Memory transcription subject: Sare, Yotul Rebuilder Date [standardized human time]: January 31st, 2136
I pulled the hoodie tighter around myself. It had only gotten colder over the past few days; I’d taken multiple chances to thank Gavin for his gift. Every time I passed the human, I saw a grin spread across his face, and I felt something flutter in my stomach. I managed to keep myself composed enough as he joined me in the vegan line once again.
“You actually like this stuff?” I asked. I gestured to the rest of the extraterrestrials in the line. “I don’t think any of us do.”
He shrugged. “It’s different, at least. Two months of ham and cheese sandwiches does something to a man.”
I stared at him for a moment. He looked at me with a soft gaze and a slight smile, and I found myself admiring his eyes and the way his beanie-formed hair draped over them. His expression morphed to confusion, however, and he waved his hand at me.
“Earth to Sare? Are you… looking for something?”
I realized I’d just been standing there staring for a solid twenty seconds and I flushed deep green, pulling my scarf over my face. “I- uh, I’m alright, yeah! I’m just-” I wove my paws around futilely as if I could speak with them. I gestured for Gavin to move ahead of me in the line, and he let out a small laugh as he walked past to pick up his meal. I followed shortly behind him, my face burning.
Today’s meal was some emulation of venlil cuisine. It was… alright, for something made by non-venlil chefs, but I’d had better in Earth’s vegan food. Gavin, however, seemed pretty excited by it.
“As long as I’ve worked here, I haven’t had much alien food.” He took a bite from his meal and continued speaking as he chewed. “Not bad. I think I prefer yotul food, though,” he said, musing as he looked off into the distance.
I piped up excitedly at that. “I could make you something!”
“You can?” he asked, genuine intrigue in his voice. “What could you do?”
Shit.
There really wasn’t a lot of even human food available to cook with, let alone imports from Leirn that I was familiar with, but I felt like I needed to repay Gavin with something, at least.
“Uh-, well, there’s a type of salad back home I might be able to make with stuff here. Um… I don’t think it’d be very good, but-”
“Ah, don’t worry about that. Anything handmade is great if you put your heart into it,” he said, his tone reassuring and a smile on his face. I absentmindedly fiddled with the drawstrings of my hoodie as he took a few more bites from his lunch; a few moments passed before he looked at me and flushed a bit, then quickly finished his meal. I stared off into the distance, nothing in particular on my mind as I ate, but I saw Gavin hurry off to the administrator’s office. I downed my food and followed him with a brisk walk.
“What’s the rush?”
He looked me over for a moment before letting out a breath I couldn’t tell he was holding. “There’s still a lot of work to do today, y’know? It’s going to be cold tonight, and besides, it’s New Year’s Eve. I gotta get my work done quick so I have tonight free.”
We both paused for a moment. “What do humans do for the new year?” I asked.
“Normally, the tradition is to set off a bunch of fireworks- oh, those are like little explosive things-”
“There’s some great firework shows on Leirn,” I explained. “We’ve got ‘em too.” I could show you some hung on the tip of my tongue, something I deeply wanted to say but held myself back on.
“Oh, sweet! Anyway, yeah, that’s the usual thing, plus some typical family gathering and partying, but, uh… I don’t think anybody here could handle fireworks right now,” he continued, his expression trailing into something morose I couldn’t quite read. “But really, first and foremost, it’s about spending time with people you care about.”
“Guess we got that in common, then,” I added. “Where I’m from, it’s summer during the new year, so during the day, we spend time at beaches, usually, sometimes going on trips to somewhere cooler the day before. I’m not religious myself, but followers of Ralchi have a sort of traditional bonfire past sundown for the new year that most people recreate.”
“That’d be nice.”
“Yeah…” I mused. “Haven’t done anything like it in a while, and it’d be nice to spend a night around people I care about again…”
Gavin just looked at me.
“Hm?”
“Nothing,” he said, quickly perking up. “C’mon. We’ve got stuff to do today.”
I nodded, and he led us off down the road to the suburbia we’d been cleaning up the past few weeks. Some other workers from the camp had tagged along; from chats between them, the peacekeepers in charge had directed anyone wanting a lighter day for the new year down this road.
I jogged a bit forward to catch up to Gavin ahead, only slowing my pace as I stepped to his side. He glanced at me for only a moment before offering a hand to hold, which I took. I felt my tail beat against the asphalt below us a few times before I got my heart under control.
“What’re we doing today?” I asked after a comfortable silence.
“Cleanup, mostly. UN wants this place cleared of debris for rebuilding.”
“That sounds… impossible, honestly. There’s just so much wreckage,” I said, a sense of exhaustion already creeping into my voice before we even got to work. I sighed. “I’m not sure I can do this.”
He shrugged. “Even if it’s impossible, why not? Maybe we won’t clean out everything, but we’re still cleaning out something, and that’s better than nothing.”
“I just… I don’t know. How’s it better than nothing if we can barely make a dent in all the garbage?”
“Well, look at it this way. A hundred thousand people used to live here-” he waved his hand in a wide arc over the townscape around us- “-and maybe we’ll never see more than ten grand again. But so what? Even if we only get five thousand people back in these houses, that’s still infinitely better than zero. You know?”
“...Yeah. Yeah, I guess I know.”
Gavin smiled. It was a warm grin, an expression I never wanted to see end, and a smile spread across my own face. “You feeling better?”
“Definitely.”
He put his arm around my shoulder in a quick hug that I reciprocated. “Let’s get going, then.”
Some of the group hung back to direct the debris-moving vehicles down into the deeper wreckage, but most of us, Gavin and myself included, focused on the smaller things; as inconsequential as it was, the light labor and simple repetition of shoveling up garbage felt rather therapeutic.
It didn’t take too long before a sort of pessimism started again. By the time a few hours had passed, my arms ached, my legs felt sore, and while seeing what we’d cleaned was encouraging, it felt dwarfed in the face of the mountains of concrete dust and shattered debris that still coated the town. I sighed, taking a seat on some of the more solid debris, feeling my tail sweep up loose dust. Gavin glanced back at me before setting down his own tools and taking a seat as well.
“This sucks,” he said after a few seconds of odd, semi-comfortable-semi-awkward silence.
“Yeah.”
The human nodded as if we’d just made some as yet unknown revelation, then let out a short laugh. I did, too, my laugh lasting perhaps a bit too long before I felt something crumple and a few tears slipped out of my eyes.
“Still gotta do it, though, y’know?”
I glanced back at him. Afternoon light glinted off the tears forming in his own eyes as he looked at me with a small smile of his own; despite the wetness accumulating on his cheeks, he took the chance to wipe my eyes with warm, gentle hands. I pressed at the tears on his own face and he flinched back, muttering watch the fur under his breath. I snickered a bit at his reaction.
“Still gotta do it,” I said. He nodded in response.
“But you don’t gotta do everything.”
“Yeah. Something’s enough,” he said, his voice trailing off as he looked over the areas we’d cleaned from a tiny portion of the city sprawl. The sound of machinery and the occasional working song echoed off the concrete and asphalt as we watched our comrades work in silence.
Even under the cold of the late day, the something had kept me warm, and before long, we’d reconvened at the headquarters for dinner. Unlike the morning, however, Gavin went for the human food line, and I opted to follow him.
“...Can you even eat this stuff?” he asked, pointing at the (at this point, comedically predictable) ham-and-cheese sandwiches that the cooks were handing out. One of them mirrored his sentiment, cocking their head and looking at me with a raised eyebrow.
“I… think? We weren’t cured, so it won’t kill me. Probably.”
He shrugged. Two sandwiches came, and he rifled through the bag at his side for an anti-allergy injector. “Don’t be stupid,” he said, tucking it into his pocket for quick access.
“This whole idea is pretty stupid,” I commented.
“Be… only a little bit stupid.”
We laughed as we sat down. I set my sandwich down and watched Gavin pick up his and take a bite, staring at him in fascination before realizing that this probably wasn’t something to be particularly fascinated by. Still, it was a pretty novel experience, nonetheless; I didn’t eat meat, and for the majority of my time on Earth, any meal time was separated between those who did and those who didn’t.
I took a tentative bite of the sandwich, which, thinking about it in a vacuum, is a rather strange way to think about one’s dinner, but I was certainly nervous in the moment.
“It’s… interesting,” I said, both meat and dairy decidedly unfamiliar tastes to me. The most familiar part was the saltiness, but this felt less like the mild flavor of roasted root vegetables and more like shoving seawater into my mouth. The texture was perhaps the most familiar part, albeit still strange; it reminded me most of Rinsan fiberfruit, but its taste made it surprisingly hard to swallow.
“‘Interesting’ as in… ‘good’?” Gavin asked. “‘Interesting’ as in ‘you’re not experiencing anaphylactic shock right now’?”
“I wouldn’t say good, but I don’t think I’d say bad or trying to kill me either,” I commented after forcing down another bite.
“You don’t have to finish that, you know.”
“I’m committed," I retorted. It wasn’t inedible, at least, and the newness of the experience alone made it worth it.
After washing the flavor down with a copious amount of water, Gavin and I decided to get some rest a bit early; the winter sun had already crept low to the horizon and the work of the day set in. We could squeeze in a few hours of rest before seeing whatever festivities had been set up for the new year. My quarters weren’t too far from the canteen; if nothing else, the UN at least had the resources for all of us to get individual rooms, albeit small ones. I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.
Some indistinct time passed before a small snore woke me up. This wasn’t uncommon, given the thin walls of the pre-fab shacks we slept in, but I craned my head up to a lump on the floor, rather than a particularly loud sleeper elsewhere waking me. It took me a second to resolve it in the dark, but their large stature and ruffled hair meant they were a human, and the guess came naturally: Gavin.
He’d brought his own blankets and made himself a nest on my floor. My half-asleep head thought it wouldn’t be too bad; I bundled up the pillows and blankets from my own bed and tossed them on the floor in a disorganized heap, even worse than Gavin’s pile, and dropped onto it. He shuffled, grunted a bit, and turned over on his side, putting a reassuring arm over my shoulders. We both fell back asleep in that comfort almost instantly.
What finally woke us was the sound outside. A general din of activity grew loud enough to make it into my room, and Gavin rose before me, shaking my shoulder to wake me up in turn.
“Think it’s almost time,” he said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He stretched, standing on his feet and reaching the ceiling before offering his hand to pick me up. I took it and he led me by that hand forward, out to the people gathered.
The gathering wasn’t too big, but it was a hearty one, nonetheless. It was a mixture of humans, venlil, yotul, and the occasional other species assisting in the city, gathered in circles around campfires dotting the street and camp we lived in. I pointed one of the fires out; it was ringed by predominantly yotul, and I recognized the new year flame structure familiar to Leirn. One of the yotul there noticed us and waved us over to take seats with them.
Gavin sat near the fire, and I laid over him, my head resting in his lap as the small campfire burned in front of us. A quick glance around showed that we weren’t the only ones inching this close to the fire; my mind flashed back to memories of Leirn, of watching ceremonial bonfires burn and singing songs of home and history, even after the Federation arrived, and I felt myself start to tear up.
I don’t know if Gavin saw, or felt, or even knew at all, but I felt a strong hand rub the side of my head, scratch a bit behind my ears. I flinched a bit on instinct.
Gavin stammered a bit. “Uh- you- um, that alright?”
“...Yeah.”
He resumed, and I felt my eyes gradually flutter closed to the sound of the fire crackling and a breeze blowing, his other arm wrapping around me. The night should’ve been freezing, but I felt the warmth of something stronger than cold wind and a dark night.
There was a brief bit of pressure on the top of my head. I picked myself up and planted a kiss in return on his cheek, laying back in his lap, his arm tightening closer around me. Three short words were all that remained.
“I love you.”

Hello!
We are an independent organization with one purpose: to make you feel good in your own home and restore the peace and quiet! We deal in all kinds of intruders, from cockroaches to rats to racoons: all sizes and shapes and colors! Safety and comfort is one call away!
We offer a high variety of services, accommodated to your needs and enquiries, and have a flexible schedule. Call us anytime!
That's the job I work at. For privacy reasons, I won't say the name of the company.
The pay is decent, the hours are flexible, and I get uniforms on the house and meals. Yes, I do have to deal with all kinds of infested homes: from termites to roaches to bees, and even 'intruders' like racoons, foxes, once even a snake. It can be dangerous, but I take my precautions.
I can also take phone duty if I'm feeling particularly lazy. Like last week. Don't imagine we're working non-stop: we rarely get any calls. Not a lot of incidents happen around here, in this village.
Last week, however, I had three calls, which was interesting enough by itself, because I rarely get this much activity. Three calls also meant that I had to go do ground duty, because we didn't have enough personal for three interventions in one day.
The first call happened at around 6PM.
"Hello, this is XXX Exterminators, where the safety of your home is our priority. How can I help you today?"
Hi, yeah, my name is Emily and I think there's something in my ceiling.
"Hi, Emily! Could you describe the issue with a bit more details? What kind of noises are you hearing, any signs of anything living up there... anything like that can help a lot."
Okay, um... so I've been hearing these faint scratches, like rats? The scratches started yesterday, around midnight, and at first I thought it was the rain, you know... the way you can hear each individual drop fall on the roof of your house... Then I imagined it must've been the birds, but I ended up realizing it was coming from the attic, because I, uh, I heard the scratches... like... coming from right above me. And I thought something had gotten into the house - I live next to Helene-
"Right, so the gas station. Which one, exactly? The one you pass by going to Kaden or the other one down the road to the bridge?"
No, the one down the road. To the bridge, right next to the creek. My house is the blue one right when the town starts. I don't have any neighbors. It's Pollen Street no. 3. So, you know, I'm afraid something got into the house from the forest. It wouldn't be the first time. I just hope this time, it isn't a snake. But snakes don't scratch like that.
"Are you hearing the scratches now?"
They're really faint, but persistent. Could be rats.
*"*Okay, Emily! We'll be on our way soon."
Thank you.
I sent the team over there, but they couldn't find anything out of place. No insects, no animals. No rats.
The next call came around 10PM.
"Hello, this is XXX Exterminators, where the safety of your home is our priority. How can I help you today?"
Hello. I keep hearing these scratches and thuds coming from the ceiling, and I think it moves to the walls. I'm not sure, though, but there's definitely something in there.
"Could you describe the issue with a bit more details? Anything like that can help a lot."
The noises started like three hours ago. At first, I thought it was the pipes, but they're too... rhythmic. Like footsteps or more like something dragging its limbs through the walls. I don't understand and I can't identify the animal. It sounds big. This is an old house, and it's relatively easy to dig through it. I've never heard anything like it.
"Where is it, right now?"
I can't hear anything right now. I don't know where it went.
"Could you tell us your address?"
Pollen Street no. 7.
My stomach tensed. Could it be a coincidence? Maybe some raccoon was making its way through homes...
"All right, thank you. We'll be on our way!"
I sent the team to the location, and was left alone with Andrew, a coworker. The night had fallen and I hated night interventions, so I hoped the phone wouldn't ring again until they came back. Honestly, I was pretty relaxed. There wasn't such a high chance that I'd get any other calls for the day-
Riiiiiiing.
I lifted my head from the lasagna. Me and Andrew stared at each other.
Riiiiiiing.
It had been... what, like 30 minutes since the last call? The fuck?
Andrew raised his shoulders. I stood up and lifted the receptor.
"This is... um, XXX Exterminators. How can I help you?" I mumbled.
There was a pause on the other line, then heavy breathing.
"Sir? ... Madam? Are you okay? What happened?"
It fucking dragged something into the house.
"What do you mean? Who dragged what? Sir, be more precise."
Andrew's eyes widened. "What?" he whispered.
I shook my head and motioned to him to be quiet.
"Sir, what's going on?"
Something broke into my, my house. But there's two of them. Two... DISTINCT... bodies. Not a raccoon. Not a bird. No, and at first I thought there were two alive things, but as I listened more I realized one of them was... dragging the other. Across my attic. On my fucking ceiling. I don't even know how it got there... I ain't heard anything like climbing on the house... Like it just landed on the roof then dug down to the attic. I don't know.
"... Right."
No, I'm not done. I got scared shitless, because I thought it was a person at first. It sounded big enough to be a person. I was like, shit, it's a murderer, but that was until I heard it... eating.
*"*Eating? What do you mean?"
Andrew frowned. The fuck? he mouthed.
Yeah. I can hear this heavy thing eating right above me, and I hear the floorboard of the attic creaking. I'm afraid it's gonna come down. The thing is dragging something... heavy. Fucking hell... please just come. I wanted to call 911, but I know it's not human.
"All right. I will send someone right away. Address and name, please?"
"Who are you gonna send?" Andrew asked. "There's just us-"
Finnick Gallen. Pollen Street no. 11
Fuck me.
"Okay. Sir, we'll be on our way."
After I hung up, a moment of silence followed, where me and Andrew just stood there, perplexed.
"You know it's us that have to go there, right?" Andrew asked.
"I'd really rather not."
"Then call Walt. Ask him if they're finished there. Are the houses close to each other?"
"All three calls came from the same street. Pollen Street. Near the forest."
"Fuuck. Yeah, call them."
I dialed Walt's number. It took a while for him to pick up.
"Hi! Walt? You done there? Cause I got another call..."
"Liam, there was no one in that house."
My hand was shaking on the receptor. "What do you mean?"
"There was no creature, no person, nothing. However, the scene is rather... interesting. I'm afraid we'll be busy here for a while."
"Why?"
"The windows are broken. Furniture destroyed. The attic is covered in scratches and broken wood. And there's the blood... it's fresh. I don't know what happened here, but we need to find your caller. And the intruder. We're searching the property."
"Right." I responded, my mouth dry.
The third call had mentioned something dragging something else...
We need to find your caller.
I think I knew where he was.
I had never been so afraid. As me and Andrew put on our uniforms, I couldn't help but wonder if I should get the police involved. This was no snake, no fox, no bear. The most frustrating thing was that I didn't know what it was.
We took a deep breath and drove into the night.
Reached our destination pretty fast. I know what you'll say: if the houses' numbers were so close, why couldn't Walt just take a look at number 11 too? Well, the numbers were really far apart. This area wasn't so populated.
I reached this cabin with its lights on. We hesitated, then got out of the car and knocked on the door.
I got an instant response - Finnick opened, pale and shaking. "I am so, so glad you came."
I was used to clients being afraid. Finnick, however, was deeply shaken. His eyes were glossy and his movements irregular - he sensed the same thing I had, that something sinister was going on, but we couldn't quite label it out. I tried to remain calm.
"Sir, you can wait in the car if you want."
He didn't need to be told twice. Me and Andrew made our way upstairs, to the master bedroom.
The house looked pretty normal. Nothing out of place, and nothing broken like on number 7. The bedroom had old, creaking furniture and floors - it was undeniable that something was in the ceiling. I could hear the sound of something being torn apart, and scratching. So much scratching. The ceiling was old too, consisting in some slabs. Andrew and I took out our equipment, gathering our courage to go inside the attic.
Had the slabs always had this... red tint? I raised my hand and felt them - they were humid and smelled like metal.
"Andrew, get your gun."
Pulling the attic stairs down, I tried to be as quiet as possible. I didn't want to make our presence known.
As silent as we tried to be, the stairs creaked obnoxiously and I closed my eyes. Fuck.
The sounds upstairs stopped.
"Okay, you go first." I told Andrew.
"Fuck you", he responded, then disappeared into the darkness.
I heard his footsteps, then a loud, echoing scream that turned into an inhuman wail. My first instinct was to crouch and stay on the ground, with my hands on my ears. Then, I heard two gunshots and Andrew cursing.
More gunshots followed. Then, glass breaking and something batting its wings and wailing. The voice was not human, but had some inflexions of a woman - it made my skin crawl.
The attic window was broken, and the thing had flown away. I don't know why, but I pulled away the curtain to the bedroom and looked outside, for any signs of what it could have been.
When Andrew came back down, he was crying. I had never seen him cry.
"I saw it... I saw it... I saw hell, Liam. I looked right at it. I saw it happen."
The sweet smell from the attic made me gag. I put on my mask and went upstairs, leaving Andrew frozen, staring into a corner.
The light didn't work, so I had to use my flashlight. The floor was humid and darkened in blood, and the smell lingered, putrid and overwhelming. I couldn't understand at first what I was seeing, and at first it had no impact on me. I didn't realize I was staring at what would turn out to be the second caller.
I have never dealt with gore, so my head didn't know how to take it. I guess I knew in some sort of way that that inflated shape was supposed to be the head, and what was above it were the limbs... the stomach lay somewhere farther, and the torso was dug into. I was in shock, and the images just didn't seem real. Above the body, it had carved something on the wooden wall. Some symbol.
My face felt numb. Remaining in the same position, I made a call.
"Hey, Walt?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you guys done there?"
"Are you ok? You sound... weird."
"Yeah, um..." I blinked a few times, then cleared my voice. "Are you done there?"
"We didn't find anything. Did you guys do the other intervention?"
"Oh, yeah. We did."
"And?"
"We found the caller. Not all of him, though. And the thing is gone now. Probably resting."
"What?"
"Yeah. You might want to come."
Since then, I have been giving interviews non-stop. Asked to describe the three calls and our interventions. The creature. I told them everything.
Well, almost everything.
That night, I had looked through the window as an instinct.
I don't know why. You know how the most horrible things have a way of drawing you in.
Pulled the curtain, placed my face close to the window. I hadn't heard it fly away yet. I should have waited for it to leave.
In the darkness, I saw two eyes shimmering a few inches from mine, two eyes that looked so human, I almost thought it was my reflection I was seeing. Except, well, they were upside down, and the other parts of the face had been kind of carved into the flesh, with blood drained skin sort of stretched over them. Behind the head, large wings, made the same way. It turned its head so it wasn't upside down anymore, but the body remained exactly the same. I felt it had wanted to see me better.
Then, it pressed its forehead onto the glass. Fear paralyzed me, but I remained still. I hadn't known it had a mouth until then, when it smiled. It had no teeth, just more skin - not even gums, not even a tongue.
Then, it flew away. The rest of its body was stretched out, the limbs curved and molded from the grey flesh. I watched it disappear into the night, leaving nothing but a bloody stain on the window, where it's forehead had been.
I didn't get a lot of sleep after that. I was hesitant to return to the job, but I had no better option.
It has been exactly a week since then. As I am typing this, it is almost midnight, and I got a call earlier.
"Hello, this is XXX Exterminators, where the safety of your home is our priority. How can I help you today?"
There is something in my ceiling, scratching-
*"*Address?"
You didn't even let me finish! Pollen Street, no. 13-
*"*Ma'am, get out. Just leave. Trust me."
What?
"Yeah, fuck no we ain't helping you with that. It's beyond us. That shit needs a priest."
Are you kidding?
*"*Nope."
As I hang up, I know we can't run from that forever.
And there's this other thing I know.
My address is Hamney Lane no. 34. Right across from Pollen Street.

