My teenage son is looking to style his hair into the current Korean popular hair cut, with longer bangs and shorter in the back, but not necessarily a fade. Is there a good place that can do that kind of hairstyle well, and hopefully reasonably priced? We’ve tried a couple of places and it didn’t turn out too well. Someone recommended a place near Visitacion Valley in SF, on the corner of a busy street, but I completely forgot the name! And the price was a very reasonable $22 for a haircut! If anyone knows the place I’m trying to find or have a recommendation, I’d appreciate it! Thanks!

Am i the asshole for getting mad at my brother for sleeping through my birthday dinner??
For some background i’m 20 F. This last Tuesday was my 20th birthday. I currently live in a different city from my family two hours away so i don’t see them often as my work is very demanding and i have weekends where i am on call. ANYWAYS due to this i scheduled my birthday dinner at a nice restaurant on a saturday 6:30 PM. We made this reservation weeks ago and my brother and the rest of my family knew the date and time weeks in advance as well.
For some background, it was a nice italian restaurant that requires semi-formal to formal dress codes. They also have a strict reservation policy where they will not seat incomplete parties, however, they will hold the table for 15 minutes after the reservation before giving it up.
As i’ve gotten older, birthdays have become less about gifts and more about spending the time with my family. My family is very close and we all have a pretty good relationship with each other. The only things i asked for was to get my hair cut and highlighted (i’m terrified of going to a new stylist in my current city lol) and to go to a nice dinner with the whole family, even inviting my brothers girlfriend to join us.
The day of the dinner, everything went according to plan and around 5:45 we were standing around getting ready to leave. My mother told my brother our reservation was at 6:15 due to him having some problems with being punctual. These issues however are not big as it’s usually only 5-10 minutes late and i don’t make a big deal. Around 6pm we called to see if they were on the way and my brother answered the phone as if he had just gotten out of bed. Sure enough, we had woken him up from a nap he took at 1pm. We let him know that it’s 6pm and the reservation was coming up. He gives 30 mins away from the restaurant so i knew at that point the odds of him showing up were slim. We get in the car around 6:15 to head out and we call him again, he has still not left the house and sounded just as groggy as before.
By the time we got to the restaurant i was extremely upset. I felt that his lack of consideration is extremely disrespectful, when something is important to me i MAKE time for it. I drive in from two hours out of town for his birthday and always am sure to text him or call on holidays. I told my mom to change the reservation to four because at this point I was so upset with him that having him at the table would only continue to ruin my night. Additionally, he would not have shown up in time either way and we would’ve lost the table long before he got there. I know i can be emotional at times, but i feel like i have a right to be upset. I love my brother, but to know that the reason he missed my birthday dinner was over an “accidental” 5 hour nap is unbelievable. I ended up having a decent night and moving past it, but it put a bad taste in my mouth.

So if I remember correctly, TRs are specifically recommended long hair. However, I've noticed pure Rs seem to shine in shorter cuts. Not necessarily pixie length (though Drew Barrymore rocked that in the 90s), but like a soft, rounded bob. Think Marilyn in The Misfits.
I made a post in the Romantics sub many moons ago about bangs for Rs vs TRs and noticed from the comments that Rs seemed to love bangs and even considered them a signature hairstyle, while the TRs weren't huge fans of them and found them overwhelming.
Both IDs are recommended face-framing hairstyles, but do they just go about it differently?

Local curly hair specialist! Need my locks trimmed up and am hesitant to go to a salon again after a bad cut AND dye months ago! I’m traumatizedddddddd
Edit: please don’t recommend the Tried and True salon on the square

I feel a little nuts. Each night instead of relaxing I obsessively google and read Reddit threads calming my anxieties about my almost 6 week baby.
Common anxious thoughts— He’s really sweaty, even when his dad and I don’t feel that hot. It’s only 72 degrees inside but Is he hot? Is he dressed right for bed? Is his swaddle making him hotter? Is he sick? Is he going to overheat in the night?
he doesn’t love being held for very long. Am I holding him in an uncomfortable way? Does he need some like adjustment to his body from a chiropractor? Does he just not like me? (This one makes me feel teary)
A constant one — does he have gas pains or reflux??
Are we using the right nipple flow for him?
Check his fingers and toes for hairs cutting off the circulation often.
Does he hate his swaddle?
He has a Cephalohematoma that has partially calcified. Will he have to have a helmet? Does he spend too much time on his back? Is his head flat? Does it hurt?
Did I accidentally feed him formula that’s been out more than an hour and he’s got food poisoning?
And these are just the ones Im currently thinking about. Literally it’s constant 😩 and he’s not even a fussy baby he’s happy most of the time. Maybe I need meds. 😅

Honestly, while I am excited and happy to see Mr Puzzles back, and while I do enjoy the direction SMG4'S taking with him now more wanting to directly change the SMG4 show on his own (as well as have these kinds of episodes becoming a recurring thing in his attempts), I would have honestly rewrote his return to where, when SMG4 realizes what just happened, he looks around only to see the Puzzlevision Box missing as he quickly disregards it as we then cut to Mr Puzzles in what would be akin to Alastor's breakdown in Hazbin Hotel, with Mr Puzzles making it out by a hair and still being relatively weak.
He attempts to use his powers, but they don't work as well, similarly to when Mario busted up his screen in Puzzlevision, going through his own breakdown as a result of all that has happened including his defeat... That is until he has an epiphany with the episode playing on his screen, with him then smiling creepily while the darkness of the room he's in surrounds him as he says "So, I can't get my own show? Fine... I'll just have to take yours..." as the screen fades to black... only for an old man holding a shotgun to turn on the lights screaming "YOU KIDS BETTER GET OFF MY LAWN" as Mr Puzzles screams in terror, with his loss of power and cowardice indicating that he won't nearly be as much of a threat... Atleast for now
It would also be pretty funny if he, just like many struggling artists, ended up getting a job as a barista (I mean, he doesn't have his power and he still needs somewhere to live as he puts his plan into action)... Particularly if it was III's Coffee and Bombs, as I can just imagine Mr Puzzles putting on the most fake disguise possible and nearly everyone (except Mario) immediately knowing it's him but playing along due to how little of a threat he poses and to keep an eye on him, with SMG3 definitely having fun being able to boss him around.
I think this would be a nice way of integrating him into the main cast while still having him be a recurring antagonist with his plan. Heck, maybe have Karen also have a job at the cafe (which wouldn't really be surprising for her) and have the two actually become friends, with both hating their jobs and being easily annoyed with the antics of the SMG4 Crew (particularly Mario). The idea of Mr Puzzles genuinely becoming friends with someone would definitely be interesting to see as his obsession with television was started by the fact that he didn't have any friends growing up.

HELP!!! My curls are permanently stretched from wearing buns 27/7 - 7 days a week. I can not wear my hair in its natural state without it looking wonky. The front is super straight and the back curls are tighter. I don’t cut my hair for religious reasons so that’s not an option for me. Does anyone have tips on how I can slowly get my hair back to its natural state?

