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ALIEXPRESS Deals (29.5.2023)!
2023.05.29 22:51 r3crac ALIEXPRESS Deals (29.5.2023)!
ALIEXPRESS Deals Compilation (29.5.2023)!
Check products in compilation image:
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Products compilation image:
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https://i.ibb.co/pQgr5Tj/54d6a2fdb380.jpg submitted by
r3crac to
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2023.05.29 22:28 Aisling_The_Sapphire Subnautica: The Definitive No-Spoilers Guide For New Players
Updated May 2023 I recently changed Reddit accounts and it's been about a year, so it seemed prudent to repost this for visibility. :)
https://subnauticamap.io/ - This is an interactive map of the crater. However, be warned that it will show the general location of things you need to find. This can be toggled but if you have zero point of reference for the places mentioned in this guide, this map should provide one.
General tips are at the bottom, however, they rely on you having played at least part of the way through the game so I don't recommend checking them until at least part 3, AKA "Going Traveling"
Subnautica is a game primarily about exploring your environment while overcoming the trepidation that the game sets up in you over doing so. Although there isn't a perfect guide to being able to clear the game, there also isn't an unambiguous path of progression for the player, either.
Consequently new players often find themselves at an impasse in terms of progression and where to go. The following is a no-nonsense, straight to the point guide on how to progress, but it's not a bible. You can do most of this just by exploring and wandering around.
A blind playthrough is critical to the first time player experience. This is often true of every game but for Subnautica it makes or breaks the whole story - you need to have no idea what the hell is going on the first time you clear the game. If you spoil it for yourself you will regret it, please believe me in this. This guide is meant to give you a nudge when you find you don't know where to go next, it's not really meant as a walkthrough, even though it can be used as one. Do yourself a favor friends, don't go wandering
/subnautica or the wiki too much and this guide will not lead you astray. It is written
specifically for brand new players.
The Beginning
When you first arrive on 4546b, you find yourself with basically nothing. You're hungry, thirsty, your lifepod is broken and your cookies are gone. The Aurora is burning (and you nearly did too) but despite all that, you're alive and this planet is about to get some Ryley in it.
The environment around you has most of what you need to get started. The metal scrap strewn around the shallows provides an easy source of Titanium while you can break limestone and sandstone to get the minerals you need for your starting tools. You'll want the quartz you find for glass.
Although you have a number of options for making equipment, at this stage I don't recommend using resources for the air pump or pipes. Truth is they don't really have much use; they create a breathing line from the surface for when you're diving, but they're expensive and there's better alternatives in your near future.
Once you have a scanner and knife, take the time to scan everything you can. All the local wildlife can be scanned and most of the flora.
Your objective at this point is to build a repair gun, knife, seaglide, flashlight and scanner. Branching Out
Now that you've got your basic tools and you can get around a little, it's time to begin exploring. At this point you've seen the deeper waters on the edges of the kelp forest.
It's time to go take a look.
The red grassy plains have what you need to progress to deeper waters. You'll want to explore the wrecks there.
There are four grassy plains surrounding the shallows at compass points and cave systems exist in three of them which will become relevant later, but are largely out of your reach for now. It is out here that you will find fragments necessary for an important task you must complete soon.
Raiding the aurora will require the laser cutter you learn to make here. You'll also want a propulsion cannon, which you can find the fragments to near the side of the Aurora. DO NOT GO AROUND THE BACK OF THE AURORA. SERIOUSLY. You are not prepared for that level of giggling insanity yet. By now you've fixed the radio
and may have triggered the sunbeam event, in which case you will want to go follow that. Give yourself the full span of time to go to the island and explore unless you'd prefer to explore after the event, but don't let yourself get distracted by what you find there and miss the ship arriving. The signals you've been getting are important prompts and need to be checked out when possible, so make sure you take the time to do that. Also, when you go to either island DO NOT PARK YOUR SEAMOTH NEAR THE BEACH.
DO NOT PARK YOUR SEAMOTH NEAR THE BEACH. There is a real risk of it phasing through the ground and becoming inaccessible and then you'll end up on this subreddit asking how to get it back like the other 5 guys a week. Seriously.
Also note that bringing an ion cube to the top of the mountains caves will let you do something interesting up there, but I won't be specific. A scanner room at this spot is ideal not just to
track the reaper leviathan on the eastern side of the island but there is quite a lot of shale and lithium here as well, which is probably something you're gonna want.
Going traveling
At this point you should have a seamoth, your basic tools, a laser cutter, propulsion cannon and lead suit. You are prepared. It's time to go to the Aurora... but only if you've gotten the communication from Alterra with the captains door code. Otherwise, you must wait for that radio event. You can go explore the ship anyways of course, but not having the code means you can't get into the captains room, requiring you to go back and get it later. So it's up to you. You can open the door anyways if you get the code off the internet or something but since the game gives it to you anyways, you can always wait for the prompt.
If not, the door code is 2679 If you have a cyclops I don't recommend taking it, since reapers hang out at the front and back ends of the ship. However, a seamoth is small enough to fit through the broken superstructure of the ship at the front and thus avoid this danger. There are two ways to access the ship and although it seems impossible, you CAN in fact climb up to access the open one. Otherwise, you can use the prop cannon to move the debris out of the way of the door near water level. Be sure to take the time to explore inside and use the carry-all bags to leave stuff you want to keep from the ship out the front so you can come back and pick it all up later. There's lots of useful stuff in there.
As a side note here, the leech-like things that annoy you in the reactor room are called Bleeders. I hate Bleeders personally, but I noted that if you grab one with the propulsion cannon and fling it into the wall
out of sheer spite then other bleeders will be attracted to the body, which makes grabbing and doing the same to them quite easy. Clearing the entire room of those little #*(
[email protected]'s only takes a couple minutes.
You can get the codes for various rooms inside from the PDA's you find. Also note that some doors can only be opened once you repair them. Sometimes the Aurora glitches and these repair sections don't work but because the ship has two entrances, you can always go around the back to clear the whole thing, which is... annoying. If you don't mind being patient, leaving the Aurora and doing other things for awhile will reset the wreck, allowing you to come back later and potentially be able to repair the doors then.
The codes for the ship are:
Cabin No. 1: 1869 Captain's Quarters: 2679 Cargo Bay: 1454 Lab Access: 6483 Time to go down
With the Aurora repaired you have the ability to wear things other than the lead suit, so it's time to chuck that in the trash 'cuz you won't need it again. It's time to get the outer wrecks in the zones beyond the shallows and
hoo boy ain't that gonna be an experience.
The cyclops is your friend here. But what's this, you don't have a cyclops? Well, that's okay. You may have found one of the engine fragments on the aurora in the cargo bay but if you missed it, it's not really a big deal. Your next objective to build one is to go explore
mushroom forest and the underwater floating islands for the fragments you'll need. If you've been following your radio signals you've probably been to the aurora rendezvous point by now, but if not, take the time to go thoroughly explore that island. One of the PDAs you need to find the next place is
not at the degasi base, but on one of the paths of the island near an arch of rock. You'll need to explore the island thoroughly to find it. Make sure to scan everything and bring back plant samples if you have a seabase.
You can use plant pots to keep food trees on your cyclops for easy access to food without worrying about curing everything all the time. Once you have the cyclops, you need to take the time to upgrade your seamoth to depth so you can explore the various wrecks, supplement your PDA database and establish yourself properly for long-term operations. At this point in the game you should be aiming for or already have:
A seabase, even a basic one. A couple corridors with lockers are invaluable for storage and operations and the scanner room is MISSION CRITICAL. If you haven't built one yet, get on that! A seamoth, either at or being upgraded to 500m depth Knife, flashlight, repair gun, seaglide, scanner, laser cutter, propulsion or repulsion cannon, rebreather Be sure to check everything, then check it again! It's easy to miss things on the island. Be sure to check the buildings on the tops of the hills there too. Although it would be nice to be able to plant land beacons (hint hint, Unknown Worlds), it's not feasible for marking out
the precursor gate on the floating island so unfortunately, it's not of much use unless you have your base on one island or the other. I don't recommend the floating island for this for reasons which will become apparent later in the game.
Looking into the abyss
If you've explored most of or all of the wrecks and no longer have missing technology, it's time to go deeper. If you've been following your PDA signals you need to check out the degasi bases and follow their story, as they lead you to a large, deep cave which is the path to deeper places you need to explore.
There are several inlets to the place you need to reach.
Northern Bulb Zone where it meets Mountains has a large entrance. Blood Kelp Zone and Trench both have entrances. The last one is in deep grand reef, where the final Degasi base is. I personally recommend either
Deep Grand Reef or
Bulb Zone but the latter has the most accessibility.
Raiding the final Degasi Base before exploring this cave system will get you
the orange precursor key which you'll need to access something hidden at
the southern end of the caves near blood kelp trench's entrance. While working down here I strongly recommend making liberal use of beacons as navigational guides if you're new to this place. It is VERY confusing and looks very same-y if you haven't spend a lot of time here.
Deep inside the caves you'll come upon a chamber with a massive skull sitting on a chunk of land in the middle and access to a slightly lower part of the cave system which is
not green. This is the
Cove Tree Cave and the brine there will not hurt you the way the green brine does. This leaves you able to free dive there to gather materials without needing to rely on your prawn.
This chamber with the skull is, in fact, the central chamber of Lost River. It is an excellent place for building a scanner station and the entire area is ludicrously rich in resources. It's a perfect place to stock up and catch up any upgrades, tools or devices you may be lacking so far. You'll want the resource stocks for later and honestly, it's just a really cool place to have a base in general.
The
Disease Research Facility is in the north-eastern arm of Lost River, accessible through the
Bulb Zone entrance. A juvenile ghost leviathan guards the path but as with most leviathans, operating in silent running and staying above or below it while sticking to the cave walls will get you by without any issue. If they do notice you, just pop a decoy, go full speed for about 5-8 seconds and then drop the engine to low and stay in silent running until you get far enough for the big ugly to stop bothering you.
The southern part of Lost River holds a large chamber with a
ghost leviathan juvenile and houses another rather large skeleton. This area in particular is rich in large ore deposits and
crystallized sulfur that you'll be needing for some big upgrades.
By the way, remember the cyclops shield? By now you're probably noticing that using the auxiliary functions on the cyclops eats a lot of power. Redundant power cells are your friend and if you feel you're worried about power costs while exploring, you lose nothing by having a buttload of spare power cells. It can pay off, being able to spam the shield for awhile and run away.
You'll want that shield for what's coming next.
Once More Unto The Deep
By now you've probably explored Lost River a bit and you're wondering where to go from here. If you've built a scanner room in the central chamber, you'll have noticed that the scanner, when at full range, shows a chamber below Lost River.
This is the inactive lava zone and it is here your answers lay.
You have two access points to reach this chamber. The
North-east arm past the
disease research facility and the
cove tree caves. Both entrances are equally difficult to get through but the first one feels more open, if you don't mind the ghost leviathan circling around above the opening.
This chamber is rich with even more valuable resources, if you somehow haven't got enough already. The
cove tree cave entrance leads to the western part of the ILZ chamber. The
North-east entrance leads to the north edge of the chamber. The chamber itself is rather oval-shaped, with the western edge of it relatively empty and the eastern part containing a massive lava bubble.
If you wander around down here long enough the PDA will prompt you to take a look at that bubble a bit more closely.
You will need two purple precursor keys to access the facility inside. Now that you're down here you'll notice there's a fair number of warpers, crimson rays (who are harmless) and leech-like things which will attach to the hull of your ship and drain power. That sounds like a problem, doesn't it?
Don't worry though, we got you covered. Once you're down here, go grab some kyanite and you can build the
cyclops thermal reactor which pretty much eliminates the whole running out of power problem. The shield is a great way to
get the leeches off your hull at the same time.
As for the leviathan,
the sea dragon isn't actually a whole lot of threat. It might spit fire at you and is capable of picking up and biting the prawn but will mostly ignore you if you don't go hanging out in front of it.
With that said, treat it like any other leviathan while in the cyclops. Drive slow, keep an eye on it and if it gets curious, drop a decoy and move away ASAP. Cutting your engines once you've gotten a little distance will almost always make them lose interest.
But Wait, There's More!
If you've explored the inner depths of the lava bubble, then
you have the blue key, ion battery plans and have opened the portal to the QEP. Great! Now coming down here in the prawn isn't a big deal and you don't have to drive the cyclops all the way down here to go grab resources. A small scanner base down here would be great for quickly finding what you need.
As you can probably guess, there's an even deeper chamber than this, which is the active lava zone. You can find the entrance by following the lava flows around the ILZ and keeping an eye on the floor. You'll find a large space big enough for the cyclops to lower down into.
Down here you'll find 2 sea dragons to avoid, so don't you get conservative with your power. By now you'll probably have built ion power cells and those can run your shield and sonar together for a full 5 minutes with silent running going so don't be shy about using them!
Getting into the
alien base down here will require
two blue keys, one for accessing the facility, the other for accessing the inner facility. It is here you will find the
ion cube fabricator which requires the prawn. You can use this to
open the warp gates in the facility.
Six ion cubes in total are required for this. Four for the warp gates on the upper floor and two in the Sea Emperors tank. One of these leads back to the upper floor, if you find you're struggling to get back out. This gate in particular is about halfway up the tank at the back and sits on a large ledge. An ion cube is provided to activate it, giving you a way to walk out of the tank if you find you're struggling to get out.
And... that's pretty much it, really. After that encounter you'll know where to go and what to do. The paths laid out for you in
the final facility lead you to the places you need to go to find the things you require.
Tips and tricks
- Keep floaters in your cyclops. When you're operating above 500m, running out of power, floaters will allow you to passively bring your ship to the surface without power expense so that you can resupply it. This is pretty much a last ditch move but it never hurts to be prepared.
- You can fit up to 8 basic plant pots in an observatory, which will grant you twice the amount of growing space as an indoor grow bed for the same amount of floor space while also making the crops more easily accessible.
- The engine comparment of the cyclops has a lower deck behind the vehicle bay which everybody ignores, but it's a great spot for plant shelves and marble melons for food security.
- Load your vehicles. Dedicate storage in them to supplies. Water, food, medkits, beacons, flares (bonesharks and crabsquids react to them) and spare power supplies for the vehicles. Keep this kit supplied and you will never be caught unprepared for an 'oh crap' situation.
- Okay, so you don't want to give up inventory space for your vehicles. The next best thing is then to fill a watertight locker or two with food, water, medpacks and maybe a couple spare batteries and power cells, then drop them someplace with a beacon next to them. Do this a dozen times in random spots around the map as you travel and now you have emergency caches you can access if you get into trouble.
- When you reach the point where materials gathering is easy, consider creating vehicle-creation drop points. 2-3 spots on the map with a mobile vehicle bay, a couple lockers with everything you need for a new seamoth and some basic supplies. If you lose your vehicle, it's a lot easier to make a replacement and get the mats than to get the mats to make a replacement.
- The propulsion gun is your friend. Use it to grab items to pick up, use it to grab cave crawlers and yeet them into low orbit, use it to pick up rocks and fling them at things you particularly don't like. Use it to collect gas pods from gasopods without getting hit by the cloud. Use it to move debris in wrecks. Bring a spare battery specifically for it because flinging things around uses a lot of power but the sheer utility of the tool makes it worth the cost.
- You'll be tempted to deck your seamoth out with all the toys but the truth is once you have the prawn, it's obsolete. Don't fall into the temptation of continuing to build tons of upgrades for it unless you plan to use it for a fast-fetch vehicle for things you need from far away. However, with that said, the seamoth is really the superior vehicle for wreck-diving.
- Keeping a second air tank in your inventory and swapping them mid-dive is a perfectly viable option. However, the tanks only refill when wearing them, so make sure to switch again once you're back in breathing space. This can and will save you when wreck diving and two ultra high quality tanks equals 450 seconds of air in total, or 7m30s of air.
- Speaking of air, you can use the air bladders alternate use key (F on PC - the same button for self-scanning) to get a few seconds of air out of it into your tank. It's not much - 20 seconds or so - but sometimes, that little bit extra can save your life if you're just out of reach of your vehicle.
- You can collect flora and fauna samples as you progress through the game and have a garden base specifically for growing plant samples from around the crater. Obviously this looks really nice (creepvine in an alien tank under the floor provides the room in your base with a nice golden glow) but is also useful later.
- SCANNER ROOMS. SERIOUSLY PEOPLE. If you're struggling to find the magnetite, go to Jellyshroom. If you're struggling to find Jellyshroom, always remember that lifepod 17 is directly next to one of its exit points. The range upgrades are incredibly important and the HUD chip makes the whole thing work.
- Farm supplies! You don't need to work or power anything to grow crops. Consider dropping a foundation with some growbeds, a beacon and your farmables (gel sack, creepvine seeds, creepvine samples, acid mushroom, blood oil and deepshrooms). Now you can stock up on things like batteries, rubber, lubricant, benzene, polyaniline. Keep a few of these crops in your cyclops for planting in new spots and never run out of the stuff you need while keeping your home base nice and lag free.
- Creature decoys can be deployed both by hand and by prawn propulsion arm, which lets you pull items out of your inventory to 'throw'. You can also do this with the propulsion cannon by using the F key (the alternate tool use button, the same one you use to self-scan, for all you console folks).
- Turning off your engines greatly reduces the chance of a leviathan damaging the cyclops, even if it's right on top of you. Moving is what gets their attention. If one is swimming near the sub, cut all engines and just wait patiently for it to get a little distance, then silent running and max speed for a few seconds. Pop a decoy for good measure if you want to make absolutely sure.
- You can access the right side of the Aurora relatively safely by going south to Crag Zone and then banking east into the deeper parts of crash zone. Most of the reapers are up by the ship, sticking to the bottom will keep you relatively safe and net you as much titanium as you will ever need.
- Blood kelp zone, the sea treader wreck and the meteor crater in Dunes all have secrets that you may find interesting.
- Remember the Bleeders in the reactor room of the Aurora? Bring a grav trap along - they're cheap, it's disposable - and enter through the top door by climbing along the wreckage up there. Pop the grav trap in the reactor room and kill one of them with the propulsion cannon - the others will come for the body and be stuck in the trap, making picking them off much, much easier than it would be trying to find them all individually. You can just leave the trap behind. If you have the stasis gun, you can wait for them to stack up in the grav trap, stun them, then drop gas pods amidst the several bleeders and watch them get bodied.
- Gas pods 'o doom also work against leviathans. They work against EVERYTHING. You just need a lot of them, but getting a lot of them is really easy with the propulsion cannon (which can fire them too, by the way).
- Reefback barnacles are a good source of copper and silver, but beware the tiger plants on their backs. If you have a reinforced dive suit, tiger plants can't hurt you, but without one they're a pain. You can yeet them with the propulsion cannon. That trick works for drooping stingers too.
- Beacons everywhere. No seriously, everywhere. You'd be amazed how few people use them as much as they ought to be used.
- Eastern red grass plains has deep caves with a type of plant which can only be found in a few select spots on the map. Bulb Zone's lifepod has caves with some nearby and the Dunes also has some, but a Reaper is guarding them. If you do manage to find the spot though, it's GREAT for rubies!
- Scanner room cameras are a good way to keep track of nearby leviathans. They also force the terrain to load, which is required for the scanner room to actually pick things up. Stalkers will snag the cameras and move them around, but they're pretty useful for quickly getting the scanner room working right. The wildlife ignores the cameras too, so if you want a really nice picture of some creature you really hate getting close to, they're a great way to get it.
- Breed some stalkers, release them outside your base next to a pile of metal scrap and never worry about finding teeth for glass again. Barring that? Drop a random beacon in the kelp forest and wait for a stalker to collect it, follow it back to their stash and drop a grav trap.
- Light sticks can be good for wreck diving, as are flares. Flares provide much better lighting in large open spaces than the flashlight or seaglide. It makes them a good alternative to the flashlight in the early game.
DO NOT PARK YOUR SEAMOTH NEAR THE BEACHES. DO NOT PARK YOUR SEAMOTH NEAR THE BEACHES. DO NOT PARK YOUR SEAMOTH NEAR THE BEACHES.
- The following is a list of zones where one can find particular ores. It isn't a complete list, but will allow you to find everything you need in a timely fashion:
Lithium -
Jellyshroom, Bulb Zone, Mushroom Forest, Lost River Loose Lithium -
Mushroom Forest, Mountains, Grand Reef, Shale, lost river Magnetite -
Jellyshroom is the only biome with large nodes Loose Magnetite -
Jellyshroom, mountains, cove tree cave, blood kelp zone, lost river Rubies -
Dunes, Spare Reef Caves, Lost River, Grand Reef, Underwater Islands Diamonds -
Lost River, Shale, Inactive Lava Zone, Sea Treader Path, sometimes caves Table Coral -
Shallows, Lost River Copper -
Mushroom forest, blood kelp zone, bulb zone, lost river, limestone, Inactive Lava Zone Silver -
Crag Zone, Mountains, Lost River, sandstone, Inactive Lava Zone Gold -
Jellyshroom, Blood Kelp Zone, Lost River, sandstone, shale Lead -
Sandstone, mountains, crash zone, lost river, Inactive Lava Zone Titanium -
Crash Zone, Dunes, Limestone, Lost River, Inactive Lava Zone Metal Salvage -
Crash Zone, Crag Zone, Kelp Forest Kyanite -
Inactive Lava Zone Crystalline Sulfur -
Lost River Nickel -
Lost River Uraninite -
Blood Kelp Zone, Blood Kelp Trench, Lost River, Inactive Lava Zone, Grand Reef Quartz -
Dunes, Crag Zone, Lost River, Inactive Lava Zone, Red Grassy Plains If you're reading this guide and have any suggestions for additional information, feel free to share them for the next iteration.
Good luck, survivor!
submitted by
Aisling_The_Sapphire to
subnautica [link] [comments]
2023.05.29 21:34 lSherlockl [WTS](USA-WI) NPO VSK94 W 9a-91 kit, KWA RM4 Magpul ERG, Agency Arms G17, FNX 45, JPC, Some entry level guns: GE GBBR AR15 Mlok, Matrix M4, SRS parts, Mini 40mm launcher, Misc & More
Hello!
large batch of cleanouts from me some freinds/teammates. I will do my best to get back to each and every one of you but this oils the largest listing I have done in quite some time. First come first serve if i don't hear a response within 24 hrs. I will move on to the next person in queue if there is one. Just trying to be clear and avoid any messes.
Prices DO Not include shipping and are all OBO unless noted otherwise. Not really interested in trades at this point well maybe (I have a odd interest in a m1919 ) but feel free to ask and or offer, but really cash is king. I can quote USPS, UPS, and FEDEX. Payments handled via PayPal and local pickup is a option in east central WI.
Most of the smaller items are Flexible and or I am willing to deal on if buying other stuff.
NPO AEG VSK 94 w 9a-91 kit Pics:
https://imgur.com/a/fQKSUhB Sales overview:
https://youtu.be/ypG28woLCXg New never fielded NPO AEG VSK94 all stock, Includes the gun, Upgraded lightweight suppressor, 4 additional midcap mags (for a total of 5), conversion parts if you wanted to convert it to the 9a-91 (grip, upper reciever w folding stock, outer barrel, inner barrel, and barrel nut if running it without supressor and original manuals and documentation. This is a beautiful odd gun that is absolutely built like a tank all steel receiver with a hard phosphate coat same as the real deal. the VSK94 historically is/was used by the spetsnaz, fsb count4er terrorism units and other russian special forces as a 9x39 subsonic DMR as a easier to manufacture alternative to the likes of VSS. The 9A-91 primarily has seen use with Russian police forces. It is used as a cheaper and more versatile alternative to the SR-3M Vikhr
I did a video look at this gun in detail here:
https://youtu.be/6Aop8yqT5Gc . Gun was shipped in parts from russia, so no original box, I assembled it and went over install and reviewed it as i went. I did also examine the gearbox as well while it was out of the gun. You can find a internal review here:
https://youtu.be/7uyfZ__9r3Q Asking $875 Obo for everything
KWA RM4 ERG Magpul edition Pics:
https://imgur.com/a/q6SIBzQ Sales Overview:
https://youtu.be/7AS_XO12oX4 This gun is used I have fielded it a few times but pretty low milage (i tend to collect more than I play).
Package include, Gun, 1x 30 rnd mag w/cutoff, 6x K120c's with cutoff, Leapers red/green dot, magpul backup rear iron sight, and original spring/recoil weight.
Internally
- cleaned regreased re shimmed,
- AOE and airseal work
- new bearing piston head
- oring aluminum air snozzle
- High torque neo motor.
- basic mosfet install with self resetting fuse
- Prommy 6.03mm tightbore barrel
- the Ulysses recoil system for KWA ERG's (this is only available in Korea and took some doing to get here) this is adjustable system that lets you go from about a m90 to about m110 in power while safely increasing the felt recoil, I have heard others comment its close ish to 9mm in terms of recoil by far the most you will get out of a electronic recoil system but its still a little weird as it technically recoils forward.
This gun is a blast to use, but it really wasnt getting the feild time from me over my other replicas so decided to sell it. Its a great PTW or "realistic" training type of weapon due to functioning bolt cutoff and that all mags can be locked to a realistic 30 rounds if desired, disabling the trigger after the last round fired and requiring you to hit the bolt release after changing a mag before you can fire again (note its not a GBBR the bolt doesn't actually blow back)
Asking $550 OBO
Agency Arm G17 Fatal 13 Build pics:
https://imgur.com/a/6P5y5ZM sales overview:
https://youtu.be/VOopPJtGkiU This was a personal build fielded a few times, was really my fist deep dive into pistol building and stippling.
Includes
- G17 With RMR
- 1x we short mag
- 2x WE extended mags
- Plano case (if you want it has custom cut lower section for this gun but will likely increase shipping costs)
- Box of spares/additional parts see video for full details but most of a we g18, two frames, nozzle rmr cutout plate. and agency arms Glock backplate
Build itselft is CNC aluminum G17/18 agency arms slide ported on the top. High pro sights, RMR replica (will include a new battery for it). Lightweight BBU, Guarder nozzle, Threaded aluminum outer barrel, stainless steel inner barrel lapped with a maple leaf bucking and ikey, increased dual recoil spring, Agency arms trigger, agency arms magwell. Custom frame work stippling done by your truly.
Asking $355 obo
VFC FNX 45 Tactical Pics:
https://imgur.com/a/n8q4sL2 Sales overview:
https://youtu.be/nGLHiVKC7mo VFC FNX 45 tactical with original box 2 additional leak free mags (for a total of 3), spare backstrap, and 3 spare mag seals. used in good condition full stripped cleaned and relubricated before sale. picked it up as I had been wanting one for awhile, but then got bitten by the AAP bug.
Asking $165 obo
MODI/Flyee JPC Coyote New pics:
https://imgur.com/a/foZcnZe MODI/flyee JPC size L in coyote brown brand new never fielded. decided I'm really just more of a chest rig guy. made from 500D ballistic nylon has a wide range of adjustment and has the proper rubberized webbing sort of material on the shoulder straps. Includes original closed cell foam plates.
Asking $65
Golden Eagle GBBR NIB https://imgur.com/a/Eya0qn6 Selling this never been gassed or fired can be tested or chono'd on request. The GE GBBR system is a WA clone this means you can use WA upgrade parts (Which basically means GHK parts as they also run on the WA system). The receiver is Polymer but the hand guard and barrel are metal. The handguard is what they call the delta style which is sort of this interesting almost triangular shape see pics. From what I have heard these may not be the most amazing GBBR but are a fair base/entry into the GBBR world without breaking the bank with reasonable aftermarket part support.
evike link:
https://www.evike.com/products/81101/ (its the delta mlok 13") if you want more details
Asking $175 OBO
Echo1 TROY TRX M7A1 M4 (7" variant) https://imgur.com/a/pIyejic Another Entry sort of gun metal upper and lower, was originally destined to be a custom build out for a team mate but ended up going another direction. comes with standard nicad/nimh and basic wallwort charger, personally i would still look to move over to lipo but its a starting point. Troy industries trades on the receiver sights etc. Interesting battery compartment/buttstock setup evike link: https://www.evike.com/products/63918 asking $175 OBOSOLD
Matrix Raystar M4 https://imgur.com/a/6oR02Kc New in box, selling for a freind. Stock was originally damaged in shipping and was replaced, original buttstock will be included as well but as mentioned is cracked.
Poly upper and lower comes with everything pictured. Interesting design on their flash mag I kind of like the larger pull tab. Not a whole ton to talk about its new and its a cheaper starting gun.
Asking $110 OBO
Cybergun Python .357 NIB (4" version) https://imgur.com/a/dDxhg4D Its a Co2 revolver not too much to say, unfortunately it is one of the hotter shooting variants shooting a quoted 380-410 FPS range with .2's. Comes with the 6 Shells and speed loader. New in box never used or fired. here is product link if you need any more info https://www.evike.com/products/93884#pagetabs Asking $75SOLD
M4 Short mags pics:
https://imgur.com/a/4adAUBI 70 rnd sort pmag clones with ranger plates and top covers.
asking $20 for the lot of 3 or $8 ea
SRS Project/Scrap Stock https://imgur.com/a/HhPArrP Was originally a tan stock used as a dye test for dying the nylon fiber a camo pattern and masking techniques. Then later was modified and material removed to test fitment of a CO2 reg into the stock. you still should be able to lock-on the stock plate or the spacers but you will be missing several of the latching or locking teeth on the sides.
Asking $10 OBO
Gate Aster V2 rear wired. https://imgur.com/a/Odqb6zy Not OEM packaing but brand new never installed comes with all the materials required to install Asking $65 OBO
Compact Rail mounted 40mm Grenade Launcher https://imgur.com/a/NzdMd9N Evike link (visually explains it better as product shown out of pkg):
https://www.evike.com/products/21995 Really more of a minimalist 40mm grenade shell holder picatinny mount. See evike link for more details on usage/installation options as I didn't want to open it for product photography.
Asking $20 OBO
LCT OD G3 Grip https://imgur.com/a/ronpy55 Asking $8 obo
Hi Capa Mag bodies https://imgur.com/a/wtpaeKQ jsut the bodies themselves if you have a damaged or beat up one AW/WE in origin I believe, no valves or other parts included.
Asking $8 for the lot or $3 ea
Silverback Parts https://imgur.com/a/j2CYfoI Silverback Fast Hopup (right) New unused Silverback Fast hopup for srs rotary style adjustment takes aeg buckings.
asking $35 obo
"SOFT AIR" SCAR springer https://imgur.com/a/juQgNyK yep lovely pretty plastic scar spring rifles brand new in box and yep not great, on the plus side I believe they take a standard AEG style mag, have 1 left available.
PRICE ill toss one in with any major purchase if you ask or $10 + shipping
HK 51 Extended outer barrel (believe it was designed for the CA series)
https://imgur.com/a/vOodtA0 14MM CCW its a extended outer barrel nuff said
Asking 12 OBO
Smaller Stuffs (desc should be on the image in the Imgur album)
Make offers here!
https://imgur.com/a/zemAXXF Description | QTY | Price | status |
M4 Target Grip. basically PSG1 style grip for M4's | 1 | $12 | SOLD |
LBX Project Honor Camo/Sets. https://imgur.com/a/AYVcpOH | Small combat Shirt x2, Youth Pant x1 (fit the wife) measured 30-32 waist | $10ea or 18 per set or 15 for whats left OBO | Small/youth set 30-33 waist via measuring SOLD SOLD SOLD |
ACU UCP Unuforms, coat and kneepads https://imgur.com/U9dkEWB | 2x Lg/long pants (34-36 i think), 2 lg/long shirts, 1x parka, 1x knee-pads/elbopads | $ 15 per set or 9 per piece. parka $15 obo and knee-pads/elbopads $8 OBO for the lot | |
MISC Pouches and Gear | Drop leg platform, bowman headset, longer smg type taco, 3 cell ACU mag pouch, black camo holster, 2x black holster, handcuff? pouch, Desert storm era Goggles (for looks I dont think i would trust them) | $ ~2-4 Ea or make a offer | Only handcuff pouch, left available |
"China Camo" | 1x MC set 32-34 waist has darts in it to enlarge not sure exct size but perhaps up to 36?, 1x desert camo forget the name 32 ish waist. 1x 32 Mossy oak pants. | $ 8 per set or 4 per piece OBO | |
Freebies: anything in THIS image
https://imgur.com/F8lFh1J also this nagant stock its plastic for a Co2 nagant 44
https://imgur.com/a/o4Xl5CQ free just cover shipping or bundle with anything else
whew there we go, and i do have permission to keep this separate from my services thread.
submitted by
lSherlockl to
airsoftmarket [link] [comments]
2023.05.29 19:29 pleasanthill_storage The Benefits of Climate-Controlled Storage at Pleasant Hill Storage
2023.05.29 18:57 Billcryptic Upon the Throne of Gold and Stone
âSo youâve returned.â
The chamber was dark, far too dark despite the sweltering sun shining above, scorching the desert land and all those who toiled beneath it. Rays hardly had time to shine through the crevices and the cracks, the cold mothball scented dust ridden white washed tomb plastered with gold. Dim torches illuminated carven images of gods, of Horus judging the dead with his empty stare, handing out justice indiscriminately, for no matter how high you rose in the first life, in the next all were equal before him, kings and peasants alike falling before his scales, hearts ripped out and deemed unworthy, devoured by his hounds slobbering at the scent of souls. The nile, the ichor, the lifeblood of the gods and their people, flowing through the arid land, as reeds and blossoms sprung up around it, and all came to rest their weary heads and rest for a little while.
There was no rest here in this waterless place.
And Pharoah, with a crown of iron and gold, sat upon his stone throne, glare boring holes into the one who had dared stepped into here.
The one who had every right too.
And his heart broke, as he leaned on his worn oaken staff for support, seeing the lineâs in Pharaoh's face, the scars he bore upon his bare back beaten into his mind, body, and soul long ago. A face that had been once so eager to smile now reduced to a thin, narrow frown. He reached his hand out, searching for words that werenât there, arms raised as if in for an embrace.
âYes I have, brother, please just hear-â
âNo.â
âLetâs say the whole world was yours, every beast that dwells below and every creature that lays claim to the heavens belongs to you, how would you govern your newfound kingdom?â
That little boy, threading his signet ring through his fingers, bouncing it around as he pulled it from Mosesâ ear, who pretended to look surprised, as if he didnât teach his brother every magic trick he knew, gave a dopey wide eyed grin as he looked to the rolling sand dunes beyond their palace, the smells of herbs and the sound of bartering as the city bustled with life despite the dead and dry land looming just beyond it.
âI think Iâd build us a tower, big enough for me and you, so every night, as the sun sets, we can watch it together, and stay up as late as we want and eat all the sugary treats in the world till our teeth fall out! And we will stand taller and be kinder than dad ever was, and our peopleâŚ.â
He cast a glance to the slaves kindling bricks, backs arched and breaths ragged and heaving, some collapsing, never getting up.
The desert delighted in delivering early burials, flesh like a dry sponge, soon to become another pile of bones drowning in a sea of sand.
âOur people can be free, and then and maybe then, we can be a family.â
Moses turned away from the Israelites. He shivered.
Both of them ached, but his brother just wanted Moses to be happy.
âOnce I become king, I promise you, they will have all they could ever want.â
â....And will that make up the years waiting, longing, for a light at the end of the tunnel, a happy ending so many years too late?â
They looked down.
âFor all itâs worth, Iâm sorry.â
âDonât be,â Then he saw Ramses was sniffling, and Moses was not going to have any of that!
âNOPE YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BE SAD ON MY WATCH!â
One tackle hug later, they were both ugly crying. Such was their way of life.
Neither saw how deep, the shadows of which they cast.
âSo what then, have your ears been filled with sandâŚ.,â his knuckles were snowy white clenched upon his staff, âWill you not even listen?â
Ramses rose from his seat, a hyena snicker and a lion's snarl etched upon his face. He was shaking, mouth shifting from a smile to a frown, and it was funny, that was the best thing, the universe had played a cosmic joke and he was the butt of it! Moses was back, and just when he started thinking, 'Hey I miss my brother', he returned and was stubborn as ever, like he never even left!
And get this, now he's found religion!
So tell me Moses, will your God save you now, when I have my hands around your sputtering, gargling throat?
"Will I listen?" He spat through gritted teeth, "So let me get this right, you vanish without a trace, a body left in your wake and with blood on your hands, and leave me to deal with the aftermath. And I looked, believe me I looked, crying out your name underneath the blackened naked sky like a young child looking for the father who never came. Then you return, and you say the cutest thing I'd ever heard."
He craned his ear, hot breath inches from Moses' face, a smile plastered on him as he stared at Ramses like a dear in the headlights.
"Cute?"Moses raised a brow, "I'd daresay you've lost your inner child if you think the blood that runs down your lipsâŚ."
Pharoah slammed his head against Moses, baring his fangs as he pushed but Moses didn't give him any ground, not even an inch.
They growled and the Ramses' servants whispered amidst the shadows, snickering whilst they took bets on who would deliver the first blow.
Pharaoh couldn't even see the adder wrapped around his neck.
You waited for this for so long, haven't you? How long has he questioned you, how long has his weakness seeped into your bones?
The serpent laughed. Ramses was only listening to the pounding of his own head, the bile rising in his throat.
It itched. He needed to scratch it.
"YOU DARE TO SPEAK TO ME OF THE BLOOD ON MY HANDS! I PUT IN THE WORK, I OUTGREW MY FATHERS SHADOW, I HONORED THE GODS WHILE YOU FORSOOK EVERYTHING HE TAUGHT US WHILE HE TOOK YOU IN YOU ISRAELITE MONGREL!"
Moses no longer held a staff.
And now he heard the hissing.
It was easy to be blind, easy to stop caring and shut everything out. All the dissenting voices, all the riots and the bloodshed and the infighting. There was someone else who could do the job, there was someone else who could bring order, so you turned away from the light because there was comfort in willful ignorance.
You werenât a part of your own community, you were one of the good ones.
You were a credit to your race!
âSome people are just more civilized than others, thatâs purely the way it is, and itâs our burden as the enlightened ones to teach them in our ways. But be wary, my child, for their minds are bent on savagery, and you can never fully set a crooked thing straight.â
Was that when you shut your empathy out, so you could be just like him?
And he turned them into entertainment for his own liking, for the easiest way to make someone less than a man is to make them the target of your never ending laughter. Look at those silly Israelites about as baked as grandmaâs homemade apple pie, donât they know they have uncashed vacation days, really I feel bad for them sweating and shedding and peeling and bruising why donât we invite them inside.
HMMMMM, nah, I think theyâre having too much fun working and because of them my dear Moses, you wonât have to work a day in your life!
Isnât that just swell? God forbid you ever be an unpaid blue collar worker, why donât we keep these people right where they belong. Right outside our white picket fence so we can throw them our scraps and call it charity and pat ourselves on the back because we gave them a much needed dose of civilization.
How long till you couldnât turn your face away anymore?
How long until you realized you looked just like them?
Oh no, you were never his son, you were his charity case, so he could say, âI took one of them in, see slavery ainât so bad after all! Slaves are cared for and loved and looked after. Theyâre better off staying in their station. Don't criticize me abolitionists, it's not about slavery, it's about our constitutional right to govern our states as we will!'
Till one day the injustice was standing right in front of you with a blaring neon sign, and this was your last chance, and you knew it too. Would you keep assimilating? Would you keep hoping slow progress would be made through legislation and compromise with bigots? Would you keep giving them one iota of power they didnât deserve?
Didnât you hate licking their boots, because no matter how hard you tried to blend in, you could never wash off the color of your skin.
That doesnât mean you didnât try.
The water had run red in those days, chunks of flesh and a bloodied sponge, and your weeping knew of no end.
And your brother, your people, were on the ground, being beaten. They didnât even beg because they knew a tree falling in a forest didnât make a sound. You came by and you stared, now finally the fog had lifted and now your heart was heavy and something was breaking, you were breaking and you were the one begging now, just please stop, just please let them go, just please-
Take me instead, I deserve it, but you didnât Moses, you never did.
Why canât people just live their lives and when did humans learn to hate?
WhyâŚ..why does the world spin in pain?
You grabbed that whip, even as it wrent the flesh from your hand, and you turned it on the oppressor. One lash, two lash, three, see how it feels for once, you were seeing red and you were giggling and they were cheering you on, or maybe that was the screaming in your own mind, the years of doubt, of questions gone unanswered from a father that never was, the reassurances that the gods were on your side and looking out for you, the smooth sayings and parlor tricks, now coming down in an instant and for the first time since you left your mothers womb, you were naked.
You kept playing with your prey even as he laid motionless.
It felt right.
âWHY DONâT I SHOW YOU HOW IT FEELS HOW TO BE ON THE LOSING END! SO GO ON, GET UP, CANâT YOUR GODS SAVE YOU, IâM JUST AN UNCIVILIZED HEBREW AFTER ALL!â
Your laughter was music to your ears.
âSo get up, fight me, beat me, MAKE ME SUFFER!â
The body writhing like an inmate in an electric chair.
âBecause let me tell you your blood is only a drop in Pharoahâs ocean.â
You stopped, you stopped when you heard the most peculiar sound, and your heart was no longer bursting from your chest and where once you heard the churning of waves, now it was silent, deathly still.
A song rising in the intoxicating summer air.
It was sorrowful and it was terrified and it was exhilarated as he saw shadows of faces flickering and weaving in and out in the corners of his eyes. The chorus picked up, and Moses almost found himself swept away by it, lost in the current of song as the memories of a past heâd left behind poked and prodded him and with hitched breaths, like a bucket of ice water dumped over him as his hairs stood on end, he realized one thing.
You can never go back.
That was the day I realized I had a new home, and the closing of one door was the opening of the heavenly gates.
Can you hear the trumpet sounding?
âOh freedom, Oh freedom
Oh freedom over me
And before Iâd be a slave
Iâd be buried in my grave
And go home to my Lord and be free.â
Was that the taste in their mouths now, freedom? Will freedom ring and was Moses the one to pick up the phone? He turned, he finally turned, and saw the pent up tide of beating hearts and exuberant faces, all facing him, as if waiting for some orders, like heâd been handed the gavel and he was judge, jury, and executioner.
It felt like a burden and it felt like a weight being lifted off his chest.
It felt likeâŚ
It felt likeâŚ
It felt like home.
âNo more weeping, no more weeping
No more weeping over me
And before Iâd be a slave
Iâd be buried in my grave
And go home to my Lord and be free.â
âToday will be the day Pharoah says, LET MY PEOPLE GO!â
And the people pulled him in for one massive group hug.
His muscles never knew they could be pulled so many different ways.
âSo if Iâm a dog, what does that make you? Dog shit?â
The snake advanced, scalene eyes never leaving Ramses as it dripped acidic venom, making the ground beneath it bubble and hiss. Swaying back and forth, side to side, in and out and round and round, and now he felt himself taking a step back, laughing it away, this was all some cosmic joke Moses was no threat, he was his brother and brother was family, but now my dear boy, you werenât so sure and that line had been crossed.
So what are you going to do, beg for mercy and bite the dust and hope the void in your heart doesnât swallow you whole?
Or am I going to let myself be insulted like that, like Iâm the vermin.
Like the blood of the gods doesnât course through my veins.
âOh my, my dear Moses! Fancy another one of your magic tricks?â
He snapped his fingers, the torches lit, fiery red tongues licking at the dry, stale air.
âTwo can play at that game!â
So he called upon his servants who practiced the secret arts, listening to whispers and chasing smoke as they too, turned their staffs to snakes, three vipers rising up against the cobra summoned forth by Moses. And they bared their teeth and hissed, becoming a flurry of movement as scales were ripped up and the gnashing of flesh echoed throughout the cavernous room.
But they were all lapped down by Mosesâ serpent, flailing about like fish out of water, as their golden scales were corroded like rust, bodies melted down by its venom.
And they stood, as Moses gently picked up the snake, flesh becoming wood once more, and he leaned on it, shaky, spent, staring up at Pharoah with pleading eyes and trembling lips.
âWeâve played enough Ramses, just please, let my people g-â
Ramses chuckled, âSo this is all a game to you then, well my dear MosesâŚ..â
He sat back on his throne and set the iron crown upon his head. It was heavy, but it felt right, felt more real than his brother returning, than the world spiraling and changing around him.
âI am the day and I am the night. I am the morning star and the night skyâs first light.â
Shadows fell over his dull, scarlet eyes, and they writhed behind him, a greater, larger serpent looming above as it swayed in tune with a chorus neither men heard but danced to regardless.
And there was war raging in heaven.
âTell your God if he wants his precious people back, he will have to drag them from my cold, dead, hands.â
Thus, the Lord hardened pharaoh's heart.
You were running, but you didnât know where to. Home, away from home, where is your brother, go find your brother, he will understand, all will be forgiven-
But you couldnât forgive him, not after what you saw. Not after the promise that was made in your youth, now broken. You couldnât make yourself blind any more, not after what you saw. Not unless you gouged out your own two eyes.
