•
On my mission I was 100% committed to being the best and getting in front of as many people as I could. I served in a tough mission, which meant I did not see a lot of success, but it could never keep me down. I took a lot of pride in being in leadership positions for over one year. My mission president and I were practically on a first name basis, we spoke a lot about the welfare of the mission and I was someone that he relied on to help struggling missionaries. I thought I was the absolute shit and nothing could tear me down. That is until I had my last companion. Our first few days together were spent feeling each other out and how obedient we were, and I found out that obedience didn’t mean shit in my mission. My companion had been watching porn with members, dating YSA members throughout the mission field, smoking cigarettes, and he confessed each and every interview with our president. “Elder, all I need you to do is say you’ll stop. I made a promise when I came out that I wouldn’t send anyone home.” This had gone on for about 18 months and they said that they were never punished and they felt like it was a vacation for them. And then it all hit me at once, the church was just a fucking frat house. As long as you were in with the right people, you could be protected from whatever “sin” you were committing. So naturally I immediately jumped right in there with them and we did whatever we wanted. We were together for three months and got into drinking, drugs, and didn’t do any work. It did eventually take a toll on me though, I was looking forward to my mission my entire life and this is what I got. A faith crisis thousands of miles from home. At the worst moment of my depression, my mission president called me and told me that my grandpa had passed. We were very, very close. I couldn’t take it anymore and I called him up and told him everything I had been doing. That night he came over and scolded, shamed, and berated me for about two hours. I told him that no matter how hard he tried to put me down, he couldn’t make me feel worse about myself than I already did. I told him I hated who I was and for my lack of identity. After that he told me that his revelation to match me with my current companion was wrong and that he knew it before the transfer started and this was all his fault and that I was fine to stay in the mission field without any punishment. Completely baffled, I asked how that is possible. He told me that he would call the apostle assigned to our mission and get it cleared with him and all I’d have to do is skip the sacrament for a few weeks. I couldn’t even think at this point. I was terrified to get on the radar of an apostle and have them know about my experience on my mission. I told him no and that I’d rather go home and deal with my crisis with my friends and family. We continued to argue about it for a while, he kept telling me that I didn’t have to worry about anything and that him and this apostle were “very good friends.” He kept telling me that he was the best connection I’ve ever made in my life. That with his “friendship” many doors would open up for me. And then there I was sitting in a mafia movie, wondering if I could ever truly go home. I actually, legitimately thought, “He’s not going to give me my passport.” I finally convinced him to dismiss me from my mission and send me home. I had a flight out three days later. When I got back home I had to visit with my stake president and bishop every week and go over my repentance process. I sat with these men who I knew also had “very good friends” within the church. They told me what I did didn’t matter and that the church always helps brethren “of my stature” find their way back. It hit me that if you came from the right family, held the right callings, and paid your tithing that you could get away with anything. The idea is so dangerous and so insidious that I can scarcely think about it. The slow and subtle ways that they ingrain in you that you’re the lord’s elect and can do no wrong, you abide by a different set of laws. It’s sick and twisted. And people wonder why there are so many issues of abuse within the church. If you look good enough and pay enough you can have whatever it is you want; money, sex, power, fame, you name it. I couldn’t bring myself to believe I was stupid enough to fall for the same bullshit. That I had been a pawn in my mission president’s game, that I had eaten straight from his hand. I lost all of the self worth that I had, I was a total scumbag. In many ways I’ve never recovered. I have come to terms with a lot of it but I don’t think I will ever have good self esteem. As soon as I start to feel good about accomplishments I am quickly reminded of how pride can ruin who you are.
I’m pretty sure I don’t have to tell you that was the first and last time I questioned my testimony. It was crushed in one single blow.

So, I have a friend, had one, and he is a very religious person. He believes in god like it's fact, only the fact, and nothing but the facts. I have no problem with this, but as soon as my other friend left, one night, he just snapped.
He went on a massive rave about how transgenderism is bad, about how being gay is bad, about how being interested in anyone other then the opposite sex is bad, and comparable to pedophilia.
I don't know why I didn't let this snap on me yet, because I for am lesbian, but I for some reason let it slide. For the pass few days however, I tried to educate him.
2 days ago I wrote a scientific study to him, about how the human brain are different to both genders, trans people typically have a different brain, so I told him, "Their quite literally stuck in the body" I tried to rectify this with all the scientific studies I found.
He instantly went and said the equivulent of, "God said that's wrong so it's wrong." and just told me that science hasn't been proven, even though countless of times, it has been.
When this whole kerfuffle went down at the beginning, he also told me the big bang theory got disproven, to which I asked many people, even a therapist, to which they all respectfully declined, the big bang theory was never disproven, and he only believed it for reading one article.
In addition to all of this, I tried telling him about how pride was about love, and being happy for who you are, well, he told me the whole movement, LGBTQ+, Pride, was all a joke. It didn't exist, it was all just propaganda.
Again, for some reason, I didn't give up, so just today, I sent him a video relating to the anatomy of a fetus. For those who don't know, scientifically proven, a fetus's gender is determined with 2 sets of Chromosomes, either XX, for a girl, or XY, for a boy. Well, biologically speaking, a baby will always grow as a girl, and if it has the XY chromosomes, it'll grow into a boy instead, but the fetus itself, the egg, all of which is already a female. All it takes is a man's Y chromosome, and it creates a male.
I told him this, sent him the video explaining it, and I told him, "Not only can men be women, men WERE women." and instantly, like clockwork, he completely denies all of what I told him.
Telling me that we followed the evolution cycle of Spiders, whilst I don't know if that's true or false, what I said still stands, I cited all of the right resources, but without hesitation, "That is the most ridiculous and illogical video I've ever seen" and I quote.
He then follows up with saying; "But let me just leave you with this (I wanted to tell you this earlier but I thought against it because I figured you would take this in the absolute wrong way, but I say this because I care about you as a human being)"; that's okay, what is it?
"You and your family are on a plane together that is taking a nose dive to the ground.. the sooner you guys realize this, the sooner you can level off before plummeting. I pray that something does reach your guy's hearts to help you and your family get back in the right path."
So, this guy doesn't like me, He shows that, despite what he says. Many times has he opted into to twisted what I said into something I didn't, he'd blame me for stuff, he banned me from our friend group discord server, all because i didn't like the two people that were there. Overall, I didn't like him either.
I took what he was saying as a blatant threat, I cannot lie. I felt like him saying "I pray" coupled with "Dive to the ground" as a threat, and I took it harshly.
I gave him a humble"Fuck you" and blocked him.
Whilst I know that wasn't the best thing, my question has to lie in the, was what he was saying a threat? I hope I was able to produce a well enough explanation of how things have been for the pass few days, I just felt like he was giving me a threat.
I don't mean to sound rude, but it kind of reminds me of what if you accidentally anger a witch, they give you a curse, I don't know if god is like that, He believes so deeply in his religious beliefs that he is willing to do everything he can to prove me wrong, but I fear that his prayer has merit.
At the same time, I still fear god, but what he said to me regarding his stance on gay people and whatnot really made me rethink following in that faith, so I overall just decided to move on to a different one.
Anyone willing to help would be greatly appreciated, and if this isn't the right sub, could you please tell me where to go? as I am not too sure where I should go. Thanks for reading.

I would have loved to see a series where we follow the story of a CIS commandegeneral from their start as an inexperienced commander that is extremely jumpy and pisses their pants whenever there's an explosion or sees a Jedi to a commander that will gladly fight an entire clone legion with nothing but five(5) B-1’s and a spoon.
We could see MC’s tragic origins for example their parents dying because of Republic negligence or corruption. We could also see MC trying to rationalize the war crimes the CIS commits and maybe have an episode where they and a friend/love interest accept the surrender of a republic fleet only for the captain or Jedi in charge to use the white flag of truce as a shield to do the same thing Anakin did over Ryloth and kill the MC’s friend/love interest then have the MC slaughter the “Republic Dogs” and be condemned as a war criminal by the republic and have this haunt the MC for the rest of the series by having the population of planets MC liberates/conquers (depending on who you ask) thinking that MC is going to slaughter them forcing him to constantly fight revolutionaries.
And maybe at one point have MC get captured by the republic and be interrogated by a Jedi or clone and have an argument about which side is the evil one and which one is the good one both pointing out the flaws of the others but not the flaws of their own sides. Then have MC escape and accidentally kill a Jedi padawan (who's a child/teen) And have the master of that padawan be the main antagonist of the series who as the series goes on gradually turns more evil/insane going from a commander similar to Obi-wan and Anakin to eventually one more like Pong-Krell (or however you spell his name)
MC could also form a bond with his command droid whether that might be a B-1, a Tactical Droid, or a Super Tactical Droid by giving it something of great value to the MC.
Then when order 66 happens and the droid army is deactivated they have a showdown where the MC finally kills the now twisted Jedi then MC reactivates his droids retreat to a separatist holdout then have a 3 episode long side where the MC desperately tries to fight off the Empire and eventually die in a glorious last stand fighting for the CIS to the bitter end.
At the end of the episode we could do something similar to the clone wars but instead of Vader inspecting Asoka’s Venator it could either be MC’s B-1 command droid or Tactical Droid or Super Tactical Droid teaching rebel recruits about its experiences with MC or alternatively cough cough enter scene:
The sun shined through holes in the long-since-collapsed ceiling, and the local flora could be found everywhere.
The camera zooms in on a Super Tactical Droid its body crushed by rubble and a blue scarf with a two-headed lizard on it that covered most of its neck and in front of it was an old console covered by years of dust (those round holographic tables we see in TCW)
Then the silence of the room was broken by the sound of dozens of running boots on the other side of a moss-covered door.
The sound of the running boots stopped just outside the door instead replaced by the clanking and banging of equipment.
The door was suddenly blown off its hinges and sent flying into rusted metal walls or the bodies of long dead droids, white smoke seeped in through the new opening where the doors had just been.
Twelve(12) stormtroopers rushed in with their blasters at the ready, they quickly secured the room and a figure entered the room.
The camera moved behind the new figure who wore a white outfit and helmet, the figure looked around the room until it saw the old Separatist droid.
The figure walked to the droid and bent down before it then carefully removed the scarf careful not to damage it.
One of the stormtroopers walked up to the figure before asking:
Stormtrooper: “Sir what do you have there?”
The figure stood up holding the scarf in one of its hands caressing it gently with its thumb before answering the trooper.
???: “This is the legacy of a brilliant general and the legacy of someone who lost everything”
Though the Stormtrooper was wearing a helmet it was quite obvious that the trooper was confused.
Stormtrooper: “I don't understand”
The figure slowly turned around the camera ever so slightly zooming in on its head until it had finally turned around revealing its red eyes and blue skin.
Grand Admiral Thrawn: “Tell me trooper what do you know of General MC?”
The screen then cuts to black.

