What the title said basically.
I have a hard time believing that all the airnomads were willing to fight, especially considering that peace is indoctrined in them from birth. How do you guys think they acted during the beginning/middle of the war?
Bonus; Do we ever find out if the temples had contact with each other?
If so, do you think they changed anything once the first temple got destroyed? Mentally or actual preparations (for the upcoming battle). Or did they maintain their peaceful ways to the bitter end?
Last but not least; How do y'all imagine Gyatsu went out in the end?
Did he try to talk and find a peaceful way? Or was he straight Rambo from the jump planting deadly traps on the mountain and whatnot? Did he re-direct attacks back or straight up killed them with his own hands?

I've had some thoughts about what an extremely high-dimensional world could be like, and have found some interesting conclusions that i'd like to share :P
For all examples a block will be considered 1m wide for simplicity.
The most interesting thing i've found is that even a single hypercubic block in 1'000'001 dimensions is absolutely enormous. The reason for specifically choosing 1'000'001D is so each surface of it is a 1'000'000D cube.
For any cube of dimension n (and width 1 on all axes), the longest diagonal will have length sqrt(n). This means that a 1'000'000D block will have a longest diagonal length of 1'000m. Taking the trip from one corner to the opposite would take 1'000 times longer than travelling to any of the nearest corners.
Not only is that absurdly long to travel effectively 1 block, but the path also gets incredibly narrow at each end. For example, if you're travelling on a block in midair from the center to one corner, there will initially be 500m to walk, and 0.5m to every ridge (end of the block, where you can fall off). Assuming you walk in a perfectly straight line, these reduce at relatively the same rate (same % difference). So after travelling 99% of the way to the corner, there's 5m to go, yet you're just 0.05m from falling off every adjacent ridge (of which there are 1'000'000).
And this next part is where the madness begins.
Q: How many planes of rotation exist in 1'000'001D?
A: 500'000'500'000 (generally (n-1)*(n)/2 for n dimensions)
This means that if you wanted to actually stand up in this world, you'd have to control your movements in all 500'000'500'000 planes of rotation to stay stable. This may not be as bad as having one leg for every lower-most corner of a hypercubical-ish body though, as that would require approx. 9.9*(10^301'029) legs, which requires 301'030 digits (about 167 pages) to represent in decimal. (generally 2^(n-1) legs)
I'm thinking it could be possible to make a terminal game out of this, here's an idea for some gameplay:
>World is only a single block >Look around >"You see a sapling fall and land in the distance..." >Walk to sapling >"You start walking..." (some time passes) >"The path is narrowing" >"You arrive at the sapling" >Pick up sapling >"You pick up the sapling." >Plant sapling >"You plant the sapling below you." (note: trees are still "square" in this) (...) >"You suddenly get blinded and start taking damage" (sapling grew, but it doesn't tell that immediately) and so on

When I first saw Charlotte’s campgrounds in the day light, I was curious about how much it resembled the area where the girls were stranded. There’s one shot where the trees open up in an alley that goes all the way to the lake. It looks like the runway Laura Lee took in the plane. Anyone else see a resemblance?

