In the small town of Ashford, nestled deep in the mountains, there was a legend that the locals spoke of in hushed tones. It was said that HIM, a malevolent entity, roamed the surrounding forests, preying on those who dared venture too far from the safety of their homes.
Caden Moran was a skeptic. As a reporter for the town's small newspaper, he prided himself on debunking myths and legends. So when he heard about HIM, he decided to investigate, convinced that there was a logical explanation behind the fear.
One autumn evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, Caden set out for the forest with his camera and notebook. The air grew colder, and a thick fog rolled in, shrouding the trees in an ethereal mist. Despite the growing unease in his gut, Caden pressed on, determined to uncover the truth.
As he walked deeper into the woods, he stumbled upon an old, abandoned cabin. It looked like it had been left untouched for decades, its wooden beams rotting and ivy creeping up its sides. Intrigued, Caden decided to explore inside.
The cabin's interior was dark, illuminated only by the weak beam of his flashlight. Dust particles danced in the air, and the floor creaked under his weight. In the center of the single room stood a table with a strange, ancient book resting on it. The cover was made of a leathery material that sent a shiver down his spine.
Caden opened the book and began to flip through its pages. They were filled with bizarre symbols and unsettling drawings of shadowy figures. One drawing, in particular, caught his eye—a tall, shadowy figure with eyes like burning embers. Beneath it was a single word: HIM.
A sudden chill filled the room. The temperature dropped rapidly, and the flashlight flickered before going out completely. Caden's breath came in visible puffs as he fumbled in the darkness. The air felt heavy, oppressive, as if something unseen was pressing down on him.
A whisper, barely audible at first, echoed around him. It grew louder, forming words that sent a jolt of terror through him.
"You should not have come here."
Heart pounding, Caden spun around, trying to locate the source of the voice. The shadows in the room began to shift and merge, forming a figure that slowly took shape. It was HIM, exactly as depicted in the book, with eyes burning like coals in the darkness.
"Why have you summoned me?" the entity's voice boomed, resonating deep within Caden's bones.
"I didn't... I was just curious," Caden stammered, backing away slowly.
"Curiosity has a price," HIM hissed, stepping closer. "And now you must pay."
The shadows surged forward, engulfing Caden. His screams echoed through the cabin, but no one was around to hear them. The next morning, the townspeople found his camera and notebook near the old cabin, but there was no sign of Caden Moran.
The townspeople spoke of his disappearance in hushed tones, a chilling reminder of the power of HIM. And on foggy nights, when the wind howled through the trees, they could sometimes hear Caden's anguished cries, a ghostly warning to all who dared to venture too far into the forest.
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The voices mingled around me. Some loud, some soft, some weeping while others waited in stoic silence. The lodge anxiously waiting as the last rays of sunlight flit through the bay window. The wall of stacked cars and stone lights up like fairy lights upon a wall, revealing the weaknesses of our fragile defenses. And beyond the glass stood thousands of faces, watching the last rays of light sink beyond the horizon, beyond the walls that we called hope.
The room grew quiet. A whimper was stifled from the wall as the sun gave way to the stars. Their light poking holes in the sky like the sun had revealed our defenses flaws. A flask popped open followed by several large gulps. I can't fault you. The sword on my back grows warm and her hand touches my arm. Her long, blonde braid falls past her shoulder as she turns to me. To look at me and see me. Gosh, how can she know me so well. Her hand slides down my arm and into my shaking hand.
She brings it to her lips and tenderly kisses my knuckles, even the sunken ones. "The sun has surrendered," and pulls my hand to her chest, "you are now the light that must lead us, my love."
Her fingers interlace with mine, stealing the tremble hidden upon their tips with a squeeze. That tremble climbing up my arm to escape out of my lungs at my next breath. "We can only be hammered for so long before we have to be quenched, I guess." A small, but playfull smile breaks her somber face. She pulls me closer to her and presses her forhead to mine. In that small moment, the heat of her breath, the scent of her; from the moment she held me and handed me the star blade to now, she has been my light.
A small and stifled sob escapes her lips, for as she has by my beacon, I have tried to be her anchor. In our journey these last years, she has loved and feared, celebrated and cried, and we have grown. "You must be light that leads us." Her tears stain the dark wood at our feet and the tremble in her body transfers to me in at the touch of our skin.
"I must and I will." Raising her hands to my lips, returning the tender kiss she gave to me.
Turning to face the table before me, only a few are looking at what had been a private moment between her and I. The rest continue to look to where the light once had been. The heat on my back beckoned me, telling me what to do. To touch the pommel of the sword like the Forever King had done before. It was swift, but the rush of power flooded me at the embrace of my palm around the hammered piece of metal.
"So the night comes and we are like fresh pieces of paper watching spilt ink spread before us."
Eyes turn to me. Hone in on me. While still holding her hand, I turn to the west and the setting sun.
"This night, this darkness has had a long time coming and now we finally face it." Pointing at the last rays of sunlight that fade into twilight. In those last remnants of light, I can see the heads of thousands look around. Some in fear and some in confusion. The power continues to flood my body and I let go of the pommel of my sword.
Marching away from the table and to the wooden door of the lodge, my voice carries. "This story that has held us in our youth, in our entertainment, has now filled our very lives." The door glides open and I stride out, marching towards the eastarn wall. A few eyes around the lodge turn towards me. My arms shake themselves out of habit, releasing tension stored within.
"Now we write the last chapters of this very war," the growl surprises me, as people step aside to let me through. There are few faces that I recognize, but the ones that I do now recognize the position I hold. The star blade upon my back now emiting a soft glow. "One more story to add to the eternal narative that is sung among the stars."
More eyes, more faces turn to me as my voice reaches out to the gathered forces within our last bastion. My path is set and made clear in the divide of the people around me. Leading me towards the wall; towards the erected tower with a emerald, green flag and shining white sword flying in the wind above it.
"So let out story be a ballad, instead of paper waiting for someone else to write upon." The sky grows ever darker, and the twilight that normally sits around quickly is swallowed up by the oncoming night. Someone rings a bell, the warning bell. A haunting gong that sends shivers up and down my spine. They're here. Panicked voices fills the edges of the field as the chiming rings across the fortress. Men and woman rush to the walls, some armed with modern weaponry. Others with forged ones taking positions up along the wall.
Each step I take closer to the wall, my voice gets a little louder. "Let us sing, let us sing the song of the free." The bell chimes and my footfalls sound like a drum in my ears. "Let us shout, let us shout the darkness, make it fear our coming death." I move and pull up someone who is kneeling on the ground, tears coating their cheeks.
"Arise, Arise!" My fist bangs upon my chest.
Marching up the crude steps into the tower, my fist hammers the wall to the beat of my heart. The stone walls echoing with my voice within but reverberating across the field outside. "If destruction be our lot, we ourselves must be its author and finisher."
The glow from my sword spreads out from around me, slowling lighting up the tower. And as I march out atop of the stone building, I gaze out towards the wave of darkness rushing towards us from the west. I can hear the snarls and roars of the curse frothing towards us. The voice of darkness spreaking its inky touch across the barren landscape beyond the walls not a few minutes away.
"So let this ballad be our last ballad that we spin." I reach for the hilt of my sword and look down at the forces defending the wall. There gaze is brief but I their eyes, and their fear. But I also see their hope. "As free men, as free woman," turning to face the forces spread out below in the fortress field before me. "By our song, we will live forever!" I rip the star blade from the half-sheath on my back. "Or die by our own hand." The light beams out towards the heavens above as my words echo across the land.
The roar spreads like fire, chasing away the shadow of fear. Spear and sword slap against shields, cracking rumbling among the men and woman. Some beat upon the stone and steal around them while others beat their chest. A vicious cry of defience, a thunderous song echoing in my heart and ears as I turned to face the darkness.
And she was there. Right behind me as I turned to face the forces marching toward us. Her hands glowing in radiance as her spells weaved around us, casting down pillars of light spread out across the wall. I raise my sword high and can feel the air around me turn static. Darkness now clashes with the light as the hordes of the enemy crash and climb upon the wall. "Our story, our ballad, shall forever sing among the stars." Guns and artillary begin to fire. "But we are the authors of light!"
With a swing of my sword, bolts of lightning fire down from gathered clouds in the sky at the base of the wall.
~~~~~
-- Story Originally posted as a Prompt Inspired --
-- Original Prompt by u/GeorgeWL --
-- [WP] If destruction be our lot, we ourselves must be its author and finisher. As a nation of free men, we will live forever, or die by our own hand. --

This is the first time I have written something of this length, and is more of an exercise in self-therapy than anything else. Disclaimer: This story contains conversations about child abuse. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy it.
Nathan’s number appeared on my phone screen. I debated whether or not to answer it. We hadn’t been on speaking terms for a while, and while we did keep in touch sporadically, it was usually because of important family issues. I didn’t know of anything happening with mom or dad, nor with Talia or Rio, so I let it go to voicemail. I could always call him back later. I placed the phone back in my pocket, and returned to cleaning my camera. The phone buzzed again. A text message came through. I read the preview line from the home screen. “The city declared eminent domain on the house” I unlocked my phone, read the full text message, and dialed my brother.
I wasn't able to get any closer to the house than a few blocks. Most of the area was blocked off with chain link fencing and construction equipment in preparation for the demolition that was supposed to take place within the coming days. The barriers didn’t prevent people from walking in to the neighborhood, but it hindered scrappers from coming in and stripping the houses of copper wiring and plumbing.
I grabbed my camera bag out of the trunk of my car along with my tripod. I shouldered it and hooked the tripod to my bag. I pulled my water bottle out of the center console and shut the door. I stood next to my car surveying the neighborhood. 12 city blocks of old single family homes comprised the neighborhood where I grew up. Some of the houses had been empty for months, others for years. There was an eerie silence that permeated the still air. I could not hear the familiar sounds of people, pets, or cars. I locked the car and put my keys in my pocket. I patted my jacket down to ensure I had what I needed. After a quick check, I started my walk.
The sidewalk of the old neighborhood streets still bore the familiar cracks and grind marks from years of buckling and remedy. Leaves dropped by the trees still lay scattered all along the pathways and sidewalk. Korina’s house was the first house I encountered as I made my way through a gap in the fence. The yard was overgrown with tall grass and thistle. I could see the faded blue paint of the old house contrasting the green and browns of the lawn. The chain link fence that marked off the corner property was nearly invisible through the thick brush. As I continued walking west towards 110th, I started to feel something was off. The streets seemed wider than I remembered. It took me longer than I’d like to admit, but eventually I realized what was different. There were no cars.
The streets here typically had cars lined bumper to bumper in any spot available, and were visible from block to block. The absence of all these vehicles made me realize just how deserted the neighborhood really was. House after house, yard after yard, the telltale signs of desertion reinforced what I could see from the moment I passed the construction fence: This was no longer my neighborhood. There were no signs of life, and no one I could expect to find still here. Abandonment was the new normal here. I continued on, glancing at houses and recalling memories of summer bike rides, and daily walks with dogs I used to have. I remembered walks home from school, and chasing after ice cream trucks when they passed our houses. I smiled a bit as I remembered more and more of my years spent here. I don’t quite know just why I was smiling. There were plenty of bad memories here too. Fights, yelling, being beat up, being robbed. I could remember failed friendships, lost loves, and bitter feelings of failures too.
Still, I felt a certain amount of nostalgia despite the weight of these negative feelings. I almost wanted to experience everything again, although I wasn't sure why I was feeling this way. Concrete, asphalt, billboards and liquor stores were the normal vistas of everyday life. Occasionally, after a good rainstorm, the grey haze of smog would lift, and the mountains would be visible to the north. At least, they would be visible until mid-morning when the exhaust from a million cars covered them behind a veil of pollution.
It wasn’t until the first time I travelled out of the city that I realized there was more to see. Traveling up the coast north along the Pacific Coast Highway introduced me to scenes of deep blue ocean water spanning the width of my vision. Driving up Highway 3 introduced me to the permeating scent of Pine and Fir trees. The two-lane stretch of highway from Portland to Tillamook introduced me to lush green forests that I had only ever read about. When I came home to the same old dirty, dusty concrete and boiling summer asphalt, I had made up my mind. I would do everything it took to leave this place. I would not spend another day longer than was necessary living in cramped quarters and fighting for parking space.
