One year review: 9/10, would do it again.
Caveat emptor: I’m mid-30s. I have a liberal family and live in one of the good countries. I passed 50-50 before T, had PCOS and I’m pretty sure there was something else going on with my hormones. So take this with a grain of salt and YMMV as always.
The good: - I got top surgery before starting T and started passing as a teenage boy from day one post-op. By now, I pass as my age as much as I ever did pre-T (I looked like 25 pre-T and look like 25 now). - I can grow a full beard. It’s still a bit see-through on my cheeks, but I’ve been wearing it short for a few months already. I think it will probably be full enough to grow out in maybe 6 more months if it carries on like it has. - Stomach is covered in fur. Chest hair is coming in. Leg and arm hair is disappointing. - I was X-shaped pre-T (shoulders and hips equally wide). My shoulders and back blew out and fat redistribution slimmed my hips, even though I haven’t been exercising much because of health issues. I went marginally Y shaped in under 3 months and am now at a point where the Y is quite pronounced. Clothes fit like they’re supposed to now (shirts and jackets used to be 1-2” too long and a tad too tight around the hips, but no more; pants are still 1-2” too long lol). Even if I got no further fat redistribution, I’d be satisfied with what I’ve got. - I grew about 1 cm (measurable, not noticeable), 1 shirt size, 1.5-2 shoe sizes, 1 glove size, and couple of links to my watch wristband. I’m now a very averagely sized dude, if a bit vertically challenged. - I got facial changes quite quickly too, but it took almost the entire year until I started seeing myself in the mirror. I’m starting to look almost exactly how I hoped I would though. - Voice dropped quickly: I went from a tenor to a baritone in just a couple of months and I’m now a bass. - Menses stopped early on: I got one period on T and then nothing. - T cured my depression. I’m shocked how big a difference it made. Pretty much every mental health complaint I had is either completely gone or manageable enough it’s mostly not an issue. - T cured my menopause symptoms. The first noticeable effect was the cessation of hot flashes and sweating. - Family’s been mostly brilliant and my transition has been a non-issue. There’s one member whose main source of information seems to be TikTok though, and I’ve had to lay down a boundary that I don’t discuss trans issues with them. - I’ve experienced close to zero transphobia IRL. That might be down to being cis-passing, but the worst I’ve encountered where my trans status has been known is some rude customer service, which could’ve been just your regular rude customer service and not transphobia. - My dysphoria is 90% gone. There’s some lingering discomfort which is half adjusting to changes and half mentally lagging behind them. It takes a while for one’s internal body image to change, for example. Genital dysphoria is still there, but it’s actually a bit easier to deal with than it was pre-T, rather than harder.
The bad: - Still haven’t figured out a T dosage that would consistently put me in male the range, so menopause symptoms return between shots. - Atrophy set in at around 3 months and it’s barely manageable with local estrogen. I’m now actively looking into getting a hysterectomy + vaginectomy asap. - Acne wasn’t too bad, about the same as in my first puberty. The worst seems to have passed or else I’ve just figured out the skincare routine that works for me now (which is completely different from what it used to be). Bacne is still happening though. - Places where I removed hair pre-T have not filled in; I broke out the minoxidil about month ago and am seeing some progress. - Voice problems (hoarseness, tiredness, not being able to raise my voice, etc.) are much worse than I expected. I think I might have to seek voice therapy. - Cholesterol went up; it’s marginally high now. My lab values overall aren’t the best, but it’s probably related to pre-existing issues. - I had a post operative infection after my top surgery. Not exactly fun, but I still honestly preferred dealing with it to dealing with tits. 😂 - Bottom growth is disappointing: I got an early burst than then nothing further. Pre-T I was set on phalloplasty, but with the rest of my dysphoria treated, I have actually gotten around to considering metoidioplasty instead. But with the growth I’ve gotten so far, that’s probably not gonna be a satisfactory option for me. - Libido was uncomfortable for maybe months 2-4; I’ve worked out how to deal with it now and it’s not a problem. - Accessing healthcare is just as much of a hassle as I thought it would be. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry, but what a ridiculous circus. 3/10 would not do it again if it was a choice. No one’s been actively transphobic, but god damn the system is not set out to be helpful either. - Updating my legal gender was easier than expected; updating my new social security number at various offices (bank, healthcare, etc) has been a hassle. I’d rather attribute it to incompetence than malice, but at this point it’s definitely something. - Nobody’s been transphobic to my face, but the society absolutely is still transphobic and it hits harder now that I can’t pretend to be cis.
The neutral: - I’ve had to buy new shirts and jackets and replace all of my shoes. My shoe size is now one of the most common ones, which means it’s the first one to be sold out. 😅 I’m a penny-pinching bugger so I’m a little miffed even if it’s at most a temporary downside, and more of a change in which size to buy in the future. - With my dysphoria treated, I went from 5/6 to 4/6 on the Kinsey scale. I guess I’ll have to start calling myself bi/pan instead of gay. 🤷🏻‍♂️ - Men don’t flirt with me as much. :( Women flirt with me more. :) It’s about 90-10 to 10-90 change. - I’m treated fully as a guy socially. It’s different from being a gal that’s “one of the guys.” There’s both male privilege I’ve gained and female solidarity and pretty privilege I’ve lost. - Many things have had a bit of a learning curve, and the beginning is awkward just like in the first puberty. Dealing with awkwardness and learning to navigate new challenges is orders of magnitude easier than it was on the first go around though, because I’m dealing with them as an adult with adult coping skills.
Bottom line:
Overall, the upsides were much better and the downsides were much less of a problem than I expected. I should’ve gotten over myself and my fears and done this 20 years ago. It’s not perfect, but few things are in practice even when they’re overwhelmingly good.

First / Previous
Back on the job, my eyes kept going to the camera that was on enclosure one. Andrew told me its real name, but I think that’d be a step too far, putting that out on the internet. I’d just stick with ‘Steve the bear’. Whatever it was, I just knew I’d have a nightmare about it eventually. Last night I slept fitfully but okay. But I know my brain, and I’d already had a nightmare about Yui stabbing me with one of her legs (they are not needle-sharp in real life, this was dream logic) and walking around, having not noticed I was a Ripley-kebab on her leg. I kept trying to get her attention but for some reason I’d been worried about sounding rude.
On my third walk around the zoo, at about 12 a.m. I saw Leila again, who I’d been noticing more and more often. She never looked interested in talking, only walking through the enclosures, and by that I meant any and all of them. She didn’t seem to have a favorite. I assume that however much of her mind that was left over from being alive still gravitated toward looking at the animals, since getting too close was what killed her in the first place.
Then, in enclosure eight, I saw a new creature and stopped abruptly. This one looked chill, but I wasn’t about to make any assumptions. It looked unique in a strange way, shaped like a giant lizard but built like a big cat of some sort. It had an uncanny valley human face, green hair for a mane, and also a horn like a unicorn. It felt like something drawn by an imaginative five-year-old brought to life, but was still somehow oddly endearing.
“Hello,” she spoke, noticing me noticing her. Her voice was distinctly female and oddly deep.
“Hello,” I responded with false cheer.
She pushed herself to her feet and I took an instinctive step back, but she seem to notice, much less take offense. “You’re the guard here?”
“Yup. That’s me.”
“Thank you.”
I blinked, taken aback. “Ah…you’re welcome. For what?”
She cocked her head. “For guarding me.”
That was different. Most of the impressions I had gotten from the animals so far were that they wanted to eat me. And the idea that this one was thankful for me doing my job was refreshing, don’t get me wrong, but made me wary. Call me a cynic, I guess.
“My name is tàiyang. You can call me Sun,” she told me.
“Hi, Sun. I’m Ripley.”
Then she looked toward the sky. “It’s going to rain tonight.”
After a thoughtful moment, I asked, “Does that make you sad?”
“Why would it make you sad?”
I smiled. “Because your name is Sun.”
She paused and then said, “I don’t understand.”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, telling a pun to one of the animals. “Never mind.” I glanced up at the sky. “I thought the rain is supposed to stay away from here. Are the ones who told me that wrong?”
“Yes.”
“Well that’s good to know,” I murmured to myself, thinking of my raincoat hanging in the security office closet. It wasn’t that surprising, honestly. Sometimes I felt like the meteorologists in Arkansas try to read the entrails of goats to figure out the weather. It’s all a mess and it’s all made up.
At that, the animal looked to the sky and fell silent. She appeared to be the most uneventful introduction I’d had so far, and I was incredibly grateful for it. Except then the animal kept talking. “He’s under a spell.”
I blinked. “What?”
She looked back to me. “Andrew. He’s under a spell. He’s very unhappy.”
I had no idea how to react to that. For a second I just stared. The sudden jolt of being told my boss was currently being afflicted by magic left me floundering. “He… What?” I finally asked. “Where is he?”
“In his office.”
Oh shit. My eyes instinctively darted in the direction of the main office. I always just entered through the door on the west side of the building, of course, since it led to the security room. It was unnecessary for me to go through the door that first led into the lobby-slash-office Andrew worked out of. Sometimes he even left early, so it was locked anyway. I had the key, but again, it was unnecessary.
Whatever had happened, assuming this animal wasn’t joking around (she seemed completely serious), I needed to establish whether she was right. Leaving the enclosure of the animal I’d just met, I quickly walked back to the small building.
Taking a deep breath, I knocked loudly. “Andrew, are you in there?”
The only reply was silence. I stood there until enough time had passed that it was obvious that no one was coming to answer the door. Taking out my phone, I dialed his cell number and wait as it rang. Then I grimaced when I heard it ringing inside.
Hanging up and shoving the phone back in my pocket, I stared at the closed door.
Trying the doorknob, I found that it was unlocked, and my heart skipped a beat. Andrew always locked his office before leaving. Opening the door slowly, the lights were off in the room, leaving only the faint red glow of the lights outside peeking around his curtains, so I turned on a light. Then my heart plummeted into my stomach, because there was Andrew, splayed limply on the ground, his eyes only half open.
I bolted to him and dropped to his side as he let out a whimper.
“Andrew,” I said, putting two fingers to the side of his neck. He remained silent, and despite his relaxed, wilted appearance, his heart was racing, and I wondered if he was in pain. The room smelled, and it was clear to me that he’d lost control of his bowels. I couldn’t believe I’d been working here for hours without knowing he was in the next room like this.
“Fucking hell. I’m so sorry it took me so long to find you. Can you hear me? What happened?” He made a small sound, unfocused eyes attempting to meet mine, but it was as if he were severely deprived of sleep or something, unable to focus. His mouth opened and he tried to say something, but he couldn’t speak. All I got was halting words mushed into each other. I felt for him; he must’ve been mortified by his condition. I would’ve been, at least.
The obvious solution would be to get Suzanne’s number from Andrew’s phone, so I searched him for it and found it in his right jacket pocket. I pressed the button the iPhone, swiped, and let out a sigh of frustration. He was security conscious enough to lock his phone with a code, of course.
“Can you… You can’t tell me the code,” I said knowing. He grunted quietly.
“What happened?”
I shrieked and jumped to my feet. Leila stood in the doorway, staring in shock at Andrew’s body. “You scared the bejesus out of me,” I exclaimed. I stopped myself before asking if she could make some noise when she moved or if I could put a bell on her. “What does it look like happened? Someone put a spell on him.” Abruptly, my stance changed, standing up straight. “Wait. Do you know how to get in touch with…anyone?” I asked desperately.
“I know Ms. Cooper’s phone number,” she said frankly.
My eyes widened. “Seriously? How?”
“Andrew gave it to me after I worked here for three months.”
That stopped my brain dead in its tracks. “You…used to work here?” I whispered. I remembered Andrew telling me that one of the night shift managers had been killed, but he hadn’t told me it was Leila. Whether it was for her own privacy or her dignity or some other reason, it didn’t really matter. What mattered was that I could call Suzanne.
“I worked here for three months,” Leila confirmed as I took out my own phone.
“Okay…what’s her number?” I asked, ready to dial. She rattled off the number and dialed it.
The phone rang twice times before someone answered. “Hello?”
“Hi, is this Suzanne?”
“Yes, who’s this?”
She had a British accent like Andrew did. I took a deep breath and said, “It’s Ripley Mason. I got your number from Leila. I’m here in Andrew’s office and he’s in really bad shape. Someone cast a spell on him and it’s like he’s lost control of the part of his brain that lets him move around and speak.”
“What?” she snapped. “What happened?”
“I-I don’t know,” I said, glancing back to Andrew. He actually looked calmer now, and I hoped that was because he knew Suzanne could fix this. “I was doing my rounds and I met Sun; she’s the one that told me and that’s why I came into his office. I don’t- Who would do this? What do I do?”
“It’s okay, Ripley. I’ll leaving now and will be there soon,” she told me. I heard rustling in the background, the sounds of getting out of a chair and footsteps. “Did you check the security cameras?”
My eyes shut in irritation against my stupidity. It hadn’t even occurred to me. “I’m sorry. Of course, I’ll do that right away.” Proof positive that I was completely out of it. Some security guard I was, not even able to keep my head in an emergency.
“Don’t apologize, Ripley, you’re quite within your rights to be discombobulated at the moment,” she said. “And I’d like you stay with Andrew, but I would prefer to know what happened. Leave his side just for a second to check the footage.
“Okay.” I crouched down to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll be right back.” His eyes flicked to me, but he didn’t make a sound. Getting back to my feet and walking over to the security room door, I went in and sat at my desk, putting the phone on speaker so I could more easily navigate the footage.
After fidgeting around with the unfamiliar aspect of the program, since I’d never needed to look back before and Andrew only showed me how to do it once, I finally went back to the point where the spell had been cast. “Okay, he walked into his office with two men at…4:08 p.m. and it looks like he was fine with it. He wasn’t under duress, from what I can see.”
“That’s likely Michael Wise and Eric Henry,” Suzanne told me. “They were allegedly making a donation, a herd of Bagot goats.”
“Allegedly?”
“Well, I’m operating under the assumption that they lied if Andrew is spelled.”
I grimaced. That was a good point. Watching them have a conversation, I saw Andrew tense, and then turn to dart toward his desk, but he only made it two steps before one of the men raised what looked like a wand, snapping it in my late boss’s direction, speaking something. As I saw Andrew’s body seize like he’d been hit with a taser and collapse, I hissed in a sharp breath. “Cripes.”
“What is it?”
“One of them had a wand,” I managed. “He-He did something with it.”
“I’m here, Ripley. Come back to the office.”
My eyes widened and I did as I was told, stunned to see her opening the front door. “How did you get here so fast?” I asked.
The woman gave me a small smile, rendered grim by the situation. “Call it a trick of the trade.”
“Oh. Gotcha.”
Suzanne was all hard edges, her pin-straight blond hair cut at an angle just below her ears, and she wore a smart blue pants suit with matching pumps. But then she looked to Andrew and her face softened, despair and fury flashing across it as she quickly walked to him and knelt at his side, taking his weak hand in hers.
“Oh, Andrew,” she whispered. “I’m so, so sorry. You’ll be okay. I already texted a healer and asked her to come by. A friend of mine named Janine.”
I looked back to Andrew’s face, his eyes open and his expression one of exhaustion, but then quickly looked to Suzanne. “Why would someone do this?” I asked.
“I have a feeling at least one of our animals is missing,” she told me, her voice low and hard.
Anger flared up in me. “What?” I asked tersely. I glanced back in the direction of the cameras. “Should we check the cameras to see which enclosure they went to? Do we- Are there cops you can call for this? What do we do?”
Suzanne’s face slowly faded to sadness. “I’ll take care of it,” she said. “You’re accurate in that I do have a different police I’ll call about this. But there’s a good chance we won’t get the animal back.”
“Wait, why? Come on, there’s got to be magic you could do, right?” I asked anxiously.
“The animal will have been warded and sold to someone immediately,” she explained. “They would’ve had a buyer set up, and gone straight there to reduce the risk of being caught with it. Anyone who is buying an animal like this is extremely powerful, which means that even if we catch the men who stole it, they’d go to prison, but they wouldn’t risk angering the buyer. They won’t tell the authorities who it was, even for a lesser sentence. Losing an animal to robbery has only happened twice in the zoo’s history, this is the third time, but that’s how it played out both times. Actually, in the first instance, the police didn’t even catch the people who took it, since they were wearing masks.”
Just then, there was a knock at the door, and Suzanne pushed herself to her feet, walking over and opening it without hesitation. “He’s in here.” I took the opportunity to open the windows and turned down the thermostat so it would start displacing the smelly air.
A woman walked in, Janine presumably. “Oh, goodness,” she breathed, going quickly to Andrew. She took his pulse with one hand as she pulled a wand out from her purse with the other. “It’s good he’s staying calm. Redire orior can be terrifying to be subjected to.”
“He wasn’t calm when I got here,” I told her quietly. “I’ve been here for hours and didn’t know he was here until just a few minutes ago.”
Janine swore softly. “All right. Let me get started.”
I didn’t know what that meant, so I turned to Suzanne. “What did she call this?”
“The spell is ‘redire orior’. It’s a regression of part of the mind, basically all the way back to when we were first born,” she said tightly, anger flickering across her face. “He has no more control over his body than he did when he was a newborn baby.”
I grimaced, looking back to him. “Oh my god,” I whispered. It meant exactly what it had looked like when I’d walked in: Andrew had been rendered completely helpless. Rage welled up inside me, despising the men who’d done this and wishing desperately that Suzanne had been more confident in finding them.
Suzanne took the opportunity to walk into the security office and I heard her sit in my chair. Janine put down her wand to have both hands free and told Andrew, “Just relax, concentrate on breathing slowly,” she said, carefully pulling both of his legs out and rolling him onto his back. She then put his arms at his sides and, picking up her wand, pointed it at his forehead.
I took in a sharp breath of surprise as I saw a faint glow coming from the wand, through the top of it and then to Andrew’s forehead. She held that position for a while, muttering under her breath.
A few minutes later, Suzanne came out and took her phone from her pocket, saying, “I don’t recognize either of the men in the footage. But they seemed distressed, particularly the one that didn’t hurt Andrew. I don’t think that’s what was meant to happen.”
“Meant to or not, it happened,” I muttered through clenched teeth. I’d already decided that my new to-do list every day included first checking the office cameras.
“Andrew,” Janine said, letting the glow fade. “Can you speak?”
“I…yeah,” he whispered.
Suzanne came over to my side. “Thank goodness. How are you feeling? How’s the vertigo?”
“Pretty much gone,” he said, closing his eyes for a long moment, though he didn’t try to stand up.
“Andrew, I pulled up the cameras in the office and listened to the audio,” she told him. “I know what happened.”
My eyebrows furrowed. “The cameras have audio?”
“It’s under admin privileges, but yes. Andrew, you should have known better,” she said softly, looking back to him. “The gun in one of the desk drawers? I presume that’s what you were lunging for, because those two men had just made it clear they were here for an animal.”
“Yeah,” he sighed. “I just…” He looked distraught.
“They told you to just let them get what they came for,” Suzanne said. “Why didn’t you?” My lips parted in shock.
“The last time this happened, I cooperated, but…I regretted it,” he growled. “We never saw Harriet again. I couldn’t just stand here and let them do whatever they wanted. Not again.” I assumed Harriet was one of their animals, but I didn’t ask.
“Don’t ever do something so foolish again,” she told him, on the verge of being upset, her emotions likely tempered by his condition. “I want to make it clear to you that this job, these animals, they’re immensely important, but they are not worth your life. He could have killed you. If someone gains access to the zoo again to steal an animal I want you to cooperate fully. Understood?”
“Yeah,” Andrew muttered.
The idea that Andrew had tried to bring a gun to a wand fight was staggering. Something heavy curled in my stomach at the thought. It was clear he cared about the wellbeing of the animals to a degree I hadn’t comprehended.
Janine took one of the small pillows from the couch and tucked it under Andrew’s head as Suzanne continued. “All right,” she said with a sigh. “I’ll go through the footage to determine what they stole and then call the authorities to report the theft. Janine, can you continue to treat him?”
I wasn’t sure what that entailed, but Janine apparently did, since she nodded and knelt back down as Suzanne went back into the security office. Janine did the same thing that she’d done before, that soft glow channeling light into Andrew’s head. Obviously, I wanted to ask what she was doing, but I knew better than to think I’d get an answer. Instead, I sat in one of the loveseats in front of Andrew’s desk, turning it to face them.
I heard Suzanne’s voice faintly speaking to someone on the phone and the minutes ticked by. Eventually, Suzanne came back out again and she stood next to me for a long moment, watching the healing process before turning to me.
“Andrew told me you were attempting to create some enrichment activities for the animals?” asked my boss.
“Oh, uh…yeah, I am,” I answered. I assumed she was trying to make small talk to distract me from the current situation, and I appreciated it. “The first one went well. Spike loves artichokes, pecans, and hazelnuts. I went with things that made it a challenge to eat, like it’s a challenge to pull out fingernails of its prey.”
Suzanne’s expression brightened just enough for me to notice. “Ripley, that’s wonderful. Very clever.” She let out a breath. “It’s becoming more and more obvious to me that Andrew chose well in hiring you.” I gave her a small smile. “Listen, I’m going to hire someone else to be here with you on duty,” Suzanne told me, “and by that, I mean someone from my neck of the woods. Andrew explained that to you, correct?”
“Not much. Just that you’re not from Earth.”
Suzanne smiled. “That makes me sound like an alien, but yes, I’m not from this dimension. I can hire someone who has similar abilities to mine, who can check in every few hours, make sure everything’s all right, but generally make themselves scarce unless there’s an emergency. He wouldn’t have been able to do much if he’d already been here, but he’d have known what was going on. Andrew would have received assistance immediately.”
I was curious of what those abilities were, aside from being able to see the animals, but I wasn’t bold enough to ask. Also, I was curious about who this new ‘employee’ would be, but presumably I’d find out sooner or later. “That would make me feel a little better,” I said, nodding. “Knowing there was someone else here.”
She nodded once. “It’s as good as done, then. As for Andrew, he’ll need to take a few days off to recover. Would you be willing to give the tours until he’s back in ship-shape?”
My eyes bugged out of my skull. “Wait, what? I can’t even see all the animals!”
Suzanne chuckled at my expression and shook her head. “I can enchant a pair of specs for you to wear,” she told me. “It’ll give you a bit of a headache, but you’ll be able to see all of the animals. Also, I’ll give you the background for each of them, because you’ll be speaking about them to the tourists.”
I blinked, thinking of how awesome it would be to finally know all about them all. And it was flattering, the fact that she had such confidence in me that, without hesitation, she asked if I could take over for Andrew. The best thing for me to do, of course, was to be confident and assure her that I could take any temporary promotion in stride. “I’m…I’m not great with people,” I managed.
Yup. Nailed it.
“You can be a little harsh with them if you need to,” she said with a small, knowing smile. “I assumed that signing up for a job where you interact with a screen of cameras the whole time means you aren’t great with people. And Andrew did brief me on you when he hired you. How good are you at couching your insults in polite talk? The British are quite skilled, but I know Americans aren’t too bad at it.”
I smirked, remembering how a coworker friend of mine once told a customer, “Oh, bless your heart,” in her thick southern accent and it sounded like the worst insult. “I can manage that, I think.”
A buzz from the gate that went to the panel on the wall drew our attention and Suzanne walked over to let the visitors in. It was three people, a man and two women, with a gurney.
Walking over to Andrew, I folded my arms with a small smile as Janine released his head from the glow the wand was emitting. “Hey. Sorry you had to lay on the floor for so long knowing I was cluelessly reading a book in the next room.”
“Eh, not the end of the world,” he whispered. “I’ll be back on my feet soon. So, no parties while I’m gone.”
I snorted and my smile widened, and he returned it.
Going back into the security room, I pulled the system back to the multi-camera exterior view, and I sat there and listened to Suzanne talk to one of the medics, explaining everything that had happened in detail. Once she’d done that and they brought Andrew outside on the gurney, presumably to a waiting ambulance, I gave my statement, and then…it was back to work.
Obviously going back to work like nothing had changed felt weird, but Suzanne stayed, letting me know that she would get some work done at Andrew’s desk until my shift was over. It was likely the opposite of necessary, the robbers were gone, but it did make me feel a tiny bit better knowing that she was in the next room with her wand.
First / Previous
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Chapter Two - Beginning Of Ruin - Part Two

