Automatic graffiti

I got recently diagnosed of Schizotypal Personality Disorder because of my referring different mythology, deities, and religious concepts interconnected with each other.
I was suffering from depression from roughly around 2015 to 2019 then there would be moments when I would get a lack of sleep and I would feel better (hypomanic) this went on for a while me cycling depression and hypomania. It wasn't until 2018 that I was introduced to cannabis being high opened my eyes to new possibilities like I could be this happy. I realized I'm a highly anxious person and cannabis allows me to relax.
In 2020 I had a psychotic episode where I was walking with my mom to the subway and I was on my way to an interview with Equinox to become a Personal Trainer, I just wanted to help people get better. During the subway ride, I was happy as a peach, but then I heard whispering from the other side of the subway cart, it was a little who was just mumbling to herself and she was just looking around with a paranoid taste. I looked at her and sent her love and kindness and she nodded at me and closed her eyes. Then I received a text from Jude mentioning about Flushing Printer, but I interpreted it as I need to go to Flushing Hospital. I left the subway cart and I called an Uber, as my Uber lifted me up I had an internal monologue, I had a voice.
The voice said "Son you are worthy, to be King!", the worthy part I liked, but becoming a King I said "I don't know want to be a King and be burdened with responsibility" I asked the Uber Driver where he was from, Brooklyn = King so I said he can be king. Then I went to call two people who I had a crush at the time, one I would be referred to as a Lady Sif and another a Valkyrie, I just automatically assumed their title and they responded normally. I assume I was Thor.
I got to Flushing Hospital and I bypass the security and followed an old man going to see his daughter or wife, I still have no reason why I was there, I thought I was going to perform a miracle, and I was on the 4th floor by then. I was answering's doctor's call which were empty. Then the medical staff noticed I was there, there was another older gentleman who said "You have nice hair" and my Grandfather would say the same thing.
The security team arrived to escort me out and they were disappointed in themselves for missing me and allowing me to come in, they were annoyed by my presence.
Since then I've gone through many Archetype.
Marvel Thor was cast out of Heaven due to arrogance and to learn humility. I equate that to Lucifer, a lightbearer, and Lucifer is equates to a Dragon. I have this book call "An Initiate's Guide to the Path of the Dragon" which ties everything for Dragon path.
I went through a plethora of ArcheType I really thought I was God because I was able to create a pantheon a series of what I would call evidence.
Aang The Avatar: The Last Air Bender shares the same name as my Vietnamese Name "An" it's pronounced the same. An in Sumerian is number 60, I am also number 60 in my Kung Fu Lineage. Then I received the name "Samuel Wiest" and from there things started to get biblical. I have a degree in BTech Computer Information system so I started to see things as in codes.
I would mean "Daniel" would be "God is my judge" and Ingram "angel, raven, or ruler" the most recent archetype if Dream, and I would use his Family Tree mostly recognizing the different archetypes and characters around me.
I received a Hot Pink Umbrella that said Dream Hotel from a local park that has Graffiti "I LOVE YOU JESUS!" and "ELI" "MER" "SIL" and "SUPA" tagged on the billboard.
I've cycled through and attached to different archetypes, I still use Dream and N30 Morpheus as my "high self".
Anansi the Spider, King of Stories, and Loki, God of Stories has been resonating a lot.
I meant this clown named Spatz Donavan and he worked with Jim Carey to get into spirituality, he worked with performers like Michael Jackson. I called Spatz Merlin, but Merlin is also Odin and I'm Loki his blood brother.
There are just a lot of things that happened that connect to each other, like the show Mr. Robot and Raganarok the endings are the same where it was all in the character's head.
On Facebook, there a lot of people who seem to pick up on the Lucifer archetype and then Lucifer in the Netflix series becomes a boddhisatva of Hell.
There is a trend where Anti-Heroes or the An Thai Christ, I use my name as part of the equation.
An = Peace Shalom = Peace
Lately I've been exploring the Abrahamic religion because I want to learn more about the Holy Spirit.
I was wondering if this is a common thing to explore archetype.
I looked in Anansi the Spider because it contained "An" my name and my initial is AT = @
@ looks like O+a which reminds me of the Netflix Series The OA (Original Angel)
The most recent death Akira Toriyama's initial is AT, he is known for Dragon Ball and Dragon Quest. Dragon Ball characters such as Son Goku take after Sun Wu Kong, and Sun Wu Kong is Hanuman.
After watching the show Loki, I believe we are all variants of each other, so there is a say "view all as your mother", since people as variants from one another helps me navigate.
Journey to the West, Sun Wu Kong because a Buddha
I believe I connect with Chenrezig aka Avalokiteshvara the most, after watching ABC: American Born Chinese, I'm a firmly believer that my mother is Guan Yin and I'm learning the path back to Source.
I'm writing because it's the only thing that brings me joy and hopefuly opens to other who would like to share their story.
I personally don't subscribe to Schizotypal Personability Disorder, but I'll borrow the name because I do look at SchizoPoster's Memes.
I learned OM MANI PADME HUM Mantra from a group of Guan Yin' Disciples in California, ever since then my parents have taken on meditation practice and even setup an altar since I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder which I definitely do have since I've felt the highs and lows, writing because I feel low right now and didn't know where else where I would post and discuss besides Reddit.
Anyways I wonder if this has to do anything with the Arisings and Passings or has anyways gone though this Archetypal journey?

as the title saids my game crashes after i play for short time any idea as to why?
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First/Previous/Next
“No! Jack!” Sephy cried out as she saw them fall, quickly swapping to her plasma rifle to try and give him some covering fire.
“Sephy! Enemies close!” Nika warned with a yell as she blasted a gutter punk that had tried to rush her, destroying the left part of the amphibian’s torso with a powerful shotgun blast that stopped him dead.
“Shit!” The Skritta cursed as she dove into cover on the opposite side of the alcove as plasma blasts zipped over her head, pummelling the plastered walls where she had just been standing and spitting up dust. Scrambling to her feet and unclipping her plasma rifle she blind fired around the corner, not caring who was on the other side as she bought Alora and Chiyo time to use their powers.
Dante barked loudly, as a dome of the most translucent sparkling blue settled over the girls. Recognising it as the same kind of shield the ‘dog’ had summoned when they were ambushed by the Red Legion aspirants on the way back from the Oracle, the Skritta grit her teeth as her brain caught up to what had been pure instinct. Holy shit this was bad!
Chancing a peek around the corner she could see a scrum for the stairs as a few of the more sober and less combative-looking patrons wisely decided to make their escape while they could, meaning that the stairs were clear enough to descend quickly if she and the others could get there. Unfortunately the path to get there was packed with many, many more of the rougher-looking mercenaries, gangsters and other toughs fired up by what was going on!
“ERE WE GO BOYZ!” A loud drunken voice yelled out from somewhere nearby. “WAAAAAAAGH!”
As two heavy-armoured Xarak wearing purple gang symbols charged into a group of avians wearing green, the resulting drunken brawl quickly escalated like wildfire into a full-blown melee, drawing nearby bystanders into the mix as drinks were spilled, bottles were smashed and bodies hit the floor.
‘Shit, getting out won’t be easy.’ The Skritta thought to herself, before suddenly getting an idea as she looked to the overhead turrets that looked like they were powering up.
“Cover me!” She called back to the others, as a translucent AR feed highlighted her vision to reveal the poorly maintained and vandalised local Matrix. Looking around the display, she could see poorly coded glitches rampant throughout the area making it difficult to perceive the local connections, with what looked like years of virtual graffiti scrawled everywhere else.
‘I’m surprised that any electronics work here…’ Sephy thought to herself, sending a scouting program to work out what she had to work with, while in the real world she moved to the balcony to try and look for Jack. She couldn’t see anything through the chaos and her view of the Matrix before she had to duck down back into cover as several plasma blasts were sent her way from the opposite side.
A quick blip from her scouting program told her that it had found what she was looking for, and Sephy wasted no time as she switched her view to that of her scouting program, holding back the nauseous sensation caused by the sudden perception shift, as almost immediately she had to focus on bringing her defensive programs to bear as several hostile nodes honed in to attack her.
‘What the fuck? These IC are way too powerful for a place like this!’ Sephy thought to herself as she backed away, maintaining her defences and cursing the fact that she couldn’t fully fade into the Matrix to speed things up. Looking up, Sephy saw the connections for the local turrets defended by a wall of advanced Blocker IC too advanced to be part of the local system, and she also saw the reason.
‘Oh you motherfucker!’
Hiding behind the defences, Sephy spotted a shrouded ghost-like shape by the turret connections, working an intrusion program on them to bring the turrets under their control.
Another slicer was already in the system!
As she sent a data bomb their way, the defences quickly acted to protect their charge, intercepting the digital attack and exploding in a debris of code lines and pixels. Turning around, the other slicer grinned as his hack of the turrets continued automatically, indicating that he was fully sliced into the local Matrix.
“Ah, yes. We were informed that the outsider had a slicer amongst his group.” The figure cruelly cackled, though Sephy was unable to tell their species or gender due to them both being in cyberspace. “I would normally tell you to surrender, but our Lictor gave us orders to eliminate every single one of you. But hey, if you’re lucky you’ll be alive long enough for me and the boys to run a train on you and your friends while you stare at the Outsider’s bloody, broken corpse. What do you say?” The form gave a wicked grin even as he knew the answer, summoning more Defender IC.
“Go fuck yourself,” Sephy snarled as she programmed another data bomb. “Doesn’t matter if it’s cyberspace or in reality, you’re not leaving this shithole alive!”
“I doubt it!” The other slicer chuckled as they summoned more Attacker IC, easily done for them as they were fully immersed in the Matrix, unlike Sephy who was attempting it in synchronised real time as she stayed in cover in reality. “We were told you were the dumb one in the briefing, you are no match for me!”
‘That’s what you think…’ Sephy thought to herself as she tried a new plan, seeing that the other slicer was too well entrenched. Quickly pulling up her pre-prepared list of viruses she shot out her virtual hands as what looked like several paper aeroplanes shot out to go for the other slicer. They were weak, unable to do any damage to the slicer, and most were easily intercepted, but enough hit the slicer to do what she needed them to do. Just for a moment, the avatar dropped and she saw the slicer for a brief as he actually was, an obese toad-like being in some kind of uniform.
More importantly, she was able to pinpoint the exact direction and distance of his real body from her current location.
“Hah! Pathetic!” The other slicer cackled again, not noticing what Sephy’s attack had actually done. “Was that meant to hurt? Take this!”
Sephy grimaced as her Matrix defences took a heavy hit as she quickly backed out of cyberspace to return to the real world, grunting and shaking off the disorienting feeling of treading two worlds and being violently ripped back into one. Had she been fully sliced in, it could have caused her some serious injury.
“Guys! We have a problem!” She shouted back to the others, as she saw the turrets begin to swirl around to aim their way…
*****
“Dessenta!” Alora gasped as she finished the spell she had been casting, causing blurry illusionary duplicates of her, Dante and the other girls to randomly appear near them, before with another word of command she caused them to run out and scatter to hopefully confuse the enemies targeting them. Ever since the trick had worked when they fled from the Cult of the Destroyer, Alora had been practising this technique, though it was still far from a perfect distraction.
Some of the illusions ran off the balcony only to dash uselessly through the air, while others waded into the various fights that were breaking out, even going through some people as they yelped out in confusion before trying to attack them.
“We’ve got to get Jack and run!” She yelled out, though she wasn’t sure if the others could even hear her over the blazing music and the veritable moshpit that had formed on the ground floor under them. She turned to the crew of River Giants that were still with them, standing there with weapons brought to bear, but not really knowing what to do. “Where is your vessel located?” She asked them sharply.
The River Giants just stood there with a dazed look, and Alora realised they were probably in shock at seeing what just happened with Jack.
“Captain! Where?” Alora yelled, and that seemed to awaken the giants out of their stupor.
“Far right side of the docks, lass!” Captain Ripples-On-Salt spoke up hastily. “Largest vessel there, it’s called the Siltskimmer, you can’t miss it!”
“Alright.” Alora nodded, trying to remain calm. “When you get the opportunity, get away from the place and get everything ready to leave. Pull out of dock a little bit if you need to but do not leave without us. We’ll join you as soon as possible.”
“Lass, we’re not sticking around if things get bad!” The captain warned with a panicked look.
“If it spreads that far and you need to protect your people, then do so,” Alora acknowledged. “But we’re here for a reason, and our mutual friends won’t be pleased if you lose your nerve!”
“Alright, alright!” The captain nodded, raising a hand placatingly. “We’ll do what we can and wake all hands, they’ll be sleeping around this time.”
“Good!” Alora nodded. “Stay back and as far away from us as you can be, then make a break for it!”
“We can fight, you know!” One of the crew spoke up, as the captain rounded on them.
“You’re drunk off your ass Dips-In-Bog! And we have our orders! We’re not sticking around, but at least we’ll probably have to batter some fools to get out!”
Glad to have resolved that, Alora turned around to assess the situation. She could see Sephy covering the right side while she was looking up towards the turrets, no doubt trying to take them over, while Nika was holding the right, and was attracting the most amount of fire. Seeing where the shots were coming from, Alora quickly ran towards the edge of the balcony near a wooden pillar that would hopefully give her some covering fire as she quickly cast a spell.
“Pyrallis!” She yelled out as she pointed her wand at the group of enemies aiming for Nika, as a jet of fire roared out, zipping around, above and below anybody not shooting at them as it smacked into the trio on the opposite balcony that were, immolating two of them, but the third, a great hulking Balnath with a huge overgrown maw of teeth, was able to shrug it off. Alora dove to the ground as they returned fire, completely obliterating the pillar she had tried to hide behind.
‘Well that got his attention’. Alora thought to herself as she rolled to the side away from the pillar, out of sight of the Balnath as they let rip with their gatling plasma gun, though fortunately most of the wild shots had been intercepted by Dante’s shield. Waiting for the sounds and lights to dissipate, Alora quickly got to her feet and cast another spell…
*****
“Come on then you fuckers!” Nika growled after she dispatched her amphibian attacker, quickly switching to her plasma rifle as she checked her side of the balcony alcove, quickly dispatching a figure that looked like she was heading for them. Nika didn’t allow any sliver of doubt to shake her, this situation was dire enough that anyone even remotely looking like a threat to her or her friends was going down!
‘We need a way out, Sephy has the stairs.’ The Kizun thought to herself as she spotted a sharpshooter on the opposite balcony far too assured of themselves to be just an ordinary patron, an assumption that was proven correct as they moved to take aim at Sephy, before a burst from Nika smacked into him and threw their aim wide, though didn’t finish them.
‘They’ve got good armour, maybe shields too, these guys are professionals.’ Nika concluded, though grinned as she spotted a group of some blue-feathered avian species mob the sharpshooter, clearly looking to grab their weapon in the midst of all the chaos. ‘Stairs were at the back of the building, so my way leads to the front. Maybe we can blast a way out and jump down? That plan worked out for us before…’
She contemplated the idea, knowing that she hadn’t taken as many breaching charges as she normally would for an urban mission, having dismissed the need to have as many in a rural environment, but she had one on her just in case, with a couple more distributed among a few of the others. However, the building they were in wasn’t the most structurally sound, and she had a real fear that enough damage could bring it crashing down above their heads!
The decision was taken away from her, as from one of the far alcoves ahead of her, a group of three strangely uniformed soldiers of some kind advanced towards her, with the Kizun having no doubt they were enemies, as two of them carried tall, broad riot shields locked into place, while the third shot at her with an accurate burst, cracking her shield and thumping into her heavy armour as she retreated. Where had these guys come from? She could have sworn she hadn’t seen anyone in uniform, but realised that, like them, their opponents may have been in disguise and had needed to quickly gear up before engaging.
Immediately, Nika reached to her belt for a grenade, electing for a smaller yield as she activated the timer and waited a few seconds before flinging it back from cover with a well-practised blind throw, sending it bouncing and clattering in a straight line before detonating right on target. Grinning with the roar, she dashed out from cover, going full auto as she unleashed hell, keeping low as she pushed forward, not letting up as she saw one of the shield guys drop to the ground while another couldn’t hold on, stumbling and falling back down the freshly blown hole caused by the grenade, which must have slipped under the shields and taken out the third guy.
And as she looked at the freshly blown hole, she realised now they had a quick way down!
*****
Those are Regulators! Chiyo warned, though she had no idea if any of her friends were paying attention as the Ilithii drew her power in to assist Dante in maintaining an energy barrier, before taking out her magic staff and channelled her power to lash out with psionic power at whoever she could detect down below, sensing that they were going after Jack. She heard her friends acting and knew she had to do everything in her power to get them all out in one piece!
Sensing a lot of magical energy flaring up, Chiyo activated her astral sight to check what was happening, and cursed as she did. There was a lot of ambient mana dissipating in the air from several illusionary spells, likely from their attackers, and she detected three strong signatures in particular, and two of them were situated on the ground floor.
The third was on the other balcony!
Responding to the imminent threat, Chiyo focused on her attack as she saw the astral form of the physically obscured wizard on the other side of the room whispering words of power and weaving their hands in strange patterns for a complicated spell of some kind that didn’t look good.
Her meditations with the Essence of Water they had looted from the Pallid Pit had proved fruitful as she had quickly learned to combine her new affinity with her existing psychic powers to weave together some new tricks, her most basic one coming into play as she quickly drew in the ambient water from all around them to cluster in one great ball, before launching several blasts that shot out to catch the enemy mage completely off guard, battering their body and cracking several ribs, causing them to flail back and, more importantly, completely disrupting whatever spell they were trying to cast.
The enemy mage appeared physically as their illusion mask was dispelled, revealing a diminutive blue furry mammalian with a long, thin snout in a set of traveller's robes with the insignia she recognised as belonging to the Order of the Infernal Harmony. Chiyo saw them angrily motion at her, ordering several more Regulators on the other side of the building to aim at her.
‘Well, I’m flattered…’ Chiyo thought to herself as she put more of her energy into maintaining her personal shields and hunkered down to avoid the gunfire, which took some of the heat off Nika, before the inevitable explosion went off several seconds later.
“We’ve got a quick way down!” Nika called back after dashing back to them, a sentiment that Chiyo quickly repeated to Alora to get past the deafening noise.
“Understood!” Alora shouted. “Chiyo?”
Lead your crew to the left and drop down the hole, the Ilithi told the River Giants, imbedding the thoughts directly into their minds over the noise. We shall follow promptly. Get everything ready for a quick exit. We’ll cover you, go now!
Quickly nodding in agreement, the band of River Giants needed little prompting to run the fuck away from the ongoing shitstorm while the group covered for them, with Chiyo unleashing her power and levitating a Regulator from behind an overturned table, only for Nika to cut them down mercilessly with plasma fire.
“Guys! We have a problem!” Sephy yelled in a panic. “They have control of the turrets! I can’t take them back from here!”
We’ve got to get off this balcony! Chiyo warned the others. Nika has an exit! We’ve-
But then she sensed it.
Scatter! Now! She warned as the entire balcony suddenly collapsed violently from under them…
*****
With a roar, Jack braced for impact as the ground rushed up to meet him with terrifying speed as he struggled with The Redeemer, before they both collided with the dancefloor in a bone-jarring smash, breaking the grapple as The Redeemer slammed hard onto his back, with Jack faring little better as his shoulder took the brunt of the heavy impact, sending shockwaves of pain radiating heavily through his body. The air was knocked from his lungs as he had the presence of mind to roll away, quickly scrambling to his feet with a fierce determination as he gathered his bearings
The room span in a disorienting blue for a second as Jack blinked away the stars dancing in his eyes, but Jack could see a crowd of gangsters and mercenaries forming around him, whooping and cheering, having seen his fall but not having any idea what just happened.
“Where is he?” Jack managed to gasp, as sudden movement from the side caught his attention, springing him into action as he quickly drew his heavy rifle, dodging the Redeemer’s enraged charge at the same time as he managed to get off a risky burst of heavy plasma that caught the Redeemer dead centre of mass as they passed and crashed into a table of avian mercenaries wearing what looked like biker leathers.
“You fat cunt! You spilled my beer!” One of them squawked at the Redeemer, who simply pushed the speaker aside as he quickly assessed the hits he took, a decision he quickly regretted as Jack put another accurate burst into him, staggering him backwards with many smoking holes in his now ruined brown overcoat, but not dropping him.
“Go down you fucking wanker!” Jack growled as he levelled his gun to shoot again, before several shots smacked hard into his shoulder, sending him careening to the side in a wild spin as his shots were sent wide, blasting smoking holes through the roof that allowed the evening light to shine through as he barreled into a group of furry beings that closely resembled silverback gorillas in matching military fatigues that denoted them as part of a militia.
“Fucking kid!” One snarled as he bodily shoved Jack to the ground, flicking a telescopic baton as he approached again to try and do him more harm before Jack got his gun up.
“Back off! Back the fuck off!” He yelled in a panic as he got back to his feet, warning the gorilla-men who cautiously took several steps back as he scrambled to his feet again, as he was shoved and jostled by alien bodies writhing and thrashing around in a frenzied melee of fists, feet, tails, claws, paws, teeth and fuck knew what else.
The pulsating thudding beat of the music jarred like a rampaging heart attack to provide a rhythmic backdrop to the rapidly escalating brawl, punctuated by the gunfire, the crash of breaking glass, and the roars of the combatants locked in drunken combat as he found himself in the middle of a full-blown mosh pit.
Risking a glance to the side, he saw The Redeemer rip off the smouldering remaining scraps of his brown overcoat to reveal the dull thick metal plates of his own heavy armour. He could see that his heavy plasma rifle had done some kind of damage, though he couldn’t tell how much from the melted, blacked, smoking marks from where Jack had shot them, or if his shots had even penetrated past the layers. But he could see that the Redeemer wasn’t going to go down easily as the avian gang was piling on the Ogar, who lashed out at them with his huge powerful fists as plates extended around his neck and head for extra protection.
Suddenly, Jack caught another movement out of the corner of his eye as he spun around, before a pincer deflected the barrel of his rifle, as a spindly insectoid quickly closed the distance, hostile intent abundantly clear in their snarling expression as they snapped a pincer at Jack’s face, who ducked out of the way and shunted backwards.
‘Shit! This place is too swarmed!’ Jack cursed to himself as he tried to aim his gun through the ongoing brawl. ‘I can’t risk firing into an open crowd! The rest of these people haven’t done a thing to me!’
Realising his rifle wasn’t the best choice of weapon now as he was knocked about by the horde of bodies, Jack flicked it around and behind him, relieved upon hearing the magnetic clips on his armour do their thing, latching his rifle in place so he could retrieve it later.
“Aegis!” Jack yelled out as the pincer of the insectoid came at him again, summoning his shield to take the blow before he lashed out, taking the bug in the maw and knocking him back, before he followed through with a quick draw of his sidearm, putting two controlled shots in the thing’s chest and missing the shot to the head as several bolts of blue light smacked into him, though his shield took a few of the hits as he disengaged.
‘Shit! How many of these fuckers did the Redeemer bring with him?’ Jack thought to himself, as he heard an explosion from somewhere up above him. ‘And how the fuck did they know we’d be here?!’
His Ring of the Berserker was flaring up as Jack tried to regain his bearings, trying to spot the source of the magic missiles that had just been flung his way, before he suddenly brought up his forearm, reflexively parrying a swipe from the gorilla-man that had tried to blindside him with the baton. His armour held, only causing him to feel a slight tingle as he lashed out with a punch, clocking his attacker in the face as his gauntlets instantly reacted to cap his knuckles with a metal coating, adding to the power of the punch, sending the gorilla-man to the ground in a daze.
“What’s up retards? May I have your attention please?” A sneering voice called out over the speakers of the music, and though Jack looked for the source of the voice as he tried to get away, he could see the DJ still at his podium looking confused at who was talking. “I know you crackheads aren’t very bright, so I’ll try and use simple words so you understand."
"You are currently being graced by the presence of the Order of the Infernal Harmony, along with our very special guest, The Redeemer! The reason why we’re here is the Outsider practically shitting himself on the dancefloor of this dump, along with a few random bimbos dumb enough to tag along with him. Anyone that gets in the way of our business or takes any action against us should be prepared to accept the consequences, up to and not limited to your brutal death, so if any of you losers are actually lucid enough to understand me, I’d get the hell out of our way.”
“Fuck you, bitch!” One drunken patron yelled out above the noise as he drunkenly shot at the nearest speaker, missing several times before reducing it to slag.
“Oh golly gee, what an unexpected answer from a bunch of fucking crackheads!” The voice mocked sarcastically as Jack saw the turrets above glow with power. “Time to die motherfuckers!”
*****
First/Previous/Next
Yep, these bad guys came prepared! Shame Jack can't just start blasting with all the people around!
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Welcome to The Oblivion Cycle universe, a vast setting spanning all of time and space and so much more. While many stories may shed perspective on this grand cosmic vista, there are also tales of adventure and sacrifice, romance and terror, grimdark corruption and scientific progress. To become immersed in the setting is to let the chaos of creativity flow through you, to let go of what is probable to discover what’s possible. I have created TOC for one reason, to inspire and entertain any who will listen. So please feel free to join me on this great adventure as I push the boundaries of what is possible and expand the limits of our creativity together. For more information on the setting and its lore there is a subreddit for TOC at TheOblivionCycle and a Discord server dedicated to it here [https://discord.gg/uGsYHfdjYf] called ‘The Oblivion Cycle Community Server’. I hope you find the following story entertaining and once more, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.
+ E1:P1 + E3:P1 + Previous + Next +
_________________________________________
Continued From E3:P3
Balinski took a few steps down the hall towards the distant exit but stopped as he realised Daryon wasn’t following. He looked at her and the police woman seemed to shrink slightly. “What? What is it? We need to get moving, Daryon.”
He waited another second as she put her weapon away and compiled. She seemed strangely subdued now all of the sudden, as if she were embarrassed to be around him. They walked down the hall, thuds coming from behind them as the barred doors did their job. He reached out towards her but she flinched away slightly. “Okay, what is going on? What’s the issue?”
She walked a few more meters in silence and then spoke softly, “I jusst.. I didn't want you to have to ssee anything like that. Who I usssed to be.”
Balinski shook his head, he didn't care who she used to be in her past. He cared about who she was now. And who she was, was a friend. “Daryon, I don't give a znot’s ass about that asshole or what he said. You are my friend, and I promised that I would watch your back.” he had made the promise in order to calm her down, he didn't mention that he hadn't actually expected to have to cash in on it so soon.
She made a gesture of dejected misery, “I know you did. But you didn’t know who I used to be. What I did.. to ssurvive.” She looked at him and her tone became pleading. “Please don’t think less of me becausse I used to.. do things.”
Balinski shook his head. “Why would I think any less of you, Daryon?” She seemed to look at him in mild confusion, her faceplates cracking open to reveal the pink flesh of her lipless mouth. “I mean it. I have known you for a few months now, but we have been working together on this case for Siyel together for a few weeks now. I feel like we can trust each other with our secrets..” he trailed off, he was about to take a big step in trusting her.
He started hesitantly, now the large insectoid woman’s turn to hear something he didn’t like others to know. “Daryon..” he hesitated again and then took a deep breath. “I am not the hero that people make me out to be. I am simply the one that survived. And not even by being brave.” She looked at him, her head cocking slightly as he spoke. “I was placed on perimeter watch, I never even entered the complex before the destruction. Ima fraud, I never even fired a single shot at the rebels that day.” he stopped talking and slumped slightly himself.
It felt strangely liberating to get it off his chest, even if it was not the whole truth of what had happened in actuality. No, the whole truth was far too dangerous to share. “So now you know. I’m not the war hero who took out the enemies of the Union single handedly. I'm just the scared little boy that the commander of my unit did not trust enough to take into battle. And I have to live with that, the images still haunt me. My comrades shattered bodies, the blood.. The fire..”
He felt a wave of pain crashed through his mind, the memories once more causing the psychic anguish to overwhelm him. He raised his hands to his head and groaned quietly, he felt himself backslide towards that dark personal oblivion that was the pit of his past trauma. He stopped, or rather something stopped him.
He looked up as a voice brought him back to the present, “..can’t help you if I don’t know what’ss wrong, Balinski.”
He shook his head and stood. “I.. sorry. I have an.. a condition.” He finished lamely.
Daryon seemed to look him over without moving. Her bright blue compound eyes were able to see so much without her having to turn her head. She reached out and gave his shoulder a pat. “I get it. I think I do at leasst.”
He had a thousand things he could have said in response ranging from cruel to straight up flirtatious. But he never got to explore any of the options as just then a mighty crash echoed through the hall. This was soon followed up by the sound of distant screams and angry yelling.
He looked at Daryon briefly and then began running down the hall again. They skidded around the corner into the final stretch and up the slight incline towards the exit. Next to the door stood Dunmec and a slightly battered looking Terri, the yeown woman looked to be bleeding from several cuts across her forearms. They looked like they had been made by some manner of sharp objects.
Despite her oozing injuries the woman was beaming, her long pointed ears and wide predatory grin as gleeful as he had ever seen one of the big werewolf-like aliens. As they made their mad dash up towards the exit he also noticed that the tall umraghj was bandaging her wounds, the soft buzz of their synthetic voice echoing through the enclosed space.
“..andeged like this tightly or you may get infected. I don’t know why you had to go and do something like that Terri.” Balinski was able to pick up on the tail end of their muted conversation. “What’s that? Hey, it’s you two! You won’t believe what happened..”
Balinski skidded to a halt, breathing hard. Daryon was only centimeters behind. He saw Terri bristle, her mantle hair standing on end as she stood and whirled to face them. In her haste she scattered the small first aid kit that Dunmec had been using.
As she looked back and forth between them a gleam of recognition flashed in her eyes and she glanced at the umraghj who was busy trying to pick up the scattered debris of her suspicion. “This is the ones?” She seemed at once curious and skeptical.
He gave her a nod and a synthetic grunt as he stood with some difficulty despite the exosuit he wore. The gravity of the planet was nearly a perfect standard G, but the umraghj had evolved on a planet with much lower gravity and thusly had trouble standing unaided under standard gravity.
Balinski nodded to her as he reached them and then gestured towards the door. “We need to get out of here, like right now.”
“Too late, look out!” Daryon yelled as she dodged into the small alcove to the side of the chamber. Balinski twitched as he meant to follow, but in that second of hesitation he realised that Dunmec was entirely out in the open, and the approaching henchmen had drawn their guns.
The fool had gone for the exit, in a second he would likely be riddled with bullets and dead. Balinski stepped towards the man just as the thugs opened fire at him with an AP-6 submachine gun. He threw up an arm to shield his face as he felt a series of impacts against his chest and legs. He grunted in pain as he was thrown backwards by the force of the absorbed impacts. He swore internally as he slammed into the door right next to the cowering Dunmec, that was going to hurt like a bitch in the morning.
Dunmec lowed in fear, the electronic tone of the sound magnified by the distortion of his suit. Balinski coughed as he reached up and grabbed the man right as another flurry of shots flew their way. The umraghj jerked in either fear or pain as Balinski used his body to shield the man while simultaneously dragging him towards cover. He tried to send a mental alert to Caesar for backup but didn’t feel the transmission go. He couldn't be sure that the message had been sent, much less been received.
It looked like they were on their own. A bullet nicked his neck, causing him to jerk. With a last herculean effort he hauled the tall alien into the cover of the alcove while the other three tried to shelter in place. “Daryon, waste these fucks.” he shouted to her, unholstering his ThunderEagle and tossing it to her.
She grabbed it out of the air deftly and gave a grim looking nod, her antennae pressed down her back as she leaned out from cover and fired a shot off. He didn’t see if she hit anything as he was preoccupied with the whimpering Dunmec.
Terri was hovering nearby, her bloody wounds forgotten as the unfinished bandages hung from her arms. “Oh no! Oh-oh no.” the woman muttered as Balinski looked the suited man over. He had a small puncture in the shoulder of his suit, a thick green liquid seeped from the wound. The man’s chlorine based blood stained the fabric of the suit as Balinski checked him for patches.
He pointed to Terri, the woman still looking a little freaked out. “Hey, you.” Her chatoyant blue eyes snapped to his face. “First aid kit, now. I can help him if you help me!” He told her loudly as Daryon fired another two shots.
“Two down!” The vinarfel shouted. “I never sshould have let myssself get dragged in here.” He heard her mutter, as if anything he said or did would have stopped her from entering the building. She opened the revolver’s chamber and asked, “You got reloads?”
Balinski nodded and handed her a handful of bullets, AP, HE and others. He hadn’t looked, he had just grabbed some from his pockets as he lay on the ground wheezing slightly through the pain in his chest. Tarri had grabbed the first aid kit that Dunmec had been rummaging around in and he flung open the lid to see what he was working with. His own medkit he wore on his waist would come in handy if he couldn't find what he needed.
He looked through it as more gunfire erupted from down the hall, it sounded as if the gunmen in the hall had been reinforced. Balinski ignored it, instead focusing on the injured alien. Dunmec was breathing heavy, his eyes just visible through the HUD visor he wore. Balinski placed a hand on the man’s injured shoulder causing him to moan in pain.
“Hey, stay with me kid. This might hurt a bit, but I need to seal the wound. It looks like the bullet is still inside, I am going to have to get it out.” He watched as the man nodded, his breathing taking in a more fearful pitch.
Terri hovered by his side, dancing from foot to foot as she mumbled in some manner of near incoherent babble. He gave her a look, pausing in his work. “Terri, I need space. Most importantly I need you to watch my partner’s back. Here, take this.” He undid his ammo belt, handing it to her he gave her a small smile, “I got this. Don’t worry. I'm a professional.”
The yeown rushed off to help Daryon, now alone with the injured man he reached for the kit and located a small vitatector. He switched the portable MRI detector on and scanned over the wound. The small device beeped and showed an interior scan of the man’s injury. The bullet had been slowed by his suit, it looked like and embedded itself in the bone just next to his shoulder joint. It would be a difficult fix, but he had done this before on the battlefield on several occasions when a designated medic wasn’t available.
Balinski grabbed a small pair of packaged forceps from his own medical pouch. They had been stored in antiseptic fluid that he used to sterilise the wound as he ripped the package open. Dunmec once more cried out in pain as the liquid seeped into the open wound but Balinski sat him up against the wall and held him still with his free hand.
He looked at the man and asked him, “This is going to hurt. I don’t have any anesthetic that will work on you, I recommend that you hold onto my arm and squeeze as hard as you feel the need to.”
The umraghj nodded, their long double jointed arms reached out and his suited hands gripped his free arm. Balinski breathed deep and then pushed the tool into the wound to where the vitatector had told him to. It took a few seconds to find the bullet, in that time the man’s hands tightened down hard enough on his arm to make the allow creak concerningly. He felt the tool slip of the bullet and he swore.
“Luck damned thing! Come one!” He fished for it again and succeeded in getting a grip on it the second time. He had to work it back and forth a few times to loosen the projectile from its death grip. As soon as the projectile was free he dropped the forceps to grab some sterile gauze, he needed to stop the bleeding and didn't have a QTube handy. He needed to requisition more from the precinct when he got the chance.
He checked the man’s waist pouches quickly and found a patch kit. He squirted some basic medical foam into the wound, it would swell and keep pressure on the wound internally. It didn’t have the healing properties of a QTube, but it would keep the man from bleeding out. Balinski used a sterile bandage to clean the suit as best he could before applying the patch to it. Oxygen wasn’t harmful to the man, but it might not be good if the pressurised chlorinated atmosphere from inside the suit got out.
He reached for the first aid kit and closed it before patting the man on his shoulder. He was still lucid, impressive as most non-combat oriented species of the Union would quickly succumb to shocksleep when injured. Dunmec must be tougher than his lanky frame looked at a glance.
Daryon shouted as he stood. “Alright, they just got rushed by club staff it looks like. They are laying down their arms!” She scuttled back into the cover of the alcove as shouting replaced the sound of gunfire in the distance. She handed him his .50 calibre revolver and he replaced it into his shoulder holster as Terri rushed to Dunmec’s side.
She spoke quickly, “Oh.. oh Dunmec.. I’m so sorry. Are you alright? You got shot!” She added, a bit obviously.
The downed alien just coughed lightly and shook his helmeted head while reaching up towards the muscular alien woman. “I feel bad. But not as bad as I did before I met you.” He said the lines in an almost practised way, as if he had been waiting for the opportunity to use them for a while.
Balinski snorted slightly under his breath at the cheesy line causing Daryon to punch him in the shoulder. He gave her a glance as Terri lifted the nearly three meter tall man to his feet. He leaned heavily on her much shorter frame, but she didn't seem to mind. Her powerful muscles easily compensated for the additional strain as she replied to him, “Well, that was before. Now you don’t have to feel bad or scared. I will protect you now. I won't let anyone else hurt you, I promise.” Dunmec just chuckled and then groaned in discomfort.
Balinski stood straight as he heard the sound of approaching footsteps, his hand flashed inside of his trench coat. His fingers finding the handgrip of his gun as a quartet of heavily armed people rounded the corner with MR-12s raised.
Daryon automatically raised her hands and after a moment he did as well, relinquishing his grip on the gun reluctantly. A tattooed nerivith female stepped forwards, her face taken up on one side by a flowing vine-like pattern that disappeared into the collar of her suit. She wore a bullet resistant vest over the top of it, very much business-combat attire.
She nodded her horned head to them and shouted loudly, “You two, get on the ground! No funny business or you will find out just how much I care about problem brewers in my establishment.” She stopped as Terri rushed forwards.
The yeown woman’s arms were still wrapped up in the bandages from earlier and spots of bright red blood dripped slowly from at least one of the deep cuts. “Stop! These two saved us, literally. The human took some bullets to save Dunmec, he got shot by those packbreakers.” She spat the last word with considerable venom. Her disdain for the submachine gun wielding men was obvious.
The nerivith woman looked from Terri to Dunmec a few times before stepping closer to Balinski with a suspicious look. “Hands all the way up, move and I’ll give you another orifice to breathe through.” She stepped close and opened his coat, her hand feeling his ballistic vest that had stopped the first burst of automatic fire. She nodded and then stepped back before lowering her gun.
“Don't touch that hand cannon in your shoulder holster, but I think I trust you. Who are you two and what the smeg are you doing antagonising these jerkoffs?” The pink skinned alien demanded as she looked between him and Daryon.
Balinski gave Daryon a glance and she nodded before raising one of her middle arms. “I can ansswer that for you.” She pulled out a physical badge from her back pocket and handed it to the woman.
The club workers' tufted tail flicked as she took it and Balinski watched as her raven colored eyebrows rose. “CPD? What the hel are you doing here, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Daryon spoke again, the nerivith woman frowning as she laid out the tale in as accurate a fashion as she could without compromising their true agenda. “Well, we were following a lead to a persson of interessst when we were accossted by these men for ssome unfathomable reason. We tried to run and when that didn’t work we defended ourselves to the full legal extent of the law. You may notice that I didn't shoot to kill, at least not on purposse.” She added with a slightly guilty hiss.
Terri let out a small noise as she said it. The woman likely still in some manner of mild shock, despite her species violent natures, death was not always so easy to grasp. The gun-wielding woman turned to the few other club workers that had come with her and commanded, “Tell the boss what happened, call the police. I want this wrapped up as soon as possible. I’m not taking the fall for this one.” She turned back to Balinski and punched him in the chest, not hard enough to be aggressive but still with considerable force. “I think I like you, big man. You got some horns on you, I guess I don't have to ask you to wait for the police to arrive to give a statement do I?”
Balinski chuckled and glanced towards Terri and Dunmec. “No, you don't have to worry. I will be submitting a full report of the events..” He wasn't able to finish as a loud thud echoed from the main door followed by a series of loud percussive noises. Everyone immediately went on high alert but Balinski raised a hand. “No, it's okay, that’s my backup. Fashionably late as usual. Here, let me get the door so she knows it alright.” He looked towards Terri who nodded.
The nerivith woman’s gun was still raised but she nodded too. “Be my guest.” She gestured for him to go ahead. He walked to the door and unlatched it before swinging it open slightly. Before he could say anything, Caesar burst through it as she pushed it out of his grip. He grunted in mild discomfort as she slammed into his legs and landed in a stunned heap.
Chuckling as the embarrassed looking dog stood to her feet, he watched as she shook her triangular head. “You big oaf. Everything is fine now girl, thanks for coming though.” he reached down and gave her head a scrub that made her grumble in annoyance like a put upon teenager.
Daryon scuttled over on her short, pointed legs and Caesar perked up a little. “Oh you brave warrior, you would have ssaved usss for ssure if Balinsski had just taken you with uss.” She gave him a look, her faceplates cracked in her version of a grin. He could only shake his head as the nerivith woman walked up to him once more.
“Alright, I need to get this mess cleaned up. I beg your pardon if I ask you not to come back here on official business again?” He nodded.
He pointed to the door. “It wasn’t my plan to cause such a disruption when I came in here.”
She shook her raven haired head. “It’s all over now. No sense worrying about what did and didn't happen. It just so happens that we have had trouble with these individuals before. So as far as I see it you did us a favour because we now have cause to bar them from ever coming back.” She nodded again as she said it, her smile flashing at him. As she did he noticed that she had several gold teeth.
She turned and stalked away, her tail lashing behind her. Balinski rubbed his chest and then glanced down at Caesar. “Yeah, you did good in coming. If we hadn’t been able to make it out your backup would have been the thing we needed.” She just gave him a little bark and then headbutted his thigh affectionately.
Daryon was talking to Terri and the still slouching Dunmec. Balinski got the feeling he didn’t need the support as much as he was simply enjoying being physically close to the brawny furred alien.
Balinski decided to walk over to them to hear what they were whispering about. He picked up on the conversation as he neared. Terri was speaking, “Yes. She likely will keep trying to force her ideas on me, but I already beat her once and she won't ever be able to forget that. It is an exploitable weakness if we should ever lock claws again. Thank you for your concern.”
The woman looked over at him as he approached, her eyes settling on Caesar. “Oh, what’s that?” She exclaimed.
Caesar tossed her little head and gave him a look as if to say, ‘What? Another one?’ He chuckled and gave her a pat on the head. “This is my erstwhile companion and oldest living friend, Caesar. She is a cybernetically enhanced dog, a Jureillion husky to be precise. She’s got cognitive implants, you can talk to her if you want.” He prompted.
The yeown woman gave him a look that seemed as if she was unsure of herself. Finally she reached out and spoke softly, “Wow, look at you. You kind of look a little like my grandmother, it's uncanny.” Caesar snorted at the comment and then walked over for free head scritches, grumbling contentedly as she received them. “Ok she is so.. I mean, you are so soft. I love her.”
Caesar seemed to be enjoying the attention. Dunmec spoke now, the suited alien’s robotic sounding voice wheezing out from his helmet’s speakers. “I just wanted to thank you again for saving my life, man. Here, take this.” the man handed him something, it was a datachip card. An old style one too. “If you ever want to get a hold of me..” he glanced at Terri and she nodded, “..or Terri. Just call me with the number on that card.”
Balinski had to nod as he heard the faint sound of sirens coming from the still open door. “I will do that. You two take care of each other.”
Terry gave a wide grin, her teeth clinting in the light. “Oh, we will.” Daryon gave her a pat on the back as she followed Balinski out the door. Caesar hot on her tail.
He took a few steps out into the night and then patted his pockets. He grunted in mild delight as he found what he was looking for. It was a small shiny package of pibbles, the small candies one of his favorites. He poured a few out into his open mouth and jerked as he felt a tap on his shoulder. He glanced over, it was Daryon.
“Pibble?” he asked her with his mouth full. She seemed to smile slightly and offered a hand into which he poured a few of the colorful candies.
He chewed vigorously on the fruity sugar orbs as he contemplated the massive shitstorm they had just managed to walk out of. Daryon must have been thinking the same thing as she gave a loud sigh, “Wow.. that was. Well, it wassn't good.”
He just nodded silently. They stayed that way for another few seconds before he turned to her. “What did we actually get out of that old skorp? Anything that we can use to track down the one’s behind the attack?”
Daryon walked a few paces away and then returned quickly, the side-to-side scuttling motion of her pacing threw him off a little. “I really don’t know. The trail hasss gone cold, without another major lead I am fearful that we will losse them. That ssimply isn't acceptable to me.” He nodded, she was right.
He would have liked to respond but it was about that time that a series of screeching vehicles covered in flashing lights skidded into view at the end of the alley. He sighed and fished around in his trench coat for his credentials. “Here we go..” He muttered to which Daryon gave an amused hiss.
A series of officers rushed down the alley with guns drawn, shouts directed their way. It took only a few minutes of back and forth with them to convince them that they were in fact officers, or in Balinski’s case, employed by the CPD.
When it was over he gave a statement and almost a whole hour after they had walked down the alley he found himself leaving it. A bit the worse for wear but secure in the knowledge that they had at least put down a dangerous criminal for their trouble.
Daryon scuttled along beside him, “Gee, I ssure hope the club doesn't get into any ssort of trouble for thisss.”
The comment caught him off guard and he chuckled. “Yeah, they seemed like downright decent folk for running a burlesque underground club.” She gave him a pointed look, her antennae shooting up as she looked like she was about to rebuke him. He raised his arms in mock surrender before she could though, “Oh hey, not saying I didn’t like the place. Just that they likely were not excited to see the boys in blue.”
It was a fair point and she conceded. “Yeah, I ssuppose. But I think we sstill got out of there with a halfway decent lead.”
Now it was his turn to look shocked as they crossed the street, weaving between emergency vehicles to get to the opposite side of the gloomy street. The flashing of emergency lights was behind her and it made her eyes glitter like gemstones, he frowned. “What do you mean? That crusty old skorp didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already suspect.”
She raised an arm and pointed to the wall. He looked and noticed the graffiti for the first time. The one in particular she was gesturing to was a gang affiliated symbol for the Sunstarters. “I can ssay with sssome measure of certainty that we might be able to look around for ssome additional cluesss.”
The Sunstarters were known distributors for the Psychosis Division. It stood to reason that if the Pit Vipers had gotten involved with the Psychs then they were likely also involved with the Sunstarters. Balinski clapped his hands together and smiled, they might just have a lead indeed. What had the old skorp said? To follow the source?
They walked into the large parking garage and to his big blue truck, as they climbed back inside he leaned his head back. “That was a bit of a fuckfest. Are you hungry, I’m hungry.” Indeed almost as he said it he felt a small grumble from his middle.
Daryon made an affirmative gesture, her antennae moving excitedly. “Oh yess, where do you want to go for lunch? Ullnek’ss Hut maybe? McDoinkss?”
He folded his arms. He wasn’t really in the mood for greasy burgers or razah’voolian seafood. No, he would have to think about it. “Why don’t we just drive around till we find something interesting? We need to keep an eye out for any good leads too.”
He started the truck as the large insectoid woman gave Caesar a head pat while nodding. “Okay. But if you see a TFDs then we are sstopping immediately, isss that fair?”
Balinski shrugged. He liked fried drebble as much as anything else. Caesar however seemed very excited by the idea of crispy breaded arthropod as she woofed happily. He shook his head and looked back out the window. He would have to keep his eyes peeled for one of the yellow and black spotted stores.
**********
Balinski smacked his lips happily as he took another great bite out of the steaming fried drebbleloaf sandwich. The snallke was fresh and the pickles were crispy, just the way he liked them. Glancing over at the other two revealed similar scenes of personal enjoyment. Caesar was snacking on some popcorn drebble and Daryon was cleaning out a six-piece bucket of BBQ drebble graspers. Her long radula snaked from her lipless mouth between her opened faceplates as he watched, mildly intrigued to watch the alien woman eat.
He took another bite of his sandwich as Daryon sucked the meat off another fried and breaded grasper. Lacking a jaw she was unable to chew but her radula and powerful cheek muscles made up for her lack as she deftly disassembled the meat with the skill of a surgeon.
She waved the de-meated shell and gave a small hissing sigh as another of her ten arms reached out for the Smarkus grape soda sitting in the dash drink-holder. “Ahhh… Yeah, that'ss the sstuff. How’sss your ssandwich?” She looked at him without moving her head, her compound eyes making her constantly aware of her surroundings in a manner that some might describe as unsettling.
He got the feeling she was watching him eat too, his mastication of the sandwich as inherently alien to him as her own strange method of ingestion was to him. As he took another bite her curiosity seemed to get the better of her. He saw her head cock a little as she asked, “Sso, can you feel with your teeth? I know that you can’t tasste with them. I read that much on the hyperweb at leassst.”
He finished chewing and swallowed before giving her a wide smile. She froze, her fascination with his teeth obvious. “Yeah, kind of. I was lucky that I didn't lose them. It's not uncommon for people who go through.. what I did, to have their teeth shatter. And when they go they don’t come back.”
She nodded slightly as she took a loud slurp of her soda. “Yeah, I read that humanss only get a sssingle sset of adult teeth in their life. No wonder they are so hard, you have to keep using them for a hundred yearss.”
He looked out the window, they were driving slowly around the entertainment district looking for anything that might point them in the right direction. He wasn’t really too sure what he was looking for to be honest, but Daryon insisted that she knew what to look for. He nodded towards a distant structure, it rose so high it went out of sight. “What’s that there?”
Daryon made a loud noise as she cleared her throat. “That’ss one of the upper-city sspires. It connectss the people up there to the ones down here, think of it as a vertical metro..” She trailed off before pointing to something in the near distance. Her BBQ bucket forgotten. “Hey.. hey right there.. Sstop. Pull over.” She tapped him on the shoulder with one of her lower arms rapidly and he obliged.
He looked forwards and saw nothing out of the ordinary, a few people walking along the edge of the street. There was a tall human woman leaning against one of the street signs at the corner, she was dressed in some tight fitting dress and high heels but other than that looked as normal as the rest of them.
Daryon put her yellow and black spotted grasper bucket on the dash and cleaned her hands at the same time she undid her seatbelt and straightened her clothing. She stopped fussing after a moment and then pulled a soft cloth out of one of the inner pockets of her overcoat and used it to polish her eyes. She replaced it and then held out her arms, “Well, how do I look?”
Balinski took the opportunity to give her a completely unabashed once over. He shrugged, “You look like you. What can I say?”
She seemed to smirk. “Alright, good enough. You know you have a way with words Balinski, any girl would just swoon to hear such things.” He frowned but didn't get to reply as she continued, “I’ll be right back. Sstay there and try not to look too harmlesss. This will only take a ssecond.
She slithered out of the truck and he kept his eyes firmly forwards this time as she closed it and sauntered off, well as much as the fifty-two legged alien was able too. He noticed that she had once more adopted that somewhat provocative side to side sway in her stride as she walked away from him. He just shook his head, she was doing it again.
Continued In E3:P5
==End of transmission==

