Full tilt by neal shusterman summaryull tilt by neal shusterman su
A Slush Fund for Radical Protesters?
2024.06.01 12:02 Normodox A Slush Fund for Radical Protesters?
The profusion of identical green tents at this spring’s anti-Israel protests struck many as odd. “Why is everybody’s tent the same?,” asked New York mayor Eric Adams. Like others, the mayor suspected “a well-concerted organizing effort” driving the protests. More recent reporting shows a concerted push behind the Gaza protest movement. But it is not as simple as a single organization secretly rallying protesters or buying tents. Instead, the movement’s most determined activists represent a network of loosely linked far-left groups. Some are openly affiliated with well-known progressive nonprofits; others work in the shadows.
The movement also draws on diverse but generous sources of financial backing. Those funding streams may soon be augmented by the federal government. As I chronicled last year in a Manhattan Institute report, “The Big Squeeze: How Biden’s Environmental Justice Agenda Hurts the Economy and the Environment,” the administration’s massive program of environmental justice grants seems designed to prioritize the funding of highly ideological local groups. The Inflation Reduction Act, for example, earmarks $3 billion for “environmental and climate justice block grants” intended for local nonprofits. Today, hundreds of far-left political groups include language about environmental issues and “climate justice” in their mission statements. If just a fraction of planned grants flows to such groups, the effect will be a gusher of new funding for radical causes.
As the Gaza protests spread across U.S. college campuses, many observers noted an eerie uniformity among them. From one campus to the next, protesters operated in disciplined cadres, keeping their faces covered and using identical rote phrases as they refused to talk with reporters. The Atlantic noted the strangeness of seeing elite college students “chanting like automatons.” Students held up keffiyeh scarves or umbrellas to block the view of prying cameras and linked arms to halt the movements of outsiders. At Columbia University and elsewhere, protesters formed “liberated zones,” from which “Zionists” were excluded. Around the edges of the encampments, the more militaristic activists donned helmets and goggles and carried crude weapons, apparently eager to mix it up with police or counter-protesters. We’ve seen these tactics before—notably during the “mostly peaceful” Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, when full-time agitators helped ignite riots, set up a police-free (and violence-plagued) zone in Seattle, and laid nightly siege to Portland, Oregon’s federal courthouse.
In a remarkable work of reporting, Park MacDougald recently traced the tangled roots of organizations backing pro-jihad protests, both on and off campuses. These include Antifa and other networks of anonymous anarchists, along with “various communist and Marxist-Leninist groups, including the Maoist Revolutionary Communist Party, the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), and the International ANSWER coalition,” MacDougald writes. Higher up the food chain, we find groups openly supported by America’s growing class of super-rich tech execs or the anti-capitalist heirs of great fortunes. For example, retired tech mogul Neville Roy Singham, who is married to Code Pink founder Jodie Evans, funds The People’s Forum, a lavish Manhattan resource center for far-left groups. As the Columbia protests intensified, the center urged members to head uptown to “support our students.” Following the money trail of other protest groups, MacDougald finds connections to the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Ford Foundation, and—surprising no one—the George Soros-backed Tides Foundation.
Of course, the current wave of anti-Israel protests also involves alliances with pro-Hamas organizations such as Students for Justice in Palestine. Last November, Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies testified to the House Ways and Means Committee that SJP and similar groups have deep ties to global terrorist organizations, including Hamas.
For many keffiyeh-wearing protestors, however, a recently professed concern for Palestinians is just the latest in a long list of causes they believe justify taking over streets and college quads. In Unherd, Mary Harrington dubs this medley of political beliefs the “omnicause,” writing that “all contemporary radical causes seem somehow to have been absorbed into one.” Today’s leftist activists share an interlocking worldview that sees racism, income inequality, trans intolerance, climate change, alleged police violence, and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts all as products of capitalism and “colonialism.” Therefore, the stated rationale for any individual protest is a stand-in for the real battle: attacking Western society and its institutions.
In the U.S., this type of general-purpose uprising goes back at least to the riots at the 1999 meeting of the World Trade Organization in Seattle. In those protests, mainstream liberal factions—including labor unions and environmentalists—were joined by “black bloc” anarchists and other radicals eager to engage in “direct action” against police. That pattern—relatively moderate demonstrators providing a friendly envelope for hard-core disruptors—formed the template for many later protests: the Occupy Wall Street encampments in 2011, demonstrations following the police shooting of Michael Brown in 2014, 2016’s Standing Rock anti-pipeline movement, and of course, the calamitous summer of 2020.
These uprisings were not entirely spontaneous. In some cases, activists spend months planning mass actions—for example, against economic summits or political conventions—and can recruit street fighters from across the country. In others, an event, such as George Floyd’s death, sparks popular protests involving neophyte demonstrators. Those attract far-left activists, who swoop in to organize and expand the struggle, often tilting it toward more radical action.
That has certainly been the case at the college Gaza-paloozas. At Columbia, the New York Times spotted a woman old enough to be a student’s grandmother in the thick of the action as protesters barricaded that school’s Hamilton Hall. The woman was 63-year-old Lisa Fithian, a lifetime activist, who Portland’s alternative weekly Street Roots approvingly calls “a trainer of mass rebellion.” A counter-protester trying to block the pro-Hamas demonstrators told NBC News, “She was right in the middle of it, instructing them how to better set up the barriers.” Fithian told the Times she’d been invited to train students in protest safety and “general logistics.” She claims to have taken part in almost every major U.S. protest movement going back to the 1999 “Battle in Seattle.”
America’s radical network has plenty of Lisa Fithians, with the time and resources to travel the country educating newcomers about the “logistics” of disruptive protests. And these activists appear to have played key roles in the college occupations. The New York City Police Department says nearly half the demonstrators arrested on the Columbia and City University of New York (CUNY) campuses on April 30 were not affiliated with the schools. One hooded Hamilton Hall occupier—photographed scuffling with a Columbia custodian before getting arrested—turned out to be 40-year-old James Carlson, heir to a large advertising fortune. According to the New York Post, Carlson lives in a $2.3 million Park Slope townhouse and has a long rap sheet. For example, in 2005, he was arrested in San Francisco during the violent “West Coast Anti-Capitalist Mobilization and March Against the G8.” (Those charges were dropped.)
For a quarter-century now, Antifa and other anarchist networks have worked to refine tactics and share lessons following each major action. At Columbia, UCLA, and other schools, authorities found printouts of a “Do-It Yourself Occupation Guide” and similar documents. The young campus radicals are eager to learn from their more experienced elders. And, like the high-achieving students they are, they follow directions carefully. MacDougald asked Kyle Shideler, the director for homeland security and counterterrorism at the Center for Security Policy, about the mystery of the identical tents. There was no need for a central group to distribute hundreds of tents, Shideler said. Instead, “the organizers told [students] to buy a tent, and sent around a Google Doc with a link to that specific tent on Amazon. So they all went out and bought the same tent.”
In other words, America’s radical class has gotten very skilled at recruiting and instructing new activists—even from among the ranks of elite college students with a good deal to lose. How much more could this movement accomplish with hundreds of millions in federal dollars flooding activist groups around the country?
From its first week in office, the Biden administration has trumpeted its goal to funnel more environmental spending toward “disadvantaged communities that have been historically marginalized,” partly by issuing grants to grassroots organizations. Previous environmental justice (EJ) grant programs were small in scope. But, with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in August 2022, a huge pool of grant money became available. EPA administrator Michael Regan told reporters, “We’re going from tens of thousands of dollars to developing and designing a program that will distribute billions.”
More than a year and a half later, it remains hard to nail down just where the Biden administration’s billions in EJ grants will wind up. Money is being distributed through a confusing variety of programs, and the process of identifying recipients is ongoing. To help outsource the job of sifting through proposals, the EPA last year designated 11 institutions as “Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmakers.” These groups are empowered to make subgrants directly to community organizations, under streamlined EPA oversight. In all, the Biden administration has entrusted these outfits with distributing a staggering $600 million in funding. The money is expected to start flowing this summer.
The EPA’s grantmakers include a number of educational institutions and left-leaning nonprofits. For example, the EPA chose Fordham University as its lead grantmaker in the New York region. Fordham, in turn, lists as partners two nonprofits that oppose immigration enforcement. (One, the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, states on its website: “NJAIJ believes in the human right to migrate, regardless of citizenship or political status.”) Neither group claims expertise in environmental issues. Given that the IRA’s eligibility requirements for EJ grants are extremely vague, however, perhaps that’s not a problem. Almost any activity that could help “spur economic opportunity for disadvantaged communities” (in the words of Biden’s EJ executive order) might qualify.
Perhaps the most prominent—and problematic—EPA grantmaker is the Berkeley, California-based Climate Justice Alliance. The CJA is a consortium of mostly far-left activist groups. It describes its mission as working for “regenerative economic solutions and ecological justice—under a framework that challenges capitalism and both white supremacy and hetero-patriarchy.” The group is a vigorous proponent of the omnicause, embracing almost every left-wing concern as a manifestation of climate change. For example, the CJA website proclaims: “The path to climate justice travels through a free Palestine.” MacDougald notes that the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, one of CJA’s affiliated groups, “organized an illegal anti-Israel protest in the Capitol Rotunda in December at which more than 50 activists were arrested.”
The CJA website also includes a section dedicated to the cause known as Stop Cop City. It refers to an effort to halt the construction of an 85-acre police and firefighter training center outside Atlanta. Rag-tag activists from around the country have gathered around the facility since 2021. They have repeatedly battled with police—sometimes with fireworks and Molotov cocktails—and used bolt cutters to enter the site and torch construction equipment. (CJA’s Stop Cop City page features a cartoon illustration of three childlike activists; one brandishes bolt cutters.) The group also backs a legal defense fund for activists arrested in attacks on the training center or in other protests. For those looking for more inspiration, CJA links to an interview with former Black Panther and self-described revolutionary Angela Davis.
The Alliance is not an ideological outlier in Biden’s EJ coalition. On the contrary, when the White House assembled its White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC), a panel of outside experts meant to provide “horizon-expanding EJ advice and recommendations,” it chose CJA co-chair Elizabeth Yeampierre to help lead the committee. Like other members of the panel, she sees environmental issues through an ideological, not a scientific, lens. “Climate change is the result of a legacy of extraction, of colonialism, of slavery,” Yeampierre told Yale Environment 360. As a group, radical EJ activists tend not to focus on pragmatic ways to reduce pollution and carbon emissions; for them, the real goal is overturning what they see as an exploitative economic and political system. Since these are the voices the White House chose to help shape its EJ policies, we can assume this worldview will dominate grantmaking decisions.
In February 2023, House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer, along with fellow committee member Pat Fallon, wrote to EPA administrator Regan asking for more information on the EPA’s grant programs. They noted that the EPA’s own studies of EJ grants issued in previous years showed sloppy supervision. According to an EPA report, an earlier version of the program funded projects that did “not logically lead to the desired environmental and/or public health [result].” Without better oversight and more clearly defined goals, the congressmen wrote, the EPA’s EJ grant machine risks becoming simply a “slush fund for far-left organizations.”
Since then, the administration has done little to reassure skeptics. To the contrary, the EPA has put at least one far-left organization—CJA—in charge of distributing $50 million in grant money. No doubt, many of the EPA grants will go to worthwhile projects. But money is fungible. A group that gets a large grant to, say, clean up dirty parks or teach children about recycling will also be able to hire more staff and divert more resources to political action.
With graduation behind them, most of the anti-Israel college protesters have stowed away their keffiyehs and moved on to summer vacations or internships. But the peripatetic activists who helped guide and intensify those uprisings are doubtless already planning their next actions. After all, two political conventions are looming. This fall, the college protests will likely flare up again, though by then perhaps focused on a different facet of the omnicause. And, with hundreds of millions in fresh funding flowing through the activist ecosystem, the groups that quietly nurture extremists—like those who firebombed “Cop City,” or who chant “Intifada Revolution!,” or who block bridges in the name of “climate”—will be more emboldened than ever.
A Slush Fund for Radical Protesters? City Journal (city-journal.org)
submitted by Normodox to BeneiYisraelNews [link] [comments]
The movement also draws on diverse but generous sources of financial backing. Those funding streams may soon be augmented by the federal government. As I chronicled last year in a Manhattan Institute report, “The Big Squeeze: How Biden’s Environmental Justice Agenda Hurts the Economy and the Environment,” the administration’s massive program of environmental justice grants seems designed to prioritize the funding of highly ideological local groups. The Inflation Reduction Act, for example, earmarks $3 billion for “environmental and climate justice block grants” intended for local nonprofits. Today, hundreds of far-left political groups include language about environmental issues and “climate justice” in their mission statements. If just a fraction of planned grants flows to such groups, the effect will be a gusher of new funding for radical causes.
As the Gaza protests spread across U.S. college campuses, many observers noted an eerie uniformity among them. From one campus to the next, protesters operated in disciplined cadres, keeping their faces covered and using identical rote phrases as they refused to talk with reporters. The Atlantic noted the strangeness of seeing elite college students “chanting like automatons.” Students held up keffiyeh scarves or umbrellas to block the view of prying cameras and linked arms to halt the movements of outsiders. At Columbia University and elsewhere, protesters formed “liberated zones,” from which “Zionists” were excluded. Around the edges of the encampments, the more militaristic activists donned helmets and goggles and carried crude weapons, apparently eager to mix it up with police or counter-protesters. We’ve seen these tactics before—notably during the “mostly peaceful” Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, when full-time agitators helped ignite riots, set up a police-free (and violence-plagued) zone in Seattle, and laid nightly siege to Portland, Oregon’s federal courthouse.
In a remarkable work of reporting, Park MacDougald recently traced the tangled roots of organizations backing pro-jihad protests, both on and off campuses. These include Antifa and other networks of anonymous anarchists, along with “various communist and Marxist-Leninist groups, including the Maoist Revolutionary Communist Party, the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), and the International ANSWER coalition,” MacDougald writes. Higher up the food chain, we find groups openly supported by America’s growing class of super-rich tech execs or the anti-capitalist heirs of great fortunes. For example, retired tech mogul Neville Roy Singham, who is married to Code Pink founder Jodie Evans, funds The People’s Forum, a lavish Manhattan resource center for far-left groups. As the Columbia protests intensified, the center urged members to head uptown to “support our students.” Following the money trail of other protest groups, MacDougald finds connections to the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Ford Foundation, and—surprising no one—the George Soros-backed Tides Foundation.
Of course, the current wave of anti-Israel protests also involves alliances with pro-Hamas organizations such as Students for Justice in Palestine. Last November, Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies testified to the House Ways and Means Committee that SJP and similar groups have deep ties to global terrorist organizations, including Hamas.
For many keffiyeh-wearing protestors, however, a recently professed concern for Palestinians is just the latest in a long list of causes they believe justify taking over streets and college quads. In Unherd, Mary Harrington dubs this medley of political beliefs the “omnicause,” writing that “all contemporary radical causes seem somehow to have been absorbed into one.” Today’s leftist activists share an interlocking worldview that sees racism, income inequality, trans intolerance, climate change, alleged police violence, and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts all as products of capitalism and “colonialism.” Therefore, the stated rationale for any individual protest is a stand-in for the real battle: attacking Western society and its institutions.
In the U.S., this type of general-purpose uprising goes back at least to the riots at the 1999 meeting of the World Trade Organization in Seattle. In those protests, mainstream liberal factions—including labor unions and environmentalists—were joined by “black bloc” anarchists and other radicals eager to engage in “direct action” against police. That pattern—relatively moderate demonstrators providing a friendly envelope for hard-core disruptors—formed the template for many later protests: the Occupy Wall Street encampments in 2011, demonstrations following the police shooting of Michael Brown in 2014, 2016’s Standing Rock anti-pipeline movement, and of course, the calamitous summer of 2020.
These uprisings were not entirely spontaneous. In some cases, activists spend months planning mass actions—for example, against economic summits or political conventions—and can recruit street fighters from across the country. In others, an event, such as George Floyd’s death, sparks popular protests involving neophyte demonstrators. Those attract far-left activists, who swoop in to organize and expand the struggle, often tilting it toward more radical action.
That has certainly been the case at the college Gaza-paloozas. At Columbia, the New York Times spotted a woman old enough to be a student’s grandmother in the thick of the action as protesters barricaded that school’s Hamilton Hall. The woman was 63-year-old Lisa Fithian, a lifetime activist, who Portland’s alternative weekly Street Roots approvingly calls “a trainer of mass rebellion.” A counter-protester trying to block the pro-Hamas demonstrators told NBC News, “She was right in the middle of it, instructing them how to better set up the barriers.” Fithian told the Times she’d been invited to train students in protest safety and “general logistics.” She claims to have taken part in almost every major U.S. protest movement going back to the 1999 “Battle in Seattle.”
America’s radical network has plenty of Lisa Fithians, with the time and resources to travel the country educating newcomers about the “logistics” of disruptive protests. And these activists appear to have played key roles in the college occupations. The New York City Police Department says nearly half the demonstrators arrested on the Columbia and City University of New York (CUNY) campuses on April 30 were not affiliated with the schools. One hooded Hamilton Hall occupier—photographed scuffling with a Columbia custodian before getting arrested—turned out to be 40-year-old James Carlson, heir to a large advertising fortune. According to the New York Post, Carlson lives in a $2.3 million Park Slope townhouse and has a long rap sheet. For example, in 2005, he was arrested in San Francisco during the violent “West Coast Anti-Capitalist Mobilization and March Against the G8.” (Those charges were dropped.)
For a quarter-century now, Antifa and other anarchist networks have worked to refine tactics and share lessons following each major action. At Columbia, UCLA, and other schools, authorities found printouts of a “Do-It Yourself Occupation Guide” and similar documents. The young campus radicals are eager to learn from their more experienced elders. And, like the high-achieving students they are, they follow directions carefully. MacDougald asked Kyle Shideler, the director for homeland security and counterterrorism at the Center for Security Policy, about the mystery of the identical tents. There was no need for a central group to distribute hundreds of tents, Shideler said. Instead, “the organizers told [students] to buy a tent, and sent around a Google Doc with a link to that specific tent on Amazon. So they all went out and bought the same tent.”
In other words, America’s radical class has gotten very skilled at recruiting and instructing new activists—even from among the ranks of elite college students with a good deal to lose. How much more could this movement accomplish with hundreds of millions in federal dollars flooding activist groups around the country?
From its first week in office, the Biden administration has trumpeted its goal to funnel more environmental spending toward “disadvantaged communities that have been historically marginalized,” partly by issuing grants to grassroots organizations. Previous environmental justice (EJ) grant programs were small in scope. But, with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in August 2022, a huge pool of grant money became available. EPA administrator Michael Regan told reporters, “We’re going from tens of thousands of dollars to developing and designing a program that will distribute billions.”
More than a year and a half later, it remains hard to nail down just where the Biden administration’s billions in EJ grants will wind up. Money is being distributed through a confusing variety of programs, and the process of identifying recipients is ongoing. To help outsource the job of sifting through proposals, the EPA last year designated 11 institutions as “Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmakers.” These groups are empowered to make subgrants directly to community organizations, under streamlined EPA oversight. In all, the Biden administration has entrusted these outfits with distributing a staggering $600 million in funding. The money is expected to start flowing this summer.
The EPA’s grantmakers include a number of educational institutions and left-leaning nonprofits. For example, the EPA chose Fordham University as its lead grantmaker in the New York region. Fordham, in turn, lists as partners two nonprofits that oppose immigration enforcement. (One, the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, states on its website: “NJAIJ believes in the human right to migrate, regardless of citizenship or political status.”) Neither group claims expertise in environmental issues. Given that the IRA’s eligibility requirements for EJ grants are extremely vague, however, perhaps that’s not a problem. Almost any activity that could help “spur economic opportunity for disadvantaged communities” (in the words of Biden’s EJ executive order) might qualify.
Perhaps the most prominent—and problematic—EPA grantmaker is the Berkeley, California-based Climate Justice Alliance. The CJA is a consortium of mostly far-left activist groups. It describes its mission as working for “regenerative economic solutions and ecological justice—under a framework that challenges capitalism and both white supremacy and hetero-patriarchy.” The group is a vigorous proponent of the omnicause, embracing almost every left-wing concern as a manifestation of climate change. For example, the CJA website proclaims: “The path to climate justice travels through a free Palestine.” MacDougald notes that the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, one of CJA’s affiliated groups, “organized an illegal anti-Israel protest in the Capitol Rotunda in December at which more than 50 activists were arrested.”
The CJA website also includes a section dedicated to the cause known as Stop Cop City. It refers to an effort to halt the construction of an 85-acre police and firefighter training center outside Atlanta. Rag-tag activists from around the country have gathered around the facility since 2021. They have repeatedly battled with police—sometimes with fireworks and Molotov cocktails—and used bolt cutters to enter the site and torch construction equipment. (CJA’s Stop Cop City page features a cartoon illustration of three childlike activists; one brandishes bolt cutters.) The group also backs a legal defense fund for activists arrested in attacks on the training center or in other protests. For those looking for more inspiration, CJA links to an interview with former Black Panther and self-described revolutionary Angela Davis.
The Alliance is not an ideological outlier in Biden’s EJ coalition. On the contrary, when the White House assembled its White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC), a panel of outside experts meant to provide “horizon-expanding EJ advice and recommendations,” it chose CJA co-chair Elizabeth Yeampierre to help lead the committee. Like other members of the panel, she sees environmental issues through an ideological, not a scientific, lens. “Climate change is the result of a legacy of extraction, of colonialism, of slavery,” Yeampierre told Yale Environment 360. As a group, radical EJ activists tend not to focus on pragmatic ways to reduce pollution and carbon emissions; for them, the real goal is overturning what they see as an exploitative economic and political system. Since these are the voices the White House chose to help shape its EJ policies, we can assume this worldview will dominate grantmaking decisions.
In February 2023, House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer, along with fellow committee member Pat Fallon, wrote to EPA administrator Regan asking for more information on the EPA’s grant programs. They noted that the EPA’s own studies of EJ grants issued in previous years showed sloppy supervision. According to an EPA report, an earlier version of the program funded projects that did “not logically lead to the desired environmental and/or public health [result].” Without better oversight and more clearly defined goals, the congressmen wrote, the EPA’s EJ grant machine risks becoming simply a “slush fund for far-left organizations.”
Since then, the administration has done little to reassure skeptics. To the contrary, the EPA has put at least one far-left organization—CJA—in charge of distributing $50 million in grant money. No doubt, many of the EPA grants will go to worthwhile projects. But money is fungible. A group that gets a large grant to, say, clean up dirty parks or teach children about recycling will also be able to hire more staff and divert more resources to political action.
With graduation behind them, most of the anti-Israel college protesters have stowed away their keffiyehs and moved on to summer vacations or internships. But the peripatetic activists who helped guide and intensify those uprisings are doubtless already planning their next actions. After all, two political conventions are looming. This fall, the college protests will likely flare up again, though by then perhaps focused on a different facet of the omnicause. And, with hundreds of millions in fresh funding flowing through the activist ecosystem, the groups that quietly nurture extremists—like those who firebombed “Cop City,” or who chant “Intifada Revolution!,” or who block bridges in the name of “climate”—will be more emboldened than ever.
A Slush Fund for Radical Protesters? City Journal (city-journal.org)
2024.06.01 11:35 Visual_Ability_1229 lord Venkateswara Part 2- detailed description contd.
this is a continuation from my earlier post .
my objective is to make accessible information in the greater public domain. much of what I am saying is available in public, but obscure or not present in one single place.
Main Idol overview -
the MOOLAVIRAT or DHRUVA beram, the subject of all legends and debates.
all ornaments in front view continue on the back side. full 360 degrees. mostly on the back, are the strings and knots of the ornaments , all integrally in the idol. the hair locks, also have very tiny crevices, looking like real hair, especially in dim lighting.
there is another unique problem that all of this creates - it sounds silly but only people who are worshipping idols in temples would know.
normally, during ritual baths, CUrd ( or yoghurt ) is a key ingredient.
what most people don;t know, is that curd is very very hard to clean up afterwards .
it gets stuck in tiny crevices, and eventually the room starts to smell really bad.
in tirumala, the practice is to NOT use curd, and just stick to milk and various versions of water.
the real reason for that is the exquisite features of the idol. no amount of cleaning is enough to fully bring out all the curd. so a long time back, decisions were taken to stop using it. (again lot of debates on it and lot of controversies jumped out of it)
Curd Iis used now , for all the other smaller idols, where it is easier to clean up later.
Main Idol - dimensions
there are confusing reports about his height ranging from 6 feet to 12 feet. all are false. numbers change based on how he is measured.
he is 8 feet tall, if measured from foot to top of crown. the crown is 20 inches approx. (based on size of the gold crowns made for him..all of them 22 inches to accommodate padding)
the lotus base (Padma -peeta ) is estimated to be 18 inches.
but an idol is always measured with base included. this brings the total to 9 ½ feet , as the pedestal is always counted. but in reality , when we go to the temple today, we are standing standing above the height of his feet, so we would see 8 feet of his majesty .
these are all estimates and could be wrong by a couple of inches.
also, the dimensions of the sanctum sanctorum are 12feet 9 inches x 12 feet 9 inches. square. this is available in public domain. nothin secret about it.
in the Agama, among the GarbhaGrihas, this is the largest sanctioned dimension, only possible for a very tall mula virat.
*(we need to again remember- this extraordinary idol, was exposed to the sun and moon for centuries, surrounded by elephants and lotus ponds and venomous snakes , before a human being even came into the picture. its really hard to imagine him just standing there in the forest with a smile on his face , for a thousand years, before a temple was made out of wood ( yes literally wooden temple - more on that later)
his waist is estimated to be around 24-27 inches (depending upon exactly where you measure it)
his chest is 42 inches ( some serious bodybuilding goals for men - forget the old-NTR like chubby looks)
his arms circumference for the armlets is estimated to be 19 inches.
overall, the appearance of a youthful strong tall man.
now each body part -
feet - the feet are spaced apart at shoulder width. they are extremely well-formed, having even toenails. there are toe-rings on his toes, and then there are 2 varieties of anklets on him. 1 looks more like a feminine Dancer kind of anklet ( I dont know the right word for it) . the second one is more masculine and like a thick strong ring around the ankle.
the lower body cloth (peetambaram or dhoti) outline can be clearly made in the idol, resting near the anklets. its folded into 7 layers as we move upwards to his waist. on the backside, it continues and is neatly tucked into the small of his back. there is one very interesting observation here..... the knot and tucked in-dhoti on the back looks like the hood of a cobra. senior priests say it is symbolic of kundalini.
note: no actual cobra figure appear on the idol. I am only talking about the lower garment folded in such a way. this I have actually seen on other vishnu idols in iconography books on agama. I'll share a pic here of similar feature if I can.
normally, there is no gap in a stone idol , between the feet . rock is there to preserve the stability of the idol. but here there is a hollow, and a garment can be passed under to dress him.
there is also a decorative Vastram draped on this sides, beautifully knotted on both hips. its pleats gently fall down on either side.
as we move up, his two lower limbs are strong and bulky. the calves are particularly bulky, very strong from the backside.
strong massive thighs can be made out from all sides. the kneecaps are very prominently visible.
his posture is almost straight.... with a small tilt to the right side (his right side) . as such the right knee is slightly bent. overall, he stoops very slightly fowards, as if just about to step out of the pedestal. this is hard to observe after all the heavy ornaments and garlands.
I will talk about the more technical description of his posture by using sanskrit AGAMA terminology in future posts. this was intended for people who are not familiar with highly technical jargon.
submitted by Visual_Ability_1229 to hinduism [link] [comments]
my objective is to make accessible information in the greater public domain. much of what I am saying is available in public, but obscure or not present in one single place.
Main Idol overview -
the MOOLAVIRAT or DHRUVA beram, the subject of all legends and debates.
- I am biased in my opinion , but it is an idol , the craftsmanship of which is beyond anything I have ever seen. no Louv're museum, greek statues, Rome or even our Own hoyasala sculptures even come close. the details are extremely life-life. this is also why we see rumors like he is soft or sweating etc.
all ornaments in front view continue on the back side. full 360 degrees. mostly on the back, are the strings and knots of the ornaments , all integrally in the idol. the hair locks, also have very tiny crevices, looking like real hair, especially in dim lighting.
there is another unique problem that all of this creates - it sounds silly but only people who are worshipping idols in temples would know.
normally, during ritual baths, CUrd ( or yoghurt ) is a key ingredient.
what most people don;t know, is that curd is very very hard to clean up afterwards .
it gets stuck in tiny crevices, and eventually the room starts to smell really bad.
in tirumala, the practice is to NOT use curd, and just stick to milk and various versions of water.
the real reason for that is the exquisite features of the idol. no amount of cleaning is enough to fully bring out all the curd. so a long time back, decisions were taken to stop using it. (again lot of debates on it and lot of controversies jumped out of it)
Curd Iis used now , for all the other smaller idols, where it is easier to clean up later.
Main Idol - dimensions
there are confusing reports about his height ranging from 6 feet to 12 feet. all are false. numbers change based on how he is measured.
he is 8 feet tall, if measured from foot to top of crown. the crown is 20 inches approx. (based on size of the gold crowns made for him..all of them 22 inches to accommodate padding)
the lotus base (Padma -peeta ) is estimated to be 18 inches.
but an idol is always measured with base included. this brings the total to 9 ½ feet , as the pedestal is always counted. but in reality , when we go to the temple today, we are standing standing above the height of his feet, so we would see 8 feet of his majesty .
these are all estimates and could be wrong by a couple of inches.
also, the dimensions of the sanctum sanctorum are 12feet 9 inches x 12 feet 9 inches. square. this is available in public domain. nothin secret about it.
in the Agama, among the GarbhaGrihas, this is the largest sanctioned dimension, only possible for a very tall mula virat.
*(we need to again remember- this extraordinary idol, was exposed to the sun and moon for centuries, surrounded by elephants and lotus ponds and venomous snakes , before a human being even came into the picture. its really hard to imagine him just standing there in the forest with a smile on his face , for a thousand years, before a temple was made out of wood ( yes literally wooden temple - more on that later)
his waist is estimated to be around 24-27 inches (depending upon exactly where you measure it)
his chest is 42 inches ( some serious bodybuilding goals for men - forget the old-NTR like chubby looks)
his arms circumference for the armlets is estimated to be 19 inches.
overall, the appearance of a youthful strong tall man.
now each body part -
feet - the feet are spaced apart at shoulder width. they are extremely well-formed, having even toenails. there are toe-rings on his toes, and then there are 2 varieties of anklets on him. 1 looks more like a feminine Dancer kind of anklet ( I dont know the right word for it) . the second one is more masculine and like a thick strong ring around the ankle.
the lower body cloth (peetambaram or dhoti) outline can be clearly made in the idol, resting near the anklets. its folded into 7 layers as we move upwards to his waist. on the backside, it continues and is neatly tucked into the small of his back. there is one very interesting observation here..... the knot and tucked in-dhoti on the back looks like the hood of a cobra. senior priests say it is symbolic of kundalini.
note: no actual cobra figure appear on the idol. I am only talking about the lower garment folded in such a way. this I have actually seen on other vishnu idols in iconography books on agama. I'll share a pic here of similar feature if I can.
normally, there is no gap in a stone idol , between the feet . rock is there to preserve the stability of the idol. but here there is a hollow, and a garment can be passed under to dress him.
there is also a decorative Vastram draped on this sides, beautifully knotted on both hips. its pleats gently fall down on either side.
as we move up, his two lower limbs are strong and bulky. the calves are particularly bulky, very strong from the backside.
strong massive thighs can be made out from all sides. the kneecaps are very prominently visible.
his posture is almost straight.... with a small tilt to the right side (his right side) . as such the right knee is slightly bent. overall, he stoops very slightly fowards, as if just about to step out of the pedestal. this is hard to observe after all the heavy ornaments and garlands.
I will talk about the more technical description of his posture by using sanskrit AGAMA terminology in future posts. this was intended for people who are not familiar with highly technical jargon.
2024.06.01 09:00 Khaijentry12 Rose: Fear Your World - Chapter 1: Rose Among Any Other
Finn Tresscoat, a 20-year-old with short dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a pale complexion, strolled down the sidewalk of his small town. He wore a light brown leather jacket over a black shirt, paired with black jeans and black-and-white sneakers.
As Finn ambled along, he glanced at the many shops lining the main road of the town's bustling center. He wasn't searching for anything in particular; he simply wanted to enjoy the rare day off from his job, one of the most perilous occupations in the United West (U.W.).
"Finn! Oh, Finn!"
Finn turned his head to the right and spotted Ms. Tori Elortor, or simply Ms. Tori as he called her. She was an older lady in her early fifties, though her youthful appearance often surprised the townsfolk. With long white hair cascading down her back, pale skin, and bright hazel eyes, she was a striking figure. Today, she wore a navy blue sundress over a pair of tight blue jeans and brown cowboy boots.
Ms. Tori, the local bakery owner, was considered quite attractive and often caught the eye of the younger men in town. Her curvaceous figure and active lifestyle, including regular yoga sessions in the park, only added to her allure. However, Finn saw her differently. Having known her since childhood and feeling like part of her family, he saw her as a maternal figure rather than anything else. He was also close to her son, Eric, feeling like an older brother to him.
Despite his demanding job, which kept him busy for nearly twenty-four-seven, Finn always tried to visit Ms. Tori and Eric whenever he could. Today was a rare opportunity for him to relax and reconnect.
"Ah, hi Ms. Tori! How are you today?" Finn greeted her with a warm smile.
Ms. Tori returned his smile. "I'm just fine, Finn. The real question is, how are you? I haven't seen you in months!" Her tone shifted to one of concern. "I was worried, and so was Eric. You do have quite a dangerous job for someone so young," she added.
What kind of dangerous job did Finn have, you might ask?
Well, Finn was a "Gaunt Hunter," a member of a specialized group tasked with safeguarding the small towns outside the major cities in the United West from creatures known as Gaunts.
These slim, humanoid creatures had leathery black skin, no eyes or nose, and wide mouths that drooled a strange dark green liquid. They had emerged after the cataclysmic "Decade of Winter."
The Gaunts varied in form and capability. Some were very muscular, while others had bat-like wings, allowing them to fly. They were also cunning, often creating weapons from scavenged materials and hunting in packs.
Disturbingly, these were just the common variants.
There were tales of Gaunts resembling animals and some that could even speak, though Finn himself had never encountered such anomalies.
Despite the ominous title of Gaunt Hunter, Finn's role wasn't as glamorous as one might imagine.
He wasn't a high-tech, gadget-wielding hero. Gaunt Hunters received training similar to regular police officers, focusing on the use of firearms. However, since firearms were not commonly traded or shipped to the smaller towns outside the major cities, Gaunt Hunters were also taught to wield swords, knives, and other melee weapons, as well as trained in close-range combat.
Finn had been trained to fire a pistol but also learned to fight with a machete, which was more practical for their needs than a traditional sword. On duty, he carried a standard-issue Glock-17 and a machete strapped to his side. He also wore the standard protective gear issued to United West Security Forces (UWSF) officers.
Returning to the conversation with Ms. Tori, Finn let out a lighthearted chuckle. "Dangerous for most of the veterans on the job, but I'm young and fit! Practically invincible!" he said with a grin.
Ms. Tori gave Finn an unimpressed look, raising an eyebrow. "Is that right?" she asked. "Then what's this I hear about a Gaunt nearly taking your head off just last week?"
Finn's face flushed with embarrassment as he recalled the incident. A Gaunt had caught him off guard and nearly decapitated him with a makeshift axe. "Okay... yeah, fair enough," he admitted, looking down.
Ms. Tori's expression softened, and she gave him a few light taps on the shoulder. "Oh, I'm not trying to make you feel bad, Finn, I'm just reminding you that your job is dangerous… You need to be careful," she said gently.
Finn looked up at her and nodded. "I know, and thank you for caring," he replied. Inwardly, he thought, 'It's not like anyone else does'
"Of course, I care, Finn," Ms. Tori said firmly. "Do you know how devastated I'd be if you got hurt or, heaven forbid, died? I'd be heartbroken,” she told him. “Eric would be even worse off, after all, who would play with him?"
Finn felt a wave of warmth at her words. Despite not wanting to worry Ms. Tori or Eric, it was comforting to know there were people who cared about him, and who wanted him to stay safe and come back home. "I guess you're right," he said with a soft smile. "I'll try to be more careful out there, I promise,”
Ms. Tori nodded, her smile lingering. "Good,” she said. “Now, how many days do you have off?" she asked.
"Not many," Finn replied with a sigh. "Just today,"
Ms. Tori's eyes widened in shock. "Only today? Why?" She asked.
Finn's expression turned serious. "Many of the other Gaunt Hunters are either dead, retiring, or switching to become cops... There are only ten of us left in the entire town,"
Ms. Tori's eyes widened in horror. Gaunt Hunters were the primary defense against the Gaunts. The law across the U.W. dictated that local law enforcement dealt with human issues, leaving Gaunt-related threats to the Hunters. The thought of their numbers dwindling was terrifying.
Each town was supposed to have a contingent of Gaunt Hunters, given that small towns were the primary targets for Gaunt attacks.
Major cities, in contrast, rarely had to deal with Gaunts.
The dense populations of these urban centers acted as a deterrent, scaring off most Gaunt packs. Even if a small group of Gaunts did manage to attack, the cities were equipped with heavy weaponry and advanced defenses, making Gaunt Hunters unnecessary there.
This starkly contrasted with the dire need for Gaunt Hunters in the smaller, more vulnerable towns.
Ideally, each small town would have around fifty Gaunt Hunters, a number intended to ensure adequate protection against the Gaunt threat. However, the reality was far grimmer. The inherent dangers and heavy responsibilities associated with the job dissuaded many from becoming Gaunt Hunters. The perilous nature of the work, combined with the constant threat of death, resulted in a severe shortage of recruits.
As a result, the numbers in many towns had dwindled alarmingly.
"Only ten?" she repeated her voice barely above a whisper. "That's... alarming… What happens if more Gaunts come?"
"We do our best," Finn said, trying to sound confident. "But it's tough… Every day, we’re stretched thinner,"
Ms. Tori took a deep breath, trying to process the gravity of the situation.
Finn felt a lump in his throat. "I promise, Ms. Tori. I'll do everything I can to stay safe," he said, trying to remind her if his promise mere moments ago.
Ms. Tori wanted to argue with Finn's comment, but deep down, she knew he was somewhat right. The town was struggling—trade had slowed to a trickle, and many residents had moved away. The constant threat of Gaunt attacks made living there increasingly untenable. Even Ms. Tori had considered leaving to ensure Eric’s safety and to give him a chance to grow up in a more stable environment where he could interact with other children and experience the broader world.
However, she couldn’t bring herself to leave.
Her late husband was buried in this town, and even though years had passed since his death, she felt tied to the place where he rested. She had loved this town deeply, and in a way, staying felt like keeping a part of him alive.
Seeing the conflict in her eyes, Finn decided to change the subject. "Hey, why don't I come over for dinner?" he suggested with a soft smile. "I'm sure Eric would be happy to see me after so long,”
Ms. Tori was pulled out of her thoughts by his offer. She smiled, grateful for his willingness to spend his rare day off with them. "That would be lovely, Finn," she said with a quick nod.
They walked together to Ms. Tori's home, a modest three-bedroom house with a large attic. Inside, they found Eric sitting in front of the TV, watching cartoons. Hearing Finn’s voice, Eric turned, his face lighting up with excitement. He jumped out of his seat and ran to give Finn a hug.
Eric was about 11 years old, with brown hair like his deceased father but hazel eyes like his mother. He was wearing a dark black and blue striped shirt, dark gray pants, and black slip-on shoes.
Finn hugged him back, smiling. "I've got some stories to tell over dinner," he said, which made Eric's eyes sparkle with anticipation.
He loved hearing about the world beyond their town, even if it was mostly filled with woods and the ruins of an old world.
Finn then followed Ms. Tori into the kitchen to help prepare dinner. He found what he could and handed the items to her, glad to be of assistance. Ms. Tori thanked him and asked if he could help chop vegetables, which he was more than happy to do.
As they worked side by side, Ms. Tori glanced at Finn, her expression a mix of gratitude and concern. "You know, Finn, this town means a lot to me,” she told him “It’s where I built my life with my husband, and it’s where I want Eric to grow up, despite everything,"
Finn nodded, understanding the deep attachment she had. "I get it, Ms. Tori. This place has a lot of memories, and as long as I'm here, I'll do my best to keep it safe for you and Eric,"
Ms. Tori smiled warmly. "I know you will, Finn... Thank you,”
Dinner was a warm, lively affair. Eric listened intently to Finn’s stories, hanging on every word. The laughter and conversation filled the small home, creating a moment of normalcy amidst the chaos of their world. For a brief time, the threats outside seemed distant, and they enjoyed the simple pleasure of being together.
After a few bites, Eric looked at Finn eagerly. "Can you tell me one of your stories, Finn?" he asked, his eyes bright with anticipation.
Finn nodded, swallowing a mouthful of food. "Well, a couple of days ago, I was out with two or three other Hunters, we had just finished fighting off a few Gaunts, once they were dealt with, we decided to explore the area since it was the site of an old abandoned amusement park,” he began. “Some of the rides were still standing, though most were broken and destroyed, it was interesting to see the tech they used to have back then," Finn recounted.
Eric's eyes widened with excitement. "Wow! That's awesome!" he exclaimed.
Finn grinned. "It was pretty cool, but it’s nothing compared to some of the parks I saw in Salton Lake City! Those places are amazing,"
Eric's eyes gleamed at the mention of the nearby city. "Man, I want to go there someday!" he said enthusiastically. "Maybe when I start my training to be a Gaunt Hunter," he added with a big smile.
Finn chuckled. "So, you want to be a Gaunt Hunter, huh?" he asked. "You think you’ve got what it takes?"
Eric nodded vigorously. "Uh-huh! I know I can be a Gaunt Hunter! I bet I can even be better than you!" he declared, pointing at Finn.
Finn raised an eyebrow, amused. "Oh really?" he said. "Who's to say I'm not the best of the best, huh?"
Eric gave him a smug smirk. "Because if you were the best Hunter, you'd have already gotten rid of all the Gaunts!" he said confidently.
Finn chuckled. "Well, you got me there," he admitted. "But hey, if you think you can be the best and get rid of all the Gaunts, then I say go for it, dude."
Eric chuckled and resumed eating, his enthusiasm undimmed. Ms. Tori watched the two with a fond smile, marveling at the brotherly bond between them. It warmed her heart to see how close they had become. She knew that Finn cherished this connection just as much as Eric did, especially since Finn had grown up without a family of his own, raised in the local orphanage.
She recalled those early days when a young Finn would walk into the bakery, clutching a few coins. His eyes would light up with wonder at the sight of the treats and goodies lining the shelves. Something about him had touched her heart, and she began offering him free treats for him and the other orphans whenever he visited. Her late husband had also taken a liking to Finn, treating him like the son they never had. When Finn decided to become a Gaunt Hunter, it was her husband who had helped him prepare for the rigorous training, getting him into shape and offering constant encouragement.
After her husband's death, it was Finn who helped her grieve and find the strength to carry on. She had felt terrible about leaning on him during such a hard time, knowing he had his own sadness to deal with, yet he remained steadfast and strong. He had been there for her and for Eric, helping the young boy understand their loss and navigate the difficult times that followed.
She was truly grateful to have Finn in her life.
Suddenly, Finn's phone vibrated insistently in his pocket. He quickly reached for it and saw a text message from work. He opened it, dreading what it might say.
[~Finn, we need you tonight. Jon and Gary quit out of the blue, so we need someone to fill in.~]
Finn sighed, frustration bubbling up inside him. 'Great, now we're down to eight Hunters,' he thought. 'And Jon and Gary were both my age and in better shape than the veterans at the station.'
Ms. Tori noticed the change in his expression and knew immediately what it meant. "Does duty call, Finn?" she asked gently.
Finn nodded, his expression weary. "Yeah, looks like Jon and Gary quit. They need me to cover tonight."
Ms. Tori sighed, placing a comforting hand on his arm. "I'm sorry, Finn. I know how much you were looking forward to some time off."
"It's alright," Finn said, forcing a smile. "I knew it was a long shot anyway. The town needs all the help it can get."
Eric looked up, concern etched on his young face. "Do you have to go, Finn?"
Finn ruffled the boy's hair affectionately. "Yeah, buddy. Duty calls. But I'll be back, and we’ll have more stories to share. I promise."
Ms. Tori gave him a supportive nod. "Just promise us you'll stay safe, Finn."
"I will," Finn assured her. He stood up, preparing to leave. "Thanks for dinner, Ms. Tori. It was great, as always."
As he left the warm, comforting atmosphere of Ms. Tori's home and headed out into the cold night, Finn felt a renewed sense of purpose. Despite the exhaustion and the ever-present danger, he knew he had to keep fighting. For the town, for Eric, and for the memory of the man who had helped him become who he was.
Once at the station, Finn entered and immediately spotted Dick Cortez, a veteran Gaunt Hunter who had been safeguarding the town for as long as Finn could remember. Dick, now in his 50s, had graying hair, deep-set wrinkles, and perpetually tired eyes. He was wearing the standard-issue armor that all Gaunt Hunters received, though each Hunter was allowed to customize their armor with different colors and modifications.
Dick's armor consisted of a high-collar black shirt beneath a modified, pure black chest plate that covered his upper abdomen, along with similarly-colored bracers. Both the chest plate and bracers were trimmed with white and featured matching shoulder pads. He also wore gloves with small metal plating on the fingers, dark navy jeans, black and white metal knee pads, and dark brown boots.
Dick noticed Finn and offered a small smile. "Heya, Finn," he greeted.
"Hey yourself, Dick," Finn replied with a nod.
"Sorry about having to bring you in on your day off," Dick said, his tone genuinely apologetic.
Finn walked over to his locker, where his armor and weapons were stored. He glanced at Dick and shrugged, giving a small smile. "It's alright, Dick. I understand why, and I'm not angry—well, not at you, but at those two," Finn said, referring to Jon and Gary.
Dick nodded in understanding. "Trust me, I'm disappointed in them too, but I can see why they left so suddenly," he said.
Finn nodded back, opening his locker to reveal his armor. His armor was similar to Dick's but differed in color and the clothing underneath. Finn wore his usual attire beneath the armor, which consisted of a dark brown chest plate trimmed with black, matching bracers, shoulder pads, knee pads, and gloves.
He took the armor out and quickly dressed, securing the pieces in place. He then grabbed his Glock and its holster, strapping it around his waist, and added his machete in its sheath. Once fully suited up, he turned to Dick with a raised brow. "Which side of town am I patrolling tonight?"
"Outer wall, west side," Dick stated, his voice firm.
Finn nodded, mentally preparing himself for the task ahead. The west side of the outer wall was notorious for Gaunt activity, a hotspot for their attacks. It was going to be a long night.
As he headed out, Dick called after him, "Stay sharp out there, Finn. We can't afford to lose any more good Hunters."
Finn turned back and gave a resolute nod. "I will, Dick. See you in the morning."
Once outside the city, Finn couldn't help but take in the grim sight of the outer wall. It was marred with deep scratches and chips from relentless Gaunt attacks, stained with the dark green goo that dripped from their slavering mouths, and speckled with bloodstains that would never fully wash away. The stark contrast between this battered exterior and the inner walls of the town was striking. Inside, the walls were adorned with chalk drawings from children and vibrant murals from the town's artists. These cheerful images served as a reminder of what he was protecting, and why he had chosen to become a Gaunt Hunter in the first place.
Reaching the west side of the wall, Finn began his patrol, moving back and forth to ensure no Gaunts were attempting to scale the barrier. For now, the night was quiet, and he hoped it would remain that way.
As he walked his beat, his thoughts drifted back to dinner with Eric and the boy's enthusiastic declaration about becoming a Gaunt Hunter. While part of him felt honored by Eric's admiration, another part was deeply troubled. The life of a Hunter was dangerous and filled with horrors that no one should have to witness, let alone a young boy like Eric.
Finn's mind flashed back to a particularly gruesome memory from a past patrol. He and another Hunter had been called to assist in repelling a large pack of Gaunts. They had rushed to the scene, only to find their comrades dead, slaughtered in horrific ways. One Hunter's skull had been cracked open, with Gaunts eating from it as if it were a bowl of grapes. Another Hunter, still alive, was being disemboweled and devoured. Finn could never forget the man's agonized expression as he watched his own entrails being torn apart and consumed. The sight had been so revolting that Finn had vomited on the spot, paralyzed by shock until his partner snapped him back to reality.
Then there were the stories he had heard from veterans like Dick. Dick once recounted an incident where a Hunter had been speared to death by multiple Gaunts. They hadn't even eaten him; they had just impaled him repeatedly, leaving his body to rot in the woods for days. Such tales highlighted the Gaunts' malevolence and complete lack of empathy.
Finn shuddered at the memories. He didn't want Eric to face such nightmares. The boy was full of life and potential, and Finn couldn't bear the thought of him enduring the same horrors he had.
Since that harrowing incident and the chilling story Dick had shared, Finn had sworn to himself that he wouldn't meet a similar fate. He vowed to go out fighting, to not end up like those other hunters. He couldn't bear the thought of becoming another victim, especially after what happened to his sister.
The sudden howl nearby jolted Finn out of his grim thoughts. The sound was close—too close. Instantly alert, he scanned his surroundings. Just then, something whizzed past his face, slicing his cheek. He turned to see a makeshift arrow embedded in the wall. Spinning back around, his heart sank as he saw ten Gaunts emerging from the tree line.
"Shit!" Finn cursed, his eyes widening in horror. This was a dire situation. He quickly drew his Glock and aimed at the advancing creatures. Before he could fire, a sharp pain seared through his left side. He glanced down to see a small dagger lodged in his torso.
'What the hell?' Finn thought, bewildered. 'Did one of the Gaunts throw this?'
"Sorry, but it's nothing personal," a strange voice echoed through the darkness.
Finn's gaze snapped forward, and he saw a figure emerging from the shadows. They wore a long black cloak that seemed to envelop them completely, giving the eerie impression that they were gliding across the ground rather than walking.
The figure approached him, their face obscured by the cloak's hood. "My, you are a handsome young man," they purred in a sultry tone. "Such a fucking shame that my babies must eat. We've been on the run, and they haven't had a chance to rest and eat until we saw you." They giggled, a chilling sound that sent shivers down Finn's spine.
Fear gripped Finn, but he managed to look up at the cloaked figure with a raised brow. "W-Who are you?" he stammered, his voice wavering.
The figure tilted their head slightly as if amused by his question. "Who am I?" they echoed. "I am their mother, their caretaker. I ensure they survive, even if it means feeding them humans like you." The figure leaned closer, and Finn could just make out a twisted smile beneath the hood.
Finn's mind raced. He needed to think of a way out, and fast. The Gaunts were closing in, and he was injured and at a severe disadvantage. Summoning his remaining strength, he clutched his Glock tighter and tried to steady his breath. He couldn't let this be the end.
The figure's giggle echoed eerily through the night, sending a shiver down Finn's spine. "Oh! Now I'm regretting stabbing you," they remarked with a twisted amusement. "It's not every day a handsome young man asks me my name, you know? Most prefer a no-name policy." Their tone was cryptic, and Finn couldn't shake the feeling of unease that settled in his gut. "While I would love to give you my name in far better circumstances, I'm afraid I don't have the time," they continued, their words dripping with urgency. "As I said, we're on the run from a rather unpleasant girl."
Finn's confusion only deepened. The figure's response didn't provide any clarity, leaving him even more perplexed. As the figure began to back away, Finn's eyes widened in shock as the Gaunts beside them moved in unison. ‘She can... control them!?’ he realized, disbelief washing over him.
"Go ahead, babies... EAT!" the figure commanded, her voice chillingly calm.
With a sickening lurch in his stomach, Finn watched as the Gaunts surged forward, their hunger palpable in the air. Determination surged within him, driving him to fight against the odds stacked against him. Ignoring the searing pain from his wound, he raised his gun and fired at the approaching Gaunts. Despite his efforts, only one was hit, and even then, it didn't slow down.
Finn gritted his teeth, preparing for the inevitable close-quarter battle with the monsters. "Come on!" he growled defiantly. "I'm right here!"
The Gaunts closed in, their predatory instincts driving them forward. Just as they leaped toward him, ready to strike, something unexpected occurred.
Thorny vines erupted from the ground, snaking around the Gaunts with incredible speed. Finn's eyes widened in astonishment as the vines ensnared the creatures, halting their advance. The vines twisted and contorted, slamming the Gaunts into the ground with brutal force, tearing at their flesh and rendering them helpless.
" Damn! How did that bitch already find us!?" the figure exclaimed, frustration evident in their voice.
Finn's gaze followed the figure's gaze as a new figure emerged from the shadows.
Her appearance was striking, to say the least. With a spiky red Mohawk and piercing red eyes devoid of any white, she exuded an aura of fierce determination. Smudged mascara framed her intense gaze, adding to her wild and untamed appearance. Her lips were painted black, a stark contrast to her fiery red hair and eyes. Clad in a black leather crop top vest that accentuated her slim, athletic frame, she exuded an air of defiance. Arm bands encircled her wrists and biceps, resembling the wraps worn by boxers, hinting at her combat prowess. Around her neck, she wore a large choker, adding to her rebellious demeanor. Her attire was completed by tight leather pants and high-heeled platform boots, giving her an imposing presence.