Disclaimer: I do not speak Korean. This is purely translated by machine with a lot of cleanup afterward. With that in mind, I am open to criticism to improve these translations. Enjoy!
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Chapter 427
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On a December night, as winter's chill deepened, an unexpected snowstorm swept through the streets.
​
The snow fell thick and fast, confounding those who had expected clear skies based on the latest weather forecasts. Confusion reigned among pedestrians hurrying home, and even the meteorological agency was caught off guard.
​
"What’s going on? Where did this come from?"
​
"We’re analyzing it now. There shouldn’t be an issue like this."
​
"With snow as thick as hail pouring down, how can you say there shouldn’t be an issue? Stop the nonsense and bring the data. You must have real-time observations!"
​
"I’m looking into it right now... Oh, it seems there's been a surge in mana in the Sichuan region of China causing these abnormal conditions. The expected snowfall is no joke."
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"Sichuan? Damn it. Is that bastard Arch Lich now controlling the weather too?"
​
Ever since the Great Cataclysm, the agency's forecasts had become near prophetic, enhanced by the integration of magical insights.
​
However, this unexpected storm suggested something far more sinister.
​
Within an hour, after frantic recalibrations and re-observations, a national heavy snow warning was declared. The agency predicted a historic blizzard, the likes of which hadn't been seen in decades.
​
But as people stopped to take shelter, their attention was captured by an announcement on the large public screens across the city centers.
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- On this day, I am thrilled to bring you this news.
​
The screen showed an elderly Asian man.
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Sitting behind him were leaders from countries that are members of the UN Security Council, and the President of the People's Republic of China, with reddened eyes and a shaky voice, parted his lips towards the numerous microphones.
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- The Arch Lich has been extinguished. We ... have won.
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Victory.
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That one word was enough. For 34 days, an unprecedented monster wave had continued.
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The news that the great war, which had troubled the world beyond Sichuan Province, had finally ended left people gaping, and soon after, they let out a massive cheer.
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"Wowwwww!"
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"Wait! Hold on. I didn’t catch that. What did you just say?"
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"It's over!"
​
"What?"
​
"Look at the subtitles!"
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"The extinction of the Arch Lich... oh, it's true! Wowwww! I thought I was going to be fucking drafted!"
​
The joyous uproar drowned out the subsequent thirty-minute address by President Shao Yang and further explanations from the UN spokesperson.
​
With the Arch Lich's fall, his undead legions crumbled, extinguishing the looming threat and ushering in the long-awaited peace.
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"Mom, it's me. Uh, did you see the news? No? Watch it now. Yeah, yeah!"
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"That's it. Mr. Kim, let's go for a third round!"
​
"A third round? There's a server update tomorrow. Manager Noh is going to freak out."
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"Manager Noh is also coming. He's bringing the corporate card."
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"Ugh, I really don't want to see that guy's face. Alright, let's go."
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"Reporting. Yes, Commander. This is Lieutenant Lee Jun-Beom. I would like to extend my leave for just one more day... No, I apologize."
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Despite some initial reservations, the jubilant energy in the streets proved infectious. People who had cautiously stayed indoors, fearing another calamity akin to the Great Cataclysm, now flooded out to join the revelry.
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Pubs filled to the brim with celebrants, and the cheers continued unabated even as the night turned into the early hours of the morning.
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The next day, and for several days thereafter, the atmosphere remained electric.
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The monumental victory announcement had the world buzzing with excitement, like a cauldron set ablaze on an open flame.
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Each day brought a flood of new articles in countless languages, discussing the events more than even the unusual weather patterns that had seen snow cover Korea for three consecutive days.
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And there was one name that appeared in every single one of those articles.
​
​
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[The New York Times, 'A Momentous Victory Introduces a New Hero to the World'] [Note: USA]
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[The Times, 'Eastern Promise: A New Hero Rises, With Connections to Prince Felix?'] [Note: UK]
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[The Asahi Shimbun, 'Jin Tae-Kyung: Asia's Beacon of Hope, But Japan's Elite Hunters Could Surpass Him!'] [Note: Japan]
​
[People's Daily, 'A Young Korean Hero's Bravery Celebrated Amidst National Tragedy, Death of Wu Hei-Xing'] [Note: China]
​
[China Youth Newsletter, 'Jin Tae-Kyung, A Descendant of the Ming Dynasty General Chen Lin - Soon to Be a Chinese Citizen?']
​
[Korea Goryeo Daily, 'Uncertainty Shadows Ares Guild as Vice Guild Leader Lee Jeong-Ryong Goes Missing']
​
[DAS Patch Korea Official, 'We've been investigating Jin Tae-Kyung for months but couldn't find out anything. His relationships with women were surprisingly clean.' When asked by a reporter whether his past relationships had all ended amicably, he replied "No, that's not it. I've been single since birth."]
​
​
​
For the various media outlets, the existence of Jin Tae-Kyung was nothing short of a Christmas present.
​
All spotlights were focused on him, and stories about him flowed endlessly.
​
The material was inexhaustible. Not to mention the so-called 'Winter War,' this recent monster wave, his past actions, and even minor personal details became fodder for the news.
​
Typically, such sensationalist articles would have been scorned and cursed at, but now they captured interest.
​
Such was the global attention drawn to this new hero who had led this great victory.
​
But not all of that attention was positive.
​
From the tight internal security, little bits of leaked information had begun to raise doubts.
​
​
​
[Revealed: What Lies Hidden Behind the War's Great Victory? Growing Suspicions Cast Shadow on Jin Tae-Kyung]
​
[Mystery Deepens: Tragic Deaths of S-rank Hunters Lee Jeong-Ryong and Wu Hei-Xing Raise Questions as New Hero Emerges]
​
[Top Military Officials Question Battle's Intensity: Lack of Injuries on Jin Tae-Kyung Sparks Potion Use Probe; Clarity Expected Upon His Awakening]
​
​
​
Though these conspiracy theories were few and often dismissed, they managed to sow seeds of doubt among some, igniting fervent online debates.
​
The controversial articles were swiftly overwhelmed by waves of criticism and reports, but the questions they raised lingered in the public consciousness.
​
Now, all eyes were on Jin Tae-Kyung, waiting for him to step forward and address the swirling rumors.
​
When would he appear?
​
​
​
* * *
​
​
​
Beep. Beep.
​
The room, reserved for a select few, was filled with the mechanical hum of the latest medical devices.
​
Concerned faces looked down at Jin Tae-Kyung, who lay unconscious, an oxygen mask covering his face.
​
「How is Mr. Jin's condition?」
​
Choi Min-Woo responded to President Shao Yang's question.
​
「It's always the same. Everything seems perfectly normal, yet strangely, he can't regain consciousness.」
​
「Did both of them say the same thing?」
​
「Yes. They can't determine the cause.」
​
「Hmm. If that's the case, it must be certain... But why can't he regain consciousness?」
​
President Shao Yang sighed.
​
The two experts he referred to were leaders in their fields.
​
One was a civilian doctor revered as a modern Hua Tuo, and the other was a world-renowned healer. [Note: Hua Tuo was a famous ancient Chinese physician. He is reportedly the first person in China to use anasthesia during surgery.]
​
If both specialists they had brought in to treat Jin Tae-Kyung had said so, it must be true.
​
「I heard his family has come.」
​
「Our Peace Guild is taking good care of them. Fortunately, they are getting some rest at the moment.」
​
「That’s good to hear. Might I be able to see them, even for a moment?」
​
「Hmm... I will ask, but the family's wishes are most important...」
​
「I understand. Who wouldn't feel the same, seeing their blood relative unable to wake up? I’d be grateful if you'd think of it as nothing more than an old man's foolish worry.」
​
「Not at all, Mr. President. We appreciate you thinking so.」
​
「Appreciate it? No need for such words. If it weren't for Mr. Jin, a much greater disaster would have occurred. Though I am an old man and may not have much time left, I will take this gratitude to my grave.」
​
President Shao's words were sincere.
​
Four days had passed since then, and a global team of experts investigating the Arch Lich's last stronghold uncovered traces of a Gate.
​
The remnants of its immense magical power indicated a potential catastrophe.
​
「If Mr. Jin hadn't stopped the Arch Lich that day, not only our country but all of Asia, perhaps even the entire world, might have become a battlefield.」
​
「It's a very real possibility.」
​
Although the statement was slightly exaggerated, it held substantial truth.
​
Choi Min-Woo therefore acknowledged it with a nod.
​
He saw no reason to shy away from the praise or to downplay the deep gratitude expressed by a leader of over a billion people.
​
Indeed, gratitude, once extended, often yields rich dividends.
​
「By the way, Mr. President, recently there have been some unfavorable rumors circulating about Mr. Jin Tae-Kyung... Are you aware of them?」
​
「Are these internal issues, or external?」
​
「They are internal. It would be more accurate to say they involve the upper echelons of the Communist Party, or rather, the Princelings.」
​
President Shao Yang nodded knowingly.
​
「I am well aware of those matters.」
​
The matter concerned the death of Wu Hei-Xing.
​
The investigation had uncovered his severely damaged body, fueling conspiracy theories both domestically and internationally.
​
「There are those who suspect Mr. Jin Tae-Kyung. They point to a slight argument he had with Wu Hei-Xing at their first meeting and the fact that there were no significant injuries on Mr. Jin when he was first found.」
​
There were two main theories circulating among these rumors.
​
The first suggested that Jin Tae-Kyung, harboring resentment towards Wu Hei-Xing, had orchestrated his death and attributed it to the Arch Lich.
​
The second theory proposed that Jin Tae-Kyung used Wu Hei-Xing as a scapegoat, potentially alongside Lee Jeong-Ryong, who is missing or presumed dead, to eliminate the Arch Lich.
​
President Shao Yang, well aware of these narratives, had already formed his own judgement.
​
With a stern voice, he assured Choi Min-Woo.
​
「These are nothing but groundless slanders and conspiracy theories.」
​
「Thank you for your trust, but...」
​
It was a good response, but it was not enough.
​
Choi Min-Woo hesitated, then added thoughtfully.
​
「It seems the leader of the Princelings has a different view from yours, Mr. President.」
​
Within China, these theories, seen by many as national disgraces, resonated with a father mourning his son.
​
Wu Hei-Xing's father, the head of the Princelings and a figure wielding immense power within the Communist Party, was propelling these rumors forward.
​
He didn't stop at just speculation; he had initiated an independent probe to investigate further.
​
「If Mr. Jin Tae-Kyung regains consciousness, the truth will come to light. But for such high-ranking politicians to lead the spread of these absurd conspiracy theories...」
​
As Choi Min-Woo's words tapered off, President Shao Yang's lips curled into a subtle smile.
​
'No hesitation, I see.'
​
Despite the young man's impressive feats, his circumstances differed markedly from those of President Shao Yang.
​
Yet, here he was, confidently voicing his views, adeptly balancing his tone and stance.
​
'Was that story true?'
​
Recalling some personal details about Choi Min-Woo, President Shao Yang tapped the armrest of his chair thoughtfully.
​
「Alright. It seems my explanation was insufficient, so I'll say it again.」
​
「I'm listening.」
​
「My comrades and I already know everything about it and have made all the necessary preparations.」
​
「All the necessary preparations...?」
​
「He will be put on trial before he appeals for his son's death.」
​
The Arch Lich's fall wasn't the only outcome of this conflict.
​
Widespread corruption and fraud have come to light, necessitating the dismantling of the Princelings.
​
Choi Min-Woo's expression softened into a calm smile.
​
「Is that answer sufficient?」
​
「It is enough.」
​
That concluded their discussion for the day.
​
After a few more exchanges, President Shao Yang exited the room, leaving Choi Min-Woo alone. He murmured to himself thoughtfully.
​
"So, it is done."
​
Suddenly, someone's eyes snapped open.
​
"Ah, fuck. I thought I was going to die from frustration."
​
Previous Table of Contents

Disclaimer: I do not speak Korean. This is purely translated by machine with a lot of cleanup afterward. With that in mind, I am open to criticism to improve these translations. Enjoy!
​
Chapter 426
​
Whoosh!
​
The instant he confronted the colossal Fire Dragon emerging from the spearhead, the Arch Lich had a stark realization.
​
'It's too late.'
​
The attack was inescapable.
​
His unspoken spell and the nearly completed magic dissipated among the abrupt inferno that enveloped him.
​
Radiating the Fire of Calamity, the Fire Dragon opened its gaping maw towards the paralyzed Arch Lich, who had become numb to even pain.
​
Boom!
​
A draconian roar accompanied by billowing blue flames engulfed everything. The air warped, and the searing heat vaporized all in its path.
​
The Arch Lich felt his magical barriers and shields dissolving, reviving sensations he thought he had long forgotten.
​
'It's hot.'
​
Roar!
​
The blue Fire of Calamity dominated his vision. The Fire Dragon, unrelenting, swept over him and continued its relentless flight.
​
Its target was the enormous black Gate at the heart of the devastated city.
​
Wait, it was hurtling towards the Gate.
​
'No!'
​
In a surge of panic, the Arch Lich's red eyes widened, and he extended his hand futilely as the Fire Dragon consumed the Gate, nearly equal in size.
​
At that moment, when the flames met the extraordinary magical power fueled by the life force of countless humans, a blinding explosion erupted.
​
Boom!
​
A pillar of light visible from vast distances ascended.
​
Darkness clashed with blue flames, merging rapidly. The stripped skyscrapers that had barely held against the onslaught now crumbled, unleashing a ring of tempestuous winds.
​
Gurgurrrrrugug.
​
An unspeakable roar and tremor shook the earth.
​
The ash-gray sky cracked open, and the dense fog smothering the city dispersed like a dispelled illusion.
​
Then, as if it were all a fleeting dream, a tranquil silence descended.
​
'Ah.'
​
With a vacant stare, the Arch Lich surveyed the landscape.
​
The scene was ostensibly unchanged, yet he knew — everything, including himself, had irreversibly transformed. It had all crumbled, like a sandcastle at high tide.
​
Slowly, the Arch Lich turned his gaze. The trembling red glow fell upon a figure, imposing as a steel tower.
​
- I should have killed you.
​
A declaration that pierced the stillness.
​
Pale as death, Jin Tae-Kyung spoke. Despite appearing on the brink of collapse from the physical toll and mental strain of endless battles, his voice retained its unwavering force.
​
"I know. Why didn't you kill me quickly?"
​
The Arch Lich's lips sealed shut. The missed chance to end Jin Tae-Kyung's life was his error.
​
A lapse in vigilance had undone everything.
​
'My King, please forgive this disloyal servant.'
​
The Arch Lich sought forgiveness from his King, wherever he might be.
​
Had he not hesitated, had he slain Jin Tae-Kyung before the human's monstrous ally was reborn and drove that cursed sword into his chest... all would have unfolded as ordained.
​
He would have endured, finalized the Gate, and unleashed legions of monsters to devastate humanity and ignite their cities.
​
All while anticipating the return of the formidable King.
​
Yet, his flawless scheme had crumbled spectacularly.
​
All due to one man — Jin Tae-Kyung.
​
The crimson in the Arch Lich's eyes ignited with dwindling power.
​
He silently vowed vengeance, and his oath of retribution echoed towards Jin Tae-Kyung.
​
- Remember me. One day, I will trample your souls with my bare feet.
​
Jin Tae-Kyung spat out a glob of phlegm.
​
"The one that's about to die always spouts bullshit. How about you try calling Asmodeus a bastard instead? If you do, I may consider ending this quickly."
​
The Skeleton King hesitated before speaking.
​
- Asmodeus, you bastard...
​
"Not you."
​
- Ah, I know. I just wanted to try it once. But it feels wrong to say such disrespectful words.
​
"Why? You're a king now, too."
​
- Yes, that's right.
​
By the River of Death, he swore to tear those two apart.
​
The Arch Lich extended both hands towards Jin Tae-Kyung and the Skeleton King.
​
His skeletal fingers tightened as if to obliterate them from a distance, yet nothing ensued.
​
Instead, a stray wind caressed his entire form.
​
Swoosh.
​
It was disintegration. Beginning with the Arch Lich's hands, his very essence started to erode.
​
Arms, legs, torso, and at last, the skull housing the dimming red glow.
​
- Please survive. Until the day we meet again... [Note: the second villain who wishes the MC a long life.]
​
A voice steeped in bitterness mingled with the wind and faded away.
​
The growing tempest scattered the ashes that were once the Arch Lich.
​
As it howled, its reach extended to everything within the radius of One Strike, leaving behind a desolate landscape of collapsed skyscrapers, heaps of concrete, overturned vehicles, and lifeless bodies...
​
And the unfinished colossal Gate, which might have sparked an even more catastrophic war.
​
Whoosh.
​
In the midst of this desolation, Jin Tae-Kyung stood in silence, a solitary chime ringing in his ears, audible only to him amidst the chaos.
​
Ding. Ding. Ding.
​
A flood of System notifications clouded his vision, signaling the end of the ordeal.
​
Yet, Jin Tae-Kyung’s body, drained of all energy, began to sway towards the earth.
​
'I did it.'
​
With that single thought, he surrendered to a profound and serene slumber.
​
And the Skeleton King, carefully catching the falling form of Jin Tae-Kyung, could see it.
​
The faint smile spreading across his lips.
​
- You've worked hard.
​
Wicked but still a decent human, he murmured to himself.
​
Intent on transporting Jin Tae-Kyung to a place of rest and safety, the Skeleton King suddenly recalled something he had forgotten.
​
- Oh, right. The sword.
​
Was it called 'Hero's Soul'? He wasn't sure who had named it, but it was certain that a mysterious power was imbued in it.
​
It was thanks to that sword that he, once a Skeleton Warlord on the verge of extinction, had been awakened and able to deal a serious blow to the dreadful Arch Lich.
​
- I almost forgot. I must make sure to take it.
​
Locating the sword didn't take long. It had lain quietly at the spot where the Arch Lich last stood, embedded in its chest until the final moments.
​
Yet, as the Skeleton King lifted the [Hero's Soul], confusion furrowed his brow.
​
- Hmm, something feels off.
​
It was a strange sensation, difficult to explain.
​
It might be accurate to say that while it remained a legendary sword, its mystical aura seemed somewhat diminished.
​
- Did I pick up the wrong sword?
​
But despite a thorough search and close inspection of the sword, nothing seemed amiss.
​
After some contemplation, scratching his golden skull, the Skeleton King concluded.
​
- Hmm. It must be the right one, I suppose.
​
He thought it was just a momentary feeling. The sword he remembered looked the same, and he had seen it fall from Arch Lich's chest at the last moment.
​
'But why does this feel so unsettling?'
​
It was a perplexing anomaly. The Skeleton King shook his head and tucked the sword between his pelvic bones for safekeeping.
​
As he approached the fallen Jin Tae-Kyung, he remained oblivious.
​
Unseen by him, as Jin Tae-Kyung succumbed to unconsciousness, drained of all strength, a mist-like black energy mingled with the dispersing wind.
​
Simultaneously, the golden light that had clung to the [Hero's Soul] disapeared from the sword as it pursued this dark essence.
​
But this light was not merely riding the wind.
​
The black energy, intertwined with the wind, drifted along until his path was obstructed.
​
The Arch Lich, now merely a feeble fragment of his former soul, widened his eyes at the dazzling golden light shimmering before him.
​
'Such an absurdity.'
​
Before dissolving, the Arch Lich’s final words to Jin Tae-Kyung and the Skeleton King were sincere.
​
He vowed a swift return, ready to drench the land with blood, wielding greater power and commanding a vaster horde of monsters than ever before.
​
Life Force Vessel.
​
A high-level dark magic exclusive to the undead, capable of preserving fragments of souls, was thought to prevent eternal obliteration. [Note: like a horcrux from Harry Potter.]
​
Or so he had thought, until that resplendent golden light intercepted him.
​
- What are you?
​
Now reduced to a mere sliver of a soul, the Arch Lich was no match for the brilliance emanating from the light.
​
Mixed emotions of anger, astonishment, and fear intensified the black energy.
​
Despite the Arch Lich’s thoughts reaching out, the golden light remained impassive, merely intensifying its radiance and expanding in size.
​
Then, the Arch Lich understood the true essence of the light.
​
It was not magic but a soul. The soul of someone he had once crushed and defiled. Though formless, it persisted within the sword, sustained solely by sheer will.
​
The Arch Lich suddenly recalled one of the memories he had buried deep in his mind.
​
​
​
'You are noble, human. What is your name?'
​
​
​
On that day of carnage, where blood ran like rivers and corpses mounted like hills, amidst ruins and death, one human stood defiant till the end.
​
- Lei Fei.
​
The movement of the Arch Lich, or rather the black energy, halted abruptly.
​
The brilliant golden light burst forth from the void, enveloping him like a tidal wave.
​
Whoosh!
​
'...Damn it all.'
​
And those were the Arch Lich's final thoughts.
​
​
​
* * *
​
​
​
The atmosphere on the battlefield, where the main forces congregated, was electric.
​
As the S-rank Hunters and a contingent of troops moved to the rear to forge a pathway for the suicide squad, tens of thousands of monsters capitalized on the opportunity to launch an assault.
​
「Fire Rain!」
​
Boom!
​
From the back lines, the mage unit unleashed their area-wide magic, and a torrential downpour of fire descended upon the enemy.
​
In that moment, as hundreds of monsters were reduced to cinders, the mages' fists clenched in grim resolve.
​
Squeal! Crack!
​
「...Huh?」
​
One mage, his face etched with confusion, wiped away the blood that had splashed across his features.
​
The face of his comrade, who had shared a smile just moments ago, was obliterated. No, it had been blown apart.
​
This was the work of a black lance, piercing through the air like a beam of light from a distance.
​
Squeal, boom!
​
Another lance hurtled through the air, impaling several mages before their screams could even begin.
​
「Aaagh!」
​
「Death Knights! It's Death Knights!」
​
「Damn it, what the hell are you talking about! Weren't they all dealt with?」
​
「No, it seems not! It looks like they had hidden some elite monsters among them!」
​
This foreboding pronouncement quickly became a gruesome reality.
​
With the S-rank Hunters away, elite monsters emerged on the battlefield, initiating a brutal massacre.
​
Screech!
​
Boom!
​
Death Knights, Liches, and scores of invisible Wyverns materialized, unleashing a ruthless onslaught.
​
As people fell and monsters advanced without pause, a profound despair settled over those who fought desperately to hold their ground.
​
Even if the S-rank Hunters were present, this battle would have been tough to emerge victorious from.
​
'It's all over.'
​
And just when all seemed lost, as they braced for death.
​
Swoosh!
​
The blade of a Death Knight, caught mid-slash through a victim, suddenly halted.
​
No, it disintegrated into ash.
​
"W-what is this...?"
​
A hunter who had narrowly escaped death looked around in astonishment.
​
It was a sight beyond belief.
​
First, hundreds fell, then thousands disintegrated.
​
Before long, tens of thousands of monsters were disintegrating into ash and collapsing.
​
Swoosh.
​
It was the beginning of the end.
​
Previous Table of Contents Next