Fear...
I think it would be safe to say that it is the one universal emotion across the galaxy. For most of us, fear is a means to an end: a simple mode of survival, but for humans... Well fear is something more. For us fear comes in situations where we might die, and that's it. The only thing we fear is the loss of life before our time is up.
Humanity... Humanity fears implication.
Sure humans experience fear in life or death situations, but sometimes they don't. Humans will jump from planes, play with fire, and swim deep under the crushing weight of water well over three to four times the pressure of their own gravity. They will tie ropes to their ankles and then jump off of high places.
I don't think I have ever seen a human that was truly afraid, or at least not overtly... Not until today anyway.
Sure, humans fear death, but they fear implications more. Life or death situations are hardly an issue when you have your own imagination to fear.
Humans are a strange species that can leap from the sky for a thrill, but alone in the darkness and safety of their own homes, they conjure up things to fear in the dark.
They see shadows out of the corners of their eyes and reflections in mirrors at their backs.
They fear the implication of things that are unseen.
Believe me, the human mind is a horror house of personal torture.
Just watch their movies, and I promise you that some of the scariest ones to humans, do not involve natural disaster, life or death, or even dangerous killers, but they do involve the unexplainable, the uncontrollable. Those things that hide unseen in the dark and infect the mind like an insidious disease.
Man does not fear life or death, he fears his own mind and what might hide in it's dark recesses.
[…]
"Get everything locked up, we do not want to be out here after dark."
The commander ordered, pushing through a thick strand of deep purple foliage, and out into a large-circular clearing where three of their shuttles stood, surrounded by that day's camping supplies, and a group of waiting marines.
They stood as the second team of marines trudged their way from the bushes covered in dirt, slime, and sweat from their day's work.
"Break it all down and get it back inside."
The commander ordered.
Krill, who had been waiting in camp with the marines, floated over to absently eye the marines as if for scratches scrapes and bruises.
Sunny, having problems to navigate the dense foliage with her height and her carapace, was the last to break through the trees, hauling her bulk over a mossy stone and onto the strange purple moss of the clearing.
She opened her four-pronged mouth and snorted a leaf from her face,
"Why in such a hurry, commander? Afraid of the dark?"
Her voice was playful, but the expression he shot her was serious.
She stopped,
"No, not the dark, but what might be hiding in it."
He began, locking their food away into the climate-controlled lock boxes,
"Plus, the last group of colonizers that tried to settle on this place ran screaming after just one night. According to the Galactic Assembly science teams, there was nothing particularly dangerous about this planet. On the first scans they found no big animals, be it herbivore or carnivore, just some smaller species. So, they have no clue what could have scared the settlers off. The UNSC wants to know what's up. The report had something to do with a “mimic”… Now I'm not sure what that means, the civilians were to shaken up to talk, but they seemed adamant that it was important NOT to go outside after dark, and I am not in the habit of ignoring warnings."
Sunny nodded a tiny bit apprehensive.
Whatever could have made a human run screaming was not something she particularly wanted to deal with.
Krill was as skeptical as ever,
"Probably just some strange planetary creature, no big deal. They probably saw it, assumed it was some sort of folk monster and worked themselves up enough to run away."
Commander Vir didn't say anything, but didn't look like he agreed.
Then again, he was known heavily as the kind of man that liked to give people the benefit of the doubt.
They got the camp packed up, just as the star was beginning to set in the north (the planet had a strange rotation, relative to its magnetic field), and Commander Vir made sure his marines had entered the shuttles and closed the door, remaining the last one before coming into the third shuttle and closing the door behind him.
Two other marines were watching the monitors in the cockpit, so he took a seat on his bedroll next to where Sunny sat by the wall, idly tracing one of her four claws through the striations on the floor.
Krill floated not too distantly, listening to the sound of idle conversation.
Sunset came and went, and nothing on the camera peaked the marine's interest.
They left one person on watch for that night while the other came back to select a bedroll and get some sleep.
Commander Vir and Sunny were out like lights, back-to-back with each other in the tropical warmth of the planet's midnight atmosphere.
It hardly seemed like a bad place to settle down.
Even Krill had dropped into his half-meditative trance, still partially aware of what was going on around him.
[…]
”…”
”Adaaaaaaam…”
”…”
”I’m all alone. Lost in the dark…”
”Mommy, I hear crows!”
”Is someone there?”
”There is something in the bushes…”
"Adam!"
”ADAM!!!”
Commander Vir jolted away in a cold sweat, looking around for where the voice had originated.
OH NO!
Everyone else was still asleep.
He shook himself a little.
No, it can’t be… That was strange, for a second he thought that maybe the infected starborn, the mindreading aliens he had to deal with some months before had returned to take over his mind, but... starborn couldn't survive on the face of a planet...
And he would have sworn that voice was the voice of a child.
He rubbed his eyes, stood and moved into the cockpit where one of the marines was still watching the cameras,
"Anything?"
He muttered, but the marine shook his head.
He was just opening his mouth to say something when…
”Something is out there… it knows what we are afraid of…”
*Silence*
Adam and the Marine looked at each other, both keenly aware that none of them had said something.
”…”
”…”
But they both knew they heard someone talk…
The voice they had heard came from the outside.
And then another sound came, this time not stopping, but going on, able to be heard through the walls of the shuttle…
A baby began to cry just outside the shuttle door.
The marine leaped to his feet eyes wide,
"What the hell!?
”HOLY FUCK!”
His startled voice caused everyone else in the compartment to wake up.
"Adam."
Commander Vir turned in a wild circle to face the wall behind him.
Of course, he couldn't see anything, because the voice had been just on the other side, like a small child pressing their mouth to the metal, whispering.
A few more of the marines had stood up, eyes turned to the hatch with the sound of the crying baby still echoing through the metal, slightly muffled by the door.
One of the marines got to his feet and reached for the handle, but commander Vir caught him,
"NO... that's not a baby marine. We are the only people on this planet."
The marine turned to look at him eyes wide with concern,
"But, sir maybe it's one of the settlers?”
"They may not have been coherent, but they would have told us if they were missing a baby."
"Adam, Adam, Adam..."
As the voice repeated it plunged from the high chirp of a child deeper and deeper into a demonic growl.
”I’ll help you. Follow my voice!”
"Adam!"
Something slammed against the side of the shuttle.
”I’m coming to help, where are you? I can’t see you. I…can’t… see… YOU!”
The marines yelled out in alarm.
Commander Vir jumped back.
Something skittered and clawed at the metal outside.
More voices joined in whispering pleading.
Voices rose and fell, more often than not, mimicking the sound of children.
Sunny was up now and found herself at the center of a group of humans, who had backed themselves into a circle in the middle of the shuttle eyes wide.
The sounds died away for a few moments, leaving them in the deep silence of the forest.
Then there was a knock on the door…
"Daddy... Daddy, let me in, I'm scared... Help me."
One of the marines turned his wide-eyed face to the commander and then back to the door,
"Jamie."
A hand clamped around his shoulder,
"No, marine, that isn't who you think it is."
"Daddy... Daddy please help me."
The knocking turned to a frantic banging then a thudding,
"Daddy please, something is coming!"
The sound of a small body throwing itself against the door repeated over and over and over again.
The marine's face was streaked with tears, but he held his ground.
However, as they listened, the sound of thudding grew louder and louder.
The shuttle rocked violently.
A child could not have had the strength to do that.
The marines cowered back against each other, weapons pointed towards the hatch.
The voices faded, turning themselves back into gibbering whispers.
Whispering died away, replaced by the sound of something rushing through the trees.
*Thud thud thud*
On the pad of feet.
It's movements were unholy.
It's feet or hands, whatever they were, were soft, and something dragged behind it.
Pad, pad scrape, pad pad, scrape.
"Let me in."
The voice was loud and sudden, emanating from about knee height and right behind them.
A girl's voice, throat torn and ragged, from fire...
…
Or from screaming.
The marines yelped and turned to the corner, where something now scratched against the metal.
Commander Vir was the first to voice what all the humans were thinking,
"Fuck this, let's get out of here."
With that, he rushed into the cockpit, giving a cursory glance to the cameras, but seeing nothing.
Engaging the coms system he opened a line to the other shuttles,
"Bravo, Charlie, this is Alpha leader ordering an immediate launch, do you copy?”
*Static*
*Silence*
”…”
For a horrifying moment, it seemed as if they wouldn't answer, but then two voices crackled over the line, breathless and hopeful, filled with their agreement.
Commander Vir engaged the launch sequence as the other marines strapped themselves in.
Krill and Sunny looked around the cockpit in confusion, hardly understanding what was going on.
Sure, there was something creepy outside, but it was outside and obviously couldn’t get in…
They had never seen the human's cut and run so fast before.
And they Cut and run as fast as they possibly could, making it out of atmosphere in record time.
[…]
Back aboard the ship, only the graveyard skeleton crew was there to meet them, surprised and worried to find three teams of frightened, bedraggled marines, and their more than paranoid commander eyeing the shadows in newfound paranoia.
Krill watched from the side confused.
Sunny looked on in worry.
What was wrong with their humans?
The skeleton crew got to work, packing up the gear, allowing the marines to return to the crew quarters for a rest. Commander Vir followed, but paused in the long hallway up to the captain's quarters, glancing back at Sunny.
She was about ready to head down the hall to her room when he spoke,
"You know... Um maybe it is best if... If maybe, we set up a watch for-for tonight. I mean just to make sure nothing ended up hitching a ride or... Or something."
Sunny looked at him in surprise,
"But captain, space..."
"Yeah yeah... I know, I mean... Just in case, but like in the rec room... Where we have light, and space to fight... If we have to."
She tilted her head at him, but finally nodded in agreement.
She had never seen such a look of relief on anyone's face before, and together they made their way to the rec room, set up one of the couches and began their "watch.".
A watch that simply turned into Adam leaning against her arm and promptly falling asleep.
She rolled her eyes a little, and was about to do the same when…
*THUD*
A thud echoed to her from down the hallway.
She opened her eyes, suddenly awake and alert, ready for some creature to come around the corner, but instead one of the marines poked his head in,
"Er... do you guys, you know... need help?”
Sunny looked down at the sleeping commander and sighed,
"The more the merrier I suppose."
"Oh... ok... I guess I can help."
He walked over, selected a beanbag, pulled it up to her feet, and immediately followed his commander's lead.
Sunny sighed and closed her eyes, not even bothering to open them when the next set of footsteps moved up the hall,
"Yes... we are on watch, and yes, obviously we need your help."
This marine took the other side of the couch.
By the end of a half hour span Sunny sat lording over a room full of uneasily sleeping humans, and she idly wondered if this is what it would have been like to have a brood of her own.
However, since she wasn't likely to ever experience that, she would happily protect these ones from the dark.
[…]
Other species don't mind the mimics so much. However, for some reason they have a profound impact on humans. My theory is that, like the starborn they have some ability in telepathy, and because of this, they have complete access to the one thing that humans fear most: Their own imagination
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Intro post by me
OC-whole collection
Patreon of the author

Surprisingly good content on Nextdoor. The post:
Let's laugh at local politics.
"Unpolitically Correct Voters Guide for Real People"
​
*Much like Tucker Carlson's TV show, this post is for entertainment purposes only. (Side note: my lawyer is also Tucker Carlson's lawyer and he told me to say that so I can't be held accountable for being legally braindead)*
Wayne Williams - Do you love water restrictions? Do you love traffic? Do you love the establishment? Do you love puppet politicians? Then you'll love Wayne Williams. Directly in the pockets of developers, Williams is the choice for anyone who wants unregulated growth that will force those in charge of our water infrastructure to make difficult decisions when our supply reaches a critical point. In his defense, he may actually be a good guy but a ventriloquist dummy is only as good as the person with their hand up his ass.
​
John "Tigger" Tiegen - You know that family member that ruins every thanksgiving dinner with endless schizophrenic rants about the deep state? This is who they would vote for if they weren't so woke to know that the voting machines are being controlled by the spectre of Mao Zedong. But they know a workaround to ensure their candidate gets into office: drive around with flags flying from their truck. And obviously if that doesn't work then the back up is just claiming election fraud.
​
Kallan Rodebaugh - The only good candidate. Not tainted by any Facebook narratives. Doesn't attack his opponents. All campaign donations go to Springs Mission. He has way better hair than any other choices. Can lift more than any other choices.
​
Daryll Glenn - This is the only candidate who will end the COVID lockdowns that Obama has inflicted on this country. Okay, sure, they have ended, but he'll travel back in time and end them. And sure, Obama isn't in office, but anyone who likes Glenn knows that Obama is teamed up with George Soros and Bill Gates to implant 5g chips in the populace and control them. Glenn will also fight back against the controllers of the Jewish space lasers that have been the cause of wildfires. Voting for him gets you a coupon code for MyPillow, so that's awesome.
​
Yemi - You know that warm fuzzy feeling you got when you voted for Obama because of all the hope and change and what not, then under Obama we drone struck a Yemeni wedding and it and we all were just like, "yeah, I definitely believe that I'm a leftist by voting for that" and then you were all like "orange man put kids in cage, I'm voting against him" and then the new guy just got nicer kids for the cage and you were all like "yeah, that's awesome I definitely think I'm a leftist for that"? Remember? Pepperidge farm remembers. Well, you can revive that feeling of neoliberal fetishistic disavowal by voting for a guy whose business was involved in wage theft and ignored sexual harassment allegations. Thank God (who he has personally spoken with, so there might be some collusion there) his supporters are telling people he wasn't to blame for those incidents because I haven't seen any evidence of him addressing the issue and clearing the air.
​
Christopher Mitchell - Finally, a candidate who has briefly skimmed the cliff's notes of the Constitution and is running a campaign based on a 4th graders understanding of said Constitution. He claims he'll handle things objectively, which, one can very well infer from reading about him that his version of objectivity will hew so close to subjective that you'll question the definition of either term. Also, wtf is the cowboy revolution? Does that mean this guy owns a Ford f-150 that's never left concrete?
​
Andrew Dalby - The dude took out a $400,000 loan for his campaign and his largest expenditure, the largest single expenditure among any of the candidates, is a $275,000 transaction to Dark Money Advertising LLC. The joke writes itself folks. A true caricature of politics. And listen, as a straight white male, I'm just as excited as the next straight white male for the possibility of the ideals in Handmaids Tale being the law of the land, but dude, chill. Side note: When Yemi claims he talked to God he was actually talking to Dalby.
​
Lawrence Martinez - I feel like if I try to add any coherent thoughts to this guy's platform, people will accuse me of being involved with his campaign. Considering that incoherence has been the preference for the executive branch of our federal government since 2016, he should be the frontrunner. But it's very likely that reading this is the first time you've heard of him.
​
Sallie Clark - The "i WoN't vOtE fOr cArEeR PoLiTiCiAnS" crowd aren't voting for her, so that is one out of two good things going for her. Of the viable candidates, she's probably the best choice when it comes to the real issues Colorado Springs faces (the ones Wayne Williams will make worse). But, as evidenced by her attack ad on Williams (which, by principle I don't vote for candidates who run attack ads) which juxtaposed Williams as someone who would dare reach across the aisle in bipartisan fashion, she is representative of the plague that is American entertainment politics. In a race that is supposed to be non-partisan, she has assured us that she is a conservative republican who is fine with alienating an entire voting demographic. I also heard a rumor that she talks to Margaret Thatcher with a Ouija board but I can't prove that.
​
Jim Miller - Jim Miller will increase the distance that sex offenders can live from schools. Jim Miller will increase the distance that sex offenders can live from playgrounds. Jim Miller will increase the distance that sex offenders can live from Chuck E Cheese. That's pretty much the platform. Oh, he doesn't like potholes either. We can all get on board with that, right? Just deport the pedos to Teller county and fix the potholes? We should probably just vote for this guy.
​
Longinos - You know that joke, "How do you know if someone's vegan? Don't worry, they'll tell you." Well, that's how Longinos is with his military career. And just like any panhandler that makes a dubious claim about being a veteran on their cardboard sign, he knows it's a strategy that works in this setting. He also makes the noble claim that he is the candidate for "the people" while being adamantly against everything half of "the people" want. He'll get up to 3% of the vote, which will at least beat Tiegen so that's fun.
​
Strand - Again, this is probably the first time you've heard of him. I think at this point it's probably a waste of time to waste my breath on someone all of us just heard of today because of this post. (The joke is that you all should have heard of him but he's been pushed far aside in this election)

When I was 29 years old, 6 years ago, in August I started dating a girl of 21 who at first seemed to be the right one: funny, smart, so much chemistry between. The First 3 months were super beautiful.
in November she started to be less in touch, citing as reasons the fact of studying and exams and also the environmental context (she was in a university environment very strict under the aspect of rules), telling me also that she had an elderly relative with health problems, etc…. Basically, passing motivations anyway, and she reassured me by telling me that if we messaged less than before was exclusively due to those reasons. Distance was a factor, but apparently not insurmountable.
The fact of the matter is that since November we chatted lesser and lesser, less, but she always saying that there was nothing but too many commitments. that staff progressively escalates though, as she texts me back a day and then disappears directly for 10 days.
In december, after 10 days of ghosting I texted her telling her that she could have told me that she wasn't interested anymore. And she defended herself by always saying again it was just the period etc. and used the phrase "right now I feel like I don't have the head for a relationship."
It didn't make sense: she had told me that the causes of the fact that we were chatting less were all related to temporary factors, but they would be over soon (exams would be over soon, her academic year was ending in December, and from December 20 to Epiphany she would have 3 weeks of vacation).
The fact is that throughout the Christmas vacations she disappears. On January 11 I seek her out and have a contentious discussion: I tell her that she had been telling me liars me for a month and a half and that everything she had told me was bullshit, that in fact her motives were not that, since she had had 3 weeks of complete freedom at Christmas and she had given a damn anyway.
I shove it in her face that I had realized her plan: that she had done everything in such a way that she would push me to me to get fed up and been done eith her. So that she could get away with a "clean face". Instead I waited for her at that time, only at Christmas the "bubble burst" and she didn't know what to do anymore. January 11, 2018 was the last time we spoke.
The following April, on day 23th she published a story in which she said "+ 3”. So she had been engaged for 3 months to a fellow collegue of hers (she gave preference to the need to have sex at hand) that is January 24, two weeks after she dismissed me. From there I realize that she lied to me, that she had cleverly set the stage to take me out so that it would lead to me getting fed up and break with her.
5 years have passed and in the work environment by a twist of fate I have been transferred to manage an office that has under control another office where now she works as employee. In this new position I will stay for 3 years and a part of me would really like to return all the harm she has done to me giving instructions to her boss about making her spend 3 years in the worst possible way. Do you think it would be fair or i should be more mature?
TL;DR: i could have the chance to make a person to make amends after she made fun of my loyalty an thought I deserved lies

Does the engine torque in a car cause load transfer? In particular the twisting reaction torque acting on the engine mounts? It’s never mentioned in any road car textbooks but it’s been mentioned that the torque from the engine/propeller of a plane cause the plane to roll in opposite direction. Are there any differences between the two that lead to this?

