hi there (18) female here.
i currently live with my grandma (68) and her new husband (57). the other night they had locked me out the house while i was on the way to take a shower and it took me 1 and a half hours to get them to open the door. (i live in a tiny house out back but it doesn’t have a shower). to my surprise they had installed a number lock on the back door, but what’s even more surprising is i had texted my grandmother 15 minutes prior to getting home that i would be in the house shortly to take a shower. which she replied “okay dear”. after my shower i sat down to talk to them about giving me a new key and/or the number passcode. my grandmother then said “i thought your key would fit” then went on to say “we aren’t going to give out the passcode, because it’s the same as the garage passcode and we have very valuable stuff in there”. now i have had many problems with them since my mom moved about an hour away. she still owns the property and i pay my fair share, but my grandmother and her husband don’t seem to get that. so today when i asked again for a key and/or a passcode they told me “well we won’t lock it when you are here”, which i replied “well why don’t we just get a key made” and if went on for a little bit and a lot of words were said, but when i said “this is my house too, and i come in here regularly to shower and eat” she replied and said “this is not your house this is our house”. Was i being an Ahole and should i just let it be? or should i stand my ground?
i have 100s of more story’s aswell about them.
edit: Thank yall for all of your support!! this evening i sat down and talked to my grandmother and her husband. we are in for a ride so get your popcorn!! (a lot fake names are used)
a little back story my grandmother (amy) and her husband (joe) recently got married june of 2022 (no one in the family attended as they eloped) joe shortly moved in 2 DAYS later. at the time i was still new to being 16 and i had only met joe twice. so it was a little weird that my grandmother and her new husband live just down the hall from me (my grandmother has lived with me and my mom for 3 years prior to them getting married) but i got used to it, untill i started to get to know him. i have many many questions as to why a (57) man moved in with his new wife and her daughter and granddaughter, but i had no problems besides joe had no manners. We are going to fast forward to around september of 2023, the plan was for me to move into this tiny house (where my brother had lived before but was moving) but little did i know that amy (grandma) told joe that when my mom moved they could fix it up and make it an airbnb. as i was moving into said tiny house, joe spoke his words to me and my boyfriend (who was helping me move). i was completely blindsided when he told me he was going to fix it up. Keep in mind everything is basically moved in. I’m just setting stuff up. i told him that him “fixing it up” was neither communicated to me or my mother. And he just left and I didn’t hear anything else about it. (untill 3 months later) everything was good untill my mom moved out for her job in november. since my mom was moving out i had gotten a ring camera installed, for my safety and for her to check on me (it’s a pretty far walk from the house). i noticed when i wasn’t home my ring camera would often say “someone’s at your front door” and i truly didn’t think much of it, untill i was on a trip to see my boyfriends family for christmas and something just told me to open the app and see who was there. i then see JOE trying to open the door walk away and come back and try to open it. i told my boyfriend and showed him the video and we both thought it was super weird. the next day i woke up and decided to check the camera, amy had walked in my house with a plunger stayed there for 5-7 mins and walked out with the plunger. so when i got home that week, i asked amy why she and joe were trying to get in my house. she said “oh i needed a plunger” when i pulled up the video on my phone and showed her how she walked in with the plunger and walked out she said “oh haha you know how it is with old age”. LIKE WHAT?? i just left it there and wasn’t going to say anything more. OH! she also didn’t like me having a camera and thought it was super weird.
almost forgot 2 weeks before this key pad lock situation they had added one to the garage door and told me “we aren’t telling people because their is a lot of valuable stuff in there, if you need anything joe can unlock it for you”
okay i think that’s enough back story so back to the conversation today. at first i was talking to amy and she told me how she and joe were going out of the country for a trip this weekend. so i replied and said “okay so, could you give me the code so that i can get in and out of the house” she then said “well we won’t lock it, and goes to say “does your key not fit into the lock?” (keep in mind the same original key lock on the house also goes to my tiny house) i replied with “um, no and you know this because i talked to mom yesterday and she said you acted like my key went in the lock” and she said “me and you mom never talked about it”. i promise at that moment i could have went to jail. this is when joe walks in from outside. i look at my grandma and go “was this his idea to put new locks on the house and garage?” and she replies “stop being disrespectful” and i go “im not the one being disrespectful here!, it took yall 2 hours to open the door and that’s only after mom called you to tell you not to lock the door on me when i can’t get in, i should have just as much accessibility to this house as yall do, i pay for the electricity on my house and the garage that im not even allowed to enter without joes “permission” and now yall are saying i can’t know the code to come and take a shower after a long day? and yall know i usually get home way later than yall.” they are both just looking at me and im waiting for joe to say something but no all that is said is from amy and she goes “you are being very rude” CUE THE FAKE CRYS as her voice gets weak but her eyes are dry as a damn bone. i stand up and say “i either need a key made to go in the deadbolt lock or I need the pin for the keypad” and walk away.
as im sitting here typing this i get a facebook notification and joe decided he needs to post his thoughts and it goes a little like this “im no tired of today kids. they are so disrespectful of their grandparents, things need to change 😡😡” like sir you aren’t my grandpa. i’ve already had 3. that spot has been taken 3 different time!! at this point i’ve called my mom and i told her what i said she said that she would have done the same thing. she said she would call them but i told her to give it till they left and if i don’t have a key and/or the # to the pad then we will go from there.
thank you all for your support and hopefully they will find it in their right mind that this is not okay.

I just finished Tron: Uprising for the first time, here is my thoughts! (Please note that this will have spoilers for the entire series, and also please be aware that this is a very long post, 7 pages long on google docs. Not everyone will want to read something so long, but I thank those of you that read even a little, and especially those that read it all)
Tron is a series I love. Tron Legacy captivated me so much, and released around the time Avatar and Xenoblade did as well. These three go hand in hand for me and all resonate so much with me. When Tron: Legacy ended, I wanted more. I knew about the first movie and it was good, but I wanted more than just those two. I knew about the game Tron: Evolution, but never played it till recently. I didn't know about the graphic novel Tron: Betray until recently, same for Tron 2.0 and it’s comic. With Tron: Identity also having just recently come out, I was excited about it and loved it when I played it. I am also excited we are finally getting Tron 3, called Tron: Ares and that filming has started on it. I just love that all three series, Tron, Avatar and Xenoblade got new content for their series at the same time, so it feels like when they all released the first time. Anyway, around this time is when I also played Tron: Evolution, and read Tron: Betrayal. Both were amazing. I still have to play Tron 2.0 and read its comic, but there was one other Tron canon thing that I was really excited to get to. This was the one extra Tron thing I knew about when Tron: Legacy came out. That is the prequel show, Tron: Uprising.
When the show was coming out, I was so excited, and I did see a few episodes of it and loved it. But I never finished it and was sad it was canceled… I really wanted to see it but didn't for a long time, that is until now. Now I have finally seen all of Tron: Uprising, and wow…This show was really a masterpiece.
This show captivated me so much. It reminded me of Batman Beyond in many ways. The whole cyberpunk, neon vibe futuristic setting is one example, but while a lone masked hero fights under the name of an old hero while the older original hero recruits them and is their mentor is another thing. I also loved that both in Batman Beyond and in Tron: Uprising, the hero likes to go to clubs, spend times with his friends and live his life while keeping his identity a secret. But I comparisons aside, Tron: Uprising was probably the better show due to how it handled everything. This show really does have a huge charm to it and honestly as I said, it is a masterpiece that got me extremely invested from the start to the end. So much so that it was even hard to multitask as I watch the show due to how captivating it was. There was moments and episodes where I couldn't multitask due to how good it was. But before we get to all that let’s talk about the characters.
All of them was great for the most part. To be honest the only one I didn't like was Pavel. He was just extremely annoying and a pain. I get that he is supposed ot be like that but ya I just didn't really like him. I’d say Tesler was an ok villain, he doesn't really get so much of a focus later on in the series but he does do some really cool things and does actually fight so that was cool. The rest though was an interesting journey. For example I really did not like Zed, I thought he was annoying, and him hating the renegade as much as he did at the start just was not helping me in liking him. But after he sees more about the renegade and how he is good, he changed and honestly I ended up liking him a good bit. So I’d say he is my least favorite of the ones I like. I can say something similar about Page. At first I really did not like her and thought she was annoying, But as the eps went on and we started to spend more time with her and learn about her, I really ended up liking her a lot and she ended up being one of my favorite characters. I also like that I started to ship her and Beck about half way and think that their relationship was built up so so so good. You can see that Beck is slowly liking her as the show goes on and this was done in a realistic way too.
I also never shipped Beck with Mara, instead I had shipped Mara with Zed early on, and I like that the show also focuses on that and their relationship a lot and does show that they do actually like each other too, just hadn't had a chance to say it to one another. The journey Mara goes on was also cool because it was the opposite of Zed’s journey, but I’m glad that she calmed down her hate and was the first person to stand by the renegade side…twice, and how she was the big force that really started the uprising in the end. I also loved how they handled Tron. He was also voiced by the actual actor for Tron from the movies so that was great. It was so interesting to see that Tron had survived Clu’s attack at first, and I mean we know this due to Tron: Legacy, but seeing how he survived was something that was thankfully answered with this show. The damage done to him was so sad though. But I think he did a great job in teaching Beck, and I like that the two had their issues with each other but both support each other and honestly grew to be great friends.
I also want to say that Able was also really cool and was a surprise that he knew Tron, and that hew as alive. I do like that he also knew about Beck being the renegade. But I feel like it’s a bit too covenant that Tron’s only other friend is the renegade's boss. I think it would have been better if Able was not Beck’s boss but someone Beck meets later on and befriends or sees as a father figure a few eps in. But either way it works out well with how it was all handled.
I also like the side characters, I thought everyone had a unique personality and worked really well and honestly everyone felt like real people which is really rare in shows. I also like that we see Quorra even if it’s just one episode and that she was voiced by her actress from the movie. I also wanted ot talk about Crys, but I think I’ll leave that for my thoughts on the story. But short version, the dude is insane and awesome. But now, let’s talk about the art style. This art style has so much charm to it! It is so rare that a company will do something new and take a huge risk in doing a new art style. They could have kept the same design choices over all artwork for the show, but left it as a 2D animation. Or even a regular 3D animation show. Both of these options would still look amazing due to the nature of the show’s environments and world design in general. But they wanted to do something unique. They blended the 2D and 3D animation. And you might be thinking, that’s not really anything new, shows do that all the time. But, the way it is handled here is why it’s so different and special. It looks amazing. Both layers work together at the same time in the same layer basically. That plus the world design, and actual artwork together just gives this show such a unique look that really there isn't much like it. The closest I can think of at the moment is the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse movies, but this was made before that. The two are not really identical in terms of animation, but there is some similarities in how they look. Honestly it also makes me think of The New Spider-Man Animated series, that 3D animation spider-man show, never saw it past a few eps but I hear good things about it, sadly that one, and The Spectacular Spider-Man was also canceled.
Really the art direction here is so good. There is so much depth to everything. The colors all shine and glow so beautifully, textures look low polly, but then hi-res, it’s just a fantastic bland of computer animation and traditional animation. It really feels like you are looking at the grid, but with human eyes. It’s the human heart of 2D animation, with the advancements of computer 3D animation. In short it really does feel like Humans and Programs working on this show, just as Kevin was the Human that worked with Tron, the Program to give the grid a new purpose. I also love how the aesthetic is that of Tron: Legacy as well. Everything just looks so good and futuristic.
Another amazing charm about this show is the music. Honestly, the music for the first Tron movie, I don't even really remember. The music for Tron: Legacy though, made by one of my all time favorite bands, Daft Punk, captivated me so much. When I leared they were making the music for this movie I was even more excited for the movie. When hearing the music int he Movie, it just perfectly capture the tone of the story, and of the world. While the studio did make the aesthetic of the world, how things works, and looks and all of that, Daft Punk made the actual sounds of it. They are just as important to the creation of the new Grid as the studio was in real universe, and as Kevin in the Tron universe. Because Daft Punk’s music for the movie really added to the essence of it and made that world feel more realistic as it really did make the world feel like this theme, vibe and sound are all connected with each other. Like they must always be connected to each other because that is the sound of that universe. There is no other way around it.
So that does mean they got Daft Punk to work on the music for Tron: Uprising as well right? Well no. They didn’t. I knew about this when the show was announced as well. There was so much news about it that they would not be coming back for this score. I was honestly so upset. But again from the few eps I saw when I was little I loved everything about it. That included the music. But now seeing the full show so many years later, in 2024…What did I think of it? Like I said, the music is one of the charms of the show. They didn't get Daft Punk to make it, but someone who worked with Daft Punk on the making of the music for Tron Legacy, did work on the music here. And wow! The music on this show is really, really amazing. It’s definitely one of the best TV show scores I’ve heard, next to the Naruto series, and The Avatar the Last Airbender series. This show music is one of those kinds that can be heard outside of the show, you can put it on a drive, you can put it for a workout, or just to hear in general. The music here captured that essence and sound of the Grid that Tron: Legacy was established by with Daft Punk. I am so grateful that they kept this tone and vibe as like for the Avatar movies, James Cameron made a unique sound, that you know is for that world, Daft Punk did so for Tron. It’s fine if others make music for it as long as it’s something that is from that world. We saw this with Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, that game didn't not have music from a composer that James cameron picked for it, but the composer made music that feels true to the movies and that world. The same can be said for the game Tron: Identity.
I wrote my thoughts on that game and this was one of the things I also talked about. That composer who made the music for that game, was not involved as far as I know with Tron: Legacy, or Tron: Uprising. But the music for that game does feel like it is sounds we would hear from the grid. It has everything that Daft Punk set up in terms of music for this world. This just shows that This soundscape is amazing, and honestly everyone is worried about how the music for Tron: Ares will be, but if they keep this core theme and soundscape that Daft Punk made, that the composers for Tron: Uprising and Tron: Identity kept in these works, then I’m sure the music will be amazing.
Going back to focusing on just Tron: Uprising. I am just glad that the music here really does fit this world so well, and does feel like an extension of the movie. There are even subtle musical ques from the music in the movie placed in some of the music here. Overall the music is truly just amazing. But now, going on, what else do I like? Well the last thing I have to talk about is the story. This will also be the things I don't really like at the same time.
This being set between the first two movies and it also being set after Clu takes over was a really interesting choice and I loved seeing how Tron was hiding out and really hurt but still trying to fight against Clu. I think that this story was paced really well, and told so much with the few episodes it had at only 19 episodes. This story really did feel like a rebel, a renegade or anarchist kind of story, but told from the start, as sadly it ends when the full rebelion starts. It felt tense in so many moments given that they really put Beck in really complex and complicated situations and these situations also felt realistic in the way that they happen too. I thought this was one of the biggest charms of the story.
I also loved that each character gets developed really well and how we do see Beck’s reputation grow more and more. I also like the extensive backstory that we are told, we get to see what happened to Tron, and how Clu has been taking over other locations on the Grid. I also like that we even get Tron fully back to normal in the last episode and his return was epic. I also love that this story focuses on events that happen even between Tron being hurt and the start of this show, with Tron being rescued by Crys, and him taking Crys as the first renegade.
Crys is amazing, brutal and smart and I think his relationship with Beck was also really done well and honestly it just added so much to this story as a whole and Tron also learning from his own mistakes too. Also Crys is an awesome character, and he sounds like Jak or Korn from the Jak and Daxter series, cool raspy renegade kind of voice, sadly its neither of their voice actors.
Anyway, the story was told so well, and expanded even on it’s own plot so well. I also love that even though this was on Disney XD, they really were not afraid of using words like kill, and actually killing people in brutal ways. This show is really dark and really mature. I also love that the people we follow are young adults in their 20s to 30s, at least that what it feels like, I mean Terry from Batman Begins also felt like that age group but was not, instead he was a teenager, so what do I know. Also these are programs, they don't really have ages, but the point is, I like that they handled these characters and story elements in a grounded mature way. This story really does have people fighting for their lives, fighting against a tyrant, and the consequences that come from all of that.
I also love that this show talked about how programs are and how they are purposed for something but their coding can be changed so their purpose is another, or they can learn a new code and do other things. I like how Beck fought against his own coding as a mechanic to fight against Clu’s army not just due to them invading his home, but also for killing one of his friends in front of him. But on top of this, one of the biggest charms about this show is that it is canon, and it expands so much on the lore and world of Tron. Honestly this show probably expands so much on the world, that it’s probably one of the few spin offs that I’ve seen that really expands on things we never seen before and expands on what we have, and what we know. That is one of the biggest charms about this. I always wondered, how does a city in the grid really look like? How do programs live? Do they have homes? Do they have gangs? Are they all just doing what they are programed to do? Do they have these kinds of cars or modes of transportation? How does this element of an Identity Disk work? Do they go on dates? There are so many questions that from seeing the movies my mind wondered about, and while we see hints and little answers for some of these things in the movies, we don't really see too much about it as the stroy is focused on the plot, and the situation the characters are in, not so much the world building that a show or book or comic can show.
But this show does touch on all that and more. We see how programs live, that they do date, that they have viruses, and sketchy back alley shops. We see that they have docks, and transport hubs. We see how the world around them is designed for them as Programs. We even see how they are at work, and hanging out in places. We see gangs and many other ways to get around. There is so much, and I mean so much world building in this show that it’s so impressive. So much of it is visually shown, others is stated, others is a bit of both. They also add in so many new things too that just makes this world feel even more alive and thought out than what any of the two movies makes it feel like. This show really is an amazing example of how to do a spin off right, and have it expand on so much that benefits the over all world, and the characters of the movies.
I just love this show so much, but there are things I have to complain about. First, as I said earlier, the show ends with the resistance officially forming. That’s cool and all but I do wish we got more of that as the show went on, instead of just a few people helping out Beck here and there. I also do not like that we are not shown what really happened to Tron after he is healed. We know he gets repurposed and becomes Rinzler, and I love that this show shows that Programs can’t against the repurposing as we saw with Cutler, which explains why Tron was able to fight back in the end of Tron: Legacy, and we even get to see what repurposing actually is and how it is done. But the issue is, Tron is back to 100% at the end, and then it ends. So I wish it would have ended with him being at 100% and fully repurposed instead of Beck saving him from being Repurosed, and then him being changed to have the name Rinzler.
Given that this show answered some questions from Tron: Legacy, it left so many questions open for answers that we needed to fully connect to Tron: Legacy. I know that this would all have been revealed in the second season, or how many seasons it would take to tell this section, but sadly it was canceled. So while this is a complaint, it’s not one that is at the show’s fault.
Another complaint I had is that this show, while great, could have used a bit more down time for Beck, and shown us how he lives his life and the things he likes more often as I feel like for all his friends they did do a good job at that, but not really for Beck. I also we got more from Clu. I also think it could have expanded a bit more on the ISOs than it did. I know that Tron: Betrayal and Tron: Evolution did this, but the aftermath I think was important to touch on as well. Also I wish we learned what happened to Beck. I mean we can assume that Witht eh series ending with Clu coming to Beck’s town with a huge army, that they all fight, it doesn't go so well, and Tron gets captured, repurposed and becomes Rinzler. While for Beck and the others who fight by him gets either killed or repurposed or stuck under Clu’s army unable to fight any more for whatever reason. That’s basically my headcanon of what happened. But it would be nice if we were told and shown what happened after, because that is an insane huge cliff hanger. But ya, those were really my biggest complaints here. I really do think this was a masterpiece and a show that told a realistic story, in a mature way while expanding so much on the movies. There is such a charm here to this series.
I am so sad that Disney literally wanted this show to die even if it had so much amazing reviews and people really did like it and was doing decent. It upsets me so much that Disney purposely kept making changes so that the show died. They had started working on season 2. Daft Punk and Quorra were even set to appear in season 2 from leaked plot details we got. Disney just randomly told them the show was canceled.
Disney went out of their way to literally kill the show by moving it to very late hours, like 11pm, not announcing when new eps were releasing and just kept screwing up the release for the show and when it would air as well. This is just so upsetting, it’s like Disney always wants Tron to do good, and it does, but then they themselves decides to shove it down the depths of their vault because it’s not doing enough. The series as a whole has been considered niche and Disney really is the ones that don't let it shine. Again the series does well and decent over all, but it’s not enough for Disney. That’s why it took 30 years to get a sequel to the original, and why it’s taken over 10 years for a third movie. They wanted a big sci-fi series, they had one, yet then they bought Star-Wars and focused more on tha than this amazing series they have. I love Star-Wars, even the sequel trilogy, but Disney can do two big sci-fi series at the same time.
So the fact Disney purposely killed this show, and used “low viewer count” as an excuse even though they purposely made it so fewer people would see it, is extremely upsetting given it was doing well before they interfered and was getting amazing reviews. I heard that it’s due to them not knowing how to market this show, given how mature it was and it being released on Disney XD. I saw an interview the other day with I think the showrunner of this show, that said if the show was released 5 or 6 years after, he felt like it definitely would have given a new season as it could have been released on streaming as people would be able to access it more, and Disney would not be able to sabotage it the way that they did.
Honestly Tron: Uprising joins the ranks of 2012’s Thundercats show, which Cartoon Network did the same thing to, and other shows as Spectacular Spider-Man, Wolverine and the X-men, Tower Prep, Sliders, Symbiotic-Titan,the OA, the Scream tv show, and Dark Matter as shows that were all amazingly good but got canceled due to stupid studio’s deciding to not continue those stories at all. There are a few other examples such as Sense 8 and Young Justice, but at least those two were able to come back by a movie, and a few extra seasons to finalize the show.
These companies really need to say if they will not continue a show ahead of time so the people involved can at least conclude it. Or at least have the studios conclude a canceled story via a book, comic, graphic novel, movie, or video game. Especially when the series was doing really good. In terms of Tron: Uprising, there is still hope. I mean they revived the X-Men Animated series from the 90s in a comic and tv show continuing from the last episode of that show to resolve it’s canceled plot. So if they can do that, why can't they for a more recent show that falls in line with a movie series that is about to get a new movie soon?
Honestly we could maybe get a conclusion to this story given that the series is still alive. So there is hope for it to be concluded in some way. Maybe we will at least hear about what happened here in Tron: Ares even if it's just summarized in a few sentences by one character. The point is, Disney has a great chance to fix their mistakes with this show and the Tron series as a whole. I also think they are also starting to realize that Tron is important. It is a pop culture icon in a way, and it is also something that is relatable to the world in general with how technology is, I mean, they can always tell so many Tron stories, because of this. I think Disney is also finally realizing what they have with Tron. It seems they really are giving the series a bigger focus now. We have a brand new theme park attraction based on the series in Disneyland. They have so much merch for Tron now in Disneyland as well. We also just got the Tron: Identity game last year, and the company that made the game said they are working on a second one too.
On top of this, Tron 3 is finally being made as Tron: Ares and is set to release in December 2025 according to IMDB. While I am excited for that, I worry that if that is true, then it might not do so well given that Disney moved Avatar 3’s released date from December 2024, to December 2025. While I;m glad that these two series are getting new content at the same time again, as they did when Tron: Legacy released, and now with Tron: Identity, I’m just worried that Disney wont like the amount of ticket sales the movie will make due to Avatar. So I hope the release it before Avatar or after it, not in the same time its in theaters.
I also worry that Disney might not want to continue the series after Tron: Ares, so I hope if that’s their plan, that they do not end this in a cliffhanger and just actually end the series properly. I am also worried about if the movie wont address what happened to Tron at the end of Tron: Legacy, or to Kevin, or to Sam and Quorra, or to the whole Flynn Lives thing that they were teasing after Tron: Legacy came out. I know that Tron: Ares will be about a program trying to leave the Grid and come to the real world, and that will be interesting to see, but they must address these big cliffhanger things from Tron: Legacy. I’m sure they will, given that the production is calling it “Tron 3” and stylized it as “Tr3n” similar to when they were making Tron: Legacy by calling it “Tron 2” and “Tr2n” during production. But either way, I’m just worried given how Disney has treated Tron in the past and the ups and downs Tron 3 had to get to this point for over ten years. But I’m being hopeful that things will be addressed, and hopefully Tron: Uprising will be addressed in it or some other way too.
I just hope that if this new movie has a cliffhanger ending, that they do make a Tron 4 right away and a smooth development. But if they don't plan that unless they like the ticket sales, then at least make it so that Tron: Ares does not have a cliffhanger ending and can serve as an ending to the series as well so at least it all gets closed out good. Or at least have an ending where things are closed out but there is room for future stories if they wish to wait on the ticket sales to see. Just let everything be resolved is all I’m saying. Any way, Tron: Uprising has a chance to be concluded in some way. This show was a masterpiece, and I do hope disney really is serious about giving Tron the chance it deserves. Hopefully we also get more spin offs like this and the games. Overall, I’m excited, and can’t wait for what comes next for Tron.

