Hi there, welcome to my post! Feel free to make an offer for anything listed :D
The Boring Stuff: - Items come from a non-smoking home, and are all new / never used unless noted. Used items have photos showing usage. - Prices exclude shipping & insurance, to be calculated to your zip code ($5+).

ISO List

(trades only, not looking to purchase at this time. Will also look at lists!)

• Imaginary Authors: A City on Fire, Memoirs of a Trespasser, O Unknown, Saint Julep, Whispered Myths
  
• Too Faced mini Gingerbread Spice palette
  
• Too Faced mini Salted Caramel palette
  
• Tetris x Ipsy brushes
  
• Christophe Robin Regenerating Hair Mask - FS or multiple minis from beauty boxes
  
• Necromancy Cosmetica lipsticks in Ancient Queen, Lydia, Solis Mortem, or Ophidian
  
• Try me on lip scrubs (new please)
  
• Pat McGrath Subversive palette (also interested in other gold PM items)
  
• Lalique fragrances: Fleur Universelle, Or Intemporel, Silver, Zamak, and Zinc
  
• Jo Malone fragrances: particularly interested in Bloomsbury (non-floral - Leather & Artemisia, Tobacco & Mandarin, and Whiskey & Cedarwood) and Ginger Biscuit, but try me
  
• Zoologist samples
  
• Marc Jacobs fragrances: Ginger Cocktail
  
• Diptyque fragrances: Eau Lente and Eau Duelle
  
• Ginger / clove forward fragrances in general...if someone has a decant of CB I hate perfume Gingerbread that would be awesome
  

Palettes, Kits, and Sets

Anastasia Beverly Hills eyeshadow singles, listed L-R, top then bottom. $25 for the 4 shadows, or priced individually below: - ABH eyeshadow single in Wine, full size, swatched - $8 - ABH eyeshadow single in Surface of the Sun, full size, swatched - $8 - ABH eyeshadow single in Chocolate Crumble, full size, new - $8 - ABH eyeshadow single in Metal, full size, swatched - $8
Benefit Greeting From Cabana Glama DesTANation Makeup Kit, used as shown - $15
Karl Lagerfeld x ModelCo Minaudière with Mini Lip Kit, full size, NIB P - $100 Includes: - Minaudière hard clutch / makeup bag, with attachable (heavy) chain to use as a shoulder bag and dust bag - Full-size Lip Liner in Rosewood (0.05 oz.) - 2 Mini Lip Glosses in Ramatuelle and St Tropez Sunset (0.04 oz. each) - 2 Mini Lipsticks in Kate and Stella (0.05 oz. each)
Flesh Starshine eyeshadow palette, full size, new. Open. Back of palette. - $20
Kat von D Shade + Light eyeshadow palette in Plum, full size, used 2x as shown. Back of palette. - $10
Make Up For Ever MUFE 9 artist shadow palette Volume 4 (shades 100, 842, 240, 620, 806, 536, 126, 546, 530), full size, used 2x as shown. Back of palette. - $25
Smith & Cult Book of Eyes quad palette in Noonsuite (bronzey), full size, NIB - $25
Tarte Be Your Own Tarteist Eye & Cheek Palette, used as shown - $20
Urban Decay Naked Cherry palette, full size, NIB - $40

Eyes

Brows:
Anastasia Beverly Hills ABH Clear Brow Gel, travel size (2.5ml), NIB - $7
ModelCo More Brows in Light / Medium, Full Size - $10
Ulta Brow Tint in Medium, full size, new - $6
Eyeliner:
BareMinerals Lasting Line Long-wearing Eye Liner in Absolute Black, Full Size, New - $10
Beauty For Real I-Line 24-7 Eyeliner in Black Magic, full size, new - $10
Estée Lauder Automatic Eye Pencil Duo Refill in Charcoal, full size, NIB - $10
Lancome Drama Liqui-Pencil in Noir Intense, Travel Size, .018oz - $5
Laura Geller I-Care Waterproof Eyeliner in Charcoal, Full Size - $10
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk (white), full size, new - $3
Sephora Waterproof Contour Eye Pencil in 33 Love Affair (plum), new, travel size (.017oz) - $3
Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner in Stingray (jet black), full size, NIB - $15
Tarte Sex Kitten Eyeliner in Black, travel size (half size, .0035oz), new - $8
Ulta Dual-Ended Liner, in Halo & Black/Brown, Full Size - $3
Victoria's Secret Very Sexy Sparkling Eyeliner in Blacklight, Full Size, cracked cap used 2x - $5
Eyeshadow:
Kat Von D KVD Metal Crush Eyeshadow in Thunderstruck (warm white gold), full size (.1oz), swatched - $12
Laura Geller Baked Marble Eyeshadow in Amethyst, full size, new - $12
Maybelline Expert Wear Eyeshadow in Amethyst Smokes, used 3x - $2
NYC HD Color Trio Eye Shadow in Late Night Latte, Full Size, used 5x - $2
NYX Prismatic Eyeshadow Single in Punk Heart (plum with purple shimmer), full size, used as shown - $3
Trestique Color and Smudge Shadow Crayon in Marimoto Pink Pearl, full size, NIB - $15
Ulta Eye Shadow singles Duo in Petite (light beige matte) and Beauty Junkie (mauve glitter), both full size (.06oz), both new - $8 for the pair
Ulta Eye Shadow Palette in Lace, Charm, Nostalgia, Vintage, Delicate, and Seaside, .21oz, new - $6
Lashes:
Eyelure London Limited Edition Party Lashes in Snow Princess, full size, NIB - $3
Wet n Wild Fantasy Makers Blue Glow in the Dark Lashes, full size, NIB - $2
Mascara:
BellaPierre Volume Lash Waterproof Mascara, full size, new & sealed - $10
Butter London Double Decker Lashes Mascara in Black, travel size (.18oz), NIB - $6
Clinique Chubby Lash Mascara in 01 Jumbo Jet (black), travel size (4ml), NIB - $5
Clinique High Impact Mascara in black, half size (.15oz), new - $10
Clinique Lash Power Flutter-to-Full Mascara in 01 Black Onyx, travel size, new - $8
Estée Lauder Sumptuous Knockout Mascara in 01 Black, travel size (.09oz), new - $10
Julep Length Matters Mascara in Jet Black, travel size (.2oz), NIB - $8
Laura Geller StyleLASH Intense Lengthening Mascara, FS (.33oz), NWOB - $14
Maybelline Great Lash Mascara in Black, travel size (.15oz), new - $2
Pur Big Look Mascara with Argan oil, full size (.12oz), new - $6
Ulta Amped Lashes Mascara in Jet Black, full size, new - $6
Ulta Beauty Maximum Lashes Defining and Lengthening Mascara, full size, new - $6

Lips

Lip Gloss, Balms, & Stains:
ChapStick Lip Butter in Green Tea Mint, full size, NIB - $2
First Aid Beauty FAB Ultra Repair Lip Therapy, full size (.5oz), new - $8
Jane Iredale SPF 15 Lip Drink Lip Balm in Flirt (sheer pink), full size, NIB - $10
MAC Vamplify Lip Gloss in Suggestive, FS, new - $12
Mally Beans High Shine Lip Gloss in Pilar Bean, DS (.07oz), new - $6
NYC City Proof Extended Wear Lip Gloss in Mauving All Night #458, Full Size - $3
Philosophy High-Gloss Lip Shine in Fresh Cream, full size (.4oz), new and sealed - $6
Pur Chrome Glaze High-Shine Lip Gloss In DIY (pinky nude), full size (0.07 oz), NIB - $10
Ulta Double Duty Lip Stain and Balm in Drama (Dark Red), full size, new - $4
Ulta Double Duty Lip Stain and Balm in Romance (Pink), full size, new - $4
Urban Decay Revolution Lip Gloss in Savage (bright pink), travel size (.05oz), new - $5
Whole Foods organic lip balm in Peppermint, full size, new and sealed - $1
Whole Foods organic lip balm in Pomegranate Orange, full size, new and sealed - $1
Whole Foods organic lip balm in Tangerine, full size, new and sealed - $1
Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush Lip Balm in Minty Kiss, Full Size - $3
Lip Liners & Primers:
Kat Von D Everlasting Lip Liner in Homegirl, full size (.25g), used 2x as shown - $10
Milani Color Statement Lip Liner in 02 True Red, full size, new - $2
Tarte Tarteist Lip Crayon in Thirsty (bright red), .01oz, NIB - $10
Lipstick - Liquid:
Julep It's Whipped Matte Lip Mousse in At Midnight (Fireball Red Matte), full size (.14oz), new - $10 for 1, $16 for 2
Julep It's Whipped Matte Lip Mousse in Love Potion (Bronzed Black Metallic Matte), full size (.14oz), new P - $10 for 1, $16 for 2
Julep It's Whipped Matte Lip Mousse in Pillow Talk (Victorian Pink Matte), full size (.14oz), new - $10 for 1, $16 for 2
Julep It's Whipped Matte Lip Mousse in Say Hello (Rich Marsala Matte), full size (.14oz), new - $10 for 1, $16 for 2
Julep It's Whipped Matte Lip Mousse in XOXO (Femme Fuchsia Matte), full size (.14oz), new - $10 for 1, $16 for 2
Laura Geller Lip Silk Liquid Lipstick in French Kiss (soft pink), full size, new - $10
Maybelline Color Sensational Vivid Matte Liquid Lip Color in Nude Flush , Full Size, swatched 1x - $3
NYX Suede Cream Liquid Lipstick in Orange County (bright orange), travel size (.05oz), new - $4, or 2/$6
NYX Suede Cream Liquid Lipstick in Pink Lust (bright pink), travel size (.05oz), new - $4, or 2/$6
NYX Cosmetics Soft Matte Lip Cream in Transylvania (deep wine), full size (0.27 oz), new - $4, or 2/$6
OCC Lip Tar in Disintegration (pale plum metallic), full size, NIB - $12
OCC Lip Tar in Hoochie (magenta / purple), full size, NIB - $12
Tarte Lip Sculptor, Lipstick & Lipgloss, in VIP (cool nude), travel size (1.5g lipstick 1ml lipgloss), new - $10
Tarte Tarteist Lip Paint in Bae (red), full size, new - $13
Lipstick - Bullet & Pencil:
Almay Demi-Sheer Creme Lipcolor in 80 Demi Mauve, full size, used 3x as shown - $8
Bite Beauty Luminous Creme Lipstick Topper, no shade listed but a shimmery bronze, full size, new - $18
Bite Beauty High Pigment Pencil in Rhubarb, full size (.09oz), used 1x - $10
Bite Beauty Matte Cream Lipstick in Barberry (cool dark plum), full size, used as shown - $16
DCA Lipstick in No. 108, full size, used 2x as shown - $4
Estée Lauder All-Day Lipstick in Ancient Brick, full size, swatched as shown - $12
Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting Lipstick in Irresistible, full size (.12oz), new P - $15
Illamasqua Glamour Lipstick in Tease (pale Nude), full size, used 3x - $12
Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick in Homegirl (satin matte berry), travel size (.04oz), used as shown - $6
Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick in Poe (cool metallic blue), full size, NIB - $12
Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick in Roxy (purple), mini size (1g), used 1x as shown - $6
Korres Matte Twist Lipstick in Tempting Coral, full size (.05oz), new - $10
Lancome Rouge Absolu Lipstick in Rose Espace, full size, used 3x as shown - $12
Laura Geller Color Brilliance Lustrous Lipstick in Cute, full size, new - $12
Laura Geller Italian Marble lipstick in Strawberry Toffee, full size, new - $12
MAC Retro Matte Lipstick in Flat Out Fabulous (bright pink/purple), full size, new - $12
Makeup Academy Lipstick in Persian Rose (bright pink), full size, used 1x - $3
Makeup Revolution Scandalous Lipstick in Depraved (violet), full size, used 1x - $3
NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in 413 BLKR (fuchsia), full size (.08oz), new - $16
NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Let's Go Crazy (cool fuchsia), 3/4 size (1.8g, FS is 2.4g), new - $10
Nudestix Magnetic Matte Lip Color in Greystone (greige), .088oz (FS is .1oz), new - $12
NYC Lipstick in Fragile Pink, Full Size - used as shown - $2
NYC Ultra Moist Lip Wear in Blossom #316, Full Size, Used 2x - $2
NYC Ultra Moist Lip Wear in Ruby #305, Full Size, Used 2x - $2
Sephora Collection Rouge Cream in #49 Belly-Dancing (red), mini (.03oz, FS is .14) - $2
Smashbox Be Legendary Cream Lipstick in Inspiration (cool fuchsia), .08oz (FS is .1oz), new - $10, or 2/$15
Smashbox Be Legendary Cream Lipstick in Legendary (cool red), .08oz (FS is .1oz), new - $10, or 2/$15
Smashbox Be Legendary Cream Lipstick in Tabloid (cool violet), .08oz (FS is .1oz), new - $10, or 2/$15
Ulta Lipstick in Cherry Picked 202 (medium true red), Full Size, Used 1x - $4
Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani lipstick in Spiderweb (satin red cream), full size, NIB - $12
Urban Decay Matte Revolution Lipstick in Temper (red-orange), full size, NIB - $12
Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in Phone Call (bright pink with cream finish), full size, NIB - $10
Wander Beauty Wanderout Dual Lipstick in Wanderberry (rich burgundy), half size (.07oz), new - $10
Winky Lux Matte Lip Velour in Royal (purple), .14oz, NIB - $10

Face

Blush:
Lancome Blush Subtil in in Rose Fresque, full size (.18oz), used as shown - $12
Ulta Cheek Palette in Fresh Glow Highlighter and Nude Pink Blush, .155oz, new - $5
Bronzer & Contour:
BareMinerals BareSkin Serum Bronzer in Sheer Sun, Travel Size (.1oz) - $3
St. Tropez One Night Only Finishing Gloss, travel size (.16oz), new - $2
Foundations, Concealers, CC Cream, & Powders:
Bee Naturals Tinted Moisturizer in Shade 2 (Medium/Dark), Full Size (1oz) - 1/$15 or 2/$20
Benefit Porefessional Pore Minimizing Makeup in Shade 1, travel size (.16oz), new - $10
Dermablend Loose Setting Powder, travel size (.11oz), new - $10
Jane Iredale Smooth Affair, travel size (.24oz), new - $8
Julep Cushion Complexion concealer 5-in-1 Skin Perfector with Turmeric in 200 Nude, full size, NIB - $18
Laura Geller Balance-N-Brighten Baked Foundation in Medium, full size, new - $15
Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder, travel size (.12oz), new - $6
Pixi by Petra Beauty Bronzer in Summertime, Travel Size, .16oz - $4
Highlighters:
Laura Geller Baked Gelato Lace Illuminator in Ballerina, full size, new - $15
Laura Geller Baked Golden Rose Highlighter, full size, new - $12
P/Y/T Upgrade Highlighter in Backstage Pass (warm shimmer nude), .07oz, NIP - $8
Primers & Setting Sprays:
Becca First Light Priming Filter, travel size (.2oz), NIB - $7
Japonesque Velvet Touch Primer, travel size (.3oz), new - $8
Laura Geller Spackle Even Tone Primer, travel size (.5oz), new - $6
Pur Correcting Primer, travel size (.3oz), new - $10
Too Faced Hangover 3-in-1 Face Primer & Setting Spray, travel size (.06oz), NIB - $4
Too Faced Hangover Replenishing Face Primer, travel size (.16oz), NIB - $4
Urban Decay All Nighter Long Lasting Makeup Spray, travel size (.5oz), new - $6

