Trash monster crafts preschool paper bag
Second contact Chapter 2
2024.05.15 18:42 cartoon_Dinosaur Second contact Chapter 2
Thank you to Space paladin for the canvas and u/Acceptable_Egg5560 for proofreading and critique
Content warning; Educator abuse and syrupy love
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Memory transcript: Maarchal , MESEA Astronomers. Date: [Standard Farsul calendar ] January 26th, 3667
PLUNCK
Ponthyts blue stick clattered on the board, rolling around in a circle. Before settling on three. He then pumps his paw and moves to move a soldier that many paces.
“Well, I got you cornered now, whatcha going to do about it?” I smirk at Ponthyts soon to be dashed confidence as I take out my red stick and flip in the air much higher than he did with his own.
It hits the board with a loud clatter, bouncing on each end before settling on rolling. To which it landed on seven. I move my last interceptor through his ranks and take his general. The gobsmacked look on his features was evident, with his previously wagging tail so still it made stone seem fluid.
“I win.”
“How did you do that?”
I rolled my shoulders and readjusted my legs underneath. “Well, you left a clear path for my interceptor.” I pointed to the gaps in his remaining pieces.
“I know that! I mean how did you know you'd get a high enough number to do that? Your interceptor was all the way back here and it's your last red piece!!!”
I lean my head back and lean against the wall behind me. “I didn't, I just saw an opportunity and took it.”
He pointed a digit at me “ Mershit, that was some grandmaster trap!”
I give him the ear position of resignation with a mirthful little grin. “I promise you it was just luck.”
He waves his paw dismissively. “I don't believe you.”
“Well believe it, because I don't plan ahead like that. Want to play another game?”
He shakes his head. “Nah I think four games is enough for one night.” He begins moving the pieces into their containers and folds up the board and places it on top of them. Closing the box. He then stands up and offers me his paw, I use it to pull myself up off the floor.“Well Maarchal, I’ll see you tomorrow at the observatory. I’ll bring the set if you want to play it during lunch if you want.”
I froze, “what! What time is it? He turns over to look at the clock above his strove.
“Ahh about Fifteen minutes past 18.”
“Uh, that's not that late! We could play another game! C’mon let's have a tie breaker!”
He rubs his eyes, “I’m tired and we have work in the morning. Is there something you're avoiding?”
I rub my upper right arm and look off into the corner. “...”
He took on a worried look, “Why don't you want to go home Maarchal?”
I sighed and took a seat at his dining room table. “I… I don't like that house, I’ve lived there since I moved to LIghra six years ago but it's not a… home like here.”
I looked around at the messy abode. Dirty cloaks were strewn about on the back of chairs and the rubbish trough was just barely not overflowing. Paintings either from family or Ponthyts own paw were hanged up in the hallways, and the lightbulbs cast a warm orangish light. While the dishes from our dinner were placed in the sink, covered with animal gravy slathered all over them. It was tidy yet just barely so. A place filled with all the markers of being lived in.
“You've lived here less than a year but it feels like it's always had you in it. I feel … so comfortable here. My own home is so… cold and sterile. I Worked a lot the first few months I moved here. I just never got around to making it a home. It feels so bare, I started to work overtime just to avoid it. Which just made the problem worse.”
He sat down across from me, He put his head in his paws and looked at the scratched wood of his table. He held that position for a minute or two before breaking it and placing his paw on my own. “Maarchal, you are my best friend, I want you to feel comfortable. So if you want you can sleep on my coach, I can also help you make your home feel like one."
I shake my head, “no no, I shouldnt of imposed on you. Making myself feel at home is a job I need to do and have been avoiding for far too long. It's just… it's just so much easier to avoid you know?” I grabbed his paw and squeezed it. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I stand up and make my way to his front door before he speaks up.
“Uh hey Maarchal?”
I turn to address him “yeah?”
He shifts in his seat and fidgets with his fingers. “I’m uh, going to Ootra lake next week. I was wondering If you'd like… to come with me? I promise if you don't have a tent I’ll bring you one. We could have a fire, roast some meat on it and share ghost stories and stargaze… if you want?”
“ What about work?”
He rocks in his chair. “We'd have to call in for a day or so.”
I contemplated his words and mulled them over. It would be the first time I’ve ever willingly taken off a day, tarnishing my perfect attendance. But the prospect of spending more one on one time with Ponthyt was overwhelmingly tempting.
“Sure, I’d love to go. But I haven't gone camping for years so you will need to bring me a tent.”
He leapt from his chair, launching it backwards, before calming himself down. “I’ll take care of all the prep. You just have to come along. I promise it’ll be loads of fun!”
I chuckled while I watched his clearly restrained display as I slowly closed the door.
I could hear him howl with enjoyment as I turned into the driveway to get to my auto.
**\*
“Huff, Huff, you doin alright there Ponthyt?” I turned back to see him walking behind me.
“Yeah, oof I haven't walked this much in years!”
I waited for him to catch up, we sat together when he did and we caught our breath before tuning to make our way back up the bluff. When we reached it there was a stone gazebo made of limestone. The angle of the sun let it shine into it. We walked into it and sat down on the stone benches. I looked around at the lake.
It was surrounded by steep hills with many rock faces visible, the layered stone was clearly visible. The topography of the area around the bluffs was shaped like a bowl, with the sight of land of higher elevation faintly visible in the distance despite its gradual slope. Giving a scene of depth that was not as extreme then in more mountainous areas. This view was normally hidden by the trees below.
“Well isn't this view alone worth the trip?” Ponthyt proclaimed.
I looked around letting the mid morning sun warm my back, I stretched my arms and breathed deeply. Taking in all the wonderful scents of nature.
“Yeah, it's beautiful.” I let myself relax, just letting the sounds and scents of nature calm me like I have never been since I was a pup on an archeological trip with mom and dad.
“Hmm, I've missed this.”
I don't know for how long I had been like this, but Ponthyt broke the silence “Ahhem, so, you've gone camping before?”
I nodded, “yeah when I was a pup my parents would sometimes go off to a site for a couple of weeks and we would come with them. We would have to get homeschooled then. But we would always have to camp and I and my siblings would go off exploring while they worked during the day.”
He smiled and his tail was wagging.” That sounds wonderful. I only got to camp for a couple days a year. It was always so hectic. Me and my siblings would just muck around the camp and eat, sometimes hiking around. Heh” Ponthyt looked towards the ground and held his paws together, rubbing his digits together.
“What's wrong Ponthyt?”
“Oh it's nothing it's-” I put my paw on his shoulder which drew his attention towards me.
“I know that's not true, you can trust me. Just tell me what's wrong ok?”
He gave a look of reluctance before caving to my request “… sigh… I grew up in a big family, and I love them all but… I was born at a strange time. I was second to last of my parents pups. Which meant they were busy with the older ones' events and taking care of the youngest. I kind of got mixed up and forgotten. My interests rarely lined up with the others and I often messed up tasks that my sibling would just fix or do for me. It got to the point that I… didn't really do anything. They will never say this but… I don't think my parents ever expected anything of me.”
I rub his shoulder,” well… I know that you have amounted to something. I mean, you're an astronomer! You work to understand the nature of reality. You're also so… kind and patient. I tried to scare you off but you weren't deterred at my standoffish behavior.”
He turned his head and gave me a shallow but joyous expression. “Heh well living in a house that's rarely quiet leaves you with a high tolerance for stubbornness. '' he wipes away a single tear “Sniff well… should we make our way back to camp? Or can I take out my stuff?”
I shake my head. ”Nah, you can paint. I’ll just sit here and let this place wash over me.”
He smiles and gets up and sets up his easel, taking out his supplies from his bag and gets to work painting the landscape ahead of him. He was slow and each brushstroke was as deliberate as he could manage. He… wasn't very good, only starting out when he moved here. But his drive to get better was admirable. Even in adulthood he tried to learn, to grow, to become more than he was yesterday.
I kept staring at him. Feeling something warm in my gut, something an academic wasn't supposed to feel. Shame overwhelmed me and I quickly turned away. Cursing myself for having those accursed feelings.
**\*
Ponthyt, returned from his cauto (Cargo auto -> pickup truck) with an armful of wood he brought with us. He set most of it aside and threw a piece onto the fire he had started, causing a cascade of embers to fly into the late evening air. The dull purple of the sky cast overhead between the canopy of the trees as the chill of the night began to come in. A pleasant coolness that most would take advantage of to seek the comfort of warming oneself close to a fire.
Not me, I paced to a fro as Ponthyt set up our campsite. He had placed his painting for the day inside the cabin of his cautoa and was now seasoning some raw meat strips to cook on the open fire. Snacking on one or two as he did so. He hung them on the tripod to roast, the fat that dripped off them as they were cooking sizzled as they burned on the coals below.
“I’ll have these done as soon as I can, please sit down Maarchal. Walking like that is only going to make the wait worse.” He says as he prods the suspended meat with a claw like utensil.
“Hmm, ok I’ll just sit and wait. Waste my time. Make a waste of the whole evening!!!” I snapped back at him, throwing my paws into the air.
Ponthyt recoils from my outburst with his ears pinned back. “ We’re camping, there is no way to waste it.”
I turned to address him, “we shouldn't be here! This trip means nothing and we are just wasting our TIME!!!” I cross my arms and scratch at the biceps. Rufflying the fur and making a mess of myself.
Ponthyt drops his utensil and walks over to me. “ We’re together and we spent the whole day just mucking about. How is this any more of a waste than that?” He says as he looks at me with eyes full of worry.
“We’re scientists, academics!!! We don't waste time like the ignorant masses! We should spend our time wisely!!! Every action of connection is just another moment we waste that could be spent to advance our field.” I had tears forming in the corners of my eyes. Scratching at my fur until I felt a wetness on my arms and paws.
“We’re supposed to sharpen our minds! No-not seek pointless relationships! ” I said as I bared my teeth and began growling at him.
The look of betrayal and abject worry he had on his face was overwhelming. I didn't want to hurt him. What am I doing? He doesn't deserve my ire. My legs gave out and I cried into my hands.
Ponthyt walked over to his cauto and brought out a cover. He wrapped it around me and rubbed my arms through it. He rested his head on top of mine while I sobbed. I couldn't take this anymore. Repressing and lashing out at any attempt to connect. Ponthyt hugged me and rocked back and forth. Humming and rubbing on the cover. He was warm and soft. I don't know how long we had been like this but by the time my sobs turned to a faint whine the meat over the fire was well done and the sky was pure black and the stars were out.
“I-I think i’m good no-now.” I choked out. Ponthyt grabbed my hand and helped me stand up. We didn't say another word. He collects the meat and places it on two plates. I stare at my portion for some time, Ponthyt doesn't eat any of his either.
“Sigh… I know you might not want to but… Could you tell me why you said those things earlier?” He says with trepidation clearly miring his words.
“Yeah, it's just… When I entered college It was… not what I was expecting… I was sort of a hyper teen. Always going off about some book I read. Drawing pictures of stars, space stations or colonies we would make on inhospitable planets.”
He sits up and places his plate by his side. “You draw? I’d love to see some of them.”
“I used to. But I haven't since that first year of college.” I turned to stare at the dying inferno warming us. I pull the cover around me tighter.
“When I was doodling before class one day the professor walked by me. He noticed what I was doing and grabbed my paper. I objected but he just stared at me. When he started to address the class he showed it off and mocked me for wasting my time.” Ponthyt turns his head to look at me.
“That's a dick move, But at least he couldn't do the same when you did it in your free time right?” I turned to him with a somber expression. He seemed to understand the implications though he seemed to be confused as to how.
“He couldn't have gotten into your room right? That'd be a huge breach of privacy!!!”
I grabbed the poker and stirred the coals of the fire. “You're right, he couldn't. But he didn't need to, my roommate would take them with her to class and he’d pin them up on the board to mock. I called the staff but since she was my roommate she didn't break any privacy laws and since my art was only ever worth the paper it was on it wasn't even enough to get a misdemeanor theft charge. I tried to hide it but she would always find them. I tried to get another roommate but he stonewalled my attempts and I couldn't afford to rent a place in town. ”
He took on a look of absolute despair. “... How… how could he be so aggressively intolerant of such an innocent hobby?”
I chuckled “It wasn't just mine, a few others had made the mistake of having a roommate with the same professor. I remembered one who loved going out in the woods for hikes. When he found out about that he mocked him for “Pointless exercise and admiring a random assemble of dead and dying shit””. I waved my arms about to emphasize how he inflicted his words.
Ponthyt stared at the ground between us with a look of utter confusion.” … He mocked someone for appreciating nature and being healthy?”
I nodded, “if you were not engaging with study of his topic you were wasting his and everyone else's time.”
Ponthyt looks at me with concern and shared pain. “Why, why didn't you go to a different school?”
I stared at him in his eyes. A scene of shame overtook me. “It was the top class in the country. My family was so proud of me. I was so proud of myself, I didn't want to disappoint them and me. Looking back on it, I realize my own pride was something I rarely contended with until then. It didn't help when he found out who my family was.”
Ponthyt recoiled and waved his arms in a “what” fashion. “Wait, what does your family have to do with this?”
I poked at a log to knock off the charcoal to expose the untouched wood underneath. “They were happy. He spent a lot of time in academic circles so naturally he met people who knew my parents. And the way they described this happy family irritated him something fierce. He gave me such a hard time with it. Mocking me for being a lazy nepotism pick who didn't deserve her seat in his class. He mocked anyone for having any kind of non professional relationship, we never spoke to each other outside of class. We never left or met with friends or family. If we tried too he’d find out and call the one in question a “Lazy sentimental idiot.””
I breathed in deeply, “... that hurt my pride so severely that I just stopped seeing them or any of my friends. I always said I was busy or had a field study, but I was just reading and rereading his lectures. I didn't even go home for the summer breaks, I just apprenticeshiped at his museum to study even more. At graduation he looked so… proud, I only realized he was proud of what he turned me into and not what I did a few weeks after I met you. How I let him turn me into an angry starile shell of a person.”
Ponthyt turned his head towards the fire. His ears straight up and a soft growl in his throat. “... If I ever meet that piece of.. nuclear waste, I’ll kill him.”
He turns to me and his features soften immediately. “Anyone capable of manipulating someone as passionate and creative as you... I can't even imagine the kind of living hell he made you seek…”
I chucked and a slight wag entered my tail.” I’m responsible for my life. MY pride kept me there for him to mold. I hate him, but I hate myself for it too.”
Ponthyt shoots up and screams at me “MERSHIT, Maarchal, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You had a right to expect your teachers to be respectable people. Not abusive and manipulative Sherkires (Ambush insect. Commonly seen as sneaky and unhonorable due to making pheromones and calls imitating other insects mating signals). He starts to speak softer as he turners to address me.
“Even this version of you, so cut off of why you love space in the first place is just.. You are one of the most remarkable people I have ever met. So humble with addressing yourself. You inspire me to be a tenth of the person you are.” He kneels in front of me and grabs my paws in his own.
“You are… you are so passionate, so creative. Even with being a self described shell. I can't even imagine how you will be when you open up again and explore your creativity in full and banish that monster's influence for good.”
I turn and I can't help but smile at his words.”... I haven't been in practice in years. But … I’m willing to relearn it with you.” I stared deeply in his eyes and that feeling again bubbles within me. The feeling of never wanting to leave his side, the feeling as though I found a piece I had been missing. Before I knew it I bit on his snout, recoiling when I realized what I had done.
‘I-I’m so sorry!!! You were just so close and and I felt something and before I knew it-” I was caught off guard when he bit my snout, holding my top jaw between his own set. I bit down on his lower jaw and we locked together. He tried to let go after a while. But I growled to let him know I wasn't ready yet and I used my leverage to lead him into my tent.
**\*
I got up and exited my tent. I stood up and stretched and twisted my back around. Lifting my arms above my head and pulling them as far out as I could. I looked at the coals still burning in our firepit, I could only tell they were burning from the heat going off of them as the glow was hidden by the sun's light. Before noticing the meat Ponthyt prepared last night still on the plates on the log we sat on.
“Pff, hey Ponthyt. Come out here!!!” I said behind me. He crawled out my tent with a head of messy fur.
“Wut ?” He said with half closed eyes and a disposition of utter exhaustion . I pointed to the cold meat. He still had a look of drowsiness before he realized what the significance of the strange strips were.
“Heh, I guess we won't need to make breakfast?” I chuckled as I sat down and hugged his head. I groomed his messy fur as I absorbed the morning sun. I don't know what the future of my career looked like anymore. But it was no longer the most important thing in my life. I loved space, I loved to learn. But In these years I had lost track of what was truly important. As I groomed him Ponthyt fell asleep with his head in my lap.
As I felt the joy of reciprocal love again for the first time in years I leaned back and watched the sunrise, caressing my love's head and breathing in the fresh air.
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Content warning; Educator abuse and syrupy love
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Memory transcript: Maarchal , MESEA Astronomers. Date: [Standard Farsul calendar ] January 26th, 3667
PLUNCK
Ponthyts blue stick clattered on the board, rolling around in a circle. Before settling on three. He then pumps his paw and moves to move a soldier that many paces.
“Well, I got you cornered now, whatcha going to do about it?” I smirk at Ponthyts soon to be dashed confidence as I take out my red stick and flip in the air much higher than he did with his own.
It hits the board with a loud clatter, bouncing on each end before settling on rolling. To which it landed on seven. I move my last interceptor through his ranks and take his general. The gobsmacked look on his features was evident, with his previously wagging tail so still it made stone seem fluid.
“I win.”
“How did you do that?”
I rolled my shoulders and readjusted my legs underneath. “Well, you left a clear path for my interceptor.” I pointed to the gaps in his remaining pieces.
“I know that! I mean how did you know you'd get a high enough number to do that? Your interceptor was all the way back here and it's your last red piece!!!”
I lean my head back and lean against the wall behind me. “I didn't, I just saw an opportunity and took it.”
He pointed a digit at me “ Mershit, that was some grandmaster trap!”
I give him the ear position of resignation with a mirthful little grin. “I promise you it was just luck.”
He waves his paw dismissively. “I don't believe you.”
“Well believe it, because I don't plan ahead like that. Want to play another game?”
He shakes his head. “Nah I think four games is enough for one night.” He begins moving the pieces into their containers and folds up the board and places it on top of them. Closing the box. He then stands up and offers me his paw, I use it to pull myself up off the floor.“Well Maarchal, I’ll see you tomorrow at the observatory. I’ll bring the set if you want to play it during lunch if you want.”
I froze, “what! What time is it? He turns over to look at the clock above his strove.
“Ahh about Fifteen minutes past 18.”
“Uh, that's not that late! We could play another game! C’mon let's have a tie breaker!”
He rubs his eyes, “I’m tired and we have work in the morning. Is there something you're avoiding?”
I rub my upper right arm and look off into the corner. “...”
He took on a worried look, “Why don't you want to go home Maarchal?”
I sighed and took a seat at his dining room table. “I… I don't like that house, I’ve lived there since I moved to LIghra six years ago but it's not a… home like here.”
I looked around at the messy abode. Dirty cloaks were strewn about on the back of chairs and the rubbish trough was just barely not overflowing. Paintings either from family or Ponthyts own paw were hanged up in the hallways, and the lightbulbs cast a warm orangish light. While the dishes from our dinner were placed in the sink, covered with animal gravy slathered all over them. It was tidy yet just barely so. A place filled with all the markers of being lived in.
“You've lived here less than a year but it feels like it's always had you in it. I feel … so comfortable here. My own home is so… cold and sterile. I Worked a lot the first few months I moved here. I just never got around to making it a home. It feels so bare, I started to work overtime just to avoid it. Which just made the problem worse.”
He sat down across from me, He put his head in his paws and looked at the scratched wood of his table. He held that position for a minute or two before breaking it and placing his paw on my own. “Maarchal, you are my best friend, I want you to feel comfortable. So if you want you can sleep on my coach, I can also help you make your home feel like one."
I shake my head, “no no, I shouldnt of imposed on you. Making myself feel at home is a job I need to do and have been avoiding for far too long. It's just… it's just so much easier to avoid you know?” I grabbed his paw and squeezed it. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I stand up and make my way to his front door before he speaks up.
“Uh hey Maarchal?”
I turn to address him “yeah?”
He shifts in his seat and fidgets with his fingers. “I’m uh, going to Ootra lake next week. I was wondering If you'd like… to come with me? I promise if you don't have a tent I’ll bring you one. We could have a fire, roast some meat on it and share ghost stories and stargaze… if you want?”
“ What about work?”
He rocks in his chair. “We'd have to call in for a day or so.”
I contemplated his words and mulled them over. It would be the first time I’ve ever willingly taken off a day, tarnishing my perfect attendance. But the prospect of spending more one on one time with Ponthyt was overwhelmingly tempting.
“Sure, I’d love to go. But I haven't gone camping for years so you will need to bring me a tent.”
He leapt from his chair, launching it backwards, before calming himself down. “I’ll take care of all the prep. You just have to come along. I promise it’ll be loads of fun!”
I chuckled while I watched his clearly restrained display as I slowly closed the door.
I could hear him howl with enjoyment as I turned into the driveway to get to my auto.
**\*
“Huff, Huff, you doin alright there Ponthyt?” I turned back to see him walking behind me.
“Yeah, oof I haven't walked this much in years!”
I waited for him to catch up, we sat together when he did and we caught our breath before tuning to make our way back up the bluff. When we reached it there was a stone gazebo made of limestone. The angle of the sun let it shine into it. We walked into it and sat down on the stone benches. I looked around at the lake.
It was surrounded by steep hills with many rock faces visible, the layered stone was clearly visible. The topography of the area around the bluffs was shaped like a bowl, with the sight of land of higher elevation faintly visible in the distance despite its gradual slope. Giving a scene of depth that was not as extreme then in more mountainous areas. This view was normally hidden by the trees below.
“Well isn't this view alone worth the trip?” Ponthyt proclaimed.
I looked around letting the mid morning sun warm my back, I stretched my arms and breathed deeply. Taking in all the wonderful scents of nature.
“Yeah, it's beautiful.” I let myself relax, just letting the sounds and scents of nature calm me like I have never been since I was a pup on an archeological trip with mom and dad.
“Hmm, I've missed this.”
I don't know for how long I had been like this, but Ponthyt broke the silence “Ahhem, so, you've gone camping before?”
I nodded, “yeah when I was a pup my parents would sometimes go off to a site for a couple of weeks and we would come with them. We would have to get homeschooled then. But we would always have to camp and I and my siblings would go off exploring while they worked during the day.”
He smiled and his tail was wagging.” That sounds wonderful. I only got to camp for a couple days a year. It was always so hectic. Me and my siblings would just muck around the camp and eat, sometimes hiking around. Heh” Ponthyt looked towards the ground and held his paws together, rubbing his digits together.
“What's wrong Ponthyt?”
“Oh it's nothing it's-” I put my paw on his shoulder which drew his attention towards me.
“I know that's not true, you can trust me. Just tell me what's wrong ok?”
He gave a look of reluctance before caving to my request “… sigh… I grew up in a big family, and I love them all but… I was born at a strange time. I was second to last of my parents pups. Which meant they were busy with the older ones' events and taking care of the youngest. I kind of got mixed up and forgotten. My interests rarely lined up with the others and I often messed up tasks that my sibling would just fix or do for me. It got to the point that I… didn't really do anything. They will never say this but… I don't think my parents ever expected anything of me.”
I rub his shoulder,” well… I know that you have amounted to something. I mean, you're an astronomer! You work to understand the nature of reality. You're also so… kind and patient. I tried to scare you off but you weren't deterred at my standoffish behavior.”
He turned his head and gave me a shallow but joyous expression. “Heh well living in a house that's rarely quiet leaves you with a high tolerance for stubbornness. '' he wipes away a single tear “Sniff well… should we make our way back to camp? Or can I take out my stuff?”
I shake my head. ”Nah, you can paint. I’ll just sit here and let this place wash over me.”
He smiles and gets up and sets up his easel, taking out his supplies from his bag and gets to work painting the landscape ahead of him. He was slow and each brushstroke was as deliberate as he could manage. He… wasn't very good, only starting out when he moved here. But his drive to get better was admirable. Even in adulthood he tried to learn, to grow, to become more than he was yesterday.
I kept staring at him. Feeling something warm in my gut, something an academic wasn't supposed to feel. Shame overwhelmed me and I quickly turned away. Cursing myself for having those accursed feelings.
**\*
Ponthyt, returned from his cauto (Cargo auto -> pickup truck) with an armful of wood he brought with us. He set most of it aside and threw a piece onto the fire he had started, causing a cascade of embers to fly into the late evening air. The dull purple of the sky cast overhead between the canopy of the trees as the chill of the night began to come in. A pleasant coolness that most would take advantage of to seek the comfort of warming oneself close to a fire.
Not me, I paced to a fro as Ponthyt set up our campsite. He had placed his painting for the day inside the cabin of his cautoa and was now seasoning some raw meat strips to cook on the open fire. Snacking on one or two as he did so. He hung them on the tripod to roast, the fat that dripped off them as they were cooking sizzled as they burned on the coals below.
“I’ll have these done as soon as I can, please sit down Maarchal. Walking like that is only going to make the wait worse.” He says as he prods the suspended meat with a claw like utensil.
“Hmm, ok I’ll just sit and wait. Waste my time. Make a waste of the whole evening!!!” I snapped back at him, throwing my paws into the air.
Ponthyt recoils from my outburst with his ears pinned back. “ We’re camping, there is no way to waste it.”
I turned to address him, “we shouldn't be here! This trip means nothing and we are just wasting our TIME!!!” I cross my arms and scratch at the biceps. Rufflying the fur and making a mess of myself.
Ponthyt drops his utensil and walks over to me. “ We’re together and we spent the whole day just mucking about. How is this any more of a waste than that?” He says as he looks at me with eyes full of worry.
“We’re scientists, academics!!! We don't waste time like the ignorant masses! We should spend our time wisely!!! Every action of connection is just another moment we waste that could be spent to advance our field.” I had tears forming in the corners of my eyes. Scratching at my fur until I felt a wetness on my arms and paws.
“We’re supposed to sharpen our minds! No-not seek pointless relationships! ” I said as I bared my teeth and began growling at him.
The look of betrayal and abject worry he had on his face was overwhelming. I didn't want to hurt him. What am I doing? He doesn't deserve my ire. My legs gave out and I cried into my hands.
Ponthyt walked over to his cauto and brought out a cover. He wrapped it around me and rubbed my arms through it. He rested his head on top of mine while I sobbed. I couldn't take this anymore. Repressing and lashing out at any attempt to connect. Ponthyt hugged me and rocked back and forth. Humming and rubbing on the cover. He was warm and soft. I don't know how long we had been like this but by the time my sobs turned to a faint whine the meat over the fire was well done and the sky was pure black and the stars were out.
“I-I think i’m good no-now.” I choked out. Ponthyt grabbed my hand and helped me stand up. We didn't say another word. He collects the meat and places it on two plates. I stare at my portion for some time, Ponthyt doesn't eat any of his either.
“Sigh… I know you might not want to but… Could you tell me why you said those things earlier?” He says with trepidation clearly miring his words.
“Yeah, it's just… When I entered college It was… not what I was expecting… I was sort of a hyper teen. Always going off about some book I read. Drawing pictures of stars, space stations or colonies we would make on inhospitable planets.”
He sits up and places his plate by his side. “You draw? I’d love to see some of them.”
“I used to. But I haven't since that first year of college.” I turned to stare at the dying inferno warming us. I pull the cover around me tighter.
“When I was doodling before class one day the professor walked by me. He noticed what I was doing and grabbed my paper. I objected but he just stared at me. When he started to address the class he showed it off and mocked me for wasting my time.” Ponthyt turns his head to look at me.
“That's a dick move, But at least he couldn't do the same when you did it in your free time right?” I turned to him with a somber expression. He seemed to understand the implications though he seemed to be confused as to how.
“He couldn't have gotten into your room right? That'd be a huge breach of privacy!!!”
I grabbed the poker and stirred the coals of the fire. “You're right, he couldn't. But he didn't need to, my roommate would take them with her to class and he’d pin them up on the board to mock. I called the staff but since she was my roommate she didn't break any privacy laws and since my art was only ever worth the paper it was on it wasn't even enough to get a misdemeanor theft charge. I tried to hide it but she would always find them. I tried to get another roommate but he stonewalled my attempts and I couldn't afford to rent a place in town. ”
He took on a look of absolute despair. “... How… how could he be so aggressively intolerant of such an innocent hobby?”
I chuckled “It wasn't just mine, a few others had made the mistake of having a roommate with the same professor. I remembered one who loved going out in the woods for hikes. When he found out about that he mocked him for “Pointless exercise and admiring a random assemble of dead and dying shit””. I waved my arms about to emphasize how he inflicted his words.
Ponthyt stared at the ground between us with a look of utter confusion.” … He mocked someone for appreciating nature and being healthy?”
I nodded, “if you were not engaging with study of his topic you were wasting his and everyone else's time.”
Ponthyt looks at me with concern and shared pain. “Why, why didn't you go to a different school?”
I stared at him in his eyes. A scene of shame overtook me. “It was the top class in the country. My family was so proud of me. I was so proud of myself, I didn't want to disappoint them and me. Looking back on it, I realize my own pride was something I rarely contended with until then. It didn't help when he found out who my family was.”
Ponthyt recoiled and waved his arms in a “what” fashion. “Wait, what does your family have to do with this?”
I poked at a log to knock off the charcoal to expose the untouched wood underneath. “They were happy. He spent a lot of time in academic circles so naturally he met people who knew my parents. And the way they described this happy family irritated him something fierce. He gave me such a hard time with it. Mocking me for being a lazy nepotism pick who didn't deserve her seat in his class. He mocked anyone for having any kind of non professional relationship, we never spoke to each other outside of class. We never left or met with friends or family. If we tried too he’d find out and call the one in question a “Lazy sentimental idiot.””
I breathed in deeply, “... that hurt my pride so severely that I just stopped seeing them or any of my friends. I always said I was busy or had a field study, but I was just reading and rereading his lectures. I didn't even go home for the summer breaks, I just apprenticeshiped at his museum to study even more. At graduation he looked so… proud, I only realized he was proud of what he turned me into and not what I did a few weeks after I met you. How I let him turn me into an angry starile shell of a person.”
Ponthyt turned his head towards the fire. His ears straight up and a soft growl in his throat. “... If I ever meet that piece of.. nuclear waste, I’ll kill him.”
He turns to me and his features soften immediately. “Anyone capable of manipulating someone as passionate and creative as you... I can't even imagine the kind of living hell he made you seek…”
I chucked and a slight wag entered my tail.” I’m responsible for my life. MY pride kept me there for him to mold. I hate him, but I hate myself for it too.”
Ponthyt shoots up and screams at me “MERSHIT, Maarchal, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You had a right to expect your teachers to be respectable people. Not abusive and manipulative Sherkires (Ambush insect. Commonly seen as sneaky and unhonorable due to making pheromones and calls imitating other insects mating signals). He starts to speak softer as he turners to address me.
“Even this version of you, so cut off of why you love space in the first place is just.. You are one of the most remarkable people I have ever met. So humble with addressing yourself. You inspire me to be a tenth of the person you are.” He kneels in front of me and grabs my paws in his own.
“You are… you are so passionate, so creative. Even with being a self described shell. I can't even imagine how you will be when you open up again and explore your creativity in full and banish that monster's influence for good.”
I turn and I can't help but smile at his words.”... I haven't been in practice in years. But … I’m willing to relearn it with you.” I stared deeply in his eyes and that feeling again bubbles within me. The feeling of never wanting to leave his side, the feeling as though I found a piece I had been missing. Before I knew it I bit on his snout, recoiling when I realized what I had done.
‘I-I’m so sorry!!! You were just so close and and I felt something and before I knew it-” I was caught off guard when he bit my snout, holding my top jaw between his own set. I bit down on his lower jaw and we locked together. He tried to let go after a while. But I growled to let him know I wasn't ready yet and I used my leverage to lead him into my tent.
**\*
I got up and exited my tent. I stood up and stretched and twisted my back around. Lifting my arms above my head and pulling them as far out as I could. I looked at the coals still burning in our firepit, I could only tell they were burning from the heat going off of them as the glow was hidden by the sun's light. Before noticing the meat Ponthyt prepared last night still on the plates on the log we sat on.
“Pff, hey Ponthyt. Come out here!!!” I said behind me. He crawled out my tent with a head of messy fur.
“Wut ?” He said with half closed eyes and a disposition of utter exhaustion . I pointed to the cold meat. He still had a look of drowsiness before he realized what the significance of the strange strips were.
“Heh, I guess we won't need to make breakfast?” I chuckled as I sat down and hugged his head. I groomed his messy fur as I absorbed the morning sun. I don't know what the future of my career looked like anymore. But it was no longer the most important thing in my life. I loved space, I loved to learn. But In these years I had lost track of what was truly important. As I groomed him Ponthyt fell asleep with his head in my lap.
As I felt the joy of reciprocal love again for the first time in years I leaned back and watched the sunrise, caressing my love's head and breathing in the fresh air.
[First]-[Prev]-[Next]
2024.05.15 17:12 itsathrowawayduhhhhh Public Women’s Bathrooms
Twice recently I have been in public women’s bathrooms that have brown paper bags in the stalls for period products. You have to put your stuff in the (very loud very crinkly) bag, then you have to take that bag with you out of the stall to drop it in the big trash. What the hell is this??? When did this start? Is it more common than I thought??? Listen; I’m 34, so I know I should grow up, but my god why do I have to advertise to the entire bathroom I’m on my period???? I was slightly annoyed the first time, but then it happened the second and I was very annoyed lol. Has anyone else seen this in public bathrooms?
submitted by itsathrowawayduhhhhh to AskWomenOver30 [link] [comments]
2024.05.15 16:42 country_dinosaur97 Am i the only one who has a garbage pail kid?
I feel im not alone but the little one has taken to basically trash. She has crinkley toys... nah she wants the emoty wipe bag, plenty stuffed animals... nope she wants a unused diaper to play with. Has some interactive toys. No she wants a empty water bottle. New fascination being the paper towel tube.
Her other toys just throws but these will keep her busy for a while
submitted by country_dinosaur97 to NewParents [link] [comments]
Her other toys just throws but these will keep her busy for a while
2024.05.15 16:02 docXfamas [H] DOOM Eternal DELUXE EDITION, Have a Nice Death, Dying Light Definitive Edition, Torchlight III, Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered, Omensight Definitve Edition and lots of other bundled games [W] Trepang2, PayPal, tf2 keys, gems, wishlisted games
Note:
MY REP Wishlist
Gems
TF2 keys/ CS2 Cases
submitted by docXfamas to SteamGameSwap [link] [comments]
- All keys are primarily from US/NA region
- My list maybe slightly outdated so I apologize in advance if some of the games mentioned are already traded/Sold.
- I accept XBOX keys as well.
- I accept paypal only via goods and services so all transactions will include fees.
- My Wishlist, I am just interested in these games and mentioned in wants below.
HAVE
- .hack//G.U. Last Recode
- 10 Second Ninja X
- 112 operator
- 198X x 2
- 8 doors
- 9 Years of Shadows
- 911 Operator x 2
- A Fisherman's Tale
- A Juggler's Tale
- A Little Golf Journey
- A Sceptic's Guide to Magic
- A Tale of Paper: Refolded Edition
- A.I.M. Clan Wars
- Aces and Adventures x 1
- Aegis Defenders x 3
- Ageless x 3
- Alekhine's Gun
- Alien Spidy
- Alwa's Awakening
- Amanda the Adventurer
- American Fugitive x 3
- Amnesia: The Dark Descent + Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
- Amnesia: Rebirth x 2
- Anna's Quest x 2
- Anuchard
- Arcade Paradise
- Arcade Paradise - Arcade Paradise EP x 2
- Arcade Spirits
- Arto
- As Far As The Eye
- Astalon: Tears of the Earth
- AtmaSphere
- Attack of the Earthlings
- Automachef x 3
- Automobilista
- Autonauts vs Piratebots x 3
- Axiom Verge
- Axiom Verge 2
- Back 4 Blood - STRICT NA REGION LOCK x 2
- Ballpoint Universe - Infinite
- Bartlow's Dread Machine
- Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY Edition
- Batman: Arkham City GOTY
- Batman: Arkham Knight Premium Edition
- Batman: Arkham Origins
- Battlestar Galactica Deadlock
- Bayonetta
- Beacon Pines x 2
- Before We leave
- Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery
- Beholder 2
- Bendy and the Dark Revival x 2
- Between the stars x 4
- Beyond the wire x 2
- Big Crown Showdown
- Bionic Commando x 2
- Blade Assault
- Blasphemous
- Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night x 3
- Book of Demons x 3
- Boomerang Fu
- Borderlands 2 Game of the Year x 2
- Boreal Blade x 3
- Boundless
- Bravery and Greed
- Broken Age
- Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
- Builder Simulator x 1
- Bunker Punks
- Butcher
- CAPITALISM 2
- CHESS ULTRA
- CODE VEIN
- CROSSBOW: Bloodnight x 2
- Call of Juarez Gunslinger
- Canyon Capers
- Capitalism 2
- Car Mechanic Simulator 2018
- Car Mechanic Simulator VR
- Cardaclysm
- Carnival Games VR
- Caveman World: Mountains of Unga Boonga
- Celeste
- Charlie's Adventure
- Chicken Assassin Reloaded
- Children of Silentown x 2
- Chivalry 2 x 2
- Chivalry: Medieval Warfare x 2
- Citizen Sleeper
- CivCity: Rome x 3
- Civilization III x 2
- Clutch
- Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues
- Conan Exiles
- Convoy
- Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3
- Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?!
- Cook-Out
- Cookie Cutter
- Cosmic Star Heroine
- Crash Drive 3
- Crazy Machines 3
- Crown Trick
- Cultures - 8th Wonder of the world
- Cursed Castilla (Maldita Castilla Ex)
- Cyber Hook x 2
- DISTRAINT 2 x 2
- DOOM Eternal DELUXE EDITION
- DUCATI - 90th Anniversary
- Dagon: by H. P. Lovecraft - The Eldritch Box DLC x 2
- Danger Scavenger
- Dangerous Worlds x 2
- Dark Future: Blood Red States
- Darksburg x 2
- Darkwood
- Dead Age
- Dead In Vinland x 2
- Death's Gambit: Afterlife
- Deleveled x 2
- Demon Pit
- Deponia: The Complete Journey x 2
- Derange
- Desert Child
- Desolate x 2
- Destroy All Humans! 2 - Reprobed x 2
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - Digital Deluxe Edition
- DiRT Rally
- DiRT Rally 2.0 - H2 RWD Double Pack
- DiRT Rally 2.0 - Opel Manta 400
- Dirt Rally 2.0 - Porsche 911 RGT Rally Spec
- Dirt Rally x 2
- Disco Elysium - The Final Cut
- Disjunction - gog
- Do Not Feed the Monkeys
- Dracula: Love Kills
- Drake Hollow x 2
- Draw Slasher x 2
- Drawful 2 x 2
- Dreams in the Witch House x 2
- Dreamscaper x 2
- Driftland: The Magic Revival x 5
- Ducati - 90th Anniversary
- Due Process x 3
- Duke Nukem Forever collection x 4
- Dust to the End
- Dying Light Definitive Edition
- ELEX II x 4
- ETHERBORN
- Eador. Imperium
- Earth 2140
- Earth Defence Force 4.1 + all dlc
- Earth Defence Force: Iron Rain
- EarthX
- Edge Of Eternity x 3
- El Matador
- Elderand
- Eldest Souls
- Ember
- Enclave (Gold) x 2
- Encodya - GOG x 2
- Endless Space 2 x 2
- Endzone - A World apart
- Enslaved™: Odyssey To The West™ Premium Edition
- Eternal Threads x 4
- Eternity: The Last Unicorn
- Evergarden x 2
- Evoland Legendary Edition x 2
- Exiled Kingdoms x 2
- Expeditions: Rome x 2
- Expeditions: Viking
- F1 2017 1988 McLAREN MP4/4 Classic Car DLC
- FAR: Lone Sails x 2
- Family Man x 3
- Fantasy Blacksmith
- Fantasy Versus
- Farmer's dynasty x 2
- Fated Souls 3
- Fear Effect Sedna
- Fictorum
- Field of Glory II x 2
- Field of Glory: Empires
- Figement
- Final Fantasy III (3D Remake)
- Five Dates x 2
- Fling to the Finish
- Fobia - St. Dinfna Hotel x 2
- For The King
- Foretales x 1
- Four Sided Fantasy
- Friends vs Friends x 4
- Frog Detective 2: The Case Of The Invisible Wizard x 3
- Frogun
- From Space x 3
- Fun With Ragdolls: The Game x 2
- Fun with Ragdolls: The Game
- Fury Unleashed x 5
- GOD EATER 3 x 2
- GRID Autosport - Premium Garage Pack DLC
- GRID Autosport - Road & Track Car Pack DLC
- GRIP: Combat Racing Artifex DLC x 3
- GameGuru x 2
- GameMaker Studio 2 Creator 12 Months x 2
- Garage: bad trip
- Garfield Kart
- Garfield Kart - Furious Racing
- Gauntlet
- GemCraft - Chasing Shadows
- Genesis Alpha One Deluxe Edition x 3
- Ghost Of A Tale
- Ghost Song
- Gift of Parthax
- Glitch Busters x 2
- Gloria Victis x 2
- Gnog
- Go Home Dinosaurs x 2
- Gold Rush! Classic
- Golden Light x 3
- Golf Club Wasteland
- Gotham Knights
- Gothic 3
- Grand Mountain Adventure
- Green Hell (Region locked)
- Guts and Glory
- Guts and glory
- Hardspace: Shipbreaker x 3
- Have a nice Death
- Headsnatchers x 2
- Heal
- Heavy Burger
- Heli Heroes
- Helion
- Hell Pie
- Hell let loose
- Hellpoint x 2
- Hero's Hour (NA Region) x 3
- Hexologic
- Hi-Fi RUSH
- Hidden & Dangerous 2: Courage Under Fire x 3
- Hidden & Dangerous: Action Pack x 2
- Hiveswap Friendsim x 2
- Hiveswap: Act 1
- Homefront
- Homestead Arcana x 2
- Honey, I Joined a Cult x 2
- Horizon Chase Turbo x 2
- Hot Brass x 2
- Hot Wheels Unleashed
- Hotshot Racing x 3
- Hue x 2
- Hyperdrive Massacre
- I Expect You To Die
- Ice Age: Scrat's Nutty Adventure
- Ikenfell x 3
- Imperator: Rome Deluxe Edition x 2
- In sound mind x 2
- Indivisible x 5
- Injustice 2 Legendary Edition
- Insurmountable
- Interplanetary: Enhanced Edition
- Interstellar Space: Genesis
- Introvert Quest
- Iratus: Lord of the Dead
- Iris And The Giant
- Iron Danger
- Iron Sky Invasion
- Jack Move
- Jack Orlando: Director's Cut
- Journey of Greed
- Journey of a Roach x 2
- JumpJet Rex
- Jurassic Park Classic Games Collection
- Just Cause 4 Complete Edition
- Karma City Police
- Kerbal Space Program
- King Of The Castle
- King's Bounty: Warriors of the North
- Kingdom: Classic
- Kingdom: New Lands x 2
- Kings of Kung Fu
- Kitaria Fables
- Knights and Merchants
- Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara
- Kraken Academy!!
- Kyle is Famous: Complete Edition
- LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham
- LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
- LEGO® MARVEL's Avengers
- Last Inua
- Lawn Mowing Simulator x 2
- Layers of Fear + Soundtrack
- Leisure Suit Larry - Wet Dreams Don't Dry
- Leisure Suit Larry - Wet Dreams Dry Twice
- Levelhead
- Liberated
- Liberated GOG x 2
- Liberte
- Lichdom: Battlemage
- Life is Strange 2 Complete Season (incl. Mascot Bundle DLC)
- Life is Strange: True Colors x 2
- Little Orpheus
- Loddlenaut
- Lords and Villeins x 3
- Lostwinds
- Lovecraft's Untold Stories x 3
- Lust for Darkness
- MO:Astray
- Mad Max
- Magrunner: Dark Pulse
- Main Assembly
- Majesty 2 Collection x 2
- Making History: The Calm and the Storm Gold Edition
- Marvel's Midnight Suns Digital+ Edition + Doctor Strange Defenders Skin
- Mass Effect 2 Origin key
- Medieval Kingdom Wars
- Mediterranea Inferno
- Meeple Station x 2
- Mega Man Legacy Collection
- Memoria + Soundtrack
- Men of War
- Merchant of the Skies x 2
- Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition x 2
- Middle-earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition x 2
- Midnight Fight Express
- Midnight Ghost Hunt
- Midnight protocol x 2
- Milky Way Prince - The Vampire Star x 2
- Monaco
- Monorail Stories
- Monster Crown x 3
- Monster Prom 2: Monster Camp x 2
- Monster Slayers
- Monster Slayers - Advanced Classes Unlocker
- Monster Slayers - Fire & Steel Expansion
- Morbid: The Seven Acolytes x 2
- Morkredd x 3
- Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate Edition x 2
- Mortal Kombat XL x 2
- Moving Out
- Mr. Prepper x 2
- Munin
- Murder by Numbers
- My Big Sister x 2
- My Time At Portia
- Mystery Castle: The Mirror's Secret
- Mytheon
- Mythforce
- Narita Boy
- Nebuchadnezzar
- NecroVisioN: Lost Company
- NecroWorm x 2
- Neoverse x 3
- Neverout x 2
- Neversong
- Nickelodeon all-star brawl x 2
- Niffelheim x 2
- Nigate Tale
- Nioh 2
- Nobody Saves the World
- Noosphere
- Northend Tower Defense
- Nowhere Prophet
- Nuclear DAWN
- OTXO
- Oaken x 2
- Oddworld: Soulstorm Enhanced Edition x 2
- Of Orcs and Men
- Oh My Gore! x 3
- Omensight Definitve Edition x 2
- Operation Tango x 2
- Orbital Racer x 2
- Othercide
- Out Of Space
- Out of Reach: Treasure Royale x 2
- Overcooked
- Overlord: Ultimate Evil Collection
- Ozymandias - NA region x 2
- PAC-MAN 256
- PAC-MAN MUSEUM+ x 2
- PC Building Simulator x 2
- PGA Tour 2K21 x 2
- PULSAR: Lost Colony x 2
- Partisans 1941 x 2
- Patch Quest x 3
- Path Of Giants
- Pathfinder: Kingmaker - Royal Ascension
- Pathfinder: Kingmaker - Wild Cards
- Pathfinder: Kingmaker Enhanced Plus Edition
- Paw paw paw x 4
- Peaky Blinders: Mastermind x 2
- Perfect x 2
- Pesterquest x 4
- Phantom Doctrine x 2
- Pikuniku
- Pine
- Pitiri 1977
- Pixel Puzzles: UndeadZ
- Pixplode x 2
- Planet Alcatraz
- Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville (ORIGIN KEY)
- PlataGO!