"Found you, ya freaking cunt!" she spat, her voice laced with venom.
The cloaked figure retreated, increasing the distance between them and the girl. "Ugh, don't you ever give up?" they retorted, their tone tinged with irritation.
The girl leveled a fierce glare at the figure. "After the shit you've done!? I ain't letting you go!" she declared, her voice dripping with disdain.
The figure let out a mocking giggle. "Is that so?" they taunted, gesturing toward Finn who lay wounded on the ground. "Not even to save his life?"
The girl's gaze shifted to Finn, her expression softening momentarily as she registered his injuries. Before she could react, a shrill howl pierced the air, drawing their attention back to the figure.
"What the hell did you do!?" the girl demanded, her voice trembling with rage.
"Oh, just called in a few friends over for dinner," the figure replied casually.
"You bitch!" the girl seethed.
With a swift motion, she thrust her hand forward, summoning a massive vine with thorns protruding from its surface. The vine lunged toward the figure, but they evaded the attack with agile grace, darting away through the forest.
"Have fun~!" they taunted, their laughter echoing through the trees as they disappeared into the darkness.
Driven by determination, the girl pursued the figure, her footsteps echoing through the forest. However, her path was suddenly obstructed as a horde of Gaunts emerged from the shadows, blocking her way with menacing snarls and bared teeth.
"Get out of my way!" the girl cried, her voice ringing with determination.
In an instant, a smaller thorned vine shot out of the ground with startling speed, piercing through the approaching Gaunts like a bullet. Lifted into the air by the force of the vine, the creatures were hurled aside, crashing into trees with bone-crushing force.
As more Gaunts emerged from the shadows behind her, four shots echoed through the air. Finn's aim was true, striking the advancing Gaunts and causing them to writhe in agony as they fell to the ground. The girl glanced back to see Finn's timely intervention, offering a silent nod of acknowledgment before focusing her attention back on the remaining threats. Summoning more vines, she ensnared the creatures, tearing them apart with ruthless efficiency.
Satisfied that the immediate danger had passed, the girl turned back towards Finn, who was now sitting against the wall, applying pressure to his wound.
Bending down beside him, the girl flashed a smile, revealing sharp triangular teeth reminiscent of a shark. "Nice shooting there, dude. Really saved my ass back there," she remarked.
Finn managed a weak chuckle. "I should be thanking you. If you hadn't shown up, I'd be Gaunt food," he admitted.
"Let's call it even, then, eh?" she suggested. "What's your name?" she inquired.
Finn met her gaze, taking a moment to catch his breath before responding. "Finn, Finn Tresscoat," he introduced himself. Curiosity burning in his eyes, he posed a question in return. "Who are you? No... What are you?" he asked, unable to shake off the mystery surrounding her.
The girl maintained her enigmatic smile, meeting his gaze with her striking red eyes. "The name's Rachel Rose," she revealed. "As for what I am, well... I can answer that once you're all patched up," she added cryptically.
Summoning another vine, Rachel gently lifted Finn to his feet, supporting him as they began to make their way back towards town. With each step, Finn's mind buzzed with questions, the mysteries surrounding Rachel and her abilities swirling in his thoughts. Who was the cloaked figure? How did they control the Gaunts? And most pressing of all, who—or what—was Rachel, and how was she able to command those vines with such ease?
As they walked back toward town, Finn couldn't help but feel the weight of exhaustion settle upon him, both physically and mentally. His thoughts swirled with questions about the events that had just transpired—about Rachel, the cloaked figure, and the unsettling abilities they both possessed. Yet, amidst the chaos of his mind, one pressing question emerged, demanding attention above all else.
'When the hell am I gonna get another day off? Because I can sure as hell use it right now...!' Finn thought to himself, his weariness palpable.
Rachel, walking beside him, seemed to sense his inner turmoil. Casting him a sidelong glance, she offered a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Finn. You'll have your chance to rest soon," she assured him, her voice carrying a note of empathy.
Finn managed a weary smile in return, grateful for the reassurance. Despite the gravity of their situation, her words offered a glimmer of hope amidst the uncertainty that loomed over them…
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As Finn ambled along, he glanced at the many shops lining the main road of the town's bustling center. He wasn't searching for anything in particular; he simply wanted to enjoy the rare day off from his job, one of the most perilous occupations in the United West (U.W.).
"Finn! Oh, Finn!"
Finn turned his head to the right and spotted Ms. Tori Elortor, or simply Ms. Tori as he called her. She was an older lady in her early fifties, though her youthful appearance often surprised the townsfolk. With long white hair cascading down her back, pale skin, and bright hazel eyes, she was a striking figure. Today, she wore a navy blue sundress over a pair of tight blue jeans and brown cowboy boots.
Ms. Tori, the local bakery owner, was considered quite attractive and often caught the eye of the younger men in town. Her curvaceous figure and active lifestyle, including regular yoga sessions in the park, only added to her allure. However, Finn saw her differently. Having known her since childhood and feeling like part of her family, he saw her as a maternal figure rather than anything else. He was also close to her son, Eric, feeling like an older brother to him.
Despite his demanding job, which kept him busy for nearly twenty-four-seven, Finn always tried to visit Ms. Tori and Eric whenever he could. Today was a rare opportunity for him to relax and reconnect.
"Ah, hi Ms. Tori! How are you today?" Finn greeted her with a warm smile.
Ms. Tori returned his smile. "I'm just fine, Finn. The real question is, how are you? I haven't seen you in months!" Her tone shifted to one of concern. "I was worried, and so was Eric. You do have quite a dangerous job for someone so young," she added.
What kind of dangerous job did Finn have, you might ask?
Well, Finn was a "Gaunt Hunter," a member of a specialized group tasked with safeguarding the small towns outside the major cities in the United West from creatures known as Gaunts.
These slim, humanoid creatures had leathery black skin, no eyes or nose, and wide mouths that drooled a strange dark green liquid. They had emerged after the cataclysmic "Decade of Winter."
The Gaunts varied in form and capability. Some were very muscular, while others had bat-like wings, allowing them to fly. They were also cunning, often creating weapons from scavenged materials and hunting in packs.
Disturbingly, these were just the common variants.
There were tales of Gaunts resembling animals and some that could even speak, though Finn himself had never encountered such anomalies.
Despite the ominous title of Gaunt Hunter, Finn's role wasn't as glamorous as one might imagine.
He wasn't a high-tech, gadget-wielding hero. Gaunt Hunters received training similar to regular police officers, focusing on the use of firearms. However, since firearms were not commonly traded or shipped to the smaller towns outside the major cities, Gaunt Hunters were also taught to wield swords, knives, and other melee weapons, as well as trained in close-range combat.
Finn had been trained to fire a pistol but also learned to fight with a machete, which was more practical for their needs than a traditional sword. On duty, he carried a standard-issue Glock-17 and a machete strapped to his side. He also wore the standard protective gear issued to United West Security Forces (UWSF) officers.
Returning to the conversation with Ms. Tori, Finn let out a lighthearted chuckle. "Dangerous for most of the veterans on the job, but I'm young and fit! Practically invincible!" he said with a grin.
Ms. Tori gave Finn an unimpressed look, raising an eyebrow. "Is that right?" she asked. "Then what's this I hear about a Gaunt nearly taking your head off just last week?"
Finn's face flushed with embarrassment as he recalled the incident. A Gaunt had caught him off guard and nearly decapitated him with a makeshift axe. "Okay... yeah, fair enough," he admitted, looking down.
Ms. Tori's expression softened, and she gave him a few light taps on the shoulder. "Oh, I'm not trying to make you feel bad, Finn, I'm just reminding you that your job is dangerous… You need to be careful," she said gently.
Finn looked up at her and nodded. "I know, and thank you for caring," he replied. Inwardly, he thought, 'It's not like anyone else does'
"Of course, I care, Finn," Ms. Tori said firmly. "Do you know how devastated I'd be if you got hurt or, heaven forbid, died? I'd be heartbroken,” she told him. “Eric would be even worse off, after all, who would play with him?"
Finn felt a wave of warmth at her words. Despite not wanting to worry Ms. Tori or Eric, it was comforting to know there were people who cared about him, and who wanted him to stay safe and come back home. "I guess you're right," he said with a soft smile. "I'll try to be more careful out there, I promise,”
Ms. Tori nodded, her smile lingering. "Good,” she said. “Now, how many days do you have off?" she asked.
"Not many," Finn replied with a sigh. "Just today,"
Ms. Tori's eyes widened in shock. "Only today? Why?" She asked.
Finn's expression turned serious. "Many of the other Gaunt Hunters are either dead, retiring, or switching to become cops... There are only ten of us left in the entire town,"
Ms. Tori's eyes widened in horror. Gaunt Hunters were the primary defense against the Gaunts. The law across the U.W. dictated that local law enforcement dealt with human issues, leaving Gaunt-related threats to the Hunters. The thought of their numbers dwindling was terrifying.
Each town was supposed to have a contingent of Gaunt Hunters, given that small towns were the primary targets for Gaunt attacks.
Major cities, in contrast, rarely had to deal with Gaunts.
The dense populations of these urban centers acted as a deterrent, scaring off most Gaunt packs. Even if a small group of Gaunts did manage to attack, the cities were equipped with heavy weaponry and advanced defenses, making Gaunt Hunters unnecessary there.
This starkly contrasted with the dire need for Gaunt Hunters in the smaller, more vulnerable towns.
Ideally, each small town would have around fifty Gaunt Hunters, a number intended to ensure adequate protection against the Gaunt threat. However, the reality was far grimmer. The inherent dangers and heavy responsibilities associated with the job dissuaded many from becoming Gaunt Hunters. The perilous nature of the work, combined with the constant threat of death, resulted in a severe shortage of recruits.
As a result, the numbers in many towns had dwindled alarmingly.
"Only ten?" she repeated her voice barely above a whisper. "That's... alarming… What happens if more Gaunts come?"
"We do our best," Finn said, trying to sound confident. "But it's tough… Every day, we’re stretched thinner,"
Ms. Tori took a deep breath, trying to process the gravity of the situation.
Finn felt a lump in his throat. "I promise, Ms. Tori. I'll do everything I can to stay safe," he said, trying to remind her if his promise mere moments ago.
Ms. Tori wanted to argue with Finn's comment, but deep down, she knew he was somewhat right. The town was struggling—trade had slowed to a trickle, and many residents had moved away. The constant threat of Gaunt attacks made living there increasingly untenable. Even Ms. Tori had considered leaving to ensure Eric’s safety and to give him a chance to grow up in a more stable environment where he could interact with other children and experience the broader world.
However, she couldn’t bring herself to leave.
Her late husband was buried in this town, and even though years had passed since his death, she felt tied to the place where he rested. She had loved this town deeply, and in a way, staying felt like keeping a part of him alive.
Seeing the conflict in her eyes, Finn decided to change the subject. "Hey, why don't I come over for dinner?" he suggested with a soft smile. "I'm sure Eric would be happy to see me after so long,”
Ms. Tori was pulled out of her thoughts by his offer. She smiled, grateful for his willingness to spend his rare day off with them. "That would be lovely, Finn," she said with a quick nod.
They walked together to Ms. Tori's home, a modest three-bedroom house with a large attic. Inside, they found Eric sitting in front of the TV, watching cartoons. Hearing Finn’s voice, Eric turned, his face lighting up with excitement. He jumped out of his seat and ran to give Finn a hug.
Eric was about 11 years old, with brown hair like his deceased father but hazel eyes like his mother. He was wearing a dark black and blue striped shirt, dark gray pants, and black slip-on shoes.
Finn hugged him back, smiling. "I've got some stories to tell over dinner," he said, which made Eric's eyes sparkle with anticipation.
He loved hearing about the world beyond their town, even if it was mostly filled with woods and the ruins of an old world.
Finn then followed Ms. Tori into the kitchen to help prepare dinner. He found what he could and handed the items to her, glad to be of assistance. Ms. Tori thanked him and asked if he could help chop vegetables, which he was more than happy to do.
As they worked side by side, Ms. Tori glanced at Finn, her expression a mix of gratitude and concern. "You know, Finn, this town means a lot to me,” she told him “It’s where I built my life with my husband, and it’s where I want Eric to grow up, despite everything,"
Finn nodded, understanding the deep attachment she had. "I get it, Ms. Tori. This place has a lot of memories, and as long as I'm here, I'll do my best to keep it safe for you and Eric,"
Ms. Tori smiled warmly. "I know you will, Finn... Thank you,”
Dinner was a warm, lively affair. Eric listened intently to Finn’s stories, hanging on every word. The laughter and conversation filled the small home, creating a moment of normalcy amidst the chaos of their world. For a brief time, the threats outside seemed distant, and they enjoyed the simple pleasure of being together.
After a few bites, Eric looked at Finn eagerly. "Can you tell me one of your stories, Finn?" he asked, his eyes bright with anticipation.
Finn nodded, swallowing a mouthful of food. "Well, a couple of days ago, I was out with two or three other Hunters, we had just finished fighting off a few Gaunts, once they were dealt with, we decided to explore the area since it was the site of an old abandoned amusement park,” he began. “Some of the rides were still standing, though most were broken and destroyed, it was interesting to see the tech they used to have back then," Finn recounted.
Eric's eyes widened with excitement. "Wow! That's awesome!" he exclaimed.
Finn grinned. "It was pretty cool, but it’s nothing compared to some of the parks I saw in Salton Lake City! Those places are amazing,"
Eric's eyes gleamed at the mention of the nearby city. "Man, I want to go there someday!" he said enthusiastically. "Maybe when I start my training to be a Gaunt Hunter," he added with a big smile.
Finn chuckled. "So, you want to be a Gaunt Hunter, huh?" he asked. "You think you’ve got what it takes?"
Eric nodded vigorously. "Uh-huh! I know I can be a Gaunt Hunter! I bet I can even be better than you!" he declared, pointing at Finn.
Finn raised an eyebrow, amused. "Oh really?" he said. "Who's to say I'm not the best of the best, huh?"
Eric gave him a smug smirk. "Because if you were the best Hunter, you'd have already gotten rid of all the Gaunts!" he said confidently.
Finn chuckled. "Well, you got me there," he admitted. "But hey, if you think you can be the best and get rid of all the Gaunts, then I say go for it, dude."
Eric chuckled and resumed eating, his enthusiasm undimmed. Ms. Tori watched the two with a fond smile, marveling at the brotherly bond between them. It warmed her heart to see how close they had become. She knew that Finn cherished this connection just as much as Eric did, especially since Finn had grown up without a family of his own, raised in the local orphanage.
She recalled those early days when a young Finn would walk into the bakery, clutching a few coins. His eyes would light up with wonder at the sight of the treats and goodies lining the shelves. Something about him had touched her heart, and she began offering him free treats for him and the other orphans whenever he visited. Her late husband had also taken a liking to Finn, treating him like the son they never had. When Finn decided to become a Gaunt Hunter, it was her husband who had helped him prepare for the rigorous training, getting him into shape and offering constant encouragement.
After her husband's death, it was Finn who helped her grieve and find the strength to carry on. She had felt terrible about leaning on him during such a hard time, knowing he had his own sadness to deal with, yet he remained steadfast and strong. He had been there for her and for Eric, helping the young boy understand their loss and navigate the difficult times that followed.
She was truly grateful to have Finn in her life.
Suddenly, Finn's phone vibrated insistently in his pocket. He quickly reached for it and saw a text message from work. He opened it, dreading what it might say.
[~Finn, we need you tonight. Jon and Gary quit out of the blue, so we need someone to fill in.~]
Finn sighed, frustration bubbling up inside him. 'Great, now we're down to eight Hunters,' he thought. 'And Jon and Gary were both my age and in better shape than the veterans at the station.'
Ms. Tori noticed the change in his expression and knew immediately what it meant. "Does duty call, Finn?" she asked gently.
Finn nodded, his expression weary. "Yeah, looks like Jon and Gary quit. They need me to cover tonight."
Ms. Tori sighed, placing a comforting hand on his arm. "I'm sorry, Finn. I know how much you were looking forward to some time off."
"It's alright," Finn said, forcing a smile. "I knew it was a long shot anyway. The town needs all the help it can get."
Eric looked up, concern etched on his young face. "Do you have to go, Finn?"
Finn ruffled the boy's hair affectionately. "Yeah, buddy. Duty calls. But I'll be back, and we’ll have more stories to share. I promise."
Ms. Tori gave him a supportive nod. "Just promise us you'll stay safe, Finn."
"I will," Finn assured her. He stood up, preparing to leave. "Thanks for dinner, Ms. Tori. It was great, as always."
As he left the warm, comforting atmosphere of Ms. Tori's home and headed out into the cold night, Finn felt a renewed sense of purpose. Despite the exhaustion and the ever-present danger, he knew he had to keep fighting. For the town, for Eric, and for the memory of the man who had helped him become who he was.
Once at the station, Finn entered and immediately spotted Dick Cortez, a veteran Gaunt Hunter who had been safeguarding the town for as long as Finn could remember. Dick, now in his 50s, had graying hair, deep-set wrinkles, and perpetually tired eyes. He was wearing the standard-issue armor that all Gaunt Hunters received, though each Hunter was allowed to customize their armor with different colors and modifications.
Dick's armor consisted of a high-collar black shirt beneath a modified, pure black chest plate that covered his upper abdomen, along with similarly-colored bracers. Both the chest plate and bracers were trimmed with white and featured matching shoulder pads. He also wore gloves with small metal plating on the fingers, dark navy jeans, black and white metal knee pads, and dark brown boots.
Dick noticed Finn and offered a small smile. "Heya, Finn," he greeted.
"Hey yourself, Dick," Finn replied with a nod.
"Sorry about having to bring you in on your day off," Dick said, his tone genuinely apologetic.
Finn walked over to his locker, where his armor and weapons were stored. He glanced at Dick and shrugged, giving a small smile. "It's alright, Dick. I understand why, and I'm not angry—well, not at you, but at those two," Finn said, referring to Jon and Gary.
Dick nodded in understanding. "Trust me, I'm disappointed in them too, but I can see why they left so suddenly," he said.
Finn nodded back, opening his locker to reveal his armor. His armor was similar to Dick's but differed in color and the clothing underneath. Finn wore his usual attire beneath the armor, which consisted of a dark brown chest plate trimmed with black, matching bracers, shoulder pads, knee pads, and gloves.
He took the armor out and quickly dressed, securing the pieces in place. He then grabbed his Glock and its holster, strapping it around his waist, and added his machete in its sheath. Once fully suited up, he turned to Dick with a raised brow. "Which side of town am I patrolling tonight?"
"Outer wall, west side," Dick stated, his voice firm.
Finn nodded, mentally preparing himself for the task ahead. The west side of the outer wall was notorious for Gaunt activity, a hotspot for their attacks. It was going to be a long night.
As he headed out, Dick called after him, "Stay sharp out there, Finn. We can't afford to lose any more good Hunters."
Finn turned back and gave a resolute nod. "I will, Dick. See you in the morning."
Once outside the city, Finn couldn't help but take in the grim sight of the outer wall. It was marred with deep scratches and chips from relentless Gaunt attacks, stained with the dark green goo that dripped from their slavering mouths, and speckled with bloodstains that would never fully wash away. The stark contrast between this battered exterior and the inner walls of the town was striking. Inside, the walls were adorned with chalk drawings from children and vibrant murals from the town's artists. These cheerful images served as a reminder of what he was protecting, and why he had chosen to become a Gaunt Hunter in the first place.
Reaching the west side of the wall, Finn began his patrol, moving back and forth to ensure no Gaunts were attempting to scale the barrier. For now, the night was quiet, and he hoped it would remain that way.
As he walked his beat, his thoughts drifted back to dinner with Eric and the boy's enthusiastic declaration about becoming a Gaunt Hunter. While part of him felt honored by Eric's admiration, another part was deeply troubled. The life of a Hunter was dangerous and filled with horrors that no one should have to witness, let alone a young boy like Eric.
Finn's mind flashed back to a particularly gruesome memory from a past patrol. He and another Hunter had been called to assist in repelling a large pack of Gaunts. They had rushed to the scene, only to find their comrades dead, slaughtered in horrific ways. One Hunter's skull had been cracked open, with Gaunts eating from it as if it were a bowl of grapes. Another Hunter, still alive, was being disemboweled and devoured. Finn could never forget the man's agonized expression as he watched his own entrails being torn apart and consumed. The sight had been so revolting that Finn had vomited on the spot, paralyzed by shock until his partner snapped him back to reality.
Then there were the stories he had heard from veterans like Dick. Dick once recounted an incident where a Hunter had been speared to death by multiple Gaunts. They hadn't even eaten him; they had just impaled him repeatedly, leaving his body to rot in the woods for days. Such tales highlighted the Gaunts' malevolence and complete lack of empathy.
Finn shuddered at the memories. He didn't want Eric to face such nightmares. The boy was full of life and potential, and Finn couldn't bear the thought of him enduring the same horrors he had.
Since that harrowing incident and the chilling story Dick had shared, Finn had sworn to himself that he wouldn't meet a similar fate. He vowed to go out fighting, to not end up like those other hunters. He couldn't bear the thought of becoming another victim, especially after what happened to his sister.
The sudden howl nearby jolted Finn out of his grim thoughts. The sound was close—too close. Instantly alert, he scanned his surroundings. Just then, something whizzed past his face, slicing his cheek. He turned to see a makeshift arrow embedded in the wall. Spinning back around, his heart sank as he saw ten Gaunts emerging from the tree line.
"Shit!" Finn cursed, his eyes widening in horror. This was a dire situation. He quickly drew his Glock and aimed at the advancing creatures. Before he could fire, a sharp pain seared through his left side. He glanced down to see a small dagger lodged in his torso.
'What the hell?' Finn thought, bewildered. 'Did one of the Gaunts throw this?'
"Sorry, but it's nothing personal," a strange voice echoed through the darkness.
Finn's gaze snapped forward, and he saw a figure emerging from the shadows. They wore a long black cloak that seemed to envelop them completely, giving the eerie impression that they were gliding across the ground rather than walking.
The figure approached him, their face obscured by the cloak's hood. "My, you are a handsome young man," they purred in a sultry tone. "Such a fucking shame that my babies must eat. We've been on the run, and they haven't had a chance to rest and eat until we saw you." They giggled, a chilling sound that sent shivers down Finn's spine.
Fear gripped Finn, but he managed to look up at the cloaked figure with a raised brow. "W-Who are you?" he stammered, his voice wavering.
The figure tilted their head slightly as if amused by his question. "Who am I?" they echoed. "I am their mother, their caretaker. I ensure they survive, even if it means feeding them humans like you." The figure leaned closer, and Finn could just make out a twisted smile beneath the hood.
Finn's mind raced. He needed to think of a way out, and fast. The Gaunts were closing in, and he was injured and at a severe disadvantage. Summoning his remaining strength, he clutched his Glock tighter and tried to steady his breath. He couldn't let this be the end.
The figure's giggle echoed eerily through the night, sending a shiver down Finn's spine. "Oh! Now I'm regretting stabbing you," they remarked with a twisted amusement. "It's not every day a handsome young man asks me my name, you know? Most prefer a no-name policy." Their tone was cryptic, and Finn couldn't shake the feeling of unease that settled in his gut. "While I would love to give you my name in far better circumstances, I'm afraid I don't have the time," they continued, their words dripping with urgency. "As I said, we're on the run from a rather unpleasant girl."
Finn's confusion only deepened. The figure's response didn't provide any clarity, leaving him even more perplexed. As the figure began to back away, Finn's eyes widened in shock as the Gaunts beside them moved in unison. ‘She can... control them!?’ he realized, disbelief washing over him.
"Go ahead, babies... EAT!" the figure commanded, her voice chillingly calm.
With a sickening lurch in his stomach, Finn watched as the Gaunts surged forward, their hunger palpable in the air. Determination surged within him, driving him to fight against the odds stacked against him. Ignoring the searing pain from his wound, he raised his gun and fired at the approaching Gaunts. Despite his efforts, only one was hit, and even then, it didn't slow down.
Finn gritted his teeth, preparing for the inevitable close-quarter battle with the monsters. "Come on!" he growled defiantly. "I'm right here!"
The Gaunts closed in, their predatory instincts driving them forward. Just as they leaped toward him, ready to strike, something unexpected occurred.
Thorny vines erupted from the ground, snaking around the Gaunts with incredible speed. Finn's eyes widened in astonishment as the vines ensnared the creatures, halting their advance. The vines twisted and contorted, slamming the Gaunts into the ground with brutal force, tearing at their flesh and rendering them helpless.
" Damn! How did that bitch already find us!?" the figure exclaimed, frustration evident in their voice.
Finn's gaze followed the figure's gaze as a new figure emerged from the shadows.
Her appearance was striking, to say the least. With a spiky red Mohawk and piercing red eyes devoid of any white, she exuded an aura of fierce determination. Smudged mascara framed her intense gaze, adding to her wild and untamed appearance. Her lips were painted black, a stark contrast to her fiery red hair and eyes. Clad in a black leather crop top vest that accentuated her slim, athletic frame, she exuded an air of defiance. Arm bands encircled her wrists and biceps, resembling the wraps worn by boxers, hinting at her combat prowess. Around her neck, she wore a large choker, adding to her rebellious demeanor. Her attire was completed by tight leather pants and high-heeled platform boots, giving her an imposing presence.
"Found you, ya freaking cunt!" she spat, her voice laced with venom.
The cloaked figure retreated, increasing the distance between them and the girl. "Ugh, don't you ever give up?" they retorted, their tone tinged with irritation.
The girl leveled a fierce glare at the figure. "After the shit you've done!? I ain't letting you go!" she declared, her voice dripping with disdain.
The figure let out a mocking giggle. "Is that so?" they taunted, gesturing toward Finn who lay wounded on the ground. "Not even to save his life?"
The girl's gaze shifted to Finn, her expression softening momentarily as she registered his injuries. Before she could react, a shrill howl pierced the air, drawing their attention back to the figure.
"What the hell did you do!?" the girl demanded, her voice trembling with rage.
"Oh, just called in a few friends over for dinner," the figure replied casually.
"You bitch!" the girl seethed.
With a swift motion, she thrust her hand forward, summoning a massive vine with thorns protruding from its surface. The vine lunged toward the figure, but they evaded the attack with agile grace, darting away through the forest.
"Have fun~!" they taunted, their laughter echoing through the trees as they disappeared into the darkness.
Driven by determination, the girl pursued the figure, her footsteps echoing through the forest. However, her path was suddenly obstructed as a horde of Gaunts emerged from the shadows, blocking her way with menacing snarls and bared teeth.
"Get out of my way!" the girl cried, her voice ringing with determination.
In an instant, a smaller thorned vine shot out of the ground with startling speed, piercing through the approaching Gaunts like a bullet. Lifted into the air by the force of the vine, the creatures were hurled aside, crashing into trees with bone-crushing force.
As more Gaunts emerged from the shadows behind her, four shots echoed through the air. Finn's aim was true, striking the advancing Gaunts and causing them to writhe in agony as they fell to the ground. The girl glanced back to see Finn's timely intervention, offering a silent nod of acknowledgment before focusing her attention back on the remaining threats. Summoning more vines, she ensnared the creatures, tearing them apart with ruthless efficiency.
Satisfied that the immediate danger had passed, the girl turned back towards Finn, who was now sitting against the wall, applying pressure to his wound.
Bending down beside him, the girl flashed a smile, revealing sharp triangular teeth reminiscent of a shark. "Nice shooting there, dude. Really saved my ass back there," she remarked.
Finn managed a weak chuckle. "I should be thanking you. If you hadn't shown up, I'd be Gaunt food," he admitted.
"Let's call it even, then, eh?" she suggested. "What's your name?" she inquired.
Finn met her gaze, taking a moment to catch his breath before responding. "Finn, Finn Tresscoat," he introduced himself. Curiosity burning in his eyes, he posed a question in return. "Who are you? No... What are you?" he asked, unable to shake off the mystery surrounding her.
The girl maintained her enigmatic smile, meeting his gaze with her striking red eyes. "The name's Rachel Rose," she revealed. "As for what I am, well... I can answer that once you're all patched up," she added cryptically.
Summoning another vine, Rachel gently lifted Finn to his feet, supporting him as they began to make their way back towards town. With each step, Finn's mind buzzed with questions, the mysteries surrounding Rachel and her abilities swirling in his thoughts. Who was the cloaked figure? How did they control the Gaunts? And most pressing of all, who—or what—was Rachel, and how was she able to command those vines with such ease?
As they walked back toward town, Finn couldn't help but feel the weight of exhaustion settle upon him, both physically and mentally. His thoughts swirled with questions about the events that had just transpired—about Rachel, the cloaked figure, and the unsettling abilities they both possessed. Yet, amidst the chaos of his mind, one pressing question emerged, demanding attention above all else.
'When the hell am I gonna get another day off? Because I can sure as hell use it right now...!' Finn thought to himself, his weariness palpable.
Rachel, walking beside him, seemed to sense his inner turmoil. Casting him a sidelong glance, she offered a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Finn. You'll have your chance to rest soon," she assured him, her voice carrying a note of empathy.
Finn managed a weary smile in return, grateful for the reassurance. Despite the gravity of their situation, her words offered a glimmer of hope amidst the uncertainty that loomed over them…
2024.06.01 08:48 Edwardthecrazyman Hiraeth or Where the Children Play: More and More [19]
First/Previous
Since I knew there was a time before, I’ve wanted it, but that was child’s hope; even as a boy I wanted a dream. I wanted some divine being to enter from heaven and tell us all how it should be, but that wasn’t something I could ever count on—of course. Is there a god? I think so. I’ve seen those things and if they exist, then surely there’s a maker on the other end of it—god made both the light and the dark if the word’s to be believed and all we can hope for is a glimpse of the former. Even for a second.
The streets were soaked with blood and so many artillery rounds were fired into the sky—many I witnessed missed Leviathan—that I forgot what silence was like (not to mention the screams and there was a lot of that).
In the scrambling, I found I was reentering deeper into Golgotha and that wasn’t good. There was the ever-present thought that Maron was around every corner; the man had haunted my thoughts for longer that he should have and every time it was like an overwhelming force. It was simple enough after all, he was a piece of the past, a piece I could theoretically reach out and touch and that was what kept me to him.
In the fray of bolting citizens, I pressed myself to the exterior of a wall—I’d neared the stairs which once led to my apartment—and I kept out of the way of those that mindlessly went; some of those which rushed from the onslaught were those afflicted with skitterbugs and many of them either hobbled on blackened legs or—and this was rare—comrades or family helped to carry those which could not carry themselves. It was a baffling sight. A man carried a woman like a child (her toes had fallen off and her legs were black to the knees) and though he strode on with her, his own boots were caked with a mixture of blood and earth. An older girl led a young boy from the whirlwind of dust which was kicked up in the square; the boy’s eyes were whited, and his hands were curled to his chest, discolored. People, whatever duality there is, cared. There was not a drop of the apathy I’d learned and encouraged in myself.
I chewed like a mad dog through my bindings, and it was of little use; I yanked at the cord which secured my hands together and received rope burn in return. “Bitch!” I cussed the thing, but the flames in the sky were so loud, the bangs and vibrations from the artillery consumed all so it was like yelling in a barrel. I swung my hands out in front of me, feeling useless and felt a sudden urge to try again. I bit into the cord and repetitively motioned my jaw against the pressure of the cord, like I was going to saw through it with my teeth. Ha! Another yank is what brought my left hand free, but not without tearing a triangle of skin away from my wrist.
The cord dropped to my feet, and I looked around; a woman brushed past me, nearly toppled over my foot and I caught her by the wrist before she went head-over. She violently thrust from my grasp and screamed something at me. Another bout of flames burst from Leviathan’s maw as it circle-dove overhead. The heatwave from the blast exploded across my face so that I recoiled from the sky itself till I was on the ground, and I pushed myself from the earth and ran half dog-like from my place there at the wall. Where? It was hard to say where when every person that touched-by seemed to send me in another direction; in the madness, it was impossible to tell my course.
With time and effort, I found my way to the opening where the hydro towers were, three pillars which rose above Golgotha’s skyline, each one a testament to human resilience—engineers laborers toiled untold hours under Lady’s father to construct them. The hydro towers exploded into rubble as Leviathan slammed into them. Rock rained down as cutting shards and destructive boulders. A man lay beside my feet where he'd been pinned by the onslaught—white concrete kept him there by his chest—he gasped for air and blood already formed around him. In a moment, I looked away at the dying man, his half-whited eyes bulging at me. Meat hung from the left side of another man’s face as he cradled his head in his hand and moved like he was stoned and sat among the stomping feet; he slumped into the spot he sat and did not move till others came by him in a hurry and he simply fell onto his side like a toy animal.
The screams were too much. I looked to the towers, the nubs which had broken away like bad teeth against the red sky, and whole people fell alongside the rubble, limbs and showers of blood and Leviathan latched atop the towers and rocked its massive body so that the structures slipped directly from their foundations and tumbled over like pins. I ran and again there was nothing but chaos, nothing but mind-numbing wilder thoughts—it was grim and there wasn’t a place for coherency; it was all snaps of images.
In the mess of bumbling limbs, I pushed through to the hall of Bosses and there were people there already, rushing the stairs; the ground shook and I assumed it must’ve been the towers. The things demolished all in their path, and briefly, I saw the ramshackle structures which normally stood in their shadows come slanting over and people leapt from those places too and landed poorly and there was a cacophony of tremors through the earth—it felt as though hell should open.
The steps at the base of the hall were flooded and it was a fight to climb them as legs came high up from ahead and swiped at those behind and I kept my hands ahead of me to block whatever foot may come my way.
Wall men stood ready with their rifles at the tops of those steps and fired their weapons indiscriminately into the crowd. Bodies, big and small, piled atop the steps after a brief bullet dance and it came that I wasn’t only climbing stairs, but corpses; the warmth of their flesh as I clawed ahead remained and blood fog hung in the air. That grouping of wall men, casually lined before the doors of the hall were overtaken and they disappeared, their rifles cackled and came alive with muzzle flashes and the animal hands of the horde brought them to ground.
Us, the horde, funneled through those front doors and for a moment, in the thick walls of the hall, the outside world audibly disappeared; the blood and dust remained, but it was quieter save the shuffling feet and cusses of passersby I was carried deeper.
Those that worked the underground went quickly and I followed, and those ignorant followed for the sake of survival and it was not long till we stumbled into the Boss’s lair. With room, people dispersed like water through the tunnels and found dark recesses to tend their wounds or mourn whatever was lost and the explosive open air had been fully replaced by the quiet black oppressive mumbles of people taking stock of all those that had died. And all those that would. Every few moments, the walls shook, and dust fell from the ceiling fixtures.
A few haggard folks moved to the doorway which led to the damp room which led to the kitchen, and they slammed the door shut and latched it and began to check adjacent rooms for things to barricade the way.
“Stop!” said a man in the dim flickering underground light—I was surprised to see the man was me, “Leave it open! Others might need help.” I retraced my steps to the small faction that’d gathered there at the doorway. “You can’t just let them die out there. Let them in.”
“Shut up!” a skinny girl with her hair pulled back on her malnourished skull spoke gruffly; she choked, coughed—dust clung to her clothes—she’d been near the collapse of the hydro towers if I guessed. “Step off, or I’ll—
“Or you’ll what?” I shouted.
The girl put up her fists, two lumpy stones, and in stupid response I closed the distance between us. With speed, her fist met my nose, and I stumbled back on my heel.
Without hesitation, I brought up my own hands and landed a blow to her stomach. She craned forward, gasped on repeat, and took a knee.
Blood wet my upper lip, and I wiped it away with my forearm.
“Move,” I said to the others by the door; there were two: a woman and a boy that was nearly a man.
The boy charged headstrongly, attempted a kick and I easily shoved his small frame against the tunnel wall; the hard metal sounded a meaty thud against his body and the woman launched unseen at me, raked her nails down the back of my neck, and tore at my collar. I kept a forearm to the boy’s throat and rocked his head with my free elbow. Once he wept and spit red, I let him go; the boy slid into a sit and I spun on the woman, shoving her away. My left leg began to give, and I used the wall over the boy’s head as support. I swung at her with a wild claw and my fingertips grazed her nose as she fell away to the opposite wall.
“Stop it!” I shouted.
She launched at me, and my leg gave out under her tackle, and I stumbled half-on the boy, my feet kicked helplessly at her, and the boy regained his composure and began to crawl towards me. We wrestled and then the girl I’d knocked in the gut rejoined the fray. I was done. They had me pinned and spat curses at me and took turns shoving my head into the floor.
“You’re going to get us killed,” shouted the woman, “Are you stupid?”
I grinded my teeth and tried to throw them off; I was overpowered and easily pressed down again.
The overhead lights flickered with another deep earthy vibration and the trio let go of me in an instant—I came up swinging my arms like crazy and as I went to kneel before propelling myself to stand, a hand rested on my shoulder. I spun on the hand and was met with the black mouth of a 9mm pistol—that froze me fast.
The owner of the weapon—a wall man by the look of her fatigues—motioned for me to stand and I did. Her eyes were far off and nervous and the metal shook in her outstretched hand. “Against the wall!” she barked at us; she was small-framed and youthful but full grown, and I could easily push her out of my way if not for the pistol. We went to the wall, and she moved to the door while keeping the gun drawn on us. She watched us and glanced at the door. “It’s latched! Who latched the door?” She asked.
No one spoke. The other three looked to their feet; I initially refused to rat, and snorted blood—my nose throbbed and by touch I could tell it swelled already.
“Well? Why’s it closed?” she asked the question more like a desperate child than a person with control. “C’mon!” The 9mm rolled limply on her wrist as she said the word, like she was attempting to draw the confession from us with the motion.
“There’s an attack. They’re killing everyone,” said the boy.
The girl and woman nodded.
“Who?” asked the wall man.
“Demons, muties,” said the boy, “Big stuff. Everyone’s dying.”
The ground shook as if to emphasize his point.
The wall man studied us for a moment, lingering last on me and for the longest and she took a long breath and let the sigh out dramatically slow. “I know you,” she motioned at me with the gun, “You’re that maniac. The one that tried to murder everyone.” Her eyes fell then returned and she put her weight on the door while maintaining the barrel of the gun eye-level in my direction.
“I ain’t gonna’ hurt anyone,” said. I briefly thought about smiling but decided that’d look worse.
“How do I know that?” she asked.
“Yeah,” said the boy, “He tried to kill us already!” His voice cracked with adolescence; the blood I’d spilled from his mouth coated the front of his holey shirt.
The trio nodded all together—everyone agreed that I was a maniac killer.
“They latched it,” I said, “Cowards.”
A thump came from the other side of the door which frightened the wall man and she leapt from the spot she’d leaned—it took several full seconds to realize her gun went off; there was a flash, and my ears rang. I stumbled from the knot of people and slunk a couple of feet from the space by the door. The girl—the one I gut-punched—collapsed to the floor while holding the right side of her face. The women crowded the girl, panicked, the boy sprinted past me and disappeared deeper into the underground, and the wall man stood there with a wretched blank expression. There was a long moment which hung in the air; I could not hear and then it came back, and it was the girl’s screams I heard first.
Upon stepping to them, I saw the prone girl had been shot just so—through the cheek. Her eyes rolled from likely spinal damage; whatever the angle, it seemed to have ripped through irreparable nerves and she bled a lot. There wasn’t any hope for that girl.
“Well,” I said to the wall man, “Finish it. No reason to make her suffer.”
The girl on the ground writhed unnaturally and caterwauled while the woman by her side attempted to calm her.
Greater became the sound of the belabored hands on the other side of the door; then a hollow-sounding gunshot came from the other side; were they shooting the door? Or each other? Another round—human screams.
The wall man shook her head. “I didn’t mean it. It was an accident.”
I tried to hold the wall man’s gaze, but she didn’t seem able.
With speed, I moved to the wall man, reached for the gun which dangled helpless by her side—her initial response was to flinch, pull the weapon from my reach; our eyes locked and I clenched my jaw. She could’ve killed me. There wouldn’t have been surprise from me if she had.
She let go of the gun and I nodded, and she nodded and the woman kneeling by the girl threw herself over her. “Please,” protested the woman, “Please don’t!”
With the aid of the pistol, I was given space, and nothing was said. I mentally prepared myself for the ringing which accompanied gunfire in small spaces, even tilted my head away with my free palm up and took aim and the girl jerked once then went still.
With the ringing going and sound returning, the drumming on the door returned, as well as the quiet weeps of the woman; she crawled to the wayside of the hall, pressed her back against the wall and rested her chin on her knees with her arms around her shins. She didn’t rock to or fro and hardly made any noise at all. But the small and quiet sobs remained faintly there.
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submitted by Edwardthecrazyman to cryosleep [link] [comments]
Since I knew there was a time before, I’ve wanted it, but that was child’s hope; even as a boy I wanted a dream. I wanted some divine being to enter from heaven and tell us all how it should be, but that wasn’t something I could ever count on—of course. Is there a god? I think so. I’ve seen those things and if they exist, then surely there’s a maker on the other end of it—god made both the light and the dark if the word’s to be believed and all we can hope for is a glimpse of the former. Even for a second.
The streets were soaked with blood and so many artillery rounds were fired into the sky—many I witnessed missed Leviathan—that I forgot what silence was like (not to mention the screams and there was a lot of that).
In the scrambling, I found I was reentering deeper into Golgotha and that wasn’t good. There was the ever-present thought that Maron was around every corner; the man had haunted my thoughts for longer that he should have and every time it was like an overwhelming force. It was simple enough after all, he was a piece of the past, a piece I could theoretically reach out and touch and that was what kept me to him.
In the fray of bolting citizens, I pressed myself to the exterior of a wall—I’d neared the stairs which once led to my apartment—and I kept out of the way of those that mindlessly went; some of those which rushed from the onslaught were those afflicted with skitterbugs and many of them either hobbled on blackened legs or—and this was rare—comrades or family helped to carry those which could not carry themselves. It was a baffling sight. A man carried a woman like a child (her toes had fallen off and her legs were black to the knees) and though he strode on with her, his own boots were caked with a mixture of blood and earth. An older girl led a young boy from the whirlwind of dust which was kicked up in the square; the boy’s eyes were whited, and his hands were curled to his chest, discolored. People, whatever duality there is, cared. There was not a drop of the apathy I’d learned and encouraged in myself.
I chewed like a mad dog through my bindings, and it was of little use; I yanked at the cord which secured my hands together and received rope burn in return. “Bitch!” I cussed the thing, but the flames in the sky were so loud, the bangs and vibrations from the artillery consumed all so it was like yelling in a barrel. I swung my hands out in front of me, feeling useless and felt a sudden urge to try again. I bit into the cord and repetitively motioned my jaw against the pressure of the cord, like I was going to saw through it with my teeth. Ha! Another yank is what brought my left hand free, but not without tearing a triangle of skin away from my wrist.
The cord dropped to my feet, and I looked around; a woman brushed past me, nearly toppled over my foot and I caught her by the wrist before she went head-over. She violently thrust from my grasp and screamed something at me. Another bout of flames burst from Leviathan’s maw as it circle-dove overhead. The heatwave from the blast exploded across my face so that I recoiled from the sky itself till I was on the ground, and I pushed myself from the earth and ran half dog-like from my place there at the wall. Where? It was hard to say where when every person that touched-by seemed to send me in another direction; in the madness, it was impossible to tell my course.
With time and effort, I found my way to the opening where the hydro towers were, three pillars which rose above Golgotha’s skyline, each one a testament to human resilience—engineers laborers toiled untold hours under Lady’s father to construct them. The hydro towers exploded into rubble as Leviathan slammed into them. Rock rained down as cutting shards and destructive boulders. A man lay beside my feet where he'd been pinned by the onslaught—white concrete kept him there by his chest—he gasped for air and blood already formed around him. In a moment, I looked away at the dying man, his half-whited eyes bulging at me. Meat hung from the left side of another man’s face as he cradled his head in his hand and moved like he was stoned and sat among the stomping feet; he slumped into the spot he sat and did not move till others came by him in a hurry and he simply fell onto his side like a toy animal.
The screams were too much. I looked to the towers, the nubs which had broken away like bad teeth against the red sky, and whole people fell alongside the rubble, limbs and showers of blood and Leviathan latched atop the towers and rocked its massive body so that the structures slipped directly from their foundations and tumbled over like pins. I ran and again there was nothing but chaos, nothing but mind-numbing wilder thoughts—it was grim and there wasn’t a place for coherency; it was all snaps of images.
In the mess of bumbling limbs, I pushed through to the hall of Bosses and there were people there already, rushing the stairs; the ground shook and I assumed it must’ve been the towers. The things demolished all in their path, and briefly, I saw the ramshackle structures which normally stood in their shadows come slanting over and people leapt from those places too and landed poorly and there was a cacophony of tremors through the earth—it felt as though hell should open.
The steps at the base of the hall were flooded and it was a fight to climb them as legs came high up from ahead and swiped at those behind and I kept my hands ahead of me to block whatever foot may come my way.
Wall men stood ready with their rifles at the tops of those steps and fired their weapons indiscriminately into the crowd. Bodies, big and small, piled atop the steps after a brief bullet dance and it came that I wasn’t only climbing stairs, but corpses; the warmth of their flesh as I clawed ahead remained and blood fog hung in the air. That grouping of wall men, casually lined before the doors of the hall were overtaken and they disappeared, their rifles cackled and came alive with muzzle flashes and the animal hands of the horde brought them to ground.
Us, the horde, funneled through those front doors and for a moment, in the thick walls of the hall, the outside world audibly disappeared; the blood and dust remained, but it was quieter save the shuffling feet and cusses of passersby I was carried deeper.
Those that worked the underground went quickly and I followed, and those ignorant followed for the sake of survival and it was not long till we stumbled into the Boss’s lair. With room, people dispersed like water through the tunnels and found dark recesses to tend their wounds or mourn whatever was lost and the explosive open air had been fully replaced by the quiet black oppressive mumbles of people taking stock of all those that had died. And all those that would. Every few moments, the walls shook, and dust fell from the ceiling fixtures.
A few haggard folks moved to the doorway which led to the damp room which led to the kitchen, and they slammed the door shut and latched it and began to check adjacent rooms for things to barricade the way.
“Stop!” said a man in the dim flickering underground light—I was surprised to see the man was me, “Leave it open! Others might need help.” I retraced my steps to the small faction that’d gathered there at the doorway. “You can’t just let them die out there. Let them in.”
“Shut up!” a skinny girl with her hair pulled back on her malnourished skull spoke gruffly; she choked, coughed—dust clung to her clothes—she’d been near the collapse of the hydro towers if I guessed. “Step off, or I’ll—
“Or you’ll what?” I shouted.
The girl put up her fists, two lumpy stones, and in stupid response I closed the distance between us. With speed, her fist met my nose, and I stumbled back on my heel.
Without hesitation, I brought up my own hands and landed a blow to her stomach. She craned forward, gasped on repeat, and took a knee.
Blood wet my upper lip, and I wiped it away with my forearm.
“Move,” I said to the others by the door; there were two: a woman and a boy that was nearly a man.
The boy charged headstrongly, attempted a kick and I easily shoved his small frame against the tunnel wall; the hard metal sounded a meaty thud against his body and the woman launched unseen at me, raked her nails down the back of my neck, and tore at my collar. I kept a forearm to the boy’s throat and rocked his head with my free elbow. Once he wept and spit red, I let him go; the boy slid into a sit and I spun on the woman, shoving her away. My left leg began to give, and I used the wall over the boy’s head as support. I swung at her with a wild claw and my fingertips grazed her nose as she fell away to the opposite wall.
“Stop it!” I shouted.
She launched at me, and my leg gave out under her tackle, and I stumbled half-on the boy, my feet kicked helplessly at her, and the boy regained his composure and began to crawl towards me. We wrestled and then the girl I’d knocked in the gut rejoined the fray. I was done. They had me pinned and spat curses at me and took turns shoving my head into the floor.
“You’re going to get us killed,” shouted the woman, “Are you stupid?”
I grinded my teeth and tried to throw them off; I was overpowered and easily pressed down again.
The overhead lights flickered with another deep earthy vibration and the trio let go of me in an instant—I came up swinging my arms like crazy and as I went to kneel before propelling myself to stand, a hand rested on my shoulder. I spun on the hand and was met with the black mouth of a 9mm pistol—that froze me fast.
The owner of the weapon—a wall man by the look of her fatigues—motioned for me to stand and I did. Her eyes were far off and nervous and the metal shook in her outstretched hand. “Against the wall!” she barked at us; she was small-framed and youthful but full grown, and I could easily push her out of my way if not for the pistol. We went to the wall, and she moved to the door while keeping the gun drawn on us. She watched us and glanced at the door. “It’s latched! Who latched the door?” She asked.
No one spoke. The other three looked to their feet; I initially refused to rat, and snorted blood—my nose throbbed and by touch I could tell it swelled already.
“Well? Why’s it closed?” she asked the question more like a desperate child than a person with control. “C’mon!” The 9mm rolled limply on her wrist as she said the word, like she was attempting to draw the confession from us with the motion.
“There’s an attack. They’re killing everyone,” said the boy.
The girl and woman nodded.
“Who?” asked the wall man.
“Demons, muties,” said the boy, “Big stuff. Everyone’s dying.”
The ground shook as if to emphasize his point.
The wall man studied us for a moment, lingering last on me and for the longest and she took a long breath and let the sigh out dramatically slow. “I know you,” she motioned at me with the gun, “You’re that maniac. The one that tried to murder everyone.” Her eyes fell then returned and she put her weight on the door while maintaining the barrel of the gun eye-level in my direction.
“I ain’t gonna’ hurt anyone,” said. I briefly thought about smiling but decided that’d look worse.
“How do I know that?” she asked.
“Yeah,” said the boy, “He tried to kill us already!” His voice cracked with adolescence; the blood I’d spilled from his mouth coated the front of his holey shirt.
The trio nodded all together—everyone agreed that I was a maniac killer.
“They latched it,” I said, “Cowards.”
A thump came from the other side of the door which frightened the wall man and she leapt from the spot she’d leaned—it took several full seconds to realize her gun went off; there was a flash, and my ears rang. I stumbled from the knot of people and slunk a couple of feet from the space by the door. The girl—the one I gut-punched—collapsed to the floor while holding the right side of her face. The women crowded the girl, panicked, the boy sprinted past me and disappeared deeper into the underground, and the wall man stood there with a wretched blank expression. There was a long moment which hung in the air; I could not hear and then it came back, and it was the girl’s screams I heard first.
Upon stepping to them, I saw the prone girl had been shot just so—through the cheek. Her eyes rolled from likely spinal damage; whatever the angle, it seemed to have ripped through irreparable nerves and she bled a lot. There wasn’t any hope for that girl.
“Well,” I said to the wall man, “Finish it. No reason to make her suffer.”
The girl on the ground writhed unnaturally and caterwauled while the woman by her side attempted to calm her.
Greater became the sound of the belabored hands on the other side of the door; then a hollow-sounding gunshot came from the other side; were they shooting the door? Or each other? Another round—human screams.
The wall man shook her head. “I didn’t mean it. It was an accident.”
I tried to hold the wall man’s gaze, but she didn’t seem able.
With speed, I moved to the wall man, reached for the gun which dangled helpless by her side—her initial response was to flinch, pull the weapon from my reach; our eyes locked and I clenched my jaw. She could’ve killed me. There wouldn’t have been surprise from me if she had.
She let go of the gun and I nodded, and she nodded and the woman kneeling by the girl threw herself over her. “Please,” protested the woman, “Please don’t!”
With the aid of the pistol, I was given space, and nothing was said. I mentally prepared myself for the ringing which accompanied gunfire in small spaces, even tilted my head away with my free palm up and took aim and the girl jerked once then went still.
With the ringing going and sound returning, the drumming on the door returned, as well as the quiet weeps of the woman; she crawled to the wayside of the hall, pressed her back against the wall and rested her chin on her knees with her arms around her shins. She didn’t rock to or fro and hardly made any noise at all. But the small and quiet sobs remained faintly there.
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2024.06.01 08:23 GhoulGriin Best 1440p 120hz Monitors
https://preview.redd.it/gi24vfsdlw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=85bf1d44b3218f4ff7f5f33e6673f0299c0c8915
Hello tech enthusiasts! Are you tired of seeing pixels on your monitor? Looking for a smoother, cleaner display? Well, we've got some good news for you. In our latest article, we're diving into the world of 1440p 120Hz monitors. From high-refresh rate gaming to ultra-smooth streaming, these monitors offer a viewing experience that's simply jaw-dropping. So buckle up and get ready to upgrade your screen time with us!
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As a gaming enthusiast and tech reviewer, I've had the pleasure of trying out the ASUS TUF Gaming VG27WQ1B 27-inch Curved Monitor. The first thing that grabbed my attention was its sleek design and immersive 1500R curvature. The 2560x1440 resolution offers excellent visual clarity, while the ultrafast 165Hz refresh rate ensures smooth gameplay without any tearing or stuttering.
