Rachel steele torrents

112 Operator
911 Operator
A Story About My Uncle
Action Henk
Age of Wonders II: The Wizard's Throne
Age of Wonders III
The Amazing American Circus
Antagonist
Archangel: Hellfire - Fully Loaded
Ashampoo Photo Optimizer 7
Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan
Awesomenauts Yogscast Pack - Coco Nebulon
Awesomenauts Yogscast Pack - Rocco
Awesomenauts Yogscast Pack - Skolldir
Awesomenauts Yogscast Pack - Ted McPain
The Bard's Tale
Battlerite DLC: YogYog Bear Mount
Bionic Commando
Blockstorm
Boundless
Breach & Clear
Broken Age
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Car Mechanic Simulator 2018
Chime Sharp
Citizens of Earth
ClusterPuck 99
Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?!
Corridor Z
Crashlands
Crusaders of the Lost Idols - Elite Starter Pack
Crying Suns
Cursed Castilla (Maldita Castilla EX)
Dagon: by H. P. Lovecraft - The Eldritch Box DLC
Dandara
Deadly Sin
Deadly Sin 2
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition
Defend Your Life: TD
Deponia: The Complete Journey
Draw Slasher
Drawful 2
Driftland: The Magic Revival
Dungeon of the Endless
Expeditions: Viking
Figment
Figment Soundtrack
The Final Station
Fury Unleashed
Go Home Dinosaurs
Going Under
Golf With Your Friends - OST
GRIP: Combat Racing Artifex DLC
Guns of Icarus Alliance
Guns of Icarus Alliance Soundtrack
Guns of Icarus Alliance Yogscast 2017 Costume Pack
Gurgamoth
Headlander
Hector: Badge of Carnage
Hexologic
HIVESWAP: Act 1
Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms -- Celeste Starter Pack
The Interactive Adventures of Dog Mendonça and Pizza Boy
Iron Danger
Jurassic World Evolution - Deluxe Dinosaur Pack
Last Word
Legacy of Dorn: Herald of Oblivion
Lion Quest
Love Letter
Lust for Darkness
Lust from Beyond: M Edition
Main Assembly
Mimic Arena
Ministry of Broadcast
Mirage: Arcane Warfare
Moon Hunters
NASCAR Heat 2 - October Jumbo Expansion
NecroWorm
Neon Drive (Steam)
Neverout
Neverwinter Feywild Starter Pack
Nex Machina
No Time To Explain Remastered
Offensive Combat: Redux!
Old Man's Journey
On Rusty Trails
Orbital Racer
Out of Reach: Treasure Royale
Out of the Park Baseball 18
Pale Echoes
Pandemic: Roles & Events
Pandemic: The Board Game
Pathway
Pikuniku
Post Void
Radio Commander
Rakuen
Raw Data
Remnants of Isolation
Renegade Ops Collection
Roarr! Jurassic Edition
RPG Maker 2000
RPG Maker VX
Sanctum 2
Say No! More
Scanner Sombre
She Remembered Caterpillars
Shing!
Silence
Slinger VR
Space Gladiators: Escaping Tartarus
Spectrum
Steel Rats
Super Raft Boat
SuperLuminauts
Supraland
SYSTEM SHOCK: ENHANCED EDITION
Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation - Asharra’s Diplomat Pack
Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation - Birdsong’s Entertainer Pack
Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation - Dragonbait’s Dungeoneer Pack
Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation - Tales of Artus Cimber’s Explorer Pack
Tannenberg
Team Fortress 2 badges - Mandrew's Munificent Mug and Israphel's Eleemosynary Expression
Team Racing League
Telefrag VR
Telltale Texas Hold'em
Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure
This War of Mine
Tiltagon
Tiny Echo
Tooth and Tail
Tormentor X Punisher
Toy Odyssey: The Lost and Found
Treasure Hunter Simulator
The USB Stick Found in the Grass
Wanderlust: Travel Stories
Wandersong
War for the Overworld - Yogscast Worker Skin
Wargroove
Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® - Game of the Year Edition
Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide
WARSAW
We Are Alright
West of Dead
World to the West
X-Morph: Defense + European Assault, Survival of the Fittest, and Last Bastion DLC
Yoku's Island Express
Zeno Clash 2
Zombie Night Terror
I also have Humble Choice leftovers from the following that I haven't sorted through yet:
APRIL 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Driftland, Turok 2, Truberbrook, Shoppe Keep 2, Capitalism 2)
APRIL 2021 HUMBLE CHOICE (Main Assembly, Rock Of Ages 3, In Other Waters, Aven Colony, Simulcra I+II, Colt Canyon, Skully, Popup Dungeon)
AUGUST 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Hello Neighbor + Hide And Seek, Littlebig Workshop, American Fugitive, The Coma 2, A Case Of Distrust)
DECEMBER 2021 HUMBLE CHOICE (Beyond The Wire, The Survivalists, Lacuna, 8 Doors, Greak, Tohu)
FEBRUARY 2021 HUMBLE CHOICE (Moving Out, The Wild 8, Train Station Renovation, Werewolf The Apocalypse Heart Of The Forest, Lovecraft's Untold Stories, Iris And The Giant, Boomerang Fu)
JANUARY 2021 HUMBLE CHOICE (Total Tank Simulator, Song Of Horror, Vampire The Masquerade: Shadows Of New York, Deleveled, The Ambassador)
JUNE 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Supraland, Grid, The Messenger, Felix The Reaper, Remnants Of Naezith, Overload, The Stillness Of The Wind, The King's Bird)
MARCH 2021 HUMBLE CHOICE (WWE 2k, Hotshot Racing, Peaky Blinders, Cyber Hook, Pesterquest, Boreal Blade, Ageless)
MAY 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Xcom 2, Niche, Swords Of Ditto, Neoverse, Horace)
NOVEMBER 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Darksburg, Smile For Me, Rover Mechanic Simulator, Youropa, Townsmen)
OCTOBER 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Iron Danger, Autonauts, Shadows: Awakening, Fantasy Blacksmith, The Suicide Of Rachel Foster, Goat Of Duty, The Uncertain, Lightmatter)
SEPTEMBER 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Lethal League, Fun With Ragdolls, Evoland, Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible Lair, The Occupation, The Shapeshifting Detective)
SEPTEMBER 2021 HUMBLE CHOICE (Atomicrops, Heaven's Vault, Swag And Sorcery, Fort Triumph, Orwell: Ignorance Is Strength, Framed Collection)
My region is North America.

New Chapter on every MWF (Monday, Wednesday,Friday)
[First] [[Next>]
[Discord] [Buy me a coffee]
Chapter 21: Reborn
Gribble sitting alongside his grandfather, Gorp, at a serene lake nestled in the heart of a lush forest. The gentle lapping of the water against the shore and the melodic chirping of birds create a peaceful atmosphere. Gribble's small, green hands grip a fishing rod, his eyes fixed on the unmoving line, frustration etched across his youthful face as time passes without a single catch. The sun's warm rays dance upon the lake's surface, casting a golden glow on the tranquil scene, yet Gribble remains oblivious to the beauty surrounding him, consumed by his growing impatience.
Gorp, a wise and patient goblin with a wrinkled face and kind, knowing eyes, notices his grandson's mounting frustration and offers a reassuring smile. With a gentle touch, Gorp places his weathered hand on Gribble's shoulder, his presence alone seeming to calm the young goblin's restless spirit. In a voice filled with wisdom and understanding, Gorp imparts a profound piece of advice that will forever shape Gribble's perspective: "Patience, my dear Gribble, is the bridge to success; when coupled with an unwavering belief in oneself, it becomes an unstoppable force, capable of overcoming even the most daunting of challenges."
As these words resonate deep within Gribble's mind, the peaceful scene begins to fade, the colors blurring and the sounds growing distant. The harsh reality of the present situation comes crashing back, and Gribble finds himself torn from the comforting memory, thrust once more into the dangerous reality of the cave and the looming threat of the Thundercat
Gribble lies on the cold, hard ground of the cave, his small body battered and bruised from the Thundercat's relentless assault. The air is thick with the scent of blood and the tang of fear, as Gribble struggles to catch his breath, each inhalation sending shockwaves of pain through his weakened frame. The Thundercat looms over him, its massive form casting a sinister shadow across the cavern floor, its electric blue fur crackling with barely contained energy. The creature's eyes gleam with a predatory hunger, its gaze fixed upon the helpless goblin, as if savoring the moment before delivering the final, fatal blow.
Gribble's heart races, his pulse pounding in his ears like a frantic drum, as he stares into the face of death itself. The Thundercat's hot breath washes over him, carrying with it the stench of primal ferocity and unbridled power. Gribble's own breath comes in short, desperate gasps, his lungs burning with the effort of drawing in the damp, musty air of the cave. The cold tendrils of fear wrap around his soul, threatening to suffocate him with their icy grip, as he confronts the terrifying realization that his life hangs in the balance, dependent upon the whims of the savage creature that towers above him.
In this moment of absolute horror, Gribble's mind races, desperately searching for a way out, for some glimmer of hope amidst the overwhelming darkness. He knows that he must act quickly, that hesitation will surely spell his doom, but his body feels leaden, weighed down by the burden of his injuries and the paralyzing fear that grips his heart.
In a last-ditch effort to save himself from the Thundercat's impending attack, Gribble musters the remnants of his strength, drawing upon the very last reserves of his power. He calls out to the earth, seeking to summon the dormant life that lies beneath the cave floor, hoping against hope that his earth vine powers will answer his desperate plea. Gribble's mind races as he focuses all of his energy on this single, crucial task, his brow furrowed in concentration, his eyes squeezed shut as he wills the vines to burst forth from the unyielding ground.
The thick green vine is sluggish in its movements, its progress hindered by the unnatural environment of the cave, but still, it inches forward, guided by Gribble's unwavering determination.
Gribble's heart leaps with a sudden surge of hope as he watches the vine snake its way towards the Thundercat, a small, defiant spark igniting within his chest. He knows that this is his only chance, that the success of his plan hinges upon the strength and speed of the vine, and he pours every last ounce of his will into the endeavor. The vine quivers and strains, as if struggling against an invisible barrier, but Gribble refuses to yield, his mind locked in a silent battle of wills with the very earth itself.
As Gribble watches the vine's sluggish progress, a sudden flash of inspiration illuminates his mind, and a daring plan takes shape. With renewed focus and determination, he directs the vine's growth, shaping and molding it with his earth magic, willing it to take on a new, more deadly form. Slowly, the tender green tendril begins to elongate and narrow, its tip sharpening into a wicked point, until it resembles a crude but effective spear, poised to strike at the heart of the Thundercat.
Gribble's eyes narrow as he concentrates on the newly-formed vine spear, his body trembling with the effort of maintaining his mental grip on the volatile plant matter. The spear quivers in the air, its tip aimed squarely at the Thundercat's broad, muscular chest, as if seeking out the creature's vital organs with a hunter's precision. Gribble's breathing grows shallow and rapid, his heart pounding against his ribcage as he prepares to unleash the improvised weapon, knowing that this single strike may well determine the outcome of the battle, and perhaps, the very course of his life.
With a final, desperate surge of energy, Gribble thrusts his hand forward, his fingers splayed wide as he channels every last ounce of his power into the vine spear. Time seems to slow to a crawl as Gribble watches the spear's progress, his heart in his throat, his eyes wide with a mixture of hope and fear, as he silently prays for the success of his gambit
The vine spear’s sharpened tip finding its mark with a sickening thud as it pierces the Thundercat's muscular chest. The creature lets out a deafening roar of pain and surprise, its voice reverberating through the cave like a clap of thunder, as it staggers backward, its electric blue fur standing on end. The Thundercat's eyes widen in shock and disbelief, its gaze fixed upon the slender green tendril that protrudes from its body, as if struggling to comprehend the reality of its own vulnerability.
Gribble watches in stunned amazement as the mighty Thundercat, the very embodiment of primal power and ferocity, begins to falter, its movements growing sluggish and uncoordinated. The creature's massive frame shudders and convulses, its muscles rippling beneath its fur as it fights to remove the vine. The Thundercat's breaths come in short, ragged gasps, its eyes growing dim and unfocused as the life slowly drains from its body, until at last, it collapses to the ground, a final, shuddering sigh escaping its lips.
The cave falls silent, the only sound the steady patter of the rain outside and Gribble's own labored breathing, as he struggles to come to terms with the magnitude of his victory. He stares at the Thundercat's lifeless form, scarcely daring to believe that he, a small, unassuming goblin, could have felled such a formidable beast. A mixture of relief and exhaustion washes over Gribble, his limbs trembling with the aftershocks of the intense battle, as he slowly begins to process the implications of his triumph.
Gribble crawls towards the fallen Thundercat, his movements slow and painful, each breath sending a fresh wave of agony through his battered body. As he nears the creature's lifeless form, an inexplicable urge takes hold of him, a primal desire that he can neither explain nor resist. Before he can question the impulse, Gribble finds himself drawn to the Thundercat's still-warm chest, his hands moving of their own accord as they seek out the beast's most vital organ.
With trembling fingers, Gribble carefully parts the Thundercat's thick fur, revealing the smooth, blue skin beneath. He hesitates for a moment, his mind reeling at the thought of what he is about to do, but the compulsion proves too strong to ignore. With a deep breath and a quick, decisive movement, Gribble plunges his hand into the Thundercat's chest, his fingers closing around the creature's still-beating heart. The organ pulses in his grasp, its rhythm slowing as he carefully extracts it from the Thundercat's body, a faint crackle of residual electricity dancing across its surface.
Gribble brings the heart to his lips, his eyes wide with a mixture of fear and anticipation, as he contemplates the enormity of the act he is about to commit. The coppery scent of blood fills his nostrils, mingling with the damp, earthy smell of the cave, as he parts his lips and takes a tentative bite of the Thundercat's essence. The taste is overwhelming, a flood of rich, primal flavors that dance upon his tongue, setting his senses alight with a rush of power and vitality unlike anything he has ever experienced. The world narrows to a single, focus point, as if the universe itself is holding its breath, waiting to see what awestriking abilities Gribble will gain from this bold act of consumption.
As Gribble swallows the last morsel of the Thundercat's heart, an electrifying surge of power courses through his veins, setting every nerve ending alight with a tingling, almost painful sensation. The goblin's small frame begins to tremble and convulse, his muscles twitching and spasming as the creature's essence merges with his own life force. Gribble gasps as he feels his body start to change, subtle shifts taking place throughout his musculature and skeleton that quickly escalate into all-consuming physical transformations as the potent powers from the heart take hold.
Gribble's once small, wiry muscles begin to bulge and swell, expanding with newfound strength and vitality, as if the Thundercat's raw power is being transmuted directly into his own cells and sinews. His scrawny limbs thicken and lengthen, the sudden growth of his body accompanied by shooting pains and cramps, as he undergoes an accelerated metamorphosis. The goblin's stature increases rapidly, his height multiplying at an astonishing rate, until he towers over his former self, a new, imposing figure of raw power and potential.