Reposting!
So it's been more than 1.5 years Last we talked was 16 November 22 after that she ghosted me I tried reaching out but I was blocked from everywhere TBH I sometimes regret I didn't try much I only called her twice then boom! It's all over. Never moved on from her cut off all contacts to every female friend (except 1). I still love her and she will always have a place in my heart no matter who comes (I hope so) I am not angry or have any complaints I have always respected her. Still now I can't talk to women in a flirty manner I feel a sense of guilt like what am I doing (I tried making new friends) as a friend they are okay (sometimes even that makes me feel like I am cheating on someone) but when somebody goes beyond that my mind goes blank. Now here comes the twist: There is this girl who passes by my shop (I think she is junior maybe and she has a boyfriend) she just resembles her way too much (short hair, big beautiful eyes, Oval face, slim body everything) Tbh I find her beautiful I sometimes think of talking to her then again I feel like this is not me I can't do this shit. I was telling one of my friends that if this girl talks to me I might want to consider relationship again but the thing is after being this much cut off from everyone I don't know if I can love someone I just don't get the feeling of love anymore towards anyone be it a friend or this girl I am talking about I feel I am just attracted. I have become emotionally unavailable (I am saying this because So many people have told me people who knew me before said 'Tum bohot badal gye ho' and again there was this friend I was talking to she said 'tum emotionally unavailable ho teko care show krna nahi aata and rude ho and all' (she was a good friend). I don't know if even I should try talking to new people I just feel guilty after talking to them.
This was a rant and also some advice and suggestions are welcome. If anyone feels I am wrong here don't sugar coat your words.

So I’ve recently graduated cosmetology school and a little over a month ago I began working at a high end salon as a assistant and now moving to working one on one with a senior stylist. My dilemma is that I came into this industry to specialize in natural/curly hair and although my salon offers a ton of education and classes, none of it aligns with my primary goals in this industry. Some stylists do work with curls but I don’t feel like I’d be learning anything from them. On the contrary, I’d be teaching them and I still have a TON to learn in what I want to specialize in. Although I know the more you know the better in this industry, and I am learning and also am interested in being a well versed stylist, but I can’t fight the feeling that I’m straying from why I even started all of this and this is starting to make me feel less than excited to go to work. There aren’t many curly specialists in my area so this is making it tough for me to find a mentor or someone that I feel like I could really learn from. I’d say I definitely have to be more of a go getter and fly solo to get myself positioned in the industry but this is where I’m struggling on what to do. Also, the salon I work at doesn’t booth rent and it’s the typical stylist level 1 40/60 commission and go up from there by experience but I don’t think it would be right that I’m paying out of pocket for these pricey curly classes/certifications to then go to a salon and only make 40% especially when I’d be the only stylist there that could offer true curly cuts and styles. Maybe it’s something I can negotiate down the line but who knows. So my question is should I stay at the salon or would it make more sense to go all in solo? I know this is not recommended but I was thinking of just doing hair out of my house for now until I build my clientele up enough to booth rent because I really don’t see any other way to take off in this specialty while working for a salon and I already feel like I’ve wasted enough time dragging my feet in my area of focus. I regret not making better use of my time while in school but that’s not here nor there.
For background, the reason I can’t do both is because I am a single mom juggling 2 jobs so my time is very limited and I don’t want to take the little free time I have away from my kids so I’d have to sacrifice something and it can’t be my bread winning job because well, that’s how I support myself and my family. I’m only part time at the salon and make pennies so financially it wouldn’t be a hit to me. Sorry for making this long and thank you in advance for any knowledge or insight offered!!

We see a magical monster jump around a bloody building happily. It seemed extremely happy as it found the manager of the building who threw things like pencils, papers, and a chair at it but nothing in the office could harm this creature.
Creature: Nehehe! Kahahahahahaha!
Manager: HELP! HELP MEEEEE! HELP ME NOW!
The creature went to grab the man but its arm was cut off at impossible speeds. It gasped in shock. Even the man couldn’t tell what happened as he looked around the room and saw an older woman.
Woman: Heh… monsters like this have been popping up a lot. Tell me assassin what might be the cause?
The creature would regrow its arm and send a raw blast of pure mana at the woman who would easily step out of the way. A woman in a white multi-layered kimono with black hair appeared behind the monster and stabbed it through the throat.
Creature: NEGHEGharajafa!
It turned into dust being easily killed by the black haired assassin.
Assassin: I presume it’s the work of a servant and or master.
Woman: That’s correct! Good job!
Assassin: So you already know the cause behind this?
Woman: Correct! I even know the servant and master responsible!
Assassin: Alright then…
Manager: What’s going on?! What’s happening?!
Woman: Assassin.
Assassin: Yes master.
She threw her dagger into the manager's skull killing him in an instant. Assassin sighed at her order and the kill. She picked up the dagger before placing it back within the scroll she normally used to conceal the small blade.
Assassin: Master who did this?
Woman: I'm not telling~
Assassin: Ugh… fine then master.
The two women walked out of the office building the master smiling brightly.
Woman: Hmm… I wonder what Saber’s master is doing?
Assassin: Is he of interest?
Woman: I knew his father! Would you be a dear and spy on him for me assassin?
Assassin: As you wish master…
Assassin bowed and quickly disappeared leaving the woman all alone as she laughed to herself.

Leo was reading a comic book while lying on his busted-up blue couch. He didn't have a single thought on his mind aside from the words and the images placed on each page.
Just then Ky walked into the room with an immaculate keychain in his hand. He held it up and passed it towards Leo who grabbed it as it flew above his head.
Ky: Here it was made back in Japan’s Heien Era.
Leo: What is it?
Ky: A cursed chain. While you have low mana it converts the lack of mana you have into physical strength. Therefore-
Leo: I can be super strong!
Ky: Basically. Just keep it in your pockets. I had the pull a lot of strings to get this from my sensei.

Elegant: You want it? Beat Shine in hand to hand! No powers just skills!
Ky: HOW AM I MEANT TO DO THAT?!