I'm trying to run Stratified CV hyperparameter tuning on an XGBClassifier using Optuna. This is a multiclass problem with 3 classes (labelled 0 through 2 in the "classes" variable). These are the dimensions of the inputs:
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- "x" is a (4000, 43) sparse COO matrix
- "classes"is a (4000,) dense flat numpy array
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I use Hyperband pruning through callbacks and a custom f-1 function (since XGBoost's .cv() method doesn't provide this metric).
The problem is in the function **weighted_f1_score** (which is executed as a callback through the .cv() method), **preds** is a flat array of probabilities, so when I try to use "argmax" to get the predicted class for each sample it returns an error. It would work if only .cv() simply returned class predictions instead of probabilities.
I'm not sure how to solve this and I'm really stumped by this. I hope someone more knowledgeable can help.
Here's the code snippet:
import optuna
from sklearn.model_selection import StratifiedKFold
from xgboost import cv, DMatrix
import optuna.integration.xgboost as xgb_integration
from sklearn.metrics import f1_score
​
def objective(trial):
# Define hyperparameter search space
params = {
'objective': 'multi:softmax',
'n_estimators': trial.suggest_int('n_estimators', 50, 300),
'learning_rate': trial.suggest_float('learning_rate', 0.001, 1.0, log=True),
'max_depth': trial.suggest_int('max_depth', 3, 10),
'min_child_weight': trial.suggest_int('min_child_weight', 1, 10),
'subsample': trial.suggest_float('subsample', 0.1, 1.0),
'colsample_bytree': trial.suggest_float('colsample_bytree', 0.1, 1.0),
'reg_alpha': trial.suggest_float('reg_alpha', 0.01, 10.0, log=True),
'reg_lambda': trial.suggest_float('reg_lambda', 0.01, 10.0, log=True),
'gamma': trial.suggest_float('gamma', 0.01, 10.0, log=True)
}
​
# Custom weighted F1 score metric for multiclass classification
def weighted_f1_score(preds, dtrain):
y_true = dtrain.get_label()
y_pred = np.argmax(preds, axis=1)
f1 = f1_score(y_true, y_pred, average='weighted')
return 'weighted-f1-score', f1
# Stratified Cross-Validation using xgb.cv() with XGBoostPruningCallback
pruning_callback = xgb_integration.XGBoostPruningCallback(trial, 'test-weighted-f1-score-mean')
strat_folds = StratifiedKFold(n_splits=5, shuffle=True, random_state=42)
cv_results = cv(params,
dtrain = DMatrix(x, label=classes),
num_boost_round = 100,
folds = strat_folds,
early_stopping_rounds = 10,
maximize = True,
custom_metric = weighted_f1_score,
callbacks = [pruning_callback],
verbose_eval = False)
# Use the mean value across all folds as the objective:
return np.mean(cv_results['test-weighted-f1-score-mean'])
​
# Define Optuna study
study = optuna.create_study(direction = 'maximize', pruner = optuna.pruners.HyperbandPruner())
​
# Start optimization process:
study.optimize(objective, n_trials = 100,
n_jobs = os.cpu_count(),
show_progress_bar=True)
# Get the best parameters
best_params = study.best_params
​
# Print the best hyperparameters and score
best_trial = study.best_trial
print('Best trial:')
print('Value: {}'.format(best_trial.value))
print('Params: ')
for key, value in best_trial.params.items():
print(' {}: {}'.format(key, value))
​
# Retrain XGBClassifier on the whole dataset with the best parameters:
best_xgb = XGBClassifier(**best_params,
objective ='multi:softmax',
n_jobs = os.cpu_count(),
booster='gbtree',
tree_method = 'hist',
random_state = self.random_state)
# Fit final model:
best_xgb.fit(x, classes)

Let’s say, after the merger, ten years have pass and this is my headcanon in what could have happened

• In the bustling Colony 9, we see a flustered Nikol dashing through the streets. Tools clatter in his hands, and it's clear that he's overslept. Behind him, Fiora calls out, waving a lunch box with an exasperated yet fond expression.
  
• As Nikol races past his uncle, Dunban, whose taking a less active role in life where beside him, Ashera is training the new generation of protectors, among them some faces we recognize. At the same time, Panacea is also teaching, although she pauses to chastise Ashera for being too stern with the trainees as Dunban laugh.
  
• We then see Reyn hauling a hefty load of food supplies alongside a chuckling Triton, who's bantering happily with Praxis and Theory.
  
• Sharla is next, working on a city garden with the aid of Wulfric. Their work is diligent and meticulous, adding vibrant greenery to the urban environment.
  
• Meanwhile, in Melia's castle, Tyrea scolds a late-arriving Nikol. In response, Segiri and Valdi stifle their laughter, clearly finding the situation amusing.
  
• Elsewhere in the castle, Shulk is engrossed in repairing a research outpost. Tora and Poppi are present, helping him out, with Tora's family busy in the background, crafting more Artificial Blades like Ino.
  
• After some effort, Nikol joins Shulk, Segiri, her sister and Valdi. When his stomach growls, Shulk shares a knowing smile, leading him to the balcony for a shared lunch.
  
• In another part of the castle, Taion, Sheba, and others are busily collecting data to improve the nation's wealth. Eunie drops in to lightens the mood, joking with Taion, who initially seems annoyed but soon softens with a smile.
  
• Back in Alrest, Melia arrives, accompanied by Riki, Kino, and Riku. They meet with Nia, Isurd, and Manana. Melia and Nia share a warm handshake, and start speaking like they were old friends.
  
• Nia then introduces Pyra and Mythra, resplendent in their fancy attire, to Melia, showing great pride with her family.
  
• Within a Mercenary Camp, Roc trains Sena and Lanz, hinting that Sena may take over the guild one day.
  
• In the background, we see Dirk captured by a familiar blond individual, while Herald, Teach, and Linka join in the laughter over Dirk imprisonment.
  
• Rex shares the "Mercenary Codes" with Alexandria, Juniper, and Zeon, clearly taking immense pride in the tradition despite an annoyed Glimmer treating his wounds.
  
• Overview of the new land, Azurda soar through the sky, enjoying his retirement of sort.
  
• In Mor Ardain, Ethel and Cammuravi run into each other and immediately get into a spirited debate, a spark of intensity and possible romance in their eyes.
  
• Elsewhere, Morag and Brighid are assisting Niall with plans for expanding the new kingdoms. As Kasandra walks in with drinks, a snake slithers in, causing her bad luck to trigger, ruining the map by the drink. Yet, they all share a good laugh about the mishap.
  
• Over the open field, Zeke and Pardoria are making maps and marking now what places to go and not go in this new world with the help of Crys and Zenobia.
  
• And finally, we see Mio at a cliff's edge, engrossed in a book. Laying behind Dromarch, her trusted bodyguard and grandpa. The setting mirrors the cliff from which she once departed, offering a poignant echo of the past.
  
• There, Noah walks towards, with a ring hiding behind him.
  

★ Weekly Community Leaderboard ★

8:00am GMT · Mar 01, 2023 ➟ 8:00am GMT · Mar 08, 2023 

Below are this week's top 100 players, with separate listings for all players and mainly solo/duo players.
These stats are based on official MMR matchmaking data. Players must have completed at least 10 games to qualify for the leaderboard.
​

Position	All	Solo/Duo
1	▲ LEGIONER	▲ TehAssid
2	＝ Unique	🔻 100T Sickks
3	🔻 Yttan	⭐ sergeant.gac
4	▲ TehAssid	🔻 cabodani
5	▲ 100T Sickks	🔻 Neft
6	▲ YT/@YellowNugg	⭐ Bardeldoo
7	🔻 norf	🔻 Cyanure
8	▲ sergeant.gac	▲ CoLd
9	＝ cabodani	⭐ Llama
10	▲ Neft	▲ Nyzah
11	🔻 Bardeldoo	🔻 Jaeben
12	🔻 Boinkz	▲ iRawrTwice
13	🔻 Seismic	🔻 ™
14	▲ Cyanure	＝ Clearcastx
15	🔻 Kryptman	▲ SURVIVORTV
16	▲ feakyliejr	🔻 NotRebelOasis
17	▲ Mad Corporeal	🔻 Paragon
18	▲ CoLd	⭐ Empti
19	🔻 Llama	▲ Nugzlit
20	▲ Nyzah	⭐ AppiepickerTV
21	＝ Jaeben	▲ JoeYoursTruly
22	▲ iRawrTwice	🔻 Kryiph
23	▲ jubjub	🔻 fralcon
24	▲ ™	▲ Atlas
25	🔻 JanJan	🔻 Jax
26	▲ Clearcastx	⭐ Tang
27	🔻 eldudikoff	▲ UnreformedPlayer
28	▲ SURVIVORTV	🔻 PerkyFiend
29	🔻 NotRebelOasis	🔻 Vezin
30	🔻 Paragon	▲ Krashy
31	⭐ Empti	🔻 Interrupt-
32	▲ Nugzlit	🔻 Tristis
33	🔻 AppiepickerTV	🔻 Bergman
34	▲ Rahvan	🔻 Edoeasy
35	▲ JoeYoursTruly	🔻 DonovaN
36	▲ jN1oor	🔻 Bondrewd
37	▲ Gannkz	▲ Morose
38	🔻 Kryiph	🔻 JuliLatina
39	🔻 fralcon	▲ Lakenator
40	▲ Atlas	🔻 Xygore
41	🔻 Jax	▲ Aname
42	🔻 Tang	▲ KelHoggs
43	▲ UnreformedPlayer	🔻 Aqua-Manｼ
44	🔻 PerkyFiend	⭐ Province 新 ドラゴン
45	⭐ SnoopDaDoop	🔻 import
46	＝ Godtine	▲ Magic
47	🔻 Vezin	⭐ Pasha
48	▲ Krashy	🔻 TekkenKid12
49	🔻 Interrupt-	🔻 SoulRe4p3r
50	▲ IamAtomic	▲ CM5tarke
51	▲ ProfessorLoki	⭐ CrazyJohn
52	🔻 Tristis	🔻 vXiphias
53	🔻 Bergman	⭐ StaticaL
54	🔻 PabloWazowski	⭐ Law
55	🔻 Edoeasy	🔻 Blacktoast97
56	▲ I TF I MooMuse	▲ ImSoWanted
57	⭐ Ockuram	⭐ TYMEBOMB
58	▲ DonovaN	🔻 ItsMike
59	＝ Vergil	🔻 Toasty
60	🔻 Billa	⭐ Pipos_Show
61	▲ Stiff Nipples	⭐ Chich
62	🔻 DC5_BlueJ	▲ LordHGS
63	🔻 Bondrewd	🔻 Brandonite
64	▲ Morose	🔻 blacktimbs
65	▲ [PTAB] BadNewsBe...	⭐ Haru
66	⭐ I TF I Sneakz	⭐ Light
67	🔻 JuliLatina	⭐ ｵｶﾔﾒﾈｻ
68	⭐ DaWykitat	⭐ APillToCrush
69	🔻 HITMAN4REAL	⭐ WeTooLow
70	▲ Lakenator	⭐ Ultima
71	⭐ 7One	⭐ CrazzyfoolTV
72	⭐ Funderburgar	⭐ ʎddǝɹℲ
73	🔻 Xygore	⭐ xxGhostof117xx
74	🔻 Omèga	🔻 Nilchay
75	⭐ Aname	🔻 Oraaak Style
76	▲ KelHoggs	⭐ I TF I Dabble
77	🔻 Aqua-Manｼ	⭐ CrysIsCode
78	▲ Lnly	▲ TnTo1
79	⭐ Province 新 ドラゴン	⭐ SnakeyQuake
80	＝ import	⭐ Newera2023
81	🔻 Takexa	⭐ Mav
82	⭐ Noz	⭐ yogie bear bandi...
83	⭐ Magic	🔻 Switches
84	⭐ BERZERCOEUR	⭐ Leffmeister
85	⭐ ThotGoat	⭐ Charles Maquina
86	🔻 Kings_Baro	🔻 BingBong
87	⭐ Pasha	⭐ Romawear
88	⭐ Bloodmordius	⭐ sensisoap
89	🔻 TekkenKid12	⭐ I TF I Korpz
90	🔻 SoulRe4p3r	⭐ Steffe
91	🔻 fogedevino8	⭐ naxokira
92	⭐ CM5tarke	⭐ Smevz
93	⭐ CrazyJohn	🔻 Jeice
94	🔻 vXiphias	⭐ AMedkit
95	▲ [VNG]Domo	⭐ bicker
96	⭐ StaticaL	⭐ itsLugga
97	⭐ Law	⭐ Meeks2k
98	⭐ atᴑmic	⭐ youngS
99	🔻 Blacktoast97	⭐ LetMeCook
100	⭐ RulerSP	⭐ Graq Kazkhstan

​
Key

▲ Increase	🔻 Decrease	⭐ New	＝ No Change

​
Congratulations to all players who made it onto the leaderboard this week!

I have this code and the comments are my understanding of it

import numpy as np import requests import xlsxwriter import math import yfinance as yf import csv import re import matplotlib.pyplot as plt from sklearn.preprocessing import MinMaxScaler from sklearn.model_selection import StratifiedShuffleSplit from sklearn.linear_model import LinearRegression #I load the datafram balance = pd.read_csv('cleanedfinancialdata.csv') #I scale the data so that linear regression can digest it scaler.fit(balance) balance = scaler.transform(balance) #I take a weighted random sample balance['market cap categories'] = pd.qcut(balance['marketCap'], 4, labels=False) #I split the data so that the training doesn't influence the results split = StratifiedShuffleSplit(n_splits=1, test_size=0.2, random_state=42) for train_index, test_index in split.split(balance, balance["market cap categories"]): strat_train_set = balance.loc[train_index] strat_test_set = balance.loc[test_index] #I drop the data I want to predict and make a series of it so that i can feed it to #the model balance = strat_train_set.drop("stock price", axis=1) stockprice = strat_train_set["stock price"].copy() #I call the model and use it lin_reg = LinearRegression() lin_reg.fit(balance, stockprice) #I try and predict the stock price of a random company some_data = balance.iloc[:5] some_labels = stockprice.iloc[:5] Predictions = lin_reg.predict(some_data)) 

Is what i'm saying makes sense or am i completely off?
And what is the next step, feeding the lin_reg.predict() the test_set?

