Peice of cake

We've been together for a little over one year, living together the whole time. We had a very short month long dating period.
We're both musicians and generally can enjoy the same styles of music, but sometimes I'm just into way weirder stuff than they are interested in and I find their stuff kind of boring and basic. I feel like they like the stuff I liked when I was a lot younger, but I've outgrown it. I have tried to support them doing their own music gigs, and I don't tell them that sometimes I feel like their chord progressions sound like they need a bouncy ball going over the lyrics because it's so corny. They're a good musician, their fingers can play a lot of good licks but I feel like they're mentally kind of lazy when it comes to learning new material or techniques and the same three songs they play at open mic have gotten stale. I used to write a new song almost once a week, but since they moved in with me I haven't written anything. I got invited to do a show for the first time in ages last week, but as a collab with my partner. I initially said yes, but felt so stressed out about it that I cancelled.
I've told them over and over again that I don't want to collab, I don't enjoy it, I can enjoy hanging out at their shows doing my own thing without needing to get up on stage and I wish they could say the same for me but I feel like they have to have a peice of everything I'm doing or they just can't stand not being the center of attention. The other night we got in a huge fight because I asked them to stop trying to talk to me so much when I'm writing a song, they ran out the door screaming insisting that they DO give me space and that they aren't a hindrance at all, that I'm just too stubborn to let them do any of their genius ideas and how stupid I am for missing out on their brilliance. I'm so over it. They literally will stand over me and try everything in their power to play along until they realize they can't pick up the tune, it's too hard, and then they'll start trying to just play something else meanwhile I want to burn all my instruments because I'm never gonna make anything with all that racket. I don't know what this issue is called but I've had several partners in the past push me to collab with them and jam with them and want to be part of my project and some of them couldn't even play an instrument they just wanted to be allowed to remix it or something. I don't understand why everybody I date has to have a piece of my musical cake and why they can't just leave me alone and let me write? How do you practice or write with somebody you're dating always wanting to be in on it? How do you talk to them about it without causing a huge problem making them feel left out or shunned somehow? Btw I come from a whole family of musicians and none of us acted like this to each other. My partner has ADHD and I know some of this is RSD related, but it's happened in other relationships for me too.

DQXI was my first start to finish DQ game and OMG it was fantastic!!!! I finished almost all the post game stuff....if u haven't played this masterpiece u should u won't regret it! Took me around 90ish hours, the true final boss was peice of cake once everyone hit 99.....now that's done,gotta finish DQV now then going back to 3, I think DQ games have taken over as my favorite franchise😁 Just had to share my experience and idk if another game is ever gonna live up to it in my eyes!!!!!

girl was sent into the woods/forest with a slice of cake by her mother, warmeets people stays for years book Childrena picture book. Girl was sent out into the woods by her mother during a war, with a peice of cake. Hee mom tols hee to return when she finished the cake slice. She met a man and a girl her age that looks a lot like her in the woods, ans syaued until her cake slice was finished. When she returned, her mother was old and gray.
Been trying for ages to figure this out!

Well I had always loved Charlotte's channel and never dreamed about posting here. But I (at the time 24 F) attended my Cousins wedding lets call her Danica. Danica is a few years older then me I'm not sure by how much and are directly related our mothers being sisters.
Here's some history/context before the drama. My dad was in the military and was deployed a lot throughout my childhood so I spent a lot of time at my grandparents house in the middle of the woods.
Danica seemed to be frustrated every time I was there. Whenever I was going something with grandma she'd ask to go ride horses (they had 4 horses at the time) Grandma said I could show a horse, meaning a horse competition. Then Danica asked to show it so I could no longer show the sand horse not sure why.
So with the horse's and middle of nowhere ranch feel she grew up in Danica ended up being a redneck wanna be. Dressing in plaf and cowboy boots going to amature car races where she later met her soon to be husband.
Let's call him Patrick. Patrick worked for Danica's father Uncle Bob #2 (Danica ans my mother have a brother named Bob)
So Danica brings her Dave Matthew's band look alike boyfriend to the holidays. Where hw, just like het father, proceds to go out of his way to not talk to me or be in the same room. To the point when Danica mocks my switch and games I was playing he remarked to her I must not have a lot of friends
Flash forward to 2021 So more content Danicas parents got married on September 10th and our shared grandparents got married on the 12th of September. So what did she choose? Well thr 8th makes since to the pattern right? Well Danica is a attention seeker. So she gets married on September 11th. Yes we are america so she knew full well what day that was and even more crazy wad it was the 20th anniversary of said event.
Guess who's family was affected by September 11th? Ours. Our grandmother's sister was a vet (like animals) and tended to the police dogs and other animals on ground zero. While my father was a military veteran. So he had to not attend certain engagements with his former comrads. My father's arm was twisted by my mother to attend saying it was the only wedding on her side of the family. And possibly the last family wedding we would attend.
My dad has a neice whos married ans has two young kids, and a nephew who's not married. As for me? I'm the oldist of three so she pretty much said she had no hope in her kids getting married.
So the wedding is a 3 day event us haveing to arrive the 10th her parents anniversary meaning they can't do anything since they had to do wedding things. Till the 12th our grandparents haveing to do the same.
The wedding is held at a Waterpark. Not one of the ones you'd think. It's a overnight resort with woods themeing in a city that's 2 hours away for most people. It's a rather popular tourist destination in our state so there was plenty of stuff to do around there but due to the events no one could really go out and explore.
I arrive at around 2 am since I worked the day of the 10th. I had worked at a diffrent Waterpark of the city at the time so it was only a hour drive for me. I get into my room and my dad is already stressed. He suffers from ptsd so he can't handle big things well.
Figuring out what's wrong, I learn my angel of a mother has taken a lot of duties away from her sister and started buying decorations and putting things up. My mother did photography in her youth and still does it as a hobby. (She has a bridzilla story from those days) so she was asked to take photos. This is also the time that I learn that my invite to the wedding was, a bribe. Our grandmother had threatened to cut the funding of the wedding by around 1,000 and my mom not shoot the wedding if I didn't make the cut to her rather large wedding.
Now day of the wedding arrives. My mom finds out Danica hired a photographer as our grandmother chimed in MORE money after I got a invite. (I had never gotten a offical invite either)
Danica and Patrick had a theme to there wedding as most. So the two colors where blaze orange, like hunting gear and traffic Cone orange. As it was Danicas favorite color and Jean blue, like pants as it was Patrick's favorite color.
The guests had a dress code. Cowboy boots blue jeans ans western style tops. Cowboy hats where encouraged.
Getting downstairs to the venue I find my Grandma complaining about Bob #1 not being at the wedding to his son Xander. Bob #1 never sees Xander as he lives with his mother on a diffrent coast of the country after his father was stripped of his rights after a DUI. Or at least I was told.
Turns out Bob #1 didn't come becuse of his wife Rose didn't let him. They offered to pay for him and his new young son Buckley to come. Bob #1 said if they wernt paying for Rose's and her mother's ticket he wasn't comming. So he didn't come.
Buckley was about 4 and that also was the amount of times my grandparents saw him. I had never met him and neither did 99% of the family ad Bob #1 doesn't like to visit. Even though he has 3 collage degrees his parents paid for.
The set pieces on the table where vases filled with orange clear and black orbiz. Obviously fake flowers sit in the vase. Theres blaze orange cups at each table with Patrick's race car number on it.
The best part wad the guest book. To the lift when you entered the hall was a table woth gifts for certain members of the family and all children of the family. The only child on our shared side of the family was Buckley who was not there.
The guest book itself? Well it's a car door. Not just any car door it's pulled from one of Patrick's wrecked race cars. It was cleaned and had no dents in if with a black sharpie to sign. However their was massive black letters and even bigger numbers on the door where the sharpie didn't show up. By the time I got to the guest book there was no room to sign.
Wedding comes and Patrick walks out in a cowboy hat, blue jeans, a stained white dress shirt and cowboy boots. His best men walk out wearing the same. The only difference was he had on a black vest.
Danica and the brides maids where late getting to the wedding. Why? We'll my friend it was becuse the horse Danica was ment to ride in on hated her and didn't want her on them. She swapped horses with a brides maid and off they go. They don't arrive on the horses and we could barely even see them arrive.
Now I use to listen to country music. So I know your Toby Keith (r.i.p) Brad Paisley, and Trace Adkins. So none of them where the country twang song that rung out while Danica walked down the Isle but it was a country song for sure.
She was dressed in a very pretty wedding dress with dome cool leave hair peices. So honestly I felt like I was looking at a beauty and the beast tattoo in real life. Beast in weird lettering and beauty in cursive.
Wedding mostly goes fine aside from our Grandfather who was officiating accidently calling Patrick dick.
We all get up and head into the venue to sit and wait for food and drinks.
A little more about the enigma in my family that is me. I'm autistic so like my father I don't like places like weddings. So I had a ear bud in playing vaporwave music and my sketch book. Drawing keeps me calm and not panic and freak out. So imagen the A24 horror I feel when a elderly family member try to RIP my sketchbook out of my hands.
I, a autistic, lesbian, who loves anime and horror draws some things that could kill a victoran child. So it could evaporate a elderly country type person for sure. I really didn't have anything like that in this sketch book. It was a new sketch book but I was practicing drawing kissing so I had a lot of dudes and chick's kissing on one page. So in a panic I tear it out and stash it in my bag. Earning a yelling lecture from my saint of a mother.
Food is served and guess what? I can't eat any of it. Me and my grandma can't have gluten. I can deal with it better then her. I don't eat beef or pork so the ribs are out of the question and the chicken is slathered in gravey. I have gravy and it has flower in it. So I take a plate full of peas and eat up. They didn't have a cake but a dessert table where I grabbed the dryist cookie in the world.
More time passes and well nothing else happens aside from Xander just hanging out with me and my siblings the rest of the week as he really has no connections to that side of the family and he and my brother are close in age. Danica being the oldist of the grandkids followed by me.
So wedding is over, I tell my friends of the mess of a wedding that was. Well in a discord call with my friends I Go to Danicas Facebook and show them pictures of the wedding.
Your classic, a monster truck jumping over them as they kiss. Danica riding a horse. Patrick dipping her as a monster truck drives past kicking up dirt. The classics.
Well as we laughed and looked I'm struck by a emotional monster truck. I see a family photo that was taken at that fateful September 11th. Me at the sorta middle of the photo there's me. Photo shopped to be fatter and my boobs smaller. Even my friends commented. It wasn't even a good photo shop warping the fence behind me.
Now this year Danica will celebrate her 3 year anniversary of that wedding. The only one I have ever gone to in my adult life. Her husband and father still have never spoken a word to me. And our grandparents replaced all photos of me and my siblings with photos of Danicas wedding.
Moral of the story? I am very thankful to my dad for not letting any of us end up like thar.

So made a survivor not to long ago names Vulk Nevno this is killer counterpart please enjoy
Perks
Relentless
When stunned gain a 20% speed boost for 10/12/15 seconds. Pallet break speed is increased by 10% while relentless is active. "You won't leave my sights."
Forget me not
You become obsessed with a survivor. When the obsession escapes a chase Forget me not will activate. After 15 seconds the obsessions aura will be revealed and your aura will be revealed to the obsession if they are 20 meters away from you.
Hex: Lost Cause When a survivor is injured while Hex: Lost Cause is active. Healing and repair speed is reduced by 20% for all survivor other then the injured and the repair speed for the injured survivor is reduced by 10%. "You still believe there's a way out"
Ability
Voice in the void Start with a total of seven tokens. Press and hold the active ability button to summon a Haunt(aka those things from the Halloween event).
When a haunt is active they admit a false terror radius. Survivors can banish a Haunt after a short interaction. When looking at Haunt press the active ability button you will enter the Haunt's view and be able to move freely.
While in the Haunt's view gain killer instinct for any survivors 12 meters from you. You can lunge at survivors with the haunt this will destory the haunt and cause the survivor to scream and gain the hindered status for 5 seconds and gain the Haunted Status.
Haunted Status: Survivors who have this Status effect are blinded and oblivious instead hearing a lullaby terror radius. To remove the Haunted Status survivors will have to go through a short interaction to remove the Status effect.
If the survivor does not they will scream revealing their location every 10 seconds. After 40 seconds if the survivor is to interact with a generator or healing another survivor with the status effect they are revealed by killer instinct until the status effect is removed.
Add-ons(don't know what they would do but hey)
Brown(4)
Crushed Cake
It shows someone escaping if only it was that easy
Shattered key
Once a means to escape the trials this key is just bits of metal
Destroyed offering
Some offerings end up in the void when burnt by the fire.
Burnt tools
Some items are left in the trials they're burnt to ash by the Entity.
Yellow(5)
Rift Fragment
A way to locate the void though best to leave it alone.
Stone peices
The void is littered with things from realms past and present.
Broken instructions
Useful to repair the generators as long as you have the rest.
Campfire wood
From the campfire which has burned since the realms creation.
Tower stone
The large peice of stone from a tower some energy is still held inside.
Green(5)
Void energy
It may not cause any problems to a person but it can lead to place of despair
Haunt heart
From a Haunt with enough void energy they may leave.
Custom weapon
Take from a body rotting away it must have been a killer that was tossed in the void.
Dying Crow
It's life nearing the end the void is its final resting ground.
Withered Rose
A rose powerful enough to alter the trials.
Purple(4)
Strange Ward
The wards protection what you bring in the trials this one does so much more.
Void rift
A tare into the void it may cause madness if one were to touch it.
Haunt remnant
The last peices of a haunt long since dead of both life and hope
Burnt book
Found in the void the pages are in an unknown language most being turned to ash.
Iridescent(2) Void Ash
Strange ash deep from the void still it holds a bit of energy even outside the void.
Unknown book
A mysterious book it talks about the survivors and their lives.
Lore She could remember it all the trials, the death, seeing others around her die endless at the hands of the Entity. All because she had lost hope in escaping this place. She could hear the voices of those things talking to her what lurked in the void she felt like there had to be some escape a way to leave this endless realm even if it meant being in the trials again.
Fatigue constantly hit her. She never missed it since sleep was never something needed in the trials. Wondering aimlessly in the void falling over having to catch her breath just to move an extra few feet. But even if she wanted to rest the haunts always loomed over her staring and shrieking at her. She was going mad just wanting silence even for a minute. Swinging at one of the haunt to see it disappear the noise stopped but something else started instead hearing a voice one that wasn't her own talking to her begging to be let out of this place. She saw cracks forming on her arm the pain starting fast as if her arm was set on fire. She screamed in pain slamming her arm against broken walls and the ground just hoping it would stop and it did. But she felt different looking around to see her body it was limp on the floor and she felt light as air. She looked to see she had become a haunt she panicked only to enter her body again being flesh and blood with haunt staring back at her.
She was controlling it? She tried again and again entering the haunts body seeing her own go limp as she freely moved around. This could be her chance of escaping using this creatures or beings to help her find a way to escape. She used each one she could gather gaining the power this beings had at the cost of her own mind their voices constantly echoing in her head she couldn't rest as they spoke to her they got louder each time she collected a new one.
But soon she heard one louder then the rest speak to her telling her that she could escape that there was a way out all she needed to do was follow what it told her. There were a lot of steps to get out of this place she just needed to listen to every word it said. She obeyed a rift back to the campfire opened again as she walked the haunts surrounding her became one with her giving her more power but they never spoke to her instead the other being did telling her that the way out was to kill everything that moved.
Cosmetic options
Shattered mind
Her mind is gone just hearing the voices of the others telling her to obey.
Void Touch
To long in the void can effect physical health and appearance.
Strange limb
The Entity gifted her a weapon. A claw similar to what she would die from countless times.
Bloody mind
Her mind is gone just hearing the voices of the Entity telling her to kill.
Gore Touch
To long in the void can effect physical health and mental stability.
Blood limb
The Entity gifted her a weapon. A claw similar to what she would die from countless times. Now she could harness its power
Rotting away(Very Rare)
She spent what seemed like years in the void close ending up like a haunt.
New voice
Her words no longer belonged to her own mind instead something different took control
Overload
Her body consumed a lot of void energy rotting her body away quickly
Strange growth
The spider like limbs seemed to thrive off the energy in her body taking control over more of it.

