the back of my mind. The loss of something that comes with taking someone’s life.
I stand, shell shocked, staring at the corpse. My safety the last thing on my mind.
The worm thing is hurt, and attempts to dive into the ball pit, but somehow, defying physics, Augustus grabs it, holding the half ton monster out with one hand.
He arcs the thing, slamming it into the floor behind him, the spray of gore and viscera rivals pyrotechnics, the force leaves a blood filled crater in the floor.
Without missing a beat Augustus starts to walk toward me, making a token effort of flicking pieces of bone and organ from himself.
I’m frozen, I know nothing I can do could stop whatever he has planned.
The creature picks up a jagged piece of lumber, and looks at the clock, “We’ve got 45 seconds of fun left kid. “ he says with a sneer.
But as he passes the counter, and sees the corpse the look of imminent violence turns into amusement.
“How’s it feel to be a child killer, bud? “, Augustus laughs, “Not that I can’t tell from the look on your face.
Fuck me, that knocked some gears loose didn’t it? “
The thing walks forward, looking me over like a collectable.
“I can’t let that go to waste, now can I? “ he slaps me lightly, “It’s going to be a fucking blast watching you break down kid, wonder what drives you nuts first, this kid being in your dreams, or the fact that, at some point I’m going to get bored and start giving you all the pain you feel you deserve? “
Of course, I made it out alive. It’d be kind of hard to have posted this if I didn’t.
But now, I sit in a dingy room in a farm house half way across the world from home. Surrounded by family and monsters, all of which seem out to get me. Being forced to risk my life in some kind of blood sport.
Maybe I’ll be back, maybe I’ll be dead by the next time I get a chance to post anything. If anyone has any help, please, post it in the comments. I’m in a dark place here and no one else seems to be on my side.