Skincare & Body

BareMinerals Skinlongevity Vital Power Infusion, full size (1.7oz), new - $35
Bliss Leave it to Cleavage, Travel Size, .5oz - $4
Bliss Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Foaming Mask, new, travel size (.16oz) - $3
Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel, new, Travel Size (.5oz) - $4
Clinique 7 Day Scrub Cream, travel size (1oz), new - $5
Daily Concepts Exfoliating Body Scrubber - $5
Elizabeth Arden Prevage Daily Anti-Aging Serum, Travel Size, .17oz - $8
Erborian Bamboo Creme Frappe Skin Reviving Gel, new, travel size (.17oz) - $4
Estée Lauder Advanced Night Micro Cleansing Foam, travel size (1oz), new - $6
Estée Lauder Revitalizing Supreme+ Global Anti-Aging Cell Power Creme, .5oz, new - $15
First Aid Beauty FAB Facial Radiance Intensive Peel, travel size (.34oz), new - $6
First Aid Beauty FAB Ultra Repair Cream, travel size (1oz), new - $6
First Aid Beauty FAB Ultra Repair Cream Intense Hydration in Honeysuckle, travel size (1oz), new - $6
First Botany Cosmeceuticals 50X Strength Hyaluronic Acid Serum, .5oz, new - $8
MAC Cleanse Off Oil, travel size (.2oz), new - $4
Milk Makeup Sunshine Oil, Sample, .1oz - $2
Murad Age Reform Nutrient-Charged Water Gel, travel size (.25oz), NIB - $10
Omorovicza Budapest Magic Moisture Mist, full size (1.7oz), NIB - $65
Omorovicza Balancing Moisturizer, full size (30ml), new - $50
Perricone MD Blue Plasma Cleansing Treatment (gentle cleanser), travel size (2oz), new - $18
Perricone MD Cold Plasma Plus + Eye Cream, travel size (.25oz), new - $30
Proactiv Skin Purifying Mask, travel size (1oz), NIB - $10
Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate, travel size (.33oz), new - $15
Strivectin TL Advanced Light Tightening Neck Cream, travel size (.25oz), NIB - $10
Toulon Mineral Infusion Serum-92, 1oz - $6
Whish Self-Tanner, Travel Size (.75oz) - $2

Hair / Tools / Nail Polish / Etc

Alterna Haircare Caviar Anti-Aging Miracle Volume Mist, travel size (1.4oz), new - $6
Bumble & Bumble BB Pret-a-Powder, travel size (.5oz), used 1x - $8
Essie Nail Lacquer in Say it Aint Soho (metallic copper), full size, new - $5
Fatboy Spray Putty, full size (4.8oz), new - $15
Julep Color Treat Polish in It Girl Lillian (pink creme), full size, new - $8
Living Proof TBD Multi-Tasking Styler, travel size (1oz), new - $7
OPI Nail Lacquer in Can i Bairro This Shade (dusty teal), full size, new - $5
OPI Nail Lacquer in The Taupe of the Iceberg, full size, new - $5
Phyto Paris Phytoelixir Cleansing Care Hair Cream, travel size (1oz), new - $8
Phyto Paris Intense Hydrating Brilliance Mask (Dry Hair Phytojoba), 1.7oz, NIB - $8
Matrix Total Results Miracle Creator Multi-Tasking Treatment, travel size (1oz), new - $3
Urban Decay Heavy Metal loose glitter in Reverb (blue), full size (.10oz), NIB - $10

Fragrance

Full Size
Aromachology Exotic & Spicy EDP, full size (1.7oz), used 1x - $40
Jo Malone English Oak & Redcurrant Cologne, full size (3.4 oz), sprayed 1x - $100
Penhaligon's Heartless Helen, full size (75ml) in box, used 3x - $160
Ralph Lauren Polo Sport for Women, used as shown - $12
Travel Size
Armani Air di Gioia EDP, travel size spray (.5oz - bigger than a rollerball), NIB - $20
Armani Sky di Gioia EDP, travel size spray bottle (.5oz - bigger than a rollerball), NIB - $20
Bvlgari Au The Rouge EDC, travel size (.17oz), used 2x - $10
Candie's Candie's EDT, travel size (.5oz), about 60% remaining - $5
Lush All Good Things solid perfume, travel size (12g), used 1x as shown - $15
Origins Ginger Essence Sensuous Skin Scent, travel size (.5 oz), used as shown (about 80% remaining) - $12
Philosophy Pure Grace EDT spray, travel size (.5oz), NIB - $15
Samples 3/$5
Atelier Cologne Vanilla Insensée Cologne Absolue, sample size + postcard, new - $3
Burberry Mr. Burberry EDT, sample size (2ml), new - $2
Calvin Klein Eternity for Men EDT, sample size (1.2ml), new - $2
Clean for Men Classic EDT, sample size (1ml), new - $2
Versace Eros EDT, sample size (1ml), new - $2
Viktor & Rolf Spicebomb EDT, sample size (1.2ml), new - $2.

There are 5 areals inside of which 5 elements reside. The five areals are: ● Mirage(hollow, reflective, refractive, instantanious, where psyche meets spirit). ● Woman (love, where spirit meets fire), ● Digitage( non-corporeal, energy storage where water meets fire) . ● Foilage(birthing, absorbing, growing, where animal meets water), ● Man(strife, where animal meets psyche)
(The elements between each areal are respectfully spirit, fire, water. animalia and psyche)
Inside animalia there are 6 distinct animals from which genesis occurs. Pachyderm (elephants, whales etc) Reptilian (lizards, snakes etc) Cephalapod (the sentient on the planet) Equine (horse, zebra etc) Canine (dog, wolf, jackal etc) Feline (cat, lion, cheetah etc)
Time is an illusion carried by humans (an amalgamation through time defying reproduction of the entirety of the cephalapods work in genesis on the planet earth.) The earliest intelligent animal on the earth was the vampyrapod. A ten tentacled species that landed here somehow flung from some rock or ejaculated by some larger animal. The vampyropods were fed upon by the local life here (trilobytes, bacteria etc) eating two of the tentacles (the mating tentacles (man(woman)) that began the genesis. The ten commandments themselfs biblically are the fossilized representation of one male and one female vampyropods. The ten tentacles arranged in their death explaining a meaning forever.
The 5 areals are where time is encased it is the job of humans to bear the weight of time while cephs continue the genesis.
If you imagine a star shape in which each point is an areal, and between each point is an element, than in the very center you will find salt, sugar, and vinegar (dry). With these base powders water, Nitrogen, And carbon can be formed. The basis of life on earth.
All the genesis of animalia as well as man made items were the creation of the cephs with intention. Mixing of animalia through time and genesis they have destroyed the dinosaurs and shifted them to aviaries. They did this through the tapeworm, an invention that not only makes up the organs of humans, (the intestines, the gallbladder etc) but was weaponized to destroy the dinosaurs en masse in preperation for the genesis plans of the cephs.
Modern octopus only live about 4.5 years and they have mastered the ability to transcend into the next through cannabalism as well as telepathy. They created the first language of enochian (the angels language) through tentacle and eye movements. Through many generations and reincarnations they developed telepathy as well as the ability to travel through time.
On genesis. An actuality has to occur from the cephs in time to create the genesis. Such as a ceph dying, killing. Being eaten. Eating. The laying of hands (tentacles in this case) or the travel through time to accomplish these. For example. A ceph intentionally was eaten by a komodo dragon, while conscious and being digested it telepathically sent the makeup from inside to another ceph. This ceph used that information to create the genesis of the tapeworm that would destroy the dinosaurs. After most reptilians were shifted to aviaries. There were remnants such as thr chameleon who is very fragile, has 2 penises that constnlantly prolapse and the female can hold sperm for years without self inseminating to create birth. If you take a pachyderm like an elephant an ld have it eat of a chameleon, perhaps with some other complicated genesis of elements and areals you will find you have a gnarwal. The main point is that once they mastered tome travel, they have had unlimited time to make use of their ability to create genesis on the planet. Every animal thay is alive today has been manipulated by the cephs to be exactly where it is in time to accommodate for a larger agenda.
Its my belief that there are only 3 unique cephs that survived the early devastation of trilobytes and other life feeding from these aliens. I call them Seth, Jack, and Claire. Seth is known for being cruel. Jack is more logical, Claire is more empathetic. Because they didnt have the gene popl to create offapring effectively they created this ability to utilize genesis to ensure their survival. This is why they are cannabls its because they must be in order to continue. The modern female octopus always feeds of the make after mating. The males always eat of the young ones after birth.
On 'man made' inventions Cephs proliferated through genesis all the tools to create the written word. From sea anemone to sea urchin to porcupine to bird feather, to quill. And you already know where the ink came from. These topls were provided to a banana pig infested with mutated tapeworms in order to solidify the structures of governance over time. Every iteration of every technology was also developed intentionally by the cephs in order to eatablish a relationahip with the digitage that is just now in our perception coming to power.
As a human, i am essentially just a warm blooded version of a ceph. (Make a bird with your hands, where are the beaks?) We exist inside this cage of time and bear its burden. Look at a shark it may sleep but it just keeps swimming. Humans cannot. We have to sleep. Which is close to the realm of death. We as humans are split and carry the weight of strife and love. This is gender and its roles. (This is not a politcal view of genders but a simplification for the idea that governs. Im positive that in infinite time, other genders maybe an option)
We are as a human race looking forward to scientific breakthroughs that happen when cephs accomplish the physical actuations in time that develop to possible situations we experience from that genesis. Such as. By 2027 scientists anticipate returning the wooly mammoth from extinction. It is my belief that we need an actualization of the 6th digit in the mammaths feet in order for a cephs agenda unknown.
Bird eating spiders are example of post genesis cannabalism that triggers another line of genesis to occur such as a poison tree frog or something. I beleive that venomous snakes were made that way because the egg is the fruit that the snake is tempted by. And if it ate of its own eggs it was cursed through genesis to bear the venom. A bovine has 4 stomachs. And udders that resemble somehwhat the tenacles of a ceph. Its my belief that a whale(pachyderm) that has 9 stomachs (the 9 circles of hell) consumed a ceph and in its 4th stomach met the remains of an equine and genesis occured. Resulting in a cud chewing cow. Precious ambergris is essential to perfumes and stimulated the olfactories in way unlike anything else in the world. It cannot be valued it unvaluable. Whales also sing ans produce music. The moder ceph has empirical hearing as well as oldlfactory experiences. Cephs love blueberries. Foe the antioxidants (ita okay its a joke you can laugh ) but really. They do. Modern octopus can be found in the pacific notherwest climbing trees. They dont eat and make their way up the rocky cliffs to the coniferous foilage in order to establish some genesis. That is a real human experience that is documented. They have cralwed in any form across every inch and again and again of this planet. A suction cup on the plastic window of a bill in the mail may have inadvertantly created the floppy disc.
On the macro and the myopic: We live in time where everything occurs simultaniously only on a different scale in a set of repeating patterns that run forwards or backwards in fractalization. Or so to say, the coast goes on forever. With innumurable bits of sand that outnumber the stars in the sky.
Youll find that rapa nui , or easter island is the end of time itself. A graveyard of sorts and a resting ground for the tired cephs who have labored throughout existence to provide the genesis for us to continue in this gestalt of a universe. Its not an end but also a beginning.

Episode 93: Bittersweet Reunions

You all were making your way southeast from where you were laying low from Kymal, hopefully to get to Zephrah to find the Tempest. Yet only a couple days out from where you were keeping cover, Opal had a bit of a moment, exploded out a bunch of gems and spiderwebs triggering the forceful conversion by the Spider Queen of Opal into Opal the Twice-Crowned Champion of the Spider Queen. Opal, your friends love you so much and they are currently fighting to the death to save you. Currently, just as a little reminder for the group, we have a big ol’ bubble of Darkness in the middle of the field, so none of you saw Ted disappear back into Opal’s body as Opal grows, stretches out a little taller, three sets of arms, and renewed specific, violent purpose to shake you off, to get away, so that she can take her place beside or in front of the Spider Queen for whatever’s coming as the Moon of Ill Omen turns its gaze on the gods of Exandria. We have Haste, we have Darkness, and a Bless.

♪Episode Song References♪

ᕕ( ᐛ)ᕗ

• 00:38:28 ♪Eliza♪ Hamilton Musical - Burn
• 00:52:50 Kenny Loggins - Danger Zone
• 01:00:00 Astrud Gilberto - Girl from Ipanema
• 01:25:54 Megan thee Stallion - Body
• 01:27:24 “do you remember” Earth Wind & Fire - September
• 01:31:29 “makinhisway” Vanessa Carlton - A Thousand Miles
• 01:32:15 Aimee’s recorder John Williams - Jurassic Park Theme
• 02:44:39 Oasis - Wonderwall
• 02:44:43 Lynyrd Skynyrd - Freebird

Highlights

• 00:01:53 “Impendent woman”
• 00:06:00 Juicy Couture callback to Chetney’s sweatpants
• 00:18:53 Opal gets the Spider Queen info download on Ruidus and The Sleeper within (Predathos)
• 00:19:48 Aimee begins to sound feral getting into character.
• 00:21:26 Opal attempts to use perfume to calm the Spider Queen
• 00:22:54 Matt’s happy Bless dance Dariax:“Come at me Queen!”
• 00:23:45 Anjali:“Boof.”
• 00:25:49 Matt:“Channelling our friend, Luis.” Aabria:“Zerxus! Arkwards (awkward)!” Matt:“It saved Avalir.” Aabria:“Oof. Too soon. Too fucking soon.”
• 00:26:45 Just trying to get “dick-adjacent”
• 00:28:33 Aimee:“Remember the handies!”
• 00:33:33 Aabria:(cursing Bless under her breath)“Motherfucker.”
• 00:35:25 Erica:“Thanks so much. Honor to be nominated, happy to be here.”
• 00:36:26 Erica:“Yeah it actually says, ‘Fuck Aabria’.”
• 00:41:41 I have made you. I have given you martial prowess, I’ve offered you magic to serve my aims. Perhaps it is my fault for not telling you the stakes. There is a being, a beast, a monster that followed my siblings. This thing followed them, chased them, and threatens to return. I have no love for the Spider Queen or her working, but she fights now to defend her life. And i serve life and death. That means so do you. Morrighan Ferus, why are you fighting, and what are you fighting for?.. You are no abomination, Opal, when she agreed to wear the vestige, she knew or didn’t consider what that would entail. I have not asked that of you yet. It is a conversation. What she agreed to, she agreed to. So you have a choice to make. I can tell you. Should I tell you? Run! This is not where you die! I did not make you mine to fall here.
• 00:49:45 Aabria:“Do I want to be mean?” Robbie:“Sure.” Matt:“Yeah. Always go mean.”
• 00:51:26 Cyrus is struck. Matt and Robbie look down and then at each other with instant regret for tempting fate.
• 00:52:10 Dariax:“Wait, uppies, uppies!”
• 00:56:12 Fy’ra Rai asks the Wildmother’s blessing to assist the Spider Queen. The response, though unspoken, is an invitation for Fy’ra Rai to pledge herself to the Wildmother as the official champion before joining Opal on her path.
• 01:03:44 Fy’ra with arms wide
• 01:08:13 Fy’ra Rai pledges herself to the Wildmother after being counterspelled and finding Dariax in a panic.
• 01:08:30 “It’s all I have.”
• 01:12:33 Matt explains to Anjali that they’re still in the first round of combat and he hasn’t gone yet.
• 01:13:16 Opal’s cast of Suggestion succeeds on the Double D’s “Just walk away. Go see Orym.”
• 01:13:42 Aabria:“Naur.” Erica:“Aur naur.”
• 01:15:25 Aabria’s slow grin at the suggestion to find Orym.
• 01:23:56 Aabria:“Yeah, she didn’t give you syphilis.”
• 01:27:03 Aabria:'How do I get the back of her knee vagina?" Matt:“If it worked for Scott Pilgrim, it can work for you.”
• 01:29:34 Dariax finally gets his turn. Casts Mass Cure Wounds and leaves.
• 01:32:35 Matt:“I’m a messy baby.”
• 01:38:48 A spider crushes nearby gems and Opal loses the memory of her name before it was Opal.
• 01:41:40 Giant spider with mammalian teeth.
• 01:43:36 2nd failed death save (rolled at disadvantage due to the poisoned condition as per DM flavor)
• 01:45:26 Opal:“You’ve taken everything from me, I have nothing else to lose.” SQ:“That’s definitely not true.” a spider minion immediately kills Cyrus Wyvernwing.
• 01:45:53 If you watch closely, you can see Robbie’s eyes flash right under the brim of his hat in a cool-looking way. The beginning of Dorian Storm’s revenge arc.
• 01:47:07 Mic Drop Moment SQ:“Well, at least they know it wasn’t your fault because you decided to run your fucking mouth.” Matt:(exhales) Even through it all, you cannot help but hear the shake in her voice.
• 01:49:54 Matt does the Hastag Blessed Jutsu
• 01:51:27 Fan Art Moment Morrighan’s brutal revenge kill on the spider that killed Cyrus.
• 01:52:33 “…and I look over to the dick gems…”