Ky: Ugh…
Leo would shove the chain back into his hoodie pocket. He gave a bright smile and placed his comic book down crossing his arms and leaning over the back of his couch.
Leo: So! What is the plan to win this war?
Ky: We need to get you trained up preferably. And we need to exterminate every master in the war.
Leo: Can’t we just… let them all kill one another and pick the last guy off?
Ky: Nope. Most likely they'll come for you while you try this strategy anyway. Even worse is the possibility the final master and servant standing could be an extremely bad matchup for Saber.
Leo: I guess you're right…
Ky: Now then… GUNPOWDER!
Guns appeared behind Ky who shot at a wall next to the bullet manifested the black-haired assassin servant.
Ky: Assassin!
Leo: Oh shit!
Ky’s technique is “Mental Recreation” This powerful ability has him use up his mana to create objects based on certain topics. These topics are gunpowder, transportation, death, nature, and war. These objects are limited to what Ky subconsciously associates with these words whenever he hears them. He can summon these objects with a hand sign or by saying the topic of origin. However, he can not create actual life. But his technique is based on his own interpretation. So if learns to interpret his limits differently his technique will respond in kind!
Ky: Death!
Skeletons appear from the floor but Assassin cuts both their heads off in a moment using her scroll.
Leo: Woah… she's fast…
Ky: If I had to wager a guess… I would say she's faster than Saber and closer in speed to Lancer.
Leo: You can tell that just by her attacking once?!
Ky: I am good with my eyes…
Leo: Saber!
Saber from the front porch came rushing into the living room switching from her casual clothes to her armor and pulling out her misty blade ready to fight.
Assassin: It would seem I'm outnumbered.
Ky: Wow she can even count!
Leo: Why are you even hear?
Assassin: I am here solely on orders from my master. I have no intention of fighting but if you force me to…
Leo: Oh fuck that!
Leo went to punch her in the face and Assassin ducked under grabbing him by the throat and personally slamming him through a wall the sunlight now radiating through the hole made within the wall.
Ky: Gunpowered!
A canon ball appeared a mere 2 inches from Assassin’s face and the second the canon shot she managed to dodge out of the way within an instant. She ran up and shoved the scroll into Ky’s shoulder stabbing through and making him bleed as she jumped onto the coffee table.
Ky: Damn it… some kind of concealed blade…
Saber: I don't wish to destroy Leo’s home… but I want to take out Assassin as soon as possible!
Saber sighed and rushed forward at incredible speeds that still were outmatched by Assassin who managed to dodge each slice of her blade before kicking Saber in the gut before roundhouse kicking her in the face sending her into another wall and cracking it.
Assassin: Strong as you all are I'm simply too fast for you all.
Leo then just grabbed a potted plant in the corner of his room as she wasn't paying him any attention and hit her in the back of the head with it stunning her so Saber could get back up, run, and stab Assassin in the shoulder.
Assassin: AHHHH!
Assassin cut Saber’s arm and elbowed Leo in the face before running out of the hole in the wall she made earlier.
Saber: Master!
Leo: What did I say about calling- actually I do not care…
Saber ran towards Leo who'd been sent to the ground on his ass. He seemed fine as he stood up holding onto Saber.
Leo: I am fine don't worry ok?
Saber: If you insist master! But should I give chase to Assassin?
Ky: Would not recommend it. She's clearly highly skilled. Even if you are probably stronger than her chasing her down might be a bad idea.
Leo: Yeah what Ky said! But what am I gonna do? Am I not safe in my own home now?
Saber: I'm afraid it seems you are not Leo…

Assassin walked into a large mansion on top of a hill and entered a bedroom.
Assassin: Master!
The woman turned to her with a sly grin pasted upon her face. She was currently sitting on her wooden chair while writing something in a notebook.
Woman: Assassin!
Assassin: I am afraid they spotted me rather quickly.
Woman: Did you kill any?
Assassin: No master…
Woman: Perfect! I don't want them to die before they know my name… Isda!
Assassin: Why?
Isda: That is for me to know Assassin! Me and me alone!

Gilgamesh sat upon his throne. Among all masters and servants in the holy grail war, he alone stood as the honored one. He viewed through on of Pat’s crystal balls the events that transpired between Assassin and Leo’s group.
Gilgamesh: That Saber… she's quite strong. Even with the master holding her down. And the Assassin is quite boring to me.
Pat: A-Archer-
Gilgamesh: You know nobody is watching us use my true name peasant!
Pat: Forgive me Gilgamesh! But why are we sitting in this pocket dimension?!
Gilgamesh: Simply to protect you from getting killed. You are quite weak and well I won't have any fun if you die. Even I can't sustain myself without a master!
Pat: O-oh I see…
Gilgamesh truly was a king!

This is for us normies who don’t want to sift through a hundred youtube videos just to figure out basic information that should be readily available. This guide is designed for people who are new to modding.
This LLO follows Brxsie’s model. For more detailed info on categorization refer to their reddit post.
You can leave out any mod on this list that you don’t want except for USSEP.
Key:
*= my personal notes explaining what a mod does or why I added it
e.g. = extra examples of popular mods that should be placed in that category
Blurb
(skip this section if you want the quick version of this post)
Hi everyone; I’m not a modder nor a PC player, but I was desperate to figure out how to safely load my game with reasonable lore-friendly updates. Every LLO guide I’ve found so far has either been outdated, contradictory to other sources, does not specify which mods fall under what category, is way too vague, or way too specific. The mods I’ve listed here should be easily searchable on the recently updated Xbox creations menu so that any Xbox player can easily copy this list. Originally, I was just recording my LLO for my own personal use, but I figured this could help people who don’t have the time to put in as much research as I have.
If you are brand new to modding, vanilla+ means that you want to stay faithful to the original game as much as possible while upgrading the look of your Skyrim world and making a few convenient tweaks. The least “true to the original game” mod on this list is convenient horses. In my experience so far, this LLO plays just as smoothly as vanilla Skyrim.
Unless I wrote a note next to the mod stating otherwise, all of these mods are independent of one another, except for: divine atmosphere, divine atmosphere snowflake edit, and realistic snowflakes. If you like the ugly fractal snowflakes in divine atmosphere then don’t bother with the other two mods, but if not, you need the vanilla snowflake edit and the snowflake texture mod to go together. Therefore, you can leave out any mod on this list that you don’t want except for USSEP), and the game will function normally.
To customize settings of mods while in-game, go to magic -> powers. “Equip” the mod you want to change and press RB once out of the menu. This is relevant to divine atmospheres, divine interiors, flute finder, convenient horses, and some dialogue mods.
Most mods on this list can be downloaded or deleted safely while playing a pre-existing save file. Deleting mods become problematic when you have already added and interacted with a custom item to the game and then delete the mod that supported the item. When testing new mods, I suggest only adding a few at a time so that you know what to delete if you encounter any issues.
If you are reading this on a laptop or PC, you can press command/control F to search for keywords of the mods you want to install to find where they belong in the LLO.
Personally, my favorite mods that I’ve added to the game are the dialogue mods and the texture mods. They make Skyrim feel like a real world with real people living in it and I would highly suggest using some or all of them. I’d also love to hear everyone’s suggestions on proposed edits to this load order. Please let me know if you are aware of any conflicting mods or bugs, or if I have made any mistakes in my layperson's explanation of techy stuff. Unsure if this is relevant information, but I’m located in the USA.
Extra notes:
What the heck is a leveled list? A leveled list is a change in the code that makes changes to certain values. Such as changing how much gold a character has or how powerful an enemy is.
And what exactly is an area edit? An area edit is any mod that adds or significantly changes a location in the game. This includes adding extra trees, adding extra smelters, or adding custom player homes that do not exist in vanilla, among other things.
Why are there all of these categories and why is it so complicated? LLO sorts mods so that the game can load the most important files first. When LLO is not followed, the game will inevitably crash. Categories allow us to sort mods into the LLO based on how they interact with the game's code. People sometimes disagree on what order to put the categories in, but all LLO templates use the same basic categories.
I do not use immersive citizens AI because multiple people have reported bugs. Other people have no issues with it, but I prefer to stay on the safe side.
Remember to lower your in-game brightness, especially when you are using divine interiors and divine atmospheres. If the brightness is all the way up, things will start to glow. You will have to use torches in locations with zero light, such as corners in caves. This adds a realistic feel to the game. If you give a torch to your follower, they will automatically use it in in low-light conditions. I switch between default/glimmegrim/vivid depending on where I am and how colorful I want things to be. The game may look darker overall as you can see in the screenshots, but this is more true to how lighting works in the real world.
Skyrim 101 tip: When you ditch items to reduce your carry weight, store them somewhere (such as a dead body or a chest) instead of dropping them on the ground. If you drop items all over your game it will eventually lag.
When creating a new character, keep in mind that once you start playing, you might change the lighting and make the colors more saturated. For example: I accidentally gave myself yellow hair instead of natural blonde because I forgot about lighting and atmosphere changes. This is another reason to install the vanity mirror mod, which allows you to change your character mid-game.
Storage space: all of the mods I have listed here take up approximately 4.36GB.
I suggest keeping a note of your LLO on your phone so that you can easily categorize mods you want to add the future.
Sometimes LLO will not save, so I recommend double-checking that everything landed in the right spot or backing up your LLO to bethesda before exiting the LLO menu.
Sometimes you need to restart your game to enable a newly installed mod.
How to delete a complex mod without causing problems: disable the mod, hard reset (hold power button for 10 secs or unplug the console), uninstall the mod, hard reset.
I’ve noticed a bug where I cannot tell my follower (Lydia) to do anything in “command mode”. I don’t know what’s causing this- it seems like a dialogue issue but I rarely use the command mode feature anyway so it’s small enough for me to ignore for now. Let me know if you find out what's causing this!
*Blurb over\*
Master Files