Let me preface this by saying I do not mod fallout New Vegas at all. Completely out of my element here. I followed Viva New Vegas and Mojave Express Guide as well as the Mojave Express Texture Guide (I understand they're no longer supported but given they were last updated 2 months ago I figured they would be relatively up to date). Added a couple extra content mods for myself but that was all. I get crashes all the time- sometimes when loading into an area, sometimes when opening the pip boy, sometimes even when just walking out and about. There's absolutely no consistency with the crashes. Sometimes they happen, other times they don't. I'd post a crash log, but they are equally as inconsistent as well, and most of the time give differing logs. If it would be helpful to post one, I'd be more than happy to.
MOD LIST (load order has been added as well below):

# This file was automatically generated by Mod Organizer. -FNVLODGen Output +OneTweak but Really Updated -OneTweak for FNV +VNV Pre-Generated LOD +VNV - LOD Patches +LODIFY FNV Wall_SoGB Editon +LODIFY - Level of detail improvement for your Fallout (TTW And NV Lods) +Different LOD mods little tweaks and additions +Parallax series -- Rocks variety +Wasted LOD - Cliffs of Mojave +More LODs Additions and fixes +TCM's LOD Overhaul +FNV LOD Supplementation - Optional Overpasses +FNV LOD Supplementation +LOD additions and improvements +Much Needed LOD fixed rocks color +Much Needed LOD +Trees LOD Billboards Vanilla +FNVLODGen Resources +LOD Fixes and Improvements - NVSE -LOD_separator +Desert Natural Weathers - NV - TTW +PipBoy 3000 Remastered -- FIXED +PipBoy 3000 Remastered -MIMIC_WEATHER_REPLACER -MIMICTWO -Simple Fog Remover +MEG - NVR PRESET -fuckingidiotpreseyt +Neutral Weathers - DNW for NVR - NV - TTW +NewVegasReloaded +B42 Optics - Real Time Reflections Patch +Real Time Reflections - NVSE +Elegant Lockpick Retexture +Minimal Atmospheric Loadscreens -Simple Main Menu HD +Fallout Show - New Vegas Title Replacer +Nut Water Overhaul +ETJ Realistic Enhanced Blood Textures +Better Fire Barrels - ESPless +EXE - Effect teXtures Enhanced -METG - FX & Extra Retextures_separator +Securitrons On Alert +securitronHD +Eyes of Torment - Ghost People Retexture +Decaying Ferals +ghouls +FeralGhoulsHD +TheFriedTurkey's Bighorners +The Molerat Extravaganza - Molerat Retexture +aMidianBorn NV Superb Mutants -METG - Creature Retextures_separator +WJS's Super Sledge Ported +The True Blade of the East +The True Blade of the West +Hatchet Remade +Shovel and Friend +Fire Axe replacer +Kitchen Knife Re-Texture +Combat and Chance's knife Retexture +Cleaver and Chopper Retexture +Bowie knife retexture +Throwing melee weapon retexture -METG - Melee Weapon Retextures_separator +Physically Based Plasma Rifles +Laser Rifle Rebirth +Laser Pistol 3rd Person Latch animation fix +WAP F4NV Laser Pistol and Pew-Pew +WAP Laser RCW +WAP F4NV Recharger Weaponry +WAP 12.7 SMG Rebirth +WAP - A Light Shining In Darkness Remastered +WAP - F4NV .44 Magnum +WAP Single Shotgun +WAP Lever Action Shotgun +WAP Bozar and LMG +WAP Gauss Rifle Texture Edit +WAP Year One and Bonus +ETJ Miniguns +Grenade Machineguns Reborn - Weapon Overhaul +Holorifle Redux - FO4 HQ Replacer +Grenade Launcher Redux - FO4 HQ Replacer +Type II's Replacer Project +VWR - Vanilla Weapons Redone - Explosives +DKS and Friends +Nail Gun Retexture +Flare Gun Retexture +Euclid's C-Finder Retexture +Weapon Enhancement Pack +IHWT - Improved Heavy Weapons Textures +Weapon Retexture from EVE -METG - Gun Weapon Retextures_separator +Physically Based Rangers +AVCCA - Animated Visor for Classic Combat Armor +Classic Brotherhood Combat Armor +Classic Fallout 2 combat armor Mark 2 (remastered) +Classic Combat Armor Replacer Redux +Classic Fallout 2 Metal armor Mk II +Classic Fallout Metal Armor +PM's HD Legion Overhaul +PM's HD Ranger Outfits +Assorted NCR Armor Retexture +Dandadern's Welding Helmet Retexture - 2k +Dandadern's Wastehound Helmet Retexture - 2k +Heaviin's Desperado Cowboyhat Retextured +Improved Desperado Hat +Veronika Outfit Retexture +Adamowicz Vault Suits +Atompunk Leather Armor - HD Retexture +Clothes HD - Doctors +Clothes HD - Powder Gangers +Clothes HD - Great Khans +Clothes HD - Prewar +Clothes HD - Gamblers +Clothes HD - Kings +Clothes HD - Wasteland +Clothes HD - Workers +Wasteland Clothing HD V1-3 FULL PACK -METG - Clothing & Armour Retextures_separator +F4NV Billboards +FNV-TTW Graffiti Redone +Vanilla Graffiti Redone +Fabulous New Vegas +HQ Freeside Shop Signs +Signs HD - Honest Hearts +HD Signs Overhaul - Part 3 +HD Signs Overhaul - Part 2 +Street Signs HD Overhaul +Nut's Street Litter Redone -METG - Signs And Decals Retextures_separator +Dead Money Graffiti Redone +Great Khans Graffiti Redone +Physically Based Beverages +Physically Based Chems -Physically Based Kitchenware +Stealthly Stealth-Boy rextexture +HD Currencies +Magazines of Unparalleled Aesthetic Quality +PM's HD Ammo Boxes +PM's Med-Textures - HD Chems and Venoms +Playing Cards HD Retexture - Plus Casino Tables +6IXES Clutter Texture Pack NV Edition +Blackwolf24s HD Clutter pack -METG - Clutter Retextures_separator +Physically Based Collection 2 -Physically Based Collection +Physically Based Wood Crates -Physically Based Terminals +F4NV Auto Doc +Pool Table and items - Redone +Resplendent Rugs - carpets retextured +Improved Rugs - HD +Through the Looking-Glass +Mccarran Escalator Glass +McCarran main terminal transparent glass +Inviting Vaults - A vault retexture -METG - Interior Object Retextures_separator -Physically Based Parkware -Motorcycles Remastered -Quality Carts +Terrific Traffic Cones +High Quality Picket Fences +NillaPlus Howitz Started--Howitz Going 4K (Nellis artillery) +NillaPlus Crate Expectations 4K (large metal shipping containers) +Textures Over Time +NCR Flag Retex 1.1 +Fractal Crystals +Rectified Water Towers +Sunset Sarsaparilla HQ Meshes Enhanced -Mormon Fort Gate Redux +Dinky the Deluxe Dinosaur - Definitive Dinky Retexture +Roads Redone (Road Retexture) +Architecture Retexture Pack (4k - 2k) +bsp_textures -METG - Architecture & Exterior Object Retextures_separator +New Vegas Palm Trees Enhanced +Wasted Pines +Micro Clutter +Vurt's Improved Plants +Simply Upscaled Grass +Mojave Flora Project +Remastered Quarries +Higher Poly Rocks +Irradiant Muck +Sandy Dunes +Nut Vegas - Landscapes +NMCs_Texture_Pack_For_New_Vegas +Base Object Swapper -METG - Landscape & Environment_separator +Pipboy Glove remover +ENB AO Fix 1.02 +MEG - Navmesh Compatibility Patch +MEG - TWEAKS +MEG - Patches +Consistent Pip-Boy Icons v4 PATCHES +NV Compatibility Skeleton -MEG - Patches & Tweaks_separator +ATMOS Ambience Overhaul +Interior Exterior Sounds Framework +ADS - Backpack - Jump Sound Effects MONO +Aim Down Sights - Backpack - Jump Impact sound Effects +JSRS Sound Mod 2.0 +Project Reality Footsteps +Immersive Pickup Sounds Patched +Platinum Radio - A New Radio for New Vegas +F4NV - Main Menu Music Replacer +A Music Addition Project - Revised +High-Quality Classic Music +Some UI Sounds (SUS) -MEG - Audio_separator +FPS Weapon Lowering +Hit - Locomotion +Hit - Drugs +B42 Inspect - aka Animated Ammo and Weapon Condition Checking +SYNC - Remade kNVSE Animation Set - Classic AK-112 - The Adytum Rifle +Combined melee animation pack +Hit's Anims - Some More Animation Fixes +Hit's Anims - Animation Fixes -Hit's Anims - Season 3 -Hit's Anims - Season 2 -Hit's Anims - Season 1 +New Vegas Animation Overhaul Guns +Vanilla Animations Weapon Scale Fix +Hit - B42 Inject Animation Pack - Season 1 +B42 Inject - Animated Item Use - ESPless +B42 Loot - Animated Physical Item Pickup - ESPless +Hit - B42 Interact Skinning +Hit - B42 Interact Animation Pack +a Smoke before the Storm - No More Workbench +a Smoke before the Storm +B42 Interact - Animated Items and Interactions Framework - ESPless +Modern Stagger animations +JAM or Just Sprint animation replacers +Diagonal movement -Hit - Service Rifle Anim Set Redux -Hit - Anti-Materiel Rifle Anim Set -Hit - .45 Auto Pistol Anim Set Redux -Hit - Assault Rifle Anim Set Redux -MEG - Animations_separator +Configurable Pip-Boy Light Color +B42 Dropmag Another Millenia Patch +B42 Dropmag NV Patches +B42 Dropmag and One in the chamber +Subtler Bullet Trails - Retexture +Bullet Trails +Kyu's Ballistics - Fixed +IMPACT - Compatibility Edition (JIP LN) (DLC - TTW - All Mods) +IMPACT +Radiation Visuals +Sneak Vignette - ESPless +Just Bullet Time DoF - ESPless +Just Loot Menu DoF - ESPless +Weapon DOF and Blur Effects -MEG - Visuals_separator +Light Up and Smoke Those Cigarettes (and Cigars and Cigarillos) +Anton Chigurh's Suppressed Shotgun - No Country for Old Men +NVRA - AutoMag +Another Millenia Gun Add-on +A World of (Less) Pain - A Lore Friendly AWOP Revision +NV Interiors Remastered +The N.V. Interiors Project +New Vegas Landscape Overhaul Re-Remastered +Hit - Millenia Animations - Part 2 +Another Millenia +Canvas Backpacks - FNV - TTW +CIBS - Customizable Integrated Backpack System +KARPSOL - Kabyidon Armor Replacement Plugin for Spice of Life +Spice of Life Vanilla Bodies Patched +Distributed Necklaces and Chains (JIP LN NVSE) (JohnnyGuitar) (DLC and TTW) +NVRA - VSS and VAL +AEK-972C +Acies Apachii Sky Hair -MEG - Content_separator +Character Expansions Revised - Viva New Vegas Patches +Character Expansions Revised +RAD - Radiation (is) Actually Dangerous - Overhaul +Hit - Power Armor Pip-Boy Anim +Alternate Holographic Panel - No PipBoy in Power Armor +No PipBoy in Power Armor +Webb's Titans of The New West Patch Emporium +Power Armor Visual Enhancement (PAVE) +Titans of The New West +Armed to the Teeth - Redux +B42 FireMode - Selective Fire and First Shot Precision - ESPless -MEG - Overhauls_separator +Auto Activate Invisible Doors +No More Explosions Blindness +Supplemental Ammo Crafting +Simple Night Vision +Bullet Time Improved - a JAM addon -B42 True Leaning - Contextual - ESPless +B42 Melee Bash +Retrievable Throwables Reforged -MEG - Gameplay_separator +ySI - Colorful Icons Fix +Colorful Inventory Ycons +ySI - Pick Up Prompts +ySI - Sorting Ycons +yUI - User Ynterface -Shiloh DS - Clean Pipboy Screen +Clean Pip-Boy 2022 +Simplified FO4 HUD +B42 Notify - Corner Messages Overhaul - ESPless +Pop-Up Message Icons +Consistent Pip-Boy Icons v4 +MAPMO - Main and Pause Menus Overhaul -MEG - User Interface_separator +Hair Patcher Two +Sound Extender +Weapon Based Hands Clip Distance +HIPControl - Weapon Idle Position Adjuster - ESPless +AnhNVSE +SUP NVSE -MEG - Utilities_separator +Mojave Nights +DYNAVISION 3 - Total Visual Enhancement +Desert Natural Realism - Redux +Climate Control - 3D Rain +Climate Control - Rain +3D Rain +Interior Rain +Cloud Upgrade NVSE +High Resolution Bloom NVSE +Atmospheric Lighting Tweaks - EVEM Patch +Atmospheric Lighting Tweaks (Interior Lighting for FNV and TTW) +A Little More Lamplight +More Consistent Vanilla Rock Textures (Less Green Clifftops) +Wasted Rocks Normals +Landscape Texture Improvements +Improved LOD Noise Texture +High Resolution Water Fog - Water Aliasing Fix +B42 Optics NV Patches +B42 Optics - ESPless +B42 Weapon Inertia +Smooth True Iron Sights Camera +Iron Sights Aligned +FNV Clean Animations +Anniversary Anim Pack +Viewmodel Shading Fix - NVSE +Muzzle Flash Light Fix - NVSE +Mostly Fixed FaceGen Tints (NV or TTW) -Visuals_separator +Geonox Wasteland Outfits +Full_Leather_Jacket +Wasteland Specialist Outfit for Fallout new vegas +Mechanix Gloves -Mercenary Outfit +LexFONV Clothing I for TYPE3 -100 Outfits ReColor with Field Jackets +Clint Eastwood -Man With No Name- Pack +Gloves Galore +All we need is some gloves +Courier Head Bandage +Sunglasses Collection NV +Better Brotherhood +The Living Desert - Travelers Patrols Consequences Increased Population and more +Essential DLC Enhancements Merged - JSUE Patch +Essential DLC Enhancements Merged +FPGE - EVEM Patch +Functional Post Game Ending +Misc Content Restoration - UW (VNV) Patch +Misc Content Restoration - YUP Patch +Misc Content Restoration +Uncut Wasteland (VNV) - EVEM Patch +Uncut Wasteland (VNV) - Vigor Patch +Uncut Wasteland -Content_separator -Harder Barter Faster Stronger +Traps Tweaks - Traps Use Other Skills +EVEM - Vigor Patch +EVEM - Crafting Consistency Fix Patch +EVEM - YUP Patch +Essential Vanilla Enhancements Merged +Varmint Rifle 22LR +Simple Vigor Config +smim - vigor patch +Vigor - A Vanilla JSawyer Fork -Overhauls_separator +Bad Touch NVSE - Minimalist Preset +Bad Touch NVSE +Auto-Save Manager +Faster Sleep-Wait +Cookable Grenades +Better Caravan +Delay DLC Redux +Follower Tweaks +Immersive Recoil 2.0 +Just Sprint Plus - Expansion for JAM and JVS +Clean Just Assorted Mods (JAM) +JLM Grab Tweak +JAM - VNV Configuration +JAM - Just Assorted Mods -Gameplay_separator +No Exit to Main Menu +Sleep Wait Hardcore Needs +Show Water Source H2O - ESPless +JIP Improved Recipe Menu ESPless +Faster Main Menu +Menu Search +High Resolution Screens +High Res Local Maps +Clean Companion Wheel 256x256 Edition +Clean Vanilla Hud +VUIPlus - Dialog Background Add-on +Vanilla UI Plus (New Vegas) +MCM BugFix 2 +The Mod Configuration Menu -User Interface_separator +Impostors and LOD Flicker Fix +Swimming Creatures Fix - ESPless +Strip Lights Region Fix +ExRB - Extended Roombounds +Crafting Consistency Fix +Depth of Field Fix - NVSE +External Emittance Fix - NVSE +Fallout Alpha Rendering Tweaks - NVSE +Aqua Performa - Strip Performance Fix +MoonlightNVSE +ActorCause Save Bloat Fix +Elijah Missing Distortion Fix +Misc Audio Tweaks and Fixes +Climate Control NVSE +Pip-Boy Shading Fix NVSE +Improved Lighting Shaders +Items Transformed - Enhanced Meshes (ITEM) +Meshes and Collision - Totally Enhanced Nifs (MAC-TEN) +PipBoyOn Node Fixes +skinned mesh improvement mod +New Vegas Mesh Improvement Mod - NVMIM +ISControl Enabler and Ironsights adjuster (now ESPless) +VATS Lag Fix +Viewmodel Shake Fix - NVSE +Combat Lag Fix (NVSE) +lStewieAl's Engine Optimizations +Stewie Tweaks Essentials INI +lStewieAl's Tweaks and Engine Fixes +Improved AI (Navmesh Overhaul Mod) +Unofficial Patch NVSE Plus +Yukichigai Unofficial Patch - YUP -Bug Fixes_separator +NVAC - New Vegas Anti Crash +KEYWORDS +UIO - User Interface Organizer +ShowOff INI +ShowOff xNVSE Plugin +Basic Console Autocomplete +Console Paste Support +Improved Console (NVSE) +kNVSE Animation Plugin +FNV Mod Limit Fix +Yvile's Crash Logger +NVTF - Texture Modding Preset -NVTF - Viva Default Preset +NVTF - New Vegas Tick Fix +JohnnyGuitar NVSE - All Tweaks Preset +JohnnyGuitar NVSE +JIP LN Settings INI +JIP LN NVSE Plugin +Fixed ESMs -Utilities_separator -Viva New Vegas 29.4.2024_separator *DLC: CaravanPack *DLC: ClassicPack *DLC: DeadMoney *DLC: GunRunnersArsenal *DLC: HonestHearts *DLC: LonesomeRoad *DLC: MercenaryPack *DLC: OldWorldBlues *DLC: TribalPack 