“Get the fuck out of my house with this ‘ old country’ shit Sylvia, I’m serious. “ I hear my dad say from the kitchen downstairs.
“I give children and idiots three warnings. That’s your first. “ It takes me a second to recognize my aunt’s voice. I’ve only met her a handful of times, and it’s nearly 2am.
“Syl, he’s right, this is crazy. I’m Roma, I’m proud, but your part of the family, and mine are two separate things. “ My mom interjects. Her voice is calm and level.
I woke up about half way through whatever is going on, and I’m fuzzy on the details, but everyone involved is three kinds of pissed.
“So you say, but just because you ignore the other side, doesn’t mean the other side ignores you. “ Aunt Syl replies, I could never quite place her accent, but it makes her statement all the more sinister.
“Might as well make that the family motto.
Syl, there are a couple dozen other kids Nikolas’ age in the family. Half of which are already hip deep in whatever is going on nowadays, you don’t need him. “ Mom isn’t pleading, but I can hear she’s worried.
“Why are we trying to reason with your crazy aunt? Time to go Syl. “ My dad isn’t worried, he’s angry.
“That’s two. “ Aunt Sylvia replies.
I hear a chair squeak then fall to the floor.
“That’s three. “ Sylvia says, her voice is cold, and I swear I could almost hear an echo.
I can hear my dad start to quietly cough, he sounds like he’s trying to talk but can’t. My heart starts to race, I don’t understand what’s going on, but I know it’s bad.
“Syl! Jesus Christ, that’s my husband. “ Mom sounds more offended than scared now. I wish I could say the same.
I stand next to my cracked door, fear beginning to take hold.
I can hear my dad start to take long wheezing breaths, I have no idea if this is a good or bad thing.
“Happy?
Now that any hope of doing this quietly is over, Nikolas and I have a long drive ahead of us. He’s 16, he has a license, yes? “ I hear Sylvia say, sudden footsteps walking up the stairs.
“No, he’s not interested in driving. You can’t take him Syl. “ my mom sounds frantic, Sylvia’s steps are measured and heavy.
“Not interested? You sure we are related? You raise soft children. “ Sylvia ends this with a dismissive laugh.
The few minutes that followed were kind of a blur, with my mom trying to convince me that I was just going to visit family, as if I didn’t just hear everything.
It's a couple hours into a long drive in a small car when my brain finally catches up to the fact that I’m awake, and going 30 miles an hour over the speed limit.
Aunt Syl sits in the driver’s seat, she’s 40 something, olive skinned with pitch-colored hair. Her style, it’s, something.
Her outfit was the middle of a Venn diagram of hippie, punk rock and carpenter. Bracelets, flannel, paisley, and enough piercings I lost count.
“Any chance of putting both hands on the wheel? “ I say, I’m mad, but I don’t even really know why.
She holds up her left arm, and I’m shocked. It’s an ancient looking blued steel prosthetic. She flexes, the clawed, almost mitten-like hand.
“Go through too many steering wheels that way. “ She says with a smirk.
“What’s going on? “ I ask, after an agonizing fifteen minutes of silence.
“You’re a big boy, so if you want the truth, I’ll give it to you. There’s a job that needs to be done, a dangerous job. And I want you to do it.
Now, I want you, not because you’re strong, or smart, or special. We have many strong, smart, special boys.
You, I want, because you’re unknown, and, little one, disposable. “ Sylvia lets this comment hang like rotten fruit.
The next hour goes in silence, at no point do I even entertain the notion this is some kind of joke. Something about this woman’s energy, about the way she carries herself, it scares the shit out of me.
We board a plane, somehow she had all of my travel documents. Even stranger is that we get escorted past the security checkpoints, into first class.
The next words I say to Sylvia are, “You have to put that out! “ as she lights up a short, yellow, hand-rolled cigarette.
She grins, taking a long drag, it smells horrible, the cheapest roughest tobacco odor I’ve encountered.
She relaxes, a cloud of thick, grey smoke forming.
I’m stunned, not a single person says anything. At first I think maybe she’s some kind of, I don’t know, mobster or something.
But that isn’t quite right. No one is looking at her in fear, no one is telling anyone else not to say anything. It’s like no one notices what she’s doing.
“How does she do this? The little boy wonders.
I don’t come offering you a thankless task Nik. I come with an opportunity. “ Sylvia says before crushing the cigarette on the arm of a chair and tossing it into the isle.
I had questions, and between the fear and the confusion I asked every one of them.
The only response she gave me was, “You’ll see when we get there. “.
She was right.
The flight lands, and after an hour or so of driving the world’s oldest pickup through the English countryside, we wind up at an old farm house, in the middle of nowhere outside of Hammersmith.
The sign outside says “ Gritt Auctions” the letters are old, bronze and tarnished, the grounds are littered with car parts, statues, and errata of every type.
Dozens, maybe even a hundred people mill about each stopping for a moment to give a suspicious look at the interloper in their midst.
Sylvia seems amused at my nervousness. I try and give the rough looking folks around me as much space as I can.
“They’re family, mostly, by blood or marriage, with a handful of lost souls and hangers on. “ She explains.
I probably should have guessed, seeing my mom’s family name on the sign, but my brain is basically nothing more than fear, anxiety and jet lag at this point.
“When do I get to know what’s going on? “ I say, waving at a cousin of some form and receive a uniquely English rude gesture in return.
My ear is ringing, and I stumble , the left side of my face burning. I’d say Syl slapped me, but it was more of a polite punch.
“Don’t whine. You’ve been stolen from your mother, treated like a dog, and judging by Robert’s attitude, rejected by your family.
I don’t want to hear whining, you angry, soft boy? “ Sylvia stops and turns toward me. I notice the people around us stop their tasks, interested in our conversation.
“No… “ I begin, not wanting to piss her off.
I don’t even see the next slap, but it puts me on my ass.
“Next one’s with the left hand.
Are you angry Nikolas? “ Sylvia looms over me like a raven.
I feel something before I get to my feet, a hot, quick flash of hatred. A context free rage at the fucked up situation I’m in.
“Answer is still no. Because to be angry, I’d have to know a God-Damned thing about what’s going on.
But my lunatic aunt just picked me up and now I’m standing in the middle of whatever the English equivalent to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre family is.
For all I know, I’m your new King. So no, I’m not angry, I’m annoyed, and maybe a bit worried my gene pool really needs some chlorine. “ I’m shocked at what I’m saying, but I see some smiles, hear a few laughs.
Sylvia’s face seems to soften slightly.
“There’s the Gritt in you. “ She says, starting to walk to an old barn.
I catch up to her as I attempt in vain to dust myself off.
Sylvia opens a small, strangely modern looking door, inside a row of lights automatically flip on.
In contrast to the rotten wood exterior, the inside of the barn looks modern, design wise it’s half way between a hospital and a car repair shop. Equipment of unknown purpose, gurneys and cages of all sizes and types surround me.
Sylvia walks to a door at the back, then pauses.
“Before I open this door, you need to understand something.
There is no fortune telling, or reading of cards here. The cloak of the traveller, the bangles of the gypsy, these are all ways of navigating the world to us. Ways to exist on the fringes of society.
The Gritt family, we trade in the unknown. We find, we collect, and we sell. And ours is no petty collection of trinkets and tools not meant for the hands of man.
Our grift, is livestock. “
The woman opens the door, and what I see, sitting, chained in one corner of the industrial cement walled cell shakes everything I thought I knew about reality.
He's six and a half feet tall, his skin a waxy yellow, and every spare inch is festooned with black stitching, rusted pieces of metal or small splinters of bone.
His face is noseless and asymmetrical, almost as if repaired or modified over and over. One eye is a small, sinister looking orb with a red pupil, the other a massive, almost reptilian thing, wildly twitching about.
He wears no shirt, but a long, grey hide Trenchcoat hangs down to his knees. I start to shake as I see it’s made from layers of stitched human skin.
He sneers at us, long, conical teeth catch the harsh halogen light.
The thing strains against the chains, but they bind him tightly enough to the wall he can barely move.
“You’re not lasting more than 4 seconds kid. Just turn the fuck around. I’ll have you slitting your wrists in the corner by nightfall. “ The thing says, it’s voice is foul, almost a physical force. Grating, rage filled, and with a lunatic edge to it that makes me question exactly how much those chains can take.
“ 3/10, Augustus, who do you think you are scaring with that limp dick of a threat? “ Sylvia says, confidently walking up to the creature.
It snaps it’s jaws with a sound like a rifle shot. No where near Sylvia, but enough to make me jump on the other side of the room.
“If I could stop being threatened and hearing my aunt talk about dicks, I’d be a huge fan. “ I say, something deep within me, pushing past the fear and lack of sleep, “And if anything feels like just telling me what’s going on instead of being vague and creepy, even better. “
The chained thing looks to me, curious. Sylvia smirks.
“Augustus is going to be forced to fight others like him until eventually he gets what’s coming to him for years of evil.
You, are going to stand next to him while he does it. “ Sylvia begins to walk away from the thing, ignoring vile threats of both the violent and carnal variety.
I try to follow her out the door and she blocks me.
“If your still sane and alive in the morning, I was right. Good luck soft boy. “ She says before closing the heavy metal door.
Without her, I feel tiny, that spark of rage is snuffed out and replaced with a cold sense of dread.
“You’re going to have to turn around sometime kid. “ The chained creature says.
I turn, slowly, resolving to make eye contact with the thing. I manage a second or two before looking away, the creature cackles, mocking me.
“Holy shit, they sent me an honest to God pussy. Whole family full of void fucked apes and they send me you?
The best part is, you don’t even get it. I can see what you’re thinking kid, I can see that tiny collection of hormones and goo you vainly call a brain going into overdrive trying to figure this out… “ Augustus starts.
The creature kept going, I don’t have an exact count but it was at least twelve hours.
I can only describe it as a verbal assault. Augustus drew from some dark wells, how it knew half of the things it did scared me as much as it’s clawed hands or, piranha-like teeth.
I lost something that night. The fears that thing drug up, the insecurities it played on, the secrets it knew, it crushed any childlike notions of safety or understanding the world I had.
Don’t take that the wrong way, I don’t mean it toughened me up. It broke any sense of confidence I had, took away any feeling of safety. That God Damned thing in the trenchcoat, changed me.
I’ve lost track of how long it’s been since I’ve slept, but I’m brought a tin plate heaped with eggs, sausage and for some twisted reason, brown beans. And realize it’s been at least a day since I’ve eaten.
I sit around an abused, graffiti carved picnic table with an eclectic combination of family I’ve never met. Syl sips a tea I can smell from ten feet away and looks at me like I’m a used car.
“I’m always right soft boy. Remember that. “ She says.
It takes a half dozen guys built like construction workers, with Sylvia following behind whispering things that wilt vegetation, to wrangle the creature into the back of an old, reinforced horse trailer.
The inside is covered in totems, runes, and other spooky looking errata. The entity becomes sluggish and disoriented as the heavy wooden doors close, and get sealed with a massive brass lock.
My mind begins to wander on the three hour trip through the back country of the UK. The sun sets, and my brain screams for sleep. That scream is silenced by the sense of mounting dread as we get closer to our destination.
We pull up to an abandoned theme restaurant, the parking lot is full, the windows are boarded, and the walls covered in graffiti. The place is huge, more the size of a small stadium than a diner.
The parking lot is full, the sputtering, sparking neon sign flashes “Faron’s Funhouse. “
It’s a few minutes outside of a town I forgot to catch the name of. We can see lights on the horizon, but there’s a feeling of wrong surrounding the building that makes them seem a million miles away.
A half dozen ‘cousins’ of mine move Augustus into a strange, almost coffin-like box made of wood, steel and glass, covered in trinkets and symbols. The thing sneers groggily from within, it’s mismatched eyes rolling in it’s skull.
I don’t hear Sylvia approach, I notice her as she smacks me in the back of the head hard enough to make my ears ring. The old, cruel woman is walking toward the doors of this meeting place.
“Eyes forward, sneer on your face, and walk like you know where you’re going. “ Are her only instructions.
For once, they’re clear and simple. What I see inside easily keeps my attention, and I’m equal parts scared and pissed off, so looking edgy and miserable is my default state.
At one point, this place was exactly what you’d think. I know you’re all expecting it to be a run down, rat infested haunted house now, but it was, stranger than that.
The place was well kept on the inside, but everything was either in use or repurposed to house the couple hundred eclectic customers milling around. In the centre, is a massive Lucite Cube, crystal clear and housing a ball pit, jungle gym and what looks to be a functional canteen, complete with a deep fryer and popcorn machine. It’s a couple hundred meters a side, and shaped like a flawed rectangle.
Smoke hangs in the air, my aunt greets old friends in a handful of different languages, I smile and nod, still trying to understand what the hell this place is.
We see Augustus being wheeled to the Lucite box, Sylvia cuts a laughing Cyrillic conversation short, and her and I make our way to the box that barely restrains the hatred and death inside.
At the other end of the Lucite Cube I see a few people dressed in blue and maroon uniforms ( if I were to guess vintage, from when this place served shitty food instead of violence.), they surround a massive, hulking, lanky thing. It’s obscured by smoke, and poor lighting, but it’s nine foot frame, and unnatural gait are clear.
The box holding Augustus sits about ten feet away from me, inside the massive cage. The front opens, my instinct is to step backward, get as much distance between me and the thing inside as possible, but instead, I’m shoved, before I can catch my balance, a workbook clad foot is in front of me.
I fall and stumble into the cage, I turn around to try and get out as fast as I can, I’m standing inches away from the creature, but I see Sylvia closing the clear, impermeable door.
It hits me then. For the first time since this ordeal started, I realize how grim things are.
Just like everyone else here, I’ve been raised on spooky shit packaged to be marketable. Little monsters, The Adams Family, Harry potter, hell let’s throw Pokemon and the like in there as it’s basically just dog fighting with a cute hat on.
And I thought what was happening to me, was somewhere on the Venn diagram of those things.
But as I see the impassive look on the face of a woman I’ve known since I was a child, ( at a distance or no.) as I’m locked in here with God knows what, I get it. I really get it.
His laughter is like an ice pick, I turn to face him, Augustus brushes himself off, casually looking around the massive arena.
“Just hit ya didn’t it, bud? “ He says, walking over to me, his steps impossibly quick, almost insect-like, “You’re not my trainer, or my wrangler, you certainly aren’t my fucking partner. “, the entity grabs my chin between two clawed fingers, “ You’re a bait dog. Something for me and that new blooded walking pun to fight over. “
My blood runs down his thumb, his grin cracks his face like a rotten melon, the monster pulls down, throwing me to the floor.
A buzzer sounds, and a three minute timer, projected in transparent red appears on the walls of the Lucite arena.
“If I’ve got to hunt you down in this shit-hole, things are going to be a lot worse for you. Stay put, bud. “ The trenchcoat clad thing says, casually walking toward the creature on the opposite side of the arena.
Closer now, I see it clearly. Inside of a pristine uniform, is a twisted attempt at the human form. The torso is lumpen, asymmetrical, but lean. It's arms nearly drag on the floor, yellow, infected looking flesh, weeping pus like a snail’s foot.
It's eyes are black caves, with just the hint of something deep within. It’s face is blank, a torn, haggard looking grey tongue runs over rotting green teeth.
The kid beside it looks around my age, he’s big though, just as confused and afraid as I am. He wears a similar uniform to the creature, but his looks, abused, torn, blood stained. Like it's been handed down from one unlucky owner to the next.
As the buzzer rings, the lanky, disgusting creature moves in a flash, tearing off the kid’s right arm and beginning to chew it.
The blood didn’t set me off, as terrible as it was. It was the three seconds between the act, and the poor kid realizing what happened that pushed me over the edge.
He started to scream, a horrible trapped animal kind of noise. He backs away from the monster beside him, gripping the crushed and torn remains of his forearm.
Augustus laughs, his trenchcoat drags on the floor, leaving a streak of blood as he walks.
“Man after my own heart.
So, I say, we split these sides of beef for two minutes then talk shop for a bit. Fuck these pretentious apes and their show. “ Augustus looks up to the massive thing. It remains impassive, gnawing on the hand.
“Don’t be like that. We both know two halves are better than one whole . Win-win for both of us“ Augustus gets a noise that sounds like an angry sewer pipe, and a dismissive wave of a long snake-like arm in response.
The thing in the trenchcoat shrugs, turning around and stalking toward me.
“You have no luck at all kid, I was going to let you go last.
But the pinworm back there wants to be a dick about things, so looks like things are getting started early. “ Augustus grins, his mouth opening shark like.
I stare down certain death, Augustus radiating fear, seeming to become more demonic with each step toward me.
From behind him, a noise.
I would have just assumed it was some part of the worm-like, filth ridden thing eating. Augustus clears up that misconception.
He turns, shaking, body language that of a wild animal.
“Was that a fucking snicker? A giggle? Are you fucking laughing at me, you literal fucking worm. “ He’s panting, hands twitching like dying insects.
He stands, inches from the other creature, dwarfed by it, teeth grinding, muscles straining.
The worm thing casually tosses the flesh bare hand toward Augustus. As it touches his coat, the arena erupts into a kind of wild, senseless, limitless violence.
It doesn’t feel like watching a fight, it’s more like a car wreck, or natural disaster. Pieces of jungle gym turn into lethal shrapnel as the blurred, filth spewing scrum destroys them.
I see the timer, 2:15. My mind starts to catch up, and I see the other kid, pale, whimpering, and trying in vain to staunch the blood spurting from his arm.
I’m running, low and likely poorly, pulling my belt from my pants, and thanking myself for actually listening when I was forced to take a first aid course for a summer job last year.
The kid is scared, he tries pushing me away, but I’m determined, and not down a couple pints of blood. I pull the belt with two hands, pull it through again and twist, it’s ugly, it’s not perfect, but the flow of blood begins to slow, then stop.
We crawl behind a prize counter, decades old candy and stuffed animals surround us as we cower. A liquid filled roar loud enough to crack the cheap glass cases fills the room.
The kid is looking rough, blood still trickling from the torn stump of his forearm. I see some plastic bags and get an idea.
I lean over to get them, and feel something strange, at first I think I pulled a muscle.
Then there is a deep, burning pain, instinctively I pull away, and turn around.
The kid is on his knees, sanity has left his eyes, a cheap hunting knife in his remaining hand he has a look of panic and determination on his face.
“We have to win. “ he says, lunging at me with the blade.
He’s slow, and I avoid it, but not by as much as I’d like. Blood runs down my back, for a moment I wonder how bad I’m hurt, but it doesn’t really matter right now.
I retreat, but the only thing keeping us from being torn apart by the whirlwind of shrapnel caused by the creatures is the counter, I can’t escape.
It's a stalemate, I’m no athlete, and the kid is built like a rugby player, but he’s missing a hand, and delirious from blood loss. I plead, I try and reason, and I dodge crazed strikes by increasingly narrow margins.
Something large, either thrown or knocked loose destroys the counter behind me. Suddenly all is chaos. I’m thrown into the kid in the uniform, plaster dust surrounds us in a grey cloud.
By the time the air clears the kid is on top of me. I have his wrist in one hand, keeping the split tip of the blade inches from my face.
The angle is too awkward, I can’t get any leverage. It’s not a stalemate, it’s a war of attrition that I’m losing.
I catch a glimpse of the two creatures. The worm thing is striking at Augustus, who stands still, limbs moving in arcing blurs deflecting the blows and tearing off chunks of foul, tainted flesh.
The tip of the knife begins to dig into my cheek. A drop of blood hits my eye.
I grab the makeshift tourniquet with a free hand and roughly yank forward. The kid on top of me screams, bloods begins to pour. Torn flesh and a gore soaked belt hit the ground.
For a moment the weight on me eases up, and I push the knife forward. But the kid, he’s too stupid or far gone to just back off. As I feel is strength start to fade, he presses himself harder.
I expect him to back off as I begin to drive the roughly sharpened back edge of the knife into his neck. But he doubles down, leaning forward, trying to press the knife toward me.
For a moment, every other fucked up thing going on around me doesn’t matter. The world is small, silent, and consists of nothing more than the image of the knife ripping away a fist sized strip from the kids neck.
He backs off when he realizes the extent of the damage. Staring at me shocked, as if just not realizing the consequences of his actions.
He dies slowly, poorly, and within inches of me. I feel no victory, no sense of being a winner, just a dark pit in the back of my mind. The loss of something that comes with taking someone’s life.
I stand, shell shocked, staring at the corpse. My safety the last thing on my mind.
The worm thing is hurt, and attempts to dive into the ball pit, but somehow, defying physics, Augustus grabs it, holding the half ton monster out with one hand.
He arcs the thing, slamming it into the floor behind him, the spray of gore and viscera rivals pyrotechnics, the force leaves a blood filled crater in the floor.
Without missing a beat Augustus starts to walk toward me, making a token effort of flicking pieces of bone and organ from himself.
I’m frozen, I know nothing I can do could stop whatever he has planned.
The creature picks up a jagged piece of lumber, and looks at the clock, “We’ve got 45 seconds of fun left kid. “ he says with a sneer.
But as he passes the counter, and sees the corpse the look of imminent violence turns into amusement.
“How’s it feel to be a child killer, bud? “, Augustus laughs, “Not that I can’t tell from the look on your face.
Fuck me, that knocked some gears loose didn’t it? “
The thing walks forward, looking me over like a collectable.
“I can’t let that go to waste, now can I? “ he slaps me lightly, “It’s going to be a fucking blast watching you break down kid, wonder what drives you nuts first, this kid being in your dreams, or the fact that, at some point I’m going to get bored and start giving you all the pain you feel you deserve? “
Of course, I made it out alive. It’d be kind of hard to have posted this if I didn’t.
But now, I sit in a dingy room in a farm house half way across the world from home. Surrounded by family and monsters, all of which seem out to get me. Being forced to risk my life in some kind of blood sport.
Maybe I’ll be back, maybe I’ll be dead by the next time I get a chance to post anything. If anyone has any help, please, post it in the comments. I’m in a dark place here and no one else seems to be on my side.

I'm trying to find a novel/novels I read online a couple of years ago. The story is about a young man who is dying and has to go into a medical virtual reality pod to extend his life.The VR world is fantasy based. His father owns the company that makes the pods and they live in a castle IRL. His mother was killed in a bombing. The villains are a father and son who blame the company for their relatives death because she was with the MC'S mother during the bombing.