I arrived to the house, and paused at the gate. The house sat in contrast of what the rest of the neighborhood looked like. Instead of overgrown grass and tall weeds all over the place, the landscaping showed signs of relatively recent work. The guava tree in the front lawn still had some fruit ready to be picked, and the avocado tree on the other side of the pathway was still weighed down by its own fruit. Flowers still bloomed in the raised bed in front of the house. My brother had clearly tried to keep up on things until the last possible moment. The house, too, looked better than what I expected after walking up 4 blocks and seeing nothing but dilapidated houses and unkempt yards. I opened the gate and walked up to the small porch. The metal gate that enclosed it was gone having been removed by my brother when he took over the property. It looked nice to see it open instead of the cage it once felt like.
I turned the knob on the door, but it didn't give. Ever a creature of habit, my brother had locked the door when he left. Of course, he did. I sighed and prepared to find another way in when I remembered my parents hiding a spare key. I wasn’t sure if it would still be there, but after running my hands along the back side of the gutter downspout, I was rewarded for my efforts. I unlocked the front door and stepped into the front living room, the sounds of my footsteps and the closing door echoing in the empty space. The room felt both larger and smaller than I remembered it. I suppose it was lack of furniture that made it feel larger, but it still felt smaller than I remember. The result of growing taller throughout the years I suppose. I slowly walked along the slate tile floor towards the central hallway that connected the front of the house to the back bedrooms. I wasn't entirely sure that just because the front door was locked, that there wasn't some squatter looking for a little temporary shelter within the back rooms. I carefully and silently crept step by step towards what used to be the bedroom shared by my sister and me. I stuck my head in and gave the room a cursory glance. It was empty, thankfully. I moved back into the hallway and peered into the bedroom across the hall. This is where both of my brothers had shared a room. It too, was empty save for a few boxes holding hardware and doorknobs from the closet doors of the bedroom. I walked back towards the back of the house where my parent's bedroom was. The walls in the hallway bore the dusty signs where picture once hung. The bedroom door was open. I stepped inside, and looked around. The old avocado paint that my mom had picked out years ago still adorned the walls. Walking further towards the addition that was the small room my grandma and grandpa lived in showed that there was no one here. I breathed a sigh of relief as I set my bag down and set up my tripod. I reached into my bag a pulled out an envelope of old photos. These were old snapshots that we had all taken at some point in time in the house. There were pictures of all of us sitting at the dining room table playing a game of Monopoly. There was a picture of my brother and sister sitting on a couch in the front living room. There was a picture of me hanging on the bars of the front porch. I looked through them all and held them in place in front of me as if I were holding a window to the past.
Each picture made the lump in my throat grow as I started to struggle to control my emotions. There was history here, and soon it would all be gone. This is the place where my parents had raised four kids. They had taken care of my grandparents in their twilight years here. My Aunt and my grandmother had both died in this house. Birthdays, graduation parties, and anniversaries had been celebrated here. The echoes of life had reverberated within the walls of this place. Now, the house sat silent. It would never again know happy screams of kids having a water-balloon war out in the front yard, nor would it hear the cries of anguish as the matriarch of the family passed away surrounded by her family. What once was a home full of life was now just an empty house made of drywall and paint. I sat there for a moment contemplating just how much family history was actually made here. As I thought hard about my siblings and my parents, I felt pained at the thought of our strained relationships. We had all scattered once we had the opportunity to be free of each other. My oldest brother had married and moved away as soon as possible. My sister now lived in northern California. My parents too had moved away. I was now living in Utah. Only my older brother had remained behind. The lump grew larger in my throat as tears welled up in my eyes. I held back sobs of anger and pain. Why was I hurting? Hadn’t I dealt with these issues already? I walked back to my old bedroom and sat down under the window. I pulled my head down into my knees and cried. I could hear yelling and screaming in my head. Shouting matches between siblings and parents, brothers and sister, rattled inside my brain, making the pain grow. I sat there and cried. I hadn’t cried like this in a long time. Eventually I ran out of tears and tired gasps of sorrow and regret washed over me as a blanket of drowsiness enveloped me. I leaned my head back and fell asleep.
I woke up to the sound of footsteps. It took me a moment to realize what I was hearing and hurriedly stood up. Had someone followed me? I knew the police were patrolling the area sporadically. Had they seen me enter the house? I knew there would be a possibility of getting a trespassing citation, but I figured I could either talk my way out of it seeing as to how I was a former resident, or I could probably fight the citation in court if the judge knew why I was there in the first place. Ultimately, passing through the gate had been a calculated risk that I was willing to take for the sake of my art. I got up from my corner of the room and moved towards the door. If there was someone in the house, I needed to know. I didn’t want my gear to stolen, and if there was a cop in the house, I wanted to ensure I didn’t get shot.
I was greeted by the sight of a startled chubby boy standing on the other side of the door. His round cherubic face was crowned by a head of short curly hair. His hazel green eyes stared widely back at me. He clearly didn’t expect someone to be here in the house. His body recoiled in fear as he cowered back towards the hallway. “Wait, what are you doing here?” I asked as non-threateningly as I could. The boy muttered something that I couldn’t quite make out. “What did you say? I couldn’t hear you” I replied. “Are you here to rob us?” he timidly responded. “Rob you? What are you talking about?” I asked as confusion set in. “What are you doing here?” It was his turn to be confused. “Uh…I….live here?” he replied. “What do you mean you live here? No one lives-“I stopped midsentence. I hadn’t noticed in my initial shock but the room wasn’t the same. A familiar blue couch caught the corner of my eye. In front of that was an old console TV with a partially broken antenna hanging on the wall behind it. I walked further in to the living room to notice wood paneling on the walls. A large mirror hung on the wall to my left. Familiar yellow lamps sat on round drop-leaf tables on either side of the couch. A large hutch sat in one corner, a collection of letters and bills, mail advertisements, and a phone book covered scattered over it. “What just happened?” I asked out loud to no one in particular. I was thoroughly mystified by what my eyes were seeing. I had walked into the house from the front door and had stepped into an empty white room with slate floor tiles, but somehow now found myself in a furnished room with brown carpet that was all so familiar to me, yet was nothing but a distant faded memory. I turned to look at the boy still startled by the intrusion of a strange man looking wildly around the room in total shock.
“You can take what you want, just please let me go. I don’t want problems.” He stated his voice still shrill with anxiety. I blinked a few times as I tried to process just what the heck was going on. I gathered my thoughts as best I could and tried to reassure him. “Kid, I’m not here to rob anyone. I was just-“I shook my head “Where the hell am I? Am I having a dream?” I asked myself. “I must be dreaming. I’m just tired and still sleeping. This is all a dream. Yeah, that’s it.” I needed to sit down. Being back in the old house must have overtaxed my senses, I told myself. I’d having a dream about an old memory. I walked over to the chair next to the couch and sat down. I sunk into it and rested my head back towards the wall.
The boy kept his distance, but sensed I wasn’t there to hurt him. He looked me over with anxious curiosity. He stood at the far end of the couch, examining me while he played out scenarios in his head in preparation for a quick exit. “Why are you in my house?” he asked me. “Dude, this is all just a dream I’m having. I’m not really here.” He reached over to the couch and picked up a pillow. He reared his arm and threw it at me. It landed in my lap. “I don’t know, man. You sure seem to be here.” He said to me. I opened my eyes, startled. I looked down at the pillow he tossed and examined it. I ran my hand over the fabric and felt its texture. I remember this pillow. This was the pillow I would roll under my head as I lay on the couch and watched TV as a kid. A sudden realization hit me as I looked around the room with fresh eyes. No longer was I blinded by the fog of confusion. I knew exactly where I was.
I was home.
I looked at the boy still standing at the edge of the couch. I looked him over and realized who he actually was. I stared in disbelief as I smiled and tried to put him at ease. “It’s ok Johnny. I’m not here to hurt you. No one is going to hurt you. Please, sit down” I told him. I motioned to his end of the couch. “Who are you, and why are you here?” he asked me.
“This will be hard to believe, but I’m you” I said with an incredulous tone, “I’m not sure how I ended up here, but I’m here.” He looked at me as I had grown a second head. “That doesn’t make any sense. How could you be me? Did we invent time travel? Oh! Are we secret government agents with the CIA?”
I chuckled. “Wait, wait, wait. Let’s start at the beginning. I’m you at 38 years old. You’re…what, 11… 12 years old? It makes sense. I fell asleep under the window in my- our old bedroom. I didn’t come here on purpose or in a machine. And no, I’m not a government agent.” His face contorted to display understanding, disappointment and finally suspicion. His eyes narrowed as he leaned in towards me. “How do I know you’re really me?” he asked. I thought about it for a moment. How could I prove to him that I was who I said I was? A few seconds of silence settled between us. I stroked my chin, thinking of a solution.
“I have a better idea. Ask me questions that only you know the answers to.” “Okay” he responded. He glanced around the room trying to come up with something. His eyes fixated on the Nintendo sitting under the TV cabinet. “What game do me and Nathan have a map of?” I looked over at the NES. I hadn’t thought about this for years, but I knew instantly what he was asking. “YOU don’t have anything. Nathan is the one that made the map for Section Z” His jaw dropped. He tried to trick me, but his plan failed. He knew well and good that Nathan never let him play. It was always ‘I’ll let you play when I die’ or, ‘you can play when I’m done’. The problem was that he never followed through. Usually by the time Nathan was done, the NES was overheated, and the game would no longer load until it cooled down. By that point, it was time for bed.
“How do you know that?” he asked in astonishment. “I know these things because I’m you. Just like I know that you wear t-shirts to the pool because you’re embarrassed by what others will think of your body. I know that you used to think that people that die off in movies were prisoners that were set to be executed from death row, so they used them for making movies. I know all about you because I’m you”
Johnny sat on the end of the couch in bewilderment, his mouth slightly agape. He had never told anyone any of this. He didn’t have any close friends to talk to about such things, and those friends he did have were more acquaintances than friends. There was only one way he could possibly know these things. He was talking to his future self.
I could see Johnny’s mind completely explode. There lay endless possibility and the answers to a million questions he could ask about his own future. He started to ask a question, only to stop, close his mouth, and try asking another. I knew if he kept this up he would have a stroke or something. “Dude, calm yourself. Let’s talk this out rationally, otherwise you’ll end up stroking out or something.” I told him. He took a deep breath and I could hear him muttering quietly. I knew he was trying to form a coherent sentence before he actually spoke it. I did it all the time. “Ok, first of all, are we rich?” he asked with tempered expectation. I chuckled and grinned back at him. “No, not at all. If I was rich, would I be dressed like this?” I replied as I motioned to my beat up brown Vans and worn out jeans and T-shirt. “We-, I – make enough to get by. I’m not poor, but I earn enough to pay the bills.” His face grew a smirk as he commented “Yeah, I figured. What do I do for work? I mean, what do you do for work?” I thought about it for a second. I wondered how much information I should divulge to a younger me. I still didn’t think this whole situation was really happening, but if it was, I probably should proceed with caution. “Well, it’s complicated. I do a little bit of everything. You know how you’re constantly taking things apart? Let’s just say that it’s good to put them back together in order to keep them working. Take good notes on paper if you need to, and make sure you have a clean work area so you can keep track of all the parts.” He gave me a sheepish look. He knew exactly what I was talking about. I had spent countless hours sneaking dad’s tools to my room so I could figure out how something was built and try to figure out how it worked. I had gotten myself into some pretty bad trouble with dad over a drill, his timing light, and other stuff I had taken from his room. His belt had become quite familiar with my butt cheeks.
