I had a friend who was my best friend and after 4 years of our friendship he started dating a girl and they were dating since 2-3 years after our friendship. I usually didn't have much interest talking to a girl like being a simp to whosever she was. So I kept at very formal relation with her as she was my friend's girl I knew my limits but some girls have a tendency to get along with her boyfriend's male friend's group and she initiated a conversation at first and so as she was the girl of my best mate I also even started entertaining her in a playful and respectful way and gradually we both became good friends like we were each other's go to person with any kind of gossip or sauce and we became really good supporting friends of each other. We used to call each other babe, my heart and all the other cute nicknames (and she said her boyfriend which was my friend knows about these little pookie vibes between us and he was fine with it) I never laid eyes on her with the intention of sleeping with her. I used to flirt but that was in a very cheerful way like hyping a girl by saying yeah, you're the princess, you're the champion blah blah you getting me? Then gradually we became more close with each other and then we used to talk on calls sometimes for hours and sometimes she used to call me in the morning or planned a hangout last night and meet me alone in the park where we used to sit beside each other sharing our things. She used to express her affection or affinity and aversion about my friend and I used to console her not to break ties and resolve everything if she continues to rant about the fight between them but I never misguided her towards breaking up or back bitching about my friend in front of her. She slowly started to see me as her best friend, even did she have female best friends, in some matters she only used to share with me and I used to listen and calm her down. Also, when we used to meet in the park she used to lay her head down on my shoulder getting close to me (she's just resting her head on my shoulders and we're doing nothing, I know she's my friend's girl so I can't even imagine to do anything with her) but things started to get more crisp as I came to a new city where I used to get drunk and call her sometimes because she liked talking to me very much and I used to flirt and shower her with flowery words from my drunken mouth which she didn't wanna let go off and sometimes we took it to a sexual level like I used to say My fantasy is to fuck my boss and get a promotion to which she replied okay, I'll be your boss But when I got back to my hometown , one day I invited her to my place when there was no one in my house. I smoked weed and she was just watching me and then we were sitting really close to each other and at that point of time I really wanted to have hugs and cuddles because my life was so upsetting those days so after smoking I held her close to me from behind and laid her head on my stomach (I was sitting with my legs wide open lol, you could imagine our position) whispering silently into her ears the replies to her talk and she was also relaxing inside my arms and her eyes were closed and she was also really into that moment and me either. And out of nowhere a thought in my mind came across to kiss her idk why (I guess it's because we have known each other for 2 years or more and we were so attached to each other and we were very much comfortable around each other.) I then leaned my head towards her laying head and she realized what moment is it coming so she closed her eyes, gave all her implied consent to do it but when I initiated that kiss on the back of my mind it was always that she's my BESTFRIEND'S GIRL so when I tried to lean towards her mouth, the nose collapses before you kiss and with that collapse it hit me that nahhh, I'm doing something wrong and stopped it. (we didn't exactly kiss because I stopped). Now, shit got awkward between both of us (if I had kissed that time, we might have felt more awkward later but that stop from me literally made that awkwardness and silence temporarily. And after that, she got home she texted me and yelled at me for doing so but I somehow tried to console her that we didn't exactly kiss and we were just hugging, don't friends hug each other? Some stupid philosophy of mine stopped her from creating a big scene but only for a time. I knew she was in total guilt and I had much remorse as her because I did that. But things were fine for few days when suddenly one day I texted her Can I call you? I'm drunk let's have a chat she denied and mentioned me to call my friends instead so I didn't complain, I respected her decision and she once used to text me early in the morning as if I'm her go to morning person but now things were different and she didn't text me for a day, for 2 days and it's been a week. I tried texting her but was unable to deliver the message then I presumed something's not good but I couldn't do anything but to wait. Then after she gave her competitive exam she texted me and burst out of rage early in the morning at 8 am I was in my sleep so I agreed and apologized for everything as I was sleepy and didn't have much energy to go on a argument or just explain myself. Then I couldn't get over it that That she came out of the blue after many months like 3-4 months and she just vent down to me with all her outrageous thoughts and the guilt and then she left me and blocked me from that platform. But I couldn't overcome with how she came and conquered me with all her rage and blamed me for everything as she was the only victim here and also somewhere through that incident I believed that she wanted to have that moment between too it's just she didn't wanna initiate it from her side and didn't wanna make things worse for her relationship so I couldn't help but to went on to text her on a different platform and where I pointed out every points and clarified myself in a very sophisticated and mature way that it wasn't only myself who's wrong here and she also partook in that wrong act between us then she came forward realizing that she wasn't right about everything and it was not a good idea to blame me for everything then she apologized and we things quiet became calm between us so se started talking to each other asking about how is our current life going on and what the crucial events we are delved into and also I interrogated her with some questions that WHAT THINGS HAS SHE ACTUALLY TOLD HER BOYFRIEND? She said she told him about our morning rides because of the guilt she was beholding in her heart and some other stuffs I suppose (she claimed that other of her female friends told her boyfriend about these but I don't trust her) also I made sure that she didn't exactly tell her boyfriend (which was my friend) that we came this close from kissing yet we stopped and she said she didn't say anything about this hugging and half kissing thing and I think so that she must not have said it as it would only cause her more harm and worsen her relationship with her boyfriend. She was the best girl I could ever get to talk to about my days and other shits about my day to day experience or anything as she didn't judge me at all but now I've lost her because of stupid mistake but it's okay, I'll get another bitch and I've learned a very important lesson throughout this whole experience that I shouldn't be getting much close with my friend's girlfriend as things might seem to go to in a different way. Also, when I met my friend after some time he was nothing like before he used to be with me, more like interacting or asking others for anything when it was only me where he used to go to for any kind of favour or plans as he asks a third guy for any hangout plan but before all of this incident I was the one where he came for any execution of plans or hangouts. Though, I have never confronted him with this thing as I feel very ashamed of myself if I do that and it will only escalate things in a bad way I guess and also I don't care now anymore about that girl and my friend who used to be my very close friend once.
Now, I'm not very certain about many things hope you guys fulfill the gap of my conscience.
1.Did I actually kiss her?
2.Did I break my complete trust as a man to a man? Does that count as complete betrayal with my friend)?
3.Wasn't I loyal to my just friendship with her?
4.Did she develop feelings for me too?
5.Did she like me from the very start? She used to know me before we even started talking (I was committed to a different girl from her school only but when things were like besties between me and my friend's girl, I was single for more than a year) I felt that she perhaps liked me as the eyes never lie and I looked into her she gazed me with a very fascinating look as she's interested in me. (I'm just assuming this, not boasting)
6.She blocked me from everywhere. Is it because she didn't wanna end things with her guy or is it because she was falling deep for me?

1. Should I ever confront my friend with this thing or let it go? (Ever even after his breakup should I)

8.Was it a good idea to resist myself from escalating into a proper kiss or did I lose from every aspect of this incident? (As I lost the girl, my bond with that friend and I didn't even kiss her)

1. What if she comes back to me after her breakup, should I just get laid down with her to get over those remorse I had? lol

Also she used to talk to me more than her guy and that's because I guess he didn't use to treat her well like I used to do. Also, she once sent me her cleavage video which she recorded in a hotel with her guy lol 💀 but she sent it to me after I sent her my shirt video which I made for myself not for her exclusively.

I had a friend who was my best friend and after 4 years of our friendship he started dating a girl and they were dating since 2-3 years after our friendship. I usually didn't have much interest talking to a girl like being a simp to whosever she was. So I kept at very formal relation with her as she was my friend's girl I knew my limits but some girls have a tendency to get along with her boyfriend's male friend's group and she initiated a conversation at first and so as she was the girl of my best mate I also even started entertaining her in a playful and respectful way and gradually we both became good friends like we were each other's go to person with any kind of gossip or sauce and we became really good supporting friends of each other. We used to call each other babe, my heart and all the other cute nicknames (and she said her boyfriend which was my friend knows about these little pookie vibes between us and he was fine with it) I never laid eyes on her with the intention of sleeping with her. I used to flirt but that was in a very cheerful way like hyping a girl by saying yeah, you're the princess, you're the champion blah blah you getting me? Then gradually we became more close with each other and then we used to talk on calls sometimes for hours and sometimes she used to call me in the morning or planned a hangout last night and meet me alone in the park where we used to sit beside each other sharing our things. She used to express her affection or affinity and aversion about my friend and I used to console her not to break ties and resolve everything if she continues to rant about the fight between them but I never misguided her towards breaking up or back bitching about my friend in front of her. She slowly started to see me as her best friend, even did she have female best friends, in some matters she only used to share with me and I used to listen and calm her down. Also, when we used to meet in the park she used to lay her head down on my shoulder getting close to me (she's just resting her head on my shoulders and we're doing nothing, I know she's my friend's girl so I can't even imagine to do anything with her) but things started to get more crisp as I came to a new city where I used to get drunk and call her sometimes because she liked talking to me very much and I used to flirt and shower her with flowery words from my drunken mouth which she didn't wanna let go off and sometimes we took it to a sexual level like I used to say My fantasy is to fuck my boss and get a promotion to which she replied okay, I'll be your boss But when I got back to my hometown , one day I invited her to my place when there was no one in my house. I smoked weed and she was just watching me and then we were sitting really close to each other and at that point of time I really wanted to have hugs and cuddles because my life was so upsetting those days so after smoking I held her close to me from behind and laid her head on my stomach (I was sitting with my legs wide open lol, you could imagine our position) whispering silently into her ears the replies to her talk and she was also relaxing inside my arms and her eyes were closed and she was also really into that moment and me either. And out of nowhere a thought in my mind came across to kiss her idk why (I guess it's because we have known each other for 2 years or more and we were so attached to each other and we were very much comfortable around each other.) I then leaned my head towards her laying head and she realized what moment is it coming so she closed her eyes, gave all her implied consent to do it but when I initiated that kiss on the back of my mind it was always that she's my BESTFRIEND'S GIRL so when I tried to lean towards her mouth, the nose collapses before you kiss and with that collapse it hit me that nahhh, I'm doing something wrong and stopped it. (we didn't exactly kiss because I stopped). Now, shit got awkward between both of us (if I had kissed that time, we might have felt more awkward later but that stop from me literally made that awkwardness and silence temporarily. And after that, she got home she texted me and yelled at me for doing so but I somehow tried to console her that we didn't exactly kiss and we were just hugging, don't friends hug each other? Some stupid philosophy of mine stopped her from creating a big scene but only for a time. I knew she was in total guilt and I had much remorse as her because I did that. But things were fine for few days when suddenly one day I texted her Can I call you? I'm drunk let's have a chat she denied and mentioned me to call my friends instead so I didn't complain, I respected her decision and she once used to text me early in the morning as if I'm her go to morning person but now things were different and she didn't text me for a day, for 2 days and it's been a week. I tried texting her but was unable to deliver the message then I presumed something's not good but I couldn't do anything but to wait. Then after she gave her competitive exam she texted me and burst out of rage early in the morning at 8 am I was in my sleep so I agreed and apologized for everything as I was sleepy and didn't have much energy to go on a argument or just explain myself. Then I couldn't get over it that That she came out of the blue after many months like 3-4 months and she just vent down to me with all her outrageous thoughts and the guilt and then she left me and blocked me from that platform. But I couldn't overcome with how she came and conquered me with all her rage and blamed me for everything as she was the only victim here and also somewhere through that incident I believed that she wanted to have that moment between too it's just she didn't wanna initiate it from her side and didn't wanna make things worse for her relationship so I couldn't help but to went on to text her on a different platform and where I pointed out every points and clarified myself in a very sophisticated and mature way that it wasn't only myself who's wrong here and she also partook in that wrong act between us then she came forward realizing that she wasn't right about everything and it was not a good idea to blame me for everything then she apologized and we things quiet became calm between us so se started talking to each other asking about how is our current life going on and what the crucial events we are delved into and also I interrogated her with some questions that WHAT THINGS HAS SHE ACTUALLY TOLD HER BOYFRIEND? She said she told him about our morning rides because of the guilt she was beholding in her heart and some other stuffs I suppose (she claimed that other of her female friends told her boyfriend about these but I don't trust her) also I made sure that she didn't exactly tell her boyfriend (which was my friend) that we came this close from kissing yet we stopped and she said she didn't say anything about this hugging and half kissing thing and I think so that she must not have said it as it would only cause her more harm and worsen her relationship with her boyfriend. She was the best girl I could ever get to talk to about my days and other shits about my day to day experience or anything as she didn't judge me at all but now I've lost her because of stupid mistake but it's okay, I'll get another bitch and I've learned a very important lesson throughout this whole experience that I shouldn't be getting much close with my friend's girlfriend as things might seem to go to in a different way. Also, when I met my friend after some time he was nothing like before he used to be with me, more like interacting or asking others for anything when it was only me where he used to go to for any kind of favour or plans as he asks a third guy for any hangout plan but before all of this incident I was the one where he came for any execution of plans or hangouts. Though, I have never confronted him with this thing as I feel very ashamed of myself if I do that and it will only escalate things in a bad way I guess and also I don't care now anymore about that girl and my friend who used to be my very close friend once.
Now, I'm not very certain about many things hope you guys fulfill the gap of my conscience.
1.Did I actually kiss her?
2.Did I break my complete trust as a man to a man? Does that count as complete betrayal with my friend)?
3.Wasn't I loyal to my just friendship with her?
4.Did she develop feelings for me too?
5.Did she like me from the very start? She used to know me before we even started talking (I was committed to a different girl from her school only but when things were like besties between me and my friend's girl, I was single for more than a year) I felt that she perhaps liked me as the eyes never lie and I looked into her she gazed me with a very fascinating look as she's interested in me. (I'm just assuming this, not boasting)
6.She blocked me from everywhere. Is it because she didn't wanna end things with her guy or is it because she was falling deep for me?

1. Should I ever confront my friend with this thing or let it go? (Ever even after his breakup should I)

8.Was it a good idea to resist myself from escalating into a proper kiss or did I lose from every aspect of this incident? (As I lost the girl, my bond with that friend and I didn't even kiss her)

1. What if she comes back to me after her breakup, should I just get laid down with her to get over those remorse I had? lol

Also she used to talk to me more than her guy and that's because I guess he didn't use to treat her well like I used to do. Also, she once sent me her cleavage video which she recorded in a hotel with her guy lol 💀 but she sent it to me after I sent her my shirt video which I made for myself not for her exclusively.