FYI, this is a story COLLECTION. Lots of standalones technically. So, you can basically start to read at any chapter, no pre-read of the other chapters needed technically (other than maybe getting better descriptions of characters than: Adam Vir=human, Krill=antlike alien, Sunny=tall alien, Conn=telepathic alien). The numbers are (mostly) only for organization of posts and continuity.
OC Written by Charlie Stastarrfallknightrise,
Typed up and then posted here by me.
Proofreading and language check for some chapters by u/Finbar9800
Future Lore and fact check done by me.
Uhhhh scaaary, really reminded me of this fellow here in the music video.
Previous First [Next](link)
Fear...
I think it would be safe to say that it is the one universal emotion across the galaxy. For most of us, fear is a means to an end: a simple mode of survival, but for humans... Well fear is something more. For us fear comes in situations where we might die, and that's it. The only thing we fear is the loss of life before our time is up.
Humanity... Humanity fears implication.
Sure humans experience fear in life or death situations, but sometimes they don't. Humans will jump from planes, play with fire, and swim deep under the crushing weight of water well over three to four times the pressure of their own gravity. They will tie ropes to their ankles and then jump off of high places.
I don't think I have ever seen a human that was truly afraid, or at least not overtly... Not until today anyway.
Sure, humans fear death, but they fear implications more. Life or death situations are hardly an issue when you have your own imagination to fear.
Humans are a strange species that can leap from the sky for a thrill, but alone in the darkness and safety of their own homes, they conjure up things to fear in the dark.
They see shadows out of the corners of their eyes and reflections in mirrors at their backs.
They fear the implication of things that are unseen.
Believe me, the human mind is a horror house of personal torture.
Just watch their movies, and I promise you that some of the scariest ones to humans, do not involve natural disaster, life or death, or even dangerous killers, but they do involve the unexplainable, the uncontrollable. Those things that hide unseen in the dark and infect the mind like an insidious disease.
Man does not fear life or death, he fears his own mind and what might hide in it's dark recesses.
[…]
"Get everything locked up, we do not want to be out here after dark."
The commander ordered, pushing through a thick strand of deep purple foliage, and out into a large-circular clearing where three of their shuttles stood, surrounded by that day's camping supplies, and a group of waiting marines.
They stood as the second team of marines trudged their way from the bushes covered in dirt, slime, and sweat from their day's work.
"Break it all down and get it back inside."
The commander ordered.
Krill, who had been waiting in camp with the marines, floated over to absently eye the marines as if for scratches scrapes and bruises.
Sunny, having problems to navigate the dense foliage with her height and her carapace, was the last to break through the trees, hauling her bulk over a mossy stone and onto the strange purple moss of the clearing.
She opened her four-pronged mouth and snorted a leaf from her face,
"Why in such a hurry, commander? Afraid of the dark?"
Her voice was playful, but the expression he shot her was serious.
She stopped,
"No, not the dark, but what might be hiding in it."
He began, locking their food away into the climate-controlled lock boxes,
"Plus, the last group of colonizers that tried to settle on this place ran screaming after just one night. According to the Galactic Assembly science teams, there was nothing particularly dangerous about this planet. On the first scans they found no big animals, be it herbivore or carnivore, just some smaller species. So, they have no clue what could have scared the settlers off. The UNSC wants to know what's up. The report had something to do with a “mimic”… Now I'm not sure what that means, the civilians were to shaken up to talk, but they seemed adamant that it was important NOT to go outside after dark, and I am not in the habit of ignoring warnings."
Sunny nodded a tiny bit apprehensive.
Whatever could have made a human run screaming was not something she particularly wanted to deal with.
Krill was as skeptical as ever,
"Probably just some strange planetary creature, no big deal. They probably saw it, assumed it was some sort of folk monster and worked themselves up enough to run away."
Commander Vir didn't say anything, but didn't look like he agreed.
Then again, he was known heavily as the kind of man that liked to give people the benefit of the doubt.
They got the camp packed up, just as the star was beginning to set in the north (the planet had a strange rotation, relative to its magnetic field), and Commander Vir made sure his marines had entered the shuttles and closed the door, remaining the last one before coming into the third shuttle and closing the door behind him.
Two other marines were watching the monitors in the cockpit, so he took a seat on his bedroll next to where Sunny sat by the wall, idly tracing one of her four claws through the striations on the floor.
Krill floated not too distantly, listening to the sound of idle conversation.
Sunset came and went, and nothing on the camera peaked the marine's interest.
They left one person on watch for that night while the other came back to select a bedroll and get some sleep.
Commander Vir and Sunny were out like lights, back-to-back with each other in the tropical warmth of the planet's midnight atmosphere.
It hardly seemed like a bad place to settle down.
Even Krill had dropped into his half-meditative trance, still partially aware of what was going on around him.
[…]
”…”
”Adaaaaaaam…”
”…”
”I’m all alone. Lost in the dark…”
”Mommy, I hear crows!”
”Is someone there?”
”There is something in the bushes…”
"Adam!"
”ADAM!!!”
Commander Vir jolted away in a cold sweat, looking around for where the voice had originated.
OH NO!
Everyone else was still asleep.
He shook himself a little.
No, it can’t be… That was strange, for a second he thought that maybe the infected starborn, the mindreading aliens he had to deal with some months before had returned to take over his mind, but... starborn couldn't survive on the face of a planet...
And he would have sworn that voice was the voice of a child.
He rubbed his eyes, stood and moved into the cockpit where one of the marines was still watching the cameras,
"Anything?"
He muttered, but the marine shook his head.
He was just opening his mouth to say something when…
”Something is out there… it knows what we are afraid of…”
*Silence*
Adam and the Marine looked at each other, both keenly aware that none of them had said something.
”…”
”…”
But they both knew they heard someone talk…
The voice they had heard came from the outside.
And then another sound came, this time not stopping, but going on, able to be heard through the walls of the shuttle…
A baby began to cry just outside the shuttle door.
The marine leaped to his feet eyes wide,
"What the hell!?
”HOLY FUCK!”
His startled voice caused everyone else in the compartment to wake up.
"Adam."
Commander Vir turned in a wild circle to face the wall behind him.
Of course, he couldn't see anything, because the voice had been just on the other side, like a small child pressing their mouth to the metal, whispering.
A few more of the marines had stood up, eyes turned to the hatch with the sound of the crying baby still echoing through the metal, slightly muffled by the door.
One of the marines got to his feet and reached for the handle, but commander Vir caught him,
"NO... that's not a baby marine. We are the only people on this planet."
The marine turned to look at him eyes wide with concern,
"But, sir maybe it's one of the settlers?”
"They may not have been coherent, but they would have told us if they were missing a baby."
"Adam, Adam, Adam..."
As the voice repeated it plunged from the high chirp of a child deeper and deeper into a demonic growl.
”I’ll help you. Follow my voice!”
"Adam!"
Something slammed against the side of the shuttle.
”I’m coming to help, where are you? I can’t see you. I…can’t… see… YOU!”
The marines yelled out in alarm.
Commander Vir jumped back.
Something skittered and clawed at the metal outside.
More voices joined in whispering pleading.
Voices rose and fell, more often than not, mimicking the sound of children.
Sunny was up now and found herself at the center of a group of humans, who had backed themselves into a circle in the middle of the shuttle eyes wide.
The sounds died away for a few moments, leaving them in the deep silence of the forest.
Then there was a knock on the door…
"Daddy... Daddy, let me in, I'm scared... Help me."
One of the marines turned his wide-eyed face to the commander and then back to the door,
"Jamie."
A hand clamped around his shoulder,
"No, marine, that isn't who you think it is."
"Daddy... Daddy please help me."
The knocking turned to a frantic banging then a thudding,
"Daddy please, something is coming!"
The sound of a small body throwing itself against the door repeated over and over and over again.
The marine's face was streaked with tears, but he held his ground.
However, as they listened, the sound of thudding grew louder and louder.
The shuttle rocked violently.
A child could not have had the strength to do that.
The marines cowered back against each other, weapons pointed towards the hatch.
The voices faded, turning themselves back into gibbering whispers.
Whispering died away, replaced by the sound of something rushing through the trees.
*Thud thud thud*
On the pad of feet.
It's movements were unholy.
It's feet or hands, whatever they were, were soft, and something dragged behind it.
Pad, pad scrape, pad pad, scrape.
"Let me in."
The voice was loud and sudden, emanating from about knee height and right behind them.
A girl's voice, throat torn and ragged, from fire...
…
Or from screaming.
The marines yelped and turned to the corner, where something now scratched against the metal.
Commander Vir was the first to voice what all the humans were thinking,
"Fuck this, let's get out of here."
With that, he rushed into the cockpit, giving a cursory glance to the cameras, but seeing nothing.
Engaging the coms system he opened a line to the other shuttles,
"Bravo, Charlie, this is Alpha leader ordering an immediate launch, do you copy?”
*Static*
*Silence*
”…”
For a horrifying moment, it seemed as if they wouldn't answer, but then two voices crackled over the line, breathless and hopeful, filled with their agreement.
Commander Vir engaged the launch sequence as the other marines strapped themselves in.
Krill and Sunny looked around the cockpit in confusion, hardly understanding what was going on.
Sure, there was something creepy outside, but it was outside and obviously couldn’t get in…
They had never seen the human's cut and run so fast before.
And they Cut and run as fast as they possibly could, making it out of atmosphere in record time.
[…]
Back aboard the ship, only the graveyard skeleton crew was there to meet them, surprised and worried to find three teams of frightened, bedraggled marines, and their more than paranoid commander eyeing the shadows in newfound paranoia.
Krill watched from the side confused.
Sunny looked on in worry.
What was wrong with their humans?
The skeleton crew got to work, packing up the gear, allowing the marines to return to the crew quarters for a rest. Commander Vir followed, but paused in the long hallway up to the captain's quarters, glancing back at Sunny.
She was about ready to head down the hall to her room when he spoke,
"You know... Um maybe it is best if... If maybe, we set up a watch for-for tonight. I mean just to make sure nothing ended up hitching a ride or... Or something."
Sunny looked at him in surprise,
"But captain, space..."
"Yeah yeah... I know, I mean... Just in case, but like in the rec room... Where we have light, and space to fight... If we have to."
She tilted her head at him, but finally nodded in agreement.
She had never seen such a look of relief on anyone's face before, and together they made their way to the rec room, set up one of the couches and began their "watch.".
A watch that simply turned into Adam leaning against her arm and promptly falling asleep.
She rolled her eyes a little, and was about to do the same when…
*THUD*
A thud echoed to her from down the hallway.
She opened her eyes, suddenly awake and alert, ready for some creature to come around the corner, but instead one of the marines poked his head in,
"Er... do you guys, you know... need help?”
Sunny looked down at the sleeping commander and sighed,
"The more the merrier I suppose."
"Oh... ok... I guess I can help."
He walked over, selected a beanbag, pulled it up to her feet, and immediately followed his commander's lead.
Sunny sighed and closed her eyes, not even bothering to open them when the next set of footsteps moved up the hall,
"Yes... we are on watch, and yes, obviously we need your help."
This marine took the other side of the couch.
By the end of a half hour span Sunny sat lording over a room full of uneasily sleeping humans, and she idly wondered if this is what it would have been like to have a brood of her own.
However, since she wasn't likely to ever experience that, she would happily protect these ones from the dark.
[…]
Other species don't mind the mimics so much. However, for some reason they have a profound impact on humans. My theory is that, like the starborn they have some ability in telepathy, and because of this, they have complete access to the one thing that humans fear most: Their own imagination
[…]
[…]
Redditors note: To calm down and increase the mood, I would like to quote my favorite comment exchange (and a great Harry Potter reference) from wattpad about this chapter:
krowlyn: SPACE BOGGARTS!
Dryadgreentree: Le gasp *points space wand* Riddikulus!
articfox120: *Boggart turns into Krill wearing a wedding dress*
Previous First [Next](link)
Intro post by me
OC-whole collection
Patreon of the author
Thanks for reading! As you saw in the title, this is a cross posted story written by starrfallknightrise and I'll just upload some of it here for you guys, if you are interested and want to read ahead, the original story-collection can be found on tumblr or wattpad to read for free. (link above this text under "OC:..." ) It is the Empyrean Iris story collection by starfallknightrise. Also, if you want to know more about the story collection i made an intro post about it, so feel free to check that out to see what other great characters to look forward to! (Link also above this text). I have no affiliations to the author; just thought I’d share some of the great stories you might enjoy a lot!
Obviously, I have Charlie’s permission to post this and for the people already knowing the stories, or starting to read them: If you follow the link and check out the story you will see some differences. I made some small (non-artistic) changes, mainly correcting writing mistakes, pronoun correction and some small additional info here and there of things which were not thought of/forgotten or even were added/changed in later stories (like the “USS->UNSC” prefix of Stabby, Chalar=/->Sunny etc). As well as some "biggemajor" changes in descriptions and info’s for the same stringency/continuity reason. That can be explained by the story collection being, well a story collection at the start with many standalone-stories just starring the same people, but later on it gets more to a stringent storyline with backstories and throwbacks. (For example Adam Vir has some HEAVY scars over his body, following his bones, which were not really talked about up till half the collection, where it says it covers his whole body and you find out via backflash that he had them the whole time and how he got them, they just weren't mentioned before. However, I would think a doctor would at least see these scars before that, especially since he gets analyzed, treated and goes shirtless/in T-shirts in some stories). So TLDR: Writing and some descriptions are slightly changed, with full OK from the author, since he himself did not bother to correct these things before.

Hello everyone! I'm here again to present on of my theories for feedback. This time it's about the growing discussion that Cassidy is NOT the Vengeful spirit after all!
Lemme know what you think in the comments!
​
(also, this is a video script, so forgive me if there are in-text notes placed in the following)
​

• The almost universal explanation for the identity of the vengeful spirit is that of a girl named Cassidy. She gets her first mention in the novel trilogy, in the book The Fourth Closet, Being described as little girl with long black hair and is depicted with the MCI kids. And later, in the Logbook, we see a girl who seems to match the description of the book oddly well. And lo and behold, if we are to solve the “my name” cipher in the logbook, we get the name “cassidy”. Boom, Cassidy is obviously the second spirit in the logbook, the one talking to the crying child. And then judging by the fact that in the stitchwraith stingers for the fazbear frights stories, we see two kids possessing the same animatronic body, one vengeful, angry one who is in control and another kinder, benevolent one who is blind to the world around him, and the fact that we see one spirit in the logbook who can’t see and one who obviously can, we can easily piece together that the Vengeful Spirit in UCN.. is cassidy. Because the Vengeful spirit is very obviously inside of Golden Freddy, and it makes no sense for the vengeful spirit, to be The crying child (show list of reasons why it doesn’t make any sense). And since the crying child is obviously blind to the outside world like the benevolent kid in the stitchwraith stories, there has to be another spirit controlling golden freddy in UCN, just as the vengeful kid does in the stitchwraith. And who else could there be to fill that role, but the second logbook spirit Cassidy..
• ​