• Unofficial skyrim special edition patch (USSEP) *almost every source says that this must be installed. It fixes core bugs in the game that developers have not bothered to update themselves

Foundations: Lots of game changes (e.g. cheat room, encounters overhaul, etc.)

• Convenient horses *allows you to summon your horse from anywhere, store items on your horse, give followers horses, etc.

Dialogue Overhauls

• Guard dialogue overhaul
• Follower commentary overhaul
• Misc dialogue edits and more
• Relationship dialogue overhaul

Fonts/UI (excluding map mods)

• Font replacer - eadui

Alterations to vanilla quests
Any craftable item

• Vanity Mirror *this is to fix the makeup bug where your lips are off center when you create your character. I have not tested this yet, but apparently if you open up the customization menu with the vanity mirror then the makeup will work again. Cheat room also works for the makeup issue, but I didn’t want so many extra cheats in my game just to fix this one ridiculous bug
• Get no more dead followers *functionally turns off friendly fire for followers

Game mechanic changes: races, perks, vampires, adoptions, etc.

• Flute finder - a skyrim gps tracker for npcs *this is because I always lost my followers in vanilla and it was super annoying
• Multiple Marriages *haven’t tested this yet so cannot vouch for its effectiveness
• Auto unequip ammo *unequips arrows when you uneauip your bow so that you’re not always walking around with a sheath on your back

Level Progression (e.g. Clever leveling)
Perk overhauls/changes
Magic additions and modifications

• Master of Destruction (xb1) *adds new high level spells that target specific characters instead of killing everyone in the area
• Mining spell *I hate carrying a stupid pickaxe everywhere, so this spell mines for you. I haven't tested this mod yet though

Leveled list changes (e.g. rebalanced leveled lists)

• Better gold *adds slightly more gold when looting specific high level enemies
• Master trader 1x *this replenishes merchant gold each time you speak to them

NPC Leveled list (e.g. organized bandits in skyrim)
Any audio

• Chapter II - Jeremy Soule inspired music *Jeremy Soule composed the original game soundtrack. This adds a few hours of similar sounding music that blend in with the game

Weather and Atmosphere (put weather up ^ in LLO if the mod is just a weather mod and not an atmosphere mod)

• Divine Atmosphere: Aetherius *my favorite setting is vivid or grim
• Divine Atmosphere: Aetherius vanilla snowflakes option
• Ultra realistic snow flakes (custom snowflake texture) *if searching for this mod, search for “snow flakes” instead of “snowflakes”

Grass
Grass Fixes
Skin/skeleton physics and appearance changes

• pristine vanilla movement
• XP32 maximum skeleton special edition plus *changes some physics for smoother movement

Animation mods

• 360 walk and run *at first I put this in the gameplay mechanics category, but it did not work there. In the animation category it works as intended

Meshes and Textures
*The mods I’ve listed in this section should cover almost every visual in the game. Nothing is too drastic of a style change and fits right in to the game’s vibe.

• Wear multiple rings *this mod is more useful for stacking enchantments rather than pure aesthetics. Not necessary if you want a more vanilla game
• Divine texture pack - architecture
• Dark ages: fantasy dungeons
• Dark ages: dragon Textures
• Divine creatures texture pack
• Omen armors weapons and clothing *I highly recommend this one!
• Fluffy snow
• Dark ages - landscapes
• Divine skins and bodies for men *misleading name: this is actually unisex. Make sure this goes above^ divine people otherwise you might experience an occasional face glitch. This must be used along with divine people in order to work correctly
• Granite mountains *another mod I highly recommend
• Dark Ages: Trees of the north
• Divine SMIM *Static mesh improvement mod. SMIM mods redesign lots of small items in the game
• Lucidaps’ high poly project v5.x *This corrects blocky items to make things look more realistic. It cooperates with the SMIM to create beautifully textured and realistic item designs, such as the ridiculously good looking head of cabbage

Non-combat NPC AI
Immersion (e.g. immersive patrols, landlord etc.) - can be tricky to categorize
Anything that changes a character’s/npc face or hair (e.g natural eyes)

• Divine people of skyrim: celestial *For more vanilla/gritty looking people, try the dark ages texture pack. Both divine people and dark ages people mods must be paired with its corresponding skins mod, otherwise the textures will get cut off at the neck due to mismatching colors

Interior lighting changes

• Divine interiors shadows and light *my favorite setting is glimmer or default if the game looks too oversaturated because of the lighting. I highly recommend this mod, it makes the game feel much richer

Interior decorating changes
Lightweight multiple area edits

• Unique bridges of skyrim
• Divine forests
• Get more smelters *haven’t tested this extensively but I don’t foresee any issues since it doesn’t interfere with anything big

Single area edits like player homes
Multiple area edits (e.g. divine cities)
*I do not recommend divine cities or divine villages because it can be buggy. One time Lydia got permanently stuck in a modded tavern and I had to backtrack through an hour of progress to get her back out
Adding individual unique objects

• Auto Harvest Ring *because I like alchemy but hate picking flowers. Equipping this ring automatically harvests ingredients in range. Just remember to ditch the cabbages to reduce your carry weight

Combat changes, combat AI (e.g. realistic damage, wildcat)

• Dark ages: immersive dragon ai
• Better stealth ai for followers *followers will not start fighting automatically while you are trying to be sneaky

Unique follower mods (e.g. Sofia)
Mods that add new quests (mods that alter vanilla quests do not go here)

• More to say 9.0.2 *this dialogue mod is here because it adds new quests. The other dialogue mods I’ve added are less consequential and simply add a little immersion. I’m unsure if this conflicts with the other dialogue mods

Map mods

• A quality world map - vivid with stone roads *map mods use up VRAM and many people recommend against using them. I’m not a tech person, so forgive me if this isn’t accurate, but VRAM is similar to regular RAM. This means you can reset VRAM if you hard restart your console. If you are playing with tons of heavyweight mods all the time then maybe you should skip map mods, however in this LLO I have not noticed any FPS changes at all and personally, it’s worth it to me to hard restart the console every once in a while so that I can keep this mod. Source for the tech info (posted Oct. 2023) - https://www.xboxforums.com/threads/ram-and-vram.24007/
• Pastel map markers *Can you tell I like organizing? Color coding the map makes it more readable and gives locations a touch more personality

Mods that specify bottom LO

Plz help me get a better hair cut I’m a short male And need all the help I can get lol I was thinking of something messy but idk I currently have the hair cut in the first pic Easy up keep would be great as well