I had a friend who was my best friend and after 4 years of our friendship he started dating a girl and they were dating since 2-3 years after our friendship. I usually didn't have much interest talking to a girl like being a simp to whosever she was. So I kept at very formal relation with her as she was my friend's girl I knew my limits but some girls have a tendency to get along with her boyfriend's male friend's group and she initiated a conversation at first and so as she was the girl of my best mate I also even started entertaining her in a playful and respectful way and gradually we both became good friends like we were each other's go to person with any kind of gossip or sauce and we became really good supporting friends of each other. We used to call each other babe, my heart and all the other cute nicknames (and she said her boyfriend which was my friend knows about these little pookie vibes between us and he was fine with it) I never laid eyes on her with the intention of sleeping with her. I used to flirt but that was in a very cheerful way like hyping a girl by saying yeah, you're the princess, you're the champion blah blah you getting me? Then gradually we became more close with each other and then we used to talk on calls sometimes for hours and sometimes she used to call me in the morning or planned a hangout last night and meet me alone in the park where we used to sit beside each other sharing our things. She used to express her affection or affinity and aversion about my friend and I used to console her not to break ties and resolve everything if she continues to rant about the fight between them but I never misguided her towards breaking up or back bitching about my friend in front of her. She slowly started to see me as her best friend, even did she have female best friends, in some matters she only used to share with me and I used to listen and calm her down. Also, when we used to meet in the park she used to lay her head down on my shoulder getting close to me (she's just resting her head on my shoulders and we're doing nothing, I know she's my friend's girl so I can't even imagine to do anything with her) but things started to get more crisp as I came to a new city where I used to get drunk and call her sometimes because she liked talking to me very much and I used to flirt and shower her with flowery words from my drunken mouth which she didn't wanna let go off and sometimes we took it to a sexual level like I used to say My fantasy is to fuck my boss and get a promotion to which she replied okay, I'll be your boss But when I got back to my hometown , one day I invited her to my place when there was no one in my house. I smoked weed and she was just watching me and then we were sitting really close to each other and at that point of time I really wanted to have hugs and cuddles because my life was so upsetting those days so after smoking I held her close to me from behind and laid her head on my stomach (I was sitting with my legs wide open lol, you could imagine our position) whispering silently into her ears the replies to her talk and she was also relaxing inside my arms and her eyes were closed and she was also really into that moment and me either. And out of nowhere a thought in my mind came across to kiss her idk why (I guess it's because we have known each other for 2 years or more and we were so attached to each other and we were very much comfortable around each other.) I then leaned my head towards her laying head and she realized what moment is it coming so she closed her eyes, gave all her implied consent to do it but when I initiated that kiss on the back of my mind it was always that she's my BESTFRIEND'S GIRL so when I tried to lean towards her mouth, the nose collapses before you kiss and with that collapse it hit me that nahhh, I'm doing something wrong and stopped it. (we didn't exactly kiss because I stopped). Now, shit got awkward between both of us (if I had kissed that time, we might have felt more awkward later but that stop from me literally made that awkwardness and silence temporarily. And after that, she got home she texted me and yelled at me for doing so but I somehow tried to console her that we didn't exactly kiss and we were just hugging, don't friends hug each other? Some stupid philosophy of mine stopped her from creating a big scene but only for a time. I knew she was in total guilt and I had much remorse as her because I did that. But things were fine for few days when suddenly one day I texted her Can I call you? I'm drunk let's have a chat she denied and mentioned me to call my friends instead so I didn't complain, I respected her decision and she once used to text me early in the morning as if I'm her go to morning person but now things were different and she didn't text me for a day, for 2 days and it's been a week. I tried texting her but was unable to deliver the message then I presumed something's not good but I couldn't do anything but to wait. Then after she gave her competitive exam she texted me and burst out of rage early in the morning at 8 am I was in my sleep so I agreed and apologized for everything as I was sleepy and didn't have much energy to go on a argument or just explain myself. Then I couldn't get over it that That she came out of the blue after many months like 3-4 months and she just vent down to me with all her outrageous thoughts and the guilt and then she left me and blocked me from that platform. But I couldn't overcome with how she came and conquered me with all her rage and blamed me for everything as she was the only victim here and also somewhere through that incident I believed that she wanted to have that moment between too it's just she didn't wanna initiate it from her side and didn't wanna make things worse for her relationship so I couldn't help but to went on to text her on a different platform and where I pointed out every points and clarified myself in a very sophisticated and mature way that it wasn't only myself who's wrong here and she also partook in that wrong act between us then she came forward realizing that she wasn't right about everything and it was not a good idea to blame me for everything then she apologized and we things quiet became calm between us so se started talking to each other asking about how is our current life going on and what the crucial events we are delved into and also I interrogated her with some questions that WHAT THINGS HAS SHE ACTUALLY TOLD HER BOYFRIEND? She said she told him about our morning rides because of the guilt she was beholding in her heart and some other stuffs I suppose (she claimed that other of her female friends told her boyfriend about these but I don't trust her) also I made sure that she didn't exactly tell her boyfriend (which was my friend) that we came this close from kissing yet we stopped and she said she didn't say anything about this hugging and half kissing thing and I think so that she must not have said it as it would only cause her more harm and worsen her relationship with her boyfriend. She was the best girl I could ever get to talk to about my days and other shits about my day to day experience or anything as she didn't judge me at all but now I've lost her because of stupid mistake but it's okay, I'll get another bitch and I've learned a very important lesson throughout this whole experience that I shouldn't be getting much close with my friend's girlfriend as things might seem to go to in a different way. Also, when I met my friend after some time he was nothing like before he used to be with me, more like interacting or asking others for anything when it was only me where he used to go to for any kind of favour or plans as he asks a third guy for any hangout plan but before all of this incident I was the one where he came for any execution of plans or hangouts. Though, I have never confronted him with this thing as I feel very ashamed of myself if I do that and it will only escalate things in a bad way I guess and also I don't care now anymore about that girl and my friend who used to be my very close friend once.
Now, I'm not very certain about many things hope you guys fulfill the gap of my conscience.
1.Did I actually kiss her?
2.Did I break my complete trust as a man to a man? Does that count as complete betrayal with my friend)?
3.Wasn't I loyal to my just friendship with her?
4.Did she develop feelings for me too?
5.Did she like me from the very start? She used to know me before we even started talking (I was committed to a different girl from her school only but when things were like besties between me and my friend's girl, I was single for more than a year) I felt that she perhaps liked me as the eyes never lie and I looked into her she gazed me with a very fascinating look as she's interested in me. (I'm just assuming this, not boasting)
6.She blocked me from everywhere. Is it because she didn't wanna end things with her guy or is it because she was falling deep for me?

1. Should I ever confront my friend with this thing or let it go? (Ever even after his breakup should I)

8.Was it a good idea to resist myself from escalating into a proper kiss or did I lose from every aspect of this incident? (As I lost the girl, my bond with that friend and I didn't even kiss her)

1. What if she comes back to me after her breakup, should I just get laid down with her to get over those remorse I had? lol

Also she used to talk to me more than her guy and that's because I guess he didn't use to treat her well like I used to do. Also, she once sent me her cleavage video which she recorded in a hotel with her guy lol 💀 but she sent it to me after I sent her my shirt video which I made for myself not for her exclusively.

I’m graduating from high school in a few days and it’s a very big deal to me. I go to a small school that’s very tight-knit and I have been happily going by my preferred name and pronouns for years. The problem is that I have never told my grandparents because they are really old fashioned and I’m not sure they would react well. I have absolutely zero clue how they feel about trans people, and it’s never even been brought up in conversation before. They also don’t know that I’m gay. My mom recently brought to my attention that they’re flying in from Florida just to see my graduation and come to my grad party. I literally designed two separate parties to avoid the trans issue that comes along when you invite family and friends who you haven’t seen in ten years. So now there’s a party for people who know and people that don’t. (My grandparents and rest of my family were invited to the party for those who don’t know.) I did this because this is going to be the last time I see most of those people and I don’t want to have to come out and be crucified by half of the people I know. Anyways, at my graduation they are going to say my preferred name, and there’s a chance they will use my pronouns. There’s only about twenty people graduating, and there’s a good chance I’m winning an award too. The problem is I’ve completely overlooked this issue and didn’t think about the fact that they would be there when I graduate. I DEFINITELY don’t want them to call my legal name, and it’s probably too late to ask them to do that now anyways. I was just really hoping I could have my graduation and parties without having to come out, and now I feel like I might be forced to. I’m already on a thin line with my grandparents for “being secretive” about my college stuff, so this would probably upset them more even if they did accept me. Should I just pray they don’t need to use pronouns at my graduation and tell them they announced me with my nickname, or should I do something else? I was really hoping to just ease them into things, I’m legitimately worried that if my grandma found out she would have a heart attack. I don’t want my grandpa to be disappointed in me either.
TLDR: my grandparents don’t know I’m trans and they’re coming to my graduation where they’ll use my preferred name and pronouns.

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Memory Transcription Subject: Gridn, Gojid civilian, Alias: "Wheel"
It's okay, calm down, it's only once per [40 days], you won't get caught.
My left paw on the wheel, while my right is on my neck, trying to calm myself on the road. Driving my truck to the end of the town, to that road barely anyone take.
The 'road' is just dirt with no grass. It's connected to the other town, as a shortcut. People are too scared to come here, fearing a shadestalker will lunge at thier vehicle. There is one secret path here however, that leads to our destination.
I'm just going to deliver these "fertilizers", and some alcohol. I've been doing this since [13 years], but everytime I do this I fear for my life.
"C'mooon let me touch it"
Carrying 4 passengers, Pollen, Snarl, Claw, and Jitter. 3 in the back and 2 in the front. On our way to the bar.
"NO! Last time you touched my shit you broke it".
Just need to collect my thoughts, things will be over before you know it.
"Hey I said I'm sorry, besides I payed for it."
"You payed for shit! The cost for repair was expensive!"
Just need to collect my...
"C'mon give it!"
"STAY BACK!"
"I'LL TAKE CARE OF IT!"
"NO!"
"POLLEN! SNARL! SHUT THE FUCK UP BACK THERE!"
The two stopped their bickering. They sit quietly in the back, together with Claw. Besides me is Kobni, she won't stop shaking im fear, that's where she got her nickname from.
"Calm down, Jitter. We do this once per [40 days], are you not getting used to it?"
Jitter replied, "I'm- I'm trying to. It- it just that- this- Isn't really what pr- preys do you know?"
"If you're scared you can just leave you know? Why are you trying hard to be in the group you don't want to be in?" Pollen asked.
"I- I can't. My mom is the one who put me up to this. She asked Pocket to let me enter, so Pocket put me as sir Wheel's assistant. She said it'll- make me stop being- te- terrified at everything."
"Wow, was your mom high on ember when she said that?" Snarl replied.
"No! No. I- I don't think so".
"How about you Wheel? You never say anything about yourself." Pollen asked me.
I sighed, I don't really want them to know about my past.
"I'm just here for the money, that's all".
"I'm pretty sure truck drivers gets above average income. There's gotta be something behind that."
This guy really wants to know huh?
"How about you, aren't you here just for the money as well?"
"Half of it, yeah. I was in debt for spending a lot of money on a... Rigged game. The people I took money from threatened me to lock me up in a facility if I don't pay, even if they got no proof that I'm tainted. So I ran away, looked for a safe place I can go, and that's when Pocket found me."
I guess that explains why he's always at the bar, I guess just like Snarl and Claw, that's his only home too.
"Well, I've said my story, your turn."
I sighed, "Fine... I'm here for my daughter's treatment".
"You have a daughter!?" Pollen replied
"Nah, more important question, who was fucking with you!?" Snarl added in.
"Can I finish my story!?"
When the two quiet down, I continued. "Like I said, I'm here for my daughter. [13 years] ago, when that stampede happened, she was 3 that time, and was critically injured, it made her crippled, unable to walk, permanently. Our money wasn't enough to cover the bills, and our house was burned down as well during it."
I continued the story. "I got nothing left, I was desperate for money, so, Pocket gave an offer. He was a fire insurance carrier, I rejected his offer before since I thought "What's the chance of a predator attack?". He gave me an offer, delivery goods in the night side, and I get huge money in return. I took it, but my wife didn't like how I was acting strangely since then, so we broke up. I stayed here, to continue to support my daughter."
Now I've said my story, feels like some weight got released from me.
"Honestly, good call for your ex to leave you, you're a grumpy man". Snarl commented, with Pollen laughing at it.
Nevermind.
"Tsk, anyways, here's out stop."
Stopping the truck in front of the bar, a house set in a dark forest. In front of the bar standing is Door, Flower, and Root. We got off from the truck, with the three walking towards us.
"The fertilizers are on the back, along with the alcohols and other supplies." I said to Door, he signed an acknowledgement, and lead Flower and Root at the back of the truck while the five of us entered the bar.
Inside the bar, Glove and Pocket greeted us. Pocket was standing in the middle, while Glove was behind the bar counter. I went over to Glove with Jitter, while the rest talked to Pocket.
"Hi Wheel, what can I get you today?" Glove spoked, she's wearing a cloth on her left arm, but not on her right, she never said why, but that's where she got her name from.
"Just the usual."
"Alright, how about you sweetie?"
"Sa- same as his." Jitter replied.
"Alright, coming right up."
From where we're sitting, I can hear the other gang's conversation.
"So, how was the trip?" Pocket asked Snarl and Claw.
"I got this!" Snarl happily replied, showing a 'The Exterminators' figurine.
"Very well. Take a bath at the back, then you can rest."
"Aw but I like this look."
"The longer you have that dye on the harder it is to be removed."
"Fine. C'mon Claw, let's go." As the pair went to the back. Now, it was Pollen's turn to talk to him.
"I heard a news about a death." Pocket started.
"That guy was dying anyways, if the drug didn't got him his other addiction will. I just took the opportunity"
"I know, but it'll be better if the public doesn't know about our thing. Luckily the exterminators' investigation reached an early dead end."
Pollen sighed "I'll be careful next time".
Pocket signed an acknowledgement.
Glove returned with our drinks. "So how was you two's work?"
"Pretty uneventful, the usual" I replied.
"Really? you two seems anxious."
"Why shouldn't we? It's a normal reaction."
"Why is that?"
"If we were found in this house, I'll never see my daughter again."
—————————————————————————————————
Memory Transcription Subject: Legal Name Unknown, Alias: "[See here for full list]"
"Following the investigation about the assassination of 'Romeo S. Benido' and 'Julio C. Aviliyar'. Last year, on February 14, 'Romeo S. Benido' have been shot dead in the head by a sniper rifle while giving a speech during his birthday celebration. A day after the crime, 'Julio C. Aviliyar' have been found dead in his home after the residents heard a single shot of a gunfire. Both victims were a running mayor for the city of Las Piñas. Checking the CCTV footage in Aviliyar's residence, one man have been found running away from the scene of the crime. The suspect was identified as 'Jonathan V. Santos' one of Aviliar's bodyguard. However, after further investigation of the 'Philippine National Police', they have found out that the identity of the bodyguard have been falsified, after the documents retrieved have been proven 'fake' and the residents unable to give a description of the man's appearance, saying this man have never been seen inside of until the day of the crime. The PNP is have increased it's offer from $500,000 to $650,000 for anyone who will be able to provide information that will lead to the arrest and capture of the assassin. The PNP warns that this person is armed and dangerous, and to contact the authorities immediately at sight."
"God damn, 650k!? With that money I could like, buy a mansion" A customer commented while watching the bar television, talking to his friends and the bartender.
"Like you have a chance, the killer probably already went to a new country. Whoever paid him must have been super rich." the bartender replied.
"Yeah, you got a better chance finding winning lottery ticket in a trash." The second customer added.
"For all we know, that guy is a ghost, dude's got no identity whatsoever. Made to punish politicians who takes advantage of the poor." The third costumer added.
"If that was a ghost I'd understand why it'll kill Aviliyar, but why Bonido."
"Bonido probably got dirt we 'normal' people don't know, all politicians have one."
"Alright, alright, stop, you're getting political" the second customer said, trying to stop an argument.
Eavesdropping to the conversations of customers, to know when to leave and when to stay. I hoped the bartender was right. But the reality is that I'm still here. I can't get out of the country, the security tightened since then and is taking too long die down. Every second I spend here the more likely I'll get caught.
I need to find a way to get off this place
The bartender approached me, "what would you like, sir?"
"A gin would be nice."
"Alright. Say, you're a regular here, but I haven't really gotten your name."
"Hmm? Well, you can call me Jacinto, Cinto for short."
The bartender chuckled, "Named after a Hero huh? Alright, I'll remember your name, Cinto".
I raised a glass to him with a smile, signaling acknowledgement. Another name to live as. I wonder how long can I keep this one.
As the night gets deeper, the television continued "Breaking News! The UN has confirmed a first contact with aliens!..."
Huh. This looks interesting.
—————————————————————————————————
Prev - Next