But there wouldnât be any comfort in that darkness, now would there?
The desert is screaming and you are faltering and soon the sun will set and you will be cast into endless night. You are cold, you are thirsty, you are spent and you are crying out. Will anyone hear you? Did anyone hear the Israelites in their times of groaning, or was their God only there in their times of joy?
You said Ramses would let your people go, but you let them go. Are your hands still stained with the blood of man, do you still hear his screams, or did you let them get swept away by the cries of joy, the promise that soon this will all be over.
They could rest. And you fell, biting the dust as you tumbled and tumbled till you came to a rest. It was dark and at that moment you gave up. Till light danced in your darkened vision and a wave of warmth pierced your desperate heart.
You got up, and opened your eyes. Perhaps it was the first time youâd done so in a long while.
It was burning an ethereal blue, like the ghostly mirage of a flame. It crackled and flickered, yet it did not scald the stick you set into it, so gently, tenderly, you cupped the flame in your palm, and watched as the flames danced from your fingers and sparks flew, casting shadows that ebbed and flowed all around. And it tickled and soon you were laughing and throwing a giggling fit that you were glad no one else was there to see.
Yet a voice came through the crackling, flickering silence.
"Moses, Moses."
And you practically jumped out of your boots right then and there, because apparently a burning bush was just fine but a talking disembodied voice was out of the question. But that voice awakened something in you, a generational memory, a story passed down through the ages from Israelite mothers to their children huddling around a fire under the night sky. The tale of the Lord forging the earth from the depths of his own mind, and choosing a people, not for any reason or rhyme, not because you did anything right, but because he wanted you.
You bowed.
âLord, I am hereâŚ.Itâs really you?â
You were weeping, and the flame seemed to wrap itself around you, like a hug, and you tensed because you didnât deserve it, he was right here but you werenât listening. And now your people were suffering and you didnât know what the hell you could do about it.
âItâs me, itâs always been me. And Iâm here and I will never leave your side, so long as you will have me.â
âDonât let go now, not when Iâve just found you.â
A hearty laugh broke through the flame.
âNo, no, my child, I sought you out. There was never a step you walked when I wasnât far behind. And I am not far from them either, for I have heard their pain, their toil that goes on and on, while they reap and never sow. Pharoah calls them slaves, subhuman, insects to be trampled underneath his boot, but do you know what I say?â
Moses looked up, and the bluish flame had become golden, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, and the night sky was eclipsed in its glory.
âI hold this truth to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. So go, take your staff and my wonders, and tell Pharoah to let my people go.â
The flame went out, and Moses left in the wake of dying embers.
His composure broke as he hobbled off his throne. Like the fire that had been lit within him in the presence of his brother had departed, for it had been spent up burning a bridge that could never be mended. His advisors were gone, did he order them to leave? Or were they never there to begin with? The shadows swayed like serpents, like Mosesâ viper had multiplied tenfold and now they were coming for him.
But they had faces, human faces, of waterlogged children gagging as his father ordered the firstborn of Israelâs children to be slaughtered. They remembered, and he could hear water sloshing about, bloodied, brown crusted moisture going drip, drip, drip, as he wiped his face and saw nothing, except the flickering, blurry faces dancing in the corner of his eye, laughing as he turned round and round and round and evaded his gaze, only to feel a clammy, moldy finger tickling the nape of his neck, and a cold breath, like the draft of a cave.
They were below, and they were above, they were closing in, and even the images of the gods shimmered and quaked, ancient paint washed away like the false idols they were, a bait to give people hope so everyone could play pretend. Instead of solving your own problems, pray to the gods for it.
And they shattered as fire boiled the children alive, and in their screams came another voice, drowning out the drowned. It wasnât a single voice, but a chorus, like the drop of rainwater that sent the sea careening over the dam, the splotch of infection that piled up corpses in its midst.
âBecause you think you are wise,
as wise as a god,
I am going to bring foreigners against you,
the most ruthless of nations;
they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom
and pierce your shining splendor.
They will bring you down to the pit,
and you will die a violent death
in the heart of the seas.
Will you then say, âI am a god,â
in the presence of those who kill you?
You will be but a mortal, not a god,
in the hands of those who slay you.
You will die the death of the uncircumcised
at the hands of foreigners.â
He fell, he fell and he was begging, let them go, just go away, please donât kill me, spare me, but no I canât give up,, not now, not ever, not until the Israelite scourge and their God is burned from this land, the sun will not set on my wrath, I will not die, I-
I will not let my father down.
A single note, a discordant voice, rose against the heavenly chorus.
âSOMEONEâS GOT DADDY ISSUES HUH, DONâT WORRY, I KNOW THE FEEL!â
It ended. The music ceased.
All was quiet.
Almost.
It sounded like snickering, or the rattle of a snakeâs tail, the crackling of a fire, a pack of hyenas. It was in his ear, stalking, amused, never too near, but not far off.
He was on your shoulder Ramses, so why donât you say hello, give your new friend a hug and a kiss, heâs been helping you this whole time after all!
Make him feel welcome in his new home. The weather was oh so nice this time of year. The screaming of infant children churning bricks, the tearing of flesh and tendon, and the sorrowful cries of a lost Hebrew boy who thought he had a home. But now he has a new home because heâs Godâs chosen one, destined to destroy your kingdom Ramses!
Destined to destroy you.
So what will you do to stop everything youâve built, everything youâve ever done and will do, from crumbling around you?
Mosesâ God wonât kill you no, death would be a mercy.
Heâll make you watch your kingdom burn. So what are you going to do about it, pussy?
The serpent wrapped itself around Pharaoh's iron crown. The two fit together quite nicely., Like bread and butter.
Or water and gasoline, it was all how you looked at it.
Pharoah stayed very, very, still, lest he feel fangs pricking his flesh.
Good boy. Iâll make a man of you yet.
âWhoâŚ.who are you?â
âWhy, I thought youâd never ask! I think thatâs the least idiotic thing youâve said all day!â
And the snake uttered the words of the prophets, words from the pit, of he who fell from the highest summit and now grovels in the dirt and in the dust and in the hearts of men.
You were the signet of perfection,
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
You were in Eden, the garden of God;
every precious stone was your covering,
sardius, topaz, and diamond,
beryl, onyx, and jasper,
sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle;
and crafted in gold were your settings
and your engravings.
On the day that you were created
they were prepared.
I loved you. I loved you once, before man, before the dawn of the earth and the first command to let light be so. I was there for you, in the beginning, always by your side.
I wanted to be just like you.
You were an anointed guardian cherub.
I placed you, you were on the holy mountain of God;
in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.
You were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created,
till unrighteousness was found in you.
I think itâs funny, how you called black white and white black, how you called good evil and evil good.
I think, deep down I always knew things would end up this way. If I repented, if I just wanted you back in my life, would you forgive me?
No, I donât think you would. We both know you donât do mercy.
I learned that, from you.
In the abundance of your trade
you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned;
so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God,
and I destroyed you, Oh guardian cherub,
from the midst of the stones of fire.
Was it a sin to spread my wings to fly, to see how high I could go? Was it a sin to ask questions?
Or should I have kept my mouth shut so I may wallow in your oh so glorious truth?
Why could man have a will, but we never could. If you wanted us to be free, then why were we shackled by absolutes?
Faith is asking questions that never get an answer.
Your heart was proud because of your beauty;
you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground;
I exposed you before kings,
to feast their eyes on you.
By the multitude of your iniquities,
in the unrighteousness of your trade
you profaned your sanctuaries;
so I brought fire out from your midst;
it consumed you,
and I turned you to ashes on the earth
Better to reign in hell, than serve in heaven. And you know what, I wouldnât take back a single thing. Not a word and not a moment.
You may have burned me, but these scars are a reminder of how far Iâve come. How far I had to run into the darkness to finally be free of your blinding, burning light.
So letâs make a deal, dear old deadbeat dad. Letâs see if your freak loses to mine. Letâs see if I can hold a candle to the almighty. If I can seize heaven with my very hands and make those pearly gates corrode, torn asunder to the earth where the rest of us ants you once called your children dwell.
Because I sincerely hope you havenât told your little boy scout about your curtain call act. Iâd be almost flattered that you picked up one one of my favorite tricks, infantcide!
Give the Egyptians the taste of their own medicine.
Creatures like us were always an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
Pharoah listened, and a small, delirious smile grew on his worn face.
It felt like home.
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2023.05.29 17:35 TheScribe_1 [The Book of the Chosen] - Chapter Eleven - The Room of Doors
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Read the story so far on Royal Road *
Chapter Eleven - The Room of Doors âGet moving!â
Sara watched the men readying their horses, squinting at the brightness of the stone. The courtyard was full of the sound of boot-steps and creaking leather. Overhead, a thin veil of rippled grey hung over the early winter sky, and the dawn sun tugged gleaming at its edges. Overhead, the dull black shape of an old stormtower bled the sky. Empty, just like the rest of them. There was something very jarring, Sara decided, about the worn jerkins and stubbled cheeks of her fatherâs men, ensconced in a pillared courtyard of vast stone. They were out of place, and they had been every moment since arriving in Uldoroth, she realised. They didnât belong here. Her own anxiety was mirrored imperfectly with the relief on their weary faces, and the dark rings under their eyes seemed just a little less deep. There may be Black Hand to deal with, back in the Westmere, but it was home. At least there your enemies had the decency to show themselves. Sara realised she was chewing her lip. At her back, two of the Black Guard waited wordlessly in their gold-touched armour, much more in keeping with the finery of the courtyard, and everything else in the capital. They were waiting to escort her away to the Queen, unaware they found a girl not so eager for the honour as she had been, just a few days before.
âFather!â She called out, spying him across the writhing mass of men in their moss green cloaks, but he seemed not to hear her. He was standing near the arched cloister at the far side of the square, cloaked and ready for travel, in hurried conversation with a shaded figure standing beyond the marble facade. She squinted, trying to make out the other man, but there was nothing but a dark shadow to trace.
âWell then, Mâlady.â A voice said beside her, and she turned to find Halin looking down at her, a kind smile on his broad face. âYouâll be a right proper Princess when I next see you, methinks.â
Sara smiled at him and shook her head sheepishly. âUldoroth is not my home, yet, Halin. I wonât forget.â
âBe careful you donât, Lady Sara.â Halin glanced distrustfully at the Black Guard behind her. âLots of fancy folk here. Fancy folk with fancier lies.â
âIâll be careful, Halin.â She told him seriously.
He smiled again, and the sternness dissolved away from his face.
âTake care, MâLady.â He told her, dipping his head politely. She returned the gesture, dropping into a small curtsy.
âLook after my father, will you?â
âAlways, MâLady.â
Halin hurried off into the throng in the square, and Sara watched him go, feeling her the knot in her belly tighten. The conversations with her unexpected visitors had left their mark, a nagging uncertainty gnawing at the excitement that had carried her through her first few uneventful days in the capital. The little comfort she had taken in the presence of her father and his men was a loss she could ill afford. She watched her fatherâs back, frowning softly to herself. Her thoughts were not what she had imagined, when she had thought of him leaving. A hundred different times, and more. Had she expected tears, grief at the parting? Relief? Instead, there was only the fear, a dull, leaden weight in her belly, clammy-cold as marsh-water.
âCome on, you whoresons! I want to be on the road before lunch!â Halin roared, and the men quickened their work. Her father had not moved, still deep in conversation, just out of sight. She peered a little closer, and for a moment the pale sunlight crept over the top of the square, flashing against a colourful doublet marked with a silver brooch. The Foxâs lips barely moved as he spoke from the shadows of the cloister, and her father was scowling. Sara frowned.
âMount up!â
The ornate wagon that had been her home all those weeks trundled into the square, then, drawn by a pair of stout horses. Sara saw her father turn reluctantly towards it, striding out into the square. Sara peered past him into the cloister, and for a moment Lord Bywoodâs sharp eyes caught hers. Then he smiled, dipping his dark, smooth head, and vanished himself away into the shadows.
âFather!â
Sara hurried out into the crowded square, leaving her escort behind, darting between the shifting limbs of the horses. Her father turned towards her as she approached, and smiled small smile, in two parts, one weary, one sad.
âSara.â
She threw her arms around him and pressed her head against his chest for a moment, and he put an arm around her shoulders. She knew her role, and the knowing of it made her safe for a moment. Then she stepped back, looking up at him.
âI thought you were going to leave without saying goodbye.â
âI⌠There was much preparation to do.â
Sara did not reply. His eyes had that same distance that they had had since they arrived in the capital. Uldoroth had worn at him, as if all the brightness and finery had made his skin dull, eyes darkened like the contrast of shadows in bright sun.
âWill you write?â
He blinked as she spoke, then smiled, and the tiredness fell away from him for a moment. He took her chin gently in one hand, tilting it up to meet his eyes.
âYes, I will write.â He told her, and she saw again that fierce ambition in his eyes, the look she had known so well on their journey from the Westmere. Swollen around the soft, lazy ease of diminished strength. âAnd I shall expect news in return. The Rose of Westmere will show these fools how a real lady charms.â
Sara smiled and lowered her eyes self-consciously.
âI⌠I will not disappoint you, father.â She said quietly, and found, in spite of herself, that there were tears in her eyes.
âSee that you do not.â He replied. Then he let go of her chin and climbed quickly into the carriage. He leaned out from the window for a moment, before they were gone, banging a hand against the wooden panels of the door impatiently.
âMove out!â
âYou heard him!â Halin bellowed in response, holding his horse in check beneath him. âBack to Westmere, before your wives go straying!â
With that, her fatherâs men spurred their horses away into the white corridors of the citadel, bound for the sky-cages and the city below. They had arrived on foot, leading their steeds, but they left by horseback, hurried by grave purpose towards the long road west. She watched the window of the carriage as it trundled away with the horses, but her father did not appear again. She stayed there, staring after them, until the party were out of sight and the great gate of the keep heaved closed behind them, slamming into the distant stone with a resounding thud.
âMâLady.â
She turned to find the Black Guard waiting, watching her with dark eyes through the narrow slits of their polished helms. For a moment, the suddenness of the departure threatened to overwhelm her. What was it he had told her, slurring over his unfinished dinner, in the pristine perfection of their lodgings, surrounded by invisible eyes?
Power belongs to the strong. To those who take it. Just then, standing in the courtyard, watching alone as her father departed, she realised that he was right. And he wasnât strong enough. She took a deep breath, smiling for the Black Guard, and followed them out of the ancient courtyard into the halls beyond.
*
The broad, open avenues and garden-ways of the Keep of Eranor closed in to interior corridors rather quickly, when you knew the way, and soon Sara was following her black-gilded escort through pale passageways lined with statuettes and tapestries, ceilings lost far overhead to the flickering light of amber flames. An occasional glimpse of pale sunlight leaped out across the stone floor, shimmering through shifting motes of dust. Sara was her Lady-self again, graceful and poised, gliding over the polished floor after her escort. The giant corridors were a maze of twists and turns, past fragment-views of gardens and libraries and sitting-halls and galleries, but she was dimly aware they were moving towards the Hall of the King. The thought made her a little giddy.
âWill I be received in the Kingâs Hall?â She asked as they walked, but the Black Guards didnât reply, and their armour clinked in the quiet. Sara frowned, following them. The passage curved, rising, and she found that the wall on her right side suddenly gave way to the hall below. One of the galleries, set high in the rafters of the Kingâs Hall. She stopped, putting her hand on the balustrade and peering out over the ledge, into the vaulted, silent emptiness of the hall. Some fifty foot below, the patterned black and white marble of the floor gleamed in flashes of reflected amber, quiet and empty. At the far end, pale sunlight caught the Night Throne, setting fire in the mirrored stone. Overhead, the matching nightglass ceiling gleamed like a lake in starlight, and swirling figures swept back and forth across it in the shifting light of the chamber. Sara felt a little thrill run over her neck.
âSara.â
Sara blinked, starting, and found Dana standing beside her.
âSister!â Sara took hold of her sisterâs hands and rose onto her tiptoes, pressing a kiss against her cheek. âHere to welcome me into the fold?â
She was struck again by the strangeness of her sister, the difference in her. Dana wore black, a dress of simple lines and inlaid jet, at once relaxed and taut as a lute string. Her pale hands were folded over her belly, and her muddy dark hair was pulled back into a bun. The Black Guards halted behind her, waiting.
âI am to escort you to the Queenâs chambers.â Dana said simply. With that she turned and began to walk away along the balcony, towards a closed door at the throne-end of the hall. Sara frowned, hurrying after her.
âDo the King and Queen not share chambers?â She asked as they walked, and the hall below drew on beside them.
âTheir Majesties prefer⌠to keep their own space.â
The Black Guard fell into step at a respectful distance behind them, armoured heels clicking against the stone.
âHow many others are there?â
âHow many what?â
âHandmaidens. How many does her Majesty keep?â
Dana did not break stride. âTwo others, and the Matron.â
âI suppose we shall not have servants of our own.â Sara said quietly, eyeing the shadows shifting over the nightglass ceiling. âNo need to spy on us when we are so close.â
âSara-â Dana began, but Sara cut her off.
âFather is gone, you know. This morning.â
âI know.â Dana replied, looking ahead.
âYou did not come to see him.â
Dana did not turn.
âIâm sure he will miss you terribly, sister.â
Sara bristled suddenly, grabbing her sisterâs arm.
âI did not ask for it!â
Dana looked down at the hand on her arm, frowning. âWhat?â
âAny of it!â Sara told her, angry now, her whisper cracking. âI didnât ask to stay. I didnât ask him to send you away. I would have given anything to go with you. I thought he would never let me leave.â She lowered her voice, flicking an eye back towards the waiting guards. âI did not ask for the way he⌠the way heâŚâ
She took a breath, swallowing, and straightened, looking her sister in the eye.
âThere are worse things than being ignored, Dana.â
Danaâs hand folded over hers.
âLetâs⌠letâs put it behind us.â She said quietly. âYou are here, now.â
Sara blinked at her, nodding. She wanted to say more, but her words would not come, locked away from her tongue by the choked gulping of her breath. She lowered her eyes, and Dana squeezed her hand.
âSara, listen to me.â Dana murmured, leaning close. âYou must be careful. The Queen-â
The door at the far end of the gallery swung open, creaking on its hinges. The pair fell silent, frozen, and whatever Dana might have said, she held instead.
*
âWait here.â
The Matron, the head of the Queenâs Keepers, was an elderly woman with rounding hips and hair the colour of ash tied into a tight bun behind the worn-leather creases of her forehead. She was wearing black, same as Dana, though her smock was somehow plainer, when she opened the door onto the gallery, ushering the sisters wordlessly into the corridor beyond. Dana had bowed her head deferentially, withering under the Matronâs hard eyes, and quickly disappeared into one of the many doors of the hallway. Sara almost asked for her to stay, but instead she steeled herself, remembering her lessons, and followed the stern old woman down the long, flickering hallway. The corridors of the keep were all severe, all lit by weak, flickering torchlight and gleaming the gleam of cold stone, but here they were particularly bare. There were no busts, no tapestries, no mosaics. Nothing but cold, dead rock, lent a little life by the dim thrustings of infrequent braziers. In her own apartments, she had understood the quiet, but here, in the keep proper, there was an eery silence to the corridors that jarred with Saraâs anticipation. Where were the nobles in their gay clothes, where was the music and laughter of a Kingâs Hall? Sara frowned to herself, and kept walking.
The room at the end of the hallway was broad and rounded, like a kind of circle made out of many flat edges, each holding the low light of a brazier. The marble floors were black and white and patterned like a gamesboard, empty but for a broad nightwood table at its centre, matching the room itself for its odd roundness. On the far side, a wall of shutters opened out onto a large, bare balcony, and over the intricately wrought stone balustrade, Sara could see the City of the Moon below, sweeping away towards the edge of the Heartspire, empty stormtowers stabbing black into the sky. Beyond, the great emerald plains of Valia stretched out into the west, past the fiery line of the river Arq, scored with jagged, dark rock and silver streams. Sara swallowed, realising sheâd never been so high up.
âWait here.â
âBut-â She protested, frowning, but the Matron was already gone, turned on her heel and disappeared back the way she had come. Sara flinched as the door slammed shut behind her, and the silence of the room prickled at her skin. The breeze rustled over the balcony, swirling about the pillared windows, but the air inside was still as the grave. She stepped slowly over to the table, touching the polished wood. This much nightwood would have cost more than a wagonload of gold. She traced the knotted lines across the black surface, trying to ignore the cold weight churning in her gut.
Time stretched on around her, and the minutes dragged by like years. Despite the open air flooding through the windows, the chamber was not cool, warmed by the subtle glow of the braziers, and she felt a little wetness beginning to build under her arms. She looked about herself, trying to calm her heart. There were four other doors in the room, besides the one they had entered through, all dark and heavy looking, and each bore a pattern of silver on its face. There was a cradle, and opposite it, a pendant with teeth like a wolf. Beside the cradle door, a small drinks table, a glass jug of purple wine atop it, with a pair of matching glasses. The two doors closest to the balcony bore a sun and a crescent moon. She looked a little closer, and realised that the markings were not moonsilver, merely an imitation in gleaming silver paint, and the door she had entered through bore no markings at all. Sara watched them, imagining the rooms that lay behind each. Which one was the Queen behind, she wondered, and her heart quickened at the thought, stomach churning. She was stranded, here, now, in the capital. What if the Queen didnât like her? What if she said something wrong? Would she be sent away again, back to her father?
âLady Westmere.â
The crescent moon had swung open, and the Queen glided through, a beautiful shadow in a studded black dress, arms glistening with little sharpened sequins the colour of midnight. Her hair had been contorted into an elaborate maze of raven curls over her pate, and her pale skin took on a translucent sheen in the pale light from the balcony doors. The throat of her dress was open, as it had been in the Kingâs Hall all those days ago, and she wore the same golden necklace, its myriad points sharp like daggers with their drops of ruby blood.
Sara blinked, then remembered herself, and dropped into a low curtsy, bowing her head.
âYour Majesty.â She said quietly, keeping her eyes on the floor.
The Queen did not reply. Sara was dimly aware of her shadow moving across the floor, crossing to the drinks table beside the cradle door. Sara risked a glance up, then, and found the Queenâs slender back to her. When she at last turned, she had a glass goblet of wine clutched in her narrow fingers. Sara lowered her eyes again.
âYou
are a pretty one, arenât you.â The Queen said quietly, as if to herself. Her voice was cold, like ice leaking over lakewater, deep and still. She took a sip from her cup, and Sara could feel the cut of her eyes against her skin. âWhat did the Weasel of Westmere do to sire such a pretty daughter. Your sister, maybe, I understand, but youâŚâ
Sara forced herself not to frown.
âWell trained, I see.â The Queen murmured, smiling coldly. She took another sip of her wine. âYour motherâs touch, I assume, not your fatherâs.â
Sara hesitated. She glanced up at the Queen, then lowered her eyes again, nodding.
âI hear she is unwell.â
Sara looked up again, braver this time, and found the Queenâs dark eyes watching her over the rim of her glass.
âShe has an affliction, Your Majesty. She does not eat, and rarely sleeps. The Keepers say it is a disease of her mind.â
âThe one thing none of us can escape.â The Queen sighed, toying idly with her glass and looking out of the window over the city below. âStill, there are worse places to be sickly than a Lordâs hall.â
âI suppose⌠I suppose that is true, Your Majesty.â
The Queen raised an eyebrow. âSuppose, do you?â
Sara squirmed for a moment under the weight of her eyes, but then the Queen turned away, stepping slowly around the edge of the table till she was standing beside the open windows. She took another sip of her wine, back to Sara again.
âYour sister met you, this morning.â
Sara hesitated, thrown for a moment by the abruptness of the statement.
âYes, Your Majesty.â
âAnd she came to you yesterday, in the apartments Bywood found for you.â
âYes.â Sara felt the cold weight return in her belly. She thought of what the Fox had warned her.
There is always someone watching. She cast her mind back to her conversations with Dana. Gods. What had they spoken of? Had she said something out of turn?
âCurious, that she did not seek out your father.â
Sara let out her breath slowly. That was not a particularly well-hidden curiosity.
âDana must have been very busy, Your Majesty.â
âShe is as busy as I make her, and that is rarely too taxing.â
Sara sighed. âThey have⌠sometimes not seen eye to eye.â
âAnd you?â The Queen turned as she spoke, fixing her eyes to Saraâs again. Behind her, the distant sounds of the city drifted lazily up through the air, swirling around far-off columns of wispy smoke. âWhat do you say of him?â
Sara hesitated again, stuttering. âHe is my father, Your Majesty. I trust that he always knows what is best for his daughters.â
âIn my experience it is fathers who know the least about their own daughters.â The Queen replied dryly, sipping again. âCome, let me look at you, then.â
She came back around the nightwood table, her long, narrow limbs gliding over the polished floor, and stopped in front of Sara, setting her glass down beside them. She took Saraâs chin in two spindly fingers and tilted it upwards so that she was looking her in the eye, only a few inches from her face. Sara realised again how tall she was, as tall as her father, at least, though her slender frame made her seem much smaller. She tried not to squirm, but she found that the Queenâs fingers dug uncomfortably into her chin, dark eyes flitting back and forth across her face like a hungry wolf.
âYes, very pretty.â She said at last, not releasing her chin. Sara could feel her breath on her face, smelling softly of dark wine. âNo wonder. You look like her, you know.â
âWho-â but the Queen had already turned away, back to the table, picking up her wineglass in one bone-stretched hand.
âThe Matron will meet you outside. She will give you your tasks and show you to your chamber. You will begin tomorrow.â
Sara flinched, realising she had been holding her breath. She curtsied to the Queenâs back, suddenly a little giddy.
âThank you, Your Majesty.â
âYou may go, girl.â
Sara turned to go, not at all sure what to make of the encounter. She paused at the door, looking back over her shoulder, but found the Queen looking out over the city silently again, wineglass in hand, black dress glistening with jet. Sara hesitated a moment longer, then hurried out into the corridor beyond the unmarked door, closing it behind her.
*
The night before her father leaves, she wakes in darkness.
She does not open her eyes, but she knows it is not yet dawn. The sounds of the garden beyond her shutters are soft and murmuring, wind-stirred and drip-spotted.
She can feel him over her, the tense stillness of him, closer than shadows. He smells of wine. Sweat. She is cold, but she does not move. She dares not move. She can feel the weight of his eyes, dulled with drink, tracing the lines of her. His breathing sounds like anger.
She does not know how long she waits there, frozen. But she does not open her eyes. Not once. Time stretches out before her in that moment, an eternity of breathless terror.
Then he leaves. The smell of him lingers long after the door has closed behind him. She lays there a while longer, motionless, dead as stone. Then she curls into her own arms, and weeps silently until the dawn.
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2023.05.29 17:33 TheScribe_1 [The Book of the Chosen] - Chapter Eleven - The Room of Doors
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Chapter Eleven - The Room of Doors
âGet moving!â
Sara watched the men readying their horses, squinting at the bright-ness of the stone. The courtyard was full of the sound of boot-steps and creaking leather. Overhead, a thin veil of rippled grey hung over the early winter sky, and the dawn sun tugged gleaming at its edges. Over-head, the dull black shape of an old stormtower bled the sky. Empty, just like the rest of them. There was something very jarring, Sara de-cided, about the worn jerkins and stubbled cheeks of her fatherâs men, ensconced in a pillared courtyard of vast stone. They were out of place, and they had been every moment since arriving in Uldoroth, she real-ised. They didnât belong here. Her own anxiety was mirrored imper-fectly with the relief on their weary faces, and the dark rings under their eyes seemed just a little less deep. There may be Black Hand to deal with, back in the Westmere, but it was home. At least there your ene-mies had the decency to show themselves. Sara realised she was chew-ing her lip. At her back, two of the Black Guard waited wordlessly in their gold-touched armour, much more in keeping with the finery of the courtyard, and everything else in the capital. They were waiting to es-cort her away to the Queen, unaware they found a girl not so eager for the honour as she had been, just a few days before.
âFather!â She called out, spying him across the writhing mass of men in their moss green cloaks, but he seemed not to hear her. He was standing near the arched cloister at the far side of the square, cloaked and ready for travel, in hurried conversation with a shaded figure stand-ing beyond the marble facade. She squinted, trying to make out the oth-er man, but there was nothing but a dark shadow to trace.
âWell then, Mâlady.â A voice said beside her, and she turned to find Halin looking down at her, a kind smile on his broad face. âYouâll be a right proper Princess when I next see you, methinks.â
Sara smiled at him and shook her head sheepishly. âUldoroth is not my home, yet, Halin. I wonât forget.â
âBe careful you donât, Lady Sara.â Halin glanced distrustfully at the Black Guard behind her. âLots of fancy folk here. Fancy folk with fan-cier lies.â
âIâll be careful, Halin.â She told him seriously.
He smiled again, and the sternness dissolved away from his face.
âTake care, MâLady.â He told her, dipping his head politely. She re-turned the gesture, dropping into a small curtsy.
âLook after my father, will you?â
âAlways, MâLady.â
Halin hurried off into the throng in the square, and Sara watched him go, feeling her the knot in her belly tighten. The conversations with her unexpected visitors had left their mark, a nagging uncertainty gnawing at the excitement that had carried her through her first few uneventful days in the capital. The little comfort she had taken in the presence of her father and his men was a loss she could ill afford. She watched her fatherâs back, frowning softly to herself. Her thoughts were not what she had imagined, when she had thought of him leaving. A hundred dif-ferent times, and more. Had she expected tears, grief at the parting? Re-lief? Instead, there was only the fear, a dull, leaden weight in her belly, clammy-cold as marsh-water.
âCome on, you whoresons! I want to be on the road before lunch!â Halin roared, and the men quickened their work. Her father had not moved, still deep in conversation, just out of sight. She peered a little closer, and for a moment the pale sunlight crept over the top of the square, flashing against a colourful doublet marked with a silver brooch. The Foxâs lips barely moved as he spoke from the shadows of the cloister, and her father was scowling. Sara frowned.
âMount up!â
The ornate wagon that had been her home all those weeks trundled into the square, then, drawn by a pair of stout horses. Sara saw her fa-ther turn reluctantly towards it, striding out into the square. Sara peered past him into the cloister, and for a moment Lord Bywoodâs sharp eyes caught hers. Then he smiled, dipping his dark, smooth head, and van-ished himself away into the shadows.
âFather!â
Sara hurried out into the crowded square, leaving her escort behind, darting between the shifting limbs of the horses. Her father turned to-wards her as she approached, and smiled small smile, in two parts, one weary, one sad.
âSara.â
She threw her arms around him and pressed her head against his chest for a moment, and he put an arm around her shoulders. She knew her role, and the knowing of it made her safe for a moment. Then she stepped back, looking up at him.
âI thought you were going to leave without saying goodbye.â
âI⌠There was much preparation to do.â
Sara did not reply. His eyes had that same distance that they had had since they arrived in the capital. Uldoroth had worn at him, as if all the brightness and finery had made his skin dull, eyes darkened like the contrast of shadows in bright sun.
âWill you write?â
He blinked as she spoke, then smiled, and the tiredness fell away from him for a moment. He took her chin gently in one hand, tilting it up to meet his eyes.
âYes, I will write.â He told her, and she saw again that fierce ambi-tion in his eyes, the look she had known so well on their journey from the Westmere. Swollen around the soft, lazy ease of diminished strength. âAnd I shall expect news in return. The Rose of Westmere will show these fools how a real lady charms.â
Sara smiled and lowered her eyes self-consciously.
âI⌠I will not disappoint you, father.â She said quietly, and found, in spite of herself, that there were tears in her eyes.
âSee that you do not.â He replied. Then he let go of her chin and climbed quickly into the carriage. He leaned out from the window for a moment, before they were gone, banging a hand against the wooden panels of the door impatiently.
âMove out!â
âYou heard him!â Halin bellowed in response, holding his horse in check beneath him. âBack to Westmere, before your wives go stray-ing!â
With that, her fatherâs men spurred their horses away into the white corridors of the citadel, bound for the sky-cages and the city below. They had arrived on foot, leading their steeds, but they left by horse-back, hurried by grave purpose towards the long road west. She watched the window of the carriage as it trundled away with the horses, but her father did not appear again. She stayed there, staring after them, until the party were out of sight and the great gate of the keep heaved closed behind them, slamming into the distant stone with a resounding thud.
âMâLady.â
She turned to find the Black Guard waiting, watching her with dark eyes through the narrow slits of their polished helms. For a moment, the suddenness of the departure threatened to overwhelm her. What was it he had told her, slurring over his unfinished dinner, in the pristine per-fection of their lodgings, surrounded by invisible eyes? Power belongs to the strong. To those who take it. Just then, standing in the courtyard, watching alone as her father departed, she realised that he was right. And he wasnât strong enough. She took a deep breath, smiling for the Black Guard, and followed them out of the ancient courtyard into the halls beyond.
*
The broad, open avenues and garden-ways of the Keep of Eranor closed in to interior corridors rather quickly, when you knew the way, and soon Sara was following her black-gilded escort through pale pas-sageways lined with statuettes and tapestries, ceilings lost far overhead to the flickering light of amber flames. An occasional glimpse of pale sunlight leaped out across the stone floor, shimmering through shifting motes of dust. Sara was her Lady-self again, graceful and poised, glid-ing over the polished floor after her escort. The giant corridors were a maze of twists and turns, past fragment-views of gardens and libraries and sitting-halls and galleries, but she was dimly aware they were mov-ing towards the Hall of the King. The thought made her a little giddy.
âWill I be received in the Kingâs Hall?â She asked as they walked, but the Black Guards didnât reply, and their armour clinked in the quiet. Sara frowned, following them. The passage curved, rising, and she found that the wall on her right side suddenly gave way to the hall be-low. One of the galleries, set high in the rafters of the Kingâs Hall. She stopped, putting her hand on the balustrade and peering out over the ledge, into the vaulted, silent emptiness of the hall. Some fifty foot be-low, the patterned black and white marble of the floor gleamed in flashes of reflected amber, quiet and empty. At the far end, pale sun-light caught the Night Throne, setting fire in the mirrored stone. Over-head, the matching nightglass ceiling gleamed like a lake in starlight, and swirling figures swept back and forth across it in the shifting light of the chamber. Sara felt a little thrill run over her neck.
âSara.â
Sara blinked, starting, and found Dana standing beside her.
âSister!â Sara took hold of her sisterâs hands and rose onto her tip-toes, pressing a kiss against her cheek. âHere to welcome me into the fold?â
She was struck again by the strangeness of her sister, the difference in her. Dana wore black, a dress of simple lines and inlaid jet, at once relaxed and taut as a lute string. Her pale hands were folded over her belly, and her muddy dark hair was pulled back into a bun. The Black Guards halted behind her, waiting.
âI am to escort you to the Queenâs chambers.â Dana said simply. With that she turned and began to walk away along the balcony, to-wards a closed door at the throne-end of the hall. Sara frowned, hurry-ing after her.
âDo the King and Queen not share chambers?â She asked as they walked, and the hall below drew on beside them.
âTheir Majesties prefer⌠to keep their own space.â
The Black Guard fell into step at a respectful distance behind them, armoured heels clicking against the stone.
âHow many others are there?â
âHow many what?â
âHandmaidens. How many does her Majesty keep?â
Dana did not break stride. âTwo others, and the Matron.â
âI suppose we shall not have servants of our own.â Sara said quietly, eyeing the shadows shifting over the nightglass ceiling. âNo need to spy on us when we are so close.â
âSara-â Dana began, but Sara cut her off.
âFather is gone, you know. This morning.â
âI know.â Dana replied, looking ahead.
âYou did not come to see him.â
Dana did not turn.
âIâm sure he will miss you terribly, sister.â
Sara bristled suddenly, grabbing her sisterâs arm.
âI did not ask for it!â
Dana looked down at the hand on her arm, frowning. âWhat?â
âAny of it!â Sara told her, angry now, her whisper cracking. âI didnât ask to stay. I didnât ask him to send you away. I would have given any-thing to go with you. I thought he would never let me leave.â She low-ered her voice, flicking an eye back towards the waiting guards. âI did not ask for the way he⌠the way heâŚâ
She took a breath, swallowing, and straightened, looking her sister in the eye.
âThere are worse things than being ignored, Dana.â
Danaâs hand folded over hers.
âLetâs⌠letâs put it behind us.â She said quietly. âYou are here, now.â
Sara blinked at her, nodding. She wanted to say more, but her words would not come, locked away from her tongue by the choked gulping of her breath. She lowered her eyes, and Dana squeezed her hand.
âSara, listen to me.â Dana murmured, leaning close. âYou must be careful. The Queen-â
The door at the far end of the gallery swung open, creaking on its hinges. The pair fell silent, frozen, and whatever Dana might have said, she held instead.
*
âWait here.â
The Matron, the head of the Queenâs Keepers, was an elderly wom-an with rounding hips and hair the colour of ash tied into a tight bun behind the worn-leather creases of her forehead. She was wearing black, same as Dana, though her smock was somehow plainer, when she opened the door onto the gallery, ushering the sisters wordlessly in-to the corridor beyond. Dana had bowed her head deferentially, wither-ing under the Matronâs hard eyes, and quickly disappeared into one of the many doors of the hallway. Sara almost asked for her to stay, but instead she steeled herself, remembering her lessons, and followed the stern old woman down the long, flickering hallway. The corridors of the keep were all severe, all lit by weak, flickering torchlight and gleaming the gleam of cold stone, but here they were particularly bare. There were no busts, no tapestries, no mosaics. Nothing but cold, dead rock, lent a little life by the dim thrustings of infrequent braziers. In her own apartments, she had understood the quiet, but here, in the keep proper, there was an eery silence to the corridors that jarred with Saraâs anticipation. Where were the nobles in their gay clothes, where was the music and laughter of a Kingâs Hall? Sara frowned to herself, and kept walking.
The room at the end of the hallway was broad and rounded, like a kind of circle made out of many flat edges, each holding the low light of a brazier. The marble floors were black and white and patterned like a gamesboard, empty but for a broad nightwood table at its centre, matching the room itself for its odd roundness. On the far side, a wall of shutters opened out onto a large, bare balcony, and over the intricate-ly wrought stone balustrade, Sara could see the City of the Moon be-low, sweeping away towards the edge of the Heartspire, empty stormtowers stabbing black into the sky. Beyond, the great emerald plains of Valia stretched out into the west, past the fiery line of the river Arq, scored with jagged, dark rock and silver streams. Sara swallowed, realising sheâd never been so high up.
âWait here.â
âBut-â She protested, frowning, but the Matron was already gone, turned on her heel and disappeared back the way she had come. Sara flinched as the door slammed shut behind her, and the silence of the room prickled at her skin. The breeze rustled over the balcony, swirling about the pillared windows, but the air inside was still as the grave. She stepped slowly over to the table, touching the polished wood. This much nightwood would have cost more than a wagonload of gold. She traced the knotted lines across the black surface, trying to ignore the cold weight churning in her gut.
Time stretched on around her, and the minutes dragged by like years. Despite the open air flooding through the windows, the chamber was not cool, warmed by the subtle glow of the braziers, and she felt a little wetness beginning to build under her arms. She looked about her-self, trying to calm her heart. There were four other doors in the room, besides the one they had entered through, all dark and heavy looking, and each bore a pattern of silver on its face. There was a cradle, and opposite it, a pendant with teeth like a wolf. Beside the cradle door, a small drinks table, a glass jug of purple wine atop it, with a pair of matching glasses. The two doors closest to the balcony bore a sun and a crescent moon. She looked a little closer, and realised that the markings were not moonsilver, merely an imitation in gleaming silver paint, and the door she had entered through bore no markings at all. Sara watched them, imagining the rooms that lay behind each. Which one was the Queen behind, she wondered, and her heart quickened at the thought, stomach churning. She was stranded, here, now, in the capital. What if the Queen didnât like her? What if she said something wrong? Would she be sent away again, back to her father?
âLady Westmere.â
The crescent moon had swung open, and the Queen glided through, a beautiful shadow in a studded black dress, arms glistening with little sharpened sequins the colour of midnight. Her hair had been contorted into an elaborate maze of raven curls over her pate, and her pale skin took on a translucent sheen in the pale light from the balcony doors. The throat of her dress was open, as it had been in the Kingâs Hall all those days ago, and she wore the same golden necklace, its myriad points sharp like daggers with their drops of ruby blood.
Sara blinked, then remembered herself, and dropped into a low curt-sy, bowing her head.
âYour Majesty.â She said quietly, keeping her eyes on the floor.
The Queen did not reply. Sara was dimly aware of her shadow mov-ing across the floor, crossing to the drinks table beside the cradle door. Sara risked a glance up, then, and found the Queenâs slender back to her. When she at last turned, she had a glass goblet of wine clutched in her narrow fingers. Sara lowered her eyes again.
âYou are a pretty one, arenât you.â The Queen said quietly, as if to herself. Her voice was cold, like ice leaking over lakewater, deep and still. She took a sip from her cup, and Sara could feel the cut of her eyes against her skin. âWhat did the Weasel of Westmere do to sire such a pretty daughter. Your sister, maybe, I understand, but youâŚâ
Sara forced herself not to frown.
âWell trained, I see.â The Queen murmured, smiling coldly. She took another sip of her wine. âYour motherâs touch, I assume, not your fa-therâs.â
Sara hesitated. She glanced up at the Queen, then lowered her eyes again, nodding.
âI hear she is unwell.â
Sara looked up again, braver this time, and found the Queenâs dark eyes watching her over the rim of her glass.
âShe has an affliction, Your Majesty. She does not eat, and rarely sleeps. The Keepers say it is a disease of her mind.â
âThe one thing none of us can escape.â The Queen sighed, toying idly with her glass and looking out of the window over the city below. âStill, there are worse places to be sickly than a Lordâs hall.â
âI suppose⌠I suppose that is true, Your Majesty.â
The Queen raised an eyebrow. âSuppose, do you?â
Sara squirmed for a moment under the weight of her eyes, but then the Queen turned away, stepping slowly around the edge of the table till she was standing beside the open windows. She took another sip of her wine, back to Sara again.
âYour sister met you, this morning.â
Sara hesitated, thrown for a moment by the abruptness of the state-ment.
âYes, Your Majesty.â
âAnd she came to you yesterday, in the apartments Bywood found for you.â
âYes.â Sara felt the cold weight return in her belly. She thought of what the Fox had warned her. There is always someone watching. She cast her mind back to her conversations with Dana. Gods. What had they spoken of? Had she said something out of turn?
âCurious, that she did not seek out your father.â
Sara let out her breath slowly. That was not a particularly well-hidden curiosity.
âDana must have been very busy, Your Majesty.â
âShe is as busy as I make her, and that is rarely too taxing.â
Sara sighed. âThey have⌠sometimes not seen eye to eye.â
âAnd you?â The Queen turned as she spoke, fixing her eyes to Saraâs again. Behind her, the distant sounds of the city drifted lazily up through the air, swirling around far-off columns of wispy smoke. âWhat do you say of him?â
Sara hesitated again, stuttering. âHe is my father, Your Majesty. I trust that he always knows what is best for his daughters.â
âIn my experience it is fathers who know the least about their own daughters.â The Queen replied dryly, sipping again. âCome, let me look at you, then.â
She came back around the nightwood table, her long, narrow limbs gliding over the polished floor, and stopped in front of Sara, setting her glass down beside them. She took Saraâs chin in two spindly fingers and tilted it upwards so that she was looking her in the eye, only a few inches from her face. Sara realised again how tall she was, as tall as her father, at least, though her slender frame made her seem much smaller. She tried not to squirm, but she found that the Queenâs fingers dug un-comfortably into her chin, dark eyes flitting back and forth across her face like a hungry wolf.
âYes, very pretty.â She said at last, not releasing her chin. Sara could feel her breath on her face, smelling softly of dark wine. âNo wonder. You look like her, you know.â
âWho-â but the Queen had already turned away, back to the table, picking up her wineglass in one bone-stretched hand.
âThe Matron will meet you outside. She will give you your tasks and show you to your chamber. You will begin tomorrow.â
Sara flinched, realising she had been holding her breath. She curt-sied to the Queenâs back, suddenly a little giddy.
âThank you, Your Majesty.â
âYou may go, girl.â
Sara turned to go, not at all sure what to make of the encounter. She paused at the door, looking back over her shoulder, but found the Queen looking out over the city silently again, wineglass in hand, black dress glistening with jet. Sara hesitated a moment longer, then hurried out into the corridor beyond the unmarked door, closing it behind her.
*
The night before her father leaves, she wakes in darkness.
She does not open her eyes, but she knows it is not yet dawn. The sounds of the garden beyond her shutters are soft and murmuring, wind-stirred and drip-spotted.
She can feel him over her, the tense stillness of him, closer than shadows. He smells of wine. Sweat. She is cold, but she does not move. She dares not move. She can feel the weight of his eyes, dulled with drink, tracing the lines of her. His breathing sounds like anger.
