Platforms: Game Boy Advanced/DS/DSi
Genre: Action, sidescroller, robot/mech/creature(?)
Estimated year of release: 2006-2012 (roughly)
Graphics/art style: 2D/pixelated side scroller. Very grey besides main character. The closest game style I can think of is Mega Man ZX in character size and pixel style, but the character's designs themselves don't look similar. The game felt made for an older audience, as in not a game like Kid Chameleon that has a "cuter" artstyle? Kind of hard to explain but it didn't have that kind of look to it
Screenshot from Mega Man ZX. Very similar looking but the main character from my game isn't as vibrant and the background was much flatter and less dynamic
Notable characters: a main character (almost positive NOT a human or not seeable as one) that has possibly three forms that changes I believe through item pickup maybe? One form that was slimmer in design had a whip/tendril for going over obstacles, another one was clunkier and more square, can't remember the rest (I at least believe there were three). I swear the colors were like light pink, green, and possibly blue? A game called Metal Mutant has a VERY similar character function as to how I remember the character in my game, I had to check and see if there was another in the series on handheld because it fits really close to my description. If Metal Mutant looked a lot more like Mega Man ZX in scale and sprite size and released past 2006 it would be the game I'm thinking of which is very confusing
Character from Metal Mutant. Besides the Dino variation, the other two are incredibly similar to my memory of the character from my game
Notable gameplay mechanics: Character that changes between different types depending on needed situation, such as a whip for obstacles, or a tankier body for needed defense. I can't remember a single enemy which is annoying, but I still believe it was somewhat of an action game like the Mega Man series (don't think its that franchise tho, not from what I could find)
Other details (IMPORTANT): Is not these previously guessed titles: A Boy and his Blob / Metal Mutant (VERY similar tho) / Castlevania III / Monster Tale DS / Shantae series / Kid Chameleon / Gunstar Super Heroes / Robots for GBA / Mega Man ZX or Advent / Act-Fancer: Cybernetick Hyper Weapon
This is game is so fuzzy in my memory and has always been one I've wanted to remember but just can't rack my brain on it man. I can't remember which platform I had it on specifically but it was a handheld Nintendo game for sure. I don't remember either whether the main character was a creature or a robot, just that it would change in design and function between possibly three different iterations. The game was very grey in level design (at least from the chunk I can remember) but the character was always a specific base color possibly along with a meter for the current form

I’m really trying not to be a downer because I am very excited for the game but I keep going back and forth in my head about pre-ordering the game because I would like to show my support for the 40k community but I’m actually a little shook about Saber Interactive developing this one.
The thing about Saber is they’ve virtually never produced a game that rates above 7/10 and it’s basically a coin flip that they produce games of that caliber at all. A good portion of their library has middling reviews. Well, I’ve played a few in the mid 2000s and 2010s and looking at their development library as a whole the first word that comes to mind is “derivative”. They make games similar to other games of their time but worse, somehow riding on the backs of giants and producing an inferior product with the advantageous foreknowledge of good game design. That’s not a great sign.
Their only real claim to fame is working on the Halo CE Anniversary and Master Chief Collection which definitely were not fan favorites on release but did eventually get much better. How much of that can be attributed to Saber’s involvement, I don’t know because they were part of a larger collective development team working with Microsoft Studios and 343 Industries. In general, they seem to be a company like Rebellion that specializes in porting games over but when it comes to making original/ licensed IPs they make lukewarm games or just kind of drop the ball.
I can tell they’re using some variant of the World War Z engine to pump out large hoardes of Tyranids on screen at one time and while that looks cool I have to wonder how intelligent the AI actually are because the AI in WWZ was not impressive and the enemy variety was sorely lacking. How much of that is lack of creativity versus engine limitations is kind of what I’m curious and worried about. I’ve also noticed in the 30 minute gameplay demo video they posted that a large portion of the game is combat-interrupting cutscenes/ setpieces. It seems like 5 minutes of fighting consistently gets interrupted by 3 more minutes of cutscene dialogue or forcefully panning the camera over to a point of interest. I felt like SM1 did a pretty good job of letting the levels run their course and maybe having a cutscene or 2. Don’t get me wrong, SM2 looks absolutely gorgeous but I almost think the devs feel that forcing the player to stop and gawk at the marvel they’ve created is somehow enriching the gameplay. It feels a lot more like dopamine edging by having these intense playable moments and completely turning off the adrenaline by having Titus gaze at some large structure or ship overhead collapsing, or having the crew stop to converse with some besieged Guardsman unit. Leave it up to the individual agency of the players to stop and gaze in wild wonder if that’s something they appreciate but otherwise keep your foot on the gas I’d say. What makes games intense is that they often don’t let up. The demo was just a bunch of tension and release in quick succession and I honestly was hoping more for a game with pacing like DOOM Eternal/ WH40K Boltgun. I know this game is not a boomer shooter but I’d like there to be good rhythm and pacing. I’d trade high octane co-op gameplay over visually/ technically impressive sightseeing any day.
I also noticed the game seems to feature the same linearity of SM1, which if I have one gripe about SM1, it is definitely that the game is practically an “on-rails” experience. There is very little in the way of freedom of exploration and almost all the “hidden” servitors and ammo caches were in painfully obvious places because they were often in the only other place the game would allow you to explore. It would be nice to be able to take divergent paths in levels or have larger arena style combat areas with rewards and secrets strewn about. Put a gun in a far-off artillery crater or stash a mounted gun up in bunkers that you can rip off the mount like in SM1. Also I would like secrets to be a little more thought out and rewarding. SM1 rarely utilized using melee weapons to break away barricades exposing secret areas and never utilized switches or levers to open secret pathways. Verticality was also sparsely used not only in general but definitely for the sake of hiding a secret way up top somewhere. I don’t know exactly what I expect from this I just mean to say I would want the levels opened up a little bit, and for rewards to be in places for players willing to take the time to find them. It would also be nice to have narrative setpieces that tell a story in secret areas like the Fallout Universe does. Let a secret path lead us to a scene of carnage or a tragedy or maybe even an ambush. So far we haven’t seen any of that.
I’m not writing off the game just yet but I would really like to be proven wrong about some of the things I noticed from the gameplay video. It’s hard to be excited in the age of modern gaming especially when we talk about preorders. I’d honestly like them to talk more about the beta key distribution date. I don’t even necessarily need to play the beta personally, but it would be nice to see a little more gameplay in the form of a single complete mission from start to finish.
What are your guys’ thoughts? Am I just being a pessimist? What concerns do you have? Are you guys excited? Am I worrying about nothing? I’d love to hear your feedback.

My wife and I use the Huckleberry app to track our baby's sleep periods. Although the free version of the app allows you to view a number of sleep-related metrics, I also wanted to see whether his longest nightly sleep stretches were getting longer over time. Therefore, I created a Python project that reads in data from Huckleberry (or a separate custom .csv file); analyzes its sleep information; and then produces a number of visualizations.
The project's readme has instructions on using the code to track your own baby's sleep data. It's released under the open-source MIT license, so you are welcome to use and modify it for free.
Personally, I've found that running the code and viewing its output helps reassure me that our baby is making progress with sleep, even if he seems to have some setbacks now and then! I hope you'll find it useful as well in evaluating the effectiveness of your sleep training approach.
(Note: The sample data shown within the project is completely made up using another Python script, and is not meant to reflect normal sleep patterns in infants.)

I’m in Texas!! Me and my husband recently owner financed a mobile home and property from a family member. We did not know that we had to transfer the title into our name at the time. Fast forward 2 years later and we are struggling to get a title for the mobile home. The owner of the home does not have the title but the mobile home is tied into the deed and there is a mortgage lien in the home. I’ve tried to do a bunch of research and tried contacting the TDCHF (Texas Department of community housing and affairs) and they just can’t answer my questions. The seller is not cooperative in helping us. Is there anyway I can get a release of lien if the mobile home and lien is not in my name?

My wife and I use the Huckleberry app to track our baby's sleep periods. Although the free version of the app allows you to view a number of sleep-related metrics, I also wanted to see whether his longest nightly sleep stretches were getting longer over time. Therefore, I created a Python project that reads in data from Huckleberry (or a separate custom .csv file); analyzes its sleep information; and then produces a number of visualizations.
The project's readme has instructions on using the code to track your own baby's sleep data. It's released under the open-source MIT license, so you are welcome to use and modify it for free.
Personally, I've found that running the code and viewing its output helps reassure me that our baby is making progress with sleep, even if he seems to have some setbacks now and then! I hope you'll find it useful as well in evaluating the effectiveness of your sleep training approach.
(Note: The sample data shown within the project is completely made up using another Python script, and is not meant to reflect normal sleep patterns in infants.)

First Reddit post ever… apologize if this is the incorrect place.
I feel like many of our questions are rather simple but I cannot seem to find answers. Our HOA seems to have it out for us. The only reasoning I can come up with is most of the homeowners are original owners from when the homes were built. All elderly. ALL. We seem to be the first young couple to buy a home in the area, and this is the only conclusion I can come to as to why we’re being targeted. Below is a random list of things that have occurred over the first few years.
I would like to preface with ALL of the events below have happened on the day the board walks the neighborhood to review properties

1. People have come onto our property and removed a flag and flag pole and put it in our backyard. The flag and pole is completely in line with HOA rules and was actually there when we bought the house and we chose to keep it up. We never received a letter or request to take it down. Just came home one day to it disassembled and tossed in our back yard.
   
2. We have a small walkway that goes behind our backyard that is very highly trafficked. When we would have friends over it would get blocked by their cars (though completely legally parked by law and hoa rules) One of our friends came back to their car with a not so nicely written letter to not block the walkway. Keep in mind it is not a driveway or for house access it is for… walking your dog etc. through the neighborhood. We made an effort to ask all of our friends to not block it. One night my sister was leaving and came back to dog shit smeared all across her windshield.
   
3. Someone is using our trash can on trash days to expose of excessive amounts of dog waste. As far as I’ve been able to find this is actually illegal. It’s not just one baggy from a walk etc. I will come home on the day of trash disposal to it already having an amount of baggies exceeding people walking by. I wrote the hoa about this, and the board president responded in a nasty way how it was our fault for leaving the cans out too long after removal. I work all day and put them away as soon as I’m home…her remark basically justifying it was absurd to me.
   
4. We like to use a drying rack and have yet to put one up because we must submit an architecture approval form before putting one up. Taking 40-70 days to get approved. My understanding is in California they cannot impose unreasonable restrictions on the racks themselves, but can they require approval before putting them up?
   

There are many, many other things that have taken place but this gives the general idea. We’re just looking for a solution. I feel as though installing security cameras would fix a lot of our problems just as a deterrent but I’m concerned they would reject the application for installation. Any ideas of how we me may approach this? It may be a single individual we’re dealing with. But based on the responses we receive when expressing concerns it seems as though they’re all “out to get us”
Thanks in advance.