But… As much as I love that theory… over the last couple of years, there have been some major problems popping up around it…
Because- it looks like we have been neglecting the possible existence of an even better candidate for the vengeful spirit, Andrew.
​
In the aforementioned Stitchwraith stories, we are introduced to a kid named Andrew, who’se the vengeful and angry spirit inside of the stitchwraith, and while he’s long been considered to be a simple stand in for cassidy in the books, there are some major details in the books and games that make that are making me question that assumption
​
Because you see, Andrew is a perfect parallel to the vengeful spirit, unlike almost every other parallel in the books which have at least SOME major differences from the games. In terms of parallels, Andrew arguably is more up there with William and Henry than the other “close parallels” in the books like Hudson in What we found(Micheal Afton) and Jake in the real Jake (The Crying Child)
Because, we know Andrew is killed by William and hidden in a Golden Freddy suit in the books, while Cassidy is only directly referenced in the logbook, and was INFERRED to be in Golden Freddy with the crying child, based on the evidence we mentioned earlier.
Andrew is the one who latches on to William Afton’s soul during the fnaf 6 fire in fazbear frights, yes, THAT fnaf 6 fire, and keeps Afton alive in a perpetual state of nightmares as revenge.
Andrew is also a young BOY with curly black hair, long enough to stick out of Golden freddy’s neck while he is stuffed inside (show fnaf 4 minigame scene with big question mark on it) and not only that, but the vengeful spirit in UCN is referred to with exclusively male pronounce in the game: (show UCN quotes)
​
And it’s appearance? Well, the Vengeful Spirit is represented by none other than Scott’s SON.
​
But it doesn’t end there, because in the aforementioned fnaf novel trilogy, which is yet another separate canon from the fazbear frights books, Golden Freddy is NOT cassidy, in that book series, the series, which I mind you, is Cassidy's formal INTRODUCTION to the fnaf franchise, she is just another one of the Missing children's incident kids. Instead, Golden Freddy is possessed by an oddly unrelated young boy named Michael Brooks. In those books, Michael brooks was a sixth kid who was killed separately from the rest in 1985 by Willaim Afton, and his body hidden in Golden Freddy.
​
And while these books may be an alternate universe take, they still have some major similarities to the games, especially in regards to the characters, with almost all game characters having similar book counterparts, and said counterparts are usually in the books for the sole purpose of telling us new information about the versions of their charecters in the games (show William, Henry and Charlie)
But, what about that part about him being a sixth missing kid? In the games AND most of the book stories, the Missing Children's incident is very clearly stated to only have FIVE victims, but, key word here is on MOST, because in perhaps most famous book story, Into the pit, we get taken back in time to a weird twisted version of the 1985 location, and the story has William show us his accomplishments of that Era: which compose of not five, but SIX dead kids, all on display for us the protagonist to see
​
But wait, how can we reconcile SIX dead kids with all the other lore sources we know? And, why should we trust a book with a time traveling ballpit in it anyways?
​
Well, I think I have found the answer to both of those questions, and the answer comes from none other, than matpat
​
In his second episode of his Ultimate fnaf timeline, Matpat is finally able to piece together exactly what the toy Chica anime cutscenes in UCN were supposed to tell us. Because while it has been generally agreed upon that the cutscenes are about William rather creepily stalking and killing his victims, we.. really didn't learn anything new from it at the time.
​
But in his theory, Matpat proposes that the Toy Chica anime cutscenes are there to give some more context on why the Vengeful spirit, is so vengeful.
​
Because for Toy Chica’s last Murder, she… goes a bit off the rails, compared to her previous killings..
(show UCN quote)
So basically, the Toy Chica anime cutscenes in UCN being there to tell us that the vengeful spirit's death was extra gruesome and excessive, with Willaim going too far in his brutality. And while I genuinely believe Mat is correct here, even then, his theory would fit Andrew just as well as Cassidy.
​
That’s because, like he said, the Vengeful spirit WASN’T killed in Freddy’s! He was kidnapped and killed after school!
​
The vengeful spirits body was hidden in the Golden Freddy suit AFTERWARDS, but, while he WAS an afton victim he was NOT an MCI kid!
Most people don’t realize, but Into the pit isn’t actually about a time traveling ballpit, it’s about Eleanor tormenting a kid with illusions and showing him the evils of William afton. This is a theme that actually constitutes the bulk of the Fazbear frights stories, with the remnent/dream demon thing Eleanor screwing with peoples reality to torment them while showing them (and us) many of the unknown history of the Fazbear franchise before trying to lead them to a usually gruesome end.
That’s why there are SIX bodies in that story, because Ealanor is showing all the bodies that were HIDDEN in that Pizzaria, NOT just those of the five kids who went MISSING in the Pizzaria, dubbed the Missing childrens incident by the media. Five killed in the backroom, and one killed separately, but hidden in there with the rest anyways…
Eleanor seems to be preoccupied with the truths that aren’t well known, doesn’t she? Most serial killers in real life have a list of confirmed or heavily suspected kills, but most ALSO have a number of deaths that CAN’t be specifically linked back to them, because they don’t always kill in the same way. Except for in the case of neat and concise storytelling, why would William be any different?
And, all this considered, the fact that Cassidy is depicted with four confirmed MCI kids in the novel trilogy, that also gives credence to the theory that she is NOT the vengeful spirit, because if the previous theory is true, the vengeful spirit is NOT one of the official five MCI victims either!
​
And not only that, but the evidence against Cassidy doesn’t end there:
​
Because I'n Fnaf SB, we get to play a series of Princess Quest minigames that not only take through much of the old game lore, but directly change the outcome of the game and lead to the Vanny ending. It's been generally agreed upon that that these minigames follow the spirit of Cassidy, as she, now permanently latched onto Willaims soul just like Andrew was latched on to Afton in the books, is revived along with him in Glitchtrap and sets off to destroy him once and for all. And if we beat these minigames... she succeeds, and the now glitchtrap free vanny lays down her mask and helps Gregory out of the pizzaplex.
It all just works too well. Heck, we even got confirmation that we were playing as Cassidy from the game files... Or so we thought, as soon after the filename was discovered... in a notable first for the fnaf franchise, it was actually REMOVED.
But... Why? And why would this be the first time a filename has been changed like that in the series? Was it because it gave away the mystery? Well, the secret had already been out, fnaf has a history of giving hints or even reveals in the filenames just like that.. and on top of THAT, the fact the were playing as Cassidy was ALREADY abundantly obvious in the minigames. Because if the fact that we play as a little Golden Girl fighting Dark bunny creatures with Old man consequences in the background wasn't obvious enough I don't know what is.
Well, despite all the confusion around it, I’m gonna put in my controversial two cents and say that I really think the only plausible reason why this filename would be removed... is if it was WRONG… (”*HEAR ME OUT” disclaimer) Hold on everyone, this explanation is gonna need a LOT of background context, but trust me, it leads into something critical for this whole theory:
Because you gotta remember... Steel Wool is a full, professional game studio with many employees going in and out of the company on a regular basis. It is standard protocol for studios not to share sensitive story information with ALL of their employees, if they did, it would become leak-topia. They usually only share it with the ones that NEED to know it, and even then, fnaf lore is extremely intricate and difficult to understand, and even some of the game's lead producers seemed to be confused with the lore at times (show ray macaffy quote, with emphasis on "the fans will understand").
For all we know, the filename "cassidy" was just added in by a lower rank programmer or graphic designer who was confused about what the minigame meant or just didn't know exactly what he was talking about. And... this kind of thing isn't uncommon in the gaming industry. You know the famous "Project Dread" teaser in Metroid Prime 3? Well, that wasn't sanctioned by Nintendo.. at all. That was added in by a lower level employee who had been reading too many internet rumors about a leaked fifth metroid game called Dread,and while the game was real,the rumors were not, and it was one that the studio he worked at had never even HEARD of before. And that's why nothing about the so-called "teaser" ended up being correct in the end. It was just tiny bit of misinformation added in by a guy who thought he knew what he was talking about, one that even a company as big and draconian as Nintendo was with quality assurance accidentally let slip though the cracks.
​
So, I think that's exactly what happened with Cassidy here. With the sprite name being retconned out for the simple reason that… it was misleading.. In the first place.
​
But if this character we play as in Princess Quest isn't Cassidy, then the real question is... who is it??
And that leads us to what I think is.. Almost the smoking gun of my theory:
​
In Security Breach, in the basement we see this mural of what is obviously Cassidy painted on the wall. This mural shows her in a hospital bed with the same checkered patterns as the fnaf 4 bed, and the fnaf 4 lamp and IV next to her. What's notable about this image, apart from the fact that it has zero connection to the other murals on the walls, is that it has a big red X over the top, along with a big slash across the image.
The image is extremely confusing for a number of reasons, and it’s EXACT meaning has not yet been deciphered, but the premise of the message it’s putting across, is pretty dang clear: "not cassidy…" or “cassidy is not..” but.. the question is: "Cassidy is not" what? Is it saying she is NOT the bite victim? Well, duh, she isn't. Is it that she is NOT the person having the nightmares in fnaf 4? It would seem like it... Except that, not once in the eight years have I been in the community have I even heard someone even INFER that she was the one we play in fnaf 4. If Scott is trying to tell us something about the lore, why would he try to correct us about something nobody ever really thought in the first place? I mean, you might as well tell us that Henry never possessed ballora, because the community would get the same amount of value out of that statement as well (0+0, is still 0)
No, I think the message here is meant to read out more like "Cassidy is not” and then “something related to fnaf 4" or, perhaps more accurately “Cassidy is not related to” and something about the Crying Child, since this is his bed and surroundings. Sure, it could also be “Cassidy is not related to some aspect of Micheal” since the fnaf 4 gameplay is probably about him having nightmares about what he put his brother through, I still think it is about the crying child, since cassidy.. Is in a hospital bed. NOT the regular sleeping bed that Micheal dreams is in the room in the fnaf 4 gameplay.
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So, in a nutshell, if all the supposed references to Cassidy in the classic games are vague enough to fit a different spirit,
and if the person we play as in Princess quest, who fights against William and takes advice from Old Man Consequences isn't Cassidy, and last but not least: the message of "not cassidy" in regards to some aspect of fnaf 4 or the Crying child is directly displayed in the game. I think that finally, we have enough evidence to tilt the scales, and to say that the vengeful spirit, isn't Cassidy. And who else could fit the mold for that role anywhere near as good, as Andrew…
But alright alright, I'm sure you all dislike it as much as I do, because IF that theory is true, then, just who the heck IS Cassidy?? Why is she mentioned in the logbook? And.. Just what purpose does she serve in the fnaf story anyways?... And the answer to that.. is we just don't know.. Obviously, she has to be important, right? Not only because of her mention in the novels and the logbook, but because Scott once intended to write an ENTIRE FNAF MOVIE ABOUT HER. Yup, a couple of years back, while discussing old screenplays for the fnaf movie, Scott revealed that the movie was going to be about her at one point, but that he scrapped the idea because it was, quote "too complicated, taking place over may time periods and locations throughout the franchise's history".
But to me, that... only makes things more confusing, as Cassidy's perceived story in the games was.. rather simple. She is a girl who gets killed by William early on, and she only really does anything besides cameos as Golden freddy when William gets burned in UCN.
So, what did Cassidy do in the lore that was too long and complicated to portray in a movie? Was it a movie about Golden Freddy, and the entire fnaf sage from his point of view?
Bit.. if it was... then why didn't Scott say that it was a Golden Freddy movie?
he had no problem saying that other screenplays were about the puppet and the funtimes, so he wasn't afraid of letting people down with his scrapped ideas
And on top of THAT, when this screenplay idea was revealed, the community wasn't even sure if a character named Cassidy was even CANON, much LESS that she was the Vengeful spirit we saw in UCN. So to me... this is only further evidence that we've probably been mistaken about Cassidy's role and character... since the beginning
And.. Honestly, as much as I hated the idea of Cassidy not being the vengeful spirit, I really wanted to leave my theory there. I had all the evidence against Cassidy right in front of me, and.. I had even managed to find some more evidence on my OWN.. But.. there were some major details in the games and books… I just couldn’t reconcile with myself..
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-EVIDENCE AGAINST THIS THEORY:
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• If The vengeful spirit is male, then why would he be portrayed as a princess in Princess quest? Is that supposed to be Vanessa? If it is, then why does her story in those minigames mirror the vengeful spirit so perfectly?
• If andrew is canon to the game universe, then why is Jake from the real jake an OBVIOUS crying child parallel? (list similarities between the Crying Child and Jake that Matpat mentioned in his “reddit solved Golden Freddy” theory)
• Why does Andrew wear an Alligator mask? We all though that that was a reference to Happiest day, but the Ultimate guide strongly implies that the one we see in that minigame, is actually just a happy frog mask.
• Is it that SOME aspects of the frights series are identical to their variants in games, while other are fictionalized? Kinda like how Willaim and the fnaf 6 fire were identical between the frights books and the game canon, but but aspects like Elanor were not (at least we hope..). Or how springtrap and fazbear frights are almost identical to their game counterparts in fnaf 3 in the story “what we found” but the protagonist and corpse inside springtrap are completely different? Does this mean that likewise, Andrew is exactly the same between the book and game canons, but Even is replaced by a completely different kid named Jake in Fazbear frights?

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In my second to last theory, I stated that, based on the evidence from the latest books, that I think ALL of Tales from the Pizzaplex is canon to the game canon (which is terrible), and that it seems like at least SOME of Fazbear Frights is too (although “some” is already too much”) However, for now I’m gonna be optimistic until we get out smoking gun for or against that theory and say that the Frights series is probably just loosely related to the game canon. Probably being fictionalized stories based on real events in the fnaf canon, like the fnaf games we see in help wanted that were made by steve, a guy who didn’t even really know much about Freddy Fazbears Pizza. So, maybe the Stichwraith stories are canonically just embellishments of the Golden Freddy story. Maybe Andrew was real, but they turned the crying child into jake and put them both in the crazy contraption that is the stitchwraith just to make the story more interesting.
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But then… even if my “solution” for the last problem is true, there is still one more big problem here…
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In Fnaf 6 and the ultimate guide, the controversial theory of Molten MCI is all but confirmed. Where the classic animatronics from Fnaf 1 were melted down and their remnant injected into Funtime freddy.
Silly, but not a problem with this theory right? However, the problem is that, the ultimate guide and Candy cadets stories say that FIVE animatronics were melted down into the one that became Funtime Freddy. So, that would leave us Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy and… Golden Freddy…
And.. we more evidence for this in fnaf 3, where there are FIVE ghosts in the follow me minigame, despite only four animatronics being visibly destroyed. And in UCN, we get this line from Orvil the Elephant:
"He tried to release you, he tried to release us, but I won't let that happen, I will keep you here, I will hold you here, no matter how many times they burn us."
And.. that’s important.. Because that implies that the vengeful spirit is actively burning in the fnaf 6 fire as WELL. And, who else could the spirit be in but inside Molten Freddy?
So, if Cassidy is a MCI kid, and Andrew is the Vengeful spirit inside Golden Freddy.. Then just where the heck is Cassidy in Follow me? Is she just off hanging out in the back with the crying child while all her friends deal with William or something? Wait a second, if there are two souls in Golden Freddy, then why ISN’t The crying child there? I get that he would be sympathetic to his dad, but if so, then why would he just let the other spirits torment his dad? Gosh that incredible set of minigames has been retconned to mush-
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Now, as… regretful as I am to say it… there is SOME minor evidence for a “three spirit” golden Freddy, because in the stitchwraith stingers, it is shown that there is yet a THIRD presence inside the stitchwraith with Jake and Andrew. And.. whether this is Willaim Afton fused to Andrew’s soul, or eleanor causing more mischief again… isn’t EXACTLY clear… But regardless.. Any way you look at it, the stitchwraith has THREE spirits inside it… But.. even then, the “Cassidy isn’t affiliated with fnaf 4” message in SB would SEEM to contradict that, but… It’s at least a vague (but awful) possibility..
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And honestly… the biggest problem we have here is that, with the way the modern fnaf lore has degraded, we can no longer judge theories on whether or not they make sense, or how well they fit the overall story. You know what? It DOESN’t make any sense for Andrew to be the Vengeful spirit, heck, it doesn’t even make sense for him to be in the game canon at all, he should just be a cassidy parallel just like Jake is a crying child parallel. But yet… We keep getting more evidence that Cassidy isn’t who we thought she was.. And, at current, no one else remotely fits the bill except Andrew. The unfortunate truth is, that ever since Help Wanted came out, we’ve been shown time and time again NOT to expect fnaf’s writing to be good, but rather, for it to really be BAD . And, as awful as making a random book character canon and having such a seemly important and well liked character such as cassidy thrown to the wayside and made pointless is,if one is to read just how poor the writing is in The Tales Books and SB timeline.. This.. just seems like a normal thing that Scott would do at this point…
Back in the early days of fnaf, reason... was one of the few things had to decipher the lore. Back then, with so little and such vague pieces, you kinda just had to do the most reasonable conjecture and run with that. And thankfully, we almost always got it right (show Scott fnaf 4 quote "it seems there was nothing I could hide!). Nowadays, however, the fnaf story has become more and more unglued. Now, we mostly have to throw reason to the side and see just see what absurd explanation from the books we can try and use to fill in each gap. Things have gotten SO crazy, in fact, that over the course of two out of nine games, fnaf went from a series legendary for its lore, to one that is infamous for it
Honestly I’m 40-60 on the whole thing…. Ok, more like 30-70. I think that Cassidy makes complete sense as the Vengeful spirit inside of Golden Freddy… but the ONLY concrete connection she has to ANY of those roles is the fact that she’s seems to be communicating with the crying child in the Logbook. And now that SB is hammering in that we got something majorly wrong about Cassidy and her role means that at least SOMETHING about our interpretation of her has to give..
And on the other hand, Andrew fits the bill of the Vengeful spirit even better than Cassidy does. We know he’s a boy, he has a direct connection to Golden Freddy, is murdered by William, and keeps him alive in a perpetual state of nightmares after the fnaf 6 fire. And unlike Cassidy, where all these things are conjecture, they are indisputable fact with Andrew. Andrew.. Makes for a better Cassidy, then Cassidy. Not only that, but he also would be a sixth kid, which would line up with the number of bodies we see in the 1985 location in into the pit, and he also just aligns far better as a parallel to Micheal Brooks, a sixth kid killed separately by william and stuffed into the Golden Freddy suit in the 1985 location in the Novel trilogy.
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• But, even with all of THAT going for him, there are some major factors that just make no sense with Andrew. Andrew is in the book canon, in a story that’s just as much alternate-universe take or parallel as it is a depiction of the game canon
• In Princess quest, we pl one who is going through the story of the vengeful spirit is female, a Golden female, no less.
• And lastly, if Andrew is inside of golden freddy, then why isn’t HE the one talking to the crying child in the logbook? Why is it Cassidy? What role would Cassidy even have in the story anyways if she isn’t the vengeful spirit?
• ​

And.. worst of all I think… how do we know if any of the previous contradictions to Andrew have any good explanations.. Or they just bad writing? And ditto with the contradictions to Cassidy?
So again, right now I am.. Only a bit more certain about Andrew being the vengeful spirit in the games then I am Cassidy.
Andrew has the most direct evidence.. But makes the least sense. Cassidy Makes the most sense… but has the least direct evidence..
And again, my biggest fear here is that now that sense has been thrown out the window in the modern fnaf timeline, is that “sense” may not be justifiable evidence in any of these theories anymore.
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Anyways, this is shycrow, signing off

I wanna start locs but don’t have a barber that can do them any place close or have the money. The method I know best is the twisting with gel method but everyone says that you shouldn’t because it is bad for your hair. If you’re not supposed to use gel whats an alternative for getting locs. I heard the crochet hook method is hard to do yourself and I have somewhere around 3a hair so options are limited.