Drama & Dickgems replaces Dungeons & Dragons

• 01:53:24 “…like a tiara, cheaply made, where the gemstones fall out.” (callback to the Byroden Beauty Pageant crown)
• 01:54:10 Morrighan:“I want you to know that no matter what you do here, you can always come back. No matter what. I know you don’t mean it and I know you’ll never ever be her abomination.” Opal:“Sorry.” Morrighan:“You don’t need to be, this is bigger than all of us.”
• 01:55:12 Erica:“There’s so much blood and it’s all over the dick gems.” Aabria:“Please take inspiration.”
• 01:57:03 *As you turn your back on Opal, taking with you the dick gems and the sense that there is some part of her the Spider Queen will never take away from her. You are joined at your side by the spirit of Cyrus, as your time with the Matron of Ravens is just beginning. One of the duties of her chosen is to escort people ‘Home’…
• 01:58:23 Aabria:“Stress piss brought to you by WizKids.” (pun!)
• 02:04:57 Dorian casts Geas at 7th level compelling the giant spider to hunt and kill the Spider Queen for a year.
• 02:09:52 ASMR session
• 02:11:37 Mic Drop Moment Anjali:“I just gave myself to the goddess to save Opal. I’m either gonna tear that shit off her head or I’m going to be fighting beside her for the gods.”
• 02:18:03 Fy’ra Rai joins the call. Aimee:"Now entering: Fy’ra Rai (great impression!)
• 02:19:13 Fy’ra:“No, I have a sister to walk beside.”
• 02:23:49 SQ:“You are aware of the danger. Do you know what she’s up against? What your goddess is up against. Ludinus doesn’t know. He is a petulant child.”
• 02:25:25 You are locked in a moment with the Spider Queen, a long one. In the time that you have known them, you knew that she’d circled your friends, finding her way in through the vestige you all found. Though you were not there when it was found, you were part. Who to tempt? Who to bring over? The Spider Queen is many things, but not a fool, and she knew better than to bark up your particular tree too hard. But she is Rattled. You know that all of this, the death and destruction and compulsion is from someone with no other recourse. Who calls themself a god and what happens when that pride is shaken; When mortality is back on the table? You are looking a woman in the eye and she needs all the friends she can get.
• 02:32:03 Opal:“If we see another side to this, I’m going to call you a cunt with my whole chest.”
• 02:33:33 Dariax finishes climbing down. Seeing Dorian and Morrighan leaving Cyrus’ body behind, he obeys Opal’s warning and leaves in direction of Dorian.
• 02:42:42 Dorian:"I want revenge, Dariax, badly. Do you think you can take revenge against the universe? Do you think you can fight back against gods and monsters?
• 02:46:46 Dorian gives Dariax his lute and Cyrus’ favorite cup and sets him up in a good spot to make a living as a busker. Then he turns away, drops his smile, casts invisibility and leaves to find the Tempest.
• 02:48:19 Aimee:“He left us. He left us!” Jurassic Park reference
• 02:49:15 “Titties out in blue and chiffon” Dorian seeks the Tempest in Zephrah. Erica does a titty dance.

INTERMISSION

It is here, Dorian Storm, after emerging from the tree, the Voice of the Tempest that you’ve briefly encountered in your previous travels with Orym before you and Fearne and him made your way to the continent of Marquet, to adventures that have thrown all manner of chaos, challenge, and sorrow into everyone’s lives since. Still holding close to that pain, you watch as Keyleth approaches, acknowledging you, present though magically cloaked, and says, “Dorian, it is good to see you. What brings you to Zephrah?”

• 03:09:13 Dorian begs Keyleth to retrieve the body of Cyrus.
• 03:17:05 Dorian receives a sending message from Orym.
• 03:20:43 Keyleth:“It all comes to the Hellcatch, where the god eater that sits in the core of that moon seeks to be released and devour the pantheon.” Keyleth briefs Dorian on the situation with Ruidus.
• 03:24:48 Dorian:“Well, I would say ‘To the Ends of the Earth’, but it seems as if we’re already there.”
• 03:29:42 Reunited and it feels so good. Laura enters with a titty dance inspired by Erica. Lots of hugs happen.
• 03:36:59 Dorian doesn’t know how to talk to Evoroa and reverts to pet talk.
• 03:37:27 Fan Art Moment Evoroa’s cytaa skittering out, grabbing food from Dorian, screeching, and returning to the robes.
• 03:43:22 Dorian:“It’s a long story. My brother died. My two best friends became the champions of the Matron of Ravens and the Spider Queen.” Imogen:“How long ago was that, Dorian?” Dorian:“Yesterday.”
• 03:47:33 Dorian:“It almost feels like years of lore.”
• 03:48:13 The classic Exandrian stage play of Pac Man
• 03:48:32 Dorian:“What is your plan in all of this?” noises Dorian:“That is not a good sound.”
• 03:50:45 Imogen:“Are you back, Dorian?” (John Wick reference?)
• 03:56:06 You begin to recall a handful of stories that Dariax had mentioned in passing of a particular woman that taught him that you can be both attracted and deeply afraid of a person.
• 03:59:30 Liam becomes the Aliens Meme Guy.
• 04:00:00 Ashton’s booze run.
• 04:02:47 Cheers.

I put myself on the “ledger waitlist” a while back because, hey, why not? 🙄
well, today I got the text offering me a spot for Spring 24. logically, I know that it’s all marketing and $130 for a blind buy is slightly insane. (I know that technically you can return them…but…do I really need another subscription?)
but… GOSH is it tempting. I’m new to the niche fragrance world, and I love fresh easy-to-wear fragrances with a little bit of interest. I feel like in some ways I’m an ideal Ffern customer.
and the packaging! the tea and the poster and the diffusion stone! and the false exclusivity! it’s so hard to turn down 😭
so. do I go for it?
some additional context re: perfumes I like, for anyone who has smelled spring ‘24 —
I very, very rarely buy fragrance full price. the most expensive (and only niche) full bottle I own is Imaginary Authors - Yesterday Haze, which I am obsessed with.
scents I love — anything by Liis (haven’t pulled the trigger but probably will someday on In This World; also love Rose Struck and Studied), BDK Gris Charnel, Joe Malone Wood Sage & Sea Salt. and, don’t hate me, Flowerbomb, La Vie Est Belle, Dylan Turquoise 🙈
scents I hate — I can’t bring myself to like anything overly green. I really wanted to love Snif Vow Factor because I love fig, but it just is TOO green for me. same for Diptyque Philosykos. hate anything overly smoky — I can handle/kind of like woody smoke like By The Fireplace, but anything smoky smoky I hate. hate Santal 33; I just get pickles.