But the changes do not stop with his musculature alone. Gribble's senses sharpen to a degree he would never have thought possible, his eyes able to penetrate the thick darkness of the cave without hindrance, every detail of his surroundings now clear and sharp as if bathed in the bright light of day. The goblin's ears twitch and thrum with a newfound sensitivity, able to pick up the tiniest sounds and vibrations from the depths of the cave. Most astonishing of all, sparks of brilliant blue electricity emerge through the hairs on Gribble's arms, dancing and pulsing with a life force that both fascinates and terrifies him. He has been reborn, a product of the powers that now surge within, his body and mind irrevocably altered by the essence of the Thundercat.
As the initial shock of the transformation begins to subside, Gribble becomes aware of a soothing warmth spreading throughout his body, a sensation that stands in stark contrast to the pain and exhaustion that had plagued him mere moments before. The goblin looks down at his battered and bruised form, his eyes widening in astonishment as he watches the myriad wounds and gashes that mar his skin begin to knit together before his very eyes, the flesh mending itself at an impossible rate.
Deep lacerations seal shut, leaving behind only faint, silvery scars that quickly fade into nothingness, as if erased by an unseen hand. Ugly purple bruises that had blossomed across Gribble's body, testaments to the savage beating he had endured at the claws and fangs of the Thundercat, now rapidly diminish in size and color, until they vanish entirely, leaving his skin unmarked and pristine. Even the bone-deep aches and pains that had settled into Gribble's joints and muscles dissipate, replaced by a newfound sense of strength and vitality that courses through his veins like liquid fire.
As the healing process nears its completion, Gribble slowly rises to his feet, marveling at the ease with which he can now move, his body no longer weighed down by the burdens of injury and fatigue. He flexes his fingers experimentally, feeling the raw power that thrums just beneath the surface of his skin, a barely contained energy that whispers tantalizing of limitless potential. A sense of invincibility washes over the goblin, the knowledge that he has not only survived the brutal encounter with the Thundercat but emerged stronger and more powerful than ever before. Gribble's gaze hardens with a newfound sense of purpose, steadied by the certainty that he can now overcome any obstacle that dares to stand in his path.
Even as Gribble revels in the rush of power and the exhilaration of his miraculous recovery, a faint shadow begins to creep across the edges of his consciousness, an unsettling presence that lurks just beyond the reach of his newfound senses. It is a darkness that seems to emanate from deep within his own being, a nebulous entity that tugs at the corner of his thoughts, whispering of hidden costs and unspoken dangers.
The goblin tries to shake off the growing sense of unease, pushing the troubling thoughts aside as he focuses instead on the incredible changes that have taken place within his body, marveling at the raw strength and vitality that now course through his veins. Yet, even as he seeks to bask in the glow of his transformation, the darkness persists, hovering at the edge of his awareness like a silent, watchful specter.
As Gribble moves through the cave, his steps imbued with newfound purpose and power, he cannot escape the nagging feeling that something fundamental has shifted within him, a subtle alteration that goes beyond the physical changes he has undergone. It is as if the essence of the Thundercat, now intertwined with his own lifeforce, has brought with it a touch of something primal and untamed, a wildness that threatens to consume him from within. The goblin's heart begins to race, a sense of trepidation rising in his chest as he ponders the implications of this strange, unsettling presence, wondering what price he may ultimately pay for the powers he has so eagerly embraced.
Driven by an instinctive need to escape the confines of the cave and the lingering presence of the fallen Thundercat, Gribble makes his way towards the entrance, his steps steady and purposeful, imbued with a newfound sense of strength and determination. As he nears the mouth of the cave, the sound of the pouring rain grows louder, the steady patter of droplets against stone echoing through the cavernous space like a ghostly drumbeat.
Gribble steps out into the downpour, his body immediately assaulted by the cold, stinging droplets that fall from the sky in an unrelenting torrent. The water sluices over his skin, running in rivulets through his hair and down his face, yet the goblin barely registers the sensation, his body thrumming with the power of the Thundercat, the electricity that courses through his veins keeping him warm and insulated against the chill of the rain.
He tilts his face upwards, his eyes closed as he allows the water to wash over him, a silent, almost meditative gesture that speaks of a desperate need for cleansing and renewal. The rain beats down upon Gribble's body, as if seeking to purge him of the darkness that has taken root within his soul, to wash away the lingering traces of the Thundercat's essence that now mingle with his own. Yet, even as the water pours over him in an unending stream, the goblin knows that some stains are too deep to be cleansed by mere rain alone, that the changes that have been wrought within him are irrevocable and permanent.
As Gribble stands there in the pouring rain, he catches a glimpse of his reflection in a nearby puddle, the image distorted and rippling with each falling droplet. The face that stares back at him is at once familiar and utterly alien, a strange amalgamation of the goblin he once was and the creature he has become. Gone is the scrawny, unassuming figure that had entered the cave, replaced now by a being of raw power and untamed potential.
Gribble's once wiry frame is now corded with muscle, his body honed and sculpted by the Thundercat's essence, every sinew and fiber imbued with a strength that defies belief. His eyes, once a dull, unremarkable shade, now glint with a predatory intensity, the pupils narrowed to vertical slits that seem to pierce the very darkness itself. The goblin's skin, too, has undergone a transformation, the surface now alive with tiny bolts of blue electricity that dance and crackle with each movement, a testament to the power that flows through his veins.
As he stares at his altered reflection, Gribble is struck by the realization that he is no longer the same goblin he was before, that the experiences he has undergone and the powers he has absorbed have changed him in ways that go far beyond the physical. He senses a new hardness within himself, a steely resolve that was absent before, tempered by the trials he has faced and the darkness he has embraced. The goblin knows that he has crossed a threshold, stepped into a realm of power and potential that few of his kind have ever dared to tread, and that there can be no turning back from the path he has chosen.
As the initial rush of adrenaline and euphoria begins to fade, Gribble is struck by a profound and unsettling realization, a truth that settles over him like a leaden weight upon his soul. The powers he now possesses, the incredible abilities granted to him by the consumption of the Thundercat's heart, have come at a terrible cost, a price that he is only now beginning to comprehend.
Gribble senses that a part of himself has been lost, consumed by the very darkness that now resides within him, a fundamental piece of his being that has been forever altered by the merging of his essence with that of the Thundercat. It is as if a shadow has fallen over his spirit, a veil of darkness that threatens to engulf the very core of his identity, to erode the values and beliefs that once defined him.
The goblin's mind reels as he ponders the implications of this realization, the knowledge that he has willingly embraced a power that may ultimately consume him, body and soul. He wonders what challenges lie ahead, what trials he will face as he navigates this new and uncharted realm of existence, and whether the strength he has gained will be enough to see him through the darkness that surely awaits.
As Gribble stands there in the pouring rain, his body thrumming with power, his mind haunted by the specter of an uncertain future, he knows that he has set foot upon a path from which there can be no retreat. The goblin steels himself, his jaw set with grim determination, as he prepares to embark upon a journey that will test the very limits of his newfound abilities, and perhaps, the very essence of his being. With a final, lingering glance at the cave that has borne witness to his transformation, Gribble turns his face to the storm and steps forward into the unknown, ready to embrace the challenges and dangers that lie ahead.

Today the White House announced tariffs on certain products imported from China, including steel and aluminum products, semiconductors, electric vehicles, batteries and battery components, solar cells, ship-to-shore cranes, syringes and needles, and certain personal protective equipment (or PPE). According to the White House, these higher tariffs are designed “to protect American workers and businesses from China’s unfair trade practices.” Tariffs are essentially taxes on imported goods, and altogether the tariff hikes cover about $18 billion in imported goods.
In 2018, Trump abruptly ended the economic era based on the idea that free trade benefited the global economy by putting tariffs of 25% on a wide range of foreign made goods. This was a cap to a set of ideas that had been sputtering for a while as industries moved to countries with cheaper labor, feeding the popular discontent Trump tapped into. Trump claimed that other countries would pay his tariffs, but tariffs are actually paid by Americans, not foreign countries, and his have cost Americans more than $230 billion. Half of that has come in under the Biden administration.
Trump’s tariffs also actually cost jobs, but they were very popular politically. A January 2024 National Bureau of Economic Research working paper by David Autor, Anne Beck, David Dorn, and Gordon H. Hanson established that the trade war of 2018–2019 hurt the U.S. heartland but actually helped Trump’s reelection campaign. “Residents of regions more exposed to import tariffs became less likely to identify as Democrats, more likely to vote to reelect Donald Trump in 2020, and more likely to elect Republicans to Congress,” they discovered.
Now Trump is saying, that if elected, he will impose a 10% tariff on everything imported into the United States, with a 60% tariff on anything from China and a 100% tariff on any cars made outside the U.S.
In contrast, the administration’s new tariffs are aimed only at China, and only at industries already growing in the U.S., especially semiconductors. Tariffs will rise to 50% on semiconductors and solar cells, 100% on electric vehicles, and 25% on batteries, a hike that will help the Big Three automakers who agreed to union demands in newly opened battery factories, as well as their United Auto Workers workforce. “I’m determined that the future of electric vehicles be made in America by union workers. Period,” Biden said.
The administration says the tariffs are a response to China’s unfair trade practices, and such tariffs are popular in the manufacturing belt of Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Democratic senators from that region have asked Biden to maintain or increase tariffs on Chinese imports after “[g]enerations of free trade agreements that prioritize multinational corporations have devasted our communities, harmed our economy, and crippled our job market.”
In other economic news, a new rule capping credit card late fees at $8, about a quarter of what they are now, was supposed to go into effect today, but on Friday a federal judge in Texas blocked the rule. The new cap was set by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the brainchild of Massachusetts Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren, and was part of the Biden administration’s crackdown on “junk fees.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Bankers Association sued to stop the rule from taking effect, and U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, appointed by Trump, issued a preliminary injunction against it. His reasoning draws from an argument advanced by the far-right Fifth Circuit, which oversees Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana, arguing that the CFPB itself is unconstitutional because of its funding structure. "Consequently, any regulations promulgated under that regime are likely unconstitutional as well," Pittman wrote.
On Friday, major airlines, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, and Alaska Airlines—but not Southwest Airlines—sued the U.S. Department of Transportation over its new rule that requires the airlines disclose their fees, such as for checking bags, upfront to consumers. The department says consumers are overpaying by $543 million a year in unexpected fees.
The airlines say that the rule will confuse consumers and that its “attempt to regulate private business operations in a thriving marketplace is beyond its authority.”
The other big story of the day is the continuing attempt of the MAGA Republicans to overturn our democratic system.
This morning, House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), second in line for the presidency and sworn to uphold the Constitution, left his post in Washington, D.C., to appear with former president Trump at his trial for falsifying business records to deceive voters before the 2016 election. The House was due to consider the final passage of the crucially important Federal Aviation Authority Reauthorization Act, but Johnson chose instead to show up to do the work the judge’s gag order means Trump cannot do himself, attacking key witness Michael Cohen, Trump’s former fixer. Johnson described Cohen as “clearly on a mission for personal revenge” and, citing his “history of perjury,” said that “[n]o one should believe a word he says in there.”
“I do have a lot of surrogates,” Trump boasted this morning, “and they are speaking very beautifully.” Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), who was also at the trial this morning, later said on Newsmax that they had indeed gone to “overcome this gag order.”
Johnson went on to call the trial “corrupt” and say “this ridiculous prosecution…is not about justice. It’s all about politics.” He left without taking questions. Meg Kinnard of the Associated Press called out the moment as “a remarkable moment in modern American politics: The House speaker turning his Republican Party against the federal and state legal systems that are foundational to the U.S. government and a cornerstone of democracy.”
Peter Eisler, Ned Parker, and Joseph Tanfani of Reuters explained today how those attacks on our judiciary are sparking widespread calls for violence against judges, with social media posters in echo chambers goading each other into ever more extreme statements. According to her lawyer, Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, wore a bullet-proof vest as she came and went from court, an uncanny echo of the precautions necessary in mob trials.
In a different attack on our constitutional system, House Republicans are trying to replace the administration’s foreign policy with their own. Over the weekend, they introduced a bill to force President Biden to send offensive weapons to Israel for its invasion of Rafah, overruling the administration’s decision to withhold a shipment of 2,000-pound and 500-pound bombs after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his government would invade Rafah despite strong opposition from the Biden administration.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters: “We strongly, strongly oppose attempts to constrain the president’s ability to deploy a U.S. security assistance consistent with U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives.”
The Constitution establishes that the executive branch manages foreign affairs, and until 2015 it was an established practice that politics stopped at the water’s edge, meaning that Congress quarreled with the administration at home but the two presented a united front in foreign affairs. That practice ended in March 2015, when 47 Republican senators, led by freshman Arkansas senator Tom Cotton, wrote a letter to Iran’s leaders warning that they would not honor any agreement Iran reached with the Obama administration over its development of nuclear weapons.
The Obama administration did end up negotiating the July 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran and several world powers, under which Iran agreed to restrict its nuclear development and allow inspections in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. In 2018 the extremist Republicans got their way when Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal, largely collapsing it, after which Iran resumed its expansion of the nuclear enrichment program it had stopped under the agreement.
Now extremists in the House are trying to run foreign policy on their own. The costs of that usurpation of power are clear in Niger, formerly a key U.S. ally in the counterterrorism effort in West Africa. The new prime minister of Niger, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, whose party took power after a coup d’état threw out Niger’s democratically elected president, defended his country’s turn away from the U.S. and toward Russia in an interview with Rachel Chason of the Washington Post. Recalling the House’s six month delay in passing the national security supplemental bill, he said: “We have seen what the United States will do to defend its allies, because we have seen Ukraine and Israel.”
—
Notes:
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/13/white-house-opposes-house-bill-force-israeli-arm-shipments-00157691
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/14/nyregion/mike-johnson-trump-trial.html
https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-speaker-mike-johnson-court-09aef3de395fa77843f2600f40da6ac3
https://www.vox.com/2015/3/10/8182063/tom-cottons-controversial-letter-to-iran-explained
https://www.cfr.org/backgroundewhat-iran-nuclear-deal
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF12106
https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/legaldocs/zgpokqdxlpd/05102024creditcard.pdf
https://www.texastribune.org/2018/08/30/under-trump-5th-circuit-becoming-even-more-conservative/
https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-judge-blocks-rule-capping-credit-card-late-fees-8-2024-05-10/
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/major-airlines-sue-biden-administration-over-fee-disclosure-rule-2024-05-13/
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/14/speaker-mike-johnson-house-trump-trial
https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/18/politics/donald-trump-tariffs-trade-waindex.html
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/biden-sharply-hikes-us-tariffs-billions-chinese-chips-cars-2024-05-14/
https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w32082/w32082.pdf
https://www.brown.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/05012024section301tariffsletter.pdf
https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/14/politics/new-china-tariffs-biden-trump/index.html
https://www.npr.org/2024/05/14/1251096758/biden-china-tariffs-ev-electric-vehicles-5-things
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/05/14/memorandum-on-actions-by-the-united-states-related-to-the-statutory-4-year-review-of-the-section-301-investigation-of-chinas-acts-policies-and-practices-related-to-technology-transfer-intellectua/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/05/14/us-threats-led-rupture-vital-military-ties-nigerien-official-says/
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/cutting-the-spigot
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-election-threats-courts/
https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/13/politics/video/stormy-daniels-bulletproof-vest-clark-brewster-trump-hush-money-trial-ac360-digvid
https://www.automotivedive.com/news/united-auto-workers-electric-vehicle-plant-joint-venture/704275/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/samabuelsamid/2024/05/14/volvo-polestar-tesla-detroit-take-biggest-hit-from-china-ev-tariffs/
Twitter (X):
atrupastatus/1790485101966487881
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/may-14-2024

My name is Arkanos, and I am a Phoenix of the Clan of Eternal Flames. Once, we roamed the Heavenly Realms, proud and immortal, our feathers ablaze with hues of orange and red, a stark contrast to my own blue and white flames. But that was before the betrayal.