Calling all love and affection enthusiasts! Agent Twilight, hailing from the clandestine realm of SpyxFamily, embarks on a covert mission to unearth the perfect partner. If you possess the elusive blend of stealthy charm and wit, join forces with Agent Twilight for a romantic espionage adventure! Decode the secrets of our hearts together by applying within.
If you get the reference, I like you already! If you don't, that's okay but I definitely recommend watching SpyxFamily! It's an extremely cute and wholesome anime! On a serious note, falling in love sounds great right about now, okay but like when does it never? Let me go buy you your favorite flowers, get your favorite chocolates, and take you out on a cute, romantic date that will last for the whole day! I will take the time to plan everything out and if it goes great, maybe a second date too? Possibly fall madly in love with each other in the process? Sounds good with you? Bet, let's go!
I'm looking for a potential long-term partner to go on cute dates together, cozy up with some cuddles while we watch movies/shows and just be cute overall together! I'm hoping to meet someone who I can connect and vibe with! Down below is some stuff about me and what I'm looking for in a partner!
Here's a little about myself:

• Age: 23
• Height: 5'10"
• Sexuality: Straight
• Gender: Male
• Pronouns: He/Him
• Ethnicity: Chinese American
• Location: New York City
• Zodiac: Aries
• MBTI/Enneagram: ESFP-T & 2w3
• Religion: Agnostic
• Love Language: Quality Time & Physical Touch
• Occupation: Accountant
• Hobbies:
  • I love watching all kinds of shows and movies ranging from Netflix/Hulu/Disney+/HBO Max to kdramas and animes! I'm also a huge Star Wars, Harry Potter (I'm in the House of Hufflepuff), MCU, and Studio Ghibili fan too!
  • I'm a huge foodie! I love exploring all the restaurants and hidden spots in NYC especially to try out new places which includes dessert and boba spots too! My favorite foods usually start with Asian foods but I'm always open to trying new things! I’m also trying to learn how to cook as well, especially so I can meal prep meals for myself throughout the week.
  • I love exploring the city and chilling with friends, however I do like a balance going on adventures around the city/world and relaxing at home.
  • I do photography on the side. I specialize in doing portrait, food and film photography! If you'd like to see some of my work please don't hesitate to ask me!
  • I'm a gamer as well! I play games like Honkai Star Rail, Azur Lane, Nikke, LoL, TFT, Valorant, , Destiny 2, overwatch 2, Minecraft, etc. but I also own consoles such as the switch!
  • I really enjoy building different things especially Lego's, PC's and keyboards! If you want to see some pics or hear about my specs happy to talk about it! I have a massive lego collection plus plenty of unopened sets waiting to be built.
  • I’m not exactly sure if this is considered to be a hobby, but I really enjoy going to the gym. I’m not some gym rat or anything, but I am trying to lose weight and get fit so I do a mix of weightlifting and cardio whenever I go which is 5x a week haha. I’ve kept a very consistent M-F schedule for the past month and a half so far so I’m pretty happy about that.
  • I don’t really do a whole lot of this, but I however do want to make this a big part of my lifestyle which is having a better skincare routine. While I do have a very minimum skincare routine, I’d very much love to learn how to improve my skin and also fix the scarring and acne I already had. If you’re someone who knows and loves doing skincare, I’d very much love to learn from you!
  • I’m not sure if listening to music is considered a hobby, but I love listening to all kinds of music ranging from American pop modern to like kpop and jpop songs! I also really enjoy classical music too! Crazy enough I just started going to concerts last year, mainly because some of them were free for me (perks of my job) but they were super fun!

Here are some Fun Facts about me!

• I've never been out of the country before but I would love to travel more one day, especially around Asia like South Korea, China, & Japan!
• I was born on Friday the 13th!
• I played piano for about 14 years and plus I also know how to play 3 other instruments too! Can you guess what they are? Also crazy enough, I met this pianist who made song covers on youtube recently and not gonna lie, it blew my mind since i watched their videos years ago.
• I'm a pet owner! I have a dog and 4 cats.
• I know how to solve a 3x3 Rubik's cube and my fastest time was 28 seconds but that was ages ago.
• I really like to collect a lot of cute pins and stickers especially from anime or Asian theme things.
• I’ve met Eric Nam and Ronny Chieng, if you’re Asian, you’ll probably know who they are.
• This is more of a League/Valorant reference for those who play, but I have the Riot Buddy and Riot Fist Bump Ward.
• Personality wise, my friends would describe me as someone who is open-minded, wholesome, sweet, easy to talk to, outgoing, empathetic, trustworthy, etc. I will however let my actions speak for itself though! I'm a great listener as well so if you want to rant/ vent out I'm always here to listen! Honestly though I'm a pretty open person overall so you're always welcome to ask me any questions you wish to know!

Here is who and what I am looking for:

• Someone to build a genuine connection with who is willing to reciprocate the time, effort and energy, I'd put in.
• Someone who can be both a best friend and my partner.
• Someone who can grow together with me to become both a better individual but also better partners too.
• Has similar interests and values as I do! (We can discuss this more in depth later) but for example someone who values transparency, open communication, honesty, trust, loyalty, etc.
• Loves and enjoys voice/video chat - I really enjoy having my partner's presence even if we aren’t exactly talking.
• Enjoys the little things in life. Since my love language is quality time, I personally don’t expect to always do something grand whenever we’re together. I’m always more than happy to be doing grocery shopping together or even just run errands.
• Possibly a gym partner. It’d honestly be nice to have a gym partner as well to workout together.
• I'm a huge hopeless romantic and would love to meet someone who is also a hopeless romantic as well! I absolutely love doing all those cute and romantic couple things you'd always see on like Tik Tok, kdramas and/or romance shows/movies! You know things like , going on cute dates together whether that would be dates in the city or dates at home, exploring the city/ world together, trying new things together and overall just making everlasting fun cute memories together that will last a lifetime!

If you have gotten this far and you feel like we can vibe well or share some common interests please don't hesitate to hit me up! You can send me a message through reddit chat or DM's whichever you prefer. Before you do message me though please tell me about yourself and also include your ASL, favorite foods and ideal kind of date so I know you've read all of this! DO NOT message me with just "Hi", "Hey", "How are you" or any kind of low effort message. I will not bother answering your message if you do that. Also I am strictly looking for females, if you are a male, please do not bother messaging me. I can't wait to hear from you! I hope you have an amazing and wonderful day!

Me (23M) and my girlfriend (24W) have been together for almost 8 months now. Planning on even moving in together in a few months. Things are generally great between us. We get along fantastic and have a very satisfying and fufilling life both sexually and romantically. She is on a traditional oral birth control. Today, I casually mentioned that there are a growing number of men who don't want to get married to women while they are on homronal birth control because it can significantly change their partner selection and even parts of their personality. She lightly asked "well what do you think?" And I mostly implied that I agreed, and I would be more comfortable marrying her if she switched to a Copper IUD (non-hormonal). I figured it was best to address it now, when marriage isn't in the cards for at least another year or two. It wasn't a hotile interaction at all - but she seems pretty put-off that I would refuse to marry someone I say I love (which I do) simply because of the form of BC she is on.
I am generally very well-read on the topics of neurotransmitters and hormones (as a hobby of mine), whereas she is not, so to her this appears to be a large overreaction. However, hormones are some pretty powerful shit. It seems incomprehendable to her that she could become unattracted to me or have her personality change simply because she doesn't take one pill anymore.
However, there are a LARGE amount of anecdotal reports of women who are on birth control, marry their S/O, come off of their BC, and then will end up posting on a forum something along the lines of "I still love my partner to death, but I am simply not attracted to them anymore. Help?" Link, link, link, link. Study link. For the vast majority of these cases, women are dating men who are more "Timothée Chalamet" type (smaller, less masculine) and come off of birth control and find themselves more attracted to "Channing Tatum" type men. I find some recourse here, as I am MUCH more on the Channing Tatum side of the spectrum. Still, though, is this a valid thing for a man to ask? Would she marry me if I was pumping myself full of steroids and told her I'd be coming off as soon as we got married to have kids?
TL;DR: AITAH for wanting my GF to be on a non-hormonal form of BC before we got married? Or am I "too-online" and letting a few anecdotes force my GF into getting a painful procedure?

As I barrel to the end of my 20's, the desire to share experiences of the day-to-days only ever grows stronger. At the moment, I only share this journey with my two cats. I recently got a new job that led me back home to the Central Texas area. Lately I have been enjoying playing hockey and been having a blast meeting all the new people. Some other things I enjoy doing is going to different coffee shops and judging how well of an environment it is to read. Currently I am reading the Harry Potter series for the first time and would enjoy having someone to talk about it. One of my other hobbies includes cooking and trying out different recipes. I like to travel to different American Cities and explore their history, especially in the Mid-West and New England area.
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Now I really could write a lot more, but that really starts taking away from the fun of having "get to know you" conversation. Now if any of this has grabbed your attention, don't be afraid to go ahead and send me a chat, even if it is just a hey. Also don't be afraid to let me know what you look like.
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Here is me: https://imgur.com/a/5Ay1bU7
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I need help figuring out my type. after months of (casual) reading into socionics, and some superficial introspection, I have concluded I fit generally into ESE. but I often doubt my own judgment, and I'm very unsure of myself, (and also intellectually dependent on others, but more on that later lol) I wanted a second opinion. I'll be listing off random observations of my behaviocognition/some things about myself off the top of my head, and I hope the more knowledgeable people here could assess me based on those things. I know that it isn't enough to really understand someone and you could never really know a stranger through some post online, but like I said, I just need a second opinion/perspective to get some insight and this post is rather an experimental attempt to help me in typing myself correctly. and since the information may not be enough, I give liberty to assume things about me/my personality or nature based on what I say/claim about myself, and I also would like complete/brutal honesty, maybe I'd find out something I didn't realize about myself before. but just give a heads-up when you type me based on those assumptions. I'm a bit young, and my identity is unclear and unstable, sorry if I may come across as inept in describing/explaining myself, and excuse me if I make mistakes/contradicting statements, I really don't know myself that well and just say whatever comes to mind. I rant and ramble a lot, and I would often go on random tangents. so, if this post is too long for you, and you want to comment, just read the first part of every paragraph or skim through it, and give your take if you'd like. and if you have any questions, ask away.