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Well, my friends, let me tell you about the LG 32QN600-B monitor I've been using lately. It's a big, beautiful 32-inch screen, and it has made my work and play life so much more enjoyable. This monitor features QHD resolution and IPS technology, which makes my colors look incredibly realistic and vibrant, whether I'm editing photos, working on documents, or playing video games.
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The ViewSonic VX2728J-2K is my go-to gaming monitor. I've been using it for a few months now, and I can't imagine playing without it. With a sleek design and vibrant colors, this monitor makes my games come alive.
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While the setup process was straightforward and the stand looks immaculate, I did find that the ports were slightly limited. Additionally, the menu controls could have been more user-friendly. Despite these minor drawbacks, I am thoroughly impressed by the performance and visual quality of the ViewSonic VX2728J-2K.
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When I started using the GIGABYTE curve monitor, it added a whole new level of immersion to my gaming experience. The massive 34-inch display, coupled with the 1500R curve, envelops me into the game world like never before. With a 120Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time, I can effortlessly keep up with the fast-paced action in various genres, from first-person shooters to racing games.
One of the standout features is its spectacular color accuracy, boasting 120% sRGB, allowing the most vibrant and lifelike visuals. The monitor is compatible with VESA Wall Mount, so even if I don't have much desk space, I can still securely mount it on the wall.
Though I really appreciate its performance and design, the GIGABYTE monitor can be a little tricky to assemble, and its stand doesn't provide the sturdiest support. Nevertheless, these minor issues haven't hampered my gaming sessions.
Altogether, the GIGABYTE curve gaming monitor has significantly improved my gaming experience, offering an immersive, fluid, and visually stunning experience. If you're in the market for a high-quality monitor that truly stands out, the GIGABYTE curve monitor is a solid choice.
https://preview.redd.it/bh147z3ilw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1795f242cff3de7ff372f75a34a2eaab8fdaa81b
I've been using LG's 24" QHD FreeSync monitor, and I must say it's a game-changer for my daily work and play. The lifelike colors along with the sharp resolution make every image come alive, whether I'm editing photos or playing an intense game. The virtually borderless screen on three sides gives a truly immersive experience, and the AMD FreeSync technology keeps everything smooth and blur-free.
One thing that impressed me is the pro-level control and customization capabilities offered by the OnScreen control feature. It's a breeze to adjust settings and find the perfect balance for my needs. Plus, the blue light filter and flicker safe technologies ensure my eyes stay comfortable even during long usage sessions.
However, there are some downsides too. The mounting mechanism isn't the best, and I ended up needing a separate stand to secure the monitor properly. Additionally, the power supply being a wall wart could be inconvenient for some users.
Overall, this monitor delivers exceptional quality and performance for its price point. The combination of vibrant colors, high-resolution, and customizable controls makes it a versatile option for various uses, although the mount and power supply might need extra care.
https://preview.redd.it/v3hl0cgilw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9d48ad5486b3ab9e15cf9bdc3e2720ceac34f738
As a fellow gamer, I recently had the chance to test out the MSI G273CQ Curved Gaming monitor and let me tell you, it's a game-changer! The first thing that caught my eye was its sleek design. The curved screen adds a certain immersion to gaming that traditional monitors lack.
One of the standout features for me was the 170Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time panel. These numbers might not mean much to non-gamers but trust me, they make a world of difference when it comes to smooth gameplay. It felt like I was playing on a higher-end PC, even though I was using the same old rig.
Another impressive feature is the AMD FreeSync Premium technology. This syncs the monitor's refresh rate with your GPU, effectively eliminating any screen tearing or stuttering. It's not something you can feel directly but believe me, once you've experienced it, there's no going back!
However, I did encounter a couple of issues. The first one was ghosting, which is quite disappointing for a gaming monitor. Games with high contrast areas, bright lighting sources, or dark shadows were particularly affected by this issue. Also, the mounting process could've been easier. It's stable once set up, but adjusting the height can be a bit cumbersome.
All in all, the MSI G273CQ Curved Gaming monitor is a solid choice for gamers looking to enhance their gaming experience. Its high refresh rate and response time make it perfect for fast-paced games, while the curved design provides an added level of immersion. Despite some minor flaws, I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a new gaming monitor.
https://preview.redd.it/v8ilm9vilw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6163becd39ed0744b1aed5451d7204b93f59e5e9
I've been using the MSI MAG 275CQRF-QD Curved Gaming monitor for a while now, and I must say, it's quite an impressive piece of hardware. The first thing that grabbed my attention was the immersive, curved 27" WQHD display. It provides such a detailed and immersive viewing experience that I often find myself getting lost in whatever I'm playing or watching.
One feature I found particularly amazing is the 170Hz refresh rate. It ensures smooth gameplay without any screen tearing or choppy frame rates, giving me a competitive edge over other players. Another highlight for me was the 1ms response time, which significantly reduces motion blur and ghosting, making fast-paced games feel incredibly responsive.
There are some minor cons though. The panel has moderate ghosting and backlight bleed, which is expected for VA panels in this price range. However, if you're not sensitive to these issues or prefer the advantages of a curved monitor, it's definitely worth considering. Additionally, the stand is a bit bulky, but it doesn't interfere with the overall aesthetics of the monitor.
Overall, I'm very satisfied with this monitor. It ticks all the boxes for a high-quality gaming experience and doesn't break the bank. If you're in the market for a reliable curved gaming monitor, the MSI MAG 275CQRF-QD should be at the top of your list.
https://preview.redd.it/y4tbx9cjlw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e5c6693a0bcce6d2a2137c0ae23b6d1937267e17
I finally got my hands on the RCA Evolution Select gaming monitor, and it's been nothing less than a game-changer for me. As someone who enjoys both gaming and work, this monitor has become a staple in my everyday routine.
One of the most notable features of this monitor is its rapid 165Hz refresh rate. This provides an incredibly smooth gameplay experience, making it feel as though you're in the game itself. The RGB lighting and built-in speakers further enhance the immersive gaming atmosphere by providing not only visual flair but also immersive sound.
However, there are a couple of minor drawbacks. The first being that the monitor doesn't have a built-in webcam or TV tuner, which might be important to some users. Additionally, the power consumption could be a concern for those who are energy-conscious.
Overall, the RCA Evolution Select gaming monitor offers a beautiful blend of speed, visual flair, and immersive sound, making it a perfect addition to anyone's gaming setup.
https://preview.redd.it/nvd8yyrjlw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eb173b6bc3e29e9d2def0e865fcba5bc9e6720cb
As a tech enthusiast, I've always been on the lookout for high-performance gaming monitors. The LG UltraGear monitor was one of my top picks. With its 31.5-inch QHD display and impressive 165Hz refresh rate, the picture quality was incredibly immersive. Add in the AMD FreeSync Premium feature, which helped eliminate screen tearing and stuttering, and my gaming sessions became smoother than ever before.
One of the highlights of this monitor is its 1ms MBR response time. It made all the difference in fast-paced games. Obstacles and opponents appeared almost instantaneously, giving me the upper hand in intense firefights. The screen also supports HDR10, ensuring that colors were rich and contrasts were stark, making the overall visual experience incredibly immersive.
However, while its performance was commendable, setting up the monitor wasn't as straightforward as I would have liked. The on-screen display and menu options were a bit cluttered, making it slightly difficult to find specific settings. But once everything was set up, it was smooth sailing.
In conclusion, if you're a serious gamer looking for a monitor that can keep up with your fast-paced games, the LG UltraGear monitor is definitely worth considering. Its high-refresh-rate, quick response time, and vibrant visuals make it an excellent addition to any gaming setup.
https://preview.redd.it/g1cg6f8klw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1af3549fc01da057470c1654159258fc3919e7b3
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submitted by GhoulGriin to u/GhoulGriin [link] [comments]
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Hello tech enthusiasts! Are you tired of seeing pixels on your monitor? Looking for a smoother, cleaner display? Well, we've got some good news for you. In our latest article, we're diving into the world of 1440p 120Hz monitors. From high-refresh rate gaming to ultra-smooth streaming, these monitors offer a viewing experience that's simply jaw-dropping. So buckle up and get ready to upgrade your screen time with us!
The Top 9 Best 1440p 120hz Monitors
- ASUS TUF Gaming 27" Curved Monitor: High-Speed Performance and Immersive Gameplay - Elevate your gaming experience with the Asus TUF Gaming VG27WQ1B 27" Curved Monitor, offering seamless performance and cutting-edge technology for immersive gameplay.
- 32-inch LG QHD IPS Monitor with HDR 10 - The LG 32QN600-B provides lifelike color, enhanced contrast, and clear visuals for a versatile and sleek gaming monitor with features like AMD FreeSync, Dynamic Action Sync, and Black Stabilizer for unmatched gameplay experiences.
- ViewSonic 1440p 165Hz Gaming Monitor - The ViewSonic Omni VX2728J-2K delivers a seamless, fluid gaming experience with its 1440p resolution, 165Hz refresh rate, 0.5ms response time, and AMD FreeSync Premium technology, perfect for immersive gaming adventures and high-quality visuals.
- 34" Curved Gaming Monitor with 120Hz Refresh Rate - Experience breathtaking gaming with GIGABYTE's GS34WQC 34" Curved Gaming Monitor, boasting 120Hz refresh rate, 1ms response time, a wide color gamut, and versatile connectivity options - the perfect companion for high-performance gaming setup.
- LG 24" QHD FreeSync Gaming Monitor with HDR and Wide Viewing Angles - Experience lifelike colors and stunning detail with the LG 24" QHD FreeSync Monitor, perfect for work, gaming, and multimedia with its virtually borderless screen, AMD FreeSync support, and customizable on-screen controls.
- MSI Curved Gaming Monitor with 170Hz Refresh Rate - Embrace immersive gaming with the MSI G273CQ 27" Curved Monitor, featuring a remarkable 170Hz refresh rate, 1ms response time, and AMD FreeSync Premium for seamless, tear-free gameplay, providing the ultimate competitive edge for avid gamers.
- MSI 275CQRF-QD 27" WQHD Curved Speedy Gaming Monitor - Elevate your gaming experience with the 27'' MSI WQHD Curved Screen Gaming LCD Monitor, boasting a lightning-fast 170Hz refresh rate, 1ms response time, and stunning color vibrancy for seamless, high-definition gameplay.
- 27" QHD Gaming Monitor with 165Hz, 1ms, and RGB Lighting - RCA Evolution Select - Introducing the ultimate gaming experience with the RCA 27" Evolution Select QHD Gaming Monitor, featuring a lightning-fast 165Hz refresh rate, HDR10, and Adaptive Refresh Technology with 1ms response for smooth, immersive gameplay.
- LG 32GN600-B UltraGear 32" QHD 165Hz FreeSync Premium Gaming Monitor - Experience lightning-fast refresh rates, vibrant colors and smooth visuals with the LG 32GN600-B 32" UltraGear QHD 165Hz HDR10 Monitor, perfect for diehard gamers seeking to elevate their gaming experience.
Reviews
🔗ASUS TUF Gaming 27" Curved Monitor: High-Speed Performance and Immersive Gameplay
https://preview.redd.it/3ika0zdelw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7b93d01e4efc19d5a2f445967100dd9103425b7c
As a gaming enthusiast and tech reviewer, I've had the pleasure of trying out the ASUS TUF Gaming VG27WQ1B 27-inch Curved Monitor. The first thing that grabbed my attention was its sleek design and immersive 1500R curvature. The 2560x1440 resolution offers excellent visual clarity, while the ultrafast 165Hz refresh rate ensures smooth gameplay without any tearing or stuttering.
One of my favorite features of this monitor is its Adaptive-Sync (FreeSync Premium) technology, which synchronizes the refresh rate of the display with the frame rate output by the GPU, resulting in seamless and fluid gameplay. Additionally, the ASUS-exclusive ELMB (Extreme Low Motion Blur) technology reduces motion blur, providing much sharper and responsive gameplay.
Another feature that I absolutely love is the ASUS TUF Gaming VG27WQ1B's Shadow Boost technology. It enhances the visibility of dark areas on the screen without overexposing the brighter sections, creating a more enjoyable gaming experience. Moreover, this monitor comes equipped with GamePlus hotkeys, offering various in-game enhancements co-developed with pro gamers, allowing users to improve their gaming skills effectively.
However, there are a few downsides to this monitor as well. While setting it up was relatively easy, the menu system can be slightly confusing at first, as it may not be immediately clear what each setting does. Additionally, though the monitor does offer decent viewing angles, some colors appear distorted when viewed from extreme angles.
Overall, the ASUS TUF Gaming VG27WQ1B offers an excellent combination of performance and aesthetics, making it a great option for gamers and professionals alike. Its impressive list of features, including the curved display and Adaptive-Sync technology, make it worth considering for anyone seeking a high-quality gaming monitor.
🔗32-inch LG QHD IPS Monitor with HDR 10
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Well, my friends, let me tell you about the LG 32QN600-B monitor I've been using lately. It's a big, beautiful 32-inch screen, and it has made my work and play life so much more enjoyable. This monitor features QHD resolution and IPS technology, which makes my colors look incredibly realistic and vibrant, whether I'm editing photos, working on documents, or playing video games.
The HDR10 feature in this monitor allows me to experience a more dramatic and high-quality visual experience and picture quality by adding bright color coverage and wide color gamut support. One of the best things about this monitor is that it helps to maintain accurate color on the screen, preserving the original intended color of whatever it is I'm working on. And speaking of playing games, this monitor also comes with AMD FreeSync technology, which reduces image tearing and choppiness by syncing the monitor's refresh rate with my graphics card.
One of the features that has really stood out for me is Dynamic Action Sync, which helps me respond to action, opponents, and every moment in my games with minimal input lag and unbelievable performance. This has given me a real advantage in my favorite games like Call of Duty and Overwatch.
Another feature that's really come in handy is the Black Stabilizer, which allows me to see more detail in the darker areas of games, especially in games where visibility can be a crucial factor. This has helped me to spot enemy movements and react faster in game.
The design of this monitor is another big plus. It comes with an Edge-ArcLine stand that gives it a sleek and modern look while also making it easy to adjust the tilt for perfect viewing. And if you don't have enough space on your desk, you can always mount it on the wall.
But, of course, no product is perfect, and there were a few minor drawbacks that I encountered while using this monitor. For one, the build quality felt a little cheap, especially when compared to some of the other high-end monitors I've used in the past. In addition, the menu system was a little confusing at first, and it took me some time to figure out how to navigate through all the different options.
Overall, I would recommend the LG 32QN600-B monitor to anyone who is looking for a high-quality monitor that delivers excellent color accuracy, sharp image quality, and a fantastic gaming experience. It's not perfect, but it's definitely worth checking out. So if you're in the market for a new monitor, consider giving this one a try!
🔗ViewSonic 1440p 165Hz Gaming Monitor
https://preview.redd.it/jlelg34flw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c852b2614ce0ae1cd3191d8777355fb2cf8a441c
The ViewSonic VX2728J-2K is my go-to gaming monitor. I've been using it for a few months now, and I can't imagine playing without it. With a sleek design and vibrant colors, this monitor makes my games come alive.
One of my favorite features is the 165Hz refresh rate, which drastically reduces screen tearing and stuttering. Combined with the ultra-fast 0.5ms response time, it provides smooth gameplay even during intense action scenes.
Another standout feature for me is the flexible connectivity options. I can easily connect my dedicated graphics card and gaming console using DisplayPort and HDMI ports. It's impressive how seamless and vibrant my gaming experience becomes with this monitor.
While the setup process was straightforward and the stand looks immaculate, I did find that the ports were slightly limited. Additionally, the menu controls could have been more user-friendly. Despite these minor drawbacks, I am thoroughly impressed by the performance and visual quality of the ViewSonic VX2728J-2K.
Overall, I have no hesitation in recommending the ViewSonic VX2728J-2K to any gaming enthusiast looking for a high-quality monitor that delivers exceptional performance, seamless connectivity, and immersive visuals.
🔗34" Curved Gaming Monitor with 120Hz Refresh Rate
https://preview.redd.it/6mq0zhmflw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=31ffd1d8db740225d13e2a5e609edcaa730d849c
When I started using the GIGABYTE curve monitor, it added a whole new level of immersion to my gaming experience. The massive 34-inch display, coupled with the 1500R curve, envelops me into the game world like never before. With a 120Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time, I can effortlessly keep up with the fast-paced action in various genres, from first-person shooters to racing games.
One of the standout features is its spectacular color accuracy, boasting 120% sRGB, allowing the most vibrant and lifelike visuals. The monitor is compatible with VESA Wall Mount, so even if I don't have much desk space, I can still securely mount it on the wall.
Though I really appreciate its performance and design, the GIGABYTE monitor can be a little tricky to assemble, and its stand doesn't provide the sturdiest support. Nevertheless, these minor issues haven't hampered my gaming sessions.
Altogether, the GIGABYTE curve gaming monitor has significantly improved my gaming experience, offering an immersive, fluid, and visually stunning experience. If you're in the market for a high-quality monitor that truly stands out, the GIGABYTE curve monitor is a solid choice.
🔗LG 24" QHD FreeSync Gaming Monitor with HDR and Wide Viewing Angles
https://preview.redd.it/bh147z3ilw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1795f242cff3de7ff372f75a34a2eaab8fdaa81b
I've been using LG's 24" QHD FreeSync monitor, and I must say it's a game-changer for my daily work and play. The lifelike colors along with the sharp resolution make every image come alive, whether I'm editing photos or playing an intense game. The virtually borderless screen on three sides gives a truly immersive experience, and the AMD FreeSync technology keeps everything smooth and blur-free.
One thing that impressed me is the pro-level control and customization capabilities offered by the OnScreen control feature. It's a breeze to adjust settings and find the perfect balance for my needs. Plus, the blue light filter and flicker safe technologies ensure my eyes stay comfortable even during long usage sessions.
However, there are some downsides too. The mounting mechanism isn't the best, and I ended up needing a separate stand to secure the monitor properly. Additionally, the power supply being a wall wart could be inconvenient for some users.
Overall, this monitor delivers exceptional quality and performance for its price point. The combination of vibrant colors, high-resolution, and customizable controls makes it a versatile option for various uses, although the mount and power supply might need extra care.
🔗MSI Curved Gaming Monitor with 170Hz Refresh Rate
https://preview.redd.it/v3hl0cgilw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9d48ad5486b3ab9e15cf9bdc3e2720ceac34f738
As a fellow gamer, I recently had the chance to test out the MSI G273CQ Curved Gaming monitor and let me tell you, it's a game-changer! The first thing that caught my eye was its sleek design. The curved screen adds a certain immersion to gaming that traditional monitors lack.
One of the standout features for me was the 170Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time panel. These numbers might not mean much to non-gamers but trust me, they make a world of difference when it comes to smooth gameplay. It felt like I was playing on a higher-end PC, even though I was using the same old rig.
Another impressive feature is the AMD FreeSync Premium technology. This syncs the monitor's refresh rate with your GPU, effectively eliminating any screen tearing or stuttering. It's not something you can feel directly but believe me, once you've experienced it, there's no going back!
However, I did encounter a couple of issues. The first one was ghosting, which is quite disappointing for a gaming monitor. Games with high contrast areas, bright lighting sources, or dark shadows were particularly affected by this issue. Also, the mounting process could've been easier. It's stable once set up, but adjusting the height can be a bit cumbersome.
All in all, the MSI G273CQ Curved Gaming monitor is a solid choice for gamers looking to enhance their gaming experience. Its high refresh rate and response time make it perfect for fast-paced games, while the curved design provides an added level of immersion. Despite some minor flaws, I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a new gaming monitor.
🔗MSI 275CQRF-QD 27" WQHD Curved Speedy Gaming Monitor
https://preview.redd.it/v8ilm9vilw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6163becd39ed0744b1aed5451d7204b93f59e5e9
I've been using the MSI MAG 275CQRF-QD Curved Gaming monitor for a while now, and I must say, it's quite an impressive piece of hardware. The first thing that grabbed my attention was the immersive, curved 27" WQHD display. It provides such a detailed and immersive viewing experience that I often find myself getting lost in whatever I'm playing or watching.
One feature I found particularly amazing is the 170Hz refresh rate. It ensures smooth gameplay without any screen tearing or choppy frame rates, giving me a competitive edge over other players. Another highlight for me was the 1ms response time, which significantly reduces motion blur and ghosting, making fast-paced games feel incredibly responsive.
There are some minor cons though. The panel has moderate ghosting and backlight bleed, which is expected for VA panels in this price range. However, if you're not sensitive to these issues or prefer the advantages of a curved monitor, it's definitely worth considering. Additionally, the stand is a bit bulky, but it doesn't interfere with the overall aesthetics of the monitor.
Overall, I'm very satisfied with this monitor. It ticks all the boxes for a high-quality gaming experience and doesn't break the bank. If you're in the market for a reliable curved gaming monitor, the MSI MAG 275CQRF-QD should be at the top of your list.
🔗27" QHD Gaming Monitor with 165Hz, 1ms, and RGB Lighting - RCA Evolution Select
https://preview.redd.it/y4tbx9cjlw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e5c6693a0bcce6d2a2137c0ae23b6d1937267e17
I finally got my hands on the RCA Evolution Select gaming monitor, and it's been nothing less than a game-changer for me. As someone who enjoys both gaming and work, this monitor has become a staple in my everyday routine.
One of the most notable features of this monitor is its rapid 165Hz refresh rate. This provides an incredibly smooth gameplay experience, making it feel as though you're in the game itself. The RGB lighting and built-in speakers further enhance the immersive gaming atmosphere by providing not only visual flair but also immersive sound.
However, there are a couple of minor drawbacks. The first being that the monitor doesn't have a built-in webcam or TV tuner, which might be important to some users. Additionally, the power consumption could be a concern for those who are energy-conscious.
Overall, the RCA Evolution Select gaming monitor offers a beautiful blend of speed, visual flair, and immersive sound, making it a perfect addition to anyone's gaming setup.
🔗LG 32GN600-B UltraGear 32" QHD 165Hz FreeSync Premium Gaming Monitor
https://preview.redd.it/nvd8yyrjlw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eb173b6bc3e29e9d2def0e865fcba5bc9e6720cb
As a tech enthusiast, I've always been on the lookout for high-performance gaming monitors. The LG UltraGear monitor was one of my top picks. With its 31.5-inch QHD display and impressive 165Hz refresh rate, the picture quality was incredibly immersive. Add in the AMD FreeSync Premium feature, which helped eliminate screen tearing and stuttering, and my gaming sessions became smoother than ever before.
One of the highlights of this monitor is its 1ms MBR response time. It made all the difference in fast-paced games. Obstacles and opponents appeared almost instantaneously, giving me the upper hand in intense firefights. The screen also supports HDR10, ensuring that colors were rich and contrasts were stark, making the overall visual experience incredibly immersive.
However, while its performance was commendable, setting up the monitor wasn't as straightforward as I would have liked. The on-screen display and menu options were a bit cluttered, making it slightly difficult to find specific settings. But once everything was set up, it was smooth sailing.
In conclusion, if you're a serious gamer looking for a monitor that can keep up with your fast-paced games, the LG UltraGear monitor is definitely worth considering. Its high-refresh-rate, quick response time, and vibrant visuals make it an excellent addition to any gaming setup.
Buyer's Guide
None
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FAQ
What does 1440p mean?
1440p, also known as QHD (Quad HD), is a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels. It offers a balance between high image quality and performance by offering four times the number of pixels as a 720p display.
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What is the difference between a 60Hz monitor and a 120Hz monitor?
The refresh rate of a monitor determines how often it updates the image on the screen per second. A 60Hz monitor refreshes at 60Hz or 60 times per second, while a 120Hz monitor refreshes at 120Hz or 120 times per second. Higher refresh rates can potentially lead to smoother gameplay and less motion blur.What is the optimal distance for using a 1440p 120Hz monitor?
The optimal distance for using a 1440p 120Hz monitor depends on the monitor's size and individual preferences. Generally, sitting at a distance equal to 1-2 times the screen's diagonal length is recommended for 27-inch monitors. At this distance, the viewer can appreciate the improved image quality while maintaining comfortable eye strain levels.
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What is adaptive sync technology and is it necessary for a 1440p 120Hz monitor?
Adaptive sync is a display technology designed to sync the monitor's refresh rate with the video card's output to reduce screen tearing and stuttering. There are two main types of adaptive sync: NVIDIA's G-Sync and AMD's FreeSync. While it is not necessary to have adaptive sync, having one of these technologies can enhance your overall gaming experience with a 1440p 120Hz monitor by providing smoother visuals and less image tearing.Why is 1440p preferred over 4K for gaming and what are the trade-offs?
1440p is often preferred over 4K for gaming due to its lower hardware requirements, allowing for higher frame rates and smoother gameplay. However, this comes at the expense of less detailed textures and effects compared to 4K. Additionally, 1440p monitors are generally more affordable and have more available options in the market.
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What are the benefits of having a 1440p 120Hz monitor?
- Improved image quality compared to lower resolutions
- Smoother gameplay and less motion blur due to the higher refresh rate
- Compatibility with adaptive sync technologies for even smoother performance
- Wider availability of options compared to 4K monitors
How essential is a 1440p 120Hz monitor for a gaming setup?
The importance of a 1440p 120Hz monitor for a gaming setup depends on individual preferences and budget constraints. For those seeking a balance between high image quality and performance, a 1440p 120Hz monitor can be an excellent choice. However, some users may prioritize other factors such as screen size or response time, making alternative monitor options more suitable for their needs.What kind of video card do I need to support a 1440p 120Hz monitor?
To fully enjoy the benefits of a 1440p 120Hz monitor, a high-end video card capable of running modern games at or near 120Hz is recommended. Generally, NVIDIA's GTX 1660 or AMD's RX 5600 or higher are suitable options, although requirements may vary depending on specific game titles and individual graphical settings preferences.Are there any downsides to using a 1440p 120Hz monitor for work purposes?
While a 1440p 120Hz monitor can provide a comfortable and enjoyable work environment with its high image quality and smooth scrolling, it may not be as cost-effective as lower-resolution options. Additionally, some work applications may not utilize the full potential of a high-refresh-rate monitor, making it less efficient compared to a standard 60Hz monitor for work-specific tasks.How do I choose the best 1440p 120Hz monitor for my needs?
To choose the best 1440p 120Hz monitor for your needs, consider factors such as panel type (TN, IPS, or VA), refresh rate, response time, adaptive sync technology, size, and price. Take time to research different models and read online reviews to determine which monitor best aligns with your preferences and budget.Are there any potential issues with using a 1440p 120Hz monitor with an older or lower-end PC?
While a 1440p 120Hz monitor can still provide benefits like improved image quality and smoother scrolling on older or lower-end PCs, it may not consistently achieve the desired high frame rates for optimal gaming performance. It is essential to ensure that your PC's hardware, including the CPU, GPU, RAM, and storage, can handle the demands of running at higher resolutions and refresh rates to ensure a satisfactory experience.As an Amazon™ Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
2024.06.01 08:23 GhoulGriin Best 1440p 120hz Monitors
 | submitted by GhoulGriin to u/GhoulGriin [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/gi24vfsdlw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=85bf1d44b3218f4ff7f5f33e6673f0299c0c8915 Hello tech enthusiasts! Are you tired of seeing pixels on your monitor? Looking for a smoother, cleaner display? Well, we've got some good news for you. In our latest article, we're diving into the world of 1440p 120Hz monitors. From high-refresh rate gaming to ultra-smooth streaming, these monitors offer a viewing experience that's simply jaw-dropping. So buckle up and get ready to upgrade your screen time with us! The Top 9 Best 1440p 120hz Monitors
Reviews🔗ASUS TUF Gaming 27" Curved Monitor: High-Speed Performance and Immersive Gameplayhttps://preview.redd.it/3ika0zdelw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7b93d01e4efc19d5a2f445967100dd9103425b7c As a gaming enthusiast and tech reviewer, I've had the pleasure of trying out the ASUS TUF Gaming VG27WQ1B 27-inch Curved Monitor. The first thing that grabbed my attention was its sleek design and immersive 1500R curvature. The 2560x1440 resolution offers excellent visual clarity, while the ultrafast 165Hz refresh rate ensures smooth gameplay without any tearing or stuttering. One of my favorite features of this monitor is its Adaptive-Sync (FreeSync Premium) technology, which synchronizes the refresh rate of the display with the frame rate output by the GPU, resulting in seamless and fluid gameplay. Additionally, the ASUS-exclusive ELMB (Extreme Low Motion Blur) technology reduces motion blur, providing much sharper and responsive gameplay. Another feature that I absolutely love is the ASUS TUF Gaming VG27WQ1B's Shadow Boost technology. It enhances the visibility of dark areas on the screen without overexposing the brighter sections, creating a more enjoyable gaming experience. Moreover, this monitor comes equipped with GamePlus hotkeys, offering various in-game enhancements co-developed with pro gamers, allowing users to improve their gaming skills effectively. However, there are a few downsides to this monitor as well. While setting it up was relatively easy, the menu system can be slightly confusing at first, as it may not be immediately clear what each setting does. Additionally, though the monitor does offer decent viewing angles, some colors appear distorted when viewed from extreme angles. Overall, the ASUS TUF Gaming VG27WQ1B offers an excellent combination of performance and aesthetics, making it a great option for gamers and professionals alike. Its impressive list of features, including the curved display and Adaptive-Sync technology, make it worth considering for anyone seeking a high-quality gaming monitor. 🔗32-inch LG QHD IPS Monitor with HDR 10https://preview.redd.it/89imjjpelw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=63c6fd9ec57986ec3f73ab336fee0c99fa509bf3 Well, my friends, let me tell you about the LG 32QN600-B monitor I've been using lately. It's a big, beautiful 32-inch screen, and it has made my work and play life so much more enjoyable. This monitor features QHD resolution and IPS technology, which makes my colors look incredibly realistic and vibrant, whether I'm editing photos, working on documents, or playing video games. The HDR10 feature in this monitor allows me to experience a more dramatic and high-quality visual experience and picture quality by adding bright color coverage and wide color gamut support. One of the best things about this monitor is that it helps to maintain accurate color on the screen, preserving the original intended color of whatever it is I'm working on. And speaking of playing games, this monitor also comes with AMD FreeSync technology, which reduces image tearing and choppiness by syncing the monitor's refresh rate with my graphics card. One of the features that has really stood out for me is Dynamic Action Sync, which helps me respond to action, opponents, and every moment in my games with minimal input lag and unbelievable performance. This has given me a real advantage in my favorite games like Call of Duty and Overwatch. Another feature that's really come in handy is the Black Stabilizer, which allows me to see more detail in the darker areas of games, especially in games where visibility can be a crucial factor. This has helped me to spot enemy movements and react faster in game. The design of this monitor is another big plus. It comes with an Edge-ArcLine stand that gives it a sleek and modern look while also making it easy to adjust the tilt for perfect viewing. And if you don't have enough space on your desk, you can always mount it on the wall. But, of course, no product is perfect, and there were a few minor drawbacks that I encountered while using this monitor. For one, the build quality felt a little cheap, especially when compared to some of the other high-end monitors I've used in the past. In addition, the menu system was a little confusing at first, and it took me some time to figure out how to navigate through all the different options. Overall, I would recommend the LG 32QN600-B monitor to anyone who is looking for a high-quality monitor that delivers excellent color accuracy, sharp image quality, and a fantastic gaming experience. It's not perfect, but it's definitely worth checking out. So if you're in the market for a new monitor, consider giving this one a try! 🔗ViewSonic 1440p 165Hz Gaming Monitorhttps://preview.redd.it/jlelg34flw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c852b2614ce0ae1cd3191d8777355fb2cf8a441c The ViewSonic VX2728J-2K is my go-to gaming monitor. I've been using it for a few months now, and I can't imagine playing without it. With a sleek design and vibrant colors, this monitor makes my games come alive. One of my favorite features is the 165Hz refresh rate, which drastically reduces screen tearing and stuttering. Combined with the ultra-fast 0.5ms response time, it provides smooth gameplay even during intense action scenes. Another standout feature for me is the flexible connectivity options. I can easily connect my dedicated graphics card and gaming console using DisplayPort and HDMI ports. It's impressive how seamless and vibrant my gaming experience becomes with this monitor. While the setup process was straightforward and the stand looks immaculate, I did find that the ports were slightly limited. Additionally, the menu controls could have been more user-friendly. Despite these minor drawbacks, I am thoroughly impressed by the performance and visual quality of the ViewSonic VX2728J-2K. Overall, I have no hesitation in recommending the ViewSonic VX2728J-2K to any gaming enthusiast looking for a high-quality monitor that delivers exceptional performance, seamless connectivity, and immersive visuals. 🔗34" Curved Gaming Monitor with 120Hz Refresh Ratehttps://preview.redd.it/6mq0zhmflw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=31ffd1d8db740225d13e2a5e609edcaa730d849c When I started using the GIGABYTE curve monitor, it added a whole new level of immersion to my gaming experience. The massive 34-inch display, coupled with the 1500R curve, envelops me into the game world like never before. With a 120Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time, I can effortlessly keep up with the fast-paced action in various genres, from first-person shooters to racing games. One of the standout features is its spectacular color accuracy, boasting 120% sRGB, allowing the most vibrant and lifelike visuals. The monitor is compatible with VESA Wall Mount, so even if I don't have much desk space, I can still securely mount it on the wall. Though I really appreciate its performance and design, the GIGABYTE monitor can be a little tricky to assemble, and its stand doesn't provide the sturdiest support. Nevertheless, these minor issues haven't hampered my gaming sessions. Altogether, the GIGABYTE curve gaming monitor has significantly improved my gaming experience, offering an immersive, fluid, and visually stunning experience. If you're in the market for a high-quality monitor that truly stands out, the GIGABYTE curve monitor is a solid choice. 🔗LG 24" QHD FreeSync Gaming Monitor with HDR and Wide Viewing Angleshttps://preview.redd.it/bh147z3ilw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1795f242cff3de7ff372f75a34a2eaab8fdaa81b I've been using LG's 24" QHD FreeSync monitor, and I must say it's a game-changer for my daily work and play. The lifelike colors along with the sharp resolution make every image come alive, whether I'm editing photos or playing an intense game. The virtually borderless screen on three sides gives a truly immersive experience, and the AMD FreeSync technology keeps everything smooth and blur-free. One thing that impressed me is the pro-level control and customization capabilities offered by the OnScreen control feature. It's a breeze to adjust settings and find the perfect balance for my needs. Plus, the blue light filter and flicker safe technologies ensure my eyes stay comfortable even during long usage sessions. However, there are some downsides too. The mounting mechanism isn't the best, and I ended up needing a separate stand to secure the monitor properly. Additionally, the power supply being a wall wart could be inconvenient for some users. Overall, this monitor delivers exceptional quality and performance for its price point. The combination of vibrant colors, high-resolution, and customizable controls makes it a versatile option for various uses, although the mount and power supply might need extra care. 🔗MSI Curved Gaming Monitor with 170Hz Refresh Ratehttps://preview.redd.it/v3hl0cgilw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9d48ad5486b3ab9e15cf9bdc3e2720ceac34f738 As a fellow gamer, I recently had the chance to test out the MSI G273CQ Curved Gaming monitor and let me tell you, it's a game-changer! The first thing that caught my eye was its sleek design. The curved screen adds a certain immersion to gaming that traditional monitors lack. One of the standout features for me was the 170Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time panel. These numbers might not mean much to non-gamers but trust me, they make a world of difference when it comes to smooth gameplay. It felt like I was playing on a higher-end PC, even though I was using the same old rig. Another impressive feature is the AMD FreeSync Premium technology. This syncs the monitor's refresh rate with your GPU, effectively eliminating any screen tearing or stuttering. It's not something you can feel directly but believe me, once you've experienced it, there's no going back! However, I did encounter a couple of issues. The first one was ghosting, which is quite disappointing for a gaming monitor. Games with high contrast areas, bright lighting sources, or dark shadows were particularly affected by this issue. Also, the mounting process could've been easier. It's stable once set up, but adjusting the height can be a bit cumbersome. All in all, the MSI G273CQ Curved Gaming monitor is a solid choice for gamers looking to enhance their gaming experience. Its high refresh rate and response time make it perfect for fast-paced games, while the curved design provides an added level of immersion. Despite some minor flaws, I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a new gaming monitor. 🔗MSI 275CQRF-QD 27" WQHD Curved Speedy Gaming Monitorhttps://preview.redd.it/v8ilm9vilw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6163becd39ed0744b1aed5451d7204b93f59e5e9 I've been using the MSI MAG 275CQRF-QD Curved Gaming monitor for a while now, and I must say, it's quite an impressive piece of hardware. The first thing that grabbed my attention was the immersive, curved 27" WQHD display. It provides such a detailed and immersive viewing experience that I often find myself getting lost in whatever I'm playing or watching. One feature I found particularly amazing is the 170Hz refresh rate. It ensures smooth gameplay without any screen tearing or choppy frame rates, giving me a competitive edge over other players. Another highlight for me was the 1ms response time, which significantly reduces motion blur and ghosting, making fast-paced games feel incredibly responsive. There are some minor cons though. The panel has moderate ghosting and backlight bleed, which is expected for VA panels in this price range. However, if you're not sensitive to these issues or prefer the advantages of a curved monitor, it's definitely worth considering. Additionally, the stand is a bit bulky, but it doesn't interfere with the overall aesthetics of the monitor. Overall, I'm very satisfied with this monitor. It ticks all the boxes for a high-quality gaming experience and doesn't break the bank. If you're in the market for a reliable curved gaming monitor, the MSI MAG 275CQRF-QD should be at the top of your list. 🔗27" QHD Gaming Monitor with 165Hz, 1ms, and RGB Lighting - RCA Evolution Selecthttps://preview.redd.it/y4tbx9cjlw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e5c6693a0bcce6d2a2137c0ae23b6d1937267e17 I finally got my hands on the RCA Evolution Select gaming monitor, and it's been nothing less than a game-changer for me. As someone who enjoys both gaming and work, this monitor has become a staple in my everyday routine. One of the most notable features of this monitor is its rapid 165Hz refresh rate. This provides an incredibly smooth gameplay experience, making it feel as though you're in the game itself. The RGB lighting and built-in speakers further enhance the immersive gaming atmosphere by providing not only visual flair but also immersive sound. However, there are a couple of minor drawbacks. The first being that the monitor doesn't have a built-in webcam or TV tuner, which might be important to some users. Additionally, the power consumption could be a concern for those who are energy-conscious. Overall, the RCA Evolution Select gaming monitor offers a beautiful blend of speed, visual flair, and immersive sound, making it a perfect addition to anyone's gaming setup. 🔗LG 32GN600-B UltraGear 32" QHD 165Hz FreeSync Premium Gaming Monitorhttps://preview.redd.it/nvd8yyrjlw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eb173b6bc3e29e9d2def0e865fcba5bc9e6720cb As a tech enthusiast, I've always been on the lookout for high-performance gaming monitors. The LG UltraGear monitor was one of my top picks. With its 31.5-inch QHD display and impressive 165Hz refresh rate, the picture quality was incredibly immersive. Add in the AMD FreeSync Premium feature, which helped eliminate screen tearing and stuttering, and my gaming sessions became smoother than ever before. One of the highlights of this monitor is its 1ms MBR response time. It made all the difference in fast-paced games. Obstacles and opponents appeared almost instantaneously, giving me the upper hand in intense firefights. The screen also supports HDR10, ensuring that colors were rich and contrasts were stark, making the overall visual experience incredibly immersive. However, while its performance was commendable, setting up the monitor wasn't as straightforward as I would have liked. The on-screen display and menu options were a bit cluttered, making it slightly difficult to find specific settings. But once everything was set up, it was smooth sailing. In conclusion, if you're a serious gamer looking for a monitor that can keep up with your fast-paced games, the LG UltraGear monitor is definitely worth considering. Its high-refresh-rate, quick response time, and vibrant visuals make it an excellent addition to any gaming setup. Buyer's GuideNone https://preview.redd.it/g1cg6f8klw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1af3549fc01da057470c1654159258fc3919e7b3 FAQWhat does 1440p mean?1440p, also known as QHD (Quad HD), is a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels. It offers a balance between high image quality and performance by offering four times the number of pixels as a 720p display. https://preview.redd.it/vxlhkqnklw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4a8c2f7ba0ecce1ad4fe3534306344f513d06f59 What is the difference between a 60Hz monitor and a 120Hz monitor?The refresh rate of a monitor determines how often it updates the image on the screen per second. A 60Hz monitor refreshes at 60Hz or 60 times per second, while a 120Hz monitor refreshes at 120Hz or 120 times per second. Higher refresh rates can potentially lead to smoother gameplay and less motion blur.What is the optimal distance for using a 1440p 120Hz monitor?The optimal distance for using a 1440p 120Hz monitor depends on the monitor's size and individual preferences. Generally, sitting at a distance equal to 1-2 times the screen's diagonal length is recommended for 27-inch monitors. At this distance, the viewer can appreciate the improved image quality while maintaining comfortable eye strain levels. https://preview.redd.it/l173sgyklw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e85a6537aa6969e13b9ae71be9863de24edd2ef2 What is adaptive sync technology and is it necessary for a 1440p 120Hz monitor?Adaptive sync is a display technology designed to sync the monitor's refresh rate with the video card's output to reduce screen tearing and stuttering. There are two main types of adaptive sync: NVIDIA's G-Sync and AMD's FreeSync. While it is not necessary to have adaptive sync, having one of these technologies can enhance your overall gaming experience with a 1440p 120Hz monitor by providing smoother visuals and less image tearing.Why is 1440p preferred over 4K for gaming and what are the trade-offs?1440p is often preferred over 4K for gaming due to its lower hardware requirements, allowing for higher frame rates and smoother gameplay. However, this comes at the expense of less detailed textures and effects compared to 4K. Additionally, 1440p monitors are generally more affordable and have more available options in the market. https://preview.redd.it/2yljgodllw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7e6a1a5ed27b2eef249c2e21eab1ee5453e88a36 What are the benefits of having a 1440p 120Hz monitor?