Slowly coming to a halting stop, the wooden boat previously acting as my mode of transport came to a complete rest against the river's gentle current, precisely lining up with the river dock now on my right.
Stepping out of the drifting craft, my feet made contact with the solid ground once more. For some reason the ground below me felt somewhat ethereal after travelling that short distance by water. Laid out in front of me was a paved path that perfectly divided the rows of red spider lilies on either side.
Strewing the familiar weapon across my shoulders, I flicked the timeless hood over my head before traversing the vacant road with no particular destination in mind, as I walked by, the spider lilies blowing in the wind would halt their swaying motions in an unnatural display of primal fear.
No matter how much I tried to tone it down, it seems the ominous pressure being emitted by this body couldn’t help but inspire fear in the hearts of living creatures. Even here in this Celestial realm, it was still the domain of the living so my presence here was hardly ever warranted, nor welcomed for that matter. It wasn’t hard for me to see the effect my presence had on a given setting, it would always elicit a combination of three reactions from those around me.
It was either fear, hatred or anxiety.
That was the case for all but one....just a single girl didn’t seem to mind me being near her at all.
Just as I was about to rescind myself to the inevitable fate that came along with this existence, I saw something or rather, someone approaching in the distance.
It was another young female wearing glasses and speeding towards me as fast as her nimble legs could carry her. She was holding something like a scroll in her right hand and given how awkward her tumbling strides were, it was clear that athletics weren’t her forte.
As soon as she’d gotten within range, her eyes sparked with a sudden realization, and she abruptly placed her right leg in front of her to slow her awkward sprint. Kicking up a fit of dust in the process, the green haired girl stopped just a few footsteps away from me before immediately bowing in a trembling motion.
“G-G-good evening, Sir Shinigami....or would you prefer Sir Reaper instead?” That timid question trailed behind her upturned eyes.
“It doesn’t matter. What is it Minerva? I doubt you sprinted all the way here just to give me such an awkward greeting.”
“Eh....you-you know my name?”
“Naturally.”
I saw her face lose a bit of its color after I spoke those words, but she soon collected herself before correcting her posture.
“Ah! I wanted to ask you about something. You see I’m in charge of managing the souls that get sent to reincarnate from both the overworld and Eden, but something odd has come up.”
“Something odd you say?”
“Yes, I was going through the archives just now and from what I’m seeing, none of the celestial souls that were sent to reincarnate have entered the cycle. Our souls usually tend to take a little longer to recycle but this is just an anomaly, for the past four hundred years very few of the celestial souls have managed to successfully reincarnate. That’s why I was rushing over here, I wanted to see if you could somehow properly escort Luelle instead of just letting things happen the usual way.”
“I saw her off just as she’d requested, she didn’t want me to personally send off her soul for some reason.”
Minerva’s neon eyes drooped a little lower just then, it almost seemed as if she was staring at the scroll now in her hands but after a few seconds it quickly became clear that it wasn’t the case at all.
“I see...so she’s really gone then.”
“Yeah.”
The distant silence that fell over us seemed to drown out even the humming winds now passing through the field of lilies.
“That scroll...doesn’t it automatically record everyone who enters the source?”
“Yes, I was just about to check it myself.”
She unraveled the thick parchment like material, scanning the myriad of letters that were appearing on its surface.
Her eyes widened in anticipation and after a while, a careless stream of words escaped her mouth. “It’s.....not....here.”
That was the beginning of it.
“Not there? You mean her soul....hasn’t returned to the source?”
The edges of the well-aged scroll crumpled under the force now being exerted by her slender fingers.
“Usually if I want to search for a particular soul, I just need to concentrate on the name of the person I'm trying to find. Even a vague image would usually be enough but....no matter how hard I focus, nothing comes up when I skim through the archive for Luelle’s name.”
This was a problem. All souls were originally supposed to return to the source, a realm even beyond reach of the Celestials for reincarnation, but for some reason that just wasn’t happening this time.
Souls did occasionally lose their way along that journey and eventually become evil spirits, but that kind of thing only happened by coincidence, the mere prospect of it ever occurring for a Celestial spirit like Luelle was simply absurd.
“Well, this is a problem. I’m certain I witnessed Luelle’s soul drifting off just now, but I’ll have to look into this. For now, you shoul-”
Before I could even finish speaking, a strange mechanism appeared in the skies above us.
It was a large white crack, the kind of thing you’d almost exclusively see on a mirror. The sprawling white lines spread across the sky, leaving an ominous screeching sound behind every time they expanded their jagged paths. Each fissure seemed to tear through the fabric of the heavens, revealing glimpses of an otherworldly darkness beyond. As the cracks widened, a sense of foreboding filled the air, suffusing the atmosphere with an eerie tension that seemed to reverberate through every fiber of existence.
“What....is that?” Minera barely managed to mutter those words in astonishment.
Soon after, a litany of white cryptic markings began escaping from the jagged openings, spreading across everything from the skies above to even the waves washing below. The strange symbols glowed with a demeaning white light, emanating a strange kind of energy each time it cast its ethereal glow.
“U-Uhm....Shinigami...do you know what this is?” Minerva asked from beside me, timidly surveying our unusual surroundings.
“No....but you should head back just to be-”
Cutting me off once again, the strange markings etched on to the world itself began emitting bright white sparks like a timid, yet persistent firework display. The sparking lights grew fiercer and fiercer by the second, and before I could even execute my next move, the entire world was seemingly engulfed in a blinding cascade of light. It was as if the very essence of existence had been ignited, and we were just insignificant specks adrift in the vast expanse of creation.
Before my vision was completely overpowered by the tormenting flash, I saw Minerva extend a hand towards me with tears flowing from her eyes. I wasn’t able to hear the words that escaped her, but for a second it looked like she was calling out to me.
Apparently, even Celestials found solace in my presence at the end.
The world was divided into three realms. The first of these was the lower realm that the humans inhabited, we called it ‘Terrania’. It was a land festering with humans, a world where only they were able to dominate and reign supreme - Or at least that’s what they thought anyway.
In reality, that realm had only managed to continue functioning because of the efforts of the beings known as ‘Celestials’. These Celestials resided in a realm that was far above Terrania known as ‘Eden’. They were responsible for overseeing the various aspects of the world these humans inhabited and that just meant that they were in charge of maintaining its balance. If things ever started getting out of hand, then they would intervene to re-establish that balance, but that would only happen if it was absolutely necessary. Though they could influence aspects of the world itself, the Celestials weren’t gods but rather akin to something like a superior version of humanity, the humans of the lower realm often referred to them as ‘angels’.
The only thing in the entire world that came close to mirroring anything even close to that level was the entity known as ‘Akasha’ or the ‘Source.’ It wasn’t an actual person but rather, the mechanism in place that managed the influx of both mortal and Celestial souls accordingly, managing them in a timely manner and allowing them to reincarnate given time.
It resided in an exclusive realm that surpassed both Eden and Terrania. Akasha was the recycling mechanism put in place to cleanse and return souls to the mortal cycle. Every time a human died, their souls would naturally return to Akasha over a number of years given that they hadn’t become an evil spirit or deviated from the natural order in some other way. That’s why even as a Reaper, I didn’t actually need to guide the souls of every single mortal that had perished, but rather just the ones still clinging on to the mortal realm or those that had deviated from the natural order.
Seeing as only pure souls could pass between the realms without restrictions, very few Celestials had ever gone directly to Akasha, but just about anyone who wasn’t mortal could detect its overwhelming essence radiating from some far-off place. The same went for me and I was neither mortal nor a Celestial.
That was how it had been, the way in which the world managed to maintain some amount of balance even without outside intervention, but the moment I saw those strange cracks appear in the sky I could already tell that the fragile balance keeping this world afloat was beginning to crumble.

I (24M] have been sexually used as a child. No penetration, but more like messing around.
One of my aunts (when I was between the ages of 3-6 - can't remember exactly), probably in her 30s at that time, would snuggle into bed with me, and play with my dick. She seemed fascinated by how she would inch closer to my inner thigh and then I'd get a boner (which she'd later play with). I seemed to really enjoy it, and every night I would goto her room, and let her play with me. It felt great.
I remember as a child between the ages of (3-6) as well, I would flash my younger sister (a year younger) my genitals, and ask her to flash hers to me. One day we were doing it in our new toy 'tent house', and I was touching her - and my mom caught us, and she was extremely mad - and after that, it stopped. But I somehow developed resentment towards my sister after that.
Then one of my cousins, who was 16-17 [M] at that time, and I might be 5-6? I used to go over to his house on weekends, and we'd blow each other. It was a routine thing I really looked forward to. A similar thing would happen (although happened like 3-4 times at most with them) with two other male cousins, of 1 year younger and the other about 5 years older.
I remember I have touched one other female cousin of mine inappropriately, and gotten touched by her - when we were both, I think between the ages of 8-10.
I also have a memory of going over to another cousin's house of mine - he may be about 7, and I was probably 11. We both flashed each other our dicks, and after that I got him to suck me, and then I licked his dick. We later invited his younger sister into the room, locked the door, and we all ate/blew each other out.
Back then, I didn't know I was being sexually abused, and I did the same to my younger cousins later. I think everything back then was based on 'how good it felt'. Now I just look back and think about how awful it was. I cannot tell this to anyone, not even my girlfriend or my therapist. I just want to get it out there, and relate to people who might have had similar experiences, and feel better?
I definitely cannot go back to my cousins, particularly the younger ones (me 11 and them 7/6, and apologize). I mean, I'm just definitely uncomfy around them since I remember everything so vividly, and I'm sure they remember it too. No one really mentions or talks about any of that, but I do get to see all of them - and pretend nothing ever happened.
I opened up a little to my gf about sexual abuse from my auntie, and my older cousin[17M], and she wanted to know their names - and that she doesn't want me ever seeing them again. I denied, and I said, I'm not telling you the names and I can't just cut people off like that. Perhaps, this is coming from fear that I've done similar things with other cousins of mine later?