I got carried away writing this and will absolutely end up on okbuddyfresca.
Season 4 is all about desperation. Homelander sends the Seven to find the Boys and put an end to them, while tensions between his supporters and Starlight's spill into violence. Homelander becomes more and more fed up with each passing day, catching the attention of the government, who send a general (or the congressman guy from season 1) to try to figure out what's going on. Homelander doesn't take it nicely, and violently threatens him. The government decides the main problem isn't Homelander but Homelander's obsession with Butcher, so they work on finding and killing Butcher and the Boys.
Meanwhile, Butcher has found the supe virus and manages to weaponize it, but the military has tracked him down. Before they can move on him, Homelander arrives and tells them off, saying that they put supes into the military for stuff like this. They're superheroes, so they'll stop the supervillains. A tense standoff occurs between the military and Homelander, but they back off. Homelander searches the farm Butcher and the Boys held the virus, finding they have fled just in time, but unfortunately have left behind a sample of the virus, giving Homelander an idea to weaponize it himself.
Butcher, realizing this, releases the part of the virus he has, not yet ready, and it starts to infect the superhero community, including Kimiko. This further divides the country. 20% of supes support Starlight, but the other 80% of supes support Homelander, and like Sam and Cate, begin to hate the normal human population more and more. Finally fed up with the antics of the Seven, the military attempts to intervene, leading to Homelander killing an entire infantry (or whatever it's called) of the military. He then tells the public that the leftist run government is trying to stop democracy, and that Neuman needs to be elected to save the country, with his killing of the soldiers as self defense and proof of irreparable corruption.
Homelander is able to make a very weaponized version of the virus by testing on "rogue" supes, such as the Gen V kids. Neuman gets elected and Homelander kills Singer, claiming that he was killed by the leftists. Before Homelander and Neuman can fully take control, Butcher and the Boys find and free the Gen V kids, and them manage to steal Homelander's virus. A fight goes down, where Neuman (and perhaps Andre) is killed, while Homelander is infected by the virus but is able to escape. He discovers he's strong enough to not die from it, but his powers have disappeared. Homelander's supporters and the supes that are on his side, thinking he's died, storm D.C. and take over the White House, while Butcher convinces Mallory to wake up Soldier Boy.
Season 5 has Homelander on the run and hiding as a normal person without powers, now forced to fight tooth and nail to survive from Starlight supporters who manage to recognize him. At the same time, Ryan and Homelander supporters try to find where he is before the military and the Boys can find him, but the rest of the Seven and Homelander loyal supes start to attack the military, with a new leader temporarily taking Homelander's place. Things become worse when they discover that Homelander, wherever he is, is likely gaining his powers back, and when he does, he's going to burn everything to the ground, just like he told Starlight he would.
Butcher wakes up Soldier Boy, who throughout the season has a redemption arc. He's old, tired, fed up with the world he's shaped when he became the first supe. Butcher, also dying, comes to an agreement with him. In the last two or three episodes, Soldier Boy begins to power up a chest blast. It's excruciating for him, while Butcher protects him and keeps him on the move. The two of them reflect on their lives.
Starlight and her supes, including the Gen V kids, try to fight back against the Seven and Homelander supporters, but they're quickly losing ground. At the same time, Ryan manages to finally catch up with Homelander, tracking him down to a farm where he's befriended an old couple unaware of who he is. In the barn, Homelander describes them like they are his parents, mirroring the false backstory Vought gave him in the first season. Homelander tells Ryan that because of him never having parents, he was never able to be a good father to him, but now that his powers have finally returned, the two of them can start again, and create a utopia for supes. Ryan seems to agree with him, before using his lasers to kill Homelander, who only responds with "attaboy".
Soldier Boy and Butcher find a remote enough spot. Butcher calls Hughie and says goodbye, asking him to take care of Annie and Ryan. Soldier Boy finally releases the blast he's been powering up. The size is comparable to that of a nuke, killing both SB and Butcher. The power draining effects are large enough to encompass the entire U.S., draining the powers of every supe in the country.
The final shot of the show is Ryan, now being cared for by Hughie and Annie. It's revealed then that Ryan is so strong that his powers have survived the blast, and his future as to whether he will become a villain like his father is left unclear. Maybe Gen V will continue with this.

I am looking for ARC readers for my YA contemporary fiction novel, Growing up Hadley. I am currently distributing digital copies now ahead of its official launch next month!
Title: Growing up Hadley
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Fiction
Page Count: 319
Book Release Date: June 24, 2024
Back Cover Synopsis:
A heartbreaking story of resilience, friendship, and self-discovery.
Thirteen is a hard age. Even harder when you lose your mom to cancer. For Hadley, it means being left in the hands of an angry, alcoholic father who chips away at her self-worth until her anxiety is almost crippling.
Desperate for solace, an unexpected friendship blooms - a lifeline woven from patience, respect, and shared laughter. Suddenly, Hadley starts to smile again. Really, truly smile. That is until her father’s outlandish demands ruin everything.
As Hadley grows up, she faces a choice: succumb to her father’s toxic hold or finally put herself first and dare to chase the dreams she once whispered to the stars.
-----
If you think you may be interested, please fill out this very brief form:
https://forms.gle/QTZBtbSSB7jpDW5j8
I will then send you a Bookfunnel link so you can securely download an EPUB of my novel or send it directly to your e-reader. Thank you!!

Ne Lei, Champion of Gods

Ne Lei is the Champion of Gods, chosen and favored by multiple Gods or an equivalent to Aspects. Ne Lei came from a secluded tribe East of Valoran where they revere Gods as their guidance for every day lives.

Date:

03.02.2024

Image:

I do not own these image. It is served as a reference only.

Gameplay:

Ne Lei is a Fighter who grows stronger if she perform a certain conditions in order to please her Gods. After that Condition, she is granted a Blessings augmenting her.
Her God theme is inspired by some Greek Gods (such as Zeus, Artemis, Ares and etc.). God’s Blessing Theme is inspired by Hades (a Rogue-like Game).

Previous Concept:

• Nicetas, the Warrior of Gods

Note:

All of spell damage/effect, scalings, amount, cost and cooldowns are roughly estimated. Numbers can be adjusted and it is only a representation.

Basic Attack:

MODIFIED ATTACK: Ne Lei’s Basic Attack are modified and has 3 forms: * Sword = Sweep in 100° Cone at 🎯150 Range at Melee targeting. * Spear = Thrust of Spear from 🎯151 - 375 Range, dealing 100% of ⚔️AD in a line. * Bow = Release an Arrow at 🎯376 - 500 Range but deals 85% of ⚔️AD.

Passive: Favored by Gods

INNATE: Ne Lei is granted multiple Blessings from 7 Gods. She gain these blessings by Impressing the Gods for a certain conditions.

Q: Call for Gods

ACTIVE: Ne Lei shouts for Aid of Gods, ⚜️marking all enemy unit around her for ⌛️5 seconds. She would then gain bonus 🏹Attack Speed and 🔼Increase Damage Output for a given duration.
⚜️Marked unit would also share a portion of Damage to other ⚜️Marked unit when they take damage from Ne Lei. Share Damage deal 🗡️True Damage.

🏹Bonus Attack Speed	(30/45/60/75/90%)
🔼Increase Damage Output	(8/12/16/20/24%)
🗡️Share Damage	(30/35/40/45/50%)
⌛️Buff Duration	(2/2.3/2.6/2.9/3.2) seconds
🎯Spell Range	850
🕒Cooldown	(12/11/10/9/8) seconds
💧Cost	60 mana

W: God’s Aegis

ACTIVE: Gods grant Ne Lei an Aura based Aegis. Which all Enemy units inside the Aura have their 🔽Damage Output reduced against Ne Lei only.
Aura also ❄️Slows them.

🔽Damage Reduction	(30/35/40/45/50%) (+5% per 100 AP) (+5% per 100 bonus AD)
❄️Slow	(20/24/28/32/36%)
⌛️Aura Duration	(2/2.25/2.5/2.75/3) seconds
🎯Aura Radius	500
🕒Cooldown	(20/18.5/17/15.5/14) seconds
💧Cost	50 mana

E: Strife

ACTIVE: Ne Lei dashes to target direction then grant her bonus ⚔️Physical Damage on each of her Unique Attacks: Bonus on each weapon (Sword, Spear, Bow).
Every time she perform and damages an enemy unit using the bonus ⚔️Damage she gain bonus 🥾Movement Speed for ⌛️1.5 second.

⚔️Bonus Physical Damage	(25/50/75/100/125) (+15/20/25/30/35% bonus AD)
🥾Bonus Movement Speed	(30/40/50/60/70) flat Movement Speed
🎯Dash Range	550
🕒Cooldown	12 seconds
💧Cost	35 mana

Ultimate: Art of Conviction

ACTIVE: Ne Lei calls down the Aid from her Gods, then a Smite from Heaven Strikes the Enemy dealing 🔥Magic Damage PLUS the TOTAL 🔥⚔️Damage Output does the Enemy dealt in the past ⌛️3 seconds.

🔥Base Magic Damage	(100/200/300) (+70% AP) (+100% bonus AD)
🔥Bonus Damage	(+30/45/60% of Damage dealt by target Enemy)
🎯Cast Range	400
🕒Cooldown	(150/125/100) seconds
💧Cost	100 mana

GOD’S BLESSINGS:

1.) God of Heaven

BLESSINGS: Ultimate’s 🔥Bonus Damage increased into (+100% Total Damage Output dealt by Enemy) then 😵Stun the target for ⌛️1 second.
DEED: Killing 5 Unique Enemy Champion.

2.) God of Travel

BLESSINGS: Casting Strife Dash him grant 200% bonus 🥾Movement Speed for 0.5 second. It also TRIPLE the bonus Flat bonus 🥾Movement Speed.
DEED: Travel 🎯25,000 unit distance while Out-of-Combat.

3.) God of Protection

BLESSINGS: Casting W Spell now grant (50 - 210) (+40% AP) 🛡️Shield that lasts for ⌛️3.5 seconds. Additionally, every time Ne Lei gain 🛡️Shield from any source, God’s Aegis will activate & ends effect until Shield breaks.
DEED: Takes ⚔️🔥15,000 Damage from Enemy Champion.

4.) God of Death

BLESSINGS: When ⚜️Marked unit is Killed, it deal (10 - 85) (+4% - 8% Max Health of Killed Unit) as 🗡️True Damage.
DEED: After killing 200 Enemy Minions.

5.) God of Hunt

BLESSINGS: Bow now deal (110% AD)and has 575 Attack Range.
DEED: Hitting an Enemy Champion using Bow for 100 times while NOT Damaged by Enemy Champion. Resets effect after not taking damage from Champion for ⌛️7 seconds.

6.) God of War

BLESSINGS: Spear has DOUBLE the 🏹Attack Speed.
DEED: After dealing ⚔️10,000 of Damage to Enemy champion using Spear.

7.) God of Wealth

BLESSINGS: Gain +15% 💰Gold from any source. He also gain (+2.5% of Current Gold) as bonus ⚔️AD and (+3.25% of Current Gold) as bonus 🔥AP.
DEED: After he gain 3,500 💰Gold using his Sword in killing an enemy unit.