Dating and romance:
Current bf: he's kinda dry on texts, I don't like the way he reassures. Asking for reassurance somehow ends up in fights. He asked me to pick between either him or cats while I'm a cat lover. There's nothing toxic this guy is fine but like, idk
The talking stage before him: He was pretentious and faked being rich, faked being an artist because I'm one and his art was shit. He has ugly hair. I'm a professional artist, pouring paint on a chart paper doesn't make you an artist ffs. He also bragged about driving for 2 hours to meet me, yeah idc that's the bare minimum. (He cheated on his ex)
Ex: A cheater and he lied about everything. Has an ugly face so he was trying so hard to cover up by working out but that didn't help his face. Just ended up looking like a frog on steroids with that ugly big mouth. ( Talked this way about him because - For some context I was cheated on by a narcissist in December '22. It wasn't a normal breakup, he was the first toxic person in my life and I wanted to fix him because I thought he was a hurt child, which ended up muddling my gut instincts. It was my first relationship and an extremely toxic one. He cheated multiple times, lied about everything, crossed my physical boundaries on a daily basis, talked down on me, controlled me and isolated me. There were 127 red flags and I was severely trauma bonded. We broke up and got back together over 18 times in a year.)
The crush before the ex: He was insanely obsessed with cars and all he posted was about cars. His Instagram had one selfie and multiple cars. He once told me he'd rather buy cars than marry a girl. Okay I respect his likes and dislikes but whatever. I distanced myself from him.
Friendships:
Current group in masters, we're a group of 5:
1st girl (overly egoistic just because she's a model, she doesn't greet anyone. she doesn't look pretty in person, it's just the pictures, I would've never guessed she's a model if she didn't show us her insta)
2nd girl (a pick-me, she's pampered by her parents and always brags about how she's perfect and disciplined and never involves herself with men - I doubt she's straight. She wants to be treated like a kid though she's goddamn 24 years old. All her dresses have a teddy bear or they're furry, she literally dresses like a 5 year old. It's embarassing. She even has a squeaky toy attached to her tiffin box.)
3rd one (loves to seek sympathy, all she talks about is her problems but won't listen, I can see the joy in her face when she complains about her family problems)
4th one (won't shut up though nobody wants to listen, she once didn't shut up for 2 hours though i tried so hard to end the conversation. She is an enfp and she's my biggest nightmare, she wanted to be my roommate next year and I wanna find a way to escape.).
In my undergraduate college (4 years)
Group in final year: one girl ALWAYS complained about how she hated computer science, she was so dumb and put no effort in studies.
Other one always talked about literature and wanting to get married, she would never pay when we go out. She bragged about cheating, she went out with a 50 year old married man at 22 and was so proud of it.
2nd and 3rd year I didn't have friends as my ex isolated me and cheated.
1st year, we were a group of 3: The girl didn't know how to joke or have fun, it was too serious. Every convo felt like an interview.
The guy was gay and he always talked about how he was crushing on EVERY teacher, EVERY other guy in the college. He even had a crush on the ex who cheated on me. What's wrong with him. He made a group called "Threesome" as a joke and added the serious girl and me as a joke. I was questioned by others when they saw that. WTF I AM SO DISGUSTED. He had a minimum of 30-40 crushes in a span of one year.
I could go on and on. It's endless. Every person I've met is embarrassing as hell.
I plan on starting from scratch, once I leave the country in 2 months. I would only stay in touch with my parents because they provide for me and I'm grateful.
Otherwise I think everyone is just so cringey. I'll find a way to break up with my boyfriend and cut off my current friends as well.

So I’ve had these dreams a lot over the years, they randomly pop up out of nowhere. Here’s last nights: I can barely breath and have something lodged in my throat. I’m in my old church, with the lights on as I start coughing trying to breathe. I cough up a cord of flesh, about as thick as a pencil and it’s connected to a lump of flesh in my throat. I began pulling on the chord, which is extremely painful, but as the lump unravels it gets easier to breathe. At some point I can’t pull anymore so I pick up a pair of scissors and cut it. The other dreams I have are over cough up things, vomiting so much I can’t breathe, my mouth filled with chalky mud or teeth. In terms of body horror I had one where my hair was blood veins and they where bleeding and another with a persons face that looked like someones gums with all the teeth removed.
I don’t hear many people having these dreams and whenever I tell someone they look like they are about to call the psych ward on me.
So any thoughts?

I like many grew up with the raimi movies those movies and the 90s show were my intro to the character. The raimi movies were what I considered to he the definitive spider-man experience that alll others had to compare too. Now though many years later Ive seen all the movies,played the insomniac games, spidverse, and even read the ultimate comics and currently reading the original comics. I feel I have a larger and better understanding of peter parker spider-man than before I saw these movies. So how did K feel on re-watch honestly I appreciate them even more now.
I love these movies so much they capture the spirit of the originals well while changing certain elements to fit this version. I don't mind peter being much nicer in comparison to his original version because while he can be too nice he still isn't perfect spider-man 3 shows this off well returning his whole easily affected by public perception from the first half of 1. Though I don't think 2 sets this fall up well enough since hes so perfect there maybe if he wer more flawed the trilogy could have felt a bit more cohesive. But still I love what this peter goes through and how it really feels like he has to make tough choices at nearly every turn to be the hero the city needs and to be the best peter parker he can try to be as well. Honestly I also enjoyed and understood Mary jane wayy more on rewatch like in spider-man I always thought she was pretty mean to peter but tbh from her perspective hes a shit friend who always leaves her hanging. Its hard to blame her for how she acts in that movie to peter. Im not sure I like how often she "cheats" but I see it as just mellow drama to progress the plot I honestly liked that raimi kept the core of mj being someone from a broken home who isn't a perfect person even if I would have liked some more of her comic mj isms still I liked her and peter in 1 I felt it was a cute romance and Im glad no way home confirmed they were able to make it work.
I enjoy harry too though I felt they could have used some more scenes of them actually being friends since I felt it was a bit underdeveloped. The villians though pure peak from goblin to doc ock. Sandman I also liked especially in the spider-man 3 editors cut with that sand castle scene finally made sense of why tf he was tryna kill spidey. Venom was a let down but him literally praying to god to kill peter almost saves the character alone from how funny that is. Overall Spider-man 1 and 2 are both classics that I love with all my heart and 3 is a movie I think while being a mess is a movie I thoroughly enjoy what about you guys has a re-watch changed how you view these movies.