How essential is a 1440p 120Hz monitor for a gaming setup?The importance of a 1440p 120Hz monitor for a gaming setup depends on individual preferences and budget constraints. For those seeking a balance between high image quality and performance, a 1440p 120Hz monitor can be an excellent choice. However, some users may prioritize other factors such as screen size or response time, making alternative monitor options more suitable for their needs.What kind of video card do I need to support a 1440p 120Hz monitor?To fully enjoy the benefits of a 1440p 120Hz monitor, a high-end video card capable of running modern games at or near 120Hz is recommended. Generally, NVIDIA's GTX 1660 or AMD's RX 5600 or higher are suitable options, although requirements may vary depending on specific game titles and individual graphical settings preferences.Are there any downsides to using a 1440p 120Hz monitor for work purposes?While a 1440p 120Hz monitor can provide a comfortable and enjoyable work environment with its high image quality and smooth scrolling, it may not be as cost-effective as lower-resolution options. Additionally, some work applications may not utilize the full potential of a high-refresh-rate monitor, making it less efficient compared to a standard 60Hz monitor for work-specific tasks.How do I choose the best 1440p 120Hz monitor for my needs?To choose the best 1440p 120Hz monitor for your needs, consider factors such as panel type (TN, IPS, or VA), refresh rate, response time, adaptive sync technology, size, and price. Take time to research different models and read online reviews to determine which monitor best aligns with your preferences and budget.Are there any potential issues with using a 1440p 120Hz monitor with an older or lower-end PC?While a 1440p 120Hz monitor can still provide benefits like improved image quality and smoother scrolling on older or lower-end PCs, it may not consistently achieve the desired high frame rates for optimal gaming performance. It is essential to ensure that your PC's hardware, including the CPU, GPU, RAM, and storage, can handle the demands of running at higher resolutions and refresh rates to ensure a satisfactory experience.As an Amazon™ Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. |
2024.06.01 08:12 Stage-Piercing727 Best 1080p 144hz Monitors
 | submitted by Stage-Piercing727 to u/Stage-Piercing727 [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/li720k5ljw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b69fd17ba8e24c8be999fdd6aa0a945c18586f7e Get ready to immerse yourself in stunning visuals with our roundup of the best 1080p 144hz monitors. These high-performance displays offer smooth, stutter-free gaming and high-quality video playback for an unparalleled viewing experience. Explore our handpicked selection and discover the perfect monitor for your needs. The Top 6 Best 1080p 144hz Monitors
Reviews🔗Lenovo G27e-20 Gaming Monitor: High-Performance 27-inch FHD Display with AMD FreeSync Technology for Enhanced Gaming Experiencehttps://preview.redd.it/cc6wy35mjw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=67d448ceef60d2f618785fa3742a7b323d281518 The Lenovo G27e-20 gaming monitor is an impressive addition to any gaming setup. With its large 27-inch display and 1920 x 1080 Full-HD resolution, this monitor is ideal for both work and play. The 100Hz refresh rate (120Hz overclock) and 1ms response time ensure smooth gameplay and stunning visuals. One of the standout features of this monitor is the AMD FreeSync Premium technology, which eliminates screen tearing and stuttering for a more immersive gaming experience. The Natural Low Blue Light technology also helps reduce eye strain and fatigue, making it perfect for long gaming sessions. Setting up the monitor was a breeze, and the Lenovo Artery Software allows for easy adjustments to display performance and game-based settings. While the screen resolution could be higher for the size, the Lenovo G27e-20 offers excellent value for money and is a great choice for both casual and serious gamers. Overall, this monitor is a must-have for anyone looking to elevate their gaming experience. 🔗Fast, G-SYNC Compatible Gaming Monitor: ASUS VG248QG with 144Hz and Zero Laghttps://preview.redd.it/mjkc1vjmjw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5b926e99d191462e8ee8909144fb4d0ea15dafca As a gaming enthusiast, I was excited to try out the ASUS VG248QG Gaming Monitor. With its impressive 165Hz refresh rate and 0.5ms response time, I was curious to see if it could truly enhance my gaming experience. Upon setting up the monitor, I was impressed by its sleek design and easy setup process. The HDMI port allowed me to easily connect it to my gaming system, and it was quick to switch between games and movies without any issues. One of the standout features for me was the NVIDIA G-SYNC technology, which significantly reduced response time and provided a smoother gaming experience. I noticed a significant improvement in my reaction times during fast-paced games like COD, and the monitor definitely made me feel more immersed in the action. However, there were a few drawbacks as well. The monitor's relatively low resolution of 1080p was noticeable when playing high-quality games or movies, and the lack of advanced color settings left me wanting for more customization options. Additionally, some users have reported screen tearing issues, which can be frustrating during intense gaming sessions. Overall, the ASUS VG248QG Gaming Monitor is a great option for budget-conscious gamers who are looking for a monitor with a fast refresh rate and enhanced reaction times. While it may not be the perfect monitor for everyone, its solid performance and user-friendly features make it a worthwhile investment for those looking to upgrade their gaming setup. 🔗Immersive 49" Curved 144Hz Gaming Monitor with HDR and FreeSync 2 Technologyhttps://preview.redd.it/jf45xn5njw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e954f33ac5ca3ac97af992540703118ec751ddfb This ASUS ROG Strix gaming monitor is my go-to when I'm in the mood for an immersive gaming experience. The 49-inch curved display provides a wide-ranging view, and the multiple HDR settings adapt to gaming or video creation with ease. The 144Hz refresh rate ensures seamless visuals with zero lag, while the FreeSync 2 technology enhances contrast and brightness. Though I encountered some minor issues, I can't deny the overall quality of this monitor. The bright display and good color quality make it a great choice for gaming or watching movies. The build quality is impressive, as it is sturdy and durable. One drawback, however, is the possibility of dead pixels, which can ruin the experience for some users. Additionally, the setup process could have been smoother, as I found the menus a bit difficult to navigate. In conclusion, the ASUS ROG Strix gaming monitor is a solid choice for gamers and movie enthusiasts alike, offering a plethora of features and a high-quality display. Just be prepared to tackle a few minor issues during setup and usage. 🔗Asus TUF Gaming Monitor: 23.8" Full HD, 165Hz, IPS Display for Seamless Gaminghttps://preview.redd.it/mbqpk4enjw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b983b5c5cb6d364bce4061f23e0848985306efe0 The Asus TUF Gaming VG249Q1R is a 23.8-inch gaming monitor with a Full HD resolution and an ultrafast 165Hz refresh rate. I've been using this monitor in my daily gaming routine, and it has been a game-changer for my experience. The Adaptive-Sync (FreeSync Premium) technology ensures that gameplay is smooth and free of any stutters or tearing. The shadow boost feature automatically brightens dark areas, allowing me to spot enemies hidden in shaded areas on the map more easily. The ASUS-Exclusive GamePlus hotkeys have also been quite helpful, as they enhance my in-game experience by providing additional features. One of the standout features of this monitor is its rich connectivity options, with DisplayPort1.2 and HDMI (v1.4) ports available. The built-in speakers also provide good sound quality, although I rarely rely on them. The anti-glare/matte finish is practical, and I appreciate the anti-dead pixel guarantee. While the mounting hole pattern may seem a bit odd, it hasn't caused any issues for me. The weight of the monitor is decent and not too heavy to move around. However, the tilt adjustment range could be a bit wider to provide more flexibility. Overall, the Asus TUF Gaming VG249Q1R has been a great addition to my gaming setup. It offers excellent performance, a smooth gaming experience, and impressive sound quality. The only drawback is the limited tilt adjustment range, but that's a minor issue compared to the overall great value this monitor provides. 🔗Curved Frameless 32" Gaming Monitor with 144hz FHD Resolution and AMD FreeSynchttps://preview.redd.it/l7k0xfwnjw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9947d43a1a513e4f4cb4bd2b9f3548917ab964b8 When I first set up my AOC G2 series gaming monitor, the set-up process was effortless and clear. The screen itself is a sight to behold - the vivid colors seemed to pop out of the monitor, and it felt as if I was literally immersed in the gaming world. The 1500R curved panel really did feel like having these games right in front of me. This monitor does offer a smooth gameplay experience - the 165Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time certainly did their part. However, I did notice a small issue - the AMD FreeSync Premium feature didn't seem as smooth as I had hoped, perhaps it's a minor quirk. Nonetheless, it wasn't enough to distract from the overall experience. As for the aesthetics, the frameless design adds a sleek minimalistic touch. Though the monitor is a heavy piece, it feels solid and well-built. The height adjustable stand helps in positioning the monitor to an optimum viewing angle. Moreover, the monitor does not disappoint when it comes to audio either - the built-in speakers do a fine job. In terms of connectivity options, I initially missed having more than two HDMI ports, but thankfully, my HDMI splitter came to the rescue. My only minor complaint is perhaps the weight of the monitor, but that's a small price to pay for such an exceptional gaming experience. All in all, this AOC gaming monitor has been serving me incredibly well, and I can confidently give it a thumbs-up in this review. 🔗Fluid, Vibrant 23.8" 165Hz IPS Gaming Monitorhttps://preview.redd.it/qm7dru7ojw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=424690f4d919c0ac6873d48b8262f16eadea2cdd The Gigabyte G24F 2 gaming monitor is an excellent choice for gamers looking for a budget-friendly yet high-quality option. The 23.8-inch Full HD display offers vibrant colors and wide viewing angles, making it ideal for playing games. The 165Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time ensure smooth and fast gameplay, while the SS IPS panel provides a crisp image. The monitor also comes with a sleek design and slim bezels, making it perfect for any gaming setup. The connectivity options are varied, with 2x HDMI 2.0, 1x Displayport 1.2 (HDR Ready), and 3x USB 3.2 Gen 1 available. The monitor is also VESA Wall Mount Compatible, offering flexibility in its placement. Overall, the G24F 2 offers great value for its price and is a solid choice for gamers seeking a reliable and immersive display. Buyer's GuideBefore diving into purchasing a 1080p 144hz monitor, it is essential to understand what these specifications mean and how they will affect your experience. In this section, we will discuss essential features and considerations that come with these monitors.Resolution1080p (Full HD) is the standard resolution for high-definition monitors. It offers a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, which is enough for gaming, watching movies, and working on graphics-intensive projects. However, if you need a higher resolution, consider looking into 1440p or 4K monitors. https://preview.redd.it/hx2xqesojw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=259d7bd30937758c66990ee290e2231d27bf5288 Refresh RateThe refresh rate determines how smoothly the images on your screen update per second (measured in Hertz). A 144Hz monitor has a refresh rate of 144 times per second, significantly reducing the screen tearing, lag, and ghosting that often occur in fast-paced games or action-packed movies. This results in a more immersive gaming experience and improved productivity.Panel TypeThere are various panel types available, including IPS, TN, and VA. Each type has its pros and cons, such as color accuracy, viewing angle, response time, and contrast ratio. IPS panels typically offer the best color accuracy, but they may have slow response times and lower contrast ratios. TN panels are known for their low response times and good contrast ratios but have limited viewing angles. VA panels strike a balance between color accuracy, response time, and contrast ratio.Response TimeResponse time measures how long it takes for a pixel to change color from one shade to another. A lower response time results in smoother motion and fewer ghosting effects. Most 144Hz monitors have a response time of 5ms, but there are models with faster (4ms) or slower (7ms) response times. https://preview.redd.it/6vms0t5pjw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=90ff705e8d2f389a4ff6ea3d3a9976fa4d31a8cc Color Accuracy and GamutColor accuracy and gamut are essential features for professional graphic designers and gamers. Look for monitors with accurate sRGB color space coverage, high color accuracy (Delta E < 3), and wide color gamut (at least 99% coverage of sRGB). This will ensure that your creations and games look as vibrant and accurate as possible.Connectivity and PortsA 1080p 144hz monitor should have at least one HDMI port and one DisplayPort, which are used for high-speed signal transmission. Additionally, some monitors come with USB ports for accessories and charging.Stand and ErgonomicsA good monitor stand should be adjustable in height, tilt, and rotation. This allows you to customize the viewing angle to your preferences and reduces the strain on your neck during long periods of use. Look for monitors with a sturdy and flexible stand that can easily accommodate different ergonomic positions. https://preview.redd.it/oj7dzejpjw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d737a90accdf15802107acdd2d5449e1b9304d5b Size and WeightWhen purchasing a monitor, consider the size and weight of the device. A larger monitor may provide a more immersive experience, but it also takes up more desk space. A monitor's dimensions are measured in inches, which can be easily converted to centimeters. The weight is another factor to consider, as heavier displays might require additional support or a strong stand. Check the specifications provided by the manufacturer to help make a well-informed decision.Screen Ratio and Aspect RatioThe screen ratio (also known as the aspect ratio) describes the relationship between the width and height of the screen. The most common aspect ratios are 4:3, 16:9, and 16:10. 16:9 or 16:10 aspect ratios are preferred for gaming and watching media, as they provide a more immersive experience and better compatibility with modern content.FAQhttps://preview.redd.it/i9en3hzpjw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e1e35a0c4f7597850dc05fa85d370a0d09605d13 What are 1080p 144hz Monitors?1080p 144Hz monitors are gaming displays that offer high refresh rates and full HD resolution. The "1080p" refers to the monitor's resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, while the "144Hz" denotes the refresh rate, which measures the number of times the image on the screen updates per second.What are the benefits of using a 1080p 144hz Monitor?Using a 1080p 144Hz monitor provides several advantages: smoother gameplay with reduced motion blur, faster response times, and a more immersive visual experience. This is particularly beneficial for competitive gamers, as it can give them a better edge in fast-paced games.Are 1080p 144hz Monitors suitable for professional use?While the 1080p 144Hz monitor is primarily designed for gaming, they can also be used for professional purposes. Many professionals in fields such as graphic design, video editing, and animation find these monitors helpful for their work due to the high refresh rate and full HD resolution.What are some popular models of 1080p 144hz Monitors?Some popular models of 1080p 144Hz monitors include the AOC AG251FZ, ASUS ROG PG258Q, BenQ ZOWIE XL2411T, and Dell S2716DG. These monitors offer different features and specifications, so it is essential to research and compare them before making a purchase.Can a 1080p 144hz Monitor be used with a console?While most 1080p 144Hz monitors are designed for use with a PC, they can also be used with a console, provided that the console is compatible with the monitor's refresh rate. For example, the PlayStation 4 Pro supports 144Hz at 1080p resolution.Do I need a powerful graphics card to use a 1080p 144hz Monitor?To take full advantage of a 1080p 144Hz monitor's capabilities, a powerful graphics card is recommended. High-end graphics cards can render games at the monitor's native resolution and refresh rate, while less powerful cards might struggle to achieve the desired performance.What display ports are compatible with 1080p 144hz Monitors?DisplayPort 1.2 and later versions, HDMI 2.0, and DisplayPort over USB-C are compatible with 1080p 144Hz monitors. These ports can transfer the necessary data to support the monitor's high refresh rate and full HD resolution.How do I set up a 1080p 144hz Monitor?To set up a 1080p 144Hz monitor, you first need to connect it to your PC or console using the appropriate display port. Then, navigate to your display settings and select the monitor's native resolution (1080p) and refresh rate (144Hz). It is essential to ensure that both the monitor and your graphics card or console support these settings.As an Amazon™ Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. |
2024.06.01 07:50 Significant-Tower146 Best 1000 Hz Monitors
 | submitted by Significant-Tower146 to u/Significant-Tower146 [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/23a5r91lfw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3e7d96e8adafec8443fda7e69dafc72513741fb3 Discover our top picks for high refresh rate monitors in this comprehensive 1000 Hz monitors selection. Whether you're an avid gamer, graphic designer, or tech enthusiast, we've rounded up the best of the best in this article. Stay tuned as we dive into detailed reviews, feature comparisons, and essential tips for choosing the perfect 1000 Hz monitor to enhance your gaming or work experience. The Top 19 Best 1000 Hz Monitors
Reviews🔗38" 4K UHD Gaming Monitor with 144Hz refresh rate, Asus ROG Swift PG38UQhttps://preview.redd.it/517fhsflfw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7b9c08494eee2301407bdafa0153bf8e4027f522 The Asus ROG Swift PG38UQ gaming monitor is a real treat for any gamer. This 38-inch 4K UHD beast comes equipped with a 144Hz refresh rate and Adaptive-Sync, providing ultra-smooth visuals. The ASUS Fast IPS technology ensures fast response times needed for quick reflexes during intense gaming sessions. Additionally, the PG38UQ supports native 4K 120Hz gaming without chroma subsampling on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X via HDMI, making it a versatile choice for both PC and console gamers. One of the impressive features of this monitor is its excellent color accuracy. With a 98% DCI-P3 color gamut and DisplayHDR 600 certification, you are guaranteed true-to-life colors that immerse you further into your gaming world. The sleek design and high build quality complement the high-performance experience. Set up is super easy, even for those unfamiliar with gaming monitors. It includes features like the Asus Fast IPS technology for quick response time and an Adaptive-Sync for super-smooth gaming visuals. These make it perfect for watching movies or playing games on a big screen. The only downside I found was the placement of menu buttons at the bottom right, which may require some getting used to. But apart from this minor inconvenience, the Asus ROG Swift PG38UQ truly delivers a top-notch gaming experience on a 4K UHD screen. Highlightes of this product include its large 4K UHD screen, fast 144Hz refresh rate, and the ability to support native 4K 120Hz gaming without chroma subsampling on consoles via HDMI. In fact, the only con to this monitor is the placement of menu buttons that may require some getting used to. So if you're a serious gamer looking for a high-quality, performance-driven monitor with a large screen and stunning visuals, the Asus ROG Swift PG38UQ is definitely worth considering. 🔗Fast and Immersive 24.5" Gaming Monitorhttps://preview.redd.it/36l3grxlfw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aebcf262efd2ca52a8f3c85acd1e2e90e09c5f94 I've been using the Asus ROG Strix XG259QN gaming monitor for a few months now, and I'm genuinely impressed with its performance. The quick response time and high refresh rate make even the most intense gaming sessions smooth and lag-free. I also appreciate the HDR modes and vibrant color gamut that bring my games to life with rich, lifelike visuals. One downside is that this monitor doesn't come with built-in speakers, but the overall experience has still been top-notch. The adjustable stand allows me to find the perfect viewing angle, and the low blue light feature ensures my eyes don't feel strained after long play sessions. Plus, the wide range of connectivity options ensures compatibility with all my devices. In conclusion, the Asus ROG Strix XG259QN is an exceptional gaming monitor that delivers on performance and visual quality. If you're looking to upgrade your gaming setup and take your game to the next level, this monitor is definitely worth considering. 🔗Asus ROG Swift OLED PG42UQ: Fast and Stunning 138Hz Gaming Monitorhttps://preview.redd.it/knl0e89mfw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=14008290ae191d205b667810c28f476e1e317f6b As a long-time gamer, the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG42UQ has completely transformed my gaming experience. This monitor has everything you could ask for - incredible picture quality, an impressively fast refresh rate, and a sleek design that wouldn't look out of place in a sci-fi movie. The 4K UHD display is a standout feature, with vibrant and accurate colors that make every game feel more immersive than ever before. Plus, the HDR compatibility means that even the darkest scenes are rendered with stunning detail. Then there's the 138Hz refresh rate, which ensures smooth gameplay even in the most intense action sequences. It's NVIDIA G-Sync compatible too, so you won't have to worry about screen tearing or other visual artifacts. But the ROG Swift OLED isn't just all about its visuals; it's designed with your comfort in mind too. The intelligent cooling system keeps the monitor running smoothly even during marathon gaming sessions, and the Game Mode feature lets you easily customize settings to suit whichever game you're playing. However, there are definitely some drawbacks to this monster of a screen. For one, it might be too big for some people's setup, especially if you're playing on a smaller desk or in a smaller room. Additionally, the weight of the monitor can make setting it up a bit cumbersome. Despite these minor issues, I'm still blown away by the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG42UQ. It has revolutionized how I play games, making them feel more immersive and lifelike than ever before. If you're in the market for a new gaming monitor, this one is definitely worth considering. 🔗ASUS TUF Gaming 1080P Gaming Monitorhttps://preview.redd.it/euvruzomfw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8a447c196e5167530241611aea24f848f3905f3d I recently got my hands on the Asus TUF VG277Q1A Gaming Monitor, and boy am I impressed! This 27-inch monitor is a game-changer for gamers who demand smooth and responsive performance. The Full HD display, coupled with a 165Hz refresh rate and 1ms Extreme Low Motion Blur, instantly enhances my gaming experience. Its Eye Care feature is a godsend, reducing eye fatigue after extended hours of playing. Additionally, the monitor's Shadow Boost technology ensures that I don't miss out on any crucial details in dark scenes. Oh, and did I mention it has both HDMI and DisplayPort connectivity? Talk about versatility! However, there are a few cons to consider. The power cable is a bit too short, which limits where I can place the monitor on my desk. And while assembly was a breeze, some may find the lack of adjustable height frustrating. Overall, I highly recommend the Asus TUF VG277Q1A Gaming Monitor for gamers seeking a high-performing yet affordable option. It's definitely worth the investment! 🔗24" ViewSonic Omni Gaming Monitorhttps://preview.redd.it/ys0rwnzmfw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=36bc92d6a5bd287c3f880d234970a8a7c5439eb3 I've been putting the ViewSonic Omni VX2428 through its paces in my gaming setup lately. Right off the bat, this 24-inch monitor impresses with its sleek 3-sided frameless design, making it perfect for seamless multi-monitor setups. Under the hood, it boasts a high 180Hz* refresh rate, 0.5ms (MPRT) response time, and AMD FreeSync Premium technology, virtually eliminating screen tearing and stuttering for a fluid gaming experience. The connectivity options are plentiful, with two HDMI (v1.4) inputs, and one DisplayPort (v1.2) input that ensures smooth flexibility for both general use and entertainment. However, the monitor's performance is hampered by the fact that the HDMI version is 1.4, limiting the output to a maximum of 120Hz if you're relying solely on HDMI connections. Another point to note is the lack of built-in speakers, which may require additional investment in external ones if you don't have any. In terms of build quality, the VX2428 is very solid and sturdy, and it comes with a DisplayPort in the box, which is a plus. As a beginner, I've been giving this monitor a 9/10 so far, though I'll update my review after two weeks of usage. Overall, I would recommend this monitor to gamers who are looking for a sturdy, sleek design with fluid, tear-free gameplay. Just keep in mind that you might need to consider additional investments for better sound quality and smoother connectivity options. 🔗MSI G274F 180Hz Gaming Monitor - 27" Full HDhttps://preview.redd.it/mh7vp6fnfw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4253b5ce07a8eb4b2a2686a7ad1dec5ace1efada The MSI G274F Gaming LCD Monitor is a game-changer, providing an immersive and fluid gaming experience like no other. With its 180Hz refresh rate and 1ms fast response time, every frame appears smoother and more responsive, making your gameplay incredibly fluid. The Rapid IPS panel technology offers wide viewing angles and accurate colors, while the HDR Ready feature enhances contrast and vibrancy, giving you a stunning visual experience. Whether you're a casual gamer or a competitive esports player, the G274F has been designed to deliver exceptional performance. The wide color gamut ensures realistic and refined game colors and details, and the frameless bezel design offers a sleek and immersive viewing experience. The Adaptive Sync/G-Sync Compatible technology eliminates screen tearing and stuttering for a seamless and fluid gameplay. The low blue light and flicker-free technology are a breath of fresh air for avid gamers, reducing eye strain and fatigue, allowing you to game for extended periods without discomfort. The G274F comes equipped with multiple connectivity options, including HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort, for easy compatibility with various devices. Its stylish and modern design complements any gaming setup, while the adjustable tilt stand allows you to find the perfect viewing angle for your comfort. In summary, the MSI G274F Gaming LCD Monitor is a exceptional choice for gamers who seek top-notch performance and stunning visuals. With its high refresh rate, rapid response time, and advanced features, this monitor is sure to amplify your gaming experience and help you claim victory over your opponents. 🔗MSI MAG 325CQRXF Curved Gaming Monitor (32", 240Hz, 1MS)https://preview.redd.it/6fzsd5wnfw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=505ec030a41467123db764d62c8245e5772acafa I remember the first time I unboxed this baby - the MSI Mag325cqrxf Widescreen Gaming LCD Monitor. As soon as I plugged it in, my jaw dropped. The 31.5-inch QHD 240Hz 16:9 Curved 1000R Rapid VA Gaming Monitor lives up to its name with its breathtaking display and mind-blowing features. The first thing that caught my eye was the 240Hz refresh rate. You know how some games can be a little choppy? Not on this monitor. It's smoother than a freshly waxed car, making my fast-paced games feel almost cinematic. And don't even get me started on the 1000R curvature. It's like I'm inside the game world! I also love how they've incorporated anti-flicker technology and blue light reduction to make gaming sessions longer without straining my eyes. But what truly sets it apart are the vibrant colors and wide viewing angles provided by the Rapid Vertical Alignment VA panel technology. It's like I'm seeing colors I didn't know existed! However, one thing that could be improved is its size. While it's perfect for smaller gaming setups, players with larger desks might find the 31.5-inch screen a bit too cozy. Also, the price tag might be a tad steep for casual gamers. But overall, I am absolutely in love with this monitor. It's my ultimate gaming companion and has made my gaming experiences truly immersive and exhilarating. Thanks, MSI! 🔗Fast-Response 24.5" Gaming LED Monitor with Ultrafast 240Hz Refresh Ratehttps://preview.redd.it/h6l0no6ofw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aefbd3d9b59949624b86713e0ee6aa8cff16d7dd Recently, I had the chance to test out the Asus ROG Strix XG259CM monitor, and it's been a game-changer in my quest for the perfect gaming setup. This sleek 24.5-inch monitor boasts a lightning-fast 240Hz refresh rate, designed specifically for professional gamers. Its Full HD resolution provides immersive gameplay, with colors that are sharp and vibrant, thanks to the IPS panel. One of the standout features of this monitor is its ASUS Fast IPS technology, enabling a 1ms response time (GTG) for ultra-smooth gameplay. This makes a huge difference in first-person shooter games, where a split-second delay can mean the difference between victory and defeat. Another convenient feature is the KVM switch, allowing you to control two connected devices using a single keyboard and mouse. This is perfect for those who work from home and need to switch seamlessly between their personal computer and their workstation. On the downside, the monitor is quite heavy, making it a bit cumbersome to move around or adjust the angle. Additionally, the built-in speakers are decent but not outstanding, so you may want to invest in a separate set of speakers for a more immersive audio experience. In summary, the Asus ROG Strix XG259CM monitor is a powerful and versatile tool for gamers and work-from-home professionals alike. Its impressive performance, combined with its intuitive controls and KVM switch, make it well worth the investment. However, its weight and mediocre speakers may not appeal to everyone. 🔗30" Curved Gaming Monitor with 200Hz Refresh Ratehttps://preview.redd.it/o9s6qcjofw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3a296a57f798dd97ba6c942c657bfbd3d6433404 I recently got my hands on the Sceptre 30-Inch Curved Gaming Monitor Metal Black C305B-200UN and I must say, it's been a game-changer for my gaming sessions. The first thing that caught my attention was the immersive viewing experience the curved display offers. It has made my gaming experience more intense and realistic. The large 30-inch display is a treat for the eyes, especially when it comes to watching movies or playing games. The detailing is sharp and crisp, making everything look lifelike. One of the standout features of this monitor for me is the 200Hz refresh rate. It provides an incredibly smooth gaming performance, giving me a clear advantage over my opponents. The build quality is also top-notch. The monitor is sturdy and well-built, which gives me confidence that it will last for a long time. Additionally, it comes with built-in speakers that deliver quality audio, even though it may not be as powerful as external speakers. However, there are a few areas where this monitor could be improved. The stand takes up a lot of space on my desk, which can be a bit inconvenient. Also, the menu buttons are a bit tricky to use, requiring some trial and error to navigate through. In conclusion, the Sceptre 30-Inch Curved Gaming Monitor Metal Black C305B-200UN is a solid choice for gamers looking for a high-quality monitor at an affordable price. Its immersive display, smooth refresh rate, and solid build quality make it a winner in my book. Just be prepared for the space-consuming stand and the quirky menu buttons. 🔗ROG Swift Pro PG248QP NVIDIA G-Sync Esports Monitorhttps://preview.redd.it/ic3dqt6pfw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bc7ec6d476c79030ba0bd50faef04f0e34f0172d I recently got my hands on the Asus ROG Swift Pro PG248QP NVIDIA G-Sync Esports Gaming Monitor, and let me tell you, it's a game-changer for me as an avid gamer. I was initially skeptical about the 540Hz refresh rate, thinking it would be overkill, but boy, was I wrong. The smoothness it brings to my gaming experience is unparalleled. First and foremost, the fast response time of this monitor is truly impressive. I play a lot of fast-paced games like Valorant and Counter-Strike 2, and the swiftness of the panel has made a noticeable difference in my gameplay. It's like looking through a crystal-clear window into the game, giving me that extra edge needed to outsmart my opponents. The adjustable base is also a game-changer, as it allows me to fine-tune the ergonomics to suit my desk setup perfectly. The retractable claws on the base are a nifty touch that helps free up some much-needed space on my already cluttered desk. As for the cons, I have to say that the build quality could be better. I encountered some issues with the bottom panel, which appears to be attached with glue and flexes when pressed. For a monitor priced at $900, I feel that the build quality should be more exceptional. Additionally, the compatibility with NVIDIA GPU's might be a turn-off for some, although it did not affect my personal experience. In conclusion, the Asus ROG Swift Pro PG248QP NVIDIA G-Sync Esports Gaming Monitor has significantly improved my gaming experience with its lightning-fast refresh rate and smooth performance. The adjustable base is also a welcome addition to the package. However, the build quality could be better, and the compatibility with only NVIDIA GPU's might not appeal to everyone. 🔗Fast, 180Hz Gaming Monitor with Ergonomic Designhttps://preview.redd.it/ofzxmvcpfw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5cf4283d3041744cedfdf752aac4b016eeb0f552 I've been using the Asus VG249QL3A Gaming LED Monitor for a few weeks now, and it's been a game-changer for my gaming experience. The first thing that grabbed my attention was its lightning-fast 180Hz refresh rate, which translates to incredibly smooth visuals and minimal motion blur. Couple that with the Adaptive Sync technology, and I'm getting tear-free gaming sessions that keep me immersed in my favorite games. As a reviewer who's been playing games for hours at a time, the ergonomic design of this monitor is truly a blessing. I can adjust the stand to find the perfect viewing angle, and since the screen is bezel-free, it looks like a seamless part of my setup. One of my favorite features of this monitor is its vibrant colors. The 99% sRGB gamut ensures that I'm seeing games in their full glory, while the 350 nits brightness means that I don't have to squint to see the action, even when playing in a well-lit room. The 1ms GTG response time definitely deserves a mention as well. Fast-paced games are no longer a challenge for me, as the monitor keeps up with every mouse movement and key press without any lag or ghosting. However, there's one drawback that I have to mention. The built-in 2W speakers are decent, but they don't deliver the same level of immersion as a dedicated gaming headset. That being said, the monitor itself is a solid buy for gamers who prioritize performance and visual quality above all else. In conclusion, the Asus VG249QL3A is a fantastic gaming monitor that delivers smooth, tear-free gameplay with vibrant colors and a lightning-fast response time. It's perfect for long gaming sessions and provides an immersive experience that I wouldn't want to miss. 🔗Asus ROG Strix 24.5" Full HD Gaming Monitorhttps://preview.redd.it/u1vdlvrpfw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d8e32a9a0f8bc2ca047488e54599aa890312004c As a gamer, I've seen my fair share of monitors, but the Asus ROG Strix XG256Q truly stands out in terms of performance and design. Its 180Hz standard refresh rate and 1ms response time result in fluid, blur-free visuals that bring my favorite games to life. The 99% sRGB color gamut adds vibrancy, making everything look more lifelike. Moreover, its 400 Nit brightness ensures clear visibility even in bright environments. One of my favorite features is the adjustable stand, which lets me fine-tune the viewing angle for optimal comfort. I also appreciate the included Low Blue Light and Flicker-free technologies that help reduce eye strain during marathon gaming sessions. The VESA DisplayHDR 400 certification takes this monitor to the next level, enhancing contrast and color depth to create stunning visuals with lifelike details. And with its wall mountable design, I have the flexibility to set up my gaming space however I want, without cluttering it with unnecessary cords and peripherals. Overall, I'm impressed with the Asus ROG Strix XG256Q Gaming LCD Monitor. Its combination of speed, accuracy, and eye comfort make it an excellent choice for gamers of all skill levels. If you're looking for a high-performance monitor that will take your gaming experience to new heights, I highly recommend giving this one a try. 🔗Asus ROG Swift OLED Gaming Monitor: 49" Curved Dual QHD Display, 144Hz Refresh Rate, Tear-Free Gameplayhttps://preview.redd.it/37mjyg9qfw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=38e42f1d142e39057f08aea16dc686e53cef80c1 I recently got my hands on the Asus ROG Swift Gaming OLED Monitor (pg49wcd), and I must say, it's been a game-changer! This 49-inch curved QD-OLED monitor offers an immersive gaming experience that I've never seen before. The stunning 5120x1440 resolution paired with the 32:9 aspect ratio creates vivid and lifelike visuals. One of the things that stood out to me was the 144Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms response time. These specs deliver incredibly smooth gameplay, making it feel like I'm right in the middle of the action. The Asus ROG PG49WCD Swift Gaming OLED Monitor also supports FreeSync Premium Pro/G-sync Compatible technology, ensuring tear-free gaming sessions. Another notable feature is the Picture by Picture mode, which allows me to view content from two sources simultaneously. This has been incredibly useful for multitasking and keeping an eye on my work and personal devices at the same time. However, there are a few minor drawbacks to this monitor. Firstly, the KVM feature requires a software installation, which might not be ideal for some users. Secondly, I've noticed that the monitor tends to stick in a switching loop when trying to change input signals. In conclusion, the Asus ROG Swift Gaming OLED Monitor (pg49wcd) offers an unparalleled gaming experience with its QD-OLED display and high refresh rate. Its immersive visuals and smooth gameplay make it a top choice for gamers looking to elevate their gaming setup. While there are some minor cons, they don't detract from the overall excellent performance and features offered by this monitor. 🔗ASUS ROG Strix 27" Gaming Monitor with 170Hz refresh ratehttps://preview.redd.it/g5fvuvlqfw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0c835dbfd4d8b0be2715a9358d540a23e43f7c51 As a die-hard gaming enthusiast, I recently got my hands on the Asus Xg276q ROG Strix Gaming Monitor, and I must say, it has truly enhanced my experience. Its 170Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time make my games look smoother and more immersive than ever before. The NVIDIA G-Sync compatibility is a game-changer, eliminating any pesky screen tearing or stuttering that could disrupt my intense gaming sessions. The DisplayHDR 400 support provides stunning visuals with accurate colors, deep blacks, and brilliant whites. I also appreciate the Dynamic Shadow Boost feature, which helps me spot even the most elusive enemies in dark corners. The GameVisual modes and GamePlus hotkeys are incredibly handy, giving me the ability to customize my display quickly and easily. One downside to note is that I've noticed some minor issues with the brightness and contrast if auto HDR is enabled on certain games. However, a quick tweak in the global settings ensures everything is running smoothly. Overall, I couldn't be happier with my new Asus Xg276q ROG Strix Gaming Monitor, and I highly recommend it for any avid gamer looking to take their skills to the next level. Buyer's GuideNone https://preview.redd.it/kvqtsadsfw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=99d4068b7c6e8091b409a892752f85ff9b9f5129 FAQWhat are 1000 Hz monitors?A 1000 Hz monitor is a high refresh rate display designed to significantly reduce motion blur, ghosting, and stuttering in video games or other high refresh content. This innovative technology allows for smoother gameplay and improved overall visual experience. https://preview.redd.it/p34bykpsfw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bc811fcd2ba6545a4e814956839b2900647421b9 What are the benefits of using 1000 Hz monitors?1000 Hz monitors offer several benefits, including:
Do all 1000 Hz monitors support the same features?Not necessarily. While all 1000 Hz monitors have a high refresh rate, other features may vary between models. Some monitors might offer additional connectivity options, advanced color reproduction, or adjustable stands, while others may focus solely on providing the highest possible refresh rate. https://preview.redd.it/nboabf1tfw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=398af9d4bc220fc5a318c3948c7bd2dfa950a200 How can I choose the best 1000 Hz monitor for my needs?When selecting a 1000 Hz monitor, consider the following factors:
Are PC systems with 1000 Hz monitors future-proof?While 1000 Hz monitors offer significant improvements in motion clarity and stuttering reduction, their long-term viability depends on various factors. As technology continues to advance, new gaming trends or innovations may emerge, such as 144Hz monitors and next-generation display technologies. However, with the increasing prevalence of eSports and high-refresh-rate content, investing in a 1000 Hz monitor remains a solid choice for avid gamers. https://preview.redd.it/uhdx62dtfw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=db2aea5b5b6b0c04a6b6f734f6febfb2cf85c477 Do I need a specialized gaming computer to take advantage of a 1000 Hz monitor?While having a high-performance gaming computer is beneficial for achieving the full potential of a 1000 Hz monitor, many modern graphics cards and CPUs are capable of supporting high refresh rates. To maximize performance, ensure your system has adequate RAM and storage capacity, as well as a recent and powerful graphics card.How do I enable 1000 Hz mode on my monitor?Enabling 1000 Hz mode on your monitor is generally a simple process. Typically, you can access the graphics settings or monitor menu on your computer and manually set the refresh rate to 1000 Hz. However, the exact method for enabling 1000 Hz mode may vary depending on your computer's hardware and operating system.Will I experience burn-in with a 1000 Hz monitor?Burn-in, also known as image retention, can theoretically occur on any display. However, modern 1000 Hz monitors are equipped with advanced technologies that help minimize the risk of burn-in, such as pixel shifting and screen savers.Do I need any specific software to maximize the benefits of a 1000 Hz monitor?While having a dedicated graphics software may help optimize your overall gaming experience, it is not mandatory to maximize the benefits of a 1000 Hz monitor. Ensuring that your graphics drivers are up-to-date and compatible with your system and monitor is typically sufficient for taking full advantage of the monitor's features and capabilities.As an Amazon™ Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. |
2024.06.01 04:52 neojoe74 Testing Tables
| Nintendo Switch | ||
|---|---|---|
| 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim | CIB+ | 32.92 |
| 1971 Project Helios | New | 15.41 |
| AI: The Somnium Files | CIB+ | 60.5 |
| ARMS | CIB+ | 30.5 |
| Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion | New | 25.68 |
| AeternoBlade II | New | 35.5 |
| Afterparty | New | 38 |
| Aggelos | New | 38.22 |
| Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX | New | 18.98 |
| Alwa's Collection | New | 25.62 |
| American Hero | New | 40.49 |
| Ancestors Legacy | New | 24.07 |
| Annapurna Interactive [Deluxe Limited Edition Collection] | New | 230.00 |
| Ape Out [Special Reserve] | New | 40.00 |
| Ara Fell & Rise of the Third Power | New | 57.24 |
| Arcade Spirits | New | 20 |
| Archvale | New | 51.25 |
| Ary and the Secret of Seasons | New | 12.52 |
| Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore | New | 55.00 |
| Assassin's Creed: The Rebel Collection | CIB+ | 17.48 |
| Astalon: Tears of the Earth | New | 50.63 |
| Astral Chain | New | 48.99 |
| Astronite | New | 19.48 |
| Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy | New | 55.00 |
| Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout | CIB+ | 49.5 |
| Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout | New | 60.1 |
| Attack on Titan 2: Final Battle | New | 65.00 |
| Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 | New | 48.5 |
| Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack | CIB+ | 25.79 |
| BROFORCE [SWITCH RESERVE] | New | 40.00 |
| BUTCHER | New | 36.9 |
| Balan Wonderworld | New | 11.77 |
| Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Editions | New | 120.00 |
| Battle Chef Brigade Deluxe | CIB+ | 32.61 |
| Battle Princess Madelyn: Royal Edition | New | 52.88 |
| Black Bird | New | 55.5 |
| Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition | New | 48.72 |
| Blasphemous | CIB+ | 108.49 |
| Blaster Master Zero III | New | 34.5 |
| Blaster Master Zero II | New | 40.49 |
| Blaster Master Zero | New | 44.14 |
| Blazing Beaks | New | 30.02 |
| Blazing Chrome | CIB+ | 65.92 |
| BloodRayne Betrayal: Fresh Bites | New | 40.49 |
| Bloodrayne 1 & 2: Revamped Dual Pack w/ Slipcover | New | 100.47 |
| Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon 2 | New | 28.49 |
| Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night | New | 21.23 |
| Blossom Tales II: The Minotaur Prince | New | 46.48 |
| Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King | CIB+ | 150.47 |
| Blue Fire | CIB+ | 28.49 |
| Blue Reflection: Second Light | New | 59.83 |
| Bomb Chicken | CIB+ | 38.14 |
| Boy and His Blob | New | 50.49 |
| Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling | New | 55.93 |
| Bugsnax | CIB+ | 30.77 |
| Burnout Paradise Remastered | CIB+ | 14.98 |
| COGEN: Sword of Rewind & Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX 2 Double Pack | New | 80.48 |
| Cannon Dancer: Osman | New | 54 |
| Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker | CIB+ | 30.49 |
| Captain Tsubasa: Rise of | New | Champions |
| Card Shark Collector's Edition | New | 40.00 |
| Carrion: Special Reserve Edition | New | 40.00 |
| Castlevania Anniversary Collection | New | 40.00 |
| Cat Girl Without Salad: Amuse-Bouche | New | 40.97 |
| Cat Quest + Cat Quest II: Pawsome Pack | New | 49.5 |
| Cathedral | New | 66.91 |
| Celeste | New | 62.39 |
| Chicken Police - Paint it RED! | CIB+ | 13.25 |
| Children of Morta | CIB+ | 22.09 |
| Children of Zodiarcs | New | 44.77 |
| Citizens Unite! Earth X Space | New | 29.49 |
| Coffee Talk | New | 42.15 |
| Collar X Malice | New | 30.49 |
| Contra Anniversary Collection Konami Version | New | 55.00 |
| Cooking Mama: Cookstar | New | 36.11 |
| Corpse Killer: 25th Anniversary Edition | New | 42.7 |
| Cosmo Dreamer & Like Dreamer: Double-D Collection | New | 25.00 |
| Cris Tales | New | 13.99 |
| Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion | CIB+ | 25 |
| Crossing Souls - Special Reserve | New | 40.00 |
| Crystal Crisis | New | 31.52 |
| Cthulhu Saves Christmas | New | 45.17 |
| Cult of the Lamb [Special Reserve] | New | 72.48 |
| DARQ: Complete Edition | New | 38.97 |
| DISC ROOM [SWITCH RESERVE] | New | 30.00 |
| DISTRAINT Collection | New | 33.76 |
| DOOM Eternal | New | 89 |
| DOOM: The Classics Collection | New | 50.5 |
| DOOM | CIB+ | 28.9 |
| DRAINUS | New | 63.39 |
| Dandara: Trials of Fear Edition | CIB+ | 41.29 |
| Dark Devotion | New | 45.49 |
| Darksiders Genesis | CIB+ | 18 |
| Darkwood | CIB+ | 108.46 |
| Dawn of the Monsters | New | 50.36 |
| Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania Edition | New | 32.01 |
| Dead or School | New | 52.03 |
| Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise | CIB+ | 16.77 |
| Deadly Premonition Origins | New | 38.03 |
| Death Road to Canada | New | 40 |
| Death end re;Quest | New | 41.97 |
| Death's Door [Special Reserve] | New | 33.03 |
| Death's Gambit: Afterlife | New | 38.72 |
| Demon Throttle [Reserve Edition] | New | 25.25 |
| Demon Throttle [Reserve Edition] | New | 25.25 |
| Demon Turf | New | 40.82 |
| Demon's Tilt | New | 44.5 |
| Deponia Collection | New | 83.14 |
| Dex | New | 48.38 |
| Digimon Survive | New | 20.95 |
| Dimension Drive [Limited Edition] | New | 65.48 |
| DioField Chronicle | CIB+ | 25.46 |
| Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories | CIB+ | 25.5 |
| Disgaea 5 Complete | New | 39.5 |
| Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and the Lion King | New | 18.29 |
| Disney Tsum Tsum Festival | New | 26.55 |
| DoDonPachi Resurrection | New | 55.38 |
| Dodgeball Academia | New | 19.5 |
| Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! | New | 20.00 |
| Doom 64 | New | 45.45 |
| Double Dragon & Kunio-Kun Retro Brawler Bundle | New | 52.83 |
| Double Dragon IV | New | 33.97 |
| Double Dragon: Neon | New | 50.49 |
| Double Switch: 25th Anniversary Edition | New | 55.89 |
| Downwell [Special Reserve Edition] | New | 60.00 |
| Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot + A | New | Power Awakens Set Used 25.00 |
| Dragon Quest Treasures | New | 29.53 |
| Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition | New | 40.00 |
| Dragon Star Varnir | New | 45.49 |
| Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen | CIB+ | 24.74 |
| Dragon's Lair Trilogy | New | 144.25 |
| Dreamscaper | New | 44.72 |
| Dusk | New | 44.49 |
| Eastward | CIB+ | 20.3 |
| Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | CIB+ | 35.31 |
| Eldest Souls | New | 45.5 |
| Elliot Quest | New | 28.48 |
| Enclave HD | New | 52.67 |
| Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights | New | 55.00 |
| Endling - Extinction is Forever | New | 25.76 |
| Epic Chef | New | 15.57 |
| Espgaluda II | New | 60.27 |
| FAR: Lone Sails | New | 49.69 |
| FINAL FANTASY VII & VIII REMASTERED TWIN PACK | CIB+ | 37.63 |
| Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force | New | 48.41 |
| Falconeer: Warrior Edition | New | 18.88 |
| Fast RMX | New | 71.73 |
| Fatal Twelve | New | 44.49 |
| Fault Milestone One | New | 28.49 |
| Fight'N Rage | New | 45.49 |
| Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age | New | 31.61 |
| Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes | New | 20.17 |
| Flinthook | New | 45.49 |
| Flipping Death | CIB+ | 28.39 |
| Foretales | New | 19.29 |
| Forgotton Anne | CIB+ | 35.49 |
| Fran Bow | New | 111.48 |
| Freedom Finger | CIB+ | 77.4 |
| Freedom Planet | New | 57.39 |
| Friends Of Ringo Ishikawa | New | 26.73 |
| Furi | CIB+ | 48.64 |
| Gal Metal: World Tour Edition | CIB+ | 17.69 |
| Gato Roboto [Special Reserve Edition] | New | 40.00 |
| Ghost 1.0 + Unepic Collection: Standard Edition | New | 30.00 |
| Ghost of a Tale | New | 66.61 |
| Going Under | New | 37.47 |
| Golf Story | New | 82.75 |
| Gotta Protectors: Cart of Darkness | New | 45.35 |
| Grandia HD Collection | New | 82.51 |
| Great Ace Attorney Chronicles | CIB+ | 30.98 |
| GrimGrimoire OnceMore [Deluxe Edition] | New | 42.33 |
| Gunbrick: Reloaded | New | 24.68 |
| Gunlord X | New | 90.00 |
| Guns, Gore & Cannoli 1 & 2 | New | 140.00 |
| Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX | New | 84.5 |
| Gyakuten Saiban 123: Naruhodo Selection | New | 41.49 |
| Hades | New | 39.19 |
| Haven | New | 45.49 |
| Heaven's Vault | New | 32.15 |
| Hero Must Die. Again | New | 56.5 |
| Heroland Knowble Edition | New | 18.63 |
| Hollow Knight | CIB+ | 31.5 |
| Horgihugh and Friends | New | 28.18 |
| Hot Wheels Unleashed | New | 22.03 |
| Hotline Miami Collection [Special Reserve] | New | 40.00 |
| ITTA [Steelbook Edition] | New | 50.00 |
| ITTA | CIB+ | 35.00 |
| Ib | New | 55.46 |
| Ikenfell | New | 42.56 |
| Immortals Fenyx Rising | New | 15.22 |
| In Sound Mind: Deluxe Edition | New | 21.81 |
| Indivisible | New | 19.41 |
| Infernax | New | 50.5 |
| Inscryption [Special Reserve] | New | 200.00 |
| Ion Fury | New | 35.35 |
| Ittle Dew 2+ | New | 43.45 |
| Jamestown+ | New | 50.98 |
| Joe Dever's Lone Wolf | New | 65.54 |
| Katamari Damacy REROLL | New | 23.45 |
| Katanakami | New | 42.3 |
| Kaze and the Wild Masks | New | 32.44 |
| KeyWe | New | 25.49 |
| Killer Queen Black | New | 16.13 |
| King's Bounty II | New | 17.85 |
| Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory | New | 20.59 |
| Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning | CIB+ | 19.98 |
| Knights and Bikes | New | 45.49 |
| Kotodama: The 7 Mysteries of Fujisawa | New | 19.45 |
| L.A. Noire | CIB+ | 29.99 |
| LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | New | 20.48 |
| LUNARK | New | 49.52 |
| Lair of the Clockwork God | New | 39.13 |
| Layers of Fear: Legacy | New | 147.86 |
| Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III - Extracurricular Edition | CIB+ | 31.77 |
| Legend of Tianding | New | 45.00 |
| Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom | New | 47.46 |
| Letter: A Horror Visual Novel [Limited Edition] | New | 73.75 |
| Little Golf Journey | New | 29.62 |
| Little Nightmares II | CIB+ | 20.75 |
| Lonely Mountains: Downhill SRG#46 | New | 86.79 |
| Loop Hero [Collectors Edition] | New | 40.00 |
| Loop Hero | CIB+ | 25.00 |
| Love Esquire [Limited Edition] | New | 90.5 |
| LoveKami Trilogy | New | 35.00 |
| Lumines Remastered | New | 32.5 |
| MONARK Deluxe Edition | New | 37 |
| Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope | CIB+ | 15.42 |
| Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order | 30.00 | |
| Mato Anomalies | New | 19.73 |
| Mega Man 11 | New | 20.48 |
| Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection | CIB+ | 24.5 |
| Megadimension Neptunia VII | New | 45.5 |
| Mighty Gunvolt Burst | New | 44.45 |
| Mighty Switch Force! Collection | CIB+ | 45.49 |
| Ministry of Broadcast | New | 26.72 |
| Minoria | New | 50.47 |
| Miracle Snack Shop [Limited Edition] | New | 35.00 |
| Missing | CIB+ | 35.5 |
| Moero Chronicle Hyper | New | 90.35 |
| Moero Crystal H | New | 50.77 |
| Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight | New | 71.68 |
| Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate | New | 42.69 |
| Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin | New | 31.49 |
| Monster Sanctuary | New | 58.46 |
| Monstrum | New | 38.5 |
| Mother Russia Bleeds [Special Reserve] | New | 45.00 |
| Mother Russia Bleeds [Special Reserve] | New | 45.00 |
| Ms. Splosion Man | CIB+ | 31.98 |
| Mulaka | New | 60.00 |
| Mummy Demastered | New | 57.71 |
| Murder By Numbers Collectors Edition | New | 80.36 |
| Mushihimesama | New | 60.7 |
| My Friend Pedro [Special Reserve Edition] | New | 45.00 |
| NEO: The World Ends With You | CIB+ | 20.5 |
| Narita Boy | New | 45.55 |
| NeoGeo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1 | New | 43.06 |
| Neon Abyss | New | 42.38 |
| Neversong & Pinstripe | CIB+ | 37.5 |
| New Super Lucky's Tale | New | 33.59 |
| New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe | New | 39.5 |
| Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch | New | 26.5 |
| NieR: Automata - The End of YoRHa Edition | New | 39.5 |
| Night Trap: 25th Anniversary Edition | New | 56.06 |
| Night in the Woods | New | 59.92 |
| Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection | New | 50.42 |
| No Man's Sky | CIB+ | 26.25 |
| No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle | CIB+ | 35.92 |
| No More Heroes III | CIB+ | 15.5 |
| No More Heroes | CIB+ | 40.5 |
| Ocean's Heart | New | 53.33 |
| Octahedron | New | 45.43 |
| Octopath Traveler II | New | 39.99 |
| Octopath Traveler | New | 52.43 |
| Oddworld - Collection | New | 36.25 |
| Okami HD | New | 32.99 |
| One Step From Eden | New | 34.15 |
| Oniken + Odallus Collection | New | 36.51 |
| Opus Collection | CIB+ | 22.49 |
| Ori: The Collection | New | 28.97 |
| Othercide | New | 32.45 |
| Outlast: Bundle of Terror / Outlast 2 | CIB+ | 250.00 |
| Overlord: Escape from Nazarick | New | 35.97 |
| Owlboy | CIB+ | 16.48 |
| Oxenfree | New | 99.53 |
| Panzer Dragoon | New | 40.5 |
| Panzer Paladin | New | 48.13 |
| Pathway | New | 27.6 |
| Phoenotopia: Awakening [Premium Edition] | New | 114.25 |
| Pikmin 3 Deluxe | CIB+ | 35.00 |
| Pikmin 4 | New | 42.79 |
| Piofiore: Fated Memories | New | 27.95 |
| PixelJunk Eden 2 | New | 25.49 |
| Pocky & Rocky Reshrined | New | 25.49 |
| Pokemon Legends: Arceus | New | 41.19 |
| Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX | CIB+ | 40.5 |
| Pokemon Sword | CIB+ | 30.26 |
| Pokemon Violet | New | 44.5 |
| Postal Redux | New | 25.5 |
| PowerSlave: Exhumed | New | 55.00 |
| Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 2 [Deluxe Edition] | New | 43.99 |
| Prodeus | New | 40.67 |
| Project Warlock | New | 67.14 |
| Puyo Puyo Tetris | New | 17.5 |
| Q.U.B.E. 2 | New | 51.32 |
| Quake | New | 38.49 |
| RED STRINGS CLUB [SWITCH RESERVE] | New | 38.5 |
| RUINER [SWITCH RESERVE] | New | 45.00 |
| Radiant Silvergun | New | 58.09 |
| Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan | New | 23.82 |
| Razion EX | New | 90.00 |
| Red Lantern | New | 58.5 |
| Republique: Anniversary Edition | New | 35.49 |
| Return of the Obra Dinn | New | 58.18 |
| Return to Monkey Island | CIB+ | 43.09 |
| Return to Shironagasu Island | CIB+ | 28.5 |
| Risk of Rain 2 | New | 14.7 |
| River City Girls 2 | New | 50.5 |
| River City Girls Zero | New | 44.49 |
| River City Girls [PAX Variant] | New | 142.6 |
| River City Girls | CIB+ | 80.23 |
| River City: Rival Showdown | New | 30.49 |
| Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos | CIB+ | 30.00 |
| Roki | CIB+ | 30.00 |
| Rolling Sky Collection | CIB+ | 20.00 |
| Root Film | New | 34.09 |
| Rune Factory 3 Special | New | 23.41 |
| Rune Factory 3 Special | New | 23.41 |
| Rune Factory 4 Special [Archival Edition] | New | 90.00 |
| SENSEs: Midnight [Limited Edition] | New | 47.43 |
| SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy | New | 29.15 |
| Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin | New | 27.5 |
| Sally Face [Deluxe Edition] | New | 224.81 |
| Sam & Max Save the World | New | 43.5 |
| Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space Remastered | New | 44 |
| Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time | New | 70.48 |
| Save me Mr Tako: Definitive Edition | New | 33.5 |
| Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game - Complete Edition | New | 32.49 |
| Sea Horizon [Limited Edition] | New | 42.49 |
| Sea of Solitude: The Director's Cut | New | 20.00 |
| SeaBed [Limited Edition] | New | 135.38 |
| Seabed | New | 40.42 |
| Senran Kagura Reflexions | New | 129.74 |
| Senren * Banka | New | 70.00 |
| Serious Sam Collection [Switch Reserve] | New | 50.00 |
| Seven Pirates H | New | 30.00 |
| Seven Pirates H | New | 30.00 |
| Seven Pirates H | New | 30.00 |
| Shadow Man Remastered | New | 48.39 |
| Shadowgate | New | 62.5 |
| Shadowrun Trilogy | New | 45.00 |
| Shadows of Adam | New | 34.49 |
| Shadowverse: Champion's Battle | New | 21.95 |
| Shantae and the Pirate's Curse | Box | 49.62 |
| Shantae and the Pirate's Curse | New | 381.21 |
| Shantae and the Seven Sirens | New | 50.2 |
| Shantae: Half-Genie Hero [Ultimate Edition] | New | 38.2 |
| Shantae: Risky's Revenge | New | 38.51 |
| Shantae | New | 39.34 |
| Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn | New | 19.57 |
| Shikhondo: Soul Eater | New | 34.44 |
| Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster | New | 25.5 |
| Shin Megami Tensei V | New | 22.38 |
| Shin Megami Tensei V | New | 22.38 |
| Shining Resonance Refrain [Draconic Launch Edition] | New | 48.6 |
| Silver Case 2425 Deluxe Edition | 25.00 | |
| Sine Mora EX | New | 23.02 |
| Skelattack | New | 45.00 |
| Slime-san | New | 43.74 |
| Smile For Me | New | 30.00 |
| Sol Cresta: Dramatic Edition | New | 45.48 |
| Sonic Colors Ultimate | CIB+ | 15.48 |
| Sonic Frontiers | CIB+ | 21.62 |
| Sonic Mania | New | 16.51 |
| Spiritfarer | New | 28.95 |
| Splatoon 2 | CIB+ | 19.67 |
| Splatoon 3 | New | 43.99 |
| Star Wars Pinball | New | 19.72 |
| Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords | New | 59.79 |
| Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords | New | 59.79 |
| Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic | New | 60.49 |
| Star Wars: Republic Commando | New | 26.45 |
| Steel Assault | New | 48 |
| Streets of Rage 4 | New | 33.45 |
| Strife: Veteran Edition | New | 30.00 |
| Subnautica + Subnautica: Below Zero | New | 32.49 |
| Super Blood Hockey | New | 60.96 |
| Super Bomberman R | New | 20.42 |
| Super Mario Maker 2 | CIB+ | 30.48 |
| Super Meat Boy Forever | New | 25.98 |
| Super Meat Boy | New | 38.5 |
| Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania | New | 13.48 |
| Supraland | New | 33.75 |
| Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido | New | 12.17 |
| Taiko no Tatsujin Rhythm Festival | New | 15.5 |
| Tails of Iron [Crimson Knight Edition] | New | 42.89 |
| TakeOver | New | 47.41 |
| Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition | New | 30.41 |
| Talos Principle | New | 40.00 |
| Tandem: A Tale of Shadows | New | 20.48 |
| Terraria | New | 24.66 |
| The Messenger [Special Reserve Games Edition] | New | 280.00 |
| There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension | New | 53.51 |
| Thumper | New | 45.45 |