I gave him a knowing smile. “What else do you want to know?” He thought about it for a second. “Do we have a girlfriend?” I laughed, probably a little more than I should have because his face contorted into a sour frown. “You don’t need to be a jerk about it” he scowled. I continued to chuckle. “Yeah we have a girlfriend. We have more than a girlfriend” I could tell he was irritated with my vague indirect answers. I knew what he was asking. I remember the crush I had on my neighbor across the street. We had been friends since kindergarten, and had been classmates for 1st, 2nd, and 4th grades. We got along really well, and I knew from around 12 or 13 that I wanted to be her boyfriend. Unfortunately, things never progressed beyond the ‘just friends’ stage of things. It wasn’t from lack of effort on my part. We had just grown up together most of our lives that she didn’t see me as anything more than a brother and friend. “Dude, look. You just started to go through changes and you are starting to notice girls, but that doesn’t mean that you need to love every girl that shows you a little kindness or subtle interest. You need to slow down and let things happen naturally. You can’t force a relationship with someone.” Johnny pondered these words for a moment. I sat back and put my feet up on the coffee table. I looked around the room some more while I waited for another question. There was so much I had forgotten, but being back here had unlocked more and more memories that continued to wash over me. I was trying to hold on to my cool as not all those churned up recollections were pleasant. I stood up and walked over to the front door to peer outside the small central window embedded into the center of it. I could see the old neighborhood as I remembered it all those years ago. The lot across the street that served as a parking area for those that worked at the wheel works at the end of the block was empty of cars. I furrowed my brow as I thought for a moment. An empty lot meant it was afterhours or the weekend.
The gears in my own head started turning. “Wait, where is everyone?” I asked Johnny. Johnny turned to look at me still processing my last response. “Uh..oh, Mom and dad are out of town. They took a trip east this time. I think Rio said they are in Arizona right now. Rio and Nathan went out to get some food and to rent some movies from Video Showcase. Knowing them they’ll eat out first. Talia is staying over at Tia Rosie’s place today with her friends.” I grunted at his response. My mind was wandering as he mentioned Talia and Tia Rosie.
A sudden sharp pain pieced my heart. The pain of a thousand memories now unsealed spilled out from the box I had locked them away in. Tears welled in the corners of my eyes as I turned back to look at Johnny. He felt it too. He stared at the floor with an intensity that made me think it would burst into flames at any moment. I walked back over to him and sat next to him. He didn’t move. I placed my hand on his shoulder, and he threw himself into me. I could feel the tears dripping onto me as he sobbed intensely. “Hey man, its ok. It’s going to be ok.” I said as my own tears started to flow uncontrollably. I pulled him close and draped my other arm around him.
I knew the pain he was feeling. It was such a heavy burden, and I knew there was no one he felt he could talk to. I remembered it all so vividly. We sat there for what seemed to be an eternity. When we finally stopped sobbing, and our noses ran dry, we tried to breathe our way through to calmness. I got up and knelt in front of him. “Johnny, listen to me and remember what it is that I’m about to say to you. You are stronger than you think. You are stronger than you believe. NO ONE should ever have to go through this. Just because it happened to Talia, doesn’t mean you have to put up with it any longer. I know you didn’t think it was wrong, but I’m telling you that what she is doing to you is wrong. Talking to mom and dad isn’t going to make them hate you. You are not doing this to her, she is doing it to you. I’m not making excuses for her, but she is also more damaged than anyone realizes, and she is also dealing with the same level of pain you are. Remember that we do unto others what has been done to us. That doesn’t mean we need to continue the cycle of abuse” The lump in my throat grew immense at my own statement. I swallowed it as best I could and continued “You are going to deal with this pain a little bit at a time, and you’ll slowly get over this. It’s like a broken bone. When it happens, you don’t realize how bad the pain is until the adrenaline wears off, but then the immense pain is there. Just remember that this will pass. Just like a broken bone, you will heal over time, and one day, you will realize that the pain is gone and the bone is no longer broken. You’ll remember the pain, but it won’t hurt anymore.”
Johnny sat there in stunned silence. I knew he didn’t have anyone to help him through this. He couldn’t talk to Rio or Nathan about what was going on. Mom and Dad were constantly working to keep the family fed and sheltered and while they provided materially for their kids, emotional help was less available. Perhaps it was due to their energies being divided into 4 kids, a mortgage and multiple jobs, or perhaps it was also the culture of not talking about problems. Either way, they needed to know what was happening. They wouldn’t be able to fix it otherwise. “They’re going to be mad at me” he finally said after a few moments of silence. “No they won’t be. They love us all. I know you’re not used to hearing it, but they do love you. Everything they do is because of their love for us. This isn’t your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong. Telling them isn’t going to cause them to be angry.” I thought for a moment to find a good analogy. “You love Odie and Lady, right?” He nodded in agreement. “Ok, how would you feel if you knew someone you trusted was coming to the house and beating up our dogs when we weren’t around?” He thought about it for a second before his face changed to anger. “I’d want to kill them!” “Yes, but would you also feel sad that you weren’t there to try to protect them?” I reasoned. His face changed again. He understood what I was saying. Mom and Dad would be angry, but not necessarily at him. They would also feel a great sadness knowing that someone was hurting their child.
I smiled at him. He understood. I nodded. “Dude…You’re going to come to understand that life is not what you think it will be. Life is messy and can change in an instant. The plans you make today may not make it to next week. A lifelong goal can be derailed because of something out of your control. Mom and dad have spent their life protecting us with the goal of keeping us safe, but circumstances out of their control have affected their kids, and now we- you all have to deal with the fallout. Just remember that you are not the culprit. Yes, mom and dad will be hurt and angry, but not at you. Trust them. They don’t do things to hurt us” Johnny hugged me. I- He didn’t have many people he could trust and open up to. He liked to talk a lot about everything going on in his life, no matter how trivial. Everything, except this. This was a shameful topic, and he didn’t feel like anyone would understand why he didn’t go to an adult sooner. The problem was simple. He simply didn’t understand that it was wrong. Now that he had an adult that he could talk to, himself no less, he wanted to lift this burden off his shoulders. He was happy to have found someone and he hugged me tightly. I hugged him back just at tightly. It wasn’t every day that I could meet my younger self and help to comfort them. “Thank you” he said to me.
The world darkened, and everything faded to black.
I lifted my head out of my knees and looked around. I was sitting under the window in my old bedroom again. Had I fallen asleep? I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked the time. I was emotionally drained and incredibly tired. I hadn’t had sleep like that in years. I got to my feet and looked around the room briefly before walking out to mom and dad’s old room. I grabbed my camera and slowly walked the house, snapping picture after picture. The only sound to be heard was the sound of the camera shutter and my soft footsteps. I thought about my dream as I took pictures.
Upon entering my room, a random memory hit me.
The stash.
I was pretty sure I had taken the hidden box when I moved out all those years ago, but since I was here, I should double check. Heading into the closet, I pushed the panel that led to the attic space out of the way and peered in. I couldn’t see anything, so I reached up there to feel around. The box was indeed gone. I felt around for a few more seconds and was surprised to feel what felt like a thick envelope. I didn’t remember leaving anything up there, but after pulling it down and giving it a cursory glance, I figured it was an old envelope of lost love letters. It wasn’t until I blew off the thick layer of dust that I realized what I was holding. It was a letter. Not just any letter. It was addressed to me.
Under the now semi-cleared layer of dust were the words “To be opened by future me”. I looked at it for a few moments before opening it. I couldn’t remember making this at all, much less storing it up in my secret hiding spot. If ever I hid something, it was in the stash box. My hands shook a bit as I started to open the envelope and pulled out the yellowed pages inside. I started reading.
"Dear Future John. I have spent the last few years remembering a dream I had when I was younger. Life was…difficult at that time, and I spent a lot of time escaping my reality by reading a lot of books and watching a lot of TV. On the off-chance that what I think is a dream really happened. I wanted to write some things down in an effort to give you my thanks. I merely consider myself a conveyer of thanks, although I will pile on my own thanks to you for your words of encouragement. I remember finding a stranger in the house one day while I was home alone. I was afraid he was there to hurt me at first, but after a few moments, I came to realize I was meeting myself. Well, I was meeting me, but from the future. I think he said he was in his 40’s, but I couldn’t tell you with any certainty. Either way, we talked. We talked about life, and what the future held in store for us…
Mostly though, we talked about the abuse. Well, Talked is being generous. We cried, and then we talked. I don’t remember exactly what he told me, but I remember how he made me feel. He made me feel safe. I felt like I could trust him. Trust myself. In the end, he gave me the courage to stand up for myself both at home and at school. He also gave me the courage to talk to mom and dad about what was going on between me and Talia. I do remember being afraid that I would be punished, but he reassured me that they wouldn’t, and that they loved me.
It was a difficult and awkward conversation, but in the end, arrangements were made for me to share a room with Rio and Nathan. I didn’t have much of a relationship with Talia for a long while, but after some years, we managed to patch things up. She apologized to me, and I came to understand the abuse she herself was subjected to by so-called family friends. She didn’t tell me this in an effort to excuse it, but to merely help give me closure to a difficult time from my own childhood. Mom and dad promised to be more attentive to us and we sort of established what I guess you would call an open door policy. We talk more about stuff that’s happening in our lives. Mom is much easier to talk to now. Dad is a little more patient with us too. I apologized to them for not coming to them sooner, and dad gave me a “nugget of wisdom” that I think I’ll live by: We can’t fix what we don’t know is broken. I’ve tried to make sure I talk to them when something is wrong, and I’ve tried to implement that in my life so I don’t have problems with other people.
I’m trying to grow up to be a good guy. I want to have good relationships with people. Nathan says I’m turning into a people pleaser, but I don’t necessarily see that as a terrible thing. I know when to say no to someone. Well, either way, I wanted to make sure I thank you for the help you gave us. I probably won’t remember writing this, but I hope I do find it again someday. Here’s hoping I turn into the man I feel you are. -John Age 16."
I stared at the letter, the words blurring as tears welled up in my eyes. I quickly brushed them away as I quietly spoke to no one in particular. “Thanks guys. I hope I live up to your expectations” I folded the letter, placed it in my pocket, and walked out of the room. After picking up my backpack and tripod, I silently walked towards the front door, my footsteps echoing in the empty house. I turned to look back at the empty living room one last time, and after a moment, I walked out.

Me (32f) and my boyfriend were visiting a city and went to an insanely crowded farmer's market and picked up a sandwich and tacos to eat for lunch. I looked around and all the picnic benches were taken and the vendor booths were too close to the curb to even sit on. We noticed a fenced in dog park next to the market that had benches, picnic tables, and shade umbrellas. Missing our dogs back home and needing a place to sit and eat we went inside and sat down on one of the benches.
We sipped on our drinks and observed the cute dogs before taking our lunches out. There was a golden retriever who kept coming up to everyone and asking for pets, which we happily obliged. As we were dog watching, we saw the golden retriever jump up on another table and take a bag of food a guy had bought at the market and it started chewing on it. The owner of the golden, a woman in her thirties, came and grabbed her dog but didn't apologize to the guy nor did she offer to reimburse the man for his food.
About ten minutes passed and we got out our own food and started eating. In the span of five minutes that same golden retriever came by our bench and sniffed for the food probably ten times. Each time we politely shooed him away and kept eating. Finally, the golden retriever came by again and this time it basically jumped on us and grabbed our food. We yelled at the dog to stop and the owner came over. She yelled at us that we were assholes for coming into a dog park without a dog and tempting the dogs with yummy smelling food. She said this place was reserved for dogs and owners and we weren't supposed to just sit and eat food. I yelled back at the woman that her dog wasn't properly trained and she should've taken the dog out when it got the first man's food. I also mentioned that there were several other dog owners in the park eating food from the market.
My boyfriend and I ended up leaving but were quite irritated at the events that transpired for the rest of the day. We told the story to our other friends and they were split. Some agreed that we had every right to sit and watch the dogs and eat and that dogs who aren't behaved or trained should leave, while others thought we were rude for even going in the park without a dog for the purpose of eating.
So are we the assholes for going into a dog park and being mad when a dog took our food?

Hi there! Coming here to try to get some ideas. I’m on a quest to cover the soffit above my kitchen cabinets. It cannot be removed as it supports the upstairs. Currently it’s just a painted soffit. Nothing fancy, typical of a Midwest house built in the 50’s. I’m interested in making this appear to be a wood beam, and echoing that same beam look at the entry to the kitchen for a more natural and updated look overall. The plan is to stain it in a walnut color.