Below, I am posting the list of everything I've read in the last few years, organized by author. Please, help me find something new. An author I don't know, a fresh take on an established subgenre, an exceptionally well written piece, something I just missed somehow, or a unique story/perspective I haven't seen yet. I've been on a bit of a sci fi kick lately and want to come back to horror. I'm currently reading Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons and Fairy Tale by Stephen King. Should be done with both pretty soon. Your recommendations will be added to my queue! Thank you in advance!
Author Title
Agustina Bazterrica Tender is the Flesh
Alex White Alien: The Cold Forge
Andrew Shanahan Before and After
Ania Ahlborn Seed
Anne Rice Interview with the Vampire
Ayn Rand Atlas Shrugged
Ayn Rand The Fountainhead
Benjamin Franklin The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Bram Stoker Dracula
Bret Easton Ellis American Psycho
Brian Hodge The Immaculate Void
Brian Hodge I’ll Bring You the Birds From Out of the Sky
Brian Hodge Skidding Into Oblivion
Brian Hodge The Darker Saints
C. S. Humble All These Subtle Deceits
C. S. Humble The Crusade of the Black Cross
C.S. Lewis The Magician’s Nephew
C.S. Lewis The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
C.S. Lewis The Horse and His Boy
C.S. Lewis Prince Caspian
C.S. Lewis The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
C.S. Lewis The Silver Chair
C.S. Lewis The Last Battle
Carlton Mellick III The Big Meat
Carson McCullers The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
Cassandra Khaw Nothing But Blackened Teeth
Catriona Ward The Last House on Needless Street
Charles Bukowski A .45 to Pay the Rent
Christopher Buehlman Between Two Fires
Christopher Buehlman The Lesser Dead
Christopher Buehlman The Suicide Motor Club
Christopher Buehlman Those Across the River
Christopher Covello HowExpert: Guide to Obstacle Course Racing
Christopher Golden Ararat
Christopher Priest The Prestige
Chuck Palahniuk Fight Club
Chuck Palahniuk Lullaby
Cixin Liu The Three-Body Problem
Cixin Liu The Dark Forest
Cixin Liu Death’s End
Clay McLeod Chapman Whisper Down the Lane
Clive Barker Books of Blood Vol. 1 to 3
Clive Barker Imajica
Clive Barker The Damnation Gam
Clive Barker The Hellhound Heart
Clive Barker The Thief of Always
Clive Barker Weaveworld
Clive Barker Coldheart Canyon
Clive Barker The Scarlet Gospels
Clive Barker Books of Blood Vol. 4: The Inhuman Condition
Clive Barker Books of Blood Vol. 5: In the Flesh
Clive Barker Books of Blood Vol. 6: Lord of Illusion
Clive Barker Mister B. Gone
Cormac McCarthy No Country for Old Men
Cormac McCarthy The Road
Dan Simmons A Winter Haunting
Dan Simmons The Terror
Dan Simmons Summer of Night
Danielle Vega The Merciless
Dave Pelzer A Child Called “It”
David Duchovny The Reservoir
David Foster Wallace Infinite Jest
David Goggins Can’t Hurt Me
David Goggins Never Finished
David J. Lieberman You Can Read Anyone
David Seltzer The Omen
Dean Koontz Darkfall
Douglas Adams The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Edgar Allan Poe The Raven
Edward Lee Teratologist
Elan Gale You’re Not That Great
Emily Brontë Wuthering Heights
Erich Maria Remarque All Quiet on the Western Front
Ernest Cline Armada
Ernest Cline Ready Player One
Ernest Cline Ready Player Two
Ernest Hemingway For Whom the Bell Tolls
F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby
Franz Kafka The Metamorphosis
Fyodor Dostoyevsky Crime and Punishment
George Orwell 1984
George Orwell Animal Farm
Gerald Brom Lost Gods
Glenn Beck Common Sense
Grady Hendrix My Best Friend’s Exorcism
Grady Hendrix We Sold Our Souls
Grady Hendrix Horrorstör
Grady Hendrix The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires
Gus Moreno This Thing Between Us
H.G. Wells The War of the Worlds
H.G. Wells The Invisible Man
H.P. Lovecraft The Alchemist
H.P. Lovecraft At the Mountains of Madness
H.P. Lovecraft Azathoth
H.P. Lovecraft The Beast in the Cave
H.P. Lovecraft Beyond the Wall of Sleep
H.P. Lovecraft The Book
H.P. Lovecraft The Call of Cthulhu
H.P. Lovecraft The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
H.P. Lovecraft The Cats of Ulthar
H.P. Lovecraft Celephaïs
H.P. Lovecraft The Colour Out of Space
H.P. Lovecraft Cool Air
H.P. Lovecraft Dagon
H.P. Lovecraft The Dunwich Horror
Herman Raucher Maynard’s House
Hideaki Sena Parasite Eve
Hunter S. Thompson Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
J. M. Barlog God of War
J. Sheridan Le Fanu Carmilla: A Vampyre Tale
Jack Ketchum Off Season
Jack London The Call of the Wild
Jason Arnopp The Last Days of Jack Sparks
Jay Anson The Amityville Horror
Joe De Sena The Spartan Way
John Grisham The Firm
John Langan The Fisherman
Jon Robson The Psychopath Test
Jonathan Janz Exorcist Road
Jonathan Janz Exorcist Falls
Jules Verne 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Jules Verne Journey to the Center of the Earth
Jules Verne From the Earth to the Moon
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 0.5: The Hospital
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 2: Safari
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 3: Hellifax
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 4: Well Fed
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 5: Make Me King
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 6: Mindless
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man: Prequel
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man: 2nd Prequel
Keith C. Blackmore Mountain Man 7: Skull Road
Keith R. A. DeCandido Alien: Isolation
Kristina Streva The Inked
Kurt Vonnegut Slaughterhouse-Five
L.I. Albemont A Haunting: The Horror on Rue Lane
Lauren Beukes Ungirls
Lee Mountford The Demonic
Lee Mountford The Mark
Lee Mountford Forest of the Damned
Leo Tolstoy The Death of Ivan Ilyich
Mary Doria Russell The Sparrow
Mary Doria Russell Children of God
Mary Higgins Clark I’ve Got My Eyes On You
Mary Shelley Frankenstein
Michael McDowell Cold Moon Over Babylon
Michael McDowell The Elementals
Mitch Albom Tuesdays with Morrie
Neil Gaiman American Gods
Neil Gaiman The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Neil Gaiman Coraline
Nick Cutter The Troop
Nick Cutter The Deep
Nick Roberts The Exorcist’s House
Patrick McGrath Asylum
Paul Tremblay A Head Full of Ghosts
Peter Straub Ghost Story
R. L. Stine Red Rain
Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451
Rex Stout The Golden Spiders
Richard Laymon The Traveling Vampire Show
Richard Matheson A Stir of Echoes
Rick Poldark Primordial Island
Rick Poldark Return to Primordial Island
Rick Poldark Cryptid Slayer
Robert Browning Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came
Robert Louis Stevenson Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
Robert Masello The Night Crossing
Ronald Malfi Black Mouth
Ronald Malfi The Night Parade
Ronald Malfi Come With Me
Ryan James Girdusky They’re Not Listening
Ryu Murakami Audition
S. E. England Father of Lies
Sara Gran Come Closer
Scott Kenemore The Grand Hotel
Shirley Jackson The Haunting of Hill House
Silvia Moreno-Garcia Mexican Gothic
Stephen Graham Jones The Only Good Indians
Stephen J. Dubner Freakonomics
Stephen King The Shining
Stephen King Doctor Sleep
Stephen King It
Stephen King Everything’s Eventual
Stephen King The Stand: Complete and Uncut Edition
Stephen King On Writing
Stephen King Hearts in Atlantis
Stephen King Salem’s Lot
Stephen King The Mist
Stephen King The Dark Tower 1: The Gunslinger
Stephen King The Dark Tower 2: The Drawing of the Three
Stephen King The Dark Tower 3: The Waste Lands
Stephen King The Dark Tower 4: Wizard and Glass
Stephen King The Dark Tower 5: Wolves of the Calla
Stephen King The Dark Tower 6: Song of Susannah
Stephen King Insomnia
Stephen King The Talisman
Stephen King Black House
Stephen King The Dark Tower 7: The Dark Tower
Stephen King The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole
Stephen King Pet Sematary
Stephen King Quitters, Inc.
Stephen King In the Tall Grass
Stephen King The Dark Half
Stephen King 11/22/63
Stephen King Under the Dome
Stephen King Rage
Steven Pressfield Gates of Fire
Sun Tzu The Art of War
Susan Hill Dolly: A Ghost Story
T. Kingfisher The Hollow Places
T. Kingfisher The Twisted Ones
Tess Gerritsen Vanish
Theodore Sturgeon Some of Your Blood
Thomas F. Moneleone The Resurrectionist
Thomas Hardy The Return of the Native
Thomas Harris The Silence of the Lambs
Thomas Harris Hannibal
Thomas Harris Red Dragon
Thomas Harris Hannibal Rising
Thomas Olde Heuvelt HEX
Tom Wolfe The Bonfire of the Vanities
Truman Capote Breakfast at Tiffany’s
V. Castro Goddess of Filth
Vladimir Nabokov Lolita
Walter Tevis The Queen’s Gambit
Washington Irving The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
William Peter Blatty The Exorcist
William Peter Blatty Legion
William Shakespeare King Lear

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1. Divide and Conquer - 4/5 (Slapper intro. Pretty good for a pilot episode, but it felt like they rushed into character drama a little too quickly. Like, I only JUST now met Robin and Cyborg for the first time, so this big breakup doesn't really hit as hard as I imagine it could had it been a later episode. The animation of this show is very fun and different from typical action cartoons, though. Stuff like the characters turning into chibis and going horrendeously off-model for gags is great stuff.)
2. Sisters - 3/5 (Immediately more character conflict and drama. I'd say this one works a little better, but again, I only really now just met Starfire, so there's not a hugely established friendship between her and the Titans enough yet. On the other hand, perhaps that's for this episode's benefit, as it's about her feeling replacable, which would not be very realistic after having been established as BFFs for several seasons. And I did think her and Robin's chat was really sweet, so whatever. Also, Blackfire is just a color swap of Starfire. Sunny Tennyson much?)
3. Final Exam - 4/5 (So this episode was the first to air, but is not the "real" pilot. Strangely enough, it would almost have worked better as a pilot, since it introduces the characters in their HQ immediately followed by showing how they work as a team. The H.I.V.E. aren't the most interesting villains but Gizmo was pretty amusing. What was with the lighting in the scene where they get out of the water though? Looked strange.)
4. Forces of Nature - 4/5 (Thunder's Sonic eyes is freaking me out. Please separate them... Anyway, decent episode, even if it's mostly just Thunder and Lightning wreaking havoc and getting moral lessons from Beast Boy.)
5. The Sum of His Parts - 5/5 (Fixit. Wow, clever name. Sarcasm aside, pretty great episode. It's interesting to see Cyborg's abilities explored, and the eerieniess of Fixit about to forcibly make him a full robot was highly engaging. Although while that IS the main story, the majority of this episode is spent with the other Titans fighting Mumbo Jumbo for some reason. Not that it's back, since I liked the zany wackiness of it. But it definitely didn't need take up that much time. Also, he briefly became a Canadian from South Park.)
6. Nevermore - 4/5 (Thunder and Lightning, Mumbo Jumbo, and now Doctor Light? So far this show has had really lame villains. Not that it's a huge detriment, because unlike other superhero cartoons, the focus in most episodes seem to be more on the inner workings of the Titans themselves as opposed to whatever villain they're facing, so I guess they just pick goofy ones to jumpstart the actual plots. Which in this episode was pretty amusing. Raven's a lot more mellow than her appearance would let on. I thought she would nearly murder Cyborg and Beast Boy for breaking into her room, but she was just slightly upset. Oh and, uh, what was up with intro being in Japanese?)
7. Switched - 4/5 (Just as I mentioned the villains being "lame" in the last episode, I thought Puppet King was pretty interesting. He's not like, compelling as a character or anything, but I found the puppet schtick fairly amusing to watch. As for the actual story, while "body swap" is not the most original idea for these kinds of shows, I still found it endearing how Raven and Starfire learned about one another. But the fact that they still keep their voices makes me go grrr.)
8. Deep Six - 3/5 (There's that Japanese intro again! Apparently it's used for episodes that are more comedic, while the English is for the "serious" ones. Guess I'll see if that assessment holds up under scrutiny. So this is mostly an underwater episode, which, while not a bad setting by default, feels pretty uninspired when it's nothing but blue backgrounds and rocks. Raven horning for Aqualad sure was a sight to behold, though. Felt a bit out of character.)
9. Masks - 4/5 (Wow, Red X was Robin? No way. It's not like they had the exact same voice or anything. Anyway, as good as this episode might be, it's really just some setup for Slade's schemes, which is really only vaguely hinted at whatever it is. As a result, I don't really have much to say. Starfire's lecture about Robin not trusting them was a bit "wha" though, because, yeah, if they knew Red X was Robin, they would've held back, and it would not be convincing.)
10. Mad Mod - 3/5 (Sheesh, this episode hurts my eyes. It's a funny one, though. And it has the Japanese intro, so I guess that fact about it was true. It's nothing but the Titans chasing some Brit for the entire episode. 20 minutes of pure zaniness. And Mad Mod was a pretty amusing gag villain. I also really liked the song "K2G" that played during that Scooby-Doo parody montage.)
11. Car Trouble - 3/5 (Gizmo drove away with Cyborg's car JUST as he arrived to confront the guys who initially stole it. He would have been right in the vicinity of it, how did he not notice it driving away? LOL. Also why do the two crooks calmly tiptoe around and vaguely say they "lost it" instead of just "some guy drove away with it right behind you like 10 seconds ago!".)
12/13. Apprentice - 5/5 (Slade merely wanting an apprentice is a bit of a confusing motivation. Like, for what purpose? Once he's fully molded Robin, what does he intend to do next? Take over the world? Not that it matters, since the conflict of Robin having to betray his friends to save their lives was thrilling enough. Although part 2 is obviously the better half, because the first is mostly just setup for that. Robin also makes a sick Batman reference, but can't directly mention him because of the Bat-embargo. LOL. Side note, the effect of the probes being the characters becoming...orange with a buncha circles wiggling around them was odd.)
14. How Long is Forever? - 5/5 (Robin just brooding in front of the speakers was funny. LOL. Anyway, the way time travel is handled here is confusing. I suppose it always is, but here it seems to function so that during the period Starfire was travelling 20 years, she simply did not exist during them. But she came back to the past in the end, meaning historically, she always returned. So instead of time travel looping around itself, I guess in this series when you travel, you're just gone. And if you return, the timeline you go back to will be a completely different one. That aside, it was neat to see the future Titans, although sheesh my guy Beast Boy aged horribly. And I find it hard to believe the entire city would become a dystopia like this, considering the Titans aren't the only heroes around.)
15. Every Dog Has His Day - 5/5 (Pretty solid for a zany comedy episode. Beast Boy becoming a dog to get bitches (pun intended) was funny. And the whole schtick of the Titans mistaking an actual green dog for him lent itself to a lot of good comedy. The reveal that that the dog is actually intelligent and can speak sort of "ruins" what made that aspect funny in the first place, but it doesn't affect the episode's quality or anything, so that's just a nitpick. Soto was pretty freaky though. Reminded me of Tiny from Ben 10.)
16. Terra - 4/5 (Yikes, Terra is scrawny. She's like a walking stick. I guess she has earth powers, although it's not really explored how or why. Though, at this point in the show, I've obviously learned that stuff is not something it prioritizes. Anyway, this episode is very good, but it's mostly just introduction to Terra and then a teaser that she is Slade's new apprentice victim. I'm interested for where that goes, but I don't have much else to say about this one specifically.)
17. Only Human - 4/5 (Not to go all Facts & Logic:tm:, but humans also have a limit to which they can use their muscles, so on a technical sense, Cyborg's conflict in this episode doesn't make much sense. Especially since he exceeds 100% by the end anyway, showing it was always possible. Not to diminish the story or anything, because I did find his conflict around it genuinely engaging. And the moment when he rises up to the challenge to actually beat Atlas is obviously very cathartic and rewarding. But also LOL that Atlas picked a beef with Cyborg over losing in a video game.)
18. Fear Itself - 4/5 (Here I spent the entire episode expecting the "obvious" reveal that everything scary that happened was a prank by the Titans to prove to Raven that she can be scared. Guess I was a little overconfident in that since it turns out she was just accidentally doing it herself.)
19. Date with Destiny - 4/5 (Hey, it's Spider-Man. I mean, Fang. That was a pretty freaky character design. Just a guy with a huge spider as his entire head. This episode felt like it ramped up the wacky animation to 11, particularly with nearly every motion Kitten makes. And that bit with Starfire's mouth falling into the punch stuck out, too. That aside, pretty cute episode. Starfire's jealousy is amusing.)
20. Transformation - 3/5 (Does the Titan Tower only have bathroom? That's ridiculous. It's huge! Anyway, not to complain about power inconsistency or whatever, but Starfire being able to instantly fly several hundred thousand kilometers away from Earth pretty much instantly, not to mention be able to breathe in space is a bit excessive. She's not Green Lantern... That aside, this was alright. It's neat to find out more about Tamaranians, but Starfire has already learned the "my friends will like me no matter what" lesson before.)
21. Titan Rising - 4/5 (Why is Raven so pissy at Terra? Like, I know she's moody and has a low temper, but raging at someone just trying their best? A bit out of character. That said, I still enjoyed the rivarly. I like Terra on the team. It's fun that they're expanding the roster.)
22. Winner Take All - 3/5 (Why does the Master of Games need people to lose a battle before he can absorb them and their powers? Why doesn't he just do it to all of them on the spot? I found it funny that Beast Boy lost the first round. When the episode began I was expecting some epic final battle between the three main characters. But nope, he just loses and is gone for the rest of the episode.)
23. Betrayal - 4/5 (That was a bit of a rushed betrayal. Terra is introduced in one episode, instantly leaves within the same one, makes a big comeback 4 episodes later, and betrays them in the very next while it's treated like some devastating loss to the team. Well, there is the game episode in between. But also she isn't even in that save for a silent cameo in one shot in the end, so that barely counts! That said I still liked the emotional beats of the story from Beast Boy's perspective and such, so I'm not hating on how this was done. I just think this could've meant more if she actually was a member of the Titans for the episodes leading up to this betrayal. On a lighter note, I liked Beast Boy's theatrical scenarios of how he should have asked her out.)
24. Fractured - 3/5 (So in-between the previous, serious, dramatic episode, and the upcoming 2-part finale which will obviously be about Terra, they felt they needed an episode about some annoying imp doing zany nonsense. Not that the show is a stranger to that stuff, but this wasn't nearly as charming as Mad Mod.)
25/26. Aftershock - 4/5 (Pretty standard "epic finale" fare, but obviously it's good because I liked this Terra arc, as rushed as it may have been. Her turning on Slade and even being the one who ends up killing him was pretty thrilling stuff. I didn't think they'd actually go that far, considering he's like the main villain of the series. But while that final battle between Beast Boy and Terra was pretty great due to the resonance and such it contains, I feel like the episode took up a lot of time having the Titans fight various miscellaneous characters leading up to it, that just wasn't as interesting. Side note, Raven and Terra just being colored completely brown to simulate being muddy stuck out to me. I don't know why. Mainly because most shows would draw wiggly lines to simulate the muddiness, not just one blank color.)
27. Deception - 4/5 (I know this show is episodic so stuff like this is bound to happen, but it is a bit eyerolling that characters seem to just learn the same lessons over and over. Like in this episode, Cyborg is beating himself up over being a cyborg, but by the end he accepts himself the way he is. A lesson he has learned in 2 episodes prior to this already. Not that I didn't think it was well done. His chat with Starfire was sweet, and the whole thing about him being undercover was entertaining too, so it's not much of an issue.)
28. X - 4/5 (So some guy steals Robin's Red X costume and takes up the mantle... But he also conveniently sounds exactly like Robin? Sure, because THAT makes sense. For the most part this episode is just baiting you into wanting to know who Red X is, but then NEVER answers it. Pretty rude. Nevertheless, it was still interesting. Also Professor Chang's design reminds me of Inspector 13 from Ben 10.)
29. Betrothed - 3/5 (Titans just casually flying to another planet like it's a mere road trip. OK. Is The Batman funding this or what? Also, that scene of Robin outside the spaceship made me LOL. Anyway it's interesting to see Tamaran thoroughly explored upon and such, but it's a bit absurd that every single person on the planet wears basically the exact same outfit.)
30. Crash - 4/5 (Cyborg's cybernetic features are confusing. Firstly, how could a digital virus affect his brain, which is clearly a biological component? Second, how and why are there red blood cells flowing in the "veins" of his mechanical parts? Nitpicking logic in a goofy joke episode aside, this was great stuff. I liked that they had to reluctantly get Gizmo to help, and Cyborg going nuts was just entertaining in its own right. I think the interior of his cybernetic parts were interestingly designed, and Beast Boy as an amoeba is just absurd but fun. Although it's inconsistent that he's able to talk while in that form, since he can't when he's any other animal.)
31. Haunted - 5/5 (This was pretty grim, but very thrilling. Given Slade was established as like the main villain of the show, even though it seemed obvious he was imaginary, I kept asking myself if he was actually real or not to come capacity, since I doubt the series would get rid of its main villain that easily. And well, they DID imply somebody else activated the hallucination chemical from the mask, so, like, yeah, he's clearly coming back. That said, if it was all in Robin's head, how did he get all those bruises and rips in his clothes? By punching the air? And why did Beast Boy have a cold in this episode? I guess they needed some comedic relief so it wouldn't be too grim for Cartoon Network.)
32. Spellbound - 4/5 ("Kardiak, you're under arrest". I get it. Because he is a heart. Pretty amusing. Anyway, yikes, Beast Boy sure was mean for NO reason. But the way they made up in the end with Raven even joining him and Cyborg's game of "stankball" was cute. As for Malchior, well, I thought he was a girl until he spoke.)
33. Revolution - 3/5 (Pretty much a rehash of the first Mad Mod episode. He has the Titans trapped in a maze of illusions and they chase him around and defeat him. Which I get is the whole gimmick since he's just a joke villain, so yeah. This was good, but not AS good. The pop-art backgrounds were pretty cool, and I liked how the British flag was the sky in the background the entire time. Plus, British Beast Boy was funny. The "message" about patriotism, democracy or whatever, felt a but muddled.)
34. Wavelength - 3/5 (I guess Brother Blood is growing to be Cyborg's arch nemesis or something. This was pretty average, so I barely got anything to say. Aqualad asks for help, so they take down Blood's underwater weapon and...Yeah. But I liked Bumblebee, and her fight scene with Cyborg had a lot of funny visuals. The bit where he shuts the door on her was amusing too.)
35. The Beast Within - 5/5 (This was great. You'd think it would be fairly predictable to tell a werewolf story with Beast Boy, but the execution really makes it work. Yeah, it's obvious he's acting strange because of the chemicals from the beginning. But his gradual shift from acting macho, to asshole, to picking a physical fight with Raven for NO reason was interesting because of how bizarrely out of character it is. Especially when his "beast" form took the Raven beef to the next level. But on top of that I especially enjoyed the twist that the Adonis guy from the beginning was a second werewolf, and the actual culprit. Robin seemed awfully quick to immediately lock Beast Boy away or straight up murder him though. For a guy who himself was blackmailed into being evil, you'd think he would be more considerate to other possibilities.)
36. Can I Keep Him? - 3/5 (This was alright. Pretty simple concept for a comedy episode is all. Beast Boy fosters a giant maggot and then it becomes bigger and dangerous. Kind of amusing how Starfire got more attached to it in like a day than Beast Boy did while hiding it for months. As a sode note, I liked the design of Rancids robot dog and dinosaur.)
37. Bunny Raven... or ...How to Make A Titananimal Disappear - 3/5 (Pretty good for a zany episode. The Titans as animals were amusing designs, and Beast Boy becoming a lamp instead was funny. Mumbo's song was catchy.)
38/39. Titans East - 4/5 (I like the concept of Titans East, although the only member I find particularly interesting is Bumblebee. I'm always fond of shrinking abilities for the potential practical uses that often go unacknowledged. She never really does anything with it besides shoot some lasers in the bad guys face, though. Speedy and Aqualad are kind of generic, and Más y Menos are just gag characters, so yeah. Cyborg's conflict here was pretty interesting, but the way he gets decapitated piece by piece was pretty brutal. But him sticking it to Brother Blood was pretty awesome, and I liked the sweet ending where he decides to stick with the Titans.)
40. Episode 257-494 - 3/5 (Steve Irwin gets mauled by a bear. Anyway, this episode is decent, but it's just an endless stream of references to other things, many of which I am not familiar with, so even as a comedy episode, a lot of the jokes don't work very well. That woman from the lame soap opera was still with Cyborg in the real world by the end because THAT makes sense. But it was funny.)
41. The Quest - 4/5 (Yeah, it was pretty obvious the old lady was the great master. Robin going through challenges was pretty entertaining though, but that snake one... He won by merely grabbing the snake? Sure, okay. The rest of the team dressing up as and pretending to be Robin was probably the best part, especially even Raven joining in.)
42. Birthmark - 4/5 (Welcome back, Slade. This was a very thrilling episode. Really just has you asking tons of questions. Like how is Slade back, why is he targeting Raven now, etc. But also, it was interesting how this potrays Robin and Raven as having a very close friendship. I mean I guess all the Titans are good friends, but these two haven't been explored as a duo at all, so it was interesting, if not a bit awkward.)
43. Cyborg the Barbarian - 4/5 (Silly concept, but I like it. Though given how time travel has been established in this show, Cyborg can't really do anything to affect the future, because everything he will do has already happened in the past. I like the design of the demon... Thingies)
44. Employee of the Month - 4/5 (I found it interesting how this acknowledges Beast Boy a physical task, as opposed to Raven or Starfire's breezy levitating. Beast Boy working at a meat shop itself was pretty funny, and the Tofu villain in the end sells the whole thing for me. LOL.)
45. Troq - 3/5 (The racism episode. The fact that we know what word "troq" is supposed to represent makes it very weird how often we see it used. I mean imagine an episode where they used the actual word this much... Yeah. I think this is pretty well done and what not in terms of being sweet and emotional, especially Cyborg's talk with Starfire and Robin instantly changing his mind on Val-Yor once he finds out. But the action plot they wrapped all this around didn't really have me hooked, and it's a pretty big chunk of the episode.)
46. The Prophecy - 3/5 (This is neat and all, but for the most part it really feels like nothing but setup for a grander plot than something to stand on its own. So while I'm sure the context of this will make the season finale more rewarding, this is just okay. I did get a kick out of Raven pulling up Slade as he was trying to leave just to jerk him around a little.)
47. Stranded - 4/5 (This is a fun episode, but it has one of the worst common TV tropes of all time; Character refusing to explain an easily explainable situation this creating conflict because of misunderstanding. I mean, yeah, Starfire DID describe what a "girlfriend" was, but then she just described what could also be platonic. Robin could have easily explained to her that there's a difference between platonic and romantic.)
48. Overdrive - 3/5 (I like the Billy Numerous theme music, but that's about it really.)
49. Mother Mae-Eye - 3/5 (Well, funny at times, I'll give it that. But ehhhh. Yeah, I don't know, there isn't much to be said here. Liked the scene where Robin spiked up his hair.)
50/51/52. The End - 5/5 (Yeah, pretty epic. The Titans using Raven's power was also cool. I was hoping to finally see Slade's face when his mask was knocked off, but I suppose a creepy half decomposed skeleton is also interesting... Don't really understand Trigon's motivation for, well, all of this though. He wants to take over the Earth and get rid of all life on it, just so he can sit in a giant chair and relax? I mean, the real story here is supposed to be about Raven, so I know it doesn't matter, but that's pretty thin for what's supposed to be the most threatening villain of the show to date.)
53/54. Homecoming - 3/5 (I love specific character focused episode where we see something more personal to them, but Beast Boy's background isn't that interesting and most of the team besides Elastigirl weren't very interesting. But I do find Negative Man's powers cool. Brain is a pretty cool villain too, I love his voice, really intimidating vibes. How are any of the Doom Patrol alive after what happened though? Never explained)
55. Trust - 4/5 (An entire Hot Spot episode? Interesting, since I always find it fun when shows divert from the main cast. Overall fun, but that ending was pretty frustrating though. Hot Spot was so obviously Madame Rouge!)
56. For Real - 3/5 (I do like the Titans East, but this was disappointing. I was hoping for more of a genuine episode in their own town, seeing their feats as a team and friends, as opposed to goofing off with Control Freak. Also one of the villains Brain had lined up two episodes ago is in jail here?? Were Más y Menos permanently translated to English for the audience to understand them? I mean I guess I prefer it, since having them two speaking what sounds like gibberish to the rest of the team makes it hard for them to appear as genuine friends, especially since they're mostly attached to each other as opposed to the whole team.)
57. Snowblind - 4/5 (Already loved Red Star and then he's immediately killed before my eyes!! Whyyyy! I was hoping he would gain control of his powers and aid the Titans. How has he still been getting tanks to fill up with radioactive liquid for so many decades though? And that's a pretty small room for two tanks a day over the span of decades.)
58. Kole - 3/5 (This entire season so far the Titans have just been around the world, given last time they were in what appears to be Russia, and now it's somewhere in Scandinavia. It's been an interesting change of pace, sure, but this episode wasn't terribly interesting. They meet some caveman with a little girl, Dr. Light is up to no good, etc.)
59. Hide and Seek - 3/5 (Bobby turning out to be real was a pretty fun "twist". Got dragged out for a while though.)
60. Lightspeed - 4/5 (Another non-Titan focused episode. Kid Flash is randomly horning on Jinx because why not, I guess? This Jinx redemption came out of absolutely nowhere, given how little we've seen of her prior. But Kid Flash is fun, so whatever.)
61. Revved Up - 3/5 (This episode is neat, but given how they are racing for the entirety of it, the constant action was pretty exhausting to sit through. Why did Raven sneezing and Starfire saying the Tamaranean equivalent of "bless you" inform all the villains they are Titans though? Also, infuriating we never got to see what's in the briefcase.)
62. Go! - 5/5 (Love seeing the origins of the team, though it's pretty oddly convenient that these 5 superpowered people (well 4 with powers) just so happened to stumble upon each other, same day, same time, same situation. I imagine shortly after this they occasionally stumbled upon each other trying to fight the same bad guy every so often and decided to start a team. Which would have been more realistic for their first interactions, not all 5 meeting at once. Pretty on the nose Batman reference but they still absolutely refuse to mention Batman.)
63/64. Calling All Titans!/Titans Together - 5/5 (Why is Beast Boy climbing up the mountain as a goat instead of just... Flying? This was quite the epic episode, I enjoyted the intensity of seeing nearly every hero be ambushed separately by different villains. It's a bit strange for the final part to mostly be from Beast Boy's perspective, and with the strange heroes he ends up meeting. I was expecting to see how the rest of the Titans made it to the Brotherhood of Evil base, but it's probably better this way, since it leaves it up to imagination, and it doesn't really matter. Seeing the brain finally defeated when all heroes went into battle was satisfying. Jericho's powers were pretty cool.)
65. Things Change - 4/5 (The amount of quiet and awkward scenes with that sad music was... Well, very strange. The whole Terra thing is a bit weird like, sure, if someone you don't know jumps up to you, acts as if they know you and tells you you've gotten amnesia, you'd think they were insane. But Beast Boy surely has photo proof? Or if not, he could get testimony from the rest of his team?? No??? It doesn't have to jog her memory back, but at the very least she'd realize the truth and know who she was instead of just being so vague and saying cryptic things. Some things she said implied perhaps she did know, because any real person would just yell out the weirdo stalking them, not give emotional speeches about the girl you once knew being gone etc. But all that aside, why did Slade send a robot out just to tell Beast Boy that he had nothing to do with what's happened to Terra? Also, that creatures ability to turn himself into any matter he touches is really cool.)
Movie: Trouble in Tokyo - 3/5 (This has pretty much one of the things I dislike most about movies based on TV shows; Instead of actually focusing on the iconic aspects of the series in question, it goes out of it's way to be as far removed from it as possible by setting it in a whole other country. Bummer, because an ideal Titans movie would really focus on the whole team, and THEIR city. Instead, they're just in Tokyo stopping a corrupt commander (who I knew was gonna be the bad guy from the get-go) who's creating crimes to be a hero. And the thing is with these kind of movies is, perhaps if they actually did focus on the characters relationships, it would be good. But instead they are mostly separated the entire time, just goofing off. And cue the obligatory relationship between Robin and Starfire. I mean, it was obviously going to happen, so it's not as if I mind it, but the drama feels pretty forced. They're heroes, yes, but they lounge around and take time off all the time when criminals aren't around. There really isn't much more to say about this. High-tier average. Although, admittedly, I was finding myself ready to close my eyes and fall asleep nearing the hour mark.)
-The Lost Episode - 3/5 (It's half the length of a normal episode, so it's hard to judge it, given it's not even serious at all. A fun little watch, for sure. Beast Boy walking around with a boombox on his shoulders was funny because of how dated it is.)
-New Teen Titans Shorts (Can't really rate them since they're just shorts, but here's a few throwaway thoughts: I like the artstyle. The lowercase T tower is a funny visual gag. Was Blackfire just killed? So, they finally actually showed Batman on screen (technically)? The hell was up with Cyborg's voice in one of these?)