• I'm generally very indecisive due to the fear of being wrong, so I often fall into this state of ambivalence about most things. I hate assuming things quickly/making hasty judgments. paradoxically, though, I hate uncertainty very much, and I'm very impulsive and would rush into things/judge quickly. and most of the time I tend to think quickly about things and I'm very impatient with sitting down and thinking with myself/introspection, and I generally hate thinking about things for an extended period of time, because I often feel like I already get the jist of it and I want to move on. and I would assume/judge rapidly and excessively in situations of anxiety or fear if that makes sense. I'm a hypochondriac, and I think in terms of 'what if' a lot (maybe just as a precaution), so I would often assume the worst, or at least the possibility of a terrible disease/prospective event would loom over my head all the time that I would find myself considering it and panicking, and would need reassurance/evidence that it isn't true. and I often have this paranoid thing where I project my thoughts and fears into others and think they see me in a certain way/badly, and read into remarks, things, and situations too much and sometimes things that just aren't there, which makes me very socially anxious and shy, which I generally am. when decisions are too complex or difficult to make, I would go back into indecisiveness and procrastinate/postpone it for a long time because I feel it is too burdensome/big for me.
• I think I am socially perceptive and understand atmospheres, societal rules/etiquette, and what people are thinking or feeling through their expressions, body language, and what they say, even though sometimes my perception could be warped due to anxiety. I don't think I completely understand and get others, it's rather a situation-by-situation basis (does that sentence even make sense? not sure). mentioning social anxiety, although I fear social interactions due to my low self-esteem and lack of any social experience, I think I'm social in the way that when I am in an environment I'm comfortable in, I am very energetic and talkative, to the point of annoying/irritating those around me, I cannot sit still and always have to do something. I always like to do something with my body and I love physical activities. I also really love singing, and it's childish, but I would start singing and humming randomly every day, it's become a habit of mine for years. I think I know how to make others enjoy themselves and be entertaining, and would often use silly/shocking humor to create an energetic or comfortable atmosphere if that makes sense. I think I'm quite expressive, I tend to speak fast when I'm excited or general to get all the words out before I forget to the point of being incomprehensible to others, I would also express and describe things excessively like I'm doing right now in this post, lol, to leave no room for doubt I think. I always share anything that I've learned or seen, and anything that comes to mind with others, and it's hard to keep anything to myself. I like to share my interests and likes and dislikes a lot, and if given the chance, I would sit and speak for hours about them. in general, I really can't sit alone with myself and without talking to someone, it drives me insane. though, I am afraid of being sincere/honest/vulnerable with others, and like to keep certain thoughts and aspects of myself, to myself. and I hate it so much and feel genuinely indignant when others notice and find out those things about me without me telling them, especially when they point it out and act like they know who I am because they can be spot-on sometimes, which makes me feel even more upset. and, although I love attention, I hate directing focus to me/being in the spotlight to not disappoint those who are interested in listening to me because I think I would be too dull or boring for them, but that's a common experience I think. I would also get others to talk about themselves a lot so they would enjoy the validation I give them and in turn, enjoy my company.
• I'm very envious of others, and anyone who I perceive as better than me, especially in terms of intelligence and personality, specifically someone similar to me in certain areas. I would become very upset and frustrated. it's to the point where only envy and the desire to become better are the only things that motivate me to get better or work hard. I often feel this need to be better, I cannot accept the idea that I can be below others. I guess I'm entitled/egotistic in a way. I also feel envious of people belonging to similar groups as me and the same age having had more experiences in life.
• I'm very intellectually dependent and generally lack any kind of dependence, unfortunately. I'm probably going too hard with the self-criticism, but I'm quite conforming and fear social judgment/pressure, and particularly shame, so I would be unwilling/afraid to voice a differing/controversial opinion and affect people's opinion and favor towards me. I'm very self-conscious about how I am perceived, and I hate disappointing others. and even though I hold socially "unacceptable" opinions and think others are wrong, I would let them be and just agree for the sake of harmony, and even feed into their wrong beliefs with anecdotes and remarks to please them, even if I, mentally, vehemently disagree, as I really want to be liked by others/people-pleasing. it's a bit like I don't bother explaining myself because I know no one will get it and it's better to make others happy and/or okay with me. and I have this problem where I would focus on conforming to the collective thought and the majority's opinions out of the (stupid) mindset that, because it's popular, it is often the right opinion. so, when I hold a differing opinion or a thought, it would frequently be squashed and ignored in my mind quickly, and I would adopt others' mindsets/opinions. and when I see others speaking out confidently with the same ideas I was afraid to speak for, I feel bad about myself and frustrated for being such a sheep/lacking confidence, lol. it seems that I often am weak/impatient in terms of logic and often leave the thinking for others, and I would need to seek validation for any observation I make or conclusion I reach. and even then, I also rely on others with ethical issues, where I would wait for others to decide/discuss if something is "good or bad" before I take my stance. this type of behavior is also present in my interests/hobbies. it's a little weird, but I would find myself paying attention to the reception of the media I consume, and I would get a kick out of watching others enjoy/appreciate something even if my true level of interest is low, and my interest/liking to that thing would increase drastically when it's well-liked. on the opposite end, if the reception is bad, it would heavily influence my opinion even if I personally liked something or thought it was good. I would think maybe I didn't pay attention/didn't notice something about said media, and chalk it up to lacking media literacy, I'm intellectually dependent in that aspect also, where I would trust others' minds more than my own due to insecurities around my intelligence probably. but contrastingly, when I truly like something, or have a hobby/interest, I'm quite weirdly possessive and competitive about it, like it's my work/duty, and hate that others consume/enjoy it the same way as I do, and I hate the thought that someone understands and appreciates my interests more than me. it's like I attribute it to my identity, and no one else could have it. this is probably to compensate for something, maybe it's that I feel like I lack any redeemable qualities and need to compensate (sorry for using this word so many times.) for my lack of self-worth. I'm trying to change this, as it's a detestable and bothersome trait that I would not like to be at the receiving end of. if you've read this far, I'm sure you really dislike me based on this.
• I also think I lack real intellectual curiosity, and that I am more superficial than I'd like to admit to myself. I used to take pride in my intelligence but now I am very insecure about it and have feelings of inferiority regarding my competence. now, it feels like I try hard to sound and seem smart and "deep" to make up for those feelings. I often get into philosophical/metaphysical discussions and make up theories about random things, and talk a lot of jargon probably in a silly attempt to feed my ego, and rather use it to "Adorn" my identity and personality, which is something I do a lot. I'm also very afraid of being dumb, and if I notice any slight difference in my cognitive performance, I panic over becoming dumber. if I'm not satisfied with my mind/mental state, life just becomes completely pointless/meaningless for me.
• I like to think I, or at least used to (I now have a bad case of brain fog, lol) make sharp observations. I also used to think I make connections and gauge fundamental ideas/patterns well, but now I suffer from brain fog and I don't think I'm like that anymore. and, for what it's worth, my sister told me I'm good at analysis, and criticism too. it boosted my ego because it is related to my intelligence. (kind of the same as "my mom told me I'm handsome" but she totally meant it, I swear!)
• I'm often cheerful/stable and don't like to linger for too long in states of despair and pessimism and I hate that kind of mindset because I see it's too pointless and people should focus and seek the good things in life. it's just an automatic thought for me, though I know it's too superficial. But I do really hate negativity and staunchly cold and pessimistic things. in the media, like books or movies, I consume, I prefer more "hopeful," intense, and emotionally charged storylines that focus on people and interpersonal affairs, and I find myself not very interested in detached and cold, plot-driven, intellectual works even if well-written, if that makes sense. even if the narrative is inherently meant to be melancholic/tragic, I would enjoy the intensity and dramatism of it, as long as it is involved with the characters and their feelings. I guess I'd enjoy it/get immersed only as long as it's emotionally expressive, to a degree.
• my feelings towards others and level of empathy are swayed by my mood at the moment, I disconnect from people when I'm troubled or in a bad mental state, where I just focus on myself and disregard others. I would even lose interest and feelings towards people I care about sometimes when I'm not in a very good mood, but maybe it is due to other mental issues or an unstable connection with others.
• I consider myself open-minded to a degree, and I don't have any strong opinions, and it's easy for me to change my mind unless it is something that restricts my desires and freedom. otherwise, I don't put too much value on any opinion because I'm never certain of anything/don't really believe anything is constant. I also feel like I'm really malleable logically and ethically, and can be swayed and influenced by others heavily. I would often speak out in extremes, and say things I don't mean, but in my mind, I never really seriously judge someone on their actions, moral-wise, and I don't think I inherently think of anyone as good or bad, or rather, my opinions are dictated by the judgments of others in that case. it might just be my sense of morality hasn't developed fully yet. I'm not very logical/moralistic in my decisions, and often just follow my heart and desires, and when I judge others, it is situational and depending on the person, and I tend to be subjective/emotional. All in all, I do not find myself often, I won't say rarely, getting upset at a perceived wrongdoing of another person, I don't get seriously angry or feel vengeful, though I used to be. but now more often I feel pity and sympathy for the wronged. when I do something that is perceived as wrong, I might use logic to justify/rationalize my behavior. it's not that I don't have values or principles, I do have a rather strong belief against hurting others and/or restricting their freedom and desires as I wish for myself, and people who do so or use violence for the sake of any idea, belief, ideology, etc., I just don't get, and the logic is fuzzy to me. I generally am averse to extremism of any kind, I feel that believing yourself to be so right is insane and dangerous, and I'm very open about criticizing the fault and/or illogicality in such mindsets. I tend to have the urge to be contrarian and contradict others who make definitive statements and claim things/make generalizations because I hate absolutes, but I'm unsure how prominent this trait is in me, though. I also tend to be passive-aggressive/ironic in arguments or when discussing controversial topics when I feel like I'm being shut down or unjustly oppressed. I'm unsure about any of this, or if it is true, honestly, I might just be rambling lol.
• as a child, I used to be very angry, selfish, and demanding, and I would be stubborn and act out to get what I wanted. I had this mindset that when I wanted something, I could sway my parents at any time to get it. I used to be a brat and caused trouble for those around me. I was neurotic and very envious and would get very angry when my sister got more than me or perceived any favoritism, and I would demand the same things and treatment to become equal. now I'm more peaceful, and agreeable, and I rarely get angry, and it seems those feelings of entitlement and jealousy are more internalized now.
• I'm very messy and forgetful, so my environment is usually really disorganized. I lack interest in household chores or taking care of my surroundings, It's most likely just my laziness, but I'm very careless, probably because I don't consider it important or a priority at all. and I'm trying to work on that to not burden those around me, as I often leave those responsibilities for others to take care of, which I'm aware is shitty. I'm not diagnosed, and I doubt I have it, but I display behavioral symptoms of ADHD. I fidget and move a lot, I act and speak without thinking, and I'm generally "disruptive."
• my biggest fears are death and illness, or the process of dying from illness. it is extremely grim to me. in general, I'm just afraid of suddenly dying without realizing it when I'm so dissatisfied with myself and life and have not achieved anything. Also, the idea of death is quite lonely to me, it feels like my mind and consciousness is this shelter that protects me, or rather, all that I have. then when I die, nothing will be left of me, it's hard to explain, but it's like letting go of your form and mind and becoming nothing is, dare I say, scary.
• I'm sensitive to criticism, and any remark would stick with me for a long time, because I focus a lot on what others think of me, unsurprisingly. I guess it's because I have a fragile ego and I can be very self-centered and self-absorbed. I know how bad I am to an extent, yet I can be too defensive on things I know I should admit and work on. this is paradoxical but I lack self-awareness in the way that I know most of my flaws and character but I feel comfortable about it instead of really realizing and grasping how bad it is/how it comes off to others and negatively affects those around me, sometimes at least. I can fall into self-pity whenever I am attacked or such traits have been pointed out, and my "facade" has been torn down, even though I know I'm in the wrong, I still feel undeserving to be put in such an embarrassing and humiliating position. I hate being sincere because I'm afraid it would be used against me and change the dynamic of a relationship I have where it would feel almost patronizing. I hate that "I know who you are and what you're all about" feeling, I guess. it's almost like I fear others really understanding me because I know I'm not really good/not okay with myself. I would direct blame onto others/project my dissatisfaction and be indifferent to my wrongdoings in a way.
• because of my low self-esteem, as a self-defense mechanism of sorts, I beat someone to any criticism and use self-deprecating humor to seem immune to any criticism or insecurities I might get called out on, and it is also an attempt at practicing excessive humility to be more likable.
  
• other traits I hate in others are being hypocritical, unreasonable/illogical, excessively vengeful and hateful, extreme/cruel, using force with others, selfishness, phoniness, smugness insincerity, overconfidence, and egotism (I'm probably guilty of most of what I've listed off so far) I know these are generally dislikable traits, but they particularly tick me off, not much, just in comparison to any other trait in a person. I hate it when people act too haughty or separate, or like they are above others. I prefer a sense of community even though I'd like to be individualistic and "Special," but maybe I'm just resentful of actual special people lol. also, people who are too taciturn/mysterious provoke me a lot, I don't know why. like, why are you acting so smug, what are you hiding and what are you?!
  
• I'm very indulgent when it comes to food and eat for fun, out of boredom, and for enjoyment. I also use it to soothe myself and I eat excessively when distressed. I used to not be able to control myself, but when I started to worry about my weight and appearance, I could restrain myself now much better.
  
• I tend to group, categorize, and generalize people and see them in a certain way even if I'm aware of their unique character, but I almost intuitively believe/perceive they must have certain characteristics and nature if they belong to a certain group. but I do know it is idiotic and wrong, and I never treat others differently or think to based on such conceptions, and such thoughts would be followed with an automatic response of, "Not all x are y" in my mind. I'm trying to change and I want to treat others more as individuals.
  
• this is generic and probably unhelpful, but, I'm often very dissatisfied with my life and myself, and I want to improve and do better. I always sense that I do not do anything "Well enough" and did not live up to a certain expectation. I never do anything about these feelings, and never put in any effort, though, to the point where it seems like I'm actually content with how I am/my life.
  

I think I've made this long enough. what do you think? I'm sorry if my descriptions are too negative/distasteful as I'm just trying to be honest.

N.B.: I'm mainly looking for the games listed in the title and at the bottom of the thread. Feel free to post other offers, but if I haven't responded to your comment(s) by my next posting, I likely wasn't able to find a trade that interested me.
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For sale (for Steam Gift Cards or gifted Steam Wallet balance):
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• Dark Souls™: Prepare To Die™ Edition (removed from Steam Store; $350 $400 or best offer)
• Fall Guys (removed from Steam Store)
• Fall Guys - Dragon Hugger Pack (removed from Steam Store)
• Fall Guys - Icy Adventure Pack (removed from Steam Store)
• Marvel's Avengers - The Definitive Edition (removed from Steam Store)
• Spec Ops: The Line (removed from Steam Store)

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• Humble Hunie Sakura Bundle (can also trade for a full "charity" bundle (Australia Fire Relief Bundle or similar))
• Humble Sekai Project Bundle (can also trade for a full "charity" bundle (Stand with Ukraine Bundle or similar))

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For trade:
*signifies that a game is tentatively up for trade, assuming I buy the bundle
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• Nioh 2 – The Complete Edition
• Soulstice
• Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin – Ultimate Edition

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• A Little to the Left
• Black Book

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• Superliminal
• The Talos Principle Gold Edition
• The Witness

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• Destroy All Humans! 2 - Reprobed
• Life is Strange: True Colors
• Scorn
• There Is No Light: Enhanced Edition

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• Hellpoint
• Remnant: From the Ashes
• Tails of Iron

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• Hell Pie
• OTXO
• The Red Lantern
• Twin Mirror

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• Arkham Horror: Mother's Embrace
• Blood Rage: Digital Edition
• Gloomhaven - Solo Scenarios: Mercenary Challenges
• Small World
• Small World - A Spider's Web
• Small World - Be not Afraid...
• Small World - Cursed!
• Small World - Grand Dames
• Small World - Royal Bonus
• Splendor
• Splendor - The Cities
• Splendor - The Strongholds
• Splendor - The Trading Posts
• Terraforming Mars

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• A Short Hike(?)
• A Story Beside(?)
• Aces & Adventures(?)
• Arcade Spirits(?)
• Battlestar Galactica Deadlock(?)
• Beyond Blue(?)
• Cat Quest(?)
• Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?!(?)
• EARTHLOCK(?)
• Harmony's Odyssey(?)
• Homeworld Remastered Collection(?)
• Lacuna – A Sci-Fi Noir Adventure(?)
• Minecraft: Java Edition - MCC Island Jingle Jam Rewards Pack(?)
• Monster Prom(?)
• Sifu Deluxe Cosmetic Pack(?)
• Spirit of the Island(?)
• SUPERHOT(?)
• Tinytopia(?)
• Toodee and Topdee(?)
• Train Valley 2(?)
• Turbo Golf Racing(?)
• Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story(?)
• Xenonauts(?)