I was pregnant and onboard some very high tech (Maybe military?) base. (Spaceship?) I was given/assigned to teach a group of say 15-20'people', students or researchers. They were happy to have me because their research was about human pregnancy. Thus, I was very helpful being a pregnant human. I wasn't there when they were initially assigning into groups, I came in late. Because I had just been somewhere else. I had been inside a huge robot body exoskeleton in space. I had been on a great journey where I saw a innocent woman die on account of her no name sister and saw a portal bring forth hot particles that flowed towards earth. I went to bed later on that day and had three peices of chocolate cake in bed with me. I didn't eat them all I just had them with me near my bed. Which was in a huge room with other women and their beds. The head instructor lady walked in with a black man. I regretted not being there during the assignment of thoes researchers because I wanted this man and woman to see me as being helpful and wise. I could not help but overhear them talking about the gateway which brought forth the particles. They said how lucky they were things suddenly turned around for them yet wondered how it had been done. I spoke up and said I know! I was there! They sat down before me to hear me. I told them....the particles will be like plasma that burns hotter than the sun. The woman's face fell. She said this isn't fair....I thought we were saved. I said don't worry I think we can salvage things. With science and with some spiritual knowledge I had been witness to, though what it was that I told her would save us I can't remember now. I told her it's hard to understand take my arm and I will give you my memory as a vision. She took my right wrist. I said no....take my arm here near the elbow and forearm, like you're not afraid, like you're 4th density. And we were one in a vision for a moment. I saw the gate and the particles coming forth again in my mind as i showed her through our connection. The end. I woke up.

So we were at a kids party. Our child being the birthday kid was over the moon about where we were having the party.
Well the date comes and My ex and I have a fun filled day with the kids before the party starts. Energy is high, our 2 kids are happy and everything is going great.
Fast forward to party time.
My ex invites their partner whom I knew before we split and their children because, hey all kids are friends.
So we go into the venue and its already chaos. Lots of screaming kids and I had to fix some stuff with the people running said venue. Well one of my youngest friends came over and explained how my ex's partners kid had pushed him. I told the little boy to go talk to exs partner. Then more comments and concerns filled in from pushing, to kicking and, more.
All problems I thought would stop when it was time for cake. Sadly I wrong. The birthday kid asked for a specific peice of cake because, it was their favorite character. The partners child tried to eat said, peice of cake. I had to explain to said child that was the birthday kids piece wait for the cake to come around the table and, they did. Then my older child wanted to sit next to their sibiling. Of course there was an issue because, friends, partners kids and, my kid all wanted to sit next to the birthday kid. My oldest tries to remain calm but, starts to cry a bit. My ex's parent and I descilate things and, we compromise with my oldest so, they all take turns. Crisis averted.
Well come the end of the party its later in the day kids had played games and were getting prizes. My youngest gets theirs, Other kids too, my oldest how ever wants something that they doesnt have enough for. In fact its one of those sovieneir toys you have to pay for. Well they start to cry again. Im trying to talk them down and, that we could work on another compromise because, I had 0 issue with them getting something. Finally again they calm down, they pick something off the wall and, alls good or so, l thought.
I get told by a family member who is pissed that when my oldest started to cry that ex partners youngest started to cry and when they did the partner made a snide comment saying "You wanna be a bigger kid you cant be acting like them (refering to my oldest) in public"
Later on I contact my ex furious about the comment made about our kids. They say they will handle it. I call them later and ask "Did you handle it" They said "yes and it wasnt supposed to be taken that way. That we have all done it and it wasnt directed at our child exactly" I snapped at them and said "Out of all the kids there your partners kids were the ones most complained about and, you are ok with this. This person saying this crap about, our kids to make an example for their own is bs" My ex tried to make an excuse for one of their partners kids saying "They are difficult" to me that wasnt an excuse. So I said flat out "This happens again they can leave and If they doesnt muzzle their partner I will." Because no one is gonna talk bad about my kids. He thinks I have over reacted so AITAH?
Also just to add some minor details our oldest has had behavioral problems. It has gotten 10x better. Their teachers, my ex and, I have been putting our heart and soul into, helping this kid. This kid used to fight everyone, hiss, growl, was very anti socail and, due to covid loved isolation. Now that our child has started getting the help they need it has been different so, I celebrate little victories. Like the fact they sang happy birthday and didnt cry. That song used to scare them. Over all I wont let someone turn around and slander my kid when they have done so much to be better.
Update: So things have been better sense the party my ex and I talked more about what went on during the party that I didnt mention here, trying to keep the focus 100% on my kid like I did the first time talking to them. My ex had a discussion with their partner and there wont be anymore issues.
And for the commenter talking about me "Just trying to pick a fight with my ex" I will say this out loud my ex isnt a good person to me just read my bio. Im not picking a fight I am protecting my kids. My kids arent saints but, they are better behaved than a lot of people give them credit for.

So I have this situationship that I'm in and I want to get out of it but this guy has a significance in my life and I thought I put away all my feelings for him...untill he showed up in my life again.
So this is my ex whom I've known since we were both 14 years old. We are now 30. I hated him for so many years becuase he left me for another girl. Over the phone. I think we were like 16 that time. He was the first boy I ever loved. I would've given him anything. So that broke me. So that was that for a couple years...then out the blue when we were both about 18 he reached out and apologized and what not. We never got back together because we went our separate ways as far as lifestyles went. And I moved out of state. At that point I still hadn't forgiven him even tho he apologized becuase a part of me still loved him and always felt like a second choice. So years and years go by, I'm talking over 8 years. I get this random message on ig and it's him, checking on me becuase there was a shooting in the state I moved to and he was wondering if I was ok. That caught me off gaured because we don't have each other's numbers so he had to look me up.
Me not wanting to have anything to do with him I just thanked him and moved on. He gave me his number but I never used it. What for? I still hated him lowkey....then, a couple more years pass and he reached out again, just to check on me. This had been going on for a while now. We were still in our 20s. So I decided to text him but I still kept my attitude aloof becuase ya know...I don't like you lol
So he still would text me out the blue checking on me. He even textd me on my birthday telling me how much he cares about me and how I'm so important to him and how I was always so genuine to him blah blah blah...I still didn't care.
So, a few years of this go by and I give in. We talk and talk. And everything's fine. Except, he's trying to weezle his self back into my life romantically. I expressed how he hurt me and how it affected me. He then expressed another apology and says he's been cheated on, and just a whole bunch of bad things happend to him and he regrets treating me the way he did. And he's always thought about me.
I accept it. But get this, he's in an "open " relationship and his girl knows about me and is ok with me being in his life. I keep trying to just be friends with him but he won't let me go. I'm thinking of just blocking him becuase I keep trying to keep him in my life without strings attached. But honestly, after all these years, my love never went away. His either. He's been such a good person to me for the most part but him being in a relationship is just not what I want to be apart of. And he won't break up with her because he's been with her for 10 years. I just feel like if you love me so much ad you claim, leaving her would be a peice of cake. Idk. Eventually I'm going to leave him be, he's not gonna like it but I'm not about to be apart of this.
Sorry for the long post, but what do yall think???