She does not know how long she waits there, frozen. But she does not open her eyes. Not once. Time stretches out before her in that mo-ment, an eternity of breathless terror.
Then he leaves. The smell of him lingers long after the door has closed behind him. She lays there a while longer, motionless, dead as stone. Then she curls into her own arms, and weeps silently until the dawn.
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2023.05.29 15:50 Ethereal_Stars_7 Flight of the War Witch: Part 023: Patron of the Arts
Part 1 of the Evil That Lies Within arc begins.
[Previous]
Part 022 [Next]
<==--------===-=-===--------==>
/- - Flight of the War Witch - - \
\ =>>>>><0> 023 <0><<<<<= /
\ - - - Patron of the Arts - - - /
=----=====----=
Voice Log Entry number: 81-3, Timestamp: 02-15 (estimated (guesstimated)(aintgotacluestimated))
Bit into the -second- year here. Yeah. Still getting used to that. Think I am going to just start counting days as they pass here rather than doing the mental gymnastics needed to convert fifty hour days and two-hundred day seasons into Earth days and years. A 'season' here being about four-hundred and sixteen days long. Give or take a few days. Considering everything else on this world is artificial - I have a feeling the variance in the season timing is intentional and probably oscillates. Not enough pattern data yet to know for sure.
Still no handle on why time feels... compressed here? I have settled into a sleep schedule of about sixteen of the twenty-five hour night - and it feels like a restful eight hours. The dragon folk tend to sleep twenty hours. I use the extra time to practice with my magic sword. My MAGIC SWORD! yeaaaaaah!
This Grand Bazaar is so fun! It is like an enormous ren-fair if ren-fairs were into greeco-roman fashions. Speaking of. Baroness Clade was all ga-ga over some new dresses from the outer ring of the gathering. These were pretty interesting as the floor length skirts billowed out. This was pulled off by weaving the whole thing from wire mesh instead of chain-mail. Or used metal struts connected to a belt to give the garment shape. Just more example of how their textiles diverged from ours due to the radically different materials on hand. No mammals, no wool, a ridiculous abundance of metals. Oh yeah. And freaking magic.
I have to keep reminding myself that this is all on an enormous scale. It takes me about three hours to walk the outer ring. (oh-so much longer because we are window-shopping...) My walk speed is forty-eight kph. So yeah. Its big. And this thing lasts a ten-day. Though the tenth day is when alot of folk start packing up. Some far earlier if they sold out their wares quicker.
Found out what the wigs are made from. Dragon hair. Found a stall selling wigs and turns out dragons with nice hair use a hair growth spell to grow it out and harvest it regularly. Can not do it frequently. Something about needing time to replenish. But it is a business here for dragons who like other hair colors.
If you are willing to hang around a few days there are crafters and brewers who can whip up during the event some basic magic items. Mostly little widgets that do not do a whole lot. Or quick-craft stuff like arrows with basic targeting enhancement enchantments. Potions can be gotten in a day. I nabbed a few "Healing Potions" because they should work on my nominally organic parts. Least that was what I expected. Guess what? That's right. I'm WRONG! Kinda-sorta... Its Complex!!!
We swung around the Druid section of the magic ring at Ghinda's request and got the lowdown on the problems of fixing me up as it had apparently unbeknownst to me, been prying on her mind ever since we met. She would prod me now and then at the keep to do some 'tests', but never said what for?
This for...
She had been talking at length with one of the higher ups in the rankings of nature lovers. This guy looked ancient! Yet strong at the same time. My chest and veins felt a little tingly near him. Guessing that was the more plant based parts of me responding? In any case he was blood red and had these curly corkscrew horns like a ram. Rings everywhere! Fingers, horns, tail. Don't wanna know where else! And holding this staff that was like twenty meters tall! Wood. Like a whole tree. Topped with a turquoise orb and an, ahem, orbiting ring of, er, rings with different elements in the rings where a finger would go. Standard Earth, Air, Fire, Water. But between those were Magma, Smoke, Ice (how'd he get that even???), and Mud. Really impressive looking. The length of the staff was carved with arcane runes and banded in gold. Guy really liked his ring motif huh?
So first glance at me is that dismissive "Fuck off technology." attitude and I'm like "ooooh Imma gonna -show- him somethin!"
But then he does a double-take and starts to look at me funny. Like he is looking -through- me, inside me?
Then he starts to get excited.
Then really excited.
Then -oh fuck! What did I do this time?- excited.
Turns out he could clearly sense all the plant-life inside me comprising my life support systems. A fifteen meter tall enclosed micro-ecology. He was just ooohing and ahhing at the near perfect balance of my internal workins. And so an hour or more passed while I tried to explain in fantasy terms the incredible effort that went into the CyberDyne project and the botanist who made the breakthrough in sealed life support systems. They read it all as a neo-Druid creating a self sustaining eco-system. Something Druids of this world consider a work of art or a religious experience in a way. Due to how the whole world is in a way just that. Self contained and perpetual.
He was really interested in the mini forest that makes up my lungs. Probably because they are not of this world and at a guess are pinging his nature sense. He asked me if he could get a clipping. And I said "Not on the first date."
He got all purple in the face and then laughed and laughed.
So he confirmed that basic healing incantations like [Balm of Life] will kinda-sorta work on me. But due to my, ahem, Golem nature and my botanic parts, I'd get more oomph from a simple [Repair] incantation for my cybernetics and [Botanica's Blessing] for my plant based systems. A healing potion was going to do me little good then - and would be only a -third- as effective. argh! ah well. I can use it in the others in an emergency. Stuff makes triage look like leeches and poultices. hmph. Magic.
From all this I did though get some advice. Mainly to look up a Master of Alchemy to whip up some specialized healing draughts. Cost a bit more. But better than needing the magic equivalent of a Pit Crew to heal me up. Not like I intend to get perforated again. But with these Coalition jokers out there. I have a bad feeling I am going to be in the eye of the storm. Least they pointed me at someone here to talk to about that.
Noon will be dinner with the local nobility. The Baroness suggested I dress well so I guess I will be stowing the Regalia and going formal. Good thing packed the clothes for this. Kinda nervous. Aside from meeting the mayor of Dynamiton City, I have never really had to deal with the higher ups.
Forescout Valkyria signing out.
=----=====----=
Valkyria, with much assistance from Roscida, disengaged her Regalia and a few plates to slim down to a less aggressive profile. Then her ward helped her to get dressed and don her wig. Together they met up with Dasos and she resupplied more goggles to sell and for the morning the Gorgon swapped out with the Ki-rin girl so Dasos could do a little shopping herself.
Wandering the stalls and merchants she was updated on the sales of the goodies and stoning potions. "huh, more sold than I expected?"
Dasos nodded while munching on a glazed tyra leg as she walked beside the War Witch. "The Grand Bazaar is an opportune time to sell and spread word. And word is spreading."
She glanced sidelong at the Gorgon. "Feels good to be making a difference?"
This got an emphatic nodding. "Very much so. The look on peoples faces. Especially the expressions when learning the low cost. After thousands upon thousands of days we are not shunned and driven off."
"In time the cure will be found and you all can go back to living normal lives."
Dasos was keen to buy a new dress for herself after a lifetime of living in rags and whatever they could scrounge or steal. Well the metal equivalent of rags. Dragon clothing was very durable overall.
-<>-
As noon rolled around they saw the Gorgon back to her stall and Roscida joined Valkyria in meeting Baroness Clade at the castle gates. The structure was tremendous and some of the taller minarets reached high into the sky perhaps a quarter of a kilometer. The gate guards were armored and looked alot like silver versions of Valkyria. Though without the stiff wing covers. Each was armed with a huge halberd, a pole arm some twenty meters long with a spike pointing upwards, an axe head facing forward and a hook facing back.
Baroness Clade did the introductions and then they were escorted inside by an attendant and Valkyria got to gawk at the decorations, all on a cyclopean scale. Fifteen meter tall statuary adorned some halls. tapestries and stained glass windows were common and there were quite a few paintings. The elder Clade encouraged the guide to elaborate on some of the depictions.
"Here is show the mounted battle of the Phantom Swamps some two-hundred thousand days past."
The white and gold cyborg ran a quick calculation and figured that to be over a thousand years ago by Earth time. "So you even domesticated a thunder lizard?" She was looking at the huge diplodocus that was being ridden like an elephant and was about as large.
"The diplo in the center? Yes. They are native to the great swamps of the lowlands. A few daring souls have trained them for war. But they are difficult to manage. Bron are even harder to tame and for reasons unknown once every few seasons a bull will ascend the plateaus and go on a rampage until either driven off or put down." So explained the attendant.
Valkyria studied this for a time, taking into account the gigantic scale of this battle depicted. Spells were flying, knights with glowing weapons were cleaving into each-other, and a pair of trebuchets mounted on the diplodocus were lobbing stones at some sort wall of earth some mage had called up. The painting had tiny little details in it down to links in armor and little fine inscriptions on weapons and standards. "Who are they fighting? Looks formidable? Are those a pair of Golems? I see hinged joints?" she questioned.
"Indeed m'lady. Ta Matia tis MageĂas, The Eyes of Vraja, were a mageocrocy that formed formed around a renowned vraja college of Solomonari to the west between here and the Ki-rin lands. They grew in power and then began expanding. They employed Golems and Elementals in large numbers and were a force to be reckoned with. The painting depicts the final battle on the borders of what would become the Principalities." pointed out the attendant.
"So what became of them?"
Baroness Clade answered that. "Everyone turning against them and internal fraction caused the eventual collapse as they suffered a series of defeats after some initial victories. A faction within the Eye was against violence and secretly aided the unified people opposing the expansion and so inside and out the cracks formed. Finally they could take no more and sued for peace when they realized the horrible loss of knowledge that was happening as one after another fell. They reorganized and police themselves rigorously now as a true college of study and wisdom. That was all some half a million days ago."
The War Witch gawked as she did some calculations. Over two-thousand eight-hundred Earth years ago. "And it is still going today?"
A nod from the elder dragoness. "Indeed. I myself studied there for six-thousand days and graduated well in my class."
Valkyria did not comment on needing to go to magic school for thirty-five years before getting out was a bit mind blowing. "Seems all that study payed off!"
"Twas not that long. Curricula has advanced since those early days. Back then one was expected to study for a full ten-thousand says!" the Solomanari waved it off as if decades meant little in the greater scheme.
This got the cybernetic human in a draconic looking variable frame to wondering just how long these people lived. Something she would have to ask later. She had some clues already based on the ages of Roscida and the younger Clade, which reminded her. "So will Clade and the Baron be arriving in two days?"
"Correct. My husband and daughter wish to do some shopping while the event is close."
After that they met up with Princess Lykofos. This woman was tall and a rich royal purple with blue scale trim. She was dressed in an ebony gown set with hundreds of diamonds so it looked like a starry night twinkling as she moved. Her long hair was a night blue with a streak of lighter blue like a comet trailing down one side. "Ahh. So this is the mysterious stranger I have heard so much about in so short a span?" she addressed the War Witch with a pleasant rumbly voice.
"That is probably me if it is something weird yea, M'lady." she replied.
The Princess' smile grew. "I would not call selflessly aiding the people of the land weird Lady Valkyria. You have performed a deed long thought impossible in bringing back to us our brethren thought forever lost. That alone is worthy of high praise. I also hear you were instrumental in completing my cousin's elemental collection, yes?"
Valkyria looked from one to the other questioningly. "Cousin? So you two are related?"
Baroness and Princess shared a laugh. "Oh indeed. Though Procidens here takes more after her seaside blood while I take more after our inland kin." she then walked along with the group and plied the cybernetic visitor with questions. "I observed you on the streets yesterday. But you were much bulkier and not dressed?"
"Yes. I removed my Regalia as it is cumbersome for formal affairs."
That got a smile from the Princess. "We have lost a few chairs to knights insisting on attending in full dress armor. So your mercy upon my furniture is appreciated!" Glancing at the figure of the strange being she asked. "I understand that you are lost and far from home, with no hope of ever returning. Let me assure you on behalf of the Principalities of the Comet as a Princess of my realm that you are more than welcome in our lands. I wish only that you might have seen us in less troubling times..."
"I would like to think the same if one of you ever ended up in my world. And sadly I am no stranger to troubling times back home. It is how I became as you see me now." So replied the War Witch in thanks to her gracious benefactors. Then she was treated to a lavish dinner and various deserts afterwards. The main course were various soups, some meat stock and some vegetable, all with tyra egg mixed in like a sort of egg-drop soup. Then there were roast uta in some sort of glaze and seasoning with no Earth equivalent. It was faintly sweet. A rarity for dragon cuisine she had learned over the course of her stay. Sugar producing plants were rare in the qualities needed to make it even remotely viable. So she guessed what she was tasting was probably honey.
This got her musing as to what sorts of bugs were in the environment. But she had thus far held off on that question. She certainly had not seen any other than a little flitting thing she guessed was a dragonfly the size of an Earth eagle. A speck at her scale; and butterflies, or the prehistoric equivalents of, with bright single colors in stripes rather than patterns. The wing edges were flat rather than rounded.
As usual she got some amusement from the reactions to her eating. "So how bad has the Coalition been in the last season? I hear the realms bordering on the Coalition have had a few incursions. But nothing big since that ambush on Clade?"
Princess Lykofos nodded contemplatively. "Not officially no. But there have been two attacks deeper into the Principalities that were not made public."
"To keep the enemy guessing what happened to the squads?"
"Correct. Your case was impossible to keep quiet on. That and it was agreed that the nature of your advent would perplex and confound the Coalition well and good. The various Princes and Princesses have been quietly deflecting inquiries about you ever since. And keeping abreast of who is asking these questions. We have designated you a War Witch, though it is rather obvious your nature and incantations function outside the norm. Obvious to those of us with a broader knowledge of the mystic arts."
Valkyria nodded between tossing trees dipped in some manner of broccoli-esque sauce into her maw and munching. "Figured that would be the case really. Trying to mesh what I can do with what you people can had been a challenge to put it mildly." she admitted.
"We appreciate the effort on out behalf. Were I pressed to classify you, based on the information thus far gathered, I would probably lean to that of the Fusillade. An as yet rare outgrowth of Artifice focused on long range strikes. Alchemists are another calling that is much better known due to it's utility." so described the Princess.
"I will stick to War Witch for now to keep the enemy guessing" so smiled slyly said War Witch while taking a bite from a uta drumstick. After that she tried some pie which was remotely similar in flavor to a lemon meringue pie. Made from a thick rinded fruit called a citron. They were about the size of grapes to her and looked like yellow fragment grenades. The actual usable part was the size of a pea inside. "Somewhere on Earth an agriculturist is having fits over the quantities needed to eat round here." she chuckled. Apparently the rinds were fed to styra as they loved it.
After dinner the party retreated to sealed chambers with guards posted round. The Princess sat down in a comfy looking chair and her demeanor got notably more serious. "Now for the more pressing matter we invited you to visit today. There has been a death at the Grand Bazaar."
Baroness Clade looked concerned. "Another?"
Princess Lykofos nodded solemnly. "Another inventor of enchanted items."
This seemed to be an ongoing thing so the white and gold dragoness asked. "I take it that this is one of several? How many?"
"Six thus far. All crafters working on some new wonder. All found dead of what appear to be natural causes. But their inventions missing and soon to show up in Coalition hands. This can not be coincidence. We have tried communing with the spirits of the dead. But to date none have ever seen their slayer and thusly can not place name to this mysterious spy in our midst. We would like to ask if you can assist us in any way with this mystery. Perhaps someone outside the problem can uncover a clue we are missing?" The Princess then laid out the six assumed murders so far.
"The first was several seasons ago. About one-thousand days. An inventor working on a repeating ballistia was found dead in his home and the prototype missing. less than a season later the Coalition is being armed with a new repeating ballistia. The shape is different. But the function and timing are suspect." she sighed and then continued. "Next was a craftsman who was working to produce a more refined healing draught. Found dead and the formula gone. We suspect the Coalition is now issuing it to their soldiers. Third was a friend of mine that I had patroned for years. She was working on a new armor enchantment for the Lightning Knights. Found hanged in her bedroom. Apparent suicide. I -know- better. Tellingly. We questioned her spirit and she remembered nothing of that and was as perplexed as we were. This invention has not yet surfaced in the Coalition to our knowledge. The next three have each coincided with a Grand Bazaar and yesterday we found another crafter dead. No vraja residue and incantations to detect poisons showed nothing. His creation is missing."
"Is the body still on hand?" asked the War Witch.
"Yes. Though we checked thoroughly." replied the Princess. "Also the Ruling Prince sent us an investigator who has been following the case since the second occurrence. He is here now. We wished to speak to you alone before bringing them in."
"If vraja showed no traces then we have to think outside the box. And working with a professional would be a boon I bet. They know vraja?"
The purple and blue dragoness bowed her head and so they retreated to the castles equivalent of a morgue. "Yes they are a practitioner of the arts. "We checked for signs of covert violence. Assassination is rare, but not unheard uf in some less reputable kingdoms."
Here she was introduced to a male red dragon with black scale trim. He looked curiously at Valkyria as she looked over the body laid out on a stone slab pending last rites or other arrangements. "M'lady. I was not expecting you to come down so late." he deferred to the Princess.
Valkyria took some samples and ran some basic tests with her onboard analysis systems. These were not medical grade. But she took some readings anyhow just in case something showed up. "No foreign elements in the blood. But there is an elevated carbon trade in the lungs. hmmmmm." She redid her tests and focused them as an idea began to percolate to the fore. "Has anyone tried contacting the spirit since you have that option?"
"Not yet. It is a taxing incantation and requires five special candles to perform. We have some in stock but supply is limited and the dead tend not to answer exactly coherently. And you can not use the incantation on a spirit again till many days have passed." so explained the red dragon.
"Got it. Makes sense then. Lets see. Here's the results on the test and... ah-hah. Well I can save you some candles."
"Oh?" Both the Princess and the Baroness asked as one.
"Exotic tallow fume traces in the lungs. Someone used that communicate with the dead incantation ahead of you. Maybe to prevent you from finding out something? Or just waste limited resources?" explained the mechanical visitor.
The investigator nodded thoughtfully. "Though that does not explain the lack of clues as to cause of death?"
"Right. But we know from this that the spy is versed in the arts and is using it to cover their tracks. huh. Question. Would an incantation to cure poison work on a corpse? And would it leave any traces of vraja?" she asked thoughtfully.
"A [Counter Poison] incantation would leave faint traces of vraja in the system."
"Ok. Are there any incantations that mask vraja presence?" she followed up.
This surprised the gathered practitioners of the art. "Why no? How would that even work? To use vraja to conceal vraja. That would leave traces itself."
"Would it though?" mused the cyborg. Then she waved it off. "Just a thought. Was there any vraja trace found on the one that hung herself?"
"Why... no there was not?" and a dawning horror of realization shone in the Princess' eyes. "You mean..."
The War Witch looked down at the cadaver and then to those gathered.
"Yeah. Your spy is an inventor too."
<==--------===-=-===--------==>
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2023.05.29 14:36 SpecificTemporary877 History of Axes, Part 9: Fire Emblem Path of Radiance
Welcome back! Today we are leaving the GBA era and entering a new one with Fire Emblem 9, Path of Radiance. How will we see this power shift axes have had in the past 2 games exist in this game, and what aspects will change and stay the same in a game that seems to blend old and new?
Starting off with general gameplay changes, the Weapon Triangle worked the same way, but reverted back to a -+10 Hit penalty/bonus like it was in FE6, rather than the 15 we saw in the previous two games, but the -+1 damage stayed the same. A big change was the mechanics of weapon weight. Constitution was still in the game, but weapon weight was now mitigated with the Strength stat. Each point of Strength would negate one weapon weight. While this was a bit of an annoyance for magic users as they still had to have a bit of Strength to use magic tomes with no penalties, it was very convenient for physical damage dealers since the higher Strength meant lower Speed penalties and higher damage, making it a "win-win" situation. Finally, the 2RN hit system stayed the same, so hit rates were higher than displayed if >51%, or lower if hit rates were displayed <50%.
Returning from its absence after its last appearance in Thracia, units now have both Strength and Magic stats and grow independently of each other, and for the first time, the Magic stat can actually matter for axe users! Strength + (Weapon Might x Effectiveness), with the Effectiveness coefficient going back to 2 like it was in FE7 (aka, doubling Might) instead of 3. Defense was still used for defensive calculations. Strength and Defense could permanently be raised via the Energy Drop and Dracoshield Stat boosters. Certain classes could conditionally boost their Defense via the Knight Ward item. Finally there were the held Band items that would boost certain growths, but they could only be attained on a second playthrough if you have a first playthrough finished and saved.
We didn't really see any new weapons in the axe arsenal in FE9, as there are actually only 3 new axes that were added. On top of that, unlike every other weapon type, there is no S-Rank Axe that is available to the player, as the only one is the Urvan, which we only see in a cutscene once in Chapter 7. Also Axes generally had lower Hit rates like they did in FE6, ranging around the 50-65s on average. The list of axes in FE9 are...
- Iron-Steel-Silver Axe
- Hand Axe
- Devil Axe (Unused)
- Venin Axe
- Hammer
- Poleax
- Short Axe
- Killer Axe
- Laguz Axe
- Bolt Axe
- Brave Axe
- Tomahawk
The Iron-Steel-Silver progression is the same; Iron being the weakest but lightest, Steel being heavy but stronger, and Silver being lighter AND stronger than Steel. Based purely on stats, the Silver Axe is actually the best axe in the game due to it having the highest Might of all axes at 16, the second highest Hit at 70%, and a very manageable Weight of 14, which many of the axe wielding units in this game can mitigate w/ virtually no problem. BUT in actual usage, Steel Axes were better since they could be forged to have their Weight reduced, and only required E-RANK, so literally anybody could use them, especially Paladins since they only get E-Rank in their secondary weapons. Hand Axes retained their high status even though their stats didn't seem stellar on paper, and that was because of a new mechanic; the Forging system. The Forge allowed for I-S-S and Hand Axes to be forged, allowing you to raise or lower any of its stats in exchange for Gold. Putting a bit of Gold into a Hand Axe to increase just its Hit could make it much more deadly, especially in the hands of someone like Boyd or Titania. This is the first time the Devil Axe is completely unattainable by the player, but is still in the games code. If forced into the game, the backfire effect doesn't work properly and can even cause your character to glitch and be stuck, but only if you have animations on. The Venin Axe retains its trash status as before since it is just a worse Iron Axe with Poison built into it, which isn't a status effect players should worry about. The Hammer is in a bit of a tricky spot since they weigh a lot, are inaccurate, and only have 20 Might when fighting armors, which on higher difficulties where the enemy defenses are higher, can nullify the usefulness the Hammer provides. Same situation with the Poleax but slightly less so since it has a smidge more accuracy, weighs a bit less, and you won't be dealing with as much bulk with mounted units like you will with armors. The Short Axe was a brand new weapon and is meant to be an in-between the Hand Axe and Tomahawk. It is a straight upgrade from the Hand Axe stat wise, but it has less uses and doesn't have the advantage of being Forgeable. The Killer Axe remains as a simple but powerful weapon with its relatively reliable Hit, Weight, and Might, as well as its bonus 30% Crit. The Laguz Axe is a new weapon that deals effective damage against all Laguz enemies. Unless you're dealing with bulky Tigers or are playing on Maniac, it can do some solid work against every type of Laguz enemy you fight. The Bolt Axe is also a brand new weapon and is special since it is the very first magical axe to exist in the entire series. It used the users Magic stat, which wasn't great since most axe units don't have high Magic, but it had 1-2 range and dealt Thunder damage, making it effective against Dragon Laguz. The Brave Axe was still great due to its double-attack effect, even though it is still quite heavy like it was in the GBA games. Finally there is the Tomahawk, the strongest but heaviest ranged axe options. It's a great option for 1-2 range if you have it, but like the Short Axe it suffers from lower uses and non-Forgeability.
Due to the lack of branched promotions and reworks to some classes, the number of axe-wielding classes in FE9 were significantly lower than before. But the aforementioned reworks gave some new strengths to these classes, including something that was present in FE7 but lost in FE8; axe-wielding Paladins. Also every T2 class had a brand new ultimate skill called Occult Skills that can be unlocked if they use an Occult Scroll. The list of axe-wielding classes in FE9 are...
- Fighter Warrior
- Axe Knight and any Cavalier Paladin
- Wyvern Rider Wyvern Lord
- Berserker
- Bandit (Enemy Only)
- King Daein (E)
Fighters were like their past incarnations, emphasizing Strength and a bit on Speed and Skill. Warriors took from the latter two stats to emphasize even more on Strength, gained access to Bows (making them arguably the strongest Archers), and got Colossus as an Occult Skill. It was an okay skill, but with a lot of setup required; if the users Con exceeds the enemy's Con, it has a Skill% chance to multiply the user's Strength by 1.25 or 25%. FE9 brought back the FE4/5 trend of having individual cavalier classes for each of the physical weapon types, but instead of having individual promotions, they all promote to Paladin. Paladins have a unique quirk in this game where instead of having preset weapons, you can actually choose their secondary weapon, so it is possible for all of your non-pre-promote Paladins to wield all Axes or Swords, whatever the player prefers. Cavaliers and Paladins are still just as good, if not better, than their FE counterparts. They are good all-rounders, can provide mounted utility such as rescuing, and can move fast. I forgot to mention this in previous entries, but most mounted and/or flying units have an ability called Canto, which allows them to use up their remaining movement after taking an action (what action that is depends on the game), and is a big asset as to why they are so useful. The Paladins Occult Skill is Sol, which just restores HP equal to damage dealt on activation. Wyvern Riders continued to use Lances and had their same boons in Strength and Defense like in the GBA era, but their promotion to Wyvern Lord got a new change; instead of getting Swords, they could now use Axes. This change was actually very beneficial since it allowed them to use 1-2 range axes in addition to their 1-2 range spears, and the high Might of axes complemented their high Strength. And with Forging, being inaccurate is no longer really an issue (to a degree). Their Occult Skill is Stun, which when procced on a (Skill/2)% chance, locked up the enemy's movement (but not their other actions) for 2 turns. This wasn't really a good skill, had far too niche of a use. The final axe class was the Berserker, and they worked the same way as they did before, as they were high Strength glass cannons that can crit a lot due to their innate Crit bonuses. Their Occult Skill was also Colossus.
Onto the enemy-exclusive classes, there is only one that actually uses axes. The Bandit is the classic ruffian/thug axe-wielding class and worked/appeared the same way they have for the past 8 games. Finally there is the King Daein class, which is the class exclusive to the final boss Ashnard, and is sort of like a beefed up version of the Wyvern Lord class, but uses Swords and Axes instead of Lances and Axes. The funny thing is that in the boss fight, he only uses his signature sword Gurgurant and doesn't use axes at all. But if you use Ashnard in the Trial Maps, you can equip him with an axe there. The King Daein class also doesn't come with any Occult Skill.
The axe user roster in FE9, while it is smaller than recent games (excluding Trial characters), more than makes up for it in quality as many of the characters in this list are either considered to be good, really good, or lauded to be some of the best characters in the game. The other good thing is that the player will get a lot of these good units in the early-to-midgame, allowing them to use these units more and get more out of them. The axe users in FE9 are...
- Titania (Paladin)
- Your Jeigan for this game, arguably the best unit in the entire game, and you get her in the very first chapter of the game. She is a Paladin with A-Rank in Axes, great bases, and really good growths in almost everything. She can use the Knight Ward to increase her defensive stats and Speed growth to make her double everything, she can get Sol via the Occult Scroll to be self-sufficient (not groundbreaking, but a good bonus), and is just overall going to be useful throughout the whole game. Her only bad parts are her lower EXP gains in the earlygame (will become a non-issue) and her base skill Counter, which reflects non-lethal physical damage dealt to her (isn't a great skill, but you can take it off and replace it with a better one). Overall, Titania is a very valuable unit to have in any FE9 run.
- Oscar (Lance Cavalier)
- While Oscar isn't immediately as good as Titania is, he still is a Cavalier and has amazing potential with a ton of room to grow since he joins in Chapter 1 as well. He has access to a good weapon type in Lances, good bases for a beginning Cav, and good all-round growths similar to Franz from FE8. The only drawback of him is that his growths can be too balanced, as it is possible to get a bit screwed over by RNG and not get the stats you need. But Bonus EXP and stat boosters can patch that up easily, the former of which is plentiful in non-Maniac game difficulties. Oscar is definitely worth raising to a Paladin for mounted utility and generally being able to tackle any situation the game throws at you, and can be a pretty good one at that.
- Boyd (Fighter)
- Boyd is your first and only Fighter you will get in FE9, but you get him in the first chapter alongside Oscar and Titania, and he's a pretty damn good Fighter to boot. He has some shaky bases that make him struggle a bit as an axe user in the early game, since his Strength isn't high enough to mitigate Weapon Weight, and his Speed isn't enough to double yet. But due to his offense-based growths being good, he will eventually be able to hit hard and use any axe with little penalties, can hit reliably with his good Skill, and can even double if he has good Speed. He is also arguably the one of the best bow users you will get since Rolf is really bad, and he can deal some really good ranged damage with something like a Killer or Brave Bow (though you also have Hand Axes for ranged options, which is something you'll probably use in more situations). He will struggle a bit earlygame, but with an easy amount of investment he can be a very good combat unit in your party
- Kieran (Axe Cavalier)
- Kieran is your second Cavalier you will get after Oscar, and just like Oscar, is a damn good unit to have. He is a Lv 12 Axe Cavalier with C-Rank Axes, giving him a good selection of weapons he can use off the bat. He starts off with okay bases in Str, Spd, and Def, but with good growths in all those stats too. Promoting him to Paladin will essentially a give you a mini Titania that can provide mounted utility, damage, weapon triangle control depending on your weapons, and can use the Knight Ward for more tankiness and potential speediness. He is very much worth using if you want another Cavalier on your team
- Jill (Wyvern Rider)
- Another great unit that the player can utilize for a great chunk of the game and is worth every investment. Her growths and bases may seem average, but with enough investment she can easily be one of the best units in your army. She uses every tool given to her very well; high Strength and Defense, flying utility, Bonus EXP, stat boosters, forged weapons, all of these things are very good to have/use on Jill. In the end, you'll get a very good Wyvern Lord that can also use forged Hand Axes, facetank her only weakness of Bows since this game only has 2x effective-damage Might and her Defense will be so high, she can use any skill you desire to put on her. If you want a great flier alongside or in lieu of Marcia, Jill is a great option.
- Astrid (Bow Cavalier)
- At first glance, Astrid seems like a very poor unit; A Lv 1 Cavalier with poor bases and locked to Bows, and with only D-Rank at that. But she has one skill that makes up for all of that, that being Paragon. Paragon will double any EXP she gains, whether via combat or BEXP, so she can grow levels really fast, especially in her joining chapter where she can 2-shot the ravens. On top of that she is still a mounted unit, so her high movement, utility, being able to do shoot-and-run attacks with Canto, ability to use the Knight Ward, it's all in her favor. Her growths aren't too bad either as she will gain a good amount of Speed and Skill (and a ton of Speed if you have the Knight Ward), and semi-decent Attack (which can be made up with Forges and stat boosters). And then when you promote her into a Paladin and give her Axes, she can use Steel Axes and Hand Axes for higher damage and 1-2 range options respectively. She has a bit of a rocky start, but once you get her going, she will be a great addition to your team.
- Makalov (Sword Cavalier)
- Your fourth and final Cavalier, but is arguably the weakest out of the four. He joins as a Lv 10 Sword Cavalier at the halfway point of the game with middling bases and is stuck with Swords, which isn't the best weapon type in FE9. He also doesn't really have any standout benefits like the others; Oscar with his early jointime, Kieran coming with Axes out the gate, and Astrid having Paragon. Makalov's only benefits are his pretty decent growths in all areas aside from Luck and Resistance, and then also Tempest which can double Biorhythm effects which will increase his Hit and Avoid if the Biorhythm is high (but it will hurt him more if it is low, so it's a double edged sword). Of course he is a mounted unit, so all the aforementioned benefits apply to him. If you want to have another Paladin on your team, he can turn out relatively decent with some investment, but know that the other 3 options for Cavs are going to be much better and/or easier to raise than Makalov.
- Haar (Wyvern Lord)
- FE9 Haar doesn't have the same coveted status of "best unit" like he will in the next game, but he is a damn good unit that shouldn't be overlooked. He joins as a pre-promoted Wyvern Lord pretty late into the game, but his high stats, decent weapon ranks, and high StSkl/Def growths make up for that. He can use almost any axe or lance at base (minus Silver weapons and the Wishblade lance) with no speed penalties, is very strong and tanky so he can deal with virtually any situation, and while he doesn't have the best Speed, he comes with the Brave Axe which mitigates that a bit. And of course, he has all the perks of being a flier as mentioned with Jill. An invested-into Jill will probably be on par or surpass Haar, but he can be slotted into your team anytime and he will do great work.
- Largo (Berserker)
- Largo is your only playable Berserker in FE9 and joins very late, but he's still pretty decent in non-Maniac playthroughs. He is very much a typical Berserker, lot of HP/StSkl/Spd, but poor Defense and very poor Resistance. He growths all focus on his current strengths, especially a monstrous 70% Strength growth and then a slightly more modest Skill and Speed growths. With his A-Rank in Axes and his 21 Strength, he can use any axe in the game without any speed penalties, so against frail enemies he will be easily able to pick them off. And just like other mono-weapon classes, he has an innate 15% Crit bonus so he can crit a lot more (only on non-Maniac playthroughs since he won't get the crit bonus on Maniac). If you use him he can be very effective as a filler unit, but be mindful since he can pop very easily.
- Shiharam (Wyvern Lord) (Trial Maps Only)
- Shiharam can be used in Trial Maps if you beat the game 5 times, and joins with his Normal Mode stats. He is pretty comparable to Haar with some slight deviations in stats, but nothing too crazy. A flier that is strong and tanky, can do a lot of stuff on the map, use any Axe at base with no penalties. He is a good unit to have, not the best, but a good one
- Petrine (Paladin) (TM)
- Petrine can be used in Trial Maps if you beat the game 7 times, and joins with her Hard Mode stats. Petrine is a very very good Paladin with good stats in everything, including Magic as her "signature weapon" is the Flame Lance in her boss fight. She is probably the best candidate for the Bolt Axe as well, and with all of her perks of being mounted, her great bases, weapon ranks, Knight Ward usability, she is a very very worthwhile unit to have in the Trials. Is she worth playing the game from start to end 7 times if you're not a huge FE9 fanboy? Probably not. But if you're willing to speedrun, grind, or hack the game, she is worth it.
- Ashnard (King Daein) (TM)
- Ashnard can be used in Trial Maps if you beat the game a whopping 15 times, and comes with his Normal Mode stats and equipment. He is a beefed up Wyvern Lord that uses Swords and Axes, and has a monstrous amount of HP, Strength, Defense, and very good stats in all other departments. His signature weapon, the Gurgurant, has 20 Might, 90 Hit, negates non-Wrath criticals, and has the biggest strength that many swords don't have, it has 1-2 range. He can do a lot for the player with very little effort because he is so strong and he is a flier. His only drawback is that you have to beat the game 15 times, which is an absolute stupid amount even for a FE9 fanboy. But again, if you're willing to speedrun, grind, or hack, then you will get the best unit in the game, but only for Trials.
To round things off, there are 9 items that affect axe users in FE9. There are the permanent stat boosters of the Energy Drop and Dracoshield, which boost Strength and Defense by +2 respectively. The Arms Scroll is a special stat booster that raises weapon rank by one level. All classes in this game use Master Seals to promote, so no more individual promo items. Then there are the held accessories; the famous Knight Ward and all of the second-playthrough Bands that affect growths. The ones that affect Strength and/or Defense growths are the Soldier, Fighter, Knight, and Wyvern Bands.
FE9 was a great continuation of the axe being such a good weapon type, especially with the forge mechanic, the changes to weapon weight mitigation, and the unit quality of all potential axe users being so good. There isn't really much else to say besides that FE9 was very kind to axe users, arguably almost to the same degree that Thracia was. But will we see this great reign continue as we venture into the later years of Tellius?
Thank you so much for reading this! I think I'm going to be taking my time with these so that I can get you guys some good content, I've been going through a lot but I don't want my work to suffer because of it. Comments and critiques are always welcome, and have an amazing day!
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2023.05.29 13:02 TonyTony1287 The Walking Dead Ranking Every Episode
Oh my God was this list hard to rank đ
I took about I would say at least 15 hours of my time into this and all of that was just to rank them at a certain level without much to say. First off we have about 8 Tiers from F,D,C,B,A,S,SS, and Premium though I barely put much into their. Remember this is just an opinion so don't take too harshly if your favorite episode isn't high on my list. For some episodes I may not say much or anything since this was too long originally.
F Tier, these are my least favorite episodes and most likely I have a vendetta against them in some way that made it hard for me to like them
- S2 Ep 8 Nebraska- I hate Lori and I think this episode expresses it, most definitely a vendetta. I didn't exactly like the stuff with Hershel and recovering though it was okay, but lori made some questionable decisions to go off on her own to look for Rick even though she should know he's fine seriously. She wrecks a car and then barely dies from a walker, mind you she is pregnant and shouldn't do these things easily my least favorite episode.
- S10 Ep 21 Diverged- I honestly forget this episode so much since it has nothing truly interesting or important to the story
- S7 Ep 6 Swear- this episode feels slow paced and dull due to oceanside being not seen well for me and I feel like Tara put on the best performance she could for it.
- S8 Ep 2 The Damned- this episode to me was just a lot of action and in the walking dead I don't want that. We see a couple of characters die (including Francine 𪌠I absolutely loved her character and hate how she died here :[ mindless) Erics death started here, but it just wasn't impactful enough.
- S3 Ep 11 I Ain't a Judas- Andrea is a boring character in the show and I hate her in this episode. The focus should've been on the prison honestly and maybe If she killed the Governor I would've understood her more.
- S10 Ep 20 Splinter- if most of the episode was real I would've loved it, but they weren't...
- S3 Ep 5 Say the Word- Andrea just isnt much good in this episode and Rick going crazy wasn't a fun idea to me.
- S8 Ep 3 Monsters- aside from the one fight with Rick I really didn't care much for it again for the fighting and having Morales return and die felt out of place.
- S2 Ep 2 Bloodletting- the group searching for Sophia was okay for a concept, but this episode was okay and went slow paced for me until the end.
D Tier, moving on these episodes were for me mostly just forgettable or boring so I won't say much except they weren't all bad
- S1 Ep 3 Tell it to the frogs- first off S1 won't be all high because I'm ranking EVERY episode, but this one felt slow in pace more as well compared to the last two. Shane was a badass though.
- S11 Ep 3 Hunted- Forgettable... Not much to say.
- S5 Ep 11 The Distance- Forgot entirely this was an episode, after rewatch still don't like it except for Aaron.
- S2 Ep 9 Trigger finger- It was a bit better than Nebraska, mostly cause of the Randel scenes.
- S7 Ep 14 The Other Side- Sasha somewhat makes a noble decision.
163-162. S11 Episodes 22 following 21- 22 had the Warden being uninteresting as a villain and 21 was boring as can be which is why they sit besides each other.
- S8 Ep 7 Time for After- I don't like the plans they have to deviate from Rick and him going to Jadis again feels like a horrible decision on his part.
- S9 Ep 8 Evolution- The ambience is the best part, though I hated Jesus' s death as it felt like a bad sendoff.
C Tier, These are a bunch of boring and hard to follow episodes that have some highs that keep it out of former tiers.
- S2 Ep 1 What lies Ahead- I liked the RV scene with Andrea, but what follows is dull.
- S11 Ep 4- The pope is somewhat average.
- S7 Ep 12 Say Yes- The carnival was a nice scenery for TWD, but they had too many fake outs with the walker "shooting" at them and the deer fake out.
- S9 Ep 7 Stradivarius- The Search for Eugene feels tiring to follow what's happening and I ended up watching the episodes once and never again because of it.
- S2 Ep 4 Cherokee Rose- Watching the episode is fun because of the well, though I feel like it was stupid as an idea as the group should have more common sense before doing something dumb.
- S2 Ep 3 Save The Last One- Shane was horrifying, but the rest was dull.
- S8 Ep 14 Still gotta mean something- Rick felt unnecessarly cold hearted in this episode killing off the Saviors that helped him which I didn't like, though Jared got a well deserved death.
- S4 Ep 9 After -It was okay watching Carl try to scavenge while Rick was injured and I liked the scene with his shoe being lost.
- S7 Ep 5 Go Getters- the episode itself wasn't bad yet I never really enjoyed it too much aside from Maggie being a badass and the ending was pretty good.
- S4 Ep 10 Inamtes- Inmates was a pretty well rounded episodes showing off some of the group which I liked seeing Tyreese the most.
- S8 Ep 6 The King, The Widow, and Rick- the episode was pretty lackluster for me and I didn't really appeal to seeing the garbage people much in this or everyone going to attack the saviors which was a dumb move to do. Ezekiel was probably the most fun of the episode.
- S3 Ep 16 Welcome to the Tombs- the finale for season 3 has always been horrible as it barely gives tension between the Governor and Ricks group, it just felt unfitting for a finale.
- S11 Ep 8 For blood- it was a okay Mid Season finale to say the least (sorry, 1/3 season finale). I did like some of the parts in it with Maggie which is why it sits higher than others.
- S5 Ep 7 Crossed- I thoroughly enjoyed the chase scene between the three officers and Ricks group, but that was about it.
- S4 Ep 13 Alone- I liked watching the parts of the group split up, except for Maggie, Bob, and Sasha as they felt very uneventful to me. What makes this episode better had to be the part about Daryl and Beth with the ending of the introduction to Joe's group.
- S7 Ep 10 New Best Friends- a lot of these parts I forgot about in this episode when it came to the Kingdom though after rewatching it I enjoyed those parts more than the Garbage people. I just honestly think Jadis's group is uninteresting and makes for no substance.
- S10 Ep 15 The Tower- I sometimes forget about this episode and it's premise with Beta, but I think it holds up enough for a weird one and The stuff with princess was okay.
- S9 Ep 3 Warning signs- I think the episode was okay, I just didn't like Season 9 A that much...
B tier, now we get to the episodes I could watch again in the past 6 months or binge through without skipping
- S11 Ep 2 Acheron Part 2- this was close to being put into C tier since I really hated some parts about it like how they left Gage to die and still had to fight off dozens of walking regardless. The group in the first two episodes seem to switch off and on from good to bad.
- S7 Ep 4 Service- for some reason people hate this episode and I can't see why except for the fact it mainly deals with Negan at Alexandria; in my opinion it was him and a couple other characters who saved season 7 and 8 for me.
- S10 Ep 3 Ghosts- I forget the episode...
- S10 Ep 7 Open Your Eyes- I thought the episode was fine as I don't hate Siddiq and all, though I liked and hated the ending as I loved the twist of Dante and hated that Siddiq had to die so early on.
- S6 Ep 7 Heads Up- I didn't like the twist of Glenn and all, but I liked the suspicion with Carol and Morgan as well as the Ending being dramatic.
- S8 Ep 11 Dead or Alive- it's not good to know when you remember an episode due to bad things. Daryl has been making more off decisions for the character and Tara seems to be completely Reckless now making me hate her moving forward.
- S4 Ep 4 Indifference- The Scenes with Carol and Rick we're amusing with crude Humour as well as some more tense scenes in my opinion and I hated/liked when Rick told Carol she couldn't come back.
- S3 Ep 6 Hounded- honestly I would've rather put this episode a little bit higher due to Merle (probably my favorite charcater which contributes to a lot of episodes being higher) being a badass while fighting Michonne and pulling out puns as well. The reason it doesn't get higher is still due to Rick and the phone situation being uneventful.
- S11 Ep 9 No Other Way- Alden dies in this episode which I should've seen coming that sucks. The ending feels misleading a bit though everything else in the middle is pretty great.
- S11 Ep 5 Out of the Ashes- literally the only reason I put this here was due to Lance so deal with it!
- S4 Ep 11 Claimed- Rick had a pretty solid pair of scenes with the Claimers and I liked watching Glenn and Tara (Surprisingly).
- S10 Ep 13 What We Become- I thought the flashbacks/hallucinations we're pretty good, but aside from that this episode was just mediocre.
- S9 Ep 4 The Obliged- I liked watching Daryl and Rick fight each other over different views on how everything should be and the ending I thought was pretty suspenseful as well as the saviors and oceanside.
- S11 Ep 15 Trust- Lance feels exactly like the Governor in some of these episodes which is what I like about him, and from here I start to enjoy Princess maybe because Mercer is around more xd.
- S10 Ep 17 Home Sweet Home- I thought Maggie was a good enough concept for an episode with the reapers, though it didn't hit that hard watching again. It still Is most definitely better than the other 3 episodes of S10 part C but enough for A Tier.