I’m mixed with 4 different things but come out more black presenting if that makes sense with yellow skin and curly hair. Unfortunately, I’ve had the unpleasant multiple experiences of attracting weird black people especially the dark skin black ones (and recently a very very weird fair skin black guy who felt the need to approve and prove his blackness by constantly using the n word (which I don’t even use) and acting like a stereotype, felt the need to comment on my appearance over and over again , how I look blasian and would not stop even after I would say that I am not blasian?l and went in on skin colour (even though he is much lighter than I am?????) ). I find that in my experiences, I find that a good amount of black people especially men as I am a man myself in university, tend to not like me. I do get the death stares , looked at side ways, looked at up and down , sometimes they would kiss their teeth at me or even spit on the floor after looking at me.
At university events , I find that many dark skin black men particularly in non academic events (so the studious bunch aren’t there but more the party sociable people) tend to exclude me and not include me. I almost have to make extra conscious effort just to be included. I don’t like it and so this leaves my being excluded from much socializing with dark skin black men as they form their own groups with other dark skin black men or occasionally will accept a white or Asian guy as their friend (occasionally their friends are largely dark skin black men but if there’s a female they welcome different shades of women) but I am left out especially as i am guessing that it is because I do not at all conform to the black man stereotype if you get what I mean. The stereotype of barely able to speak well (a number of people have actually said I am well spoken) , dressing very street with a durag , taper cut / fades , doing drugs, listening only to hip hop/rap (I sometimes listen to Spanish and French rock and I had one dark skin black guy tell me that black people don’t listen to rock? I listen to all types of music but mostly afrobeats , amapiano , French hip hop / RnB (I go to school in an anglophone area, so many don’t listen to French stuff here), rock, Moroccan music etc).
The way I dress is a mixture of kind of preppy kind of casual , more on the well put together refined side if that makes sense (even when it’s more street there’s a difference between how they dress and how I dress if that makes sense). These guys often tend to dress more street if that makes sense and I don’t know why but when I am in their setting , there’s already a dislike they have towards me and they often would rather speak to a white or Asian guy and not speak to me even if we are all new there. Or sometimes if they do speak to me, they see that I am not a stereotype and the conversation will die out quickly.
With black women i tend to find that dark skin black women socialize with me more than lighter skin or mixed race black women. In these encounters there’s often a conversation about hair , some outright vocally say, I wish I had your hair or feel the need to comment about my hair ? Some are rude and hostile towards me for no reason , I can just meet some and I am dealing with attitude from the get go which is annoying for me especially as someone who comes from a background of having a narcissistic abusive family , attitude is not something I like dealing with people right off the bat. It’s definitely a lot more of a pleasant experience than dealing with a lot of black men. I find that dealing with a number of black people, I am more likely to get along with the women over the men, but as a whole I feel like many black people do not like me , I don’t get along with many I tend to meet (with the exception of the ones who are straight from Africa and haven’t been westernized much if at all, those ones are a lot better encounters for me).
Any insights ? Has anyone else also experienced this as well or no?

Note: Bio of sorts: An Introduction To The Book That Is Me : ASMRScriptHaven (reddit.com)
Note: Library: Masterlist for edgiscript : ASMRScriptHaven (reddit.com)
Part 5: [F4M] Mafia Dog - Part 5 of 7 [Military Operation] [Discussion: Cap Or Iron Man?] [Rescuing Mom] [Vigilante Justice] [Working In The Shadows] : ASMRScriptHaven (reddit.com)