Special thanks to u/SpacePaladin15 for allowing fanfiction and giving us Tilfish.
[First] [Prior] [Next]
.*~*.
Memory Transcription Subject: ? , run run run run run run.
Date: December 2, 2136
.~*~.
I'm tired. I'm so unbearably tired. I don't remember the fall or when my legs quit working, but I'm still denied the sweet release of sleep by the fires radiating from my muscles. It's sick and twisted, but I don't think I can move any more. I'm stuck here face down in the soil, unable or unwilling to do anything but wonder if a harvesting drone will roll over me and turn me into mist on the crops I'm lost in. My mouth itches. Some loose soil in my nose makes me hack, but there's nothing I can do but wheeze and pant. There's not a drop of moisture left in me. I'm all shriveled up. Everything's a haze.
I should've stopped for water. There was time. A few ponds that didn't look filmed over with vile algae blooms. The last town had a fountain on the outskirts. There were a few distant outbuildings that could've had a sink or a hose. Really, a few mouthfuls would've been enough to keep me from cramping up. Now I feel like I'm all dried out, like a stick of fruit jerky.
I should've taken a break. I've not been able to run in so long. I knew it was getting bad, but I ignored it. I'm paying for it now. I pushed way too far. Run until I black out. Wake up. Repeat. For days and days, or however long I've been free. I don't know. Every time I wake I can't tell if minutes have passed or days. I would push myself back to my feet and run. Because distance is all that matters. I made the right call avoiding the roads. The cameras. The soles of my feet are battered and wail in pain, but for every step I took was a minute longer I got to feel the sun kiss my scales and the gentle caress of the wind upon my neck. The cool soil seeping into my burning side. Fresh air in my lungs. Faint mist on my back.
I should've calmed down. I'm wasting what little time I have left stuck here in misery. I missed my chance to escape. My saviors were predators, but it would've been a better fate. And they're everywhere. Monsters and Predators alike. The whole planet is getting what it deserves. I made my choice, but now I'm squandering it. At least the soil is nice. Even as broken as I feel, it is only temporary. I know this is heaven. I wouldn't trade it for anything else. Even if my tongue is dried and bleeding.
I.
Just.
Need.
To.
Get.
Up.
no no no no no. Hurts. Hurts hurts hurts.
UP.
My body rebels. I settle on crawling. Dragging my tainted digits through the soil and forcing myself through the mud.
Puddle. Puddle Puddle Puddle.
I'm glad to be alive. I'm glad for this puddle. It's my whole world. I crawl to it as quickly as my body allows and beyond, but I'm too dehydrated to cry at the lancing pain in my joints. I slip and tumble into it face first, a cold shock making me freeze up. I don't even try to drink at first, my eyes closed as I lay partially submerged in this brackish water. It makes me feel slightly better as the cold gently eases my neck muscles, and I feel the rest of my body cramping up again.
Imagine drowning in a claw of water. I'm suddenly terrified that it's possible. I throw an arm out and dig it deep into the mud, clawing silt as I awkwardly pull myself in sideways. I roll, splashing the rest of the way in and feeling my poorly treated scales weep as the cold bleeds into them. I lay my head sideways and drink, gagging at the taste but unable to stop myself. I still can't cry, but my face is still trying to produce tears anyways.
In delirium, I notice the corner of a structure well above me. It's a pole, made of metal and towering well above me. Morning dew drips off of it and into my eye not currently submerged, and I blink it away.
Thank you pole. You're a life saver.
I don't plan on moving for a while, so I don't. The dew drips onto my snout several times, and my body rejoices at the cool water I've partially submerged myself in. The silt in my mouth is a necessary and tolerable evil from my desperate dive, and I angle my snout so that I can catch the fresh dew dripping from above instead. It tastes far better than the puddle, and for the first time in ever, I feel a smile creeping on my face.
.*~*.
I blink lazily, one eyelid operating a few seconds behind the other. I feel better. This blackout felt more natural, less forced. Like a gentle wave over my mind than the harsh crack of a baton. My mouth is still full of silt that I spit out, and a moment later I realize I can spit again. The bitter taste of blood in my mouth is faint now, and the joy of having a wet palate can't be described.
ow.
It hurts to move. I try again, but my flesh feels like it's been filled with concrete. My muscles are too tight on my bones. Stiffly, I try again, making little progress, but still progress. I edge out a claw at a time, barely getting my neck out of the pool before collapsing, the chilly waters leaving me shivering.
Where am I?
A very good question, I ask myself. I don't know. That's the cost of running without direction for so long. I think I'm in a field, judging by the crops looking over me and encompassing my wide vision of the vibrant sky overhead.
Yeah... that's it. I'm in a field. Brilliant observation skills.
I try again, but nothing new comes up. For the first time since I fled, I think about what I'm going to do. I'm free. I'm free. What am I going to do now that I'm free? How long do I have? I know the answer to that already. I have a long time. Everybody that knew me is dead and gone. I just need to be careful and not ruin this chance. I should try and find a town. Cities are too big, too many problems could come up. Too many exterminators. I could start over off the beaten path. Somewhere I can hide in plain sight.
This is Sillis. Being me shouldn't be an issue. I... I can get a labor job somewhere. Change my name. What can I do?
...
What can I do?
What is my name?
"Oh dear." I whispered quietly to myself, brows furrowing. Odd. How odd. I can move on from that. Makes starting a new life easier. Something that isn't four walls and a paper thin mattress. Something outside. I just... need to get... out of this darn puddle. No, still not happening. Ouch.
I splash my paw into the puddle in frustration, using about the full range of motion I seem capable of in a mild fit. I want to stay on the move, but the consequences of my poor decision making have come back to bite me right on the rear. At least I have some time to think.
I could try the lumber industry. That's usually away from people. I think I can figure out how to knock down trees, or at least fix up the machines that can. Maybe I can join a farm around here once I'm cleaned up. There's always something to do on a farm. Like counting shipments, or unloading shipments, or loading them. Maybe I can fix things around the property. Golly, I hope I know how to fix the automated machinery. That would really be nice.
Ooh! I could try and be a tram service maintenance operator. Wait, no no no. That requires background checks, I think. Darn it. Uuuh, road utility services? No, that'll take me into cities one way or another. There's a ton of work with drainage systems and water run off here. I could get good money for that since it's risky. Pollutants, constant thundering streams of water. I think I can go with that. There would be a lot of rural investigations that I could apply for. If not, I'm certain the underground construction projects would bear fruit. I'll miss the sun but nobody would bother me too much... no, still too many people. Drainage systems it is!
A faint whistle catches my ear and I freeze, tilting my head as something green flies just overhead. It clips several stalks and leaves as it passes, but seems unbothered as the severed branches fall to the ground and leaves gently cascade after. I follow its path with an eye and it vanishes between some tall plants, leaving me alone just as quickly as-
Nope, the same thing floats by again, darting between crops once more directly above me. It's odd, I can't hear wing beats or buzzing, or see anything keeping it airborne as it passed, and I wait with baited breath to see if it shows itself again. I don't know what I feel, but it isn't terror. It's... something. Curiosity? This time I hear a chirrup, but it's close. I don't see it float by, and painfully I crane my neck and look at the other side of the puddle.
It's an insectoid of some kind, strangely wide and flat. It looks pretty similar to the leaves on the many trees that I've seen since I got out, with uneven, tapered sides. It has a few pairs of legs, and it scuttles to the puddle and dips the front of its body towards the surface. It really does look like a large leaf, but my observation is cut short when the bug abruptly stops moving within barely a claw of the water, a pair of forward facing compound eyes snug against the stem near the tip of its body. It chirps again, and I see narrow maw under the front of this creature, a slim set of fangs briefly glinting in the sun before its mandibles hide them.
"Oh dear." I manage to whisper.
With remarkable dexterity it hops across the body of water and splashes down on top of me, and several legs grip my ribs and arms. My tail flicks under the water's surface, but I don't move as the thing's maw looms over my snout. A smaller set of feelers touch my scales and let it guide where it can't see, and it pecks at my nostril once. I smell ozone and feel a different fire burn in my core, and relax.
This isn't ideal. It really isn't. But it's still better that what once was. You won't hurt me for too long. You're better than they ever were.
Trading my cell for this... it's not that scary. Somehow, despite this predator straddling me and chewing on my snout, I'm not scared of it. I have alarms shrieking in my ears and ozone burning my nostrils and wrists. Bubbly poison twisting my insides and making me gag. I'm terrified of that, but that's long gone. That broken visage cuts deep, but it leaves me feeling empty. I'm alone with this thing pecking at my skull, occasionally chirping or hissing softly as it chews over my scales.
It's little mandibles flutter over my cheek and squish it, the fangs behind it pricking at my scales but never really puncturing. It's odd, almost exploratory. I hear a faint plip as some dew from the pole overhead drips onto the creature, and it leans back slightly to presumably look up. It lowers back down on me, and I wince as it gets a little rougher. It halts for a moment, mandibles still dancing over my scales, before I feel a set of legs slip past my arms and latch onto my back.
I grit my teeth, expecting it to finally lunge down and bite into my flesh as the rest of it's body tenses, but with a start it lifts me up with strength I didn't think it had. My back scrapes along the mud as it lifts me and drags me partially out of the muck. It lowers me down just as quickly as it started, leaving a bit of my upper body out of the water and in the warm air. I blink as it lowers its body down onto my own, legs tightening its grip on me as it presses itself against me. It chirrups again and resumes nibbling on my neck, and my mind absently puzzles over this change of events.
It's roosting on me. Is it my body heat? I feel cold, but maybe it's colder. I wish I knew what you were. I'm glad you're not really biting me. It tickles, stop!
I couldn't help but squeak out a laugh, despite the very present danger I was in. The bug tensed for a moment but didn't sink its fangs into my neck, and after a moment it resumed licking at me. Slowly, it's legs tightened on my body and it pressed itself against me further, and it hissed softly. I closed my eyes when it's maw pressed against me, but once again no bite split me open and drained my lifeblood. It's mandibles tickled my scales some more as the creature flattened out, the ridges of its body laying in the mud as it settled down. I was all but buried under the thing that was almost as big as me, and my tail swished lightly in the water.
Once again, I find myself stuck. I wasn't going anywhere anyways, but now I'm very stuck. Hopefully it doesn't get peckish. This thing could definitely eat me if it wanted to. It's funny that I'm supposed to fear it. All those training exercises failed. Every test and experiment. Maybe it enforced the wrong behavior. I think I might've been respectfully afraid of this creature once, but that part of me is all burned up. If it existed at all.
.~*~.
I've missed the novelty of clouds. Sillis has an overabundance of them, but so far I've been lucky that none of the ones passing overhead were angry. It's almost odd that no rain has come, but I'm glad. I faintly remember that the rains could become acidic if there's too long a pause between storms. Too much smoke or warp residue building up in the atmosphere.
So far I've counted two absolutely towering thunderheads and small storm systems roll by in all their stunning glory, and dozens of smaller offsets in their wake. Hundreds of individual clouds dot the skies, not quite blanketing it yet. It's pleasant, even within the grasp of a large, sleeping predator that's fully enveloped me. I can feel it's diaphragm shifting ever so slightly on my chest, and it twitches occasionally.
I don't mind. For now, things are peaceful. I'm enjoying that. At least, until something crunched a few rows over.
That sounds a lot bigger than this predator.
The creature shifts slightly but doesn't wake as whatever else is out there stalks through the crops. It has to be a predator, from how quiet it moves. Every little rustle and faint step happen far from each other, and my mind immediately jumps to an ambush hunter. Carefully, I move my head to catch a glimpse of the thing, trying not to disturb the slumbering creature that is currently resting it's mouth on my neck. My scales fade into a dirty black that matches the soil, and I squint to hide my eyes from whatever is out there.
There's movement on my left, something tall shifting between the crops a few rows down. I hear a rumbling noise- a deep based growl, and the back of my skull itches.
"...D-1?"
No no no no no. I don't want to go back. I want to be free.
I know what the thing is. It's a new predator. A sapient one. The same ones that freed me. The same ones that wanted to herd me onto a ship. I can't do this. Sapient predators are cruel, far crueler than the average ones. A normal predator wasn't personal about the kill. It could be reasoned with. Where did that come from? A sapient predator was ruthless for entertainment.