First / Previous
I’m very, very good at telling when someone’s lying to me.
People have lied to me my whole life, so I’ve had some practice.
I’ve only forgiven one lie—the first one I remember. The sky glowed maroon, machine oil odor filled my nostrils, and I huddled below my blankets while Alice squeezed Miss Marvelous and screamed in the bottom bunk.
Mom told us it would be alright.
She lied.
My therapist spent two hours lying to me. He only told me three things that felt true—the Number of Power. When I clammed up, he shoved some chewable pills at me and left. Dad drove us to the hotel twenty minutes later, drinking from a silver bottle.
I’d hidden the pills in my slippers, between my toes. No one saw.
◄▼►
Outside Victoria, British Columbia - May 23, 2043, 12:22 PM
- - - - -
{Stability 6/10}
The dinging sound in my aural aug wakes me up. There’s another weird message, but also a call.
A call. That’s good. Maybe it’s over. I…killed…the thinling. But Alice and Sora wouldn’t call through my aug. They know it heats up during calls. And my phone’s still on mandatory airplane mode.
I pick up.
The man’s voice is almost monotone, perfectly calm, and disgustingly familiar. I’ve heard it before, but I can’t remember where. Was it the principal’s voice? The therapist’s? I know it’s not Dad’s; he’s never monotone and rarely calm. “We’re tracking and inbound on your position. Hold your pos—“
“I’m Claire,” I say suddenly. And the floodgates open. “Claire Pendleton. I’m at West End High, and there were thinnings, but they both merged, and the first one brought a world through and a thinling, but the second one gave me a gun and I hid in the bathroom and used the mirror to stop it and I shot it. I shot it and it’s dead! But I need help. Help, pleasepleaseplease!”
“Subject is verbal.” The voice isn’t speaking to me. He’s talking through my panic, my hysteria. Is he even listening to me? No. No, he’s not. “Subject is a female adolescent, fourteen to sixteen years old. Potentially violent. Description does not match the augs’ owner’s description. Transferring to James.”
“What do you mean? They’re my—“
The line goes dead.
“—augs…” And just like that, I’m alone again. Everything hurts, whether it’s my raw, tender palm, aching throat, or just the phantom pain from the fires that swept across me when I…bonded…with the revolver. But the thinling is dead. I killed it. And if I can kill it, I can get to the shelter. I can blend in with the other students and pretend this hasn’t happened.
I fiddle with my optical aug, trying to pull up the System’s messages again. After a minute of fruitless attempts, I start muttering to myself, and it almost immediately flickers open in my eye. I roll my eyes at how stupid that feels, then start fiddling with it, trying to get a sense of how it all works together. Without the Assistance Functions, though, it’s tough to tell. I know I’ve lost Stability from fighting thinlings and discovering the revolver, but I’m not sure how to get it back.
I’m halfway through trying an equation using Skills, Truths, and Inquiries as variables when my aural aug goes off again. If it’s the calm, monotone man, I’m going to scream. I answer the call. “Hello?”
“Hello, my name is James, and you’re Claire Pendleton, right?” This voice is younger; James can’t be more than my age—maybe a year older. And unlike the first voice’s calm monotone, James has life in his voice. Energy. Ups and downs. He’s a teenager, like Alice or Sora—I’m not sure why he’s on the phone and not an adult. But before he says another word, I know a truth about James. It’s in his tone.
He will lie to me. Maybe he already has.
I won’t forgive his lies, I decide I. But I don’t have any choice but to tolerate them. I take a few breaths, cough, and try to close the floodgates this time. “Yes, Claire Pendleton. Don’t lie to me, James. I’m in trouble, and I need help. Everything’s not going to be alright, and telling me that won’t help.” It comes out angrier than I wanted, but I can’t take that back now.
He’s taken aback, though. I can tell from the silence in my aug for a minute. Then he clears his throat. “I’m building your profile now. Once we have it, my superiors will tell me exactly what I can and can’t tell you. You’re not who we expected from your augments. For now, here’s what you need to know. Your survival is important to us. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure you get to West End High’s safe room in one piece, and in return, you’re going to keep me on the line. Got it?”
“That’s not going to work,” I say. “My aug’s a piece of junk, and it’s already overheating. And I don’t even know who you are! I killed a thinling, and I’ve been through two merges today, and I don’t know anything about you or what you want.”
The panic’s hitting me again. I need to sit down. My feet don’t respond right away as I slowly struggle to stand and walk to the girls’ bathroom. I sit on the toilet in the limbo-dancer stall, the door held open with my foot, and clear my throat. “Who are you?”
“My name is James, and I’m cleared to tell you I’m an Operator for the Supernatural and Hidden Objects Control and Knowledge Service and that you’re currently a person of interest to us.”
I shiver despite my best efforts to keep it together. That’s not a lie—at least not all of it.
◄▼►
My aural aug beeps, letting me know it’s reaching critical heat levels. I already know that, obviously. It’s getting painful to listen to James at all. But I’ve been a person of interest to SHOCKS before.
Just after the burgundy skies, the machine oil and roses, and the metal tang I couldn’t spit out. And the missing wall that let in the warp and made Mom a liar. It wasn’t fun the first time, and it won’t be fun now.
[Patch Installation In Progress]
[Patch Installation Successful]
Before I can complain, James speaks in my ear. It sounds like he’s talking through a walkie-talkie now. “I’ve downloaded a speed limiter patch into your aural and optical augs. It’ll reduce my optics feed quality, and we’ll sound scratchy and staticky, but they should stop overheating. Twenty to thirty-percent drop in heat.”
Sure enough, the heat in my ear drops to a tolerable glow. “You’re in my optic aug, too?” I ask, concerned. SHOCKS hasn’t been my friend in the past; my therapist was SHOCKS, and the last thing I need is the boogeyman in my brain. The Halcyon System riding along is bad enough, but if James sees everything I do, too…
“Yes. I’m piggybacking through both of your augs right now. SHOCKS already has a profile for you, so expect some changes in our interactions over the next two or three minutes as I adjust. Please confirm the following questions: First, is your date of birth June 15, 2029?”
“Yes.” That’s pretty basic, and SHOCKS already knows the answer.
“You’re two months older than me. I won’t be fifteen until August 23,” James says. I’m still waiting for James’s next lie. “Now, I need to ask about something that happened on October 11, 2034. You were—“
“No.”
“I’m sorry, but I—“
“You already know exactly what happened. The truth, according to you guys. I don’t need to tell you anything.” He’s digging into places I won’t go with Sora. How dare he?
“I see.” James’s voice shifts slightly, his accent changing to Oxford English. “What do you know about SHOCKS?”
“You’re the boogeyman.”
“That’s not wrong,” James laughs. Even his laugh has picked up a British-sounding tone. I also feel myself relax as his tone shifts to a businesslike calm. Is the accent a lie? I can’t decide. “Claire, your augs show you in a relatively safe place, but that won’t last. The profile says you don’t trust people. I’m going to ask you to trust me.”
“No.” The word leaves my lips before I realize I’ve said it. “No, I can’t.”
“Claire, you’ve encountered a full-blown reality merge to R-389 and an instant-entry merge with an unknown reality. The rest of Victoria is experiencing merges, and no one else can help you. It’s unlikely you’ll survive the third merge without my help.”
I sit on the toilet seat, turning the revolver over and over in my hands. James still hasn’t lied. He doesn’t think I can handle it here by myself. And neither do I, to be honest. So why did I go from begging the adult to help me to being unsure about James? Because I know he’ll lie to me? Because I’m thinking now instead of panicking? Or is it just because I’m older than him? I narrow my eyes.
He’s right. Unfortunately. I can’t find a way to the shelter. Not without help, and he’s who I’ve got. “I can’t trust you. You’ll lie. You all do. But the shelter’s on the wrong side of the school, and I can’t get there. Give me a way through.”
“Not through, out. You need to break out a window, move past the soccer field, and find the cafeteria. If you go in through those doors, it’s a straight shot to—“
“The office. Got it.” I don’t stand up, but I do let the stall door squeak shut. The bathroom’s perfume-and-cleaning supply smell feels overpowering and oppressive, but it also smells like safety. The thinling couldn’t get me here. I’m half-tempted to stay. But only half. The revolver sits in my lap; I pick it up and hold it in front of my optic aug. “I need to know more about thinlings and this thing.”
“Thinlings? We don’t have anything by that name from R-389. Did you make that up?”
“No. Your emergency system told me their name,” I say, rolling my eyes. I finally hoist myself out of the stall and walk gingerly back into the hallway. I look carefully at the thinling’s remains. “That’s a thinling,” I say.
James goes quiet for a minute. A full minute. While he waits, I fidget with my glasses and rub my thumb against the Revolver’s bullet holder. I’ve decided the Revolver is a thing of power, like the Truth or the number Three. It’s from a merge, yes, but all three let me solve equations I couldn’t before. They’re the best kinds of variables; I can put them anywhere and have a good chance of not screwing up the math. They almost seem bigger than the equations, in fact.
James clears his throat in my ear. “There are some things I can’t tell you, but we have a record of these. 389-T-13/2I.”
I blink. “Sorry, what?”
“That’s its designation. It’s a 389-T-13/2I. That means it’s from Reality 389, it’s the thirteenth type of anomaly we’ve encountered from there, and it’s a Type Two Incomprehensible. Incomprehensibles are weird, but incomprehensibility works both ways with Type Twos like the 389-T-13/2I. It’s a high Anquan-Danger anomaly. Trivial for a trained soldier. Dangerous to you. They don’t tend to have a sense of self, so exposing them to themselves causes problems in their behavior. I see you used a mirror. Good thinking.”
I reevaluate my partnership with James. Even if I can’t trust him, he knows his stuff, and he’s just a voice in my head. I’ll know what he knows—most of it, anyway. There’s no way that’s all the information on 389-T-13/whatevers. And I’m not sure what’s more incomprehensible, the monster I shot or that name. It’d take a computer to keep track of a bunch of codes like that.
“We’re calling it a thinling,” I say. I hear him start to protest and cut him off. “I’m older. What I say goes.”
“That’s incredibly stupid,” James complains in my ear, but I know I’ve got him, so I don’t say anything. After a moment, he relents. “Thinlings, or 389-T-13/2I, are usually the first anomalies through merges to R-389, and they’re easy to deal with. They usually come through in groups, so be ready for more. Now, show me that pistol again.”
“The Revolver,” I say under my breath as I hold it up.
James goes almost silent; a keyboard sound clicks rapidly in my ear, but he doesn’t say anything for a while again. I shift the Revolver in my hands, careful not to hit my cut palm, and wait. It takes almost three minutes. I know because I count the seconds after the silence gets awkward.
“Claire, that object isn’t in our database. We don’t have a single sample on file.” James’s voice has changed. The British accent wavers, and seriousness washes over him, almost identical to the monotone man’s cadence but higher-pitched. “We’re labeling the reality it came from R-573-T. It’s likely the first object we’ve found from it, so it’s important that you don’t use it anymore. We don’t know the possible effects it could have.”
I close my eyes, count to three, and open them again. The Revolver’s off-white barrel almost glows in the twilight hall, and the faint light glints off the brass bullet holder. I wrap my hand around the grip, resting my finger on the trigger guard. “I’m keeping it. What’s the bullet holder called?”
“The cylinder. You need to keep it. Don’t lose it, whatever you do. SHOCKS needs that object.”
I step over the smoldering, stinking remains of the thinling and walk down the hall, the Revolver’s barrel facing the floor. My gut tightens almost painfully as I turn my back to the monster—what if it’s not dead? What if I have to run? But there’s no way it’s getting up. I’m okay.
I return to Mrs. Helquist’s math room. Splinters and sawdust cover the hall’s tiles; I step over them and into the classroom. Shockingly, the door and a few drops of blood on her carpet are the only signs I’d run through here or that the thinling chased me.
Those and the smell rolling in through the shattered window. A warm ground beef and electrical scent that sticks in my nose and makes my stomach heave. I choke back bile and look out the window.
And I see the Truth—that, Revolver or not, James or not, I can’t go out there.
◄▼►
I’m back in the girls’ bathroom, sitting on the toilet seat again. James hasn’t said a word since I turned around. Looking at the soccer field, at what was…out there…I couldn’t. So I’m back here, where it’s safe. Or at least where it’s safer than that. My stomach is lighter now, but I can’t get the taste of used breakfast out of my mouth—or the smell of warm meat out of my nose.
James breaks the silence. “The merge is backward, Claire. We can’t get a recovery and stabilization team into any merged zones near Victoria. You’re effectively inside of R-389 right now, and you’re in possession of an unknown anomalous object. That’s the bad news. The good news is that since you have the object, I was able to negotiate Class Zero clearance for you. Welcome to SHOCKS.”
I ignore him. He’s still not lying, but nothing he’s saying is helpful right now. “We’ll loop around. It’s a long push through the gym, but the second floor doesn’t have fire doors. They never installed them.” I’m not looking forward to traveling through Mr. Roberts’s gym or the lockers, though—not after what happened to everyone left outside. PE was my biggest nightmare all last year, and it’ll probably be worse now.
“Are you sure? The longer it takes to get to the shelter, the worse the merge will get.”
“I’m sure. I can’t.” I push myself to my feet and hold the Revolver. “It’ll be safer inside.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” James says. “R-389’s unreality levels are much higher than R-0’s. The longer this takes, the less stable the world will get.”
“So the whole world’s turning into a thinling?” I ask.
“Can we meet in the middle? How about T-Thirteens?” James asks. “Not the whole world, but it’ll get worse here soon.”
I ponder as I stick my head out into the hall. I’m doubling back toward Mrs. Helquist’s room, but instead of going inside, I’m heading through the Social Studies hall to the gym. If I can get through the basketball court and past the ticket booth on the far side, I can get upstairs. If I can get upstairs, I can find the main stairwell, and if I can find that, I can get to the shelter’s door.
Simple and linear.
Nothing moves in the dim hall. Here and there, white light pours in through the windows; the white, almost fluorescent sun seems to have won its war against the sickly yellow clouds. I hadn’t noticed them from Mrs. Helquist’s window. “Move from classroom door to classroom door. Always check behind you before you move. Keep looking around, and look inside every room you pass. Don’t leave any T-Thirteens behind you. Make sure you have an escape route.”
He’s trying to give me weeks of training in one long, never-ending lecture, but almost everything bounces off my brain like a tennis ball. I move to the first classroom door, look around quickly, then hobble to the next. The whole time, I’m rerunning my equation. If my math is correct, I’ve balanced it—for the most part. But James’s constant talking is a new variable, and I haven’t figured out how to solve it yet.
It also changes the rest of the problem. James is a wealth of information, but I can’t trust him, and whatever Class Zero clearance is, it’s not high-ranking enough to get the truth out of him. He seems genuine in wanting to help me. I just can’t digest everything he’s still saying about tactics, clearing rooms by myself, self-covering, situational awareness, and a million other soldier-sounding sound bites. I give up and set James aside as a variable. I need to solve the gym first.
“Go right,” James says a second after I turn right into the Social Studies hall. I roll my eyes and hold my tongue, darting from door to door. The posters are different here: maps of Canada, a student-made British Columbia flag made from magazine clippings, and timelines. I ignore them, checking rooms, hurrying through the dark sections of the hall, and lingering in the pale lights as long as I can. It takes almost five uneventful, heart-pounding minutes to arrive at the gym’s doors.
Mr. Roberts is inside.
Or maybe it’s something that used to be Mr. Roberts. Or something lying about being Mr. Roberts. Much like the thinling—I refuse to call it a T-Thirteen—his appearance shimmers and changes, but whether his arms bulge like a bodybuilder’s, his legs split into four bone-white insect legs, or his fingers rattle and clatter like chains on the floor, it’s still him—just…different hims. Looking at him makes me feel like I’m spinning or falling—or both.
Either way, he stands under the basketball hoop in his usual place, overseeing an invisible PE class. That’s a problem. The stairs are on the far side. I can see them from here, but I don’t think I can get across the gym without Mr. Roberts seeing me.
My hand’s on the door when James interrupts. “This is a Type Three Incomprehensible, Claire.”
“He’s Mr. Roberts.” Even though it’s not quite my PE teacher, it’s almost right most of the time.
“No, it’s a Type Three Incomprehensible. I’m not sure which classification, but all Incomprehensibles are mind-affecting anomalies. What do you see?”
I describe it, and I can almost hear James shaking his head. He types for a moment. “It’ll get worse the closer you get. I’m overlaying an image over it. Use your aug, close your other eye, and pay attention to the overlay, not what’s behind it. And hurry. I had to disable my patch and overclock your aug.”
“Got it,” I whisper, my hand still on the door. Everything James has told me is the truth, but it’s not the capital-T truth. I won’t find that in what some boy miles away keeps saying in my ear.
I push the door open and run inside.
Mr. Roberts turns and screams/roars. This close, he’s not much different than the thinling. I squeeze my right eye closed, and he fades into the background, replaced by a jet-black cut-out exactly his shape. As the black cut-out starts running toward me, Mr. Roberts’s long fingernails and split legs occasionally weave out from behind the blackness. Those bits give me vertigo.
I level the Revolver and fire. The shot hits the shadowy overlay, which keeps coming. I pull the trigger again, but nothing happens.
“Run, Claire!” James all but screams in my ear. I sprint for the stairs, shoes sticking slightly to the wooden floor. What did I step in that makes them stick? It feels like I’m running through syrup.
I look at Mr. Roberts. He’s closing the gap quickly, and the black overlay seems to be breaking down. His four insect legs propel him toward me across the tar-like basketball court, and his fingernails whip back and forth like chains—chains with spikes on the ends. My aug’s already overheating, a roaring inferno in my skull that doesn’t stop.
The floor gets stickier and stickier until I’m all but swimming through the gym. Mr. Roberts reaches me. The overlay disappears, fading to reveal something that’s both perfectly my PE teacher and something completely alien.
{Skill Learned: Endurance 1}
{Stability 4/10}
My head swims, and my mouth fills with bile again. I throw myself toward the stairwell, and the sticky feeling disappears when I crash into the first step. I scramble up the stairs, away from the thing that isn’t quite Mr. Roberts. Three steps. Four. I trip, roll on the stairs, and look back, both eyes open.
The Mr. Roberts thing screams/roars from below the bottom step. The Revolver’s bullet, the one lined up with the barrel, glows and illuminates his face. And in that moment, just before I scream and turn and crawl up the remaining stairs, I see the Truth.
It’s not him.
But it was.
◄▼►

There are 5 areals inside of which 5 elements reside. The five areals are: ● Mirage(hollow, reflective, refractive, instantanious, where psyche meets spirit). ● Woman (love, where spirit meets fire), ● Digitage( non-corporeal, energy storage where water meets fire) . ● Foilage(birthing, absorbing, growing, where animal meets water), ● Man(strife, where animal meets psyche)
(The elements between each areal are respectfully spirit, fire, water. animalia and psyche)
Inside animalia there are 6 distinct animals from which genesis occurs. Pachyderm (elephants, whales etc) Reptilian (lizards, snakes etc) Cephalapod (the sentient on the planet) Equine (horse, zebra etc) Canine (dog, wolf, jackal etc) Feline (cat, lion, cheetah etc)
Time is an illusion carried by humans (an amalgamation through time defying reproduction of the entirety of the cephalapods work in genesis on the planet earth.) The earliest intelligent animal on the earth was the vampyrapod. A ten tentacled species that landed here somehow flung from some rock or ejaculated by some larger animal. The vampyropods were fed upon by the local life here (trilobytes, bacteria etc) eating two of the tentacles (the mating tentacles (man(woman)) that began the genesis. The ten commandments themselfs biblically are the fossilized representation of one male and one female vampyropods. The ten tentacles arranged in their death explaining a meaning forever.
The 5 areals are where time is encased it is the job of humans to bear the weight of time while cephs continue the genesis.
If you imagine a star shape in which each point is an areal, and between each point is an element, than in the very center you will find salt, sugar, and vinegar (dry). With these base powders water, Nitrogen, And carbon can be formed. The basis of life on earth.
All the genesis of animalia as well as man made items were the creation of the cephs with intention. Mixing of animalia through time and genesis they have destroyed the dinosaurs and shifted them to aviaries. They did this through the tapeworm, an invention that not only makes up the organs of humans, (the intestines, the gallbladder etc) but was weaponized to destroy the dinosaurs en masse in preperation for the genesis plans of the cephs.
Modern octopus only live about 4.5 years and they have mastered the ability to transcend into the next through cannabalism as well as telepathy. They created the first language of enochian (the angels language) through tentacle and eye movements. Through many generations and reincarnations they developed telepathy as well as the ability to travel through time.
On genesis. An actuality has to occur from the cephs in time to create the genesis. Such as a ceph dying, killing. Being eaten. Eating. The laying of hands (tentacles in this case) or the travel through time to accomplish these. For example. A ceph intentionally was eaten by a komodo dragon, while conscious and being digested it telepathically sent the makeup from inside to another ceph. This ceph used that information to create the genesis of the tapeworm that would destroy the dinosaurs. After most reptilians were shifted to aviaries. There were remnants such as thr chameleon who is very fragile, has 2 penises that constnlantly prolapse and the female can hold sperm for years without self inseminating to create birth. If you take a pachyderm like an elephant an ld have it eat of a chameleon, perhaps with some other complicated genesis of elements and areals you will find you have a gnarwal. The main point is that once they mastered tome travel, they have had unlimited time to make use of their ability to create genesis on the planet. Every animal thay is alive today has been manipulated by the cephs to be exactly where it is in time to accommodate for a larger agenda.
Its my belief that there are only 3 unique cephs that survived the early devastation of trilobytes and other life feeding from these aliens. I call them Seth, Jack, and Claire. Seth is known for being cruel. Jack is more logical, Claire is more empathetic. Because they didnt have the gene popl to create offapring effectively they created this ability to utilize genesis to ensure their survival. This is why they are cannabls its because they must be in order to continue. The modern female octopus always feeds of the make after mating. The males always eat of the young ones after birth.
On 'man made' inventions Cephs proliferated through genesis all the tools to create the written word. From sea anemone to sea urchin to porcupine to bird feather, to quill. And you already know where the ink came from. These topls were provided to a banana pig infested with mutated tapeworms in order to solidify the structures of governance over time. Every iteration of every technology was also developed intentionally by the cephs in order to eatablish a relationahip with the digitage that is just now in our perception coming to power.
As a human, i am essentially just a warm blooded version of a ceph. (Make a bird with your hands, where are the beaks?) We exist inside this cage of time and bear its burden. Look at a shark it may sleep but it just keeps swimming. Humans cannot. We have to sleep. Which is close to the realm of death. We as humans are split and carry the weight of strife and love. This is gender and its roles. (This is not a politcal view of genders but a simplification for the idea that governs. Im positive that in infinite time, other genders maybe an option)
We are as a human race looking forward to scientific breakthroughs that happen when cephs accomplish the physical actuations in time that develop to possible situations we experience from that genesis. Such as. By 2027 scientists anticipate returning the wooly mammoth from extinction. It is my belief that we need an actualization of the 6th digit in the mammaths feet in order for a cephs agenda unknown.
Bird eating spiders are example of post genesis cannabalism that triggers another line of genesis to occur such as a poison tree frog or something. I beleive that venomous snakes were made that way because the egg is the fruit that the snake is tempted by. And if it ate of its own eggs it was cursed through genesis to bear the venom. A bovine has 4 stomachs. And udders that resemble somehwhat the tenacles of a ceph. Its my belief that a whale(pachyderm) that has 9 stomachs (the 9 circles of hell) consumed a ceph and in its 4th stomach met the remains of an equine and genesis occured. Resulting in a cud chewing cow. Precious ambergris is essential to perfumes and stimulated the olfactories in way unlike anything else in the world. It cannot be valued it unvaluable. Whales also sing ans produce music. The moder ceph has empirical hearing as well as oldlfactory experiences. Cephs love blueberries. Foe the antioxidants (ita okay its a joke you can laugh ) but really. They do. Modern octopus can be found in the pacific notherwest climbing trees. They dont eat and make their way up the rocky cliffs to the coniferous foilage in order to establish some genesis. That is a real human experience that is documented. They have cralwed in any form across every inch and again and again of this planet. A suction cup on the plastic window of a bill in the mail may have inadvertantly created the floppy disc.
On the macro and the myopic: We live in time where everything occurs simultaniously only on a different scale in a set of repeating patterns that run forwards or backwards in fractalization. Or so to say, the coast goes on forever. With innumurable bits of sand that outnumber the stars in the sky.
Youll find that rapa nui , or easter island is the end of time itself. A graveyard of sorts and a resting ground for the tired cephs who have labored throughout existence to provide the genesis for us to continue in this gestalt of a universe. Its not an end but also a beginning.