- Police stories
- Popup Dungeon
- Port Royale 3
- Prison Architect + Aficionado (Dlc)
- Prodeus
- Propnight
- Purrfect Date
- Quern: Undying thoughts
- RAD x 2
- REPLIKATOR
- RICO: London
- RIOT - Civil Unrest
- RPG Maker VX
- Rage in Peace
- Railroad Tycoon 2: Platinum x 3
- Railroad Tycoon 3 x 3
- Railway Empire
- Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan x 2
- Re-Legion
- Rebel Galaxy Outlaw
- Rebel Inc: Escalation x 3
- Red Wings: Aces of the Sky
- Redeemer: Enhanced Edition x 2
- Relicta x 3
- Remnants of Naezith x 2
- Remothered: Broken Porcelain
- Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood x 2
- Rescue Party: Live! x 2
- Resident Evil HD REMASTER
- Resident Evil Revelations 2 - Episode 1: Penal Colony x 2
- Resident Evil Revelations x 2
- Retimed x 3
- Reventure
- Revita
- Rig n Roll
- Ring of pain x 4
- Rise Of Industry x 3
- Rise of the Slime x 2
- Roadwarden
- Roarr! Jurassic Edition x 2
- Roboquest
- Rogue Lords x 2
- Roguebook
- RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic
- Rollerdrome NA region
- Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered
- Rover Mechanic Simulator x 3
- Rustler x 4
- SCP : Secret Files x 3
- SPACECOM
- SPRAWL x 2
- STONE x 2
- SUPERHOT VR
- SYSTEM SHOCK: ENHANCED EDITION
- Sairento VR
- Satellite Reign
- Saturday Morning RPG
- Save Room - Organization Puzzle
- Say No! More
- Scheming Through The Zombie Apocalypse: The Beginning x 2
- Scorn x 2
- ScourgeBringer
- Seed Hunter x 2
- Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun - Aiko's Choice
- Shadowhand: RPG Card Game
- Shady Part of Me x 2
- Shantae and the Pirate's Curse
- Shark Attack Deathmatch 2
- Shing! x 2
- Shining Resonance Refrain x 2
- Ship Simulator Extremes x 2
- Shooting Stars! x 2
- Shooty Fruity
- Shoppe Keep 2
- Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate - NA region x 2
- Sid Meier's Railroads! x 3
- Sifu Deluxe Edition Upgrade Bundle x 2
- Silver Chains
- Simple Rockets 2
- Simplerockets 2 x 2
- Simulacra + Simulacra 2
- Sin Slayers
- Size Matters x 3
- Skullgirls 2nd Encore
- Slain: Back from Hell
- Slinger VR x 2
- Snake Pass
- Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts x 2
- Snowtopia x 2
- Songbird Symphony
- Songbringer
- Sonic Adventure 2: Battle Mode DLC x 2
- Sonic Adventure™ 2 x 2
- Sorry, James
- Soul Axiom Rebooted x 2
- Soulblight x 2
- Souldiers
- Space Cows
- Space Hulk Ascension
- Sparklite
- Speed Brawl x 2
- Spirit Of The Island x 3
- Splasher
- Star Wolves
- Star Wolves 3: Civil War
- Stars End
- Starsand x 2
- Staxel
- Stealth 2: A Game Of Clones
- Steel Rats x 2
- Steelrising
- Still There x 3
- Strange Brigade x 2
- Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection
- Street Fighter V
- Strider x 2
- Struggling x 2
- Stubbs The Zombie In Rebel Without A Pulse
- Sunblaze
- Super Magbot
- Super Meat Boy x 2
- Super Panda Adventures
- Super Trench Attack!
- Supraland x 2
- Supreme Ruler 1936
- Supreme Ruler: Cold War
- SurrounDead x 2
- TEKKEN 7 x 2
- THE HEX
- THEM'S FIGHTIN' HERDS
- Tabletop Playground x 3
- Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition
- Tango Fiesta
- Tannenberg
- Telefrag VR x 2
- Tesla vs Lovecraft
- The Amazing American Circus x 2
- The Ambassador: Fractured Timelines
- The Ascent
- The Assembly
- The Bard's Tale IV: Director's Cut x 3
- The Beast Inside x 3
- The Big Con x 2
- The Blackout Club
- The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters x 2
- The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets
- The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes
- The Darkness II x 2
- The Deed Dynasty
- The Deed II
- The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind x 2
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion x 2
- The Elder Scrolls Online
- The Excavation of Hob's Barrow
- The Golf Club 2019 Featuring PGA TOUR x 3
- The Gunk x 2
- The Haunted Island, A Frog Detective Game x 3
- The Henry Stickmin Collection x 2
- The Hong Kong Massacre
- The Invisible Hand x 2
- The Knight Witch
- The LEGO Movie - Videogame
- The LEGO NINJAGO Movie Video Game
- The Legend of Tianding x 2
- The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante
- The Long Reach
- The Mummy Demastered
- The Pale Beyond
- The Quarry - Deluxe Edition x 2
- The Red Lantern
- The Red Solstice x 2
- The Shapeshifting Detective
- The Surge
- The Survivalists
- The Swords Of Ditto: Mormo's Curse x 2
- The Textorcist: The story of Ray Bibbia x 3
- The Town of Light
- The USB Stick Found in the Grass x 2
- The Uncertain - The Last Quiet Day
- The Walking Dead
- The Walking Dead: 400 Days
- The Walking Dead: A New Frontier x 2
- The Walking Dead: Michonne x 2
- The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners - Chapter 2: Retribution
- The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners x 4
- The Walking Dead: Season Two
- The Walking Dead: The Final Season x 2
- The Wild Eight
- The Wizards - Dark Times
- Them and Us
- Them's Fightin' Herds
- There Is No Light
- Thief of Thieves: Season One x 2
- This Strange Realm Of Mine
- This War of Mine: Stories - Season Pass DLC
- Throne Of Lies® The Online Game Of Deceit
- Through The Darkest Of Times x 3
- Tilt Brush x 2
- Timelie
- Tin Can x 2
- Toejam & Earl: Back in the Groove x 2
- Tohu x 3
- Tools Up!
- Tools up x 2
- Tooth and Tail
- Torchlight
- Torchlight III
- Total Tank Simulator x 2
- Townscaper
- Townsmen - A Kingdom Rebuilt x 2
- Toy tinker Simulator
- Toybox Turbos x 2
- Train Station Renovation x 2
- Treasure Hunter Simulator x 3
- Trek to Yomi
- Tropico 4
- Truberbrook / Trüberbrook
- Truck Racer
- Tumblestone
- Turbo Golf Racing x 4
- Two Point Campus
- Tyrant's Blessing
- UNDETECTED
- UnMetal
- Undungeon
- Unexplored
- Unto The End
- V-Rally 4
- Vagante
- Vagrant Hearts 2
- Valfaris: Mecha Therion
- Vampire: The Masquerade - Shadows Of New York x 3
- Vane x 3
- Verdun
- Victoria 3
- Vikings - Wolves of Midgard
- WARSAW x 5
- WWE 2K BATTLEGROUNDS + Ultimate Brawlers Pass x 4
- WWE 2K23 x 5
- WWE 2k Battlegrounds
- Wanderlust: Travel Stories - GOG key x 2
- Wandersong x 2
- Wargroove x 2
- Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters x 2
- Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus
- Warhammer 40,000: Sanctus Reach
- Warhammer: Chaosbane x 2
- Wayward Souls
- We Are Alright x 2
- Werewolf: The Apocalypse Heart Of The Forest
- West of Dead
- Where the Water Tastes Like Wine
- Whispering Willows
- White Day: A Labyrinth Named School x 2
- Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus? x 3
- Wick
- Windjammers 2
- Windscape
- Wordle 1-5 Quintology Pack
- World's Dawn x 2
- Worms Clan Wars
- Worms rumble + legends pack dlc x 3
- WrestleQuest
- X-COM: Complete Pack x 3
- X-Morph: Defense + European Assault, Survival of the Fittest, and Last Bastion DLC x 2
- X-Morph Defense x 3
- Xcom® 2: Resistance Warrior Pack
- Yakuza: Like a Dragon
- Yet Another Zombie Defense HD x 2
- Yoku's Island Express
- Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair
- Youtubers Life 2
- Zanzarah: The Hidden Portal
- Zombie Army 4: Dead War
- Zombotron
WANT
- Trepang2
- The Pedestrian
- OPUS: Echo of Starsong - Full Bloom Edition
MY REP Wishlist
Gems
TF2 keys/ CS2 Cases
2024.05.15 16:01 docXfamas [H] DOOM Eternal DELUXE EDITION, Have a Nice Death, Dying Light Definitive Edition, Torchlight III, Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered, Omensight Definitve Edition and lots of other bundled games [W] Trepang2, PayPal, tf2 keys, gems, wishlisted games
Note:
MY REP Wishlist MY IGS REP
Gems
TF2 keys/ CS2 Cases
submitted by docXfamas to indiegameswap [link] [comments]
- All keys are primarily from US/NA region
- My list maybe slightly outdated so I apologize in advance if some of the games mentioned are already traded/Sold.
- I accept XBOX keys as well.
- I accept paypal only via goods and services so all transactions will include fees.
- My Wishlist, I am just interested in these games and mentioned in wants below.
HAVE
- .hack//G.U. Last Recode
- 10 Second Ninja X
- 112 operator
- 198X x 2
- 8 doors
- 9 Years of Shadows
- 911 Operator x 2
- A Fisherman's Tale
- A Juggler's Tale
- A Little Golf Journey
- A Sceptic's Guide to Magic
- A Tale of Paper: Refolded Edition
- A.I.M. Clan Wars
- Aces and Adventures x 1
- Aegis Defenders x 3
- Ageless x 3
- Alekhine's Gun
- Alien Spidy
- Alwa's Awakening
- Amanda the Adventurer
- American Fugitive x 3
- Amnesia: The Dark Descent + Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
- Amnesia: Rebirth x 2
- Anna's Quest x 2
- Anuchard
- Arcade Paradise
- Arcade Paradise - Arcade Paradise EP x 2
- Arcade Spirits
- Arto
- As Far As The Eye
- Astalon: Tears of the Earth
- AtmaSphere
- Attack of the Earthlings
- Automachef x 3
- Automobilista
- Autonauts vs Piratebots x 3
- Axiom Verge
- Axiom Verge 2
- Back 4 Blood - STRICT NA REGION LOCK x 2
- Ballpoint Universe - Infinite
- Bartlow's Dread Machine
- Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY Edition
- Batman: Arkham City GOTY
- Batman: Arkham Knight Premium Edition
- Batman: Arkham Origins
- Battlestar Galactica Deadlock
- Bayonetta
- Beacon Pines x 2
- Before We leave
- Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery
- Beholder 2
- Bendy and the Dark Revival x 2
- Between the stars x 4
- Beyond the wire x 2
- Big Crown Showdown
- Bionic Commando x 2
- Blade Assault
- Blasphemous
- Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night x 3
- Book of Demons x 3
- Boomerang Fu
- Borderlands 2 Game of the Year x 2
- Boreal Blade x 3
- Boundless
- Bravery and Greed
- Broken Age
- Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
- Builder Simulator x 1
- Bunker Punks
- Butcher
- CAPITALISM 2
- CHESS ULTRA
- CODE VEIN
- CROSSBOW: Bloodnight x 2
- Call of Juarez Gunslinger
- Canyon Capers
- Capitalism 2
- Car Mechanic Simulator 2018
- Car Mechanic Simulator VR
- Cardaclysm
- Carnival Games VR
- Caveman World: Mountains of Unga Boonga
- Celeste
- Charlie's Adventure
- Chicken Assassin Reloaded
- Children of Silentown x 2
- Chivalry 2 x 2
- Chivalry: Medieval Warfare x 2
- Citizen Sleeper
- CivCity: Rome x 3
- Civilization III x 2
- Clutch
- Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues
- Conan Exiles
- Convoy
- Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3
- Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?!
- Cook-Out
- Cookie Cutter
- Cosmic Star Heroine
- Crash Drive 3
- Crazy Machines 3
- Crown Trick
- Cultures - 8th Wonder of the world
- Cursed Castilla (Maldita Castilla Ex)
- Cyber Hook x 2
- DISTRAINT 2 x 2
- DOOM Eternal DELUXE EDITION
- DUCATI - 90th Anniversary
- Dagon: by H. P. Lovecraft - The Eldritch Box DLC x 2
- Danger Scavenger
- Dangerous Worlds x 2
- Dark Future: Blood Red States
- Darksburg x 2
- Darkwood
- Dead Age
- Dead In Vinland x 2
- Death's Gambit: Afterlife
- Deleveled x 2
- Demon Pit
- Deponia: The Complete Journey x 2
- Derange
- Desert Child
- Desolate x 2
- Destroy All Humans! 2 - Reprobed x 2
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - Digital Deluxe Edition
- DiRT Rally
- DiRT Rally 2.0 - H2 RWD Double Pack
- DiRT Rally 2.0 - Opel Manta 400
- Dirt Rally 2.0 - Porsche 911 RGT Rally Spec
- Dirt Rally x 2
- Disco Elysium - The Final Cut
- Disjunction - gog
- Do Not Feed the Monkeys
- Dracula: Love Kills
- Drake Hollow x 2
- Draw Slasher x 2
- Drawful 2 x 2
- Dreams in the Witch House x 2
- Dreamscaper x 2
- Driftland: The Magic Revival x 5
- Ducati - 90th Anniversary
- Due Process x 3
- Duke Nukem Forever collection x 4
- Dust to the End
- Dying Light Definitive Edition
- ELEX II x 4
- ETHERBORN
- Eador. Imperium
- Earth 2140
- Earth Defence Force 4.1 + all dlc
- Earth Defence Force: Iron Rain
- EarthX
- Edge Of Eternity x 3
- El Matador
- Elderand
- Eldest Souls
- Ember
- Enclave (Gold) x 2
- Encodya - GOG x 2
- Endless Space 2 x 2
- Endzone - A World apart
- Enslaved™: Odyssey To The West™ Premium Edition
- Eternal Threads x 4
- Eternity: The Last Unicorn
- Evergarden x 2
- Evoland Legendary Edition x 2
- Exiled Kingdoms x 2
- Expeditions: Rome x 2
- Expeditions: Viking
- F1 2017 1988 McLAREN MP4/4 Classic Car DLC
- FAR: Lone Sails x 2
- Family Man x 3
- Fantasy Blacksmith
- Fantasy Versus
- Farmer's dynasty x 2
- Fated Souls 3
- Fear Effect Sedna
- Fictorum
- Field of Glory II x 2
- Field of Glory: Empires
- Figement
- Final Fantasy III (3D Remake)
- Five Dates x 2
- Fling to the Finish
- Fobia - St. Dinfna Hotel x 2
- For The King
- Foretales x 1
- Four Sided Fantasy
- Friends vs Friends x 4
- Frog Detective 2: The Case Of The Invisible Wizard x 3
- Frogun
- From Space x 3
- Fun With Ragdolls: The Game x 2
- Fun with Ragdolls: The Game
- Fury Unleashed x 5
- GOD EATER 3 x 2
- GRID Autosport - Premium Garage Pack DLC
- GRID Autosport - Road & Track Car Pack DLC
- GRIP: Combat Racing Artifex DLC x 3
- GameGuru x 2
- GameMaker Studio 2 Creator 12 Months x 2
- Garage: bad trip
- Garfield Kart
- Garfield Kart - Furious Racing
- Gauntlet
- GemCraft - Chasing Shadows
- Genesis Alpha One Deluxe Edition x 3
- Ghost Of A Tale
- Ghost Song
- Gift of Parthax
- Glitch Busters x 2
- Gloria Victis x 2
- Gnog
- Go Home Dinosaurs x 2
- Gold Rush! Classic
- Golden Light x 3
- Golf Club Wasteland
- Gotham Knights
- Gothic 3
- Grand Mountain Adventure
- Green Hell (Region locked)
- Guts and Glory
- Guts and glory
- Hardspace: Shipbreaker x 3
- Have a nice Death
- Headsnatchers x 2
- Heal
- Heavy Burger
- Heli Heroes
- Helion
- Hell Pie
- Hell let loose
- Hellpoint x 2
- Hero's Hour (NA Region) x 3
- Hexologic
- Hi-Fi RUSH
- Hidden & Dangerous 2: Courage Under Fire x 3
- Hidden & Dangerous: Action Pack x 2
- Hiveswap Friendsim x 2
- Hiveswap: Act 1
- Homefront
- Homestead Arcana x 2
- Honey, I Joined a Cult x 2
- Horizon Chase Turbo x 2
- Hot Brass x 2
- Hot Wheels Unleashed
- Hotshot Racing x 3
- Hue x 2
- Hyperdrive Massacre
- I Expect You To Die
- Ice Age: Scrat's Nutty Adventure
- Ikenfell x 3
- Imperator: Rome Deluxe Edition x 2
- In sound mind x 2
- Indivisible x 5
- Injustice 2 Legendary Edition
- Insurmountable
- Interplanetary: Enhanced Edition
- Interstellar Space: Genesis
- Introvert Quest
- Iratus: Lord of the Dead
- Iris And The Giant
- Iron Danger
- Iron Sky Invasion
- Jack Move
- Jack Orlando: Director's Cut
- Journey of Greed
- Journey of a Roach x 2
- JumpJet Rex
- Jurassic Park Classic Games Collection
- Just Cause 4 Complete Edition
- Karma City Police
- Kerbal Space Program
- King Of The Castle
- King's Bounty: Warriors of the North
- Kingdom: Classic
- Kingdom: New Lands x 2
- Kings of Kung Fu
- Kitaria Fables
- Knights and Merchants
- Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara
- Kraken Academy!!
- Kyle is Famous: Complete Edition
- LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham
- LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
- LEGO® MARVEL's Avengers
- Last Inua
- Lawn Mowing Simulator x 2
- Layers of Fear + Soundtrack
- Leisure Suit Larry - Wet Dreams Don't Dry
- Leisure Suit Larry - Wet Dreams Dry Twice
- Levelhead
- Liberated
- Liberated GOG x 2
- Liberte
- Lichdom: Battlemage
- Life is Strange 2 Complete Season (incl. Mascot Bundle DLC)
- Life is Strange: True Colors x 2
- Little Orpheus
- Loddlenaut
- Lords and Villeins x 3
- Lostwinds
- Lovecraft's Untold Stories x 3
- Lust for Darkness
- MO:Astray
- Mad Max
- Magrunner: Dark Pulse
- Main Assembly
- Majesty 2 Collection x 2
- Making History: The Calm and the Storm Gold Edition
- Marvel's Midnight Suns Digital+ Edition + Doctor Strange Defenders Skin
- Mass Effect 2 Origin key
- Medieval Kingdom Wars
- Mediterranea Inferno
- Meeple Station x 2
- Mega Man Legacy Collection
- Memoria + Soundtrack
- Men of War
- Merchant of the Skies x 2
- Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition x 2
- Middle-earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition x 2
- Midnight Fight Express
- Midnight Ghost Hunt
- Midnight protocol x 2
- Milky Way Prince - The Vampire Star x 2
- Monaco
- Monorail Stories
- Monster Crown x 3
- Monster Prom 2: Monster Camp x 2
- Monster Slayers
- Monster Slayers - Advanced Classes Unlocker
- Monster Slayers - Fire & Steel Expansion
- Morbid: The Seven Acolytes x 2
- Morkredd x 3
- Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate Edition x 2
- Mortal Kombat XL x 2
- Moving Out
- Mr. Prepper x 2
- Munin
- Murder by Numbers
- My Big Sister x 2
- My Time At Portia
- Mystery Castle: The Mirror's Secret
- Mytheon
- Mythforce
- Narita Boy
- Nebuchadnezzar
- NecroVisioN: Lost Company
- NecroWorm x 2
- Neoverse x 3
- Neverout x 2
- Neversong
- Nickelodeon all-star brawl x 2
- Niffelheim x 2
- Nigate Tale
- Nioh 2
- Nobody Saves the World
- Noosphere
- Northend Tower Defense
- Nowhere Prophet
- Nuclear DAWN
- OTXO
- Oaken x 2
- Oddworld: Soulstorm Enhanced Edition x 2
- Of Orcs and Men
- Oh My Gore! x 3
- Omensight Definitve Edition x 2
- Operation Tango x 2
- Orbital Racer x 2
- Othercide
- Out Of Space
- Out of Reach: Treasure Royale x 2
- Overcooked
- Overlord: Ultimate Evil Collection
- Ozymandias - NA region x 2
- PAC-MAN 256
- PAC-MAN MUSEUM+ x 2
- PC Building Simulator x 2
- PGA Tour 2K21 x 2
- PULSAR: Lost Colony x 2
- Partisans 1941 x 2
- Patch Quest x 3
- Path Of Giants
- Pathfinder: Kingmaker - Royal Ascension
- Pathfinder: Kingmaker - Wild Cards
- Pathfinder: Kingmaker Enhanced Plus Edition
- Paw paw paw x 4
- Peaky Blinders: Mastermind x 2
- Perfect x 2
- Pesterquest x 4
- Phantom Doctrine x 2
- Pikuniku
- Pine
- Pitiri 1977
- Pixel Puzzles: UndeadZ
- Pixplode x 2
- Planet Alcatraz
- Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville (ORIGIN KEY)
- PlataGO!
- Police stories
- Popup Dungeon
- Port Royale 3
- Prison Architect + Aficionado (Dlc)
- Prodeus
- Propnight
- Purrfect Date
- Quern: Undying thoughts
- RAD x 2
- REPLIKATOR
- RICO: London
- RIOT - Civil Unrest
- RPG Maker VX
- Rage in Peace
- Railroad Tycoon 2: Platinum x 3
- Railroad Tycoon 3 x 3
- Railway Empire
- Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan x 2
- Re-Legion
- Rebel Galaxy Outlaw
- Rebel Inc: Escalation x 3
- Red Wings: Aces of the Sky
- Redeemer: Enhanced Edition x 2
- Relicta x 3
- Remnants of Naezith x 2
- Remothered: Broken Porcelain
- Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood x 2
- Rescue Party: Live! x 2
- Resident Evil HD REMASTER
- Resident Evil Revelations 2 - Episode 1: Penal Colony x 2
- Resident Evil Revelations x 2
- Retimed x 3
- Reventure
- Revita
- Rig n Roll
- Ring of pain x 4
- Rise Of Industry x 3
- Rise of the Slime x 2
- Roadwarden
- Roarr! Jurassic Edition x 2
- Roboquest
- Rogue Lords x 2
- Roguebook
- RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic
- Rollerdrome NA region
- Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered
- Rover Mechanic Simulator x 3
- Rustler x 4
- SCP : Secret Files x 3
- SPACECOM
- SPRAWL x 2
- STONE x 2
- SUPERHOT VR
- SYSTEM SHOCK: ENHANCED EDITION
- Sairento VR
- Satellite Reign
- Saturday Morning RPG
- Save Room - Organization Puzzle
- Say No! More
- Scheming Through The Zombie Apocalypse: The Beginning x 2
- Scorn x 2
- ScourgeBringer
- Seed Hunter x 2
- Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun - Aiko's Choice
- Shadowhand: RPG Card Game
- Shady Part of Me x 2
- Shantae and the Pirate's Curse
- Shark Attack Deathmatch 2
- Shing! x 2
- Shining Resonance Refrain x 2
- Ship Simulator Extremes x 2
- Shooting Stars! x 2
- Shooty Fruity
- Shoppe Keep 2
- Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate - NA region x 2
- Sid Meier's Railroads! x 3
- Sifu Deluxe Edition Upgrade Bundle x 2
- Silver Chains
- Simple Rockets 2
- Simplerockets 2 x 2
- Simulacra + Simulacra 2
- Sin Slayers
- Size Matters x 3
- Skullgirls 2nd Encore
- Slain: Back from Hell
- Slinger VR x 2
- Snake Pass
- Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts x 2
- Snowtopia x 2
- Songbird Symphony
- Songbringer
- Sonic Adventure 2: Battle Mode DLC x 2
- Sonic Adventure™ 2 x 2
- Sorry, James
- Soul Axiom Rebooted x 2
- Soulblight x 2
- Souldiers
- Space Cows
- Space Hulk Ascension
- Sparklite
- Speed Brawl x 2
- Spirit Of The Island x 3
- Splasher
- Star Wolves
- Star Wolves 3: Civil War
- Stars End
- Starsand x 2
- Staxel
- Stealth 2: A Game Of Clones
- Steel Rats x 2
- Steelrising
- Still There x 3
- Strange Brigade x 2
- Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection
- Street Fighter V
- Strider x 2
- Struggling x 2
- Stubbs The Zombie In Rebel Without A Pulse
- Sunblaze
- Super Magbot
- Super Meat Boy x 2
- Super Panda Adventures
- Super Trench Attack!
- Supraland x 2
- Supreme Ruler 1936
- Supreme Ruler: Cold War
- SurrounDead x 2
- TEKKEN 7 x 2
- THE HEX
- THEM'S FIGHTIN' HERDS
- Tabletop Playground x 3
- Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition
- Tango Fiesta
- Tannenberg
- Telefrag VR x 2
- Tesla vs Lovecraft
- The Amazing American Circus x 2
- The Ambassador: Fractured Timelines
- The Ascent
- The Assembly
- The Bard's Tale IV: Director's Cut x 3
- The Beast Inside x 3
- The Big Con x 2
- The Blackout Club
- The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters x 2
- The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets
- The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes
- The Darkness II x 2
- The Deed Dynasty
- The Deed II
- The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind x 2
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion x 2
- The Elder Scrolls Online
- The Excavation of Hob's Barrow
- The Golf Club 2019 Featuring PGA TOUR x 3
- The Gunk x 2
- The Haunted Island, A Frog Detective Game x 3
- The Henry Stickmin Collection x 2
- The Hong Kong Massacre
- The Invisible Hand x 2
- The Knight Witch
- The LEGO Movie - Videogame
- The LEGO NINJAGO Movie Video Game
- The Legend of Tianding x 2
- The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante
- The Long Reach
- The Mummy Demastered
- The Pale Beyond
- The Quarry - Deluxe Edition x 2
- The Red Lantern
- The Red Solstice x 2
- The Shapeshifting Detective
- The Surge
- The Survivalists
- The Swords Of Ditto: Mormo's Curse x 2
- The Textorcist: The story of Ray Bibbia x 3
- The Town of Light
- The USB Stick Found in the Grass x 2
- The Uncertain - The Last Quiet Day
- The Walking Dead
- The Walking Dead: 400 Days
- The Walking Dead: A New Frontier x 2
- The Walking Dead: Michonne x 2
- The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners - Chapter 2: Retribution
- The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners x 4
- The Walking Dead: Season Two
- The Walking Dead: The Final Season x 2
- The Wild Eight
- The Wizards - Dark Times
- Them and Us
- Them's Fightin' Herds
- There Is No Light
- Thief of Thieves: Season One x 2
- This Strange Realm Of Mine
- This War of Mine: Stories - Season Pass DLC
- Throne Of Lies® The Online Game Of Deceit
- Through The Darkest Of Times x 3
- Tilt Brush x 2
- Timelie
- Tin Can x 2
- Toejam & Earl: Back in the Groove x 2
- Tohu x 3
- Tools Up!
- Tools up x 2
- Tooth and Tail
- Torchlight
- Torchlight III
- Total Tank Simulator x 2
- Townscaper
- Townsmen - A Kingdom Rebuilt x 2
- Toy tinker Simulator
- Toybox Turbos x 2
- Train Station Renovation x 2
- Treasure Hunter Simulator x 3
- Trek to Yomi
- Tropico 4
- Truberbrook / Trüberbrook
- Truck Racer
- Tumblestone
- Turbo Golf Racing x 4
- Two Point Campus
- Tyrant's Blessing
- UNDETECTED
- UnMetal
- Undungeon
- Unexplored
- Unto The End
- V-Rally 4
- Vagante
- Vagrant Hearts 2
- Valfaris: Mecha Therion
- Vampire: The Masquerade - Shadows Of New York x 3
- Vane x 3
- Verdun
- Victoria 3
- Vikings - Wolves of Midgard
- WARSAW x 5
- WWE 2K BATTLEGROUNDS + Ultimate Brawlers Pass x 4
- WWE 2K23 x 5
- WWE 2k Battlegrounds
- Wanderlust: Travel Stories - GOG key x 2
- Wandersong x 2
- Wargroove x 2
- Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters x 2
- Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus
- Warhammer 40,000: Sanctus Reach
- Warhammer: Chaosbane x 2
- Wayward Souls
- We Are Alright x 2
- Werewolf: The Apocalypse Heart Of The Forest
- West of Dead
- Where the Water Tastes Like Wine
- Whispering Willows
- White Day: A Labyrinth Named School x 2
- Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus? x 3
- Wick
- Windjammers 2
- Windscape
- Wordle 1-5 Quintology Pack
- World's Dawn x 2
- Worms Clan Wars
- Worms rumble + legends pack dlc x 3
- WrestleQuest
- X-COM: Complete Pack x 3
- X-Morph: Defense + European Assault, Survival of the Fittest, and Last Bastion DLC x 2
- X-Morph Defense x 3
- Xcom® 2: Resistance Warrior Pack
- Yakuza: Like a Dragon
- Yet Another Zombie Defense HD x 2
- Yoku's Island Express
- Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair
- Youtubers Life 2
- Zanzarah: The Hidden Portal
- Zombie Army 4: Dead War
- Zombotron
WANT
- Trepang2
- The Pedestrian
- OPUS: Echo of Starsong - Full Bloom Edition
MY REP Wishlist MY IGS REP
Gems
TF2 keys/ CS2 Cases
2024.05.15 15:34 lbabinz [PSN] Digital PlayStation Game Sale
PlayStation Indies Sale
submitted by lbabinz to VideoGameDealsCanada [link] [comments]
2024.05.15 10:09 Fancy_Boxx I went through my clothes over the winter...
This is a rant about my stuff.
I took everything to my ex's place, was rushed, and one bin of stuff never fully dried and I opened the bin, today. Now I have to rewash everything inside and see what's salvageable.
I want to properly do the Kon Mari method, but clothes have been such a sore issue and I'm waiting to actually fit into stuff again. I have alot of hangups around clothes I am trying to work through first while trying to consolidate my stuff from 3 locations into mainly 1 location. Also, I am in a program with personal property restrictions that I could only bring a couple of bins at a time, and the Kon Mari method says to make a pile of all of your clothes, pick your favorite things and use that as a guide to figure out what does or doesn't bring joy.
I have gotten rid of mediums and larges because I never liked how I looked in adult six small clothing and up. I was always children's sized, gained a bunch of weight (And not in a good way), then gained more weight, then gained more weigh. I know for a fact that nothing above a size small brings me joy except for 2 items worn as a set which I want to try on again and will likely give away within a year from now.
The only adult clothes above an adult small I am keeping besides maybe the 2 named items are 1 shirt which is otherwise the same as 1 I have for regular wear and can be used for crafting matching items; and I have video game swag I imagined being given away at a need event I used to attend that the host used to give away things from a friend who used to hoard as prizes, or I can sell them now that some of this stuff is limited videogame stuff you can only get if you attended a certain convention, and that's been separate this whole time.
I gained a ton of weight and lost a ton of muscle simultaneously during the pandemic which sucked. Was eating really shittily, and am finally eating 3x a day from a meal provider and I calculate about 2 lbs of weight loss per month between my work commute and work assuming my body gets used to the eating every day and makes that my baseline. Unfortunately it could take me 4 to 16 lbs to go down to my prepandemic dimensions, and I have bin of clothes I can add to mg every day wardrobe and more clothes I can try on.
All in all, I have 6 bins of clothes. 1 is work clothes, 1 is half crafting and half winter clothes I am waiting until October to give away to unhoused people (This city is sweep heavy, so it is better to hold onto the clothes and give them out when it is needed.). I regret not going through go my clothes for like months after putting stuff back in storage because I could have given the winter clothes out. Someone who does food distribution has to see people shivering with blue lips. The current season clothes I am ready to give away fit in a damaged backpack which is OK for someone to use in their tent to keep things together or separated afrer a rain, just not aesthetically pleasing. The every day clothes I have right now fit in 1 bin.
1 bin is regular casual clothes I can wear. Another is winteseasonal. 1 is adult venue suitable, and another is in a similar vein. We're at 2% positivity right now which is almost 100k total cases in my city since the only data being provided right now is the test positivity rate in the hospitals. I am waiting for the test positivity rate to go below 0.1% which is 100 cases per 100k.
Going through my stuff today, I see summer and fall stuff I am currently ready to give away, however I am waiting for the season to approach so I am giving things away when people actually want/are looking for those items. For example, I have several pool floats and I have 1 July themed 1. I don't get to swim, I don't like being around top less men cis or not, and I'm probably never going to get to go to a pool party. I have 1 pool float I am probably going to hold onto, and 2 which still hurt because I am a fighting fetishist and they make for blow up weapons.
I looked through my craft supplies and brought out a bunch of stuff I didn't know if I would never use up because I recently found myself making a bunch of pet toys put of supplies left over from last holiday season. There are alot of unhoused people with baby animals right now, and pet toys are something people can use but cannot budget for if they are poor, so I am making suff and then giving them away. And I am glad to say that I won't be hoarding ribbon and faux suede indefinitely, that much of it is actually going to get used.
Over the next year, I will probably start using up my beads in different crafts and I have a couple of specific projects coming up.
Bad news, I still have 2 full bins worth of papers I need to digitize. I am trying to NOT bother with the ex anymore because I just can't, and I have a giant box of papers in his place from when I made a huge effort to downsize my storage unit. Maybe this weekend, but I don't want to see his face or hear from him.
The good thing about spending time at his place was it allowed me to wear things I would wear for him but wouldn't wear at mine, and it allowed me to get rid of a bunch of things I would have otherwise kept holding onto. It took wearing those items regularly to realize I didn't like them after all. And one item I didn't like wound up fitting me better over time and matches something as did keep, but I might still get rid of it in a year.
I would have liked to bring more items over to wear while there, but I am finding I would much rather stay at my place now that I have an ESA and the food situation has gotten better (I am in an interim housing program which is supposed to provide 3 meals a day and accommodate my dietary restrictions. They switched food providers and now I am generally able to get 3 meals a day, but there is still no laundry services on site which is an issue.). I habe exactly 1 outfit at their place which is specifically to wear at their place because I don't mind wearing it there but would never wear it where I currently live.
Once I go down in size to prepandemic clothes, I'll have more shirts, pants, and under clothes I can wear from the bin of casual wear (Which is really like a half bin worth of clothes), but I would rather get down to the lower end of my prepandemic employed weight as those pants are not as comfortable until they're in the oversized due to sensory issues.
Good news, I went through my electronics box and I found a bunch of stuff which is his. Bad news, I still have project items for him to fix along with holiday lights which went out. Good news is he might teach me how to fix the holiday lights. Bad news, he's a dick about working on electronics and had been promising me since 2015 to work on electronics together only to never actually show me anything and get angry.
Oh, and I still have my sentimental iPad which he broke. He promised me he would replace the screen. Also, a laptop screen. I might be picking up work this year which will allow me to purchase replacement screens and get him to fix it as I seem to keep breaking my devices further when I try to fix them myself. I have a phone which is simpler to fix and breaks alot. It's enough for me to know how to fix that, I guess. Even if I tried to do the iPad and laptop repairs myself, the good thing about not being complete 0 contact right now, is I don't have to spend hundreds on repair plus parts if I fuck up.
There was more, but that's about it. My holiday stuff year round is 2 bins worth of stuff and I only have 1 designated bin. ☹️ Did I say I really like Halloween? I guess I have to wait for this holiday season to do what I can while also holding back on supplies. It ultimately comes out to a bin and a bag worth of potential keeps past this winter, though.
I have a a whole foods bags of pom poms I tried to make last holiday season, and it looks like I will be finishing and giving away pom pom garlands and/or ornaments this year because I ultimately ran out of time last year except for what I finished for a community mural. And 1 bag is technically things I will be selling. So theoretically I have a bin and a bag worth of potential keeps past this winter, so that's less daunting than it sounds.
I think I might be ready to give away my felt Halloween bags, and I am ready to give away a bunch of smaller fall items I didn't think I could let go of last year, but I am waiting for Fall when people actually want that stuff. I'm sad that St. Patrick's Day passed and I had a supplies I wanted to use but didn't because my stuff was somewhere in storage. Same with Easter stuff. Now everything is consolidated.
Also, I found a pickle plush I have been stuck with because the ex bought it for me almost a decade ago and was a huge dick. My main memory from that night was us sitting in some carnival ride feeling like crap because he was belittling me and I was wondering to myself what the point of being there was while he treated me like shit. I could wash it and give it away, or I can wash it and give it to him because he loves food themed stuff. And he can be simultaneously sentimental and cruel when it comes to objects. I don't want to see the pickle at his place, and I don't want to think about him holding onto it in some weird way for years, but I don't want to look at it, and he has a ton of food themed stuffed animals. Idk. But Mr. Pickle has to go.
submitted by Fancy_Boxx to hoarding [link] [comments]
I took everything to my ex's place, was rushed, and one bin of stuff never fully dried and I opened the bin, today. Now I have to rewash everything inside and see what's salvageable.
I want to properly do the Kon Mari method, but clothes have been such a sore issue and I'm waiting to actually fit into stuff again. I have alot of hangups around clothes I am trying to work through first while trying to consolidate my stuff from 3 locations into mainly 1 location. Also, I am in a program with personal property restrictions that I could only bring a couple of bins at a time, and the Kon Mari method says to make a pile of all of your clothes, pick your favorite things and use that as a guide to figure out what does or doesn't bring joy.
I have gotten rid of mediums and larges because I never liked how I looked in adult six small clothing and up. I was always children's sized, gained a bunch of weight (And not in a good way), then gained more weight, then gained more weigh. I know for a fact that nothing above a size small brings me joy except for 2 items worn as a set which I want to try on again and will likely give away within a year from now.
The only adult clothes above an adult small I am keeping besides maybe the 2 named items are 1 shirt which is otherwise the same as 1 I have for regular wear and can be used for crafting matching items; and I have video game swag I imagined being given away at a need event I used to attend that the host used to give away things from a friend who used to hoard as prizes, or I can sell them now that some of this stuff is limited videogame stuff you can only get if you attended a certain convention, and that's been separate this whole time.
I gained a ton of weight and lost a ton of muscle simultaneously during the pandemic which sucked. Was eating really shittily, and am finally eating 3x a day from a meal provider and I calculate about 2 lbs of weight loss per month between my work commute and work assuming my body gets used to the eating every day and makes that my baseline. Unfortunately it could take me 4 to 16 lbs to go down to my prepandemic dimensions, and I have bin of clothes I can add to mg every day wardrobe and more clothes I can try on.
All in all, I have 6 bins of clothes. 1 is work clothes, 1 is half crafting and half winter clothes I am waiting until October to give away to unhoused people (This city is sweep heavy, so it is better to hold onto the clothes and give them out when it is needed.). I regret not going through go my clothes for like months after putting stuff back in storage because I could have given the winter clothes out. Someone who does food distribution has to see people shivering with blue lips. The current season clothes I am ready to give away fit in a damaged backpack which is OK for someone to use in their tent to keep things together or separated afrer a rain, just not aesthetically pleasing. The every day clothes I have right now fit in 1 bin.
1 bin is regular casual clothes I can wear. Another is winteseasonal. 1 is adult venue suitable, and another is in a similar vein. We're at 2% positivity right now which is almost 100k total cases in my city since the only data being provided right now is the test positivity rate in the hospitals. I am waiting for the test positivity rate to go below 0.1% which is 100 cases per 100k.
Going through my stuff today, I see summer and fall stuff I am currently ready to give away, however I am waiting for the season to approach so I am giving things away when people actually want/are looking for those items. For example, I have several pool floats and I have 1 July themed 1. I don't get to swim, I don't like being around top less men cis or not, and I'm probably never going to get to go to a pool party. I have 1 pool float I am probably going to hold onto, and 2 which still hurt because I am a fighting fetishist and they make for blow up weapons.
I looked through my craft supplies and brought out a bunch of stuff I didn't know if I would never use up because I recently found myself making a bunch of pet toys put of supplies left over from last holiday season. There are alot of unhoused people with baby animals right now, and pet toys are something people can use but cannot budget for if they are poor, so I am making suff and then giving them away. And I am glad to say that I won't be hoarding ribbon and faux suede indefinitely, that much of it is actually going to get used.
Over the next year, I will probably start using up my beads in different crafts and I have a couple of specific projects coming up.
Bad news, I still have 2 full bins worth of papers I need to digitize. I am trying to NOT bother with the ex anymore because I just can't, and I have a giant box of papers in his place from when I made a huge effort to downsize my storage unit. Maybe this weekend, but I don't want to see his face or hear from him.
The good thing about spending time at his place was it allowed me to wear things I would wear for him but wouldn't wear at mine, and it allowed me to get rid of a bunch of things I would have otherwise kept holding onto. It took wearing those items regularly to realize I didn't like them after all. And one item I didn't like wound up fitting me better over time and matches something as did keep, but I might still get rid of it in a year.
I would have liked to bring more items over to wear while there, but I am finding I would much rather stay at my place now that I have an ESA and the food situation has gotten better (I am in an interim housing program which is supposed to provide 3 meals a day and accommodate my dietary restrictions. They switched food providers and now I am generally able to get 3 meals a day, but there is still no laundry services on site which is an issue.). I habe exactly 1 outfit at their place which is specifically to wear at their place because I don't mind wearing it there but would never wear it where I currently live.
Once I go down in size to prepandemic clothes, I'll have more shirts, pants, and under clothes I can wear from the bin of casual wear (Which is really like a half bin worth of clothes), but I would rather get down to the lower end of my prepandemic employed weight as those pants are not as comfortable until they're in the oversized due to sensory issues.
Good news, I went through my electronics box and I found a bunch of stuff which is his. Bad news, I still have project items for him to fix along with holiday lights which went out. Good news is he might teach me how to fix the holiday lights. Bad news, he's a dick about working on electronics and had been promising me since 2015 to work on electronics together only to never actually show me anything and get angry.
Oh, and I still have my sentimental iPad which he broke. He promised me he would replace the screen. Also, a laptop screen. I might be picking up work this year which will allow me to purchase replacement screens and get him to fix it as I seem to keep breaking my devices further when I try to fix them myself. I have a phone which is simpler to fix and breaks alot. It's enough for me to know how to fix that, I guess. Even if I tried to do the iPad and laptop repairs myself, the good thing about not being complete 0 contact right now, is I don't have to spend hundreds on repair plus parts if I fuck up.
There was more, but that's about it. My holiday stuff year round is 2 bins worth of stuff and I only have 1 designated bin. ☹️ Did I say I really like Halloween? I guess I have to wait for this holiday season to do what I can while also holding back on supplies. It ultimately comes out to a bin and a bag worth of potential keeps past this winter, though.
I have a a whole foods bags of pom poms I tried to make last holiday season, and it looks like I will be finishing and giving away pom pom garlands and/or ornaments this year because I ultimately ran out of time last year except for what I finished for a community mural. And 1 bag is technically things I will be selling. So theoretically I have a bin and a bag worth of potential keeps past this winter, so that's less daunting than it sounds.
I think I might be ready to give away my felt Halloween bags, and I am ready to give away a bunch of smaller fall items I didn't think I could let go of last year, but I am waiting for Fall when people actually want that stuff. I'm sad that St. Patrick's Day passed and I had a supplies I wanted to use but didn't because my stuff was somewhere in storage. Same with Easter stuff. Now everything is consolidated.
Also, I found a pickle plush I have been stuck with because the ex bought it for me almost a decade ago and was a huge dick. My main memory from that night was us sitting in some carnival ride feeling like crap because he was belittling me and I was wondering to myself what the point of being there was while he treated me like shit. I could wash it and give it away, or I can wash it and give it to him because he loves food themed stuff. And he can be simultaneously sentimental and cruel when it comes to objects. I don't want to see the pickle at his place, and I don't want to think about him holding onto it in some weird way for years, but I don't want to look at it, and he has a ton of food themed stuffed animals. Idk. But Mr. Pickle has to go.