I owe them my life.
They'll just take it.
There's a rustle from a different direction, and a behemoth steps out of the crops far closer to me than I would prefer. It is armored like the many I've seen before, but I realize instead of a firearm it wields a bulky tool of some kind tightly in its paws. It dawns on me that it's colors are different, green and blue instead of solid blue, and there's a colorful flag of some kind pressed on the garments of its arm.
"Copy." It rumbled quietly.
"Crikey, you spooked me there!" the other predator whispered, changing course. Thankfully the closest one broke off to meet it, and they stopped one row over. It was best I stay still. Their hearing was better than they let on. "Okay, did you get it done?"
I can't see them clearly, but some non verbal communication must have occurred because the one predator continues speaking.
"Good. Look, trouble is coming. A fellow seppo noticed the ordinance went missing. He's suspicious. There'll be heat soon. Have you made any progress with the other front?" A pause. "Same. I've dealt with several of his goons, but none knew anything good."
"I'll have him tonight."
"...D-1?"
"An exterminator account and reversed polarity on some switches works wonders."
"...you seppos are terrifying."
"We're a world power for a reason."
"...yeah. Do you have the drive? Nice. You keep this up and we'll have everything we need from this planet before Christmas. We're going to make things right." There's an odd grunt, and one of them starts rumbling quietly in what translates as amusement. "Involved in peace. What do they really think this accomplishes?"
"Don't care. We find our whales and move on."
"Come on, we can have some more fun if we're careful! Don't act like that doesn't entertain you after that bomber plot of yours!"
"S-4," there's an undertone in that growl that makes my scales shrink, "remember the prize."
"...God, you're a hard ass. Fine. I'm certain you're carrying that giant wrench for peaceful reasons and not to crack open any skulls out here. I'll check the smuggling routes. Rig up something to keep these bugs under our thumb. You keep being you. I need to move before they notice I'm gone."
Faint footsteps leading away, and I sighed. While brief, just being around them made my scales crawl-
The crops right beside me parted, and the other predator stepped out. It's covered foot splashed into the puddle, and stirred the predator enveloping me. Much to my horror the thing chirruped and hissed, releasing me and spinning around. The apex predator looked down at the smaller thing and regarded it.
:)
The drawing on the mask was comical, and not at all what I was expecting. Most humans didn't wear masks, so blinding terror didn't sweep me away. I almost laughed at the absurdity of concealing one's face, only to make a lazy drawing of a face overtop of it.
The smaller predator didn't find it nearly as confusing or entertaining as I did, and hissed. The apex didn't falter, but surprisingly held its ground despite being threatened by a lesser predator.
Most predators would make a threat back and assert itself. Or lash out. What is this one up too? It's not acting submissive so it isn't backing down. But it isn't retaliating either. Does it need to? It's using it's own size as a deterrent.
My thoughts are interrupted when my toothy cover abruptly spins and flees, gaining air under its body and become airborne. It slashes through a row of crops and is gone, just like how it arrived. The apex still hasn't moved. It takes a few steps forward, nearing me. I can't tell if it's looking at me or not so I close my eyes tight, hoping that my eyes hadn't given me away. There's a thump right beside me and I flinch. I can feel it's presence. It has stopped walking.
It knows. Somehow it sees me. It knows it knows it knows.
Something warm grazes my neck and I flinch again, despite myself. I can't do it. I don't want to die with my eyes closed. I want to see the sun and the clouds and the crops, not this faux darkness.
I open my eyes and it's right there, crouched over me. I can't bother with wasting my energy by screaming. It saw through my camouflage and had a paw to my neck. I wished it to be merciful and just strike me down with the wrench it brought, but it doesn't. Instead it plunges its paw into the water, under my rump. It rips me out of the water and I gasp as its other paw slips down under my shoulders and lifts, but my mind catches up a moment later when it pressed me against it's chest instead of its mouth, forsaking my exposed stomach. It's grip loosens slightly and it adjusts, an arm under my shoulder blades and legs. I can feel the muscles rippling in it's grip, and how easily it could fold me over backwards and squish me. I've seen it first hand.
But it's so gently. So unbelievably gentle. I don't remember the last time I was touched like this. Something in a dark recess of my mind wavered, and I realized I'd curled my tail around the creature's arm without meaning to. It holds me a little closer, nowhere near enough to hurt, and my scales start to change to match the colors it wears. It's not looking at me, the mask is angled too far up. We're moving at a blinding pace suddenly, the rows of crops blurring in my vision. It doesn't stop. This apex runs like a machine, each breath consistent and calculated to a rhythm I notice. Its breathing labors but it keeps going, warm jets of air spitting out the bottom of its mask and onto my soggy, damp form.
It's so warm. I didn't realize the chill of the water until now but I'm shivering. My body takes over for my confused mind and curls into the predator's grasp, trying to get as much warmth from the human's rough garments as I can. I don't know what's come over me. I don't know where it's taking me. I don't care. I can't escape it, and if this thing kills me it was at least kind enough to be gentle.
The skies are so beautiful. I try and focus on them but all I can really see is the predator's mask. I can see the bottom of it's jaw, the taught muscles there. I dread what its face looks like in this moment under that mask. Its digits tighten on my shoulder and side in response to me curling into it, and absently I wonder how this predator is the same as the ones from days ago with their thundering bellows and ruthless firepower.
The apex thunders out of the field and I'm assaulted by new sights. There's a few dozen of them roving around a clearing by several vehicles.
I also spot an Exterminator's van, and my claws unsheathe. The predator winces and I realize I've nailed him with them, but he doesn't throw me down or bark at me. He sprints by the van without stopping, but I see several Tilfish locked inside and doomed to a terrible fate worse than being eaten.
"Ambulance!?" It barks sharply, out of breath. It skids to a stop beside one of the transports, clutching me firmly.
"Just left with the patient. Where the hell did this one come from?" An unmasked predator growled, eyes beady and looking over me. Mine made an odd jerking motion and continued.
"Get Doc."
"I will. What hospital are we calling?" The thought of a clinical space makes me flinch. White walls. White floors. Cold tiles. Needles. Beeping. Humming. Frying.
"None. Operational security."
The other predator screwed its face up and departed, and abruptly mine was sitting down on the back of one of the trucks. Gently I was plopped down on its lap, and I watched transfixed as it peeled its armor off, then its outer garment. There's an image of a veiled human on the back with its eyes closed, head craned down. Its hands are clasped together in thought, and the meaning of it goes over my head.
The predator is a lot smaller than I thought it was. It gently lifts me and set me in the garment, before it starts wiping me down with it. I'm too sore to fight it, and the cloth is exceptionally warm from the creature's body heat. It pulls me closer and holds me in a way that makes my chest hurt, and it looks out at an approaching predator. It rumbles softly.
"You're going to be okay."
My body relaxes despite my mind's warnings. I'm wrapped up in this garment it wore. I can't escape it. But it's warm. The material soaks up the water on my skin, and wipes away the grime and muck I've accumulated over the days. Slowly, my scales begin to shift again, bleeding back to my normal tan coloration.
"Did something finally bite you Sunshine? I haven't seen you run like that in- oh-kay." The approaching predator flinched when it got close and tensed up.
It wants to eat me. This one- Sunshine- it won't let it without a fight. Are they going to eat me? Sunshine won't. Right?
"I thought there was only one victim." The predator rumbled after a moment, creeping closer. I shrank into the material and took on it's color, only for a warm paw to settle on my arm.
"You're fine." Sunshine whispered. It looked up at the approaching predator and jerked its head awkwardly. "There is. Look at it. Do you see it too?"
Gently, it lifted my arm. I was too stiff to pull it back, not that I could've against its powerful grip. I was completely exposed to this other predator.
"Relax. Please." Sunshine whispered once more. The growl was soft, and I looked up at the mask above me. The grip on my arm was careful, I realized. I could pull away right now. Slowly, my scales lightened. The other predator leaned in closer and I flashed white and yellow briefly, but Sunshine propped me up a bit and started gently poking at sore parts of my body. My ribs. My neck. "Here. And... and here."
The other predator's eyes seemed to get bigger. Something deeper changed in its face. "Holy shit." It made to move forward and I reeled back, pressing myself further into Sunshine. The predator immediately froze and slunk back.
"He can help." Sunshine rumbled softly.
Oh dear. Oh dear.
It touched me. It's diminutive nails didn't rend into my scales as it touched my ribs, prodding them softly. Sunshine adjusted how it sat so that the other predator could have better access to me, and I couldn't help but focus on the skies again as it assessed what part of me it wanted.
Sunshine won't let it eat me.
I don't know where the thought came from, but it was firm. I believed it entirely. Even though Sunshine was a sapient predator, it wouldn't let it happen. Maybe it claimed me as its own already. I... I had doubts I would be eaten. The thoughts were there, but Sunshine had a perfect chance already. Unless it wanted to flaunt its catch first, which the Arxur did- but it was gentle. Sunshine was better than an Arxur.
"Malnourished, deep sores. Ulcers. There's bruising up and down the rib cage. Jesus- sorry."
"They're old. Persistent. Its feet."
"What about..." The predator got quiet. I felt my scales shift in worry as it gingerly lifted one of my legs. It remained quiet, but its face stretched further. "What happened?"
It was looking at me. Asking me. I shrank further into the fabric, but there was nowhere to go. The silence was unbearable, and I started trembling.
The silence continued.
"A runaway." Sunshine rumbled after forever. I didn't understand what that meant. My translator didn't pick it up quite right. Run-away? Like fleeing? Was that what these predators called their prey? No... no that didn't seem right. It was possible, but...
"Could have been kidnapped." Another word I didn't understand, but my translator worked on the other predator. Stealing a person by force? Using fear outside of the law? How did predators have such a word? "We need to get it to the hospital. Figure out what happened and how it ended up in this field."
NO NO NO NO NO
Sunshine's arms draped over me before I could escape, my attempt no better than a drunk Mazic trying to fit through a Venlil sized door. I couldn't stop the whine in my throat, but its soft digits down my back froze me. A subtle noise filtered out behind the mask, and it settled me back down in its garment. It picked up an edge lined with little metal teeth and draped it over me, blocking my sight from the other predator. I felt safe, suddenly. Sunshine's firm grip on my body didn't feel threatening. It felt like a promise, as it carefully pulled me against it's bulk. I was warm, despite my terror.
"Zuda will handle it. No hospitals. This stays with us."
"Sunshine," the other predator protested, "we need to figure out what happened!"
"Think, Doc." Sunshine growled, and this was no doubt a warning. I felt relief that the difference between the two growls was so obvious.
"What?"
"Think. Use your head."
There was a period of silence. "You don't... that can't be right." I didn't understand what conclusion it made.
"The injuries are uniform. Too clean to be anything else."
They can't know. How can they know?
"We need confirmation!"
"We already have it." Sunshine stated, and slowly the fabric was lifted off of my head. I blinked, and noticed that the other predator had changed a different shade.
That's odd. Are you predators like me?
That's terrifying. I'm not a threat. I'm me.
"It reacted to the van and mention of a hospital, Doc. Nobody outside the UN hears of this. Operational security."
It... does Sunshine know? How do they know?
"What the fuck is this planet, Sunshine?" The other predator lamented.
Sunshine didn't respond. He looked around at the surrounding encampment, and I realized it was shrinking. They were leaving. A few other predators were subtly watching as they worked, but I doubted they could hear the conversation with how quiet it was. I realize there's a few Venlil in their ranks, unbothered by their presence and even wearing garments similar to the predators around them.
A digit tapped the end of my snout and I flinched, looking up at Sunshine. It's paw retracted as the other predator withdrew a medical kit with a paw print on it and began to unclasp it. "You're safe. We're... we're going to help."
You know. You know what I am. And you're helping me anyway. Why are you helping me? I'm weak. I'm dangerous. But not to you. You're an apex. Is that why? Does your species stick together, unlike the Arxur? Do you uplift those around you, no matter if they're prey or dangerous? The Venlil are not afraid of you. You must not eat them. What do you eat? It has to be meat. But, it must be something that they can handle. Does what makes me dangerous fall away under your hierarchy? I hope it does. It doesn't seem real. I guess to you, what makes me a threat is meaningless.
I believe Sunshine. I really do. When the other predator comes forward with a healing gel, I surrender.
I am safe.