This requires that I would cover the soffit, but I cannot create the typical faux 3 sided box beam that there are a million tutorials for.
Essentially I just need ideas on how to cover it so it looks like a wood beam. The area is 15’ wide (spanning the width of the kitchen cabinets). Length of the soffit is about 14” cabinets are mounted to the base of the soffit and wall behind it.
Anyone with ideas for someone who a) has no idea on how to do this or where to source the wood from (located in St. Louis, Mo) and b) would likely do this as a DIY project although I have the tools and labor help. So explain it to me like I’m 5 in case you have ideas.
Thank you for any help. I’ve lived here for 18 years and this soffit has always driven me crazy.

After a wrongfully termination about a month ago, Istarted work with a crew that specializes in framing and flooring boat docks.overall decent job.the idea of working on the water is appealing, although has cost me a couple tools, the crew is down to earth and easygoing for the most part.only complaints would be that being a smaller guy setting 6 by 6 beams while balancing on floor joist or manhandling 20 ft 2 by 12s can be a challenge, but is doable.also the crew is somewhat lackinh as far as training, which consists of beong shadowed having everymove watched jusyvto say you did it wrong after the fact.
I have another offer, to work for a general contractor who is also and actual general contractinh teacher at a local college.his focus is more on craftsmanship, detailed quality work in a wider range than just boat docks, and claims not to micromanage , by giving you space to do the job.
Both have similar pay and hours.i feel that I should give this a try if nothing else because of the chance to have training and guidance that could potentially raise my knowledge and skill level substantially something than in my experience is pretty rare in this line of work.
How to I go about making this switch gracefully without burning any bridges? Or is this even possible

I tried adding this to my init.lua but it doesn't work

vim.g["sandwich#recipes"] = vim.deepcopy(vim.g["sandwich#default_recipes"]) or {} table.insert(vim.g["sandwich#recipes"], { { buns = { "", "" }, input = { "x" }, }, }) 

These are the files:

vim.g.base46_cache = vim.fn.stdpath "data" .. "/nvchad/base46/" vim.g.mapleader = " " -- bootstrap lazy and all plugins local lazypath = vim.fn.stdpath "data" .. "/lazy/lazy.nvim" if not vim.loop.fs_stat(lazypath) then local repo = "https://github.com/folke/lazy.nvim.git" vim.fn.system { "git", "clone", "--filter=blob:none", repo, "--branch=stable", lazypath } end vim.opt.rtp:prepend(lazypath) local lazy_config = require "configs.lazy" -- load plugins require("lazy").setup({ { "NvChad/NvChad", lazy = false, branch = "v2.5", import = "nvchad.plugins", config = function() require "options" end, }, { import = "plugins" }, }, lazy_config) require("auto-session").setup { auto_save_enabled = true, auto_restore_enabled = true, auto_session_enable_last_session = true, pre_save_cmds = { 'Neotree close' }, post_restore_cmds = { 'wincmd t', 'Neotree buffers current'}, } require("neo-tree").setup({ source_selector = { winbar = false, statusline = false } }) vim.g["sandwich#recipes"] = vim.deepcopy(vim.g["sandwich#default_recipes"]) or {} table.insert(vim.g["sandwich#recipes"], { { buns = { "", "" }, input = { "x" }, }, }) -- load theme dofile(vim.g.base46_cache .. "defaults") dofile(vim.g.base46_cache .. "statusline") require "nvchad.autocmds" vim.schedule(function() require "mappings" end) 

Another:

return { { "stevearc/conform.nvim", -- event = 'BufWritePre', -- uncomment for format on save config = function() require "configs.conform" end, }, { "nvim-neo-tree/neo-tree.nvim", branch = "v3.x", lazy = false, dependencies = { "nvim-lua/plenary.nvim", "nvim-tree/nvim-web-devicons", -- not strictly required, but recommended "MunifTanjim/nui.nvim", -- "3rd/image.nvim", -- Optional image support in preview window: See `# Preview Mode` for more information } }, { 'rmagatti/auto-session', lazy = false, config = function() require("auto-session").setup { log_level = "error" } end }, { "Pocco81/auto-save.nvim", lazy = false, config = function() require("auto-save").setup { -- your config goes here -- or just leave it empty :) } end }, { "vhyrro/luarocks.nvim", priority = 1000, -- Very high priority is required, luarocks.nvim should run as the first plugin in your config. config = true, }, { 'machakann/vim-sandwich', lazy = false, config = function() end } 

I tried adding this to my init.lua but it doesn't work

vim.g["sandwich#recipes"] = vim.deepcopy(vim.g["sandwich#default_recipes"]) or {} table.insert(vim.g["sandwich#recipes"], { { buns = { "", "" }, input = { "x" }, }, }) 

These are the files:

vim.g.base46_cache = vim.fn.stdpath "data" .. "/nvchad/base46/" vim.g.mapleader = " " -- bootstrap lazy and all plugins local lazypath = vim.fn.stdpath "data" .. "/lazy/lazy.nvim" if not vim.loop.fs_stat(lazypath) then local repo = "https://github.com/folke/lazy.nvim.git" vim.fn.system { "git", "clone", "--filter=blob:none", repo, "--branch=stable", lazypath } end vim.opt.rtp:prepend(lazypath) local lazy_config = require "configs.lazy" -- load plugins require("lazy").setup({ { "NvChad/NvChad", lazy = false, branch = "v2.5", import = "nvchad.plugins", config = function() require "options" end, }, { import = "plugins" }, }, lazy_config) require("auto-session").setup { auto_save_enabled = true, auto_restore_enabled = true, auto_session_enable_last_session = true, pre_save_cmds = { 'Neotree close' }, post_restore_cmds = { 'wincmd t', 'Neotree buffers current'}, } require("neo-tree").setup({ source_selector = { winbar = false, statusline = false } }) vim.g["sandwich#recipes"] = vim.deepcopy(vim.g["sandwich#default_recipes"]) or {} table.insert(vim.g["sandwich#recipes"], { { buns = { "", "" }, input = { "x" }, }, }) -- load theme dofile(vim.g.base46_cache .. "defaults") dofile(vim.g.base46_cache .. "statusline") require "nvchad.autocmds" vim.schedule(function() require "mappings" end) 

Another:

return { { "stevearc/conform.nvim", -- event = 'BufWritePre', -- uncomment for format on save config = function() require "configs.conform" end, }, { "nvim-neo-tree/neo-tree.nvim", branch = "v3.x", lazy = false, dependencies = { "nvim-lua/plenary.nvim", "nvim-tree/nvim-web-devicons", -- not strictly required, but recommended "MunifTanjim/nui.nvim", -- "3rd/image.nvim", -- Optional image support in preview window: See `# Preview Mode` for more information } }, { 'rmagatti/auto-session', lazy = false, config = function() require("auto-session").setup { log_level = "error" } end }, { "Pocco81/auto-save.nvim", lazy = false, config = function() require("auto-save").setup { -- your config goes here -- or just leave it empty :) } end }, { "vhyrro/luarocks.nvim", priority = 1000, -- Very high priority is required, luarocks.nvim should run as the first plugin in your config. config = true, }, { 'machakann/vim-sandwich', lazy = false, config = function() end } 

If you know the name "Terradraxxus" I'd prefer if you skipped reading this as there may be spoilers in answers for our final session(s).
Howdy DM's old and new! I've DM'd many games, but this is the second that has been a year-long campaign.
For this campaign, all three players were new. 2 were CR fans, one was mostly blind to the world of DnD.
Some preface information about myself and this campaign in particular:

• I've DM'd for about 10 years now. Primarily 5e and Cypher-system games, as a kid I started with 3.5e
• All of my games are homebrew, including this campaign, but I don't shy away from cherry picking existing concepts and inserting them appropriately into my settings.
• Started at level 3, ending around 10-11.
• In-person weekly sessions, running about 9 hours on average (close to 400 hours of playtime for this campaign)
• 1 baby born during the campaign. (We're pretty sure he's a Barb)
• 1 session where we DM swapped. (Helped to introduce a character that would become loved)
• 2 players changed characters mid-way through. (Old characters still exist in the world)
• Countless pizzas and "beverages"
• Probably 8-10 cancellations, some of those weren't true cancellations and we just shifted days.
• 0 player deaths (final sessions are coming up, hopefully this doesn't change. Though we did have people get downed during real fights and during Arena fights which are more of "play" fights)
• Individual character story-arcs for each player. (Some more than others)
• Tools used: Google Docs, Discord (for communication), Dungeonfog (Battle maps), DnDBeyond (PCs), Inkarnate (Overworld maps), Photoshop/GIMP.

We are coming up on the last session or two where we will be handling the "big goal" of the entire campaign. Immediately after, one of the players will be moving, so we will be concluding this campaign (Coincidentally enough, just a few days longer than 1-year exactly). We all hope to continue playing once they have settled into their new home and life. Fingers crossed because it's been a wonderful table to DM for.
Running long-form games is something that takes time to learn how to do and it is not easy, but I know many people long for those spanning adventures and story arcs, so I wanted to try to offer advice to those who have questions about running long-form games, planning them, pacing, and any questions that might come up, either from DM's or players.
This campaign had a bit of everything. Subversive activities from within the party, wizard towers that lead through multiple planes and into the weave itself, encounters with known DnD Characters (Elminster, for example), Seafaring travels, democratic negotiations, running and building a guildhouse including NPCs that can go on missions, and archfey putting another person into someones mind who is problematic, mini-games and festivals, arena fights, overland travel, individual character arcs spanning from promotions within their organizations to earning titles of nobility and tracking down long lost loved ones, goofy characters, serious characters, annoying characters, beloved characters, travelling incognito, slightly customized player races, multiple-session dungeon delves, death of loved NPCs, skill series checks, rebalancing and power creep, trivia games, fights that should not have been won but somehow were, building alliances, stealth, brute force combat, tricksters sowing confusion, vampires who care for orphans, Illithids, Archfey, Gods, flashback scenarios and giving party control of other people during them, dealing with the underworld, heavy decisions on peoples fates and party actions, lots of lore, and so, so much more.
This has definitely been the most robust campaign I have run. I learned a lot - there's always more to learn! - and the players did too, especially going from 0 experience directly into a long-form campaign (they always say they got lucky getting me for a DM, but they truly are a DM's dream party - people show up and respect the efforts!)
So, if you have ANY questions that someone like me might be able to answer - I would love to help you out so that you can have a long, hopefully meaningful, campaign of your own.
Questions related to campaign building, encounters, pacing, settings, power creep, story-building, rulings, over-the-table issues and communication, etc are all more than welcome.
Mods: I know AMA's aren't a thing here but hopefully this is alright.

As a rank beginner to JavaScript, I am trying to figure out what the getQuote() function is calling. This code is on a form submission page for a vacation rental website. I got it from the page source because the JavaScript is embedded in some PHP file and this was the only way I could find the offending code.
I haven't figured out how to step through this code while it is running (because most of it is JavaScript within PHP tags and PHPStorm cannot handle breakpoints on PHP and JavaScript in the same file). I need to see what is getting passed in and to where (exactly) so I can do further troubleshooting on the PHP side of things.
Then, if all is well there, I need to be able to follow the data as it comes back and goes through the JavaScript.