alright, this is broken up into sections because it’s long. Please try to be civil, but feel free to argue/add whatever you want to this. It is a discussion, after all.
HOW THEIR CRUSHES FORMED:
Let’s start at the beginning, when their crushes formed.
First of all we have Cody, who was pretty into Gwen right off the bat. For him it will have been love at first sight- which isn’t crazy for a teenage boy, or teenage anyone, for that matter. But even then, despite his early infatuation with gwen, he still didn’t single her out immediately. When Cody first arrived, he began by “flirting” with a few of the girls on the dock, lindsay, bridgette, and leshawna, his words where just a passing comment “see the ladies have already arrived,” until he took things a step further, trying to talk to Leshawna directly. She ends up putting a hand on his lips, telling him “save it, short stuff,” it’s a friendly, amused away. Clearly not intimidated by this presence.
Cody only interacts with Eva after this, and he doesn’t speak to Gwen until later in the episode.
when he does speak to Gwen, he complements her “you’re smart, i feel that.” Gwen then asks him why he isn’t in the boys cabin, and he shoots her a sheepish grin. Afterwards, Gwen throws him out of the cabin (this is important for later.)
Sierras crush on Cody is a little less cut and dry. In the action special, where we first meet sierra, she seems pretty normal. Sierra appears to have no apparent bias towards the Cody or even drama brothers as a whole, and takes pride in interviewing all of the contestants. The only exceptions to this are when sierra is the only person to call out for Cody after alejandro roughly pushes him to the floor, but she doesn’t try to touch him, and keeps her distance. That, alone, is completely normal- having a celebrity crush (if you can even call if that, and not just concern for another person) is a very common occurrence and even if they where to lean into sierra crushing on Cody a little more than that, it wouldn’t have been a problem at all.
in the action special, sierra is also seen taking a photo of the drama brothers as they skinny dip, this is strange, but is was a seemingly public event and i do believe she was supposed to be a type of reporter, meaning the photos where likely not just for her, and not just of Cody. The other instance we see of sierra in the action special is her stealing’s cody’s hat. That being said, it could be easily debated as to whether that was intended to be sierra or not. A hand that is not sierras steals Cody’s red hat as he leaves a limo with the drama brothers. After this, Sierras familiar, excited shriek rings out. Along with that, we also see sierra wearing the same hat later on. If this was sierra, then going out of her way to steal his clothes is very strange, but you could argue that this wasn’t sierra, and that there wasn’t a problem.
(Another thing Cody mentioned after stepping out of the limo was that girls where stealing his used hotel bedsheets, he doesn’t mention a name as he doesn’t know who it is, but in hindsight i’m sure we can only imagine. Just as a side note to think about)
overall though, i have to give sierra credit where credits due and admit that her and Cody early on really didn’t seem that strange
…
until world tour starts, and we are told of some of the things sierra did before she met Cody that where not mentioned in the action special that really depict just how odd her crush on Cody was before they met that debunk the idea that sierra only began to pray on him after they met.
First of all, she called his family. Sierra mentioned in season 3 episode two that she previously called his aunt pretending to me a telemarketer in hopes of gaining information about how he sleeps. This was before they met.
Sierra has multiple blogs about all of the contestants, but an abundance of them are about Cody. These blogs are brought up multiple times thought the season but she mentions them as early as the action special, most notably when she’s in the confessional near the end of the episode. “Now i will finally put to rest all those Cody blog questions. Like, how many freckles does he have on his back? what kind of deodorant does he use? how many times does Cody sleep facing west? and, what song does he sing in the shower?” she then giggled, stating the that last question would “definitely be a six-month analysis.” One again, we see that all of her stalking was pre-planned and calculated. Heavy on the last one, where she admits to planning to watch/listen to him in the shower. (this was later followed through on).
Finally, sierra is quick to single Cody out when she first leaves the bus in season 3 episode 1, rushing up to him and telling him that she has dreamt about him without a shirt on.
All of sierras feelings where pre-established before they met, and it appears that a lot of her actions where also. Unlike Cody, who was infatuated with someone that he knew, and everything he did was an in the moment decision.
You can act like this isn’t strange all you want, but falling for a girl that you’ve seen? not strange. Pre-planning to watch someone in the shower that doesn’t even know you exist?
sureeee…
INTENT;
Cody intentions with Gwen are very cut and dry: he wants to go on a date with her, and he wants her to like him back.
as far as i’m aware Cody never even mentions being in a relationship with her, he just wants wants gwen to give him a shot. It’s as simple as that.
and we see this demonstrated pretty often, as each time Cody speaks about gwen he keeps it realistic and requests to just go on a date instead (as we see in up the creek, where Cody asks Gwen to go out a few times, only stopping when Gwen hits him in the groin with her paddle, this is important to remember for later)
he never asks to be her boyfriend, he never talks about then as partners, and it’s clear to me that Cody sees gwen as someone that he would consider being in a relationship with, but is still competent enough to know that his desire to be in a relationship with gwen is mostly surface level attraction and that he would want to get to know her before they began dating.
simple intentions, simple outcome.
Sierra, on the other hand, her early intentions with Cody are less clear. later on in season it’s very clear that Sierra wants to marry him, and have kids with him. This is evidenced in a few ways, one being essentially the whole of the Niagara brawls (where sierra is constantly trying to trick Cody into saying “i do” in hopes of getting him to marry him), she also refers to him as her husband in trains, planes, and hot air mobiles (though she DOES backtrack after the fact), and sierra has a “fake family” with Cody in Rapa-phooey (this could be considered innocent, but i think that with everything else, it makes it seem a lot stranger.) Whereas early on we don’t really know what sierra wants with Cody, doesn’t she want to go on a date? to be his girlfriend? we just don’t know.
Personally, i think this alone speaks volumes about how Cody and sierra perceived their crush-
Cody saw Gwen as an individual that he hoped to be with, and he was aware that he was not in a relationship with Gwen.
sierra saw Cody as apart of her, and that a relationship with Cody was something that she already had.
AWARENESS:
Speaking of awareness, let’s talk about Cody and Sierra’s perspective of their crushes feelings towards them.
Cody didn’t seem entirely aware that Gwen wasn’t into him, in his mind Gwen was playing hard to get and he genuinely had a chance with her. This is depicted well in the early stages of season 1, mainly in not quite famous. Cody first sparks up conversation with Gwen about her diary, and Gwen tells him to beat it. He doesn’t, and instead compliments the way she smells, Gwen is weirded out by this and moves away before calling him “some kind of freak.”
Cody seems genuinely shocked by this, and his cool demeanour fades and he turns away, clearly thinking about what had just transpired whilst trying to explain himself. actually, he seems pretty confused during the whole interaction- consistently he has this half smile on his face, with one brow raised and one furrowed (though it could be argued that it’s just him trying to pull a “cool” face)
Afterwards, Cody proceeds to follow gwen to the cabin, clearly thinking they hit it off- mood drastically improving as heather makes a joke about them being the first hook up of the season.
Gwen goes along with it, and then shuts him out of the cabin- he tries to look into the cabin to see what she is doing, but Gwen ends up slamming the door in his face and walking past them.
despite this, Cody still seems relatively confident.
later on in the episode, heather is reading out gwen’s diary and Cody genuinely believes it’s about him, as though he is completely oblivious to the fact Gwen isn’t into him. After it is revealed that the person Gwen is talking about is trent, Cody is evidently shocked.
He is deluded, simple as that, about his relationship with her. He truly believes that if he gets a good chance to ask her out, then she will say yes. For this reason, Cody never tricks gwen into a date, or anything akin to that. He is always upfront and honest because he is truly oblivious to his status with her. Admittedly, you could say that we don’t know if Cody was unaware, and maybe he was just playing dumb to seem more innocent. But i think that, when considering how he talks about himself/is spoken about in his island biography, it isn’t just an act and that he is inept when it comes to reading a room.
“Despite spending most of his time in the local mall (since that's the best place to study teams in the throes of "being cool") none of its helped his cause. Unfortunately, Cody doesn't know any of this. He thinks of himself as the coolest-kid-in-all-of-the-burbs (his words). At his prep school, Upper Crust College, he is considered pretty cool (but that's only in a select group of guys who belong to the Albert Einstein Fan Club- i.e. all geekier than Cody.) So while he brags about knowing the "cool code" (he doesn't) and has devoted his whole life to studying it and mastering it (not really) and totally scores it with the ladies (all myth and no legend)…”
Cody boasts about being “popular” and “cool” because he truly believes he is, and is unaware of how others view him. this will translate over to Gwen, where he is unable to see how she truly feels about him (and after he does finally get it spelt out for him, he lays off and sets Gwen up with Trent; with the exception of world tour, but i will get to that later.)
not that it’s justification for how he acts around her, and it doesn’t make it okay. but it is at least an explanation plus a reminder that his actions weren’t malicious.
On the contrary, we have sierra and Cody,
Sierra is completely aware of how Cody views her, which is why she goes out of her way to do a few things to work around that fact-
one is abusing her physical strength to be close to him, sierra often grabs Cody and refuses to let her away from him, I don’t think I need to tell you exactly when this happens, as it is a common occurrence.
depicting sierra as using her strength to pin him down shows that she is aware Cody could run if he had the chance, so she has to counteract that by not giving him a chance.
If that’s not enough, though, then i can also mention the fact that she preys on him whilst he is asleep, sticking her thumb in his mouth or rubbing his feet. She knows that, if he had been awake, he wouldn’t have accepted that- which is show by the fact that when he wakes up he screams. Sierra then laughs.
Still not enough? how about the fact that she was aware that Cody was constantly voting her out? and that after she was directly shown this, she then proceeded to cry and whine until he took her out in a date only to reveal after the fact that she wasn’t even upset, and was instead manipulated him into taking her out and apologising when he did nothing wrong?
or what about when Cody and sierra where forced to ride in that ball together in japan, sure, she didn’t shove him in there but stealing the opportunity to kiss him because she knows he can’t leave is very, very strange.
remember that time that sierra tricked Cody into saying “i do”? another instance where she was acutely aware that he would never consent to marrying her, so she tricked him into doing it.
Or that time Cody was freaking out, and said that he would “let sierra kiss him” is they made it. Which sierra, only then, decided to take action in rescuing the competitors just so she could pin Cody down and kiss him. During which, he tried to push away, exclaiming he couldn’t breathe, causing her to take him arms and pin them above his head knowing he didn’t want this- meaning that she knowingly sexually assaulted him?
or how about when, after all of this didn’t work, sierra decided to show tea down his through until he was half-unconscious so she could seize the moment to carry him around? she saw she was making him ill, and did it anyway, abusing the fact that he was unable to defend himself.
finally, when Cody ends up forgiving her, she still abused his trust by groping him in the hot air mobile Sierra: “stop giving it so much fuel!” Cody, annoyed: “right after you stop pinching my butt!” Sierra, once again pushing the idea that they are married whilst also purposefully ignoring the actual issue: “we sound like an old married couple!”
all of this shows that, unlike Cody who has a history of being oblivious enough that even the producers of the show noticed it , sierra was very aware that Cody wasn’t into her, so she tricked and manipulated into being around her.
violently different intentions, and violently different impacts- one of which is a lot more malicious than the other.
PEOPLE’S REACTIONS
Cody is strange toward Gwen, yes, but it is blaneltly obvious to everyone around the two that Cody is, at his core, someone with a pathetic crush that poses no real threat towards Gwen. This is why his behaviour never gets called out by anyone except Gwen, and even then, it’s pretty minor, just calling him weird or shooting him a funny look.
Gwen sees Cody as an “annoying little brother”, she finds him annoying, not scary or intimidating.
No one makes fun of him or even shows any remote sign of discomfort (aside from Gwen). And it isn’t because people didn’t like Gwen, trent and Leshawna didn’t say anything (despite being violently protective of Gwen), because he was a kid with a crush, and he never really did anything that was immediately cause for concern.
Unlike sierra.
First of all, Cody was quick to call her out- referring to her as a “stalker.”
i think that, in it’s self, shows the differing levels Cody and sierra where on;
“annoying little brother,” and “stalker.”
I just think that’s an interesting comparison.
along with that, sierras behaviour is so concerning and strange that other people call her out on it/react negatively to it. The first instance we see of someone calling her out is in episode two,
Sierra: “did you know Cody slept with a stuffed emu named jerry until he was… well, he still does…”
immediately, she is called out for knowing this peice of information by noah,
“and you know this how?”
she then recounts calling cody’s aunt, pretending to be a telemarketer (as mentioned earlier. Noah then refers to her as “stalker-licious.”
sierra isn’t phased by his comment (a stark contract to Cody, who seems shocked when Gwen calls him a freak) almost as though she has heard it before.
another time she’s called out is also by noah, where he mocks her for her blog in london, whilst also calling her out for her pathetic attempts to impress Cody
and in one of the earliest episodes sierra’s behaviour if found to be weird by people on team amazon, Heather stating that pretending to be friends with “that” will be hard
“i do not heart the new girl.”
and Gwen, Courtney, and heather all expressing disgust over sierra riffling through cody’s bag and getting his shoelace stuck up her nose.
Another moment heather expresses a dislike of sierra is when she point blank tells Cody to call things off with her in the later episodes (whether this was souly strategic or not i can’t say, though heather and Cody to appear to be friends in later episodes)
and Alejandro, of all people, also ends up helping Cody out by offering him a place to hide (in can’t help falling in louvre) after chris revealed who voted for who (in the am-AH-zon race) it isn’t revealed why alejandro helped him, though it was most likely in hopes of gaining an alliance- that being said, Alejandro was still able to easily recognise just how strange sierra was so his intentions for helping Cody are almost irrelevant. He exploits this later on, also, in Rapa-phooey, where he keeps Cody away from sierra in hopes of gaining an alliance.
If someone that doesn’t like you, and sees you as nothing more than a pawn can still effortlessly make out the fact that someone is being weird to you, and the fact that you are uncomfortable with said behaviour,
then you’re being too weird.
Sierra was strange enough that even the people that didn’t care did something about it, Cody was strange enough that the people that did care didn’t even bother to comment on it.
DIRECT PARALLELS
Cody and Sierra both took photos of their crushes, and i often hear people talk about the former, so I’m going to talk about them both-
in world tour, Cody was seen with tyler and Gwen, Gwen was sunbathing and sleeping in a bikini and Cody walked around to her, placed his hand on her shoulder, and tyler took a photo of the two of them.
this was very inappropriate, and i’m not giving to sit here and justify it. Both Tyler and Cody where in the wrong here, plain and simple.
Sierra also took a photo of Cody, this one was seen in All stars as her lock screen, it was a photo that she took of Cody, naked, in the shower- most likely having had the curtain pulled back by sierra- in the photo he is clearly very disturbed with the situation and the only reason we cannot see his full body is because her phone cut off his bottom half. (Sierra was also seen taking a photo of the drama bothers when they were skinny dipping, but i won’t be delving into that, just thought i’d mention it.)
once again, i am comparing the two. I’m not justifying cody’s, i’m explaining it.
Cody’s photo was taken by someone else. This means two things, it means that he has an accomplice- meaning any doubt he may have had will be been overridden by that almost giddy feeling when your doing something with a friend, sierra was working alone, and the thought of picturing Cody in that manner was entirely from her own imagination.
cody’s photo was of him and someone else, showing that his intent wasn’t necessarily a photo of Gwen in her bikini and only that, but a rather a photo of the two of them together. It’s still inappropriate, it’s still wrong, but his intentions are grey at best . Sierra’s are not debatable, it was just of Cody, and only of Cody. There is no argument that she wanted a photo of them together, she wanted a photo of Cody, nude.
Cody did not go out of his way to find gwen in a bikini, she was laying on the beach. And whilst i don’t believe it’s appropriate to film or photograph people in their swimwear, seeing someone in public wearing a bikini is very different to going out of your way to walk in on someone in the shower and then photograph them.
Cody’s photo of Gwen was never mentioned after the one off joke in world tour, sierra set cody’s photo as her lock screen, showed it to everyone who would look, and blasted this candid photo of him on national tv.
Cody’s photo of Gwen isn’t illegal, inappropriate? sure. But not illegal. Sierras photo of Cody is illegal. Cody has always been depicted as a minor, and having a nude photo of him on your phone would be classed as CP. I don’t think that was her intention, but that is still the outcome of what she did.
Once again, just a final reminder, i do not think what Cody did was okay in any shape or form. But if you want to talk about it, then you have to bring up sierras photo of Cody.
another parallel, be it this one is much briefer, is essentially “what they would do for eachother”
In island, Cody jumped in front of gwen to protect her from being hit by a dodgeball.
in world tour, sierra jumped in front of Cody to protect him from being hit by a canon ball.
they both hurt, but one a lot more than the other.
I’m a firm believer that this is intended to depict the impact left of Cody and Sierra’s crushes due to her behaviour, or at least the severity of their crushes.
Cody took a dodgeball to the nuts, it hurts, but you can walk it off. That is how much Cody hurt Gwen. It was weird, it creeped her out, but it’s nothing long lasting.
Sierra took a canon ball to the gut, that leaves permanent, that will stick with you until the day you die. That’s how much sierra hurt Cody.
just a brief comparison, but it seems far too convenient to not mean anything in my opinion.
REVENGE AND THEIR POWER DYNAMICS-
In early season one, each time Cody would speak to Gwen she almost always had something to say about it. Most of the time, with a large, blunt object.
She hurt him, she was stronger than Cody and was never afraid or unable to put him in his place. Whilst this doesn’t make what he did okay, it does reinforce when i say Cody was never a threat to gwen.
This starkly contrasts with sierra, who is far stronger than Cody. Actually, she’s objectively one of the strongest people in the show. She’s tall, big, and unafraid to use that fact to get what she wants.
Constantly she is seen grabbing Cody, moving him around, kissing him, and there is nothing he can do about it because of how big she is.
Admittedly, he never really tired. Sure, sometimes he would run away from her, or tell her to stop, but typically Cody seemed aware that when she wanted him, she had him.
The only time we saw Cody actually try to push her away, was in niagra brawls when sierra was pinning him on the ground, kissing him.
Here, he tries to push away, clearly straining himself and using as much strength as he has… but sierra effortlessly grabs his arms, pins them above his head, and continues doing what she wants to him.
she is a threat. There is nothing he could do to protect himself from her aside from hide himself away, which he does end up doing in the paris ep.
This power imbalance strips away anything that could’ve been humorous between them. Personally, i don’t find psycho stalkers funny no matter how strong they are but i understand seeing sierra as funny if she was a weak fan girl who Cody constantly pushes away and she isn’t really a threat. Almost like Max from pakitew island (or literally just Cody and gwen) meaning nothing bad transpired between them, and she’s purely comic relief.
But she is a threat. There is a power imbalance. Bad things to happen between them. And it isn’t amusing at all.
“IT’S A KIDS SHOW,”-
i get it, it’s a funny little kids show and you don’t really want to go in depth with a characters mental health. That’s fine, i’m not expecting a full, heart wrenching story of how Cody managed to build the courage of getting away from his stalker, or whatever.
But they didn’t need to do all that to teach the half descent lesson of “hey guys, stalking people is bad and it won’t get you what you want.”
And there were tons of ways to depict this without making it really deep.
First of all, they could’ve just booted sierra early. Get rid off most of the nasty things she did whilst also proving that being a creep makes people not want to be around you.
Alternatively, they could’ve kept the whole plot line the same up until planes, trains, and hot air mobiles where instead of Cody taking sierra with him, he just leaves her there and finally stands up to her whilst getting to show of the fact he isn’t totally hopeless.
They could’ve nerfed sierras strength and made her weaker and mentioned above, depicting her and cody’s relationship as similar to Cody and gwen’s in which Cody sees sierra as annoying, but not a threat. Could’ve also been a good way for Cody to learn that his behaviour towards gwen was inappropriate and weird.
Or they could’ve ditched sierra full stop.
Anyway, my point is there’s tons of ways to go about her character that would’ve have made it so awful to watch… but no, i guess making a mockery of out SA is super fun also.
CHARACTER GROWTH-
Cody, after being rejected by Gwen multiple times, was finally able to come to terms with the fact that she was not interested in him. After this, he set up gwen and trent, deciding that as long as gwen’s happy, he’s happy.
That was at the end of season 1, in season 3, after when and trent broke up, Cody continues to purse Gwen- breaking down his small amount of character development for no reason whatever.
It was disappointing, as Cody had a good arc… but that was the way it fell. I’m pretty sure that their reasoning behind this was so they could play up sierra’s problem with Gwen as a funny bit. But it doesn’t really matter,
Cody had some character development, was able to teach a relatively good lesson to the audience, and that’s still something.
Sierra didn’t have that. She never learnt a lesson, wasn’t there to teach anything, she just kept harassing and harassing until she got her way.
I know that people like to say at the end of world tour she changed, but that’s not true at all. She still continued to grope him in planes, trains, and hot air balloons (as mentioned prior), she still pursued him and was evidently disappointed when Cody said they where friends- clearly under the impression that they are more (she is satisfied when he says best friends), and in all stars she gets even worse, moving her arrow to face another contestant.
sure, cody’s arc ended in a dead end… but at least he had one.
Final words:
What Cody did was wrong, and i’ll never sit here and deny that. But an eye for an eye makes someone blind and there was no need to put him through what they did.
Sierra is a bad person, and you can like her all you want but acknowledging that simple fact doesn’t hurt anyone.
Your headcanons are irrelevant, you can sit here and say sierra had a shitty home-life but at the end of the day we do not know that and justifying what she did because of that is stupid.
Sierra didn’t carry Cody to the final three, he was a good, popular contestant that could’ve done really well on his own, but was nerfed and turned into a damsel in distress for no reason.
Sierra making Cody a birthday cake does suddenly attain for everything she did to him.
Yes, she saved his life on multiple occasions but let us not forget that sierra was also the reason he was in into those situations a lot of the time.
And No, Cody and sierra becoming “friends” at the end of world tour isn’t all that special when you remember that he is canonically a neglected child that has finally been given the attention he has been given the attention he craved (Stockholm syndrome, anyone?)
anyway, i know none of this matters, i know it’s just a stupid cartoon; but i like this stupid cartoon and i like to talk about it.
and apologises for all of the spelling and grammatical mistakes, i did reread it but i know they’ll be a few nonetheless
TLDR: if the gender of Cody and sierra were reversed, many of the plot lines in the episodes wouldn’t have aired.