Long story short. I was very immature on my early 20s and I did not know how to properly manage my money etc. I got married and when I was married I had a whole bunch of debt. My wife at that time did not know the whole picture about my finances until one day I decided to let her know. I have been struggling for a long time and as you know money is a big thing within a marriage. I decided to filed for bankruptcy because I am being sued by credit cards companies and filling bankruptcy is going to allow me to pay off my debt on a period of time without accruing interest. Today my wife who is younger than me told me how horrible she feels about our finances and that we won’t be able to afford a new car or a better house (We bought one, not a mansion but is ours, under my wife credit) since mine is fucked. I am working to fix this mess and even getting a second job ASAP since my regular job is not enough. But todays comments from my wife really made me feel like a failure even though I try to do other things around the house to keep up and not be a dead weight. She has been there supporting me and everything, but I have a feeling that she is getting tired and one day is going to leave me because of my finances. Just needed to vent. All comments are accepted my situation cannot get worse than what it is already. My bankruptcy is a 13 and payments are roughly 700 (3 years plan> 30k in debt). Kind of high… But I guess it is what it is…

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Welcome to PART V of our indepth Gorou Amamiya slash Aqua Hoshino character study slash theory slash plot preditction slash literally my obsession :) To start off we'll quickly recap the content of the last 4 parts. If you are new here I highly suggest to read into PART I's introduction as it tells you everything we want to archive with this study series.
We are already at the end of this journy, as we can - now after 4 parts of meaningful and important build up - finally look at Aqua's current actions in an entirely new challenging perspective. It is still my conviction that if we don't appreciate Aqua's struggle on it's full scale we won't fully grasp the Cathasis that follows his tragedy, which - under the impression that Aka is cooking some really good stuff - would be a real shame. Aqua is the most active plot-shaping protagonist, understanding the depthness of his actions is almost identical to understand the actual plot itself. For that matter as expressed in PART I I hope this series might enhance some people's future chapter reading experience and transform hostility towards Aqua into tragic compassion.
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PART I

• Who is Gorou Amamiya?
• Why is he obsessed over the Idol Ai Hoshino?
• Gorou's longing for love
• Gorou's suppressed trauma passed down to Aqua
• Why doesn't he warn her about the culprit?
• What's the difference between his and Ruby's relation to Ai?
• What exactly is the meaning of Ai's death to Gorou?
• Is he really guilty?

PART II

• Why does he feel guilty?
• The guilt-complex actually a trauma of Gorou?
• Why is Gorou not guilty?
• Gorou's mother vs. Ai
• Gorou's Grandfather and his influence on Gorou's trauma
• Aqua's delusion as consequence of Gorou's guilt-complex
• The Crow Girl as a therapist and guide
• Self-realization vs. indoctrination

PART III - Intermezzo -

• Exploration of symbols and meanings at the beginning of the story
• The Sanatorium and the Cure for Entertainment and the Heroe's Journey
• A sick and poisened entertainment industry
• What is the connection between Gorou, Sarina and Ai on that symbolic level?
• Who is the main antagonist to the Goddess of Entertainment?
• Ai's transformation from Venus to Maria
• Ai's love, Ai's legacy and Ai's wish

PART IV

• Ai's wish in full detail
• Ai's and Gotanda's vision
• Ruby's future as an Idol Aqua's as an actor
• Aqua's acting skill
• Aqua's "Director's Eye" genius
• What is Aqua's fundamental misunderstanding?

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PART V
We will analyze his manipulations beginning from C95 until C119 as an ongoing efford to prepare his role as the movie's culprit. Everything Aqua does serves this end. It's what I called in last episode his "Director's Eye" that sets the stage to force a certain outcome with this movie which will let Hikaru Kamiki suffer and at the same time destroy Aqua too. In this regard the last episode's analysis of his TV-Series role in "I'll want it sweet today" turns out to almost be a blueprint for what is actually happening right now: Aqua generates content, directs the emotions and feeling of all actors who take part in the movie to get them as complice to the story Aqua himself wants to tell as possible. He envisioned "intent that can't be put into words" yes, Aqua's intent, since we found out with undeniable certainty that his story does not reflect Ai's true wish at all. Although he things it does and by that enters a path of disaster.
In this essay we also kinda come back to our roots and core strength of this study overall: Psychology, a bit of ethics and philosohpy.
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HIS NAME IS
*
After a rather boring and stagnate interum period for Aqua during which he thought his revenge is over he gets redpilled by Ichigo. As it turns out his story is chronologically impossible. Ai's murderer is still alive. After his awakening in the rain we essentially have a significant timeskip until Akane's red carpet event. During this timeskip Aqua installed a GPS tracker on her.
As you recall in their little showdown in which Aqua told her to back the f up he told her that he wired her sometime after his love for her ended. When he learned how ridiculousness his blind believe in Taiki's story was, he understood that a sharp mind like Akane for sure wasn't fooled at all. She knew about the fundamental flaw in Aqua's belief but wouldn't tell him for selfish reasons: Out of protection as she puts it and out of desire for Aqua to stabilize so he can focus on her instead of his revenge. Aqua felt betrayed and manipulated.
However he concludes that in the improbable case in which she finds something out she would probably go about it behind his back. To keep track with her he installed the device. It wasn't expected to be fruitful but the chance was still there. And since I don't believe that the events just all followed one after another - this would be too much of weird coincidences - I proposed that there was a significant timeskip between him installing the tracker on her and Akane's first contact with Hikaru's white roses.
Since this whole deal between Aqua and Akane had led to some confusion in the community I just wanted to give my personal take on how it went down the most coherent and logical way and therefore explain in advance how - in contrast to what will follow - this incident was not directly planned but just anticipated or hoped for by Aqua. However in the next paragraphs we will look into his personal involvement as prep for the movie.
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Additionally the separation from Akane is important to highlight his conviction. This is the first time we see his awakened two black starry eyes, so this scene serves as a warning signal: Shit is about to go down. "I can't go back anymore. I have no choice but to take this road" - it's basically the premonition that from now on there are absoluty no more compromises in terms of his own destruction. Well, we will later see how the helping and selfless ambivalence of Gorou's soul will have a saying in that too.
But what can we overall expect? Is there anything to grasp?Well, yes! Lets look at Ruby for that matter. Maybe her arc during Aqua's hiatus literally served to insert the capability of a double starry black eyes. We've learned how ruthless Ruby was with Her unprecendented fast rise as both an idol but also as the main driving force in that cosplay-scandal to sneak to the top had the function to educate us that people with those eyes are highly creative and effective in such dirty games.
Under this light it becomes tangible to which extent Aqua is capable to plot. Aqua - a guy whose intellect, dead serious conviction and amount of information versus Ruby's is unquestionable superior.
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THE GREAT PLAN
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"The curtain for the final scene has already risen. I can't go back now that ...the Article about Ai was been published" (Aqua to Ichigo after Ai's secret got exposed)

​
We have to look at the plot backwards because what we as the reader might know right now as of C119 was essentially known to Aqua himself right from the start, since he is 15 years old.... Thus the information gap that we had back then when for the first time experiencing the Chapters after his awakening are highly deceptive while at the same time when we reflect them with the knowledge we have now they are incredibly coherent and any commentary Aqua does follows a tight schedule of his great plan and makes perfect sense.
Now of course we have to talk about Aqua's DVD. We know that Aqua received it by age 15 and it probably contains in one way or another following infos:

• Aqua receives this DVD in case Ai doesnt live anymore
• She worked on a documentary with Gotanda. Gotanda holds video files in his possesion that reveal her backstory and true self and while this real self is in total opposition to her public perception (and the perception her children share for that matter too) she wants it to be made public when they turn 15 - essentially when they are old enough to handle the truth -> "15-Year Lie"
• In the case something happened to her and the documentary wasn't released she wants them to release it / release it in form of a movie perhaps.