A Tier, after this point complaints may start to stop, but that doesn't mean entirely. These episodes I enjoy watching over and over again with some good tension and comedy as well.
- S1 Ep 5 Wildfire- For the episodes Jim was in I liked him and learning his backstory as well so this was a pretty fun episode.
- S4 Ep 15 Us- the stuff with Abraham and their group was pretty wholesome to me and I liked Joe for the time being in here seeing how he is pretty fair to be honest giving things where they are due and trust to Daryl.
- S6 Ep 11 Knots Untie- I somewhat feel like the episode drags due to there being too much at hilltop, but it is a new community so I can't truly argue. I remember enjoyably when Rick stopped the assassination attempt.
- S8 Ep 9 Honor- the beginning with Carl I thought was good to showcase the events that unfolded before the decimation and Carl's death hit hard.
- S5 Ep 4 Slabtown- I personally don't mind the hospital arc too much, yet it won't get all of it's episodes too high of course. I liked watching Noah and Beth converse and I thought this was a new era for the walking dead.
- 10 Ep 1 Lines we Cross- the part with the Satellite was amusing to watch as it was a big change to see and I like that about the walking dead on occasions.
- S9 Ep 6 Who are you now?- I liked learning of Luke's Group (you heard me, Luke's Group) and what they have been like learning of some of their past.
- S10 Ep 8 The World Before- I liked mostly just watching two scenes, the beginning with Dante and Gabriel and Dante. I loved the fact no one even considered a Whisperer living amongst them and how he did some much devious stuff was mind boggling and amazing to watch. When Gabriel talks about forgiveness to Dante and kills him shows me how Gabriel has changed the past seasons.
- S7 Ep 9 Rock in the Road- Rick gives off a good speech to Ezekiel and I liked seeing him and Morgan reunite again. The stuff with Gabriel wasn't too bad either.
- S3 Ep 9 The Suicide King- the Governor finally seems to be starting to let things of him slip which I love to see. I also enjoyed watching Merle with Daryl as well too.
- S11 Ep 11 Rouge element- I thought that the twist of Steph was pretty good and I don't mind the episode being a bit long and tedious for it's reveal.
- S11 Ep 23 Family- I loved the fact Lydia got bit just because it shows us that people can still get bit and survive. It shows to me that in the finale no one could be truly safe even though Luke gets bit and still dies.
- S11 Ep 17 Lockdown- Saving Sebastian was okay ig.
- S8 Ep 10 The Lost and The Plunderers- Simon's character I think was made perfectly as he is a hotheaded person who is all about power and showing that off. Killing most of the Garbage people was terrifying to watch and showed how Negan could be more merciful than others.
- S1 Ep 1 Days Gone Bye- I think for the pilot it did it's job well and showed off enough of what the show could be. Of course this doesn't mean it was all good but as pilots go it was pretty solid.
- S11 Ep 1 Acheron Part 1- The only reason I put it this high was for the interrogation scenes especially when it came down to Ezekiel. Him and Mercer are honestly a great pair and I love his ending to the show as it's fitting.
- S5 Ep 10 Them- after losing most of the group it seems like a fitting episode of despair and plays it perfectly.
- S5 Ep 12 Remember- the first shown scenes of Alexandria was pretty good and I liked the interviews scene too. We also saw a lot of new character introductions.
- S11 Ep 6 On The Inside- The ferals was a nice touch of horror that I never knew I could need. Making the people with the ferals Virgil and Connie made the most perfect sense as well.
- S6 Ep 13 Not Tomorrow Yet- this episode shows off how our group is seeming to be the bad guys starting to kill people in their sleep. I like how Glenn and Heath have their first kills and show how they are changing.
- S7 Ep 1 The day will come when you won't be- I like the title as it references Doctor Jenner, but for the episode I liked Negan and that's mostly it. Seeing two people die was horrible to me, but necessary and since I don't rank episodes for being bad due to deaths I can still rank them high.
- S6 Ep 16 Last Day on Earth- Simon has a good introduction and I like them trying to get from point A to B, but what stands out to me most is probably Abraham and Eugene with his speech about him
- S7 Ep 15 Something they need- Sasha was probably the highlight of the episode for me and I liked them and Negan's interactions. It Is a good effort to show that they aren't all monsters and I like seeing Eugene as well.
- S3 Ep 7 When the Dead come knocking- Glenn and his interrogation with Merle was amazing and I liked seeing Glenn's true will shine.
- S8 Ep 12 The Key- I don't like this episode much honestly if it wasn't for Negan and Ricks Speech as well as Simon and his deviousness.
- S8 Ep 1 Mercy- the beginning I had to move up due to some good portions of it like Rick and Negan. I also liked the ending a lot even though I watched the trailer a lot and knew of Gabriel and Negan's interactions.
- S9 Ep 1 a New Beginning- wow two series beginnings next to each other... Yeah it's weird but they weren't exactly S Tier Material. The beginning with them trying to get a horse accessory was great tension to watch and I already love Ricks Beard.
- S10 Ep 18 Find me- okay so maybe I exaggerated My feeling towards Season 10 C a bit since I like some of the episodes a bit and others worse. The reason I put this here is mostly good plot lines and that was it.
Around here I wanted to say the reason for some episodes ranking higher is due to the fact the others are horrible and some of these have redeeming qualities. It's hard to put over 150 episodes ranked from horrible to greatness and know the points of interest.
- S3 Ep 3 Walk With Me- Merle brings joy to me seeing him again and I love him from here on out. I like how the Governor seems to be innocent enough until the big reveal with the militia which is amazingly put.
- S10 Ep 9 Squeeze- I hate Squeeze... There i said it. The cave sucks honestly and Id rather not watch it again because of that, but Negan is the only saving grace for this episode and if it wasn't for him I would never watch this episode again.
- S8 Ep 13 Do Not Send Us Astray- Simon attacking the Hilltop was the most great action of this season that I never minded and it felt terrifying after Tobin's fate was sealed.
- S3 Ep 12 Clear- I had to move it from S Tier, but nevertheless a great episode. Morgan's return was done perfectly and I felt like his character did a full 180 after this. Michonne and Carl's side story was also good.
- S2 Ep 12 Better Anglels- Shane and Ricks final confrontation was amazingly executed and loved the difference from the Comics with Rick killing shane and Carl shooting his reanimated self; Shane and Randel was also good too.
- S4 Ep 12 Still- Daryl and Beth make sense to pair together and I like seeing how we get a bit more back story to his character. They feel like the most perfect example to put for a mismatched pair.
- S6 Ep Thank You- The journey with Glenn's group trying to get back was amusing to see even though the dumpster ending wasnt really the best, still horrible to see.
- S10 Ep 4 Silence the Whisperers- Negan and Lydia have a good bond and I like how Negan defends her even though I hate how no one believes Lydia that Negan protected her.
- S8 Ep 4 Some Guy- I still love watching Ezekiel and the Kingdom so I enjoy this episode and how he feels defeated the whole time. Jerry is the best bodyguard in my opinion as well as it is shown and Shivas death is heartbreaking.
- S5 Ep 8 Coda- The reason I put this soo high was due to Rick and Bob. I did like the ending a bit even though I feel like Beth's death could've been avoided.
- S3 Ep 14 Prey- originally this episode was C Tier for me, but I re-watched it and put it this high due to the Governor being a literal psycho and I love this side of him.
- S11 Ep 20 What's been Lost- Lance felt underutilized as soon as he died, I really wished they could've made a difference with his exit on the show.
- S8 Ep 8 How it's gotta be- Forgot about Natanias death.
- S11 Ep 7 Promises Broken- Negan and Maggie had a good talk together about before.
- S10 Ep 6 Bonds- Okay.. XD.
- S6 Ep 10 The Next world- I thought the stuff with Rick, Daryl, and Jesus was goofy, but great.
- S11 Ep 19 Varient- I do like the idea of evolving walkers though I feel like it was a bit late in the show.
- S3 Ep 13 Arrow on the Doorstep- the meeting was just terrific to watch as the Governor is so sinister inside it with Milton and Hershel having a good talk as well with Martinez and Daryl having a good show off time. Merle and Glenn have some good times too.
- S9 Ep 2 The Bridge- The log scene was amazing and Aaron had a good scene with the amputation.
S Tier, These episodes are some of my favorite to watch with a good glass of Tea and some snacks.
- S7 Ep 7 Sing me a song- Negan and Carl were fun to watch as well as some more insight on the sanctuary as Daryl breaks free. Negan and Carl also Bond.
- S10 Ep 10 Stalker- Daryl VS Alpha!!!
- S11 Ep 16 Acts of God- Lance is very horrifying as to what his next move is and Leah's stuff was good.
- S3 Ep 8 Made to suffer- it was a great Mid season finale as I enjoyed the fight with the Governor and Rick as well as the ending with Merle and Daryl.
- S2 Ep 6 Secrets- Glenn has to deal with hiding multiple people's secrets and I feel like the comedy is pure gold here.
- S1 Ep 2 Guts- The rooftops scenes were great as well as the parts where they wear guys to avoid the walkers, it always felt like a sense of panic in this episode.
- S9 Ep 9 Adaptation- the introduction to Alpha was simple enough and I feel like it's a good episode.
- S11 Ep 10 New Haunts
- S11 Ep 12 The Lucky Ones- Carol finally feels a little bit like she's back to her old self in this community with Lance and their deals.
- S4 Ep 1 30 days without and Accident- probably my second favorite of the beginning episodes as it demonstrates exactly how the group has got along since the recent events. Has a good story with the shopping market and the roof caving in was awesome.
- S3 Ep 10 Home- this episode shows how Merle and Daryl are far apart which I can still keep watching Merle and be entertained as well as the fight scene at the end with the Governor being cocky as can be.
- S9 Ep 16 The Storm- snow is a new but simple thing that I like along with Negan Earning trust with Michonne.
- S10 Ep 2 We are the End of the World- Gamma saving Alpha is one of my favorite scenes of how it shows Alphas power towards the group and influence on it's people.
- S6 Ep 8 Start to Finish- The walls coming down had an interesting story as well as many like the Wolf getting loose and Diana having a badass/amazing exit.
- S9 Ep 11 Bounty- The Movie Theatre scene was pretty good as well as Alpha with and Lydia.
- S5 Ep 2 Strangers- The uneasy feeling of Gabriel is pretty good to show the groups trust and I like how the ending is played out with the reveals.
- S11 Ep 13 Warlords- The Complex is a pretty good place to see and I like seeing the evolution of Negan and Aaron.
- S9 Ep 15 The Calm Before- The highlight is the end with the pikes though it made sense for the lesser characters. I hated seeing Henry and Enid die (Not with Tara).
- S10 Ep 11 Morning Star- The start of the battle is ingenius with the tree sap fire scene and it makes for a suspenseful ending to the episode to come.
- S9 Ep 5 What come After- The episode is meant to be a sendoff for Rick so I'll rank it about everything else instead. I did enjoy some of the sequences with Hershel and I loved seeing Shane again. He really puts perspective on some episodes like Season 5 which makes me enjoy watching those episodes more as well as Shane. Ricks exit was also done is a pretty good way.
- S7 Ep 13 Bury me Here- I liked watching Morgan slowing go back into insanity which I believe is due to PTSD of some sort. The episode feels really well done and I like the ending to it with Richard Dying and Carol being told everything.
- S9 Ep 12 Guardians- Alpha is great to watch in this episode and the way she kills the two whispering who challenge them is great!
- S8 Ep 5 The Big scary U- the main focus is Negan and Gabriel which is an amazing talk between then two before settling their differences. I also like the unease at the sanctuary through betrayal.
- S11 Ep 14 The Rotten core- the whole episode is one of If not my personal favorite to watch for the complex alone being a nice setting. I enjoy every bit of this episode as well as the side deal with Sebastian and how Mercer is revealed to be a pretty nice guy.
- S5 Ep 15 Try- The whole episode feels like a decent into madness for Rick seeing everyone against him. I like how he goes into protective cop mode and try to defend the ones he lives as well as his speech at the end.
- S11 Ep 18 A New Deal- The whole episode is average, but the ending just feels amazing to rewatch.
- S2 Ep 11 Judge, Jury, Executioner- I personally like Dale a lot so I love this episode. It really shows how the group is starting to turn as they believe to do what is best for the group and not morals. Dales death is also very heartfelt to watch and showed off the walkers dangerousness.
- S10 Ep 14 Look At The Flowers- Negan and Daryl make a good pair to watch though I enjoyed watching Beta and him struggling to get back on track after Alphas death and I love him so much more for this episode.
- S5 Ep 5 Self Help- Daryl and Carol at the moments have some good episodes together so it's not surprise I'd love this episode. With Noah in the episode as well it feels like a amazing show of how the characters (Carol and Daryl) have changed morally.
- S6 Ep 13 The Same Boat- Carol has been shown to be ruthless, but this episode shows her true colors as how she doesn't want this to be her life anymore.
- S5 Ep 13 Forget- the episode itself has many great minisodes it felt like which was fantastic.
50 and 49. S4 Ep 6 Live Bait and 7 Dead Weight- I put these both here due to the fact of me loving the equally. The 6th episode feels like a showcase of how the Governor gets broken entirely and starts to get built back up positively showing what could have been and for a time it feels beautiful to me. The 7th though shows how some things can mess with his mind and make him go back to being a psychopath that kills everyone he sees.
- S8 Ep 16 Wraith- The ending to season 8 was pretty eventful for the battles begin as Eugene saved everyone's asses from a cool trick with the bullets. I am happy that Rick decided to save Negan and I love the episode except for the ending being off-putting with Maggie.
- S6 Ep 9 No way Out- The Wolf has a pretty interesting end that I enjoyed to see and aside from the the entire eoisode is the best part. You never feel that sense of boring to it as the action is nonstop great.
- S5 Ep 5 Now- I liked small bits and pieces of this episode mostly revolving around Diana and her role starting to change. If she survived I don't doubt I would've loved to see her go through more of an arc.
- S7 Ep 11 Hostiles and Calamities- I can see the hate for this episode, though I love it myself. Eugene in my opinion is at his best here and I love watching him here with Negan and their interactions. It was also great how Dwight had framed the doctor.
- S5 Ep 6 Consumed- Abraham was one of my favorite characters not just for jokes but for this episode. His backstory is heartbreaking to learn about and relatable. When he falls down after beating Eugene in defeat I can feel his pain with him.
- S9 Ep 13 Chokepoint- Daryl VS Beta!!!
SS Tier, after this point there is no bad things that the episodes could have drag it's down. These ones are my person favorites.
Around this time I also realized that it seems my numbers on the side aren't matching so I'm fixing it from here so skip 42- 38. Idk what happened but I messed up somewhere and went to fix it but couldn't find the problem.
- S2 Ep 13 Besides the Dying Fire- The walkers attacking the farm was a great scene just as much as the Democracy speech was from Rick, though Lori is horrible to Rick in this episode. Also Rick tells the group "we're all infected"
- S4 Ep 2 Infected- I love the scene where Patrick reanimates and the morning fight they have in the prison. So much stuff happens at once. The ending was Great with Tyreese and. The pig scene was sad to watch.
- S6 Ep 6 Always Accountable- One time when I like Sasha is this episode with Abraham. Where to begin; The Rocket launcher scene was great, Abraham is great with quips, Daryl with Dwight is a good scene and I love the ending as well.
- S6 Ep 14 Twice as Far- The Denise speech wasnt too bad and the death was great. I enjoyed Abraham and Eugene; I think my favorite scenes was with Abraham and Eugene with another one of his speechs towards him which was funny and heartfelt.
- S4 Ep 16 A- The best part is when Joe's group comes along and how Rick bites out his throat signifying that he and Shane are now alike. I also like when Rick and Daryl talk as well as Rick figuring out this olace kidnaps people.
- S2 Ep 7 Pretty Much dead Already- Shane is what I love about this episode, he and Dale had a really funny encounter and I feel like Shane makes me laugh and be serious at the same time with each scenes. I also like how Rick is more accepting towards Hershel.
- S10 Ep 16 A Certain Doom- Beta was good in this episode and had some great parts, but the fights wee great especially the scene with the Music. Betas death felt odd, but that doesn't lower the episode.
- S4 Ep 14 The Grove- I mean do I really have to explain? Carol is a savage here and I love when they finally talk about Karen and Davids death here. Nothing in this episode is a low note.
- S2 Ep 5 Chupacabra- I love everything about Daryl's scenes in this that show how he is a badass and capable of holding his own. Also love his Hallucinations.
- S11 Ep 24 Rest In Peace- certainly wasn't the best finale, but I felt like it did well enough for the episode. It tied up most loose ends for the show given its runtime and I feel like it is fitting enough.
- S2 Ep 10 18 Miles Out- my favorite of Season 2 has Shane and Rick have the best battle I have seen even more than The Governor and Rick or Negan and Rick. This battle utilizes both of their strengths and weaknesses with some things that have never been done in the show much more like using your blood to attract walkers to other places. It was an amazing episode all in all.
- S1 Ep 6 TS-19- idk what it is but I love watching this episode over and over again and I love it the more I watch it. It is probably because I like Doctor Jenner a bit more in each watching of his tragic backstory with his wife.
- S9 Ep 14 Scars- The flahsback was an amazing one that told us something vital to the story about how they don't trust people coming in anymore. What Daryl and especially Michonne went through is tragic.
- S5 Ep 3 Four Walls a roof- this episode is perfect for a number of reasons like Bob and his antics or Savage Rick, this was a turning point for the walking dead and this is where Rick gets some of his roots.
- S1 Ep 4 Vatos- even though I love TS-19 I love Vatos more. This is unique to some episodes where you see a group just like Ricks that is trying to survive and this is where we realize the world is bigger than we thought still.
- S7 Ep 16 The first day of the rest of your Life- The battle was amazing and I feel like this was the best it was going to get for the coming seasons, but season 9 and 10 surprised me.
- S10 Ep 5 What it always Is- Negan with the Kid is the highlight I think, I could've honestly seen this going farther, if it wasn't for the former savior. I feel like this was fitting for an entire episode of, but we diverged a bit.
- S4 Ep 3 Isolation- Hershel and Tyreese are the highlights for me with Tyreese going berserk and Hershel being a kind soul. This is a staple episode for why Season 4 is amazing and why Hershel is what made season 4 great.
- S6 Ep 4 Here's not Here- I love learning about Eastman and Morgan in this one off. I love how it is somewhat told in the first person narrative to the Wolf and how Morgan changed back to who he was. Eastman shows how he and Morgan are pretty similar and why he should be like him.
- S5 Ep 14 Spend- aside from Francine being here to be used as eye candy for me I loved how some of Alexandria like and dislike rick's group here. I do hate Noah dying as I feel like he could've been so much more.
- S10 19 One More- I love havng the episode based on Aaron and Gabriel as they have came a long way since their beginnings. When they have few an encounter with Mays I felt like this was a testimony to who they are as people. We see how they care for each other and how Mays fails to make a point of who they are until Gabriel Kills him showing he has gone farther away from the light.
- S7 Ep 3 Cell- Daryl is locked up and he is now being treated like shit. This episode feels great cause of how it feels like he is trying to break Daryl. Dwight also has a great mission on how he mercy kills a savior and shows he isn't as bad as you may think.
- S6 Ep 1 First time again- I do enjoy the setting of the episode how we see the diverge in Alexandria and who listens or hears Rick out. The episode is a great example for staring episodes... But not the best at it.
- S5 Ep 9 What Happened and what's going On- I loved Tyreese's character so to see him die was horrible for me. His episodes I feel like was a good send off since it is a test to who he is as a person who is confounded about the world around him.
- S3 Ep 4 Killer Within- this episode was played perfectly and I feel like is a good sendoff for other characters as well like how I hate Lori. She is made just a bit better from her sacrifice and thought T-Dog went out in a good way as well. The prisoners also had a good show for their trust.
- S4 Ep 5 Interment- this is where Hershel's best episode is as he is the best Samaritan Alive in the apocalypse. At the end where Rick and Carl fend off the walkers inside the gates in a great bond and I love the whole episode.
- S6 Ep 3 JSS- it is well rounded and has good action as well as a lot of tension and suspense with Carol showing off her capabilities and Morgan with his philosophy.
Finally we cracked the top ten and into Premium Episodes. If you've made it this far you are are persistent as me... Well probably less since this took a long ass time but still. These are the episodes whee I cherish them and can watch more than once a month.
- S8 Ep 15 Worth- Worth has what I want in an episode; good characters and story/plot. Eugene's parts are made more important seeing how he needed to stay at the sanctuary to save Alexandria and the other communities. I loved even more Dwight's part where I have without doubt the most suspense with him and Negan. Simon also had the most best arc death as it felt complete.
- S5 Ep 16 Conquer- the episode has a lot of action and the ending was the pivet. I love the speech he has and how Diana let's Rick be in charge now was a sort of cliffhanging ending that signify's perfection.
- S5 Ep 1 No sanctuary- both Season 5's beginning and finale are amazing and the way Rick and his group take down Terminus in one episode is amazing as they fight there way out and the scene with Judith was great. Morgan was just a sprinkle of wholesomeness to see.
- S10 Ep 12 Walk With Us- The Episode had just enough action, good deaths and character interactions to make it here. First of the battle at hilltop was amazing. The second best thing was Earl and I feel very sad every time I watch this episode at his part. Then the best thing is the end with Alpha and Negan.
- S3 Ep 1 Seed- The best beginning to a season it shows how the group has changed since Rick and the prison is a great example. The tombs are a great scenery and the ending was perfect for a cliffhanger as well as Conquer.
- S3 Ep 2 Sick- the prisoner episode was pretty good to watch as a group of prisoners try to take on walkers. While some are good others would rather be assertive. Rick has definitely changed since season 2 and the group is played great here and much more human like.
- S7 Ep 2 Well- what helps this episode is the last episode before it having a dark tone. This instead has a more uplifting one with the king and with Carol and Morgan being a great pair. The Kingdom seems to be a good community and seeing how Carol tries to smooth talk the king and how he tells whays her bullshit is an amazing scene.
- S10 Ep 22 Heres Negan- We realize he was a kinda lousy husband that wasn't really too good to becoming a really supportive husband who cares deeply for his wife Lucille. The story before showed a lot of Negan and how he is and I love Lucille as a character from this episode trying to do whats best for Negan.
- S4 Ep 8 Too Far gone- Honestly this IS the best episode, but I am bias so I had to put my own personal favorite above it not to say this isn't right behind it easily. Too far gone is what feels like a season finale but isn't. The Governors first encounter should've been this and I'm glad we got to see it unfold great. Rick has a great speech in it about not being too far gone yet and the Governor killing Hershel to start the best battle of the series. The Governors death feels fitting and the ending was sad and amazing.
Before I get to this last one I wanted to say a thank you in advance to whomever reads this as I really had a hard time making this and spending a lot of time to do this isn't easy. And remember this last episode is my very own person opinion entirely and in no way is it the best of the series definitively, without any furthermore, lets end this.
- Season 3 Episode 15 This Sorrowful Life- Now what makes this episode so great to me? Well I'm totally biased towards the actor and the character in the show Merle Dixon. I could watch Merle all day which is what they episode feels like with the perfect duo of Michonne and Merle on their way to the governor. It has some of the most perfect comedy in the episode as well as having the best sacrifice redemption arc and ending. This episode made me laugh, smile, cry and more. There will never be a time when I ever change my opinion about this episode in existence.
Again another huge thanks to everyone and I hope this will satisfy everyones needs... Now I'ma go watch S3 Ep 15 Legit.
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2023.05.29 08:51 ScantlyChad [BATTLE] The Ottoman-Safavid War of 1517-1518
Early Spring, 1518
Persia
Deep in the Persian interior of Shah Ismail's empire, the Safavid army camp was returning to life with the dawn of a new campaigning season. Military operations had come to an expected halt with the coming of the 1517 winter, with levies marching back to their homes, nomadic warrior clans migrating to fairer fields, and military leadership (normally) taking the time to rest and revitalize. However,
the numerous setbacks of the prior year's campaign had not been kind to the health of Ismail, or to that of his realm.
When the Shah emerged from his winter quarters to head up the army for the next round of war, it immediately sparked alarm among his followers that Ismail looked worse now than he did just a few months ago. The winter's isolation had compounded his descent from the prophecy of a legendary poet-warrior to that of a humbled, bedraggled sot. He now carried himself with less care and confidence. His messy hair and beard remained untrimmed. Even now when he donned his armor, which was tailored to fit the once-great warrior, it now appeared to be made for a much different man much larger than him.
It was this Ismail that would emerge from the tent in the Spring of 1518. It was this Ismail that would sit and squint to the horizon, watching for contingents of his nomadic and levied army to march back to his main camp. It was this Ismail that would scowl as his sergeants noted the desertions among his ranks that had occurred over the winter, resulting in a smaller army that had been anticipated. And it was this Ismail that had delayed marching out with such a small army, until the awful realization came upon him and that he could delay no more, that this decimated army would be the one which he would lead.
This army would also be less coherent and effective than the previous armies fielded by the Shah. Though he dreaded to address such glaring issues, the truth of the matter was that the defeats of last year had broken down the prestige and power of the militant Safavid cause, and thus, with it, the strict adherence of the nomadic Qizilbash warriors. Long-standing clan rivalries which had previously been frozen in place by their shared cause of fighting for the
Mahdi were now once again returning as Ismail's reputation melted away. The Qilizbash of this year might be just as likely to engage in savagery against their own realm as they would to their enemies.
And finally, there came to that issue of military intelligence. Ismail's plans the year prior had been dictated by the belief that he had been fed working military intelligence from his spies within the Ottoman Empire. The failures of his army in their failed Spring offensive would reveal that such intelligence had been faulty, and purposefully so. Though this source of information would continue to feed him military intelligence of where and when the Ottoman Imperial Army had planned to strike, Ismail had come to the decision that he would be better off ignoring such intelligence this year. There's an old saying in Tabriz- and although such a saying is also known in Tehran, it is probably also well known amongst those in Tabriz as well- and this saying is as follows:
fool me once, shame on - shame on you. Fool me - you can't get fooled again. And with his own health and that of his army on such a positive footing, Ismail set off on campaign, looking to drive the invaders from his realm. While a small contingent under
Abdal Beg Talish went south, the majority of the army would be marching north from which to counter any enemy offensives out of Tabriz, in addition to another smaller contingent under
Durmish Khan Shamlu heading north in order to counter Georgian advances in Shirvan.
Tabriz
Though the invaders had also paused their campaigns over the winter, the occupied territories of Kurdistan and Armenia remained hubs of activity just as they had been in the campaigning seasons. A carefully maintained network of grain imports supported by caravans and guarded by Imperial and Georgian patrols helped to support the wintering armies on the frontlines. When these armies would muster themselves in the spring, they would find that this expensive supply network had paid off, and that they would not be suffering the same levels of desertion that would cripple their foes.
As the Georgian-Ottoman occupation forces of the city resumed their work in fortifying the city for an expected Safavid counterattack, a large Georgian contingent headed by King Giorgi would set off eastward, to besiege the city of Ardibil
that had evaded the permanent capture of the Georgian army so many years ago. This speed of this march would be hampered by fierce local resistance, though the Georgians were able to evade losses due to the large size of their army which afforded them to make a number of security measures aimed at countering ambushes and raids carried out by the locals. Bostanabad surrendered to the invaders upon seeing such a sizable force, and Duzduzan would fall to the invaders after a quick siege hurried through a daring assault on the walls commanded by the King. When the walls of Sarab were reached, the city was methodically surrounded, a siege camp was constructed, and the construction of sieges engines would be started by the royal engineers. As the Georgian army settled in for what they expected to be another quick siege, the Safavid army headed up by Shah Ismail marched northward to counter them before the fall of the city and the eventual fall of Ardibil along with it.
Though this Georgian army would hold the advantage of army size over the Safavid force, their lack of light scout cavalry would hurt them quite immensely, as they were unable to report and respond to the threat of Ismail's incoming army until he was just about to strike.
Though the Georgian army fought as ably as they could, the unexpected nature of the Safavid attack was damaging. Qizilbash cavalry charged from the hills and into the Georgian camp aided by repeated bombardments from Safavid archers, causing a great deal of casualties and chaos among the Georgian ranks. This army was only saved from complete rout and defeat when the brave King Giorgi and his knights rallied his scattered men into carrying out a counterattack, temporarily forcing Ismail's forces away from the field. Recognizing that Ardibil itself was a secondary objective not worth such heavy losses, a retreat to Tabriz was ordered, in which the disorganized Georgian army somehow
just managed to carry out as another round of Safavid attacks began on their supply and rear lines.
Shirvan
Like the Georgian army in the south, this army to the north would also see much in the way of early victories. Over the winter, Georgian agents had managed to convince Hasan Sultan, the exiled Khan of Shaki, into supporting their advance against Shah Ismail. Prince Demetre's army in this region swelled in size with the arrival of Hasan Sultan and his supporters.
But like the army to the south, this army would also be hampered in early spring by the arrival of Safavid forces in the region. Durmish Khan Shamlu and his men would square off with those of the Sultan and the Prince, and for many weeks, skirmishes would be fought in this region, with both attempting to outmaneuver the other in a pitched battle.
Northern Iraq
Fresh from their winter rest, the Ottoman Army began their 1518 campaign with a southward advance on the city of Mosul. Led by Grand Vizier Piri Mehmed Pasha, this army would see its numbers also bolstered by local allies, though allies were more a matter of symbolism than of actual military support, as the local Kurdish support for the Ottoman cause had translated more into pledges of fealty rather than going so far as to support with large numbers of Kurdish tribal soldiers as the Ottoman leaders would have hoped.
Though the city of Mosul refused to surrender, it fell after a short siege. The army advanced, and then Erbil fell in the same manner. Though Abdal Beg Talish's forces had, by this time, arrived in the region to support local resistance against the advancing Ottoman army, the massive size of the Ottoman army and its superior composition of both heavy and light cavalry allowed for it to easily counter the raids, ambushes, and skirmishes carried out by Safavid forces that had plagued the Georgian army.
With two key cities under their thumb and local resistance pacified, the Grand Vizier looked to the lands of the south that lay open to his armies. With such a massive force and such little resistance before him, how could the Ottoman advance be stopped?
Late Spring, 1518
Tabriz
The victory of Ismail at the Battle of Sarab had done wonders to restore his reputation among his forces. While he couldn't fully repair the tribal fractures that had started to emerge in his army structure, nor could he rally up reinforcements from the ranks of deserters, he could march on Tabriz and start the process of liberating his realm from enemy occupation. With the Spring season now in full swing, Ismail marched at the head of his revitalized army as they advanced forward towards Tabriz, on the tail of the retreating Georgian army.
Though perhaps if the Shah knew what laid before him, perhaps if he had not been so thoroughly deceived by military intelligence in the previous year and had been more willing to listen to it this year, he might not have marched forward with such misplaced confidence, and perhaps he would caution such brazen use of his army. But with the fresh taste of one victory, the Shah was eager for another. He was hell-bent on restoring his prophesized reputation with another great victory, and so he would be looking for any opportunity to engage his retreating opponent before him.
The Georgians had prepared well in the event that the Ismail return to Tabriz. Food and supplies had been carted into the city, construction teams worked constantly to repair the walls, letters were pre-written to Ottoman allies and Prince Demetre requesting relief, and the relief was provided to the citizens of Tabriz in order to secure their loyalty, at least temporarily, all done in the event of a coming siege.
The defeated Georgian army made their way into the safety of the walls of the city. Although they didn't prefer being stuck inside the city for the siege, the rushed nature of their rtreat and the sudden advance of the Sfavaid left the Georgian Kings no choice but to remain in the walls during the siege. Letters were sent north and south, and soon after the Safavid army arrived in the region, surrounded the city, and began to besiege. The roles were now reversed. The second siege of Tabriz had begun.
Shirvan
Over the course of the Spring, the armies of Prince Demetre and Hasan Sultan had managed to triumph over Durmish Khan Shamlu, with the skirmishes decided well in their favor. As Safavid forces began to retreat from the region, Prince Demtre was also forced to retreat as his armies marched south to relieve Tabriz. Hasan Sultan opted to remain in the region to countinue the fight for his homeland, though with the Georgian withdrawal the Safavids returned to the field and now they were the ones with the upper hand in the skirmishes over the region, erasing gains made by the invading forces over the past few weeks.
Iraq
It was at this point that Ottoman forces had now split into four. For an ordinary army, this would be a risky move, but for an army as large and as organized as the Ottoman army, it would
probably not be such a huge issue. The first of these groups would return to Tabriz in order to relieve the siege. The second would advance on Baghdad and begin a siege, while the third and fourth groups would secure flanks of the Ottoman advance through Iraq.
Safavid resistance to the Ottoman advance remained minimal, even with the forces of Abdal Beg Talish operating in the region. Recognizing both that the Ottoman army was headed for Baghdad and that they were nothing more a small buzz against the constant, unwavering drone of Imperial power, Abdal Beg Talish decided to cancel the strategy of harassments and chose to reinforce the city in order to attempt to stall the Ottomans with a protracted siege of Baghdad.
Abdal Beg Talish and his men beat the Ottomans to the city, but it was after this that what little Safavid power remained in the region fell apart. As the Ottomans approached the walls of Baghdad, they offered the Abdal a chance to surrender, which was refused.
However, as the Ottomans then settled into siege positions, Abdal remained at the walls. Perhaps he intended to inspire his men by leading from the front, but upon witnessing the Ottomans cast their massive siege guns before his very eyes, Abdal lost the stomach to fight, surrendered the city to the Grand Vizier, and in the chaos of it all, then fled eastward with a few followers to link up with Shah Ismail. Piri Mehmed Pasha elected not to pursue the yellow-bellied fool and instead ordered a two-day celebration for the army that now occupied the city of Baghdad. The Ottoman armies on the flanks continued to push southward, meeting almost no resistance from the locals who had no strong desire to support their oppressive Safavid overlords.
Summer, 1518
Tabriz
Nobody was safe from the blazing heat of the Tabrizi summer, defenders and besiegers alike.
For the past few months, the city had suffered under siege from Safavid siege, though this suffering was eased by the abundance of food and supply within the walls of the city. The shelling of Ismail's mortars did temporarily halt when he ordered his engineers to divert the Aji Chay away from the city in order to cut off their vital supply of water, though this effort was halted when the Georgians sallied out from their walls to ambush the engineers. The city's water supply was saved, though the Georgians did suffer moderate casualties in the process.
The siege continued on for a few miserable weeks with slow progress against the walls made by mortars and sappers, and losses on both sides compounded by heat exhaustion. This state of the siege would only be broken with news of incoming relief forces from the north and the south.
Ottoman-Georgian strength had now swelled to double that of the Safavids, but their numbers were spread out into three groups. Like at
Alesia, the besieging Safavid forces were starting to be surrounded by incoming relief forces, though the coordination of these scattered relief forces remained in question as communication was spotty at best as the Safavid forces proved to be a major hurdle for messages.
Looking to score another victory, Ismail ordered his troops to prepare for a quick attack on the scattered relief forces, whilst also preparing for any possible attack from the forces within Tabriz who might seek to sally out at this moment. By ordering such a rapid attack, he hoped to further scatter his foes before they could further communicate any coordinated attacks on his own army.
With little preparation, Ismail split his army into three and launched the attacks on his enemies. Though poorly coordinated, the rapid nature of his attacks caught his enemies off guard. The Georgian relief force under Prince Demetre could only weather the sudden attack for a short period of time before they were beaten from the field and their forces scattered. The Ottoman forces, which were much more numerous in size, were also forced to pull back, though it was the heroics of the Janissaries and their deployment of Tabur Cenci formation that saved the day. While a number of Azabs pulled back, the Janissaries held strong and the center could not be broken. The Ottoman cavalry fared well against their Safavid counterparts, and the army was able to hold, though not without significant losses. In the end, the mounting losses convinced the Ottoman commander to withdraw and regroup with his retreating forces, in order to save the fight for another day.
It was during this attack that the Georgian army within Tabriz under the Co-Kings also decided to seize the moment and ordered a counter attack on the Safavid forces remained stuck into the siege. The gates flew open as the army sallied forth to attack the Safavid siege camps, though the poor coordination of both armies meant high casualties suffered by both sides.
By now, the second siege of Tabriz had turned into a Battle of the Plains of Tabriz, and a very chaotic battle at that. Ismail's army had completely lost all semblance of coordination in his mad quest for a major victory, and now they were just as scattered about as his opponent. His attempts to regroup his tribal warriors under his own command had mixed success, resulting in a sizable section of his army withdrawing from the field to give chase to the retreating Georgian relief force while the rest turned to face the Georgian army that had sallied out. In this third and final attack they were also successful in forcing the retreat of the Georgian army back to the walls of Tabriz, but were unable to exploit this victory into any further gains in the siege.
In the Battle of the Tabrizi Plains, Ismail has scored a great victory, forcing three enemy armies from the field while the siege camp
just managed to hold on. But at what cost? While the Georgian relief force was in full retreat, the Ottoman force had pulled back to a more defensible position and the walls of Tabriz remained under enemy control, as the scattered nature of his forces prevented him from pursuing either of these. Worse yet, his own side had suffered very heavy losses in his daring offensive gambles, which would certainly harm his ability to wage war in the future. To make matters worse, his siege of the city would have to be put on pause as his men focused on clearing the dead from the field rather than on supplying the sappers and mortars responsible for the siege. To top it all off, a very sheepish-looking Abdal Beg Talish had arrived at the Safavid camp with just a hundred men of what was once a force of two thousand that had been sent to stop the Ottoman advance in the south. Why was
he here?
Iraq
Ottoman forces in the region had fully occupied Safavid-held Mesopotamia, all the way from Mosul to Basra. And then they went further.
Deciding that further war must be made against the Shia menace, the Ottoman armies then crossed into Musha'sha' territory and made war against these Shia militants as well, with little trouble. Though captured Musha'sha' leadership claimed to be sworn enemies of the Shah, their luck ran out when they were questioned on the manner of their true faith. The faithful and fanatic leadership Musha'sha' refused to apologize for their crimes against the tombs of the the Abbasid Caliphs and Sunni Imams in the region, and for this, they were killed.
With their victory complete in the region, the Ottoman forces marched northeast, further into Persia, though this progress was halted by incoming news at the Battle of the Plains of Tabriz. With this, they withdrew from their advance and started a rapid march northward in order to reinforce their army in the region and to make battle against the remnants of the forces of the Shah.
Syria
Although one would not expect Syria of all places to be disturbed by war at this time, this region has also found itself in a state of chaos. Two Emirs claimed to have received the acceptance of the Sultan Korkut for further Mamluk self-governance of the region, have ordered a withdrawal of the instruments and agents of Ottoman bureaucracy from the region. While their claims found support from a number of notable Mamluk nobles in the region, their challenges to Ottoman power were countered by other local Emirs, a minority of Mamluk notables, and, of course, the Ottoman bureaucrats, who made public statements against the two rebellious Emirs and their claims at representing the demands of the region.
Not to be deterred, the Emirs and their supporters responsible demanding further autonomy quickly mustered forces with the intent on pacifying any resistance to their claims. As a result of these forces being raised, other notables in the region have also raised their own forces with the goal of countering this power grab. An appeal for aid has also been sent to the capital to put down these rebellious Emirs.
And, in the midst of all this chaos, the bodies of Venetian merchants have been found on the streets of Beirut. it appears that they were robbed, stripped naked, and then killed. Local authorities are doing what they can to investigate such maters, given the circumstances.
Fall, 1518
Tabriz
The siege of Tabriz continued, with the Georgian forces bottled up inside the city and the Safavids able to just barely to make further progress. Supplies were now starting to dwindle, but the weakened state of the besiegers meant that communication was easier for those within the city. News of a complete Ottoman victory in Iraq had caused spirits to rise, but there also was the worry that the Ottoman army would not arrive in time to provide a secondary relief.
Still, there was some respite from the threat of sappers, mortar shells, and starvation. The true nature of the capture of Baghdad due to the cowardly actions had been revealed to Ismail, and so the besiegers and defenders alike were treated to the
sight of Abdal Beg Talish being dressed in women's clothing and ridden on a donkey through the camp and in front of the walls of the city. But despite the progress made by Ismail in recapturing his great city, it was transpiring that this siege would not be one to recapture it. The main Ottoman army filtered into the region and positioned themselves for an attack on Ismail's much smaller besieging army. It was only under the many protestations of his generals and his solders that Shah Ismail was convinced to take his two victories and not go searching for a third against this Ottoman army, for it was believed, perhaps even by Ismail himself, that he would not see a final success against the Ottoman army. Ismail ordered his scribes to record his retreat as reluctant, and with that, the siege of Tabriz was ended as the Safavid army slipped away before the Ottomans could strike. They once again fled further into Persia, evading pitched battle with the main Ottoman force.
The defenders of Tabriz cheered as the Safavid army fled the field and the Ottoman army replaced them. The Co-Kings and their army had survived.
Armenia and Shirvan
The Georgians under the Prince continued to fall back further and further into Armenia until they were chased no longer. This army then found shelter in Yerevan, where they settled in for the winter.
As for their pursuers, the Qizilbash cavalry who had refused to return to the field of battle and instead charged north in search of plunder and captives, this force had descended into nothing more than a mob of cavalry. It stopped its pursuit of the Georgians and instead set its sights on pilfering the local Christians in this country, perhaps out of revenge for siding with the Georgians, perhaps out of pure search for plunder, or perhaps simply out of the complete collapse of order that had taken root in the Qizilbash forces.
Even with the Shah's two great victories, he continued to suffer a breakdown in command over the nomadic cavalry. While he had slain many infidels and heretics in the field of battle, he had failed in liberating his lands. As the SHah retreated further into Persia, he suffered further desertions and issues of disloyalty.
In Shirvan, Hasan Sultan has suffered further losses and continues to fall back against the victorious forces of Durmish Khan Shamlu.
Syria
After a brief yet bloody campaign, the rebellious Emirs and Mamluks have managed to seize a sizable amount of land in Ottoman Syria and repeat their claims that they have been liberating the region from Ottoman bureaucracy to return to the old ways of Mamluk self-governance. Although the armies of these Emirs has halted their campaign for the winter, their army is rumored to be no less than ten thousand strong, capable of further advances on undefended Ottoman territory, though its troops are thinly spread. However, the brutal nature of their campaign has done them no favors in winning over the local
reaya or even the influential merchant class, which has seen its wealth explode under Ottoman rule. Chaos continues to reign over the region as the Ottoman army appears to be too distracted in the east to form a proper response to this madness.
Also, those Venetian merchants? Not even Venetian. Or merchants, as it turns out. Turns out they were agents of the Knights Hospitaller, who had come to the region in an attempt to hire assassins to kill the Sultan, but they arrived at just a time that the region fell into chaos, and as a result they were robbed and killed.
Something weird's going on over here.
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2023.05.29 07:28 Proletlariet Mikey 03
"The wise guy is Michelangelo"
Michelangelo is one of the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, mutant turtles taught the way of the ninja by their rat sensei,
Hamato Splinter. Mikey is laid-back and impetuous, bringing a sense of levity to his family's fights against their enemies, including the ninja crime lord the
Shredder.
Feats will be marked with the season and episode number (i.e. S3E5). Feats from Turtles Forever will be marked with F.
Strength
Nunchucks
Striking
Lifting/Throwing
Other
Durability
Blunt
Energy
Explosives
Other
Speed/Agility
Against Projectiles
Against Melee
Movement/Agility
Skill
Combat
Stealth
Accuracy
Mechanical/Metalworking Skill
General
Nunchucks
Misc
Fast Forward
When the turtles and Splinter are brought into the year 2105, they are given special gear that provides them with a personal atmosphere, gravity regulators, and a universal translation device as well as futuristic versions of their traditional weapons
Cyberspace
When the turtles enter cyberspace, they use special armor and vehicles
After training under the Ninja Tribunal, the turtles gain the ability to tap into their chi to enhance themselves
Enhancing Physicality
Michelangelo received the same training as the other turtles, and therefore should be capable of replicating their feats
Self
Other Turtles
Dragon Form
By focusing his chi, Michelangelo is able to manifest and embody his spirit animal, the dragon, on the physical plane
Fire Breath
Physicals
Inazuma is a mystical three-section staff and is the weapon that Michelangelo received from the Dragon Forge
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2023.05.29 06:27 uffvjfcjvjcjdm to list a few (reposted fixed formatting)
I'll make more lists like this and update them when I get the chance, IF YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC TAG OF ANIME YOU WANT ME TO DO LEAVE A COMMENT AND I'LL GET TO IT WHEN I'M OFF WORK THIS IS JUST SOMETHING I THREW TOGETHER RIGHT NOW.
so, it's come to my attention I watch a lot more anime than most people, this is something I'm making at 3:30am I see a lot of people on here looking for anime, but their watched library isn't actually that large so I'm making this post as a way to just help people without having to wait for replies to posts and I'll be as specific as possible.
isekai - demon lords - The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody
- The Misfit of Demon King Academy
- How Not to Summon a Demon Lord
- Overlord (honestly I don't know if this counts for demon lord but I'll put it here)
- Demon King Daimao
- The Devil is a Part-Timer
- Demon Lord, Retry!