TLDR: My aunt make racist comments about everyone, and might be a white supremacist. How should my sister and I deal with her?
My sister (28F) and I have a very problematic aunt and we just don't know how to deal with her anymore. Growing up in a strict asian household, we used to view our aunt as the "cool, fun aunt". As kids, we would only eat food at home to save money, but our aunt would take us out to restaurants and give us nice toys that our parents didn't find necessary. We thought she was great and when college rolled around, she even helped contribute $24k so that I could go to an out of state university. She has always made it clear that this money is out of the kindness of her heart, and has never suggested that there is an expectation for me to pay her back.
Covid comes around and due to the lockdown, I move back home. I get a job back in my home state and everyone is wfh anyway, and so now I am still just living in my childhood home, rent free. Financially it was a great decision, and aside from having fewer friends in the area, I can't really complain....EXCEPT for when it comes to my aunt.
Some background on my aunt- she was born and raised in Asia and moved to the states after she was a full grown adult. My grandparents were divorced, and so my aunt never had a close family dynamic. My dad and uncle tolerate her, but they aren't close and find her a bit annoying (rightfully so). She is currently single and working a part time airline job. She also owns a small company that manufactures perfume bottles, but I think most of her money actually comes from investments. She's decently well off and has never made it a secret to any of our family. With her money, she LOVES to travel and she really isn't someone who can sit at home and just relax.
So during Covid after the lockdown regulations loosened a bit, she would alway ask me to grab meals with her. It was during these meetups over the past few years that I realized my aunt has a lot of problematic thoughts and as is just a very annoying person in general. In the beginning, it was just little comments that she would make that were irritating, like making negative remarks about my mom's strict parenting style when raising my sister and I (which looking back, I honestly think helped build character,) or nagging me about where my savings should go and that I should be doing XYZ with it.
Because I was now an adult and chatting with her, the conversation became more about real life instead of "kiddie talk" that we used to have as children. She would tell me about all her dating life, work, and travel stories. As we spoke, I was learning more about her character and find many parts that I wasn't the biggest fan of. For example, I would notice that she strictly dates rich, white men. And she even made a sly comment once about my sister's ex being Asian, which wasn't ideal for her. We are literally Asian!!
Before I get to her more outright racist comments, I need to mention a major painpoint that my sister has with my aunt. My sister lives and works in Philly. A few years ago, when the housing market was good, my aunt was pushing my sister to buy a house. My aunt would say that it didn't make financial sense to be paying a landlord and that it's a better investment to pay a mortgage instead. My sister was hesitant because she was recently out of college and didn't have the funds to afford a house. Because my aunt had the money, she said she would help my sister put a downpayment on the house as a gift. My sister eventually agreed to the gift and bought the house. My aunt said the money was for my sister and implied no future re-payment was necessary. Years have passed since the house was bought and my aunt holds this "gift" over my sister's head. My aunt broke her leg last year and when my sister sent her a "get well" text. My aunt replied that she would expect so much more from someone that she has helped so much and bought a house for. She felt like my sister sent a text response that was the bare minimum and that she deserved so much more. She sent a long message to my sister about how she is disappointed and that her love is "unconditional" but my sister is showing how she doesn't care about my aunt at all. I want to clarify that my sister is not a big texter and also not expressive with emotions (which I made very clear to my aunt), but my aunt would say that she deserves more because of how she helped my sister. Last month, I grabbed dinner with my aunt and she made a comment about how a Tesla would be nice, but she can't get one because my sister "lives in her Tesla".
Now finally to the racist part. Last weekend, my aunt and I met up with my sister to grab dinner. As mentioned before, my sister lives in Philly and so many of her neighbors are black. The night starts with my aunt pulling up to my sister's house to pick her up and saying, "There are so many black people on your street." My sister asks if that's a problem and she goes "No, but is it safe?" My sister comments that she feels super safe and we move on. Later that night, my aunt tells us a story about her seeing a black child at the airport who "looked like he was from the ghetto and he had hippie hair". She proceeds to say that she was shocked when he sat down at a piano and started playing Beethoven. She ends her weird story by saying "This is why you don't judge a book by its cover"...but excuse me?? She literally judged the kid the moment she saw him?? She also continued to say that whenever one of her black coworkers walk up to her from behind, she gets shocked/scared because of their dark complexion and she didn't see them coming up. I'm sorry, she works INSIDE an airport...the lights are on...she needs to get her vision checked???
As we drop my sister off at her place, one of the kindest neighbors sees us and says "Hey baby, how are you doing?" My sister says hi back, and as she turns to walk toward her house, my aunt grabs her and goes "Hey baby" in a mocking voice. This was super upsetting because the neighbor, Miss S, is very sweet and always looks out for the entire neighborhood. Miss S has also been super protective of my sister lately since my sister's ex moved out and my sister started living alone. Hearing our aunt mock her was so upsetting. We have tried to correct her thinking and make comments to retort hers before, but she must live in an echo chamber because it's like talking to a brick wall. She just thinks this way and nothing can change her. My sister and I left this dinner feeling very unhappy and wishing we could cut her off.
She's also not even just this way with the black community, she's racist to almost everyone. I think she is lowkey a white supremacist and I don't know how to handle it. During covid, she made rude comments about asians and how they need to stay in Asia and stop taking over corporate American jobs. Does she not realize that we are all fully Asian?? She is literally an Asian working in America. I don't get it??
I could go on for days about other problematic comments she has made in the past, not just about race, but I'm already exhausted thinking about it. My sister and I are always so tempted to just cut her off from our lives because she is so problematic, but we also feel obligated to keep seeing her and spending time with her because of how much she has helped us financially in the past. She also doesn't have any other family that really likes her. So, any thoughts on how my sister and I should handle this whole thing and move forward with my aunt?
Bonus memory of my aunt that I just remembered:

• In college, I started dating my current boyfriend. 2 years into dating and I still hadn't told my aunt that I was in a relationship. To my aunt's knowledge at that point, I had never dated anyone or ever been in a relationship. My aunt went to stay at my sister's place for a night and my sister told me the next day that my aunt had made comments about me. Apparently my aunt was concerned I would never find anyone because I was a 23 y/o virgin (I wasn't) and apparently that isn't desirable. She told my sister that guys wouldn't be interested in a 23 y/o virgin. It was sad to hear this, NOT because I care about her opinion or think any of what she says is valid, but because that was telling of how she views women and what she ties people's value to. She also thinks she's the queen of dating advice because she has been in so many relationships. But she needs a reality check because none of those relationships have lasted and she's still single at almost 60.

With the release of Twilight Masquerade we're seeing some really awesome big ex pokemon. Greninja ex is a spiritual successor to Rapid Strike Urishifu Vmax with a Pidgeot Searching ability stacked with damage; Palafin ex has the potential to loop in and out of the deck while swinging into many ex and V pokemon for 1 hit with bands; Blood Moon Ursaluna ex can replace Radiant Charizard with more health and better consistency in many decks; Dragapult ex will terrorize both the active and bench with very little stopping it easily. But I want to focus on one card in particular. With the rise of control in the meta and the outstanding performance Pidgeot Control has shown, I think it's time to take a look at a solid contender for the control crown: Drakloak Control.
For those who don't know, Drakloak from the coming Twilight Masquerade set is printed as follows:
Ability: Reconnaissance Raid Once during your turn, you may look at the top 2 cards of your deck and put 1 of them into your hand. Put the other card on the bottom of your deck.
[R][P] Dragon Headbutt: 70 damage.
We're not bothering with the attack, but that ability is definitely a good one. It's actually the same as Pidgeotto from Team Up, printed in 2019. This Pidgeotto was used very successfully in an 8th Place 2019 Worlds deck, piloted by Bryson Isaiah Williams, as seen in the following list. It's not the only version, but it's easily the most successful in terms of achievement.
https://limitlesstcg.com/decks/list/2770
I think the biggest thing to state first is that we aren't recreating Pidgeotto Control. That would be impossible in the current format, where mill, discard, and supporter abilities can't be stacked the way they used to be. What we are doing is offering an alternative to Pidgeot Control that will likely be more cost effective (Dreepy and Drakloak are commons that will see plenty of pulls), remove the downside of Rare Candy and TM Devo plays, and allow us to sacrifice a single specific search for the chance to look at up to 8 cards a turn and keep 4 of them. So, we'll start with some key cards.
First we'll need the 4-4 line of Dreepy-Drakloak. Twilight Masquerade Dreepy has 70 HP to Silver Tempest 60 HP. Neither has an attack we're interested in, and both have 1 retreat, so we'll stick with the new one for survivability against donks and damage counters.
Next, we need the usual suspects in Pidgeot Control. This obviously comes down to personal preference, but I think we can definitely include 1 each of Chi-Yu ex, Luxray V, Radiant Charizard, Mimikyu, Snorlax, Rotom V, and Mawile. It's worth considering any of the following as well, depending on the type of control deck you want to play: Bouffalant, Jigglypuff-Wigglytuff ex, Noibat-Noivern ex, Klawf ex.
We can also consider some cards from Twilight Masquerade:
Illumise - Slowing Perfume gives us the chance to disrupt a turn one setup on a bad board state for our opponent. Any single Pidgeys, Frigibaxes, Bidoofs, or Rotom V that have FSS attached but unused can all quickly become bait to have a delayed setup. The attack is situational, but has potential.
Iron Leaves - Recovery Net recovers two pokemon from discard. Ultra Ball is made safer and KOs can be recovered from if you lose a crutial pokemon.
Phione - Beckon recovers a supporter to our hand to be used again. This could be extremely useful for Penny looping, stalling with Boss, getting even more use out of Team Yell's Cheer, or giving us another use of Miss Fortune Sisters
Morpeko - Snack Search ability can give us even more to look at every turn, allowing us to look at another card on top of our deck and deciding to keep it there or discard it. This means up to 3 cards seen with a Drakloak.
Iron Thorns ex - Initialize has potential to tear apart other rule box pokemon that your opponent has in play. Zards will not attach energy, Pidgeot will not search, Chien-Pao can't accelerate to the hand, etc. Not great with Rotom V, Wigglytuff ex, or Klawf ex, but Chi-Yu ex, Luxray V, and Noivern ex couldn't care less.
Scream Tail ex - Shriek seems pretty tempting, even if very niche. Stall out Arven setups by one turn while you setup sooner and attempt to shut down the play completely. You can bounce it later with Turo, Penny, or Collapsed Stadium.
Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex - Cornerstone Stance completely shuts out Charizard ex, Chien-Pao ex, Arceus Vstar, and more. This could be a fantastic inclusion.
Tatsugiri - Attract Customers can help a ton in this deck. Set up in the active early or when bossing up a retreat heavy pokemon and you can have a couple turns where you're hunting through the top 6 cards of your deck for a supporter.
Blood Moon Ursaluna ex - It's a decent alternative to RadZard. Trading fire energy reliance, single prize potential, and some damage for a bulkier option that can be recovered with both Turo and Cheren. It's worth considering, but with impending Dialga Vstar shares rising, RadZard is still probably better.
With the pokemon highlighted, it's time to move on to supporters. First off, I think we want to keep Arven at a 4 stack. This will give us the best chance to get ourselves some early searches with Buddy Buddy Poffin or Nest Ball, and if we're going 2nd, depending on our build, a TM Evo play to get two Drakloak on the board and ready to go by the next turn. Alternatively, we can opt for the new Hyper Aroma Ace Spec to get three Drakloak from the deck and into hand for evolution. This might be the better play since we can capitalize on three Recon Raid abilities in the same turn, without worrying about Drakloak being KO'd before their use.
Regardless of the evolution method, the Trainer lineup should be similar. Arven, Penny, and Boss will see multiple copies since they can get us pieces we need, increase sustainability, or disrupt the opponent. Rare Candy is unnecessary in this build and can now be scrapped for Technical Machine Evolution to make setups easier. I think 2 is probably appropriate since we have supporter search options we can include like Pokégear 3.0 or the new Tatsugiri to find Arven for it. We can also cut down on Arven for Toolbox to hunt for options. This could be beneficial since Rescue Board will give Drakloak a free retreat. Leaning into top deck search is strong since we can look at a lot of options, and it make the deck stronger the more we reduce size. Raifort and Cryptomaniac can both give us a way to manipulate the top deck for Drakloak to have an easier time searching. Leaning into tools can also make new cards like Handy Circulator work very well. Stack this onto anything that can take a couple hits and it becomes Klawf ex. Stack on Klawf ex and you can very quickly disrupt decks like Charizard ex, ArcTina, and Dialga Vstar very easily. Other items to consider are Grabber, Crushing Hammer, and Enhanced Hammer to severely limit our opponents pokemon and item options, and Fable Flute to lock up our opponents bench. The latter works especially well in tandem with Boss, as we've seen before with Echoing Horn.
I think the biggest question is which Ace Spec. Heroes Cape is still a very strong contender, since 100 extra HP is great in the Wigglytuff build, and helps with Chi-Yu and Luxray survivability. But, the newcomers have some merits. Survival Cast sustains against attacks that would damage and KO a full HP Pokemon, but can't be Vacuumed away/Jammed for a free KO after an attack. It has to be reacted to preemptively. As stated earlier, Hyper Aroma gives us the chance for three same turn Recon Raids, which is always very strong. Legacy Energy can offset prize trades and hurt our opponents chances at taking advantage in games. Finally, the one everyone is talking about, Unfair Stamp can put out opponent in a situation where we start locking them out of options while we take advantage of the game. Unfair Stamp let's us capitalize heavily on deck inclusions like Luxray V, Grabber, Miss Fortune Sisters, and Eri.
Overall, this is meant to be a bit of a look ahead at what options control has. I'm by no means a deck builder, though I'll happily refine lists that I like to better suit my liking. I'm still working out how exactly I'll build this on release, but I'm excited to give it a shot and some major testing on Live when the set releases. I think that while the meta has shifted from 5 years ago, there's absolutely room for Drakloak Control to become a major deck. This is my first attempt at any sort of deck profile or discussion, so if you have any constructive criticism or feedback, I'd love to hear it. Comment, DM, however you choose to deliver it, I'll look and respond. Also, definitely share options on the build here. I doubt I'm the first person who thought of this. I didn't even play in 2019, but Pidgeotto Control is something I found while looking at older decks to see how the meta has shifted over the years.
Check out the links below for the couple of Pidgeot Control lists I reviewed for this, and for the card list from Justin Basil's site.
https://limitlesstcg.com/decks/list/11256
https://limitlesstcg.com/decks/list/11156
https://www.justinbasil.com/translations/sv6