dear jessica williams,
we wish to inform you of a precious job opportunity that can line your pockets handsomely. all we Request is that you remain an employee until all the tasks arE completed. the Massive Entertainment complex is abandoned, the reason for this Move is Because wE wished to merge with anotheR company with a goal in mind. to grow and bring joy to all our customers, friends and family alike!
you get paid small lump sums for every task that you complete. if you are an employee you need not worry about how you may obtain your money, i promise you. your goal is to go inside and complete the (7) tasks i have outlined for you. how you complete them and in which order doesn’t matter as long as you get it done. use the key i gave you and look around, you should find a clue to where your task paper is hidden.
if you open that door with the key I will know that you have agreed to be hired as a fae entertainment incorporated employee! we wish to see you soon after you finish at the abandoned complex for a future job opportunity. but I wish to inform you that this job is no easy task. the first (9) employees previously quit because they thought the job was “too daunting.” this opportunity will arise if you do complete the (7) tasks. but with your track record as a capable private detective we believe you can do it!
-Signed Mr.Crickler
I read through the letter and knew something wasn’t right from the start. The capitalization was all off. I skimmed over the letters and numbers and it appeared to be a message. I figured it out pretty quickly but it wasn’t my priority to contemplate further about it. Like the letter said I’m a private detective although I have since retired as my family needed more attention.
I was forced to take this job opportunity as I don’t have the funds to pay out of pocket for my daughter Charlotte's chemotherapy treatment. The insurance wouldn’t cover the full cost, so I ended my retirement and left as soon as I got the letter. Before that I made sure to let my husband and daughter know of what I was doing so they wouldn’t be worried.
An hour later I made it to the site. It was quite expansive like Mr.Crickler said with a look of a prison with tall watchtowers and iron wire gates going for miles. Why an entertainment company needed a compound like this to produce content was beyond me, but I can’t say it didn’t intrigue me all the more. I walk up to the gate and peer through to scope out the area, however I dared not touch the gate on the off chance it was electric.
I pulled the key out from my back pocket and with a quick flick of the wrist the massive front gate doors had started to automatically open. Bells rang from all parts of the compound, that must be the signal he was talking about for my acceptance of the job. Now I had to find my task paper which was hidden away. I walked in the tunnel, it was long and had some semi-circle cuts that made openings to the outside. My footsteps echoed throughout the area and I looked to the left wall of the tunnel. The whole English alphabet was lined up on the ends of bricks. This wall was unlike the rest of the tunnel, as if it were installed there for repairs.
All the letters were lower cased in a red color. The outlier being a capital “J” colored in yellow. I touched all over the wall just to make sure. I knew that the “J” is what I was after as the others sound hollow upon knocking. I pushed in the J and it went to the back and when I let go it recoiled out to its original position. I pushed it in again and looked around to find anything. I found a square compartment located on the bottom of the square space.
Inside was a letter and a small mirror. With childlike joy I opened the letter as my job just got a hell of a lot more interesting. The scope was beyond anything I had thought when I drove here. I pulled out a task paper with the several ones listed in detail. Residing there as well was a keycard and 50 dollars in CricklerBucks, fake money. I put it all away and read the task paper.
dear jessica williams,
if you are reading this then congratulations on your new job! you may use anything at your disposal, and within this site to do your tasks. you need not worry about any property damage or inventory. not to mention that i have left useful items across the whole complex that will aid you. this letter won’t be long but i will now list the tasks for you.
#1 clean up blood in the entertainment hall. as soon as you go into the lobby, take the door on the north left. go through “sector a” and find the massive opening in the middle right. remember to wipe down and clean the pipe.
#2 find all coven related merchandise and burn it. the merchandise was found to be made with cheap flammable material and needed a recall. i need you to go to the counter, find the inventory journal, and seek out the items you need to throw into the incinerator room.
#3 find the red files. on the back left side of the merchandise area is the “file office”, it is locked behind a six digit code that I can’t tell you. You must figure it out yourself with the clues available.
#4 go into the board hall, remove all evidence of coven r. rithman, erase the boards and wash them. take any belongings of coven and burn them all in the incinerator. you may find the board meeting room by going through the north door of the lobby and down the hallway, to the left, then past the security office. you will need a new key card to get in. you may find one of that level in my office.
#5 find mr.covens locked up office and break in. take gasoline from the entertainment hall storage area and burn the whole room. make sure to lock the door tight, and click the green button on the inside or outside to open air vents so that smoke doesn’t flood the area. the rooms are made to be fire proof so it won’t damage the integrity of our marvelous building. this area is located a little bit north of the board meeting room, on the right side there are three glass office rooms with name cards.
#6 delete the specialized folder in the security office room. you only have around 3 batteries in the room to supply power incase of an emergency. each battery only gives around 25% extra power. you have to last around 15 minutes until deletion has taken place. you know where the security room is by now.
#7 escape alive. run for the lobby door, use a fire exit, use anything you can to get out of there.
each task you complete earns you a small lump sum of the total amount like i stated before. i know it looks bad, but i have my reasons for this. it goes only up from here jessica williams, i hope to see you soon.
-Signed Mr.Crickler
I felt shocked once my tasks were unveiled to me, as it was clear as day something was being covered up. However I really need the money for Charlotte. Not to mention that there isn’t much that makes Mr.Crickler a suspect besides the fact of all these elaborate clues, puzzles, and letters existing. I would have to know more before I cast judgment.
I put the paper back into my pocket and took out the keycard. I looked to my left and right. There were roads leading to two massive parking lots. On the north left side was a fountain statue of a woman shooting water out of her hands. On the north right was a small trash area with what looked like the incinerator. I went fully north to the front entrance and swiped the keycard on my right and entered inside.
The lobby was open and the air was fresh. I looked to my right and saw the merchandise area. North of my location was the semi-circle desk with a glass sliding door behind it. Next to that desk was a box TV on a metal cart with wheels, and a small plastic trash bin to the right of it. I walked over to the desk and searched for any resources that could help me with my mission like he said and I found a master key inside one of the four desk drawers. Of course there was the usual papers, office supplies, documents, and there was surprisingly some candy which happened to be my favorite kind. White chocolate orbs with a creamy inside. I took the box and put it on the table. I took two pieces from the box and walked towards the door.
*BZZZZZZZZZZZZSHT* I jumped in surprise.
Apparently the TV on the small metal cart flared to life with static on its own. I kneeled down and went to turn it off, but I saw that it was unplugged from the outlet. I took steps back to the desk and they made creaking noises, as if I was walking on a shambling wooden floor. The trash bin next to the TV cart fell over and two rats the size of cats scurried out and ran towards the door. I bolted away and swiped my keycard, locking the door behind me and looking through the small square window.
The trash bin was upright again.
I took a couple steps back from the door and sat down. Nothing of what I had experienced or seen made sense. My heart was pounding as I don’t like crawley things from rodents to spiders. My footsteps stopped making weird noises, and before all that the floor sounded normal with the usual clicks and clacks of my shoes on the black and white tiled floor. Something was horribly wrong with this place and I couldn’t put my finger on it just yet. I took a piece of chocolate from my pocket and unwrapped it. I popped it in my mouth as I got back up to look around.
After walking for a few seconds I found the door easily and didn’t bother wasting time looking at needless doors. I swiped my card and entered inside the Entertainment Hall and my footsteps made creaking noises once more. I was on guard, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, I felt chills, a burning itch of pins and needles going down from my neck to my lower back. I pushed forward looking around. To my right was a locker with a towel bench. On my far north left was the entrance to the Storage Room. That was where I needed to get the janitorial equipment.
There was what looked like an official crime scene in the middle with yellow tape and four wooden pikes holding it all up. A bloody mess and what looked like bone fragments laid in a dried up puddle of viscera. The large bloody pipe lay to the right side of the door to the Storage Room. I looked around myself as if something was watching my very soul. I moved quickly and entered the storage room.
It hit me in the face so hard and I didn’t expect a thing based on how in shape this place was for being abandoned for years. The wicked smell of damp walls, rusted metal, mold, and other obscenities wafted to my nose as if trying to test my gag reflexes. My eyes teared and I wiped them with my sleeves. I walked around through the maze of tall shelves with various amounts of varied items in disarray, or the peak of unorganization as I call it.
Eventually I found a big clearing with the janitorial equipment which was claimed by mold and knocked over on the floor. I used one of the hoses by the sink to clean it, and fill the bucket with fresh water. The excess water went straight down the drain. I placed the mop in its proper position. I carted the equipment towards the door carefully to not knock any shelves over which could escalate into a dangerous situation.
I approached the door in which I had come in and entered the bathroom. Every footstep made a creaking noise. The wheels of the card made loud sloshing that mirrored a flowing river. As the cart slid across the floor it sent out ripples behind me, not unlike skipping stones at a lake. The place was abnormal, a pristine bathroom except lengthened into a massively long hallway that dips in quality as you go getting more decrepit and broken.
As I walked forward deeper in the porcelain hallway I passed the many sinks and mirrors. I felt that something was watching me but when I turned nothing was there. I looked forward and witnessed a horrifying sight. A man, a tall man who loomed over me and had abnormally lengthed fingers unlike a natural human. He wore an open safety harness over a greasy looking sweatshirt with patchwork sewing done all over. Especially in the two-opening pocket area. He wore well kept fancy dress pants, and his shoes were less to be desired. Wooden shoes that clicked and clacked with each step. Not to mention that string and leather strips were glued on to give them some semblance of fashion.
His face was gray and human, his eyes were lifeless. As if his smile alone could turn my blood to ice. I rubbed my eyes and my heart started pounding. The bathroom started to disappear from the back end and started to unmanifest towards me. Black fog jetted towards me without a second’s notice. The man approached me. Every limp resulted in a creak and crack that tickled my ear drums. Every joint and limb movement sent screams of agony to my ears, yet he never spoke. My legs started working on their own and I ditched the equipment without a second thought.
I didn’t focus on screaming as much as I did running. I couldn’t find the time to let out a yelp. The man got even faster as a consequence. The tortured and twisted sounds of hellish screams and crys for help. The snapping and cracking of bones as he tries to run but only results in an uncanny limp that speeds up as he moves closer with his blood lust. Tiles lifted from the floor and I was pelted relentlessly. Shielding the back of my head with my arms that got bruised and cut. The stall doors were opening and closing rapidly creating a swooshing sound of the ocean, the sinks faucets bent upwards towards me and blasted jet streams of water in my direction.
The mirrors shattered with glass everywhere like mini-explosions. I finally reached the door and ran outside into the Entertainment Hall. I stopped out of breath at the right side of the room in a panic. I had never experienced a monster like that before. My eyes twitched and my mind tried to make sense of something many would find hard to believe. I watched the door with the utmost readiness and anxiety, waiting for that same man to jump out at me once more.
However the noises ceased and everything felt normal once more. To comfort myself I tried to take out another one of my favorite white chocolates. The last one on me was not only melted, but it didn’t help that my clothes were soaked from the water and blood. I pushed back my messed up hair and squeezed the water out, and wiped my face with both hands. I remembered the towel bench on my left and walked over there. The adrenaline started to calm down and the pain settled in.
I put a towel on my hair and left it. I opened the locker and rummaged around, managing to find an emergency med kit. I spent two hours plucking and picking the glass and broken porcelain tile out of my body. I utilized my phone camera and that small mirror I had found before to get better angles on any hidden injuries. I used disinfectant, the burning sensation hurt like hell but thankfully wore off in a few minutes.
After that I wrapped my arms, thighs, back, and midsection in bandages. I pulled out an employee outfit I had found when putting the medkit back. I changed my clothes and felt better, sitting down and resting my head against the wall. I stared up at the ceiling giving deep breaths. I ended my break and carefully walked towards the ominous storage room. I peered inside and saw shelves broken and knocked over. Boxes of porcelain tiles were destroyed. The faucet of the sink was bent in a direction that pointed right at me. Safe to say that the place was a wreck, and I quickly carted the janitorial equipment out of there and to the crime scene.
I plunged the mop into the water and started sweeping the blood. I used the gloves in the cart to pick up the bone fragments and I dropped them into the bucket. When the blood was gone I dried up the mess with the towels. I turned my attention to the massive pipe covered in blood and I made a way to clean that as well. After all this I was done with my first task. I was tired and felt like going home, after that there was no way in hell I would sleep here tonight. Not to mention that I want answers from Mr.Crickler, of what he brought me into.
I grabbed the handle and pulled the equipment towards the storage room door. The man finally came out fuming, as if the act of cleaning up that blood was a mistake I had made. I pulled out my key card and started running. The man walked after me with a chilling confidence he would see me dead. I swiped the key card at the entrance and quickly shut the door. I ran down Sector A and heard glass blast to the wall as the door was broken by the mysterious force.
My footsteps made creaking noises of varying decibels. The keycard felt slimy, and my shoes felt hot. The floor felt bouncy as if I walked on a trampoline. This got worse as I lost my balance smacking right into the door. I swiped the key card reader and opened the door. The man lifted his leg and kicked the door open shattering the glass. Thankfully I was far enough away to not get injured. I grabbed my bag and chocolate box from the desk and ran for the exit fearing for my life.
That thing let out a sharp shrilling shriek in my direction that made me nauseous. It leapt forward at the door once I had shut it. I quickly put the chocolate in my bag and ran as fast as I could to my car. He kept following me as I started making my way down the tunnel. Iron gates began to manifest out of nowhere and fall from the slots of the ceiling behind me and the man could pass through them. They dropped faster and faster. The black inky liquid made its way to my feet and it was sticky as all hell.
I slid my feet out carefully and stood on my tippy toes inside the shoes. I side jumped and rolled on the grass. I didn’t have shoes now but I ducked into the last opening before another metal gate could materialize and fall down. With the pain of rocks and concrete hurting my feet I didn’t stop and arrived at my car. I needed to catch my breath and rested on the driver seat with the door closed. I looked over at the man who had stopped chasing me as if he couldn’t leave that place. Or as if he didn’t want to leave that place just yet.
I looked at one of the camera’s and pulled a pen and paper out of my bag to write with. I wrote some questions and concerns I had as to what the hell was going on with that demon. I wrote that I wasn’t quitting, I would consider this situation from the safety of my home.
I was very exhausted mentally and physically from this. If someone else was in my position untrained I’m sure they would have died. But even as rusty as I am, I’m still capable. I started up the car and before I could drive off, a package fell from the sky and landed onto the ground with a thud. The drone flew off into the distance. My immense curiosity got the better of me and I went to inspect the box.
I would have assumed it were a bomb if it had not been dropped from so high in the air. Not to mention that the contents inside must not be fragile anyways.
I squatted down and used a pocket knife from my bag to slowly and carefully open the box. When I peered inside I was blown away. I counted $120,000 dollars inside total with a final note. I was excited to see what he had to say. As it is not everyday a drone drops payment on the same day you finish a shift. I took out the paper and read it.
dear jessica williams,
i’m sorry if these letters seem repetitive. but it is one of the only ways i may communicate with you as my calls and emails are being tracked every day. i noticed that you wrote me a letter next to the camera. i am nearby, i’ll read it soon and get back to you. i saw that you had completed the first task and i’m proud of you. i’m horribly sorry for what I put you through without any warning.
there is more to this story that you simply know. perhaps you have already gone to suspect me for something. but I promise you that all answers will come eventually, either given to you or sought out by you.
your first lump sum payment has been sent for you remotely. you should go home to your family and rest for as long as you need. that should be enough to pay for your daughter's treatment out of pocket, however it really depends whether you wish to come back or not. if you don’t return within two weeks i will have considered that you had a change of mind and no longer wish to be an employee at fae entertainment Incorporated. however this misunderstanding can be mitigated with some simple letter to letter communication in this exact location under the gate camera. thank you again for the hard work jessica, and if you do decide to come back, I’ll inform you on what’s really going on here.
-Signed Mr.Crickler
I thought for a while inside my car. I wondered how he knew I needed money for my daughter's cancer treatment. Never in my life have I been in a fresh new situation like this as a private detective. My daughter's cancer treatment could be paid for now, but do I really want to be bored in early retirement as a mother? I feared for my life every second during those encounters with that man, however the rush I felt reminded me of the fun I had on the job. I kept the letter in a safe place for later, and drove home to see my family once more. I knew that if I were more prepared, I would welcome coming back with open arms.

This is my first story, a simple short horror story with a ton of ambition at the start. It went through multiple editing and rewriting phases from draft to being submitted on nosleep. Since Nosleep has a horrible rule banning criticism good or bad, this means that you can't improve on Nosleep. So I put my story below this and look forward to seeing what you think. Also the un-capitalized text with random caps is on purpose, however you can still critique it.
dear jessica williams,
we wish to inform you of a precious job opportunity that can line your pockets handsomely. all we Request is that you remain an employee until all the tasks arE completed. the Massive Entertainment complex is abandoned, the reason for this Move is Because wE wished to merge with anotheR company with a goal in mind. to grow and bring joy to all our customers, friends and family alike!
you get paid small lump sums for every task that you complete. if you are an employee you need not worry about how you may obtain your money, i promise you. your goal is to go inside and complete the (7) tasks i have outlined for you. how you complete them and in which order doesn’t matter as long as you get it done. use the key i gave you and look around, you should find a clue to where your task paper is hidden.
if you open that door with the key I will know that you have agreed to be hired as a fae entertainment incorporated employee! we wish to see you soon after you finish at the abandoned complex for a future job opportunity. but I wish to inform you that this job is no easy task. the first (9) employees previously quit because they thought the job was “too daunting.” this opportunity will arise if you do complete the (7) tasks. but with your track record as a capable private detective we believe you can do it!
-Signed Mr.Crickler
I read through the letter and knew something wasn’t right from the start. The capitalization was all off. I skimmed over the letters and numbers and it appeared to be a message. I figured it out pretty quickly but it wasn’t my priority to contemplate further about it. Like the letter said I’m a private detective although I have since retired as my family needed more attention.
I was forced to take this job opportunity as I don’t have the funds to pay out of pocket for my daughter Charlotte's chemotherapy treatment. The insurance wouldn’t cover the full cost, so I ended my retirement and left as soon as I got the letter. Before that I made sure to let my husband and daughter know of what I was doing so they wouldn’t be worried.
An hour later I made it to the site. It was quite expansive like Mr.Crickler said with a look of a prison with tall watchtowers and iron wire gates going for miles. Why an entertainment company needed a compound like this to produce content was beyond me, but I can’t say it didn’t intrigue me all the more. I walk up to the gate and peer through to scope out the area, however I dared not touch the gate on the off chance it was electric.
I pulled the key out from my back pocket and with a quick flick of the wrist the massive front gate doors had started to automatically open. Bells rang from all parts of the compound, that must be the signal he was talking about for my acceptance of the job. Now I had to find my task paper which was hidden away. I walked in the tunnel, it was long and had some semi-circle cuts that made openings to the outside. My footsteps echoed throughout the area and I looked to the left wall of the tunnel. The whole English alphabet was lined up on the ends of bricks. This wall was unlike the rest of the tunnel, as if it were installed there for repairs.
All the letters were lower cased in a red color. The outlier being a capital “J” colored in yellow. I touched all over the wall just to make sure. I knew that the “J” is what I was after as the others sound hollow upon knocking. I pushed in the J and it went to the back and when I let go it recoiled out to its original position. I pushed it in again and looked around to find anything. I found a square compartment located on the bottom of the square space.
Inside was a letter and a small mirror. With childlike joy I opened the letter as my job just got a hell of a lot more interesting. The scope was beyond anything I had thought when I drove here. I pulled out a task paper with the several ones listed in detail. Residing there as well was a keycard and 50 dollars in CricklerBucks, fake money. I put it all away and read the task paper.
dear jessica williams,
if you are reading this then congratulations on your new job! you may use anything at your disposal, and within this site to do your tasks. you need not worry about any property damage or inventory. not to mention that i have left useful items across the whole complex that will aid you. this letter won’t be long but i will now list the tasks for you.
#1 clean up blood in the entertainment hall. as soon as you go into the lobby, take the door on the north left. go through “sector a” and find the massive opening in the middle right. remember to wipe down and clean the pipe.
#2 find all coven related merchandise and burn it. the merchandise was found to be made with cheap flammable material and needed a recall. i need you to go to the counter, find the inventory journal, and seek out the items you need to throw into the incinerator room.
#3 find the red files. on the back left side of the merchandise area is the “file office”, it is locked behind a six digit code that I can’t tell you. You must figure it out yourself with the clues available.
#4 go into the board hall, remove all evidence of coven r. rithman, erase the boards and wash them. take any belongings of coven and burn them all in the incinerator. you may find the board meeting room by going through the north door of the lobby and down the hallway, to the left, then past the security office. you will need a new key card to get in. you may find one of that level in my office.
#5 find mr.covens locked up office and break in. take gasoline from the entertainment hall storage area and burn the whole room. make sure to lock the door tight, and click the green button on the inside or outside to open air vents so that smoke doesn’t flood the area. the rooms are made to be fire proof so it won’t damage the integrity of our marvelous building. this area is located a little bit north of the board meeting room, on the right side there are three glass office rooms with name cards.
#6 delete the specialized folder in the security office room. you only have around 3 batteries in the room to supply power incase of an emergency. each battery only gives around 25% extra power. you have to last around 15 minutes until deletion has taken place. you know where the security room is by now.
#7 escape alive. run for the lobby door, use a fire exit, use anything you can to get out of there.
each task you complete earns you a small lump sum of the total amount like i stated before. i know it looks bad, but i have my reasons for this. it goes only up from here jessica williams, i hope to see you soon.
-Signed Mr.Crickler
I felt shocked once my tasks were unveiled to me, as it was clear as day something was being covered up. However I really need the money for Charlotte. Not to mention that there isn’t much that makes Mr.Crickler a suspect besides the fact of all these elaborate clues, puzzles, and letters existing. I would have to know more before I cast judgment.
I put the paper back into my pocket and took out the keycard. I looked to my left and right. There were roads leading to two massive parking lots. On the north left side was a fountain statue of a woman shooting water out of her hands. On the north right was a small trash area with what looked like the incinerator. I went fully north to the front entrance and swiped the keycard on my right and entered inside.
The lobby was open and the air was fresh. I looked to my right and saw the merchandise area. North of my location was the semi-circle desk with a glass sliding door behind it. Next to that desk was a box TV on a metal cart with wheels, and a small plastic trash bin to the right of it. I walked over to the desk and searched for any resources that could help me with my mission like he said and I found a master key inside one of the four desk drawers. Of course there was the usual papers, office supplies, documents, and there was surprisingly some candy which happened to be my favorite kind. White chocolate orbs with a creamy inside. I took the box and put it on the table. I took two pieces from the box and walked towards the door.
*BZZZZZZZZZZZZSHT* I jumped in surprise.
Apparently the TV on the small metal cart flared to life with static on its own. I kneeled down and went to turn it off, but I saw that it was unplugged from the outlet. I took steps back to the desk and they made creaking noises, as if I was walking on a shambling wooden floor. The trash bin next to the TV cart fell over and two rats the size of cats scurried out and ran towards the door. I bolted away and swiped my keycard, locking the door behind me and looking through the small square window.
The trash bin was upright again.
I took a couple steps back from the door and sat down. Nothing of what I had experienced or seen made sense. My heart was pounding as I don’t like crawley things from rodents to spiders. My footsteps stopped making weird noises, and before all that the floor sounded normal with the usual clicks and clacks of my shoes on the black and white tiled floor. Something was horribly wrong with this place and I couldn’t put my finger on it just yet. I took a piece of chocolate from my pocket and unwrapped it. I popped it in my mouth as I got back up to look around.
After walking for a few seconds I found the door easily and didn’t bother wasting time looking at needless doors. I swiped my card and entered inside the Entertainment Hall and my footsteps made creaking noises once more. I was on guard, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, I felt chills, a burning itch of pins and needles going down from my neck to my lower back. I pushed forward looking around. To my right was a locker with a towel bench. On my far north left was the entrance to the Storage Room. That was where I needed to get the janitorial equipment.
There was what looked like an official crime scene in the middle with yellow tape and four wooden pikes holding it all up. A bloody mess and what looked like bone fragments laid in a dried up puddle of viscera. The large bloody pipe lay to the right side of the door to the Storage Room. I looked around myself as if something was watching my very soul. I moved quickly and entered the storage room.
It hit me in the face so hard and I didn’t expect a thing based on how in shape this place was for being abandoned for years. The wicked smell of damp walls, rusted metal, mold, and other obscenities wafted to my nose as if trying to test my gag reflexes. My eyes teared and I wiped them with my sleeves. I walked around through the maze of tall shelves with various amounts of varied items in disarray, or the peak of unorganization as I call it.
Eventually I found a big clearing with the janitorial equipment which was claimed by mold and knocked over on the floor. I used one of the hoses by the sink to clean it, and fill the bucket with fresh water. The excess water went straight down the drain. I placed the mop in its proper position. I carted the equipment towards the door carefully to not knock any shelves over which could escalate into a dangerous situation.
I approached the door in which I had come in and entered the bathroom. Every footstep made a creaking noise. The wheels of the card made loud sloshing that mirrored a flowing river. As the cart slid across the floor it sent out ripples behind me, not unlike skipping stones at a lake. The place was abnormal, a pristine bathroom except lengthened into a massively long hallway that dips in quality as you go getting more decrepit and broken.
As I walked forward deeper in the porcelain hallway I passed the many sinks and mirrors. I felt that something was watching me but when I turned nothing was there. I looked forward and witnessed a horrifying sight. A man, a tall man who loomed over me and had abnormally lengthed fingers unlike a natural human. He wore an open safety harness over a greasy looking sweatshirt with patchwork sewing done all over. Especially in the two-opening pocket area. He wore well kept fancy dress pants, and his shoes were less to be desired. Wooden shoes that clicked and clacked with each step. Not to mention that string and leather strips were glued on to give them some semblance of fashion.
His face was gray and human, his eyes were lifeless. As if his smile alone could turn my blood to ice. I rubbed my eyes and my heart started pounding. The bathroom started to disappear from the back end and started to unmanifest towards me. Black fog jetted towards me without a second’s notice. The man approached me. Every limp resulted in a creak and crack that tickled my ear drums. Every joint and limb movement sent screams of agony to my ears, yet he never spoke. My legs started working on their own and I ditched the equipment without a second thought.
I didn’t focus on screaming as much as I did running. I couldn’t find the time to let out a yelp. The man got even faster as a consequence. The tortured and twisted sounds of hellish screams and crys for help. The snapping and cracking of bones as he tries to run but only results in an uncanny limp that speeds up as he moves closer with his blood lust. Tiles lifted from the floor and I was pelted relentlessly. Shielding the back of my head with my arms that got bruised and cut. The stall doors were opening and closing rapidly creating a swooshing sound of the ocean, the sinks faucets bent upwards towards me and blasted jet streams of water in my direction.
The mirrors shattered with glass everywhere like mini-explosions. I finally reached the door and ran outside into the Entertainment Hall. I stopped out of breath at the right side of the room in a panic. I had never experienced a monster like that before. My eyes twitched and my mind tried to make sense of something many would find hard to believe. I watched the door with the utmost readiness and anxiety, waiting for that same man to jump out at me once more.
However the noises ceased and everything felt normal once more. To comfort myself I tried to take out another one of my favorite white chocolates. The last one on me was not only melted, but it didn’t help that my clothes were soaked from the water and blood. I pushed back my messed up hair and squeezed the water out, and wiped my face with both hands. I remembered the towel bench on my left and walked over there. The adrenaline started to calm down and the pain settled in.
I put a towel on my hair and left it. I opened the locker and rummaged around, managing to find an emergency med kit. I spent two hours plucking and picking the glass and broken porcelain tile out of my body. I utilized my phone camera and that small mirror I had found before to get better angles on any hidden injuries. I used disinfectant, the burning sensation hurt like hell but thankfully wore off in a few minutes.
After that I wrapped my arms, thighs, back, and midsection in bandages. I pulled out an employee outfit I had found when putting the medkit back. I changed my clothes and felt better, sitting down and resting my head against the wall. I stared up at the ceiling giving deep breaths. I ended my break and carefully walked towards the ominous storage room. I peered inside and saw shelves broken and knocked over. Boxes of porcelain tiles were destroyed. The faucet of the sink was bent in a direction that pointed right at me. Safe to say that the place was a wreck, and I quickly carted the janitorial equipment out of there and to the crime scene.
I plunged the mop into the water and started sweeping the blood. I used the gloves in the cart to pick up the bone fragments and I dropped them into the bucket. When the blood was gone I dried up the mess with the towels. I turned my attention to the massive pipe covered in blood and I made a way to clean that as well. After all this I was done with my first task. I was tired and felt like going home, after that there was no way in hell I would sleep here tonight. Not to mention that I want answers from Mr.Crickler, of what he brought me into.
I grabbed the handle and pulled the equipment towards the storage room door. The man finally came out fuming, as if the act of cleaning up that blood was a mistake I had made. I pulled out my key card and started running. The man walked after me with a chilling confidence he would see me dead. I swiped the key card at the entrance and quickly shut the door. I ran down Sector A and heard glass blast to the wall as the door was broken by the mysterious force.
My footsteps made creaking noises of varying decibels. The keycard felt slimy, and my shoes felt hot. The floor felt bouncy as if I walked on a trampoline. This got worse as I lost my balance smacking right into the door. I swiped the key card reader and opened the door. The man lifted his leg and kicked the door open shattering the glass. Thankfully I was far enough away to not get injured. I grabbed my bag and chocolate box from the desk and ran for the exit fearing for my life.
That thing let out a sharp shrilling shriek in my direction that made me nauseous. It leapt forward at the door once I had shut it. I quickly put the chocolate in my bag and ran as fast as I could to my car. He kept following me as I started making my way down the tunnel. Iron gates began to manifest out of nowhere and fall from the slots of the ceiling behind me and the man could pass through them. They dropped faster and faster. The black inky liquid made its way to my feet and it was sticky as all hell.
I slid my feet out carefully and stood on my tippy toes inside the shoes. I side jumped and rolled on the grass. I didn’t have shoes now but I ducked into the last opening before another metal gate could materialize and fall down. With the pain of rocks and concrete hurting my feet I didn’t stop and arrived at my car. I needed to catch my breath and rested on the driver seat with the door closed. I looked over at the man who had stopped chasing me as if he couldn’t leave that place. Or as if he didn’t want to leave that place just yet.
I looked at one of the camera’s and pulled a pen and paper out of my bag to write with. I wrote some questions and concerns I had as to what the hell was going on with that demon. I wrote that I wasn’t quitting, I would consider this situation from the safety of my home.
I was very exhausted mentally and physically from this. If someone else was in my position untrained I’m sure they would have died. But even as rusty as I am, I’m still capable. I started up the car and before I could drive off, a package fell from the sky and landed onto the ground with a thud. The drone flew off into the distance. My immense curiosity got the better of me and I went to inspect the box.
I would have assumed it were a bomb if it had not been dropped from so high in the air. Not to mention that the contents inside must not be fragile anyways.
I squatted down and used a pocket knife from my bag to slowly and carefully open the box. When I peered inside I was blown away. I counted $120,000 dollars inside total with a final note. I was excited to see what he had to say. As it is not everyday a drone drops payment on the same day you finish a shift. I took out the paper and read it.
dear jessica williams,
i’m sorry if these letters seem repetitive. but it is one of the only ways i may communicate with you as my calls and emails are being tracked every day. i noticed that you wrote me a letter next to the camera. i am nearby, i’ll read it soon and get back to you. i saw that you had completed the first task and i’m proud of you. i’m horribly sorry for what I put you through without any warning.
there is more to this story that you simply know. perhaps you have already gone to suspect me for something. but I promise you that all answers will come eventually, either given to you or sought out by you.
your first lump sum payment has been sent for you remotely. you should go home to your family and rest for as long as you need. that should be enough to pay for your daughter's treatment out of pocket, however it really depends whether you wish to come back or not. if you don’t return within two weeks i will have considered that you had a change of mind and no longer wish to be an employee at fae entertainment Incorporated. however this misunderstanding can be mitigated with some simple letter to letter communication in this exact location under the gate camera. thank you again for the hard work jessica, and if you do decide to come back, I’ll inform you on what’s really going on here.
-Signed Mr.Crickler
I thought for a while inside my car. I wondered how he knew I needed money for my daughter's cancer treatment. Never in my life have I been in a fresh new situation like this as a private detective. My daughter's cancer treatment could be paid for now, but do I really want to be bored in early retirement as a mother? I feared for my life every second during those encounters with that man, however the rush I felt reminded me of the fun I had on the job. I kept the letter in a safe place for later, and drove home to see my family once more. I knew that if I were more prepared, I would welcome coming back with open arms.