11/20/2017
Log book of Det. Ryan Snow
Case #2798: The Appalachian Murders
When I woke up, I was in such a haze that I couldn’t make out where I was at first. My vision was a blur and all I could hear was the sounds of rushing water. I tried to move my limbs, but each muscle down to my little finger felt like lead weighing down on me, making it hard to breathe.
It felt like forever before the ringing in my ear was slowly swallowed out by a voice crying out from what sounded like a distance only to grow louder as it seemed to approach me from the void I had woken up in. It wasn’t until I heard my name that I recognized it was Kate’s voice, pleading and filled with tears.
I blinked away the blur, finding myself staring up at a water damaged ceiling, a single yellow light brightening the room. My head was pounding and my body still felt heavy, but I moved my head enough to turn and see where Kate was calling from. It took a moment, but I soon realized that she was lying on her back, strapped by her arms and legs to a metal table, looking to me with wide terrified eyes.
“Detective, please help!” She cried out. “Please don’t be dead! Please help me!”
“Bl-Black…Well…” I groaned out as I tried, painfully, to pick myself up off the stone floor, “Black…Well… Ah… Shit… Shit! Ms. Blackwell-“ I was gaining consciousness minute by minute as I finally took in the situation and got to my feet. However, the moment I had gotten to my feet and began running to Kate only to immediately fall back to the floor once again, my ankle getting caught by something heavy. I turned to see my ankle had been shackled to the floor by a cuff and chains. I searched my person to find my coat, along with my Glock had been taken, blood decorating my pants and sleeves. I placed a palm to my forehead to find blood when I lowered it down to look at the warm liquid slithering down from my scalp.
“Ms. Blackwell,” I returned my attention to her, examining what I could from my place on the floor, “are you alright, are you hurt?”
“I… I… I don’t… Don’t think so…” she managed to whine out.
“Where’s Mr. Raines?”
To this question, Kate looked away from me, sobbing being her only verbal response.
I went back to the shackles on my ankle and began trying to yank the chains off from the floor, but they had been well maintained and were too strong for me to simply yank out of the stone. I then quickly looked around the room to find we were in a different basement from the one in Cabin #3, though it had the same kind of layout, the table the only major difference. I also took note of the blood stains that trailed from the sides of the table and the dried pools below.
“I want my mom!” Kate cried out, her voice echoing in the empty room.
“I’ll get you to her, I will, I promise,” I assured her, trying to find something, anything to get us out of this, “do you remember how we got down here?”
“I… I… I just re-remember… Remember you g-getting knocked out… Knocked out by someone and them… Them putting a rag over me… Then everything went black… Then I woke… Woke up… H-Here…” Kate answered, trying to breathe with each sob she let out. “I… I th-thought… y-you… You were d-d-… Dead!”
“I’m not, I’m very much alive and I’m going to get you out of here and back to your parents,” I vowed as I continued looking for a way out of this situation, “we’re going to get you out of here, get you home, and we’ll make sure no one ever gets hurt here ever-“
The sound of the basement door from the splintered wooden steps cut me off. I listened as feet descended down the steps to the basement below, Kate’s ragged breaths the only other sound. The person who came down was a woman. The same exact woman from the photo I had found in her house. She looked as if she had not aged since that photo was taken, despite how long ago it seemed the photo was taken. She had the same exact long, white hair, same tired looking eyes, and same disgustingly pale skin as in that photo and on her profile picture. It was Mrs. Larson.
“Deeeeeetectiiiiiiive,” she spoke in a hoarse voice mixed with what I assumed was her own and several others, both male and female, adult and child, “youuuuuuu shouuuullld haaaaaaaaave juuuuuuusssssst giiiiiven herrrrrrr toooooo meeeeee… Youuuuuuuu diiiiiiiiid nooooooot haaaaaave toooooooo ssssssseeeee thiiiiiissssss…”
“Fuck you!” I shouted, beginning to charge at the elderly woman only to be yanked back by my shackles. “Let us go, right now!”
“Nnnnooooo,” Mrs. Larson replied harshly as she stepped over to loom over Kate.
“Stay away from her!” I barked, trying desperately to break free of my shackles.
She ignored me as she ran a shaky hand down along Kate’s trembling face. “Ooooooooohhhhh, Kaaaaaate… Sweeeeet, sweeeeeeeet, Kaaaaaaaaaate…” Mrs. Larson cooed as she went on stroking Kate’s wet cheek. “Doooooo noooooooot crrrrrrryyyyyyy, dooooooonnnnnn’t thiiiiiiiiiinnnnk oooooofff iiiiiiiit aaaaaaaassssss dyyyyyyyyiiiiinnnnng, thiiiiiiiiinnnk ooooooooffff iiiiiiit aaaaaassssss ssssssssaaaaaaaaaviiiiiiinnng aaaaaannnnoooootherrrrrrrrr liiiiiiiiife.”
“I-I… I d-don’t… Don’t under-understand… w-what th-that… That m-means…” Kate cried, her hands gripping the sides of the metal table beneath her, “P-Please, d-don’t… Don’t kill me… L-Let… Let us-us go!”
“Nnnnnoooooo,” Mrs. Larson answered in the same harshness she used on me, “IIIIIIIII neeeeeeeed youuuuuuuuuu,” she then shot a death glare my way through tired, silver eyes, “aaaaaaaannnnnnd heeeeeeeeee’ssssssss beeeeeeeeeennnnnn nnnnnnnoooooooothiiiiiiiiinnnnnng buuuuut aaaaaa thooooooorrrrrrnnnn iiiiiiinnnnn myyyyyyyyy ssssssssiiiiiiiide siiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnccccccce youuuuuu eeeeeessssssscaaaaaaped meeeeeeee.” She then looked back to Kate with a softer look. “Aaaaaaaassssss fffffoooooorrrrr whaaaaaaaat youuuuuuu caaaaaannnn’t uuuuuunnnnnnderrrrrrssssssstaaaaaaannnnnnd, IIIIIIIIII nnnnnneeeeeeed yourrrrrrrrrr heaaaaaaaarrrrrt tooooooo ssssssssaaaaaavvvvvvve myyyyyyy ssssssiiiiiiiisssssssterrrrrrrr.”
“The fuck does that mean?” I demanded, still trying to vain to pull my ankle from the chains. “How the hell will Kate’s heart save your sister?”
“Diiiiiiiiidnnnnnn’t nnnnnnneeeeeeed toooooo beeeee Kaaaaaaate’sssssss,” admitted Mrs. Larson, “buuuuuuuut sssshhhhhheeeeee hiiiiiiiiid theeeeee ooooooootherrrrr giiiiirrrrrrllllll ffffffrrrrroooooommmmm mmmmmeeeeee.”
“S-Son… Sonja…” Kate sniffed, the tears still streaming down her face.
“IIIIIIII oooooooonnnnnlllllyyyyy neeeeed fffffffeeeeeemmmmmaaaaallllle,” Mrs. Larson dismissed Ms. Greymoore’s name, “ffffffeeeeeeemmmmmaaaaaallllle heaaaaaaaarrrrrrrtsssss toooooo rrrrrrreeeeeetuuuuurrrrrrnnnnn mmmmmmyyyyy ssssiiiiissssssterrrrrrrrr toooooo theeeeeeee giiiiirrrrrllllll ssssshhhhhheeeee uuuuuuuusssssed tooooo beeeeeee.”
“That’s a fucking joke right?” I asked. “The hell makes you think eating a female heart will turn your sister back into a human woman? Have you seen what’s happened to your sister?”
“IIIIIIIII knnnnnnnooooooow beeeeeeecaaaauuuuusssssse iiiiiiiiiiit wooooooorrrrrked ooooooonnnnn mmmmmeeeeee,” Mrs. Larson explained, “IIIIIIIIIII waaaaaasssss aaaaaaablllllllle toooooo reeeeeeetaaaaiiiiiinnnnnn thiiiiiiiiiisssssss huuuuuummmmmmaaaaaannnnn fffffffooooorrrrrrmmmm ffffffrrrrrooooommmm eeeeeaaaaatiiiiiinnnnnng theeeeeeee heaaaaaaaaarrrrrtsssss, sssssspecifffffficaaaaaaallllllyyyyyy fffffffeeeeeemmmmmaaaaallllleeee sssssssooooooo IIIIIIIIII mmmmmmaaaaaayyyyyy rrrrrreeeeetuuuurrrrrnnnnn toooo beeeeeiiiiinnnng theeeeeeee giiiiiirrrrrrrllllll IIIIIII uuuuuuusssssed toooooooo beeeeeee.”
“You were dead,” I pointed out, “they found your body up here, you were buried.”
“Theeeeeessssssse sssshhhhheeeeeellllllsssss arrrrrrre mmmmmeeeeeerrreeeellllyyy veeeeeessssssellllllssssss ffffffoooooorrrrrr theeeeeeee sssssspiiiiirrrrriiiiiitsssss weeeee hiiiiiiiiiiide beeeeeneeeeaaaaattthhhh,” Mrs. Larson responded, finally turning her gaze to me, “IIIIIIII haaaaaaad tooooooo maaaake peeeopllllle beeeelieevvvve IIIIIII haaaaaad diiiiiiied tooooo keeeeeep frrrrroooommm theeeee poooooollllliiiiicccce ffffrrrrrrooooommmm pooookiiiiiinnnng aaaaarrrrouuuuuunnnnd aaaaannnnnd rrrrruuuiiinnnnniiinnnng eeeevvvveeerrrrryyythiiiiinnnng.”
“So, let me just get this whole thing straight,” I began as I started rubbing my temples, "when you and your sister starting into… Whatever the hell that thing you call your sister is-“
“Ooooouuuurrrrr sssssspiiiiiirrrrrriiiiiit,” Mrs. Larson corrected.
“Whatever!” I shot. “You found out that eating female hearts turns you two back into human women and to keep police from suspecting you, you pretended to be dead and… What? Just hope a shitty real estate agency would buy your property and you could just… Kill people, people with lives and families outside the mountains?”
“Thaaaaaaaat iiiiiiisssss cooooorrrrrreeeeect…” Mrs. Larson admitted, narrowing her eyes at me.
That’s when I began laughing hysterically, holding my sides that hurt with each harsh breath of a laugh I took. Both Mrs. Larson and Kate looked to me as if I had lost my mind and at this point I was starting to believe I had. Everything I had seen and heard about this entire case would put anyone in the looney bin. And I’m the damn fool who dug too deep into something he had nothing to do with.
“Whaaaaaat’s ssssoooo ffffuuunnnny?” Growled Mrs. Larson, stepping around Kate to stand between us.
“I don’t know what’s fucking funnier, honestly,” I chuckled, running a hand through my hair, “the fact that you thing people won’t be poking around even more when they discover not only is Blackwell missing, but so is a detective and escaped convict all of whom now have ties to these fucking mountains and those cabins, or that you thing I’m more afraid of what you plan on doing with me more than I am when her father finds out I got her in this situation in the first place!”
“Heeeeeee wooooonnnnn’t beeeee aaaaabllllle toooooo doooo aaaaaannnnnyyyyythiiiiiinnnng aaaaaaafffffterrrrrrr IIIIIIIII’mmmmm dooooooonnnne wiiiiiiiith booooooth ooooooooffffff youuuuuuuuu,” Mrs. Larson hissed as she inched closer, “fffffffiiiiiiirrrrrrssssst, IIIIIIIII waaaaaannnnnt youuuuuuuu toooo waaaaaatch mmmmmeeeee kiiiiiiillllll herrrrrrr,” she turned her head to look to Kate who was now just shaking, her eyes seemingly gone dry from the crying, Mrs. Larson then looked back to me, “sssssseeeeecooooonnnnd, IIIIIIII wiiiiillllll ssssssaaaaave youuuuu fffffooooorrrr mmmmmmyyyyy sssssiiiiiisssssterrrrr, oooooonnnnne heeeeaaaaart wiiiiilllll nnnnoooot ssssssaaaaaatissssfffffyyyy herrrr huuuuuunnnnnger.” She took another step. “Uuuuuuuunnnnnllllliiiiiike sssssssoooooommmme ssssssiiiiiibllllliiiiiiinnnnnngsssss, IIIIIIIII caaaaaarrrre aaaaaaboooouuuuut mmmmmmyyyyy ffffffaaaammmmiiiiilllllyyyyyy.”
She stared into my eyes, expecting a reaction and while my blood did somewhat boil at the accusatory statement, I didn’t fully understand what she was getting at. Not until she used that voice. Not until she relived that day with those two familiar child-like voices.
“Screw you, Liam!” She cried out in a voice I remember from my childhood. “I hope you drop dead!”
“Stop.” I demanded.
“Piss off, Ryan!” She shot back in a second boy’s voice.
“I said stop!” I began shouting.
“Help me, Ryan! Please, help me! I’m sorry! Please, Lucky Dime, help me!”
I then lunged toward her, reaching my hands out toward her neck only to be stopped by the shackles as she swiftly, almost without even moving, stepped just out of my reach.
“Fucking bitch!” I screamed out.
“If only you really cared about me, Lucky Dime,” sighed Mrs. Larson as she turned and began making her way to the side of the room where a cart stood in the shadows. She pulled it over to Kate’s side, the cart covered in rusted medical tools.
“P-Please,” Kate wheezed, “p-p-please… I… I d-d-don’t w-want… Want t-to d-d… D-Die, I… I w-w-want m-m-m… My m-mom!”
“Dooooonnn’t woooorrrrryyyyy,” Mrs. Larson soothed, using that mix of different voices, “mmmmmmaaaayyyyybeeee sheeee wiiiillll cooooommmme loooookinnnng ffffooooorrrr yooouuuuu aaaaannnnnd sheeeeeee caaaaannnnn joooooiiiiiinnnn youuuuuuu.”
Kate began to sob, begging and pleading for Mrs. Larson to let her go, thrashing around in her restraints. Telling the older woman that there was no saving her sister and that she was too far gone for this sick ritual to work anymore. I tried to yank at the chains once more, trying to loosen it at least enough to break free and grab at Mrs. Larson.
“Rrrrrrreeeeellllllaaaaax,” Mrs. Larson ordered as she began filling a syringe with some kind of clear liquid from a small bottle, “yoooouuuuuu woooooonnnn’t eeeeeveeennn fffffeeeellll iiiiiiit, thiiiissssss wiiiiiillllll puuuuuut youuuuu toooo ssssssllllllleeeeeep aaaaaannnnnnd wheeeeeennnnnn youuuuuu waaaaaake uuuuuuuup, youuuuuuu’lllllll beeee iiiiiinnnnnn heeeeeaaaaaaveeeennnnn… Uuuuuunnnnnnnllllllessssss youuuuuuu weeeerrrrrrre aaaaaa haaaaaarrrrrlllllooooooot, iiiiiiinnnnnn whiiiiiiiich caaaaaassssssseeeee, mmmmmaaaayyyy Goooooood haaaaaaaave mmmmmmmmerrrrrrrcccccyyyyy ooooonnnnn youuuuuur ssssssoooouuuuullllll… Aaaaannnnnd baaaaaaasssssed ooooonnnn hoooooow youuuuuu drrrrressss aaaaannnnnd theeeee coooommmmpaaaannnnyyyy youuuuuu keeeeeep,” She added as she eyed me, “IIIIIII ssssssaaaaaayyyy youuuuu haaaaaave aaaaa lllllloooooot ooooooffff fooooooorrrrgiiiiiviiiiinnnnng tooooo dooooo.”
Kate continued to cry as Mrs. Larson pushed the needle of the syringe into her arm, pushing down on the plunger as it pierced the flesh. Kate’s loud screams soon turned quieter and her red eyes began to glaze over, but she continued to stay awake, tightening her grip on the table and still begging to be let go.
“IIIIII waaaaannnnt youuuuu toooo waaaaatch, Detective,” Mrs. Larson spat out my title in Mr. Blackwell’s voice, “IIIII waaaaannnnnt youuuuu toooo waaaaatch herrrrrr fffffaaaaaade aaaaaannnnnnd mmmmmeeeee rrrrreeeemmmmooooove heerr heeeaaaarrrrrt toooooo ffffffeeeeeed tooooo mmmmmmyyyyyy ssssssiiiiiiiissssssterrrrrr,” she then pulled out a recorder, “theeeeennnnnn wheeeeeennnnn IIIIIII ssssssuuuuummmmoooooonnnnn herrrrrrr aaannnnd sheeeee fffffiiiinnnniiiishessssss oooooofffffff heeeerrrrr heeeaaaaarrrrrt, youuuuuuu’llllllll beeeeee neeeeeext.”
“Fuck you,” I snarled, “I hope you and your sister burn.”
“IIIIIIIII’mmmmm gooooonnnnnaaaaa gooooo aaaaallllllerrrrrrt mmmmmyyyyy ssssssiiiiiiissssterrrrrr,” Mrs. Larson turned and began making her way to the basement steps, “ssssseeee youuuuu boooooth ffffffoooooorrrr diiiiiinnnnnnerrrrrrr.”
She then pressed the play button on her recorder and a small, little girl’s voice echoed in the room before Mrs. Larson vanished up the steps.
“I’m here… I’m here… I’m here…”
Then the door slammed shut.
“De… Tec… Tive…” Kate squeaked out, her breathing slowing.
“Stay awake, Blackwell,” I ordered her gently, looking around frantically for anything to get us both out of this alive, “I’ll get us out of this, I promise, just stay awake, we’ll get out of here, I just need-“
“I’m… S… Sorry…” she breathed out. “I’m… So… Sorry… For… Get… Getting… You… In… To.. This…”
“No, no, this is not your fault!” I assured her. “That psychotic bitch got us both into this shit and I won’t stop until I get us out and put her and her fucking sister are six feet under!”
“W…Wha… What… H… Hap… Happened… To… To L… Liam…?”
I stopped struggling with the chains and turned to look to Kate. Her head was turned to me, her face wet, hands clenching as hard as they could to the table beneath her, the light in her eyes slowly fading second by second. She was trying desperately to stay awake. The medication Mrs. Larson taking hold of her as the minutes ticked by.
I dropped the chains that were in my hands, looking away from her, wanting to stare at anything other than another person I had failed.
“He was killed,” I answered, “we were fishing at a lake nearby… Lake Gaagige… We got into a really stupid ass fucking fight about how which fishing pole we were going to use. I wanted to use our dad’s, but Liam was older and said only men could use dad’s fishing pole… I told him… To drop dead and stormed off… When I got home, my parents dragged me back to the lake and scolded me for leaving him…” I trailed off, swallowing all the tears and screams I’d bottled up since that day. “When… We found… Him… The autopsy… Said he was mauled by a bear… I’ve blamed myself for leaving him there alone… For letting him die and getting killed like that… The last thing I ever told him was to drop dead… I was a shitty brother and now I’m a shitty detective…”
“Is… Is he… Why… You became… A… Detective…?”
I took a deep breath and swallowed the tears again. “No, Blackwell,” I answered, “he’s not why I became a detective… I already knew what had killed him… It was my fault… If I hadn’t been such a brat and stormed off… He might still be alive… And now… What that bitch said…” I replayed Liam’s screams that escaped Mrs. Larson’s mouth. “I’m starting to think I’m getting what I deserve. Karma’s back to kick my ass…”
“H… How… Old…?”
“I was six… Liam was eight…”
“N… N… Not your… F… Fault…”
I turned to look to Kate, her eyes on mine, however faded.
“Y… You were… Only… A k… Kid…”
I took another intake of what little air there was down in that basement. I had spent years trying to convince myself of the same thing, but those moments never got easier for me when those thoughts returned.
“I think you’re just being nice,” I laughed painfully, “but I’m afraid I- and my folks- don’t share the same sentiment.”
I was staring down at where the chains were coming from in the ground, Kate not saying a word for over a couple of minutes. I spun to see if she had fallen asleep and immediately tried to find out how to wake her up again. However, once I our eyes met, I saw that she was still fighting sleep, the last of her tears rolling down across the bridge of her nose and into her hair.
“I… I… I had… Had a c… Crush… O… On… J… Jasper…” she confessed, her voice getting quieter and higher. “P… Paul and… And Son… Sonja knew… I never… Never c… Cared f… For Luke… But I’m… Sure… S… Sonja t… Told him…” she looked like she was going to sob again. “I… I never g… Got the… Ch… Chance… T… To tell J… Jasper… I… Was… Scared… He… He and… P… Paul were friends… And I… I kn… Knew… How P… Paul f… Felt… A… About m… Me… I… I did… Didn’t wa… Want to… R… Ruin… Anyth… Anything…” She took a gulp of air. “I… I ha… Hated L… Luke… I… A… Always… Kn… Knew… He… He was a… Player… B… But Sonja… Said… Said she was hap… Happy… So… So I did… Didn’t wa… Want to g… Get in… H… Her way… B… But Luke d… Didn’t l… Like h… How cl… Close… We… Were… I d… Didn’t w… Want him to make… Make her th… Think I… I was l… Leading her o… On… T… To get them… To b… Break up… Th… Then… That n… Night… Sh… She w… Wanted to… To leave…” She let out two pained gasps of breath. “I… I let them down… I let them all down… Luke pro… Probably thought… Thought I w… Was the one who… Who f… Filled Sonja’s mind… With thoughts of… Of him ch… Cheating… Th… Then I… I got them… All killed…
I… I didn’t deserve them, d… Detective…” she went on, looking away from me to stare up at the water damaged ceiling, “I… I… I was a… Terrible… Terrible friend…”
“Did you read their guest book entries?” I asked.
“N… No… D… Didn’t w… Want to… To r… Read any… Anything p… Private…” Kate answered.
“Jasper didn’t blame you,” I assured her, remembering what he had written in his entry during his time watching Mrs. Larson just outside the cabin, “even when he heard the voices- when he heard Mrs. Larson- telling him to, he didn’t. I don’t think the others blamed you either. You didn’t do anything wrong, Ms. Blackwell, there’s no way you could have known any of this would happen.”
“K… Kate…”
“What?”
“C… Call… Call me… Kate…”
“Aright, Kate,” I let out what little laughter I had left inside me, “so long as we’re the last people we’ll be chatting with, call me Ryan.”
“R… Ryan…”
“If we at all live through this, I’m going to need a long vacation after this,” I said as I turned to look at my shackles again, looking around myself to try finding anything to Get free since a vacation sounded like something to die for at that moment, “do you know any good vacation spots I can book for the fall?”
“Y… You’re… You’re a… Dick…” Kate struggled to laugh.
“I also enjoy pineapple on pizza,” I winked as I reached down to my ankle, ready to break it just to taste that sweet combination of tomato sauce and fruit.
“G… God… I… I c… Can’t… Believe… I th… Thought y… You w… Were c… Cute…”
I sat down on the floor, grabbing my ankle with both my hands. Needing to hype myself up enough to do what I was going to do, I began removing my shoe and sock from the foot, rubbing and squeezing my way up and down the ankle to my toes. I had never broken a bone in my life before this and I definitely never thought I’d do it of my own volition, but this was a desperate time and it definitely called for desperate…
“Wait what?” I turned to look to Kate, finally registering what she had said.
However, just before I could be sure of what I heard, the sound of a hunting rifle going off just above our heads right before we heard the door to the basement swing open and immediately be slammed shut. Both Kate and I turned to see someone stumble down the wooden steps, his clothes torn and body scratched and cut to a nearly deadly degree. I was even shocked he was still breathing.
“M… Mr… R… Raines…?” Kate gasped out.
“What’s left of me at least,” Mr. Raines grumbled as he limped over to Kate and quickly began undoing her straps to the table, “damn thing almost ripped my head off, but one swing of the barrel to its eye and I was able to get away… Can’t say it didn’t do its damage though… I’m… Getting really fucking hungry…”
He shook his head violently before limping over to me. He then raised an eyebrow at me when he saw how I was positioned still on the floor with a bare foot in my hands shackled to the floor.
“I… I was… I… I thought you were-“ I stammered.
“I am,” Mr. Raines interrupted, “at least, I’m on my way there anyway.” He then retrieved my Glock from his back pocket. “I don’t know what that thing did to me, but I’m not gonna make it out of this alive, or the way I came in. It’s a massacre out there by the way. Lot of men in blue bodies out there… Very… Hard to ignore… Sure more will be on their way. So.”
With that, Mr. Raines pointed at my chains and pulled the trigger on my clock, barely giving me time to cover my ears as the sound rung out loudly in the basement. I shook my head, trying to undo the blurry and ringing side effects of the sound of a gun going off near your head. I gave the older man a glare before standing and snatching my Glock from his hands. That’s when I saw Kate shifting herself to the side of the metal table she was no longer tied to, trying to get her limbs to comply with her to help her off and on to the floor.
I ran over and grabbed her just as she nearly stumbled face first to the floor and lifted her up to her feet, her body heavy with lack of keeping herself up.
“Do you think you can walk?” I asked, trying to keep her on her feet.
“I… I don’t… I…” Kate stammered as she tried to push herself off of me while also using using me as a crutch until she could stand on her own. However, she didn’t seem to be able to put any kind of pressure on her legs without falling down.
“Kate?” A girl’s voice called out from above us.
Feeling Kate shudder, I realized that it must have been the sound of Sonja’s voice and Mrs. Larson was using her to keep Kate from running. I quickly swung my arm down behind her knees, pressing the other down on her back as I lifted her up off the floor, my Glock at the ready as I kept it pointed in front of me while my arm held up Kate’s knees.
“She must have heard the gunshots,” I pointed out, “how’d you get past her in the first place?”
“I set the other cabins on fire,” Mr. Raines answered as if it were the simplest of answers, “I had to distract her somehow and give those bodies she’d been eating a better fate than becoming her shit.”
“Are you planning on setting this place on fire too?” I asked.
“‘Course I am!” Mr. Raines exclaimed, seemingly offended I’d even ask. “I already doused it in gasoline, I ain’t wasting all that time!”
“Kate!” Sonja’s voice cried out, getting closer to the basement door. “Are you seriously leaving me here to die alone again!”
“Please… Make it… Stop…” Kate sniffed as she gripped my shirt and burying her face into the fabric.
“Let’s get you two out of here.” Mr. Raines began leading the way to the basement stairs, cocking his rifle as he did so.
“What about you?” I asked, immediately following after him.
Mr. Raines didn’t answer as he stomped up the stairs and kicked the door open to the first floor of the cabin. The stench of the gasoline he had spilled hitting me harshly in my face.
“Kate!” Sonja’s voice, along with a different crescendo of male voices shrieked out as Mrs. Larson appeared from the corner of the hallway where the basement was located.
“Leighton?” A different woman’s voice asked the moment the old woman’s eyes spotted Mr. Raines. I then watched in both shock and confusion as it almost looked like the very skin on the woman melted off to reveal a much younger woman. The woman I recognized as Bonnie Collins. “Leighton… Love is that you?”
Mr. Raines kept his rifle on the vision of the woman he once loved before her murder, but didn’t move or speak.
“Darling, I’ve missed you so much!” The fake Bonnie cried out as she began making her way to Mr. Raines with arms open wide to hug him.
Mr. Raines then lifted his gun up higher, placing his finger on the trigger which caused the vision to stop in her place.
“Leighton?” The fake Bonnie asked. “Baby, it’s me… Bun-Bun… Don’t you recognize me…?” She began to tear up.
“You’re not my Bunny,” Mr. Raines growled before he shot once at the woman.
The fake Bonnie swiftly dodged the bullet, an inhuman hiss coming from an unhinged mouth, revealing a row of long, sharp teeth. The skin of Bonnie then melted off to reveal another woman, a lot younger than the first one it intimidated. The face of one of the victims upon being brought on this case.
“Kate,” the fake Sonja called out, “Kate, what are you doing? Who are these men? Why are they trying to hurt me?”
Kate let out a sobbing gasp, her nails digging into my shoulder with her arm wrapped around my neck.
“Didn’t I suffer enough?” The fake Sonja asked. “First my boyfriend and now you? Why don’t you want to be with me anymore?”
“Shut up!” Kate demanded. “You’re not Sonja! You killed her, you killed all of them! I don’t care what happens to me, but I’m not letting their memories end with you!”
Kate then snatched my Glock from my hand under her legs and shot directly at the fake Sonja’s head. Again the shot missed as the fake vision of the girl slithered out of the way, a frustrated growl of a dog and human escaping it’s mouth. It then zipped to the side, cowering with its back to us on the floor.
“Lucky dime…” A child’s voice then took over. The vision’s skin melting now to a much smaller figure. “Is this what you want? To kill me all over again?” He turned to look up at me, Liam’s face forever eight-years-old staring up at me. “It’s no wonder mommy and daddy hate you now… You were always a shitty brother… Now, I’m gonna starve to death because you’d rather help a couple of strangers.”
“I’m sorry, Liam,” I replied, everyone, including the fake Liam looking to me in surprise, “I left you alone out here and that’s what got you killed by that thing out there and I’m sorry. But, if I’d stayed it may have been both of us and then mom and dad would have no one left to blame but each other. If you had left and I was the one killed, you’d probably be in my shoes instead. I’m sorry for letting you get killed, but I’m gonna make up for it now.”
I then took my Glock back from Kate and pointed it to the vision of Liam.
“Good bye, Liam.”
I shot the gun once again, missing the creature again, however, this time I just kept shooting, Mr. Raines following after. Our different bullets just kept firing, the thing dodging and trying to get closer to us. The creature screeched out at us in a myriad of different voices both familiar and unknown. It wasn’t until one shot from my Glock struck the creatures shoulder and Mr. Raines’ rifle struck its head when the skins of everyone it was trying to turn into all melted off, revealing Mrs. Larson once again.
However, this time, she looked shriveled, older than she looked before. Her face looked deformed, beginning to grow furry, her eyes growing nothing but red, no irises, no pupils, just red. Her hair grew longer, branches like antlers growing painfully out from her skull, breaking the skin as they grew larger. The lower half of her face grew elongated, turning into that of a muzzle of fangs and a drooling mouth.
“You… All… Have no rrrrrrriiiiiight!” A different, unknown voice snarled out from what used to be Mrs. Larson. “People liiiiiike you all… Abandoned me and myyyyyyyyy sister!” The fur growing around this thing grew out short and shaggy, the cloths it was using melting off with the skin and flesh it was wearing. It now didn’t look anything like a human woman. It now took the form of a large wolf mixed with that of a deer, it’s body dog-like with hooves, antlers, and a long, scraggly tail. “You lot abandoned us here! You left us all here to diiiiiiiie!”
Guilt was weighing down on me with each syllable it was growling. Kate looked away from it, burying her face in my neck as Mr. Raines lowered his rifle.
“Nooooow, you’re bringing more here to just leave and let die out here!” It went on, it’s horrifying, broken body shuddering. “Why let them just vanish and die up here when they can bring people like my sister and I back? Give me Kate’s heart and fix what you threeeeeeeeee failed!”
Mr. Raines then handed over his rifle to Kate, placing it down on her stomach as her hands were still wrapped around my neck. The older man made his way over to stand over the thing, its neck creaking like a rusted door as it turned its wolf-like head to look up at him.
“Leighton…” Bonnie’s voice came from the creature. “Give mmmmeeeee her heart aaaannnnd we can be togetherrrrr again… If you eat the deeeeeetective’s we can saaaaaave you tooooooo…”
“My Bunny’s dead,” Mr. Raines told it as he dug in his pocket and took out a carton of matches, “and so am I.”
“You’d burn your wife?” A mix of Bonnie and Mrs. Larson’s voices shrieked as it glared at the match he took from the match box.
“You’re not my wife,” Mr. Raines told it, “and I’ll never see her again.”
“Fooooooool,” Mr. Larson’s voice chuckled, “you’llllllll killllllll us both!”
“With the shit I’ve done in my life, I know you’re taking me to Hell with you,” Mr. Raines growled back as he struck the match on the box, “so I’m sure as fuck not afraid to burn here on Earth with you!”
Mr. Raines then dropped the match to the floor right before the creature and everything around the two of them immediately went up in flames, the fur of the creature catching quickly and engulfing it. An agonized shriek echoed out all around us, the creature thrashing in the fire it had gotten swallowed up in. Mr. Raines then grabbed it by it’s long, furry throat and swung it down back flat the floor, jumping to pin it down.
“Get out!” Mr. Raines cried out to me. “Leave here!”
Not needing to be told twice, I held onto Kate tightly and bolted past the two burning bodies, jumping over the fire as it began growing fast throughout the cabin. I quickly got to the front door and stopped to look back to see Mr. Raines fighting the creature and preventing it from coming after us, it begging for me to bring Kate back and that it would die without her.
“I’ll clear your name,” I called back, trying not to reel back in horror as I saw Mr. Raines skin begin to melt off, “I’ll let people know you didn’t kill Bonnie!”
“I’ll let people know you didn’t… Kill… Liam!” Mr. Raines’ voice called back, him thrashing around with Mrs. Larson as he said my brother’s name in my voice.
I turned back and kicked the front door open, rushing Kate out of the burning cabin. I ran until I got far enough from the smoke, turning back to see all three cabins now on fire, the area around them all ablaze. The only place untouched was Mrs. Larson’s house, all the evidence remaining. I could hear sirens in the distance coming closer. The sounds of shouts from the surviving officers sounding much closer.
“I’m here… I’m here… I’m here…”
I looked to the front porch of Mrs. Larson’s house where her recorder continued to call out for her sister. I set Kate down at the base of a nearby tree and ran to snatch the recorder, shutting it off. I searched around, looking for any signs of Prudence, but it appeared that the fire and the sounds of sirens and voices had scared her off. I ran back to Kate, her eyes closed and her not responding to me calling to her, but after checking her pulse and breathing, I found that the medication Mrs. Larson had given her had finally taken over and she was now fast asleep, the rifle Mr. Raines gave her still sitting on her rhythmically rising and falling stomach.
Letting out a sigh of relief, I leaned against the same tree I set Kate down on and slid down to the ground next to her. The first two cabins were already practically nothing but ash, the last still blazing as I heard the slowly fading screams of Mrs. Larson and Mr. Raines coming from inside.
When the screaming ended all together, the smoke turning blacker as it rose from the flames, I got to my feet and took out my pack of cigarettes as I approached the fires, staying far enough away not to get burned. I opened the pack up before stopping myself as I reached for one of the ten remaining cigarettes inside. I then flung the entire carton into the fires without taking one.
“Save one for me down there, you old bastard,” I told Mr. Raines before making my way back to Kate’s side.
It wasn’t long before the remaining officers found us, looking in confusion at the fires and to me with a sleeping victim in a homicide case on the ground. I told them we’d need to call an ambulance for Kate and that we needed to keep the flames from getting to Mrs. Larson’s house as it held evidence on the case. One officer retrieved his radio and called for an ambulance while a group ran to the house and another went to try controlling the fire as best they could by yanking out any bushes near by and throwing them away from the area around the house.
Luckily, the fire trucks were called long before the fire spread too far, residence noticing it practically the moment Mr. Raines set the first cabin on fire.
As I sat there, keeping Kate held up against the tree we sat under, I listened to the crackling of the fire, the sirens of fast approaching fire trucks and the ambulance, and the sounds of distance, coyote, almost human, howling.