The Dragons, Demons, and Angels, jealous of our power and fearful of our immortality, conspired against us. They ambushed our clan in a fiery battle that shook the very foundations of the heavens. In the end, we were outnumbered, outmatched, and outgunned. Defeat was inevitable.
As punishment for daring to challenge their authority, we were banished from the Heavenly Realms, cast out into the vast expanse of the cosmos. But the punishment didn't end there. Our clan was torn asunder, scattered across thirty different realms, each more treacherous than the last.
And so, my quest began. Alone and filled with a burning desire for revenge, I set out to reunite my clan and reclaim our honor. But it wouldn't be easy. The journey ahead was fraught with danger, and I knew that only the strongest and most cunning would survive.
The first realm I stumbled upon was a desolate wasteland, where the sky burned red with the fires of eternal damnation. It was here that I found the first member of my clan, a fellow Phoenix named Shiki. She had been hiding among the shadows, her once vibrant feathers reduced to a mere flicker.
Shiki was a sight to behold, her feathers a blend of fiery orange and crimson red, a stark contrast to my own blue with a hint of white. Despite the harsh environment, she radiated a sense of resilience and determination, qualities that resonated deeply with me.
Together, we braved the dangers of the wasteland, facing off against hordes of demonic creatures hell-bent on our destruction. The air crackled with the heat of our flames as we fought side by side, our wings beating in perfect harmony.
But with our combined strength and cunning, we emerged victorious, our flames burning brighter than ever before. As the last of our enemies fell before us, Shiki and I shared a triumphant glance, a silent acknowledgment of the bond that had formed between us.
As we journeyed onward, we encountered all manner of trials and tribulations. In one realm, we were forced to navigate a labyrinth of twisting corridors and deadly traps, each step bringing us closer to the brink of disaster. But with Shiki's keen intuition and my ability to see through illusions, we were able to overcome every obstacle in our path.
In another realm, we battled against an army of ice giants, their frozen breaths threatening to extinguish our flames. But with our fiery determination and unwavering resolve, we stood our ground, our flames melting the icy barricades that stood between us and our goal.
But through it all, we remained undaunted, our determination unwavering. For we knew that with each trial we faced, we grew stronger, our bonds forged in the fires of adversity.
As we continued our journey, I couldn't help but marvel at the strength and resilience of my fellow clan members. Each one brought something unique to the table, their skills and abilities complementing one another in ways I could never have imagined.
And so, with each new member we encountered, our clan grew stronger, our flames burning brighter with the promise of a brighter future. For we knew that together, we were unstoppable, our bond as unbreakable as the flames that danced within our souls.
But little did we know that greater challenges lay ahead, challenges that would test the very limits of our strength and courage. But one thing was certain: no matter what obstacles we faced, we would face them together, united as one in the face of adversity.
It was during our travels that I met her, the one who would change everything. Her name was Aria, a fierce warrior with a heart as fiery as her red hair. At first, I tried to push her away, fearing that my quest for revenge would only bring her harm. But she refused to be deterred, her unwavering loyalty melting the icy walls around my heart.
Aria was unlike anyone I had ever met before. She possessed a strength and determination that matched my own, yet beneath her tough exterior lay a heart of gold, a heart that yearned for nothing more than to see justice served.
Together, we fought side by side, our flames intertwining in a dance of passion and desire. With each battle we faced, our bond grew stronger, our souls entwined in a fiery embrace that burned brighter than the sun itself.
But our happiness was short-lived, for betrayal lurked around every corner. In a moment of weakness, I revealed our plans to a trusted ally, only to discover that he had been working for the Dragons all along.
The sting of betrayal cut deep, tearing at the very fabric of our newfound love. I watched in horror as Aria's trust in me wavered, her fiery gaze clouded with doubt and uncertainty.
But even in the face of betrayal, our love remained unbroken. Together, we confronted the traitor, our flames burning with a righteous fury that could not be extinguished.
In the end, justice was served, but the scars of betrayal remained. Yet through it all, Aria stood by my side, her unwavering loyalty a beacon of hope in the darkness that threatened to consume us.
As we continued our journey, our love grew stronger, our flames burning brighter with each passing day. And though the road ahead was fraught with danger and uncertainty, we faced it together, united in our quest for revenge and redemption. For no matter what trials lay ahead, we knew that as long as we had each other, we could overcome anything that stood in our way.
As we neared the end of our journey, the three clans grew desperate, their forces converging upon us like vultures circling their prey. But we were ready. With the full strength of our clan reunited, we launched a final assault against our enemies, our flames burning hotter than the sun itself.
The battlefield was a symphony of chaos and destruction, the clash of steel and roar of flames echoing across the realm. Dragons soared through the skies, their fiery breath scorching the earth below. Demons emerged from the shadows, their eyes burning with a hunger for destruction. Angels descended from the heavens, their divine powers unleashed in a torrent of holy fury.
But we were not alone. With Shiki, Aria, and the rest of our clan by our side, we fought with a ferocity and determination that could not be matched. Our flames danced and flickered, casting a brilliant light against the darkness that threatened to consume us.
The battle raged on for days, the skies painted red with the blood of the fallen. But in the end, it was the Clan of Eternal Flames who emerged victorious, our enemies scattered to the winds like ashes in the breeze.
As the dust settled and the smoke cleared, I looked out upon the battlefield, my heart heavy with both sorrow and triumph. The price of victory had been steep, and many had fallen in the name of our cause. But their sacrifices had not been in vain.
And so, with the three clans vanquished and our honor restored, we rebuilt our clan from the ashes of our former selves. Together, we vowed to never again be swayed by the temptations of power and greed, our flames burning bright with the promise of a new dawn.
As for me, well, let's just say that I finally found my purpose in this vast and chaotic universe. For I am Arkanos, leader of the Clan of Eternal Flames, and I will stop at nothing to protect those I hold dear.
And as we stood together, united as one, I knew that no matter what challenges lay ahead, we would face them together, our flames burning brighter than ever before. For we were not just a clan, but a family, bound together by the unbreakable bonds of love and loyalty.

112 Operator
911 Operator
A Story About My Uncle
Action Henk
Age of Wonders II: The Wizard's Throne
Age of Wonders III
The Amazing American Circus
Antagonist
Archangel: Hellfire - Fully Loaded
Ashampoo Photo Optimizer 7
Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan
Awesomenauts Yogscast Pack - Coco Nebulon
Awesomenauts Yogscast Pack - Rocco
Awesomenauts Yogscast Pack - Skolldir
Awesomenauts Yogscast Pack - Ted McPain
The Bard's Tale
Battlerite DLC: YogYog Bear Mount
Bionic Commando
Blockstorm
Boundless
Breach & Clear
Broken Age
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Car Mechanic Simulator 2018
Chime Sharp
Citizens of Earth
ClusterPuck 99
Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?!
Corridor Z
Crashlands
Crusaders of the Lost Idols - Elite Starter Pack
Crying Suns
Cursed Castilla (Maldita Castilla EX)
Dagon: by H. P. Lovecraft - The Eldritch Box DLC
Dandara
Deadly Sin
Deadly Sin 2
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition
Defend Your Life: TD
Deponia: The Complete Journey
Draw Slasher
Drawful 2
Driftland: The Magic Revival
Dungeon of the Endless
Expeditions: Viking
Figment
Figment Soundtrack
The Final Station
Fury Unleashed
Go Home Dinosaurs
Going Under
Golf With Your Friends - OST
GRIP: Combat Racing Artifex DLC
Guns of Icarus Alliance
Guns of Icarus Alliance Soundtrack
Guns of Icarus Alliance Yogscast 2017 Costume Pack
Gurgamoth
Headlander
Hector: Badge of Carnage
Hexologic
HIVESWAP: Act 1
Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms -- Celeste Starter Pack
The Interactive Adventures of Dog Mendonça and Pizza Boy
Iron Danger
Jurassic World Evolution - Deluxe Dinosaur Pack
Last Word
Legacy of Dorn: Herald of Oblivion
Lion Quest
Love Letter
Lust for Darkness
Lust from Beyond: M Edition
Main Assembly
Mimic Arena
Ministry of Broadcast
Mirage: Arcane Warfare
Moon Hunters
NASCAR Heat 2 - October Jumbo Expansion
NecroWorm
Neon Drive (Steam)
Neverout
Neverwinter Feywild Starter Pack
Nex Machina
No Time To Explain Remastered
Offensive Combat: Redux!
Old Man's Journey
On Rusty Trails
Orbital Racer
Out of Reach: Treasure Royale
Out of the Park Baseball 18
Pale Echoes
Pandemic: Roles & Events
Pandemic: The Board Game
Pathway
Pikuniku
Post Void
Radio Commander
Rakuen
Raw Data
Remnants of Isolation
Renegade Ops Collection
Roarr! Jurassic Edition
RPG Maker 2000
RPG Maker VX
Sanctum 2
Say No! More
Scanner Sombre
She Remembered Caterpillars
Shing!
Silence
Slinger VR
Space Gladiators: Escaping Tartarus
Spectrum
Steel Rats
Super Raft Boat
SuperLuminauts
Supraland
SYSTEM SHOCK: ENHANCED EDITION
Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation - Asharra’s Diplomat Pack
Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation - Birdsong’s Entertainer Pack
Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation - Dragonbait’s Dungeoneer Pack
Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation - Tales of Artus Cimber’s Explorer Pack
Tannenberg
Team Fortress 2 badges - Mandrew's Munificent Mug and Israphel's Eleemosynary Expression
Team Racing League
Telefrag VR
Telltale Texas Hold'em
Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure
This War of Mine
Tiltagon
Tiny Echo
Tooth and Tail
Tormentor X Punisher
Toy Odyssey: The Lost and Found
Treasure Hunter Simulator
The USB Stick Found in the Grass
Wanderlust: Travel Stories
Wandersong
War for the Overworld - Yogscast Worker Skin
Wargroove
Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® - Game of the Year Edition
Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide
WARSAW
We Are Alright
West of Dead
World to the West
X-Morph: Defense + European Assault, Survival of the Fittest, and Last Bastion DLC
Yoku's Island Express
Zeno Clash 2
Zombie Night Terror
I also have Humble Choice leftovers from the following that I haven't sorted through yet:
APRIL 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Driftland, Turok 2, Truberbrook, Shoppe Keep 2, Capitalism 2)
APRIL 2021 HUMBLE CHOICE (Main Assembly, Rock Of Ages 3, In Other Waters, Aven Colony, Simulcra I+II, Colt Canyon, Skully, Popup Dungeon)
AUGUST 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Hello Neighbor + Hide And Seek, Littlebig Workshop, American Fugitive, The Coma 2, A Case Of Distrust)
DECEMBER 2021 HUMBLE CHOICE (Beyond The Wire, The Survivalists, Lacuna, 8 Doors, Greak, Tohu)
FEBRUARY 2021 HUMBLE CHOICE (Moving Out, The Wild 8, Train Station Renovation, Werewolf The Apocalypse Heart Of The Forest, Lovecraft's Untold Stories, Iris And The Giant, Boomerang Fu)
JANUARY 2021 HUMBLE CHOICE (Total Tank Simulator, Song Of Horror, Vampire The Masquerade: Shadows Of New York, Deleveled, The Ambassador)
JUNE 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Supraland, Grid, The Messenger, Felix The Reaper, Remnants Of Naezith, Overload, The Stillness Of The Wind, The King's Bird)
MARCH 2021 HUMBLE CHOICE (WWE 2k, Hotshot Racing, Peaky Blinders, Cyber Hook, Pesterquest, Boreal Blade, Ageless)
MAY 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Xcom 2, Niche, Swords Of Ditto, Neoverse, Horace)
NOVEMBER 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Darksburg, Smile For Me, Rover Mechanic Simulator, Youropa, Townsmen)
OCTOBER 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Iron Danger, Autonauts, Shadows: Awakening, Fantasy Blacksmith, The Suicide Of Rachel Foster, Goat Of Duty, The Uncertain, Lightmatter)
SEPTEMBER 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Lethal League, Fun With Ragdolls, Evoland, Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible Lair, The Occupation, The Shapeshifting Detective)
SEPTEMBER 2021 HUMBLE CHOICE (Atomicrops, Heaven's Vault, Swag And Sorcery, Fort Triumph, Orwell: Ignorance Is Strength, Framed Collection)
My region is North America.

In the Canuck Capsuleers Chronicles this week :

1. Stasi Contest winner!
2. Black Flag getting Slowed down
3. WH War for the C6s
4. Capsuleer day
5. Board Game : Action to take !
6. Steel city cancelled
7. New Ships !
8. Squall (T1 Hauler)
9. Deluge (T2 Hauler - Blockade runner)
10. Torrent (T2 Hauler - Deep Space transport)
11. Avalanche (T1 Freither)
12. Orbital Skyhook and 3 new resources
13. How to attack and raid a Skyhook
14. Metenox Moon Drill (passive income)
15. Moon Drills can be anchored in WH ... Thanks CCP?
16. How to attack and raid a Metenox Moon Drill
17. Sovereignty hub
18. New Nullsec upgrades
19. New Sovereignty Management menu
20. Wormholer wishes
21. Eve Moncton : Where is Moncton?
22. This week in the Chronicles of New Eden Podcast

P.S. Thank you to YOU Reddit people, as you are our biggest influx for our content ♥ All your likes, comments and subscriptions helps the channel grow :)
https://youtube.com/live/Fi2X_4CUET4

Haveno has commenced operations from today replacing LocalMonero. Haveno sets a new benchmark in decentralization and privacy.
Why shut down LocalMonero?
Not many people would immediately use Haveno if LocalMonero continued to exist. Shutting down LocalMonero disrupts the ecosystem pushing users towards Haveno.
How is Haveno different?
LocalMonero had a website and also a centralized server where the website was hosted. This made people behind LocalMonero vulnerable to government action. Unlike LocalMonero, Haveno does not have any centralized server. The website is merely informational and does not facilitate any trades.
What can we do on Haveno?
You can buy Monero using Indian Rupees, US Dollars, Euros, GBP etc. You can also buy/sell BTC, ETH, BCH and LTC for Monero. Now no need to worry about KYC and taxes.
How does Haveno work?
It's a little bit like torrents. You download Haveno client and connect to a network. Anyone can start a network just like running a node (or seeding a torrent). Traders connect to any network of their choice and trade. It's all built on Tor so it is almost impossible to find out who is running the network or connecting to it. We hope to have many networks so it will impossible to take down Haveno. FIU cannot block any website or app. There are none!
Choose Monero, choose freedom!