dear jessica williams,
we wish to inform you of a precious job opportunity that can line your pockets handsomely. all we Request is that you remain an employee until all the tasks arE completed. the Massive Entertainment complex is abandoned, the reason for this Move is Because wE wished to merge with anotheR company with a goal in mind. to grow and bring joy to all our customers, friends and family alike!
you get paid small lump sums for every task that you complete. if you are an employee you need not worry about how you may obtain your money, i promise you. your goal is to go inside and complete the (7) tasks i have outlined for you. how you complete them and in which order doesn’t matter as long as you get it done. use the key i gave you and look around, you should find a clue to where your task paper is hidden.
if you open that door with the key I will know that you have agreed to be hired as a fae entertainment incorporated employee! we wish to see you soon after you finish at the abandoned complex for a future job opportunity. but I wish to inform you that this job is no easy task. the first (9) employees previously quit because they thought the job was “too daunting.” this opportunity will arise if you do complete the (7) tasks. but with your track record as a capable private detective we believe you can do it!
-Signed Mr.Crickler
I read through the letter and knew something wasn’t right from the start. The capitalization was all off. I skimmed over the letters and numbers and it appeared to be a message. I figured it out pretty quickly but it wasn’t my priority to contemplate further about it. Like the letter said I’m a private detective although I have since retired as my family needed more attention.
I was forced to take this job opportunity as I don’t have the funds to pay out of pocket for my daughter Charlotte's chemotherapy treatment. The insurance wouldn’t cover the full cost, so I ended my retirement and left as soon as I got the letter. Before that I made sure to let my husband and daughter know of what I was doing so they wouldn’t be worried.
An hour later I made it to the site. It was quite expansive like Mr.Crickler said with a look of a prison with tall watchtowers and iron wire gates going for miles. Why an entertainment company needed a compound like this to produce content was beyond me, but I can’t say it didn’t intrigue me all the more. I walk up to the gate and peer through to scope out the area, however I dared not touch the gate on the off chance it was electric.
I pulled the key out from my back pocket and with a quick flick of the wrist the massive front gate doors had started to automatically open. Bells rang from all parts of the compound, that must be the signal he was talking about for my acceptance of the job. Now I had to find my task paper which was hidden away. I walked in the tunnel, it was long and had some semi-circle cuts that made openings to the outside. My footsteps echoed throughout the area and I looked to the left wall of the tunnel. The whole English alphabet was lined up on the ends of bricks. This wall was unlike the rest of the tunnel, as if it were installed there for repairs.
All the letters were lower cased in a red color. The outlier being a capital “J” colored in yellow. I touched all over the wall just to make sure. I knew that the “J” is what I was after as the others sound hollow upon knocking. I pushed in the J and it went to the back and when I let go it recoiled out to its original position. I pushed it in again and looked around to find anything. I found a square compartment located on the bottom of the square space.
Inside was a letter and a small mirror. With childlike joy I opened the letter as my job just got a hell of a lot more interesting. The scope was beyond anything I had thought when I drove here. I pulled out a task paper with the several ones listed in detail. Residing there as well was a keycard and 50 dollars in CricklerBucks, fake money. I put it all away and read the task paper.
dear jessica williams,
if you are reading this then congratulations on your new job! you may use anything at your disposal, and within this site to do your tasks. you need not worry about any property damage or inventory. not to mention that i have left useful items across the whole complex that will aid you. this letter won’t be long but i will now list the tasks for you.
#1 clean up blood in the entertainment hall. as soon as you go into the lobby, take the door on the north left. go through “sector a” and find the massive opening in the middle right. remember to wipe down and clean the pipe.
#2 find all coven related merchandise and burn it. the merchandise was found to be made with cheap flammable material and needed a recall. i need you to go to the counter, find the inventory journal, and seek out the items you need to throw into the incinerator room.
#3 find the red files. on the back left side of the merchandise area is the “file office”, it is locked behind a six digit code that I can’t tell you. You must figure it out yourself with the clues available.
#4 go into the board hall, remove all evidence of coven r. rithman, erase the boards and wash them. take any belongings of coven and burn them all in the incinerator. you may find the board meeting room by going through the north door of the lobby and down the hallway, to the left, then past the security office. you will need a new key card to get in. you may find one of that level in my office.
#5 find mr.covens locked up office and break in. take gasoline from the entertainment hall storage area and burn the whole room. make sure to lock the door tight, and click the green button on the inside or outside to open air vents so that smoke doesn’t flood the area. the rooms are made to be fire proof so it won’t damage the integrity of our marvelous building. this area is located a little bit north of the board meeting room, on the right side there are three glass office rooms with name cards.
#6 delete the specialized folder in the security office room. you only have around 3 batteries in the room to supply power incase of an emergency. each battery only gives around 25% extra power. you have to last around 15 minutes until deletion has taken place. you know where the security room is by now.
#7 escape alive. run for the lobby door, use a fire exit, use anything you can to get out of there.
each task you complete earns you a small lump sum of the total amount like i stated before. i know it looks bad, but i have my reasons for this. it goes only up from here jessica williams, i hope to see you soon.
-Signed Mr.Crickler
I felt shocked once my tasks were unveiled to me, as it was clear as day something was being covered up. However I really need the money for Charlotte. Not to mention that there isn’t much that makes Mr.Crickler a suspect besides the fact of all these elaborate clues, puzzles, and letters existing. I would have to know more before I cast judgment.
I put the paper back into my pocket and took out the keycard. I looked to my left and right. There were roads leading to two massive parking lots. On the north left side was a fountain statue of a woman shooting water out of her hands. On the north right was a small trash area with what looked like the incinerator. I went fully north to the front entrance and swiped the keycard on my right and entered inside.
The lobby was open and the air was fresh. I looked to my right and saw the merchandise area. North of my location was the semi-circle desk with a glass sliding door behind it. Next to that desk was a box TV on a metal cart with wheels, and a small plastic trash bin to the right of it. I walked over to the desk and searched for any resources that could help me with my mission like he said and I found a master key inside one of the four desk drawers. Of course there was the usual papers, office supplies, documents, and there was surprisingly some candy which happened to be my favorite kind. White chocolate orbs with a creamy inside. I took the box and put it on the table. I took two pieces from the box and walked towards the door.
*BZZZZZZZZZZZZSHT* I jumped in surprise.
Apparently the TV on the small metal cart flared to life with static on its own. I kneeled down and went to turn it off, but I saw that it was unplugged from the outlet. I took steps back to the desk and they made creaking noises, as if I was walking on a shambling wooden floor. The trash bin next to the TV cart fell over and two rats the size of cats scurried out and ran towards the door. I bolted away and swiped my keycard, locking the door behind me and looking through the small square window.
The trash bin was upright again.
I took a couple steps back from the door and sat down. Nothing of what I had experienced or seen made sense. My heart was pounding as I don’t like crawley things from rodents to spiders. My footsteps stopped making weird noises, and before all that the floor sounded normal with the usual clicks and clacks of my shoes on the black and white tiled floor. Something was horribly wrong with this place and I couldn’t put my finger on it just yet. I took a piece of chocolate from my pocket and unwrapped it. I popped it in my mouth as I got back up to look around.
After walking for a few seconds I found the door easily and didn’t bother wasting time looking at needless doors. I swiped my card and entered inside the Entertainment Hall and my footsteps made creaking noises once more. I was on guard, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, I felt chills, a burning itch of pins and needles going down from my neck to my lower back. I pushed forward looking around. To my right was a locker with a towel bench. On my far north left was the entrance to the Storage Room. That was where I needed to get the janitorial equipment.
There was what looked like an official crime scene in the middle with yellow tape and four wooden pikes holding it all up. A bloody mess and what looked like bone fragments laid in a dried up puddle of viscera. The large bloody pipe lay to the right side of the door to the Storage Room. I looked around myself as if something was watching my very soul. I moved quickly and entered the storage room.
It hit me in the face so hard and I didn’t expect a thing based on how in shape this place was for being abandoned for years. The wicked smell of damp walls, rusted metal, mold, and other obscenities wafted to my nose as if trying to test my gag reflexes. My eyes teared and I wiped them with my sleeves. I walked around through the maze of tall shelves with various amounts of varied items in disarray, or the peak of unorganization as I call it.
Eventually I found a big clearing with the janitorial equipment which was claimed by mold and knocked over on the floor. I used one of the hoses by the sink to clean it, and fill the bucket with fresh water. The excess water went straight down the drain. I placed the mop in its proper position. I carted the equipment towards the door carefully to not knock any shelves over which could escalate into a dangerous situation.
I approached the door in which I had come in and entered the bathroom. Every footstep made a creaking noise. The wheels of the card made loud sloshing that mirrored a flowing river. As the cart slid across the floor it sent out ripples behind me, not unlike skipping stones at a lake. The place was abnormal, a pristine bathroom except lengthened into a massively long hallway that dips in quality as you go getting more decrepit and broken.
As I walked forward deeper in the porcelain hallway I passed the many sinks and mirrors. I felt that something was watching me but when I turned nothing was there. I looked forward and witnessed a horrifying sight. A man, a tall man who loomed over me and had abnormally lengthed fingers unlike a natural human. He wore an open safety harness over a greasy looking sweatshirt with patchwork sewing done all over. Especially in the two-opening pocket area. He wore well kept fancy dress pants, and his shoes were less to be desired. Wooden shoes that clicked and clacked with each step. Not to mention that string and leather strips were glued on to give them some semblance of fashion.
His face was gray and human, his eyes were lifeless. As if his smile alone could turn my blood to ice. I rubbed my eyes and my heart started pounding. The bathroom started to disappear from the back end and started to unmanifest towards me. Black fog jetted towards me without a second’s notice. The man approached me. Every limp resulted in a creak and crack that tickled my ear drums. Every joint and limb movement sent screams of agony to my ears, yet he never spoke. My legs started working on their own and I ditched the equipment without a second thought.
I didn’t focus on screaming as much as I did running. I couldn’t find the time to let out a yelp. The man got even faster as a consequence. The tortured and twisted sounds of hellish screams and crys for help. The snapping and cracking of bones as he tries to run but only results in an uncanny limp that speeds up as he moves closer with his blood lust. Tiles lifted from the floor and I was pelted relentlessly. Shielding the back of my head with my arms that got bruised and cut. The stall doors were opening and closing rapidly creating a swooshing sound of the ocean, the sinks faucets bent upwards towards me and blasted jet streams of water in my direction.
The mirrors shattered with glass everywhere like mini-explosions. I finally reached the door and ran outside into the Entertainment Hall. I stopped out of breath at the right side of the room in a panic. I had never experienced a monster like that before. My eyes twitched and my mind tried to make sense of something many would find hard to believe. I watched the door with the utmost readiness and anxiety, waiting for that same man to jump out at me once more.
However the noises ceased and everything felt normal once more. To comfort myself I tried to take out another one of my favorite white chocolates. The last one on me was not only melted, but it didn’t help that my clothes were soaked from the water and blood. I pushed back my messed up hair and squeezed the water out, and wiped my face with both hands. I remembered the towel bench on my left and walked over there. The adrenaline started to calm down and the pain settled in.
I put a towel on my hair and left it. I opened the locker and rummaged around, managing to find an emergency med kit. I spent two hours plucking and picking the glass and broken porcelain tile out of my body. I utilized my phone camera and that small mirror I had found before to get better angles on any hidden injuries. I used disinfectant, the burning sensation hurt like hell but thankfully wore off in a few minutes.
After that I wrapped my arms, thighs, back, and midsection in bandages. I pulled out an employee outfit I had found when putting the medkit back. I changed my clothes and felt better, sitting down and resting my head against the wall. I stared up at the ceiling giving deep breaths. I ended my break and carefully walked towards the ominous storage room. I peered inside and saw shelves broken and knocked over. Boxes of porcelain tiles were destroyed. The faucet of the sink was bent in a direction that pointed right at me. Safe to say that the place was a wreck, and I quickly carted the janitorial equipment out of there and to the crime scene.
I plunged the mop into the water and started sweeping the blood. I used the gloves in the cart to pick up the bone fragments and I dropped them into the bucket. When the blood was gone I dried up the mess with the towels. I turned my attention to the massive pipe covered in blood and I made a way to clean that as well. After all this I was done with my first task. I was tired and felt like going home, after that there was no way in hell I would sleep here tonight. Not to mention that I want answers from Mr.Crickler, of what he brought me into.
I grabbed the handle and pulled the equipment towards the storage room door. The man finally came out fuming, as if the act of cleaning up that blood was a mistake I had made. I pulled out my key card and started running. The man walked after me with a chilling confidence he would see me dead. I swiped the key card at the entrance and quickly shut the door. I ran down Sector A and heard glass blast to the wall as the door was broken by the mysterious force.
My footsteps made creaking noises of varying decibels. The keycard felt slimy, and my shoes felt hot. The floor felt bouncy as if I walked on a trampoline. This got worse as I lost my balance smacking right into the door. I swiped the key card reader and opened the door. The man lifted his leg and kicked the door open shattering the glass. Thankfully I was far enough away to not get injured. I grabbed my bag and chocolate box from the desk and ran for the exit fearing for my life.
That thing let out a sharp shrilling shriek in my direction that made me nauseous. It leapt forward at the door once I had shut it. I quickly put the chocolate in my bag and ran as fast as I could to my car. He kept following me as I started making my way down the tunnel. Iron gates began to manifest out of nowhere and fall from the slots of the ceiling behind me and the man could pass through them. They dropped faster and faster. The black inky liquid made its way to my feet and it was sticky as all hell.
I slid my feet out carefully and stood on my tippy toes inside the shoes. I side jumped and rolled on the grass. I didn’t have shoes now but I ducked into the last opening before another metal gate could materialize and fall down. With the pain of rocks and concrete hurting my feet I didn’t stop and arrived at my car. I needed to catch my breath and rested on the driver seat with the door closed. I looked over at the man who had stopped chasing me as if he couldn’t leave that place. Or as if he didn’t want to leave that place just yet.
I looked at one of the camera’s and pulled a pen and paper out of my bag to write with. I wrote some questions and concerns I had as to what the hell was going on with that demon. I wrote that I wasn’t quitting, I would consider this situation from the safety of my home.
I was very exhausted mentally and physically from this. If someone else was in my position untrained I’m sure they would have died. But even as rusty as I am, I’m still capable. I started up the car and before I could drive off, a package fell from the sky and landed onto the ground with a thud. The drone flew off into the distance. My immense curiosity got the better of me and I went to inspect the box.
I would have assumed it were a bomb if it had not been dropped from so high in the air. Not to mention that the contents inside must not be fragile anyways.
I squatted down and used a pocket knife from my bag to slowly and carefully open the box. When I peered inside I was blown away. I counted $120,000 dollars inside total with a final note. I was excited to see what he had to say. As it is not everyday a drone drops payment on the same day you finish a shift. I took out the paper and read it.
dear jessica williams,
i’m sorry if these letters seem repetitive. but it is one of the only ways i may communicate with you as my calls and emails are being tracked every day. i noticed that you wrote me a letter next to the camera. i am nearby, i’ll read it soon and get back to you. i saw that you had completed the first task and i’m proud of you. i’m horribly sorry for what I put you through without any warning.
there is more to this story that you simply know. perhaps you have already gone to suspect me for something. but I promise you that all answers will come eventually, either given to you or sought out by you.
your first lump sum payment has been sent for you remotely. you should go home to your family and rest for as long as you need. that should be enough to pay for your daughter's treatment out of pocket, however it really depends whether you wish to come back or not. if you don’t return within two weeks i will have considered that you had a change of mind and no longer wish to be an employee at fae entertainment Incorporated. however this misunderstanding can be mitigated with some simple letter to letter communication in this exact location under the gate camera. thank you again for the hard work jessica, and if you do decide to come back, I’ll inform you on what’s really going on here.
-Signed Mr.Crickler
I thought for a while inside my car. I wondered how he knew I needed money for my daughter's cancer treatment. Never in my life have I been in a fresh new situation like this as a private detective. My daughter's cancer treatment could be paid for now, but do I really want to be bored in early retirement as a mother? I feared for my life every second during those encounters with that man, however the rush I felt reminded me of the fun I had on the job. I kept the letter in a safe place for later, and drove home to see my family once more. I knew that if I were more prepared, I would welcome coming back with open arms.

A cryp­tocur­rency startup that op­er­ates a pop­u­lar on­line game called “Axie In­fin­ity” said Tues­day that hack­ers stole more than $500 mil­lion worth of cryp­tocur­rency.
“Axie In­fin­ity” pub­lisher Sky Mavis Ltd. said on March 23, hack­ers in­fil­trated a part of its Ronin Net­work, which the game runs on. The in­fil­tra­tors got ac­cess to ac­counts hold­ing cryp­tocur­ren­cies and drained 173,600 ether and 25.5 mil­lion of the sta­ble­coin USDC.
“The breach hap­pened due to so­cial en­gi­neer­ing, not tech­ni­cal flaw,” said Alek­sander Larsen, op­er­at­ing chief and co-founder of Sky Mavis. While users are now un­able to with­draw or de­posit funds to Ronin Net­work, he said Sky Mavis is com­mit­ted to en­sur­ing that all of the drained funds are re­cov­ered or re­im­bursed.
It was the sec­ond-largest crypto hack ever, ac­cord­ing to an­a­lyt­ics firm El­lip­tic. The as­sets were worth about $540 mil­lion on the date of the theft and are worth about $615 mil­lion now.
Sky Mavis shared a link that shows the stolen funds are still in the hack­er’s wal­let. The firm said it is work­ing with the an­a­lyt­ics firm Chainal­y­sis to track the stolen funds. The news didn’t have a big im­pact on the price of ether, which was down 0.65% at $3,395.20 at 5 p.m. ET.
“We are work­ing di­rectly with var­i­ous gov­ern­ment agen­cies to en­sure the crim­i­nals get brought to jus­tice,” Ronin said in the state­ment. “We are in the process of dis­cussing with Axie In­fin­ity/Sky Mavis stake­hold­ers about how to best move for­ward and en­sure no users’ funds are lost.”
The hack comes as a blow to the crypto in­dus­try as it moves into the main­stream with Wall Street buy-in, celebrity en­dorsers and high-pro­file Su­per Bowl ads. The fed­eral gov­ern­ment is still weigh­ing fur­ther reg­u­la­tions of digi­tal as­sets.
“Axie In­fin­ity,” launched in 2018, is part of a small but fast-grow­ing num­ber of so-called play-to-earn games. Also known as blockchain games, they largely cen­ter on the buy­ing, trad­ing and sell­ing of vir­tual as­sets backed by non­fun­gi­ble to­kens, or NFTs. The games are con­sid­ered an early foray into the meta­verse, a more im­mer­sive fu­ture ver­sion of the in­ter­net where peo­ple are ex­pected to work, learn and be en­ter­tained.
“Axie In­fin­ity” had more than 1.7 mil­lion daily users in Feb­ruary, ac­cord­ing to Sky Mavis. In it play­ers col­lect digi­tal pets called Ax­ies that they use to com­pete in bat­tles. They can sell and trade the crea­tures for digi­tal cur­rency. Some Ax­ies are worth more than oth­ers.
Many de­vel­op­ers of earn-to-play games are star­tups, but some of the game in­dus­try’s large, pub­licly traded com­pa­nies have re­cently be­gun ex­per­i­ment­ing in the cat­e­gory, in­clud­ing “Far­m­Ville” maker Zynga Inc. and “As­sas­sin’s Creed” cre­ator Ubisoft En­ter­tain­ment SA.
Some in­dus­try ex­ec­u­tives have raised con­cerns about the se­cu­rity and value of NFTs in games, such as Mi­crosoft Corp. gam­ing chief Phil Spencer and the head of “Fort­nite” maker Epic Games Inc., Tim Sweeney. Many gamers also are skep­ti­cal of the trend and worry that earn-to-play merely rep­re­sents a cash-grab op­por­tu­nity for de­vel­op­ers.
The de­cen­tral­ized na­ture of crypto plat­forms, added with the oft­times in­ex­pe­ri­ence of the de­vel­op­ers of those plat­forms, leaves plenty of vul­ner­a­bil­i­ties in­side the code for hack­ers to ex­ploit. Since 2011, there have been 226 hack­ing in­ci­dents—not in­clud­ing the “Axie In­fin­ity” hack—that have led to the theft of $12.1 bil­lion, re­search firm Crys­tal Blockchain es­ti­mates.
In 2021, there were a record 75 in­ci­dents that re­sulted in $4.25 bil­lion be­ing stolen, ac­cord­ing to the firm. The largest crypto hack was in Au­gust 2021, when a DeFi pro­to­col called Poly­Net­work lost as­sets worth $611 mil­lion at the time of the hack.
One of the high­est-pro­file hacks was the 2016 break-in of Bitfinex, which re­sulted in a loss of about $70 mil­lion worth of bit­coin at the time. In Feb­ruary, FBI agents seized the ma­jor­ity of the stolen funds, which had surged to a value of about $3.6 bil­lion, and charged a Man­hat­tan cou­ple with laun­der­ing the stolen funds.