Have you ever had trouble processing or interpreting the manga's art in some way, shape, or form? Apparently, it's not that uncommon in the community, as I've seen quite a few people express this, and hopefully I can alleviate that to some extent with posts like this going forward. These posts aren't intended as a replacement for the chapters; rather, they're intended as a page-by-page point of reference and a log of details that you can hopefully reference as you read or reread the manga. Without further ado:
p1-3: Hoping to improve Denji's mood by feeding him, the group leaves the now-destroyed apartment and heads to the train station. As they approach the station, Denji looks down and is shocked to see the body of a deceased chainsaw cultist just lying in the open, though nobody else in the station seems to pay any mind to it. Asa and Fami continue to walk ahead of the group, but Denji slows down, looking back at the body as he tries to process his thoughts; seeing this, Haruka and Nobana choose to lag alongside him. Denji asks them if he's seeing things right—if that really is a dead body. Nobana stays silent, clearly uncomfortable around the body, as he anxiously grabs his other arm. Haruka, on the other hand, confirms that it is, in fact, a corpse before assuring Denji that an attendant will come by to remove the body sometime later. Taken aback by his casual response, Denji stresses that a person died—implying it should be a bigger deal—but Asa responds that seeing dead people is to be expected at this point before telling Denji to hurry up so they can board their train. As the train pulls off, the group sits down and silently listens as Fami begins listing off nearby sushi restaurants ranked in descending order of quality. As she lists them, though, she has to disqualify many of them because they have closed due to the ongoing crisis; through the process of elimination, she eventually narrows the choice down to Sushishi, a budget sushi restaurant. Recognizing the restaurant, Nobana excitedly mentions that he's been there once before, and though he admits that he only bought tea from them, he states that it was good. Oblivious to the conversations around him—as if he was in a trance—Denji stares at the other side of the train, where he sees a mother and her child—sleeping and bandaged from injuries—as well as the seemingly endless landscape of damaged buildings that can be seen from the window behind them.
p4-5: Depressed and trying to understand his situation, Denji asks Asa to clarify why she's so adamant about fighting him suddenly. With a sense of responsibility, Asa cryptically states that if she fights him and wins, it will save Denji. After a brief pause, Denji asks if she's still brainwashed by the Chainsaw Man Church, embarrassing her. Abashed and exasperated, Asa declares she's not brainwashed before asking Fami to explain the plan to Denji. Turning to face each other, Denji and Fami share a look before Fami turns away. In detail, Fami explains the nature of Denji's existence, specifying that his power comes from his contract—that Pochita would become his heart so long as he lives a normal life—and that breaking that contract causes Pochita to manifest in his true form. She clarifies that if Pochita can be defeated, simply swapping Denji's chainsaw heart with a human heart will allow him to become an ordinary human again.
p6-7: Overwhelmed by her explanation, it takes Denji a moment to process what she said, but when he does, he's overcome with suspicion. Denji asks why she knows that much about him, but Fami tilts her head and refuses to respond. Turning to face Asa again, Denji angrily asks if she really believes Fami, pointing out how shady she is in the process. Flustered, Asa attempts to defend Fami, pointing out that she helped rescue Denji from the detention facility. She continues, stating that even if she's done bad things in the past, her heart is in the right place right now because she just wants to help someone. Leaning out and looking at Fami, Asa asks her to confirm her good nature. As the whole group turns to look at her, silently waiting for a response, Fami says nothing at all; instead, the awkward silence is only cut by her rumbling stomach. As the group continues to watch her in stunned silence, she lowers her head in embarrassment.
p8-11: Turning back to Asa, Denji dejectedly asks what she means when she says he can return to "normal". Giving him a frustrated look, she explains that it would let Denji return to his old life. As she states that he could go to school and have a home to return to, she realizes that she accidentally said something insensitive, and her eyes widen in response. Quickly trying to smooth over her mistake, Asa states that she's sure even Nayuta will turn back up, theorizing that she's safe and is only missing because she doesn't have a way to reach out to him after the apartment burned down. Asa assures him that everything will return to how it was before, but Denji tilts his head in thought. Barely turning in her direction, head still tilted, Denji asks if Asa has ever had to eat toilet paper. With no response, Asa only looks at him, confused, as she waits to see where he's going with this question. Continuing, Denji explains that he had so little to eat when he was a child that he'd often eat the toilet paper from a park's public restroom. Despite feeling empathetic towards Denji, Asa can't say anything in response to this revelation, leaving her to sit in stunned silence. Looking away from her, Denji elaborates that once he finally achieved food security, he found out he couldn't bring himself to eat toilet paper anymore. Turning to face her again, he asks if Asa understands what he's trying to say, but she responds that she has no idea since his metaphor is confusing. Lowering his head even more and facing the floor once again out of depression, Denji explains that he can never go back to the way things were before. Behind them, smoke can be seen pouring out of still-smoldering buildings. Stunned into silence, Asa takes one glimpse at Denji's depressed expression and is overcome by emotion. As she lowers her head to match him, she assures him that she'll give him his life back, promising to save him, no matter what.
p12-14: Lighting up a cigarette and taking a drag, Katana Man draws Asa's attention by smoking. As he exhales, he mocks Denji and Asa, saying that kids these days whine "like women". He continues to emasculate Denji, saying that his grandfather would never be avenged by killing "Chainsaw Woman". Asa jumps to Denji's defense, indignantly stating that Katana Man needs to cut him some slack since he's hungry and depressed over Nayuta's uncertain fate. Adding on, she scolds Katana Man, explaining that smoking is prohibited on the train. In response, Katana Man drops his cigarette to the floor; as it continues to burn and release smoke, Asa chides him again. Ignoring her, Katana Man states that he has a better idea than getting sushi; according to him, it's guaranteed to restore the spirit of any man. As Denji turns to face him out of curiosity, Katana Man exclaims that they should take him to a soapland brothel since—according to him—nothing can cheer a man up faster than having sex with a woman.
And that's that. A pretty emotionally heavy chapter this week, but I really like when Fujimoto digs into character's emotions. Off topic, I guess, but there's also no break next week, so that's nice too. Until then, I hope this transcript can help anyone who wants or needs it.

Timestamp: https://imgur.com/a/jFJKcjf
[WTS] sig p365 Wilson combat MS XL grip + Mag Release, $65
GS and no new buyers please
Prefer local pickup in 951 909 of California

I'm paying some back taxes. One year (2021) I am barely expected a refund, but I forgot to claim roughly 3k. The IRS def received this form (1099). I found it after my accountant completed the return. I semi-understand how the tax form works, so I made sample edits on a picture of the form and asked the acct if I did it correctly. I'm pretty sure I had a line wrong... Rather than provide guidance on how to fix the form, he told me to just send it in as is and the IRS will correct it themselves. I don't want to look like I'm trying to cheat the system and get them looking at all my stuff in depth. Last thing I need is an audit and to go through that enormous hassle. But if I make edits myself, I fear I will make mistakes. No online submissions are allowed on older files, so it has to be paper. I have to send it in tomorrow. What should I do?

I just wanted to pass along a scam that someone tried to pull on SideLineSwap for a Bushnell Launch Pro. He listed it for sale for 2000.00 and the location of Georgia with the user name being Basiladze9910. The unit was listed as barely used with a gold membership lasting till 10/24. I asked him several questions, one of them being does the unit have club data activated to which he answered yes. Something seemed a little too good to be true but seeing as how the deal was on SidelineSwap which I have used before I made an offer of 1750.00 which he accepted. 2 days later I received a tracking notice stating the package would arrive between 9am and 11am 5/13. Needless to say I was looking forward to getting the unit.
The morning of 5/13 arrived and things started going south. I checked the tracking number while doing some work in the yard and it showed that the package had been delivered but that the package was left at the front desk and signed for by Mike but no address was shown as to where it was delivered. I immediately messaged the seller via SidelineSwap about something being wrong and then got on the phone to UPS. I was informed that the package was to delivered to an address in the same town as me but I was not listed on the package as being the recipient. I also was told the address where the package originated from, which I googled and came up with the Amtrak Station in Atlanta Georgia. So I emailed SidelineSwap about what was going on, I also messaged the seller via SidelineSwap chat. The seller responded that the tracking number was incorrect and gave me a second tracking number which now showed the package to arrive on 5/17 before noon the twist now being the package was coming from California. The issue became that the 72 hours clock on SidelineSwap to release the money to the seller started ticking since the package was now listed as being delivered. If I did nothing and waited the money would have been released 5/16 because the seller did not have the listed changed to reflect that the package was still in transit. So I went to the SLS page and selected the option to dispute the transaction.
So now the seller starts messaging me and accusing me of trying to scam him and that he wants his money and he needs his money and why am I doing this? Please don’t scam him. The whole time I have been emailing SidelineSwap anytime I received any more information from the seller or from UPS. SidelineSwap emailed me and said that I had three options. The first was wait till the package arrived and see if it contained the launch monitor and accept it and release the funds. The second was to open the package and if it was not a launch monitor or if there was a problem with it, then I could request a refund. the third and final option was to refuse the package and have it sent back to the seller I had made up my mind to refuse the package. I called UPS to see if I could refuse the package while it was in transit. I gave the agent the tracking number and was told by UPS that the package associated with that number was not coming to my address and also that I was not the recipient listed on the package. I immediately emailed this information to SidelineSwap and I also messaged the seller about what UPS had told me. The seller proceeded to message me back saying that the first tracking number was correct and that the unit was delivered to my address and he wanted his money.
I was emailing SidelineSwap the entire time and I informed SidelineSwap that I was going to dispute the charge with PayPal and my credit card company. I started the claim with PayPal, giving them a description of what occurred and screenshots of the entire message session with the seller and emails from SidelineSwap. About an hour later I was notified by SidelineSwap that the transaction was canceled and also received verification from PayPal that the charge was refunded.
Like I said, in the beginning, this seemed a little too good to be true, and as it turns out that was the case. The only reason I attempted to purchase this BLP was because it was on SidelineSwap and I know there is buyer protection. If this had been some sort of private sale there is no way that I would have gone through with it because there was no way I could have protected my interests. After it was over, I tried to figure out how this person thought they could get away with this. I could not come up with anything other than the fact that the person is stupid or was hoping that I was even stupider than he was. What I did find to be very curious though is how this seller was able to get 2 tracking numbers for 2 different packages coming to my town. I am sorry that this is so long and confusing, but I wanted to get the message out there of this type of a scam. Right after all this was over I went on a simulator message board and someone had made a post about purchasing a BLP from Facebook marketplace for the same amount of money coming from the same initial location as the one I tried to buy. I related my some of my experience in this case to that person because I do not want to see anybody get taken advantage of and get ripped off.

Welcome Slayers of Demons! We on /demonssouls understand that from time to time, you may need assistance adjusting the world tendency of your game to help you along in your playthrough, or maybe you require some help attaining the online trophies like 'Return to Form'. However, since the release of the PS5 Remake, this subreddit has been spammed with hundreds and hundreds of threads begging for world or character tendency or online trophy help, and it detracts from the overall experience of the subreddit. Because of this, we have added the following rule:

No tendency & trophy help requests outside of the pinned threads, nor begging for in-game items.

You can read the full rule, here.
To meet those who are making these posts in the middle, we now have weekly threads dedicated specifically to requesting help with world or character tendency, or online trophies. In addition, we would like to remind you of the following resources, which might provide you with more immediate help!

• Demon's Souls (PS5) Discord Server: use the #co-op and #trading channels!
  
• /SummonSign - make sure you format your post properly.
  
• /twinkly - you can use this subreddit to trade items in-game, as well as trade world tendency help!
  

You may use this thread only to request help with your world or character tendency, or online trophies; and to offer help to others. Off-topic comments will be removed.