Ok so hear me out, we bully Kouta Hirano enough to where he makes a part two of the series where schrödinger is trying to peice together what all he remembers from his old life before the Second World War (he wakes up in modern day Germany after the events of the London attack) and we have new characters including his grandson who's in the Bundeswehr, and new antagonists like a Wehrmarch version of the Millennium Battalion, him on the run from both hellsing (since he fears that hellsing will try to kill him again), the Wehrmarch version of the Millennium Battalion (who's trying to capture him to Experiment on him and recurit him), the Vatican (as to be expected), then have a arch where schrödinger and his grandson have a arch where they realize that hellsing wants to give them both a second chance rather them killing them both, then they join up with hellsing, kick Vatican and Wehrmarch ass and save the world, all the while keeping the dark, gritty and vile aroura of what hellsing has made itself to be, and we make it like a T.V show like Trigun stampede as well to add the cherry on this bloody cake we love
Edit: this all takes place also where schrödinger survives the attack somehow (since he can and will), has brief flashbacks of his life before he was Inductrinated into the nazi party as a Hitler youth member, remembers his time in the war, especially at the end where he's forced to be part of the Volkssturm militia and he all the while enjoys the sights of the modern world, especially his homeland Germany, and he also finds his MP18,1 submachine gun from the war and repairs it over the corse of the anime and Manga to get it back in working order, with some modern day modifications like a Battlefield 1 style holographic sight, Bayonet (yes the MP18,1 submachine gun, MP28,2, MP34 and MP35 submachine guns did have Bayonets for them, they were just mounted on the side of thr gun) and all that and has a duffel bag to hide it and wears a hoodie to hide his werecat side to not freak people out, as well as wearing a face mask that covers his mouth and nose and sunglasses to hide his glowing red eyes and fangs to blend in with society as best as he can