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• Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs

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• Dark Deity
• Edge Of Eternity
• Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising

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• CRYPTARK
• Dead Estate
• Paint the Town Red

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• Lost Castle
• My Time At Portia

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• Toodee and Topdee

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• WWE 2K23

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• Chivalry 2
• Disco Elysium - The Final Cut
• The Forgotten City
• GRIME
• Spiritfarer®: Farewell Edition

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• Back 4 Blood
• Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition
• Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition
• Batman: Arkham Knight Premium Edition
• Batman™: Arkham Origins
• Injustice 2 Legendary Edition
• Mad Max
• Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition
• Middle-earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition
• Mortal Kombat 11
• Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate Add-On Bundle
• Mortal Kombat XL

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• Alan Wake Collector's Edition
• Bendy and the Dark Revival
• Pathologic 2

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• CODE VEIN
• .hack//G.U. Last Recode
• Katamari Damacy REROLL
• TEKKEN 7

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• A Juggler's Tale
• Spirit of the Island

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• Boomerang Fu
• PlateUp!
• ROUNDS
• Stick Fight: The Game
• Ultimate Chicken Horse

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• Fae Tactics
• Flynn: Son of Crimson
• Ikenfell
• Ring of Pain
• Void Bastards

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• After the Fall® - Deluxe Edition
• Zero Caliber VR

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• Patch Quest

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• Five Dates
• Late Shift

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• Demon Turf
• Pumpkin Jack

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• Trover Saves the Universe

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• Coromon
• The Dungeon Of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet Of Chaos
• Jack Move

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• Road 96
• SuchArt: Genius Artist Simulator

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• A Short Hike

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• Cloudpunk
• Ghostrunner
• Severed Steel

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• Eternal Threads
• Turbo Golf Racing

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• Lethal League Blaze
• OlliOlli World
• WWE 2K BATTLEGROUNDS

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• Dragon Fist: VR Kung Fu
• The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners

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• Celeste

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• Blasphemous
• Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
• Hollow Knight

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• Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery

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• Bionic Commando: Rearmed
• Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
• Lost Planet 3 - Complete
• Mega Man Legacy Collection
• STRIDER™ / ストライダー飛竜®

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• Aground
• Calico
• Evan's Remains
• StarCrossed
• Teacup

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• Into the Radius VR

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• Aliens: Fireteam Elite
• Founders' Fortune
• Monster Prom 2: Monster Camp

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• Nomad Survival
• Scarlet Tower

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• The Citadel
• Viscerafest
• WRATH: Aeon of Ruin

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• The Blackout Club

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• BIOMUTANT
• Edge Of Eternity
• Golden Light

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• Call of the Sea
• Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

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• 112 Operator
• 911 Operator
• The Amazing American Circus
• Armello
• Backbone
• Calico
• Euro Truck Simulator 2
• Farming Simulator 17
• Ghostrunner
• Guilty Gear X2 #Reload
• Lust from Beyond: M Edition
• Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine
• Orbital Racer
• Pathfinder: Kingmaker - Enhanced Plus Edition
• PAYDAY 2
• Pilgrims
• Soulblight
• Space Crew: Legendary Edition
• Starfinder Core Rulebook (Paizo key) and Starfinder Adventure: Junker's Delight (Paizo key)
• Strange Brigade
• Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones
• System Shock 2
• System Shock: Enhanced Edition
• Ticket to Ride
• XCOM® 2
• X-Morph: Defense Complete Pack

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• Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game
• Fobia - St. Dinfna Hotel
• Othercide
• Shady Part of Me

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• The Last Campfire

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• Sakura Swim Club

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• Summer in Mara
• Townscaper

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• The Long Dark: Survival Edition

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• Stranded Sails - Explorers of the Cursed Islands

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• Conan Chop Chop
• Grow: Song of the Evertree

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• Styx: Shards of Darkness

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• Hard West
• John Wick Hex
• Phantom Doctrine
• Red Solstice 2: Survivors

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• Arizona Sunshine

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• Backbone
• Blade Assault
• First Class Trouble
• Super Magbot

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• Golf Gang
• Maid of Sker

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• Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York
• Vampire: The Masquerade - Shadows of New York
• Werewolf: The Apocalypse — Heart of the Forest

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• Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl

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• Crown Trick

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• Guts and Glory
• Hello Neighbor

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• Day of the Tentacle Remastered
• Grim Fandango Remastered
• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
• STAR WARS®: Knights of the Old Republic™ II

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• Duke Nukem Forever
• PGA TOUR 2K21
• WWE 2K Battlegrounds

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• In Sound Mind

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• Little Big Workshop
• Not Tonight

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• Brigador Deluxe Edition
• Verdun

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• Resident Evil 0
• Resident Evil 6
• Resident Evil

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• EVERSPACE™

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• Cultist Simulator
• GWENT: The Witcher Card Game - Ultimate Starter Pack (GOG key)

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• The LEGO® NINJAGO® Movie Video Game

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• Legend of Keepers: Career of a Dungeon Manager
• Legion TD 2 - Multiplayer Tower Defense

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• STAR WARS™: Squadrons (Origin key)(?)

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• Bionic Commando
• Street Fighter V

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• As Far As The Eye
• Impulsion

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• Orcs Must Die! 2 - Complete Pack

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• Bartlow's Dread Machine

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• Blaston

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• White Day: A Labyrinth Named School

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• The Walking Dead

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• Total Tank Simulator

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• Archangel: Hellfire - Fully Loaded

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• XCOM® 2

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• Black The Fall
• Goetia

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• Among the Sleep - Enhanced Edition

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• Dear Esther: Landmark Edition
• This War of Mine

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• Tom Clancy's The Division™ (Uplay key)
• Tom Clancy's The Division™ - Survival (Uplay key)

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• Highway Blossoms
• HunieCam Studio
• KARAKARA
• Sunrider Academy
• Sunrider: Liberation Day - Captain's Edition

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• Civilization VI - Australia Civilization & Scenario Pack
• Civilization VI - Vikings Scenario Pack

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• A Kiss For the Petals - Remembering How We Met

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• Hacknet
• Satellite Reign

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• The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing: Final Cut

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• The Elder Scrolls: Legends: 2 Card Packs (Skyrim) 1 Event Ticket 100 Gold 100 Souls
• ESO Vanity Pet: Bristlegut Piglet and 15 Days of ESO Plus

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• Ame no Marginal -Rain Marginal-
• KARAKARA
• Memory's Dogma CODE:01
• Narcissu 10th Anniversary Anthology Project
• Narcissu 10th Anniversary Anthology Project - Season Pass

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• A Kiss For the Petals - Remembering How We Met
• Sakura Angels
• Beach Bounce
• Beach Bounce - Soundtrack
• Blue Rose

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• Lionessy Story
• My Personal Angel
• Natural - Beyond Nature -
• Postmen Of Horizon (removed from Steam Store)

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• The Reject Demon: Toko Chapter 0 — Prelude

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• Koi-Koi Japan [Hanafuda playing cards]
• Mahjong Pretty Girls Battle
• Mahjong Pretty Girls Battle : School Girls Edition
• Poker Pretty Girls Battle: Texas Hold'em
• Pretty Girls Mahjong Solitaire

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• Guns of Icarus Alliance
• Guns of Icarus Online
• Impossible Creatures Steam Edition
• Lethal League
• Tempest: Pirate Action RPG
• Tempest - Treasure Lands
• Tempest - Original Soundtrack
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Wolf
• Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide

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• Tenta Shooter
• Gun Gun Pixies
• DUSK
• For The King
• Book of Demons
• PlateUp!
• Kingdom Two Crowns
• White Day: A Labyrinth Named School
• Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War
• Chivalry: Medieval Warfare
• Steel Rats™
• Hue
• Sifu Deluxe Edition Upgrade Bundle (Epic key)
• Gal*Gun: Double Peace
• The Invisible Hours
• Synergia
• ROCKETRON
• Project Nimbus: Complete Edition
• Dead Age
• Spirit Hunter: NG
• Slain: Back from Hell(?)
• Cook, Serve, Delicious!
• Tower of Time
• Danger Scavenger
• Survive the Nights
• Valfaris
• Nongunz: Doppelganger Edition
• This War of Mine

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• Knights of Pen and Paper +1 Edition
• Knights of Pen and Paper 2 - Here Be Dragons

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• 112 Operator
• 911 Operator
• Book of Demons
• Broken Age
• Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons
• Crying Suns
• Crying Suns
• Dear Esther: Landmark Edition
• Driftland: The Magic Revival
• Liberated (GOG key)
• Moon Hunters
• Out of Reach: Treasure Royale
• Wanderlust: Travel Stories (GOG key)
• WARSAW
• X-Morph: Defense + European Assault, Survival of the Fittest, and Last Bastion DLC (I believe this redeems as the linked Complete Pack, minus the soundtrack)
• ΔV: Rings of Saturn(?)

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• Arcade Paradise
• Calico
• Say No! More
• Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game
• Fobia - St. Dinfna Hotel
• Phoenix Point: Year One Edition
• Deliver Us The Moon
• Morkredd
• Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos
• Spirit Hunter: NG
• Survivalist: Invisible Strain
• Warhammer: Vermintide 2
• ENDLESS™ Space 2
• Surviving the Aftermath
• The Long Dark

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• Duck Game
• SCP: Secret Files
• WWE 2K23
• The Jackbox Party Pack
• Outward (redeems as the base game only, not the linked Definitive Edition)
• Outward - The Soroboreans
• Outward Soundtrack
• Blade Assault
• Founders' Fortune
• Hokko Life
• Monster Crown
• Othercide
• Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition
• ScourgeBringer
• Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey
• HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED™
• Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition
• Sonic CD (removed from Steam Store)
• LEGO® Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• LEGO® Harry Potter: Years 5-7
• STRIDER™ / ストライダー飛竜®
• Bionic Commando
• Full Metal Furies
• Ultra Street Fighter® IV
• Starbound
• Mafia III: Sign of the Times
• BioShock 2
• Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition
• Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter
• The Mean Greens - Plastic Warfare
• Crusaders of the Lost Idols Legendary Starter Pack
• Project CARS (removed from Steam Store)

​
WANT:
​

• 5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel
• Astebreed: Definitive Edition
• Avernum: Escape from the Pit
• BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger
• CrossCode
• Dead Rising 4
• Dungreed
• Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2
• Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection
• Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition
• Myst (2021)
• NBA 2K23
• NECROPOLIS: BRUTAL EDITION
• Omensight: Definitive Edition
• OPUS: Echo of Starsong - Full Bloom Edition
• OPUS: Rocket of Whispers
• OPUS: The Day We Found Earth
• Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid
• RAGE
• Resident Evil Village
• The Jackbox Party Pack 5
• The Jackbox Party Pack 6
• The Jackbox Party Pack 7
• Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap
• Zombie Army 4: Dead War

​

• any extra copies of WWE 2K23

​
IGS Rep Page: https://www.reddit.com/IGSRep/comments/ti26nz/mizznos_igs_rep_page/