Have a great week! :D

OOC: co-written with NotTooSunny
It was an ordinary day at the New York City Library. People wandered in and out of the building, unaware of the monster that lurked among them.
The only people who seemed to know the danger these mortals were in were Harper and Amon, who entered the building with glowing bronze swords at their hips. The bulky weapons seemed to have escaped the notice of the other library patrons, which was a good thing. The job description had made it clear that they were meant to remain inconspicuous in completing their task.
Harper had traded her usual bright orange camp shirt for a more discrete cropped black t-shirt and pleated pants. She had been insistent on coming up with a persona for them on the train ride from Montauk Station into New York City. They were meant to act as high school students researching for a World History paper on Ancient Greece. Now that they were inside the library, she had stopped her incessant rambling to peruse a riddle book, in what she had insisted was preparation for their job.
As they wandered through the bookshelves, she remained absorbed in the dog-eared children’s book, thumbing through the pages to find a riddle that would be fitting of a sphinx.
“Here’s one, Amon,” she said, narrowly avoiding a collision with another library patron as she read, “What is something that runs but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?”
The dark-haired son of Apollo glanced over from a shelf of dusty atlases, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. “That is an easy one,” he replied simply. "River. Try me with something more challenging next time around." He adjusted the collar of his striped button down, which he had layered with a navy blue sweater in preparation for the chill of the air-conditioned interior.
“The real riddle is where we can find this sphinx,” Amon glanced around the spacious reading area, eyeing the dark wooden staircase with its ornate railings. “The boyfriend and girlfriend who tried this last time, they found her by a bookcase.”
“A bookcase,” Harper repeated derisively, closing her book to theatrically scan their surroundings. “That narrows it down.”
Ignoring Harper’s mockery, the son of Apollo paused suddenly, his dark eyes glazing over with concentration. His hearing dulled, the surrounding footsteps and rustling pages fading into the background as if muffled by a thick curtain. Amon searched for the energy signature of the monster he knew lurked among the mortals. It was a subtle shift, like trying to discern a whisper in a crowded room, but he felt a faint, abnormal energy hanging somewhere up above.
“I say we try the second floor,” he said as he snapped out of the tracking trance, offering no other explanation to Harper.
“We could do that, sure,” Harper said, words laced with blatant doubt at his sudden certainty. “I say we try asking the Visitor’s Center. I know she's supposed to be disguised by the Mist, but the librarians have to have noticed something.”
“You can go ahead and do that.” The small smirk from earlier was now spreading across his face. “But you can’t be upset if I find the sphinx and solve her riddle before you even get there.”
Harper rolled her eyes, but she made no attempt to stop Amon from walking towards the staircase. After a moment she set off after him, footsteps even against the wooden steps.
Up on the second floor, Amon moved quietly, his dark eyes scanning the hallway for anything out of the ordinary.
I know you’re up here.
He stopped at every heavy-looking mahogany door, peering through each muted glass insert. He felt the air grow thicker with ominous energy at every step, so he knew the monster must be near.
One of the doors was slightly ajar, a suspiciously open invitation. Or a trap. The dark-haired boy caught sight of a cat-shaped figure on the other side before ducking down and motioning sharply for Harper’s attention. He unsheathed his kopis from his belt, bracing himself for confrontation.
Harper crouched against the wall, hand on the hilt of her sword as she tried to peek through the frosted glass pane. She held her breath, ready to move at Amon’s signal. He held out three fingers and then put them down one by one. When he hit zero, they stood in unison, flinging the door open together.
When Amon and Harper stepped inside, the body of the sphinx lay motionless on the floor.
The rest of the room was in disarray, littered with disheveled chairs and broken bits of chalk. A window on the other side of the room had been forced open, the curtain fluttering in the wind.
“No way,” Harper said. The door clicked shut behind her as she pushed past Amon into the room and kneeled to study the monster’s limp figure.
The sphinx had the large body of a lion and the eerily human face of a middle-aged woman, hair tied back in a severe bun and foundation caked onto her high cheekbones. Fangs jutted out of her red-painted lips, and eagle wings sprouted out of the space between her shoulder blades, folded tight against her back.
“Monsters dissolve into dust when they die,” Amon remarked, keeping his distance as he watched the subtle rise and fall of the monster’s ribs. “She must have been knocked unconscious.”
“Right,” Harper agreed, “The real question is who. And why.”
She hovered a hand over the cat's shoulder, set on rousing her. Before she made contact, the sphinx's eyes snapped open, round irises surrounded by shocking yellow sclera.
"Slain!" she wailed. Harper staggered backwards. Amon’s arms instinctively reached out to catch her, but she didn’t stumble near enough to make contact. "I am slain!"
With feline grace, the sphinx rose to her feet. A white tape outline marked the placement of her previously prone body on the floor. The muscles in her legs rippled as she paced in front of Harper and Amon, massive velvet paws silent against the carpet.
"And you, my dear heroes," she roared, eyes narrowed in an accusatory glare, "were too late to save me!"
The sphinx sniffed, composing herself. She leapt onto a wooden table. The table legs creaked underneath her weight. "Fear not," she tutted, "Fear not. For you can still avenge me. If you are able to determine the murderer and their weapon, then I will obtain justice, and all will be right with the world.”
“Your riddle is a murder mystery,” Harper said, confusion written across her face. Amon raised an eyebrow. The sphinx chuffed, a low rumbling sound reminiscent of laughter.
“You sought that hackneyed question about man? The Sphinx that the storytellers remember is far less adaptive than I am. I am not interested in your ability to regurgitate the information you have read. Nor am I interested in taking advantage of the nonsensical rules of your English language.”
“I am here to satisfy my own curiosity: does modern mankind still possess the ability to engage in deductive reasoning, or do they only seek to make themselves appear intelligent? Do not speak,” the sphinx said, a pointed look at Harper, who had opened her mouth to interject, “You will answer my questions when you play my game.”
“The potential murder weapons are scattered throughout this room,” she continued, leaping off the table. “And the suspects have already provided their testimonies for your review. Rest assured, I have made certain that their statements contain no lies.”
A shimmering, translucent energy began to swirl around Harper and Amon’s feet, beginning to take shape as holograms with a flickering, ephemeral quality.
A projection of Cerberus materialized first, his three massive heads snarling and snapping in unison. A ribbon of text appeared by his paws to translate his growling: "I was guarding the entrance, my duty unbroken."
Next came the Minotaur, his towering form pacing within the labyrinth on Crete. He snorted and pawed at the ground, the holographic maze shifting behind him in the background. The translation text appeared: "Confined within these walls, no escape for me."
Lamia's projection flickered into view, her serpentine lower half coiled around her as she wept in her cave. She glanced mournfully at the holographic images of her lost children: "My grief consumes me, innocent of this crime."
A shimmering Hydra emerged next, its nine heads snapping at invisible foes. Each one moved independently, showcasing its ability to act on its own. The translation for the hissing head at the center read: "Engaged in battle, I could not have killed."
Typhon materialized with a thunderous roar, his colossal form fighting against restraints under Mount Etna. His immense size and power were palpable, even in scaled down holographic form: "Bound by chains of the earth, I could not have roamed free."
Echidna’s hologram appeared last, her form a mix of human and serpent, lounging in a dimly lit cave. She looked directly at the viewers, her expression both defiant and amused. The translation text by her side read: “I dwell in my lair, uninvolved in such petty affairs.”
The sphinx swiped at the last projection as it faded, deeming her handiwork satisfactory. “There is not enough information to deduce the killer using evidence alone. Because I am fair, I will provide you with three hints before your final guess. Be forewarned: if you fail to provide a correct answer, you will both perish. Is this understood?”
Harper spoke. “If we answer correctly, you will leave this library for good.”
“If you answer correctly, I will permanently relocate. It is a preferable option in comparison to another death. Now, do you agree to the terms and conditions?” the sphinx said primly, regarding Harper and Amon with casual disdain. The pair nodded. “Very well.”
The sphinx dropped onto the floor and let her head loll back, pretending to be dead once more.
Hint #1

Suspects	Weapons
Cerberus	The Shirt of Nessus
The Minotaur	Siren Song
Lamia	Harpy Talon
The Hydra	Celestial Bronze Sword
Typhon	A-C Encyclopedia
Echidna	Cerberus Fang

Soon after the Sphinx had laid back down, Harper and Amon began to scour the room. A small pile of prospective murder weapons formed on a nearby table.
“We can easily eliminate the siren song,” Amon rushed to speak over Harper, eyeing the small glass vial of swirling gray matter that they had found nestled behind a row of books on metalworking. “It is a luring mechanism, not a murder weapon.”
“We could rule out Cerberus’ fang too,” he pointed at the enormous yellowing tooth, about the size of the small baseball bat Amon used to have when he played in the little league. “If we take the hologram as ground truth, all of his teeth were intact there.”
Harper used her kopis to prod at the stained tunic that had been hidden in a desk drawer, being careful not to touch it with bare skin. “The Shirt of Nessus is a viable option. It would be easy for any of the suspects to lay it down and wait for the hydra venom to kick in.”
“I am not ready to rule out the bronze sword either,” Amon noted. “Monsters have access to heroes and the weapons they leave behind.”
“Most of these monsters don’t even have opposable thumbs,” Harper argued, running a hand over the sword they had found by a power outlet. ”They don’t have the dexterity to wield a sword.”
“I do not imagine that the technicality would be that granular.”
Harper laughed. “Oh, the number of teeth in the Cerberus hologram tell all, but we’re drawing the line at opposable thumbs.”
“I suppose that that logic would also rule out the harpy talon and the encyclopedia easily as well,” Amon admitted. “Which would be too easy.”
“I’m just that good at logical deduction.” Harper said proudly. “If my assumption is correct, then the poisoned shirt is the only one that makes sense.”
Amon scoffed, folding his arms across his chest as his dark eyes bored into Harper. “It would not necessarily matter what our first guess would be anyway.”
“Can you provide an argument for any other weapon? Or are you intent on purposely making an illogical guess?” she countered cooly.
“Fine,” Amon acquiesced. “Since you are so adamant about the shirt, we can guess the shirt, and be incorrect. It does not matter. What about the suspects themselves?” He clasped his hands behind his back, his steps measured as he started to pace across the plush red carpet of the room.
Harper smiled, smugly accepting her victory. She strode towards a chalkboard at the side of the study room, inscribing the list of weapons and suspects with a fresh piece of white chalk.
“All of them have alibis,“ she began. “I think that-”
“Some make more sense than others,” Amon spoke over Harper, irritated by her minor triumph. “Cerberus, for example, is under the service of Hades. He says he did not leave his post, and he could not have done so without permission or dire consequences on the process of the dead.”
Harper silently seethed as Amon spoke, meeting his rationale with reluctant acceptance before starting again in a louder, exaggerated tone. “I think that the ones with the shakiest alibis are Lamia, the Minotaur, Typhon, and Echidna. No witnesses can confirm their locations. In fact, Lamia provides no location at all.” Harper circled those names. She looked at Amon with a forced smile, allowing him a moment to provide more commentary.
“Lamia? Well,” there was a hint of mockery in the sneer that tugged on the corner of Amon’s lips. “I would imagine her emotions rendered her… Too fragile and unstable to carry out such an act.”
“You’re kidding,” Harper scoffed, searching Amon's face for the slightest hint that he was joking. “Her grief is what moved her to kill children in the first place. I doubt it would suddenly be incapacitating. She’s just appealing to your sense of superiority, and I can’t believe that you’re falling for it.”
"It is not about superiority. It is about logic," Amon retorted, bristling in defense. “You cannot deny that emotions cloud judgment. Maybe the sphinx wants us to leverage our knowledge about her past crimes to reason that she was not thinking clearly in this case either.” Amon had no other evidence that pointed towards Lamia as the top suspect, but he had dug deep enough where he was now ready to stand firm in his reasoning.
“Murder,” Harper countered, eyes narrowed in a venomous stare, “-does not require you to think clearly. Haven’t you heard of a crime of passion? If anyone’s judgment is clouded right now, Amon, it’s yours.”
The son of Apollo squared his shoulders, his expression hardening. "I understand the concept of crimes of passion, thank you.” His dark-eyed stare returned Harper's gaze, unflinching at the intensity. “But our investigation must be rooted in facts, not assumptions based on emotions. And the facts are,” he resumed his pacing once more, “that Lamia cannot be the culprit, as she is the only suspect that openly admits to being innocent of this crime.”
Amon had considered this from the very start, but provoking Harper like this had proved to be far more amusing.
Harper crossed Lamia’s name off of the board. She swallowed down her anger, fighting the urge to continue pressing the issue in favor of returning to their list of suspects. She pointed her piece of chalk at the next names on the list. “The Minotaur and Typhon are trapped, or so they say. How could they have done anything?”
“Their alibis revolve around their inability to escape,” Amon pointed out. “Not that they were unable to commit murder. The Labyrinth, in fact,” he raised a dramatic finger, “has several moving passages that could have permitted the Minotaur to move and commit murder without an official escape.”
Harper considered his words for a long moment, trying to find the flaw in his reasoning. Seeing none, she placed a dot next to the Minotaurs's name.
“Typhon escaped his prison in the Second Titanomachy. He could do it again,” Harper said thoughtfully. “Though I don’t understand why he would do something like this. He’s the Sphinx's father. The same goes for Echidna.”
Amon, who had been nodding at Harper’s assessment of Typhon’s abilities, pursed his lips at her observation of parentage. “I do not see how this could possibly be relevant to the logical puzzle at hand.”
Harper spoke slowly, as if the answer was obvious. “What motive would they have to kill their own daughter?”
“Harper,” Amon began curtly, folding his arms across his chest. “Half of the Greek myths revolve around immortals killing their own children.”
“Then we should pick one of them,” Harper declared, pivoting her argument instead of admitting her logical blunder. “They would have more of a motive than the rest of the suspects, if anything.”
“The Minotaur can escape much more easily than Typhon can. Motive aside, it is the most logical guess,” Amon concluded, adjusting his collar haughtily. “I will remind you that we picked your choice of weapon. It is only fair that I select the monster.”
“Fine.” Harper agreed, her gaze stormy as she turned back towards the sphinx. “We accuse the Minotaur of killing the sphinx with the Shirt of Nessus.”
The sphinx opened one eye. “None of these are correct!”
Hint #2

Suspects	Weapons
Cerberus	The Shirt of Nessus
The Minotaur	Siren Song
Lamia	Harpy Talon
The Hydra	Celestial Bronze Sword
Typhon	A-C Encyclopedia
Echidna	Cerberus Fang