LOAD ORDER:

# This file was automatically generated by Mod Organizer. FalloutNV.esm DeadMoney.esm HonestHearts.esm OldWorldBlues.esm LonesomeRoad.esm GunRunnersArsenal.esm ClassicPack.esm MercenaryPack.esm TribalPack.esm CaravanPack.esm YUP - Base Game + All DLC.esm NavmeshOverhaul.esm Landscape Texture Improvements.esm Landscape Texture Improvements - YUP Patch.esm fixy crap ue.esp Bad Touch.esm Vanilla Enhancements.esm Uncut Wasteland.esm Functional Post Game Ending.esm Functional Post Game Ending - YUP Patch.esm Functional Post Game Ending - Uncut Wasteland Patch (VNV).esp TLD_Travelers.esm NVInteriors_Core.esm NVInteriors_ComboEdition.esm Uncut Wasteland - NVInteriors Remastered Patch.esm New Vegas Landscape Overhaul.esm Landscape Texture Improvements - NVLORR Patch.esm A World of Pain Revised.esm Landscape Texture Improvements - AWOLP Patch.esm CIBS-Customizable-Integrated-Backpack-System.esm Main And Pause Menus Overhaul.esm Better Brotherhood.esm Character Expansions Revised.esm mil.esp SSTMojaveFlora - BOS & LOD.esm DYNAVISION 3.esm mil_Add-On.esp Securitrons On Alert.esm MEG - Navmesh Compatibility Patch.esm Unofficial Patch NVSE Plus.esp SSTRemasteredQuarries.esp YUP - NPC Fixes (Base Game + All DLC).esp NVMIM.esp Crafting Consistency Fix.esp ExRB.esp Impostors and LOD Flicker Fix.esp The Mod Configuration Menu.esp Vanilla UI Plus.esp JustAssortedMods.esp Just Sprint Plus - JAM.esp JBTImproved.esp Diagonal movement.esp ImmersiveRecoil.esp Follower Tweaks.esp RAD.esp RAD-Fixed-NVYUP.esp DelayDLCRedux.esp Vigor.esp Vigor - SMIM Patch.esp Varmint Rifle 22LR.esp ArmedToTheTeethNV-Redux.esp Supplemental Ammo Crafting.esp Distributed Necklaces and Chains.esp 1nivVSLArmors.esp Titans of The New West.esp PAVE_NV.esp Power Armor Holo Panel.esp JSRS.esp PAHP_Edits.esp TacticalADSPlusFX.esp Immersive Pickup Sounds FNV Patched.esp Project Reality Footsteps.esp NV Music Addition.esp EVEM - YUP Patch.esp Platinum Radio.esp EVEM - Crafting Consistency Fix Patch.esp EVEM - Vigor Patch.esp EVEM - Another Millenia Patch.esp EVEM - Supplemental Ammo Crafting.esp Better Brotherhood - YUP Patch.esp Better Brotherhood - FPGE Patch.esp Trap Tweaks.esp Uncut Wasteland - YUP Patch.esp Uncut Wasteland (VNV) - Vigor Patch.esp Uncut Wasteland (VNV) - EVEM Patch.esp Misc Content Restoration.esp Misc Content Restoration - YUP Patch.esp Misc Content Restoration - UW (VNV) Patch.esp FPGE - EVEM Patch.esp FPGE - New Vegas Landscape Overhaul Re-Remastered Patch.esp DLC Enhancements.esp Essential DLC Enhancements Merged - JSUE Patch.esp FNV FaceGen Fix.esp Character Expansions Revised - Extras.esp CER - Merged Patch.esp rockbiter_AnimationSounds.esp MCMetalArmor.esp Classic Combat Armor Replacer Redux FNV.esp Fallout 2 combat armor MK2 (remastered) replacer.esp zMCArmorCombatBOS_Vanilla.esp HelmetArmorRebalanceJIP.esp GrenadeRifleReplacer.esp IMPACT.esp Kyu_Ballistics_NV.esp dD - R.B.E.T Main NV.esp WeaponBlurEffects.esp B42Inertia.esp B42Dropmag.esp B42Retrievables.esp B42Bash.esp BulletTrails.esp Little More Lamplight.esp Strip Lights Region Fix.esp Atmospheric Lighting Tweaks.esp Atmospheric Lighting Tweaks - EVEM Patch.esp DNWeathers.esp Interior Rain.esp CC - Rain.esp CC - 3D Rain.esp Acies Apachii Hair.esp AEK971C.esp AK112.esp ATMOS Ambient Overhaul Intense.esp ATMOS Ambient Overhaul.esp Automag.esp B42Inspect.esp Chigurh_Suppressed_Shotgun.esp clintsfistfulrevolver.esp FPS Weapon Lowering.esp Geonox_Wasteland_outfits.esp Glove_be_gone.esp GlovesGalore.esp GlovesGalore_DeadMoney.esp HairPatcher.esp hitdaciggy.esp HitDrugs.esp ilbuonorevolver.esp Interior Exterior Sounds Framework.esp LexFONVclothingI.esp LexFONVclothingIPonchos.esp LightUpAndSmokeThoseCigarettes_edisleado.esp manwithnoname.esp Mechanix Gloves.esp Mojave Nights.esp NeutralWeathers.esp NVRA - ASVAL VSS.esp QwibHeadBandage.esp RadiationVisuals.esp Realism Redux.esp SimpleNightVision.esp Sunglasses Shipment.esp TGL.esp Viva New Vegas - LOD.esp Wasteland_Spe_Outfit.esp 

Please, experienced mod-goers, let me know what's wrong. I need to fix my game! I can't live like this!

When someone is near-sighted, we give them glasses. When someone can’t walk, we give them a wheelchair. But when someone has trouble planning, we make ‘em try harder. At least, that’s what it felt like when I got diagnosed and started at the ADHD Treatment Center. After weeks of no progress with planning and organising tasks, my kind therapist kept encouraging me to try again, but I just kept walking into a wall. I couldn’t do it. At first I cried a lot, because after a lifetime of failing at things that seem simple for everyone else, it stung that I couldn’t even follow the therapy program specifically made for people with ADHD. But then it occurred to me: what if tech could replace some of the executive processes I struggle with, essentially outsourcing the task, giving me a piece of the brain ‘normal’ people have?
The relief when I got an auto-scheduling tool working for me… I can’t even describe it. I use a calendar now. Me! With an actual planning that’s automatically up-to-date the whole time. I know this wouldn’t be a big deal for anyone with normal executive functions, but I’ve never had this. I still felt like the stupidest kid in ADHD-class that I couldn’t do it the ‘normal’ way though, so I just said something offhand to my treatment coordinator at the Center, like: “Oh, by the way, the executive functioning coaching, I just couldn't do it, so I’m having AI do it for me now.” Waving a hand in the air, rolling my eyes at my own silly shortcomings, adopting this apologetic tone I often find myself using, basically saying; I’m sorry that I’m such an idiot I couldn’t even do X, Y or Z, and sorry to be cheating on your program, it’s me, not you, I’m just incapable of doing anything correctly. (Yeah, ADHD did a number on my self-esteem, which was one of my main reasons for seeking help.) To my horror, she told me she had a crying girl in her office recently who quit therapy because she, like me, ‘just couldn’t do it’. In fact, patients with ADHD regularly get so desperate that they give up.
Then I spoke to the psychologist giving the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to ADHD-patients and she estimated roughly half of her patients genuinely can’t learn to plan by themselves. HALF! So I’m not some strange outlier at all. When I told her about auto-scheduling, her eyebrows shot up. “We’ve been teaching people to plan manually, but if what you’re saying exists… maybe we shouldn’t anymore.”
So here’s the thing. I want this information to be out there on the internet for people like me, because we need it the most. And because most of the information on relevant planning tools that I found was written by and for neurotypicals. Neurotypicals seemingly like holistic approaches and pretty apps, sitting down with matcha tea or coffee in the morning for 15 minutes to plan their day. Good for them, but that option is a non-starter for my ADHD-brain. After 4 months with dexamphetamine, I’ve also become a prescriber to the thought that ‘pills don't build skills’. I love my meds, they help so much with focus and they calm down my overactive chipmunk-like brain, but they’re not made of actual magic. Pills can’t give you an extra frontal lobe or a personality transplant. My executive skills are still weak or non-existent. Some of my issues are remarkably similar to people who experience brain damage after an accident, and when you think about it like a disability (like needing glasses, crutches or a hearing-aid) there’s only so much that ‘trying harder’ or ‘talking about how that makes you feel’ can realistically accomplish.
IN SHORT (TL;DR) Yes, auto-scheduling tools can take over the brain-process of planning and I believe this can be helpful for the ADHD-brains struggling with planning, task management and knowing where to start. Of all the tools out there for tasks and planning, I found only 5 that promised to take over for my brain and think for me, namely: Motion, Trevor, Atlas, Reclaim and Skedpal. I looked at all these apps, tested 4 of them, and found that my brain is currently only compatible with Reclaim. YMMV though; there are very good reviews from people with ADHD for Skedpal and Motion as well. I highly recommend auto-scheduling for people with ADHD who are spinning their wheels trying to learn how to plan.
MY HISTORY WITH PLANNING AND MY EXPERIENCE TESTING THE TOOLS To explain how AI bridges the gap between what my brain can and can’t do, I will describe the 4 steps of standardised executive functioning training that I received as part of my ADHD-treatment and what worked for me. There are huge differences in how ADHD manifests. Not everyone struggles to the same degree with the same things. Below, I’ll describe my history with planning, the trouble I ran into in my life and therapy and the upper limits of what my brain can manage. Getting a feel for my type of ADHD should help to determine in what sort of situations auto-scheduling can be helpful. If my story doesn’t spark recognition, some other tool might be a better fit.
Below the 4 therapy-steps, I describe my experience testing the 5 different tools and some of their specs/features. (Sorry, the first section is so long, skipping and scrolling down to the test-section is an option.)
Step 1: Pick a calendar and start using it. I felt a little uneasy when therapy started with this, because it reminded me of the first time I had to use a calendar in high school. I was almost 12 years old. The class-tutor handed out a bunch of papers with assignments from our teachers and told us to plan our homework in accordance with our schedule. Everybody grabbed their cute pocket diaries with pictures of ponies and cars, and started writing. Except for me. In the silent classroom, I tried to grasp what my classmates were doing, what they were looking at and how they all seemed to know what to write down, but I couldn’t figure it out. Eventually, I shoved the papers away and leaned back in my chair. The tutor looked up, surprised. “What are you doing? You need to plan your homework,” he told me. I shrugged and said: “I’ll just remember it.” He got angry, but I felt too embarrassed to admit that I was the only one who didn’t *understand* the assignment, especially with the whole class listening.
In the end, I never learned how to plan, forgot assignments, didn’t do the homework and was late a lot, which led to near-endless punishment for tardiness during my 6 years of high school. I cleaned the whole school more often than I can count and always thought that I would somehow get everything under control as I got older, but my last year was the worst by far. That year, a new ex-military headmaster digitised the system for recording lateness and ordered a crackdown. Teachers had to refuse entrance into the classroom if you were even a second late and if your school ID got scanned more than 5 minutes after the start of class, you were not allowed to enter anymore. The only scanner was attached to a computer all the way on the ground floor of the main building, so I always had to run there, find someone to operate and they had to start the system, which often led to time maxing out and me missing class. The first day of the crackdown, I got written up (well, scanned) SIX times. Dumbstruck, the headmaster asked how I’d managed to do it. Truthfully, I had no idea. I just spaced out a lot and was surprised every time the bell rang and everyone stormed out of the classroom. Everyone, except for me. I still had to figure out how to declutter my little desk, how to fit everything in my backpack again, where I needed to go after that, not walk off in the wrong direction, that sort of thing.
The new rules led to a sharp drop in my attendance, which turned out to be illegal. Without ever meaning to, I was suddenly violating compulsory education laws and the government threatened community service for me and financial sanctions for my parents. The headmaster often had me called away from classes later in the day as well so I could receive new punishments that steadily grew in severity and duration from hours, to days, to weeks, to months and eventually to more daytime hours than were still left in the school year.
This all made sense, because if you punish a kid enough, they’ll eventually learn how to plan, use a calendar, get more organised and be on time... right?
Wrong. I was missing so much class I was barely being taught anything anymore. Suddenly I found myself taking tests I never saw coming about subjects I never even heard about. I had to invent so many answers on the spot that one teacher started reading my 'hilarious' tests to his wife to make her laugh. My grades plummeted. I basically had to be on the school premises from dusk till dawn for all my detention-hours, even though I had to cycle to school for over 15 miles (and back) and had to work in the evenings. I stopped having breakfast, had no time for dinner before work, was always home late again and couldn’t sleep enough because I had to get up in the middle of the night to report for duty in the headmaster’s office long before sunrise. Somewhere in the meantime, I had to try and intercept the threatening letters from the government so I could hide them from my parents. Exhausted, I started daydreaming and messing up even more, which led to more threats, punishment, missed classes, forgotten assignments, bad grades, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to improve. Even though I desperately wanted to. It was a Catch-22 situation.
The pressure was absurd and it’s become a point of reference for me. If my brain had been capable of planning and getting organised, surely I would have learned then.
Instead, I was in serious danger of not graduating at all, after a while. By that point, I was running around half-dressed, cycling in a skirt with bare legs and wet hair in the middle of winter, always in a panic, pale, underfed, with dark circles under my eyes, until a couple of teachers seemed to decide that enough was enough. One by one, they defied the headmaster by pretending they couldn’t see me opening doors after the second bell and insisting my homework was suddenly always done (it wasn’t). I had an excellent memory, so the simple act of letting me stay in their classrooms during the lessons catapulted me to the top of those respective classes. I graduated, but only thanks to their mercy.
I had to keep showing up for punishment daily until I was excused a couple of weeks before the national final exams. Nobody ever seemed to question whether I was unorganised on purpose or if I *deserved* to be the kid who was punished more than anyone else in the school. It only seemed to confuse the obvious punks who were sometimes in detention with me for things like using graffiti on an outbuilding, sabotaging a teacher’s car or building a bomb in an empty can of Pringles to blow up a toilet. The boys asked skeptically what boring little me could possibly have done that was so bad and their questions made sense; I was this polite girl in a skirt who would never even attempt to stick chewing gum under a desk. But I didn’t know why or how everything went wrong all the time. Teachers had been punishing me ever since I was 5 when I regularly had to stand in the hallway outside the classroom for being late or loud, staying after school because my handwriting was supposedly bad on purpose, not trying hard enough to learn how to tie my shoes and failing, drifting off without finishing something, etc, etc.
When I went to college for my bachelor’s degree, I met the first person who realised I simply needed help. He also was a student and commented on my near-empty pocket diary; I’d only scribbled in the games and training sessions with the sports team I’d joined. He suddenly understood my repeated questions to the tune of ‘Wait, what assignment? A deadline? TOMORROW?!’ As the son of two psychologists, he connected my chronic lateness, the daydreaming, the clumsiness, the chaotic demeanour and the way I never seemed to stop moving with my bare dayplanner and he sat me down behind a computer to sign me up for Gmail and Google Calendar. He also introduced me to Wunderlist. He thought it would help with me losing and forgetting things all the time. It helped somewhat, especially when emails pertaining to events automatically started showing up in the Calendar. It was better than nothing, but it didn’t change my style of dumpster-fire-management to ‘plan’ my day. (Or, more accurately: have the day happen to me in a blur.) Students with ADHD in college also started diagnosing me (almost from across the room sometimes) and spontaneously offered their Ritalin. They were an awesome bunch. Unfortunately, methylphenidate made me fall asleep in the middle of the day, so I thought it was a dead end.
After college, I believe I was supposed to install and configure iCal for 2 separate professional jobs? I never got around to it. (The quality of my work was always good, so people thought it was odd, but nobody complained.)
Through the years, I started using Google Calendar more for birthdays, other recurring items, Facebook events, weddings, funerals and vacations. I tried to practise with appointments and reminders. This was a little hit and miss, especially because I still forgot to actually open Google Calendar and I also tended to not prepare for these happenings until the last minute. My husband, who met me when I was 25, attached his calendar to mine pretty soon in the relationship to help out, put things on my calendar and remind me of stuff. It didn't hurt that he has a top psychologist in his family, who noticed my ADHD without me even mentioning anything. Around the same time my husband heard an item on the radio about ADHD in women and called from the car yelling: “You have ADHD! You have all the symptoms! Everything! If you don’t have it, I’ll eat a hat. I’ll eat a store filled with hats.” I still didn't see the point of treatment then, but he’s been operating as if I were already diagnosed ever since. In the years that followed, two of my siblings got diagnosed before me.
So that's my natural level of executive functioning. Technically, I have a calendar, and a husband who helps me use it. Mission accomplished. (Not really though).
Step 2: Gather all your tasks in one place. So my therapist thought it was suboptimal for me to keep writing down tasks on my hand, in a few notebooks, in two separate bullet journals, on random pieces of papers lying around like envelopes and receipts, in Todoist, in Google Tasks and on post-its in many shades stuck everywhere. Go figure. She wanted me to pick 1 place. I glared at her. But the concept made sense.
It really happens too often that I lose a task because I throw away a piece of paper, a gust of wind blows an old post-it behind my desk or I accidentally use hand sanitizer dissolving the ink on my hand. That’s just too silly. And that's in addition to the issue that I forget tasks simply because it's in a notebook I haven't opened in two weeks.
So I picked Todoist, because I already use it to make sense of small shared projects and I like it. I put most of my tasks in there (it’s a lot). I also installed a large widget on my phone to quickly enter tasks in the inbox as soon as I think of them. It's been working pretty well.
Step 3: Add a simple 1-2-3 priority and deadlines to your tasks This is where I started to feel nauseous. I’ve never distinguished between tasks by different levels in priority. I only added an exclamation mark to a list every now and again, for tasks that needed to happen ASAP (so, last week).
To my surprise, and maybe thanks to the dexamphetamines I’ve been prescribed, it wasn’t as undoable as I thought. Turns out, Todoist has different colors for priorities (I vaguely noticed the feature before, but never used it). Grey for no priority, blue for Priority 3, orange for P2 and red for P1. The colors make sense to me. Gauging the priority of a task seems hard, but I can tell you what color a task is. I also know when a task has a real deadline and when one doesn’t. It took some effort and I struggled a bit with focus and decision fatigue, but I got it done and was quite proud of myself. Until step 4.
Step 4: Each morning, review the priorities you’ve assigned to your tasks, change priority levels, and plan your day and week accordingly. I had the biggest Error404. She wanted me to whatnow? I gave it a try. Stared at the list. Stared at the calendar. Went to get tea. Tried again. Got distracted for the rest of the day. Had to start over the next day because time had passed in which I’d officially planned to do something else. Spent half the day trying to ‘review the priority of tasks’ to plan, but got distracted by a related tasks that I thought I could knock off quickly, but it took much longer than I anticipated and I ended up not doing what I should have done that day. Gave up. Showed up empty handed at the ADHD Treatment Centre after one week.
The second week yielded essentially the same result. After the third week, I hadn’t even gotten around to giving it another go. My therapist was all encouraging words, reassuring me that setbacks were normal and that I just had to keep trying. But I already knew that this bar was too high. I felt resigned. I had such high hopes for ADHD-therapy and medication. I thought it would magically solve my problems and that somebody would finally tell me the secret to an organized life that had eluded me for all these years. Instead, the instructions were... very basic. And dexamphetamine did not enable me to sit down each day and just ‘review’ tasks and ‘plan’ my day and add ‘time blocks’. Like it’s easy, instead of a mind bendingly complicated puzzle that would consume a considerable amount of mental energy at the start of each day. (Which is how I know it’s never going to happen. I’ve learned that I need something simple enough that I can do it on my worst day.)
After 5 weeks without progress at the ADHD Treatment Centre, I mentioned that I sometimes use Goblin Tools to break down tasks. It helps me to figure out what has to be done, and it helps me get started. Goblin Tools was new for my therapist, so I heard myself explain it was just this website with AI that helps to break down tasks or figure out what to eat or how long something takes. I have it listed in my bookmarks bar in Google Chrome. When I left her office, I thought to myself that I needed a goblin ánd a pixy on my shoulder to tell me what to do. I stopped walking. What if pixies existed already as different AI tools?
Testing AI scheduling tools There are many organisational apps, some of which are very sleek and advanced, like Monday, Sunsama and Akiflow. However; they still require you to plan your day manually and that’s precisely the thing I struggle with. Which left me with Atlas AI, Trevor AI, Skedpal, Motion and Reclaim AI. (Purists will tell you that some of the software has as much to do with AI as the original Roller Coaster Tycoon, but for all intents and purposes, I’m going to refer to it as AI because that’s what we call it now even though it’s technically not artificial intelligence. Before ‘AI’ became a hype people would just refer to this as auto-scheduling or smart scheduling.)
Atlas AI This really is the most AI-rich of the selection. It looks promising for a lot more than schedule automation because its aim is to replace a real assistent, but it’s still in beta and I found that my ‘assistant’ didn’t always follow through. For instance, it can set timers, but it forgot to remind me when time was up, even though it said it would. It also planned only half of the appointments in Google Calendar that it said in black and white it would schedule. When I asked why this was the case, it replied that maybe it was my internet connection? Nice try, robot assistant who clearly learned everything from humans, including lying. Maybe next year or when it’s not in beta anymore I'll give it another go, but right now, I can’t afford for tasks and appointments to just disappear. (It’s also going to be quite expensive and geared towards business use, not personal organisation, so it was a long shot anyway.)
This left the 4 candidates more clearly dedicated to auto-scheduling my tasks on Google Calendar; Trevor AI, Skedpal, Motion App and Reclaim AI.
Trevor AI Trevor is the official ‘AI’ partner of Todoist, so it made sense to try this one, but I thought integration wasn’t that smooth. The ‘smart scheduling’ only happened after I accepted suggestions and that worked only for things I’d attached a date to. I often don’t add a solid deadline to tasks, so Trevor suggested that I buy a present for Fathers Day come June ASAP even though the task had no (=grey) priority attached and I did have much more pressing tasks at the time (this was back in april). I tried to get auto-scheduling to work, but found that I just had to drag tasks in myself to get what I wanted. I also couldn’t really figure out how it would automatically adjust my schedule after, you know, life happened, even though that’s listed as a feature. I got frustrated. Part of my tasks seemed to be missing. I actually tried twice and also removed Trevor twice.
If you prefer dragging tasks into a schedule yourself and only smart-schedule some items, or smart schedule by hand, this might be a decent option. But in that case, there are many other apps who assist with that, like Sunsama. A big part is also my brain. I couldn’t intuitively use Trevor and kept clicking on the wrong things, had to undo scheduling, that sort of thing. My biggest issue was that I couldn't get fully automated scheduling to work, but that could be my fault. It’s my impression Trever wasn’t originally meant to do that though, it’s more of a smart tool to help you see your tasks and your calendar side-by-side and decide what goes where, with some suggestions from Trevor.
Trevor is relatively affordable. You can use a basic version for free, or upgrade for smart features all the Pro-features for $3.99/mo or $36/year.
Skedpal Skedpal is reasonably (medium) priced software for smart scheduling with a wide array of options and great reviews. Project management is one of the extra attractive features. But I also noticed the interface looks a little bare bones and dated. The instruction videos are 5 years old and the blog was deserted 2 years ago. I found some old information on an app that made it seem like it wasn’t being updated? Skedpal is asking for 15 dollars a month or 10 dollars per month with a yearly subscription, which is decent, but not cheap. Ideally, you’d pick the yearly option in this case, but the idea of paying 120 dollars up front for a tool that might have been quietly abandoned or won’t receive updates anymore made me pause. If I’m going to invest money and the time to learn how to use a tool, I’d like to be able to trust that it’s going be around in the coming years. So I put Skedpal on my Plan B-pile.
However, I checked this today, to make sure, and noticed there were actually some recent tweets on X by Skedpal and also a message about beta-testing for Skedpal 3 last Januari. Skedpal is probably alive and well.I found various reviews for Skepal on social media, including from someone with ADHD, who said Skedpal worked better for them than Motion. This is saying something because there seems to be a consensus amongst reviewers that Motion is the best auto-scheduling tool on the market. It wasn’t for me though.
Motion AI After reading all the positive reviews about the high price tag that was deemed to be worth it (34 dollars a month, or $19 p/m when billed annually), my expectations were high as well. I really spent time trying to get Motion to work for me in the trial week, installing Zapier, importing tasks, getting several different apps integrated, but I found Motion to be annoyingly glitchy. I'm not the only one complaining about it either, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't my computer this time.
I ran into a particularly frustrating bug and I tried everything to solve it. I even changed the times in which tasks could be scheduled to free space to put something in, but it still wouldn’t schedule it and kept showing a ‘scheduling-conflict’ for no reason. I could solve all the other ‘scheduling conflicts’ easily enough, but this block of 2 hours just wouldn’t click into the free space for 2 hours and I couldn’t find out why. I spent hours and hours, watched videos in an effort to troubleshoot, some twice, kept asking the AI on the Motion website what could be the problem and I really, really couldn’t get it to work for me. (My frustration boiled over at one point; it wasn't pretty.)
The options on paper are amazing and endless. The task management feature is like Monday, with projects moving through stages, and it's automatized. Or you can star an important e-mail in Gmail, which can trigger Zapier to send it as a task to Motion, then Motion automatically puts it on your Calendar. (However, you could also add the e-mail to Google Tasks or Todiost via the buttons or plug-ins, and if those task managers are connected to any of the auto-scheduling tools listed here, the email would also show up on you Calendar.) It's enough to make anyone salivate.
Motion is not a match for my brain though, in part because of the bug, but it also felt a bit rigid. The system prefers that you put tasks straight into Motion directly, which makes sense and is possible, but auto-schedulers obviously require information on a task, like priority, how much time you estimate a task would take and a deadline. In Motion, a task without that information won’t be scheduled at all. But I know that I’m the kind of person who shoots a half-finished thought in the Todoist inbox without adding details until later (though I could forget) and I also don’t believe that every task needs those details (for instance, because it’s low priority and would roughly take me an hour, which should be default). I also couldn’t download/import tasks from Todoist and Google Tasks directly; only new ones or solo tasks came through with Zapier, and I spent a lot of time on that as well to get the prompts working. In the end, the tool was too hard for my brain to use and I also thought it wasn’t worth the high price point for me. However: the price is considerably lower for teams and that’s supposedly where Motion shines, also because of the project management with stages feature. I think it’s not originally geared towards personal use.
Reclaim AI I was flabbergasted that Reclaim immediately worked for me, I didn't think it was going to happen anymore. It hadn’t made the top of the list for me for several reasons. The look didn’t appeal to me much, the only app is a web-app and reviewers online consistently declared Motion the better app. I also read on the internet in older posts that people were missing certain functions that Motion had, like automatically re-scheduling tasks you haven’t marked as completed, or theming days for certain tasks, or how the program would prioritise longer tasks over urgent ones. So I'd written Reclaim off. But as soon as I tried Reclaim anyway, I stumbled across all the supposedly missing functions in the settings and instruction videos. Maybe the tool has been improved recently? Reclaim does still have an issue with recurring tasks from Todoist though. I didn't have those, so it wasn't an issue for me, but it probably is for a lot of people. Reclaim also leaves the big task management to other, existing apps and just plans everything. Motion and Skedpal do also incorporate project management within the tool. Reclaim seems to be geared a little more towards personal planning and also incorporating habits during the day, like taking a walk outside.
How visually attractive it is, is also easily adjusted (I’d assumed you were stuck with hip shades of purple), but it's actually irrelevant. I’m starting to feel like that’s almost the best thing about it. Reclaim is much more a tool doing the thinking for you in the background, unseen. I don’t really need to change my behaviour much. I’m still using my own task manager to braindump in and Reclaim schedules everything in Google Calendar. Because the connection goes both ways, I technically don't have to open Reclaim at all. I’ve taken to adding the estimated time a task will take in Todoist itself, but you can also do it in Reclaim or in Google Tasks if that's your task manager (Reclaim automatically sends you the shorthand when you connect Google Tasks). You can also change the default duration of tasks.
For the first time in my life, I have a fully planned schedule, exactly as I need it, in the time slots where I need it. Every day. Like a proper adult. I'm almost giddy. (Sure, I’m still severely underestimating how long tasks will take, but I can just add time or the machine will automatically reschedule it for me. I’ve set automatic rescheduling to after 1 day in the settings. Default is 3 days or only when time is added.)
I know what to do and when. I can stop worrying about that thing that I’m probably forgetting that I should really do first, because it’s all there in Google Calendar. And whenever I disagree with the planning, I can change the priority in Todoist/Google Tasks, go to Reclaim directly and drag the task to where I need it, or bump the task down the list showing the order decided by Reclaim. So that's pretty flexible. If tasks need more time to complete, I can just add time or click on the + button. When I add an appointment in Google Calendar, Reclaim automatically reschedules my whole calendar. When I add a task in ToDoist or Google Tasks, it’s automatically added to Google Calendar based on the priority and/or deadline I’ve added to the task.
When life happens and I only manage half the planned tasks that day (or much less), I used to have a brain-error and think ‘oh no, I did all that hard work making a planning for the week for nothing, EVERYTHING IS RUINED’. Seriously. But Reclaim just re-plans those tasks for the next day and shuffles everything else down the line. It’s just so nice to not have to think about it myself. To actually see tasks planned in time-frames, making visual what I could achieve that week (and what is definitely outside of the realm of possibilities because time is a limited resource, no matter what my brain says). Having a schedule that's always up to date makes using a calendar a lot easier.
I guess it was time, too. A long list of tasks never indicated anything to me anyway. Everything could be 5 minutes long or 10 hours long. Who knew? It felt abstract, even when I tried the Alastair Method in Bullet Journal. (Still my favourite way to do it manually on paper though, I just can't keep it up for more than 2 weeks.) Seeing all the tasks scheduled gives me more of a feeling of urgency that a static list doesn't. So not only do I know where to get started, on what and when, I actually get more done because I don’t wake up thinking ‘ooooh, another saturday… nothing planned… let’s learn to make homemade blocks of soap even though I still have 10 bottles of shower gel left!’
You can use Reclaim for free, surprisingly. I think it’s currently the only one on this list that auto-schedules for free. Free use is possible with a few basic apps like Google Calendar and Google Tasks, which makes auto-scheduling accessible for students with ADHD as well. Use with more specialised apps, including Zapier and Todoist, or extra scheduling links (for booking online meetings with clients, for instance) require a subscription starting at $10 a month or $8 when billed yearly.
I went back to my therapist and could tell her I made progress in a way I didn’t think possible. So if this is you, don’t give up hope yet and hold off on quitting therapy. See if there is a tool for you out there and how far it takes you.
Any auto-scheduling tool will definitely have a learning curve for most people, and you do need to look at the settings to determine what you want the program to do. It will cost time to set up, so it's smart to get a feel whether or not a tool would work for you, if you'd be able to add a level of priority or deadline to tasks at some point and what you'd need the tool to do. But there are plenty of tutorials on the internet, both long and short to help you get started. Goblin Tools is also free and nice to use for breaking down tasks to help get started some more (I’ll just put the links in a comment below). I hope that tools like these will continue to develop, so people who struggle with executive functioning can really lean on them. Just like glasses, a hearing aid or crutches.
I hope this helps someone out there. Thanks for reading this insane amount of text.
P.S. For simple recurring daily routines, I like the app Tiimo and a smart watch. But that’s a different story. :)