I believe that the documentary/movie is content of Aqua's DVD because Gontanda used it in his dialog with Ruby as a sufficient reason that Aqua is not to blame but ultimately also not Gotanda for that matter. Essentially the DVD had to cover her wish to release the files too and not just the secret about her kids otherwise Ruby woud literally flip out about their plans to make a movie. He in fact was actually suprised that Ruby is not involved yet. Heckin' siscon!
Essentially with Aqua's DVD Ai passed down her legacy to Aqua. He is from there on entitled to speak with Gotanda about that, as he is aware of his involvement with Ai to produce such documentary. I can't say if he watched those recordings or read the script behind Gotanda's back while working at his place but at least he definitely knew these exist and that Gotanda promised her to propose a movie if her secret about her kids gets exposed. However Aqua had no intention to progress this yet. When he turned 15 he was already for 10 years working out his own plans regarding his biological father. So when he got that DVD he already was preoccupied by both his trauma and the legitimation of following through his own plan. He postponed her wish to release her truth until he got his father's identity figured out.
The fact that he ignored the content of his DVD during his "hiatus" when he thought his father is dead goes to show how self absorbed he is about this whole thing. But at the same time this is absolutely coherent with the underlaying psyche that predispostions Aqua's mind and was inherited from Gorou, because the core misunderstanding that evolves around her death scene is that Gorou - instead of realizing the truthfull reenactment of his mother's unconditonal love - found himself guilty of his mother's death when she gave birth to him and thus perceived the reenacted wonder as a violent reenacted curse, instead self-realiztation and salvation from his guilt-complex, he perceived the "final scene" as a reason to trigger the most self-destructing form of his trauma.
There is actually also a common theme here and that's his inability at some point to stay chronolically coherent inside his deluted belief system. We witnessed it for the first time after his mental abusement through the Tokyo Blade stage play where his exhausted mind after a month of hardship was released by that far too easy to refute proclamation of his father's death. At this point he was mentally so drained that he accepted this story - he accepted it because it fitted his own state of mind at that time the best. Now in regard to Ai's wish its a similar phenomenom overall. Because in the deduction of her true wish or "intetion of the author" (which we figured out in the last PART should actually be Aqua's core strength hence the "Director's Eye") Aqua should have to take the murder itself out of the equation of analysis. Ai didn't anticipated to die in that way and most directly in her last words she did'nt anticipate for Aqua to die through his revenge plot. The message and legacy she passed down on the DVD before she died and the spirit that drove her to record that documentary with Gotanda before she died reflect her true wish in her last intimate words towards her kids when she died. But Aqua's deluted absorbtion by revenge on himself through his guilt-complex sets her murder as the fundamental premise to deduce her true wish, while her true wish was formulated without even thinking about her murder as some token of it. Aqua's understanding of her true wish is in this sense again chronologically impossible to be true, because it again fitted his own state of mind at this time.
When Ai's secret was exposed however Aqua immediately contacted Gotanda and showed him the content of his DVD. This also explains why Gontanda could mention the DVD in front of Ruby. Aqua basically came on "fai" terms with Gontanda, explained to him that he knows the whole time etc. With that Aqua maneuvered himself into the script writing, which is basically his intention overall. His "Director's Eye" kicks here in. Since he thinks only he understands Ai's true wish he has to rework Gontanda's script as fits his own vision. I think the fact that he was actually present at the real "final scene" when the culprit killed Ai gave him leverage to persuade Gotanda to turn the movie into an actual tragedy and not a documentary. In fact it was Aqua who includes the final scene and probably argues that this final scene is literally the essential content to fulfill Ai's wish. So again we see his delution as mentioned the paragraph before. Thus he proposed to rewrite the script and add the final scene, and maybe even a backstory for the culprit.
( maybe even Hikaru's backstory that only Aqua and Akane know about, thus Akane understands Aqua plan? Remember that Akane would casually drop the info during her research that when you know a name of a person you can find out his whole existence. I think this implies that Aqua can figure out his personal info as well and probably did in preperation before even Ai's secret went public. Thus we have to prepare for the fact that Aqua could've written a backstory for the culprit that mirrors Hikaru's backstory. He wants Hikaru to recognize himself in that character maybe. Just some thoughts, there are not essential to our study rightt now )
Gotanda had to take him in. Both as victim of the tragedy but also a his personal friend sort of (I think it's fair to say that Gotanda perceives him as such. They are also of a similar real age actually.)
But as we saw in PART I and PART II Aqua is due to his trauma completely cut off from the realization that he isn't guilty for Ai's death thus he is completely cut off from realizing her true intentions and instead take her death as his own fundamental premise (because of the deluted guilt-complex) for his interpretation. Thus he doesn't feel any incoherency between his path of self-destruction and revenge and Ai's true wish. But it's chronologically impossible to base her wish on that incident. This is purely GOROU's influence or as we figured out Gorou's grandfather who occupise his schizophrenic traumatized mind. This the fundamental tension that fuels the literal disaster beyond all expectations we are heading right now!
However Aqua made his point towards Gotanda. Well personally I think this is also the reason why the ending is open. As we know it's yet to decide if Ai forgives or condemn the culprit. I believe key to his strange notion is a unresolved ethical and philosophical debate between Gotanda and Aqua. They couldn't agree what's true, what's "the better ending". Maybe they even have some sort of competition going since Gontana himself has some sort of a directing eye. He is not some stupid puppy who doesn't know his shit. He actually has an opinion as an artist on that too and I can see how there is a potential conflict between these two looming.
One uncertainty for me in this is to which extent Gotanda knows about Hikaru Kamiki if he knows at all. I think he doesn't and I think Aqua argued for his editorial influence over the script with purely artistic arguments. Thus I for now stay on the believe that they have an artistic and also a philosophical disagreement in the sense that they kinda both agree on the social phenomenom they want to start with the movie but in reality Aqua knows that his version of the plot will lead to something different then Gotanda envisions. Of course Aqua believes that he's in the right.
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https://preview.redd.it/cb20n6562u3b1.jpg?width=1724&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bd58e05e765f7df52bbab14870e811c5d824ba31
Having said all of that it is of course just my - i think well argued during a course of this 5 part series - theory that happen to work quite well with the underlaying psychology of Gorou/Aqua and interconnects in great detail with the actual plot content. But everyone has to judge for himself how believable this is.
However I think everything what was said in this chapter "The Big Plan" basically sums iitself up in these two Manga pages during Aqua's proposition to Kaburagi.

• First of all it's symbolic that Aqua is the one proposing. It means this is Aqua's story, how he sees it.
• Secondly the sctipt isn't finished yet. It's probably about the open ending or as I suspect its an ongoing debate between Gotanda and Aqua how to archive the social phenomenom Ai intends ("her true intention as an author")
• Thirdly Aqua expresses here his fundamental misconception by basing the whole plot around her murder and thus evalutes the "behind the scenes" that Ai leaked in her documented talks with Gontanda as part of his understand of his true wish where her murder is the quintessential tragic culminating point and where he personally sees the culprit to be condemned for it.
• Last but not least the last panel where Kaburagi would lowkey express his feeling that he and Gontanda were manipulated. These two pages show entirely what was analyzed and theorized in this essay. He kinda can't believe that this is Ai's intention. He suspect Aqua's corruption. But well, a guy like Kaburagi doesn't obsess about ethics, he collects himself instandtly and getsexcited about the project. Only he can produce it, as he puts zealously.

​
But the most important and fundamental message in that first panel was that Ai was "killed by a FAN". And here is what I believe is the philosophical or ethical disagreeement between Aqua and Gotanda:

1. If we condemn the culprit the social phenomenom that follows will condemn Idol-Fandom as a whole, maybe even destroy Idol-Culture. Because the culprit as the murderer of the ultimate Idol is the representative of the ultimate Fan, thus the unforgivable guilt he carries is the guilt each and every one of them carries too. Especially if the backstory of Ai portayd her as a deeply troubled girl who finally found happiness as a mother but at the same time - because of these obsessive fans - had to hide her happiness and eventually gets even killed for it. In this story the Otaku is an unbelievably selfish and ignorant monster and has no right to be redemed. Society has to shame him.
2. If we forgive the culprit the social phenomenom that follows will initiate self-realization trough compassion inside the Otaku's mind but also help from society to hear their problems and actually be compassioned about their own mental problems. The "Otaku" but also society - so touched by the gesture that a girl with such a awful background still tried to love her fans and even forgives her murderer - will perceive this almost holy miracle inspirationally to love and forgive and heal, uplift entertainment. Instead of obsessive, absurd and self-absorbed entitlements as a consequence of unhealthy parasocial-relationships they accept the forgiveness granted to them and try to do better and literally let go. In this scenario the impetus of both Ai's message and the social phenomenm will be to blame the business practice behind idol culture or entertainment itself.

​
Well, the difference between Gotanda's and Aqua's position is, that one has a noble cause in mind and the other is literally the definition of a tragic hero. His delusion is just some next level shit.
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Epilog
As I stated at the beginning of this chapter we have to look at the plot backwards because what we as the reader might know right now as of C119 was essentially known to Aqua himself right from the start. This method we will pick up again in a following PART VI in which we will take another step back and analyze the whole deal around Ai's family secret exposal.
Yes, yes, we will again argue for a highly unpopular opinion by Aqua fans or a popular opinion by Aqua haters: It was just a scheme initiated by Aqua. Stay tuned for this bit. Did he manipulate Kana or did he not? What clues can we find for it? How is it justifiable? Did he really had a good intent at heart while playing dirty upfront? We will figure that all out....
Thanks for reading!
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***

A while ago, I ran into something very interesting in my local library: a 2012 reprint of a Finnish 1912 novel about the sinking of the Titanic, called “Titanicin perikato” (The Destruction of the Titanic) by Esko Waltala – the only Finnish novel ever written about the disaster!
I picked the book up and looked into it, and it turns out it’s actually a Finnish translation/adaptation (or, in modern terms, an instance of blatant plagiarism) of an original Swedish novel called “Dödsfärden” (The Voyage of Death) by Willy Grebst.
The novel claims to be based on survivor accounts and other facts, which is why I thought people on this sub might be interested in reading about it. While it’s not a fully accurate retelling, as you’ll soon find out, I think it’s a fascinating window into the way the story of the Titanic was perceived in the Nordic countries right after the disaster.