< script > jQuery(document).ready(function() { var termsActivator = jQuery('#abe-terms-activator'); var termsClose = jQuery('.abe-terms-close'); termsActivator.on('click', function() { jQuery('.abe-terms').toggle(); return false; }); termsClose.on('click', function() { jQuery('.abe-terms').toggle(); }); // Apply promocode if (jQuery('.abe-apply-promo').length > 0) { var promoActivator = jQuery('.abe-apply-promo'); promoActivator.on('click', function() { getQuote(); }); } // Quote on adults/children change jQuery('select[name="booking[adults]"]').change(function() { getQuote(); }); jQuery('select[name="booking[pets]"]').change(function() { getQuote(); }); jQuery('select[name="booking[children]"]').change(function() { getQuote(); }); jQuery('input[type=radio][name="booking[acceptinsurance]"]').change(function() { getQuote(); }); // Any element with class addOn will trigger a new quote jQuery('.addOn').change(function() { getQuote(); }); function getQuote() { var promoCode = jQuery('input[name="booking[PromoCode]"]').val(); jQuery.post(url_paths.site_url + "/?vrpjax=1&act=checkavailability&par=1", jQuery("#vrpbookform") .serialize(), function(data) { var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(data); var response = ""; var bookInfoTable = jQuery('.abe-ratebreakdown > table > tbody'); if (!obj.Error) { // Charges jQuery.each(obj.Charges, function(c, v) { if (!v.Description.includes("Tax")) { response += ` ${v.Description} \$${addCommas(parseFloat(v.Amount).toFixed(2))} `; } }); // Taxes if ('TotalTax' in obj) { response += ` Tax: \$${addCommas(parseFloat(obj.TotalTax).toFixed(2))} `; } var insChecked = jQuery('input[type=radio][name="booking[acceptinsurance]"]:checked') .val(); if (jQuery('input[type=radio][name="booking[acceptinsurance]"]').is(':checked')) { if (insChecked == 1) { response += ` Travel Insurance: \$${addCommas(parseFloat(obj.InsuranceAmount).toFixed(2))} `; } }; // Promocode Discount console.log(obj.PromoCodeDiscount.value); if ('PromoCodeDiscount' in obj && obj.PromoCodeDiscount.text != '') { response += ` Promo Code Discount: ${obj.PromoCodeDiscount.text} -\$${addCommas(parseFloat(obj.PromoCodeDiscount.value).toFixed(2))} `; } // Reservation Total if ('TotalCost' in obj) { jQuery('input[name="booking[TotalCost]"]').val(obj.TotalCost); if (insChecked == 1) { response += ` Reservation Total: \$${addCommas(parseFloat(parseFloat(obj.TotalCost) + parseFloat(obj.InsuranceAmount)).toFixed(2))} `; // Total Due Now if ('DueToday' in obj) { response += ` Total Due Now: \$${addCommas(parseFloat(parseFloat(obj.DueToday) + parseFloat(obj.InsuranceAmount)).toFixed(2))} `; } } else { response += ` Reservation Total: \$${addCommas(parseFloat(obj.TotalCost).toFixed(2))} `; // Total Due Now if ('DueToday' in obj) { response += ` Total Due Now: \$${addCommas(parseFloat(obj.DueToday).toFixed(2))} `; } } } bookInfoTable.html(response); } else { alert(`Notice: ${obj.Error}`); } }); } }); < /script> 

Searching this codebase can be confusing (for me anyways).
The original developers took an entire directory, copied it and placed in inside another folder in the copied directory.
The code is dupliocated THREE times in this codebase - https://i.imgur.com/6daKpCm.png . And this doesn't seem to be the only place that they have duplicate code.
So there is duplicate code in every search. I don't know which is being called all of the time or why they are both needed. (I think I will delete the duplicate folder and see if the site still works.)
It doesn't help that PHPStorm's search function is also quite confusing. It changes the order of the returned results every single time you look at it. It is nigh impossible to keep up with what you've looked at and what you haven't because the results are jumbled every time they are shown to you. Why would you do something like that? Why aren't search results ordered either alphabetically (by page name) and by line number EVERY SINGLE TIME? Make it make sense.

Councillor Vek stood on the observation deck of the cruiser Balexa, as she watched the blue planet below. Earth, as the inhabitants called it. Indigenous life had only just developed tools and weapons of metal and combustion, yet something about this world felt...different.
Vek's assistant, a young Dreth named Pylor, approached. "Councillor, our sensors have detected an unusual energy signature coming from that landmass." He pointed to a region on the planet's map.
Vek peered down at the indicated area. "Life signs?"
"Massive. Billions within that small area alone. And..." Pylor double checked the readings. "Their technology...it's exceeding all models for their stage of development."
Intrigued, Vek ordered the Balexa into a lower orbit to investigate directly. Below, sprawling cities dominated the landscape, towers of metal and glass thrusting towards the heavens. Ground vehicles filled roadways in great herds.
But it was what Vek saw in the skies that made her gasp. Dozens of giant space ships above the planet.
Vek urged the Balexa closer, honing in on the largest vessel. Over a kilometer long, it resembled an arrowhead piercing the clouds. Guiding it through flight tests, no doubt. But its capabilities went far beyond simple transport.
Her eyes analyzed the gleaming hull. Powerful weapons arrays, ultra-dense alloys, inertial dampeners—this was no mere explorer ship. It bore the armaments of a capital warship, yet wielded in the skies of a supposedly primitive world, according to 1000 year old reports.
"Scan it," Vek ordered. The results shocked even her aged sensibilities. Particle beam projectors, gravitic torque generators, ablative shield matrix far exceeding, any known galaxy-class defenses. She watched silent as the warship shrugged off simulated meteor bombardments, and energy lances that would have crippled a flagship.
"Are the sensors malfunctioning?" Pylor asked. "This...this shouldn't be possible."
Vek didn't respond, lost in thought. The colonization directive had brought her here expecting a standard uplifting, not...this. A new species on the cusp of space, yes, but with a military capability challenging the Grand Fleet itself. Her duties were clear, yet prudence demanded further observation before revealing her presence.
That evening, Vek witnessed lights illuminate the cities as perpetual twilight fell. Not the flickering fires of a primitive settlement, but vast geometric patterns flooding the night with steady radiance. Roadways became rivers of motion as noxious fumes belched from pipes. She watched holographic entertainments broadcast atop towering spires, their realism surpassing even the Dreamcast pleasure worlds.
It was all too much. This world had advanced beyond all projections, its technology perfectly integrated within human civilization. Yet had achieved spaceflight only yesterday. An impossibility...unless directed by an outside influence. But signatures showed no alien contamination, only the fingerprints of natural evolution.
"Councillor," Pylor interrupted her thoughts, "I'm detecting a new vessel launching from the underground test site."
Vek shifted her gaze and witnessed madness. Rising from its berth came a colossus the size of a hab-moon. Twenty kilometers of pitiless metal rising on pillars of blue inferno, a vast sphinx of iron. Its armored prow glinted cruel in the light of its world. No other word could apply but "leviathan."
She watched speechless as it performed basic maneuvers. Its motion sent ripples through the atmosphere itself, as entire mountain ranges would shake. Multispectral scans revealed engineering beyond rational thought, a work of art and horror, given form in girders and armour-plates. No known drive system could shift its bulk, yet it drifted with ethereal grace.
Vek collapsed into her command throne, as the giant ship vanished into the mottled sky. Only one thought echoed through her stunned mind.
This changes everything.
Councillor Vek's findings on the human home world of Earth, had rocked the Galactic Council to its core. A species possessing technological marvels far beyond their years of spaceflight, should not exist, yet Vek's evidence proved otherwise. As the leaders convened an emergency session, their debate centered around how to handle this unprecedented development.
"Negotiations must be made at once, to assess if these 'humans' pose a threat," stated Morax of the Androrian Conglomerate. "We cannot allow such advanced militaries to emerge unchecked in the galaxy."
Vek spoke up. "I caution haste. The humans integrate their technologies peacefully on Earth, and welcomed our observations from orbit. Forceful intervention risks destroying what could be a powerful new ally."
Others argued humanity should be contained for study and surveillance, to learn their intentions. Tempers flared until Councillor Porx silenced the chamber. "Further debate is pointless without understanding these beings. Vek, with your ship the Balexa being closest, you are tasked with open contact and assessment of the human condition."
Reluctantly agreeing, Vek set course for Earth with escort vessels. As the Balexa entered atmo, she watched the armada of human vessels fill the skies once more. Her mind raced with what to make of such a belligerent yet benign species. Perhaps hospitality ruled here while militarism emerged elsewhere, as with so many spacefaring civilizations.
The Balexa landed in an open field outside a sprawling metropolis. Vek and her delegation exited warily, the high oxygen air thick in their respiratory systems. Above, jet aircraft flew patrol routes. while curious onlookers documented the arrival on personal communicators.
Approaching vehicles emerged, this time carrying humans who exited with open hands. "Greetings, I'm Commander Jasmine Chen of the United Earth Space Command," said the apparent leader. "We welcome peaceful contact and welcome you to our world."
Her relaxed yet watchful presence put Vek at ease. "I am Councillor Vek of the Galactic Council. We come in friendship to learn of your people and capabilities."
Chen nodded. "Please, come with me and we’ll discuss how we might cooperate for mutual benefit.” She guided them into waiting transport vehicles towards a towering citadel. Along the route, Vek glimpsed, colossal fusion reactors, automated infrastructure, and most astonishing, families and children walking without fear amongst such technological wonders.
Arriving at the United Earth Space Command headquarters, Vek received a cultural download on human history. Only an eyeblink ago, they waged wars from the back of beasts and shattered each other with primitive explosives. Now they spanned the Solar System and bent physics to their will, yet retained community and empathy in their evolution.
Chen brought them to a viewing platform high above the city. "This is what 350 years of focused progress has achieved. Our advance began, when we discovered alien wrecks on the Moon containing lost knowledge. From there, our science boomed while social reforms fostered cooperation."
Vek struggled to process such rapid development. "And your military capabilities? Ones matching capital fleets already?"
Chen smiled knowingly. "A necessity of our past, yet now a guarantor of peace. We keep stride to ensure safe expansion, not conquest. See, all technologies serve life's betterment."
Her wise words allayed Vek's fears of some belligerent power. Indeed, humans bore responsibility for such marvels rather than recklessness. She thanked Chen, believing a new partnership had begun that could uplift the galaxy.
As the Balexa departed that day, Vek pondered all she now understood of humanity. A species arisen from war to wisdom, empowerment and care for others. Their defense of all requiring defense through strength guided safely by conscience. Truly an example to follow into a brighter future, if accepted.
But ominous clouds gathered where none before have been...
The Council chambers fell silent as reports of the Balexa's findings spread across the Galactic network. Councillor Vek recounted humanity's technological feats and philosophical underpinnings in great detail. While unsettled by Earth's military prowess, the consensus agreed their intentions seemed benevolent.
As debate resumed, an aide burst in with urgency. "Attack fleets have engaged at the Estron outposts. Casualty estimates are catastrophic."
Gasps filled the room. Estron, a core Council world renowned for compassion, laid defenseless against the ravaging warships. But how had the Anti Council faction pushed this deep so quickly?
Vek turned to the hologlobe, coordinating response forces to intervene quickly. But she knew conventional fleets, couldn't match the invader's new annihilating momentum. Unless...
An idea formed, She opened a channel to Commander Chen, as other leaders objected in shock. "Humanity proving themselves is unwarranted. We cannot condone--"
But Vek sensed Chen had come to the same conclusion. "Councillor, send us all you have on this threat. Our ships stand ready to aid in whatever way is needed."
The Council fell silent at her resolve. Vek transmitted Battle Assessment 716-C and tracked the human warship streaking into hyperdrive, escorted by two escort cruisers. She prayed this unprecedented response would succeed where fleets had failed.
As the human task force arrived at Estron, they beheld utter ruin. Planetoids bombarded into dust, settlements glassed from space. The last distress calls wept through static, as heat shimmered off molten continents.
Captain Sato of the Yamato grimaced at the carnage. "This ends today. Shields to maximum, charge main cannons. Helm take us in."
The faction armada appeared like demons bursting from an inferno, dozens of war beasts thirsting for more conquest. But they weren't prepared for the grey giant, punching through their formation's heart.
Blue lances of plasma speared the leading ship, overloading its shielding and armor in a microsecond. The massive ship erupted in a brilliant fireball that consumed several nearby fighter craft. Meanwhile, precision volleys from the Yamato's mass drivers sheared through the battlecruiser amidships. Secondary explosions ripped the cruiser to pieces, as it drifted lifeless.