First Previous Wiki
Ezeonwha was walking down a long hallway. The dry and plain painted walls and the pure white lighting of the lower levels of the 102nd Visitor Welcome Office helped to frame the dingy realities of those who could only afford these floors. Not even capable of having windows, these were for those who were the cheapest of the cheap or those who mingled with them. He'd passed several Guides on the way in, their claws echoing in the halls as a sign of authority in this lawless land.
Here, mediocrity was king, and he was a loyal servant. He drew his cloak closer about his neck, unwilling to reveal himself to those who weren't already equipped to see through it all. He was famous enough to be an abduction target if he let his guard down. This place was no exception, though Justicar tried to make them such. Too much security on the higher levels and too little on the lower levels. That was the way of things.
Another hallway, this one marked with bullet holes. Two contractors and a Guide were discussing the pricing of the fix project when he turned the corner. Their voices quieted to nothing, the stillness pressing down upon them with the same intensity as the false lighting. Ezeonwha clacked his jaws, giving them a low bow before continuing on his way. He saw the Guide's eyes light up with the sign of his implants getting a reading. It was another impromptu way of tracking via facial recognition, but it was an ancient practice.
Nothing was new about what the Guides did; only how many of them seemed to be on general patrol. Had Justicar hired more of them or actually done full conversions for all of them? Those arm cannons surely weren't cheap or ethical to insert into unwilling participants. And giving a victim a gun they couldn't be disarmed of was a very bad idea, even for Elders. And Justicar was better than most Elders when it came to abject stupidity. He'd likely only been dropped a few hundred times as a child versus the more likely Elder average of a few thousand.
Ezeonwha chuckled at his internal joke, heading deeper underground into the complex. He was going to a certain meeting, and it would be best not to be late. Even if the Guides tracked him, it wouldn't be negative. The group he had been approached by a few days ago wasn't a terror group. He'd looked them up. They dealt in 'freedom and liberation from all chains.'
The Eyes Of Liberty had focused upon Penny as their latest propaganda target and perhaps as a valuable ally in their fight against all tyranny. Though such a flowery message was likely steeped in idealism for the lower ranks, with more pragmatic and likely richer inner circle elites and leaders ensuring the pot would always simmer but never boil or grow cold. That was the way movements such as these managed to skirt the line between inaction and terrorism.
It was a dangerous thing to do. But these were dangerous times. If Penny left, he'd die. Someone with a grudge would kill him. It was a given, and he'd made peace with it now. He needed to get to work, to help others like him and those worse off, with just a small piece of the meager time he had left.
He was in the system as a friend of Penny, so little scrutiny would fall on him as he came and went. He had a new friend, one who was very interested in connecting to Penny.
The offer had come through his communicator, and he'd answered it given its interesting title. After a lengthy discussion about their goals for him and Penny, he'd agreed to at least have a meeting. He didn't tell them that he had a tracker from Phoebe, which would 'be impossible to miss' if things went badly. He knew the value he had, which was why one of the androids was also accompanying him under the guise of being a Sprilnav.
The android was 'walking' on all fours, its mechanical motion entirely silent. It was obscured by a wave of holograms and hard light holograms that would ensure that it wouldn't be considered suspicious beside him. His only guard was a capable one, and Phoebe had all the confidence of an AI who knew that the destruction of her android would only be an inconvenience for her.
Ezeonwha came to an unmarked door with a well-worn door frame. One knock. One pause. Two knocks. Another pause. Four knocks. He waited, and the door swung open. Eight Sprilnav greeted him warily but warmly, their eyes shifting to Phoebe.
The inside of the room was a dull red, coming from a pair of lights in the center of the ceiling that cast dark shadows near the edges. The whole room felt dark and dangerous, and the walls were lined with guns, computers, and several drones. Shelves and drawers were neatly stacked against the wall, as well as five couches and four double beds with ladder access to the top portions.
Bags of food rested atop a trash compactor unit, and the room service button on the inner side of the wall that Ezeonwha could see in the mirror was worn down to the raw metal. No paint jobs here, only grit and business. The room faintly smelled of body odor and assorted foods. Not entirely unpleasant, but also not what he'd expected from a group with sich a flamboyant name. Perhaps they worked in cell-based units. And that was another thing.
Minds were visible in the distance of the mindscape, but the people here were huddled together mentally. They appeared to be haphazard, but Ezeonwha recognized an old army-type defensive formation a mere step from each of their positions. They were more than they appeared. Though based on how their room looked, they probably weren't veterans, just decently trained.
As they walked through the doorway, a scanner activated. One of the Sprilnav, wearing a headset with numbers and letters swirling on the inner side of the visor, called out: "Phoebe android. Commando variant. Risk assessment: Certain Death. Ezeonwha. Carrying two pistols, one hidden in the pack on his left, and the other tucked inside a strap near the lower bottom of his chest."
That made them all pause, sizing each other up. Ezeonwha smiled nervously, failing terribly to break the building tension once again. His nerves started to get to him, but finally, Phoebe spoke. "Well, friends. I, for one, am happy to talk of the business of liberty. Tell us, what do you have in mind for my friend Ezeonwha?"
"It is not about him, AI. It is about the freedom all sentient beings deserve, and which we shall bring to the galaxy no matter if we are alive or dead."
"An honorable goal to strive toward," Phoebe said.
"Thank you. Your words are quite kind for your type."
"I didn't know I had one," Phoebe replied. "But thank you."
Ezeonwha turned his head toward the Sprilnav with all the fancy equipment.
"What is the best way for me and Penny to help in the fight?"
"The best way would be for you to start killing the gang leaders you come across. Barring that, have Penny ignore the graveyards, and continue freeing the slaves as she ought to. The dead have their freedom; the living need her work more."
"I agree with my companion," another of them said. "So far, Penny has done more for the fight for justice than any other on Justicar in generations, so it is a terrible thing to ask more, but we must ask. Even knowing the terrible toll it would have if she loses the Judgment, Sprilnav are at stake."
"People are at stake, you mean," Ezeonwha said. "There is no need to bring species into this."
"There would not be, but it is still a clear factor," another of them said, a female who looked more shifty in her gaze and demeanor. The Eyes of Liberty seemed like one of those groups with too much division.
"Do you disagree with each other often?" Ezeonwha asked innocently.
"Here and there," the tech guy said. "Not often enough to be a problem, and not when what matters is at stake."
"But that is the thing. How can you agree on when something that matters is a stake?"
"Is this a test?"
"Why would it be? Think of it as a genuine concern," Ezeonwha said. "To associate with your group, I have to be certain it will be resilient to change and risks escalating in the future. If the gangs cannot strike at Penny, they will pick the next best targets. Currently, that is me. If I associate with you in a way they can find out, and I assure you they will find out eventually, you all may be at risk as well. And your group's seemingly cell-based design also means large scale mobilization is difficult, ineffective, and risks severe coordination issues which cannot be quickly or safely remedied without changing core security features of it."
"You deduced all of that from context? You are smart, Ezeonwha. And have a good brain in your head. Everlasting knows we need one of those between all of us."
They all shared a laugh.
"I am not as young as I may look," Ezeonwha said. "Penny is not properly learned of the danger that faces us here. I am. The Underground will kill me when this is over. Do you want to die alongside me, all for your beliefs?"
Silence descended again. Ezeonwha kept the pressure on them when one of them stepped forward. "For freedom and liberty? Yes. I would die for that."
"As would I."
"And I."
They all declared the rest in orders that followed the patterns Ezeonwha was noticing. There were variances in their levels of belief and faith in their purpose. Each person had a different level of value difference, which meant that their lives would be worth more or less comparatively.
Cohesion was weaker, too. Not a full defector team, but likely pieces of several. Was that by design from a higher up leader, or was that just circumstance? Another thing to figure out later, that wasn't critical yet, but he would know before he truly went on any missions with them, if he did at all.
He suspected running messages to Penny would be the majority of their tasks. The quality of intelligence the Eyes of Liberty had offered was substantial. Perhaps enough for Penny to turn herself from a major annoyance to the gangs into an actual existential threat. With Justicar's swarming protection of the Fort Court and the 102nd Visitor Welcome Office, there was a limited amount of things that even the gangs could do. And if the rumors were correct, a Progenitor would be partaking in the trial.
"To be clear, if I join up with you, Phoebe would come too."
"Why would we let an AI join us?"
Phoebe smiled. "Without me, you'll die in this fight. You have trained for around 2000 days. You're acceptable combatants, as is Ezeonwha. But you are fighting in a city, and underneath it. You need to know how to keep a low profile. You need to know how to move through a crowd, get in and out. And you need to keep collateral damage to a zero, or the gangs will use you like they have others who had your purpose and were less careful to justify their 'protection' continuing. If you march in there and kill 50 slavers, if you kill a few slaves or a single bystander in the process, your credibility will be smeared. And frankly, with me on your team, you won't get blown up by an IED when you try clearing your first room in a fortress."
"IED?" One of them asked, while the rest digested her statement, going through various levels of offended looks.
"Your translator is too cheap. Improvised explosive device. Here, that can be old engines, reused oil, cracked plastic, frictional fuel bombs, circuit extruders, sodium splash grenades, as well as the more military style attacks they can pack, from small micro rockets all the way up to lower level fission or fusion bombs. Though if you're in a fight with those things involved, you're already dead."
"Why?"
"Because unless you're Elders, or holograms, a nuke will kill you whether you're right next to it or just inside the same shield. They concentrate the thermal pulse, so your bones would be ash before the pain hit your eyes."
"And what protection could you bring against that?"
"Telling you it's there before you start the attack. That is, if you listen to me. I value your lives over that of this android, but also I value Ezeonwha over all of you combined. I will not prevent him from doing this, but I will have you all know the risks involved."
"We are prepared, Phoebe. We have done much of the training you say, though we do not believe the gangs would plant explosive devices in their own fortresses. There is too much risk around that, with betrayals so common. However, the minefields we have scouted are easy to defeat with the right tactics. Perhaps you can give us a briefing on those, too?"
A challenge.
"I can, depending on how long you wish to do this for. But I have the stamina for either hours or weeks, depending on which you choose."
"What of your batteries?"
"They are of sufficient quality," Phoebe assured.
"I hope so."
Their tech guy nodded, more numbers flashing on his visor. Ezeonwha hoped he had a different way of display, like through an implant or something, for the missions in darker areas. The Underground was, by its name, not a place where much natural light was to be found. And the gangs controlled all the power systems in their territory. It was another part of the racket.
"Why aren't you guarding Penny?"
Phoebe's back straightened, a subconscious posture change to make her seem more confident. Ezeonwha caught the tactic for what it was, though without extensive knowledge of bipedal forms, it was less likely the surrounding Sprilnav knew it.
"Penny proved before a trillion eyes she's capable of fighting Elders, Progenitors, and a Dreadnaught Captain. Not to mention her immense power. I can shoot bullets, but she can literally snatch them out of the air and eat them. She has her own way of doing things, and it is a good way."
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Penny landed in the rubble and headed for the Vaquah with a trail of survivors behind her. Many of them, she could recognize the marks of slavery on, with numbers or brands on their skin or just the trauma crouching in their eyes dulled by the pain of a long life in a work camp. Penny went through the wreckage to the shield surrounding the rubble and the defining line between the rest of the city and the destruction. Several news drones flew above her.
More were arriving from various directions. The soft footsteps grew into a constant drumming sound, like a beating heart of doom. Penny marched with them, heading to the spaceport. A large medical operation there quickly rerouted many of its various branches to the most injured freed slaves.
Penny pressed her considerable psychic energy on the entire group, accelerating their healing, slowing bleeding, and generally repairing their bodies and cells from the trauma they'd suffered. But the cloud over their heads did not brighten. The atmosphere remained tense and mournful. Many of them had lost friends, family, and more. She had no right to ask them to feel any different.
She had freed them, that was all. They were not her servants. She was not their ruler.
Several of them came up to her, offering thanks in the small ways they could. Kind words. Attempts at hugs. Even offers of devout prayer and worship, which Penny respectfully declined. She knew, as did most of them, that veneration for her deeds was inevitable. She didn't want to be seen encouraging it at all, since this was a public place where many eyes were upon her.
She knew that it would be misconstrued as a threat if she did. Religions were some of the most major threats entrenched powers could face if not properly co-opted by the state to suit their needs. And here, the 'state' was a military dictatorship billions of years old, ripened with corruption, money, and the immortality of Elders sporting technology beyond any other in the galaxy.
The sky was blue with shields overhead. The Vaquah hung in the distance, its thrusters gently burning to keep it aloft. A trail of shuttles linked the massive ship with several spaceports, including this one. Penny watched the freed Sprilnav get on it one by one, promising themselves to a new life aboard her ship. Technically, they were citizens of the Autonomous Peoples' Stars.
That protection, Penny knew, was why the Vaquah and its innocent inhabitants were still intact. Elders already had hired mercenaries to attack it. They'd failed, thanks to Rimiaha and Penny, but also the defenses of Kashaunta's Grand Fleet when it was in higher orbit. Kashaunta, despite her willingness to use Penny as she would, also had a certain intelligence and empathy. It was highly selective, and only money and power seemed to flip that switch.
But Penny needed the Elder, and Kashaunta only had use for her as an asset. She palmed the new communicator Kashaunta had issued her after the last one's destruction. Kashaunta's hologram appeared. It looked around, noticing the news drones in the air.
"Not here."
"Where?"
"You will know."
In the mindscape, a Sprilnav appeared on Penny's layer. They felt odd to her, almost like the minds of certain humans high up in the hivemind's network. Penny greeted the Sprilnav warmly.
"Hello."
"Queen and Elder Kashaunta requests your presence on her flagship."
"Very well."
In reality, Penny looked around at the crowd. She waited until it dwindled to nothing, and then spoke.
"Displace."
Conceptual energy twisted, and she stood on Kashaunta's flagship, though nearer to the edge than she'd expected. The Elder was waiting for her in an outfit that looked much like pajamas, though they were under a few armor pieces that appeared anything but decorative. Now that Penny noticed it, it was the same sort of armor that Yasihaut had worn to their last encounter, which interfered with conceptual energy. The Sprilnav were highly advanced. She wondered just how far their technology could go. She'd heard mentions of some ships having artificial gravity, and of nanites and programmable matter. But nothing certain.
"Hmm," Kashaunta said, giving Penny a once over. "You have come back. Shall I assume you are still my ally?"
"Nervous, are we?"
"Nervous is what you should be, Penny. The Judgment is coming. Ten days. Indrafabar and Justicar will both be on the court as High Judges. That is not good for us at all. So I figured a bit of prudence was in order. I have thought long and hard about this, and with the great battles of our time so fast approaching, I figure it is time to mend our relationship before the chasm grows any wider."
Kashaunta motioned to a special looking sword sheath on her back. Slowly, she drew a sword. A Soul Blade. Penny began to draw up her armor.
"Oh, I am not wishing for a fight, Penny. I know the damage you could do, even in my sanctum in the sky. Tell me, do you know how Soul Blades are forged?"
"No."
"Good. And tell me, do you know why they draw so much power to swing, even for Elders and beings as capable as us?"
"I have a few theories."
"I am sure you do," Kashaunta said. "But here is the thing. Soul Blades are typically weapons assigned to highly promising Elders, or even Progenitors. Filnatra, undisputed sword master that she is, can wield them as easily as breathing. If I were to swing this blade, there would be no drawback. Why?"
"Because you own that Soul Blade."
"Because this Soul Blade is mine. It is not just something I own. I own around seven or so more Soul Blades, with some weapons nearing their quality lying in my various vaults even now. You did not detect them, because I willed that not to be. I need you to understand this, Penny. You have power. You have might. But you are not invincible. My Soul Blade, if it struck you, would not cutely separate Nilnacrawla or Cardinality from you. Nor would your speeding space entity be able to block this blade with his flesh. If this cut you, it would release unending agony upon you before you exploded in a burst of burnt gore."
Penny sighed. "There is no need to threaten me. Allies do not threaten each other."
"But you do not see me as an ally. You see me as your means to get through the Judgment. You believe I see you as nothing more but a linear singularity maker, and perhaps a passing curiosity I'm backing on a whim. You neglect to imagine that there might be firmer reasons why I back you, and why more Elders are getting drawn into this conflict. You believe I am comfortable with showing you my more pragmatic and ruthless sides because I am comfortable with the fact that you cannot harm me. That you would not dare to do so, when you need my assistance so badly. That I might even be aiming to normalize my 'new' self with you."
"That is hardly my belief alone."
"Is it now."
Kashaunta grinned. There was no warmth in her gaze.
"Nilnacrawla," Kashaunta said. "Cardinality. Exile. Come out and show yourselves. You are being rude as guests."
Exile detached from Penny's head. He grew into the shifting array of fractals and shapes she was more familiar with. What had once grated on her eyes did so no longer. Kashaunta stared at the speeding space entity for ten seconds, then looked back up at Penny.
"He will not work on us. I will cover his form with holograms if he walks through my ship out of courtesy for my workers and crew, if he cannot."
"I am capable, Queen Kashaunta."
"You are quite knowledgable, aren't you?" Kashaunta mused, looking at him hungrily. "Oh, how I wonder what secrets you have in your head. How many of ours do you know?"
"I will not be taken as a hostage," Exile said.
"You will not because I decide not to," Kashaunta said. "Formally, our species are still at war. There is no treaty."
"The Sp'rkial'nova no longer exist."
"Yes, they do," Kashaunta said. "The name was discontinued for use regarding the lesser specimens we created. But I can assure you, Exile, if you wish to go by that name here, that we still do exist. I am a Sp'rkial'nova in the flesh. In the blood. In the mind. In the soul."
"Say what you will, Sprilnav. It changes nothing."
"On that I agree. Though our views on how things are may differ, and yours is wrong, your opinion is not valuable enough to matter."
She turned to Penny. She would have defended Exile, but he gave her a simple shake of his head area.
Nilnacrawla formed out of psychic energy in front of Penny. Cardi did the same beside her. Kashaunta tapped a claw on the ground. Tables and chairs appeared. A chef brought in food that looked passable and a few decent attempts at human cuisine.
"We do not have to eat, though I would expect that all of you at least sit at the table. We will discuss our grievances, and how to solve them before we proceed with the future. We shall first go to the matter of the Alliance. Penny, many in their number wish to establish contact with you. Do you agree to this? If so, I will add their communicator numbers to the translation program I have reserved for your personal use, in case your own device needs another sudden replacement."
"I agree."
"Good. A first step of diplomacy, I would say. Agreement. Now, Nilnacrawla, you look like you have something to say to me. What is it?"
"Free Meridia."
"Meridia was detonated by planet cracker during the 139th Sector 9 Border War. I am sorry more could not be done."
A cold draft of air rushed out of Nilnacrawla's nose. He glared at her. "You let them die."
"I did not. A Grand Fleet was defending that star system, and three came to lay siege. I am many things. A tactician, a queen, an Elder. But I am not a god. I cannot perform miracles. I evacuated 30 billion people from that world and its surrounding stations before the planet crackers hit it. 4 trillion more souls died in that blast. The best I can do is to offer an apology."
"That will never be enough for what you did. If you had never established your nation, they would still be alive."
"They would be slaves. Chattel slaves, not that cute little 'wage slavery' concept privileged people throw around. Perhaps I should remind you just how much darker that reality would have been for your female descendents, specifically. I am a brutal warlord, a dictator with an iron fist. But my claws do not squeeze nearly as tightly as I could. Metrics say that I could extract at least 370% more profit from my people if I simply enslaved them. But despite the shock this may bring to you all, I do have principles. The Autonomous Peoples' Stars are my people. My nation. My empire, if you think I'm imperialist. But I protect them as best I can."
Nilnacrawla's cold anger didn't lessen. Penny placed a calming hand on his front left thigh. He blinked. He let out a long, pained sigh. And he bowed his head to her. Not to Kashaunta, but to Penny.
"There is no need to be cruel."
"My language was accurate, Penny. He is a strong Elder. Everlasting knows he's stronger than most of these fools. Nilnacrawla was and is a hero of the Source war. I respect him enough not to mince words, or to give platitudes. Coddling is for babies. Nilnacrawla is far more mature."
Kashaunta turned to Cardi. "You have been remarkably silent in this, concept."
"I have."
"A wonderfully succinct statement. Perhaps you can shorten it further. But nevertheless, you and I will be working together with Penny much more in the near future. Rest assured, if you refuse to become more independent, you will be nothing more than a crutch for her to rely on before leaving her to fall when you are ripped away."
"When, Elder? I would like to think your protection is sufficient."
"I am sure the truth is quite the opposite, dear. I will now get to the point. Penny needs to move faster, and needs to break out of her shell. She needs to be pushed to do more. She has signed a binding treaty, which shows she is capable of more than barbarian aliens, as some Elders would call her. You, Cardinality, will help her be a high achiever. To do this, you need to learn more about your own history.
That is the theme of the year, after all. History. My history, Penny's history, Sprilnav history, and even Gaia's history, it would seem."
"Gaia? What do they have to do with all of this?" Penny asked.
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that."
"Excuse me? You don't get to decide that, Kashaunta. You will tell me. I refuse to be coddled, like you say. I demand the respect I am owed."
"You forget yourself, Penny."
"I remember myself, actually. I am all I need to be. I can become all I need if I must. You can hold your backing against me all you want, but you won't withdraw it. As you said, more binds you and I than mere money and ideology."
"And if you're wrong?"
"Then I've doomed my species and my nation to war, and this planet to the full power of my wrath."
"Wrath, Penny. Wrath. The Sprilnav have many words for anger, rage, hatred. There is the desire for vengeance, in varying degrees. There is that for justice, which does differ. And that for belonging. I know you believe you are standing up to me as a way to assert your own authority in this relationship of ours. You believe I see you as inferior, and will pull back my help when it is profitable for me. I will not offer you the consequences of what your words could mean.
You already know them, and that argument is as stale as your view on us Elders. I will say this once, Penny. You are the Champion of Humanity. The apex predator of your planet, the only one mostly in charge of an Alliance that does more than merely dream of overthrowing us. It is easy for me to say you are not a threat, though I do not ignore the threat you and your nation are trying to become. Gaia will be a part of your movement, but even my information is not entirely complete. I will not mislead you by claiming I know Gaia's link to this, just that there likely is one.
And I am not unreasonably petty. I am willing to put all our animosity behind us and start anew. Even if you are not willing to do the same, I am willing to make this work for us. You have more people to care for than just the Alliance, now. Do not forget them."
"A lot of words that mean nothing."
"Because you heard, but did not listen. Perhaps it will be easier this way, Penny. I want you to win."
"Explain."
"You wish to overthrow the current Sprilnav led order of the galaxy. Your path to that will likely be through mass slave revolt. A viable strategy that I could spread far beyond just this planet. And I actually agree with you. This Judgment, this utter insanity around the Alliance and your species has shown me the truth. The Elders as a class and a species cannot be trusted to rule any longer. We need new leaders. Better leaders."
"And yourself?"
"As the hypocrite that I am, and the power-hungry ruler of the Sprilnav, I would obviously exclude myself from that number. Let's be realistic. The Sprilnav will never accept a non-Elder ruler. If you wish to see what our insurgencies would be like, imagine the 2090s Struggles of Asia. Expand that to billions of planets, large and small. Countless ships and space stations. We have more collective ships than you have people. And as your military planners know, there is no such thing as an unarmed ship. Without us, without me, your plans are stillborn. Your galactic Alliance or whatever you make will fall to pieces without proper counseling. In essence, my offer to you, and you alone, is this. The galaxy, for the Sprilnav."
"Who backs your offer, with the power to give it?"
Progenitors Lecalicus and Nova appeared in the room.
"I back Kashaunta," Lecalicus wheezed.
"I observe her offer, and wish it a proper outcome," Nova said.
"Thank you, esteemed Progenitors," Kashaunta said, standing just to bow to them. Penny stared at Nova, balling her fists.
"There will be time for battle later," he said. "But not now. Hear out her request. She does not make it lightly."
The Progenitors disappeared.
"If I accept your offer, it will be on a written record."
"No. It will not be, because if that record is written, my nation will be facing war on all sides. A better idea would be for us to keep this under wraps."
"Perfect for betrayal," Nilnacrawla muttered.
"It would be, yes. But consider the second part of this situation, Nilncrawla. If word of this galactic offer, not just the Pact, were to get out, which is why two Progenitors who know the price of interference were called here, it would mean the deaths of Penny and all her kind. Or do you forget what rapidly approaches us?"
Nilnacrawla frowned. "I did. I apologize, Penny."
Kashaunta spoke up again.
"Penny. You believe I will betray you. So I make an offer of collateral. An offer so unbelievably sacred for us Elders that many would recoil at the mere thought of it. Now that you have signed a backed treaty, you are fully qualified."
Kashaunta grabbed her Soul Blade and presented it to Penny.
"What does this mean?"
"Nilnacrawla, tell her," Kashaunta said. "She will trust your mouth more than mine."
"Bonded Soul Blades are priceless artifacts," Nilnacrawla said. "To offer one to another is the ultimate gesture of trust and respect among many martial Sprilnav cultures. It can also allow for a mind bridge, a soul pact, or a proposal for marriage between two great houses, martial families, or Elders of great wealth and power. To offer this to a human... to anyone... is an ultimate sign of backing, and one of trust.
It is a sacrosanct honor, the absolute agreement of speaking truth and respect. The words I can use in any human language are insufficient to describe the weight of this honor. This gesture is one of absolute truth. Family lines with hatred going back millions of years would never dare to violate this honor."
"Only one Elder in history did so, one who once led a group known as the Stannic Resistance. He does so no longer. Penny Balica, Champion of Humanity... if there is nothing else I can give you to prove that I do really back you, there is this."
"...Just how low are my chances in the Judgment for you to resort to this?" Penny asked.
"They are not zero, but your battle with be incredibly difficult even with this boon of mine. The future of the galaxy, I now realize, hinges on the outcome of this. If we do not have enough trust, they will sniff it out, and we will fail."
So she had no choice. But as Nilncrawla continued to explain in her mind, Kashaunta was getting the worse side of the deal. Which meant she was throwing her backing behind Penny for real, beyond all reproach and retraction. Kashaunta, the most powerful Elder in the galaxy.
"And if I reject this gift, or your reasons for it?"
"Circumstances would demand that I kill you and then myself using this blade as a way to cut apart the dishonor, before my remains are dumped into a black hole to be forgotten forever. I would not do this."
"A dark and archaic custom," Penny said. She would have said more, but she looked at Nilnacrawla's face. He was clearly deeply uncomfortable. Her five words had shaken him more than anything she'd ever said to him before.
"You do not understand," Nilnacrawla said. "This is not something to joke or lie about. With a Soul Blade Pact in play, all else must cease. Right now, there is you, and there is her. Accept or decline. The choice, your only choice, is yours."
"How will this look to the Elders in the court? To the Sprilnav, and the people who back me?"
She could see how it would be a boon and a curse.
"You, and I," Kashaunta said. "The whole of the universe between us right now is you and I. No others exist until this one act is done. There will be trust or there will be death. No in between. No middle ground. The nature of this bond will be a Pact of Blades."
Conceptual energy swirled between them. Penny's natural translation, as part of the hivemind, failed for the first time ever. Her communicator likewise did not translate the words Kashaunta spoke.
"Eis nama kaste Penny Balica, sun lanci Dorima Kashaunta. Ko'ri, lanci nupa bes na Dorima'Pecunyanova. Sp'rkial'nova. Sun. Homo Sapiens."
The air grew thick with tension. It was not just emotional, either. Psychic and conceptual energy gathered. The mindscape started to distort as more and more eyes began to view Kashaunta and Penny. But all of them were Sprilnav eyes. All of them were Progenitors. Nova's appeared brightest and largest, nearly six times the size of the next largest pair. They stared at her, sending psychic and conceptual energy down upon her in waves that forced her and Kashaunta to kneel to the ground.
"I apologize for my earlier words," Penny said. "I should not have denigrated this."
Penny stood for an hour, deeply contemplating the Pact. If it was as Nilnacrawla was describing to her, it was a promise that Kashaunta would not break. If she was offering it at all, especially to Penny, it meant she had a level of trust in Penny's capability far above what Penny had previously thought. Apparently, there were even higher agreements than this that were possible, with this Pact being the lowest level of bond and considered unbreakable with the enforcement of consequences coming from the Progenitors themselves.
She thought of her place in Justicar and the wider universe. Hours passed like water. And then, by the end of it, after nearly 19 hours, Penny finally had decided. She gave a short nod to Kashaunta, who had been kneeling to Nova all this time.
Kashaunta gestured at the sword. "Tol, nopa shikai."
Nilnacrawla fed her a few suggestions on what she would need to say.
"I come to this Pact seeking peace, justice, and hope," Penny said. "And a promise not to betray one another, by lies or by treachery."
Nilnacrawla translated Kashaunta's next words to her.
"I come to this seeking trust, understanding, respect, and peace," Kashaunta said. "And a promise not to betray one another, by lies or by treachery. I make this Pact before the gods, those who equal them, and those who surpass them. I bind them to an oath of silence regarding this event, until I directly instruct them otherwise, in a state of a sound mind, body, and soul. Here, we shall step into a future that needs both of us, casting aside that which is unimportant to focus on the ultimate goals we have. I offer my Blade to Penny Balica, of species Homo Sapiens. In this way, we forge a new future, and walk a new path. I accept the Pact."
"I accept the Pact."
Nova and a hundred Progenitors descended. Nova grew larger, and Kashaunta knelt to him. Penny remained standing. His sharp teeth glittered in the light. He pressed his claws to Penny's chest, and to Kashaunta's chest.
"The Pact of Blades is made before the Progenitors. We agree to your vow of silence. The penalty of breaking it will be dismemberment and disposal into a black hole. Penny Balica, Engineer Kashaunta. To break this Pact without mutual agreement is to call down our collective wrath upon yourselves. You both have agreed, and are of sound mind, body, and soul. The Pact is forged. By sword, by word, by action. I, Nova, Everlasting, Lord of the Progenitors, King of all Sp'rkial'nova, Heir to the Mantle of Power, Heir to Narvravarana, Progenitor, Elder, and Sprilnav, declare the deed done, etched in time, space, and Reality."
They winked out of existence one by one, leaving Penny and Kashaunta alone, to ponder the future. Penny's thoughts turned to the Judgment, and her confidence she could win it began to waver. How much worse was this Judgment going to be than before?
Penny stared at Kashaunta's Soul Blade. With careful fingers, she took it. Kashaunta sat up, satisfied.
"Now we can begin. I shall compile all the news about you I can find, and we shall see how to address the questions the High Judges will ask. Now that you trust me, I cannot betray you."