I know everyone is going through what they are going through but I just wanted to update everyone on the status of my PSVR2 and dealing with Sony.
Currently my PSVR2 is sitting in the box waiting to be returned.. onto my head before I check out this weeks daily races in GT7 and probably the TWD game some time later.
I haven't had any outstanding issues that weren't fixed by either turning on another light in my room, turning on tracking assist, or reading the directions on the screen, or simply restarting my PS5.
I've tried GT7, Demeo, Pavlov, Puzzling Places, Star Wars demo and dipped my toes into RE8. I'm sad to report that each and every one of those games have worked without much issue.
Demeo has a weird visual thing that happens for a split second when looking at the board in a certain angle but that's pretty much it.
GT7 was the easiest plug and play of them all. It took me all of 10 minutes from taking the PSVR2 out of the box to on my head and in game.
Pavlov has been pretty smooth, being aware of my own hands helps when remembering that the camera on the headset can't see behind me or at stupid angles I may twist my arms into.
I haven't had any differing software issues but that might be because it updated right out of the box and prompts you when you turn it on if there is one. I know everyone gets the same exact updates so it's probably not much news to report there.
I also have the charging dock station that has been plugged in for the last 3 weeks. My controllers have not melted and* the charging dock is still working; I'm not a heavy sweater though so YMMV. I haven't felt any extra heat from them and they've sat on the charging dock for days at a time.
My PS5 has also not been bricked, hasn't suddenly stopped working and it seems the two devices were purpose built for each other so that might explain why there is like zero friction between the two.
My passthrough mode looks like every other pass through mode. One text box.. grainy, colorless picture. I'm pretty sure that is working as intended because literally every time I've seen it anywhere it looks just like mine does.
I know a lot of people have not been having problems and I hope this helps them troubleshoot anything else that might come up but I'm still working on my comfort changes.
Sorry for the long read.
Tl;Dr: PSVR2 still works, Sony sent it on time, and I don't think I'll need to print out any return labels.. I hear people have trouble knowing how to return things and it's great I can avoid that!
Btw: My experience isn't everybody else's but I wanted to share my experience because I know people have a hard time using the search bar for answers.

DC movies! Here are options for downloading or watching Shazam! Fury of the Gods streaming the full movie online for free on 123movies & Reddit, including where to watch the anticipated superhero movies at home. Is Shazam 2 available to stream? Is Shazam! Fury of the Gods on Disney Plus, HBO Max, Netflix or Amazon Prime? Yes, we have found an authentic streaming option/service.
Watch Here: Shazam! Fury of the Gods Online Free
Now Is Shazam! Fury of the Gods available to stream? Is watching Shazam! Fury of the Gods on Disney Plus, HBO Max, Netflix, or Amazon Prime? Yes, we have found an authentic streaming option/service. A 1950s housewife living with her husband in a utopian experimental community begins to worry that his glamorous company could be hiding disturbing secrets.
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Showcase Cinema Warwick you'll want to make sure you're one of the first people to see it! So mark your calendars and get ready for a Shazam! Fury of the Gods movie experience like never before. of our other Marvel movies available to watch online. We're sure you'll find something to your liking. Thanks for reading, and we'll see you soon! Shazam! Fury of the Gods is available on our website for free streaming. Details on how you can watch Shazam! Fury of the Gods for free throughout the year are described
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If you're a fan of the comics, you won't want to miss this one! The storyline follows Shazam! Fury of the Gods as he tries to find his way home after being stranded on an alien Shazam! Fury of the Godst. Shazam! Fury of the Gods is definitely a Shazam! Fury of the Gods movie you don't want to miss with stunning visuals and an action-packed plot! Plus, Shazam! Fury of the Gods online streaming is available on our website. Shazam! Fury of the Gods online is free, which includes streaming options such as 123movies, Reddit, or TV shows from HBO Max or Netflix!
When Is Shazam! Fury of the Gods Release Date?
Yes, Shazam! Fury of The Gods will be released exclusively in theaters on March 17, 2023. Originally, the movie was expected to be released on April 1, 2021, but was then pushed to November 4, 2021, and again to March 17, 2023, with these delays ultimately being caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Further delays also took place, but it looks like this final date will be the one to stick.
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Where To Watch Shazam! Fury of the Gods:
As of now, the only place to watch Shazam! Fury of the Gods is to go to a movie theater when it drops on Friday, March 17.
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Watch Now: Shazam! Fury of the Gods Online Free
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You can find a local showing on Fandango. Other than that, you will have to wait for it to become available to rent or purchase on digital platforms like Prime Video, Apple, and Vudu or stream on HBO Max. Read on for more information.
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Is Shazam! Fury of the Gods Available for Streaming Online?
Right now, there are currently no confirmed plans for streaming Shazam! Fury of the Gods. As more cinemas open up and theater attendance continues to rise post-pandemic, simultaneous streaming and theater releases are becoming less common. However, if past titles are anything to go by, it's a safe bet that Fury Of The Gods will join its DCEU siblings on HBO Max within the next few months. It's possible that you'll also be able to rent or buy copies of the movie on other streaming platforms, such as Amazon or YouTube but again, it'll be a while before the movie becomes available anywhere other than in theaters.
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Will Shazam! Fury Of The Gods Be On HBO Max?
Since Shazam! Fury of the Gods is being distributed by Warner Bros. Discovery, it will, indeed, join HBO Max. However, unlike last year when the company would drop their movies on the streaming platform the same day they were released in theaters, we are going to have to wait at least 45 days before we can watch from the comfort of our living rooms.
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While there is no official streaming release date yet, Black Adam, another Warner Bros. movie, was released in theaters on Oct. 21 and didn’t make its way to HBO Max until Dec. 16 — just over 45 days after it debuted. If Shazam! Fury of the Gods follows the same trajectory, it’s possible we won’t be able to stream it until early May 2023.
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Will Shazam! Fury Of The Gods Be On Netflix?
No, Shazam! Fury of the Gods is not on Netflix — and it likely won’t be any time soon seeing as it is going to stream on HBO Max. In the meantime, you’ll just have to head out to a theater or wait for it to become available on streaming and VOD.
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Is Shazam 2 Available On Hulu?
Viewers are saying that they want to view the new superhero movie Shazam 2 on Hulu. Unfortunately, this is not possible since Hulu currently does not offer any of the free episodes of this series streaming at this time. It will be exclusive to the MTV channel, which you get by subscribing to cable or satellite TV services. You will not be able to watch it on Hulu or any other free streaming service.
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How to Watch Shazam! Fury Of The Gods Online:
There's been no official announcement regarding Shazam! Fury of the God's streaming release. However, given it's a DCU/Warner Bros. film, Shazam! 2 will eventually be released on HBO Max rather than Netflix, Paramount+, or Disney+.
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As for a potential streaming release date, let's look at Warner's two most-recent DCU films: Black Adam came to the service 56 after its theatrical debut; The Batman was available to stream 46 days after it first hit theaters. Assuming Warner uses a similar release cadence for Shazam 2, you can expect it to be on HBO Max by early-mid May. If you're looking to catch up on the first Shazam! movie, you have a few options. If you have an HBO Max subscription, you can stream it on that service.
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Shazam! Fury of the Gods Cast
Shazam! Fury of the Gods was written by Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan. It was directed by David F. Sandberg and stars the following actors:
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• Zachary Levi as Shazam
• Helen Mirren as Hespera
• Lucy Liu as Kalypso
• Rachel Zegler as Anthea
• Asher Angel as Billy Batson
• Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman
• Adam Brody as Super Hero Freddy
• Djimon Hounsou as Wizard

What is Shazam! Fury of the Gods About?
Shazam! Fury of the Gods continues the story of teenager Billy Baston and his adult superhero alterego, Shazam. Here's the official synopsis from Warner Bros.
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Bestowed with the powers of the gods, Billy Batson and his fellow foster kids are still learning how to juggle teenage life with their adult superhero alter egos. When a vengeful trio of ancient gods arrive on Earth in search of the magic stolen from them long ago, Shazam and his allies get thrust into a battle for their superpowers, their lives, and the fate of the world.

I have a pattern which provides an instruction for creating a 'dragon scale' textured pattern which states a wrap two stitch is used using the following instruction
Wrap 2: With right needle tip, lift strand between needles from front to back, k2, pass the lifted strand over the 2 sts just knitted.
When I have tried this I feel like it does not look right, does anyone know of a video which would provide instruction on how to do this? I am having trouble visiualing exactly what to do and am unsure what to search for exactly to find instruction
Thanks!

At the 1980 Republican National Convention Presidential nominee Ronald Reagan announced that ,in a shocking twist, former President Gerald Ford would be his running mate. The selection came as a shock to many as they suspected he would chose George H.W. Bush. Reagan and Ford would then later win the election in November defeating incumbent Jimmy Carter. Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the 40th President of the United States on January 20, 1981. Gerald Ford was sworn in as the 42nd Vice President and the first former president to serve as vice president after leaving office.
On March 30, 1981 President Reagan was assassinated by a man named John Hinckley Jr. at the Hilton Hotel in Washington D.C., Reagan was pronounced dead one hour later. 10 minutes after Reagan was pronounced dead, Vice President Gerald Ford was sworn in as the 41st President making him the second president to serve two nonconsecutive terms and the first to be vice president both times. In a televised address three hours after the shooting, President Ford said “Another national nightmare has occured and now we must stick together in order to move forward”. Ford selected Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker as Vice President, his seat was filled by Victor Ashe. In the months following the assassination Ford’s approval ratings were extremely high, however this would not last for long as by the 1982 midterms in which democrats would regain the senate and maintain the house.
In 1983 congress rejected his tax cut plan and stonewalled his legislation, resulting in him passing very few legislation. In 1984 Ford was not allowed to run for reelection and endorsed George H.W. Bush. In the 1984 election George H.W. Bush faced Walter Mondale, Mondale won the election along with democrats retaining congress. On Janaury 20, 1985, Walter Mondale was sworn in as the 42nd President of the United States, Geraldine Ferraro was sworn in as the 44th and first female Vice President.
End of timeline

I feel silly about this but I do need judgment
Just to give a small background, I'm a food addict and that means I eat to fix my bad mood. But I get a lot of hurtful comments from my family and cousins on my appearance each time they see me. I get told I will never be truly happy if i don't change
So, I wanted to go to a gym this year. I thought that exercising might become my new way of getting rid of anxiety and maybe it will encourage me to have a healthy diet. My parents pay for my monthly membership since I'm still just a student, altho it's a bit expensive. Now, I go 2-3 days a week and it's been two months now. There's a twist to this however, and it's that during those two months, I developed a new habit of eating food behind everyone's back. There are stores and restaurants near the gym so I would finish exercising, go to the grocery store, grab unhealthy snacks and eat them in a locked place where no one would notice me. Then I would get my family at home saying they're so proud of me for working out and eating healthy. I felt guilt every time i heard their compliments but that didn't stop my obsession of eating in secret from disappearing
Recently, my mom found out about what I do and we got into a really big argument. She asked me if I liked how my body looked and I answered with a yes, then she snapped at me. But instead of brushing it off, i got bitter and said I won't apologize. She called me ungrateful and childish for wasting money and that she will inform my dad about this. Now i'm here writing this because I don't know what I am anymore