🔺️Author note: There is mention of SA in this chapter.
"We're almost there," Kal whispered over his shoulder. He walked at a fast pace, and I nodded silently as I followed closely behind him. I kept my eyes focused ahead of me as we both kept close to the shadows. We eventually hopped a bus toward Tacoma, getting off at a stop by Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium.
I followed Kal up the stone steps to a grey, one-story house. Kal's eyes swept the area before he sighed in relief and pulled out a key, the door opened up to a small hallway. There was a large, spacious room to the left with a decent sized window that faced the front yard. A built-in bookshelf dominated the wall on the opposite side with a fireplace settled in between it. Atop its mantle were Precious Moments nick nacks and wooden animal carvings. As we walked further in I noticed down the hall to the right were three bedrooms and a bathroom.
The kitchen, I saw was quaint; wooden floor and dark brown wooden cupboards with a gas stove below them opposite to a living room centered a leather couch and a flat-screen television with a connected PS4 with variety of video games stacked underneath a glass table. Light seeped in through the blinds to a sliding glass door which led onto a porch that overlooked the Narrows Bridge.
"Is this your place?" I asked.
"It was my father's house." Kal replied, almost hesitantly.
"Are we safe here?" I made my way over to the glass door. "You've been working with them for years, right?"
"Yeah, but I promise you," Kal reassured. "None of them know where this place is."
"What? You have some kind of magical protection around the whole place or something?"
"Something like that. I took the absolute, necessary precautions."
"How did you manage to do that?"
"I didn't. Illium placed a protection around this place a few years back."
"I hope they made it out alright," I said. "I feel bad for what happened back there."
"Why? I'm the one they're after-well, you too of course, but don't feel bad. Ilium's moved several times in the past two years. Trust me, they will be fine."
"That's a relief," I unzipped my jacket, and grimaced at the feeling of my sweat-covered clothes sticking to me like a second skin.
"Bathroom is the middle door on the left. You can use the shower in there. Oh, here. You can wear these," Kal made his way to the laundry room next to the kitchen and grabbed a bundle of clothes from on top of the dryer. "Don't worry, they're clean."
"Thanks,"
I pushed the bathroom door open, surprised at how clean it was. There was a walk-in shower opposite the toilet and sink. Adjacent to the shower stood a white shelf with white and teal colored towels neatly folded in between miniature ceramic pots filled with fake plants. The shower overflowed with an ample supply of shampoo, body wash, and cleansers that neatly fitted into a black bath rack mounted just beneath the shower head.
Once I was clean, I quickly dressed in a black sweatshirt and dark grey sweatpants. I made my way into the kitchen just as Kal pulled a bottle of Kraken from above the refrigerator. When he glanced up at me, he motioned for me to take a seat.
"You want one?" Kal offered, as he grabbed a litter of coke zero from the fridge, two glasses, and an ice tray.
"Sure, thanks," I poured myself a glass. We barely made it out alive back at Ilium's place. This definitely called for a drink, or two. "Hey, uh, can I ask you a question?"
Kal eyed for a moment before he nodded. "Shoot."
"Back at Ilium's, the man-Hellhound-said something about familiars. Demons can have familiars? I thought that was a witch and vampire thing."
"Yeah. Why wouldn't demons have them, too? They are closer to how a vampire's familiar works. You see, a familiar are human servants that pledged themselves to their demon. If the demon were to get caught inside of a demon trap, the demon will call upon their familiar to help them. They'll even possess their body as a vessel until the demon finds a host to feed upon. In return for their loyalty they are granted wealth, sex, immunity from ailments etcetera. The more powerful the demon, the greater the award."
"A demonic transaction," I said.
"Exactly. Demons can't walk topside in their true forms for too long. It's like if a human were to walk on the moon without a space helmet, I mean, they wouldn't die, but I've heard it's uncomfortable. That's what possessing a human is for. A willing human is even better."
"I nodded, and then I asked, "That Hellhound called you a half demon. Are one of your parents a demon?"
"I'm half demon from my mother's side," He said, almost quietly. Like he didn't want to admit it outloud. He poured himself a glass and took a few swigs.
"Where are your parents?" I asked, then immediately cursed myself for speaking without thinking. I averted my eyes from him to my drink, the cubes of ice clinked against the glass. "I'm sorry. Sensitive subject," I glanced up and I was relieved to see that he didn't look angry for my prying, but rather a little sad or pensive.
"No, it's fine. You're just curious I understand that. I did say this is my father's house. Well, my mother is gone and my father is...is someplace safe."
"Hey, look, I get it's personal."
Kal sighed, and stalked out of the kitchen and into the living room. I turned around in my chair to look at him. "Like I said, I understand your curiosity. Yes, it is personal, but I'm not mad. You probably have personal things in your life you wouldn't want to tell me of all people."
Before I could speak, my cell buzzed and I unlocked my phone to see another text from Roland. "It's Roland," I shot him a quick text before I placed it back into the pocket of the sweatpants.
"I have a question for you," Kal said. "Will you ever tell him the truth?"
"I-" I paused, and tried to formulate a answer but couldn't come up with one. "I don't know,"
"See?" Kal smirked. "We keep these secrets to protect ourselves and the ones we love."
"Yeah, I guess so," I turned back to the glass in my hand, the ice already melted.
°°°
Our routine training continued the next few days, with an extra hour of learning how to shift into my demon form. I shouldn't even be considered a demon when for the past day and a half I failed at completely shifting.
I was able to shift parts of my body; my my nails lengthened, and my eyes bled into obsidian orbs. Kal was positive I'd be able to do it, but it's been days-it's not enough. My eyes burned with the memory of my family's massacre, my mother's face in those final moments before I was turned around to stare up into my brother's black eyes, his lips pulled back into a snarl.
"You should have embraced your true self. If you had, you might have been able to save them."
I couldn't do this. It hurts too much-
No. Stop it. I have to try harder-
I severed myself from all of those unwelcome memories and the power that coursed through my veins; the muscles in my body shrank and relaxed. I fell to my knees in the dirt. I clenched my sweat-soaked shirt in my trembling fist. My breath shuddered, coming in deep raspy breaths.
Kal knealt down in front of me. "Hey, are you alright?"
I laughed, pitifully. I don't know why he would care how I felt. I believed that if I brought something viscerally painful to the surface I would be able to turn all of it into some kind of energy and shift. Hell, it worked in the movies. "I'm fine," I mumbled, and stood up. I turned away from him, my face was hot and damp with sweat. "Let's just go again,"
"I think we should take a break, Gav-"
"I said I'm fine." I snapped, and then pursed my lips, and said, softly, "Sorry. I just don't know why it isn't working,"
"Your emotions can feed your power, and you're reaching into things that are most painful-things that happened to you or someone you cared about."
Before I could stop myself, I twisted around to face him. "Painful things...like the night you and your gang murdered my friends?"
Kal was silent for a moment, his jaw working. "Yeah, it's true that I've hurt people, and I've killed people. I've been working with these guys for years that I've learned to become numb to it, but I did not kill anyone that night."
"Yeah, you did," I seethed. "I've seen it!"
"Did you? When have you actually witnessed me kill anyone?"
"You were covered in Shelby's blood!"
"You saw me covered in her blood, but I didn't kill her. The plan was supposed to go a different way, but it didn't. Just know that I didn't take any gratification when I found out they died."
"That's bullshit," I hissed. "They were just "collateral damage" right? That's what you said to me,"
Kal flinched. "I only said that to get a rise out of you, and it clearly worked," He started to pace. "Look, I was ordered to retrieve you. I was informed that some human working for the BSID had the sight, and somehow had info about us - info about my father's current location. Can you understand now why I did what I did? I hesitated taking you in with me because when I found out you were ill-equipped to be part of that organization, they had lied to me. After seeing your eyes-"
Kal seemed to trail off for a moment, but I just stayed silent.
Kal stopped pacing and raked his fingers through his hair. He then walked passed me back toward the house. "Don't think I don't understand or know what it feels like to lose someone you care about." He said. He turned away from me and strode back into the house without another word.
It was below chilly inside the house that night. I tossed and turned in the bed. I don't remember how long it was before I finally found sleep. I woke up to the smell of bacon and sweet scent of french toast, and smiled knowing that my mother had made one of my favorite breakfasts. I yawned and slipped my feet into my Yoda slippers before I made my way down stairs.
I spotted my mother in the kitchen, her long burnette hair wrapped in a messy crows nest, and still dressed in her nightgown. I grabbed a seat at the table and happily reached for some toast off the large plate centered in front of my plate.
"Good morning, baby," She said, softly. "Did you sleep well?"
"Mhm!" I answered her with a mouthful of food. I kept my eyes on my plate when she came over place some eggs and bacon on my plate.
"I'm glad," She said, but her voice sounded strange, almost forlorn.
"I glanced up at her just as she wiped away a trickle of tears from her face. "I'm so sorry, baby. You shouldn't blame yourself for my death. I deserved what happened to me. I was a stupid, selfish woman."
I shook my head vigorously, and stood up from my chair, tears of my own welled up at the corners of my eyes as I exclaimed, "No! It wasn't your fault
It was-"
"It was my fault. I shouldn't have made that deal with the..." Her words trailed off, and I watched in abject horror as she held her head in her hands as she suddenly released a terrible, agonized scream; she bowed forward, her back caved in from some invisible forced that created gruesome fractures. I cried out as her started to collapse on into itself. Bits of her flesh peeled and slough off, her jaw bone dropped onto the plate of toast, and her left eye fell into the pitcher of orange juice.
I cried out and tumbled backward. I turned and bolted out the front door. The scenery shifted and I found myself funning through the middle of the forest at night. Something gripped my ankle and fell face first onto the muddy ground. There was a coppery scent in the air and I raised my hand up to my face, my hand came back bloody.
I twisted around to see Shelby. Her jacket shredded and caked in blood. Her pale skin wet and covered in lacerations. Instead of the frantic look she had when I found her that night, her features now were twisted into pure hatred.
"You did this to me!" She spat, her voice garbled and raspy. Blood poured from the corners of her lips. Her grip tightened as she started to pull herself onto her knees, and before I could move away she lurched forward and was suddenly on top of me. I tried to pry her off, but she kept me immobile. Then, her voice changed into something deep and demonic. "If you had embraced your true self, I would still be alive!"
I jolted awake, my heart pounded in my chest. I sat upright and combed my trembling fingers through my hair, the sweat on my skin cooled. With a groan I collapsed back in the bed, and cursed before I shoved off the comforter and slid out of the bed. After I did my business I walked toward the kitchen.
I heard voices coming from the living room as I got closer. I spotted Kal, laid back on the couch with a laptop propped up on his thighs, nursing a cup of coffee. "Couldn't sleep?" He asked.
I shook my head and yawned. I turned my eyes from him to the television that displayed Don't Look Under The Bed, a 90s horror comedy about a teenage girl who refuses to believe in the Bogeyman. It was one of my childhood favorites alongside Halloween Town and Hocus Pocus.
"I just made a fresh pot of coffee if you want some. There's Pumpkin Spice creamer in the fridge." Kal offered, still not looking up from the screen. After I grabbed my own cup, Kal glanced over T me from the couch and waved me over. "Hey, come check this out." He raised the remote and paused just as the scene wher the letter "B" is spray painted on the outside of every locker except for Frances'
I took a seat beside him as he shifted the screen slightly in my direction. He scrolled down his Face Book feed until he found out what he was looking for. "Good thing he didn't unfriend me, yet." He muttered, more to himself when he pulled up a profile with the name 'Asher' a man around his mid-30s with wavy, dirty blond hair and blue eyes. He kind of looked like the character, Stu Macher from Scream. "This is Asher. I used to work with him when I was still employed under them."
Knowing now that Kal's group consisted of supernatural beings, I asked, "What is he?"
"He's a ghoul. To maintain their human visage they must consume humam flesh. If they don't, then they will resort back into their necrotic, emaciated forms. Kal explained. He clicked on Asher's profile and scrolled and clicked until he found what he was looking for once more. "Alright, it's still here," He pointed to a event. "There's a Halloween party tomorrow night, and he'll be there."
"Wait you want to kill one of your old buddies tomorrow?"
"I want to ask him some questions," Kal corrected. "And then yeah, I'm going to kill him. We'll grab some breakfast and then head over to the store for costumes. We'll just have to look for ones with masks."
"Ah, I get it," I said. "To hide our identities. Wait, but you don't need a mask. Couldn't you just shift into someone else? If it's me you're worried about busting the plan then why not ask your friend Peter for another one of his special masks?"
Kal shook his head. "He may be a friend of mine, but he makes a living of what he creates and the ingredients to make the masks are not cheap. Even if I could ask, I wouldn't be able to get them in time. He and Illium are in Tokyo by now,"
"Why are they in Tokyo?"
"Well, Tokyo is said to be one of the best destinations for anniversaries. They've been together for a hundred years now,"
"Oh," I hadn't even realized Ilium and Peter were anything more than business partners. I wasn't even surprised when Kal said a hundred years since I knew a few things on Fae and Vampires. "Huh, well good for them." I said, genuinely.
°°°
After breakfast we headed over to the Halloween store. With Kal finally being able to shift smoothly, he changed his appearance into a petite young woman with shoulder-length blond hair. His form reminded me pf a younger version of Kate Mara. The only thing I could do to hide my identity was a face mask, and ever since Covid no one would care to look twice.
Luckily, it was a weekday in late September so there were still plenty of variety of costumes to choose from. After a hour of browsing I settled on the Rob Zombie Michael Meyers with the black coveralls and Kal, with enthusiasm chose Darth Vader.
It was a hour before we had to leave for the party so we decided to change into our costumes. I froze as I stared over at Kal. My eyes trailed up his bare, muscular arms and broad shoulders to the black cross with raven wings in the center of his back.
"See something you like?" Kal smirked, as he put on the costume covering the tattoo before he turned around to face me.
My cheeks felt warm and I averted my gaze to the Halloween mask in my hands. "N-no, that's not why I- oh, nevermind."
"I don't blame you. I'm a attractive guy with the power to...oh what was that saying, oh yes "the power to make a nun's panties combust.""
"No. Gross," I said, flatly. "I was looking at the tattoo on your back."
"Oh? It's just a tattoo. Want to get a closer look at it? The artist did such an amazing job."
"No, that's ok."
"Alright then." He shrugged. "Let's get going,"
We pulled up to a large, two-story house decked in various Halloween decor. The parking lot were packed with cars and people. I reached for my belt to make sure my blade was attached. Since Michael is synonymous with his knife, I felt it fitting for the costume.
We followed a large group through the wooden gate that lead into a wide backyard that faced the lake. Two rectangle speakers had been hooked up at each end of the wrap-around patio blasting, "Heads Will Roll" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Someone brought a bundle of jack-O-Lantern shaped lights and strung them around the fence.
Kal turned to me. "I don't see him here yet, but let's split up. Act natural, getva drink or something. If you see him, text me." I nodded and watched as he made his way up the steps and disappeared into the crowd.
I walked over to the punch bowl and poured myself a drink. I found a place to sit down on a bench away from the party goers. A few minutes later a group of four-Wednesday, a sexy nurse, Ghostface, and Dracula-came over and sat down at a nearby table. I wasn't really trying to eavesdrop, they were talking loudly amongst themselves.
"-anyway, like I was saying I know someone who works at the Morgue," Wednesday said, which earned her curious looks from her friends, even mine. "Well, she didn't actually see the body herself, but she did hear from one of her co-workers that it was really messy. The young girl was found behind a dumpster naked, and cut open, missing some of her internal organs."
"Wait, are you serious? Holy shit." Said, Ghostface.
"Yeah, horrible," Sexy nurse added. "But, I'm glad it wasn't me."
I tuned the rest of their conversation out and lifted my mask up just enough for me to take a swig of punch. My eyes swept the area, but I couldn't tell if this Asher guy was here or not. He could be inside the house somewhere, and it didn't help the fact that several people came here with masks. We could have brushed shoulders and I wouldn't have known.
A few minutes later I spotted Kal exit the house. He looked around until his eyes (well, I think his eyes since he wore the vader mask) landed on me and motioned for me to come over.
"I found him," Kal hissed.
"You did? Where?"
"Follow me."
I followed him up the steps and into the house where he lead me into a spacious, yet semi crowded room. We moved around a few inebriated bodies as we made our way across the room near the kitchen. Kal nudged me and pointed over to the sofa. "There he is,"
I watched as Asher, dressed as Leon from Resident Evil made his way over to the sofa. He sat down beside a beautiful woman with tanned skin and braided, long dark brown hair dressed as 2017s Wonder Woman. Kal motioned for me to get closer so I tentatively slowly crept over to a nearby recliner in the corner and sat down. Kal decided to linger where he was and slouched up against the wall.
"It was nice to meet you here, Asher but I have have to get going," The girl said, her voice was so quiet that I almost missed the fact that she slurred her words.
Asher seemed almost puzzled for a moment, but then he gave her a small smile of resignation. "Ah, that's too bad, but I understand. Let's take you home then,"
The girl smiled and nodded. She was just about to get up from the couch when she hesitated for a moment before she sat back down. Her hand slid over to his inner thigh and proceeded to move higher and higher until her slender digits groped his crotch.
"Shall we take this someplace more private?" Asher cooed as he gently grabbed her hand just as she started to curl her fingers at his waist band. She nodded sluggishly. I watched as he helped her up and started to guide her to the front door.
Kal and I followed them. We made it outside just as the two of them got in his car. Kal and I threw our masks in the backseat as we pulled out of the driveway and down the road after them. "Are you sure we won't lose them?" I asked, as I buckled myself in.
"Even if we do, don't worry," Kal said. "I placed a tracker on his car just in case."
I had to hand it to Kal. To be honest, tailing someone's vehicle only looks easy to do on T.V. and videogames. In reality, though, it's almost impossible for someone who hasn't had training or on-the-job experience to have a successful outcome. It's a constant game of keeping close enough to your target that you don't lose them, and yet far enough away that you're cover isn't blown. A lot of people are pretty aware of their surroundings when they drive, and you try and bank on that person not being aware.
After almost an hour on the road, we veered off the freeway and took the exit for Kent. The tracker lead is down a strip of road until we spotted his car. We parked the car several houses down and made our way to the one-story house. It was unlocked.
"It's pretty risky to leave your front door unlocked," I stated, flatly.
"It would be pretty risky to break into the home of a ghoul. Like his kind, Asher is territorial. Although, he hardly ever locks his door while he's home,"
Kal slowly pushed the door open just enough for the two of us to slip inside. Before I can step through, however, Kal yanked me back against him. I pushed myself away from him and was about say something when he pointed to the 'Welcome' matt on the floor just behind the door. "You step on that and you'll fall right through into his trap. That is why he leaves his front door unlocked."
I took in a deep breath. "Thanks for that,"
We both pulled out our phones to use as flashlights. The home was silent, and I reached to my hip and ran my fingers over my dagger.
We stuck close to the walls until we reached the basement. When we got to the bottom I could see that the basement was a decent size filled with boxes, crates, and various other storage on the left and opposite that was a washer and dryer, adjacent to the water heater.
The large shelf in front of us was moved recently, and behind it was a narrow, padded hallway - soundproof I guessed. I watch a lot of true crime, and I could tell that Asher had somehow excavated a space beyond the basement itself almost like the Josef Fritzl case back in 1984. I shivered.
We cautiously made our way through the winding passageway, the padded walls became stone. A few minutes later we reached a singular door. I extended my hand for the door when Kal gripped my wrist and shook his head. I gave him a perplexed look before I heard it. The sound was indistinct, and I couldn't quite make it out.
I dropped my hand and pressed my ear up to the door. I heard the sound again; it sounded like someone was moaning, but it didnt quite sound...right. "Let me go in first," Kal whispered. I nodded, and stepped aside as he pushed the door open. I gasped, not prepared for the scene in front of us.
In the center of the room, under a single light bulb was Asher. He was shirtless, his hair disheveled. He was on his knees, hunched over something, and by the shredded wonder woman costume, I could tell that it was the girl from the party. I heard a wet, tearing sound as he used his bare hands to rip into her, parting muscle and fracturing the joints.
Asher paused and jerked his head up. He dropped whatever he held in his hands before he looked over his shoulder with milky white eyes and a blood stained face. His thin lips twisted from a snarl into a gleeful one. "I figured you would track me down sooner or later, Kalos."
I watched in disgust as he pulled something from the girl's body and popped it in his mouth before he slowly got to his feet to face us. His chest was caked in blood, his zipper was down, revealing what he was doing before he killed her.
"You son of a bitch!" I spat, and I hadn't really noticed I had taken a few steps forward until Kal placed his arm in front of me.
Asher shrugged, indifferent. "Eh, I mean you're not wrong about that," He slid his gaze over to Kal. "I'm kind of surprised you're here. If I were you, I would have dipped out of the state by now. They're looking for you ya know."
"I'm not going anywhere. Not until I get what I came for." Kal said.
"Oh?" Asher laughed, then. He suddenly held his side as he convulsed in amusement. "Hold on, don't tell me...you didn't. You decided to follow me all the way here, dressed in a dollar store Vader costume to kill me? It's comical, and kind of pathetic even for you. Well, I hope you enjoyed the party at least."
Kal took a step forward, his posture was one of barely contained fury, and leveled the ghoul with a glare. "I trusted you to keep what I found out between us," He spat, and pointed in my direction. "We've known each other for years, Ash!"
Asher shook his head and shrugged. "You think I care? The only thing that matters to me is my own survival. If you thought any different then you didn't know me at all, but I know you. You were, at times, too soft to do what was necessary. Unlike me, you're bark and no bite."
Kal responded, venomously. "You're a coward. How does licking their boots taste?"
"A coward?" Asher started. "Let me tell you something, I have been working for them longer than you, and I plan on it staying that way. They put money in my pockets and food," He gestured to the body at his feet. "On my plate,"
"They're just using us!"
"Yeah, and so what if they are using us? I was drowning before they found me, and they gave me a bit of rope and I desperately reached for it. You do what they tell you to do and they'll give ypu a bone. In my case, my bones have been pretty big."
"Might I remind you that we were only supposed to retrieve him," Kal said.
"Might I remind you that we were to retrieve him alive and leave no witnesses at the scene. Hell, you couldn't even do that. So I had to do it for you. His mutt made you look like a little bitch, and then you ran off with your tail between your legs. So, the only coward I see in this room is YOU."
"You're the one who killed Boyd and Shelby," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
Asher turned to me. His lips pulled into a salacious smile. "Ah, Shelby...Oh, she was one of the most sweetest humans I've sampled this year; such a petite, waifish thing wrapped in delicate white skin," He groaned and brought his hand down over his crotch. "Not the best peice of ass I've had, but I enjoyed her nonetheless. Damn, if I had the chance, I would have taken her back here and devoured every inch of her. Unfortunately, you and your mutt showed up."
His words were like tar; black, sticky, and all consuming as the implication of what he did to her that night burned through my mind. I curled my hands into fists, and I felt pain as my nails lengthened. I snarled and rounded on Kal. "Did you know?"
"Gavin-"
"ANSWER ME!" I screamed.
Kal flinched, and answered, "No, I didn't know."
"I swear to God if you're lying to me..."
"He's not lying to you. He had no idea what I was doing, " Asher interjected. "Like I said, he didn't really know me at all."
My tongue felt glued to the roof of my mouth, and I swallowed thickly. "How is that possible? He would have heard her!"
"I gave your friend a little something to help her stay relaxed, submissive, silent."
That was it.
"YOU SICK PEICE OF SHIT!" I stalked toward him, thankful Kal didn't try and stop me this time. Something slammed into me and sent me flying across the room. Pain lanced through me, but I willed myself to my feet. I stumbled, still disoriented and focused on the thing in front of me.
It was vaguely humanoid, around eight feet tall, and almost feminine in appearance. Its lips were peeled back and torn to shreds in some places. Bits of flesh and sinew hung loosly around its chin and throat. Barbed wire protruded from the back of the ears, and curled around large, fleshy growths on its head.
It released a clicking, moaning noise as it opened its maw full of overlapping rotten teeth. It stared down at me as it stretched out a gangrenous human-like arm, and raked its chipped black nails against the floor.
"My, my," Asher said, gleefully. "It seems we have been talking for quite some time Sasha got a bit impatient. Well, as much as I find our conversation entertaining. I do believe it's time for me to go."
"No!" I moved to follow the bastard when the monster intersected me from the door. Hot rage struck my nerves like a lightning strike and my power rushed to me. "Get out of my way!"
The monster was tossed sideways and collided into the stone wall. Without a second thought I took off after Asher. I could barely see him in the dark, but I can hear him. I pushed my body faster.
I turned left down a narrow passageway opposite from where Kal and I came down from and turned another left until Asher and I came to a dead end. Asher raised his hands and felt around the rocks before he whirled around to face me.
I released a winded laugh. "I'm going to make you wish you never laid a finger on them," I thrust my hand hand out toward him and used my power to slam him back against the wall. Asher groaned and wheezed, barely able to catch himself from crumpling to his knees. "You have nowhere else to go,"
Asher choked out a laugh. "You sure about that? Hm, well that's where you're wrong," He smiled a toothy smile and wiggled his fingers. Before I had time to process what he meant by that, he took one step back and dissappeared through the wall.
"What the-?" I ran up to the wall and slammed my hands against the rock. He was gone. "Son of a bitch!"
I let loose a pained growl through gritted teeth as I felt a smothering heat gather in my veins as fury consumed me. Suddenly, my back bowed, my muscles tightened as my fingers stretched and my nails lengthened. I felt a sharp burst of pain as my horns broke through flesh just above my temples.
My entire body expanded with ropean muscles, my hair grew down to the middle of my back thick and coarse over grey skin. The clothes on my body dissappeared, replaced by a long obsidian skirt with split sides held up by a leather corset-shaped belt made out of silver and crimson scales. I slowly raised my arms and noticed silver, serpent-like cuffs on each wrist that almost came up to my elbows.
My power wafted off of me like cooling entrails against a cold night. The energy that flowed through me was abundant, and the feeling of being more than capable had become almost overwhelming. This power is mine. It was meant to be used however and whenever I saw fit. It was frightening, almost, but the true fear comes from how pleasurable the amount of power I had in my arsenal.
I heard commotion somewhere behind me.
Kal.
I flexed my fingers and headed in the direction I came from. Kal was already in his demonic form when I re-entered the room. He wasn't facing me, too preoccupied with the monster in front of him. Kal took a sliding step back to his left and the monster changed direction, veering toward him eagerly.
Kal must've heard me because he glanced my way, a surprised look crossed his features. "Unholy mother of Hell! You finally transformed!"
He was distracted. The idiot. "Kal, look out!" I yelled, just as the monster collided into Kal. The two of them went down in a tangle of limbs.
Kal screached when the monster bit into his arm. He quickly raised his other arm and swiped his claws across the monster's face. "Get off me you hemorrhoid-looking motherfucker!"
The monster roared in rage and pain as Kal managed to rip one of its eyes out. The monster snarled and brought its arms down, but Kal was already in motion. He rolled the second the thing did. He never took his eyes off the thing as it punched the floor.
Kal got enough blows in. Now, it was my turn. I felt the muscles in my back flex as eight long tentacles fanned out behind me. They were long, black and in the shape of blades almost like that of a xenomorph's tail. Before the monster could lunge after Kal, one of my tentacles slammed into the monster.
The blades ripped into flesh, deep enough to latch onto its organs. Bits of its gut spilled out across its shattered abdomen. The force sent the monster reeling back into the wall. Just as it got to its feet, it used its hand to keep its intestines inside of its body. Kal must've known what I was about to do because he said, "Wait, Gavin don't go for its mouth-"
I summoned another tentacle to wrap around its throat when the monster caught it by its teeth. I roared in painand quickly pulled it back.
"-it has a strong jaw," Kal muttered.
I moved again, but this time I wasn't going to give it a chance to recover. My tentacles lashed through the air and struck like scorpion tails, over and over again. I heard a phlegmatic rattling noise escape its ruined mouth as dozens of cuts and abrasions burst from its flesh.
I gritted my teeth and curled my fist. The thing started to scream; it was eerie. A mix of a young woman's cry and a child's. That didn't make me hesitate, however. This thing - whatever it was - wasn't human, not anymore. The room trembled, and the shadows around us grew as I used my power to crush its bones until it was nothing more than a twisted and mangled pile of flesh and bone. I lowered my hand and grimaced in disgust and then...I started to internally freak out.
Will I be able to change back? Will I ever look human again? My mind was full of jumbled up questions. I didn't have the answers to, and if I somehow did I haven't cracked that code yet. Kal must have seen the look of distress on my demonic face.
"You can change back into your human form whenever you want. You just have to will it."
I gave him a "Really?" Look, and he sighed.
"Yeah, I know how that sounds, but I can promise you that I'm not bullshitting,"
I released a sigh and concentrated. After a few moments I could feel a slight discomfort as the change began; bones reconfigured and my body shrank and retract until I was back to being human. "Hey! I'm not naked!" I exclaimed in sudden relief. Ok, maybe I should have expected this since I finally had my memories back, but it's been so long since the last time I shifted. I was with Harlen that time, a few months before the massacre. We were learning about our abilities someplace away from our parents, someplace dark and cold...
"We should probably get out of here. No doubt that bastard alerted them to our whereabouts." Kal said. He almost seemed wary, but he shook it off and motioned for me to follow him.
°°°
"Are you going to uh, change back?" I asked Kal as we made out way back to the car. "I mean I highly doubt you'll be able to fit looking like that."
Kal glanced down at me like he was trying hard not to crack a smile. His eyes were narrowed, but I could see a hint of playfulness. "I'd rather not walk all the way back to the car naked. It's too cold for that,"
"Ah, right the naked thing," I said, sheepishly.
"Yeah, but hey I'm glad you don't have that problem. I don't have to share my duffel with you in the future." Kal dipped his head down to look at me, and I had to crane my head up to meet his gaze. "Full blooded demons have the power to shift into their forms without having to concern themselves about such things like clothing with or without a human vessel."
"Wait, but my mother was human, and my father..." I trailed off. If I was a full-fledged demon like Kal says then that would mean...
"Maybe you were adopted into a human family? That might explain why you haven't been able to shift or use much of your demonic abilities up until only recently, and you being able to shift the way you did would likely suggest your father was possibly of high rank," Kal suggested, but he seemed unsure.
Adopted? My mother had made a deal with a demon and in doing so gave life to Harlen and I. I was about to state the real reason why I had tapped into my abilities recently, but decided against it. Instead I said, "I'm not adopted."
Kal just shrugged. "Whatever you say. Anyway, I'll be right back - gotta pee."
I waited by the car and took a deep breath before I reached into my pocket for my phone. I cursed when I noticed that Roland had tried calling me. Before I could call him, I heard commotion somewhere beyond the trees. I quickly shoved my phone back in my pocket and moved away from the car just as Kal barreled through the treeline toward me.
"I'm bringing him to you for fun!" He yelled.
"Wait, what?" I asked. Kal came to crouch beside me, his eyes still trained on the trees. I followed his gaze, and for a brief moment I didn't see anything. The light above the car flickered slightly, but that was enough for me to see movement between the trees.
Then, the figure moved, and this time the light stayed on long enough for me to make out the large canine silhouette. Slowly, the beast lifted itself onto its hind legs.
"Hey, Gavin," Kal hissed at me. "Maybe you can tell your wolfy friend I mean you no harm."
I gaped. "What do you mean my-oh," I turned my gaze back to Roland just as he stalked toward us, fangs bared. "Oh shit."
Roland had found me, and he was furious.