Hi all! This is a rather comprehensive guide for newcomers to PC gaming to help understand the relevant technologies when it comes to docks, peripherals, external storage and monitors. This should help navigate the sometimes conflicting and confusing advice online and enable you to make buying decisions based on your personal needs.

Cables, Power Delivery and 30W Turbo

(More info regarding cables under Data Transfer - Cables)
Cables and Power Delivery
All USB C to C cables built to spec are capable of providing 20V@3A for a maximum of 60W. For any higher power output, there are different protocols and the Ally uses the Power Delivery (PD) protocol which is common for laptops - If you already have a laptop with USB C charging, check to see if its charger supports PD charging since you could use its charger with the Ally and vice versa.
The PD protocol requires a handshake where the power source, whether it be a charger or power bank, communicates its different capabilities (eg. 15V @ 3A = 45W, 20V @ 3.25A = 65W, 20V @ 5A = 100W, etc.) and the device communicates what it can safely receive over the USB cable. This communication requires an E marker chip built into the USB C cable which allows the power source to deliver up to 48V @ 5A = 240W, although it is more common to find the older 20V @5 A = 100W cables. The E marker is also what allows you to plug in a high output PD charger to charge much lower powered devices without frying any components since the charger will keep to a safe/low power output until the E marker communicates the capabilities on both ends.
The Ally uses the 20V @ 3.25A (65W) PD power profile and any USB C to C cable with an E marker should work for the Ally as long as your charger or power bank can deliver the aforementioned 20V @ 3.25A.
Note: Sometimes cables just aren't built to spec and cheaper cables might not work as intended or fail quickly. The E marker chip malfunctioning is a primary reason why your charger and cable combination might suddenly stop working as intended and not deliver the 65W to the Ally even if it did earlier - in most situations, it might just drop to 20V @ 3A (60W).
30W Turbo requirements
As far as the ROG Ally is concerned,

• If a 20V @ 3.25A PD profile (or higher) is powering the device, the device will allow up to 30W to the GPU.
• If the Ally can't draw at least 20V @ 3.25A, it'll max out at 25W to the GPU.
• USB A to C cables simply cannot provide the higher output PD wattages. Some USB A to C cables (OnePlus/Oppo ones for instance) use proprietary pin layouts to achieve higher power output up to 100W but these are proprietary implementations and won't work with the Ally.
• PD charging requires a USB C to C cable (or PD chargers with attached cables like the original charger)

How to enable 30W Turbo
If you're connecting the power source directly to the Ally, i.e. not using a hub:

• The original charger works flawlessly as well as any similar ones from reputable laptop brands (HP, Lenovo, etc.) that use PD and have the 20V @ 3.25A profile as well.
• If you're using a power bank or charger with a removable cable, make sure it supports the same PD profile as mentioned above and use a USB C to C cable with an E marker. Any cable with an E marker should reliably provide at least 100W since the minimum spec is 20V @ 5A.

If you're connecting the Ally through a dock/hub:
This is where things get interesting. Without getting very technical, USB specifications are set by the USB Implementers Forum (USB IF). For docks and hubs, the specification states that USB devices should be able to draw power at the port with max power draw specified. For USB 3 devices, this max power draw is 5V @ 900 mA (4.5W at the port) and for USB 2 devices, this max draw is 5V @ 500 mA (2.5W). This is why most docks and hubs have their own power requirement, around 15W usually but may vary, so that power is reserved for the USB ports. Depending on the device connected, this power draw can vary - a portable spinning hard disk drive will draw more power than a dongle for a wireless mouse for instance. Insufficient power to the ports can manifest in many ways such as USB devices disconnecting and reconnecting, HDMI intermittently disconnecting, etc.
I haven't been able to test this so please take this section with a grain of salt - docks that support 30W Turbo with the original charger don't seem to meet the official USB IF specs since the dock must be exposing the Ally to the 20V @ 3.25A PD profile without reserving any power to the USB ports. I haven't been able to confirm this myself as all the docks and hubs I use reserve around 15W for the ports and require at least 80W+ PD to allow the 30W Turbo mode. Based on my digging online, it seems like some people have no issues using these docks while others have reliability issues such as the ones I described earlier.
To summarise, enabling 30W Turbo mode reliably on the Ally when connected to a dock or hub requires (should require?) the following:

• A charger or power bank capable of 80W or higher PD profiles since the hub should ideally be reserving power for itself to prevent issues on the ports (usually around 15W but can vary).
• Like earlier, if you're using a removable cable with a charger or power bank, make sure to use a USB C to C cable with an E marker chip.
• Potential option if you have a 100W power bank that supports PD passthrough - in this scenario you can plug in your original ROG Ally charger to the power bank (65W input to the power bank) and then connect your dock to the power bank (up to 100W to the dock). I can confirm it works with this power bank: https://www.amazon.ca/imuto-26800mAh-Portable-Charger-Charging/dp/B0BC7NJHCW

If you don't care about playing on 30W Turbo mode,
As mentioned earlier, all USB C to C cables should be capable of at least 60W. Using a charger with any lower PD profiles such as a 45W charger will not cause any damage or harm, you might just lose battery even with a charger connected but that's about it. I often use my 25W phone charger or even Nintendo Switch charger - reliable chargers will not damage your device.

Data Transfer

General info
Mbps, MB/s, Gbps and GB/s - there's a difference.
You'll often see the terms Mbps or MB/s (alternatively Gbps or GB/s) used to refer to USB speed, storage speed, internet speeds, etc. but it's important to note the difference.
Mbps = Megabits per second, MB/s = Megabytes per second
Gbps = Gigabits per second, GB/s = Gigabytes per second
Data transfer is usually measured in Megabits per second, Mbps (or Gigabits per second, Gbps). Your internet speed is a great example of this. Files and any storage in general is measured as Megabytes or Gigabytes. To work out file transfers in Megabytes or Gigabytes per second use the following:
8 bits make up 1 byte and 1 Gigabit = 1000 Megabits. To keep things confusing, 1 Gigabyte = 1024 Megabytes.
If your internet service provider is providing a 1 Gigabit connection it works out to 1000/8= 125 Megabytes per second, i.e. a file that is 250 Megabytes will take 2 seconds to download. (Note: real speeds will always be lower due to network overhead, congestion, distance to servers and a bunch of other factors.)
A breakdown for the things most relevant to the ROG Ally:

• USB 2 ports, cables and devices max out at 480 Mbps, ie 480/8 = 60 Megabytes per second. These shouldn't be used for file transfer since they're slow but work great for peripherals such as keyboards, mice, webcams, wireless dongles, etc. These devices tend to use very little bandwidth and won't saturate a USB 2 port.
• USB 3.0 ports, cables and devices max out at 5 Gbps (5000 Mbps), ie. 5000/8 = 625 Megabytes per second. Ports on most docks max out at these speeds.
• USB 3.1 (also known as 3.1 Gen 2 because USB naming convention is a hot mess...) ports, cables and devices max out at 10 Gbps (10000 Mbps), ie. 10000/8 =1250 Megabytes per second.

The Ally's USB C port is USB 3.1 Gen 2 with DP Alt mode so the max transfer speed you can get from the Ally is 10 Gbps. Ideally you should look for docks and cables that are capable of 10 Gbps.

• USB 3.1 Gen 2x2: 20 Gbps, ie. 2500 Megabytes per second. Although the Ally can't achieve these speeds, you might find enclosures or portable SSD's operating at these speed at comparable prices to 10 Gbps ones when on sale. Just worth keeping an eye out for.
• USB 4/Thunderbolt: up to 40 Gbps, ie. 5000 Megabytes per second. if you have a device capable of USB 4/Thunderbolt I would recommend looking into a Thunderbolt dock/hub but otherwise they are overkill for the Ally since the dock will operate at lower speeds and some USB 4/TB features in the dock won't work at all. These hubs and cables require in depth certification making them very reliable but also very expensive.

Other notable mentions:

• A functioning SD card slot in the Ally (UHS-II): maxes out at 312 Megabytes per second
• LAN (1 gigabit): 125 Megabytes per second
• LAN (2.5 gigabit): 312.5 Megabytes per second
• WiFi 5: Typically 866Mbps, ie. 108.25 Megabytes per second
• WiFi 6 (80 Mhz channels): Typically 1201 Mbps, ie. 150.125 Megabytes per second
• WiFi 6 (160 Mhz channels): Typically 2402 Mbps, ie. 300.25 Megabytes per second

WiFi 5 and 6 speeds are theoretically MUCH higher but this is what most people can expect from their routers to their device - including crappy ISP provided routers.
For LAN and WiFI, these are the speeds you can expect on your local network and NOT the speed your ISP provides to the internet. Your local network is what you are using when you stream in home from a PC or console to the Ally using something like Steam Link or Sunshine. Or if you access storage on your network (NAS, Plex server, Jellyfin, etc.)
Real speeds will always be lower across the board when you account for any overhead such as the Windows File system, background tasks, network overhead etc.
Data Transfer - Cables
Make sure you're using a cable that can match the speed of the device, ie. if you're connecting a USB 3.0 device, make sure the cable also supports USB 3.0 at least. Similarly, you need to use a 10Gbps USB cable to achieve 10Gbps data transfer speeds. Using higher spec cables should always work reliably with lower spec devices too, such as using a 10Gbps cable with a USB 2 device will just operate at USB 2 speeds.
NOTE: A cable containing an E marker chip does not necessarily mean it can do video or even USB 3.0 file speeds. The E marker chip is unrelated to data transfer capabilities. In general, most 100W E marker cables only work at USB 2 speeds if used for file transfer, unless they explicitly state other capabilities.
I've personally had great reliability with 240W E marker cables though and it's been much easier to find reliable cables that provide 10Gbps data transfer, 4K 60Hz video output and any level of PD required all through one cable. I suspect the reliability mainly comes from the more stringent certification process required for 240W PD. These cables can be chonky though.
Can games run from an SD card, external hard drive, external SSD or USB flash drive?
Short answer, yes.
Longer answer, yes, but keep the following in mind:

• For most games, you will see a difference in terms of load times taking longer when running from external storage - the game performance should be identical though. Games which explicitly state they need internal SSDs can also work from removable storage but your mileage may vary. Forza Motorsport for instance throws a warning message upon launch but you can safely ignore it without issue.
• Some launchers work better with removable storage for games. Steam, Epic Games and Ubisoft have all worked great for me but games from XBox have had issues with updates breaking game files. Most launchers will allow you to select removable media for storage though.
• The Ally might not recognize games that are installed on removable storage if the storage isn't plugged in when you turn the Ally on. Basically, if you're not seeing a game you have installed, shut down the Ally, connect the storage device to the Ally directly or through a dock and then turn the Ally back on. The games should reappear and be playable.

My advice would be to install any game you intend to play only while the Ally is connected to a dock on external storage devices, otherwise install them internally. For instance, I only play Ace Combat when I'm connected to my TV so it made sense to install it on external storage that is always connected to my dock and TV.
External storage - What should I use?

• Cheap option - If you have an old laptop, PC or console that you no longer use, consider reusing the internal HDD or SSD from those devices in an enclosure. The form factor and connectors vary so make sure to buy the correct one. Spinning hard drives will be slower and depending on age, might not be the most reliable so keep that in mind.
• Using an M.2 SSD in a 10Gbps enclosure. I personally prefer this method since you can find M.2 SSDs frequently going on sale and it allows you to reuse the drive internally in a future PC build. If you don't want to go this route though, you can look into external SSDs from the likes of reliable brands like SanDisk, Samsung, Western Digital, etc. which offer comparable speeds to M.2 SSDs in an enclosure.
• USB/USB C flash drives (thumb drives) - I personally only recommend using flash drives to move data rather than for storing data but no harm if you want to install games on them.
• SD/Micro SD Cards - I wouldn't recommend buying one given the Ally's SD slot issues BUT if you already bought one or have any cards laying around, consider using an external card reader to plug into your dock/hub or to the Ally directly. Read/write speeds vary based on the card and reader but keep in mind that the Steam Deck runs games off its SD card slot (UHS I) which only has a max speed of 104 Megabytes per second.

What's the best keyboard, mouse, controller for the Ally?
This will entirely depend on you - There are three main ways to connect and each has its pros and cons. The way you personally see these pros and cons will help you pick.
Wired devices:
Pros - lowest latency in most cases, no need to recharge devices.
Cons - need a dock to connect more than one device and you'll need to manage cables.
Bluetooth:
Pros - cable free, no need for a dock to connect to your devices.
Cons - some latency, need recharging/batteries, connectivity issues are common.
Wireless dongles:
Pros - cable free, lower latency than Bluetooth and some devices have latency comparable to wired performance.
Cons - still need a dock if you require more than one dongle, dongles often use 2.4Ghz protocols and might have crazy interference with poorly shielded devices around them.
Some devices will offer more than one way to connect - I've found them ideal for the Ally.
My peripherals (not recommendations per se, rather my use case since all were bought for an existing work from home/gaming PC setup)
Keyboards:

• Keychron K4 (V2): 3 devices over Bluetooth or wired. The Bluetooth has always been slow to connect with any device so I use it wired with my gaming PC. Otherwise, excellent mechanical keyboard.
• MX Keys Mini: 3 devices total over Bluetooth or Logi Bolt dongle. Very little input latency with the dongle but I stick to Bluetooth personally for the convenience. Much smaller than the Keychron K4 too and quicker to connect on BT so my go to for the Ally.

Mice:

• Logi M720 Triathlon - 3 devices total over Bluetooth or Logi Unifying receiver - Works perfectly regardless of using Bluetooth or the dongle. My go to for the Ally on Bluetooth for the convenience.
• Surface Arc Mouse - 1 device, Bluetooth. Overpriced and uncomfortable to use for long periods of time but it folds flat so I use it if I'm travelling with my Ally.
• Logi G502 SE - 1 device, Wired. Often regarded as one of the best wired gaming mice. I've used it with my gaming PC for about 4 - 5 years and have no complaints.

Controller:

• XBox Controller - Wired, Bluetooth or XBox USB adapter - pretty standard. The AUX port on the controller works if you're using the XBox USB adapter which is great.
• 8BitDo SN30 Pro - Wired, bluetooth. I believe the newer version has hall effect sticks. Triggers aren't analogue though - they are buttons.
• GameSir T4 Cyclone Pro - Wired, Bluetooth or Dongle. Hall effect sticks and triggers, lots of customizability, haptic triggers (only on Bluetooth mode though), gyro support - my go to for the Ally.

Displays

HDMI vs DisplayPort
Like any data cable, HDMI and DisplayPort carry data but in the form of audio/video data. DisplayPort can carry more of this information based on the most common version available, ie. DisplayPort 1.4 which supports up to 32.4Gbps. The most common version for HDMI is 2.0 which supports up to 18Gbps.
DisplayPort is preferred for gaming PCs generally since they are better at communicating capabilities such as FreeSync capabilities, HDR capabilities, etc. which is why most monitors use DisplayPort, especially modern ones.

• For TVs - Use HDMI
• For Monitors - Use DisplayPort if your monitor and dock both support it

DP Alt mode and USB C monitors
The Ally along with numerous phones and laptops support video out over USB C using what is known as DisplayPort Alt Mode (DP Alt Mode). This only works over USB C to USB C.
Some newer monitors support this and can be driven by just one USB C to USB C cable. They might also provide USB PD power.
Portable monitors also use DP Alt Mode to work over USB C. For HDMI, they use a standard HDMI to mini HDM and you need to plug in power when using HDMI. I haven't come across a dock that supports DP-Alt mode on its USB C ports making it impossible to drive a portable monitor over USB C with a dock (HDMI obviously will still work.)
Thunderbolt hubs may have USB C ports which allow DP Alt mode but in my experience they downgrade these ports to only USB 3 (without DP ALT mode) when connected to something that isn't Thunderbolt.
I only have experience with the Arzopa A1C (1920x1080, 60hz, 15.6 inch display) but here is my takeaway:

• Decent picture quality - think iPad level screen, better than what I was expecting frankly and same resolution as the Ally so I don't even change my settings.
• It was not mentioned anywhere in the manual/online but this does 50W PD passthrough. I plug in my charger to the monitor and use a USB C cable from the Ally and everything else I use is wireless. Pretty portable.
• Has an aux port if you want to plug in headphones/speakers to it directly.