Well, I've been sitting on this for a bit now, so thank you to u/cmdr_shadowstalker, u/BruhMomentGEE, and u/Kazevenikov for their editing help. I know these past few chapters have been heavy, but they are crucial to the long road ahead. Life truly is the journey for we all know our eventual destination. Without any further ado, the newest chapter.
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FIRST ---- PREVIOUS ---- [NEXT]
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Sera sighed as she looked up at the ceiling. It had been almost a week since Cain had left and she could feel his absence taking its toll. She had sometimes woken up, eager to make him breakfast, only to be greeted by silence as she tore the blankets off. Allison had come by a couple days ago for a movie night, but she had left early as her posting was being moved around and she was being called back to help train new Marines, on Earth this time.
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So…here she was, staring up at the ceiling thinking about Cain. Sera had thought that the time would fly and she would get a message from him on a courier ship but…nothing.
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The beeping of her omnipad shook her out of her funk a bit, the digital bell grating a bit to her more sensitive ears.
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“Hello?” Sera asked, her voice tired.
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“Hey girl! How’s it going?” the enthusiastic voice of Meli said from the other end of the line. Sera sighed as her more upbeat tone gave her something to focus on.
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Sera sighed as she deflated a bit on the bed. “Fine. Just…great.”
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She could hear Meli frowning from the other end of the line.
“Sera…you don’t sound fine. You can tell me girl, it’s okay. You and Cain only recently made up and…well, it got bad between you two if I remember what Allison told me. I could come over if you want,” Meli offered, her tone becoming gentler and more caring.
Sera shook her head and curled up on her side, boring imaginary holes into the drywall opposite her. Wanting nothing more than to just not talk about those awful two weeks. “N-no. It’s fine. I just…it’s a bit of a funk, okay? I’m fine Meli, truly I am,” she warbled, the memories of all the restless nights and painful memories beginning to well again.
“I’m not convinced Sera. You sound hurt. I’ll be over as soon as I can, and I may have a surprise for the three of us. See you in a bit!” Meli chirped before ending the call.
“I-wait! Meli? Meli? Damnit!” Sera cursed, her brief outburst leading her deflate more and more. She sighed as she thought about the brief things that had flashed in her mind. How Meli should have left her alone, how she still needed Cain-
The thought hit like a freight train, waves of sorrow crashing over her like a grotesque wave as she thought back to the things she had called Cain. How she had lashed out at him, driving him away when they needed each other the most. Sera felt herself grow weak at how she nearly tore herself apart in front of him, content to destroy the life they had built together.
She didn’t even care that she was still naked, the sheet offering little to nothing in terms or protection against the cold air of the AC. Sera shivered as the malaise took over, her bed now offering only cold comfort instead of the warmth of her fiancé by her side. She sniffled as another synthetic ping echoed from her omnipad, reluctantly rolling over to look at the message.
>Allison: Sent: 2:12 PM
Sera wanted to sink into the bed at Allison’s message, wanting to just be alone. A part of her scolded her for closing herself off, inwardly saying that she needed Allison and Meli now more than ever. But deep down another, more primal part of her kept her closed off and isolated. She had failed as a woman, to protect her man, from her own choices to boot. She deserved this.
Sera could feel the tears well up again as someone knocked on the door. Sniffling, she stumbled out of bed and navigated through the tight hallway. She coughed from a bit of spit going the wrong way and finally landed at the door, steeling herself before twisting the knob and opening up.
“Hey, did you get my mess-?” Allison began, stopping and fumbling a bit as Sera propped herself up in the doorway, her body in the nude.
“I…what is it?” Sera asked, her tone sad, almost defeated.
Allison swallowed. “Uh, well, you’re naked.”
“Huh? Oh, I didn’t notice,” Sera sighed about to close the door again. Allison reacted quickly and stopped Sera from shutting herself off again, the amazonian hybrid slipping inside.
“Hey, c’mon Sera, this isn’t you. Why don’t we go out for lunch? You look like you could use something to eat,” Allison tried, pointing to where Sera had slacked, her once fit yet plump body now looking more like the fresh recruits Allison saw at the newly established garrisons around the state.
“So? Does it matter?” Sera groaned, shuffling her way back to the bedroom, Allison following close behind.
“Yes, it absolutely does! Sera, Cain wouldn’t want this for you. Just, please, reach out. I’m here for you,” Allison sighed, Sera ignoring her.
“Y’know what, I don’t care. You and I are going to lunch whether you like it or not.”
Sera slowly turned to face Allison, her face a mask of sadness. “I…I just want to be alone.”
“No. This…you are not going to become one of those sob stories they write about on the datanet. Here, let me pick something out for you,” Allison asserted, striding over to the rather small walk-in closet and pulling aside some of the garments from the bar.
“Hmm, what about this?” Allison said, emerging after a few minutes of digging, a yellow sundress in her hands.
“That was Cain’s favorite. He always said I looked so nice in it,” Sera deadpanned, flopping onto the bed, spread-eagle and mumbling into the mattress.
“Sera, you know he will be back. It’s required that he at least-”
“And if he doesn’t? What if he never comes back, Ali? What if he just used this as an excuse to dump me?” Sera mumbled, her words unclouded after rolling over to stare at the ceiling again.
“Would he have given you so much grief about you tearing into yourself if he was just going to leave you? Would he have been so adamant about taking his engagement band with him if he was just going to dump you? Sera…Cain loves you. He is strong in his own way. Now, it’s your turn,” Allison huffed, hanging the sundress on an open spot on the rack that hung over the bedroom door.
“But…but..” Sera sputtered, the cold beginning to nip at her thoughts again, her body shivering from a lack of clothes.
“No buts Sera. Now, what do you think of this little number?” Allson smiled, showing off a rather nice looking mauve blouse, the shirt looking much more form fitting than the dress.
Sera slowly propped herself on her elbows to look at the piece and sighed. “Cain…I…can we try something else? I…I don’t want to wear Cain’s color.”
Allison raised an eyebrow at the statement but put her thoughts about on the side for now. After a little more digging she found a sea foam green blouse, complete with a sea turtle on the front.
"I think this one looks cute. Where did you get it?"
Sera sighed as another cold blast of air hit her exposed body, not wanting to do anything but sink into the mattress. "Cain…got it for me at the aquarium. He…looked so nice that day…"
"C'mon Sera, please? Can…can you just try it on?" Allison weakly smiled, offering the shirt to Sera. The Nighkru sighed as she sat up, taking the shirt and putting it on grumpily.
"There, happy now?" Sera bit back, her tone rather icy and pointed. Allison didn't let it worry her.
"Hmm, yeah. Though…you should wear a bra…and, well…finish getting dressed. I'll go start the truck," Allison chirped, Sera looking down at the brown shag carpet of the bedroom.
"Bu-but he's…"
"Sera, I swear, if you don't get dressed, I will tickle you until you pass out again," Allison threatened, eyeing Sera as the Nighkru's eyes went wide with fear.
"You wouldn't dare-"
Allison giggled. "Course I would. Now, get dressed. At least do it for me, okay?"
Sera finally relented and slid off the bed, slowly resigning herself to the idea of leaving the house. She dug through her drawers, the pieces of furniture dangerously close to being empty, the small mountain of discarded clothes a testament to Sera’s attitude for the past week or so. It loomed in the corner of the room like a specter, the smell sharp and acute of tears and sweat. Sera tried to ignore the increasing scent but she wrinkled her nose out of reflex and got a full whiff of her laundry. Sera sighed at her neglected laundry pile, the stench becoming more acute.
She reached for the bottle of air freshener and squeezed the trigger, the aerosol mist releasing a pleasant smell of fresh sheets and sunshine. Sera couldn’t help but smile a bit at the memories the smell invoked, reminding her of when she washed clothes with Cain at his uncle’s, the wash drying for hours in the hot South Texas sun, the smell of wildflowers on the breeze as her and Cain shared a few cans of beer on the back porch. While the pool was still absolutely infested with algae, Sera did smirk a bit as she remembered chasing him around with a hose, squealing like a little kid when she managed to spray him down in the icy mist of the hose.
Sera smiled for a moment more than felt herself hollow out again. The memories were pleasant, but without Cain…it felt like she was missing a piece of her. However, she couldn’t dwell on the past forever and Cain would be back. An awful thought always scraped at the back of her head though. What if…what if he brought someone else home? What if she wasn’t the first anymore?
Cain…he wouldn’t…he never would. He…he didn’t even pursue Allison. Why do I think he would do that to me?
She mulled the thought over as she slid one of the last few pairs of underwear on, a rather skimpy black number she had bought for one of her date nights. She rolled her eyes at the irony of the garment now, but only just. Her only remaining bra followed, one of the tighter fitting ones as she struggled to squeeze into it, the straps loosening just enough to support her assets. She shook her head as she looked at herself in the mirror, her once toned yet supple arms now more spindly and Sera swore she could see a few veins showing through her skin. Speaking of, her skin was no longer uniform in color, with several dark bruises in her arms and core from when she ran into things around the house, whether it be the countertop or the massive oaken desk with their newly installed computer.
Her muscles were less defined than before, and Sera wanted to sob as she saw the now emerging gut where lean and trim abs used to be, the weight of her letting herself go on full display. She shook the thought off though, hardening her resolve as she slipped the aquarium shirt on, the garment loose in all the right places. Sera then opened the closet once more and dug around for her favorite pair of jeans…only to find her back up pairs and the pair she bought tight out of basic at a ridiculous markup since some trader had “exclusive access” to Earth. They weren’t even real blue jeans, probably some mystery fabric spit out by a fabricator, one way too rough to be denim and almost midnight black. Sera rolled her eyes at the ridiculous bottoms, pinning the idea to just give them away as a pair of women’s dress pants or the like. But that was for later.
It took a bit tucking and wiggling into but Sera managed to slide on a pair of her backup jeans, her butt looking absolutely enormous as the fabric clung to her behind. Sera shook her head as she walked out of the closet, the jeans still a bit too tight in the thighs for her liking. She did however love the deep pockets on the pants, having ample room for her credit chit, wallet, keys and QualQuartz dataslate that Meli had gotten her for Christmas.
Sera took a look back at the disheveled room, her things strewn all over the place. Some of the pillows on the bed had a mix of dried tears and alcohol, the sheets stained and dirty after her outpourings of grief. She sighed at the sorry state of the room, the mental fog thick at times, overwhelming at others. She took a deep breath as she felt for the light switch from her, letting as much of the pain flow out of her. She counted to ten after every breath, slowly calming down, and when she was ready, she turned out the light to the bedroom, the mess shrouded under a thick mist of darkness.
Sera patted down her pockets one last time while she made her way through the hallway, confident she had all her things. As she rounded the corner into the living room, Sera briefly considered grabbing her purse, but, after a bit of internal deliberation, decided against it. She had enough with her wallet and chits as it was, so bringing the bag would be unnecessary.
She took a long, sweeping look at the small living space, the place nearly untouched ever since Cain left. She was about to shed a tear when Allison honked from outside, the blare of the horn startling her out of her thoughts. Annoyed for a split second by the reminder, Sera huffed and made her way outside, closing and locking the door. The hallway was spotless, and she could hear the sounds of construction echoing from other parts of the complex as the new Shil’vati owner renovated the property. The minor Noble who now owned the land needed an outlet for a recent glut of wealth, and with popular opinion falling with some of her other…choice assets, the family had chosen to go on a renovation spree. Soon Sera would have to start packing things to move into an empty unit in order for the construction crew to bring the block up to code and make it more open and furnished. It also helped that the old mall attached to the front side of the complex got bought out as well, the same family hiring multiple firms to liven up the old, nearly abandoned place.
But none of that was Sera's business. For now, all she had to do was take things one step at a time. She stepped out of the hallway, Allison already drumming her fingers on the steering wheel of her truck, the vehicle oversized for Sera but perfectly sized for Allison. She thanked the goddess that the runner was low enough for her to climb in, Sera feeling like a teenager again as she flopped down into the seat.
"So, any place in mind?" Allison asked, smiling down at her.
"Uh…hmm…how does Chili's sound?" Sera offered, a shy smile spreading across her face..
Allison rubbed her shoulder, firing up the engine. She tuned the radio to an old country station, checking the backup camera as she hummed along to the nearly ancient songs.
Sera couldn't help but smile, her prospective girlfriend giving off some of the same energy Cain would have if he had arranged a date for just Sera and him.
​
—
​
"So…any idea of what you want for lunch?" Allison asked as the two of them slid into a booth, the Human server quickly bustling off to get their drinks. Sera was going to be going light, maybe a single margarita and some water. She didn’t want to overdo it today. Allison had settled on a craft beer of some kind that Sera didn’t recognize, Allison saying that it was rather good. Sera chose not to comment, her past few weeks had been filled with too much beer already, so just the one drink felt better.
Besides, I need to start weaning off the booze anyways. I have to go back to work at some point. And classes. Sera thought to herself, sighing as Allison looked over the menu. Her electric blue eyes peeked over the top edge of the laminated paper, much more alert than before.
“Sera? He-llo, Earth to Sera?” Allison asked, lowering the menu a bit, her expression more concerned than before.
Sera blinked a few times and let a small, nervous laugh escape. “Y-yeah, just…just thinking about some things.”
“Mmm. So…you wanna talk about it?” Allison asked, her concerned expression dissipating as her normal happier demeanor reappeared.
Sera tried to not giggle a bit, Allison being very easy on the eyes, almost like she had some of the more brutish features of a Shil’vati toned down a bit. “Ah, not really. It’s mostly about work or not drinking too much,” She admitted, blushing a bit as Allison nodded her head in acknowledgement.
“I get that. I have a pretty good counselor at my disposal if you want to talk to someone other than myself,” Allison smiled contentedly. The light of the midday winter sun gave ample light and Sera swore she caught the light hitting at certain angles; Allison’s eyes sparkled, the electric blue of her eyes making it clear she had implants of some kind.
Allison looked up and past Sera, a massive smile growing across her face. “Meli, so good to see you again!”
Sera nearly choked on a stray glob of spit, the Rakiri looking down at her old friend. “Allison invited me, Sera. Sorry to crash your date.”
Meli slid in beside Allison, the Shil’vati handing her the menu so she could look over it. “I…date? Allison…is this what this is? Why didn’t you just tell me?” Sera sputtered, Allison flushing blue at the observation.
“I uh…well…” the Shil’vati sputtered while Sera set down her menu and clasped Allison’s somewhat larger hands. She choked up a bit as Sera rubbed them gently, a deeply hidden smile crossing her features.
“Thank you Allison,” Sera sighed happily, breaking off the connection and pulling back; setting her menu aside, already decided on what she wanted.
“Welcome to Chili’s, my name is Bella and I’ll be helping you today. Can I get you started with any appetizers?” a cheery feminine voice asked from beside her. Sera looked towards the source of the voice, only to be confused at the dusky yellow alien that stood with an apron and notepad next to their table. She looked near Human, the only noticeable differences being of course the color of her complexion and what seemed to be very, *very* fine interlocking scales, her skin looking more beaded than scaly, but very smooth and polished. Almost like a dragon’s scales from old Human myths. Her hair was also stark black, and she had long, almost talon-like fingernails, painted a lovely shade of white.
“Uh…yeah. Can we get a Tripler Dipper and a Skillet Queso?” Allison asked, the waitress jotting it down almost like she was being timed.
“Alright, one Triple Dipper and a Skillet Queso. Is there anything I can get for you three while you wait? Refills, another beer perhaps?” the waitress asked, waiting expectantly. Sera was thrown off a bit by her sudden rush to get things out to them, the establishment nearly dead this time of day.
“Can I get a Dr. Pepper please?” Meli asked, the server nodding and noting it down in a flash.
“Of course!” Turning her attention to Sera, Bella asked, “Anything I can do for you ma’am?”
She gulped as Bella lowered her gaze to her, her eyes glinting and seemingly predatory. “I, uh…can I get some water?”
“One water. Got it. Do you three need some more time on what you would like to order?” Bella asked, addressing the three women.
“Yes please. Oh, and can we get chips and salsa too?” Meli replied, shooting a smile over to Sera.
“Sure thing! Those appetizers will be out in a few. Let me just run these to the kitchen and we’ll get you helped,” Bella confirmed, nodding before striding off to the kitchen, pad in hand.
“She seems nice,” Meli idly noted, seemingly glued to the page with the ribs being advertised on.
“Meli…tell me, why are you here?” Sera asked, trying to not sound offensive to her long time friend. Meli simply looked over the edge of the menu while Allison began to idly check the matching QualQuartz dataslate she had.
“Well, aside from seeing you? Brel wanted to surprise Junior with a surprise hunting trip up at Choke Canyon. Nothing too fancy, but his birthday is coming up soon. Brel really wants to take him up to the Maritimes, meet a few old friends and fish. Course, he wanted me to go, but after Cain left he ordered me to stay. Believe you me I tried to argue back, but he wouldn’t have it. But, my sister is planning to meet them there once they cross the border. Now, enough about me. How have you been?” Meli said, eyeing Sera. Allison coughed a bit, trying to look anywhere else besides the awkward conversation.
Sera sighed. She had to face this sooner or later, though a part of her desperately wanted to delay the inevitable. It wouldn’t help in the long term but…Sera steeled herself and took a deep breath.
“It’s been bad. I’ve lost sleep, I was drinking heavily, and I didn’t want to eat. Allison was the only one keeping me together, and even then only just as I felt at times that I wanted to waste away. Part of me wanted to deny Cain to anyone. If they took him away, then so did I. Looking at it now, it’s stupid and foolish. I was hurting no one but myself and Cain, and the feelings still come back from time to time. Sometimes it’s hard getting up in the morning, knowing he’s not there. That the man of the nest has been taken from you,” Sera sighed, a frown dominating her face.
“Well, we are here for you. You don’t have to hide away from us Sera. We care about Cain as much as you do. We’ll make it through together, okay?” Meli admitted, the wolf woman offering a look of shared understanding, Allison still engrossed by her dataslate.
“Thank you Meli. Allison?”
Allison looked up quickly, shutting the screen of her dataslate off, quickly stashing the device in her pocket. “M-yeah?” she stammered out, her face flushing blue as she tried to not look embarrassed.
“Thank you for inviting Meli. I…I needed this. Now, what are you feeling like, *girlfriend*~” Sera smoldered, giggling a bit at the cheesy pick up line. Allison rolled her eyes.
“Come on, you have to admit, we do make a cute couple Allison. Plus…I’ve seen how Cain looks at you sometimes. Once he gets back…I think we can seal the deal. If you want to, that is,” Sera offered, taking a sip of her margarita.
“I…I’d like that.”
​
—
​
Missive from Alliance Special Intelligence Agent Bella Brus follows:
Ma’am the current operation in the Coastal Plains region of the state has borne much fruit. We have several junior agents working key Humans and Imperial officials, and my own operation still remains undetected. As of now, thirty Hyperion assets have been identified. All look Shil’vati on the surface but have tell-tale markers of blended genetics. Smaller tusks, more refined features, non-natural eye colors. You and the Council were correct, Hyperion is making strides never before seen. I will continue to work my current target; she seems especially pliable after an unrelated event. My plans and contingencies will be updated and sent to Command.
As a side note, my…partner has uncovered a dirty Interior agent. He has pried a decent amount of information from her through a combination of conventional and unexpected means. I am requesting permission to factor this angle into my current outlook.
-Agent Brus
​
​
—
MISSIVE FROM THE DIRECTOR OF PROJECT HYPERION FOLLOWS
HANDLER N’KET, YOUR PRESENCE IS BEING REQUESTED AT OUR FORWARD OPERATING BASE. GENERAL LANKET HAS FULL AUTHORIZATION TO CONDUCT OUR FINAL STRIKE ON GOVERNESS BOUDRA. HAVE YOUR GEAR PREPARED BY THIS FRIDAY.
MAY THE GODDESS BLESS US.
—

Shipping included in price. PayPal FF or G&S if you prefer but must compensate for fees.
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This is the second draft of a story originally written for and posted on writingprompts here. I wouldn't mind having some feedback in regards to the pacing and characterization.