The fictional characters and the plot

The original novel focuses on Swedish characters, but the Finnish edition I read has changed the focus to Finland. The story features three main characters: fictional Finnish second-class male passengers Onni Laurila, Toivo Saarela, and Niilo Vieremä.
In a nutshell, these three are the most insufferable Mary-Sues/Gary-Stus I’ve ever encountered in a work of fiction.
They’re all learned young men, going to America to make it big. Vieremä is an engineer, traveling on the Titanic to learn about her machinery, while Laurila and Saarela have both graduated from the University of Helsinki. Their major is not mentioned, but I’m sure it must’ve been languages – seeing how each of them seemingly speaks six or seven of them fluently, allowing them to discuss with a variety of passengers onboard. Engineer Vieremä, then, steps in to play the role of Thomas Andrews: he’s studied the ship so carefully that when disaster strikes, he can accurately assess the damage and inform his friends about the ship being doomed.
Our heroes are remarkably brave, immediately deciding to do what they can for the women and children, stoically observing the sinking, and going into the water with the ship. Obviously, it then turns out all three of them are great swimmers and very resilient to cold temperatures. (I guess whatever free time they had between studying all those languages, they spent ice swimming in Finnish lakes.) One of them estimates that he is going to survive in the freezing water for at least four hours.
After going into the water, our trio of McGyvers build a raft from two planks of wood, their lifebelts, and some rope that one of them just happens to be carrying in his pocket. In friendly Finnish fashion, they then proceed to beat each other up to stay warm. The beatings work wonders: afterwards, they keep going back to the water like it’s nothing, in an effort to save several women and children. Unfortunately, they all perish before our heroes can get to them. They then pick up some cognac, bread, butter, and milk that’s floating in the water and have themselves a nice little picnic, waiting for the Carpathia to rescue them. And of course, they politely let every single other survivor board the rescue ship before boarding it themselves.
The cast of characters also includes an American family called McDean, traveling in the first class. Saarela falls in love with their daughter Alice, but unfortunately, she is engaged to another first-class passenger – an unpleasant, cowardly Italian prince/charlatan. In a dramatic moment during the sinking, Saarela is pushed into a lifeboat, but he climbs back and offers his seat to the prince instead, thus making a thoroughly unselfish sacrifice for Alice’s happiness. Taking note of this heroic behavior, and learning of her fiancé’s cowardly nature, Alice then ditches the prince on the Carpathia and confesses her love to Saarela instead. They’re married just weeks after the sinking. Jack and Rose who, this is the true love story of the Titanic!
In the finale of the novel, Alice, who’s lost both her parents in the sinking and is the sole heiress to their vast fortune, makes large donations to Laurila and Vieremä. Laurila, who has a fiancée waiting for him in Finland, decides he doesn’t want to make it big in America anymore, goes home, gets married, and starts a bunch of charities to improve his poor home village. The end.

The historical accuracy

So, there’s a lot of made-up stuff in this book, but what about the historical accuracy? Didn’t they claim it’s based on survivor accounts? Well, in short, the historical part of the story is a mixed bag.
The author and the translator of the novel have clearly read a lot of news coverage about the Titanic. They feature many real historical figures and have the basics of the event down, but they also take a lot of artistic liberty whenever it suits their fancy. For example, there are several remarks that show they know that the first and the second class had different dining salons, smoking rooms and such – but even so, the second-class heroes dine in the first class several times, so they can easily gossip about, get to know, and fall in love with the first-class passengers.
The word “unsinkable” is mentioned a lot, and much is made of the 16 watertight compartments. Every single character has been assured that the Titanic cannot sink, some of them by White Star Line representatives and others just by word of mouth. Even so, they’re all borderline obsessed about the possibility of a shipwreck. Several characters have premonitions about the ship sinking. A lengthy passage is dedicated to stories about former maritime accidents involving icebergs, featuring some real ships such as the SS Arizona and the SS Pacific.
When the Titanic finally does hit the iceberg, there are a bunch of inaccuracies and exaggerations, maybe because the authors had read false/sensationalized information, or maybe just to make that part of the story feel more exciting. For example, it’s mentioned that all the lights go out for a while. Panic sets in very soon after the collision. In a disturbing scene, we’re told that crew members with revolvers are holding third-class passengers back, threatening them with immediate death if they dare to move before being given permission. Archibald Butt is shown firing a revolver when chaos breaks out on the boat deck, which encourages several crew members to start firing theirs to bring back order.
Other parts are more accurate to our current understanding of the events, such as the near-collision of the Titanic and the SS New York early in the story, and the affair of lifeboat 13 drifting under lifeboat 15. Interestingly, the ship breaking up in two in its final minutes is mentioned. So is First Officer Murdoch committing suicide, which the narrative voice comments by saying it’s no one’s business to judge him for that decision.

Who’s to blame?

The novel spends quite a lot of time trying to find someone or something to blame for the disaster. It comes to a twofold conclusion: in part, it was J. Bruce Ismay (and capitalism), but in part, it was the Hope Diamond that the fictional McDean family brought onboard.
The way the novel portrays Ismay is interesting. On the one hand, he’s definitely painted as the bad guy, a powerful CEO that even the captain has to obey that’s obsessed with going fast and breaking records. But on the other hand, the narrative voice points out that Ismay is only acting like this because White Star Line shareholders expect it of him – it’s his job to keep them happy, and going faster means more money to them.
Ismay also gets a moment of redemption during the sinking: he is shown helping two maids into a lifeboat. When the women protest, claiming they don’t deserve to be in the boat because they’re “only maids”, Ismay points out that all people are equal in the face of death. The last time Ismay is featured in the story is when the narrative voice reveals he’s in one of the lifeboats, and wonders about the state of his mind. Is he feeling regret, or coming up with excuses for his actions? Surprisingly, the narrative voice doesn’t shame him for entering a lifeboat; instead, in the same chapter, it encourages the reader to refrain from judging the survivors in general for fighting for their lives during the sinking.
Then there is the Hope Diamond nonsense. There’s a full chapter on its backstory, mostly made up of course, with plenty of details about how it’s been causing misfortune for centuries. Then it explains how it ends up onboard, and several characters remark upon its reputation as a cursed item, wondering if it’s going to cause trouble during the voyage. After the ship hits the iceberg, however, the diamond is practically forgotten about, only to be very briefly mentioned again.
In the last chapter of the novel, which is to my knowledge all written by the Finnish translator, the narrative voice has more to say about who’s to blame. First, it blames Ismay for “putting the ice warnings into his pocket without caring about them” (a weird claim to make, seeing how earlier in the story, Captain Smith is shown dealing with the ice warnings), but it also criticizes the British Board of Trade for their outdated lifeboat regulations. This is the only time the fact that there weren’t enough lifeboats is mentioned. The bulkheads only going up to E Deck is not mentioned at all. Instead, the narrative voice suspects that the doors between the watertight compartments likely didn’t close properly, allowing water to flow through.

Some interesting details

• It’s mentioned that there were cows onboard the Titanic, so that the rich passengers could get fresh milk. According to the narrative voice, you can’t have cows on smaller ships because small vessels rock too hard in rough seas. Fair enough, I suppose it would be stressful having to deal with a bunch of seasick cattle.
• Speaking of exaggerated claims, the novel also talks about an onboard greenhouse, filled with thousands of fragrant flowers and palm trees. I suppose the author had heard about the Verandah Café and decided that some potted plants simply didn’t sound impressive enough for his book.
• There is an unnamed Thomas Andrews character (he’s only referred to by titles such as “the chief engineer at Harland & Wolff”) that keeps claiming the ship is unsinkable after it has struck the iceberg, and calls the panicking people cowards.
• The book features the lyrics (both in English and in Swedish/Finnish) and the music notes to Nearer My God to Thee. Feel free to sing along while you read the relevant scene, I guess!
• The Finnish translation/adaptation has several more chapters than the Swedish original. In one of them, the translator praises the Titanic’s engineers, highlighting how their choice to stay in the engine room meant that the lights stayed on and the pumps continued their work all the way through the sinking.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there is quite a lot of accurate information to be found within the novel… but it gets lost between all the romanticized, saccharine nonsense the author and the translator have come up with to fluff the story up. Some of it is so over the top you can’t help laughing out loud.
The novel clearly reflects the attitudes of its time and its author(s) – and oftentimes, those attitudes are not pretty. Willy Grebst, the original Swedish author, had ties to an antisemitic newspaper, so it’s no big surprise that there are antisemitic remarks in the novel. There is also an instance of anti-Irish and anti-Italian sentiment, with people of those ethnic backgrounds portrayed as more cowardly/hysterical than their English and Nordic counterparts.
On the other hand, there are also some parts that feel somewhat progressive for the time: for example, there is a scene where someone has to leave a lifeboat because it’s too full and will sink otherwise, and several women argue that instead of defaulting to a man, all single and childless people regardless of gender should draw lots to decide who should die. (The scene then ends with not one but three American men voluntarily jumping overboard.) Greed and rich people not using their money for charitable ventures is also heavily criticized.
All in all, the novel leaves me wondering how its readers in 1912 felt about it. Did they think that inserting fictional elements into the story of a real, very recent disaster was in bad taste? Or was reading a fictional retelling like this helpful when dealing with the anxiety and sadness the news about the disaster had caused? To my modern-day taste, it’s a silly, tacky story – but a very entertaining one at that, so I’m glad to have come across it.