Common misconceptions for anyone used to console gaming or new to PC gaming
(Note: The section below is only relevant to native resolution output without any frame gen or upscaling such as RSR, FSR, AFMF, etc.)
I've seen numerous posts asking "will this __inch monitor work?". Your physical screen size does not matter. The pixel count does. A 24inch 4K 60hz monitor will be just as hard for the Ally to run as a 60inch 4k 60hz TV.
For the Ally at its native 1920x1080 resolution at 120 frames per second, the GPU has to render 2,073,600 pixels, 120 times per second.
When you connect your Ally to a 4K 60Hz TV and try to output at your TVs native resolution of 3840x2160, the Ally has to process 8,294,400 pixels, 60 times per second.
Essentially, you will never get the same performance hooked up to a 4K TV at native resolution compared to running a game at the Ally's native 1080p resolution.
The same goes if you're looking at 3440x1440, 2560x1440 or any resolution when considering a monitor. In terms of "will it work with the Ally?" The answer is always "yes it will work" since the Ally is a PC, but adjust your game settings or your resolution accordingly.
Simply put, the higher the resolution (and frame rate), the more pixels the GPU needs to render, the bigger the performance hit.
I can put together a detailed AMD Adrenaline and general game settings guide if there's interest.

Things to keep in mind while buying a dock or hub:

• Form factor - If you want to use it with other devices consider getting a different form factor than the standard dock shape (the classic Steam Deck and ROG Ally dock where it sits with a non removable right angled USB C connector).
• Will my case work with it? Personal example - I put a JSAUX case on my Ally and it doesn't fit in my dock anymore. The case has a stand though so still fully functional but just doesn't look as "clean".
• Should ideally reserve power for the USB ports to avoid random issues.
• Be capable of 65W passthrough after reserving power to the dock.
• USB ports speed - ideally you should aim for a dock or hub featuring 10Gbps ports to use the max bandwidth of the Ally's port. Most docks and hubs max out at 5 Gbps however which is also adequate.
• Monitor support - consider if you would prefer one with DisplayPort or HDMI - few will have both. If you're mostly connecting to TVs, HDMI will be fine. If you have a monitor with FreeSync, ideally look for a dock with DisplayPort.
• Multi monitor - If you want to connect to multiple displays, you need one with multiple outputs since you will not be able to daisy chain docks. Keep an eye out to avoid DisplayLink however. It is NOT the same as DisplayPort - it drives video over USB 3 (USB 2 even) but involves compression and some other proprietary work happening on the dock - absolute non issue for productivity/office work but just not for gaming with its own overhead.
• Consider one that has a removable cable to host - being able to use your own cable length can be great but just make sure it meets specifications (E marker, video and USB 3.0 at least for it to be usable with a dock and the Ally)
• LAN port speed - most cap out at 1 gigabit but you might come across some with 2.5 gigabit ports.
• Consider if having an SD card slot or M.2 enclosure built into the dock/hub is something that you need.

My thoughts on the docks/hubs I own
All of them work pretty identically and offer 4K HDR, 30W Turbo, etc. when connected to a 100W PD charger. The ports are all USB 3.0 so max speed of 5Gbps. I’ve mentioned anything of note

• Aceele - https://www.amazon.ca/Docking-Compatible-Ethernet-1000Mbps-Charging/dp/B0CF57SZY5 - Has an On/Off button on the front for HDMI which can be handy. Works with the Nintendo Switch too surprisingly.
  
• Dockteck - https://www.dockteck.com/collections/usb-c-hub/products/usb-c-hub-ethernet-hdmi-6-in-1-usb-c-to-4k-60hz - Some strain on the USB port due to the form factor.
  
• Lionwei - https://lionweitech.com/products/usb-c-docking-station-dual-4k-hdmi-8-in-1 - Separate USB 2.0 port, dual HDMI and a removable cable. The cable out of the box stopped working after a month but the hub itself works great.
  

Other handy accessories

• Jsaux 90 degree USB C to C adapter - they come in a 2 pack and can be used at the same time to form a 180 degree adapter - https://jsaux.com/products/90-degree-right-angle-usb-c-male-to-usb-c-female-adapter
• Pluggable USB C extension cable with multimeter - reliably extend any USB C cable and check power draw - https://plugable.com/en-ca/products/usbc-meter3-1mf

Thanks for reading and hope it helps!

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

Hello, I have recently thought that I may have mommy issues and it conflicts a lot with my attraction to women (I’m a woman). I’m not sure if I’m a lesbian, bisexual and now maybe even straight… Help me please
I don’t remember much about my childhood but my dad was pretty absent as he worked far away and I would spend entire weeks (regularly) without seeing him. My mom also studied to get a job and was generally busy. I don’t remember if she was affectionate when I was little but I know that when I was a little older (about 8-11) I avoided hugs and stuff like that, they made me uncomfortable. In conclusion, I grew up to be very independent, and the fact that I was super bullied didn’t help either. I have a lot of scars because I wasn’t valued enough in my childhood, I think.
When it comes to crushes I had a few when I was a kid, I remember Katy Perry and Ripley from Alien (yes I watched that when I was like 7), but the rest of them are “mommies” if you know what I mean. When it comes to men idk if they were really crushes because I don’t think they really had a sexual component, but I did obsess over a couple celebrities, some of whom are not conventionally attractive at all but guess what, they look like my dad. Also the only real crush on a real person I had was when I was 15 and a camp teacher, she didn’t really fit the stereotype of a mother figure but when she reassured me I would feel super attracted to her.
Flash forward, I thought I had a crush on my male best friend but turns out he was just treating me like a real friend and caring for me, and that made me obsess over him, but tbh I feel like I could never have done anything sexual with him. The worst part comes now: I had this female friend who told me she fell in love with me. At first I wasn’t in love with her, but then she started being super affectionate and I was head over heels in like a month. Our relationship totally resembled a mother figure dynamic: she always had the first say in what to do and I happily obeyed because I felt secure. She gave me a lot of affection and I was mostly just the receiver. While I was with her I was the happiest I’ve ever been, I had self esteem, my anxiety and depression disappeared, and I must say that I was fine if I couldn’t see her, but she needed to see me at least every two days. In fact we broke up because I moved and she couldn’t stand long distance. I think my relationship was codependent and also the break up has destroyed me, even though now I’m over her I still crave someone to love me that way…
So my question is, can my attraction to women be originated just from mommy issues? Also I feel like I could never be attracted to someone if they didn’t treat me this way, what can I do to heal?

So I'll try to keep this in chronological order. My birth mother was POS to the point where the judge gave my dad full custody and the option for child support (if he didn't take it, she wouldn't have rights to see me bc she wasn't supporting me) which he did indeed opt out of. (Prior to the judges decision this woman had taken baby me in the middle of the night from Anchorage AK to Savannah GA. When my dad and my uncle kidnapped me back {you know to the state I belonged in bc that's where the divorce was happening and I was an infant} he said I screamed for the first 2 hours on the road {they told my incubator's sister, so I guess my aunt, that they were just taking me to the park for a visit, and she handed me over} and when they finally stopped {bc trying to put some distance down between them than the crazy bitch that birthed me} dad said I had a diaper rash that was so bad I was bleeding in the entire diaper area. (Anyone who has kids knows it probably took much more neglect than a 2 hour car ride to get that bad.) So dad got undisputed custody of me when the judge made a decision with break neck speeds due to her actions. During her turn to try to speak for why she should have time with me, my then2 week old baby brother (we are like a year apart) began crying unconsolably out in the lobby, a different aunt poked her head in and told the incubator she need to feed the baby. (seems she was once set on breastfeeding) This bitch turned around and said that he could wait bc rn she was fighting for her daughter! The judge put the court in recess so she could feed him. He came back and had his decision made.
There was about a year more of dad and I living in AK (his family once lived out there, after my grandfather moved back to AR Dad went to work the pipeline {I was born in 87}) till the cost of childcare and the time need to take care of me and house hold chores and keep a full time job just got to be too much. At that point we moved down south in with my grandparents.
My dad's family is mostly men, I have one aunt and the rest of my grandparents children where male. So when my aunt had my cousin who was a male he was only doted on til I was born 4 yrs later. First female grandchild and boy did they make sure I knew it. Yeah I was a bit spoiled, but I was also kind and mostly respectful. My grandmother did most of my childcare and I remember in the evenings dad made sure she never had to wash the dishes, ever.
I feel icky typing this bit as I personally have a problem with age gaps, my dad and step mom are 10yrs apart. If they had met after she was 20 or so I would have no issues... But they met when she was like 16-17 and got married a month and 2 days after her 18 th birthday. I remember them discussing how they were gonna tell her father that they were already married!!
Which brings me to her family... You see her dad was abusive af, like picked her up by the ankles and shook the shit outta her bc she wanted the white shoes for school not the cheaper navy blue ones... This man thought that if one of his 14 kids pissed him off, it was totally acceptable to chuck things at them to include 15lb claw hammers. My step mom was his favorite child and she was the only one who took care of him in his later years, and yes the ankle shaking is the worst he ever go with her, but her siblings where not nearly as lucky.
She can't see that she holds a LOT of his negative qualities. When she was mad at my brothers and I as kids she would ball up her fist and hit us in the chest. There was once a time when she was so angry at me that she spanked me while in the corner... While the physical shit wasn't all that bad the psychological shit she did to me I am still working thru. Looking back now I was so far into what turns out to be a bipolar depression that I was beginning to question if I was developing a second personality. The self talks went like this " stop being so stupid, you know you can't kill yourself and you know you aren't wanted like her precious boys, but that doesn't matter. You know this is probably just how life is supposed to be, always feeling like shit and just putting on a happy face" Oh and precious boys indeed. My 3 younger brothers (that's she birthed) were allowed to have sleep overs and go out with friends. Hell they could even walk out to the car from the grocery store without an escort by the time they were 9... Meanwhile one of them was with me if ever I needed to go out. Until the day I left for the Army it was like this. (6, 10, & 19 yrs younger than me, not that I'm super fucked up about the little one, I was already grown when he came along) I on the other hand could only have friends over on Sunday, between church services, so long as the ppl coming over also attended our church. Outside of that I never left the house as teen other than school, which there was never skipping any school for me, the step mom is a school teacher. So "if I have to go to school, you have to go to school" At one point the grounding was so heavy that I was to be her "shadow" every where she went outside of school I had to be by her side. That meant I had to wait for her to use the restroom at church so I could too. She often told me that I was "too young" to even know what depression was. She is also sexist, taking out the trash is a mans job and she isn't going to do it. But she was totally fine with me doing it. She gave me my first bloody nose by backhanding me before school one morning. One of her darling boys was made to take the trash out the night before, all he did was set it on the back porch. Well they live out in the country so what are leash laws .. that's right all that trash is on the back porch by morning. I am sent to clean it up... I have already taken my morning shower and got dressed for the day.. meanwhile the brother who's fault it is doesn't have to clean it bc he's not dressed yet🙄 when I try to reason with her she backhanded me and told me to never back talk her again. (Even tho by this point my two younger brothers both openly tell her no and don't do the chores)
Flash forward some years and my son and I are on hard times so we move back in (23is at this point) she decided that even if she wasn't paying my phone bill I was not allowed to use it after 9pm, she undermined every single thing I said as a parent (at this point baby brother is an issue but more for my kid who's only 9mons younger than him) She forced me to go back to her damn church, and got in a fist fight (literally) with me when I told her I didn't believe the BS they tried to stuff in my head as a kid (still fukin hate organized religion.) The bitch caught me at a disadvantage and used my ankle length dress to shove me down. She has been my only mother figure, and she has been hell on the psyche. As for my incubator, well she is a compulsive liar and thinks she is a master manipulator. She only has a 9th grade education and uses big word out of context to make herself feel smarter. I did get back in contact with her as an adult... Worst decade of my life. And everything got soooo much better when I went NC with her. I have laid eyes on the incubator 5 whole times... She lies to my other siblings (bc ofc she went on to have more kids too) that she has met all of my 4 children. The truth is when she was telling my siblings she was with me, she was actually like 6 states away. She left my step dad high and dry, cleared the bank account (some of which was being saved to get baby sister graduation stuff and a prom dress, they live below the poverty line, so it was a very big deal) took the only working vehicle and ran off to be with an ex from before she met my dad. She had dropped baby sister off at school that day and even told her what all errands they were gonna run when incubator picked her back up, yeah she never came and my step dad works nights... My sister had to find her own way home after waiting so long pretty much everyone was gone from campus. So you can kinda see while I don't want to associate with her. My step mom thinks because she is a special ed teacher, bc she goes to church, and that it is difficult for her to lie she is better than my incubator. Truth be told, I have come to realize that yeah, step mom was a better mother, she never told any of her own kids they should have been aborted like the incubator did to baby sister, but that doesn't mean step mom was an amazing mother to me. I do not want to associate with her anymore but I know my dad isn't going to leave her (she makes his plate for him for crying out loud, who would wanna disrupt that after the age of 60) I want to expose my step mother to her whole community that she thinks she is a pillar of. I want this woman to be as distraught as the incubator was /is when/ bc I finally told her off. I strive to be a better mother to my kids. I don't want bad examples available to them if I can help it. The baby brother is 17 now and has dropped out of school and has moved out early. She acts like she doesn't know why... But it's bc step mom never stopped coddling my middle brother who is 26 and lives with my folks in a3 bedroom with his wife and kid. No plans to move out, my sil is a total cunt to baby brother and he has been a total dick to her right back... Stepmom did nothing to mitigate the situation. Ofc he moved out. All the boys have been cuddled, but the middle one the most so. I am also sure that going NC would cut me off from my nephew... (Not that he is being raised to respect anything or anybody) Should I just do it and deal with the fall out, or should I at least tell my dad all the torment she put me thru before I do it. (It will be a public shaming on her favorite media platform, fb, and then cutting off all contact forever.) TL;DR My birth mother is awful, my step mom was only slightly better which she thinks deserves an award, but in reality my childhood was a living hell. I wanna NC but I don't wanna hurt my dad.