First. Previous.
‘Ri woke up in the hotel room to the sound and smell of cooking meat, as well as what she knew to be pancakes. Opening her eyes, she looked ‘down’ to see Kyle cooking on the small grill he packed with him in his subspace shadow, one of his near-silent air purifiers directly overhead, as he was using wood to cook with; the smell of fire-grilled meat was making her ravenous, and it was with a happy stretch that she sat up, Kyle turning to smile at her.
“Morning, beautiful,” he said as she smiled back, “Figured I’d make you breakfast-in-bed; we got dragon steak and eggs - chicken eggs - and I just got done with a bunch of dragon bacon. Pancakes were done a few minutes ago, and I’ve been letting the butter melt in; syrup’s over…” he looked around, spotting a metal container that looked somewhat like a drink pitcher. He set all of this down on a large tray, which he carried over to her, setting it down on the bed lengthwise between the two of them. He went back to the table he’d been working at to retrieve plates, flatware, and two glasses, floating a pitcher of what turned out to be gor’ahm juice, a sweet - yet slightly tart - berry that grew on verem’jiose, and also cost quite a bit, as it was difficult to get enough berries to mass produce, so it wasn’t ‘readily available’ outside of her homeworld.
All-in-all it was a rather enjoyable breakfast - whether or not he had any ‘professional’ training, Kyle sure did know how to cook. After they were done eating - and Kyle had moved their dishes over to the kitchenette their room came with - they took a shower, taking their time in the hot water, just enjoying each other’s presence. When they were done, they dressed in the robes that came with the room - they had gone with black all around - and went to sit together in the main room, putting on some soothing music as they sat together, tails and arms wrapped around each other. After a while of them just sitting there, Kyle stirred slightly.
“I, uh… I got a surprise for you.” He sounded a bit nervous as he said it, but she put that to the side; surely he was just hoping she’d like whatever it was. He smiled slightly, and said,
“Close your eyes.”
Doing as he asked, she shut her eyes, knowing full well that whatever he was ‘retrieving’ was in his subspace shadow, but she went along with the act. When he gave her the okay, she opened her eyes, and it seemed like her stomach dropped out from under her heart, and into oblivion; there in his hands was a thin, perfectly square - but not ‘cubed’ - black box. She looked up at him, unable to say anything, as he opened the lid, and she let out an involuntary gasp; it was difficult for her mind to process what she was seeing, as it appeared to be a round piece of the void cut out to look like a tiara. Or, at least it looked like the shape of one, seeing as she couldn’t really make out any details, though there obviously were details carved into it, as the little sparkles of what she knew to be black hole diamonds - she had seen the pendant Kyle had retrieved from the pirates - seemed to appear and disappear, depending on what angle she looked at it from. The big 8-point star in the middle - reminiscent of the shape their pupils took when observing peoples’ life-blood, and Gift - was always visible however, no matter the angle it was viewed from.
“I had to have Kay’Eighty sketch out the basic outline of where to cut to fit you,” he said, drawing her out of her stupor, “And I had the lead sehr’chtahb fit the diamonds on it, as part of the payment for bringing back the pendant, along with the diamonds themselves, of course. The actual tiara is made from the bone of the first dragon I killed, and I used the kath’loo’s Gift to turn the bone so black that it absorbs all light. I had to turn the bone behind the diamonds silver, because there’s only so much that refraction can do.” They both gave a little chuckle at that; finally, he pointed to the inside of the tiara.
“And here I put a strip of crysthril all the way around it,” she knew that he’d gotten the Gift from one of the sehr’chtahb before they’d left the planet, “Which you normally wouldn’t need, seeing as you’ve got a literal ton in your subspace; but this is different. While we can’t transfer our Gifts to anyone else, we can transfer them into the crysthril, and it stays enchanted with the Gift, no matter how much of it you use. It’s basically limited by your own power, and how much of each Gift was put into the crysthril. Right now, this has all the Gifts that I have right now, and I can always add more in later, when I get ‘em… So, will you wear it?”
The last part was said with a palpable level of nervousness, and she was unable to say anything at that moment. After a few seconds, she finally was able to nod her head yes, tears leaking down her face. Kyle’s face lit up in a wide grin, and she saw his eyes shimmer with unshed tears as he reached forward to grasp the tiara, showing her how to disconnect it at the sides. She leaned her head forward as he reached up to put it on for her, it fitting snugly not just around her head, but perfectly resting around her horns, so as not to be squeezing them, nor to be loose, and wobbly.
She reached forward, pulling him into a deep, passionate kiss, too happy to actually say anything; they sat there for a while, basking in their shared love, until she started getting a bit antsy. Kyle obviously noticed this, as he laughed, and said,
“Go look; I know you’re just dying to see it.”
After a smile, and a quick kiss, she ran into the bathroom, looking into the mirror, marveling at the dazzling headpiece that was now her’s. She sat there for a good few minutes, turning her head this way and that, admiring the craftsmanship Kyle had so lovingly put into it. It honestly looked like something a professional jeweler would be proud to call their own work, and she reveled in that fact as well. This was a testament to his love for her, and it was done through Kyle’s own handiwork; and where it wasn’t, it was small enough to excuse away, especially with having had the diamonds placed as payment for his actual work.
Eventually she was able to tear her eyes from the beautiful piece, and she returned to Kyle’s side, both of them grinning like children. After a few minutes of making out, and cuddling, Kyle insisted that they get dressed.
“I know you wanna show that off, and we can go look around the shops, see if there’s anything that we want. Then we can grab lunch somewhere, and later we can have dinner with your parents and ‘Lana. Tomorrow I’m gonna go back to the ship and get some brisket started up; Kohr’Sahr and the others’re gonna be here in a couple days, and I wanna have a party when we give them the news.”
“Do they know?” she asked.
“About me proposing? No,” he replied, “About everything else? I gave ‘em a brief rundown, but I didn’t go into too much detail. The suun’mahs representative got in touch with me yesterday: the broadcast is gonna come out later today, and anything that they need cleared up after that, I’m happy to be the one to tell ‘em… You’re sure you’re okay with them posting your general location to the public? I don’t want you to have to deal with any ‘fanclubs’ from back home.”
She smiled warmly at him, running her fingers through his hair.
“They’ll know that I’m taken, and that they have no chance; anyone who tries anything after that, no one will blame us for… teaching them a lesson. Besides, they already know not to bother me if they see me abroad; the secrecy was just an added measure.”
He bowed his head concedingly, as he got up, pulling her to her feet with him.
“Come on,” he said, giving her a quick kiss on the corner of her mouth, “Let’s get dressed.”
She got dressed in a simple black pleated skirt that came about ⅔ down her thigh, along with a teal button-up shirt. Kyle was wearing his black and red pants, with a silk purple shirt; he had decided to forgo his boots. Kyle applied a simple light layer of purple eye shadow, and simple black liner, with a reverse of that on his lips, having purple liner and black filler. She went with the same pattern, except she used a luscious red in place of her natural purple. Once they were ready, they were about to head out when she thought of something; she held out her hands, and pulled a certain large, flat box from her subspace shadow. Smiling, Kyle opened it, and gently removed the necklace he’d bought her the last time they were on this station. After he’d secured it in place, she dismissed the box, and they left the room arm-in-arm.
The payoff was near-automatic, as it only took as long as getting into the elevator before they encountered another person; this one turned out to be none other than the Captain, as the station leader had put the entire crew up in the station’s best hotels, save for a decent amount of the security, all of whom had gotten to leave the ship last time they were on this station. As soon as the doors opened, they saw her standing next to what appeared to be a golden drahk’mihn, with horns that protruded from his forehead, sweeping back over the top of his head, only to slightly curl upwards just as they reached the back of his head. He wore light blue shorts, and a matching vest, while the Captain wore her customary jacket; her eyes widened when she saw the two, going straight to the tiara on her head.
"By the Gods, man; do you do anything normal?"
"Define 'normal'," Kyle countered, which brought about a round of laughter.
“Were y’all gettin’ off?” Kyle asked, hooking his thumb over his shoulder; the Captain cleared her throat,
“Well, that’s really none of your business,” she replied, to more laughter, “But we can take another ride, either way.” She had barely taken her eyes off the tiara the entire time, much to ‘Ri’s delight. As Kyle pushed the button for the lobby, Golden asked how Kyle had made it, to which he obliged, occupying the time it took them to reach the ground floor; the Captain couldn’t keep her eyes off the headpiece the whole time, at which ‘Ri couldn’t help but smile with pride.
After they reached their floor, they bid the other two farewell, at which point the Captain seemed to remember herself, and gave a hasty - yet obviously sincere - congratulations to the two, which Golden echoed. After thanking the two, they disembarked the elevator, ‘Ri acutely aware that the Captain was still staring at the tiara, even without looking back at her.
The rest of the day passed in a similar manner, with the general crowd around them either going silent, or - less common, but still frequent enough to be noticeable - lightly gasping; all eyes were on her, which made her smile and cling to Kyle’s arm all the more. It was funny: she had never really cared about ‘tradition’, and had always simply wanted someone who saw her as her. Sure, there were several ‘high-born’ men who’d hunted dangerous beasts - even to a drahk’mihn - to turn into tiaras, all of them trying to ‘win her hand’. But none of that had ever mattered, no matter what they’d hunted, or whether they’d used their Gift, or not; none of them even knew who she was, so their efforts meant nothing, but whatever standing they could achieve by marrying ‘the girl who stopped the war’.
But here was Kyle, a man from another species entirely who saw her as a person, in a way that no non-insectoid ever had in her entire life. A man who’d had no problem whatsoever showing his anger at her - very much deserved, she had to admit; that was a rather rude wake-up call - before he really even knew her, not afraid to call her out on any toxic behavior she might display. And who had taken the fruit of his labors to produce a symbol of his commitment to her, fully embodying the true symbolism of the traditional way, not by simply trying to impress her by buying her affection, as the others had. And for the first time since she was a little girl, she felt a distinct pride in that tradition, and all the more love towards Kyle for it.
They didn’t really have any place in particular that they had in mind to visit, simply walking around, enjoying each other’s company, and the reactions of the various passersby. Among the obviously astonished expressions, there were quite a few jealous ones on a few of the women they passed by, which brought her no end of satisfaction; not that she had anything in particular against any of those women, it just felt good to have something that others wanted so badly. And though she doubted that many of them actually wanted her man - whom she still valued more than the headpiece he’d given her - what they wanted was a product of his work, and so either way - whether they knew it or not - it was him that they wanted; too bad for all of them that she’d gotten her claws in him first, and she was never letting him go of him again.
She had made sure of that, seeing as he could now issue orders to the Captain, and change protocol on a whim; she had also gotten him to give her authorization to take a shuttle planetside if she deemed it necessary, though he’d made her promise to exercise that authority only in cases of an actual emergency, and not for a small ‘threat’ that he could obviously handle. They had come to the agreement that the wild cats from Cheshire’s homeworld were the cutoff point: anything much bigger than those were enough to warrant her presence on the planet. She didn’t really like even that, but she had to agree that at that point it was almost insulting to his own abilities, especially since he had plenty of Gifts to help him out, including her own.
At one point, they were passing by a furniture shop when they spotted her parents and ‘Lana going in; it was her sister who noticed them, calling out,
“‘Ri, Kyle; hi!”
They both smiled and called back in greeting, waving as her parents turned around, their faces immediately breaking out in smiles as they saw the two of them; the looks on their faces - coupled with not a bit of surprise - told her that he’d already shown them the tiara, not that she minded. If he was going to show anyone before her - aside from those who helped him create it in the first place - she could accept her parents being the ones, and ‘Lana by extension.
They spent around an hour walking around the shop - Kyle having to encourage them to pick out the more ‘luxury’ goods - as her parents picked out a new mattress for their bed, along with a few comfortable chairs. They all went their separate ways, her and Kyle promising to meet up later for dinner together. As they had just come back from eating themselves, they went to do more shopping - Kyle reminding them not to worry about the price of anything - while she and Kyle went to go find somewhere to eat.
They decided on a unique shop setup, wherein there was an herbivore side, and a carnivore side; both were technically their own shops - separated by a wall, and everything - though there was no problem with an herbivore sitting with carnivore friends to go nextdoor to get a plate made, and bring it over, or vice versa. They decided on sitting in the carnivore section, and Kyle would go over to the herbivore side to get a bit of roughage for the both of them. After they had taken their seat - the keen’yhong waitress staring in awe at her tiara - Kyle excused himself to the shop next door; after he’d left her line of sight, she immediately got up and hurried to the restroom, eager to get another look at herself in the mirror.