2024.05.15 09:11 Sweet-Count2557 15 Things to Do on a New Paltz Family Day Trip
 | 15 Things to Do on a New Paltz Family Day Trip Are you looking for a perfect family day trip destination near New York City? Well, you might be surprised to learn that New Paltz, located just 90 miles north of the bustling city, offers a plethora of activities for the whole family to enjoy.From picturesque hiking trails to fascinating museums, this charming town has something for everyone.So, whether you're an outdoor enthusiast, history buff, or simply looking to indulge in delicious food, join us as we uncover the 15 things you can do on a New Paltz family day trip.Trust us, you won't want to miss out on the exciting options that await you!Key TakeawaysOutdoor activities in New Paltz include hiking, rock climbing, biking, and canoeing/kayaking.There are various indoor activities such as visiting museums, attending performances, and playing at indoor parks.Educational activities include visiting art museums, learning about history, and exploring science centers.Families can enjoy dining at family-friendly restaurants, visiting parks and playgrounds, and exploring farms in the area.Outdoor ActivitiesWhen it comes to outdoor activities in New Paltz, there's no shortage of options for adventure and exploration. The town is surrounded by beautiful natural landscapes, making it the perfect destination for hiking and rock climbing enthusiasts.New Paltz is home to numerous hiking trails that cater to all skill levels, offering breathtaking views and the opportunity to connect with nature. One popular hiking destination is the Mohonk Preserve, which boasts over 8,000 acres of stunning scenery. Here, you can choose from a variety of trails that wind through forests, meadows, and along the Shawangunk Ridge. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced hiker, there's a trail for everyone to enjoy.For those seeking a more adrenaline-fueled adventure, rock climbing at The Gunks is a must. The Shawangunk Mountains are renowned for their world-class rock climbing routes, attracting climbers from all over the world. With its challenging cliffs and unique rock formations, The Gunks offer an exhilarating experience for climbers of all levels.Whether you're a nature lover or an adrenaline junkie, New Paltz has something to offer for everyone. The hiking trails and rock climbing opportunities in the area are unparalleled, providing endless possibilities for outdoor exploration. So, grab your hiking boots and harness, and get ready to embark on an unforgettable adventure in the heart of New Paltz.Indoor ActivitiesIndoor activities in New Paltz offer a diverse range of options for families looking to escape the elements and enjoy some quality time together. Whether you're looking for a little friendly competition or a chance to unleash your creativity, there's something for everyone.For those who love a good challenge, there are plenty of indoor games to keep you entertained. Head to the local arcade and try your hand at classic games like skee-ball and air hockey. Or, if you're feeling a bit more adventurous, check out the escape room where you can put your problem-solving skills to the test. With a variety of themes and difficulty levels, it's sure to be a thrilling experience for the whole family.If you're in the mood for something a bit more hands-on, why not try a creative workshop? There are several places in New Paltz where you can learn a new skill or craft. From pottery classes to painting workshops, there's no shortage of opportunities to let your imagination run wild. Not only will you have a blast creating something unique, but you'll also have a special keepsake to take home with you.No matter what your interests may be, New Paltz has plenty of indoor activities to keep you entertained. So, why not gather the family and escape the elements for a day of fun and adventure? Whether you're competing in indoor games or getting creative in a workshop, you're sure to make memories that will last a lifetime.Educational ActivitiesNew Paltz offers a wide range of educational activities that will engage and inspire the whole family. Here are three hands-on workshops and interactive exhibits that are sure to captivate your curiosity and expand your knowledge:The Dorsky Museum of Art: Step into a world of artistic expression as you explore the thought-provoking exhibits at the Dorsky Museum. From contemporary installations to classic masterpieces, this museum showcases a diverse collection that will ignite your imagination. Engage in interactive workshops where you can create your own artwork and experiment with different mediums.The Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art: Located on the SUNY New Paltz campus, the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art offers a unique opportunity to delve into the world of contemporary art. Immerse yourself in thought-provoking exhibits that challenge societal norms and spark conversations. Participate in hands-on workshops led by professional artists, where you can learn new techniques and unleash your creative potential.The Science Discovery Center: Embark on a journey of scientific exploration at the Science Discovery Center. Engage with interactive exhibits that bring the wonders of science to life. From experimenting with electricity to exploring the mysteries of the natural world, this center offers a captivating experience for all ages. Participate in hands-on workshops where you can conduct experiments and discover the scientific principles that shape our world.As you embark on your New Paltz family day trip, these educational activities won't only provide valuable learning experiences but also foster a sense of wonder and curiosity. So, embrace the freedom to explore, discover, and expand your knowledge as you engage with these immersive hands-on workshops and interactive exhibits.Family-Friendly RestaurantsLet's dive into the delicious world of family-friendly restaurants in New Paltz, where you can indulge in mouthwatering meals that cater to all tastes and preferences. New Paltz is home to some of the best family-friendly restaurants, offering a wide range of cuisines that will satisfy even the pickiest eaters. Whether you're craving Italian, Mexican, or just a good old-fashioned burger, the restaurants in New Paltz have got you covered. Here are some of the top places to eat with kids in New Paltz:RestaurantCuisineHighlightsMain Course Catering & RestaurantAmericanOffers a kids' menu with options for all agesP&G's RestaurantItalianWood-fired pizza that will leave you craving for moreMexicali BlueMexicanColorful and flavorful dishes that kids will loveMoriello's GelatoDessertsHomemade gelato that will satisfy your sweet toothMain Course Catering & Restaurant is a popular choice for families, with its diverse menu that includes everything from burgers and sandwiches to pasta and seafood. They even have a kids' menu with options that will please even the pickiest eaters.If you're in the mood for some authentic Italian cuisine, P&G's Restaurant is the place to be. Their wood-fired pizza is a favorite among locals, and their pasta dishes are cooked to perfection.For a taste of Mexico, head to Mexicali Blue. Their colorful and flavorful dishes will transport you straight to Mexico, and they offer a variety of options for kids.And of course, no family day trip is complete without dessert. Stop by Moriello's Gelato for some homemade gelato that will satisfy your sweet tooth. With a wide range of flavors to choose from, there's something for everyone.These are just a few of the best family-friendly restaurants in New Paltz. Whether you're looking for a quick bite or a sit-down meal, you're sure to find something that the whole family will enjoy.Parks and PlaygroundsAs we continue our exploration of family-friendly activities in New Paltz, let's venture into the world of outdoor fun and discover the parks and playgrounds that offer endless adventures for kids of all ages. New Paltz is home to some of the best parks for picnics and family-friendly playgrounds. Here are three must-visit outdoor destinations that will provide a sense of freedom and joy for the whole family:Hasbrouck Park: This park is a perfect spot for a family picnic. Spread out your blanket on the lush green grass and enjoy a delicious meal while surrounded by the beauty of nature. The playground in Hasbrouck Park offers a variety of equipment for kids to climb, slide, and swing, ensuring hours of fun and excitement.Sojourner Truth Park: With its basketball court and picnic area, Sojourner Truth Park is a fantastic place for families to gather and enjoy outdoor activities. Let the kids shoot some hoops while you relax and soak up the sun. Pack some snacks and have a delightful picnic in the shaded picnic area, creating lasting memories together.Nyquist-Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary: For a peaceful and serene picnic experience, head to the Nyquist-Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary. This hidden gem is a haven for nature lovers and families alike. With its beautiful trails, lush greenery, and abundant wildlife, it offers the perfect backdrop for a relaxing picnic. Let the kids explore the surroundings and discover the wonders of the natural world.New Paltz's parks and playgrounds provide a sense of freedom and adventure for families seeking outdoor fun. Whether you're enjoying a picnic, playing on the playground, or simply exploring the beauty of nature, these destinations offer endless opportunities for family bonding and creating cherished memories. So grab your picnic basket, gather the family, and embark on an exciting day of outdoor exploration in New Paltz.Family-Friendly FarmsFamily-Friendly Farms in New Paltz offer a unique and educational experience for families looking to connect with nature and learn about farm life. These farms provide a variety of family-friendly farm activities that are both fun and educational.One popular activity is visiting farm petting zoos, where children can interact with and learn about different farm animals. At Kelder's Farm, families can enjoy a petting zoo experience like no other. You can pet and feed a wide range of animals, including goats, sheep, pigs, and even llamas. Kids will love getting up close and personal with these friendly animals, and it's a great opportunity for them to learn about animal care and farm life.Saunderskill Farms is another great option for families looking for a farm experience. In addition to their fresh produce and baked goods, they also have a petting zoo where kids can meet and greet farm animals. From chickens and ducks to rabbits and goats, children can learn about different animal species and their roles on the farm.Apple Hill Farm is a must-visit for families interested in learning about farm animals. They offer guided tours where kids can see cows, horses, pigs, and more. The knowledgeable staff will explain the importance of each animal and how they contribute to the farm's operations.Family-friendly farms in New Paltz provide a hands-on experience that allows children to learn about farm life in a fun and engaging way. Whether it's petting and feeding animals at a farm petting zoo or taking a guided tour to learn about different farm animals, these activities are sure to create lasting memories for the whole family.Family-Friendly EventsAfter exploring the family-friendly farms in New Paltz and learning about farm life, it's time to discover the exciting and entertaining world of family-friendly events in this vibrant town. New Paltz offers a variety of events that are perfect for the whole family. Here are three events that are sure to evoke joy and create lasting memories:New Paltz Regatta and Rubber Duck Race: Join in the fun at the annual New Paltz Regatta and Rubber Duck Race. Watch as colorful rubber ducks race down the Wallkill River, and cheer for your favorite as they compete for the finish line. This event is filled with laughter, excitement, and friendly competition.New Paltz Winter Carnival: Embrace the winter season at the New Paltz Winter Carnival. This event features a range of activities for all ages, including ice skating, sledding, snowman building, and even a snowball fight. Warm up with hot cocoa and enjoy the festive atmosphere as you make memories with your loved ones.New Paltz Halloween Parade: Get into the spirit of Halloween at the New Paltz Halloween Parade. Dress up in your favorite costume and join the community in a lively parade filled with music, dancing, and plenty of candy. This event is perfect for families who love the thrill of Halloween and want to celebrate together.These family-friendly events in New Paltz provide an opportunity to bond with loved ones, embrace the joy of community, and create cherished memories. Whether it's cheering on rubber ducks, enjoying winter activities, or celebrating Halloween, these events offer something for everyone.Historical SitesNew Paltz is home to a rich tapestry of historical sites that offer a glimpse into the town's fascinating past. From the Huguenot Street Historic District to the Deyo House Historic Site, there are many places to explore and learn about the town's history. Take a step back in time with historical walking tours and immerse yourself in the past with historical reenactments.Here is a table showcasing some of the historical sites in New Paltz:Historical SitesDescriptionHuguenot Street Historic DistrictA National Historic Landmark that preserves the unique history and culture of the Huguenots who settled in New Paltz in the 17th century.Deyo House Historic SiteExplore this historic house museum that showcases the lifestyle of a wealthy 19th-century family in New Paltz.Historic Huguenot Street CemeteryDiscover the final resting place of the Huguenot settlers and learn about their lives and contributions.Historical walking tours provide a great opportunity to explore these sites and gain a deeper understanding of New Paltz's history. Knowledgeable guides will lead you through the streets, sharing interesting anecdotes and stories along the way. You'll feel as if you've traveled back in time as you walk in the footsteps of those who came before.For an even more immersive experience, don't miss the chance to witness historical reenactments. These events bring history to life as actors dress in period costumes and recreate significant moments from New Paltz's past. Whether it's a battle reenactment or a colonial market, you'll be transported to a different time and gain a newfound appreciation for the town's history.New Paltz's historical sites offer a window into the past and provide a unique and educational experience for the whole family. So, grab your walking shoes and prepare to be captivated by the rich history that awaits you in this charming town.Nature CentersAs we continue our exploration of New Paltz, let's now turn our attention to the fascinating world of nature centers. These centers offer a unique opportunity to connect with nature, learn about wildlife, and engage in hands-on activities.Here are three exciting nature center activities that are sure to captivate the whole family:Wildlife Education Programs: Immerse yourself in the wonders of the natural world through engaging wildlife education programs. From interactive exhibits to live animal presentations, these programs provide a chance to learn about local ecosystems, animal behavior, and conservation efforts. Get up close and personal with fascinating creatures and gain a deeper appreciation for the delicate balance of our planet's biodiversity.Guided Nature Walks: Embark on a guided nature walk led by knowledgeable naturalists who'll introduce you to the diverse flora and fauna of the region. Explore scenic trails while learning about the unique features of the local ecosystem. Observe birds in their natural habitats, identify different plant species, and discover the hidden wonders of the natural world. These walks offer a chance to reconnect with nature and experience the serenity of the great outdoors.Nature-themed Workshops: Participate in nature-themed workshops that foster creativity and appreciation for the environment. From art classes inspired by the beauty of nature to hands-on activities focused on sustainability, these workshops provide an opportunity to learn new skills while deepening your connection with the natural world. Engage in eco-friendly crafts, explore nature-inspired photography, or try your hand at creating nature journals. These workshops are a perfect blend of education and fun.Nature centers offer a wealth of opportunities to learn, explore, and connect with the natural world. Engage in wildlife education programs, join guided nature walks, and participate in nature-themed workshops to create lasting memories and foster a sense of wonder and appreciation for our planet's incredible biodiversity.Water ActivitiesTo make the most of your family trip to New Paltz, immerse yourselves in a world of water activities that offer fun and adventure for everyone.New Paltz is surrounded by beautiful bodies of water, providing plenty of opportunities for water sports and boat tours.If you're looking for some excitement, try your hand at water sports on the Hudson River. You can rent paddleboards or kayaks and explore the scenic river at your own pace. Feel the rush as you paddle through the gentle currents and take in the breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains.For a more relaxing experience, consider taking a boat tour on the Hudson River. Hop aboard a comfortable vessel and let the knowledgeable guides show you the sights. Cruise along the river while learning about the history and wildlife of the area. Keep your eyes peeled for bald eagles soaring above and maybe even catch a glimpse of a playful seal.No matter which water activity you choose, be sure to pack sunscreen, towels, and a sense of adventure. Remember to stay hydrated and respect the environment by practicing responsible water sports and leaving no trace behind.Arts and CraftsLooking to unleash your creativity and explore the world of arts and crafts in New Paltz? You're in luck! This vibrant town offers a variety of opportunities for art workshops and handmade crafts that will inspire and delight. Here are three exciting options to consider:Mud and Fire Pottery Studio: Step into the world of pottery and get your hands dirty at Mud and Fire Pottery Studio. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced artist, their pottery classes cater to all skill levels. Learn the art of throwing clay on a wheel, hand-building techniques, or glazing and firing your creations. The studio provides a supportive and encouraging environment where you can let your imagination run wild and create unique, one-of-a-kind pieces.Fiber Flame Studio: If textile arts are more your style, then Fiber Flame Studio is the place to be. This cozy and inviting studio offers a wide range of classes and workshops, including fiber arts, mixed media, and collage. Dive into the world of fabric, yarn, and paper as you explore various techniques such as weaving, knitting, and needle felting. Let your creativity flow as you create beautiful and intricate pieces that reflect your personal style.Wallkill River School of Art: Immerse yourself in the world of painting at the Wallkill River School of Art. This art school and gallery offers a variety of painting classes for all ages and skill levels. From acrylics to watercolors, landscapes to portraits, there's something for everyone. Learn from experienced instructors who'll guide you through the process, helping you develop your skills and unleash your artistic potential. Whether you're a seasoned painter or just starting out, the Wallkill River School of Art is the perfect place to express yourself and create masterpieces.With these art workshops and handmade crafts, New Paltz provides the perfect opportunity to explore your creative side. Let your imagination soar as you engage in these artistic endeavors and discover the freedom of self-expression. Whether you choose pottery, textile arts, or painting, you're sure to have an unforgettable experience that will leave you inspired and fulfilled.Sports and RecreationNew Paltz offers a wide range of exciting sports and recreational activities that are sure to keep the whole family entertained and active. Whether you're looking for outdoor adventures or indoor fun, there's something for everyone in this vibrant town.For those who enjoy outdoor activities, New Paltz is a paradise. You can explore the numerous hiking trails in Mohonk Preserve, where breathtaking views and serene nature await. If rock climbing is your thing, head to The Gunks, a world-renowned climbing destination. Biking enthusiasts can pedal along the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail, while water lovers can canoe or kayak on the Hudson River.If you prefer indoor activities, there are plenty of options as well. Visit the Children's Museum of the Hudson Valley, where kids can learn and play at the same time. Explore the Historic Huguenot Street, a living museum that takes you back in time. You can also catch a performance at the McKenna Theatre or bounce around at the indoor trampoline park, Bounce!New Paltz is also home to family-friendly sports facilities. Play a round of mini-golf at the Apple Greens Golf Course or try horseback riding at the Payne Farm Too. The SUNY New Paltz Tennis Courts are perfect for a friendly game of tennis, and the New Paltz Golf Course offers a beautiful setting for a round of golf. If you're visiting during the colder months, don't miss the opportunity to go ice skating at the Kiwanis Ice Arena.No matter what your interests are, New Paltz has something for everyone. So gather your family and get ready for a day filled with excitement and adventure in this charming town.Day TripsEmbark on a day trip from New Paltz and immerse yourself in the beauty and culture of the surrounding areas. There are plenty of nearby towns to explore, each offering its own unique attractions and landmarks. Here are three options that are sure to evoke a sense of adventure and freedom:Visit the Walkway Over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie: Take a stroll across the longest elevated pedestrian bridge in the world and soak in breathtaking views of the Hudson River and surrounding landscapes. Feel the wind in your hair as you walk along the expansive bridge, enjoying the freedom of being suspended high above the water.Explore the Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz: Step back in time as you explore this historic Victorian castle nestled in the heart of the Shawangunk Mountains. Wander through lush gardens, hike scenic trails, or relax by the lake. Immerse yourself in the natural beauty of the area and revel in the freedom of being surrounded by nature.Discover the Storm King Art Center in New Windsor: Lose yourself in the vast outdoor sculpture park that spans over 500 acres of rolling hills and fields. Marvel at the impressive collection of large-scale sculptures by renowned artists. As you wander through the expansive landscape, you'll feel a sense of freedom and liberation as you explore the intersection of art and nature.These day trips offer the perfect opportunity to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life and indulge in the freedom of exploration. So pack your bags, hit the road, and let the adventure begin!ShoppingWhen it comes to shopping in New Paltz, there's no shortage of unique and charming stores to explore. Whether you're looking for local boutiques or artisan markets, this town has it all.One of the must-visit places for shopping in New Paltz is the Water Street Market. This picturesque market is home to a variety of shops that offer everything from handmade jewelry to vintage clothing. You can spend hours browsing through the quaint stores and discovering one-of-a-kind treasures.Another great shopping destination in New Paltz is the New Paltz Plaza. This shopping center offers a wide range of stores, including popular retail chains and local businesses. You can find everything you need, from clothing and accessories to home decor and electronics. The plaza also has plenty of dining options, so you can grab a bite to eat after a day of shopping.If you're looking for unique and handmade crafts, the Unframed Artists Gallery is the place to go. This gallery features the work of local artists and artisans, offering a wide range of handmade items such as pottery, paintings, and sculptures. It's the perfect place to find a special gift or a piece of artwork to decorate your home.For fresh and local produce, don't miss the New Paltz Farmers Market. This market is held every Sunday and features a variety of vendors selling fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and more. It's a great place to support local farmers and enjoy the flavors of the Hudson Valley.In addition to these shopping destinations, Main Street in New Paltz is lined with charming antique shops. You can browse through a wide selection of vintage furniture, clothing, and collectibles, and maybe even find a hidden gem.With its local boutiques, artisan markets, and charming antique shops, New Paltz is a shopper's paradise. Whether you're searching for unique gifts, handmade crafts, or fresh produce, you're sure to find it in this vibrant town. So grab your wallet and get ready to explore the wonderful world of shopping in New Paltz.Seasonal ActivitiesAs the seasons change in New Paltz, there are a variety of activities that offer something for everyone to enjoy. From winter wonderlands to festive markets, here are three seasonal activities that will ignite your sense of adventure and create lasting memories:Christmas Tree Farms: Immerse yourself in the spirit of the holiday season by visiting one of the charming Christmas tree farms in New Paltz. Bring your family along and wander through rows of beautifully decorated trees, breathing in the crisp winter air as you search for the perfect centerpiece for your home. The joy of finding and cutting down your own Christmas tree is an experience that will bring smiles to faces of all ages.New Paltz Winter Farmers Market: Embrace the cozy atmosphere of the winter season by visiting the New Paltz Winter Farmers Market. This vibrant market showcases an array of local vendors offering fresh produce, artisanal goods, and homemade treats. Stroll through the market, savoring the scents of warm apple cider and freshly baked bread. Engage with the friendly vendors, supporting their small businesses and discovering unique treasures that will delight your taste buds and nourish your body.New Paltz Spring Clean-Up Day: As the winter months transition into spring, join the community in a day of rejuvenation and restoration. Participate in the New Paltz Spring Clean-Up Day, where families come together to beautify their town by cleaning up parks, streets, and public spaces. This hands-on activity not only promotes a sense of civic pride and environmental stewardship but also fosters a deeper connection with the community. Pitch in with your loved ones, rolling up your sleeves and making a tangible difference in the place you call home.Celebrate the changing seasons in New Paltz with these engaging and family-friendly activities. Whether you're searching for the perfect Christmas tree, exploring a winter farmers market, or giving back to your community, there's always something special to do in this vibrant town. So, embrace the freedom of the seasons and create unforgettable memories with your loved ones.Frequently Asked QuestionsAre There Any Nearby Wineries or Vineyards to Visit During a New Paltz Family Day Trip?Yes, there are nearby wineries and family-friendly vineyards to visit during a New Paltz family day trip. You can explore the Robibero Family Vineyards, where you can enjoy wine tastings and beautiful views of the vineyards.Another option is the Whitecliff Vineyard & Winery, which offers a variety of award-winning wines and a picnic area for families to relax and enjoy.These wineries provide a perfect opportunity to unwind and experience the local wine culture while spending quality time with your loved ones.What Are Some Family-Friendly Hiking Trails in the New Paltz Area?When it comes to family-friendly hiking trails in the New Paltz area, there are plenty of options to choose from.Take a leisurely stroll through the beautiful Mohonk Preserve, where you can enjoy scenic views and picnic spots along the way.Or, explore the trails at Minnewaska State Park, which offer a mix of easy and moderate hikes suitable for all ages.These local attractions for kids are the perfect way to connect with nature and create lasting memories as a family.Are There Any Family-Friendly Museums or Art Galleries in New Paltz?Yes, there are family-friendly museums and art galleries in New Paltz.The Dorsky Museum of Art is a great place to explore various art exhibits and learn about different artistic styles.The Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art is another museum that showcases contemporary art and offers educational programs for families.These museums provide a fun and educational experience for all ages, making them perfect destinations for a family day trip in New Paltz.Where Can Families Go for Swimming or Water Activities in New Paltz?For families looking for swimming spots or water activities in New Paltz, there are some great options to choose from.You can swim in the beautiful Lake Minnewaska, go fishing in the Wallkill River, or even try paddleboarding on the Wallkill River.Additionally, you can enjoy a boat tour on the Hudson River or have a picnic at the scenic Rosendale Trestle, which overlooks the Rondout Creek.There are plenty of opportunities for water fun in New Paltz!What Are Some Options for Family-Friendly Lodging in New Paltz for an Overnight Stay?When it comes to family-friendly lodging in New Paltz for an overnight stay, there are plenty of options to choose from. From cozy bed and breakfasts to spacious vacation rentals, there's something for every family's needs and preferences.These accommodations offer comfortable amenities and a welcoming atmosphere, ensuring a memorable and enjoyable stay for both parents and kids.With a range of kid-friendly activities in New Paltz, families can explore the outdoors, visit museums, and indulge in delicious meals, creating lasting memories together.ConclusionAs the sun sets on our family day trip to New Paltz, we carry with us memories that sparkle like the stars in the night sky.From soaring high on hiking trails to immersing ourselves in art and history, we discovered the beauty and wonder of this charming town.With bellies full of delicious meals and hearts full of joy, we bid farewell to New Paltz, knowing that our adventure will forever be etched in the tapestry of our family's story. submitted by Sweet-Count2557 to worldkidstravel [link] [comments] |
2024.05.15 05:22 featherwinglove I did it again, a new Trimps novelization (more faithful to story messages than the other one) Tightniks Run Zero
[OC Intro: The game is modded to increase basic jobs cost, seasonal events are disabled. Much of the crash details are based on NASA/SP-2008-565 Columbia Crew Survival Investigation Report recommendations especially Chapter 3 "Occupant Protection".]
The ship is without power, and Tightniks can't run the radar much without draining the batteries. He has only a few minutes of APU power left, goes over the best clearing he can find, and radars it. It varies by only a few feet from the aerodynamic glideslope there. He spots it out on the cameras and circles to go after that spot. He's only at two hundred feet now. With one hand on the stick, he uses the other to open the pressure equalization valve on the side hatch, then at one hundred feet, gets it undogged. Depending on how much damage he's going to get, it's less likely to be stuck closed and trap him. The dynamic vacuum this pulls in the cockpit rips most of the survival pack data cards from that rack and scatters them across the landscape. Crap, I'm gonna need those! Refocusing on surviving the next few seconds, he turns on the radar for the final approach, takes a last look around, then straight ahead at his forward camera and PFD, he clicks his HANS and shoulder strap locks in; after that, he can barely move, but that now is better than dying in this crash with a broken neck. He's a decent pilot and brings up the flare gently. Bringing up the alpha on this delta-winged ship, he balloons a little, but keeps the nose going up and restores a zero aerodynamic sink rate just above the highest terrain indicated by the radar altimeter. The ship bumps a little in the ground effect, and he can see the radar altitude cycling irregularly up and down about five feet at a time. Rougher than it looked from higher up! The body flap protecting the dead engines hits first, and the nose comes rapidly down. It hits, the screens go blank, and Tightniks is surrounded by airbags, some lifting his feet from the rudder petals and his hand from the control stick. It's blinding, it's disorienting, it's noisy, and, to his relief, it's long! It takes several seconds before the crashing cockpit stops moving. How many times did he flip over? Did he go sideways and roll? Am I rightside up? Are we really stopped on the ground? The airbags deflate, and he can move his arms. He gets his restraints loose and inspects himself. "Uck!" he says out loud (without the 'f'). No broken bones. His pressure suit can take his blood pressure. 116/81, pulse 112, blood oxygen 99 reads off on his left arm, I'll friggin' take it!
The ship is amazingly intact from what he can tell. He can't get any readings. The systems test meter seems to be working, but can't find any voltages anywhere. The ship seems to be completely dead. Behind him, 10 passenger seats are all surrounded by airbags and the back of the cabin ends in some sort of dirt-and-gravel and there's a bit of daylight seeping in around the edges. He was the only one on board, though, so their deployment was mostly academic (they might have stiffened the structure a little during the crash, but that's probably trivial.) Tightniks gets out of his spacesuit. The air on this planet is actually breathable. He gets the hatch open, steps outside and-
"A green shimmer erupts then disappears, and you hit the ground."
The human emerges from the glowing green mist and hits the ground. Groans. Pushes against that ground, trying to get back up. Where am I? What's my name? I remember nothing. Aren't babies born naked? He's got a dark blue button-down shirt on. A uniform? A shoulder patch. Gets up, looks around. I feel really heavy. I'm not that fat, am I? He picks up a small stone from the ground, this also feels heavier than it should. He rises to his feet and holds it out somewhat (he's unable to fully extend his arm) and lets it go. The stone hits the ground near his feet quickly and with remarkable speed. It's the gravity, it's greater than it is on- ...where am I from? This is- ...not my home planet? "Oooh..."
"Ka?" it says.
What is that? It's cute, at least.
It is not tame. He has no hope of catching it on foot. The creature seems to like the berries. Maybe if I gather some of those into one place and set some kind of trap...
33s: First trap.
I got one! The human lumbers up to the trap and gets the catch open. Do you bite? It doesn't matter much to me; I'm so friggin' screwed.
It doesn't. It looks at the human with a sense of wonder, actually. A blink and tilt of the head. Seems almost to be asking, Is it you? My purpose? My savior? Once out of the trap, which is totally wrecked, he has to make a new one from scratch, it follows him around like a imprinted hatchling bird.
Wiry little fella, you are. You're going to need some bulking up to do anything useful. The- ...'trimp', I guess... The trimp seems just barely able to feed itself. The human lets him into the broken ship's intact cabin, and it curls up comfortably in a passenger seat for a nap.
1m03s: Second trap.
"Apparently the Trimps breed if they're not working. Doesn't look pleasant."
What are they doing?
The trimps appear to be androgynous, and these two have paired off in the back of the ship. They're holding something carefully within a few hours, feeding it berries, grass, and- ...corundum.
Corundum?? Whatever that is, it isn't a baby.
1m35s: Third trap.
Only it IS a baby! The third trimp he trapped immediately joined the other two in raising it. They have a strange diet of food the human has found compatible with his own body, but they also eat rocks! They're careful to crush and sort aluminate minerals from silcate ones and only eat aluminate. Actually, they don't eat aluminate, they're only feeding it to the baby.
2m06s: Fourth trap.
All four are raising the same child, who is just starting to toddle. It seems these fellas have alumina or maybe even aluminum bones. The human takes a nap and wakes to find the first child grown up and they're starting to raise a second child, all five of them.
2m46s: Huts.
The human found a working bit of electronics. He calls it a pad, but maybe it's more like a smartphone. It has plans for two residential structures. The first, the smaller one, he can build right away, but the second one needs something called "drywall", and he has to figure out how to make that before he can build it. Huts and houses, apparently.
3m13s: 10 pop, full, first farmer.
The trimp he trained to farm and make paper took an incredible 50 units of food to get bulked up to do the work, and now it's not participating in rearing the child. But less than an hour after the trimp started farming and pulping, the child was out on its own, and the trimps did not start another. The ten seats on the ship were all full. Well, eleven counting the one up front that the human sleeps in. The pilot starts exploring the area.
3m28s: Battle.
Wait, what are you do-
The hostile roars and charges at the human, but one of his trimps jumps in front of him with a stick and they fight. It started right when the human got far enough away from the ship that the hostile non-trimps away from the ship began to regard him as leaving his own territory. After the trimp defeats the first enemy, it continues after other hostiles.
3m53s: Shield I in Z1c5.
The human is easily able to recover the loot in the territory cleared by the fighting trimp. Then he sees something glinting in the- That can't be! What the heck is that? It's a data card that fits his pad. It quite clearly regards trimp combat. He gets it loaded into his pad and studies it. I can do this, it just takes some wood. He returns to the ship to discover that they had already started on a new child before the fighter had even expired in battle. The human concentrates on his research.
4m38s: Mskel in Z1c11 defeated.
The remains of this one seem rather white and shiny. It's titanium! This enemy had titanium bones! He'll store them away. They'll be useful someday, I'm sure.
5m52s: Dagger I in Z1c20.
Where are these data cards coming from? The human wonders as he loads this one into his pad, It's for a weapon it calls a dagger. He blinks. I don't know what a dagger is. I'll take your word for it, data card. Needs metal. He has gathered some, but ore is plentiful. He can just dig and smelt it whenever he wants. For now, I'll continue researching.
6m18s: Arable in Z1c21.
It's an old cave that trimps like to live in. Why weren't they able to live there before? How could these friendly critters be confined to only the exact spot where THAT thing, he looks back where he came from, not remembering that he piloted the wrecked ship to its current resting place, crashed? This is really strange. I'll let them fill up this cave before advancing further. Wait, what about defenses? The hostiles never try to reclaim territory that they've lost, so he stops worrying about that fairly quickly.
8m22s: First hut is 0.3% first ever AP.
The trimps seem fairly easy to please in terms of living quarters. Two move into his first hut and start raising a child. The human has his tent, uniform, and the heater pilfered from his space suit. Not much of a mud fan.
9m59s: Miners in Z1c30.
Oh, what's on this data card? Sl3niw? Oh, I'm holding the pad upside down. Miners. I can teach trimps how to mine ores and smelt met- 200 units of food? Each job is getting more expensive to train a trimp for. He puts his bee nickels to his eyes and spots another data card probably 10 enemies away. "Sc"? Does that means science? I can teach trimps to do science??
13m57s: Scientists in Z1c40.
Due to the expense of training trimps, the human couldn't afford to build them shields until now, he's got Sh1-3 made for the fighter to capture the science training data card. 14m02s: One head went into that turtlimp shell, that of his fighter, but two came out: his fighter still has his head on, and he managed to get the turtlimp's head off. It rushes off after the deadly penguimp in the next cell. The shields are not doing all that much good, actually, but they're better than nothing. The human picks up and loads the science data card and- Holy runny sugar-free fudge crap! 1000 food units, but it'll endow them with the ability to speak. Good. I'm getting bored with no one to talk to.
14m28s: Bloodlust purchased and AutoFight enabled (that delay after getting it is an effect of jacking up the job cost.)
As the human buries this expired little trimp warrior, he comes to the sobering realization that he has more trimp graves in his growing trimp colony than he does live trimps. And yet they seem more hopeful now than before I got to know any of them. They seem to think I'm the solution to all their problems or- Those two look east somberly, then notice that he's watching them and smile back and wave at him. ...one problem that is specific, but very, very huge for them. [The only reason I say 'east' is because that's right on a map, and the game advances right across a row, then up. I might say 'northeast' on occasion for that reason.]
20m47s: Z1c73, Miners taken.
Are you my new mining foreman? The trimp who took to the mining training has dark brown fur that lays flat on its head. It's unusual in not having any bits that stick out from its head, ahoge or whatever. This one is relatively quiet, and while it has assimilated the mining and smelting knowledge, it needs to bulk up to do any mining. Smelting is relatively easy, and getting a strong natural draft going in a furnace is almost trivial with the increased gravity. This trimp builds furnaces like nothing. And likes to nap in holes it digs right on the spot; it's weird that way. [Puchim@s Yukipo, and furnaces are not explicit in Trimps.]
21m58s: Farming in Z1c80.
The resourcing "books" are not data cards but paper scrolls, apparently lost to the trimps. It seems that they were civilized in the recent past and some calamity swept over the planet to reduce them to this. Did I have something to do with it? Amnesia sucks harder than a Dyson- ...what's a Dyson? Whatever, it sucks. This disaster happening just before I crash in the only spot with trimps still alive would be a seriously crazy coincidence! Something is really, really wrong about all this. [The author has not sought or received product placement permission or fee from Dyson Technology Ltd. or any resellers of their stuff, just they literally suck balls and made my favorite vacuum cleaner.]
23m50s: Builder in Z1c90.
They've rescued an, I dunno, gelding trimp? It just started to build a shed around the piled lumber I left to build one. It's really slow compared to me, and just banged its thumb, but it is super cute with that long reddish head fur. That particular trimp is also fascinated with pink ribbons and likes to decorate its head fur with them. Because of its inherent inability to participate in rearing children, it isn't counted in the population. [Puchim@s Io, builder on the basis of Iori seen building in 1x10.]
26m02s: Zone 2, 44 pop, 5.5s RC with Z0/1.
It's some sort of tactical manual - tactical coordination. Coordination! He's starting to sort out some trimpese on the research he has done so far. It needs a lot of metal, so they won't be able to implement it for some time. Hopefully, they're still good one at a time, but these enemies seem to be getting bigger as we go along. Uh oh!
27m33s: Gym in Z2c5.
It's some sort of training dojo or sporting arena. The human examines the ruins, I think I can back-engineer drawings for this, get one built, and see what happens.
29m02s: 1g, 47 pop, 10.8s RC with Z1/2.
The two fighting trimps now with their gym and coordination are dodging and blocking enthusiastically, and making much faster ground against the bad guys then a little while ago when it was just one trimp fighting at a time and unable to avoid the enemy hitting back.
40m46s: Fresh turkimp in Z2c74, 63 pop, 7.9s RC, Sh1-10, Da1-5, Bo1-3, Ma1-3, Hm1-3, 6g.
Oh, wow, the laborers seem really hot after this turkimp. He cooks it up and tries a slice. It's really awesome! I have to work alongside his laboring trimps to share it, but I'm getting used to the gravity now. That scroll we found back in Z2c10 really helped. Trimps' techniques and appliances for handicapped individuals, and I'm really handicapped in this higher gravity. He joins the woodcutters with the turkimp; they're the most numerous resource laborer right now, building more gyms, enough that the block/dodge ability of the fighting trimps is almost caught up to the enemy's ability to cause damage.
43m15s: Zone 3, 63 pop, 7.9s RC with Z1/2.
I'm neglecting my science and trimp scientists are really expensive. Curiously, that grey-haired one can't speak all that well, only says "Tai" and "Shijou", but it can write and draw like nobody's business. It's the only scientist so far. [Puchim@s Takanya: Online references probably still claim that she can utter the first two syllables of any word, but she can actually utter only the first two kana syllables of someone's name, most often the given name of basis human Takane Shijou, who also has that habit. (All the utterances of the puchidoru are based on the speech foibles of their basis humans except maybe Piyopiyo, where I haven't seen anything match up so far.)]
47m32s: Finally, we can make drywall and houses. 59m30s: Z3c77, 94 pop, 7.8s RC.
Oh, those poor things are really struggling up at the front. These trimps are enthusiastic and know no fear, but I still feel like telling them to stop for a while. I don't have the heart to keep them from trying while they're still doing some damage.
1h05m24s: Zone 4, 107 pop, 9.3s RC with Z3/4. 1h15m26s: Zone 5, 120 pop, 8.2s RC with Z3/4.
"What is that?" the human asks. He has three scientists. His first does all the writing, but the other two can actually speak. One of them hops up on a rock spire beside the human to reach his eye level.
At the next ridge line, over the lowest and most passable gap in the terrain, this really mean looking hovering sausage monster.
"I dunno," the scientist trimp shrugs, "But it's making me hungry. Looks like a perfectly cooked frankfurter from here." [John Morell's dubious dirigibles.]
"Oh, yeah," the human nods, "that's a blimp."
"A blimp?" the trimp tilts its head quizzically at the human, "How could you know?"
"I wish I could tell you, little buddy," the human extends his arm braces to descend the pass on the side of the zone boundary in the boss enemy's direction, then grunts, "Let's go kill it."
1h16m11s: Z1c9, 120 pop, 10.3s RC with Z4/5. 1h33m34s: Zone 6, 151 pop, 7.4s RC with Z4/5.
1h33m54s: TP in Z1c3.
"What's this?" the human asks, having picked up the little square document with the curling corners.
"Oh," the hungry scientist looks at it, "It's a garden path, follow me."
"You want to lead me down the garden path?" the human says.
"Yeah," the scientist says.
"Are you kidding?" the human asks.
"No," says the other scientist, "We don't get human humor. Listen, these fighters can't go, let them wear themselves out here, then we'll take the next group through this garden."
"Okay," the human nods, watching two more trimps join the fray as he issues the Z5 coordination orders, "they're doing pretty well after all that block training research we just wrapped up." [That's a common artifact, even in normal games, Z5 Traintacular combines with many gyms, enough population to add several trainers, affording Blockmaster, which is expensive on a run zero, plus a break on Tion Z5, a 40% all-stat increase. I don't think Zach designed it into the game on purpose, it just worked out this way.]
1h34m07s: 151 pop, 10.5s RC with Z5/7. 1h37m44s: Drop from Z6c39, TP for 3.
"Now we have these access map frags we can use to route through the old trimpopoli," the scientist explains, "Atlimpis for food, Morimpa for gems, Everimp for metal, and Impazon for wood."
"What about the garden?" the human asks.
"Well, we got lucky with Tricky Paradise," the scientist says, "but you can randomize the route and maybe get lucky. What's with that look?"
"Somehow, I'm remembering 'frag' as something that blew up with deadly pieces," the human says. [Different video games - ones with better graphics and worse gameplay Ｏ(>▽<)Ｏ]
1h39m59s: Blues back up to the top on series I...
"Tai, Tai!" the first ever trimp scientist stops the human just before he upgrades the mace and dagger to Mk.6 and Mk. 8 respectively. It has a note for him.
"Why do you keep calling me that?" the human asks, "Do you think that's my name?"
"Shijou, Shijou," it nods as though to indicate, I KNOW it is. Then it proffers its note again. The human takes it and reads, "Don't upgrade the first row equipment right now."
"Why not?" the human asks.
"Shijou," it points at the end of the mapped route, where there's a scroll sticking out of the thistles.
2h24m07s: Zone 8, 224 pop, 12.2s RC with Z7/12.
"Your settlement is getting crowded, there's Trimps in the streets, and you're taking heat. You feel a sudden strong desire to create a map, though you're not quite sure how that would help."
2h49m10s: Zone 9, 357 pop, 9.5s RC with Z8/15.
"You can't shake the feeling that you've been here before. Déjà-vu?"
The trimps really seem to like the new high capacity mansions, and the village has rapidly expanded since they started building them.
"There's something familiar about this," the human says.
"Tai," the grey one that writes clings to his arm and shows him a note that says, "Don't give up now."
"We must persist," says the yellow one has found a foothold it can grab onto and grabs the human's shoulder gently, "If you give up to early, we'll never solve this. You'll be stuck here forever."
The human puts his hand over the trimp's paw on his shoulders, then looks at him, "I can die, too."
"No, you can't," the trimp says quietly, "Please don't test that, tall one."
"Death is just another path..." he remembers.
"Gan," the grey one squeaks. [That's the first two kana syllables of "Gandalf"]
"...one that we all must take," the human continues, "The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it-"
"A green mist," the yellow trimp interrupts, "flash of fire, we're all gone and our progress forgotten. The wandering stars return to that day, and you again crash that ship- ...a little better every time."
"Wait," the human looks around, "have I been here before?"
"I-" the yellow trimp tries in futility to share what little it knows, "...or... somebody got just a little coolant into the-"
"Into the what?"
"This side up," the grey one's note says.
"Into the that," the yellow one points at the note, "It really helped. You- ...I don't think we've ever had mansions before."
Well, of course they didn't have mansions before. That was one of my ship's data cards. How did it get way out here? Will anything start to make sense?
3h02m13s: Zone 10, 387 pop, 8.7s RC with Z8/15; '28s: 11.1s RC with Z9/19. 3h16m41s: Tough snimp after food book, L10 rand dept from lo-hi-med 118/25/96, 4 Items.
"That's twice our frags led us to gem-rich Moria," the human says.
"Morimpa," the new red trimp scientist corrects, there now being 5 scientists. [There'd be more if there were more turkimp.]
"The question is how do we use all these gems?" the human looks at the village zoning plans again, "I like those mansions and all, but they use hardly any gems compared to, well-" he gestures at the pile of over two dozen thousand gems they've gathered, "-that! And still a lot of wood and lumber."
"I think there's something," the yellow one sighs, "I wish I knew more."
Quite some time later, after they're done looting that route for equipment plans, the trimps are again advancing through Zone 10, and he hears it.
"Tai?" the grey one wonders.
"Where are you going?" the yellow one asks.
"To the farm," the human answers.
"Whatever for?" the red one seems exasperated.
"Shijou?" the grey one sighs, then looks at the fighting front. It's been around long enough to remember, "Shijou!"
"You guys already get so much to eat this doesn't do you much good," the human explains.
3h32m33s: L11 112/35/78 rand sea, dropped from Z11c6 with disband, 4.
"What's wrong?" the red one asks.
The human comforts one of the wounded. Once trimps start into a zone fight, they have to finish before they bleed out. He's really bothered making them desert in front of that second turkimp. "They had a lot left in them," he sighs, rubbing his eyes, "but we can't keep that much dead turkimp at once, we have to leave it alive to use up all of this one."
"Shijou," the grey one presents a note, "We need this map right away, anyway. Don't worry about it, Tightniks."
"Tightniks?" he looks at the grey one, "Is that me? How do you know?"
"Tai," the grey one points at the top of the human's left breast pocket.
"Ah, crud," the yellow one curls its tail around in front of itself as trimps do when they're embarrassed, "Is that really a name tag?"
The human hadn't even noticed it since the green flash blew up his memory as he was stepping out of the ship.
4h04m22s: Block (sub-8h AP is only 0.3%), taking it, 504 pop, 9.8s RC with Z10/24.
It's a pretty thick book about using shields for block instead of hit points. The pad has the stats analysis. Sh3-1 is only giving us 9% of our hit points. Turning to his trimp scientists, he says, "It seems to me to be worth it."
"Let's," the yellow one nods.
"Shijou," it hands him a note, "It scales badly, but that won't matter for a long time. I think there's a way to undo it before it matters."
"Doing it." The human takes out his pad and starts scanning.
4h29m05s: L14 rand moun 137/26/80 is really good for a lo-hi-med. 4h30m52s: Hotels.
"Ah," the yellow one says, "I knew there was something. That must be it."
5h08m09s: L15 lo-hi-hi rand gard 129/28/82 (just got explorers). 5h09m32s: Picked up Wall.
"Dam," the human says.
"Damn?" the red one chuckles.
"No," the human says, "Earthen wall dam; it's a thing that makes artificial lakes by holding rivers back."
"Lakes?" the yellow one asks, "Rivers?"
"Oh yeah," the human says, "This planet doesn't have enough rain for those..."
5h48m21: Leaving Wall from about c70 to fetch Tion Z15.
"You can't resume the map from the same point if you start another," the human reads the grey one's note.
"We can go back to the same point on that route if we hold there and finish Zone 15, right?" Tightniks asks.
"Shijou!" it seems to be saying yes.
"Yes," the yellow one adds, "but we're out of Series III upgrades, and you need a fresh map route to start up Series IV."
"We should be okay," Tightniks says, "but if we have to start it over, I don't see that being a big deal." As they advance through the rest of Zone 15, Tightniks resumes his usual duties at the research desk instead building and running traps like he was before.
The trimps seem hopeful at this decision.
5h49m10s: Fresh turkimp. 5h50m16s: Zone 16, 1071 pop, 13.4s RC with Z15/75, 13m43s turkimp (skel in c1.)
"Z:16 Seriously? Another Blimp so soon?"
"So," Tightniks lowers his bee nickels and looks at the red one, "is it going to be boss fights at the end of every zone from now on?"
"Hmm," the red trimp looks up past the human at some random rock spire or cloud.
"Well?" the human persists.
"Yup," he says.
"Hmph," Tightniks grabs a Sw3-1 of the rack and advances towards the front, "Before then, we have another Mister Titanium."
"What does he like about skeletimps?" the red one asks the grey one as the human marches off.
"Shijou?" the grey one seems just as confused by that.
"He's not going back to the ship, and he's not getting himself killed," the yellow one smiles, "so I'll take it."
5h58m32s...
"Hey guys, go for the mortar!" the human suggests to his 75 fighting trimps in the Wall's boss fight.
"I can tell from your bedtime stories that you're used to the artillery in that other place," the yellow one gripes, "but fighting works differently here, there's no artillery."
And the human instantly collapses laughing, the scientists a little worried he might have injured himself in the planet's severe gravity. But he's okay, at least physically, "Mortar is the stuff between the bricks, fellas. That's is a brickimp, right?"
5h59m18s: Wall, 1076 pop, 13.3s RC, 1% AP for sub-8h finish, first L16 roll good 156/35/84 moun, 10 for the metal.
Beyond the Wall was a more edenic section of the trimpolis ruins, doubling the production of the lumberjacks. The trimps are actually really happy with the mode of all of the laborers moving between the three big jobs, along with the turkimp, except for the foremen specialized at leading the job. It isn't enough to boost their productivity, but the human goes to them with trays of sandwiches.
6h06m52s: 50 map run 0.3% AP...
6h19m13s: Zone 17, 1141 pop, 16.0s RC with Z16/94, no turkimp.
"Z:17 You climb a large cliff and look out over the new Zone. Red dirt, scorched ground, and devastation. Is that a Dragimp flying around out there?!"
"Hmm," the human surveys the new zone with his bee nickels, "Looks like crap. Any ideas?"
"You're the idea man," the yellow one groans.
"Set the map flag," he puts his bee nickels away, "We'll run a depth for practice and to load up on gems for more hotels."
"Righto," the red one gets to work.
6h44m34s: First DCP. (Draglimp Care Package; I refuse to call it a tribute.)
"Oh," the human says, "It's tame now, so it brings back gems in exchange for food?" He looks at his gaping scientists, "That's what it looks like, huh? Guys? Yo!"
"Tai..." the grey one sighs.
Draglimp, the dragimp imprinted on Tightniks, lands beside the human, drops some gems at his feet, and accepts some scratching behind its horns before diving into the food bowl.
"You tamed a dragimp???" Grey's note says.
"Well," the yellow one huffs, "I guess that happened."
8h18m53s: L20 depth of 154/27/79.
"Mapping up here?" the red one half closes one eye and tilts his head.
"Yeah," the human says while fitting together the depth map fragments, "With the coordination book not right at the end, we have an extra mark of coordination to take advantage of. Let's take our housing up to 2000 or so, shall we?"
"Okay," the yellow one says from a pile of logs, "What's all the wood for?" They had been collecting it for days now.
"The series upgrades follow a rather specific pattern," Tightniks explains, "Just on the other side of this blimp is Zone 21, where we should be able to find the Shield series V, right?"
"Shijou!" the grey one nods.
8h56m17s: 1% AP for 100 map runs, leaving it, 1751 pop, 24.8s RC with Z20/232. 8h56m54s: Zone 21...
"Ooooookay," Tightniks growls, "There is something off about this thing."
"Shijou?" the grey one looks at the yellow one with concern about their human starship pilot friend.
The human stoops, picks up the little green gem on the ridge between Zone 20 and 21, looks at it, huffs, and asks, "Any idea where this comes from?"
"Err..." the red one seems hesitant to say, "I think you made it."
"Really?" the human huffs, "How could that be?" Then he tosses it at Red, "See if anything reacts to it. It might be radioactive, so we should take turns to minimize exposure."
"Really?" Red's holding it now, "What makes you say that?"
"Because I'm pissed off for no reason I can figure out," the human says, "I think it's coming from that."
"Frags," the red one says quickly, "I think it's arranging a route. You're good with maps," it tosses the gem to the grey scientist.
"Shijou," the grey one says hopefully, and has a map drawn within a few minutes. [Whether it looks like the one in Puchim@s 1x61 is anyone's guess. That one annoyed me as well as Chihya.]
9h02m37s: L21 moun first roll was a decent 160/26/84. 9h21m00s: Starting run 5 of that map...
Tightniks had taken his anger out on some food and wood to build about 8000 traps. Now he's leaning against a rock spire in his increasingly tattered uniform. A nap begins, perhaps unintentionally.
Wild trimps are examining the pile, finding it unwelcoming, and also finding no place in the town, just mill about. It looks like they want to help.
"Ku?" it's a blue trimp, probably a farmer waiting for stuff to grow, climbs up on the rock spire the human is leaning against, starts patting him on the head, "Ku. Ku ku." [Puchim@s Chihya.]
9h23m09s: Still working that lap...
Tightniks wakes up from that nap, and the grey one is standing there. "Shijou," it says with a note of concern, although not much of one. The note it holds says, "It wasn't me."
"Oh, what wasn't you, buddy?" He stretches out a bit, feeling somewhat refreshed. It feels like somebody washed his face and hair while he was sleeping.
The grey one is also holding a small mirror, apparently broken off from a larger mirror and with the sharp edges filed down to make the edges safe.
The human takes it from the grey trimp and holds it in front of his face to discover that somebody has bound up all his hair into about twenty little pigtails. He touches them with his other hand to confirm. "Eh, whatever." He hands the mirror back and goes back to sleep. [Puchim@s Koamimami.]
9h30m08s: The following run...
"He's not throwing stuff every which way yet," the yellow one whispers to the red one, watching the human snoozing with his pad on his knee.
"You remember that, too?" the red one asks.
"'Remember'?" the yellow one turns to face the red one, "I s'pose that's better than imagining it."
"I remember it, too," the grey one says via a playing card sized note.
"If we're stuck in a time loop," the yellow one sighs, "maybe this cycle will be different."
"Tai..." the grey one admires him for a moment. Then thumbs in the direction of the mountain, "Heh, Shijou!" it laughs.
9h35m58s: Run 8, c9 of that map.