First/Previous/Next
Jack breathed heavily as he dozed in his hammock, trying his best to doze and get what little REM sleep he could. Despite his brain telling him he had to, his body just wasn’t cooperating that well, with a combination of the earlier ‘bedtime’, the rattling cargo on the shelves around them, and Jack clearly anticipating the probable danger ahead all leaving him in an uncomfortable flux state of semi-lucidity.
Deciding to make the best of the situation, he just kept his eyes shut, trying to clear his mind of his worries as he simply listened to the sound of his own breathing and the slight rumbling of the shuttle and he lay there in the hammock with Chiyo.
His battleskin underneath his clothes actually felt good in the heated cargo compartment they were in, in no small part due to his new armour, which had done a good job of keeping his body well-ventilated so that there wasn’t any discomfort when he moved. He had no idea if things were similar for the other armour types, but he and Nika had agreed that it was a perfect fit.
Jack had no idea how long it had been since they started, but there hadn’t been any problems on their journey. The crew had kept to themselves throughout, though Chiyo had been confident they had been drinking on the job, causing Sephy to loop the internal cameras and check more of the containers for anything tasty or expensive, and Jack was grateful for the bag of steak-flavoured crisps the Skritta had thrown his way earlier.
Almost idly he shifted slightly in his doze, causing the figure he was cuddled up to move with him. He had almost forgotten Chiyo was there, and he instinctively wrapped his arms around her reassuringly, before all of a sudden there was a sudden sharp wave of force, causing him to snap awake with a start, spotting where his hand had accidentally been for a split second before the hammock tipped over, causing them both to thump down to the ground with a hard thud.
Hearing the groans from all around them, Jack could see that they hadn’t been the only ones woken up by that, as Sephy was rubbing her head on the floor, while Nika was on her feet scanning for threats.
“Fuck! What was that?” one of the crew at the front exclaimed.
“I dunno! Some kind of turbulence!” another one of the men grumbled. “Fuck, rookie! You’ve gotta keep an eye on things!”
“What!? The lights were green!” the rookie exclaimed in disbelief.
“Yeah, suuuure they were!” the first voice retorted, clearly not believing them.
“Um…sorry about that,” Jack whispered. “Accident!”
Suuure it was! Chiyo teased back. Some warning would have been nice!
“Damn, well that timing could have been worse!” Sephy shrugged with a grin. “We’re nearly there, only about fifteen minutes out.”
“In that case, gear up and get ready to move,” Alora ordered them all. “We don’t want to hang around here.”
“Roger that.” Jack sighed, as he got up and began to pack.
*****
“Coming in for a landing,” the old captain professionally called out over the ship-wide comm, as Sephy finished hiding the evidence of their scrounging of the cargo.
“We all good?” Nika asked, as she gave her shotgun a quick check out of habit.
“Yep!” Sephy grinned, practising her quick draw with her twin pistols. “These magnetic clips on our armour are dead useful! Even you won’t lose your weapons easily, Jack!”
“Oh for fucks sake, you’re still gonna bring that up?!” Jack groaned as the others snorted in amusement. “You would have dropped your stuff too!”
Well, even if you do drop anything, they should automatically reattach if you’re in close enough proximity and nothing’s impeding it.
“Like Iron Man or something, right?” Jack asked, earning a bemused look from Chiyo, who obviously didn’t understand the reference, but nodded anyway.
“Heh, that doesn’t work with grenades, right?” Sephy asked with a grin. “That one might be a bit counterproductive!”
“I am very sure it doesn’t!” Alora giggled. “But Clan Bharzum know what they’re doing! I’m sure everything will be fine!”
They all held on as the shuttle made its final approach, before finally plonking to the ground. Everyone was ready by the time the crew had everything powered down.
“So, head to the docks, find the crew and be out of here in less than ten minutes,” Jack stated as if to remind everyone of what they were here to do
“Yep!” Alora confirmed. “This should only be a border town with not many people around, so I doubt there’ll even be that many ships around. Add the fact that the crew is all Megafauna, and the fact they know we’re coming, and it shouldn’t be too hard to find.”
“Um…guys….” Nika called out as the cargo ramp began to open, and Dante gave a low whine of concern. “We might have a slight problem…”
The crisp, cold breeze that buffeted them was instantly punctuated by the sounds of shouts, screams and bedlam in the distance, broken up by the occasional burst of gunfire, but it was only when the ramp fully extended to let them down could they see the chaos they were about to walk into.
The Cypherport they had expected should have been a quiet, small border town with a simple dock for traders and fishers…
The Cypherport they had landed right at the edge of made the most ghetto streets of Detroit look tame by comparison!
Tightly packed shacks and dilapidated houses leaned menacingly over a labyrinth of narrow winding streets, barely illuminated by the many grimy, flickering neon signs all over the town that cast eerie shadows over the crumbling streets, adorned with gang symbols, crude drawings and warnings, with all sorts of dangerous looking people milling about, from what they could see from where they were.
I don’t understand… Chiyo began. This can’t be the right place? We researched this place, it wasn’t meant to be like this at all!
“Maybe the info you found is outdated,” Sephy pointed out. “But everything I’ve got says this is the place…what the fuck!?”
“Everybody stick close together!” Alora warned as they slowly and carefully made their way down the ramp, with the workers barely giving them any acknowledgement. “Our plan hasn’t changed. We head to the docks and get out.”
“I can plot us a basic route, but I’m not throwing drones up until we need to,” the Skritta warned as she typed a few things on one of her tablet devices, converting the view they saw from the cargo ramp into a basic map.
“Should we use the Broaches of Disguise?” Jack asked Alora, who nodded instantly.
“Good idea, Jack,” the Eladrie agreed. “The less attention we bring to ourselves, the better.”
Quickly activating their magic, the group cautiously made their way out of the tiny Corvin Enterprises drop-off point into the shadowy dystopian streets. Now that they were close up, they could see that the buildings around them were thin and mostly composed of wood with multiple floors, with the majority having steep, high-peaked roofs that dissuaded them from attempting to traverse along the rooftops.
Looking around Jack could already see a few faces of the shady-looking inhabitants gazing their way with suspicion and curiosity, causing him to keep one hand on his gun. He didn’t care what any of these guys wanted, if anyone came up to them with no good reason, he was ready to attack at a moment's notice.
Was this what it was like to be a cop in America?
“Hey man! You wanna buy some grass?” someone called out from the side, and Jack could see a few street vendors peddling their wares from makeshift stalls. The one that had called out to them was obviously trying to sell them drugs of dubious quality, but a few others had weapons or random electronics, probably stolen. Many of the vendors were obscured under hoods or facemasks, making it impossible to discern their intentions at a glance. Jack just curtly shook his head, and kept walking forward.
This is so sketchy, Chiyo pointed out, while doing her best to keep up with them on foot, not attracting any attention by floating in the air like she usually did.
“So far so good,” Jack whispered back, before a shark crack of gunfire echoed through the streets ahead, followed by the sounds of a few smashed bottles.
“That was closer to the centre of the town,” Sephy told them, checking her map. “We stick along the outside, we can avoid that shit.”
“Speaking of shit, fucking hell it smells bad,” Nika growled as her nose was assaulted by the pungent odour wafting around them.
“It’s just like the bad parts of the city,” Alora noted. “The quicker we get out of here the better.”
“Docks aren’t far,” Sephy whispered to them. “Just down the hill.”
“I see it…” Jack whispered back as they rounded a corner onto a particularly narrow street, where a gang of thugs aggressively stared them down as they passed, though didn’t go after them. A few of them whispered among themselves and pointed, causing Dante to lowly growl under his breath.
“Reckon they made us, Chiyo?” Nika asked the Ilithii as the group briskly kept walking, toeing the fine line between casual walking without fear and running to safety.
It is possible, Chiyo replied unsurely. I don’t know for sure.
“Then we lose them in the alleyways,” Alora muttered under her breath. “Are they following us?”
They look like they’re debating it, Chiyo confirmed.
“We can break line of sight up ahead, alleyway to the right,” Sephy whispered, and Jack nodded as he led the way. They turned down the alleyway, quickly sprinting for the next turning the moment line of sight was broken, keeping their footsteps as quiet as possible as they maintained their general direction down to the docks, before finally emerging on the waterfront to a few curious glances of some very inebriated sailors.
“How are we for time?” Alora asked nobody in particular, as Jack checked his commlink.
“It’s been about ten minutes,” Jack told her. “Just need to find our ride and we can get out of here.”
“Yeah, but these docks are fucking huge,” Nika pointed out. “It’s nobody’s fault, but we’ve still got bad intel about this place.”
“Then we just walk up and down and hope for the best until we see our guy.” Jack shrugged. “We know the kind of people we’re looking for at least, right?”
Right, Chiyo agreed. Let’s go! Keep your wits about you!
*****
“Where the fuck are these assholes?” Nika grumbled about 15 minutes later as they checked the various piers for any sign of their contact. “The client told us they knew we’d be on our way!”
“Doesn’t mean they have to sit in place I suppose,” Jack reasoned. “Though I’m surprised that in a place like this they wouldn’t have a guard set up for their ship.”
“Raises a valid point though,” Sephy spoke up. “Could we steal one of the ships and make our way to where we need to go?”
Don’t forget that we need to come back here! Chiyo warned.
“Okay, we ‘borrow’ one of the ships and return it intact then…” Sephy suggested half-heartedly with chuckles from the others.
“We can keep looking around here or we can wait for someone that looks like our contacts to show up,” Alora began grimly.
“Which will take time, which we shouldn’t waste, especially if people have worked out we’re here,” Nika prompted. “Anyone with basic astral sight can see through our disguises, and anyone smart and knowledgeable enough can work it out too, so waiting around is a huge risk.”
“Or we go looking for our contacts.” Alora grimaced, hating the idea herself. “There was a lot of noise in the middle of the district. Whatever it is, if they’re not here, they’re probably there.”
Along with everyone else, Chiyo pointed out. It’s a risky move.
“Do you think it’s a risk worth taking?” Jack asked, not having a particular opinion either way.
“I would frame it as our ‘least worst option’”. Alora tentatively nodded. “But in this situation we don’t want to hang around any longer than we need to.”
“You’re right, but we’ll need to be careful.” Jack sighed. “If we can’t find them, Sephy’s idea is probably the next best thing we can do. Unless anyone else has any better ideas?”
Looking around, everyone shook their heads.
“Very well then.” Alora nodded slowly. “Everyone stay as close together as you can without attracting attention. Jack, Nika, you lead the way.”
“Got it.” Nika whispered, Jack nodding in agreement as he took point, heading towards what looked like a busy main street in the distance. Though it wasn’t as covert as he would like, he figured that they could hide in plain sight while looking for their contacts.
“Eww…” Alora muttered under her breath, as a slurring reptilian almost stumbled into them, reeking of cheap alcohol and vomit as they staggered aimlessly past, weaving unsteadily across the dirt road with glazed eyes before they smacked into a crumbling wall, earning laughs from a few nearby crowds as he pitched forward and threw up on the floor.
“Damn! Wouldn’t want to be him in the morning!” Sephy quipped, as the group saw two shady-looking men approaching the drunk with ill-intent.
I doubt that fool has anything left worth stealing, Chiyo noted as they put some distance away from the imminent mugging.
“Wait, shouldn’t we do something?” Jack asked, only for Alora to sharply shake her head.
“Best not get involved,” Nika added as they saw the two muggers run away, while the drunk guy flailed around helplessly. “Or we bring much worse down upon us.”
“Yeah…” Jack sighed, who couldn’t help but agree with the logic. He felt uneasy as they weaved their way through the sea of gutter trash, not finding anybody who looked like their contacts, but gradually getting closer to the sounds of debauchery up ahead.
As they got closer to what sounded like a wild party up ahead, Jack spotted a small, rat-like Lizta squatting down right in the middle of the road taking a dump, to the immense displeasure of Alora as they gave the degenerate a wide berth.
“Reckon that was the Pooping Bandit?” Sephy joked, as Alora shuddered in disgust at what they had just witnessed.
“Doubt it.” Nika snorted in amusement. “Designated shitting streets are probably the norm here. Hell I’d sooner trust a dirt road than anything else in this shithole.”
Let’s hurry up so we can get out of here! Chiyo hurried them along. With any luck this will be the worst thing that happens this weekend.
“Let’s hope.” Jack agreed as they kept on moving, ignoring the inquisitive glances from the various beggars and panhandlers sitting at the side of the road begging for change. Though Jack wouldn’t have minded tossing a few credsticks their way, he didn’t want to look like an appealing target for any of the gangers and other trash hanging around.
“Watch out for pickpockets,” Sephy warned, as she checked the movement of a mangy toad-looking being who tried to sidle up past them, flashing him her gun, which caused him to back off.
As the group reached the top of the hill, the sounds of raucous laughter, clinking glasses and pounding music became deafening, drowning out everything else in a cacophony of noise that reverberated through the air. The streets around them were packed with a dense crowd, clamouring and jostling as they drank what looked like ale out of dirty-looking glasses, many of them chipped or smashed.
At the centre of the main street was a great obelisk jutting out of the road several metres high that looked like it was made of bright green glass, with white runes gently glowing in swirls along the base, but Chiyo looked genuinely upset by the way the star attraction of Cypherport had been defaced and almost completely blanketed by old graffiti and vandalism, and Jack couldn’t blame her. Though it bore little significance to him, he still felt a pang of sheer disappointment at seeing such disrespect for what should have been a cultural artefact, as a blue-scaled reptilian walked up to it, dropped his trousers and began pissing against it, while another placed his hand against it and puked, leaving a yellow stream along the faded glass.
“Leave it Chiyo, it’s not worth it.” Alora whispered to the distressed Ilithii, who looked like she was about to attack the men for their desecration, with Dante whining as he pawed at Chiyo’s leg.
“Guys? Over here.” Sephy called to the group and pointed. Just ahead of them was a huge building that might have once been a town hall or a temple of some kind, but looked like it had long since been repurposed into a huge nightclub.
Bolting onto the remains of what could have once been a religious symbol was a poorly maintained neon sign that kept flickering the words ‘The Soggy Pussy’.
“Welp.” Jack began. “I think we know where they probably are.”
“Well, they’re not out here.” Nika sighed. “No getting around it then, looks like we’re heading in!”
“Looks like it.” Alora sighed, as she took point.
I doubt it needs to be said, but don’t drink or take anything here, Chiyo warned, as they sidestepped a group of four off-duty Red Legion soldiers who were taking turns snorting lines of white powder off of a half-rotted wooden picnic table.
“Really? Aww damn,” Sephy joked as they politely made their way through the crowd to the front door, where a greeter was hyping up the crowd.
“You like dicks? We’ve got dicks!” The Xarak grinned as he pointed to members of the crowd. “Here at The Soggy Pussy we got lotsa dicks for you to choose! Hairy mammal dicks! Dry reptilian dicks! Wet amphibian dicks! Soft aquatic dicks! Questionable animal dicks! Laaaaady dicks!”
“Lovely…” Alora muttered under her breath as they gave the hypeman a wide berth and headed to the door, past the towering bouncers standing guard at the entrance. For a moment Jack thought they would give them trouble, but after assessing their worthiness in the mysterious way that bouncers do, they allowed them to pass without a problem.
Ducking under the buzzing signs and projections of various disgusting things that would make even Kizzarith blush, they group was immediately engulfed in a maelstrom of chaos. The pounding bass of the local shitty music swirled through the air like a physical force, shaking the very foundations of the building and almost completely drowning everything else out. Overhead, lights flashed and span in a dizzying array of colours, casting the room into a kaleidoscope of light and shadow, disorienting the group as they looked around for their contacts. Overhead, they could see a set of well-used heavy turrets scattered all along the ceiling looking out over the crowd, a sure sign that violence was commonplace here.
We should head to the bar. Chiyo indicated to the far end of the huge room. Maybe we can ask the bartenders if they’ve seen them, might need to throw them a bribe though…
“Stay behind me.” Jack warned, as he pushed his way past the writing, dancing bodies all around them tangling to the rhythm of the music, causing him to almost gag from the putrid scent of alien sweat and pheromones. He kept to the walls as a fight broke out in the middle of the dance floor between a few rival gangs, only for a few more bouncers on duty to step in and royally beat the perpetrators until they could no longer move, chucking them against the wall to take a nap.
Turning around to make sure his friends were still close, Jack moved away from the outer wall to avoid a series of women giving ‘special attention’ to a few guys, their expressions far from focused on what was going on all around them, making a beeline for the bar past a group of mercenaries smoking something questionable that left a sickly sweet smoke in the air around them.
“What you kids want?” one of the grungy-looking Xarak bartenders grunted at them with a sly expression as they approached the bar, surprising Jack that he didn’t call them out for their age, or being here in the first place. He simply guessed they didn’t care.
“A crew of River Giants,” Alora asked the man, slipping a credstick across the bar, which he pocketed with a greasy palm. “We seek the captain.”
“Yeah they’re around.” The barman grinned a creepy, toothy smile, staring at Alora a little too intently. “First balcony up on the left.
“Thank you.” Alora nodded as politely as she could before turning away.
“Finally, let’s find them and get the fuck out of here!” Nika shouted out over the noise of the crowd. “This place is dodgy as fuck!”
More than that, there was something off about that barman, Chiyo added, with all of the group agreeing with nodding heads.
“We’d better make this quick then!” Sephy urged them on. “I see stairs heading up over there!”
Making their way through the crowd they got to the staircase in the far corner of the room, near to where an avian DJ in a ridiculous purple pimp outfit was changing tracks while hanging a crack pipe out of his beak.
“Watch yourselves going up,” Jack warned as he noted the many spills dripping beneath their feet. Carefully they made their way up, dodging a few intoxicated patrons coming in the opposite direction with by now well-practised fitness.
“That looks like them over there!” Nika pointed in the distance. Indeed, a group of about 5 or 6 large green-skinned megafauna were sat around a small coffee table laughing at a joke one of them had told in between taking shots of hard liquor.
“Excuse me?” Alora called out to the oldest one, a bald man with a thick grey beard in a simple toga. “Are you Captain Ripples-On-Salt?”
“That I am lass!” The River Giant boomed out with a grinning jovial voice. “I must say you kids are all here much earlier than we expected!”
How so? Chiyo asked curiously. You were made aware by our mutual client that we would be on our way and to expect our arrival. You didn’t even post a guard on your boat!
“What in the name of deep waters are you talking about?” Captain Ripples-On-Salt scoffed. “We got word that the mess in the city meant we wouldn’t expect you until morning, got some tokens to come here to tide us over…”
“Word from who?” Alora asked incredulously.
As Alora spoke to the captain, Jack had an uneasy feeling as he looked around. Though the crowd was massive, and most seemed to pay them no heed as they conducted their business, he could somehow sense that eyes were on him, even if he couldn’t identify where they were.
“Guys, it doesn’t matter!” Nika told them. “We should finish up and get the fuck out of here!”
As Jack looked around he suddenly felt a strange sensation forcing his senses into overdrive. Immediately dismissing it as nothing malicious, he found himself looking down at his hand where the Ring of the Berserker was snugly attached. If it had actually done anything since he had first put it on, Jack didn’t know, but now for the first time it seemed to vibrate slightly, as the gem in the middle began to glow a slight blood-red, and only grew more intense in feeling…
“Alright, finish up…” the Captain began to order his crew. “We have a-”
“Fuck!” Sephy yelled in alarm, but Jack was already moving, suddenly aware of the danger as he quickly dodged to the side to avoid the knife, before grabbing the Xarak attacker’s knife-hand in a counter, using their forward momentum to drag them in a circle to smash it’s head into the wall in one solid motion. Sephy quickly used her wings to put some distance between her and her attacker, before she magdumped her twin pistols into the Korrigan that tried to stab her while the others had barely processed what was happening.
Sensing thunderous movement closing on him, Jack drew his axe and spun around in a diagonal slash, only for the axe to be caught in a single meaty hand, while the other reached forward and closed around his neck. Quickly letting go of his axe with one of his hands, the panicking Jack grabbed onto his attacker’s fingers to barely hold them back from snapping his neck then and there…
As he struggled to break free from the hold, Jack growled in defiance at the large Ogar man he really didn’t want to see again…
“Embrace your redemption boy!” the Redeemer snarled with a face bearing scars from their last encounter, his eyes staring into Jack with hatred as he squeezed tighter…
Desperately, Jack tried to break the grapple, but the Redeemer was just too strong! Behind him, he could hear the others with their own problems, so he couldn’t afford to stall for time. The confines of the balcony made it difficult for him to move around to try and slip out of The Redeemer’s grasp.
Unless!
His legs swung at the wall as the Redeemer flailed Jack about, trying to finish him, but Jack held stubbornly on. Gritting his teeth, Jack kept his footing, before he suddenly kicked off from the wall in a burst of strength, sending The Redeemer staggering back, still keeping his hold on Jack’s neck. As the two heavy forms hit the wooden safety rail, the long-rotted wood gave way like paper and smashed into splinters and the two figures headed straight to the ground below…
*****
First/Previous/Next
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!
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“Get the fuck out of my house with this ‘ old country’ shit Sylvia, I’m serious. “ I hear my dad say from the kitchen downstairs.
“I give children and idiots three warnings. That’s your first. “ It takes me a second to recognize my aunt’s voice. I’ve only met her a handful of times, and it’s nearly 2am.
“Syl, he’s right, this is crazy. I’m Roma, I’m proud, but your part of the family, and mine are two separate things. “ My mom interjects. Her voice is calm and level.
I woke up about half way through whatever is going on, and I’m fuzzy on the details, but everyone involved is three kinds of pissed.
“So you say, but just because you ignore the other side, doesn’t mean the other side ignores you. “ Aunt Syl replies, I could never quite place her accent, but it makes her statement all the more sinister.
“Might as well make that the family motto.
Syl, there are a couple dozen other kids Nikolas’ age in the family. Half of which are already hip deep in whatever is going on nowadays, you don’t need him. “ Mom isn’t pleading, but I can hear she’s worried.
“Why are we trying to reason with your crazy aunt? Time to go Syl. “ My dad isn’t worried, he’s angry.
“That’s two. “ Aunt Sylvia replies.
I hear a chair squeak then fall to the floor.
“That’s three. “ Sylvia says, her voice is cold, and I swear I could almost hear an echo.
I can hear my dad start to quietly cough, he sounds like he’s trying to talk but can’t. My heart starts to race, I don’t understand what’s going on, but I know it’s bad.
“Syl! Jesus Christ, that’s my husband. “ Mom sounds more offended than scared now. I wish I could say the same.
I stand next to my cracked door, fear beginning to take hold.
I can hear my dad start to take long wheezing breaths, I have no idea if this is a good or bad thing.
“Happy?
Now that any hope of doing this quietly is over, Nikolas and I have a long drive ahead of us. He’s 16, he has a license, yes? “ I hear Sylvia say, sudden footsteps walking up the stairs.
“No, he’s not interested in driving. You can’t take him Syl. “ my mom sounds frantic, Sylvia’s steps are measured and heavy.
“Not interested? You sure we are related? You raise soft children. “ Sylvia ends this with a dismissive laugh.
The few minutes that followed were kind of a blur, with my mom trying to convince me that I was just going to visit family, as if I didn’t just hear everything.
It's a couple hours into a long drive in a small car when my brain finally catches up to the fact that I’m awake, and going 30 miles an hour over the speed limit.
Aunt Syl sits in the driver’s seat, she’s 40 something, olive skinned with pitch-colored hair. Her style, it’s, something.
Her outfit was the middle of a Venn diagram of hippie, punk rock and carpenter. Bracelets, flannel, paisley, and enough piercings I lost count.
“Any chance of putting both hands on the wheel? “ I say, I’m mad, but I don’t even really know why.
She holds up her left arm, and I’m shocked. It’s an ancient looking blued steel prosthetic. She flexes, the clawed, almost mitten-like hand.
“Go through too many steering wheels that way. “ She says with a smirk.
“What’s going on? “ I ask, after an agonizing fifteen minutes of silence.
“You’re a big boy, so if you want the truth, I’ll give it to you. There’s a job that needs to be done, a dangerous job. And I want you to do it.
Now, I want you, not because you’re strong, or smart, or special. We have many strong, smart, special boys.
You, I want, because you’re unknown, and, little one, disposable. “ Sylvia lets this comment hang like rotten fruit.
The next hour goes in silence, at no point do I even entertain the notion this is some kind of joke. Something about this woman’s energy, about the way she carries herself, it scares the shit out of me.
We board a plane, somehow she had all of my travel documents. Even stranger is that we get escorted past the security checkpoints, into first class.
The next words I say to Sylvia are, “You have to put that out! “ as she lights up a short, yellow, hand-rolled cigarette.
She grins, taking a long drag, it smells horrible, the cheapest roughest tobacco odor I’ve encountered.
She relaxes, a cloud of thick, grey smoke forming.
I’m stunned, not a single person says anything. At first I think maybe she’s some kind of, I don’t know, mobster or something.
But that isn’t quite right. No one is looking at her in fear, no one is telling anyone else not to say anything. It’s like no one notices what she’s doing.
“How does she do this? The little boy wonders.
I don’t come offering you a thankless task Nik. I come with an opportunity. “ Sylvia says before crushing the cigarette on the arm of a chair and tossing it into the isle.
I had questions, and between the fear and the confusion I asked every one of them.
The only response she gave me was, “You’ll see when we get there. “.
She was right.
The flight lands, and after an hour or so of driving the world’s oldest pickup through the English countryside, we wind up at an old farm house, in the middle of nowhere outside of Hammersmith.
The sign outside says “ Gritt Auctions” the letters are old, bronze and tarnished, the grounds are littered with car parts, statues, and errata of every type.
Dozens, maybe even a hundred people mill about each stopping for a moment to give a suspicious look at the interloper in their midst.
Sylvia seems amused at my nervousness. I try and give the rough looking folks around me as much space as I can.
“They’re family, mostly, by blood or marriage, with a handful of lost souls and hangers on. “ She explains.
I probably should have guessed, seeing my mom’s family name on the sign, but my brain is basically nothing more than fear, anxiety and jet lag at this point.
“When do I get to know what’s going on? “ I say, waving at a cousin of some form and receive a uniquely English rude gesture in return.
My ear is ringing, and I stumble , the left side of my face burning. I’d say Syl slapped me, but it was more of a polite punch.
“Don’t whine. You’ve been stolen from your mother, treated like a dog, and judging by Robert’s attitude, rejected by your family.
I don’t want to hear whining, you angry, soft boy? “ Sylvia stops and turns toward me. I notice the people around us stop their tasks, interested in our conversation.
“No… “ I begin, not wanting to piss her off.
I don’t even see the next slap, but it puts me on my ass.
“Next one’s with the left hand.
Are you angry Nikolas? “ Sylvia looms over me like a raven.
I feel something before I get to my feet, a hot, quick flash of hatred. A context free rage at the fucked up situation I’m in.
“Answer is still no. Because to be angry, I’d have to know a God-Damned thing about what’s going on.
But my lunatic aunt just picked me up and now I’m standing in the middle of whatever the English equivalent to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre family is.
For all I know, I’m your new King. So no, I’m not angry, I’m annoyed, and maybe a bit worried my gene pool really needs some chlorine. “ I’m shocked at what I’m saying, but I see some smiles, hear a few laughs.
Sylvia’s face seems to soften slightly.
“There’s the Gritt in you. “ She says, starting to walk to an old barn.
I catch up to her as I attempt in vain to dust myself off.
Sylvia opens a small, strangely modern looking door, inside a row of lights automatically flip on.
In contrast to the rotten wood exterior, the inside of the barn looks modern, design wise it’s half way between a hospital and a car repair shop. Equipment of unknown purpose, gurneys and cages of all sizes and types surround me.
Sylvia walks to a door at the back, then pauses.
“Before I open this door, you need to understand something.
There is no fortune telling, or reading of cards here. The cloak of the traveller, the bangles of the gypsy, these are all ways of navigating the world to us. Ways to exist on the fringes of society.
The Gritt family, we trade in the unknown. We find, we collect, and we sell. And ours is no petty collection of trinkets and tools not meant for the hands of man.
Our grift, is livestock. “
The woman opens the door, and what I see, sitting, chained in one corner of the industrial cement walled cell shakes everything I thought I knew about reality.
He's six and a half feet tall, his skin a waxy yellow, and every spare inch is festooned with black stitching, rusted pieces of metal or small splinters of bone.
His face is noseless and asymmetrical, almost as if repaired or modified over and over. One eye is a small, sinister looking orb with a red pupil, the other a massive, almost reptilian thing, wildly twitching about.
He wears no shirt, but a long, grey hide Trenchcoat hangs down to his knees. I start to shake as I see it’s made from layers of stitched human skin.
He sneers at us, long, conical teeth catch the harsh halogen light.
The thing strains against the chains, but they bind him tightly enough to the wall he can barely move.
“You’re not lasting more than 4 seconds kid. Just turn the fuck around. I’ll have you slitting your wrists in the corner by nightfall. “ The thing says, it’s voice is foul, almost a physical force. Grating, rage filled, and with a lunatic edge to it that makes me question exactly how much those chains can take.
“ 3/10, Augustus, who do you think you are scaring with that limp dick of a threat? “ Sylvia says, confidently walking up to the creature.
It snaps it’s jaws with a sound like a rifle shot. No where near Sylvia, but enough to make me jump on the other side of the room.
“If I could stop being threatened and hearing my aunt talk about dicks, I’d be a huge fan. “ I say, something deep within me, pushing past the fear and lack of sleep, “And if anything feels like just telling me what’s going on instead of being vague and creepy, even better. “
The chained thing looks to me, curious. Sylvia smirks.
“Augustus is going to be forced to fight others like him until eventually he gets what’s coming to him for years of evil.
You, are going to stand next to him while he does it. “ Sylvia begins to walk away from the thing, ignoring vile threats of both the violent and carnal variety.
I try to follow her out the door and she blocks me.
“If your still sane and alive in the morning, I was right. Good luck soft boy. “ She says before closing the heavy metal door.
Without her, I feel tiny, that spark of rage is snuffed out and replaced with a cold sense of dread.
“You’re going to have to turn around sometime kid. “ The chained creature says.
I turn, slowly, resolving to make eye contact with the thing. I manage a second or two before looking away, the creature cackles, mocking me.
“Holy shit, they sent me an honest to God pussy. Whole family full of void fucked apes and they send me you?
The best part is, you don’t even get it. I can see what you’re thinking kid, I can see that tiny collection of hormones and goo you vainly call a brain going into overdrive trying to figure this out… “ Augustus starts.
The creature kept going, I don’t have an exact count but it was at least twelve hours.
I can only describe it as a verbal assault. Augustus drew from some dark wells, how it knew half of the things it did scared me as much as it’s clawed hands or, piranha-like teeth.
I lost something that night. The fears that thing drug up, the insecurities it played on, the secrets it knew, it crushed any childlike notions of safety or understanding the world I had.
Don’t take that the wrong way, I don’t mean it toughened me up. It broke any sense of confidence I had, took away any feeling of safety. That God Damned thing in the trenchcoat, changed me.
I’ve lost track of how long it’s been since I’ve slept, but I’m brought a tin plate heaped with eggs, sausage and for some twisted reason, brown beans. And realize it’s been at least a day since I’ve eaten.
I sit around an abused, graffiti carved picnic table with an eclectic combination of family I’ve never met. Syl sips a tea I can smell from ten feet away and looks at me like I’m a used car.
“I’m always right soft boy. Remember that. “ She says.
It takes a half dozen guys built like construction workers, with Sylvia following behind whispering things that wilt vegetation, to wrangle the creature into the back of an old, reinforced horse trailer.
The inside is covered in totems, runes, and other spooky looking errata. The entity becomes sluggish and disoriented as the heavy wooden doors close, and get sealed with a massive brass lock.
My mind begins to wander on the three hour trip through the back country of the UK. The sun sets, and my brain screams for sleep. That scream is silenced by the sense of mounting dread as we get closer to our destination.
We pull up to an abandoned theme restaurant, the parking lot is full, the windows are boarded, and the walls covered in graffiti. The place is huge, more the size of a small stadium than a diner.
The parking lot is full, the sputtering, sparking neon sign flashes “Faron’s Funhouse. “
It’s a few minutes outside of a town I forgot to catch the name of. We can see lights on the horizon, but there’s a feeling of wrong surrounding the building that makes them seem a million miles away.
A half dozen ‘cousins’ of mine move Augustus into a strange, almost coffin-like box made of wood, steel and glass, covered in trinkets and symbols. The thing sneers groggily from within, it’s mismatched eyes rolling in it’s skull.
I don’t hear Sylvia approach, I notice her as she smacks me in the back of the head hard enough to make my ears ring. The old, cruel woman is walking toward the doors of this meeting place.
“Eyes forward, sneer on your face, and walk like you know where you’re going. “ Are her only instructions.
For once, they’re clear and simple. What I see inside easily keeps my attention, and I’m equal parts scared and pissed off, so looking edgy and miserable is my default state.
At one point, this place was exactly what you’d think. I know you’re all expecting it to be a run down, rat infested haunted house now, but it was, stranger than that.
The place was well kept on the inside, but everything was either in use or repurposed to house the couple hundred eclectic customers milling around. In the centre, is a massive Lucite Cube, crystal clear and housing a ball pit, jungle gym and what looks to be a functional canteen, complete with a deep fryer and popcorn machine. It’s a couple hundred meters a side, and shaped like a flawed rectangle.
Smoke hangs in the air, my aunt greets old friends in a handful of different languages, I smile and nod, still trying to understand what the hell this place is.
We see Augustus being wheeled to the Lucite box, Sylvia cuts a laughing Cyrillic conversation short, and her and I make our way to the box that barely restrains the hatred and death inside.
At the other end of the Lucite Cube I see a few people dressed in blue and maroon uniforms ( if I were to guess vintage, from when this place served shitty food instead of violence.), they surround a massive, hulking, lanky thing. It’s obscured by smoke, and poor lighting, but it’s nine foot frame, and unnatural gait are clear.
The box holding Augustus sits about ten feet away from me, inside the massive cage. The front opens, my instinct is to step backward, get as much distance between me and the thing inside as possible, but instead, I’m shoved, before I can catch my balance, a workbook clad foot is in front of me.
I fall and stumble into the cage, I turn around to try and get out as fast as I can, I’m standing inches away from the creature, but I see Sylvia closing the clear, impermeable door.
It hits me then. For the first time since this ordeal started, I realize how grim things are.
Just like everyone else here, I’ve been raised on spooky shit packaged to be marketable. Little monsters, The Adams Family, Harry potter, hell let’s throw Pokemon and the like in there as it’s basically just dog fighting with a cute hat on.
And I thought what was happening to me, was somewhere on the Venn diagram of those things.
But as I see the impassive look on the face of a woman I’ve known since I was a child, ( at a distance or no.) as I’m locked in here with God knows what, I get it. I really get it.
His laughter is like an ice pick, I turn to face him, Augustus brushes himself off, casually looking around the massive arena.
“Just hit ya didn’t it, bud? “ He says, walking over to me, his steps impossibly quick, almost insect-like, “You’re not my trainer, or my wrangler, you certainly aren’t my fucking partner. “, the entity grabs my chin between two clawed fingers, “ You’re a bait dog. Something for me and that new blooded walking pun to fight over. “
My blood runs down his thumb, his grin cracks his face like a rotten melon, the monster pulls down, throwing me to the floor.
A buzzer sounds, and a three minute timer, projected in transparent red appears on the walls of the Lucite arena.
“If I’ve got to hunt you down in this shit-hole, things are going to be a lot worse for you. Stay put, bud. “ The trenchcoat clad thing says, casually walking toward the creature on the opposite side of the arena.
Closer now, I see it clearly. Inside of a pristine uniform, is a twisted attempt at the human form. The torso is lumpen, asymmetrical, but lean. It's arms nearly drag on the floor, yellow, infected looking flesh, weeping pus like a snail’s foot.
It's eyes are black caves, with just the hint of something deep within. It’s face is blank, a torn, haggard looking grey tongue runs over rotting green teeth.
The kid beside it looks around my age, he’s big though, just as confused and afraid as I am. He wears a similar uniform to the creature, but his looks, abused, torn, blood stained. Like it's been handed down from one unlucky owner to the next.
As the buzzer rings, the lanky, disgusting creature moves in a flash, tearing off the kid’s right arm and beginning to chew it.
The blood didn’t set me off, as terrible as it was. It was the three seconds between the act, and the poor kid realizing what happened that pushed me over the edge.
He started to scream, a horrible trapped animal kind of noise. He backs away from the monster beside him, gripping the crushed and torn remains of his forearm.
Augustus laughs, his trenchcoat drags on the floor, leaving a streak of blood as he walks.
“Man after my own heart.
So, I say, we split these sides of beef for two minutes then talk shop for a bit. Fuck these pretentious apes and their show. “ Augustus looks up to the massive thing. It remains impassive, gnawing on the hand.
“Don’t be like that. We both know two halves are better than one whole . Win-win for both of us“ Augustus gets a noise that sounds like an angry sewer pipe, and a dismissive wave of a long snake-like arm in response.
The thing in the trenchcoat shrugs, turning around and stalking toward me.
“You have no luck at all kid, I was going to let you go last.
But the pinworm back there wants to be a dick about things, so looks like things are getting started early. “ Augustus grins, his mouth opening shark like.
I stare down certain death, Augustus radiating fear, seeming to become more demonic with each step toward me.
From behind him, a noise.
I would have just assumed it was some part of the worm-like, filth ridden thing eating. Augustus clears up that misconception.
He turns, shaking, body language that of a wild animal.
“Was that a fucking snicker? A giggle? Are you fucking laughing at me, you literal fucking worm. “ He’s panting, hands twitching like dying insects.
He stands, inches from the other creature, dwarfed by it, teeth grinding, muscles straining.
The worm thing casually tosses the flesh bare hand toward Augustus. As it touches his coat, the arena erupts into a kind of wild, senseless, limitless violence.
It doesn’t feel like watching a fight, it’s more like a car wreck, or natural disaster. Pieces of jungle gym turn into lethal shrapnel as the blurred, filth spewing scrum destroys them.
I see the timer, 2:15. My mind starts to catch up, and I see the other kid, pale, whimpering, and trying in vain to staunch the blood spurting from his arm.
I’m running, low and likely poorly, pulling my belt from my pants, and thanking myself for actually listening when I was forced to take a first aid course for a summer job last year.
The kid is scared, he tries pushing me away, but I’m determined, and not down a couple pints of blood. I pull the belt with two hands, pull it through again and twist, it’s ugly, it’s not perfect, but the flow of blood begins to slow, then stop.
We crawl behind a prize counter, decades old candy and stuffed animals surround us as we cower. A liquid filled roar loud enough to crack the cheap glass cases fills the room.
The kid is looking rough, blood still trickling from the torn stump of his forearm. I see some plastic bags and get an idea.
I lean over to get them, and feel something strange, at first I think I pulled a muscle.
Then there is a deep, burning pain, instinctively I pull away, and turn around.
The kid is on his knees, sanity has left his eyes, a cheap hunting knife in his remaining hand he has a look of panic and determination on his face.
“We have to win. “ he says, lunging at me with the blade.
He’s slow, and I avoid it, but not by as much as I’d like. Blood runs down my back, for a moment I wonder how bad I’m hurt, but it doesn’t really matter right now.
I retreat, but the only thing keeping us from being torn apart by the whirlwind of shrapnel caused by the creatures is the counter, I can’t escape.
It's a stalemate, I’m no athlete, and the kid is built like a rugby player, but he’s missing a hand, and delirious from blood loss. I plead, I try and reason, and I dodge crazed strikes by increasingly narrow margins.
Something large, either thrown or knocked loose destroys the counter behind me. Suddenly all is chaos. I’m thrown into the kid in the uniform, plaster dust surrounds us in a grey cloud.
By the time the air clears the kid is on top of me. I have his wrist in one hand, keeping the split tip of the blade inches from my face.
The angle is too awkward, I can’t get any leverage. It’s not a stalemate, it’s a war of attrition that I’m losing.
I catch a glimpse of the two creatures. The worm thing is striking at Augustus, who stands still, limbs moving in arcing blurs deflecting the blows and tearing off chunks of foul, tainted flesh.
The tip of the knife begins to dig into my cheek. A drop of blood hits my eye.
I grab the makeshift tourniquet with a free hand and roughly yank forward. The kid on top of me screams, bloods begins to pour. Torn flesh and a gore soaked belt hit the ground.
For a moment the weight on me eases up, and I push the knife forward. But the kid, he’s too stupid or far gone to just back off. As I feel is strength start to fade, he presses himself harder.
I expect him to back off as I begin to drive the roughly sharpened back edge of the knife into his neck. But he doubles down, leaning forward, trying to press the knife toward me.
For a moment, every other fucked up thing going on around me doesn’t matter. The world is small, silent, and consists of nothing more than the image of the knife ripping away a fist sized strip from the kids neck.
He backs off when he realizes the extent of the damage. Staring at me shocked, as if just not realizing the consequences of his actions.
He dies slowly, poorly, and within inches of me. I feel no victory, no sense of being a winner, just a dark pit in the back of my mind. The loss of something that comes with taking someone’s life.
I stand, shell shocked, staring at the corpse. My safety the last thing on my mind.
The worm thing is hurt, and attempts to dive into the ball pit, but somehow, defying physics, Augustus grabs it, holding the half ton monster out with one hand.
He arcs the thing, slamming it into the floor behind him, the spray of gore and viscera rivals pyrotechnics, the force leaves a blood filled crater in the floor.
Without missing a beat Augustus starts to walk toward me, making a token effort of flicking pieces of bone and organ from himself.
I’m frozen, I know nothing I can do could stop whatever he has planned.
The creature picks up a jagged piece of lumber, and looks at the clock, “We’ve got 45 seconds of fun left kid. “ he says with a sneer.
But as he passes the counter, and sees the corpse the look of imminent violence turns into amusement.
“How’s it feel to be a child killer, bud? “, Augustus laughs, “Not that I can’t tell from the look on your face.
Fuck me, that knocked some gears loose didn’t it? “
The thing walks forward, looking me over like a collectable.
“I can’t let that go to waste, now can I? “ he slaps me lightly, “It’s going to be a fucking blast watching you break down kid, wonder what drives you nuts first, this kid being in your dreams, or the fact that, at some point I’m going to get bored and start giving you all the pain you feel you deserve? “
Of course, I made it out alive. It’d be kind of hard to have posted this if I didn’t.
But now, I sit in a dingy room in a farm house half way across the world from home. Surrounded by family and monsters, all of which seem out to get me. Being forced to risk my life in some kind of blood sport.
Maybe I’ll be back, maybe I’ll be dead by the next time I get a chance to post anything. If anyone has any help, please, post it in the comments. I’m in a dark place here and no one else seems to be on my side.
I decided to update everyone
https://www.reddit.com/HFY/s/ypogh9ZYrZ