Vohr’Sin - a light blue drahk’mihn with horns that curved back, down and around, so that the tips pointed forward, just under his ears - was having a bit of trouble, as the restaurant was currently too full to seat them.
“There’s nothing you can do for the drahk’mihn ambassador to the humans’ system?” he asked jokingly, “She should be on her way any minute.”
“Sorry, sir,” the black gah’rahtoe replied to him, his face showing genuine regret, “It’s the lunch rush, right now. You’re welcome to wait for someone to finish up, if you like.”
“No,” he responded, “She had to skip breakfast this morning to attend a virtual meeting, so I doubt she’ll be up to waiting… Well, thanks anyway.” As he turned to find somewhere else to eat, he nearly walked right into another person; it took him a moment to realize who it was.
“My apologies,” he said, “I should have been paying more attention to where I was going… Forgive me for bothering you, but aren’t you Ambassador Redding?”
The human was easily recognizable, the ‘scars’ across his face and the horns - which the Empress herself had expressed to his wife were not to be commented upon - that were in a very unique shape. Personally, he wasn’t too comfortable with the human getting a pass at imitating their race - especially Kah’Ri’s horns, of all people - but if the service that he’d provided to their race by coming up with the idea of how to find the slavers was enough for Empress Ella’Ven to excuse it, he had to accept it, as well. The man was carrying a tray with a few plates of vegetables on them, including two baked tass’guds.
“I am,” the human replied with a smile, “Sorry for eavesdropping, but I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation: if you like, you can come sit with me and my fiance; we’re out celebrating our engagement.”
“Oh,” he began sheepishly, “I really wouldn’t want to intrude…” but the human waved him off.
“I’m sure it’ll be no problem; you know how women like to show off their jewelry. It’s just us, so I’m sure it’ll be fine. Besides, I can answer any questions your wife may have about humans, and any social customs she might need to be aware of. Well, any that I know of, anyway.” He finished with a slight chuckle, and Vohr’Sin was torn between not wanting to intrude, but also not wanting to insult the Ambassador by refusing; it was at this time that his wife Vir’Ell walked up.
“I see you’ve met the human Ambassador, love.” He turned to see the yellow-tinted woman that he’d pledged his life to, wearing a light purple tube-top, and matching shorts. Her slender horns swept backward, ending halfway down the back of her head, pointing down.
“I’m Vir’Ell,” she said, directing her attention to the human after exchanging a kiss with Vohr’Sin, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“And you, as well,” he replied, “I was just telling your husband that y’all can join me an’ my fiance, if you like. We just got engaged this morning, and I’m sure she’d just love the chance to show off. Of course, I don’t wish to interrupt your own time, if you’d rather eat alone, but it seems that we took the last free table, here.”
“That sounds lovely,” she replied easily, lightly squeezing his tail with her own, “I look forward to meeting your betrothed.”
The human - Kyle, as he asked them to call him - led them inside, and over to an empty table, where they all took their seats.
“I’m sure she went to freshen up,” he said as they all sat down,
“So,” he continued as they all settled down, “I hear you’re on your way to Sol?”
“We are,” Vir’Ell replied brightly, “Several factors have come together to convince the Empress to send an envoy to your system; the two biggest factors being - of course - your own contribution to freeing those enslaved, but also from the fact that even through the outcasts of your society, it is entirely obvious that humans had nothing to do with the enslavement of our people. There are obviously other reasons - ones that she wishes to keep close to her wings - but she has decided that humans will be the first race to whom she will reach out a hand of open friendship. Obviously, this will have to be taken slowly, but we’re hopeful that this could open new avenues of trade and friendship that we’ve been so sorely missing all these years.”
“Well,” Kyle began, “I hope we can come together as peoples, especially since our introduction to the wider galaxy came about in quite similar circumstances.”
“Yes,” Vohr’Sin replied seriously, joining the conversation, “That is something that we - as separate races - can relate to, you more so than others, I’m sure. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to endure the mahn’ewe’s captivity, and I commend you on your mental fortitude to be able to make it through all of that relatively unscarred. I won’t claim to know how you’ve dealt with it since your escape, but the fact that you came out of it without any noticeable xenophobia is exemplary.”
“Yeah, well,” Kyle began a bit darkly, looking off to the side a bit as his mind wandered those detestable halls, “I’m kinda used to misfortune, and holding it against those who brought it on, specifically. As a matter of fact, the mahn’ewe look human enough that it doesn’t even translate the same when looking from even the drahk’mihn to them. And everyone else just looks like ‘humanoid animals’, or ‘insects’, so it’s less of a comparison to the mahn’ewe, and more so towards our own myths and legends. And I guess I can’t really complain about my lot in life, ‘cause if I hadn’t been abducted, it’s likely I never would’ve met my future wife… Who seems to finally be done admiring herself in the mirror.” This last part he raised his voice slightly, obviously addressing someone over Vir’Ell’s shoulder, who was on Vohr’Sin’s right side. Before they could turn to look, a surprisingly familiar voice rang out, the smile audible in her voice.
“Can’t you go anywhere without ingratiating yourself with whatever drahk’mihn may be in the vicinity?” Looking around at the woman who had just walked past them to sit next to Kyle, his heart seemed to stop in surprise, both at who was talking, as well as the tiara she was wearing; and looking at her now, he fully understood why the Empress had directed them to ignore Kyle's choice in horns. Kah’Ri Mih’Rell wrapped her tail around Kyle’s waist - even as he wrapped his around her - and even hooked her right wing on his right shoulder, a wide grin on her face. On her head was what appeared to be the void itself, elegantly wrapped around her head, twined gracefully over her horns so as to appear as if the void really had inserted itself onto her head.
“‘Ri,” Kyle began, obviously enjoying their reaction just as much as Kah’Ri was, “I’d like you to meet Vohr’Sin, and his wife Vir’Ell; they’re heading to Sol, as she’s been appointed the Ambassador to humanity.”
“Oh,” she replied, obviously surprised, “I honestly didn’t expect that, though I suppose Ella would have ample reason to reach out to humans, of all peoples.” Obviously it was common knowledge that the Empress had taken Kah’Ri in when she’d lost her own parents, but somehow it had never occurred to him to imagine anyone being ‘close’ enough to her to call her by a nickname.
“I’m sorry,” Vir’Ell cut in, “But that tiara is absolutely stunning.” Mixed in with the pleasure at such an extravagant praise, there was an obvious strain of pride in their faces as they both grinned, Kah’Ri leaning closer to Kyle.
“Thank you,” she replied, “He made it according to tradition.”
“You made that?!” he couldn’t help but exclaim, causing them to smile even wider, “From what? I recognize the black hole diamonds, but the material that the rest of it is made of…”
Kah’Ri gave Kyle a knowing look, and - still smiling - said,
“Show them.”
Kyle gave her a conceding nod of his head, and fiddled with the small monitor that was strapped to his wrist. Soon enough, a small hologram appeared on the table between them, depicting Kyle in a strange white tree, looking down at a - comparatively - giant red reptile of some kind. There was a seemingly one-sided conversation where he was obviously speaking with the razum’yilahn that was partially wrapped around his neck, the rest of their body disappearing beneath his shirt. They were still able to catch the gist of what they were saying, mainly that he couldn’t kill that creature until they were sure it wasn’t sapient, which would require them going into its mind.
What followed was an epic battle between man and beast, his uplifted canine companion joining the fight once it was clear that it was indeed a fight. And though it fended off any attacks the canine - Cheshire - threw its way, it seemed intent on finishing the one that had invaded its mind. It eventually had Kyle pinned on his back, both claws - and most of its weight - braced on the staff of the spear he wielded, while Cheshire continued to draw its attention. One such attempt resulted in the reptile shifting its mass, causing one of its paws to slip off the staff, producing what would obviously eventually become the tattoo across his face, though his eyes were destroyed beyond repair in the process.
He managed to catch the claw back on the staff again - obviously using the razum’yilahn’s eyes to operate - soon after which a shuttle appeared, its door open, and what looked like an automated weapon hanging out the side. It fired once, catching the reptile in its backside, and doing little more than making the beast angrier. As it hissed at the shuttle, the weapon fired again, and caught it in the throat, opening up a shallow cut, which Kyle wasted no time in exploiting. Bracing the staff between the arches in his boots, he reached down and drew another knife from his boot, and quickly used it to open the cut wider, rolling out from under the monster to avoid the spray of blood. As the hologram cut out, Kyle began speaking.
“I used the skull plate to grind out the tiara itself, though I had to use nanobots to carve out the clasp to hold the two pieces around her horns. The diamonds were a reward for returning a pendant to the ory’lagus who run the black hole mining company, and the sehr’chtahb who originally crafted the first black hole diamond shaped and set ‘em for me, and I used the Gift I took from the Kath’Loo who was holding her father to change the bone so that it absorbs all light; I also had to turn the bone behind the diamond - and every flake of diamond dust - to silver, to have some light reflect back.”
Vohr’Sin was quite taken aback by everything that had gone into making that tiara, and he was beginning to see possibly a bit of what Kah’Ri must have seen in him in the first place. He was only just realizing that Kyle hadn’t seemed phased to have seen a drahk’mihn; which now it was obvious as to why, but it should have been something that he noticed when they first met. Perhaps it was the horns, and his eyes, of course; another thing the Empress had instructed them to ignore. He was also acutely aware of how… desirable that course of events made him.
“Goddess, man,” he said, putting an exaggeratedly jealous arm around Vir’Ell’s waist, “Save some for the rest of us.” That got a good laugh out of the table, shortly after which their waitress showed up to take their orders. Luckily, they all knew what they wanted, and they were soon talking back and forth, sharing anecdotes from their home world, and asking questions about his. They learned a few things that weren’t easily discernible by simple study of their culture through text, or even video. Kah’Ri stayed quiet, mostly, letting them do all the talking about Verem’Jiose; probably since she had been - intentionally - absent from there for so long, it wasn’t like she would have any idea of more recent news, or trends.
All-in-all, it was an enjoyable lunch, with the time slipping by as they ate and talked the meal away. Towards the end of the meal, the women excused themselves to the restroom, and while they were gone, he took the chance to ask Kyle about the possibility of being allowed to hunt one of those lizards himself, as Kyle had informed them that he owned that planet.
“Well,” he began after a bit of thought, “If you do hunt one, you’ll firstly have to do it without your Gift,” that took him by surprise, but Kyle didn’t stop there, “You also have to fight without any kind of ‘modern’ weapon. Which is mostly just saying that you can’t use guns, though nanoblades are not only acceptable, but also needed. And I’ll even make sure that you’re supplied with some mithril to use, as well. And just so you know: not only will you have a guide with you at all times to make sure you stick to the rules I set out, but they can see if you use your Gift.”
He flexed his eyes for a moment, having already explained how they worked - as far as he knew, anyway - to them earlier, when they revealed that that was why Kah’Ri’s eyes were red, instead of purple.
“I understand,” he replied seriously, “I wouldn’t want to disrespect your world.” Kyle nodded once, saying,
“Well then, I think we can work something out. If y’all’re gonna be here for a couple days, I might be able to get in touch with someone who can set up a way to get you there ‘n back.”
“That would be most appreciated.” As Kyle nodded his acceptance of his thanks, an idea came to his mind.
“You know,” he started in a conspirator's tone, “Before we left home, I managed to get my claws on a crate of krav’ashah wine; it’s a ‘luxury’ berry on Verem’Jiose, as it’s hard to farm, and doesn’t produce a very high yield, even when done correctly; aged twenty years. I would be willing to gift a couple bottles to the two of you, in celebration of your engagement.”
Kyle smiled knowingly, and replied with,
“Well, that would also be much appreciated; I’d definitely owe you a lot… You know, the ory’lagus gave me a lot of extra diamonds, not just enough for ‘Ri to make my circlet. Once you get the piece you wanna make for Vir’Ell, I can shape and set a decent-sized one for you.”
“I think we have an understanding,” he said, smiling.
“As do I,” Kyle replied, a smile of his own on his face.
Their other halves came back shortly after that, and after they all said their goodbyes - he had insisted on paying for the meal - he made his way back to the ship with Vir’Ell, already planning the shape of the new tiara he would be carving for her. And while the one he had bought her would always be special to him - a simple golden band, with a blue diamond in the center of her forehead - he wanted to make this one even better; perhaps he could find a way to incorporate her old one…
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Memory Transcription Subject: Gridn, Gojid civilian, Alias: "Wheel"
It's okay, calm down, it's only once per [40 days], you won't get caught.
My left paw on the wheel, while my right is on my neck, trying to calm myself on the road. Driving my truck to the end of the town, to that road barely anyone take.
The 'road' is just dirt with no grass. It's connected to the other town, as a shortcut. People are too scared to come here, fearing a shadestalker will lunge at thier vehicle. There is one secret path here however, that leads to our destination.
I'm just going to deliver these "fertilizers", and some alcohol. I've been doing this since [13 years], but everytime I do this I fear for my life.
"C'mooon let me touch it"
Carrying 4 passengers, Pollen, Snarl, Claw, and Jitter. 3 in the back and 2 in the front. On our way to the bar.
"NO! Last time you touched my shit you broke it".
Just need to collect my thoughts, things will be over before you know it.
"Hey I said I'm sorry, besides I payed for it."
"You payed for shit! The cost for repair was expensive!"
Just need to collect my...
"C'mon give it!"
"STAY BACK!"
"I'LL TAKE CARE OF IT!"
"NO!"
"POLLEN! SNARL! SHUT THE FUCK UP BACK THERE!"
The two stopped their bickering. They sit quietly in the back, together with Claw. Besides me is Kobni, she won't stop shaking im fear, that's where she got her nickname from.
"Calm down, Jitter. We do this once per [40 days], are you not getting used to it?"
Jitter replied, "I'm- I'm trying to. It- it just that- this- Isn't really what pr- preys do you know?"
"If you're scared you can just leave you know? Why are you trying hard to be in the group you don't want to be in?" Pollen asked.
"I- I can't. My mom is the one who put me up to this. She asked Pocket to let me enter, so Pocket put me as sir Wheel's assistant. She said it'll- make me stop being- te- terrified at everything."
"Wow, was your mom high on ember when she said that?" Snarl replied.
"No! No. I- I don't think so".
"How about you Wheel? You never say anything about yourself." Pollen asked me.
I sighed, I don't really want them to know about my past.
"I'm just here for the money, that's all".
"I'm pretty sure truck drivers gets above average income. There's gotta be something behind that."
This guy really wants to know huh?
"How about you, aren't you here just for the money as well?"
"Half of it, yeah. I was in debt for spending a lot of money on a... Rigged game. The people I took money from threatened me to lock me up in a facility if I don't pay, even if they got no proof that I'm tainted. So I ran away, looked for a safe place I can go, and that's when Pocket found me."
I guess that explains why he's always at the bar, I guess just like Snarl and Claw, that's his only home too.
"Well, I've said my story, your turn."
I sighed, "Fine... I'm here for my daughter's treatment".
"You have a daughter!?" Pollen replied
"Nah, more important question, who was fucking with you!?" Snarl added in.
"Can I finish my story!?"
When the two quiet down, I continued. "Like I said, I'm here for my daughter. [13 years] ago, when that stampede happened, she was 3 that time, and was critically injured, it made her crippled, unable to walk, permanently. Our money wasn't enough to cover the bills, and our house was burned down as well during it."
I continued the story. "I got nothing left, I was desperate for money, so, Pocket gave an offer. He was a fire insurance carrier, I rejected his offer before since I thought "What's the chance of a predator attack?". He gave me an offer, delivery goods in the night side, and I get huge money in return. I took it, but my wife didn't like how I was acting strangely since then, so we broke up. I stayed here, to continue to support my daughter."
Now I've said my story, feels like some weight got released from me.
"Honestly, good call for your ex to leave you, you're a grumpy man". Snarl commented, with Pollen laughing at it.
Nevermind.
"Tsk, anyways, here's out stop."
Stopping the truck in front of the bar, a house set in a dark forest. In front of the bar standing is Door, Flower, and Root. We got off from the truck, with the three walking towards us.
"The fertilizers are on the back, along with the alcohols and other supplies." I said to Door, he signed an acknowledgement, and lead Flower and Root at the back of the truck while the five of us entered the bar.
Inside the bar, Glove and Pocket greeted us. Pocket was standing in the middle, while Glove was behind the bar counter. I went over to Glove with Jitter, while the rest talked to Pocket.
"Hi Wheel, what can I get you today?" Glove spoked, she's wearing a cloth on her left arm, but not on her right, she never said why, but that's where she got her name from.
"Just the usual."
"Alright, how about you sweetie?"
"Sa- same as his." Jitter replied.
"Alright, coming right up."
From where we're sitting, I can hear the other gang's conversation.
"So, how was the trip?" Pocket asked Snarl and Claw.
"I got this!" Snarl happily replied, showing a 'The Exterminators' figurine.
"Very well. Take a bath at the back, then you can rest."
"Aw but I like this look."
"The longer you have that dye on the harder it is to be removed."
"Fine. C'mon Claw, let's go." As the pair went to the back. Now, it was Pollen's turn to talk to him.
"I heard a news about a death." Pocket started.
"That guy was dying anyways, if the drug didn't got him his other addiction will. I just took the opportunity"
"I know, but it'll be better if the public doesn't know about our thing. Luckily the exterminators' investigation reached an early dead end."
Pollen sighed "I'll be careful next time".
Pocket signed an acknowledgement.
Glove returned with our drinks. "So how was you two's work?"
"Pretty uneventful, the usual" I replied.
"Really? you two seems anxious."
"Why shouldn't we? It's a normal reaction."
"Why is that?"
"If we were found in this house, I'll never see my daughter again."
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Memory Transcription Subject: Legal Name Unknown, Alias: "[See here for full list]"
"Following the investigation about the assassination of 'Romeo S. Benido' and 'Julio C. Aviliyar'. Last year, on November 14, 'Romeo S. Benido' have been shot dead in the head by a sniper rifle while giving a speech during his birthday celebration. A day after the crime, 'Julio C. Aviliyar' have been found dead in his home after the residents heard a single shot of a gunfire. Both victims were a running mayor for the city of Las Piñas. Checking the CCTV footage in Aviliyar's residence, one man have been found running away from the scene of the crime. The suspect was identified as 'Jonathan V. Santos' one of Aviliar's bodyguard. However, after further investigation of the 'Philippine National Police', they have found out that the identity of the bodyguard have been falsified, after the documents retrieved have been proven 'fake' and the residents unable to give a description of the man's appearance, saying this man have never been seen inside of until the day of the crime. The PNP is have increased it's offer from $500,000 to $650,000 for anyone who will be able to provide information that will lead to the arrest and capture of the assassin. The PNP warns that this person is armed and dangerous, and to contact the authorities immediately at sight."
"God damn, 650k!? With that money I could like, buy a mansion" A customer commented while watching the bar television, talking to his friends and the bartender.
"Like you have a chance, the killer probably already went to a new country. Whoever paid him must have been super rich." the bartender replied.
"Yeah, you got a better chance finding winning lottery ticket in a trash." The second customer added.
"For all we know, that guy is a ghost, dude's got no identity whatsoever. Made to punish politicians who takes advantage of the poor." The third costumer added.
"If that was a ghost I'd understand why it'll kill Aviliyar, but why Bonido."
"Bonido probably got dirt we 'normal' people don't know, all politicians have one."
"Alright, alright, stop, you're getting political" the second customer said, trying to stop an argument.
Eavesdropping to the conversations of customers, to know when to leave and when to stay. I hoped the bartender was right. But the reality is that I'm still here. I can't get out of the country, the security tightened since then and is taking too long die down. Every second I spend here the more likely I'll get caught.
I need to find a way to get off this place
The bartender approached me, "what would you like, sir?"
"A gin would be nice."
"Alright. Say, you're a regular here, but I haven't really gotten your name."
"Hmm? Well, you can call me Jacinto, Cinto for short."
The bartender chuckled, "Named after a Hero huh? Alright, I'll remember your name, Cinto".
I raised a glass to him with a smile, signaling acknowledgement. Another name to live as. I wonder how long can I keep this one.
As the night gets deeper, the television continued "Breaking News! The UN has confirmed a first contact with aliens!..."
Huh. This looks interesting.
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Hello everyone, I am looking for new tracks and directions that I like, I would like to find songs that combine rap/hip-hop with bass and orchestral music/singing. It sounds similar to Red Bull Symphonic with different rappers, gangsta's paradise chorus, black violin but with lyrics. Or just share any of your songs, regardless of genre. Good luck to everyone!)

Hello everyone, I am looking for new tracks and directions that I like, I would like to find songs that combine rap/hip-hop with bass and orchestral music/singing. It sounds similar to Red Bull Symphonic with different rappers, gangsta's paradise chorus, black violin but with lyrics. Or just share any of your songs, regardless of genre. Good luck to everyone!)