| Time on Frog Island | CIB+ | 17.43 |
| Timespinner [Limited Run] | CIB+ | 77.28 |
| Tiny Barbarian DX | New | 33.97 |
| To The Moon | New | 67.98 |
| ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove! | CIB+ | 49.86 |
| Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore | New | 66.72 |
| Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore | New | 66.72 |
| Touryst | New | 60.00 |
| TowerFall | New | 45.5 |
| Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes | CIB+ | 24.99 |
| Treasures Of The Aegean | New | 17.98 |
| Trigger Witch - Limited Edition | New | 57.66 |
| Trigger Witch | New | 34.59 |
| Trover Saves the Universe | New | 37.76 |
| Turok / Turok 2: Seeds of Evil | New | 167.4 |
| Twin Blades of the Three Kingdoms | New | 30.00 |
| Two Point Hospital | New | 26.5 |
| UnderMine | New | 51.08 |
| Unravel Two | CIB+ | 18.35 |
| Unreal Life | New | 39.15 |
| Unsighted | New | 47.2 |
| Untitled Goose Game | New | 22.45 |
| Valfaris | New | 39.64 |
| Valis: The Fantasm Soldier Collection II | New | 50.5 |
| Valis: The Fantasm Soldier Collection | New | 70.61 |
| Valkyria Chronicles 4 | New | 66.81 |
| Very Very Valet | New | 17.77 |
| Wandersong | CIB+ | 33.99 |
| Warborn | New | 16.6 |
| Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus | CIB+ | 21 |
| WarioWare: Get it Together! | CIB+ | 24.55 |
| West of Dead | New | 39.1 |
| Wizard of Legend | New | 55.00 |
| Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap | New | 39.14 |
| Wonderful 101: Remastered | New | 23.5 |
| World Ends with You: Final Remix | New | 53.95 |
| World Of Simulators | New | 45 |
| Wreckfest | New | 25.5 |
| Wulverblade | New | 68.83 |
| Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna the Golden Country | 45 | |
| Xenoblade Chronicles 2 | 42.6 | |
| Xtreme Sports | New | 50.5 |
| Yoku's Island Express | CIB+ | 35.5 |
| Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair | New | 35.5 |
| Young Souls | New | 34.49 |
| Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution | CIB+ | 17.69 |
| Yuppie Psycho: Executive Edition (Elite Edition) | New | 45.49 |
| Yurukill: The Calumniation Games (Deluxe Edition) | New | 20.73 |
| Zombies Ate My Neighbors and Ghoul Patrol | New | 40.09 |
| realMyst: Masterpiece Edition | New | 78.08 |
| PS2 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Armored Core Nexus | CIB | 105.33 |
| PS4 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 88 Antarctica | New | 45.00 |
| Antartica 88 [Variant Cover] | New | 185.5 |
| Deadpool | CIB+ | 76.33 |
| Death Park | New | 45 |
| Death Park | New | 45 |
| Death Park | New | 45 |
| Death Park | New | 45 |
| Digimon Survive | New | 16.55 |
| Divinity: Original Sin II - Definitive Edition | New | 71 |
| Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! | New | 21.17 |
| Helldivers [Super-Earth Ultimate Edition] | CIB+ | 45.00 |
| Minecraft: Story Mode - A Telltale Games Series - The Complete Adventure | CIB+ | 58.41 |
| Outriders: Worldslayer | New | 18.48 |
| Revenge of The Bird King | New | 31.99 |
| Saints Row: The Third Remastered | New | 15.1 |
| Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal [At the Seams Edition] | New | 60.49 |
| Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal [Tailor Made Edition] | New | 47.99 |
| Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash (No Shirt, No Shoes, All Service Edition) | New | 71.5 |
| Shadow Warrior 2 [Special Reserve Edition] | New | 235.52 |
| Super Perils of Baking Special Edition [SEGA Outerbox] | New | 120.00 |
| Swords of Ditto: Mormo's Curse [Special Reserve Edition] | New | 40.00 |
| Tamashii | New | 450.00 |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan | CIB+ | 40.00 |
| Valkyria Chronicles Remastered Steelbook Edition | New | 30.45 |
| VITA | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2064: Read Only Memories | New | 67.97 |
| 88 Heroes | New | 40.6 |
| 99Vidas | New | 125.97 |
| Aegis of Earth: Protonovus Assault | New | 26.49 |
| Akiba's Beat | New | 30.25 |
| Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed | CIB+ | 25.49 |
| Alone With You | New | 38.5 |
| Amazing Spider-Man | CIB+ | 64.75 |
| Amazing Spider-Man | CIB+ | 64.75 |
| Angry Birds Star Wars | New | 20.48 |
| Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition | New | 40.49 |
| Antiquia Lost | New | 34.75 |
| Aqua Kitty: Milk Mine Defender DX | New | 51.5 |
| Army Corps of Hell | New | 23.99 |
| Asdivine Hearts | New | 35.46 |
| Astro Aqua Kitty [Limited Edition] | New | 64.7 |
| Atari Flashback Classics | New | 60.61 |
| Atelier Escha & Logy Plus: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky (Limited Edition) | New | 168.49 |
| Awesome Pea Collection [Limited Edition] | CIB+ | 40.1 |
| Axiom Verge Multiverse Edition | New | 56.56 |
| Back in 1995 [Limited Edition] | New | 191.4 |
| Bard's Gold | New | 33 |
| Bard's Tale: Remastered and Resnarkled | New | 50.49 |
| Bastion | New | 64.16 |
| Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate | CIB+ | 23.67 |
| Bit.Trip Limited Edition | New | 33.5 |
| Bit.Trip Presents...Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien | New | 33.49 |
| Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon | New | 118.23 |
| Borderlands 2 | CIB+ | 23.49 |
| Breach & Clear | New | 308.01 |
| Broken Age | New | 33.77 |
| Bunny Must Die: Chelsea and the 7 Devils | New | 95 |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified | CIB+ | 22.29 |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified | 18.98 | |
| Chaos;Child | New | 45.61 |
| Chasm | CIB+ | 60.49 |
| Child of Light | CIB+ | 24.56 |
| Claire: Extended Cut | CIB+ | 35.17 |
| Code:Realize - Future Blessings | 14.9 | |
| Code:Realize - Guardian of Rebirth | New | 25.5 |
| Code:Realize - Guardian of Rebirth | 14.2 | |
| Conga Master Go! [Limited Edition] | New | 51.83 |
| Corpse Party: Blood Drive | New | 58.77 |
| Cosmic Star Heroine | CIB+ | 43.25 |
| Count Lucanor [Signature Edition] | New | 144.47 |
| Criminal Girls 2: Party Favors | CIB+ | 74.09 |
| Criminal Girls: Invite Only | CIB+ | 54.49 |
| Croixleur Sigma | New | 40.49 |
| Cursed Castilla EX [Limited Edition] | New | 60.5 |
| Curses 'N Chaos | New | 38.72 |
| Damascus Gear: Operation Osaka | New | 40.51 |
| Damascus Gear: Operation Tokyo | New | 41 |
| Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair | 19.41 | |
| Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair | 19.41 | |
| Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls | New | 31.5 |
| Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony | CIB+ | 58.89 |
| Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc | CIB+ | 25.97 |
| Dariusburst: Chronicle Saviours | New | 47.38 |
| Deadbolt | New | 42.44 |
| Death Mark | CIB+ | 23.22 |
| Death Tales [Limited Edition] | New | 40.4 |
| Deemo: The Last Recital | New | 34.22 |
| Defender's Quest: Valley of the Forgotten | New | 37.86 |
| Demon Gaze II | New | 74.66 |
| Demon Gaze | CIB+ | 25.81 |
| Demon Gaze | 22.22 | |
| Demon's Tier+ [Limited Edition] | CIB+ | 55.49 |
| Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax | CIB+ | 25.5 |
| Devious Dungeon - Limited Edition | CIB+ | 67.38 |
| Devious Dungeon 2 [Limited Edition] | New | 84.5 |
| Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth | CIB+ | 65.9 |
| Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited | CIB+ | 25.49 |
| Dokuro | New | 52.94 |
| Dragon Fantasy: The Black Tome of Ice | New | 34.5 |
| Dragon Fantasy: The Volumes of Westeria | New | 40.49 |
| Dragon Sinker: Descendants of Legend | New | 35.5 |
| Dungeon Travelers 2: The Royal Library & The Monster Seal | CIB+ | 53 |
| Dynasty Warriors: Next | 16.66 | |
| EMMA: Lost in Memories [Limited Edition] | New | 52.49 |
| Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders from Planet Space | New | 28.19 |
| Exile's End | New | 39.65 |
| Exist Archive: The Other Side of The Sky | 18.48 | |
| Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star Noble Phantasm Edition | New | 46.26 |
| Fernz Gate | New | 30.69 |
| Final Fantasy X / X-2 HD Remaster | 25.49 | |
| Final Fantasy X-2 HD Remaster | New | 61.19 |
| Forma.8 | New | 32.5 |
| Freedom Wars | CIB+ | 13.48 |
| Furwind [Limited Edition] | CIB+ | 40.5 |
| Futuridium EP Deluxe | New | 45.97 |
| Gal*Gun: Double Peace | CIB+ | 32.34 |
| Ghoulboy [Limited Edition] | New | 160.5 |
| God of War Collection | New | 74.75 |
| Grand Kingdom | New | 47.6 |
| Gravity Rush | CIB+ | 44.5 |
| Guard Duty [Limited Edition] | CIB+ | 47.38 |
| Gundemoniums | New | 84.18 |
| Gunhouse | New | 30.38 |
| Habroxia 2 [Limited Edition] | New | 65.5 |
| Habroxia | New | 129.94 |
| Halloween Forever [Limited Edition] | New | 74.5 |
| Hole | New | World |
| Home: A Unique Horror Adventure | New | 35.92 |
| Horizon Chase Turbo [Limited Edition] | New | 76.81 |
| Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational | New | 26.19 |
| Hotaru no Nikki - The Firefly Diary: Limited Edition | New | 59.25 |
| House in Fata Morgana: Dreams of the Revenants Edition | CIB+ | 99.5 |
| House in Fata Morgana: Dreams of the Revenants Edition | M+B | 40.1 |
| Hue | New | 40.5 |
| Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart | CIB+ | 35.5 |
| Hyperdimension Neptunia PP: Producing Perfection | CIB+ | 35.97 |
| Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 | CIB+ | 47.01 |
| Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 | CIB+ | 47.01 |
| Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2: Sisters Generation | CIB+ | 60.49 |
| Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2: Sisters Generation | CIB+ | 60.49 |
| Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation | CIB+ | 55.95 |
| Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation | CIB+ | 55.95 |
| Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed | CIB+ | 43.81 |
| Iconoclasts | New | 96.5 |
| Indigo 7 : Quest for Love | New | ? |
| Jak and Daxter Collection | CIB+ | 50.49 |
| Jet Set Knights [Limited Edition] | New | 100.5 |
| Jet Set Knights [Limited Edition] | New | 100.5 |
| Just Ignore them + My Big Sister Collection | New | 60.49 |
| Kawaii Deathu Desu | New | 45.5 |
| Killzone: Mercenary | CIB+ | 32.68 |
| Killzone: Mercenary | 24.49 | |
| King of Fighters '97: Global Match | New | 64.81 |
| Knightin' + [Limited Edition] | New | 60.45 |
| Knytt Underground | New | 128.14 |
| LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes | 11.33 | |
| LEGO Jurassic World | CIB+ | 13.44 |
| LEGO Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin | 17.12 | |
| LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens | New | 28.75 |
| LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens | 12.21 | |
| LEGO The Lord of the Rings | 10.49 | |
| La-Mulana Ex | New | 38.03 |
| Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (Lionheart Limited Edition) | New | 72.39 |
| Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II | CIB+ | 57.82 |
| Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel | CIB+ | 36.49 |
| Lone Survivor: The Director's Cut | New | 42.49 |
| Longest Five Minutes | New | 32.5 |
| Lost Child | New | 56.03 |
| Lost Cube [Limited Edition] | New | 50.49 |
| Luckslinger [Limited Edition] | New | 60.41 |
| Lumines: Electronic Symphony | New | 18.61 |
| MUSYNX | New | 50.49 |
| Mary Skelter: Nightmares | CIB+ | 92.87 |
| MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies | New | 37.58 |
| MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death | CIB+ | 25.39 |
| Mercenary Kings: Reloaded Edition [Limited Edition] | New | 106.71 |
| Metagal [Limited Edition] | CIB+ | 100.35 |
| Metal Gear Solid HD Collection | CIB+ | 46.49 |
| Metal Slug 3 | New | 115.48 |
| Mind Zero | CIB+ | 20.48 |
| Mooseman [Limited Edition] | New | 119.05 |
| Mortal Kombat | CIB+ | 26.99 |
| MotoGP 13 | CIB+ | 23.83 |
| Muv-Luv Alternative | New | 66.95 |
| Muv-Luv Complete Set | New | 90.5 |
| Muv-Luv | New | 53.36 |
| My Aunt is a Witch [Limited Edition] | New | 55.5 |
| Mystery Chronicle: One Way Heroics | New | 27.94 |
| Need for Speed: Most Wanted - A Criterion Game | CIB+ | 20.32 |
| Neurovoider | New | 35.5 |
| Nicole [Limited Edition] | New | 48.22 |
| Night Trap: 25th Anniversary Edition | New | 58.99 |
| Nova-111 | New | 28.67 |
| Nurse Love Addiction | New | 59.18 |
| Nurse Love Syndrome | New | 50.49 |
| Nurse Love Syndrome | 15.49 | |
| Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas | New | 52 |
| Octodad: Dadliest Catch | New | 46.36 |
| Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee - | New | 'n' Tasty |
| Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee HD | New | 52.5 |
| Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD | New | 69.73 |
| Odin Sphere Leifthrasir | CIB+ | 72.45 |
| Odin Sphere Leifthrasir | 70.5 | |
| One More Dungeon | CIB+ | 60 |
| Operation Abyss: | New | Tokyo Legacy |
| Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines | New | 93 |
| Papers, Please | New | 115.47 |
| Pato Box [Limited Edition] | New | 73.23 |
| Penny-Punching Princess | New | 45.41 |
| Period: Cube - Shackles of Amadeus | New | 54.65 |
| Persona 4 Golden | New | 61.12 |
| Persona 4 Golden | 25.37 | |
| Persona 4: Dancing All Night - Disco Fever Edition | New | 145.5 |
| Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds | New | 53.5 |
| Pix the Cat | New | 28.84 |
| Plague Road | New | 43.4 |
| PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale | New | 31.74 |
| Proteus | New | 36.49 |
| Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk | New | 51.5 |
| Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk | New | 51.5 |
| Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly | CIB+ | 33.57 |
| Pushy and Pully in Block Land | New | 70.45 |
| Rabi-Ribi | New | 93.59 |
| Rainbow Moon | New | 44.89 |
| Ratchet and Clank Trilogy | CIB+ | 72.77 |
| Ray Gigant | New | 102.84 |
| Rayman Legends | 17.37 | |
| Rayman Origins | CIB+ | 16.71 |
| Retro City Rampage DX [Re-Release] | New | 35.00 |
| Revenant Dogma | New | 35.36 |
| Revenant Saga | New | 29.44 |
| Reverie [Limited Edition] | CIB+ | 43.49 |
| Riddled Corpses EX | New | 40.49 |
| Risk of Rain | New | 38 |
| Rock Boshers DX | New | 29.34 |
| Rocketbirds 2: Evolution | New | 55.5 |
| Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken | New | 43.2 |
| Root Double [Xtend Edition] | New | 53.5 |
| Root Letter | New | 46.11 |
| Rose in the Twilight | New | 192 |
| SUPERBEAT: XONiC | New | 28.49 |
| Salt and Sanctuary | New | 100.49 |
| Salt and Sanctuary | New | 100.49 |
| Saturday Morning RPG | New | 50.49 |
| Sayonara Umihara Kawase++ | New | 67.33 |
| ScourgeBringer [Limited Edition] | New | 59.97 |
| ScourgeBringer [Limited Edition] | New | 59.97 |
| Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus: Let's Get Physical Edition | New | 115.5 |
| Senran Kagura: Bon Appetit! Full Course - Collector's Edition | New | 185.13 |
| Senran Kagura: Bon Appetit! | New | 150.44 |
| Senran Kagura: Estival Versus Endless Summer Edition | New | 115.48 |
| Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story | New | 155.5 |
| Severed [Limited Edition] | New | 100.81 |
| Shakedown: Hawaii | CIB+ | 36.85 |
| Shantae: Half-Genie Hero | CIB+ | 37.5 |
| Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen | CIB+ | 38.67 |
| Shovel Knight | New | 96.49 |
| Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution 2+ | CIB+ | 76.26 |
| Silent Hill: Book of Memories | CIB+ | 76.38 |
| Sir Eatsalot [Limited Edition] | CIB+ | 53.08 |
| Siralim 2 | New | 30.49 |
| Siralim | New | 50.5 |
| Skullgirls: 2nd Encore | New | 52.81 |
| Sky Force Anniversary | New | 75.48 |
| Slain: Back From Hell [Signature Edition] | New | 150.65 |
| Sly Cooper Collection | CIB+ | 52.27 |
| Smart as... | CIB+ | 9.67 |
| Soldner-X 2: Final Prototype | New | 44.12 |
| Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed | CIB+ | 23.56 |
| Sorcery Saga: Curse of the Great Curry God [Limited edition] | New | 80.5 |
| Soul Sacrifice Delta | New | 105.5 |
| Soul Sacrifice | CIB+ | 17.36 |
| Spelunky | New | 70.5 |
| Spy Hunter | CIB+ | 24.31 |
| Stay [Limited Edition] | New | 130.5 |
| Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark (Ultimate Edition) | New | 29.13 |
| SteamWorld Dig | New | 55.72 |
| SteamWorld Heist | New | 52.97 |
| Steins;Gate 0 | CIB+ | 29.49 |
| Steins;Gate | CIB+ | 30.58 |
| Stranger of sword city limited edition | New | 63.57 |
| Super Hydorah | New | 47.9 |
| Super Meat Boy | New | 60.5 |
| Super Mutant Alien Assault | New | 34.9 |
| Super Skull Smash GO! 2 Turbo | New | 42.35 |
| Superdimension Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls | New | 58.5 |
| Swapper | New | 51.48 |
| Swindle | New | 27.51 |
| Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment | New | 65.48 |
| Synergia [Limited Edition] | New | 110.49 |
| Tachyon Project Limited Edition | New | 55.35 |
| Takotan [Limited Edition] | New | 51.59 |
| Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack | New | 50.24 |
| Tales of Hearts R | CIB+ | 69.48 |
| Tales of Hearts R | 50.5 | |
| Task Force Kampas | New | 36.5 |
| Tetris Ultimate | New | 70.47 |
| Tetris Ultimate | New | 70.47 |
| Thomas Was Alone | New | 33.5 |
| Tokyo Xanadu | New | 49.32 |
| Touch My Katamari | CIB+ | 33.72 |
| Twin Breaker: A Sacred Symbols Adventure [Limited Edition] | CIB+ | 47.09 |
| Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 | CIB+ | 31.21 |
| UnMetal | New | 163.32 |
| Uncharted: Golden Abyss | CIB+ | 27.23 |
| Uncharted: Golden Abyss | CIB+ | 27.23 |
| Undertale | New | 66.38 |
| Unepic [Limited Edition] | New | 274.98 |
| Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception | New | 72.27 |
| Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth - Launch Edition | New | 36.5 |
| Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth - Launch Edition | New | 36.5 |
| VA-11 Hall-A | New | 79.91 |
| Valkyrie Drive: Bhikkhuni | CIB+ | 66.81 |
| Vasara Collection | New | 98.5 |
| Velocity 2X: Critical Mass Edition | New | 63.05 |
| Volume | New | 32.25 |
| Walking Dead: Season Two - A Telltale Games Series | New | 22.61 |
| Windjammers | New | 35.83 |
| Winter's Daydream [Limited Edition] | New | 64.1 |
| Wipeout 2048 | New | 31.24 |
| World of Final Fantasy | New | 33.99 |
| Xeno Crisis [Limited Edition] | New | 100.5 |
| Xeno Crisis [Limited Edition] | New | 100.5 |
| Xeno Crisis [Limited Edition] | New | 100.5 |
| Xenon Valkyrie+ | New | 68.11 |
| Xeodrifter | New | 44.2 |
| Yomawari: Midnight Shadows | CIB+ | 33.71 |
| Yomawari: Night Alone / htol#NiQ: The Firefly Diary | CIB+ | 40.5 |
| Ys Origin | New | 56.4 |
| Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA | New | 72.34 |
| Ys: Memories of Celceta | CIB+ | 25.99 |
| Yumeutsutsu Re:After [Limited Edition] | New | 82.97 |
| Yumeutsutsu Re:Master [Limited Edition] | New | 75.48 |
| Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward | CIB+ | 15.5 |
| Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma | New | 33.17 |
| Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma | 24.51 |
| 3DS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Aliens: Infestation | 45.00 | |
| Minecraft: New Nintendo 3DS Edition | New | 34.72 |
| Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson (Double D Edition) | New | 70.5 |
| Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson (Double D Edition) | New | 70.5 |
| Shantae and the Pirate's Curse [Collector's Edition] | New | 89.39 |
| Shantae and the Pirate's Curse [Collector's Edition] | New | 89.39 |
2024.06.01 03:54 TriBiscuit The Delivery - Power of Forgiveness Ficnap
This is my ficnapping of The Power of Forgiveness by u/Espazilious. If you're here and you haven't read it yet, (why?) do it now! Anyways, here it is.
—
//////////////////////////
Memory Transcription Subject: Dan Hayes, Human Resident of Venlil 4
////////
Date (standardized human time): January 24th, 2137
//////////////////////////
I woke unpeacefully, jolted awake by the doorbell going off. I stared at the ceiling for a good few moments, trying to banish the dreams that weren’t fading quickly enough and hoping whoever it was would go away. To the annoyance of my sleepy mind, the doorbell rang again.
I grumbled and yanked the blankets off me. Damn was it good to sleep in my own bed without an alien squeezing my lungs for hours. Speaking of, Sparci wasn’t in sight. The Farsul must have scampered off while I was still sleeping.
I groggily ambled around to the front door and unlocked it. Outside was a Venlil with an, admittedly, adorable little uniform. I looked down at the delivery person, having completely forgotten to put on my mask.
The poor sheep staggered backward as soon as they saw my face. There was also a box, markedly larger than I could comfortably carry. How the scrawny Venlil got it up here, I didn’t know. Nor did I really care.
“Hey, I almost forgot about this thing. Glad it's finally here, though,” I casually said. “You need me to sign anything?”
“U-Uh. Y-Yes. Please.” They raised their appendage with the holographic screen for me to see. I waved my finger around, signifying my identity with nought more than a single curvy line. They wouldn’t be able to tell the difference anyways.
“Thanks.” I put my hands on either side of the box and tugged, sliding the box into my humble dwelling. I pushed the door shut before the Venlil could do anything else and began to shove it further into the main living space.
“What is that?” Sparci pondered, suddenly emerging from off the couch. He must have been reading, or something, while I was still asleep. At least I don’t have to worry about him answering the door, I suppose.
“What does it look like?” I retorted.
“A box.”
“Amazing.”
“Well…” he pouted. “What’s inside of it?”
“Stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?”
“The stuff that I have to ship across the damn galaxy and pay way too fucking much on shipping fees. All this crap is only found on Earth.”
He stood still for a moment, thinking of what to say. I waited patiently.
“Can… Can I see?”
I quickly grabbed a knife. I sliced through the tape, then slowly drew my gaze to Sparci. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
“Of c—Wait, why do you say it like that?”
“Once you lay your eyes on what’s in this box, you may never be the same.”
There was a twitch of his ears. “Uhm… Okay?”
I slowly lifted the lid, pausing for dramatic effect. Unfortunately, Sparci wasn’t playing along with my foreboding box unfolding. He took a few steps forward to peek inside as I began to dig through it.
The first thing in the box I spotted was a reflective mesh in the shape of a bowl; the ideal tool to teach those damn wet noodles a lesson. Never again.
I fished it out of the box and handed it to Sparci. “Here.”
His ears perked up. “What is this?”
“A hat,” I deadpanned. “You can wear it, if you want.”
He studied me. It took all of my willpower to keep every muscle in my face straight, and by some divine power, I managed to do it by the time he took it from my hand. I quickly looked away, doing my very best to not imagine him wearing a strainer atop his head.
After pulling out some less interesting items, including some spaghetti sauce, Sparci spoke, “I thought it would be more. Um. Comfortable?”
I looked up. Oh lord, forgive me, and bless this poor innocent soul.
His poor ears were being smushed against his head by the dome of shiny metal lattice. The rim of the thing came to a rest right at the end of his snout, leaving his eyes partially hidden. At least he could see me, a little. Overall, he looked exactly as I expected an alien wearing a strainer to look.
“Yeah,” I forced a laugh back into my throat. “Works better on a human, I think.”
He took it off and gave it back to me. “I want to see.”
I spun it around in my hands, contemplating his words. It would only be fair. In a decidedly smooth motion, I flipped it onto my head, feeling the metal scratch against my scalp. He studied me, hopefully in awe, but realistically in confusion.
In a strange burst of compulsion, I tipped the rim at Sparci. “M’lady.”
“What?”
Immediate regret. “Nothing.”
“Is that a human greeting?”
“No. And don’t ever repeat what I just said. Ever.”
His ears pulled back in what I guessed to be fear, or maybe shock. “O-Okay.”
I quickly yanked the strainer off my head and threw it into the kitchen. I was aiming for the sink, but it came short and clattered to the floor in a mocking fashion.
“Anyways,” I resumed. “Let’s see what else I got.”
Before I could look back in the box, Sparci was already pointing inside of it. “What are those?”
He was motioning towards a brightly colored package full of sugary treats. “Those are gummy b-” I stopped myself. Would it be wrong to lie about what the shapes represented? Would it be worth it to see if he liked them? The answer to both questions was, undoubtedly, yes.
“They’re gummy candies,” I continued, reaching for the package. “You wanna try one?”
“Yes. Please.”
I ripped open the package and handed him a small yellow bear; the worst flavor. He took it, and while I popped a green one into my mouth he spun it around in his paw.
“What is it supposed to look like? It’s almost like a Zurulian.”
I frowned, realizing I was worried about the wrong thing. “Um. These have existed for far longer than we’ve been spacefaring, so that’s just a coincidence.”
“But that still doesn’t answer my question.”
Damnit. How do I explain this to him? A predator eating a candy version of another predator. That’s about as bad as it can get for these aliens.
“I dunno,” I said. “People just make weird stuff sometimes. Give it a try.”
He gingerly placed it into his mouth and began to chew. He eventually swallowed it, without much reaction.
“No reaction at all?”
“Sugar,” he admitted.
“Yeah, fair enough.” I put the gummy bears on the counter and began to dig through the box again. My eyes fell upon something I had forgotten I’d been looking forward to. “Alright, I think you’re gonna like this next thing I got.”
“Hm. What is it?”
I twisted the lid off and pulled off the seal, exposing the hopefully creamy peanut butter. I paid extra for this, so it better be worth it. I noisily dug out a spoon from the drawer and stuck it into the semisolid, pulling out a nice dollop of it. As I offered it to Sparci, I had to forcibly stop myself from simply wiping it on his nose and letting him deal with the aftermath.
He gingerly took the spoon from me, giving it a sniff. “It smells… interesting.”
“I did a quick look-through on any dietary limits… mainly allergies. You should be good to go but… maybe just take a tiny lick for now.” When his ears folded in that special way, I quickly added, “It’s nothing to worry about, really.”
He stuck his tongue out the tiniest amount, taking just a drop of it into his mouth. His ears twitched, and in the time I could blink he shoved the entire spoon into his mouth.
“Itsh shticky in my mouf.”
I let out a small chortle, to my own disbelief. “Yeah, it, uh, tends to be that way. I take it you like it?” It was a dumb question, but it would make him talk with his mouth full again.
Instead, he nodded, foiling my plan. When did he learn to do that?
“You can put the spoon in the sink. When you’re done, I mean.”
He pulled it out of his mouth, completely spotless. “Can I haf shum more?”
I twisted the cap back onto the jar with vehemence. “Hell no. Do you know what this is? This is Extra Deluxe Creamy. With shipping, that’s at least six times what normal peanut butter costs. Go get your own.”
“Meow?”
“It’s less cute when your mouth is full of peanut butter,” I lied. “Try again later.”
To say he looked crestfallen would be a massive understatement. I set the jar on the counter, and made a mental note to hide it on the top shelf of a cabinet. The sneaky shit was bound to try and find it at some point.
When I got back to the box, Sparci was looking into it. He pointed at something. “What are those?”
I took out what he was referring to. “Socks.”
“Sawwcks,” he repeated. “You wear them?”
“Yeah. I need socks for my shoes and shoes for my feet. It stops me from doing that,” I gestured at the small trail of paw marks leading from the front door he’d left after the storm.
He coyly lowered his ears. “S-Sorry.”
“Whatever.” I took the package of socks and threw them into my room. I had no idea where they landed. Had to keep things entertaining for my future self, of course.
I shuffled through the rest of the box, mostly innocuous items that were apparently the most interesting thing in the world according to Sparci.
After many questions and explanations and objects thrown into my room, I finally got to what I had really been looking forward to.
“Alright, these last few things I got specifically for you.”
He dropped the pair of sunglasses he was trying to fit on his face and scurried over to me. I reached into the box and pulled out the two books. I gave them a quick look-through before giving them both to Sparci.
His expression changed several times. “What…?”
“Coloring books.”
He began to look through one of them, tail flicking with eagerness. “I recognize some of these…”
“They’re both full of animals you would find on Earth.”
He was already flipping through the second book. “There’s so many!”
I smiled. “Well, I sure hope so. There aren’t many dogs or cats, or raccoons for that matter, but I think the variety makes up for it. Oh, and don’t forget these.” I reached for the last item in the box, a 48-pack of not-so-cheap markers, and gave them to him.
His eyes sparkled as he took it into his paws, flicking over each color. “These are…”
“Better than crayons,” I finished. “And I rightfully paid for them, so you don’t need to worry about that. Oh, and I hope they aren’t too… childish? The last time I touched a coloring book was… well, I guess I don’t know, but I figured one from an alien planet would be interesting.”
His eyes looked back and forth between the books and the markers, as if he couldn’t decide which one was better.
“…do you want to go color?”
“Mhm!”
He took off. It was good to see him move so enthusiastically. What he revealed to me the night before still weighed on my mind, and he was the one that had to live through it. But now wasn’t the time to think about that. It was time for the Happy, and damn if I wasn’t going to get it.
I joined him at the table as he was flipping through pages, trying to make a choice. He managed to pick a sea turtle. Or perhaps “choose” was a strong word, as he took on a more confused expression.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I just realized I don’t know what color to pick.”
“Oh. Well, I guess I could search up a picture or a video of one. Or maybe you could color it what you think is right, and we can compare after.”
“Hmmm. The second option. But can you tell me what kind of animal this is? It doesn’t look like any of the ones from your videos.”
“It’s a sea turtle. They’re reptiles, and they spend most of their time in the ocean.”
His ears drooped. “The… ocean.”
Oh. Of course. The Archives.
“There’s plenty of kinds of turtles that live in freshwater, like rivers and lakes. If you want to color it, do it. Nothing else should matter.”
“I… guess you’re right.” He thought for a long moment before his gaze settled back on me. “Do you… want to color something?”
“Sure. Why not.”
He passed the other book to me and began to dig through the markers. He settled on orange, which I of course would not weigh in on. If anything, I was curious what he thought a turtle might look like. Plus, I would get to see what his reaction would be to seeing how the real thing compared to his colors.
I decided to pick a random color and flip to a random page. Filling in a bunch of smaller shapes to create one larger shape wasn’t exactly the most exciting thing. Although, an alien coloring book would certainly be more interesting. Maybe I should’ve looked into getting a coloring book from one of the local stores. What would aliens decide worthy of coloring?
My random choice left me creating a grass green moose. Earth grass, that is. Not some weird purple alien stuff from God knows where. Sparci was already diving into one of the turtle’s now orange flippers.
“You have any music on your pad you might wanna listen to?” I asked, the silence slowly becoming loud.
He stopped coloring and looked up at me, his brows furrowing and ears tilting back. “I’m, uh, not sure you would enjoy it.”
“You listened to me ramble on about Esoterica for a good two hours. I can at least repay the favor. Plus, I’d like to think that I’m pretty open to new music.”
He thought for another moment.
/////
Advancing transcript by ≈50 minutes
/////
“Oh! This is another really good one!” Sparci’s ears wiggled and his tail picked up some speed as another track came on. He replaced his marker for a different color.
I still hadn’t finished my green moose, and he was already on his fourth page. The other three he removed from the book and laid out across the table to see. There was his orange and brown sea turtle, a blue elephant with a cyan trunk, a school of fish colored to create a rainbow across the page, and was now working on a fairly normal looking cheetah.
“So how long ago did this one come out?” I queried.
He didn’t look up from his page. “This specific one came out around thirty years ago, but it’s a remix. The original came out about eight years before that. I can find the original if you want, but I prefer the remix, not that it’s worse, but I think the different bassline and effects they added make it just a little more to my taste. Oh, and they also replaced one of the verses with a new portion by a different singer, and it’s a lot catchier, and they manage to do that all while keeping the feeling of the song the same.”
I nodded along to the quick beat, but the translator left something to be desired. The lyrics talked about the incredulous nature of giving a ground mammal wings to fly, or something. The instrumentals were catchy enough, a blend of strings and synths. It was almost like listening to a foreign pop song.
“It sounds… kinda similar to something. Is-”
“It’s part of the same album as Teleport, so also the same artist. But like I said, it’s also a remix.”
“Ah, that explains it.”
I still couldn’t get over just how much he could talk when he was prompted with a set of ears and something he liked. And that wasn’t even mentioning that he had talked for nearly seven hours straight the moment he got his pad’s data back. Getting that worked out was probably the best thing that anyone could have done for him. It was good to see him like this. Enjoying himself.
I finished up the final details on my green moose. By stroke of my random color choice, it had bright red antlers, even though I wasn’t exactly going for a holiday theme.
I spun the book around to Sparci. “What do you think? Is it fridge-worthy?”
He slowly pulled his head up even as his eyes lingered on his page. Once he finally finished filling in the shape, he looked over my page. He stopped wagging his tail to the beat of the song. “What is that?”
“A moose.”
His ear twitched. “That’s what it looks like?”
“Hey, I didn’t judge your coloring.”
“That looks nothing like the other animals I’ve seen.”
“What did you expect? I chose random colors.”
The other ear twitched. “But aren’t you supposed to know what they look like?”
“First of all, that’s very prejudiced of you. Secondly, it was a lot more fun this way. Here, I’ll show you what an actual moose looks like.”
I pulled out my pad and quickly looked for a picture. A moment later, I had it pulled up and Sparci was looking at the animal with awe.
“That one’s brown,” he commented.
“Correct.”
“Its head things are big.”
“Yep. I should also mention that they’re huge. Like, as tall as I am, and about five times as heavy.”
His eyes went wide. “How big is its body!?”
I resisted the strong urge to slap my forehead. “No, it’s body is as tall as I am. Its antlers put it a little bit higher.”
His shock died down slightly. “Oh. That’s still huge.”
“Wait until you learn about the elephant you colored.”
His eyes darted between his colorings. “Wha…?”
I stuffed my pad away. “Welp. I think I’m done coloring. And I’m also hungry. You want some questionable fruit goop oatmeal?”
He perked a single ear. “Uhm. Yes. Please.”
I got up from my seat and shuffled into the kitchen, picking up the strainer off the floor. I put away the rest of the things, making damn sure the peanut butter was tucked away in the corner of the highest shelf of a cabinet.
I was reaching for the oatmeal when I noticed the music had paused. I looked over, seeing Sparci standing in the kitchen.
“Do you want me to show you an elephant?” I guessed.
“No. I mean, yes, but… I…” His tail twitched restlessly.
I patiently waited.
He took a breath. “Thank you. For, um, everything.”
I shrugged. “You’re welcome. But you’ll have to thank me again soon, because this oatmeal is going to be fire.”
“You… You didn’t have to do this.”
I shrugged again, setting a pot on the stove. “I was just ordering some normal stuff, and had the thought to get a pair of coloring books. It’s not that big of a deal.”
His tail curled around his leg. “But, everything else.”
I guessed even little things could mean the absolute world to someone when they were coming back from what Sparci had gone through. Was still going through.
I sighed. “Yeah. You’re welcome for everything else, too. Thanks for sharing the music. It’s, uh, definitely alien music.” Is that even a compliment?
He seemed to hesitate for a second before coming further into the kitchen towards me. His arms parted slightly, and before I knew it he had them wrapped around me. I mirrored the motion, placing my hands on his back and gently rubbing.
There was something ever so slightly different in him at that moment, as if he was more sure of how he leaned into the hug. His warmth slowly seeped into me, starkly contrasting how cold he had been when I carried him from that alley, broken and bruised.
“Thank you,” I heard him whisper.
I simply rubbed his back and let him pull away on his own. I hadn’t even realized how quiet it was without the music.
I cleared my throat. “Alright, lemme get this oatmeal going before you get hair everywhere.”
—
A/N: Oh my goodness, give this poor boy everything I have. He deserves the world. Strainers, peanut butter, my soul, whatever. And, of course, some coloring books and a good playlist to share.
Thanks to for organizing yet another ficnapping! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you for reading!
submitted by TriBiscuit to NatureofPredators [link] [comments]
—
//////////////////////////
Memory Transcription Subject: Dan Hayes, Human Resident of Venlil 4
////////
Date (standardized human time): January 24th, 2137
//////////////////////////
I woke unpeacefully, jolted awake by the doorbell going off. I stared at the ceiling for a good few moments, trying to banish the dreams that weren’t fading quickly enough and hoping whoever it was would go away. To the annoyance of my sleepy mind, the doorbell rang again.
I grumbled and yanked the blankets off me. Damn was it good to sleep in my own bed without an alien squeezing my lungs for hours. Speaking of, Sparci wasn’t in sight. The Farsul must have scampered off while I was still sleeping.
I groggily ambled around to the front door and unlocked it. Outside was a Venlil with an, admittedly, adorable little uniform. I looked down at the delivery person, having completely forgotten to put on my mask.
The poor sheep staggered backward as soon as they saw my face. There was also a box, markedly larger than I could comfortably carry. How the scrawny Venlil got it up here, I didn’t know. Nor did I really care.
“Hey, I almost forgot about this thing. Glad it's finally here, though,” I casually said. “You need me to sign anything?”
“U-Uh. Y-Yes. Please.” They raised their appendage with the holographic screen for me to see. I waved my finger around, signifying my identity with nought more than a single curvy line. They wouldn’t be able to tell the difference anyways.
“Thanks.” I put my hands on either side of the box and tugged, sliding the box into my humble dwelling. I pushed the door shut before the Venlil could do anything else and began to shove it further into the main living space.
“What is that?” Sparci pondered, suddenly emerging from off the couch. He must have been reading, or something, while I was still asleep. At least I don’t have to worry about him answering the door, I suppose.
“What does it look like?” I retorted.
“A box.”
“Amazing.”
“Well…” he pouted. “What’s inside of it?”
“Stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?”
“The stuff that I have to ship across the damn galaxy and pay way too fucking much on shipping fees. All this crap is only found on Earth.”
He stood still for a moment, thinking of what to say. I waited patiently.
“Can… Can I see?”
I quickly grabbed a knife. I sliced through the tape, then slowly drew my gaze to Sparci. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
“Of c—Wait, why do you say it like that?”
“Once you lay your eyes on what’s in this box, you may never be the same.”
There was a twitch of his ears. “Uhm… Okay?”
I slowly lifted the lid, pausing for dramatic effect. Unfortunately, Sparci wasn’t playing along with my foreboding box unfolding. He took a few steps forward to peek inside as I began to dig through it.
The first thing in the box I spotted was a reflective mesh in the shape of a bowl; the ideal tool to teach those damn wet noodles a lesson. Never again.
I fished it out of the box and handed it to Sparci. “Here.”
His ears perked up. “What is this?”
“A hat,” I deadpanned. “You can wear it, if you want.”
He studied me. It took all of my willpower to keep every muscle in my face straight, and by some divine power, I managed to do it by the time he took it from my hand. I quickly looked away, doing my very best to not imagine him wearing a strainer atop his head.
After pulling out some less interesting items, including some spaghetti sauce, Sparci spoke, “I thought it would be more. Um. Comfortable?”
I looked up. Oh lord, forgive me, and bless this poor innocent soul.
His poor ears were being smushed against his head by the dome of shiny metal lattice. The rim of the thing came to a rest right at the end of his snout, leaving his eyes partially hidden. At least he could see me, a little. Overall, he looked exactly as I expected an alien wearing a strainer to look.
“Yeah,” I forced a laugh back into my throat. “Works better on a human, I think.”
He took it off and gave it back to me. “I want to see.”
I spun it around in my hands, contemplating his words. It would only be fair. In a decidedly smooth motion, I flipped it onto my head, feeling the metal scratch against my scalp. He studied me, hopefully in awe, but realistically in confusion.
In a strange burst of compulsion, I tipped the rim at Sparci. “M’lady.”
“What?”
Immediate regret. “Nothing.”
“Is that a human greeting?”
“No. And don’t ever repeat what I just said. Ever.”
His ears pulled back in what I guessed to be fear, or maybe shock. “O-Okay.”
I quickly yanked the strainer off my head and threw it into the kitchen. I was aiming for the sink, but it came short and clattered to the floor in a mocking fashion.
“Anyways,” I resumed. “Let’s see what else I got.”
Before I could look back in the box, Sparci was already pointing inside of it. “What are those?”
He was motioning towards a brightly colored package full of sugary treats. “Those are gummy b-” I stopped myself. Would it be wrong to lie about what the shapes represented? Would it be worth it to see if he liked them? The answer to both questions was, undoubtedly, yes.
“They’re gummy candies,” I continued, reaching for the package. “You wanna try one?”
“Yes. Please.”
I ripped open the package and handed him a small yellow bear; the worst flavor. He took it, and while I popped a green one into my mouth he spun it around in his paw.
“What is it supposed to look like? It’s almost like a Zurulian.”
I frowned, realizing I was worried about the wrong thing. “Um. These have existed for far longer than we’ve been spacefaring, so that’s just a coincidence.”
“But that still doesn’t answer my question.”
Damnit. How do I explain this to him? A predator eating a candy version of another predator. That’s about as bad as it can get for these aliens.
“I dunno,” I said. “People just make weird stuff sometimes. Give it a try.”
He gingerly placed it into his mouth and began to chew. He eventually swallowed it, without much reaction.
“No reaction at all?”
“Sugar,” he admitted.
“Yeah, fair enough.” I put the gummy bears on the counter and began to dig through the box again. My eyes fell upon something I had forgotten I’d been looking forward to. “Alright, I think you’re gonna like this next thing I got.”
“Hm. What is it?”
I twisted the lid off and pulled off the seal, exposing the hopefully creamy peanut butter. I paid extra for this, so it better be worth it. I noisily dug out a spoon from the drawer and stuck it into the semisolid, pulling out a nice dollop of it. As I offered it to Sparci, I had to forcibly stop myself from simply wiping it on his nose and letting him deal with the aftermath.
He gingerly took the spoon from me, giving it a sniff. “It smells… interesting.”
“I did a quick look-through on any dietary limits… mainly allergies. You should be good to go but… maybe just take a tiny lick for now.” When his ears folded in that special way, I quickly added, “It’s nothing to worry about, really.”
He stuck his tongue out the tiniest amount, taking just a drop of it into his mouth. His ears twitched, and in the time I could blink he shoved the entire spoon into his mouth.
“Itsh shticky in my mouf.”
I let out a small chortle, to my own disbelief. “Yeah, it, uh, tends to be that way. I take it you like it?” It was a dumb question, but it would make him talk with his mouth full again.
Instead, he nodded, foiling my plan. When did he learn to do that?
“You can put the spoon in the sink. When you’re done, I mean.”
He pulled it out of his mouth, completely spotless. “Can I haf shum more?”
I twisted the cap back onto the jar with vehemence. “Hell no. Do you know what this is? This is Extra Deluxe Creamy. With shipping, that’s at least six times what normal peanut butter costs. Go get your own.”
“Meow?”
“It’s less cute when your mouth is full of peanut butter,” I lied. “Try again later.”
To say he looked crestfallen would be a massive understatement. I set the jar on the counter, and made a mental note to hide it on the top shelf of a cabinet. The sneaky shit was bound to try and find it at some point.
When I got back to the box, Sparci was looking into it. He pointed at something. “What are those?”
I took out what he was referring to. “Socks.”
“Sawwcks,” he repeated. “You wear them?”
“Yeah. I need socks for my shoes and shoes for my feet. It stops me from doing that,” I gestured at the small trail of paw marks leading from the front door he’d left after the storm.
He coyly lowered his ears. “S-Sorry.”
“Whatever.” I took the package of socks and threw them into my room. I had no idea where they landed. Had to keep things entertaining for my future self, of course.
I shuffled through the rest of the box, mostly innocuous items that were apparently the most interesting thing in the world according to Sparci.
After many questions and explanations and objects thrown into my room, I finally got to what I had really been looking forward to.
“Alright, these last few things I got specifically for you.”
He dropped the pair of sunglasses he was trying to fit on his face and scurried over to me. I reached into the box and pulled out the two books. I gave them a quick look-through before giving them both to Sparci.
His expression changed several times. “What…?”
“Coloring books.”
He began to look through one of them, tail flicking with eagerness. “I recognize some of these…”
“They’re both full of animals you would find on Earth.”
He was already flipping through the second book. “There’s so many!”
I smiled. “Well, I sure hope so. There aren’t many dogs or cats, or raccoons for that matter, but I think the variety makes up for it. Oh, and don’t forget these.” I reached for the last item in the box, a 48-pack of not-so-cheap markers, and gave them to him.
His eyes sparkled as he took it into his paws, flicking over each color. “These are…”
“Better than crayons,” I finished. “And I rightfully paid for them, so you don’t need to worry about that. Oh, and I hope they aren’t too… childish? The last time I touched a coloring book was… well, I guess I don’t know, but I figured one from an alien planet would be interesting.”
His eyes looked back and forth between the books and the markers, as if he couldn’t decide which one was better.
“…do you want to go color?”
“Mhm!”
He took off. It was good to see him move so enthusiastically. What he revealed to me the night before still weighed on my mind, and he was the one that had to live through it. But now wasn’t the time to think about that. It was time for the Happy, and damn if I wasn’t going to get it.
I joined him at the table as he was flipping through pages, trying to make a choice. He managed to pick a sea turtle. Or perhaps “choose” was a strong word, as he took on a more confused expression.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I just realized I don’t know what color to pick.”
“Oh. Well, I guess I could search up a picture or a video of one. Or maybe you could color it what you think is right, and we can compare after.”
“Hmmm. The second option. But can you tell me what kind of animal this is? It doesn’t look like any of the ones from your videos.”
“It’s a sea turtle. They’re reptiles, and they spend most of their time in the ocean.”
His ears drooped. “The… ocean.”
Oh. Of course. The Archives.
“There’s plenty of kinds of turtles that live in freshwater, like rivers and lakes. If you want to color it, do it. Nothing else should matter.”
“I… guess you’re right.” He thought for a long moment before his gaze settled back on me. “Do you… want to color something?”
“Sure. Why not.”
He passed the other book to me and began to dig through the markers. He settled on orange, which I of course would not weigh in on. If anything, I was curious what he thought a turtle might look like. Plus, I would get to see what his reaction would be to seeing how the real thing compared to his colors.
I decided to pick a random color and flip to a random page. Filling in a bunch of smaller shapes to create one larger shape wasn’t exactly the most exciting thing. Although, an alien coloring book would certainly be more interesting. Maybe I should’ve looked into getting a coloring book from one of the local stores. What would aliens decide worthy of coloring?
My random choice left me creating a grass green moose. Earth grass, that is. Not some weird purple alien stuff from God knows where. Sparci was already diving into one of the turtle’s now orange flippers.
“You have any music on your pad you might wanna listen to?” I asked, the silence slowly becoming loud.
He stopped coloring and looked up at me, his brows furrowing and ears tilting back. “I’m, uh, not sure you would enjoy it.”
“You listened to me ramble on about Esoterica for a good two hours. I can at least repay the favor. Plus, I’d like to think that I’m pretty open to new music.”
He thought for another moment.
/////
Advancing transcript by ≈50 minutes
/////
“Oh! This is another really good one!” Sparci’s ears wiggled and his tail picked up some speed as another track came on. He replaced his marker for a different color.
I still hadn’t finished my green moose, and he was already on his fourth page. The other three he removed from the book and laid out across the table to see. There was his orange and brown sea turtle, a blue elephant with a cyan trunk, a school of fish colored to create a rainbow across the page, and was now working on a fairly normal looking cheetah.
“So how long ago did this one come out?” I queried.
He didn’t look up from his page. “This specific one came out around thirty years ago, but it’s a remix. The original came out about eight years before that. I can find the original if you want, but I prefer the remix, not that it’s worse, but I think the different bassline and effects they added make it just a little more to my taste. Oh, and they also replaced one of the verses with a new portion by a different singer, and it’s a lot catchier, and they manage to do that all while keeping the feeling of the song the same.”
I nodded along to the quick beat, but the translator left something to be desired. The lyrics talked about the incredulous nature of giving a ground mammal wings to fly, or something. The instrumentals were catchy enough, a blend of strings and synths. It was almost like listening to a foreign pop song.
“It sounds… kinda similar to something. Is-”
“It’s part of the same album as Teleport, so also the same artist. But like I said, it’s also a remix.”
“Ah, that explains it.”
I still couldn’t get over just how much he could talk when he was prompted with a set of ears and something he liked. And that wasn’t even mentioning that he had talked for nearly seven hours straight the moment he got his pad’s data back. Getting that worked out was probably the best thing that anyone could have done for him. It was good to see him like this. Enjoying himself.
I finished up the final details on my green moose. By stroke of my random color choice, it had bright red antlers, even though I wasn’t exactly going for a holiday theme.
I spun the book around to Sparci. “What do you think? Is it fridge-worthy?”
He slowly pulled his head up even as his eyes lingered on his page. Once he finally finished filling in the shape, he looked over my page. He stopped wagging his tail to the beat of the song. “What is that?”
“A moose.”
His ear twitched. “That’s what it looks like?”
“Hey, I didn’t judge your coloring.”
“That looks nothing like the other animals I’ve seen.”
“What did you expect? I chose random colors.”
The other ear twitched. “But aren’t you supposed to know what they look like?”
“First of all, that’s very prejudiced of you. Secondly, it was a lot more fun this way. Here, I’ll show you what an actual moose looks like.”
I pulled out my pad and quickly looked for a picture. A moment later, I had it pulled up and Sparci was looking at the animal with awe.
“That one’s brown,” he commented.
“Correct.”
“Its head things are big.”
“Yep. I should also mention that they’re huge. Like, as tall as I am, and about five times as heavy.”
His eyes went wide. “How big is its body!?”
I resisted the strong urge to slap my forehead. “No, it’s body is as tall as I am. Its antlers put it a little bit higher.”
His shock died down slightly. “Oh. That’s still huge.”
“Wait until you learn about the elephant you colored.”
His eyes darted between his colorings. “Wha…?”
I stuffed my pad away. “Welp. I think I’m done coloring. And I’m also hungry. You want some questionable fruit goop oatmeal?”
He perked a single ear. “Uhm. Yes. Please.”
I got up from my seat and shuffled into the kitchen, picking up the strainer off the floor. I put away the rest of the things, making damn sure the peanut butter was tucked away in the corner of the highest shelf of a cabinet.
I was reaching for the oatmeal when I noticed the music had paused. I looked over, seeing Sparci standing in the kitchen.
“Do you want me to show you an elephant?” I guessed.
“No. I mean, yes, but… I…” His tail twitched restlessly.
I patiently waited.
He took a breath. “Thank you. For, um, everything.”
I shrugged. “You’re welcome. But you’ll have to thank me again soon, because this oatmeal is going to be fire.”
“You… You didn’t have to do this.”
I shrugged again, setting a pot on the stove. “I was just ordering some normal stuff, and had the thought to get a pair of coloring books. It’s not that big of a deal.”
His tail curled around his leg. “But, everything else.”
I guessed even little things could mean the absolute world to someone when they were coming back from what Sparci had gone through. Was still going through.
I sighed. “Yeah. You’re welcome for everything else, too. Thanks for sharing the music. It’s, uh, definitely alien music.” Is that even a compliment?
He seemed to hesitate for a second before coming further into the kitchen towards me. His arms parted slightly, and before I knew it he had them wrapped around me. I mirrored the motion, placing my hands on his back and gently rubbing.
There was something ever so slightly different in him at that moment, as if he was more sure of how he leaned into the hug. His warmth slowly seeped into me, starkly contrasting how cold he had been when I carried him from that alley, broken and bruised.
“Thank you,” I heard him whisper.
I simply rubbed his back and let him pull away on his own. I hadn’t even realized how quiet it was without the music.
I cleared my throat. “Alright, lemme get this oatmeal going before you get hair everywhere.”
—
A/N: Oh my goodness, give this poor boy everything I have. He deserves the world. Strainers, peanut butter, my soul, whatever. And, of course, some coloring books and a good playlist to share.
Thanks to for organizing yet another ficnapping! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you for reading!
2024.06.01 03:04 VoctorDralidas {Fan Fic} Combat Artificer: Hemotheurge - 1
Michael crawled over the broken windshield glass and sandy dirt to his girlfriend, Sam. Every breath he took was labored as he inched over to her, he distantly felt the pain. He knew he had broken most of his ribs, his legs, and most of the bones in his left arm, but that was nothing compared to the injuries she had sustained being on the passenger side when it was struck.
Sweat mixed with the blood on his forehead, dripping into and making his eyes sting. Her breathing was becoming more and more shallow, as desperation welled in his mind. Their twisted wreck that was some distance away began to smoke, before flames began to lick from the inside of the hood.
“If any gods or demons can hear me, I beg of you, please. Please spare her life.” He hoarsely whispered. “I’ll give you anything, everything, just please. She has children who need her more than they need me.”
---OFFER ACCEPTED---
---YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED FOR TRANSLOCATION---
The voice rolled through his mind like the deep and powerful rumblings of a storm.
Michael began to pass out, his vision slowly fading.
As the last rays of light hit his eyes, he saw her wounds closing to heal. His eyes rolled back.
________________________________________
---INITIATING GODSMARKED TRAINING---
He was standing somewhere. Somewhere? It was a void, neither light, nor dark, but –NULL–. He could still see himself, his hand in front of his face, wearing the same long black shirt and black cargo pants, despite the apparent lacking of light. He didn’t hurt anymore.
“Greeting [Godsmarked]. I am here to give you your training.”
Directly to his right, a few feet away from him, was a figure clad entirely in deep purple robes. Their hands were clothed in stunningly white gloves, while their hood obscured any attempts to discern the face inside.
“So, a god or multiple gods heard my offer, and took me up on it. I suppose I am here to render my payment,” Michael mused. “I’ll cry later for what I sacrificed on that altar. Who are you, and what do I need to train for?”
“I am Estoc, [Servant] of the Divines. You are being given training on how to utilize the most common magical elements of the plane you are being transported to, for the gods own amusement or some grander purpose. Who can say which one it is?” Estoc said as they shrugged, while their robe shifted shades of purple.
“Please be aware, this process may sting. The last [Godsmarked] complained quite loudly.” Estoc waved their hand, and Michael hissed with a sharp intake of air as if the crown of his skull were branded with an iron.
“The knowledge you have gained will give you the intrinsic ability to will a Status Window into being. This Status Window will display your classes, titles, certain physical attributes, injuries, magical power, and any skills gained from classes or titles. As you use this Status Window, you will grow in familiarity with its function, but all sapient beings of this realm are able to utilize this function from early childhood.
Classes represent pathways that grant access to active and passive skills over the course of a person’s development, representing their personal specialties and the applications of those specialties. Each adult has at least one class, and the limit is five, though as classes level up and synergies develop, classes may merge to become new classes opening up additional slots, as well as prompting the selection of a replacement class.
You are being transported to the realm of Tillania.
Good luck on your journey, Michael Judge.” Estoc tilted their head to the side as though listening to something, and in a lower register said, “Sam Iron will make a full recovery in the hospital.”
Michael dropped his chin to his chest, sniffed, and a tear rolled down his cheek. He sighed, and looked back up, only to see that Estoc was gone. He wiped his face, and steeled himself for the possibilities.
---GODSMARKED TRAINING COMPLETED---
---CALCULATING CLASS CHOICES---
The white words appeared on the white bordered black Status Window that appeared in front of him.
---CALCULATION COMPLETE. CLASS OPTIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS. SELECT TWO---
-[Magus (Fungus)]
-[Magus (Necromancy)]
-[Medic]
-[Soldier]
-[Priest]
-[Clerk]
-[Trader]
Michael stared at the screen and let his thoughts wander over why these were his choices. The fungus mage felt a little on the nose, he had been devoted to a decentralized religion that revered psilocybin as its sacrament, and experimented with his own. The Soldier was from his time in the Army. Trader from working a certain general store chain with the word “Dollar” in it when he was young and poor. Priest was from his time studying religion and coaching others. Medic from his time working in the hospital as a laboratory technician, and in the army with a medical brigade support battalion.
He didn’t want to be a priest, or a fungus mage, at least not at first. Soldier, while useful, didn’t lend itself to the role he wanted to see himself in. But necromancy? He thought it over some more as to why that was the case.
The modern concept of necromancy involved raising the dead, zombies, skeletons, ghouls, disturbing the dead. The classical concept, however, was involved with any magic associated with dead flesh, including magic meant to investigate health conditions or divine futures from stool, skin, muscle tissue, urine, or blood. He had been steeped in tabletop roleplaying games, as well as classical myths of the various kinds of undead, and the various kinds of necromancers. It would seem, then, that this world would occasionally have to deal with the existence of undead. If that were the case, he thought that he might have a better time being able to sell himself as an expert on preventing and exorcising them. He had always been in love with the idea of the undead, though he thought that it would probably be more socially acceptable if he didn’t create any.
As to the other class? He felt most at home being able to treat others.
---CLASS CHOICES ACCEPTED---
---GENERATING CLASS SKILLS---
[MAGUS (NECROMANCER)] Level 1
PASSIVES
[SANCTUARY] Non-sapient undead will not target you until you take a hostile action against them.