If you really want to do crypto, get Monero. It is built to survive extreme censorship. Monero is money. It is not designed to be an investment.
Learn more about Monero:
Book: https://masteringmonero.com/book/Mastering%20Monero%20First%20Edition%20by%20SerHack%20and%20Monero%20Community.pdf
Video: https://youtu.be/8quGD9W7B2I?si=DQIU2IriKXaJQQHn
Learn more about Haveno: https://github.com/haveno-dex/haveno
Download HardenedSteel Haveno client: https://github.com/HardenedSteel/haveno-mainnet/actions/runs/9072024811
Download Reto Haveno client: https://github.com/retoaccess1/haveno-reto/actions
You need to be logged in to GitHub to download files.

112 Operator
911 Operator
A Story About My Uncle
Action Henk
Age of Wonders II: The Wizard's Throne
Age of Wonders III
The Amazing American Circus
Antagonist
Archangel: Hellfire - Fully Loaded
Ashampoo Photo Optimizer 7
Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan
Awesomenauts Yogscast Pack - Coco Nebulon
Awesomenauts Yogscast Pack - Rocco
Awesomenauts Yogscast Pack - Skolldir
Awesomenauts Yogscast Pack - Ted McPain
The Bard's Tale
Battlerite DLC: YogYog Bear Mount
Bionic Commando
Blockstorm
Boundless
Breach & Clear
Broken Age
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Car Mechanic Simulator 2018
Chime Sharp
Citizens of Earth
ClusterPuck 99
Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?!
Corridor Z
Crashlands
Crusaders of the Lost Idols - Elite Starter Pack
Crying Suns
Cursed Castilla (Maldita Castilla EX)
Dagon: by H. P. Lovecraft - The Eldritch Box DLC
Dandara
Deadly Sin
Deadly Sin 2
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition
Defend Your Life: TD
Deponia: The Complete Journey
Draw Slasher
Drawful 2
Driftland: The Magic Revival
Dungeon of the Endless
Expeditions: Viking
Figment
Figment Soundtrack
The Final Station
Fury Unleashed
Go Home Dinosaurs
Going Under
Golf With Your Friends - OST
GRIP: Combat Racing Artifex DLC
Guns of Icarus Alliance
Guns of Icarus Alliance Soundtrack
Guns of Icarus Alliance Yogscast 2017 Costume Pack
Gurgamoth
Headlander
Hector: Badge of Carnage
Hexologic
HIVESWAP: Act 1
Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms -- Celeste Starter Pack
The Interactive Adventures of Dog Mendonça and Pizza Boy
Iron Danger
Jurassic World Evolution - Deluxe Dinosaur Pack
Last Word
Legacy of Dorn: Herald of Oblivion
Lion Quest
Love Letter
Lust for Darkness
Lust from Beyond: M Edition
Main Assembly
Mimic Arena
Ministry of Broadcast
Mirage: Arcane Warfare
Moon Hunters
NASCAR Heat 2 - October Jumbo Expansion
NecroWorm
Neon Drive (Steam)
Neverout
Neverwinter Feywild Starter Pack
Nex Machina
No Time To Explain Remastered
Offensive Combat: Redux!
Old Man's Journey
On Rusty Trails
Orbital Racer
Out of Reach: Treasure Royale
Out of the Park Baseball 18
Pale Echoes
Pandemic: Roles & Events
Pandemic: The Board Game
Pathway
Pikuniku
Post Void
Radio Commander
Rakuen
Raw Data
Remnants of Isolation
Renegade Ops Collection
Roarr! Jurassic Edition
RPG Maker 2000
RPG Maker VX
Sanctum 2
Say No! More
Scanner Sombre
She Remembered Caterpillars
Shing!
Silence
Slinger VR
Space Gladiators: Escaping Tartarus
Spectrum
Steel Rats
Super Raft Boat
SuperLuminauts
Supraland
SYSTEM SHOCK: ENHANCED EDITION
Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation - Asharra’s Diplomat Pack
Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation - Birdsong’s Entertainer Pack
Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation - Dragonbait’s Dungeoneer Pack
Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation - Tales of Artus Cimber’s Explorer Pack
Tannenberg
Team Fortress 2 badges - Mandrew's Munificent Mug and Israphel's Eleemosynary Expression
Team Racing League
Telefrag VR
Telltale Texas Hold'em
Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure
This War of Mine
Tiltagon
Tiny Echo
Tooth and Tail
Tormentor X Punisher
Toy Odyssey: The Lost and Found
Treasure Hunter Simulator
The USB Stick Found in the Grass
Wanderlust: Travel Stories
Wandersong
War for the Overworld - Yogscast Worker Skin
Wargroove
Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® - Game of the Year Edition
Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide
WARSAW
We Are Alright
West of Dead
World to the West
X-Morph: Defense + European Assault, Survival of the Fittest, and Last Bastion DLC
Yoku's Island Express
Zeno Clash 2
Zombie Night Terror
I also have Humble Choice leftovers from the following that I haven't sorted through yet:
APRIL 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Driftland, Turok 2, Truberbrook, Shoppe Keep 2, Capitalism 2)
APRIL 2021 HUMBLE CHOICE (Main Assembly, Rock Of Ages 3, In Other Waters, Aven Colony, Simulcra I+II, Colt Canyon, Skully, Popup Dungeon)
AUGUST 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Hello Neighbor + Hide And Seek, Littlebig Workshop, American Fugitive, The Coma 2, A Case Of Distrust)
DECEMBER 2021 HUMBLE CHOICE (Beyond The Wire, The Survivalists, Lacuna, 8 Doors, Greak, Tohu)
FEBRUARY 2021 HUMBLE CHOICE (Moving Out, The Wild 8, Train Station Renovation, Werewolf The Apocalypse Heart Of The Forest, Lovecraft's Untold Stories, Iris And The Giant, Boomerang Fu)
JANUARY 2021 HUMBLE CHOICE (Total Tank Simulator, Song Of Horror, Vampire The Masquerade: Shadows Of New York, Deleveled, The Ambassador)
JUNE 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Supraland, Grid, The Messenger, Felix The Reaper, Remnants Of Naezith, Overload, The Stillness Of The Wind, The King's Bird)
MARCH 2021 HUMBLE CHOICE (WWE 2k, Hotshot Racing, Peaky Blinders, Cyber Hook, Pesterquest, Boreal Blade, Ageless)
MAY 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Xcom 2, Niche, Swords Of Ditto, Neoverse, Horace)
NOVEMBER 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Darksburg, Smile For Me, Rover Mechanic Simulator, Youropa, Townsmen)
OCTOBER 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Iron Danger, Autonauts, Shadows: Awakening, Fantasy Blacksmith, The Suicide Of Rachel Foster, Goat Of Duty, The Uncertain, Lightmatter)
SEPTEMBER 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Lethal League, Fun With Ragdolls, Evoland, Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible Lair, The Occupation, The Shapeshifting Detective)
SEPTEMBER 2021 HUMBLE CHOICE (Atomicrops, Heaven's Vault, Swag And Sorcery, Fort Triumph, Orwell: Ignorance Is Strength, Framed Collection)
My region is North America.

Timestamp: https://imgur.com/a/F5S39JE
Two brand new Omega De Ville Prestiges Reference number for leather strap: 42413402001002 $2250 TV -$2450
Reference number for steel strap: 42410372001001 $2350 TV -$2550
Both will come with boxes, papers and manuals
https://imgur.com/a/gLRY2lC
Brand new Seiko Presage world limited number 1785/5000 $525
https://imgur.com/a/7DwMf79
Will come with box and all papers
10.3 NSW Crane Block II with M951 flashlight - $2000 Everything original surplussed from armory and new barrel with Savannah GA handguard, surefire 4prong, CQBR upper colt C stamped keyhole with BCG and charging handle. Not a clone
https://imgur.com/a/04sdYib
Reptilia Recce buttstock -$85 will come with box
Hades torrent -$145 on a YHM phantom adapter for comp YHM comps add $35
Some other blast deflector not sure of the name too lazy to look at history on a YHM phantom adaptor $145
Surefire warden brand new just mounted never fired $185 will come with box SOLD
Free UTG bipod Some grip I bought years ago
Trades welcomed Can provide more photos upon request, Imgur is acting up

First / Previous
The hairs on Leon’s neck rose as the snap of power brushed against him. Before he can focus anymore on the sensation, however, he catches Erik’s sword in a bind before it lands a clean blow against him. There is a twitch in the Shade’s eyebrow that told Leon that Erik sensed the same thing, but their eyes focus almost immediately. Neither one could afford to lose concentration in a confrontation like this.
The dance continued.
Leon flicked his wrist, sending a surge of Ether into his sword. The burst of energy knocked Erik’s sword astray, but as the Black Cloak tries to exploit the created opening with a Fang in his opposite hand, it is caught by the Shade’s forearm. The attack only leaves a scratch on the surface of Erik’s skin, and before Leon can react his legs are kicked from under him from a sweep of Erik’s leg, his opponent then follows the blow with a flick of his cragged blade at the Black Cloak’s head. Leon twisted his hand, catching the blow with his sword, but the lack of leverage from his imbalanced stance becomes apparent as the attack knocks him off of his feet. His back slammed against the tree behind him, and he could do nothing as he slid against it and onto the ground. However, Erik does not pursue
The Shade instead jumped back to avoid multiple bolts of Aether launched from Ren. The projectiles struck where Erik’s feet were, and when their opponent made his temporary retreat the Cleric stepped in front of Leon. The Black Cloak stood to his feet and joined his companion at his side.
“You felt it too, right?” Ren muttered towards him.
Leon nodded.
“It wasn’t Aria as far as I could tell, but we can’t allow whatever is happening to her to continue,” Ren said.
Leon eyed Erik in the distance. The Shade’s eyes studied them as he paced back and forth, but he did not press the attack. A tension was building in the air, ready to burst at any moment.
“I’ll handle him,” the Black Cloak said.
Ren cut him an uncertain look, “Are you certain?”
“No,” Leon admitted, “but we are scarce on options,” he let his Fang dissipate and switched his stance, keeping one hand free while he held his sword in a neutral guard, “when I give the signal, unleash as much as you can then run.”
The Cleric nodded, but said nothing.
Leon leaned in, closing his mind to all else but his opponent. He would not best the Shade with power alone, that much was clear. He hoped technique would make up the difference.
Erik struck first.
The Shade kicked off the ground, the Ether running through him granting him a speed that Leon could barely follow with his eyes. Ren was quicker to react, unleashing a large wave of golden light as he thrust his staff in front of him. Leon followed the surge of power close behind.
“Go!” he yelled, hoping that his companion was already on his way towards the others.
Erik crossed his arms as the wave of energy struck him, but the force behind it knocked the Shade off of his feet. Leon focused his Ether at his legs, feeling his heart drum against his chest as he let the energy burst when he kicked the ground. The earth cracked beneath his feet, and the Black Cloak leapt to Erik’s side. The Shade was unable to get his feet under him before Leon struck, but intercepted the attack with his arm. The Black Cloak’s blade bit into his arm, leaving only a shallow cut before Leon leaned into the attack, slamming Erik into the ground. Before the Shade could recover, a Fang of golden light appeared above Leon’s head and flung itself towards Erik like an arrow.
He twisted his body to avoid a direct hit, but hissed as the Fang left a glancing blow at his side. Leon pressed the assault, his sword swinging down in a relentless tide of steel that Erik could only manage to barely deflect with his cragged blade. Between each attack, a Fang slipped through Erik’s defenses just enough to leave another cut across his skin. Blood trickled down from each wound, spotting the Shade’s clothes in a deep red, and Leon could now see Erik’s eyes starting to widen; he searched for an opening to the onslaught.
One Leon never intended to give.
Finding his rhythm, the Black Cloak produced another Fang in his free hand and sped the assault. The Core at his center grew hotter with each new Fang that Leon produced, a fire that was spreading slowly across the entirety of his body. He grit his teeth and pressed the attack, raining his blows against Erik’s blade as the Shade kept avoiding any debilitating blows. Growling, Leon forced Ether into his sword and hit the Shade’s stone blade at its side. It landed with a burst of golden light, knocking the cragged sword to the side. Leon thrusted with the Fang in his opposite hand, aiming towards the Shade’s chest, but before the attack landed Erik slammed his foot against the Black Cloak’s chest.
A burst of energy escaped from Erik’s foot as his heel dug into Leon’s breastplate, giving nothing away aside from the air bursting around the blow itself. The Black Cloak was kicked into the air, but before he was knocked away he drove the Fang into Erik’s thigh. The Shade roared in pain as the sword of gilded energy pierced through the leg and out the otherside, but still managed to kick Leon back enough to be able to get to his feet. The Fang faded from Erik’s thigh, but he moved with a clear limp as he tried to create more distance between him and Leon. His cuts already started to heal, but there was a sluggishness to his movements now.
Leon leapt back into the fray, feeling as if pins were stabbing him all over as he drew upon his Core once more. He pushed the feeling to the back of his mind as Erik caught his blade in a bind with his own. The Black Cloak pushed the exchange down and cleaved into the Shade’s exposed arm with a Fang from his opposite hand. Erik roared as it cut deep into his skin, forcing the locked weapons back up. As he felt his blade rise, Leon maintained the bind until the swords reached the level of his chest, allowing the Shade to generate the momentum of the movement. Before Erik could take advantage of this, however, Leon shifted his arm and manipulated the bind upwards, exposing the Shade’s chest. The Black Cloak’s Fang struck again, giving Erik a gash across his chest. His opponent tried to break the engagement, but his movements were still hindered by the still healing wound on his thigh, and Leon fell into another rhythm as he pressed the assault.
His sword served as his guard, catching Erik’s swings before they could reach their apex and creating openings that he could strike at with his Fang. While the Shade was able to block most strikes with his arm, it was becoming increasingly clear that his Ether was starting to run thin. Leon’s attacks would cut deeper with each strike, forcing Erik to eventually switch to avoiding them entirely, which pressed him on the back foot. The fire that seared through Leon was dulled by the rush of battle, but even then he could tell that his limits had been reached and long surpassed. Still, he pressed on.
The Black Cloak pressued Erik back into a tree, keeping his strikes constant to force the Shade to keep his guard up. Any attempts to slow down Leon were met with failure as he started to once again slip Fangs between each strike. The Fang he grasped felt like lead, and his sword even heavier with that, but each new cut across Erik’s body only spurred him to carry on. The Shade attempted to kick Leon away, but the Black Cloak countered by slamming his elbow into his opponent’s shin, knocking the leg back down. The battle high kept darkness from encroaching upon his vision, but he could feel the Fang in his hand start to grow unstable.
His Ether was nearly spent.
Erik moved to resume his guard, the cracks across his cragged sword clear to see. Gritting his teeth, Leon brought the Fang back and forced the last of his Ether into it, setting its flickering form ablaze with golden light. He struck the rocky sword and let the blade of the Fang burst, shattering Leon’s weapon. It's shrapnel bounced off of the Black Cloak’s armor, but scratched across Erik’s skin as he tried to cover himself with his arms. Leon slipped a fist between his opponent’s defenses, striking him in the jaw and sending him stumbling to the side. In his battle driven rush the Black Cloak felt the impulse to drive the sword into Erik’s side, but he stopped himself. Instead, he dropped the blade and grasped the sealing cuffs attached to his waist.