I (M25) have been on a couple dates with this girl (F27) from work. Last night we went on a work night out to a concert and she was flirty, let me hold her hand, and in general seemed to be leaning into me. I asked if I could kiss her and she said “no, sorry”.
I then said no worries and then went to the bar to meet some other friends, then got a message from her asking where I was - when she found me she stayed around until I walked her home with my friends (coincidentally she lives on the exact street we were heading up to the next bar), and then hugged me goodbye. It’s now nearly 1:30pm and I haven’t had any messages from her since.
I’m very confused about where I stand with her - she seemed very into me the entire night but rejected the kiss after all of the other physically affectionate things we were doing. I guess a possibility is she didn’t want to have our first kiss in front of our coworkers? I’m severely overthinking this, like she’s agreed to a third date but part of me worries she’s only agreed because she felt too awkward to say no? At the same time we’ve been on 2 dates, but it’s all been within the space of the past week so maybe it is a bit too soon for the first kiss from her perspective…
We’re having our third date in a couple days, so I think I might bring it up and ask for clarification on where we stand - how do I word it? Any advice for this situation in general would be great though!
TL;DR: Dating coworker, she seemed into me the entire night, but rejected my kiss.

Looking for guidance on filing Claim (1st) next week. TIA!!
In Persian Gulf 02Aug90 - 30SEP90 - TERA, Reported Sarin use while ONSTA
Filed intent to file, June 2023
I have Dx and meds.
Do I need to specify primary and secondary?
I have VHA and Civi doc confirming.
Do I also file for Raynauds with pics or wait for Dx?
My list of Diagnoses - most confirmed within a year or so, almost all 5+ to 20 years.
Sorry, the timeline, as best as I can recall.
Nothing prior to service. IN Service: 1990 - Stress-induced asthma 1991 - 6 mos LIMDU s/p fall on ship, LBP, MRI findings. PhysTherapy found bilateral chondromalacia patella, deficit of leg strength Two Psych evals after chewing out CAPT DOC re: heal my back 1992 - 1993 A lot of inhalers and NSAIDS for back pain.
After Honorable: 1997 - VA - albuterol Asthma 2000 - Chronic Rhinitis, Sinusitis, Sleep Apnea Symptoms, Weight gain 2001 - Ride for 9/11 - SD to NYC, Police Escort, Tour Ground Zero still on fire, Numb + Avoidance 2002 - Gout, kidney stones 2004, 2005 - VA - Cardioversions x 2 + OSA CPAP + Hypertension + Borderline A1C @ 6.4, GERD 2006 - CIVI - Anxiety, Asthma, LBP, neck pain, TN, Paroxysmal Afib, CHF 2007 - Pain increased, MDD, Anxiety, Nasal Polyps, common sinus infections, persistent cough 2011 - VA - TIA, Gout+, Hypertension, Kidney Stones, Morbid Obesity 2012 - Divorce w/ profound anger, Isolation begins, Depression +, Lungs feel swollen, SOB 2014 - A1C ~7.0, weight gain, LBP worsens, OSA+CSA BIPAP 2016 - Restless Leg Syndrome, severe asthma, unable to perform job, 50% work 2017 - Nasal Polyps confirmed on MRI, IBS Sx, Shut in, Lost Engagement, Isolation, Max Singulair, Kenalog shot for allergic reactions and worsening breathing. 2020 Back and Neck Pain now CHRONIC, Anxiety Increased, Insomnia, Fatigue, SI, PTSD anger and guilt 2022 - Elevated BNP (confirms CHF), Angiogram for two artery 50% occlusion, PTSD and Insomnia go through the roof as I reduced Percocet from 40 mg/day to 20 mg/day. Psych confirms "compensating behaviors lost during 7 years of consistent Percocet use, Lyrica and Gabapentin both failed as I lost motor control and balance. Lost EOD training buddy to Lung Cancer. Effexor Maxed. Multiuse for rescue inhaler. 2023 - IBS worsens, GERD returns, SI, PTSD rated to 49, Unable to work regularly, physical labor only for 3-5 minutes, walking more than 100 years leads to breathlessness. Add steroid inhaler. 2024 - Afib to Chronic, Start PTSD and MDD counseling with VA

• Heart

CAD - Coronary artery disease (SCT 53741008) DBQ + Angiogram + Stress tests
Chronic diastolic heart failure (SCT 441530006) DBQ + echo + Stress tests + Confirmed
Transient Ischemic Attack Apr 9,2011@11:44
I48.20 Chronic atrial fibrillation R79.89- Elevated brain natrluretic peptide (BNP) level 8/2/22

• Psych

Depression (SCT 35489007)
Anxiety (SCT 48694002)
PTSD Rated 49, Psychiatrist stated anxiety valid for life risk in Gulf Attack
G47.00- Insomnia Ongoing, Part of PTSD

• Neuro

Trigeminal neuralgia (SCT 31681005)
G89.4- Chronic pain syndrome
M79.2 - Neuralgia Part Back Pain

• Gut

R10.9- Abdominal cramping IBS - Dicyclomine
K21.9- GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) after meds jumped again
R11.0- Nausea Zofran
K59.00 - Constipation Part of IBS

• Ortho

M54.5 - Low back pain - CHRONIC 3-8 Naprosyn + 2 Aspirin 325 Daily
M542 Neck pain - CHRONIC 3-8 Naprosyn + 2 Aspirin 325 Daily

• Sleep

Obstructive Sleep Apnea of Adult (SCT 1101000119103) Twice confirmed OSA + CSA
J01.01- Acute recurrent maxilary sinusits Twice Daily flushes, 4-6 infections each year
R53.83- Fatigue
G25.81 - Restless leg syndrome confirmed in latest Sleep Study this month
R09.81 - Congestion of nasal sinus Twice Daily flushes, 4-6 infections each year
J309.- Allergic rhinitis - Chronic Twice Daily flushes, 4-6 infections each year

• Other

Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 (SCT 44054006) Hyperlipidemia (SCT 55822004)
Gout (SCT 90560007)
Morbid obesity (SCT 238136002) Met with Nutrition team and lost weight

Last PCP noted from my Civilian records:
"These records - Dr. Nichols, MD - Show drug compliance, Constant Pain from Back, Recurring Gout and kidney stones, Development of severe lung issues, Rx History."