There's so many neopronouns here I'm sure these will fuel everyone. There's 3 parts to these from what I found on Tumblr. Hope you guys find some you like!
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7/7s 9/9self a/ace a/aros abnu/abnure abstra/abstract abyss/abysmal abyss/abyss ace/ace ae/ae ae/aem ae/aer ae/aether ael/ael aeon/aeon aerixa/aerixae aethaethrs af/afself agri/agrius ai/ai ai/aim ai/ain al/ala al/allium ala/alum alien/alien all/alls alli/allium alt/alter an/anself Andromeda/Andromeda’s ang/angel angel/angel anny/andro anotheanotherself ant/ant ap/aps aqua/aquas aars aarso arcade/arcadeself arcade/arcem arcane/arcane arch/archer aro/aroself arson/arsons art/artself ast/aster astro/astroself ato/atom au/aur au/auti autumn/autumnal ax/axo axo/lotl az/az azu/azur ba/bat baa/baa bam/bang ban/ana ban/banner bard/bards bark/bark bast/bastard bat/bat be/berry be/rym bea/bea bea/bead bea/beam bead/bead bean/beans beabears beau/beaus beauty/beautys bee/bee bee/bem bell/bell bendy/bendy beberry berberry berry/berries bet/bets bey/bem bid/bids bim/bim bibirds bit/bit bit/bite bite/bite bl/blue bla/blade black/black blade/blades blank/blank blast/blast blip/blip blo/bloom bloo/blood bloo/blook blood/bloods blook/blooky bloom/bloom bloop/blooper blrrp/blrrrps blu/blu blu/blue blu/blur blue/blue blublurs blush/blushs bo/boar bo/bole bo/bolt bo/bon bo/bone bo/bos bog/bog bomb/bomb bon/bone bon/bonk bon/bons bone/boneself bonk/bonk boo/boo book/book boom/boom boop/boops bop/beep bork/bark bot/bots boun/bounce boy/boy brack/bracken brain/brains bread/breadself breeze/breeze bri/bright bright/brightself bro/bros bu/buck bu/buzz bub/bubble bubble/bubble buck/buck bug/bug bumble/bee bun/bun bun/bunny bun/bunz bunnydog/bunnydog burn/burns buzz/buzz byte/byte ca/can ca/cand ca/care ca/catta ca/nine cae/caer cake/cakeself calm/calms cand/candied candel/candel candi/candiself candle/candles candy/candie candy/candy cap/tain card/cards care/cares cat/catboy cat/cats cat/nip catboy/catboy catdog/catdog caw/caw caw/crow ce/cedar ce/cem ce/cer ce/cir ce/lai cel/celes cel/celest cel/cem cha/chase chae/chane chai/chaim chai/chain champ/ion chao/chaos chaos/chaos chaotic/chaoticself chat/chatter chem/chemic chechers cherry/cherries chet/chets chev/chevalier chew/chew chi/chime chi/chir chi/chirp chichirp chirp/chirps cho/choco cho/chos chocolate/chocolate chomp/chomps chochorus chord/chord chron/chrono chrrp/chrrps ci/ciph ci/cipher ci/circ cie/cier cin/cinna cinna/cinnas cit/rys citru/citrus cla/claw clemen/tine cli/click click/clicks clink/clink clo/clos clo/cloud clo/clove clock/clocks clot/clots cloud/cloud clow/cloud clow/clow clown/clown co/cem co/coal co/cobble co/cocoa co/code co/coin co/con co/copy co/cos co/cotton co/ney cocoa/cocoa coffee/coffeeself cog/cog coi/coin coin/coin cola/colas colocolors com/comfort com/comi com/rade comb/comb comfy/comfys comrade/comrade con/cons con/contract coo/cookie coo/coos cookie/cookies 🆒/🆒 cocord cocorpse cocorv cocorvid core/core corp/corpse cos/cos cotton/candy crackle/crackle craft/craft cre/creature cre/creme cream/puff creature/creatureself crick/et cringe/cringeself cro/crow cro/crown crow/crown crow/crows crown/crown cru/crumb crum/crumb crun/crunch cry/cryp cry/crys cryp/cryps cryp/crypt crypt/cryptic crypt/cryptid crypt/crypts cryptid/cryptids cryst/crystal cub/cub cube/cubes cup/cake cup/cups curse/curseself cut/cuts cute/cute cy/cyb cy/kes cyc/cyclo da/damned da/dan dae/daem dae/daer dae/dark dae/death dahlia/dahliaself dai/daim dai/daisy damp/damp dadark dadarling dark/darker dark/darks data/data dawn/dawns dawn/dusk day/enu daze/daze de/cay de/decay de/dem de/demon de/dew de/dim de/mon dea/dead dea/death dead/dead death/deaths decay/decay dei/deim dei/deity deity/deity dem/demise dem/demon demon/demons den/den deox/deox des/despair des/pai detect/detect dex/dexself dey/dem di/devi di/dice di/dip di/div dia/dem diamond/diamonds did/div die/dies dino/dino dino/saur dip/dipp didirt dirt/dirt disc/disc disc/discord discord/discords div/divs divine/divineself do/doe doggy/doggy dol/doldrum doll/doll doom/day dora/doras dorm/dormi dot/dot dra/drag drae/draer dragon/dragons dre/dream dread/dreadself dream/dreams dream/dreamy dree/drem drop/drip drowse/drowse dsic/discord du/dusk dude/dudeself duke/dukes dus/dust dusk/dusk dust/dusts e/em e/er e/es e/fe e/im e/ver earth/earths ec/echo ech/echo echo/echos ee/eel ee/vees eev/eevs eevee/eevees egg/eggy el/eld el/elk el/els el/stel eld/eld elle/stelle elm/elm em/er embeember emo/emos empty/empty en/by en/en en/end en/enter en/entity end/ended end/ender end/ends endeenders endo/endos eni/enis entity/entity eon/eon eero eri/eri erroerror eso/esos esp/espi et/et etc/etcs etern/eternity eth/eth etheethereal eu/euch ev/ever ev/evil eve/evil ex/extra exe/exe ey/em ey/eye eye strain/eye strain eye/eyes eyn/eyn f/fself fade/fades fae/fae fae/faem fae/faer fae/fake fae/fem faery/faery fai/fairy fairy/fairy fall/fallen fang/fang fang/fangz fafarce fate/fates faun/faun fawn/fawn fay/fay fe/fel feath/feather feathefeathers fee/fi fel/feli fel/fels fen/fen fefern feral/feral fern/fern ferret/ferrets fey/fern fey/feyr fi/fir fi/fire fic/fiction fie/fire fin/fins fifir fish/fish five/fiveself fiz/fiz fizz/fizz fizz/fizzy fl/flu fla/flame fla/flare flame/flame flaflareon flare/flares fle/flesh fleufleur fleufleurn fli/flight fli/flit flick/flicker flo/float flo/flor flo/flower floccinaucinihilipilification/floccinaucinihilipilification flow/flows floweflowers fluff/fluff fo/ster fog/fog fool/fools foforest foufours fox/fox fra/frost fre/fir freak/freak fri/fri friend/friends fro/frog fro/fronds frog/frogself fru/fruit fruit/fruit fu/fuzz fuck/fucker fuck/you fun/fun funeral/funeral fungi/fungiself fufurs fuz/fuzz fuzz/fuzz fy/fyre fyfyr g/gself ga/gal ga/game ga/me gala/galaxy galaxy/galax gall/gallant gam/gamble game/gameboy game/games gas/gases gaso/gasoline ge/geist ge/gem geagear gem/gem gendegender germ/germs ghast/ghastself

Welcome to a week all about teamwork— This should be fun. It’s a fan favorite week seen in every cycle, and pretty simple to explain: you’ll be making a fashion spread together in pairs with two pictures each. Also you know the saying, the pair that spreads together… Deads together.
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VERUCA & PEARL . . . - - - . . . (SOS SUMMONED: SUFFERING SPIRITS SWATHED IN CYANIC SOOT AND SMOKE SOJOURN IN SEANCED CEMETERY STATUES, SEND SCRIPTURES SEEKING SAFETY AND SANCTUARY)
PHOTO 1 // PHOTO 2 // PHOTO 3 // PHOTO 4
“Do you know what you’re doing?” Pearl questions in her operatic voice, biting her lip nervously: the last time she trusted somebody, her shame ended up splashed across every newspaper in the arts world. The truth is, Veruca never kills just for the sake of it: she fancies herself a scientist, investigating how souls travel between planes, and she is interested in how the JennaScape tethers and untethers souls from corporeal forms. Veruca fiddles with the console Croque clumsily hid behind the stones, typing lines of code interspersed with runes when Pearl finally says, “Okay, then Lafayette Cemetery is the most believable and dramatic site for our SOS message.”
Arriving from the spirit realm, Veruca tries to gasp as her soul enters the angel of death statue at the mausoleum, clutching her throat as her lungs fill with soot and concrete. A connoisseur of acting and architecture, Pearl’s soul carves itself into the dove-white orchid statue in the graveyard’s conservatory, each node of her being merging seamlessly. As they carve their SOS message into the mausoleum wall, the sound of stone on stone pierces the dawn with otherworldly shrieks, a halo of greens and blues gathering like fog around them. They work tirelessly, for if they remain when the first ray of sun pierces their marble shells, they will be trapped forever, and in a rare moment of weakness Veruca muses: “isn’t overseeing this graveyard for eternity better than being devoured by demons?” Pearl knows what it’s like to feel trapped, powerless, and merely a spectator, and chokes out, “maybe before, but now we have hope,”; she observes her shame etched into the wall, but unlike last time… she hopes it will be seen by all.
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ECHO & EGG THE IMPOSTER
PHOTO 1 // PHOTO 2 // PHOTO 3 // PHOTO 4
It was our weekly girls night when she came over for a couple glasses of wine. She looked as pretty as a bird. Delicate and innocent… maybe even naïve. She didn’t know what a Bordeaux Red was, which was cute; it felt like I was introducing new things to her, but after a while it gets old, and I needed to get the fuck out of there. It was too easy, two drops in one glass and none in mine. After she took that last sip and slumped, I knew my time had come; I had practiced twirling my fingers around my iron in the way that she would, laughing like she would, I even made an effort to repeat “Egg” three times before bed each night to slowly, but surely become her. I couldn’t leave her there in my former living room, so after I dressed her up like my former self—Echo—I made my escape. I watched the city go by from the back of the cab and for a moment, I recalled the way she looked at me before she collapsed.
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SUZUSKA & LAURA DESERT FUTURES
PHOTO 1 // PHOTO 2 // PHOTO 3 // PHOTO 4
Have you ever seen futuristic Suzaura's eggballs like that? It's not about Atoosa's being pretending to be Cheetos ad, it's about NEW pashion. New, ordinary, but high-fashion being. It's very edge and respectiful Universe, so you need be more Echobeing Veruscas. Simple futurism is what you can see in front of blessing of Suzaura's desert taffybones.
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JENNIpHER & TAFFY DAY DRINKING
PHOTO 1 // PHOTO 2 // PHOTO 3 // PHOTO 4
I decided to bond with my competitor JenniPher over Martini Breakfast. Afterwards she took me to the museum and I wandered in a drunken stupor while she tried to bone a Greek statue. Afterwards we left for pizza but I passed out on the sidewalk outside. JenniPher flirted with the waiter and left me to die.
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CORAL & BEAU TOX THE FOOTWEAR FIGHT OF THE CENTURY
PHOTO 1 // PHOTO 2 // PHOTO 3 // PHOTO 4
After so many months in JNSQ we realized we have some serious demons to fight. What better way to battle your inner self than with beautiful high heels! Beau relaxes after a hard-fought victory, while Coral crumples in defeat.
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BETA & CRYSTAL LES FLEURS DE PARIS
PHOTO 1 // PHOTO 2 // PHOTO 3 // PHOTO 4
Personifying Chinese Zodiacs might not have gotten us where we wanted, there's nothing quite like hitting rock bottom. But one thing's true when it comes to BetaCrys... we're some thirsty and thorny bitches. You won't catch us wilting away in the corner of this dungeon. We may not get a lot of sunshine down here, but this duo is about to blossom and soak up the tears left behind by the rest of you all as our own treat. Presenting La Flor de Paris... who doesn't love a good pair of garden hoes. And let's get one thing straight, we DO come with prickly dispositions.
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This week, you will rank the pairs 1-6! The team that rises together, gets first call out together. The team that falls together... They're getting the boot.
There will be 48 hours to cast your vote, and voting will officially close Friday, 17 March, at 11:59PM EST! To vote, either DM this account, leave a comment with your votes, or DM u/antbestfriend !

I’ve been bringing the starter decks I own (4-8) when I’m with some of my friends but we’re getting a bit sick of the same five decks every time, so I want to build some beginner-casual level decks.
I left out Super Rares, Secrets, Alt Arts, promos (too valuable), EX-01 (don’t feel like it), and the Starter Decks (don’t want to pull apart), but these are the rest of the cards I own. Names will be those printed on the English cards for simplicity, even if it’s translations I don’t like or think are stupid.
BT01
001 Yokomon x1 002 Bebydomon x1 003 Upamon x1 004 Wanyamon x2 005 Kyaromon x2 006 Cupimon x1 007 Tanemon x1 008 Frimon x1
009 Monodramon x3 011 Agumon Expert x5 012 Biyomon x1 013 Muchomon x2 014 Kokatorimon x3 015 Greymon x2 016 Tyrannomon x1 017 Birdramon x1 018 Flarerizamon x2 019 DarkTyrannomon x2 020 Groundramon x1 021 MetalGreymon x2 023 SkullGreymon x1 024 MetalTyrannomon x3 026 Breakdramon x2
027 Armadillomon x3 028 Elecmon x2 029 Gabumon x1 030 Gomamon x3 031 Monmon x1 032 Frigimon x3 033 Dolphmon x3 034 Ikkakumon x1 035 Leomon x2 036 Garurumon x2 037 Gorillamon x2 038 Monzaemon x2 040 WereGarurumon x2 042 LoaderLiomon x2 043 SaberLeomon x1
045 Tsukaimon x2 046 Kudamon x2 047 Tinkermon x3 049 Labramon x1 050 Liollmon x2 051 Reppamon x2 052 Seasarmon x2 053 Darcmon x1 054 Liamon x2 055 Angemon x1 057 Sirenmon x1 058 Chirinmon x3 059 Piximon x3 061 Mistymon x1 062 SlashAngemon x1
064 Goblimon x3 065 Mushroomon x3 066 Tentomon x3 067 Palmon x1 068 Kokuwamon x3 069 Ogremon x3 070 Kuwagamon x2 071 Vegiemon x3 072 Woodmon x1 073 Kabuterimon x2 074 Togemon x2 075 Digitamamon x3 076 MegaKabuterimon x1 077 Okuwamon x3 078 Jagamon x1 079 Lillymon x1 080 Titamon x2
086 Matt Ishida x1 088 Izzy Izumi x1 089 Mimi Tachikawa x1
090 Gravity Crush x3 091 Scrap Claw x2 092 Nuclear Laser x3 093 Great Tornado x3 094 Oblivion Bird x3 095 Brave Shield x1
096 Mad Dog Fire x2 097 Boring Storm x4 098 V-Nova Blast x2 099 Hearts Attack x2 101 Howling Crusher x3
102 Blade of the True x3 103 Testament x1 104 Golden Ripper x2 105 Blast Fire x4 106 Symphony No.1 x2 107 Holy Wave x2
108 Horn Buster x2 109 Smashed Potatoes x3 110 Flower Cannon x1 111 Giga Blaster x1 112 Dimension Scissor x2 113 Forbidden Temptation x3
BT02
001 Gigimon x2 002 DemiVeemon x1 003 Nyaromon x2 004 Argomon x2 005 Kapurimon x2 006 Tsumemon x1 007 Pagumon x2 008 Yaamon x1
009 Guilmon x2 010 Biyomon x3 011 Vorvomon x3 012 Birdramon x3 013 Growlmon x2 014 Lavorvomon x3 015 Garudamon x3 016 Lavogaritamon x3 017 WarGrowlmon x2 018 Volcanicdramon x3 019 Phoenixmon x1
021 Veemon x2 022 Betamon x3 023 Gomamon x2 024 Seadramon x3 025 Ikkakumon x3 026 Veedramon x1 027 Zudomon x2 028 AeroVeedramon x2 029 MegaSeadramon x4 031 Vikemon x3
033 Agumon x4 034 Salamon x2 035 GeoGreymon x4 036 Gatomon x2 037 Angewomon x3 038 RizeGreymon x2 039 Magnadramon x2 040 Ophanimon x2
042 Argomon x2 043 Agumon x3 044 Tyrannomon x2 045 Argomon x3 046 MetalTyrannomon x1 047 Argomon x3 048 Cherrymon x2 049 Puppetmon x1 050 Argomon x2
052 Hagurumon x2 053 Keramon x1 054 Gotsumon x2 055 ToyAgumon x3 056 Numemon x2 057 Greymon x3 058 Guardromon x1 059 Kurisarimon x1 060 Megadramon x1 061 Andromon x4 062 Infermon x1 063 MetalGreymon x4 064 HiAndromon x1
067 DemiDevimon x2 068 Impmon x2 069 Gabumon x4 070 Tapirmon x1 071 Wizardmon x3 072 Vilemon x4 (one is slightly torn) 073 Garurumon x3 074 Devimon x2 075 Myotismon x2 076 Pumpkinmon x2 077 Kimeramon x1 078 WereGarurumon x2 079 VenomMyotismon x1
085 Joe Kido x2 086 Rina Shinomiya x1 087 Kari Kamiya x1 088 Taiga x1 090 Matt Ishida x2
091 Volcanic Flare x3 092 Radiation Blade x3 093 Shield of the Just x2
094 Arctic Blizzard x4 095 River of Power x1 096 The Ray of Victory x2
097 Lightning Paw x3 098 EDEN’s Javelin x2 099 Glorious Burst x1
100 Puppet Pummel x2 101 Cherry Blast x4 102 Terrors Cluster x1
103 Spiral Sword x2 104 Atomic Ray x2 105 Spider Shooter x1 106 Infinity Cannon x1
107 Darkness Claw x2 108 Night Raid x3 109 Heat Viper x2
BT03
001 Poromon x2 002 DemiVeemon x2 003 Upamon x2 004 Minomon x3 005 Kakkinmon x2 006 DemiMeramon x1
007 Agumon x4 008 Zubamon x1 009 Hawkmon x2 010 ZubaEagermon x3 011 Greymon x2 012 Aquilamon x2 013 Duramon x3 014 Silphymon x1 015 MetalGreymon x1 017 Valkyrimon x2
020 Patamon x3 022 Penguinmon x2 023 Angemon x3 024 Airdramon x2 025 ExVeemon x1 026 MagnaAngemon x3 028 Bastemon x1 029 Goldramon x2
032 Armadillomon x2 033 Salamon x1 034 Lopmon x2 035 Gatomon x3 036 Ankylomon x1 037 Turuiemon x3 038 Antylamon x3 039 Angewomon x1 040 Shakkoumon x1 041 Cherubimon x1 042 ClavisAngemon
044 Aruraumon x2 045 Kunemon x3 046 Terriermon x2 048 Gargomon x3 049 Flymon x2 050 Stingmon x2 051 Dokugumon x3 052 Rapidmon x3 053 JewelBeemon x2 054 Blossomon x3 055 Dinobeemon x2 057 MegaGargomon x1 058 BanchoStingmon x2
059 Commandramon x4 060 Psychemon x4 061 Chuumon x3 062 Ludomon x3 063 Sukamon x3 064 TiaLudomon x3 065 Gururumon x2 066 Clockmon x3 067 Tankmon x2 068 Giromon x2 069 RaijiLudomon x2 070 Etemon x1 071 MetalMamemon x3 072 BryweLudramon x1 074 MetalEtemon x1
076 Candlemon x3 077 Gazimon x3 078 Shamanmon x2 079 Tsukaimon x2 080 Saberdramon x2 081 Devidramon x1 082 BlackGatomon x2 083 Meramon x3 085 SkullMeramon x3 086 Arukenimon x2 087 Mummymon x3 088 LadyDevimon x1 089 Boltmon x2 092 MaloMyotismon x2
093 Davis Motomiya x3 094 Ken Ichijoji x1 095 Joe Kido x1 096 Mimi Tachikawa x1
097 A Delicate Plan x2 098 Plasma Stake x2
099 We Have To Stop Fighting! x2 100 Death Parade Blaster x4
101 Bifrost x2 102 Code Cracking x2
103 Hidden Potential Discovered! x1 104 Positron Laser x2
105 Breath of the Gods x1 106 Beast Cyclone x3 107 Looking Back on the Good Times x2
108 Dark Despair x2 109 Back for Revenge! x1 110 Necrophobia x3
BT04
001 Sakuttomon x8 002 Bukamon x4 003 Koromon x4 004 Budmon x6 005 Missimon x5 006 Xiaomon x3
007 Otamamon x9 008 Agumon x9 009 Flamemon x6 010 Fugamon x7 011 Agunimon x6 012 GeoGreymon x7 013 BurningGreymon x6 014 Vermilimon x5 015 Volcdramon x8 018 Spinomon x5 019 VictoryGreymon x4 020 ShineGreymon x3
021 Gaomon x8 022 Sangomon x10 023 Strabimon x6 024 Tobiumon x9 025 Lobomon x5 026 GaoGamon x5 027 KendoGarurumon x4 028 Piranimon x6 029 Gusokumon x9 031 MarinChimairamon x4 032 MachGaoGamon x5 033 ZeedGarurumon x3 034 Regalecusmon x6
036 Falcomon x5 037 Kudamon x8 038 BushiAgumon x4 039 Growlmon x4 040 Diatrymon x10 041 Meicoomon x6 042 Piddomon x8 043 Crowmon x3 044 HippoGryphonmon x8 045 Maycrackmon x10 046 WarGrowlmon x4 047 Rasielmon x4 049 Varodurumon x2
050 Liollmon x10 051 DoKunemon x10 052 Lalamon x4 053 Roachmon x5 054 Sunflowmon x7 055 Leomon x7 056 SkullScorpiomon x8 057 GrapLeomon x7 058 Orochimon x4 060 Lotosmon x3 061 BanchoLeomon x4
063 Commandramon x1 064 Sunarizamon x6 065 Gotsumon x11 066 Golemon x8 067 Sealsdramon x5 068 Baboongamon x5 069 Blimpmon x5 070 Meteormon x10 071 Tankdramon x9 073 BanchoGolemon x4 074 Darkdramon x3
076 Gabumon x9 077 Ghostmon x2 078 Soundbirdmon x4 079 Labramon x9 080 Bakemon x4 081 Devimon x6 082 Dobermon x6 083 Cerberusmon x6 084 NeoDevimon x9 085 Phantomon x10 086 Cerberusmon Werewolf Mode x3 087 Anubismon x6
090 Chaosmon x5
092 Marcus Damon x1 093 Thomas H. Norstein x2 094 Tai Kamiya x4 095 Yoshino Fujieda x5 096 Izzy Izumi x2 097 Kari Kamiya x1
098 Atomic Inferno x9 099 Heir of Dragons x5 100 Trident Revolver x4
101 I’ll Drag You Into the Depths! x6 102 Aqua Viper x11 103 Full Moon Blaster x3
104 Blinding Ray x2 105 Tactical Retreat! x5 106 Purge Shine x8
107 Pollen Spray x2 108 Cyclonic Kick x10
109 Final Zubagon Punch! x6 110 Dark Roar x2
111 Jack Raid x8 112 Hell’s Gate x2
BT05
001 Koromon x3 002 Tsunomon x3 003 Pickmon x4 004 Yokomon x4 005 Tsumemon x7 006 Gigimon x3
007 Agumon x9 008 Gaossmon x7 009 Shoutmon x3 010 Greymon x3 011 Meramon x7 012 Monochromon x9 013 Triceramon x4 014 OmniShoutmon x1 015 MetalGreymon Alterous Mode x3 016 WarGreymon x4 017 ZeigGreymon x4 018 Dorbickmon x7
020 Gabumon x4 021 Syakomon x7 022 Bulucomon x2 023 Gesomon x4 024 Garurumon x7 025 Paledramon x5 026 Coelamon x7 027 MarineDevimon x5 028 CrysPaledramon x3 029 WereGarurumon Sagittarius Mode x2 030 Neptunemon x4 031 MetalGarurumon x1
033 Cutemon x8 034 Kotemon x9 035 Starmons x5 036 Renamon x2 037 Gladimon x9 038 Kyubimon x5 039 ShootingStarmon x2 040 SuperStarmon x6 041 Taomon x5 042 Knightmon x5 043 Jijimon x4 044 Sakuyamon x3
046 Terriermon Assistant x3 047 Palmon x4 048 Floramon x4 049 Kiwimon x5 050 Weedmon x5 051 MoriShellmon x6 052 Garbagemon x7 053 Deramon x8 054 Piximon x6 055 BanchoLillymon x4 057 Rosemon x2 058 Argomon x3
059 Keramon x7 060 Monitamon x5 061 Commandramon x5 062 Mekanorimon x5 063 Kurisarimon x5 064 BlackGaogamon x7 065 Shademon x2 066 WaruMonzaemon x2 067 Infermon x3 068 BlackMachGaogamon x9 069 BlackWarGreymon x2
071 Guilmon x4 072 Fake Agumon Expert x3 073 Pillomon x5 074 Troopmon x8 075 Musyamon x6 076 BlackGrowlmon x7 077 Vajramon x4 078 Jokermon x7 079 BlackWarGrowlmon x2 080 Zanbamon x5 083 Megidramon x1
084 Diaboromon x2
088 Sora Takenouchi and Joe Kido x1 089 Izzy Izumi and Mimi Tachikawa x6 090 Arata Sanada x2 091 Takumi Aiba x4 092 Nokia Shiramine x3 093 Tai Kamiya and Matt Ishida x3
094 Rowdy Rocker x4 095 Transcendent Sword x3
096 Supreme Cannon x3 097 Absolute Blast x3
098 Meteor Shower x7 099 Spiral Masquerade x6
100 Royal Nuts x4 101 You Can’t Actually Fly? x3 102 Wisselen x2
103 A Blazing Storm of Metal! x5 104 Catastrophe Cannon x1 105 Ultimate Flare x10
106 Demonic Disaster x6 107 Revive From the Darkness! x7 108 Earth Shaker x3
109 Mega Digimon Fusion! x6 110 All Delete x3
BT06
001 DemiMeramon x4 002 Kyaromon x5 003 Bibimon x4 004 Pinamon x4 005 Pagumon x4 006 Tsunomon x4
007 Agumon x3 008 Shoutmon x7 009 Huckmon x3 010 Flamemon x7 011 BaoHuckmon x8 012 Deltamon x7 013 Megadramon x6 014 Asuramon x8 015 SaviorHuckmon x3 017 MagnaKidmon x4
019 Gabumon x4 020 Gizamon x7 021 ModokiBetamon x9 022 Strabimon x7 023 Octomon x7 024 Mojyamon x4 025 Panjyamon x7 026 Dragomon x6 027 Majiramon x3 028 Pukumon x4
031 Tinkermon x6 032 Tapirmon x6 033 Pulsemon x2 034 Wizardmon x4 035 Baluchimon x7 036 Mimicmon x2 037 Bulkmon x7 038 Apemon x8 039 Mammothmon x6 040 Mistymon x3 041 Manticoremon x2 042 Babamon x5 043 SkullMammothmon x6
045 Bacomon x6 046 Pomumon x5 047 Morphomon x2 048 Parasaurmon x8 049 Arbormon x5 050 Petaldramon x8 051 Toropiamon x4 052 Entmon x2 053 Eldradimon x5 054 AncientTroymon x3
055 Junkmon x5 056 Chikurimon x7 057 ToyAgumon x6 058 Nanimon x8 059 Machmon x3 060 Deputymon x9 061 Gigadramon x5 062 Volcanomon x5 063 BigMamemon x8 065 Gundramon x2 066 PileVolcamon x4
068 Impmon x6 069 Goblimon x7 070 Elecmon x6 071 Kinkakumon x6 072 Ogremon x2 073 Ginkakumon x6 074 Boogiemon x6 075 Ginkakumon Promote x2 076 Feresmon x7 077 Rebellimon x3 079 Murmukusmon x6 080 Ornismon x3
082 Sistermon Blanc x5 083 Eosmon x7 084 Sistermon Ciel x1 085 Eosmon x3
087 Tai Kamiya x2 088 Matt Ishida x3 089 T.K. Takaishi and Kari Kamiya x3 090 Izzy Izumi and Joe Kido x3 091 Sora Takenouchi and Mimi Tachikawa x3 092 Menoa Bellucci x1
093 Judgement of the Blade x5 094 Red Reamer x3 095 Happy Bullet Showering x3
096 Forbidden Trident x5 097 Howling Memory Boost! x3 098 Raddle Star x2
099 Acid Injection x5 100 Reinforcing Memory Boost! x7 101 Wyvern’s Breath x2
102 Tropical Venom x6 103 Blasted Disaster x6
104 Parabolic Junk x7 105 Gewalt Schwarmer x4 106 Iron-Fisted Onslaught x3
107 Glaive Memory Boost! x5 108 Underworld’s Call x2 109 Fly Bullet x5
110 Cutting Edge x4