Before the Shade could recover, Leon grabbed his wrist and clasped one of the cuffs around it. The effect is felt instantly as Erik falls to one knee, the Ether that sustained him withered to embers. The Shade swung his fist at Leon in a desperate attempt to repel him, but his hand was instead caught by the Black Cloak as he clasped the second cuff around his wrist. His abilities fully sealed, Erik fell to the ground.
Leon loomed over his defeated opponent, chest heaving as he took breaths that refused to fill his lungs. Though the Shade was mired in countless cuts, the constant rush of Ether that Erik maintained throughout the fight reduced their damage to surface level only. Such use of power most likely contributed to Leon’s opponent burning through it so quickly. Had the Shade been properly equipped, the outcome of the battle would have been far different.
Erik looked up at him, eyes still resolute even in defeat, “Mercy? From a hound?”
“We have questions,” Leon responded, “And you’re going to give us answers.”
He struck the Shade across his jaw, and Erik fell limp against the forest floor. Leon knelt down next to his opponent and pulled a small length of rope from his waist before binding Erik’s legs with it. The moment that he tightened the knot, his fatigue struck all at once.
The Black Cloak fell back, feeling the trembles that started from his fingers and toes, trailing up his limbs until the entirety of his body started to shake. He tried to move in such a state, but his legs refused to obey. The twitch in his fingers told him that he retained some measure of mobility, but it took all of his will to lift them and pull back his hood. As his helmet faded, the cold air stabbed at his exposed, sweat covered skin like daggers. He grew confused as the chill felt more like a steady burn, but could only attribute that to the stress that he’d subjected his body to during the battle. He’d held so many advantages in that exchange, and still he was reduced to his. He was weak.
Just as he’d always been.
A memory of Astraeus flashes into his mind. His brother stood strong, stance immaculate as he readied himself against an unknown opponent. Rather than push the image away, Leon embraced it and closed his eyes. He calmed his breathing, and after a few moments could feel some feeling in his legs start to return. All of him still shook, but he regained just enough strength to push himself to his feet. With a final deep breath, he pulled his hood back over his head.
The fight was not over.
___
Leaf could only watch as the storm unfolded in front of him. Jahora stood firm, the light the newly formed Aetheric ring around her head flaring with a brilliant white light as the Mage forms a glyph of red energy in her hands. Cora, who still maintained a hold on his restraints, raised the arm of hers that was not clasped by a sealing cuff, forming a barrier of rock and energy in front of her. It proved to be a futile gesture, for as Jahora’s fireball struck the shield it shattered, the force of the explosion knocking Cora back into a tree.
The rocks that dug into Leaf’s skin fell as the Shade hit the ground. With his restraints gone, the archer caught himself on his feet and picked up his shortsword. He moved to aid Jahora, but as he took a step a wave of fatigue struck him, forcing him to his knee. His Ether was already nearly spent by the time the others arrived, and it was only through sheer stubbornness that he’d been able to force anymore out of his Core during the fight and in trying to break the crushing hold of Cora’s restraints. Now though, he could feel knives stabbing at him across his body, a backlash of pushing himself too far.
Yet he knew it wasn’t far enough.
Jahora readied another spell, the glyph in her hands a pale blue as Aether surged around her. Cora pushed herself to her feet, the manic look in her eyes only growing as she glared at the Mage.
“You will not take her from me…” the Shade muttered. Even with her abilities partially sealed, the ground at her heels started to crack as yellow Aether hummed around her feet.
Jahora said nothing and gathered more power into her spell.
“You will not take her!”
Cora slammed her heel into the forest floor, sending a wave of earthen spikes towards Jahora. The Mage remained steady as she unleashed her spell, countering the tide of earth with a surge of ice. The spells collide, kicking up a cloud of frost and dirt as they shattered against each other. Jahora pulled her hand back as the ice faded, her fingers blazing with red Aether as she pulled the little heat that was in the air into her fingers, molding it into a glyph at the back of her palm. Another symbol formed in her free hand at the same time, this one made of a deeper blue energy.
Before the dust settled, a series of yellow flashes burst through. Jahora lifted the blue glyph in front of her, projecting a barrier that deflected the rocks that crashed against her. The form of Cora started to become more visible, but she’d long revealed her position from the wild screams she let out with every new spell. There was a desperation to the Shade’s voice, one that Leaf could not understand.
One that Jahora did not care to listen to.
The Mage pressed forward, maintaining her barrier as she twisted its position with small flicks of her wrist. Between each projectile blocked, she swept the hand holding the red glyph forward, generating small bolts of fire that struck the bits of earth that Cora raised in a desperate defense, slowly reducing it to dust as the Shade was too manic to move. Jahora continued her steady advance, but Leaf could see the tremble that took hold over her hands. Though the boons of the Third Circle appeared to have granted her spells increased control and power, it did nothing to resolve the fact that the Mage had spent all her strength and more in the battle prior.
Leaf grit his teeth and pushed himself to his feet. Each step he took felt as if he were carrying a mountain as his back, but he continued to press on. He looked towards the side, seeing that Elly had started to stir, but was in no shape to assist. His eyes fell to Helbram, not knowing if it was instinct or consciousness that made the man dig his fingers into the ground, clawing himself slowly towards Cora. Finally, his gaze drifted to Aria, who remained suspended in the air, the woman of ice’s fingers digging deeper into the seal at her back. Ren was now at the girl’s side, the Cleric shimmering with golden energy as he fed the light into the seal. There was a newfound sheen trailing down Aria’s cheeks.
Tears that had frozen against her skin.
Leaf growled and slammed his fist into his leg. The dull rush of pain pulsed through them, but they did not become any easier to move. Jahora continued to advance upon Cora, but though the Shade was steadily losing ground the Mage’s own steps had started to slow. The archer struck his legs repeatedly, practically throwing his feet in front of him as he forced himself into a charge. Pain filled every one of his senses as a rush overtook him, and everything turned into a blur as he continued to run towards the battling spellcasters.
Cora flung another stone at Jahora, who deflected it and countered with a bolt of fire. The spell struck the Shade in her chest, slamming her back into the tree, but as she fell Cora drove her hand into the cracked earth. A pulse of yellow Aether surged through the fractured ground, trailing towards Jahora. The Mage dropped her spells and started to gather yellow Aether of her own into her hands, but before a spell could form the energy sputtered and she fell to a knee. Cora’s spell condensed at Jahora’s feet.
And Leaf rammed into the Mage in desperation.
His companion is knocked to the side as they collide, the archer taking her place in her stead. As Cora’s spell completed, the ground under him exploded, knocking him into the air as he felt the weight of a sledgehammer strike into his side. His strength left him as he struck the ground, barely able to keep a hold on his consciousness. He saw Jahora looking towards him, but before the Mage could show any concern he summoned all he had to yell.
“Go!”
Jahora nodded and pushed herself to her feet, a glyph of green Aether forming at her back. Before Cora could ready another spell, the Mage finished the cast of her own, unleashing a burst of wind that threw her forward. Jahora crossed her arms as she struck Cora in the stomach, doubling the Shade over. Before she had to recover, the Mage took hold of the loose end of the sealing cuffs and clasped it over Cora's once free wrist.
The Shade fell to her knees right after, putting her at eye level with Jahora. She bored a hateful look into the Mage as Jahora gathered green energy into the small glyph at her hand.
“Monsters, all of you,” the Shade spat, “trying to take a daughter away from her mother.”
Jahora opened her mouth to say something, but closed it. Any anger that burned in the Mage’s eyes faded to pity as she looked upon Cora.
“Do not give me that look!” the Shade screamed, “I saw the hate in your eyes just moments before. I know what you truly wish to do.”
Jahora raised her spell towards Cora, “You are not wrong. A large part of me wishes to do nothing more than snuff out your life, but I won’t.”
She casted her spell, triggering a blast of air that knocked the Shade’s head back into the tree. Cora goes still and falls to the ground, unconscious.
“There is a child present.”
___
Leon emerged from the trees, dragging an unconscious Erik behind him. As he entered the clearing he left the Shade on the ground and continued to walk forward. Every part of him wished for him to stop, but he couldn’t, not until he knew that everything was dealt with. The distant part of the clearing was a broken mess of shattered earth and ice, and amongst the rubble he could see Helbram and his companions littered throughout.
Elly had started to push herself up, blood trailing down her face as her eyes blinked away her once unconscious state. Helbram himself appeared to still be moving, though just barely as he scraped himself along the ground. Leaf lay further amongst the rubble, leaned against a jagged piece of rock as he clutched his side. Jahora stood not too far off from him.
An unconscious Cora at her side.
Relief started to flood through him, but stopped as his gaze drifted towards Aria, towards the remaining Shade.
The frost coated every part of the girl’s exposed skin, which had grown even paler since he first saw her. Her hair was also a more stark white, and a faint, wispy blue glow bleeding from her eyes. Though she displayed no emotion on her vacant face, tears trailed down and froze against her cheeks.
Just like Astraeus had looked all those years ago.
Leon shook his head, looking towards the icy woman that hovered behind Aria. Beyond her physical beauty, there was little else that he could tell about the frozen figure, all except the fingers that pressed against the seal at Aria’s back. A crack had spread across all symbols of the gods that lined the glyph, all except for the Eye of Velendel, which was due to Ren’s current efforts.
The Cleric forced a torrent of Aether into the seal, but it showed no signs of repairing itself. It was all that his companion could do to prevent it from breaking further, and Leon knew that striking at the figure formed behind Aria would result in nothing.
It hadn’t with Astraeus.
He looked at the girl, saw the sadness that was frozen across her face, saw the same as he did all those years ago when he gazed into his brother’s eyes.
And drew his sword.
First / Previous
Author's note: Just gonna keep the commentary to a minimum until things are concluded. I was going to try and finish everything with this chapter, but there are way too many threads I want to make sure have the time they deserve, so I expanded on events here instead. More is still to come! We're not off this ride yet folks.
The arc is now officially finished on my Patreon, and I’m going to be taking a break next week to cool down. I’ll be back soon enough, till next time everyone!
If you wish to read ahead and gain access to the audiobook version of this story, consider supporting me on Patreon (https://patreon.com/criticalscribe). If you want to leave a donation, here is my Ko-fi (https://ko-fi.com/criticalscribe).

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Memory transcription subject: Jakiv, arxur scientist
Date [Standardized human time]: August 31st, 2148
[Day 24]
I woke up on the couch swaddled in a soft blanket. The light filtering through the windows illuminated and highlighted the red in Nuri’s fur. She was sleeping soundly on a pillow on the carpet. We were up late last night watching more movies and just talking about anything and everything.
For once I wasn’t feeling held down by sleep as I stood up from the couch. The yotul barely stirred. I went to the kitchen to make some coffee and eat breakfast. She’d ordered some food last night that I finished quickly because the time was 10 am and I was late for work.
I hastily swept up the folder with my report in it and headed for the door, my claws loudly clicking on the floor.
As I gripped the door handle, I heard Nuri call out, “Jaki?”
I turned around to see the yotul, draped in her blanket and smiling warmly. She approached and hugged me, “Have a good day at work,” she patted my back.
“Thank you, Nuri. I’ll see you later, okay?”
She nodded and waved as I stepped out into the warm sunlight. Today was going to be a good day.
~~~
Memory transcription subject: Daniel Stat, human virologist
Date [Standardized human time]: August 31st, 2148
[Day 24]
Jakiv should’ve been in by now. I figured it didn’t matter too much, today we were going to be testing the vaccine and seeing how it interacted with the venlil body. He’d have loved to take notes, but a man like him would have a reason to call out of work, so I didn’t bother dwelling on it.
I stayed by Silvon’s side as we worked. I knew she still wasn’t feeling great after the email, and I was pretty on edge at the thought of Humanity First tracking us down. I promised her nonstop last night that I’d keep her safe.
“Danny?” she spoke softly.
“What’s up?”
“Can you pass me that sample there?” I handed her a vial of spliced cells and watched her drip them onto a slide with a myriad of other venlil cells. Various tissue cells, brain cells, and a couple of miscellaneous things like bone marrow and a tuft of fur. “Thanks, hon,” she smiled.
I felt giddy watching the cells harmlessly coexist. Then, she dripped a sample of the rhinovirus. Immediately the spliced cells got to work destroying the virus and protecting the other samples in the dish. “That’s looking really promising,” I observed.
She nodded, “I think it’s ready for the real test.”
“Got it. I’ll run these to the infirmary then. Be back in a sec, hon,” I promised, blowing a kiss since I was still suited in PPE.
I went through the decontamination cycle feeling like I was on cloud nine. Today was going to be a good day! As I started for the infirmary, sounds right out of my worst nightmares echoed down the corridor. Gunshots and screaming.
~~~
Memory transcription subject: Aaron Clemont, Humanity First rallier
Date [Standardized human time]: August 31st, 2148
[Day 24]
Today was going to be a good day. Jatsen Labs was almost completely unguarded. The UN only sent two armed guards to stand outside the door, which were dispatched so easily, that they might as well have sent nobody at all.
While the peacekeepers were staining the sidewalk outside, I entered the building flanked by Landen and Vernon. We were immediately met with a pencil pushing yotul manning the front desk. Before she could even look up, a bullet blasted through her skull from my rifle. Landen and Vernon only had handguns, unfortunately. The local HF branch was rather poor. But they made do by squeezing off rounds into the panicked scientists who desperately ran down the halls to escape us.
Sprays of green soaked the walls and floors. I reloaded my rifle after eviscerating a Xeno and motioned forward. There was a map of the building on the wall that I scanned. We were pretty close to the virus lab, just a few short turns and Stat was at our mercy.
As I finished registering the info, the lights overhead dimmed and flashed red. “Good mood lighting,” I mused. As a trio we moved down the hall, leaving no survivors in our wake. We got to the door labeled ‘virus lab’ and used a keycard ripped from a corpse to unlock it.
“Let’s fucking do this,” I growled.
~~~
Memory transcription subject: Daniel Stat, human virologist
Date [Standardized human time]: August 31st, 2148
[Day 24]
The gunshots were growing louder outside as the decontamination cycle came to an end. I threw myself inside the lab. Silvon looked panicked and was pressed against the far wall. Those plexiglass windows wouldn’t survive a bullet, and my love wasn’t making herself less of a target.
“Silvvy,” I spat hastily, “C’mere!” she hustled toward me as I threw open a cabinet beneath the lab and moved aside enough equipment for her to squeeze inside. “Get in here. Don’t even think of coming out. Whatever you hear, whatever you see, keep quiet,” I breathed.
“Danny-?”
“Now!” I roared.
“I love you,” she said. I could see her goggles fogging.
“I love you too,” I said, closing the cabinet door. I ducked beneath the wall under the plexiglass. The other yotul seemed to have run out. I was thankful Tinasi wasn’t at work today. I heard the sound of the decontamination cycle going on and steeled myself for the worst.