“Get the fuck out of my house with this ‘ old country’ shit Sylvia, I’m serious. “ I hear my dad say from the kitchen downstairs.
“I give children and idiots three warnings. That’s your first. “ It takes me a second to recognize my aunt’s voice. I’ve only met her a handful of times, and it’s nearly 2am.
“Syl, he’s right, this is crazy. I’m Roma, I’m proud, but your part of the family, and mine are two separate things. “ My mom interjects. Her voice is calm and level.
I woke up about half way through whatever is going on, and I’m fuzzy on the details, but everyone involved is three kinds of pissed.
“So you say, but just because you ignore the other side, doesn’t mean the other side ignores you. “ Aunt Syl replies, I could never quite place her accent, but it makes her statement all the more sinister.
“Might as well make that the family motto.
Syl, there are a couple dozen other kids Nikolas’ age in the family. Half of which are already hip deep in whatever is going on nowadays, you don’t need him. “ Mom isn’t pleading, but I can hear she’s worried.
“Why are we trying to reason with your crazy aunt? Time to go Syl. “ My dad isn’t worried, he’s angry.
“That’s two. “ Aunt Sylvia replies.
I hear a chair squeak then fall to the floor.
“That’s three. “ Sylvia says, her voice is cold, and I swear I could almost hear an echo.
I can hear my dad start to quietly cough, he sounds like he’s trying to talk but can’t. My heart starts to race, I don’t understand what’s going on, but I know it’s bad.
“Syl! Jesus Christ, that’s my husband. “ Mom sounds more offended than scared now. I wish I could say the same.
I stand next to my cracked door, fear beginning to take hold.
I can hear my dad start to take long wheezing breaths, I have no idea if this is a good or bad thing.
“Happy?
Now that any hope of doing this quietly is over, Nikolas and I have a long drive ahead of us. He’s 16, he has a license, yes? “ I hear Sylvia say, sudden footsteps walking up the stairs.
“No, he’s not interested in driving. You can’t take him Syl. “ my mom sounds frantic, Sylvia’s steps are measured and heavy.
“Not interested? You sure we are related? You raise soft children. “ Sylvia ends this with a dismissive laugh.
The few minutes that followed were kind of a blur, with my mom trying to convince me that I was just going to visit family, as if I didn’t just hear everything.
It's a couple hours into a long drive in a small car when my brain finally catches up to the fact that I’m awake, and going 30 miles an hour over the speed limit.
Aunt Syl sits in the driver’s seat, she’s 40 something, olive skinned with pitch-colored hair. Her style, it’s, something.
Her outfit was the middle of a Venn diagram of hippie, punk rock and carpenter. Bracelets, flannel, paisley, and enough piercings I lost count.
“Any chance of putting both hands on the wheel? “ I say, I’m mad, but I don’t even really know why.
She holds up her left arm, and I’m shocked. It’s an ancient looking blued steel prosthetic. She flexes, the clawed, almost mitten-like hand.
“Go through too many steering wheels that way. “ She says with a smirk.
“What’s going on? “ I ask, after an agonizing fifteen minutes of silence.
“You’re a big boy, so if you want the truth, I’ll give it to you. There’s a job that needs to be done, a dangerous job. And I want you to do it.
Now, I want you, not because you’re strong, or smart, or special. We have many strong, smart, special boys.
You, I want, because you’re unknown, and, little one, disposable. “ Sylvia lets this comment hang like rotten fruit.
The next hour goes in silence, at no point do I even entertain the notion this is some kind of joke. Something about this woman’s energy, about the way she carries herself, it scares the shit out of me.
We board a plane, somehow she had all of my travel documents. Even stranger is that we get escorted past the security checkpoints, into first class.
The next words I say to Sylvia are, “You have to put that out! “ as she lights up a short, yellow, hand-rolled cigarette.
She grins, taking a long drag, it smells horrible, the cheapest roughest tobacco odor I’ve encountered.
She relaxes, a cloud of thick, grey smoke forming.
I’m stunned, not a single person says anything. At first I think maybe she’s some kind of, I don’t know, mobster or something.
But that isn’t quite right. No one is looking at her in fear, no one is telling anyone else not to say anything. It’s like no one notices what she’s doing.
“How does she do this? The little boy wonders.
I don’t come offering you a thankless task Nik. I come with an opportunity. “ Sylvia says before crushing the cigarette on the arm of a chair and tossing it into the isle.
I had questions, and between the fear and the confusion I asked every one of them.
The only response she gave me was, “You’ll see when we get there. “.
She was right.
The flight lands, and after an hour or so of driving the world’s oldest pickup through the English countryside, we wind up at an old farm house, in the middle of nowhere outside of Hammersmith.
The sign outside says “ Gritt Auctions” the letters are old, bronze and tarnished, the grounds are littered with car parts, statues, and errata of every type.
Dozens, maybe even a hundred people mill about each stopping for a moment to give a suspicious look at the interloper in their midst.
Sylvia seems amused at my nervousness. I try and give the rough looking folks around me as much space as I can.
“They’re family, mostly, by blood or marriage, with a handful of lost souls and hangers on. “ She explains.
I probably should have guessed, seeing my mom’s family name on the sign, but my brain is basically nothing more than fear, anxiety and jet lag at this point.
“When do I get to know what’s going on? “ I say, waving at a cousin of some form and receive a uniquely English rude gesture in return.
My ear is ringing, and I stumble , the left side of my face burning. I’d say Syl slapped me, but it was more of a polite punch.
“Don’t whine. You’ve been stolen from your mother, treated like a dog, and judging by Robert’s attitude, rejected by your family.
I don’t want to hear whining, you angry, soft boy? “ Sylvia stops and turns toward me. I notice the people around us stop their tasks, interested in our conversation.
“No… “ I begin, not wanting to piss her off.
I don’t even see the next slap, but it puts me on my ass.
“Next one’s with the left hand.
Are you angry Nikolas? “ Sylvia looms over me like a raven.
I feel something before I get to my feet, a hot, quick flash of hatred. A context free rage at the fucked up situation I’m in.
“Answer is still no. Because to be angry, I’d have to know a God-Damned thing about what’s going on.
But my lunatic aunt just picked me up and now I’m standing in the middle of whatever the English equivalent to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre family is.
For all I know, I’m your new King. So no, I’m not angry, I’m annoyed, and maybe a bit worried my gene pool really needs some chlorine. “ I’m shocked at what I’m saying, but I see some smiles, hear a few laughs.
Sylvia’s face seems to soften slightly.
“There’s the Gritt in you. “ She says, starting to walk to an old barn.
I catch up to her as I attempt in vain to dust myself off.
Sylvia opens a small, strangely modern looking door, inside a row of lights automatically flip on.
In contrast to the rotten wood exterior, the inside of the barn looks modern, design wise it’s half way between a hospital and a car repair shop. Equipment of unknown purpose, gurneys and cages of all sizes and types surround me.
Sylvia walks to a door at the back, then pauses.
“Before I open this door, you need to understand something.
There is no fortune telling, or reading of cards here. The cloak of the traveller, the bangles of the gypsy, these are all ways of navigating the world to us. Ways to exist on the fringes of society.
The Gritt family, we trade in the unknown. We find, we collect, and we sell. And ours is no petty collection of trinkets and tools not meant for the hands of man.
Our grift, is livestock. “
The woman opens the door, and what I see, sitting, chained in one corner of the industrial cement walled cell shakes everything I thought I knew about reality.
He's six and a half feet tall, his skin a waxy yellow, and every spare inch is festooned with black stitching, rusted pieces of metal or small splinters of bone.
His face is noseless and asymmetrical, almost as if repaired or modified over and over. One eye is a small, sinister looking orb with a red pupil, the other a massive, almost reptilian thing, wildly twitching about.
He wears no shirt, but a long, grey hide Trenchcoat hangs down to his knees. I start to shake as I see it’s made from layers of stitched human skin.
He sneers at us, long, conical teeth catch the harsh halogen light.
The thing strains against the chains, but they bind him tightly enough to the wall he can barely move.
“You’re not lasting more than 4 seconds kid. Just turn the fuck around. I’ll have you slitting your wrists in the corner by nightfall. “ The thing says, it’s voice is foul, almost a physical force. Grating, rage filled, and with a lunatic edge to it that makes me question exactly how much those chains can take.
“ 3/10, Augustus, who do you think you are scaring with that limp dick of a threat? “ Sylvia says, confidently walking up to the creature.
It snaps it’s jaws with a sound like a rifle shot. No where near Sylvia, but enough to make me jump on the other side of the room.
“If I could stop being threatened and hearing my aunt talk about dicks, I’d be a huge fan. “ I say, something deep within me, pushing past the fear and lack of sleep, “And if anything feels like just telling me what’s going on instead of being vague and creepy, even better. “
The chained thing looks to me, curious. Sylvia smirks.
“Augustus is going to be forced to fight others like him until eventually he gets what’s coming to him for years of evil.
You, are going to stand next to him while he does it. “ Sylvia begins to walk away from the thing, ignoring vile threats of both the violent and carnal variety.
I try to follow her out the door and she blocks me.
“If your still sane and alive in the morning, I was right. Good luck soft boy. “ She says before closing the heavy metal door.
Without her, I feel tiny, that spark of rage is snuffed out and replaced with a cold sense of dread.
“You’re going to have to turn around sometime kid. “ The chained creature says.
I turn, slowly, resolving to make eye contact with the thing. I manage a second or two before looking away, the creature cackles, mocking me.
“Holy shit, they sent me an honest to God pussy. Whole family full of void fucked apes and they send me you?
The best part is, you don’t even get it. I can see what you’re thinking kid, I can see that tiny collection of hormones and goo you vainly call a brain going into overdrive trying to figure this out… “ Augustus starts.
The creature kept going, I don’t have an exact count but it was at least twelve hours.
I can only describe it as a verbal assault. Augustus drew from some dark wells, how it knew half of the things it did scared me as much as it’s clawed hands or, piranha-like teeth.
I lost something that night. The fears that thing drug up, the insecurities it played on, the secrets it knew, it crushed any childlike notions of safety or understanding the world I had.
Don’t take that the wrong way, I don’t mean it toughened me up. It broke any sense of confidence I had, took away any feeling of safety. That God Damned thing in the trenchcoat, changed me.
I’ve lost track of how long it’s been since I’ve slept, but I’m brought a tin plate heaped with eggs, sausage and for some twisted reason, brown beans. And realize it’s been at least a day since I’ve eaten.
I sit around an abused, graffiti carved picnic table with an eclectic combination of family I’ve never met. Syl sips a tea I can smell from ten feet away and looks at me like I’m a used car.
“I’m always right soft boy. Remember that. “ She says.
It takes a half dozen guys built like construction workers, with Sylvia following behind whispering things that wilt vegetation, to wrangle the creature into the back of an old, reinforced horse trailer.
The inside is covered in totems, runes, and other spooky looking errata. The entity becomes sluggish and disoriented as the heavy wooden doors close, and get sealed with a massive brass lock.
My mind begins to wander on the three hour trip through the back country of the UK. The sun sets, and my brain screams for sleep. That scream is silenced by the sense of mounting dread as we get closer to our destination.
We pull up to an abandoned theme restaurant, the parking lot is full, the windows are boarded, and the walls covered in graffiti. The place is huge, more the size of a small stadium than a diner.
The parking lot is full, the sputtering, sparking neon sign flashes “Faron’s Funhouse. “
It’s a few minutes outside of a town I forgot to catch the name of. We can see lights on the horizon, but there’s a feeling of wrong surrounding the building that makes them seem a million miles away.
A half dozen ‘cousins’ of mine move Augustus into a strange, almost coffin-like box made of wood, steel and glass, covered in trinkets and symbols. The thing sneers groggily from within, it’s mismatched eyes rolling in it’s skull.
I don’t hear Sylvia approach, I notice her as she smacks me in the back of the head hard enough to make my ears ring. The old, cruel woman is walking toward the doors of this meeting place.
“Eyes forward, sneer on your face, and walk like you know where you’re going. “ Are her only instructions.
For once, they’re clear and simple. What I see inside easily keeps my attention, and I’m equal parts scared and pissed off, so looking edgy and miserable is my default state.
At one point, this place was exactly what you’d think. I know you’re all expecting it to be a run down, rat infested haunted house now, but it was, stranger than that.
The place was well kept on the inside, but everything was either in use or repurposed to house the couple hundred eclectic customers milling around. In the centre, is a massive Lucite Cube, crystal clear and housing a ball pit, jungle gym and what looks to be a functional canteen, complete with a deep fryer and popcorn machine. It’s a couple hundred meters a side, and shaped like a flawed rectangle.
Smoke hangs in the air, my aunt greets old friends in a handful of different languages, I smile and nod, still trying to understand what the hell this place is.
We see Augustus being wheeled to the Lucite box, Sylvia cuts a laughing Cyrillic conversation short, and her and I make our way to the box that barely restrains the hatred and death inside.
At the other end of the Lucite Cube I see a few people dressed in blue and maroon uniforms ( if I were to guess vintage, from when this place served shitty food instead of violence.), they surround a massive, hulking, lanky thing. It’s obscured by smoke, and poor lighting, but it’s nine foot frame, and unnatural gait are clear.
The box holding Augustus sits about ten feet away from me, inside the massive cage. The front opens, my instinct is to step backward, get as much distance between me and the thing inside as possible, but instead, I’m shoved, before I can catch my balance, a workbook clad foot is in front of me.
I fall and stumble into the cage, I turn around to try and get out as fast as I can, I’m standing inches away from the creature, but I see Sylvia closing the clear, impermeable door.
It hits me then. For the first time since this ordeal started, I realize how grim things are.
Just like everyone else here, I’ve been raised on spooky shit packaged to be marketable. Little monsters, The Adams Family, Harry potter, hell let’s throw Pokemon and the like in there as it’s basically just dog fighting with a cute hat on.
And I thought what was happening to me, was somewhere on the Venn diagram of those things.
But as I see the impassive look on the face of a woman I’ve known since I was a child, ( at a distance or no.) as I’m locked in here with God knows what, I get it. I really get it.
His laughter is like an ice pick, I turn to face him, Augustus brushes himself off, casually looking around the massive arena.
“Just hit ya didn’t it, bud? “ He says, walking over to me, his steps impossibly quick, almost insect-like, “You’re not my trainer, or my wrangler, you certainly aren’t my fucking partner. “, the entity grabs my chin between two clawed fingers, “ You’re a bait dog. Something for me and that new blooded walking pun to fight over. “
My blood runs down his thumb, his grin cracks his face like a rotten melon, the monster pulls down, throwing me to the floor.
A buzzer sounds, and a three minute timer, projected in transparent red appears on the walls of the Lucite arena.
“If I’ve got to hunt you down in this shit-hole, things are going to be a lot worse for you. Stay put, bud. “ The trenchcoat clad thing says, casually walking toward the creature on the opposite side of the arena.
Closer now, I see it clearly. Inside of a pristine uniform, is a twisted attempt at the human form. The torso is lumpen, asymmetrical, but lean. It's arms nearly drag on the floor, yellow, infected looking flesh, weeping pus like a snail’s foot.
It's eyes are black caves, with just the hint of something deep within. It’s face is blank, a torn, haggard looking grey tongue runs over rotting green teeth.
The kid beside it looks around my age, he’s big though, just as confused and afraid as I am. He wears a similar uniform to the creature, but his looks, abused, torn, blood stained. Like it's been handed down from one unlucky owner to the next.
As the buzzer rings, the lanky, disgusting creature moves in a flash, tearing off the kid’s right arm and beginning to chew it.
The blood didn’t set me off, as terrible as it was. It was the three seconds between the act, and the poor kid realizing what happened that pushed me over the edge.
He started to scream, a horrible trapped animal kind of noise. He backs away from the monster beside him, gripping the crushed and torn remains of his forearm.
Augustus laughs, his trenchcoat drags on the floor, leaving a streak of blood as he walks.
“Man after my own heart.
So, I say, we split these sides of beef for two minutes then talk shop for a bit. Fuck these pretentious apes and their show. “ Augustus looks up to the massive thing. It remains impassive, gnawing on the hand.
“Don’t be like that. We both know two halves are better than one whole . Win-win for both of us“ Augustus gets a noise that sounds like an angry sewer pipe, and a dismissive wave of a long snake-like arm in response.
The thing in the trenchcoat shrugs, turning around and stalking toward me.
“You have no luck at all kid, I was going to let you go last.
But the pinworm back there wants to be a dick about things, so looks like things are getting started early. “ Augustus grins, his mouth opening shark like.
I stare down certain death, Augustus radiating fear, seeming to become more demonic with each step toward me.
From behind him, a noise.
I would have just assumed it was some part of the worm-like, filth ridden thing eating. Augustus clears up that misconception.
He turns, shaking, body language that of a wild animal.
“Was that a fucking snicker? A giggle? Are you fucking laughing at me, you literal fucking worm. “ He’s panting, hands twitching like dying insects.
He stands, inches from the other creature, dwarfed by it, teeth grinding, muscles straining.
The worm thing casually tosses the flesh bare hand toward Augustus. As it touches his coat, the arena erupts into a kind of wild, senseless, limitless violence.
It doesn’t feel like watching a fight, it’s more like a car wreck, or natural disaster. Pieces of jungle gym turn into lethal shrapnel as the blurred, filth spewing scrum destroys them.
I see the timer, 2:15. My mind starts to catch up, and I see the other kid, pale, whimpering, and trying in vain to staunch the blood spurting from his arm.
I’m running, low and likely poorly, pulling my belt from my pants, and thanking myself for actually listening when I was forced to take a first aid course for a summer job last year.
The kid is scared, he tries pushing me away, but I’m determined, and not down a couple pints of blood. I pull the belt with two hands, pull it through again and twist, it’s ugly, it’s not perfect, but the flow of blood begins to slow, then stop.
We crawl behind a prize counter, decades old candy and stuffed animals surround us as we cower. A liquid filled roar loud enough to crack the cheap glass cases fills the room.
The kid is looking rough, blood still trickling from the torn stump of his forearm. I see some plastic bags and get an idea.
I lean over to get them, and feel something strange, at first I think I pulled a muscle.
Then there is a deep, burning pain, instinctively I pull away, and turn around.
The kid is on his knees, sanity has left his eyes, a cheap hunting knife in his remaining hand he has a look of panic and determination on his face.
“We have to win. “ he says, lunging at me with the blade.
He’s slow, and I avoid it, but not by as much as I’d like. Blood runs down my back, for a moment I wonder how bad I’m hurt, but it doesn’t really matter right now.
I retreat, but the only thing keeping us from being torn apart by the whirlwind of shrapnel caused by the creatures is the counter, I can’t escape.
It's a stalemate, I’m no athlete, and the kid is built like a rugby player, but he’s missing a hand, and delirious from blood loss. I plead, I try and reason, and I dodge crazed strikes by increasingly narrow margins.
Something large, either thrown or knocked loose destroys the counter behind me. Suddenly all is chaos. I’m thrown into the kid in the uniform, plaster dust surrounds us in a grey cloud.
By the time the air clears the kid is on top of me. I have his wrist in one hand, keeping the split tip of the blade inches from my face.
The angle is too awkward, I can’t get any leverage. It’s not a stalemate, it’s a war of attrition that I’m losing.
I catch a glimpse of the two creatures. The worm thing is striking at Augustus, who stands still, limbs moving in arcing blurs deflecting the blows and tearing off chunks of foul, tainted flesh.
The tip of the knife begins to dig into my cheek. A drop of blood hits my eye.
I grab the makeshift tourniquet with a free hand and roughly yank forward. The kid on top of me screams, bloods begins to pour. Torn flesh and a gore soaked belt hit the ground.
For a moment the weight on me eases up, and I push the knife forward. But the kid, he’s too stupid or far gone to just back off. As I feel is strength start to fade, he presses himself harder.
I expect him to back off as I begin to drive the roughly sharpened back edge of the knife into his neck. But he doubles down, leaning forward, trying to press the knife toward me.
For a moment, every other fucked up thing going on around me doesn’t matter. The world is small, silent, and consists of nothing more than the image of the knife ripping away a fist sized strip from the kids neck.
He backs off when he realizes the extent of the damage. Staring at me shocked, as if just not realizing the consequences of his actions.
He dies slowly, poorly, and within inches of me. I feel no victory, no sense of being a winner, just a dark pit in the back of my mind. The loss of something that comes with taking someone’s life.
I stand, shell shocked, staring at the corpse. My safety the last thing on my mind.
The worm thing is hurt, and attempts to dive into the ball pit, but somehow, defying physics, Augustus grabs it, holding the half ton monster out with one hand.
He arcs the thing, slamming it into the floor behind him, the spray of gore and viscera rivals pyrotechnics, the force leaves a blood filled crater in the floor.
Without missing a beat Augustus starts to walk toward me, making a token effort of flicking pieces of bone and organ from himself.
I’m frozen, I know nothing I can do could stop whatever he has planned.
The creature picks up a jagged piece of lumber, and looks at the clock, “We’ve got 45 seconds of fun left kid. “ he says with a sneer.
But as he passes the counter, and sees the corpse the look of imminent violence turns into amusement.
“How’s it feel to be a child killer, bud? “, Augustus laughs, “Not that I can’t tell from the look on your face.
Fuck me, that knocked some gears loose didn’t it? “
The thing walks forward, looking me over like a collectable.
“I can’t let that go to waste, now can I? “ he slaps me lightly, “It’s going to be a fucking blast watching you break down kid, wonder what drives you nuts first, this kid being in your dreams, or the fact that, at some point I’m going to get bored and start giving you all the pain you feel you deserve? “
Of course, I made it out alive. It’d be kind of hard to have posted this if I didn’t.
But now, I sit in a dingy room in a farm house half way across the world from home. Surrounded by family and monsters, all of which seem out to get me. Being forced to risk my life in some kind of blood sport.
Maybe I’ll be back, maybe I’ll be dead by the next time I get a chance to post anything. If anyone has any help, please, post it in the comments. I’m in a dark place here and no one else seems to be on my side.
I decided to let everyone know how things are going.
https://www.reddit.com/nosleep/s/TQJpCXsGMK