STORY TIME: So there I am attempting an Impossible Operation to unlock Helldive difficulty. I’ve been there before. Multiple failed attempts. Failed missions, dropped helldivers, frozen games in the middle of the big final battle. I’d seen it all and knew this chance could be no different. So I started with the wave assault mission. If the team can survive that then objective missions should be a peice of cake. And lo and behold we do. It’s me(29) a couple mid 30s and a 40. We’ve all seen it and we know what to do. Like a well oiled machine we breeze through the wave mission with some fine mortar skills. Not all of us make it back but the surviving members celebrate the fallen. Next up the escort mission. Not as bad as the wave mission since the patch, we still prepare for the worst and honestly we get it. Flying bots, tank bots, the whole 9 yards but somehow by working together we push the bots back from the area and get all the scientists out. Then it’s to extraction, and the bots keep pushing. With the automatons closing in we, all 4, make it on pelican destined for the destroyer. The pelican takes off and into the atmosphere! Success! And then stillness……..my desktop appears. NOOOO! My well oiled machine of helldivers has been shot out of the sky by a computer crash. Then panic sets in: did the network register my mission complete or must I attempt the mission again!? Setting me back another 40Minutes! I quickly jump back in to find the mission: complete. Some good news after such a tragic loss. I still have 1 mission left to complete the operation. Upload Data Mission. The easiest of them all. I must hope that I get some good reinforcements. I lock in the mission and head to my stratagems. A helldivers joins my squad- then immediately leaves. Ok I may be on my own so I’m going full stealth. Anti-material rifle, jet pack, I’ve got an orbital Laser, and a 500kg bomb. Plus free EATs. I drop in and I shit you not ladies and gentlemen I soloed that whole impossible mission. It was the coolest fucking game I’ve ever played of Helldivers 2. I felt like such a badass James Bond/Ethan Hunt motherfucker. I was crawling under gun turrets, crawling past patrols, sneaking to operate terminals. 11/10, would do again!
Authors Note: Feel free to disagree with my mission difficulty rankings in the comments. lol I ain’t good yet

Funk
https://www.instagram.com/reels/audio/394640210054895/
It's an Instagram audio. I know I shouldn't have it here I am sorry for bothering yall it's prolly a peice of cake for yall but I can't find it. Thanks for understanding.

What is your experience running B2B marketing ads on facebook. Lately I have been getting is it only me feeling as the CPM and CPC have rised way too high. Though while running for B2C it looked like a peice of cake. Any suggestions?

Hey I'm a dillema where I feel like the best decision for me is to do a bachelor's in engineering again but in a domain i thought of doing for masters(Computer Science) , i am currently on the verge of completing my BE degree in electronics instrumentation at India at a tier B college.
When applying for A masters in CS and I am required to pick a niche specialision in a particular subject, my profile isn't built for that I will find it hard to justify for a specific field under CS. That mostly stems from the fact that I am interested in learning all fields under CS, to make a better choice and build a better profile in the future. My current degree has covered a part of the fields ,but not all. I am in a dilemma where I feel like applying for a BE/BS IN computer science might be the best choice as it covers the basic of all the fields I want to know more about.
Little a bit my I'm currently in my last semester interning at Bosch as a mobility software developer, and love being a student, and don't believe my current uni was a waste of my time as I was never challenged and my competition was too easy and didn't care too much as succeeding was a peice of cake.After highschool i was clueless as to what degree I wanted to pursue, but now I feel like I have a better idea.
Questions I have: 1. Is this a good idea?? 2.Should i continue preparation for my GRE? 3.Will i even need to write undergrad exams , considering i alr have a degree 4.Any advice pertaining or your stories will help :)

EDIT: this is a shitpost
The Blue Album - none / Say it Ain't So
Pinketon - none / The Good Life
The Green Album - Crab / Island in the Sun
Maladoit - Love Explosion / Keep Fishin' or Burdnt Jamb
Make Beleve - Beverly Hills or We Are All on Drugs / Perfect Situation
The Red Album: Thought I Knew / Pork and Beans
Ratitude: Can't Stop Partying / I Want You To
Harley: Smart Girls / Unspoken
Everything Will Be Alright The End - none / all of them pretty much
The White Albujm: none / Calfiornia Kid
Pacific daydream - Feels Like Summer / none
The Teal Album - all of them pretty much / none
The Black Album - Peice of Cake / High as A kkite
Okay Human - Everything Happens for a Reason / basically the rest
Van Weezr - All the Good Ones / none