The scientists nap and take notes, and meditate and take notes, and draw stuff. The grey one often storyboards for the other nine because it's the best at drawing stuff. They have come up with a list, and most probably "order" (they're debating whether their ranking means "order" (sequence of things happening over the various loops) or "frequency" (what proportion of previous loops they have happened in). But they've come up with this, from first (or perhaps most often) to most recent (or perhaps least often):
- The ship crashes (they're pretty sure that happens every loop) - The human builds huts - The human teaches some of his trimps to speak and do science - The human builds houses - The human makes maps - The human builds mansions - The human blows up and gets himself killed somewhere around Z17 to Z21, often on a dragimp - The human only recently/occasionally builds hotels - The human only recently/rarely tamed a dragimp - The human only recently/rarely maps the Dimension of Anger
They're all agreed that that they have never finished the Dimension of Anger. What they are not all agreed on is that they've never done this conference to figure out whether they're in a time loop or what that might mean. [See also Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Cause and Effect" ...which was sort of a time loop but they weren't going back in time. It's very interesting, but its meta makes no sense - no one ever went looking for the Bozeman in 80 years? No one who went looking for the Bozeman also got stuck? No one noticed the passage of time outside the little area of space where the not-quite-a-time-loop was happening? Errr... sci-fi writers, don't be half-assed about your time loops, lmao! Be like Harold Ramis- ...what am I saying?? (That would be Groundhog Day, which grafted a time loop into a romcom; there are no other sci-fi elements. But it was a full-blown time loop and not half-assed like "Cause and Effect".)]
9h54m06s: Dropped from Z21c95...
I think it would be a bad idea to bypass that green area, as much as I'd rather not face it. Both his domesticated trimps, which are breeding up a new group of fighters, and the wild trimps he has decided just now not to open the traps for, stare at him and point in that direction. He shoulders a huge Shield V-3 and grabs an Mace IV-2 as well and announces, "We're doing it." Thus equipped, he marches off into the Dimension of Anger.
10h27m53s: Taking Pi4-2; recently had taken Pa4-2...
The group at the front had expired, and the snimp in DoAc95 glares at the advancing colony of trimps, which had halted only because of it. It refuses to counterattack the vulnerable colony and its human, instead snorting and huffing, waiting for the next bunch of 232 fighting trimps to come in range.
Tightniks runs along the line of traps, releasing the recently tamed trimps, singing a song that he doesn't remember the meaning of, that he doesn't remember was crafted by an ethnically Chinese guy out of an African language, and later mastered by two caucasians over the internet before they ever met in person. "Baba yetu yetu uliye, mbinguni yetu yetu amina..." because it just happened to be stuck in his head. [Because the Doylian author decided on a whim to. Christopher Tin got it into Civilization IV and at the time (2010 July), I made the best video for it on YouTube, which got subsequently blown to shreds when Peter Hollens and Malukah re-recorded the song from scratch in their own voices and instruments in 2014, pity with no English translation, the purpose of my video.]
Noticing the last batch of metal he needs coming out of the furnace, he waves the waiting grey scientist to fire up the forge [to use the term properly and not as the game does], for it was time to wrap up the forging dies for the Spetum IV, Mark 2 pike heads.
"Shijou!" the grey one cheers, setting aside a snack that looks like maybe ramen, and starts jumping up and down on the bellows handle.
It takes a while for the human to chip out the tip in the two halves of the forging die, and then polish it, and then heat it up in the forge, and then quench it, inspect it, and put it into service crafting thousands of new pike heads for the fighting trimps.
But only one second passed on the map frame clock (10h27m54s) four cells behind that snimp, in the case being brooded over by this huge, and if it's honest, rather concerned megablimp.
10h35m45: Portal PB, 45 He, 4.247 He/hr, 1891 pop, 22.7s RC with Z20/232, no turkimp.
The last head of the map's boss monster goes limp as one of the fighting trimps' mace heads bounces of it, and the huge thing settles on its tail, resting on the package that seems to be the prize of this map. And there's a popping sound, and then something mechanical.
Is that a scroll compressor? Tightniks looks at the package. The deflating monster's lifting envelope material drapes over everything underneath it. "Red, Shijou!" he snaps and points, "roll up that side of it. Keep this part from sucking down on the extractor nozzle!"
All ten of the scientists jump in, literally, pushing the gas in the bag towards the compressor. Tightniks as well, rolling up the front.
Until he kicks, and nearly trips over, a smaller package that might be the explanation for the reason why the center of the monster's defense seemed to be a little away from the big package he could see. It's in the right place, he realizes. He gets it uncovered and reads stenciled-and-sprayed block letters on it:
"DT TIME PORTAL / THIS SIDE DOWN"
Perhaps the Dimension of Anger is so named because of the rage suddenly rising up in Tightniks' throat. It isn't so much as the free-floating aggression suddenly has an answer, there is definitely a fresh batch of rage and anger as he grips the nearest Mace IV, Mark 3 with both hands and gets it over his shoulder, its target obviously this object, anger at the realization he screams at the top of his lungs, "We are stuck in a mutha FAH-king time loop!!" His swing begins. [Tightniks almost never cusses, unlike Snugniks.]
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The ship is without power, and Tightniks can't run the radar much without draining the batteries. He has only a few minutes of APU power left, goes over the best clearing he can find, and radars it. It varies by only a few feet from the aerodynamic glideslope there. He spots it out on the cameras and circles to go after that spot. He's only at two hundred feet now. With one hand on the stick, he uses the other to open the pressure equalization valve on the side hatch, then at one hundred feet, gets it undogged. Depending on how much damage he's going to get, it's less likely to be stuck closed and trap him. The dynamic vacuum this pulls in the cockpit rips most of the survival pack data cards from that rack and scatters them across the landscape. Crap, I'm gonna need those! Refocusing on surviving the next few seconds, he turns on the radar for the final approach, takes a last look around, then straight ahead at his forward camera and PFD, he clicks his HANS and shoulder strap locks in; after that, he can barely move, but that now is better than dying in this crash with a broken neck. He's a decent pilot and brings up the flare gently. Bringing up the alpha on this delta-winged ship, he balloons a little, but keeps the nose going up and restores a zero aerodynamic sink rate just above the highest terrain indicated by the radar altimeter. The ship bumps a little in the ground effect, and he can see the radar altitude cycling irregularly up and down about five feet at a time. Rougher than it looked from higher up! The body flap protecting the dead engines hits first, and the nose comes rapidly down. It hits, the screens go blank, and Tightniks is surrounded by airbags, some lifting his feet from the rudder petals and his hand from the control stick. It's blinding, it's disorienting, it's noisy, and, to his relief, it's long! It takes several seconds before the crashing cockpit stops moving. How many times did he flip over? Did he go sideways and roll? Am I rightside up? Are we really stopped on the ground? The airbags deflate, and he can move his arms. He gets his restraints loose and inspects himself. "Uck!" he says out loud (without the 'f'). No broken bones. His pressure suit can take his blood pressure. 116/81, pulse 112, blood oxygen 99 reads off on his left arm, I'll friggin' take it!
The ship is amazingly intact from what he can tell. He can't get any readings. The systems test meter seems to be working, but can't find any voltages anywhere. The ship seems to be completely dead. Behind him, 10 passenger seats are all surrounded by airbags and the back of the cabin ends in some sort of dirt-and-gravel and there's a bit of daylight seeping in around the edges. He was the only one on board, though, so their deployment was mostly academic (they might have stiffened the structure a little during the crash, but that's probably trivial.) Tightniks gets out of his spacesuit. The air on this planet is actually breathable. He gets the hatch open, steps outside and-
"A green shimmer erupts then disappears, and you hit the ground."
The human emerges from the glowing green mist and hits the ground. Groans. Pushes against that ground, trying to get back up. Where am I? What's my name? I remember nothing. Aren't babies born naked? He's got a dark blue button-down shirt on. A uniform? A shoulder patch. Gets up, looks around. I feel really heavy. I'm not that fat, am I? He picks up a small stone from the ground, this also feels heavier than it should. He rises to his feet and holds it out somewhat (he's unable to fully extend his arm) and lets it go. The stone hits the ground near his feet quickly and with remarkable speed. It's the gravity, it's greater than it is on- ...where am I from? This is- ...not my home planet? "Oooh..."
"Ka?" it says.
What is that? It's cute, at least.
It is not tame. He has no hope of catching it on foot. The creature seems to like the berries. Maybe if I gather some of those into one place and set some kind of trap...
33s: First trap.
I got one! The human lumbers up to the trap and gets the catch open. Do you bite? It doesn't matter much to me; I'm so friggin' screwed.
It doesn't. It looks at the human with a sense of wonder, actually. A blink and tilt of the head. Seems almost to be asking, Is it you? My purpose? My savior? Once out of the trap, which is totally wrecked, he has to make a new one from scratch, it follows him around like a imprinted hatchling bird.
Wiry little fella, you are. You're going to need some bulking up to do anything useful. The- ...'trimp', I guess... The trimp seems just barely able to feed itself. The human lets him into the broken ship's intact cabin, and it curls up comfortably in a passenger seat for a nap.
1m03s: Second trap.
"Apparently the Trimps breed if they're not working. Doesn't look pleasant."
What are they doing?
The trimps appear to be androgynous, and these two have paired off in the back of the ship. They're holding something carefully within a few hours, feeding it berries, grass, and- ...corundum.
Corundum?? Whatever that is, it isn't a baby.
1m35s: Third trap.
Only it IS a baby! The third trimp he trapped immediately joined the other two in raising it. They have a strange diet of food the human has found compatible with his own body, but they also eat rocks! They're careful to crush and sort aluminate minerals from silcate ones and only eat aluminate. Actually, they don't eat aluminate, they're only feeding it to the baby.
2m06s: Fourth trap.
All four are raising the same child, who is just starting to toddle. It seems these fellas have alumina or maybe even aluminum bones. The human takes a nap and wakes to find the first child grown up and they're starting to raise a second child, all five of them.
2m46s: Huts.
The human found a working bit of electronics. He calls it a pad, but maybe it's more like a smartphone. It has plans for two residential structures. The first, the smaller one, he can build right away, but the second one needs something called "drywall", and he has to figure out how to make that before he can build it. Huts and houses, apparently.
3m13s: 10 pop, full, first farmer.
The trimp he trained to farm and make paper took an incredible 50 units of food to get bulked up to do the work, and now it's not participating in rearing the child. But less than an hour after the trimp started farming and pulping, the child was out on its own, and the trimps did not start another. The ten seats on the ship were all full. Well, eleven counting the one up front that the human sleeps in. The pilot starts exploring the area.
3m28s: Battle.
Wait, what are you do-
The hostile roars and charges at the human, but one of his trimps jumps in front of him with a stick and they fight. It started right when the human got far enough away from the ship that the hostile non-trimps away from the ship began to regard him as leaving his own territory. After the trimp defeats the first enemy, it continues after other hostiles.
3m53s: Shield I in Z1c5.
The human is easily able to recover the loot in the territory cleared by the fighting trimp. Then he sees something glinting in the- That can't be! What the heck is that? It's a data card that fits his pad. It quite clearly regards trimp combat. He gets it loaded into his pad and studies it. I can do this, it just takes some wood. He returns to the ship to discover that they had already started on a new child before the fighter had even expired in battle. The human concentrates on his research.
4m38s: Mskel in Z1c11 defeated.
The remains of this one seem rather white and shiny. It's titanium! This enemy had titanium bones! He'll store them away. They'll be useful someday, I'm sure.
5m52s: Dagger I in Z1c20.
Where are these data cards coming from? The human wonders as he loads this one into his pad, It's for a weapon it calls a dagger. He blinks. I don't know what a dagger is. I'll take your word for it, data card. Needs metal. He has gathered some, but ore is plentiful. He can just dig and smelt it whenever he wants. For now, I'll continue researching.
6m18s: Arable in Z1c21.
It's an old cave that trimps like to live in. Why weren't they able to live there before? How could these friendly critters be confined to only the exact spot where THAT thing, he looks back where he came from, not remembering that he piloted the wrecked ship to its current resting place, crashed? This is really strange. I'll let them fill up this cave before advancing further. Wait, what about defenses? The hostiles never try to reclaim territory that they've lost, so he stops worrying about that fairly quickly.
8m22s: First hut is 0.3% first ever AP.
The trimps seem fairly easy to please in terms of living quarters. Two move into his first hut and start raising a child. The human has his tent, uniform, and the heater pilfered from his space suit. Not much of a mud fan.
9m59s: Miners in Z1c30.
Oh, what's on this data card? Sl3niw? Oh, I'm holding the pad upside down. Miners. I can teach trimps how to mine ores and smelt met- 200 units of food? Each job is getting more expensive to train a trimp for. He puts his bee nickels to his eyes and spots another data card probably 10 enemies away. "Sc"? Does that means science? I can teach trimps to do science??
13m57s: Scientists in Z1c40.
Due to the expense of training trimps, the human couldn't afford to build them shields until now, he's got Sh1-3 made for the fighter to capture the science training data card. 14m02s: One head went into that turtlimp shell, that of his fighter, but two came out: his fighter still has his head on, and he managed to get the turtlimp's head off. It rushes off after the deadly penguimp in the next cell. The shields are not doing all that much good, actually, but they're better than nothing. The human picks up and loads the science data card and- Holy runny sugar-free fudge crap! 1000 food units, but it'll endow them with the ability to speak. Good. I'm getting bored with no one to talk to.
14m28s: Bloodlust purchased and AutoFight enabled (that delay after getting it is an effect of jacking up the job cost.)
As the human buries this expired little trimp warrior, he comes to the sobering realization that he has more trimp graves in his growing trimp colony than he does live trimps. And yet they seem more hopeful now than before I got to know any of them. They seem to think I'm the solution to all their problems or- Those two look east somberly, then notice that he's watching them and smile back and wave at him. ...one problem that is specific, but very, very huge for them. [The only reason I say 'east' is because that's right on a map, and the game advances right across a row, then up. I might say 'northeast' on occasion for that reason.]
20m47s: Z1c73, Miners taken.
Are you my new mining foreman? The trimp who took to the mining training has dark brown fur that lays flat on its head. It's unusual in not having any bits that stick out from its head, ahoge or whatever. This one is relatively quiet, and while it has assimilated the mining and smelting knowledge, it needs to bulk up to do any mining. Smelting is relatively easy, and getting a strong natural draft going in a furnace is almost trivial with the increased gravity. This trimp builds furnaces like nothing. And likes to nap in holes it digs right on the spot; it's weird that way. [Puchim@s Yukipo, and furnaces are not explicit in Trimps.]
21m58s: Farming in Z1c80.
The resourcing "books" are not data cards but paper scrolls, apparently lost to the trimps. It seems that they were civilized in the recent past and some calamity swept over the planet to reduce them to this. Did I have something to do with it? Amnesia sucks harder than a Dyson- ...what's a Dyson? Whatever, it sucks. This disaster happening just before I crash in the only spot with trimps still alive would be a seriously crazy coincidence! Something is really, really wrong about all this. [The author has not sought or received product placement permission or fee from Dyson Technology Ltd. or any resellers of their stuff, just they literally suck balls and made my favorite vacuum cleaner.]
23m50s: Builder in Z1c90.
They've rescued an, I dunno, gelding trimp? It just started to build a shed around the piled lumber I left to build one. It's really slow compared to me, and just banged its thumb, but it is super cute with that long reddish head fur. That particular trimp is also fascinated with pink ribbons and likes to decorate its head fur with them. Because of its inherent inability to participate in rearing children, it isn't counted in the population. [Puchim@s Io, builder on the basis of Iori seen building in 1x10.]
26m02s: Zone 2, 44 pop, 5.5s RC with Z0/1.
It's some sort of tactical manual - tactical coordination. Coordination! He's starting to sort out some trimpese on the research he has done so far. It needs a lot of metal, so they won't be able to implement it for some time. Hopefully, they're still good one at a time, but these enemies seem to be getting bigger as we go along. Uh oh!
27m33s: Gym in Z2c5.
It's some sort of training dojo or sporting arena. The human examines the ruins, I think I can back-engineer drawings for this, get one built, and see what happens.
29m02s: 1g, 47 pop, 10.8s RC with Z1/2.
The two fighting trimps now with their gym and coordination are dodging and blocking enthusiastically, and making much faster ground against the bad guys then a little while ago when it was just one trimp fighting at a time and unable to avoid the enemy hitting back.
40m46s: Fresh turkimp in Z2c74, 63 pop, 7.9s RC, Sh1-10, Da1-5, Bo1-3, Ma1-3, Hm1-3, 6g.
Oh, wow, the laborers seem really hot after this turkimp. He cooks it up and tries a slice. It's really awesome! I have to work alongside his laboring trimps to share it, but I'm getting used to the gravity now. That scroll we found back in Z2c10 really helped. Trimps' techniques and appliances for handicapped individuals, and I'm really handicapped in this higher gravity. He joins the woodcutters with the turkimp; they're the most numerous resource laborer right now, building more gyms, enough that the block/dodge ability of the fighting trimps is almost caught up to the enemy's ability to cause damage.
43m15s: Zone 3, 63 pop, 7.9s RC with Z1/2.
I'm neglecting my science and trimp scientists are really expensive. Curiously, that grey-haired one can't speak all that well, only says "Tai" and "Shijou", but it can write and draw like nobody's business. It's the only scientist so far. [Puchim@s Takanya: Online references probably still claim that she can utter the first two syllables of any word, but she can actually utter only the first two kana syllables of someone's name, most often the given name of basis human Takane Shijou, who also has that habit. (All the utterances of the puchidoru are based on the speech foibles of their basis humans except maybe Piyopiyo, where I haven't seen anything match up so far.)]
47m32s: Finally, we can make drywall and houses. 59m30s: Z3c77, 94 pop, 7.8s RC.
Oh, those poor things are really struggling up at the front. These trimps are enthusiastic and know no fear, but I still feel like telling them to stop for a while. I don't have the heart to keep them from trying while they're still doing some damage.
1h05m24s: Zone 4, 107 pop, 9.3s RC with Z3/4. 1h15m26s: Zone 5, 120 pop, 8.2s RC with Z3/4.
"What is that?" the human asks. He has three scientists. His first does all the writing, but the other two can actually speak. One of them hops up on a rock spire beside the human to reach his eye level.
At the next ridge line, over the lowest and most passable gap in the terrain, this really mean looking hovering sausage monster.
"I dunno," the scientist trimp shrugs, "But it's making me hungry. Looks like a perfectly cooked frankfurter from here." [John Morell's dubious dirigibles.]
"Oh, yeah," the human nods, "that's a blimp."
"A blimp?" the trimp tilts its head quizzically at the human, "How could you know?"
"I wish I could tell you, little buddy," the human extends his arm braces to descend the pass on the side of the zone boundary in the boss enemy's direction, then grunts, "Let's go kill it."
1h16m11s: Z1c9, 120 pop, 10.3s RC with Z4/5. 1h33m34s: Zone 6, 151 pop, 7.4s RC with Z4/5.
1h33m54s: TP in Z1c3.
"What's this?" the human asks, having picked up the little square document with the curling corners.
"Oh," the hungry scientist looks at it, "It's a garden path, follow me."
"You want to lead me down the garden path?" the human says.
"Yeah," the scientist says.
"Are you kidding?" the human asks.
"No," says the other scientist, "We don't get human humor. Listen, these fighters can't go, let them wear themselves out here, then we'll take the next group through this garden."
"Okay," the human nods, watching two more trimps join the fray as he issues the Z5 coordination orders, "they're doing pretty well after all that block training research we just wrapped up." [That's a common artifact, even in normal games, Z5 Traintacular combines with many gyms, enough population to add several trainers, affording Blockmaster, which is expensive on a run zero, plus a break on Tion Z5, a 40% all-stat increase. I don't think Zach designed it into the game on purpose, it just worked out this way.]
1h34m07s: 151 pop, 10.5s RC with Z5/7. 1h37m44s: Drop from Z6c39, TP for 3.
"Now we have these access map frags we can use to route through the old trimpopoli," the scientist explains, "Atlimpis for food, Morimpa for gems, Everimp for metal, and Impazon for wood."
"What about the garden?" the human asks.
"Well, we got lucky with Tricky Paradise," the scientist says, "but you can randomize the route and maybe get lucky. What's with that look?"
"Somehow, I'm remembering 'frag' as something that blew up with deadly pieces," the human says. [Different video games - ones with better graphics and worse gameplay Ｏ(>▽<)Ｏ]
1h39m59s: Blues back up to the top on series I...
"Tai, Tai!" the first ever trimp scientist stops the human just before he upgrades the mace and dagger to Mk.6 and Mk. 8 respectively. It has a note for him.
"Why do you keep calling me that?" the human asks, "Do you think that's my name?"
"Shijou, Shijou," it nods as though to indicate, I KNOW it is. Then it proffers its note again. The human takes it and reads, "Don't upgrade the first row equipment right now."
"Why not?" the human asks.
"Shijou," it points at the end of the mapped route, where there's a scroll sticking out of the thistles.
2h24m07s: Zone 8, 224 pop, 12.2s RC with Z7/12.
"Your settlement is getting crowded, there's Trimps in the streets, and you're taking heat. You feel a sudden strong desire to create a map, though you're not quite sure how that would help."
2h49m10s: Zone 9, 357 pop, 9.5s RC with Z8/15.
"You can't shake the feeling that you've been here before. Déjà-vu?"
The trimps really seem to like the new high capacity mansions, and the village has rapidly expanded since they started building them.
"There's something familiar about this," the human says.
"Tai," the grey one that writes clings to his arm and shows him a note that says, "Don't give up now."
"We must persist," says the yellow one has found a foothold it can grab onto and grabs the human's shoulder gently, "If you give up to early, we'll never solve this. You'll be stuck here forever."
The human puts his hand over the trimp's paw on his shoulders, then looks at him, "I can die, too."
"No, you can't," the trimp says quietly, "Please don't test that, tall one."
"Death is just another path..." he remembers.
"Gan," the grey one squeaks. [That's the first two kana syllables of "Gandalf"]
"...one that we all must take," the human continues, "The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it-"
"A green mist," the yellow trimp interrupts, "flash of fire, we're all gone and our progress forgotten. The wandering stars return to that day, and you again crash that ship- ...a little better every time."
"Wait," the human looks around, "have I been here before?"
"I-" the yellow trimp tries in futility to share what little it knows, "...or... somebody got just a little coolant into the-"
"Into the what?"
"This side up," the grey one's note says.
"Into the that," the yellow one points at the note, "It really helped. You- ...I don't think we've ever had mansions before."
Well, of course they didn't have mansions before. That was one of my ship's data cards. How did it get way out here? Will anything start to make sense?
3h02m13s: Zone 10, 387 pop, 8.7s RC with Z8/15; '28s: 11.1s RC with Z9/19. 3h16m41s: Tough snimp after food book, L10 rand dept from lo-hi-med 118/25/96, 4 Items.
"That's twice our frags led us to gem-rich Moria," the human says.
"Morimpa," the new red trimp scientist corrects, there now being 5 scientists. [There'd be more if there were more turkimp.]
"The question is how do we use all these gems?" the human looks at the village zoning plans again, "I like those mansions and all, but they use hardly any gems compared to, well-" he gestures at the pile of over two dozen thousand gems they've gathered, "-that! And still a lot of wood and lumber."
"I think there's something," the yellow one sighs, "I wish I knew more."
Quite some time later, after they're done looting that route for equipment plans, the trimps are again advancing through Zone 10, and he hears it.
"Tai?" the grey one wonders.
"Where are you going?" the yellow one asks.
"To the farm," the human answers.
"Whatever for?" the red one seems exasperated.
"Shijou?" the grey one sighs, then looks at the fighting front. It's been around long enough to remember, "Shijou!"
"You guys already get so much to eat this doesn't do you much good," the human explains.
3h32m33s: L11 112/35/78 rand sea, dropped from Z11c6 with disband, 4.
"What's wrong?" the red one asks.
The human comforts one of the wounded. Once trimps start into a zone fight, they have to finish before they bleed out. He's really bothered making them desert in front of that second turkimp. "They had a lot left in them," he sighs, rubbing his eyes, "but we can't keep that much dead turkimp at once, we have to leave it alive to use up all of this one."
"Shijou," the grey one presents a note, "We need this map right away, anyway. Don't worry about it, Tightniks."
"Tightniks?" he looks at the grey one, "Is that me? How do you know?"
"Tai," the grey one points at the top of the human's left breast pocket.
"Ah, crud," the yellow one curls its tail around in front of itself as trimps do when they're embarrassed, "Is that really a name tag?"
The human hadn't even noticed it since the green flash blew up his memory as he was stepping out of the ship.
4h04m22s: Block (sub-8h AP is only 0.3%), taking it, 504 pop, 9.8s RC with Z10/24.
It's a pretty thick book about using shields for block instead of hit points. The pad has the stats analysis. Sh3-1 is only giving us 9% of our hit points. Turning to his trimp scientists, he says, "It seems to me to be worth it."
"Let's," the yellow one nods.
"Shijou," it hands him a note, "It scales badly, but that won't matter for a long time. I think there's a way to undo it before it matters."
"Doing it." The human takes out his pad and starts scanning.
4h29m05s: L14 rand moun 137/26/80 is really good for a lo-hi-med. 4h30m52s: Hotels.
"Ah," the yellow one says, "I knew there was something. That must be it."
5h08m09s: L15 lo-hi-hi rand gard 129/28/82 (just got explorers). 5h09m32s: Picked up Wall.
"Dam," the human says.
"Damn?" the red one chuckles.
"No," the human says, "Earthen wall dam; it's a thing that makes artificial lakes by holding rivers back."
"Lakes?" the yellow one asks, "Rivers?"
"Oh yeah," the human says, "This planet doesn't have enough rain for those..."
5h48m21: Leaving Wall from about c70 to fetch Tion Z15.
"You can't resume the map from the same point if you start another," the human reads the grey one's note.
"We can go back to the same point on that route if we hold there and finish Zone 15, right?" Tightniks asks.
"Shijou!" it seems to be saying yes.
"Yes," the yellow one adds, "but we're out of Series III upgrades, and you need a fresh map route to start up Series IV."
"We should be okay," Tightniks says, "but if we have to start it over, I don't see that being a big deal." As they advance through the rest of Zone 15, Tightniks resumes his usual duties at the research desk instead building and running traps like he was before.
The trimps seem hopeful at this decision.
5h49m10s: Fresh turkimp. 5h50m16s: Zone 16, 1071 pop, 13.4s RC with Z15/75, 13m43s turkimp (skel in c1.)
"Z:16 Seriously? Another Blimp so soon?"
"So," Tightniks lowers his bee nickels and looks at the red one, "is it going to be boss fights at the end of every zone from now on?"
"Hmm," the red trimp looks up past the human at some random rock spire or cloud.
"Well?" the human persists.
"Yup," he says.
"Hmph," Tightniks grabs a Sw3-1 of the rack and advances towards the front, "Before then, we have another Mister Titanium."
"What does he like about skeletimps?" the red one asks the grey one as the human marches off.
"Shijou?" the grey one seems just as confused by that.
"He's not going back to the ship, and he's not getting himself killed," the yellow one smiles, "so I'll take it."
5h58m32s...
"Hey guys, go for the mortar!" the human suggests to his 75 fighting trimps in the Wall's boss fight.
"I can tell from your bedtime stories that you're used to the artillery in that other place," the yellow one gripes, "but fighting works differently here, there's no artillery."
And the human instantly collapses laughing, the scientists a little worried he might have injured himself in the planet's severe gravity. But he's okay, at least physically, "Mortar is the stuff between the bricks, fellas. That's is a brickimp, right?"
5h59m18s: Wall, 1076 pop, 13.3s RC, 1% AP for sub-8h finish, first L16 roll good 156/35/84 moun, 10 for the metal.
Beyond the Wall was a more edenic section of the trimpolis ruins, doubling the production of the lumberjacks. The trimps are actually really happy with the mode of all of the laborers moving between the three big jobs, along with the turkimp, except for the foremen specialized at leading the job. It isn't enough to boost their productivity, but the human goes to them with trays of sandwiches.
6h06m52s: 50 map run 0.3% AP...
6h19m13s: Zone 17, 1141 pop, 16.0s RC with Z16/94, no turkimp.
"Z:17 You climb a large cliff and look out over the new Zone. Red dirt, scorched ground, and devastation. Is that a Dragimp flying around out there?!"
"Hmm," the human surveys the new zone with his bee nickels, "Looks like crap. Any ideas?"
"You're the idea man," the yellow one groans.
"Set the map flag," he puts his bee nickels away, "We'll run a depth for practice and to load up on gems for more hotels."
"Righto," the red one gets to work.
6h44m34s: First DCP. (Draglimp Care Package; I refuse to call it a tribute.)
"Oh," the human says, "It's tame now, so it brings back gems in exchange for food?" He looks at his gaping scientists, "That's what it looks like, huh? Guys? Yo!"
"Tai..." the grey one sighs.
Draglimp, the dragimp imprinted on Tightniks, lands beside the human, drops some gems at his feet, and accepts some scratching behind its horns before diving into the food bowl.
"You tamed a dragimp???" Grey's note says.
"Well," the yellow one huffs, "I guess that happened."
8h18m53s: L20 depth of 154/27/79.
"Mapping up here?" the red one half closes one eye and tilts his head.
"Yeah," the human says while fitting together the depth map fragments, "With the coordination book not right at the end, we have an extra mark of coordination to take advantage of. Let's take our housing up to 2000 or so, shall we?"
"Okay," the yellow one says from a pile of logs, "What's all the wood for?" They had been collecting it for days now.
"The series upgrades follow a rather specific pattern," Tightniks explains, "Just on the other side of this blimp is Zone 21, where we should be able to find the Shield series V, right?"
"Shijou!" the grey one nods.
8h56m17s: 1% AP for 100 map runs, leaving it, 1751 pop, 24.8s RC with Z20/232. 8h56m54s: Zone 21...
"Ooooookay," Tightniks growls, "There is something off about this thing."
"Shijou?" the grey one looks at the yellow one with concern about their human starship pilot friend.
The human stoops, picks up the little green gem on the ridge between Zone 20 and 21, looks at it, huffs, and asks, "Any idea where this comes from?"
"Err..." the red one seems hesitant to say, "I think you made it."
"Really?" the human huffs, "How could that be?" Then he tosses it at Red, "See if anything reacts to it. It might be radioactive, so we should take turns to minimize exposure."
"Really?" Red's holding it now, "What makes you say that?"
"Because I'm pissed off for no reason I can figure out," the human says, "I think it's coming from that."
"Frags," the red one says quickly, "I think it's arranging a route. You're good with maps," it tosses the gem to the grey scientist.
"Shijou," the grey one says hopefully, and has a map drawn within a few minutes. [Whether it looks like the one in Puchim@s 1x61 is anyone's guess. That one annoyed me as well as Chihya.]
9h02m37s: L21 moun first roll was a decent 160/26/84. 9h21m00s: Starting run 5 of that map...
Tightniks had taken his anger out on some food and wood to build about 8000 traps. Now he's leaning against a rock spire in his increasingly tattered uniform. A nap begins, perhaps unintentionally.
Wild trimps are examining the pile, finding it unwelcoming, and also finding no place in the town, just mill about. It looks like they want to help.
"Ku?" it's a blue trimp, probably a farmer waiting for stuff to grow, climbs up on the rock spire the human is leaning against, starts patting him on the head, "Ku. Ku ku." [Puchim@s Chihya.]
9h23m09s: Still working that lap...
Tightniks wakes up from that nap, and the grey one is standing there. "Shijou," it says with a note of concern, although not much of one. The note it holds says, "It wasn't me."
"Oh, what wasn't you, buddy?" He stretches out a bit, feeling somewhat refreshed. It feels like somebody washed his face and hair while he was sleeping.
The grey one is also holding a small mirror, apparently broken off from a larger mirror and with the sharp edges filed down to make the edges safe.
The human takes it from the grey trimp and holds it in front of his face to discover that somebody has bound up all his hair into about twenty little pigtails. He touches them with his other hand to confirm. "Eh, whatever." He hands the mirror back and goes back to sleep. [Puchim@s Koamimami.]
9h30m08s: The following run...
"He's not throwing stuff every which way yet," the yellow one whispers to the red one, watching the human snoozing with his pad on his knee.
"You remember that, too?" the red one asks.
"'Remember'?" the yellow one turns to face the red one, "I s'pose that's better than imagining it."
"I remember it, too," the grey one says via a playing card sized note.
"If we're stuck in a time loop," the yellow one sighs, "maybe this cycle will be different."
"Tai..." the grey one admires him for a moment. Then thumbs in the direction of the mountain, "Heh, Shijou!" it laughs.
9h35m58s: Run 8, c9 of that map.
The scientists nap and take notes, and meditate and take notes, and draw stuff. The grey one often storyboards for the other nine because it's the best at drawing stuff. They have come up with a list, and most probably "order" (they're debating whether their ranking means "order" (sequence of things happening over the various loops) or "frequency" (what proportion of previous loops they have happened in). But they've come up with this, from first (or perhaps most often) to most recent (or perhaps least often):
- The ship crashes (they're pretty sure that happens every loop) - The human builds huts - The human teaches some of his trimps to speak and do science - The human builds houses - The human makes maps - The human builds mansions - The human blows up and gets himself killed somewhere around Z17 to Z21, often on a dragimp - The human only recently/occasionally builds hotels - The human only recently/rarely tamed a dragimp - The human only recently/rarely maps the Dimension of Anger
They're all agreed that that they have never finished the Dimension of Anger. What they are not all agreed on is that they've never done this conference to figure out whether they're in a time loop or what that might mean. [See also Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Cause and Effect" ...which was sort of a time loop but they weren't going back in time. It's very interesting, but its meta makes no sense - no one ever went looking for the Bozeman in 80 years? No one who went looking for the Bozeman also got stuck? No one noticed the passage of time outside the little area of space where the not-quite-a-time-loop was happening? Errr... sci-fi writers, don't be half-assed about your time loops, lmao! Be like Harold Ramis- ...what am I saying?? (That would be Groundhog Day, which grafted a time loop into a romcom; there are no other sci-fi elements. But it was a full-blown time loop and not half-assed like "Cause and Effect".)]
9h54m06s: Dropped from Z21c95...
I think it would be a bad idea to bypass that green area, as much as I'd rather not face it. Both his domesticated trimps, which are breeding up a new group of fighters, and the wild trimps he has decided just now not to open the traps for, stare at him and point in that direction. He shoulders a huge Shield V-3 and grabs an Mace IV-2 as well and announces, "We're doing it." Thus equipped, he marches off into the Dimension of Anger.
10h27m53s: Taking Pi4-2; recently had taken Pa4-2...
The group at the front had expired, and the snimp in DoAc95 glares at the advancing colony of trimps, which had halted only because of it. It refuses to counterattack the vulnerable colony and its human, instead snorting and huffing, waiting for the next bunch of 232 fighting trimps to come in range.
Tightniks runs along the line of traps, releasing the recently tamed trimps, singing a song that he doesn't remember the meaning of, that he doesn't remember was crafted by an ethnically Chinese guy out of an African language, and later mastered by two caucasians over the internet before they ever met in person. "Baba yetu yetu uliye, mbinguni yetu yetu amina..." because it just happened to be stuck in his head. [Because the Doylian author decided on a whim to. Christopher Tin got it into Civilization IV and at the time (2010 July), I made the best video for it on YouTube, which got subsequently blown to shreds when Peter Hollens and Malukah re-recorded the song from scratch in their own voices and instruments in 2014, pity with no English translation, the purpose of my video.]
Noticing the last batch of metal he needs coming out of the furnace, he waves the waiting grey scientist to fire up the forge [to use the term properly and not as the game does], for it was time to wrap up the forging dies for the Spetum IV, Mark 2 pike heads.
"Shijou!" the grey one cheers, setting aside a snack that looks like maybe ramen, and starts jumping up and down on the bellows handle.
It takes a while for the human to chip out the tip in the two halves of the forging die, and then polish it, and then heat it up in the forge, and then quench it, inspect it, and put it into service crafting thousands of new pike heads for the fighting trimps.
But only one second passed on the map frame clock (10h27m54s) four cells behind that snimp, in the case being brooded over by this huge, and if it's honest, rather concerned megablimp.
10h35m45: Portal PB, 45 He, 4.247 He/hr, 1891 pop, 22.7s RC with Z20/232, no turkimp.
The last head of the map's boss monster goes limp as one of the fighting trimps' mace heads bounces of it, and the huge thing settles on its tail, resting on the package that seems to be the prize of this map. And there's a popping sound, and then something mechanical.
Is that a scroll compressor? Tightniks looks at the package. The deflating monster's lifting envelope material drapes over everything underneath it. "Red, Shijou!" he snaps and points, "roll up that side of it. Keep this part from sucking down on the extractor nozzle!"
All ten of the scientists jump in, literally, pushing the gas in the bag towards the compressor. Tightniks as well, rolling up the front.
Until he kicks, and nearly trips over, a smaller package that might be the explanation for the reason why the center of the monster's defense seemed to be a little away from the big package he could see. It's in the right place, he realizes. He gets it uncovered and reads stenciled-and-sprayed block letters on it:
"DT TIME PORTAL / THIS SIDE DOWN"
Perhaps the Dimension of Anger is so named because of the rage suddenly rising up in Tightniks' throat. It isn't so much as the free-floating aggression suddenly has an answer, there is definitely a fresh batch of rage and anger as he grips the nearest Mace IV, Mark 3 with both hands and gets it over his shoulder, its target obviously this object, anger at the realization he screams at the top of his lungs, "We are stuck in a mutha FAH-king time loop!!" His swing begins. [Tightniks almost never cusses, unlike Snugniks.]
2024.05.15 05:01 FemalesOnlyML Thoughts on the State of the Game and What Can Be Done to Improve It
Hey, I'm Weemo or Regal on NA, washed Challenger player now hardstuck GM garbage. I've been thinking a lot about TFT and just wanted to put my thoughts out there. This is by no means a major critique of the game, but just my way of organizing my thoughts and trying to open up a dialog around parts of the game that I've been finding frustrating / confusing and am interested in understanding both how other players of varying skill levels and potentially how the dev team feel about them.
I think the major part of the game I've been confused about for some time is early stage 4, specifically the level 8 roll down. Maybe the game has always been this way, but it currently feels like there are really only a couple of options:
So what can be done about this? Without knowing the TFT team’s KPIs it’s hard to know the real rationale behind their changes or how well the set is performing compared to previous ones. Mort said in clip that his boss referred to set 11 as a “good set.” I’d ASSUME that this likely means that set 11 is either bringing in good revenue and/or the set is doing a good job of bringing in users, engaging them, and retaining them. You have to keep in mind that this sub reddit is only a very small portion of the player base, and any decision the devs make will almost certaining not be directed towards us unless it’s net neutral for the rest of the player base. Given that, any suggestion changes we make should factor this in. Since we don’t have access to their data, we’ll have to make speculations, but here are some suggestions I have from a high elo perspective that is also considering the average player:
submitted by FemalesOnlyML to CompetitiveTFT [link] [comments]
I think the major part of the game I've been confused about for some time is early stage 4, specifically the level 8 roll down. Maybe the game has always been this way, but it currently feels like there are really only a couple of options:
- Get an augment that opens up a unique line that dodges this part of the game (Enter the dragon, duelist crest, hero augments, etc.)
- High roll enough units or have an uncontested 4 cost line where you can safely hit in little gold on 8 or fast 9.
- Fortune stage 2
- Send it on 4-1 or 4-2 and pray you hit in enough gold to go 9 without having to donkey forever on 8.
- Bag size change
- No real surprise here. I think we can all agree that smaller bag size means it'll be harder to hit, especially when contested. (I know the math is a bit more complicated than that but you get the point)
- Gold inflation through encounters and portals
- When there is so much additional gold in the game, more players are hitting interest breakpoints, which results in less of a reward for properly managing econ stages 1-3 or streaking.
- Lack of viable 1, 2 & 3 cost rerolls
- When varying reroll comps and 4 cost comps are viable at the same time, it means there'll be greater comp diversity in the average game, which'll result in less contested comps on average.
- Inability to skip level 8 / econ augments playing for 8
- I still need to organize my thoughts on this, but in prior sets, an econ augment typically meant that a player would skip level 8 and play for a fast 9 legendary board. Today, an econ augment means that you're playing for a level 8 roll down ahead of your opponents.
- I'm not sure exactly what causes this, but I'd love to compare data across sets to see how players engage differently with econ augments and what level they're typically playing around.
- Some potential reasons could be: more expensive to go 9, no guarantee of stabilizing on legendaries (lower odds from olds sets with the introduction of level 10 & no chosen like in set 10), smaller bag size means the odds of stabilizing on 4 cost frontline could be lower if Annie / Galio / Naut are gone from the level 8 rollers.
So what can be done about this? Without knowing the TFT team’s KPIs it’s hard to know the real rationale behind their changes or how well the set is performing compared to previous ones. Mort said in clip that his boss referred to set 11 as a “good set.” I’d ASSUME that this likely means that set 11 is either bringing in good revenue and/or the set is doing a good job of bringing in users, engaging them, and retaining them. You have to keep in mind that this sub reddit is only a very small portion of the player base, and any decision the devs make will almost certaining not be directed towards us unless it’s net neutral for the rest of the player base. Given that, any suggestion changes we make should factor this in. Since we don’t have access to their data, we’ll have to make speculations, but here are some suggestions I have from a high elo perspective that is also considering the average player:
- Remove or change level 10
- As it stands, I don’t think level 10 is achieving the vision that the dev team set for it when it was introduced, and I believe it’s negatively impacting levels 8 and 9 in its current iteration.
- The negative impact to level 8 and 9 shop odds may be contributing to the current ‘lottery” feeling.
- Level 10 was meant to be a super capped fantasy for the player, but I don't think that's been the case at all in set 11. I’d wager that hitting a 3 star 4 cost on 9, which was the meta for multiple weeks, fulfilled this fantasy more for all cohorts of players better than going 10 and adding a single extra unit ever did.
- A potential way of changing level 10 in the future would be to raise the gold required to hit it and give it a unique effect beyond simply adding another unit. There’s infinite creative potential for what could be done here, but I think anything is better than level 10 being another unit slot and better shop odds. Elements of choice and skill expression could even be added here if there were multiple possible effects a user could get when going 10, and they’d be given a choice for their “buff” when reaching 10.
- Revert bag sizes to pre set 10 sizes
- I don’t think there’s any reason to have the small bag sizes with Chosen not being in the game anymore. The concern around a 3 star 4 cost meta shouldn’t be realistic in most meta, and is only exacerbated by augments, encounters, and Hwei, all of which are unique to set 11 and will hopefully not be returning.
- Small bag sizes certaining contributes to the “lottery” feeling and makes the user experience feel even worse during heavily contested metas.
- Revert shop odds to pre set 10 odds
- Indirectly related to the first point, but the addition of level 10 negatively impacted shop odds on levels 8 and 9, and I believe we’re feeling the ripple effects of that.
- In general, the lower shop odds are on a specific level, the more you’re leaving up to chance. If the expectation is that players are meant to play for 4 costs on 8 and 9, then players need to have more agency to craft their comps, IE the need for better odds.
- NOTE: I’ve heard that the vision is that 8 is for 1 star 4 costs and 9 is for 2 star 4 costs and 1 star 5 costs, but that isn’t how the game is actually played at almost all levels of play. I’d also disagree with this design principle as that invites wide disparities between those who high roll and those who don’t, which we’re seeing today.
- Incentivize early stages
- I don’t know the best way to do this, but there needs to be some incentive for players to care about the early stages. Players care about stage 2, but it’s much less important than prior sets after the streaking changes. As for stage 3, I don’t know what system needs to be tweaked, but the idea that it’s oftentimes optimal to not roll at all on stage 3 is kind of crazy and doesn’t make the game feel engaging.
2024.05.15 04:50 strawberryfield22888 🌿Springtime Fun🌸🌿Crafting Your Own Recycled Botanical Paper!👩🏻🎨
 | It’s an incredibly enjoyable experience with minimal materials. Let’s get started! ⤵️ submitted by strawberryfield22888 to ArtForLifeOrWhat [link] [comments] Materials needed: Half egg cartons, scissors, large container, blender, ziplock bag, dried shredded petals/leaves, small pieces of mesh, roller. Steps⤵️ • Tear the paper into small pieces. • Soak for 2-3 hours. • Add the soaked paper and water (1:2) to the blender until it reaches a smooth consistency. • Transfer the paper slurry into a large container. • Position your mesh at the bottom of the container, then pour the slurry evenly onto it. • Add the shredded leaves for a light green tone, according to your preference. • Sprinkle some dried shredded petals evenly onto your deckle; I used a mix of petals and leaves. • Place another piece of mesh on top of the deckle, then use a roller to remove excess water and flatten the sheet. • Let it air dry flat on the ground or a flat surface for one day. • Remove the mesh. • Flatten the paper by placing it in your notebook and adding some other heavy books on top. • Voilà! I hope you enjoy and have 🤩 fun! art #craft #botanical #botanicalart #share #creativity #fun #springart #spring #driedflowers #sustainability #ecofriendly #papermaking #botanicalpaper #trend #instagram #insta #toronto #artoftheday |
2024.05.15 04:09 Gusterr What are your must-have mods?
I've been waiting for the Ashlands update to drop to start a new Valheim run, however after trying vanilla and then again with mods, I feel like there are a couple that I just can't live without. So I think I can wait a little more and hopefully they will be updated soon.
But I was hoping to gather more information on what is still needed, and what others use that they find essential. I do prefer to try and keep the experience close to what the developers intended, so I try to only go for QoL things that I feel are absolutely needed. Also, how long does it usually take after a large update for most of the popular mods to get updated?
These are:
*Equipment and Quick Slots
*Craft from Containers
*Build Camera
*Farm Grid
*Quick stack
Have any of these been built into the game? I always found it crazy there was no Build Camera.
Other honorable mentions but certainly not needed:
*Instant Monster Loot Drop
*Floating Items (in water)
*Trash Items
*First person view
*Hold attack
*Better ladders
*Tree respawn
I also enjoyed Epic Loot but felt that one very significantly changed the experience, by the time I reached Plains I had full Legendary gear with like 28% increased movespeed, so I'm not including it here.
submitted by Gusterr to valheim [link] [comments]
But I was hoping to gather more information on what is still needed, and what others use that they find essential. I do prefer to try and keep the experience close to what the developers intended, so I try to only go for QoL things that I feel are absolutely needed. Also, how long does it usually take after a large update for most of the popular mods to get updated?
These are:
*Equipment and Quick Slots
*Craft from Containers
*Build Camera
*Farm Grid
*Quick stack
Have any of these been built into the game? I always found it crazy there was no Build Camera.
Other honorable mentions but certainly not needed:
*Instant Monster Loot Drop
*Floating Items (in water)
*Trash Items
*First person view
*Hold attack
*Better ladders
*Tree respawn
I also enjoyed Epic Loot but felt that one very significantly changed the experience, by the time I reached Plains I had full Legendary gear with like 28% increased movespeed, so I'm not including it here.
2024.05.15 03:08 ForestHasEyes Polish GROM has been fighting a secret war for decades, our enemies aren't human [Part 3]
Blachowicz here.
Kept yah’ waiting, huh? Heh, sorry about that one, but I can explain. As we all know… we lost a few good men the last few months.
That’s the brutal part of a hybrid war like ours: We’re fighting a foe unconventional, with half our arsenal tied down because those who grant us authorization are either in disbelief of the true facts, or scared… or already assimilated. That being said our momentum recently was a change not seen in years, and because of that… despite the losses we have garnered, we were close through a breakthrough. One last night Krol pulls myself and other two must trusted squad leads into the back of our COP. There is one of our equipment cages, surrounded by m-bitter radios, tripods, and several hundred thousand dollars of equipment he brought us around a simple worn table. Before us he laid a map of eastern poland… red markings indicating cells that seemed to dot the countryside like a pestilence, or used to… as deep gashes of advance from raids had trisected their lines, even if ones did pop up in the interior.