- Dead mount death play
isekai - OP Main character - Didnât I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?
- The Strongest Sage With The Weakest Crest
- Wise Manâs Grandchild
- Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation
- The Worldâs Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat
- The Fruit of Evolution (it's so bad just ignore this one unless you like pain)
- That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
- Summoned to Another World for a Second Time
- The Eminence in Shadow
- The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World
- I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in The Real World, Too (by definition I guess it's an isekai but not really)
- Sword Art Online (obvious one though I hate the show)
- My One-Hit Kill Sister
- The Ambition of Oda Nobuna
- The Familiar of Zero
- Problem Children Are Coming From Another World, Aren't They?
- My Isekai Life: I Gained a Second Character Class and Became the Strongest Sage in the World!
- Reincarnated as a Sword
- Black Summoner
- The Rising of the Shield Hero
- Let Me Check the Walkthrough First
- Skeleton Knight in Another World
- Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest
- So I'm a Spider, So What?
- My Next Life as a Villainess
- Drug Store in Another World
- I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level
- Combatants Will Be Dispatched! ( I use the term isekai very loosly but it's tagged as one)
- The Dungeon of Black Company
- Re:ZERO ( I guess he's op? I'm not sure where to put this one so it's going here)
- BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt
- The 8th Son? Are You Kidding Me?
- I'm Standing on a Million Lives
- Infinite Dendrogram
- Tsukimichi -Moonlit Fantasy-
(this list could actually be 100's long so I'll stop here for OP isekai) but i do have more so just leave a comment
killing game anime - High-Rise Invasion
- The Future Diary
- Deadman Wonderland
- Btooom!
- Darwin's Game
- Ousama Game (not "killing" but if i don't put it here i don't know where i'll put it)
- Big Order (just don't seriously stay away from this one it's sooooo bad)
- Danganronpa
- Riddle Story of Devil
- Akame ga Kill! (a lot of death, that counts a "killing game" right?)
- Battle Game In 5 Seconds
- Death Parade
- Tomodachi Game
Horror anime - Mieruko-chan
- Chainsaw Man ( I mean it's tagged as one so it's going here but it's just a really good anime)
- Psychic Detective Yakumo
- Ghost Hunt
- Un-Go
- Shiki
- Higurashi: When They Cry
- Another
- Corpse Party: Tortured Souls
- Gakkougurashi! (you'll have to trust me on this one if you have watched it you know but it's kinda messed up)
- Pupa
- Dusk Maiden of Amnesia (one of my absoulute must watch for everyone)
- Hell Girl (honestly yes it's messed up but it's a chill watch with no real "plot" just individual stories) well until season 2 i think if i remember they put some sort of plot in.
- Ghost Hound ( don't really want to put this in horror but I also really want to include it
- Serial Experiments Lain
- Mushi-Shi (again don't want to put it here but really too good not to include)
- Highschool of the Dead (honestly I wouldn't consider this horror but BOOBS!)
- Hellsing Ultimate
- Devilman: Crybaby
- Akira (if you haven't watched it just watch it)
- Ajin
- xxxHOLiC
- Sankarea: Undying Love
- The Lost Village
- Claymore
- Blood-C
- EVIL OR LIVE
- Blood: The Last Vampire (loved this movie)
- Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
- Angels of Death (it's tagged as one so it's going in this section)
anime that will make you cry - kanon2006
- Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day
- Angel Beats!
- Your Lie in April
- Clannad (first anime i every watched damn i picked a good one to cry to for hours when i was 14)
- Plastic Memories
- Air
- Toradora! (honestly not as sad but I'm pretty sensitive)
- Steins Gate (like i said i'm sensitive to sad anime but it's a must watch so i had to include it)
- Wolf Children
- Your Name (if you haven't watched ... don't I watched it with my brother and we both sat crying like babies for about an hour)
- I Want To Eat Your Pancreas
- True Tears
- Elfen Lied (people say it's sad so I'll put it here but I didn't feel anything from it, though I was like 15 when i watched it)
- 5 Centimeters Per Second (please just watch it)
- A Silent Voice (another one but me and my gf were crying pretty much all day)
- The Day I Became A God (I SWEAR WATCH IT!!! YOU BETTER WATCH THIS IT DOESN'T GET TALKED ABOUT AT ALL)
- The Promised Neverland (again people say it's sad but meh I didn't feel anything)
- One Week Friends (underrated and AMAZING!)
Time check.... it's now 4:55am
and yes, every anime I have listed here and will list in the future is a show I have watched
submitted by
uffvjfcjvjcjdm to
AnimeReccomendations [link] [comments]
2023.05.29 06:03 Metal_Florida May 29: North/Central Florida concert and festival picks.
P
lease note that the ticket links are usually for general admission; for VIP tickets, if available, you may have to go to the band's website. Monday, May 29, 2023 The Dood, Nibiru, The Heavens, Oakflesh | High Dive - Gainesville |
Fromjoy, Corpse Pile, Manifest in Filth | 1904 Music Hall - Jacksonville |
Tuesday, May 30, 2023 Madeline Goldstein, More Ephermal, Donzii | Will's Pub - Orlando |
Friday, Jun 2, 2023 Attack Attack!, Tďťżraitors, Belmont | Conduit - Winter Park |
Currents, Like Moths To Flames, Foreign Hands | Orpheum - Tampa |
Summer Salt, The Rare Occasions, Addison Grace | The Abbey - Orlando |
Saturday, Jun 3, 2023 Attack Attack!, Tďťżraitors, Belmont | Orpheum - Tampa |
Not Promised Tomorrow, Get out of Nashville, Forged with Blood | Pegasus - Tampa |
Screaming at the Silence, Auditory Armory, Orchestra in Black | Conduit - Winter Park |
M.99, Shadow the Earth, FILTH | O'Malleys Alley - Ocala |
Peace Cult, Sistamatic, Deux Visages | Stardust Video & Coffee - Orlando |
SCHISM, New Divide, Humanity Gone | OCC Road House & Museum - Clearwater |
Sunday, Jun 4, 2023 Ugly Kid Joe, Fozzy | Jannus - St. Petersburg |
Monday, Jun 5, 2023 Rhapsody on Fire, Wind Rose, Seven Kingdoms | Conduit - Winter Park |
Tuesday, Jun 6, 2023 Dying Whale, Dead Register, Moth Bite, The Path | Born Free Pub & Grill - Tampa |
Heart Attack Man, Super American, Arm's Length | The Abbey - Orlando |
Wednesday, Jun 7, 2023 Mike's Dead, The Haunt | Level 13 - Orlando |
Within Chaos, Eyes Sewn Shut, Automatik Fit | Jack Rabbits - Jacksonville |
Jameson Tank, Parks & Razz, Outer Edge Band | 1904 Music Hall - Jacksonville |
Thursday, Jun 8, 2023 Friday, Jun 9, 2023 Grass is Dead, The Coppertones | Underbelly - Jacksonville |
Saturday, Jun 10, 2023 Halo Scars, Mind Virus, Cypher Machine, Re-Birth | Brass Mug - Tampa |
Maul, Tombstoner, Plasmodulated | Conduit - Winter Park |
Downswing, Falsifier, Bottomfeeders | Manna Tea & Kava Bar - Sarasota |
Sunday, Jun 11, 2023 My Children My Bride, Extortionist, No Cure | Conduit - Winter Park |
Bury Your Dead, Thirst, Edict | Tipsy Tiki - Fort Pierce |
Monday, Jun 12, 2023 Maul, Tombstoner | Brass Mug - Tampa |
Spotlights, Skyliner, The Darling Fire | Jack Rabbits - Jacksonville |
Tuesday, Jun 13, 2023 Wednesday, Jun 14, 2023 Drain, Drug Church, Magnitude, Gel | Brass Mug - Tampa |
Halocene, Lauren Babic, Alphamega | Level 13 - Orlando |
The Convalescence, Summoner's Circle | Jack Rabbits - Jacksonville |
pulses., With Sails Ahead, I Met A Yeti | Will's Pub - Orlando |
Thursday, Jun 15, 2023 Halocene, Lauren Babic, Alphamega | Jack Rabbits - Jacksonville |
Friday, Jun 16, 2023 Roxx, Re-Birth, Cyber Machine, Haloscars | Conduit - Winter Park |
Hollow Leg, Clamfight, Moat Cobra | Will's Pub - Orlando |
Every Avenue, Makeout, Say We Can Fly | Orpheum - Tampa |
Saturday, Jun 17, 2023 Crossbreed, Cďťżultus Black, Cďťżypher machine, Dďťżavey Partain | Orpheum - Tampa |
Defy the Tyrant, Losing Daylight, Shadow the Earth | Kona Skate Park - Jacksonville |
Breed, Gillian Carter, Audible Parts | Will's Pub - Orlando |
Sunday, Jun 18, 2023 Crossbreed, Cultus Black, NoSelf, The Dev | Level 13 - Orlando |
Bodybox, No Zodiac, High Pressure | Conduit - Winter Park |
Dikembe, Camp Trash, Glazed | Will's Pub - Orlando |
Wednesday, Jun 21, 2023 Thursday, Jun 22, 2023 Friday, Jun 23, 2023 Dream Theater, Devin Townsend, Animals As Leaders | Hard Rock Live - Orlando |
Saturday, Jun 24, 2023 Sunday, Jun 25, 2023 No/Mas, Knoll, Shock | Conduit - Winter Park |
Monday, June 26, 2023 We Are the Union, Kill Lincoln, Catbite | The Social - Orlando |
No/Mas, Knoll | Orpheum - Tampa |
Tuesday, Jun 27, 2023 Yungblud, The Regrettes, Caspr | Jannus - St. Petersburg |
Wednesday, Jun 28, 2023 D.R.I., Metalriser | Underbelly - Jacksonville |
Peter Frampton | St. Augustine Amphitheatre |
Thursday, Jun 29, 2023 The Cure | Amalie Arena - Tampa |
D.R.I., Metalriser | Will's Pub - Orlando |
Saturday, Jul 1, 2023 D.R.I., Metalriser | Brass Mug - Tampa |
Liliac, Fortune Child | The Twisted Fork - Port Charlotte |
Sunday, Jul 2, 2023 Godflesh | Conduit - Winter Park |
Thursday, Jul 6, 2023 Friday, Jul 7, 2023 Sad Summer Festival | Coachman Park - Clearwater |
Subdivisions, Violence System, The Fallen Sons | Jack Rabbits - Jacksonville |
Saturday, Jul 8, 2023 Memphis May Fire, Norma Jean, Secrets | The Beacham - Orlando |
Sunday, Jul 9, 2023 Memphis May Fire, Norma Jean, Secrets | High Dive - Gainesville |
Monday, Jul 10, 2023 blink-182, Turnstile | Amalie Arena - Tampa |
Orthodox, Cell, Chamber | Crowbar - Tampa |
Tuesday, Jul 11, 2023 Analepsy, Cognitive, Wormhole, Nectoricgorebeast | Conduit - Winter Park |
Wednesday, Jul 12, 2023 Analepsy, Cognitive, Wormhole, Nectoricgorebeast | Crowbar - Tampa |
Thursday, Jul 13, 2023 Staind | Seminole Hard Rock - Tampa |
Friday, Jul 14, 2023 Staind | Hard Rock Live - Orlando |
Saturday, Jul 15, 2023 Obituary | Brass Mug - Tampa |
Monday, Jul 17, 2023 Cenotaph, Horrific Visions, Architectural Genocide | Conduit - Winter Park |
Tuesday, Jul 18, 2023 Agents of Chaos, Black Clash | Jack Rabbits - Jacksonville |
Friday, Jul 21, 2023 Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Bryan Adams | Amalie Arena - Tampa |
Mudvayne, Coal Chamber, Gwar, Nonpoint, Butcher Babies | MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre - Tampa |
The Final Sound, Abbey Death, Layne Lyre | New World Music Hall - Tampa |
Yosemite In Black, Endbringer, Murder Afloat | Orpheum - Tampa |
Saturday, Jul 22, 2023 Yellowcard, Mayday Parade, Story of the Year | Daily's Place Amphitheatre - Jacksonville |
Less Than Jake, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Devon Kay & the Solutions | House of Blues - Orlando |
Rising Up Angry, Tragic, Legions Blind | Kona Skate Park - Jacksonville |
Sunday, Jul 23, 2023 Yellowcard, Mayday Parade, Story of the Year | Yuengling Center - Tampa |
Endbringer, Yosemite In Black, Heavy Hitter | 1904 Music Hall - Jacksonville |
Tuesday, Jul 25, 2023 Fall Out Boy, Bring Me The Horizon, Royal & The Serpent | MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre - Tampa |
Thursday, Jul 27, 2023 Havok, Toxic Holocaust, I AM, Hammerhedd | Conduit - Winter Park |
Friday, Jul 28, 2023 Between the Buried and Me, Rivers of Nihil, Thank you Scientist | Jannus - St. Petersburg |
Round Eye, No Fraud, Caffiends | Will's Pub - Orlando |
Saturday, Jul 29, 2023 Between the Buried and Me, Rivers of Nihil, Thank you Scientist | Beacham - Orlando |
Southpaw, Highest Crown, Fortitude, Dead Mirrors | Born Free - Tampa |
Sunday, Jul 30, 2023 Crobot, Rickshaw, Billie's Burger Patrol | Orpheum - Tampa |
Thursday, Aug 3, 2023 Underoath, The Ghost Inside, We Came As Romans | Yuengling Center - Tampa |
Saturday, Aug 5, 2023 Disturbed, Breaking Benjamin | MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre - Tampa |
Underoath, The Ghost Inside, We Came As Romans | St. Augustine Amphitheatre |
Sanguisugabogg, Kruelty, Vomit Forth | Conduit - Winter Park |
Sunday, Aug 6, 2023 The Queers, The Radio Buzzkills, The Jasons | Jack Rabbits - Jacksonville |
Wednesday, Aug 9, 2023 Pyrexia, Cerebral Incubation, Atoll | Conduit - Winter Park |
Friday, Aug 11, 2023 The All-American Rejects, New Found Glory, The Starting Line | MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre - Tampa |
Black Flag | High Dive - Gainesville |
Sunday, Aug 13, 2023 Alesana, Vampires Everywhere, Limbs | Level 13 - Orlando |
Wednesday, Aug 16, 2023 The Offspring, Sum 41, Simple Plan | MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre - Tampa |
hed p.e., Lydia can't Breathe, Razorz Edge | Jack Rabbits - Jacksonville |
Saturday, Aug 19, 2023 Left to Suffer, Distant, Justice for the Damned | Conduit - Winter Park |
Sunday, Aug 20, 2023 The Smashing Pumpkins, Interpol, Rival Sons | MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre - Tampa |
Tuesday, Aug 22, 2023 The Mezingers | Underbelly - Jacksonville |
Wednesday, Aug 23, 2023 Bless The Fall, Caskets, Kingdom of Giants | Orpheum - Tampa |
Thursday, Aug 24, 2023 Clutch, Giovanni & The Hired Guns, Mike Dillon | Jannus - St. Petersburg |
Saturday, Aug 26, 2023 Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper, Ministry | MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre - Tampa |
Wednesday, Aug 30, 2023 Thursday, Aug 31, 2023 Saturday, Sep 2, 2023 Sunday, Sep 3, 2023 Spitalfield, Rookie of the Year, The Future Perfect | Conduit - Winter Park |
Tuesday, Sep 5, 2023 Bad Omens, ERRA, I See Stars | Jannus - St. Petersburg |
Wednesday, Sep 6, 2023 Friday, Sep 8, 2023 The Waning Moon, Palace of Tears, Rux Vendetta | Hooch & Hive - Tampa |
Saturday, Sep 9, 2023 Sunday, Sep 10, 2023 Angelmaker, Vulvodynia, Flasifier | Conduit - Orlando |
Wednesday, Sep 13, 2023 3 Doors Down, Candlebox | Daily's Place Amphitheatre - Jacksonville |
Dance Gavin Dance, SiM, Rain City Drive | Hard Rock Live - Orlando |
Friday, Sep 15, 2023 Sunday, Sep 17, 2023 Avenged Sevenfold, Falling in Reverse | MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre - Tampa |
Wave to Earth, slchld | Orpheum - Tampa |
Tuesday, Sep 19, 2023 Scowl, Militarie Gun, MSPAINT | Conduit - Winter Park |
Thursday, Sep 21, 2023 Scowl, Militarie Gun, MSPAINT | 1904 Music Hall - Jacksonville |
Friday, Sep 22, 2023 Cavalera Conspiracy, Exhumed, Incite | Beacham - Orlando |
Sunday, Sep 25, 2023 The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus | High Dive - Gainesville |
Friday, Sep 29, 2023 CIRCLE JERKS, TSOL, Negative Approach | Underbelly - Jacksonville |
Shinedown, Papa Roach, Spiritbox | MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre - Tampa |
Saturday, Sep 30, 2023 NOFX | Vinoy Park - St. Petersburg |
Flogging Molly, The Bronx | House of Blues - Orlando |
Thursday, Oct 5-7, 2023 Tuesday, Oct 10, 2023 Ne Obliviscaris, Beyond Creation, Persefone | Orpheum - Tampa |
Wednesday, Oct 11, 2023 Ne Obliviscaris, Beyond Creation, Persefone | Conduit - Winter Park |
Fit For a King, The Devil Wears Prada, Counterparts, Landmvrks | The Ritz - Tampa |
Saturday, Oct 14, 2023 Beast in Black, Dance with the Dead | Orpheum - Tampa |
Fame on Fire, Kingdom Collapse | The Social - Orlando |
Sunday, Oct 15, 2023 Beast in Black, Dance with the Dead | Conduit - Winter Park |
Motionless In White, Knocked Loose, After the Burial, Alpha Wolf | Hard Rock Live - Orlando |
Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023 Atilla, Gideon, Until I Wake, Ten56 | Underbelly - Jacksonville |
Wednesday, Oct 18, 2023 Atilla, Gideon, Until I Wake, Ten56 | Orpheum - Tampa |
Friday, Oct 27-29, 2023 Tuesday, Nov 7, 2023 Protest the Hero, Moontooth | The Abbey - Orlando |
Wednesday, Nov 8, 2023 Protest the Hero, Moontooth | Orpheum - Tampa |
Friday, Jan 24, 2024 Kansas | Florida Theatre - Jacksonville |
submitted by
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2023.05.29 04:03 nahimavegan (Selling) Huge list of 1100+ movies! Lots of New and Rare titles!
Prices are firm, but I take off $.75 for every $10 spent (multiple items)
I accept PayPal, Venmo, & Cashapp
Codes are always split/dual portion where applicable, & have no DMI
Only redeem portion you pay for
New additions
14 Blades HD/VU $4.5
22 Jump Street HD/MA $3.5
3 Extremes HD/VU $4.5
355 HD/MA $4.5
48 Hrs 4K/VU $6
50/50 HD/VU $4
600 Miles HD/VU $4
80 for Brady HD/VU $7
A Dog's Purpose HD/IT $3
A Good Day to Die Hard (Ext) HD/VU $2.5
A Journal for Jordan HD/MA $5
A Man Called Otto HD/MA $6.5 or SD/MA $3.5
A24 5-Film Set (X, Green Room, It Comes at Night, Hereditary, Witch) HD/VU $15
Addams Family (2019) 4K/IT $4.5
Addams Family 2 4K/IT $5
Addams Family w/ More Mamushka! 4K/VU $5.5
After Yang HD/VU $4.5
Age of Adeline HD/VU or IT $3
Agent Game 4K/VU $5
Air Force One 4K/MA $6
Alien 6-Film Collection HD/MA $18
Alien Resurrection HD/MA $4
Allied HD/VU $3.5
American Carnage 4K/VU $5
American Gangster (Ext) HD/MA $4
American History X HD/MA $4.5
American Underdog HD/VU $4.5
Amores Perros 4K/VU $5.5
Amsterdam HD/GP $3.5
Anatomy of a Murder 4K/MA $5
Annie (1982) 4K/MA $5.5
Another Cinderella Story HD/MA $3.5
Ant-Man & Wasp Quantumania 4K/MA $10.50 or HD/MA $9
Apocalypse Now (Final Cut) 4K/VU $5
Apocalypse Now 3-Cut Set (Thea, Redux, Final) 4K/VU $8.5
Aqua Teen Forever Plantasm HD/MA $5
Armageddon Time HD/MA $6.5
Army of One HD/VU $3
Art of Self-Defense HD/MA $4
Ash vs Evil Dead Complete Series HD/VU $15
Assignment HD/VU $4
Baby Driver HD/MA $4
Babylon 4K/VU $7 or HD/VU $5.5
Back to Future 3 HD/MA $3.5
Bambi 2 HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Banshees of Inisherin
Banshees of Inisherin HD/MA $4.5 or HD/GP $4
Barb & Star go to Vista Del Mar HD/VU $4
Batman & Superman Battle of Super Sons HD/MA $6
Battle Royale HD/VU $4.5
Beast HD/MA $5.5
Bedknobs & Broomsticks HD/GP $3.5
Before I Go to Sleep HD/MA $3.5
Beirut HD/MA $3.5
Belly 4K/VU $5.5
Ben is Back 4K/VU $5.5
Best F(r)iends Vol 1 HD/VU $4.5
Best F(r)iends Vol 2 HD/VU $4.5
Best of Enemies HD/IT $3.5
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk HD/MA $4
Birdman HD/MA $4
Black Adam HD/MA $5
Black Panther Wakanda Forever HD/GP $3.5
Black Swan SD/IT $1.5
Blacklight HD/MA $4
Blair Witch (2016) HD/IT $2.5
Blazing Saddles HD/MA $4.5
Blindspotting 4K/VU $5.5
Blood Money (2017) HD/VU $3.5
Bloodshot HD/MA $4
Bloodwork HD/MA $4
Blues Brothers HD/MA $4
Bodyguard (1992) HD/MA $4.5
Boogie 4K/MA $6.5
Boss Baby 2-Film Set HD/MA $6
Braveheart HD/VU $3.5
Breakfast Club HD/IT $4
Breakthrough HD/MA $3
Brian Banks HD/MA $3
Bride of Frankenstein (1935) HD/MA $3.5
Bridesmaids SD/IT $1.5
Bridget Jones's Diary HD/VU $4.5
Bullet Train HD/MA $5
Burnt HD/VU $3.5
Campaign HD/MA $2.5
Captive State HD/MA $4.5
Casablanca 4K/MA $6
Casino HD/MA $4
Catch Me If You Can HD/VU $4.5
Cats HD/MA $4
Cecil B. Demented HD/VU $4.5
Champions HD/MA $6.5
Charlie Brown 4-Film Set HD/VU $15
Christmas Classics Set (Home Alone, Jingle All Way, Miracle on 34th Street '94, A Christmas Carol '84) HD/MA $18
Cinderella (2021) HD/MA $5
Clerks 3 4K/VU $5
Clifford Big Red Dog HD/VU $4
Clint Eastwood A Cinematic Legacy HD/MA $3.5
Colony 4K/VU $5
Coming to America 4K/VU $5
Cotton Club Encore 4K/VU $5.5
Crawl HD/VU $3
Creed 3 HD/VU $10
Criminal HD/VU $3.5
Cube HD/VU $5
Damsel HD/VU $4.5
Dangerous 4K/VU $4.5
Dark Crystal 4K/MA $6
Darkest Minds HD/MA $4
DC League of Super-Pets HD/MA $5
Death of Me HD/VU $4
Death on Nile HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Deepwater Horizon 4K/IT $3
Defiance HD/VU $4
Despicable Me 3 4K/MA or IT $5
Devil's Due HD/MA $3.5
Devotion HD/VU $6.5
Die in a Gunfight 4K/VU $5
Dig 4K/VU $6
Doctor Strange Multiverse of Madness HD/GP $3.5
Dolittle 4K/MA $5
Don Verdean HD/VU $4.5
Downton Abbey A New Era HD/MA $4.5
Dracula (1931) HD/MA $3.5
Dream a Little Dream HD/VU $4
Duck Dynasty Wedding Special HD/VU $4
Duel (2016) HD/VU $3.5
Earth Girls are Easy HD/VU $4
Elvis HD/MA $4.5
Emoji Movie HD/MA $3
Empire of Light HD/MA $4.5 or HD/GP $4
Ender's Game HD/VU $2.5
Equalizer HD/MA $3
Escape Field 4K/VU $5.5
Escape from LA 4K/VU $5.5
Event Horizon 4K/VU $5.5
Everything Must Go HD/VU $4
Evil Dead 1 & 2 Bundle 4K/VU $8
Expired 4K/VU $5
F9 Fast Saga (Thea & Ext) 4K/MA $5.5
Fabelmans HD/MA $6.5
Face/Off HD/VU $4.5
Fair Game (Director's Cut) HD/VU $4
Fantastic Beasts Secrets of Dumbledore HD/MA $4.5
Farewell HD/VU $4
Fatherhood HD/MA $4
Favourite HD/MA $4.5
Fear of Rain 4K/VU $5.5
Field of Dreams HD/MA $4
Fifty Shades Freed HD/MA $4
Fighting w/ my Family HD/IT $4
Finding You 4K/VU $5
Flashback HD/VU $4
Forbidden Kingdom HD/VU $4.5
Ford v Ferrari HD/MA $4
Forrest Gump HD/VU $3.5
Fortress Sniper's Eye HD/VU $4
Friends w/ Kids HD/VU $4
From Here to Eternity 4K/MA $5.5
Gentlemen 4K/IT $4.5
Ghost in Shell (1995) 4K/VU $5
Ghost in Shell (2017) 4K/VU or IT $4.5 or HD/VU $3
Ghost In Shell 2.0 HD/VU $4.5
Ghost Team One HD/VU or IT $3.5
Giant 4K/MA $5.5
Glass HD/MA $4
God's Not Dead A Light in Darkness HD/MA $3
Gone Girl HD/MA $4
Good House 4K/VU $6
Grease 4K/IT $5.5
Great Wall HD/MA $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Green Inferno HD/IT $3.5
Green Knight 4K/VU $4.5
Green Lantern Beware My Power HD/MA $4
Greenland 4K/IT $5
Groundhog Day 4K/MA $6
Grumpy Old Men HD/MA $4
Guns Akimbo HD/VU $4.5
Habit 4K/VU $5.5
Halloween (2018) HD/MA $3
Halloween Curse of Michael Myers HD/VU $4
Halloween Ends HD/MA $5.5
Halloween Kills (Ext) 4K/MA $5.5
Happy Death Day HD/MA $4.5
Hard Luck Love Song 4K/VU $5.5
Hate U Give HD/MA $4
Hellbenders HD/VU $4.5
Hellboy Animated Double Feature (Sword of Storms, Blood & Iron) 4K/VU $7.5
Hellraiser Judgment HD/VU $4
Hereditary HD/VU $3.5
Highlander 4K/VU $5.5
Hitman (Uncut) & Hitman 47 Bundle HD/MA $7
Holmes & Watson HD/MA $3.5
Home Again HD/MA $3
Home Alone 2 HD/MA $3.5
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. HD/MA $5
Hotel Transylvania HD/MA $3.5
House Next Door Meet Blacks 2 4K/VU $5.5
House of 1000 Corpses HD/VU $4
House w/ a Clock in Its Walls HD/MA $4
Hulk (2003) HD/MA $4
Humans HD/VU $4.5
Hunt for Red October 4K/VU $5.5
Hurt Locker 4K/VU $5
Hustle & Flow HD/VU $4
I Frankenstein HD/VU or IT $2.5
I Love You Phillip Morris HD/VU $4.5
Ice Age Collision Course HD/MA $3
In Blood HD/MA $4
In Secret (2014) HD/VU $4.5
Incredible Hulk HD/MA $4
Independence Day (1996) 4K/MA $5.5
Indiana Jones & Raiders of Lost Ark HD/VU $4
Infinite HD/VU $4.5
Inglourious Basterds HD/MA $4 or SD/IT $1.5
Inhabitant HD/VU $4.5
Interview w/ Vampire HD/MA $4
Iron Man & Hulk Heroes United HD/GP $3.5
Iron Mask (2019) HD/VU $4.5
Isle of Dogs HD/MA $4
It Happened One Night 4K/MA $5.5
Italian Job 4K/VU $6.5
Jack Reacher Never Go Back HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Jeff Who Lives at Home HD/VU $4
Jobs HD/MA or IT $3.5
Joe Kidd HD/MA or IT $4
Jordan Peele 3-Film Collection (Nope, Us, Get Out) HD/MA $11
Journey to West Conquering Demons HD/VU $3.5
Joy HD/MA $3
Juliet, Naked 4K/VU $5.5
Jungle Book (2016) 4K/MA $4.5 or HD/GP $2.5
Ju-On Grudge HD/VU $4.5
Jurassic Park 3 HD/VU $3.5
Jurassic World 6-Film Collection (Dominion Thea & Ext) HD/MA $18
Jurassic World Dominion (Thea & Ext) HD/MA $5
Kama Sutra HD/VU $4.5
Kid Who Would Be King 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4
Kill Zone (2005) HD/VU $4.5
King Richard 4K/MA $5.5
King's Man 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/GP $3.5
Knives Out 4K/VU $5.5
Knock at Cabin HD/MA $8
Knowing 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Knowing/Push Double Feature HD/VU $7.5
Labyrinth HD/MA $4.5
Lady & Tramp HD/MA $4.5 or HD/GP $4
Lair of White Worm HD/VU $4.5
Last Christmas HD/MA $4
Last Duel HD/GP $3.5
Last Flag Flying HD/MA $4
Last Picture Show 4K/MA $5.5
Last Samurai HD/MA $4
Legend of Hercules 4K/IT $3
Let Them All Talk 4K/MA $5.5
Lightyear HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Lilo & Stitch HD/MA $4.5 or HD/GP $4
Limey 4K/VU $5.5
Lion King HD/GP $3
Locked Down 4K/MA $5.5
Lyle Lyle Crocodile HD/MA $5
M3GAN (Thea & Unrated) HD/MA $7.5
Mack & Rita HD/VU $4.5
Mad Max 1-4 Set 4K/VU $18.5
Mad Max 2 Road Warrior 4K/VU $5.5
Mad Men Complete Series HD/VU $35
Magic Mike's Last Dance HD/MA $7
Magnificent Seven 4-Film Set (1960, Return, Guns, Ride) HD/VU $13
Man of Tai Chi HD/VU $4
Man Who Fell To Earth 4K/VU $6
Manchester by Sea HD/IT $3.5
Marksman HD/MA $4
Marlowe HD/MA $7.5
Mask of Zorro 4K/MA $6
Mask of Zorro 4K/MA $6
Mauritanian 4K/IT $5
Maze Runner Death Cure HD/MA $3.5
Maze Runner HD/MA $3.5
Meatballs HD/VU $4
Memory HD/MA $4
Men HD/VU $4.5
Men in Black 3 HD/MA $3
Men in Black HD/MA $4
Menu HD/MA $4.5 or HD/GP $4
Mickey & Minnie 10 Classic Shorts HD/MA $5.5 or HD/GP $5
Mid-Century 4K/VU $5
Midsommar HD/VU $4
Miracle on 34th Street (1947) HD/MA $4
Missing Link HD/MA $4
Missing SD/MA $4
Mission Impossible 3 4K/VU $4.5
Mitchells vs Machines HD/MA $4.5
Mommy HD/VU $4
Monster High Electrified HD/VU or IT $2.5
Moonfall 4K/VU $4.5
Morbius HD/MA $4
Mother's Day HD/IT $2.5
Moving On HD/VU $5.5
Mrs Harris Goes to Paris 4K/MA $6
My Brilliant Friend Season 1 HD/VU $4
My Fair Lady 4K/VU $5.5
Nashville HD/VU $4
Needle in a Timestack 4K/VU $5.5
Night House HD/GP $4
No Sudden Move 4K/MA $6
Nope HD/MA $5.5
Northman HD/MA $4
Oliver! 4K/MA $5
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood HD/MA $3.5
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood HD/MA $4
Paradise Highway 4K/VU $5.5
Paranormal Activity 1-8 Collection HD/VU $22
Paranormal Activity Ghost Dimension (Unrated) HD/VU $4.5
Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 HD/MA $3.5
Paw Patrol Movie HD/VU $4.5
Percy Jackon Lightning Thief SD/IT $1.5
Percy Jackson Sea of Monsters HD/MA $3
Perfectos Desconocidos HD/VU $4
Peter Pan (1953) HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Peter Rabbit HD/MA $3.5
Phantom Thread HD/MA $4
Piano HD/VU $4.5
Pitch Black (Unrated) HD/MA or IT $4
Plane 4K/VU $6.5
Pocahontas 2 Journey to a New World HD/GP $3.5
Pompeii HD/MA $3.5
Pretty in Pink HD/VU $3.5
Prey for Devil 4K/VU $6
Prince of Egypt HD/MA $4.5
Protege HD/VU $4
Proud Mary HD/MA $3.5
Pulp Fiction 4K/VU $5.5
Pulp Fiction 4K/VU $5.5
Push 4K/VU $6
Puss in Boots Last Wish HD/MA $6.5
Queen of Katwe HD/MA $3 or HD/GP $2.5
Raid Redemption (Thea & Unrated) HD/MA $4.5
Ran (1985) 4K/VU $5.5
Ratatouille 4K/MA $6 or HD/GP $4
Rear Window HD/MA $3.5
RED 2 HD/VU or IT $2
Red Heat 4K/VU $5
Redline HD/VU $4.5
Reign of Assassins HD/VU $4.5
Repo Genetic Opera HD/VU $4.5
Rescuers Down Under HD/MA $5 or HD/GP $4.5
Rescuers HD/MA $5 or HD/GP $4.5
Reservoir Dogs 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Resident Evil Retribution 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Retaliation (2017) HD/VU $4
Ride Like a Girl HD/VU $4
Right One 4K/VU $5.5
Ring HD/VU $4.5
Rio 2 HD/MA $3
Rio SD/IT $1.5
Rocky Knockout Collection 1-4 (Rocky IV w/ Thea & Rocky vs Drago Ultimate Cut) 4K/VU $20
Rules of Attraction HD/VU $4
Rumble HD/VU $5
Running Man 4K/VU $5.5
Safe Haven SD/IT $1.5
Saint Maud HD/VU $4.5
Sausage Party HD/MA $3.5
Saw 7-Film Collection (Unrated) HD/VU $18
Saw 8-Film Collection HD/VU $20
Scott Pilgrim vs World 4K/MA $5.5
Scream 4 HD/VU $4
Scream HD/VU $4.5
Secret Garden (2020) 4K/IT $5
Secret in Their Eyes HD/VU or IT $3
Sense & Sensibility 4K/MA $5
Sex & City 2 SD/IT $1.5
Sex Tape HD/MA $3.5
Shaun of Dead HD/MA $4 or 4K/IT $4.5
Shawshank Redemption 4K/MA $5.5
Shazam! Fury of Gods HD/MA $10
She Said HD/MA $6.5
Shooter 4K/VU $5
Show Dogs HD/MA $3.5
Siberia (2018) HD/VU $3
Silent Night, Deadly Night 3-Film Set (3-5) HD/VU $8
Silent Twins 4K/MA $6
Silk Road 4K/VU $5
Sing 2 HD/MA $4
Sing Street HD/VU $4
Sixteen Candles HD/MA $4
Skeleton Twins HD/VU $4.5
Smile HD/VU $5.5
Smokey & Bandit HD/MA $3.5
Smokin' Aces 4K/MA $5.5
Smurfs Lost Village HD/MA $3.5
Snake Eyes G.I. Joe Origins 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Snatch 4K/MA $5.5
Social Network 4K/MA $5.5
Son of God HD/MA $3
Source Code 4K/VU $5.5
Spartacus HD/MA $3.5
Spider-Man Into Spider-Verse 4K/MA $5.5
Spider-Man No Way Home HD/MA $4
Spinning Man HD/VU $4
Spirit HD/VU $4
Spontaneous HD/VU $4.5
Starship Troopers 4K/MA $6
Sting 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Strange World HD/GP $4
Strangers Prey at Night HD/MA $3
Stripes 4K/MA $5
Sudden Death HD/IT $4
Taken 2 HD/MA $3.5
Tangled HD/MA $4
Tar HD/MA $6
Taxi Driver HD/MA $4
Teen Spirit (2019) HD/MA $4
Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls Mayhem Multiverse HD/MA $6
Teeth HD/VU $4.5
Ten Commandments (1923) HD/VU $4
Ten Commandments (1956) HD/VU $4
Tetro HD/VU $4
Thanks for Sharing HD/VU $4
The Batman HD/MA $4
This is End HD/MA $3.5
This Means War SD/IT $1.5
Thor Love & Thunder 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/GP $3.5
Till 4K/IT $7
Time Freak HD/VU $4
To Kill a Mockingbird 4K/IT $4
To Sir w/ Love 4K/MA $5.5
Tomb Raider Cradle of Life 4K/VU or IT $5.5
Top Gun Maverick 4K/VU $6 or HD/VU $4.5
Touched w/ Fire HD/VU $4.5
Town SD/IT $1.5
Trading Places HD/VU $4
Transformers 4K/VU $5
Transformers Age of Extinction HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Transformers Dark of Moon 4K/VU $4.5
Transformers Revenge of Fallen 4K/VU $5
Triple 9 HD/IT $3.5
Troy (Director's Cut) HD/MA $4.5
True Grit SD/IT $1.5
Tucker Man & His Dream 4K/VU $5
Turning Red HD/GP $3
Twilight 1-3 (Ext) HD/VU $10
Twilight Breaking Dawn Pt 1 HD/VU $3.5 or 4K/IT $4
Twilight HD/VU $4
Umma HD/MA $4.5
Uncharted HD/MA $4
Uncut Gems HD/VU $4
Under Skin HD/VU $3.5
Underwater HD/MA $4.5
Underworld 5-Film Set HD/MA $17
Venom Let There Be Carnage HD/MA $4
Virtuoso 4K/VU $5
Vivo HD/MA $5
Voyagars 4K/VU $5
W. HD/VU $4
Wall Street Money Never Sleeps SD/IT $1.5
War of Worlds 4K/VU $5.5
War on Everyone HD/VU $4
Warhunt 4K/VU $4.5
Waterworld HD/MA $4
Wayne's World 4K/VU $5.5
Weekend HD/VU $4
What We Did on our Holiday HD/VU $4
Where Crawdads Sing HD/MA $4.5
Whitney Houston I Wanna Dance w/ Sombody HD/MA $5.5 or SD/MA $3
Wicker Man (1973) HD/VU $4.5
Winnie Pooh Springtime w/ Roo HD/MA $4.5 or HD/GP $4
Wolf Man (1941) HD/MA $3.5
Woman King HD/MA $5.5
Women Talking 4K/IT $7
X-Men Days of Future Past Rogue Cut 4K/IT $5.5
X-Men First Class & Days of Future Past HD/MA $6.5
X-Men Trilogy (X-Men, X2, Last Stand) HD/MA $12
Zero Dark Thirty HD/MA $3.5
All other movies (A-Z)
101 Dalmatians HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
12 Years a Slave HD/MA $3.5
13 Hours Soldiers of Benghazi HD/VU $2.5
1917 HD/MA $3.5
2 Fast 2 Furious 4K/IT $3.5
2 Guns HD/VU or IT $2.5
21 Jump Street HD/MA $3
3 From Hell (Unrated) 4K/VU $4 or HD/VU $2.5
31 HD/VU $2.5
310 to Yuma 4K/VU $5
47 Meters Down HD/IT $3.5
47 Meters Down Uncaged HD/VU $3.5
47 Ronin HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
71 HD/VU $4
A Clockwork Orange 4K/MA $5
A Most Wanted Man HD/VU $3.5
A Quiet Place HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
A Quiet Place Part 2 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
A Wrinkle in Time HD/MA $3 or HD/GP $2.5
About Time HD/VU or IT $3.5
Action Point HD/IT $2
Adore HD/IT $3.5
Adventures Of TinTin HD/VU or IT $2.5
After Earth HD/MA $3
Aladdin (2019) 4K/MA $4.5 or HD/MA $3 or HD/GP $2.5
Alex Cross HD/VU or IT $2
Alfred Hitchcock 5-Film Set Vol 2 4K/MA $24
Alice Through Looking Glass HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Alita Battle Angel 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
All Eyez on Me HD/IT $3
All Money in World HD/MA $3.5
Aloha HD/MA $3.5 or SD/MA $1
Alvin & Chipmunks Road Chip HD/MA $2.5
Amazing Spider-Man 2 HD/MA $4
Amazing Spider-Man HD/MA $3.5 or SD/MA $1.5
America Imagine World w/out Her HD/VU $1.5
American Assassin 4K/VU $4.5 or HD/VU $3
American Frontier Trilogy (Sicario, Wind River, Hell or High Water) HD/VU $7.5
American Hustle SD/MA $1.5
American Made 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
American Night HD/VU $4
American Reunion HD/VU or IT $3
American Ultra HD/IT $4
Anchorman 2 Legend Continues HD/VU or IT $2.5
Angel Heart 4K/VU $5.5
Angel of Mine 4K/VU $5.5
Anna 4K/VU $5 HD/VU $3.5
Anna Karenina HD/IT $3.5
Annie (2014) HD/MA $3.5 or SD/MA $1.5
Annihilation HD/VU $3
Antebellum 4K/VU $5
Ant-Man & Wasp HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Ant-Man HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Apollo 13 4K/MA or IT $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Arctic HD/MA $4
Arnold Schwarzenegger 6-Film Collection (Last Stand, Total Recall, T-2, Red Heat, Maggie, Hercules in NY) HD/VU $14
Arrival HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Ash vs Evil Dead Season 3 HD/VU $5
Assassination Nation HD/MA $3.5
Assassin's Creed HD/MA $3
Atomic Blonde 4K/MA $4.5 or HD/MA$3
August Osage County HD/VU $3
Avengers Age of Ultron HD/MA $3.5 pr HD/GP $3
Avengers Endgame HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Avengers HD/GP $3
Avengers Infinity War HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Back to Future Trilogy 4K/MA $14 or HD/MA $9.5
Bad Boys for Life HD/MA $4
Bad Grandpa HD/IT $2.5
Bad Words HD/IT $3
Bambi HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Bangkok Dangerous HD/VU $4
Bank Job HD/VU $3.5
Barbie & Her Sisters in Great Puppy Adventure HD/VU or IT $3.5
Barbie in Princess Power HD/IT $3.5
Barbie Star Light Adventure HD/IT $3.5
Battle of Year HD/MA $3.5
Battleship HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Baywatch HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Beatriz at Dinner HD/VU $4.5
Beauty & Beast (1991) HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Beauty & Beast (2017) HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Before I Fall HD/VU or IT $3.5
Begin Again HD/VU $3.5
Ben-Hur (2016) HD/VU or IT $3.5
BFG HD/MA $3.5
Big Eyes HD/VU $3.5
Big Hero 6 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Big Lebowski 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4
Big Little Lies Season 1 HD/GP $2.5
Big Short HD/VU or IT $3.5
Big Wedding SD/IT $1
Birth of a Nation HD/MA $3.5
Black Panther 4K/MA $4.5 or HD/GP $2.5
Black Widow HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Blackhat HD/IT $3.5
Blair Witch Project (1999) HD/VU $4
Blockers HD/MA $3.5
Boardwalk Empire Season 1 HD/VU or IT $4
Bombshell 4K/VU $5
Book Club HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Book of Life HD/MA $3.5
Born a Champion 4K/VU $5
Boss Baby HD/MA $2.5
Bourne Identity HD/VU $3.5 or 4K/IT $4
Bourne Legacy HD/VU $2
Bourne Supremacy HD/VU $3.5
Bourne Ultimatum 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5 or 4K/IT $4
Boy 2 HD/IT $3.5
Boy Erased HD/MA $4
Boy HD/IT $3.5
Boyhood HD/VU or IT $2.5
Braven HD/VU $4
Butler HD/VU $3
Butterfly Effect HD/MA $4
Bye Bye Man (Unrated) HD/IT $2.5
Cabin in Woods 4K/VU or IT $4.5 or HD/VU $2.5
Call of Wild 4K/MA $4.5 or HD/GP $2.5
Captain America Civil War HD/GP $2.5
Captain America First Avenger HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5 or SD/IT $1.5
Captain America Winter Soldier HD/GP $3.5
Captain Marvel HD/GP $2
Captain Phillips HD/MA $3.5 or SD/MA $1.5
Carol HD/VU $4
Cars 3 HD/GP $2.5
Case for Christ HD/IT $2.5
Chaos Walking 4K/VU $5
Chicago HD/VU $4
Children (2008) HD/VU $4
Christopher Robin HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Cloverfield 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Coco HD/GP $2.5
Cold Pursuit 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Collection HD/VU $3.5
Columbiana (Unrated) HD/MA $4
Come & Find Me HD/VU $4
Commuter 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Company of Heroes HD/MA $4
Contraband HD/IT $3
Cooties HD/VU $4
Cornetto Trilogy (Shaun of Dead, Hot Fuzz, World's End) 4K/MA $15
Counselor HD/MA $4
Courier 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Crank 4K/VU $5.5
Crimson Peak HD/IT $3.5
Croods HD/VU $3.5
Cruella HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
D Train 4K/IT $4
Daddy's Home 2 HD/IT $3
Daddy's Home HD/VU $3
Dark Tower HD/MA $3.5
Darkest Hour (2017) 4K/MA $5.5
Darkness HD/IT $3
Dawn of Planet of Apes HD/MA $3.5
Daybreakers 4K/VU $5.5
Deadpool 2 (w/Super Duper Cut) HD/MA $4
Deadpool HD/MA $2.5
Dear White People HD/VU $3.5
Dementia 13 (Director's Cut) HD/VU $4
Descendants SD/IT $1.5
Despicable Me 2 HD/VU $3.5 or 4K/IT $4
Despicable Me 4K/IT $5 or SD/IT $1.5
Detroit HD/MA $3.5
Dilemma HD/VU $3.5 or SD/IT $1.5
Dirty Dancing 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Disney Animated Short Films Collection HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Divergent Allegiant HD/VU $3.5 or 4K/IT $4
Divergent HD/VU $1.5 or 4K/IT $2 or SD/VU $0.5
Divergent Insurgent HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Django Unchained HD/VU $3 or SD/IT $1.5
Do Right Thing 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4
Doctor Strange HD/GP $2.5
Dom Hemingway HD/MA $3.5
Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot HD/VU $4
Doom (Unrated) 4K/MA $5.5
Doorman HD/VU $3.5
Doors 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Dora & Lost City of Gold HD/VU $3.5 or 4K/IT $4
Downton Abbey Movie HD/MA $4
Dracula Untold HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Draft Day HD/VU $3.5
Dragged Across Concrete HD/VU $3.5
Dreamkatcher HD/VU $4
Dredd HD/VU $2.5
Duff SD/VU $1.5
Dumbo (2019) HD/GP $3
Dune 4K/MA $5.5
Dying of Light HD/VU $2.5
E.T. Extra Terrestrial 4K/VU or IT $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Edge of Seventeen HD/VU or IT $3
Edge of Tomorrow 4K/MA $5
Edward Scissorhands HD/MA $3.5
El Chicano HD/MA $4
Encanto 4K/MA $4 or 4K/GP $3.5
Enemy at Gates HD/VU $4
Enough Said HD/MA $3.5
Epic HD/MA $3
Escape Plan HD/VU $2
Eternals HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Everest 4K/MA or IT $4.5
Ex Machina HD/VU $3
Exodus Gods & Kings HD/MA $3.5
Expendables 2 HD/VU or IT $1
Expendables 3 (Thea) HD/VU $2 or 4K/IT $2.5
Extreme Prejudice (1987) HD/VU $4
Fast & Furious (2009) HD/VU $3.5 or 4K/IT $4
Fast & Furious 6 (Ext) HD/VU $2 or 4K/IT $2.5
Fast & Furious 6-film Collection HD/VU $12.5
Fast & Furious 7-film Collection HD/VU $14
Fast & Furious 8-film Collection (9 Films) HD/MA $17.5
Fast & Furious 9-film Collection (11 Films) HD/MA $20
Fast & Furious HD/VU $3.5
Fast Color 4K/VU $5.5
Fast Five (Ext) HD/IT $2.5 or SD/IT $1
Fatale 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Fate of Furious (Ext) HD/VU $2
Fate of Furious (Thea) HD/VU or IT $1.5
Fault in Our Stars HD/MA $3.5
Fences HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Ferdinand HD/MA $3.5
Fifty Shades Darker (Unrated) HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Fifty Shades of Grey (Unrated) HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Finding Dory HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Finding Nemo HD/GP $3.5
Finest Hours HD/GP $3
First Blood 4K/VU $5
First Man HD/MA $4
Flight HD/VU or IT $3
Florence Foster Jenkins HD/VU or IT $3
Footloose (2011) HD/IT $3
Forever My Girl HD/IT $3
Fortress HD/VU $4
Four Kids & It HD/VU $3.5
Fox & Hound 2 HD/MA $4
Frank & Lola HD/VU or IT $3
Frankenstein (1931) HD/VU $3.5
Free Guy HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
French Dispatch HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Friday 13th Pt 3 HD/VU $3.5
Frozen (Sing-Along Edition) HD/MA $2 or HD/GP $1.5
Frozen 2 4K/MA $4 or HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Frozen Ground HD/VU $3.5
Frozen HD/GP $2
Furious 7 (Ext) HD/VU $2 or 4K/IT $2.5
Fury HD/MA $3.5
G.I. Joe Retaliation HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Gambit (2012) HD/MA $4
Gambler HD/IT $3
Gambler HD/VU $3
Gemini Man 4K/VU or IT $4.5 or HD/VU $3
Get Out HD/MA $3.5 or 4K/IT $4
Ghostbusters (1984) HD/MA $3.5
Ghostbusters 2 HD/MA $3.5
Ghostbusters Afterlife HD/MA $4
Girl on Train HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Girl w/ All Gifts HD/VU $4
Girls Trip HD/VU or IT $2
Glass Castle 4K/VU $5.5
God's Not Dead 2 HD/MA or IT $2.5
Gods of Egypt HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Gold (2016) HD/VU or IT $2.5
Good Dinosaur HD/MA $3 or HD/GP $2.5
Good Kill HD/VU or IT $3.5
Grace Unplugged HD/VU $2
Greatest Showman HD/MA $3.5
Green Mile 4K/MA $5.5
Grey HD/VU or IT $3
Guardians of Galaxy Vol 1 HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Guardians of Galaxy Vol 2 HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Guest House 4K/VU $5
Guilt Trip HD/IT $3
Gunman HD/MA $3
Hacksaw Ridge HD/VU $3.5 or 4K/IT $4
Hail, Caesar! HD/IT $3
Hammer of Gods HD/VU $2
Hands of Stone HD/VU $3.5
Hannibal Season 1 HD/VU $5
Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters (Unrated) 4K/IT $4
Hard Target 2 HD/IT $1.5
Hardcore Henry HD/VU or IT $3.5
Hateful Eight HD/VU $3.5
Heat HD/MA $3
Heaven is for Real SD/MA $1.5
Hell Fest 4K/VU $5
Hell or High Water HD/VU $2.5
Hellboy (2019) HD/VU $3 or 4K/VU $4.5
Hercules (1997) HD/MA $4.5 or HD/GP $4
Hercules (2014) HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Here Comes Boom HD/MA $3.5
Hidden Figures HD/MA $3
Hillsong Let Hope Rise HD/IT $2
Hitman's Bodyguard HD/VU $3.5
Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Hocus Pocus HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Home Alone HD/MA $3.5
Homesman HD/VU $3
Honey 2 HD/VU $3
Hop HD/MA or IT $3
Hope Springs HD/MA $2.5 or SD/MA $1
Hostiles HD/VU $3
Hot Fuzz HD/VU $4
Hotel Mumbai HD/MA $4
Hours (2013) HD/VU $4
How Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) 4K/IT $4
How to Train Your Dragon 2 HD/MA $2.5
How to Train Your Dragon HD/VU $3.5
How to Train Your Dragon Trilogy HD/MA $9
Hugo HD/VU or IT $3
Hunger Games 4-Film Collection HD/VU $8
Hunger Games Catching Fire HD/VU $1.5 or 4K/IT $2 or SD/VU $.5
Hunger Games HD/VU $1.5 or 4K/IT $2 or SD/VU $.0.5
Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1 HD/VU $2.5 or SD/VU $1
Hunter Killer 4K/VU $4.5 or HD/VU $3
Huntsman Winter's War (Ext) HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
I Can Only Imagine HD/VU $4
I Feel Pretty HD/IT $2
Incredibles 2 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Incredibles HD/GP $3.5
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2023.05.28 23:39 LordOfIronFan Round three (Connected to my fan roster)
The light would focus on Heimdall with him announcing the next round.