Hello there, like u might have already seen in the Title, i am looking for other ppl to play with.
I am from Germany, can speak German/English (but don't expect me to understand everything right away)
Since i dont have very much time in the weekdays because of work, most of my friends found other people to play with (not that i had many friends to begin with). Since i am pretty shy and have problems to start new relationships or talk to people in RL, I haven't had any RL-friends for 2 years. I had one or two that stayed with me for a few weeks but that was it. (Ark and Factorio). Since I was in 8th grade I didnt have anything better to do then play games all day, so i was realy bad in making friends and basically ended up as the one guy in the class that nobody knew he was even there.
So basically to sum it all up: Me, has no friends, works a lot, looks into his computer screen in all of his free time, gets bored very quickly
I mostly played games like:
-Rimworld
-Minecraft (Normal and Modded)
-Total War Warhammer 2
-Starcraft2 ( had much fun with a friend)
-League of Legends (got boring realy quick, so i havent played for a while)
-Factorio ( for a vew weeks, mostly with a friend)
-Generation Zero ( when i have someone to play with)
-Ark ( i had someone, but he from one day to the other dissapeared)
-World of Tanks ( to shy to go into a clan, solo got boring rly fast)
-Rainbow 6: Siege (have very good memories from playing it with a friend about 2 years ago)
I never like games like
-Fortnite
-COD
-Apex Legends
Not because i couldnt get good, but mostly because i saw how much my friends raged when they played it and i rly didnt want to become someone that shouts and crys because of a game.
I dont rly know about MMORGP´s
mostly because i never played games like World of Warcraft, i tried one or two but found that they get boring even faster if u dont have someone to play with
​
You can look me up on Steam und the name ⪻Łøs†⪼ or on League NinjaNudel63 ( dont expect me to add you in League, i rarely play it)
​
I am generally someone who spends a lot of money in games. I am open to buy any new game that might come out or if u have one u realy enjoy and would like me as team mate, i wont hesitate to buy it.
Time i can play:
Since i work a lot of overtime the time i can start playing can vary heavily. Some times i am home at 4PM, on others i wont come home until 11PM.
MO-FR: 6PM - 10PM
SA-SO: 7AM-10PM
​
How to contact me:
Discord: ⪻Łøs†⪼#4915
Steam: Friend-code 357617416 , or my Name ⪻Łøs†⪼
​
If u have any more Questions or would like to know more information about me, i will regulary check this post and answer all ur questions in the comments down below.
Thank u for reading and have a wunderful rest of ur day.
⪻Łøs†⪼