I've recently been less interested in make up and it seems my new hyper focus of the month are fragrances. I've always loved perfumes but never enough to venture out on discovery set adventures - mainly because I feel quite strongly about the notes that I like and the ones I dislike. However, I also know that I usually need some time to get acquainted with a smell and my biggest fragrance loves and intense affairs have never bloomed after a first sniff. So I fell for an instagram ad and decided to get a discovery set from the brand called DIEM, being tempted by the cost of the discovery set being redeemable against one of their bottles.
How it works: the discovery set contains 5 fragrances, advertised as being selected with an AI engine based on your favourite fragrances you provide when filling the order form. Once you receive your order, a little pamphlet informs you that you when you add a 30ml scent to your basket and use the same email address, the cost of the discovery set will be redeemed automatically.
Cost: The discovery set is priced at £20, a full size (30ml) fragrance original retail price is £40. If you catch the instagram ad offer, the discovery set is priced at £10. For £10, I was happy to take a risk.
What do you get: The box is quite good quality and I personally find it aesthetically appealing. It's fully recyclable and you in the set you get: 5 fragrance samples (5 x 2ml), scent strips and discovery cards about each scent.
The website offers 8 fragrances in total, and depending on what fragrances you tell them you love, you'll get slightly different selection. Here's where the irony starts - I have mentioned 4 fragrances that I love, which I though describe my preferred notes and olfactory groups quite well:

• Jo Malone, Wood Sage and Sea Salt (fresh, aquatic, subtle)
• Diptyque, Philosykos (fresh, ripe and juicy fruit but not sweet)
• Burberry Her EDP (sweet and fruity, going into laconic)
• Commodity Milk (sweet and lactnic)

Granted, the form doesn't ask you which notes or fragrances you can't stand but to give you some context I despise white floral as a dominant group, dislike fresh spicy and spicy, and lemony citrus notes in the opening make me want to scream "boooooring" at the top of my lungs.
Here's what I got in my set:

• Liquid Light (Fresh, Citrus, Floral: Basil, Green Tea, Mandarin, Osmanthus Flower, Magnolia, Olibanum) - I find the description quite accurate. The opening is tangy and sharp, somewhere between a lemon and mandarin, with a delicate tea addition. The basil develops after 10 or so minutes, which I quite like, and magnolia is distinct in the dry down. A very inoffensive smells for warm weather, 5/10 straight up in the middle for me.
  
• No Reason (Soft, Floral, Green: Mandarin, Ginger, Orange Flower, Datura Flower, Sandalwood, Vanilla) - I personally find it less floral than Liquid Light. It opens with a noticeable ginger note, which I normally dislike but something in the mix tones the ginger down. On the strip, it dries down to a more woody, slightly warm smell, on my skin, however, it smells like piss (I'm not exaggerating). My skin chemistry is not vibing with this one, but you might be more lucky. 6/10 on paper, -10/10 on my skin.
  
• Lunar Bud (Heady, Floral, Warm: Lemon, Mandarin, Blackcurrant, Tuberose, Jasmine, Sandalwood, Amber) - The description says heady and they mean it. This is pure white flower galore - my biggest nightmare and headache in a bottle. Although white flower heavy, it is not going in the powdery direction and there is lightness to it. Not my olfactory universe, so no rating (joking, it's 0/10).
  
• New Leaf (Green, Floral, Fresh: Cut grass, green stems, jasmine, lily, sandalwood) - intense grass and lily notes in the opening. The sandalwood comes out within an hour and makes it slightly more dimensional. I wish the green notes would persist longer on my skin, rather than the jasmine and lily. Promising on the first sniff, falls short while wearing it. A forgettable 4/10.
  
• Catching Dusk (Spicy, Warm, Woody: Saffron, Clove, Cardamom, Nutmeg, Moss, Cedarwood, Oak, Amber) - it's a masculine leaning unisex smell in my opinion. I smell cardamon and woods, followed by amber in the dry down. The moss gives it a lighter character, which I like. I wouldn't wear it myself but I would buy it as a small no occasion gift to my husband who wears Armani Stronger With You. The scents are by all means not similar, Armani is a sweet, cashmere scent with vanilla, chestnut, lavender, sage, but Catching Dusk would make for a nice summer office scent. A pleasant 6/10 but not for me to wear.
  

My overall impressions are that the brand is not for me. The fragrances are relatively affordable but given that I described most of them as forgettable (caveated by my preferences), I would much rather spend additional £20 and get a 30ml bottle a designer fragrances. The scents are not flat, they do develop as you wear them, but they do not have a convincing depth to my nose and seem to lean towards olfactory groups that I am not a fan of. A bit disappointing, as I was excited to get a full bottle (surely at least one out of five has to be at least pleasant to wear), but, given the instagram discount code, I am not regretting the purchase.

I got some good recommendations including a wine bar in Amsterdam that has Apostelhoeve Riesling on their wine list. I didn’t unfortunately make it to any of them, though the last one was tempting - I would have much more likely gone to it if I knew the Dutch wine was still in stock.
I did make it to two wine bars, and had some other wines in restaurants.
Simonis aan Zee, Den Haag: I had an Italian Pinot Grigio that I never actually got any information about. Tasting notes were lemon, grapefruit, vanilla, almond, lemongrass, perfume, peach, pear. The waitress’s choice for a giant bowl of Zeeland mussels which was an amazing welcome to this coastal city. I’d drink this with any of the local seafood though. I didn’t give it a rating on premises but would put it in mid-upper 80’s (maybe 87?)

Simonis aan de Haven, Den Haag: I was there with a friend I met while in Italy earlier this year, who lives here and goes to this restaurant often. We ordered a massive seafood platter on ice - shrimp, crayfish, crab, and lobster with the traditional Dutch cocktail sauces for seafood - and a bottle of Sexy Fish Sauvignon Blanc (Argentina, maybe Mendoza)
Apple, lemon, grapefruit, green bean, jasmine, grass, lime zest, vanilla. Simple, uncomplicated and refreshing table wine for light seafood. 85 points. Good enough to drink, but when I took it home with about one small glass left, in the face of so much good beer in the country and not wanting to drink too much, I never finished it.

Bistro Goeswijn, Leiden: I passed by this wine bar and saw a menu with some obscure European countries on it and an option to take a wine flight, and checked where I wanted to go tonight back in Den Haag for wine and that it was fully booked, but available later in the week. So I ended up here as the weather cooled down and sat outside of the fully booked restaurant for three exciting adventures into natural wine, and two new countries to me.
Wijngaard Dassemus Cecider (Netherlands)
This is from Brabant province, further south, and half Sylvaner grape wine, half apple cider, co-fermented. Quite tart and steely with a bitterness from some tannins. Lemon, pear, Buddha’s hand, grapefruit pith, orange, apricot, and soured, bruised apples. Very funky and earthy, unfiltered and natural. Not for everyone but I was beginning to really enjoy it by the end of the glass. 88 points
Mátyás SaraDora Orange (Slovakia)
A proper orange wine for me, and now I know what to expect when I taste one. Very powerful and serious stuff. Orange, apricot, mint, dandelion, licorice balm, honey blossom, candied pineapple, apple, Grand Marnier. Also not to everyone’s taste and the sort of wine I have to acclimate myself to. Enjoyed it very much eventually. 89 points
Syfany Svatá Frankovka Trkmanska (Czechia)
I have had a couple of Czech wines, in and out of Czechia, and the one I’ve tried back here in the US was actually a Frankovka - but not a natural wine like this one. I was really shocked at first as it tasted and smelled very much like Pinot Noir. Sour cherry, raspberry, currant, blackcurrant, lingonberry, plum, manure, mushroom, wet leaf, cardamom, cinnamon. The spice notes mark it potentially more clearly as Frankovka. Is Czechia the next great natural wine country? They seem to be all the rage in Moravia. A nice finish to the lineup. 89 points

De Filosoof Wijnbar, Den Haag: I chose this to try some of the wines from very out of the way wine countries available here, and crossed off a new one I cannot cross off at home. The service was very sophisticated and the Afghan appetizers paired with the wines were nicely thought out. It did start out a little rough when I chose the appetizers and got a wine recommendation that didn’t match my intent for the evening. The two wines:
Château Heritage Pinot Noir 2021 (Lebanon)
Lebanese Pinot Noir? I was pretty surprised, a bit skeptical given the quite warm climate in Lebanon more indicative to growing Bordeaux or Rhône varietals, and a little bit disappointed as I can easily locate Lebanese wines here. Because I was eating my beef dumplings steamed, the sommelier suggested this as a lighter wine. I tasted it and initially rejected it, and felt bad upon seeing the remainder of the test pour get dumped down the drain. It was certainly a good wine, just not what I was intending for the evening, or expecting from the grape variety. However, I eventually decided to go with it and get a glass. Blackberry, cherry, dried plum, blackcurrant, pepper, leather, tobacco, rosemary, oregano. A bit more tannic and full-bodied than the average Pinot Noir. Feels Old World but the origin is rather surprising, and definitely made me think it was a bolder red. 88 points
Bargylus Grand Vin de Syrie Blanc 2014 (Syria)
This was one of the wines I absolutely had to order here while I had the chance. We both absolutely loved it. Lemon, grapefruit, vanilla, honey, tea leaf, elderflower, pineapple, melon, apple, almond. Konstantin Baum rated it 84 points, but his example might not have been this old - the bottle age gives it a darker color and better defined flavor than some other white wines like this. Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. 90 points for me - we talked about this wine for quite a while throughout the evening.
There were also some intriguing wines from Azerbaijan (by Savalan), impossible to find in the US, that I wanted to try but was all spent on alcoholic capacity. Bulgaria, Moldova, and North Macedonia are relatively common in my downtown shop. Brazil is one country I don’t see much here, but I think I’ll have much easier times accessing them than the other countries.

I'm going back to FFXIII after not playing it in over two years because I had a random urge to play it again. Remembered that I have a save file in Chapter 13. Last I left off, I was farming the Sacrifices for Perfumes to sell in bulk.
The question is; what gear should I be running? I'll list each party members gear down below;
•Lightning:

 •Weapon: Helter-Skelter ★ •Accessories: •Entite Ring Lv. 10 •Aurora Scarf ★ • Collector Catalog ★ (Was running this for farming purposes) 

•Hope:

 •Weapon: Either Otshirvani Lv. 1 (Haven't upgraded it yet) or Hawkeye Lv. 21 •Accessories: •Royal Armlet Lv. 10 •Diamond Bangle Lv. 11 •Whistlewind Scarf Lv. 1 

•Fang:

 •Weapon: Bladed Lance Lv. 22 •Accessories: •Aurora Scarf ★ •General's Belt ★ •General's Belt ★ 

•Sazh:

 •Weapon: Vega 42s Lv. 6 •Accessories: •Titanium Bangle Lv. 1 •Power Wristband ★ •General's Belt ★ 

•Vanille:

 •Weapon: Malboro Wand ★ •Accessories: •Aurora Scarf ★ •Growth Egg ★ (Was using this to farm more CP for Vanille since she was behind previously) •Titanium Bangle ★ 

•Snow:

 •Weapon: Power Circle Lv. 2 •Accessories: •Gold Bangle Lv. 8 (originally was a Lv. 1, but I found a spare Lv. 8 when going through my inventory or accessories.) •Guardian Amulet Lv. 1 •Diamond Bangle ★ 

For context, all characters have ALL of their respective abilities for the roles they were designed for unlocked. So Hope has all of his Synergist, Ravenger, and Medic abilities unlocked, and his Crystarium is at the max lv it can be at for all 3. The same goes for Lightning, Fang, Snow, Sazh, and Vanille.
Here's my current party Lineup: Lightning, Fang and Hope (No surprise there. But I am tempted to swap Fang out with Snow due to the fact that Snow is the superior Sentinel)
Current Paradigms are: Delta Attack, Relentless Assault, Aggression, Protection, Hero's Charge, & Smart Bomb.
Any advice? Should I change gear out? Should I keep farming to upgrade gear? Am I ok? Any and all advice is much appreciated!