BBRAN Season 1-Las Vegas
Season- https://brantsteele.com/bigbrothetemplate/r.php?c=bgCGRkQL
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Intros!
Yusaku-Yusaku may be the first Yu-Gi-Oh! protagonist who is an anti-hero. He is not a bad person, but he can appear cold and apathetic. He is shown to be intelligent and clever, but also calculating, standoffish, reserved, and somewhat anti-social. He prefers to distance himself from others and doesn't usually interact with people. With a game to be played will he be able to overcome his challenges and win Big Brother? u/Potential-Stock8986
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Kouta-Kota is an earnest and cheerful yet naïve and short-sighted young adult who wants to help others, but sometimes ends up causing more trouble than good. He is another one with quite a horrible past and life long trauma. But with a lot to fight for and a title of winner, can he show us what it takes to win Big Brother? u/Potential-Stock8986
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Squiddly- Squiddly is an upbeat octopus who owns a music. Squiddly is very musically inclined, she's shown to have a very high intellect. She can sing and is very popular on social media. She owns a music store in Jellystone and likes starting fashion trends. With clear social skills and passion for music, does she have the skills to lie and scheme on Big Brother? u/Potential-Stock8986
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Käärijä- Käärijä, is a Finnish rapper, singer and songwriter. He represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with the song "Cha Cha Cha", placing second. He clearly has skill in what he does on stage. But does he have the skill to take on 13 other houseguests and win Big Brother? u/Username8888888_
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Tito- Tito Dick is a very manipulative prick who who is always an asshole to his nephews and is overall a huge jerk. He might not be liked because of his manipulative tendencies but in Big Brother that could be his key to victory. u/Username8888888_
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Jane- Jane is a confusing one to say the least, she has choices made in her life that constantly change things and must adapt to them. With a lot of people disliking her and a lot of people liking her. She may have a hard time or a easy time trying to win Big Brother! u/Username8888888_
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Nala- Nala is the queen of the Pridelands within the African Savannah. She is a reserved and wise ruler, showing bits of persistence and even aggression if she ever feels it necessary to get her point across. She is loyal to those she trusts and will stick by them if she feels they are making the right choices, and is quite strong in both mental and physical challenges if ever required. But Is Nala gonna win Big Brother? u/LeapBlock
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Cake- Cake is a chocolate piece of cake from the land of Goiky. He has a single father, and is very easily emotional, with a heavy reliance on his friends or family. He, however, wants to be able to learn how to compete and think for himself. With a legacy to begin, will he be able to beat the odds and win Big Brother? u/LeapBlock
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Sydney- Sidney is a survivor of a cartoonish amount of multiple murder attempts by killers who disguise themselves as the infamous ‘Ghost Face'. Throughout all of her experiences, she has been able to prove her cunningness, strategic mind, and physical strength, making her well prepared for any fight she is up against. She is loyal, however, if suspicious, she will turn on the ones who wronged her if it benefits her or the people she’s loyal with. Her main problem however, is her threat level management, as once she starts proving her skills, there’s practically no stopping her. u/LeapBlock
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Hunter- Hunter is known more as a liability to a lot of people. People also think he's not the brightest, but he actually hides that he's smart to avoid any suspicious activity. He joins these types of shows for one thing only and it's obvious what he wants... But will his wants, get in the way of him winning Big Brother? u/IdkWhatToDoHere-
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Harold- Harold is a master prankster. but most of the time is caught. He mostly hangs out with his buddy George. And overall a funny guy. He's also here to stop anything as he also caused captain underpants to be created in the first place. Now he's here for the jokes and laughs... Will he entertain us all the way to the end? u/IdkWhatToDoHere-
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Sabrina- Sabrina is an American singer and actress , She has been on eveything from Disney to comedies to selling out stadiums of people listening to her music. She is clearly successful at every corner... Will she be able to do the same on Big Brother? u/Ferro_LedStreet
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Julia- At first glance, Julia is a serene, friendly and charming modern social media influencer. She exhibits excellent composure even in life-or-death situations. Julia conceals a hidden nature that is marked by rudeness, proving herself to be backstabbing, selfish, vicious, short-tempered and attention-seeking. With a huge personality and a urge to win... how will she last? u/Nahuelfire39
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Amber- Amber is not your model rabbit nobility. Well, she is, but she also isn't. Socialite, intelligent, industrious, curious, she ticks all the boxes. Problem is, that last one - curious... Will this curious rabbit hop its way to a win or stumble out of the Big Brother house? u/BigTeddyBear20
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Welcome to BBRAN Las Vegas! Where 14 people will be clashing it out in Las Vegas the home of luck and gambling and we got just the group to put to the test and experiment as they play the game and at the end of it only 1 of these fine houseguests will win 500,000$ and the title as winner of Big Brother.
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Week 1-
The 14 houseguests enter the house, and all sit down in the living room and start introducing themselves. Sabrina gets a confessional a quick confessional talking about how crazy it's seeing a walking piece of cake with a face. The HoH suddenly starts with everyone running to the backyard. everyone gets on a pole and hold a kite in the air and keep themselves from crushing their sandcastles. Tito talks about how random the challenge was and says it was dumb as fuck. The winner is... Cake! Amber was super close, but Cake was used to weird challenges. After the challenge, everyone goes and starts packing, Yusaku tells Amber she did super good in the challenge and would like to work with her. Amber agrees and is willing to work with him. Kouta is quick to talk with Cake about making a final 2, Cake likes all the attention and agrees to it. The nomination ceremony begins, Cake nominates... Julia and Harold. Mostly because he gets bad vibes from Julia and Harold is too likeable. Harold instantly goes to who he feels closest too, which is Käärijä and Squiddly and he forms a alliance and calls it Bomb Squad! They agree to work with him and try and save him. Sydney has a confessional about how she is gonna try and find who the threats are... then take them all out.
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The Veto challenge begins, The HoH, Nominees and Hunter, Amber and Kota chosen at random will compete for the PoV. They all walk out and see tons of random objects sectioned in numbers and all are told to remember them. We will ask a question about a item and give a number... If you think you know it. You can bet, if you don't or are the furthest. You are out. The winner is... Cake! Harold was super close but just didn't get it. Kota notices Jane and Nala talking after the challenge ends and tells Cake to follow. Kota offers a alliance and they all agree calling it In The Jungle. Squiddly quickly tries to gather votes to save Harold and people are considering her loyal. Tito is really getting annoyed by everyone and just can't quite fit in with the group. The Veto ceremony, begins and Cake doesn't use the veto. Hunter gets a confessional about how he wasn't expecting all these crazy contestants and can't really go in with the same strategy he had which was to be "The Player" like always. The live vote and eviction begins... and by a vote of 8 to 3. Julia, you have been evicted from the Big Brother house. Please grab your things, say goodbye and leave quickly. Julia leaves a little sad, that she couldn't get more time to stir the pot but leaves calmly.
Week 2 -
The Remaining 13 houseguests all are still getting along pretty well, nobody has caused drama yet... will that change on Big Brother? The HoH challenge is quickly shown beginning... The houseguests must grab a scoop of laundry detergent and bring it across a slippery floor to fill up a bowl and retrieve the ball will be the HoH. The winner is...Yusaku! Tito got 2nd because he fell right when he had the last scoop several times and is shown on a reloop falling. In confessional he calls the challenge bullshit and stupid again. Harold tells Yusaku that Jane is a bit weird and might have to go up. Yusaku is noticing several bigger targets he might want to take out. The nomination ceremony begins, Yasaku nominates... Harold and Kota. Mentioning that Cake was right, and Harold is too likeable and decent at challenges. Kota is clearly one of the biggest threats because he is in most people's ears. Kota is a bit upset that he is already considered a threat but just goes to his allies and begs. Amber tells Yusaku that he just made a big move and that might split the house up.
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The Veto challenges begins The HoH, Nominees and Squiddly, Tito and Jane will compete. The houseguests must dig through mud to get ballots and bring them back to their station for a certain amount of points, the houseguest with the most will win. The winner is... Kota! Yusaku really wanted to win, so his nominees would stay they same. Squiddly is once again upset at Harold going up and is fighting just as hard to keep him in. Cake is a bit scared that he will go up as a replacement, Kota is kind of worried of the same thing. The veto ceremony begins, Kota uses it on himself and Yusaku puts Jane up mentioning how Harold called her creepy trying to paint a target on his back. Sabrina is a bit shocked at how crazy everyone is playing and is glad to be in the middle of it all. Nala is trying to campain for Jane to stay because she is her closest ally. The live vote and eviction begins, by a vote of 8 to 2. Harold, you have been evicted from the Big Brother house. Please grab your things, say goodbyes and leave quickly. He leaves kind of annoyed but understands that he got played and leaves. Harold wishes he hadn't been up against Jane who wasn't really doing much, or he might have survived.
Week 3 -
With a big personality gone and several people making huge moves, 12 people remaining and 1 more has to go... Find out who on Big Brother! The HoH challenge begins, Everyone will roll under a wooden pole into syrup and find donuts, when they do. They will bring them back into their side and win the HoH. Several people get stuck in the syrup and making awful noises and Tito is constantly cussing, Cake is kind of enjoying it and The animals are getting through good. Sabrina finds all the hard spots and wins HoH. After last week Kota tries to talk to everyone and prove he is just gonna be loyal. Sabrina doesn't have many connections, so she decides if she wants to play safe or take a threat out. The HoH Ceremony Begins, Tito and Cake. She sees Cake as a clear threat at challenges and Tito is just getting annoying. Yusaku tells Sabrina if someone comes off then Squiddly should go off, she is giving him bad vibes. Sabrina says she will consider it. Yusaku soonly goes and talks to Squiddly just incase the worst case comes. They end up bonding and Yusaku feels a little guilty but he knows it's only a game.
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The Veto challenges begins, The HoH, nominees and Nala, Jane and Squiddly will compete for this. The are in a poker table and they are given a truth and lie token and the people will take turns trying to pick the truth tellers from the liars. If you guess a liar is true, you lose a point if you are correct, you gain a point. The winner is... Squiddly! Sabrina was close but didn't wanna become too much of a threat. Squiddly tells Käärijä that she is gonna use the veto on Cake and he agrees that it's a good idea. The Veto ceremony begins, Squiddly uses the Veto on Cake and Sabrina replaced him with...Käärijä! Squiddly is shocked but still thinks Tito is going. Hunter trust Kota and tells him that he really dislikes all the weirdo's in the house... Like a peice of cake or a rabbit... Kota tells him that he should be quiet trying to be kind. Hunter didn't like that and continues, Amber hears him and goes and tells Yasaku. The live vote and evictio begins, by a vote of... 7 to 2. Tito, you have evicted from the Big Brother house. Please grab your things, say goodbye and leave quickly. The grabs his bags and leaves the house without saying a word. Everyone feels a bit tense. Tito tells everyone on the show they can fuck themselves!
Week 4 -
The 11 remaining houseguests are still tense after last vote and many people having targets on their back, find out who leaves next on BIG BROTHER! everyone heads into the backyard for the HoH challenge and their are disco balls hanging from the ceiling, everyone will hold on to them while they spin, last one standing wins HoH. Cake tries to act like these challenges are hard and throws it. The winner is Hunter! Kota just about to win but gets thrown off. Cake realizes how big of a threat Hunter is and declares him as his next target. The Hoh ceremony begins, Hunter nominates Nala and Amber because of his dislike towards them. Sydney has been voted to do a task and win a cash prize. She has to do a puzzle in under a minute and completes it getting everyone 2,000$! Yusaku tells everyone that voting Amber would be a bad idea.
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The Veto challenge begins, Kota, Sabrina and Squiddly where chosen randomly to compete with the HoH and Nominees. There are food items inside of a bowl of slime, they must dig it out and put them on a menu board. The person with the best menu board will win the Veto. The winner is...Squiddly! Nala just about to win but doesn't have as good of food items. Cake is considering voting Nala if he has too because he has a decent connection with both. Sydney has a confessional about how several people like Käärijä and Jane are barely talking and kind of confused. The veto ceremony begins and Squiddly doesn't use the veto, not want Käärijä to go up again. Amber and Nala both have last minute scrambles for votes. The live vote and eviction begins... by a vote of 5 to 3. Amber you have been evicted from the Big Brother house. Please grab your things, say goodbye and leave quickly. Yusaku is a bit shocked but mainly sad to see his ally go so soon. Amber kindly hugs everyone and leaves the house.
Week 5 -
With 10 people remaining and people being blindsided by last vote. How will everyone get along this week in Big Brother? Everyone heads to the backyard for the HoH, They must go into a tub of water and slowly get disgusting things poured on them and last person standing wins. Yusaku denies to do it and sits out over on the side without ever getting in the tub, bitter about last vote. The winner is... Jane! Sydney trying to win but didn't wanna ruin her hair forever with certain items so doesn't win. Jane talks about how she was laying low and really only talked to her alliance as in Kota, Nala and Cake. The Nomination ceremony begins, Jane nominates Hunter and Yusaku. One for being a obvious threat and not really the nicest. One for not attempting the HoH challenge. Squiddly is starting to find her ally Käärijä creepy because of how energetic he is.
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The Veto challenge begins, Kota, Sydney and Nala are chosen to compete in the veto with the Hoh and Nominees. the challenge begins One at a time everybody will be put on a chair and must decide which 2 faces are being morphed into 1. The faces will be of houseguests. THe winner is...Yusaku! Hunter just getting 1 wrong and losing it. Yusaku tells everyone to suck it after calling him a quitter and Nala makes a bad joking revolving that. Everyone is kind of concerned and walks away from the awkwardness. The veto ceremony begins, Yusaku saves himself and Jane replaces him with...Käärijä. Claiming that he is a clearly likeable person and a very big personality. Squiddly wont give up on her ally even though he is a bit weird and energetic. Hunter tries to get people to vote for him to stay. The live vote and eviction begins, by a vote of... 5 to 2. Hunter you have been evicted from the Big brother house. Please grab your things, say goodbye and leave quickly. He leaves without saying bye to anyone but people are not as tense this time.
Week 6 -
With the Jury starting and only having a single digit number of players, how will things heat up in the Big Brother house. The HoH challenge begins, everyone walks out into the backyard, There is a balance beam across from each contestant is 6 kegs, they must balance and carry around 25% of their body weight to keep it fair. The winner is...Kota! Yasuka almost wins but Kota is a bit faster to the catch. Sabrina tries to paint a big target on peoples back by making a sign that says, "Kota is a snake and has 2 alliances, I am in" and posts it in the bathroom, so eventually someone is gonna see it. Kota notices it... but it doesn't affect his nominees. At the nomination ceremony, Kota nominates...Yusaku and Sabrina mostly for being big threats. Nala loses trust in her alliance after the stuff about Kota being leaked and leaves their alliance.
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The Veto challenge begins, Cake, Sydney and Squiddly are chosen by random to compete with the HoH and Nominees. Everyone must race across pond with lily pads but... your feet are gonna be tied together. Cake pretends to instantly fall and everyone gets a laugh out of it. The winner is...Squiddly for the 3rd time! Sydney was close but Squiddly was pretty dominant. Jane and Cake are kind of being seen together a lot and it's painting them as a duo or final 2 to everyone. The veto ceremony begins, Squiddly doesn't use the veto claiming they are both threats and good luck. Sydney talks about how Käärijä doesn't seem trustworthy just by how much he talks to everyone. The live vote and eviction begins, by a vote of... 4 to 2. Sabrina, you have been evicted from the Big Brother house. Please grab your things, say goodbye and leave quickly. She tells everyone that she wrote the note that was outside the stall, and it was true and the alliance contains Ice cream and Jane probably too then leaves. Everyone is quite literally speechless, several people trying to do damage control.
Week 7 -
With a threat out and a big personality off the board and people being exposed... with only 8 people... there is no where to hide. What will happen this week on Big Brother!? The HoH challenge begins, everyone heads to the backyard. Everyone will be held at a 20 foot ledge and will have to sit their and hold themselves up, once they lose grip, they will drop about 15 feet. Käärijä tells everyone he is afraid of heights and instantly bows out of this challenge. Squiddly mention how exicting some of the challenges. The winner is...Yusaku! Sydney getting 2nd again and tries to act like it doesn't hurt. Käärijä and Nala both tell Yusaku that the other would be a good nominee. Yusaku has a good idea on who he wants to put up. The nomination ceremony begins, Yusaku nominates... Kota and Nala. Käärijä is pretty happy that his word was listened to. Yusaku mentions how Kota put him up and Nala is a good pawn. Squiddly stops worrying about others this season and finally wants to worry about herself making it to the end and winning, meaning she leaves Käärijä alone.
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The Veto challenge begins, OTEV is a classic on American Big Brother and we had to replicate it, Sydney, Squiddly and Jane, HoH and Nominees are competing and everyone will sit on wheel. On Go... Otev will spin the wheel beneath you and you will have to go find and grab the item that is asked for. Last one to make it or if it's wrong, you are out...Squiddly and Jane are in the last 2 and they are asked for a pair of teeth and go out and Jane brings it back and wins the Veto. Jane is given a confessional talking about how she only wins when needed. She needs to save a ally and not get renominated, so she pulls through and wins the veto. The veto ceremony begins, Jane says Kota because of the rumors that are going around and doesn't wanna seem like a snake. Yusaku replaces him with... Käärijä. Yusaku mentioning that they were after eachother and it's only fit. Nala takes some time in these next few days to collect herself and ends up crying because of the stress and paranoia.The live vote and eviction begins, by a vote of... 3 to 2. Nala, you have been evicted from the Big Brother house. Please grab your things, say goodbye and leave quickly. She gives everyone a hug and leaves in a better mood than earlier getting to finally be out of that house.
Week 8 -
With a lucky number of houseguests left and a queen leaving the house, how will the rest play of them do...Find out on Big Brother! The HoH begins, Everyone will be asked a true of false question, if you answer right, you get a point and if you don't get it right. Then you will get no points, The winner is...Käärijä! Squiddly just getting 2nd trying to beat her former ally but just loses. Käärijä has a confessional about finally having power and is ready to make a big move. The nomination ceremony begins, Sydney and Squiddly calling Sydney a pawn and Squiddly a threat... nothing personal. Yasaku wants to take all the floaters out so he isn't unreasonable to keep in.
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The Veto challenge begins, Everyone heads into the backyard, Kota, Yasuka and Cake as well as HoH and Nominees will compete... There is a tower of 8 faces of the voted out houseguests, the person to get the eviction order and climb their tower and grab the key will win the HoH. The winner is...Kota! Cake getting 2nd but didn't pay too much attention. Yasuka puts on a peice of paper in the kitchen that says "Sydney was apart of it" and everyone sees it and starts pointing fingers. The veto ceremony begins Kota, saves Sydney not liking that she was getting outed and is replace with Jane. Käärijä has a small push to tell everyone to vote Squiddly but didn't really need it, as Jane is in a alliance. The live vote and eviction beings, by a vote of... 2 to 2... we have a tie. Käärijä please stand and choose to evict 1 of the Nominees. He chooses to evict his previous ally and new rival. Squiddly, you have been evicted from the Big Brother house. Please grab your things, say goodbye and leave quickly. She doens't hug everyone but thanks them and tells them good luck before leaving.
Week 9 -
More than halfway through the game and these 6 players are ready to continue on day 64 in the Big Brother house. The HoH challenge begins, Everyone will sit on a mechanical bull and it will go on and last one standing... but of course... that aint it. You are gonna be going right into Fish sauce, I know yummy! The winner is Yusaku determined to not get dirty, Cake was okay with getting dirty and ends up giving in and falling in and making a soy sauce cake. Sydney is getting super angry that she can't win a challenge and is noticably not happy. Yusaku doesn't wanna get rid of Sydney and would rather go for threats. The HoH ceremony begin and... Jane Kota is nominated. Cake gets a confessional about being worried that he could be a replacement nominee.
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The Veto challenge begins, Everyone will compete this time because of the lack of people. Everyone will start on different colored planets and must glide to the middle, grab the color assorted peices and put them together and the first person to do so wins the Veto. The winner is...Jane! Yusaku was super close but now worries about a replacement nominee... Sydney gets overheated by being last, Kota starts talking about being close and Sydney is mocking him visibly and Kota is a bit annoyed, Sydney ends up calling him annoying and Kota leaves and hopes that gets her put on the block. The veto ceremony begins, Jane uses the veto on herself, and the replacement is...Käärijä! Yusaku Thinking he is a big enough threat to go and would probably be happy to see the Jury. Jane is seeing a lot of liability from Sydney and doesn't wanna work with her anymore. The live vote and eviction begins and by a vote of...2 to 1. Käärijä, you have been evicted from the Big Brother house. Please grab your things, say goodbye and leave quickly. Käärija hugs people and wishes them all luck before leaving the house.
Week 10 -
With a huge threat gone and only 5 people remaining in this huge house... who will leave it next? Find out on Big Brother!!! The HoH begins, everyone has a mirror and using the mirror, you must direct a ball out of a maze behind you. Once done... break the mirror and you win HoH. The winner is...Sydney! Kota gets 2nd not being able to do the maze quick enough. Cake and Kota are seen hanging out all the time. The Nomination ceremony begins, Sydney nominates Jane and Cake. Cake is too much of a social threat entirely... and Jane has done amazing in challenges to save herself. Kota wants to win so he can make sure that his plan happens tonight
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The Veto challenge begins, Everyone walks out and sees a stock market. The challenge is to count the items and get the price for them and then do math when asked certain questions about. If you answer 1st you get a point, person wtih the most wins. The winner is...Kota! Yusaku realizes that he just probably lost the game and gets a bit morally defeated, The Veto ceremony begins expecting him to use it on Cake and he doesn't use it. Yusaku is so happy and everyone else is shocked... Kota tries to reamend both relationships in case the worst happens. The live vote and eviction begins, by a vote of... 1 to 1 we have a tie. Sydney please stand and evict 1 of the Nominees. She chooses...Cake! saying he is too good. Cake, you have been evicted from the Big Brother house, please pack your things, say goodbye and leave quickly. He has a good laugh with everyone and hugs them before leaving.
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Week 11 -
What will the remaining 4 houseguest do now... all of these players are legends now. Find out who goes home next on Big Brother!!!! The HoH begins, we are gonna do a previous challenge and ask questions before and after questions about house events and then reveal and the person with the most correct answers win. The winner is...Kota! Alliances are kind of over this late in the game and everyone has deals with everyone... it just matters who wins the Veto and who makes the decision. The Nomination ceremony begins, Kota nominates Yusaku and Sydney. Jane is super glad she got through last vote and is planning on staying even more quiet because she is the lowest threat right now and wants to keep it that way for right now.
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The Veto begins, everyone heads out into the backyard and see a black box, everyone is gonna be given a small light sorce and must hold it against a wall and once you find the word Veto on the wall, you win! The person who finds it is...Kota! as he solidifies that. He feels glad that he got to control the week. Sydney goes up to him explaining how she needs the money to get her family and friends all safety and somewhere a killer couldn't get them and starts crying to add on to it, Kota feels bad and agreesto help her out. The veto ceremony begins and Kota uses the veto on Sydney and replace her with Jane. Sydney is in confessional shocked that it worked and is calling Kota a fool for ever giving her the power but is scared she can't beat Yusaku and Kota in the final 3 or 2. The Live vote and eviction begins, Sydney please stand and vote for 1 of the Nominees to leave again. She chooses... Yusaku. Yusaku, you have been evicted from the Big Brother house. Please grab your things, say goodbye and leave quickly. Yusaku kindly congratulates them on final 3 and leaves the house.
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The Final 3 -
Who will win the Final HoH and who will declare who sits next to them in the BIG BROTHER FINALE!!! Everyone is a bit scared for the final challenges in this game, Jane... the quiet and sneaky type player who was always behind the scenes but never in front of the light. Kota... has been pulling most the strategic game this season and with 6 challenge wins coming in the final 3, he is clearly a threat to win. Sydney... She didn't get her footing in the first half of the game but has had a strong second half coming off with a lot of personality and eventually winning a challenge.
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The 1st challenge begins of the night, Everyone heads out and sees fishing hooks going up and down. Everyone must hold on and show their endurance to win the first half. Sydney falls first because she doesn't think she stands a chance against Kota but Jane stays and fights eventually Kota gets to nauseous and gets off the hook making Jane the winner!!! Everyone heads back in and congratulate Jane and get ready for the next challenge.
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The 2nd challenge begins, This is a puzzle/memory challenge, you must remember all the final nominees in a week and who was gone. Once you have gotten all of that right. You will move onto the 3rd challenge and fight to be the final HoH. Kota gets a good start remember most of the people he voted out and blindsided but ends up failing at the end to which Sydney copies his first part and finishes the 2nd part. Making Sydney the winner of the challenge. Kota congratulates her but is secretly screaming in his head right now.
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The 3rd challenge begins, This challenge is about knowing the jury members... they will be asked 5 questions and you will guess who answers, if you are correct. You get a point. person with the most points win the final HoH. Jane scores point 1 about Cake being on another show. Sydney scores point 2 about Sabrina being a actor, Sydney gets point 3 about Käärija being on eurovision and Sydney scores point 4 for guessing that Squiddly made music before Jane and Sydney is the Final HoH!
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Kota and Jane both spend their night trying to convince Sydney to bring them, The live vote and eviction begins... Sydney stands for the 3rd night in a row and decides who leaves the house. She chooses... Jane to be evicted mentioning that they barely talked.
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The Finale -
Both of the finalist stand before the Jury and are asked to give speeches
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Kota- I deserve to win because I performed better on the challenges, I won 6 overall challenges, I had a better social game, and I survived despite being nominated 4 times.
I controlled most the social game and made the best moves I could make, People started spreading papers around me and nobody believed them, that is how good I was at playing this game.
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Sydney-I deserve to win because I played a more loyal game, I had a better strategic game, and I did not receive a vote the entire game. Sydney mentions that the same thing happened to her and people spread rumors about her. She mentioned that acting and being a survivor naturally came into major use here and is glad she played the way she did.
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The Jury all ask their questions respectfully and then all sit back down and go and cast their votes for a winner.
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Sabrina's Vote-Sydney
Nala's Vote-Kota
Squiddly's Vote-Sydney
Käärijä's Vote-Kota
Cake's Vote-Kota
Yusaku's Vote-Kota
Jane's Vote-Kota
THE WINNER OF BIG BROTHER LAS VEGAS IS Kouta Kazuraba
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Reunion/Awards/Titles-
Winner -Kota
Runner-Up -Sydney
Fan Favorite -Käärijä
Comments Favorite (To Be Decided)
Host Favorite -Sabrina
Player Of The Season -Kota
Most Robbed -Jane
Biggest Hero -Squiddly
Biggest villain -Yusaku
Biggest Underdog -Yusaku
Most Entertaining -Cake
Best Duo -Cake and Kota
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All Stars -Kota, Sydney, Yusaku, Squiddly
Other Returning Seasons -Sabrina, Cake, Jane, Käärijä, Harold and Amber
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My Thoughts- This season was very good, gave me a lot to work with writing wise, not going to act like my writing is top tier because it sucked this time around but I tried my best. Give any tips to me, I take criticism pretty calmly. I really enjoyed the winner, probably 1 of the most dominant winners I have have written ever and everyone carried their weight. Have a good day!!! =))
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Also vote for a Favorite and this will be edited and the Comments favorite will be decided