Start From Season 1
S2E07
A large colosseum was floating in what appeared to be space. Completely alien constellations and galaxies could be seen shining in the sky. Gathered in the seats were the pantheons of gods from every mythology, they were divided all around the arena.
Azrael and several loyal archdemons were present and a separate demon faction lead by Beelzebub was sitting opposite of them.
Raphael was the only Angel present and he stood in the middle. His voice carried through the humongous structure. “I’m aware that it’s been over 980 million years since we have all gathered together like this. It’s my true belief that we needed to come together in council as an emergency response.
Vishnu spoke first, “As it is my duty to seek out the best interests of the living universe, the Hindu pantheon has agreed to listen. All in agreement?”
The voices of the gods all rang out in agreement.
“Opposed?” All were silent.
Loki shifted nervously in his seat. Odin scolded him, “Every other Pantheon has their gods here and all three of your ‘children’ are missing?”
“I don’t feel great about it ok? Hel couldn’t get time off work and the other two are rebellious little rascals-“
Thor put his hand on Loki’s shoulder, “Silence your silver tongue before I remove by force.” His grip was too tight for Loki to be able to squirm away.”
Zeus called out next, “What is this emergency you interrupted our lives to tell us? And why is it you’re the only representative of Heaven present?”
“It’s because it concerns Heaven. My brother Michael is planning on eliminating all life in existence that is not allied with us and recreating the world in his image.”
“So you mean to tell us that we need bow down to Heaven or be destroyed?” The Celtic Goddess Brigid asked.
“What makes you believe that we are willing to join?” The Japanese god Fūjin questioned. “Do you believe us incapable of defending ourselves?”
“Perhaps you believe the earth is need of saving?” Osiris of the Egyptian gods propounded.
“If life does not continue on - Osiris - then how will you fulfill your purpose?” Ataguchu of Incan mythology questioned.
“It’s of no concern to myself.”
Raphael could tell the discussion was getting out of hand, “Listen, I’m not delivering direct threats - though we all know Michael is very dangerous. I’m also not bribing any of you. I know many of us here would love to prove our strength - especially against my brother. I believe banding together and acting as a deterrent to avoid bloodshed is the way to go. Michael may prove too powerful for some so let’s avoid the attempts.”
“I am the son of Zeus!” Ares slammed his fist against his armor. “I will deal with Michael myself and there will be no war. The fight will be over! Bring him to this arena like we used to settle things, it will be over shortly.”
“Please Ares, I have claimed him as my target already.” Thor stepped forward and challenged, “That is unless you wish to fight me for that privilege!”
Loki looked around as every faction started getting agitated and hostile towards one another. ‘This is what Raphael wants! No matter what this will get all of his enemies to destroy each other for him!”
“The Greek Pantheon has had too large an influence for too long. If they get involved then so will we!” The goddess Tia shouted.
Everyone was boiling over and Raphael mostly sat back hiding a slight grin.
“THAT’S ENOUGH!” Zeus shot a bolt of lightning to the center with a loud crack.
Odin eyed him up, “You have something to say, Olympian?”
“I do - Asgardian - as I hope you all have the decency to listen.” He looked around to make sure everyone was paying attention. “I vow that no Olympian shall raise a blade or conflict with anyone else as long as Michael does not bring down the forces of Heaven on Earth and none of you get involved. If anyone does so, we will fight to the death and show no mercy. Until then you all have my word.”
Odin eyed up the others and figured it was best to alleviate some tension, “The Norse Pantheon will match this agreement.”
The Hindu deity Shiva spoke for the Hindu Pantheon, “As do we.”
After all agreed Raphael put his fake nervous look back on, “I will do what I must to avoid this conflict, but I am saddened to hear none will stand together. May the light of hope shine upon us all.”
Loki narrowed his eyes, “If he never called this meeting there’s a good chance they may have worked together to detain Michael. Raphael knew these ego maniacs would find a reason to fight as soon as they were in a room together! I need to make a visit...’
————————————————————————
Marcus and Kenny made their way through another wing of the compound and found themselves a kitchen that seemed mostly uninhabited save for a small group of various monsters and actually a few human employees playing poker and a sleeping troll. They paid almost no attention to them save a quick glance. The soft sound of a radio filled out the room.
Marcus spoke in a hushed tone to avoid suspicion, “It’s bizarre to me to see them acting so... Human...”
Kenny agreed, “I know what you mean... It makes me feel kind of.... Guilty... For us hunting them. Maybe we’re seen as monsters to them.”
“I think it’s best to not think about these kinds of things before what needs to happen...”
Kenny opened the large refrigerator in the kitchen. “Let’s see... Blood packets... Maybe to avoid suspicion... A vacuum sealed half on an actual goat... That’s disturbing... Live small lizards in a container, maybe next time. I’ll just grab these blood packs, they’re like those kool-aid juice pouches! Otherwise it’s just gross food not meant for people, how’s the other fridge?”
Marcus grabbed a package, “Pork Rinds?” After opening it he almost puked and he tossed it, “Nope, those are ‘Pork Grinds’ literally ground up pig guts...”
“I guess we’ll just starve.”
“Wait, wait. I found something!”
“What is it?”
“Honest to god steaks!”
“It’s not ‘human’ steak or ‘hobgoblin’ or some weird shit right?”
“Nope it’s beef! It’s labeled ‘for humans only’. It’s even been pre-seasoned!”
“Let’s fire up the grill!”
“Have you wondered why we can’t just consume blood? Wouldn’t it be easier?”
Kenny turned on the grill and started opening the packages, “Scarlett said something about us not having the weaknesses, so it’s like a half glamour, in case we needed to leave in the day probably.”
“Can’t wait to eat those!”
“What is it you are eating?” A voice called from behind them, making them both jump.
“Holy fuck, you can’t do that!”
They turned to see a large dark vampire with a goatee and dreadlocks. He was dressed in very traditional romantic-era attire. Behind him was a fair-skinned female vampire and an olive-skinned male. “Very odd that we could take you two by surprise. You must be terrible retainers if that’s the case. Your master must be constantly at risk.”
Kenny got defensive, “Actually she’s much more capable than any of us!”
“Naturally... Her blood is pure unlike you tainted Newbloods... I shall like to meet with your master, but first you shall answer my original question: what is it you are eating? Surely not this ‘waste’?”
“Waste?”
The other male spoke, “Master Deacon means the food for our food.”
“This is prime grade ribeye!” Kenny answered before Marcus shot him a glare.
“I grow distrustful of you two. What sustenance can this provide, unless you’re not really who you say you are...”
“This is for our master’s humans. She plans to... Breed them... to achieve a consistent supply of blood in this new world.” Marcus talked out of his ass.
The female vampire questioned this time, “She brought these pets with her here? What purpose would putting spices on the serve?”
“Well you see... By keeping her humans well-fed and satisfied, they produce higher quantities of blood and healthier offspring...”
“This actually sounds like a decent idea, Master Deacon.”
“Glad I thought of it first.” Deacon answered. “Now I command you to take me to your master.”
“I don’t think she wants to be disturbed right now...” Kenny tried to convince.
“It wasn’t a request, it was a demand. I see your master needs to discipline you two better.”
Marcus gave in, “As you wish...”
Kenny and Marcus tried leading the way while carrying the food and blood packets. They were stopped by Deacon’s retainers.
The female spoke, “Galen, explain to these imbeciles what they’re doing wrong.”
Galen answered, “Well Talia, it’s very apparent they are untrained and undisciplined. The two of you would have the audacity of feasting in front of your superior? Have you no shame?”
Marcus and Kenny showed visible confusion.
Talia continued for Galen, “My master shall have a word with yours, but you must consume your blood before leaving. You shouldn’t even consume it in front of our master, let alone your own.”
“Proceed so we can get on with our night.” Galen prompted.
Marcus noticed Kenny reach for the steak on the plate. ‘Kenny, you dumbass!’ Marcus thought. “I’ll go first.” He quickly spouted before struggling to open a blood pack.
The retainers looked at him in confusion as he fought to open it. Marcus noticed a puncture point and used his fangs to bite into it before squeezing as much of it into his mouth as he could. As soon as the stale taste of iron hit his taste buds it took everything he had not to throw up. Marcus crushed the blood pack and threw it on the counter top, keeping as straight of a face as he could.
The three turned their attention to Kenny, who was in turn staring at Marcus. When he noticed they were looking at him he panicked a little, “Oh, I’m not hungry.” He gave a nervous laugh.
Talia narrowed her eyes, “That’s nonsense, we can see your hunger in your eyes. Or did you not know our eyes change with hunger?”
“Or are you not really vampires?” Galen and Talia shifted to a more offensive stance.
“They’re just idiots, I’m afraid.” Scarlett called out as she casually walked up to them. She was wearing a fancy robe that almost resembled royalty.
Deacon looked almost impressed - in fact it was the first facial expression that didn’t look like everyone else was beneath him. “It was never brought to my attention that there was another Prodigy in the facility. I would normally ask why royalty was here but I suppose I am also here.”
“Yes, with Kamaria as our new Queen, she felt it’s best I lend my services to the rest of The Council.”
“Interesting. It’s curious that your retainers act so strangely.”
“I know I should kill them for their habits...” Kenny and Marcus glanced between themselves, “...But they will learn. They are actually quite reliable.”
“Perhaps I may accompany you to your quarters? There are so few Prodigy left and even more limited genetic variety it would be worth the procreation, wouldn’t you agree?”
“That is a wonderful thought - Lord Deacon - but I am currently betrothed to another.”
“Of course my lady...”
“Rouge.”
“Rouge? Yes, of course Lady Rouge. Perhaps we shall hunt together tomorrow. We’ll keep in touch.”
She took off as fast as she could without being suspicious and the other two followed. Her movements were graceful, fluid and otherworldly and theirs was clumsy and human-like in comparison.
“Lord Deacon, you seem distrustful.” Talia pointed out.
“Those two seem so human-like, but I couldn’t smell their blood or trace their heart. They didn’t smell like prey either.”
Galen added, “Perhaps they’re just odd.”
“Or a very advanced Glamor... I’ve never known magic that could hide our prey from us, but these are strange times. Keep a close eye on on them, the timing is too perfect...”
Scarlet closed the door behind them and they set the steak on the table.
“Dude, I can’t believe you chugged all of that blood!”
“Don’t remind me, I wanna hurl!” Marcus looked at the blood fountain and dry heaved a little.
“Rouge? That’s a little conspicuous, wouldn’t you say- ACK!”
Scarlett slammed Kenny against a wall with strength and speed he couldn’t see coming, “You imbeciles are just trying to draw attention towards us and jeopardize the mission aren’t you?”
“We didn’t get caught!” Kenny struggled to breath with all of the force on his chest.
“Now they’ll be monitoring our every move! We don’t have a way to abort the mission and now we lost the element of surprise and anonymity.”
“Can you please stop... Crushing my ribs...?” Kenny asked.
She let up and he fell to the floor. “Eat your steaks and get some rest. We will try and fulfill our plan in the daylight.” She walked to the huge bedroom and slammed the door shut.
“Man she’s pissed. Do you really think we fucked up?”
“Nah man. We’ll be ok.” Marcus sat down and realized they had no cutlery. “Guess we just gotta bite into it.”
After a few bites Kenny raised his eyebrows, “Man, these teeth are like knives! No wonder they’re so dangerous, they rip into this meat like nothing!”
The fountain’s shadow shifted into a humanoid specter before scurrying away under the door.
————————————————————————
Jane knocked on the door to Crystal’s door.
“Come in...” Crystal sounded really groggy.
“Hey sleepy head... Julia filled me in on the events from last night. I don’t know how no one heard anything.”
“She used a powerful cloaking spell, only Carter could sense something was wrong...” Crystal laid in her bed under the covers and resorted to mostly groaning out her words.
“She must have done quite a number on you, I haven’t seen you like this since you got wasted at that frat party... Sorry I wasn’t there to help you Crys....”
“It’s not your fault. It’s weird though... It’s like you were beside me the whole time as I fought her off. Anyways, you try having your magical essence and soul be pulled from your body and then forced back in.”
“Well I feel better than ever! Don’t worry sis, I’ll let you sleep and we can handle the recon mission.”
“Thank god...” Crystal waived her hand and then snuggled into her blanket more. The curtains closed themselves to block out the sunlight.
Jane closed the door behind her, “It’ll be ok, she’s still exhausted.”
Julia turned and wheeled down the hall with Jane following. “I know she just fought for her life, but you don’t think this has anything to do with that book do you?”
“Why would you think that?”
“I thought it was a blank book, but I just remembered Marcus was studying history on Bewitchment books once and told me that they can only be read by magic users and psychics. That would explain lots!”
“How does that explain anything from last night?”
Julia stopped and wheeled herself to face Jane. “Bewitchment books are for practicing the dark arts and black magic right? So it probably acted like a homing beacon for Jezebel. It would explain why she wanted to take her body, she would have been at her most vulnerable.”
Jane was a little surprised at the implication she could of had anything to do what happened. “That’s... Certainly quite a theory.”
“We need to get that book right away and you can check it out!” Julia started to head back towards Crystal’s room before Jane stepped in her way, knowing the book wasn’t there. “What’s the problem?”
“She’s resting, and we might get caught.”
“Jane, she won’t do anything to us! It’ll get us answers.”
“Let’s just wait.”
“But what if she gets worse?”
“I said no!” Jane’s eyes flashed red for while she spoke and Julia’s eyes did the same. “Forget about the book.”
Their eyes went back to normal and Julia spoke first, “It’s a real shame that she’s out like that. The poor thing is drained from her encounter with Jezebel.”
“So you’ve dropped the book for now?”
“What book? I didn’t drop anything.”
Jane smirked as Julia headed to the staff room. ‘I can’t believe it, she just forgot!’
Slade was in the library, sitting in a chair with his feet up. He was reading a demonology book.
“What do you want Loki?”
Loki sat down in an adjacent chair, “Come now kiddo, you’re not happy to see me?”
“No.”
“Well I guess I can’t be too surprised. Are you trying to find a way to summon Azrael?”
“That’s the idea. I’m gonna kill the son of a bitch.”
“As much as I can appreciate you wanting to do a Mortal Kombat Spine rip on him, he’s not the cause of the archangel’s death.”
“I know.”
“So what’s the point?” Slade still didn’t look up, “Dammit, look at me!” Loki slammed his fist into the coffee table and Slade finally looked up without changing his posture.
“I thought I heard a rushed heartbeat. You’re scared.”
“Of course I am! You should be too!”
“Fear of my enemies isn’t a good look for me. Much like panic isn’t a good look for you either.”
“Raphael gathered all of the Gods in one place under the pretense that he wanted their help to stop Michael.”
“Let me guess, they all started to fight? As was was likely his plan from the start.”
“The peace is being held together with metaphorical cheap tape. If something even remotely triggers anyone into action, everyone gets involved.”
Slade sat up in the chair, planting his feet on the ground and closing the book. “Like Michael invading earth.”
“Exactly! He wants the mass extinction of man, monster and demons alike. Says they will start over.”
“Even though Azrael was ironically an innocent party in this, if I bring Michael his head it may appease him.”
“Let’s hope you’re right. Did your Witch friend ever tell you the various futures you have in store?”
“I imagine that everyone killing everyone is the end right? That’s where this is going?”
Loki nodded, “Ragnarok is almost upon us. I thought we had more time...”
Slade had never seen Loki like this, it made him uneasy. He got to his feet, “Let’s make the most of it, I think I know what to do.”
————————————————————————
“So you’re sure we’ll be safe to walk the halls now?” Marcus paced around Scarlett’s room and Kenny was still passed out on the couch, snoring loudly with one of his legs over the top part.
“It’s currently Noon so it’s very unlikely anything will be awake.” Scarlett was suiting up and tying her laced boots with her foot propped on a chair.
“So that Dagger of Kashmir-“
“Kadmar.”
“Sorry - ‘Kadmar’. That thing can slay anyone on The Council?”
“Indeed.” She finished lacing her boot and switched to adjusting her blouse. Marcus tried getting a peak.
“If you’re so stealthy why don’t we go kill them now? It’ll save us a lot of effort later...” Marcus trailed off as he was about to get a look inside her shirt.
“I would say show me yours and I’ll show you mine, but we’ve already done that. To be honest I wasn’t impressed.” Marcus frowned and gave up. “To answer your question we haven’t got much of a chance. Most of The Council don’t even stay at this facility and those that do are extremely well guarded.” She pulled up her mask and her hood. “Let’s go.”
Marcus slapped Kenny’s foot down and he sat up smacking his lips, “I’m up.”
The group walked down a couple halls, ducking under the hallway spider from before and sneaking around sleeping monsters. Scarlett stopped outside of a set of large double doors marked ‘The Witch’s Den’. She opened a pouch on her side and drew a symbol on the door with some sort of inky substance from the pouch.
Marcus and Kenny stood by as she made a very complex diagram. Kenny rubbed his eyes and yawned and Marcus decided to look around. There was a giant slug-man hybrid that was asleep on the side of a wall further down. There was a vending machine full of rotting body parts and a humanoid creature was making a selection from it, paying no attention to anything else. Directly behind them was a door labeled ‘Artifacts Room’ the door was ajar and something about it called to Marcus.
After Scarlett finished the symbol she placed her hand on it and the door glowed purple before returning to normal. All traces of her symbol was gone as well.
Kenny scratched his head, “What was that?”
“I removed all of their warding spells so I can enter safely. The two of you are loud and clumsy so you’ll be staying out here to guard it.” Scarlett opened the door and like a cat silently crept in, closing the door behind her.
Kenny turned around to keep watch, “Looks like it’s just you and I buddy.” Marcus was gone. “Marcus?”
In the Artifacts Room Marcus saw displays and shelves lined with various magical devices, objects and containers littered all around. He walked down the long hall towards a glowing gold light. “Demonic book with a face... Weird puzzle box... Haunted Cutlery... Haunted Sportswear... Multiple different haunted dolls... Chainsaw... Chainsaw Arm... Shotgun... Shotgun Leg... Human spine with the skull attached... Preserved cadaver with the chest split open... What is all of this shit?”
As Marcus turned the corner to see where the light was coming from it was gone. Sitting on a stand was a long Katana and it’s sheath. “That’s more my speed! It’s probably haunted though...”
Marcus’ shadow on the wall didn’t move with him as he approached the sword. The same Nightshade that was watching them the night before stepped out from that spot on the wall, it’s red eyes the only noticeable thing about it. It grabbed him and threw him into the wall, knocking over the katana in the process.
“Son of a bitch! Fine, I’ll leave! The door was open!”
The Nightshade’s eyes narrowed and it menacingly approached him with its arm turning into a blade and it wound up for a swing. Without really thinking Marcus grabbed the katana and blocked with it. Instead of passing through and stabbing him like expected, the shadow blade became severed and disappeared with an awful shrieking sound from the creature. It eyed up the blade and recoiled in fear.
Marcus couldn’t believe what had just happened, “You’re afraid of this?” He brandished it towards the specter and got braver. “You’re afraid of this!” The specter tried to escape but Marcus already plunged the sword into its body and it exploded into nothingness.
He looked down at the sword - impressed. He grabbed the sheath and tied it around his waste and placed the sword by his side.
“Marcus are you ok?” Kenny called as he and Scarlett enter the room.
“I was attacked by a Nightshade but this sword saved my life!”
Kenny reached for it, “Can I see that?”
“Stop!” Scarlett shouted and they stopped in place.
“What?”
“That’s the Masamune! I never thought I’d see it in person!”
“Massive Moon-eh?” Kenny was confused.
“You mean one of the Legendary Blades!?” Marcus’ eyes widened.
“Yes that one.”
“Awesome!” The two men high-fived.
“It’s extremely fortunate for you that you must be a fated wielder.”
“What does that mean?”
“Most beings that touch it and aren’t worthy typically burst into flames and it can’t be extinguished until death.”
Kenny and Marcus bent over laughing. Marcus wiped a tear from his eye, “You had us going there! I thought you were serious for a moment.”
“I’m deadly serious. I’m surprised you survived.”
“Wait what!?”
“It’s too valuable to leave in their possession. We must take it. The two girls were gone so they must be elsewhere. We must move.”
She started walking out of the room and Kenny patted him on the back, “There’s your good luck shining again Marcus. Just don’t let it touch anyone.”
Marcus moved as if a bomb was strapped to him and the slightest bump would set the Masamune off.
————————————————————————
Mandy and Bree walked through the main dining hall where tons of monsters were passed out - seemingly from exhaustion, “That shit you pulled last night wasn’t funny! If you have all of your memories then why would you want to let out our secret!?”
Bree frowned but said nothing.
Mandy rolled her eyes, “Labuere.”
Bree raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.
“No I didn’t think a speaking spell would really work... I know that’s what you’d say.” She thought for a moment and pulled out the notebook, handing it to Bree. Bree scribbled her answer and handed it back. “‘I’m only telling you this because of my memories. I don’t want to betray you but I can’t control the need to obey Lord Magnus. He is the highest authority and I will only speak when HE tells me I can’... And you’ll never stop until he knows?”
Bree shrugged and nodded.
“I didn’t want to have to do this...” Mandy dropped the notebook. Bree looked at her curiously before realization dawned on her face too late. “Cuimemori.” A dark haze seemed to come out of Mandy’s fingertips and enveloped Bree’s head. Before she could resist she dropped to the ground asleep.
Within seconds her eyes opened, “Mandy, what are you doing here? And what’s with your new look?”
She was still a revenant but her memories from the last couple days were gone.
“I’m here to rescue you! Take you back home.”
“I don’t remember how I got here, but I have an uncontrollable desire to tell someone something. I just don’t know who or what.” She looked around and a terrified look came over her. Her next word turned into a terrified whisper, “Holy shit! We’re surrounded by monsters! How are you so calm!?!?”
“We were undercover on a mission and we got what we needed. Some evil leprechauns wiped your memory when you tried to take their gold on our way out.”
“So we’re not in danger!?”
“No.”
She eased up a bit, “The gold thing does sound like something I’d do... Ok let’s get out of here.”
“Perfect! We just have to leave through the front doors.” Mandy turned to lead the way.
Bree followed, “When we get back we need to ask the Coven Mother how things are going with-“
Mandy turned back to her friend when she stopped talking only to see her head falling to the ground like it was in slow motion. Scarlett was already sheathing the blade before it reached the ground.
“WHAT DID YOU DO!?!?”
Scarlett was in her full assassin attire so only her eyes were visible. They narrowed, “We couldn’t risk getting compromised. Lower your voice.”
There were two unfamiliar vampires standing behind her. Despite the sorrowful looks on their faces Mandy didn’t think they were friendly.
“Fuck you, you Transylvanian whore! You killed my best friend!” Mandy’s eyes glowed pink and she outstretched her hands. Scarlett’s arms got pinned to her sides and she started to levitate in the air.
“Magnus killed her!”
“Mandy! You’re waking everyone up!” Kenny whispered as loud as he dared and he approached her.
“Don’t come near me creature!” She waved a hand at him and he flew back into the wall. The monsters currently present all started waking up to spectate the commotion and many also started to aggressively cheer. In just a short time a huge crowd was gathering.
Mandy telepathically threw a large dagger on the ground at Kenny, and it pinned him to the wall. Scarlett looked down at her side and noticed an empty sheath. ‘The Dagger of Kadmar!’ She thought. With a sudden burst of movement she broke out of Mandy’s grip and made a run for the dagger.
“Where do you think you’re going!?” She grabbed Scarlett again with her powers and slammed her into the ground.
‘How is she this powerful?’
Marcus ran to Kenny to check any damage and noticed the dagger was pinning his jacket to the wall, it missed his heart and he was fine. “I thought you were dead!”
“I frequently have near death experiences. I guess at this point they’re just ‘experiences’.”
“I didn’t want to have to do this child.” Scarlett used an unpinned arm to through a small black ball into Mandy’s face. As soon as it made impact it exploded into a cloud of smoke and Mandy was effectively blind and could hardly breath through it.
The grip disappeared and Scarlett rushed her, knocking her out with a swift blow. As the smoke dissipated she glanced around the room at all of the peering monsters.
“There’s nothing to see here, move along.”
“You had to ruin our fun!” A female voice called out. The monsters all backed up and Marcus and Kenny joined Scarlett in the middle, looking around to see where the voice was coming from.
Kenny went to hand Scarlett back her dagger. “Keep, it for now. I have backups.”
Another almost identical voice echoed from the opposite side, “Looks like you were correct about the new recruits, Deacon.”
A hole in the ceiling opened up and sunlight poured in. Some monsters close by burst into flames and others backed away. Scarlett’s exposed skin immediately started to burn so she bent over to cover herself. Marcus and Kenny didn’t show any signs of pain.
Verruca and Hilda seemed to appear out of nowhere in clouds of smoke on either side of them. Other council members walked along the upper walkway to spectate.
The vampire lord they met the previous night - Deacon - also circled them with his retainers. “I knew you two were fakes. She however appears to be the real deal. There’s nowhere for you four to run.”
“It was you two that were controlling her weren’t you!?” Kenny yelled at the sisters.
“That was all her...” Verruca started.
“...We may have given her a slight boost.” Hilda ended. The circle grew tighter as they spoke.
Marcus drew the Masamune and got into a fighting stance, the sword started to glow with a mystical energy. Their adversaries all stopped when they saw what he was holding.
“So the sword chose you.” Magnus clapped as he joined everyone on the top part. “That would be very impressive if I had faith you could wield it.”
“I’m trained by great masters in the art of Kendo and Kenjutsu. I can handle this better than most.”
“I’m sure you can, it’s the more mystical side of it I have my doubts on.”
The sisters waived their hands in a mirrored fashion and the ceiling rapidly repaired itself.
“Let’s make this interesting shall we?” Magnus asked and a scientist and tall man with a smug look about himself walked out beside him.
“Chad was it?”
The man smirked, “Yes sir.”
“Welcome to the endgame of evolution my friend.”
The scientist injected him with a silver syringe and he doubled over as he started to transform. His werewolf form kicked in but he grew larger than usual, his teeth and claws grew longer and almost metallic and his hide thickened. He stood up with a roar, almost double his previous size.
Magnus folded his arms, “Detain them, but keep them alive.”
Chad leapt from the upper level and landed on the bottom floor with the floor cracking at where his feet impacted the ground.
Magnus whispered to Lust, “I think we need to activate our safety protocol.”
“I agree.”
There wasn’t much of a fight: Verruca and Hilda used their combined strength to subdue Scarlett. Chad managed to knock Kenny out with one strike, grabbing his and Mandy’s bodies off the ground.
Marcus however was a slightly different story - both Galen and Talia flanked him on either side. Marcus remembered back to his training his received with a katana when he was younger and performed a well-timed side step, cutting Galen clean in half and avoiding Talia’s strike simultaneously. In the place where the sword slashed through the air there was a tear in the fabric of reality that disappeared within moments.
Deacon and Talia stared in disbelief at what happened to Deacon. Their heads shifted to a more monstrous form as they aggressively launched towards Marcus - who was still slightly off balance. He tried to slash the sword towards his incoming attackers but soon noticed he was falling backwards in a void. Deacon’s claws just managed to slash him painfully across the chest as he disappeared in the dark.
The portal closed and Marcus felt the chilled air around him and he could barely make out his surroundings in the dark abyss. The portal closed itself like before and he was alone in a strange land. Almost immediately his Glamor disappeared and the sword lost its glow.
The only thing he could think to do was try slashing with the sword again, but it only made small whooshing noises as it moved through the air.
“Fuck! FUCK! Why isn’t it working!?” He grew frustrated that nothing was working and the Masamune appeared to be a regular katana. He stabbed it into the ground and tried to get his eyes to adjust to the lack of light. “Where am I? I don’t think I’m outside...”
After allowing some time for his eyes to adjust, Marcus was sure that a faint glow was way off in the distance at one end, so he decided to follow it. Walking along it became more apparent that this was some sort of large cavern and the light was coming from some torches. Marcus never noticed the demons crawling along the ceiling and walls, stalking him.
Once he was close enough to the light he saw two demons watching the entrance to whatever it was they were guarding. ‘Maybe I should go the opposite way...’ He tried reasoning with himself.
“Is that food?” One demon called out.
“I’m starving, we barely get anything to eat down here!” Another agreed.
Marcus panicked and looked around, noticing how outnumbered he was. Seeing no other option, he drew out the sword. The glow from the blade returned like it was on fire and illuminated all of the approaching bodies. Most stopped in their tracks except the ones to his back. He pivoted around to make sure none of them got brave.
From the ceiling a demon dropped to grab the sword from his hand and as soon as it touched the handle it burst into a blue flame. It writhed in agony and rolled around on the ground until it burnt away. ‘That could have been me...” Marcus thought to himself.
“This is the Masamune! I’m sure you’ve heard of it... Now you will show me the way out or take me to someone who can... Otherwise... you’ll meet your end at the end of my blade...” Marcus didn’t sound confident.
“As you wish...” one of the demon’s replied, keeping its eyes on the sword, “Stand down.” The other demons backed off a bit as this one turned towards the guarded area. Marcus reluctantly followed and still kept the sword at the ready. The horde of demons still trailed behind him as he walked, but they stayed at a distance.
Marcus couldn’t believe what he saw when he entered the main area, sitting on a large throne was an immense figure. “You are a comrade of Slade’s are you not?”
Marcus gulped, “I am...”
“I am Azrael. King of this domain and soon all of the world.”
————————————————————————
“I’m worried Carter, no one’s checked in all day!” Crystal was hovering over Jane - who was on the computer - biting her fist nervously and tensed up. Slade had just entered the room after searching everywhere for Julia.
“I wonder if they’re compromised?”
“Their trackers are all in one location like last night.” Jane turned her body to look at the other two. “I’m picking up a lot more bodies around them than last night.”
“They’re probably getting ready for the invasion...”
Crystal freaked out a little bit, “You don’t think it’s tonight, do you!? This soon!?”
“They probably know lots that we don’t. I think it’s too little notice to get all of our allies together... Have you two seen Julia? I figured she would be here but I can’t sense her around.”
“We thought she was with you.” Jane looked confused. “She very likely ran to town with some of the staff. It IS Friday at lunch and she hasn’t missed fish taco night since they started taking her, they do shopping for hours too.
“You’re probably right... Crystal, can we see what’s going on in there?”
“Carter, that would set off all of their magical radars. They’ll know we have a mole inside, never mind several!”
“You’re probably...” Slade trailed off.
“Carter?” Jane raised an eyebrow and Crystal squinted at him.
“Look out!” He used his speed to pull Jane away from the chair as a tear opened up in space. Marcus just barely slipped through with a demon’s arm following him. The portal disappeared and severed the arm.
Marcus was wearing very torn up clothes and was covered in tons of open wounds and bruises. He was drenched in sweat and blood and breathing so heavily he couldn’t make a sound.
“Marcus!!!” Slade and the sisters yelled in unison. Crystal rested his head on her lap and Jane immediately got to work to try and figure out what was going on.
Slade wasn’t sure what to do - unprepared for providing first aid. Crystal held her finger to her throat and as she spoke it echoed in the halls, “Emergency First Aid to the staff room! Hurry!”
“What the fuck happened!?” Slade yelled, showing real signs of worry.
“He can’t get air, I think his lung has collapsed!” Jane was using her magic like an x-ray to diagnose the issue. Crystal looked at her sister in disbelief and slightly accusatory, but didn’t say anything to concentrate on him.
The medics came in and immediately used their magic to start healing him. Crystal held her hands to his back where his lungs were and took a deep breath. Her hands and eyes glowed their usual purple and suddenly he took in a huge gasp of air.
“...I made it... I didn’t think... I would...” He passed out.
“He’s stabilizing, Coven Mother.” One of the medics stated.
“He is already in the healing stages. He unfortunately with have plenty of scars, but he will turn out ok.” Jane stated, “We should let him rest.”
Hours later before the sun went down Slade finally had enough pacing around. Isla, Crystal and Jane were all by his bedside. Slade’s aggression took hold and he was almost unable to control it, “Marcus! Wake up and tell me what happened!”
“Carter, I-“ Crystal tried to speak.
Slade roared with anger, his eyes turned their fiery red when he’s about to transform “Marcus!” His voice terrified everyone in the room.
Marcus jolted awake, “FUCK! You scared the shit outta me! Maybe literally!”
“Oh Marcus!” Isla hugged him tightly.
“Tell me what happened.” His eyes went back to normal.
“I acquired the Masamune in my time there. Apparently I unlocked it’s power!”
“THE Masamune?”
“Yeah, it was just sitting there because they can’t even touch it to move it.”
“How did this all happen Marcus?” Crystal asked.
“In our first night there Magnus killed Bree! Straight up murdered her just for talking.”
Everyone in the room except Slade’s jaws dropped upon hearing the news. His just clenched.
Marcus continued, “These twin witches - who are Jezebel’s replacements - turned her into a Revenant. Just to make sure that she wouldn’t reveal our identities - which she tried to do immediately - Scarlett figured she would assassinate Bree. She was compromised, but Mandy decided to fight back. The commotion caught everyone’s attention and we got into a fight.” Marcus sat up. “Water?”
A witch poured him a jug and he chugged it down.
“You had the sword?”
“I killed a vamp with it but then it took me to Azrael’s creepy dungeon, filled to the brim with demon’s!”
“You were there?” Jane and Slade made eye contact.
The sword saved my life. He told me he was going to join The Organization and bring about the end of the world. He planned to torture me for info but his demon’s couldn’t capture me. I fought my way out and eventually this stupid fucking sword let me finally escape.”
“So everyone could be compromised or even killed?” Slade grew steadily angrier.
“No, Magnus said he wanted everyone alive specifically.” He looked at the clock, “Oh shit! They’re ready to launch their attack! We gotta stop it!” Marcus leapt out of bed, visibly scarred but otherwise back to normal. He grabbed a shirt and the sword.
“This is code red, Crystal! Show us what’s going on there!”
Crystal opened up a looking glass portal and everyone they had sent there were all lined up on their knees, un-glamored and with bags on their heads. There were other people as well. The ground was littered with headless bodies and not many more of their people left to go. The next one in line was in a wheelchair.
S2E09

Let's cut through the pre-amble:

What is Devil May Cry?

Devil May Cry is an action series developed and published by Japanese company Capcom, beginning with Devil May Cry 1 in 2001 for the Playstation 2 (Here's an advert showing it as part of Sony's holiday lineup that included landmark gaming titles such as Final Fantasy X, Grand Theft Auto 3, Metal Gear Solid 2 and... Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance). The game series began as a prototype build for Resident Evil 4 that had more of an overt action focus than the acclaimed horror franchise was known for. Rather than scrap the build, Capcom saw potential in the idea of a stylish action game, and gave director Hideki Kamiya permission to make it a full title.
Kamiya would involuntarily leave the series after DMC 1 as Capcom didn't ask him to work on DMC 2. Instead, a still-to-this-day unknown phantom director was put in charge of the game and he ran it into the ground. With less than half a year before DMC 2's 2003 release, Capcom brought in a new director to course-correct and get the game out for release: Hideaki Itsuno. In less than six months, Itsuno would rally the team, basically make the entire game, and create several features that would go on to become series staples, and while DMC 2 sold well, it was critically panned for being a very boring game. Itsuno, not wanting his reputation to be sullied, came back in 2005 with Devil May Cry 3, generally considered one of the greatest action games of all time. From here several core traits are instilled: chief among which being style meters that track the player's skill with combos and Dante having a style system that lets him use different movesets.
And it's in 2008 with the release of Devil May Cry 4, marking the series going multiplatform for the first time as it came out on the PS3 and Xbox 360, that this story really begins:

The build up to 2010

With DMC 4's release in 2008, Capcom set the sales expectation that the game would sell 1.8 million units by the end of the fiscal year. DMC 4 would sell two million units in under a month, but Capcom were a bit unimpressed. They were hoping that now that DMC was on a wider range of platforms that the sales would correspondingly go up, but instead the game just saw a modest increase over DMC 3. The cost of game development had also shot up in the new console generation, making Capcom more concerned about DMC4's sales just being fine, especially coming off of huge sales juggarnauts from 2007 such as Halo 3, Call of Duty Modern Warfare and Bioshock. (It doesn't help that DMC 4 had a very rushed development leading to the now infamous case of Dante's playable chapters just being Nero's but backwards)
Japan at the time was also in a weird place when it came to gaming. The mobile phone gaming market was about to take off, and the playerbase in Japan was already smaller than the worldwide market for obvious reasons. In the home regions, it was safer to look into handheld gaming, and while Capcom had dallied with the idea of a DMC game on the Playstation Portable (at one point considering a remake of the first game that reached in-game screenshots and box art that was quietly shelved for unknown reasons, alongside a prequel focusing on Dante's father Sparda), these ideas never left the ground. Seeing how Western markets were more traditionally concerned with console gaming at this time (and the success of the God of War franchise proved Action was a genre people wanted), Capcom's idea was simple:
Give their IPs to Western studios and let them take a crack at it, with the idea being their knowledge of what the West wants would let the games sell better. The results were mixed. The Bionic Commando reboot is nowadays more known for the twist of YOUR WIFE IS THE ROBOT ARM and only sold 27,000 units in a month, but Dead Rising did fairly well under a Capcom Vancouver branch until Dead Rising 4 happened and uh... kinda killed the series because it was awful.
Capcom eventually set their sights on giving the West a crack at DMC, leading to them eyeballing several studios. This worked out well for them in that Itsuno was also burnt out. After having spent five straight years on DMC and having redeemed its image after DMC 2, Itsuno was ready to take a break and make his dream game: Dragon's Dogma, a dark fantasy game that is very fun. It got a Netflix anime adaptation recently that is... not as fun. But while Itsuno was making Dragon's Dogma, Capcom had some time to spitball handing the series off. They eventually settled on Ninja Theory, an up and coming British team best known for Heavenly Sword (a very pretty game with mediocre action combat and a priority on storytelling), and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (a modernisation of Journey to the West that was very pretty but priotizied story over gameplay). Rumors began to circulate in early 2010 that Ninja Theory had acquired the license and would be making a prequel focusing on Dante's early days, but it would only become clear at Tokyo Games Show that year when DmC: Devil May Cry* was formally announced.
And the fanbase collectively hated it.
(* Yes that does technically mean this reboot's name is Devil may Cry: Devil May Cry. I'm going to call it DmC from here to differentiate it from the core series)

The TGS Trailer

For those unaware of DMC, I should stress that by 2010, it had a reputation for a certain flair and theatics. Dante was known to be a goofball in cutscenes, taunting enemy demons and making a mockery of them. He has an entire cutscene in DMC 4 where he acts like he's on the stage of a theatre with how grandious he is. People liked Dante for this reason, he was a breath of fresh air in a time when most protagonists were stotic, gritty jerks who only talked in curse words and gravelly shouts. And his flowing white hair was also certainly iconic.
So here comes the new take on Dante, the West giving him a go and oh... hoo boy. There's no charisma, there's no panache. The trailer has no gameplay. Dante doesn't look like a trash talker, he looks like a meth addict. He's smoking, something the DMC 1 design documents said Dante would never do as (per Kamiya) smoking is uncool. His hair isn't even white!
Now let me be clear: I am not opposed to a new take on Dante. Certainly, the idea presented in the reveal trailer that Dante is imaging the demons he fights as an acute case of psychosis is an interesting idea, as it raises the question of whether or not the demons are real or if he's senselessly killing random people. But the execution would have had to be perfect, and opening with just a fancy trailer that had no signs of gameplay for an action franchise was not the right foot to start on.
What doesn't help was that the entire Western Capcom initiative was one pushed by a very controversial figure in gaming called Keiji Inafune, who would leave Capcom right after DmC's announcement in 2010. Inafune was the one most strongly advocating for the western development approach (Something Capcom were quick to stress in 2010 after his departure), but with his departure the movement had less steam. Inafune would go on to make Mighty Number 9, a Kickstarter that went miserably wrong on every turn and is usually seen as one of the most disappointing games of the 2010s.
I should also point out here: Dante's radically different design from the norm of the series was a mandate imposed by Capcom. Ninja Theory's original concept art for Dante was much more closer to his traditional design- white hair, red coat and all. But Capcom, and Itsuno especially, were adament that if Ninja Theory were going to be doing something new with the franchise, that they needed to go off the cuff- in Capcom's own words, "Go crazy."