Memorial day hasn't meant much to me since I first heard about it. And the only difference to this one was I actually with a love of mine on this day. My motorcycle. Sitting at a stop light with Her, behind me.
Paying attention to anyone behind me when the bike and I were in motion isn't generally where my focus lies but of course, I am always attentive whenever we approach a stop. As you expect, cars came careening towards my bike and I to form a orderly queue into the cute little outdoor mall we were all head towards. Carelessly glancing at my mirrors, I noticed a little SUV behind me slowing to a halt. All I really noticed was hair and vague faces as my brief attention is more focused on whether they were going kill me or not and not then not trying to overtly stare at them like a creep. They stop, and I figure I throw myself into my favorite new habit as an official new member of the 'owner of a motorcycle club' by waving at all the motorcycles as the pass me by, sometimes just flinging my arms like a disconnected npc only tethered by a pure soul. Through the frequency of life flowing through me that day, I felt it radiated through connecting me to my immediate surroundings. I felt as if everything within sight of me was in tune with my being so to say. Kinda felt like whatever decision I made next, could do no wrong. So, I decided to turn around and wave. While I was signaling other bikers, I had noticed that the heads of hair behind me had faces... lovely faces too, that were smiling. Its always nice to see smiles but It's never fun to assume there they're ever on the same vibe as you. You see, there's a certain level of composure I like to believe I still possess that is only confirmed when exercised....So what was the reaction of my kind wave? 2 waves back, with more nice smiles. Helmet on, visor up I bet anyone could see my dumbass grinning from ear to ear. Pretty great feeling that I wasn't expecting but I figured it happened, because I waited for a sign or signal.
So I doubled down and figured, hey if were both going to the mall, we should probably eat something, preferably.. TOGETHER! As we turn Into the lot, I yell*yes in a motorcycle helmet* Are yalling eating? But they didn't hear or it fell on uninterested ears. No worries. They kept driving ahead a little and I decided to park my bike to this really cool black bike the almost engulfed my entire attention span in that moment. As I was getting my footing to scoot myself into the spot, I noticed they had only got about 4 cars in front of me and decided to park.
Hmmmm... I thought to myself. First I didn't want to look back and I only did, because of a feeling or a sign... is parking this close a sign I should pay attention to? Well, if so, they hazard right? Why wont they.. *blinkblink blinkblink* ...........The hazards flash Now I thinking, Well who the hell am I to question life? And I rev'd over. I don't remember what I said but It must have not been that awful because I then got invited to go shop for anklets by 2 laid back beautiful, happy women. My heart dropped... How did they know? That I actually loved shopping for anklets on memorial day exclusively?!
We take a short walk and talk a talk and walk while exchanging names, and the story unravels from their side. They pulled up behind me and thought it was funny that I was waving at all the motorcyclists and from my visor being up, thought I was cute.*yo no se*Hearing this played back to me was funny and I tried not to look too deep into it at the moment because I was in it and felt there was more to it all if I just, existed in the moment. And this point I felt enough pleasantries had been exchanged and surface level reconnaissance to see if we were cool had concluded. Now was the time to lean into one of them with a more purposely directed level of romantic attention. I lightly asked what their availability for love looked like between them and the friend said they were married but kind of signaled/explained that her friend was available. My heart said Wow my brain? Relax, Don't be weird. Continue the journey. Giving all praise to the friend.. she explains how she suggested that her friend eat after I yell/asked about it, and it was her idea to turn the hazards on to let me know to come up to them. I'm a little stunned realizing how very lucky I was for her to be the manifestation of cupid in the most clutch way possible.
Finally, we arrived at the anklet store and.............. it's close. Awh shit. Well what do you do when you and your best friend can't get matching anklets on memorial day? You initiate the best friend suicide pact aahhhhhAHHHH!!! NO, no NO NO! nonononononononono.
You... go buy an adult beverage from across the street. I mean let's be honest, any day without matching anklets so a day that has been fucked. So far as I'm concerned and if we're walking on ice, we might as well dance. Getting a little sip during the day always seems to take a little off the tip of the devils dick. So we go drink. During this time we have a great exchange of who we( me, Her, and the friend) essentially feeling out if cool or not. Throughout this though, I can't help but to feel like I'm falling for this person I'm talking to. I could really get into the fine details of it all but I feel like that is special to me. In a book, I picked up a little philosophy about keeping some things to yourself. No one needs to know all the details, ya know? And I'm breaking that rule to a degree by sharing this story only because what happened afterwards was a ghosting on a level that I can't comprehend.
Weeeee leave towards their car and I kid you not, If I did not have this girl in my hand/near me, I would have have floated the fuck off into the air. I felt that feeling again, as if I could do no wrong. So after saying goodbye to her friend, She and I hugged and I looked into her eyes. There was a future that I was felt was being welcomed to be apart of, if I didn't fumble it. I had her number, she had shown interest from a stop light... don't push it I thought... but rather.. squeeze 'it'..?
I kissed her on the cheek... and we both smiled. Not thinking, I grabbed her hand and kissed it while looking into her eyes. She was a little taken back and said, No ones ever done that, You get points for that. I smile and said.. Hell, if you're giving out points , I'm a collecting. We exchange another round of pleasantries, and we part ways.
Crossing the street and looking both ways on shaky legs made me ponder if this what deer feel like when they're caught in the headlights. Nah, they weren't as lucky as me on this day.
As I'm gearing up to ride, She comes up to me from behind and informs me that her friend told her she shouldn't leave until we have a kiss. I agreed. Her lips were ineffable. And for momentarily, they had stolen what ability I had at forming them right from my mouth.
So they left and I left the immediate area to release a little bit of energy trying to learn how to do a wheelie on my bike in this empty lot. Little bit after I got kicked I text her to at least say how great it was meeting her and her friend.
She shares the same feelings and proceeds to share with me that us meeting eachother, made her day. I remember telling her I was sorry I didn't have anything clever to say after the kiss but she and time allowed me, that I would find the words some day to express how I felt. She gave me a nickname.. I told I would do the same but it would take some time so to be as good as the one she had given me.
That was day 1. The next day, I gave a good morning and good luck today kinda text. A nice receptive and equally reflecting message in return from her. Short and sweet, Good sign I thought. Later I figured, sense the circumstances of my job don't allow me to be in one place for too long, I should try and reach out try and plan something for us to have a nice one on one before I leave town, like a dinner. I truly just wanted to know more. The pace was going well so they was no need to rush....................................................... No response for the whole day. Now, I'm a bit confused. I try not to over think it and let it be. A day passes nothing. 2? Nada. I honestly kinda didn't know what to think after having a moment like that.. I did the regular protocol. Go back and review every little detail in my head to see where I misstepped and did something wrong. I even asked an older female friend. And they couldn't help me find a fault either. Then after a few close friends give me their possible rundowns of what COULD have happen, I kinda exhaled a little bit. And kinda let it go. One friend even joked saying that maybe she died in a car wreck.... I was not laughing... atleast not immediately. I understood why they would say such a thing to a friend in that moment.
SO I decided to reel it in.... and give it one..more... cast out in the lake of... her and As I write, I still haven't heard from her. And apart of me doesn't want to make sense out of it because it might ruin the mystique of romance. That moment is there as it was left until it reveals itself again, if it ever does.
I guess I'm sharing this because I've always believed in finding someone, out there in the flesh, while trying to make it in the world is something quite beautiful in life truly worth experiencing.
And because of that I never forget that love is always around us, waiting around the corner. Or at an intersection south of the Emerald City.

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Mostly based upon this: https://www.reddit.com/acecombat/comments/islc7v/the_100_hour_war_between_el_salvador_and_honduras/
1: The war started for a stupid reason, but it was more complex than that.
The Seven Months War has another which people also know it as: the "Second Football War" or the "Second Soccer War". While tensions between Indonesia and the Philippines had been escalating for years, basically because of Indonesian migrant workers and families being blamed by the right-wing government as scapegoats for some of the country's problems, which resulted in Indonesians being discriminated more and more as the years passed by. The real problem was in fact how Russia manipulated the election to let President Fernando win. In turn, his party founded the Philippine Center for Fundamental Rights, which was anti-working class, anti-immigration, and anti-Muslim. This organization put pressure on the Filipino Government to "protect their nation". By 2025, Indonesian immigrants were being removed from their land, regardless of how they acquired it, their immigration status, or even whether they were married to a Filipino or not. Many Indonesians were being expelled from the Philippines by force. To say Filipinos and Indonesians didn't like each other was a big understatement.
In 2027, a Filipino football club from Manila and an Indonesian one from Jakarta were both in a two-round qualifying match for the 2027-28 edition of the AFC Champions League Elite. The first game was held in Manila, and the Indonesians were met with violence, a fight between fans erupted in the streets (quickly turning into a riot), and Filipinos were gathered all night at the hotel where the Jakarta team was staying to make noise and keep them up all night. Manila won and Jakarta lost 1-0. An 18 year old Indonesian girl named Aisyah Samudra couldn't take this and killed herself. Her funeral was used in Indonesia to bolster national sentiment, hundreds gathered in the streets to say their final goodbyes as her coffin was transported down the streets of Jakarta like she was a national hero.
The second game took place in Jakarta, and Filipinos were met with violence, Indonesians stayed around the hotel where the Manila team was staying to make noise all night long, some flagpoles at the stadium had dirty rags instead of the Filipino flag, Jakarta won, and Manila lost 2-1. The coach from Manila, while he and his team were on the way to the airport inside an APC (because it was too unsafe for them to simply go in a regular bus), was recorded as saying to his players "It's a good thing that we lost."
Over 20000 Indonesian immigrants were forced out of the Philippines, many not by the Government, but by Filipinos that burned down their houses, their businesses, and even killed some of their family members. A similar scenario occured in Indonesia, where 10000 Filipinos were displaced. The AFC demanded a third game in neutral ground (Singapore), and it is said that, on the day that game happened, Indonesia and the Philippines cut all ties and closed all diplomatic channels with each other. Manila won that third game and Jakarta lost 3-2 during overtime, and Manila was qualified for the 2027-28 ACL Elite group stage.

1. Military actions were done in unusual ways by the Indonesian Air Force.

A month after that final defeat, Indonesia launched a surprise attack and invaded the Philippines. The Indonesian Army and Navy quickly began gaining ground in the Philippines, and within a month had full control of Mindanao and Palawan, setting up occupation governments in the places they captured, with the goal of reaching and conquering Manila.
All of Indonesia was placed into lockdown as the Indonesian Air Force began their attack as well. The Indonesian Air Force didn't have any dedicated bombers, so they mostly used C-130 cargo planes with bombs in their cargo bays. The Indonesian Air Force used Rafales and Su-27 Flankers as escorts for the bombers, while also using F-16 Vipers and Su-30 Flankers to deal with ground targets. A long-range strike into Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, which was part of the Mega Manila area, caught the Filipinos by surprise.
So the first mission is a surprise bombing raid, typical for an Ace Combat game.

1. While the Philippine Army and Navy didn't really stop the Indonesian offensive, the Philippine Air Force did.

As the the Filipino surface forces were getting owned in the Visayas, the PAF, the Philippine Air Force, began the counterattack. While Villamor Air Base near Manila was attacked, it was still fully operational, and with the fighters that fled there, the Philippines, using T-50s as primary strike craft, escorted by F-16s and MiG-29s, launched attacks on Indonesian ground targets in Palawan and Visayas to stop the advancing Indonesian military. This included a long-range attack on oil and fuel facilities in Palawan and nearby Kalinmatan. The attacks were successful, and multiple crucial fuel tanks were destroyed, wasting a large amount of Indonesian fuel. This left the forces in Palawan without fuel, and without fuel, they couldn't continue their advance towards Manila.
There's the second mission: Destroying an oil rig, or some base filled with fuel tanks.
The most well-trained troops in the Filipino military were the ones tasked with protecting Manila, so they were not at the front lines with the counteroffensive. The Philippine Air Force and the Philippine Navy managed to stuff them all onto ships and transport/cargo planes, and sent them to the front lines to reinforce the front in preparation for the counteroffensive.
Third mission: Escort duty, defend some plane or ships and help them transport some Army unit.

1. Most fighters in the Indonesian Air Force who got shot down in a dogfight with the Philippine Air Force were downed by the same pilot, who was accountable for more than 50% of Filipino air-to-air kills.

Captain John Hernandez, flying a Viper, achieved 41 aerial victories over the course of the war, becoming a Filipino Ace of Aces and earning a nickname: the Sparrow. He also became Ace-in-a-day within the second month of the war, downing 2 Indonesian Flankers during an air raid, and later shooting down 6 Rafales on his way home.
That's right, the Indonesian Air Force was getting owned in the sky after their initial success by just one fighter pilot: Captain John "Sparrow" Hernandez. There's your protagonist/player character with a Red Baron nickname right there.

1. Both sides had basically the same planes, but one side had this neat camo pattern that clearly set them aside.

You might have noticed how most of the planes i've mentioned are US-made or Russian-made. That's because Indonesia and the Philippines bought F-16s from the US and Indonesia bought some flankers from Russia, while the Philippines bought some old MiGs from Poland. Indonesia used Flankers and Rafales as primary fighter, while using Vipers and T-50s as fighter-bombers, whereas the Philippines used F-16s and T-50s mainly in a fighter role with Super Tucanos and OV-10 Broncos as primary attack planes. It wasn't hard to tell the two countries' planes apart from each other, for example, while Filipino Vipers used the same grey paint scheme used by the US, Indonesia had a military camo pattern applied to their F-16s (as seen here).
So, there you go: Both sides have (mostly) the same planes and both sides have distinct paint schemes on their planes.

1. In desperation from the Filipino counteroffensive, Indonesia began buying plane parts (and sometimes planes themselves) from anywhere they could and began to hire mercenary pilots to fly them.

Four months into the war, having lost both planes and pilots, and with the Army and Navy starting to lose ground in the Visayas, and having practically completely lost Palawan, Indonesia got desperate. They began getting new airframes and spare parts from whereever they could (they basically bought them from scrapyards that had them), made the frames combat-worthy again, and hired mercenary pilots to fly them, giving them provisional Air Force ranks (and, for many, fake identities).
One such pilot was Major Anatoly Fyodorov, a Russian mercenary fighter pilot who was fresh off the Essequibo War, who used the Su-30 as his plane of choice.
So here we have the big scary opponent Ace with a backstory who flies Russian aircraft.

1. The war ended after just seven months (hence the name), after the counteroffensive succeeded in retaking all of Mindanao. And nothing really changed afterward.

After the Phlippines sucessfully retook Mindanao and the nearby Sulu archipelago, Indonesia had ASEAN intervene in the war, and after the US threatened military action in the event of any further attacks from Indonesia, both parties would cease hostilities and sign a peace treaty in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, thus ending the war. The reasons for the tensions remained, however, as President Fernando would continue his policies (until he was voted out of office), and Indonesia would continue to displace Filipinos.
So the Philippines won, the war ended, and the peace treaty was agreed upon, but the whole "wars happen because countries exist" view still remains.
Oh, and don't forget the evil Russia and its leader, Vladimir Putin being the evil mastermind in the background.
A few months after the war, Captain Hernandez's F-16 is in display on a museum in Manila, kept there as a monument of sorts. So there you have the end credits scene honoring the memory of the lone pilot protagonist.
Most of everything was there, all that was left is the obligatory enemy superweapon. (And the once-a-game tunnel run.)
Sorry if i offended anyone here.

Hello All,
My nickname is Lee. I am looking for someone or some people who want to be genuine friends and beyond. I’m tired of feeling lonely on weekend nights and having a phone drier than the sahara. I want friends to call and text and send silly instagram reels to. I need people to keep stupid snap streaks with and play minecraft with until 2 am.
I’m sick of the hi bye people that i’m surrounded by. I want to be your best friend. I want to be there for you when you smile and cry. I want us to have deep conversations while I sit on my rooftop. I want to listen to 80s music together and talk about theology and philosophy and art. Tell me your dreams and hopes. I want to feel like I mean something to someone.
Some things I like are art, volunteering, biology, medical science, philosophy, Christian/Catholic theology, physical activities, trying new foods, exploring different cultures, history, gaming, anime, guitar, music, fashion, watching youtube, war movies, marvel comics, and collecting physical media like cds and dvds. Some things i’d like to get into are callisthenics, magic the gathering, DND, rock climbing, fallout, and collecting vhs and cassette tapes. If you know anything about any of those interests please message me about them.
I hope we can be good friends.

Hey Everyone! I came to realize pretty quickly that I did not have as much of this chapter planned out as I thought I did. Which explains why it took a little long to come out, but in the end I managed to create something that I was satisfied with. You may notice one key change, being that Oukirii’s Companion no longer has a defined name! You’re free to name it whatever you wish.
(Completed Chapter 2s: Thearnt, Taland, Pascal, Harmony, Crowson, Asherah, Oukirii)
Next Chapter 2: Orlando the Starseer
Oukirii the Hunter, Chapter 2: Recommended Level 26
——————
(The Journey So Far…)
Events along Oukirii’s first hunt created damage in her family.
Her father came to realize that she had no intention of become a strong hunter on her own.
Even if she knew that, Oukirii couldn’t answer the question “Then what do you want to be?”
One evening, she had a dream of world’s destruction. A prophet came by the following day and told her of the beasts she saw that night.
Oukirii volunteered to hunt the beasts down, in hopes that this journey would reveal her true purpose to her…
Oukirii and Her Companion set foot in Evercold. The first thing Oukirii notes is the cold air of the snowy region. “You alright boy?” She crouches down and pets her companion on the head. It makes a joyful cry. “Hansel should be around here right?” Oukirii continues “He probably knows where we should go to look for Snow Gem!”
She takes a few steps forward, “This town is— very different from Oakbright…” Oukirii looks down. “Alright, Let’s go find Hansel!”
You’d be prompted to look for Hansel

• Travel Banter: My Nickname (Oukirii and Orlando) “Hey Kirie.” Orlando tries to get her attention. Oukirii freaks out and Orlando apologizes. Oukirii goes on to explain that her dad always called her Kirie. “That Dimitrius man, right?” Orlando asks. Oukirii tells Orlando a bit more about her father, before finally saying to him “You can call me Kirie if you want to.” Orlando makes sure that’s alright with her, and Oukirii says that it’s perfectly fine.
  
• Travel Banter: A Roaring Sword (Oukirii and Crowson) Oukirii notices Crowson and asks “What are you doing Mr. Crowson!?” He tells her that he’s just giving his sword a polish. Oukirii says “It’s shinier now, you did a good job!” Crowson goes quiet. “I’ve heard it roar through the air when you swing it!” Oukirii continues. He replies “It does do that. Now let us proceed.” Oukirii wonders what the hurry is for, Crowson tries to come up with an excuse, and settles on using the cold weather.
  