[LIFESIGHT] Entities that are either alive or undead have their profiles outlined. Dead organic material is also outlined. Can be willed on or off, or to adjust the color of the profile outlines.
ACTIVES
[BLACK BOLT] Safely hold or throw a black gathering of magical energy that greatly accelerates and feeds the metabolism of microbial entities on a targeted area. Range: ≤50m. Mana cost [Medium-Low]
[GRAVESPEAK] You may speak with dead entities or non-sapient undead entities. Mana Cost: [Low]
[MEDIC] Level 1
PASSIVES
[FIRST AID] Additional proficiency with Medical tools and techniques. Scales with level.
ACTIVES
[TRIAGE] Reveals certain status information from a target. Range ≤8m. Mana Cost: [Very Low]
[BASIC MENDING] Manipulate a living entity to alter an injury and/or repair damage. Limited to physical trauma. Range: ≤1m. Mana Cost: [Low]
[HEMATOLOGY] Reveals very specific status information based on the inquiry of the user. Material Component: Requires 25 µL of blood. Range ≤1m. Mana Cost: [Medium-High]
---CLASS SKILLS GENERATED. YOU HAVE BEEN GRANTED TWO BOONS AS COMPENSATION FOR BEING REMOVED FROM YOUR LOCAL REALM---
---BOON 1 DISPENSED---
Title: [Godsmarked] – Imparts several passives on the title holder.
Boon: [Reformation] – Physical ailments and deformities have been healed.
Michael blinked. His vision had improved, and he put away his glasses. For some reason, his thoughts came clearer to him as well.
Passive Skill: [Heaven’s Bounty] – You may receive additional objects from defeated foes.
Passive Skill: [Speak in Tongues] – Proficiency in vernacular languages of new realm provided.
Passive Skill: [Quest] – Patrons may provide you with tasks and rewards.
Passive Skill: [Titled] – You have a greater chance of receiving titles than normal.
Passive Skill: [Regenerative] – You heal more quickly than usual, to the point where, given enough time, you may even regrow a limb.
Active Skill: [Cargo Space] – Integrated inventory function in status window. Mana Cost: [None]
---BOON 2 DISPENSED. CHOOSE FROM PERSONALLY OWNED ITEMS IN FORMER REALM AS EQUIPMENT. MUST FIT IN INVENTORY OR OWN PERSON---
Michael thought about it. He would bring his laptop, cellphone, solar chargers and batteries. He knew it would be a long while before they could be repaired if they were ever damaged, but some utility was better than no utility, and out of curiosity he had previously downloaded a number of technical medical manuals from the time that he wanted to pursue a doctorate in pathology, as well as the children’s book “The way it works” which described the other areas of machines he wasn’t familiar with in an easily digestible format.
With any luck, and enough time, he might run into an engineer that might enjoy having access to that information. If there was other magic in this world he might be able to trade access to it for various repairs. Or, perhaps he would get around to finally tinkering himself, he wasn’t closing himself off to any options.
An SAS survival book with many different handy tips and tricks for wilderness survival. Various tools, a hammer, a machete, a first aid kit and a repurposed fishing box he filled with various medicines for most common ailments. A pocket survival kit including a ferrite rod and various other small tools. A flashlight that had a solar charger as well as a crank charger with charging ports.
He was surprised to see that it also included items that he was no longer certain as to where they were. He had owned a 50-pound draw weight compound bow some time ago that was left with a family member, as well as twenty barbed hunting arrows. It was given to him as a gift from his father and grandfather, though he never really was a fan of hunting. He stimmed, shaking his hand and striking his thumb against his middle and forefinger while he thought, before moving to the other hand stimulation exercises he did whenever he got excited or deep in thought.
Finally the water backpack, rucksack, treatment tabs, and a few old army uniforms that still fit would round out the space. Previously, he had been concerned that his job really didn’t assist him with maintaining a healthy weight, but if this was going where he anticipated it might, his extra bulk would serve him well until he could become better established.
Michael Judge ([Medic] Level 1; [Magus (Necromancy)] Level 1)
Health: 100% Mana: 100% Stamina: 100%
Conditional Status: [Well-Rested]; [Well-Fed]
Titles: [Godsmarked]
Boons: [Reformation]
Passive Skills: [Heaven’s Bounty]; [Speak in Tongues]; [Quest]; [Titled]; [Regenerative]; [Sanctuary]; [Lifesight]; [First Aid]
Active Skills: [Black Bolt] ; [Gravespeak] ; [Triage]; [Basic Mending]; [Hematology]
Inventory (Open? [Y/N])
Message Log (Open? [Y/N])
[CONFIRM]
He exhaled, his finger hovering over the [CONFIRM] button. “Only worry about the things in your control. I guess now is a good a time as any to have my agoge.”
________________________________________
He pressed the button. His vision was filled, piece by piece with his new location, though he didn’t feel himself moving. As the last piece fell into place, he could hear, and feel, the wind over the grass of the hilly plains. It was evening, and he measured the daylight remaining using his hand. He had a little over an hour and a half before sunset.
The whole area looked similar to the semi-arid environment of the hilly grasslands of western Kansas. If that was the case, he wondered to himself if this place was also a hellscape where the local flora and fauna rely on a steady stream of wildfires to maintain the ecosystem. The grass came up to his knees and his waste, which he didn’t particularly enjoy. The sturdy stems were always difficult to sleep on, from his experience with the army. Not to mention what could be hiding in the grass.
… Hiding in the grass? He willed his [Lifesight] to become active and his vision became frantically populated with green profiles. He shut his eyes, willing [Lifesight] to have a few parameters. He could see a status window behind his eyelids. It felt like mentally right-clicking a skill and opening the properties menu.
________________________________________
[Adjust] [Lifesight]
Toggle light green profile if living entity is ≥30 cm at ranges 1m-500m. Increase color saturation with higher vitality. If living entity is 1-30 cm, highlight profile at ≤1m.
Toggle light red profile if entity is undead. Increase color saturation with higher durability.
Toggle yellow profile for dead organic material belonging to the Animal Kingdom if material is ≥30 cm within a range of 1-500m. ________________________________________
He opened his eyes. This time he wasn’t as bombarded with information. He’d have to keep this on a toggle, or with only one eye. Now he didn’t have to worry about bugs filling his vision with a sea of green. He did however, notice a few red outlines hovering slowly over the ground spaced out here and there. He could also see yellow outlines buried in the ground here and there.
He toggled [Lifesight] off. It was useful to scan the area but he was still getting used to the information overload and he still had other more pressing issues to investigate.
Could he equip things directly from his status window? It took a few tries, but yes. He could will it, or he could open up an Equipment screen and mentally drag and drop an item where it should go. He equipped his uniform, boots, and his floppy red wide brimmed hat with a mushroom theme that came to a rearward facing conical tip. He also took out his sunscreen and drank a sip of water from his wearable water pouch.
What information is revealed by [Triage]? He tried it on himself while keeping his status sheet open. [Triage]: (Target: Michael Judge; Health: 100% ; Conditions: [None]; Injuries: None.) His Status Window still displayed the conditions of [Well-Fed] and [Well-Rested]. He took out a knife, rolled back his sleeve, and made a small cut on the top of his arm. A little blood flowed as he did. The [Triage] and Status Sheet both updated. [Triage]: (Target: Michael Judge; Health: 98% ; Conditions: [None]; Injuries: Cut {Posterior Arm, 5 cm.) He held his hand over his arm as a light sweat began to form on his forehead from the sun. An ocean blue glow spread from his palm, as he willed the wound to close up like a zipper. He felt a small drain on his magic, and confirmed that indeed, his magic had dropped by 5%. There was no indication that there had ever been a wound on his skin. He summoned a notepad and pen, noting the information, before willing it back into his inventory.
Next, he used [Hematology] on the blood for a Complete Blood Count. He felt a much stronger pull on his magic than with [Triage]. He confirmed that indeed, his magic had dipped to 50%. He made a note of it as well as what the CBC provided: WBC Count, RBC count, RBC morphology, WBC differential, platelet count and morphology.
He took out a small umbrella and started walking, occasionally flipping [Lifesight] on and off. He manifested [Black Bolt] as he walked, holding it in his right hand. His magic had dipped by 10%, but would recover the used 10% when he stopped manifesting it. Only by actually throwing it did the mana stay consumed. More and more interesting, He thought. After about 40 minutes of walking, he discovered a well-trodden path, with tell-tale wagon ruts and horse dung that was neither fresh nor completely dry. He couldn’t see any smoke on the horizon, so it was likely more than 20 miles to the next settlement. He picked a direction and started walking that way.
As the sun dipped below the horizon he was left with a question. Would he camp, or keep walking through the dark? It’s not like things could sneak up on him at night if they were coming from somewhere he could see.
He kept walking, following the road by twilight, and then moonlight. He paused, however, when he saw a moderately red outline hunched over on the road in front of him. It had to be just within 500m of him. Michael materialized his bow and an arrow, nocking it, and approaching quietly.
250 meters. 200. 150. Lips smacked, cartilage crunched, wet and sticky, as it murmured and growled with hunger. 125. 100. His boot clattered a rock.
The munching stopped. Glowing yellow eyes piercing the dark. It walked on all fours. All sixes? 75. 60. 50. It stood on its back legs, growing taller and taller as it stretched its back, sniffing the air. Rotting scales. Exposed bones. Viscera exposed with fresh meat oozing from its ruptured stomach. Elongated face like a monitor lizard. And as the breeze blew through the grass, Michael realized he had made a critical mistake.
He was upwind.
With a nasty series of clicks, it charged forward. 40. He was shaking, pulling back the bowstring. 15. He couldn’t get a clear shot, its gait was serpentine! 5!
[SANCTUARY ACTIVATED]
submitted by VoctorDralidas to HFY [link] [comments]
Sweat mixed with the blood on his forehead, dripping into and making his eyes sting. Her breathing was becoming more and more shallow, as desperation welled in his mind. Their twisted wreck that was some distance away began to smoke, before flames began to lick from the inside of the hood.
“If any gods or demons can hear me, I beg of you, please. Please spare her life.” He hoarsely whispered. “I’ll give you anything, everything, just please. She has children who need her more than they need me.”
---OFFER ACCEPTED---
---YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED FOR TRANSLOCATION---
The voice rolled through his mind like the deep and powerful rumblings of a storm.
Michael began to pass out, his vision slowly fading.
As the last rays of light hit his eyes, he saw her wounds closing to heal. His eyes rolled back.
________________________________________
---INITIATING GODSMARKED TRAINING---
He was standing somewhere. Somewhere? It was a void, neither light, nor dark, but –NULL–. He could still see himself, his hand in front of his face, wearing the same long black shirt and black cargo pants, despite the apparent lacking of light. He didn’t hurt anymore.
“Greeting [Godsmarked]. I am here to give you your training.”
Directly to his right, a few feet away from him, was a figure clad entirely in deep purple robes. Their hands were clothed in stunningly white gloves, while their hood obscured any attempts to discern the face inside.
“So, a god or multiple gods heard my offer, and took me up on it. I suppose I am here to render my payment,” Michael mused. “I’ll cry later for what I sacrificed on that altar. Who are you, and what do I need to train for?”
“I am Estoc, [Servant] of the Divines. You are being given training on how to utilize the most common magical elements of the plane you are being transported to, for the gods own amusement or some grander purpose. Who can say which one it is?” Estoc said as they shrugged, while their robe shifted shades of purple.
“Please be aware, this process may sting. The last [Godsmarked] complained quite loudly.” Estoc waved their hand, and Michael hissed with a sharp intake of air as if the crown of his skull were branded with an iron.
“The knowledge you have gained will give you the intrinsic ability to will a Status Window into being. This Status Window will display your classes, titles, certain physical attributes, injuries, magical power, and any skills gained from classes or titles. As you use this Status Window, you will grow in familiarity with its function, but all sapient beings of this realm are able to utilize this function from early childhood.
Classes represent pathways that grant access to active and passive skills over the course of a person’s development, representing their personal specialties and the applications of those specialties. Each adult has at least one class, and the limit is five, though as classes level up and synergies develop, classes may merge to become new classes opening up additional slots, as well as prompting the selection of a replacement class.
You are being transported to the realm of Tillania.
Good luck on your journey, Michael Judge.” Estoc tilted their head to the side as though listening to something, and in a lower register said, “Sam Iron will make a full recovery in the hospital.”
Michael dropped his chin to his chest, sniffed, and a tear rolled down his cheek. He sighed, and looked back up, only to see that Estoc was gone. He wiped his face, and steeled himself for the possibilities.
---GODSMARKED TRAINING COMPLETED---
---CALCULATING CLASS CHOICES---
The white words appeared on the white bordered black Status Window that appeared in front of him.
---CALCULATION COMPLETE. CLASS OPTIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS. SELECT TWO---
-[Magus (Fungus)]
-[Magus (Necromancy)]
-[Medic]
-[Soldier]
-[Priest]
-[Clerk]
-[Trader]
Michael stared at the screen and let his thoughts wander over why these were his choices. The fungus mage felt a little on the nose, he had been devoted to a decentralized religion that revered psilocybin as its sacrament, and experimented with his own. The Soldier was from his time in the Army. Trader from working a certain general store chain with the word “Dollar” in it when he was young and poor. Priest was from his time studying religion and coaching others. Medic from his time working in the hospital as a laboratory technician, and in the army with a medical brigade support battalion.
He didn’t want to be a priest, or a fungus mage, at least not at first. Soldier, while useful, didn’t lend itself to the role he wanted to see himself in. But necromancy? He thought it over some more as to why that was the case.
The modern concept of necromancy involved raising the dead, zombies, skeletons, ghouls, disturbing the dead. The classical concept, however, was involved with any magic associated with dead flesh, including magic meant to investigate health conditions or divine futures from stool, skin, muscle tissue, urine, or blood. He had been steeped in tabletop roleplaying games, as well as classical myths of the various kinds of undead, and the various kinds of necromancers. It would seem, then, that this world would occasionally have to deal with the existence of undead. If that were the case, he thought that he might have a better time being able to sell himself as an expert on preventing and exorcising them. He had always been in love with the idea of the undead, though he thought that it would probably be more socially acceptable if he didn’t create any.
As to the other class? He felt most at home being able to treat others.
---CLASS CHOICES ACCEPTED---
---GENERATING CLASS SKILLS---
[MAGUS (NECROMANCER)] Level 1
PASSIVES
[SANCTUARY] Non-sapient undead will not target you until you take a hostile action against them.
[LIFESIGHT] Entities that are either alive or undead have their profiles outlined. Dead organic material is also outlined. Can be willed on or off, or to adjust the color of the profile outlines.
ACTIVES
[BLACK BOLT] Safely hold or throw a black gathering of magical energy that greatly accelerates and feeds the metabolism of microbial entities on a targeted area. Range: ≤50m. Mana cost [Medium-Low]
[GRAVESPEAK] You may speak with dead entities or non-sapient undead entities. Mana Cost: [Low]
[MEDIC] Level 1
PASSIVES
[FIRST AID] Additional proficiency with Medical tools and techniques. Scales with level.
ACTIVES
[TRIAGE] Reveals certain status information from a target. Range ≤8m. Mana Cost: [Very Low]
[BASIC MENDING] Manipulate a living entity to alter an injury and/or repair damage. Limited to physical trauma. Range: ≤1m. Mana Cost: [Low]
[HEMATOLOGY] Reveals very specific status information based on the inquiry of the user. Material Component: Requires 25 µL of blood. Range ≤1m. Mana Cost: [Medium-High]
---CLASS SKILLS GENERATED. YOU HAVE BEEN GRANTED TWO BOONS AS COMPENSATION FOR BEING REMOVED FROM YOUR LOCAL REALM---
---BOON 1 DISPENSED---
Title: [Godsmarked] – Imparts several passives on the title holder.
Boon: [Reformation] – Physical ailments and deformities have been healed.
Michael blinked. His vision had improved, and he put away his glasses. For some reason, his thoughts came clearer to him as well.
Passive Skill: [Heaven’s Bounty] – You may receive additional objects from defeated foes.
Passive Skill: [Speak in Tongues] – Proficiency in vernacular languages of new realm provided.
Passive Skill: [Quest] – Patrons may provide you with tasks and rewards.
Passive Skill: [Titled] – You have a greater chance of receiving titles than normal.
Passive Skill: [Regenerative] – You heal more quickly than usual, to the point where, given enough time, you may even regrow a limb.
Active Skill: [Cargo Space] – Integrated inventory function in status window. Mana Cost: [None]
---BOON 2 DISPENSED. CHOOSE FROM PERSONALLY OWNED ITEMS IN FORMER REALM AS EQUIPMENT. MUST FIT IN INVENTORY OR OWN PERSON---
Michael thought about it. He would bring his laptop, cellphone, solar chargers and batteries. He knew it would be a long while before they could be repaired if they were ever damaged, but some utility was better than no utility, and out of curiosity he had previously downloaded a number of technical medical manuals from the time that he wanted to pursue a doctorate in pathology, as well as the children’s book “The way it works” which described the other areas of machines he wasn’t familiar with in an easily digestible format.
With any luck, and enough time, he might run into an engineer that might enjoy having access to that information. If there was other magic in this world he might be able to trade access to it for various repairs. Or, perhaps he would get around to finally tinkering himself, he wasn’t closing himself off to any options.
An SAS survival book with many different handy tips and tricks for wilderness survival. Various tools, a hammer, a machete, a first aid kit and a repurposed fishing box he filled with various medicines for most common ailments. A pocket survival kit including a ferrite rod and various other small tools. A flashlight that had a solar charger as well as a crank charger with charging ports.
He was surprised to see that it also included items that he was no longer certain as to where they were. He had owned a 50-pound draw weight compound bow some time ago that was left with a family member, as well as twenty barbed hunting arrows. It was given to him as a gift from his father and grandfather, though he never really was a fan of hunting. He stimmed, shaking his hand and striking his thumb against his middle and forefinger while he thought, before moving to the other hand stimulation exercises he did whenever he got excited or deep in thought.
Finally the water backpack, rucksack, treatment tabs, and a few old army uniforms that still fit would round out the space. Previously, he had been concerned that his job really didn’t assist him with maintaining a healthy weight, but if this was going where he anticipated it might, his extra bulk would serve him well until he could become better established.
Michael Judge ([Medic] Level 1; [Magus (Necromancy)] Level 1)
Health: 100% Mana: 100% Stamina: 100%
Conditional Status: [Well-Rested]; [Well-Fed]
Titles: [Godsmarked]
Boons: [Reformation]
Passive Skills: [Heaven’s Bounty]; [Speak in Tongues]; [Quest]; [Titled]; [Regenerative]; [Sanctuary]; [Lifesight]; [First Aid]
Active Skills: [Black Bolt] ; [Gravespeak] ; [Triage]; [Basic Mending]; [Hematology]
Inventory (Open? [Y/N])
Message Log (Open? [Y/N])
[CONFIRM]
He exhaled, his finger hovering over the [CONFIRM] button. “Only worry about the things in your control. I guess now is a good a time as any to have my agoge.”
________________________________________
He pressed the button. His vision was filled, piece by piece with his new location, though he didn’t feel himself moving. As the last piece fell into place, he could hear, and feel, the wind over the grass of the hilly plains. It was evening, and he measured the daylight remaining using his hand. He had a little over an hour and a half before sunset.
The whole area looked similar to the semi-arid environment of the hilly grasslands of western Kansas. If that was the case, he wondered to himself if this place was also a hellscape where the local flora and fauna rely on a steady stream of wildfires to maintain the ecosystem. The grass came up to his knees and his waste, which he didn’t particularly enjoy. The sturdy stems were always difficult to sleep on, from his experience with the army. Not to mention what could be hiding in the grass.
… Hiding in the grass? He willed his [Lifesight] to become active and his vision became frantically populated with green profiles. He shut his eyes, willing [Lifesight] to have a few parameters. He could see a status window behind his eyelids. It felt like mentally right-clicking a skill and opening the properties menu.
________________________________________
[Adjust] [Lifesight]
Toggle light green profile if living entity is ≥30 cm at ranges 1m-500m. Increase color saturation with higher vitality. If living entity is 1-30 cm, highlight profile at ≤1m.
Toggle light red profile if entity is undead. Increase color saturation with higher durability.
Toggle yellow profile for dead organic material belonging to the Animal Kingdom if material is ≥30 cm within a range of 1-500m. ________________________________________
He opened his eyes. This time he wasn’t as bombarded with information. He’d have to keep this on a toggle, or with only one eye. Now he didn’t have to worry about bugs filling his vision with a sea of green. He did however, notice a few red outlines hovering slowly over the ground spaced out here and there. He could also see yellow outlines buried in the ground here and there.
He toggled [Lifesight] off. It was useful to scan the area but he was still getting used to the information overload and he still had other more pressing issues to investigate.
Could he equip things directly from his status window? It took a few tries, but yes. He could will it, or he could open up an Equipment screen and mentally drag and drop an item where it should go. He equipped his uniform, boots, and his floppy red wide brimmed hat with a mushroom theme that came to a rearward facing conical tip. He also took out his sunscreen and drank a sip of water from his wearable water pouch.
What information is revealed by [Triage]? He tried it on himself while keeping his status sheet open. [Triage]: (Target: Michael Judge; Health: 100% ; Conditions: [None]; Injuries: None.) His Status Window still displayed the conditions of [Well-Fed] and [Well-Rested]. He took out a knife, rolled back his sleeve, and made a small cut on the top of his arm. A little blood flowed as he did. The [Triage] and Status Sheet both updated. [Triage]: (Target: Michael Judge; Health: 98% ; Conditions: [None]; Injuries: Cut {Posterior Arm, 5 cm.) He held his hand over his arm as a light sweat began to form on his forehead from the sun. An ocean blue glow spread from his palm, as he willed the wound to close up like a zipper. He felt a small drain on his magic, and confirmed that indeed, his magic had dropped by 5%. There was no indication that there had ever been a wound on his skin. He summoned a notepad and pen, noting the information, before willing it back into his inventory.
Next, he used [Hematology] on the blood for a Complete Blood Count. He felt a much stronger pull on his magic than with [Triage]. He confirmed that indeed, his magic had dipped to 50%. He made a note of it as well as what the CBC provided: WBC Count, RBC count, RBC morphology, WBC differential, platelet count and morphology.
He took out a small umbrella and started walking, occasionally flipping [Lifesight] on and off. He manifested [Black Bolt] as he walked, holding it in his right hand. His magic had dipped by 10%, but would recover the used 10% when he stopped manifesting it. Only by actually throwing it did the mana stay consumed. More and more interesting, He thought. After about 40 minutes of walking, he discovered a well-trodden path, with tell-tale wagon ruts and horse dung that was neither fresh nor completely dry. He couldn’t see any smoke on the horizon, so it was likely more than 20 miles to the next settlement. He picked a direction and started walking that way.
As the sun dipped below the horizon he was left with a question. Would he camp, or keep walking through the dark? It’s not like things could sneak up on him at night if they were coming from somewhere he could see.
He kept walking, following the road by twilight, and then moonlight. He paused, however, when he saw a moderately red outline hunched over on the road in front of him. It had to be just within 500m of him. Michael materialized his bow and an arrow, nocking it, and approaching quietly.
250 meters. 200. 150. Lips smacked, cartilage crunched, wet and sticky, as it murmured and growled with hunger. 125. 100. His boot clattered a rock.
The munching stopped. Glowing yellow eyes piercing the dark. It walked on all fours. All sixes? 75. 60. 50. It stood on its back legs, growing taller and taller as it stretched its back, sniffing the air. Rotting scales. Exposed bones. Viscera exposed with fresh meat oozing from its ruptured stomach. Elongated face like a monitor lizard. And as the breeze blew through the grass, Michael realized he had made a critical mistake.
He was upwind.
With a nasty series of clicks, it charged forward. 40. He was shaking, pulling back the bowstring. 15. He couldn’t get a clear shot, its gait was serpentine! 5!
[SANCTUARY ACTIVATED]
2024.06.01 02:22 Huge-Animal-8818 The Awakened Giant [Part 4 - Sound of Mind, Sound of Body]
The world seemed to slow down, as the Picapao shot an energy bolt at the human emperor.
None of us had any time to react. We couldn’t have. But somehow, the sector governor lunged himself at the emperor, pushing him out of the way, and getting hit by the blast in the emperor’s stead.
The avian terrorist curses as he lands and aims the weapon again, as a few more Picapao terrorists approach the platform.
The imperial guard aimed at the first terrorist and used their kinetic weapons, landing four shots on the chest and head of the bird.
The Emperor however does not move, and I tilt my head in confusion as I notice the imperial guards are not blocking the emperor. He kneels and places his hand on the wound, as the governor’s blood slowly pools on the ground.
“Send a medic, quickly!”, shouts the Emperor in an authoritative tone. We look around confused, as we did not anticipate such a thing as terrorism on our planet, but we quickly realise he was speaking to the other humans, and shortly after, two humans dressed in green come out with a stretcher and a bag full of stims.
“Take him to the shuttle and take care of him”, ordered Augustus, unbothered by the violent chaos around him, “and you lot, take cover in the shuttle as well.”
We didn’t need another word to comply, but my curiosity couldn’t be contained. Why was this human, who was so important to the Terran empire, not taking cover or running away? He was one of the most important people in the galaxy. I stay behind as I enter the shuttle to glean the bloodbath outside.
One of the humans was kneeling, holding on to his stomach, groaning in pain.
“Marcus, are you wounded?”, asked the emperor, walking towards the guard.
“I am fine, your highness. My shield simply malfunctioned and I took the concussive force of the blast instead of it being deflected. Might have cracked a few ribs.”
“Go inside as well and ask the medics to patch you up”, ordered Augustus, “and the rest of you, hold your fire. I want to speak with these…”
He pauses, his stare locked on the body of the first terrorist, his face perfectly still. His emotions were hidden well beneath his emperor’s persona.
“... People.”
The terrorists land and aim again, holding their fire as they notice the emperor approaching them with his hands up.
“Valiant Winged Warriors of Kloaria”, he said in Piapia, the native language of the Picapao, “I understand you blame me, for the deaths of the K’krai.”
“Quiet, ape”, said one of the winged criminals, “Your accent is hideous and so is your soul.”
“I apologise for my accent. I have not had many opportunities to train my speech to capture the nuances of your language.”
“Why would you even care?”, said another, “You are nothing more than a monster. You killed billions!”
“Indeed I have. I carry their blood on my hands forever. My name is a curse amongst many people. But I dream that the entire galaxy one day can receive the bounties of Terra. And for that, I need to reach everyone, personally…”
Interrupting him, one of the terrorists curses aloud and shoots his energy rifle at the Emperor, who makes no effort to dodge. The blast hits an invisible barrier, diffusing through the air around the human.
“Bounties such as this. A personal penta-dimensional quantum diffuser. An energy shield that can protect the user from almost any harm.”
He points at the centrepiece of the gold embroidery of his vest, and a barely noticeable glow emanates from it.
“I have a question for you Picapao. Who sent you?”
“We will not tell you anything. Your little imperial guard will have to kill us, as we have no intention of being imprisoned.”
The emperor nodded, sniffing, his eyebrows raised slightly.
“I respect that. You have ideals. Standards”, the human turned away from them and faced the shuttle, his eyes locked on mine. They were sharp and cold. Calculating. The true self of humanity did not replace the once warm presence. The apex predator persona had awoken.
“I believe it was Thucydides, a human of an age long past, who once said -The society that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting by fools.”
He revealed a bracelet, which glinted in the sunlight. It appeared metallic in the distance, but liquid at the same time.
“With me as emperor, Humanity has embraced this motto. But I go further. I believe that the rulers should be as prepared to die for their subjects, as the subjects are for their ruler”
The bracelet started to glow, morphing into a sword in a fraction of a second. The sword was silvery with a similar pattern of golden embroidery along its blade.
Why would the leader of such an advanced race be using such an antiquated weapon?
“Your enemy will not be my guards, but rather it shall be me. If you kill me, you shall return to Kloaria, being acclaimed as heroes”, the emperor said, turning to face the avians, “but if I defeat you, you shall tell me who else was involved, as the sector governor Elder Prin could have died thanks to your actions. And if you don’t, then the Senate and People of Terra shall have no choice but to consider Kloaria a bastion of hostile powers and decisive action will have to be taken. Agreed?”
The birds yelled in rage and shot their weapons again.
But instead of letting the blasts hit the energy shield, the emperor started dodging as he made his way towards the terrorists. The blasts were near light speed, but the emperor was dodging them nonchalantly. It felt magical, until I noticed his eyes, darting around. He was predicting the trajectories of the blasts.
He got to the first terrorist and cut his rifle in half, delivering a powerful kick to the temple of the bird and making the most of the motion to jump towards the second hostile, ducking and then lunging, the sword cutting through one of the arms of the avian as if it was warm huglun butter.
Finally, the last terrorist yelled in rage and fear and started spraying blasts at the emperor, who retracted the sword back into the bracelet and then performed some sort of human martial art, punching the chest of the avian with such force and precision that a loud crack of bones echoed throughout the platform, as the final Picapao was sent flying around 5 meters without the use of his wings.
The emperor then made his way towards the gasping bird and squatted down.
“So, who else was involved in this attack?”
Previous
Next (WIP)
submitted by Huge-Animal-8818 to HFY [link] [comments]
None of us had any time to react. We couldn’t have. But somehow, the sector governor lunged himself at the emperor, pushing him out of the way, and getting hit by the blast in the emperor’s stead.
The avian terrorist curses as he lands and aims the weapon again, as a few more Picapao terrorists approach the platform.
The imperial guard aimed at the first terrorist and used their kinetic weapons, landing four shots on the chest and head of the bird.
The Emperor however does not move, and I tilt my head in confusion as I notice the imperial guards are not blocking the emperor. He kneels and places his hand on the wound, as the governor’s blood slowly pools on the ground.
“Send a medic, quickly!”, shouts the Emperor in an authoritative tone. We look around confused, as we did not anticipate such a thing as terrorism on our planet, but we quickly realise he was speaking to the other humans, and shortly after, two humans dressed in green come out with a stretcher and a bag full of stims.
“Take him to the shuttle and take care of him”, ordered Augustus, unbothered by the violent chaos around him, “and you lot, take cover in the shuttle as well.”
We didn’t need another word to comply, but my curiosity couldn’t be contained. Why was this human, who was so important to the Terran empire, not taking cover or running away? He was one of the most important people in the galaxy. I stay behind as I enter the shuttle to glean the bloodbath outside.
One of the humans was kneeling, holding on to his stomach, groaning in pain.
“Marcus, are you wounded?”, asked the emperor, walking towards the guard.
“I am fine, your highness. My shield simply malfunctioned and I took the concussive force of the blast instead of it being deflected. Might have cracked a few ribs.”
“Go inside as well and ask the medics to patch you up”, ordered Augustus, “and the rest of you, hold your fire. I want to speak with these…”
He pauses, his stare locked on the body of the first terrorist, his face perfectly still. His emotions were hidden well beneath his emperor’s persona.
“... People.”
The terrorists land and aim again, holding their fire as they notice the emperor approaching them with his hands up.
“Valiant Winged Warriors of Kloaria”, he said in Piapia, the native language of the Picapao, “I understand you blame me, for the deaths of the K’krai.”
“Quiet, ape”, said one of the winged criminals, “Your accent is hideous and so is your soul.”
“I apologise for my accent. I have not had many opportunities to train my speech to capture the nuances of your language.”
“Why would you even care?”, said another, “You are nothing more than a monster. You killed billions!”
“Indeed I have. I carry their blood on my hands forever. My name is a curse amongst many people. But I dream that the entire galaxy one day can receive the bounties of Terra. And for that, I need to reach everyone, personally…”
Interrupting him, one of the terrorists curses aloud and shoots his energy rifle at the Emperor, who makes no effort to dodge. The blast hits an invisible barrier, diffusing through the air around the human.
“Bounties such as this. A personal penta-dimensional quantum diffuser. An energy shield that can protect the user from almost any harm.”
He points at the centrepiece of the gold embroidery of his vest, and a barely noticeable glow emanates from it.
“I have a question for you Picapao. Who sent you?”
“We will not tell you anything. Your little imperial guard will have to kill us, as we have no intention of being imprisoned.”
The emperor nodded, sniffing, his eyebrows raised slightly.
“I respect that. You have ideals. Standards”, the human turned away from them and faced the shuttle, his eyes locked on mine. They were sharp and cold. Calculating. The true self of humanity did not replace the once warm presence. The apex predator persona had awoken.
“I believe it was Thucydides, a human of an age long past, who once said -The society that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting by fools.”
He revealed a bracelet, which glinted in the sunlight. It appeared metallic in the distance, but liquid at the same time.
“With me as emperor, Humanity has embraced this motto. But I go further. I believe that the rulers should be as prepared to die for their subjects, as the subjects are for their ruler”
The bracelet started to glow, morphing into a sword in a fraction of a second. The sword was silvery with a similar pattern of golden embroidery along its blade.
Why would the leader of such an advanced race be using such an antiquated weapon?
“Your enemy will not be my guards, but rather it shall be me. If you kill me, you shall return to Kloaria, being acclaimed as heroes”, the emperor said, turning to face the avians, “but if I defeat you, you shall tell me who else was involved, as the sector governor Elder Prin could have died thanks to your actions. And if you don’t, then the Senate and People of Terra shall have no choice but to consider Kloaria a bastion of hostile powers and decisive action will have to be taken. Agreed?”
The birds yelled in rage and shot their weapons again.
But instead of letting the blasts hit the energy shield, the emperor started dodging as he made his way towards the terrorists. The blasts were near light speed, but the emperor was dodging them nonchalantly. It felt magical, until I noticed his eyes, darting around. He was predicting the trajectories of the blasts.
He got to the first terrorist and cut his rifle in half, delivering a powerful kick to the temple of the bird and making the most of the motion to jump towards the second hostile, ducking and then lunging, the sword cutting through one of the arms of the avian as if it was warm huglun butter.
Finally, the last terrorist yelled in rage and fear and started spraying blasts at the emperor, who retracted the sword back into the bracelet and then performed some sort of human martial art, punching the chest of the avian with such force and precision that a loud crack of bones echoed throughout the platform, as the final Picapao was sent flying around 5 meters without the use of his wings.
The emperor then made his way towards the gasping bird and squatted down.
“So, who else was involved in this attack?”
Previous
Next (WIP)
2024.06.01 02:13 get_there_get_set The Libertarian candidate being mildly progressive is not a good thing, you absolute nitwit…
I nearly lost my mind today when he was slobbering all over the new Libertarian nominee, talking about how great it is that he talks about a few mildly progressive talking points from a libertarian POV. That’s not a good thing. The Mises caucus failing to shift the libertarian party into a spoiler for nazis is bad actually.
He tried to walk it back saying ‘oh this is a complicated issue…’
No. No it’s not it’s very simple. The Libertarian party has always been a spoiler for republicans. We know this, Vaush knows this. They never have and never will have any chance of getting their candidate into office, nor their policies advanced. That’s why they’ve been the butt of the joke for 20+ years. So what could possibly be made better by them appealing to people who would never have voted republican in the first place?
Let’s look at two possible scenarios:
Scenario A:
The Mises Caucus is successful in Nazifying the party. Just full tilt, armbands and everything. Now the voting base they most appeal to is Nazis, and thus they are splitting the nazi vote and making them less politically effective. There is no risk of their mustachioed candidate winning because even if he’s the most true and true nazi out there, trump has the cult of personality that fascists care more about.
Scenario B:
They ‘fail’ in their mission of turning the whole party into Nazis, and then put forward a candidate who’s NUMBER ONE ISSUE is “”””””Ending the Genocide, ceasefire now blah blah””””. All of the numbskulls talking about not voting for ‘’’’Genocide Joe’’’’ suddenly see this new, gay, seemingly progressive candidate who is hollering up a storm about how, if you want to help Palestine then you should definitely vote for me.
Obviously that’s not true, even if he believes it, because he’s the libertarian candidate, he’s a spoiler and nothing more. But now that split vote is disaffected progressives whose number one issue is the I/P conflict, not Nazis who think trump is cucked.
On what fucking planet is scenario B the better one, Voosh? This is so transparently a bad thing, and he’s out here singing the praises of why this libertarian is actually super great and ‘I’ll take it’ or whatever. Like, you realize you’re broadcasting a potential ‘protest vote’ to all of the idiots in your audience who think not voting for Joe Biden will do anything other than fuck us all, right?
You’re making this guy, who is nothing but a wasted vote, seem like someone you should support, especially if you’re so tunnel visioned on Palestine that you’re whining about Joe Biden and how he lost your vote.
This is so calculated, before he even answered the question about his ‘1 minute stump speech’ I knew the very first thing he would say would be about going after stupid kids disaffected about Gaza. And as soon as he unpaused the video, I was spot fucking on.
Meanwhile Vaush is too busy deepthroating this politician about how him calling college kids kids means he’s the opposite of a pedo to notice.
It’s so cynical, so transparent, I see absolutely no reason to believe this wasn’t an intentional choice on the part of the party to find a candidate that appeals to progressives and push this one issue that’s currently dividing the left to try and reclaim the RFK Jr. spoiler they thought they had last year before he came out as crazy.
You absolute rubes, you’re playing directly into their hands.
submitted by get_there_get_set to VaushV [link] [comments]
He tried to walk it back saying ‘oh this is a complicated issue…’
No. No it’s not it’s very simple. The Libertarian party has always been a spoiler for republicans. We know this, Vaush knows this. They never have and never will have any chance of getting their candidate into office, nor their policies advanced. That’s why they’ve been the butt of the joke for 20+ years. So what could possibly be made better by them appealing to people who would never have voted republican in the first place?
Let’s look at two possible scenarios:
Scenario A:
The Mises Caucus is successful in Nazifying the party. Just full tilt, armbands and everything. Now the voting base they most appeal to is Nazis, and thus they are splitting the nazi vote and making them less politically effective. There is no risk of their mustachioed candidate winning because even if he’s the most true and true nazi out there, trump has the cult of personality that fascists care more about.
Scenario B:
They ‘fail’ in their mission of turning the whole party into Nazis, and then put forward a candidate who’s NUMBER ONE ISSUE is “”””””Ending the Genocide, ceasefire now blah blah””””. All of the numbskulls talking about not voting for ‘’’’Genocide Joe’’’’ suddenly see this new, gay, seemingly progressive candidate who is hollering up a storm about how, if you want to help Palestine then you should definitely vote for me.
Obviously that’s not true, even if he believes it, because he’s the libertarian candidate, he’s a spoiler and nothing more. But now that split vote is disaffected progressives whose number one issue is the I/P conflict, not Nazis who think trump is cucked.
On what fucking planet is scenario B the better one, Voosh? This is so transparently a bad thing, and he’s out here singing the praises of why this libertarian is actually super great and ‘I’ll take it’ or whatever. Like, you realize you’re broadcasting a potential ‘protest vote’ to all of the idiots in your audience who think not voting for Joe Biden will do anything other than fuck us all, right?
You’re making this guy, who is nothing but a wasted vote, seem like someone you should support, especially if you’re so tunnel visioned on Palestine that you’re whining about Joe Biden and how he lost your vote.
This is so calculated, before he even answered the question about his ‘1 minute stump speech’ I knew the very first thing he would say would be about going after stupid kids disaffected about Gaza. And as soon as he unpaused the video, I was spot fucking on.
Meanwhile Vaush is too busy deepthroating this politician about how him calling college kids kids means he’s the opposite of a pedo to notice.
It’s so cynical, so transparent, I see absolutely no reason to believe this wasn’t an intentional choice on the part of the party to find a candidate that appeals to progressives and push this one issue that’s currently dividing the left to try and reclaim the RFK Jr. spoiler they thought they had last year before he came out as crazy.
You absolute rubes, you’re playing directly into their hands.
2024.06.01 01:45 Nerfaholic What happened to my stryfe?
So a couple of years ago I modded my stryfe with a full rewire to 3s along with a Morpheus cage, krakens, and cyclone wheels. With this setup I was hitting about 140-150 fps. Recently when I was using it though, it felt off so I chronographed it and it was hitting about 100-110 fps. I took it apart and somehow the part of the cage where one of the motors was sitting was tilted like 10-15 degrees to the right. I know this is an issue but is it one that would drop it by 50 fps? I also observed the wheels themselves were kind of loose on the motor shafts. however I'm not sure my test was a definitive test. I held the shafts with pliers and could spin the wheels without too much effort. what I’m really asking is should I get a new cage and new wheels or just a new cage? I’m usually dealing with springers, so I’m not very knowledgeable about flywheel stuff.
submitted by Nerfaholic to Nerf [link] [comments]
2024.06.01 01:32 Mrmander20 [Vell Harlan and the Doomsday Dorms] 4 C8.2: The Doomsday Dad
At the world’s top college of magic and technology, every day brings a new discovery -and a new disaster. The advanced experiments of the college students tend to be both ambitious and apocalyptic, with the end of the world only prevented by a mysterious time loop, and a small handful of students who retain their memories.
Surviving the loops was hard enough, but now, in his senior year, Vell Harlan must take charge of them, and deal with the fact that the whole world now knows his secrets. Everyone knows about Vell’s death and resurrection, along with the divine game he is a part of. Now Vell must contend with overly curious scientists and evil billionaires hungry for divine power while the daily doomsday cycle bombards him with terrorists, talking elephants, and the Grim Reaper himself -but if he can endure it all, the Last Goddess’s game promises the ultimate prize: power over life itself.
[Previous Chapter][Patreon][Cover Art]
“The not-so-good Doctor is all set up,” Hawke said. “You are cleared to infiltrate.”
“Good. You been reading Ragnarok’s book?”
“Yeah, except Helena took our only physical copy,” Hawke said. “I had to spend seven dollars on the ebook.”
“Oh. I can, uh, get you back for that, if you want.”
“Nah, it’s fine, this is actually an interesting read,” Hawke said. “You remember that Agent Fleming jerk who showed up two years ago? Apparently Skye’s dad almost dropped him in lava once.”
“Fascinating,” Vell said. “What’s it say about starting one of these things?”
“Oh right, yeah,” Hawke said. “Okay, apparently step one is the ‘information gathering and infiltration’. I think you’re supposed to like, interrogate his minions to find out where his base is and then break into it.”
“Makes sense.”
“I can tell you right now there’s a suspiciously death-ray shaped cloaking field on the roof of the senior dorms,” Hawke said.
“Yeah, I noticed,” Vell said. Doc Ragnarok’s cloaking tech was advanced, but the loopers had some pretty advanced observation equipment as well. “I think that’s too easy though, right? I’m trying to give Skye some bonding time with her dad here, we need to do things the long way.”
“If you insist,” Hawke said. “Samson, any ideas on how to do things the old fashioned way?”
“You might start with the generic eastern european goons lurking around the dining hall,” Samson said. He forwarded a picture to Vell, showing off a table of middle-aged men sitting around one of the tables, smoking cigars and playing poker.
“Those definitely look like henchmen,” Vell said. “I’ll go check it out.”
Even if they weren’t related to the apocalypse, a random group of middle-aged men hanging around a college campus was suspicious. Vell headed for the dining hall, stepped through the doors, and adjusted his tux as he approached the table.
“Gentlemen,” he began. “This is a non-smoking campus.”
“Ve are not stoodents,” one of the smooking goons grunted, in one of the deepest pseudo-slavic accents Vell had ever heard. He briefly considered asking if the accent was genuine, or part of the role, but thought that might be offensive.
“The rules apply all the same,” Vell said. “If you’re not students, then why are you here?”
“Vork.”
“What kind of v- work?”
“De none of yor beeznees kind,” another mook toned.
“On this campus, everything’s my business,” Vell said. He didn’t want it to be, most of the time, but it ended up that way anyway.
“Mebbe you lurn noddo steeck nose where idon belon.”
“Okay, I’ve been trying not to bring it up, but that’s beyond the pale,” Vell said. “That accent is fake, right? You’re all just playing up the fake mook role?”
The smoking henchmen shared a nervous glance, and one of them pulled a walkie talkie out of their track suit jacket.
“He’s on to us! Accelerate the plan!”
“Ha! I knew the accents were fake,” Vell said. His good mood was short-lived, as all the of goons at the table stood up, fists clenched, and squared their shoulders towards him.
“Should’ve minded your own ‘beeznees’, stretch,” one of them grunted.
“I’ve never been...I, ah, screw it, pretend I said something witty,” Vell said. “So what are the rules on this part, is it like, pin-based, or is there a flag football type of thing-”
One of the goons dove into Vell for a full-body tackle, and then punched him in the face while he was on the ground.
“Okay, full contact,” Vell grunted. “Seems a little harsh for a-”
Another punch to the face shut him up, and made Vell realize this was not the time to be talking. He covered his face to block another punch and rolled out from underneath the thug who had him pinned, before spinning around to kick him in the gut.
“Hawke, this got a little bit loud,” Vell said. “Could you call Kim and tell her-”
Vell got grabbed by the shoulders, lifted off the ground, and then slammed into a table hard enough to snap it in two. Though he never finished his sentence, Hawke assumed Vell’s intent from the context clues, and from the faint sound of punching in the background.
Kim had been scouting out potential disasters close by, so it did not take her long to arrive on the scene and pry Vell out from underneath a mountain of track-suits. A robot with flaming fists was more than any of the hired goons had signed on for, so they dispersed after a few of their own were knocked unconscious burning punches. Once she was sure they were all scared off, Kim helped a heavily-bruised Vell off the ground and wiped some blood off his chin.
“Damn. You’re lucky I saw the other twelve guys or I’d think you got your ass beat,” Kim said.
“Yeah, I think I did alright,” Vell groaned. “Christ, though, what was with that? I thought the goons were supposed to rush me one at a time, at least.”
“You’d think so,” Kim said. That was the usual henchmen approach. “Maybe Doc Ragnarok actually does know you’re dating his daughter. Wanted some guys to beat your ass about it.”
“He just doesn’t seem like the kind of guy,” Vell said. “If only because he’s weirdly obsessed with being an old-school supervillain.”
Vell popped an illusion rune that would disguise the bruises, and the damage to his tuxedo, and got back on track.
“Speaking of his weird obsession,” Vell said. He popped his runic scanning glasses out of a pocket and did a quick scan of the unconscious guards. “There we go.”
Vell plucked a keycard from the coat pocket of one of the unconscious guards.
“In retrospect, I probably should’ve just scanned first and tried to pickpocket this,” Vell said. “Something to keep in mind for next loop.”
“I think we’d all prefer you not get your ass beat,” Kim said. “Are you really sure you’re still on board with this, after aforementioned ass-beating?”
“I have to see this through,” Vell said. “I’m sure it was all some mix-up on Doc’s part.”
“I sure hope so,” Kim said. “That dude’s probably going to be your father-in-law someday.”
The illusion that hid the bruises on Vell’s face was not quite powerful enough to disguise the redness in his cheeks. He set off without a word and headed for the senior dorms, and the invisible death ray atop them.
***
“We did try to make the relationship work, but ultimately we just didn’t work out in the long-term,” Doc Ragnarok said. “We set up a very amicable co-parenting arrangement, and Skye is an absolute delight, so it all worked out in the long run. But still, don’t ever try to mix dating and mad science. It’s a field that requires absolute commitment.”
“Fascinating,” Helena said. She had no idea how Doc Ragnarok had managed to segue “mad science advice” into a discussion about Skye’s mother, but somehow he had pulled it off. “Now, about the death ray...”
“Oh, yes, that,” Doc began. He gestured to the massive laser beam currently being constructed in the core of their makeshift lair. “Now, obviously, the retrofuturist look is borrowed from old pulp sci-fi, but I did personalize it with the addition of those dorsal ridges, and the ventilation gaps near the beam emitters, all to resemble the fins and gills of a shark. It lends a certain menace to the design, and Skye absolutely adores sharks, which is a nice bonus.”
“Yes, very adorable,” Helena said. “But how does it function? What puts the ‘death’ in ‘death ray’?”
Doc Ragnarok did a quick double take between the death ray and Helena.
“This one? Nothing,” Doc said. “This is a practice exercise, Ms. Marsh, that ‘death ray’ is just a light emitter, essentially a very powerful laser pointer. I suppose you could blind somebody with it if they started right into the beam, but otherwise harmless.”
“Of course it is,” Helena said. She didn’t bother to hide her disappointment.
“Hey dad, you still in the death ray room?”
“Yes, Skye, what do you need?”
“Just thought you should know Vell’s on his way,” Skye shouted. “Coming by the main entrance.”
“Oh a frontal assault, very bold,” Doc Ragnarok said, as he hustled towards the center of his lair. “It is a shame he won’t see all the work we put into the ventilation system or underground entrance routes, though.”
“I’ll let him know about the laser grid later,” Skye said. “He and I, uh, talk. Sometimes. We hang out on occasion.”
“Well let’s give you something to really talk about,” Doc said. “He’s nearly at the main entrance.”
Doc Ragnarok got into position in his big fancy villain chair, crossed his legs, and waited as the lock on the door clicked. Then clicked again. And again. The handle jiggled slightly as Vell tried it out, but it was still locked, and the lock clicked once more as he tried it again. After a momentary pause, the door was torn off its hinges by a sudden burst of force, and Vell stepped through, standing atop the fallen door.
“Your door’s broken,” Vell said. “And not just because I broke it. Like, the lock didn’t work.”
“A momentary delay that makes you too late, Vell Harlan,” Doc Ragnarok shouted, hamming it up with full force. “Now, fall!”
A trap door beneath Vell’s feet opened up, which might have worked were it not for the fallen door acting as a bridge across the pit. Vell looked down and shrugged.
“Note to self, put pitfall traps further away from doors,” Doc Ragnarok mumbled. “No matter! Deploy the contingencies!”
Two hatches on the wall opened up and revealed cannons aimed at Vell, and he dodged out of the way of two nets fired at him. Next up, two robotic drones came rushing at him, grasping claws at the ready, and Vell grabbed one to swing it at the other, shattering both. The quick swing saved him from the robots, but made him easy prey for a forcefield that descended from the ceiling. He bumped an elbow into the glowing field surrounding him, and found it impenetrable.
“That should keep you contained,” Doc Ragnarok said. “Ms. Marsh! Escort him to the viewing chamber. I want him to watch my plan unfold.”
“As you wish,” Helena said. She tapped one of her crutches into the forcefield, and it started moving out of the central lab and down a side hallway. Doctor Ragnarok watched it move with a smug smile on his face. Once Vell was out of sight, he dropped the smile, and his supervillain persona, entirely.
“Well that was quite good,” Doc noted. “Dodging the first trap was a bit of an accident, yes, but the next two, very skillful.”
“I feel like he should have said something, though,” Skye said. “Asked you what you were planning, made a quip about escaping, that kind of thing.”
“Oh, that would’ve been nice, yes,” Doc Ragnarok said. “But frankly those exchanges can get a little trite, once you’ve done a few dozen there’s really no benefit to the banter. We both know why he’s here.”
“I thought you liked the banter.”
“I like good banter,” Doc said. “If the man’s heart isn’t in it, I don’t want him to force it. That’s how you get cliches.”
***
“I feel like I should’ve said something,” Vell said. “At least like, ‘you’ll never get away with this’, or something like that.”
“Oh no,” Helena said. “Haven’t you read this book?”
Helena held up her copy of Doc Ragnarok’s supervillain guide.
“That’s one of the biggest cliches to avoid,” Helena said. “You’re the one who should know these things, you’re the hero.”
“I skimmed, I have a lot going on,” Vell said. He kicked the side of the forcefield again, and found it impermeable as ever. “So. Are you enjoying yourself?”
“Barring Doc Ragnarok’s fatherly streak, yes, actually,” Helena said. “I could see myself doing this for a living. If I live.”
Vell bit his tongue. Helena had a way of making even the most casual chats a matter of life and death -though he supposed everything actually was a matter of life and death when a person was dying.
“There’s entire schools for this, you know, death ray workshops, speech classes focused on evil monologuing, the whole deal.”
Vell did know. Skye had given him some basic details on the courses now and then. Kraid had even attended some of them for a year or two, before getting expelled for being too evil for evil school.
“So, uh...on a related note,” Vell said. “All that stuff you said about being ‘driven to evil’.”
“Oh. I was just telling Doc Ragnarok what he needed to hear, obviously.”
Helena opened the door to a rooftop chamber with a view of Doc Ragnarok’s death ray, and shuttled the forcefield containing Vell into the center of the room. She tapped one of her crutches against the forcefield to remind Vell of his captive state.
“If I were really evil, I’d be using this opportunity to, say, experiment on your rune without your permission and accidentally kill you,” Helena said. “I’m not my sister, Vell.”
Vell nodded. He already knew that well enough -and it was exactly what worried him.
“You did blow me up that one time,” Vell said.
“For impersonal reasons. That was science,” Helena said. “Sure, reckless, maybe. Stupid, maybe a little. But not evil.”
“When you refuse to learn from them, recklessness and stupidity can be evil.”
“Actually, according to this great book I’m reading,” Helena said, holding aloft the supervillain handbook again. “Evil is just a word used by entrenched powers to derogate anything that challenges their hegemony.”
“That’s...an interpretation, I guess.”