Hi all. Looking for fantasy series audiobook recommendations (for Audible). I’m currently on my last available book and am in desperate need of finding some new series. Some information to help narrow it down: I like fantasy but not sci-fi. I prefer series with many, many books or connecting series. (Stand-alone trilogies make me sad; I like continuing the story with the same characters.) I enjoy epic fantasy and sword and sorcery. I don’t care for straight up LITRPG, but I am okay with level progression in general as part of a series. (I just don’t like the idea of actually reading the character gained a certain number of XP and went up to a certain level number). I don’t like when the narrator changes partway through a series. Also, I can’t listen to female narrators for the majority of a book. Please don’t roast me for that. It’s not a sexism issue. I, myself, am a female. But I have medical conditions which make me extremely susceptible to migraines, with sound being one of my most prominent triggers. Female narrators speak in too high of a pitch for me to be able to listen to without getting migraines. It actually makes me quite sad; there are series I can’t listen to within the greater “world” of other series I love bc they are narrated by female narrators and trigger my migraines. I’m not opposed to listening to books which would have mostly male narration but also a female counterpart for female characters, if anyone knows of series narrated like that. It’s just too hard to tell what to expect in that scenario from the available sample. Conversely, I can’t stand it when a male narrator has a completely unlikely voice for female characters or the same exact voice for every female character. Examples of series I like and didn’t like below.
——Examples of series I have listened to and enjoyed: ——
*Kel Kade - King’s Dark Tiding Series - love, love, love how unique of a character Rezkin is.
~Kel Kade - Shroud of Prophecy Series - love how utterly ridiculous some of the events in this are; sad it’s only going to be a trilogy
*Terry Mancour - Spellmonger Series - enjoy the humor tremendously (I didn’t listen to The Cadet Series or Legacy and Secrets Series due to the issue with narration but will likely read them someday or possibly listen to them if I can ever get these damn migraines under control.)
~Melissa McPhail - A Pattern of Shadow and Light - I absolutely love the vast character creation and having the POV from different characters. I love the unexpected turns of several events and how nearly nothing is as it seems. RIP, Melissa. <3
*Patrick Rothfus - Kingkilker Chronicle - I’m a bit of a sucker for an underdog, and Kvoth certainly is one as a child. There is so much I love about this series, but highly disappointed the third one STILL isn’t out.
~Andrew Rowe - War of Broken Mirrors; Arcane Ascension; Weapons and Weilders; Lost Edge - lumped these all together since they’re in the same world; example of a semi-LITRPG that I do like; I enjoy the humor, and there is always enough mystery behind each character to keep things intriguing.
*Edward W. Robertson - Cycle of Arawn (haven’t listened to the Cycle of Scour yet, though I plan to in the future, once I relisten to Arawn)
~Michael J Sullivan - Riyria Chronicles; Riyria Revelations - love the dynamics of Royce and Hadrian and how different they are but how they balance each other out (haven’t listened to Legenda of the First Empire yet, though I plan to in the future, once I relisten to the others)
*Bryce O’Connor, Luke Chmilenko - Shattered Reigns
~Bryce O’Connor - Wings of War - enjoyed this slightly less than other series but will still listen to more once available (the magic the sect has access to isn’t very well explained); an example of all female characters all sounding alike (though that is no fault of the author)
*Larry Correia - Saga of the Forgotten Warrior - I like the series, but Tim Gerard Reynolds’ narration is so stilted and underwhelming, which I don’t understand, since he does an amazing job with Riyria.
——Examples of series I didn’t like: ——
*David Dalglish and Robert J. Duperre - The Breaking World
~David Hair - The Moontide Quartet
*J.S. Morin - Twinborn Chronicles
~Andrzej Sapkowski - The Witcher - I like the idea of The Witcher, but there are far too many gaps about how or why things work or connecting events.
——Examples of series I have read and enjoyed but haven’t listened to in audiobook format: ——
*J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter
~Terry Goodkind - The Sword of Truth (main 16 books but didn’t read Children of D’Hara or The Nicci Chronicles); RIP, Terry
*David Eddings - The Belgariad (including prequels) and The Malloreon
~Charles de Lint - I loved a lot of his books growing up, though they are not series.

Hey guys, I just graduated from college and was on the premed track, I literally studied so much so my free time was spent with friends and family. For my gap year I have so much time to read and I’m so excited but I don’t even know where to start, can anyone suggest based on my favorite books? It’s not very complex since I haven’t had much time to read since high school. I’m open to any genre since I haven’t had the chance to explore.
Most loved books: Twilight, Anne of Green Gables, Harry Potter, Little Women, Jane Erye, Breaking Cover, The Girl Who Could Fly, The Ultimate Gift, Wonder.
Literally such a boring list and I would appreciate something more dynamic. I’ve read Colleen Hoover but it just made me uncomfy lol.

Hi, I’m a 35yr male. I kinda just fly under the radar and keep to myself. I want social activity but my insecurities get in the way. I’m gonna give you guys something to read. It’s a life story of events.
When I was younger, just a baby I was always yelled at and getting into trouble by my dad, I don’t remember much of that time but I’ve grown afraid of my dad. I had 3 sisters, my oldest sister would always beat me up. I know she had to of got in trouble but for the longest time I had scars all over from where she would dig her nails into my face and arms. I just can’t recall a lot of it. Anytime I shave you can see the damage clearly.
At school every morning, I remember banging my head against the wall just to fall asleep, it’s embarrassing to think about but the cause which I assume was caused by a rocking horse that I would get on, throw an blanket over myself and fall asleep. I’m sure people laughed but I did it for unknown reasons.
My left eye is bad, so it sorta wonders. I remember first grade being alright. Then I got accused for stealing something when I never did. It was a giant sand dollar and someone broke it, hiding it in my bag. After that I just don’t really remember much besides everyone being mean so I just started sleeping through classes.
I was always be little, so I started to assume I was just stupid and I still struggle with this. I’ll list what I can remember from a bullying aspect, my eye was easy target for people and still is. I’m sure my hygiene wasn’t the greatest because I remember not caring because nothing at that time and place made any sense.
I was so used to being in trouble that I couldn’t really tell right from wrong I remember laughing at a kid who’s butt crack was showing as he crawled around the back of us and I kinda just copied him because we’re young and I thought it was funny. I got sent to the office. I remember being deathly afraid of that phone call and for some reason in a state of panic I said I showed my genitals instead. I questioned myself when I did it but I was just so scared it’s what came out. When I got home I got held up by the arm and got my behind blistered.
Then after that, things get foggy. I just remember always being afraid. My dad was chasing me for whatever reason and flipped a couch on me to whoop me, I don’t understand the exact reason for this if I’m honest. Either my mom said I did something or one of my sisters did.
Then another time, my second youngest sister was playing with scissors in the bathroom, I took them away and she ran off and told my mom I was playing with them and I got a spanking for that. Same sister also got me in the most traumatizing event I can remember. I’m probably only 11 or 12 it’s around Christmas. My dad just bought a new pick up, and I guess I had a cold because my nose was runny. I had to sneeze so I covered my nose and mucus went all in my hand. I remember clutching it into a fist. My sister accused me of showing it off when I specifically remember being afraid and holding it. As they’re screaming ew and gross he’s gonna get it on me my dad started yelling at me. I’m sitting exactly behind him. He reached back grabbing me by the hair and slamming my head against the center console telling me if I get that in his pick up he’s gonna make me walk home. Threatening me the entire way to my grandpas.
After that I hid away from everything, I stopped trying because everything I felt like I did was wrong and got a spanking for. I developed nasty habits, biting my nails, eating boogers, kid shit. My dad was a truck driver so he was never home. But anytime we acted up he would come home and spank us. My parents usually yelled at each other and ended up getting a divorce. My mom was dealing with some type of abuse as well but her type of revenge was leaving my dad in a big pile of debt ruining him financially. We jumped from house to house. My mom was always worried about herself after that. She started partying, coming home drunk bringing guys home and you could hear her moaning from having sex in her room. She would try to bait our dad into coming over so she could get him arrested or in trouble.
We eventually moved away to a bigger city, she remarried and things just kept getting worse with her. She always said we wouldn’t mind and literally had a woman come over and spank us. All the while she still going out and partying. Me and my second youngest sister grew closer at this point. At school I was still bullied but got used to isolating myself and just sleeping through out classes. Fresh marks on my arm from my sister but i wouldn’t dare lay a hand on her because it’s just more trouble then it’s worth. I had a couple bullies I hated, one in particular would always try to get me alone. So in retaliation I saved up saliva in my mouth. I spit on him and he left me alone after that I do feel bad about it but it got him to back off The other bully lived in the same neighborhood as me. I couldn’t do much to avoid him. I never stood up to him but one day he picked a lot of sandburrs, stickers or whatever you guys call them. He had a huge stack of them and smashed them on my back when I rode past. Shit hurt, after that my bike was stolen so I just hung out at the house.
I just felt I had no one. Couldn’t have guest over, because we had real bad bugs from when we lived in some apartments before hand. So it was embarrassing having company over. Not like I had friends anyways. But lets get back on track, at this point me and my sister wanted to go live with our dad. My mom kept targeting us, forcing us to do all the chores, grounding us and having us spanked. They would sometimes strip my pants off and push me outside bare ass naked locking me out. If I acted out in a store my step dad started pulling on my ears eventually ripping the lower lobe. Anytime we overslept he would dump ice water on us. He was just big bully too. My dad had visitation rights and he was trying to make up but I developed some ptsd I think. But he noticed the scar tissue behind my ears. He wanted to kill him over it. After that ordeal our mom stuck us in some type of mental disorder daycare place. I don’t even know tbh, I was stuck in a group of much younger kids because I didn’t act my age. I was not mature at all, I believe it’s just how I coped.
Eventually we got our wish, we went to live with our dad. Things were better but the mental abuse continued. He gave me set hours to be home by, and if I didn’t I was in trouble, I was still bullied but I was so used to it. I hand me downs cloths and shoes. My dad always told me I’ll grow into them. But one day one of my new bullied pushed me down and I fell out of one of shoes and he tossed it on top of the school. We couldnt afford it but my dad bought me a new set but of some steel toes and told me to kick them next time. But that following week he went to the school and got both parent and got my bully to leave me alone.
I had a crush on a girl so I annoyed her, my way of flirting which was burping in her ear for whatever reason. Teacher who was also a coach yelled at me and after that I just cried and then went to the bathroom to dry my face. It was so embarrassing, but I deserved it. I just didn’t have many social skills and no one wanted talk to me anyways.
My dad always threatened to kick me out or whatever if I got in trouble or got some pregnant. I never tried to work with him because I would get yelled at and make me afraid. I just stayed in my room, played games and avoided everyone unless it was time to eat. But jokes on him he officially gave me the best kind of birth control, trauma. So after continued being bullied, never seeing my mom till after a couple years the person watching over my step mom (they never got married) starting going over the road with my dad. Me and my sister for 11th and 12th grade were left home unsupervised.
She started going out and I just stayed home. I really had no one beside my online friends. I hid everything because they never knew what I looked like or who was. I would have little mental cracks and write out things in messages. They’re closer to poems than messages and send them out to people I liked online. They enjoyed what I wrote. But eventually I got older. I never could fit in anywhere.
I eventually joined the armed forces, and done everything to get through it but they deemed I was too mentally unstable to continue service. Which they were right.
After that I’ve dated off and on but nothing worth mentioning besides being cheated on multiple time. I just lacked experience in every aspect of my life. Sex life is terrible, social skills is terrible I honestly expected to die some point in my 20s tbh rather it be suicide or I just wrecked. Now I’m 35, no wife, no kids and I blow money like it’s no one’s business. I started driving a truck and wasted my entire 20s running hard doing hot shot work. I was trying to make money and buy things I wanted. I didn’t care about taxes or anything. but it just put me in more financial troubles since I was stupid about it. If you know anything about trucking I was running illegal most of the time. Anything to keep me away from the house. I kinda avoid my parents but some days I’m more open to talk but it’s only my dad. My mom just doesn’t pay attention to anything I say.
Anytime a woman gives me attention I get super attached and I know it’s wrong. I push them away trying to not come off as desperate. I find myself watching wanting a reply. I just get kinda happy someone is talking to me. But I know it’s not healthy so I try to calm myself down and exit out of it.
Even tho my sister wasn’t there for me she has taking strides to make it up to me. I love her and promised her a few years ago I wouldn’t ever take my life. But people just make it hard, I retired earlier this year from trucking because I’m burnt out , my truck kept giving me issues and costing me a lot money and I don’t know where to go. I struggle with committing or finding something to achieve and my depression has me in state of no control or responsibility. I just know nothing is helping my mental state so this year I want to correct it and get my life in order.