It was a back and forth; an outside virus infecting Polska at it’s heart, and we were the antibodies sent to drive them out. To which… Major Krol points to one of the largest symbol on the map: a dark red diamond, the NATO symbol for an enemy unit, deep inside of an untouched wooded area, adjacent to a mountain ridge. Several jagged lines indicated entrenchment, with red horizontal lines indicating possible enemy control… or our contested control, for over 20kms surrounding it. Letting us all look, the Major lit himself a cigarette.
“Sir, you sure it’s wise to smoke in here with the dive tanks just behind us” 1st Squad’s lead quipped. “Fuck off” Krol dryly said.
“Alright… this is it… this is the one we’ve been searching for for years, this is the nucleus my predecessor commander died trying to find” he says, pointing to it. Not far from Zamosc, it was almost touching the border with Belarus, the contested area indicating the Strigoi did operate over it… indicating one of the largest spill through points. “-It’s an old soviet bunker, made during their 1960s initiative it was designed to hold the munitions and manpower of several units in the event of a NATO first strike” Krol explained. “It’s gotta be massive then…” I said gazing at the map; “Didn’t the army demolish all of the old soviet hulks near Belarus to prevent any infiltrations?” 3rd Squad’s lead asked. “National Police took the effort over… and by extension, the Strigoi. It was halfway demo’ed before they burrowed into it and have been using it as a bridgehead ever since. This is it…” Krol said. He looked around at all of us, a sense of certainty I had never seen before as he blew smoke from his nostrils; “We’ve been fucking around in the dark for so long, it’s hard to believe we’ve made any progress, but this is it. With this gone, this will set them back over a decade and the momentum will finally shift into our favor… into Poland’s… -Europe’s”.
I swear there was almost a flash of joy, of pride in his eyes and a phantom of a smirk before reality set back in “That being said… we can’t leave this to chance, especially not something as important as this. We’re going to have to go there ourselves… clear through every inch of that place, and tear it all down, piece by piece. I will be straight with you all… when we go, there will be some of us that aren’t coming back. -but we are going… a whole generation is counting on us, and unborn billions rely on us to succeed”. We all nodded, a silent agreement washing over us as we took this upon ourselves. Echo-1 spoke up: “So… They’re authorizing a raid? How big?”. “We’re rolling in as a hard target, armor, explosives, and air support” Krol answered, taking a drag off his cigarette. “Aviation? How the hell did we get that approved, we’ve gotten attempts shot down four times due to those leeches” I said in disbelief. “There’s too much evidence here pointing to the human trafficking tied to their actions… We’ve finally got too much weight pinning them down, to keep the hammer from slamming into their necks” Krol chuckled. He looked around “Any questions?”. “When?” Echo-3 asked. “Three hours. We’re hitting them in the dead of night, only time we could get the birds authorized. Get your boys ready. We’re rolling out” Krol said, dying the cigarette bud out on the table. I can’t begin to tell you the euphoria we felt leaving that cage, as our men started arriving, they did so a lot quicker, and with their heads a lot higher than they had in weeks. As Second Squad’s lead we were going to be one of the main arms of attack into the bunker, thus I made sure we had a breacher loaded with enough thermite, charges, and tools to cut through anything. Our shield bearer we ready to go, as was our assaulters, grenadiers, and machine gunner. I double checked each and everyone of their weapons; ensuring the feeder paws of our squad’s belt fed were intact, making sure every breach charge we had was properly set and packed. There was going to be no mistakes, no slip ups. The margin of error needed to be the smallest it had ever been for us tonight if we were going to make the gore spilt worth it.
Finally… there on the outside of the building, the bright LED lights kept the darkness of the ensuing night at bay as the roar of our MRAPs could be heard. It was said once that war is 99% peace, and 1% chaos, they were right. The slow periods where the blood slowed and the doubt creeped in was the worst… yet we all kept it at bay. We needed to, there was going to be no backing down tonight. All three squads were up, all of us ready to go… we circled up… short stares and shaky nods telling us one things: We were in this together, till the end… the finish line so many before us had been searching for, we were being granted tonight.
A single set of footsteps could be heard as we turned, Major Krol stepping into the center. He took the last drag of a cigarette, throwing it down to the ground and stamping it out onto the damp concrete. He looked around… his chin strap blowing in the weak air as he met everyone of our gazes… then mine… then looked around. “I want you to remember every detail of tonight, as you have every other night… when you are situationally aware, scanning for the enemy, liberating the subjugated, I want you to remember the sting of anxiety, the shake of adrenaline, the chill of the bunker, the heat of your weapon as it cuts them down… because tonight we are going to write every fine detail of our victory, their defeat, in history…” Krol’s words echoed deep into our souls. He paused for a moment, staring around he looked down… a small pause before he said “When you are ruthless in combat, remember to be patient, and reserved in victory. This conflict is for our existence… a lot of innocents have bled due to the mistakes of those who failed to listen, a lot of our brothers are now laid under because we had to bridge the gap of uncertainty with their lives. We remember them now… but in an hour? We forget them… when we raise our barrels, when we cut into those foes, and we liberate Polska!! This does not end tonight, but history puts everything in it’s place, and patience is the companion of the victor… All of our hard work will be cemented, no matter the obstacles we face in that darkness… no matter the demons, the blood, no matter what incomprehensible horrors, we will make them comprehend that to invade our land, to bleed our people, the justice will be paid in full… Load up. It’s time*”*.
The purpose in our steps was heavy as we climbed the back ramps of the MRAPS; Four of the heavily armored vehicles, one for each squad with an additional for attached personnel including our JTAC, the term means Joint Terminal Attack Controllers. With air support requisitioned to us for this operations, there needs to be a definite liaison on the ground who can directly communicate to the birds, and coordinate their fire and progress. I’d worked with many of them in the past, resourceful guys, quick thinking though I guess that comes with the position they hold of needing to quickly figure out what bombs to drop, on which target, at what precise points, whilst taking contact. He loaded in the lead vehicle with Major Krol… and soon, our convoy kicked off.
The drive was several hours as myself and my squad sat in the back of that forty ton goliath, the rumbling of the engine keeping us awake as the crap heater fought to keep the cold from the outside frost from setting in. I looked around to each of them, some were catching some sleep because even with the circumstances… better to get all the energy you can, than to stay awake for nothing. Others were checking their weapons… My gunner locked eyes with me, the same one from the village extraction… many of these men I had trained with for a while now, fought with for months.
We may have met on unconventional circumstances but those in JW Grom thrive on austere chance and create opportunity from scratch. I was pulled from my thought by the sound of a transmission, my peltors were set up for dual comms so I could both receive information from the Major and other leads, whilst communicating with my team.
Krol himself sent out: [“Approximately 10 minutes from enemy AO…”]. As the rest of the squads acknowledged, I quickly sent out [“Echo-2 Copies”], before kicking the boots of any of them sleeping: “Look alive, we’re here”. Through the exterior net armor of the MRAPS, and the bars protecting the small reinforced windows, we could barely see jack shit. I reached up, turning off the overhead light as we all looked through our nods to scan the outside. A dark wall of dense trees was shown before us, making it difficult to see… in addition to night vision capabilities we had also requisitioned ourselves some thermals… when mounted onto rifles they were bulky, made it a pain to aim down quickly, but considering the supernatural capabilities of spotting our foes we needed every advantage necessary.
I flipped out one of my tubes… scanning the outside with my scope. I looked over to one of my assaulters who had been assigned to man the turret of the MRAP, seated near the view screen as he controlled the 50. Cal. Each of the vehicle turrets had been assigned a direction to cover… we took the 9 o’clock, the left flank. “See anything?” I asked. He shook his head; “Negative… wait… I’ve got two cold signatures, front left heading to our rear”.
I quickly scanned the far tree line, at approximately 60 meters off our left were two cold signatures… followed by a third heading to our front… then another. They were surrounding us, moving at speeds so fast I could barely keep my reticle on them. Is this what the National Police saw? What they faced at that lodge without the benefit of a foot of heavy armor protecting them on all sides. Then… suddenly. Something slammed into the side of our MRAP so hard, it caused it to shake. From over the leader comms, Echo-3 quickly shouted [“Contact right!! 4 hostiles!!”].
One of the Strigoi… so bold, had charged and slammed into the side of our MRAP. I quickly looked to see the figure, a dark blue mass of cold energy through my thermal, back away without so much as a stagger… as they tried to flee into the woods, the white hot justice of Echo-3’s gun fired at them, cutting them down. “Blachowicz I’ve got a few breaking for our vic” my man on the turret called out, I spun around, spotting out the window.
Just then, Major Krol announced [“weapons free, watch and shoot for targets of opportunity…”]. I turned to him… “take those fuckers out-”. Without hesitation my vic’s turret began to quickly target them, and through the darkness I saw a stream of outgoing fire bisect one of them, the ISR of the black blood freaking out the optic so badly it didn’t know what temperature to register it as… but it did register it. As another was cut down, one broke through the tree line and latched onto the side of our MRAP. The thing tore at one of the outer net armor panels, usually made to stop RPGs. It grabbed at the bars near the windows, tearing one off… I lowered my rifle as we locked eyes through the reinforced window.
The thing… the Strigoi looked at me, skin cracked as putrefied muscle fibers seemed to leak through dead flesh. It’s teeth were corroded and worn down to sharp fragments, alongside newly mutated fangs that messily protrude from the jaws. Even through the thick walls of the MRAP I could hear it’s roar, as it then tried to punch it’s way through… it cracked the outer coating of the vehicle… but it wasn’t getting anywhere near. My machine gunner, seated next to me, seemed to chuckle at the sight, quippily saying “Yeah… fuck you too”. It’s then our vehicle lurched upwards, as we began to climb the small incline of the bunker. I knew the layout, mapped it in our head, the main entrance was built into the rocky side of an old cliff meaning we could easily set up a defensive perimeter around it, a horseshoe. Krol’s vehicle was first, taking to the right as Echo-3’s MRAP followed. My vehicle, third, left the incline and took a left and… that’s where things got complicated.
We’re still trying to work out what happened but… from what Joakim says his drone captured. Right when the MRAP turned, several of the monsters quickly slammed into the side of the vehicle, as another more bulkier one, pushed at it’s undercarriage. The result.. Was the 40 ton armored vehicle tipped over. It wasn’t uncommon, hell in some cases a well placed IED, a good shot with a recoilless rifle, have been known to tip over Oshkoshs and Maxpros all the time. But this beast? Needless to say we barely had a second to comprehend it as it leaned to the left; “Grab on to something-” is all I had time to shout. A mess of gear and men spilled onto one side of the vehicle as it slammed into the old gravel and dirt.
Several of my assaulters, my grenadier planted right ontop of myself and the others as we came to a stop. Someone’s knee slammed directly into the side of my skull, causing me to dazily bob in and out of consciousness as my face was smushed against the glass of one of the windows.
Through my peltors, the other squads were erratic;
[“Echo-2’s vehicle is down!!”].
[“Echo-3 to Echo-2… Echo-3 to Echo-2…”].
Krol’s voice came through the comms;
[“Echo-Lead to Echo-2… Fuc-... Echo-1 secure Echo 2’s flank, Echo-3”].
[“Echo-3 to other units, they’re spilling through, I’ve got several enemy combatants converging on Echo-2’s vehicle”].
I pushed the legs of my grenadier off my head as I fought to my hands and knees, unfucking my nods as I looked around… “Fuck it… we’re going lights on, shield your eyes” I muttered as I reached for the overhead lights and flipped them on. The bright LEDs bathed the inside of the vehicle as we all gained our bearings, a mess of multicam, gear, and weapons as we quickly pushed each other off. My gunner caught as he fought to realign his promask, from what I gathered one of the assaulters had landed directly into his gun, pushing it directly into his jugular, as pulled back at the rubber and coughed, freeing up his esophagus. We didn’t have time to think however… the sound of bending metal caught our attention… as the back ramp door of the MRAP was ripped clean off. I could barely believe it but as the white light of the MRAP’s interior poured to the outside, a hulking mass leaned in, the dead flesh on it’s face nearly fallen off as the hideous Strigoi leaned inside.
Without hesitation I aimed took aim, yelling “Keep to the deck!!” to any of those inbetween myself and the invader as I opened fire. A burst of full auto fire tore through it’s collar and neck, my men quickly clung to either sides of the fallen MRAP as a few more fired out. As the thing backed up, a blast of .50 cal fire quickly tore it to shreds, along with several others as I realized they were fuckin swarming over the outside of our vehicle. Echo-3’s vehicle continued to carefully fire on the Strigoi on the outside, the sounds of .50 cal ricocheting off the outside of our armor was enough to make the pucker factor set in.
[“Echo-3 to Echo-2”].
[“This is Echo-2, we’re green on ammo, equipment, men”].
[“Roger, we’re shifting fire, exit the vehicle”].
“Hurry up let’s go!!” I barked to my men, leading the way as I staggered out. I turned on my peq, taking aim at silhouettes in the brush as I began to fire. The sounds of machine guns lighting up the brush, as a sea of growls, howls, and incomprehensible roars fired back at us was the ambient noise of the night. My men quickly exited, my gunner being the last as he and I pulled back to the rest of the defensive perimeter. I set in my men to take up the frontal security, as 3rd squad took the right flank, 1st squad to the left. Major Krol and the JTAC were bickering with each other; “How far out are the birds”. “They’re entering airspace now…” Joakim said, already scanning his smart book.
I asked “What’ve we got?”. He then flipped through… to the NATO combined arms segment, quippily saying; “Apaches…”. This caused me to pause as Echo-3 turned their head whilst directing their squad’s fire “The hell… where did we get apaches from?”. “The Americans… they volunteered” Krol said dismissively as he took aim at the darkness, firing off a controlled trio. “Volunteered? They’re aware of what’s going on?” I asked.
Krol seemed to stop, glancing back at me before returning his focus “There’s a lot more going on than you realize, Blachowicz… Prep the breach, you and 1st are going on”.
I quickly pulled my breacher off the line, securing some thermite as the reinforced bunker door wasn’t going to go as easily as a conventional door breach would. 1st Squad pulled back, stacking up and preparing themselves to be the first in. All the while… Joakim gave his firing solution; “Alpha Hotel Two Five Nine, This is Bravo-4…… Type 2….”.
I snapped to my right, watching as a Strigoi managed to dark across the clear gravel field, only to be cut down by my gunner, the peq’s laser marking the burst as it tore through the beasts’ hips, as it hit the ground and still continued to claw, another GROM operator took aim and fired into it’s skull. Joakim popped up to his feet…. “Marking laser, high power…”. He then pulled out a target marking laser… if you’ve watched night operations, you’ve probably seen them.
The green laser than as it says on the label, marks targets. The pattern of which can vary… if it’s a point target, it’ll usually lasso an area, or remain on target until the target is removed with extreme prejudice. If its close air support, then it’ll be a line of the general area… and Joakim damn near marked the entire perimeter around us. He quickly pocketed the tool, turning back to Krol; “Don’t go past 20 meters unless you want to be liquidated”.
With that… 2nd and 1st stacked up at the door as 3rd squad took up the perimeter security. As Major Krol went over to Echo-1… I saw them. A single blinking IR strobe from the beasts as they moved on the far off horizon, converging from several angles… and fired. The sound of the Apache’s main gun, the M230, truly sounds like the hammer of god… the 30mm cannon shot through the dark sky, lighting it up as we saw three incoming streams tear up the woods. Only then as the sound broke did we start to hear their rotors as they broke and began to circle, firing again… then… Joakim dipped his head and looked to Krol; [“Foxtrot Mike, hang onto your teeth…”]. One of the Apaches fired off a AGM-114… a Hellfire. I barely saw it out of the corner of my eye as the Apache from our right flank fired off at a target approximately 200 meters off. A fireball lit up the forest as the horrendous roar echoed throughout… then went silent.
Echo-3 scanned the horizon carefully;
[“Echo-3 to Echo-Lead, enemy contact is starting to die down”].
[“Maintain perimeter, Close Air is to maintain fire mission until we are boots up, Break…”].
[“Echo-Lead to Echo-1, condition white has been met. Proceeds”]. I saw Echo-1 and his men quickly stack up close to the wall and gesture to me; Breaching. I quickly pulled my stack back against the wall as his and mine breacher quickly hit their actuators. Now under normal circumstances, it doesn’t take much for thermite to melt the locks off of a metal surface, in fact it’s a more precise took as alternative means get real medieval like saws, pry bars… we weren’t in the mood for precision, we need to breach their little lair, and drag them out. The sound of several pounds of hellfire burning through the metal could be heard around the corner as a sea of white and red sparks flew out… after several seconds, two of our men tossed a fragmentation grenade and a nine-bang through the opening… a series of concussive blasts and a large explosion rang out.
Echo-1 and his men maneuvered. 1st Squad quickly converged as we followed them in.
Stepping through the black wall of smoke, the dark abyss of the interior was illuminated in a white light as entered barrels raised. Shots rang out as several of the beasts near the entrance were cut down, though not immediately, rounds disconnected the shoulder of one of them, leading to their arm hanging limply by a single tendon as they roared… another series of rounds putting them down. What greeted us was a messy concrete hell of rust and debris, fecal matter, trash, and all kinds of obstacles laid in our way, our boots sticking to the floor. I thank every god we had promasks that night. I called my shield bearer up, 2nd squad leapfrogging ahead to take the next corridor as 1st squad checked their weapons.
One of my men mule kicked the metal door ahead, twice, finally the latch gave away as we tossed in a grenade. A horrifying roar was cut off as an M67 shook the walls of the ancient soviet mausoleum, frag and spall kicked off the walls as I moved in right behind my shield man. The cramped russian design meant there was barely enough space for three people, and that’s three normal people, not in 50kgs of kit, moving slowly and maneuvering against creatures of the dark. Still… we moved forward, my shield bearer and I pushing the pace as two stacked of either squad formed on either wall.
As we passed doorways they flowed in… “Door Left!!”, “Door Right!!”. “Move!!”.
Two men entered each side, no gunshots, we moved up, a roar came.
“Door left!!-”. A series of gunshots came out as we continued to push forward.
“Two down!!”. “Confirm them” Krol commanded, as a series of gunshots run out in response. From one of the doorways, a Strigoi emerged… a female… clumps of hair had been ripped from her decaying skull, as her blooded eyes locked on myself and my shieldman. The skin on her hands had been tore down to the point where barely her bones and tendons remain… looking like huge talons as she roared and lunged at us. He fired off his pistol, though the rounds did little to stop her as she pushed against our stack.
“Fuck!!” he muttered, somehow her strength caused him to stagnate, holding up the advance… fuck that. I shoved the muzzle of my MK18 into her ribcage, flipping the weapon to auto as I fired of round after round. The 5.56 salvo disconnecting her spinal column, causing her to fall as I continued to fire, along with a man to our right and left as the stacks reformed as we pushed to the end of the hall. I fell back, dropping the magazine and loading a fresh one, like clockwork a GROM Operator from 1st squad took my place. Krol was beside me as we approached the end of the hall.
[“-Prep an entry”] I radioed to my breacher, a comrade handed him one of the charges from his back panel as he took to the door, quickly securing it. We all moved as far back as we could, look away, exhale. The blast knocked metal and wood in all directions, scrapping against our uniforms and kit as we made our way in and what laid before us was… it used to be the center atrium of one of these bunkers. Soviet’s loved their grandiose designs, the complex was supposed to be a circular room around a central planning table… instead. It had been turned into some sort of church. Runes and old eastern Romuva pagan symbols written in black ink and blood across the walls, old rotten filing cabinets, long receipt terminals. In the center… several of the Strigoi were kneeling before the table where someone had been tied down, flayed, and… shared amongst the group. They rose to their feet, we aimed our barrels…
The ladder amongst turned to us… his skin wasn’t cracked, or flayed, it was smooth… it still looked dead as the body on the table but it seemed more… accustomed to it. I don’t know… evolved? Under the surface however I could see it’s darkened veins pumping whatever cursed blood ran through them as it locked two blood red eyes onto each of us. It’s nose had long since been turn off, exposing boney nostrils to the open air as it seemed to smirk. All across it’s body were the same symbols on the walls, in every cell… markings of death, of rebirth, of assimilation… From behind this seemingly Alpha emerges another figure I had never seemed before… dressed in a white cloak with a deer head.
"So they've followed the trail... they're too late" the Deer headed individual spoke, definitely not from here, a dialect similar to an Americans but... aristocratic? Each word was drawn out, assurance as if they had everything mapped down to our actions. They didn’t sound like they were from Poland or the east.
“Doesn’t matter…” the Alpha growled… and then, it lunged at us. Quickly breaking from their ground it slammed into my shield man knocking both him and myself at the ground as it displayed an intense feat of strength. Around us I could see several of the Strigoi leap at our comrades… though to no fruitful endeavor as I could see one GROM operator cut two down, as another got into a hand to hand confrontation… my breacher, crafty as they were, reached back and slammed one of the prybars of his kit into the skull of the beast.
The Alpha however was not content as it threw away the 90lb shield, sending it flying across the room as it grabbed my comrade by the skull. I quickly kicked up at it, firing my MK18 into it’s body as the rounds pierced it’s gray and rune covered flesh. The thing simply seemed to chuckle… that was until Major Krol blasted away at the side of it’s head, the alpha turned… and it’s smirk turned to a scowl when face to face with the major. A knowing pause almost like they had done this dance before…
The creature lunged, locking up with Major Krol as it swung and slammed railing. Krol didn’t back down however as he pushed against the creature, hiptossing it to the ground even as it tore at his armor and gear. But the beast pulled, both of them rolled and the Major was on his back as the thing reached for his neck. I fought to a kneel, firing into the creature messily with my MK18, trying not to hit my commander… then…
Click. A sound sends a chill up the spine of every warfighter during a firefight.
My gun ran dry. I dropped the magazine, looking to load another, but the thing came up and with one of it’s claws, sliced deep into my cheek, through the pro mask. I could feel my own blood go flying through the air as I landed hard on my back plate, spitting out red iron as I quickly tried to adjust my mask. Through my fogged up, blood covered lense… I saw my shield man raise his pistol, firing into the skull of the thing staggering it with a roar. Krol came from behind, drawing his knife he sunk it deep into the neck of it…. I reached for my rifle, forcing a new magazine in and damn near punching the bold release. ““Sir, down!!” I shouted, Krol rolled away, back to his own rifle as I fired. So did my comrade as he continued to fire his pistol… so did the Major as he fired his rifle. All of us chewing through that apex predator of darkness, that beast… the leader that had been preying on our people for so long. Layer by layer, muscle group by bone… eventually… the alpha landed on whatever was left of his back.
The silence of the fight died down as all of us checked our surroundings, GROM Operators putting controlled pairs in the heads and nerve stems of any Strigoi laying around… I flicked my weapon onto safe, letting it hang as I pulled off my mask. I dared not touch the wound on my face… the pain nearly crippling me if it wasn’t sheer will pushing me through, and adrenaline doing all it could to subdue it. The sound of the apaches continuing to lay hate drew us from our moment of contemplation as the Major went back to work; [“Confiscate any info, burn the rest…”]. He turned back to me as I shoved my damaged M50 mask back into it’s bag, chuckling as he looked at the sight; “You need a medevac, Blachowicz?” he quipped.
I shook my head, barely able to speak as I muttered; “Negative sir…”. The two of us scanned the room as my shield bearer went to collect his defense implement turned 90lb projectile, we scanned the center of the room, checking and confirming bodies, until we got to the last one alive. His white gown was soaked in red crimson and black ooze, as his dear head was mangled from bullet fire and impact from falling on it. I swear… the way his blood poured out of it though made me wonder if it was a mask. I gave it no second thoughts as he looked to Krol; “You… you can’t stop this, they’ve already-”.
The Major was in no mood for communication as his rifle snapped up and fired off three rounds to the body, four the head. The violent yet quick salvo ending the cultists life, I looked down at it, then to him as he remarked; “Have your squad drag him out to the front, burn the rest”. I stood alongside him, looking down as the sight of it’s deer head was both captivating and horrifying… the curiosity in me wanting to look closer at it fighting the primal instinct I had to burn the thing to ash. “-Haven’t seen one of those before…” I muttered, thinking the Major had an answer.
He didn’t. Krol saying “Neither have I…” shortly before he walked away, was what truly shook my soul about that entire night. Victory stood firm in our hearts that night as we stood outside of the bunker. The night sky burning with fire and white phosphorus as we watched the ruin burn from the inside from the other side of the lot. In the distance, the Apaches continued to scan and circle the forests, no longer firing…. Which meant they had driven any or turned to glass any enemy combatants within a four miles, probably both, more than likely the latter. Echo-1 patted me on the shoulder as we stood there, soaking it all in, though Krol looked none to pleased. “In the time it took us to take this one down, they’ll be trying to set up three more cells… that being established…” he said, looking to either of us, then to Echo-3. “-Hell of a thing we did tonight, been waiting for this one for a decade, cleanly, maybe more… but no time to rest on our laurels… we’ll have another task for us as soon as we’re boots down back home” he said, to which his eyes followed mine, the body of whatever cultist that was zipped up in a black body bag beside the wheel of one of the MRAPs. The fire from the bunker casting an orange hue over it’s shiny jet black outside, something didn’t sit right with me… “That wasn’t a Strigoi…” I said to Krol.
“That’s very clear…” the Major said, shoving his mask under his arm and lighting a cigarette. “So… someone’s helping them?” I asked. The meer notion of it shook me to my core, sickened me. This parasite was already badly infecting Europa, Polska… if it was spread like this throughout the world. Krol settled my nerves: “We’ll be ready… It’s not just us anymore”. As he said that, I realized what he meant… my eyes looking to the Apaches as they started to form up, leaving the areas as their thunderous propellers melted into the night’s calm, unnerving ambience.
It’s been a couple of weeks since then, Echo Detachment has been busy. We’ve gained good ground against the enemy and honestly I think in a few years, we might see a much larger change. For now… we must keep going, that being said the Strigoi aren’t the only ones we’ve been combating. Recently we’ve made contact with of some sort of extermination coalition, they’ve known about the Strigoi, and others plaguing the world, the level of corruption and corrosion on society goes deep. Regardless a lot of the units we’ve been working with are apart of NATO, such as this “4th Special Forces Group” of the American Military. I don’t know where the road from here leads, but we’ve gotten momentum on our side, finally. Just remember… these things are out there, in every town, every city, every nation… preying and waiting for you to be alone, vulnerable, so they can take you and replace you.
Watch your back, and stay safe.
For now, Blachowicz signing out. Until next time
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Kept yah’ waiting, huh? Heh, sorry about that one, but I can explain. As we all know… we lost a few good men the last few months.
That’s the brutal part of a hybrid war like ours: We’re fighting a foe unconventional, with half our arsenal tied down because those who grant us authorization are either in disbelief of the true facts, or scared… or already assimilated. That being said our momentum recently was a change not seen in years, and because of that… despite the losses we have garnered, we were close through a breakthrough. One last night Krol pulls myself and other two must trusted squad leads into the back of our COP. There is one of our equipment cages, surrounded by m-bitter radios, tripods, and several hundred thousand dollars of equipment he brought us around a simple worn table. Before us he laid a map of eastern poland… red markings indicating cells that seemed to dot the countryside like a pestilence, or used to… as deep gashes of advance from raids had trisected their lines, even if ones did pop up in the interior.
It was a back and forth; an outside virus infecting Polska at it’s heart, and we were the antibodies sent to drive them out. To which… Major Krol points to one of the largest symbol on the map: a dark red diamond, the NATO symbol for an enemy unit, deep inside of an untouched wooded area, adjacent to a mountain ridge. Several jagged lines indicated entrenchment, with red horizontal lines indicating possible enemy control… or our contested control, for over 20kms surrounding it. Letting us all look, the Major lit himself a cigarette.
“Sir, you sure it’s wise to smoke in here with the dive tanks just behind us” 1st Squad’s lead quipped. “Fuck off” Krol dryly said.
“Alright… this is it… this is the one we’ve been searching for for years, this is the nucleus my predecessor commander died trying to find” he says, pointing to it. Not far from Zamosc, it was almost touching the border with Belarus, the contested area indicating the Strigoi did operate over it… indicating one of the largest spill through points. “-It’s an old soviet bunker, made during their 1960s initiative it was designed to hold the munitions and manpower of several units in the event of a NATO first strike” Krol explained. “It’s gotta be massive then…” I said gazing at the map; “Didn’t the army demolish all of the old soviet hulks near Belarus to prevent any infiltrations?” 3rd Squad’s lead asked. “National Police took the effort over… and by extension, the Strigoi. It was halfway demo’ed before they burrowed into it and have been using it as a bridgehead ever since. This is it…” Krol said. He looked around at all of us, a sense of certainty I had never seen before as he blew smoke from his nostrils; “We’ve been fucking around in the dark for so long, it’s hard to believe we’ve made any progress, but this is it. With this gone, this will set them back over a decade and the momentum will finally shift into our favor… into Poland’s… -Europe’s”.
I swear there was almost a flash of joy, of pride in his eyes and a phantom of a smirk before reality set back in “That being said… we can’t leave this to chance, especially not something as important as this. We’re going to have to go there ourselves… clear through every inch of that place, and tear it all down, piece by piece. I will be straight with you all… when we go, there will be some of us that aren’t coming back. -but we are going… a whole generation is counting on us, and unborn billions rely on us to succeed”. We all nodded, a silent agreement washing over us as we took this upon ourselves. Echo-1 spoke up: “So… They’re authorizing a raid? How big?”. “We’re rolling in as a hard target, armor, explosives, and air support” Krol answered, taking a drag off his cigarette. “Aviation? How the hell did we get that approved, we’ve gotten attempts shot down four times due to those leeches” I said in disbelief. “There’s too much evidence here pointing to the human trafficking tied to their actions… We’ve finally got too much weight pinning them down, to keep the hammer from slamming into their necks” Krol chuckled. He looked around “Any questions?”. “When?” Echo-3 asked. “Three hours. We’re hitting them in the dead of night, only time we could get the birds authorized. Get your boys ready. We’re rolling out” Krol said, dying the cigarette bud out on the table. I can’t begin to tell you the euphoria we felt leaving that cage, as our men started arriving, they did so a lot quicker, and with their heads a lot higher than they had in weeks. As Second Squad’s lead we were going to be one of the main arms of attack into the bunker, thus I made sure we had a breacher loaded with enough thermite, charges, and tools to cut through anything. Our shield bearer we ready to go, as was our assaulters, grenadiers, and machine gunner. I double checked each and everyone of their weapons; ensuring the feeder paws of our squad’s belt fed were intact, making sure every breach charge we had was properly set and packed. There was going to be no mistakes, no slip ups. The margin of error needed to be the smallest it had ever been for us tonight if we were going to make the gore spilt worth it.
Finally… there on the outside of the building, the bright LED lights kept the darkness of the ensuing night at bay as the roar of our MRAPs could be heard. It was said once that war is 99% peace, and 1% chaos, they were right. The slow periods where the blood slowed and the doubt creeped in was the worst… yet we all kept it at bay. We needed to, there was going to be no backing down tonight. All three squads were up, all of us ready to go… we circled up… short stares and shaky nods telling us one things: We were in this together, till the end… the finish line so many before us had been searching for, we were being granted tonight.
A single set of footsteps could be heard as we turned, Major Krol stepping into the center. He took the last drag of a cigarette, throwing it down to the ground and stamping it out onto the damp concrete. He looked around… his chin strap blowing in the weak air as he met everyone of our gazes… then mine… then looked around. “I want you to remember every detail of tonight, as you have every other night… when you are situationally aware, scanning for the enemy, liberating the subjugated, I want you to remember the sting of anxiety, the shake of adrenaline, the chill of the bunker, the heat of your weapon as it cuts them down… because tonight we are going to write every fine detail of our victory, their defeat, in history…” Krol’s words echoed deep into our souls. He paused for a moment, staring around he looked down… a small pause before he said “When you are ruthless in combat, remember to be patient, and reserved in victory. This conflict is for our existence… a lot of innocents have bled due to the mistakes of those who failed to listen, a lot of our brothers are now laid under because we had to bridge the gap of uncertainty with their lives. We remember them now… but in an hour? We forget them… when we raise our barrels, when we cut into those foes, and we liberate Polska!! This does not end tonight, but history puts everything in it’s place, and patience is the companion of the victor… All of our hard work will be cemented, no matter the obstacles we face in that darkness… no matter the demons, the blood, no matter what incomprehensible horrors, we will make them comprehend that to invade our land, to bleed our people, the justice will be paid in full… Load up. It’s time*”*.
The purpose in our steps was heavy as we climbed the back ramps of the MRAPS; Four of the heavily armored vehicles, one for each squad with an additional for attached personnel including our JTAC, the term means Joint Terminal Attack Controllers. With air support requisitioned to us for this operations, there needs to be a definite liaison on the ground who can directly communicate to the birds, and coordinate their fire and progress. I’d worked with many of them in the past, resourceful guys, quick thinking though I guess that comes with the position they hold of needing to quickly figure out what bombs to drop, on which target, at what precise points, whilst taking contact. He loaded in the lead vehicle with Major Krol… and soon, our convoy kicked off.
The drive was several hours as myself and my squad sat in the back of that forty ton goliath, the rumbling of the engine keeping us awake as the crap heater fought to keep the cold from the outside frost from setting in. I looked around to each of them, some were catching some sleep because even with the circumstances… better to get all the energy you can, than to stay awake for nothing. Others were checking their weapons… My gunner locked eyes with me, the same one from the village extraction… many of these men I had trained with for a while now, fought with for months.
We may have met on unconventional circumstances but those in JW Grom thrive on austere chance and create opportunity from scratch. I was pulled from my thought by the sound of a transmission, my peltors were set up for dual comms so I could both receive information from the Major and other leads, whilst communicating with my team.
Krol himself sent out: [“Approximately 10 minutes from enemy AO…”]. As the rest of the squads acknowledged, I quickly sent out [“Echo-2 Copies”], before kicking the boots of any of them sleeping: “Look alive, we’re here”. Through the exterior net armor of the MRAPS, and the bars protecting the small reinforced windows, we could barely see jack shit. I reached up, turning off the overhead light as we all looked through our nods to scan the outside. A dark wall of dense trees was shown before us, making it difficult to see… in addition to night vision capabilities we had also requisitioned ourselves some thermals… when mounted onto rifles they were bulky, made it a pain to aim down quickly, but considering the supernatural capabilities of spotting our foes we needed every advantage necessary.
I flipped out one of my tubes… scanning the outside with my scope. I looked over to one of my assaulters who had been assigned to man the turret of the MRAP, seated near the view screen as he controlled the 50. Cal. Each of the vehicle turrets had been assigned a direction to cover… we took the 9 o’clock, the left flank. “See anything?” I asked. He shook his head; “Negative… wait… I’ve got two cold signatures, front left heading to our rear”.
I quickly scanned the far tree line, at approximately 60 meters off our left were two cold signatures… followed by a third heading to our front… then another. They were surrounding us, moving at speeds so fast I could barely keep my reticle on them. Is this what the National Police saw? What they faced at that lodge without the benefit of a foot of heavy armor protecting them on all sides. Then… suddenly. Something slammed into the side of our MRAP so hard, it caused it to shake. From over the leader comms, Echo-3 quickly shouted [“Contact right!! 4 hostiles!!”].
One of the Strigoi… so bold, had charged and slammed into the side of our MRAP. I quickly looked to see the figure, a dark blue mass of cold energy through my thermal, back away without so much as a stagger… as they tried to flee into the woods, the white hot justice of Echo-3’s gun fired at them, cutting them down. “Blachowicz I’ve got a few breaking for our vic” my man on the turret called out, I spun around, spotting out the window.
Just then, Major Krol announced [“weapons free, watch and shoot for targets of opportunity…”]. I turned to him… “take those fuckers out-”. Without hesitation my vic’s turret began to quickly target them, and through the darkness I saw a stream of outgoing fire bisect one of them, the ISR of the black blood freaking out the optic so badly it didn’t know what temperature to register it as… but it did register it. As another was cut down, one broke through the tree line and latched onto the side of our MRAP. The thing tore at one of the outer net armor panels, usually made to stop RPGs. It grabbed at the bars near the windows, tearing one off… I lowered my rifle as we locked eyes through the reinforced window.
The thing… the Strigoi looked at me, skin cracked as putrefied muscle fibers seemed to leak through dead flesh. It’s teeth were corroded and worn down to sharp fragments, alongside newly mutated fangs that messily protrude from the jaws. Even through the thick walls of the MRAP I could hear it’s roar, as it then tried to punch it’s way through… it cracked the outer coating of the vehicle… but it wasn’t getting anywhere near. My machine gunner, seated next to me, seemed to chuckle at the sight, quippily saying “Yeah… fuck you too”. It’s then our vehicle lurched upwards, as we began to climb the small incline of the bunker. I knew the layout, mapped it in our head, the main entrance was built into the rocky side of an old cliff meaning we could easily set up a defensive perimeter around it, a horseshoe. Krol’s vehicle was first, taking to the right as Echo-3’s MRAP followed. My vehicle, third, left the incline and took a left and… that’s where things got complicated.
We’re still trying to work out what happened but… from what Joakim says his drone captured. Right when the MRAP turned, several of the monsters quickly slammed into the side of the vehicle, as another more bulkier one, pushed at it’s undercarriage. The result.. Was the 40 ton armored vehicle tipped over. It wasn’t uncommon, hell in some cases a well placed IED, a good shot with a recoilless rifle, have been known to tip over Oshkoshs and Maxpros all the time. But this beast? Needless to say we barely had a second to comprehend it as it leaned to the left; “Grab on to something-” is all I had time to shout. A mess of gear and men spilled onto one side of the vehicle as it slammed into the old gravel and dirt.
Several of my assaulters, my grenadier planted right ontop of myself and the others as we came to a stop. Someone’s knee slammed directly into the side of my skull, causing me to dazily bob in and out of consciousness as my face was smushed against the glass of one of the windows.
Through my peltors, the other squads were erratic;
[“Echo-2’s vehicle is down!!”].
[“Echo-3 to Echo-2… Echo-3 to Echo-2…”].
Krol’s voice came through the comms;
[“Echo-Lead to Echo-2… Fuc-... Echo-1 secure Echo 2’s flank, Echo-3”].
[“Echo-3 to other units, they’re spilling through, I’ve got several enemy combatants converging on Echo-2’s vehicle”].
I pushed the legs of my grenadier off my head as I fought to my hands and knees, unfucking my nods as I looked around… “Fuck it… we’re going lights on, shield your eyes” I muttered as I reached for the overhead lights and flipped them on. The bright LEDs bathed the inside of the vehicle as we all gained our bearings, a mess of multicam, gear, and weapons as we quickly pushed each other off. My gunner caught as he fought to realign his promask, from what I gathered one of the assaulters had landed directly into his gun, pushing it directly into his jugular, as pulled back at the rubber and coughed, freeing up his esophagus. We didn’t have time to think however… the sound of bending metal caught our attention… as the back ramp door of the MRAP was ripped clean off. I could barely believe it but as the white light of the MRAP’s interior poured to the outside, a hulking mass leaned in, the dead flesh on it’s face nearly fallen off as the hideous Strigoi leaned inside.
Without hesitation I aimed took aim, yelling “Keep to the deck!!” to any of those inbetween myself and the invader as I opened fire. A burst of full auto fire tore through it’s collar and neck, my men quickly clung to either sides of the fallen MRAP as a few more fired out. As the thing backed up, a blast of .50 cal fire quickly tore it to shreds, along with several others as I realized they were fuckin swarming over the outside of our vehicle. Echo-3’s vehicle continued to carefully fire on the Strigoi on the outside, the sounds of .50 cal ricocheting off the outside of our armor was enough to make the pucker factor set in.
[“Echo-3 to Echo-2”].
[“This is Echo-2, we’re green on ammo, equipment, men”].
[“Roger, we’re shifting fire, exit the vehicle”].
“Hurry up let’s go!!” I barked to my men, leading the way as I staggered out. I turned on my peq, taking aim at silhouettes in the brush as I began to fire. The sounds of machine guns lighting up the brush, as a sea of growls, howls, and incomprehensible roars fired back at us was the ambient noise of the night. My men quickly exited, my gunner being the last as he and I pulled back to the rest of the defensive perimeter. I set in my men to take up the frontal security, as 3rd squad took the right flank, 1st squad to the left. Major Krol and the JTAC were bickering with each other; “How far out are the birds”. “They’re entering airspace now…” Joakim said, already scanning his smart book.
I asked “What’ve we got?”. He then flipped through… to the NATO combined arms segment, quippily saying; “Apaches…”. This caused me to pause as Echo-3 turned their head whilst directing their squad’s fire “The hell… where did we get apaches from?”. “The Americans… they volunteered” Krol said dismissively as he took aim at the darkness, firing off a controlled trio. “Volunteered? They’re aware of what’s going on?” I asked.
Krol seemed to stop, glancing back at me before returning his focus “There’s a lot more going on than you realize, Blachowicz… Prep the breach, you and 1st are going on”.
I quickly pulled my breacher off the line, securing some thermite as the reinforced bunker door wasn’t going to go as easily as a conventional door breach would. 1st Squad pulled back, stacking up and preparing themselves to be the first in. All the while… Joakim gave his firing solution; “Alpha Hotel Two Five Nine, This is Bravo-4…… Type 2….”.
I snapped to my right, watching as a Strigoi managed to dark across the clear gravel field, only to be cut down by my gunner, the peq’s laser marking the burst as it tore through the beasts’ hips, as it hit the ground and still continued to claw, another GROM operator took aim and fired into it’s skull. Joakim popped up to his feet…. “Marking laser, high power…”. He then pulled out a target marking laser… if you’ve watched night operations, you’ve probably seen them.
The green laser than as it says on the label, marks targets. The pattern of which can vary… if it’s a point target, it’ll usually lasso an area, or remain on target until the target is removed with extreme prejudice. If its close air support, then it’ll be a line of the general area… and Joakim damn near marked the entire perimeter around us. He quickly pocketed the tool, turning back to Krol; “Don’t go past 20 meters unless you want to be liquidated”.
With that… 2nd and 1st stacked up at the door as 3rd squad took up the perimeter security. As Major Krol went over to Echo-1… I saw them. A single blinking IR strobe from the beasts as they moved on the far off horizon, converging from several angles… and fired. The sound of the Apache’s main gun, the M230, truly sounds like the hammer of god… the 30mm cannon shot through the dark sky, lighting it up as we saw three incoming streams tear up the woods. Only then as the sound broke did we start to hear their rotors as they broke and began to circle, firing again… then… Joakim dipped his head and looked to Krol; [“Foxtrot Mike, hang onto your teeth…”]. One of the Apaches fired off a AGM-114… a Hellfire. I barely saw it out of the corner of my eye as the Apache from our right flank fired off at a target approximately 200 meters off. A fireball lit up the forest as the horrendous roar echoed throughout… then went silent.
Echo-3 scanned the horizon carefully;
[“Echo-3 to Echo-Lead, enemy contact is starting to die down”].
[“Maintain perimeter, Close Air is to maintain fire mission until we are boots up, Break…”].
[“Echo-Lead to Echo-1, condition white has been met. Proceeds”]. I saw Echo-1 and his men quickly stack up close to the wall and gesture to me; Breaching. I quickly pulled my stack back against the wall as his and mine breacher quickly hit their actuators. Now under normal circumstances, it doesn’t take much for thermite to melt the locks off of a metal surface, in fact it’s a more precise took as alternative means get real medieval like saws, pry bars… we weren’t in the mood for precision, we need to breach their little lair, and drag them out. The sound of several pounds of hellfire burning through the metal could be heard around the corner as a sea of white and red sparks flew out… after several seconds, two of our men tossed a fragmentation grenade and a nine-bang through the opening… a series of concussive blasts and a large explosion rang out.
Echo-1 and his men maneuvered. 1st Squad quickly converged as we followed them in.
Stepping through the black wall of smoke, the dark abyss of the interior was illuminated in a white light as entered barrels raised. Shots rang out as several of the beasts near the entrance were cut down, though not immediately, rounds disconnected the shoulder of one of them, leading to their arm hanging limply by a single tendon as they roared… another series of rounds putting them down. What greeted us was a messy concrete hell of rust and debris, fecal matter, trash, and all kinds of obstacles laid in our way, our boots sticking to the floor. I thank every god we had promasks that night. I called my shield bearer up, 2nd squad leapfrogging ahead to take the next corridor as 1st squad checked their weapons.
One of my men mule kicked the metal door ahead, twice, finally the latch gave away as we tossed in a grenade. A horrifying roar was cut off as an M67 shook the walls of the ancient soviet mausoleum, frag and spall kicked off the walls as I moved in right behind my shield man. The cramped russian design meant there was barely enough space for three people, and that’s three normal people, not in 50kgs of kit, moving slowly and maneuvering against creatures of the dark. Still… we moved forward, my shield bearer and I pushing the pace as two stacked of either squad formed on either wall.
As we passed doorways they flowed in… “Door Left!!”, “Door Right!!”. “Move!!”.
Two men entered each side, no gunshots, we moved up, a roar came.
“Door left!!-”. A series of gunshots came out as we continued to push forward.
“Two down!!”. “Confirm them” Krol commanded, as a series of gunshots run out in response. From one of the doorways, a Strigoi emerged… a female… clumps of hair had been ripped from her decaying skull, as her blooded eyes locked on myself and my shieldman. The skin on her hands had been tore down to the point where barely her bones and tendons remain… looking like huge talons as she roared and lunged at us. He fired off his pistol, though the rounds did little to stop her as she pushed against our stack.
“Fuck!!” he muttered, somehow her strength caused him to stagnate, holding up the advance… fuck that. I shoved the muzzle of my MK18 into her ribcage, flipping the weapon to auto as I fired of round after round. The 5.56 salvo disconnecting her spinal column, causing her to fall as I continued to fire, along with a man to our right and left as the stacks reformed as we pushed to the end of the hall. I fell back, dropping the magazine and loading a fresh one, like clockwork a GROM Operator from 1st squad took my place. Krol was beside me as we approached the end of the hall.
[“-Prep an entry”] I radioed to my breacher, a comrade handed him one of the charges from his back panel as he took to the door, quickly securing it. We all moved as far back as we could, look away, exhale. The blast knocked metal and wood in all directions, scrapping against our uniforms and kit as we made our way in and what laid before us was… it used to be the center atrium of one of these bunkers. Soviet’s loved their grandiose designs, the complex was supposed to be a circular room around a central planning table… instead. It had been turned into some sort of church. Runes and old eastern Romuva pagan symbols written in black ink and blood across the walls, old rotten filing cabinets, long receipt terminals. In the center… several of the Strigoi were kneeling before the table where someone had been tied down, flayed, and… shared amongst the group. They rose to their feet, we aimed our barrels…
The ladder amongst turned to us… his skin wasn’t cracked, or flayed, it was smooth… it still looked dead as the body on the table but it seemed more… accustomed to it. I don’t know… evolved? Under the surface however I could see it’s darkened veins pumping whatever cursed blood ran through them as it locked two blood red eyes onto each of us. It’s nose had long since been turn off, exposing boney nostrils to the open air as it seemed to smirk. All across it’s body were the same symbols on the walls, in every cell… markings of death, of rebirth, of assimilation… From behind this seemingly Alpha emerges another figure I had never seemed before… dressed in a white cloak with a deer head.
"So they've followed the trail... they're too late" the Deer headed individual spoke, definitely not from here, a dialect similar to an Americans but... aristocratic? Each word was drawn out, assurance as if they had everything mapped down to our actions. They didn’t sound like they were from Poland or the east.