“Doc’s a smart guy,” Helena said. “Speaking of, I need to ask him about his forcefield tech, that seems pretty sturdy.”
Helena walked away, leaving Vell alone in the viewing room, surrounded by the forcefield. He took a seat, poked the walls once more, and decided to leave it for a bit. “Planning his escape” was probably the best excuse to sit and catch his breath he’d get any time soon, and he desperately needed a bit of rest. His ribs still hurt from getting tackled by those goons earlier.
The respite, while much needed, was brief, as Vell soon found himself with another visitor. Thankfully, this one was of the more pleasant variety.
“Vell, hey,” Skye said. “Just checking in, you’re doing great so far.”
“Am I doing great? I’m in a forcefield.”
Vell tapped the translucent wall of energy.
“Getting captured doesn’t feel great.”
“Oh, everybody gets captured,” Skye assured him. “It’s part of the bit. Gives you a chance to pull off a cool escape.”
“Alright. Makes sense, I guess,” Vell said. He looked around his forcefield cage. “Are there any risks I should know about? Like, is any part of this going to electrocute me?”
“What? No, that’d be ridiculously unsafe,” Skye said.
“Yeah, well, those thugs of yours weren’t particularly safe either.”
Skye tilted her head like a confused puppy.
“Thugs?”
“Yeah, those slavic guys with fake accents,” Vell said. “The ones with the keycard, which, by the way, didn’t even work.”
“Vell, what are you talking about,” Skye said. “We don’t have any human minions -except Helena, I guess. You were supposed to find some drones in the robotics lab.”
“Well if they weren’t...hold on,” Vell said. “If there’s another bunch of thugs, and another key, doesn’t that mean there’s another-”
For the second time today, Vell was cut off by a thunderous crashing of waves. Thanks to the viewing chamber’s strategic vantage, he could see the waves part just offshore, revealing another towering skull-shaped structure rising from the water, but this time much larger, much darker, and much skullier. The massive structure was nearly as tall as the dorms they were on top of, and much like Doc Ragnarok’s lair, the peak had a very large raygun on top, aimed directly at them.
“There you are, you layabout traitor,” boomed a voice from within the skull-shaped fortress. “Cease your playacting and come witness true villainy!”
“What the fuck,” Skye said. “Dad!”
Dad was already on his way, and barreled through the door momentarily. He ran to the massive viewing window and pounded a fist into it.
“Bastard,” Doc Ragnarok mumbled under his breath. “Skye, we need to get out of here.”
“What about Vell?’
“Has he not escaped yet?” Doc said. He looked over his shoulder and saw Vell. “Oh, sorry, I’d assumed you got out already.”
Doc Ragnarok pressed a button and released the forcefield around Vell.
“You might be thwarting an actual supervillain today, Mr. Harlan,” Doc said. “That’s Mi-Go, an old colleague. Never really got over the fact that I quit.”
“Oh, Mi-Go, I remember him,” Skye said. “A real pioneer in genetic hybridization.”
The raygun aimed in their direction fired, bathing the room, and the entire island, in a blast of sickly green light. When the deathly glow finally cleared, Vell looked down at his hands, or rather at the pointed crab claws where his hands had once been. Skye and Doc Ragnarok had a similar set of misshapen, crablike appendages, and odd leathery wings sprouting from their slimy flesh.
“Not again,” Doc Ragnarok grunted from his new beak.
“I sure hope he worked on his genetic stabilization matrices,” Skye said. “Or else-”
Vell’s arm popped off his body and started melting on the ground.
“Or else that.”
Thankfully their brains melted first, so the rest of the melting didn’t hurt much.
submitted by Mrmander20 to redditserials [link] [comments]
Surviving the loops was hard enough, but now, in his senior year, Vell Harlan must take charge of them, and deal with the fact that the whole world now knows his secrets. Everyone knows about Vell’s death and resurrection, along with the divine game he is a part of. Now Vell must contend with overly curious scientists and evil billionaires hungry for divine power while the daily doomsday cycle bombards him with terrorists, talking elephants, and the Grim Reaper himself -but if he can endure it all, the Last Goddess’s game promises the ultimate prize: power over life itself.
[Previous Chapter][Patreon][Cover Art]
“The not-so-good Doctor is all set up,” Hawke said. “You are cleared to infiltrate.”
“Good. You been reading Ragnarok’s book?”
“Yeah, except Helena took our only physical copy,” Hawke said. “I had to spend seven dollars on the ebook.”
“Oh. I can, uh, get you back for that, if you want.”
“Nah, it’s fine, this is actually an interesting read,” Hawke said. “You remember that Agent Fleming jerk who showed up two years ago? Apparently Skye’s dad almost dropped him in lava once.”
“Fascinating,” Vell said. “What’s it say about starting one of these things?”
“Oh right, yeah,” Hawke said. “Okay, apparently step one is the ‘information gathering and infiltration’. I think you’re supposed to like, interrogate his minions to find out where his base is and then break into it.”
“Makes sense.”
“I can tell you right now there’s a suspiciously death-ray shaped cloaking field on the roof of the senior dorms,” Hawke said.
“Yeah, I noticed,” Vell said. Doc Ragnarok’s cloaking tech was advanced, but the loopers had some pretty advanced observation equipment as well. “I think that’s too easy though, right? I’m trying to give Skye some bonding time with her dad here, we need to do things the long way.”
“If you insist,” Hawke said. “Samson, any ideas on how to do things the old fashioned way?”
“You might start with the generic eastern european goons lurking around the dining hall,” Samson said. He forwarded a picture to Vell, showing off a table of middle-aged men sitting around one of the tables, smoking cigars and playing poker.
“Those definitely look like henchmen,” Vell said. “I’ll go check it out.”
Even if they weren’t related to the apocalypse, a random group of middle-aged men hanging around a college campus was suspicious. Vell headed for the dining hall, stepped through the doors, and adjusted his tux as he approached the table.
“Gentlemen,” he began. “This is a non-smoking campus.”
“Ve are not stoodents,” one of the smooking goons grunted, in one of the deepest pseudo-slavic accents Vell had ever heard. He briefly considered asking if the accent was genuine, or part of the role, but thought that might be offensive.
“The rules apply all the same,” Vell said. “If you’re not students, then why are you here?”
“Vork.”
“What kind of v- work?”
“De none of yor beeznees kind,” another mook toned.
“On this campus, everything’s my business,” Vell said. He didn’t want it to be, most of the time, but it ended up that way anyway.
“Mebbe you lurn noddo steeck nose where idon belon.”
“Okay, I’ve been trying not to bring it up, but that’s beyond the pale,” Vell said. “That accent is fake, right? You’re all just playing up the fake mook role?”
The smoking henchmen shared a nervous glance, and one of them pulled a walkie talkie out of their track suit jacket.
“He’s on to us! Accelerate the plan!”
“Ha! I knew the accents were fake,” Vell said. His good mood was short-lived, as all the of goons at the table stood up, fists clenched, and squared their shoulders towards him.
“Should’ve minded your own ‘beeznees’, stretch,” one of them grunted.
“I’ve never been...I, ah, screw it, pretend I said something witty,” Vell said. “So what are the rules on this part, is it like, pin-based, or is there a flag football type of thing-”
One of the goons dove into Vell for a full-body tackle, and then punched him in the face while he was on the ground.
“Okay, full contact,” Vell grunted. “Seems a little harsh for a-”
Another punch to the face shut him up, and made Vell realize this was not the time to be talking. He covered his face to block another punch and rolled out from underneath the thug who had him pinned, before spinning around to kick him in the gut.
“Hawke, this got a little bit loud,” Vell said. “Could you call Kim and tell her-”
Vell got grabbed by the shoulders, lifted off the ground, and then slammed into a table hard enough to snap it in two. Though he never finished his sentence, Hawke assumed Vell’s intent from the context clues, and from the faint sound of punching in the background.
Kim had been scouting out potential disasters close by, so it did not take her long to arrive on the scene and pry Vell out from underneath a mountain of track-suits. A robot with flaming fists was more than any of the hired goons had signed on for, so they dispersed after a few of their own were knocked unconscious burning punches. Once she was sure they were all scared off, Kim helped a heavily-bruised Vell off the ground and wiped some blood off his chin.
“Damn. You’re lucky I saw the other twelve guys or I’d think you got your ass beat,” Kim said.
“Yeah, I think I did alright,” Vell groaned. “Christ, though, what was with that? I thought the goons were supposed to rush me one at a time, at least.”
“You’d think so,” Kim said. That was the usual henchmen approach. “Maybe Doc Ragnarok actually does know you’re dating his daughter. Wanted some guys to beat your ass about it.”
“He just doesn’t seem like the kind of guy,” Vell said. “If only because he’s weirdly obsessed with being an old-school supervillain.”
Vell popped an illusion rune that would disguise the bruises, and the damage to his tuxedo, and got back on track.
“Speaking of his weird obsession,” Vell said. He popped his runic scanning glasses out of a pocket and did a quick scan of the unconscious guards. “There we go.”
Vell plucked a keycard from the coat pocket of one of the unconscious guards.
“In retrospect, I probably should’ve just scanned first and tried to pickpocket this,” Vell said. “Something to keep in mind for next loop.”
“I think we’d all prefer you not get your ass beat,” Kim said. “Are you really sure you’re still on board with this, after aforementioned ass-beating?”
“I have to see this through,” Vell said. “I’m sure it was all some mix-up on Doc’s part.”
“I sure hope so,” Kim said. “That dude’s probably going to be your father-in-law someday.”
The illusion that hid the bruises on Vell’s face was not quite powerful enough to disguise the redness in his cheeks. He set off without a word and headed for the senior dorms, and the invisible death ray atop them.
***
“We did try to make the relationship work, but ultimately we just didn’t work out in the long-term,” Doc Ragnarok said. “We set up a very amicable co-parenting arrangement, and Skye is an absolute delight, so it all worked out in the long run. But still, don’t ever try to mix dating and mad science. It’s a field that requires absolute commitment.”
“Fascinating,” Helena said. She had no idea how Doc Ragnarok had managed to segue “mad science advice” into a discussion about Skye’s mother, but somehow he had pulled it off. “Now, about the death ray...”
“Oh, yes, that,” Doc began. He gestured to the massive laser beam currently being constructed in the core of their makeshift lair. “Now, obviously, the retrofuturist look is borrowed from old pulp sci-fi, but I did personalize it with the addition of those dorsal ridges, and the ventilation gaps near the beam emitters, all to resemble the fins and gills of a shark. It lends a certain menace to the design, and Skye absolutely adores sharks, which is a nice bonus.”
“Yes, very adorable,” Helena said. “But how does it function? What puts the ‘death’ in ‘death ray’?”
Doc Ragnarok did a quick double take between the death ray and Helena.
“This one? Nothing,” Doc said. “This is a practice exercise, Ms. Marsh, that ‘death ray’ is just a light emitter, essentially a very powerful laser pointer. I suppose you could blind somebody with it if they started right into the beam, but otherwise harmless.”
“Of course it is,” Helena said. She didn’t bother to hide her disappointment.
“Hey dad, you still in the death ray room?”
“Yes, Skye, what do you need?”
“Just thought you should know Vell’s on his way,” Skye shouted. “Coming by the main entrance.”
“Oh a frontal assault, very bold,” Doc Ragnarok said, as he hustled towards the center of his lair. “It is a shame he won’t see all the work we put into the ventilation system or underground entrance routes, though.”
“I’ll let him know about the laser grid later,” Skye said. “He and I, uh, talk. Sometimes. We hang out on occasion.”
“Well let’s give you something to really talk about,” Doc said. “He’s nearly at the main entrance.”
Doc Ragnarok got into position in his big fancy villain chair, crossed his legs, and waited as the lock on the door clicked. Then clicked again. And again. The handle jiggled slightly as Vell tried it out, but it was still locked, and the lock clicked once more as he tried it again. After a momentary pause, the door was torn off its hinges by a sudden burst of force, and Vell stepped through, standing atop the fallen door.
“Your door’s broken,” Vell said. “And not just because I broke it. Like, the lock didn’t work.”
“A momentary delay that makes you too late, Vell Harlan,” Doc Ragnarok shouted, hamming it up with full force. “Now, fall!”
A trap door beneath Vell’s feet opened up, which might have worked were it not for the fallen door acting as a bridge across the pit. Vell looked down and shrugged.
“Note to self, put pitfall traps further away from doors,” Doc Ragnarok mumbled. “No matter! Deploy the contingencies!”
Two hatches on the wall opened up and revealed cannons aimed at Vell, and he dodged out of the way of two nets fired at him. Next up, two robotic drones came rushing at him, grasping claws at the ready, and Vell grabbed one to swing it at the other, shattering both. The quick swing saved him from the robots, but made him easy prey for a forcefield that descended from the ceiling. He bumped an elbow into the glowing field surrounding him, and found it impenetrable.
“That should keep you contained,” Doc Ragnarok said. “Ms. Marsh! Escort him to the viewing chamber. I want him to watch my plan unfold.”
“As you wish,” Helena said. She tapped one of her crutches into the forcefield, and it started moving out of the central lab and down a side hallway. Doctor Ragnarok watched it move with a smug smile on his face. Once Vell was out of sight, he dropped the smile, and his supervillain persona, entirely.
“Well that was quite good,” Doc noted. “Dodging the first trap was a bit of an accident, yes, but the next two, very skillful.”
“I feel like he should have said something, though,” Skye said. “Asked you what you were planning, made a quip about escaping, that kind of thing.”
“Oh, that would’ve been nice, yes,” Doc Ragnarok said. “But frankly those exchanges can get a little trite, once you’ve done a few dozen there’s really no benefit to the banter. We both know why he’s here.”
“I thought you liked the banter.”
“I like good banter,” Doc said. “If the man’s heart isn’t in it, I don’t want him to force it. That’s how you get cliches.”
***
“I feel like I should’ve said something,” Vell said. “At least like, ‘you’ll never get away with this’, or something like that.”
“Oh no,” Helena said. “Haven’t you read this book?”
Helena held up her copy of Doc Ragnarok’s supervillain guide.
“That’s one of the biggest cliches to avoid,” Helena said. “You’re the one who should know these things, you’re the hero.”
“I skimmed, I have a lot going on,” Vell said. He kicked the side of the forcefield again, and found it impermeable as ever. “So. Are you enjoying yourself?”
“Barring Doc Ragnarok’s fatherly streak, yes, actually,” Helena said. “I could see myself doing this for a living. If I live.”
Vell bit his tongue. Helena had a way of making even the most casual chats a matter of life and death -though he supposed everything actually was a matter of life and death when a person was dying.
“There’s entire schools for this, you know, death ray workshops, speech classes focused on evil monologuing, the whole deal.”
Vell did know. Skye had given him some basic details on the courses now and then. Kraid had even attended some of them for a year or two, before getting expelled for being too evil for evil school.
“So, uh...on a related note,” Vell said. “All that stuff you said about being ‘driven to evil’.”
“Oh. I was just telling Doc Ragnarok what he needed to hear, obviously.”
Helena opened the door to a rooftop chamber with a view of Doc Ragnarok’s death ray, and shuttled the forcefield containing Vell into the center of the room. She tapped one of her crutches against the forcefield to remind Vell of his captive state.
“If I were really evil, I’d be using this opportunity to, say, experiment on your rune without your permission and accidentally kill you,” Helena said. “I’m not my sister, Vell.”
Vell nodded. He already knew that well enough -and it was exactly what worried him.
“You did blow me up that one time,” Vell said.
“For impersonal reasons. That was science,” Helena said. “Sure, reckless, maybe. Stupid, maybe a little. But not evil.”
“When you refuse to learn from them, recklessness and stupidity can be evil.”
“Actually, according to this great book I’m reading,” Helena said, holding aloft the supervillain handbook again. “Evil is just a word used by entrenched powers to derogate anything that challenges their hegemony.”
“That’s...an interpretation, I guess.”
“Doc’s a smart guy,” Helena said. “Speaking of, I need to ask him about his forcefield tech, that seems pretty sturdy.”
Helena walked away, leaving Vell alone in the viewing room, surrounded by the forcefield. He took a seat, poked the walls once more, and decided to leave it for a bit. “Planning his escape” was probably the best excuse to sit and catch his breath he’d get any time soon, and he desperately needed a bit of rest. His ribs still hurt from getting tackled by those goons earlier.
The respite, while much needed, was brief, as Vell soon found himself with another visitor. Thankfully, this one was of the more pleasant variety.
“Vell, hey,” Skye said. “Just checking in, you’re doing great so far.”
“Am I doing great? I’m in a forcefield.”
Vell tapped the translucent wall of energy.
“Getting captured doesn’t feel great.”
“Oh, everybody gets captured,” Skye assured him. “It’s part of the bit. Gives you a chance to pull off a cool escape.”
“Alright. Makes sense, I guess,” Vell said. He looked around his forcefield cage. “Are there any risks I should know about? Like, is any part of this going to electrocute me?”
“What? No, that’d be ridiculously unsafe,” Skye said.
“Yeah, well, those thugs of yours weren’t particularly safe either.”
Skye tilted her head like a confused puppy.
“Thugs?”
“Yeah, those slavic guys with fake accents,” Vell said. “The ones with the keycard, which, by the way, didn’t even work.”
“Vell, what are you talking about,” Skye said. “We don’t have any human minions -except Helena, I guess. You were supposed to find some drones in the robotics lab.”
“Well if they weren’t...hold on,” Vell said. “If there’s another bunch of thugs, and another key, doesn’t that mean there’s another-”
For the second time today, Vell was cut off by a thunderous crashing of waves. Thanks to the viewing chamber’s strategic vantage, he could see the waves part just offshore, revealing another towering skull-shaped structure rising from the water, but this time much larger, much darker, and much skullier. The massive structure was nearly as tall as the dorms they were on top of, and much like Doc Ragnarok’s lair, the peak had a very large raygun on top, aimed directly at them.
“There you are, you layabout traitor,” boomed a voice from within the skull-shaped fortress. “Cease your playacting and come witness true villainy!”
“What the fuck,” Skye said. “Dad!”
Dad was already on his way, and barreled through the door momentarily. He ran to the massive viewing window and pounded a fist into it.
“Bastard,” Doc Ragnarok mumbled under his breath. “Skye, we need to get out of here.”
“What about Vell?’
“Has he not escaped yet?” Doc said. He looked over his shoulder and saw Vell. “Oh, sorry, I’d assumed you got out already.”
Doc Ragnarok pressed a button and released the forcefield around Vell.
“You might be thwarting an actual supervillain today, Mr. Harlan,” Doc said. “That’s Mi-Go, an old colleague. Never really got over the fact that I quit.”
“Oh, Mi-Go, I remember him,” Skye said. “A real pioneer in genetic hybridization.”
The raygun aimed in their direction fired, bathing the room, and the entire island, in a blast of sickly green light. When the deathly glow finally cleared, Vell looked down at his hands, or rather at the pointed crab claws where his hands had once been. Skye and Doc Ragnarok had a similar set of misshapen, crablike appendages, and odd leathery wings sprouting from their slimy flesh.
“Not again,” Doc Ragnarok grunted from his new beak.
“I sure hope he worked on his genetic stabilization matrices,” Skye said. “Or else-”
Vell’s arm popped off his body and started melting on the ground.
“Or else that.”
Thankfully their brains melted first, so the rest of the melting didn’t hurt much.
2024.06.01 00:50 Permutation3 The Greatest Voiceline System in Gaming
The voiceline system in this game; the actors, the lines, and the depth of options they give us is incredible. I feel the system is under appreciated and under utilized.
First I want to offer a tip; rebind your "Phrase Menu" to a nearby key, I happen to use one of my mouse buttons. This is the button that brings up all your voiceline options / hand gestures. The more you use it the faster you get and I can hit any voiceline / gesture I want in less than a second now and that didn't take very long. It makes for some really great times. Been doing it more since getting into Arena, I find maybe 20% of players use them but nobody uses them to their full potential really.
Second tip; "Voice Command Quick Phrase" can also be bound to a more accessable location for calling out when you're hit, when you're reloading (actually useful with squad CQB tactics), when you're throwing a nade (this one is also fun the way they did them), etc. It's a quick button to call out your current state and there's lots of epic lines in here.
I use a Corsair Scimitar Pro mouse, which has a 1-12 numpad on the left side where your thumb rests so I have lots of keybinds to use. I have Phrase Menu on 8 and Voice Command Quick Phrase on 9 so they are super easy to use whenever; just by tilting my thumb and applying a lil pressure.
I change my F1-F6 around, currently in order it's "Need Help (trying to get mates to join the stack)" "Middle Finger (can use this during a gunfight for ultimate fatality)" "Mumble (this one is more fun after you've been hit or fired a bullet; they change voicelines)" "Clear (useful for coordination, actually calling out clear rooms is very useful with a squad and very intimidating to the enemy)" "Follow Me" "Covering" "Go Go Go" "Enemy Killed". These are the ones I use most often and usually it's when I can't even be bothered for a 1 second quick phrase, but the quick phrase really is the underrated GOAT here because it has all the options very quickly accessible.
There's real advantages to using these and using prox instead of discord. Being able to hear where your mates are / which one is talking is handy. But mostly I just like using these because when you run into other players using them it makes for very fun encounters. I try to avoid using my actual voice and use the in-game voicelines if something is applicable. With a squad we do sometimes also use discord as a walkie talkie type deal.
Get out there and experiment, the more ya use em the faster you get and it doesn't take long before even 500ms is enough time to pick the exact voiceline you want during a fight.
Bonus Tip #2: Some guns you can use the middle finger emote and the weapon doesn't even move at all / doesn't effect your aim, so you can flip people off while you're killing them even in ADS. PL-15, TT, some builds of the M4, etc have no aim penalty during the emotes.
submitted by Permutation3 to EscapefromTarkov [link] [comments]
First I want to offer a tip; rebind your "Phrase Menu" to a nearby key, I happen to use one of my mouse buttons. This is the button that brings up all your voiceline options / hand gestures. The more you use it the faster you get and I can hit any voiceline / gesture I want in less than a second now and that didn't take very long. It makes for some really great times. Been doing it more since getting into Arena, I find maybe 20% of players use them but nobody uses them to their full potential really.
Second tip; "Voice Command Quick Phrase" can also be bound to a more accessable location for calling out when you're hit, when you're reloading (actually useful with squad CQB tactics), when you're throwing a nade (this one is also fun the way they did them), etc. It's a quick button to call out your current state and there's lots of epic lines in here.
I use a Corsair Scimitar Pro mouse, which has a 1-12 numpad on the left side where your thumb rests so I have lots of keybinds to use. I have Phrase Menu on 8 and Voice Command Quick Phrase on 9 so they are super easy to use whenever; just by tilting my thumb and applying a lil pressure.
I change my F1-F6 around, currently in order it's "Need Help (trying to get mates to join the stack)" "Middle Finger (can use this during a gunfight for ultimate fatality)" "Mumble (this one is more fun after you've been hit or fired a bullet; they change voicelines)" "Clear (useful for coordination, actually calling out clear rooms is very useful with a squad and very intimidating to the enemy)" "Follow Me" "Covering" "Go Go Go" "Enemy Killed". These are the ones I use most often and usually it's when I can't even be bothered for a 1 second quick phrase, but the quick phrase really is the underrated GOAT here because it has all the options very quickly accessible.
There's real advantages to using these and using prox instead of discord. Being able to hear where your mates are / which one is talking is handy. But mostly I just like using these because when you run into other players using them it makes for very fun encounters. I try to avoid using my actual voice and use the in-game voicelines if something is applicable. With a squad we do sometimes also use discord as a walkie talkie type deal.
Get out there and experiment, the more ya use em the faster you get and it doesn't take long before even 500ms is enough time to pick the exact voiceline you want during a fight.
Bonus Tip #2: Some guns you can use the middle finger emote and the weapon doesn't even move at all / doesn't effect your aim, so you can flip people off while you're killing them even in ADS. PL-15, TT, some builds of the M4, etc have no aim penalty during the emotes.
2024.06.01 00:22 AngleObjective8350 A4A, To catch a Kat, Hypnosis, strangers to Family, Sleepaid, Captured Listener, Caretaker Speaker, Teenage Listener,
[Steady beeping sound]
[Window Opens]
[Listener climbs through it. Walks across the room.]
[Window slams shut. Multiple locks around the room engage.]
[Beeping stops.]
Do you know how rescuers save a feral momma cat- Ah! Ah. Put. The Knife. Down. Your claws won’t help you here Kitten. You’ll just find yourself in an even more stressful situation. Hiss and spit all you want. But don’t scratch, and especially don’t bite. Got it?
Hmph. You’re not moving so I’m going to assume that if I stay over here I’m safe. Does that sound fair to you? [Sarcastic] Chatty, aren’t you? Well luckily for you I can talk for the two of us. [Sits down] Look, I’m sitting down now. All nice and relaxed. I’m not going anywhere. And neither are you. Especially if you keep standing all rigid like that. We have all the time in the world to sit and get to know each other a little better. Okay?
I’ll take your silence as a yes. As I was saying. The best way to rescue a feral momma cat is to catch all her kittens first. The kittens are easier to find and aren’t as fast. Preferring to hide and get out of reach if they can. The Momma however would rather lead you away from the kittens and as you so pointedly demonstrated, has the claws and teeth to defend herself.
To catch the Momma, you need one of her kittens. Put the kittens in their own cage, and prop up a larger one on top of that. When she comes to investigate their cries, drop the cage. The kittens can’t run off and are protected when the momma inevitably freaks out, and the Momma gets caught. Ready to receive medical treatment, be spayed- [Listener shifts back]
[Brief pause]
…All that Jazz. Obviously that last one doesn’t apply to you. You are very much human. But the comparison is apt. Far more apt than the “Rats in the walls” that the paper has decided would be a fitting name for your gang. With you as the “Rat King” I think. Didn’t really read much past that once I realized they were sensationalizing what you were. And what an awful name to call someone too. A “Rat King.” You’re not two kids under that cloak are you?
It matters because the name doesn’t fit unless you’re a bunch of people either stuck or working together. That’s why its an insult. Look. I can see you’re about to freak out. The kid you’re looking for is fine. In fact, [Rustles around] I think I have a remote- ah! [Clicks] There they are-
[Listener jumped when the TV turned on and threw a knife at it. Shattering the monitor.]
Ohkay, nothing fragile around you then. Glad damaging the screen doesn’t wreck the actual device. Anyway, looking past the shattered glass, what can you see? Well. You threw the knife at the picture of your own kid but- oh! Nevermind. There he is. That’s a playroom, by the way. In case you’ve never seen one. Depending on your behavior you might join him there. You and all the other little rascals we’re rounding up right now.
Yes yes your whole operation has been found out. Once we found one of your bolt holes, it was easy to find the rest. Since, you literally left instructions for the kids to find the other ones. Rotations. Backup plans. We’ll catch all your kittens in no time. Just wait and see.
[Listener charges at him]
[He gets up. Scuffling sounds. Primarily wrists cracking against wrists as he deflects the listeners blows]
[As they’re fighting] Right! Right right right I forgot. My bad. I should have gained your trust first before dangling the rest of the kids in front of you. That’s on me. Thing is- [Catches Listener by the wrist, twists them around, and holds them with their arms pinned to their back] Stealing from the rich means it was only a matter of time before someone smart enough or angry enough tried to smoke you out. Really should have stuck to raiding the middle class I mean, less bang for your buck but at least they don’t have the resources- or the ego- to track down who dared to steal from them. Be glad it was me who caught you, and not someone more sadistic.
[Listener struggles. Trying to pull away.]
Uh hahaha, no. My dear. You’re not getting away. Not this time. Not until I decide its safe for me to let you go. That you won’t attack me, my staff, or yourself in your panic to get out of here. And I’ll know you won’t do that when you stop lashing out like a cat and start behaving like a human. Got it?
[Listener goes limp]
Good. Now. I’m going to take the knife. You are going to sit. And we are going to talk. Okay? Like two human beings. Understood?
Use your voice.
Good. [Takes the knife. Sheathes it. Ties some string around it so it can’t be drawn again.] That should keep your claws tucked away without removing them entirely. I’m not that cruel. Here. You can even have it back- ah! But it is to stay tied into that sheath and tucked away, got it? Good. Here you go.
Now sit.
[Listener sits]
Good Kitten. [He sits]
Good question. What do I want? I guess my poor bleeding heart couldn’t handle the idea of my fellows catching and torturing a literal bunch of kids.
Oh technically you’re not a kid. But just because you’re the oldest and therefore their de facto caretaker and ringleader does not actually make you an adult. Deep down under that hostile exterior is a kid just as frightened as the rest of-
[Listener scrambles to the other side of the couch in a panic]
Ah. [Sympathetic] I struck a nerve, didn’t I? I didn’t mean- [Catches himself. Clears throat. Reasserts himself] Anyway, that was easy to draw out now wasn’t it? Its always sad when a cat has to care for kittens when she is barely more than a kitten herself. At least you, a fellow bleeding heart, chose to care for these kittens on your own, right? Riiiight?
Okay good. See? We’re making progress already.
[With humor] Suspicious as ever. With training you to be human of course. The children of your little gang won’t need much besides getting used to the idea of sitting somewhat still and paying attention. Then we can just give them a normal education like the rest of their peers. You on the other hand, Feral Momma that you are, need some special attention and some special tools to help you learn to live among polite society.
I’m giving you your life back is what I mean. Or rather, I’m giving you the life you should have had in the first place. Better. Even. I can and will find you and your friends-
No. As of this moment they’re your friends. Not your kids. Got it?
Hmph. We’ll have to work on that. Much, much farther down the road though. As I was saying. You will have the best education anyone can have. Any hobbies or fields that pique your interest? You will have all the resources to explore it. You’ll never have to worry about money or food or clothes. I’ll make sure you have all you need and more.
Because I want to earn your trust. Not that I have any illusions of gaining it anytime soon, but I want to establish a baseline going forward. If I break this most fundamental part of our relationship, I no longer deserve your trust. That doesn’t mean I’ll give you all the candy that you want. But you’ll never go to bed hungry either. How does that sound?
No catch. Or- well. Hm. I suppose there is one thing. [Opens a box] See this? It's funny, actually. Your little thief tried to snatch exactly this when he fell into my trap. Sure its a pretty enough little trinket. Pawning it off would have gotten you mmm, maybe a week- Ah. I’m guessing by your expression it would be less. Just how many kids are in your gang anyway? … Kitten. How many kids. Are in your Gang. [Sighs] You don’t have to answer. Its clear enough already you bit off way more than you could chew in that regard.
We’ll deal with that another time. For now, I want you to look at me and more importantly back to my pocketwatch. You see, being gold plated and embedded with jewels makes it worth a lot. But that’s not why I bought it. That’s not why any of my peers were trying to buy it either.
Its easy enough to con the rich. Sell them just the right story and they’ll buy anything you offer to them. The smart ones check the backstory. And oh let me tell you this has gone on some adventures indeed.
This, when held, gives its wielder the power to hypnotize.
Trick shows? I don’t- ah. Street Lingo. No. Not at all like that. I won’t wave this in front of your face and order you to make a fool of yourself. This is the real deal, my Dear. At its baseline, I can make you fall into a pseudo trance. Just dazed and unaware until something snaps you out of it. Handy, for a thief like you. Important for an emergency I think. In case you get into any real trouble. But with practice, and a target paying attention, I can make you fall into a real trance. Limp, and unaware, and unable to wake up without my say so.
With experimentation and skill? Well. I know you read papers too. That Mr. Maestro is a real scary guy huh? His poor assistant. I wonder who she was before he got his hands on her. Who any of his servants were, before they fell under his gaze. You don’t need to worry about that though. You’ll remember, and I won’t change a single thing about you. I promise. I won’t even make you be obedient with one, single exception. That you’ll come when called. And even that will have caveats. Okay?
Good question. I’m going to use this to slip past your guard and teach you how to relax. And after I teach you how to relax, I’ll teach you how to trust. And then except for any particularly unhealthy behaviors you struggle to unlearn and with your permission, I won’t have to use it ever again now will I?
Yes. Outside of “Don’t act like a feral animal” this is my only condition for seeing your gang. Is that amenable to you? [Before the listener can panic] You can take your time deciding, by the way. I don’t want to throw you into a panic and-
Okay then. We can start tomorrow-
Are you sure? You can take as much time as you need to get ready.
Very well then. Get comfortable. Like you’re about to go to sleep.
No, you don’t need to look at me. Or the pocket watch. You just need to be able to hear the sound of my voice. If you don’t think you can get comfortable enough- I know this is a strange place so, someone like you would probably struggle to feel safe enough to sleep here- don’t worry about it. That’s part of the watch’s power. Its safer and easier for you to be prepared, however. Brute forcing it has the potential to do some damage.
[Listener shifts around, getting comfortable]
You ready? Don’t need blankets or anything? No? Okay then.
[tone that indicates the watch has activated]
I want you to focus on… hm. Let’s see here. I can see your eyes are open so, pay attention to the area right in front of you.
Yes this is part of the hypnosis. I’m trying to teach you something okay? Just relax and follow my lead. Don’t second guess. Just do. Got it? Now, where was I…
Focus on the area right in front of you. You’ve probably never seen it before, so this should be pretty easy to grasp what I’m trying to say.
I want you to investigate it closely. Really look at all its little nooks and crannies. All its little details. Every imperfection you can see. What is its texture? How do you think it would feel to run your fingers over it? What is its smell.
If you can, I want you to reach out and touch the object. Lightly. Carefully. Just enough to get a sense of its texture. Really pay attention to how it feels against your skin.
This is called Mindfulness. Its a skill you will find very useful day to day as we go forward. Even outside of hypnosis. Let me teach you why.
I want you to look at your hand now. Both of them, if you want. But its better to direct all of your attention to one.
Easy, easy. I can see you getting mad. Its okay. Don’t beat yourself up. Or you can be mad at me that’s fine. Everytime you find your thoughts drifting away from the object of your attention though, I want you to bring them right back okay? Like… sliding a moving object across a desk. You do it often enough, it becomes routine. Now, back to your hand.
Look at your fingers. See the way they hang when you hold your hand up? How the weight of the tips affect each joint, up to your palm? Notice all the little lines. The swirls of your fingerprints. The boxes made by each tiny crease. Did you ever notice that before now, I wonder. How your fingers are divided by boxes within boxes below the first joint. All the way down to the individual cells most likely.
Now lets look at your palm. Its so different from your fingers isn’t it? While your fingers have some wobbly lines, they’re still straight and are either horizontal or vertical. Not your palm though. The lines on your palm go all over the place. All kind of angles, and never straight either. There are even swirls, and circles if you look close enough. Just like your fingerprints.
Now lets pull back, and look at the front of your hand as a whole. Notice the structure of it. All the joints. Wiggle your fingers for me, will you? Did you ever notice before, that there’s a sensation as you move your fingers? That if you pay attention to a specific digit, you can feel the individual muscles responding to your call? Moving under, and against your skin?
This is called Body Scanning. See, your brain receives input from your body all the time. You just don’t notice because your focus, that key component of mindfulness we learned earlier, was elsewhere. On more important things than the sensation of your fingers moving. But now they have all your attention and it puts that sensation under a microscope. Notice how you can only focus on one finger at a time, though. You can’t feel each individual muscle if you’re paying attention to the whole hand.
So it is with your whole body. If all your focus is on your stomach, you won’t notice a problem with your heart. If your focus is only ever focused outside, you won’t notice something wrong inside.
You need to give everything its due. Its own time. Its own place. But we’ll worry about that later. When you’re awake. When you feel safe.
For now, Direct your attention to your head. Your jaw. Let it relax so your teeth are not tight against each other. And, as with mindfulness, if you notice it tensing up again just let it relax, and move on.
Down, down to your neck- [Sound distortion as the listener drifts under hypnosis] Its okay to close your eyes. Its all part of the point. Let the muscles in your neck go limp. Feel free to shift if your head goes in an uncomfortable angle. [Listener shifts] Very good. Good Kitten. Good Kat. This next bit is trickier. Tense up your shoulders, all the way to your ears. Feel the muscles in them? Now let them slump. All the way down. Let your body tilt and fall, however it may. If you notice a muscle tensing up to hold your position, relax it. Let your body go completely limp on the couch. You are stable. You might feel strange like this. And its okay. This is what its like to be truly relaxed. To go to sleep.
Focus now on your breathing. How the fresh air goes in your nose, down your throat, fills your lungs. Your lungs have a top and bottom. As well as left to right. Take a deep breath. As deep as you can go. Slow. Steady. Like working a bellows. Notice how the top part of your lungs fills first, and then the lower part? And again when your lungs empty. The top part empties first, and then the lower part.
In. Out. Slow. Steady. Top. Bottom. Full. Empty. I want you to keep breathing, just like that.
[Second tone plays, deeper this time]
And just like that, you are under hypnosis. I want you to repeat this exercise whenever you need to relax. For sleep. Just to veg. Whenever you feel comfortable and safe enough to do so. Later, when I have your trust, I will teach you how to do a modified version of this exercise in times of crisis. So you can keep a cool head.
But not now. Now I want you to learn how to sleep in this strange place. Sleep is all too important to managing stress. Something I’m sure you are familiar with. Now more so than ever most likely.
We can change the trigger to one of your personal choice later, but for now… [Three musical tones, different from the watch, going down. I prefer Xylophone] That sound indicates its time to do the relaxing routine We just practiced, and to go to sleep.
When you do sleep, it will be deep, and restful. [Brief pause as he thinks. Add whatever “I’m thinking” tick here you want] Your mind will sort through the events of the day, and whatever is bothering you. Whatever you think is important. Even if its just something you strongly desire. You will wake thinking of it.
The second trigger I am going to teach you is to come when I call. When I, and only I, say “Quoth the Raven” Assuming you aren’t in the middle of something important. If there is no emergency. If the thing can wait until the next day, wrap up what you are doing and come to me right away. I won’t always use it when I want to see you. That will be your own choice. But when I have something to teach you, or we need to have another session. I will use it.
I want you to remember this session. What I’ve said. What the triggers are. And the caveats. I want you to remember how you got here. Why you came. The talk we had that ended in you agreeing to this.
When I snap my fingers, you will go to sleep. You will have the deepest, most restful sleep you have ever had. As long as you need. As deep as you need. And you will process all the stress you have experienced up to this point that you can without being in distress. All the small scares. The little moments where you were proud. Everything small that you’ve been too busy to acknowledge had an effect on you.
When you wake, you will remember you are deep within my mansion. You will know that you have been moved to a different room- your room- and that you have been promised safety.
When you wake, you will know that your gang, your friends, are safe or are going to be safe, and that they will be kept nearby. You will remember that so long as you behave like a human, and attend these sessions, you will get to see them. Protect them. Play with them. Teach them.
When you wake, there will most likely be a doctor by your side. Follow his or her instructions as it relates to your checkup. If you feel uncomfortable, say so. There will be a member of my staff observing, and they will intervene if need be.
There will be clean, warm clothes for you to wear. And hot, fresh food for you to eat as soon as you wake up. When your checkup is done, and you’ve eaten and prepared for the day, you can go see your friends.
I am going to snap my fingers in three… two… one… Sleep.
[Snaps]
End Audio Script. This was inspired by Jouska's recent hypnosis videos, Dr. Who's The Empy Child, and especially a recent trend of hypnosis videos I've seen around where the listeners free will is steam rolled and I personally don't like that. So here's a version where that doesn't happen.
If you want to record and make this into a public video please let me know! I would love to view the finished product and knowing what it looks like will help me to write more in this series in the future.
Do NOT edit, and do NOT take Kitten as suggestive. Its a referral to the characters age and behavior, not an attempt to flirt. This is a parent child relationship. Nothing more.
submitted by AngleObjective8350 to ASMRScriptHaven [link] [comments]
[Window Opens]
[Listener climbs through it. Walks across the room.]
[Window slams shut. Multiple locks around the room engage.]
[Beeping stops.]
Do you know how rescuers save a feral momma cat- Ah! Ah. Put. The Knife. Down. Your claws won’t help you here Kitten. You’ll just find yourself in an even more stressful situation. Hiss and spit all you want. But don’t scratch, and especially don’t bite. Got it?
Hmph. You’re not moving so I’m going to assume that if I stay over here I’m safe. Does that sound fair to you? [Sarcastic] Chatty, aren’t you? Well luckily for you I can talk for the two of us. [Sits down] Look, I’m sitting down now. All nice and relaxed. I’m not going anywhere. And neither are you. Especially if you keep standing all rigid like that. We have all the time in the world to sit and get to know each other a little better. Okay?
I’ll take your silence as a yes. As I was saying. The best way to rescue a feral momma cat is to catch all her kittens first. The kittens are easier to find and aren’t as fast. Preferring to hide and get out of reach if they can. The Momma however would rather lead you away from the kittens and as you so pointedly demonstrated, has the claws and teeth to defend herself.
To catch the Momma, you need one of her kittens. Put the kittens in their own cage, and prop up a larger one on top of that. When she comes to investigate their cries, drop the cage. The kittens can’t run off and are protected when the momma inevitably freaks out, and the Momma gets caught. Ready to receive medical treatment, be spayed- [Listener shifts back]
[Brief pause]
…All that Jazz. Obviously that last one doesn’t apply to you. You are very much human. But the comparison is apt. Far more apt than the “Rats in the walls” that the paper has decided would be a fitting name for your gang. With you as the “Rat King” I think. Didn’t really read much past that once I realized they were sensationalizing what you were. And what an awful name to call someone too. A “Rat King.” You’re not two kids under that cloak are you?
It matters because the name doesn’t fit unless you’re a bunch of people either stuck or working together. That’s why its an insult. Look. I can see you’re about to freak out. The kid you’re looking for is fine. In fact, [Rustles around] I think I have a remote- ah! [Clicks] There they are-
[Listener jumped when the TV turned on and threw a knife at it. Shattering the monitor.]
Ohkay, nothing fragile around you then. Glad damaging the screen doesn’t wreck the actual device. Anyway, looking past the shattered glass, what can you see? Well. You threw the knife at the picture of your own kid but- oh! Nevermind. There he is. That’s a playroom, by the way. In case you’ve never seen one. Depending on your behavior you might join him there. You and all the other little rascals we’re rounding up right now.
Yes yes your whole operation has been found out. Once we found one of your bolt holes, it was easy to find the rest. Since, you literally left instructions for the kids to find the other ones. Rotations. Backup plans. We’ll catch all your kittens in no time. Just wait and see.
[Listener charges at him]
[He gets up. Scuffling sounds. Primarily wrists cracking against wrists as he deflects the listeners blows]
[As they’re fighting] Right! Right right right I forgot. My bad. I should have gained your trust first before dangling the rest of the kids in front of you. That’s on me. Thing is- [Catches Listener by the wrist, twists them around, and holds them with their arms pinned to their back] Stealing from the rich means it was only a matter of time before someone smart enough or angry enough tried to smoke you out. Really should have stuck to raiding the middle class I mean, less bang for your buck but at least they don’t have the resources- or the ego- to track down who dared to steal from them. Be glad it was me who caught you, and not someone more sadistic.
[Listener struggles. Trying to pull away.]
Uh hahaha, no. My dear. You’re not getting away. Not this time. Not until I decide its safe for me to let you go. That you won’t attack me, my staff, or yourself in your panic to get out of here. And I’ll know you won’t do that when you stop lashing out like a cat and start behaving like a human. Got it?
[Listener goes limp]
Good. Now. I’m going to take the knife. You are going to sit. And we are going to talk. Okay? Like two human beings. Understood?
Use your voice.
Good. [Takes the knife. Sheathes it. Ties some string around it so it can’t be drawn again.] That should keep your claws tucked away without removing them entirely. I’m not that cruel. Here. You can even have it back- ah! But it is to stay tied into that sheath and tucked away, got it? Good. Here you go.
Now sit.
[Listener sits]
Good Kitten. [He sits]
Good question. What do I want? I guess my poor bleeding heart couldn’t handle the idea of my fellows catching and torturing a literal bunch of kids.
Oh technically you’re not a kid. But just because you’re the oldest and therefore their de facto caretaker and ringleader does not actually make you an adult. Deep down under that hostile exterior is a kid just as frightened as the rest of-
[Listener scrambles to the other side of the couch in a panic]
Ah. [Sympathetic] I struck a nerve, didn’t I? I didn’t mean- [Catches himself. Clears throat. Reasserts himself] Anyway, that was easy to draw out now wasn’t it? Its always sad when a cat has to care for kittens when she is barely more than a kitten herself. At least you, a fellow bleeding heart, chose to care for these kittens on your own, right? Riiiight?
Okay good. See? We’re making progress already.
[With humor] Suspicious as ever. With training you to be human of course. The children of your little gang won’t need much besides getting used to the idea of sitting somewhat still and paying attention. Then we can just give them a normal education like the rest of their peers. You on the other hand, Feral Momma that you are, need some special attention and some special tools to help you learn to live among polite society.
I’m giving you your life back is what I mean. Or rather, I’m giving you the life you should have had in the first place. Better. Even. I can and will find you and your friends-
No. As of this moment they’re your friends. Not your kids. Got it?
Hmph. We’ll have to work on that. Much, much farther down the road though. As I was saying. You will have the best education anyone can have. Any hobbies or fields that pique your interest? You will have all the resources to explore it. You’ll never have to worry about money or food or clothes. I’ll make sure you have all you need and more.
Because I want to earn your trust. Not that I have any illusions of gaining it anytime soon, but I want to establish a baseline going forward. If I break this most fundamental part of our relationship, I no longer deserve your trust. That doesn’t mean I’ll give you all the candy that you want. But you’ll never go to bed hungry either. How does that sound?
No catch. Or- well. Hm. I suppose there is one thing. [Opens a box] See this? It's funny, actually. Your little thief tried to snatch exactly this when he fell into my trap. Sure its a pretty enough little trinket. Pawning it off would have gotten you mmm, maybe a week- Ah. I’m guessing by your expression it would be less. Just how many kids are in your gang anyway? … Kitten. How many kids. Are in your Gang. [Sighs] You don’t have to answer. Its clear enough already you bit off way more than you could chew in that regard.
We’ll deal with that another time. For now, I want you to look at me and more importantly back to my pocketwatch. You see, being gold plated and embedded with jewels makes it worth a lot. But that’s not why I bought it. That’s not why any of my peers were trying to buy it either.
Its easy enough to con the rich. Sell them just the right story and they’ll buy anything you offer to them. The smart ones check the backstory. And oh let me tell you this has gone on some adventures indeed.
This, when held, gives its wielder the power to hypnotize.
Trick shows? I don’t- ah. Street Lingo. No. Not at all like that. I won’t wave this in front of your face and order you to make a fool of yourself. This is the real deal, my Dear. At its baseline, I can make you fall into a pseudo trance. Just dazed and unaware until something snaps you out of it. Handy, for a thief like you. Important for an emergency I think. In case you get into any real trouble. But with practice, and a target paying attention, I can make you fall into a real trance. Limp, and unaware, and unable to wake up without my say so.
With experimentation and skill? Well. I know you read papers too. That Mr. Maestro is a real scary guy huh? His poor assistant. I wonder who she was before he got his hands on her. Who any of his servants were, before they fell under his gaze. You don’t need to worry about that though. You’ll remember, and I won’t change a single thing about you. I promise. I won’t even make you be obedient with one, single exception. That you’ll come when called. And even that will have caveats. Okay?
Good question. I’m going to use this to slip past your guard and teach you how to relax. And after I teach you how to relax, I’ll teach you how to trust. And then except for any particularly unhealthy behaviors you struggle to unlearn and with your permission, I won’t have to use it ever again now will I?
Yes. Outside of “Don’t act like a feral animal” this is my only condition for seeing your gang. Is that amenable to you? [Before the listener can panic] You can take your time deciding, by the way. I don’t want to throw you into a panic and-
Okay then. We can start tomorrow-
Are you sure? You can take as much time as you need to get ready.
Very well then. Get comfortable. Like you’re about to go to sleep.
No, you don’t need to look at me. Or the pocket watch. You just need to be able to hear the sound of my voice. If you don’t think you can get comfortable enough- I know this is a strange place so, someone like you would probably struggle to feel safe enough to sleep here- don’t worry about it. That’s part of the watch’s power. Its safer and easier for you to be prepared, however. Brute forcing it has the potential to do some damage.
[Listener shifts around, getting comfortable]
You ready? Don’t need blankets or anything? No? Okay then.
[tone that indicates the watch has activated]
I want you to focus on… hm. Let’s see here. I can see your eyes are open so, pay attention to the area right in front of you.
Yes this is part of the hypnosis. I’m trying to teach you something okay? Just relax and follow my lead. Don’t second guess. Just do. Got it? Now, where was I…
Focus on the area right in front of you. You’ve probably never seen it before, so this should be pretty easy to grasp what I’m trying to say.
I want you to investigate it closely. Really look at all its little nooks and crannies. All its little details. Every imperfection you can see. What is its texture? How do you think it would feel to run your fingers over it? What is its smell.
If you can, I want you to reach out and touch the object. Lightly. Carefully. Just enough to get a sense of its texture. Really pay attention to how it feels against your skin.
This is called Mindfulness. Its a skill you will find very useful day to day as we go forward. Even outside of hypnosis. Let me teach you why.
I want you to look at your hand now. Both of them, if you want. But its better to direct all of your attention to one.
Easy, easy. I can see you getting mad. Its okay. Don’t beat yourself up. Or you can be mad at me that’s fine. Everytime you find your thoughts drifting away from the object of your attention though, I want you to bring them right back okay? Like… sliding a moving object across a desk. You do it often enough, it becomes routine. Now, back to your hand.
Look at your fingers. See the way they hang when you hold your hand up? How the weight of the tips affect each joint, up to your palm? Notice all the little lines. The swirls of your fingerprints. The boxes made by each tiny crease. Did you ever notice that before now, I wonder. How your fingers are divided by boxes within boxes below the first joint. All the way down to the individual cells most likely.
Now lets look at your palm. Its so different from your fingers isn’t it? While your fingers have some wobbly lines, they’re still straight and are either horizontal or vertical. Not your palm though. The lines on your palm go all over the place. All kind of angles, and never straight either. There are even swirls, and circles if you look close enough. Just like your fingerprints.
Now lets pull back, and look at the front of your hand as a whole. Notice the structure of it. All the joints. Wiggle your fingers for me, will you? Did you ever notice before, that there’s a sensation as you move your fingers? That if you pay attention to a specific digit, you can feel the individual muscles responding to your call? Moving under, and against your skin?
This is called Body Scanning. See, your brain receives input from your body all the time. You just don’t notice because your focus, that key component of mindfulness we learned earlier, was elsewhere. On more important things than the sensation of your fingers moving. But now they have all your attention and it puts that sensation under a microscope. Notice how you can only focus on one finger at a time, though. You can’t feel each individual muscle if you’re paying attention to the whole hand.
So it is with your whole body. If all your focus is on your stomach, you won’t notice a problem with your heart. If your focus is only ever focused outside, you won’t notice something wrong inside.
You need to give everything its due. Its own time. Its own place. But we’ll worry about that later. When you’re awake. When you feel safe.
For now, Direct your attention to your head. Your jaw. Let it relax so your teeth are not tight against each other. And, as with mindfulness, if you notice it tensing up again just let it relax, and move on.
Down, down to your neck- [Sound distortion as the listener drifts under hypnosis] Its okay to close your eyes. Its all part of the point. Let the muscles in your neck go limp. Feel free to shift if your head goes in an uncomfortable angle. [Listener shifts] Very good. Good Kitten. Good Kat. This next bit is trickier. Tense up your shoulders, all the way to your ears. Feel the muscles in them? Now let them slump. All the way down. Let your body tilt and fall, however it may. If you notice a muscle tensing up to hold your position, relax it. Let your body go completely limp on the couch. You are stable. You might feel strange like this. And its okay. This is what its like to be truly relaxed. To go to sleep.
Focus now on your breathing. How the fresh air goes in your nose, down your throat, fills your lungs. Your lungs have a top and bottom. As well as left to right. Take a deep breath. As deep as you can go. Slow. Steady. Like working a bellows. Notice how the top part of your lungs fills first, and then the lower part? And again when your lungs empty. The top part empties first, and then the lower part.
In. Out. Slow. Steady. Top. Bottom. Full. Empty. I want you to keep breathing, just like that.
[Second tone plays, deeper this time]
And just like that, you are under hypnosis. I want you to repeat this exercise whenever you need to relax. For sleep. Just to veg. Whenever you feel comfortable and safe enough to do so. Later, when I have your trust, I will teach you how to do a modified version of this exercise in times of crisis. So you can keep a cool head.
But not now. Now I want you to learn how to sleep in this strange place. Sleep is all too important to managing stress. Something I’m sure you are familiar with. Now more so than ever most likely.
We can change the trigger to one of your personal choice later, but for now… [Three musical tones, different from the watch, going down. I prefer Xylophone] That sound indicates its time to do the relaxing routine We just practiced, and to go to sleep.
When you do sleep, it will be deep, and restful. [Brief pause as he thinks. Add whatever “I’m thinking” tick here you want] Your mind will sort through the events of the day, and whatever is bothering you. Whatever you think is important. Even if its just something you strongly desire. You will wake thinking of it.