The humans coordinated their attacks with flawless synchronization. Squads of escort gunships strafed and bombarded the swarm ships, attempting to flank the capital ships. Their advanced targeting systems, allowed multiple targets to be engaged simultaneously. Within minutes, over a dozen enemy vessels had been eliminated with surgical strikes.
The surviving faction forces regrouped and organized a desperate counterattack. A dozen assault frigates charged headlong at the Yamato, unleashing everything in their arsenals. Shields flared as energy lanced and missiles impacted across the human warship. But its shields held easily, dissipating each strike with efficiency.
Resuming its offensive, the Yamato activated its main cannons once more. Two gigawatt particle beams lashed out, melting through the foremost frigates in a pair of massive explosions. Shrapnel and debris pelted the remaining ships, crippling their systems. Bombardment from the escorts mopped up the drifting hulks.
With their main attack crushed, the rest of the fleet broke into a panic-fueled retreat. They scattered in all directions, pursued relentlessly by human forces. Within the hour, only broken ship fragments remained of what was once a formidable invader fleet.
Aboard the Yamato, Captain Sato surveyed the devastated aftermath with a heavy heart. So many lives lost unnecessarily, due to the faction's brutal conquests. But now, Estron could begin to heal thanks to humanity's intervention. As cleanup crews tended to survivors, Sato opened a channel to Earth and to Galactic Council to deliver their mission report.
Word of the battle's outcome would help forge new bonds of trust, and cooperation between humanity and the Galactic Council.
In the ruins of Estron's capital, Councillor Vek witnessed humanity's compassion firsthand. Survivors were rescued, and cared for without regard for species or faction. She knew in that moment that the Pax Terra had begun, and a new era of partnership had dawned with Earth.

Councillor Vek stood on the observation deck of the cruiser Balexa, as she watched the blue planet below. Earth, as the inhabitants called it. Indigenous life had only just developed tools and weapons of metal and combustion, yet something about this world felt...different.
Vek's assistant, a young Dreth named Pylor, approached. "Councillor, our sensors have detected an unusual energy signature coming from that landmass." He pointed to a region on the planet's map.
Vek peered down at the indicated area. "Life signs?"
"Massive. Billions within that small area alone. And..." Pylor double checked the readings. "Their technology...it's exceeding all models for their stage of development."
Intrigued, Vek ordered the Balexa into a lower orbit to investigate directly. Below, sprawling cities dominated the landscape, towers of metal and glass thrusting towards the heavens. Ground vehicles filled roadways in great herds.
But it was what Vek saw in the skies that made her gasp. Dozens of giant space ships above the planet.
Vek urged the Balexa closer, honing in on the largest vessel. Over a kilometer long, it resembled an arrowhead piercing the clouds. Guiding it through flight tests, no doubt. But its capabilities went far beyond simple transport.
Her eyes analyzed the gleaming hull. Powerful weapons arrays, ultra-dense alloys, inertial dampeners—this was no mere explorer ship. It bore the armaments of a capital warship, yet wielded in the skies of a supposedly primitive world, according to 1000 year old reports.
"Scan it," Vek ordered. The results shocked even her aged sensibilities. Particle beam projectors, gravitic torque generators, ablative shield matrix far exceeding, any known galaxy-class defenses. She watched silent as the warship shrugged off simulated meteor bombardments, and energy lances that would have crippled a flagship.
"Are the sensors malfunctioning?" Pylor asked. "This...this shouldn't be possible."
Vek didn't respond, lost in thought. The colonization directive had brought her here expecting a standard uplifting, not...this. A new species on the cusp of space, yes, but with a military capability challenging the Grand Fleet itself. Her duties were clear, yet prudence demanded further observation before revealing her presence.
That evening, Vek witnessed lights illuminate the cities as perpetual twilight fell. Not the flickering fires of a primitive settlement, but vast geometric patterns flooding the night with steady radiance. Roadways became rivers of motion as noxious fumes belched from pipes. She watched holographic entertainments broadcast atop towering spires, their realism surpassing even the Dreamcast pleasure worlds.
It was all too much. This world had advanced beyond all projections, its technology perfectly integrated within human civilization. Yet had achieved spaceflight only yesterday. An impossibility...unless directed by an outside influence. But signatures showed no alien contamination, only the fingerprints of natural evolution.
"Councillor," Pylor interrupted her thoughts, "I'm detecting a new vessel launching from the underground test site."
Vek shifted her gaze and witnessed madness. Rising from its berth came a colossus the size of a hab-moon. Twenty kilometers of pitiless metal rising on pillars of blue inferno, a vast sphinx of iron. Its armored prow glinted cruel in the light of its world. No other word could apply but "leviathan."
She watched speechless as it performed basic maneuvers. Its motion sent ripples through the atmosphere itself, as entire mountain ranges would shake. Multispectral scans revealed engineering beyond rational thought, a work of art and horror, given form in girders and armour-plates. No known drive system could shift its bulk, yet it drifted with ethereal grace.
Vek collapsed into her command throne, as the giant ship vanished into the mottled sky. Only one thought echoed through her stunned mind.
This changes everything.
Councillor Vek's findings on the human home world of Earth, had rocked the Galactic Council to its core. A species possessing technological marvels far beyond their years of spaceflight, should not exist, yet Vek's evidence proved otherwise. As the leaders convened an emergency session, their debate centered around how to handle this unprecedented development.
"Negotiations must be made at once, to assess if these 'humans' pose a threat," stated Morax of the Androrian Conglomerate. "We cannot allow such advanced militaries to emerge unchecked in the galaxy."
Vek spoke up. "I caution haste. The humans integrate their technologies peacefully on Earth, and welcomed our observations from orbit. Forceful intervention risks destroying what could be a powerful new ally."
Others argued humanity should be contained for study and surveillance, to learn their intentions. Tempers flared until Councillor Porx silenced the chamber. "Further debate is pointless without understanding these beings. Vek, with your ship the Balexa being closest, you are tasked with open contact and assessment of the human condition."
Reluctantly agreeing, Vek set course for Earth with escort vessels. As the Balexa entered atmo, she watched the armada of human vessels fill the skies once more. Her mind raced with what to make of such a belligerent yet benign species. Perhaps hospitality ruled here while militarism emerged elsewhere, as with so many spacefaring civilizations.
The Balexa landed in an open field outside a sprawling metropolis. Vek and her delegation exited warily, the high oxygen air thick in their respiratory systems. Above, jet aircraft flew patrol routes. while curious onlookers documented the arrival on personal communicators.
Approaching vehicles emerged, this time carrying humans who exited with open hands. "Greetings, I'm Commander Jasmine Chen of the United Earth Space Command," said the apparent leader. "We welcome peaceful contact and welcome you to our world."
Her relaxed yet watchful presence put Vek at ease. "I am Councillor Vek of the Galactic Council. We come in friendship to learn of your people and capabilities."
Chen nodded. "Please, come with me and we’ll discuss how we might cooperate for mutual benefit.” She guided them into waiting transport vehicles towards a towering citadel. Along the route, Vek glimpsed, colossal fusion reactors, automated infrastructure, and most astonishing, families and children walking without fear amongst such technological wonders.
Arriving at the United Earth Space Command headquarters, Vek received a cultural download on human history. Only an eyeblink ago, they waged wars from the back of beasts and shattered each other with primitive explosives. Now they spanned the Solar System and bent physics to their will, yet retained community and empathy in their evolution.
Chen brought them to a viewing platform high above the city. "This is what 350 years of focused progress has achieved. Our advance began, when we discovered alien wrecks on the Moon containing lost knowledge. From there, our science boomed while social reforms fostered cooperation."
Vek struggled to process such rapid development. "And your military capabilities? Ones matching capital fleets already?"
Chen smiled knowingly. "A necessity of our past, yet now a guarantor of peace. We keep stride to ensure safe expansion, not conquest. See, all technologies serve life's betterment."
Her wise words allayed Vek's fears of some belligerent power. Indeed, humans bore responsibility for such marvels rather than recklessness. She thanked Chen, believing a new partnership had begun that could uplift the galaxy.
As the Balexa departed that day, Vek pondered all she now understood of humanity. A species arisen from war to wisdom, empowerment and care for others. Their defense of all requiring defense through strength guided safely by conscience. Truly an example to follow into a brighter future, if accepted.
But ominous clouds gathered where none before have been...
The Council chambers fell silent as reports of the Balexa's findings spread across the Galactic network. Councillor Vek recounted humanity's technological feats and philosophical underpinnings in great detail. While unsettled by Earth's military prowess, the consensus agreed their intentions seemed benevolent.
As debate resumed, an aide burst in with urgency. "Attack fleets have engaged at the Estron outposts. Casualty estimates are catastrophic."
Gasps filled the room. Estron, a core Council world renowned for compassion, laid defenseless against the ravaging warships. But how had the Anti Council faction pushed this deep so quickly?
Vek turned to the hologlobe, coordinating response forces to intervene quickly. But she knew conventional fleets, couldn't match the invader's new annihilating momentum. Unless...
An idea formed, She opened a channel to Commander Chen, as other leaders objected in shock. "Humanity proving themselves is unwarranted. We cannot condone--"
But Vek sensed Chen had come to the same conclusion. "Councillor, send us all you have on this threat. Our ships stand ready to aid in whatever way is needed."
The Council fell silent at her resolve. Vek transmitted Battle Assessment 716-C and tracked the human warship streaking into hyperdrive, escorted by two escort cruisers. She prayed this unprecedented response would succeed where fleets had failed.
As the human task force arrived at Estron, they beheld utter ruin. Planetoids bombarded into dust, settlements glassed from space. The last distress calls wept through static, as heat shimmered off molten continents.
Captain Sato of the Yamato grimaced at the carnage. "This ends today. Shields to maximum, charge main cannons. Helm take us in."
The faction armada appeared like demons bursting from an inferno, dozens of war beasts thirsting for more conquest. But they weren't prepared for the grey giant, punching through their formation's heart.
Blue lances of plasma speared the leading ship, overloading its shielding and armor in a microsecond. The massive ship erupted in a brilliant fireball that consumed several nearby fighter craft. Meanwhile, precision volleys from the Yamato's mass drivers sheared through the battlecruiser amidships. Secondary explosions ripped the cruiser to pieces, as it drifted lifeless.
The humans coordinated their attacks with flawless synchronization. Squads of escort gunships strafed and bombarded the swarm ships, attempting to flank the capital ships. Their advanced targeting systems, allowed multiple targets to be engaged simultaneously. Within minutes, over a dozen enemy vessels had been eliminated with surgical strikes.
The surviving faction forces regrouped and organized a desperate counterattack. A dozen assault frigates charged headlong at the Yamato, unleashing everything in their arsenals. Shields flared as energy lanced and missiles impacted across the human warship. But its shields held easily, dissipating each strike with efficiency.
Resuming its offensive, the Yamato activated its main cannons once more. Two gigawatt particle beams lashed out, melting through the foremost frigates in a pair of massive explosions. Shrapnel and debris pelted the remaining ships, crippling their systems. Bombardment from the escorts mopped up the drifting hulks.
With their main attack crushed, the rest of the fleet broke into a panic-fueled retreat. They scattered in all directions, pursued relentlessly by human forces. Within the hour, only broken ship fragments remained of what was once a formidable invader fleet.
Aboard the Yamato, Captain Sato surveyed the devastated aftermath with a heavy heart. So many lives lost unnecessarily, due to the faction's brutal conquests. But now, Estron could begin to heal thanks to humanity's intervention. As cleanup crews tended to survivors, Sato opened a channel to Earth and to Galactic Council to deliver their mission report.
Word of the battle's outcome would help forge new bonds of trust, and cooperation between humanity and the Galactic Council.
In the ruins of Estron's capital, Councillor Vek witnessed humanity's compassion firsthand. Survivors were rescued, and cared for without regard for species or faction. She knew in that moment that the Pax Terra had begun, and a new era of partnership had dawned with Earth.

One of the fascinating aspects of outsider reports and analysis is what they see. Given that at this point (1992) the internet was not yet widely available/accessible, this sort of thing would have been difficult to find. And of course SGI wasn't ever going to tell us the truth!