“Doesn’t matter…” the Alpha growled… and then, it lunged at us. Quickly breaking from their ground it slammed into my shield man knocking both him and myself at the ground as it displayed an intense feat of strength. Around us I could see several of the Strigoi leap at our comrades… though to no fruitful endeavor as I could see one GROM operator cut two down, as another got into a hand to hand confrontation… my breacher, crafty as they were, reached back and slammed one of the prybars of his kit into the skull of the beast.
The Alpha however was not content as it threw away the 90lb shield, sending it flying across the room as it grabbed my comrade by the skull. I quickly kicked up at it, firing my MK18 into it’s body as the rounds pierced it’s gray and rune covered flesh. The thing simply seemed to chuckle… that was until Major Krol blasted away at the side of it’s head, the alpha turned… and it’s smirk turned to a scowl when face to face with the major. A knowing pause almost like they had done this dance before…
The creature lunged, locking up with Major Krol as it swung and slammed railing. Krol didn’t back down however as he pushed against the creature, hiptossing it to the ground even as it tore at his armor and gear. But the beast pulled, both of them rolled and the Major was on his back as the thing reached for his neck. I fought to a kneel, firing into the creature messily with my MK18, trying not to hit my commander… then…
Click. A sound sends a chill up the spine of every warfighter during a firefight.
My gun ran dry. I dropped the magazine, looking to load another, but the thing came up and with one of it’s claws, sliced deep into my cheek, through the pro mask. I could feel my own blood go flying through the air as I landed hard on my back plate, spitting out red iron as I quickly tried to adjust my mask. Through my fogged up, blood covered lense… I saw my shield man raise his pistol, firing into the skull of the thing staggering it with a roar. Krol came from behind, drawing his knife he sunk it deep into the neck of it…. I reached for my rifle, forcing a new magazine in and damn near punching the bold release. ““Sir, down!!” I shouted, Krol rolled away, back to his own rifle as I fired. So did my comrade as he continued to fire his pistol… so did the Major as he fired his rifle. All of us chewing through that apex predator of darkness, that beast… the leader that had been preying on our people for so long. Layer by layer, muscle group by bone… eventually… the alpha landed on whatever was left of his back.
The silence of the fight died down as all of us checked our surroundings, GROM Operators putting controlled pairs in the heads and nerve stems of any Strigoi laying around… I flicked my weapon onto safe, letting it hang as I pulled off my mask. I dared not touch the wound on my face… the pain nearly crippling me if it wasn’t sheer will pushing me through, and adrenaline doing all it could to subdue it. The sound of the apaches continuing to lay hate drew us from our moment of contemplation as the Major went back to work; [“Confiscate any info, burn the rest…”]. He turned back to me as I shoved my damaged M50 mask back into it’s bag, chuckling as he looked at the sight; “You need a medevac, Blachowicz?” he quipped.
I shook my head, barely able to speak as I muttered; “Negative sir…”. The two of us scanned the room as my shield bearer went to collect his defense implement turned 90lb projectile, we scanned the center of the room, checking and confirming bodies, until we got to the last one alive. His white gown was soaked in red crimson and black ooze, as his dear head was mangled from bullet fire and impact from falling on it. I swear… the way his blood poured out of it though made me wonder if it was a mask. I gave it no second thoughts as he looked to Krol; “You… you can’t stop this, they’ve already-”.
The Major was in no mood for communication as his rifle snapped up and fired off three rounds to the body, four the head. The violent yet quick salvo ending the cultists life, I looked down at it, then to him as he remarked; “Have your squad drag him out to the front, burn the rest”. I stood alongside him, looking down as the sight of it’s deer head was both captivating and horrifying… the curiosity in me wanting to look closer at it fighting the primal instinct I had to burn the thing to ash. “-Haven’t seen one of those before…” I muttered, thinking the Major had an answer.
He didn’t. Krol saying “Neither have I…” shortly before he walked away, was what truly shook my soul about that entire night. Victory stood firm in our hearts that night as we stood outside of the bunker. The night sky burning with fire and white phosphorus as we watched the ruin burn from the inside from the other side of the lot. In the distance, the Apaches continued to scan and circle the forests, no longer firing…. Which meant they had driven any or turned to glass any enemy combatants within a four miles, probably both, more than likely the latter. Echo-1 patted me on the shoulder as we stood there, soaking it all in, though Krol looked none to pleased. “In the time it took us to take this one down, they’ll be trying to set up three more cells… that being established…” he said, looking to either of us, then to Echo-3. “-Hell of a thing we did tonight, been waiting for this one for a decade, cleanly, maybe more… but no time to rest on our laurels… we’ll have another task for us as soon as we’re boots down back home” he said, to which his eyes followed mine, the body of whatever cultist that was zipped up in a black body bag beside the wheel of one of the MRAPs. The fire from the bunker casting an orange hue over it’s shiny jet black outside, something didn’t sit right with me… “That wasn’t a Strigoi…” I said to Krol.
“That’s very clear…” the Major said, shoving his mask under his arm and lighting a cigarette. “So… someone’s helping them?” I asked. The meer notion of it shook me to my core, sickened me. This parasite was already badly infecting Europa, Polska… if it was spread like this throughout the world. Krol settled my nerves: “We’ll be ready… It’s not just us anymore”. As he said that, I realized what he meant… my eyes looking to the Apaches as they started to form up, leaving the areas as their thunderous propellers melted into the night’s calm, unnerving ambience.
It’s been a couple of weeks since then, Echo Detachment has been busy. We’ve gained good ground against the enemy and honestly I think in a few years, we might see a much larger change. For now… we must keep going, that being said the Strigoi aren’t the only ones we’ve been combating. Recently we’ve made contact with of some sort of extermination coalition, they’ve known about the Strigoi, and others plaguing the world, the level of corruption and corrosion on society goes deep. Regardless a lot of the units we’ve been working with are apart of NATO, such as this “4th Special Forces Group” of the American Military. I don’t know where the road from here leads, but we’ve gotten momentum on our side, finally. Just remember… these things are out there, in every town, every city, every nation… preying and waiting for you to be alone, vulnerable, so they can take you and replace you.
Watch your back, and stay safe.
For now, Blachowicz signing out. Until next time
2024.05.14 22:48 VashxShanks [JRPGs on Sale - Weekly Breakdown & Recommendations] For 15 May - 2024 - Playstation/Switch/Xbox/Steam (+Steam Deck)
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 ~]
(On Mobile please Swipe left to see the prices and tags)
| Game | Price/Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| Persona 4 Golden | $11.99 | Turn-based/Modern Japan setting/Highschool life simulatoMystery/Monster collectoSocial link system/Great soundtrack |
| The Persona Collection (P3P/Persona 4/Persona 5) | $49.49 | Turn-based/Modern Japan setting/Highschool life simulatoMystery/Monster collectoSocial link system/Great soundtrack |
| Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth PS4 & PS5 | $48.99 | Turn-based/Contemporary Hawaii setting/Yakuza life/Open World/Heavy on Drama and Comedy/Heavy on Mini-games/Class Changing Mechanics |
| Star Ocean The Second Story R | $39.99 | Action/Sci-fi mixed with Fantasy setting/Choose 1 of 2 main characters/Expansive crafting system/Affection mechanic for Party members/Choices matteRemake of the original PS1 title |
| Tales of Arise PS4 & PS5 | $14.79 | Action/Fantasy setting/Anime style/Revolution Story/anime trope heavy/Social links mechanic between party members |
| Valkyria Chronicles 4 Complete Edition | $9.99 | 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 |
| DORAEMON STORY OF SEASONS | $14.99 | Farming Simulator/Mini-games/Social Links system |
| Rainbow Moon | $2.99 | Tactical Turn-based/Character customization/Fantasy setting/Dungeon Crawler |
| Terra Memoria | $14.99 | Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Pixel Graphics/Base Building/Resource gathering & Crafting |
| Neptunia: Sisters VS Sisters | $19.99 | Turn-based/Female Protagonist/Comedy/fan-service/Parody |
| Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling | $14.99 | Turn-based/Paper Mario-like/Comedy/Adventure |
| Monster Sanctuary | $4.99 | Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Monster CollectoMetroidvania/Pixel Graphics |
| Relayer | $11.99 | Tactical turn-based/Sci-fi setting/Space travel/Piloted Mecha/Female Protagonist/Anime art style |
| Death end reQuest | $7.99 | Turn-based/Female protagonist/Cyber World setting/Psychological HorroNudity |
| Death end re;Quest 2 | $11.99 | Turn-based/Cyber world setting/Female Protagonist/Dark Fantasy/Gore/Fan-service |
| Shining Resonance Refrain | $5.99 | Action/Fantasy setting/Dragon transformation/Musical theme/Anime visual style/Social link mechanic |
| Mary Skelter Finale | $14.99 | Turn-based/First-Person View Dungeon CrawleDeep & Full party customization/Female Protagonist/Multiple Endings/HorroFan-service |
| Born of Bread | $14.99 | Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Paper Mario-like/Comedy/Timed hits combat |
| DRAGON BALL Z: KAKAROT | $14.99 | Action Fantasy/Semi-Open World (zones)/Anime story adaptation/Beautiful animations |
| South Park™: The Fractured but Whole™ | $8.99 | Tactical Turn-based/Modern Day setting/Comedy/Mature/Dark HumoNudity/Fart Jokes |
[~ Switch ~]
| Game | Price/Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| Star Ocean The Second Story R | $39.99 | Action/Sci-fi mixed with Fantasy setting/Choose 1 of 2 main characters/Expansive crafting system/Affection mechanic for Party members/Choices matteRemake of the original PS1 title |
| Ikenfell | $5.99 | Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Pixel Graphics/Female Protagonist/LGBTQ+/Retro |
| Dodgeball Academia | $9.99 | Action/School Life Sim/Sports (Dodgeball)/2D Hand-drawn Cartoon Art style |
| Born of Bread | $14.99 | Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Paper Mario-like/Comedy/Timed hits combat |
| Battle Chef Brigade Deluxe | $6.99 | Action/Fantasy setting/Cooking battles/Female Protagonist/Side ScrolleBeat'em up/Hand-drawn |
| Fuga: Melodies of Steel | $23.99 | Tactical Turn-based/Steampunk setting/Anthropomorphic characters/Social Links System/Base upgrading |
| Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 | $23.99 | Tactical Turn-based/Steampunk setting/Anthropomorphic characters/Social Links System/Base upgrading |
| Front Mission 1st: Remake | $17.49 | Tactical turn-based/Sci-fi setting/War & Politics/Mecha/Customization |
| FRONT MISSION 2: Remake | $27.99 | Tactical turn-based/Sci-fi setting/War & Politics/Mecha/Customization |
| Dusk Diver | $8.74 | Action/Modern Taipei Ximending setting/Female Protagonist/Beat'em up/Anime visual style |
| Terra Memoria | $14.99 | Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Pixel Graphics/Base Building/Resource gathering & Crafting |
| Infinite Guitars | $11.99 | Turn-based/Sci-fi setting/Rock Music/Hand-drawn/Robots/Rhythm/Timed button presses |
| Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs - Royal Edition OST Combo | $7.49 | Tactical turn-based/Medieval Fantasy setting/Social link system/Politics/Comedy |
| Potato Flowers in Full Bloom | $13.31 | Turn-based/Medieval Fantasy setting/First-person Dungeon CrawleCustom Party creation/Class Mechanics |
| Rainbow Moon + Rainbow Skies Strategy RPG Bundle | $23.99 | Tactical Turn-based/Character customization/Fantasy setting/Dungeon Crawler |
[~ Xbox ~]
| Game | Price/Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| Blue Dragon | $6.59 | Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Class changing mechanics/great soundtrack |
| Lost Odyssey | $8.24 | Turn-based/Fantasy setting |
| Costume Quest 1 | $4.49 | Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/Choices Matter |
| Terra Memoria | $14.99 | Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Pixel Graphics/Base Building/Resource gathering & Crafting |
| Dodgeball Academia | $9.99 | Action/School Life Sim/Sports (Dodgeball)/2D Hand-drawn Cartoon Art style |
| Ikenfell | $5.99 | Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Pixel Graphics/Female Protagonist/LGBTQ+/Retro |
| Ara Fell: Enhanced Edition | $5.99 | Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/Pixel Graphics |
| Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling | $12.49 | Turn-based/Paper Mario-like/Comedy/Adventure |
~ Steam ~
If you want to check the games yourself:~ Link to the JRPGs on Sale list ~
Steam Deck Icons (As explained by Steam itself):
🟦 Verified: Means that the game is fully compatible and works with built-in controls and display.🟧 Playable: Means the game is Functional, but requires extra effort to interact with and configure .
"--" Unknown: Basically unconfirmed or still under-review.
| Game | Price/Link | Tags | Steam Deck |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chrono Ark | $18.74 | Turn-based/Modern day setting/Roguelike DeckbuildeFemale Protagonist/Anime visuals/Card Battler | 🟦 Playable |
| Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night | $9.99 | Action/Medieval Gothic Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/PlatformeSide ScrolleMetroidvania | 🟦 Verified |
| In Stars And Time | $15.99 | Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Monochrome art style/LGBTQ+/Comedy/Time Travel/Hand-drawn Cartoon style | 🟦 Verified |
| Ni no Kuni™ II: Revenant Kingdom PRINCE'S EDITION | $11.99 | Action/Fantasy setting/Isekai/Base BuildeArmy Battle/Character CollectoBeautiful art style | 🟦 Verified |
| Born of Bread | $12.49 | Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Paper Mario-like/Comedy/Timed hits combat | 🟧Playable |
| Terra Memoria | $14.99 | Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Pixel Graphics/Base Building/Resource gathering & Crafting | 🟧Playable |
| Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 | $23.99 | Tactical Turn-based/Steampunk setting/Anthropomorphic characters/Social Links System/Base upgrading | 🟦 Verified |
| Fae Tactics | $5.99 | Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/Beautiful Pixel Graphics/Unique Battle system/Monster Collector | 🟦 Verified |
| Dodgeball Academia | $9.99 | Action/School Life Sim/Sports (Dodgeball)/2D Hand-drawn Cartoon Art style | 🟧Playable |
| Sword and Fairy 7 | $14.99 | Action/Chinese Martial Arts Fantasy (Xianxia)/Female Protagonist/Great visuals and Music/Rich Story and Lore/Chinese voice acting with English subtitles | 🟧Playable |
| Ikenfell | $5.99 | Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Pixel Graphics/Female Protagonist/LGBTQ+/Retro | 🟦 Verified |
| Astria Ascending | $8.74 | Turn-based/Medieval Fantasy setting/PlatformeFemale Protagonist/Class system | 🟦Verified |
| Haven | $14.99 | Active time combat/Sci-fi setting/Heavy on Romance/LGBTQ/Local Co-op support/Exploration/Resource Gathering | 🟦 Verified |
| Crimson Tactics: The Rise of The White Banner | $14.99 | Tactical Turn-based/Medieval Fantasy setting/Class system/War & Politics/Dragons/ | -- |
| Jack Move | $9.99 | Turn-based/Cyberpunk setting/Female Protagonist/Pixel Graphics/Hacking | 🟦Verified |
| Earthlock | $4.49 | Turn-based/Fantasy setting | 🟧Playable |
| Xuan-Yuan Sword: The Gate of Firmament | $4.49 | Real Time/Chinese Martial Arts Fantasy (Xianxia)/Rich Story and Lore/Monster collection/Chinese voice acting with English subtitles | 🟧Playable |
| Xuan-Yuan Sword: The Gate of Firmament | $4.49 | Real Time/Chinese Martial Arts Fantasy (Xianxia)/Rich Story and Lore/Monster collection/Chinese voice acting with English subtitles | 🟧Playable |
| Children of Zodiarcs | $5.39 | Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/Card Based/Deck Building | 🟦Verified |
~ General Recommendations (All Consoles) For Anyone Who Can't Decide ~
First off, I won't recommend big or famous games like Final Fantasy or Persona, this is more for lesser know, hidden gems, or just games where it's hard to find someone talking about them.
[Valkyria Chronicles]
[Valkyria Chronicles 4]
This one is really hard to explain through words alone, but just in case, the VC series is a World War 2 military setting story, where you act as the lead of a squad and take mission to drive back the enemy. The story is drama heavy and the gameplay is tactical turn-based, but it's mixed with real-time third person shooter.You can also make your own army by recruiting different types of solders, training them and upgrading their gear. From rifles to tanks, this is a game you have to experience to understand.
[Fuga: Melodies of Steel 1 & 2]
Great game, great art style, and really well made and balanced turn-based combat. That alone is enough to get the game. Then you add the time-management part of the game, where you spend time upgrading the different tank rooms, cooking, exploring ruins, spending time to bond with other characters, and so on. It's also great if you want a game that you can play for an hour or 2 and then put down for later. As the game is played through stages, and once you're done with a stage, you get an intermission to do what you want and come back to it later.It's not a long game (compared to the usual JRPG), as you mentioned, it's about 20 hours. Story-wise I think it was a bit too short. Gameplay wise it was great fit, because it didn't outstay it's welcome, and it ends when you feel you have mastered the gameplay and want to face the final challenge.
The story is good, but isn't the focus. Gameplay is the main focus. In fact you'll feel that a lot of context isn't told in the story, but instead left for you to either read about in the in-game wiki or just figure out through obvious clues in the story.
There is a big mechanic that this meant to put a lot of pressure on your playthrough (don't worry about it being spoiled because it's literally explained in the first hour of the game). The thing is though, if you have experience in JRPGs or just play in a really well thought out and relaxed manner, then that mechanic might not be as big a deal as they make it seem to be. Yet it's still fun nonetheless.
Fuga 2 is even better. It fixes a lot of the minor issues the first game had, and what's really great, is it improved the "big pressure" mechanic I talked about, and now it actually is a big deal. Then add to that so much little new mechanics added that just makes for a much more fun and challenging game. The 2nd game also continues the same story.
[Ni no Kuni] Series
If you're looking for that great Isekai fantasy adventure feel, then these two games are where it's at. Fantastic visuals and great music, coupled with a great art style, a combo that is perfect for a chill and relaxed gaming experience. Especially when talking about the first game, with the help ofStudio Ghibli, they managed to make a truly whimsical world with that Studio Ghibli classic touch.- Important Note: The games aren't connected story-wise, so you can start with any of them -
[Wrath of the White Witch]
For a the best fantasy adventure feel, while the combat is a hit or miss depending on your taste, don't let that stop you from actually diving into a true fairy tale world, this is the one with the better story in my opinion, so if you want more story than game, this is for you. Still it has a good share of gameplay, from raising and collecting Pokemon-like monsters, to learning and using different spells, not just in combat but for the overworld too.[Ni no Kuni™ II: Revenant Kingdom]
This one focuses more on gameplay, with a Kingdom builder, Army battles, Heavy loot focus, and even character collector, this is the one to go with if you want more game than story. Still has the great music and he fantastical art style and setting. Add to that a lot of side activities like beating rare monsters, collecting cute creatures to help you in battle, and even going around the world to gather people to help you build your kingdom. You'll never be short on things to do.Finally, both of them have beautifully draw world that is just a pleasure to walkthrough, made even better with the amazing orchestral soundtrack.
[Star Ocean The Second Story R]
The original PS1 game was already an amazing JRPG and a classic. But this remake takes it to go even further beyond SSJ3. It should be the standard on how to make a faithful remake on of a classic title.I don't want to overhype it more than I already did. So to keep this short, this remake does so much:
- All major story events are now fully voice acted. This includes a lot of the private actions too.
- Fully redone and better translation of the game.
- New Character to recruit to the party.
- New Private Actions and 13 new Endings.
- New character portraits, not just for the main cast, but also for many other characters.
- A complete rework for the battle system to be up to modern standards.
- So many QoL features:
- Auto-saving
- Fast-forward cut-scenes or skip them.
- Text log
- All difficulties can be accessed from the start
- Fast travel
- 3 different voice dubbing options to choose from (New English, Original Japanese, New Japanese)
- Your choice of different art styles
- Choose between original OST and new rearranged OST.
- No random battles anymore, as enemies can be seen and avoided
[Sword and Fairy 7: Together Forever]
They did a great job with the presentation of the game. Great voice acting (Chinese), great graphics, amazing music, and an impressive attention to details of the world and it's lore, especially the engineering of the buildings and their decor. Then you have the really beautiful design of each piece of gear, and even just normal attire of each NPC and the disciples of each sect or soldiers of each of the different of each plane (gods, humans, demons).Then we go to how great looking the monsters and local flora and fauna of each realm. You can feel the intense work that has gone into making and animating each of them. It really is a joy to watch them, as much as it is to watch each environment you see them in. There really isn't enough time to talk about how good the presentation is.
As for the story. First off, I am not an expert in Chinese novels mythology, but I am a big fan of Xianxia and Wuxia novels. So when I say that the story is...good but nothing great, I am saying this as more than just a JRPG fan, but also someone who is very into this type of world and Chinese martial arts fantasy setting. it's nothing that will stick in your mind, apart from the events that take place in some of the beautiful set pieces in the game, or the cut-scenes with beautiful action cheoragphy.
The gameplay is also about average. The side-quests are fun and are worth doing if nothing more than for learning more about the lore and the world. But the actual battles and action gameplay isn't as good as the best ones out there, but it's not bad. I have ran into some bugs, some small, some big, but that was when the game just came out, and it did receive a lot of patches since then. You can tell that they aimed to make a huge triple A production, but didn't have the time or manpower to test a game of this size. It's still fun to play and experience, but the level of gameplay is nowhere near the level of the presentation that the game gives the impression of having just from watching the gameplay or trailers.
If you enjoy walking through magical and fantastic looking JRPG worlds, or if you enjoy Xianxia/Wuxia fiction, then this is an easy choice. Hell even if you don't, it's still worth a go at this price.
[Blue Dragon] & [Lost Odyssey]
These two are classic titles that will probably won't be ported to or remade to modern consoles. That's why this might be the last way you'll ever get to experience 2 classic titles of the genre. Lost Odyssey has great story writing and unique character settings, and Blue Dragon has great exploration and a really fun character class customization system, and one hell of a boss theme.[Monster Sanctuary]
This is a solid game, everything in is polished and balanced to make sure you are having fun collecting new monsters and customizing your team through evolution/skill trees/gear and making the best in-sync party you can. I only wish it was longer, it's not short by any means, but it's not long either. I would say depending on if you're trying to "catch them all" and explore everything and fight all bosses, this could easily be a 30+ hours game, but if you focus on the story, then it's about 20 to 30 hours. Now even longer with the 2 new free DLC expansion added.Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining that it's short, but that I was having so much fun, that I wish it didn't end.
As always, please do add your own recommendations, and let me know if there is mistake or if something was missing, and have a nice day.
2024.05.14 22:40 ConfidentLeg7645 Japan (Honshu) 3 Week Spring Trip Report. A perfect trip (almost)!.
LONG POST WARNING
Hello everyone,
My partner (24F) and I (25M) returned home from our 3-week Japan trip last week and due to us using this sub a lot during our planning I thought it would be helpful for other current planners to upload a trip report.
Our main interests are Japanese traditions and history, street style/culture, and food so keep reading if these interests are mutual. Read to the bottom to see how much we spent plus some tips and disappointments.
Prelude
We were caught up in the madness at Dubai airport during our layover. Long story short; Airport (and the rest of Dubai) flooded and caused all the flights to be cancelled. What was meant to be a 5-hour layover turned into a torturous 36 hour wait. No staff to be seen, crowds of people arguing, fighting, and crying. We queued for 12 hours to get a new boarding pass for the next flight to Japan. We were meant to fly to Haneda but settled for Narita as we needed to get out of that place as soon as possible but still ended up missing our first day in Tokyo (should have had 5 days). We can’t complain too much as some of the people I spoke to on emirates were in the airport for up to 5 days before getting a flight back to their departure destination. Oh, and our baggage was missing with us only receiving our checked in bags on day 19. Cheers Emirates.
Day 1
Arrived in Shinjuku around midnight. We went straight to Don Quiojte to buy some replacement cosmetics and clothes. The combination of no good-quality sleep for 48 hours and the stimulating nature of the store was very intense! We then started to walk back towards the hostel and passed a Ichiran, so dropped in for some 2am ramen. Not the best ramen I’ve ever had but was still very good for the price.
Steps: 21,643 (includes some airport steps)
Day 2
Woke up and ate the free breakfast at the hostel (this turned out to be a really good money saver for the whole trip as we are not huge eaters in the morning anyway, but it was good to get something light in us before a long day walking). We then walked through the Shinjuku Gyoen Garden – saw some late blooming cheery blossoms and overall, it was a really beautiful botanical garden.
The next stop was Meji Shrine and a walk through Yoyogi park. The shrine was cool to see, especially as it was our first one in Japan. Saw a middle-aged man wearing denim hotpants so short that his balls were hanging out?!?!
Walked to Shibuya to see the scramble. This was cool but also felt it was a bit underwhelming at ground level but the view from Shibuya station walkway was wicked. Lunch was at a conveyor belt sushi place on the top floor of this department store right next to the scramble. This would be higher than average quality sushi in Europe, so it blew our minds that it was available on the top floor of a department store and for so cheap.
Shimokitazawa – We picked up some bargains at 2nd street and I treated myself some Japanese jeans from a small Demin shop called Bears. The guy in the shop was super helpful and friendly and even tailored the trousers to exactly my size.
In the evening, we first had a poke around Golden Gai and then headed towards Shibuya and stopped in a cool bar where the owner was mixing vinyl while he mixed your drinks (think it was called Q Bar).
We had previously bought tickets to a gig at Circus for one of my fav rappers who I’d been wanting to see for a while. Also really enjoyed seeing the local Japanese warm up acts. Stayed until 5am and then go the train straight to the Tsukiji outer fish market. Was there way too early and had to wait roughly an hour for thing to open. Went to chill by a bench for a bit and by the time we went back to the market it was rammed! Went to bed around 8:30am.
Steps: 32,159
Day 3
We woke up at 2:30pm, got ready, and headed to the Bunkyo civic centre for the free observation deck. We heard it wasn’t meant to be the best Tokyo skyline view but for a free attraction we thought it was very good! Jimbocho book town was also very cool to see. We had a peak into a couple adult movie/magazine stores where I don’t think the owner appreciated our presence as western tourists.
In the evening, we first went for Ramen at Motenashi Kuraki in Asakusa Bashi. Honestly probably the best Ramen I’ve had to date. I ordered the Black Pepper Shio special, and it blew my mind. Even though the staff didn’t speak English they were very accommodating for my partner who doesn’t eat meat (pescetarian but will brave a meaty broth).
We then had a stroll around Akihabara and played some dance mat games in the arcades before heading back for an earlyish night.
Steps: 28,680
Day 4
I couldn’t sleep so got up around 3am and did some admin stuff to try and get our bags back to us ASAP. Chatted to people in the hostel for a few hours.
We arrived at Senso-ji for around 8am. Wasn’t too busy at this time and the temple was impressive. Went for a coffee down the road and had a chill for about an hour before heading into Asakusa. Got admission to the Drum museum which was wicked. Only 400 yen each and had the whole place to ourselves to smack some big fucking drums and make as much noise as we wanted.
We then started to head towards Ueno but made a slight detour to Kappabashi Dougu street to peruse the Japanese chef knives and other cookware. Grabbed lunch from a 7/11 and went and sat in Ueno park which was super busy. There was some food market event on which loads of food stalls had set up. There was also a stage with some J-pop performers and people dressed as ninjas dancing in the crowd. Weird to say the least. By mid-afternoon we were pretty tired so headed back to the hostel for a nap.
In the evening, we headed down to Harajuku and stopped by Big Love records. My partner is really into vinyl, so this was definitely a highlight for her. She picked up Wu Tang 36 chambers in case you were wondering. We then went for food at Afuri as my partner wanted to try the Vegan ramen to which she said it was ok but nothing special. My cold dipping noodle dish was very tasty, however. We then stumbled across this vinyl listening bar called Bar Music on the 5th floor of this pokey building on the outskirts of Shibuya for a few drinks before bed. There was such a good vibe in there and the cocktails were super good for the price. If you’re looking for a romantic spot, then this is the place to go.
Steps: 31,818
Day 5
Today we headed to Kyoto on the shinkansen around midday after a slow morning chilling in and around the hostel and catching up on some sleep. Checked in to the hostel and had a walk around downtown Kyoto, stopping at 2nd Street to buy some more clothes.
In the evening, we headed to Kodai-Ji to see the shrine lit up at night. We couldn’t believe how few people were there as it was stunning and truly magical place to be at night. It also has a bamboo grove (much better than Arashiyama, see below). The bar for Kyoto shrines/temples had been set very high.
Walked down Pontocho alley and stopped at a yakitori restaurant which was just ok. We knew it was going to be average when we looked around the restaurant and it was just western tourists dining.
Steps: 25,255
Day 6
First thing in the morning we rented bikes and cycled across the city to Arashiyama. Parked the bikes at the train station and walked up through Arashiyama. We were expecting it to be busy but there were so many people it was almost impossible to move. Had a look around the bamboo grove and was slightly underwhelmed after our visit to Kodai-Ji so we took the tram and then bus up to Kosan-Ji. This was very much worth the 45-minute journey as there was only one other group there and the temple nestled between the trees overlooking the river was breath-taking. On the whole, Arashiyama was way too packed during peak times to enjoy and with everything else Kyoto has to offer we wouldn’t say it was a must see.
We then picked up the bikes from the train station and cycled back across Kyoto taking the long route to explore and get lost. Once we dropped off the bikes, we went for another explore and this time went into WeGo for more clothes shopping. At this point we’d pretty much matched the amount of clothing that we had packed in our checked-in luggage that was still stuck in Dubai.
After a nap we walked towards the metro and stopped at a Katsu restaurant as we wanted to try something different, and it was pretty good. For the price of 1300 yen each we got so much food/sake and left stuffed.
Fushimi Inari in the evening. Like Kodai-Ji, we would recommend visiting Fushimi Inari at night. Firstly, to help avoid the crowds (we got there around 9pm and there was hardly anybody there) and secondly as seeing it lit up at night is a nice change. It was however slightly creepy at night, especially as it was lightly raining. My partner started to get a bit scared once we saw the signs to be careful of the wild boar and monkeys haha. We didn’t make it to the top of Mt Inari as the rain started to get heavy but still very much enjoyed walking through the hundreds of tori gates, stopping off at the shrines and soaking up the history.
Steps: 23,686
Day 7
Today was a late start as even after 8 hours sleep the 25k plus steps a day was starting to catch up with us.
We took the metro to Shimogamo Shrine in north Kyoto. It was very peaceful and quiet however temple fatigue had definitely set in at this point. We then walked through Kyoto to the beginning of Philosophers path. We had seen on this sub that people recommend skipping it unless its Sakura season however we disagree. The path along the river is so pretty and atmospheric, along with the fish gently swimming along in the river.
Kyoto Hand Crafts Centre – if you have the money then this is a great place to pick up souvenirs.
Pre-booked Sushi Iwa for a 15 course Omakase. The food was amazing, but it came to an eye watering 28k yen each. The difference for our western palettes between mid-range sushi and exceptional sushi is negligible. Nonetheless it was a good experience and I’m glad that we did it.
Steps: 23,751
Day 8
Today was an empty day in terms of things we wanted to do, so used it to walk the city and explore.
We checked out the Nishiki market and ate various fried foods on sticks which were all pretty tasty. We then walked northwards, stopping for coffee before reaching the imperial palace. By this point we were very much bored of temples and structures of similar architecture, but we actually ended up enjoying walking the palace grounds and seeing the buildings more than we thought and would recommend it to those who find themselves in north Kyoto.
A leisurely walk back down towards downtown Kyoto, stopping off at a wicked standing soba joint. Forgotten the name but their curry soba was delicious.
Chao Chao gyozas (only veggie gyoza place we could find) for our evening meal before a night cap at the bar across the road before bed.
Steps: 23,304
Day 9
Shinkansen to Hiroshima arriving around 11am.
Checked into hostel and then went straight to the A-dome, peace memorial and museum. We thought the museum was very moving and captured the horror of the events that unfolded very well. A must see for sure.
Okonomiyaki at Okonomimura and then some vintage clothes shopping in Hondori.
Went back out for food in the evening and ended up getting Okonomiyaki again. This time it we enjoyed it a lot more than we did at lunch (probably because we got it covered in cheese). There are a few streets by Hiroshima station with lots of bars and restaurants on top of each other, much like Golden Gai in Shinjuku, however they are not super touristy and has a more laid-back feel to them.
We then went to some bars in the city centre. The best one we stumbled across was called Tropical Bar Revolucion. It was on the 8th floor and the smoking balcony overlooked the city. Plus, the beers in there tasted so good and I’m not sure why.
Steps: 23,299
Day 10
A hungover morning. Headed to the Hiroshima National Gardens. Going to some gardens is my go-to hangover activity as its low effort, relaxing, and feels productive. These gardens in particular were great and we really appreciated the signs explaining the history behind the space. Overall, we enjoyed this more than the national gardens in Shinjuku.
Public baths near Dobashi in the afternoon. If you’re feeling brave enough to get your kit off in front of 10s of strangers, then this is a good experience. Male and female baths are separate. Can’t go wrong for 400 yen.
Went for a drink at Bar Pretty and then realised the effect of golden week on trying to get a table walking into a restaurant. Walked around for about an hour with no success so settled for food from a department store food court. Sounds miserable but the food was pretty good for the price, and it was busy in there, so it still had an atmosphere.
Steps: 29,487
Day 11
Miyajima Day. Took the ferry to the island arriving at 10:30am. The Ryokan staff met us at the port and collected our bags to take back to the hotel.
Had a mooch around the port area before doing the hike up Mt Misen. The climb to the top on a hot day is not to be underestimated. Sweating buckets, but the route and the view from the top was amazing and one of the standout highlights of the whole trip.
After descending Mt Misen, we bought some beers, oysters and, ice cream and sat along the beach wall and chilled in the sun for a couple hours. The hotel staff then picked us up from the ferry terminal, we checked in and went straight to the Onsen for a couple hours before dinner. Dinner was a traditional kaiseki meal (with more courses than I can remember) served in the banquet hall with the other guests.
While the staff converted our retro ryokan room and set up the futons we had a few more beers before bed.
Steps: 20,803
Day 12
Today we had a chilled morning on the island, having a stroll and stopping for some coffees. We then took the ferry back to Hiroshima, stopping for Okonomiyaki one more time, before taking the shinkansen to Osaka.
Checked into our hostel near Namba and went out for a walk around 8pm. When looking for somewhere to eat we walked past a sign for a vegetarian Indian restaurant called Shama. After nearly two weeks of pure Japanese food we were craving some variety so decided to head in. Located on the basement floor of a particularly run down looking building the restaurant was not the most glamorous. Barely enough space for 10 people, it was hot in there. A constant stream of people was coming in and out of the restaurant and we were lucky enough to walk in when there were two spaces available. From sitting down at the table to receiving our food we waited just under an hour. This would be enough to put most people off but fuck me the food was good when it did finally arrive. We got a selection of 4 different curries, naan breads and samosa. We left stuffed. If you’re in the area this is definitely a place worth checking out.
Steps: 25,502
Day 13
Our first stop of the day was the Umeda Sky Building. Not suitable if you are scared of heights as the glass elevator made our stomachs drop slightly. The views were impressive but we thought the price was a bit steep at 1500 yen each.
We then spent the afternoon wondering about near Namba and Shinsujibashi dropping into shops and picking up some food.
For dinner we made a reservation for a Mexican restaurant near Dotonbori. Massive margheritas, nachos and enchiladas. The food was great, and it shows by how busy the place was still at 10pm. It had been open since the late 70’s with the décor to match and it had a great atmosphere.
Steps: 27,290
Day 14
Checked out Tsuruhashi and Korea Town. Loved the market – dimly lit maze of numerous food and clothing vendors. Stopped to have some Korean stew and pancakes and it was delicious. One of the best meals of the trip.
Shinsekai in the evening. What I can describe as the armpit of Osaka. We loved it. Dirty? Yes. Rowdy? Yes. Rough around the edges with a red light district to top it all off. We had Kushikatsu to finish the evening off. Fried stuff on a stick – of course it going to be tasty but it wasn’t exactly flavour town.
Steps: 23,777
Day 15
Took the train to Minoh and hiked up the trail to see the waterfall. Hike was easy in comparison to Mt Misen and the waterfall was very cool to see. Had a wonder around Minoh stopping for some lunch at a Ramen bar.
We went to the Team lab botanical gardens in the evening. It was very awe inspiring seeing all the installations lit up.
After sampling Japanese McDonalds (I had a burger where the buns were made out of rice) we went for some drinks at Zerro. We liked this bar a lot, the guys working there were very friendly and it had a good vibe.
We then sat and watched the skaters at triangle park with some beers from the konbini before going to see Dj Masda at Circus until around 4am. This area of Osaka was such a vibe and came back here a few times over our 6 days here. Overall, a very fun evening.
Steps: 26,130
Day 16
Woke up chronically hungover but powered on and went to see a baseball game. You’re allowed to bring food and drink into the stadium (as long as alcohol is in plastic/paper cups) so we grabbed some beers and snacks from family mart. We had no idea what was happening but the atmosphere was electric and we enjoyed getting pissed and cheering.
Had a nap and then went to Hafez for middle eastern food. The food was good but not amazing, nothing in comparison to my local middle eastern restaurant back home. Chilled around the Namba park/Big step area. Loved this area so much, we are big into street fashion and culture so this place really ticked some boxes. Lots of skaters and street wear stores concentrated around here. Got an early night watching Battle Royale back at the hostel.
Steps: 22,065
Day 17
Today we went to the Umeda area. Popped into some shopping centres and had Omurice for lunch. It was tasty but not something I will crave when back home. Good experience trying it though. We then walked through Yodoyobashi along the rivers and got gelato and sat in the rose garden. The sun was beating down and we enjoyed just chilling in the sun eating our ice cream.
Compufunk Records were holding a party in their store. Decent gaff with some very welcoming and kind people to party with until the early hours.
Steps: 21,267
Day 18
We reluctantly left Osaka for Hakone today. Very sad to go but onwards to the next adventure. Took the shinkansen to Odawara and then the Hakone Tozan Train to Gora. Checked into our Ryokan and relaxed in the Onsen for a few hours.
Went for a walk around Gora and had dinner at the Ryokan before watching Predator in bed.
Steps: 16,926
Day 19
Today we did the Hakone Loop, starting early in Gora.
Started with the Open-air museum and it was great. We loved the installation and ended up spending 3 hours slowly making our way round. Got some cool photos as well for the gram.
Ropeway to Lake Ashi. This was absolutely terrifying. You have to swap cable cars 3 times on the way over and the warnings of the service being suspended due to the wind was announced at each stop. I’m not going to ruin the surprise, but one section made me literally freeze in terror due to the winds outside so try to do it on a calm weather day.
We then took the pirate boat (bit underwhelming) across the Lake and stopped for some soba noodles and a wander around. Unfortunately it was way too cloudy to even get a chance at seeing Mt Fuji.
Train to Kamakura and checked into our super cute traditional hostel near the beach.
Dinner at an Izakaya from the hostel owners recommendation. Food great and beers slipped down a treat. First time I tried Yuzu Kosho as well – I’m now addicted to the stuff and literally cover all my food with it.
Steps: 19,512
Day 20
A slow start to the morning. Weather was pretty bad but we still managed to hit all the main sights in Kamakura. Big Buddha was a refreshing sight from the temples. Did some shopping up Komachi Dori. Highlight of the day was Hukokaji temple. It was so peaceful and zen in the rain with its very own matcha tea ceremony backdropped by bamboo forest. This turned out to be our second favourite temple/shrine we visited, just being beaten by Kodaji.
In the evening we went for Sushi at a conveyor belt place. Figured this would probably be my last Japanese sushi of the trip so devoured 7000 yen worth of sushi and beer. Went back to the hostel and invited some of the other guests to drink with us. The owner of the hostel had some bayberry homebrew, so we got stuck into that.
Steps: 20,494
Day 21
Enoshima Island is just a 25 min train from Kamakura. Started off the day by walking to the top of the island to get French toast and a beer with a lovely view across the bay. We then headed up the Sea candle to check out the observation deck, still the illusive Mt Fuji hides behind the clouds.
We then bought admission to the caves beneath the island which was pretty cool. I won’t ruin the surprise but there’s something waiting for you at the end of one of the caves.
Had an explore around the rockpools near the caves and took some cool photos. We then had a pizza with fish on which was pretty crazy. Walked around the island a little bit more and I picked up some more Japanese denim which wasn’t the cheapest but the quality of the trousers are great and will last me a lifetime.
Back to Tokyo in the evening.
Went for Izakaya around Asakusa and popped into a couple bars. One was called Not Suspicious and the whole bar was covered in handwritten notes by patrons. Very touristy but quite cool at the same time. Our favourite was a drawing of Mario saying It’s a Me Muthafucka.
Steps: 25,903
Day 22
First stop was Don Quiojte to pick up some Yuzu Kosho (if you know you know) and weird flavoured KitKats.
Kappabashi Dougu street to purchase a fine Japanese carbon stell Santoku. Honestly in love with this knife so much. The people at the store were very happy to hear exactly what I was looking for and even let me try before you buy on some daikon radish.
While in Asakusa I had to return to the place where I put the best thing in my mouth in Japan. Motenashi Kuroki. Switched it up this time and had their classic Shio ramen plus the duck rice as a side. Honestly this place is amazing, and you have to go there if you have time. They aren’t veggie/pescy friendly so my partner went for one last round of sushi round the corner. We met up at a massage chair parlour and spent 30 mins relaxing in the chairs.
We had a bright idea to watch the sunset one last time so headed over to the rooftop park on a department store in Shibuya. Sipping on an ice cold Kirin, the sun slowly dropped behind the distant mountains and we knew our trip had come to an end. How symbolic.
Flight at 11pm from Haneda.
Steps: 23,187
On reflection:
I honestly think this trip was almost perfect in terms of hitting our interests and travel style. There was a good balance of doing the typical first time visit to Japan sights and activities while still exploring and seeing what we came across in the moment.
It hard to pinpoint exact highlights of the trip as everywhere we visited had so much going for it in different ways. We loved the rugged and trendy vibe to Osaka, and I think this would be the city I would most want to live in for a considerable amount of time (If I had to choose). Miyajima was also stunning and a great overnight trip with the Ryokan experience. We also underestimated how much we would enjoy Kamakura with its laid-back surfer vibe and access to Enoshima Island.
One random memorable moment that has stuck with me was when we landed at Narita airport, we took the limo bus to Shinjuku. As the driver pulled away, all the staff at the station turned and bowed in unison. It felt so special to first observe a culture totally opposite to the one I grew up with and was at this point I knew I had embarked on the trip of a lifetime.
If I could go back and change something I would probably miss out Hakone and do an extra day in one of the major cities. This isn’t because we didn’t enjoy Hakone, but we feel like it’s a place that needs more time to soak in what’s going on around you (plus the weather was bad when we were there). This being said the Open-Air Museum was amazing and we enjoyed it more than the Teamlab botanical gardens so the trip up the mountains was worth it just for that.
So, how much did we spend per person (not inc flights)?
Accommodation - £765pp
Given that we spent a couple nights in Ryokans raising the average price slightly, we were pretty happy with the accommodation costs. We stayed in a mix of private room and shared dorm hostels and pretty much all of them were spot on. Travelling as a couple meant that anywhere with a private room split the price between 2. The only hostel we didn’t like was the one in Hiroshima, there wasn’t anything in particularly wrong with it, there was just a really bad vibe from the owner and other guests.
Transport - £344pp
This includes shinkansen to and from all the major cities as well as our suica top ups for metros and buses. Unless your itinerary is something like 3 days Tokyo, 2 days Osaka 2 days Kyoto then there really isn’t any point getting the JR pass now that the price has increased.
Activities – £280pp
It is hard to give an exact amount for activities and food as 1) I didn’t track what we spent our cash on and 2) my partner and I would take in turns paying for things like temple admission. That being said I’ve allocated 25% of the cash we spent to activities such as temple admission. Activities includes our baseball tickets plus club entries as well as temple and museum admissions etc.
Food – £962pp
As above, its hard to give an exact amount for food. On the whole we tried to eat cheap with possible, especially at the start of our trip. There were a few expensive meals peppered in plus we ate out twice a day towards the end of our trip as we realised we were under budget.
The total is a bit skewed as this includes all the alcohol we bought in bars as well as the konbini trips for beers and cigarettes. I estimate that booze accounts for around a third of the total per person. If you would like to do Japan on a budget, reducing the booze will make a big difference.
Shopping/Souvenirs/Gifts – £607 (just me)
We went hard with the shopping. We didn’t actually receive our checked in luggage until day 19 so we had to buy all new clothes and cosmetics. If this wasn’t the case, then I don’t think I would have spent so much (airline is comping us for the additional clothing bought anyway). I also bought a fairly expensive chef knife and Japanese denim pieces, plus lots of gifts for friends and family. Obviously, this number could theoretically 0 if you are on a serious budget and did no shopping but I really underestimated Japanese shopping, especially thrifting. Also, given our cheap choices when it came to accommodation we could afford to splurge. However just to note my partner spent less than half than I did on shopping.
Total: £2958 (582,628 yen at time of writing)
I kept within my budget of £3000. I definitely got a bit frivolous with the cash in the last few days or so, if being as careful as I was towards the start of the trip, I think the total would be closer to £2500.
Disappointments
Takoyaki. We thought it was going to be all about the octopus but were disappointed with our balls of sloppy goo surrounding tiny chewy pieces of octopus. We tried it twice and couldn’t get behind it. Sorry Takoyaki fans.
Arashiyama. Way too busy, especially around the main station and bamboo grove. If it’s the bamboo you are going to see, then Kodaji is a much better spot.
Dotonburi. Albeit we were there in golden week, and it was pretty busy. However, I get the feeling this area has fallen to the past its golden days title and has become a bit of a cash cow for places selling spiralised potatoes on a stick. The area around Namba park was a better option for us.
Tips
Konbini. Absolute life saver for snacks and drinks on the go. The food quality for a convenience store is higher than most other countries so we had no problem with grabbing a meal from one to help keep within our budget.
Don’t over pack – even though we didn’t get our checked in bags, I still packed light so had plenty of space to bring stuff back. Emirates give you your allowance by weight rather than number of baggage so we could check in additional bags on the way back.
Don’t be scared of hostels. If you don’t want to brave the shared dorms, then most hostels offer private rooms with just the shower and toilet shared. Obviously, it’s cheaper if there are two people sharing a room.
Don’t stress about cash. Most places take debit/credit card and if they don’t, you’re never more than 5 minutes from a konbini ATM.
For us, golden week didn’t seem that big of an issue. No problems booking shinkansen around GW. We spent most of GW in Osaka, as such it was going to be busy anyway so maybe we didn’t see much of a difference from normal numbers in the spring.
submitted by ConfidentLeg7645 to JapanTravel [link] [comments]
Hello everyone,
My partner (24F) and I (25M) returned home from our 3-week Japan trip last week and due to us using this sub a lot during our planning I thought it would be helpful for other current planners to upload a trip report.
Our main interests are Japanese traditions and history, street style/culture, and food so keep reading if these interests are mutual. Read to the bottom to see how much we spent plus some tips and disappointments.
Prelude
We were caught up in the madness at Dubai airport during our layover. Long story short; Airport (and the rest of Dubai) flooded and caused all the flights to be cancelled. What was meant to be a 5-hour layover turned into a torturous 36 hour wait. No staff to be seen, crowds of people arguing, fighting, and crying. We queued for 12 hours to get a new boarding pass for the next flight to Japan. We were meant to fly to Haneda but settled for Narita as we needed to get out of that place as soon as possible but still ended up missing our first day in Tokyo (should have had 5 days). We can’t complain too much as some of the people I spoke to on emirates were in the airport for up to 5 days before getting a flight back to their departure destination. Oh, and our baggage was missing with us only receiving our checked in bags on day 19. Cheers Emirates.