The second trigger I am going to teach you is to come when I call. When I, and only I, say “Quoth the Raven” Assuming you aren’t in the middle of something important. If there is no emergency. If the thing can wait until the next day, wrap up what you are doing and come to me right away. I won’t always use it when I want to see you. That will be your own choice. But when I have something to teach you, or we need to have another session. I will use it.
I want you to remember this session. What I’ve said. What the triggers are. And the caveats. I want you to remember how you got here. Why you came. The talk we had that ended in you agreeing to this.
When I snap my fingers, you will go to sleep. You will have the deepest, most restful sleep you have ever had. As long as you need. As deep as you need. And you will process all the stress you have experienced up to this point that you can without being in distress. All the small scares. The little moments where you were proud. Everything small that you’ve been too busy to acknowledge had an effect on you.
When you wake, you will remember you are deep within my mansion. You will know that you have been moved to a different room- your room- and that you have been promised safety.
When you wake, you will know that your gang, your friends, are safe or are going to be safe, and that they will be kept nearby. You will remember that so long as you behave like a human, and attend these sessions, you will get to see them. Protect them. Play with them. Teach them.
When you wake, there will most likely be a doctor by your side. Follow his or her instructions as it relates to your checkup. If you feel uncomfortable, say so. There will be a member of my staff observing, and they will intervene if need be.
There will be clean, warm clothes for you to wear. And hot, fresh food for you to eat as soon as you wake up. When your checkup is done, and you’ve eaten and prepared for the day, you can go see your friends.
I am going to snap my fingers in three… two… one… Sleep.
[Snaps]
End Audio Script. This was inspired by Jouska's recent hypnosis videos, Dr. Who's The Empy Child, and especially a recent trend of hypnosis videos I've seen around where the listeners free will is steam rolled and I personally don't like that. So here's a version where that doesn't happen.
If you want to record and make this into a public video please let me know! I would love to view the finished product and knowing what it looks like will help me to write more in this series in the future.
Do NOT edit, and do NOT take Kitten as suggestive. Its a referral to the characters age and behavior, not an attempt to flirt. This is a parent child relationship. Nothing more.
2024.06.01 00:19 Stanky_Mac_326 Any takes on today's 🤑🤑 small parlays? ☆Last 30 days I'm plus 80 units (500+ bets placed/settled)☆
Been full-timing it as a bettor the past 5 weeks. Overall, doing fantastic!! Still playing around with a few strategies and ways to tilt the numbers in my favor, but so far, the mini-parlay has been my go-to.
As you can see, I've tried spreading things out and often simply combine two big chalk bets to bring the parlay odds into that -115 to +200 range that seems to be the sweet spot. Prop bet inclusion is key, as the factors and variables surrounding a single event pertaining to one player are far fewer than the outcome of an entire game.
By doing this, I've been able to produce profit on a consistent basis, even on days where I lose 3/5 or 6/10. The +money odds are a game changer, especially when we are talking about something like Over .5 hits for a .324 hitter (78% chance assuming 4 AB) and combining it with another -180 to -350 bet that you feel good about.
Tell me what yall think about today's picks!! I'll do a results post after tonight's games.
submitted by Stanky_Mac_326 to SportsBettingPicks [link] [comments]
As you can see, I've tried spreading things out and often simply combine two big chalk bets to bring the parlay odds into that -115 to +200 range that seems to be the sweet spot. Prop bet inclusion is key, as the factors and variables surrounding a single event pertaining to one player are far fewer than the outcome of an entire game.
By doing this, I've been able to produce profit on a consistent basis, even on days where I lose 3/5 or 6/10. The +money odds are a game changer, especially when we are talking about something like Over .5 hits for a .324 hitter (78% chance assuming 4 AB) and combining it with another -180 to -350 bet that you feel good about.
Tell me what yall think about today's picks!! I'll do a results post after tonight's games.
2024.06.01 00:12 BettyBerlin [QCRIT] Query: Baldwin & Berlin, Upmarket, Adult, 130K
This is my first attempt at a query so apologies for any egregious missteps! Let me know if I'm on the right track?
Dear Agent,
While the beatniks were taking over Soho, the rest of the literati were sticking to the old-school glamour of Zairo’s Bar - one-time Hemingway haunt. When two writers meet on a fateful evening, they set in motion a love which will span years, continents and half a dozen marriages.
Christopher ‘Kit’ Baldwin is old-Alabama-money with a gift for the gab; and Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Berlin is the daughter of a minor lord, with an eye for characterisation. Together, they make magic.
As their stars rise from the West End, to Broadway to Hollywood, Betty tries to resist the married Kit - afraid to jeopardise their working relationship, even as they keep falling back into bed together. Eventually, Betty gives respectability a shot; marrying a big-time movie producer and Kit marries another woman.
A decade in, their timing – at last – clicks and they take their relationship from an open secret to marriage. There follows a couple of years of bliss – but at a cost: their writing, usually so taut with sexual tension and excitement, falls apart.
BALDWIN & BERLIN is an upmarket novel complete at 130,000 words with multiple POVs. Its glamorous, mid-century setting will appeal to fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, while exploring themes of creative partnerships tangled with love, which grabbed readers of Lauren Groff’s Fates and Furies and Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.
Baldwin & Berlin is my first novel, which began as a short story during my Creative Writing Masters at the University of Cambridge. A communications professional, I am a Brit living in Bermuda, with an Australian husband and a murderous elderly cat, in a cottage by the sounding sea.
First 300:
PROLOGUE
Years after the fact, there is a photograph published in a special edition of LIFE magazine. Those who pick it up invariably find their eyes drawn to one picture in the centre spread. It takes a moment to reconcile their faces, their full names to the famous double act that was Baldwin & Berlin.
Her face is too small for the sunglasses she wears. The sharp angle of her chin juts out below the frame, doll’s mouth set off by the expanse of black glasses and wide dark hat. One hand up by her eyes, blocking out the sun, the other flopped over her bent knees, book in hand. Everything about the pose seems calculated, from the cross of the ankles, knees together to protect her modesty whilst tilting her chest towards the camera: the defiant upwards slant of her jaw.
He is laying back, hands folded across his flat stomach, eyes narrowed against the light. Hair and skin tone nearly matching in sepia tones: golden boy. There is a slight sneer, it seems, on his lips, though it may be the beginnings of a word. Paper sprawled messily across his lap.
There would be no mistaking the photo for now: there is a heightened glamour about it that no clever lighting or computer programme could hope to reproduce. A kind of confidence in their manner not found today, with no concern for the creases in their swimsuits, the occasional wrinkle of fat. There are no forced smiles here: a photo of those who were always posed.
The abused manuscript that lies in his lap is the final draft of the last script from Baldwin & Berlin. You can’t help but think that had he known, he might have treated it with a little more respect. But how was he to know that after twelve years of success and laud and honour, the game was up?
submitted by BettyBerlin to PubTips [link] [comments]
Dear Agent,
While the beatniks were taking over Soho, the rest of the literati were sticking to the old-school glamour of Zairo’s Bar - one-time Hemingway haunt. When two writers meet on a fateful evening, they set in motion a love which will span years, continents and half a dozen marriages.
Christopher ‘Kit’ Baldwin is old-Alabama-money with a gift for the gab; and Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Berlin is the daughter of a minor lord, with an eye for characterisation. Together, they make magic.
As their stars rise from the West End, to Broadway to Hollywood, Betty tries to resist the married Kit - afraid to jeopardise their working relationship, even as they keep falling back into bed together. Eventually, Betty gives respectability a shot; marrying a big-time movie producer and Kit marries another woman.
A decade in, their timing – at last – clicks and they take their relationship from an open secret to marriage. There follows a couple of years of bliss – but at a cost: their writing, usually so taut with sexual tension and excitement, falls apart.
BALDWIN & BERLIN is an upmarket novel complete at 130,000 words with multiple POVs. Its glamorous, mid-century setting will appeal to fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, while exploring themes of creative partnerships tangled with love, which grabbed readers of Lauren Groff’s Fates and Furies and Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.
Baldwin & Berlin is my first novel, which began as a short story during my Creative Writing Masters at the University of Cambridge. A communications professional, I am a Brit living in Bermuda, with an Australian husband and a murderous elderly cat, in a cottage by the sounding sea.
First 300:
PROLOGUE
Years after the fact, there is a photograph published in a special edition of LIFE magazine. Those who pick it up invariably find their eyes drawn to one picture in the centre spread. It takes a moment to reconcile their faces, their full names to the famous double act that was Baldwin & Berlin.
Her face is too small for the sunglasses she wears. The sharp angle of her chin juts out below the frame, doll’s mouth set off by the expanse of black glasses and wide dark hat. One hand up by her eyes, blocking out the sun, the other flopped over her bent knees, book in hand. Everything about the pose seems calculated, from the cross of the ankles, knees together to protect her modesty whilst tilting her chest towards the camera: the defiant upwards slant of her jaw.
He is laying back, hands folded across his flat stomach, eyes narrowed against the light. Hair and skin tone nearly matching in sepia tones: golden boy. There is a slight sneer, it seems, on his lips, though it may be the beginnings of a word. Paper sprawled messily across his lap.
There would be no mistaking the photo for now: there is a heightened glamour about it that no clever lighting or computer programme could hope to reproduce. A kind of confidence in their manner not found today, with no concern for the creases in their swimsuits, the occasional wrinkle of fat. There are no forced smiles here: a photo of those who were always posed.
The abused manuscript that lies in his lap is the final draft of the last script from Baldwin & Berlin. You can’t help but think that had he known, he might have treated it with a little more respect. But how was he to know that after twelve years of success and laud and honour, the game was up?
2024.05.31 22:06 super_hot_juice Cinema Pro: (almost) Definitive guide to Why and How to use it + tips & hacks
Cinema Pro is no more and none of its features are getting ported into new app Video Pro mode, so this is a perfect opportunity to release this (almost) definite guide as to when and how to record video footage in Cinema Pro. All of us are pretty much aware of most its shortcomings this app has but we are not going to complain or talk about them here, instead we are going to celebrate EOL of Cinema Pro.
I could bet my pet that about 90% of Xperia users ain’t touching Cinema Pro because they feel uncomfortable using it, that includes mobile camera enthusiasts. Instead, they go to BASIC Video or Video Pro and I don’t blame them as learning curve in Cinema Pro is pretty steep but on the other hand this camera app has very flexible workflow and results can be stunning if you practice enough.
So, first things first, none of the video camera apps will make your videos gorgeous by itself. Filming a video, much like a taking a photo, is all about framing your shot. Keep in mind that Cinema Pro is meant for static shots and short pans due to lack of auto ISO adjustments. If your shot is poorly framed not even a Burano can save your butt. Frame your shot properly before you even touch record button. But before you even do that here are few things you should read first to get yourself familiar with Cinema Pro.
Here is what Cinema Pro offers and can do that other Xperia camera apps can’t.
CLIP METADATA
This probably was not your first thought I was gonna bring up, right? Unlike Video Pro which does not save any advanced metadata in video clips Cinema Pro does and it does it quite good.
When you go to Cinema Library and play any clip inside your project (not final video) you can tap on ellipsis at upper right corner and choose Details. Brown window will pop up with following metadata such as ~resolution~ and ~FPS~ but besides that we also get ~Look~ we picked, ~Lens~, ~Stabilization~, ~WB~, ~ISO~, ~Shutter~ speed, ~Focus~ and ~Audio~ level. If we import the clip in desktop software we also get ~bit depth~, ~color space~, ~EOTF~, ~format~, etc.
Why is this important? If you are really making a video project there is a great chance that you imported those clips on your desktop OS and that you are editing or retouching them inside some desktop software. Desktop software has power of utilizing metadata for your convenience when manipulating and exporting the video, matching shots, doing color correction or just doing offline editing.
This will make your life a lot easier. As you will see in my sample footage below, I’ve actually automated the burn-in with the Cinema Pro clip metadata (Looks, WB, Shutter, etc.) to make each clip display the metadata on-screen without me having to punch it in manually.
METERING
If you don’t have Metering bar enabled in your UI you are doing it wrong. Go to yellow hamburger menu to the right and tap Customize DISP and make sure you have Metering Manual set to ON.
Again, what is this important? Because of two things. Cinema Pro dims the display all the time when it’s running for some reason (presumably to better show HLG result on screen) so if you have Xperia 1, 1II, 1III, PRO-I you will be struggling to see anything while being outdoors. Situation is not any better on 1IV and 1V but it’s more usable. Do not trust your display when it comes to exposure. Instead trust your Metering bar and always shoot around 0 if possible, you will thank me for this once you view your clip on a HDR UHD TV. If it’s too bright outside you can try lowering the shutter speed to level the exposure just make sure do not have fast moving subjects in frame such as cars because it will look choppy.
Second, we’ve already established that Cinema Pro is meant for static shots or gentle panning but if you have to do something “wild” such as POV or going from one lighting condition to other (and sometimes that means just a simple camera tilt from ground up to the sky) you will need Metering to try to find the middle value. Do a test run without recording first and pay attention at the meter to see how many stops is the spread between one frame to another. Lets say you adjusted ISO/Shutter for the 0 at the beginning of your camera movement and once your done with the move metering is showing +2. In that case you will need to set your beginning value at -1 in order to get to +1 in the end to contain both highlights and shadows. Just keep in mind that most of the time your aggressive tilts will be ranging from 0 to well above or under -/+2 and in that case, you will have to rethink what you want to do. That’s right Cinema Pro is a slow burn and unnecessary methodical because it applies cine camera philosophy to crappy mobile sensors.
WDR with Stabilization
Here is another one that is not available inside BASIC or Video Pro unless you have 5V or 1VI device. WDR or Wide Dynamic Range option is made for Cinema Pro period. Cinema Pro was pretty much useless until WDR options popped up in PRO-I. So, what does it do? It records three frames at once and then stack them together to make one frame. Camera is recording at 120fps and then outputs 30/25/24 fps as final result hence why it’s not available at 60fps in any app. Using WDR in Cinema Pro you contain the highlights which is impossible to do in SDR mode unless you are in some dimmed environment.
General rule is to always have the WDR on but if you can do it without do it. There is no false color option in Cinema Pro but if you toggle between WDR and SDR you will see blown out highlights in SDR as some mushy color on display. It’s quite easy to spot the difference. Unlike in Video Pro in Cinema Pro WDR does not introduce purple cast in dark/black areas when shooting in low(er)-light conditions. Cinema Pro has a bigger threshold when shooting in low-light before introduces purple cast in blacks compared to Video Pro as long as you do not shoot in N/A Look (you shouldn’t be shooting in N/A like ever but more on that later). Video Pro utilizes WDR quite poorly, in daylight scenes it drops the gain making dark areas even darker which boosts the contrast to a point where you get that Pixel zombie decomposition like human faces. Cinema Pro does NOT do that, instead it only affects the highlights mostly.
Drawback of WDR in both Cinema Pro and Video Pro requires separate paragraph because it’s a big issue. Whenever you have high frequency texture in your shot such as tiny rubble road (asphalt) or stone mosaic wall you will get texture floating effect like texture is rearranging itself. It’s super trippy. That issue persists because development team didn’t master the frame stacking while filming. Those three frames that get to be one do not alight properly with the next stacked frame when it comes to big areas with tiny patterns.
But one good thing that also requires its own paragraph is video stabilization with HLG WDR option turned on. As previously mentioned, that combo is not possible in Video Pro or BASIC modes but it is in Cinema Pro. How? Well Cinema Pro crops top and bottom of 16:9 footage to 21:9 so it has some wiggle room to give as some basic stabilization. Stabilization is nothing spectacular but it doesn’t crop in the image in order to enable stabilization like Video Pro does. In other words, it doesn’t take Video Pro stabilized cropped in frame to enable stabilization. It shoots native UHD which is really important to preserve the quality unlike both Video Pro and BASIC that crop in UHD frame to turn on stabilization and then upscale the frame back to UHD. Cinema Pro does not do that.
NIGHTSHOOTING
Cinema Pro does really good night shots due to its flexibility to adjust Looks and auto white balance which I think is superior to Video Pro/BASIC. Funny things is that all of the exposure environment shortcomings during the daytime are not such a big deal during the night time because streets are evenly lit by light poles. So you have more freedom to pan, tilt and walk around while filming in Cinema Pro at night time then during the day. Here is a winning combo to make the night shot as good as possible: ~SDR + VENICE CS + AUTO WB unlocked~. Pretty straight forward. I find VENICE CS greatest strength to be default Look for nighttime as it’s easy on ISO, doesn’t boost contrast and has the least noise compared to some other looks. That doesn’t mean you can’t play around with the Looks during the night, if street lighting is annoyingly yellow you can use Cool/Blue60 +A to introduce some cool gray into the mix. And with the mention of other color profiles this brings us to the most important and the biggest feature of Cinema Pro, the Looks section.
LOOKS + TEMPERATURE + A/B + G/M Adjustments
This alone is the biggest deal in Cinema Pro app and this alone is what most of the users have no idea how to tweak and manipulate. If you thought rack focus is the number one feature in Cinema Pro, well I can assure you it’s number two right after this super flexible image manipulation output. Before we start discussing looks you have to keep in mind there is one factor in equation here and that’s Whitebalance. Most of the users stick with VENICE CS and don’t use any other look because by default all the looks are in your face when left in Auto whitebalance mode. Even less users who default to VENICE CS fiddle with whitebalance to unlock the full potential of image looks manipulation. Before you start playing with the looks you have to go to yellow hamburger menu and ~change WB MODE to TEMPERATURE~ instead of Preset.
With Temperature mode turned on you now have the option to set desired temperature in kelvins as well as to play with A/B and G/M sliders. What those sliders do? AB slider stands for Amber and Blue but names are inverted on axis so B will be to the left and A to the right. You can actually go quite wild with AB as our eyes are a lot less sensitive to warm and cold adjustments. GM slider stands for Green and Magenta and axis works just as the letters, green to the left and magenta to the right. GB sliders requires quite slight nudges in both directions because our eyes perceive color tilt very aggressively. You might want to use GB slider to adjust for human skin or just go artistic on a certain look.
You might ask yourself what the difference between setting up temperature and pushing AB sliders and I could tell you the order it needs to be done to make a proper impact on the picked Look.
1. You always adjust Temperature first. Between 4700K and 5500K is considered daylight in Cinema Pro (forget 6500K as you will crush it with amber). That’s at least how my eyes perceive it. If you pick lets say Strong/Blue100 look you will want to go to 7000K to neutralize it and then add some of A to make it shift from cold to warm look. Oh yeah it’s possible, so suddenly you just changed the bluest of the blue looks into yellow look.
2. Now you fiddle with AB/GM sliders for finer adjustments. AB will have more of an impact if you stick between 4700K-5500K but if you go below or over those Kelvins AB slider will get weaker. GM slider on the other hand will stay powerful and affect any highlight there is in an image.
3. Combine these two to completely alter any Look you pick.
*In order to follow the Looks description and how you could manipulate them, I will provide the links with video samples down below so you could watch them while reading the rest of the post.
WATCH 4K separate clips in order as described
WATCH 4K all the clips combined into one movie file following the order of description
(all files are in Rec2020 + eotf gamma 2.4 for better color representation but stripped of HDR)
Shot setup consists of warm neutral headphones, white coffee cup, glass of water to see highlights behavior and ugly yellow table and green trees. It's a shame I forgot to put red pack of cigarettes or something as reds are crazy different depending on the look you choose.
Soft/Yellow40 gain req: high contrast: lowest texture: softest grade: non-unifying offset: medium hdr: bright
This is the very interesting one and when combined with the right scene it can look marvelous. Soft look is your Orange & Teal go to look pretty much. It’s not very obvious but it’s not subtle either. One of the major traits of this look is really the softer image, not as sharp as let’s say Bright but because of that it mitigates artifacts quite nicely. Keep in mind that this look requires quite a gain so you will be boosting ISO until you reach the 0 in almost every situation. But because this looks require lots of additional stops it’s very grateful for bright environments. It has medium contrast but it can propel highlights quite high, things like neon signs look like glowing neon signs so it has a strong HDR effect which can clip easy. It doesn’t have unifying image trait, so if you are into color graded look this one will not offer that. That’s kind of a given considering it’s balancing out between orange and teal. If you want to unify it then your best bet is to shift it toward cool temperature or push A slider all the way to the left while introducing some magenta with M slider to the right. Soft/Yellow60 can’t completely switch from all blue to all yellow so it’s altering offset limit is medium.
Auto WB look for Soft/Yellow40 is quite decent but if you have some yellow patches, they will pick up some green tint. To remedy that just add some M like 1.x and add splash of Amber like 1.5 to 3 to be sure. If you want to cool down the image just drop Kelvins down or go crazy with B slider. On the other hand if you want to neutralize to get as close to white as possible you will need to add M1.5 or more together with cooler Kelvins. If you are shooting neutrals with this Look make sure you kill green cause it will overtake the whole image.
Where this Look kicks some major but is in a scene where you have brown wood veneer and blue/teal walls or panels. You will get an awesome O&T look out of it.
Opaque/Blue20/Yellow60 gain req: medium contrast: medium texture: sharp grade: unifying offset: medium hdr: medium
Another one that gets overlooked due to poor AUTO WB looks. When set to default WB it looks muddy and sepia like so most of us don’t know what to do with it. You will be shocked now if I tell you this should be your 2nd go to Look right after Bright. Yup, VENICE CS is not even in top two and I will elaborate why when we get to it. One thing to know in order to use this look you need to modify it from the get go. You need to kill that yellow and boost ISO for a stop or stop and half compared to Bright.
Opaque is great for skintones as they are easily adjusted with AB/GM sliders. Image is very creamy despite having enough clarity and medium contrast. If you underexpose you get some deeper contrast without ruining the creamy image. It’s great for shooting outdoor people gatherings, landscapes on a mute and cloudy day or any outdoor activity. Indoor is kind of tricky due to tungsten lighting but manageable although its not as appetizing as outdoor shots. Keep in mind when shooting at golden hour you will need deeper adjustments to get that sepia out and get the gold in. On any other condition it’s super easy to neutralize the image, you don’t have to push temperature nor sliders too far to get it just right. HDR effect is subtle and not over the top, proper medium and saturation is quite clever despite being a sepia preset. Colors are not muted by any means unless they have some brown in them. If you are a fan of grading I could assure you Opaque has quite unifying image effect no matter if you shoot warm, neutral or cold which is great. Transforming the look to complete cold or warm is tricky as it always keep that mud/sepia yellow in highlights.
To neutralize the look at daytime all you have to do is drop the temp around 4000K or push B slider to your liking. You can always do cold temperature to kill sepia and bring back some heat by pushing A slider. If you want to shoot gold tones then keep it around 5000K and adjust A to your liking while balancing GM.
This look produces super deep and rich reds, amazing reds. And if you combine that red with something beige or sand color like you will get a match made in heaven. Filming bars with brown furnishing packed with people is a treat as well. Shooting at night time in street lights is also a treat for this look.
Cool/Blue60 gain req: med to hi contrast: medium texture: sharp grade: very unifying offset: low hdr: medium
In a nutshell this is a faux bleach bypass or silver look if adjusted right. Together with Soft this has to be the most creative usage look offered. Unlike Soft this one is very easy to setup and results are sharp. At the first glance users might be confused what’s the difference between this one and Strong/BU100 as both look quite similar in Auto WB mode. But once you go out of auto look and start adjusting it soon you figure out that Cool/BU60 look has no vibrance and that’s what makes all the difference compared to all other looks. Gain adjustment to get to 0 is only like 1 stop compared to Bright or VENICE CS. Clarity is right on the par with others and contrast at proper sweet spot. HDR effect is tad bit mute but not by much and it works. And now if you ever wanted a look that makes the whole image like its graded as a whole, look no further (pun intended) than this one.
If you pay close attention, you can tell from the get go that this has silver look to it but it just needs to be released. Those familiar with bleach bypass look will know exactly what to expect from this one. If left in Auto WB you will get nothing but as soon as you dial A slider in more than a half you are waking it up slowly. If you want to get rid of the major blue cast you want to push temperature to 7000K and adjust sliders to your liking. If you drop the exposure, you will get that dramatic film look. Again, this look is quite easy to work with but it’s not flexible, don’t expect major transformations on the other end. It’s a one trick pony and it does that very well.
The best-case scenario for Cool is street photography with lots of metal on it. Cars, machines and silver or gray stuff blend in while human skin remain distinguishable. Interior shots are also great if you have to render a cold, clinical environment like office or a hospital or police station. It’s also your go to look if you want to make anticipation in the video.
Strong/Blue100 gain req: high contrast: low texture: soft grade: very unifying offset: highest hdr: bright
Turn day into a night and night into dusk. This is the most flexible look as it can get from one spectrum to the other without much casting. It’s not called strong for nothing; it really grades the whole image with a single hue. Despite being in your face it actually keeps the contrast on lower side which is very good as you can always dial it in with drop of exposure. Clipping in highlights can occur because of the nature it unifies the picture.
Because this look can go from cool to fire it can get neutral, although neutralizing it is not that simple affair as it’s with Opaque. Best way to get there is to adjust temperature. If hanging around neutral you will get image with blue cast over it. The way I see it this one is supposed to be opposite of Opaque while hitting harder. You might find some creative usage for this one if you want to go abstract and saturated. Similar to Soft look if you film contrast scene that has both cold and warm hues in it you will get that cross axis between the two and nothing in between.
Bright/Blue20/Yellow60 gain req: low contrast: highest texture: sharpest grade: non-unifying offset: low hdr: brightest
Your first go to profile when filming with Cinema Pro. It’s the closest one to Video Pro and closest one that looks like regular picture profile. If you are not looking for a creative look or any look in general this is it. It requires little to no gain adjustment which means it will not suffer from gain artifacts, it has the highest contrast and sharpest details for that mainstream image look (I do not count N/A as picture profile). But right now, there is a huge flaw that has to be addressed with this profile; it can’t capture pure reds no matter what. All reds are burgundy or violet unfortunately. But it nails down blues and teals like a pro.
On the other side it is super easy to balance out the image, its super easy to shift it to warm, cold, green or magenta. There is a quite big of a spread in temperature before image gets painted blue or yellow. It requires small nudges and results are visible right away. It plays well with the skin tones, no issues there. Where it excels is the HDR highlights. This profile kills it when there is shimmer in the view, metallics and all kinds of crazy and contrast stuff. HDR effect is exaggerated and it looks so oomph on a TV. Bright also nails down auto wb from the box so you can set it to auto and forget about it. Overall, it’s easiest to work with and sunny outdoors are a treat for the eyes. Usage of this profile equals that of Video Pro so you can use it anywhere you like. Video Pro is the direct competitor to this Look and while Video Pro can do saturated reds Bright/BU20/YE60 has a tad bit more organic feel despite being quite similar.
This is general purpose Look and being like that it doesn’t offer color grading effect nor it has any offset abilities of color transformation (unless you go completely blue 3200K or completely yellow 7500K).
VENICE CS gain req: low contrast: high texture: sharp grade: non-unifying offset: low hdr: bright
Default look and the one that’s most talked about and the one that most people use. First of all the look itself is fine but it is rather limited. It has nothing to do with Venice color science but it doesn’t have to honestly. It emulates log like image but without any flexibility of the log. It has very low ISO requirements and it’s the brightest look out of them all. Like mentioned above that makes it a go to look for low light shots. All other aspects of this look are almost on par with Bright look so I think these two go hand in hand when you want to lay off saturation and dial down blacks. In other words, don’t try to bring in VENICE CS footage into post to try to bring back vividness. It doesn’t work but that’s why there is Bright look for stuff like that. Unlike Bright look VENICE CS can capture red colors properly.
If you want to shoot haze, mist and other soft scenes VENICE CS is a dream. If you generally want to shoot relaxing stuff VENICE CS is the one to go for. Just don’t treat it as a log footage but rather as a looks footage. HDR is bright enough and it contains highlights really good. When it comes to exposure its quite flexible so margin of error is low.
Warm/Yellow80 gain req: medium contrast: high texture: sharp grade: most-unifying offset: lowest hdr: medium
This is supposed to be opposite of Cool, at least in theory. In reality we have a huge cast of orange and brown all over the screen. It’s really strong color cast and you can only manipulate it do a certain degree. It doesn’t require high ISO, it has deep contrast, good clarity and it contains highlights in HDR. On the artistic department there is vey little you can do with this. Cast is like three times stronger sepia of Opaque look. The only use case I found is when you want to turn something into golden look. Just like how Cool is silver look Warm is supposed to be gold look. But again, to my eyes it aligns more to Opaque deeper side than actual warm/gold. Shooting some neutral-colored scenery and cooling down the temperature below 4000K might give some artistic effect. This is a very limited look to play with.
There is nothing to say about N/A and Soft Monochrome except that you should never shoot in N/A it’s just horrible and if you want BW video you at least have an option.
So conclusion, Cinema Pro besides all of its shortcomings and some are pretty serious, has few features of brilliance that were never ever seen in any camera app third-party or OEM before and most likely we will never see those features again. Sony’s biggest sin with Cinema Pro is not omission of features but rather NOT improving up on what’s already in there. They just let it rot. I guess at one moment at it’s inception Cinema Pro had a great roadmap where it should go but then new management came in and shifted focus from cinema video to photography and v-logging.
Cinema Pro is dead, long live Cinema Pro. Go ahead and make some projects with it.
submitted by super_hot_juice to SonyXperia [link] [comments]
I could bet my pet that about 90% of Xperia users ain’t touching Cinema Pro because they feel uncomfortable using it, that includes mobile camera enthusiasts. Instead, they go to BASIC Video or Video Pro and I don’t blame them as learning curve in Cinema Pro is pretty steep but on the other hand this camera app has very flexible workflow and results can be stunning if you practice enough.
So, first things first, none of the video camera apps will make your videos gorgeous by itself. Filming a video, much like a taking a photo, is all about framing your shot. Keep in mind that Cinema Pro is meant for static shots and short pans due to lack of auto ISO adjustments. If your shot is poorly framed not even a Burano can save your butt. Frame your shot properly before you even touch record button. But before you even do that here are few things you should read first to get yourself familiar with Cinema Pro.
Here is what Cinema Pro offers and can do that other Xperia camera apps can’t.
CLIP METADATA
This probably was not your first thought I was gonna bring up, right? Unlike Video Pro which does not save any advanced metadata in video clips Cinema Pro does and it does it quite good.
When you go to Cinema Library and play any clip inside your project (not final video) you can tap on ellipsis at upper right corner and choose Details. Brown window will pop up with following metadata such as ~resolution~ and ~FPS~ but besides that we also get ~Look~ we picked, ~Lens~, ~Stabilization~, ~WB~, ~ISO~, ~Shutter~ speed, ~Focus~ and ~Audio~ level. If we import the clip in desktop software we also get ~bit depth~, ~color space~, ~EOTF~, ~format~, etc.
Why is this important? If you are really making a video project there is a great chance that you imported those clips on your desktop OS and that you are editing or retouching them inside some desktop software. Desktop software has power of utilizing metadata for your convenience when manipulating and exporting the video, matching shots, doing color correction or just doing offline editing.
This will make your life a lot easier. As you will see in my sample footage below, I’ve actually automated the burn-in with the Cinema Pro clip metadata (Looks, WB, Shutter, etc.) to make each clip display the metadata on-screen without me having to punch it in manually.
METERING
If you don’t have Metering bar enabled in your UI you are doing it wrong. Go to yellow hamburger menu to the right and tap Customize DISP and make sure you have Metering Manual set to ON.
Again, what is this important? Because of two things. Cinema Pro dims the display all the time when it’s running for some reason (presumably to better show HLG result on screen) so if you have Xperia 1, 1II, 1III, PRO-I you will be struggling to see anything while being outdoors. Situation is not any better on 1IV and 1V but it’s more usable. Do not trust your display when it comes to exposure. Instead trust your Metering bar and always shoot around 0 if possible, you will thank me for this once you view your clip on a HDR UHD TV. If it’s too bright outside you can try lowering the shutter speed to level the exposure just make sure do not have fast moving subjects in frame such as cars because it will look choppy.
Second, we’ve already established that Cinema Pro is meant for static shots or gentle panning but if you have to do something “wild” such as POV or going from one lighting condition to other (and sometimes that means just a simple camera tilt from ground up to the sky) you will need Metering to try to find the middle value. Do a test run without recording first and pay attention at the meter to see how many stops is the spread between one frame to another. Lets say you adjusted ISO/Shutter for the 0 at the beginning of your camera movement and once your done with the move metering is showing +2. In that case you will need to set your beginning value at -1 in order to get to +1 in the end to contain both highlights and shadows. Just keep in mind that most of the time your aggressive tilts will be ranging from 0 to well above or under -/+2 and in that case, you will have to rethink what you want to do. That’s right Cinema Pro is a slow burn and unnecessary methodical because it applies cine camera philosophy to crappy mobile sensors.
WDR with Stabilization
Here is another one that is not available inside BASIC or Video Pro unless you have 5V or 1VI device. WDR or Wide Dynamic Range option is made for Cinema Pro period. Cinema Pro was pretty much useless until WDR options popped up in PRO-I. So, what does it do? It records three frames at once and then stack them together to make one frame. Camera is recording at 120fps and then outputs 30/25/24 fps as final result hence why it’s not available at 60fps in any app. Using WDR in Cinema Pro you contain the highlights which is impossible to do in SDR mode unless you are in some dimmed environment.
General rule is to always have the WDR on but if you can do it without do it. There is no false color option in Cinema Pro but if you toggle between WDR and SDR you will see blown out highlights in SDR as some mushy color on display. It’s quite easy to spot the difference. Unlike in Video Pro in Cinema Pro WDR does not introduce purple cast in dark/black areas when shooting in low(er)-light conditions. Cinema Pro has a bigger threshold when shooting in low-light before introduces purple cast in blacks compared to Video Pro as long as you do not shoot in N/A Look (you shouldn’t be shooting in N/A like ever but more on that later). Video Pro utilizes WDR quite poorly, in daylight scenes it drops the gain making dark areas even darker which boosts the contrast to a point where you get that Pixel zombie decomposition like human faces. Cinema Pro does NOT do that, instead it only affects the highlights mostly.
Drawback of WDR in both Cinema Pro and Video Pro requires separate paragraph because it’s a big issue. Whenever you have high frequency texture in your shot such as tiny rubble road (asphalt) or stone mosaic wall you will get texture floating effect like texture is rearranging itself. It’s super trippy. That issue persists because development team didn’t master the frame stacking while filming. Those three frames that get to be one do not alight properly with the next stacked frame when it comes to big areas with tiny patterns.
But one good thing that also requires its own paragraph is video stabilization with HLG WDR option turned on. As previously mentioned, that combo is not possible in Video Pro or BASIC modes but it is in Cinema Pro. How? Well Cinema Pro crops top and bottom of 16:9 footage to 21:9 so it has some wiggle room to give as some basic stabilization. Stabilization is nothing spectacular but it doesn’t crop in the image in order to enable stabilization like Video Pro does. In other words, it doesn’t take Video Pro stabilized cropped in frame to enable stabilization. It shoots native UHD which is really important to preserve the quality unlike both Video Pro and BASIC that crop in UHD frame to turn on stabilization and then upscale the frame back to UHD. Cinema Pro does not do that.
NIGHTSHOOTING
Cinema Pro does really good night shots due to its flexibility to adjust Looks and auto white balance which I think is superior to Video Pro/BASIC. Funny things is that all of the exposure environment shortcomings during the daytime are not such a big deal during the night time because streets are evenly lit by light poles. So you have more freedom to pan, tilt and walk around while filming in Cinema Pro at night time then during the day. Here is a winning combo to make the night shot as good as possible: ~SDR + VENICE CS + AUTO WB unlocked~. Pretty straight forward. I find VENICE CS greatest strength to be default Look for nighttime as it’s easy on ISO, doesn’t boost contrast and has the least noise compared to some other looks. That doesn’t mean you can’t play around with the Looks during the night, if street lighting is annoyingly yellow you can use Cool/Blue60 +A to introduce some cool gray into the mix. And with the mention of other color profiles this brings us to the most important and the biggest feature of Cinema Pro, the Looks section.
LOOKS + TEMPERATURE + A/B + G/M Adjustments
This alone is the biggest deal in Cinema Pro app and this alone is what most of the users have no idea how to tweak and manipulate. If you thought rack focus is the number one feature in Cinema Pro, well I can assure you it’s number two right after this super flexible image manipulation output. Before we start discussing looks you have to keep in mind there is one factor in equation here and that’s Whitebalance. Most of the users stick with VENICE CS and don’t use any other look because by default all the looks are in your face when left in Auto whitebalance mode. Even less users who default to VENICE CS fiddle with whitebalance to unlock the full potential of image looks manipulation. Before you start playing with the looks you have to go to yellow hamburger menu and ~change WB MODE to TEMPERATURE~ instead of Preset.
With Temperature mode turned on you now have the option to set desired temperature in kelvins as well as to play with A/B and G/M sliders. What those sliders do? AB slider stands for Amber and Blue but names are inverted on axis so B will be to the left and A to the right. You can actually go quite wild with AB as our eyes are a lot less sensitive to warm and cold adjustments. GM slider stands for Green and Magenta and axis works just as the letters, green to the left and magenta to the right. GB sliders requires quite slight nudges in both directions because our eyes perceive color tilt very aggressively. You might want to use GB slider to adjust for human skin or just go artistic on a certain look.
You might ask yourself what the difference between setting up temperature and pushing AB sliders and I could tell you the order it needs to be done to make a proper impact on the picked Look.
1. You always adjust Temperature first. Between 4700K and 5500K is considered daylight in Cinema Pro (forget 6500K as you will crush it with amber). That’s at least how my eyes perceive it. If you pick lets say Strong/Blue100 look you will want to go to 7000K to neutralize it and then add some of A to make it shift from cold to warm look. Oh yeah it’s possible, so suddenly you just changed the bluest of the blue looks into yellow look.
2. Now you fiddle with AB/GM sliders for finer adjustments. AB will have more of an impact if you stick between 4700K-5500K but if you go below or over those Kelvins AB slider will get weaker. GM slider on the other hand will stay powerful and affect any highlight there is in an image.
3. Combine these two to completely alter any Look you pick.
*In order to follow the Looks description and how you could manipulate them, I will provide the links with video samples down below so you could watch them while reading the rest of the post.
WATCH 4K separate clips in order as described
WATCH 4K all the clips combined into one movie file following the order of description
(all files are in Rec2020 + eotf gamma 2.4 for better color representation but stripped of HDR)
Shot setup consists of warm neutral headphones, white coffee cup, glass of water to see highlights behavior and ugly yellow table and green trees. It's a shame I forgot to put red pack of cigarettes or something as reds are crazy different depending on the look you choose.
Soft/Yellow40 gain req: high contrast: lowest texture: softest grade: non-unifying offset: medium hdr: bright
This is the very interesting one and when combined with the right scene it can look marvelous. Soft look is your Orange & Teal go to look pretty much. It’s not very obvious but it’s not subtle either. One of the major traits of this look is really the softer image, not as sharp as let’s say Bright but because of that it mitigates artifacts quite nicely. Keep in mind that this look requires quite a gain so you will be boosting ISO until you reach the 0 in almost every situation. But because this looks require lots of additional stops it’s very grateful for bright environments. It has medium contrast but it can propel highlights quite high, things like neon signs look like glowing neon signs so it has a strong HDR effect which can clip easy. It doesn’t have unifying image trait, so if you are into color graded look this one will not offer that. That’s kind of a given considering it’s balancing out between orange and teal. If you want to unify it then your best bet is to shift it toward cool temperature or push A slider all the way to the left while introducing some magenta with M slider to the right. Soft/Yellow60 can’t completely switch from all blue to all yellow so it’s altering offset limit is medium.
Auto WB look for Soft/Yellow40 is quite decent but if you have some yellow patches, they will pick up some green tint. To remedy that just add some M like 1.x and add splash of Amber like 1.5 to 3 to be sure. If you want to cool down the image just drop Kelvins down or go crazy with B slider. On the other hand if you want to neutralize to get as close to white as possible you will need to add M1.5 or more together with cooler Kelvins. If you are shooting neutrals with this Look make sure you kill green cause it will overtake the whole image.
Where this Look kicks some major but is in a scene where you have brown wood veneer and blue/teal walls or panels. You will get an awesome O&T look out of it.
Opaque/Blue20/Yellow60 gain req: medium contrast: medium texture: sharp grade: unifying offset: medium hdr: medium
Another one that gets overlooked due to poor AUTO WB looks. When set to default WB it looks muddy and sepia like so most of us don’t know what to do with it. You will be shocked now if I tell you this should be your 2nd go to Look right after Bright. Yup, VENICE CS is not even in top two and I will elaborate why when we get to it. One thing to know in order to use this look you need to modify it from the get go. You need to kill that yellow and boost ISO for a stop or stop and half compared to Bright.
Opaque is great for skintones as they are easily adjusted with AB/GM sliders. Image is very creamy despite having enough clarity and medium contrast. If you underexpose you get some deeper contrast without ruining the creamy image. It’s great for shooting outdoor people gatherings, landscapes on a mute and cloudy day or any outdoor activity. Indoor is kind of tricky due to tungsten lighting but manageable although its not as appetizing as outdoor shots. Keep in mind when shooting at golden hour you will need deeper adjustments to get that sepia out and get the gold in. On any other condition it’s super easy to neutralize the image, you don’t have to push temperature nor sliders too far to get it just right. HDR effect is subtle and not over the top, proper medium and saturation is quite clever despite being a sepia preset. Colors are not muted by any means unless they have some brown in them. If you are a fan of grading I could assure you Opaque has quite unifying image effect no matter if you shoot warm, neutral or cold which is great. Transforming the look to complete cold or warm is tricky as it always keep that mud/sepia yellow in highlights.
To neutralize the look at daytime all you have to do is drop the temp around 4000K or push B slider to your liking. You can always do cold temperature to kill sepia and bring back some heat by pushing A slider. If you want to shoot gold tones then keep it around 5000K and adjust A to your liking while balancing GM.
This look produces super deep and rich reds, amazing reds. And if you combine that red with something beige or sand color like you will get a match made in heaven. Filming bars with brown furnishing packed with people is a treat as well. Shooting at night time in street lights is also a treat for this look.
Cool/Blue60 gain req: med to hi contrast: medium texture: sharp grade: very unifying offset: low hdr: medium
In a nutshell this is a faux bleach bypass or silver look if adjusted right. Together with Soft this has to be the most creative usage look offered. Unlike Soft this one is very easy to setup and results are sharp. At the first glance users might be confused what’s the difference between this one and Strong/BU100 as both look quite similar in Auto WB mode. But once you go out of auto look and start adjusting it soon you figure out that Cool/BU60 look has no vibrance and that’s what makes all the difference compared to all other looks. Gain adjustment to get to 0 is only like 1 stop compared to Bright or VENICE CS. Clarity is right on the par with others and contrast at proper sweet spot. HDR effect is tad bit mute but not by much and it works. And now if you ever wanted a look that makes the whole image like its graded as a whole, look no further (pun intended) than this one.
If you pay close attention, you can tell from the get go that this has silver look to it but it just needs to be released. Those familiar with bleach bypass look will know exactly what to expect from this one. If left in Auto WB you will get nothing but as soon as you dial A slider in more than a half you are waking it up slowly. If you want to get rid of the major blue cast you want to push temperature to 7000K and adjust sliders to your liking. If you drop the exposure, you will get that dramatic film look. Again, this look is quite easy to work with but it’s not flexible, don’t expect major transformations on the other end. It’s a one trick pony and it does that very well.
The best-case scenario for Cool is street photography with lots of metal on it. Cars, machines and silver or gray stuff blend in while human skin remain distinguishable. Interior shots are also great if you have to render a cold, clinical environment like office or a hospital or police station. It’s also your go to look if you want to make anticipation in the video.
Strong/Blue100 gain req: high contrast: low texture: soft grade: very unifying offset: highest hdr: bright
Turn day into a night and night into dusk. This is the most flexible look as it can get from one spectrum to the other without much casting. It’s not called strong for nothing; it really grades the whole image with a single hue. Despite being in your face it actually keeps the contrast on lower side which is very good as you can always dial it in with drop of exposure. Clipping in highlights can occur because of the nature it unifies the picture.
Because this look can go from cool to fire it can get neutral, although neutralizing it is not that simple affair as it’s with Opaque. Best way to get there is to adjust temperature. If hanging around neutral you will get image with blue cast over it. The way I see it this one is supposed to be opposite of Opaque while hitting harder. You might find some creative usage for this one if you want to go abstract and saturated. Similar to Soft look if you film contrast scene that has both cold and warm hues in it you will get that cross axis between the two and nothing in between.
Bright/Blue20/Yellow60 gain req: low contrast: highest texture: sharpest grade: non-unifying offset: low hdr: brightest
Your first go to profile when filming with Cinema Pro. It’s the closest one to Video Pro and closest one that looks like regular picture profile. If you are not looking for a creative look or any look in general this is it. It requires little to no gain adjustment which means it will not suffer from gain artifacts, it has the highest contrast and sharpest details for that mainstream image look (I do not count N/A as picture profile). But right now, there is a huge flaw that has to be addressed with this profile; it can’t capture pure reds no matter what. All reds are burgundy or violet unfortunately. But it nails down blues and teals like a pro.
On the other side it is super easy to balance out the image, its super easy to shift it to warm, cold, green or magenta. There is a quite big of a spread in temperature before image gets painted blue or yellow. It requires small nudges and results are visible right away. It plays well with the skin tones, no issues there. Where it excels is the HDR highlights. This profile kills it when there is shimmer in the view, metallics and all kinds of crazy and contrast stuff. HDR effect is exaggerated and it looks so oomph on a TV. Bright also nails down auto wb from the box so you can set it to auto and forget about it. Overall, it’s easiest to work with and sunny outdoors are a treat for the eyes. Usage of this profile equals that of Video Pro so you can use it anywhere you like. Video Pro is the direct competitor to this Look and while Video Pro can do saturated reds Bright/BU20/YE60 has a tad bit more organic feel despite being quite similar.
This is general purpose Look and being like that it doesn’t offer color grading effect nor it has any offset abilities of color transformation (unless you go completely blue 3200K or completely yellow 7500K).
VENICE CS gain req: low contrast: high texture: sharp grade: non-unifying offset: low hdr: bright
Default look and the one that’s most talked about and the one that most people use. First of all the look itself is fine but it is rather limited. It has nothing to do with Venice color science but it doesn’t have to honestly. It emulates log like image but without any flexibility of the log. It has very low ISO requirements and it’s the brightest look out of them all. Like mentioned above that makes it a go to look for low light shots. All other aspects of this look are almost on par with Bright look so I think these two go hand in hand when you want to lay off saturation and dial down blacks. In other words, don’t try to bring in VENICE CS footage into post to try to bring back vividness. It doesn’t work but that’s why there is Bright look for stuff like that. Unlike Bright look VENICE CS can capture red colors properly.
If you want to shoot haze, mist and other soft scenes VENICE CS is a dream. If you generally want to shoot relaxing stuff VENICE CS is the one to go for. Just don’t treat it as a log footage but rather as a looks footage. HDR is bright enough and it contains highlights really good. When it comes to exposure its quite flexible so margin of error is low.
Warm/Yellow80 gain req: medium contrast: high texture: sharp grade: most-unifying offset: lowest hdr: medium
This is supposed to be opposite of Cool, at least in theory. In reality we have a huge cast of orange and brown all over the screen. It’s really strong color cast and you can only manipulate it do a certain degree. It doesn’t require high ISO, it has deep contrast, good clarity and it contains highlights in HDR. On the artistic department there is vey little you can do with this. Cast is like three times stronger sepia of Opaque look. The only use case I found is when you want to turn something into golden look. Just like how Cool is silver look Warm is supposed to be gold look. But again, to my eyes it aligns more to Opaque deeper side than actual warm/gold. Shooting some neutral-colored scenery and cooling down the temperature below 4000K might give some artistic effect. This is a very limited look to play with.
There is nothing to say about N/A and Soft Monochrome except that you should never shoot in N/A it’s just horrible and if you want BW video you at least have an option.
So conclusion, Cinema Pro besides all of its shortcomings and some are pretty serious, has few features of brilliance that were never ever seen in any camera app third-party or OEM before and most likely we will never see those features again. Sony’s biggest sin with Cinema Pro is not omission of features but rather NOT improving up on what’s already in there. They just let it rot. I guess at one moment at it’s inception Cinema Pro had a great roadmap where it should go but then new management came in and shifted focus from cinema video to photography and v-logging.
Cinema Pro is dead, long live Cinema Pro. Go ahead and make some projects with it.
2024.05.31 21:54 TheWeeklyProgress Week in Review for May 31, 2024
Experts more cautious than optimistic about Central Virginia's retail sector “The glass is half full. It’s a good news report, I’d love to see it be better news, but it’s a good news report.”
Admitted killer of Charlottesville mother, homeless shelter worker sentenced "This is a terrible case," said Judge Richard E. Moore. "I'm not sure I can conceive of a worse second-degree murder charge."
Virginia Breeze to offer Charlottesville-to-Virginia Beach bus service next year The Tidewater Current will run year-round and make stops at Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Newport News, Williamsburg, New Kent, Richmond, Charlottesville and Harrisonburg, according to a recent announcement by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation.
Maggie Heaphy has been a shining light for both Charlottesville High School and its baseball program At an institution that had just had three days of classes canceled after a series of brawls broke out on school grounds, more than 1,000 people awaited a strong, relatable voice that could help uplift the community. Maggie Heaphy delivered upon that hope.
UVa reverses course, allows nursing student arrested at protest back on Grounds UVa says that after reviewing "additional information," Mustafa Abdelhamid will be allowed to return to Grounds.
Teen tries to claw back guilty plea in Charlottesville minimart murder case The 18-year-old says he would've fired his gun earlier in the altercation if he intended to kill his victim.
Charlottesville man accused of operating East Coast sex ring wins himself a legal victory in federal court Judge rules an FBI probe of cellphone data was illegal and cannot be used against the man.
A blow to Bob: Trump endorsement could tilt 5th District GOP primary in John McGuire's favor A word from a Buckingham County Republican may have sealed the deal.
Charlottesville weighs bringing police back into schools School resources officers were removed in 2020 amid a nationwide reckoning over the role of police in American life.
Graves Mountain Music Festival keeping it 'all Virginia' this year "We're keeping it all Virginia bands," organizer Eric Starck said. "We're keeping a narrow focus and supporting our local people."
Even with so many options available, getting your news can be a challenge. The Weekly Progress is here to help. Here is a roundup of some of the week’s biggest stories from The Daily Progress, Charlottesville’s news of record and a resource for the community since 1892.
Check Reddit every Friday for a weekly digest of the most-read and most-shared stories from The Daily Progress.
submitted by TheWeeklyProgress to Charlottesville [link] [comments]
Admitted killer of Charlottesville mother, homeless shelter worker sentenced "This is a terrible case," said Judge Richard E. Moore. "I'm not sure I can conceive of a worse second-degree murder charge."
Virginia Breeze to offer Charlottesville-to-Virginia Beach bus service next year The Tidewater Current will run year-round and make stops at Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Newport News, Williamsburg, New Kent, Richmond, Charlottesville and Harrisonburg, according to a recent announcement by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation.
Maggie Heaphy has been a shining light for both Charlottesville High School and its baseball program At an institution that had just had three days of classes canceled after a series of brawls broke out on school grounds, more than 1,000 people awaited a strong, relatable voice that could help uplift the community. Maggie Heaphy delivered upon that hope.
UVa reverses course, allows nursing student arrested at protest back on Grounds UVa says that after reviewing "additional information," Mustafa Abdelhamid will be allowed to return to Grounds.
Teen tries to claw back guilty plea in Charlottesville minimart murder case The 18-year-old says he would've fired his gun earlier in the altercation if he intended to kill his victim.
Charlottesville man accused of operating East Coast sex ring wins himself a legal victory in federal court Judge rules an FBI probe of cellphone data was illegal and cannot be used against the man.
A blow to Bob: Trump endorsement could tilt 5th District GOP primary in John McGuire's favor A word from a Buckingham County Republican may have sealed the deal.
Charlottesville weighs bringing police back into schools School resources officers were removed in 2020 amid a nationwide reckoning over the role of police in American life.
Graves Mountain Music Festival keeping it 'all Virginia' this year "We're keeping it all Virginia bands," organizer Eric Starck said. "We're keeping a narrow focus and supporting our local people."
Even with so many options available, getting your news can be a challenge. The Weekly Progress is here to help. Here is a roundup of some of the week’s biggest stories from The Daily Progress, Charlottesville’s news of record and a resource for the community since 1892.
Check Reddit every Friday for a weekly digest of the most-read and most-shared stories from The Daily Progress.
2024.05.31 21:46 10_marpenoth Dystopian (YA or not) audiobook recommendations?
Are there any audiobooks within the dystopian theme that you could recommend? I've recently read Neal Shusterman's Unwind and Scythe series, as well as The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey and loved them all. However, I don't have time to sit down and read anymore, so I've turned to audiobooks since I'm often on the move. I would really appreciate some recommendations of books available on Audible.
Thank you so much!
submitted by 10_marpenoth to audiobooks [link] [comments]
Thank you so much!