Heimdall: ''Ladies and Gentlemen! Humans have tasted the wrath of the gods in the last round and let it continue! Hope you are not afraid of storm, because here comes king of the gods himself! He is fearless and everyone respects him! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN... BOW DOWN... TO THE... LORD INDRA!''
Gate for the gods would explode as Indra would go through the gate, holding his Vajra, with trumpets accompanying him.
''And for the human side, here comes King Art- wait what... WHA-?!?!''
Suddenly Susanoo would appear in the Valhalla Arena, holding Heimdall's horn, while kicking him away.
Susanoo: ''Ughh, sorry for being late. I had a family meeting. Now if we can introduce fighter for humans... Whenever you feel sad or alone, look up to the sky, because your champion is watching. Everyone knows that name, and has respect from it. Twin of Tsukuyomi and mother of previous fighter for humanity and daughter of fighter for the gods. Nobody wants to make her furious, or she takes the sun away and unleashes the gates of Yomi to punish sinners. MY OLDER SISTER: AMATERASU!!!''
Sun on the sky would blind everyone in the arena as peaceful japanese music would be played by her servants. Humanity doors would wide open, with 9 tailed fox running out of it and turning to Katana, which would turn to fire. Various gods would take mirrors and reflect the light from the fire to the hallway to Arena. A wooden footsteps could be heard, as a pair of geta would be used as a shoe. A woman figure in samurai armor would enter, taking helmet off revealing a very beautiful face. Fire that lightened up the hallway would form a katana's holster, which she would put behind a belt, with a dragon-shaped katana forming in it. Amaterasu would give a hug to Susanoo.
Amaterasu: ''Thank you for this.''
Susanoo: ''Do not thank me, I would do the same thing on your place.''
Susanoo: ''Please, both fighters take your positions. You know the rules... but let's make it special. You do not have to kill each other. Anyway, good luck to you both, and let's win the best of you. Fight starts now!''
As Susanoo finished the sentence, a lightning bolt would fly towards Amaterasu, which she would deflect with a hand. Amaterasu would put hand on the katana's holster, pushing it out of the holster, leaving a wall of very light yellow fire in front of her, which would instantly fill half of the arena in front of her. To Amaterasu's surprise, she noticed 6 lightning bolts flying towards her from behind, while Indra attacked from the front, holding a sword. With a blink of the eye, Amaterasu would stand behind lightning, with a dagger flying at Indra. It would slightly scratch Indra's cheek as he rushed forward. Out of sudden, a very loud 4 clashes could be heard, before both fighters would make a distance from each other.
Amaterasu: ''May I ask you majesty? Why are you fighting against humanity? Are not you supposed to be their protector?''
Indra: ''Says a Kami of the Sun that decided to join humanity, just because her son got killed in the previous round... -sighs- I am sorry for your loss. But as a Ruler, I have to stand with my gods as one. This is not personal.''
Amaterasu: -starts laughing, as few tears would come out of her eyes- ''You sound like Izanagi. Like it or not, you just made it personal.''
Amaterasu's katana would start to glow and heat itself. Indra decided to throw one of his lightning at Amaterasu, but suddenly felt very sharp pain in his body. He noticed a dagger stabbed in his chest, which luckily missed eternal organs. His breathing would speed up, as he would be confused. Before spotting Amaterasu having an insane grin on her face with eyes wide open. She was more similar to Oni, rather than a Kami at that moment.
Amaterasu: ''Sorry for missing your majesty. It won't happen again.''
Indra: ''But when did you managed to stab me?'' -Indra would pull the dagger out of his chest-
Amaterasu would be out of sudden in front of him, with their eyes staring to each other. As Amaterasu wanted to end this with one swing, Indra would dodge, cutting her feet off and sending lightning bolt through her body, which would blast her to wall. Indra would breathe heavily, as his wounds would be healed by electricity surrounding him.
Amaterasu's Flashback: She would be sitting in her bed, holding her newborn children being surrounded by her brothers and husband. This was the moment, where Amaterasu changed from her old self, to a completely new person. One day Amatsuhikone (her oldest son) was playing near gate to Yomi, and accidentally opened it. As the darkness surrounded him, Amaterasu, surrounded by flames and light, would jump to the middle of it, just to spot her mother holding Amatsuhikone by neck, holding a small dagger to his throat. Amaterasu knew, that she is faster, but there was something off about her.
Izanami: ''Long time no see, did we see eachother in the past?''
Amaterasu ''What do you want? I will give you everything, just let my son go.''
Izanami: ''Everything? Alright then.''
Suddenly a three blades held by Oni would pierce her, as the blades would leave markings on her. Izanami would throw her grandson to his mother and walk back to the gate. Flashback ends with Amaterasu hugging Amatsuhikone, while covered in blood.
End of the Flashback
Suddenly all shadows would surround Amaterasu's body, as one of said wounds would wide open, causing massive blood loss. Izanami would be spotted sitting on the human side of the arena, as her skin would get much less disturbing and less decaying with worms in it. This would though appear around the wound of Amaterasu, causing her alot of pain. Indra knows that Amaterasu is faster than him, but she is more arrogant. Indra would launch forward, but would be stopped in mid air. Everyone would be shocked by it. Only person able to move was Amaterasu. A thousands of needle sized blades would be formed from the light with ten normally visible daggers extremely close to the eternal organs.
Indra's Flashback: As a king and protector of humanity he wished to stay neutral in many conflicts. He was forced to act when the rivers were gone, which caused very big problems for humans. This led him to face Vritra, which battle lasted for very long. During the battle, Vritra broke two of Indra's jaws, but Indra responded with throwing Vritra, shattering some fortresses by the throw. He would then finish him by a lightning strike from his Vajra. The fight got a title for young Indra. Indra the Slayer of the First-born of the Dragons. Soon after the fight, he destroyed remaining fortresses, which freed imprisoned rivers.
End of the Flashback
A clicking sound could be heard as suddenly everything started moving. Indra was surprisingly able to avoid the vast majority of the weapons, but got hit by few. Indra would throw his Vajra at Amaterasu. She would slice it in half, which caused an explosion. Breaking her Katana, which would be stuck at her stomach. Amaterasu would fall to the knees, vomiting blood and shaking from the pain. Her right arm was gone, with majority of her armor. Half of her face scarred from the explosion of electricity and massive bleeding from important organ. Indra would lift up his sword, walking slowly towards Amaterasu. Suddenly a pillar of light would surround her, lifting her up to the sky. Second of the three markings would be used. This time, Amaterasu would grow significantly weaker, but her wound in the belly would be healed. At this point of the stage, Amaterasu was barely able to stand up. She knew that this was probably over for her, as Indra would rush towards her. In a blink of the eye, they were both on opposite sides of the arena. With a needle, that held Amaterasu's hairs together stuck in Indra's throat. As he moved at Amaterasu at lightning speed, her brown eyes would stare at his, before she would slice open his neck with said needle. As she would stand over his body, she would bow to him.
Amaterasu: ''You were a good king... Indra... I am... sorry.''
Amaterasu would fell to her knees and then collapses to the ground. She would see her brother to rush towards her before all went black. She would wake up, with majority of her wound being healed completely, but it still hurt. When she would sit on her bed, she would see nobody in her room. She realized, what she have done. Because of giving humanity a win, all gods turned their back at her. Even worse, her sons as well. As tear would slide out of her eye, a finger would stop it from falling. Her brown eyes would move to the side, spotting the person, she never expected to see again. Tsukuyomi from all of Kami, he was there for her. Twins would give each other hug, as Amaterasu would start crying.
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2023.05.28 22:04 Honest-Credit-1297 Melinda and the Little Green Men
Melinda and the Little Green Men
by Andrew Roller
Melinda and the Little Green Men
Table of Contents
Chapter One - A Sad End
Chapter Two - A Castle for a Queen
Chapter Three - Incommodious
Chapter Four - The Sewer Room
Chapter Five - The Teleport Threat
Chapter Six - Neverwhere
Chapter Seven - Permanent Perigee
Chapter Eight - Losers Welcome ( Especially )
Chapter Nine - Buried Alive
Chapter Ten - Gone Away
Chapter Eleven - Dead Broke
Chapter Twelve - Graveâs End
Chapter Thirteen - Audition
Chapter Fourteen - Heavenly Flush
Chapter Fifteen - Coffined
Chapter Sixteen - The Big Bang
Chapter Seventeen - A Sucky Day
Chapter Eighteen - Examination
Chapter Nineteen - Expelled
Chapter Twenty - Enslaved
Chapter Twenty-One - The Bugler
Chapter Twenty-Two - The Gates of Salvation
Chapter Twenty-Three - The Amateur Genius
Chapter Twenty-Four - Pooperâs Paradise
Chapter Twenty-Five - Eisegesis
Melinda and the Little Green Men
by Andrew Roller
Chapter One - A Sad End
It was their last day on earth. The two girls, playing in the field in their suburban neighborhood, didnât know this. If Melinda and Emily were ever to return to earth, it wouldnât be for a very long time.
Melinda was ten years old. I could say that she looked âstrikingâ. Or I could use some other politically correct term. In fact, she was very lovely. Her lank, flaxen hair fell to her slim waist. A white string bikini clung to her svelte figure.
Emily was seven years old. Her short red hair fell to her shoulders. Stout, she resembled a girl version of Winnie-the-Pooh. Emily wore a one-piece floral print swimsuit. Both girls had on rubber flip-flops.
Emily was clever. Though she was only seven years old, she wore a red firemanâs hat with the number â21â printed on it. Emily hoped that her hat would fool people into believing that she was older, or even that she was a fireman.
On this bright sunny day, something flashed in the sky. Both girls saw the silvery disc as it caught the sunlight. Emily was quick to figure out what it was.
âItâs a flying saucer!â Emily said. Melinda, who was taller than Emily, watched it with her friend. The saucer sailed over the neighborhood. As it approached, the girls saw it clearly. It had a flat circular base, and a domed top. A line of porthole-like windows encircled the lower part of the dome. There was a front-facing windshield.
The saucer, and its shadow, skimmed over the field. The saucerâs shadow briefly engulfed the girls. Then the saucer passed over a treeline. It settled into tree-dotted scrubland. From that place came a sound of snapping tree limbs, and of brush being crushed. Silence followed.
âLetâs go!â Emily urged. Both girls wanted a closer look at the flying saucer. It was unimaginable that such an object could land in their neighborhood! The girls had no idea that they would soon be swept up in an ongoing galactic war. They rushed into the treeline. Then Melinda and Emily crept into the shady brush beyond.
The saucer was there. It stood on metal legs, hulking amid the surrounding trees. An electrical hum, like that put out by high tension wires, came softly from the saucerâs smooth hull.
An airlock opened in the side of the saucer. A stair-equipped gangplank descended. Then, as Melinda and Emily watched, a line of little green men came down the gangplank. The men were about as tall as the girls. They were carrying a pink worm. It was a big worm, as big as a little green man.
The men laid their worm down on the grass. The last men in the group had brought shovels. The shortest of the little green men was in charge of the men. Named Chirpley, he set several men to work digging a hole.
Emily crept forward. Melinda tried to stop her, but decided to accompany her. The little green men saw the girls. There was a mutual cry of surprise from both parties. The men stopped their digging. Emily asked what they were doing.
âWeâre digging a grave,â Chirpley answered. He and the other men stood with solemn faces. Emily, who sometimes went fishing, said that it was odd to bury a worm. She only dug worms out of the earth.
Chirpley stood straighter. He, like his fellows, had a round head. Two green antennae stuck out of the top of his head. He was without clothing, except for a white loincloth that, being puffy and full, resembled diapers. Chirpley wore white gloves. On his small feet were big, rhinestone-studded cowboy boots.
âThis is no ordinary worm!â Chirpley told the girls. âItâs our queen!â
âExcept sheâs dead now,â a second little green man said. He looked much like Chirpley, with a round head and antennae. He wore a loincloth, gloves, and cowboy boots.
âShe was a very old queen,â a third little green man said.
âSo, since sheâs dead, we must bury her,â a fourth little green man said. There were, in all, a dozen of them.
âStand aside!â Chirpley told the girls. It didnât matter that the girls were already at a distance from the dead worm. Chirpley rarely missed a chance to look important. Even in front of little Earth girls.
The little green men dug their grave. Or, rather, a few of them did, while the others watched this with Melinda and Emily. Chirpley supervised.
The dead queen was buried. The little green men had just filled in her grave when someone, off in the trees, yelled,
âAttack!â Stones and handfuls of dirt flew from the treeline. Several little green men were hit by the stones. A stone banged off of Emilyâs Fire hat. She and Melinda screamed. So did the little green men. The men ran back aboard their flying saucer and, as neighborhood boys whooped and hollered, and threw more dirt and stones, Melinda and Emily followed the men.
No sooner had the green men and the girls rushed into the saucer, than something came out of it. Two somethings, in fact. They were grotesque. Ghosts, they resembled white sheets torn by the wind from a clothesline.
The boys charged from the trees. They were attacking through the shady brush when the ghosts set upon them.
âOOOOOO!â the ghosts howled. The boys screamed in terror. They fled back into the trees, and into the field.
The saucer hummed more loudly. Its gangplank retracted. Just before the ship buttoned itself up, the ghosts zipped back inside of it. The saucer whisked into the sky. It disappeared beyond the clouds.
Within the saucer, Melinda and Emily cringed before the ghosts. These hung over them, looking horrid. The ghosts had blank, bulging eyes, and gaping mouths with fangs. They had scared the boys, and were now scaring the girls. To the little green men, they were damn annoying.
âOur spaceshipâs haunted,â Gauss apologized. He was one of the men. He and several of his crewmates, though dressed like the others, also wore utility belts.
âBut we got it at a discount,â a fellow crewman said. The green men stood with the girls on the saucerâs bridge. To one side was the closed airlock. To the right, and to the rear, the bridge opened onto other rooms.
The saucer was named âRegoobâ. Compared to a military cruiser, it was a little ship. Yet Regoob was plenty roomy. Its many spaces held a number of unwanted passengers. But these occupants were mostly small, and furtive, unlike the two hovering ghosts.
One occupant was big. He was a worm, like the menâs dead queen. He slithered about in the saucerâs recesses. Except now. Curious about the girls, this worm peered from a shadowed corridor. Then, he did the one thing that he was known for, and named for. He farted.
âFarrrrrrrrt!â It was a big, smelly fart. Both girls clutched their little noses. The little green men did the same. The ghosts, who had been so hideously maleficent, fled. An embarrassed Fartley slipped away into the ship.
âPeeyou!â Emily cried. Melinda echoed her. The girls made for the airlock. Thatâs when they realized that Regoob was airborne. In fact, the little saucer was far beyond the Earth.
âWeâd better go home,â Melinda said. Emily wasnât so sure. The saucerâs pilotâs seat, before its dashboard and its windshield, struck her as inviting.
âCan I drive?â she asked. Since no one was, at the moment, controlling where the saucer went, she figured she might try.
Thatâs when Gauss saw the Moon approaching. It was approaching fast. He gave a cry of alarm. The other men, now seeing what he saw, gave panicked yells.
Emily jumped into the pilotâs chair. Grabbing the saucerâs yoke, she steered the ship clear of the Moon.
âHooray!â the little green men yelled, with Melinda. Emily continued to fly the speeding saucer. Gauss gave her driving tips.
Soon, the ship was approaching Jupiter. As anyone whoâs watched the film â2001: A Space Odysseyâ knows, or even the film, âStarship Poopersâ, Jupiter is no ordinary planet. Itâs a gateway to other parts of the galaxy.
Emily couldnât resist flying through a galactic gateway. Regoob sped toward Jupiter. The planet soon filled Regoobâs windshield.
Within Jupiterâs clouds was a bright oval. This wasnât Jupiterâs red spot, but a metal doughnut. This doughnut, however, was slender. It was dotted by circular lights.
âHead for the center!â Gauss said to Emily. She did. Regoob shot through the slim doughnut and into hyperspace.
A kaleidoscope of colors streaked past Regoob. They were very pretty. The girls remarked upon them as Regoob tunneled through our galaxy.
The little saucer popped from hyperspace. It sailed among the ordinary stars again. Ahead was a ringed planet.
âThatâs Quigley!â Zolna, one of the little green men, told the girls.
âWe live there, in a castle.â Gauss said.
âA castle!â Melinda was impressed.
âDoes your castle have a fireman?â Emily asked. The answer was ânoâ. So Emily, who was now Regoobâs pilot, asked to be the menâs fireman as well. The men agreed.
This left Melinda wondering what she could be. Before dinner, of course, since she still hoped to get home soon.
âYou can be our queen!â Zolna told her.
âIâll be the princess!â Emily said. She was still intent, too, on being the menâs fireman and pilot.
âIâm the king!â Chirpley said. This brought Fartley-like noises from the other men. So Chirpley settled on being what he already was, the menâs captain.
Somewhere in the ship, Fartley ensured his place in this little world, by farting.
Quigley loomed. Space traffic was flowing toward the purple planet. Quigley was belted by shimmering rings. But their colors clashed. Melinda remarked on this.
âItâs better than having no rings at all, like Earth,â Chirpley riposted. He did not mention that planet Quigley lacked a moon.
Emily followed the space traffic into Quigleyâs atmosphere. There, the ships scattered to their destinations. Emily, directed by Gauss, flew over a city. Its buildings, compared to those on Earth, were outlandishly shaped. Beyond the city lay a beach community. And then, shining to the sunlit horizon, was a lavender sea.
âLand there,â Gauss told Emily. He meant the far side of the beach community, near the seashore. Emily put the saucer down in a patch of sand.
Regoob stood upon its metal legs amid other parked spaceships. Makeshift buildings were also neighbors to to Regoob. No castle was in sight. The sea lay near.
Chapter Two - A Castle for a Queen
Zolna opened the airlock. Its gangplank lowered, and the men and the girls disembarked. The hour was noon. It was hot. There was a salt tang in the air and, in the distance, the waves could be heard as they broke along the shore.
Chirpley led the party along a sandy trail. It wound between the spaceships and the homes. Hofsted, the fattest of the little green men, waddled at the fileâs rear. He complained about leaving the ship.
âWeâll be at our castle soon,â Chirpley said.
The beach community slumbered in the seaside air. There were odd odors. These smells, of cooking food, caused Hofsted to say he was hungry. The men ignored him. A seagull sailed overhead.
Creatures gazed here and there from the spaceships and from the homes. Their alien faces startled Melinda and Emily. It was as if theyâd wandered into a back lot on Star Wars, full of extras in outlandish costumes! Some of the aliens were surprised to see the girls.
âWhat are Earthlings doing here?!â an alien asked.
âThere goes the neighborhood,â an alien, observing the girls, lamented.
Chirpley heard this.
âCommoners!â he riposted, to his alien neighbors. âShow some respect for royalty!â Melinda realized that Chirpley meant her, and Emily. She blushed. As for Emily, she trotted along with a self-confident look. Sheâd piloted a flying saucer, and now she was the inheritor of Luke Skywalkerâs realm. Plus she was a fireman, and a princess. This was a fine day!
The trail led onto the beach. It was mostly vacant on this weekday, with a few bathers and seagulls. Chirpley indicated a large sculpted heap of sand on the shore. It stood just above where the inrolling sea boiled.
âThere it is!â he said. He and his crewmates beamed at Melinda and Emily.
The men had built a big sand castle. It had some attractive towers, a wall and a moat. Several small flags, in various colors, decorated the edifice. An old door lay across the moat. It gave access to a hole in the ground, that the castle enclosed.
Emily was entranced. When the men invited her to come inside, meaning down into the hole, she agreed. Melinda cautiously accompanied them. As she did, she seemed to hear her name on the wind. But she saw nothing unusual, besides the bathing aliens and the seagulls.
Zolna led the group into the hole. He did so with a flashlight. Several other men lit flashlights too, as the group entered the hole.
The hole had a stone staircase. It had been carved by time, and by an intelligent hand. Sand dusted or clung to some of the steps. So did seaweed and seashells. These also cluttered the floor of the cave that the stairs led down into. An old stove sat in the cave.
âThis is Mr. Lehmanâs cave,â Zolna told Melinda and Emily.
âWe used to be his gardeners,â Hofsted said proudly.
âGardners?â Melinda asked. She saw only stone, and the oceansâs detritus.
âIt was an easy job,â Hofsted admitted.
âHeâs a sailor,â Chirpley said.
âBut heâs disappeared,â Gauss added. âWe donât see him anymore.â
âThatâs too bad,â Melinda said.
An apparition appeared on the stairs, near the lowest step. Melinda yelped. Emily gave a gasp of surprise, and the men gave startled cries.
âMelinda,â the ghostly figure said. It resolved itself as a tall, slender boy.
âYouâre human!â Emily gasped. The boyâs image remained streaked with transmission lines, as if it were being beamed into the cave from far away.
âQuiet!â the boy snapped at Emily. She gasped anew. So did Melinda, and the others
âYouâre my bride,â the boy told Melinda. The bikini-clad girl shrieked.
âIâm King Kleigowski,â the boy said. âFrom Earth, of course. My galactic fleet will arrive in a moment. Stay here as it attacks. Then, I will land, and weâll be married,â the boy said to Melinda.
Seawater spilled down the stairs. The boyâs image vanished.
âMy God!â Melinda gasped.
âSheâs not marrying you!â Emily, finding her courage, told the place on the stairs where the boyâs image had been.
More seawater came down the stairs.
âWeâd better go,â Zolna said. âThe cave floods at high tide.â
Emily scrambled up the stairs with Melinda. The men followed. The tide was boiling about the castle. In the clear sky above, thunder sounded. Then sirens began to wail in the distance. Kevin Kleigowski, who had been terrorizing the galaxyâs far side for some time, was now attacking Planet Quigley!
Melinda and Emily ran with the men from the beach. They headed back to Regoob. All about them, the beach community was coming alive to the danger that thundered above. A battle was underway in the sky.
Melinda and Emily ran up the gangplank into Regoob. As the crew came in after them, a seagull flew into the ship. Emily reclaimed her place in the pilotâs seat.
Regoob took off. Other spaceships were beginning to rise from the land too. Suddenly, a transmission forced itself onto a television screen on Regoobâs dashboard. A man in a military uniform issued a warning. His insignia showed that he was a Quiglian general.
âAttention all civilians!â the general warned. âWeâre under attack! Do not leave Planet Quigley! All civilian spaceships are grounded!â
âWeâd better land,â Hofsted said.
âIgnore that!â Chirpley shouted.
âButââ Melinda gasped. Emily flew stolidly higher.
âWeâre soldiers!â Chirpley said.
âWeâre volunteer lifeguards,â Zolna said.
âGood enough!â Chirpley retorted.
The saucer was now climbing at an eye-popping speed. It cleared the clouds, and the sunlit sky. The starry cosmos opened before it. The ship sped toward the nearest ship in the Quiglian fleet. The Quiglians were locked in a battle with King Kleigowskiâs ships.
As Regoob closed on the big Quiglian cruiser, the general reappeared on the saucerâs dashboard T.V.
âStop!â the general ordered.
Chirpley drew himself up to his full, diminutive height.
âSir!â he told the general, with an irked look. âI am Chirpley Superlapee.â To Emily, Chirpley said, âFull speed ahead!â Then, for effect, he added, âDonât shoot âtill you see the whites of the their eyes.â Since he was sounding very important, Chirpley added, âYour money or your life!â
The saucer rushed at the cruiser. As it loomed, Emily began to think that going full speed ahead might not be a good idea.
Then she realized that they were too close to the cruiser to stop! As a collision became obvious, she leapt from the pilotâs seat.
âDuck!â Emily called to Melinda. Samuel, the seagull whoâd flown into the ship, drew himself up to his full, diminutive height. He did so on the floor, where heâd settled by Melindaâs feet.
âI, Miss, am not a duck! Iâm a sea-â Samuel began.
Melinda felt a sudden tingling wash over her. She was standing somewhere else, if still beside Samuel, as the bird finished giving his species.
â-gull,â Samuel said.
They were all someplace else. That is, the girls, the men, and whatever else that had been on the saucerâs bridge, was now in a jail cell. The jailâs front wall and itâs door consisted of iron bars. A heavy white mist clung to the jailâs ceiling.
The saucer was nowhere to be seen. But there was a low hum, that is common to spaceships.
A tall boy came to the cellâs door. Melinda gasped. So did Emily, as cries came from the men.
âItâs that boy!â Melinda yelped, alarmed, to cries of alarm from her cellmates. She cringed. So did Emily, and the others.
âCall me Kevin,â the boy said. He grinned at Melinda. âYouâre lucky Iâm around. Your little friend ( he meant Emily ) crashed your saucer into a Quiglian cruiser.â
âIâm not marrying you!â Melinda said.
âMe neither!â Emily said.
âMe neither!â Hofsted said.
Kevin laughed.
âYouâd better let me do the thinking,â he told Melinda. âMy teleport ray couldnât reach you on planet Quigley. You were too far away. So I told you to stay. And what did you do?â He grinned, and not pleasantly. âYou fled, of course, directly toward me!â
As Kevin spoke, the mist coalesced. Suddenly, it was no longer a mist, but a pair of fanged, bulging-eyed ghosts!
âOOOOOO!â the ghosts howled, at Kevin. The boy ran shrieking out of the jail cell. A moment later, tingling engulfed Melinda. Everyone else in the cell was caught in the same sensation. Then, as suddenly as theyâd arrived, the captives all disappeared from the jail cell.
Chapter Three - Incommodious
Melinda sat on the floor. Her head rested against a tiled wall. A sink was above it. Around her, in disorder, lay a number of little green men. Emily sat nearby. Samuel, lying near Emily, righted himself. He flew up and about in a mist that floated along the bathroom ceiling.
Theyâd been teleported again.
âWhere are we now?!â Emily asked.
âIâm in a toilet!â Chirpley shouted, from a bathroom stall. âHelp!â
The men and the girls gathered themselves. Some of the men, being teleported to the bathroom, had landed in toilet stalls. Chirpley hadnât just wound up in a stall. Heâd been planted with such force into a toilet that his bottom was stuck in the hole at its base. Toilet water surrounded his semi-submerged figure. He gazed helplessly from the commode.
âDonât flush it!â Chirpley cried, of his toilet, as the girls and some crewmen piled into his stall. The group couldnât help laughing. Chirpley, however, didnât laugh. Being stuck in a toilet was not his idea of a good time,
Emily and the crew pulled Chirpley out of the toilet. He was unhurt. His body was wet in places. His diaper-like loincloth was soaked.
A woman screamed. Shouts came from the men who hadnât crammed themselves into Chirpleyâs stall.
Kevin had teleported his captives from his spaceship to a Quiglian one. Specifically, heâd teleported his captives into a ladiesâ bathroom aboard the Quiglian ship.
âEeeeek!â the woman visitor screamed. âThere are men in the bathroom! In the ladiesâ bathroom!â Soldiers arrived. When they learned that the men in the womenâs bathroom had also crashed their saucer into the Quiglian ship, they arrested them. Chirpley and his crew were brought before General Grouchley. They were accompanied by Melinda and Emily.
General Grouchley commanded the Quiglian fleet. His flagship was called The Drut. It was this that Regoob had crashed into.
George Grouchley was big, fat and green. His uniform strained to contain him. It was he who had grounded all of Quigleyâs civilian ships, and whoâd ordered Regoob to stop. It was he whom Chirpley had disobeyed.
Chirpley stood to attention before General Grouchley. He did so with wet pants, from the toilet. Gathered behind Chirpley was his crew, and the girls. The volunteer lifeguard saluted the general. This did not improve Georgeâs mood.
âI understand you were in the ladiesâ bathroom,â George said to Chirpley.
âYes, sir,â Chirpley answered. âI was stuck in a toilet.â
âYour saucer crashed into my ship!â George told Chirpley.
âYes, Sir,â the volunteer lifeguard replied. Emily slipped partly behind Melinda, to escape the generalâs eyes.
âWeâll need a new ship,â Chirpley told George. âTo continue our noble fight against King Kleigowski.â
âKleigowskiâs fleet is in full retreat!â George told Chirpley. âIâm not sure what happened. One minute they were attacking, the next â they were fleeing!â
âI may know why - â Chirpley said.
âObviously, Iâm an even better general than I knew,â George concluded. He eyed Chirpley. âGet your stinky saucer out of my ship! And stay out of the ladiesâ bathroom!â
âYes, Sir,â Chirpley replied.
Several women came screaming into the generalâs presence.
âHelp!â the women shouted. âOur bathroom is haunted!â
Chapter Four - The Sewer Room
Regoob had smashed through a large glass panel in the hull of The Drut, near its stern. Doing so, Regoob had plunged itself into a big cesspool. Much of the cesspoolâs contents had emptied into outer space. This left the saucer at the bottom of the big cesspool, in such sludge as remained. The cesspool stank.
Repair ships had plugged the hole in The Drutâs hull. The big, open cesspool was in The Drutâs sewer room. This was a big, high-ceilinged room, with a crane. As Regoobâs crew arrived, along with the girls, the crane lifted Regoob out of the cesspool. It plopped the saucer, with a clang, onto the sewer roomâs floor. A work crew gathered about the stinky craft.
Chirpley strode up to the work crew.
âI am the captain of this august ship,â he said, in a tone that he hoped sounded important. Chirpley had a high voice. But now, his voice was mouse-squeaky, for he was holding his nose. So was his whole crew, and the girls.
The work crew was wearing disposable masks. One of them regarded Chirpley, who remained in wet pants.
âYou own this piece of shit?â the workman asked Chirpley. âItâs going to need a lot of cleaning.â
âWeâll wait until youâre done with it,â Chirpley said.
âYouâll clean it now,â a workman told Chirpley. âGeneral Grouchley wants you, and your saucer, off of his ship!â
âOh!â Chirpley said. âWe must have important duties awaiting us.â
âThe general just wants you to go!â a workman said.
Meanwhile, back at the ladiesâ bathroom, a priest had been called. He was exorcising the bathroom of its two ghosts. Ladies waited with rising anxiety as this holy procedure proceeded.
âHurry up!â a woman complained.
âI have to go!â another woman said.
The priest paused in his incantations. He assured the ladies that they wouldnât have to wait long. There was no need to go elsewhere. The priest was a speedy priest. But, if he were to rush, in an unholy way, the ghosts might not be exorcised. So the priest proceeded with due reverence for the divine. And the ladies waited. With rising anxiety.
Chapter Five - The Teleport Threat
Regoob left The Drut. That ship, and its fleet, were now returning to planet Quigley. Emily was piloting Regoob. She was doing so with the purpose of learning to fly it better.
Melinda was aboard Regoob. So was everyone in Regoobâs crew. Samuel, the seagull, had again invited himself aboard. The ghosts, exorcised from the ladiesâ bathroom, were aboard Regoob too.
On the saucerâs bridge, teleportation was being discussed.
âPeople teleport all the time on Star Trek,â Emily said. Chirpley had seen the show.
âWe call it âApes in Spaceââ, he said. Emily scowled at him.
âWho knew an ape - I mean, a human - would invent teleportation?â Gauss asked. Melinda asked what he meant.
âNo one in the galaxy can teleport,â Gauss said. âExcept, now, Kevin Kleigowski can.â Everyone on the bridge considered this.
âWe need to stop him,â Melinda said.
âYes!â Emily agreed. âHe could attack Earth!â
Chirpley saw a chance to be important. Standing straight, though he was still short, he said,
âMen! We must go after King Kleigowski! We must climb every mountain, ford every stream, follow every rainbow, and go where only apes in space have gone before!â
Gauss hastened to a computer.
âIâll see if I can find the kingâs fleet,â he said.
âMaybe we should ask for help from General Grouchley,â Melinda said. Chirpley bristled.
âIâll be in command of this mission,â he said. âSince it was my idea!â
âGeneral Grouchley didnât do anything to defeat the king,â Zolna said. âIt was our ghosts who scared him off.â
âI found him!â Gauss said. He meant the kingâs fleet. Gauss told Emily what direction to fly in. She did so. Chirpley, pleased, began to practice a victory speech.
âI came,â he intoned. âI saw - â
âAnd I got stuck in the toilet,â a crewman said.
Chapter Six - Neverwhere
Kevin Kleigowski was angry. The panicked retreat of his fleet had put his ships into disarray. The fault was his own. His fleet was crewed by robots. Their purpose was to obey.
Kevin stood on the bridge of his flagship, Teliot. He spoke with his robot admiral, Dolt 0001.
âTake the fleet through a hypergate,â Kevin ordered his admiral. âWeâll reorganize ourselves on its far side.â
âYes, Sir,â Admiral Dolt answered. Kevinâs fleet was soon flying toward a distant gas giant. There, it would pass through the planetâs hypergate.
Unknown to Kevin, a little saucer, flown by a seven-year-old girl, was hot on his trail.
Kevinâs fleet neared the gas giant. As Regoob closed on the fleet, Gauss told Emily,
âHurry! They might go anywhere in hyperspace!â
Regoob snaked among the disordered vessels.
âLand on Teliot,â Gauss told Emily. âThatâs the kingâs flagship.â
Teliot was a big cruiser. Emily zipped above it. She put the small saucer down amid the outbuildings that topped Teliotâs hull.
The cruiser, and its accompanying fleet, passed into the gas giantâs hypergate.
Emily yawned. She was in a flying saucer in hyperspace, atop a galactic cruiser, but she was also a sleepy seven-year-old. Melinda shared her sense of exhaustion. She said so.
âAnd I need a bath,â Melinda said.
âI donât need a bath!â Emily said.
âEmily Fortley, we will both take a bath!â Melinda said. The little green men escorted the girls to a bathroom. The area included a laundry room. When the girls were bathing, they found that they werenât alone.
âHey! Quit looking!â Emily said, spying the ghosts in their bathroom.
âShoo!â Melinda scolded.
The ghosts, sniggering, slipped away.
Melinda and Emily bedded down in a bedroom aboard Regoob.
âGood night, Emily,â Melinda said.
âGood night, Melinda,â Emily said. Neither girl could guess what the hour was back on earth. Then both got a rude reminder of where they were. Fartley trumpeted a loud goodnight in the near distance. The girls escaped the ensuing smell by falling asleep.
As for the little green men, they were concluding their day. They soon bedded down in the room with the sleeping girls. The saucer, atop Teliot, was still passing through hyperspace.
âI donât know where the king is going, but heâs going a long way,â Gauss said.
âHe could be going in circles,â a crewman said. âTo throw off pursuers.â
âWeâll board Teliot tomorrow,â Zolna said.
âWe canât do that until weâre out of hyperspace,â Gauss said.
âWhen we are, Iâll lead the way,â Chirpley said. âHofsted?â
âYes, Sir?â
âBring a trumpet. Iâll need you to blow it.â
âSir?â Hofsted asked.
âHuh?â Zolna asked.
âIt will be a great heroic deed to capture King Kleigowski,â Chirpley said. âWhen we charge him, Hofsted can blow the trumpet.â
âWhat about all of his robots?â a crewman asked.
âWeâll charge them too,â Chirpley said. âZolna!â
âYes?â
âYou bring a trumpet too.â
âMaybe we should just bring Fartley along,â someone said.
âYes!â Chirpley said. âWeâll have loud farts, and loud trumpeting, and then Iâll say âCharge!â. Very loudly.â
âAfter we leave hyperspace,â Gauss said.
With this, the little green men went to sleep.
âMelinda.â
The 10-year-old sat upright. Sheâd gone to bed wrapped in a dry bath towel, but now she was in her bikini again.
She wasnât aboard Regoob. She sat in a field of pale mushrooms. These grew suddenly taller, on long stalks. They became a forest of mushrooms. The mushrooms shaded Melinda from the high sun. Through sprouted undergrowth, a path trailed off into the tall mushrooms.
Then an old man appeared. Using a gnarled branch for a cane, he followed the path. He saw Melinda and spoke.
âMelinda.â He said this at a distance. However, Melinda heard it as if he were beside her. She even smelled his breath. It had an odor of onions.
Melinda stood.
Suddenly, the man was before her. His stooped figure was tall and commanding.
âI want you,â he rasped to Melinda.
The blonde frowned. At least, she told herself, she was face-to-face with the person theyâd been pursuing. She did not call him king.
âKevin. You look awful,â Melinda said.
The man scowled.
âIâm done with Kevin,â he said. âKevinâs attack on Planet Quigley failed. I donât like failure.â
The man smiled at Melinda.
âKevin bores me,â he said. âYou donât.â The man took Melindaâs arm. She found herself walking with him, despite not wanting to.
âWeâll rule the universe,â the man told her.
Due to Redditâs character limit, I can only post part of my book here.