“Two more hints left.” Harper announced, crossing off the Minotaur’s name and the poisoned shirt on the chalkboard with a flourish. It was not ideal that her initial logical deductions had been incorrect, but at least Amon had also been wrong. She couldn't resist a snide comment. “I knew it wasn’t the Minotaur.”
“So you still think it’s Typhon.” Choosing to ignore Harper’s taunting, Amon rested his hand on a nearby desk, studying the lists on the chalkboard before him. He had taken the Minotaur error as a personal failure, and was determined to get the suspect right this time.
“I do.”
“Why not Echidna?”
“She’s too emotional to kill someone, obviously.” Harper said sarcastically. “Her frail female arms are probably too weak to even hold a weapon.”
The dark-haired boy rolled his eyes. “Objectively,” he began, ignoring her quip once more, “Typhon could not have lied about his inability to roam free. A natural disaster freed him from Mount Etna during the Second Titanomachy, but he could not recreate those conditions on his own.” Though his tone remained aloof, it was clear that Amon was relishing in the opportunity to flaunt his mythology knowledge.
“Maybe,” Harper argued, stubborn. “But Echidna’s statement was less ambiguous than his. Typhon just explains his predicament; he doesn't provide a real claim. Echidna explicitly says she was not involved.” She thought for a few more moments, rolling the piece of chalk in her hands. “Echidna could have released him? They would be accomplices.”
Amon shook his head. “There was a single murderer. Not two. The sphinx would not lie about the premise of the game.”
Harper stared at him coldly, but could offer no rebuttal. She turned her attention to the board. “Typhon is a giant. He’s capable of using the sword.”
“But the specificity of Echidna’s denial is still incredibly suspicious. ‘Petty affairs’ is a strange way to phrase a murder. But,” Amon added reluctantly, “I understand the logic behind Typhon. I suppose it is your turn to choose the monster, and we will still have another guess to work with.”
“As for the weapon,” he continued, “I still think the sword is the most viable option, given that the siren song and the fang can be ruled out and the shirt with the venom was, well,” Amon pursed his lips, fighting the urge to smile, “incorrect.”
Before Harper could interject, Amon turned towards the sphinx at the front of the room. “We accuse Typhon of killing the sphinx with a Celestial Bronze Sword.”
“One of these is correct!”
Hint #3

Suspects	Weapons
Cerberus	The Shirt of Nessus
The Minotaur	Siren Song
Lamia	Harpy Talon
The Hydra	Celestial Bronze Sword
Typhon	A-C Encyclopedia
Echidna	Cerberus Fang

“Aha!” Amon raised a triumphant finger before pointing it at Harper. “I told you,” he gloated, “Typhon had no escape route.”
“You were right,” Harper admitted, staring down at the carpet so that she would not have to look at his smug expression.
“Let’s get this over with,” she muttered, and turned back towards the lioness with crossed arms. “We accuse Echidna of killing the sphinx with a Celestial Bronze Sword”
“One of these is correct,” the sphinx announced. Her mouth twisted in amusement, fangs bared in a menacing smile.
READ PART 2 HERE

I forgot about it, until some guy pulled up Some receipts, so here it is…

 The History Of Ye: The year of 1977, a year to remember. A superstar was born during this year. The young Kanye West, now known as Ye, was birthed into this world by Donda and Ray in the ATL. Ye may have grown up lower middle class but he had a great background with his mother, Donda, being a well-spoken, charismatic, and wise woman, and his father, Ray, being a Black Panther Journalist. Unfortunately, the two parents would split when Ye was around the age of 3, and Donda got Ye to move with her to Chi-Town. Ye would go to a variety of places with his mother, even places like China! Young Ye was a great student and characterized as charismatic and outspoken by his teachers. He would graduate in the 90’s, where his career really began to spring. Ye always wanted to be a producer, so he took the opportunity and ran with it. He first started making beats for local guys, and then bigger artists like Common, and even bigger ones like Jay-Z, starting in the early 2000’s. However, Ye also wanted to be a rapper, even being in a group called the Go Getters, but no label wanted to sign him. That was until a reluctant Dame Dash of Roc-A-Fella signed him to a record deal. Things weren’t always sunshine and rainbows though, as Ye would get into a car crash in early 2003, making his jaw wired shut. This did not stop the determined Ye however, ash he pushed through and dropped his hugely successful and influential The College Dropout. Then he did it again with Late Registration, and again with Graduation….but this streak of happiness and well health for Ye would snap with the death of his mother, Donda…. Everything began to go downhill from there. That along with the break up of his fiancée inspired his fourth album, 808’s & Heartbreak. Ye would start spazzing out, however, even crashing the MTV VMA’s to interrupt a young Taylor Swift. This caused Ye to go into exile, but not for long, as the release of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy bringing the world back to him, and then Watch The Throne with close friend Jay-Z. He even started his own label during this time, G.O.O.D. Music, and got married to the love of his life Kim, having 4 kids in North, Saint, Psalm, and Chicago. He went on to drop Yeezus, experimental and influential, and The Life Of Pablo, a modern piece of art. His mental health would begin to spiral again however. He had to cancel a whole tour and was medicated at UCLA, where Ye was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. He would embrace the diagnosis however, dropping Ye, Kids See Ghosts with close friend Kid Cudi, and several other executively produced albums in 2018 all while under a controversy revolving around slavery and the president. After this period, Ye completely gave his life to Jesus, forming the Sunday Service Choir and scrapping a whole album to reshape it as Jesus Is King. Ye was finally mentally clear….until he and Kim started having issues. Ye would drop Donda in 2021, dedicated to his deceased mother, another gospel album, but behind the scenes, Kim wanted a divorce, and started hanging out with other guys like Pete Davidson. 2022 would be the worst year of his life, scrapping a whole album he already “dropped”, hanging out with weirdos and creeps, and then the straw that broke the camel’s back….becoming publicly antisemitic, praising Hitler on live media. This snapped his sponsorship deals in half, including the generational Adidas deal. All hope was lost….until Ye found a new wife in Bianca, and a real friend in Ty Dolla $ign, who dug Ye out from his grave and released a collab album with him, Vultures 1. There may be a Vultures 2 and 3 one day, but Ye’s current state of mind is unknown, with rumors of an old demon coming back on his shoulders. Will Ye find more help? Will Ye spaz again? We will know soon for certain… 

Hope you enjoyed :)

Literally every single dps has best in slot supports and team comps they work or dont work in.
DHIL - Hanya/Sparkle/Tingyun/Yukong Acheron - Pela/Welt Blade - Bronya/Sparkle Jingliu - Bronya/Sparkle Ratio - Topaz/Silver Wolf Black Swan - Kafka Argenti - Tingyun And so on
People who are so adamant about not wanting to use firefly with HMC, who literally everyone who plays the game has, what even is the argument?
Based on leak showcases Ive seen, at E0S1 with her premium team she has comparable clears to Acheron E1S1 teams with a STACKED acheron build (I am talking about my own 80/249 Acheron Welt Pela Aventurine team here)
She seems like the "Alhaitham of HSR" where most of her damage comes from not just building crit and throwing her with the resident atk%/dmg% buffers, but instead capitalizing on a mechanic which was recently added to the game (or in Haithams case element). Or a better comparison may be Kuki Shinobu, but since she was released earlier than what ended up skyrocketing her damage contribution the situation is a bit different, but mechanically both her and Firefly are in a similar spot where your damage in an ideal scenario comes from somewhere other than raw crit dps.
Not wanting to use her with her best in slot support even though theyre even a good pairing lore wise... why? Do you have fun playing Acheron Tingyun HuoHuo teams? She is the best dps in the game and is tied to running 2 other nihility units and flat out doesnt work with a lot of traditionally good supports. What teams do you even want FF to work in that you are so against using her with HMC?
And why compare her to Boothill based on "damage per screenshot"? She gets 3 actions in 1 cycle (with enough speed built and dance3 on Ruan Mei or HMC probably very easily 4) and gets 100% action advance and 50 extra speed in ult form, Boothill needs a speedtuned Bronya for that, in which case you either have to remove sustain, HMCs super break, or Ruan Mei from Boothills team. Boothill is also a very strong unit no doubt, and is less restrictive with team comps he can use, but he also will have a BiS team, just as every other dps.
The biggest thing is how Gallagher being Fire and FF implanting fire weakness makes her a lot better than Boothill if we are speaking of a break oriented team. Sure, Boothill can do the damage "on his own" but I would argue a Bronya that is speedtuned to a 161 speed Boothill is a much bigger headache to solve (both getting a 161 Boothill and the Bronya) than just having HMC and Ruan Mei on the party setup screen.
The argument I also see a lot about how certain bosses have their toughness bars locked in certain phases is some of the most stupid shit Ive read in a while too. Youre supposed to solve the mechanic which reunlocks their toughness bar, and not brute force your damage through it? The only exception is that one triple trotter occurence in simulated universe but if THAT is your metric of which dps is good or not, brother I dont know how to say this but you might be more on the spectrum than I am.
Not to mention with both FF and Gallagher getting action advance on ult and having insane toughness damage I wouldnt be surprised if you could just bypass the rough parts of some of those boss phases by jumping to the front of the action order before the boss gets their turn to begin with.
tldr: people complaining about Firefly needing super break to do insane damage or that her damage per screenshot isnt as high as Boothill lookin kinda goofy

