Blank diagram of the eye

Copy and pasted from what I sent in a discord server on the topic.
ZTD and possibly 999 Spoilers ahead
Carlos (Action Figure)- a type of doll that is meant to be posed at all main joints (head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles, sometimes the waist) and be able to hold the pose, doesn't have any interchangeable parts and typically depicts more masculine figures (commonly superheros and other rigid designs such as mech suits are used as a basis as skin tight suits and armor are easier to model around posable joints than loose clothing)
Akane (Nendoroid)- Nendoroids are a type of collectable figure produced by Good Smile that are smaller than a standard figure often depicting characters in a "chibi" style. Most models also come with multiple replaceable parts including face plates for different poses and expressions. Good Smile did also release a general accessories pack to add extra little pieces to put on the Nendoroids which does include different color cat ears
Junpei (Voodoo Doll) - I'm sure most people already know what this is, I haven't done a lot of research on voodoo dolls or the cultures that may have used them so I don't want to say anything incorrect so imma say Google it in your own time if you wanna go in depth. This being used for Junpei is more than definitely a reference to the "For you" June doll in 999
Sean (Matryoshka)- also called a variety of names including Russian Nesting dolls, stacking dolls, and tea dolls. They were created with the intention of helping kids learn to count. Symbolically is used to represent a number of things including fertility, continuation of life, and less often; someone who is "two-faced" or has secrets.
Mira (dress up doll)- the image used in game most closely resembles a Bratz doll. Dress up dolls usually also have posable joints but the range of points of articulation varies greatly between specific models. The different outfits you can buy with them can be made from cloth and closed with velcro or be made from rubber with an open seam to slip on and off. Definitely made to be played with in a ton of scenarios that kids may come up with
Eric (baby doll)- this one doesn't require much explanation. Baby dolls were initially designed in the 1800s with ceramic heads and limbs attached to stuffed cloth torsos to be a part of "imaginative play" to give kids a more cuddly doll to use as a pretend baby instead of other common dolls that were completely made from hard material with no articulation. Modern baby dolls use soft plastic or rubber as an alternative to ceramic but still represents a baby to be taken care of. Not to be confused with "Reborn dolls" that are highly intricate pieces of art designed to look exactly like newborn babies.
Diana (Porcelain Doll)- Porcelain, while being a type of ceramic, is made from higher grade clays and fired at much hotter temperatures than normal ceramics. Dolls made from porcelain are made to be display pieces and not played with in the way a dress up doll or a baby doll would be. Antique porcelain dolls can sell for upwards of thousands of dollars (Diana's doll in mentioned to be made of bisque porcelain, which is what the most expensive porcelain doll, made in 1916 and sold for $300,000, was made of) and are rare due to porcelain being extremely susceptible to significant damage from minor trauma. They are the most used example of "Creepy dolls" used in media due to their glass eyes and typically blank expression.
Phi (Posable Paper doll)- most popular from the 1930s-1950s due to paper being a cheap and accessible resource during the depression era and world war 2. They were easy to mass produce using a printing press and were often found in old newspapers. Theyre used mostly nowadays as the easiest diy dress up doll as all you need is to just draw and cut out the clothes on another piece of paper and place it on top. For this reason they are also popular for fashion designers to work out how they want something to look like on a person (example: how long a skirt on a dress should be). Also used as puppets occasionally for indie animation due to their ease of use, small storage space required, and again, price. As mentioned by someone else, very very flammable.
Sigma (Nutcracker)- a number of jokes could be made here but I will refrain. Typically associated with the Christmas season and can be used to open nuts with harder shells but using their jaws. Original german Nutcrackers were designed off of people of power to give the common folk enjoyment of the idea of making the powerful work for them by "making them crack their 'hard nuts of life.'" Nutcrackers did not become associated with the Christmas season until they were used in the ballet "The Nutcracker" that opened the week before Christmas in 1892 and became massively popular in the 1940s when it started to be performed outside Russia. Nutcrackers are also used to represent good luck and frightening away evil spirits.
Zero II's doll found on a piece of paper in the Pod room looks to basically be a cloth or rag doll which can be used to symbolize a limp person who is unable to do anything (example: being paralyzed or in a vegetative state) which could be a little itty bitty hind sight nod to Delta spending all of Dcom and the decision game in the wheelchair believed to be incommunicable with before being outed as Zero II.

Hey Everyone! I came to realize pretty quickly that I did not have as much of this chapter planned out as I thought I did. Which explains why it took a little long to come out, but in the end I managed to create something that I was satisfied with. You may notice one key change, being that Oukirii’s Companion no longer has a defined name! You’re free to name it whatever you wish.
(Completed Chapter 2s: Thearnt, Taland, Pascal, Harmony, Crowson, Asherah, Oukirii)
Next Chapter 2: Orlando the Starseer
Oukirii the Hunter, Chapter 2: Recommended Level 26
——————
(The Journey So Far…)
Events along Oukirii’s first hunt created damage in her family.
Her father came to realize that she had no intention of become a strong hunter on her own.
Even if she knew that, Oukirii couldn’t answer the question “Then what do you want to be?”
One evening, she had a dream of world’s destruction. A prophet came by the following day and told her of the beasts she saw that night.
Oukirii volunteered to hunt the beasts down, in hopes that this journey would reveal her true purpose to her…
Oukirii and Her Companion set foot in Evercold. The first thing Oukirii notes is the cold air of the snowy region. “You alright boy?” She crouches down and pets her companion on the head. It makes a joyful cry. “Hansel should be around here right?” Oukirii continues “He probably knows where we should go to look for Snow Gem!”
She takes a few steps forward, “This town is— very different from Oakbright…” Oukirii looks down. “Alright, Let’s go find Hansel!”
You’d be prompted to look for Hansel

• Travel Banter: My Nickname (Oukirii and Orlando) “Hey Kirie.” Orlando tries to get her attention. Oukirii freaks out and Orlando apologizes. Oukirii goes on to explain that her dad always called her Kirie. “That Dimitrius man, right?” Orlando asks. Oukirii tells Orlando a bit more about her father, before finally saying to him “You can call me Kirie if you want to.” Orlando makes sure that’s alright with her, and Oukirii says that it’s perfectly fine.
  
• Travel Banter: A Roaring Sword (Oukirii and Crowson) Oukirii notices Crowson and asks “What are you doing Mr. Crowson!?” He tells her that he’s just giving his sword a polish. Oukirii says “It’s shinier now, you did a good job!” Crowson goes quiet. “I’ve heard it roar through the air when you swing it!” Oukirii continues. He replies “It does do that. Now let us proceed.” Oukirii wonders what the hurry is for, Crowson tries to come up with an excuse, and settles on using the cold weather.
  

“Heave Ho Suzie!” Someone’s voice calls out. Blanche, the owner of the Beast Ranch would be pulling on a large wagon filled with heavy crates. She’d look over at Oukirii.
(Blanche’s Dialogue will change depending on if you’ve visited the ranch prior. “You look familiar”/”Who’re you? A hunter?”)
Blanche would go on to explain that she’s here to pick up supplies. She notices Oukirii’s companion and hands her a bag of food before grabbing onto the wagon again. Suzie would give Oukirii a nod as they leave.
As Oukirii puts away the bag, She notices Hansel standing near the path that Blanche and Suzie went along. Oukirii runs over to Hansel and tells him that she’s ready to take on Snow Gem.
Hansel is glad to hear it. He would tell Oukirii that this beast has been terrorizing the citizens of Evercold for a long time. “Hunting Snow Gem is not only important for our own sun-saving mission. It’s for the relief of all these people right here.”
“Well I’ll have to do my best then!”
“I believe in you Oukirii. I really do.”
Oukirii would walk away from Hansel and you’d head further into town. Oukirii suddenly hears the sound of someone shouting “No, Not again!” Her companion points his nose in the direction of the shouting and a curious Oukirii runs over to find a girl standing outside of her home. She asks if something’s wrong and the girl tells her that she lost a book she borrowed from the town’s library.
Oukirii volunteers to help look, the girl just laughs loudly “It’s nowhere I can find, best of luck to you kid!”
“Hey!” Oukirii shouts. “I’ll find that book… Just you wait…”
Before leaving, she asks for the girl’s name. She answers “Valerie, why do you need to know?” Oukirii says that it’s just in case she wrote her name in the book. “Suppose I– Fair point?” Valerie responds.
You’d Entreat Valerie’s Book from a customer by Evercold’s Night Market.

• Travel Banter: Valerie’s Missing Book (Oukirii and Asherah) Asherah remarks that Valerie must be extremely forgetful. But it’s hard not to feel bad for her. Oukirii says that it’s a good thing they showed up when they did, “Right, Helping people.” Asherah says. “Let’s just hope this pays off somehow.” Oukirii tells her that it will pay off in some way, Asherah asks “Do you believe in that sort of thing?” Oukirii says “Of course I do! Well— not if you don’t believe enough with me!”

Oukirii returns to Valerie and hands her the book. Valerie acts surprised as she flips through the pages. She sighs and puts the book away, saying she needs a tea break, she invites Oukirii to join. Sheaccepts and the two would enter Valerie’s home.
Oukirii’s companion lies down on the floor. Valerie apologizes for acting like she did, and Oukirii forgives her immediately. She notices some tools on the wall and asks what those are for. Valerie says those are for her toolsmithing job. However, she wonders if that job is something even worth continuing. “Just doesn’t feel like my ‘right thing’.”
Oukirii gets to thinking. Being so young, she doesn’t fully understand what Valerie is saying. But she gets a better understanding by connecting it to finding her own purpose. It's hard to tell if she did the “right thing” by fleeing to complete this mission…
A Flashback occurs, A young Oukirii sits waiting in the living room while her mother and father try to make her look her best. The door opens, and somebody walks inside. Antànor Solana, Oukirii’s Grandfather. Dimitrius happily greets him, Antànor doesn’t say anything, But does the same to his son. He shakes Catalina’s hand and pats Oukirii on the head while facing away from her. He and Dimitrius walk forward, chatting about their hunts. Oukirii tries to shout something to her grandfather, but he doesn’t hear her…
After she and Valerie finish talking, Oukirii says that she’s off to hunt a beast. She describes Snow Gem to Valerie, who says “I’ve never heard of anything like that before…” Valerie tells Oukirii to wait up and grabs a hatchet from the wall, she says that she’ll be coming to hunt this thing too. She won’t let someone like her fight a beast unsupervised.

• Travel Banter: Dance Lessons (Oukirii and Harmony) Oukirii is lost in thought, Harmony gets her attention and offers to let her try out something new, Dancing! Wondering if it will help her find something to be passionate about. Oukirii doesn’t know what to think, Harmony talks with her about what it would be like to be a dancer. Oukirii says that stardom doesn’t sound like something she wants to strive for, but thanks Harmony for talking to her about her purpose in an uplifting way.

Road to Deepshiver Cave, Danger Level 26
As Oukirii and Valerie walk, The ground begins to shake. They stop and stand still, Valerie asks “Did you feel that?” Oukirii wonders if the rumbling came from Snow Gem. Suddenly, the ground cracks underneath them. Sending Oukirii and her companion falling underground.
Oukirii is lying on the ground in a patch of snow. Her companion tries to wake her, Oukirii jolts up and looks around. “Thank the sun! Where’s Valerie?” Oukirii stands up after petting her companion. “This… Snow Gem… It must be…” She shakes her head.
Deepshiver Cave, Danger Level 27

• Travel Banter: Rough Landing! (Oukirii and Taland) “Agh…” Taland sounds in pain. Oukirii asks if he’s hurt. He replies “Who, Me? Not at all. It was like landing on a pillow! I did pull a muscle, but I’m more worried about you little sis.” Oukirii wonders “Huh? I’m not hurt.” Taland is ready to accept the answer until he points out her shivering. “You must have snow on ya still.” He teaches Oukirii to shake the snow out. Before they’re both ready to continue on.

Further into the cave, Oukirii would run into Valerie. Who is revealed to have taken the normal way in. Slightly further to the end of the tunnels, They get their first look at the “Snow Gem” beast. A large quadruped creature with blank eyes and a strong shell covered in ice and snow. Oukirii is shaken at the sight of it. Valerie calls out “What is that thing!?”
“Stand back Valerie!” Oukirii and her companion step up, ready to confront the beast. “This is what I was made for… I won’t let you bring destruction to this world! Come on Snow Gem– It’s all over now!!”
BOSS: Snowradillo
(Boost Dialogue: “Here goes nothing!”)
Valerie dashes in and finishes off the beast with a large chop. It creates a strong wind as it fades away into nothing… “We did it!” Oukirii quietly says “That’s one down…” Valerie asks if Oukirii is alright, She says that she doesn’t know and explains that “I… I wish I could have known more about it. They say a hunter is supposed to read the hearts of all creatures they hunt. But I… Is there something wrong… with me as a hunter…?”
“Read the heart of it or not, you hunted that thing like a champion! Maybe you’re not looking in the right place kid, you helped this town out! You could consider the idea of being a traveling hunter…”
“A traveling hunter?” Oukirii asks. She gives it some thought, before her companion reminds them that they need to head back to the Evercold.

• Travel Banter: Church of the Sacred Sun (Oukirii and Thearnt) Oukirii asks Thearnt how different the Sacred Flame religion is compared to her own. Thearnt says that she was wondering the same thing. The two of them would have a long discussion about differences in their beliefs and customs. Draefendi being a god in one and a legendary hunter in the other, The Sun is believed as a spiritual concept while Aelfric is believed as an actual being, and how both religions have different things the followers shall and shall not do.
  
• Travel Banter: My Bedtime (Oukirii and Pascal) Oukirii is proud of her victory against the beast. “You did great.” Pascal congratulates her. Oukirii excitedly asks him if she can stay up later than usual now. Pascal tells her that he isn’t the one in the position to decide that, “Most of the time you’re knocked out early anyway.” He says, followed by silently thinking ”That’s when we usually go drink…” Oukirii pleads that she can stay up longer if she tries. Pascal tells her that he can talk about removing her suggested bedtime.
  

In Evercold, Oukirii and Valerie run into Hansel again. Oukirii tells him of the good news, and asks “Does it matter now if we take down the other two? That dream had three of them together, if one is gone then–”
“It doesn’t work that way Oukirii…” Hansel replies “Destruction could still spell even if only one was still around… Our mission was to take down all three. The next target will be Red Spirit, I’ve found this creature to be in Redwater.”
Oukirii accepts to continue the mission and keep seeking her purpose. She and her companion excitedly leave town towards the next adventure.
Hansel and Valerie watch as they leave. Valerie says “I hope she finds her purpose out there. But there’s something I don’t quite understand. She seems like she doesn’t want to be strong. But then, why accept a mission that requires her to fight powerful monsters?”
“She wants to prove herself capable, and it’s a job only she can do. I’m grateful that she did accept, Otherwise the fate of the world might still be uncertain…”
(Ending Text)
Oukirii succeeds in her hunting of the first beast. Snowradillo of Evercold.
Two monsters remain as a threat to the world.
She keeps her heart optimistic, yet still finds herself troubled. With no definite answer to the question of her purpose…
With the guidance of the sun, Oukirii sets out to Redwater.
And prepares for a confrontation with Red Spirit…
——————
Oukirii the Hunter: Chapter 2, End.

I came into this trial as a blank slate. From the very little that I did know, the prosecution theory that an angry, drunken girlfriend killed her man with a car seemed plausible and the police conspiracy theory seemed, on the surface, to be unhinged.
But in the past five weeks, the prosecution has yet to provide any solid evidence Karen Read committed second-degree murder. Moreover, witness after witness is getting crushed on cross-examination. I've never seen a trial where so many prosecution witnesses appear to be lying or less than credible.
I'm still not sold on the conspiracy theory. But the amount of reasonable doubt so far is off the charts.
Here's my tally:

1. Karen's so-called "confession" of "I hit him, I hit him, I hit him" is on shaky ground. Multiple people have said they heard it, but then it turns out that it's not in any of the initial reports, except for a statement from Katie McLaughlin. And turns out that McLaughlin is friends with Caitlyn Albert, who was part of the after-party at 34 Fairview.
   
2. Even more damning, nobody at the scene acted like Karen was confessing. She wasn't immediately arrested or even questioned about what she was saying. That speaks volumes about the how seriously her statements were taken at first.
   
3. The unbelievably sloppy investigation the morning of Jan. 29 -- collecting blood in Solo cups; the snowblower; not questioning Read about her statements that she might have hit him; no search of the house; no attempt to separate witnesses during the initial police interviews; abandoning the crime scene early on.
   
4. I need to hear more about the injuries, but so far, it's hard to square JO's injuries with getting hit by a car. Also, the missing hat, belt and shoe are just weird.
   
5. The expert who testified about the lack of dog DNA seemed credible. But her tests relied on swabs supplied long after the event by the State Police. And based on this investigation so fair, I have no faith in the validity of those swabs.
   
6. Likewise, the expert on the blood-alcohol data seemed very knowledgeable. But his calculations all hinge on the supposition that Karen Read had her last drink at 12:45 p.m. Everybody else was still drinking after that; why wouldn't we assume she just went home and went to sleep? Right now, I have no faith in the blood-alcohol numbers.
   
7. All the personal links between the witnesses and the investigators, and the attempts to downplay them. As an example, Katie McLaughlin could have just acknowledged her friendship with Caitlin Albert upfront. Instead, it was "I knew someone by that name in high school." Her response was just so ... sus.
   
8. Testimony vs. the electronic record. The butt dials. The 2:27 a.m. Internet search that was deleted. The phones that were ditched just before a preservation order. The Life 360 data. The Canton PD key data. It's just astonishing to see witnesses deny the electronic records, and crazy that the prosecution case steamed ahead despite all these red flags. I really don't know if there was a conspiracy, but it's clear some of these folks are hiding SOMETHING.
   
9. Nobody seeing the JO's body in the yard. It's easy for me to understand how some people could have missed it. But everybody who must have walked by it that night? Makes no sense.
   
10. The fact Brian and Nicole Albert stayed in their house that morning. And it's hard to believe that Jen McCabe was the one to wake them up. Talk about the Case of the Dog That Didn't Bark! Not to mention Jen's two "butt dial" calls to Nicole.
    
11. Karen's hysterical reaction that morning does not appear to be that of a woman who intentionally killed her boyfriend.
    
12. The texting with Higgins made, in my eyes, Higgins more of a suspect than Karen. If she already had one foot out the door, what would be the need to kill JO? They weren't married. She was ambivalent about the parenting responsibilities. She had her own home, her own income. Even if the relationship was about to end, it's hard to understand a motivation for murder.
    
13. The issues around the broken taillight. So nobody saw ANY of those 40-some pieces of red plastic on the morning of Jan. 29, even though several cops were looking for evidence? Does that make sense?
    
14. I'm assuming that both sides will bring in experts to debate the 2:27 Google search for "hos long to die in the cold." But if it's just a case of dueling experts and everybody is left not knowing the truth, that's reasonable doubt.
    

That's what I have so far and we haven't even gotten to the issues involving Proctor and what appears to be missing video at crucial times and places.
Frankly, the defense doesn't have to convince the jury of their conspiracy theory. They just have to sow that reasonable doubt. And if people are left totally confused about how JO died, than Karen Read will be acquitted.

Empyrean Varus needs a complete rework. It needs to be scrapped and redone. Seriously. I can't express how HORRID this skin is. The physical aesthetics and personality of this skin are not Varus. I think you could even argue this skin has no personality.
At first glance the colours and shapes of this skin are horrible - simple and boring while all the other new Empyrean skins have so much detail and visually-appealing design. It looks like they polished a Legacy skin from 10 years ago.
Literally the only things I like about this skin:

• The design of his Q arrow looks AMAZING
• The flaming particle effect of his blight stack

If they could use the edgy, sharp elements and vibrant energy in the design of his Q and reimagine it into his entire design theme it would look AMAZING. Add some flames on his character model, on his bow when he activates his passive “Living Vengeance” on kill, on his empowered Q arrow, and maybe on his ult projectile or when the Chain of Corruption tendrils spread. Also, a pentakill animation with each enemy being consumed by a different shaped portal would be pretty wicked as I have 7 Varus pentas from the last year alone. Varus IS a pentakill champ.
Now for what I don't like:

• Why does his bow look like DJ Sona's keyboard???? Either that or it looks like he's walking with a double-handed, floating turret machine gun - with a shield?
• Why is he holding the bow horizontally?
• Why is Kha'zix's face on the shield? Why is there even a shield?
• On top of that the bow looks so bulky and awkwardly heavy that it's impossible for him to carry with one hand - hence why it looks like it's floating - especially when he is charging his empowered Q.
• His empowered Q looks like he's charging up a gigantic plasma blast; but he draws back the arrow from the center of his body, yet proceeds to hold onto it with both hands like the reigns of a horse - with no recoil.
• His E having planets and a shadow reflection as a special effect is laughable.
• The sounds are dull and need a more powerful vibration sound with a reverberating bass.
• His ult looks so cartoonish and round when it flows out. It doesn't even feel Empyrean - futuristic, dark, edgy, sleek and vibrant.
• His facial elements look absolutely nothing like Varus. Varus' ghostly glowing eyes and white hair are his most striking feature. It's actually just a blank, featureless face with some random lines - NO EYES. The lines on Empyrean Nocturne's face actually look like Nocturne.
• The colours in his ult have no unity, balance or connection to the colours on his character model. The colours also seem to be randomly different when spreading to different targets. His auto attacks are also randomly different colours. There is simply no balance or unity in this theme.
• The pink, blue, and yellow of his auto attacks clash. These colours do not complement each other.
• The blue, yellow, green, pink and red colours in his ult clash and yet again are different from his base character model. Red and green only appear in his ult.
• The shades of colours chosen are dull; not vibrant.
• It is a colourful yet bland abomination.

Continuing on:

• Why does he have cat/bat ears?
• Why does he have a kilted longjacket garment? This works for Malzahar but not for Varus.
• Why does he lift his leg during his base animation and raise his arms dramatically? He looks like a jester performing for the King's amusement. Or rather, the mocking of his fans.

That's exactly what this skin is: a joke. This is a mockery of Varus and his fans. I almost think the dev team made it horrible on purpose. To make a statement that the skins team needs more funding. Seriously.
Varus' personality is vengeful. His passive is named "Living Vengeance" and his title is "The Arrow of Retribution." And here he is dancing with graceful amusement like a jester. Varus needs to be menacing. He is an ADC, and given his versatile kit, he can be dreadful in other lanes. He needs to be feared. What does it say about Varus as an Ascended turned Darkin, unable to control his human hosts? The idea of Varus and his hosts working together - doesn't work. This is not Aphelios and his sister, or Viego and Isolde. I'm sorry but that's the truth. I know some fans want character development for Varus, but that's not it. The 3 different colours (blue, yellow, pink) in his blight stacks/ult/empowered Q, the shadows in his laugh animation, it's just so tacky. Their personalities conflict while the colours clash and create imbalance.
I haven't even begun to speak about the other skins released alongside Varus. They look so much better. And that's an understatement. Brand and Malzahar look great. I am sitting in awe watching every single part of Nocturne's animations. There is no part where he doesn't look amazing. The colours, the shapes, the lines, the lighting, the base animation, the blur effect during the base animation... the sound of his ult animation...
Empyrean Kayle looks absolutely amazing. It's actually unfathomable that her base Empyrean skin is 1350RP. This skin looks incredible. The design of her blade, the energy flowing from her blade, the particle effects, the shapes and overall design, the colours, the colour gradients, the colour changes during animations O_O... her wings, the evolutions of her skin at level 11 and 16... Her ult looks and sounds incredible. Prestige Empyrean Kayle has a special crystallized effect in her wings. The colours are so vivid and bright, and there’s so much energy coming from her swords...
And Empyrean Varus… is a Legendary skin?

Boom. Boom. Boom.
Alex was running from darkness incarnate. Ahead was sheer blackness. Behind was, well, the thing. It swung at her, just as she instinctively ducked and almost fell. The blade, if you could call it that, missed by a fraction of an inch. It clipped the ends of her hair, where her head had been moments before.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
More giant footsteps, this time in front of her. Wait a second. That doesn’t make sense! Surely that wasn’t another one! How many of these things were there? Alex was cornered and she knew it. No escape this time. Some… thing… swept her feet out from under her. The darkness poised to pounce.
Alex woke with a start, bathed in sweat. Still darkness, but this time just a room. Her room. Her desk was over in the corner by the window, exactly where it should be. Starlight streamed peacefully between the shutters. Still shaky and trembling, Alex groped her way to the bathroom and doused her face in frigid water to clear her head. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm her racing heart in the bluish, feeble light of the nightlight. So much for a sound night’s sleep. Why couldn’t they leave her alone? Why did they pick her, of all people?
She groped her way back to her bedroom door. Alex yelped in pain as she stubbed her pinkie toe. Why did this hallway have to be always so darn dark? The landlord still hadn’t fixed the stupid— Wait a second, she could have sworn her door should be right here. Instead, musty wallpaper silently taunted her in the dimness. Alex tried to force her sleep-muddled mind to think straight. Maybe she missed it in the dark. She felt her way back to where she knew the bathroom was. There was a blank wall there too. No. Alex whipped around in a sudden panic. The hallway stretched into infinity before her very eyes.
Blackness descended.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Not again.

I don't enjoy anything about my life. I was unemployed for 5 months. I have a job now but it's my relatives business. I accepted the job because i don't have any choice and i don't want to be any more burden to my family.
But i don't have any confidence.I don't have any money.I don't talk to people bc all i can think what a fucking failure i am. My mind is blank , i have nothing to say. I live because i don't have courage to take my life.
I been takin pills and doing rap a year ago bc it was only way to express myself. And i was passionate about it.Then I become addicted to pills(Ritalin) and my family noticed and forced to quit. And i wasn't enjoying anymore too.
I was okay after that. I worked at a job 1.5 month and leave and spend all my money in 2-3 day. I traveled my city , meet people , enjoyed 1-2 month of my life. I was hyperactive. Sold my books maked money, spend them and over and over till I don't have any books to sell. Then i bored for loking for a job and lock myself home spend all my time watching movies etc.
I feel like i have a hole inside me , I can't fill. Never had a real relationship with anyone. And I don't believe I can become a close friend with anyone. I don't know what that means.
Now , at my job. My coworkers says often i look like alienated from life. And they are right. I don't have any purpose. I don't believe I will be a musician ( it's a long shot.) I don't know what to do. All I want is numb myself and feel okay.
I don't laugh at anything. I fake laugh and people notice. I don't understand what people saying sometimes , either i don't feel present at the moment or I get dumber. I am on antidepressants but today i put out cigarettes at my hand to feel something. I am thinking about suicide bc i don't wanna live like this.
I am stuck on my mind. I can't eye contact with others bc I feel like they will notice how desperate i am. I always judge myself. Before I say anything i think what other people might think about me. It's narcissistic i know but I can't help. I want to get the fuck out of mind and do things i want to do , say things I want to say.

(A Sapioromantic Fantasy Tale)
Isaac Newton, a man out of his own century, arrived in 1833 with the precision of his time-travel calculations. His destination: the home of Charles Babbage, the epicenter of computational innovation. It was here that he encountered Ada Lovelace, a prodigious mathematician with a vision far ahead of her time.
Ada was immediately drawn to Newton, whose intellect radiated an aura of profound mastery. As they conversed, Newton shared fragments of his knowledge, discussing his work on calculus and the principles of gravity with an ease that belied their complexity. Ada, brilliant in her own right, found herself both inspired and awestruck by Newton's genius.
Their discussions soon delved into the potential of Babbage’s Analytical Engine. Newton hinted at the possibilities of computational machines, revealing insights that seemed almost otherworldly. Ada, sensing the depth of Newton’s understanding, was captivated. She saw in him not just a peer, but a paragon of intellectual achievement.
As days turned into weeks, Ada's admiration grew into a fervent, unspoken love. She longed to decipher the enigma that was Isaac Newton, to bridge the gap between their minds and perhaps, hearts. There was a palpable tension in their interactions, a charged energy whenever their eyes met or their hands brushed over a shared diagram. Ada wanted desperately to impress him, to earn not just his respect, but his affection.
Yet, Newton remained distant. His focus was unwaveringly on the grander mysteries of the universe, and though he appreciated Ada's brilliance, his heart was impervious to romantic inclinations. Still, the intensity of Ada’s feelings did not escape him. He saw the admiration in her eyes, the way she leaned closer when he spoke, the flush of excitement on her cheeks when they debated ideas.
Newton's subtle hints about the mechanics of time travel ignited a fierce determination in Ada. She immersed herself in the complexities of computation, driven by the desire to understand the forces that allowed Newton to transcend time itself. Her work on algorithms and theoretical computing reached new heights, fueled by the challenge and the hope of one day solving the riddle of Newton’s temporal voyages. Each breakthrough was a silent offering to him, a bid for his elusive approval.
Despite her unrequited love, Ada transformed her feelings into relentless ambition. Newton, observing her progress, acknowledged her exceptional mind, even if his own remained aloof. He knew his presence had sparked a fire within her, a catalyst for advancements that would echo through the annals of history.
When the time came for Newton to return to his own century, he left quietly, a spectral figure vanishing into the fabric of time. Before he departed, he entrusted Ada with a solemn request: to keep his secret. No one would believe the tale of a time traveler, and revealing it could jeopardize the very fabric of history they both revered.
Ada, left with the bittersweet ache of unreciprocated love, honored his request. She poured her soul into her work, driven by the legacy of the man who had briefly entered her life and left an indelible mark. Though she could never speak of their extraordinary encounters, she let her advancements in computing speak for themselves. Her contributions laid the foundation for future generations.
In a way, Ada’s pioneering work in computing became a love letter to Newton's genius, a tribute encoded in algorithms and theoretical frameworks. Just as modern computers process complex codes to create wondrous outputs, so too did Ada translate her profound feelings into the language of innovation. Each algorithm was a testament to the silent, profound influence of a man who had bridged the chasm of time to inspire one of history’s greatest minds.
In the end, it was not a shared love but a shared quest for knowledge that bound their fates, forever intertwined in the relentless pursuit of discovery. Ada carried the secret of Newton's time travel to her grave, her achievements a testament to the silent, profound influence of a man who had bridged the chasm of time to inspire one of history’s greatest minds.

Homelander's fight with Soldier Boy in Herogasm, as well as his short fight with Maeve showed how insane the actual physical strength difference is with those three.
During the fight with Soldier Boy, Homelander was equal with Soldier Boy until he got serious with grappling, I noticed in the fight choreography with Homelander's character, that against Maeve and Soldier Boy, Homelander cannot do sufficient physical damage with strikes due to the durability of Maeve & SB. Homelander even appears to lack the ability to knock down SB and a V'd up Billy Butcher in a fight, outside of one good knockdown punch on Maeve *After* she was already grievouslyinjured and exhausted from losing an eye.
However the minute Homelander switches to grabbing, he quickly overpowers both supes, however clearly to different degrees between Soldier Boy & Maeve, with Maeve, she was completely defenseless at stopping Homelander from reaching her eye. It was something akin to a full grown adult out-wrestling a teenager.
Whereas with Soldier Boy there was a slower and more gradual struggle, but it was still quick.
When dealing with super strength/super durability supes, Homelander can't pack enough punch into his physical strikes, his immense strength only comes in meaningfully when opting to outright physically overpower whom he's fighting by grabbing and crushing his opponent. It still been consistently demonstrated within the show Homelander's Laser Vision doesn't pack anywhere near enough piercing power against durability supes such as Soldier Boy, Stormfront & Maeve. Unlike Ryan, whose Laser Vision absolutely EVISERATED Stormfront in a flash.
One more thing about Homelander, it slightly bothers me they chose to imply Homelander could perceive, outfly or outrun and save both the baby and Butcher from a stacked C4 explosion. He would need to be moving unbelievably fast, no only that fast, but to perceive movement that fast as well, to grab both and get them out. But this speed is never touched on again, or used in his fight with any supe.
I know it's really not a big deal, but stuff like this clearly leads to plotholes with fighting, because if Homelander could perceive his surroundings at the speed of a C4 near point blank explosion, well he would NEVER have a problem with fist fights, or avoiding and catching every punch with his clearly thrown at normal speed by Maeve, SB, and Butcher now would he?? I wish they didn't do that scene altogether. Because it's obvious that was just plot armor, and not an actual aspect of Homelander's power they were going to use.

It took her into the next day, but she did come up with a plan. She was arguably one of the more brilliant minds on the ship, yet her hours of toiling yielded a conflicting result. Captain Tarkey paced back and forth, watching the note she had written on the island.
“I didn't go too far…did I? No, it's not that bad. It's not like it's a real threat,” Captain Tarkey said to herself. “He won't even know I wrote it. It is harmless.”
She picked up the note to reread what she wrote out loud.
Captain Tarkey,
You will pay for your treachery. Blood for blood, on the land of your ancestors, I will have my revenge.
Sincerely,
Your Doombringer
She looked over it again, examining it closely to ensure no stroke of her pen resembled her actual handwriting, rather than questioning the strangely polite and formal letter. There were better ways to make a threatening letter for the intent of getting Cam to accompany her planetside. In fact, there were better ways to simply get Cam to accompany her at all. None of those were deemed realistic to her overworked brain, so this is what she came up with. A fake assassination threat seemed like a logical choice with minimal downside.
“Why do I still have a bad feeling about this?” Captain Tarkey mused to herself and the door slid open. She threw her hands behind her back and stood up straight. The sudden interruption flustered her all the more when she realized it was Cam entering her place.
“Sorry I'm late,” Cam said. “I ran into Jack in the hallway.”
“Oh, it's alright. How are you feeling? When I found you sleeping on my couch, I was worried.”
That wasn't a dream? Shit. “I promise, that isn't normally like me.”
“You don't need to worry. I had no idea Parroon made humans sleepy. Vani told me when I called her to check on you.”
“Oh, that's good to know then.” His shoulders relaxed, relieved he hadn't developed narcolepsy. “Next time I want to knock myself out, I need to raid your refrigerator.”
“You're welcome anytime.” Captain Tarkey smiled, remembering the note still behind her back. “So, what were you and Jack talking about?”
“Just plans for when we get to Ohar. Jack can't leave until the second day after we hit orbit, but I see no reason to wait around for him. Just wish I knew what to do for a whole day.”
This was her moment. There would be no better time. She stowed the note in her waistband and took the shot she never thought would happen.
“Seeing as you're free, I was wondering if you would like to join me for the day? I'm visiting my parents and I'm sure they would love to meet you. They love hosting guests.”
Cam’s face elongated with intrigue. He wanted to see how locals lived and they would probably offer a place to stay for the night, which gave him more money to spend on silly souvenirs later. It sounded like a great idea, but he wanted to be careful not to impose.
“Would they mind on such short notice? I don't want to intrude or anything.”
“You won't be. You are my guest.”
“Okay then.” Cam nodded. “Is there anything I should be aware of, culturally? Like am I supposed to bring a gift or…”
“Nope. No gifts. The only thing I would say is don't wear your uniform. My mom thinks it makes our family seem more normal.”
Cam saluted her casually. “Can do. Wasn't planning on wearing it anyways.”
“Perfect,” Captain Tarkey said. “I have a lot to get done before we are cleared to land, so you can take the day off today.”
“Seriously? You don't mind?”
“Not at all. It will give you more time to plan the rest of your leave. Seeing as it's your first time, you will want to make it count.”
“Thanks, Banyani! I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
“See you soon.” Captain Tarkey called back as Cam left. As per usual, once the door closed, she let out her true emotions. She punched the air and danced around her room. “Yes! He said yes!” He’s going to meet my family!”
Captain Tarkey pulled the letter out of her waistband, wadded it up into a ball, and drained the shot into the trashcan. The plan she spent hours on was nothing more than history. She was happy to rid herself of it. In hindsight, she knew the letter would only cause more problems than solutions long term. With it out of the way, she was free to relax and tell her parents the good news.
She went into her room and came back out with a slate, which she propped up on the island. Navigating through the contacts, she clicked on the one labeled ‘Home.’ The loading screen spun and a fun jingle played. Captain Tarkey was all smiles when the screen changed to her mom showing up on the screen.
Her mother, Gwendolyn, would pass as an older sister in the right light. Her cheeks were a tad plumper and her braid was thicker than both of her daughters’. Gwendolyn’s blue eyes sparkled upon seeing her daughter for the first time in far too long.
“Banyani, my beautiful girl, I was wondering when you were going to call. It is good to see you.”
“It is good to see you too, Mom.”
“Kenny, come over here. Banyani is calling,” Gwendolyn said to her husband, Kenton, in the other room before returning her focus back on her daughter. “How are you? When are you coming home?”
“I'm going to be there soon,” Captain Tarkey said, spotting her dad coming into frame. There was no mistaking his trim, salt and pepper beard or proud smile. She always felt his warmth radiate from a simple look, no matter how far away she was. “Hey Dad.”
“There's my little captain. You working hard up there?”
Gwendolyn slapped her husband's hand that rested gently on her shoulders. “Oh stop it. No talking about work you two. I haven't heard from you in ages. What is new in your life? Meet any cute boys?”
Captain Tarkey blushed. “Actually Mom, I was calling to let you know we will have one more joining us tomorrow.”
“Eeee! I knew you would find someone! What's his name? What does he do? How long have you been seeing him?” Gwendolyn rapidly fired off, unwilling to hide her excitement. Her dad was less enthused, keeping his poker face until more was said.
“Easy mom. We aren't dating, but I would hope after he gets to know me better, he might see me as more than just his boss.”
“His boss? He’s enlisted?” Kenton asked.
“Oh shhh you.” Gwendolyn waved him off. “Come on girl, details. Momma needs to know.”
Captain Tarkey smiled. “His name is Cameron, although he lets me call him Cam. And…he’s my personal security officer.”
“Oooh, what is that?” Gwendolyn asked, looking up and back at her husband who wore a disapproving gowl.
“Why does my daughter need a bodyguard?” Kenton asked plainly.
“She doesn't. It just gives her a reason for a late night booty call,” Vani said, coming into frame, leaning on her dad, while nibbling on something resembling celery.
“Vani? What are you doing there? We haven't gotten clearance yet.”
It wasn't entirely true. Captain Tarkey hadn't given the crew the approval to disembark. Clearance was given sometime in the early morning. She couldn't remember when exactly, since she was mostly focused on her trashed note.
Kenton turned his frustration toward the daughter on his shoulder. “You said she let you go early.”
“She didn't stop me. That's basically the same thing.” Vani took another bite of her crunchy vegetable. “So, you got the hot human to come to dinner. Please tell me you didn't order him to. That's tacky.”
“He’s a human!” Gwendolyn gasped and clapped her hands. “I have always wanted to meet a human!”
“First off, I didn't order him to. I asked him and he wanted to see you all. And second, Vani, which shuttle did you steal?”
“I’ll never tell.” Vani waved goodbye. “I’ll see you when you get here sis. Tell Cam I said hi.”
Captain Tarkey wanted to be mad at her sister for breaking several protocols, but she was too excited about bringing Cam tomorrow. She saw her mom happy as can be, but her dad was a different story.
“Banyani, this is a bad idea,” Kenton said. “You’re the captain.”
“And I think our daughter is responsible enough to make her own decisions.” Gwendolyn defended. “Don't listen to your father. If you like him, I say go for it. When are you two coming in?”
She was about to answer when another call came in. It was one she always dreaded to see. High Command.
Captain Tarkey sighed. “I'm getting another call I need to take. We’ll be there in the afternoon sometime tomorrow.”
“I can’t wait to see you tomorrow! Don't work too hard,” Gwendolyn said.
“I won't, Mom. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Captain Tarkey signed off and her finger floated over the screen to answer the next one. High Command was the last group she wanted to talk to, but she had a feeling this would happen. Making a new position is a rather irregular situation, which likely needed more explanation beyond the boilerplate form. Was she ready to give a plausible explanation for needing a bodyguard? No, but if she wanted Cam a little closer to her, she would need to be creative.
***
A bang came from below Lisa's cubicle desk as she hit her head on the countertop. Lisa let out the usual explicative and climbed back in her chair. The device on her desk was beginning to be far more than she bargained for. Cables ran under and over her desk, all going to other instruments of the trade. Many of the devices she was using were completely foreign to her months ago. Lisa caught on quick, but when it came to this, she felt frustratedly inadequate.
“Why won't you decrypt and make my life easier?”
A red light blinked on the device at a consistent pace. It was the most she was getting from it. No answer or, if it was an answer, it was speaking the wrong language. A blinking light wasn't exactly a language for any discernible person, alien or not.
“If you weren't the key to stopping this hacker, I would smash you. You understand me!”
Again, the device did not. The blinking continued as if it was mocking her, enjoying the sound of its own soulless and soundless voice. Computers were weird like that.
“I'm insane. I'm talking to a computer.” Lisa threw up her hands and stood up from her chair. “I need a break.”
Lisa left everything where it was and went for a walk around the ship. Normally, her go to brain cleanser was playing video games, but this was different. She didn't need a distraction. She needed to think. Her travels along the halls led her to one person she did not expect to find.
“Cam? What are you doing here?” Lisa asked, although happy to see a friendly face.
“I got the rest of the day off.”
“How did you swing that?”
“I guess she had a lot of work to do before we get into orbit. I don't blame her. I'm already going to be spending the next day with her. I’d want some time away from me too.”
Lisa smirked. “Sounds to me like she is preparing for more than our arrival.”
“What do you mean? Her parents are the ones hosting me.” Cam cocked his head. He truly was the epitome of clueless.
“You’re dense, you know that, right?”
Cam flexed his average looking bicep. “I mean, I have been working out lately. I wouldn't say dense. Built would be more like it–”
“You never thought for one second that she might like you?”
“Banyani? Like me? Come on, Lisa. Let's be realistic.”
“You’re right, you're not six one. Everyone knows women only want tall guys.”
“You calling me short?”
“I'm calling you dumb. Big difference, genius.”
“First you call me dumb, then you say I'm smart. Pick a lane.” He shoulder bumped her and she bumped him back.
Their friendly little razzing session ended up knocking loose some ideas for both of them, albeit about wildly different topics. Lisa was the first to verbalize her sudden epiphany.
“I think you are a genius,” Lisa said and began walking back to the IT office. “Follow me.”
“Where are we going?”
“To crack open the device.”
Cam lengthen his stride to keep up with her. “Device? What device?”
“The one Jack took. Or have you already forgot?”
“No, I didn't forget…” I have no idea what she's talking about. Was I even there? Dang, that parrot meat really did a number on me.
Lisa opened the door and rushed to her cubicle, excited to try out her new theory. At her desk, she unplugged different cables and plugged in new ones with the urgency of a surgeon losing their patient. She switched over to her keyboard typing with the same speed and intensity. It was a lot for Cam to take in.
“What exactly are you doing?” Cam asked, hoping her explanation will fill in a lot of gaps.
“I am reversing the modular polarity, fixing the capacitor output, and injecting a revised version of code for decrypting. How did I not think of it sooner.”
Cam was fairly certain half of what she said was complete nonsense. It still didn't stop his amazement when the device light turned from red to green. Lisa kicked her seat back and jumped in the air.
“Yes! I was close all along!”
“You did it?” Cam said, inching closer with his pointer finger to poke the device.
Lisa swatted his hand. “Don't touch it. I don't want you screwing it up.”
“How can touching it screw it up?”
“Ever heard of static electricity?”
“Nope,” Cam said, shocking Lisa when he turned his finger on her.
“Hey,” Lisa said. “See what I mean. You could've fried it.”
“How do you know all this stuff?”
“I'm just gifted, I guess.”
“I wish I was gifted at my job.”
“You must not be doing too bad. The captain is still alive.”
Cam shrugged. “She did most of the fighting. All I did was help her up when she fell.”
“You make a good point. Better start filling out your registration paperwork,” Lisa mocked.
“No way. It pays too well,” Cam said.
“Then you're buying us drinks when we get to the beach.”
“Only for you. If I know Jack, he’ll pick the most expensive bottle.”
“Don't you owe him money though?”
“Exactly why I'm not paying for his. He’ll end up owing me money. And we both know he won't pay that back,” Cam said and made his way to the door.
“Where are you going?”
“It looks like you got your hands full. I'm going to get ready for tomorrow.”
Lisa waved. “Make sure you dress up nice for the in-laws.”
“Not my in-laws.”
“Not yet.”
Cam shook his head, but it didn't shake the thoughts already planted there. Banyani doesn't actually like me…does she? Naw, that's ridiculous. She's the captain and my boss. Lisa's just teasing me. Yeah, that's it…
***
Lisa had made some progress, but like all solutions in IT, sometimes the hardest thing to do was to wait and see. Nothing had failed yet, which was a good sign in her eyes. The negative was it gave time for her annoying partner to return.
“Get any farther on your little project?” Lotan asked, fully expecting her to say no.
“Did you go through those logs yet?”
“I did. Last entry was you and then naturally me as I swiped in. Otherwise, the other entries were all around the normal times engineering would be doing expected work.”
Lisa looked back at her screen, seeing the progress bar inching forward at a snail's pace. With the logs being a bust, this was her last chance at finding out who was there. Lotan didn't need an answer to his question, nor would he get one from her as Captain Tarkey called. Lisa tapped on her slate to answer.
“Lisa, good, you're still awake.”
Lisa lifted her slate to show Lotan in frame as well. “Yes, ma'am. We’re both still at it.”
Captain Tarkey paused for a moment, thankful Lisa clued her in on who else was with her. What she wanted to discuss was far from professional in nature.
“How is the progress?”
“It's coming along. I had Lotan check the security logs for a different lead, but he came back with nothing. Now I'm just stuck waiting for this device to be decrypted.”
“So, you have some time to see me in my quarters?”
“Of course we do, ma’am,” Lotan said.
“Sorry, I was talking to Specialist Smots.”
“I guess so.”
“Good. Meet me here as soon as you can. And Specialist Lotan, if anything changes on the status of that device, you let me know right away.”
Lotan saluted. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good,” Captain Tarkey said. “Lisa, I’ll see you soon.”
The screen went blank and Lisa sprung up from her chair. She hoisted her bag over her shoulder and headed for the door. Lisa had not the slightest idea why she was needed, but it seemed important. It wasn't long before she found herself at Captain Tarkey‘s door. She knocked and heard a muffled, “Come in.”
Lisa swiped the door, not actually thinking it would open for her, but it did. “Wow, since when did I get access?”
She continued inside, where she heard clothes hangers rattling in the other room and plops of heavy cloth hitting the floor. Lisa stepped cautiously to the noise, worried something could be wrong.
“Captain? Is everything alright?”
“I think I need some help,” Captain Tarkey admitted. Lisa came into her room, where a tornado had hit.
Uniforms were tossed all over the bed and floor. Hangers were piled up and more casual clothes littered the floor. Captain Tarkey held two tops up, one purple with thin straps and the other, a blue blouse with a floral design.
“I don't know what I'm doing?”
“Neither do I,” Lisa said. “Care to explain?”
“I'm trying to figure out what to wear tomorrow. I can't remember the last time I wore anything other than my uniform.”
“I'm not really the best person to ask.”
“No, you are.” Captain Tarkey lowered her clothing choices and grabbed Lisa's shoulders. “Please, you're the only one I can turn to.”
Lisa was surprised by the sudden ambush, yet it wasn't unwelcomed. It beat staring at the slow progress bar and Captain Tarkey genuinely valued her opinion. She never got that vibe from other women she had known.
“Are you okay with me being brutally honest?” Lisa asked.
“I wouldn't ask if I didn't. Last thing I want is to screw this up. Tomorrow is my big opportunity to show Cam I'm more than a captain.”
“Okay, I'll–”
Captain Tarkey gave her a big hug. It wasn't like her to act so impulsive, but she felt Lisa agreeing would be huge for wooing Cam. She recoiled fast and held up the two outfits again, excited to hear Lisa's input.
“What are you two doing tomorrow?”
“I was planning on doing some sightseeing and then visiting my parents for dinner.”
“Is it warm in Ohar?”
“Where my parents live it's a bit cooler, but otherwise fairly comfortable. I think it is twenty one degrees.”
She must be talking celsius. I definitely wouldn't wear either in twenty one degrees fahrenheit.
“They both look cute. Are you planning on wearing leggings?”
“Yes…that isn't too sexual, is it? I don't want him to think I’m a slut.”
“Then go with the blouse. Or you could wear skinny jeans. I never saw them as overly sexual.”
Captain Tarkey went back to her bed and found a pair of white jeans that resembled her uniform pants. “Would these work?”
“I don't see why not?”
Captain Tarkey began putting on the clothes and Lisa sat down on the bed, looking at all the other sad unselected options on the floor. The shirts she had were all rather plain and wrinkled, while her uniforms were all pristine and eerily similar.
“Did you just dig all these clothes out of your dresser or something?” Lisa asked.
“I had to raid my sister's closet. She has much better clothes than me,” Captain Tarkey said, squeezing into her skinny jeans. “She didn't leave much behind to pick from.”
“Leave behind? Where did she go?”
“She stole a shuttle and is already at our parent's place. When I find out how she did it, then I'll consider returning her clothes.”
Lisa chuckled at the innocent level of retaliation. “Couldn't you just reprimand her or something?”
“Tried it. Doesn't work. I threw her in the brig once. Not making that mistake again.”
Lisa bounced on the bed closer to her, eager to hear more. “Okay, there is a story there. Spill it.”
“It was strange. One day, out of the blue, she decided to dress up in my uniform and go give orders on the bridge.”
“Why would she do that? Is she power hungry?” Lisa asked, not knowing anything about Vani.
Captain Tarkey shook her head. “No, she kept blaming it on ‘a Halloween’, whatever that is.”
Lisa burst out in laughter. How could she not? These aliens may have spoken English, but their understanding of human holidays was severely lacking.
“What did I say?”
“Sorry. Nothing. Please continue,” Lisa said, trying to get her composure back.
Captain Tarkey continued, despite the new questions forming in her head. “The problem was, it wasn't a punishment for her. She liked not having to work and somehow still found a way to have sex with guys.”
“No way, how is that possible? Don't you put men and women in different cells?”
“All I'm going to say is tentacles reach much farther than I thought.”
Vani sounds like a wild one. “Speaking of being pleasured, you need to tell me about your hair situation. How does that work exactly?”
Captain Tarkey scratched her head, unsure how to phrase it for her to understand when an idea popped in her head. She slapped the ends of Lisa's hair, getting a minimal response.
“You didn't feel anything did you?”
“Not really.”
“If I pulled on your hair, where do you feel it?”
“In my scalp.”
“See, that's where we are different. I feel it through my whole spine or in some cases my entire body. A simple slap that did nothing for you would tense my back muscles.”
“Really?” Lisa said, looking at Captain Tarkey’s braid.
“Our hair is very sensitive. Mine is less sensitive than most, but still.”
“So, do you like turn yourself on when brushing your hair in the morning?”
Captain Tarkey laughed. “Maybe Vani does. No, for me, the only way that is happening is if I pull on it really hard.”
“Or Cam touches you anywhere?” Lisa teased.
“Not anywhere…” Captain Tarkey blushed.
“You're right. From where I'm sitting, he doesn't even need to touch you.”
“I'm that obvious?” Her voice almost whined and fears entered her mind. Lisa was quick to offer some assurance.
“Unfortunately, Cam is oblivious. I did put in a good word for you.”
Captain Tarkey lit up. “You did?”
“I got him thinking, at least I think so. Hard to tell with him sometimes.” Lisa hadn't finished her sentence for longer than a millisecond before feeling Captain Tarkey’s arms wrap tightly around her.
“Thank you, Lisa. I'm so glad to have a friend like you.”
Lisa patted her on the back, finding it a little hard to breathe with the death grip around her ribs. Despite the minor discomfort, it was nice to feel a warm embrace for a change.
“Me too.”
***
[Previous] Next

Manifestation is often associated with the law of attraction, suggesting that our thoughts and energy can influence the reality we experience. Here's a guided meditation script focused on manifesting positive outcomes in your life:
Manifestation Meditation:
Sit or lie down comfortably, ensuring you won't be disturbed. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths.

1. Begin by bringing awareness to your breath. Inhale deeply through your nose, feeling the air filling your lungs, and exhale slowly through your mouth, releasing any tension.
2. With each breath, imagine a vibrant, positive energy entering your body, circulating with each inhale, and releasing any negativity with each exhale.
3. Visualize a blank canvas in your mind, representing the limitless potential of your reality. This canvas is yours to create.
4. Picture a specific goal or desire you wish to manifest. See it clearly on your mental canvas, focusing on the details and emotions associated with its achievement.
5. Engage all your senses in this visualization. What do you see, hear, feel, and even smell in this manifested reality?
6. Allow a sense of gratitude and positive emotion to accompany this visualization. Feel the joy, fulfillment, and satisfaction as if your desire has already manifested.
7. Imagine the energy of your manifestation radiating outwards, connecting with the universal energy around you.
8. Affirm your belief in the manifestation by repeating positive statements. For example, "I am deserving of this manifestation," or "I am in alignment with the universe's abundance."
9. Envision the ripple effect of your manifestation, positively influencing various aspects of your life.
10. Spend a few moments basking in the energy of your manifested reality, feeling its presence and potential.
11. Slowly return your awareness to your breath. Inhale deeply, and as you exhale, release any remaining tension.
12. When you're ready, open your eyes, carrying the energy and belief in your manifestation into your daily life.

Remember, consistency and belief play crucial roles in manifestation practices. This guided meditation is a starting point, and you can adapt it to suit your specific desires and intentions. Approach the process with an open heart and a positive mindset, allowing the energy of manifestation to unfold in your life.

A few years ago, I decided I needed a major life change. Everything seemed to be going downhill- my finances, my mental health, my life. I would go weeks without sleeping sometimes as the heavy traffic passed through the city streets down below. Every time I went outside, I saw more homeless people, more needles and crack pipes littering the ground, more muggings and assaults and overdoses and deaths. The city had become a wasteland, and I knew it was time to leave.
I had no girlfriend, no wife, no kids. My parents had both died a few years prior and I barely talked to my siblings anymore. I had nothing to tie me down to this place where I felt like I was dying inside a little more each day.
That was when I sold nearly everything I owned, got in my car and drove up to Alaska to try starting anew. I bought a small cabin and a plot of land in the middle of its majestic mountains and dark, enchanting forests. In the winter, the Northern Lights would shine through like the eyes of God, sending out divine trails of light that danced through the sky in cosmic waves.
And while the move did help give me some peace of mind, in the end, the source of all my problems had ultimately followed me thousands of miles into this endless wilderness. It would take me a long time to realize the cause of all this misery was myself.
Because, as a wise man once said, “Wherever I go, there I am.”
***
I lived in that cabin for three months without any major issues other than the constant threat of bears, moose and wolves. I had a rifle and a shotgun for hunting, a small garden in the backyard and a solar panel to generate electricity.
“This is the life,” I said, relaxing on a hammock I had strung across the corner of the cabin while staring at the endless beauty directly outside the window. White-capped mountains loomed like giants in front of thick clusters of evergreens. A virgin covering of fluffy snow made the entire world glisten and sparkle. There wasn’t a house or road in sight.
“No work, no stress, no pollution, no cars honking all the time…” I closed my eyes, breathing in the clean air. I ended up falling asleep for a couple hours, waking up just as the Sun had started setting. Bright orange streaks mixed with the bloody smears of the fading light as it disappeared behind the mountains.
I groggily arose, stumbling over to make a cup of instant coffee. As I sipped it, I wandered around the room, looking for something to pass the time. There were still quite a few random objects left behind by the last owner that I hadn’t gotten rid of yet. I had moved in to find a stocked bookshelf filled with classics by Philip K. Dick, Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein. Bored, I started rifling through the collection, looking for something good to pass the time. As I shuffled past “A Maze of Death” and “Ubik”, something caught my eye.
A black, leather-bound book with no title or author name stood there, its cover faded with time and wear. Curious, I pulled it out and opened it. I saw the cursive scrawled across the pages in a neat, copperplate script and realized it was a diary left behind by the previous owner. The first entry was dated “January 9th, 2015.” This is what it said.
***
“I don’t know if I’m going crazy or not. I went into town to talk to my therapist yesterday and she said I should try writing everything down. She talks to me like it’s all in my head. But I know it’s not.
“When I first moved into the cabin, it seemed like Paradise. I never thought in a million years that something would be slinking around at night. I never thought it would be hiding under my bed, peeking in windows and following me like a shadow.
“Right now, I’m snowed in with a cup of coffee in one hand and my pistol in the other. I can’t sleep anymore. I keep hearing something shuffling around under the bed. Sometimes, I think I even hear ragged breathing, as if a corpse with dirt in its lungs had come back to life.
“I’ve caught glimpses of that thing in the darkness. Whatever it is, its skin is loose, almost falling off the bone. It almost looks like a naked, emaciated man. Its eyes are rotted and dark, its back hunched, its spine twisted and jutting out like tumors. It moves in this slow, jerky way, but I can never seem to catch it. Its body seems broken and out of alignment. Its legs bend the wrong way sometimes.
“By the time I turn on the lights or try to take a video of it, it’s always disappeared. But its fetid odor remains. It lingers in the cabin like a sweet-smelling, spreading infection.
“I don’t know what it wants from me. I want to leave, but with the storm raging outside, I’m stuck here, unable to get all the way back to town. The snow surrounds the cabin in mounds five feet high. I feel like a prisoner caged with a rabid beast, not knowing when it will strike.
“My wife claims she hasn’t seen or heard anything, but she keeps vanishing on me. Last night, she disappeared in the middle of a snowstorm. Where did she go? I asked her in the morning, but she said she was here the whole time. She didn’t remember anything. There’s no way she went into town. There wasn’t time and the trails were impassable that far down.
“Something’s going on here, but I don’t know what it is. I’m truly scared for our lives.”
I slammed the diary shut, not wanting to read anymore. I didn’t want to become infected by some kind of contagious cabin fever. If the last owner had gone insane in the mountains and started hallucinating naked corpses crawling around, I really didn’t want to know.
I shoved the diary back in the bookshelf, going for “A Maze of Death” instead. I tried to forget what I had read in the diary as I flew through the novella. All night, I tried to get the image of the naked, twisting man with rotted eyes out of my head, but I couldn’t.
I eventually fell asleep right before dawn. But, as my eyes were closing, I thought I saw a silhouette in the window- a starved man with excited, black eyes that seemed to be rotting out of his skull. I thought I saw him put his inhumanly long fingers against the glass as he leaned forward. I blinked, sitting up and glancing out into the white, snow-covered wonderland.
There was nothing there.
***
Another hunter occasionally followed the deer trails near my cabin. A frozen lake stood a quarter-mile away, the surface white and covered in thick drifts of snow. I bundled up, deciding to go outside for a hike in the frigid dawn. I strapped on my snowshoes and grabbed my shotgun, as I always did when I went outside. I never knew when a polar bear might be waiting around the next tree, after all.
I opened the door, seeing footprints pressed into the snow all around my house. At first, I thought it was that silhouette I had seen, the nightmarish thing from the diary. But the footprints didn’t go over to my window. They followed the trail twenty feet away, veering off towards the frozen lake at the bottom of the hill. I glanced down in that direction, seeing a black figure plodding slowly forward.
“Steve!” I cried, recognizing my only neighbor in a four-mile radius. He had a cabin about a mile away on his own little plot of land. He jumped, clearly startled by the sudden noise. His black snow pants and heavy fur coat swished together as he spun, raising his rifle high. When he saw me, he immediately lowered it and put a gloved hand up in a friendly greeting.
“Hey Josh! Surprised to see you up this early,” he yelled over the muted wintry landscape. Sounds always seemed different after it snowed, as if all the noise in the world had become faded and dead.
“Yeah, I’ve been having a little trouble sleeping,” I said, slinging my shotgun around my shoulder. “What are you doing anyway?”
“Just a little hunting, you know,” he said, giving me a sly wink. “Animals are always most active around dusk and dawn, it seems. That’s when I always have the best luck, anyway.” He stepped close to me, staring me in the eyes. “You do look like shit. Those bags under your eyes are big enough to carry groceries in.”
“Yeah, trust me, I know… Hey, this might sound a little weird, but did you know the previous owner of this cabin?” I asked. Steve’s wrinkled, old face fell into a scowl. His expression immediately became guarded and distant.
“Sure, sure, we met,” he exclaimed bluntly. He seemed to be searching my face for something, but I didn’t know what. His reaction left me feeling off-balance and nervous.
“Is he still around?” I said. Steve’s scowl deepened.
“Buddy, I don’t know what this is about, but he’s dead. He’s been dead. He died in that cabin, actually.” He pointed a finger at my home accusingly. With those words, my heart seemed to drop into my stomach. Waves of dread flowed through my body like water.
“How… how did he die? Like a heart attack or something?” I asked. Steve’s gaze turned downwards. He didn’t meet my eyes.
“Do you know that Alaska has the highest missing persons rate in the entire United States? It’s not even close. In fact, for the population size, we have far more people who go missing and never get found than anywhere else. They even have a name for it: the Alaska Triangle,” Steve said. “And we’re square in the middle of it.” I stared blankly at him, wondering where he was going with this. It seemed like a way to avoid answering my question.
“No, I didn’t know that…” I responded. Steve nodded, raising his head again. He heaved a deep sigh.
“Look, the thing with the last owner and his wife… it’s somewhat disturbing. If you really want to know, I’ll tell you, but it’s certainly not going to help your peace of mind. And it definitely isn’t going to help you get some sleep.”
“I want to know,” I insisted instantly. The wind started to whip past us. Flakes of ice and snow flew sideways in the sudden currents.
“Let’s go back to your cabin then,” Steve said, pulling his heavy fur-lined hood off and shaking out his long, black hair behind him. “I could use a bit of whiskey to warm up.”
***
We sat down with a bottle of Johnny Walker and two shot glasses. I wasn’t much of a drinker, but Steve certainly was. He chugged three shots in the span of a minute. I sipped at mine, drinking half and putting it back down on the coffee table with a thunk. Steve grunted, hissing through his open mouth for a moment.
“Ugh, that’s the good stuff,” he said, slamming his chest as the burning liquor worked its way down. Steve looked up at me with a new sparkle in his eyes. “Huh, so you want to know about what happened to Will Lenning. Well, I’ll tell you that no one really knows the whole story. I used to see him occasionally, come down and have a drink and talk. We all know each other around here, obviously.” I nodded, motioning him on. “He seemed like a normal, upstanding guy. He kinda reminded me of you, actually. A young guy trying to escape the hustle and bustle of the city life, the cancer of the American Dream.
“Well, he was here for maybe a couple months, I don’t know. Everything seemed fine. We used to go skeet shooting occasionally, have a beer, you know. We’d get together with a couple other hunters who live closer to town and sometimes play some poker. I never saw anything odd about Will. I never could have predicted what happened to him.” He heaved a long sigh at this, looking out the window at the sharp mountains with an expression of nostalgia.
“Well, what happened to him?” I asked, encouraging him to go on.
“He started talking about seeing someone peering in through his window at night. He talked about hearing sounds from under his bed while he was laying there in the dark- sounds like diseased breathing and shuffling. He started keeping all the lights on in his cabin twenty-four hours a day.” Steve leaned close to me. A glimmer of fear rippled across his pale, wrinkled face. “He started to lose his mind. Started digging holes all over the place, looking for something. Even in the middle of snowstorms, I would occasionally see him outside, digging. It seemed like he never slept anymore. It was classic cabin fever if I ever saw it.
“It was only a few weeks later that I came over here, concerned. I hadn’t heard from him in a few days, which was fairly unusual. I found the door hanging wide open. Propped up in a chair in the exact spot where you now sit, Will lay with a blast hole showing clear through his skull, a shotgun laying at his feet.
“And next to him, I found a blood-stained diary opened to the middle page. The last entry was stained with blood spatter, but still visible. I remember leaning down and reading it. It was only a few sentences long.” I glanced over at the bookshelf with the same diary, saying nothing.
“It said something like, ‘I see now what’s going on. The Twisted Man is leading me to the truth. Today, I will finally find it.’”
“And that was his suicide note?” I asked, my heart hammering in my chest. He nodded.
“Yeah. I went into town and got some rangers to come check it out. Eventually, they got cops and CSI there. They took all the stuff as evidence, including the diary,” he said. “Good riddance, I say. Reading something like that is never beneficial. Sometimes delusions spread like a virus, you know what I mean?” I did, but I said nothing. I glanced back at the diary, its black leather cover gleaming like a crouching snake.
And I wondered- if the police took the diary as evidence, how did it get back here?
***
“You said he had a wife living here with him, too?” I asked.
“Yeah… she went missing around the same time,” he said. “Pretty bizarre. The cops thought maybe she just moved away, but…” He shook his head grimly. “As far as I know, she was never seen again. It was like she had evaporated into thin air.”
After Steve left, I walked stiffly over to the bookshelf, taking down the diary. I flipped open through the pages. In the middle, I found the last entry. Spatters of old, darkened blood were scattered over the page like raindrops. I found the suicide note and read the date.
“January 27th, 2015,” it read. Will Lenning had not lived long after he started seeing the Twisted Man. I wondered if my fate would be the same.
The Sun had started to set outside as I sat with the diary at the small circular kitchen table, eating some stewed venison and rice as I read through the entries. At the end, Will Lenning said the Twisted Man had been trying to guide him somewhere, that, in fact, the Twisted Man had been trying to protect him from some great evil, rather than being the source of it.
I scoffed, feeling a flash of anger at his stupidity. His naivety obviously led to his death. But then a flash of insight struck me like lightning.
What if I was committing the same kind of stupidity? Perhaps I should just grab my gun and valuables and leave. I could take off on the snowmobile and be in town within a couple hours.
But, in my heart, I knew I would not. Something about the mystery of all this beckoned me to stay. Like a siren leading sailors to destruction, my curiosity called out to me, and I knew I would not be leaving that night. I needed answers.
And, sadly, I would find them.
***
I had fallen asleep with an empty bottle of beer in my hand. I sat in front of the TV, which only got satellite reception. There were, of course, no cable or phone lines threading their way through the forest. All of my power came from stored solar energy. Since I rarely watched TV and really only used it to cook or heat up water for bathing, the energy produced was sufficient even in winter. Tonight, though, I needed its sound, its mindless flashing of light and colors and canned laughter. It seemed to drive away the creeping, suffocating presence like a candle.
I woke suddenly. The TV flashed with static. The repetitive hissing of the white noise spit from the speakers like thousands of snakes. I glanced up at the clock. 3:33 AM. I looked around the dark cabin, confused for a long moment. I didn’t understand what had woken me so abruptly. The satellite had never gone out before, either, even with the howling winds and freezing hail of the Alaskan winter.
The TV started flickering as if the static were rising upwards. Black lines traced their way horizontally across the screen. The hissing deepened into a gurgle, and for a second, I thought I heard faint words behind the white noise. I thought I heard breathing, slow and diseased, like the death gasp of a drowning man.
A black line rose across the TV and an image came into view. The cabin was suddenly plunged into silence, except for the shrieking, wintry wind outside. I leaned close to the screen, confused at what I was looking at. It looked like a live camera feed of a room. As I took in the details, I realized it was my cabin. I saw myself in the chair, leaning close to the screen. I raised my hand, and the miniature version of me on the screen did likewise. Ice water seemed to drip down my spine as waves of dread coursed through my body.
“What the fuck is this?” I whispered, looking back to where the camera should be. It was just a coarse wooden ceiling in that corner. I turned back to the screen and nearly screamed.
The TV showed a pale, naked man crouching directly behind my chair now. With jerky movements, he rose, his broken spine twisting and shivering. A hissing voice rang out from the speakers. It spoke as if it had dirt and writhing maggots in its throat.
“He is a killer. The shadow of death,” it gurgled. “Many have fallen. Many lie buried across this forest. You will be next. He is watching you…”
Long, broken fingers with blackened nails reached out to touch my shoulders. I jumped out of the chair, stumbling back as I spun around in terror. My back smashed into the TV, and it fell to the floor with a shattering of glass and an explosion of light.
In those few moments before the darkness descended on me like a blanket, I thought I glimpsed a pale, sunken face with rotted, blackened eyes peeking out from behind the chair.
***
I turned on every light in the cabin, but there was no sign of the Twisted Man now. I knew I had to get out of there, though. I thought about the warning that the voice had spoken. If the creature wanted to attack me, then why hadn’t it just killed me while I was sleeping? None of it made sense. Who was watching me? The Twisted Man? And if he was, why warn me? Perhaps it was psychological warfare, I thought to myself. Perhaps the Twisted Man simply liked to play with his food before he ate it.
Thoughts raced through my head at a thousand miles an hour as I threw on snow pants and a couple heavy sweaters and coats. I covered up my entire body as much as I could to try to prevent frostbite. I had made up my mind to flee. There was no snowstorm tonight, though the entire landscape was blanketed in it and I knew the wind chill would be like an ice blade whipping against my skin. It was extremely dangerous to travel in the middle of the night like this in temperatures that might reach negative thirty degrees. Steve had been right, after all- Alaska had the highest missing persons rate of any state, and many of them were never found, their bodies likely frozen solid in the deep snow dozens of miles from the nearest town.
I grabbed my shotgun, jumped on my snowmobile and started heading to Steve’s cabin. I hoped I could wait there until the sunrise and then figure out what to do next.
But fate would take the decision out of my hands.
***
I felt like there were eyes watching me as I drove along the narrow, winding deer trail. The boughs of the evergreens reached into the path like greedy hands, grabbing at my coat and legs. More than a couple times, I thought I saw a pale, naked figure standing in the snow, but it had always gone when I turned to look.
I gave a sigh of relief when Steve’s place appeared in the distance. I could see the lights twinkling through the small windows of his log cabin. I pulled up next to his door, looking down. I saw two pairs of footprints there, one much smaller than the other. I found it odd, but shrugged it off. The snowmobile cut out with a sucking gurgle.
I knocked on the door hard a few times. Steve appeared after a few moments, groggy and half-dressed. He blinked slowly as he looked me up and down. His wrinkled face fell into a frown.
“Steve, I need a favor,” I said quickly. “Something weird is happening in my cabin. Can I stay here until morning, until maybe I can go to town or something? I can’t stay at my place tonight. I just can’t.” He nodded, yawning and motioning me in.
“You can sleep on the couch, I guess,” Steve said. “Put that shotgun somewhere safe, though, boy.” He had a partitioned bedroom in his cabin. It was significantly larger than my little one-room cabin, though it was basically still just a joint kitchen-living room, a small bedroom and a bathroom. He pointed to a well-worn couch in the corner and gave me an apathetic wave as he stumbled back into his bedroom, slamming the door.
I couldn’t sleep, though. I tiptoed around the room, looking at Steve’s bookshelf. He had a rather strange taste in books- lots of Anne Rule and true crime there. I saw dozens of books about Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Richard Chase, Herbert Mullin, Jeffrey Dahmer and Richard Ramirez among the collection. At the end, a large, black binder stood, unlabeled and worn-looking. It reminded me of the look of that leather-bound diary for a second, and my heart dropped. But logically, I knew this was just a coincidence. Yet, still, I pulled out the binder, my curiosity piqued.
What I found inside filled me with dread and horror.
Countless news clippings covered the length of it. The first clipping was from nearly twenty years earlier, about a woman who went missing in the Alaskan forest while hiking. A later one confirmed that her body was never found, and that her family was still hoping that she might turn up alive somewhere. A reward was offered for any information, it said.
And every page after that was more of the same: missing woman, murdered prostitute, missing man, no leads. I kept flipping through until I found clippings about Will Lenning’s suicide and the sudden disappearance of his wife. On the article about the suicide, Steve had used red marker to scrawl, “HA HA!” next to it.
I heard the click of a gun being cocked from behind me. I froze as Steve’s voice traveled across the room like a whisper.
“How do you like my work, friend?” he asked, his tone jovial and mocking.
***
I still held the binder of horrors tightly in my hands as I stared open-mouthed at this man I thought I knew.
“It’s you? What, you killed Will Lenning and his wife? And a lot of other women, apparently.” Everything felt unreal, as if I were stuck in a dream. Steve’s grin spread across his face, but his blue eyes stayed cold and dead.
“Yes, well, she was cheating on him with me anyway. Just another whore, you know. They always get what’s coming to them in the end,” he hissed with hatred oozing from his voice. “It’s too bad, really. I just killed another slut tonight. I was planning on saving you for later. The urge isn’t too bad yet right now, after all. It comes in cycles, you see. It comes in waves…” I saw a glimmer of pale, naked flesh writhing behind Steve. With jerky movements, the Twisted Man came up behind him. I said nothing, just watching with wide-eyed horror and amazement.
“You need help, man,” I whispered. Steve laughed.
“Help? The only help they give people like me is a needle in the arm. You know that. That’s why it’s important to always cover your tracks…” The Twisted Man ran a long, broken finger across Steve’s neck. Steve gave a strangled cry and jumped. He spun around, screaming. I glanced over at my shotgun next to the couch.
I jumped for it as Steve turned back to me, firing his pistol twice. The first bullet soared high above me, raining wood splinters down on my head, but the second ripped into my leg. A cold, burning pain ran like fire up my shin. I screamed in agony and battle fury as I gripped the shotgun, spinning and firing.
Steve’s head exploded as the slug ripped through his brain. His forehead collapsed like a smashed melon as bone splinters and blood sprayed the wall behind him.
The Twisted Man stood there, hunched over, grinning up at me. I felt warm blood gushing from my leg as I stared back at him, breathing hard. I wondered if I was dying.
“You… you weren’t after me at all, were you?” I asked. “You were after… Steve.” But the Twisted Man said nothing. After a long moment, he slinked back into the shadows of the bedroom and disappeared.
***
As night crawled its way toward morning, I thought back to the words the Twisted Man had spoken through the TV, suddenly understanding everything.
“He is a killer. The shadow of death. Many have fallen. Many lie buried across this forest. You will be next. He is watching you…”
He hadn’t been trying to hurt me at all. He had been trying to warn me. He had probably tried to warn Will Lenning and his wife, too.
I wrapped my leg in gauze, gritting my teeth. The wound looked puckered and deep, but I could still move my foot, and the bullet had gone clean through the flesh. I poured alcohol on it, screaming in pain as it burned its way through my skin. After rummaging through Steve’s bathroom, I found some prescription painkillers and swallowed a handful of them with a beer. I knew I would need the opiate high to get through the pain of riding into town with a mutilated leg.
As the Sun finally rose, I made my way outside the blood-stained floors of the cabin to my snowmobile. Before I left, I glanced back at that horrid place, the scene of so much torment and death.
In the open doorway, the Twisted Man stood, his back hunched, his rotted lips grinning at me. His hand lifted up into the air with jerky movements and waved.
I waved back as I started the engine and headed into town.

A few years ago, I decided I needed a major life change. Everything seemed to be going downhill- my finances, my mental health, my life. I would go weeks without sleeping sometimes as the heavy traffic passed through the city streets down below. Every time I went outside, I saw more homeless people, more needles and crack pipes littering the ground, more muggings and assaults and overdoses and deaths. The city had become a wasteland, and I knew it was time to leave.
I had no girlfriend, no wife, no kids. My parents had both died a few years prior and I barely talked to my siblings anymore. I had nothing to tie me down to this place where I felt like I was dying inside a little more each day.
That was when I sold nearly everything I owned, got in my car and drove up to Alaska to try starting anew. I bought a small cabin and a plot of land in the middle of its majestic mountains and dark, enchanting forests. In the winter, the Northern Lights would shine through like the eyes of God, sending out divine trails of light that danced through the sky in cosmic waves.
And while the move did help give me some peace of mind, in the end, the source of all my problems had ultimately followed me thousands of miles into this endless wilderness. It would take me a long time to realize the cause of all this misery was myself.
Because, as a wise man once said, “Wherever I go, there I am.”
***
I lived in that cabin for three months without any major issues other than the constant threat of bears, moose and wolves. I had a rifle and a shotgun for hunting, a small garden in the backyard and a solar panel to generate electricity.
“This is the life,” I said, relaxing on a hammock I had strung across the corner of the cabin while staring at the endless beauty directly outside the window. White-capped mountains loomed like giants in front of thick clusters of evergreens. A virgin covering of fluffy snow made the entire world glisten and sparkle. There wasn’t a house or road in sight.
“No work, no stress, no pollution, no cars honking all the time…” I closed my eyes, breathing in the clean air. I ended up falling asleep for a couple hours, waking up just as the Sun had started setting. Bright orange streaks mixed with the bloody smears of the fading light as it disappeared behind the mountains.
I groggily arose, stumbling over to make a cup of instant coffee. As I sipped it, I wandered around the room, looking for something to pass the time. There were still quite a few random objects left behind by the last owner that I hadn’t gotten rid of yet. I had moved in to find a stocked bookshelf filled with classics by Philip K. Dick, Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein. Bored, I started rifling through the collection, looking for something good to pass the time. As I shuffled past “A Maze of Death” and “Ubik”, something caught my eye.
A black, leather-bound book with no title or author name stood there, its cover faded with time and wear. Curious, I pulled it out and opened it. I saw the cursive scrawled across the pages in a neat, copperplate script and realized it was a diary left behind by the previous owner. The first entry was dated “January 9th, 2015.” This is what it said.
***
“I don’t know if I’m going crazy or not. I went into town to talk to my therapist yesterday and she said I should try writing everything down. She talks to me like it’s all in my head. But I know it’s not.
“When I first moved into the cabin, it seemed like Paradise. I never thought in a million years that something would be slinking around at night. I never thought it would be hiding under my bed, peeking in windows and following me like a shadow.
“Right now, I’m snowed in with a cup of coffee in one hand and my pistol in the other. I can’t sleep anymore. I keep hearing something shuffling around under the bed. Sometimes, I think I even hear ragged breathing, as if a corpse with dirt in its lungs had come back to life.
“I’ve caught glimpses of that thing in the darkness. Whatever it is, its skin is loose, almost falling off the bone. It almost looks like a naked, emaciated man. Its eyes are rotted and dark, its back hunched, its spine twisted and jutting out like tumors. It moves in this slow, jerky way, but I can never seem to catch it. Its body seems broken and out of alignment. Its legs bend the wrong way sometimes.
“By the time I turn on the lights or try to take a video of it, it’s always disappeared. But its fetid odor remains. It lingers in the cabin like a sweet-smelling, spreading infection.
“I don’t know what it wants from me. I want to leave, but with the storm raging outside, I’m stuck here, unable to get all the way back to town. The snow surrounds the cabin in mounds five feet high. I feel like a prisoner caged with a rabid beast, not knowing when it will strike.
“My wife claims she hasn’t seen or heard anything, but she keeps vanishing on me. Last night, she disappeared in the middle of a snowstorm. Where did she go? I asked her in the morning, but she said she was here the whole time. She didn’t remember anything. There’s no way she went into town. There wasn’t time and the trails were impassable that far down.
“Something’s going on here, but I don’t know what it is. I’m truly scared for our lives.”
I slammed the diary shut, not wanting to read anymore. I didn’t want to become infected by some kind of contagious cabin fever. If the last owner had gone insane in the mountains and started hallucinating naked corpses crawling around, I really didn’t want to know.
I shoved the diary back in the bookshelf, going for “A Maze of Death” instead. I tried to forget what I had read in the diary as I flew through the novella. All night, I tried to get the image of the naked, twisting man with rotted eyes out of my head, but I couldn’t.
I eventually fell asleep right before dawn. But, as my eyes were closing, I thought I saw a silhouette in the window- a starved man with excited, black eyes that seemed to be rotting out of his skull. I thought I saw him put his inhumanly long fingers against the glass as he leaned forward. I blinked, sitting up and glancing out into the white, snow-covered wonderland.
There was nothing there.
***
Another hunter occasionally followed the deer trails near my cabin. A frozen lake stood a quarter-mile away, the surface white and covered in thick drifts of snow. I bundled up, deciding to go outside for a hike in the frigid dawn. I strapped on my snowshoes and grabbed my shotgun, as I always did when I went outside. I never knew when a polar bear might be waiting around the next tree, after all.
I opened the door, seeing footprints pressed into the snow all around my house. At first, I thought it was that silhouette I had seen, the nightmarish thing from the diary. But the footprints didn’t go over to my window. They followed the trail twenty feet away, veering off towards the frozen lake at the bottom of the hill. I glanced down in that direction, seeing a black figure plodding slowly forward.
“Steve!” I cried, recognizing my only neighbor in a four-mile radius. He had a cabin about a mile away on his own little plot of land. He jumped, clearly startled by the sudden noise. His black snow pants and heavy fur coat swished together as he spun, raising his rifle high. When he saw me, he immediately lowered it and put a gloved hand up in a friendly greeting.
“Hey Josh! Surprised to see you up this early,” he yelled over the muted wintry landscape. Sounds always seemed different after it snowed, as if all the noise in the world had become faded and dead.
“Yeah, I’ve been having a little trouble sleeping,” I said, slinging my shotgun around my shoulder. “What are you doing anyway?”
“Just a little hunting, you know,” he said, giving me a sly wink. “Animals are always most active around dusk and dawn, it seems. That’s when I always have the best luck, anyway.” He stepped close to me, staring me in the eyes. “You do look like shit. Those bags under your eyes are big enough to carry groceries in.”
“Yeah, trust me, I know… Hey, this might sound a little weird, but did you know the previous owner of this cabin?” I asked. Steve’s wrinkled, old face fell into a scowl. His expression immediately became guarded and distant.
“Sure, sure, we met,” he exclaimed bluntly. He seemed to be searching my face for something, but I didn’t know what. His reaction left me feeling off-balance and nervous.
“Is he still around?” I said. Steve’s scowl deepened.
“Buddy, I don’t know what this is about, but he’s dead. He’s been dead. He died in that cabin, actually.” He pointed a finger at my home accusingly. With those words, my heart seemed to drop into my stomach. Waves of dread flowed through my body like water.
“How… how did he die? Like a heart attack or something?” I asked. Steve’s gaze turned downwards. He didn’t meet my eyes.
“Do you know that Alaska has the highest missing persons rate in the entire United States? It’s not even close. In fact, for the population size, we have far more people who go missing and never get found than anywhere else. They even have a name for it: the Alaska Triangle,” Steve said. “And we’re square in the middle of it.” I stared blankly at him, wondering where he was going with this. It seemed like a way to avoid answering my question.
“No, I didn’t know that…” I responded. Steve nodded, raising his head again. He heaved a deep sigh.
“Look, the thing with the last owner and his wife… it’s somewhat disturbing. If you really want to know, I’ll tell you, but it’s certainly not going to help your peace of mind. And it definitely isn’t going to help you get some sleep.”
“I want to know,” I insisted instantly. The wind started to whip past us. Flakes of ice and snow flew sideways in the sudden currents.
“Let’s go back to your cabin then,” Steve said, pulling his heavy fur-lined hood off and shaking out his long, black hair behind him. “I could use a bit of whiskey to warm up.”
***
We sat down with a bottle of Johnny Walker and two shot glasses. I wasn’t much of a drinker, but Steve certainly was. He chugged three shots in the span of a minute. I sipped at mine, drinking half and putting it back down on the coffee table with a thunk. Steve grunted, hissing through his open mouth for a moment.
“Ugh, that’s the good stuff,” he said, slamming his chest as the burning liquor worked its way down. Steve looked up at me with a new sparkle in his eyes. “Huh, so you want to know about what happened to Will Lenning. Well, I’ll tell you that no one really knows the whole story. I used to see him occasionally, come down and have a drink and talk. We all know each other around here, obviously.” I nodded, motioning him on. “He seemed like a normal, upstanding guy. He kinda reminded me of you, actually. A young guy trying to escape the hustle and bustle of the city life, the cancer of the American Dream.
“Well, he was here for maybe a couple months, I don’t know. Everything seemed fine. We used to go skeet shooting occasionally, have a beer, you know. We’d get together with a couple other hunters who live closer to town and sometimes play some poker. I never saw anything odd about Will. I never could have predicted what happened to him.” He heaved a long sigh at this, looking out the window at the sharp mountains with an expression of nostalgia.
“Well, what happened to him?” I asked, encouraging him to go on.
“He started talking about seeing someone peering in through his window at night. He talked about hearing sounds from under his bed while he was laying there in the dark- sounds like diseased breathing and shuffling. He started keeping all the lights on in his cabin twenty-four hours a day.” Steve leaned close to me. A glimmer of fear rippled across his pale, wrinkled face. “He started to lose his mind. Started digging holes all over the place, looking for something. Even in the middle of snowstorms, I would occasionally see him outside, digging. It seemed like he never slept anymore. It was classic cabin fever if I ever saw it.
“It was only a few weeks later that I came over here, concerned. I hadn’t heard from him in a few days, which was fairly unusual. I found the door hanging wide open. Propped up in a chair in the exact spot where you now sit, Will lay with a blast hole showing clear through his skull, a shotgun laying at his feet.
“And next to him, I found a blood-stained diary opened to the middle page. The last entry was stained with blood spatter, but still visible. I remember leaning down and reading it. It was only a few sentences long.” I glanced over at the bookshelf with the same diary, saying nothing.
“It said something like, ‘I see now what’s going on. The Twisted Man is leading me to the truth. Today, I will finally find it.’”
“And that was his suicide note?” I asked, my heart hammering in my chest. He nodded.
“Yeah. I went into town and got some rangers to come check it out. Eventually, they got cops and CSI there. They took all the stuff as evidence, including the diary,” he said. “Good riddance, I say. Reading something like that is never beneficial. Sometimes delusions spread like a virus, you know what I mean?” I did, but I said nothing. I glanced back at the diary, its black leather cover gleaming like a crouching snake.
And I wondered- if the police took the diary as evidence, how did it get back here?
***
“You said he had a wife living here with him, too?” I asked.
“Yeah… she went missing around the same time,” he said. “Pretty bizarre. The cops thought maybe she just moved away, but…” He shook his head grimly. “As far as I know, she was never seen again. It was like she had evaporated into thin air.”
After Steve left, I walked stiffly over to the bookshelf, taking down the diary. I flipped open through the pages. In the middle, I found the last entry. Spatters of old, darkened blood were scattered over the page like raindrops. I found the suicide note and read the date.
“January 27th, 2015,” it read. Will Lenning had not lived long after he started seeing the Twisted Man. I wondered if my fate would be the same.
The Sun had started to set outside as I sat with the diary at the small circular kitchen table, eating some stewed venison and rice as I read through the entries. At the end, Will Lenning said the Twisted Man had been trying to guide him somewhere, that, in fact, the Twisted Man had been trying to protect him from some great evil, rather than being the source of it.
I scoffed, feeling a flash of anger at his stupidity. His naivety obviously led to his death. But then a flash of insight struck me like lightning.
What if I was committing the same kind of stupidity? Perhaps I should just grab my gun and valuables and leave. I could take off on the snowmobile and be in town within a couple hours.
But, in my heart, I knew I would not. Something about the mystery of all this beckoned me to stay. Like a siren leading sailors to destruction, my curiosity called out to me, and I knew I would not be leaving that night. I needed answers.
And, sadly, I would find them.
***
I had fallen asleep with an empty bottle of beer in my hand. I sat in front of the TV, which only got satellite reception. There were, of course, no cable or phone lines threading their way through the forest. All of my power came from stored solar energy. Since I rarely watched TV and really only used it to cook or heat up water for bathing, the energy produced was sufficient even in winter. Tonight, though, I needed its sound, its mindless flashing of light and colors and canned laughter. It seemed to drive away the creeping, suffocating presence like a candle.
I woke suddenly. The TV flashed with static. The repetitive hissing of the white noise spit from the speakers like thousands of snakes. I glanced up at the clock. 3:33 AM. I looked around the dark cabin, confused for a long moment. I didn’t understand what had woken me so abruptly. The satellite had never gone out before, either, even with the howling winds and freezing hail of the Alaskan winter.
The TV started flickering as if the static were rising upwards. Black lines traced their way horizontally across the screen. The hissing deepened into a gurgle, and for a second, I thought I heard faint words behind the white noise. I thought I heard breathing, slow and diseased, like the death gasp of a drowning man.
A black line rose across the TV and an image came into view. The cabin was suddenly plunged into silence, except for the shrieking, wintry wind outside. I leaned close to the screen, confused at what I was looking at. It looked like a live camera feed of a room. As I took in the details, I realized it was my cabin. I saw myself in the chair, leaning close to the screen. I raised my hand, and the miniature version of me on the screen did likewise. Ice water seemed to drip down my spine as waves of dread coursed through my body.
“What the fuck is this?” I whispered, looking back to where the camera should be. It was just a coarse wooden ceiling in that corner. I turned back to the screen and nearly screamed.
The TV showed a pale, naked man crouching directly behind my chair now. With jerky movements, he rose, his broken spine twisting and shivering. A hissing voice rang out from the speakers. It spoke as if it had dirt and writhing maggots in its throat.
“He is a killer. The shadow of death,” it gurgled. “Many have fallen. Many lie buried across this forest. You will be next. He is watching you…”
Long, broken fingers with blackened nails reached out to touch my shoulders. I jumped out of the chair, stumbling back as I spun around in terror. My back smashed into the TV, and it fell to the floor with a shattering of glass and an explosion of light.
In those few moments before the darkness descended on me like a blanket, I thought I glimpsed a pale, sunken face with rotted, blackened eyes peeking out from behind the chair.
***
I turned on every light in the cabin, but there was no sign of the Twisted Man now. I knew I had to get out of there, though. I thought about the warning that the voice had spoken. If the creature wanted to attack me, then why hadn’t it just killed me while I was sleeping? None of it made sense. Who was watching me? The Twisted Man? And if he was, why warn me? Perhaps it was psychological warfare, I thought to myself. Perhaps the Twisted Man simply liked to play with his food before he ate it.
Thoughts raced through my head at a thousand miles an hour as I threw on snow pants and a couple heavy sweaters and coats. I covered up my entire body as much as I could to try to prevent frostbite. I had made up my mind to flee. There was no snowstorm tonight, though the entire landscape was blanketed in it and I knew the wind chill would be like an ice blade whipping against my skin. It was extremely dangerous to travel in the middle of the night like this in temperatures that might reach negative thirty degrees. Steve had been right, after all- Alaska had the highest missing persons rate of any state, and many of them were never found, their bodies likely frozen solid in the deep snow dozens of miles from the nearest town.
I grabbed my shotgun, jumped on my snowmobile and started heading to Steve’s cabin. I hoped I could wait there until the sunrise and then figure out what to do next.
But fate would take the decision out of my hands.
***
I felt like there were eyes watching me as I drove along the narrow, winding deer trail. The boughs of the evergreens reached into the path like greedy hands, grabbing at my coat and legs. More than a couple times, I thought I saw a pale, naked figure standing in the snow, but it had always gone when I turned to look.
I gave a sigh of relief when Steve’s place appeared in the distance. I could see the lights twinkling through the small windows of his log cabin. I pulled up next to his door, looking down. I saw two pairs of footprints there, one much smaller than the other. I found it odd, but shrugged it off. The snowmobile cut out with a sucking gurgle.
I knocked on the door hard a few times. Steve appeared after a few moments, groggy and half-dressed. He blinked slowly as he looked me up and down. His wrinkled face fell into a frown.
“Steve, I need a favor,” I said quickly. “Something weird is happening in my cabin. Can I stay here until morning, until maybe I can go to town or something? I can’t stay at my place tonight. I just can’t.” He nodded, yawning and motioning me in.
“You can sleep on the couch, I guess,” Steve said. “Put that shotgun somewhere safe, though, boy.” He had a partitioned bedroom in his cabin. It was significantly larger than my little one-room cabin, though it was basically still just a joint kitchen-living room, a small bedroom and a bathroom. He pointed to a well-worn couch in the corner and gave me an apathetic wave as he stumbled back into his bedroom, slamming the door.
I couldn’t sleep, though. I tiptoed around the room, looking at Steve’s bookshelf. He had a rather strange taste in books- lots of Anne Rule and true crime there. I saw dozens of books about Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Richard Chase, Herbert Mullin, Jeffrey Dahmer and Richard Ramirez among the collection. At the end, a large, black binder stood, unlabeled and worn-looking. It reminded me of the look of that leather-bound diary for a second, and my heart dropped. But logically, I knew this was just a coincidence. Yet, still, I pulled out the binder, my curiosity piqued.
What I found inside filled me with dread and horror.
Countless news clippings covered the length of it. The first clipping was from nearly twenty years earlier, about a woman who went missing in the Alaskan forest while hiking. A later one confirmed that her body was never found, and that her family was still hoping that she might turn up alive somewhere. A reward was offered for any information, it said.
And every page after that was more of the same: missing woman, murdered prostitute, missing man, no leads. I kept flipping through until I found clippings about Will Lenning’s suicide and the sudden disappearance of his wife. On the article about the suicide, Steve had used red marker to scrawl, “HA HA!” next to it.
I heard the click of a gun being cocked from behind me. I froze as Steve’s voice traveled across the room like a whisper.
“How do you like my work, friend?” he asked, his tone jovial and mocking.
***
I still held the binder of horrors tightly in my hands as I stared open-mouthed at this man I thought I knew.
“It’s you? What, you killed Will Lenning and his wife? And a lot of other women, apparently.” Everything felt unreal, as if I were stuck in a dream. Steve’s grin spread across his face, but his blue eyes stayed cold and dead.
“Yes, well, she was cheating on him with me anyway. Just another whore, you know. They always get what’s coming to them in the end,” he hissed with hatred oozing from his voice. “It’s too bad, really. I just killed another slut tonight. I was planning on saving you for later. The urge isn’t too bad yet right now, after all. It comes in cycles, you see. It comes in waves…” I saw a glimmer of pale, naked flesh writhing behind Steve. With jerky movements, the Twisted Man came up behind him. I said nothing, just watching with wide-eyed horror and amazement.
“You need help, man,” I whispered. Steve laughed.
“Help? The only help they give people like me is a needle in the arm. You know that. That’s why it’s important to always cover your tracks…” The Twisted Man ran a long, broken finger across Steve’s neck. Steve gave a strangled cry and jumped. He spun around, screaming. I glanced over at my shotgun next to the couch.
I jumped for it as Steve turned back to me, firing his pistol twice. The first bullet soared high above me, raining wood splinters down on my head, but the second ripped into my leg. A cold, burning pain ran like fire up my shin. I screamed in agony and battle fury as I gripped the shotgun, spinning and firing.
Steve’s head exploded as the slug ripped through his brain. His forehead collapsed like a smashed melon as bone splinters and blood sprayed the wall behind him.
The Twisted Man stood there, hunched over, grinning up at me. I felt warm blood gushing from my leg as I stared back at him, breathing hard. I wondered if I was dying.
“You… you weren’t after me at all, were you?” I asked. “You were after… Steve.” But the Twisted Man said nothing. After a long moment, he slinked back into the shadows of the bedroom and disappeared.
***
As night crawled its way toward morning, I thought back to the words the Twisted Man had spoken through the TV, suddenly understanding everything.
“He is a killer. The shadow of death. Many have fallen. Many lie buried across this forest. You will be next. He is watching you…”
He hadn’t been trying to hurt me at all. He had been trying to warn me. He had probably tried to warn Will Lenning and his wife, too.
I wrapped my leg in gauze, gritting my teeth. The wound looked puckered and deep, but I could still move my foot, and the bullet had gone clean through the flesh. I poured alcohol on it, screaming in pain as it burned its way through my skin. After rummaging through Steve’s bathroom, I found some prescription painkillers and swallowed a handful of them with a beer. I knew I would need the opiate high to get through the pain of riding into town with a mutilated leg.
As the Sun finally rose, I made my way outside the blood-stained floors of the cabin to my snowmobile. Before I left, I glanced back at that horrid place, the scene of so much torment and death.
In the open doorway, the Twisted Man stood, his back hunched, his rotted lips grinning at me. His hand lifted up into the air with jerky movements and waved.
I waved back as I started the engine and headed into town.

One late night, I was playing Unturned alone, trying to farm raiding supplies. My friends had logged off hours ago, leaving me to fend for myself. The server was eerily quiet, with just the ambient sounds of wind rustling through the trees and distant zombie groans breaking the silence. I had just found a PDW and was about to log off when I noticed an odd message in the chat: “Bot_Bill has joined the game.”
Bots weren’t a feature of Unturned. At least, not outside of drop farming. Puzzled, I ignored it and continued playing. Soon, “Bot_Sam” joined, followed by “Bot_Tom.” They didn’t speak or move like normal players. They just stood there, staring at me from a distance, their blocky heads tracking my every move.
I tried to communicate with them, but they didn’t respond. Instead, they began to follow me, always maintaining a distance, never getting too close. It was unnerving. Their blank, expressionless faces and the way they moved in perfect unison felt wrong, like they were controlled by something sinister.
As I ventured deeper into the map, the bots multiplied. Every time I turned around, more had joined, all standing in a silent, motionless horde, watching me. I felt a chill run down my spine. I decided it was time to log off, but when I pressed the escape key, nothing happened. My character was trapped in the game.
Desperate, I tried to shut down my computer manually, but the screen remained frozen on the game. The bots began to move towards me, slowly at first, then faster, their blank eyes glowing with an unnatural light. Panic set in as they closed in, and I could hear the sound of static growing louder in my headphones.
In a last-ditch effort, I yanked the power cord from the wall. The screen went black, and the room was plunged into silence. My heart was pounding as I stared at the dark monitor, hoping that whatever had just happened was over.
The next day, I hesitantly powered my computer back on. Everything seemed normal until I opened Unturned. My character was exactly where I had left him, surrounded by the bots. But now, there was a message on the screen: “You cannot escape.”
I deleted the game, wiped my hard drive, and even bought a new computer, but it didn’t help. Every time I reinstalled Unturned, the bots were there, waiting for me. I couldn’t join any other servers; I was locked into this nightmarish version of the game.
Eventually, I gave up trying to play. But every now and then, I hear whispers coming from my speakers, soft and indistinct, like the voices of the bots. They remind me that they’re still there, waiting for me to return.
So, if you ever find yourself playing Unturned late at night and see a bot join your game, don’t ignore it. Log off immediately and hope they haven’t noticed you. Because once they do, you might never escape.

Info: Male, 21, 220lbs, 6ft, no known allergies or health issues.
For the past two months my skin has felt like its ON FIRE while in varying degrees of pain but the skin shows no signs of irritation in the slightest. NOTHING in my lifestyle has changed. It feels like a sunburn, it feels dry when I move and its as if I can feel my skin stretching and it is extremely sensitive to touch.
Things I have tried to combat it:

• Changing my detergent to All Clear and Free detergent and doing three rinse cycles per load.
• Taking Zyrtec 24hr relief 2x per day, daily.
• Changing my shampoo to Vanicream Shampoo
• Changing my body wash to Cereve Hydrating Cleanser Bar
• After showers, applying Aveeno Eczema Therapy Moisturizer

Things that have worked:

• Biofreeze, for a very short period of time before it returncs.

Things that make it worse:

• Mainly friction, specifically when I am wearing a shirt

Areas of Pain: Body Diagram

• Shoulder caps
• Back of shoulders
• Traps
• Back of neck going up and stops at my hairline
• Collar bone area
• "Teres Major Muscle", googled this, idk how else to describe the area
• Sometimes I feel it slightly on my cheeks right below my eyes and on my forearms.
• Both sides of my waist, right above the hip bone

Please help me.

Part 3: „It was the only real lie I ever told her “
Back to the time when I was at university and before all the medical problems. I was invited to a friend’s party. You know, the whole student stupidity; drinking, dancing and listen to terrible music. There was one girl that stood in the corner of the room that evening. She was there with some students from other departments and seemed not too thrilled by the gathering. I could clearly see a fake smile to the conversations and the surroundings. After a while I saw a familiar girl and we chatted for a minute or so. She was very drunk. I also had that fake smile of “enjoying” this gathering. The music, which was played, got even worse. I turned to that girl in the corner and our gazes met. She looked at me with a face that said it all: “How the what can I get out of here? “
I just shrugged slightly, formed a pistol with two fingers and pointed to my head and then faked a happy expression. She began to laugh very heavily. Like I learned, her name was Anna and she wasn’t drunk, not even tipsy but something about her had caught me. She was attractive, no doubts, but she seemed to be more “present” in the room than others.
From that day on we were like one. We met, chatted, laughed and after some time; well, did a little more. I was stunned what happened. Not even had I dreamed of a girl like her as my partner. She was everything I searched for without even not knowing that I needed it. I was madly in love. And through our conversations she confessed the same to me. I am not handsome or attractive. I was definitely not even close to her league. And she was no “Sandy” with no brain. I even questioned if this was a set-up or a trap. But I am coming from a worker’s family. No gold digger would stay with me for money. My career options were prosperous but this can be seen like a trifecta-bet. Why did she love me? When I asked her, she just said: “Because you are so stupid to ask!”
The most beautiful and mind-blowing about her were, in the end, the little things: the look of her eyes when I brushed her hair behind her ear, holding my hand as if she sometimes knew that I needed it and her good heart. She was the one calming me down when I was rushing forward of achieving things in a harsh manner. She understood me even if I didn’t tell her what happened. This was vice versa. When she was sad, I could cheer her up (okay, mostly the chocolate I always had in stock). When she was insecure, I helped her to find a solution for herself.
And yes, she was beautiful. She was natural and everything on her seemed to be the perfect combination. Her mannerisms and her movements were so classic and gracious.
How deep our relationship developed in just six months was unbeknown to most our friends and even my family. Sadly, she was on only child, raised alone by her mother after the sudden death of her father at the age of seven. Her mother died in an accident when she was 19. She had no grandparents left, even no uncles, aunts or cousins. She felt lonely. At the time I wanted to introduce her officially to my family as “the one”, there was an issue.
She was a little distant for a week or so. She said: „It’s nothing “. Although I was not married, every man with more than three active brain cells just knows: „It’s nuclear! “
It’s unbelievable how a little plastic object with indicator stripes can change your world forever. She was pregnant. And to my shame, I was a complete dumbfounded idiot with a blank mind and sat beside her and asked the dumb question: “How?” This was dedicated to the fact that we used protection and pills.
And Anna, looking at me with a mischievous smile said: “Come on Idiot, don’t pretend that you missed biology classes.”
That brought me back to reality. I was shocked but also kind of happy. It was not the best moment for having a baby, but it’s happening. I told her, more mockingly, that we should marry. She said: “Okay. That’s probably better. But don’t dare to wait too long to put a ring on my finger”.
Again, everything seemed to be on lightspeed. How should I explain this to my family? Well at least the finances where not a big problem. I was on a rarely full “stipendia funding” and she had a scholarship. But, damn! This was too early for that seriousness. But that’s life, I thought.
I was confused, shocked, happy, proud and terrified for the next days. Anna left for three days for an excursion with one of her classes at the university. She told me that she made an appointment with her doctor for confirmation of the pregnancy and for other check-ups after the excursion. When she was back, I have sorted more things out for myself. We wanted to meet in the late evening of Thursday at her place across the town. She had her doctor’s appointment on Friday and I prepared myself for the following conversation and wanted to tell her that we should go together to the appointment, if she wanted that. Before leaving my mobile rang. The number was unfamiliar. I answered the call with a “Hello?”
At this point my world collapsed with the words:” This is nurse …… from the ……. Hospital. I am calling about your fiancé Anna ……”
After discovering her pregnancy, she always has a small piece of paper with all necessary information about medical problems and an emergency contact in her purse.
I came to the hospital and rushed to the Emergency Unit. I told my name and whom I was there for. They called a doctor and informed me to wait for her. There were a lot of people, who waited for their call to be treated by the ER staff. I was crying and my heart felt like it’s almost shredded in thousand pieces. I waited about 10 minutes. A female doctor (let’s call her Dr. F.) called my name and I followed her to a small office.
Dr. F. came strict to the point. She told me first about the accident and then about Annas constitution.
Then Dr. F. (what I am remembering and in short) explained: “Your fiancé had a car accident. A driver lost control over his vehicle and hit her. Passengers called the ambulance immediately and she was brought to us. She has multiple broken bones and bruises. But that is nothing to the inner bleedings. We can’t stop them. We are trying to stabilize her. But there is no hope that her body will recover from these inner bleedings. She is now in one of our ER-Rooms and partially conscious. You can go to her, if you want. But be aware that she is under medication and maybe not awake. I must inform you that the fetus (she should have said: the baby) hasn’t survived. I am truly sorry. Do you want to see her. She always asked about you, if she is awake.”
I nodded my head. There was a hurricane insight of me but I felt like being in the eye of that monster. I was empty and calm. I didn’t cry anymore. I was weak and empty.
The doctor led me to Anna’s room. There in the hospital bed with a mass of equipment attached to her, was my Anna. Her face wasn’t bruised badly but the sheets must have covered her dishevelled body. On the floor were the remains of the bloody massacre. But not as much as expected; I thought. I went to her bed with small steps and stood over her. Her eyes were closed. I gently touched her cheek and calmly spoke to her with a voice like a whisper: “Anna. I am here.”
She didn’t respond. I said the same words again, this time a little louder and gently touched her shoulder. She opened her eyes slightly.
She smiled slightly and said: “Hi love.”
I cried instantly and managed or fabricated a smile and said back: “Hi Curly”
Curly (I hope this is the correct term in English) was my nickname for her because of her natural curly hair that I adored so much. The short version of our conversation is:
She asked me: “Is it really so bad?”
I said: “Yes dear.”
She said after some seconds: “I am so sorry. I don’t want to leave you. I am afraid.”
I reached out for her hand and hold it and said: “You have done nothing wrong. You are perfect. I love you so much. Please don’t leave me.” It was more a beg than a statement.
She whispered: “I love you too and I don’t want to die but I feel so weak and I am tired.”
I gave her a small kiss on the lips and hold her hand. She closed her eyes again. After some seconds she opened them again and asked: “Is everything okay with our baby?”
I said: “Yes. You will be the best mother and always watch after our baby. I love you, Anna.”
Anna said: “I love you too.”
She smiled and closed her eyes. This time she never opened them again and around 20 minutes later the EKG mad it’s devastating sound, indicating no heart activity, no pulse, no blood pressure and no Anna anymore.
The medical staff send me out of the room and tried to reanimate her but there was no hope. And 20 minutes later a doctor declared her dead.
I wanted to die too. This emptiness I felt, the loss, the pain, the anger, the disbelief and the broken bond were too much. My mind was on autopilot. I don’t remember many things that happened afterwards.
I was in the hospital for hours before I left.
Remember the beginning of my medical problems. It began in this night. I got the virus somewhere in or around the hospital.
Because she had no relatives to contact, I took the responsibilities with the funeral. She was cremated and buried in a small ceremony with only a few friends.
I never lied to Anna, except for typical questions like: “Do these pants look good on me?”
But the last statement I said to her wasn’t true, expect for the part where I told her that I loved her. I think she knew it. But it gave her peace in the end. It was the only real lie I ever told her.

Alright; this sounds super outlandish but hear me out.
Let’s start off by what illusion discs are; illusion discs are tiny machines that create an extremely loud noise that causes the surrounding people to see whatever the illusion disc is paired with as what they’d expect to see; this is why the twisted animatronics look like monsters, as that is what Charlie, Clay, John, & Jessica associate them with after last years (The Silver Eyes) previous encounter.
Now, let’s talk about “Wolf”; he’s essentially the most basic twisted animatronic; grey just like his suit and very glitchy to the human eye despite the illusion disc.
My guess for why he’s so glitchy is because the suit had been damaged so badly - even more than the others - that Charlie & the others can’t even comprehend it as a recognizable face so they jump to previous things they had seen and the environment to even make sense out of him - the taxidermy wolf at the convenience store; the woodsy environment; the metallic greys of the blank slates of Freddy and Foxy; the silhouette of Foxy.
And with this and Chica’s absence, I believe that the “Wolf” was originally a Chica but had deteriorated so much over time that she had become what we now know - beak plates stretched into a snout, loose feathers spread apart translating into ears, abdomen so crushed it becomes as slim as Foxy’s; and that’s just a few ways Chica could’ve deformed over time.
What do you think?

My memory is a bit fuzzy here from earlier seasons so I need some help filling in the blanks.
Lopez - La Fiera
Wesley - Elijah
Jackson - Doug
Lucy -?
Tim -? (3eyez lol)
Nolan- Armstrong
Aaron - I feel like his villain was Patrick's unsolved murder
Harper-?
Gray-?
Celina-?
So when I say villains I basically mean someone the main character knew was the bad guy and they were actively going up against them to make the case and get the arrest over several episodes. Also, the bad guy had some sort of personal vendetta against the main character and not some random baddie that was unaware.
I'm not sure whose character Monica belongs to? As she was the main baddie last season. But nobody knew they were hunting her. Harper and Lopez just stumbled across the nanny which led to Lucy ID'ing Monica..
Harper's villain could be argued was already someone from her UC past.
I put 3eyez for Tim 'Eagle Eye' Bradford but that's just for laughs, can't think of an actual baddie for him.
Celina is too new to really have a villain as yet but she's still main cast so I had to include her.
But basically I'm having trouble placing main villains for the remaining four. Care to take a try at it?