“Get the fuck out of my house with this ‘ old country’ shit Sylvia, I’m serious. “ I hear my dad say from the kitchen downstairs.
“I give children and idiots three warnings. That’s your first. “ It takes me a second to recognize my aunt’s voice. I’ve only met her a handful of times, and it’s nearly 2am.
“Syl, he’s right, this is crazy. I’m Roma, I’m proud, but your part of the family, and mine are two separate things. “ My mom interjects. Her voice is calm and level.
I woke up about half way through whatever is going on, and I’m fuzzy on the details, but everyone involved is three kinds of pissed.
“So you say, but just because you ignore the other side, doesn’t mean the other side ignores you. “ Aunt Syl replies, I could never quite place her accent, but it makes her statement all the more sinister.
“Might as well make that the family motto.
Syl, there are a couple dozen other kids Nikolas’ age in the family. Half of which are already hip deep in whatever is going on nowadays, you don’t need him. “ Mom isn’t pleading, but I can hear she’s worried.
“Why are we trying to reason with your crazy aunt? Time to go Syl. “ My dad isn’t worried, he’s angry.
“That’s two. “ Aunt Sylvia replies.
I hear a chair squeak then fall to the floor.
“That’s three. “ Sylvia says, her voice is cold, and I swear I could almost hear an echo.
I can hear my dad start to quietly cough, he sounds like he’s trying to talk but can’t. My heart starts to race, I don’t understand what’s going on, but I know it’s bad.
“Syl! Jesus Christ, that’s my husband. “ Mom sounds more offended than scared now. I wish I could say the same.
I stand next to my cracked door, fear beginning to take hold.
I can hear my dad start to take long wheezing breaths, I have no idea if this is a good or bad thing.
“Happy?
Now that any hope of doing this quietly is over, Nikolas and I have a long drive ahead of us. He’s 16, he has a license, yes? “ I hear Sylvia say, sudden footsteps walking up the stairs.
“No, he’s not interested in driving. You can’t take him Syl. “ my mom sounds frantic, Sylvia’s steps are measured and heavy.
“Not interested? You sure we are related? You raise soft children. “ Sylvia ends this with a dismissive laugh.
The few minutes that followed were kind of a blur, with my mom trying to convince me that I was just going to visit family, as if I didn’t just hear everything.
It's a couple hours into a long drive in a small car when my brain finally catches up to the fact that I’m awake, and going 30 miles an hour over the speed limit.
Aunt Syl sits in the driver’s seat, she’s 40 something, olive skinned with pitch-colored hair. Her style, it’s, something.
Her outfit was the middle of a Venn diagram of hippie, punk rock and carpenter. Bracelets, flannel, paisley, and enough piercings I lost count.
“Any chance of putting both hands on the wheel? “ I say, I’m mad, but I don’t even really know why.
She holds up her left arm, and I’m shocked. It’s an ancient looking blued steel prosthetic. She flexes, the clawed, almost mitten-like hand.
“Go through too many steering wheels that way. “ She says with a smirk.
“What’s going on? “ I ask, after an agonizing fifteen minutes of silence.
“You’re a big boy, so if you want the truth, I’ll give it to you. There’s a job that needs to be done, a dangerous job. And I want you to do it.
Now, I want you, not because you’re strong, or smart, or special. We have many strong, smart, special boys.
You, I want, because you’re unknown, and, little one, disposable. “ Sylvia lets this comment hang like rotten fruit.
The next hour goes in silence, at no point do I even entertain the notion this is some kind of joke. Something about this woman’s energy, about the way she carries herself, it scares the shit out of me.
We board a plane, somehow she had all of my travel documents. Even stranger is that we get escorted past the security checkpoints, into first class.
The next words I say to Sylvia are, “You have to put that out! “ as she lights up a short, yellow, hand-rolled cigarette.
She grins, taking a long drag, it smells horrible, the cheapest roughest tobacco odor I’ve encountered.
She relaxes, a cloud of thick, grey smoke forming.
I’m stunned, not a single person says anything. At first I think maybe she’s some kind of, I don’t know, mobster or something.
But that isn’t quite right. No one is looking at her in fear, no one is telling anyone else not to say anything. It’s like no one notices what she’s doing.
“How does she do this? The little boy wonders.
I don’t come offering you a thankless task Nik. I come with an opportunity. “ Sylvia says before crushing the cigarette on the arm of a chair and tossing it into the isle.
I had questions, and between the fear and the confusion I asked every one of them.
The only response she gave me was, “You’ll see when we get there. “.
She was right.
The flight lands, and after an hour or so of driving the world’s oldest pickup through the English countryside, we wind up at an old farm house, in the middle of nowhere outside of Hammersmith.
The sign outside says “ Gritt Auctions” the letters are old, bronze and tarnished, the grounds are littered with car parts, statues, and errata of every type.
Dozens, maybe even a hundred people mill about each stopping for a moment to give a suspicious look at the interloper in their midst.
Sylvia seems amused at my nervousness. I try and give the rough looking folks around me as much space as I can.
“They’re family, mostly, by blood or marriage, with a handful of lost souls and hangers on. “ She explains.
I probably should have guessed, seeing my mom’s family name on the sign, but my brain is basically nothing more than fear, anxiety and jet lag at this point.
“When do I get to know what’s going on? “ I say, waving at a cousin of some form and receive a uniquely English rude gesture in return.
My ear is ringing, and I stumble , the left side of my face burning. I’d say Syl slapped me, but it was more of a polite punch.
“Don’t whine. You’ve been stolen from your mother, treated like a dog, and judging by Robert’s attitude, rejected by your family.
I don’t want to hear whining, you angry, soft boy? “ Sylvia stops and turns toward me. I notice the people around us stop their tasks, interested in our conversation.
“No… “ I begin, not wanting to piss her off.
I don’t even see the next slap, but it puts me on my ass.
“Next one’s with the left hand.
Are you angry Nikolas? “ Sylvia looms over me like a raven.
I feel something before I get to my feet, a hot, quick flash of hatred. A context free rage at the fucked up situation I’m in.
“Answer is still no. Because to be angry, I’d have to know a God-Damned thing about what’s going on.
But my lunatic aunt just picked me up and now I’m standing in the middle of whatever the English equivalent to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre family is.
For all I know, I’m your new King. So no, I’m not angry, I’m annoyed, and maybe a bit worried my gene pool really needs some chlorine. “ I’m shocked at what I’m saying, but I see some smiles, hear a few laughs.
Sylvia’s face seems to soften slightly.
“There’s the Gritt in you. “ She says, starting to walk to an old barn.
I catch up to her as I attempt in vain to dust myself off.
Sylvia opens a small, strangely modern looking door, inside a row of lights automatically flip on.
In contrast to the rotten wood exterior, the inside of the barn looks modern, design wise it’s half way between a hospital and a car repair shop. Equipment of unknown purpose, gurneys and cages of all sizes and types surround me.
Sylvia walks to a door at the back, then pauses.
“Before I open this door, you need to understand something.
There is no fortune telling, or reading of cards here. The cloak of the traveller, the bangles of the gypsy, these are all ways of navigating the world to us. Ways to exist on the fringes of society.
The Gritt family, we trade in the unknown. We find, we collect, and we sell. And ours is no petty collection of trinkets and tools not meant for the hands of man.
Our grift, is livestock. “
The woman opens the door, and what I see, sitting, chained in one corner of the industrial cement walled cell shakes everything I thought I knew about reality.
He's six and a half feet tall, his skin a waxy yellow, and every spare inch is festooned with black stitching, rusted pieces of metal or small splinters of bone.
His face is noseless and asymmetrical, almost as if repaired or modified over and over. One eye is a small, sinister looking orb with a red pupil, the other a massive, almost reptilian thing, wildly twitching about.
He wears no shirt, but a long, grey hide Trenchcoat hangs down to his knees. I start to shake as I see it’s made from layers of stitched human skin.
He sneers at us, long, conical teeth catch the harsh halogen light.
The thing strains against the chains, but they bind him tightly enough to the wall he can barely move.
“You’re not lasting more than 4 seconds kid. Just turn the fuck around. I’ll have you slitting your wrists in the corner by nightfall. “ The thing says, it’s voice is foul, almost a physical force. Grating, rage filled, and with a lunatic edge to it that makes me question exactly how much those chains can take.
“ 3/10, Augustus, who do you think you are scaring with that limp dick of a threat? “ Sylvia says, confidently walking up to the creature.
It snaps it’s jaws with a sound like a rifle shot. No where near Sylvia, but enough to make me jump on the other side of the room.
“If I could stop being threatened and hearing my aunt talk about dicks, I’d be a huge fan. “ I say, something deep within me, pushing past the fear and lack of sleep, “And if anything feels like just telling me what’s going on instead of being vague and creepy, even better. “
The chained thing looks to me, curious. Sylvia smirks.
“Augustus is going to be forced to fight others like him until eventually he gets what’s coming to him for years of evil.
You, are going to stand next to him while he does it. “ Sylvia begins to walk away from the thing, ignoring vile threats of both the violent and carnal variety.
I try to follow her out the door and she blocks me.
“If your still sane and alive in the morning, I was right. Good luck soft boy. “ She says before closing the heavy metal door.
Without her, I feel tiny, that spark of rage is snuffed out and replaced with a cold sense of dread.
“You’re going to have to turn around sometime kid. “ The chained creature says.
I turn, slowly, resolving to make eye contact with the thing. I manage a second or two before looking away, the creature cackles, mocking me.
“Holy shit, they sent me an honest to God pussy. Whole family full of void fucked apes and they send me you?
The best part is, you don’t even get it. I can see what you’re thinking kid, I can see that tiny collection of hormones and goo you vainly call a brain going into overdrive trying to figure this out… “ Augustus starts.
The creature kept going, I don’t have an exact count but it was at least twelve hours.
I can only describe it as a verbal assault. Augustus drew from some dark wells, how it knew half of the things it did scared me as much as it’s clawed hands or, piranha-like teeth.
I lost something that night. The fears that thing drug up, the insecurities it played on, the secrets it knew, it crushed any childlike notions of safety or understanding the world I had.
Don’t take that the wrong way, I don’t mean it toughened me up. It broke any sense of confidence I had, took away any feeling of safety. That God Damned thing in the trenchcoat, changed me.
I’ve lost track of how long it’s been since I’ve slept, but I’m brought a tin plate heaped with eggs, sausage and for some twisted reason, brown beans. And realize it’s been at least a day since I’ve eaten.
I sit around an abused, graffiti carved picnic table with an eclectic combination of family I’ve never met. Syl sips a tea I can smell from ten feet away and looks at me like I’m a used car.
“I’m always right soft boy. Remember that. “ She says.
It takes a half dozen guys built like construction workers, with Sylvia following behind whispering things that wilt vegetation, to wrangle the creature into the back of an old, reinforced horse trailer.
The inside is covered in totems, runes, and other spooky looking errata. The entity becomes sluggish and disoriented as the heavy wooden doors close, and get sealed with a massive brass lock.
My mind begins to wander on the three hour trip through the back country of the UK. The sun sets, and my brain screams for sleep. That scream is silenced by the sense of mounting dread as we get closer to our destination.
We pull up to an abandoned theme restaurant, the parking lot is full, the windows are boarded, and the walls covered in graffiti. The place is huge, more the size of a small stadium than a diner.
The parking lot is full, the sputtering, sparking neon sign flashes “Faron’s Funhouse. “
It’s a few minutes outside of a town I forgot to catch the name of. We can see lights on the horizon, but there’s a feeling of wrong surrounding the building that makes them seem a million miles away.
A half dozen ‘cousins’ of mine move Augustus into a strange, almost coffin-like box made of wood, steel and glass, covered in trinkets and symbols. The thing sneers groggily from within, it’s mismatched eyes rolling in it’s skull.
I don’t hear Sylvia approach, I notice her as she smacks me in the back of the head hard enough to make my ears ring. The old, cruel woman is walking toward the doors of this meeting place.
“Eyes forward, sneer on your face, and walk like you know where you’re going. “ Are her only instructions.
For once, they’re clear and simple. What I see inside easily keeps my attention, and I’m equal parts scared and pissed off, so looking edgy and miserable is my default state.
At one point, this place was exactly what you’d think. I know you’re all expecting it to be a run down, rat infested haunted house now, but it was, stranger than that.
The place was well kept on the inside, but everything was either in use or repurposed to house the couple hundred eclectic customers milling around. In the centre, is a massive Lucite Cube, crystal clear and housing a ball pit, jungle gym and what looks to be a functional canteen, complete with a deep fryer and popcorn machine. It’s a couple hundred meters a side, and shaped like a flawed rectangle.
Smoke hangs in the air, my aunt greets old friends in a handful of different languages, I smile and nod, still trying to understand what the hell this place is.
We see Augustus being wheeled to the Lucite box, Sylvia cuts a laughing Cyrillic conversation short, and her and I make our way to the box that barely restrains the hatred and death inside.
At the other end of the Lucite Cube I see a few people dressed in blue and maroon uniforms ( if I were to guess vintage, from when this place served shitty food instead of violence.), they surround a massive, hulking, lanky thing. It’s obscured by smoke, and poor lighting, but it’s nine foot frame, and unnatural gait are clear.
The box holding Augustus sits about ten feet away from me, inside the massive cage. The front opens, my instinct is to step backward, get as much distance between me and the thing inside as possible, but instead, I’m shoved, before I can catch my balance, a workbook clad foot is in front of me.
I fall and stumble into the cage, I turn around to try and get out as fast as I can, I’m standing inches away from the creature, but I see Sylvia closing the clear, impermeable door.
It hits me then. For the first time since this ordeal started, I realize how grim things are.
Just like everyone else here, I’ve been raised on spooky shit packaged to be marketable. Little monsters, The Adams Family, Harry potter, hell let’s throw Pokemon and the like in there as it’s basically just dog fighting with a cute hat on.
And I thought what was happening to me, was somewhere on the Venn diagram of those things.
But as I see the impassive look on the face of a woman I’ve known since I was a child, ( at a distance or no.) as I’m locked in here with God knows what, I get it. I really get it.
His laughter is like an ice pick, I turn to face him, Augustus brushes himself off, casually looking around the massive arena.
“Just hit ya didn’t it, bud? “ He says, walking over to me, his steps impossibly quick, almost insect-like, “You’re not my trainer, or my wrangler, you certainly aren’t my fucking partner. “, the entity grabs my chin between two clawed fingers, “ You’re a bait dog. Something for me and that new blooded walking pun to fight over. “
My blood runs down his thumb, his grin cracks his face like a rotten melon, the monster pulls down, throwing me to the floor.
A buzzer sounds, and a three minute timer, projected in transparent red appears on the walls of the Lucite arena.
“If I’ve got to hunt you down in this shit-hole, things are going to be a lot worse for you. Stay put, bud. “ The trenchcoat clad thing says, casually walking toward the creature on the opposite side of the arena.
Closer now, I see it clearly. Inside of a pristine uniform, is a twisted attempt at the human form. The torso is lumpen, asymmetrical, but lean. It's arms nearly drag on the floor, yellow, infected looking flesh, weeping pus like a snail’s foot.
It's eyes are black caves, with just the hint of something deep within. It’s face is blank, a torn, haggard looking grey tongue runs over rotting green teeth.
The kid beside it looks around my age, he’s big though, just as confused and afraid as I am. He wears a similar uniform to the creature, but his looks, abused, torn, blood stained. Like it's been handed down from one unlucky owner to the next.
As the buzzer rings, the lanky, disgusting creature moves in a flash, tearing off the kid’s right arm and beginning to chew it.
The blood didn’t set me off, as terrible as it was. It was the three seconds between the act, and the poor kid realizing what happened that pushed me over the edge.
He started to scream, a horrible trapped animal kind of noise. He backs away from the monster beside him, gripping the crushed and torn remains of his forearm.
Augustus laughs, his trenchcoat drags on the floor, leaving a streak of blood as he walks.
“Man after my own heart.
So, I say, we split these sides of beef for two minutes then talk shop for a bit. Fuck these pretentious apes and their show. “ Augustus looks up to the massive thing. It remains impassive, gnawing on the hand.
“Don’t be like that. We both know two halves are better than one whole . Win-win for both of us“ Augustus gets a noise that sounds like an angry sewer pipe, and a dismissive wave of a long snake-like arm in response.
The thing in the trenchcoat shrugs, turning around and stalking toward me.
“You have no luck at all kid, I was going to let you go last.
But the pinworm back there wants to be a dick about things, so looks like things are getting started early. “ Augustus grins, his mouth opening shark like.
I stare down certain death, Augustus radiating fear, seeming to become more demonic with each step toward me.
From behind him, a noise.
I would have just assumed it was some part of the worm-like, filth ridden thing eating. Augustus clears up that misconception.
He turns, shaking, body language that of a wild animal.
“Was that a fucking snicker? A giggle? Are you fucking laughing at me, you literal fucking worm. “ He’s panting, hands twitching like dying insects.
He stands, inches from the other creature, dwarfed by it, teeth grinding, muscles straining.
The worm thing casually tosses the flesh bare hand toward Augustus. As it touches his coat, the arena erupts into a kind of wild, senseless, limitless violence.
It doesn’t feel like watching a fight, it’s more like a car wreck, or natural disaster. Pieces of jungle gym turn into lethal shrapnel as the blurred, filth spewing scrum destroys them.
I see the timer, 2:15. My mind starts to catch up, and I see the other kid, pale, whimpering, and trying in vain to staunch the blood spurting from his arm.
I’m running, low and likely poorly, pulling my belt from my pants, and thanking myself for actually listening when I was forced to take a first aid course for a summer job last year.
The kid is scared, he tries pushing me away, but I’m determined, and not down a couple pints of blood. I pull the belt with two hands, pull it through again and twist, it’s ugly, it’s not perfect, but the flow of blood begins to slow, then stop.
We crawl behind a prize counter, decades old candy and stuffed animals surround us as we cower. A liquid filled roar loud enough to crack the cheap glass cases fills the room.
The kid is looking rough, blood still trickling from the torn stump of his forearm. I see some plastic bags and get an idea.
I lean over to get them, and feel something strange, at first I think I pulled a muscle.
Then there is a deep, burning pain, instinctively I pull away, and turn around.
The kid is on his knees, sanity has left his eyes, a cheap hunting knife in his remaining hand he has a look of panic and determination on his face.
“We have to win. “ he says, lunging at me with the blade.
He’s slow, and I avoid it, but not by as much as I’d like. Blood runs down my back, for a moment I wonder how bad I’m hurt, but it doesn’t really matter right now.
I retreat, but the only thing keeping us from being torn apart by the whirlwind of shrapnel caused by the creatures is the counter, I can’t escape.
It's a stalemate, I’m no athlete, and the kid is built like a rugby player, but he’s missing a hand, and delirious from blood loss. I plead, I try and reason, and I dodge crazed strikes by increasingly narrow margins.
Something large, either thrown or knocked loose destroys the counter behind me. Suddenly all is chaos. I’m thrown into the kid in the uniform, plaster dust surrounds us in a grey cloud.
By the time the air clears the kid is on top of me. I have his wrist in one hand, keeping the split tip of the blade inches from my face.
The angle is too awkward, I can’t get any leverage. It’s not a stalemate, it’s a war of attrition that I’m losing.
I catch a glimpse of the two creatures. The worm thing is striking at Augustus, who stands still, limbs moving in arcing blurs deflecting the blows and tearing off chunks of foul, tainted flesh.
The tip of the knife begins to dig into my cheek. A drop of blood hits my eye.
I grab the makeshift tourniquet with a free hand and roughly yank forward. The kid on top of me screams, bloods begins to pour. Torn flesh and a gore soaked belt hit the ground.
For a moment the weight on me eases up, and I push the knife forward. But the kid, he’s too stupid or far gone to just back off. As I feel is strength start to fade, he presses himself harder.
I expect him to back off as I begin to drive the roughly sharpened back edge of the knife into his neck. But he doubles down, leaning forward, trying to press the knife toward me.
For a moment, every other fucked up thing going on around me doesn’t matter. The world is small, silent, and consists of nothing more than the image of the knife ripping away a fist sized strip from the kids neck.
He backs off when he realizes the extent of the damage. Staring at me shocked, as if just not realizing the consequences of his actions.
He dies slowly, poorly, and within inches of me. I feel no victory, no sense of being a winner, just a dark pit in the back of my mind. The loss of something that comes with taking someone’s life.
I stand, shell shocked, staring at the corpse. My safety the last thing on my mind.
The worm thing is hurt, and attempts to dive into the ball pit, but somehow, defying physics, Augustus grabs it, holding the half ton monster out with one hand.
He arcs the thing, slamming it into the floor behind him, the spray of gore and viscera rivals pyrotechnics, the force leaves a blood filled crater in the floor.
Without missing a beat Augustus starts to walk toward me, making a token effort of flicking pieces of bone and organ from himself.
I’m frozen, I know nothing I can do could stop whatever he has planned.
The creature picks up a jagged piece of lumber, and looks at the clock, “We’ve got 45 seconds of fun left kid. “ he says with a sneer.
But as he passes the counter, and sees the corpse the look of imminent violence turns into amusement.
“How’s it feel to be a child killer, bud? “, Augustus laughs, “Not that I can’t tell from the look on your face.
Fuck me, that knocked some gears loose didn’t it? “
The thing walks forward, looking me over like a collectable.
“I can’t let that go to waste, now can I? “ he slaps me lightly, “It’s going to be a fucking blast watching you break down kid, wonder what drives you nuts first, this kid being in your dreams, or the fact that, at some point I’m going to get bored and start giving you all the pain you feel you deserve? “
Of course, I made it out alive. It’d be kind of hard to have posted this if I didn’t.
But now, I sit in a dingy room in a farm house half way across the world from home. Surrounded by family and monsters, all of which seem out to get me. Being forced to risk my life in some kind of blood sport.
Maybe I’ll be back, maybe I’ll be dead by the next time I get a chance to post anything. If anyone has any help, please, post it in the comments. I’m in a dark place here and no one else seems to be on my side.

What was it about her? Were the feelings out of genuine connection, intuition, or a seeking of validation? I don't think we ever actually hung out one on one. I never knew you that well. I have only vague recollections of memories with you.
All I can really visualize about when we first met was sitting on the floor and talking about the movie, our home life, parents etc. Oddly enough I can still remember the way emcee said I invited my friend over before you got there. I think this was also the day I first got your number. Did I ask you for it? Did you offer? Details lost to time. Does everyone's memories work like a reel? I have this snapshot of you off to the side smiling/laughing at my shenanigans of writing on someone with a sharpie. Looking back I was being an asshole, but the part that makes me happy is that I made you laugh. What else what else. Not really a good memory but that time I bear hugged you from behind. Did you not talk to me for a while after? Did I apologize to you? I wish the memory was more clear.
Did I ever walk with you home? Maybe it was just once. Do you remember that time I asked you to winter formal over Facebook message but rizz had already asked you. Did I tell you how I felt back then? I will never know. Another snapshot is pretty blurry, but I remember the interaction like it was yesterday. It was new years eve, a few years post high school, and people were looking for a party. We ended up at tealeafs house but there was nobody there. I was putting a tincture in my mouth. I think it was a fentanyl tincture that miles talked me into buying. I was putting the drops in my lip and holding it as you were glancing at me. You asked to try some. Then we went separate ways, but you told me to text you if the party we were gonna try going to happening was happening. Other than those details, the rest is a blur. The interaction doesn't mean anything, but the way it stuck in my mind is odd to me. Maybe that was 2011. I have 2 other memories that at the time should have made things obvious for me. But I've always been riddled with self doubt and a paralyzing fear of rejection. After some night of partying at mugs house. I was getting ready to sleep on the long couch. I believe the other ones were already occupied. You and Johanna came in(to the living room). She began to take the other side of the couch. I got up to let you take my spot so you wouldn't be on the floor. You gave my a sly smile, and said it's okay and stopped me. I have no idea why it wasnt clear to me like hey if this girl is letting you spoon her, she might be feeling you. I remember feeling excited to talk to you sober as I fell asleep. I woke up and you were gone. Mug made a comment along the lines of you and blah blah huh? Which I dismissed by saying what happened. This had to be between 07-09. You had been drinking.
Another one that should have been very obvious was sometime after. My self doubt has me questioning whether it actually happened or if it was a dream. However, what I remember happening after is undeniable. It was a party at mugs house. I can't remember moments before. I was in the kitchen but next to the mini living room with a TV that was off to the side. You came in and you were pretty drunk. We maybe talked and you kissed me. Then you invited me over. For whatever reason, I said I would be right back. I went to go look for my best friend but apparently he had left. When I went back to find you, you were gone. Now this is where I'm certain of my memory. I was going to sleep at my cousins house that night so I started looking for him. I walked to his house and he wasn't there. So I went back to mugs and he told me that my cousin left with you. I could have walked home but back then I didn't like dealing with my mom smelling me to see if I was high. I called both of you guys so many times. I'm taking 20 missed calls. My cousin responded through text and told me he wasn't home. I kept calling and he kept ignoring me. I ended up sleeping on the cement for what felt like hours till I woke up to him opening the door. He told me nothing happened and that you guys were just talking. I don't recall being outwardly being upset with blah blah, but she felt some distance or something. All I recall her saying to me is that she asked my cousin if I was mad at her. I was pretty pissed at my cousin. Just talking as a reason didn't make sense to completely ignore me. I don't remember any significant times I saw you between then till December 2010. I had called miles and he told me he was at brosmans house and they were gonna go to a party. He told me to come there so I could drive them. As I got there, I saw blah blah and her boyfriend. I remember asking miles why he didn't tell me she was there and that I wouldn't have come had I known.
Eventually I started talking to Bobo and I shoved all these memories of what felt like rejection deep down. Ironically I ran into blah blah working at Disneyland on one of my dates with Bobo.
I of course saw you like once a year since then but once I was dating her, the awkward feeling I once felt around you wasn't there anymore.
Fast forward to 2012 right before I started dating Bobo. It was your birthday, and I left the most cringe message on your wall about how I remembered that time I bear hugged you inappropriately. The weekend after, my cousin invited me to your birthday party. I told him "I don't think she likes me" as in I'm not welcome there. He reassured me it's okay. It's been 12 years and I still remember this. You opened the door, and looked right at me as I walked by. We made eye contact but I didn't say anything. Later when we sat down on the couch, I spoke up or laughed at something that was being said. You then said "oh bodg123, I didn't even see you there. We were just talking about you(probably because of the wall post)" I don't recall after, but I recall thinking you looked right at me, what do you mean I didn't see you. And that was that. I went on being captivated by texting Bobo.
2016 I was doing very unwell overall. My life had just been pretty rocky for a while. Ignoring my intuition and dating someone who I knew from the start wasn't a good fit sent me down a terrible detour. I missed the chemistry I had with Bobo and just wanted anyone to help fill the void in my heart. But Pam was a terrible terrible fit. We had nothing in common. We didn't like the same food, TV, movies. We didn't have a similar life philosophy. She didn't respect my silliness. We didn't even agree with each other's moral compass. But I stayed with her. I didn't want to be alone and she was easy. She finally broke up with me in May 2016. But for months I wanted to back. Why did I want so badly to drink poison? I guess it was a kind of warmth.
Come Oct 2016. I saw you at a Halloween party my cousin brought me along to. Some of you and joannas friends were hosting. I was sticking with my cousin because I am not good at socializing. I think there were like 4 people there from high school, everyone else was a stranger. But even the people there I did know never really treated me with respect aside from you/joanna. At one point your friend bney passed by and my cousin had mentioned how he's met her 3 times and she never remembers him. He then pulled out his phone to show me a picture of her top less. I asked why or where he had the nude from. He said something like it was to compare who's looked better. He got it from blah blahs boyfriend. He mentioned something like they(you, your bf, and bney) were going to have a 3 way. Not gonna lie, I was very envious of your bf. Like dam she's kinky too...
My cousin walked away(I think to get beer) so I was just leaning against the balcony guard rail enjoying my high. The stranger next to me started taking to you. You said something like you hadn't seen him in a long time. Then you pulled me into the conversation saying something like there's alot of people here I havent seen in a while. You grazed my wrist to get my attention(I was looking off to nowhere) as you said I haven't seen bodg123 in years. That action that you probably meant nothing from stumped me. It was either before or after, but another comment you made that night stuck with me. You were smiling and you apologized for the fact that you used to always make fun of me for wearing a batman belt buckle. This wasn't even something I remembered I did. Nor did I ever really take offense from you doing it. I instantly began to wonder why you remembered something so insignificant about me. And looking back, wasn't teasing me just flirting? If it was, why apologize? that paired with the way you innocently touched me made me very confused. I didn't really understand why, but as we were leaving I became really irritated with my cousin. That innocent touch just brought back up things I hadn't thought about in years. I know the years leading up I'd occasionally creep on your profile or like your photos but i wasn't ever certain you ever liked me in the past.
I had no friends I could talk to. The only family I had was my cousin. So I had no one to try to ask an opinion on what your behavior meant, if anything at all. When I would Google what it means when a girl touches you innocently, it kinda reaffirmed what I thought I was feeling was a possibility. And having dated Bobo when she had been with her boyfriend for over 5 years, I knew sometimes a boyfriend doesn't necessarily mean a woman couldn't have a crush.
When I tried to talk to my cousin about it, he didn't offer any insight. All I can remember from what he said is blah blah is crazy.
The realization that my gut instinct way way back then may have been right broke me. Having no one to talk to about it led me to realize that I had no close friends. In the months following I spiraled down till it was full on psychosis.
I'm sorry for having bothered you or said anything that made you feel uncomfortable.
I ended up quitting my job and spending nearly a year not bothering to look for a new one. When I finally started applying and trying to get an interview, I found one in LA at a jewelery start up. It was in LA by skid row. On the day of my interview I got a little lost. The building had no numbers so I started to look around to figure out if I was at the right place. I was but that's not the relevant part. There was a mail box on the corner so I thought it might have an address on it. What graffiti do I see? "blah blah" written in sharpie. Immediately I kinda laugh. I then googled how common of a name blah blah was. It is a common name, but really what are the Chances I see your name. Not even written like ghetto tagging, but just someome put their name on it. It just felt like the universe was mocking me for making a fool of myself over you.
It's been 7 years since I publically melted down. I don't speak to anyone from my past, and the only person I try to talk to(bobo) no longer wants anything to do with me. Even after my breakdown she still gave me a chance to rekindle what we had, but I couldn't let up on asking things she wasn't close enough with me to answer. So why am I even thinking about this?
I retrieved my second Facebook account a few weeks ago. I forgot i made it when the original one got locked for all the spam. I only used it for 2 days, but there were hundreds of posts I made. I immediately felt so much shame and cringe. I went through and deleted everything. I deleted the 3 people on my friend's list. There were 3 pending friend requests I also deleted. At first there were no suggestions. I did the search bar trick to see if any names were automatically suggested. It didn't show anyone but strangers. I also put a b for blah blah to see if her name showed up. It did not. The only person I looked up to creep on is Bobo. When I put the first letter of her name, nothing popped up.
After a day I began getting friend suggestions. Usually some random people from high school with a bunch of random people I never met. Even though I don't want to talk to anyone from my past, I looked through the suggestions to see faces. I made a point of not clicking on anyone's profile so I don't show up on their suggestions or in case there is a way of seeing profile views. I don't mind Bobo possibly knowing because she did once love me.
In case these observations about how the search algorithm could work just seem like crazy talk:
https://www.reddit.com/facebook/s/nP3BFY8jGF
I would click remove suggestion on each friend till the list was empty. One day I saw Joanna show up on the top of the list and so I put a j in the search bar and her name wasn't a suggestion. 2 days later I see your boyfriend or probably husband now in the middle of the list. The next day I see you at the top. I let out a oo shit and clicked remove so fast. I once again but a b for blah blah and nothing showed up. This was on my lunch break at like 5pm. At 1am I was getting ready to shower and I began to wonder, if she saw me pop up as a suggestion, would she have clicked my profile? So I tried putting a b again. This time "blah blah" was the first result with just the letter b. Then I searched reddit to see if anyone had ever experienced something similar. And there were people who have. 1 who even confirmed what he thought by using a fake profile to look at his own. Of course this is all speculation. But that's what got me reflecting on my past enough to write this.
For all I know it suggested your name because I used to creep on you with my original profile. Within 30 min it no longer showed your name after a letter. I don't understand what it could have indicated. Strange coincidence more than anything else.
All of this is just seeming like the Charlie pepe Silvia meme. All I can think looking back on all this is what a shame. I liked that I made you laugh. I liked the silly dorky vibe.
I might as well include this too. I've had 2 dreams about you. Since I smoke alot dreams are fairly rare for me. And when I do recall them, they tend to be vivid. The first one is pretty vague, I don't remember when it was but I recall feeling embarrassed and ashamed. The other however I managed to write in my note log before I forgot it. It happened on 1/6/23.
“I had the strangest dream I was inside someone's house or some place. I can no longer remember the people that were around me. They opened the door and Blah Blah was there. It felt as though I was looking at someone short, mid length hair, wearing jeans. I followed her out to a silver camry. I'm not sure why I thought camry in my dream, but looking back on it awake, it didn't look like a camry but a warped sedan. There was some kind of emblem on the side. I apologized and she said something to me that in my dream felt audible, in a serious tone, but awake I can't remember.
Dreams man. "
I read somewhere, life tends to be alot of loose ends. You don't always get the answers or conclusions you want, and not everything gets wrapped up with a neat little bow. Sometimes you are just left wondering. Who knows where I read that, or how it actually went.

Datamined information is from Dislyte Origin Miracle: Patch 3.4.5

Datamined info is just stuff that has been added to the game but might not be in use yet so they are always subject to changes. So take this information with a pinch of salt. Do not take datamined info as 100% accurate as Lilith has shown that some data might just be placeholders.

Once again I have to caution people from spreading the below information too widely as I do not want the additional scrutiny, if any, from Lilithgames. If they change anything in subsequent patches, I might not be able to datamine the patches anymore. Also, please do not share such information to official communities too (Official Facebook, Discord, reddit, twitter, etc). Datamining is a violation of Lilith's TOS and may get you banned.
You are also encouraged not to post datamines to wide-reaching communities as leaks can be spread repeatedly through the masses, leading to others posting them to official communties.
Also, do factor in that I no longer play the game and therefore I do not have knowledge of what stuff are already viewable in game. Apologies if there are redundant information provided here.
Changelog
Edit: 26 April 2024 - Added the imgur album for the event images which I forgot to post. Link
Edit: 19 April 2024 - Added a comment link to Floors 17-20 stat table
Current / Upcoming Events - All dates are specific to Origin Miracle
Inactive events are events that are not activated but can be triggered on by the developers at any time. Active events are those that will be active on the dates at the time of datamining. Likewise, they can be triggered inactive at any time.

Active / Inactive	Name	Start Date	End Date	Remarks
INACTIVE	7-Day Login Reward
INACTIVE	Blindbox
INACTIVE	Daily Gift
ACTIVE	Trainee Milestones
ACTIVE	Path to Mastery
ACTIVE	Curtain Up
ACTIVE	M-Pass	14-May-2024	25-Jun-2024
ACTIVE	E-Pass	01-May-2024	01-Jun-2024
ACTIVE	Prizes Galore	23-Apr-2024	14-May-2024
ACTIVE	Trainee Milestones
INACTIVE	Rising Star
ACTIVE	Road to Legend
INACTIVE	Shopping Fiesta
INACTIVE	Communities
INACTIVE	Rewind
ACTIVE	Esper Academy
ACTIVE	Rewind
INACTIVE	Trainee Milestones
ACTIVE	Shopping Fiesta
ACTIVE	Rookie Echo Reward
INACTIVE	Rookie Championship
INACTIVE	Rookie Championship
ACTIVE	Reset Espers
ACTIVE	Conqueror
ACTIVE	Melody of Reunion
ACTIVE	Login Rewards
ACTIVE	Reunion Manual
ACTIVE	Reunion Prayer
ACTIVE	Event Package
ACTIVE	Rookie to Regular			Yang Jian / Yun Chuan
ACTIVE	Treasure Hunt
ACTIVE	Shimmer Reverbotron
ACTIVE	Esper Pop Quiz	20-Apr-2024	24-Apr-2024	Tai Yi / Chu Yao
ACTIVE	Alice's Magic Hut	18-Apr-2024	02-May-2024
ACTIVE	Golden City Challenge	11-Apr-2024	23-Apr-2024
ACTIVE	Esper Pop Quiz	11-May-2024	15-May-2024	Sakuya-Hime / Sakura
ACTIVE	Championship	24-Apr-2024	11-May-2024
ACTIVE	Burning Beat Ball	28-Apr-2024	04-Jun-2024
ACTIVE	Warm-Up Match	24-Apr-2024	13-May-2024	Yang Jian / Yun Chuan
ACTIVE	Heron Box	24-Apr-2024	08-May-2024
ACTIVE	Scratch-Off	07-May-2024	21-May-2024
ACTIVE	Endless Nightmare	28-Apr-2024	12-May-2024
ACTIVE	Sweet Wishes	10-May-2024	04-Jun-2024
ACTIVE	Flaming Echo	10-May-2024	04-Jun-2024
ACTIVE	Flash Back	10-May-2024	04-Jun-2024
ACTIVE	Anniversary	10-May-2024	04-Jun-2024
INACTIVE	Graffiti Wall	10-May-2024	04-Jun-2024
ACTIVE	Rockin' Puzzles	10-May-2024	04-Jun-2024
ACTIVE	Rewind	10-May-2024	04-Jun-2024
ACTIVE	Burning Beat Bazaar	10-May-2024	04-Jun-2024

Esper Pop Quiz (Late April 2024) Tai Yi / Chu Yao
Q1. Which mythology is Taiyi from?

Ans. Chinese

Q2. Which of these customs is associated with Taiyi?

Ans. Hanging Lanterns

Q3. What kind of weapon does Chu Yao use?

Ans. Shaman Dagger

Esper Pop Quiz (Mid May 2024) Sakuya-Hime / Sakura
Q1. Which mythology is Konohanasakuya-hime from?

Ans. Japanese

Q2. What activity does Sakura like?

Ans. Flower Arrangement

Q3. What is Sakura's favorite flower?