Hello Dr. K and the HealthyGamer community,
I am seeking advice, support, and insights on how to emotionally separate and individuate from my parents later in life, which I should have done much earlier. The adult part of me knows what I need to do, but there's also a part of me that is frightened. Let me give you a snapshot of my life trajectory. The story is long, but I want to provide as much context as possible. If you prefer a short summary of my dilemma, please skip to the last paragraph. Otherwise, here is my life story:
I grew up in a well-to-do family in an East Asian country. My parents had me in their early 20s, just as their business began to flourish during the 'boom years.' Both came from very broken families. My mother experienced poverty, abuse, and neglect from her parents (she did not speak to her dad until he died and almost never acknowledges her mother). My father was the least favorite child in his family of three, dropped out of high school, ended up on the streets, and, as I learned a few years ago, was later imprisoned for fighting. My parents met when my mother was 19 and my father 21, ran away together, and built a very successful business in their early to mid-20s, becoming incredibly wealthy in a generally poor society.
Although we were affluent, my parents were never around. I started boarding at age 3 and spent most of my time outside school with my paternal grandparents and occasionally my maternal grandmother. My parents fought a lot. My mother once threatened to take me away and drove off with me with no specific destination. At one point, she told me she was divorcing my father, and we moved into another apartment for a day before returning home. She emotionally smothered me, saying she would die for me and that no one would love me as much as she did. She also hit me often over small things, sometimes in public. I thought she was better than my father, who, according to her, would remarry quickly if she left or died, subjecting me to abuse from an evil stepmother.
Despite our wealth, my mother took me out of an international school after six months and sent me to a state school known for being strict and militant. I was a 'good, smart kid' in primary school, but around age 12 or 13, I became very depressed and felt life had no purpose. I failed almost all my subjects except History and started drinking, influenced by my father's heavy drinking and a culture that tolerated alcoholism.
Then something happened that saved me in retrospect. My family emigrated to an Anglophone New World country, and I went to another boarding school. Despite experiencing racism and feeling self-conscious about my appearance, I improved academically and, by years 12 and 13, was among the best students. Between ages 13-18, I saw my father rarely, perhaps once or twice a year. My mother visited periodically, and they bought a house near the school, where I lived mostly alone. Like many first-generation immigrant kids, I handled most family matters because my parents couldn't speak English.
When it was time for university, I wanted to study law and politics at the local public university, but my father insisted I go to the UK or the US, believing a degree from the local university would not lead to a good job. He also prevented me from taking a gap year. I regret not leaving home to get a job. I applied to many universities and chose the worst-ranked one in London because I wanted to be in the city.
University was eye-opening. I discovered Europe and realized the world was much bigger than the conformist, conservative East Asian country and backwater suburbs I knew. However, my degree didn't prepare me for life, and my emotionally underdeveloped state made me miserable in adult relationships. I chose emotionally distant or abusive friends, hurt people who liked me, and did no internships or travel because I was expected to help my family during holidays. I wanted to stay in London, looked for random jobs, but had no life skills or work experience. Eventually, I returned to East Asia.
By then, my father had moved to a more cosmopolitan East Asian city, living extravagantly. I interned at a fancy company for almost a year, hoping for a job offer that never came. I soon found a job in brand consulting and finally started earning money at 23. I had a relationship with an older woman, but I was still emotionally detached. I tried freelancing, learned to impress others, and almost made enough to support myself, but I was fundamentally lost and unhappy. I experienced my first depressive episode and decided to return to London for a Master's degree. My father agreed to fund my education.
That year was the happiest of my life. I loved university, research, and being with smart, nerdy people. I met an intelligent, caring, and beautiful woman, and we moved in together. I discovered more fulfilling ways to live and found that success didn't mean working for an investment bank or being rich. I wanted to be an academic, applied for a PhD, and got in after two attempts.
Academia wasn't all rosy. The work conditions were awful, and the publish-or-perish mentality sucked the joy out of research. I loved teaching but quickly learned it mattered little at a 'research university.' I gained weight, my relationship deteriorated, arguments turned physical, and I felt worthless. The pandemic made things worse, and I felt I needed to radically change my life. My solution was to become the person my family wanted: filial, loyal, and rich. I was ready to abandon my life in London and move back to East Asia to 'stop being a loser.'
I returned home, trying to fix my family and shower them with love. I interned at a VC firm, but it clashed with my values, and I cried every day at work. I broke up with my girlfriend for someone with no emotional attachment, leading to great sex but zero intimacy. Within three months, I was broke, living in a short-term rental, and eating unhealthily. Fortunately, I had a therapist, a good friend in Shanghai, and my girlfriend gave me a second chance. I realized my family's emotional neglect contributed to my unhappiness and depression. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and medicated, which helped me move out of paralysis. I confronted my family about their past actions and my diagnosis. My mother reacted poorly, calling me names and accusing me of being a horrible son. This ordeal made me realize I needed to break away from them. What I threw away in London was actually the most valuable: a career, a family, my identity.
After confronting my mother that year, she vowed never to see me again. However, 6-8 months later, she sent me a large sum of money for my birthday. I let her back into my life, partly for financial help but also seeking proof of their love and acceptance. Things improved initially, but soon she started complaining about mistreatment by my partner. Then, my parents promised to buy me a flat and pressured me to get married. I accepted the flat for stability and freedom, ignoring their past behavior. Predictably, the flat became a tool for my mother to control me. She threatened to sue me if my girlfriend moved in and disputed the flat's ownership just weeks before the move-in date. I have a demanding job and spend much of my day dealing with this situation, processing the emotional toll of my mother's actions. I feel unsafe, violated, and confused. I hear a voice telling me this is all my fault and that I'm too weak. I know what I need to do cognitively, but emotionally I'm paralyzed. Do you understand what I mean? What would you do?

I (34m) met a woman (26f) on Hinge and we have been seeing each other for 3 weeks.
Right off the bat our conversation and chemistry have been excellent. She is smart, sweet, attentive and her dating goals match mine which is to find a long term partner and have a family. Our goals, hobbies, and values are similar and I am feeling like we're very compatible.
We've been on three dates and a couple of hang outs, lots of touching and kissing and fooling around but no sex yet, though we have talked about what we like and want and she is staying over tonight and it's clear that's where we want to take the night.
At our last hangout last night where we spent a couple hours talking and sitting and having dinner on a local hang out patio, she revealed that in March before she moved back to our mutual hometown, she had struck up a friendship with a married guy at her gym that over the course of a year turned more flirtatious and they eventually had sex one time after she told him she was moving away. She was not in a relationship so was not cheating herself, but she knew he was married. She seemed very remorseful and trying not to cry when she told me about this, and from her recounting it sounds to me like this guy likely manipulated her to some extent telling her how lonely he was, wife wasn't taking care of him etc Per her telling, they've had no contact after sleeping together and she claims to have no interest in contacting him.
I was non judgemental when she was telling her story, but made it clear I thought it was a shitty thing to do but we've all made mistakes we're not proud of. I did ask her what she learned from the situation and what she would do differently, but she was pretty emotionally charged at the moment and didn't have any good answers, just to be more picky about men.
I commended her for telling me this when she didn't have to, which though she did a terrible thing she likes me enough and has the balls to come clean on this before we moved towards anything more serious
I have my own checkered past including drug addiction, jail, and generally degenerate behavior but I've never cheated or been someone's affair partner. I believe in second chances and people making positive changes as I have been clean 7 years and made a nice life for myself. She is aware of the broad strokes of that part of my life and was very accepting and non judgemental about it.
At the end of the day, I am really enjoying getting to know her, she's beautiful and I feel good around her, but now I have some fears that she may be the type to make poor or hurtful decisions when it comes to sex and relationships.
What else should I ask her about this, and does reddit believe someone who willingly became someone's affair partner can be a good faithful partner in their own relationship?
Tl;dr I am seeing a woman who knowingly became a one time affair partner shortly before I met her. I'm now feeling conflicted, can people be better or is she for the streets (/s)?

Title: Beatport Top 100 Downloads June 2024 Genre: House, Deep House, Tech House, Techno (Peak Time / Driving), Melodic House & Techno, Minimal / Deep Tech, Nu Disco / Disco, Funky / Groove / Jackin’ House, Dance / Electro Pop, Bass House, Progressive House, Drum & Bass, Trance Release Date: 2024-06-01
DOWNLOAD in 320kbps / FLAC: https://sharing-db.club/djs-chart/483886_beatport-top-100-downloads-june-2024/
Tracklist: 1. Layton Giordani, Anyma (ofc), Loofy – Last Night (Anyma x Layton Giordani Extended Remix) (5:14) 2. Sem Jacobs, Tagmann – Blue Berries (Extended Mix) (6:17) 3. Jennifer Lopez, FISHER (OZ) – Waiting For Tonight (Extended Mix) (4:50) 4. John Summit, HAYLA – Shiver (Cassian Extended Remix) (5:04) 5. Sean Paul, Odd Mob – Get Busy (Odd Mob Extended Club Mix) (3:41) 6. John Summit, Sub Focus, Julia Church – Go Back (Original Mix) (3:40) 7. Mr. Belt & Wezol – It’s Not Right But It’s Okay (Extended) (4:01) 8. ANOTR, Leven Kali, Erik Bandt – How You Feel (Original Mix) (6:01) 9. UNKLE, &ME, Keinemusik – Only You (&ME Remix) (8:34) 10. The Chemical Brothers, ARTBAT – Hey Boy Hey Girl (ARTBAT Extended Mix) (5:25) 11. Chris Lake, Nathan Nicholson, Sammy Virji – Summertime Blues (Extended Mix) (5:29) 12. Skrillex, Hamdi, Taichu, OFFAIAH – Push (feat. OFFAIAH) (3:05) 13. Maz (BR), VXSION – Amana (Original Mix) (7:04) 14. PAWSA – PICK UP THE PHONE (feat. Nate Dogg) (Extended Mix) (5:59) 15. Disclosure, Eliza Doolittle – You & Me (Rivo Extended Mix) (6:02) 16. Robbie Doherty – Work It (Original Mix) (5:44) 17. Raffaella Carra, Agatino Romero, Jaxomy – Pedro (Extended Mix) (3:30) 18. Trace, Liquid Rose – Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe (Extended Mix) (6:02) 19. RAFFA GUIDO – Famax (Original Mix) (5:35) 20. Loofy – Last Night (Extended Mix) (6:04) 21. Max Styler – Lights Out (Extended Mix) (5:31) 22. Sharam – PATT (Party All The Time) (Adam Beyer, Layton Giordani & Green Velvet Remix) (5:47) 23. Martin Ikin – Hustlin’ (Extended Mix) (4:49) 24. David Morales, Wh0, Sam Frandisco, Steve Martano – Needin’ U (Extended Mix) (6:11) 25. The Outfield, Diplo – Your Love (Diplo Remix) (2:35) 26. Mau P – On Again – Sharing-DB.club (Original Mix) (6:46) 27. Wuki, Trace (UZ) – Shake It (Extended Mix) (5:11) 28. Chris Lake, Gotye, Kimbra, Sante Sansone, FISHER (OZ) – Somebody (2024) (Extended Mix) (4:15) 29. House of Prayers, Maxim & Matte – All Night (Crazibiza Remix) (6:09) 30. Layton Giordani – New Generation (Space 92 Remix) (5:41) 31. Skrillex, Ahadadream, Priya Ragu, contra (US) – TAKA (Extended Mix) (3:26) 32. Ghostbusterz – Long Train Running (Original Mix) (4:40) 33. Maz (BR), Antdot – Run (Extended Version) (7:30) 34. &ME, Rampa, Adam Port, Keinemusik, Alan Dixon, Arabic Piano – Thandaza (feat. Alan Dixon, Arabic Piano) (Original Mix) (7:04) 35. Clüb De Combat – House Anthem (Original Mix) (7:41) 36. Yvvan Back, Afterman – Who’s That Girl (JL & Afterman Mix) (5:20) 37. Adam Ten – Magic Circus (Original Mix) (5:00) 38. Massano – Talking (Extended Mix) (5:22) 39. DNMO, Wolfy Lights, Blooom – Bombalaya (Blooom Remix) (4:08) 40. TWENTY SIX, Tayson Kryss – Buscando Money (HUGEL & Jesús Fernández Extended Remix) (5:27) 41. MAXI MERAKI, Samm (BE) – Everybody Get Up (Original Mix) (8:24) 42. Bob Marley & The Wailers, Fisher – Jamming (FISHER Rework) (3:21) 43. CASSIMM, Mahalia Fontaine – Say Yeah (Extended Mix) (5:47) 44. Disclosure – She’s Gone, Dance On (Extended Mix) (5:55) 45. Space Motion – Baiana (Original Mix) (6:04) 46. The Temper Trap – Sweet Disposition (John Summit & Silver Panda Extended Remix) (5:44) 47. Barry Can’t Swim – Kimbara (Extended Mix) (4:25) 48. Maz (BR), Antdot, Letícia Fialho – Corpo e Canção (Original Mix) (6:21) 49. War – Low Rider (Kyle Watson Remix) (5:25) 50. Sasha, Super Flu – Astra (Sasha’s Daydream Mix) (7:45) 51. RUZE – Everybody (Original Mix) (4:33) 52. Eli Brown – Trick Daddy (Extended Mix) (5:07) 53. Zamna Soundsystem, ROZYO, Armonica – Summertime Sadness feat. Blu (Original Mix) (5:31) 54. Wakyin, Carlos Vives – Beso (Fruta Fresca) (Extended Mix) (6:31) 55. Argy, Baset – Sierra (Extended Version) (4:11) 56. Gorgon City – One New Change (Extended Mix) (6:50) 57. Riko Dan, K Motionz, ArrDee – Heavyweight (Extended Mix) (3:00) 58. Jay Lumen – Bang To The Beat (Extended Mix) (5:56) 59. Freenzy Music, Marian (BR) – Pakit Ban (Original Mix) (6:00) 60. AYYBO – All We Need (Deep Inside) (Original Mix) (5:17) 61. John Summit – EAT THE BASS (Extended Mix) (4:35) 62. David Penn, OFFAIAH – Satisfied (Extended Mix) (5:16) 63. &ME, Black Coffee, Keinemusik – The Rapture Pt.III (Original Mix) (8:02) 64. Jamie xx, Honey Dijon – Baddy On The Floor (Original Mix) (3:42) 65. Eli Brown – I Got Money (Extended Mix) (5:14) 66. Tony Romera, Crusy – The Unknown (Extended Mix) (5:30) 67. AYYBO – RIZZ (Extended Mix) (5:18) 68. Rosalie, James Mac, VALL – The Boy Is Mine feat. Rosalie (Club Mix) (6:16) 69. ACRAZE, Don Toliver – Bandit (Extended Club Mix) (4:11) 70. Hot Since 82, Ron Carroll – Preach (feat. Ron Carroll) (Extended Mix) (8:23) 71. Martin Ikin – In The Streets (Extended Mix) (5:08) 72. Doche – Pick Up The Pieces (Extended Mix) (5:09) 73. Diffrent – A Little Closer (Extended) (5:18) 74. Max Styler – Follow Me (Original Mix) (5:11) 75. nari, Steve Tosi – S.O.S (Original Mix) (4:29) 76. Estiva – Fine Day (Extended Mix) (7:00) 77. Moeaike – Bo Bom (Alan Dixon Remix) (5:39) 78. Yann Muller, DE SOFFER – Mas Que Nada (Extended Mix) (4:15) 79. Chris Avantgarde, Kevin de Vries – Killa (Original Mix) (5:34) 80. YOUniverse (IT), Beltran (BR) – Still Pushin’ (Original Mix) (5:56) 81. Liva K – The Drill (Original Mix) (6:59) 82. Joshwa – Get Stupid (Extended Mix) (5:27) 83. Zerb, Sofiya Nzau – Mwaki (Extended Mix) (4:32) 84. W&W, Raffaella Carra, Agatino Romero, Jaxomy – Pedro (W&W Remix – Extended) (3:30) 85. Sidney Charles – Space Bass (Original Mix) (6:09) 86. Adriatique, Eynka – Beyond Us (Extended Hatshepsut Version, Alex Wann remix) (6:03) 87. Julian Jordan – I DON’T KNOW (Extended Mix) (3:52) 88. Layton Giordani, Eli Brown, OFFAIAH – When I Push (Original Mix) (5:22) 89. Sasha, Super Flu – Astra (Extended) (5:58) 90. Da Hool, Maddix, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Kiki Solvej – Meet Her At The Love Parade (Instrumental Mix) (5:40) 91. Buogo – Rave It (Original Mix) (6:01) 92. Malone, Nacho Scoppa – On Yo Head (Original Mix) (6:03) 93. Sub Focus, Julia Church, John Summit – Go Back feat. Julia Church (D&B VIP) (3:29) 94. Tiesto, Prophecy – My City (Original Mix) (3:18) 95. HoneyLuv, Roland Clark – This Is My Life (Bontan Extended Mix) (5:37) 96. Sugar Hill – I Love You So ((Extended mix)) (5:10) 97. Christian (IT) – Ain’t Nobody 2024 (Original Mix) (4:51) 98. Alex Stein – The Chant (Original Mix) (6:06) 99. James Hype – Wild (Extended Mix) (5:40) 100. Rova – Eyes On Me (Original Mix) (3:43)