Blachowicz here.
Kept yah’ waiting, huh? Heh, sorry about that one, but I can explain. As we all know… we lost a few good men the last few months.
That’s the brutal part of a hybrid war like ours: We’re fighting a foe unconventional, with half our arsenal tied down because those who grant us authorization are either in disbelief of the true facts, or scared… or already assimilated. That being said our momentum recently was a change not seen in years, and because of that… despite the losses we have garnered, we were close through a breakthrough. One last night Krol pulls myself and other two must trusted squad leads into the back of our COP. There is one of our equipment cages, surrounded by m-bitter radios, tripods, and several hundred thousand dollars of equipment he brought us around a simple worn table. Before us he laid a map of eastern poland… red markings indicating cells that seemed to dot the countryside like a pestilence, or used to… as deep gashes of advance from raids had trisected their lines, even if ones did pop up in the interior.
It was a back and forth; an outside virus infecting Polska at it’s heart, and we were the antibodies sent to drive them out. To which… Major Krol points to one of the largest symbol on the map: a dark red diamond, the NATO symbol for an enemy unit, deep inside of an untouched wooded area, adjacent to a mountain ridge. Several jagged lines indicated entrenchment, with red horizontal lines indicating possible enemy control… or our contested control, for over 20kms surrounding it. Letting us all look, the Major lit himself a cigarette.
“Sir, you sure it’s wise to smoke in here with the dive tanks just behind us” 1st Squad’s lead quipped. “Fuck off” Krol dryly said.
“Alright… this is it… this is the one we’ve been searching for for years, this is the nucleus my predecessor commander died trying to find” he says, pointing to it. Not far from Zamosc, it was almost touching the border with Belarus, the contested area indicating the Strigoi did operate over it… indicating one of the largest spill through points. “-It’s an old soviet bunker, made during their 1960s initiative it was designed to hold the munitions and manpower of several units in the event of a NATO first strike” Krol explained. “It’s gotta be massive then…” I said gazing at the map; “Didn’t the army demolish all of the old soviet hulks near Belarus to prevent any infiltrations?” 3rd Squad’s lead asked. “National Police took the effort over… and by extension, the Strigoi. It was halfway demo’ed before they burrowed into it and have been using it as a bridgehead ever since. This is it…” Krol said. He looked around at all of us, a sense of certainty I had never seen before as he blew smoke from his nostrils; “We’ve been fucking around in the dark for so long, it’s hard to believe we’ve made any progress, but this is it. With this gone, this will set them back over a decade and the momentum will finally shift into our favor… into Poland’s… -Europe’s”.
I swear there was almost a flash of joy, of pride in his eyes and a phantom of a smirk before reality set back in “That being said… we can’t leave this to chance, especially not something as important as this. We’re going to have to go there ourselves… clear through every inch of that place, and tear it all down, piece by piece. I will be straight with you all… when we go, there will be some of us that aren’t coming back. -but we are going… a whole generation is counting on us, and unborn billions rely on us to succeed”. We all nodded, a silent agreement washing over us as we took this upon ourselves. Echo-1 spoke up: “So… They’re authorizing a raid? How big?”. “We’re rolling in as a hard target, armor, explosives, and air support” Krol answered, taking a drag off his cigarette. “Aviation? How the hell did we get that approved, we’ve gotten attempts shot down four times due to those leeches” I said in disbelief. “There’s too much evidence here pointing to the human trafficking tied to their actions… We’ve finally got too much weight pinning them down, to keep the hammer from slamming into their necks” Krol chuckled. He looked around “Any questions?”. “When?” Echo-3 asked. “Three hours. We’re hitting them in the dead of night, only time we could get the birds authorized. Get your boys ready. We’re rolling out” Krol said, dying the cigarette bud out on the table. I can’t begin to tell you the euphoria we felt leaving that cage, as our men started arriving, they did so a lot quicker, and with their heads a lot higher than they had in weeks. As Second Squad’s lead we were going to be one of the main arms of attack into the bunker, thus I made sure we had a breacher loaded with enough thermite, charges, and tools to cut through anything. Our shield bearer we ready to go, as was our assaulters, grenadiers, and machine gunner. I double checked each and everyone of their weapons; ensuring the feeder paws of our squad’s belt fed were intact, making sure every breach charge we had was properly set and packed. There was going to be no mistakes, no slip ups. The margin of error needed to be the smallest it had ever been for us tonight if we were going to make the gore spilt worth it.
Finally… there on the outside of the building, the bright LED lights kept the darkness of the ensuing night at bay as the roar of our MRAPs could be heard. It was said once that war is 99% peace, and 1% chaos, they were right. The slow periods where the blood slowed and the doubt creeped in was the worst… yet we all kept it at bay. We needed to, there was going to be no backing down tonight. All three squads were up, all of us ready to go… we circled up… short stares and shaky nods telling us one things: We were in this together, till the end… the finish line so many before us had been searching for, we were being granted tonight.
A single set of footsteps could be heard as we turned, Major Krol stepping into the center. He took the last drag of a cigarette, throwing it down to the ground and stamping it out onto the damp concrete. He looked around… his chin strap blowing in the weak air as he met everyone of our gazes… then mine… then looked around. “I want you to remember every detail of tonight, as you have every other night… when you are situationally aware, scanning for the enemy, liberating the subjugated, I want you to remember the sting of anxiety, the shake of adrenaline, the chill of the bunker, the heat of your weapon as it cuts them down… because tonight we are going to write every fine detail of our victory, their defeat, in history…” Krol’s words echoed deep into our souls. He paused for a moment, staring around he looked down… a small pause before he said “When you are ruthless in combat, remember to be patient, and reserved in victory. This conflict is for our existence… a lot of innocents have bled due to the mistakes of those who failed to listen, a lot of our brothers are now laid under because we had to bridge the gap of uncertainty with their lives. We remember them now… but in an hour? We forget them… when we raise our barrels, when we cut into those foes, and we liberate Polska!! This does not end tonight, but history puts everything in it’s place, and patience is the companion of the victor… All of our hard work will be cemented, no matter the obstacles we face in that darkness… no matter the demons, the blood, no matter what incomprehensible horrors, we will make them comprehend that to invade our land, to bleed our people, the justice will be paid in full… Load up. It’s time*”*.
The purpose in our steps was heavy as we climbed the back ramps of the MRAPS; Four of the heavily armored vehicles, one for each squad with an additional for attached personnel including our JTAC, the term means Joint Terminal Attack Controllers. With air support requisitioned to us for this operations, there needs to be a definite liaison on the ground who can directly communicate to the birds, and coordinate their fire and progress. I’d worked with many of them in the past, resourceful guys, quick thinking though I guess that comes with the position they hold of needing to quickly figure out what bombs to drop, on which target, at what precise points, whilst taking contact. He loaded in the lead vehicle with Major Krol… and soon, our convoy kicked off.
The drive was several hours as myself and my squad sat in the back of that forty ton goliath, the rumbling of the engine keeping us awake as the crap heater fought to keep the cold from the outside frost from setting in. I looked around to each of them, some were catching some sleep because even with the circumstances… better to get all the energy you can, than to stay awake for nothing. Others were checking their weapons… My gunner locked eyes with me, the same one from the village extraction… many of these men I had trained with for a while now, fought with for months.
We may have met on unconventional circumstances but those in JW Grom thrive on austere chance and create opportunity from scratch. I was pulled from my thought by the sound of a transmission, my peltors were set up for dual comms so I could both receive information from the Major and other leads, whilst communicating with my team.
Krol himself sent out: [“Approximately 10 minutes from enemy AO…”]. As the rest of the squads acknowledged, I quickly sent out [“Echo-2 Copies”], before kicking the boots of any of them sleeping: “Look alive, we’re here”. Through the exterior net armor of the MRAPS, and the bars protecting the small reinforced windows, we could barely see jack shit. I reached up, turning off the overhead light as we all looked through our nods to scan the outside. A dark wall of dense trees was shown before us, making it difficult to see… in addition to night vision capabilities we had also requisitioned ourselves some thermals… when mounted onto rifles they were bulky, made it a pain to aim down quickly, but considering the supernatural capabilities of spotting our foes we needed every advantage necessary.
I flipped out one of my tubes… scanning the outside with my scope. I looked over to one of my assaulters who had been assigned to man the turret of the MRAP, seated near the view screen as he controlled the 50. Cal. Each of the vehicle turrets had been assigned a direction to cover… we took the 9 o’clock, the left flank. “See anything?” I asked. He shook his head; “Negative… wait… I’ve got two cold signatures, front left heading to our rear”.
I quickly scanned the far tree line, at approximately 60 meters off our left were two cold signatures… followed by a third heading to our front… then another. They were surrounding us, moving at speeds so fast I could barely keep my reticle on them. Is this what the National Police saw? What they faced at that lodge without the benefit of a foot of heavy armor protecting them on all sides. Then… suddenly. Something slammed into the side of our MRAP so hard, it caused it to shake. From over the leader comms, Echo-3 quickly shouted [“Contact right!! 4 hostiles!!”].
One of the Strigoi… so bold, had charged and slammed into the side of our MRAP. I quickly looked to see the figure, a dark blue mass of cold energy through my thermal, back away without so much as a stagger… as they tried to flee into the woods, the white hot justice of Echo-3’s gun fired at them, cutting them down. “Blachowicz I’ve got a few breaking for our vic” my man on the turret called out, I spun around, spotting out the window.
Just then, Major Krol announced [“weapons free, watch and shoot for targets of opportunity…”]. I turned to him… “take those fuckers out-”. Without hesitation my vic’s turret began to quickly target them, and through the darkness I saw a stream of outgoing fire bisect one of them, the ISR of the black blood freaking out the optic so badly it didn’t know what temperature to register it as… but it did register it. As another was cut down, one broke through the tree line and latched onto the side of our MRAP. The thing tore at one of the outer net armor panels, usually made to stop RPGs. It grabbed at the bars near the windows, tearing one off… I lowered my rifle as we locked eyes through the reinforced window.
The thing… the Strigoi looked at me, skin cracked as putrefied muscle fibers seemed to leak through dead flesh. It’s teeth were corroded and worn down to sharp fragments, alongside newly mutated fangs that messily protrude from the jaws. Even through the thick walls of the MRAP I could hear it’s roar, as it then tried to punch it’s way through… it cracked the outer coating of the vehicle… but it wasn’t getting anywhere near. My machine gunner, seated next to me, seemed to chuckle at the sight, quippily saying “Yeah… fuck you too”. It’s then our vehicle lurched upwards, as we began to climb the small incline of the bunker. I knew the layout, mapped it in our head, the main entrance was built into the rocky side of an old cliff meaning we could easily set up a defensive perimeter around it, a horseshoe. Krol’s vehicle was first, taking to the right as Echo-3’s MRAP followed. My vehicle, third, left the incline and took a left and… that’s where things got complicated.
We’re still trying to work out what happened but… from what Joakim says his drone captured. Right when the MRAP turned, several of the monsters quickly slammed into the side of the vehicle, as another more bulkier one, pushed at it’s undercarriage. The result.. Was the 40 ton armored vehicle tipped over. It wasn’t uncommon, hell in some cases a well placed IED, a good shot with a recoilless rifle, have been known to tip over Oshkoshs and Maxpros all the time. But this beast? Needless to say we barely had a second to comprehend it as it leaned to the left; “Grab on to something-” is all I had time to shout. A mess of gear and men spilled onto one side of the vehicle as it slammed into the old gravel and dirt.
Several of my assaulters, my grenadier planted right ontop of myself and the others as we came to a stop. Someone’s knee slammed directly into the side of my skull, causing me to dazily bob in and out of consciousness as my face was smushed against the glass of one of the windows.
Through my peltors, the other squads were erratic;
[“Echo-2’s vehicle is down!!”].
[“Echo-3 to Echo-2… Echo-3 to Echo-2…”].
Krol’s voice came through the comms;
[“Echo-Lead to Echo-2… Fuc-... Echo-1 secure Echo 2’s flank, Echo-3”].
[“Echo-3 to other units, they’re spilling through, I’ve got several enemy combatants converging on Echo-2’s vehicle”].
I pushed the legs of my grenadier off my head as I fought to my hands and knees, unfucking my nods as I looked around… “Fuck it… we’re going lights on, shield your eyes” I muttered as I reached for the overhead lights and flipped them on. The bright LEDs bathed the inside of the vehicle as we all gained our bearings, a mess of multicam, gear, and weapons as we quickly pushed each other off. My gunner caught as he fought to realign his promask, from what I gathered one of the assaulters had landed directly into his gun, pushing it directly into his jugular, as pulled back at the rubber and coughed, freeing up his esophagus. We didn’t have time to think however… the sound of bending metal caught our attention… as the back ramp door of the MRAP was ripped clean off. I could barely believe it but as the white light of the MRAP’s interior poured to the outside, a hulking mass leaned in, the dead flesh on it’s face nearly fallen off as the hideous Strigoi leaned inside.
Without hesitation I aimed took aim, yelling “Keep to the deck!!” to any of those inbetween myself and the invader as I opened fire. A burst of full auto fire tore through it’s collar and neck, my men quickly clung to either sides of the fallen MRAP as a few more fired out. As the thing backed up, a blast of .50 cal fire quickly tore it to shreds, along with several others as I realized they were fuckin swarming over the outside of our vehicle. Echo-3’s vehicle continued to carefully fire on the Strigoi on the outside, the sounds of .50 cal ricocheting off the outside of our armor was enough to make the pucker factor set in.
[“Echo-3 to Echo-2”].
[“This is Echo-2, we’re green on ammo, equipment, men”].
[“Roger, we’re shifting fire, exit the vehicle”].