Sources

The original Swedish novel “Dödsfärden” on Litteraturbanken: https://litteraturbanken.se/f%C3%B6rfattare/GrebstWA/titlaD%C3%B6dsf%C3%A4rden/sida/5/faksimil
The Finnish translation/adaptation “Titanicin perikato” on Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/57901/pg57901-images.html

Backstory: I (AM) am one of eleven siblings, this doesn't concern the rest of them. Unlike my mother, I have always preferred romance over family, and have no problem with having multiple partners. Anyway, I met a hot guy in college, Sherman (AM). Needless to say we ended up dating and falling in love. Sherman proposed to me while we were in school, saying something about how he had to carry his family's legacy. I agreed because he was so hot.
I graduate, and I move in with Sherman and his two dads, (EM), who are also hot. Sherman and I get married and I'm not too happy about that, but I go along with it anyway because he's so hot. We do the customary try for baby, Sherman gets pregnant, and then I start casting my eye around. I find this other hot guy, Parker (AM), who is identical to the previous generations' hot guy, his dad. Parker's into romance like me, but he's also primarily into girls, so I have to convince him. Anyway, I start a side relationship with Parker and Sherman never finds out.
Shortly before Sherman is going to have our child, we woohoo, and oops, I end up pregnant. Then Sherman goes to find a snack and realizes that the fridge is empty, but since we woohooed he's close to starving and he just keels over and dies right there, along with our unborn child! I'm sad, and so are my fathers in law. Time goes on, and I respectfully don't see Parker in the meantime since I feel guilty. However...
Shortly before I am due to find birth, I'm lonely so I hire a matchmaker and find a hot man named Count Greg (AM). I have to invite him over at night since Greg is a vampire. Anyway, we're on our date, and suddenly I go into labor and have Sherman's son Sniper (CM). It doesn't matter, I finish off the date, and it was a resounding success! The next night I have another date with Greg, and he wants to propose to me even though he's all about pleasure, which is similar to me being all about romance. I agree, because he's hot. I also later end up having an oops baby with Greg, Valkyrie (ToF).
Anyway, Greg moves in, and he wants to throw a party, so he throws a wedding party. No big deal. I invite my guests over, which includes Parker, who I have rekindled my relationship with (and who has had my daughter, Iliana (BabyF)). One of Parker's girlfriends Violette (AF) had gotten married to another guy and Parker didn't care except when she flirted with a zombie during the wedding (she didn't marry the zombie, it's a long story). So I figured he wouldn't care.
Anyway, Greg and I exchange vows, he marries into Sherman's family just as I have (did I mention I want to flirt with my former father-in-law Tybalt?) and Greg introduces himself to Parker, who was watching. Well, it turns out that Greg finds Parker hot so he wants to ask him on a date, and he does just that. I don't really care, even though my new husband is going on a date with another man during our own wedding. Anyway, party ends, the limo picks Greg and I up for the honeymoon (meanwhile Greg has still not ended his date!) and we race off for a quickie before returning home. This is where things go wrong...
We get back, and Parker is waiting for us, probably Greg since they're still on a date, but whatever. So naturally, greeted with the sight of my hot boyfriend, I flirt with him in front of my husband. Greg is PISSED. He accuses us both of cheating and slaps me, and I don't understand, I thought since he's all about the pleasures in life that he would understand? His date with Parker ends so-so, and he's mad at me. I try to do some make up kisses, but he rejects, so I don't even try for make up woohoo. We argue all the time, and I'm just kind of tired of this unemployed dead weight, so I... lock him outside and the sun causes his needs to drop and he starves to death, making me a widow again.
Of course later I learn that in this town there was a woman whose spouses all died after their wedding day, Olive Specter, so I start to wonder if I unintentionally took after her. (I'm from Pleasantview so I didn't know about this, the closest legend we have is the missing Bella Goth, who apparently was my step grandmother in law...? I don't know how that works exactly). Tradition dictates that i have to go find another husband and kill him, but I don't know if I want to do that, since Sherman's dads are still really hot (but unfortunately they seem devoted to each other so idk how they'll react).
Anyway, some of my siblings (and Olive's great-niece) say I'm the AH for having two of my husbands die. Am I? I can't tell! And should I find another husband?? My brain says no but my heart says yes!!

Hi there,
I'm a 23 year old gay man from The Netherlands and I'm looking for someone to chat and spend time with. Ultimately I want to create a long-lasting relationship, but there's no rush to that and we can just take our time with it & obviously get to know each other first!
I'm looking for someone in my region, because I've tried LDR's before and it never worked out for me. Of course there are exceptions, but primarily looking for someone that isn't across the world. I'm 187 cm, thicc build and very vain. I have more of a feminine personality and I'm looking for a masculine man.
I work in an elderly home as a care assistant and in my free time I mostly play games, watch shows and movies, listen to music and go out for walks. I play games on my PC and I would love to be able to do this with you! The games I mostly play at the moment are League of Legends (EUW), Overwatch 2 and Dead by Daylight.
If I interest you by any chance then please don't hesitate to send me a message or DM with a little introduction of yourself and we can see how things will go :)
Have a lovely day!

Hi there,
I'm a 23 year old gay man from The Netherlands and I'm looking for someone to chat and spend time with. Ultimately I want to create a long-lasting relationship, but there's no rush to that and we can just take our time with it & obviously get to know each other first!
I'm looking for someone in my region, because I've tried LDR's before and it never worked out for me. Of course there are exceptions, but primarily looking for someone that isn't across the world. I'm 187 cm, thicc build and very vain. I have more of a feminine personality and I'm looking for a masculine man.
I work in an elderly home as a care assistant and in my free time I mostly play games, watch shows and movies, listen to music and go out for walks. I play games on my PC and I would love to be able to do this with you! The games I mostly play at the moment are League of Legends (EUW), Overwatch 2 and Dead by Daylight.
If I interest you by any chance then please don't hesitate to send me a message or DM with a little introduction of yourself and we can see how things will go :)
Have a lovely day!

i feel like I screwed something up writing my novel. Namely, I emphasized again and again that the setting I wrote is incredibly dangerous – limited food, wild animals, hazardous terrain and so on – but because of my obsessive researching on statistics of survival chances in deadly scenario’s the already small cast dwindled down to one paranoid guy holding shotgun out the window of an old rundown shack.
Dysentery claimed a surprising amount of characters before the feral pigs did.
I'm at a loss on how to make that survival rate with such deadliness more real
inspiration sauce
OOP Transcript:

My setting's dangerousness feels like an informed quality
i feel like I screwed something up writing my novel. Namely, I emphasized again and again that the setting I wrote is incredibly dangerous – limited food, wild animals, hazardous terrain and so on – but because I didn't have time or space to spend on throwaway characters, and the setting has a limited cast, only one person really ended up dying, and he did so offscreen.
I'm at a loss on how to make that deadliness feel real

There is a TLDR down below, I was just interested in writing a detailed version.

Pre Void Century

before The start of the missing century, the world was a calm place, sure wars happened but they weren't anything out of the ordinary, the sea were calm and the world wasn't divided into 6 regions, rather that there were continents which were as large as a few of the current islands combined and no species like giants,lunarians. The world had 8 moons which weren't white, rather they had colours and upon close look, different species.

Void Century: First 10 years (0000-0010)

The species known as lunarians saw it first, the fact that their homeworld was going to collide with the other 7 neighbors. It talked with other species on how to stop it, but as it would turn out, there wasn't any solutions which wouldn't require sacrifice of 1 species's homeworld, the debate on how to stop it went on and on with no results. As much as people wanted to save every world, they all headed and started to make homes on earth behind each other's backs. The only ones who still hadn't done that were Lunarians and Fishmen.When the End became obvious, They both went down together. The Lunarians planted a tree, which would suffice to their needs and helped the fishmen who lived deep underwater get light down there. This would embark the start of the century where The people of Earth had to adjust to living with their new neighbors, as none of the species came here before as all of them agreed that earth wasn't advanced enough.

Unwelcome Guests (0010-0020)

When all of them reached on earth. Not everyone's welcome was the same. The giants were revered for their great Strength and Mead. As the giant's culture bore closest resemblance to Humans,They had no trouble adjusting to their new world. Unlike the giants, The Fishmen were called monsters, They were always either captured for their beauty, or killed based upon prejudice. Meanwhile The lunarians were starting to be called Gods, as their strength and Endurance surpassed all living on this world. The lunarians were safe as they lived atop the Giant tree no one could reach.

Formation of kingdoms(0020-0030)

outside of these major players of giants,lunarians and fishmen. Other races started to integrate into the society, The winged people of sky islands were very helpful with weather patterns and were able to help many kingdoms which solved their drought and famine. The people of The Third eye were able to use their powers to help kingdoms fend off disease.Not all were able to get this sort of treatment as many were still turned into slaves for the kingdoms. Overall 19 kingdoms of men arose. As time went by The discussions about the newly reformed moon began. All the species wanted to rebuild themselves on that new land of freedom, but none were able to due to discourse among themselves. Slowly many of these species and kingdoms saw the treachery of the world and decided to stand together as a single nation of all. They would call themselves utopia and Their royalties were the culmination of the best of all worlds.These royalty signified themselves by adding the letter D to their names. The giant's strongest: oars, The wisest of the Three eyed,etc. One of whom had the plans for making this utopia a world wide reality. His name was not of concern but the world came to know of him as JoyBoy,Warrior of liberation.