The development

So Dante got a new color palette, a darker jacket and black hair. But at the time (this news only came out two years after the redesign was revealed), people didn't know about Capcom explicitly telling NT to go off the rails, and what they saw... was Ninja Theory going off the rails in the wrong way.
So from the word go, fans aren't happy. Fans are usually never happy but I mean they were unhappy. Chief Creative director for Ninja Theory Tameen Antionades said after the reveal: “The vitriol was immediate, aggressive and relentless for the next two years. Without a second of gameplay being shown, it had been written off as a disaster in the making.” Tameen would become the ball and chain around DmC's marketing, which is quite apparent in how Ninja Theory would dial back on his appearances as we get closer to the game's release. The backlash to the launch clearly surprised Ninja Theory and caught them off guard, with Tameen publically lashing out at the original fanbase for writing the game off or being unhappy at Dante's visual redesign. This would go on to dominiate the discussions about DmC for its pre-release cycle, as it became less about the game and more about the community and whether or not the response was justified (alongside in typical internet fashion, a few death threats being tossed around which apparently included a full metal song). No matter which side of it you lean on though, Tameen had habit of putting his foot in his mouth in regards to PR:

• When asked by Venturebeat how he felt about the fan reaction to the TGS trailer, Tameen (and I am quoting them word for word here) “took a drag of his cigarette and without blinking or pausing to exhale the smoke from his mouth, said: ‘I don’t care.’”
  
• Tameen went on to insult Dante's original costume in a later interview when saying that what was and wasn’t cool had changed in the years since DMC1: “If Dante, dressed as he was, walked into any bar outside of Tokyo, he’d get laughed out.”
  
• Finally, he disparaged the original series for its depiction of women, particularly the demon hunters Trish and Lady, saying: "I've nothing against big tits - I'd rather have my head resting on a pair right now - but if you're going to try and stimulate someone on different levels, there's better ways to do it... We did that in Enslaved with Trip. People loved her, not because she had big breasts and high heels, but because she felt like someone who could be your girlfriend. That to me is more attractive than a prostitute walking around with a big gun." The idea that Tameen was dismissing Lady and Trish (Lady especially has basically the largest character arc in DMC3 and it's as much her story as Dante's) irked the fanbase.
  

Capcom likely stepped in behind the scenes and encourged a few changes. Notably, Dante's design underwent a few shifts, including making him more muscular and rewriting portions of the game to give him a few more of Old!Dante's trademark quips. A few voice actor was also cast, named Tim Phillips... though NT wouldn't budge on the haircut as it was part of the story. The Dante psychosis/prisoner angle from the TGS trailer was also completely scrapped from the final product, having Dante instead be confirmed to be sane and fighting demons, not people. Even though Capcom had encouraged NT to go off the rails... money still reigns supreme and Capcom wanted to turn a profit. So closer to release, Capcom made a point of stressing that Itsuno and several other DMC veteran staff were supervising the combat system and offering guidance. Combat designer Rahni Tucker spoke positively of the exchanges she had with Itsuno:

While Capcom Japan kept a close eye on Ninja Theory’s work on DmC’s characters, story and world, its greatest focus was, naturally, on the game’s combat. Itsuno and other key personnel would visit the studio in Cambridge every few months to check in on its progress, Ninja Theory staff would often make the trip out to Japan, and in between those times there would be regular video conferences and daily email updates. All that communication helped to unify the two companies, despite a fundamental split between their approaches to game development: Ninja Theory liked to start with the visual design, and Capcom with the mechanics. Modestly, Itsuno admits he learned a lot from the collaboration; Tucker believes she picked up an awful lot more. “I learnt so much,” she says. “Itsuno would speak philosophically about how he approaches combat and enemy design. They build most of the player’s set of actions first, and then think about the things they can build to allow players to exploit particular elements of the system they’ve designed. They really put the emphasis of the baddie design back onto the player’s actions. It’s kind of obvious, but just the way that he spoke about it was inspiring, and it made a lot of sense to me.”

The damage however, was long done. Even with the post-TGS revisions, DmC was facing an uphill battle from the community, with a minority waiting to give it a try themselves before casting judgement, but the majority either being apathetic or downright hostile to the game, not helped by Tameen's attitude creating the idea that Ninja Theory inherently hated what made Devil May Cry good (again, keep in mind most players wouldn't learn that Capcom were pushing for the radical Dante changes until years post-release). Ultimately though, Capcom themselves are to blame for the choices that impacted DmC: Ninja Theory were only doing their jobs to the best of their abilities and for the most part many of the staff clearly loved getting to work on such a popular franchise and boosting their studio's name. It came down an unfortunate blend of Capcom misreading what people wanted from future projects, an attempt to appeal to a Western market that fell on its face, and a director unprepared for the mass backlash his product got.
Either way, the game finally came out in early 2013.

The game itself

Eh, it was OK.
DmC launched in March 2013 and got decent reviews on all platforms, getting a consistent 8/10 on all platforms on Metacritic. The PC port was especially praised for its sheer variety of features including an uncapped framerate. Critics quite liked it, praising the story and art direction, feeling it was a necessary step for the series to make the games somewhat easier to let newcomers in without facing as daunting a challenge as the games could be (I'm pretty sure learning how to fly a plane is easier than mastering Dante in Devil May Cry 4). Old Dante's most famous voice actor, Reuben Langdon, spoke on a podcast about the game and admitted that while he wasn't fond of the new Dante's characterisation, he applauded Ninja Theory's craftsmenship.
The fanbase were colder, even with the pre-release biases set aside (this wasn't helped by Platinum, helmed by several ex-DMC 1 developers including Kamiya, releasing Metal Gear Rising Revengeance also in 2013. Metal Gear Rising is a very good game that involves flipping giant robots and fighting a very actractive Brazillian man with a gun-sheath sword). The game's framerate on consoles was capped at 30FPS for technical reasons when all prior games ran at 60FPS. Dante had lost a lot of his mechanical complexity (including DMC 3 and 4's style system which offered Dante special abilities he could switch between such as more sword and gun combos, blocking and dodging) in favour of a more universal moveset. The Devil Trigger super mode was pretty lame and automatically knocked all enemies into the air, which people didn't like as it made most encounters too easy. Building up style was too easy and the game had no systems to stop you spamming the same combos over and over. The game's weapon system of angel/demon themed weapons included color-coded enemies that forced you to use the right gear or you'd be punished. There was no Turbo Mode, a feature in most games that automatically boosted the game's speed by 20% on average.
Ninja Theory still made a good action game, albeit one that needed a bit more refinement to reach its true potential. But the lack of several core features (or worse, poorly implemented iterations of said features) led to the fanbase adopting a term:

"It's a good game, but it's not a good Devil May Cry."

The fanbase were willing to concede to the good aspects of the game- especially in audiovisual aspects. Enemies now got a subtitle during their first appearance, weapons getting a slight glint when the player pauses to let them know they can launch a pause combo attack, the soundtrack was now dynamic and evolved up the higher your style rank got, alongside the killing blow at the end of a fight getting a cinematic camera angle. Ninja Theory's sense of style itself was something that impressed the Capcom team, as all of these aspects were modified and adopted into the mainline games come 2019. The game was also very beautiful in places, leaving the Gothic archetecture of the main games for a more European feel in Limbo City. Madrid in Spain and Genoa in Italy are clear influences on the archetecture, and the design team adapt them well in making Limbo a city that is itself a weapon trying to kill Dante through compressing alleyways, closing off paths or mocking him through writing on the walls, Splinter Cell Conviction style. Combichrist and Noisia's collaberations for the soundtrack were also praised between their licensed work and new music composed just for the game, especially the songs Never Surrender and Throat Full of Glass.
But for all the praise, reluctant or otherwise, that game got mechanically, the story that the critics had acclaimed as mature and a right step forward had few supporters among the playerbase. There's been a lot written and said about DmC's story so I'll cap off the highlights here:

• Dante, even after the TGS revisions, was still far too crass and unlikeable. A scene early on in the game was also seen as a potshot at fans of the old games as a response to the TGS backlash where a mop falls on Dante's head, making him look like his older self, before he snarks "Not in a million years" and throws the mop aside. Fans quickly took to several creative nicknames to refer to this new iteration of the character, with the most popular being DINO (Dante In Name Only) or Donte. Fans hated Donte's personality so much that they began unironically championing the Spanish dub of the game due to his dub actor having more fun in the role, leading to people making mods to highlight the misadventures of Donté, el exterminador de demonios. Dante being changed from a half-human half-demon to half-angel half-demon also led to mocking jokes comparing Dante to the Adam Sandler film Little Nicky.
  
• The game relied far too heavily on swearing, with the exchange between Dante and Succubus becoming infamous for the lines "Fuck you!" "Fuck you!" "FUCK YOUUUUUUUUUUU." A scene with Dante and Vergil where the two engage in brotherly banter only for Vergil to end the argument with "And I've got a bigger dick" also went viral for all the wrong reasons.
  
• Dante's brother Vergil in the core series is a man of MOTIVATION who would sooner cut his throat than admit to anything being stronger than him, alongside someone who hates firearms. Entire essays have been written about how amazing Vergil is in Devil May Cry 3 and in some communities, his name has become synonymous with the rival archetype. Here, he's presented as a thinly veiled analogue to the Anonymous movement (you can carbon date this game to early 2010s in general with the Anonymous analouges and WAKE UP SHEEPLE energy), openly admits to Dante that "I'm powerless to stop you" from just leaving his goal to stop the demons, and in the most infamous scene of the game, uses a sniper rifle to shoot a pregnant woman in the chest, blowing out her entire stomach, before headshotting her. To make things even worse for the reputation of this version of Vergil (who had been mockingly named Vergin), the launch version of DmC had him wearing a fedora. In 2013. I don't think I need to add anything to that if you remember what became of the fedora around 2013.
  
• Despite Tameen's comments about women in video games and "prostitutes with guns," DmC was reviled for how deeply mysoginistic the game truly was. Kat (the one heroic female character in the game and the only female character to survive the game), had several far more revealing costumes planned in concept art (Alongside the idea that Kat fought with a violin weapon pre-Lindsay Sterling which was pretty cool). Here's one of the better pieces of art where Kat was planned to be a biker chick with platinum blonde hair. Kat is ultimately a vehicle for Dante's character development as he softens up around her, only for her to be kidnapped and brutalized by the police. Dante and Vergil then kidnap the mistress of Mundus (the main antagonist) who is pregnant with his child, and trade the two women off like Pokemon cards (the camera in the trade scene, linked above in the Vergin section includes several disturbing shots that linger on Kat trying to get up after being shoved to the ground), leading back to the Sniper Rifle Abortion. The fanbase got very creative with memes relating to that part of the game. Kat's main involvement in the final act of the game is just to give Dante a map of the building she was tortured in, then hide behind a dumpster when Dante and Vergil come to blows over whether or not they should rule humanity. And in the re-release of the game, the final cutscene is modfied so the last shot of the game is Dante copping a feel of Kat's ass.
  

The end was an OK game let down by a bad story. The tale of many a game. And unfortunately, partly thanks to the game just not being good enough for the DMC pedigree, DmC underperformed. Capcom initally hoped for 2 million units to be sold like DMC 4, but later quietly lowered their projections down to 1.2 million. Some rumors speculate that Capcom had to artifically boost the game's sale numbers by counting anyone who downloaded the game when it was for free as part of Playstation Plus in January 2014 (games that go on PS+ or Microsofft's Xbox Live Games with Gold service are usually games that are either selling so well they can take the hit, are past their lifespan and looking to reignite the playerbase, or did very badly and this is a last ditch effort to get interest into the game). While not speaking directly about DmC, Capcom spoke frankly in a financial report regarding their Western outsourcing, attributing the lack of success to a "delayed response to the expanding digital contents market," "insufficient coordination between the marketing and the game development divisions in overseas markets," and a "decline in quality due to excessive outsourcing". The long and the short of it was: DmC flopped commerically, failing to meet the sales of DMC 4 in the West (which remember was Capcom's entire reason for the reboot) when it was released on the exact same platforms, and the consoles had a larger install base due to five years having passed. For what it's worth, Itsuno himself support the game and approved of Ninja Theory's efforts, even saying he'd have been honored to work on a DmC Devil May Cry 2 had Capcom gone with that project.
Some post-launch support would follow, including DLC costumes based on concept art for Dante and several alt skins based on his DMC 1 and 3 appearances, Bloody Palace (basically a time trial gauntlet run) and a campaign focusing on Vergil that sets up a sequel hook which never gets followed up on.
Some Ninja Theory staffers didn't take the news well, especially as they knew that their reputation was going to take a large hit after DmC. Art director Alessandro Taini gave a GDC talk where he went on a weird rant involving editing DMC 4 Dante into stills from... Brokeback Mountain and Batman and Robin, while also saying reboot Dante was based on... Tyler Durden from Fight Club (for those who don't know Fight Club, you're not meant to agree with Tyler or find him a role model). Keep in mind that this is Taini basically shit-talking character designs he had no hand in making. In a hilaripus twist of irony, Dante would later in the series get a cowboy hat as a weapon. Revenge is a dish best served cold.
Capcom up to this point had been going back and forth on what DmC even was- was it a prequel, a reboot, an alternate universe? They seemed to change the answer every month. But after the game's failure to meet expectations commercially, they quietly settled on it being based on an alternate universe, as was confirmed in of all things, Donte appearing as a DLC alt skin for Dante in Marvel vs Capcom Infinite.

(While I'm on the topic of weird fighting game trivia, Donte actually also got a full fighting game appearance in the "classic," Playstation All Stars Battle Royale as an attempt to market DmC ahead of its release. Yes, Donte technically didn't even debut in his own game. This story is so weird to me! In the trailer he even fights the protagonist of previous Ninja Theory game Heavenly Sword)

In 2015, Capcom re-released the game for the new consoles as DmC: Devil May Cry: Definitive Edition. This was largely helmed by the Capcom team in Japan who modified the game to make it more in line with DMC's series standards of gameplay. And you know what? It's really good! Genuinely, it actually makes the game and takes it from "A good attempt" to "one of the best Western attempts at action games period." 60FPS on consoles, all DLC included, Turbo Mode was back, a new mode called Must Style where you have to get an S Rank in combos before your attacks do damage, all alongside an insanely detailed changelog penned by Rahni Tucker. The one downside? It never got released on PC for unsaid reasons, presumably that most of the new gameplay additions... were based on mods made by the PC fanbase. Mods you can no longer find as the site storing them has gone down.
However even with this, DmC would get sand in its eye one more time. In the same year, Capcom released a similar re-release of DMC 4 called Special Edition. It was far more bare bones than DmC: DE, only adding three new playable characters in Lady, Trish and MOTIVATION Man himself, Vergil. Despite the game only getting a physical release in Japan and being digital only here in the West (whereas DmC: DE got a full release), Capcom eventually said that DMC 4 SE obliterated the DE in sales, with Capcom specifically saying that 4SE's digital sales led to a better quarter in 2015 than they were anticipating. As of 2020 (due to Capcom counting their re-releases of games separately than the original release when it comes to sales), we know that DMC4SE has sold 1.5 million units, while DmC: DE sold 1.1 million.
However, ultimately, I'm very joyful to admit that everyone got a happy ending! No, literally, everyone came out of this for the better. Ninja Theory in 2017 would release Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, a critical and commerical darling made on a self-styled "AA" budget that was praised for its handling of mental health through the lens of its MC Senua. It made its budget back easily, they're now owned by Microsoft and they're currently working on a sequel called Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2. Capcom would bounce back from their slump in the Early 2010s, beginning in 2017 with the releases of Resident Evil 7, Monster Hunter World and a certain title I'll mention in a minute. They've been releasing hit after hit for the last four years and they have more on the horizon. And Itsuno, now having made Dragon's Dogma, came back raring to go with more Devil May Cry. Though there are some rumors by Dante's voice actor that he had to threaten to leave Capcom to get it, at E3 2018 as part of the Microsoft panel, Itsuno took to the stage and announced:
"DMC IS BACK!!!"
(Watching people react to this trailer and freaking out when they see it's DMC gives me so much serotonin)
Thanks for reading this... long disaster of a post. Have a good one, and remember to keep this party crazy. Let's rock. :)

Additional reading if you'd like more words on this reboot:

• An analysis of DmC as an actual game to play.
  
• A breakdown of why Vergil in DmC fails compared to his mainline counterpart.
  
• Comparing DmC to that Metal Gear Rising game I mentioned earlier.
  

185 million galactic power Guild. 42/50. Geo DS/LS 20/10 WAT 12-15. We have 1 GL Rey 2 GL Kylo farming tickets. All heroic raids 7pm EST 24 hour join period. Highly focused on TB TW GAC
We are looking for 8 to 15 new members to join us. Must be active and participate and understand that we are in this together. Your success is my success we’re a team. Will make space for the right candidate.
We are looking for 4 million and up. Must have revan/drevan/padme/geos. GAS can be a work in progress but be close. We will consider less gp if roster is focused and plan on growth.
We are a semi casual and very active guild, we use discord and it is a requirement for communication and guild moral. We are a family away from home and enjoy each other’s lives.
We do not require you to follow farm requirement, fsrm what you want, if it’s a R5 CUP go for it, we have one btw. Just know what’s needed for the guilds success and your success.
Want to know more dm in game or on discord
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My girl friend and I really enjoy playing video games together, so when we saw far cry's 5 teaser where everything is built upon playing together, we were quite happy ^^
But then we played the game, and understood that ubisoft went half way up the hill. We could play together but not entirely, one of us had no weapons unlocking, no global progression, no ability to talk to npcs, in fact the second player almost felt like an npc, or the dog sidekick at most, not a real player. We enjoyed the game, but got a bit frustrated because we knew it's possible to make coop games that really work (like... say... borderlands). At that point I didnt really care about Ubisoft forcing me to have it's own store and launcher and overlay that I don't care at all and just uses system ressources for nothing. It has gamification and virtual money too. Speaking of that : thanks to far cry and a few other things, I had enough U_money to get a 20% discount on my next order.
​
And Anno 1800 had just been released so that would be great to not pay 60€ but only 48. It took me more than an hour just to get the discount code, because Ubisoft doesn't seem to be capable of efficiently share sessions between its own multiple websites. You could think it's some temporary problem, but no, it's been like that for several years, the only workaround that has been found is to press F5 periodically until you get logged on the website... (sometimes I feel like laughing when I think we are in 2019, and companies selling digital products over the internet still don't manage to do it right...) But whatever, I had the code, so I just entered it in the correct field, clicked ok, then filled in the credit card fields, name, address, phone number, accept policies, and proceed with payment and... nothing happens all the fields are blanked... well I surely made a mistake so I started over from the beginning, and be sure I had everything filled up correctly before clicking proceed... it's okay, so proceed... and nothing happens, again. So I started over for the third time, and this time, I filled everything but didn't check the 'accept policies' checkbox, and clicked on proceed. And this time, it was ok, I could proceed to the next step, where I was asked to accept the policies, which I did, and clicked on validate payment. That could have been the end of the misfortune, I could have received a receipt, downloaded the game and played with my girl friend, but no, not with Ubisoft. With Ubisoft, when you click Validate, you obtain a 404 http error and you can just go to hell. I had to start over, from the beginning, couldn't use the 20% coupon which had been consumed by the 404 error, and payed full price (strangely, full price doesn't lead to 404 errors...). Finally we downloded the game and could play a few hours. But now, we cannot play together anymore, no, because Ubisoft :D
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Yes, Ubisoft isn't capable of making a website working properly, but when it comes to play on a LAN, Ubisoft forces you to be connected to the game servers, and since they don't wan't to spend money in servers, you get an error from the game saying you are not connected but that stupid overlay at the same time is saying that you are connected, and you receive multiplayer invite from the game, but cannot connect, to a LAN game...
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Well since we couldn't play anymore, we started looking on the internet... My god there are a lot of people having problems with Ubisoft, for stupid things like that. I mean we're nearly in the 2020's, things like scalabilty, load balancing or infrastructure as code should be easy for such a great company... Or am I mistaking?
Isn't Ubisoft a great company? Has it been as shitty as this since the beginning or just the few last years?
​
Because If a summarize my Ubisoft user experience : I had to download a software I don't want, the uplay store, to not be able to use the discounts it offers me, not be able to use the website properly (and I feel lucky not to have payed the game more than once ^^), and either play a game that doesn't give me what the teaser said it would or not be able to play a game that is actually worth the price it's sold.

The FCC just announced that net neutrality will officially end on June 11th. But we can still stop that from happening! The Senate will vote THIS WEDNESDAY on a resolution to block Ajit Pai's repeal and save net neutrality. The vote is going to be super close, so EVERYONE needs to contact their lawmakers right now, before its too late. This is not a partisan issue, it affects all of us. Today, /steam is going on “Red Alert.”.
We encourage all redditors to contact their lawmakers using the simple tool at BattleForTheNet.com
Here's other ways you can help:

• If you run a website, get the RED ALERT widget code here.
  
• Here’s a big folder of graphics for social media, etc
  
• If you run a small business, sign on to this open letter
  
• If you run a subreddit, check out this Medium article to see how you can change your theme to show support.
  
• Join an event near you urging your lawmaker to vote for the net neutrality CRA