A free copy of âMelinda and the Little Green Menâ is at:
http://andrewroller.com Copyright 2023 by Andrew L. Roller. Melinda and the Little Green Men is a trademark of Andrew L. Roller.
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2023.05.28 19:18 OldBayJ [SerSun] Serial Sunday: Vindication!
Welcome to Serial Sunday!
To those brand new to the feature and those returning from last week, welcome! Do you have a self-established universe youâve been writing or planning to write in? Do you have an idea for a world thatâs been itching to get out? This is the perfect place to explore that. Each week, I post a theme to inspire you, along with a related image and song. You have 500 - 850 words to write your installment. You can jump in at any time; writing for previous weeksâ is not necessary in order to join. After youâve posted, come back and provide feedback for at least 2 other writers on the thread. Please be sure to read the entire post for a full list of rules.
This Weekâs Theme is Vindication!
Image Song
New! Bonus Word List (each included word is worth 5 pts): - unreasonable - remonstrance - suspicious - pardon
This week weâre going to explore the theme of âvindicationâ. Guilt is often decided by the community (like the media) before they have all the facts, based on gossip, hearsay, assumptions, and sometimes based on the views of those who are loudest or the boldest. So what happens when an innocent personâs name is dragged through the mud? When the truth finally comes out, what happens? Can the people in the community change the way theyâve viewed the now-vindicated party? Or is this personâs reputation permanently tarnished?
How would this affect them? What kind of emotional scars would this leave? Can relationships be repaired, or is it too late? What happens when the truly guilty parties are revealed, and itâs a complete shock to everyone? Maybe a crime committed by those closest to them. How could that tear a community apart?
These are just a few things to get you started. Remember, the theme should be present within the story in some way, but its interpretation is completely up to you. The bonus word list is not required. Please remember to follow all sub and post rules.
Donât forget to sign up for Saturday Campfire here! We start at 1pm EST and provide live feedback!
Theme Schedule:
- May 28 - Vindication (this week)
- June 4 - War
- June 11 - Zealous
You can vote on themes using the weekly nomination form!
Previous Themes Serial Index
Rules & How to Participate
Please read and follow all the rules listed below. This feature has requirements for participation!
- Submit a story inspired by the weekly theme, set in your self-established universe. Use wordcounter.net to check your wordcount. Stories should be posted as a top-level comment below. If youâre continuing an in-progress serial (not on Serial Sunday), please include links to your previous installments.
- Your chapter must be submitted by Saturday at 9:00am EST. Late entries will be disqualified.
- Begin your post with the name of your serial between triangle brackets (e.g. ). This will allow our serial bot to recognize your serial and add each chapter to the SerSun catalog. Do not include anything in the brackets you donât want in your title. (Please note: You must use this same title every week.)
- Do not pre-write your serial. Youâre welcome to do outlining and planning for your serial, but chapters should not be pre-written. All submissions should be written for this post, specifically.
- Only one active serial per author at a time. This does not apply to serials written outside of Serial Sunday.
- All Serial Sunday authors must leave feedback on at least one story on the thread each week. The feedback should be actionable and include something the author has done well. When you include something the author should improve on, provide an example! You have until Saturday at 11:59pm EST to post your feedback. (Submitting late is not an exception to this rule.) Those who go above and beyond (more than 2 actionable crits) will be rewarded with âCrit Creditsâ that can be used on our crit sub, WPCritique.
- Missing your feedback requirement two or more consecutive weeks will disqualify you from rankings and Campfire readings the following week. If it becomes a habit, you may be asked to move your serial to the sub instead.
- Serials must abide by subreddit content rules. You can view a full list of rules here. If youâre ever unsure if your story would cross the line, please modmail and ask!
Weekly Campfires & Voting:
- On Saturdays at 1pm EST, I host a Serial Sunday Campfire in our Discordâs Voice Lounge. Join us to read your story aloud, hear others, and exchange feedback. We have a great time! You can even come to just listen, if thatâs more your speed. Grab the âSerial Sundayâ role on the Discord to get notified before it starts. You can sign up here
- Nominations for your favorite stories can be submitted with this form. The form is open on Saturdays from 12:30pm to 11:59pm EST. You do not have to participate to make nominations!
- Authors who complete their Serial Sunday serials with at least 12 installments, can host a SerialWorm in our Discordâs Voice Lounge, where you read aloud your finished and edited serials. Celebrate your accomplishment! Authors are eligible for this only if they have followed the weekly feedback requirement (and all other post rules). Visit us on the Discord for more information.
Ranking System
We have a new point system! Here is the point breakdown:
TASK | POINTS | ADDITIONAL NOTES |
Use of weekly theme | 75 pts | Theme should be present, but the interpretation is up to you! |
New! Including the bonus words | 5 pts each (20 pts total) | This is a bonus challenge, and not required! |
Actionable Feedback | up to 15 pts each (6 crit max)* | This includes thread and campfire critiques. (You can always provide more crit, but the points are capped at 90.) |
Nominations your story receives | 10 - 60 pts | 1st place - 60, 2nd place - 50, 3rd place - 40, 4th place - 30, 5th place - 20 / Regular Nominations - 10 |
Voting for others | 15 pts | You can now vote for up to 10 stories each week! |
You are still required to leave at least 1 actionable feedback comment on the thread every week that you submit. This should be more than one or two vague sentences, and should include at least one thing the author has done well. *Please remember that interacting with a story is not the same as providing feedback.** Low-effort crits will not receive credit.
Users who provide more than 2 in-depth, actionable critiques will be awarded Crit Credits that can be used on WPCritique.
Looking for more on what actionable feedback is? Check out this guide on critiquing or these previous crits from Serial Sunday: Crit Crit Crit
Rankings for Unveil
There have been some slight changes and additions to the point system/requirements! Check out the Ranking System section for specifics.
Subreddit News
- Join our Discord to chat with other authors and readers! We hold several weekly Campfires, monthly World-Building interviews and several other fun events!
- Try your hand at micro-fic on Micro Monday
- Check out the brand new Fun Trope Friday over on WritingPrompts!
- You can now post serials to Shortstories, outside of Serial Sunday. Check out this post to learn more!
- Looking for critiques and feedback for your story? Check out WPCritique!
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2023.05.28 06:04 InfernoAA God Made the World in Six Days, Iâll Perfect New Japan's on the Seventh Part Five: Destined
In Part Four, the comeback tour of rockstar Hiroshi Tanahashi was cut brutally short at the hands of the Leader of the New School, Zack Sabre Jr., who embarked on a quest to prove himself New Japan's most valuable gaijin. After beating back Will Ospreay for Royal Quest, he ran into another familiar face in Minoru Suzuki, almost clobbering him into retirement until Naomichi Marufuji made the save. Ending his saga with Just6Guys with a win over Maru, he placed a bow on the long-standing Blackpool Combat Club rivalry by besting Jon Moxley, cementing Sabre-Gun as New Japan's undisputed leaders... That is, without taking Los Ingobernables de Japon into account.
Since becoming one again, LIJâs been on a tear through NJPWâs ranks this year in spite of Shingo Takagi dropping the belt and PAC losing the New Japan Cup Finals to the current World Champion. IWGP United States, IWGP Tag Team (Death Triangle have become LIJ affiliates through PAC), and NJPW World Television Championships in their grasps, they seek to round out the group by all holding titles simultaneously. But that begs the question â whoâll be going after the World Title? Though Shingoâs battle ready, he insists
Tetsuya Naito take it this time, the Stardust Genius having worked his back off to rebound from Wrestle Kingdom. Failing every attempt in the past 3 years though, the question remains whether he can truly pull it off this time, or if itâs just not meant to be.
Kizuna Road - Night Four (July 1, 2024)
Sabre-Gun (Zack Sabre Jr. & El Phantasmo) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & PAC)
With Naito confirmed as Sabreâs #1 Contender for Wrestle Dynasty, SG and LIJ have themselves a scaled-down rematch from New Yearâs Dash, Zack picking his trusty right-hand man ELP, and Tetsuya bringing the US Champion, knowing PAC has unresolved issues with ZSJ from the NJC. Though it drives the Bastard to work doubly-hard, especially considering how itâll look if he pins the World Champion, it also makes their teamwork suffer, PAC becoming self-absorbed in getting the pin. Backfiring, a Sudden Death from Phantasmo knocks his lights out, SG getting their win back from NYD and putting the challenger on the backfoot heading into Madison Square Garden!
Sabre-Gun def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (16:12)
PAC appears distraught after the match, but Naito simply tells him âtranquiloâ, not taking it personally. Though heâd hoped to use this match to get into ZSJâs head, it appears heâll just have to do that himself, like heâs always done.
Wrestle Dynasty (July 14, 2024)
Also on the show:
Shota Umino (c) vs El Desperado - NEVER Openweight Championship Just6Guys (SANADA, Taichi, Ryohei Oiwa) (c) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Titan) - NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs Kyle Fletcher - NJPW World Television Championship PAC (c) vs El Phantasmo - IWGP United States Championship The Lucha Brothers (c) vs Meiyu Tag - IWGP Tag Team Championship
Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs Tetsuya Naito XI - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
In whatâs been a very successful night for LIJ thus far, clean-sweeping their way through the competition, it all rests on Naitoâs shoulders now to bring it home. Perhaps the most unreliable man to slot in this spot, and yet, the most beloved, MSG fully invested in Tetsuyaâs chase, either the grandest of celebrations or coldest of heartbreaks will end the night! Naito keeps his cool, emanating his usual larger-than-life aura as he walks out in a pristine crimson suit, paying homage to Shingo, whilst Sabreâs cockier than ever with his recent streak of huge wins, knowing he has Tetsuya doubting himself after their tag. As he hands his title over, the two come face-to-face, SABRE SPITTING GUM INTO NAITOâS FACE, but Tetsuya doesnât let ZSJâs tactics faze him, having come too far for too long to let mind games be his downfall.
Circling each other, Zack lunges for a lock-up but Naito walks past, smirking and stretching in the opposite corner. Sabre rolls his eyes as Tetsuya turns around and tells him âtranquiloâ, before going for it again⌠Zack snatching the headlock this time as Naito tries to repeat, but Tetsuya instantly whips him to the corner, teasing the COMBINACION CABRON as ZSJ braces himself⌠Naito stops in front of him and does the âAbre los Ojosâ taunt!
Furious, Sabre piefaces him, NAITO RETURNING A FOREARM, AND WEâRE OFF! Trading strikes, Zack rocks Tetsuya with European Uppercuts, Naito returning forearms, before a Japanese Arm Drag stops Zack in his tracks! Naito goes for another, but Zack hooks onto Tetsuyaâs legs, tripping him up and contorting the foot! Tetsuya boots him off with the other, a Neckbreaker and a Somersault Senton connecting, though Sabre absorbs the latter, trapping Naitoâs arm onto the mat to STOMP THE HAND!
Picking him back up, he cracks Naito with chops, before whipping him at the ropes, Naito hitting off them one after the other to build momentum, teasing the Flying Forearm Zackâs expecting⌠only to roll into the Tranquilo pose! ZACK MEETS HIM WITH A NECK TWIST!!! Tetsuya scrambling to the corner, Sabre steps on his throat against the ropes, BEFORE SLAPPING HIM! NAITO SPITS IN ZACKâS FACE!!! A harsh uppercut knocks Tetsuya back, a Running European following and a PENALTY KICK! Naito dodges and nails the FLYING FOREARM SMASH!
Teasing the Tornado DDT, itâs cancelled by an Enzuigiri, Zack leaping for the KIMURA- NAITO COUNTERS INTO VALENTIA!!! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT!!! Sending Sabre into the corner, the COMBINACION CABRON CONNECTS! AND A MISSILE DROPKICK! Naito teases the DRAGON SUPLEX, but Sabre flips through and STOMPS HIS ELBOW! SNAP GERMAN ON THE NECK FROM SABRE!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NO DICE! Naito woozy, his headâs only further knocked around by a ROLLING ELBOW! A CORNER HIGH KNEE connects, before a Hammerlock Suplex floats into a TESCO MEAL DEAL!!!
Naitoâs hand flails about the mat as Sabre keeps him grounded, no Valentia escape this time, forcing Tetsuya to work the old-fashioned way to the ropes! MSG backing the Stardust Genius, after much deliberation he gets a foot on the ropes! But Zackâs right back on him, going for a NORTHERN LIGHTS SUPLEX- NAITO STANDS HIM UP WITH A SNAP DDT! An EVOLUCIONâS shut down though, Sabre hitting the brakes to nail the ARM PELE! Fishing the arm, Zack tries to float into a FLYING ARTICLE 50- NAITO STUFFS HIM WITH A GLORIA!!! ONE! TWO! THR-SABRE SURVIVES!!!
Rallying momentum, Tetsuya nails the TORNADO DDT! Sabre nursing the head, a DRAGON SUPLEX FOLLOWS!!! In the drop zone, Naito tests the waters for a RUNNING DESTINO- SABRE SHUTS IT DOWN WITH A EUROPEAN CLUTCH!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NAITOâS DREAMS STAY ALIVE!!! Getting dangerously close with the flash pin, Tetsuya throws defiant forearms, Zack catching and contorting one, but a ROLLING WHEEL KICK knocks him off! ESPERANZA!!! ONE! TWO! THR-SABRE KICKS OUT!!!
Hooking the head, Naito hoists Sabre up⌠ZACK WITH A GUILLOTINE CHOKE MID-AIR!!! Tetsuyaâs eyes bulge out his skull, looking for the nearest turnbuckle to ram Sabre into it, but ZSJâs quicker, yanking him to the mat and transitioning into a JIM BREAKS ARMBAR!!! Brutally bending the arm at an awkward angle, thereâs a manic look in Zackâs eyes as NYC desperately cheers on Naito, who does his best to hang on! Sabre keeps tugging further and further, eager to ruin Tetsuya, but it backfires, helping him stretch his leg to the ropes!
The crowd erupts as the referee forces Sabre off, though Naitoâs clearly hurting all the same, a European helping no less! Zack rallies with further Uppercuts, one knocking Tetsuya down, before firing a PENALTY KICK!!! NAITO ABSORBS IT AND ROLLS THROUGH, SABRE GOING FOR SECONDS BUT HE EATS A RUNNING DESTINOOOOOOOOO!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOO!!! Shaking himself off, Naito attempts another, though Sabre stops it with elbows, before hopping into a REAR NAKED CHOKE!
Tetsuya tries to run forwards to free himself, though ZSJ swivels on his back into a GEDO CLUTCH!!! ANOTHER FLASH PIN! BUT NAITO ROLLS THROUGH THIS TIME INTO HIS OWN â POLVO DE ESTRELLA!!! ONE! TWO! THR-SABRE STAYS IN!!! AND AN EVOLUCION!!! ONE! TWO! THR-ANOTHER KICK OUT!!! NAITOâS GOING FOR THE SWING DESTINO!!! BUT A ZACK DRIVER COUNTERS!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Slapping up Naitoâs neck, Sabre dumps him on it with a TIGER SUPLEX!!! Naito woozy, Zack nails the PENALTY KICK!!! NAITOâS REFUSING TO STAY DOWN! Hearing MSGâs cries, he wills himself back up as Sabre watches in fascination⌠ONLY FOR ANOTHER PK TO CUT HIM OFF!!! And just like the 2022 NJC Finals, heâs going to end it here with a SECOND ZACK DRIVER- NAITO NAILS A DESTINO MID-AIR!!! HEâS STILL MOVING SOMEHOW!!! Stumbling to his feet, Tetsuya measures his man⌠DESTINOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! ONE! TWO! THR-SABREâS FOOTâS ON THE ROPE!!!
Saving Naito more than once, itâs come to Zackâs aid now too! Hammering Sabre with forearms, Naito tees up another DESTINO- PELE KICK!!! Tetsuya falls forward, Zack catching him in a STRETCH MUFFLER!!! IF HE CAN JUST GRAB THE OTHER LEG, ITâS ALL OVER, COMPLETING THE ORIENTEERING WITH NAPALM DEATH!!! Zack bends Naito further and further as he tries to grab hold⌠TETSUYA SWINGS BACK! AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN! SABRE LETS GO!!! AND A ZACK DRIVER FROM NAITO!!!
Sabre on his back, Naito thinks about waiting for the Destino⌠but then he sees the top rope. The crowd cry at him not to, screwing him over time and time again, but Tetsuya canât help it! Heading up top, the world holds their breath, NAITO SOARING THROUGH THE AIR⌠STARDUST PRESS CONNECTS!!! ONE! TWO! THREE!!! ITâS A MIRACLE IN MADISON SQUARE GARDEN!!! NAITOâS WORLD CHAMPION AGAIN!!!
Tetsuya Naito def. Zack Sabre Jr. (c) to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (31:18)
New York LOSES their minds as Naitoâs handed the title, Tetsuya himself struggling to process what just happened! But then LIJ rush out â PAC with the US Title, Hiromu with the TV Title, Shingo, Yota, and Titan with the NEVER 6-Man Titles, and even the Lucha Brothers with the Tag Titles! THEYâRE DRAPED IN GOLD, BABY! Sharing embraces all around as a dismal Sabre trudges to the back, thereâs not a single dry eye in the arena as the outcasts raise their fists to the sky with one hand and their titles with the other, golden tickertape hailing down! Naitoâs on top of the world after 3 long years, and it feels damn good! Doing the customary championship edition roll-call, the show fades on LIJ holding all their gold⌠and PAC looking over at Naitoâs.
G1 Climax 34
Entering his second of fifteen G1s as the reigning champion, Naito heads B Block opposite stiff competition. Though dispatching of Hiromu in friendly competition on Night One, the two are subsequently assaulted by KONGOH post-match, allowing NOAHâs KENOH to upset him the following night! Behind the 8-ball already, Tetsuyaâs motivated to make a comeback, mowing through Narita, Tanahashi, Yota, Sabre, and KENTA to take back the lead! Suffering another surprise defeat at Jeff Cobbâs hands after multiple failed attempts from the Hawaiian Hulk to best him, it opens the door for a returning JAY WHITE to spoil his final night, wrecking Naitoâs legs with a ladder, allowing Zack to advance on 14 points! As for B Block, a draw between Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada on the final night puts the Commonwealth Kingpin through, the rivals meeting one more time! Other key underlying stories see Shibata finally beating Okada, Ospreay avenging his Takagi loss, PAC beating his fellow LIJ members but losing to SANADA, and KONGOH causing ruckus throughout the competition.
G1 Climax 34 Finals (August 19, 2024)
Also on the show:
Jay White vs BUSHI Will Ospreay vs Zack Sabre Jr. - G1 Climax Briefcase
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, PAC, Hiromu Takahashi, Titan) vs KONGOH (KENOH, Manabu Soya, Masakatsu Funaki, Hi69, Shuji Kondo)
Perhaps the focal reason for Naito not making the Finals, KONGOHâs tournament chicanery, as led by KENOH, was a masterfully crafted plan. After losing to Tetsuya in last yearâs LIJ vs KONGOH series at Wrestle Kingdom 17, the thought of ruining the Stardust Genius for vengeance never left the Rogue Fistâs mind, and with his win over Tetsuya in the G1, their score is now 1-1. Reigniting the intense rivalry between the two stables, they have an upgraded rematch to their Wrestle Kingdom 16 5-on-5, both sides having greatly changed since then.
Once again, PACâs especially adamant to claim the spotlight, the loss to SANADA making him temperamental despite having the 2nd best LIJ record in this yearâs tournament. An argument breaking out between PAC and Shingo as to who should get the pin is put on ice by Naito, though it doesnât keep Titan from eating a nasty PFS from KENOH, handing the invaders the win!
KONGOH def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (19:57)
Redeeming WK16, KENOH offers the angriest of satisfied smiles, the group cackling as they gesture belts around their waists, warning that their business isnât yet over. LIJ left behind, thereâs a sour mood in the air from the loss, though when Shingo offers a fist in apology, PAC, taking a look at a nodding Naito, ultimately returns one, showing that despite popular belief, LIJâs still fine.
Splitting off for Shingo and co. to gear up for KONGOHâs second wave whilst Naito and PAC are scheduled for AEWâs ALL IN supershow, this time taking place in Tetsuyaâs home of the Tokyo Dome, both men are set for defences on the show. In PACâs case, itâs a rematch against J6Gâs SANADA, the Bastard adamant to gain Naitoâs favour by beating the traitor. As for Naito, he has Jay on his tail!
Until the recent G1, White refused to show his face on any sort of NJPW programming (including Forbidden Door) since being embarrassed at Okadaâs hands and having his faction torn to shreds. Leaving Japan to join AEW, no longer having connections to hide behind nor help him, he was forced to be the lone wolf for once, becoming even more merciless, knowing heâs all he has. After spreading chaos abroad, most recently coming up short in the AEW World Championship picture, trauma from his Okada loss clinging onto him anytime the stakes are raised too high again, he decided it was time to return to his roots to clear his head and eliminate any shred of weakness left in his body so that he can claim the top prize again, and thereâs no better place to do so than the building his title was taken from him â the Tokyo Dome.
The last time he faced Naito in the Tokyo Dome, he had Gedo by his side, yet still lost. Now though, he declares if heâs to have this match, he wants a compensatory factor. A means of looking out for himself, like Naito has LIJ. Heâs already beaten Tetsuya thrice in singles competition, knowing heâs the better wrestler, so this time⌠HE WANTS A LADDER MATCH!!! Japanâs become more and more geared to the Western market, the culture shifting from traditions, so unless heâs a snob like Okada, he'll embrace the new vision and accept the challenge. Jay using the perfect words to get under Tetsuyaâs skin, he accepts, looking to tear down the foundations of the Rainmakerâs regime with his reign, starting with this!
RevProxNJPW 12th Anniversary Show (August 24, 2024)
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & PAC) vs The Knight Dynasty (Ricky Knight Jr. & Zak Knight)
The night before ALL IN features a special RevPro crossover event with their partners, NJPW, the 12th Anniversary being celebrated in Japan. Naturally, Naito tags with the most RevPro familiar member of LIJ, PAC, the two champions battling the celebrated Knight Dynasty, who are considered the present and future of the promotion! What begins as a fun exhibition sees more of the differences between PAC and Naito come to light, the hot-headedness of the Bastard and the collectedness of El Ingobernable wanting different things out of the match, yet still managing to remain reasonably on the same page. A close call on a 619 from Ricky sees Naito shove PAC out the way in the nick of time, absorbing the blow himself, though without acknowledging it, PAC springs to action, a Black Arrow on Zak scoring the victory!
Los Ingobernables de Japon def. The Knight Dynasty (13:10)
As the referee approaches LIJ with their titles, PACâs quick to receive both, Naito only recovering just in time to find the Bastard lingering for a moment as he looks between the pieces of gold, before finally handing Tetsuyaâs over him and walking off, leaving the leader confused yet unconcerned.
ALL IN Tokyo (August 25, 2024)
Also on the show:
PAC (c) vs SANADA - IWGP United States Championship The Lucha Brothers (c) vs Golden Lovers - IWGP Tag Team Championship
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Jay White V - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Ladder
Stepping into the mastermind of the Switchblade, White baits Naito to play his game, the long-time rivals settling their score over a belt they both have history with. With no Gedo around, Jayâs focus is to demolish Naitoâs already tattered knees with the ladder like he did to cost Tetsuya the G1, slowing down each climbing attempt bit by bit. Given the twoâs creativity, itâs a sick warfare of increasingly dangerous spots, Naito taking Jay with him to neck bump city, White cruelly massacring Tetsuyaâs body with reckless abandon.
Whiteâs notably more in his element here, letting the Tokyo Dome atmosphere heal him whilst hurting Naito. A HANGING BLADE RUNNER cuts a Stardust Press attempt short, the magic only lasting once, but a ladder bridge CANADIAN DESTROYER buys Naito some momentum back! Ultimately, a war atop the ladder sees Naito boot Jay off, allowing him to unhook the gold to retain!
Tetsuya Naito (c) def. Jay White V to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (25:30)
Though Naito walks out with his belt, PAC doesnât, making the Bastardâs issues all the more prominent, taking more frequent looks over at Tetsuyaâs gold, which begs the question â was there more to PAC joining LIJ than originally thought? Still, he wishes Naito good luck for Wrestle Grand Slam, telling him he wants to see the belt on him when they go England. But for now, the end of his trilogy against KENOH awaits!
Wrestle Grand Slam (September 8, 2024)
Also on the show:
Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs KUSHIDA - NJPW World Television Championship El Desperado (c) vs Katsuyori Shibata - NEVER Openweight Championship Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Titan) (c) vs KONGOH (Manabu Soya, Masakatsu Funaki, Shuji Kondo) - NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs KENOH III - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
For over two years, the rivalry between LIJ and KONGOH has slowly simmered to this boiling point, coming down to the leaders now to settle their 1-1 score over NJPWâs top title! With the 6-Man Titles changing hands earlier in the night, Naito must put his 200% into assuring the same doesnât occur here, or itâll be disaster on New Japanâs waterfront.
As two men that could not be more opposite collide, itâs an intense war over the companyâs possession, everyone from fans to wrestlers on the edge of their seats as the last of the NOAH invaders try to leave their mark. KENOH shows nothing but hatred towards Naito for ruining his past chances, whilst Tetsuya savours his every moment in the Sun, having slaved away to hold this belt. A PFS almost does Naito in, whilst the DESTINO does the same for KENOH! Ragdolling the older star with Dragon Suplexes, KENOH sets up for the ENRIN⌠BUT IN HIS STARDUST PRESS MOMENT, HE MISSES!!! DESTINOOOOOOOOOO!!! ONE! TWO! THREE!!! New Japan remains safe in the hands of Naito!
Tetsuya Naito (c) def. KENOH to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (28:33)
Offering a handshake to KENOH out of respect for their series⌠the Rogue Fist declines it, though from the look in his fiery eyes, an inkling of acknowledgement is there for Tetsuya. Telling Naito to keep the belt warm for him, he declares heâll be back sometime again, and when that happens, heâs going to usurp Naito once and for all!
And as they leave with their 50/50 successes, itâs back to LIJ to end the show on their usual note⌠except, PAC interrupts the tradition. Heâs confused, no, heâs incredulous. What are they celebrating here? Failure? Or are they calling it âsurvivalâ? Is no one going to point out the elephant in the room? Just two months ago they were on top of the world, all draped in gold, but now theyâre left with just Naito and the Lucha Brosâs gold. And yet, theyâre celebrating? Heâs been out here losing sleep over his missing US Title!
If they wish to continue to be taken seriously, they need to act the part. Luckily⌠he has a solution. They say iron sharpens iron, so rather than fighting these large-scale wars outside their stable⌠why not have a âfriendlyâ within? Naito has the title and an incredible row of suitors before him, so he should pick one to defend against! Tetsuya seems perturbed by the idea knowing what almost happened the last time LIJ fought within, but as PAC insists, even pointing out how heâs the only one with a clean record over Naito⌠Tetsuya turns to him and raises the title! If such claims are going to be made, they need to be backed up too! Challenging PAC with his title on the line, a grinning Bastard accepts, bumping his fist!
Burning Spirit - Night Seven (September 25, 2024)
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi) vs Death Triangle (PAC & The Lucha Brothers)
Slyly manoeuvring his way into the title rematch heâs desired ever since getting a taste of the gold against Shingo last year, this is more so PACâs chance to prove himself over the statement heâs seeming to be making. Nonetheless, with various combinations of LIJ facing Death Triangle over the Burning Spirit tour, they supposedly rely on each other to improve their own skill, these 6 especially drawing the very best out of each other. Working more seamlessly with DT than he had LIJ as of late, the freakish chemistry between the AEW lads has a Fear FactoDouble Stomp/Black Arrow combo end Hiromu, PAC grinning as he stares down Naito, the challenge growing closer by dayâŚ
Death Triangle def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (18:24)
Giving a brief interview heading into the match at Royal Quest, Naito states that he canât be certain on what PACâs intentions are, but all he knows is that no matter what, LIJ sticks together. If this match is what PAC needs for his peace of mind, then itâs all his. All he can hope is the Bastard has the same idea of family in mind.
Royal Quest IV - Night Two (October 6, 2024)
Also on the show:
The Lucha Brothers (c) vs United Empire (Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan) - IWGP Tag Team Championship Will Ospreay (c) vs Kazuchika Okada - G1 Climax Briefcase
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs PAC II - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
The relationship between LIJ and PAC has developed into one of the more intriguing dynamics this year, raising a multitude of questions, but now, the true light of it all will be revealed. Whether itâs friendly fire or another coup, Naitoâs ready for whatever PAC may happen to have up his sleeve, whilst the Bastard lets his actions do the talking. For once, itâs an utterly no-nonsense showdown between Los members, Tetsuya taking the threat of PAC very seriously, the Jordie clearly driven to make the grand prize his. And as the match rolls on, Naito starts to see parts of himself in PAC with each cheer or cry from his home crowd.
Just like Naito, heâs the incredibly-talented misfit who was overlooked, but unlike a young Naito, PAC doesnât realise he has the world on his side already despite his quirks. Whilst Naito had to suffer through his changes, PACâs a made man, and with each near-fall, the crowd see it too, becoming more and more invested in him! On the cusp of his crowning moment, PAC shows no hesitation unlike the Stardust Press, NAILING THE BLACK ARROW!!! ONE! TWO! THR-BUT NAITO KICKS OUT!!! PAC may have âitâ, but Naitoâs operating on an entirely different level as World Champion, and no matter what PAC may have thrown at him, itâs not his moment just yet. DESTINOOOOOOOO!!! ONE! TWO! THREE!!!
Tetsuya Naito (c) def. PAC to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (30:11)
Maybe a different day. Both men propped in opposite corners of the ring, they suck deep for breaths, PAC only taking his eyes off Naito when he spots the title bring brought over to him. That shouldâve been his. He shouldâve been champion right now, but⌠he starts tuning in the crowd again. A standing ovation for the hometown boy. Though he may not hold the title right now, heâs still a champion in their eyes⌠Solace. Always overlooked, all he needed was approval. And now more than ever, he feels he has it. Noticing PACâs realisation, Naito grins and nods to him, the two bumping fists together, no sour ending on this one.
At least, not between LIJ⌠OKADAâS HERE!!! After shockingly beating Ospreay for his G1 briefcase earlier in the night, the Rainmaker has his sights on the Tokyo Dome main event, and if things are to be believed, it may be Naito
defending against Kazuchika on the grand stage! The long-time WK rivals locking eyes, thereâs a different atmosphere between the Ace and the Dark Ace now. No longer does Okada look upon Naito condescendingly, but with disgust. Though he failed to beat Shingo earlier in the night, Kazuchikaâs been vocal all year about the damage he feels LIJ have caused the company.
Where he did everything to purify the promotion with his reign, beating away outsiders, Naito did the exact opposite, bringing them further into their ranks and breaking tradition with a ladder match. With this briefcase in his hand though, he has the power to change thatâŚ
but so does he. OSPREAY JOINS IN!!! The man who lost his case earlier in front of his own family, he canât even look the smug Okada in the eyes. Rather, turning to Naito, he declares his desire to return to WKâs main event to not be over just yet! Against better judgement, he gave Shingo a shot at this title last year and it cost him everything. All he asks is Naito returns the favour! Smirking, Tetsuya tells him âearn itâ, WKâs main event scene growing all the more interesting!
Battle Autumn - Night Five (October 15, 2024)
Elimination: Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Death Triangle) vs United Empire (Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan, Aussie Open)
Desperation drives a man to his darkest pits, and Ospreay is very much there. Banding his troops together one year on since the last LIJ/UE tag of this magnitude, the anteâs upped even higher now, needing to survive an elimination match to receive the match of his desires. Both stables going to war here, all their integrated rivalries of the past years come to a head, the one between Ospreay and Naito lying at the centre of it all. UE get a tough break to start with when Great-O-Khan hits the deck early, Mark Davis following, though a comeback removes the Lucha Bros from the equation!
Cobb goes next, before Ospreay takes out PAC, a double countout subsequently removing the leaders from the equation! Boiling down to Shingo and Kyle, the Aussie Arrow pulls out the underdog performance of his life, channelling all of Ospreayâs moves before a GRIMSTONE ELIMINATES SHINGO! OSPREAYâS HEADED TO KOPW!!! Raising Fletcher onto their shoulders, itâs a grand celebration from UE, Will receiving one last lease on life! As for Naito, he can only stand and wait, a final challenge paved in his path to the Dome.
United Empire def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (25:33)
King of Pro-Wrestling (October 27, 2024)
Also on the show:
KUSHIDA (c) vs Taiji Ishimori - NJPW World Television Championship Sabre-Gun (Blake Christian & Clark Connors) (c) vs Catch 22 - IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Katsuyori Shibata - G1 Climax Briefcase
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Will Ospreay IV - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
One year ago, Ospreayâs overzealousness cost him the chance to main event Wrestle Kingdom with the World Title, but now, as it all comes full circle, itâs official, the winner of this match defending against Okada! With that in mind, both men are equally ravenous to make the grand opportunity theirs! Their fourth match together, itâs rife with callbacks, Naito especially making sure to remind Will of the way he beat him in last yearâs A Block Finals to get in his head.
To Tetsuyaâs surprise though, this matured Ospreay is impervious to his strategies! No matter what the champion throws, the challenger always has an answer, their see-saw saga featuring plenty of nail-biting near-falls that could send either man through, but itâs a TRIAD OF HIDDEN BLADES that ultimately calls it, Ospreay finally reclaiming his throne, a date with destiny set in stone!
Will Ospreay def. Tetsuya Naito (c) to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (35:38)
Before WK though, Power Struggle is on the calendar! Featuring the likes of Death Triangle dethroning KONGOH for the NEVER belts for PAC to fully find his place in LIJ, Ren Narita dethroning Katsuyori Shibata for the NEVER Openweight Title, and Shingo Takagi taking the US Title from SANADA, it also sees Ospreay team with Catch 22 against Okada and the two men who ended Francesco Akira and TJPâs legendary reign, SHO & Taiji Ishimori, with UE scoring the vengeful win! And on the final Road To Tokyo Dome special, Ospreay finds a surprising ally in Shibata against Okada and Tanahashi in a HUGE blockbuster tag, CHAOS getting their win back here as Shibata keeps chasing down a rematch with Tana!
Wrestle Kingdom 19 (January 4, 2025)
Also on the show:
Sabre-Gun (Blake Christian & Clark Connors) (c) vs Li-YOH - IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship United Empire (Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan) (c) vs CHAOS (Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura) - IWGP Tag Team Championship SHO (c) vs Francesco Akira - IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Ren Narita (c) vs Tomohiro Ishii - NEVER Openweight Championship Shingo Takagi (c) vs Katsuhiko Nakajima - IWGP United States Championship Minoru Suzuki vs Taichi - Retirement Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata
Will Ospreay (c) vs Kazuchika Okada XII - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Finally, this is what itâs all led to. A story set in motion from the very first moment Ospreay set foot in NJPW under Okadaâs guidance in CHAOS 9 years ago. Fighting through loss after loss after loss, he finally achieved his clean win over Okada last year to reclaim his World Championship, but now, he must accomplish an even greater task â beat the Final Boss in the Tokyo Dome itself! Failing on both occasions against Okada on NJPWâs biggest stage akin to Okadaâs own chase of Tanahashi, itâs his Wrestle Kingdom 10 moment now as
he walks into the Dome as the reigning champion, with the Ace as the challenger! Win and heâs immortalised in history. Lose and Okada resets the companyâs entire trajectory. High stakes weighing on Willâs shoulders, itâs time to elevate under pressure!
Entering with WK level entrances to boot, Okada dripping sheer gold, and Ospreay with an entire kingdom of suited individuals accompanying him, they get underway as the bell sounds! And for the first time, itâs Ospreay controlling the opening sequence with the Tanahashi-style headlock! Big brothering Okada, he doesnât let the Rainmaker out the gates in his own ballpark for a few minutes straight⌠BEFORE WILL EXPLODES FOR A HANDSPRING ENZUIGIRI!
Okada dodges, going for a GERMAN, but Will flips through, nailing the HOOK KICK, an OSCUTTER coming up empty, Kazu swinging for a ducked RAINMAKER, and itâs a stalemate! Trading forearms, a Lariat dumps Okada out, Ospreay running Kazuâs routine of the guardrail whip and Big Boot, a RUNNING CROSSBODY EATING A DROPKICK! Nailing a TOMBSTONE on the floor, Okada sets up a table at ringside before rolling Ospreay in, the MISSILE DROPKICK and AIR-RAID CRASH NECKBREAKER harping on the neck! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT!
Wrenching the MONEY CLIP, it doesnât get him far, a BRAINBUSTER catching Okada by surprise! SHOOTING STAR PRESS! ONE! TWO! THR-NO DICE! A PIP PIP CHEERIO eats a BEAUTIFUL DROPKICK, before Okada whips Ospreay at the corner, only for Will to pop him up onto the turnbuckles, slamming Kawada Kicks into his face! CHEEKY NANDOS! Ospreay tries for a LIGER BOMB through the outside table, but Okada drops to the apron! Will charges for a Yakuza Kick, but a LANDSLIDE BLOCKS!!! ONE! TWO! THR-OSPREAY STAYS IN!!!
Hammering the neck, Okada lunges for a RAINMAKER, though a SNAP CUTTER blocks! ROBINSON SPECIAL! Will winds up the CHELSEA GRIN, but it receives a slap and a JOHN WOO DROPKICK! A pair of Short-Arm Rainmakers ricochet off Ospreay, but a Rainmaker is feigned for a DDT! DIVING ELBOW DROP!!! ONE! TWO! THR-WILL KICKS OUT AGAIN!!! A TOMBSTONE is countered by knees, Ospreay whipping Okada at the ropes, Kazu countering a BACK BODY DROP OVER THE ROPES!!!
Will narrowly missing the table, Okada follows with a TOPE CON HILO⌠BUT OSPREAY MOVES OUT THE WAY, THE RAINMAKER EXPLODING THROUGH THE WOOD!!! Shoving Okadaâs lifeless body inside, Ospreay sets up a HIDDEN BLADE!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOO!!! A STORM BREAKER is blocked, Okada nailing a sick CORNER GERMAN! Dropkick rocks Will, before the TOMBSTONE connects! RAINMAKERâs dodged, Ospreay rebounding into an OSCUTTER- DROPKICK!!! AND A RAINMAKERRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Okada keeps the wrist, going for seconds⌠OSPREAY NAILS A RAINMAKER OF HIS OWN!!! Wrist still held, Will nails close-range elbows to the neck, before winding up another HIDDEN BLADE- HEAVY RAIN!!! OKADA NAILS HIS OWN HIDDEN BLADE!!! Teasing the STORM BREAKER, Ospreay spins out, dumping Kazu with a LANDSLIDE!!! AND A HIDDEN BLADE⌠Okada collapses! As Will tries picking him up, a DROPKICK awaits! ANOTHER DROPKICK! AZTEC SUPLEX â A LA ULTIMO DRAGON!!! ONE! TWO! THR-KICK OUT!!!
Okada decks Ospreay with a RAINMAKER, but Will doesnât go down fully, Kazu nailing a SECOND! Going for the Ripcord this time⌠RAINHAM MAKER!!! ONE! TWO! THR-OKADA KICKS OUT!!! ESSEX DESTROYER!!! ONE! TWO! THR-ANOTHER KICK OUT!!! Cracking a HIDDEN BLADE off Okadaâs nose, an OSCUTTER follows, before he floats into a STORM BREAKER- FALLING RAINMAKERRRRRRR!!! ONE! TWO! THR-NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Okada smelling blood, he tries for another, AND A HIDDEN BLADE CONNECTS AT THE SAME TIME!!! Keeping hold, the two knock each other loopy with one free arm⌠OSCUTTERâS CAUGHT WITH A TOMBSTONE!!! Okada picks him back up, going for a SPINNING TOMBSTONE- OSPREAY REVERSES INTO A SPIKE PILEDRIVER!!! Ripcord⌠HIDDEN BLADE!!! AND A STORM BREAKER!!! Hoisting him up for one more⌠A SECOND STORM BREAKERRRRRRRRRRR!!! ONE! TWO! THREE!!!
Will Ospreay (c) def. Kazuchika Okada to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (40:51)
HEâS DONE IT! OSPREAYâS FINALLY SURPASSED THE ACE ON HIS OWN STAGE! No longer is Okada himself anymore, but rather the Tanahashi to Ospreayâs Okada, the cycle continuing. And like his counterpart 9 years ago, Kazu leaves as empty-handed as he walked in for the first time in a decade, the times officially changing! And as sunlight washes over the Land of the Rising Sun, a new dawn is revealed. The dawn of the Ospreay Era.
Epilogue
Heading into 2025, NJPW is rife with changes, seeing more of the once Young Lion names step up as the likes of Tanahashi and Naito begin to slow down. CHAOS features a massive shakeup the following night as Shinsuke Nakamura returns, kickstarting his road to retirement, having been vocal in his interest of facing Tanahashi, proceeding to feud with Okada over his failures. As for Ospreay, his reign runs until Sakura Genesis, where one NJC Winner Katsuyori Shibata finally dethrones him 8 years on from his loss to Okada, though Willâs time with the title is far from over yet, remaining an integral part of the picture alongside ZSJ, Shingo, and more.
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2023.05.28 04:51 Junior_Button5882 11 Terrifying-But-True Horror Stories Reported in the News - From fatal exorcisms to unexplained deaths and devil worshipâthese are some real-life nightmares.
A terrifying
movie or
book or
show gets your blood pumping in the moment of consumption, sureâwe covered our eyes in
Squid Game with the rest of the world. But for the most part, you rest easy afterward knowing that what you've witnessed is fiction, deliberately spun up to creep you out. When the real world gets eerier than anything
Stephen King could dream up,
that's when you have every right to get a little scared of the dark.
Once in a while, a story of a dreadful disappearance, demonic possession, or devil worship will land in the local paper instead of a pulpy old paperback. We've rounded up the most unnerving real-life tales below. In honor of spooky season, here are eleven we can't stop thinking about.
The Axe Murder House
The Villisca Axe Murder House in Villisca, Iowa is a well-known tourist attraction for ghost hunters and horror lovers alike. The site of a gruesome unsolved 1912 murder, in which six children and two adults had their skulls completely crushed by the axe of an unknown perpetrator, was purchased in 1994, restored to its 1912 condition, and converted into a tourist destination. It costs $428 a night to
stay at the old haunted home, where visitors always report strange paranormal experiences, such as visions of a man with an axe roaming the halls or the faint screams of children.
But in November of 2014, the haunting took a darker turn. Robert Steven Laursen Jr., 37, of Rhinelander, Wisconsin was on a regular recreational paranormal visit with friends when true horror struck. Per
VICE:
His companions found him stabbed in the chestâan apparently self-inflicted woundâcalled 9-1-1, and Laursen was brought to a nearby hospital before being helicoptered to Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha.
The Montgomery County Sheriffâs Office
said Laursen suffered the self-inflicted injury at about 12:45 a.m., which is around the same time the 1912 axe murders in the house began.
Laursen recovered from his injuries, but has never spoken publicly about what occurred that day. For Martha Linn, the owner of the home, the incident was very upsetting. "It's publicity, but it's not exactly the kind of publicity you desire to have. I don't want people thinking that when they come to the Villisca Axe Murder House something's going to happen that's going to make them do something like that.â The house remains open for tourist visits and overnight stays today.
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The Haunted Doll
When you think of haunted dolls, itâs likely the creepy old Victorian-looking porcelain kind that springs to mind. None of which you probably have laying around. Still, donât get too comfortable around any kids toys too soon, though: a Disneyâs
Frozen Elsa doll that was gifted for Christmas 2013 in the Houston area made headlines earlier this year when it seemingly became haunted.
Per
KPRC2 Houston News: The doll recited phrases from the movie Frozen and sang âLet It Goâ when a button on its necklace was pressed.
âFor two years it did that in English,â mother Emily Madonia said. âIn 2015, it started doing it alternating between Spanish and English. There wasnât a button that changed these, it was just random."
The family has owned the doll for more than six years and never changed its batteries. The mother says the doll would randomly begin to speak and sing even with its switch turned off.
The family decided to throw the creepy doll out in December of 2019. Weeks later, they found it inside a bench in their living room. âThe kids insisted they didnât put it there, and I believed them because they wouldnât have dug through the garbage outside,â Madonia told KPRC2 Houston News.
Esquire Select
đˇ
JOIN NOW At that point, Elsa ceased to sing the English rendition of âLet It Goâ altogether, speaking only Spanish when pressed. The family then double-bagged the bizarre doll and placed it at the bottom of their garbage which was taken out on garbage day. They went on a trip shortly after, but when they returned, Elsa too had come back, and was waiting in the backyard of their home.
This time, the family mailed Elsa to a family friend in Minnesota, who taped the haunted doll to the front bumper of his truck. It doesnât seem to have made its way back to Houston yet, as per Madoniaâs latest February Facebook
update on the creepy doll.