I saw someone doing this for the American version and I thought, having gone to six tapings in the past, I give some BTS details from all that I've seen! 👀
1) Peice of Cake had to re-start their performance because one of the props fell down 2) Every group performance I've seen has been filmed twice, they select the best bits of each/use the best take from the two 3) Rubbishs' intro was filmed before anything else in Season 4 4) In finale duets, they do the performances and then the duet-partner unmaskings way later on. 5) Maypole's performance was the first thing filmed in the Quarterfinals. Before intro, clues etc. 6) Rat and Dippy Egg's performance order was switched in Season 5 Episode 3. You can clearly see that when Jonathan says "that was a great start to the show", it is edited into place. 7) Astronaut had to be slowly raised to the ceiling in Dancer, it was very fun to watch. 8) Rita goes on her phone.. a LOT during tapings. 9) The panel talk for MUCH longer after performances then you see. It's only like 5 minutes in the show, but in reality it is like 15 minutes and can really drag on. 10) They actually do have performance recaps for the audience in the tapings! I don't know how they manage to put the shots together so quickly, but it is helpful to see all the performances before you vote.
Oh, and speaking of votes.. if it isn't common knowledge already, those phones do not exist. You vote on a black voting pad.
They also switch groups often, for instance I went to Group B of Dancer and it turned out to be A, Season 4 Group A was originally B, and Season 5's B turned out to be A.
Ah, and they also give out rewards to the audience! Normally it can be quite embarrassing to get one, but I've got a poster signed by all 4 judges (including olly, not rita) from Circus Night.

There was a party in some library and it looked like an event. There was a cake which had a 50 year old sign stuck to it. So someone is celebrating their 50th birthday at a library. That's not so bad actually libraries can be amazing places, and because there were so many people, I just crashed it and started eating the snakes. There were a lot of folks here in their 50s. I saw another guy who had also crashed the party and he started handing out letters to the women in the party. These letters were for the fine looking 50 year old women at the party.
"You are so fine here is a letter for you"
"Oh hello pretty you are also fine, here is a letter for you"
And he kept saying this to loads of women. Then when those women who had received those you are so fine letters, they became extremely angry when they found out that the you are so fine letter, were just parking fines which the guy had received by illegally parking in multiple car parks. Do you get the humorous side of it though? You are so fine but it is actually a fine. I had a little laugh at that.
Any how I was trying to look for the 50 year old whose birthday it was. I couldn't find it and that cake was looking so lovely. I was feeling the need to eat especially after a gym work out. Also I have got to say again that having a birthday at a library is actually really pleasant. I never thought of having a birthday at a library, but now I might do my own birthday at a library. That cake was looking more delicious as I was so hungry. I love cake.
There was no one else at the library today apart from this party. Well it was a Sunday and this library is usually closed on a Sunday. I decided to go for the cake secretly and I discreetly cut a piece of the cake. I ate it and the instant pleasure was followed by something worrying. My tummy was rumbling and someone from the party who saw me struggling told me "you know that cake is 50 years old and it's not a cake, it's alive it's a creature that looks like cake"
"Security how did this guy get in!" Someone shouted at the lazy security. I could feel something moving in my tummy and tentacles came out of my mouth, and the peice of supposed cake that I had eaten, had come out of me and went back into the cake.
I was rightfully kicked out.