Day 1
Arrived in Shinjuku around midnight. We went straight to Don Quiojte to buy some replacement cosmetics and clothes. The combination of no good-quality sleep for 48 hours and the stimulating nature of the store was very intense! We then started to walk back towards the hostel and passed a Ichiran, so dropped in for some 2am ramen. Not the best ramen I’ve ever had but was still very good for the price.
Steps: 21,643 (includes some airport steps)
Day 2
Woke up and ate the free breakfast at the hostel (this turned out to be a really good money saver for the whole trip as we are not huge eaters in the morning anyway, but it was good to get something light in us before a long day walking). We then walked through the Shinjuku Gyoen Garden – saw some late blooming cheery blossoms and overall, it was a really beautiful botanical garden.
The next stop was Meji Shrine and a walk through Yoyogi park. The shrine was cool to see, especially as it was our first one in Japan. Saw a middle-aged man wearing denim hotpants so short that his balls were hanging out?!?!
Walked to Shibuya to see the scramble. This was cool but also felt it was a bit underwhelming at ground level but the view from Shibuya station walkway was wicked. Lunch was at a conveyor belt sushi place on the top floor of this department store right next to the scramble. This would be higher than average quality sushi in Europe, so it blew our minds that it was available on the top floor of a department store and for so cheap.
Shimokitazawa – We picked up some bargains at 2nd street and I treated myself some Japanese jeans from a small Demin shop called Bears. The guy in the shop was super helpful and friendly and even tailored the trousers to exactly my size.
In the evening, we first had a poke around Golden Gai and then headed towards Shibuya and stopped in a cool bar where the owner was mixing vinyl while he mixed your drinks (think it was called Q Bar).
We had previously bought tickets to a gig at Circus for one of my fav rappers who I’d been wanting to see for a while. Also really enjoyed seeing the local Japanese warm up acts. Stayed until 5am and then go the train straight to the Tsukiji outer fish market. Was there way too early and had to wait roughly an hour for thing to open. Went to chill by a bench for a bit and by the time we went back to the market it was rammed! Went to bed around 8:30am.
Steps: 32,159
Day 3
We woke up at 2:30pm, got ready, and headed to the Bunkyo civic centre for the free observation deck. We heard it wasn’t meant to be the best Tokyo skyline view but for a free attraction we thought it was very good! Jimbocho book town was also very cool to see. We had a peak into a couple adult movie/magazine stores where I don’t think the owner appreciated our presence as western tourists.
In the evening, we first went for Ramen at Motenashi Kuraki in Asakusa Bashi. Honestly probably the best Ramen I’ve had to date. I ordered the Black Pepper Shio special, and it blew my mind. Even though the staff didn’t speak English they were very accommodating for my partner who doesn’t eat meat (pescetarian but will brave a meaty broth).
We then had a stroll around Akihabara and played some dance mat games in the arcades before heading back for an earlyish night.
Steps: 28,680
Day 4
I couldn’t sleep so got up around 3am and did some admin stuff to try and get our bags back to us ASAP. Chatted to people in the hostel for a few hours.
We arrived at Senso-ji for around 8am. Wasn’t too busy at this time and the temple was impressive. Went for a coffee down the road and had a chill for about an hour before heading into Asakusa. Got admission to the Drum museum which was wicked. Only 400 yen each and had the whole place to ourselves to smack some big fucking drums and make as much noise as we wanted.
We then started to head towards Ueno but made a slight detour to Kappabashi Dougu street to peruse the Japanese chef knives and other cookware. Grabbed lunch from a 7/11 and went and sat in Ueno park which was super busy. There was some food market event on which loads of food stalls had set up. There was also a stage with some J-pop performers and people dressed as ninjas dancing in the crowd. Weird to say the least. By mid-afternoon we were pretty tired so headed back to the hostel for a nap.
In the evening, we headed down to Harajuku and stopped by Big Love records. My partner is really into vinyl, so this was definitely a highlight for her. She picked up Wu Tang 36 chambers in case you were wondering. We then went for food at Afuri as my partner wanted to try the Vegan ramen to which she said it was ok but nothing special. My cold dipping noodle dish was very tasty, however. We then stumbled across this vinyl listening bar called Bar Music on the 5th floor of this pokey building on the outskirts of Shibuya for a few drinks before bed. There was such a good vibe in there and the cocktails were super good for the price. If you’re looking for a romantic spot, then this is the place to go.
Steps: 31,818
Day 5
Today we headed to Kyoto on the shinkansen around midday after a slow morning chilling in and around the hostel and catching up on some sleep. Checked in to the hostel and had a walk around downtown Kyoto, stopping at 2nd Street to buy some more clothes.
In the evening, we headed to Kodai-Ji to see the shrine lit up at night. We couldn’t believe how few people were there as it was stunning and truly magical place to be at night. It also has a bamboo grove (much better than Arashiyama, see below). The bar for Kyoto shrines/temples had been set very high.
Walked down Pontocho alley and stopped at a yakitori restaurant which was just ok. We knew it was going to be average when we looked around the restaurant and it was just western tourists dining.
Steps: 25,255
Day 6
First thing in the morning we rented bikes and cycled across the city to Arashiyama. Parked the bikes at the train station and walked up through Arashiyama. We were expecting it to be busy but there were so many people it was almost impossible to move. Had a look around the bamboo grove and was slightly underwhelmed after our visit to Kodai-Ji so we took the tram and then bus up to Kosan-Ji. This was very much worth the 45-minute journey as there was only one other group there and the temple nestled between the trees overlooking the river was breath-taking. On the whole, Arashiyama was way too packed during peak times to enjoy and with everything else Kyoto has to offer we wouldn’t say it was a must see.
We then picked up the bikes from the train station and cycled back across Kyoto taking the long route to explore and get lost. Once we dropped off the bikes, we went for another explore and this time went into WeGo for more clothes shopping. At this point we’d pretty much matched the amount of clothing that we had packed in our checked-in luggage that was still stuck in Dubai.
After a nap we walked towards the metro and stopped at a Katsu restaurant as we wanted to try something different, and it was pretty good. For the price of 1300 yen each we got so much food/sake and left stuffed.
Fushimi Inari in the evening. Like Kodai-Ji, we would recommend visiting Fushimi Inari at night. Firstly, to help avoid the crowds (we got there around 9pm and there was hardly anybody there) and secondly as seeing it lit up at night is a nice change. It was however slightly creepy at night, especially as it was lightly raining. My partner started to get a bit scared once we saw the signs to be careful of the wild boar and monkeys haha. We didn’t make it to the top of Mt Inari as the rain started to get heavy but still very much enjoyed walking through the hundreds of tori gates, stopping off at the shrines and soaking up the history.
Steps: 23,686
Day 7
Today was a late start as even after 8 hours sleep the 25k plus steps a day was starting to catch up with us.
We took the metro to Shimogamo Shrine in north Kyoto. It was very peaceful and quiet however temple fatigue had definitely set in at this point. We then walked through Kyoto to the beginning of Philosophers path. We had seen on this sub that people recommend skipping it unless its Sakura season however we disagree. The path along the river is so pretty and atmospheric, along with the fish gently swimming along in the river.
Kyoto Hand Crafts Centre – if you have the money then this is a great place to pick up souvenirs.
Pre-booked Sushi Iwa for a 15 course Omakase. The food was amazing, but it came to an eye watering 28k yen each. The difference for our western palettes between mid-range sushi and exceptional sushi is negligible. Nonetheless it was a good experience and I’m glad that we did it.
Steps: 23,751
Day 8
Today was an empty day in terms of things we wanted to do, so used it to walk the city and explore.
We checked out the Nishiki market and ate various fried foods on sticks which were all pretty tasty. We then walked northwards, stopping for coffee before reaching the imperial palace. By this point we were very much bored of temples and structures of similar architecture, but we actually ended up enjoying walking the palace grounds and seeing the buildings more than we thought and would recommend it to those who find themselves in north Kyoto.
A leisurely walk back down towards downtown Kyoto, stopping off at a wicked standing soba joint. Forgotten the name but their curry soba was delicious.
Chao Chao gyozas (only veggie gyoza place we could find) for our evening meal before a night cap at the bar across the road before bed.
Steps: 23,304
Day 9
Shinkansen to Hiroshima arriving around 11am.
Checked into hostel and then went straight to the A-dome, peace memorial and museum. We thought the museum was very moving and captured the horror of the events that unfolded very well. A must see for sure.
Okonomiyaki at Okonomimura and then some vintage clothes shopping in Hondori.
Went back out for food in the evening and ended up getting Okonomiyaki again. This time it we enjoyed it a lot more than we did at lunch (probably because we got it covered in cheese). There are a few streets by Hiroshima station with lots of bars and restaurants on top of each other, much like Golden Gai in Shinjuku, however they are not super touristy and has a more laid-back feel to them.
We then went to some bars in the city centre. The best one we stumbled across was called Tropical Bar Revolucion. It was on the 8th floor and the smoking balcony overlooked the city. Plus, the beers in there tasted so good and I’m not sure why.
Steps: 23,299
Day 10
A hungover morning. Headed to the Hiroshima National Gardens. Going to some gardens is my go-to hangover activity as its low effort, relaxing, and feels productive. These gardens in particular were great and we really appreciated the signs explaining the history behind the space. Overall, we enjoyed this more than the national gardens in Shinjuku.
Public baths near Dobashi in the afternoon. If you’re feeling brave enough to get your kit off in front of 10s of strangers, then this is a good experience. Male and female baths are separate. Can’t go wrong for 400 yen.
Went for a drink at Bar Pretty and then realised the effect of golden week on trying to get a table walking into a restaurant. Walked around for about an hour with no success so settled for food from a department store food court. Sounds miserable but the food was pretty good for the price, and it was busy in there, so it still had an atmosphere.
Steps: 29,487
Day 11
Miyajima Day. Took the ferry to the island arriving at 10:30am. The Ryokan staff met us at the port and collected our bags to take back to the hotel.
Had a mooch around the port area before doing the hike up Mt Misen. The climb to the top on a hot day is not to be underestimated. Sweating buckets, but the route and the view from the top was amazing and one of the standout highlights of the whole trip.
After descending Mt Misen, we bought some beers, oysters and, ice cream and sat along the beach wall and chilled in the sun for a couple hours. The hotel staff then picked us up from the ferry terminal, we checked in and went straight to the Onsen for a couple hours before dinner. Dinner was a traditional kaiseki meal (with more courses than I can remember) served in the banquet hall with the other guests.
While the staff converted our retro ryokan room and set up the futons we had a few more beers before bed.
Steps: 20,803
Day 12
Today we had a chilled morning on the island, having a stroll and stopping for some coffees. We then took the ferry back to Hiroshima, stopping for Okonomiyaki one more time, before taking the shinkansen to Osaka.
Checked into our hostel near Namba and went out for a walk around 8pm. When looking for somewhere to eat we walked past a sign for a vegetarian Indian restaurant called Shama. After nearly two weeks of pure Japanese food we were craving some variety so decided to head in. Located on the basement floor of a particularly run down looking building the restaurant was not the most glamorous. Barely enough space for 10 people, it was hot in there. A constant stream of people was coming in and out of the restaurant and we were lucky enough to walk in when there were two spaces available. From sitting down at the table to receiving our food we waited just under an hour. This would be enough to put most people off but fuck me the food was good when it did finally arrive. We got a selection of 4 different curries, naan breads and samosa. We left stuffed. If you’re in the area this is definitely a place worth checking out.
Steps: 25,502
Day 13
Our first stop of the day was the Umeda Sky Building. Not suitable if you are scared of heights as the glass elevator made our stomachs drop slightly. The views were impressive but we thought the price was a bit steep at 1500 yen each.
We then spent the afternoon wondering about near Namba and Shinsujibashi dropping into shops and picking up some food.
For dinner we made a reservation for a Mexican restaurant near Dotonbori. Massive margheritas, nachos and enchiladas. The food was great, and it shows by how busy the place was still at 10pm. It had been open since the late 70’s with the décor to match and it had a great atmosphere.
Steps: 27,290
Day 14
Checked out Tsuruhashi and Korea Town. Loved the market – dimly lit maze of numerous food and clothing vendors. Stopped to have some Korean stew and pancakes and it was delicious. One of the best meals of the trip.
Shinsekai in the evening. What I can describe as the armpit of Osaka. We loved it. Dirty? Yes. Rowdy? Yes. Rough around the edges with a red light district to top it all off. We had Kushikatsu to finish the evening off. Fried stuff on a stick – of course it going to be tasty but it wasn’t exactly flavour town.
Steps: 23,777
Day 15
Took the train to Minoh and hiked up the trail to see the waterfall. Hike was easy in comparison to Mt Misen and the waterfall was very cool to see. Had a wonder around Minoh stopping for some lunch at a Ramen bar.
We went to the Team lab botanical gardens in the evening. It was very awe inspiring seeing all the installations lit up.
After sampling Japanese McDonalds (I had a burger where the buns were made out of rice) we went for some drinks at Zerro. We liked this bar a lot, the guys working there were very friendly and it had a good vibe.
We then sat and watched the skaters at triangle park with some beers from the konbini before going to see Dj Masda at Circus until around 4am. This area of Osaka was such a vibe and came back here a few times over our 6 days here. Overall, a very fun evening.
Steps: 26,130
Day 16
Woke up chronically hungover but powered on and went to see a baseball game. You’re allowed to bring food and drink into the stadium (as long as alcohol is in plastic/paper cups) so we grabbed some beers and snacks from family mart. We had no idea what was happening but the atmosphere was electric and we enjoyed getting pissed and cheering.
Had a nap and then went to Hafez for middle eastern food. The food was good but not amazing, nothing in comparison to my local middle eastern restaurant back home. Chilled around the Namba park/Big step area. Loved this area so much, we are big into street fashion and culture so this place really ticked some boxes. Lots of skaters and street wear stores concentrated around here. Got an early night watching Battle Royale back at the hostel.
Steps: 22,065
Day 17
Today we went to the Umeda area. Popped into some shopping centres and had Omurice for lunch. It was tasty but not something I will crave when back home. Good experience trying it though. We then walked through Yodoyobashi along the rivers and got gelato and sat in the rose garden. The sun was beating down and we enjoyed just chilling in the sun eating our ice cream.
Compufunk Records were holding a party in their store. Decent gaff with some very welcoming and kind people to party with until the early hours.
Steps: 21,267
Day 18
We reluctantly left Osaka for Hakone today. Very sad to go but onwards to the next adventure. Took the shinkansen to Odawara and then the Hakone Tozan Train to Gora. Checked into our Ryokan and relaxed in the Onsen for a few hours.
Went for a walk around Gora and had dinner at the Ryokan before watching Predator in bed.
Steps: 16,926
Day 19
Today we did the Hakone Loop, starting early in Gora.
Started with the Open-air museum and it was great. We loved the installation and ended up spending 3 hours slowly making our way round. Got some cool photos as well for the gram.
Ropeway to Lake Ashi. This was absolutely terrifying. You have to swap cable cars 3 times on the way over and the warnings of the service being suspended due to the wind was announced at each stop. I’m not going to ruin the surprise, but one section made me literally freeze in terror due to the winds outside so try to do it on a calm weather day.
We then took the pirate boat (bit underwhelming) across the Lake and stopped for some soba noodles and a wander around. Unfortunately it was way too cloudy to even get a chance at seeing Mt Fuji.
Train to Kamakura and checked into our super cute traditional hostel near the beach.
Dinner at an Izakaya from the hostel owners recommendation. Food great and beers slipped down a treat. First time I tried Yuzu Kosho as well – I’m now addicted to the stuff and literally cover all my food with it.
Steps: 19,512
Day 20
A slow start to the morning. Weather was pretty bad but we still managed to hit all the main sights in Kamakura. Big Buddha was a refreshing sight from the temples. Did some shopping up Komachi Dori. Highlight of the day was Hukokaji temple. It was so peaceful and zen in the rain with its very own matcha tea ceremony backdropped by bamboo forest. This turned out to be our second favourite temple/shrine we visited, just being beaten by Kodaji.
In the evening we went for Sushi at a conveyor belt place. Figured this would probably be my last Japanese sushi of the trip so devoured 7000 yen worth of sushi and beer. Went back to the hostel and invited some of the other guests to drink with us. The owner of the hostel had some bayberry homebrew, so we got stuck into that.
Steps: 20,494
Day 21
Enoshima Island is just a 25 min train from Kamakura. Started off the day by walking to the top of the island to get French toast and a beer with a lovely view across the bay. We then headed up the Sea candle to check out the observation deck, still the illusive Mt Fuji hides behind the clouds.
We then bought admission to the caves beneath the island which was pretty cool. I won’t ruin the surprise but there’s something waiting for you at the end of one of the caves.
Had an explore around the rockpools near the caves and took some cool photos. We then had a pizza with fish on which was pretty crazy. Walked around the island a little bit more and I picked up some more Japanese denim which wasn’t the cheapest but the quality of the trousers are great and will last me a lifetime.
Back to Tokyo in the evening.
Went for Izakaya around Asakusa and popped into a couple bars. One was called Not Suspicious and the whole bar was covered in handwritten notes by patrons. Very touristy but quite cool at the same time. Our favourite was a drawing of Mario saying It’s a Me Muthafucka.
Steps: 25,903
Day 22
First stop was Don Quiojte to pick up some Yuzu Kosho (if you know you know) and weird flavoured KitKats.
Kappabashi Dougu street to purchase a fine Japanese carbon stell Santoku. Honestly in love with this knife so much. The people at the store were very happy to hear exactly what I was looking for and even let me try before you buy on some daikon radish.
While in Asakusa I had to return to the place where I put the best thing in my mouth in Japan. Motenashi Kuroki. Switched it up this time and had their classic Shio ramen plus the duck rice as a side. Honestly this place is amazing, and you have to go there if you have time. They aren’t veggie/pescy friendly so my partner went for one last round of sushi round the corner. We met up at a massage chair parlour and spent 30 mins relaxing in the chairs.
We had a bright idea to watch the sunset one last time so headed over to the rooftop park on a department store in Shibuya. Sipping on an ice cold Kirin, the sun slowly dropped behind the distant mountains and we knew our trip had come to an end. How symbolic.
Flight at 11pm from Haneda.
Steps: 23,187
On reflection:
I honestly think this trip was almost perfect in terms of hitting our interests and travel style. There was a good balance of doing the typical first time visit to Japan sights and activities while still exploring and seeing what we came across in the moment.
It hard to pinpoint exact highlights of the trip as everywhere we visited had so much going for it in different ways. We loved the rugged and trendy vibe to Osaka, and I think this would be the city I would most want to live in for a considerable amount of time (If I had to choose). Miyajima was also stunning and a great overnight trip with the Ryokan experience. We also underestimated how much we would enjoy Kamakura with its laid-back surfer vibe and access to Enoshima Island.
One random memorable moment that has stuck with me was when we landed at Narita airport, we took the limo bus to Shinjuku. As the driver pulled away, all the staff at the station turned and bowed in unison. It felt so special to first observe a culture totally opposite to the one I grew up with and was at this point I knew I had embarked on the trip of a lifetime.
If I could go back and change something I would probably miss out Hakone and do an extra day in one of the major cities. This isn’t because we didn’t enjoy Hakone, but we feel like it’s a place that needs more time to soak in what’s going on around you (plus the weather was bad when we were there). This being said the Open-Air Museum was amazing and we enjoyed it more than the Teamlab botanical gardens so the trip up the mountains was worth it just for that.
So, how much did we spend per person (not inc flights)?
Accommodation - £765pp
Given that we spent a couple nights in Ryokans raising the average price slightly, we were pretty happy with the accommodation costs. We stayed in a mix of private room and shared dorm hostels and pretty much all of them were spot on. Travelling as a couple meant that anywhere with a private room split the price between 2. The only hostel we didn’t like was the one in Hiroshima, there wasn’t anything in particularly wrong with it, there was just a really bad vibe from the owner and other guests.
Transport - £344pp
This includes shinkansen to and from all the major cities as well as our suica top ups for metros and buses. Unless your itinerary is something like 3 days Tokyo, 2 days Osaka 2 days Kyoto then there really isn’t any point getting the JR pass now that the price has increased.
Activities – £280pp
It is hard to give an exact amount for activities and food as 1) I didn’t track what we spent our cash on and 2) my partner and I would take in turns paying for things like temple admission. That being said I’ve allocated 25% of the cash we spent to activities such as temple admission. Activities includes our baseball tickets plus club entries as well as temple and museum admissions etc.
Food – £962pp
As above, its hard to give an exact amount for food. On the whole we tried to eat cheap with possible, especially at the start of our trip. There were a few expensive meals peppered in plus we ate out twice a day towards the end of our trip as we realised we were under budget.
The total is a bit skewed as this includes all the alcohol we bought in bars as well as the konbini trips for beers and cigarettes. I estimate that booze accounts for around a third of the total per person. If you would like to do Japan on a budget, reducing the booze will make a big difference.
Shopping/Souvenirs/Gifts – £607 (just me)
We went hard with the shopping. We didn’t actually receive our checked in luggage until day 19 so we had to buy all new clothes and cosmetics. If this wasn’t the case, then I don’t think I would have spent so much (airline is comping us for the additional clothing bought anyway). I also bought a fairly expensive chef knife and Japanese denim pieces, plus lots of gifts for friends and family. Obviously, this number could theoretically 0 if you are on a serious budget and did no shopping but I really underestimated Japanese shopping, especially thrifting. Also, given our cheap choices when it came to accommodation we could afford to splurge. However just to note my partner spent less than half than I did on shopping.
Total: £2958 (582,628 yen at time of writing)
I kept within my budget of £3000. I definitely got a bit frivolous with the cash in the last few days or so, if being as careful as I was towards the start of the trip, I think the total would be closer to £2500.
Disappointments
Takoyaki. We thought it was going to be all about the octopus but were disappointed with our balls of sloppy goo surrounding tiny chewy pieces of octopus. We tried it twice and couldn’t get behind it. Sorry Takoyaki fans.
Arashiyama. Way too busy, especially around the main station and bamboo grove. If it’s the bamboo you are going to see, then Kodaji is a much better spot.
Dotonburi. Albeit we were there in golden week, and it was pretty busy. However, I get the feeling this area has fallen to the past its golden days title and has become a bit of a cash cow for places selling spiralised potatoes on a stick. The area around Namba park was a better option for us.
Tips
Konbini. Absolute life saver for snacks and drinks on the go. The food quality for a convenience store is higher than most other countries so we had no problem with grabbing a meal from one to help keep within our budget.
Don’t over pack – even though we didn’t get our checked in bags, I still packed light so had plenty of space to bring stuff back. Emirates give you your allowance by weight rather than number of baggage so we could check in additional bags on the way back.
Don’t be scared of hostels. If you don’t want to brave the shared dorms, then most hostels offer private rooms with just the shower and toilet shared. Obviously, it’s cheaper if there are two people sharing a room.
Don’t stress about cash. Most places take debit/credit card and if they don’t, you’re never more than 5 minutes from a konbini ATM.
For us, golden week didn’t seem that big of an issue. No problems booking shinkansen around GW. We spent most of GW in Osaka, as such it was going to be busy anyway so maybe we didn’t see much of a difference from normal numbers in the spring.
2024.05.14 21:56 AftertheCoffee Get gone! Goodnight!
8 garbage bags of clothes, shoes, bags, artificial flowers, fabric, and yarn. 2/3 full for weight. BYE. (and half a dozen coats went to the dry cleaning coat drive!)
5 boxes half the size of a ream of paper, filled with books. Good riddance, field I never want to study again and books I didn't like!
Weeded a bunch of other things I need "approval" to get rid of but they're someone else's problem now.
Now to start using up craft supplies and wearing through clothes. And to planning a future!
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5 boxes half the size of a ream of paper, filled with books. Good riddance, field I never want to study again and books I didn't like!
Weeded a bunch of other things I need "approval" to get rid of but they're someone else's problem now.
Now to start using up craft supplies and wearing through clothes. And to planning a future!
2024.05.14 21:53 Aginagala WWF Wrestlemania 13 Review
Welcome back to my running series of WWF PPV Reviews from a ‘blind’ perspective (I have no idea what’s going to happen; the results, the feuds or how good any of the matches will be). I have always heard stories of the attitude era and golden age but never watched it myself so I set myself to watching every single PPV event chronologically. I am also watching Wrestling Bios ‘reliving the war’ series to keep me updated inbetween the events with the feuds, and to get excited about upcoming matches.
Before I review the matches, based on the past few episodes of raw and last PPVs I’ll let you know, going into the event, which match I’m most excited for and which feud I’m most excited to see.
Is it even a question? Even though I haven’t watched wwf during this era I’ve heard stories of how fantastic Austin vs Bret hart at WM13 is, feud and match wise this is my most hyped match of the night.
WWF Wrestlemania 13 1997 Review
Four way Tag Team Elimination Match 1.75/5
Rocky Maivia vs Sultan 1.75/5
HHH vs Goldust 2.5/5
Vader & Mankind vs Owen Hart & Bulldog 2.5/5
Stone Cold vs Bret Hart 6/5
Nation of Domination vs LOD & Johnson 3/5
Undertaker vs Sycho sid 1.5/5
In the opener of the match I thought it was just an 8 man slug fest will pinfalls to eliminate each person as they all just start beating the sh*t out of each other but then they go back to the usual tag team corners, a little disappointing but let’s see what this match has got.
The godwins are growing on me… just a bit, not very much but a bit; spitting on people, dancin around like mad men they’re an okay watch from time to time I won’t lie. What happened to lafon and furnas in this match though? Did they just disappear? It felt like a blink and you’ll miss it I swear they didn’t even get in the match but maybe I’m crazy. In terms of an opener with tag teams this was an okay match it wasn’t anything special but it did its job. The headbangers did some cool aerial moves, trying to prove themselves was good to see but not too much to say. It was a little messy with teams literally eliminating themselves, but nothing botched.
It feels like there’s been next to no build up to this sultan rocky match, it was just thrown together as, in terms of main attractions, the wwf was still pretty thin.
The match gets going and rocky is firing on all four cylinders tonight, he’s improved extremely quickly from his first match, show boating, over hyping the smallest of moves he’s getting exciting to watch. The same however can’t really be said about sultan, as soon as he gets control the match really slows down and gets pretty boring (holding a chin lock for all eternity). Rock gets back in control and here we go, he’s really feeling it tonight and his moves are looking really clean, especially his punch exchanges. This match wasn’t really anything too special but it’s great to see Rocky starting to warm up in the WWF. Sultan and sheik assault Rocky after the match and oh my god the splash from the top rope looked so painful for Rocky 💀. Then Rocky’s dad comes out to help and we get a great crowed pop after rock and his dad both slam the iron sheik, this was actually a really cool moment; father and son in the ring. The crowd still isn’t behind Rocky all that much yet still, which is kinda surprising as his wrestling is good to watch but I suppose his character itself is a little bland.
Chyna and HHH come to the ring and the camera pans to a couple of fans signs “HHH + CHYNA WHO HAS THE WILLY” which were f***ing hilarious, the public is always on point. It’s also insane how massive Chyna is here, she actually looks bigger than triple H. You would not wanna walk past her down a dark alley.
Goldust and HHH actually had a really good match, everything they did looked really clean, it was fast paced, good wrestling shown and an okay feud to fuel the fire between them. This is the best I’ve seen Goldust in a while and HHH is really building his repertoire of moves up; They had some great chemistry as well and the crowd starts getting into the match towards the end, a stark contrast to previous events where it would almost be silence until the main event. The match ends with marlena being shoved into Chyna and being literally tossed around like a rag doll I’m surprised her head didn’t come off, triple H hits a pedigree and it’s 1 2 3 goodnight Goldust. There wasn’t anything crazy but I enjoyed watching this match, well paced, good physical moments including Goldust going face first from the top rope into the side of the ring which looked really good.
Mankind and Vader REALLY work as a concept for a team in the WWF during this era for me, very intimidating but also two great entertaining wrestlers. Mix them with Owen hart and bulldog and you’ve got a great match on your hands… right? Well turns out maybe not. The two teams didn’t particularly click well as they were both heel teams with no baby face. This being said they still put on a good show (my god bulldog is incredibly strong to hold mankind up like he did and then do the same to Vader!?) but it wasn’t anywhere near as good as it should’ve been on paper. That finish as well? Why… I don’t know why they’d book that finish in a wrestlemania event, a double count out? 😴. I still think it had its good moments and I did enjoy watching it but like I say it wasn’t nearly as good as it should’ve been.
Now… I’ve heard so much about this match with stone cold and Bret hart at WM13, so I did have high expectations going in, and with a fantastic build up, an iconic series of promos from either side I was hyped I was ready willing and able to sit back and enjoy whatever I was about to see.
I gotta say it exceeded every single expectation I had. The crowd from the first punch to the end submission was absolutely electric, they ate up every single second of this match and I can’t blame them it was awesome!!! This is now in my top 5 matches of all time, maybe even top 3, it had everything I could’ve asked for. No interference from anyone else no weird ending no stupid sh*t going on just two legends having a full on war at the biggest wrestling event of the year. I also love how Austin never tapped and literally passed out from the pain which was a really good booking choice to keep his character still looking really strong. We had blood we had chairs we had ring bells and fighting in the crowd I’m gushing about this match. It was perfectly paced as well even when it ‘slowed down’ it was entertaining. Some iconic images of stone cold in the shooting star press, face covered in blood. Absolutely flawless match and the best match I’ve seen so far in this era. The crowd ends up backing Steve Austin for his efforts and because Bret decided to continue the assault after the bell, finally hearing that deafening ‘Austin’ chant throughout the stadium was really cool. I can’t say enough, if you haven’t seen this match go and watch it right this second you’re in for a massive treat. And this match gets its own 6/5 rating which I think I’ll introduce for matches that are all time legendary matches, in my opinion, and they aren’t gunna come out often but I have to, the whole thing was simply in its own league. WOWOW!
I’m just finding it hard to put into words how entertaining this was I was glued to the screen. A brutal submission when Bret Hart is pulling Steve’s leg off almost outside the ring and Steve is in the ring had me wincing. Also Austin’s selling, and his hype between shots shouting at Bret and giving him the double trouble with his hands it’s all just so iconic, this match must truly have cemented Austin as a main eventer going forward.
This whole match just screamed Attitude era style match and I seriously believe this must have been extremely influential on the wwf going into the coming years. Having seen Austin’s matches in the future I have to say this has got to be one of if not his best technical wrestling match of all time, I can see both wrestlers being even bigger stars after this match it was that good. Top 3 all time favourite matches, wow, well done to both of them for this. Experiencing this for the first time was magical I can’t imagine watching it live or being there, I’m very jealous. It’s currently a Monday evening and I was shouting and on my feet and as I write this I’m pacing back and forth with glee. I’m gunna have to take a break before the next match 😂.
It’s a shame that hart vs Austin wasn’t the main event because there’s absolutely no way anyone could upstage up to the match we’ve just seen, but I’ll try to go into the next couple of matches not comparing it to the previous one.
The LOD vs NOD match was absolute chaos I was literally laughing because it was so fun to watch, I had no clue what was going on there was so much to look at and once again this was another attitude era style match. It was pretty entertaining. It felt a little experimental and I would’ve liked to have seen at least a little bit of wrestling but during the whole bout there was maybe 3 or 4 moves that weren’t hitting each other with trash cans, literally hanging each other with nooses, freezing with fire extinguisher it was nuts.
We’re really feeling the influence of ECW in this match and it was great to hear the crowd so alive and enjoying it, they were probably riding the high of the legendary match we’d just seen as well as me. This was the first time seeing LOD for me and it was great, the reminded me of the Dudley boyz which are my second favourite tag team of all time. But seeing weapons finally introduced into the wwf was amazing and I’m super excited to see future brawls I think this is all taking a huge leap in the right direction for making mid card matches more enjoyable. Post match LOD hits a double flying closeline and on two NOD members and it was a decently booked bout. Not the best but good fun.
Shawn Michaels makes his way to the ring and like him or not it’s always great to see Shawn at wrestlemania, and here we go I’m ready for a great main event, obviously knowing the streak I know the outcome but I’m excited to see what the two monsters of the WWF can do in the ring. Side note, it’s really cool seeing undertaker come to the ring in his vintage attire.
Bret hart comes to the ring just as the match is about to get underway to fully engage with his heel turn in the WWF and I think it felt… a little bit out of place but he gets hit with a power-bomb to the applause of the audience which was pretty satisfying. Let’s get into this massive main event match, and oh boy… the main event.
I was majorly disappointed at this main event especially after the matches we’d just seen it just did not hit at all for me. It never felt like it really got going even in the last part with undertaker kicking out of a tombstone piledriver to a big crowd pop… it just didn’t feel like a main event.
Dont get me wrong Sid’s character is cool and he plays it well but he just cannot perform on the big stage with the big players of the business. I don’t know how you can book such a perfect match like Bret and Austin and then have this as the main event. Bret shouldn’t have interfered either the undertaker did not need it at all. The coolest part of this match was the undertakers iconic celebration afterwards. Please don’t let Sid main event again, he had a great push and was fun to watch but he just can’t do these matches when the time calls for something of this magnitude. Very disappointing, very slow match, and I won’t lie probably the worst main event I’ve seen on my journey through this era. I also looked it up and apparently sid literally sh*t his pants during this match? I’d love to know if that’s true or not. But yeah that’s all I really have to say about this one, not much happened and there was an extremely tedious segment in the middle of the match where sid was going to the second ring rope and dropping a double fist on undertaker which seemed to go on for so long and it was just boring.
Overall the event was pretty decent but the main event really let it down. I won’t let that sour how amazing Bret vs Austin was though, they truly carried this event and elevated it majorly and it’s worth watching even if just for that one match. I enjoyed most of the mid card alongside that as well but with all the build up to such a let down, actually think the main event was the worst match of the night, and that’s coming from a massive undertaker fan.
Overall rating 3.25/5
submitted by Aginagala to WWE [link] [comments]
Before I review the matches, based on the past few episodes of raw and last PPVs I’ll let you know, going into the event, which match I’m most excited for and which feud I’m most excited to see.
Is it even a question? Even though I haven’t watched wwf during this era I’ve heard stories of how fantastic Austin vs Bret hart at WM13 is, feud and match wise this is my most hyped match of the night.
WWF Wrestlemania 13 1997 Review
Four way Tag Team Elimination Match 1.75/5
Rocky Maivia vs Sultan 1.75/5
HHH vs Goldust 2.5/5
Vader & Mankind vs Owen Hart & Bulldog 2.5/5
Stone Cold vs Bret Hart 6/5
Nation of Domination vs LOD & Johnson 3/5
Undertaker vs Sycho sid 1.5/5
In the opener of the match I thought it was just an 8 man slug fest will pinfalls to eliminate each person as they all just start beating the sh*t out of each other but then they go back to the usual tag team corners, a little disappointing but let’s see what this match has got.
The godwins are growing on me… just a bit, not very much but a bit; spitting on people, dancin around like mad men they’re an okay watch from time to time I won’t lie. What happened to lafon and furnas in this match though? Did they just disappear? It felt like a blink and you’ll miss it I swear they didn’t even get in the match but maybe I’m crazy. In terms of an opener with tag teams this was an okay match it wasn’t anything special but it did its job. The headbangers did some cool aerial moves, trying to prove themselves was good to see but not too much to say. It was a little messy with teams literally eliminating themselves, but nothing botched.
It feels like there’s been next to no build up to this sultan rocky match, it was just thrown together as, in terms of main attractions, the wwf was still pretty thin.
The match gets going and rocky is firing on all four cylinders tonight, he’s improved extremely quickly from his first match, show boating, over hyping the smallest of moves he’s getting exciting to watch. The same however can’t really be said about sultan, as soon as he gets control the match really slows down and gets pretty boring (holding a chin lock for all eternity). Rock gets back in control and here we go, he’s really feeling it tonight and his moves are looking really clean, especially his punch exchanges. This match wasn’t really anything too special but it’s great to see Rocky starting to warm up in the WWF. Sultan and sheik assault Rocky after the match and oh my god the splash from the top rope looked so painful for Rocky 💀. Then Rocky’s dad comes out to help and we get a great crowed pop after rock and his dad both slam the iron sheik, this was actually a really cool moment; father and son in the ring. The crowd still isn’t behind Rocky all that much yet still, which is kinda surprising as his wrestling is good to watch but I suppose his character itself is a little bland.
Chyna and HHH come to the ring and the camera pans to a couple of fans signs “HHH + CHYNA WHO HAS THE WILLY” which were f***ing hilarious, the public is always on point. It’s also insane how massive Chyna is here, she actually looks bigger than triple H. You would not wanna walk past her down a dark alley.
Goldust and HHH actually had a really good match, everything they did looked really clean, it was fast paced, good wrestling shown and an okay feud to fuel the fire between them. This is the best I’ve seen Goldust in a while and HHH is really building his repertoire of moves up; They had some great chemistry as well and the crowd starts getting into the match towards the end, a stark contrast to previous events where it would almost be silence until the main event. The match ends with marlena being shoved into Chyna and being literally tossed around like a rag doll I’m surprised her head didn’t come off, triple H hits a pedigree and it’s 1 2 3 goodnight Goldust. There wasn’t anything crazy but I enjoyed watching this match, well paced, good physical moments including Goldust going face first from the top rope into the side of the ring which looked really good.
Mankind and Vader REALLY work as a concept for a team in the WWF during this era for me, very intimidating but also two great entertaining wrestlers. Mix them with Owen hart and bulldog and you’ve got a great match on your hands… right? Well turns out maybe not. The two teams didn’t particularly click well as they were both heel teams with no baby face. This being said they still put on a good show (my god bulldog is incredibly strong to hold mankind up like he did and then do the same to Vader!?) but it wasn’t anywhere near as good as it should’ve been on paper. That finish as well? Why… I don’t know why they’d book that finish in a wrestlemania event, a double count out? 😴. I still think it had its good moments and I did enjoy watching it but like I say it wasn’t nearly as good as it should’ve been.
Now… I’ve heard so much about this match with stone cold and Bret hart at WM13, so I did have high expectations going in, and with a fantastic build up, an iconic series of promos from either side I was hyped I was ready willing and able to sit back and enjoy whatever I was about to see.
I gotta say it exceeded every single expectation I had. The crowd from the first punch to the end submission was absolutely electric, they ate up every single second of this match and I can’t blame them it was awesome!!! This is now in my top 5 matches of all time, maybe even top 3, it had everything I could’ve asked for. No interference from anyone else no weird ending no stupid sh*t going on just two legends having a full on war at the biggest wrestling event of the year. I also love how Austin never tapped and literally passed out from the pain which was a really good booking choice to keep his character still looking really strong. We had blood we had chairs we had ring bells and fighting in the crowd I’m gushing about this match. It was perfectly paced as well even when it ‘slowed down’ it was entertaining. Some iconic images of stone cold in the shooting star press, face covered in blood. Absolutely flawless match and the best match I’ve seen so far in this era. The crowd ends up backing Steve Austin for his efforts and because Bret decided to continue the assault after the bell, finally hearing that deafening ‘Austin’ chant throughout the stadium was really cool. I can’t say enough, if you haven’t seen this match go and watch it right this second you’re in for a massive treat. And this match gets its own 6/5 rating which I think I’ll introduce for matches that are all time legendary matches, in my opinion, and they aren’t gunna come out often but I have to, the whole thing was simply in its own league. WOWOW!
I’m just finding it hard to put into words how entertaining this was I was glued to the screen. A brutal submission when Bret Hart is pulling Steve’s leg off almost outside the ring and Steve is in the ring had me wincing. Also Austin’s selling, and his hype between shots shouting at Bret and giving him the double trouble with his hands it’s all just so iconic, this match must truly have cemented Austin as a main eventer going forward.
This whole match just screamed Attitude era style match and I seriously believe this must have been extremely influential on the wwf going into the coming years. Having seen Austin’s matches in the future I have to say this has got to be one of if not his best technical wrestling match of all time, I can see both wrestlers being even bigger stars after this match it was that good. Top 3 all time favourite matches, wow, well done to both of them for this. Experiencing this for the first time was magical I can’t imagine watching it live or being there, I’m very jealous. It’s currently a Monday evening and I was shouting and on my feet and as I write this I’m pacing back and forth with glee. I’m gunna have to take a break before the next match 😂.
It’s a shame that hart vs Austin wasn’t the main event because there’s absolutely no way anyone could upstage up to the match we’ve just seen, but I’ll try to go into the next couple of matches not comparing it to the previous one.
The LOD vs NOD match was absolute chaos I was literally laughing because it was so fun to watch, I had no clue what was going on there was so much to look at and once again this was another attitude era style match. It was pretty entertaining. It felt a little experimental and I would’ve liked to have seen at least a little bit of wrestling but during the whole bout there was maybe 3 or 4 moves that weren’t hitting each other with trash cans, literally hanging each other with nooses, freezing with fire extinguisher it was nuts.
We’re really feeling the influence of ECW in this match and it was great to hear the crowd so alive and enjoying it, they were probably riding the high of the legendary match we’d just seen as well as me. This was the first time seeing LOD for me and it was great, the reminded me of the Dudley boyz which are my second favourite tag team of all time. But seeing weapons finally introduced into the wwf was amazing and I’m super excited to see future brawls I think this is all taking a huge leap in the right direction for making mid card matches more enjoyable. Post match LOD hits a double flying closeline and on two NOD members and it was a decently booked bout. Not the best but good fun.
Shawn Michaels makes his way to the ring and like him or not it’s always great to see Shawn at wrestlemania, and here we go I’m ready for a great main event, obviously knowing the streak I know the outcome but I’m excited to see what the two monsters of the WWF can do in the ring. Side note, it’s really cool seeing undertaker come to the ring in his vintage attire.
Bret hart comes to the ring just as the match is about to get underway to fully engage with his heel turn in the WWF and I think it felt… a little bit out of place but he gets hit with a power-bomb to the applause of the audience which was pretty satisfying. Let’s get into this massive main event match, and oh boy… the main event.
I was majorly disappointed at this main event especially after the matches we’d just seen it just did not hit at all for me. It never felt like it really got going even in the last part with undertaker kicking out of a tombstone piledriver to a big crowd pop… it just didn’t feel like a main event.
Dont get me wrong Sid’s character is cool and he plays it well but he just cannot perform on the big stage with the big players of the business. I don’t know how you can book such a perfect match like Bret and Austin and then have this as the main event. Bret shouldn’t have interfered either the undertaker did not need it at all. The coolest part of this match was the undertakers iconic celebration afterwards. Please don’t let Sid main event again, he had a great push and was fun to watch but he just can’t do these matches when the time calls for something of this magnitude. Very disappointing, very slow match, and I won’t lie probably the worst main event I’ve seen on my journey through this era. I also looked it up and apparently sid literally sh*t his pants during this match? I’d love to know if that’s true or not. But yeah that’s all I really have to say about this one, not much happened and there was an extremely tedious segment in the middle of the match where sid was going to the second ring rope and dropping a double fist on undertaker which seemed to go on for so long and it was just boring.
Overall the event was pretty decent but the main event really let it down. I won’t let that sour how amazing Bret vs Austin was though, they truly carried this event and elevated it majorly and it’s worth watching even if just for that one match. I enjoyed most of the mid card alongside that as well but with all the build up to such a let down, actually think the main event was the worst match of the night, and that’s coming from a massive undertaker fan.