Part 6

Note: Optional driving sounds as Carissa is in a car.
Carissa: Ok, I’ve received the next set of instructions. I’m heading that way now. Did you receive them, Jane?
Jane: (On coms.) Yeah, Mom, we got it. It looks like they’re taking you out to the docks. I wonder if they’ve got a boat ready for you. That might cause a problem backing you up.
Carissa: I trust you. We prepared for that possibility.
Jane: (On coms.) I know but….
Carissa: Jane? JANE! Damn it. They’ve cut off our communications somehow.
(Beep or tone.)
And now they’re changing my directions. They knew I’d try to have backup. I’ll give you this, Francine. You’re good at this.
Well, there’s nothing else for it. I’m on my own.
(Suddenly startled.) What the? Puppy!?! You were hiding in the ammo bag? Damn it, Puppy, I told you that you weren’t allowed to accompany me on this one. It’s too dangerous.
(Pause.)
(Upset.) I don’t care, Puppy. I know we’ve prepared, but this is a calculated risk. Do you understand, Puppy. A RISK! I’m intentionally walking into a trap. That means I’m very aware this could all blow up in my face. I’m willing to take that risk on my own. I WASN’T… I wasn’t willing to lose you too, Puppy.
(Concerned.) How do you think Jane’s going to react when she finds out you came with me?
(Pause.)
(Upset.) SHE WHAT!?! She agreed to this? She even helped distract me so I wouldn’t notice you? Jane, you are in so much…
(Pause as she’s interrupted by Puppy.)
(Irritated.) No, Puppy. She’s not getting out of this. I’m going to kick her ass when we get back. Let’s just hope we both get through this alive so that I can do that.
(Pause.)
(Irritated but understanding.) Yes, I’m upset. But I’m not upset with how much you care. The reason why we accepted you on the team is because you care so deeply about all of us. Thank you, Puppy. I mean it. I’m still furious with you, but… thank you.
Well, since you’re here now, you might as well climb into the front seat. You can talk with me as we drive.
(Pause.)
I love you too, Puppy, but you can’t just defy my orders like that. I said you couldn’t come for a reason. You’re not trained for this type of thing.
(Suddenly upset.) Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!
(Pause.)
No. I’m sorry, Puppy. I keep fluctuating between being glad you’re here and wishing you weren’t. I should just stop and dump you out right now, but if I do that, Francine will suspect something’s up. And I’d probably have to knock you out in order to get you out of the car.
(Pause.)
(Amused.) Don’t smile at that. You… (Chuckles.) Wow, Puppy, how do you do it? How do you make me want to laugh at a time like this. You really are something.
So, tell me. Why did you, and apparently Jane as well, think it was a good idea to come with me?
(Pause.)
That’s the plan. Francine should be there personally for a one-on-one.
(Pause.)
(Annoyed.) Puppy, we’ve discussed this. We don’t know that that’s Francine’s true motivation. You really think she’s your yandere? That she’s so obsessed with getting you back that it will keep her from hurting me because she might hurt you as well?
(Pause.)
Even if that’s true, and I’m not saying it is, even if she is obsessing over you to that degree, wouldn’t it mean that she’ll want to kill me even more since I’m the one protecting you right now?
(Pause.)
Yeah, you hadn’t thought of that. Oh well. You’re here now. I guess we’ll find out which one of us is correct. Right before we’re both gunned down, one of us can look at the other with an “I told you so” smirk.
(Pause as Carissa laughs in a way that says she can’t believe the direction this night has taken.)
(Amused and conciliatory.) Oh, brother. You are something, Puppy. No matter what happens tonight, I’m glad you’re with me.
(Pause.)
Yes, I guess that would make you my Samwise Gamgee. Alright, so what’s the plan?
(Pause.)
You’re just my ace-in-the-hole if things start looking sour? Ok. Who knows. I might need it.
(Beep or tone.)
And it looks like we’re here.
(If you were using optional car sounds, they end now as the car is shut off. Pause as Puppy speaks.)
(Hushed tones as some nerves are setting in.) You recognize this place? We had marked this location as one that we suspected she was using as a drop off point for human trafficking, but we were never able to verify it.
(Pause.)
Watchtowers? There and there. Ok, I see them. Thanks. That is a help.
Whoa! Yeah, they’re here, all right. They’re lighting us up. They’re trying to blind us, keep us from seeing their true numbers.
Puppy, lay your seat back. I’m going to throw the empty ammo bag over you. I don’t want Francine to know just yet that you’re here. Someone’s approaching. I think it’s her.
(Pause. Phone rings.)
(Conversation with Francine is cool, calculated, and professional.) Hello, Francine. Looking well, I see.
(Pause.)
Exit my car so I can step into the line of sight from your snipers unprotected? No thanks. I’ll stay right here for now, thank you very much.
(Pause.)
Yes, I’m well aware of the terms we established for this meeting. And since you’ve already broken them by not coming alone, tell me why should I trust you not to break the rest of them?
(Pause.)
Look, you can talk about civilities and honor among thieves and all of that crap for as long as you want, Francine. At the end of the day, you’re the criminal, and I’m the one trying to stop you. Now why did you request this meeting?
(Pause.)
Yeah, I suppose I’m a criminal too. The cops do want me. They want to know all about what I’ve been doing to stop people like you. So, I’ll tell you what. I’ll turn myself in.
(Pause.)
No, I’m serious. It’s a genuine offer. You want me to stop hunting you and I want you to stop hurting people. We can easily both get what we want. We’ll end all of this right now.
I will let the Feds know everything about what I’ve done and what I’ve been doing, and in return, you have to come with me and confess to all of your secrets as well. We’ll both go in together and share everything we know.
You can tell them about your kidnapping people for a profit and about your drug running activities. You can supply the Feds with information about your dealers and where your captives end up once you’ve sold them.
(Carissa slows down and becomes a little more direct.) And… you can tell them all about one certain individual we picked up on one of our raids who was hidden behind a secret wall. You can tell them about all of the injuries he had sustained. You can tell them all about how you enjoyed beating his body and crushing his spirit.
(Pause.)
And why would I give you that information?
(Pause.)
Of course, I know where he is. Answer the question. What makes him so valuable to you?
(Pause.)
Well then, I guess we have nothing further to discuss.
(Hangs up.)
(Hushed tones.) My God, Puppy. She’s going ballistic.
(Pause.)
(Still hushed.) Yes, that’s her pounding on the glass and shrieking. Just mentioning you caused her to hysterically lose control. I’m going to say it right now before the bullets start to fly. You were right.
(Phone ringing.)
(Back to being calculated and professional.) You have something else you wish to add, Francine? I thought we were done here.
(Pause.)
My, my. Such vitriol for me over just one person. What about the others whose lives you’ve destroyed? What about…?
(Pause as she’s interrupted by Francine’s hysterics.)
Francine, calm down. I can’t understand what you’re saying.
(Pause.)
No, I’m not going to give him back to you.
(Pause.)
Wow. You certainly did come prepared. I daresay those rockets would pretty much make this car a smoldering heap and destroy everything in it.
(Whispering.) Ok, Puppy, it’s time to pull out the ace.
(Speaking normally.) Everything.
(Hangs up. Pause.)
(To Puppy.) That’s right. She’s figuring out it’s really you. She’s telling everyone to hold their fire.
(Pause.)
Well, Puppy, I’m going to say it again. You were right. She is losing it.
(Pause.)
(Firmly.) No, whatever you do, do not listen to her demands and set foot out of this car. Remaining where you are is the only thing keeping both of us alive right now. We have to wait until…
(Sound of distant muffled bullet fire or explosives.)
Until Mike and Ronnie get here.
Jane: (Returns on coms.) Carissa! Mom, can you hear me?
Carissa: I hear you, Jane.
Jane: Oh, thank God. Whatever was blocking us just disappeared. I take it that means Ronnie and Mike have located you.
Carissa: That’s right. They’ve eliminated the threat. Completely. It worked, Jane. Francine is dead. If you’re in contact with them right now, tell them to try to leave some of her minions alive if they can. We need information on where they sent their captives if we have any hope of retrieving them.
Jane: Roger that. And, Mom. Is… is…
Carissa: Puppy’s fine, Jane. But you and I are going to have a little talk when I get back. And Jane?
Jane: Yes, Mom?
Carissa: Thank you.
Jane: Yes, Mom.
(Disconnects.)
Carissa: (Appreciative.) Well, Puppy, it looks like I have to thank you too. Disobeying my orders may have saved my life. It gave me those few extra seconds for Mike and Ronnie to get into position.
(Pause.)
Puppy, you don’t owe me anything much less everything.
(Pause.)
Yeah, I did save your life, didn’t I. Well, now I’d say that debt has been repaid. Come on. I think it’s time we get back.
(Optional car starting back up and driving noises begin again. Pause as Puppy talks.)
(Resolute.) Oh, no. No way am I letting her off the hook. Jane’s still in trouble. She’s going to have to face the consequences of her actions. You both are.
(Sneakily loving with a slight grin.) I was thinking that a suitable punishment would be a suspension for the both of you. I think two weeks would be appropriate. You both wouldn’t be allowed to set foot in the base during that time so you’d have to find someplace else to go, say… maybe Hawaii? I know Jane has always wanted to see it.
(Pause.)
(Surprised.) Whoa there, Puppy. No hugging the driver. We got out of this alive. Let’s not ruin that by getting into a car accident now.
(Pause.)
Yes, Puppy, I love you too. You’ve become a big part of all of our lives. Now just sit back and relax. The front car seat has to be more comfortable than hiding in the bag.
(Pause.)
Well, we’ve still got a lot more work to do in dismantling Francine’s operation, and organized crime in the area hasn’t stopped with her. We’re not exactly disbanding now that Francine’s gone. But for your part, I think that this chapter in your life is over. You can rest now, Puppy. You’ve earned it.
Final chapter next