Ans. Cherry Blossom

Image Corner
Esper Art
Esper Files
Chibi Art
Sakuya-Hime / Sakura
PLEASE READ - Do take note that stars, elements and types might be placeholders. Hence there might be discrepancies.<---PLEASE READ

Star	Esper	Name	Coded name	Element	Type	Released
5	Taiyi	Chu Yao	DongHuang	Flow	Fighter	Yes
5	Dijiang	Wu You	DiJiang	Shimmer	Defender	Yes
5	Bakeneko	Momo	Bakeneko	Flow	Fighter	No
3	Sakuya-hime	Sakura	Kono	Inferno	Defender	No

Oh no, why is Sakuya-Hime a 3 star and yet she is in the quiz? 💀
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1) Tai Yi / Chu Yao
2) Jiao Tu / Lian
3) Hestia / Ginny
Modified / New Items

Item Name	Description
Scion of the New World	Chu Yao's Divinate, enhances Chu Yao's combat abilities.
Chu Yao	Legendary Esper Chu Yao
Chu Yao Divinate Fragment	A fragment containing divine powers. Fuse 50 fragments to get a Chu Yao Divinate.
Li Guang - Wintry Wonder Skin	Li Guang's Skin: Wintry Wonder The night's wind has given the world a chilling bite, it's time for new attire!
Burning Beat Charm	Collect Burning Beat Charms to obtain generous rewards in the Burning Beat Bazaar event
Legendary Esper Opt-Box	Select one Legendary Esper from the box. Max-resonated Espers cannot be selected.The box contains the following Espers: Jin Yuyao, Tiye, Yun Chuan, Triki, Hyde, Gaius, Gabrielle, Sally, Ollie, Clara, Ahmed, Brewster, Leora, Fatum Sisters, Cang Ji, Lian, Ethan, Embla, Jin Qiu, Ginny, Valeria, Liam, Hilda, Hailey, Farrah, Mavis, Yu Ran, Fumitsuki, Fu Shi, Archibald, and Feng Xun.
Chu Yao Divinate Residue	Converted by acquiring a duplicate Chu Yao Divinate. Used to raise the Tier for Chu Yao Divinate.After obtaining Divinate Residue more than 5 times for a Divinate, any further Residue will be converted into a selected number of Divinate Crystals or Monoprisms.
Chu Yao Ripple	A fragment containing the divine power of Chu Yao. Fuse 50 fragments to get the Esper Chu Yao.
Spirit Seeker Flow Pack	Select one of 12 Flow-attuned Epic Espers from the box, except for Max-resonated or unowned Espers.The box contains the following Espers: Emma, Parmi, Mona, Jiang Man, Celine, Kara, Eira, Heng Yue, Dhalia, Kaylee, Aurelius, and Xiao Yin.
Spirit Seeker Wind Pack	Select one among 9 Wind-attuned Epic Espers from the pack, except the Max-resonated or unowned Espers.The pack contains the following Espers: Ain, Lu Yi, Arcana, Luo Yan, Jacob, Long Mian, Lynn, Li Guang, and Jin-hee.
Spirit Seeker Inferno Pack	Select one of 10 Inferno-attuned Epic Espers from the box, except for Max-resonated or unowned Espers.The box contains the following Espers: Adrina, Djoser, Falken, Sander, Chloe, Pritzker, Ren Si, Stewart, Nick, and Koharu.
Spirit Seeker Flow Divinate	Select one from among 13 Flow-attuned Epic Espers' Divinate in the pack, except the Divinate of Max-Tier Espers.The pack contains Divinate of the following Espers: Emma, Parmi, Mona, Jiang Man, Celine, Kara, Eira, Heng Yue, Dhalia, Kaylee, Aurelius, Xiao Yin, and Xie Chuyi.
Spirit Seeker Wind Divinate	Select one from among 13 Wind-attuned Epic Espers' Divinate in the pack, except the Divinate of Max-Tier Espers.The pack contains Divinate of the following Espers: Ain, Lu Yi, Arcana, Luo Yan, Jacob, Long Mian, Lynn, Li Guang, Jin-hee, Alolin, Meredith, Xie Yuzhi, Fabrice, and Yu Xu.
Spirit Seeker Inferno Divinate	Select one from among 14 Inferno-attuned Epic Espers' Divinate in the pack, except the Divinate of Max-Tier Espers.The box contains Divinate of the following Espers: Mei, Djoser, Falken, Sander, Chloe, Pritzker, Ren Si, Stewart, Nick, Koharu, Adrina, Daniel, Alexa, and Daylon.
Jade Disc	Can be redeemed for valuable rewards at the Sacrificial Altar. Sources: Missions and Event Map.A Jade Disc is a circular jade artifact with a hole in the center, commonly used in ceremonial rituals like sacrifices. It signifies reverence towards the heavens and the earth through the medium of jade.
Spirit Candle	Can be redeemed for valuable items in the Seer's Chambers. Source: Event Map, Ritual Miracle, Sonic Miracle, Sonic Rift, Desolate Lands, Story, Ancient Mysteries, and other stages. A simple candle that, once lit, emits wisps of purple smoke to guide one in a specific direction.
Protective Talisman	Can be used to make Equipment in the Shamanic Shrine. Source: Event Map, Ritual Miracle, Sonic Miracle, Sonic Rift, Desolate Lands, Story, Ancient Mysteries, and other stages. A purple stone with intricate engravings of unknown patterns, adorned with delicate tassels. It is believed to have a miraculous calming effect when worn daily.
Harmony Ballot	Harmony Ballot: Used to vote in the Burning Beat Ball event.
Chu Yao Materia	Converted by acquiring a duplicate Chu Yao. Used to conduct Resonances and activate Divine Gates for Chu Yao. After obtaining Materia more than 6 times for an Esper, any further Materia will be converted into a selected number of Dioprisms or Monoprisms.
Dynamic Avatar	A dynamic avatar. Complete the Esper's Paths of Experience to obtain
Dynamic Avatar	A dynamic avatar. Complete the Esper's Paths of Experience to obtain
Dynamic Avatar	A dynamic avatar. Complete the Esper's Paths of Experience to obtain
Dynamic Avatar	A dynamic avatar. Complete the Esper's Paths of Experience to obtain
Dynamic Avatar	A dynamic avatar. Complete the Esper's Paths of Experience to obtain
Dynamic Avatar	A dynamic avatar. Complete the Esper's Paths of Experience to obtain
Exclusive 2024 Burning Beat Fest Frame	Get: Exclusive 2024 Burning Beat Fest Frame
Items of Faith	Get: Limited-edition Namecard - Items of Faith
2024 Burning Beat Fest	Get: 2024 Burning Beat Fest Namecard
Icy Veneer	Get: Icy Veneer Namecard
Warm-Up Match - Red Ruckus	Get: Warm-Up Match - Red Ruckus Namecard
Rare Triple Threat Insignia	Get: Rare Triple Threat Insignia
Epic Triple Threat Insignia	Get: Epic Triple Threat Insignia
Legendary Triple Threat Insignia	Get: Legendary Triple Threat Insignia

Other info

1. Discboom alt for vietnam countries called "Binz"
   
2. Text stating "Expert mode" for Kronos, Apep, Fafnir and Andras
   
3. Difficulties added for Kronos, Apep, Fafnir and Andras up to stage 20.
   

• Example of changes - Kronos acts first at the start of combat. Each time it takes hits, it gains 1 stack of Supreme Fury, and its ATK, DEF, and SPD +1%. For every player unit with HP below 20%, all player units deal -20% damage. When there are fewer than 5 player units remaining, for each fallen player, the Boss deals +20% damage and takes -20% damage.

Club content is in the works. Guild Versus Guild Versus Guild called "Triple Threat"

Triple Threat unlocks 6 weeks after the server opens.
Triple Threat seasons are launched irregularly, with each season lasting for a max of 6 matches, 1 match per week. After each match, season points will be calculated based on the Club's ranking.
Single-match competitions start sign-ups and defense setup on Thursday at 00:00 UTC; matchmaking occurs on Saturday at 00:00 UTC. Then, the battle stage lasts from 01:00 on Saturday to 23:59 UTC on Sunday. The tally and announcement stage takes place from Monday at 00:00 UTC to Tuesday. Wednesdays are rest days.
Single-match competitions will pair 3 Clubs for battle. Once successfully matched, all Club members will promptly receive a mail notification with the opponent Clubs' names.
Following each single-match competition, the top three Clubs will be selected based on their performance. Single match rewards and Club season points will be distributed accordingly.
Additionally, each Club member will receive point rewards based on their battlefield points and individual ranking rewards based on their performance in the match.
When all 6 matches have concluded, Clubs will be ranked within the division based on the season points they obtained. Season rewards will be distributed to all members via mail according to the Club's ranking.
Sign-up stage begins at 00:00 UTC on Thursday and ends at 23:59 UTC on Friday.
Each Club must have at least 10 members participating in defense deployment to proceed to the subsequent matches. If the number of members participating in the deployment is insufficient, the Club will not enter the matching and subsequent battle process.
During this period, each Club member needs to deploy at least 1 defensive formation to participate in the match, up to 10 defense teams. Only Lvl 50+ Espers can be deployed.
All Club members participating in the deployment have the permission to attack after the start of battle by default. If admins want to prohibit a member from attacking, they can choose to do so via the member list during the sign-up stage.
Each match is divided into three sides: Red, Yellow, and Blue. During the sign-up stage, the battlefield will be provided in Blue perspective for each Club to deploy defenses. The official faction colors will be based on the battle stage.
Each faction will have 1 Base Camp and 12 Power Reservoirs.
All defensive teams deployed by Club members will default to enter the Base Camp for dispatch. During the sign-up stage, the Clubmaster and Deputy Clubmasters will have the authority to move each team to different Power Reservoirs to form defensive formations.
Each Power Reservoir can allocate up to 5 defensive teams, at most. Except for special circumstances, the defensive teams cannot be changed after the start of the battle.
Therefore, in addition to providing as many powerful defensive teams as possible, the dispatch of teams by Club admins is also critical during the sign-up stage. It may directly affect the subsequent situation.
The 12 Power Reservoirs are divided into 9 Ordinary Power Reservoirs and 3 Epic Power Reservoirs. Ordinary Power Reservoirs allow for any team, while Epic ones only allow for teams composed of Epic or lower Espers.
During the battle stage, starting from Saturday at 01:00 UTC, the 3 Clubs matched for the same battle will be assigned to different factions, and they will confront the defensive teams set during the sign-up stage.
To start, the single-match Power Points for each faction are 0. During the battle stage, points will be increased every minute based on the number of Power Reservoirs connected to each faction's Base Camp. Each Power Reservoir adds 1 point, and if the number of Power Reservoirs connected to the Club's Base Camp is greater than or equal to 13, an additional 10 points will be added per minute.
Upon attacking or defending successfully, the Club and the winning member will also gain energy points. Each attack victory grants 15 points, and each defense victory grants 5 points.
The battle stage ends at 00:00 UTC on Monday, and the energy points of all factions will stop increasing. However, during the battle stage, if one faction's energy points reach 20,000 first, the competition will end early. The energy points obtained by each Club will determine the ranking of the single match.
During the battle stage, all Espers will use Rival Runes for battle, and Espers below Lvl 50 cannot participate in battle.
Each faction can attack Power Reservoirs adjacent to any other faction's Power Reservoir. Points that are not adjacent cannot be attacked or viewed in advance of the opponent's defensive formations.
If all defensive teams in an Power Reservoir are defeated by the same faction, the faction of that Power Reservoir will be captured by the winning side. The original defensive teams in that Power Reservoir will return to the defeated faction's Base Camp for standby. Meanwhile, that Power Reservoir will enter 1-hour of Invincibility. During this period, all members of the winning side with attack permissions can dispatch the remaining defensive teams in their Base Camp to the Power Reservoir. After 1 hour of Invincibility, the Power Reservoir can be attacked and occupied normally.
When attacking Epic Power Reservoirs, only Epic or lower Espers can be used for battle.
At the start of the battle stage, each participating Club member with attack permission will receive 10 Triple Tickets for challenging other factions' defensive teams.
Each member's Espers can only participate in battle once, regardless of the battle result. Please match your teams carefully.
At the end of each single match, the 3 Clubs will be ranked based on their Power Points. In case of a tie in Power Points, the Club with more Power Reservoirs ranks higher. If the number of Power Reservoirs is the same, the Club that wins the first match earlier ranks higher.
Based on their respective rankings, each Club's members will receive a set reward along with one chance to draw rewards. The higher the rank, the better the reward.
Starting from the battle stage, once a member accumulates a certain threshold of points from victories in attacks and defenses, they are eligible to claim corresponding point rewards.
At the tallying stage, individual ranking rewards will be sent via mail based on each member's points obtained in the match. Players with 0 points will not be ranked.
At the end of the tallying stage, unclaimed single-match Club ranking rewards and individual point rewards will also be sent via mail.
If a member leaves their Club after the start of the battle stage, they must wait until the next competition's sign-up stage upon joining a new Club to participate in defense and sign up again; the original competition qualification will automatically be canceled (unless they return to the original Club in time).
When a new season begins, the starting points will be reset based on the Club's season points in the previous season.
The Practice Match will commence on April 25, 2024, and will last for 6 weeks. Please stay tuned for the opening time, and the scheduling of subsequent seasons.
Only Lvl 50+ Espers can join defense deployment, and they will battle using equipped Rival Runes.
Club members' defensive formations are automatically stored in their own Base Camp to await dispatch. During the sign-up stage, only admins can assign each team to different Power Reservoirs. During the battle stage, all participating team members with attack permissions can utilize the Invincibility time when occupying new Power Reservoirs to move the defensive teams from their Base Camp to that Power Reservoir.
Epic Power Reservoirs differ from Ordinary ones. Only Epic or lower Espers can be deployed in the defensive teams.
Similarly, players from other factions can only use Epic or lower Espers to attack this Power Reservoir.

Anniversary Gacha

During the event, players will be given 1 Reverb Coin. Complete Daily Quests each day to max out your Activeness and gain an extra 5 Reverb Coins.
Players can spend Reverb Coins to draw non-Shimmer Legendary Esper options. See the probabilities below for the range of available options
Spin 50 times in any card pool during the Flaming Echo event to obtain one (and only one) Esper of your choice from the acquired options!
At the end of the event, if a player meets Esper option requirements but hasn't made a selection, the system will send them a random Esper option that they have obtained via mail.
Upon selecting an Esper, you can no longer change your choice or draw more Esper options.

Several years back, in my early 20s, I worked a late night job that I left nightly between 1 and 3 am.
​
The events of the night started just after 2am to begin my journey home. Generally getting home involved a 5-minute drive to the highway on ramp, a 25-minute drive on the highway, and another 6-8 minute surface road trip to my apartment.
​
That night as I drove up the on ramp I saw someone in a long pale dress walking on the shoulder a ways ahead of me.
​
The night was cold, maybe 34-35 Fahrenheit, and so instead of speeding up to merge I slowed down and pulled up beside the person. It as a dark-haired woman in a lightweight jacket and long pale dress. Since she had been walking with traffic and there were no cars on the ramp I asked if she needed a lift to her car. She indicated not and stated she was walking home. I asked if she wanted a lift since she looked cold. She accepted.
​
Once she was in my car I asked where she lived, she told me. Since at the time I worked a dispatch job and knew the city well, I let her know I would only need help once we got to her street. There was some light small talk but I do not really remember it. What I vividly remember, almost two decades later, is the house she had me stop at.
​
The entire street was older houses, the newest probably built pre-1940s. The house she had me stop at was one of the oldest looking on the block. Additionally, while several houses had one or two boarded up windows, this one did not have any un-boarded up windows. Additionally, there were boards blocking the front door. I couldn’t tell if there was graffiti on the house or boards since it was too dark. There were also no visible lights on the outside nor coming from inside the house.
​
I asked the passenger if this was the correct place since it looked abandoned, and she said yes. I told her I would wait to make sure she got in, she nodded, said she would be entering through the back and got out of the car.
​
This is where I either lost track of time and just failed to track her movements or where she proved she was not human. After the door closed, I looked down briefly to press the automatic door lock while my eyes re-adjusted after experiencing the light from the door opening. When I looked back up toward the house, she was nowhere to be seen.
​
It’s possible I lost track of how long I looked down, but to me it felt like it could not have been more than 30 seconds.
​
While staying in the car, I looked around it, at all the other nearby houses, using all my mirrors, and even checked my back seat. It was like she had vanished into thin air. The house was far enough back from the street that unless she was a talented sprinter, she would not have gotten to the side gate, opened it and vanished from sight in the few seconds I had looked away from her.
​
I felt very unbalanced and drove home.
​
The next day I told a coworker I liked to gossip with about the encounter. They told me I was very lucky. They were native to the city, unlike myself who had only lived there about 2 years at the time, and said urban legends/rumors about encountering that ‘ghostly lady’ mostly involved the person having a terrible car accident shortly after she got in the car or not remembering how they wound up in the hospital with severe trauma.
​
​

“There is a bit of a problem with the application.”
Those words, seemingly innocuous, had become the bane of Maria’s existence over the past few years. When the International Space Station first received the signals over 5 years ago, it was assumed to be a sensor malfunction. After multiple tests, backup sensors, and a physical check were done and determined it was real, most shifted to thinking it was a hoax. How could it not be? Aliens, part of some kind of federation, were on their way sending offers of peace and cooperation.
Most countries agreed to inform the public once more thorough tests could be done. But as they say, two people can keep a secret if one of them is dead. And if it doesn’t involve aliens. Before the day was over, someone had released most of the data collected to the public, including the translated message.
Initially, it didn’t get much attention. As it turns out, most people aren’t willing to believe a guy just saying “Trust me, I work for NASA”. But once governments saw someone had told the press what had happened, they scrambled to release their own statements, seeing it as just a matter of time before everyone caught on. Better to look as if they weren’t concealing critical information from their own citizens.
So now major governments across the world were all confirming that ‘yes, aliens exist’ and ‘no, we aren’t sure if they’re lying or not.’ This was evidently not what people wanted to hear in such a confusing time. Many jumped to the conclusion of an alien invasion, while others still believed it was a trick perpetrated by the lizard Illuminati to draw attention away from failing code in their bird drones. There was a period of civil unrest. Riots gripped major cities, people fled into the countryside, and bunker construction was at an all-time high, surpassing peak numbers during the Cold War. But eventually, things calmed down.
Included in the message sent was a large document detailing the many rules and regulations of the Peaceful Collection of People that Move in the Endless Sky (I am told it sounds much more eloquent in Federation standard). This included what was required of a planet to join as a fully-fledged member. The United Nations set up a new agency to handle the mess created by the alien’s announcement. While militaries and governments started planning in case their intentions for Earth were less than honest, the United Nations Extraterrestrial Organization hired teams of experts to prepare for a peaceful first contact. Linguists crafted the perfect lexicon to use, one that was soft and non-aggressive while including multiple major languages. Lawyers and Judges poured over the legal codes, searching for potential pitfalls, loopholes, or general problems. Engineers designed and constructed a landing pad up to the specifications given, sprucing it up with architectural additions from a wide range of cultures. Artists crafted masterpieces in every medium, from graffiti to chiseled marble, all assembled near the landing pad as gifts to be given to the first extraterrestrial visitor to Earth.
When the day finally came, it felt like the entire world was watching with bated breath. Large screens had been constructed in every city and town square. Bars were packed, their televisions at full volume. New York City, the location of the landing pad, was filled to the brim with onlookers hoping to see this momentous occasion. Even those who retreated to bunkers kept a TV or radio on, if solely out of a desire to be proven right.
It had been monumental in its mundanity. The ship, a small, sleek vessel made from flowing lines of metal, landed silently and a party of four walked out. Actually, they didn’t all walk out. One of them had been encased in what we later learned was an environmental suit. It had treads instead of legs and acted as a sort of wheelchair.
When the leading delegate approached the Secretary-General of the UN surrounded by world leaders, all of humanity held their breath. Then a hand was extended in a timeless greeting, and with no pause save a small glance, the alien grasped the outstretched hand. The first handshake with an extraterrestrial was broadcast around the globe.
But when the pageantry and showmanship ended, it was time for paperwork on a galactic scale. And Maria had been on the receiving end of that deluge for the past 5 years.
“What is it this time?” Maria was getting tired of dealing with every little snag in the Federation's frankly Byzantine legal code. Apparently, Federation law was looser in daily life, with local systems being given high levels of autonomy. But a new species joining would affect the entire Federation. Anything of that scale meant regulations and oversight, and lots of it.
Her liaison, a blob-like alien isolated from Earth’s apparently toxic atmosphere by an environmental suit, projected a scrolling wall of text from its holo-emitter. “Well, there is a part of the Rules of Integration that specify all groups on a potential member planet must have had their lives improved before they can join. Usually, it’s skipped over, because ‘improved’ has been interpreted to be very broad. Basically, if you have explored the whole planet and life, in general, has gotten better for everyone, then you’re good.”
She leaned back in my chair. The slight stretch drew cracks from her back, a gift from Maria’s perpetually poor posture. “So what’s the problem? It sounds like we fit the bill.”
The blob’s artificial arm moved through the hologram, searching for a specific section. “Have you ever heard of the North Sentinal Islanders?”
The name rang a bell, but as Maria turned to her computer, an aid leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Quarantined island tribe off the eastern coast of India.”
She tilted her head, hoping the gesture would be picked up by the fancy translators the Federation had. “Seriously, that’s the problem? A tiny stone age tribe?”
“This is a very serious issue. Differences in culture and customs often lead to misunderstandings and social strife between federation member states, so the baseline requirements are valued highly.”
Maria sighed, wishing for not the first time that she could drink without sparking an interplanetary incident. The Federation had been friendly so far, but no one wanted to test how fragile their egos were with a drunken rant. Lifting her head up from her palms, she asked wearily. “How do we fix this?”
“You would need to provide them something that helps improve their daily lives.” They said it so casually like she could just wave a magic wand and know what to do.
“But we have helped them. The whole reason they are quarantined is to prevent any outbreaks of disease among the Sentinelese population.”
The blob gyrated back and forth. Maria hoped that was their species’ equivalent of nodding no, compared to the alternatives. “Unfortunately, not doing negative things to them doesn’t count as improving their lives. You don’t give people accolades for not murdering people, do you?”
Maria had been quickly skimming an article her assistant had pulled up on the Sentinelese while her liaison spoke. One part of the summary of their situation caught her eye. “Well, what about that iron they got from shipwrecks? That’s probably the only metal on the island.”
Again the blob gyrated. “If anything, that takes away from your argument. Improvement by salvaging is the type of thing that happens in rebellions or during wars. Even in your case, it was merely a byproduct of your actions, not the main goal.”
“So we have to purposefully provide them with something that improves their daily lives?”
Their response was, in Maria’s humble opinion, curt for a diplomat. “Yes.”
A heavy breath accompanied Maria’s next statement. “But we can’t go there in case we infect them with a disease that might wipe them out.”
“Which would then be classified as genocide, automatically rejecting your current application until sufficient governmental reform is enacted or a new government is established.” They spoke robotically, repeating a line Maria had heard a few dozen times by now. How much of the code did this blob memorize?
She paused, her face scrunching up in frustration. “And you can’t provide us with any fancy space tech to prevent such a scenario from happening because?”
“Federation protocol is to not share any sufficiently advanced technology with non-federation members.” There was a slight pause as they seemed to think about something. “Plus we just don’t have the right equipment for that type of thing with us.”
Maria leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling to focus her thoughts. “What would count as improving the Sentinilese’s lives?”
The question seemed to raise their spirits. They brought up the hologram again, pulling up a dense block of text with numerous footnotes. “At the very basic level, it has to be something that lasts multiple generations and that they can utilize. For example, you can’t give them a spaceship because they don’t know and can’t learn how to fly it.”
Maria thought about what made her happy. What in her life would be useful to a tribe whose most advanced technology was the bow and arrow?
As she pondered, her eyes drifted across the room. They settled on the windowsill, or rather what was hanging from it. A row of potted plants. “What if we sanitize and then perform an aerial seeding of some non-invasive plant? Something useful, or at least pretty.”
The blob paused for a moment. Then it spoke again in its strange, goopy language. The translator relayed their response in English. “That could work, it would just have to be suited to the climate and relatively safe for the island’s biome. Nothing that would outcompete the local species or cause an ecological collapse.”
Maria nodded in satisfaction. She stood up and offered a handshake to her guest. “I’ll have our top researchers find the best specimen by the end of this week. Were there any other hiccups?”
The blob didn’t have to stand up, seeing as it didn’t, or couldn’t, use a chair. One of its tentacles wrapped around Maria’s arm, the mucus that made up its body still encased in the rubber-like suit. “Yes, apparently the English to Federation Standard translator is malfunctioning. On a related note, why did you ask me if there were any involuntary contractions of the throat just now? I don’t possess a throat.”
~
​
Come check out this and other short stories of mine on royalroad: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/84666/tales-from-the-multiverse-a-short-story-collection

Bit of a story, but some cousins and I found an old radio and a junkyard and our grandfather helped us put it back together again. It was automatically tuned to this station that sounded exactly like the Warriors from the 1979 film that lady that announced all of the street going on And rumours. But also what I even knew to be subliminal messages or code considering how little context there was. All I know was that it was in the US.
Does ANYONE know what it was..? I miss those types. Street news. Graffiti artists and even gang leader interviews.. the lady behind the mic was called Serene.

I work at was has, for decades, been one of the top high schools in my state. Historically, our district has been the shining beacon of hope in a region devoid of any other decent public educational options. However, since Covid things have been going downhill rapidly, and the situation’s only been exacerbated by a new admin team that came in last year.
Our discipline has deteriorated to the point where the kids are completely out of control and growing bolder by the day. It’s normal to see kids not be suspended for things that are in the handbook as automatic suspensions or even expulsions. What’s more is that our “student”-athletes are never held accountable at all, especially because a couple of our admin are coaches that will just waive away anything an athlete does. Students can curse out or even assault faculty without being suspended, much less expelled.
Our admin never holds kids accountable for discipline, truancy, or academics. I watch kids walk across the graduation stage every year that have missed dozens of days, and anyone that fails is put into a 2-week online course to recoup their lost credits without summer school or having to retake the real course the next year. All anyone cares about is our school rating, not if the kids are actually passing and earning thier diplomas. Kids regularly graffiti and otherwise destroy what were until recently very nice restrooms, and there’s no push by admin to stop or repair anything. There’s no pride or sense of purpose in the kids because the admin doesn’t care and doesn’t do their job.
Both good kids and good teachers have been leaving in droves.
I personally have had no less than four meetings with our principal where I’ve brought up these problems, and each time I’ve been told that none of these things are problems, that they outright aren’t happening, and that “the administration is handling XX, why do you think it’s a problem?”
Anyway, my partner teacher is pretty decent friends and neighbors with a member of the school board, and we currently have a meeting scheduled with them to discuss our concerns. I’ve already had an older teacher and my department head try to talk me out of doing this because it may ruin whatever relationship I still have with the principal. (Our admin has shown in the past that they’re willing to be petty and vindictive to anyone who calls them out on their B.S.)
I know none of this is shocking to most of you on here, but what kills me is watching a great school/district implode from the necrosis of negligence and denial. I see the ship sinking, and I feel like I need to at least grab a bucket and start bailing. (Especially since it was at one time the grandest ship in the fleet.) Anyway, I’m just trying to vent and get some reddit strangers’ feedback on whether it’s worth risking my job to go over the principal’s head to the school board.
TL;DR - I’ve begged our admin 4 times to address issues so our school doesn’t collapse into the hellscape of surrounding districts, and they’ve told me nothing’s wrong; so I’m considering going over their head to a school board member, but I’m worried about blowback.

Source
UPDATE 35.5: DANTE UNBOUND
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Defend the Leverian from the avaricious clutches of Parvos Granum and the Corpus! Drusus, curator and caretaker of the Leverian, requests your help to get out from under Parvos’s gilded thumb. It falls to you to track down his assistant and chief chronicler, the Warframe Dante. Master Dante’s Abilities as you take on new Missions and greater challenges than ever before. Read on to learn more about everything in Update 35.5: Dante Unbound!
Happy 11 Year Anniversary, Tenno!
The future of the Origin System has never looked brighter, or more chock-full of exciting possibilities! The next era of Warframe is now here and all Tenno, new and old, are invited to join us as we honor both this legacy and our astonishing future — together.
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The celebrations continue with Dante Unbound! Login now until December 31st, 2024 to earn the Dex Nikana Melee Weapon and Year Eleven Anniversary Glyph.
The Dex Nikana also has a Unique Trait: Melee Combo Multiplier increases for every 11 hits. Max Combo Multiplier is 11x.
Learn more about what else is going on in Warframe to celebrate its 11 Year Anniversary including in-game Alerts, Giveaways, and more: https://www.warframe.com/news/11-year-anniversary
Deep Archimedea Launches Next Week!
As announced earlier this week, we have made the decision to launch Dante Unbound without the Deep Archimedea game mode. Instead, it will launch in a Hotfix next week on all platforms.
Given the complexity of the game mode and all the careful design considerations required in its development, we want to ensure that when it gets to you in its best state!
As an additional reminder, Deep Archimedea requires 2 Netracell Search Pulses in order to play. With that in mind, we want to reassure you that we will be adding a one-time bonus of 5 Netracell Search Pulses with its release next week , which will last until the following weekly reset (Monday, April 8th @ 0:00 UTC). This will ensure everyone who meets the requirements can attempt Deep Archimedea, even if the weekly five Netracells have been completed!
There is still so much to explore in Dante Unbound - read on to learn more!
Dante Unbound is a Mainline Update! A Mainline Update means that everything the team has been working on since the launch of Whispers in the Walls is in this update (with the obvious exception of content that is not ready to be released). Like with all Mainline Updates, it is very likely that things slip through the cracks so we will be watching for bug reports and feedback in the Dedicated Dante Unbound Subforums to address in follow-up Hotfixes.
If any of the terms above are new to you, visit “The Warframe Lexicon for Updates” to learn more about Warframe’s development cycle.
Update 35.5: Dante Unbound’s Download Size: ~1.46 GB
TABLE OF CONTENTS Dante Unbound contains a multitude of additions, changes, and fixes! We highly encourage you to read the following patch notes in full for the best understanding of the contents of this update. But if you are looking for a specific topic, we have provided some of main headers and subheaders for each section below (there is even more to explore in between!) - simply CTRL+F the keywords to jump to its dedicated section:

• New Warframe: Dante
• New Incarnon Weapons
  • Onos
  • Ruvox
• New Deimos Node: Armatus (Disruption)
  • Disruption Quality Of Life Changes
• New Enemy: Gruzzling
• Albrecht’s Laboratories & Sanctum Anatomica Changes
  • “Research Dante” Store
  • Albrecht’s Laboratories Tileset Expansion!
  • Weekly Archon Shard Offering Moved to Sanctum Anatomica
  • Netracell Drop Table Changes
• Styanax Tonatiuh Collection
• Tennogen Unbound
• New In-Game Market Additions
• Archon Shard Expansion: Ascent Fusion
• New Warframe Augment Mods
• Warframe Ability Changes
  • Inaros Rework
  • Mirage Eclipse & Prism Changes
  • Gara Passive Change
  • Nourish Helminth Change
  • Loki Ability Changes
  • Yareli Ability Changes
  • Customization For Warframes With Invisibility Abilities
• Omnia Void Fissures
• Steel Path Additions
  • The Steel Path: Zariman & Cavia Bounties
  • Steel Path Incursion Expansion: Zariman And Albrecht’s Laboratories
• New Player Path Improvements
  • Cephalon Simaris Introduction
  • Mote Amp Acquisition
  • Junction Changes
  • Mastery-Rank Locked Inbox Messages
  • Railjack Market Bundle Changes
  • Quest Changes
• Melee Attack Changes
  • Melee Ground Slam Attack Changes
  • Melee Finisher Improvements
  • Auto-Melee Fixes
• UI Quality Of Life Changes
  • New UI Sorting Categories
  • New Fast Travel Menus: Orbiter, Relays, & Dojo
  • Upgrade Screen Changes
  • Warframe, Weapon, And Railjack Stat Ui Rework
• Duviri Improvements
  • Top Quality of Life Changes
  • Circuit Assassination: Corrupted Jackal Changes
• Enemy Bonewidow Necramech Rework
• GI Volume Lighting Updates
• Kubrow Fur Updates
• Haztech & Smelter Suit Drifter Conversion
• General Additions
• General Changes
• Optimizations
• Top Fixes
• General Fixes

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NEW WARFRAME: DANTE Seeker of knowledge. Keeper of history. Daring researcher of Leverian lore. Dante composes arcane tales to support allies and devastate enemies.
Abilities Passive: Chronicler’s Mark Noctua scans targets, recording information for your Codex. Status Chance increases by 50% on fully scanned targets
Ability 1: Noctua Wield the power of Dante's chronicles. Customize Noctua with Tome Mods that enhance Warframe Abilities and reward strategic combat. Primary attack releases pages that tear into lethal pieces on hits. Its alternate attack releases a wave with infinite Punch Through.
As an Exalted Weapon, the Noctua can be customized (Tome Skins can be equipped onto Noctua!) and upgraded in the Arsenal. It also has a Unique Trait ; there is no restriction to how many Tome Mods can be equipped onto it.
Ability 2: Light Verse Dante’s vitalizing composition grants him and his allies Overguard and increases their Health.
This is Dante’s Railjack ability.
Ability 3: Dark Verse Dante’s composition draws blood from nearby enemies, inflicting Slash Damage upon them.
This is Dante’s Helminth ability.
Ability 4: Final Verse Dante must compose two other Verses before his Final Verse.
TRIUMPH: Two Light Verses cast in succession invigorate allies with a buff that increases Health and grants Overguard. Kills and assists briefly regenerate Overguard.
TRAGEDY: Two Dark Verses cast in succession attack enemies. Any Damage Over Time they have suffered accumulates in a single blast.
WORDWARDEN: A Light Verse followed by a Dark verse supports allies with copies of Noctua. Noctua copies synchronize their attacks with their designated ally’s attacks.
PAGEFLIGHT: A Dark Verse followed by a Light Verse summons Paragrimms that swoop at enemies, making them vulnerable to Status Chance and drawing enemy attacks away from allies.
Dante’s Leverian Tenno, Drusus desperately needs your help. Visit him in Dante’s Leverian (accessible via the Codex) to learn of Dante and why Drusus is requesting your aid. Dante’s Prex Card can also be yours, if you can blow off the dust in his Leverian to find it.
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Entry Requirements: Access to Dante’s Leverian via the Codex requires you have completed both The Deadlock Protocol and Whispers in the Walls Quests. Once you have done so, Drusus will send you an inbox message inviting you to join him in the Leverian. For players who have already completed these Quests, you shall receive this inbox upon downloading the update and logging in.
How to Acquire Dante

• Armatus (Deimos) Drop Tables: Dante’s Blueprint and Component Blueprints have a chance to be rewarded from the new Disruption Deimos Node, Armatus (more information in the “New Deimos Node” section below).
• Loid’s “Research Dante” Store: Dante’s Blueprint and Component Blueprints can also be acquired at Loid in the Sanctum Anatomica using Vessel Capillaries (earned from Armatus).
• In-game Market: Dante is available for Platinum individually or as part of the Dante Collection.

Maximum Loadout Slot Increase: With the release of Dante, the maximum number of purchasable Loadout Slots has been increased from 24 to 25.
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RUVOX Albrecht's Void experiments revealed the true destructive potential of this fist weapon. In Incarnon form, perform Heavy Slams to impale nearby enemies with spikes.
How to acquire the Ruvox:

• First and foremost, in order to acquire the Ruvox you must first complete the Whispers in the Walls and The Deadlock Protocol Quests to gain access to Armatus!
• Armatus (Deimos) Drop Tables: Ruvox’s Blueprint and Components have a chance to be rewarded from the new Disruption Deimos Node, Armatus (more information in the “New Deimos Node” section below).
• Loid’s “Research Dante” Store: Ruvox’s Blueprint and Components can also be acquired at Loid in the Sanctum Anatomica using Vessel Capillaries (earned from Armatus).
• In-game Market: Ruvox is available for Platinum individually or as part of the Dante Collection.*
  
  • Players can purchase this item without the Quest prerequisites, but Whispers in the Walls must be completed to unlock its full potential.