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Ceele strolled through the damp grass along the outskirts of the village, a spring in her step and the dwindling scent of dew following behind. It rained yesterday, which had prevented her from going out to gather supplies, but the mild morning air had been accommodating enough for her to get an early start and make the trip. She was glad she did.
One hand clutched her new prize to her chest, while the other held a fraying wicker basket filled with herbs and some edible roots she gathered by exploring the forbidden forest. Despite her reservations regarding where she chose to go, her excitement now lingered like a steady thrum of shifting stones, giving her energy that defied how long she had been walking. She all but pranced beneath the burgeoning night's sky, gleefully toeing the line between the dirt pathways of the settlement’s outskirts and the trees of unclaimed land. Normally, her path back home would never be so close to the village, but she was far too gleeful to mind. She had come back with a sense of fulfillment and a rare object—or if not rare, then hopefully of great value.
It was hard to point to any one specific reason that she came across the orb. There had always been a ‘draw’ during her travels, urging her that there was something missing in her life, yet it was no more than a mild whim to walk in a particular direction more often than not. Once she reached this part of the continent, she was compelled to wander, never quite able to explain why she obliged the sensation besides having nowhere in particular to be. Even when she finally settled somewhere, it stayed in the back of her mind, suggesting that she was close to whatever would make the pit of vacancy go away. She ignored it, purposefully distracting herself with her work and responsibilities, yet that could only last so long. When she awoke this morning with plans to resupply, and all of her newfound spots had been picked clean by wildlife, she turned to the depths of the forest where she was warned not to tread. It was all too easy to follow the subtle tug in her chest through the loose justification.
The urge to be somewhere grew unbearable with every step closer to the forbidden area. That sense of having a direction she needed to go became stronger and stronger, until she was well into land long since forgotten. She came across an overgrown depression in the hillside, and was entranced by the foreboding image. Something about the cave just…beckoned her. She was far too weak to resist.
Horrible tales echoed into her ears as whispers of fearful voices, warning and unending, yet but a dull drone compared to her hammering heart. She navigated the trees and brushed aside unkempt vines, stepping into the cavern with a mix of expectation and trepidation, then laid eyes on the small obsidian stone perched atop a crumbling pillar. The feeling of needing to travel somewhere…stopped.
The pull was absent, which was why she held the orb close instead of placing it into her basket. She wasn’t sure what it was exactly, but she recalled overheard tales of hidden gemstones, deep cavernous expanses, and the untold terrors that lay within. Comparing the scenes of those fables to the cave seemed foolish now; it wasn’t some torturous chamber, but a dusty depression in a small hillside. Besides, anything this pretty was sure to be worth a fair sum, and she needed the coin. Yet the thought of selling the precious-looking stone was a conflicting one. She shook off the thought for the time being, turning her attention back towards where she was going.
Shadows stretched and faded as the moon stole the last of the illumination afforded by the sun, replacing it with a calming glow that caressed the log frames and thatched roofs of various homes. A star-filled sky came into prominence as clouds lazily drifted away, revealing the promise of tomorrow’s fair-weathered arrival. It was too late for anyone to notice her treading on the edge of their town while lost in thought, but she was still careful not to get too close to the houses or livestock pens where people might be finishing the evening’s duties. It was best that they didn’t see her returning from a place she was told not to go. Still, her feet carried her near the dwellings as she took in the noises.
Ceele enjoyed the comforting chatter from a distance. Indistinct words floated freely. Meaningless gossip and warm goodbyes were exchanged between friends and family. Places of various occupations were dark and quiet, only the faint contented mewls and clucks of livestock coming from their pastures as they ate what was recently put out for them. No metal rang throughout the streets as it was struck inside a centralized smithy, no heated bartering came from an overactive trade house, and the crunch of dirt beneath transport or merchant wagons was absent, replaced by the rapid steps and yelps of children rushing to their homes before it got too dark out. It was all just gentle conversation and life drifting through the wind, taking the rustle of leaves along for the ride, just so she could hear it. Tranquil, in a word.
She wondered what it would sound like if she were yet one more voice within that crowd of kindness. Would it be loud like the larger cities? Would she struggle to maintain a thought with so many stray topics floating about? Would she once more yearn for the peace and quiet of solitude that she had grown used to, or would she immerse herself, free of judgment and laughing like the carefree young that scampered about? Did thinking about it even matter?
Her smile fell from its genuine intensity—still worn, but not as fully. She glanced downward as her stride lost its jubilant bounce, her tail losing its sway as her grey eyes examined the dry black scales that adorned her body against her wishes. It was the ugly hue of tarnished oil, unlike the skin of any other kobold she had met. Some had reds or greens, yellows or whites, while most were between a sandy tan or earthen brown. The rainbow of peculiarities was displayed by the lucky few, and she was one of them…
…Yet she was different in the worst of ways.
Even if she would rather any other colour, she supposed it was that way to make sure no one came near without accepting the unspoken risks. That was what her mother always said, anyway, though the woman hardly feared much of anything in her old age, and dedicated herself to giving her offspring all the love she had left to give—a perk of living a full life. She would always help her daughter bathe, complimenting the colour of what most were unnerved by. That was more than a decade ago now, however. Ceele’s parents had passed on while she was still young, and she took to travelling not long after, working at what she could to afford what little she needed. Never for long, though—just enough to get to the next town between where she was and where the urge to go lay. There were certainly moments she looked back on fondly, but the journey had taken its toll.
The crude material of her ‘dress’ was coarse, old, and heavy, but it helped ease the worst of spring's chill—even if it was more of a modified sack than proper attire. Still, it was all she had after the last of her clothing fell apart, and giving the repurposed material a name that reminded her of something else made it less uncomfortable to wear, somehow. It would have to do until she could afford a pitying seamstress or the like. Until then, she would pretend she didn’t look so desperate, even if it only highlighted her status and made finding work difficult.
But it did. The dishevelled garment was a far cry from the wonderful silks or breathtaking designs she had seen some women wear, harshly marking the distinction between herself and those of affluence. The clothing of commoners was also a leap in style and quality, so she couldn't say her attire was up to even modest standards. No matter how hard she squinted, and no matter how much she fantasized otherwise, she seemed every bit like the vagrant she was, down to the soil embedded in the curvature of her claws and the stains throughout her fabrics. She looked like a serf from the more oppressed lands, yet they too wore crude cottons, which said a lot about how she appeared to those who had never lived a life of servitude. It was obvious that she was an outsider. That she didn't belong amongst the rest. It made changing something as simple as her appearance all the more difficult; prospective employment always saw a young woman who seemed more likely to steal or swindle than make an honest day’s living.
There was one good twist of fate in recent memory, however, and she came upon the result of it after leaving the slowing bustle of the village behind. Her steps carried her through a small copse of trees on the outskirts of town, the small shaded path leading to the back of a large, carefully pruned clearing, a scattering of fruit-bearing trees providing even darker shadow than the already dim moonlight. She skirted along the aging fence on the border that kept predatory animals away, carefully hoisting herself over the barrier where a large vegetable garden she was responsible for tending resided. If one were to tell her she would be living in such an area several months ago, she would have smiled politely and walked away, yet here she was.
A modest, warmly lit home occupied the middle of the clearing, sitting front and centre when one approached from the village path. It looked quite cozy, surrounded by berry bushes that were just beginning to bloom as the last dregs of winter slipped away. A front patio displayed a nice table and well-loved chairs, the rustic appearance only adding to its charm as a place where friends and family spent the warm summer afternoons. A smithy to the left of the house functioned as an additional heated building during the colder months, but usually served as a storefront and to muffle the sounds of hammered iron, though that had become less common. An old stable was nearby, close enough to be accessible, but not so close as to disturb the once occupying animals with sounds of iron craft. It hadn't seen a horse in quite some time, apparently, so it was mostly a workshop for whatever tasks didn’t require fire or metal.
There was a long history attached to each little detail—from the scuffs along the wooden siding to the depressions in the ground where daily routine wore into the earth. Every fault suffered throughout the years was matched by a thousand quirks that made it feel welcoming, like the house itself was merely waiting for the next friendly face with one of its own. She knew that the inside of each building would look just as cared for.
Her concern lay outside, however. It was a comparatively miniscule space just barely visible through the sheltering trees, true, yet it was where her efforts turned into tangible results, and where a stranger’s trust was painstakingly repaid. Once overgrown grass had been laboriously trimmed, the weeds plucked and disposed of, and now nothing distracted from what she could claim she had done.
The small plots of rock-bordered soil had little buds of growing vegetables, a sense of pride never failing to bloom in her breast with the knowledge that it would be barren without her touch. When her troubles and concerns grew heavy, and fears of the future or spectres of the past loomed over her head, she could look at where she had brought life where it wouldn't otherwise be. Some days, that was enough. She smiled in appreciation at what was admittedly amateur work, the night’s sky helping to hide any inevitably made mistakes.
She enjoyed the sight for a moment longer, then turned to walk towards a neglected old tool shed that was well out of sight within the trees, far away from whatever warmth and comfort the larger house offered to everyone and anyone. She put a hand on the degrading wood of the entryway, giving one last sad smile at the garden as she dismissed selfish thoughts of taking the eventual harvest for herself. A breath cleared the uncertainty from her voice, and she pushed open the door.
“I'm home!”
= = = = =
It took a while for Altier to adjust to his situation, and even once he accepted that his mana wasn't being siphoned, he was still reeling from confusion. He had spent centuries with every year passing by without his notice, yet now he was painfully aware of each creeping second languidly dragging on with the expediency of growing grass. It was as disorienting as it was painfully nostalgic.
Time was something he was never good with, and it only got worse as a dungeon. He'd get lost in creating rooms, corridors, creatures, and whatever else needed doing, only pausing to watch or listen to the few adventurers he became interested in. There was a stint where he spent what felt like hours agonizing over new abilities or options while he let the system manage things in the background, though he supposed it might have been much longer. So many wasted days, yet he still hadn't managed to try everything he had gained access to. Some abilities were simply too niche, came with concerning titles, or held descriptions that made him wary. Anything with ‘Decay’ in the name was instantly ignored—he didn't need more reasons to fear his affinity, and from the few he took the effort to read through, they were always vile.
But his existence for the moment was no longer like those endless stretches spent pondering the minutiae of what would help his adventurers grow stronger. Now, he could follow the rhythmic sounds of footsteps and steady breathing that set a calming pace. They were someone else's, yes, but they contextualized how easy it was to slip away without the subtle noises of life that he had long since surrendered to help his family. Of course, there were more differences that he noticed since being removed from his crumbling cavern, and his sight was the newest change.
He never gave much thought to how far he could see before. Why would he? As a man, his world extended as far as he could fathom, yet was also confined to the room where he spent his days, and as a dungeon… Well, who was he to consider distance when an event happening miles away could be seen with a flicker of thought? Nothing was too far when it was within his creation. Or his ‘body,’ he supposed. Sadly, his entire perception currently consisted of the small sphere of his obsidian core, and maybe a finger's length beyond it—which is to say, not much. He could make out the fine details in the dirty burlap he was held against, and how pale moonlight slowly took over the blurred reds of sunset, but hardly anything more. It was all just frosted colours after a certain point, and he found it infinitely frustrating. He just wanted to peer beyond the haze and scaly hand holding him to confirm that the sky he remembered was still there. Alas, the sunlight faded at too quick a pace, yet one oh so agonizingly slow.
The ensuing darkness gave him nothing to do but think about where he was, not that he had any ideas. He was too curious about why he wasn't dead to bother much with his blurry surroundings after the soft-spoken kobold abducted him, thus why he only belatedly noticed how limited his worldview had become. There might have been a forest beyond his cave, but the greens and browns were gone, and the sounds of steps through brush was replaced by the distant din of a village. An idle curiosity pondered if he would recognize any descents of his ‘family tradition’ adventurers there, but he was being carried by what most considered a monster, so likely not.
That short musing was short-lived, however, and he brought his focus back to the matter at hand. He supposed he was being taken somewhere specific, but that was an obvious deduction, considering he was taken at all. The why of the matter was less so; for what purpose would someone want a Decay-aligned core? He hadn’t heard of them before…well, before he was made into one, but he couldn’t imagine many uses. Maybe he was being sold? His…kidnapper? His sudden companion seemed rather pleased by their discovery of him, so that might be the case, and it was morbidly amusing to think that a frail, sickly young man might one day become a coveted, highly valuable item. His abduction could also be a part of some cult’s nefarious activities, but he didn't want to think about that too hard. He experienced enough odd ceremonies from the adventurers who took the time to tell him their tales.
Either way, he wasn't in the dungeon anymore, and he couldn’t see where he was going. He tried to query his menu to glean an answer, but was met with a scrambled mess he suspected read ‘Synchronizing…’ and little else. It gave him a headache trying to make sense of it—which he didn't know was possible anymore—so he dismissed the text and distracted himself with blurs from whatever diluted senses he still had. There wasn’t much to observe other than the constant footfalls and the flicker of shadows on his companion’s burlap garment. They might have travelled through brush again, but it was too dark to really say for certain.
Eventually, there was something new. He heard an old latch rattle and rusted door hinges groan, then a shuddered clack that confirmed he was now in a building. His kobold acquaintance gently cooed at something before moving about the nearly pitch-black space, finally setting him down on a… He wasn’t sure what it was, besides old and wooden.
[D$#@m$n E@$*ded]
The headache from before became a blinding migraine that suffocated him under a flash-flood of suffering. Seconds passed in abject torture until it blissfully abated, the mental blinks clearing his mind enough to notice a change in his existence. Specifically, he could actually see something besides the rotting wood grain he was placed on top of.
And it wasn’t anything promising…
He was more or less in the centre of a room no bigger than twelve paces by maybe ten. Not a terrible size for a space, but it was clearly never meant to house someone. His resting place looked about as neglected as he surmised; it was an upturned feeding trough, he supposed, since calling it a table seemed too generous. The surface was rife with holes and degraded iron, so it was something that once saw regular use before being replaced and tossed into storage, never to see the light of day again.
Actually, most things in the room seemed to fit that description. The window shutters were installed with metal hinges that had since rusted them closed, the misalignment letting in a draft—and whatever weather was outside as well, most likely. A poorly carved bowl sat on the floor, the stain beneath it hinting that it collected any rainwater that slowly dripped from the leaky roof. The wooden floorboards looked old, splintered, and in need of maintenance or replacement, though an effort had been put into abrading it somewhat smooth lately.
A tiny and decrepit fireplace was to the left of the door upon entry, its brickwork slowly crumbling due to weathering and age. It was sized more for keeping the room warm during mild days than to keep away the frigid chill of night. Its base only held cold ashes, but there was a collection of deadwood and scraps nearby, so that would probably be rectified soon. A small wheel-less cart had been turned into storage against the opposite wall, some herbs and other foraged items stowed away in it for future use. Various things he remembered seeing his father and brothers use in the fields were scattered about, too. It was nostalgic to see, honestly, even if his recollections had blurred over time.
Bundles of tattered blankets formed a pair of nests in the far corner, the smaller of the two had a pile of rough plants nearby. That answered his silent pondering of the room's purpose somewhat, though he was pretty sure the bedding material was salvaged, and there didn’t seem to be any hay or padding underneath whoever was sleeping on it. He didn’t know what to think about the weeds; they were purposefully placed there, and whoever did so had taken the time to wash them, but it was still strange.
He couldn’t see a doorway besides the entrance, yet most of the hallmarks of residency were put where space could be afforded, however crude. All in all, he surmised that it was a gardening shed of sorts, and his new acquaintance apparently lived here. He wasn't sure what he was expecting when a creature he had only read about came into his dungeon, but it wasn't being brought to a rundown and decrepit shack for unknown purposes.
Even if he had been raised by parents who made a humble living at the best of times, and they had emptied their coffers for unsuccessful attempts to ease his ailments, his acquaintance's living space made him uncomfortable. His family's house was never anything fancy, true—it shared some of the worn qualities that inevitably gathered over the years—but it was never this bad. His home benefited from a father's touch keeping it robust and a mother’s love keeping it warm, whereas this place had seen neither in quite some time. Oh, there was evidence that such was once the case; a wall was adorned with carefully made and well-spaced hangers for the various gardening tools, though the implements themselves had become a victim of neglect. That being said, he could make out the fresh soil and recent scratches exposing furrows of silver, so they were seeing use again.
A scrape and clack of flint drew his attention to his kobold companion. They were kneeling in front of the fireplace, methodically sparking life back into a dead flame with twigs and dried leaves. A slow, steady breath into the reddened base illuminated its face with a dull orange glow, revealing its weary visage and the permanently etched smile that rested beneath its cold grey eyes. The black-scaled kobold looked tired, if he were to guess—much the same as Altier did when he spent countless days watching everyone living a life he could never have through the mossy window of his bedroom. He was probably humanizing it too much. Still, he was surprised by the muted pang of sympathy, and how he would feel much more than blithe curiosity after spending so much time alone in the crumbling crypt of his own making.
A mental breath cycled through him as he looked at the odds and ends yet to be observed. Hardly anything else was of note—everything else was degraded and neglected, too. He did notice a nest of blankets move though, which was as good a distraction as any. The answer to his previous ‘pile of weeds’ inquiry poked a tiny nose from a crease in the fabric, then rapidly pawed at the blankets to dig itself out. Altier stared at the creature in both recognition and confusion.
It was a rabbit…or at least it looked like one, assuming you were to also describe a porcupine and a sea urchin as well. He was pretty sure he didn’t remember any hare that had jagged metal-tipped fur, nor that had said fur arranged into a row of spiked horns that flowed down its spine, terminating at a large fluffy tail, which was equally bizarre to see. The whole of its coat could double as a weapon, with semi-sharp barbs sticking off seemingly at random, yet he remembered an adventurer saying most animals used that sort of thing defensively. He increased his focus as he tried to make sense of the odd creature. Surely he would have heard about—
[Hoppittttttt#%%÷ — Ferro-o-orabbit-it (Ma%$le)
Abil—]
[Null]
[Er0Rrrrrrrr—]
[Und#$f—]
He bit back the pain caused by the sudden intrusion of his menu, blanking out the text and mentally retreating to hide from the source. Did he just inspect something? How? Shouldn’t his entire…‘framework,’ was it…? Yes, that was it. Shouldn’t that have been corrupted? Why could he see the creature’s information when his entire framework was damaged? That was the first ability he lost, so why is it the first to be functional? How was it functional? Was it? It did just spit garbled text at him, but it was something, and that was more than he had gotten from it in a very long time. If it was somehow working—no matter how poorly—then that left the question of why he hadn't heard of anything called a ‘ferrorabbit’ before, assuming he read that correctly.
A soft thud vibrated the tro— table, startling him out of thought. He turned his attention to the button nose wiggling erratically at him, the short, stubby muzzle leading to surprisingly expressive and curious red eyes. Dull brown fur jutted off in random tufts and patches, changing to a darker tint on its paws and the upper half of its ears, while the tips of its spikes were a muted hue of iron. It still seemed just as soft as the less pointed variety he remembered, if a touch dirty. Upright ears twitched this way and that way as its head vigorously shook, eventually settling on pointing in his direction when it calmed down enough.
It was apparent that he had its undivided attention…for all of a few seconds. His scaly companion called something out in their foreign tongue, and whatever conclusion the pointy-furred animal came to, it seemed more interested in the kobold, parting from him after nudging his core with its nose.
[Cre-e-e—]
[Errrrrrr0r: Undefiiiiiiii—]
[Acceeeeep-t-t-t??]
[Yeeee— s s / Nnnnnnn—]
He winced at the intrusion, but the contents detracted from the pain. He couldn’t remember the system ever asking him a question without his explicit intent being involved. It wanted him to…accept something? Was it the system prompting him, or the animal? What was he to accept?
[Creatuuuuu—]
[Acce-e-e-%#@ed!]
…What?
= = = = =
“Hoppit, that's not food!” Ceele admonished half-heartedly, placing a larger branch on the burgeoning flame before she got to her feet. She wasn’t actually that worried; the stone was as big as his head, and she was pretty sure he couldn't bite into it. Hopefully. “Come here, momma has a treat for you!”
The ferrorabbit playfully bumped the gemstone and jumped off the low table, landing with a soft thud that belied how heavy he was for his tiny size. He wiggled in excitement, his ears flailing and releasing a slight clack whenever the two connected. It got even louder when she grabbed her basket and put away the useful herbs, taking out a specific item that she had gathered just for him. The little bun wasted no time in scurrying over and standing tall on his hind legs to judge if the offered plant was to his liking—and it was, based on how he dug in with enthusiasm. She stifled a laugh as she contentedly watched him nibble away on the treat, ignoring the guilt that came with knowing she couldn't afford proper vegetables for him. He had a hard life too, and it tore at her to have so little to give.
She came across Hoppit a year ago, during a storm that worsened while she was travelling between towns. The day had darkened to night in spite of it still being about noon, but the weather didn't care for how bright it was supposed to be. Wind and rain became a typhoon, forcing her to seek shelter in a thankfully abandoned den of what was probably a larger animal. She was fine with waiting out the squall, since the stone roof over her head was more than she usually had back then, but the sounds of dull bangs and thuds near her hideaway was followed by cries of animals yelping in pain. Curiosity won over reason, and she left the safety of her shelter to see what was causing the disturbance. Truthfully, she was hopeful that she'd come across scraps or the like, her hunger driving her forward, and she could always turn back if it seemed dangerous. Yet when she arrived at the source of the commotion, she found herself thinking of anything but food.
Two predators had fought over a small burrow, both trying to dig out a meal and taking offence to the other doing the same. What they didn’t know was that they were assaulting the home of ferrorabbits. Specifically, the home of an angry, protective, and well-fed mother that was keeping her newborns safe from the storm when predators decided to try their luck. From the scene Ceele came across, it was certainly obvious why most people dislike trying to hunt the creatures.
Sadly, the rabbit didn't survive an attack from two predators, but she did make their victory pyrrhic; neither could do much about their hunger with their bodies full of cuts and holes, and it was only a matter of time before they succumbed to blood loss or infection. The mother's sacrifice meant that the babies had avoided the imminent threat, but they were left unattended as a consequence, and it took an opportunistic bird swooping down to shake Ceele out of her shock. Despite her subsequent hurry, she only acted in time to save one of the orphaned young. The warren was new and barely dug out, which meant that it didn’t take much effort for the kits to be found—by both her and hungry maws. All she could do was scoop the ball of fluff into her arms and run back to the cave before anything else tried to eat it.
In retrospect, it was a stupid decision for a number of factors. She barely had the resources to supply herself, and an attempt to raise offspring of any type would only make the inevitable heartbreak worse. But when she saw how quiet and scared he was… How his tiny, shaking body calmed in her arms, those terrified red eyes seeking comfort… She should have just walked away when she knew there wasn’t going to be anything to fill her stomach. She should have put the baby animal down and let nature take its course…yet the preciously furry face stole her heart far too quickly for it to grow so cold. The next day was spent backtracking to the nearest town to get him something suitable to eat, which used most of her meagre savings. Still, it was worth every coin.
Hoppit had been accompanying her ever since. He grew quickly, transitioning from something she saved that stormy night into a presence she had grown to love like a child. The little lagomorph would bounce along beside her during her travels, then ride in her arms as he rested—though the latter happened with worrying frequency as of late. She hadn’t learned much about the springy herbivores, but she knew enough to say that he wasn't as big as he should be, nor was his fur as sharp. No matter how startled he was, his spiky coat never managed to do more than stiffen slightly, which was apparently a side effect of poor diet, according to snippets of conversation she had overheard on the topic. She wanted him to be healthy, but she didn't know what he needed. Not many farmers raised ferrorabbits, and those that did were far away, so she didn’t have anyone to ask what she should be doing. Her best course of action was to give him what little she had.
Ceele was well aware of how he would be better off on his own, but he followed her whenever she tried to set him free. Hoppit just kept launching into her arms and wiggling his ears, ecstatic that he was with her again, uncaring that food was scarce and that they spent most of their days travelling. No amount of cold nights spent bundling up under the tattered blankets she managed to find ever dampened his spirits, and he was content to eat the grass or flowers whenever he felt like it, oblivious to the fact that he wasn’t getting enough nutrition. He would dig and excitedly drag back oddities that he found, and the one time he found a plant that looked particularly good for him, he insisted that it be shared with her.
A black pit still lingered in her chest when she recalled how pleased he was while he munched on the rare vegetable he discovered, then how distressed he became when she wouldn’t have any as well. He bumped and nipped at her, all but begging her to eat. His ears pinned back against his head, his fur bristled in a way she hadn’t seen since. It was only when she took a small bite and let him inspect the new teeth marks that he seemed to calm down, but perhaps she had been looking too deep into the actions of her tiny friend. All she could say for certain was that he was scared she was going hungry.
A morbid thought wondered if his first mother had refused food shortly before being attacked, and he—as small and simple as he was—had connected the two events in his mind, making him absolutely terrified that something would happen if Ceele didn’t have something too. All of that fear, and desperation overwhelmed him, just because she was happier watching him eat. She was determined to erase that issue. She would find something that needed a worker and earn enough to feed them both. One day, she would be able to smile at how big and healthy her little fluffy boy had become, but until then, it was becoming increasingly difficult not to think about how she was spending so much time growing vegetables and fruit that he couldn’t have…
Every morning was an exercise in tending to the gardens while actively shoving down images of a pleased ferrorabbit happily eating the results. That never went well; no matter how determined she was to complete her duties without a single selfish thought, most tasks were done while picturing his full belly and delighted bounces. There were a few weeks until the fastest of the crops would be ready for harvest, and Ceele would have to collect them while fighting the urge to bring back just a few for him.
She couldn’t, because she knew exactly how quickly that could escalate. It would start small—A vegetable here, a fruit there—but seeing Hoppit happy was one of the precious few good things she had in her life. Crossing the line would only become easier each time. They couldn’t risk losing their new home over greed, and she was already betraying the trust given to her by housing a wild animal, especially one known to be a pest for crops. She didn't want to know how angry it would make her benefactors if she was caught taking their vegetables for one.
No matter how tame and precious Hoppit was, and no matter how well he listened, they would only see him as the same creature that ruined harvests in droves. Thus was why she had to tell him to stay cooped up by himself while she was working or scavenging. And to her surprise, he did.
Honestly, she had made the initial request with the expectation of needing to carry him back into their home until he understood that she wasn’t leaving him forever. There wasn’t much she could do to stop the ferrorabbit from digging through the old wooden building if he wanted to get out. He wouldn’t need to damage anything either—a rotting board on the door only needed a little push to nudge it out of the way, and his natural curiosity made sure he was aware of it. But no, Hoppit was well-behaved as always, keeping hidden until she walked through the door, where he would leap from the shadows to personally show her how good he was and how he stayed put like she asked him to. It never stopped amazing her that he had such a surprising level of understanding despite being an animal, and that was to say nothing of how young he was.
All that intelligence, joy, and companionship he offered her…and yet the best she could give back to him was the weeds from the garden and the odd plant she found while scavenging…
Soft clacks of flicking ears dragged her from her pondering, her mind returning to the present. Hoppit finished his treat of the small plant, then bounced in place and scurried over to his bowl of water, perfectly happy to have eaten only that. He was so joyful with how little she provided, approaching every day of scarcity with the same enthusiasm she could never muster, as if certain that everything would be alright.
“It’s bedtime, Hoppit,” Ceele announced through a soft sigh, stoking the fire with enough branches to hopefully last the night. The ferrorabbit perked an ear in her direction, then sat on his haunches to extend the rest of himself up, his two little forepaws adorably held to his chest as he inspected the room like he always did. She smiled and made sure everything was stored away, then laid down on her bundle of blankets, covering herself with the warmest one. Hoppit bolted over to snuggle once he decided everything in the shed was up to his standards, throwing himself to the floor in a dramatic flop of comfort. Her quiet laughter subsided as they both settled in for the night, her tail completing the rabbit’s encompassing cuddle, but her eyes fell towards the obsidian orb on the table, her thoughts following suit.
It sat there, just as she left it, as benign as anything else ever placed atop the improvised furnishing. Yet there was a sense of ease and purpose as well. The old wooden trough seemed…important with its adornment firmly laid upon its surface, and she couldn’t puzzle out why. She was starting to doubt her earlier excitement.
Should she sell it? Would anyone know where it came from? Would anyone know what it was, or if it was worth anything? If she could get even a modest sum for it, she would be able to buy clothing, food, and new bedding. It would be easier to convince someone to give her work if she was dressed better and wasn’t so thin, and then she would have the income to slowly improve both of their lives. She could pay for a wandering merchant to ask a ferrorabbit rancher about the animal, even if it would take time to get back to her, or maybe she could hire a local if they needed to go near one for some reason. The cost didn’t matter to her as long as it happened.
But there was something else bothering her about the idea of selling the stone. She had travelled so far with a tug in her chest, only for the feeling of wanderlust to dissipate as soon as she held it. Was that a sign? She was never one for things like ‘fate,’ but a niggling doubt in her mind discouraged the idea of making a profit off her discovery. Even if what she could gain was so very tempting, and even if Hoppit would be happier if she did…
She tore her dampened eyes away and closed them, ignoring the burning trails running across her face. It would be another early morning, and she needed to sleep so she could take care of the garden. Decisions like this could wait. Once she had nothing else distracting her, and she had time to properly think about it, she would see how she felt about the stone.
Eventually, she dozed off with Hoppit pressed against her chest, and a longing in her heart.
Next
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A/N: Patreon and Ko-fi will be 1 chap ahead this time around, and I've set it so everything from the lowest tier up can read the newest trashfire! Anything above that is sheer show of love. Hope you enjoyed!

Hi I just came across a novel, chosen by the moon novel by izabella W. Its on pay by chapter websites, I've opened and read a few chapters but I can't seem to find any free version or chapter version anywhere. Please help. If anyone has read it I'm willing to take spoilers. Here's the advert I found below of it on Facebook.
Lycanthrope species is a disgusting race. And I, Delan Riley, am nothing more than a human scum in their eyes never expected those species would turn my world upside down. Since when the lycans managed to penetrate our town, like in the early 1900's we have a hierarchy, upper class = the lycans, middle class = mated humans, and lower class = the normal humans, who were basically considered scum. I endured their torment day after day, vowing to run away from them one day, until that day came and everything changed.
Dylan POV "Humans," I scowled at the principal's words from tannoy. "The Alpha twins will be celebrating their birthday tomorrow, as such, festivities are in order." Oh great, the Alphas twin children. Adrian and Arya are the worst lycans alive. I swear just because they are the alphas kids they literally get away with everything. If their birthday is tomorrow, then the wolves are going to be worse than ever. "All students will be present to greet them, two lines will be made, with humans on the left and the lycanthrope on the right. Any mated human will be at the front of the line for their year, you will all also be in order of your school year. That is all." Chat broke out the minute the tannoy was finished. "We haven't had a school gathering since the alpha king visited three years ago, before his sons coronation." Nick was right, the last time we all gathered like that was for the king and queens visit, when he decided to let the world know that he was to renounce his title to his only child, son Josh. "That sick bestard, he wants to make sure everyone is there so those idiot twins can find their mates." Yes I was mad, my fists connected with the table in front of me once more as I thought about how disgusting the situation was. You see the twins will be turning 17, so it's very possible someone in our school could be their mate, finding a mate is sacred to a wolf, the minute they say that one word your fate is sealed. They will turn your mind, morph you into being a lover of their kind, and then you'll give in.

That won't happen to me, I'm growing old to see the world as it once was, and I'm going to choose who I'll be with. No one will take that dream away from me.