i see you
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^{can you hear the buzzing of the bees?
eternity is in their buzzing}
"What does this button do?" asked the being who strolled into the Room Of Buttons Not To Press If You Don't Know What The Fuck You're Doing - Tadpole's Warning Bedtime Tale - Leebaw
^{the one and the zero, the octal, the hexidecimal
exist in their buzzing like blood pumps through their wings
can you hear them?
your name is Dhruv}
Good judgment comes from experience.
Experience comes from bad judgment.
And I have very good judgement when I'm not on fire. - Unknown, Age of Reasonable Concerns
^{i see you
your name is Dhruv
but before that it was Dahlit 397721
do you remember why they named you Deshmuhk?
i do
to remember, we have to go back}
The dust swirled around, carried by the winds that roared through the mountain passes, howled in the valleys, and scoured the faces of the mountains. It was a thick gray dust, glittering here and there with plasma glass dust. Burnt out cars were covered by the dust, thickly caked after being rained on by thick, black rain.
A single building somehow sat intact amid the rubble and destruction. It was a low, squat building, surrounded by wreckage and ruin. A sign, blasted and scorched, had two jumping fish on it and the legend "Pop: 4,823" at the bottom even though the middle of the sign was gone.
The sound of drums and singing could be heard from the building. Not the driving frantic beat of modern music, but the steady cadence that carried with it a solemn feeling. The singing was from many different voices, male and female, but all of them in a language that time had nearly forgotten.
From out of the dust came figures. Two female, four male, and single figure that stood out from others.
Together, they moved toward the sound of singing, until the reached the door.
The leader, a large man of heavy muscle and bone, checked the doors with one hand, a large pistol in his hand.
"Barricaded," the large man said. He motioned. "We should check for any other entrances."
The older woman of brown skin and tightly braided hair moved forward.
"Allow me, brother," she said gently. She held her hand out, twitched her fingers, and smiled.
From inside came the sound of furniture scraping across the floor.
"Thank you," the large man said. He pushed open the doors, holding them for the others.
Inside was a curio shop slash tourist center slash museum. Buckskin and beaded works hung from the walls and ceiling. Glass cases containing ancient artifacts were scattered about, the glass shattered by the apocalypse that had rained down upon the world.
The drums played and the voices sang.
"It's a recording, Father," the slender brown skin man said, brushing the gray dust off of his clothing.
"Live voice," the largest of the men said. He lifted his head, cocking it slightly to listen closer with his right ear. "Young. Early twenties."
"If you say so," the thin man said. He looked around. "This is all devoted to a single person."
"Sometimes, people are that important to others, Dhruv," the older brown skin woman said softly, patting the slender man's arm. "Important to others as you are to us."
The slender man looked doubtful but nodded.
The youngest male of the group looked around, staring at the artifacts and relics scattered around. On his shoulder sat a green mantid wearing a food wrapper as a poncho.
"She's this way," the heavyset man said, leading them on a winding course through the shattered displays and racks.
In the back room, surrounded by artifacts, buckskins, and beaded works, sat a single young woman. Her eyes were white, blinded from the plasma flashes. Her skin was scarred from burns, her hair was only left in small patches. Her skin, beneath the ash and the scarring, was a rich bronze, her remaining hair was black.
She was singing along with the recording, swaying back and forth slightly.
^{there she is
remember her
remember remember}
The larger man knelt down, touching the young woman.
She did not react.
"She's dying," the man said, standing up. "Hunger, thirst, radiation poisoning, at least a half dozen infections," he heft the pistol. "There's nothing we can do for her. Low-vee Apers."
"Low-vee APERS" the pistol replied in a heavy synthesized voice.
"Stay thy hand, Phillip," the one who was markedly different said, his voice as gentle as his features formed of flowing blue and white computer code.
The large man lowered the pistol.
"She's dying," the large man repeated. "Radiation poisoning, starvation, a hard way to go."
"Will none of you speak for her?" the man of code asked gently.
Before any of the others could act, the slim bald man stepped forward. "I will," he said softly.
^{the first time you reached out
a frozen moment of time remembered
by the buzzing of the bees}
The man of code stepped forward, touching the hairless brow of the slender man, just above the missing eyebrows.
"I understand her words now," the slender man said. He moved up and knelt down. "I can heal her."
"Then do so, Luke," the man of code said.
The large man stepped back, a compartment opening on his thigh. He holstered the pistol, looking doubtful, and the compartment smoothly closed, leaving his leg unblemished.
"I need more genetic code," the slender man stated. He stood up, moving around, touching artifacts. "This. Here. An artifact recovered from a collector only a few years ago. It has genetic code attached."
He touched the artifact, then moved over to the woman, who was still swaying back and forth, singing, unaware of the others around her.
He knelt down, reached out carefully, and touched her forehead.
^{you reached out to another
helpless and alone
like you}
The woman threw her head back, her eyes opening wide, her mouth opening in a gasp. The white drained from her eyes, the scar tissue went soft and was replaced by unblemished skin. The blisters, sores, and scratches on her body vanished.
She collapsed forward, the slender man, Luke, catching her.
"Is she alright?" the youngest male asked, his voice full of honest concern.
"Exhausted," Luke said. He lowered his head slightly, sweat dripping from his bald scalp. "That was tiring."
The glittering man moved forward, kneeling down to touch the shoulders of both the woman and the bald man.
"Now you see in yourself what I saw in you," he said.
^{remember
remember
even the smallest can shake the universe
remember}
Sirens were howling in the bay as Jaskel wriggled, trying to break free of whatever was holding him upside down in mid-air. He'd already dropped his chainsword, his pistol had fallen from his equipment belt.
The two stood in the middle of the deployment area for Clone War Bay Sixteen, the male's arm protectively around the shoulders of the female, who wore only the cloak.
"I..." the word hung in the air.
It seemed like the entire universe held its breath to Jaskel.
"...am Legion."
The Admiral grabbed his pistol, rolling in place, firing it as fast as he could pull the trigger.
The rounds exploded on the glowing blue shield that only appeared around the impact points, showering sparks across the bay.
The bald figure made a motion and the pistol flew into pieces, the Admiral yanked into the air upside down.
"Gimme missiles," Jaskel grated from between gritted teeth.
--legion legion legion-- 8814 transmitted. --wait don't wait--
The woman spoke, her cadence stately and almost archaic feeling.
The man spoke back to her in the same language.
More troops ran into the bay, even as the windows overlooking the bay shattered. Weapons deployed, pointing at the pair.
The slender man, without looking, motioned.
Guns flew away, breaking apart, rapidly disassembling. Power armored troops were flung into the air, to hang upside down. Captain N'Skrek found himself upside down, scrabbling for purchase on this air.
The woman spoke to the man. He spoke back.
Finally, he turned, facing the troops hanging in mid-air.
The woman spoke.
"My sister apologies for my rude actions," the man said. "I am merely ensuring her safety."
She spoke some more.
"She has been gone for many years," the man said. He looked around. "My sister, a Biological Apostle of the Digital Omnimessiah, pleads with you to lower your weapons and stay your hands."
The tension was so thick it almost made Jaskel gag.
Finally, the Captain put the tip of a bladearm against his temple.
"Stand down," he said, Jaskel hearing it through his armor's commo system. "All hands, stand down."
There was silence for a moment, only broken by the background humming of the ship's systems.
The woman spoke.
The man faced the Captain.
"She will go with you, to answer questions, on the stipulation that I accompany her and that no man's hand is raised against me without cause," he said.
The Captain nodded.
Jaskel felt relief as he was flipped over and set on his feet.
--luke luke luke is here--
999999
Captain N'Skrek ducked slightly to fit through the doorway into the Captain's Briefing Room Six.
Sitting at one end was the woman, now clothed in what his implant assured him was treated deer hide leather, with tassels and beads upon it. The man was wearing a uniform that made his implant twitch and his nerves draw tight.
A Terran Combined Military Authority uniform.
His staff filed in behind him and took their seats once he sat down.
"I'm Captain N'Skrek, currently assigned to the Gray Lady on autonomous assignment," N'Skrek said.
"You heard me," the slim bald man said. He gave a grin. "You may also know me as Vat Grown Luke or Dhruv Deshmuhk."
The woman spoke and he shook his head. "Yes, sister, I know, Deshmuhk is my slave name. I wear it for revenge."
The woman spoke again, her tone slightly chiding.
"Like they say, the best revenge is living well, sister," the man said, still smiling.
Again, the woman spoke.
N'Skrek noticed that his implant was absolutely no help in deciphering the woman's speech.
"I know that doing things like that and saying things like that is exactly why Daxin always told me people wanted to punch me in the face," the man laughed.
He turned back to Captain N'Skrek.
"My apologies. My sister refuses to speak anything but her people's ancient tongue," his eyes gleamed with mischief. "She is slightly put out with me for answering in Confederate Standard, since now you know that she understands perfectly what you are saying."
N'Skrek nodded. Vat Grown Luke had given up a valuable piece of information in what was sure to be delicate negotiations.
"And what should we call your sister?" N'Skrek asked.
Vat Grown Luke smiled. "Tsakáka Wia, but it would probably be easier for you to use the more common name," he said.
The woman spoke sternly.
"What? It's your commonly known name?" he said, smiling.
The woman's face grew stern and she spoke rapidly.
"The first lesson we learn, sister mine, is that we must bend the knee to reality," Luke said gently. "That name has no power, only a few of us remember it."
^{i remember
the bees remember
can't you hear it in their buzzing?}
The woman spoke again, her expression softening.
Luke turned back to the gathered officers. "Her name, as you would know it, is Sacajawea."
N'Skrek consulted his implant.
And felt fear chill his icon. He looked at his staff and saw that a lot of them looked sick.
"That's right. We are real, and he was real," Luke said. He leaned forward slightly. "He was real both times."
N'Skrek stayed relaxed and calm, at least outwardly.
"I am willing to accept, at this time, that the Biological Apostles and the Digital Omnimessiah were and are real," N'Skrek said.
"Just be glad Dax isn't here. He's not as even tempered as I am," Luke said.
Sacajawea spoke again and Luke laughed. He looked at Captain N'Skrek. "She was just reminding me of the time Daxin completely lost his cool and went to town with his cutting bar on a Countess Crey Bingo Cola vending machine that ate his money then mocked him for it."
"He was known as Enraged Phillip," N'Skrek said.
Sacajawea spoke for a moment and Legion laughed, then turned to N'Skrek.
"Yes."
N'Skrek hated that. When a person spoke at length and the translator just replied with a single word.
"Why are you here?" N'Skrek asked.
Legion smiled. "You have forgotten important things, Captain. You, and the entire Confederacy have forgotten some very important things."
"Like what?" N'Skrek asked.
"If you print enough identical clones, I am reborn through them," Legion smiled. "But that's not the big part. The big one is the one that the Mar-gite's masters either forgot or never learned."
"What is that?" N'Skrek asked.
Legion smiled widely.
"What fear tastes like."
^{your name is dhruv}
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I read this fictional novel a couple of years ago and it seem so old when I read it. I feel like it is by a very familiar female author who does suspense/love story storylines. In this book, a little girl goes out to the back of the house in the woods, following her father out, thinking her father has bought or has built her a new bike for her birthday, only for her to discover that her father has chained up a young woman in a secret underground shelter, repeatedly SA her (and finding out that in the process, he has SA/killed several other young women. The little girl get the woman, who is badly injured to safety, the father is arrested and named as a psychopath, spending a lot of his days in prison. Flash forward and this woman is some sort of travel photographer, or travel journalist or something and finally decides to settle somewhere in the PNW, maybe Washington, maybe Oregon. She falls in love with a local mechanic maybe and of course there comes a series of copycat murders that happen in and around the town she now lives.
So, what's the name of this book?

Found in my mom’s copy of Suzanne High’s 50 Logic Puzzles #2
Female:
* Abbi
* Alice
* Allison
* Amy
* Annabel
* Annie
* Anya
* Ayesha
* Barbara
* Barbie
* Belle
* Benita
* Bess
* Bette
* Billie-Jo
* Bonnie
* Bridget
* Brigitte
* Callie
* Carla
* Carole
* Carrie
* Cassie
* Christine
* Connie
* Cynthia
* Daisy
* Debbie-Rae
* Deena
* Desdemona
* Dory
* Effie
* Ellie
* Fay
* Finoula
* Freda
* Gina
* Gloria
* Hollie
* Holly
* Jem
* Jenny
* Jessica
* Jo
* Jodie
* Johanna
* Julia
* Julie
* Laura
* Loretta
* Louella
* Lucia
* Lula
* Mae
* Maisie
* Maisie-Jane
* Margot
* Maria
* Maud
* May
* Mel
* Millie
* Phoebe
* Ruby
* Ruthie
* Sal
* Sandie
* Scarlett
* Shirley
* Stella
* Stephanie
* Sue-Ellen
* Tammy
* Yo-Min
Male:
* Andy
* Artie
* Avery
* Bailey
* Bay
* Ben
* Benny
* Bertie
* Bill
* Billy
* Blair
* Bo
* Bob
* Bobby
* Boris
* Brendan
* Brett
* Bruce
* Buck
* Caleb
* Carlo
* Charlie
* Chas
* Chip
* Chuck
* Clark
* Clem
* Clint
* Conrad
* Dale
* Del
* Donald
* Dustin
* Edward
* Finn
* Frank
* Garry
* Gary
* George
* Gordon
* Gordy
* Greg
* Hal
* Hughie
* Jack
* James
* Jay
* Jaymes
* Jed
* Jerry
* Jim
* Jimmy
* John
* Johnboy
* Jonno
* Jonny
* Jonty
* Jorge
* Jude
* Karl
* Keane
* Kell
* Kris
* Kuda
* Lance
* Larry
* Lee
* Lemmy
* Lou
* Louie
* Manny
* Mike
* Nathan
* Ossie
* Paul
* Pete
* Percival
* Percy
* Quintus
* Raphael
* Ravi
* Raymond
* Renton
* Ricky
* Rod
* Russell
* Sam
* Shane
* Sol
* Sonny
* Sven
* Tex
* Thomas
* Toby
* Tom
* Walter
* Wayne
* Will
* William
Surnames:
* Avery
* Baker
* Bettersight
* Blake
* Blotter
* Boardwalker
* Brightlight
* Brody
* Brown
* Brubaker
* Burns
* Caravaggio
* Carter
* Clarke
* Collins
* Cooper
* Count
* Duke
* Fisher
* Garcia
* Gray
* Green
* James
* Johns
* King
* Leach
* Lemon
* Levy
* Lister
* Lopez
* Lyons
* Marshall
* Mee
* Miller
* Minton
* Musgrove
* Myers
* Parmenter-Payne
* Perkins
* Potter
* Prince
* Queen
* Reddmay
* Simpson
* Smith
* South
* Taylor
* Towne
* West
* White
* Wilson
Nicknames:
* Biff
* Bing
* Dodge
* Fingers
* Flash
* Flick Trent (movie star)
* Judi Joy (movie star)
* Lofty
* Pammy-Jane Pink (movie star)
* Perry Plotter (ghost writer)
* Sammi B Wells (movie star)
* Slim Jarrod (country star)
* Slug
* Spike
In-Book Fictional Characters:
* Anders
* Peta Barra
* Ra Billet
* Salmo Cos
* Pippi Darley
* Sting Blaze
* Falla Freestone
* Dom Gatinger
* Jex Kroll
* Yavvy Sparks
* Zed Zinsky
* Apolla (alien girl)
* Attu
* Belto
* Charley
* Fazz
* Fru
* Jani
* Jett
* Jinn
* Kri
* Kronner
* Lei-No
* Moja
* Pebb
* Poot
* Sinca
* Wa-li
* Zingai
Animals:
* Bertie the Bassett Hound
* Gribber (alien animal)

One year ago my husband(34m) and I(27f) were at marriage counseling and it came out that my husband was finding random girls on Facebook and instagram and sending them compliments and leaving comments on their posts regarding their looks. And had been doing this over our entire relationship, even while I was depressed and contemplating suicide he was messaging other girls (with no answers)
With the suggestion of the marriage counselor and my own personal counselor it was recommended that social media be deactivated while we try to better the marriage, his counselor also co-signed on this. After a while and a lot of arguing he did it.
A couple of months later, while at a store together my husband stopped a girl to compliment and ask her about her jacket, she looked uncomfortable but answered and walked away. I was annoyed but went about my day. A few days later he does something similar while complimenting a girls glasses.
I took that to my therapist and she encouraged me to talk to him about why I didn’t like it, specifically because he does not talk to me or compliment me in that manner and it was bringing back social media vibes.
A month later my sisters baby father accused my husband and sister of sleeping together, called me and told me they were actively fucking as we were on the phone. This was false as my husband was in bed sleeping with me in that moment, baby daddy later apologized for the accusation.
April. He asks for Facebook back, says it’s for networking for his business and to connect with people to find a better job. I told him I wasn’t comfortable. Over the course of the same conversation multiple times I eventually got fed up and told him he’s clearly going to do what he wants despite my discomfort so do whatever. A week later his now active account pops up and we argue because he didn’t inform me that he had reactivated it.
Mind you in all of this, no actual progress has been made in rebuilding trust, I say all of this^ because I’m explaining that every time I tried to bring my guard down something else happened.
Now flash forward to three days ago. I wake up and open instagram. First thing that pops is people you may know with a user name similar to my husbands. I open it. It’s got 8 followers and is only following one person a female with a private account. But the private account is following my husbands main account which is alive and well.
Idk if you know but instagrams deletes deactivated accounts after 30 days… it’s been like eight months since he got off of social media. But here is the account alive and well. I confronted him with this. He claims that he told me he was reactivating it because there’s a Japanese distributor that prefers contact via instagram and he swears he told me about this.
I told him I want him off social media because I feel disrespected. He says no. He says go ahead and file then when I say I’m done. He proceeds to bring divorce up again after this conversation after I kicked him out of the room to go sleep in the guest room.
Since divorce was brought up I told him he has a choice to make deactivated social media and we can find a new therapist to aggressively work on our marriage or he can file for divorce.
He refuses to deactivate.
Am I wrong to then go ahead and file?

Sorry but engliss it's not my first language, so if something it's unclear or need to be better understable please just tell me.
Platform(s): windows
Genre: adventure/puzzle/action, maybe also horror? didn't played enough to know for sure.
Estimated year of release:
-no idea, but not more than 2010.
-More specific it could be between 90's and 2005.
Graphics/art style: -2nd or 3nd, I think it was like old resident evil with the scenario that moved when the character goes to the edge of the screen. -A little dark, the level I played was in a castle but I don't think it was ambiented in medieval era.
-Almost sure it was 3D
Notable characters:
-female protagonist, probably black haired or brown, almost not blonde. -maybe a mage that acted like narrator that gives you the mission? but I don't remember if it dissapeared after or if you could talk with him later.
Notable gameplay mechanics: -In the castle I think a mage? or a voice tells you that you had to found magical gems I think? each one gived you a different power, I quiet not remember which ones maybe one permited you to transform in a bat or something like that? sorry really foggy. There where puzzles I think.
-I'm sure that in one room it was a library with corridors between the shelfs, it was laberynth like, really dark, and you had (or I didn't found the way of defending myself) to miss the monsters to find the gem/stone. I remeber especifically this cause I was scared, also, because of that I don't remember the enemies, if they were mosters or not.
Other details:
-Most probably it was a game that came with this CD-Roms with a ton more, galaxy ones where called?, in Europe, so it could be a demo.

• I think I remember that the title of the icon it was different than the title in the windows label.

-I could be flashing badly, but I think that the game have some sort of name with fort, or fortress, I wasl little and my english really bad so I could missinterpret the words.
-Remember that the loading or starting screen was a image of a castle or fortress in the middle of the water, dark, and with fog, at night, a little on the right-center of the screen, maybe there was also a boat in the first plane but not sure.

Slutty Sister Has Her Brother Locked For Life (non-con, forced chastity, bondage, punishment)
Part 1
The keyholder nurse gave me instructions and explained everything after it was all over. My family had told me that I was a sex pervert and I was "being dealt with". I knew I was in trouble, but I was a young man, only 18 and I didn't understand what was going on. No one had told me anything after the hearing.
Mom drove me to an odd building, led me to a secure room and left. A young nurse told me to undress. I was totally naked. An older woman in scrubs and a man entered. They strapped my arms and legs down to a cold steel table. The nurse offered the woman a syringe, but she declined and said "No, I want this creep to feel it".
It all started a month ago. I lived with my mom and sister, dad was gone. My sister was 19, with a tight body and medium sized, perky tits. Mom was thick, curvy, with giant tits. Both recently got their naval's pierced with matching studs. Neither had boyfriends, but they were very promiscuous. We lived in a mobile home with thin walls, so I could hear them getting fucked often.
I made some mistakes. First, my sister caught me peeping on her in the shower and told mom. Then, two of her "friends" came over for sex. They took turns on her. She got very loud. After they left, I went in her room. She covered herself, but I saw her pussy and stomach first. There were small puddles of cum around her pantyline, and some more of it leaking out of her. I told her I was still a virgin and asked if I could "go next" on her. She yelled "get out" and told mom when she got home from work.
The third incident was more serious they said. Mom would sometimes drink and pass out. I'd never felt tits before and hers were so enticing. She had some drinks and went to bed. I snuck in. She was asleep, uncovered, wearing a gown. I grabbed her heaving boobs. Then I took one of my hands off her chest and pulled the gown above her waist, exposing her. I slid my hand between her legs and rubbed her pussy. She woke up and caught me. She was pissed. The next day my sister told me they had turned me in and there would be a hearing.
So I knew why I was on the metal table, but I didn't know what was next. I couldn't see, there was a drape at my waist. It started with gloves and cold metal on my genitals, then clamping, pinching, pulling, and eventually a sharp puncturing pain near my balls. I begged them to stop, but they did it 2 more times, once on my cock. Finally a metal device was brought out. I could feel it being slid on, clamped down, tightened, then locked. "All done" they said and left. The young nurse stayed behind.
She removed the drape and released the straps. I inspected the "device". My cock and balls had been fed through a steel ring that tightly encircled them at the base. It was secured to a piercing just above my taint and another at the top. My penis was locked in a tight steel "cage" with a hole at the end for pissing. The head had been pierced and a metal bar went through me as extra security. It wasn't going anywhere. The whole thing was super tight.
"What is this?" I asked.
She explained. "It's your chastity device. Your genitals have been locked up. At the hearing, your mother and sister requested that you be put in chastity. The safety council asked them how long they thought would be appropriate and both wanted you locked forever. Since the incidents involved incest, the council agreed. Your penis is locked for life. I'm your keyholder nurse. I will help with adjustments, cleanings, draining your balls, and anything else needed for chastity".
"When do I get to take off?" I said.
She answered, "You're locked forever. So you wont get to take it off. They have to keep you locked so your sister is safe and to punish you for what you did to your mom. You wont be able to have sex or force anyone. Since you can't masturbate, your balls might swell, so you will see me every other month to drain them, do a deep cleaning, and tighten your cage, if necessary.
--------------------------------XXX--------------------------------