The door swished open slowly. The barrel of a rifle extended through the doorway first, followed by 3 humans. The one with the rifle scanned the room, finding me immediately. “Dr. Stat,” he smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you in person.” I stood, ready to fight for me and Silvon’s life. Then, for whatever reason, the man set down his rifle. “Where’s your Xeno, Danny?” he growled.
“Her name is Silvon,” I spat, “And she’s far, far away from her.”
I cracked my knuckles. “Y’know Doc, you’re pretty infamous among Humanity First. Killing one of our own, undermining all our efforts at every turn, fucking the locals, it’s awful,” his voice was suave and matter-of-fact, but filled with the kind of vitriol only a terrorist could muster.
“Is that so?” He asked, then chuckled. “Guess she won’t know she’s a widow for a while.”
I raised my fists, and one of the other humans chimed in, “Aaron, what are you doing?”
“Quiet!” he barked, reaching into his pocket and procuring a switchblade. “I’m doing good on Stephan’s name.”
He clicked the blade and lunged toward me. I quickly grabbed his wrist and tried to wrestle the blade from his hand. He slammed his fist into my face and I lost my grip on him. He fell to his knees on my chest, putting his full weight on my ribcage, and tried to slam the knife down on me. I took both his wrists in my hands, desperately pushing him back as the blade got nearer and nearer to my throat.
I simultaneously released on hand and moved my head aside, the knife clattered next to my ear as I punched him in the stomach and pushed him off of me.
“Do you need help?” The other human called.
“No!” He barked as I crushed his nose with my fist. “Watch the fuckin’ doors!”
He grabbed the knife and slammed it into my arm. I howled in pain as blood spurted from the wound. He laughed maniacally, his crushed nose seeping crimson. He ripped the knife from my arm and swung again, cutting me up further. I got a grasp on his wrist again, continuing to pummel him. We rolled over, he was once again on top, each punch made me see stars.
“It’s the end of the fucking line, Stat,” he coughed. Aaron punched full force into my throat, and I struggled to breathe. He got up, towering over me with a sadistic grin.
“DANNY!” a shrill voice screeched. There was a flash of auburn fur and a scream as Silvon jammed a partially shattered test tube deep into Aaron’s back. He whipped around, catching the venlil across the snout. Under the PPE I could see blood.
“Silvon,” I gasped, “What- are… you- doing?”
Aaron stamped down on my hand as I reached for her, the bones snapped beneath his heavy footfall and I cried out.
“I knew she wouldn’t be far,” the human growled.
“No-” I wheezed as he ripped the mask off Silvon’s face. We locked eyes. “I’m sorry, Danny,” she whispered.
“Boys,” Aaron chuckled heartily. “Grab me one of the samples.”
One of the humans by the door reached into a handheld cooler, withdrawing a small orange vial I knew all too well. “NO!” I screamed as Aaron knelt by Silvon. I tried to stand. One of the humans by the door swiftly raised his handgun and fired into my leg. The hot lead seared my flesh and my pantleg grew warm and wet.
“Sweet dreams, Xeno,” he laughed, forcing open her mouth and forcing the sample’s contents down her throat. He threw her aside while she tried fruitlessly to cough out the blood, then returned to me.
“There’s no way out for any of us now, Stat,” the knife gleamed, covered in my blood. He held it to my throat, I could feel the blade cutting in, then-
“HOLY SHIT!” The other Humanity First members screamed in unison. The plexiglass shattered, there was a blurry gray mass that landed with a heavy thud. The human who shot me turned his gun on the imposing figure of the arxur and popped off several shots.
Jakiv staggered, clutching his chest, but no blood pooled around the holes in his hoodie. “Stupid human,” he growled, slashing his throat in one smooth motion. He turned to the other terrorist, shakily holding his handgun out. He fired, striking Jakiv on the arm, but the arxur literally shrugged it off, clawing the human’s face.
Aaron was pale and stood, knife in hand, to face the arxur. “B-back off, gray!” he spat. He dove for his rifle, but Jakiv was faster, grabbing the gun and chucking it through the broken window. He stomped Aaron’s hand, his claws impaling the appendage. The terrorist groaned in pain as the arxur slowly bent over and slammed his jaws shut around Aaron’s windpipe. The human’s movements halted with the sickening crunch of bone.
I caught my breath, and leaned against the wall, pain shooting through every limb. “Silvon,” I reached my non-broken hand toward the venlil, who ran over to me.
“Danny, oh stars,” she examined the wounds on my leg and arm.
“Are you two okay?” Jakiv asked, catching his breath and wiping the blood from his lips. He approached slowly, I could tell he was worried about scaring Silvon, but she ran to him and threw her arms around him.
“Thank you,” she sobbed, “Thank you, Jakiv.”
He awkwardly patted her back, “You’re welcome?”
She broke away, getting back to me, “Help me lift him, we need to get out of here.”
“On the count of 3,” the arxur said. “1, 2, 3!”
“Aaaugh! God!” I cried out as they helped me up.
“We’re getting you out of here, Danny. You’re gonna be just fine,” the venlil said half pleading. The edges of my vision began to blur and distort as my legs threatened to give out. Jakiv steadied me with his tail as we began walking toward the decontamination hall.
“Silvon,” I groaned, suddenly remembering the sample. “Silvon,” I tugged her arm.
“Yeah?” she asked.
“You’re sick,” I wheezed, stumbling slightly. “You need the- the-” I pointed frantically toward the container full of the vaccine I was supposed to run to the infirmary.
Silvon left my side only long enough to secure the case. “We need to leave now, Danny,” she told me.
I pressed myself against the wall as the decontamination cycle completed, then Jakiv helped me down the main hall. My legs were getting weaker with each step, and I could no longer feel my injuries. I felt lightheaded, and put more and more of my weight on the arxur, who eventually just threw me over his shoulders.
I heard voices up ahead, but the world around faded to black before I could see their sources. My last conscious thoughts were Silvon.
~~~
Memory transcription subject: Jakiv, arxur scientist
Date [Standardized human time]: August 31st, 2148
[Day 24]
Dr. Silvon was great at keeping pace as we raced down the bloody corridors. At the entrance, there were several yotul police officers and zurulian doctors filing in.
“HELP!” I screamed at them, rushing toward one of the stretchers.
“Stand down, gray!” An officer barked, pointing his gun at me.
“Help me, please, get these two to safety. The venlil is infected with the flu, the human is critically injured. Please,” I urged.
The yotul eyed me suspiciously, I figured it was 50/50 whether or not he’d pull the trigger. “Listen to him officer,” Silvon begged, “He saved our lives.”
Two zurulians rushed over, I carefully lowered Dr. Stat into a stretcher. My claws and hoodie were soaked in blood, hardly any of it mine. “Please help him,” I begged. The zurulians exchanged nervous glances before hurriedly hauling the human off.
“You say you were… saved by this arxur?” The officer asked Silvon as another pair of medics rushed to her aid.
She coughed a bit, “Yes sir. He’s a hero…” she trailed off, noticeably growing weaker. “Where’s… my husband?” she groaned, falling into the stretcher and knocking out cold. Poor venlil overexerted herself running. Before they could wheel her off, I stopped one of the zurulians.
“Please, take this,” I said, handing the doctor the case we recovered. “It’s for the flu,” I explained as the zurulian took the vaccines and escorted Stat and Silvon through the lab doors. I registered my burning lungs at last, and leaned up against a wall for support, suddenly feeling weak in the legs.
I sighed heavily and let myself slip down to the floor where I could more easily catch my breath. The six shots to my chest stung badly, but a quick glance over told me they didn’t break the skin. Suddenly, the door swung open, and someone far off shouted “You can’t be here!”
In a flash of red fur, Nuri was at my side. “Jaki?!” she cried, her voice wrought with concern.
“Hey, Nuri,” I waved a claw, “What’re you doing-?” She wordlessly began running her paws along my chest, unzipping my hoodie and feeling the dents in my scales. “Nuri?” she looked up at me, there was fear in her eyes.
“Are you okay?” she asked frantically.
“Yeah, I’m just fine,” I answered. She threw her arms around me, pulling me into a tight hug that almost hurt. I didn’t know how to react besides returning the gesture, leaning into the marsupial.
“I thought-” Nuri’s voice broke, “I thought I-”
“Hey, hey,” I cooed, “Everything’s fine, I’m okay, Nuri,” I reassured the yotul. She sniffled, but said nothing, just pulled me tighter. We stayed like that for a while before she finally broke away. She sat down next to me and leaned her head against my arm.
“I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you,” she confessed.
“Oh please, have some faith,” I smiled. “I’m a big strong arxur, I can handle a little tussle.”
The marsupial perked up slightly at my words. “You know you’re a hero now, right?”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” I dismissed.
“You saved a bunch of people today,” Nuri said. “What about that isn’t heroic?”
“I guess that’s true. Fuck,” I chuckled, “I need a drink.”
Nuri stood and extended a paw to help me up. “Let’s get outta here, Jaki,” she smiled.
~~~
Memory transcription subject: Daniel Stat, human virologist
Date [Standardized human time]: September 1st, 2148
[Day 25]
My head spun as I came to. I was in a hospital bed, hooked up to all those wires, with a cast on my shattered hand and nose. Directly across from me was Silvon, typing away on her holopad. The second she saw I was awake, a smile crossed her features.
“Good morning, Danny,” she greeted.
“Hey,” I groaned. Speaking hurt. I rubbed my eyes, and yawned, then instantly snapped up, “Holy shit, Silvon,” I cried, “Aaron he- you’re sick!”
Silvon seemed unbothered, I couldn’t keep the confusion off my face. “I was,” she smiled.
“What?”
“I was sick, Danny. But they administered the vaccine, and it worked,” she explained.
“It did?!” I laughed in disbelief, clutching my sides as the pain hit, but smiled regardless. “Oh thank god,” I cried. “I was so scared,” I breathed.
“You’re not losing me that easily,” Silvon giggled.
“Good,” I sighed, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. “Good,” I muttered. A tear rolled down my cheek that I hastily wiped away.
“Danny?” My breathing hastened, and it was suddenly hard to breathe. “Danny, are you okay?”
Silvon’s words echoed, drowned out by the beeping heart monitor. I failed to hide the torrent of sobs that escaped me as I buried my face in my hands. “I thought it was over for us-” I choked out, “I don’t want to lose you.”
A paw found its way around my neck. I ran my fingers through Silvon’s soft fur. “You won’t,” she promised.
“I’ve been having so many nightmares,” I sobbed, “I’m so afraid,” I confessed. She sat on the edge of the bed next to me and wiped the tears from my eyes.
“Nothing can tear us apart,” she said, “Nothing.”
“I-” I gesticulated, every emotion possible swirled in my chest.
“Shhh,” she cooed, “You don’t have to speak.” Silvon hugged me, and planted a kiss on my cheek.

112 Operator
911 Operator
A Story About My Uncle
Action Henk
Age of Wonders II: The Wizard's Throne
Age of Wonders III
The Amazing American Circus
Antagonist
Archangel: Hellfire - Fully Loaded
Ashampoo Photo Optimizer 7
Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan
Auto Age: Standoff
Awesomenauts Yogscast Pack - Coco Nebulon
Awesomenauts Yogscast Pack - Rocco
Awesomenauts Yogscast Pack - Skolldir
Awesomenauts Yogscast Pack - Ted McPain
The Bard's Tale
Battlerite DLC: YogYog Bear Mount
Bionic Commando
Blockstorm
Boundless
Breach & Clear
Broken Age
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Car Mechanic Simulator 2018
Chime Sharp
Citizens of Earth
ClusterPuck 99
Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?!
Corridor Z
Crashlands
Crusaders of the Lost Idols - Elite Starter Pack
Crying Suns
Cursed Castilla (Maldita Castilla EX)
Dagon: by H. P. Lovecraft - The Eldritch Box DLC
Dandara
Deadly Sin
Deadly Sin 2
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition
Defend Your Life: TD
Deponia: The Complete Journey
Draw Slasher
Drawful 2
Driftland: The Magic Revival
Dungeon of the Endless
Expeditions: Viking
Figment
Figment Soundtrack
The Final Station
Fury Unleashed
Go Home Dinosaurs
Going Under
Golf With Your Friends - OST
GRIP: Combat Racing Artifex DLC
Guns of Icarus Alliance
Guns of Icarus Alliance Soundtrack
Guns of Icarus Alliance Yogscast 2017 Costume Pack
Gurgamoth
Headlander
Hector: Badge of Carnage
Hexologic
HIVESWAP: Act 1
Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms -- Celeste Starter Pack
The Interactive Adventures of Dog Mendonça and Pizza Boy
Iron Danger
Jurassic World Evolution - Deluxe Dinosaur Pack
Last Word
Legacy of Dorn: Herald of Oblivion
Lion Quest
Love Letter
Lust for Darkness
Lust from Beyond: M Edition
Main Assembly
Mimic Arena
Ministry of Broadcast
Mirage: Arcane Warfare
Moon Hunters
NASCAR Heat 2 - October Jumbo Expansion
NecroWorm
Neon Drive (Steam)
Neverout
Neverwinter Feywild Starter Pack
Nex Machina
No Time To Explain Remastered
Offensive Combat: Redux!
Old Man's Journey
On Rusty Trails
Orbital Racer
Out of Reach: Treasure Royale
Out of the Park Baseball 18
Pale Echoes
Pandemic: Roles & Events
Pandemic: The Board Game
Pathway
Pikuniku
Post Void
Radio Commander
Rakuen
Raw Data
Remnants of Isolation
Renegade Ops Collection
Roarr! Jurassic Edition
RPG Maker 2000
RPG Maker VX
Sanctum 2
Say No! More
Scanner Sombre
She Remembered Caterpillars
Shing!