Overall rating 3.25/5
2024.05.14 19:54 boathouse_floats Meme Stocks On the Rise - Real Wealth Being Made - Boomer FOMO Inbound
 | Here's the deal. submitted by boathouse_floats to memecoins [link] [comments] There's a lot of chatter about the return of meme stocks and I'm sure you've all seen GME and AMC charts from today. Fucking rockets... but lets talk about meme projects and why I think there is going to be a brand new set of meme millionaires born from the meme action we're seeing today. (I'll save you some time if you don't feel like reading... they'll all be in KENDU). As you all know, back in the good ol' days of 2021 when we were all face humping masks and rotting in our houses, some real fun was had and a lot of "New Money" millionaires were born. Some of these were from meme stocks, but a lot of people made fat bags on meme projects which they carry with them to this day. First in Jan/Feb $DOG E pumped. Following this, $SHIB ($KENDU's Chad in Arms) pumped. These projects lost a bit off the top, but have sustained multi-billion dollar market caps to this day. But could they have done it on their own? Was this all just coincidence? Were market conditions so different that these pumps were just a factor of people being stuck at home with nothing better to do than sit there, thumb in ass, trading memes? Science says NAY!! Please bear in mind that I'm wearing a helmet, which might have restricted some of the blood flow to my brain. This is NFA and you should DYOR... but I'm all in. To prove my point, I am referencing the paper "The connectedness between meme tokens, meme stocks, and other asset classes: Evidence from a quantile connectedness approach" by Yousaf et al. from 2022. Please note that I only have access to the pre-print, so the peer-reviewed edition might be a little different, but I would muster a guess, not really. These authors are using data from 2020-2022, which includes data outside of the range of what I would consider the "hard" meme squeeze (Jan. 2021 and the few months following). Given the analysis from this paper was done using data from August 2020 to April 2021, I posit that the conclusions the authors draw, can and will apply to meme events outside of the infamous 2021 meme run which some might say is the primary reason meme projects squoze. The HUGE meme project runs we saw in SHIB and DOG E might have been born of the "Funny Money" era, but lock-down degeneracy isn't the end all when predicting price movements. The meat "Why, Butt?" I hear you ask. "Why do you bring this paper up?". Surely it can't be because you wanted to "prove" that meme projects can run outside of the golden age of meme pumps? Well dear Redditor... yes and no. I bring it up also because of the interesting point it mentions about how predictive certain market events are for similar market events in other assets. To do this, the authors use Quantile Connectedness (QC) to analyze Meme stocks, Meme projects, and some more traditional asset classes like USD, Treasuries and Gold. QC is a concept used in economics to measure the degree of interdependence (how connected things are) among different segments of financial markets. The method uses some fancy stats and math to do so, and the analysis done in this paper says some interesting things about the interplay between traditional assets, meme assets and meme pumps (summarized in the following screen grab). https://preview.redd.it/ct2y9qjdkf0d1.jpg?width=668&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=098c7aa633414af26bc8b33142e23575e7f6c1a2 Memes go brrrrrr... other things do too Yousaf, 2022 - The connectedness between meme tokens, meme stocks, and other asset classes: Evidence from a quantile connectedness approach. So... market events in the upper extreme quantile (or in laymen terms, extreme upwards market movements) in meme assets tend to cause spillover events into both meme assets and traditional financial assets. That's interesting... You know what we saw today? An extreme upward market movement. Specifically GME and AMC, which are both up over 100% (in after hours) from previous close. Second, and perhaps more of a bull case for me... the spillover events are even more well predicted by movement in meme stocks than they are by movement in BTC (please see the useful red circle in the screen-grab below). Higher number = better prediction of spillover event. So, SO often, I hear people predicting runs in the smaller meme projects based strictly on what BTC is expected to do. But it turns out, there's an even better predictor!!! Meme stocks! Please also note: The authors state "All meme assets are highly positively skewed, which reflects their price surges during short squeezing periods." Pretty sure this means, green begets more green for these spillover events. The spillover effects from extreme moves in GME, AMC, and BTC as they relate to DOG E and SHIB. https://preview.redd.it/ovfnecrekf0d1.jpg?width=1480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f80466578a455e997a9f817d049b22d4d1689f15 All this brings me to my last point. What does this all mean for meme projects and for $KENDU? I hear you thinking "Why not just choose SHIB or DOG E, Butt?" and I get it... safe bets that will for sure "moon". Yes... "moon" :eye roll: These projects are fine and good if you want to just grow the bags you've been holding and just keep, HODLing... but I know the real reason you all are playing meme projects, and it's that sweet, sweet alpha. You don't want to see the 2x, or 3x that these bigger memes might fetch during the next run. You're looking to eat zeros... and the only way to do that is to get in early with a project that is going to FUCKING RUN! Enter KENDU INU... it's the project that "Can do" Arguably, the most important fundamental for a meme project is the hype that it generates and how infectious its energy is. Well, you're not going to find a more hype community with a more infectious can do attitude than the KENDU community. The TG is wild, memes are on point, new art being made ALL THE TIME, and so much love and support for every single member in the Kendu clan. Ignoring the fluffy feel good stuff though (NO DON'T DO THAT), what does this project really have going for it. I'm glad you asked.
https://preview.redd.it/b0emrzkgkf0d1.jpg?width=873&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a16c5b7c18fea419ccf0da30c1292a2d126dcfdd Screw these JEET ass meme projects. KENDU is the only play TLDR:
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2024.05.14 19:43 boathouse_floats Meme Stocks On the Rise - Real Wealth Being Made - Boomer FOMO Inbound
 | Here's the deal. submitted by boathouse_floats to TokenWallStreet [link] [comments] There's a lot of chatter about the return of meme stocks and I'm sure you've all seen GME and AMC charts from today. Fucking rockets... but lets talk about meme projects and why I think there is going to be a brand new set of meme millionaires born from the meme action we're seeing today. (I'll save you some time if you don't feel like reading... they'll all be in KENDU). As you all know, back in the good ol' days of 2021 when we were all face humping masks and rotting in our houses, some real fun was had and a lot of "New Money" millionaires were born. Some of these were from meme stocks, but a lot of people made fat bags on meme projects which they carry with them to this day. First in Jan/Feb $DOG E pumped. Following this, $SHIB ($KENDU's Chad in Arms) pumped. These projects lost a bit off the top, but have sustained multi-billion dollar market caps to this day. But could they have done it on their own? Was this all just coincidence? Were market conditions so different that these pumps were just a factor of people being stuck at home with nothing better to do than sit there, thumb in ass, trading memes? Science says NAY!! Please bear in mind that I'm wearing a helmet, which might have restricted some of the blood flow to my brain. This is NFA and you should DYOR... but I'm all in. To prove my point, I am referencing the paper "The connectedness between meme tokens, meme stocks, and other asset classes: Evidence from a quantile connectedness approach" by Yousaf et al. from 2022. Please note that I only have access to the pre-print, so the peer-reviewed edition might be a little different, but I would muster a guess, not really. These authors are using data from 2020-2022, which includes data outside of the range of what I would consider the "hard" meme squeeze (Jan. 2021 and the few months following). Given the analysis from this paper was done using data from August 2020 to April 2021, I posit that the conclusions the authors draw, can and will apply to meme events outside of the infamous 2021 meme run which some might say is the primary reason meme projects squoze. The HUGE meme project runs we saw in SHIB and DOG E might have been born of the "Funny Money" era, but lock-down degeneracy isn't the end all when predicting price movements. The meat "Why, Butt?" I hear you ask. "Why do you bring this paper up?". Surely it can't be because you wanted to "prove" that meme projects can run outside of the golden age of meme pumps? Well dear Redditor... yes and no. I bring it up also because of the interesting point it mentions about how predictive certain market events are for similar market events in other assets. To do this, the authors use Quantile Connectedness (QC) to analyze Meme stocks, Meme projects, and some more traditional asset classes like USD, Treasuries and Gold. QC is a concept used in economics to measure the degree of interdependence (how connected things are) among different segments of financial markets. The method uses some fancy stats and math to do so, and the analysis done in this paper says some interesting things about the interplay between traditional assets, meme assets and meme pumps. https://preview.redd.it/98fou369if0d1.jpg?width=668&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1cc6dd32821d50138f4cc0466b2dce8f4e182dc7 Yousaf, 2022 - The connectedness between meme tokens, meme stocks, and other asset classes: Evidence from a quantile connectedness approach. So... market events in the upper extreme quantile (or in laymen terms, extreme upwards market movements) in meme assets tend to cause spillover events into both meme assets and traditional financial assets. That's interesting... You know what we saw today? An extreme upward market movement. Specifically GME and AMC, which are both up over 100% (in after hours) from previous close. Second, and perhaps more of a bull case for me... the spillover events are even more well predicted by movement in meme stocks than they are by movement in BTC (please see the useful red circle in the screen-grab below). Higher number = better prediction of spillover event. So, SO often, I hear people predicting runs in the smaller meme projects based strictly on what BTC is expected to do. But it turns out, there's an even better predictor!!! Meme stocks! Please also note: The authors state "All meme assets are highly positively skewed, which reflects their price surges during short squeezing periods." Pretty sure this means, green begets more green for these spillover events. The spillover effects from extreme moves in GME, AMC, and BTC as they relate to DOGE and SHIB. https://preview.redd.it/i4arrdgcif0d1.jpg?width=1480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f5d9aa40c5b30fceb98050530ce0897c9abc8dba All this brings me to my last point. What does this all mean for meme projects and for $KENDU? I hear you thinking "Why not just choose SHIB or DOGE, Butt?" and I get it... safe bets that will for sure "moon". Yes... "moon" :eye roll: These projects are fine and good if you want to just grow the bags you've been holding and just keep, HODLing... but I know the real reason you all are playing meme projects, and it's that sweet, sweet alpha. You don't want to see the 2x, or 3x that these bigger memes might fetch during the next run. You're looking to eat zeros... and the only way to do that is to get in early with a project that is going to FUCKING RUN! Enter KENDU INU... it's the project that "Can do" Arguably, the most important fundamental for a meme project is the hype that it generates and how infectious its energy is. Well, you're not going to find a more hype community with a more infectious can do attitude than the KENDU community. The TG is wild, memes are on point, new art being made ALL THE TIME, and so much love and support for every single member in the Kendu clan. Ignoring the fluffy feel good stuff though (NO DON'T DO THAT), what does this project really have going for it. I'm glad you asked.
https://preview.redd.it/9hx6ts0eif0d1.jpg?width=873&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d896fdca50601ee956590ecd87e9446215c8113d Screw these JEET ass meme projects. KENDU is the only play! TLDR:
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2024.05.14 19:39 PhantasmagoriaLuna Phantasphere-Genocide Reigns Part 1
Genocide Reigns
(note: I'm an indie game developer making an action/horror title called Phantasphere. This story is a spin off set in the same universe)
Year 2480X Ryze County Police Department
He's coming. The ensuing panic spread like a virus infecting all present with symptoms of looming dread. Officers worked steadfast to prepare also taking what time remained to train the few combat hardened civilians whom had fled to the station earlier. If only they knew. This demon that presented itself as a man had led a string of senseless massacres across the country. Only recently had it begun to prioritize police stations and army bases as a means of breaking the will of civilians who knew they would be next. Officers from several counties across the states were transferred here for this last stand. This Genocide must not continue. Gracia checked her pistol. Some 20 bullets remained. "I can do this", she thought, "I have to". She had dealt with similar cases before. Some poor soul is overtaken by some inextricably evil force and makes it their life's work to propagate death. Gracia had killed quite a few already. Live arrests weren't always possible. Beyond saving, careful interrogations of the scarce live catches yielded a startling connection. These killers all alluded to a well of overwhelming hatred and despair that consumed them after making eye contact with...Pale, black eyed entities. Some type of demon? Ghost maybe? The idea seemed nonsensical, but there was evidence nonetheless that some outside force was using them to fulfill some unknown purpose. At the present time, all they could do was stop the killers after they had killed. It was always too late by then and more would appear randomly elsewhere. What good could be done here in an isolated station hoping to stop one guy out of possibly hundreds? "The guy we're waiting for is different from the others," detective Evans spoke from the center of a crowd nearby. Gracia moved in closer. "The others typically strike from the shadows, hide their faces behind masks, and prefer to get up close and personal with their victims. What we're dealing with is on a completely different scale. The trail of bloodshed this guy leaves is too difficult for the media to cover up. He loves the spectacle. Headlining the news. We can't keep using the burst pipeline excuse for 6 stations being destroyed in a row. We have to stop him before the world at large finds out. You wonder why we need so many people here? Its simple. We're gonna out-man this one man. He always attacks stations through the front door. Like other killers he's fast, strong- you know the usual, but he also uses guns." "What!", a voice rang out from the crowd. "They aren't supposed to do that!" another gasped. Officer Lary spoke with a cheesy grin" Ya tellin' me we just gotta deal with a regular ass gunman eh? That's a welcome change of pace init? Heck I'm too old to be running around being chased like I'm in some scary movie". The detective rebutted" You don't get it. He uses guns. Not a handgun, not rifles, not boom sticks, not rpgs, not knives not grenades but ALL of them. He uses guns. Plural. It'll take essentially an army to match his arsenal. He used to be a man named -redacted-, but in his pursuit of chaos he has become Genocide." A dark form manifests from the night outside the station. Genocide is coming.
Bang! something slams into the front door. Everyone freezes. Officer Tatum edges slowly to it, shockgun in hand. By no means lethal, the shockgun was lighter, easy to control, and could stun targets temporarily. If Genocide was here, Tatum could stun him and duck for cover leaving the station free to light him up like a Christmas tree. That was the plan they came up with. He got closer to the glass door and peered outside. He was met with hate filled bloodshot eyes framed by an unkempt beard and wild straggly hair. Tatum felt some relief. He knew the man outside. It was Jim Jimenez. Jim was a former drug dealer turned informant. He was found out and had to flee from his old life. He became homeless, hiding in plane sight. This allowed him safety at the cost of his mental health. Tatum knew the man, but those eyes were not his. Tatum blinked and saw that the look of malice had vanished. What he instead saw was a helpless, wounded man, bleeding from the right arm pleading for help. Tatum looked behind Jim, eyeing the empty lot. The coast seemingly clear Tatum unlocked the door and let Jim in. Jim had been roaming the town looking for shelter and tried squatting in an abandoned looking apartment complex. There he found that the building contained several murdered families some succumbing to gunshots but the majority having met their end to fire and suffocation. Jim had decided to make his way to the station to tell police what happened and met trouble on the way. He described getting stabbed by a man wearing a trench coat with long dark hair. Despite the injuries, Jim could move surprisingly well and seemed to ignore the pain. Jim insisted that the man had spared him on the condition he deliver a message. "What message?" Tatum asked. Jim beckoned him to come closer. Tatum leaned in and Jim whispered, "Tell them. Tell them that Genocide is coming closer." The following events were a blur. Jim had concealed the knife he was stabbed with. He stabbed Tatum 4 times in the chest and wrestled his shockgun away. Using Tatum as a shield, Jim engaged everyone in the lobby. Jim wasn't himself. He was stronger. He was faster. He was tactical. He would stun an officer in place only to stab them and use their as a body shield. No one could get a clear shot without hitting a colleague. Gracia watched the scene unfold. In minutes Jim had acquired a magnum from the holster of one of his victims. In seconds 3 officers had their heads exploded. The magnum rounds coated the walls red with those they hit and stained the clothes of those they missed. Gracia felt fear rising in her chest. She calmed herself and tried to think. She saw the bodies on the ground. The blood. She saw how dismissively Jim stepped over them. Like they were nothing. Like trash. She saw the man firing erratically into groups of people, not so much to kill but as to cause panic. That's it! As Gracia contemplated her next move it hit her. She was knocked backwards and landed on the ground. She weakly clutched her chest. Her breathing grew shallow. Jim mad his way deeper into the station. The officers were retreating from their standoff. Jim stepped over her body and saw red staining her uniform. Just another casualty. He moved on. At this point the civilians began panicking. Everyone gave up trying to save their allies and fired blindly at the madman. "Don't shoot the messenger," Jim laughed as he stripped his latest meat shield of an automatic rifle. Detective Evans took cover behind an overturned desk. To his left Larry struggled to light a cigar. "You still think this is a cakewalk?" Evans shouted firing 2 quick shots from his gun before ducking back down. Lary lost hold of his lighter and it clattered on the ground." Crap." He reached for it and looked in the corner of the room. A mirror. He looked at it for what seemed like ages and his smirk returned " Y'know that mex'n gal with the short hair. Where is she? I didn't see her get shot." Evans glanced a peak at Jim spraying lead in all directions. Behind him was a corpse. Evans blinked. It seemed to be getting closer. Its her. Gracia painstakingly inched her way into Jim's blind spot. She was roughly 6 feet away from him. Flanking him seemed like a brilliant idea but waiting idly by for the right moment as the people around her died filled her with anger. Worse still, she had to steal a blood soaked shirt from one of the deceased officers to keep up the facade. Inching ever so steadily she mad it within 3 feet of Jim. She reached behind her belt and unclipped a pair of handcuffs. Screams could be heard as more people were hit. Gracia couldn't wait any longer. Fluidly she got to her feet and rushed Jim. She kicked the back of his knee causing him to stumble as she put the handcuffs on him. Figuratively. The handcuffs were around Jim's neck. She yanked him back causing his gun to drop. "You don't know what you're doing." Jim spat. "We all need to accept it. The end of days is upon us. Death rides his horse through these forsaken lands. We must serve or be sacrificed in turn. Accept it!"He elbowed Gracia in the ribs causing her to let go. He spun around and lunged at her. She landed on her back, Jim steadily choking her. Gracia thought fast. She couldn't struggle. Jim was too strong. She delivered a precise chop to the center of Jim's neck which was exposed. Jim lurched back to catch his breath. A clean shot. A bullet pierced through Jim's back. Weakened, Gracia rolled him over and began punching him repeatedly using the handcuffs as brass knuckles. The sound of Jim's skull cracking echoed through the station. This would go on for nearly 20 seconds before Gracia stopped, checked his pulse, confirmed Jim was still alive, then finally put the cuffs on Jim's wrists.
Click. Bodies are wrapped and moved to a makeshift storage room. Click. The available weapons are gathered and redistributed. Click. Officers are assigned to sniping positions on neighboring buildings. Click. Police cruisers circle the lot outside. Click. In the holding cell, Jim opens his eyes. Click. Lary flicks his lighter. Click. Gracia sips coffee from a paper cup. Click. Shells hit the ground at the feet of Genocide. Click. Genocide walks outside a cafe and looks at the station in the distance. Click. Lary clicks his lighter.
"All ya'll gon' fall," Jim ranted." You can't drain the ocean. You can't put out the sun. Evil will always exist. That there Genocide is proof . I saw him. Saw myself within his eyes. Saw the evil in me that I could no longer try to hide. He taught me to embrace the darkness within. Its in all of us begging to be let out. Can you hear it!" Lary clicked his lighter and got up from his chair. He grabbed a cup of liquor from another officer mid sip and walked over to Jim. He doused it on Jim, the liquid stinging his open wounds. Jim yelped. Across the station, radios blurred to life. Several of their lookouts on the outside had been killed. "He's gon' get ya," Jim smiled imitating Lary's signature grin. "Genocide! Genocide! Genocide!" The other inmates saw the chance to irritate Lary and joined in all shouting in unison,"Ge-No-Cide! Ge-No-Cide! Ge-No-Cide!" The chanting grew louder. Unbearable. They invoked upon the name of the beast, and so it came.
Genocide is upon us. A wave of dread spread across the officers. They could feel its presence. Gracia knew the sensation. The awful aura that the other killers gave off. This was different. Far more oppressive. She struggled to breathe as the air got colder. Her instincts screamed for her to run. She could only imagine what the others were going through. Its time. Across the lot Genocide stood. A siren blared over the intercom. "Everyone get into positions!" Evans yelled. Wayne finished setting the last of the c4 near the station entrance. "That's the last of them. Have remote triggers set around all the major hallways. I'll be in the security room ready to pull the switch." Wayne acted as an explosives expert. His job was to detonate bombs placed throughout the station to slow down Genocide should it enter the building. He would stay in the security room, monitoring the cameras and giving real time updates on the officers' positions. From the holding cell, inmates chanted for Genocide. Lary got off his phone" That bastard mixed us up. How did we not notice?" Evans asked what he meant. Lary, dumbfounded, said that most of the town was already dead. Genocide had broken his usual pattern. He went on a killing spree across a defenseless town BEFORE attacking the police station. They had let everyone down. The people they swore to protect. This Genocide was a monster, but he was still a man. Capable of learning from his past actions. Planning. Adapting. It wasn't in his style to stealthily kill his victims or even use a silencer on any of his guns, but an exception had been made for tonight. An exception that would cost them. Gracia was stationed on the second floor. She peered out the window. Her heart skipped a beat. Two cruisers made slow donuts patrolling the lot and standing unmoving between them was a man all in black. Gracia called in to Wayne asking if he saw anything outside. Wayne said the monitors were all clear then checked again. He cursed. He noticed small details were off. The cameras showing the outside of the station were wrong. Sure they showed the same scenery and weather but cars passed by on screen too frequently for a dead town. Too many to make sense for the quarantine they had set in place. Wayne concluded that the cameras had been hacked. Different prerecorded footage was being shown on the live feed to misdirect them. Gracia saw the man look up at her. A light rain started to fall. The officers patrolling outside were contacted. From the holding cells, inmates called for genocide.
submitted by PhantasmagoriaLuna to DrCreepensVault [link] [comments]
(note: I'm an indie game developer making an action/horror title called Phantasphere. This story is a spin off set in the same universe)
Year 2480X Ryze County Police Department
He's coming. The ensuing panic spread like a virus infecting all present with symptoms of looming dread. Officers worked steadfast to prepare also taking what time remained to train the few combat hardened civilians whom had fled to the station earlier. If only they knew. This demon that presented itself as a man had led a string of senseless massacres across the country. Only recently had it begun to prioritize police stations and army bases as a means of breaking the will of civilians who knew they would be next. Officers from several counties across the states were transferred here for this last stand. This Genocide must not continue. Gracia checked her pistol. Some 20 bullets remained. "I can do this", she thought, "I have to". She had dealt with similar cases before. Some poor soul is overtaken by some inextricably evil force and makes it their life's work to propagate death. Gracia had killed quite a few already. Live arrests weren't always possible. Beyond saving, careful interrogations of the scarce live catches yielded a startling connection. These killers all alluded to a well of overwhelming hatred and despair that consumed them after making eye contact with...Pale, black eyed entities. Some type of demon? Ghost maybe? The idea seemed nonsensical, but there was evidence nonetheless that some outside force was using them to fulfill some unknown purpose. At the present time, all they could do was stop the killers after they had killed. It was always too late by then and more would appear randomly elsewhere. What good could be done here in an isolated station hoping to stop one guy out of possibly hundreds? "The guy we're waiting for is different from the others," detective Evans spoke from the center of a crowd nearby. Gracia moved in closer. "The others typically strike from the shadows, hide their faces behind masks, and prefer to get up close and personal with their victims. What we're dealing with is on a completely different scale. The trail of bloodshed this guy leaves is too difficult for the media to cover up. He loves the spectacle. Headlining the news. We can't keep using the burst pipeline excuse for 6 stations being destroyed in a row. We have to stop him before the world at large finds out. You wonder why we need so many people here? Its simple. We're gonna out-man this one man. He always attacks stations through the front door. Like other killers he's fast, strong- you know the usual, but he also uses guns." "What!", a voice rang out from the crowd. "They aren't supposed to do that!" another gasped. Officer Lary spoke with a cheesy grin" Ya tellin' me we just gotta deal with a regular ass gunman eh? That's a welcome change of pace init? Heck I'm too old to be running around being chased like I'm in some scary movie". The detective rebutted" You don't get it. He uses guns. Not a handgun, not rifles, not boom sticks, not rpgs, not knives not grenades but ALL of them. He uses guns. Plural. It'll take essentially an army to match his arsenal. He used to be a man named -redacted-, but in his pursuit of chaos he has become Genocide." A dark form manifests from the night outside the station. Genocide is coming.
Bang! something slams into the front door. Everyone freezes. Officer Tatum edges slowly to it, shockgun in hand. By no means lethal, the shockgun was lighter, easy to control, and could stun targets temporarily. If Genocide was here, Tatum could stun him and duck for cover leaving the station free to light him up like a Christmas tree. That was the plan they came up with. He got closer to the glass door and peered outside. He was met with hate filled bloodshot eyes framed by an unkempt beard and wild straggly hair. Tatum felt some relief. He knew the man outside. It was Jim Jimenez. Jim was a former drug dealer turned informant. He was found out and had to flee from his old life. He became homeless, hiding in plane sight. This allowed him safety at the cost of his mental health. Tatum knew the man, but those eyes were not his. Tatum blinked and saw that the look of malice had vanished. What he instead saw was a helpless, wounded man, bleeding from the right arm pleading for help. Tatum looked behind Jim, eyeing the empty lot. The coast seemingly clear Tatum unlocked the door and let Jim in. Jim had been roaming the town looking for shelter and tried squatting in an abandoned looking apartment complex. There he found that the building contained several murdered families some succumbing to gunshots but the majority having met their end to fire and suffocation. Jim had decided to make his way to the station to tell police what happened and met trouble on the way. He described getting stabbed by a man wearing a trench coat with long dark hair. Despite the injuries, Jim could move surprisingly well and seemed to ignore the pain. Jim insisted that the man had spared him on the condition he deliver a message. "What message?" Tatum asked. Jim beckoned him to come closer. Tatum leaned in and Jim whispered, "Tell them. Tell them that Genocide is coming closer." The following events were a blur. Jim had concealed the knife he was stabbed with. He stabbed Tatum 4 times in the chest and wrestled his shockgun away. Using Tatum as a shield, Jim engaged everyone in the lobby. Jim wasn't himself. He was stronger. He was faster. He was tactical. He would stun an officer in place only to stab them and use their as a body shield. No one could get a clear shot without hitting a colleague. Gracia watched the scene unfold. In minutes Jim had acquired a magnum from the holster of one of his victims. In seconds 3 officers had their heads exploded. The magnum rounds coated the walls red with those they hit and stained the clothes of those they missed. Gracia felt fear rising in her chest. She calmed herself and tried to think. She saw the bodies on the ground. The blood. She saw how dismissively Jim stepped over them. Like they were nothing. Like trash. She saw the man firing erratically into groups of people, not so much to kill but as to cause panic. That's it! As Gracia contemplated her next move it hit her. She was knocked backwards and landed on the ground. She weakly clutched her chest. Her breathing grew shallow. Jim mad his way deeper into the station. The officers were retreating from their standoff. Jim stepped over her body and saw red staining her uniform. Just another casualty. He moved on. At this point the civilians began panicking. Everyone gave up trying to save their allies and fired blindly at the madman. "Don't shoot the messenger," Jim laughed as he stripped his latest meat shield of an automatic rifle. Detective Evans took cover behind an overturned desk. To his left Larry struggled to light a cigar. "You still think this is a cakewalk?" Evans shouted firing 2 quick shots from his gun before ducking back down. Lary lost hold of his lighter and it clattered on the ground." Crap." He reached for it and looked in the corner of the room. A mirror. He looked at it for what seemed like ages and his smirk returned " Y'know that mex'n gal with the short hair. Where is she? I didn't see her get shot." Evans glanced a peak at Jim spraying lead in all directions. Behind him was a corpse. Evans blinked. It seemed to be getting closer. Its her. Gracia painstakingly inched her way into Jim's blind spot. She was roughly 6 feet away from him. Flanking him seemed like a brilliant idea but waiting idly by for the right moment as the people around her died filled her with anger. Worse still, she had to steal a blood soaked shirt from one of the deceased officers to keep up the facade. Inching ever so steadily she mad it within 3 feet of Jim. She reached behind her belt and unclipped a pair of handcuffs. Screams could be heard as more people were hit. Gracia couldn't wait any longer. Fluidly she got to her feet and rushed Jim. She kicked the back of his knee causing him to stumble as she put the handcuffs on him. Figuratively. The handcuffs were around Jim's neck. She yanked him back causing his gun to drop. "You don't know what you're doing." Jim spat. "We all need to accept it. The end of days is upon us. Death rides his horse through these forsaken lands. We must serve or be sacrificed in turn. Accept it!"He elbowed Gracia in the ribs causing her to let go. He spun around and lunged at her. She landed on her back, Jim steadily choking her. Gracia thought fast. She couldn't struggle. Jim was too strong. She delivered a precise chop to the center of Jim's neck which was exposed. Jim lurched back to catch his breath. A clean shot. A bullet pierced through Jim's back. Weakened, Gracia rolled him over and began punching him repeatedly using the handcuffs as brass knuckles. The sound of Jim's skull cracking echoed through the station. This would go on for nearly 20 seconds before Gracia stopped, checked his pulse, confirmed Jim was still alive, then finally put the cuffs on Jim's wrists.
Click. Bodies are wrapped and moved to a makeshift storage room. Click. The available weapons are gathered and redistributed. Click. Officers are assigned to sniping positions on neighboring buildings. Click. Police cruisers circle the lot outside. Click. In the holding cell, Jim opens his eyes. Click. Lary flicks his lighter. Click. Gracia sips coffee from a paper cup. Click. Shells hit the ground at the feet of Genocide. Click. Genocide walks outside a cafe and looks at the station in the distance. Click. Lary clicks his lighter.
"All ya'll gon' fall," Jim ranted." You can't drain the ocean. You can't put out the sun. Evil will always exist. That there Genocide is proof . I saw him. Saw myself within his eyes. Saw the evil in me that I could no longer try to hide. He taught me to embrace the darkness within. Its in all of us begging to be let out. Can you hear it!" Lary clicked his lighter and got up from his chair. He grabbed a cup of liquor from another officer mid sip and walked over to Jim. He doused it on Jim, the liquid stinging his open wounds. Jim yelped. Across the station, radios blurred to life. Several of their lookouts on the outside had been killed. "He's gon' get ya," Jim smiled imitating Lary's signature grin. "Genocide! Genocide! Genocide!" The other inmates saw the chance to irritate Lary and joined in all shouting in unison,"Ge-No-Cide! Ge-No-Cide! Ge-No-Cide!" The chanting grew louder. Unbearable. They invoked upon the name of the beast, and so it came.
Genocide is upon us. A wave of dread spread across the officers. They could feel its presence. Gracia knew the sensation. The awful aura that the other killers gave off. This was different. Far more oppressive. She struggled to breathe as the air got colder. Her instincts screamed for her to run. She could only imagine what the others were going through. Its time. Across the lot Genocide stood. A siren blared over the intercom. "Everyone get into positions!" Evans yelled. Wayne finished setting the last of the c4 near the station entrance. "That's the last of them. Have remote triggers set around all the major hallways. I'll be in the security room ready to pull the switch." Wayne acted as an explosives expert. His job was to detonate bombs placed throughout the station to slow down Genocide should it enter the building. He would stay in the security room, monitoring the cameras and giving real time updates on the officers' positions. From the holding cell, inmates chanted for Genocide. Lary got off his phone" That bastard mixed us up. How did we not notice?" Evans asked what he meant. Lary, dumbfounded, said that most of the town was already dead. Genocide had broken his usual pattern. He went on a killing spree across a defenseless town BEFORE attacking the police station. They had let everyone down. The people they swore to protect. This Genocide was a monster, but he was still a man. Capable of learning from his past actions. Planning. Adapting. It wasn't in his style to stealthily kill his victims or even use a silencer on any of his guns, but an exception had been made for tonight. An exception that would cost them. Gracia was stationed on the second floor. She peered out the window. Her heart skipped a beat. Two cruisers made slow donuts patrolling the lot and standing unmoving between them was a man all in black. Gracia called in to Wayne asking if he saw anything outside. Wayne said the monitors were all clear then checked again. He cursed. He noticed small details were off. The cameras showing the outside of the station were wrong. Sure they showed the same scenery and weather but cars passed by on screen too frequently for a dead town. Too many to make sense for the quarantine they had set in place. Wayne concluded that the cameras had been hacked. Different prerecorded footage was being shown on the live feed to misdirect them. Gracia saw the man look up at her. A light rain started to fall. The officers patrolling outside were contacted. From the holding cells, inmates called for genocide.
2024.05.14 19:26 Fickle-Lavishness-41 My experience with SM Global Package in Japan for Taemin
Hi everyone!
I wanted to give a detailed review of my experience with sm global package for taemin’s metamorph concert in tokyo at the nippon budokan. I am months delayed in posting this (thanks to grad school) but I initially wrote it out of post-concert depression prior to returning to the states back in March.
buying the global package, twin ver:
the package was announced sometime in december 2023 if im not mistaken and I stayed up until midnight (pst) on 1/22 to book a twin package for ‘course c’ which was 2N3D (sunday concert 3/10) for my friend and I. The packages that included all three nights (5D3N) of the show sold out the quickest, but there were still packages available for individual show days. As a tip to make things easier, make sure to have your friends’ passport info to input in advance so the booking goes easier if you are booking a twin package. If you are the one making the booking, make sure to have the global package app downloaded as they will send you notifications along the way about day of show schedule, merch preorder, etc. They ask that you relay this info to your partner when you purchase a twin package, as you are the primary reservation holder. You also cannot split the cost while booking, it must go on one card through paypal. When booking, you have the option to request extending your stay at the hotel through sm c&c, but since we were planning to go to Kyoto after the concert, we just checked out the day after the concert as planned. Also we didn’t have any ACE memberships, but if I remember correctly, you can enter that info to get an exclusive MD benefit.
merch preorder:
Prior to arriving in Japan, we got a notification at around 6pm pst on 2/28 (11 days prior to the show) with our exclusive merch preorder links which went live at midnight that same night. The prices were in yen and you pay using paypal. I had no problem getting the MD I wanted, however since there were limits on the amount of MD you could purchase (including the 2 different pins, which were 1 per order) I had to ask my friend if I could purchase an additional pin through his MD preorder link since there were 2 different pins in this specific concert MD. The day of the show (3/10) at around 10am, we picked up the MD we preordered with ease and pulled our concert seat tickets and received our global package exclusive gift (a mag safe wallet) and let the staff know which transports we would be taking (round trip bus or one way to/from the venue). I was a ljttle disappointed in the global package benefit MD as I had seen what the metamorph show in Korea had received (I think it was a handwritten letter from Taemin and a little lego figurine of him 🤧). Everything was smooth and efficient. Even after the concert, I was able to get into the MD line to purchase more, even though most of the MD was sold out.
checking in/out of the hotel & hotel review:
We stayed at the Hotel Monterey Hanzomon which was really close to the venue and across the street from the Hanzomon subway line, so it was very accessible by public transit. My friend and I both flew into Haneda and it took a little less than an hour to get to the hotel from the airport via public transit, but after a 12.5 hour long flight it was exhausting. When I asked the people at the airport if there was an airport limousine to the area, they said it wouldn’t take me close enough to the hotel and recommended I take the subway. We had met a few people in line for the MD pickup who said that we (allegedly) had a nicer hotel than those who did the NCT 127 global package for their Tokyo dome show (same weekend) but all in all, Hanzomon was an economy hotel with nothing to write home about. I will say the breakfast buffet included was really nice and I’m glad we didn’t skip out on it. When we checked in the day before the show, we just showed our passports and checked in like any other hotel. In the lobby there was a whiteboard with all of the concert info (opening times for md pickup, bus schedules, and concert schedule) displayed in english, korean, chinese, and japanese. I was a little bummed to find out that the concert (which took place in the middle of the afternoon) was only going to be an hour and a half maximum, even though NCT’s concert was almost 4 hours (!!!) in length.
day of show:
We had breakfast in the lobby around 8:30/9ish then after that we got to the sm desk at 9:45am to pick up our md and pick our tickets for the show (thanks to the tip from another fan on reddit, well worth getting there a little before the booth opened). I did notice the ACE membership MD benefits were nice, but neither me nor my friend have any fanclub memberships. It was relatively straightforward, they checked our passports and handed us a lanyard that acted as our bus pass and then one person per twin package picks the pair of tickets at random (in sets of 2 so you sit with your friend) and we got seats in section A3 (floor) which were great. They asked us if we wanted a seat on the bus ride round trip or one way and we originally said only one ride to the venue, but my friend decided to take the bus back too once we got to the venue so we notified the SM staff and they added us to the roster for the ride back easily. When we got to the venue (an hour and a half-ish before doors) they escorted us to the front and we were let in immediately. The efficiency was incredible. They didn’t check my bag prior to entering like how they would for a concert in the US so I didn’t bring a water bottle into the venue but thankfully they had vending machines inside and concessions on the top levels of the venue. We also went to a booth upstairs to pair our lightsticks for the show, since the Japanese Shinee Lightstick app is only available for Japanese phones, so we showed our ticket locations and they were able to calibrate. The show was short yet sweet, we did not see anyone ejected for taking photos/videos but we were too scared to risk it. If you are caught filming or taking photos they will make you delete the photos/videos and kick you out with no sign of return, but I think because it was the last day and we were in the middle of a crowd, it was a little easier to get away with. There was a sadness in the air because it was Taemin’s last concert as a soloist under SM, but overall the show was incredible. One thing of note though is Japanese audiences are very quiet, they tend to clap rather than scream in between songs and there were times where you could hear someone from the rafters sneeze and it would resonate, so be prepared for that cultural difference. We still screamed when it felt appropriate to do so and the fanchants were loud but it was definitely strange to be golf clapping in between songs, especially in comparison to shows in the US where fans are barking 💀. It was nice to be able to hear Taemin speak uninterrupted during the ments, without pick-me fans interjecting their screams. He spoke exclusively in Japanese and there was no translator so we were left to guess what he was saying. A K-fan next to us was live Papago-ing his ments to Korean and I would peek and read what the translation was. Also shout out to this lovely K-shawol because she let my friend borrow one of her lightsticks! Once the show ended, everyone queued up to leave the venue in an orderly fashion and we cleaned up any trash we saw and we went out to the MD booth to buy any last minute MDs before going to the bus. On the bus, they gave us each a (unthemed) bag with some strawberry cookies and a waterbottle and we had a fun time air-dropping photos and videos from the show with other (braver) global package attendees. Everyone we met was so lovely and everything about the global package went very smoothly and efficiently.
edit: I forgot to mention that Japanese fans who had floor seats (most likely ACE club membership) received some sort of paper goods (postcard, photocard, folder etc.) upon entering the venue, a benefit that global package members did not receive. I only saw it because I went upstairs to the main entrance to sync my lightstick. I was too afraid to ask about the benefits, but I think it also might have had to do with which company you bought your ticket from (?) or where you preordered the album from (?)
closing thoughts:
the day after the show, we took advantage of the free breakfast and checked out with ease. The SM C&C staff left the whiteboard in the lobby and left a nice note for us and we wrote our thank yous on there. Overall, the package cost was $1559 for 2 people ($779 ea, 2 twin beds for 2N3D) and even though it was pricey it was so worth the convenience of not having to try to buy tickets locally, which I heard sold out entirely during fan club presale. Please note that this cost did not include airfare or transit to/from the airport. The concert coincided with my spring break and Taemin is one of my ults, I just wrote a paper on him for grad school so it was a no brainer, I had to be there no matter what lol. I was a bit disappointed in the lack of theming (I heard the concerts in Korea come with themed rooms, themed snacks, etc) and the lack of transportation to and from the airport (which I heard is sometimes an option for shows in Korea and would have been a great benefit). But otherwise the hotel was clean and convenient (a little small, but that’s how it is normally in an economy hotel in Japan), breakfast was good, SM staff were helpful and nice, and we made some new Shawol friends in the meantime :)
overall, I would absolutely book with global package again, but I would definitely want to see a show in Korea to compare the benefits. It was an unforgettable experience to be apart of the pearl aqua ocean 💎
if you have any questions ask away! prior to booking this package, I took the advice of another fan under a different thread, and it was really helpful so I wanted to offer any insight based off my experience.
submitted by Fickle-Lavishness-41 to kpopthoughts [link] [comments]
I wanted to give a detailed review of my experience with sm global package for taemin’s metamorph concert in tokyo at the nippon budokan. I am months delayed in posting this (thanks to grad school) but I initially wrote it out of post-concert depression prior to returning to the states back in March.
buying the global package, twin ver:
the package was announced sometime in december 2023 if im not mistaken and I stayed up until midnight (pst) on 1/22 to book a twin package for ‘course c’ which was 2N3D (sunday concert 3/10) for my friend and I. The packages that included all three nights (5D3N) of the show sold out the quickest, but there were still packages available for individual show days. As a tip to make things easier, make sure to have your friends’ passport info to input in advance so the booking goes easier if you are booking a twin package. If you are the one making the booking, make sure to have the global package app downloaded as they will send you notifications along the way about day of show schedule, merch preorder, etc. They ask that you relay this info to your partner when you purchase a twin package, as you are the primary reservation holder. You also cannot split the cost while booking, it must go on one card through paypal. When booking, you have the option to request extending your stay at the hotel through sm c&c, but since we were planning to go to Kyoto after the concert, we just checked out the day after the concert as planned. Also we didn’t have any ACE memberships, but if I remember correctly, you can enter that info to get an exclusive MD benefit.
merch preorder:
Prior to arriving in Japan, we got a notification at around 6pm pst on 2/28 (11 days prior to the show) with our exclusive merch preorder links which went live at midnight that same night. The prices were in yen and you pay using paypal. I had no problem getting the MD I wanted, however since there were limits on the amount of MD you could purchase (including the 2 different pins, which were 1 per order) I had to ask my friend if I could purchase an additional pin through his MD preorder link since there were 2 different pins in this specific concert MD. The day of the show (3/10) at around 10am, we picked up the MD we preordered with ease and pulled our concert seat tickets and received our global package exclusive gift (a mag safe wallet) and let the staff know which transports we would be taking (round trip bus or one way to/from the venue). I was a ljttle disappointed in the global package benefit MD as I had seen what the metamorph show in Korea had received (I think it was a handwritten letter from Taemin and a little lego figurine of him 🤧). Everything was smooth and efficient. Even after the concert, I was able to get into the MD line to purchase more, even though most of the MD was sold out.
checking in/out of the hotel & hotel review:
We stayed at the Hotel Monterey Hanzomon which was really close to the venue and across the street from the Hanzomon subway line, so it was very accessible by public transit. My friend and I both flew into Haneda and it took a little less than an hour to get to the hotel from the airport via public transit, but after a 12.5 hour long flight it was exhausting. When I asked the people at the airport if there was an airport limousine to the area, they said it wouldn’t take me close enough to the hotel and recommended I take the subway. We had met a few people in line for the MD pickup who said that we (allegedly) had a nicer hotel than those who did the NCT 127 global package for their Tokyo dome show (same weekend) but all in all, Hanzomon was an economy hotel with nothing to write home about. I will say the breakfast buffet included was really nice and I’m glad we didn’t skip out on it. When we checked in the day before the show, we just showed our passports and checked in like any other hotel. In the lobby there was a whiteboard with all of the concert info (opening times for md pickup, bus schedules, and concert schedule) displayed in english, korean, chinese, and japanese. I was a little bummed to find out that the concert (which took place in the middle of the afternoon) was only going to be an hour and a half maximum, even though NCT’s concert was almost 4 hours (!!!) in length.
day of show:
We had breakfast in the lobby around 8:30/9ish then after that we got to the sm desk at 9:45am to pick up our md and pick our tickets for the show (thanks to the tip from another fan on reddit, well worth getting there a little before the booth opened). I did notice the ACE membership MD benefits were nice, but neither me nor my friend have any fanclub memberships. It was relatively straightforward, they checked our passports and handed us a lanyard that acted as our bus pass and then one person per twin package picks the pair of tickets at random (in sets of 2 so you sit with your friend) and we got seats in section A3 (floor) which were great. They asked us if we wanted a seat on the bus ride round trip or one way and we originally said only one ride to the venue, but my friend decided to take the bus back too once we got to the venue so we notified the SM staff and they added us to the roster for the ride back easily. When we got to the venue (an hour and a half-ish before doors) they escorted us to the front and we were let in immediately. The efficiency was incredible. They didn’t check my bag prior to entering like how they would for a concert in the US so I didn’t bring a water bottle into the venue but thankfully they had vending machines inside and concessions on the top levels of the venue. We also went to a booth upstairs to pair our lightsticks for the show, since the Japanese Shinee Lightstick app is only available for Japanese phones, so we showed our ticket locations and they were able to calibrate. The show was short yet sweet, we did not see anyone ejected for taking photos/videos but we were too scared to risk it. If you are caught filming or taking photos they will make you delete the photos/videos and kick you out with no sign of return, but I think because it was the last day and we were in the middle of a crowd, it was a little easier to get away with. There was a sadness in the air because it was Taemin’s last concert as a soloist under SM, but overall the show was incredible. One thing of note though is Japanese audiences are very quiet, they tend to clap rather than scream in between songs and there were times where you could hear someone from the rafters sneeze and it would resonate, so be prepared for that cultural difference. We still screamed when it felt appropriate to do so and the fanchants were loud but it was definitely strange to be golf clapping in between songs, especially in comparison to shows in the US where fans are barking 💀. It was nice to be able to hear Taemin speak uninterrupted during the ments, without pick-me fans interjecting their screams. He spoke exclusively in Japanese and there was no translator so we were left to guess what he was saying. A K-fan next to us was live Papago-ing his ments to Korean and I would peek and read what the translation was. Also shout out to this lovely K-shawol because she let my friend borrow one of her lightsticks! Once the show ended, everyone queued up to leave the venue in an orderly fashion and we cleaned up any trash we saw and we went out to the MD booth to buy any last minute MDs before going to the bus. On the bus, they gave us each a (unthemed) bag with some strawberry cookies and a waterbottle and we had a fun time air-dropping photos and videos from the show with other (braver) global package attendees. Everyone we met was so lovely and everything about the global package went very smoothly and efficiently.
edit: I forgot to mention that Japanese fans who had floor seats (most likely ACE club membership) received some sort of paper goods (postcard, photocard, folder etc.) upon entering the venue, a benefit that global package members did not receive. I only saw it because I went upstairs to the main entrance to sync my lightstick. I was too afraid to ask about the benefits, but I think it also might have had to do with which company you bought your ticket from (?) or where you preordered the album from (?)
closing thoughts:
the day after the show, we took advantage of the free breakfast and checked out with ease. The SM C&C staff left the whiteboard in the lobby and left a nice note for us and we wrote our thank yous on there. Overall, the package cost was $1559 for 2 people ($779 ea, 2 twin beds for 2N3D) and even though it was pricey it was so worth the convenience of not having to try to buy tickets locally, which I heard sold out entirely during fan club presale. Please note that this cost did not include airfare or transit to/from the airport. The concert coincided with my spring break and Taemin is one of my ults, I just wrote a paper on him for grad school so it was a no brainer, I had to be there no matter what lol. I was a bit disappointed in the lack of theming (I heard the concerts in Korea come with themed rooms, themed snacks, etc) and the lack of transportation to and from the airport (which I heard is sometimes an option for shows in Korea and would have been a great benefit). But otherwise the hotel was clean and convenient (a little small, but that’s how it is normally in an economy hotel in Japan), breakfast was good, SM staff were helpful and nice, and we made some new Shawol friends in the meantime :)
overall, I would absolutely book with global package again, but I would definitely want to see a show in Korea to compare the benefits. It was an unforgettable experience to be apart of the pearl aqua ocean 💎
if you have any questions ask away! prior to booking this package, I took the advice of another fan under a different thread, and it was really helpful so I wanted to offer any insight based off my experience.
2024.05.14 18:12 boathouse_floats Meme Stocks On the Rise - Real Wealth Being Made - Boomer FOMO Inbound
 | Here's the deal. submitted by boathouse_floats to WallStreetbetsELITE [link] [comments] There's a lot of chatter about the return of meme stocks and I'm sure you've all seen GME and AMC charts from today. Fucking rockets... but lets talk about meme projects and why I think there is going to be a brand new set of meme millionaires born from the meme action we're seeing today. (I'll save you some time if you don't feel like reading... they'll all be in KENDU). As you all know, back in the good ol' days of 2021 when we were all face humping masks and rotting in our houses, some real fun was had and a lot of "New Money" millionaires were born. Some of these were from meme stocks, but a lot of people made fat bags on meme projects which they carry with them to this day. First in Jan/Feb $DOG E pumped. Following this, $SHIB ($KENDU's Chad in Arms) pumped. These projects lost a bit off the top, but have sustained multi-billion dollar market caps to this day. But could they have done it on their own? Was this all just coincidence? Were market conditions so different that these pumps were just a factor of people being stuck at home with nothing better to do than sit there, thumb in ass, trading memes? Science says NAY!! Please bear in mind that I'm wearing a helmet, which might have restricted some of the blood flow to my brain. This is NFA and you should DYOR... but I'm all in. To prove my point, I am referencing the paper "The connectedness between meme tokens, meme stocks, and other asset classes: Evidence from a quantile connectedness approach" by Yousaf et al. from 2022. Please note that I only have access to the pre-print, so the peer-reviewed edition might be a little different, but I would muster a guess, not really. These authors are using data from 2020-2022, which includes data outside of the range of what I would consider the "hard" meme squeeze (Jan. 2021 and the few months following). Given the analysis from this paper was done using data from August 2020 to April 2021, I posit that the conclusions the authors draw, can and will apply to meme events outside of the infamous 2021 meme run which some might say is the primary reason meme projects squoze. The HUGE meme project runs we saw in SHIB and DOG E might have been born of the "Funny Money" era, but lock-down degeneracy isn't the end all when predicting price movements. The meat "Why, Butt?" I hear you ask. "Why do you bring this paper up?". Surely it can't be because you wanted to "prove" that meme projects can run outside of the golden age of meme pumps? Well dear Redditor... yes and no. I bring it up also because of the interesting point it mentions about how predictive certain market events are for similar market events in other assets. To do this, the authors use Quantile Connectedness (QC) to analyze Meme stocks, Meme projects, and some more traditional asset classes like USD, Treasuries and Gold. QC is a concept used in economics to measure the degree of interdependence (how connected things are) among different segments of financial markets. The method uses some fancy stats and math to do so, and the analysis done in this paper says some interesting things about the interplay between traditional assets, meme assets and meme pumps (summarized in the following screen grab). Memes go brrrrrr... other things do too Yousaf, 2022 - The connectedness between meme tokens, meme stocks, and other asset classes: Evidence from a quantile connectedness approach. So... market events in the upper extreme quantile (or in laymen terms, extreme upwards market movements) in meme assets tend to cause spillover events into both meme assets and traditional financial assets. That's interesting... You know what we saw today? An extreme upward market movement. Specifically GME and AMC, which are both up over 100% (in after hours) from previous close. Second, and perhaps more of a bull case for me... the spillover events are even more well predicted by movement in meme stocks than they are by movement in BTC (please see the useful red circle in the screen-grab below). Higher number = better prediction of spillover event. So, SO often, I hear people predicting runs in the smaller meme projects based strictly on what BTC is expected to do. But it turns out, there's an even better predictor!!! Meme stocks! Please also note: The authors state "All meme assets are highly positively skewed, which reflects their price surges during short squeezing periods." Pretty sure this means, green begets more green for these spillover events. The spillover effects from extreme moves in GME, AMC, and BTC as they relate to DOG E and SHIB. The spillover effects from extreme moves in GME, AMC, and BTC as they relate to DOG E and SHIB All this brings me to my last point. What does this all mean for meme projects and for $KENDU? I hear you thinking "Why not just choose SHIB or DOG E, Butt?" and I get it... safe bets that will for sure "moon". Yes... "moon" :eye roll: These projects are fine and good if you want to just grow the bags you've been holding and just keep, HODLing... but I know the real reason you all are playing meme projects, and it's that sweet, sweet alpha. You don't want to see the 2x, or 3x that these bigger memes might fetch during the next run. You're looking to eat zeros... and the only way to do that is to get in early with a project that is going to FUCKING RUN! Enter KENDU INU... it's the project that "Can do" Arguably, the most important fundamental for a meme project is the hype that it generates and how infectious its energy is. Well, you're not going to find a more hype community with a more infectious can do attitude than the KENDU community. The TG is wild, memes are on point, new art being made ALL THE TIME, and so much love and support for every single member in the Kendu clan. Ignoring the fluffy feel good stuff though (NO DON'T DO THAT), what does this project really have going for it. I'm glad you asked.
Screw these JEET ass meme projects. KENDU is the only play TLDR:
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