I

Aulus tugged at the string leading from his hand to the neck of a stubborn goat. The animal bleated at him in protest and tried to continue chewing whatever weed had drawn it's attention. The young man tugged again and his charge relented to follow him up the narrow stone steps leading to the temple.
Man and beast were both clad in white wool. Aulus in a tunic and robe trimmed in gold. His cloven companion in the well trimmed fur of an albino.
It was that pale trait that made the animal sacred. It had never suffered an empty belly. It had never known a chilling night. It had been put out to stud to produce more of its kind. And now, as the horizon blazed with the coming sun, the holy creature was led to a holy place to fulfill its ultimate purpose.
The young man led his bovid prize past the looming temple of pillars and incense and towards a mostly forgotten altar. The table of carved stone sat near the edge of a cliff. Below it was a city of whitewashed stone and colorful roofs. In the dim of morning light the fields beyond the cities walls were a black sea leading up to the mountain.
That looming giant of stone and slumbering fire sat directly to the east. The city would not know the light of day until the sun had climbed the giants rocky slopes to sit upon its peak.
"I'm sorry little one, but today's the day."
Aulus knelt by the animal and set to binding its feet together. Front to front. Back to back. He needed access to the goats' underside.
"Each of us has a duty. A holy purpose given to us by the gods. It's time for you to fulfill yours."
He heaved the animal up and laid it upon the stone surface of the altar. It hardly fought him. The two had mimicked the act repeatedly since the animals birth. They had trained for that moment. Still, it needed to be bound. Their practices had always ended before the ritual began.
The horizon glowed in daylight. Only the mountain blocked the sun's life giving rays.
"Look down upon me as I look across the veil. Guide me to the knowledge I seek. For this favor I offer this beast unto you."
Red poured over him. Smoke from the mountains peak tainted mornings light. It stained man and goat as though they were already covered in blood. The young man threw off his robe to bare himself to the morning chill. His was a thin body. Lithe. Clad in pale skin and capped in a mop of black curls.
Aulus took up a virgin dagger. The ornate blade had never before seen use. Its sole purpose, its only duty, was to be used for two cuts. One edge was for the goats neck. The other, its underside.
With a prayer the young man did the deed.
He plunged his hands into the hot belly of the still squirming animal. There he took hold of and withdrew its intestines. Long organs were held up to the sky for inspection. Aulus carefully ran the still living tissue through his blood soaked hands. It was as perfect as the beast to which it was attached. Only when the animal before him lay still did he close his eyes and open his mind.
The sacrifice was a key. A push. A careful way into hidden spaces. The intestines served as both map and path. They were a leash for two.
In a world adjacent to his own Aulus found himself walking again by the albino goat. It crumbled at the throat and belly and its guts turned to mush in his fingers. Only by drawing more intestine from the beast could he stay close enough to follow it.
The pair came down the cliffside in a single step to find themselves in the city.
"Not here." Aulus had said without moving his lips. "We must go beyond the wall."
Another step and his guide had brought him to the fields. There he saw men in armor hanging in the air like tapestries. They shimmered as he passed them. Each transformed from a young man to a fierce warrior to a corpse upon the ground. He walked among the future dead and inspected each of their unreal tapestries.
Aulus dared not look up lest he be blinded. And he dared not look down lest he lock eyes with something else. Something below.
"One survivor. One man left standing above the rest. A son of our city. Favored in the house Carina."
The figure in the tapestry remained impossibly dark, as was expected. Prophetic sight was blurry at its center and sharp near the edges. Secondary details could be predicted with precision. But the focus of one's gaze could rarely be seen clearly.
A silent bleat echoed in the young mans mind.
"Times about up, then. Thank you for your service, little one. I've seen all I needed."
Aulus let the intestine slip from his fingers and opened his eyes. He again stood before the altar.

II

Aulus and Gaius shared wine and bread in the private chambers of a little villa.
"So you're saying I'm invincible?"
"That's not how prophecy works, Gaius. I'm saying a favored son of house Carina will stand above the dead."
"Which means that, as the only member of house Carina taking part in today's battle, I'll be the last man standing."
"Which also implies literally everyone else is going to die. You might still die! You'd just be last!"
The larger and more muscular of the two men paused to consider the words of his friend. He then smiled and continued donning his armor.
"Gaius, I've done more than read the entrails of a goat. I've watched the movement of birds. I've thrown bones. I've read the stars themselves. If battle is met today it will lead to disaster. Calamity. A chain of events ending in legendary devastation."
"To which I will be the last man standing."
Aulus snatched up his friends horse haired helm.
"Thousands dead, Gaius! Thousands! There are only a few hundred soldiers in the coming battle. Who else might die for your petty conflict?"
Gaius remained quiet as he finished his preparations. When he had finally dressed in blue cloth and painted steel he approached his oldest companion.
"Give me my helmet, Aulus."
"Take a bowl of wine and some figs instead. Leave your helmet. Leave your spear and sword and shield. Make peace. Talk to them."
"You might be wrong."
"When have I been wrong before?"
Gaius gave a wide, handsome smile.
"Remember the mountain? You had the whole city up in a panic at the waking of the giant and what happened? Nothing more than a little burp of fire."
"That was more complicated than you know, Gaius. I did something to the mountain to stop it from erupting. I changed the future."
"If you're strong enough to wrestle a mountain to submission then why don't you join us in the field today? Change prophesy again? We certainly couldn't lose with you at our side."
Aulus threw the helmet into his friend's chest. The experienced soldier caught it with ease.
"That did more damage than you know, Gaius."
"You couldn't do something like that again, then?"
The slight young man lowered his eyes.
"I can't claim to know much about your strange powers. I have no idea what you see and do. But I have a sworn duty to uphold."
"Not the duty talk again…"
"What's your duty, Aulus? What is your purpose?"
It was a concept difficult to describe. His experiences were beyond those of his fellow man. Few among the mortal races – oracles and mystics and shaman – had seen the things he had seen. There were no words to properly describe it.
"My duty is to keep the other things away. Everything else is secondary to that."
"Then do your duty."
Aulus turned to leave. He only toom a single step before a strong hand caught his arm.
"Aulus. You are closer to me than my brothers and will forever be welcome in my home. I will always value your council. That you are so concerned with my safety marks you as my truest friend."
Gaius spin his friend around and took him by the shoulders.
"And the people of this city are lucky to have you watching over it, even if they don't always seem to deserve it. But there's no helping this. Neither of us rules this place and, even if we did convince those above us to try for peace, there's no guarantee those men beyond the wall will listen. They are just as set on fighting today as we are."
He took up his helmet and covered his handsome face in metal.
"The best each of us can do is their duty."

III

A frustrated mystic watched from a shaded corner atop the city wall as a force of his peoples best soldiers marched out to meet the enemy.
Enemy. The word hardly fit the men waiting in the field.
Those gathered beyond the walls were soldiers from another city within the empire. Fellow citizens. The coming bloodshed wasn't part of a war but a ritualistic battle to settle some minor political dispute. It was an attempt to avoid interference by a distant bureaucracy and satisfy the bloodlust that grew in times of peace. It was a chance for soldiers to grasp at what little glory they could find.
It was a foolish waste of life.
Aulus considered what his friend had said about joining them on the battlefield. He knew words of power and the true names of things above. He could twist his mind in unusual directions. Speak in impossible tones. Were he to take to the field the rest of the cities soldiers could stay at home. But such awesome, terrifying power came at a price. Few men in history knew as much as he did about the things beyond. Each of them would rather die than risk using such knowledge.
Portents of the future. Careful observations made while making as few disruptions as possible. That was the best he could give dearest Gaius.
The soldiers formed ranks and waited before the enemy while representatives from each side met. Aulus noticed his friend leading the left flank, an honored position. Gaius wasn't hard to spot. He stood a head taller than his cohorts and his horse haired helm was more ornate than the caps and buckets around him.
The representatives parted and took up their arms. Horns echoed over the field as the two small armies marched toward one another.
Aulus closed his eyes and pushed his mind from his body. He could hear feet pressing into earth. The heavy breathing. The shouting. The blows against shields and the screeching of blades against armor. The screaming. The dying. He pushed himself further. He could smell the sweat and blood. Further. He could see the flash of steel in the sun.
With eyes closed Aulus could watch the battle from among its combatants. Ranks had broken. He could see Gaius strike down soldier after soldier in a brutal melee. His friend hurled his spear, drew his sword and hacked at the so-called enemy. Aulus could see the opening on his friends right side. His shouted warnings came not from the mind in the field, but from the body on the wall.
The mystic could clearly hear the blade slicing through the flesh of his friends calf. The startled yelp of a great warrior as he fell to his knees rang in the ears of a far away man. And the gurgle, that blood choked squawk his dearest friend gave as another citizen of the empire drove a blade into his neck, that sound drowned out the entire battle.
The secret observer launched forward to catch his friend. The stone of the city wall met his hands. He grit his teeth. He wailed. He forced his hands through the wall and open sky to meet his eyes, ears and nose.
He knelt and pulled his friend up from the blood soaked dirt.
Aulus pushed himself further. More than just his mind. More than just his senses. More and more of the young man was forced to exist on the battlefield. He cared not for what ripples his actions might make on the surface of reality. Consequences be damned. When more of him existed in the field than on the wall he relaxed his mind and let the lesser part of him snap to meet the greater.
Gaius looked up at him. There was still life in his eyes though only the faintest glimmer. It was there for but a moment, one fleeting instant. Life passed from the soldier. Reason passed from the mystic.
"Fools…"
The whisper passed over the mystics lips and crept into the ears of those still fighting in the melee. That word carried with it a potent venom. Skin split. Tissues most sensitive liquified. No amount of clawing could dig it out. No amount of screaming could drown it out. Those closest to mystic fell convulsing to the ground.
"FOOLS!"
The booming shout peeled back metal and evaporated flesh. Freshly exposed bone was then blasted to dust. The battle came to a stop as all eyes turned to the young man, his bloodied friend in his arms, a dozen men dead around him.
In only a minute Gaius, handsome and mighty, had been reduced to a bloodied corpse. In only a minute Aulus had thrice violated the natural order.
The world shuddered around him. Ripples cast by his actions ebbed out to draw the attention of the things beyond. The things outside.
"You're willing to throw your lives away for nothing? Fine. If you're all so willing to die, then die!"
Ripples weren't enough to draw in a predator. He needed a splash.
Eyes flashed and a group of men screamed as their bones lengthened and twisted into grasping, choking vines. Those who remained in the left flank turned to run, only to be stopped by those behind. The men from the center and right who could not clearly see the horrors being unleashed upon the battlefield. With a gesture of his hand Aulus exchanged the runners skin with glass. Their attempts to escape only shattered the thin layer protecting their flesh from the world.
That display was enough to send the rest of the foolish soldiers running. It was also just enough to break the surface. To tear the fabric of reality. It was enough to cause a splash.
The world turned to a blur as Aulus wept into the body of his dearest friend.

IV

The duty of a mystic is to protect their fellow man from the things beyond reality. They calm disturbances in the surface of reality. They mend holes in the fabric of the universe. They do everything in their power to keep the things outside from looking in.
Aulus twisted his mind to force it into the other place. Once there he looked down and searched the murky depths. Lesser beings had already answered his call. They pressed upon the thin barrier between the real and the not. They squirmed their way through whatever pin prick holes they could find.
On the battlefield those beings of flesh and shadow crawled out of tight spaces. They emerged from beneath rocks and fallen bodies. From the spaces between a man's chest and his armor. From under the tongues of those few who held in their screams.
They scraped. They gnashed. They chewed. Everything they touched turned to paste, layer by layer. Aulus knew them to be bottom feeders. Barely thinking creatures that were almost omnipresent in the other place. He needed something more.
"Come on then!" The young mans throat produced tones both real and not. "Come and see this place! This world of dutiful fools. Come and show them what it means to die for nothing!"
Aulus locked eyes with something below. His words were as alien and unknowable to it as its own were to him. It pressed itself against the wound the mystics thrashings had left in the world and, with some perceivable effort, it forced its way through.
It came from behind motes of dust hanging in the air. The thing was the night sky animate. A dark, starlit mass that both crawled and flew over the battlefield. In its presence light dimmed, sound dulled, and everything, man metal and stone, withered. Whatever it fed on, whatever nutrient was vital to the unreal creatures survival, was also needed by real things to keep their shape. Everything it touched unevenly shrank away to be left as a smear of thin tissue upon the ground. Most unfortunate for those who suffered the creatures passing; the process was somehow not immediately lethal.
Aulus wept as the screams around him rose and fell. He pulled the horse haired helmet from the still body in his arms to again gaze upon his handsome face. The mystic held his lifelong friend tightly.
"Gaius, I'm sorry…" Words came between heaving sobs. "I should have tried harder to stop you. I should have tried harder to stop this foolishness. I– I should have joined you in battle. I'd have rather abandoned my duty to save you than to avenge you."
The world broke further as other things found their way through from beyond. Screams more distant rose to replace those of the now suffering soldiers. The things had reached the city.
"Aulus..." The familiar voice came from around and within the grieving young man. "Aulus, my friend. You mustn't do this."
"I–" Words twisted into a knot in his throat. "L-let them die."
"Aulus, please. You might think it a pointless death, and it might have been, but I died doing my duty. I stayed true to who and what I am..."
The implications of the dead Gaius' words crept up in the back of the young mans mind.
"It's too late. I've crossed too many lines. Done too much damage. I just… I just want to stay here with you."
"It's never too late, Aulus. Walk the path I have walked and you will find me beyond."
Duty. Aulus had a duty. He had taken oaths that now lay as twisted and broken as the men around him. Merciful tears obfuscated what he had done to the world. He could not clearly see what had become of the battlefield or what was happening in the city, but he could imagine what each blurry shape may have been. His gut twisted as imagination suggested what each shape might be.
Aulus closed his eyes, never to open them again.
"Gaius, my friend. I will walk your path. The path of duty. I will fix this..."
The young mystic laid his friend to the earth, stood tall among the twisted dead and forced his mind, eyes and arms into the other place. There he could see the damage he'd caused. He could run the idea of his fingers over the ragged edges of the tear. Physical laws had frayed like thread. Universal constants lay ripped and scattered. The wound he'd left in the world was grisly.
It was something he could mend, but the cost would be steep.
Aulus knew he would spend so much mental energy fixing the damage of his tantrum there'd be little left of him when he was done. Even then there were still horrors in the world, false things that had come through to explore the true.
He considered his options.
Imagined fingers took hold of realities tattered edges and pulled them further apart. The world ripped. It was a long tear that arced through the sky like an arrow. The sky quaked. The earth shuddered. The air itself howled and screamed as more and more of the real world was separated in what Aulus perceived as a clean rip.
His target was the mountain.
Aulus had long known the slumbering giant to be a waiting calamity. He regularly climbed to its peak to better see just how dormant it was. There was fire there. And ash. And pressure. So much pressure. But it was stable, he'd seen to that before with a prior violation of the natural order. One that had taken years to carefully mend. So long as nothing disturbed the mountain it would remain quiet.
The tip of the growing tear buried itself into dirt and stone. Somewhere deep below the surface of the Earth there came a rumble. A delicate balance had been disrupted. That was it. That was all it took. With one metaphysical poke the mystic had started something no man, monster or even god could stop. The mountain would wake with rage.
"Let those wretched things that stay here face the fury of the Earth."
Aulus slammed his hands in unusual directions to bring the clean edges of the tear together. Under his guidance the line separating the possible from the impossible mended as cleanly as it had torn. That repair wouldn't cost him much. Not when compared to what he would spend closing the ragged hole he'd created in his grief.
He pushed himself without regard for his own well being. Bits of the unreal were stuffed back outside. The edges of the tear were fused together. The things from outside gathered as their path home began to shrink.
"Back, back you fiends!"
A voice cut through the screams and howls and otherworldly sounds swirling around him. There was a grunt and the clanging of steel. A warcry most familiar.
"Aulus, I will hold them back! Do your duty, wipe these things from the Earth!"
The young man pushed temptation aside. He wanted nothing more than to open his eyes and look around for his friend. To see him moving, fighting, shouting, living. His minds eye could see him again embracing his dearest friend. His hands, both real and not, reached out in the hopes of again holding his friend.
"Aulus!"
Gaius was dead at his feet.
He'd died a pointless death. A foolish death. But it was a death he'd chosen for himself in the pursuit of his duty. Aulus would walk that same path.
More and more of himself was spent repairing the damage with each passing second. The wound closed. His mind fractured. The things around him wailed at the sound of spear and sword.
There came a vibration through the ground and an earthly sound mighty enough to challenge all the terrors from the beyond. The mountain had spoken. Though Aulus held his eyes shut he knew what he had done. He knew what was coming. It was not the peak of the great stone giant that had burst. Rather, the entire mountainside facing the battlefield and city had exploded.
Ash and rock and fire raced over lush fields and quaint farm houses. Those few horrors that had explored towards the mountain found themselves crushed and burned by the unavoidable reality that was the mountain. Unreal biologies and imagined matter meant little before such a demonstration of natural law.
Aulus meant little, too.
The wall of destruction obliterated his body in an instant. But still he worked. Flesh and bone were gone, but his mind and senses remained where he had stood to continue the task. Death would not stop him. No horrors or furious mountains would keep him from his duty.
A wave of scorching earth washed over the city. Merciful death for those who still somehow clung to life. Just destruction for those things that had no place in the universe. All the nightmares that had been made there were buried in stone and ash.
The damage had been undone.
First he had used his fears and insecurities. Then his unpleasant memories. Then his childhood. His family. Himself. Even Gaius. Aulus burned more and more of his own mind to fuel his work. When the task was complete he knew not what he had done or why. Only his duty as a mystic remained. Even that had started to unravel.
"Aulus..."
What was left of the young man was gathered in the embrace of a friend.