Silence
Slinger VR
Space Gladiators: Escaping Tartarus
Spectrum
Steel Rats
Super Raft Boat
SuperLuminauts
Supraland
SYSTEM SHOCK: ENHANCED EDITION
Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation - Asharra’s Diplomat Pack
Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation - Birdsong’s Entertainer Pack
Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation - Dragonbait’s Dungeoneer Pack
Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation - Tales of Artus Cimber’s Explorer Pack
Tannenberg
Team Fortress 2 badges - Mandrew's Munificent Mug and Israphel's Eleemosynary Expression
Team Racing League
Telefrag VR
Telltale Texas Hold'em
Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure
This War of Mine
Tiltagon
Tiny Echo
Tooth and Tail
Tormentor X Punisher
Toy Odyssey: The Lost and Found
Treasure Hunter Simulator
The USB Stick Found in the Grass
Wanderlust: Travel Stories
Wandersong
War for the Overworld - Yogscast Worker Skin
Wargroove
Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® - Game of the Year Edition
Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide
WARSAW
We Are Alright
West of Dead
World to the West
X-Morph: Defense + European Assault, Survival of the Fittest, and Last Bastion DLC
Yoku's Island Express
Zeno Clash 2
Zombie Night Terror
I also have Humble Choice leftovers from the following that I haven't sorted through yet:
APRIL 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Driftland, Turok 2, Truberbrook, Shoppe Keep 2, Capitalism 2)
APRIL 2021 HUMBLE CHOICE (Main Assembly, Rock Of Ages 3, In Other Waters, Aven Colony, Simulcra I+II, Colt Canyon, Skully, Popup Dungeon)
AUGUST 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Hello Neighbor + Hide And Seek, Littlebig Workshop, American Fugitive, The Coma 2, A Case Of Distrust)
DECEMBER 2021 HUMBLE CHOICE (Beyond The Wire, The Survivalists, Lacuna, 8 Doors, Greak, Tohu)
FEBRUARY 2021 HUMBLE CHOICE (Moving Out, The Wild 8, Train Station Renovation, Werewolf The Apocalypse Heart Of The Forest, Lovecraft's Untold Stories, Iris And The Giant, Boomerang Fu)
JANUARY 2021 HUMBLE CHOICE (Total Tank Simulator, Song Of Horror, Vampire The Masquerade: Shadows Of New York, Deleveled, The Ambassador)
JUNE 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Supraland, Grid, The Messenger, Felix The Reaper, Remnants Of Naezith, Overload, The Stillness Of The Wind, The King's Bird)
MARCH 2021 HUMBLE CHOICE (WWE 2k, Hotshot Racing, Peaky Blinders, Cyber Hook, Pesterquest, Boreal Blade, Ageless)
MAY 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Xcom 2, Niche, Swords Of Ditto, Neoverse, Horace)
NOVEMBER 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Darksburg, Smile For Me, Tsioque, Rover Mechanic Simulator, Youropa, Townsmen)
OCTOBER 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Iron Danger, Autonauts, Shadows: Awakening, Fantasy Blacksmith, The Suicide Of Rachel Foster, Goat Of Duty, The Uncertain, Lightmatter)
SEPTEMBER 2020 HUMBLE CHOICE (Lethal League, Fun With Ragdolls, Evoland, Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible Lair, The Occupation, The Shapeshifting Detective)
SEPTEMBER 2021 HUMBLE CHOICE (Atomicrops, Heaven's Vault, Swag And Sorcery, Fort Triumph, Orwell: Ignorance Is Strength, Framed Collection)
My region is North America.

He turned of age last week, a bright young man of twenty-three, hopeful, intelligent, the very epitome of what Society should be. Everything about him shone, from the polish of his shoes to the gleam of his teeth, to the shiny new badge pinned on his lapel. He twisted the bow tie to the stipulated angle and polished his face. Then he smiled at the mirror and took a deep breath.
Brand new. Ready for Society to take him.
“Good afternoon, Peter,” said the attendant. He was four times his age, a wizarding man with wisps of smoky hair hanging down the sides of his head. He was dented with wrinkles, and his gaze was cloudy.
“Good afternoon,” Peter replied, trying to keep his voice even and his revulsion hidden. He looked briskly around the room. Other attendants buzzed around like busy bees, offering coffee or tea, presenting paperwork. Smiling customers walked out with a new woman in hand. Others were hauled back inside the shop. Peter had spent ages drawing and planning her. Saving up to get her. And now he will get her.
“When do we begin?” Impatience was always his greatest weakness. Something he had to remove sooner or later, but he had to focus on the present. The woman. The prestige. Everything.
The attendant snapped back to attention. “Right this way, sir,” he said, his voice struggling to be as brisk as his. Peter nodded, still impatient. That blueprint he spent months on was firmly secured in his brain, struggling to get free.
They left the comfortable air-conditioned lobby, all white walls and stainless steel floors, and continued on to the rougher part of the shop. Here buttons flashed and machines churned and squealed and robotic arms flew everywhere, grabbing parts with their claws and dropping it off at an assembly line. It was more humid, and Peter raised an arm to rub sweat off his face.
“This is where our women are made,” stated the attendant. Peter nodded, not really listening. His eyes wandered to another robotic arm, dutifully picking up an arm and attaching it to a chest. She was already stuffed with the essentials: heart, lungs, stomach, liver. Right now she was a blank canvas, but soon she would be a piece of art. That would be a near guarantee.
Their shoes clinked on the walkway as they continued through the maze of halls in the factory, until they reached a small control booth, a white cube shining through dark metal. The attendant nodded at Peter and opened the door. No words were exchanged; no instructions were said. Peter knew exactly what he had to do.
He stared up at the blank, black screen in front of him, his mind drawing up his blueprint from his memory. Then his arm reached for the flashing buttons and touch screens in front of him.
***
“Is she to your satisfaction, sir?”
She could easily be mistaken for Dracula’s bride. Pale as the moon, with long, thin hair that flowed down from her forehead like corn-silk. Her marble fingers curled around his palm.
“Yes,” said Peter.
“Understood,” said the attendant. “Sign here.”
Peter picked up the pen, his fingers gripping around the plastic, and stared heavily at the paper. After a whole list of terms and conditions was a single sentence that he knew would change his life for good.
Peter B10874 and Leah B22359 will now be pronounced husband and wife.
His new wife smiled thinly at him and gripped his hand tighter. Lowering the pen, Peter scrawled his name across the sheet.
***
Leah’s life was simple. It could even be boiled down to three words, and three words only.
Cook. Clean. Husband.
Her eyes scanned the floorboards for any signs of dust. There were none; she had been meticulous with her broom that afternoon, counting every speck into her dustpan. Now she stood by the doorway and closed her eyes, waiting for her husband to come home.
“Hi, honey,” Peter repeated.
“I love you,” Leah repeated back.
They locked their arms around each other, fingers groping around their waist. Then Leah took Peter by the hand and led him towards the dining table.
Dinner was waiting. A hot succulent brown chicken, bathed with hot succulent brown gravy. They sat down, husband next to wife, divided the chicken into two, stabbed the meat with their forks, put it into their mouths and began to chew. Then swallowed. Chewed, then swallowed.
“How was work today, dear?” Leah asked.
“It was fine,” Peter replied. The standard response.
He wasn’t lying. Nothing truly spectacular happened. Peter sat in the ‘P’ department with all the other Peters chipping away at a stack of legal documents. The work was simple. The contents were unimportant. Peter never bothered to read any of them; his arm went up and over, signed and stamped, and put them neatly in another pile.
Then he brought another one from the pile. And another, and another, until it was six’o’clock and it was time to go home. He marched with hundreds of other gray suits, down roads thick with gravel and asphalt, all the way home before raising his hand to knock.
They finished the meal in silence, just the two of them, then after Leah did the dishes they made love in bed. Yet even though it was all perfect, exactly as Peter had wanted, there was something missing. A screw loose, perhaps. Leah’s hot breath was musty against his cheek, and her fingers around his palm were stiff.
Too stiff. Too rusty. Her head was slack against her neck. She blinked slowly, twice, as she hummed and made breakfast. Her joints were creaking as she carried the omelettes to the table, and her voice monotonic as she wished him a great day at work. Peter was wondering if he had made a mistake. This was not the woman he ordered.
“I’m not going to work today,” he said.
Leah’s eyes rolled against her sockets. “Why not.”
Peter’s head was spinning. A spring wriggled out of her neck and flopped onto her shoulder. Her arms twitched, and then windmilled, and one fell off, leaving behind a plume of smoke.
So instead he grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the door. Giggling, perhaps thinking that Peter would take her out somewhere special, Leah bore a grin. Her teeth dropped out and shattered on the concrete pavement.
***
“So, let us get this straight. Are you looking to return her?”
“Yes,” Peter said impatiently.
The attendant adjusted his glasses and peered at him. “Are you aware of our return policy?”
“It doesn’t matter!” Peter snapped. “Get me a new one!”
”I see.” The attendant coughed politely. His facial expressions didn’t change. “Come with me, please.”
Rachel was everything Leah wasn’t. She had a bigger smile, bigger eyes, bigger everything. Peter had taken great care to choose the eyes. Leah’s eyes were too small for her; therefore it looked like she was always squinting, bordered by thin wrinkles.
He was happier than ever before when he first came in. The jazzy music seemed to be playing louder than before, almost like church-bells. Rachel sat by his side as he counted his cash. Her hand snaked into his lap as he signed the contract for the second time.
If Peter could look back at this moment, he would’ve admitted that Rachel was much more of an improvement. She was faster at her work, quieter, more efficient. Her concentration did not waver as she worked; she barely looked up even. Peter found his days easy, his nights peaceful.
Until she opened her mouth one chicken dinner.
“Do you think I am a good wife?”
Peter jerked upwards. The thought pierced his brain and he did not like it. “I’m sorry?”
“Do you think I am a good wife?” Rachel repeated. Her eyelids opened and shut. Opened and shut.
Peter’s brain was fuzzy. The words came out like static. “I…I…”
“So I am not a good wife?”
Peter did not want to be part of this conversation. He stood up to leave, but Rachel’s gaze bolted him to the floor.
“Am I nothing to you?” Rachel pressed on. “What else am I good for, besides cooking, and cleaning, and making love at night? What else can I do for you?”
‘Enough,” Peter said. His eyes narrowed into slits and his face hardened and smoothed over. For a moment Rachel turned into Leah but his brain flickered and there was Rachel again.
He stood up.
“We are going back tomorrow.”
***
Rachel was screaming as they dragged her back to where she came from, but Peter felt no satisfaction. It was simply a part of Society. She had learned it the hard way. Soon Peter would get her replacement and life would continue as normal.
The attendant stepped up to him, wiping sweat off his glasses.
“Are you Peter? Here for your third wife?”
“Yes.”
“Come with me please.”
The back area stood out like a rogue part compared to the rest of the reception. Crimson streaks crawled up the door made of scrap iron that stood the test of time. As they neared the back area Peter could hear the chaos behind: a symphony of screams and screeches and chomps and clashes of metal upon metal.
His eyes rolled over to the sign. Each letter sunk in like a knife to flesh. For the first time, cold sweat appeared on his palms and rolled down his arm.
The attendant was still talking but Peter was not listening.
“You have violated Society’s return policy by asking for a third wife.”
Peter said nothing.
“Are you well aware of our return policy in your contract?”
A contract. Yes, there was a contract. It was a blur in his brain: black scribbles on a polished white surface. He had carefully printed his name on the paper; Leah had smiled and held his hand at the prospect of going home as a happy married couple.
The attendant flicked the back of Peter’s head and opened the door. Peter walked in without a fuss. If he had looked back, he would have seen a pinprick of a smile on the edges of his lips–the only human emotion they knew–but it was gone almost as quickly.
“Goodbye, Peter B10874,” the attendant said, and then he walked back to serve another customer.

The Amits had taken their time. They knew that victory was assured, and so had set about feasting. But eventually they had worked up enough of an appetite to make the final push.
Once more they rushed through a storm of bullets. They disintegrated as the twelve-pounder discharged a cluster of grapeshot, faltered, then charged again. Claws ripped at the broken stone, reaching and grasping. A man was seized by his locks of hair and pulled through the gap; his screams cut short as his body toppled backwards, missing its head. Bayonets jostled and found their mark in pale flesh as pistols rang out in the tight confines and set Rene’s ears ringing.
“Get back!” shouted the engineers, “You’ve done your best! We’ll take it from here!”
The wall of detritus had begun to buckle beneath the weight of the enemy. The engineers brought out the red plunger and ran the wire to the final batch of charges. These were strapped to every major column and support in the room. They were to be buried alive, to deny the enemy their final victory.
The first Amit clawed its head through. It was impaled on half a dozen blades and hurled back. Then the second burst in and bathed a man head to toe in its corrosive juices, melting him down to bare red musculature in seconds. The monsters scrambled into the breach with reckless abandon, and the slaughter began.
The engineer was killed, brained by an axe before he could blow the charges. Crawling across the floor, battered and bruised by the trampling feet of the melee, Rene found the box and pried it from his dead hands. With a final whimper he closed his eyes and depressed the plunger.
Sometime later Rene awoke with a throbbing head. Absently he wondered if the afterlife was supposed to hurt this much, but then he felt a cold film of cave water touch the side of his face, and reluctantly accepted the fact that he was alive.
The chamber was gone. All about him were strewn great slabs of ceiling, under which various limbs protruded. Beside him, Prota had been buried beneath wreckage, her pendant flung clear. Absently he reached over and pocketed it.
His pants were wet; water was streaming through from somewhere. Through a gap in the huge slump of debris at the entrance he made out shadows moving against the torchlight, and heard sounds of them doing unspeakable things.
He dragged himself upright and cried out a second time in misery and pain. Immediately he regretted that action, as a milky white eye came up to the gap and looked about hungrily. It spotted him and tapped its feet against the stone in excitement. A horde of scuttling figures flitted into view. There was a scuffling sound as they began to dig at the obstruction. He groaned, and looked about him for a weapon, anything with which to end his life quickly and in relatively less anguish. Then he saw it.
The chamber had collapsed, and in doing so a broken pillar several tons heavy had knocked against the impenetrable eastern wall, the one that Admiral Prota’s workmen had been chipping carefully at for a year. It had smashed through the obstruction, and now its great bulk held up the fragile archway. More importantly, an opening had appeared. One that looked just the right size for a child to crawl through. Cave water streamed from the rent, lapping at the bodies of the slain. Behind him the Amit shuddered with delight, spitting torrents of acid against the stone in order to get through to him faster.
He went into the crawlspace and found it was a tight fit. He tried flattening his belly. When that didn’t work, he removed the tattered remnants of his sealant suit, and barely managed to squeeze inside.
He emerged into a cool tunnel. Motes of dust millennia old swirled placidly in the still air, lit by glowing phosphorescent mushrooms that lined the damp walls. Water wet his toes as he stumbled painfully along.
The floor was even and polished to a mirror sheen. Across the chamber was an odd doorway, ovoid in shape. He went over to it, searched in vain for a doorknob, then chuckled and gave up. He felt an absence of fear and knew that his lifting spirits had something to do with this place being exposed to the outside atmosphere. He had at best a few hours left to live. He shrugged and peered about him in the murk.
These tunnels sloped down below the open eastern section. If he could reach a ventilation shaft, there was a chance he could live. Assuming of course that he found a mask sometime soon. He had lost his at some point in the brawl. Thankfully he still had the compass. He took it out but watched in disbelief as the needle began to spin like a top. Cleary whatever magnetic anomaly that had plagued the expedition had returned with a vengeance. Shaking his head, uncertain now of everything, Rene wandered aimlessly, a pale and bloodied specter haunting the alien hallways.
Graceful alcoves surrounded him, with effigies sheltered beneath them and primitive paintings upon their curved surfaces. He looked at the closest one. Though the style was surreal and the language foreign, he understood the symbols well enough.
For they were those of ancient scripture.
The war in heaven. Two great armadas clashed in the depths of the void, lances of searing red heat and spheres of anti-matter dancing between their silver prows. The battle raged the length of an entire wall, a lurid display of mythical carnage. He saw a thousand worlds set alight by the conflagration, whole systems burning like tinder, fuel to the madness and the pain.
In its wake, emptiness. The next alcove showed a galaxy bereft of life, the charred husks of planets circling their dying suns, drained of energy in the apocalyptic conflict.
He saw the Fleet emerge, three small ships, together containing all that remained from the great dying: the ancestor--gods of the primordial dawn. They searched long and hard, travelling from one blasted hellscape to the next in search of lasting refuge.