This will show you that SGI-USA (then called "NSA") was failing in recruiting far earlier than perhaps most of us in the US realized. SGI in the USA was basically a flash in the pan; it fizzled fast; and now it's just that rank stale smoke smell that lingers long after the fire's been put out.
This comes from Cults and Nonconventional Religious Groups: A Collection of Outstanding Dissertations and Monographs, "Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism and the Soka Gakkai in America: The Ethos of a New Religious Movement", Jane Hurst, 1992, pp. 150-151. Jane Hurst has some interesting research out there; while she tends toward being uncritically supportive of SGI, anyone who is making statistics available is a big help.

NSA members in the 1960s and 1970s were young (52% below age 30), more than half female (59%), and from a variety of occupations and social classes.

The Baby Boom generation were at most age 19 in, say, 1965 and at most age 24 in 1970.
This youthfulness is largely reflected in the early organization's origins in the American servicemen who returned from being stationed in Japan with their Japanese war-brides - those servicemen tended to be young and from a variety of ethnicities and backgrounds, as the draft was still in effect during that time period (ended March 1975). In addition, the first General Director of the US organization, Masayasu Sadanaga, initially targeted college campuses for recruitment by offering lectures on Buddhism. Sadanaga changed his name to George M. Williams in 1972, in obedience to the (short-lived) direction back then of Japanese leaders adopting American-sounding names (first AND last) in order to appeal more broadly to non-Japanese Americans.

The percentage of Oriental members steadily decreased as more and more white and black Americans joined NSA as seen in Figure 10, above.

Figure 10 (I'll get to that line in another post.)
Ewps - Here's the REAL Figure 10.
Most of the original "Oriental members" were those Japanese war-brides, whose first efforts to recruit new SGI members were directed toward other Japanese individuals.

NSA members came from the major religious traditions of Protestantism (30%), Catholicism (30%), and Judaism (6%). At the time these 1971 statistics were compiled, all areas of American society. By 1983, the age span was even more broad, with 11% of the members age 50 and above, 62% ages 30-49, 24% ages 20-29, and 3% below age 19.

For reference, here are the age ranges for the existing generations in 1983:

• Greatest: Ages 59-82
• Silent: Ages 38-58
• Baby Boomers: Ages 19-37
• Generation X: Ages 4-18
• Generation Y (Millennials): Age 3 or younger.

While these 1983 statistics aren't broken down by generation, here's what is clear:

• 11% of the SGI-USA membership was MUCH OLDER than Baby Boomers
• 62% was either Baby Boom generation or older (though younger than that oldest group)
• 24% was Baby Boomers
• 3% was younger than Baby Boomers.

This means that 97% of the membership of SGI-USA was Baby Boom generation OR OLDER!

IN 1983!!

Notice how this affirms the demographic estimate from this other research: "Soka Gakkai in America": Little appeal/interest outside of Baby Boom generation

Take a look at Table 4.
Specifically, the Age cohort (%) category.
For the Converts, 26% are older than Baby Boomers; 61% are Baby Boomers. That makes 87% Boomer and older. Only 14% are younger than Boomers.
No wonder SGI-USA is aging and dying, with these kinds of numbers!
We are seeing, like, 90% Baby Boomers in the group photos we've looked at.
The pictures back this up.
Also, this comment by an SGI-USA leader a few years ago during Minoru Harada's visit (anyone know what year that was?):

They [top SGI-USA leaders] then went off on how when we create these big-ass meetings, we shouldn't have to look into the crowd and see, and I quote, "A bunch of old-ass motherfuckers" The words of my "superiors", not mine. I think this is when they brought up the idea of 50K to my co-leaders and me. Source

"Old-ass motherfuckers" is all they have. How 'bout showing a little of that appreciation and gratitude SGI bangs on about??
Worse, "old-ass motherfuckers" is all SGI-USA can get.
Further, again referring to Table 4, SGI-USA's membership is solidly 2/3 women. That means it's going to be very difficult for women in SGI-USA to find mates to marry, which means childlessness will be more of a norm than an exception. Child-free is a valid and respect-worthy decision, don't get me wrong, but a religion's most reliable source of younger members is its own membership's children. Since SGI-USA's female members don't feel any responsibility or obligation to bear multiple children (like those poor, stupid Mormon sheepwomen do), there won't be any next generation to take over.
There's a reason so many religions have traditionally exhorted their membership to have lots of babies, why they condemn birth control and abortion. A big part of it is to keep their own numbers up! Source

It's the same problem happening in Japan within the Soka Gakkai:

On the other hand, aging is relentless. In terms of the Soka Gakkai's membership demographics, the "volume zone" where most members fall is the baby boomer generation who joined by the 1960s. They are now late elderly. In the past, the management of centers in various places was handled by the "Gajokai" consisting of Young Men's Division members, but it is no longer possible to secure personnel. Instead, in 2009, the Soka Gakkai launched the "Ojokai'' consisting of "middle-aged divisions,'' scolding them as "young people in their 50s'' and rushing to mobilize them. Source

GOOD LUCK!

For perspective, note that SGI-USA was managing to recruit just "1,000 per YEAR" - including all ages - between 1991 and 1999. Eight years of only 1,000 members added per year, with no accounting for the deaths or defections. Were the years after that more successful, recruiting-wise? I doubt it.

[Then-SGI-USA's public-relations director for the East Coast Bill] Aiken says SGI-USA has attracted about 1000 new members per year for the past eight years. - from 1999. Only 1,000 new members - across the ENTIRE 360+ million-person strong USA - in an ENTIRE year. And this extremely low level of success for EIGHT YEARS IN A ROW!! Source

From 2018:

In recent years, the number of young Soka Gakkai members has been decreasing rapidly . Looking at the participants in the simultaneous broadcasts and roundtable discussions, the majority are of the grandparents' generation, with only a small number of young people in their 20s and 30s, and the number of teenage boys and girls is almost an endangered species .
Therefore, what I am interested in is the population of Soka Gakkai by age group. This time, I would like to estimate the current population of Soka Gakkai by age , based on information I have personally seen and heard and verification from others . Please note that this estimate is very rough.
First, the largest number of Soka Gakkai members are baby boomers (born between 1947 and 1949 [Japan's Baby Boom]). This seems almost certain considering the history of the development of Soka Gakkai .
Also, the total number of members has already been verified by many people, and is estimated to be around 3 to 5 million people. This time we assume about 4 million people .
And this is what I heard directly from a staff member at headquarters last year, who said , `` The number of activists decreases by about 1/3 with each generation.'' I think this is a reasonable rate of decline that can be felt by looking at participants in simultaneous broadcasts and roundtable discussions. It seems that members who have stopped being activists are less likely to have their children join, so this time we will use a value of 1/3 per generation as the member decline rate .
Also, regarding the number of years it takes for generational change, the average age for men and women to give birth to their first child is currently 30 years old. Considering that the average age of childbearing for both men and women when the baby boomer generation was born was 24 years old, and that there are cases where not only the first child but also the second and third children are born, the generational shift will take 30 years. Let's calculate it as if it would take a year . In that case, the annual membership attrition rate would be (1/3)^1/30 = 0.964, or 3.6% .
It is unclear when this trend of declining membership started, but this time we will assume that it started in the year following the baby boom generation (1950). Source

And "Soka Gakkai is like an old people's club":

Regarding the problem of a decline in Komeito votes, or in other words, a decline in active Soka Gakkai members, many people concerned point out that the primary cause is the aging of Soka Gakkai members. The enthusiastic members of the generation who supported the growth of the society along with charismatic Honorary President Daisaku Ikeda are now elderly across the board. Most of the current new members are second- or third-generation members who join because their parents are members of Soka Gakkai, and they are not very enthusiastic about Soka Gakkai's activities. Today, many of Soka Gakkai's daily events are even derided by insiders as "like an old people's party."

And a more recent report (this year):

Back about 20 years ago a good friend and good guy, now deceased, from ChiTown, was commissioned by SGI Central Command to survey every contactable member of SGI in every district in America. The number he came up with was 5% of the number of Gohonzon passed out since, I guess whenever Gohonzon started to be passed out. The total number was about a million give or take, 20 years ago. These were contactable people, not practicing members. I remember going through lists of people we had on the books and trying to see if they could be reached. So the number we came up with was reported. Hearing nothing about it, I happened to run into my friend at some event at Soka U. He mentioned that he did the survey, and gave me the results. I believe he told me the facts. (Not everyone who practiced was a lying asshole.) So about 20 years ago SGI had about 50,000 “contactable“ people who had received Gohonzon. My estimate that about half of that number had zero interest in SGI. Thus 20 years ago, SGI had about 25,000 members still interested in SGI in some capacity. I think it’s the same number today. (2500 districts x 10=25,000.) Like I said before I went to FNCC twice last year, and everyone, including me, were old zany seniors. Neither conference was for old people. Conclusion: SGI is a senior citizen support group. When I joined in1969, we were all hippie ish, rejecting all the old shit, looking for something new and hip. Now SGI looks like old shit. Source

And another (this year or last):

When I joined 50+ years ago the ratio of youth to MD and WD was about 80:20. Now it's the reverse. Our goal is to move steadily back to a youth focus again. Source

Except it's obvious that SGI-USA doesn't HAVE "20% youth":

Youth? They've got to be fooling themselves!!! When I was still with the SGI last February (2023), I went to the kosen-rufu gongyo meeting at the center in my area. Mind you, the state I live in closed its center in 2021 for undisclosed reasons. That aside, the one I went to was in another state, and at that meeting, they had no byakuren, Gajokai, or Soka Group in attendance. Additionally, the only youth at the meeting were a few small children. Source
I feel that SGI is out of touch with anyone who’s younger than 60. The leaders are retired, have a lot of time on their hands and completely disregard the fact that people may work or have families. For young people it’s the old people taking nonsense. Source

The PROBLEM was already evident in 1983 - and none of the SGI-USA's big "Recruit-Youth-A-Thons", like "Victory over Violence" and "Rock The Ego Era" and "50K Liars of Just-Us" (everybody wants to forget the epic fail that was the "Gandhi, King, Ikeda" exhibit), has made the slightest difference in this demographic disaster. In fact, preparing for the 2018 "50K" event, SGI-USA likely had only 2,451 members in the 12-35 (or perhaps 11-39) age group, just 9% of the most generous SGI-USA active membership total (~30,000).

Ikeda could have preserved a "youthful" Soka Gakkai by passing the Presidency to a younger candidate, but Ikeda refused, because Ikeda was too focused on and obsessed with HIMSELF - his power, his prestige, his wealth, his status, his fame, his renown, HIM becoming leader of the world, his PERMANENCY, and his legacy. He refused to let anyone else come anywhere CLOSE to the power and control - he greedily, selfishly clutched it all tightly to himself and refused to share.
THAT is why the Ikeda cult Soka Gakkai/SGI is aging and dying. It's ALL Ikeda's fault, Ikeda's responsibility. IKEDA DID THAT.
Some "mentor". Source

SGI-USA has never managed to recover from that demographic bottleneck that happened no later than 1983.

Had an offer accepted on a house built in 1930 and inspection was completed on Monday.
The roof is less than 7 months old, hot water heater and gas boiler are less than 3 years old and all are in great condition. We also got the sewer line scoped and looked pretty good especially for its age.
Issues that came up during inspection include: - Evidence of termite damage in a 5 foot section of the sill in the basement, although looks like it’s likely old - Crack in the load bearing girdesupport beam in the basement as well as cracks in a couple of the joists - Asbestos insulation around some of the pipes in the basement - Slight negative pitch in a section of the main waste line
Other more minor issues include some small vertical cracks in foundation next to basement windows, some ungrounded outlets, one of the gutter downspouts draining onto part of the roof, chimney needs repointing.
The seller is likely going to order and pay for a termite treatment, but my biggest concern is with the load bearing girder and joists because this is structural and if it needs to be repaired I have no idea how much it would cost, but sounds very expensive. We have a 7 day inspection period and basically have until EOD tomorrow if we want to back out.