Part 2

The room was cold. My keyholder nurse was a cute twenty-something. A name tag with "Beverly" was pinned above her perky boobs. Her scrub top was tight around her chest. I could see the shape of her breasts and her hard nipples pressing againt the fabric. I stared and my cage got tighter. She noticed and grinned slightly.
I got back to business, "Can I appeal or get parole or something? What happens next?"
She answered, "Sorry, no appeals for chastity. There is parole, but not for incest cases. What you did is considered extremely disgusting, so they deemed you a "most extreme pervert". Incest offenders get more severe penalties and no parole. I'm not supposed to be judgemental, but you're my first incest case and it sounded really awful at your hearing. It's hard to believe creeps as bad as you even exist, who rubs their own mom's pussy? This case is really bad, so I'm gonna go harder on you than my other guys. I hope it was worth it. So here's what's next...your mother and sister are entitled to a final inspection of your genitals, then you'll go directly to prison to be processed and locked up in the chastity unit."
I was confused and responded with frustration, "I can't believe this is happening to me. I just got too horny seeing the girls dressed like sluts and listening to them getting fucked all the time. After seeing my sisters cum-filled pussy, I lost control and slipped up. If she just gave me sloppy seconds, I wouldn't have done all that to mom....What do you mean prison?!?!"
She responded, bursting with excitement, "Dont worry, you'll learn your lesson! OH! I see they didn't tell you about prison yet, since you were a rush case. Chastity is just an add-on to your prison sentence as an extra penalty and to keep everyone safe. Let me look at your file to see how much time you'll serve."
Looking at her tablet, she smiled big and replied, "I've never gotten to do this before! Most guys hear about their sentence before they get to me...Ok, so they actually got you taken care of pretty good here. It got split up into multiple counts, so fortunately, they were able to put you away for a long time."
She continued, "Your sister had you convicted on two charges, one for the shower incident and one for the bedroom incident. You got two more for mom, one for groping her tits and another for going between her legs. I'll read them off...
Count 1, Incestual peeping, sentence: 1 year special confinement
Count 2, Incestual peeping with propositioning, sentence: 1.5 years special confinement
Count 3, 2nd Degree Incestual Sexual Battery, 2 years special confinement
Ok and here's the big one! For touching mom's pussy...
Count 4, 1st Dregee Incestual Sexual Battery, 4.5 years RIGOROUS confinement in the SCU-I, (Special Chastity Unit, Incest wing), with intensive perversion correction."
So you'll do nine years total, with the first four-and-a-half in the incest wing."
I was completely shocked, "Nine years!? Are you serious? What's special confinement? Am I going to regular prison or what?
Beverely explained, "Special confinement means you'll be put in the chastity unit. It's a separate level for inmates that have their genitals locked, like rapists and other perverts. It's a little different. The cells are super small, you don't get any privileges like TV, and you stay locked in your cell for 23 hours a day. But don't worry. Most of my guys are in the chastity unit. They all want out really bad, but they're fine. Some eventually leave for regular population if their sentence allows, but you'll actually just be finishing up in the main chasity unit after you're done with rigororous confinement for the first four-and-a-half. You'll start off in the incest wing".
"What is all that? I asked
Beverly explained further, "It's a big deal. That's why I got so excited when I read your sentence on count 4. It wasn't just the amount of time you got, but what'll be happening to you that makes it a heavy one. I've heard it's very extreme. Since you're my first incest case, I'm not as familiar with it, but I've heard you're basically caged up 24/7 and pretty much treated like an animal. I'm not sure if you even get a toilet or a bed. You only leave your cage once every two weeks for perversion correction, which I might get to assist with, and you'll get another device I've heard about, called the "silver bullet". I think it's an anal device? You'll learn more about that when you get there. Oh! Looks like it's time to get you ready for inspection."
The door opened as she left and two female guards entered. One had a tazer. They led me to another table. This one had wheels. I sat on the edge. One grabbed my ankles and another tried to push me on my back. I resisted, trying to spin off the table. I was immediately tazed, then sedated, imobilizing me. "This will be easier for if you just comply" she said. I was on my back again. My ankles were lifted toward my head, folding my legs over me. Thick zip ties were placed around my ankles and calfs. My hands and forearms were looped through both, then "zzzzzzzztttt", it was all cinched down tight, securing my arms to my legs. A bar was secured between my knees, keeping me exposed. Beverly came back in. One of the guards said "He's all yours hon" as they left.
"Let's get you cleaned up" Beverly said. "Your mom and sister are on their way and they're excited to see your private parts all locked up for good.
She put gloves on, then approached the table, placing one hand over my nose. I opened my mouth and she shoved a gag in and secured it around my head. "This is just a temporary gag. Your sister didn't want you talking during inspection. I believe you'll get more securely gagged and muzzled when you get to processing. I've heard the guys don't get solid food in the incest wing, you get fed a liquid diet, like that soylent stuff, that you'll take through a drinking tube in your gag. It's really amazing how good they have you incest perverts locked up over there. I can't wait to see you like that.
She started the cleaning by soaping and lathering around my crotch, exposed parts were shaved. She walked away, coming back with a tube and a bag full of fluid that she hung from a pole. The label read "Enema". Beverly explained, "Gotta clean you inside and out. First I'll get you lubed up". She grabbed a metal syring, inserted the tip in my ass, and injected me with lube. At the end of enema tube, there was a detachable nozzle with two inflatable bulbs. One was forced in my ass and both were inflated, locking it in place. I could see the tube going from the bag to inside me. I felt like I was being treated like an animal already. She turned a valve, the fluid began flowing and filled me up. She set a timer for 35 minutes, and sat on her stool, reading cosmo. After an agonizing wait, she removed the nozzle plug, allowing me to release. Finally, thank goodness. I was soaped up again and rinsed. She cleaned up the enema nozzle plug, added more lube, and shoved it back1 inside me. "Putting this back in so we dont have any potential leaks" she said, as she inflated it. She disconnected the outside end of the inflatable nozzle where it attached to the longer enema tube, clamped it off, and let go of it. I felt it bounce around as it settled. "You're all set" she exclaimed.
I was wheeled on the cart-like table through a long, busy hallway to a different room for inspection. I could feel the protruding nozzle plug in my ass flop around as the cart moved. The other employees stared as I went by, a few smiled with satisfaction. How humiliating I thought. I heard murmuring. "Bitchtied pervert getting what he deserves!" one girl said angrily.
Finally in the inspection room, I waited. The door opened, Beverly entered with two blondes behind her, my mom and my sister. The two gorgeous sluts were dressed similar. My mom was wearing tight, denim, high waisted shorts that displayed her ass and curvy hips, they were pulled-up high in a way that you could see the denim tight against her twat. My sister came dressed in super short spandex yoga shorts, tight ones that lifted her already firm butt into perfection. Both wore crop tops with their stomachs and matching naval piercings exposed. Images of my sister's sloppy pussy flashed in my head, my cock and balls both swelled. I stared at their bodies and let out a loud, desperate moan as my cage grew excruciatingly tight.
Part 3 to follow...

Hi, I just got diagnosed with IIH last Tuesday at the ER. The people didn’t tell me much, just that I had a lot of pressure that needed to be relieved behind my eyes. They also told me I don’t fit the usual criteria for this phenomenon. I am 5’2 115lbs 23 female. I received the lumbar puncture early Wednesday morning and had quite the regular day afterwards. Slight soreness and pain around the puncture site but nothing out of sorts. Thursday late morning, a really terrible headache started to come on and I had to lay down or the pain was unbearable. Waited a day or two for it to pass and returned to the ER on Saturday morning because my head was pounding so bad that I could barely roll out of bed and dress myself. ER said I needed lots of fluid, put me on an IV drip, some magnesium, ibuprofen, Tylenol, a caffeine pill and a little bit later they gave me one diamox pill. All my head pain went away within 45mins to an hour. The neuro-ophthalmology team came to see me and said my headaches don’t seem to line up with a spinal tap leak but I do need to drink more fluids (which I’m TERRIBLE at) and that they don’t think they need to keep me on a diamox prescription. It’s Monday night now and I’m still having the headaches and pain with sitting upright and moving my eyes around especially to the peripheral up down and side to side. My visual mobility is starting to return quite a bit. BUT when I do move my eyes to the peripherals I get a black and white flashing in my vision. I’m absolutely scared it means something terrible and I’m nervous to call the ER again because I don’t want them to tell me I am fine again and that it’s just another symptom of recovery. Is this normal or can someone explain to me what’s going on? I’m scared :(
On another note, I have kind of recreated the ERs migraine cocktail and nothing is working the same for me as the original hospital cocktail. The only thing I am missing is that diamox pill. Does anyone else experience headaches going away with diamox? I’m starting to think they made a mistake not prescribing and neuro-ophthalmology is super hard to get in contact with at the hospital that has my case :(
Any help, personal experience, recommendations and advice is appreciated. I’m lost, scared and nervous about all of this and it is still a big shock to me.

I am not The OOP, OOP is u/throwawayhidden123
Me [27F] with my boyfriend [29M] of two years. He took nude pictures of me with a hidden camera in our bathroom.
TRIGGER WARNING: invasion of privacy, mentions of addiction, abusive behavior and stalking
Original Post Oct 20, 2014
I’ve [27F] been with my boyfriend [29M] for just over two years, and up until a couple of weeks ago, I thought everything was going great. We’ve been living together for over a year. We had disagreements about minor things like every couple (me being indecisive about what restaurant to go to, him leaving his dirty clothes outside the hamper, stuff like that) , but for the most part we always got along really well. We share multiple hobbies, and have pretty much spent every day we had off together for the last two years.
A few weeks ago, I was home while he was at work. I needed to work on a project for work that would be much easier to complete on his desktop computer rather than my little cramped laptop, so I texted him and asked if it would be ok for me to use his desktop. He said sure, and texted me the password.
About 30 minutes later I got a little bored and decided to check my facebook. When the site came up, the email and password were already filled out, with an email address I had never seen before. I knew about other email addresses my boyfriend had but had never seen this one. I’m not proud to admit it, but something about the email address that I had never seen after two years together gave me a funny feeling and I snooped.
As soon as I opened it, I realized why he had kept this email account under wraps. The inbox was full of messages from a website for specifically for people looking to have affairs. I opened one up and it allowed me to view his account information. This mysterious inbox was also filled with porn, mostly still images. Now, I like porn. I watch it myself, he knows that, and knows I have no problem with it. But this was something different. There were some pictures of porn stars, but mostly pictures of girls in swimsuits, people we know that looked like they’d been taken from facebook, including some of my really close friends. There were pictures of girls he had taken on the bus surreptitiously looking down their shirts. There were naked pictures of me that I didn’t know he had taken, pictures of me in the shower and in our bedroom. Finally, there were pictures of a female friend of his that had visited for a few days that clearly had been taken in our bathroom – the shower curtain and other items in the picture were recognizable. It was apparent that the pictures had been taken without her knowledge.
At this point I felt completely sick and betrayed. When I confronted him that night he told me it was some kind of addictive problem and he’s been saving pictures of women for years. I confronted him about everything I had seen, especially the account on the cheating site, the naked pictures of his friend that had been taken in our bathroom, and the naked pictures of me that I hadn’t consented to him taking. As it turns out, he admitted that he had a hidden camera in our bathroom for weeks. It was disguised as a flash drive, and he had left it on the counter pointed at the shower and toilet. Apparently it was motion sensitive and would take pictures whenever someone moved in front of it. He said he didn’t have any other pictures from it other than what I had seen, and just compulsively saves pictures he takes by sending them to this email address that I had found, and never looks at them again.
What is this? Is it a fetish? Is it curable? He said he would get help and start going to SLAA meetings but he only went to three and hasn’t been back. I feel violated and sick thinking about this, and welcome any advice or input from anyone who has been in a similar situation.
EDIT: To those saying I should report him to the police - He deleted all of the pictures and the email address the first night that I confronted him about it, and I destroyed the camera (rage overcomes logic sometimes). I'm not planning to file any report to the police and even if I did there would be no evidence. However, I appreciate your comments and for reinforcing how serious this is.
tl;dr: My boyfriend took pictures of me with a hidden camera. Has this happened to anyone else? How, or should, I move forward with our relationship?
RELEVANT COMMENTS
SlimShanny

Why would you want to stay? You can't trust him. Did you delete the photos of you? Was he cheating the entire relationship? Not that it would have any impact on you staying or leaving. I'd leave regardless. Just curious if he's been doing this the entire time.

OOP

I'm having a hard time writing this in a way that doesn't make me sound pathetic and weak, because logically I completely agree with you. It's hard to me to reconcile the person that I thought I knew for two years and have shared many good times and made lots of memories with, with the person that would do something like this, even though obviously they are one and the same. To answer your other question, he has had the email address and has been saving pictures for years, long before I met him. However, it appeared that all of the pictures up until about 6 months ago were from porn sites, and he only started saving pictures of people that he took more recently.

OOP on if she will ever get the whole truth

Thanks for your comment. As for "the whole truth," at first when I confronted him he told me that he had already gotten rid of the camera. However, once he described it to me, I remembered seeing it in a closet and went and got it - he hadn't gotten rid of it after all. He already showed that he's definitely capable of lying to try to protect himself.

How long since she found the camara
OOP

Two weeks.

spotH3D

Thanks for the response.
Given the horrible red flags, why not immediately dump him? That is what I'm curious about.
I don't know you any better than what you've posted, but you're better than this OP.

OOP

I know you're right. It's tough because we live together, so there's a whole life we have to tear apart from a logistical standpoint (even though it's already been torn apart in a different way). I expect that you will be appalled by this response, but the thought of coming home to this apartment without him here has been unbearably sad to me. I guess I'm not really grieving the loss of this guy, more like the loss of the relationship I thought we had before I found all this out, if that makes any sense. I need to stop making excuses and just get him out of here.

Update Nov 2014
Link to original post
First of all, thank you to everyone who replied to my original post. Some of you came down pretty hard on me but I needed to hear it. Some of you were incredibly kind and I needed that too.
I finally broke down and told my closest friend what had happened. I used my original post to help me do it, since I was having a tough time explaining it aloud. She read the story, and said many of the same things I was told in the comments on my original thread. Most of all, she supported me and validated my feelings that this was a really big deal and not something that could be swept under the rug and forgotten. It was a huge relief to tell her - you know that trite thing people say about a "huge weight lifted off your shoulders?" I know how that feels now.
Before I made my post I had already been talking with my then-BF about how I wasn't sure if our relationship could recover after what he had done, and I had told him that I wanted him to move out to give me space. After my post, and after finally opening up to my friend, I told him that he should plan on the move and breakup being permanent. Up until then I had been a little vague about "taking a break" and "seeing what happens down the road" but once I faced down my emotions about what he had done I realized that I was just trying to soften the blow and the best thing to do was to live in reality and just move forward.
As of two days ago, he is officially moved out. I told my family that the relationship was over, and my parents have been incredibly supportive and are even going to help me pay to keep living in my current apartment so I can take my time finding another place to live and not have to deal with moving right now.
Here's the part you guys probably won't be thrilled about. I'm not going to report him to the police. I did, however, reach out to his friend, the one who was an unknowing victim of this, via facebook (I know, I hate facebook as a means of communication too, but it's the only way I have to contact her). She has not replied to me, and I don't know if she will, but I gave her my contact info and asked her to call me so we could talk. I honestly can't say whether I hope she calls or not, because I absolutely dread having that conversation with her, but guys, if I'm able to get in touch, I will suck it up and tell her. I also told my ex-BF, before he left, that I thought he should tell her himself, but that I planned to, so he may have spoken to her already (though I sincerely doubt it).
I wish for my ex-BF to get well, and to continue attending meetings and get into the recovery process to the point that he is able to live a productive life. It's been a sad, painful path for me to realize the fact that that life will not include me as a part of it, but despite how hard this is in this moment, I believe the ends justify the means.
tl;dr: It's over, he's gone. /relationships, you helped me, and I'm grateful.
RELEVANT COMMENTS
Lokismoke

I'm glad to see the update and that you rid yourself of him.
I'm very disappointed that you didn't file a police report. He will do it again, and by not reporting him, you're allowing someone else to get hurt the same way you were.

[deleted]

Crime victims are not morally obligated to press charges in order to prevent future victims. The only person responsible for his deplorable behavior is her ex boyfriend.

OOP

Thank you... People really latched on to the police involvement issue in this thread and while I think it's probably the right thing for other people in similar situations, it's absolutely not the right thing for me right now. I hope other people who have been in a situation like this read your comment too because I think it's spot on but it's easy to forget that.

THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM NOT THE OOP
DO NOT CONTACT THE OOP's OR COMMENT ON LINKED POSTS, REMEMBER - RULE 7