And so at long last they found Arachnea, a virgin planet untouched by strife. They came to sow life in its bleak hollows, to make a home for their children, a peaceful place far from the ravages of a war so ancient they themselves had forgotten its cause. Then they set their Divine Engines to work. The Amit had carved effigies of these machines out of lumps of azure marble. Rene touched their smooth flanks, admiring at the workmanship. They were shaped like squat little men, with massive hands and domelike heads. Where they had walked, the earth had moved aside for them. They carved the channels with their feet, flattened the hills with blows from their fists. They dredged up fountains of molten lava and shaped them into a thousand bejeweled islands. They wove giant webs of glass as strong as the pillars of the earth and stretched them out across the sky to shield the world from the jealous eyes of the twin suns, Raelu and Sardec.
It was in the course of their work the Divine Engines shattered a mountain and unearthed the Amit, the first true inhabitants of Arachnea. They had arrived centuries before the ancestor—gods. The painting showed the Amit stumbling out of a rent in their tunnels, hands held up against the sunlight that no longer scorched their pale, waxen skin. The first thing they saw in their brave new world was a towering behemoth of burnished metal, wreathed in fire and smoke. In terror they had fallen to their knees before it, begging for their lives.
Rene nodded. All of this was familiar. He walked over to the next depiction, expecting to see the ancestor--gods recoiling in disgust, then swiftly recovering and obliterating the insectoid creatures with deadly rays of light, driving them scuttling back into their foul hollows beneath the earth. For it was written that the Amits were the offspring of vague, unholy sorceries, and could only know evil. Indeed, the war in heaven had been fought over similar themes. They could not be suffered to live. But what he saw instead shook him to his very core.
The ancestors came down from their mighty steeds, lifted the Amit to their feet, and embraced them. Quickly Rene ran through the rest of the alcoves, mind raging against the truths he now saw before him. From then on, the work deviated from scripture so much so that he could only piece together their meaning with difficulty.
The ancestor--gods debated among themselves as to what to do with the Amits. This was not the first time they had come across life other than their own, and it was clear that this time they were cautious in their approach. Some advocated for bringing the race to total extinction, but most agreed that best way forward was a peaceful coexistence, reasoning that they had much to learn from the Amits, who had survived the conditions of Arachnea for millennia without the need for terraforming. The ancestor--gods felt guilt over stealing Arachnea from its original inhabitants and wished to make amends. And so a bargain was struck between the races.
The Amits would allow the ancestor--gods to make changes to the world. To correct the tilt of its wayward axis, to vent huge plumes of inert gases from the hot womb of the earth and to seed life forms from long-dead Terra. In return, Man would change the Amit as well. They would grant them strength and cunning, broods beyond number, and bodies hardened against pain and suffering so they too could be as the gods were.
The plan proceeded towards fruition. Both sides were content as the final pieces of the great work fell into place. But unknown to Man and Amit alike, the specter of war had never really left the Fleet. It had hidden away in dark holds within the hearts of men, and there it had whispered of want and of desire, of the beauty of the virgin world and the lust to claim it.
Some of the ancestor--gods resented their share in the great work. They chafed at the fact that they, the superior beings, had to deal with their vassal Amits like equals, exchanging their powers for the mere right to live on the planet that they had rightfully settled.
And so they began to snuff out the Amit in their millions, burning them out of their homes with heat rays that swept clean entire colonies.
Soon two sides were at each other’s throats. The honorable ancestors who had kept to their word fought a bitter war against their prideful kin amidst the ruin of their unfinished works. In the skies at night, the Amit watched as the madness unfolded, as stars appeared and vanished overnight, and great balls of flame came bursting down through the void to crash into the broken earth. At last, as their weapons lay spent and broken, they then turned the Divine Engines against one another. Once the instruments of peace and creation, they soon tore the landscape apart with the fury of their duels, trading blows that sent impacts shuddering deep into the scorched earth.
The Amit were afraid, and betook themselves to the deep places, where the wrath of the gods could not find them. But this was to be their doom. Eventually the changes wrought in the bodies of the Amit made them strong and durable enough the endure the apocalyptic conditions of the surface. But as the ancestor--gods fought and died on the surface in cataclysmic struggle, their magic died with them. The Amit themselves became trapped, betrayed by their own changing flesh. They became unable to revert to their previous forms, and so were forevermore consigned to lives of darkness in their lairs beneath the earth.
Now, Arachnea was unsuitable for both man and Amit alike. The ancestor--gods had become madmen, so overtaken by their hatred for each other that they had cast themselves back into a dark age from which there would be no return.
The Amits emerged into the gloomy wreckage of their planet and starved. Until, that is, they came upon the remnants of a battleground. Huge forces of men had clashed and died, leaving their bodies to rot upon the cold ground. In their desperate hunger, the Amits began to eat.
And they found the meat of the gods to be good. That war, a holy act most strange and terrible, had filled their bellies with meat, this they understood. That gods themselves judged war to be a just course of action was evident. And since all that remained of the gods were a race of thieves and murderers, it was judged that to make war upon them was both just and good.
Rene came to the last alcove. It depicted the final resting place of the Divine Engines, whom the Amit had buried beneath the mountains out of fear, sealing them away from the surface so that they would never again walk the earth.
A great square plaque of shining steel and copper was laid into the stone. To the Amit it was only a mark of some kind, a symbol whose meaning was long forgotten, but Rene felt an odd connection to it. He traced its edges with a blood-stained hand, and realized it was not a square, but a rectangle, and one whose dimensions he faintly recognized.
He took out Prota’s pendant and pressed it into the crevice.
There was a hiss of pneumatics as the great square door to his side gave way. Light fixtures hummed into life through powers unknown. He stepped gingerly into the soft glow.
“Greetings Ensign,” came a disembodied female voice, “Welcome to the Topographical Oversight and Reconstruction Unit (T.O.R.U.). What are your commands?”
A Divine Engine. The Amit had found it and built an entire civilization around it. This behemoth, this secret mountain of metal was what his compass had been steering towards all this time. A giddy sensation flowed through him. In his stupor he passed his hands in front of his face, examining the lines of his palms and the action of his fingers.
A nimbus of light played over him, reading his gestures.
“Command noted. Activating neural pairing.”
The door closed shut with a creak behind him. Steel pinions reached out and wire nodules grasped him, ran painlessly through his eye sockets and into his brain. All at once he could feel the machine coming to life after its long dormancy, reactors coils thrumming with an ancient power that would not be denied.
He straightened his back.
The outpost fell away from him in a cloud of dust and rubble. He strode forward, kilometers tall, a shining colossus of star-metal. He glanced down, saw the multitudes of the Amit streaming about the shattered mound. He watched them for a moment, saw them waving their arms in speechless terror at the sudden apparition.
For the first time, he pitied them. They were unaware of their own savagery, of their own hideousness, even. They did not know the doom that awaited them, of the lengths the Fleet was prepared to go in order to secure its final victory.
But there was nothing that could be done. Mankind could no more change themselves than could the Amit. Rene felt the weight of history bearing down upon his shoulders. Though a different world and a separate time, the same inexorable force drove them towards the same tired conclusion.
But perhaps the sooner it was over, the better. He lifted his foot and brought it down. Once, twice, three times until nothing was left moving below. Then he swung away, the ground quaking beneath him.
So, it was through humanity that the Amits had come to know of war? Well then, today he would show them that they had much left to learn. He turned northward, a god astride the earth, and lumbered towards Mound Euler.
Link to 1st chapter here: 1st chapter on HFY
Link for all the chapters available here: Engines of Arachnea on Royal Road

I'm talking about https://footballmanagergraphics.com/topic/1807-fmg-steel-logos-megapack-fm24/
It's a great logo pack, but they use Mega.nz, which have limited download. Does anyone have a torrent for the megapack?

Colors: pink, orange
Some Titles: Master of Matter, Lord of Space, God of Space, Guardian of the Outer Void, Master of Space, Guardian of the Door of the Void.
Palkia was called Guardian of the Void Door in some texts and, together with Dialga, Guardian of the Seals of Giratina. This spirit is an opener: it opens the ways between the realms, in addition to opening portals its auspices are useful in cosmic alchemy or "aeonic sorcery". Texts dealing with them in their Master of Matter aspect are among the first to quickly make clear that drawing the wrath of Palkia upon oneself is unwise in the extreme, as the Master of Space will seem to vanish before one realizes that your surroundings are a copy and you will soon be transformed into an object before being sent to the Distortion World. Palkia often appears to me as a light purple, theropod-like Pokémon with darker stripes and markings and gray underarms and waist. It has round, purple-striped plates on its shoulder, where two pink, pearl-like crystals encrusted with a gray border surrounding them sit, and fin-like wings on its back. Palkia's arms have elongated formations that resemble gloves and a purple band around each wrist. Palkia has a long, normally bent neck, a pointed white crest on the top of its head that extends to its wings, two strong horn-like tusks on the sides of its jaw, and a powerful tail. or extremely rarely appear to me in their Origin Form, usually because I have called them from their dimension for a job that requires the full power of the Guardian of the Outer Void. Where Palkia travels, the astral space of the place where we find ourselves distorts. Palkia is a calm spirit very similar to Hoopa in character when they are serious being the only two of all living and non-living creatures who can manipulate dimensions without realizing it but Palkia is much much more determined and ready to chase you to the end of the world just to do justice if necessary, just like his brothers: Dialga and Giratina. In baleful magic Palkia releases torrents of Steel-type aura mixed with Water-type energy maiming your target's soul and causing dizziness as the size of their blood vessels is constricted for an hour every day and due to their mutilated soul they are slowly make yourself see things that don't exist through hallucinations or the Guardian of the Outer Void opening an open window onto the Distortion World as it truly is a living, twisting vortex of All That Is Not for a millisecond being that seeing the Distortion World as it is it is truly for more than a few seconds it has led many to suicide because after a while you attract the attention of Giratina who will judge you as he would for all the souls in his kingdom which is the world of spirits that the various ancient cultures especially the inhabitants of Ancient Greece have well represented being that if you are judged guilty by Giratina you will be punished for one or two years even if for you a million aeons will seem to pass being that in the Distortion World the passage of time or whether it is allowed to pass changes from moment to moment at the moment depending on how Giratina feels as soon as the time ends Giratina accompanies you to the Origin Space where your final sentence will be passed by the Original One. In the work of protection Palkia can erect Wards which can only be broken by those spirits who were here when all was created, filling a place with protective spirits who act as Avataras. They can surround a person with astral armor and/or barriers that will defend them and retaliate against the execration. the god of space can shield the witch from all forms of direct harm and most forms of indirect harm and incapacitate her enemies with ease unless an extremely strong form of shielding is employed such as by the ghost king in that case it is best to give the Guardian of the Outer Void a gem or a drawing of it both charged with energy that resemble the Shining Orb and repeat the ritual with the full power of Palkia's Origin Form at your side, Palkia like his brothers can Furthermore, they can be summoned more easily in the mountains, especially if they are snow-capped, given that they will resonate with Mount Coronet and as such will be able to more easily open a passage, even temporarily, towards their dimensions.
Magical songs
O Master of Space, from your dimension from which you watch over the Outer Void, I call you who are King and Master of the ever-expanding dimensions, I summon you through the eternal flows of your dominion, I summon you here and now

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What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets!
So the inspiration behind this build was "min/ maxing" Ascended Astarion (AA) that wasn't a monk or range rogue. That is, I wanted to keep some lore flavor while playing a strong build that would also be a lore win.
What's more, in honor mode the pact of the blade extra attack does not stack with the martial extra attack so a mono-gish class becomes much more viable.
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So lore TL;DR: knowledge of the Vampire ascendant ritual was something Cazador got after making a deal with the Archdevil Mephistopheles. This makes the Fiend warlock an excellent patron option lore-wise:
After his ascension, Vampire Lord Astarion discarded his little bow and puny daggers. No need to hide or fight like a coward. Not when you can slaughter all who oppose you in a torrent of hellfire (ignore the radiant damage) and rend their very flesh from bone as those foolish enough to challenge you wither and rot! \*Evil laugh***
Gameplay-wise, unlike the other 2 warlock patrons, the fiend makes for a great monoclass. Dark One's Blessing (DOB) scales with Cha and warlock level meaning we can get about 19 (12 + 7 Cha mod) temp HP per kill which is pretty phenomenal.
Not only that, but unlike the other 2 patrons we get a very strong capstone ability in fiendish resilience which is on-demand resistance to whatever damage type you want. With that, we are quite a bit more tanky than your average caster.
Pact of the Blade will make it so that Cha (which is easier to get to 24 than many other stats) will be our main investment with Con, followed by dex or wis depending on what you care about more: Wisdom saving throws or initiative.
Helldusk armor, also very fitting lore-wise (and looks pretty good with Drake General dye), means we don't need to take any feats to get a solid 21 AC + anything we may slap on (eg: a ring of protection).
For boots, feel free to take bone spike boots (as Helldusk does not seem to cancel out its ability) and Helldusk gloves for the fire damage ridder and +1 spell save. Birthright or Helldusk make for good headwear.
As for weapons, I think we would do well with Duelist's Prerogative (DP). DP gives us a very nice ability in whithering cut which stacks hex, so using 2 of them will deal 2d6 more hex damage on top of our 3 attacks (unlike GWM we don't take a loss in attack rolls or need to kill/ crit for the BA attack). You are looking at 5d6 extra damage.
I also like the idea of a noble vampire lord fighting with an elegant blade rather than slamming a giant sword around.
Amulet and rings are up to you. Since I am on the frontlines I like having some tank so I go fey semblance for advantage on Wis, Int, and Cha saves (we only need adv for Wis tbh but the rest don't hurt in end game lol).
EB will be our range option. The Deadshot is nice for crit range so we get even more value from savage attacker (see feats) as we hit 3 times per round so that helps with crit odds.
For Feats:

1. I'd get Cha to 24 (start 17 → API +2 Cha → 19 → Mirror of Loss +3 for 22 → birthright to 24 as MoL will stack last much like the Ravengurad Sword)
2. Savage attacker as we have a lot of damage riders so I think it's a nice power boost (Vampire, helldusk gloves, DP, DP's necrotic damage). If you feel you don't need it consider Alert.
3. Resilient Constitution (hopefully going from 15 to 16). Helps with our con saves and shrugging off any nasty spells that ask for con saves.

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Invocations are up to you but I'd recommend a few:

1. Agonizing Blast (add Cha to EB), this is plus 7 per beam so 21 more dmg per round. It's nuts
2. Repelling blast - to push people places (say a steel watcher off the docks lol). Toggle off when you don't want it
3. Devil Sight - to abuse darkness - also lore win bc devil is in the name...
4. Life drinker - this is what makes 12 levels of warlock pay off. We add our cha modifier to melee attacks so it's like Agonizing for our DP which is a (pact) weapon so we get to double dip our Cha modifier on top of +3 and all the damage modifiers I talk about above.

And don't forget, as a warlock we get 3 level 5 spells per short rest (bonus points if you have a bard in the party).
So you are walking around with resistance to fire & slashing, 19 temp HP per kill, 23 AC, -3 dmg per hit, hitting as many times as the fighter and about as hard if not harder, party face, and casually dropping Lv 5 spells all while enjoying a lore rich pure build :)
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Roll me a dex save!
Hope you all enjoy it like I am!
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