I hope I’m ok to post this here. I’m looking for some adult sci fi / fantasy books to read. I’m asexual so don’t want one with smut or hardly any smut. Or if there is smut it’s skippable without ruining the story.
I’ve read Harry Potter, chronicles of narnia, hobbit, lord of Rings, Morganville vampires, Jurassic park, City of bones and clockwork Angel series if it helps with suggestions. Oh and I love shows like supernatural, once upon a time, Grimm if it helps with picks. Oh and love marvel movies ❤️❤️
Thanks guys!!!

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR ALL THE ERAGON BOOKSA bit of backstory first. I first read Eragon when I was around 10. It was if not my first fantasy book, the one after which it became one of my favorite genres. I reread it about 3 years ago and decided to do it again, simultaneously sharing my thoughts here.
I don't know how many of these posts I will make before I will get bored, so your upvotes and comments are much appreciated!
Prologe

The weapon was thin enough to slip between a pair of ribs, yet stout enough to hack through the hardest armor.

I wonder if it is magical or just very good...

“Böetq istalri!”

Damn, I forgot how this language is impossible to read
Chapter 1

It was the third night of the hunt, and his food was half gone. If he did not fell the doe, he would be forced to return home empty-handed.

If your food is half-gone after 3 nights, doesn't it mean that you have food for another 3 nights?

If he had learned anything from the old stories, it was to treat magic, and those who used it, with great caution.

Finally, a protagonist who read books and assumes it's magic rather then wondering how the stone got there without it.
Chapter 2

Behind the counter stood the butcher Sloan.

Noooo, not THIS guy. Argh.

Take your sorcerer’s stone elsewhere.

Actively trying to think of a Harry Potter pun here

“Give me your best roasts and steaks. Make sure that it’s enough to fill Eragon’s pack.”

Horst, you absolute best human
​

Important Notes:

• I do my best to include every sale, but at the same time I focus sale with a noticeable price drop, meaning sales start with at least 20% and up. I usually skip anything below that unless it's a worth while title.
  
• Click on the price to visit the store page for that game.
  
• The end date of the sale isn't mentioned, you can check the store page to see it.
  
• All of these sales are based on the US store front, so some sales may not be available depending on your country.
  

[~ PSN ~]

• All Atelier games individually (& in bundles) are on sale for -35%. (except Marie)
• Most Trails games are on sale (Cold steel 2/3/Reverie/Zero/Azure)
• Some Disgaea games are on sale (1/4/6/7)
• Some Final Fantasy games are on sale (Type-0/10 & 10-2/16)

(On Mobile please Swipe left/right to see the prices and tags)

Game	Price/Link	Tags
Persona 5	$7.99 $19.99	Turn-based/Modern Japan setting/Highschool life simulatoMystery/Monster collectoSocial link system/Great soundtrack
Persona 5: Ultimate Edition	$16.99 $84.99	Turn-based/Modern Japan setting/Highschool life simulatoMystery/Monster collectoSocial link system/Great soundtrack
KINGDOM HEARTS All-In-One Package (KH 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX + 2.8 Final Chapter + III)	$39.99 $99.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Crossover of Disney and Square Enix characters
KINGDOM HEARTS III	$23.99 $59.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Crossover of Disney and Square Enix characters
Fate/Samurai Remnant(PS4 & PS5)	$40.19 $59.99	Action/Edo period Japan setting/Anime style/Revolution Story/Fantasy
SD GUNDAM BATTLE ALLIANCE PS4 & PS5	$17.99 $59.99	Action/Sci-fi setting/Anime Adaptation/Hack and Slash/Online Co-Op
South Park™: The Stick of Truth™	$7.49 $29.99	Turn-based/Modern Day setting/Comedy/Mature/Dark HumoNudity/Fart Jokes
Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout	$23.99 $59.99	Active time battle/Fantasy setting/Mainly about crafting (Alchemy)/Chill and Relaxing/Wholesome/Heavy on Resource gathering/Heavy on Character Interactions
Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy PS4 & PS5	$29.99 $59.99	Active time battle/Fantasy setting/Mainly about crafting (Alchemy)/Chill and Relaxing/Wholesome/Heavy on Resource gathering/Heavy on Character Interactions
Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key PS4 & PS5	$38.99 $59.99	Active time battle/Fantasy setting/Mainly about crafting (Alchemy)/Chill and Relaxing/Wholesome/Heavy on Resource gathering/Heavy on Character Interactions
The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure	$27.99 $39.99	Tactical turn-based/Fantasy setting/Great Soundtrack/Slow Start/Police Force/Story and World building heavy
Tactics Ogre: Reborn	$24.99 $49.99	Tactical turn-based/Medieval fantasy/Choices MatteMultiple story routes/Class system/Dark/Politics/Remake of the SNES original
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth - Hacker's Memory	$9.59 $59.99	Turn-based/Cyber World Setting/Hacking/Monster Collector and Raising
Digimon World: Next Order	$9.59 $59.99	Real-time Management/Cyber-World setting/Monster Collector & Raising/NPC CollectoBase Building/Resource Gathering/Male & Female Main Character option
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered	$9.99 $49.99	Action/Medieval Fantasy setting/Isekai/Monster CollectoBeautiful art style by Studio Ghibli/Beautiful soundtrack/Fairy tale story
Ni no Kuni™ II: REVENANT KINGDOM - Deluxe Edition	$14.39 $79.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Isekai/Base BuildeArmy Battle/Character CollectoBeautiful art style
Star Ocean First Departure R	$6.29 $20.99	Action/Sci-fi mixed with Fantasy setting/Expansive crafting system/social link mechanic between the party members/multiple story routes
Star Ocean® Till The End Of Time™	$6.29 $20.99	Action/Sci-fi mixed with Fantasy setting/Space travel/Resource gathering & Crafting/Social link mechanic between party members
Star Ocean®: The Last Hope - 4K and Full HD Remaster	$6.29 $20.99	Action/Sci-fi mixed with Fantasy setting/Space travel/Resource gathering & Crafting/Social link mechanic between party members
Star Ocean : INTEGRITY AND FAITHLESSNESS	$8.99 $29.99	Action/Sci-fi mixed with Fantasy setting/Space travel/Resource gathering & Crafting/Social link mechanic between party members
Star Ocean : Divine Force	$29.99 $59.99	Action/Sci-fi mixed with Fantasy setting/Space travel/Resource gathering & Crafting/Social link mechanic between party members
Tales of Vesperia™: Definitive Edition	$9.99 $49.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Anime style/Local Co-Op support in combat/Fantasy Adventure anime trope heavy
Tales of Berseria	$9.99 $49.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Local Co-Op support/Female Protagonist/Anti-hero Main CharacteAnime style visuals
Nexomon: Extinction	$7.99 $19.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Pokemon-like/Monster collector
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA	$19.99 $39.99 [PS5 version $23.99]	Action/Fantasy setting/Base Building/Great Soundtrack
Ys IX: Monstrum Nox	$29.99 $59.99 [PS5 version $23.99]	Action/Medieval Fantasy setting/Hack & Slash/Fantastic Music/Smooth combat/Boss fight heavy/City Exploration
Valkyria Chronicles Remastered	$4.99 $19.99	Tactical Turn-based/World War Militar setting/Tactical mixed with real-time elements/Sketch or "Canvas" art style/Build your Army with character customization/Mission based story progression/Army management
Valkyria Chronicles Remastered + Valkyria Chronicles 4 Bundle	$9.99 $39.99	Tactical Turn-based/World War Militar setting/Tactical mixed with real-time elements/Sketch or "Canvas" art style/Build your Army with character customization/Mission based story progression/Army management
Valkyria Revolution	$5.99 $29.99	Action/Fantasy World WaMilitary setting/Mission based Gameplay
Indivisible	$5.99 $39.99	Turn-based Fantasy/PlatformeValkyrie Profile-like/Beautiful Animations/Female Protagonist/Character Collector
Live A Live PS4&PS5	$24.99 $49.99	Turn-based/Different settings depending on the character chosen/HD-2D Graphics/min-tactical grid movement in battles/Remake of the SNES original/Amazing music
Scarlet Nexus PS4 & PS5	$11.99 $59.99	Action/Post-apocalyptic Sci-fi setting/Choose between 2 Main Characters/Psychic powers/Using environmental objects as weapons
VALKYRIE PROFILE: LENNETH	$11.99 $19.99	Turn-based/Medieval Fantasy setting/Choices MatteMultiple Endings/Platforming/Female Protagonist/Norse Mythology
Valkyrie Elysium PS4&PS5	$23.99 $59.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/Multiple Endings
Blue Reflection	$14.99 $59.99	Turn-based/Japanese School Life setting/Female Protagonist/Magical Girls/Fan-service
Blue Reflection: Second Light	$23.99 $59.99	Turn-based/Japanese School Life setting/Female Protagonist/Magical Girls/Fan-service/Yuri
Conception PLUS: Maidens of the Twelve Stars	$8.99 $59.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Dating-sim/Fan-service/Harem/Dungeon Crawler
Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society	$24.99 $49.99	Turn-based/Dark Fantasy setting/Class customization system/Tiered loot/Dungeon Crawler
Demon Gaze Extra	$23.99 $59.99	Turn-based/First Person dungeon crawleDark Fantasy setting/Monster collection
Zanki Zero: Last Beginning	$8.99 $59.99	Action/Post-Apocalyptic setting/Psychological HorroFirst-Person Dungeon CrawleBase Building/Resource gathering and Crafting
The Alliance Alive HD Remastered	$14.99 $49.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Expansive Skill Tree/Character customization
KATANA KAMI: A Way of the Samurai Story	$5.99 $29.99	Action/Fantasy old Japan setting/Shop Management/Dungeon CrawleHack & Slash/Online Multi-player
Langrisser I & II	$19.99 $49.99	Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Remake of 2 games in 1/Fire Emblem-like/Multiple story routes and endings/Class mechanic
The Cruel King and the Great Hero	$14.99 $29.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Hand Drawn Art/Stylistic
Sailing Era	$17.49 $24.99	Action/Industrial Age setting/Pirates/Sailing/Trade/History/Building Fleets/Character CollectoSea Warfare
Labyrinth of Zangetsu	$14.99 $29.99	Turn-based/Ido period of Japan setting/First-person dungeon crawleFull party creation/Class system
Maglam Lord	$9.99 $39.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Dating sim/LGBTQ+/Crafting
Loop8: Summer of Gods	$11.99 $49.99	Turn-based/Modern world setting/Social links/Dating sim/Choices matter
Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs - Royal Edition	9.99 $24.99	Tactical turn-based/Medieval Fantasy setting/Social link system/Politics/Comedy
Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen	$19.79 $59.99	Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Great World Building/Fan-serivce/Comedy/War & Politics/Lovable Characters/Mystery
Poison Control	$3.99 $39.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Hell/Third-person shooteComedy/Dungeon crawleAnime visuals
NieR: Automata™ Game of the YoRHa Edition	$15.99 $39.99	Action/Hack & Slash/Female Protagonist/Post-apocalyptic setting/Open World/Dark Fantasy
Octopath Traveler II PS4＆PS5	$35.99 $59.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Multiple Protagonists to choose as your main charactePixel Graphics/2.5D
Soul Hackers 2 PS4 & PS5	$17.99 $59.99	Turn-based/Cyberpunk setting/Monster collectoFemale Protagonist
Sword Art Online Alicization Lycoris	$9.59 $59.99	Action/Inside of an MMORPG/Anime visuals/MMORPG-like/Tiered Loot/Dungeon Crawlers/Harem/Supports up to 4 players online/Kill & Fetch Quests heavy
Dragon Quest Builders 2	$23.99 $39.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Minecraft-like
NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139...	$23.99 $59.99	Action/Post-apocalyptic setting/Hack & Slash/Dark Fantasy/Multiple Endings

​

[~ Switch ~]

• All Atelier games individually (& in bundles) are on sale for -35%. (except Marie)
• Some Disgaea games are on sale (1/4/6/7)
• Most Final Fantasy games are on sale (7/8/9/10/12/World of FF/CRISIS CORE)