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ONOS Albrecht's Void experiments revealed the true destructive potential of this wrist-mounted cannon. In Incarnon form, draw in ambient power to deal steadily increased damage to enemies. At full power, release a blast of Heat.
How to acquire Onos:

• First and foremost, in order to acquire the Onos you must first complete the Whispers in the Walls and The Deadlock Protocol Quests to gain access to Armatus!
• Armatus (Deimos) Drop Tables: Onos’ Blueprint is rewarded from the new Disruption Deimos Node, Armatus (more information in the “New Deimos Node: Armatus (Murmur Disruption)” section below).
• Loid’s “Research Dante” Store: Onos’ Blueprint can also be acquired at Loid in the Sanctum Anatomica using Vessel Capillaries (earned from Armatus).
• In-game Market: Onos is available for Platinum.*
  
  • Players can purchase this item without the Quest prerequisites, but Whispers in the Walls must be completed to unlock its full potential.

NEW DEIMOS NODE: ARMATUS (DISRUPTION) Drusus Leverian owes a debt to Parvos Granum, who seeks a total takeover of the Leverian. Without enough donations, funding ran short, and he took a deal with Parvos that could spell the end of the Leverian. Visit Dante’s Leverian to discover just exactly what’s been happening, to both listen to Dante’s story and Parvos’ power grab to remove Drusus from his own museum.
Murmur Disruption can be accessed via the ARMATUS node on Deimos from either the Star Chart or the Laboratory Navigation in the Sanctum Anatomica. It can also appear as a Bounty at Fibonacci.
How to Unlock Node: Complete The Deadlock Protocol and the Whispers in the Walls Quests. This is due to the fact that they provide substantial lore context to the mission!
What to Expect Reaching out to the Tenno to act as field associates, Drusus asks you to retrieve high-value Entrati artifacts from Albrecht’s Conduit system to bolster his financial resistance. Enter the Laboratories once more to defend the Arterial Conduits from hulking Obol-adorned Necramech Demolishers and the Key-consuming Gruzzlings (learn more about this new enemy in its dedicated section below!) to earn new rewards.
How To Play The Gruzzlings hold the keys known as Dockets, each correlating to the Void Tongue symbols of Xata, Lohk, Khra and Vome, instead of the square, triangle, circle and diamond seen in regular Disruption missions. Any enemy destroyed can drop a Docket, like regular Disruption, but you can eliminate roaming Gruzzlings to earn a guaranteed Docket drop.
Insert the Docket into a Conduit , and expect burdens: enemy buffs or environmental dangers. Or, perhaps Loid will reverse a detriment to become a boon as you face off against any Demolishers.
Rewards
Rotation Rewards:

• Dante’s Main and Components Blueprints
• Ruvox Blueprint, Blade Blueprint, and Glove Blueprint
• Onos Blueprint
• Endo
• Void Relics

Visit the Official Warframe Drop Tables for more information.
New Resource: Vessel Capillaries A crucial sub-component in the construction of Albrecht Entrati’s vessels, these Capillaries are earned by destroying Necramech Demolishers.

• Normal: 2-4 Vessel Capillaries per Necramech
• Steel Path: 5-7 Vessel Capillaries per Necramech

New Loid Vendor Menu: Research Dante Vessel Capillaries can also be traded to Loid in the Sanctum Anatomica for the rotation rewards listed above (Dante Blueprints, Ruvox Blueprints, Onos Blueprints). Additionally, players can purchase Riven Transmuters here for 50 Vessel Capillaries. These were originally exclusive to Eidolon drop tables, but now have an alternative acquisition path via Loid! Learn more about this new shop at Loid in the “Research Dante Store” section below.
Disruption Quality Of Life Changes With the introduction of the new Disruption node on Deimos, we took the opportunity to make some quality of life changes to the mode overall.
While players highly engage with Disruption, requests to de-emphasize the audio component are at the forefront. With accessibility in mind, Disruption has received a few quality-of-life changes so all players can easily manage the game mode. The intention is to better support those who have difficulty with the audio cues.

• Locating the Demolishers is now easier! When the beeping is heard, you’ll receive an objective marker leading you to your foe.
  • The closer you are to the Demolisher, the less the marker will fade out.
  • When you’re within line of sight, the enemy marker becomes permanent.
• The red Conduit is now yellow to promote visual clarity between icons and the Demolisher.
• The Conduits for the original Disruption nodes have received a sound refresh!
  • When you insert a key into a Conduit, the insert noise is much more pronounced.
• Players that have “Enable Hint Transmissions” disabled will no longer hear the tutorial transmissions for Disruption.

NEW ENEMY: GRUZZLING Greedy creatures born from The Indifference, these little Murmur tricksters love to steal Conduit Dockets and other coveted items from Albrecht's Laboratory.
In the new Deimos Node, Armatus (Disruption), the Gruzzlings can carry around the Dockets necessary to activate the Conduits.
In any other Deimos/Albrecht’s Laboratory missions (including Netracells), these avaricious beings contain within them one of the following:

• 3x Entrati Lanthorns
• 1x Echo Voca
• 1x Common Entrati Melee Arcane:
  • Melee Retaliation
  • Melee Fortification
  • Melee Exposure
  • Melee Influence
  • Melee Animosity
  • Melee Vortex

ALBRECHT’S LABORATORIES & SANCTUM ANATOMICA CHANGES “Research Dante” Store A new store has been added to Loid in the Sanctum Anatomica where you can acquire the following items for Vessel Capillaries:

• Dante Blueprint and Component Blueprints
• Onos Blueprint
• Ruvox Blueprint and Component Blueprints
• Riven Transmuter
• New Captura Scenes:
  • The Abandoned Vessel Scene
  • Dante's Retreat Scene
• New Simulacrum Room: Sanctum Simulacrum
  • Simulate a battle in the Sanctum Anatomica! This Simulacrum allows enemy difficulty to be set 25 levels above the standard maximum.
• 100,000 Credits

Albrecht’s Laboratories Tileset Expansion! Several new tiles (roughly 15!) have been added to the Albrecht’s Laboratories tileset! Explore new passageways, rooms (maybe even some secret ones), and more with this environment expansion.
One of the tiles was featured in the Warframe: 1999 TennoCon 2023 demo, first one to find it gets bragging rights.
The new tiles also feature the GI lighting and volumetric fog systems, to create a more realistic feel as you navigate through the new areas of this Entrati labyrinth.
New Somachord Tones New Somachord Tones have been added to Albrecht’s Laboratories! Scanning them will unlock the following Whispers in the Walls tracks for your Orbiter’s Somachord:

• Murum Vull
• No God Above Knowledge
• Platform 7
• Sanctum Anatomica
• See It In The Flesh
• The Fragmented
• Vashtav
• Yara Jeliira
• The Master Returns

Weekly Archon Shard Offering Moved to Sanctum Anatomica Weekly rotating Archon Shard Offerings have been moved out of Chipper’s Store and are now available from Bird3 in the Sanctum Anatomica! The Archon Shard is specifically in their Shiny Treasures offerings.
The weekly Archon Shard becomes available once you’ve reached Rank 5 with The Cavia Syndicate and can be purchased for 30k Cavia Standing.
Having them at Chipper meant players had to repeat Break Narmer missions weekly to acquire the Stock needed to purchase them. In an effort to make Archon Shards more accessible and to refresh the gameplay path to acquiring them, they have been moved to the Sanctum Anatomica. With this change, we’ve adjusted some of Chipper’s lines to remove mentions of Archon Shards. This chipper line lives on in our hearts: “Got archon shards if you're interested. Only one previous owner. Ha ha HA!”.
Netracell Drop Table Changes In the same vein as the above change to make Archon Shards more accessible, we’ve made the following changes to the Netracell Drop Tables.
1. Removed all non-Legendary Arcanes (as listed below)

• Melee Exposure
• Melee Animosity
• Melee Retaliation
• Melee Influence
• Melee Vortex
• Melee Fortification

2. Adjusted drop rates in light of the removal of the above Arcanes
Overall the majority of the rewards have had their drop rate increased by roughly ~40-50%, with the exception of the Melee Arcane Adapter which has been slightly reduced to accommodate for the increased rates for Archon Shards and Legendary Arcanes.
Here are the new drop rates for each reward:

• Crimson Archon Shard - 17.50% (was 9.17%)
• Azure Archon Shard - 17.50% (was 9.17%)
• Amber Archon Shard - 17.50% (was 9.17%)
• Melee Arcane Adapter - 15% (was 20%)
• Melee Crescendo - 10% (was 5.62%)
• Melee Duplicate 10% (was 5.62%)
• Tauforged Crimson Archon Shard - 4.17% (was 2.50%)
• Tauforged Azure Archon Shard - 4.17% (was 2.50%)
• Tauforged Amber Archon Shard - 4.17% (was 2.50%)

The Official Warframe Drop Tables have also been updated with the above changes!
*General Albrecht’s Laboratories and Sanctum Anatomica Changes & Fixes: *

• You can now embrace the Cavia members in the Sanctum Anatomica! The new “Offer Comfort” option appears in their options when interacting with them. For those of you who know, you can agree that they need all the comfort they can get!
• Fixed the Albrecht’s Laboratories Bounty drop information missing from the Official Warframe Drop Tables.
• Added new animations to Murmur faction enemies so that they react to Limbo’s Stasis, Rhino’s Stomp, and Mag’s Crush abilities.
• Yareli will now be automatically dismounted from Merulina when injecting Atropos Probe to the Vitreum scanners.
• Weapons will now be hidden during the animation to inject the Atropos Probe into the Vitreum scanner.
• Crucibles in Alchemy missions will now dissolve in/out instead of just spawning/despawning out of thin air.
• Added purchase detail diorama for the Decorations available at Bird3 in the Sanctum Anatomica.
• Rebalanced The Hollow Vein and The Anatomizer to be less of a bullet sponge, and made The Anatomizer pose more of a threat in missions.
  • Reduced the total health values of these foes to make them easier to take out, especially for Eximus variants. Their large health pool was in place to help their survivability since they have no Shields or Armor, but the result was a little too tanky for our liking.
  • Increased the attack frequency and grenade area of effect for The Anatomizer to make it a more active presence in battle. Also slightly increased the range at which it will engage with players.
  • Also fixed Anatomizer being self-staggered by their own grenades.
  • Fixed The Hollow Vein’s beam attack damage being tied to frame rate (damage per frame).
    • The higher the frame rate, the more damage it dealt. So we’ve decoupled it from frame rate and given it a defined tick rate to prevent this from happening.
• The Hollow Vein is now vulnerable to Warframe abilities, staggers, and knockdowns.
  • This enemy is already fairly strong and the resistances it had were mostly invisible to players, which made it even more difficult to deal with.
• Rogue Bonewidows can now be spawned into Albrecht’s Laboratories by Rogue Culverins. Meaning, there is now a 50/50 chance that either a Rogue Voidrig or Bonewidow spawns (and an additional chance for them to be Eximus units as well).
  • Enemy Bonewidows have also been reworked! Read more on that in the dedicated “Enemy Bonewidow Necramech Rework” section further down in these patch notes.
• Fixed the Anchorhold door in Netracell missions not opening if Host migration occurred after it was hacked but not triggered to open, leaving the returning players unable to start the mission.
• Fixed Steel Path missions started via the Sanctum Anatomica Elevator not spawning Acolytes.
• Fixed Sentinels breaking open Murmur Sarcophages not counting towards the “Find X Murmur Sarcophages” Bounty challenge.
• Fixed the containers in Persto (Deimos) not dropping Life Support Capsules.
• Fixed Voca pickups not counting towards the “The Hunt is On” Nightwave Act and the “Find X Syndicate Medallions” Riven Challenge.
• Fixed Murmur faction enemies who could not be disarmed not taking damage from Disarming abilities (ex: Loki’s Radial Disarm).
• Fixed the Anatomizer being able to be disarmed (ex: Loki’s Radial Disarm).
  • Since the Anatomizer only has a ranged attack, when it is disarmed it has no way to melee attack as a fallback, so it is no longer affected by disarming abilities/attacks.
• Fixed Netracells having the incorrect enemy level if a Cambion Drift bounty is started before speaking to Tagfer.
• Fixed Mocking/Scathing Whisper getting killed along with the rest of the enemies when the alert level hits 0% in Netracell missions.
• Fixed Lumbering and Shuffling Fragments never ending up in Grendel’s belly and instead completely despawning when Feast is cast on them.
  • This was caused by a lack of recovery animations on these enemies, which we have now added! With that, they can also now be properly Regurgitated.
  • Known issue: They do not have any velocity to them when Regurgitated and will spawn back on top of Grendel when cast.
• Fixed a crash when walking up to Loid in the final stages of the Whispers in the Walls Quest.
• Fixed script error caused by aborting during the stage of the Whispers in the Walls Quest where you first pick up the Grimoire.
• Fixed a random wall from the Albrecht’s Laboratories tileset appearing in unintended locations, causing holes in the map.
• Fixed Mocking/Scathing Whisper stretching weirdly in reaction to Warframe abilities.
• Fixed Rogue Culverins not firing at players while readjusting positioning.
• Fixed Tagfer missing his specific voice lines to react to you accepting or rejecting the Netracell mission.
• Fixed Host using the wrong throwing animation to toss Amphors at Crucibles in Alchemy missions after Host migration.
• Fixed interacting with and exiting the POM-2 terminal in the Sanctum Anatomica triggering Parazon Mods.
• Fixed Atropos Probe stands not updating their light from green to red if picked up by Yareli while riding on Merulina.
• Fixed Atropos Probes not appearing in Yareli’s hand for several seconds after if picked up while she’s riding on Merulina.
• Fixed being unable to throw Alchemy Amphors while riding Merulina.
• Fixed throwable items (ex: Voidrig’s Necraweb Canister) missing their arch projection/trajectory preview lines in certain areas of the Albrecht’s Laboratories tileset.
• Fixed an issue where you would need to relog or run a mission after completing The New War Quest to access the inbox message that unlocks the Whispers in the Walls Quest.
• Fixed more instances where the Heat Vents in Alchemy missions would spawn very far away from players.
• Improved how tiles in Albrecht’s Laboratories are randomized to prevent cases where certain tiles would never appear.

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STYANAX TONATIUH COLLECTION The warrior spirit reincarnates in the image of a god. His collection includes the Tequihua Polearm Skin, Huitzilin Syandana, and Chimalli & Tequihua Decoration for your Orbiter.
Styanax Tonatiuh Skin The warrior spirit reincarnates in the image of a god.
Includes Auxiliary Attachment: The Styanax Tonatiuh Embellishments are an Auxiliary Attachment that can be equipped/unequipped in the Arsenal.
The jade green mosaic on the chest and shoulder area also features a new material that leverages an improved clearcoat feature that’s been added to the shader. It provides that “iridescent” effect when the light hits it at certain viewing angles.
Tequihua Polearm Skin Each strike proves that the serpent is both creator and destroyer.
Huitzilin Syandana Spread your monolithic wings.
Chimalli & Tequihua Decoration You will honor Styanax Tonatiuh when you display these cherished armaments.
Gifting Bonus: Gift this bundle to another player and receive the Chimalli & Tequihua Decoration as a Gifting Bonus in return!
The Styanax Tonatiuh Collection can be purchased from the in-game Market for Platinum. Each item can also be purchased separately.
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TENNOGEN UNBOUND The first batch of TennoGen for 2024 delivers 6 brand new creations from talented community artists, available on all platforms!
Sevagoth, Gyre, and Yareli have each received their first ever TennoGen pieces! They arrive with a brand new Syandana, Sword Skin, and Landing Craft Skin to ensure they touch down in style.

• Sevagoth Ezriel Skin skin by Goosmo
• Gyre Kuvael Monarch Skin by Erneix
• Yareli Batomorpha Alt Helmet by Ventralhound
• Ezriel Syandana by Goosmo
• Ezriel Sword Skin by Goosmo
• Mantis Vammatar Skin by Ventralhound

As stated in the “TennoGen and Cross Platform Save” article from November 2023, TennoGen purchased on PC can only be used on PC. TennoGen items purchased for Platinum can be accessed via Cross Platform Save on licensed platforms.
NEW IN-GAME MARKET ADDITIONS
Dante Collection Write a new chapter for the keeper of history. The Dante Collection includes the Dante Warframe, Ruvox Melee Weapon, and the following:
Dante Cantist Helmet For those midway upon their journey.
As with all newly released Alt Helmets, its Blueprint will be added to the Nightwave Cred Store in the future.
Oranist Chest and Shoulder Plates Armor reminiscent of gilded vellum pages.
Rencowl Syandana A Syandana reminiscent of scriptoriums.
Noctua’s Paragrimm Decoration A Paragrimm ascends from Noctua’s pages to accompany you in your Orbiter.
Gifting Bonus: Gift this bundle to another player and receive the Noctua’s Paragrimm Decoration as a Gifting Bonus in return!
The Dante Collection is available to purchase from the in-game Market! All of the items in the Collection can also be purchased separately. They are also part of the Dante Chronicles Pack.
Inaros Eternal Bundle Honor Inaros with items reminiscent of his desert home. This bundle includes the Sands of Mars Ephemera, King Inaros Glyph, and Inaros Sarcophagus Decoration.
Sands Of Mars Ephemera Let the familiar sands of Mars accompany you.
Inaros Sarcophagus Decoration Inaros feels welcome in any space that displays this protective sarcophagus.

• Since Inaros’ Passive has changed and he no longer enters his Sarcophagus (more information on that in the “Inaros Rework” section below), you can now have it as a token of remembrance of its former life as a tomb of revival.

King Inaros Glyph Proudly display the Warframe known as the God King.
All of the items in the Inaros Eternal Bundle can also be purchased separately.
In addition to this brand new Inaros-themed bundle, we have also reworked him! Visit the “Inaros Rework” section to learn about what’s changed.
Void Adornment Bundle VI Make the most of the morphic material created during the Zariman Void Jump. This collection includes the Banshee Voidshell Skin, Loki Voidshell Skin, Nekros Voidshell Skin, and each skin’s matching material structure.
9 Banshee Voidshell.mp4 Banshee Voidshell Collection Adorn Banshee in the morphic material created during the Zariman Void Jump. This collection includes the Banshee Voidshell Skin and the Sonar Ripples material structure. 10 Loki Voidshell.mp4 Loki Voidshell Collection Adorn Loki in the morphic material created during the Zariman Void Jump. This collection includes the Loki Voidshell Skin and the Murkray Scales material structure.
11 Nekros Voidshell.mp4 Nekros Voidshell Collection Adorn Nekros in the morphic material created during the Zariman Void Jump. This collection includes the Nekros Voidshell Skin and the Necrotic Stitch material structure.
Redliner Emote Taunt your enemies with this new emote that was featured in the Gauss Prime trailer! 8 Gauss Emote Video.mp4 Observant Vitreum Decoration A watchful eye for the Orbiter.
Also available in the Dante Chronicles Pack!
Ostarus Headgear Manifest the joys of blossoming flowers and hopping Rablits in any season.
A new Auxiliary cosmetic will be hopping into the in-game Market on April 3rd @ 2 PM ET! Adorn your Warframe with a pair of floppy ears that are sure to make even the most confident of Rablits jealous.
They feature the tech implemented in our new Kubrow Fur Updates to give them a true fluffy feel.
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Unlike its seasonal predecessor (Lepus Headgear), the Ostarus Headgear is a permanent Market item and, once purchased, is yours to wear all year round!
Note On Seasonal Items: The Lepus Headgear will continue to return each year to the in-game Market for Credits in its usual time-limited fashion. There are currently no plans to make other seasonal items into upgraded and permanent in-game Market items, but we may reassess that in the future.
Community Art Pack I A bundle of glyphs highlighting various Warframes, created by Community Artists CalamityDeath, Kirdy, Ritens, UpsideDownSmore, and StudioCyen.

• Community Kullervo Glyph
• Community Chroma Glyph
• Community Equinox Glyph
• Community Titania Glyph
• Community Revenant Glyph

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This is the first of a new series of bundles - Community Art Packs! These packs will focus on various Warframes and characters, with art crafted in the style of community artists.
Learn more about the artists who created the glyphs in our article here: https://www.warframe.com/news/introducing-community-art-packs
11 Year Anniversary Community Glyph Bundle A bundle featuring glyphs from Community Artist DarikaArt.

• Community Cavalero Graffiti Glyph
• Community Little Duck Graffiti Glyph
• Community Mother Graffiti Glyph

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These glyphs will also be obtainable through our 11 Year Anniversary Twitch Drop campaign. More information on the campaign can be found here: https://forums.warframe.com/topic/1387661-11-year-anniversary-twitch-drops-campaign-starts-march-25/
ARCHON SHARD EXPANSION: ASCENT FUSION
The process ofAscent Fusion allows for three Archon Shards of the same type to be fused together to create a single Tauforged Shard.
Requirements

• Helminth Archon Shard Segment: The Blueprint is earned for completing the Veilbreaker Quest.
• 3 Archon Shards of the same type.
• Helminth Coalescent Segment: The Blueprint is purchased from Bird3 in the Sanctum Anatomica.
  • If you already have the Helminth Coalescent Segment on your Helminth, both Coalescent AND Ascent Fusion are now available to you!
• 100 Stela: Resource earned from Albrecht’s Laboratories.

How to unlock Ascent Fusion The Helminth Coalescent Segment Blueprint can be acquired from Bird3 in the Sanctum Anatomica after reaching Rank 2 (Researcher) in the Cavia Syndicate. Once you have built and claimed it from your Foundry, return to the Helminth Room in your Orbiter to install it.
For players who already have the Helminth Coalescent Segment Blueprint installed, Ascent Fusion is ready for you to use!
How to use Ascent Fusion
Step 1. After installing the Segment, interact with the Helminth chair and select the “Archon Shards” button.
Step 2. Select the new Ascent Fusion icon located on the right of the Archon Shard embed UI. 9f754c22a21943e73c69a6347423e014.jpg
Step 3. Hover over one of the three slots on screen to select the Archon Shard type you’d like to fuse together. Once you’ve selected an Archon Shard, the rest of the slots will be automatically filled with the same type from your inventory (only types with 3 or more Shards will be selectable). The Tauforged Archon Shard fused from the base Shards will appear in the center. Hover over the Tauforged Archon Shard to preview its stats and bonuses.
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Step 4. Select the “Fuse” button to complete the process.

• Fusion Requirement: 100 Stela for each Fuse.

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NEW WARFRAME AUGMENT MODS 11 new Warframe Augment Mods are available from Syndicate Offerings!
Stats below are shown at Max Rank.
Elusive Retribution (Baruuk - Elude) Every attack Baruuk Eludes increases his Melee Attack Speed and Melee Critical Damage by 5% up to 6 stacks. Stacks last 6s.
Available in the Arbiters of Hexis and New Loka offerings.
Guardian Armor (Chroma - Vex Armor) Chroma's Health takes 50% of damage dealt to allies within Affinity Range. Squad kills restore 5% of his Health over 3s and increases Vex Armor duration by 1s.
Available in the Cephalon Suda and The Perrin Sequence offerings.
Recrystalize (Citrine - Crystallize) Enemies killed by crystalline growths stagger and spread the crystals to enemies within 16m.
Available in the Red Veil and Steel Meridian offerings.
Wrath of Ukko (Kullervo - Storm of Ukko) Wrathful Advance moves the storm of daggers to the teleportation location and increases its duration by 6s.
Available in the New Loka and Steel Meridian offerings.
Valence Formation (Lavos - Passive) Upon Ability cast, applies the Ability Element as 200% Elemental Damage to your weapons with guaranteed Status for 20s.
Available in the New Loka and Red Veil offerings.
Damage Decoy (Loki - Decoy) Decoy can be cast on enemies. Enemies who attack that decoy receive 5 random Status Effects, and the reflected damage is increased by 350%.
Available in the Arbiters of Hexis and Red Veil offerings.
Divine Retribution (Nezha - Divine Spears) When a speared enemy suffers from a Status Effect, the Status Effect spreads to all speared enemies. Spear explosions apply 1.5x Status Damage.
Available in the Cephalon Suda and Steel Meridian offerings.
Parasitic Vitality (Nidus - Parasitic Link) Nidus and any ally he's bound to gain 4% Max Health per Mutation during Parasitic Link.
Available in the Steel Meridian and The Perrin Sequence offerings.
Axios Javelineers (Styanax - Axios Javelin) A pair of Styanax Specters spawn to throw javelins, creating vortexes on impact. Impale an enemy to increase vortex duration by 5s.
Available in the Arbiters of Hexis and New Loka offerings.
Warrior’s Rest (Excalibur Umbra - Passive) Umbra's Ability Strength increases by 15% but he no longer fights independently alongside his Operator.
Available in the Arbiters of Hexis and Red Veil offerings.
Loyal Merulina (Yareli - Merulina) You no longer ride Merulina. Instead, she follows her and casts Sea Snare on nearby enemies. 2s cooldown.
Available in the Cephalon Suda and New Loka offerings.

It never hurts the way you think it will. Like nails to the chest rather than the anticipated full submergence in icy water. The nails, painted in a shy rose rather than the contemporary red or god forbid the bourgeoisie patterns of a salon. A high school dance, rife with nerves and children clamoring over one another to prove they’re having the most fun. Rouge teardrops in the parking lot next to the jeep that left alone. Students at the door enforce a $10 cover and faculty ensures the ladies are properly covered. Streamers everywhere, regardless of the theme every school dance calls for streamers and balloons. The chips and punch flanked by the more feeble lads discussing legos and famous jazz musicians. From the gymnasium a taller, sharply dressed boy burst into the room. He grins widely, eyes wildly dancing around his skull like some domesticated animal and a laser pointer. They finally lock and focus on someone at the door, sweat tosses his hair about and stains the yellow dress shirt. Every inch of his skin and pervading his soul is sweat, and to him it feels like love. Coming from within and uncontrollably flowing out, a sensation both uncomfortable and natural and soothing. Perhaps without the sweat he would collapse from the heat and climate of excitement in the gymnasium. He crashes now into the arms of his friend, absolutely giddy at the prospect of spending the night dancing, feeding off the crazed energy of the crowd. The other boy at the door still feels the wind chill from the walk through the parking lot on his neck and reels at the raging fire inside. He’s instantly smacked around by the smell of sweat but doesn’t even notice the source completely covering his friend. High heels and a new haircut run by crying and the boys shuffle out of the way, hardly registering the event at all amidst the vast ocean of emotions pouring in and out of the gymnasium. “What’s the theme?” “Streamers and balloons, maybe neon. Come on, they're excited to see you.” Faces light up like new batteries as the friends huddle and throw themselves around dancing as vigorously as they know how. Eyes lock and wink without closing before shyly darting away. Once, twice, the whole night she steals a glance only to catch him doing the same.
Summer and the sun sends them simmering around like bacon in a saucepan. Such determined persistence until everyone is brutally aware of the season. Wake to an alarm clock, absolutely screaming about the time, the snooze button is absent till autumn and all anyone can do is cover their head with the pillow and roll around in their sweat. She lives 40 minutes out of town via the forest road, after the gas station ice crème parlor and countless mountain corners taken too fast. People this age live in summer cabins with their parents and drive cars without air conditioning. A sweaty commute as the car roasts like a toaster oven, creeping across the center line waiting to collide and shoot the passenger through the windshield. Hit the hot asphalt and spread like jam on burnt toast. Maybe next July, but for now he arrives safe, albeit still feeling like a car crash with his insides splattered all over the gravel driveway as they embrace. She’s a pot of water left on the stove, every feeling excited to the point of boiling over and running down the sides like sweat. People this age don’t know to be afraid of a car accident, maybe you can puzzle ribs back together like that plastic man doctors like to keep on their desk. Sitting on the couch they inch together, kissing and sweating and ignoring the television. It’s all at a hushed volume, the insurance commercial softly serenades the couple. They fall asleep and melt together in the heat as the tv whispers a lullaby about neighbors who will always be there. Groggy eyes open to her mother with some questions about dinner. “I’m worried I ruined the vegetables, but I just don’t know. How do we feel about peas and carrots all mashed together in a glob? It’s probably fine, regardless it’s too painstaking to separate them now. Everything will taste like sweat anyways. Do you think that’s a good thing? The sweat? Your dad says it’s disgusting but I tell him that’s just how cooking in the summer goes.” The sun leaves the dinner table first and sulks behind the mountains. They try to follow him outside, already missing the sticky heat that had welded their hands together. After four neighboring cabins she stops and pulls him close like a wave hitting the beach. “I love you” A dog caught burying a bone, she rushes to pick up the words that had fallen out of her mouth but he stops her. “I love you too”.
The necklace on his breastbone, the pendant in her eye. She crawls in bed with the boys, claiming the middle and emanating comfort in her pajamas. Head softly placed and then situated on his chest. She feels his heart skip like a children's game and quickly centers her focus on the television instead. What is the shape and nature of a friendship? Even if there are lines to be colored within, children struggle with the concept of boundaries. Only moments earlier the other boy had cherished the scene, his shirtless friend settled on the sheets like fresh paint on a canvas. Eyes so green they almost glow in the dark. The t.v. throws shadows over his face. In his mind it had all built like a classical orchestra. Pensive piano when the school trip was announced, followed by room assignments and a string section that made his head vibrate with possibilities. The brass instruments that shake the hotel room, crescendoing into delirious laughter as they descend deeper into the night together. How does one broach such a question at 17? Then comes the steccato knocking on the door, a long measured rest as she tiptoes across the room. He had been smiling all night but now it grows larger at the sight of her. Somehow completely different, like a mime with no makeup, still content with his fake box and fake home and fake wife with two kids. Give up your roses to the box, all the things a good mime should be. She occupies the two foot space between the boys, a chasm of borders and conventions. No words span the gap, drowsy laughter and a misunderstood tear shared with the wall.
The tiny boat rocks gently in the melancholy waves, overladen with scuba gear and pugnacious passengers. His wrist watch is waterlogged and useless in finding the time or season or duration of their trip. How many days or nights no one knows, but she recalls setting sail in summer and now feels bitter cold. One, two, or three hundred trips around the sun, all that matters now is how the wind builds and slices up her skin like lashes from a braided whip. “Are you going in again?” She seethes through clenched and chattering teeth, watching him adjust his goggles and pick at his wetsuit. “Yeah, probably a few more times. I can almost see the bottom though.” She scans his face looking for any sign of remorse or even just proof that he recognizes her, but only finds a lost bewilderment in his eyes. She’s reminded of childhood grocery store trips, hours spent wandering the isles while her stubborn father insists he doesn’t need help finding the boxed rice. “I wish you wouldn’t” “Yeah, I wish I didn’t have to.” He fires back automatically, no emotion in his voice except hints of annoyance. She shakes in the cold and watches as he prepares to jump and meet the icy water. He dives down, looking for the answer to some profound sadness. She stares at the ripples in the displaced waves and watches bubbles hit the surface like a pot on the stove. The boat rises and falls in place, completely alone in the water now. It feels like an empty subway station, one lone passenger rocks from toes to heels waiting for their train. She briefly thinks about rowing away, and then immediately feels guilty for considering it. Things will be easier in the summer she tells herself, trying to ignore the fact that seasons don’t really change much this far out at sea. The arguments go round and round in her head; leave, stay, leave, stay, leave, or stay in this hellish artic circle. He finally re-emerges from the water and splashes back into the boat. He’s gasping from the exertion, head hung between his knees in shame and the desperation of a revelation just out of sight. “Why do you have to go to such dark places?” She asks but he’s unable to answer, shaking in the cold and exhausted from the swim. “There’s got to be something good down there” He feebly spits out amidst the heavy breathing. “Have you ever found anything good?” “Not yet, but it must be somewhere at the bottom.” “Do you really believe you’ll find something worthwhile?” He sits for a minute, stewing in frustration before mockingly saying. “Do you really believe you’ll find something worthwhile up here?” He regrets the harsh edge in his voice and elaborates with a deep sigh. “Honestly I’m not convinced there is an answer. But if there ever was, it’d be right here, right at this spot on the seafloor.” She sits in silence for a minute, contemplating how to cut him the deepest. After so long in the freezing wind he’s completely numb. At first she tried to warm him up, but he insisted on endlessly plunging into the icy water. So now she searches for words colder than the ocean, any emotion at all would be better than the senseless searching. “I think you should know I don’t always like you” He’s hurt, but hardly surprised. Despondently he says “I’m going back in, leave me here. Hopefully I freeze to death” And so she grabs the icicle laden oars and rows away as he disappears underneath the waves
The bridge echoes and rhythmically thumps with the sounds of traffic overhead. He zips up his coat, exhaling nicotine and exuding optimism. He’d be less charming if he wasn’t so bright eyed and high on painkillers. It’s all rocks and graffiti under the bridge, and a river surging with Spring. Stars spatter the sky in a breathtaking display of infinity. The cold rocks they sit on feel like the perfect center of it all. Moonlight on the river and they deliriously guess at shapes in a degenerate version of cloud gazing. “I see a pile of gold coins, and that log looks like the dragon guarding it.” “Don’t you see Minnie Mouse? The rock there in the middle is like her nose.” They see it all and wobble over the rocks as they leave. He sings to her while they walk and she clings to his arm like the cigarette smoke mixing with the sweat on his neck. Droplets form by his temple and slide down his cheek like teardrops without sadness. During the winter he never sweat, and he had missed the sensation so much it doesn't matter that the night air still has a chill to it. Inside her apartment people sleep and glow in the dark stars light up the living room. It’s a dim and green glow that feels more natural than the lamp that works the day shift. They sit on the couch enamored with each other and the stars, pretending they’re the real thing. They see the constellations up close until the cuddling and giggling subsides as the sun comes up. Light seeps through the blinds like a headache and the universe reverts to plastic stars on cheap drywall. He zips up his coat again and shivers out the door in a cold sweat.