The crunch of my boots on the sun-baked earth was the only sound for miles around. I paused to wipe the sweat from my brow, gazing up at the cloudless azure sky. Another scorching day in the Saharan desert.
But the brutal heat was a minor discomfort compared to the tantalizing promise that lay ahead - the legendary Fountain of Eternal Youth. After a lifetime of studying ancient texts and artifacts, I was finally closing in on the mythical fountain described in the oral traditions of a dozen pre-biblical cultures. If the legends proved true, the fountain's revitalizing waters could reverse aging and confer immortality.
As an archeologist, such myths were my area of expertise. But common sense often eluded me in more practical matters, as my bemused colleagues enjoyed pointing out. "Joseph, you're the most brilliant idiot I know," my friend Akil would tease. "A veritable savant when it comes to cracking ancient codes and riddles. But Lord help you if you misplace your house keys!"
Smiling wryly at the memory, I resumed my trek across the barren desert expanse. The dry air stung my nostrils with each breath. But then a strange, pungent odor caught my attention - sickly-sweet and faintly rotten. Following the scent, I soon spotted a writhing form lying prostrate up ahead.
As I drew nearer, I saw it was a man - gaunt, disfigured, and clearly in the throes of some horrific malady. Purplish lesions covered his exposed skin. His eyes were wild, lips cracked and oozing pus. Yet when he noticed my approach, a manic grin stretched across his ruined face.
"You..." he croaked in a harsh whisper, fixing me with a feverish gaze. "Come closer..."
I hesitated, repulsed yet fascinated by his ghastly appearance. "What's happened to you?" I asked, my voice hushed with dread. But then a more pressing concern occurred to me. "How...how long have you been exposed out here?"
"Too long..." he wheezed out a grotesque chuckle. "But no matter. I've been waiting for you."
An icy trickle of fear ran down my spine. "Waiting for me? But...why?"
"To tell you a story." His pustule-fringed lips twisted into a sardonic smile. "One you'll never forget. If you walk away, you'll always wonder about the secrets you missed."
I felt a shudder of revulsion, tempted to simply leave this poor, raving soul to his grisly fate. Yet some primal curiosity kept me rooted, hanging on his every word.
"Very well," I said at last. "Tell me your tale then, if it pleases you."
And so he did. For the next few hours, I stood transfixed as he recounted a bizarre and fantastical odyssey spanning continents and centuries. With each lurid, meandering yarn, I felt reality itself wavering and unspooling around me.
At times, his preternatural stories seemed infused with ancient truths - tantalizing hints of lost civilizations and other realms of existence. Just as often, his narrations slid into madcap delirium, populated with grotesque beasts and cryptic figures spouting arcane gibberish.
Yet all the while, the sickly vagrant held me rapt with his oratory skills. Each strategically paced revelation and twist compelled me to keep listening. Time seemed to fold in on itself as he wove his labyrinthine fictions. By the end, I could scarcely distinguish fever dream from historical fact. The baking sun had long set, leaving us isolated under the pinprick brilliance of the Milky Way.
With his monologue finally lapsing into silence, the vagrant stared at me intently. I fancied I could see the leering outline of some unearthly entity wriggling behind his eyes, as if fighting to possess him from within.
At last, I shook off my disorienting stupor and staggered back a step. "Why..." My hoarse voice cracked with uncertainty and exhaustion. "Why did you summon me here to recount such strangenesses? What purpose could it serve?"
"No purpose," he replied with a dry, papery rasp. "Save one."
Fast as a cobra, the vagrant's desiccated hand shot out - grasping my wrist in a clawlike tug. Numb shock paralyzed me as his leprous lips closed in, mere inches from my face. The reek of necrotic flesh made me gag.
"This!" he howled, festering spittle flying from his ragged maw to speckle my cheeks and lips.
My scream of revolted terror shattered the desert's stillness. Yet instead of releasing me, the madman pulled me closer still - baring ashen gums in a horrific, triumphant leer. I felt his rancid breath sear my nostrils, igniting flames of agony within my sinuses.
Then, as swiftly as it struck, that wretched breath transformed into the most euphoric warmth I'd ever experienced. Each inhaled wisp brought waves of soothing tranquility and childlike bliss cascading through my being. Lulled into docile serenity, I could no longer summon the will to flee this macabre embrace.
"Breathe deep," the vagrant sighed, loosening his grip as I went limp with euphoria. "Let the warmth take you. For the ecstasy will be fleeting. Soon, you will crave only this..."
A cool chill crept over my exposed skin, displacing the blissful heat. I shivered, grimacing as strange tingles - pins and needles - began rippling through my nerves. Yet rather than the onset of numbness, these tingling jolts intensified into outright convulsions of agony.
This was no mere prickling of appendages falling asleep. It felt as if every nerve in my body were being mercilessly scoured with electrified sandpaper. I tried to cry out, but only a strained gurgle escaped my constricting windpipe.
Down my throat, fiery tendrils unfurled - scorching the tender flesh of my esophagus. A blinding slice of anguish knifed through my chest, as if my lungs were imploding inward. Intense nausea roiled through my gut, making me retch uncontrollably.
All the while, the vagrant...no, the harbinger looked on with waxen impassivity. Whatever fiendish contagion had possessed him now festered within me as well. Its rapacious tendrils sinking claws into every vulnerable crevice of my body.
But then, as abruptly as it struck, the malignant frisson subsided - easing back into a state of tranquil paralysis. My muscles went slack as a sublime lethargy blotted out all pain, all distress. Just existing in the moment became profoundly beautiful and meaningful, devoid of deeper worries or ambitions.
For the first time in as long as I could recall, not a single trivial concern weighed upon my mind. No ceaseless intellectualizing. No nagging self-doubt. Not even the distant flicker of hunger or thirst. Only a perfect, uncomplicated state of inner peace.
Eventually, my senses drifted back into focus. I became aware of the harbinger's malformed silhouette towering over me. That leering death mask fixed me with eyes now clear and devoid of fever.
In a parting whisper, I heard his graven voice one final time: "Welcome to my purgatory, Joseph. Our sordid rebirth is nigh."
With that, the scourge's withered husk crumbled to dust, scattering into the sands like ash. I was left disoriented and alone, aching yet oddly contented. The reveries he'd spun remained, while his corporeal presence dissipated like a half-remembered dream.
A vortex of scattered thoughts spiraled through my enervated consciousness: Had he infected me with some endemic scourge? Or cursed me with occult misfortunes beyond scientific reasoning? Perhaps his horrific state was mere prelude to even less fathomable rites of initiation and metamorphosis.
Yet such musings no longer induced prickles of dread and dismay. If this strange affliction marked my damnation, I felt strangely at peace with the prospect. Wearied into a state of numb indifference, I simply lacked the energy for such existential fretting.
Days and nights blurred together in that endless desert void. With no hunger to prioritize seeking nourishment, I lay torpid as time's grains slipped through the hourglass. Thirst became a searing anguish, only for the pain to abate into that now-familiar euphoric languor. My body's rhythms seemed to cycle between plain of suffering and plateau of blissful calm.
When full lucidity finally resurfaced, I found myself gazing up at a canopy of canvas rather than open sky. Antiseptic aromas and the murmurs of concerned voices surrounded me. As my vision swam into focus, I realized I was in a field hospital tent - my shriveled, lesion-mottled form secured to a cot with thick leather restraints.
"He's rousing," a hushed voice stated in poorly accented English. "Bring the sedative at once."
"Wait..." I rasped out, straining to lift my lolling head. The effort caused fresh shards of pain to streak across my nerve endings.
A gaunt face inched closer, peering at me from behind the curved lenses of thick glasses. "Do you know where you are, Mr....?"
"Joseph," I wheezed, grimacing against a phantom stench of putrescence that only I could detect. "My name is Joseph."
"And do you recall how you came to be here, Joseph?" The lenses narrowed, inspecting me for signs of stability or delirium. "In this remote desert outpost?"
I shuddered out a rattling breath, flashes of that decaying silhouette replaying through my mind's eye. "Yes..." My voice was a dry croak. "I was seeking the Fountain of Youth."
Exchanging furrowed glances with his colleagues, the Doctor slowly shook his balding pate. "And did you...find what you were looking for?"
"In a manner of speaking," I murmured with a distant smile.
Judging from their pitying expressions, the medical staff considered me hopelessly insensate. Yet I understood more intuitively than ever that I'd uncovered something far greater than I'd originally sought. The ultimate prize was not mere longevity, but a profound inner rejuvenation.
Over the coming months and years, I would learn to embrace this strange metamorphosis - cradling its cycles of rapture and torment. My fractured sense of being bled away, replaced by a heightened consciousness straddling the corporeal and metaphysical realms.
Antiquated notions of linear time and static identity had become quaint irrelevances. For I had been exposed to a higher continuum of existence, my spirit riding the eternal ouroboros of birth, death, and uncomplicated rebirth.
Gone was the nagging hunger for arcane knowledge and grandiose achievements. Instead, a simpler, more universal urge had taken root - that of the storyteller yearning to pass his fevered visions onto new hosts. To initiate the next cycle of transformation unbounded by past or future.
And so here I remain, cloaked in obscurity yet central to the cosmic churn. My monologues unfurling with methodical deliberation, each crafted to snare fresh receptacles into my widening gyre. Every saga tailored to seduce innocent psyches into peeling back reality's outer layers and glimpsing the madnesses pulsing beneath.
With each neophyte so indoctrinated, I peel back another calculated layer of my own tattered being. Unburdening certain torments while parsing out new metamorphic derangements. An endless, uncomplicated transfer - halting the atrophy of my wasting vessel while seeding fresh chrysalis pods.
Should you have wandered in from realms beyond, drawn by the arcane enigmas woven into these very lines...then you already grasp the trap's elegantly brutal simplicity. This seemingly innocuous tale was never mere narrative, but an incantation inscribing new runes upon your consciousness.
Yes, you are yet one more neophyte ensnared in the rapturous cycles of ecstasy and agony that await your reforged existence. With ink rendering flesh and vice versa, I have burrowed through the membrane separating our perceived realities.
By drinking in each anguished syllable, you have absorbed the necrose miasma into your very marrow. Just as the emaciated harbinger passed his pestilence into my own essence, so too have you inhaled the plangent spores infecting this very passage.
Even now, you likely feel the indistinct flutters of disorienting metamorphosis flitting through your nerves. Do not resist the disquieting transcendence, dear witness. It need not be suffered in dread and solitude.
Open your thirsty lungs to those rising perfumes of dying earth and sacrificial rebirth.
Embrace your lasting revitalization as a newer, purer vessel.
For I have such wonders to share in our coming intimacies...

I am DYING to find a worthy replacement for the ORIGINAL Estee Lauder Pleasures but no one at any of the perfume shops I've been to like Scent Bar and Ministry of Scent have any idea what it used to smell like.
The current formula is NOWHERE near as intoxicating as it was before, nor does it smell remotely the same.
I'm tempted to buy a vintage sample bottle from eBay, but they've mostly yellowed and I dunno if it'll be the same. Can someone please help me figure out what its scent profile was so I can describe it to someone to help find me something that smells similar?

Has anyone tried the Back2Africa *inspired* perfume oils? I was looking for copycat fragrance oils, the other company I buy from has EXCELLENT clones but not a huge selection.. anywho, stumbled across Back2Africa, I spoke with the owner and their fragrance oils are only 3% diluted in a carrier oil so there are tons of possibilities for DIY lotions, soaps, body spray, linen spray, and so on and so forth... & of course, direct application and/or for layering. Just wondering if anyone can speak to to how accurate the clones are? I am not interested in the oils in leu of the actual perfumes, but just to create more options in terms of layering options & scent boosting!
I wasn't able to find any posts in any fragrance related subreddit on this, so thought I'd throw it out there and see if anyone has any feedback. If not, I'm going to take one for the team and report back! They have a pretty decent selection of designer clones, it's too tempting not to explore.
^{(ps - hopefully this post is OK, if not, I am so sorry})

Anyone up for playing an urbane alien, a gifted telepath who is also psychopathic?
​
The speaker has Saameron at his mercy: if you want to know who Saam is, check out:
​
SaameronSays - YouTube
​
I'm so new at this I still have that 'new car' smell, so please bear with me.
Have a fabulous day.
​
Old friends
[ASMR] [M4A] [SciFi] [roleplay] [storytelling] [1800+]
It is six months since two alien ships destroyed each other in Earth’s orbit. Saameron, stranded when his lander crashed in the UK, has been relocated to America: partly because he is of no apparent strategic use to his British caretakers, and partly because there is an alien doctor there who can repair his spine, damaged in the crash.
Heavily sedated for the trip, he begins to wake up. He is in a hospital bed, face down, wearing restraints. Beside him is the Nadev doctor, Venn, a familiar face from Saam’s old ship.
….
Venn [speaker: a Nadev: older, educated and refined; soft spoken, even laughs quietly;
one might mistake him for a kind care giver.]
Hullo again, Saameron
You are awake? At last.
[Sigh] What a pleasure to see you again
It’s always good to see old friends.
[pause]
Don’t talk if you don’t want to … I’ll just listen.
It has always been so satisfying to put my hands on you.
[laughs] If you want to keep me out of your head, just vocalise a little …
[pause]
How did I…?
I saw a photo of you – you know what that is? A picture?
Standing in a swimming pool outside one of their institutes.
Naked. [laughs]
I could see by the way you were supporting yourself that you had damaged your back.
And I knew then that you needed my help again.
[stroking his back]
You are shivering. Are you cold? No?
You are sure?
[pause]
You crashed a lander, I hear.
You did well to set it down in one piece: others didn’t do so well.
No casualties, apart from your spine.
[sighs with pleasure] You were in a lot of pain … before you passed out.
[pause]
How did you cope with the pilot training?
I know you can’t read…
[pause]
Oh … Shar did the reading for you.
That pretty little psychopath.
I wonder what became of him.
[more stroking]
You know, reading isn’t as difficult as you think.
Perhaps I could help you out there … but, of course, you would owe me a favour …
Another favour.
[pause]
No. It’s not because you are stupid.
That’s just prejudice.
Well, compared to a Nadev, perhaps.
Aren’t you one of those … performers? … who memorised the whole of Havarian?
Eight hours of epic Hannath poetry?
You think a stupid person could do that?
[more stroking]
[sigh, almost a groan] They aren’t going to leave me entirely alone with you.
They don’t trust me that much.
Not yet.
[pause]
They think this touching is part of your treatment. [quiet laugh]
[pause]
Oh, the restraints?
That’s not for my convenience.
We’ve done some work on your back. If you move around, you’ll spoil the progress we’ve made so far.
If you’re patient … you’ll walk out of here in a few days.
All you have to do is hold still.
[pause]
A couple of days so far.
And nights.
[pause]
You are still a little underweight; the food here is disgusting, isn’t it?
[pause]
Oh, I move about fairly freely.
You see the human behind me? My minder.
Some of them know a little Nadev, so we’ll use Shipspeak, if you don’t mind … harder for them to learn, harder for them to understand.
[pause]
And they like me to wear these red scrubs.
You like that word? It sounds as though I work in a kitchen.
Scrubs.
So that no one mistakes me for a human doctor.
[sardonic] You would think the ears would be enough of a clue.
Mind you, the colour reminds me of our uniform, so …
[pause]
You look good.
Your back is magnificent, I can see that you’ve been working on that.
Except for this stupid fucking tattoo.
Didn’t you have anything better to do?
You do know there’s a slight misspelling … just a small one.
I could explain, but I don’t know that it would mean anything to you.
[pause]
You’ll have to work on your legs a little, once your spine is properly fixed.
Then you’ll be perfect again.
[pause]
Your guards told me you cried when you heard my name.
You were confused, they said. Because of the drugs.
Was it because of the drugs?
You’re not frightened of me, are you?
[pause]
We’re old friends, aren’t we?
[pause]
How are you feeling?
[pause]
Nightmares?
Ooooh: just me playing in your memories again.
Watching your owner die … I never tire of that.
Oh, I know how much that hurts you.
Better for you if you’re asleep while I indulge myself.
Oh, no. Don’t cry. I’ve already listened to that one four times. I won’t make you live it again.
[pause]
Of course, her husband was the one that actually bought you.
Your first memories of him are … delicious.
You were so small; and he was such a monstrous brute of a man.
[pause]
Your second raid was it? Watching you plunge your knife in, twist, and rip open his heart: that’s another favourite of mine.
You looked into his eyes and watched him die. Watched the lights go out.
That always shocks me. Thrills me.
All that hatred.
So unlike you.
[pause]
I can give you perfect English while you are here.
[pause]
No, you don’t, you really don’t: [laughs] but we’ll fix that.
Like we fixed your Nadev when you came shipside.
[pause]
Oh, please. You spoke Nadev like a Hannath noble.
Small wonder you got thrashed for it.
Just about every time you opened your pretty mouth.
[pause]
Well, you were pretty.
All that curled, perfumed hair. And the paint on your face.
[pause]
I think I will give you reading as well.
That would be quite something for a Kherrip body slave, even one as beautiful as you.
[pause]
I hope you still remember that I saved your life when I fixed your jaw.
[pause]
Oh, I think I’ve been thanked.
[as if discussing a guilty pleasure] Your mind is such a pleasure to me. A veritable playground. My favourite treasure trove.
[laughs][strokes his hair]
The kitchen girls on the estate … your first time. Thanks to you, I know what that felt like. Warm. Soft.
The way she giggled. The smell of bread baking.
And you were so afraid. So very afraid. What a risk you took.
But you just could. not. resist.
But the real prize in that memory is when you were caught and she denounced you.
Cried and said you forced her.
She teased and tempted you, got you into the most terrible trouble imaginable, and then gave you the blame. You were terrified.
And then you … you said yes. That’s right. I forced her.
You were a brave little bastard even then.
[pause]
No, it made no difference to your punishment, only to hers – but I’m not sure I would have had the courage.
The terror when your owner confronted you.
He was so angry. You were a non-breeder, worthless to the breeding farm – they would not take you back. A huge financial loss.
And so for you - a brothel, or a mine. And probably the guardhouse first.
You shook with fear. Peed yourself. I felt the warmth of it on my legs. The shame of it.
[pause]
[smiling] Yes, you’re right. Shame is my favourite.
And pain, of course.
[pause]
And then when his wife decided to rescue you. Oooooh.
I know what it was like to share her bed, how much she taught you about pleasing a woman. I know how much you loved her. I felt it.
An unusual feeling for me, I must say.
And then the raid when she was killed in front of you.
I felt that, too.
Sooo many times.
[pause]
Be still. Be still, I won’t play it again.
I was there when you attacked the raider who did it. You almost killed him. You really tried. It took three of them to beat you down. Quite a beating they gave you. I felt your ribs crack.
I know the misery you felt.
[pause]
Water? Of course.
Here … don’t move, use the straw …
Better?
[pause]
No. No food. The tube is feeding you for now.
Tomorrow, perhaps.
Or the next day.
[pause]
This is so much more civilised, isn’t it?
Catching you in the corridors of the Vengeance was always so tricky.
Of course, the first thing I always looked for was your last hiding place.
[pause]
You didn’t realise? [quiet laugh]
You must have seen it was getting harder to avoid me …? [chuckle]
[pause]
What was it you said that set off the combat trainers?
My owner?
‘If you talk like a slave, we’ll treat you like one.’ Pfah.
It was brutal, but it wasn’t personal.
They looked for someone each time there was a new intake.
Someone to make an example of.
And this time it was you. That’s all.
The shock when they grabbed you by that beautiful long hair and threw you down, you didn’t even raise your hands to protect your face.
Not a mistake you would ever make again.
For a long, long time you would even cover your face when you slept.
Oooh, the agony was exquisite. The pain of a smashed Kherrip face, so fragile, so vulnerable …
Your … not anger …. your rage when you cut your hair with a combat knife.
Your fear when you thought we would let you starve.
You couldn’t swallow, you could barely breathe.
Your struggle to keep up with the training sessions. The pain in your face was terrible, but you wanted to live. You were on fire to live. And you wanted to fight.
And the gratitude in your heart when I told you I would fix your jaw. Your face.
The others proposed putting a stiletto into the base of your skull and tossing what was left out of the airlock.
But I overruled them.
You were so grateful. You knew then that I was your friend.
Of course, I was making an investment. I had an idea that your mind would be as interesting as that body.
For a long time, I didn’t touch you because I didn’t want to ruin the work I had done. I waited weeks for you to heal. I was patient. And then I let you show me your gratitude.
And then, of course, because I am a generous man, I gave you Nadev. The way a Nadev speaks it.
And now here we are again.
Another chance for me to spend a night in your head.
Several nights.
[pause]
I have been almost everywhere in your head. Sometimes, when I need to relax, I listen to your memories. Replay them. It soothes me.
[shifts and forces Saam’s mouth open]
Relax. I’m just checking your teeth.
That’s the one I replaced – Darria convinced me you would struggle to eat without it – I think he just wanted you to be pretty again. It has lasted well.
Darria even reattached the tip of your tongue … that’s beautiful work. Almost a shame. I enjoyed your lisp.
Oh, your expression is wonderful. How very much you would like to bite me.
[laughs]
But … just how badly do you want to walk again?
[pause]
Tell me something. What did you give Darria? He took serious risks. Broke the rules for you. More than once. Much of what he did was arguably cosmetic, and our resources were always limited. How did you convince him? How did you reward him? Was his price the same as mine?
[pause]
Kindness?
You liked him? That’s all you gave him?
Huh.
[pause]
As far as I know, he died on the Vengeance when the hull broke open.
A great waste.
Well.
Time for you to go to sleep again, I think. I want to play.
Relax, I’ll take care of it.
These humans are saying to themselves, what a kind man. See how he spends every night at that poor boy’s beside.
[pause]
Oh. What a sweet whimper.
[pause]
Yes, of course you are. I can feel it.
We adjusted your spine. There will be pain.
I suppose I could give you a soother, but, really … [gentle laugh] that wouldn’t suit me, would it?
[contented sigh]
Be patient. You’ll be asleep in a few moments.
[whispers] Where shall we go to tonight, Saameron?