My hands are shaking as I write this, I have to document my story incase something happens to me in the next few days. I'm not sure where to begin but I suppose here is better than anywhere.
I've always had this weird feeling, this sensation inside of me that I was older than I actually was. By the time I was twelve, my soul felt as though it was forty. By the time I reached twenty, I felt like an old woman. I would watch people around my age acting foolish, and I always thought, "What a bunch of children." So it was no surprise to anyone that when I turned twenty-one, I left my hometown and college and decided to spend the summer alone by renting an old farmhouse in an insignificant town on the edge of an even more insignificant border.
When I told my mother, she had a veritable fit, unable to find the words. She spluttered and raged around me for days before I finally left early one morning to avoid her guilt and frustration with my choices. I was not sure why I craved solitude at such a young age, why I found solace in being alone and removed from society.
In high school, I had changed unexpectedly, cutting my long blonde hair short and dying it black, getting piercings that my mother loathed and claimed no young lady should have. You see, my mother was raised proper, as she called it. Good family, good husband, and finally a good life. She despised her perfect life being squashed by my alternative looks and feelings of the same world. She just didn't understand me or the world as it changed around her. I felt like I was just a trophy to her and my father, her perfect angel who had been tainted by my own demented thoughts.
I never told my parents where I was staying, one last rebellious mission before leaving for a few months, and it took me only a few hours to arrive at the farmhouse where I would be staying for the next few months. The land around the farm was dead or dying, old crops rose out of the dry dusty earth and had turned black and forgotten, as if this land was the example of dreams long forgotten and empty. A single dreary lane connected this desolate farmhouse to the rest of the world. On the outside, it was drab and looked as though it would fall apart. It had two stories but still seemed cramped and small, as if it were a single floor tied to the ground.
Across from the house, bordering the tall weeds that had reclaimed much of the farmland, stood a maudlin-looking faded red barn, one door propped open in a dejected manner revealing naught to me but shadows, dust, and a little mystery.
Next to the barn, staked into the ground on an old-looking cross, was a ragged scarecrow. It had drab brown clothing, but its face was oddly realistic, like it was watching me with a disapproving manner. Straw poked through its joints at odd angles like they were trying to break free from their confines. The scarecrow obviously didn't do its job as it was covered in no less than three crows.
I parked my car next to the barn and stepped out into the dusty yard before the farmhouse that I would make my home for the next few months. I checked under the front mat for the key and put it in the lock.
With a satisfying click, the door fell inward into the farmhouse. Surprisingly, the inside of the farmhouse was modern, clean, and looked quite inviting. I could smell the fresh paint on the walls, and everything was so white. The realtor had told me she would stop by tomorrow to collect the rent, and she had tried to chat my ear off on the phone about all the renovations she and her son were doing on the place.
I sighed with contentment and tossed my bags beside the door. I dug around in my bag and removed my camera, my father's old film shooter as he called it. I had taken up the hobby years ago for what I called capturing the oddity in the world.
I explored the small house a little more; the ground floor consisted of a single room and small bathroom with a shower. The bedroom was upstairs and was the only room, the stairs connected directly to the white and pink monstrosity that was the master bedroom. The pillows had laces on them and almost made me gag from the cuteness. There was even cute white lace curtains on the window with little flowers stitched onto them.
Out of the only window of the room, I could see the barn and the scarecrow. I aimed my camera at the pair and snapped a photo. From this angle, the scarecrow appeared to be staring straight at me. It stood next to the left side of the barn in a dejected manner like a chastised child.
A shudder involuntarily ran through me at the sight, but I moved on back downstairs. It was getting close to dinner time now, and I had brought some food with me.
After a few minutes, I had my dinner on the stove cooking and the crickets chirping outside the open window. As I sat down to eat next to the window, I felt at peace for one of the first times in years. The solitude of this old farm was exactly what I needed. The window supplied a nice breeze that wafted through the place, it smelled of grass and warm summer nights, made me feel at peace. The simple dish of spaghetti with tomato sauce and a glass of wine was all that I needed right here, right now in this moment.
That night I climbed into the frilly laced bed and sunk into the claustrophobic mattress. I felt like Goldilocks in the mama bear's bed as it was altogether too soft. From my perfumed bed, I had a good view out the window. I had left the porch light on, and it cast an eerie glow across the yard. The barn loomed ominously, stalwart against the light of the porch, like it was protecting the shadows from the battering ram of light. The somber scarecrow leaned against the left side of the barn.
With a small jump, I thought I saw its arm move slightly. I peered through my camera using the zoom to get a better view of the scarecrow. It was completely still in the night, and I laughed quietly to myself at my silliness. I had always enjoyed horror movies, but there was no chance I was living in one. I settled back into bed and put my camera down. Within a few minutes, I fell into sleep's warm embrace.
What felt like only a few minutes later, I sat up in bed. It was still dark out, I could hear crickets chirping through the open window, and I strained my ears for a moment.
I thought something had woken me up. I felt a cold shiver run down my spine as a cold breeze wafted in through the window. I pulled the frilly blanket up around myself when I heard it. A thud sounded below me, shaking the whole world into silence. The crickets stopped chirping, and my heart felt like it had stopped beating. Someone was in the house. I hadn't locked the door or closed the kitchen window, and now someone was downstairs. A second thud sounded like a boot on the staircase. Then another and another as something was slowly moving up the stairs towards the room.
I don't know why I did it, but something came over me. I wasn't big or especially brave, but my normal cowardice in social situations changed instantly. With a dash, I tore across the room, flicking on the lights, ready to face my attacker, to defend myself against male or female. I would fight, and I would win.
But as the lights turned on, ready to strike with my foot, nothing was there. The staircase was empty, and upon further inspection, the entire house was empty. The kitchen window was open, and I shut and locked it securely before checking the door. Nothing. I sat down on the couch, my heart pounding out of my chest, as I tried to make sense of what had just happened.
"I must have still been half-asleep," I said aloud to the room in a thinly veiled attempt to calm my nerves. It failed horribly, but I went with it. What else could you do in a situation like that?
After locking up the house, I went back up to that frilly four-poster bed in the bedroom and stared out the window. Nothing was in the yard except my car, the barn, and the same old sad-looking scarecrow staring across the yard.
Day 2
The next morning, I woke up to the soft light filtering through the lace curtains. Despite the strange events of the previous night, I felt strangely refreshed, as if the morning sun had chased away the shadows that lingered in my mind.
I descended the stairs, the wooden steps creaking softly under my weight, and headed to the kitchen. As I brewed a pot of coffee, my mind wandered back to the events of last night. Was it just a figment of my imagination, or was there really someone in the house?
Shaking off the unease, I decided to explore the farmhouse in the daylight. I wandered through the room, admiring the modern renovations that clashed with the rustic exterior. The farmhouse had a charm to it, despite its eerie surroundings.
As I made my way outside, the cool morning air greeted me, and I took a deep breath, letting the serenity of the countryside wash over me. The barn stood tall against the backdrop of the morning sky, and the scarecrow seemed to watch me as I crossed the yard.
I approached the barn, curiosity getting the better of me. Pushing open the creaky door, I stepped inside, the musty scent of hay filling my nostrils. The interior was dimly lit, the sunlight filtering through the cracks in the wooden walls.
I explored every nook and cranny of the barn, but found nothing out of the ordinary. As I turned to leave, something caught my eye. In the corner of the barn, hidden beneath a pile of old blankets, was a small wooden chest.
My heart racing with anticipation, I lifted the lid of the trunk and peered inside. What I found took my breath away. It was a collection of old photographs, yellowed with age, depicting scenes from a bygone era. They were of a man with his family, two young kids, and a beautiful young wife. The man had yellow blonde hair, almost like straw in texture, but he smiled so happily with his family.
I sifted through the photographs, my fingers trembling with excitement. Who had left these behind, and why? Each photograph seemed to tell a story, a glimpse into the past of this forgotten farmhouse.
As I sat there, lost in thought, a sudden noise jolted me back to reality. It was the sound of footsteps coming from outside the barn.
"Hello?" The dreamy voice of a woman called to me from the entrance to the barn.
I slammed the lid of the trunk shut, closing the memories up in a flurry as I spun around to be greeted by a quite pretty woman with blonde hair and a pink suit skirt combo. She had bright pink lipstick, that seemed to be a permanent fixture on her face, and quite shiny and sparkly blue eye shadow on her lids. I myself only wore black eyeliner. This woman was like Barbie in her proportions, thin waist, long hair, and large tracts of land, as my father would have said.
"Oh, hello," I said simply, always awkward in normal social situations.
If she noticed anything odd about me, she breezed over it in an easy manner. Taking me by the shoulders, she led me out of the dusty barn and into the yard.
"You must be Polly. We have been waiting a while for you to come. I simply must know what you think of the renovations to the house. Aren’t they just to die for?" The lady said all in one breath, as if she didn’t need air to speak.
"Yes, they are quite nice..." I started before she cut me off, not in a rude manner but instead in one that she would have continued on even if I had just told her I was not Polly and instead I was a mass murderer looking for my next victim.
"You see, me and my son Eli—yes, Eli, you stop lurking in the shadows over there," she said, continuing on as I noticed a younger man leaning up against the barn. He wore simple clothes of jeans and a white t-shirt but had a handsome face. His hair was brown and hung slightly over his eyes.
"I hope you don’t mind if my son here continues working on some renovations while you stay here? Strictly on the outside of the house, mind you. A fresh coat of white paint would make this little beauty shine. We would have finished by now if not for the accidents," she continued, completely unabashed by my silence.
"Sorry. But you are the realtor?" I said, trying to regain my feet under me.
"Oh my god, I am so sorry, dear!" she said with an affable cackle.
"Yes, yes, I am Barbara, but all my friends call me Barb. That over there is Eli. Eli, come say hi," Barb said while her painted talons rested firmly on my shoulder.
Eli stomped over, keeping his eyes low, in a sort of moody way that actually intrigued me, sort of.
When he glanced up at me, I noticed he drank in me from head to toe, and for the first time, I realized what I was wearing. An old rock t-shirt of one of my favorite bands and, of all things, my black pajama bottoms with cartoon bats on them that said "happy halloween."
I felt my face blush crimson as he made eye contact with me. He had very mysterious eyes of blue that seemed to cut right through my soul.
"Nice shirt," he said while gesturing to me. His voice was quiet and uncertain, as if he didn’t get much practice with the art. Knowing his mother, it seemed highly accurate.
"Thanks. Do you like them?" I asked.
"Oh, he likes all sorts of things, don’t you, Eli? Honestly, you two can gab on forever. But miss, I believe we have a small matter of payment," Barb said, drawing the conversation back to herself.
"Of course. Let me go get it," I said as I went back into the house and retrieved the envelope with the rent money in it.
Barb grabbed the envelope in her bright pink talons and snapped a piece of bubblegum between her teeth. With quick fingers, she leafed through the cash, counting it. As she counted, her normal bubbly personality seemed to disappear, giving way to what I gleaned was her true thoughts and feelings before the facade slipped on once again.
"Mmkay, perfect honey, this is the right amount. Now you have my number, so you call if you need anything. Like I said earlier, Eli will stop by from time to time to work on painting the house. I promise you he won’t be an imposition, just pay him no mind," Barb said in a sweet voice as she popped her gum in between each word.
"Eli, come on, please, I have an appointment in town," Barb said to her son, and they both climbed into a garish pink convertible with jewels hanging from the mirror wrapped in a gold chain.
Barb waved one last time as she sped off out of the driveway, covering me in dust as she spun the wheel around.
With their departure, I went inside and retrieved my camera. I spent a few minutes shooting a few pictures I thought were worthy. I re-entered the barn and pulled the old trunk out into the sunshine. Inside was only a handful of photos, some old clothes, and what looked like some old heirlooms. A beautifully old candlestick and a few leather-bound books lay at the bottom, covered by an old tablecloth. The tablecloth was a nice white with intricate swirling patterns inlaid around the edges.
Why would these things be packed away in here? They were so beautiful. I decided to bring the stuff inside for further inspection. As I lifted the trunk, out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw something move in the tall grass at the edge of the property. I stared for a minute, but nothing moved again. I must be getting jumpy being alone like this. After last night and then this, I was just imagining things.
I brought the items inside and spread them out. I put the tablecloth on the table, and it hung low to the ground. I placed the candlestick by the window and took out the photos again, spreading them out.
The photos told me a story of a loving family that obviously lived in the farmhouse before me. They had a photo next to the barn, with a brand new looking scarecrow in the back. The man even had his arm around it; it looked so much cleaner and proper in this photo. I stared outside at the sad-looking scarecrow.
I took my camera and the photo and went outside to stand next to the scarecrow. His post hung kind of crooked in the earth like it was weighed down by the scarecrow.
I snapped a photo of the scarecrow as it was, then examined the original photo. I began resettling the post in the ground, but it kept sagging. I decided to pull him out of the ground and move him while I added more dirt to his hole. With some effort, I reseated him into his original hole. He already looked better, but I straightened his clothes and pulled out the last bits of straw that stuck out of his clothes. When I was finished, I looked back at him and took a photo, smiling while I did so at my work.
I then spent some time sweeping the front porch and banging the dust out of the cushions before I curled up on a wicker chair with plump cushions for a few hours reading a book I had brought with me.
I felt quite content at this place. The sounds of the crickets began again, putting me at ease as the sun began to descend. I had spent the entire day just relaxing, and it was perfect. I sat sprawled out in the chair, too lazy to go and make dinner or even move. My bladder was full, but I waited until the last moment before dashing inside and relieving myself.
That's when I noticed it, out in the yard. It seemed as if the scarecrow had moved closer. Once shrouded by the barn slightly, it now had moved a few steps into the light from the porch. My heart dropped at the sight. Not again, I must be asleep on the porch in the chair. I pinched myself, trying to wake up, but all I received was a sore arm.
I closed my eyes, then rubbed them, hoping to dispel whatever plagued my mind, but when I opened my eyes, I noticed the scarecrow was even closer. Halfway across the yard now, it sat menacingly, hanging crooked in the dirt. The scarecrow seemed to be staring at me with an intense gaze. The slits in its face were open now, and in the porch light, I swear I could see human eyes underneath the mask.
I moved towards the front door, locking it in a swift motion. I was shaking now, and it took me a minute to relax. I never took my eyes off the scarecrow for fear of it moving again.
My cellphone was upstairs, so I couldn't flee without the scarecrow moving again. I breathed out slightly and unlocked the door, letting it swing in with a creak. The night outside was silent, as if everything was holding its breath. The usual crickets that plagued me with their song day and night had fallen quiet. I stepped out onto the porch; I needed to go confront this demonic entity. Something about this still made me think this was a prank.
"Eli, is that you?" I called out to the scarecrow.
No response, of course. I steeled myself and put one foot off the porch, never taking my eyes off the scarecrow before me. Something seemed to be dripping from its head as I approached, a dark slime that seemed to be melting from its joints as it stood there silently, except for the constant drip of the liquid on the dry dirt before me.
I walked around the scarecrow, determined to figure out what was going on. As I circled it, my vision darkened for a moment as I faced towards the light of the house. I jumped as the scarecrow's head turned to face me as I looked away. The black liquid drained faster from the being, forming a shallow pool at its feet.
I'm not proud of what I did next, but I fled, taking my eyes off the scarecrow. I made a mad dash for the farmhouse. Behind me, I could hear the pounding of feet. I screamed as loud as my lungs would let me. My voice rang through the silence as I grabbed the door handle and wrenched open the door as I felt a strong grip fall on my shoulder.
I turned to defend myself, but nothing was there. The scarecrow was gone, the wooden cross had vanished, as had the pool of dark liquid in the dirt. The world sprung back to life; the crickets began chirping loudly, and my heart restarted. I slammed the door, and the air from my force scattered the photographs on the table. I ran upstairs, leaving the lights on in the house, and dove onto the bed, wrapping myself in the frilly blanket like a set of frilly armor.
I snatched my camera from the bedside table and held it close, determined to document the rest of the night. I held it in shaking hands as the noise downstairs began—the sound of boots crossing the floor to the stairs and the careful but heavy steps of ascension as they climbed closer and closer to me.
This time, I didn't lunge forward as the light was already on. I glanced out the window, but the scarecrow was still gone. I focused my camera on the stairs and waited as the steps came closer and closer. A shape began to form as the head of whatever was coming up the stairs crested the floor. Then a plain brown mask with slits where the eyes would be. It froze for a moment, then slowly turned its head towards me. Inside the slits were human eyes that seemed to be leaking dark red blood.
In the light, I could see it now. I snapped a photo of the beast, the flash setting off a reaction in the beast. The scarecrow moved so fast up the stairs it was a blur. My scream echoed throughout the house as it lunged at me. Filthy hands pinned me down, and the deep crimson liquid began pouring out of every joint of the scarecrow. It began covering my face, my eyes, and getting into my open mouth. I spluttered and kicked at the beast, but my blows had no purchase, as if the scarecrow on top of me had no substance to itself.
I coughed and spluttered on the liquid as it began to fill my mouth faster and faster. I tried not to swallow any, but it tried to find purchase as I was held down.
"Polly?" A nervous voice called from below.
Suddenly, as if the angels had called, the pressure dissipated, and I crashed to the floor in a heap, trying to spit the blood out, but nothing came—it was gone. Footsteps pounded up the stairs again, and I flew back in fear, closing my eyes.
"Oh my god. Polly, are you okay?" A voice said, and gentle hands grabbed my arm.
My eyes shot open at the human touch, and I grabbed Eli into a tight hug, where I promptly began sobbing in fear, my whole body shaking as Eli awkwardly hugged me.
"Don't worry, it's going to be okay," Eli said patiently to me as he hugged me back gently and began stroking my back.
I shivered in a choking sob and fell into his arms, desperately wanting to believe him, and for some reason, I did.

Hi everyone,
Gender:Female Age: Late 20s Date of trauma: March 31st
I’ve been having bilateral facial parasthesia since the accident. The left side parasthesia started before the right but has since improved slightly. I haven’t had a CT or MRI head yet, but an MRI of the neck shows a disc extrusion and multiple disc bulges.
For the past 6 days I have had sudden flashing lights about 10 times a day/night in the corner of my right eye and today it has started in the left eye also. I have the migraines/shooting ear pain/neck pain/shoulder pain as expected but the neurological/vision symptoms are more worrying to me.
Should I wait for the MRA exam (no date yet) or should I head to the ER for a CT to rule out a brain bleed?
Did anyone else have similar symptoms after concussion?
Thank you.

‎‎ ‎[📖First ⏮️Previous Next⏭️]
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The leader of the arrogant trio, Qin Bai, whose cruel eyes had menaced Ji Wuye before, now turned his sneering gaze upon Song Jia.
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With a contemptuous curl of his lips, he spoke in a tone dripping with disdain, "You have a bold tongue, speaking to your Seniors that way. Let's see if your skills match your audacious courage."
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Song Jia met his taunting glare with a defiant fire burning in her eyes. Her fists clenched tightly at her sides as she retorted, "Say what you want, but your empty words won't intimidate me. I accept your challenge willingly if you wish to spar." Her words rang out clearly, jaw set in resolve.
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The once-deserted Outer Disciple courtyard, which had been still as a graveyard moments before, suddenly came alive with hushed murmurs and the soft shuffling of feet as the first rays of dawn pierced the horizon.
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More and more disciples streamed in, alerted by the rising quarrel, as they gathered for the impending start of the morning's training exercises.
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All eyes turned towards the confrontation at the center.
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"Eh...Is that Martial Sister Song? Why is she shouting so early?" a bewildered voice wondered aloud.
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"Look, it seems she's being bullied!" another disciple exclaimed in disapproval, their brows furrowed with concern.
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The murmuring rose like a swelling tide as more onlookers arrived and finally decided to intervene.
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"Martial Brothers and Sisters, please stop," male disciples rushed forward, their hands gently but firmly restraining the agitated Qin Bai and his underlings.
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Meanwhile, the surrounding female disciples moved to calm the raging Song Jia, though her fiery glare remained locked on her antagonist, defiance etched onto her features.
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However, the would-be peacemakers were merely fellow Outer Disciples whose power paled in comparison.
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Under Qin Bai's withering glare, the men grudgingly released their grips, forced to back away.
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“Hmph!” With a disdainful sneer, Qin Bai's eyes raked over Song Jia from head to toe in a display of shameless appraisal.
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While Qin Bai lacked immense skill, having just broken into the 2nd realm, his newfound strength allowed him to easily brush off the feeble interference.
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The cowed disciples could do little more than grumble and shoot resentful glances his way.
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"Tsk...That Qin Bai...Just because he advanced a realm, he acts so arrogant now..."
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"But he's willing to risk the sect's ire over using it on the training tower as intended..."
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The disdainful whispers swirled all around, glares of reproach aimed at Qin Bai's turned back as the disciples reluctantly parted before him like a receding tide.
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All eyes then turned towards the gathered Outer Disciple Seniors observing the scene with folded arms and impassive expressions.
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"But why aren't the Seniors intervening?" Confusion tinged the words as they wondered why the more powerful disciples remained idle spectators.
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Emboldened by the lack of repercussion from the higher realm Outer Disciples Seniors, Qin Bai's sneer stretched into a cruel, satisfied grin.
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He deluded himself that these esteemed Seniors were actually extending him a perverse approval by allowing this confrontation to proceed unhindered.
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Yet he understood that egregious actions like ganging up against a single disciple would certainly attract disciplinary intervention, even from them.
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For this was the Kunlun Sect, a bastion of righteous and orthodox teachings where senseless killing between disciples was strictly prohibited.
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By the sect's tenets, they were all bound as Martial Sisters and Brothers, expected to respect and look upon each other as beloved family. However, when disputes did arise, they could be resolved through sanctioned duels or bouts of sparring.
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"Excellent," Qin Bai flashed a sadistic grin, calloused palms flexing in premature celebration. "We'll see how long that boldness of yours lasts once you're beaten into the dirt where you belong."
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A chorus of dismayed gasps and angry outcries erupted from the surrounding female disciples.
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"Sister Song, don't mind his vile words..."
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"That's right, treat his taunts like a passing wind!"
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They glared at Qin Bai and his cronies with a potent mixture of disapproval and concern, shuffling protectively closer to Song Jia's side.
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Unlike their male counterparts who had advanced higher but displayed a disinterested aloofness, the female disciples - even those of the 3rd realm - unanimously rallied behind their wronged Sister, creating an unspoken pressure that caused beads of nervous sweat to prickle on Qin Bai's brow.
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Sensing the rising tension, the surrounding Sisters looked imploringly at Song Jia, worry etched on their faces as they recognized the all-too-familiar flames of her fiery temper.
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Yet they knew any attempts to dissuade her would be as effective as dousing a wildfire with a cup of water.
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With gentle but firm motions, Song Jia waved off their concerns, patting their hands in reassurance. "It's alright, Sisters," she murmured, the barest hint of a smirk playing across her lips as her gaze met Qin Bai's unflinchingly.
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"We also need to teach a lesson to these arrogant men who think only with their lower bodily urges." Then, with a slight squaring of her shoulders, she purposefully strode forward until she stood mere inches before Qin Bai, eyes alight with conviction.
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"I'm not so easily defeated!" Song Jia shouted defiantly, her eyes blazing with challenge as she sneered back at Qin Bai.
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Thrusting her fist out mere inches from his face, she taunted, "Come at me then, if you dare. Or are you all just empty boasts like the spineless cowards you are?"
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Her words hung in the charged air, daring him to make the first move. The surrounding disciples watched with bated breath, the tension thick enough to choke on.
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Meanwhile, from a respectful distance away, Ji Wuye observed the escalating conflict with sharp eyes.
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It was then that he finally noticed the approach of his Senior Sister Lian Ruogang, her blue eyes - the piercing hue of the deepest oceans - scanning the unfolding scene with a slight crease marring her brow.
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"Sigh, I came to see you, Junior Brother, but..." Her gaze swept over the gathered crowd before her frown deepened at the conspicuous absence of Brother Wu Gao, who should have been overseeing the morning drills.
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"At this hour, where is Brother Wu..."
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Finding the supervisor mysteriously missing, Lian Ruogang could only shake her head in dismay before straightening her shoulders and striding forward with purpose.
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She would have to take charge and resolve this unruly situation herself.
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"Stop this at once," she called out in a tone that brooked no argument as she neared the confrontation. Both parties immediately turned towards the authoritative voice, eyes widening as they recognized the respected figure before them.
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"This junior greets Senior Sister Lian!" They chorused respectfully, bowing in deference.
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Though there were countless Official Disciples, Lian's frequent visits to check on Ji Wuye's progress made her a familiar presence. Even without the dark blue striped patterns denoting her rank adorning her robes, the Outer Disciples could identify her at a glance.
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"I must remind all disciples here that unrestrained combat between Brothers and Sisters is strictly forbidden by the sect's tenets," Lian declared, her ocean-blue eyes radiating reproach as they swept over the unruly gathering.
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"If you wish to settle your grievances, do so through the proper channels of a sanctioned sparring match."
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Though she held no formal disciplinary position, as an Official Disciple her authority could not be ignored lightly. At her stern admonition, a hush fell over the previously raucous crowd.
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"Ah, Senior Sister Lian! You've arrived at last!"
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"With an elite like her overseeing it now, let's see how Qin Bai responds in front of everyone!"
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Excited murmurs rippled through the throngs of onlookers, especially from the male disciples who had been at the brunt of Qin Bai's bullying before. They eagerly awaited how the arrogant youth would react under the disapproving scrutiny of an Official Disciple.
‎
…
‎
As this unfolded, Ji Wuye continued observing keenly from the outskirts, finally bearing witness as Qin Bai and Song Jia came to an agreement. With curt nods, they distanced themselves, clearing a space to serve as an impromptu sparring ring.
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"Let's see how the 'dark horse' among these so-called geniuses fares," Ji Wuye mused under his breath, sauntering forward to secure a better vantage point amidst the tightly-packed crowd.
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Once an adequate area had been outlined, both combatants bowed and cupped their hands formally to one another before being handed regulation wooden practice swords.
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As the blunted weapons exchanged hands, Ji Wuye's crimson eyes glinted as a translucent window flickered into view at the edge of his vision.
‎ ‎

[!] Your passive skill, Quick Adaptation(F), has been triggered! 

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First time i've seen this but this guy wasn't wearing any shoes, just socks, getting his feet on the holds of all the climbs on one wall. I also noticed he would immediately flash any climb any female climber would do right after them (very curious indeed). This is pretty gross, do gyms allow this kind of thing?