This weapon is one of those, you know? Someone slapped this thing together to make the biggest abomination possible and here it is! It's... a fire hydrant. With some big ass barrels attached to it for the most ink guzzling experience you could possibly have and locking yourself into infinite shooting to infinity and beyond. It's the Hydra Splatling! At least he steamed a good ham.
Whoever came up with this design had a few loose bolts.
WEAPON STATS
Range: 85/100
Charge Speed: 10/100
Mobility: 20/100
Points for special: 190p
Sub weapon: Autobomb
Special: Booyah Bomb
SPECIAL NOTES
It's the heavy, but slower...

Sheldon's Description

The Hydra Splatling is designed to impose extreme pressure on your opponents' turf through superior firepower. However, because the weapon takes so long to charge, it's definitely a liability in close quarters. I recommend using your Autobombs to fend off incoming bogeys -- and they can even help reveal far-off opponents who can be splatted from long range! If anyone DOES make it past your defenses, the unwelcome surprises aren't over. This loadout allows you to greet them with a Booyah Bomb! Mi casa is NOT su casa! I recommend this setup for all you homebodies who want to set up camp and never leave -- supporting your team through long-range firepower instead!

Hey, even Sheldon acknowledges how much of a camping bitch all Hydra players are.

Salty Description

"People will go on Saltoon to make angry posts about how they are getting splatted over and over against Hydra Splatlings and swearing on their antecessors on bringing them into this twisted world where backliners rule and judgement is dealt with a heavy fist from the high ground you cannot reach, when, in reality, Hydra Splatling just isn't really viable in a competitive environment, due to the current meta being heavily centered around crab tank, which can easily take them out of position or out right splat them!" - idk someone on youtube probably.
So yeah, the weapon is not great, but that doesn't mean it isn't exactly like the clash blaster where it will acquired a body count larger than Google's project graveyard in pub matches. It charges slowly, it gets easily disrupted if you throw literally anything in it's direction and it can't really fight for itself if you get too close. But does it really mean it's bad? No, not really.
So, firstly, let's get this out of the way. It's a splatling with a looooot of range. It's one of those weapons you see on top of tent in hagglefish and you can't really hit it in most map modes. It's just there... charging up, waiting for you to come close enough to get a lot of ink spread on your face. It shoots really fast and kills quickly as well. It can shred objects with ease. Don't ever try contesting the rainmaker shield when there's one of these shooting at it. So anytime you see this weapon perching in some place you can't reach, you have two options: Throw something in it's direction to have it rage at you for the remainder of the match (Also because your teammates surely won't do it) or try to go through places on the map where it can't reach, which is honestly asking too much for some maps in this game.
The rest of it's kit is actually really good. Autobombs are a nice way to harass people and have an idea of where they are going so you can predict your shots and Booyah Bomb is just one of the best specials in the game? Honestly there isn't much wrong you can do with a kit like this, specially considering that they (supposedly) won't be dying much during this match. Just note that it's particularly shit at painting and even though it's 190p for Booyahs, it won't be getting that many during a match unless you really want a Hydra just going around and painting ground for some fucking reason.
But then we get to the part where "but ackshually it sucks, guise!". Yeah, we get it. When there are people that have more than two braincells playing this game, which is kind of hard to come around, Hydras tend to not have a really good time, since they will spend most of their time losing their charge they took the last 10 seconds to build to some random bomb thrown in their direction or to missiles, booyah, tank... anything, really. Oh yeah, tank just straight up outranges it, btw. I don't really have a way to test it so this will be one of those cases of "just trust me, bro", but I think it's safe to say that Hydras might be able to shred objects quickly, but tanks can just shoot faster and their charging time already has them shooting, so if the hydra player isn't really locked and loaded when this is going down, they won't really have much option but to hide like the small little backline cowards they are.
It doesn't take much to put this weapon out of commission, but good fucking luck with that when the rest of your team is simply running into it's range thinking "I can totally take it down with my Nzap!" and dying over and over. Maybe one day these players will grow past the age of 4 and learn to throw bombs at them around the same time they learn to fit the square block into the square hole.
​
What should be done next? Leave your suggestions in the comments and also leave your own experiences with/against this weapon.
Last Week: .96 Gal Deco

This is a story for those who are huge fans of the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World saga and have seen ALL of the films(including Dominion).
Cast: Me=Me, OG=Owen Grady, CD=Claire Dearing, ML=Maisie Lockwood, EM=Entitled Mother, CLD=Cool Dad, ND=Nice Daughter
This takes place about 2 weeks after the events of Jurassic World: Dominion.
With Dinosaurs now back in the world once more, we have started attempting to coexist. Owen Grady has decided to turn his ranch into a safe haven for some of the dinosaurs. Mostly herbivores like Parasaurolophus, Triceratops, Stegosaurus and a couple small Carnivores, including Velociraptors Blue and Beta, who are now tamed.
One very early crystal clear morning, when the sky was just starting to turn that lovely shade of orange, after we got up and had breakfast, we heard a noise coming from outside. We got outside and saw Blue growling loudly near the paddock fence.(despite being tamed, Blue can still be aggressive, but only when the situation is justified)
We looked in the direction the raptor was facing and saw 3 people get out of a car. A woman(the entitled mother, complete with Karen haircut, posture and face), a man(the cool Dad, who actually looked quite shocked at seeing real dinosaurs) and a 19 year old girl.(the nice Daughter, who despite having a similar hairstyle to her mom, wasn’t entitled or snotty)
Owen ordered for Blue to stand down and, like a good girl, she did.
Owen: *shouts* “Hey!”
CLD: “Hey! You’re Owen Grady, right?”
Owen: “Yes I am. How’d you know?”
ND: “My dad is a big fan of you. He saw videos of you training actual Velociraptors! It’s sucks that they’re gone though.”
CD: “Theyre not ALL gone. Blue is still alive.”
ND: “Really?!” *her eyes widen*
Me: ”Yes! And she has a baby.”
CLD: “Like, can we see the raptor?”
CD: “Absolutely!”
Owen does his thing with the clicker and calls out Blue’s name and she immediately comes running, followed by Beta.
ND: “Awwww she’s adorable! Can I pet her?”
OG: “You have to be careful though. She can still be very dangerous.”
Thats when the EM started.
EM: “Well if she’s soooo dangerous then why do you even have her? Besides, you’re not fooling me.”
CLD: “EM, what’re you talking about?”
EM: “This isn’t real. These things are all fake. In my church, I was taught that there are no such things as “dinosaurs.” The earth was only born 6000 years ago, not 4.6 billion. These are all, what, stupid people in costumes or some type of animatronic stuff. This is all Stupid Blasphemy.”
Owen, Claire and Maisie all shared a WTF expression. Blue even tilted her head in confusion.
ML: “Um, this IS real. You are looking at a real dinosaur in the flesh!“
ND: “Mom, please don’t start. How could you even THINK these are fake?”
CD: “You seriously can’t be that delusional.”
EM: “First of all, these so called “bones” and “fossils” were not from real animals. Satanists put these on earth to scam true religious people. And I also heard about this THING *she gestures to Maisie* being a “Clone” of a young human who “presumably” died in a car accident. Gimme a break! *mutters the R word under her breath* kid.”
Maisie gasps at this response and she is nearly in tears.
Me: “How could you say something like that?! This little girl lost her grandfather at a young age and she was kidnapped by poachers, along with the baby raptor!”
EM: *now being all smug like she knows everything* ”Well, she probably had it coming for being a disgusting FREAK of nature! Claiming to be a stupid clone and all.”
Claire gasped at this and Maisie was crying.
The baby Velociraptor came up to the ND and started nuzzling her hand, but EM decided to fricking KICK the baby dinosaur like a dog!!!
Beta shrieked and fell into the snow, but she got up. To say that Blue was pissed was an UNDERSTATEMENT! She ran up to the EM and full on TACKLED her to the ground, but due to being tamed, she knew not to actually bite. She was just growling and snarling loudly.
CD: “Call the police!”
OG: “Already on it.”
He whistled for Blue to get off of the EM and she did, but was still growling.
EM: *screaming* “YOU FREAKS WILL NOT GET AWAY WITH THIS! YOU AND YOUR STUPID FAKE LIZARD AND YOUR DUMB KID! I’M CALLING ANIMAL CONTROL AND HAVING THAT STUPID THING FUCKING SHOT!”
About 5 minutes later, the Police arrived and PO1 and PO2 walked up to us.
PO1: “What seems to be the problem here, folks?”
Before any of us could even get a word in, the EM started twisting the story and putting on fake tears.
EM: “I was just coming to tell them how beautiful their animals were, and then that A**HOLE *points at Owen* told his stupid pet Velociraptor to attack me for no reason! I want that THING KILLED RIGHT NOW!
OG: “I did no such thing, you lunatic!”
CD: “This coming from the moron who KICKED a baby dinosaur like a dog because it was playing with your daughter! And called MY Daughter a Freak of nature and a r****d!”
EM: “THAT ABOMINATION WAS GOING TO MAUL MY DAUGHTER TO DEATH YOU FAT COW!”(Claire Dearing is pretty curvy, but is in NO way shape or form, obese.)
PO2: Ma’am, I’m gonna need you to put your hands behind your back right now.”
EM: “WHAT?!”
PO1: “You’re under arrest for lying to a police officer, threatening to kill an animal and promoting kidnapping towards people with special needs *referring to Maisie*. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defense if you do not mention when questioned, something which you later rely on in court. Anything you say may be given in evidence.”
EM: “HELP! RAPE! RAPE! RAAAAPE!!”
OG: “Oh, cut the crap! You brought this on yourself. Take her away.”
Me: “Hold up there, officers! I’d like to just do one more thing!” *I do a two finger whistle like in cartoons or movies and we hear thudding footsteps.*
EM: ”Oh that was just a stupid earthquake or a tree falling down.”
Trees were indeed falling down, but the thumps were rhythmic, and getting louder.
Me, ND, and CLD all said in unison “Don’t move!”
There was something beyond the leaves.
The EM looked up, higher.
Behind the foliage, beyond the cabin, she saw what looked like a thick body with a pebbled, grainy surface like the bark of a tree. But it wasn't a tree. She continued to look higher, slowly tilting her head upward.
She saw the huge head of Rexy, the elderly Tyrannosaurus just standing there, looking through the trees at us! EM turned her flashlight on, and the big animal rolled its head and BELLOWED in the glaring light! Then darkness, and silence again, and the chittering of night critters.
There was another pause. EM watched the scarred Tyrannosaur. The head was huge! The animal looked around slowly, scanning its surroundings and searching for prey. She seemed to stare right at EM!
In the flashlight, the eyes glowed bright red.
EM: "Jesus Christ!”
The greatest predator the world has ever known. The most fearsome attack in human history. Somewhere in the back of her Karen brain, EM was in disbelief, but she could feel her knees begin to shake uncontrollably, her trousers flapping like flags.
Man, she was frightened. She didn't want to be here. Alone among all the people on the scene, EM was crazy religious. She didn’t believe in dinosaurs. She thought that all the fossils and skeletons were a scam by satanists to thwart religion, or in her words, “Blasphemy.”
She tried to reassure herself that she was hallucinating, but her eyes were not deceiving her at all! She was looking at a giant dinosaur! But it wasn’t just any dinosaur, this was a rex! Much, much bigger! The greatest meat-eater that ever walked the earth!
Jesus!
When the Tyrannosaur roared it was TERRIFYING, a SCREAM from some other world! EM felt the spreading warmth in her trousers. She’d peed in her pants! She was simultaneously embarrassed and terrified. But she knew she had to do something. She couldn't just stay here. She had to do something. Something! Her hands were shaking, trembling in her pant pockets.
EM: “Jesus Christ!”
ML: (While wagging her finger at her) “Bad language!”
EM started whimpering and we swung our heads away from the Tyrannosaur. Our flashlights streaked laterally-in time to see EM tripping over her high heels and struggling to get back up.
The police officers cuffed her and dragged her into their vehicle while she was screaming gibberish about knowing the mayor, having a cop brother, threatening to sue.
​
Needless to say, we never saw her again.
​
TL;DR Stupid entitled Karen who doesn’t believe in dinosaurs, comes face to face with one.

Would the figure eight on a bight work well for seven-strand leader wire? I have heard the haywire twist is not good for multi strand leaders. It would be for fish that are hopefully less than 200lbs.