“Hurry up let’s go!!” I barked to my men, leading the way as I staggered out. I turned on my peq, taking aim at silhouettes in the brush as I began to fire. The sounds of machine guns lighting up the brush, as a sea of growls, howls, and incomprehensible roars fired back at us was the ambient noise of the night. My men quickly exited, my gunner being the last as he and I pulled back to the rest of the defensive perimeter. I set in my men to take up the frontal security, as 3rd squad took the right flank, 1st squad to the left. Major Krol and the JTAC were bickering with each other; “How far out are the birds”. “They’re entering airspace now…” Joakim said, already scanning his smart book.
I asked “What’ve we got?”. He then flipped through… to the NATO combined arms segment, quippily saying; “Apaches…”. This caused me to pause as Echo-3 turned their head whilst directing their squad’s fire “The hell… where did we get apaches from?”. “The Americans… they volunteered” Krol said dismissively as he took aim at the darkness, firing off a controlled trio. “Volunteered? They’re aware of what’s going on?” I asked.
Krol seemed to stop, glancing back at me before returning his focus “There’s a lot more going on than you realize, Blachowicz… Prep the breach, you and 1st are going on”.
I quickly pulled my breacher off the line, securing some thermite as the reinforced bunker door wasn’t going to go as easily as a conventional door breach would. 1st Squad pulled back, stacking up and preparing themselves to be the first in. All the while… Joakim gave his firing solution; “Alpha Hotel Two Five Nine, This is Bravo-4…… Type 2….”.
I snapped to my right, watching as a Strigoi managed to dark across the clear gravel field, only to be cut down by my gunner, the peq’s laser marking the burst as it tore through the beasts’ hips, as it hit the ground and still continued to claw, another GROM operator took aim and fired into it’s skull. Joakim popped up to his feet…. “Marking laser, high power…”. He then pulled out a target marking laser… if you’ve watched night operations, you’ve probably seen them.
The green laser than as it says on the label, marks targets. The pattern of which can vary… if it’s a point target, it’ll usually lasso an area, or remain on target until the target is removed with extreme prejudice. If its close air support, then it’ll be a line of the general area… and Joakim damn near marked the entire perimeter around us. He quickly pocketed the tool, turning back to Krol; “Don’t go past 20 meters unless you want to be liquidated”.
With that… 2nd and 1st stacked up at the door as 3rd squad took up the perimeter security. As Major Krol went over to Echo-1… I saw them. A single blinking IR strobe from the beasts as they moved on the far off horizon, converging from several angles… and fired. The sound of the Apache’s main gun, the M230, truly sounds like the hammer of god… the 30mm cannon shot through the dark sky, lighting it up as we saw three incoming streams tear up the woods. Only then as the sound broke did we start to hear their rotors as they broke and began to circle, firing again… then… Joakim dipped his head and looked to Krol; [“Foxtrot Mike, hang onto your teeth…”]. One of the Apaches fired off a AGM-114… a Hellfire. I barely saw it out of the corner of my eye as the Apache from our right flank fired off at a target approximately 200 meters off. A fireball lit up the forest as the horrendous roar echoed throughout… then went silent.
Echo-3 scanned the horizon carefully;
[“Echo-3 to Echo-Lead, enemy contact is starting to die down”].
[“Maintain perimeter, Close Air is to maintain fire mission until we are boots up, Break…”].
[“Echo-Lead to Echo-1, condition white has been met. Proceeds”]. I saw Echo-1 and his men quickly stack up close to the wall and gesture to me; Breaching. I quickly pulled my stack back against the wall as his and mine breacher quickly hit their actuators. Now under normal circumstances, it doesn’t take much for thermite to melt the locks off of a metal surface, in fact it’s a more precise took as alternative means get real medieval like saws, pry bars… we weren’t in the mood for precision, we need to breach their little lair, and drag them out. The sound of several pounds of hellfire burning through the metal could be heard around the corner as a sea of white and red sparks flew out… after several seconds, two of our men tossed a fragmentation grenade and a nine-bang through the opening… a series of concussive blasts and a large explosion rang out.
Echo-1 and his men maneuvered. 1st Squad quickly converged as we followed them in.
Stepping through the black wall of smoke, the dark abyss of the interior was illuminated in a white light as entered barrels raised. Shots rang out as several of the beasts near the entrance were cut down, though not immediately, rounds disconnected the shoulder of one of them, leading to their arm hanging limply by a single tendon as they roared… another series of rounds putting them down. What greeted us was a messy concrete hell of rust and debris, fecal matter, trash, and all kinds of obstacles laid in our way, our boots sticking to the floor. I thank every god we had promasks that night. I called my shield bearer up, 2nd squad leapfrogging ahead to take the next corridor as 1st squad checked their weapons.
One of my men mule kicked the metal door ahead, twice, finally the latch gave away as we tossed in a grenade. A horrifying roar was cut off as an M67 shook the walls of the ancient soviet mausoleum, frag and spall kicked off the walls as I moved in right behind my shield man. The cramped russian design meant there was barely enough space for three people, and that’s three normal people, not in 50kgs of kit, moving slowly and maneuvering against creatures of the dark. Still… we moved forward, my shield bearer and I pushing the pace as two stacked of either squad formed on either wall.
As we passed doorways they flowed in… “Door Left!!”, “Door Right!!”. “Move!!”.
Two men entered each side, no gunshots, we moved up, a roar came.
“Door left!!-”. A series of gunshots came out as we continued to push forward.
“Two down!!”. “Confirm them” Krol commanded, as a series of gunshots run out in response. From one of the doorways, a Strigoi emerged… a female… clumps of hair had been ripped from her decaying skull, as her blooded eyes locked on myself and my shieldman. The skin on her hands had been tore down to the point where barely her bones and tendons remain… looking like huge talons as she roared and lunged at us. He fired off his pistol, though the rounds did little to stop her as she pushed against our stack.
“Fuck!!” he muttered, somehow her strength caused him to stagnate, holding up the advance… fuck that. I shoved the muzzle of my MK18 into her ribcage, flipping the weapon to auto as I fired of round after round. The 5.56 salvo disconnecting her spinal column, causing her to fall as I continued to fire, along with a man to our right and left as the stacks reformed as we pushed to the end of the hall. I fell back, dropping the magazine and loading a fresh one, like clockwork a GROM Operator from 1st squad took my place. Krol was beside me as we approached the end of the hall.
[“-Prep an entry”] I radioed to my breacher, a comrade handed him one of the charges from his back panel as he took to the door, quickly securing it. We all moved as far back as we could, look away, exhale. The blast knocked metal and wood in all directions, scrapping against our uniforms and kit as we made our way in and what laid before us was… it used to be the center atrium of one of these bunkers. Soviet’s loved their grandiose designs, the complex was supposed to be a circular room around a central planning table… instead. It had been turned into some sort of church. Runes and old eastern Romuva pagan symbols written in black ink and blood across the walls, old rotten filing cabinets, long receipt terminals. In the center… several of the Strigoi were kneeling before the table where someone had been tied down, flayed, and… shared amongst the group. They rose to their feet, we aimed our barrels…
The ladder amongst turned to us… his skin wasn’t cracked, or flayed, it was smooth… it still looked dead as the body on the table but it seemed more… accustomed to it. I don’t know… evolved? Under the surface however I could see it’s darkened veins pumping whatever cursed blood ran through them as it locked two blood red eyes onto each of us. It’s nose had long since been turn off, exposing boney nostrils to the open air as it seemed to smirk. All across it’s body were the same symbols on the walls, in every cell… markings of death, of rebirth, of assimilation… From behind this seemingly Alpha emerges another figure I had never seemed before… dressed in a white cloak with a deer head.
"So they've followed the trail... they're too late" the Deer headed individual spoke, definitely not from here, a dialect similar to an Americans but... aristocratic? Each word was drawn out, assurance as if they had everything mapped down to our actions. They didn’t sound like they were from Poland or the east.
“Doesn’t matter…” the Alpha growled… and then, it lunged at us. Quickly breaking from their ground it slammed into my shield man knocking both him and myself at the ground as it displayed an intense feat of strength. Around us I could see several of the Strigoi leap at our comrades… though to no fruitful endeavor as I could see one GROM operator cut two down, as another got into a hand to hand confrontation… my breacher, crafty as they were, reached back and slammed one of the prybars of his kit into the skull of the beast.
The Alpha however was not content as it threw away the 90lb shield, sending it flying across the room as it grabbed my comrade by the skull. I quickly kicked up at it, firing my MK18 into it’s body as the rounds pierced it’s gray and rune covered flesh. The thing simply seemed to chuckle… that was until Major Krol blasted away at the side of it’s head, the alpha turned… and it’s smirk turned to a scowl when face to face with the major. A knowing pause almost like they had done this dance before…
The creature lunged, locking up with Major Krol as it swung and slammed railing. Krol didn’t back down however as he pushed against the creature, hiptossing it to the ground even as it tore at his armor and gear. But the beast pulled, both of them rolled and the Major was on his back as the thing reached for his neck. I fought to a kneel, firing into the creature messily with my MK18, trying not to hit my commander… then…
Click. A sound sends a chill up the spine of every warfighter during a firefight.
My gun ran dry. I dropped the magazine, looking to load another, but the thing came up and with one of it’s claws, sliced deep into my cheek, through the pro mask. I could feel my own blood go flying through the air as I landed hard on my back plate, spitting out red iron as I quickly tried to adjust my mask. Through my fogged up, blood covered lense… I saw my shield man raise his pistol, firing into the skull of the thing staggering it with a roar. Krol came from behind, drawing his knife he sunk it deep into the neck of it…. I reached for my rifle, forcing a new magazine in and damn near punching the bold release. ““Sir, down!!” I shouted, Krol rolled away, back to his own rifle as I fired. So did my comrade as he continued to fire his pistol… so did the Major as he fired his rifle. All of us chewing through that apex predator of darkness, that beast… the leader that had been preying on our people for so long. Layer by layer, muscle group by bone… eventually… the alpha landed on whatever was left of his back.
The silence of the fight died down as all of us checked our surroundings, GROM Operators putting controlled pairs in the heads and nerve stems of any Strigoi laying around… I flicked my weapon onto safe, letting it hang as I pulled off my mask. I dared not touch the wound on my face… the pain nearly crippling me if it wasn’t sheer will pushing me through, and adrenaline doing all it could to subdue it. The sound of the apaches continuing to lay hate drew us from our moment of contemplation as the Major went back to work; [“Confiscate any info, burn the rest…”]. He turned back to me as I shoved my damaged M50 mask back into it’s bag, chuckling as he looked at the sight; “You need a medevac, Blachowicz?” he quipped.
I shook my head, barely able to speak as I muttered; “Negative sir…”. The two of us scanned the room as my shield bearer went to collect his defense implement turned 90lb projectile, we scanned the center of the room, checking and confirming bodies, until we got to the last one alive. His white gown was soaked in red crimson and black ooze, as his dear head was mangled from bullet fire and impact from falling on it. I swear… the way his blood poured out of it though made me wonder if it was a mask. I gave it no second thoughts as he looked to Krol; “You… you can’t stop this, they’ve already-”.
The Major was in no mood for communication as his rifle snapped up and fired off three rounds to the body, four the head. The violent yet quick salvo ending the cultists life, I looked down at it, then to him as he remarked; “Have your squad drag him out to the front, burn the rest”. I stood alongside him, looking down as the sight of it’s deer head was both captivating and horrifying… the curiosity in me wanting to look closer at it fighting the primal instinct I had to burn the thing to ash. “-Haven’t seen one of those before…” I muttered, thinking the Major had an answer.
He didn’t. Krol saying “Neither have I…” shortly before he walked away, was what truly shook my soul about that entire night. Victory stood firm in our hearts that night as we stood outside of the bunker. The night sky burning with fire and white phosphorus as we watched the ruin burn from the inside from the other side of the lot. In the distance, the Apaches continued to scan and circle the forests, no longer firing…. Which meant they had driven any or turned to glass any enemy combatants within a four miles, probably both, more than likely the latter. Echo-1 patted me on the shoulder as we stood there, soaking it all in, though Krol looked none to pleased. “In the time it took us to take this one down, they’ll be trying to set up three more cells… that being established…” he said, looking to either of us, then to Echo-3. “-Hell of a thing we did tonight, been waiting for this one for a decade, cleanly, maybe more… but no time to rest on our laurels… we’ll have another task for us as soon as we’re boots down back home” he said, to which his eyes followed mine, the body of whatever cultist that was zipped up in a black body bag beside the wheel of one of the MRAPs. The fire from the bunker casting an orange hue over it’s shiny jet black outside, something didn’t sit right with me… “That wasn’t a Strigoi…” I said to Krol.
“That’s very clear…” the Major said, shoving his mask under his arm and lighting a cigarette. “So… someone’s helping them?” I asked. The meer notion of it shook me to my core, sickened me. This parasite was already badly infecting Europa, Polska… if it was spread like this throughout the world. Krol settled my nerves: “We’ll be ready… It’s not just us anymore”. As he said that, I realized what he meant… my eyes looking to the Apaches as they started to form up, leaving the areas as their thunderous propellers melted into the night’s calm, unnerving ambience.
It’s been a couple of weeks since then, Echo Detachment has been busy. We’ve gained good ground against the enemy and honestly I think in a few years, we might see a much larger change. For now… we must keep going, that being said the Strigoi aren’t the only ones we’ve been combating. Recently we’ve made contact with of some sort of extermination coalition, they’ve known about the Strigoi, and others plaguing the world, the level of corruption and corrosion on society goes deep. Regardless a lot of the units we’ve been working with are apart of NATO, such as this “4th Special Forces Group” of the American Military. I don’t know where the road from here leads, but we’ve gotten momentum on our side, finally. Just remember… these things are out there, in every town, every city, every nation… preying and waiting for you to be alone, vulnerable, so they can take you and replace you.
Watch your back, and stay safe.
For now, Blachowicz signing out. Until next time