“Heave Ho Suzie!” Someone’s voice calls out. Blanche, the owner of the Beast Ranch would be pulling on a large wagon filled with heavy crates. She’d look over at Oukirii.
(Blanche’s Dialogue will change depending on if you’ve visited the ranch prior. “You look familiar”/”Who’re you? A hunter?”)
Blanche would go on to explain that she’s here to pick up supplies. She notices Oukirii’s companion and hands her a bag of food before grabbing onto the wagon again. Suzie would give Oukirii a nod as they leave.
As Oukirii puts away the bag, She notices Hansel standing near the path that Blanche and Suzie went along. Oukirii runs over to Hansel and tells him that she’s ready to take on Snow Gem.
Hansel is glad to hear it. He would tell Oukirii that this beast has been terrorizing the citizens of Evercold for a long time. “Hunting Snow Gem is not only important for our own sun-saving mission. It’s for the relief of all these people right here.”
“Well I’ll have to do my best then!”
“I believe in you Oukirii. I really do.”
Oukirii would walk away from Hansel and you’d head further into town. Oukirii suddenly hears the sound of someone shouting “No, Not again!” Her companion points his nose in the direction of the shouting and a curious Oukirii runs over to find a girl standing outside of her home. She asks if something’s wrong and the girl tells her that she lost a book she borrowed from the town’s library.
Oukirii volunteers to help look, the girl just laughs loudly “It’s nowhere I can find, best of luck to you kid!”
“Hey!” Oukirii shouts. “I’ll find that book… Just you wait…”
Before leaving, she asks for the girl’s name. She answers “Valerie, why do you need to know?” Oukirii says that it’s just in case she wrote her name in the book. “Suppose I– Fair point?” Valerie responds.
You’d Entreat Valerie’s Book from a customer by Evercold’s Night Market.

• Travel Banter: Valerie’s Missing Book (Oukirii and Asherah) Asherah remarks that Valerie must be extremely forgetful. But it’s hard not to feel bad for her. Oukirii says that it’s a good thing they showed up when they did, “Right, Helping people.” Asherah says. “Let’s just hope this pays off somehow.” Oukirii tells her that it will pay off in some way, Asherah asks “Do you believe in that sort of thing?” Oukirii says “Of course I do! Well— not if you don’t believe enough with me!”

Oukirii returns to Valerie and hands her the book. Valerie acts surprised as she flips through the pages. She sighs and puts the book away, saying she needs a tea break, she invites Oukirii to join. Sheaccepts and the two would enter Valerie’s home.
Oukirii’s companion lies down on the floor. Valerie apologizes for acting like she did, and Oukirii forgives her immediately. She notices some tools on the wall and asks what those are for. Valerie says those are for her toolsmithing job. However, she wonders if that job is something even worth continuing. “Just doesn’t feel like my ‘right thing’.”
Oukirii gets to thinking. Being so young, she doesn’t fully understand what Valerie is saying. But she gets a better understanding by connecting it to finding her own purpose. It's hard to tell if she did the “right thing” by fleeing to complete this mission…
A Flashback occurs, A young Oukirii sits waiting in the living room while her mother and father try to make her look her best. The door opens, and somebody walks inside. Antànor Solana, Oukirii’s Grandfather. Dimitrius happily greets him, Antànor doesn’t say anything, But does the same to his son. He shakes Catalina’s hand and pats Oukirii on the head while facing away from her. He and Dimitrius walk forward, chatting about their hunts. Oukirii tries to shout something to her grandfather, but he doesn’t hear her…
After she and Valerie finish talking, Oukirii says that she’s off to hunt a beast. She describes Snow Gem to Valerie, who says “I’ve never heard of anything like that before…” Valerie tells Oukirii to wait up and grabs a hatchet from the wall, she says that she’ll be coming to hunt this thing too. She won’t let someone like her fight a beast unsupervised.

• Travel Banter: Dance Lessons (Oukirii and Harmony) Oukirii is lost in thought, Harmony gets her attention and offers to let her try out something new, Dancing! Wondering if it will help her find something to be passionate about. Oukirii doesn’t know what to think, Harmony talks with her about what it would be like to be a dancer. Oukirii says that stardom doesn’t sound like something she wants to strive for, but thanks Harmony for talking to her about her purpose in an uplifting way.

Road to Deepshiver Cave, Danger Level 26
As Oukirii and Valerie walk, The ground begins to shake. They stop and stand still, Valerie asks “Did you feel that?” Oukirii wonders if the rumbling came from Snow Gem. Suddenly, the ground cracks underneath them. Sending Oukirii and her companion falling underground.
Oukirii is lying on the ground in a patch of snow. Her companion tries to wake her, Oukirii jolts up and looks around. “Thank the sun! Where’s Valerie?” Oukirii stands up after petting her companion. “This… Snow Gem… It must be…” She shakes her head.
Deepshiver Cave, Danger Level 27

• Travel Banter: Rough Landing! (Oukirii and Taland) “Agh…” Taland sounds in pain. Oukirii asks if he’s hurt. He replies “Who, Me? Not at all. It was like landing on a pillow! I did pull a muscle, but I’m more worried about you little sis.” Oukirii wonders “Huh? I’m not hurt.” Taland is ready to accept the answer until he points out her shivering. “You must have snow on ya still.” He teaches Oukirii to shake the snow out. Before they’re both ready to continue on.

Further into the cave, Oukirii would run into Valerie. Who is revealed to have taken the normal way in. Slightly further to the end of the tunnels, They get their first look at the “Snow Gem” beast. A large quadruped creature with blank eyes and a strong shell covered in ice and snow. Oukirii is shaken at the sight of it. Valerie calls out “What is that thing!?”
“Stand back Valerie!” Oukirii and her companion step up, ready to confront the beast. “This is what I was made for… I won’t let you bring destruction to this world! Come on Snow Gem– It’s all over now!!”
BOSS: Snowradillo
(Boost Dialogue: “Here goes nothing!”)
Valerie dashes in and finishes off the beast with a large chop. It creates a strong wind as it fades away into nothing… “We did it!” Oukirii quietly says “That’s one down…” Valerie asks if Oukirii is alright, She says that she doesn’t know and explains that “I… I wish I could have known more about it. They say a hunter is supposed to read the hearts of all creatures they hunt. But I… Is there something wrong… with me as a hunter…?”
“Read the heart of it or not, you hunted that thing like a champion! Maybe you’re not looking in the right place kid, you helped this town out! You could consider the idea of being a traveling hunter…”
“A traveling hunter?” Oukirii asks. She gives it some thought, before her companion reminds them that they need to head back to the Evercold.

• Travel Banter: Church of the Sacred Sun (Oukirii and Thearnt) Oukirii asks Thearnt how different the Sacred Flame religion is compared to her own. Thearnt says that she was wondering the same thing. The two of them would have a long discussion about differences in their beliefs and customs. Draefendi being a god in one and a legendary hunter in the other, The Sun is believed as a spiritual concept while Aelfric is believed as an actual being, and how both religions have different things the followers shall and shall not do.
  
• Travel Banter: My Bedtime (Oukirii and Pascal) Oukirii is proud of her victory against the beast. “You did great.” Pascal congratulates her. Oukirii excitedly asks him if she can stay up later than usual now. Pascal tells her that he isn’t the one in the position to decide that, “Most of the time you’re knocked out early anyway.” He says, followed by silently thinking ”That’s when we usually go drink…” Oukirii pleads that she can stay up longer if she tries. Pascal tells her that he can talk about removing her suggested bedtime.
  

In Evercold, Oukirii and Valerie run into Hansel again. Oukirii tells him of the good news, and asks “Does it matter now if we take down the other two? That dream had three of them together, if one is gone then–”
“It doesn’t work that way Oukirii…” Hansel replies “Destruction could still spell even if only one was still around… Our mission was to take down all three. The next target will be Red Spirit, I’ve found this creature to be in Redwater.”
Oukirii accepts to continue the mission and keep seeking her purpose. She and her companion excitedly leave town towards the next adventure.
Hansel and Valerie watch as they leave. Valerie says “I hope she finds her purpose out there. But there’s something I don’t quite understand. She seems like she doesn’t want to be strong. But then, why accept a mission that requires her to fight powerful monsters?”
“She wants to prove herself capable, and it’s a job only she can do. I’m grateful that she did accept, Otherwise the fate of the world might still be uncertain…”
(Ending Text)
Oukirii succeeds in her hunting of the first beast. Snowradillo of Evercold.
Two monsters remain as a threat to the world.
She keeps her heart optimistic, yet still finds herself troubled. With no definite answer to the question of her purpose…
With the guidance of the sun, Oukirii sets out to Redwater.
And prepares for a confrontation with Red Spirit…
——————
Oukirii the Hunter: Chapter 2, End.

Ganzir. July 8th. 2020.
Director of the GOC Miss Al Fine, The Engineer (Leader of the Choas insurgency), and GOI-004A or better known as Robert Bumaro (Leader of the Church of the broken god) "So... Current status of thr east gate of the city." Al Fine asked the engineer. "Our insurgents have held fine miss Fine" he said using her name as a pun. She snickered in an amused fashion. "Now to our correct discussion. Based on what we've seen gentlemen it has become clear that while we sit safe and sound in Ganzir the world is currently going to shit" she said bluntly.
"Thats one way of putting it" said Robert Bumaro metallically sighing "based on our currently reports Russia has fallen and the Choas insurgents currently not in Ganzir are toppling African governments making the situation worst." She sighed. "Aren't you supposed to be in charge of the insurgency Mister Engineer" she said. "I may have control over our Insurgents currently in Ganzir but I've lost all contact with the insurgents outside of Africa so I can’t tell them to stop their madness. "Nothing new coming from your kind" Chuckled Robert Bumaro metallically. The engineer shot Robert a glare before calming himself down.
"Look Ganzir won't last forever. Yes, half of this city was created by God himself or some kind of God, but we don't have infinite food or water. Our replicators, which I hope each of your twos respective personnel are handling properly cant replicate organic matter and our food reserves will only last the city for 10 years given the cities current population." Fine said. "We are going to-" She gets cut off by the Engineer. "We are going to pull a Serpents hand aren't we" he said with a disappointed look on his face. "Yes and no." She responded. "While we will try to get into another reality or dimension to escape this mess the GOC will be staying behind the hold the fort as we get the civilians out of here. The Serpent's Hand were cowards and only thought about their lives not the lives of civilians that's why they left straight up and didn't decide to try to get as many people as they could into the wander's library. The United Nations Global Occult Coalition on the other hand like I said will stay behind." she said firmly.
“And what about you." asked Robert. "I will be staying behind as well it would be a shame for my men to miss out on living" she said joking grimly. "The Insurgency will stand by you then. We will give the foundation shit heads-" The engineer says before he gets cut off. "The Insurgency will not fight side by side with the UNGOC you will protect the civilians and be with them when Ganzir is evacuated somehow." She spoke. "But" He gets cut off again. "No buts. We have no idea what fucked up or beautiful reality or dimension our civilians will be walking into when shit hits the fan, and we evacuate. The insurgency and the Church for a matter-of-fact job is to protect the civilians from whatever awaits them in the realities or dimensions we may create a rift too. Is that clear." She says firmly. "yes" The engineer sighs as he says yes but Robert says it with a clear level of understanding.
"Look ever since it began our 3 organizations united to defend humanity one last time. Once you're on the other side... Please don't go back to your old ways we need your organizations as they are now to face whatever awaits humanity on the other side." Fine says this in almost a begging tone. "Look for as long as our 3 organizations have existed, we've hated each other but with the foundation looming over us we need to do what we can to preserve human life. The GOC leader has a point." Says Robert. "Let's not let Her and her organizations sacrifice be in vain." The Engineer raised his hand in protest but then stopped. "Fine but we will need some GOC personnel to come with us since your organization knows how to handle Anomalous weapons way better than the Church and my group and I don't want any freak accidents happening while we evacuate." Fine thinks for a moment before saying. "Sounds good. Meeting dismissed." The 3 respective leaders walk out of the room as they head to talk with the brightest members of each of their respective groups for the grand undertaking that is about to happen.
Ganzir. July 12th. 2020.
"So, this is it huh." says Monroe under his gas mask. Manroe stared at the Gate in awe never in any of his years in the Insurgency had he seen anything like it. His sightseeing was soon interrupted. "Don't think about weaponizing that shit" Jokes Phillip as he puts on his helmet with the GOC logo painted on it. "Oh, come on we both know if there are any anomalies on the other side of that gate you Gocks (Nickname for the GOC) are gonna to nuke the shit out of that other world." Jokes Monroe back.
"Look the foundation contains, you guys try to weaponize, and the serpents are all about befriending those fucking anomalies. Just put a bullet in its head and get it over with. Far cheaper solution in my book" Phillip says chuckling. "It's a fucking miracle we get along.” says Monroe sighing. "Hey, we can thank the Foundies (GOC nickname for foundation personnel) for that" Phillips jokes as he smokes a cigarette. "Ever seen the photos of Churchill with him smoking that big cigar." Phillips continues. "Yes why" Manroe asked. "I'm going to get one if those and pose on the walls of Ganzir while smoking and you take a photo as well." Phillips said. "You're asking to get hit by a Foundie sniper" Manroe sighed. "Well yes and no. Remember we got the big forcefield that looks like something out of Star Wars around the city so the Foundies ain't doing shit." Phillps said grinning. "Point taken." said Manroe.
"So, you think you're going to be one of the lucky few" said Manroe to Phillips. "Look whether I am or not I don't care I lived my life to its fullest serving the Coalition and have no regrets. Whether I'm one of the few of my organization to be allowed to cross over into the gate doesn't matter to me much." Phillip said smiling. "Well, you better at least get laid before you die" He joked
Authors note: I post the trailer for this earlier I hope you guys enjoyed it.

Round Two: My Heart Will Go On v Part of your world, Jaws v Everything is Awesome, Star Wars v Ghostbusters, tiny Dancer v Danger Zone, Skyfall v Staying Alive, Pirates v Footloose, Jurassic Park v Lose Yourself, Stand By Me v You’ve Got a Friend in Me, Pure Imagination v Rocky, I’m a Believer v Day-O, Over the Rainbow v Eye of the Tiger, We Are the Champions v Power of Love, Mad World v Bohemian Rhapsody, A Whole New World v I Will Always Love You, Circle of Life v Halloween, (Don’t You) Forget About Me v Sound of Silence
Round One: My Heart Will Go On def Singing in the Rain, Part of Your World def Maniac, Jaws def Man of Constant Sorrow, Everything is Awesome def Purple Rain, Star Wars theme def Canned Heat, Ghostbusters def Time Warp, Tiny Dancer def No Time to Die, Danger Zone def Blues brother, Skyfall def Always Look on the Bright Side, Staying Alive def Gangsta’s Paradise, Pirates def Born to be Wild, Footloose def Summer Nights, Jurassic Park def California Love, Lose Yourself def Live and Let Die, Stand By Me def Fortunate Son, You’ve Got a Friend def Where is My Mind, Pure Imagination def What Was I Made For, Rocky def Lady Marmalade, I’m a Believer def Hallelujah, Day-O def Shallow, Over the Rainbow def LOTR, Eye of the Tiger def2001: ASO, We Are the Champions def Up, Power of Love def Johnny B Goode, Mad World def Let it Go, Bohemian Rhapsody def I Believe I Can Fly, A Whole New World defTwist and Shout, I Will Always Love You def Bittersweet Symphony, Circle of Life def Can You Feel the Love Tonight, Halloween def Ride of the Valkyries, Don’t You) Forget About Me def How Far I’ll Go, Sound of Silence def Indiana Jones
Began 180 songs in Qualifying Rounds.
View Poll

Can’t remember the title of this book!!
It was about a woman who ran a book club, and then a mysterious yet beautiful young female neighbor, Nicknamed Roo, wants to join the book club, uninvited randomly one day. As the book moves, we learn that the main lady is a diver, and that Roo “has a son” who starts hanging out with the main characters daughter. Ultimately the main lady finds out that Roo’s son is actually an abducted teenage boy from across the country, and is getting raped by Roo. Main lady almost lets Roo drown after taking her diving out in the ocean after seeing her rape the boy, but goes back and saves her before Roo actually dies. Wicked dumb book, but I want to add it to my GoodReads app and I can’t remember the name to find it. 😭😭 Do you know the name of this book!!? My memory says that the title was loosely based off of a kids game like “Hide and Seek” or something like that but Google is no help. Pretty sure the cover was a bird eye view of a suburban neighborhood.