Game	Price/Link	Tags
KINGDOM HEARTS INTEGRUM MASTERPIECE for Cloud (1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX + 2.8 + III + Re Mind (DLC) collection)	$35.99 $89.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Crossover of Disney and Square Enix characters
KINGDOM HEARTS - HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX - Cloud Version	$15.99 $39.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Crossover of Disney and Square Enix characters
KINGDOM HEARTS HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue Cloud Version	$19.99 $49.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Crossover of Disney and Square Enix characters
KINGDOM HEARTS III + Re Mind (DLC) Cloud Version	$19.99 $49.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Crossover of Disney and Square Enix characters
Monster Sanctuary	$4.99 $19.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Monster CollectoMetroidvania/Pixel Graphics
Tales of Vesperia™: Definitive Edition	$9.99 $49.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Anime style/Local Co-Op support in combat/Fantasy Adventure anime trope heavy
DRAGON QUEST 1	$2.99 $4.99	Turn-based/Medieval Fantasy setting/Great soundtrack/Pixel graphics
DRAGON QUEST II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line	$3.89 $6.49	Turn-based/Medieval Fantasy setting/Great soundtrack/Pixel graphics
DRAGON QUEST III: The Seeds of Salvation	$7.49 $12.49	Turn-based/Medieval Fantasy setting/Great soundtrack/Pixel graphics
Star Ocean First Departure R	$6.29 $20.99	Action/Sci-fi mixed with Fantasy setting/Expansive crafting system/social link mechanic between the party members/multiple story routes
Tactics Ogre: Reborn	$24.99 $49.99	Tactical turn-based/Medieval fantasy/Choices MatteMultiple story routes/Class system/Dark/Politics/Remake of the SNES original
NEO: The World Ends with You	$23.99 $59.99	Action/Modern Tokyo setting/Dark Fantasy/Death Game/Read people's minds/Psychic powers
COLLECTION of SaGa FINAL FANTASY LEGEND	$9.99 $19.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Character customization
Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered	$14.99 $24.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Choice Matters/Open World/8 Characters to choose from/Complex and Challenging Combat system/Light on story Heavy on gameplay
Romancing SaGa 2	$7.49 $24.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Pixel Graphics/Choices MatteKingdom Building/Open World/Party changes with each new generation/Light on story Heavy on gameplay
Romancing SaGa 3	$8.69 $28.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Pixel Graphics/Choices MatteFantasy Adventure/Open World/8 Main Characters to choose 1 at the start/Light on story & Heavy on gameplay
SaGa Frontier Remastered	$12.49 $24.99	Turn-based/Fantasy + Sci-fi setting/Choice Matters/Open World/8 Characters to choose
SaGa SCARLET GRACE: AMBITIONS	$8.99 $29.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Choice Matters/Open World/4 Characters to choose from/Complex and Challenging Combat system/Light on story Heavy on gameplay
Collection of Mana	$19.99 $39.99	Action/3 games in 1/Fantasy setting/Adventure
Trials of Mana	$24.99 $49.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Hack & Slash/Choose 3 out of 6 main characters/Class customization system/Expansive Skill Tree
Legend of Mana Remaster	$14.99 $29.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Beat'em up/World Building Mechanic/Open World/Beautifully Hand Drawn/Great Music/Resource gathering & Crafting
CHRONO CROSS: THE RADICAL DREAMERS EDITION	$9.99 $19.99	Turn-based/Sci-fi Fantasy setting/Choices MatteMultiple Endings/2 Games in 1 bundle
Haven	$14.99 $24.99	Active time combat/Sci-fi setting/Heavy on Romance/LGBTQ/Local Co-op support/Exploration/Resource Gathering
Digimon World: Next Order	$24.59 $59.99	Real-time Management/Cyber-World setting/Monster Collector & Raising/NPC CollectoBase Building/Resource Gathering/Male & Female Main Character option
Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars	$11.99 $29.99	Turn-based/Medieval Fantasy setting/Tabletop visual style/Card based gameplay/Dark story/Hand-drawn/Deck builder
Voice of Cards: The Forsaken Maiden	$11.99 $29.99	Turn-based/Medieval Fantasy setting/Tabletop visual style/Card based gameplay/Dark story/Hand-drawn/Deck builder
Voice of Cards: The Beasts of Burden	$11.99 $29.99	Turn-based/Medieval Fantasy setting/Tabletop visual style/Card based gameplay/Dark story/Hand-drawn/Deck builder
DRAGON QUEST TREASURES	$29.99 $59.99	Action/Medieval fantasy setting/Monster collectotreasure hunting/Open-world
Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection Vol. 1 (MMBN 1/2/3)	$19.99 $39.99	Action/Sci-fi setting/Deck building/Card collectocyber world
Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection Vol. 2 (MMBN 4/5/6)	$19.99 $39.99	Action/Sci-fi setting/Deck building/Card collectocyber world
Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection (All 6 games)	$29.99 $59.99	Action/Sci-fi setting/Deck building/Card collectocyber world
The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero	$27.99 $39.99	Turn-based/Science Fantasy setting/Great Soundtrack/Police/Detective/Story and Lore heavy/War and Politics
The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure	$27.99 $39.99	Turn-based/Science Fantasy setting/Great Soundtrack/Police/Detective/Story and Lore heavy/War and Politics
I Am Setsuna	$11.99 $39.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/World covered in Snow
LOST SPHEAR	$14.99 $49.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting
ONINAKI	$14.99 $49.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Dungeon CrawleHack & Slash
HARVESTELLA	$29.99 $59.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Farming SimulatoClass changing system/Resource gathering and Crafting
ŌKAMI HD	$9.99 $19.99	Action/Japanese Mythology Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/Beautiful watercolor animations and art style
Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon EVERY BUDDY!	$15.99 $39.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Roguelike/Class mechanics
Blue Reflection: Second Light	$23.99 $59.99	Turn-based/Japanese School Life setting/Female Protagonist/Magical Girls/Fan-service/Yuri
Octopath Traveler	$29.99 $59.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Multiple Protagonists to choose as your main charactePixel Graphics/2.5D
Octopath Traveler II	$35.99 $59.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Multiple Protagonists to choose as your main charactePixel Graphics/2.5D
NieR:Automata The End of YoRHa Edition	$23.99 $39.99	Action/Post-apocalyptic setting/Hack & Slash/Female Protagonist/Open World/Dark Fantasy/Multiple Endings
Langrisser I & II	$19.99 $49.99	Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Remake of 2 games in 1 bundle/Fire Emblem-like/Multiple story routes and endings
The DioField Chronicle	$23.99 $59.99	Real Time Strategy/Medieval fantasy setting/Military & WaClass mechanics
Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk	$19.99 $49.99	Turn-based/Dark Fantasy setting/Class customization system/Tiered loot/Dungeon Crawler
Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society	$24.99 $49.99	Turn-based/Dark Fantasy setting/Class customization system/Tiered loot/Dungeon Crawler
The Cruel King and the Great Heron	$14.99 $29.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Hand Drawn Art/Stylistic
DRAGON BALL Z: KAKAROT + A NEW POWER AWAKENS SET	$14.99 $59.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Semi-Open World (zones)/Anime story adaptation/Beautiful animations
Dungeon Encounters	$11.99 $29.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Dungeon CrawleCharacter Customization/Very light on Story
CRYSTAR	$24.99 $49.99	Action/Dark Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/Hack & Slash/Deals with self-harm and dark subjects
Demon Gaze Extra	$23.99 $59.99	Turn-based/First Person dungeon crawleDark Fantasy setting/Monster collection
Cross Tails	$20.99 $29.99	Tactical turn-based/Medieval fantasy setting/Class system/WaPolitics
Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX	$20.99 $29.99	Active time battle/Fantasy setting/Monster raising simulatoTournaments heavy/Monster collector
Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 1: [Phantom Brave: The Hermuda Triangle Remastered] / [Soul Nomad the World Eaters]	$27.99 $39.99	Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Demon World/Heavy Customization system/Expansive Class changing/2 games in 1
Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 2: [Makai Kingdom: Reclaimed and Rebound] / [ZHP: Unlosing Ranger vs. Darkdeath Evilman]	$27.99 $39.99	Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Demon World/Heavy Customization system/Expansive Class changing/2 games in 1
Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 3: [La Pucelle: Ragnarok] / [Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure]	$27.99 $39.99	Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy setting/2 games in 1/Musical/Cute
SOULVARS	$8.49 $16.99	Turn-based/Cyberpunk setting/Card Game/Deckbuilding/Pixel Graphics
Child of Light® Ultimate Edition	$4.99 $19.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/Beautiful Hand-drawn/Side Scroller
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA	$19.99 $39.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Base Building/Great Soundtrack

[~ Xbox ~]

• Most Final Fantasy games are on sale (7/8/9/10/12/World of FF/CRISIS CORE/type-0)

Game	Price/Link	Tags
DRAGON QUEST® XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age™ - Definitive Edition	$23.99 $39.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Great soundtrack/Full Pixel graphics option/Character skill tree/Gathering resources and crafting
Dragon Quest Builders 2	$29.99 $49.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Minecraft-like
KINGDOM HEARTS - HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX -	$19.99 $49.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Crossover of Disney and Square Enix characters
KINGDOM HEARTS HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue	$23.99 $59.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Crossover of Disney and Square Enix characters
KINGDOM HEARTS Ⅲ	$23.99 $59.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Crossover of Disney and Square Enix characters
KINGDOM HEARTS Ⅲ Re Mind	$11.99 $59.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Crossover of Disney and Square Enix characters
NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139...	$23.99 $59.99	Action/Post-apocalyptic setting/Hack & Slash/Bullet Hell/Dark Fantasy/Dark HumoFan-service/LGBTQ+
NieR:Automata™ BECOME AS GODS Edition	$15.99 $39.99	Action/Hack & Slash/Female Protagonist/Post-apocalyptic setting/Open World/Dark Fantasy
DRAGON BALL Z: KAKAROT Deluxe Edition	$16.99 $84.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Semi-Open World (zones)/Anime story adaptation/Beautiful animations
Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin	$19.99 $39.99	Action/Dark Fantasy setting/Expansive skill tree/Class mechanics/Nioh-like/Loot Tiers
ŌKAMI HD	$9.99 $19.99	Action/Japanese Mythology Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/Beautiful watercolor animations and art style
Nexomon: Extinction	$3.99 $19.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Pokemon-like/Monster collector
Scarlet Nexus Deluxe Edition	$15.99 $79.99	Action/Post-apocalyptic Sci-fi setting/Choose between 2 Main Characters/Psychic powers/Using environmental objects as weapons
Sword and Fairy 7: Together Forever	$19.99 39.99	Action/Chinese Martial Arts Fantasy (Xianxia)/Female Protagonist/Great visuals and Music/Rich Story and Lore/Chinese voice acting with English subtitles
Monster Sanctuary	$4.99 $19.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Monster CollectoMetroidvania/Pixel Graphics/Expansive Skill Tree/Character customization
Persona 3 Reload Digital Deluxe Edition	$59.99 $79.99	Turn-based/Modern Japan setting/Highschool life simulatoMystery/Monster collectoSocial link system/Great soundtrack
The DioField Chronicle	$23.99 $59.99	Real Time Strategy/Medieval fantasy setting/Military & WaClass mechanics
Star Ocean The Divine Force	$29.99 $59.99	Action/Sci-fi mixed with Fantasy setting/Space travel/Resource gathering & Crafting/Social link mechanic between party members
SD GUNDAM BATTLE ALLIANCE Deluxe Edition	$25.49 $89.99	Action/Sci-fi setting/Anime Adaptation/Hack and Slash/Online Co-Op
Soul Hackers 2 - Digital Deluxe Edition	$20.99 $69.99	Turn-based/Cyberpunk setting/Monster collectoFemale Protagonist
Romancing SaGa 2	$7.49 $24.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Pixel Graphics/Choices MatteKingdom Building/Open World/Party changes with each new generation/Light on story Heavy on gameplay
Romancing SaGa 3	$8.69 $28.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Pixel Graphics/Choices MatteFantasy Adventure/Open World/8 Main Characters to choose 1 at the start/Light on story & Heavy on gameplay
Mato Anomalies Digital Deluxe Edition	$17.99 $44.99	Turn-based/Neo-futuristic setting/Detective/Psychological/Multiple Endings/Card Battles
Fuga: Melodies of Steel	$23.99 $39.99	Tactical Turn-based/Steampunk setting/Anthropomorphic characters/Social Links System/Base upgrading

[~ Steam ~]

Steam is having a big golden week sale so it will get a separate post later on.
​

The recommendation section will be in the comments due to lack of space.

I'm looking for a fic I read years ago where Harry gets a new mentor who was lily's boyfriend during Hogwarts. Turns out Lily was a seer and knew she had to get with James Potter and have Harry to save the Wizarding World.
I vaguely remember a scene where she kicked James out of the hospital and told him she was divorcing him once harry was born.
I THINK the fic also had it set up where ginny was actually Harry's sister, and she was hidden with the Weasleys for her protection since no one knew of her.