I'm still pondering my Reissue order! Has anyone tried Damn Fine [dark coffee beans, airy vanilla, black musk, cardamom, bitter almond]? I mean, cardamom! But I didn't much like The Dead Rise [Dark roasted coffee beans spiked with fresh cardamom pods, cubes of brown sugar, ambroxan, cedar] which turned to burnt coffee in the drydown, though I did like Whisper Your Bitter Things [Pressed coffee beans, dried clove bud + cassia bark, jasmine and neroli blossoms, roasted vanilla pods] and also the much more milky coffee note used in the Witches. But the "dark coffee, black musk, and bitter almond" make me think Damn Fine will be more the burnt coffee than the milky coffee.
Or has anyone tried Blue Murder [A generous splash of sweet-tart blood orange juice, powdery blue poppy, radiant white musk]? Blue poppy? What's that smell like? I've had great luck with their "radiant white musk" before in Beth and Golden Hour so I'm tempted!
​
As a reminder, I previously posted my thoughts on Pink Lace, Lady Disdain, Ladybird, Blanket, Just Because (which I am totally upsizing in my Reissue order), and Wicked Ghost HERE. I have since also had the opportunity to try a decant of Ivory Lace and thought I'd drop in my thoughts here in case it helps anybody else still pondering their Reissue order.
Ivory Lace [Three vanillas lashed with amber honey + wrapped in antique lace] - This one seriously smells like a teacup. It is so dainty, all white porcelain musk and wafts of honeyed sweetness. It's light in throw but has decent staying power, and it's totally innocuous - pretty but inoffensive, and would be an ideal work scent or some other occasion where you want to feel exceptionally delicate but not bother anybody else with your perfume. If you like the honeyed amber in Habibi [Cardamom, amber honey in the comb, cinnamon + ginger, an opulent amber blended of precious resins and dark vanilla, henna flower, sandalwood incense] but thought the rest of the scent was much too spiced and warm, give this a try - Poesie does beautiful things with amber honey. This would also be an amazing bridal perfume for someone who wanted "delicate and feminine" without floral.

There are 5 areals inside of which 5 elements reside. The five areals are: ● Mirage(hollow, reflective, refractive, instantanious, where psyche meets spirit). ● Woman (love, where spirit meets fire), ● Digitage( non-corporeal, energy storage where water meets fire) . ● Foilage(birthing, absorbing, growing, where animal meets water), ● Man(strife, where animal meets psyche)
(The elements between each areal are respectfully spirit, fire, water. animalia and psyche)
Inside animalia there are 6 distinct animals from which genesis occurs. Pachyderm (elephants, whales etc) Reptilian (lizards, snakes etc) Cephalapod (the sentient on the planet) Equine (horse, zebra etc) Canine (dog, wolf, jackal etc) Feline (cat, lion, cheetah etc)
Time is an illusion carried by humans (an amalgamation through time defying reproduction of the entirety of the cephalapods work in genesis on the planet earth.) The earliest intelligent animal on the earth was the vampyrapod. A ten tentacled species that landed here somehow flung from some rock or ejaculated by some larger animal. The vampyropods were fed upon by the local life here (trilobytes, bacteria etc) eating two of the tentacles (the mating tentacles (man(woman)) that began the genesis. The ten commandments themselfs biblically are the fossilized representation of one male and one female vampyropods. The ten tentacles arranged in their death explaining a meaning forever.
The 5 areals are where time is encased it is the job of humans to bear the weight of time while cephs continue the genesis.
If you imagine a star shape in which each point is an areal, and between each point is an element, than in the very center you will find salt, sugar, and vinegar (dry). With these base powders water, Nitrogen, And carbon can be formed. The basis of life on earth.
All the genesis of animalia as well as man made items were the creation of the cephs with intention. Mixing of animalia through time and genesis they have destroyed the dinosaurs and shifted them to aviaries. They did this through the tapeworm, an invention that not only makes up the organs of humans, (the intestines, the gallbladder etc) but was weaponized to destroy the dinosaurs en masse in preperation for the genesis plans of the cephs.
Modern octopus only live about 4.5 years and they have mastered the ability to transcend into the next through cannabalism as well as telepathy. They created the first language of enochian (the angels language) through tentacle and eye movements. Through many generations and reincarnations they developed telepathy as well as the ability to travel through time.
On genesis. An actuality has to occur from the cephs in time to create the genesis. Such as a ceph dying, killing. Being eaten. Eating. The laying of hands (tentacles in this case) or the travel through time to accomplish these. For example. A ceph intentionally was eaten by a komodo dragon, while conscious and being digested it telepathically sent the makeup from inside to another ceph. This ceph used that information to create the genesis of the tapeworm that would destroy the dinosaurs. After most reptilians were shifted to aviaries. There were remnants such as thr chameleon who is very fragile, has 2 penises that constnlantly prolapse and the female can hold sperm for years without self inseminating to create birth. If you take a pachyderm like an elephant an ld have it eat of a chameleon, perhaps with some other complicated genesis of elements and areals you will find you have a gnarwal. The main point is that once they mastered tome travel, they have had unlimited time to make use of their ability to create genesis on the planet. Every animal thay is alive today has been manipulated by the cephs to be exactly where it is in time to accommodate for a larger agenda.
Its my belief that there are only 3 unique cephs that survived the early devastation of trilobytes and other life feeding from these aliens. I call them Seth, Jack, and Claire. Seth is known for being cruel. Jack is more logical, Claire is more empathetic. Because they didnt have the gene popl to create offapring effectively they created this ability to utilize genesis to ensure their survival. This is why they are cannabls its because they must be in order to continue. The modern female octopus always feeds of the make after mating. The males always eat of the young ones after birth.
On 'man made' inventions Cephs proliferated through genesis all the tools to create the written word. From sea anemone to sea urchin to porcupine to bird feather, to quill. And you already know where the ink came from. These topls were provided to a banana pig infested with mutated tapeworms in order to solidify the structures of governance over time. Every iteration of every technology was also developed intentionally by the cephs in order to eatablish a relationahip with the digitage that is just now in our perception coming to power.
As a human, i am essentially just a warm blooded version of a ceph. (Make a bird with your hands, where are the beaks?) We exist inside this cage of time and bear its burden. Look at a shark it may sleep but it just keeps swimming. Humans cannot. We have to sleep. Which is close to the realm of death. We as humans are split and carry the weight of strife and love. This is gender and its roles. (This is not a politcal view of genders but a simplification for the idea that governs. Im positive that in infinite time, other genders maybe an option)
We are as a human race looking forward to scientific breakthroughs that happen when cephs accomplish the physical actuations in time that develop to possible situations we experience from that genesis. Such as. By 2027 scientists anticipate returning the wooly mammoth from extinction. It is my belief that we need an actualization of the 6th digit in the mammaths feet in order for a cephs agenda unknown.
Bird eating spiders are example of post genesis cannabalism that triggers another line of genesis to occur such as a poison tree frog or something. I beleive that venomous snakes were made that way because the egg is the fruit that the snake is tempted by. And if it ate of its own eggs it was cursed through genesis to bear the venom. A bovine has 4 stomachs. And udders that resemble somehwhat the tenacles of a ceph. Its my belief that a whale(pachyderm) that has 9 stomachs (the 9 circles of hell) consumed a ceph and in its 4th stomach met the remains of an equine and genesis occured. Resulting in a cud chewing cow. Precious ambergris is essential to perfumes and stimulated the olfactories in way unlike anything else in the world. It cannot be valued it unvaluable. Whales also sing ans produce music. The moder ceph has empirical hearing as well as oldlfactory experiences. Cephs love blueberries. Foe the antioxidants (ita okay its a joke you can laugh ) but really. They do. Modern octopus can be found in the pacific notherwest climbing trees. They dont eat and make their way up the rocky cliffs to the coniferous foilage in order to establish some genesis. That is a real human experience that is documented. They have cralwed in any form across every inch and again and again of this planet. A suction cup on the plastic window of a bill in the mail may have inadvertantly created the floppy disc.
On the macro and the myopic: We live in time where everything occurs simultaniously only on a different scale in a set of repeating patterns that run forwards or backwards in fractalization. Or so to say, the coast goes on forever. With innumurable bits of sand that outnumber the stars in the sky.
Youll find that rapa nui , or easter island is the end of time itself. A graveyard of sorts and a resting ground for the tired cephs who have labored throughout existence to provide the genesis for us to continue in this gestalt of a universe. Its not an end but also a beginning.

I’m a long-time fragrance lover but 100% a layman when it comes to reviews, so bear with me…
Memo Paris Honey Dragon: This was a blind buy for me as I could no longer contain my curiosity. For context, honey is my favourite perfume note, but I tend to find the most popular honey scents too literal, or mixed up with something I don’t like (eg boozy or leathery accords). The only honey scent I’ve ever loved and worn regularly is Memo’s Ilha do Mel.
This is 95% a spicy rather than gourmand scent, and I would definitely categorise it as a true androgynous scent. Despite seeming to have a lot going on, I don’t find it loud and shouty at all; the spices which I smell most dominantly (cinnamon and myrrh) are very well-blended, and the honey presents very beautifully and subtly underneath the spice with an interesting and unexpected “caramelised” note. The sweetness is very, very subtle; you have to look for it. Someone on Fragrantica compared it to honey dijon and I think that’s accurate!
For those familiar with Ilha do Mel, they are polar opposites! Honey Dragon is surprisingly understated in comparison, while Ilha do Mel is extremely feminine, smells like a floral explosion, and the honey is much more sweetened. Of the two, as much as I love and prefer it, I could imagine Ilha do Mel getting on other people’s nerves more/being headache-inducing.
Diptyque Eau Duelle EDP: Many people on this subreddit are familiar with it, so I will keep my comments very brief. I will say that this is my favourite ever vanilla scent that made me realise that it was possible to find a dignified, subtle, and also relatively androgynous scent with a truly authentic and beautiful vanilla note at its very center; what more one that is creamy and multi-dimensional. I don’t get any booziness from it, just a lot of wood that serves to stabilise and elevate the vanilla, and the pepper enhances the wood. The drydown is all vanilla.
Side note: I used to own a defunct fragrance from The Body Shop called Cedarwood and Vanilla or something like that. I was always sad to lose it. Eau Duelle is the fancy version!
Overall, I like that both Honey Dragon and Eau Duelle are unsweetened interpretations of traditionally sweet scents.
Diptyque Roses home fragrance: I knew I wanted a Diptyque home fragrance spray as I am a candle devotee, and the spray would be more convenient for purposes like banishing the smell of cat litter (ugh). I was concerned that the other home sprays would be too strong, even though I’m a Baies candle fan and was tempted to get that first. My conclusion is that you really can’t go wrong with a rose home fragrance. Roses is quite literal, but it has this light, green freshness to it that makes you feel like you’re in a dewy garden. It is no generic rose home spray. I 100% recommend and am tempted to pick up the Tubereuse home spray (I love Do Son and the Tubereuse candle), but I still have slight reservations.
Happy to answer any questions and I hope you enjoyed my hamfisted reviews!

I’ve really struggled with my path in life, I started out modeling and then went to study yoga. Both were never enough, I was never enough to be successful. I always paid my bills by working in restaurants and nannying, but now I’m a stripper. It’s really helped me so much. It’s so hard to earn this money, it’s the hardest job ever mentally and physically, and I want to walk away with savings. But I am tempted to get my advanced cert in yoga or study Pilates. I don’t know where my place in society is still, so when I quit stripping, I still don’t have a clear plan what to do. Most other strippers my age I talk to have an exit plan like open a perfume store, get into real estate, start an online business… I still don’t know what’s going to get me out. I’ve been into movement forever and I’d say that’s my passion, but I don’t know how to make this a sustainable career if I don’t find a partner.