When I was ten, I formed a junior detective squad.
Mom bought me the entire box set of What's New Scooby Doo, and I was inspired to start my very own detective gang. I held auditions outside the gymnasium at recess (serious enquiries only) after a number of kids tried to apply for the role of Scooby Doo despite me reiterating I was not interested in playing make believe.
When I was laughed at in class, I made posters strictly asking for SERIOUS wannabe detectives, even going as far as using my Mom’s printer to make flyers, sticking them all over the school.
Auditions were simple. I asked them to solve a simple riddle.
Whoever impressed me got to sign their name down, and I’d get back to them.
I spent three days sifting through kids who definitely had charm, but they lacked the intelligence of a junior detective. Most kids were only auditioning to make fun of me, anyway.
Still, though, I didn't give up.
My flyers had five requirements:
1). You had to be smart.
2). You were not allowed to be a scaredy cat.
3). You had to accept your inevitable death at the hands of our town’s evil villains.
4). You had to have a fully registered driving licence (I quickly changed this to a bike).
5). You cannot have a criminal record.
(I later scribbled this one out, writing over it. *“You cannot have any tardies.”
Narrowing the applicants down to three kids, all of whom failed to share my enthusiasm for solving cases. The kids I picked didn't even know how to make plans, and when I invited them to my house, they stole my Mom’s necklace.
I didn't even need to solve the mystery of who stole Mom’s necklace. The girl was wearing it at school. I punched her in the face, and was immediately sent to the principal’s office. When I was being given the mother all lectures, the door quietly opened, a head peeking through.
It was Ben Callows, a freckly kid with overgrown brown hair hanging in his eyes. Ben really needed a haircut.
He was always wearing the exact same baseball cap, and I found myself wondering if it was permanently glued to his head, stuck on top of unruly brown curls practically matted to his forehead.
In class, Ben was also known as Bloody Ben. In the second grade, the boy had a nosebleed in the middle of a spelling test, bleeding all over his paper.
It's not like he didn't try and detach himself from the name.
Ben brought in Digimon cards, so kids would call him Digimon Ben instead.
Then he “accidentally” spilled yoghurt down his shirt in hopes we would call him Yoghurt Ben. But no. The kids in our class were relentless in reminding him of his name. No matter what he did, he was still Bloody Ben, and when anything related to blood came up in class, fifteen pairs of eyes would swivel to him, like he had invented the concept of bleeding.
I feared the nickname would follow him to junior high.
Ben didn't wait to be let in. He didn't even knock, striding in with his arms folded. Over the years, Bloody Ben, had definitely soured his personality.
He smiled rarely, and when he did smile, someone was falling over or hurting themselves.
Which definitely strengthened the claims of him being a sociopath.
The rumor mill was churning, with the latest claiming Bloody Ben killed his cat. That wasn't true. Ben’s cat was seventeen with cancer, and that was why he was sobbing all the way through reading time.
According to Ellie Daly, however, Ben had killed and dissected his kitty, and buried her in his Mom’s flowers.
Now, my principal did not like being interrupted, especially when she was in the middle of screaming at me.
Principal Marrow was old old (like, thirty, in my ten year old mind) stick thin like a pencil, and always wore the same stained sweater.
She used to be pretty, but I was convinced she had kissed a frog and been cursed. After our old principal suffered a stroke, she stepped in as a temporary replacement, and since becoming principal, had banned my favorite book series, colored shoe laces, and hamburger helper, even officiating a uniform.
(vomit green shorts and a tee, and plain white sneakers).
Kids were convinced she was a witch, and I kind of believed it.
Principal Marrow’s whole existence was built on sucking the fun out of school.
I was already reprimanded for my mystery gang flyers.
Her office smelled of peppermint and she was definitely sneaking sips of whisky in her coffee cup. I could see the bottle sticking out of the trash.
She straightened up, folding her arms across her chest, squinty eyes narrowing at the boy. I had spent the whole time she was lecturing me trying not to cry, my fists bunched in my lap.
I took the distraction as the perfect opportunity to swipe at my eyes, allowing myself to breathe.
Ben Callows was her victim now.
I was right. The woman's voice was like a thunderclap in my ears.
“You better have a good reason for not knocking, young man.”
Ben wasn't fazed by her tone. “You took my Switch two weeks ago,” he said, “I want it back, or I’m telling my Mom.”
At first, I thought I'd misheard him.
No, I was pretty sure he'd threatened our principal.
I swore I heard all of the breath sucked from the room.
“I'm sorry,” Principal Marrow cleared her throat. Her soft tone was dangerous.
She wasn't being nice. The lady was about to explode.
I could see visible veins straining in her temples, her right eye twitching.
It was straight out of a cartoon.
“Did you forget something, Ben?”
Ben sighed, like she was inconveniencing him.
He held out his hand. “Please can I have my Switch back? It counts as stolen property. Give it back, or I'm telling my Mom.”
The kid put so much emphasis on the word please, I couldn't resist a smile.
I think our principal was too shocked to get angry.
“Get out.” She said, firmly. “I don't have your gaming device.”
“It's in your drawer.” Ben nodded to her desk, “Under your divorce papers and the restraining order ordered by Jake Willow, the seventeen year old boy you've been having math ‘tutoring sessions’ with.” He quoted the air, his gaze lazily rolling to me. “Tutoring”
Principal Marrow went deathly pale, her eyes darkening.
“Benjamin Callows–”
“The school already knows about the restraining order, but your uncle is the head of the Board of Education, so all you get is a slap on the wrist and a warning to leave the boy alone."
Ben continued, and I found myself mesmerised by his words. He was a natural, his expression stoic, mouth curved with satisfaction that wasn't quite a smile. “However.” He held up his phone, pulling it away at the exact moment the teacher attempted to grab it. “You were outside Jake Willow’s house at 6:12am, drunk, and trying to climb through his window, which, I think violates the restraining order, does it not?”
Ben pretended to think real hard, his gaze flicking to the ceiling.
“I mean, I'm just a kid, right?” His mouth curled into the hint of a smirk
“What do I know, huh?”
Principal Marrow’s expression twisted, her lip wobbling.
“Mr Callows, remove yourself from my office, or I am calling your father.”
Leaning comfortably against the door, Ben’s lip twitched.
“Why? Are you planning on telling my Dad about your relations with a teenage boy, or will I have to tell him instead?”
I was enthralled, and fully disgusted, making a move to inch away from the woman.
“But it doesn't end there.” Ben continued. He straightened up, taking slow, intimidating steps towards the woman's desk. “You don't even want Jake, do you? Because, once upon a time, you were in love with his father. Jason Willow. You despised him for rejecting you, so you decided to defile his son.” Ben leaned over the principal’s desk, slipping his hand into the drawer, and pulling out his switch.
Painfully slowly.
She stood there, speechless, her shoulders trembling.
Ben smiled, and I found myself liking it.
“Thank you!” He said, waving the console in her face. Ben mimed locking his mouth and throwing away the key.
“My lips are sealed.”
Ben’s half lidded eyes found mine. “Are ya coming, Panda?”
I forgot my own nickname.
Panda.
I wore my Mom’s eyeliner because I thought it looked cool.
It did not.
Finding my breath, I snapped out of it.
Jumping up, I followed him out of the office, and when the two of us were safely on the hallway, I burst into hysterical giggles. “How did you know all of that?!” I whisper- shrieked.
Ben surprised me with a splutter. “Wait. You believed me?”
Something very cold trickled down my spine.
I stopped walking. “You lied?”
He shrugged. “I had a dig around her office before she caught me a few days ago,” Ben swung his arms, a smile curling on his mouth. “There's no restraining order, but there is prescription anti-psychosis medicine, and an extremely detailed story on her laptop about a teachestudent romance, which I presume is a self insert.”
Ben shot me a sickly grin. “The school refused to make her condition public.”
He prodded at his own cotton shirt embroidered with the school emblem.
“Why do you think she's made all these dumb rules? The woman is a certified Looney Tune.”
I nodded slowly. “Wait. What about Jake and his dad?”
“I made them up.”
I choked out a laugh. “And… the video?”
Ben walked faster, pulling out his phone and shoving it in my face. The video was real. Principal Marrow was walking around in circles, draped in her nightgown. “It's her own house,” he explained. “She locked herself out.”
Nodding slowly, I was in awe. Bloody Ben was kind of fucking amazing.
“But the restraining order isn't real.”
Ben raised a brow, coming to an abrupt halt. It was his smile that cemented his place in my gang. His lack of empathy for a woman he had gaslit into being a disgusting human being. Ben Callows wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but he fascinated me. Maybe for the wrong reasons. “Her filing cabinets are filled with tinned cat food, Panda,” he said with an exaggerated sigh, “I’m not psychic, but I thiiiiink we’ll be okay.”
I turned to him, unable to stop myself jumping up and down with excitement.
“Will you be my first?!”
Ben inclined his head. “Will I be your what?”
I shook my head. “Sorry. I mean, will you join my mystery gang?”
The boy’s eyes lit up, and I shoved him playfully.
“To solve real cases,” I corrected myself. “Not make them up.”
Ben wore a real, proper smile. But there was something in his eyes, a darkness that was so hollow and polluted and wrong, I pretended not to see it for the sake of his smarts and intellect. “Well, if you insist, sure!” Ben held out his hand, and I shook it. I'll be your first.”
We found our second member, who was, ironically, looking for her glasses under the table in class. Lucy Prescott, the quiet girl, was born to be with us.
The class eraser went missing, and she found it in the blink of an eye.
When questioned, Lucy’s face turned as red as her hair. “I asked everyone in the class and followed the clues to the last person who had it,” she pointed to Chase Simpson. “Which was Chase, who was throwing it at Marcus Calvin.”
Twisting around in my chair, I aimed to get Ben’s attention. But he was already looking at me, chin resting on his fist, eyes ignited with excitement.
The two of us cornered Lucy after class, and when she motioned for us to get back, I dragged Ben (who was a little too excited) to my side.
Lucy looked mildly horrified when I said, dangerous cases, though her expression pricked with intrigue.
She agreed, her gaze lingering on Ben, cheeks smouldering.
Our last two members were a surprise.
Violet Evergreen was what you would call popular on the middle school hierarchy. Not just because her mother was the mayor, but because Violet could get away with murder. The girl refused to wear the school uniform, coloring a single purple streak in her hair to cement herself as the it girl.
She was also one of the girls who started the Bloody Ben rumor.
Ben, Lucy, and I were sitting on the grass during recess, trying to come up with a name for our detective service, when Violet came storming over, hands planted on her hips. She was copying how her mother held herself during town meetings.
“What are you doing?” Violet demanded.
Lucy opened her mouth to answer, Ben nudging her to shut up.
“Making a mystery gang.” I told her. “Why?”
Violet inclined her head. “Oh.” She folded her arms. “Well, can I join?”
Ben stood up, stepping in front of the girl. Violet didn't move, stubbornly standing her ground. “Sure.” Ben flashed a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes. He stepped closer to her, his smile widening. “If you can pass the test.”
Violet’s lip curled. She took a single step back. “What kind of test?”
Ben nodded to me. “Meet us at the swimming pool at 8pm.”
To my surprise, Violet nodded. “Do I need to bring anything?”
“Nope!”
8pm. The four of us met outside the local swimming pool.
Violet was already on the other side of the fence, waving.
“Hey guys!”
I noticed Ben’s expression, his eyes darkening, lip curling.
Still though, he maintained positivity, vaulting over the fence.
“You made it!”
I followed him, helping Lucy, who was immediately freaking out. I didn't blame her. The pool looked cold and dark, a hollow oblivion carved into the ground.
Ben and Violet stood on the edge, the two of them shoulder to shoulder.
Violet Evergreen was braver than I thought.
Standing with her arms at her sides, Violet's hands clenched into fists.
“What's the test?” Violet said, her gaze glued to bleeding black depths.
“I don't know,” Ben murmured, his voice teetering on a giggle. He leaned forwards, arms spread out. “I didn't think you'd actually come meet us.”
Violet hummed, stretching out her leg, teasing it across the surface. “Was that the test?”
The boy leaned back. I caught the glint of a grin under the floodlights. “Nah.”
Before I knew what was happening, he shoved Violet into the pool. The girl didn't scream or shriek, she just hit the surface, sinking into pitch dark nothing.
“Sink or swim,” Ben said in a low murmur, when Violet’s head bobbed under water. I could see her shadow under the surface, imagining the freezing cold depths pulling her down.
“Drown, and you can't join us.”
It was so quiet, suddenly. The three of us staring into rippling water.
A minute passed, and my tummy started to twist.
“Fuck.” Ben’s expression stayed stoic. I wasn't expecting him to say a bad word.
He cocked his head. “I thought she could swim.”
I hit him, holding in a cry. “You need to get our parents!”
But he didn't listen to me, taking a single step, and dropping into the pool.
I fell to my knees, scanning the water.
Lucy was crying. “Are they dead?!” she shrieked.
“Shhh!” I was watching two shadows lingering under the water.
Violet broke through. I expected her to be crying, but her expression was unwavering. She was silent. I thought the splashing underneath her was her legs trying and struggling to tread water, before Lucy shoved me. Hard.
“Panda! What do we do?!”
Looking closer, Violet was perfectly still, her gaze on the sky.
While she shoved Ben under the water, drowning him.
Violet’s eyes sparkled, and somehow, I knew she belonged in my gang.
Her gaze found mine, glinting with that darkness, that poisonous streak I found myself drawn to. It was a starving, insatiable need to understand a fractured mind. Know your enemy.
“Do you want to see if Ben’s a witch?” Violet asked me, her tone something else entirely. This girl did not make sense, using barely her finger to drown Ben Callows. I knew she was wrong.
I knew there was something loose, something unlocked and unbridled and drowning inside her mind and heart.
But I wanted more of her. I wanted Violet Evergreen in my detective gang.
I think that is why I stood there, frozen.
When the thrashing stopped, Ben broke through.
He wasn't coughing or spluttering, his head inclined. “You didn't drown.”
Violet climbed out of the pool, offering her hand. “And you're not a witch.”
He declined her hand, taking the steps instead.
I asked Violet in a shaky voice. I was trembling with terror, but I was excited.
Exhilarated.
“Violet, will you join my gang?”
She didn't answer me until we were sharing hot cocoa in my house.
I told Mom we fell in the pool, and she believed me. I should have told her that my friends were sociopaths, and I was kind of maybe in love. Violet sipped her cocoa, nodding with a smile I didn't recognise. Violet never smiled at school.
Well, she did. But it was always the prick of a cruel smirk.
I don't think her smile was genuine, but she was definitely enjoying herself.
Our last member came to us, instead of finding him.
Jules Howell, a straggly brunette pushed his way in front of me in the lunch line. I didn't really know the kid.
He sat at the back of the classroom and slept through most of class. I did like his accent though.
Jules had moved from Melbourne in the second grade. He didn't talk much.
When he did, I found myself enveloped in his voice, which sounded like water to me, a bleeding cadence to his tone.
Jules piled his plate with fries, smiling widely at the lunch ladies.
“I saw you last night.” He murmured through that perfectly moulded grin.
“Saw me where?”
“At the pool,” Jules said. “You, Bloody Ben, Violet Evergreen, and that Lucy girl. You were doing a suiciding pact.”
“That's not what we were doing.” I said, “What's a suiciding pact?”
“When you kill yourself together.” Jules said. “I saw it in a scary movie my Mom was watching.”
I grabbed a fork. “We weren't doing that.”
His eyes were strange when I took the time to notice them. The excited gleam had fizzled out. Jules’s hands tightened around his tray. “Then what were you doing?”
I didn't reply, making my way over to our usual table. Ben was already waving me over, Violet and Lucy holding up the flyers we were making.
THE REDBLOOD DETECTIVES.”
Do YOU need our help? We can find/solve anything! Contact us on the number below. (We take donations!)
When I bothered turning around, Jules was lost in the crowd of kids.
We were on our first official case, searching for Mrs Lake’s missing mail, when Jules appeared seemingly out of nowhere. And with him, a golden retriever puppy he introduced as Arlo.
It took a dog jumping up at them for Violet and Ben to find their real smiles, their real selves slowly seeping through these facades they had built around themselves. Ben dropped to a crouch, ruffling the dog's ears, his smile faint.
“Who's a good boy?” He chuckled.
Arlo didn't move, tail wagging, eyes bright.
Ben motioned the dog towards him, but Arlo stayed put.
Jules joined us…quietly.
I don't remember asking him, or even him asking me.
He just became part of us, side by side with Arlo.
We soon came to quickly realize that our town was boring.
There were no monsters or thieves, or soul sucking demons. No criminals or serial killers. Not even one missing person. We did, however, get calls about missing cats. I turned eleven years old, patiently waiting for a murder or a kid going missing. But there was nothing.
All we did was chase cats, and the occasional dog. Maybe a budgie if we were lucky. Twelve years old, our detective club became a joke.
The five of us (and Arlo hiding under the table) were trying to pinpoint Mrs Tracy's lost hamster, when three girls came over, dumping their soda all over us.
We watched crime shows for inspiration on catching killers.
Ben’s favorite crime was one that happened in the 80’s in our town.
2 girls murdered.
Their intestines stuffed into envelopes and mailed to family members.
“That's what we should be solving,” he told me one night, “Not missing cats.”
Thirteen years old, we lay in Violet’s backyard under the cruel glare of the summer sun. We called it working and didn't like to admit it was hanging out, or that we were even friends. However.
That didn't stop us growing closer.
Even if it wasn't quite the way I’d expected.
I proposed a plan, standing up, wobbling a little off balance.
“I've got it.” I said, my voice kinda slurry from Violet’s special summer cocktail, which was just random alcoholic beverages we found, thrown into a blender, and diluted with water.
The town wasn't taking us seriously.
So, we were going to make our own mysteries.
I ordered a full-scale assault on our small town. One that they could not ignore. Ben stamped on Mrs Mason’s flowers, and Lucy threw mud pies at people's cars. Jules trashed the high school gym, and Violet and I spray painted threats and warnings on every store window. Now, this did cause panic, but also an official curfew.
Thirty minutes before curfew, we met in our usual spot, deep in the forest near the lake. Ben yelled at me when I was three minutes late. He was real passionate about finding a real mystery.
“You're late.” Ben was sitting on a rock waving a stick in Arlo’s face.
The dog still wasn't going near him, whining softly.
I took my place, muttering an apology. “I had to lie to my Mom.”
Violet, sitting with her legs crossed, idly digging her manicure into the dirt, suggested we buy mannequins and masquerade them as dead bodies, hanging them from the school rafters.
Lucy, who had slowly grown out of her shell, becoming a lot more outspoken, nudged her. “That's a stupid idea.”
The girl groaned, leaning into her. “Urgh. You're right.”
Jules was the only energetic one, standing on the tireswing.
He jumped down, definitely twisting his ankle.
But his smile only widened, kind of like he enjoyed being in pain.
“Why don't we pretend to be kidnapped?” He said, pulling the hood of his sweatshirt over blondish curls growing out. Jules did a dramatic spin, his eyes shining. “We can ‘go missing’ for like a week, and then when our parents are really scared, we can turn up, and tell them we escaped a kidnapping.” His lips split into a grin.
“And then we solve our own kidnapping!”
Ben awkwardly patted Arlos head, only for the dog to pull away with a snort.
“I like it,” he murmured. “I'm in.”
Jules’s idea was stupid.
But.
It was worth a shot.
The five of us agreed to meet the morning after with enough food and supplies for a week. Then we were going to hike to the next town, and hide out for a week. It was an almost perfect plan, using ourselves as victims of our own mystery.
Packing as much as I could, I kissed my mother goodbye (I told her my pack was for a picnic) and set off to the rendezvous we agreed on.
When I arrived, I was the first one there. I checked and re-checked my pack.
I waited ten minutes, unable to contain my excitement.
Then 20 minutes.
It was getting kind of cold.
One hour.
I sat on a rock for enough time to watch the sky change color.
When the clouds were orange, I stood up and stumbled back home. They had gone without me. Mom lectured me when I got home, and I stuck to the plan of pretending my friends had gone missing, even if I they had betrayed me.
Ben said he'd text me when he arrived at the redervous. I at least expected him to text an explanation, but there was nothing. I was in the dark, and after three days of nothing, our town finally began to take us seriously.
“Our children have been kidnapped!” The adults were screaming.
Mom was crying in the kitchen, praying to a god I knew she didn't believe in that I wasn't taken next. I was interviewed and stuck with the exact same story I came up with when I was with the others. Our plan was to return after a week, claiming to be locked up in a dark room with a masked man.
I told my Mother and the other parents that I didn't know where my friends were, repeating the same thing over and over again until I was tongue tied.
“I saw them the day before they went missing, and… yes, everything seemed okay.” I slowly sipped my glass of milk provided, looking the sheriff directly in the eyes.
“No, I didn't notice anything suspicious, sheriff. Yes, I'm sure, sir. No, they didn't tell me anything.”
It was Ben’s mother who shattered my mask.
“Did I know about… what?” I whispered.
Something warm filled the back of my mouth, foul tasting milk erupting up my throat. I leaned forward, trying to look Mrs Callows in the eye. “No, I… I didn't know about Ben’s…condition.”
Mrs Callows was screaming at me about her son’s troubled past when I barfed all over myself, my eyes burning.
In the privacy of my own room, I sobbed until I couldn't breathe.
I tried to tell Mom, but we had come so close.
One more day, and the others would be back.
But that day came. I sat cross legged at our usual spot, which was now covered in police tape. I waited for their thudding footsteps, their laughter congratulating each other for coming up with a great plan. I waited, my face buried in my knees, for my friends.
It was dark when my phone vibrated, and I'd fallen asleep.
I wasn't scared, forcing myself to my feet.
“Where are you?” Mom yelled down the phone.
“Coming home now.” I muttered.
“Sorry.” I paused, holding my breath against a cry. “Mom.” I broke down, forcing my fist into my mouth to hide my squeak. “Mommy, did they come back?”
Mom didn't reply for a moment.
“I'm so sorry, baby.” She whispered, ending the call.
I took my time walking home that night.
There were no stars in the sky.
When a hand clamped over my mouth, I could smell him.
When he dragged me back, stabbing a kitchen knife into my throat, I stared at the sky and looked for stars. His arms were warm around me, violently pulling me into the back of a pickup truck. The pickup truck he'd said he was bringing.
It was his grandfather's, and he could just about drive it.
Hitting the backseat, my body was numb, my thoughts in a whirlwind.
The pickup flew forwards, and I remembered how to move.
I rolled off the seat, my hands pinned behind my back.
Twisting around, blinking in the dim, I could feel something warm, something seeping across upholstery seats. Blood.
It was everywhere, sticky on my hands and wet on my face when I struggled to get up. I was lying in someone's blood.
A scream clawed its way out of my throat.
The pickup flew over a pothole, and something dropped off the seat.
Arlo’s leash.
I screamed again, this time his name gritted between my teeth.
I didn't stop screaming until the jerking movement stopped. The doors opened, pale light hitting me in the face.
Flashlight. Warm arms wrapped around me, pulling me from the car, and then, pulling me by my hair, into our old tree house. It was always our secret place, our saving grace on the edge of town.
The flickering candlelight caught me off guard, illuminating my surroundings.
Two bodies slumped over each other, lying in stemming red.
I felt suffocated, like I was going to die. I screamed, and that warm hand cradled my mouth again, gagging my cries.
Violet and Jules.
There was something wrong with them. And it was only when I forced myself to look closer, when I realized their insides had been carved out, heart, stomach, everything, pulled out.
There was paper on the floor.
No, not paper. Envelopes.
Envelopes stuffed with gore, bright red leaking through white.
Shuffling back, my brain was too slow to react, while my body was trying to vault to my feet, only to be violently pulled back by my ponytail.
I felt his fingers twining around my hair, revelling in my screams.
With another tug, my head was forced forwards.
Orange candlelight felt almost homely, this time lighting up a third body.
Lying on their back, curled up, pooling scarlet dried into the floorboards, their wrists restricted with duct-tape.
I could feel blood underneath me, sticky, a congealing paste.
“Do you know what happened on October 3rd, 1987, in our town?”
Lucy Prescott stood over me, her arms folded across her chest.
I managed to shake my head, when she grabbed Ben’s legs, dragging him under the candlelight. I dazedly watched her stroke the blade of a carving knife, the teeth already stained scarlet. “The intestine murders.” Lucy hummed, tracing the knife down the floorboards.
“A man murdered two high school girls, carving out their insides and sending their pieces to their loved ones.”
Lucy's eyes found mine, ignited in a familiar gleam. I saw it in Principal Marrow’s office. Then the swimming pool. The cafeteria. “It was the sheriff's only murder case, Panda. Ever since then, our town has been boring. There's no mysteries to solve. Nothing to find.”
The girl jumped to her feet, retrieving a blood stained envelope.
She held it up, a smile curved on her lips. The girl turned around, and I heard a horrific squelching sound. Lucy held up a bright red sausage, ripped into it, and slipped it into the white paper.
“But I can change that.” she said, in a giggle.
“I can create a real serial killer, who we can hunt down together.”
Lucy stabbed the blade into the floor, laughing.
“Or! I can bring a fan-favorite back! I can bring the intestine killer back from the dead!”
Her gaze flicked to the others. “There are casualties, of course. The story is, I was kidnapped with Ben, Violet, and Jules. The scary intestine killer killed them, and I managed to get away.”
Lucy shuffled over to me, her eyes wide. “Then! He came back and struck again!”
With those words, she shoved me onto my back.
“First he took Violet,” Lucy hummed, tracing the blade down my shirt.
“Then… Jules.” I squeezed my eyes shut, pulling at the restraints around my wrists. “Then Ben.” her breath tickled my cheek. “And finally… Panda.”
Lucy lifted the knife, and I accepted my death.
Until a low rumble in my ears.
Shouting.
Thundering footsteps, followed by the pitter-patter of paws.
“Lucy!” The sheriff was screaming, and the girl stumbled to her feet, the knife slipping from her fingers. Lucy stumbled, tripping over Ben’s body.
“He got away!” she shrieked. “He…he killed them! Oh, god, please help me!”
I don't think Lucy even realised the traces she'd left behind.
The blood slick on her fingers, her manic, grinning smile full of mania.
I was looking for stars when an officer crouched over me.
I couldn't understand what she was saying.
Her voice was white noise.
“Rachel? Hey, try and sit up, honey. You Mom is on her way.”
Instead of listening to her, I curled into myself.
My gaze found Arlo sticking his nose in Ben’s hair, trying to nudge the boy awake.
I didn't fully register the next few days.
They went by in a confusing blur.
Part of me tried to eat, and spent hours with my head pressed against the toilet seat.
I could still see the slithering, scarlet remains of my friends every time I closed my eyes. There was so much red, soaked in that hunting orange light.
Blood that I could still see, a starless sky that stretched on forever.
Weeks went by.
Then months.
I think I turned 14. I wasn't sure. I didn't feel alive anymore.
I stood at my friend’s funerals with a single rose I dropped into their casket.
Violet’s mother was quick to cover the whole thing up.
Lucy's plan didn't work after all.
Our town’s murder cases stayed stagnant at one.
It's been four years since my friends were murdered by our ’Velma’.
Now, at seventeen, Mom asked if I wanted to visit Lucy in juvie.
I'm not even upset or angry anymore.
I want to know why.
Ben picked me up. Arlo was at his side, wagging his tail.
Ben was…different. He'd dumped his baseball cap and gotten a haircut, swapping his old wardrobe of drab colors for an attempt at changing style.
That day, he looked awkward in a short sleeved tee and shorts.
At school, Ben is no longer Bloody Ben.
Now, he is Survivor Ben.
I’m still Panda.
Every time I was with him, I felt like my soul was being sucked out.
Guilt so deep, so fucking painful, I lost my breath.
I live knowing that I immediately assumed it was him that day.
Ben was barely alive when I found him. Lucy had started to carve into him before remembering she needed me.
After admitting it to him, his lips formed a small smile.
“Can I tell you a secret?” He said to me, at sixteen.
"Yeah?"
Whatever he was going to say, Ben never told me.
Presently, I nodded at the dog’s new collar.
“Peppa Pig themed?”
The boy shrugged, ruffling Arlo’s ears. “FYI, he chose it.”
“It's cute.” I said. “Very… chic.”
We didn't speak the whole ride, but Ben did entangle his hand in mine.
We spent half an hour outside the detention centre. I was panicking, and Ben was trying to hide that he was panicking. In the end, we joined hands, and strode through the doors together.
Lucy greeted us with a wide smile. Just as psychotic.
The orange jumpsuit suited her, though I had zero idea why.
“Hey Arlo!” she giggled at the dog, and Ben pulled the pup onto his lap.
“Ben.” She sighed. “I wish I got to finish you. I would have loved to solve the mystery of your gutted corpse.”
Ben’s smile was wry. “Nice to see you too.”
Behind a glass screen, I asked Lucy one simple question.
“Why?”
Lucy didn't reply. Or she did, but it was just nonsensical bullshit.
But there was one thing she said has stuck with me, chilling me to the core.
I am fucking terrified of Lucy. Of what's she's done, and what she's capable of doing.
It was a throwaway line, and I don't even think Ben noticed.
Or he did, and was in denial.
Lucy's smile was wide, her eyes empty pools of nothing.
The exact same glint in Ben’s eyes.
Jules’s eyes.
Violet’s eyes.
Like something was gnawing away at their psyche, twisting and contorting it, filling them with darkness, poison, that was so vast, so endless, I had craved it as a child. I still don't know what it is.
But I'm going to find it.
Lucy's laugh was shrill, and next to me, Ben didn't move a muscle.
But he did smile.
Yes, my gang were psychos.
But I kind of maybe loved it.
“I don't even wear glasses!”