Mr. Steve Lewis
Mr. Patrick McKinney
Mr. Bryan Freiermuth
c/o Gideons 1898 LLC et al
1600 East Buena Vista Drive

A

Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
May 10th, 2024
Final Demand
Gentlemen,
There is an odor most foul in the Bakehouse. It is the stench of the fish rotting from the head.
To our proprietor Steve, and our managers Bryan and Patrick:
There is dissension within the ranks, and if the following items are not resolved as we outline
below, we’re prepared to drag this house of cards to the ground.
Before we proceed with our grievances, numerous and shocking, and the demands to resolve
them; allow us a moment for introductions.
We, are the Ghosts of Gideons, the poor and unfortunate souls upon whom you have built your
cookie empire. We are the many, the unseen, and as of the disastrous meeting May 6th, 2024, the
decidedly unheard.
Many of us have approached management and ownership multiple times with helpful hints,
strong suggestions, and desperate pleas to rectify a myriad of health, safety and operational
concerns- with nearly all of them being dismissed or ignored entirely.
Now, we, the collective, have banded together to deliver this tome- not as a warning of what is to
come, but as a final demand to resolve the issues outlined herein. You may dismiss us
individually, but you cannot ignore all of us together.
Make no mistake, if the following solutions are not implemented with immediate effect, we will
do everything in our power to topple this cookie castle permanently.
We should start by informing you, that, yes- we are but lowly workers for Gideons, however, we
are supported by families who hold prominent positions in the community as lawyers, labor
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representatives, publicists, and county government workers. Families who love us, and want to
see us remain safely and fairly employed.
Through our vast, and well connected network the following steps have already been
implemented:
1) A lawsuit for your numerous unfair and unsafe labor practices and work conditions has
been drafted.
2) A press release, along with a copy of this letter, have been sent to local and national
media.
3) We have created social channels to connect directly with customers and inform them of
the reprehensible work conditions we are enduring.
4) We have filed health and safety reports with local government bodies detailing the
extensive issues we are faced with at the Springs location.
5) We have informed Disney Springs leadership of our position relating to the above, and
below in this letter.
In all cases, these competent bodies are awaiting our word. If the demands listed herein are not
satisfied immediately, we will, in tandem with the above, begin a campaign to inform the world
of your numerous transgressions, filing lawsuits and media coverages exposing you and the
Company for the shill that it is, and we will not stop until the Bakehouse bakes no more.
We should also mention that should any attempt be made to retaliate against us, including
termination, reducing our hours, benefits, or taking other pervasive actions against any Gideons
employee, will promptly result in our bringing legal class-action.
The time has come for you, our leaders, to actually lead. This means spending money where
money must be spent, and making the following operational changes, so that we can all continue
to exist in harmony, and not feel like we’re trapped on an 1800’s plantation- working for the big
house.
1) Communication- How dare you drag the entire workforce to a 9AM meeting,
demanding our presence, and then talk directly at us with the most mundane drivel we’ve
ever heard. Everything dictated today could have been very well sent as an email-
especially when you did not allow for any discussion between us, the workers who
actually make your business run, and the disconnected upper-management who are hell
bent on implementing misguided and inefficient policies. Do not call us in for a
mandatory meeting again when the points can be covered in an email, unless you intend
to open the floor for actual conversation and listen to what we have to say.
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To that end, since our voices were silenced this morning, we demand the following:
● Cold Brew- We will not adopt the ‘bartender’ shaking style of preparing the cold
brew drinks. When we have 10+ beverages queuing to be made, shaking each
drink 10 times will severely impact our ability to be efficient. This is but one
example of Steve’s desire to have ‘form over function’. We understand there may
be a ‘look’ you’re going for, but when it compromises our ability to efficiently
perform our function, we refuse. We demand to be allowed to resume our ‘stir
stick’ preparation immediately.
● Point System/ Order Accuracy- Under no circumstance should Management take
the side of the Guest over the word of the employee. Too often we see guests
complain that an order was incorrect, and Management issues a point to an
employee. This must stop immediately. We demand you implement a ‘please
check your screen for order accuracy’ procedure where the guest confirms their
order before they pay, and remove the ‘point’ system. If the guest confirms the
order, it reduces the possibility for an inaccurate order.
● Inconsistent/ Inaccurate menu boards and Social Postings- The inside Menu
Board has been outdated for nearly two years. It must be updated immediately to
remove items we no longer sell (IE Coke Products) and ingredient offerings (IE
Banana WALNUT). By correctly labeling the items, it reduces the stress on us in
having to confirm that certain items have nuts, or not being yelled at by guests
who are disgruntled that we no longer sell Coke products. Further, there are
multiple social media inaccuracies when describing new products (IE peanut
butter buttercream, VS the actual peanut butter cream cheese). These inaccurate
product descriptions hurt the brand, and cause confusion with the guests when
they come to order these products. Also the new umbrellas are not UV resistant;
therefore any mention of them ‘protecting you from the sun’ is false, and may
result in legal action from guests. We demand you only post accurate descriptions
to the website/ social media to avoid further guest/ employee confrontation.
● HR- Given the fact that Cynthia engaged in using racial slurs during the May 6th
meeting, referring to guests as gypsies and hoodlums, we demand her firing and
removal immediately. Multiple members of staff were deeply offended by the
hurtful stereotypes that Cynthia perpetuated, and we no longer have any trust in
her ability to lead this organization, especially from a HR perspective, when she
herself seems to harbor unfair and demeaning racial views.
● Management- We cannot express with limited words the level of dissatisfaction
we maintain for Drew. The staff, in our entirety, have never dealt with such
incompetent, slothful, and wasteful behavior. Drew consistently stays on his
phone, refusing to help the team accomplish any of their tasks, and barely exudes
a modicum of effort through his rare action of helping build cake boxes or taking
out trash before disembarking on a break (which none us other managers/leads are
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cookie king, bringing in circa $40,000 per day, affording you a life of luxury, and not
fairly compensate the employees that are making Gideons everything that it is. The
cookies are good, but make no mistake, as was stated during the May 6th meeting, the
customers come for us. I can’t imagine what they’ll say when they learn about the
slave-like conditions in which we work, especially with Auntie Anne’s earning $18 per
hour + tips.
3) Hours- Part time is up to 30 hours per week, full time is 30 hours or more. We must have
a guaranteed number of hours per week, pending our availability. For example, if a
full-time employee has open availability, they must be scheduled for 40 hours. If a
part-time person has open availability, they must be scheduled for up to 30 hours per
week. This is to ensure we have a stable and uniform weekly income, guaranteed by our
base pay and consistent hours.
4) On Call- All shifts that are ‘on- call’ must be guaranteed a full 8 hour shift, regardless if
the employee is called into work or not. We clear our day and make ourselves available to
cover the Company, and we demand to be compensated a full 8 hours ($16 per hour) for
the flexibility to suit the Company’s needs.
5) Pay Protection- In the event that the store is closed for any reason, employees currently
scheduled to be working during the closure must receive all payment for the shifts they
were scheduled for. If the AC goes out again, and we’re down for several days, those of
us scheduled must receive full compensation for shifts as scheduled.
3) Health & Safety- While it seems that Gideon’s is based primarily on the ‘cool factor’ in how
our processes look from a customer perspective, we are still a fully functioning kitchen and retail
location with a haphazard health and safety process, at best.
To ensure a properly safe workplace and customer experience, we demand the following changes
immediately:
1) Shorts/ Heat Safety Prevention- We’ve been told time and time again that the ‘Disney
Contract’ we cannot wear shorts. After having multiple conversations with Disney
Springs leadership and the Unite Here 362 representatives, we have come to understand
that a change in uniform can be initiated by amendment. No longer can the ‘look’ of
something overpower the safety of us. In terms of being outside in the sunlight and heat,
we demand that the contract be amended immediately to account for a uniform change,
thus allowing us to wear shorts within the next five days. It is dangerous for us to be
outside in the heat and sunlight during high-heat (more than 70 degrees fahrenheit) days,
wearing all black and long pants. We are unwilling to compromise our personal health
and safety to appease your ‘style guide’ insisting on long pants, but we’re happy to
maintain a look via style guide for shorts. In addition, we have seen multiple large/
battery operated fans in use around Disney property, keeping other Cast cool during these
heat waves. We demand that large fans are procured and placed in strategic outside
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locations within the next 5 days, so that we may have respite during high temp days. The
cooling towels and neck fans you have provided are ineffective.
2) Egress- We bakers are trapped. There is no second means of fire egress from the kitchen,
and should a fire or other disaster occur with the ovens, we would be trapped and unable
to escape. We demand you add in additional egress from the bakery, into the outside
alley. We understand this will require planning and stairs, however, planning must be
commenced immediately. We will not work in an unsafe environment, and with no place
to escape in the event of an emergency, we will be burned alive.
3) Handicap accessibility- Our retail location does not comply with ADA mobility
standards. The counters must be moved to allow an employee who utilizes a wheelchair
or other mobility device the proper space to move behind the counters and throughout the
kitchen. While yes, a wheelchair will ‘fit’, they will be unable to properly move. We are
discriminating against hiring ADA employees due to the way the store is currently
overcrowded and built. We demand proper spacing be added within the next 90 days.
4) Safety Training & Procedures- As of right now Operations have not developed any safety
or training procedures relating to fire, bomb threat, active shooter, lighting/ rain, accident
or other hazard. We are provided with no training in the event of any of these
emergencies, and we are all woefully unprepared with a common knowledge of how to
address emergency situations. We demand that a safety plan be developed and provided
to each of us in writing, and that we receive sufficient training of the new procedures
within 14 days.
5) Sanitation- Our baking sheets never get cleaned. We demand that you hire an outside
vendor to pick up used equipment nightly at close, and deliver a clean set at the same
time, so that we may rotate clean equipment daily. It is too large a task for us to wash in
house, and this needs to be automated for us. Our current sanitation procedure is
inadequate to ensure proper health and safety standards.
6) Bathroom breaks- Many of us suffer from various biological disabilities that force
frequent trips to the restroom. We simply cannot ‘hold it’ until we’re on break. IF we
need to go to the restroom, we must be immediately accommodated to do so without
repercussions. While this is not common, it does happen, and must be allowed.
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Demand Timeline:
May 11th- Cold Brew BartendeShaking preparation is disbanded, stir stick preparation is
reimplemented.
May 11th- Cynthia is terminated immediately for using racial slurs during a company meeting.
May 11th- Drew is demoted as manager immediately for failure to act as a leader, and help his
team, undergoing an immense retraining before he is reinstated.
May 12th- All employees earn a base rate of $16 + tip share.
May 12th- An automatic/ mandatory 7.5% gratuity is placed on all guest orders.
May 12th- All ‘on call’ shifts will be guaranteed a full 8 hours ($16 p/h), regardless of working
or not.
May 12th- Lead/ Trainer pay to increase to at least $19 per hour when training, and $18 per hour
at all other times + tip share.
May 11th- Planning for additional egress to begin. Must be fully installed and operational no
later than June 20th, 2024.
May 17th- A $1,200 bonus is paid to all employees who worked during the last three pay
periods. This bonus covers the lower wages suffered from the ‘no tip’ asking policy.
May 13th- Schedules to be created, guaranteeing all ‘part-time’ employees up to 30 hours per
week based on employee availability, and ‘full-time’ employees at least 40 hours per week,
based on employee availability.
May 14th- Commercial grade fans outside submitted for approval to Disney, installed upon
approval.
May 15th- Shorts implemented for all workers, all shifts, when the outside temperature is more
than 70 degrees fahrenheit.
May 14th- Sanitation company must be contracted to pick up used baking sheets nightly, and a
second set of baking sheets to be procured to ensure sufficient sanitation of products in direct
contact with food.
May 24th- All health & safety procedures will be drafted and provided to all employees in
writing, with in-person training to occur with all employees. New hires shall receive the new
procedures and same in person training as a part of their onboarding.
August 4th- Handicap/ADA compliance. The store and kitchen must be rearranged/ decluttered
to allow for the hiring of mobility device users, including wheelchairs, to comply with ADA
layout requirements.
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While the above demands only scratch a portion of the hazardous operational procedures, we are
confident that should they all be addressed and the solutions we have demanded are implemented
within the allotted timelines, we can avoid a disastrous fallout and continue to work together to
ensure Gideons remains a successful operation.
We understand that this will most likely come as a shock, not less because ownership and
operations seem to be blissfully unaware of the vast deterioration, but moreover, the inane
procedural overhauls implemented in today’s meeting simply reek of disconnection to the reality
of the process, and will only serve to further delay and complicate the already struggling
operation.
It is time to see beyond all of the narcissistic ‘it looks cool, so we’re going to do it my way’
absurdity, and recognize that the above demands come from your soldiers on the frontlines. A
tough pill to swallow, but it is medicine critical to survival, nevertheless. We further recommend
that all upper management leadership work at least one eight hour, front of house shift per six
months, to ensure they remain fully connected and relevant.
We must issue a final word of warning: should this letter be ignored, or any of the above
demands are not implemented, or any retaliatory action be taken, it will be met with the most
severe consequences.
We know that you are amassing a fortune, and all we Ghosts ask for is a fair wage, a safe and
comfortable working environment, and to be treated with dignity and respect.
We’d hate for the adoring public to learn of any other reality. This is your one, final, opportunity
to make it right.
We look forward to your prompt email reply confirming your plan of action to comply with our
demands herein.
In Solidarity,
The Ghosts of Gideons.