Chapter 3
Hurricane Georg.
Our first contact with the new world was a colossal hurricane. Veins of lightning shattered through the black, swirling clouds. I had just tried to calm the nerves of the ship when I saw Suri sitting in the hall beneath the control room.
She was in a lounge corner with her suitcase opened and her supplies scattered across the small table. The little light from the window illuminated her drawing for me to see over her shoulder.
The black and white sketch began at the bow of the ship. The figure of a man in facing the open ocean. Ahead of him, the familiar despair of Hurricane Georg. The man had his back towards the artist, but his stature sailed through the fierce storm without worry. His gaze only in the beautiful sight of home on the other side.
Her pencil began to etch the details of his crewmans jacket, "You have a gift, Suri. Truly, you do."
She was ahead of me, she did not jump or gasp as I had expected, "Thank you, Capi. I saw you in the reflection. Im hard to get the jump on."
"Then this shouldnt surprise you," I smiled and approached her table. "My capi stars are on the right side, "I stepped back and tapped my shoulder."
Disappointment inked her face, darkening her mood, "Dam."
I laughed and pulled up a chair. She had captured the view from the window perfectly and I made a point to tell her. As we talked the storm outside began to fade. The world around us was healed and the worries of yesterday had never existed.
Her eyes were near black, in color, and her skin was incredibly warm. Physical characteristic were useless to determine where a person was from, but 500 years ago, she would have fit at home with the people of the Middle East. Had I been a different man, her beauty and brain would make a perfect partner.
The longer I stared, the darker the world around us became. Until she broke my gaze and looked shocked at something through the window.
"Did you see that?"
"No, what was it?"
"I-Im not sure..." her face drained of color as the harsh rocking of the storm was interrupted by something else. Suri and I were flung off our chairs onto the floor, her supplies pelting us as they flew through the air. I tried to stand, but my legs were too soft to make it easy.
I struggled to a kneel using the bolted-down desk. Suri gasped and I looked down. The longer I looked, the itchier it became. Once more the world grew darker and I only had enough energy for a simple joke.
"Mr. Morgs was right about those things."
"Gud morning, Capi!" Ennay cheered from the wall-mounted screen.
I struggled to sit myself up. I was in the infirmary, only Ennay was there to greet me. My jacket was gone. All I had on was a white t-shirt and grey shorts.
"Officer Angelhart had your attire taken to be cleaned," Ennay chimed in, "Today is Wednesday, sir, 4:13am. Its the morning after you lost consciousness."
I thanked him and asked him to catch me up on the happenings in the passed half day.
"The reality is unclear, Capi, but Helmsman Archer believes we were attacked by a... a sea monster, sir."
"Archer? Hes no storyteller. Why?" I swung my legs over the bed, "get him down here or tell him im on my way."
Ennay surprised me with his fast response, "No. Sir, We had a breach. Ms. Aziz told the Doctor you had severed and artery during a spell of turbulence. The New Horizon had actually made contact with something what breached the hull. Damage Control responded in 4 minutes and were quick to contain flooding. However, we sustained a second breach."
Before he could continue, I dropped back onto the bed, "Whats the status?"
"On the New Horizon? Operational. A few sections had to be permanently sealed until we are out of this storm."
"And Damage Control?"
Ennay did not respond as quickly as he had been. It felt like an eternity before he told me, "6 casualties," the room fell completely silent. I couldnt even hear my heart beating, "5 fatalities. Sergant Franccigo Blanco is recovering in Infirmary 4C. He is unconscious, but has sustained gruesome wounds. Officer Angelhart declared a S.O.E. to assume your position. Otherwise,..."
"Yes, yes, the prosthetics. I hate that system."
"Well, sir, you are able to disable it."
"What?"
"Its not a very common scenario, but since we are not in International Sea, the law requiring your presence does not necessarily need to be enforced."
I sat back and thought for a second, "Ill discuss it with Dr. Mally. Where are they all?"
"Dr. Mally is in Infirmary 4C with Sergant Blanco. Officer Angelhart is your office filling out an incident report for both your accident and the breaches."
"Thank you, Ennay. Tell Max I am on my way and then let Dr. Mally know I will meet her shortly."
"Of course, sir."
My office was silent except for the fan gently spinning from the ceiling. Across from me was a young man, mid-twenties, with dusty blond hair. His uniform was perfect, he has even removed his hat on the perfect beat upon entering the room.
The appearance and demeanor any ship captain would be beyond proud to accept on his ship. It had just been dumb luck that he had lost both of his eyes to shrapnel sealing off the lower corridors during the state of emergency yesterday.
I poured Mr. Blanco a drink, 2444 Geoff Russel - The Hearty Mans Drink. I needed to finish the incident report, but Id never ask a man to relive what he had without a bit of buzz to his bite.
"So, Sargent Blanco, I-"
"You can call me, Fran, Capi."
"And you can call me Santago, for tonight anyway," I continued my questions. I tried my best to stay shallow and not dive deep into the pain Fran had endures just hours ago.
We talked about the 5 fatalities.
"Did you... see... them die?"
The gauze replacing his eyes stared at me, blankly. His face was uncanny, unhuman. Like the man inside may actually have been a 6th dead body.
"No," he quickly took a drink, "I did hear them, though. They yelled and screamed for me to open the door. I- I couldnt see. I thought the sea water had poisoned me somehow. I kept rubbing and rubbing my eyes hoping to get whatever radioactive stuff out of my head..." He took a breath. He was remarkably calm. Agitated, of course. But calm.
He continued, "I looked through the window on the bulkhead and the last thing I saw was Aleks staring back at me. His eyes were... he was calling out for me, I am sure of it. But something got him and he was sucked out."
"I am so sorry, Fran," I tried to write as quietly as possible to not remind him of the formality, "Do you know what got him?"
He finished his glass. As he set it down, he missed the table. The cup did not shatter, but it had jolted Fran from his memory. He lost his composure.
He started yelling at me about a horrific beast he had seen. How Aleks, Private Aleksander Igorsen, had been encased in blood and black sludge. He swung his hands wildly at the table in a rage, but had only managed to knock over a lamp.
Pity does not begin to describe what I felt watching him. Like a bleeding animal continuing to run from the wolves despite not knowing he was already surrounded. In him, I saw death. I saw anger. I saw fear. I saw what he was feeling imaging the creature that killed his men.
I grappled with him, trying to make my location known and always talking to him. I was not some monster from the unknown blackness set on hunting him and he needed to know that. He continued to struggle until I had completely engulfed his whirlwind into a hug. The screams turned to cries and then to whimpers.
After some time, I dismissed him back to his room and instructed Ennay that he was on suicide watch. Sergant Franccigo Blanco had earned a promotion or a permanent dismissal, whichever he wanted, but I needed him to take time to himself before I reminded him where we are.
The storm was intense, but at least it was consistent. By Katzs reckoning, we are approaching the halfway point of this hurricane. We had entered it 51 hours ago and Katz had said we are another 50 away from clear skies.
Unfortunately for all of us, Katzs theory was not seen through.
It began with our solar panelling being severed from their operating power banks. That was not a major issue, hydropower was our primary source. The issue arose when the New Horizon began to spin.
I had radioed the Helmsman demanding why we are weighing anchor, but the anchor was still resting above water. He said no one dropped the anchor. Something else entirely had us. We rushed to every window, every pane of glass to search for whatever it was that was stopping us.
Ennay spoke out, "Capi, Major Gorlammi has spotted our snag at 129 degrees. Nearest viewpoint is Residential Room L3D, assigned to L-"
I ignored the rest, I needed to see what was in that window. Luckily for me, Lucy Partridge was not home. I burst through the door and, for the first time, I saw a behemoth of a serpent-like creature sticking out of the water. I could not see a head, nor tail. I also had no idea if what I saw was the body or an appendage connected to some inconceivably large beast.
After enough time, I manage to figure out one of the ships heavy guns had pierced the creature and was holding us together. Our best bet was to either rotate the gun and hope its dislodged or to remove the gun entirely.
I relayed this information to Ennay to alerted the Gunner Teams and Damage Control. Yet, none of them would be given the chance. In the distance, silhouetted by sparks of lightning the size of the ship, I saw the head of the creature. It must have been miles away, but the size was unparalleled. Its head leaped from the water and swiveled back towards us. It was like a colossal eel. Flashes of light showed through its skin like veins until it sent a surge into the gun and into the ship.
The lights went out across the boat. The only light was the occasional flash from outside. It was completely dark, but I knew it was still coming for us.
I ran out of the quarters as emergency lights slowly burned. The hallway must have been 100 feet long before Id reach the staircase, but when I was halfway through, my feet left the ground.
I felt weightless for a moment. The lights burned out and all around me was darkness. My heart was incredibly slow or maybe time had slowed. I felt the doorframe to Mrs. Partridges room snap against my elbow. There was no pain. I didnt even feel pain when glass cut across my back as I was hurled through the shattered window.
I crashed into the water, it must have been hundreds of feet below me. I was in shock. I looked around and all I saw was darkness. Then, suddenly, all I saw was light. The eel sent a pulse through its body and for the first time I saw the monster entirely. It surrounded the ship above water, coiled all about the waves, and entangled the entire ocean as deep as I could see.
This is not a colossal eel surviving a hurricane.
This colossal eel is the very being causing the hurricane.
A cosmic terror named Hurricane Georg.