Ranking Every Monokub death and talking about the execution its a part of
1: Monosuke - Across my many escapades on this subreddit i have formed a reputation of 2 things. one having the worst nicknames. And two trashing on stand of agony. but i do want to give it some praise. easily the best monokub death.
2: Monodam - Love korekiyo's execution top three. and Monodam is a good chunck of why.
3: Monotaro - Gontas exececution was only slightly above average. which is fitting because both monokub deaths were average. Monotaro was cooler though
4: Monophanie - Her death just felt to cartoony and applies to her and monotaro but why do robots have blood. they're robots they don't have organs.
5: Monokid: Kaede easily has top 5 death where i guess technically her monokub also was top 5. but seriously monokids death was trash.

Round Two: My Heart Will Go On v Part of your world, Jaws v Everything is Awesome, Star Wars v Ghostbusters, tiny Dancer v Danger Zone, Skyfall v Staying Alive, Pirates v Footloose, Jurassic Park v Lose Yourself, Stand By Me v You’ve Got a Friend in Me, Pure Imagination v Rocky, I’m a Believer v Day-O, Over the Rainbow v Eye of the Tiger, We Are the Champions v Power of Love, Mad World v Bohemian Rhapsody, A Whole New World v I Will Always Love You, Circle of Life v Halloween, (Don’t You) Forget About Me v Sound of Silence
Round One: My Heart Will Go On def Singing in the Rain, Part of Your World def Maniac, Jaws def Man of Constant Sorrow, Everything is Awesome def Purple Rain, Star Wars theme def Canned Heat, Ghostbusters def Time Warp, Tiny Dancer def No Time to Die, Danger Zone def Blues brother, Skyfall def Always Look on the Bright Side, Staying Alive def Gangsta’s Paradise, Pirates def Born to be Wild, Footloose def Summer Nights, Jurassic Park def California Love, Lose Yourself def Live and Let Die, Stand By Me def Fortunate Son, You’ve Got a Friend def Where is My Mind, Pure Imagination def What Was I Made For, Rocky def Lady Marmalade, I’m a Believer def Hallelujah, Day-O def Shallow, Over the Rainbow def LOTR, Eye of the Tiger def2001: ASO, We Are the Champions def Up, Power of Love def Johnny B Goode, Mad World def Let it Go, Bohemian Rhapsody def I Believe I Can Fly, A Whole New World defTwist and Shout, I Will Always Love You def Bittersweet Symphony, Circle of Life def Can You Feel the Love Tonight, Halloween def Ride of the Valkyries, Don’t You) Forget About Me def How Far I’ll Go, Sound of Silence def Indiana Jones
Began 180 songs in Qualifying Rounds.
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Round Two: My Heart Will Go On v Part of your world, Jaws v Everything is Awesome, Star Wars v Ghostbusters, Tiny Dancer v Danger Zone, Skyfall v Staying Alive, Pirates v Footloose, Jurassic Park v Lose Yourself, Stand By Me v You’ve Got a Friend in Me, Pure Imagination v Rocky, I’m a Believer v Day-O, Over the Rainbow v Eye of the Tiger, We Are the Champions v Power of Love, Mad World v Bohemian Rhapsody, A Whole New World v I Will Always Love You, Circle of Life v Halloween, (Don’t You) Forget About Me v Sound of Silence
Round One: My Heart Will Go On def Singing in the Rain, Part of Your World def Maniac, Jaws def Man of Constant Sorrow, Everything is Awesome def Purple Rain, Star Wars theme def Canned Heat, Ghostbusters def Time Warp, Tiny Dancer def No Time to Die, Danger Zone def Blues brother, Skyfall def Always Look on the Bright Side, Staying Alive def Gangsta’s Paradise, Pirates def Born to be Wild, Footloose def Summer Nights, Jurassic Park def California Love, Lose Yourself def Live and Let Die, Stand By Me def Fortunate Son, You’ve Got a Friend def Where is My Mind, Pure Imagination def What Was I Made For, Rocky def Lady Marmalade, I’m a Believer def Hallelujah, Day-O def Shallow, Over the Rainbow def LOTR, Eye of the Tiger def2001: ASO, We Are the Champions def Up, Power of Love def Johnny B Goode, Mad World def Let it Go, Bohemian Rhapsody def I Believe I Can Fly, A Whole New World defTwist and Shout, I Will Always Love You def Bittersweet Symphony, Circle of Life def Can You Feel the Love Tonight, Halloween def Ride of the Valkyries, Don’t You) Forget About Me def How Far I’ll Go, Sound of Silence def Indiana Jones
Began 180 songs in Qualifying Round, now Bracket starts with 64.
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