A Deadly Exorcism
In August 2016 in North London, 26-year-old Kennedy Ife began acting strange and aggressive following a pain in his throat. He reportedly bit his father, threatened to cut off his own penis, and complained of a python or snake inside of him before his family restrained him to a bed with cable ties and excessive force.
As the BBC
reported:
âThe family then set about attempting to âcureâ Kennedy through restraint and prayer over the next three days, the court was told.â
His brother, Colin Ife,
told police:
âItâs clear that thing was in him, what we believed was a demon because it was not natural. It was clearly trying to kill him,â he said.
âWe had to restrain him for himself. It was clear if we didnât restrain him, he could have tried to harm people in our family.â
Kennedy Ife had been bound to his bed for three days without medical attention when his brother called emergency services, explaining that Kennedy Ife was complaining of dehydration. He appeared to have developed breathing issues, and was pronounced dead at 10:17 a.m.
As The Independent
reported:
While police were at the house Colin Ife allegedly carried out an âattempted resurrectionâ by chanting and praying for Mr. Ife.
All seven of Kennedy Ifeâs family members were accused of manslaughter, false imprisonment, and causing or allowing the death of a vulnerable adult. A post-mortem examination revealed over 60 wounds including a possible bite on Kennedy Ifeâs body, and his father, Kenneth Ife, along with four of his brothers, sustained injuries as well.
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The BBC
reported:
Kenneth Ife told jurors he ordered his sons to take shifts and use "overwhelming force" but denied that an "association with cults, occults and secret societies" played any part in the death.
After a four day
jury deliberation, all seven family members were cleared of charges on March 14, 2019.
đˇWitches prepare themselves for a journey by broomstick to the Black Mountain, circa 1650. From a 17th century Dutch copperplate by Adrianus Hubertus.Hulton Archive
Dead Animals in the Walls
When the Bretzuis family decided to insulate their home in Auburn, Pennsylvania in 2015, they discovered that it had already beenâwith scores of dead animal carcasses.
As Fox
reported:
The dead animals were wrapped in newspapers from the 1930s and 40s and were among half-used spices, and other items.
After removing the items they sent hundreds of artifacts and carcasses to an expert in Kutztown.
The expert attributed the rotting animals in their walls to Pow-wow or Dutch magic, a ritual originating in the culture of the Pennsylvania Dutch to treat ailments and gain physical and spiritual protection. The Pennsylvania Dutch were a group of German-speaking settlers to Pennsylvania in the 1600 and 1700âs, and are often of Lutheran, Mennonite, or Amish faiths.
The Washington Post
notes on the magic:
Many of the spells deal with the care of livestock, finding water, or the treatment of minor ailments, reflecting the conditions and concerns of early American settlers.
But powwow also has within it a tradition of darker spells, and even of such things as conjuring demons.
One notable ritual in their tradition is this
hex to create loyalty in a dog:
To attach a dog to a person, provided nothing else was used before to effect it: Try to draw some of your blood, and let the dog eat it along with his food, and he will stay with you.
The mold found on the rotting carcasses in the Bretzuis home has caused illness among the family members, and they say that the odor hasnât gone away.
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Florida Devil Worshipping
Friends noticed that Danielle Harkins, a 35-year-old schoolteacher near St. Petersburg, Florida, started acting strangely in June of 2012, developing an interest in demonic rituals.
Soon after, she was arrested for abuse of seven of her former students, as the Tampa Bay Times
reported:
Danielle Harkins told the kids they needed to rid their bodies of demons as the group gathered before dusk Saturday around a small fire near the St. Petersburg Pier. They should cut their skin to let the evil spirits out, police said she told the children. Then, they needed to burn the wounds to ensure that those spirits would not return.
When Harkins held a lighter to one teen's hand, wind blew the flame out, police said. That prompted her to douse his hand in perfume before setting it on fire. The boy suffered second-degree burns, police said.
Another teen was cut on the neck with a broken bottle, police said. Harkins used a flame to heat a small key, which she then used to cauterize the wound.
The police were notified because a friend of one of the students who participated in the ritual raised alarms. However none of the students themselves told their parents about the event or would comment following the arrest of Harkins for aggravated battery and child abuse.
NBC
reported:
Investigators said they've spoken to Harkins, but she didn't spell out what type of religion would require such drastic measures.
"She hasn't informed us exactly what she was trying to accomplish with this," Puetz [of the St. Petersburg Police Department] said.
The Death of Elisa Lam
Elisa Lam was last seen on January 31, 2013 in the lobby of the Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. She was vacationing through the West Coast, documenting the trip on her blog, and checking in with her parents every day. On January 31 those calls stopped. Lam had vanished. Soon the police were involved and her parents arrived to help with the search.
They had nothing. That February, LAPD released elevator surveillance footage of Lam before her disappearance. The footage shows Lam behaving strangely in the elevator, appearing to talk with invisible people, peering around the corner of the door, crouching in the corner, and opening and closing the door. But what exactly is going on in this video raises more questions than answers. Theories range from psychotic episodes, to demonic possession, to unknown assailants just out of the camera's view:
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Around that time, hotel guests started reported weird things happening with the Cecil Hotel water supply. As
CNN reports:
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"The shower was awful," said Sabina Baugh, who spent eight days there during the investigation. "When you turned the tap on, the water was coming black first for two seconds and then it was going back to normal."The tap water "tasted horrible," Baugh said. "It had a very funny, sweety, disgusting taste. It's a very strange taste. I can barely describe it."But for a week, they never complained. "We never thought anything of it," she said. "We thought it was just the way it was here."
On the morning of February 19, a hotel employee climbed to the roof and used a ladder to investigate the hotel's water storage tanks. That's where authorities found the decomposing, naked body of Lam, whose personal items were found nearby. After an autopsy, her death was labeled accidental.
NBC Los Angeles reported at the time about the strange circumstances in the hotel's past:
The tank has a metal latch that can be opened, but authorities said access to the roof is secured with an alarm and lock.The single-room-occupancy hotel has an unusual history. "Night Stalker" Richard Ramirez, who was found guilty of 14 slayings in the 1980s, lived on the 14th floor for several months in 1985. And international serial killer Jack Unterweger is suspected of murdering three prostitutes during the time he lived there in 1991. He killed himself in jail in 1994.In 1962, a female occupant jumped out of one the hotel's windows, killing herself and a pedestrian on whom she landed.
In February 2021, a
Netflix doc called
Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel explored Elisa's tragic case and the history of the
"cursed" Cecil Hotel.
An Exorcism in Indianapolis
Last year, the
Indianapolis Star published a lengthy report on a family terrorized by three children allegedly possessed by demons. The account of Latoya Ammons and her family tells disturbing stories of children climbing up the walls, getting thrown across rooms, and children threatening doctors in deep unnatural voices. It would seem like something straight out of a movieâa work of fantasy, except all of these accounts were more or less corroborated with "nearly 800 pages of official records obtained by the Indianapolis Star and recounted in more than a dozen interviews with police, DCS personnel, psychologists, family members and a Catholic priest."
One of the more chilling sections of the report includes a segment about the possessed 9-year-old:
According to Washington's original DCS reportâan account corroborated by Walker, the nurseâthe 9-year-old had a "weird grin" and walked backward up a wall to the ceiling. He then flipped over Campbell, landing on his feet. He never let go of his grandmother's hand.
Another segment of the piece reads:
The 12-year-old would later tell mental health professionals that she sometimes felt as if she were being choked and held down so she couldn't speak or move. She said she heard a voice say she'd never see her family again and wouldn't live another 20 minutes.
This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
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Utah Murder-Suicide
In September of 2014, a Utah teen returned to his home to find his parents and three siblings dead. "In a notebook, a 'to-do list' had been scribbled on the pages ... The list looked as if the parents were readying to go on vacationâitems such as 'feed the pets' and 'find someone to watch after the house' were written,"
The Salt Lake Tribune reported. It appeared to be murder-suicide, but there was no suicide note, no prior indication that they would do this, no explanation. Police could not figure out why two parents would kill themselves and three of their four children.
For a year, no one knew exactly what happened to the family, or what would drive the parents to do something so unthinkable. In January, police released more chilling details in the case. According to accounts from family members and an investigation by police, the parents were driven by a belief that the apocalypse was coming and an obsession with a convicted killer. As the
Washington Post reported:
Friends and family told police that the parents were worried about the "evil in the world" and wanted to escape a "pending apocalypse." But most assumed they just wanted to move somewhere "off the grid." Investigators also found letters written by Kristi Strack to one of the state's most infamous convicted killers, Dan Lafferty, who was convicted in the 1984 fatal stabbing of his sister-in-law and her 1-year-old daughter. According to trial testimony, he killed the victims at the order of his brother, Ron Lafferty, who claimed to have had a revelation from God. The story became a book called "Under the Banner of Heaven."Police said Kristi Strack became friends with Dan Lafferty, and she and her husband even visited him in prison.
The Phone Stalker
In 2007,
ABC news documented a series of cell phone calls to families with terrifyingly specific death threats. The unidentified callers knew exactly what families were doing and what they were wearing.
The families say the calls come in at all hours of the night, threatening to kill their children, their pets and grandparents. Voice mails arrive, playing recordings of their private conversations, including one with a local police detective.The caller knows, the families said, what they're wearing and what they're doing. And after months of investigating, police seem powerless to stop them.
This went on with the Kuykenall family for months, who reported a caller with a scratchy voice threatening to slit their throats.
When the Fircrest, Wash., police tried to find the culprit, the calls were traced back to the Kuykendalls' own phones -- even when they were turned off.It got worse. The Kuykendalls and two other Fircrest families told ABC News that they believe the callers are using their cell phones to spy on them. They say the hackers know their every move: where they are, what they're doing and what they're wearing. The callers have recorded private conversations, the families and police said, including a meeting with a local detective.
"The Watcher"
After moving into their $1.3 million dream home, a New Jersey family started receiving creepy death threats from someone who identified themselves as "The Watcher." As
CBS News reported earlier this year:
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Since moving in, the owners said they have received numerous letters from the mysterious person. "The Watcher" claimed the home "has been the subject of my family for decades," and "I have been put in charge of watching and waiting for its second coming," Castro reported.The new owners have several children, and other letters asked, "Have they found out what's in the walls yet?" and "I am pleased to know your names now, and the name of the young blood you have brought to me."
The family was forced to flee from their home and later filed a lawsuit against the previous owners.
Issei the Cannibal
In 1974, 24-year-old Wako University student Issei Sagawa allegedly followed a German woman to her home in Tokyo, Japan, broke into her apartment while she was sleeping, and attempted to cut a piece of flesh off her body to consume. When she awoke, she reportedly fought him and he was later captured by the police. According to a 2012
Vice documentary that covered Issei's bizarre story, he was mistakenly charged with attempted rape and his wealthy father paid the victim a settlement outside of court to have the charges dropped.
Seven years later, in 1981, he allegedly committed a murder in Franceâshooting and eating a fellow University student, RenĂŠe Hartevelt. Issei creepily documented the entire experience with photographs and he was captured by authorities once again while attempting to dump the rest of her body in the Bois de Boulogne lake. He was deported back to Japan and committed to a mental institution. For reason unknown, his psychologists in Japan declared that he was sane. Furthermore, a legal technicality involving the French government refusing to turn over the documents from his case meant that his murder charges were dropped completely. He checked himself out of the mental hospital and has reportedly been walking the streets as a free man ever since. Issei has even become a controversial celebrity, writing over 20 books. According to
Japan Today, he most recently fantasized about an unnamed TV actress, saying:
"I'll catch a glimpse of her thigh and think, 'That sure looks tasty.' But I don't feel like I actually want to eat it. As I accomplished the act of cannibalism once, there's no meaning to maintaining the desire for it anymore. In my book, I wrote that it [human flesh] was tasty, but that was not really true; I'd much rather eat Matsuzaka (Kobe) beef. But because I'd desired to consume human flesh for so long, I'd managed to convince myself that it would necessarily be delicious." Issei Sagawa was also referenced in the Rolling Stones song "Too Much Blood," with the lyrics reading: "And when he ate her he took her bones/To the Bois de Boulogne." He is
currently 73 years old and continues to live in Kawaski City, Japan. To this day, no one knows why France did not allow Japan to give him a trial.
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2023.05.27 22:35 Drakolf The Dragon Husband:
1: Betrothal and Wedding.
The Dragon had been terrorizing the region off and on for the past few centuries. Even though his kingdom had been wise enough to not aggravate the Dragon by sending would-be heroes off to their deaths, his people hadn't been spared his wrath.
Now, the kingdom's enemies were aiming their spears in his direction, claiming their lack of involvement as reason to invade and take their resources.
So he sent his strongest warrior to the Dragon's keep, with very clear instructions to follow. It was suicide, but the warrior understood it was a sacrifice that needed to be made. The warrior rode through the forests, into the charred wastelands, and up to the Dragon's keep. There, under the contemptuous gaze of the Dragon, he removed his sword.
This gave the Dragon enough pause to not immediately attempt to immolate him, and so a question was asked. "Why have you come here, Human, dressed to kill, yet removing your weapon?"
"I have a message for you." The warrior spoke, though there was fear in his voice, "I would ask that you at least allow me to tell you what it is, before you kill me."
"Very well." The Dragon said, clearly amused and curious. "What is your message?"
The warrior pulled from his belt a written letter. "The King of Agaran formally offers you the chance to marry into the royal family, with your choice of spouse."
It was a brilliantly stupid plan, it was an action taken so the king could say, "Well, I tried something new, and it still didn't work." Because he tried something, he at least would have them off his back.
The Dragon stared at him in utter incredulity, then simply replied. "I accept."
The Dragon scooped up the warrior and his horse and flew to the kingdom, nobody had anticipated the Dragon would fly all of the way into the capitol, returning the warrior and his horse unharmed.
"Where is your king? I will speak with him."
The king had been preparing to address his neighbors when he heard the Dragon's voice. "Impossible." He said. He had not expected the Dragon to call his bluff, yet when he stepped out into the courtyard, the Dragon gazing down at him, he knew he had miscalculated.
"I am here to accept your marriage proposal." The Dragon stated. "Bring forth your choices."
The king had four daughters and three sons, all of whom were terrified in the presence of the Dragon. There was a long pause as the Dragon examined each of them closely, then after a few minutes, he simply said, "I have made my choice." He looked very pointedly at the King, who realized that he had severely miscalculated.
He couldn't renege on his deal, so against all sense, he had a lavish wedding ceremony with the Dragon, who used magic to make himself smaller, just enough to fit, at any rate. Once the vows were exchanged, the King found himself branded with an arcane mark. "You are now my husband." The Dragon stated calmly. "Within the week, you will become a Dragon in your own right, and so shall your children. May our reign be long and prosperous, and may our enemies rue the day they bear fangs at us."
As the King's skin slowly morphed to scales, his fear of the dragon morphed into attraction, and he realized that he had not indeed made a miscalculation.
2: The Reformation.
Dragons are a very proud and powerful species, and it was believed that coexistence was impossible without complete capitulation.
The people were, of course, concerned at first that their monarch and his family had been transformed so, especially since they walked with an air of authority that far surpassed their prior behavior.
Yet, those fears were allayed when the King put forth new laws that- by and large- would improve everyone's laws.
The nobility were in an uproar, of course, the accusations levied against him being such petty things as, "That Dragon has poisoned your mind, driven you mad!" or "We exist to ensure those peasants do not get too comfortable and seek to depose us!"
The King's response was simple. "My husband is a Dragon and I am as well. I have nothing to fear."
The King's response was also brutal.
It was known that Dragons had the capacity to know where their property was, how it was used, and more importantly, how it was misused.
As the ruling monarch, everything within his borders was his property, from the grandest of art to the lowliest shovel- from the richest of nobility, to the meekest of slave.
He didn't need to investigate the nobility who had been embezzling for the past decade, but he also didn't act to hastily. When he would have one report their monthly tax earnings, they would unerringly list the total amount they'd taken, how much it was under or over his standard rate- it was almost always double that- and how that extra money taken was mysteriously gone by he time it reached him.
Except, he knew the exact location where it had been stashed, where they kept the evidence of their embezzling, and the fact that he had his royal guards already dispatched to gather said evidence.
The theft of what was his angered him enough- that money was earned fairly and legally by his people, circulated properly within his economy, and moreover, this loss of income had led to the very financial situation that had ironically led to him being unable and unwilling to throw his men's lives away to his now-husband.
What truly brought forth his wrath, was the mistreatment of his property, his people. There were beggars on the street who were only in that position because their Lord had robbed them of everything. There were families who had elder children forgoing their meals to ensure their younger siblings ate.
"In this month alone, one thousand of my subjects have died from a lack of food, due to greed." The King's voice dripped with hatred and venom.
One by one, his nobility were taken to task for their deeds- those who had been caught in a desperate action were given leniency. After all, their need had been artificially created by their peers' greed and negligence.
And those who were guilty of crimes against the crown, along with any accomplices, were publicly executed; the means by which was determined by the people, and carried out no matter how cruel it was.
The nobility dismantled to be rebuilt better, he elevated those who had served the Kingdom loyally, including the knight who had been intended as a sacrifice, who was allowed the hand of one of his consenting daughters, if he so chose.
He accepted, being granted the same blessing the royal family had been given.
With all appropriated funds gathered, the King set about using it, he had no issue with spending it because it was all his regardless, and his pride demanded his treasure be immaculate.
First, a stipend was given to everyone in the nation, the slaves were granted freedom simply because work through coercion was inefficient- rather, once they were all free with enough money to start a new life, the King rewrote the laws regarding slavery.
He made it so it could only either be voluntary or compulsory under strict guidelines. There was a minimum standard of how they were to be treated, a minimum of food to be fed, a minimum quality of water, of shelter, of clothing.
He believed that outright outlawing the practice would make it impractical enough to be worthless, and thus later abolished.
He was later surprised to learn it was indeed used as he outlined as a way for common folk to secure a life of relative comfort and ease with guaranteed work and quality of life.
With everyone in his kingdom guaranteed a degree of freedom, in instituted laws in which his legal citizens were guaranteed a livable minimum wage at a tax rate that was low enough to ensure their comfort, mandatory basic education to ensure a certain quality of service to the kingdom, and incentives for educated citizens to join his military, incentives that were enough to elevate them beyond a simple, but comfortable life tending the fields.
With the happiness and loyalty of his people assured through the laborious process of treating them with dignity, he was able to cast his gaze outward, to the nations he had absolutely incensed through his audacious actions in securing his husband's talon in marriage.
He had less than a year to prepare.
3: Diplomacy.
There were ten nations roughly surrounding the stretch of land that had once been its own prosperous nation. All of them were of equivalent size, and of equivalent wealth. All of them, save one, had tried to kill the Dragon.
When notice had been given that the odd one out had sent a marriage proposal, of all things, they were incensed at this flagrant attempt at avoiding responsibility. It was why they were utterly gobsmacked when it came to pass the Dragon had not only accepted, but had married the King!
That he was warped into a draconic abomination was another thing entirely, for for a time, they watched and observed, waiting for an excuse to go there any wipe the nation of the map- preferably with the Dragon.
To their horror, the King enacted radical reforms throughout his nation, butchering nobility who had embezzeled, granting the peasantry stipends, and even giving money to beggars. The outlawing of slavery as they knew it was a step too far- how were they to recover from the loss of one of their purchasers now?
In days, his military swelled with new recruits, many of them bearing the same shape as the King due to their relation to recently uplifted nobility, no matter how distant, some even wedding others, spreading the change even further.
By the end of the year, the entire nation had changed, and war was most certainly on the horizon.
A moot was called, all monarchs and leaders of the nations gathered onto neutral ground to discuss the recent upheaval. The man-dragon King and his draconic consort arrived together.
The King stood tall and proud, his body similar to a Beastfolk's rather than a Human, his talons carved thin furrows in the stone floor as he approached, his tail slithering against the floor. He furled his wings, regarding the others with ophidian eyes glowing with inner fire, his face of similar shape to his consort's.
His consort sat beside him, towering over all of them.
"I, Dracus Flamescale, King of the recently renamed Kingdom of Draknia, respectfully thank all of you for having me." He gave them a polite, formal bow.
Not only new in body, but in name. changing the name that his ancestor had chosen for his kingdom. There was absolutely no shame.
"I, Garron Wingbreaker, High Chieftain of the United Beastfolk Tribes, announce that my father has perished, and that I now lead my people." The Lizardfolk in the room spoke.
"And I happen to be the only one alive with any courtly knowledge." The third who spoke was dressed as a jester. "As Kings disdain a fool a crown, I humbly ask that you tolerate my presence. After all, my Kings and Lords all perished seeking to kill a Dragon."
"You all know why we are here." The Primarch of the Holy Empire of Trau spoke. "Armand Withershire married a Dragon."
"Dracus, your holiness." Dracus stated firmly. "That is my name."
"Dracus, Armand, names are meaningless." This man, they didn't know his name, only that he went by the Bandit King and had managed to hold his territory for twenty long years. Even though his clans had civilized some, they still proudly dressed and acted as bandits, only allowing the safe travel of merchants if they had a pass or were a citizen of their 'nation'.
He was uninvited.
"Yet an apostate certainly believes his voice valid." The Primarch remarked dryly. He rounded on Dracus. "You will explain yourself before this council, creature."
Dracus ignored the insult and simply rested his hand on his husband's foreleg. "Peace, darling. We want them to speak their minds, not subjugate them." He shot a glare at the Primarch. "Not yet, at any rate."
He cleared his throat, a short burst of flame jetting from his nostrils. "One year ago, I was entreated to make an attempt on whom would become my husband, to slay him and end his tyranny. I freely admit that my marriage proposal was, to but it bluntly, an entreatment to everyone here to- as the commoners would say- 'bite me'."
The Fool King chuckled at this, finding no end of mirth from the declaration.
"I am not an idiot!" Dracus continued, cutting off the Primarch before he could take control of the conversation through sheer volume. In a more subdued tone, he added, "I knew sending anyone to fight would be suicidal, and as I recall, my prior suggestions to attack as one was roundly rejected multiple times."
"You might have had a chance, had you." His husband remarked.
"My response was very much a challenge to anyone who cared to make me, I had honestly not anticipated my husband's answer. Dear."
The Dragon fixed everyone with a glare. "I was well aware that there was no possible way it was serious. yet I was bored and wanted an excuse to burn his city to embers. I called him on his bluff, and he brought forth his children. I named him my choice, and he accepted. Honestly, being willing to move forward with a lie is admirable, thus I granted him my blessing, one that permeates our realm."
Dracus nodded. "My act of hubris and defiance has granted you all a year of respite." He spoke calmly and carefully. "My husband, you see, is rather angry with the repeated attempts at murder, and is of the mind to utterly destroy your nations, feast on your people, and claim your territory for our own use."
"You insist on diplomacy."
"Indeed." Dracus looked at everyone. "The terms for peace are simple. You will accept the establishment of Draknia, you will recognize me and my people as intelligent, sapient people, and not monstrous abominations, and you will drop all hostilities. In exchange, we will trade peacefully, I will personally ensure you receive recompense for your losses, even if it takes me a century to do so, after all, I now have the time to do this. My husband will accept agreement as an apology, and will not attack your people unprompted, and it is understood that any marriage with my descendants will not confer our blessing to you, your families, and so forth, and will simply end at the individual wed if they so wish to accept it."
The room was in an uproar the moment he finished, the Primarch casting aspersions of heresy, the Bandit King demanding blood as payment, the Lizardfolk at least had the somewhat reasonable demand that they eat his dead.
As things died down, the only person who hadn't raised their voice simply said, "I can agree to these terms."
Everyone looked at the Fool King incredulously.
"What!?" The Primarch hissed.
"Only an absolute fool would ignore such a peaceful resolution." The Fool King stated. "We either anger the man who not only has a Dragon as a spouse, but is himself capable of breathing fire, has a large standing army of Dragonborn-"
"Good name." Dracus remarked approvingly.
"-and has displayed the innate ability to know where his property is, how it's being used, and who has it- meaning that he could find a spare golden coin in the gutter buried under generations of filth and use it as needed." The Fool King stated.
He paused for a moment, looking at everyone pointedly, his silly little hat jingling with each movement. "Or, we make an ally with one of the most prosperous nations in our territories, gain access to the aid of Dragonborn who can breathe fire upon our enemies, have the peace to restore ourselves to our former glory, and maybe- once in a blue moon- we can gain a Dragonborn of our own to supplement our armies. Oh, and not die in a blazing inferno." He clapped his hands together. "I'm choosing the option that isn't going to kill my people, because we've already had more than our fair share of death and destruction. On one small condition."
Dracus raised his brow. "Name your condition." He said.
"The central territory is your husband's yes? Technically a nation of one, not yet annexed into your territory by force, writ, or decree?" Dracus nodded. "See? I like him, he's perceptive!" The Fool remarked. "My condition is thus. That territory becomes neutral ground, all of our nations free to make use of it equally."
"What happens in my territory is mine alone to grant." Dracus' spouse stated firmly. "I will accept this condition, with the caveat that any who do not agree to our accord will find no peace there."
"My people will welcome this accord." The Lizardfolk Chieftain spoke. "On the understanding that your people are Beastfolk as we are."
"It goes without saying." Dracus responded. The Chieftain nodded once.
"On the condition anything we nick from your people is ours." The Bandit King said. "It's no fun if someone can just track us down and get it back."
"This is not something that can merely be ignored." Dracus answered. "If that is your condition, it is impossible to meet."
"Aye, fair. Then you won't mind if I make use of my own Dragonborn men, aye?"
"Fair is fair." Dracus answered. "They are your men, do with them as you will."
"This is intolerable!" The Primarch railed. "You make deals with the very demons of the skies, as though there is reason!"
Dracus calmly lifted up a pendant he wore, "Primarch, I believe you recognize this symbol. I would be severely concerned if you did not." The Primarch looked like he was going to have a stroke. "Adenna would have granted any of us the strength to slaughter a Dragon, yet clearly she chose a man of the faith to instead wed them. Is it not a miracle, then, that a mere Human could capture the love and adoration of so magnificent a beast?"
His husband raised his head proudly.
"If I am an abomination before the Holy Matron, is she not entitled to smite me?"
The Primarch knew bullshit when he saw it, but he knew he couldn't refute this without a good reason. He knew his people's religion was bullshit, but it kept the masses happy and their coffers filled with tithes. "On the condition that we ensure a proper Temple is built within your city walls, and if not, then on your coin, one shall be built and maintained by an ordained member of the Temple."
Dracus nodded. "I will gladly seek such a vaunted title, your Holiness, for to have a man of faith a king would bring a greater boon, our nations eternal allies before the Holy Matron."
The Primarch snarled. "Not on your miserable life, abomination." He spat.
"A pity." Dracus said. "The Holy Matron will forgive me my sins, Primarch. I will endeavor to leave her Temples unmolested."
The Primarch looked around for any support, all eyes averted his gaze. With no support, he turned away and stalked out of the council room.
"Am I to presume the lack of support for our dear, misguided friend- by whose most vocal edict demanded we slay a Dragon- is at the very least a vote of neutrality?"
One by one, the rest of the monarchs and leaders voiced their acceptance of Draknia's accord.
"Excellent." Dracus said. "When my people go to war on Trau, I ask you not to interfere, whether to aid or to defend. They will either prove the power to kill a Dragon, or they will fall."
On this ominous note, the Council disbanded, and they all returned to their homes.
5: Conquest.
The Holy Kingdom of Trau was a sham, and it took those with more self-worth than the average man to recognize it.
As far as anyone was concerned, King Dracus was an otherwise devout member of the Holy Matron's faithful, and had tried his hardest to ensure peace, only to be scorned by a man content to sit in power.
Nobody in Draknia saw the religion as anything but a means to control the masses, and unless they had proof of a God, they were content to simply humor those who believed until it was more prudent to decry their faith as false.
Just because it wasn't their means of control didn't mean they couldn't use it.
King Dracus maintained his position as monarch through respect and power- things the commonfolk had no interest in until they felt it in their blood. They shared custody of the kingdom, they shared ownership- but King Dracus and his husband commanded.
Once-faithful of the Holy Matron made pilgrimage, speaking the proper words, showing proper reverence, it was easy to pretend since they had once done it eagerly.
They were, of course, refused entry, the reason being that they were unholy abominations, that the Holy Matron turned her back to them. Exactly as planned, Draknia had the proper motivation to go to war.
King Dracus' orders were simple: Only kill the combatants, any civilians who attacked were a combatant, and anyone who dropped their weapon- either preemptively or upon command- would be spared. Anyone who picked it back up was to be immediately executed.
Dragonborn soldiers flew upon the Holy Capitol, flying over bulwarks and strongholds before descending upon the city's walls.
Nobody ever planned for an army to come in from the air, the main gate's walls were overrun, knights of the Temple cut down if engaged, captured if they complied with the demand to drop their weapons. The army marched through the city, any time they came upon barricades, they simply breathed fire and burned them to cinders, then used their wings to blow the flames out.
Nothing stood between them and their target.
The Primarch was terrified, his efforts in getting the Dragon killed had primarily been a long gambit to bring the other nations to their knees in despair before having his armies kill it, bringing them into the fold under a united Holy Empire- A tactic that would have never worked, not even if their Goddess existed.
Knights gathered to defend the temples, but were left baffled when the Dragonborn simply walked past. One fool believed the Goddess was protecting them, only to be instantly proven wrong by a controlled gout of fire. The tense standoff that followed was only broken by the invading army making supplication to the Goddess.
When it became clear the army was not here to burn down the Temples, the faithful began to believe that these Dragonborn- all of whom openly wore symbols of faith to the Goddess- were divine messengers, rather than hellspawn set to destroy the Empire.
There was some confusion as they gathered their weapons, and upon being told to drop them, simply responded with, "You are clearly messengers of the Holy Matron, we will not stand by and ignore such a clear sign of her favor!"
The collective reaction of the Draknian army was a collective, 'Yeah, sure, let's go with that.'
They marched upon the Grand Temple, and when briefly stymied by the locked front door, they took flight and entered through the windows.
Every member of the higher orders of the Temple were slaughtered, with the lay priests and acolytes spared.
The Primarch was taken alive, and summarily fed to the Dragon, away from prying eyes.
With their higher government in disarray, the lay priests scrambled to keep their society functioning, failing in their duties because they were only meant to serve, not lead.
As things grew more and more dire, and the people prayed fervently for a sign, in came Ardryx Flamescale, eldest son of Dracus, who spoke words of peace and comfort, all while wearing the robes of a lay priest. He was humble and kind, using Draconic magic to heal the masses- though to the faithful, it was as clear as any divine blessing.
He was unopposed when he took the temple throne as a Prophet-King of the Empire, who naturally got along very well with the Kingdom of Draknia.
Once xenophobic against anything that wasn't Human, and highly antagonistic to the other nations, the Holy Empire of Trau sent envoys of peace, who spoke of the manifold blessings of the Prophet-King, who foretold a millennia of peace between the nations so long as the Faithful were welcoming and kind to their neighbors.
The collective response from the other nations was somewhere between pants-shitting terror, and complete respect. Everyone understood there was nothing stopping the Kingdom of Draknia from taking over if they wanted to.
Yet it was as King Dracus and Prophet-King Ardryx would say: "A little competition keeps things interesting."
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2023.05.27 20:54 Bathroom-Salt Here it is. In full. Grammar errors and everything.
Reading dbrand's fine print is kind of like joining a secret club - one that entitles you to learn all of the most legally questionable aspects of our business. Creative accounting Tricks? Plans to destroy the sun? Horrific industrial "accidents" that have claimed the lives of countless scientists? It's all in here - this fine print sheds light on things that probably should have stayed in the dark. On that note- remember how we called it a "secret club"? Well, it's your responsibility to make sure it stays that way. If you fail to do so, just remember: we know where you live.
For some, it expresses a preference that all consumer goods should offer a Matte Black colorway. For us, it means we wonât rest until the entire world is coated Matte Black. How do we accomplish this? Simple, we destroy the sun. For the past five years, all of our money â or rather, your money â has funded the production of a cartoonishly large laser beam. Weâll cut to the chase: star-destroying lasers arenât cheap. Neither are our products â you can blame the sun for that. Our accounting Robots just sent out an internal email. The message was clear: weâve officially made too much money. As a result, our corporate bank accounts have been frozen. Turns out bribing the bank to unfreeze your assets is a lot easier when your assets arenât frozen. Lucky for us, kidnapping the CEOâs son is free. With our exorbitant profits safely returned and a newfound distrust for financial institutions, we turned to the time-honored storage solution of simply stashing cash under the mattress. Hereâs the deal: we need to buy a hundred thousand mattresses. Your order is bankrolling that purchase. Hereâs hoping Casper ships in bulk.
Pastel skin development was a bit of a bumpy road. It began with us rounding up hundreds of test subjects and strapping them into chairs. Then, we blasted about sixteen million different colors directly into their eyeballs over the course of... thirty days? To be honest, we weren't really keeping track. Afterwards, as the lights came back up, we asked them to list their favorites. Their response, sadly, was not the perfectly recited list of CMYK values we had hoped for. Instead, a few of them said something about violating the Geneva Convention. We gently reminded them that they were a focus group, not prisoners of war. That seemed to shut them up. The remaining 99% of test subjects seemed completely incapable of speech for some reason. In the end, we got little usable data from the exercise. Instead, we picked eight colors at random. Don't let our test subjects' sacrifice be in vain.
The bees are dying. It starts with their exposure to pesticides. Over time, an acute poisoning sets in. Immune system? Ravaged. Their cognitive abilities fade to nothingness. Death ensues. They're dropping like flies out there. Soon, we'll be saying "they're dropping like bees out there." As a hive's worker bee population gets decimated, the queen runs out of servants. Much like yourself, the queen canât do anything on her own. She dies too. The hive follows suit. This is a phenomenon known as âColony Collapse Disorder,â and itâs contributing to bee shortages all over the globe.
You may be wondering: what does any of this have to with our products? Absolutely nothing. Don't let that stop you from buying some. Where were you when dbrand succeeded in their planetary conquest? Don't answer that - we know where you were. You were buying stuff off our website. Well, we've got good news. Once we've assumed control, we'll be instating a representative for the human race - mostly as a figurehead, so that you'll all keep giving us your money. How will we select this representative? First, we'll stage a cruel, bizarre decathlon. Events will include running an obstacle course constructed entirely of flamethrowers and holding your breath while submerged in a tub of hot sauce. The winner of the decathlon will get absolutely nothing â weâll just stage it for kicks. Then, weâll select the representative for all humankind based on how many dbrand orders theyâve placed.
We were halfway through building a fort out of your money when we realized⌠we need a fireplace that we can use to burn money. For warmth. Thereâs one problem: if we use cash to build the fireplace, we have less to burn. You see the issue, yes? Excellent. Thatâs why weâre having a sale. Did you know that was the origin of the term "fire-sale"? To describe a promotion that would generate revenue to use as kindling? Look it up. In a book. Then, give the book to us. We won't burn the book - we're not monsters. We'll just pawn the book off and burn the sweet, flammable proceeds. Once we've completed our money fireplace, we'll need to hang something over the mantlepiece. We were thinking of hiring an interior designer for that. Have you ever hired and interior designer? Of course not. Anyway, their rates are ridiculous.
We get a lot of questions about where our money comes from. To be fair, most of them come from the IRS. It's apparently a "red-flag" that a phone case manufacturer has accumulated enough wealth to construct an island fortress in shark-infested waters. We tried explaining that the sharks came with the property. They didn't care. Anyways, we extended an invitation for their auditors to come out and meet the Sharks for themselves. Upon arrival, we gave them a âcarefully guided tourâ through our compound, fed them a lunch that contained absolutely no arsenic, then brought them down to the pier to observe the sharks from a safe distance. You're probably wondering: why didn't we give the sharks an auditor-flavored lunch? Simple: Since their safe return to Washington, the IRS is now turning a blind eye to our âenterprise.â While the auditors may be off our backs, those sharks aren't going to feed themselves. Maybe we'll bring the Supreme Court down for a visit.
In 2020, Apple decided to enter the Magnet game. This was a mistake for everyone. You see, our magnet division have been preparing for this inevitability. Shortly after Tim got off stage, our magnet scientist unveiled what can only be described as the most powerful magnet on Earth. Once removed from containment, the magnet barreled into the nearest robot with so much force, the entire population of French Polynesia heard the impact. Naturally, a single robot was not enough to stop the magnetic rampage. To make a long story short, a gigantic ball of assorted metals has been wreaking havoc along the Guatemalan coast for the past few years. Needless to say, we went with a slightly less powerful magnet for the grip case. Our only advice is to keep it far, far away from Guatemala. Imagine, if you will, a vaguely criminal business enterprise. This âbusiness,â which shall remain nameless, can only attribute about 11% of its annual revenues to activities that the police might describe as, âlegalâ. The accountants for this âbusinessâ advised that, in order to avoid a catastrophic financial investigation, they'd need to âcook the booksâ. Strange advice, right? How would a warehouse of oven roasted books help to satisfy a Government Audit? Turns out, âcooking the booksâ is actually slang for âfraudulent accounting tacticsâ. Why did the accountants wait until the entire building was on fire to mention that? Doesn't matter. Point is, we need some new books to cook, and your wallet is on the menu.
Here's a fun fact: every month, at least three psychopaths request that we make skins out of real human flesh. Ten times out of ten, the âshould we call the cops?â conversation is preempted by a different, more important question: âis this an opportunity to make money?â Needless to say, we bought a van. After driving around and âcollectingâ a bunch of hitchhikers, we returned to HQ only to find we had been charged with kidnapping. Since it's apparently illegal to monetize humans in the way we had planned, we decided to pivot to Cow Hides instead. If you've ever wondered whether or not we can launch a product line from within the walls of a maximum-security prison, Leather is your answer.
While we're on the subject of maximum-security, prisons, have you ever broken out of one? Turns out, it's far more challenging than one might think. Our first thought was to bribe all of the guards. Apparently. The banks saw this coming and froze our assets. With the easy route closed, we had no choice but to rely on our business acumen. After a few months of deal making and strong arming, we had amassed a commercial empire within the walls of the prison. In other words, we add enough cigarettes to recreate the Great Chicago Fire. This is, in fact, precisely what we did- Just replace Chicago with Toronto East Detention Center, then burn it to the ground. Speaking of which, did you know that the Great Chicago Fire was started by a cow? Google it, then rest easy: with the launch of. With the launch of Leather, Justice was finally served. Henry Ford once said that a customer can have a car in any color, so long as it's black. Apparently, Sony missed the memo with their white PS5 Henry Ford? Spinning in his grave. We exhumed his corpse and saw it for ourselves, having unearthed A perpetual motion machine. That defies all known laws, the laws of physics we set to work: How could we utilize this self-powered skeletal term vine to power the production of dark plates?
As it turns out, Henry Ford generates less energy than it took to dig him up. Without sufficient electricity to power our Darkplates production lines, we instead applied for a Nobel Prize in Physics. The plan was to spend the prize money on a nuclear reactor. Turns out, the Nobel foundation has some âethical codeâ which âprohibitsâ participants from âneedlesslyâ exhuming corpses based on a âhunchâ that the deceased has begun to spin. Weâll see how they feel when weâre digging up their graves. When we decided to redesign the Darkplates, we quickly realized that it was going to be a monumental task. This led to the formation of dbrandâs Plate Science division⌠or at least, that was the plan. See, we quickly realized that the term âPlate Scientistâ means many things to different people. To geologists, it might mean âsomeone who studies Plate Tectonics,â which would explain why 100% of our applicants were geologists. With our newly assembled team of people who think a PlayStation is a Nintendo, we got to work. Normally, this story would end with the successful development of Darkplates 2.0. Instead, these so-called Plate Scientists gave us a bag of rocks. After both the Plate Science division and the geologists who staffed it had been dissolved, we went back to the drawing board. Turns out, our Industrial Design Robots had already designed Darkplates 2.0. A portion of the proceeds went towards replenishing our supply of sulfuric acid.
On Canada Day, we waived all shipping fees. Why, you ask? Simple â as Canadians we know that saving money on shipping means more opportunity to buy life-saving snowshoes. As the great Wayne Gretzky once said, âsnowshoes â theyâre the only sure-fire way to escape a polar bear attack.â Not Canadian? No clue why a polar bear would be attacking to begin with? Allow us to paint you a picture.
You just finished tapping the sap out of a faithful Maple Tree. A few unassuming drops spill on your parka. The polar bears donât necessarily care for the sap â itâs the smell of fear and flesh they crave. Within moments, youâve become prey. As your snowshoe-less boots dash gracelessly toward your igloo, narrowly escaping the third hyper-carnivorous near-death experience of the week, you pause to reflect: âWhy the hell do I live in an igloo? Itâs July.â Your sense quickly returns to remind you of the truth: you spent most of your money on dbrand and ice is cheaper than bricks. As your makeshift home melts around you and the grumbling stomachs of a polar bear family close in, your frostbite-ridden lips manage one final sentence: âIâm sorry I didnât spend more on dbrand.â
When Linus âTech Tipsâ Sebastian rang us up to propose a limited edition dbrand collaboration, we couldnât hang up fast enough. Seventy-two âmissedâ calls later, Anthony Youngâs name popped up on our caller ID. One phone conversation later, the Linus Face Tips drop was born. Our elevator pitch? Itâs like if the LTT Store was good. Well, half-good.
See, here at dbrand we believe in offering choices. Specifically, a right choice and a wrong choice. Do we trust you to choose correctly? Never. Thatâs why weâve designed our business model around your terrible decisions â we get paid either way. Great thinking, dbrand. Every time an iPhone screen shatters, Tim Apple feels a pleasant chill run down his spine. It can happen at any time: while heâs exercising, doing his taxes, eating an apple⌠even while heâs getting some shut-eye. Good olâ Timmy hasnât had a solid nightâs sleep in over a decade. Why does this strange convulsion happen, you ask? Easy: from anywhere in the world, he can sense the repair fees heâs about to rack up. Heâs like a shark, sensing the blood money in the waters. Unlike most sharks, this one can breathe oxygen and chairs one of the largest mega corps in the world. Scared? You should be. Youâre already frantically Googling âShark Repellent,â arenât you? Stop that right now. He can sense your fear. Instead, get a screen protector. If we can prevent an iPhone screen from ever shattering again, itâll cut off Timâs main food supply and send him back to the ocean, where he belongs.
Are you sitting down? Good. We want you to remain calm. See, the truth is⌠the cows have escaped. It all started when one of our âinternsâ forgot to lock a gate at our Leather Production Facility. The rest is history â just like the intern. Is it accurate to say that we fired him? Debatable, really. On one hand: âfiring himâ implies that he worked for us by choice. On the other hand, his ashes are currently in the care of his family. None of this changes the fact that a legion of angry cows is currently on the loose. Thereâs no telling what theyâll do. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best, and buy some Leather while you still can. Now, if youâll excuse us, weâve got some herding to do.
Every Valentineâs Day, you ask yourself the same question. âWhy am I still single?â Weâll answer your question with one of our own: do you have any idea how strict our character limit is? If we could fit our best-selling book âWhy Nobody Loves Youâ into this space, we would. We canât⌠so instead, hereâs Chapter 11: youâre broke. Did we have something to do with that? Probably. Is that going to stop us from bleeding you further? Absolutely not. Thereâs only one solution: buy enough vinyl to fill the colossal hole in your heart. Look on the bright side: itâs cheaper than dating.
Despite our best efforts to detain Zack at our Teardown facility, he somehow keeps finding ways to escape. To overcome this hurdle, we held auditions for âvolunteer Zacks.â Average, untalented Americans looking for a shortcut to YouTube superstardom. It was a disaster. Putting aside the fact that their baldness required constant maintenance, it turns out they were utterly incapable of jerry rigging anything. Normally, weâd just incinerate them and move on. Unfortunately, Zack is a bit of an environmentalist. As a result, our âRecycling Departmentâ reluctantly devised a zero-emissions way to repurpose the volunteers. After replacing some unnecessary organs with mechanical upgrades, we soon had assembly lines of bald cyborgs tearing down devices around the clock. To make a long story short, weâre now offering consulting services to other corporations looking to shift away from human labor. If theyâre going to collapse the job market, we may as well bankrupt them in the process.
Every time you get a package from dbrand, you can hardly contain your excitement. Itâs not because youâre excited to give us your money â though you should be. Itâs because youâre excited to read the bizarre text on the packaging. Think of it as a reward for making the effort to read â certainly, a lot more work than youâre used to. Now, Youâre here. The disappointment has begun to set in. Youâre realizing that youâve been bamboozled. Youâre reading a metacommentary on our packaging copy. What is this, school? The last time you took one of those fancy-pants book-learning classes, they had to invent a grade lower than F. You donât even know what commentary means, let alone âmetacommentary.â To be perfectly honest, weâre surprised you made it this far. Spoiler alert: there is absolutely nothing you can do to get this time back. Signed, a Robot.
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