What would you do with this inspection report and is there any advice anyone can offer?

I am a seeking a house and this is the garage ceiling. There is living storage above it, so I believe that the PVC pipe exposures don't meet code.
https://flic.kp/2pRjVGQ
Any tips on how to cover them? I plan to screw 2xs into the joists and hang fire rated board on them. I will run the drywall and the 2x4s to match the contour of the exposed I beam. I plan to order a fire rated access hatch to provide access to the filters for the refrigerator, unless there's is a better option...
Edit: also, any suggestions on where to get the fire rated hatch?

Prequel (Chapters 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie
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Christie emerged from the bathroom once her nerves had calmed and found one of the chateau’s windows that looked out on the western ridgelines. She reached into her handbag and produced a stick of lipstick, sighted on a curve of blackness intersecting a particular constellation rising into the night sky, and pushed a discreet button on the base. The task force now had confirmation that Rayker was inside the chateau and the machine would be set in motion.
As she turned to head back to the party, Christie saw a different range of mountains in the corner of her eye. A fishhook stabbed into the muscle of her heart and tugged, while she was nearly overwhelmed with nausea. For a moment, a dusty valley surrounded her, the rocky ground coursing with streams of blood. The ghostly white face of Rose Djallen was before her, life fading from her eyes. Christie wanted to gasp, but she let the pain wash over her in silence, as they had all done so often. A moment’s concentration brought her back to the present, and the dangerous operation ahead.
Rayker’s expression had been so devoid of warmth—as though she wore her psychotic nature with pride. Christie couldn’t understand how someone could be so inhuman. She wondered what would happen if Rayker sensed the trap that was closing around her. Christie knew that she, and probably some of the guests, would be taken hostage. No doubt the dozens of Rangers stalking through the darkness would break cover, racing through the night to rescue her, with one particularly hard-headed individual out front. The highly skilled operators now preparing their own move on the chateau would fight their way inside, killing anyone who resisted them. The Banshee, their well-armed gunship, would break its cloak, leaving its position behind Ambrosia’s second moon to rain hellfire down on the small army that provided security for the Helvetic League’s pleasure planet. Rayker would probably die in a hail of gunfire—giving Rose her deserved retribution—for the Valkyrie would eagerly sacrifice their own lives before leaving one of their own behind.
Then the news of the incident would spread, and humanity’s thirty-seven worlds would talk of nothing else but the secret army of super soldiers that protected them from the arsenal of the Jotnar—an ancient and extinct civilization, who’s abandoned weapons and warships littered the stars. Nations, corporations and crime syndicates would find ways to track down those weapons, exploiting their incredible destructive power for their own selfish purposes. There would be war, billions would die, and, like those who had preceded them, humanity would probably wipe itself out.
Rose had died protecting Christie from Rayker’s drone army, but she had also died to uphold Valkyrie’s ancient responsibility.
That operation had ultimately saved the planet Caldera, but in the chaos and confusion of the battle Rayker had managed to slip away. The organization had spent nearly two years trying to hunt her down, but she was too skilled, too deeply enmeshed in the Helvetic League’s underworld.
The council of chiefs, Valkyrie’s inscrutable governing body, had agreed to form Task Force Nemesis under the command of General Smyrna. She was assigned the Mountain Ranger’s Bravo company—the Venomous Vipers—a Raider squadron of elite counter terrorists, and a task unit from Orbital Demolition Team Four. Supported by the Banshee and guided by Christie’s intelligence gathering unit, their mission statement was simple—do whatever it took to kill or capture Allana Rayker.
As they made slow, painstaking process, they began to receive indications that their target had rejoined her old corporate paymasters at VennZech, the most powerful weapons manufacturer in the galaxy. Then, the news broke that Joakkim Meissner, one of Rayker’s suspected allies, had been promoted to Chief Executive, arranging his party on Ambrosia to celebrate.
He had also invited one of the League’s rising stars in physics. The brilliant young doctor Ernst Kolar was a specialist in theoretical energy development. He had recently published a paper describing a theoretical anti-matter reactor alarmingly similar to those that powered the warships and killing machines of the Jotnar. Christie’s team leader, Jiao Zhang, had offered the high-confidence assessment that Rayker would refuse to let such an asset out of her sight. And, on the protected world of Ambrosia, what could she have to fear?
But Valkyrie had been breaking through Helvetic security barriers since the creation of the quasi-imperial state, and had become extremely good at it. And so, the operation had been set in motion.
Christie took a deep breath and prepared herself, soothing away any traces of nervousness. She left the outer hall and re-entered the party.
***
“Olympus, Olympus, Olympus,” a voice intoned through Kayla’s headset.
The code word signaled that Christie had identified Rayker in the chateau, and the operation was a go. A double burst of static followed; a squad-level transmission from Kes. It was the order to take out the security guards.
Kayla and Ray had crawled as close as they could to their position, readied their stun rifle and waited patiently. As the signal came in, the men had pushed away from their boulder rest spot and were resuming their patrol through the woods. Kayla waited until their line of sight had passed her, before she stood slowly, weapon aimed. A faint rustle told her that Ray had done the same.
The guard at the back, still slurping from a water bottle, fell a little further behind. The stun rifle’s projectile hit him in the neck, shocking his nervous system into an overload state. He seized and dropped to the ground, unconscious. The men ahead of him span and there was a mechanical thump from Ray’s weapon. Her shot struck center mass, and another figure collapsed, just as Kayla pulled the trigger again. The last guard went down quickly, but, to Kayla’s shock, seemed to remain conscious. He struggled on the ground like a dying fish as he tried to reach for his radio, so she sprinted forward and kicked him in the head.
Kayla wrinkled her nose and cursed quietly. The scientist who had trained her squad on the weapon had explained that a failed shot would result in the victim emptying the contents of their bowels and bladder. Looks like she had been right.
“Three down,” she muttered into her helmet mic. “No other contacts in sight.”
Even so, she continued to scan the distant trees carefully.
Ray secured the guards with serum injections while Tian and Yak, the other two members of the fire team joined them. The projectiles were gathered into Tian’s rucksack, and, when the rest of the squad arrived, they moved off through the trees together, climbing the slope until they reached another crest, and a chain link fence.
Half a mile away from the chateau, the main security compound provided a base for the guard’s rapid reaction force. The compound had a single entrance and out of the blockhouse blue light flickered to the loud chatter of an excited racing commentator.
Kayla stopped in the shadows of the trees and waited patiently. The air above her head snapped and cracked as rounds shot past, impacting security cameras and sensors around the compound. The bullets were a large caliber, but with a thermic charge core. Each strike glowed brilliantly as intense temperatures melted through their targets, leaving no evidence of what had neutralized them.
She grinned. Thandi was going to work, and though her presence and skill made Kayla feel much more confident, she would still tease her about doing the ‘easy part’ later.
In the near distance, there were a pair of flashes and loud zaps as the base’s generator and backup went out to EMP charges. Another squad from their platoon was working their own approach. That made Kayla nervous. The two elements would soon have to meet up, and nothing could be more dangerous to those who owned the night than confusing each other for the enemy.
She took her team around the base to the now dark main gate as the on-duty guards emerged to check on the loss of power. Stun rifle shots knocked them out, and the squad regrouped behind the cover of a vehicle bay, while Kayla identified the largest building in the compound and watched it attentively.
They waited patiently until the silence was broken by a new voice on the radio.
“Eyes on the barracks, north side. No movement.”
“South side clear,” Kayla confirmed.
“Approaching,” the other squad leader said.
Kayla waited until she saw shapes emerging from the shadows and sprinting behind the back of the large structure. Then, one leaned out from the corner, watching. Kayla tapped a control on her helmet, and a perfect white line broke through her grey world, pointing towards the figure. She was answered with a similar flash of infra-red energy, and her anxiety eased.
Kes, who had also been watching, tapped her shoulder, and Kayla led off towards the barracks.
From outside the Rangers could make out the annoyed calls of men and women stumbling around in the darkness. One emerged from a side door and nearly got off a shout before Tian tackled him and knocked him out. The two squads moved quickly, cracking open doorways and rolling gas grenades inside.
Invisible and odorless, the gas contained the signature compound Valkyrie used to erase memories. The Rangers waited a few minutes, safe behind their face masks, then entered and confirmed that all inside were unconscious. Kes and Thandi smashed a few liquor bottles against the walls, while others dragged the bodies into the main room, and distributed more ‘evidence’.
Eventually, Kes called ‘all clear’, and Kayla emerged from the building into the night, lifting her faceplate to breathe in some fresh air. She saw her fire team, Ray, Tian and Yak, heading to the vehicles to place EMP charges, and began to follow them, when a sharp rap on her helmet brought her up short.
She turned to see Thandi, vizor up, and an expectant expression on her face.
“Was that a curse word I heard earlier?” Thandi asked, keeping her voice low.
Kayla shook her head. “Negative. I was providing a biological assessment of the dude.”
“Ick. Two in the barracks were uh… in the middle of something when they passed out. I had to pull them apart.” She pulled a face. “That was gross.”
Kayla winked at her friend, who was spiritual enough for the both of them. “Unmarried, I bet. Your god approves.”
Thandi nodded gratefully, then shot her a look. “He’s not just my—"
Kes marched over, her expression severe. “Do either of you have EMP charges left?” she demanded.
“Yes Corporal,” Kayla nodded, and patted her rucksack.
“There’s a couple of transports left in the north corner. Get on it, then rejoin us on the east fence. Come on, we need to move quickly!”
Kayla scampered away, buzzing with energy. The squad still had to head for the chateau, and take up their position in the perimeter that was slowly drawing tighter around Rayker. She glanced at the dark mountains around her. In a dozen locations, radar arrays, missile defenses and communications stations were being similarly neutralized by small teams of Valkyrie from the various units. Soon they would have their prey, and Kayla privately hoped that she wouldn’t surrender.
***
Christie found Doctor Kolar, alone as usual, in the main hall and painfully out of place at such a large social gathering. He nursed a champagne glass, and smiled at passersby. Christie stared at him until their eyes met, and he quickly looked away, pretending to study one of Meissner’s diamond statues.
She walked in his direction, and as she passed, she flashed him a shy smile. Then, returning to her coterie of admirers, she looked back with another friendly expression.
Kolar cautiously approached the group, obviously unsure of what to do. The men ignored him, but the second he managed to breach the outer mass of bodies, Christie was on him.
“Oh hello! I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure!” she cried, extending her hand and beaming like a searchlight.
The other men frowned as they lost her attention.
“Um… All mine,” stammered Kolar. “Sorry. I’m—”
“Doctor Kolar, isn’t it?” interrupted a renowned and pompous pianist. “You’re working on space batteries for VennZech weapons research, or some such thing?”
“Well…” Kolar gulped. “We’re starting a new project on micro-singularities at the Planck scale, you see the current theory on weak—”
“It’s weak, you say?” The pianist laughed raucously as he slapped the doctor’s back. “Well, I never would have guessed, old boy.”
“Tell me, Zotty,” Christie cut in, addressing one of the other men, “Didn’t you just tell me this was one of Meissner’s inner circle?” she tottered forward slightly as she spoke.
“Correct,” the elder son and heir apparent of the largest media corporation in the League replied with a smile. He lifted his gaze from her bosom. “Doctor Kolar’s work is vital for the Maestro.”
Kolar smiled gratefully. “Indeed. Well, it’s about energy generation.”
“Oh, I hope you aren’t helping him make more of those dreadful bombs,” Christie said, and pouted. “War is very wrong! Really, I don’t know why they haven’t sanctioned the company for some of the absolutely horrid things they produce.”
The surrounding billionaires nodded their approval, while Kolar flushed. “No… well, I mustn’t talk about it, but I shouldn’t be getting involved in that side of VennZech’s business.”
“Quite right.” Christie nodded. “Oh, but you’re dry.” She turned to a waiter, grabbed a pair of glasses from his tray and handed one to Kolar.
First ¦ Previous ¦ Royal Road ¦ Patreon
Prequel (Chapters 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie