Prices FIRM - CashApp/Venmo/PayPal Friends & Family
Disney/Marvel titles are split codes. Only redeem what you pay for. Thank you.
12 Years a Slave (2013) (MA/HD) $3.25
13 Hours: Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016) (Vudu/4K) $5.50 (Vudu/HD) $1.75 (iTunes/4K) $3
2 Guns (2013) (MA/HD) $4.75 (iTunes/HD) $3.50
22 Jump Street (2014) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $4.25
355, The (2022) (MA/HD) $5.50
47 Meters Down (2017) (iTunes/HD) $4.25
47 Meters Down: Uncaged (2019) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/4K) $4.75
65 (2023) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $5
A Hologram for the King (2016) (Vudu/HD) $5
A Man Called Otto (2022) (MA/HD) $5.75
A Most Wanted Man (2014) (Vudu/HD) $3.50
A Vigilante (2018) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.50
Ad Astra (2019) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $4.25
Adventures of Tintin (2011) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014) (MA/HD) $4.75
Alien Collection 1-6 (MA/HD) $18
Alien: Covenant (2017) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $2.25
Aliens (1986) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $6
All Eyez on Me (2017) (Vudu/HD) $2.50 (iTunes/HD) $1.75
All The Money In The World (2017) (MA/HD) $3.75
Aloha (2015) (MA/HD) $2.50
Alvin and the Chipmunks 2: The Squeakquel (2009) (MA/HD) $5.50
Ambulance (2022) (MA/HD) $3.75
American Hustle (2013) (MA/HD) $3.75
Amsterdam (2022) (MA/HD) $4.75
Anastasia (1997) (MA/HD) $6
Anna (2019) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $4.25
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) (MA/4K) $7.50 (iTunes/4K) $6 (GP/HD) $3
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) (MA/HD) $6.50
Antz (1998) (MA/HD) $5.50
Apocalypse Now (Theatrical, Redux & Final Cut) (Vudu/4K) $6.50
Apollo 11 (2019) (MA/HD) $5.50
Arnold Schwarzenegger 6-Movie (Vudu/HD) $13.50
As Good As It Gets (1997) (MA/4K) $6.50
Asteroid City (2023) (MA/HD) $6
Atomic Blonde (2017) (MA/4K) $4.75 (iTunes/4K) $3.50 (MA/HD) $2.25
Avengers: Endgame (2019) (MA/4K) $4.50 (MA/HD) $3.75 (GP/HD) $1
Avengers: Infinity War (2018) (MA/4K) $5 (MA/HD) $3.75 (GP/HD) $1
Awkward Moment (2014) (MA/HD) $4.75
Babylon (2022) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $7.50
Babylon 5: The Road Home (2023) (MA/HD) $3.50
Back to the Future (1985) (MA/HD) $4
Bad Boys for Life (2020) (MA/4K) $5 (MA/HD) $3.25
Bad Guys, The (2022) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $4
Bad Moms (2016) (MA/HD) $3.25 (iTunes/HD) $2.25
Bad Times at The El Royale (2018) (MA/HD) $5.25
Bambi (1942) (MA/HD) $5.75 (GP/HD) $4.25
Bambi II (2006) (MA/HD) $5.75
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar (2021) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4.75
Barbie (2023) (MA/HD) $5.50
Batman, The (2022) (MA/4K) $3.50
Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham (2022) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $5.50
Battle of the Sexes (2017) (MA/HD) $4
Battleship (2012) (MA/4K) $4 (MA/HD) $1.75 (iTunes/4K) $3
Beast (2022) (MA/HD) $5.50
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) (MA/HD) $5 (GP/HD) $3.50
Ben-Hur (2016) (Vudu/HD) $2.50
Between Worlds (2018) (Vudu/HD) $5
Beverly Hills Cop (1984) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $4.25
Beyond the Reach (2015) (Vudu/HD) $5.25
Big George Foreman (2023) (MA/HD) $5.50
Birds of Prey (2020) (MA/4K) $3 (MA/HD) $1.50
Birth of the Dragon (2017) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.25
Black Adam (2022) (MA/4K) $6.50
Black Adam (2022) (MA/HD) $2.50
Black Panther (2018) (MA/4K) $6 (MA/HD) $4.25 (GP/HD) $1.75
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $3.75 (GP/HD) $2.75
Black Widow (2021) (MA/4K) $6.25 (MA/HD) $4.50 (GP/HD) $3
Blacklight (2022) (MA/HD) $3.75
Blindspotting (2018) (Vudu/4K) $4.75 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4.50
Bloodshot (2020) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $3.50
Blue Beetle (2023) (MA/HD) $6.50
Blumhouse's The Craft: Legacy (2020) (MA/HD) $7
Bob's Burgers Movie (2022) (MA/HD) $3.25 (GP/HD) $2.75
Book Club: The Next Chapter (2023) (MA/HD) $5.25
Book of Henry (2017) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.50
Book of Life (2014) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.50
Boss Baby (2017) & Family Business (2021) (MA/HD) $5.50
Boss Baby (2017) (MA/HD) $1.25
Bourne Collection 1-5 (MA/4K) $25 (iTunes/4K) $18 (MA/HD) $14
Breach (2020) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.25
Breakfast Club (1985) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.25
Breaking In (Unrated) (2018) (MA/HD) $4.75
Breakthrough (2019) (MA/4K) $6
Brian Banks (2019) (MA/HD) $3.50
Bridesmaids (2011) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $3.50
Bridge of Spies (2015) (MA/HD) $5 (GP/HD) $3.50
Brooklyn (2015) (MA/HD) (iTunes/4K) $5.25
Bullet Train (2022) (MA/4K) $5 (MA/HD) $3.50
Buttons: A Christmas Tale (2018) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.50
Call Me by Your Name (2017) (MA/HD) $5
Call of the Wild (2020) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $1.50 (GP/HD) $1.25
Candyman (2020) (MA/HD) $4.75
Captain America: Civil War (2016) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $4.75 (GP/HD) $2.25
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) (MA/4K) $8 (MA/HD) $6 (GP/HD) $4.50
Captain Phillips (2013) (MA/HD) $4.50
Card Counter, The (2021) (MA/HD) $4.75
Carrie (2013) (Vudu/HD) $5.50
Case for Christ, The (2017) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.50
Celebrating Mickey (2018) (MA/HD) $5.25
Central Intelligence (Unrated) (MA/4K) $6.50
Charlie's Angels (2000) (MA/4K) $6.50
Charlie's Angels (2019) (MA/4K) $6.50
Child's Play (2019) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $6.50
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) (Vudu/HD) $6.75
Christopher Robin (2018) (MA/HD) $4.75 (GP/HD) $3.50
Cinderella (1950) (MA/4K) $7 (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $5.75 (GP/HD) $3.75
Cinderella 'Camila Cabello' (2021) (MA/HD) $4.50
Cinderella II: Dreams Come True (2002) (MA/HD) $6.50 (GP/HD) $5
Cinderella III: A Twist in Time (2007) (MA/HD) $6.50 (GP/HD) $5
Clerks III (2022) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $5.50
Clifford the Big Red Dog (2021) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $3.50
Cocaine Bear (2023) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $5.25
Collateral (2004) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $7.50
Commuter (2018) (Vudu/4K) $5.75 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $2.25
Concussion (2015) (MA/HD) $2.75
Contractor (2022) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4.25
Counselor (2013) (MA/HD) $3.25
Countdown (2019) (Vudu/4K) $5.75
Creed III (2023) (Vudu/4K) $6 (Vudu/HD) $2.50
Croods (2013) (MA/HD) $3
Cruella (2021) (MA/4K) $5.50 (MA/HD) $3.50 (GP/HD) $2.50
Da Vinci Code (2006) (MA/4K) $6.50
Daddy's Home 2 (2017) (Vudu/4K) $4.25 (iTunes/4K) $2 (Vudu/HD) $2.25
Dances With Wolves (1990) (Vudu/HD) $6
Dark Waters (2019) (MA/HD) $5.75
Dawn of The Planet of The Apes (2014) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $3.75
DC League of Super-Pets (2022) (MA/4K) $7
Dead Man Down (2013) (MA/HD) $4.50
Deadpool (2016) (MA/4K) $6 (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $1.75
Death on the Nile (2022) (MA/HD) $5 (GP/HD) $3.50
Death Wish (2018) (Vudu/HD) $2.25
Dentist Collection 1-2 (1996-1998) (Vudu/HD) $5
Detective Knight: Independence (2022) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5.75
Detective Knight: Redemption (2022) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5.75
Detroit (2017) (iTunes/4K) Ports to MA $4.50
Devil's Due (2014) (MA/HD) $3
Devotion (2022) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5.75
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010) (MA/HD) $4.25
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul (2017) (MA/HD) $2
Die Hard (1988) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $4
Disaster Artist, The (2017) (Vudu/HD) $5.50
Django Unchained (2012) (Vudu/HD) $2.50
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) (MA/HD) $2.75 (GP/HD) $2
Dolittle (2020) (MA/HD) $3.25
Don't Breathe (2016) (MA/HD) $5
Downsizing (2017) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $1.25
Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022) (MA/HD) $3.75
Dr. No (1962) (Vudu/HD) $6.75
Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) (iTunes/4K) $5.25 (MA/HD) $5
Draft Day (2014) (Vudu/HD) $3.25 (iTunes/HD) $2.50
Dredd (2012) (Vudu/4K) $6.50 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $3.25
Drive (2011) (MA/HD) $5
Duff, The (2015) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.50
Dumb Money (2023) (MA/HD) $5.50
Earth Girls Are Easy (1988) (Vudu/HD) $5
Easter Sunday (2022) (MA/HD) $6.75
Elemental (2023) (MA/HD) $5.75
Elvis (2022) (MA/4K) $5.75
English Patient (1996) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.75
Epic (2013) (MA/HD) $2.25 (iTunes/SD) $1.25
Equalizer 3 (2023) (MA/HD) $5.75
Escape from L.A (1996) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $5.50
Escape from Planet Earth (2013) (Vudu/HD) $4.25
Eternals (2021) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $4.25 (GP/HD) $2.75
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) (Vudu/4K) $6.50
Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987) (Vudu/HD) $4.75
Evil Dead Rise (2023) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $4.75
Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $3.50
Exorcist: Believer (2023) (MA/4K) $7.50 (MA/HD) $6.50
Expendables 1-3 (Vudu/4K) $15 (Vudu/HD) $4.50
Extreme Prejudice (1987) (Vudu/HD) $5
F9: The Fast Saga + Director's Cut (2021) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $4.75
Fabelmans (2022) (MA/HD) $5.50
Fahrenheit 451 (2018) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.50 (GP/HD) $3
Fall (2022) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $6
Fantasia (1940) (MA/HD) $6.50 (GP/HD) $5
Fantasia 2000 (2000) (MA/HD) $6.50 (GP/HD) $5
Fast & Furious Collection 1-8 (MA/4K) $23 1-9 (MA/HD) $10
Fast X (2023) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $5.50
Father Stu (2022) (MA/HD) $5.25
Fatman (2020) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.50
Fault in Our Stars (2014) (MA/HD) $1.50
Fences (2016) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $1.75
Five Nights at Freddy's (2023) (MA/HD) $6.50
Flash, The (2023) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $5
Footloose (2011) (Vudu/HD) $5 (iTunes/HD) $3.50
Forrest Gump (1994) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5.50
Fox and the Hound (1981) (MA/HD) $6.25 (GP/HD) $4.75
Foxcatcher (2014) (MA/HD) $3.75
Frank & Lola (2016) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $4.50
Frozen (2013) (MA/4K) $5.50 (MA/HD) $3.50 (GP/HD) $1.50
Fury (2014) (MA/4K) $6.25 (MA/HD) $3.25
Future World (2018) (Vudu/HD) $4
G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $3.75
Gangs of New York (2002) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.25
Garfield (2004) (MA/HD) $6.50
Gate, The (1987) (Vudu/SD) $3.75
Ghostbusters (1984) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $3.50
Gifted (2017) (MA/HD) $4.50
Girl with All the Gifts, The (2016) (Vudu/HD) $5
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) (MA/HD) $6
Godfather Part II (1974) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $6.50
Godfather Trilogy (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $14
Gods of Egypt (2016) (Vudu/HD) $2
Goosebumps (2015) (MA/HD) $4.75
Grace Unplugged (2013) (Vudu/HD) $5.25
Gran Turismo (2023) (MA/HD) $5.50
Green Knight (2021) (Vudu/4K) $5.25
Grey, The (2012) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3.50
Grizzly Man (2005) (Vudu/HD) $5
Groundhog Day (1993) (MA/4K) $6.50
Grown Ups 2 (2013) (MA/HD) $5
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) (MA/HD) $4.25 (GP/HD) $1.25
Half Brothers (2020) (MA/HD) $5.75
Halloween Ends (2022) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $4.25
Hateful Eight (2015) (Vudu/HD) $2
Heat: Director's Definitive Edition (1995) (MA/4K) $5.75 (MA/HD) $4.75
Heaven is for Real (2014) (MA/HD) $2.50
Hercules (2014) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $1.50
Here Comes the Boom (2012) (MA/HD) $4
Hereditary (2018) (Vudu/HD) $3.50
Hitman (Unrated) (2007) (MA/HD) $6
Hitman's Bodyguard (2017) (Vudu/4K) $5.75 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4.25
Holiday Inn (1942) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3.75
Holiday, The (2006) (MA/4K) $6.50
Holmes And Watson (2018) (MA/HD) $3.50
Hook (1991) (MA/4K) $6.50
Hop (2011) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3
Hot Fuzz (2007) (MA/HD) $3.50 (iTunes/4K) $4
House of 1,000 Corpses (2003), Devil's Rejects (2005), 3 From Hell (2019) (Vudu/HD) $6
How High (2001) (MA/HD) $6.50
Howard the Duck (1986) (MA/4K) $7
Humans, The (2021) (Vudu/HD) $6.25
Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) (MA/HD) $6.50 (GP/HD) $5
Hunger Games Collection 1-4 (Vudu/HD) $6
Hunt, The (2019) (MA/HD) $5.50
Hurricane Heist (2018) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/4K) $3.50
I, Tonya (2017) (MA/HD) $5
Ice Age (2002) (MA/HD) $4.25
Ice Age Collection 1-5 (MA/SD) $16
Identity Thief (2013) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $3.50
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) (MA/HD) $6
Indiana Jones Collection 1-4 (Vudu/4K) $24 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $20
Indivisible (2018) (MA/HD) $5
Inferno (2016) (MA/HD) $3
Infinite (2021) (Vudu/4K) $5.50 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4.50
Inside Out (2015) (MA/4K) $5.75 (iTunes/4K) $4 (GP/HD) $1.50
Insidious: The Last Key (2018) (MA/HD) $5.50
Insidious: The Red Door (2023) (MA/HD) $5.25
Instructions Not Included (2013) (Vudu/HD) $3.75
Insurgent (2015) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $4 (Vudu/HD) $3.50
Interview, The (2014) (MA/HD) $3.25
Iron Man (2008) (MA/4K) $7.25 (iTunes/4K) $7 (GP/HD) $3
Iron Man 3 (2013) (iTunes/4K) $3 (MA/HD) $2.25 (GP/HD) $1.50
Iron Man and Hulk: Heroes United (2013) (MA/HD) $5 (GP/HD) $4
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016) (Vudu/4K) $5.25 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $2.75
Jacob's Ladder (1990) (Vudu/HD) $3.50
Jason Bourne (2016) (MA/4K) $5.25 (iTunes/4K) $3.50 (MA/HD) $3
Jaws (1975) (MA/4K) $5.75 (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $4.50
Jaws (1975) Jaws 2 (1978) Jaws 3 (1983) Jaws: The Revenge (1987) (MA/HD) $15.50
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.50
Jerry Maguire (1996) (MA/4K) $6.50
Jigsaw (2017) (Vudu/4K) $4.75 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $2
Jingle All the Way (1996) (MA/HD) $6
Joy (2015) (MA/HD) (iTunes/4K) $5
Jungle Book 2 (2003) (MA/HD) $6.50
Jungle Cruise (2021) (MA/4K) $5.50 (MA/HD) $3.75 (GP/HD) $3
Jurassic Park: The Lost World (1997) (MA/4K) $6.50 (iTunes/4K) $3.50 (MA/HD) $2.75
Jurassic World Collection 1-6 (MA/HD) $11
Jurassic World: Dominion + Extended Cut (2022) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $3.75
Justice League: War World (2023) (MA/HD) $5.50
Kandahar (2023) (MA/4K) $7
Karate Kid (1984) (MA/4K) $6.50
Kick-Ass (2010) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $5.25
Kid, The (2019) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $4.75
Killerman (2019) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3.75
Kimi (2022) (MA/4K) $6.75
King's Man (2021) (MA/HD) $4.50 (GP/HD) $3.50
Knives Out (2019) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $5
Krampus (2015) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $4.75
Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure (2001) (MA/HD) $7 (GP/HD) $5.50
Last Duel, The (2021) (MA/HD) $5.25 (GP/HD) $4
Last Full Measure (2020) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.25
Last Vegas (2013) (MA/HD) $3
Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023) (MA/4K) $7.50 (MA/HD) $7
Last Witch Hunter (2015) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $1.50
Last Word (2017) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $4.75
Leap! (2017) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3.25
Life (2017) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $2.50
Lighthouse (Vudu/HD) $5.75
Lightyear (2022) (MA/4K) $4.75 (MA/HD) $2.50 (GP/HD) $1.75
Lilo & Stitch (2002) & Stitch Has a Glitch (2005) (MA/HD) $9.50 (GP/HD) $5.50
Lion King (1994) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $4.50 (GP/HD) $2.75
Lion King 2: Simba's Pride (1998) (MA/HD) $6.25
Little Mermaid (1989) (MA/4K) $7 (iTunes/4K) $5 (GP/HD) $3.25
Little Monsters (1989) (Vudu/HD) $5.50
Little Women (2019) (MA/HD) $5.50
Lone Ranger (2013) (MA/HD) $4.50 (GP/HD) $2.50
Lone Survivor (2013) (MA/4K) $6.25 (iTunes/4K) $2 (MA/HD) $1.50
Looper (2012) (MA/HD) $2.75
Lords of Salem, The (2012) (Vudu/HD) $4.75
Lost City, The (2022) (Vudu/4K) $5.50 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5
Love Actually (2003) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $5
Lovebirds (2020) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.25
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (2022) (MA/HD) $4.25
M3GAN + Unrated (2023) (MA/HD) $5.50
Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) (MA/HD) $6.50
Marksman, The (2021) (MA/HD) $5
Marlowe (2023) (MA/HD) $6.50
Martian - Extended Cut (2015) (MA/4K) $7.75 (MA/HD) $5.25
Martian (Theatrical) (2015) (MA/4K) $7 (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $3
Mary Queen of Scots (2018) (MA/HD) $6
Maze Runner (2014) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $5.25
Meg 2: The Trench (2023) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $5
Memory (2022) (MA/HD) $4
Men (2022) (Vudu/HD) $5
Men in Black Collection 1-3 (MA/HD) $14.50
Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) (Vudu/HD) $4.75
Menu (2022) (MA/HD) $5.50
Mickey & Friends 10 Classic Shorts - Volume 2 (2023) (MA/HD) $6.25 (GP/HD) $5
Mickey & Minnie 10 Classic Shorts - Volume 1 (2023) (MA/HD) $5.25 (GP/HD) $3.75
Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983) (MA/HD) $6 (GP/HD) $4.50
Midnight Meat Train (Unrated Director's Cut) (2008) (Vudu/HD) $5
Midsommar (2019) (Vudu/HD) $5.50
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016) (MA/HD) (iTunes/4K) $3.75
Million Dollar Arm (2014) (MA/HD) $4 (GP/HD) $3
Minions (2015) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $2.50
Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) & Minions (2015) (MA/HD) $7.25
Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $5
Moonfall (2022) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $4.75
Morbius (2022) (MA/4K) $5 (MA/HD) $3
Mortal Engines (2018) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $3.50
Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2014) (MA/HD) $3.25
Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match (2023) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $5.50
Mother! (2017) (Vudu/HD) $3.25
Motherless Brooklyn (2019) (MA/HD) $3.75
Mud (2013) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3
Mulan (1998) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $5 (GP/HD) $3
Mummy, The (2017) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $2.75
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $3.75
My Fair Lady (1964) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5.50
My Girl (1991) & 2 (1994) (MA/SD) $6.50
Natural, The (1984) (MA/4K) $6
Never Grow Old (2019) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.50
New Mutants (2020) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $5 (GP/HD) $3.25
Night at the Museum 3-Movie (MA/HD) $11.50 (MA/SD) $8
No Country For Old Men (2007) (Vudu/HD) $5.50
No Hard Feelings (2023) (MA/HD) $5.50
No Time to Die (2021) (iTunes/4K) $3.50
Noah (2014) (Vudu/HD) $1.75 (iTunes/HD) $1.50
Nope (2022) (MA/HD) $5
Nope (2022), Get Out (2017) & Us (2019) (MA/HD) $9
Northman (2022) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $3.75
Notting Hill (1999) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3.75
Nun 2 (2023) (MA/HD) $6
Oblivion (2013) (MA/4K) $7 (iTunes/4K) $3.50 (MA/HD) $2
Old (2021) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $4.25
Oliver! (1968) (MA/4K) $6.50
Olympus Has Fallen (2013) (MA/HD) $5
Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood (2019) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $4.25
Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (2023) (Vudu/4K) $7
Oppenheimer (2023) (MA/HD) $7
Other Guys, The (2010) (MA/4K) $6.50
Other Woman (2014) $4.25
Ouija (2014) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.50
Outfit (2022) (MA/HD) $7
Over the Hedge (2006) (MA/HD) $6.50
Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) (MA/HD) $2 (GP/HD) $1
Pacific Rim Uprising (2018) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $4.25
ParaNorman (2012) (iTunes/HD) $5
Parasite (2019) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $4.50
Patriot Games (1992) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $5
Patriots Day (2017) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $2.50
Paul (2011) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $4.25
PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie (2023) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/4K) $6.50
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (2022) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5.25
Peppermint (2018) (iTunes/HD) $2
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013) (MA/HD) $2.25
Pet Sematary (2019) (Vudu/4K) $4 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $2.50
Pete’s Dragon (2016) (MA/HD) $6 (GP/HD) $4.25
Peter Pan (1953) (MA/HD) $6 (GP/HD) $4.50
Peter Rabbit 2 (2021) (MA/HD) $4
Philadelphia (1993) (MA/4K) $6.50
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $2.75 (GP/HD) $1.50
Pitch Perfect Collection 1-3 (MA/HD) $11.50
Plane (2023) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $6.50
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/4K) $5
Planet of the Apes 1-3 (Newer) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $10
Pocahontas (1995) (MA/HD) $6.25
Poms (2019) (iTunes/HD) $2.50
Pope's Exorcist (2023) (MA/HD) $5.75
Power Rangers (2017) (iTunes/4K) $3 (Vudu/HD) $2.50
Predator (2018) (MA/4K) $5.75 (MA/HD) $3.50
Prey for the Devil (2022) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $6.50
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016) (MA/HD) $6
Prince of Egypt (2002) (MA/HD) $5.50
Purge, The (2013) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $2.75
Puss in Boots (2011) & The Last Wish (2022) (MA/HD) $10.50
Puss in Boots (2011) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $5.50
Quantum of Solace (2008) (Vudu/HD) $5.75
R.I.P.D. (2013) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3
Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5.50
Rampage (2018) (MA/4K) $6.50
Ratatouille (2007) (MA/HD) (iTunes/4K) $7.50
Rebel Without a Cause (1955) (MA/4K) $7
Red Dawn (2012) (Vudu/HD) $5.25 (iTunes/SD) $2
Red Sparrow (2018) (MA/HD) $3.75
Reservoir Dogs (1992) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $5
Revenant, The (2015) (MA/4K) $5 (iTunes/4K) $3.75
Rhythm Section (2020) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4
Ricki And The Flash (2015) (MA/HD) $4.50
Riddick Collection 1-3 (Unrated) (MA/HD) $13.50
Rio 2 (2014) (MA/HD) $2
Rise of the Guardians (2012) (MA/HD) $3
Robin Hood (2010) (MA/4K) $6
Rock the Kasbah (2015) (MA/HD) $6.50
Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) (MA/HD) $5.25
Rudy (Director's Cut) (1993) (MA/4K) $6.50
Rumble (2022) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5.50
Russell Madness (2015) (MA/HD) $3.75
Saint Maud (2020) (Vudu/HD) $5.75
Same Kind of Different as Me (2017) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2
Savages (2012) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $2.25
Saw Collection 1-7 (Vudu/HD) $9.75
Scary Movie Collection 1-3 (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $13.50
Scoob (2020) (MA/4K) $3.25
Scream 5 (2022) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5
Scream 6 (2023) (Vudu/4K) $7 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $6.50
Scream Collection 1-3 (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $13.50
Secret Headquarters (2022) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/4K) $5.50
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $4.50
Selma (2015) (Vudu/HD) $2.75 (iTunes/HD) $2.25
Semper Fi (2019) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.25
Seriously Red (2022) (Vudu/HD) $6
Shape of Water (2017) (MA/HD) $3.25
Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015) (Vudu/HD) $3.75
Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $3.75
Sick (2023) (MA/4K) $6.75
Silent Night, Deadly Night: 3-Film Collection (1989-1991) (Vudu/HD) $5.50
Sixteen Candles (1984) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $4.25
Skyscraper (2018) (MA/4K) $5 (MA/HD) $1.75
Sleepy Hollow (1999) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $6.75
Smile (2022) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/4K) $6.25
Smokey and the Bandit (1977) (MA/4K) $6 (MA/HD) $4.50
Smokin' Aces (2007) (MA/4K) $6 (iTunes/4K) $5.50
Smurfs: The Lost Village (2017) (MA/HD) $3
Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (1937) (MA/HD) $6 (GP/HD) $3.75
Social Network (2010) (MA/4K) $6.50
Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) (Vudu/4K) $6.25 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) (Vudu/4K) $6 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4.50
Soul (2020) (MA/4K) $6 (MA/HD) $3.75 (GP/HD) $2.25
Sound of Music (1965) (MA/HD) $5.50
Space Between Us, The (2017) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.50
Spectacular Now (2013) (Vudu/HD) $3.50
Spell (2020) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/4K) $5
Spider-Man Collection 1-8 (MA/HD) $26
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) (MA/HD) $5.50
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) (MA/4K) $6.25 (MA/HD) $3.50
Spirit Untamed: The Movie (2021) (MA/HD) $5.50
Star Trek Beyond (2016) (Vudu/HD) $1.75 (iTunes/4K) $3.25
Star Trek Collection 1-3 (Vudu/HD) $9.50 (iTunes/4K) $13.50
Starship Troopers (1997) (MA/4K) $6.50
Still Alice (2015) (MA/HD) $3.25
Straight Outta Compton (Unrated Director’s Cut) (2015) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.50
Strange World (2022) (MA/HD) $5 (GP/HD) $4.25
Studio 666 (2022) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $6.25
Suburbicon (2017) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $3.25
Super Mario Bros Movie (2023) (MA/4K) $7.25 (MA/HD) $5.50
Super Troopers (2002) (MA/HD) $5.50
Superman: Red Son (2020) (MA/HD) $3.50
SW: A New Hope (1977) (MA/4K) $7 (GP/HD) $3.50
SW: Empire Strikes Back (1980) (MA/4K) $7 (GP/HD) $3.50
SW: Rise of Skywalker (2019) (MA/4K) $6 (iTunes/4K) $4.75 (GP/HD) $2.25
Sword in the Stone (1963) (MA/HD) $5.75 (GP/HD) $3.25
T2 Trainspotting (2017) (MA/HD) $7
Talk to Me (2023) (Vudu/4K) $6.50
Tar (2022) (MA/HD) $5.75
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) (Vudu/4K) $7.50 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $6.50
Thanksgiving (2023) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $5.50
Think Like a Man (2012) & Too (2014) (MA/HD) $8.50
Thor (2011) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $7 (GP/HD) $3.50
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $3.25 (GP/HD) $2
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) (MA/HD) $3.50
Ticket to Paradise (2022) (MA/HD) $5.75
Till (2022) (iTunes/4K) $6.50
Titanic (1997) (Vudu/4K) $6.50 (Vudu/HD) $4.75 (iTunes/4K) $6
TMNT Out of the Shadows (2016) (iTunes/4K) $4
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) (MA/4K) $5.75 (iTunes/4K) $4.50
Tomorrowland (2015) (MA/HD) $5.50 (GP/HD) $3.50
Top Gun: Maverick (2022) (Vudu/4K) $5.50 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5.25
Total Recall (1990) (Vudu/4K) $5 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4.75
Toy Story 1-4 (MA/4K) $23 (iTunes/4K) $21 (GP/HD) $11.50
Transformers 1-5 (Vudu/4K) $25 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $23
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023) (Vudu/4K) $7 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $6
Trauma Center (2019) (iTunes/4K) $3.25
Trolls (2016) (MA/HD) $1.25
Trolls Band Together (2023) (MA/HD) $6.50
Trolls Collection 1-2 (MA/HD) $5.75
True Story (2015) (MA/HD) $5.25
Tully (2018) (MA/HD) $5
Turbo (2013) (MA/HD) $2.50 (iTunes/SD) $1
Turning Red (2022) (MA/HD) $3.75 (GP/HD) $2.50
Turning, The (2020) (MA/HD) $5.25
Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $6.75
Uncharted (2022) (MA/4K) $5.25 (MA/HD) $3.25
Uncle Drew (2018) (Vudu/4K) $6 (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3
Under the Skin (2014) (Vudu/HD) $4.75
Underwater (2020) (MA/HD) $5.50
Underworld: Blood Wars (2016) (MA/HD) $2.25
Unfinished Business (2015) (MA/HD) $4.50
Unhinged (2020) (Vudu/HD) $4.50
Usual Suspects, The (1995) (Vudu/HD) $6
Vertigo (1958) (MA/HD) $4.75
Victor Frankenstein (2015) (MA/HD) (iTunes/4K) $5.50
Violent Night (2022) (MA/HD) $5.75
Visit (2015) (MA/HD) $4.50
Vivo (2021) (MA/HD) $4
Vow, The (2012) (MA/HD) $3.25
Voyagers (2021) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $6.25
Walking with Dinosaurs (2013) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.50
Warcraft (2016) (MA/4K) $4.50 (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $2.25
Watch, The (2012) (MA/HD) $4
Weird Science (2008) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $5.75
Whale, The (2022) (Vudu/HD) $5.75
When the Bough Breaks (2016) (MA/HD) $4.50
Where the Crawdads Sing (2022) (MA/HD) $3.75
Whiplash (2014) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $5.50
White Christmas (1954) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.50
White House Down (2013) (MA/HD) $3.25
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody (2022) (MA/HD) $4.75
Widows (2018) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $2
Witch, The (2016) (Vudu/HD) $3.50
Wolverine (Unrated) (2013) (MA/HD) $3.25
Woman King (2022) (MA/4K) $5.75 (MA/HD) $4
Wonder Park (2019) (Vudu/HD) $3.50 (iTunes/4K) $2.25
Wonder Woman: Bloodlines (2019) (MA/HD) $3
World War Z (2013) (Vudu/HD) $3.25 (iTunes/4K) $4.50
X (2022), Hereditary (2018), Witch, The (2016), Green Room (2015), It Comes at Night (2017) (Vudu/HD) $13.50
X-Men (2000), X2 (2003), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) (MA/HD) $12
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) (MA/HD) $7
X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019) (MA/HD) $6
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $2.25
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) (MA/HD) $7.50
xXx: The Return of Xander Cage (2017) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $1.25
Yesterday (2019) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $4.75
Zombieland (2009) (MA/4K) $7.25
Zombieland: Double Tap (2019) (MA/4K) $7.25 (MA/HD) $5.25
Zookeeper's Wife, The (2017) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $4
Zootopia (2016) (MA/4K) $7.25 (iTunes/4K) $5 (MA/HD) $4.50 (GP/HD) $3.25

I have too much free time, so I created an example schedule for what I'd like to see on Nick for a weekday in ~2018 - 2019 (there's barely any variety rn so I'm just gonna base this schedule between those years)

6:00 AM - Full House or George Lopez
7:00 AM - Spongebob or Loud House, if not both (Any juggernaut show)
Nick Jr:
8:00 AM - PAW Patrol
8:30 AM - Bubble Guppies
9:00 AM - Blaze and The Monster Machines, or any of the newest cartoons airing around this time.
9:30 AM - Dora The Explorer, maybe Go, Diego, Go! occasionally.
10:00 AM - Thomas & Friends, mainly the Brenner Era (S17 - S21) or model era (S1 - S12), if possible.
10:30 AM - Peppa Pig
11:00 AM - 2:00 PM - Repeats or reruns of shows from 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM or live actions shows, but there aren't any substantial live action shows during this time. Acquired programming shows that aren't as popular or are already cancelled like Team Umizoomi can also be aired. Maybe even a Nick Jr Rewind (so both nostalgic millennial/Gen Z parents can tune in along with their young kids) during this time, airing stuff like Blue Clues or even Pinwheel from the 70s, idk.
Nickelodeon: Juggernaut Cartoons (2:00 PM - 5:00 PM reserved for extremely popular shows to maximize ratings):
2:00 PM - Acquired programming like Alvinnn!!! and the Chipmunks, Power Rangers, etc.
3:00 PM - SpongeBob
4:00 PM - The Loud House
Nickelodeon: Premiere Cartoons (Newer Cartoons that need some spotlight, so a good time from 5:00 - 7:00 can help):
5:00 PM - Rise Of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or any of the newest cartoons around this time.
5:30 PM - Harvey Beaks (Good show that got done dirty, so I'd personally still have it be here airing new episodes (Basically just not cancelling the show))
6:00 PM - The Mysticons
6:30 PM - Welcome To the Wayne.
Nickelodeon: Live Action Shows (Just live action stuff or any major stuff Nick wants to air, like a movie or something):
7:00 PM - Henry Danger or the newest show or around this time.
7:30 PM - Nicky, Ricky, Dicky, and Dawn
8:00 PM - The Thundermans
8:30 PM - Any game shows or miscellaneous live action shows. Maybe an old sitcom like iCarly or Drake and Josh or something more recent like Big Time Rush.
Nick at Nite:
9:00 PM - Full House
9:30 PM - George Lopez
10:00 PM - Mom, or any new originals for Nick at Nite (if there should be any)
10:30 PM - Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, I guess, idk, any show can be here.
11:00 PM - Friends
11:30 PM - The Big Bang Theory, then Young Sheldon airs whenever it needs to (TBBT seemingly never aired on Nick at Nite, but Warner Bros can possibly see the potential in airing reruns on Nick at Nite)
Nick Rewind (Mainly the 90s shows):
12:00 AM - Hey Arnold!
12:30 AM - Rocko's Modern Life
1:00 AM - The Ren and Stimpy Show or Aaahh!!! Real Monsters
1:30 AM - The Wild Thornberrys or Rocket Power
2:00 AM - Catdog
2:30 AM - The Angry Beavers
3:00 AM - The Adventures of Pete & Pete, or repeats of what's been shown from 12:00 AM to 2:30 AM, some 2000s cartoons here, or the 90's sitcoms below.
3:30 AM - Kenan & Kel
4:00 AM - The Secret World of Alex Meck
4:30 AM - Welcome Freshmen
The shows above can change in what's aired. This is just what I think most audiences at this late night would like to see. Maybe more action shows from the 2000s like Danny Phantom or MLAATR can add variety. The shows below used to be Nickelodeon's juggernauts, having them air earlier can bring in more viewership from kids that happen to wake up really early or something. Airing right as the block starts at 12:00 AM can also bring more viewers in already familiar.
5:00 AM - Rugrats, then Rugrats All Grown Up after finishing up its run.
5:30 AM - The Fairly Oddparents (Only seasons 1 - 7, maybe 8, but never 9 - 10)
Also, if it were to be the schedule of right now, probably like an hour of each Cartoon and acquired programming, 30 minutes for the Spongebob spinoffs, and at least one more sitcom since it seems to only be Young Dylan right now - Really Loud House should've never been conceived, like, we already have The Loud House. If you noticed any missing time slots like Spongebob at 2:00 PM then Loud House at 3:00 PM, assume that the 2:30 PM time slot is taken up by the former show.
A Friday schedule would be similar to an average weekday schedule here, though there can be many differences. Nick can maximize ratings by only airing Spongebob, Loud House, Henry Danger for their entire block because nobody's watching; Nick can take the other option, centering attention on recent shows by only airing Rise of the TMNT, Harvey Beaks, Welcome to The Wayne, etc because nobody's watching...again. I'd go with the latter, but if this schedule ever existed, it'd be the former for revenue. Another change would be having Nick Rewind 90s live action shows rather than only airing cartoons or be half and half - this change can also start on a Thursday or Wednesday to air the more traditional sitcoms, and Friday be reserved for Game Shows and the likes.
Why these shows? To not pay so many residuals across different shows, keep the variety tight, and viewers watching, some shows air slightly more often like Spongebob or Loud House to reliably bring in viewership while many shows only get to air a single episode for variety sakes. PAW Patrol - or any other Nick Jr Show - and Henry Danger can easily be extended to an hour to chip off the filler slots Peppa Pig and 2000s sitcoms, respectively.

Here's how a weekend schedule - mainly for Saturday - could look:
Morning Throwback (Recent 2010s-ish cartoons no longer airing/already concluded on Nick along with popular Nick shows/IPs back in the day; better chance of to bring in viewership due to recognized IPs and merchandise potential):
6:00 AM - Rugrats
7:00 AM - The Fairly Oddparents, or other Butch Hartman cartoons like TUFF Puppy
8:00 AM - Jimmy Neutron, then Planet Sheen after Jimmy Neutron finishes up its run.
9:00 AM - Acquired Programming like Alvin and The Chipmunks, Power Rangers, etc.
10:00 AM - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012)
10:30 AM - Avatar: The Last Airbender, then followed up by The Legend of Korra after Avatar finishes its run.
11:00 AM - Winx Club
11:30 AM - Robot And Monster or Fanboy and Chum Chum, or failed 2010s Nick cartoons like The Breadwinners, The Adventure of Henry Danger, etc.
Main Cartoons (An hour of each of Nick's currently airing cartoons):
12:00 PM - SpongeBob
1:00 PM - The Loud House
2:00 PM - Harvey Beaks
3:00 PM - Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
4:00 PM - Welcome To the Wayne
Nickelodeon: Premiere Cartoons/Sitcoms (If there're any new premieres for any cartoons or live action shows, they can air here. Otherwise, just the same Live Action shows as before):
5:00 PM - Henry Danger
6:00 PM - Nicky, Ricky, Dicky, and Dawn
7:00 PM - The Thundermans (The upcoming movie can also be moved to start at 7:00 PM for time sakes if needed)
Nickelodeon: Movie Night (Just a random movie like they're always airing nowadays; at least not the same movies over and over)
8:00 PM to 11:00 PM - Top Gun (Rated PG apparently), or anything else from Nickelodeon's and Paramount's movie catalogue that's PG - PG-13. Hell, even The Godfather and R rated movies have a chance to air in my schedule which is likely obscene to air directly on a kid's channel - like on Friday nights or something, nobody's tuning in.
11:00 PM - Friends, or any new originals for Nick at Nite (if there should be any). Maybe even a recent premiere of a new show from Viacom's other TV channels like CBS, MTV, episodes of then Paramount + (CBS All Access) streaming originals that go over traditional TV runtime, etc.
Nick Rewind (Mainly 2000s shows):
12:00 AM - Invader Zim
12:30 AM - Danny Phantom
1:00 AM - My Life as a Teenage Robot
1:30 AM - As Told by Ginger
2:00 AM - Mr Meaty
2:30 AM - Unfabulous
3:00 AM - Catscratch
3:30 AM - The X's
4:00 AM - El Tigre
4:30 AM - Tak and the Power of Juju
5:00 AM - The Might B!
5:30 AM - Back at the Barnyard

Suddenly, the plane was flying upright again, both engines were operational, and the windows were intact.
Trash and debris was scattered everywhere.
We all either fell from the wall, or rolled off the pinball machines onto the floor.
The unconscious ones just laid there.
I got up and ran to Donna immediately, “Are you ok, beautiful?”, I asked.
“Yes! My knee hurts a little, but I’m ok!”, she answered.
“Sit down, Babe! I’ll rub it!”, I said.
She did, and I rubbed her knee.
Now, most peoples perception of guys in Heavy Metal bands are that they are all chauvinistic pigs, believing that they are “better” than everyone else, including their fans, or misogynistic assholes, only looking to get laid.
That perception is wrong.
Although many guys do fit that criteria, not all are like that.
I am a hopeless romantic by nature. Sue me.
Anyway, Bob then snapped his fingers, and the entire mess was cleaned up instantly.
“Ta-da!”, he said.
“What the FUCK just happened?”, Derek said angrily, sitting up and holding his hand over his left eye.
The 2 conscious girls were just sitting there holding each other crying.
“How did we…”, Ricky started to say, but grabbed the back of his head, and grimaced in pain, as he too sat up.
Corey leaned up on his left arm, and started to say, “Yeah! We were falling…”, he began.
Bob then cut him off by shouting like any worried father would, “REBECCA! Are you alright, my dear?”, as Corey got up and grabbed some napkins from the sandwich station to hold against his bottom lip.
He then took a seat at the table.
“Yes, Daddy! I’m fine!”, Rebecca answered.
“What were you thinking, dear?”, Bob asked her.
“Um! I- I don’t know! I- I saw the girls, and- and I guess I got jealous. I’m sorry, Daddy!”, she said.
“Don’t apologize to me, dear! A little plane crash wouldn’t have hurt me at all. I am the Devil, remember? You need to apologize to Mr. Hard-Sell, Donna, those two girls there, and as soon as they wake up,Tony, and the rest of the girls.”, Bob stated.
Now, in case you’re wondering why Bob didn’t tell Rebecca to apologize to Derek, Corey, Ricky, or Stephen, that’s because they would not have been killed for real. They were already dead, and would just come back to life, remember?
Bob then continued, “Now, go get changed, grab your little bandage bag, and help with the injured.”, Bob instructed.
“Yes, Daddy!”, She said embarrassingly, “It’s called a first aid kit.”
She then turned and slowly disappeared behind the curtain, her tail dragging on the floor once again.
At the same time, we heard the intercom pop again, “Sir! The craziest thing just happened. I- I don’t know. Um, I lost control, now I have control, and we’re back on course! All systems go here. I’ve got a really bad headache though, Sir!”
I didn’t think demons could feel pain, well besides getting hit with Holy Water.
Anyway, Bob then walked over to me, whispered in my right ear, “They’re going to ask questions. You’re going to have to explain this.”, he said.
I just nodded, “I know!”, I responded.
“I will tell them I did it, to take the pressure off of you, for a price of course!”, Bob said.
“”One deal per customer!”, that’s what you told Stacy!”, I said.
“I didn’t like her! I like you! So l’m willing to bend the rules, so to speak.”, Bob replied.
“No, Bob! No more deals. My first deal got me in this mess. I can just imagine what kind of fucked-up shit this one would bring. I’ll tell them the truth. I’ll tell them I did it.”, I shot back.
“Very well, Mr. Hard-Sell. Have it your way!” Bob stated, and walked away.
“What are you two talking about?”, Derek asked, now standing.
“Nothing, Dude! We’ll talk about it later!”, I said.
“Fuck that, Dude! I heard the word “Deal”, you’re not going solo like Satriani and Vai, are you?”, he asked.
“What?”, Corey asked, still covering his lip.
“Mikey! You’re leaving?”, Ricky asked, concerned.
“No, Guys! I’m not making any deals! I’m not leaving!, and I’m not going solo! We… Will Talk… About this… LATER!”, I shouted.
“Alright, Man!”, “Okay, Dude!”, “Sorry, Mikey!”, they all said in response.
Derek and Corey then went to get a beer, then sat at the table.
Ricky just stood there.
Rebecca then came back through the curtain, bouncing like she did before.
This time she wore a “Naughty Nurse’s outfit, cut lower, and higher than the stewardess outfit.
She had a Stethoscope around her neck, white stockings on her legs, a Red Cross on her hat, and a pair of those comfortable white walking shoes that real nurses wear, carrying a suitcase sized first aid kit.
“Tell me where it hurts, Boys!”, she said smiling.
“REBECCA!”, Bob yelled, as the girls stared her down.
“It was worth a try, Daddy!”, she responded, and then went to tend to the unconscious.
She used one pack of smelling salts to wake up Stephen and the girls. But had to use three to wake up Tony, who, after waking up, ran to his girls, just like I did, and began to console them.
They all appeared to be uninjured, except for a severe headache.
“Oh no! My accordion!”, Tony said loudly, then rushed to retrieve it.
He put the strap over his shoulder and played a few notes. They kinda rocked to be honest.
“Still works, Mike!”, he said and gave me a thumbs up.
Anyway, Rebecca wrapped Ricky’s head in gauze, put a huge blue Band-Aid on Derek’s forehead, after using a Sani-wipe to remove all the blood.
She then went to Corey.
In true Rebecca fashion, she slowly bent over, her cleavage directly in his face, then slowly bent her knees until they hit the floor.
She slowly leaned forward, and began dabbing his bottom lip with a gauze, softly moaning, puckering her lips, and moving closer to Corey’s face, as he tried to pull away.
She gently opened her mouth, and moved in fast to kiss Corey, when the black haired girl stood up and screamed, “Hey, He’s mine!”
She then took a step toward Rebecca, who stood up quickly, dropping the gauze, and turned to face her.
Rebecca’s eyes were extremely bright, and her tail was fully erect behind her.
I thought we were gonna see a “Cat Fight”.
But Bob intervened, as he stepped in between them, looking intensely at Rebecca.
“Stop This! Go tend to Edgar, NOW!, and stay there until you are called!… Go!”, he shouted.
Rebecca then huffed, stomped her right foot, turned around, and muttered, “Bitch!”, as she walked through the curtain.
She never did apologize.
Now, in case you’re wondering why the plane was in pristine condition, after I said what I said, but there was shit everywhere, and some of us were still injured.
Well, it’s because you have to be very specific when using this “Gift”. All I asked for was the plane to be whole again, NOT to clean up the mess, or that there wouldn’t be any injuries. Got it?
Ok! Moving on!
Slowly, we all started resuming the things we were doing before Bob had his little talk with us, and Rebecca lost her mind.
After a while, Derek stood up, and said loudly, “Are we just going to ignore the fact that we were spiraling, out of control, headed for certain death. Well, some of you were! And then all of a sudden, WHAM! BAM! THANK YOU, MA’AM! Everything is back to normal. WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT, BOB?”
“Yeah!”, Corey said.
Everyone, including Tony and the girls, began asking questions and making comments in unison, all directed at Bob.
Bob just looked at me.
I nervously stood up, put my coffee cup on the table, cleared my throat and said loudly, “Okay! Okay! Settle down!… Um, Guys!…That was me!”
They all stopped talking at that point, and just stared at me questionably.
“You?”, Donna asked.
“Yes, Babe!… Me!”, I answered.
“You see, Guys! I have a gift…” I started to say.
“What kind of gift”, Tony asked.
“Yes, Please! Tell us, Mr. Hard-Sell!”, Bob said smirking.
“You’re an asshole, Bob!”, I remarked.
Bob then took both hands, and pointed to himself. “Devil!”, he said, still smirking.
All the girls screamed in fear, “The Devil!”
“Yes, Girls! But he’s a really nice guy, once you get to know him!”, I said, “Now, do you wanna hear what I have to say or not?”
“I wanna know!”, one of the blonde girls said.
I just looked at everyone, as they looked back at me.
“Well, Um!”, I started to say, dreading their response once I said it.
I took a deep breath, exhaled, and said, “I have the ability to get anything I want, all I have to do is say I want it.”
I used air quotes when I used the word want the second time.
I expected a barrage of requests, just like my parents did, but that did not happen.
The only question I got asked was from Stephen, “Have you ever used it on us, Dude?
I paused, then answered, “I’ve only used it a couple times, but, um, as far as I can remember, I only used it on you guys twice.”
“When?” Ricky asked.
“Um! Once, at the house, when we played all the songs perfectly, and once, also at the house, when Derek was doubting himself!”, I replied.
Everyone just looked at each other individually.
Derek than shrugged his shoulders, and said, “Cool!”
Everyone just agreed, and went back to what they were doing.
I sat down, wiping the sweat off my brow.
“I… want… you!”, Donna said smiling, and then kissed me.
The sun was starting to set as nightfall was slowly creeping in.
We sat and watched the sunset together, my arm around her shoulder, her head on mine.
I know you probably don’t care about all the lovey-dovey stuff between Donna and I, but it’s my story, so deal with it!
Anyway, the cabin lights turned on, dimly lighting up the room.
“Who wants to jam?”, Derek said.
The four of us then screamed, “Rock and Roll!” and began heading toward the “Gear” room, excited and ready to play
Tony grabbed his accordion.
Tony, Bob, and all the girls followed behind us.
Derek opened up the door.
What we saw… was the most horrific sight that any musician ever wants to see.
Our gear was completely destroyed.
I guess Bob only cleaned up the mess in the Hangout Room, because he knew about that mess. He had no idea what happened in the Gear Room.
Anyway, Two of the Marshall stacks had fallen on the drum kit, smashing them to the ground, all the guitars, except for one, were broken, their necks severed from their bases, with strings still attached, and strewn all over the room.
The one fully intact guitar, my coffee cup one, was spare headed, neck first, into one of the stacks.
The pedals and plug-ins were scattered everywhere.
The microphone stands were bent, and laying on the floor.
“Our endorsements!”, Ricky said.
“They’re trashed!”, Corey said.
We all just stood there in awe of what we saw.
“Can you fix this?”, Tony’s redhead asked.
“Yeah, Man! Do something, please!”, Derek said.
I walked into the room, thought about what I was going to say, took a deep breath, and said, “I want all of our gear to be returned to the condition they were in when we first toured this plane.”
In the blink of an eye, all our gear was back to pristine condition.
“Yeah, Baby!”, Derek shouted.
“You the Man, Dude!”, Corey said.
“No Fucking Way… You Rock!”, Ricky said, slapping me on the back.
“That’s freakin’ awesome!”, Stephen said.
“You did good, Babe!”, Donna said smiling.
We all then took our places,
Stephen went behind the drum kit. I grabbed my coffee cup guitar, Ricky grabbed his skull guitar, Derek grabbed his Black bass, and Corey stood behind the microphone. Ricky, Derek, and I plugged in, Corey turned his mic on, and we all just stood there.
We must have looked like something out of a car wreck, with Ricky looking like a mummy in his head wrap, Derek with his big blue, not noticeable at all, bandage on his forehead, and Corey with his busted lip.
Tony, holding his accordion, all the girls, and Bob, gathered in front of us.
“In My Heart!”, I called out. That’s a another song I wrote.
Stephen counted it off, and we jammed that song, while everyone, including Bob, was head banging, and rocking out.
Tony was mimicking playing the song on the accordion.
“Tear it down!”, I called out, when we finished “In my heart”.
That’s yet another… you get the idea, right?
Anyway, we played two more songs.
After the fourth song, we heard Edgar’s nasally voice once again, but it wasn’t from the intercom.
“Bravo!…Bravo… Encore!”, he said clapping from the doorway.
Everyone in the “audience” turned to look at him, the band just stepped to the side.
“Who’s flying the plane?”, Stephen asked.
“Rebecca!”, Edgar replied laughing.
We all began to freak out.
“Nah! I’m just kidding! I put the autopilot on!” Edgar quickly said, “I tried to page Mr. Belz to the cockpit, but he never came. I guess he couldn’t hear me. So, I came down here to get him. I heard your little concert, and came to have a listen. You guys rock!”
“What do you need Edgar?”, Bob asked.
“Well, Sir!…”, Edgar replied, “It’s almost time to land, and Um! I don’t know how to do that, Sir!”

The mysterious and tragic disappearances of entire planetary civilizations aside, I would say things were looking up. It was no longer a battle for every breath, only a small skirmish. My shoulder was regaining mobility, the monsters were small in comparison to Brad, and Ted was giving me yet another silent treatment. Bliss is the word of the day. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Not the Ted part; he wouldn’t talk to me.
The gravity in this place decided to do its own thing yet again when the far wall in front of me quickly turned into a floor. I was headed towards it fast. There was nothing I could do but brace for impact. Being knocked out this many times in a row can't be good for a guy. I’m going to have some serious issues when I’m older.
I wish I could say I had another dream while I was out, another insight into a lost civilization or microorganism like before, but no such luck. Whoever sent it last time was either asleep on the job or simply had nothing more to show me. That’s fine. I’m more of an active participant type guy when it comes to the creation of life. Never was the type that could just watch.
Thankfully, the Jim-bobs didn’t fall for the same trap I did. They waited for me. When they were sure I wasn’t dead, they stomped and chittered from their position, far away from me, and the sudden shift gravity decided to inflict upon me.
“Urgh,” was all I could manage as I rolled over to stare up at my friends. There they were, clung to a wall, or... the floor? Fifteen to twenty feet away from me. They didn’t want to take the dive, and I don’t blame them. We sat there, staring at each other, wondering how we would reunite before we each decided this would be goodbye.
I waved, and they sent their vibrations to feet that could never comprehend their meaning. I was going to miss those ugly guys. One by one, they turned back and crested a corner until I was left staring up at nothing. To be honest, I would have left earlier, but I twisted my ankle something fierce. I had to give it a moment.
“Welp, guess I should hobble away,” I prompted to Ted.
Nothing: Ted was really giving it to me this time.
With a grunt and a heave, near stability came to me, and I shambled along, back on my path. That brought a swift end to my good times. Especially the sore feet.
Have you ever read the book "1984"? Of course you haven’t. You haven’t even hatched yet. There’s a quote, and I find it particularly appropriate in times like this.
“Of pain you could wish only one thing: that it should stop. Nothing in the world was so bad as physical pain. In the face of pain, there are no heroes, no heroes...”
Yeah, seriously, ouch. I’m going to have to buy myself a new pair of feet: these two are good and truly shot. You know what I need? A good shot of adrenaline to remind me pain is only physical. Hey, guess what happened next.
I found there was only one way to go, so I went. The usual wet sticky sounds one's foot made when walking were unusually loud here; that isn’t good, and the sounds of clicking along the way weren’t comforting either. Sounds, in a place like this, are never good. Either friend or foe, the maker of sounds, should always be avoided. They are either the cause of harm, or lead harm to you.
The effort to lift my foot increased proportionally to the increased volume my feet made. Just what you need with a bad ankle. It was like the floor was crawling up my foot and biting down on rubber soles. I had to tear it free every time. First, I lost a boot. That’s fine. It was threadbare by now, but then came my socks. I can’t get new socks in a place like this, so naturally, I fought to keep those. It was a losing battle. I hated to leave behind anything from Earth. I kept losing familiar things to the unfamiliar. Then I was rendered completely immobile.
“The heck?” were the words that came to mind, then “oh crap!” came after. Both figuratively and literally.
The cause of the “oh crap?” Along came a spider. About half a million of them. I suppose “spider” wouldn’t be accurate. You know, I heard once, that the human mind can capture and process the image of a spider before it can do the same with food. Priorities, right? Probably why every conversation about spiders devolves into “BURN THE HOUSE DOWN!” Personally, I liked spiders, but these things were worse. They triggered that same mental reflex, but upon further examination, if you can bring yourself to linger on them, you could see they were nothing like spiders. Even a spider would look upon one and say “that’s way too many legs.” Or perhaps they too would ask “WHERE'S THE FLAME-THROWER!?” if unlucky enough to capture one in its web.
“Kaboom,” went the Tedidian gun, and about a thousand of them were vaporized, along with a good chunk of floor, and a thousand more took their place.
“Kaboom! Kaboom!” It was no use.
I turned the gun on myself. What was it? Hamlet's conundrum—"to be or not to be." To suffer the slings and arrows of the mob, or to die by one's own hands. I think that’s what it means, though I never was good at subtext. More of a Michael Bay type of guy. Give me explosions. Have a cool guy walking away as he flicks out a spent cigarette. Macho—can’t get enough.
That’s twice now I’ve waxed poetic out of loneliness. I’ve made it nine hours through a Ted-imposed silent treatment, and I’m already contemplating nobler things. I need a hobby.
If I had a greater cause, I might be quoting something different. I might stand tall blasting and shouting, “ask not the reason why, ask but to do and die.” I’m not that man, though. I was left staring at a literal wave of incomprehensibly terrifying monsters, wondering, “Should I pull the trigger?” I suppose it makes me a coward. It’s not my fault. Being a coward was something that happened to someone, not what they are. Bravery has happened to me plenty of times too, maybe it’s time cowardice happened to me.
I suppose you’d like to hear what happened next. You aren’t interested in philosophy, are you? Neither am I, to be honest. “Eat me after I die,” I always thought. “Not before.” But these things looked like they could multitask.
I heard a mechanical clink of metal, over the swarming chatter of sharp legs, then my whole world went ablaze. I shut my eyes to keep the outrageous light out, but the smell of burning hair? The smoke and charred meat? That was stitched into my nostrils for the rest of time. Was this the creepy-crawlies' doing? Are they cooking me alive? My finger wrapped around the odd alien trigger and began to squeeze, but I realized I hadn’t actually felt pain yet.
I was waiting for the cue. With eyes shut, waiting for the feeling of sharp pointy fangs, the expanding pain of heat, or paralysis-induced venom, if these things were equipped with such weapons. I would feel that, and know it was time to end my travels, but it never came.
Tentatively, I opened my eyes. The fire still burned, but in broad sweeping motions. It was being sprayed outwards as if wielded by a small exterminator. Was I rescued? Did someone gaze upon this ugly damaged ape and deem him worthier than all the other creatures of the crypt? Did someone break protocol and save prey from predator on this safari? It seemed someone had.
Small white robotic things torched every living being in sight, save for me. I stood motionless. Perhaps they hadn’t seen me. Perhaps this giant pillar of a crypt monster is unseen or unseeable by their robotic eyes. Did they even have eyes? I never saw any. One did see me, and it approached me.
It moved to me laterally. If I were the engineer in charge of building these things, I would have turned them ninety degrees. They walked sideways, though who am I to determine which way is front on someone else’s robot. It was squat like a crab too, had many little claw-like manipulators, and an ever-burning torch about its midsection, which it expanded into a stream, using it to free me. I expected pain, but it had an apparent masterful knowledge of fire and its practical uses. It did not burn me, only what it was intended to burn, the sticky sap-like floor.
“Uh—thank you?”
The largest white metal plate on top illuminated in a short blink.
“I’ll take that as a ‘you’re welcome.’ Stick with me, and maybe I can return the favor.” I pointed to myself with my thumbs.
I know. Presumptuous of me to ask them to stick with me when they were the prepared ones. They thought to send robots capable of saving themselves. Or—what if they weren’t robots? Is there a little man inside piloting them? Are they living creatures themselves, growing metallic exoskeletons? Perhaps—if I could just pry one open and look inside, my curiosity could be sated. I wonder if they tasted like crab too. No—I—I shouldn’t. It might offend them. They were all I had now.
In total, I counted five of them, and they did a professional's job at clearing the path. No bug was safe in their line of fire. No bug smaller than three inches, that is. There’s always a bigger one. I should have expected as much by now.
There was, of course, only one way forward. This being right into the path of mamma and pappa. Yeah, those things the crabs destroyed were babies. Imagine how the parents reacted. Pretty much exactly how you’d expect.
I was still in no condition to run, but when the robots found that fire was ineffective against the bigger ones, they left me behind.
“No, it’s okay, I’ll fight them off on my own!” I shouted. After them.
Forward, into their gaping maws, was still the only way to run, regardless. The crabs zipped around, confusing the stomping, stabbing appendages of the beasts, until one, then two made it through. The third wasn’t so lucky. It swerved left, then right, then right into the waiting jaws of the beast. It smashed to pieces. Goodbye new friend. Is it bad I'm jealous of the monsters? I haven't had crab in a very long time. I doubt aliens would taste anything like crabs, but if I closed my eyes, just maybe—
“BANG BANG!” went my gun. With the crabs out of the way, I dropped the two monsters like a sack of potatoes.
“Told ya I’d pay you back!” I shouted.
The retreating mechanical clinks paused, then slowly returned. It must have been a cool sight: me with a smoking gun standing over the dead bodies of two incomprehensibly terrifying monsters. Total 180 from where I was moments before. I was back, baby. Yeah—I know it helps when you've been given alien technology.

The mysterious and tragic disappearances of entire planetary civilizations aside, I would say things were looking up. It was no longer a battle for every breath, only a small skirmish. My shoulder was regaining mobility, the monsters were small in comparison to Brad, and Ted was giving me yet another silent treatment. Bliss is the word of the day. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Not the Ted part; he wouldn’t talk to me.
The gravity in this place decided to do its own thing yet again when the far wall in front of me quickly turned into a floor. I was headed towards it fast. There was nothing I could do but brace for impact. Being knocked out this many times in a row can't be good for a guy. I’m going to have some serious issues when I’m older.
I wish I could say I had another dream while I was out, another insight into a lost civilization or microorganism like before, but no such luck. Whoever sent it last time was either asleep on the job or simply had nothing more to show me. That’s fine. I’m more of an active participant type guy when it comes to the creation of life. Never was the type that could just watch.
Thankfully, the Jim-bobs didn’t fall for the same trap I did. They waited for me. When they were sure I wasn’t dead, they stomped and chittered from their position, far away from me, and the sudden shift gravity decided to inflict upon me.
“Urgh,” was all I could manage as I rolled over to stare up at my friends. There they were, clung to a wall, or... the floor? Fifteen to twenty feet away from me. They didn’t want to take the dive, and I don’t blame them. We sat there, staring at each other, wondering how we would reunite before we each decided this would be goodbye.
I waved, and they sent their vibrations to feet that could never comprehend their meaning. I was going to miss those ugly guys. One by one, they turned back and crested a corner until I was left staring up at nothing. To be honest, I would have left earlier, but I twisted my ankle something fierce. I had to give it a moment.
“Welp, guess I should hobble away,” I prompted to Ted.
Nothing: Ted was really giving it to me this time.
With a grunt and a heave, near stability came to me, and I shambled along, back on my path. That brought a swift end to my good times. Especially the sore feet.
Have you ever read the book "1984"? Of course you haven’t. You haven’t even hatched yet. There’s a quote, and I find it particularly appropriate in times like this.
“Of pain you could wish only one thing: that it should stop. Nothing in the world was so bad as physical pain. In the face of pain, there are no heroes, no heroes...”
Yeah, seriously, ouch. I’m going to have to buy myself a new pair of feet: these two are good and truly shot. You know what I need? A good shot of adrenaline to remind me pain is only physical. Hey, guess what happened next.
I found there was only one way to go, so I went. The usual wet sticky sounds one's foot made when walking were unusually loud here; that isn’t good, and the sounds of clicking along the way weren’t comforting either. Sounds, in a place like this, are never good. Either friend or foe, the maker of sounds, should always be avoided. They are either the cause of harm, or lead harm to you.
The effort to lift my foot increased proportionally to the increased volume my feet made. Just what you need with a bad ankle. It was like the floor was crawling up my foot and biting down on rubber soles. I had to tear it free every time. First, I lost a boot. That’s fine. It was threadbare by now, but then came my socks. I can’t get new socks in a place like this, so naturally, I fought to keep those. It was a losing battle. I hated to leave behind anything from Earth. I kept losing familiar things to the unfamiliar. Then I was rendered completely immobile.
“The heck?” were the words that came to mind, then “oh crap!” came after. Both figuratively and literally.
The cause of the “oh crap?” Along came a spider. About half a million of them. I suppose “spider” wouldn’t be accurate. You know, I heard once, that the human mind can capture and process the image of a spider before it can do the same with food. Priorities, right? Probably why every conversation about spiders devolves into “BURN THE HOUSE DOWN!” Personally, I liked spiders, but these things were worse. They triggered that same mental reflex, but upon further examination, if you can bring yourself to linger on them, you could see they were nothing like spiders. Even a spider would look upon one and say “that’s way too many legs.” Or perhaps they too would ask “WHERE'S THE FLAME-THROWER!?” if unlucky enough to capture one in its web.
“Kaboom,” went the Tedidian gun, and about a thousand of them were vaporized, along with a good chunk of floor, and a thousand more took their place.
“Kaboom! Kaboom!” It was no use.
I turned the gun on myself. What was it? Hamlet's conundrum—"to be or not to be." To suffer the slings and arrows of the mob, or to die by one's own hands. I think that’s what it means, though I never was good at subtext. More of a Michael Bay type of guy. Give me explosions. Have a cool guy walking away as he flicks out a spent cigarette. Macho—can’t get enough.
That’s twice now I’ve waxed poetic out of loneliness. I’ve made it nine hours through a Ted-imposed silent treatment, and I’m already contemplating nobler things. I need a hobby.
If I had a greater cause, I might be quoting something different. I might stand tall blasting and shouting, “ask not the reason why, ask but to do and die.” I’m not that man, though. I was left staring at a literal wave of incomprehensibly terrifying monsters, wondering, “Should I pull the trigger?” I suppose it makes me a coward. It’s not my fault. Being a coward was something that happened to someone, not what they are. Bravery has happened to me plenty of times too, maybe it’s time cowardice happened to me.
I suppose you’d like to hear what happened next. You aren’t interested in philosophy, are you? Neither am I, to be honest. “Eat me after I die,” I always thought. “Not before.” But these things looked like they could multitask.
I heard a mechanical clink of metal, over the swarming chatter of sharp legs, then my whole world went ablaze. I shut my eyes to keep the outrageous light out, but the smell of burning hair? The smoke and charred meat? That was stitched into my nostrils for the rest of time. Was this the creepy-crawlies' doing? Are they cooking me alive? My finger wrapped around the odd alien trigger and began to squeeze, but I realized I hadn’t actually felt pain yet.
I was waiting for the cue. With eyes shut, waiting for the feeling of sharp pointy fangs, the expanding pain of heat, or paralysis-induced venom, if these things were equipped with such weapons. I would feel that, and know it was time to end my travels, but it never came.
Tentatively, I opened my eyes. The fire still burned, but in broad sweeping motions. It was being sprayed outwards as if wielded by a small exterminator. Was I rescued? Did someone gaze upon this ugly damaged ape and deem him worthier than all the other creatures of the crypt? Did someone break protocol and save prey from predator on this safari? It seemed someone had.
Small white robotic things torched every living being in sight, save for me. I stood motionless. Perhaps they hadn’t seen me. Perhaps this giant pillar of a crypt monster is unseen or unseeable by their robotic eyes. Did they even have eyes? I never saw any. One did see me, and it approached me.
It moved to me laterally. If I were the engineer in charge of building these things, I would have turned them ninety degrees. They walked sideways, though who am I to determine which way is front on someone else’s robot. It was squat like a crab too, had many little claw-like manipulators, and an ever-burning torch about its midsection, which it expanded into a stream, using it to free me. I expected pain, but it had an apparent masterful knowledge of fire and its practical uses. It did not burn me, only what it was intended to burn, the sticky sap-like floor.
“Uh—thank you?”
The largest white metal plate on top illuminated in a short blink.
“I’ll take that as a ‘you’re welcome.’ Stick with me, and maybe I can return the favor.” I pointed to myself with my thumbs.
I know. Presumptuous of me to ask them to stick with me when they were the prepared ones. They thought to send robots capable of saving themselves. Or—what if they weren’t robots? Is there a little man inside piloting them? Are they living creatures themselves, growing metallic exoskeletons? Perhaps—if I could just pry one open and look inside, my curiosity could be sated. I wonder if they tasted like crab too. No—I—I shouldn’t. It might offend them. They were all I had now.
In total, I counted five of them, and they did a professional's job at clearing the path. No bug was safe in their line of fire. No bug smaller than three inches, that is. There’s always a bigger one. I should have expected as much by now.
There was, of course, only one way forward. This being right into the path of mamma and pappa. Yeah, those things the crabs destroyed were babies. Imagine how the parents reacted. Pretty much exactly how you’d expect.
I was still in no condition to run, but when the robots found that fire was ineffective against the bigger ones, they left me behind.
“No, it’s okay, I’ll fight them off on my own!” I shouted. After them.
Forward, into their gaping maws, was still the only way to run, regardless. The crabs zipped around, confusing the stomping, stabbing appendages of the beasts, until one, then two made it through. The third wasn’t so lucky. It swerved left, then right, then right into the waiting jaws of the beast. It smashed to pieces. Goodbye new friend. Is it bad I'm jealous of the monsters? I haven't had crab in a very long time. I doubt aliens would taste anything like crabs, but if I closed my eyes, just maybe—
“BANG BANG!” went my gun. With the crabs out of the way, I dropped the two monsters like a sack of potatoes.
“Told ya I’d pay you back!” I shouted.
The retreating mechanical clinks paused, then slowly returned. It must have been a cool sight: me with a smoking gun standing over the dead bodies of two incomprehensibly terrifying monsters. Total 180 from where I was moments before. I was back, baby. Yeah—I know it helps when you've been given alien technology.

[First] [Previous] [Next]
Edited by WaveOfWire
- - - - -
Two days… It had been two days that Tracy had gone to sleep while Harrison was working, only to come back in the morning to see him still in the workshop. She knew he was damn productive, sure, but that really couldn’t be healthy. Apparently, it had something to do with the weird bowl of orange… soup… that Cera gave him. No way was it just caffeine; any amount of the stuff would have been filtered out of his system by now. He mentioned a tingling feeling too…
Damn, she did not know enough about drugs to even start assuming what that massive alien had Harrison fucked up on. At least the scanner said he was ‘fine’—if you ignore the other glaring issues the machine brought up. Plus, he said he didn’t mind it. Either way, he managed to complete the weaving component and a few other electrical backbones of the fabricator last night, so the project was practically done, and after seeing the engineer work himself half to death, she was dead-set on finishing it.
She was currently tits-deep into the upper manufacturing portion of the towering machine. It took a tall step-stool—on top of the nearby desk—for her to push her small shoulders through the even smaller access panels high on the everything-printer. It was difficult to fit her torso in, but she managed, holding a flashlight between her teeth as she fiddled with a stubborn series of mechanical ‘hands.’ Nothing new. The situation reminded her of the ‘shop back on Mars; it had the same ever-present scent of copper and industrial sealant. All that was missing was her dad’s ancient tunes blasting through some shitty speakers… Hold on…
The modular component in her grip was successfully attached with a resonating thock. Tracy squirmed out of the dim wire-filled crevice, trying her best to not rip her only tank-top on any bolts or corners, and getting a face-full of the bright flood-lights illuminating the workshop. She scowled and blocked out the searing light with a hand, but she was a bit too late to avoid going half-blind.
“Are the mechanical manipulators in?” Harrison grunted, poking his head out underneath the printer’s floor-adjacent maintenance hatch. She looked down at him as she tried to blink off the spots in her vision. His hair was messy, barely kept in line by his habit of combing through it with his fingers. The areas around his eyes were dark and sunken… Guess that’s what two all-nighters did to a man. He’d be seeing the hat man or start hallucinating if he didn’t get any sleep soon… but then again, the two of them were so close to finishing the fabricator…
“You bet.” She gave him a thumbs up, slamming the panel cover closed. “Feel free to test it.”
He nodded and slid back underneath the machine. “Gotcha”
She gently stepped off the stool and slid off the side of the desk, stretching herself out. If her piss-poor sitting posture or her tank-top puppies hadn’t already fucked her spine up, bending over backward to build this fabricator sure as hell would. She sat down next to the panel where Harrison resided, resting her back against the fabrication tower. Her excited voice broke the muffled noises of the engineer’s work. “So… Harrison?”
“Hmm—”
“—Mind if I play some music?”
The sounds from the hatch stopped, followed by his muffled, shocked tone echoing from beneath the fabricator. “You have music!?”
She smirked at seeing the expression on his face when his head popped out again. “I sure do… Did you seriously not download any to your data pad?”
He slipped out from beneath the fabricator fully, huffing as he took a knee beside her. The scent of melded rubber, wire, and his liquid labor reached her nose not-so-unpleasantly. “You would not believe how much of a pain it is to repair an entire barracks without it… So, yeah, I didn’t.”
“Sooooooooo, whatcha wanna listen to? I’ve got almost everything on here—besides the super niche, of course.” She pulled her data pad out, swiping to the massive music folder
“You wouldn’t like the kinda music I listen to; It’s ancient.”
She gave him a lighthearted, annoyed glare. “Welcome to the club… Now what’ll it be?”
“It’s Old Earth kind of ancient… but alright” He looked up at the ceiling in thought, lips pursed. “Do you have anything from Styx or Sweet?”
She stared at him incredulously, her smirk turning into a fully-fledged smile. “Oh my God. You are an absolute dork! You actually listen to Golden Age music?”
His brows raised, accusatory. “And you somehow know exactly who those bands were and what age of Old Earth music they came from?”
She smugly leaned in closer. “That’s because I’m just as much of a nerd with that kinda music as you apparently are.” She quickly looked upward, addressing the workshop AI. “Sebas, connect nearby speakers to my data pad’s audio.” Tracy elbowed the engineer lightly as the PA system chirped its affirmation. “Now, Mr. Golden Age music, which albums do ya want me to queue up?”
- - - - -
The two of them listened to music for hours, tossing on songs they liked as they came to mind while they worked. Harrison had a ton of recommendations that spanned all over the Golden Ages and some twenty-first century classics. She didn’t even know half of them, but she was vibing either way, adding on her own taste by intermingling some older rock tracks and newer electronic beats. The playlist was steadily built up as the day went on. Thank God her dad showed her a vast array of tunes; she might not have been able to keep up with the engineer if her old man hadn't.
It made the work go by so fast, their conversations blurring as they jumped from topic to topic. They discussed whatever came to mind—old hobbies, old jobs, and old interests. A lot was left behind in Sol… At least she knew that the only other human on the planet was more interesting than a soulless workaholic. It turned out that he was a pretty big history buff, and he apparently read a lot about the colonization of the Sol system and the various wars of independence thereafter. Curious, she asked where the interest stemmed from, and he explained that his grandfather was an admiral in the Slavic-Europan deep-ice submarine fleet, which explained how Harrison’s mother was able to afford to immigrate to Mars from Europa.
He could also play an acoustic guitar, and, unfortunately for Tracy, he wasn’t even the slightest bit interested in printing one out, citing that it was a waste of time and material that would be better used elsewhere. That didn’t stop her from writing a note on her data pad to do so later, though. She hadn’t seen someone play one of those in years—the last time was probably in some old music video from the early twenty-second century. What a shame. She would have liked to hear some of the Europan songs his grandmother taught him.
On the bright side, the man seemed to take an interest in her odd hobbies. He brought up the folder of 3D models that she accidentally uploaded to the inter-module system and asked where she got the inspiration for what was in it. Boy, was he not ready for her ‘WarHalberd40k’ lore dump. Props to the guy for not standing up and leaving the workshop throughout her rambling. He even asked questions about the different factions and their weapons, which she was more than happy to talk about.
She also ended up going over the other franchises and hobbies she was interested in, such as robotics and the like. The only interruptions to their chat were the occasional Akula or Craftsman asking for insight regarding the various tasks he had allotted to them, or Shar coming in to check up on Harrison between guard shifts.
The new dynamic of the group was pretty interesting, to say the least. Tracy hadn’t been out to interact with the whole lot of Malkrin, but she definitely noticed how they treated the engineer. They’d started to look up to him in a way ever since he started showing off technology. In a little over two days, the man had shown them that he could provide the materials for a brick house, fine clothing—especially by the alien’s standards—armor, and delicious food. That wasn’t even mentioning the other benefits the technician heard a few of the ‘banished’ talking about over their meals: heating, electric lights, and other assorted machines.
She’d be feeling pretty happy about herself if she was in his position, having so many look up to him and be grateful at the same time. He seemed to view it a lot more robotically, however, only striving to get the basics done. Luckily for him, his basics were their luxury.
That wasn’t all there was to the topic; the engineer lamented about how the colony was going through food just as quickly as materials. The meals weren’t the direct issue he had, more that he had to start focusing on long-term resource harvesting rather than directly preparing for a literal horde of monsters—which wasn’t exactly ideal. It was a good thing that they just so happened to take on an influx of Malkrin then…
Either way, they finally finished the ‘totally legal modification’ for the fabricator, meaning they could at least partially address the latter half of his worries. The whole process of ripping out an old printer and replacing the parts for a new one felt a lot easier than she imagined… even if it took her at least forty-eight hours to complete it… with help from Harrison. Maybe that was why it felt so easy… She supposed the colony overseers didn’t choose the man for no reason, so his skills made sense.
“So… what do we want to print out first?” Tracy questioned, having finished testing the last major component.
The engineer stretched his arms up into the air and rotated his shoulders, then pulled back the desk’s chair and took a seat. “I’ve had just one thing in mind since the start of this whole project.”
Her brows raised in a mix of excitement and curiosity. She leaned forward, looking at the computer monitor from over his shoulder. “Oh? What’s that, then?”
A smirk formed along his cheek, the computer mouse rapidly clicking through the blueprint folder. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about what kind of firearm we need since I started dabbling in belt-fed weapon systems.” He opened one final file, a short loading bar preceding the exploded assembly view of… “An M2 Browning machine gun. It’s more than powerful enough to kill in one shot, while also being capable of fully-automatic fire, with a capacity of however many rounds we want in a belt-box.”
“Uh…huh…” She gave a skeptical nod and took a step back, not exactly sold on the idea. “It looks ancient. It’s kinetic, right? Why aren’t we using energy-based weapons? Don’t we have a gunpowder shortage coming up?”
He moved his chair off to the side to look back at her. “We just can’t; Simple as. We’ll need who knows how many more AI cores before we can get started on that level of equipment, Trace,” he huffed, returning his gaze to the specifications of the firearm. “This isn’t the most ‘modern’ weapon we can make, but its twenty-first century counterpart helps with an improved design… somewhat. And, as I said before, it should be more than capable of killing a bug in one shot, so Shar can just tap-fire it to save ammunition.”
Her head tilted quizzically. “Shar?”
“Yup,” he returned confidently. “It’s the perfect weapon for her.”
She raised a brow. “How so?”
He held his hand up, counting his reasons on his fingers. “She’s always on the front line with a shield, she can absolutely handle the weight and recoil, her four arms make reloading it simple, plus she’ll need something with range and power that isn’t a spear. So, why not? And, if for some reason, she doesn’t want to use it, we can just convert it into a turret—which is something I was planning on doing anyways with however more M2s we print out later.”
“I doubt she’ll say no to any gun you give her,” Tracy chuckled while shaking her head, inadvertently causing her bangs to cover her eyes.
“Fair enough,” he conceded with a bob of his head. “What do you think, then? What kinda weapons do you have in mind?”
She reapplied her goggles into an impromptu hairband, feeling a smirk cross her face. “Thought you’d never ask. What purpose do we need these guns to fulfill? Hordes I’m guessing?”
“That’s the idea, yeah. That doesn’t mean they all need to be machine guns, though.” He tapped the belt-fed shotgun beside him.
“Well, lemme see what we’re working with first.” She suddenly stepped forward, leaning over Harrison’s seat to access the keyboard and mouse. Her arms briefly rubbed against him, forcing him to roll his chair backward. She suppressed a giggle at seeing his incredulous frown.
Her eyes quickly traced the hundreds of individual files, clicking through all sorts of folders, each arranged from pre-twenty-first century ‘antiques,’ to more modern iterations of kinetics and particle weaponry. There was… a lot on there—almost too much to reasonably comb through. Why? Did the colony overseers just say ‘fuck it’ and put whatever they could find on here? Were they expecting the pioneers to make a museum of everything?
She sighed, standing up straight and facing Harrison. “Y’know, I’m actually impressed you managed to find that M2-whatever in there…”
He shifted in his seat, resting an elbow on the desk. “Yup, there’s a lot. I’m almost tempted to just make several of those machine guns and just call it a day, but I feel like that’d be too much of a strain on resources, no?”
“I don’t really know enough about how you fight those spider-crab things, or how to get more gunpowder, so… maybe?” She shrugged, biting her cheek in contemplation. “You might just wanna make a few smaller caliber weapons… like, uh… those old kinetic service rifles. If your pump-action shotgun works fine, I’m sure some normal guns would work just fine for now, right?”
He hardily gripped his firearm, hauling it up to his lap. “Depends on what you mean by ‘smaller caliber.’ The whole reason why the KS-23 here works—” he pulled out a massive shell from the ammo belt, displaying it on his palm. “—is because the twenty-three-millimeter round has enough energy transfer to mess up any bug's shell and insides. I’d say the smallest rounds we could use would be point-two-forty-three caliber to get any similar results.”
Brief flickers of grungy orange shells and gnashing teeth marred Tracy’s sight. She forcibly suppressed them, distracting herself with dry humor and a strained laugh. “Guess those fuckers can really take a punch, huh?”
He shook his head somberly. “I couldn’t imagine going up against them without a gun… Anyway, I like your idea of a standard rifle for now. Then, when we have some product lines up, we can go a little more in depth into personal weapons.”
“So are you gonna take one?” She hopped up on the desk, letting her legs swing off the side.
“Don’t think so, no. I’ll stick with my shotty.” The internals of the heavily modified weapon rattled as he held it up and inspected it. “Doesn’t mean I’ll keep it as is. I’m thinking of printing a laser aiming module so I can point-fire it accurately, and maybe a melee-oriented muzzle brake or a lighter chassis to reduce weight… Not sure though.”
She leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees, her cheeks in her palms. “Melee-oriented? Oooooh, like a chain-sword or something?”
His short chuckle coerced a smirk to her face. “No, not like that. More something to use as a bludgeoning tool. Right before the blood-moon, I ended up getting just as much use out of this shotgun as a hammer than as a… well, a shotgun.”
“That’s pretty fuckin’ metal. So are you just gonna make the barrel into a giant bayonet?”
He nodded. “Not exactly a bayonet, but something more like a door-breaching break.”
A short silence settled on their conversation, the faint sounds of the fabricator’s hum and distant woodwork coming to light. Right, there was an outside world… She’d been too caught up talking to Harrison for however many hours it had been. She wondered how successful the fisherwomen were in collecting, and how things had been for the others working on the wood storage shack. Maybe it was already completed? The sun peered through the cargo bay door, proving that it was only about midday. What else would they work on today?
“Hey,” she ventured.
“Hm?” the engineer hummed, his eyes focused on the monitor beside the technician.
She scooted closer to his keyboard. “What’re we doing after this?”
“What do you mean?”
She leaned backward, propping herself up on two hands. “Project wise; what’s the next big thing?”
“Uhmmm…” he muttered, interacting with the computer for a few more seconds before finally meeting her gaze. “Well, I’ve just allocated the fabricator to print out the M2, three FALs—wood furniture, of course—then there’s the magazines and ammunition, so we’ve got a lot of time to kill. The next big thing is definitely going to be metal procurement, and— Oh, right!” Harrison stopped mid-sentence, reaching into his backpack and pulling out several finger-sized metallic cubes, a sudden fire in his eyes. “Okay, so a while ago, during an encounter with three colossi, Shar and Akula found a cave with some ‘surface’ metal deposits. I took a piece off to analyze, but never got the chance to until last night. Anyway, we don’t have any machines to examine the ore, so I made use of the recycler and broke it down to its baser components.”
She nodded along, seeing where he was going with his explanation. “I’m guessing those shiny cubes are the metals from the ore?”
“Sure is. So, as it turns out, we have a pretty damn close supply of not only iron, but also, zinc, sulfur, and a small amount of cadmium. I talked with Sebas about it and did a little research. We believe it’s something akin to sphalerite, given its composition and looks, which implies it’s a sedimentary exhalative deposit. That means there must have been some volcanic…”
Harrison continued talking about underwater deposits and ancient rock formations, bringing up some theories brought forward by the now 4-AI-core-powered Sebas, delving into the current land mass’ history and possible ore output. A lot of it went over the tradewoman’s head, but she still listened intently… Honestly, she could have listened to the man talk about finding metals for hours. It was sort of like the podcasts she used to listen to while completing colonist training, but even more personal and somehow easier to get lost in…
“…find some other minerals further down like silver, but it also might be an active lava zone. Again, these are all theories and this world could just throw the fundamentals of geology away as it does for physics. Anyway, sorry for going on for so long about that, just thought it’d be important for getting some metals in the future.”
“No, no,” Tracy assured, alleviating him of concern with a wave of her hand. “If there’s anything the colony overseers emphasized, it was farming and mineral acquisition. Don’t worry.” She smiled, pointing a thumb to herself. “I just wanna know how I can help.”
“Actually, I’ve a few things only you can do. I’d like to make use of your impressive drone-making expertise for a few applications, if you don’t mind.”
The task of keeping eye contact slipped into an impossible feat in the span of a singular second, planting a pang of embarrassment on her reddened face, forcing her to inspect her fidgeting hands. “I-I wouldn’t say ‘impressive’… b-but what do you have in mind?”
She could see him raise a brow out of the corner of her vision. “Well, after what you’ve shown me with the reconnaissance flyers, I’d like your help in setting up a more permanent ‘net’ of them to scour the meadow and parts of the nearby forest to look out for any approaching hordes. I don’t want to be snuck up on… again…”
‘Again.’
She noted his small frown and sunken eyes, both a little more exaggerated than they already were. It wasn’t like she’d deny his request, but the pangs of empathy over their shared situation all but solidified her resolve. It was the least she could do. She could help him. She would help him.
The technician exhaled slowly, taking on a more serious and understanding tone than before. “I… can do that. For sure. What else?”
“I appreciate it.” He gave a wane smile. “I’ll help you with whatever you need for the project. For the other drones, I’m thinking about a small exploration vehicle to map out caves around us and mark any minerals, as well as a submersible to look for potassium deposits in the ocean.”
“So… search bots?” She crossed her arms, confidence growing; those were her specialty. “Depending on how long the fabricators take and what kind of base drones are in the blueprint folders, I should be able to get those done in no time. All I need to know are the search cues for potassium and how many drones you want.”
He quickly shuffled a few folders on the computer, turning the monitor for her to see some scientific documents with various images and walls upon walls of text. “There’re plenty of resources for that on here for what to look for, and there’s always Sebas, so feel free to ask him since he can just sort through the data for you anyway. If you can, I’d like it if you could focus on the submersible after the reconnaissance drones.”
“Sounds good to me. I’ll be right on it, then.” She gave him a thumbs up, slipping off his desk and toward her own.
“I’ll bring you lunch in a bit. Imma go check on the others,” he called.
Her stomach grumbled at the mention, her head turning to give him an appreciative smile. “Oh! Thanks!”
\= = = = =
Avian creatures chirped from their perches in the trees nearby. The wind softly rustled red leaves as grass gently gave way to calculated footfalls. A warm sun laid its light on Shar’khee’s neck. It was surprisingly pleasant, were one to take the time to notice. The mainland was a confusing place for the paladin, with its disparate representations of nature contrasting so heavily. Some days were filled with blood and ravenous beasts, while others were left within the domain of simplicity and beauty. She was content to have the latter, yet it felt like a facade veiling the former—a soft exterior covering the maliciously spiked interior. Never could she leave herself to carelessness, no matter how welcoming it might be.
Hence why she worked to ensure the safety of the star-sent’s castles and their inhabitants, her days largely spent patrolling for any roaming swarms that may wish to cause them harm. She typically used the routine to think, but today offered little in the way of solitude. This time, she was accompanied by the previously banished guardswoman, and was tasked with instructing the new one, though the specifics of what such lessons should entail were vague. Still, Shar’khee did all that she could so as not to disappoint Harrison, so she could only attempt to meet his expectations of her.
She told the yellow-skinned female of the threats that the settlement faced, how one was to defeat them, and what to expect from the beasts. The guardswoman was directed to practice her form with the spear in both thrusts and throwing for some time afterward, proving herself to be well-built. Such was expected of her profession after all.
It was pleasing to have another capable of patrolling the settlement’s outskirts for swarms, as it would greatly impact how effectively the colony could react to such a threat. If her routine was to suffer for the colony’s well-being, she was happy to show the new one her patrol route and note what to look out for.
The guardswoman was not a perfect student, however. Shar’khee never addressed it directly, but the yellow-skinned female obviously discredited the danger posed by the abhorrent, not-so-subtly shrugging off any warnings.
…That was until they stumbled upon the ‘hyena-boars,’ as Harrison called them.
The beasts resided in a clearing not too far from the castles, carelessly meandering across the sea of tall grass. Shar’khee quickly crouched, dragging the guardswoman down with her. Once she assessed that the creatures were not an imminent danger, she decided it would be an excellent opportunity to show the new one how to properly engage a threat. She was about to propose the idea, yet her speech was silenced just as swiftly.
Orange flashes darted through the trees around the glade. Taloned feet and gnashing teeth tore across the ground toward the unsuspecting beasts at the center. It was much too late for them. They were slow. Surrounded. Unaware. It was as quick as it was vicious, the forest’s reds turning a deeper crimson hue in a moment's notice underneath the abhorrent’s brutality.
Gangly monstrosities gnawed and ripped at the dead creatures, brief glimpses of raw flesh and white bone protruding from the small spaces between the clumped-up beasts. Repulsive wet splatters of blood and gore overlapped the calm noises of the forest, the grisly scene serenaded by the softest of nature’s symphonies. It was a sickening juxtaposition.
Shar’khee bit back the unease and steeled herself. They were within twenty paces—close enough to smell the abhorrent’s vile stench of rot and bile, yet far enough so as not to be noticed. She briefly considered backing away and retreating, her focus bouncing between the different avenues of escape, or how to cover her footst—
Crack.
Several sets of feral, eyeless maws snapped in their direction, the blood dripping off freshly dampened teeth. The guardswoman gasped, Shar’khee’s gaze following to see the mistake: a singular broken branch crinkled as a yellow-colored foot raised off the splintering twig.
The paladin exhaled sharply and smoothly stood up, brandishing two spears and her shield. Her glare settled on the still crouching guardswoman. “You are to stay behind my shield and let them appr—ch. Rem—ber what I have told you. Aim for their maws when you thrust y—r lance.”
The other female nodded, shakily pulling out her own weapons with unsteady placement hampering her grip. There was an obvious nervousness to her gaze. Hesitance. That would not do.
Shar’khee faced the prowling abhorrent her knuckles shifting hue as she prepared for their advance, for there was no chance that they wouldn’t. True to her experience, the stalking turned to a gallop with several clicks of grotesque tongues, the swarm bolting toward her as one. She snarled and slammed her bulwark into the ground, letting the approaching beasts skewer themselves amongst its spikes.
There were only ten—a paltry amount. She had defended against magnitudes more, and yet she still stood. What is more, they were mindless. Uncoordinated. They would be but stains in the cloth she used to clean her armor. Perhaps, if they were fortunate, they might leave a furrow in her shield to remember them by. Her arms tensed as the first leapt.
One by one, the abhorrent fell, their repulsive green blood splattering under her thrusts. Each awaiting corpse tore across the grove’s grass, lunging to their deaths with gaping maws and unfeeling hunger, yet she did not yield. Their shells were crushed by her shield and impaled by her Goddess-blessed spears, becoming but one more smear across their surface. Ten motionless lumps lay before her, seeping their ichor into the soil, none having passed the barrier she became. Dead, just as the Creator intended. She remained vigilant for a few moments longer, watching for any more of the disgusting creatures.
None showed themselves, finally allowing blood to flow to her fingers once again. The shield’s heavy presence weighed down her back, the blood flicked off of her spears before she returned them to their place.
“Are y–u well?” Shar’khee addressed the frozen Malkrin, wiping away the splatter on her bracers. The guardswoman stared at the small pile of deceased creatures, her heavy breaths and widened eyes moving from the spear from her singular kill. The paladin huffed. “We are fort—ate that there were so few.”
“F-Few? God help us…” Her horrified, stunned gaze slowly met the paladin’s. “Y-You said there were hundreds on the crimson nights? H-How do you… They were s-so fast.”*
”As I h–ve warned,” Shar’khee affirmed.
“You are a paladin! You all exaggerate your feats… I thought it was just a facade!”
“I have no r—son to lie,” she returned tersely, shrugging off the insult to her station and shaking her head. “The mainl—d is far more dangerous than ten gnash—g beasts; more so than that of your island hamlet. Pick yourself up. We m—t inform the others of this incursion.”
The yellow-skinned female snarled, furrowing her brows at the ground in frustration. At whom…? Shar’khee? Herself? Regardless, the female promptly gathered her composure, pushing air through clenched jaws. A step forward had her feet splash in the small pool of blood, the Malkrin nodding toward the paladin to continue back to the castles.
“…for the village.”
Shar’khee paused in her stride and faced her, frowning at the determination and anger leaking through the intent. “W—t was that?”
Her question was returned with honesty, a huffed voice marred by vexation. “Paladin, how am I to defend my village-mates as I am now?”
“‘As you are now?’ What do you m—n?”
The guardswoman stared down at her spear, wood creaking under her grip. “I have faltered before what you deem a paltry threat, and the thought of an even greater one sows dread deep within my bones. I wish… I wish to be better prepared to defend those of my village. I cannot help but see their faces on those of the furred creature in the clearing, and yet, even if I am so close, I am just as unable to protect them.”
Shar’khee stared down the yellow female, a long gaze taking in a rare showing of sincerity. “Y—r fears are one we all share, new one. Do not be ashamed of them. All t—t matters is that you do not let them rem—n mere fear, but make them your strength. So tell me, do you wish to impr—e? To ensure they do not fall while you are support—g them?”
The yellow-skinned female released a shuddering breath that bled off the worst of her indecision, a newly invoked flame flaring within her visage. “I do, paladin. I seek to protect and to be of use.”
“Then, if you wish to make y—rself resilient in the face of all that opposes us, it would be my undertak—g to forge you anew. Fortunately, Harrison has ordered such already, and his guidance shall prove ever useful, should you pursue it.”
The guardswoman shuffled in place at the star-sent’s mention, her eyes slipping downwards. “He is of a great many resources, but I would rather receive your teachings than those of a craftsman… or that of a male, deity-sent he might be.”
She placed a palm on the female’s shoulder. “He is far more than you might ever k—w. Regardless of if you ac—pt his guidance, I commend your conviction. However—” Her hand gripped tighter, though not enough to instill hostility. “—understand that you are protecting more than just your vi—age-mates.”
The new one nodded, staring up at the paladin with stallwart resolve. “Of course. I shall be in your tutelage, then.”
Shar’khee smiled. “T—n let us begin.”
\= = = = =
Akula was becoming increasingly certain that she knew how her parents once felt. The green-skinned fisherwoman was currently rotating between the many tasks placed upon her, guiding the newcomers through the minutia of their tasks so they might live up to the potential Harrison saw within them. She was gratified to have her own talents recognized by the Creator, but it also placed a great many responsibilities in her talons. Of course, she handled each new addition with finesse befitting her heritage, never once balking from the increasing demands. If anything, she felt validated; it was required of her as a female anyway, was it not? The more feminine-appropriate labor and management one undertakes, the higher authority they were granted.
It began with a simple assignment to oversee the chef’s introduction to the star-sent’s provided cooking appliances. As fascinating and convenient as utilities were, she held no interest in preparing any more food than she already had, but teaching another to operate the machines would alleviate such requirements of her. She reluctantly accepted the task when it was proposed, especially considering the fact that Harrison was much too busy with his other projects to bother with something as benign as cooking. His work was more valuable elsewhere.
The task itself went well, and the pink-skinned chef was quick to pick up on the use of the various kitchen devices, as well as the smoker. A grin had grown when she considered the possibility of all males understanding such domestic things readily, yet her mirth at removing the masculine job required of her was short-lived. Despite the newly initiated Malkrin’s success, Harrison had Akula frequently return to oversee the numerous cooking operations being conducted. That was in tandem with the back-to-back fishing trips made by both herself and the newly acquired females.
…Which was something else the green-skinned cycle-worshipper was ordered to oversee.
She had left the chef to his devices after producing another batch of partially seasoned meals, returning to the Creator with hopes of a break. He applauded her efforts with a nod and tersely spoken appreciation, then quickly pushed two spearguns into her hand and directed her to the ocean, where the twins were ‘working with jack shit,’ as the busy male said. She was to give the fisherwomen the tools and make sure they were used properly, and offer additional assistance in acquiring ‘enough fish to have us fed for a little bit.’
So, she left to complete the given task, feeling somewhat appreciative that her speargun was of superior quality to those she would be delivering—the newcomers were only afforded the lesser, roped-bolt version. It was only natural that she was in possession of their greatest assets, of course; the star-sent saw her as the only one capable of wielding such fantastic ammunition, showing trust that was rightfully placed in her. That did not mean the gray-skinned females were unsatisfied with their own gifts, however. The twins were swiftly caught up on the ‘manual of arms’ and sent to work, somehow managing to keep up with Akula in spite of their land-based origins. The two were fast enough to outpace the cycle-worshipper in sheer speed, but their lack of numerous winters spent traversing deeper waters meant they required frequent rests, breaking the ocean’s surface after every third captured fish or so.
Still, she had to appreciate their dedication to their task. They never complained about Akula pushing them further to reach the star-sent’s vague objective. Such a task was entrusted to her—and by proxy, the other two—and thus it would be completed, no matter how much her comfortable bed… couch called her tiring muscles.
The group of three hauled net after full net of fresh meat to the chef—and sewist, who later joined him—forcing him to relegate much of the catch to long-term storage as the kitchen simply could not deal with the surplus. At least three-quarters of the fish were put to slow cook in the now Malkrin-sized smoker. The craftsman had upgraded it with a kit provided by Harrison, who had recycled much of the dining room and workshop furniture to accommodate it. The Creator’s showcased urgency to gather materials was clearly not unfounded… It was admirable how he used what little he had left to ensure food would not be scarce. Additionally, the apparatus exuded an excellent scent for all the survivors to enjoy, the earthy aroma drawing in some of the other Malkrin for their breaks or meals.
Those were not the end of the cycle-worshiper’s tasks, however. She was also required to report on Shar’khee’s progress in training the guardswoman—helping to recycle the small swarm of abhorrent they cleared earlier—as well as the wood storage building’s progress. Indeed, she was advising and assisting however and wherever applicable. To say she was seen all around the settlement would be an understatement.
Nevertheless, she was appreciative to see her efforts bearing fruit by sundown. The processing of their meals from sea to plate was quite efficient, and those that Akula taught were now well-practiced in their duties. The twin fisherwomen dove from wave to wave, bringing fish back to the barracks, where the cook and sewist swiftly worked to transfer the meat to pans and smoker hooks alike. Then, the remnants of the Sea Goddess’ aquatic gifts would be subsequently recycled and given purpose anew as biofuel or perhaps future fertilizer.
The endless onslaught of duties and responsibilities had enlightened her, in a way. She could see where Harrison came from now; having a working project go from one point to another without input nor difficulty was a sight to behold, and it made her swell with pride. It was a surmountable feat to teach the barbaric ground-worshippers to do something properly.
…Well, they were not horrible Malkrin, so perhaps simply calling them ‘uninitiated’ was a more apt descriptor…
No matter the tribulations faced, and no matter how draining her new authority might be, her rest at the end of the day would be one that was well-earned, and it would be had with a sense of satisfaction. She deserved it, and perhaps that extended to the rest of the settlement as well.
- - - - -
[First] [Previous] [Next]
Next time on Total Drama Anomaly Island - Mine! Mine! Mine!

 okay so this is my hair right now, but I kinda hate it so I'm not sure what to do. My bangs look better as side bangs idk why she styled them like this. I had my hair dyed like this when it was a short mullet and I LOVED it but im not really feeling the same about it. But I feel ugly lately so maybe that has something to do with it. the demarcation line is because my hair is naturally dark blonde/light brown. I was going to try to stop dying it dark on the top but I jusy hate my natural hair color. My mom was always so mean about it she would be like "you have d*ke brown hair." Lately I'm obsessed with having butt length hair, I've been a bob girl my whole life. Is that even possible with the bottom bleached? Does my hair look super damaged? Would it be possible for a hairdresser to make my whole head my natural color? Alright so what would you guys do if you were me? These are what I think my options are: dye my top roots all that dark color and continue dyeing it, dye all my hair dark brown, ask a hairdresser to try to match everything else to my roots, or secret third option I haven't thought of? 

LPs

• A Boogie wit da Hoodie - Better Off Alone (w Young Thug, Future, Lil Durk, Cash Cobain, Fridayy & Mariah the Scientist) [Melodic Trap, Atlantic]
• Blessd (🇨🇴) - BlessDeluxury (w Hades66, SOG, Nicki Nicole + more) [Latin Rap, Warner]
• Álvaro Díaz (🇵🇷) - SAYONARA (w Tainy, Rauw Alejandro, Feid, Young Miko + more) [Latin Trap, UMG]
• Alejo (🇵🇷) - EN ESTA NOS FUIMOS LEJOS (w Jowell + more) [Reggaetón]
• Vacra (🇫🇷) - PYGMALION [French Rap]
• Clavish (🇬🇧) - Chapter 16 (w Fredo, Aitch, Potter Payper, D-Block Europe + more) [UK Rap, Polydor]
• Rio Da Yung OG - Rio Circa 2020 (w RMC Mike & Louie Ray) [Michigan Trap]
• Harley (🇫🇷) - WHO'S HARLEY? [French Rap]
• BIG30 - Still King (w Fredo Bang & K Carbon) [Memphis Trap, NLess]
• ShooterGang Kony - OPPS CAN'T HAVE FUN [West Coast Trap]
• Mach-Hommy - #RICHAXXHAITIAN (w Black Thought, KAYTRANADA, 03 Greedo, Roc Marciano + more) [East Coast Hip Hop]
• Rapsody - Please Don't Cry (w Lil Wayne, Erykah Badu, Hit-Boy, Baby Tate + more) [Conscious Rap, Jamla/Roc Nation]
• softboy ivo (🇩🇪) & Philantrope (🇦🇹) - Seele Aus (w Wun Two + more) [European Hip Hop]
• Courtney Bell & Royce Da 5'9" - Microdose (w Benny the Butcher, Conway the Machine, LaRussell, Symba + more) [Rap]
• ian - Valedictorian [SoundCloud Rap]
• Stavo (🇫🇷) - Eviter la misère [French Rap, Warner]
• wolfacejoeyy - valentino [Sexy Drill, Alamo]
• Blu - abc [West Coast Rap]
• Raz Fresco & Daniel Son - Northside [Rap]
• USKY - ANHÉDONIE [French Rap]
• Nico Miseria (🇪🇸) - YO NO SOY YO [Latin Rap]
• Mike Shabb - SEWASIDE III (w Boldy James, Navy Blue, Nicolas Craven, Da$H, Estee Nack, ANKHLEJOHN & Lord Sko) [Rap]
• paymels & StoopidXool - Spectrum [Rap]
• La F (🇫🇷) - TNF 3.5 [French Rap]
• HOLOGRAM LO’ (🇫🇷) & HUNTRILL (🇫🇷) - REPLICA 2 (w Alpha Wann + more) [French Rap]
• Thizzler On The Roof - Bar Wars: Season 1 (w lou deezi, 1100 Himself + more) [West Coast Trap]
• Zinée (🇫🇷) - OSMIN (w Chilly Gonzales) [French Rap]
• Zoomy (🇫🇷) - DIRTY SPRITE 19® [French Rap]
• your.nash (🇫🇷) - solitaire mais bien accompagné [French Rap]
• Heem - Bars & Noble (w Benny the Butcher, Boldy James, Conway the Machine, Jay Worthy, Jae Skeese & ILLY FOO) [Rap]
• Ben.C (🇫🇷) - BENNY [French Rap]
• FRELONZ (🇫🇷) - MOTION OVER EMOTION [French Rap]
• Struggle Mike - HONOR (w Benny the Butcher, Jeru The Damaja, Planet Asia, Eto + more) [Coke Rap, BSF]
• Butter Bullets (🇫🇷) - Château [French Rap]
• Rory Sweeney (🇮🇪) - Carlos Danger Presents Irish Hash Mafia (w Curtisy + more) [Irish Cloud Rap]

Deluxe

• Doja Cat - Scarlet 2 CLAUDE: Disc 3 [Pop Rap, *Kemosabe/Republic]
• Childish Gambino - ATAVISTA (w 21 Savage, Young Nudy, Ariana Grande, ) [Pop, Rap, RCA]
• Madison McFerrin - I Hope You Can Forgive Me (w Honey Dijon & TrillzAI) [R&B]
• DJ Ess - #HEAVENSGATE, Vol. 1: DJ Ess Mixes [Surf Gang]

EPs

• LaRussell, 03 Greedo & Mike G Beatz - Sessions At The Grill: Episode 001 [West Coast Rap]
• Jay 305 & Hit-Boy - Don't Wait Until I Die EP (w DOM KENNEDY) [West Coast Rap]
• Kaydy Cain (🇪🇸) - For Romantic Bitches [Spanish Rap]
• Terrace Martin - Grounded [Jazz?]
• Lil Double 0 - Return of the Walker [Trap, Freebandz/Open Shift]
• Mutant Academy - Talk Soon [Rap]
• Lil Supa & Recognize Ali - "REC a LIL" [Rap]
• Cold Hart - Rap Show (w BONES & GothBoiClique) [Cloud Rap, Epitah]
• Kamaiyah - Figuring Out My Emotions [West Coat Rap]
• Kitty Ca$h - Handle With Care (w Rico Nasty, Thundercat, James Fauntleroy, PawPaw Rod, Kilo Kish, George Riley & ROZET) [Rap]
• Payroll Giovanni - Have Money, Have Heart [Rap]
• Leith (🇫🇷) - SI LA FORTUNE EST AVEUGLE [French Rap]
• Elaquent - Obrigado! [Beats]
• Fendi P - White Lines (w Polyester the Saint) [Southern Rap, Jet Life]
• SAM (🇫🇷) - 1ère mi-temps [French Rap]
• Cities Aviv - Bernadette Leak [Experimental Rap]
• EESAH YASUKE (🇫🇷) - PS: J'ÉCRIS L'ALBUM (w Haviah Mighty) [French Rap]
• Mandyspie (🇫🇷) - Monster Therapy [French Rap]

Songs

• Maluma & Pirlo - MIONCA
• Conep & Anuel AA - Bellakita
• NxWorries - FromHere (feat. Snoop Dogg & October London)
• Tha Dogg Pound, Tha Eastsidaz & Snoop Dogg - We All We Got
• Kodak Black - No Manager*
• DJ Luian, Mambo Kingz, Yandel, Darrell & Dei V - No Puedo Controlarme
• Jimin, Mark Ralph, Muni Long, JVKE & NLE Choppa - Angel (Anniversary Edition)
• Key Glock - Fuck Around & Find Out
• TitoM, Yuppe & S.N.E. - Tshwala Bam (Remix) [feat. Burna Boy]
• Russ & 6LACK - Working On Me
• Masio Gunz & Jeremih - Panic
• T-Pain - On This Hill
• Chow Lee & Cash Cobain - swag it! (Remix) [feat. Flo Milli]
• Diany Dior, Cash Cobain & NAV - Favorite Lady
• Saweetie - NANi
• Yelawolf & Jelly Roll - Trailer in the Sky
• Cowboy Killer & Yelawolf - Bob Barker
• El Malilla, Yeyo & DJ Rockwel MX - B de Bellako (Remix) [feat. Jowell & Randy]
• Lila Iké - He Loves Us Both (feat. H.E.R.)
• Sayian Jimmy - BAD BOY (Remix) [feat. Gino Mella, LIT killah, Juhn, Jairo Vera, Dani Flow & Montaña the Producer]
• FERG - MDMX*
• Chance The Rapper & DJ Premier - Together
• Omar Apollo - Dispose Of Me
• 2Rare, Skilla Baby & Rob49 - C4
• 42 Dugg - Win Wit Us
• Brown Money Minds, That Mexican OT & DeeBaby - Fuck It
• Big Hit, Hit-Boy & The Alchemist - Black & Whites
• Nardo Wick - Deep End
• Lupe Fiasco - Samurai
• Nemzzz - ATM
• JasonMartin, DJ Quik, Channel Tres, Free Nationals & George Clinton - TWO HI (WAVES)
• Durand Bernarr & Free Nationals - Fist Bump
• MCVERTT & 41 - Hate The Real
• M Row & MCVERTT - Undefeated
• Sheff G & Great John - Everything Lit
• A.R. The Mermaid & 03 Greedo - Bitch I Met
• Bb trickz & El Baby R - Trickstar
• BERWYN - I AM BLACK
• Maxo Kream - Judged the Plugg (From the Block Performance)*
• Peezy - The Warm Up
• Homixide Gang & Cxdy - R50
• YTB Fatt & Rylo Rodriguez - In The Air
• EBK Young Joc - Temper
• P Dub, EBK Leebo & EBK Juvie Ju - Free Leebo
• Don Corleo & Veeze - duh duh duh
• Living Legends, Del the Funky Hompsapien & Statik Selektah - The Return (Remix) [feat. Aesop Rock, Blu, Chino XL, Kool Savas, Planet Asia, Twigy, Vast Aire & 2Mex]
• Fat Trel & Sada Baby - Steppa
• Luxx Kitty - FWM (feat. Sada Baby)
• SwuM - Lost In Space
• Rucci & BlueBucksClan - It Hit Different
• Skrapz & Kano - Marathon Continues
• STRANGEHUMAN - SIN PERDER, NUNK CUENTA
• MATT OX - MONDAY TO SUNDAY
• lil joujou, Slayter & Midnvght - Mini Van
• Your Old Droog & Conductor Williams - Mercury Thermometers
• RJD2 - Catch The Exit Door (feat. Jamie Lidell)
• Chris Palace - FWM
• lou deezi, Mari Peso & Wiggle - Trapped
• THEBROSFRESH - Caution (Remix) [feat. Pell]
• Certified Trapper - Blood
• Babyfxce E - BTA Freestyle
• RMR - Sweet Divorce
• Shreea Kaul - Press Pause (feat. Dende)
• Humane The Moon - K9 (feat. Jeshi)
• 22nd Jim - Vacuum Seats & Money Counters
• Karriem Riggins - Affectionate Overture
• Big $wift & Chito Rana$ - Wanna Ride
• Nyck Caution - On Mine
• KrispyLife Kidd - In That Case
• RXKNephew - No Handouts
• KALLITECHNIS - WOUND UP
• Lilblackkids (Georgia Anne Muldrow & Keith Rice) - Moon Slide
• Tracy T, Street Symphony & Symba - Cross Me Out
• Young Ant Jefe - Drip On 'Em (feat. Big Sad 1900)
• Estee Nack & BonesWeso - RUDEBOY
• Hurricane Wisdom - Rose Gold
• Woodie Smalls - Understand
• KayFarraway & ROMderful - Give Up The Ghost
• Highway - SDSU
• Bizarre - HEEBEE JEEBEEZ*
• PENPALS & EMERLD - Raw Deluxe
• Siege MC, Redeyes & Tha God Fahim - Black Flame
• Shoebox Baby - What Happened?
• Cuban Doll & Molly Brazy - Buban Doll
• K.Rock$ & Glockboyz Teejae - Victor Wembanyama
• Freddy Got Magic & Supa Bwe - Same Thing (feat. 7000 (7K))
• GB Jay, Verde Babii, Ssrichh33 & Ranvo - Ran Wit It
• DCG BROTHERS & Screwly G - Bounce Out
• GEMEN - Maison de Campagne / SMS
• Finch & Fritz Rango - Remedy (feat. Young Wabo & Denmark Vessey)
• Demae - Speechless
• Janette King - Paradise

Old Drop Watches

2023 and 2024 Calendar

Greetings and Salutations! Just dropping the next few chapters below, these were fun to read :) Enjoy!
Ch. 11

• “What the hell happened to you?” LOL if Rhys becomes Lucien 2.0 I think I'll be ok with that
  
• Wait so if he wanted Rhys could just channel his power and go scorched earth??? How are there not any contingencies in place for that and everyone is just relying on his whim?
  
• Whoa so Feyre has been making some crazy progress with her shields if Rhys is blocked out 90% of the time…hooked on phonics with Rhys has really been paying off for her
  
• Eyyyyyy Feyre is reading a book! Look how far she's come
  
• Bro, why is Rhys always asking why Feyre doesn't insult him anymore? Is he into verbal BDSM or something? I guess being Amarantha's toy did a number on him. I bet this guy is a freak in the bed
  
• Oh damn so she has water bending skills too?! So wateice, fire, wind, psychic abilities…just needs earth and heart and she can finally become Captainess Planet
  
• Bro, Tamlin’s number one flaw is that he’s straight up not a good communicator. He thinks he can just scowl his way to victory with Feyre and Rhys, and they're not about that life
  
• I do feel kinda bad for Tammy, I bet he feels like he's getting cucked by Mr. Cavill (completely understandable as well)
  

Ch. 12

• NICE Feyre is just plowing through all the books in the library…WAY better hobby than being a lukewarm painter. That being said, I won't say no to a Bob Ross faerie to help Feyre improve her skills
  
• Dude Tammy is still shutting Feyre out?! This guy is completely oblivious to the fact that he's losing her slowly
  
• WTF is Feyre turning part crow now?
  
• “How long have the claws been appearing?” bro…nothing gets past Luke the Duke. NOTHING
  
• Dude…Lucien can really do no wrong, am I right? This MAN is advocating for Feyre left and right constantly to have her be trained cause he sees the bigger picture. Everyone's goal in life should be to find a friend that'll be in your corner the way Lucien is with Feyre. HAVE FEYRE BECOME THE AVATAR, YOU COWARDS
  
• Really. Tammy is still giving her short answers and no new info? How did that work out last time in the first book?
  
• I mean at this point just continue compromising? Just be a good girl and stay in the palace, then when you go to Rhysand's place go balls out and start training to be the avatar over there. You probably could even bargain and say give me one full month at the Night Court hyperbolic time chamber, I'll become a god, then the bargain is complete and everyone bows to me, HIGH LADY FEYRE
  
• I'm pretty sure Feyre is gonna learn Winnowing right? Then she'll be able to come and go as she pleases
  
• WTF is happening, is Feyre getting kidnapped?
  
• OH SHIT Alis coming in clutch!!! Are her and Mor pen pals or something?
  
• Back to the Night Court!
  

Ch. 13

• LMAO Rhysand is looking at Feyre rubbing his temples and thinking “I'm too old for this shit”
  
• She can control darkness too?! Please tell me she summons Charlie Murphy to the battlefield in a future book
  
• I mean, at the rate she's revealing her powers she's making Avatar Aang look like a baby back bitch
  
• Oh damn Feyre said it. She's not going back! I think comparing being trapped in the palace to being trapped under the mountain did it for her
  
• What's with the cloak and dagger shit with Rhys? Feyre can't mention anything to anyone about the Night Court? Interesting, I'm wondering if this court is suffering greatly from the Illyrians
  
• Noice Rhys treating her like an equal rather than property. Honestly, not a hard concept at all.
  
• Onward to Velaris, city of stars! Sounds dope
  
• Wait, Feyre took a bath and got ready in 10 minutes? I call bullshit
  
• LMAO Rhys said “that was 15 minutes.” I should just keep reading before commenting lol
  
• Hold on, Rhys has callused hands? From what? I can't imagine this guy doing any type of manual labor or holding a BF sword for fighting, this cat uses mind bullets. Is that even a turn on, having callused hands?
  
• So, they both arrive in a lived-in home that's inside a city…and that's shocking to Feyre…why?!? Does she expect city residents to just live in the sewers or something? This woman I swear…
  
• Oh wow that's the end of part 1! We're just moving right along aren't we
  

Ch. 14

• Oooh Part 2 The House of Wind?! Day Court maybe???
  
• Wut we’re in Rhysand's home? Like the one he grew up in???
  
• Oh shit Rhys has a family? I thought there was no one left except him and Mor
  
• I…have no idea what's going on right now lol. The twins live in Rhys's house, are they related to him? And two Illyrians are just banging on his door…can they come in?
  
• Ohhhh one of them is Cassian! Interesting
  
• Inner circle…like the circle of trust? How does one come to be a part of this?
  
• Hmm, so Rhys saved this entire city before he became High Lord…I need deets ASAP
  

Ch. 15

• So Velaris sounds like heaven on Prythian.
  
• “...his blue eyes were as ruthless as the churning winter sea in the distance.” Wait, I thought he has violet eyes?? Can he change their color??? *Sigh some Faes have all the luck
  
• This place really sounds like Kalm from FF VII Rebirth…gorgeous town
  
• Really want to know how Rhysand saved this city…I'm curious if they know he's the high lord and if he appreciates being treated like a normal citizen
  
• Oh God we're back to Feyre thinking about painting things again…
  
• Also, calm your tits Feyre?! You're getting mad at these people for something they weren't aware of
  
• “My people are blameless.” TRUTH, Rhys
  
• Ooooh a new character has appeared! 2nd in command Amren! Steal her shit and she'll roast your balls off
  
• Wow Rhys is the most powerful high lord in history….good to get confirmation on this, I felt it was always hinted at so far
  
• What a weird time to warg into Rhysand lol, guess she can't control this ability
  
• I was just thinking…if Feyre’s real kinky or doesn't have this ability down yet once she and Rhys bang they can warg into each other's bodies and see them screwing themselves and really start having some crazy sex sessions
  
• Oh interesting, so psychic Faes are called Daemati. As in, ‘Daemati’ invade your mind, or ‘Daemati’ not LOLOL. I'm keeping that dad joke
  
• “...or maybe I had broken it, when I shoved that dagger into the hearts of two innocent fae and their blood warmed my hands.” Don't you DARE forget what you did to the Beddors, Feyre! Remember Clare!!!!
  
• Bro, Rhysand is going to carry Feyre as he flies in with his wings LOL. What a sight that would be
  
• What do those wings look like by the way? I know we've gotten tiny glimpses and hints..like black, bat wings. And I'm assuming wing span size ABSOLUTELY matters *wink wink
  
• Ooooh what a cool flying scene; all this needs is “A whole new world” playing in the background.
  
• Aw sad day, Rhys loved his mommy :/
  
• “Each chair fashioned, I noted, to accommodate wings.” What does that even look like? No backs to the chairs, or the backs are shorter so the wings can rest over the back when they sit? I gotta know this for my immersion!
  
• Cute little penny for your thoughts scene between Rhys and Feyre…she's completely out of the woods with Tammy now.
  
• Let the Illyrian Dinner Feast begin!
  

Lots of fun developments in these chapters! Excited to read on and see how the feast goes. Thanks for reading!

https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/05/14/scott-dixon-campaigning-primary-maryland-baltimore/
By Emily Opilo eopilo@baltsun.com PUBLISHED: May 14, 2024 at 3:51 p.m. UPDATED: May 15, 2024 at 12:56 a.m.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott declared victory in his bid for reelection Tuesday after opening what appeared to be an insurmountable lead over his chief opponent, former Mayor Sheila Dixon.
The Associated Press called the race for Scott at 11:24 p.m. Taking the stage minutes later at his South Baltimore election night party, Scott thanked Dixon for running a hard-fought campaign, but said it was time to “turn the page.”
“I think it’s safe to say we’re destined for a second term,” Scott said, prompting loud applause from a celebratory crowd.
Dixon, who left her party before 11 p.m., said before her departure that the race was too close to call.
After Scott declared victory, Dixon spokesman Luca Amayo said that “regardless of how the votes fall, there will always be people in the city who consider Sheila Dixon the forever mayor of Baltimore.”
The race pitted the first-term Scott against Dixon, the city’s mayor of three years, in a rematch of the 2020 contest that put Scott in office. Both are Democrats.
This time, the field was half the size of the crowded 2020 race and the upper tier of candidates shrank. Former prosecutor Thiru Vignarajah dropped out of the race in the first week of May, less than 24 hours ahead of the start of early voting. Businessman Bob Wallace, an independent candidate for mayor in 2020, ran this time as a Democrat, but failed to gain traction.
Returns from the early voting period, mail-in ballots cast ahead of the election, and almost all of the city’s 295 precincts showed Scott with 50.9% of votes cast to Dixon’s 41.3% — a difference of about 6,200 votes. Vignarajah, who exited the race too late to remove his name from the ballot, still received 3% of the preliminary vote. The returns do not include at least 13,500 mail-in ballots that have yet to be counted by the Baltimore Board of Elections.
When early returns first became public, Dixon jumped to an early lead. However, Scott quickly became the frontrunner and continued to widen his margin Tuesday night as additional returns from primary day were posted.
Cheers broke out at Scott’s party at Baltimore Peninsula earlier Tuesday as initial returns hit two television screens showing Scott slightly ahead of Dixon. Diana Turner danced joyfully as video clips of Scott played on the newscasts. Turner admitted she was unnerved to see the numbers so close between Scott and Dixon, but said she learned from Scott’s previous campaign that initial figures don’t tell the whole story.
“It’s going to fluctuate depending on where the polls are,” she said.
Dixon supporters said they expected the race to be close and the early returns gave them hope that she could, unlike last time, end up victorious.
“I think it was too soon last time,” said Kim Bangs, 64, of Canton said of Dixon’s 2020 bid for the office.
The city board of elections tallied about 11,700 mail-in ballots from Democratic voters ahead of primary day. The canvassing of remaining mail-in ballots will not resume until Thursday.
The 2024 mayoral contest, like many before it, focused heavily on crime. Scott touted the city’s reduction in homicides in 2023 — fewer than 300 people were killed for the first time in nearly a decade. Dixon argued Scott focused only on the homicide rate, allowing quality-of-life crimes to go unaddressed and chasing residents from the city.
Scott, 40, and Dixon, 70, represent different generations of City Hall leadership, but at times, their plans converged. Dixon’s crime plan, rolled out in January, called for a focused deterrence model of policing which would attempt to identify violent offenders and offer social supports in an effort to redirect them. Scott implemented a similar program, known as the Group Violence Reduction Strategy. That approach, piloted in the Baltimore Police Department’s Western District and since expanded, aims to intercept those vulnerable to becoming shooters or victims and provide social supports. The mayor credits it in part for the reduction in homicides.
Both Scott and Dixon’s housing plans call for tax increment financing or “TIFs” to be used in various neighborhoods to address vacant properties.
Dixon and Scott opted to cast their ballots in person Tuesday morning, Dixon near her Hunting Ridge home in West Baltimore and Scott in his Northeast Baltimore neighborhood. Dixon said she was “at peace” as she entered her polling place at Thomas Jefferson Elementary. Scott carried 5-month-old son, Charm Scott, nestled in a car seat into his polling place at Engine House 56.
Some heavy-hitters threw their support behind both candidates, wagering political capital on the close race. Democratic State’s Attorney Ivan Bates joined Dixon’s cause, endorsing the former mayor and calling Scott out for what Bates said was a lack of partnership between the prosecutor’s office and Scott’s City Hall. Sheriff Sam Cogen, too, said Scott has failed to be a partner to his office.
U.S. Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen both backed Scott, as did numerous unions that represent city employees. Some, like the unions representing the city’s firefighters, took shots at Dixon’s treatment of the fire department during her time in office. Unions backed a PAC that supported Scott with voter outreach and online advertising.
Scott led in fundraising and spending, dropping almost $1 million on the contest since the start of the year. Dixon has spent $653,100 since January. A PAC supporting Dixon’s campaign (funded in large part David Smith, a co-owner of The Baltimore Sun and chairman of Sinclair Broadcasting Group) supplemented Dixon’s effort, running ads that tried to paint Scott as an inexperienced leader. Scott’s ads sought to remind residents of Dixon’s criminal past. She was forced to leave office in 2010 after an embezzlement conviction.
The results of the race showed Vignarajah’s exit did little to tighten the contest. Running his fourth campaign for citywide office in the last seven years, Vignarajah threw his support to Dixon after conversations with the camps of both leading contenders. Scott said afterward that Vignarajah asked to be named police chief or CEO of city schools in exchange for his support. Dixon said no deal was made with Vignarajah for a job, although she declined to discuss potential positions in her administration that he may have suggested. Vignarajah said he offered to be “helpful” to the Dixon administration.

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

As you may remember, the slobs went out with an amazing bang in 2021. That was a banner year of horrible content at Cinemassacre. The podcast, BTS, plagiarized monster madness, shitting out awful AVGNs every two weeks in a mad dash to get episode 200 out by Christmas. Which ep 200 also really sucked.
Remember the first post slobs video? When James was going to get back to basics and make videos on topics he liked. It was that damn VHS tribute video. Which was I think the third ode to VHS he had made. Boy if that wasn’t a sign of things to come. The Post Slobs Era could be renamed the Reheated Leftovers Era. Bimmy, just bankrupt of ideas, has been rehashing old topics and treading over the same ground for two years now. Here’s an itemized list of him recycling his own content:

1. VHS memories
2. Nosferatu 100th anniversary
3. The Last Ninja (where he attempts to recreate his old style and look, the first self nostalgic moment.)
4. Lloyd Kaufman returns! 5 Contra How I Remember It, including his recounting of the time he beat the game before school. Which is like his fifth retelling of that story.
5. Joe Bob Briggs returns!
6. Top Gun NES revisited, for a nonsensical comparison of an 8 bit game with a modern movie sequel.
7. Rocky Climbed a Mountain (remember when he jumped a park bench?)
8. Doom! Him talking more about his limited experiences with Doom and sharing the same two stories about it.
9. Indiana Jones AVGN. He once more tried to mimic his own older style, doing the meta self nostalgic bit again.
10. Beating Jekyll and Hyde. I can’t remember if this was his 3rd or 4th video on this obscure NES game. Just member berries
11. And now more Castlevania. Because he hasn’t spoken enough about Castlevania and that fucking eight directional whip from Super Castlevania 4. Did anyone really need to hear this guy whining about the whip again. Bonus #13. Neighbor Nerds. Which is the off brand James and Mike Mondays. Only James doesn’t have to leave his house.

I mean damn. The Slobs produced a ton of awful content, but I’ll give them credit for trying some things. At least they were able to get Bimdog out of his comfort zone. He’s been in nothing but his comfort zone the past two years and it’s been a total snooze fest.
What is your prediction for his next bit of recycled content?