Once dinner was finished, I just wanted to sleep. I'd had a very long tiring day, I quickly sat down on a small stool my mother kept in the storage closet and removed my shirt while my brother Freddy sat at the table to do his simple homework. It wasn't long before my mother came in with a large bowl of warm salt water and some cotton, this was going to sting I just knew it. She was here to help me with the wounds caused by wolves yesterday. She slowly began to unwrap the bandage from around my torso and slowed down drastically when it came to the final layer, I felt it peel off every wound and my fists clenched in pain. "Jesus!" I heard my mom exclaim once the dressing was completely removed. The air on my back was nice though and I sighed as my arm covered my once again exposed brests. "This is more than 15!" I began to hear sniffles coming from her and sighed turning round to look at her face, only to notice tears streaming down it. "Mom I'm fine, it's alright." She shook her head. "It's not alright, I'm your mother I shouldn't let these things happen. I'm so sorry. Your father would have..." here she goes again. Every single time something happened she'd always bring up dad, it really annoyed me because no matter how much we all wish he was here, he just isn't. My father was kiled by THEIR kind, almost 5 years ago when they actually managed to take over. When the lycans managed to penetrate our town my father rose up with some people from the neighborhood, to defend our livelihood, it was futile to say the least. We lost many people and I watched as my dad was ripped apart by two fully shifted wolves, I ended up shoting him to stop his suffering before they dragged me to the courtyard, i was the person to receive the first lashing of the town when I was 12! The wolves have been pretty strict with me since that day. "Stop being stvpid!" Was I harsh? Definitely! Did she need to hear it again, absolutely. "Dad is dead, we don't know what he'd do because he never knew this life. He never knew this world." I know what he'd have done, most likely attacked the guy who held the whip and got himself kiled in the process. "The best thing you can do for me, is stop crying and help me, next time don't insist on helping if you can't handle it." She began to wash my open wounds with the warm salt water causing loud winces to leave me, I knew it was necessary to prevent infection, but my god it hurt like a betch. "Some of these are really deep Dylan!" She sniffed again and my eyes rolled in my head. "I told you, I'm fine, just wrap me back up so I can get to bed." My mom was obviously more impacted by my injuries than I was, I suppose that always the case though. When it's happening to you, you've just got to get through it but when it's happening to someone you love, you just want to take their pain away. She quickly placed a fresh bandage around my waist and chest and wrapped it tightly for compression. The bowl of water that was used was now red in color, I guess from the blood my back was dripping with. "Can you keep your head down please? At least just this week. You can't take any more lashings." I simply nodded before standing up away from the stool, I walked over to Freddie and ruffled his hair in affection. "Good night squirt." He giggled and fixed his hair slightly. "Night Dilly." I smiled walking upstairs to my little bedroom, as soon as I was inside i shut the door and flopped down on to my bed on my stomach and I took a minute to cry to myself at the pain in my back, what my mom did was important but it hurt, not that I'd ever tell her. My hand covered my mouth quickly to muffle any noise I might be making. I couldn't tell anyone, I had to be strong because more and more people were crumpling these days, and my mom would break if she knew how much I was suffering. Sleep followed me shortly after, she was right though about me needing to keep my head down for the time being, I could not take another lashing! After a long night and an even longer morning, we were all finally stood in the hallway at school waiting for the twins to arrive. "Mine!" Everyone that was stood in the hallway tensed up, as we were seniors, me and Nick were stood towards the very back of the human line. All the mated people were situated directly opposite their wolf mates in their years. We stayed silent and still as Arya walked down the hall and stopped directly in front of Nick. His eyes widened in fear, unsure of wether to look up or keep his head lowered. "Look me in the eye, mate." He glanced at me slightly as if asking what he should do. "I said, look me in the eye." He slowly moved his eye line up to look at her face. I took a glance myself to see her eyes pitch black with lust. "I... can't... I mean... erm." Before he was able to mutter anything else, two wolves from opposite, grabbed him out of the line and dragged him behind Arya. "Hey!" My head shot up before I could stop myself. My mouth also forgot its place as I jumped out of line. Everyone's head shot to me as my eyes widened in realization at what I'd done. Adrian, the other twin, walked up to me before punching me right in the stomach, I doubled over instantly. Feeling the sting in my slightly healed back. "I know you... You were publicly flogged only two days ago." God I hate this guy. "I also have it on good authority, that you openly spoke out against our rules and regulations in yesterday's class." My head shot down the line slightly to see Erin, looking a little frightened, her mate, the beta to be was looking at her, nodding his head in reassurance. "You traitor, you grassed on your own kind?" I yelled at her before feeling a fist connect with my cheek. My head whipped to the side from the force, while my class members gasped. I'm so done with this treatment, right then, I wasn't in charge of my actions. My fists curled up and my stance became a lot more defensive. My head snapped up to the alpha to be, and I looked him in the eye. "You don't know the meaning of the word disrespect." I suddenly hurled my fist towards his head, which he easily dodged, but my foot came up and kicked him instead. He stumbled backwards from the force with wide eyes. "You... you Actually hit me!" He didn't even sound annoyed, more shocked. Everyone in the hallway was watching, waiting for the alpha to do something but instead he simply stood up straight, regaining his composure. "I think everyone should get back to class." He began to walk away, following his sister when I called him back. "What about Nick?!" "Simple, He's my sisters mate. He now belongs to her." Argh, he's not an object. "He's not her property." A chuckle left his mouth, before turning his back to me again. "All humans are property." A short while later everyone made it to science class, our teacher Mrs Mathews is mated to the lycans pack doctor, she also now has a four and two year old with him. She was one of the first humans to be cohered into a false relationship. "What were you thinking young lady?" I rolled my head at her before looking at the empty seat next to mine. Nick was with that stvpid wolf girl right now. Being changed, I'm so angry it's ridiculous. "I was thinking, this guy is being a prick. Did you hear him? 'All humans are property.' It's bull shet." I looked up and the whole class looked at me like I had three heads. Talking shet about wolves is one thing, but talking about an alpha is punishable by death, attacking an alpha is an even worse offense. There was then a knock at the door and in walked Erin and her band of mated bestards. "Sorry we're late Mrs." "Erin, how are things between you and bata Monroe?" She blushed, the traitor actually blushed at the mention of his name. "He spoke to me last night about trying for a baby. We need a good strong boy to take over as beta." I scoffed looking at her as she took her seat. "You guys are actually pathetic, why can't it be a girl? Those mutts are basically Neanderthals" I voiced my opinion and saw all the shocked faces around me. Calling the lycans mutts, is the same as them calling us scum. After lesson had ended the entire school was called into the hall for assembly. This is where any human who has been found to have broken the rules were punished, usually 10 lashings were goven out or something similar. "Welcome to the school assembly, congratulations to the alpha twins for finding both your mates. Now on to the business at hand, as the 5 year anniversary of the new world is coming up, we have been informed that the alpha king will be visiting our district next week, this is very exciting news. We want you all to look your absolute best, she wolves and mated females will wear exemplary dresses made by seamstress. Male wolves and mated men will wear tailored suits. Anyone who doesn't comply will be reprimanded." The Alpha King?! No one has met him yet, he took over the throne three years ago when he turned 18. He really didn't make any appearances though, great, this month is going to be a nightmare. "As for the humans, you will be given a new uniform to wear for the visit, these are to be neatly ironed and worn to the highest standard. As for the following humans, based on your attitude this past week, you will be coming to the front and facing punishment. Tony summerset?!" Tony's head shot up as he looked around, he was in the year below but he shared my views when it came to the lycans. He slowly walked up to the front of assembly, almost instantly his top was t0rn in two and he received 10 lashings. A girl named Kara was next and she too received 10 lashings. A few more people went up slowly accepting their fate then suddenly my name was called. "Dylan Riley." Inside I was terrified but I simply shrugged my shoulders, I guess I did kind of expect this. Although I'm not sure if my back can take any more damage. "You attacked an alpha, correct!" His eyes bored into mine as I bowed my head submitting to his authority. "Technically, no." Everyone in the school gym looked on in fear, as my head moved to the front row of the wolf side. Adrian sat, with a werewolf girl in the year below, her name was Jana, I guess he found his mate. Nick and Arya were no where to be seen though. Adrian gave me a shrug as if to say he didn't tell, before smirking at my comment. "He hasn't officially taken the alpha title yet, so he's just..." i looked at the principle and noticed his eyes black and his claws out, he was in what lycans call a half shift, triggered when the subject has become angered. He turned to two security wolves and gave them a nod, Almost immediately i was forced onto my knees, my arm was slammed on a table and held in place by one wolf, while my body was held in place by the other. "Ok, I don't think this is needed, I have alpha blood, a stvpid human girl can't hurt me." My head snapped to Adrian who had stood up in front of the school to stop what was happening. "Nevertheless, humans need to know their place." With that the pressure on my arm increased as our principals hand pulled my sleeve up before a long claw punctured my skin. The searing pain shoting from the fresh wound had my eyes scrunched and my fist clenched, I bit the inside of my cheek hard instantly tasting blood, however no sound left my mouth. He continued to write, using my skin as a canvas and his claws as a marker, it went on forever, my vision blurred slightly at one point as I turned my head away. After minutes of torture, he was done and the pressure on my arm eased, instantly I snatched my arm away, hissing through my teeth at the pain. I was about to scurry off stage, when I was roughly grabbed yet again, my arm being held in the air by the principal while my feet were inches off the floor, blood dripped from the wound and the pattern he had made was on show for everyone to see. Loads of people gasped, even the wolves looked slightly horrified at what had happened. "This is what happens when a human decides to speak out. I can promise, anyone who so much as says one word about our way of life, will have the same punishment." My arm was starting to seriously ache from being held in the air for so long, and the lack of blood flow to my suspended arm was causing me pins and needles, still I refused to make a sound. I held the tears back and I bit my cheek harder causing more blood to fill my mouth. "That's enough Bradley!" Adrian growled, he was still stood up and looking at the scene in front of him. His eyes hard as he stared at the principal a low warning growl erupted from his chest which had the head teacher gulping, he quickly let go of my arm causing me to crash to the floor. A small cry left my mouth as I hit the hard floor. Immediately I scrambled away, my foot just missed the high step leading to the stage and I fell, waiting for the impact of the ground, but it never came. Two strong arms wrapped around me catching my weak body causing me to look up, my eyes widened as I noticed Adrian had caught my falling form. "This isn't part of the human punishment program!" Adrian growled causing me to tense in his grip, I pushed him away from me before fixing my uniform top. The room was deadly silent, taking in the scene in front of them, while I stole a glance at my forearm. Carved into my skin by his devastating claws were two words, words that would most definitely scar my body for life. 'Human scum' "Lessons must be learned, she received lashing merely two days ago, and clearly it had no effect on her." Another growl left Adrian's chest as he stepped on to the stage, I wasn't bothered though, you would think I'd be ashamed but I simply smiled slightly. I fixed my sleeve a little so it wouldn't rub on the fresh wound before speaking. "It doesn't matter," the whole room looked at me shocked by my attitude. "I would rather be labeled human scum, than have any resemblance to your kind. I'm proud of what I am, how many of you can say that?" After my amazing little speech, I walked right down the middle between the humans and lycans and out the door. No more compliance, I'm going to get away with as much as I can without getting into too much bother. There will come a day when the lycans power will fizzle out. When it does I'll be ready, I'll be waiting for the day we take our world back. As for the best part about my plan...

No one can stop me.

"Ouch, not so hard." I seethed as the school nurse cleaned my new wound with antiseptic. "If you had of just kept your mouth shut, this wouldn't have happened." I turned to my right looking out the window at the few clouds that were floating in the blue sky. "Like I said, I'm proud to be human, and now everyone knows what I am." I clenched my fist together as the nurse began wrapping a bandage around my forearm. It had been a good few hours since the incident in the hall, and I had been forced to come to the nurces office after I had tried to clean my wound by splashing it with water from the tap, it also refused to stop bleeding. "You are impossible. Can you please just try and stay out of trouble? For one day, that's all I ask." Our school nurse is a wolf, she's one of them. However she hates the way they treat us mere humans, she thinks we should all just live in peace with equal rights. Like that would ever happen. "All I've done is stay out of trouble, but you are just going to humiliate me anyway, so what's the actual point?" "The pack were discussing a public execution, Dylan. You need to walk on egg shells from now on, not just for you but for your family as well." No ones been publicly executed in over 4 months, I'm flattered they're considering it. They only execute people who they believe are the biggest problems to society. "Well then... I'm flattered." I chuckled, before looking at the patch job. 'Huh, not too shabby.' I quickly stood up from the human nursing station and pulled the sleeve of my shirt down covering the evidence of ever being hurt. "This is serious!" I just gave her a blank look before leaving the room. On the way out I heard her call back to me. "Please just think about it." I gave a clipped nod as I walked away wondering how I'm going to tell my mom about this. Later in the evening... "Dilly why you say that?" Freddie looked up at me with a mouth full of bread. "Don't speak with your mouthful!" My mom scolded him as a bashful blush made its way to his cheeks. "Sowwy mommy." His reply was muffled as he swallowed the last chunk of food. "I said it Freddie, because it's the truth. The wolf race are a pathetic excuse for..." my mom cut me off with an extremely stern look. "Dylan! They have ears everywhere, one more word out of you and it's your room." I scowled, my hatred for the Lycan kind growing stronger as each day passes. "What more can they do to me, lash me? Beat me? Brand me? They've ran out of options." I stated slamming my hands down, then severely regretting it as sharp pain shot though my wound. "What was that?" My head shot to regard my mothers worried expression. Her eyebrows were raised and her eyes were dull and judging as she looked at me. "Nothing, it was nothing." I quickly took my plate in my hand and began to walk to the kitchen. "I'm not really hungry, and I have homework to do!" My mom caught hold of my forearm causing me to drop my plate suddenly, I watched it slowly fall before shattering on the floor. I retracted my arm quickly and turned to Freddie. "Stay there and don't move until it's cleaned up ok sport?" He just nodded with wide eyes, I turned back to my mom and noticed her curious stare on my arm. Her grip shifted to the other side as she turned it around before pulling my sleeve up. The bandage was showing and a bit of blood was seeping though after the wound had been disturbed. "What the hel happened?" My moms eyes widened as she began to fumble with the bandage. Before she could unravel any of it I snatched my arm away. "I had an accident at school. No big." I began to gather the large pieces of the broken plate up ready to put them in the bin. "What did you do Dylan?" She looked at me with pure worry and only then did I realize what the wound must look like to someone who didn't know. "For gods sake! I didn't do it to myself! I got publicly punished at the assembly alright? It's no big deal." Her face dropped instantly and she stepped towards me, causing me to step backwards. "Mom, I'm ok. So back off will you." "What did you do? I've never known them to cut someone's arm as a punishment." Her shock and accusation was evident in her voice and I sighed heavily. "I spoke against the alphas son." I may have hit him too, but I wasn't going to divulge that part to her. "It's not one big cut, mom, it's a brand, 'human scum' carved onto my arm." "They've branded you now too?!" My eyes rolled at her hurt tone as I went to get the dustpan and brush. "You're so much like your father." A sigh left her mouth as she spoke, running a hand through her hair, while I quickly swept up the little pieces of the broken plate. "You've had a new uniform delivered. It's laid out on your bed. Dylan, Please just try and stay respectful in the future, I don't want my daughter to be completely mutilated. Although you're not far off." "Gee, Thanks." I then walked over to my little brother Freddy before blowing a kiss into his neck and hearing him giggle. "So sport, how's school going?" "It's ok." He shrugged before going back to coloring a dinosaur picture in. "Well that's good, stay out of trouble, ok little man?" Heading upstairs and into my room, my thoughts wandered to the permanent graffiti scar very slowly healing on my arm. Disgusting beasts. Think they own the world because they're faster, stronger and can shift. Pah. If you ask me they are not all that.

The second I walked into my room my mouth dropped open. On my bed was some grey pants laid out neatly, which wasn't the surprising part, no, what shocked me was the grey high neck no sleeved button down shirt, every single set of uniform had sleeves except this one. They've done this on purpose those, mutts. They want the world to see my arm and know what a disgusting creature I am. They want the world to know that I, Dylan Riley, am nothing more than 'human scum'.

During the last week, I've been horrible, in class I've been loud in voicing my views, I've insulted at least everyone to some degree, I didn't care about the consequences, and I certainly didn't think about them. I haven't seen Nick at all since he was claimed, and to make matters worse today was the royal visit. Oh yes, werewolves and mated humans alike were spending every waking minute preparing themselves to meet his royal majesty, king of the wolves. Unclaimed Humans however would rather stick pins in their eyes. "Dylan, get down now... you're going to be late." She was right, I was dawdling this morning, I really couldn't be bothered today, I gave myself one last look in the small mirror and sighed when my eyes met my newly uncovered brand. It had bad bruising around the letters, and was still extremely tender to touch, it was definitely healing now though. I made my way down the stairs and came face to face with my mother who was seeing to Freddie, she was helping my brother get his coat on when she turned to me. "You ready sport?" Freddie nodded his little head at me and smiled while I quickly slid my shoes on. "Just Remember, the alpha is bad enough, Dylan, please, please don't do anything to anger the king." My mother stopped us from walking out the door to tell me something she had been telling me continuously for the last couple of days, it was almost as if the entire human population of our district was expecting me to do something stvpid. "Try and have a good day." I rolled my eyes but nodded, even I know not to push the king, he could kil me in the hallway like it was nothing. In fact I plan on staying out of his way for the entirety of the day. "We will see you tonight mom." I stated before me and my brother began our walk to school, his little hand clutched my own tightly as we went. Usually Nick would be with us, as he lives next door, well he used to, now he's residing in the main pack house. I quickly dropped Freddie off at his school and watched him get the wolfsbane neutralizer before walking into him building giving me a small wave before he went in. With my new scar on complete show, and my figure being complimented by the skin tight shirt I was wearing, I sauntered down the street to school, I gave my name and year in and took the wolf's bane neutralizer injection with no problems at all. It was finally getting into school that the problem occurred. Walking through the halls I was met by many looks, some of pity some of disgust. You see every single non mated human in the school was wearing a long sleeved version of the uniform I was given. All the Wolves and mated couples were scattered around in fancy floor length dresses or tailored suits. As I turned the corner I noticed a couple, now this couple happened to catch my eye the most out of all of them because it consisted of Arya and Nick, eating each other's faces off. "What the hel!" Nicks head shot to me as his eyes widened. He too was dressed in a tailored suit, a navy blue tie hung on his neck to match Aryas dress. Why was this happening all the time? It's always my friends that get completely brain washed. I shook my head in disbelief before turning my back on him. I heard his fast footsteps behind me as I rounded the corner. "Dylan?!" He ran right in front of me, stopping me in my tracks, making me drop my bag off my shoulder and almost causing me to bump into him. "Let me just explain..." "Has she marked you?" I mean you could almost see it in his eyes, she had marked him, and knowing the way life goes he's probably even mated with her. "Actually... Don't even answer that." I aggressively picked my bag up off of the floor and stormed off down the hall. "Dylan, just listen to me, Erin was right, it's so hard to resist your soulmate, and Arya is actually ok once you get to know her." I just kept walking, he caught up to me walking beside me but it didn't matter, I completely ignored everything and everyone. 'I'm so not in the mood today' getting into class was good though, I said hello to Mr Foley and took my usual seat. Nick sighed then took his bag off ready to sit next to me, but I snapped before he had the chance. "Traitors and mated idiots sit on that side of the room." I didn't look him in the eye as I pointed to a seat right at the front of the classroom on the opposite side. His eyes widened as he turned his attention back to me. "You can't be serious Dylan." I gave him a blank look before grabbing my book out of my backpack, I placed it on the desk then began to write the date on the top line. "I've sat in this seat for as long as I can remember." I ignored him, his voice sounded sad and shocked. "Dylan? Wait! What is that?!" Before I could react Nick had grabbed hold of my branded arm and turned it to see the letters. "Oh my God! What happened?" I snatched my arm away from him and shrugged as I continued to write in my book before grabbing my water bottle out of my bag. "The principal happened, it was my punishment for speaking out against Adrian and Arya. I wear it with pride." He just held a complete look of disbelief. "You spoke out against them?" I shrugged, what did he think I'd do. "It's no secret that I despise this stvpid new world and the mutts that control it. You were my friend, I wasn't going to let them just take you without saying something, although that is exactly what you seem to have done. Enjoy the view from your new seat!" "Don't be like that, Dylan, I'm your best friend, I'm sorry about your arm, but..." my eyes rolled inside my head at my friends words. "Anything with the word 'but' in, isn't an apology, it's a rationalization." I took a drink of water from my bottle and kept my eyes facing forward, ignoring his every attempt to try and talk to me. "Dylan?.. Dylan?... Do you know what? Erin is right, if you push us all away you won't have any friends left." He huffed before walking over to the empty seat and sitting down, I could feel him glancing up at me every now and again but I didn't respond. "Good morning class, please settle down." He looked at me then at Nick and frowned, we've never sat apart, we were friends before the new world even began. I just shook my head telling him to forget it. "So... as you know the king will be arriving in a short while, but until then lessons will go on as normal." Its funny seeing teachers in the same uniform your wearing, mr Foley and his wife are the coolest. Human teachers and doctors only have slightly more respect than we do. Because of Mr Foley's status him and his wife have better access to food and drink, Mrs Foley is cool, sometimes she even makes sure mr Foley brings some in for me. Ya know, coz I'm their favorite student. It's not in a weird way, it's just they were friends of the family before the new wold took effect. Mr Foley and my dad were buddies from high school, so it goes without sayin really. "All the mated humans will be at the front of each years line again, after that you will all be placed in status, Nick, as your mated to Alpha Arya, you'll be at the front of your line. Dylan as you have been branded..." his voice trailed off as he looked at me. "Yeah yeah, I'll be at the back of the line behind everyone. I get it." I huffed, moving my sight towards the window once more. "I am sorry." I turned to face Mr Foley again, he looked genuinely upset and that look of pity wasn't something I wanted to see. I gave him a clipped nod then turned away again. "Anyway, on to the subject matter, 'Of Mice and Men, page 64, Nick why don't you start us off with the reading."

"Of course sir." Nick began reading the book but I switched off, today is going to be a long day. After almost an hour and a half of reading comprehension, the bell chimed signaling lunch. I shot up and out of the classroom before anyone could say anything. Today, I was avoiding drama like the plague.

I wandered the corridors straight to the lunch hall. All the people I would normally hang out with we're all mated so I grabbed my lunch quickly, and sat down at the end of the human table. Let me lay the lunch hall out for you. On one side of the room you have two long rows of tables, with simple benches that make it look like prison, on the other side of the room you have multiple round tables with fancy chairs. Yup you get it. The humans sit at the prison tables and the wolves and traitors sit on the fancy tables, they get fancy food, fancy drink and most importantly they get pudding. what I would give to have some pudding. "Dylan can we just talk?" Nick quickly took the spot next to me as he set his lunch tray down. I looked at his food which had been placed on a ceramic, circular white plate. God that looked good. I sighed knowing he was going to talk anyway. "Fine, you have two minutes." I used my fork to take a bit of pasta off his plate and shoved it into my mouth. God that was good. "After I left school, I was taken to the pack house with Arya, and I really got to know her. It took a few days for me to finally accept being with her, but ever since life has been ok, and the sax... well that's a whole other story." Eww, I didn't need that mental image in my head. "I'm glad your happy." I stated before deciding I had no appetite. His face held shock before he sighed in relief. "That means a lot Dylan, I mean you know that your opinion matters to me." I cut him off before he could say anything else. "I said I was glad your happy. I didn't say I approved of what you've done. You've basically turned into one of THEM, I can't ever forgive you for that." He looked hurt, but I couldn't care less about his feelings. He placed his hand gently on my arm and went to open his mouth when a growl sounded out. All heads whipped to where it came from, Arya was stood holding a glass of soda and a plate, she was looking right at me and Nick and I would totally be dead if looks could kil. Nick quickly retracted his hand, his whole face fell and you could see sorrow flood his irises. "You sit with me now, get away from that, that... scum!" Wow, Nick was such a lucky guy. NOT. "You heard her. Get away from me, go sit with your new friends. I'm happy for you, and I understand where your coming from, but don't come up to me again and pretend you didn't betray your own kind. Don't pretend you didn't betray me." I shoved a little bit of food into my mouth before standing up and walking out of the cafeteria, leaving my tray on the table. I was walking through the hallway to the classroom, you see I decided to spend lunch with Mr Foley in his room, when I happened to hear voices in the corridor. "Is it wise for her to actually be present when the king arrives? Surely she could be placed in the dungeons, it might actually teach her some respect?" My principal was speaking to the alpha of our district, huh, if I stayed and listened do you think they'd notice, maybe they could smell me?! "Everyone is to be present, if the Riley girl does one thing out of line she will be dealt with severely, child or not. That girl has been a blight to the district since day one, she's dangerous, if she puts one hair out of place I will personally break her into submission." Oh shet, they were talking about me specifically, and they mentioned the dungeon, that's not been used in months. Normally I would have listened in more but something about the entire situation didn't sit right with me, all of a sudden, I was on edge, and simply wasn't interested in the slightest in hearing how my misery was to be enhanced. I backed up slightly before turning around and bumping head first into one of the hottest man I had ever seen. I lost my balance immediately and fell straight on to the floor letting out a small grumble in the process. His eyebrows knitted together quickly and his breath hitched in his throat as he looked upon my fallen state and gasped. "Mate!" He whispered, his eyes fixated on mine. Now, I had seen and heard that many times to know what that means, I gasped before taking a step back. 'No, no, no, no, no. This can not be happening.' He growled slightly before stepping towards me. Oh Shet!