Golden era (0040-0050)

JoyBoy's first plan was to make their home civilised, and so they used all the wisdom of every species to advance themselves, they created weapons of mass destruction incase of enemies, each of these required atleast 3 species to be used. As they were broken into 3 pieces; The key, The medium, The power. As they progressed, they shared their knowledge with other kingdoms in exchange that they would stop their wars and join them, seeing such beings of strength being kind for a change. Many of these kingdoms accepted and helped utopia become timeless.These kingdoms also accepted the moniker of D. such a clan were the kozuki who helped them create an everlasting piece of stone with a language inscribed which can't be broken. during the end of this time of peace and tranquility. Joyboy made a promise to Mermaid princess that they will live above the sea and that er people should prepare for their travels.The fishmen started the construction of The Noah

Rift (0050-0060)

as time went on utopia became the hub for all kingdoms, it became home to the world's finest. There were those who rejected the offer as they had their own prejudice, slowly but surely 18 of these kingdoms came together to fight the utopia and their allies. The question then became how to beat this invincible nation.The kingdoms planted spies everywhere in utopia, so as to learn about their weaknesses. they found about a being from 1 of these species, who had power beyond imagination. A being know as imu

Fall of Lunarians (0060-0070)

The kingdoms learnt that imu was a being hated by all, as imu started a war which lead to the homeworlds about to be destroyed. They also learned that imu can't be killed and hence The lunarians have a prison to hold imu. They also understood that lunarians are not invincible, rather that their flames helped them. The kingdom learnt about a secret passage at sea level with which they could attack the lunarians.The kingdoms of men killed the lunarians, The only ones who survived were the ones not on the Tree. The Kingdom also learnt that this tree grants them immortality. The kingdoms feed imu with a simple Deal: help us defeat utopia and the world is yours to rule with us. Imu accepted.
​

The War (0070-0090)

The war started when The kingdom took one of the islands which served as it's outpost. Utopia thought of it as nothing more than a tantrum and just got everyone out of there, as the island didn't hold anything precious and it was very far from the home to keep it secured.Meanwhile Imu came up with a power so dangerous that it would change the very nature of the world: Devil furits. Imu created devil fruits by trapping devils inside of it, The Devils of his home. The war had tremendous effect on people, so much so that they imagined powers which could help them. Imu started out with myths of the world and made them into devil fruit powers, examples are phoenix, Dragons,etc.These came to known as zoan type devil fruits. He also used the imagination of the world to create powers which later came to known as Logia and paramecia type. Soon this process became autonomous and didn't need imu. As the war went on, utopia sent on of his kingdoms as a spy: the nefatari kingdom. They became part of the previously 19 kingdoms. They sent details about where the weapon pluton is as a gesture of assurance. As the war went on and utopia became a shell of it's fomer self. many kingdoms allied with them started to sail away and change their location as a means to hide themselves from this oncoming storm. JoyBoy wrote a letter to mermaid princess asking for forgiveness. The utopians stood the war for 25 years because of an ability they learnt known as Haki. Haki was able to counteract all of these Devil fruits, They also learned that these fruits had a major flaw in them, They won't work in water. This helped them stabilize in the war for a decade, but it's toll broke them and in the end, The mink's leader Zunesha betrayed Joyboy By giving his location away. He was cursed to walk upon the Earth as punishment.

The Future (0090-0095)

JoyBoy knew that this was the end for him,but he knew that dreams will live on into the hearts of the D. He asked the three eyed if they can recover. The Three eyed said yes, that 800 years into the future you and many of your kingdom will be reincarnated and will be given another chance. This set JoyBoy's final plan in motion.
The plan was for the pieces to be set, He sent all of his poneglyphs to different places, many with the location of the Weapons. He knew even if The World Government found it, they won't be able to use it,He also made 4 poneglyphs, given to 3 of his most trusted allies, with the coordinates to where he will hide Utopia. He gave one to zunesha, as means of forgiveness and to tell him "wait for my return". He got one of these devil fruits and gave it to Kurozumi D. Toki. Toki used it powers to send certain items JoyBoy held dearest to in the Future where his reincarnation would find it. Before Leaving the island for his last stance he left a message on the island, explaining everything.
Joyboy went against the World Government on his own, he defeated hundreds of their finest warriors, freed thousands from the WG slavery. at the end when Imu arrived, She killed JoyBoy and laughed at his legacy of failure, JoyBoy just laughed back and died with a smile on his face.

Aftermath(0095-100)

With The Threat of the ancient kingdom gone, now it was time to make sure that WG holds onto power. To do this they made the Kings the celestial dragons and let them free power. They divided the World into multiple regions and destroyed the advancements made by Utopia.Imu went into darkness holding onto the power of the world. They also used Their powers to clear the minds of all and fed them The lies about the greatness of The World government. The WG couldn't destroy kingdoms like Giants, Kozuki,etc. So they just let them exist. The celsestials weren't horrible people at first, but their arrogance Lead them to become the Worst of the world. Overtime The World government became a dominant force, one which wasn't shook until the recent 40 years with the research of ohara and Gol D roger telling the world to find Laughtale.The WG also used a certain fruit to make it's top generals immortal

TLDR; non-human races came from the 8 moons of the earth and some people from it formed the ancient kingdom,WG used imu to create devilfruits, Joyboy was the king of ancient kingdom and died fighting the WG, nefatari are spies waiting for the return of joyboy.

Spoilers which help my theory:

• Nefatari are from D clan
• Zunesha is said to be serving punishment

Hello, fellow D&D enthusiasts! I'm a DM with nearly 9 years of experience and I'm looking for 4-5 players to join me on an exciting campaign that will take you to a land of snow and tree, a realm of history, hidden treasures, and struggles for power. The campaign is set in a northern region of my homebrew world, and focuses on the royal court of a dwarven king, King Hrothgar Reiðihöggr. The campaign will be a mix of diplomacy, deception, combat, and exploration, with a focus on mystery and discovery.

What I'm looking for in my players:

• Respectful: No racism, sexism, homophobia, or any other form of discrimination will be tolerated. This is an LGBT-friendly campaign.
• Mature: At least 18 years old: This campaign may contain some mature themes or content that are not suitable for minors.
• Reliable and committed: Available every week on Mondays from 6 pm to 10 pm PDT.
• Creative and cooperative: Interested in creating a backstory and personality for their character that fits with the world and connects to the other party members.
• Platform: Willing to use Discord for voice chat and Roll20 for maps, character sheets, and dice rolls.
• Quality: Have a good microphone and internet connection.

What you can expect from me as a DM:

• A detailed and immersive world with rich lore and history
• A flexible and responsive style that adapts to your choices and actions
• A balance of challenge and reward that keeps you interested
• A variety of NPCs, monsters, locations, and encounters that will perplex and delight you
• A supportive and friendly attitude that encourages creativity and collaboration
• A sense of humor and a passion for D&D

How to apply:

If you're interested in joining this campaign, please leave a comment below with the following information:

• Your name
• Your age and pronouns
• Your Discord username
• A brief character pitch (this does not have to be the one you actually use for the game)
• Your experience with D&D and Roll20
• Why you want to join this campaign

I will contact you via Discord if you're selected. Thank you for reading and I hope to hear from you soon!

Chapter LXXXV
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Somewhere, West Virginia, USA.
​
Sheriff Steinberg marched into the council chambers at City Hall. The Mayor and councilmen were arguing and bickering. A common thing as of late. Everyday the town treasury was being depleted as they tried to stop the hemorrhaging as economic collapse of the town loomed ever closer.
​
Ideas were thrown around as possible solutions. Begging the Federal Government, looking for investors to set-up shop in town, tourism ads. But they were all taken out back and shot the second they were said. The Fed was dealing with its own issues and wasn't going to bailout some Podunk little town in the middle of Appalachia. Trying to convince investors was hard when anyone interested didn't even know where Somewhere was and most believed it was a scam. The town also didn't have anything that could convince a large stream of tourists to flock to the town.
​
That was what the Sheriff walked in on. The City Council yelling and screaming as the Mayor sat pulling at his graying tufts of hair.
"Mayor Roberts. We need help."
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The Mayor didn't even look up and just groaned as he clamped his eyes shut in frustration.
"Tell us something we don't already know."
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"Our town is bein' overrun by whatever the hell those things are! The economy is on life-support! At this point this town will be dead and gone by Thanksgiving!" The Sheriff snapped.
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"And we are fixing it Sheriff!" The Mayor snapped back.
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"Are we?!" The Sheriff yelled. The room went quiet. The Sheriff leaned onto the fine wood council table.
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"We are overwhelmed. We need to call the Governor and have him send the National-"
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"DONT YOU DARE FINISH THAT SENTENCE!" The Mayor roared.
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"WE! NEED! AID!"
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"If the National Guard shows up we can kiss our careers in politics goodbye Miles!"
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"And that's if the townsfolk don't get their hands on us first." A councilman murmured.
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"Or the hillfolk." Another added. An aura of fear filled the chambers as they recalled what happened to the last Mayor.
​
It was never confirmed it was the hillfolk that brutalized the former Mayor. But superstition runs deep in Appalachia and the current Mayor, and the sitting council, didn't want a possible repeat of history.
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"I know that what happened last time was a tragedy."
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"Tragedy? TRAGEDY?! IT WAS A GODDAMN MASSACRE!!!" The Mayor roared. His jowls shaking with rage as his face turned a beet red.
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"If we call in the National Guard it's a good bet that we'll be either run out of town or dead before they even arrive. And that's IF the Governor sends them. No. We need to just hunker down and weather this storm for the time being." The Mayor continued.
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"Weather it how?! It's just me and my two deputies against a horde of creatures that have infested the town! Morty and his private army is doing a better job of keepin' people safe then we are!"
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"Then do something about it!"
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"HOW?! It's three against who-knows-how-many!"
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"What about the volunteers?"
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"Six people? Half of them with guns older than the state? You're jokin' right?"
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"Well then conscript some more!"
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"HOW?! And with what?! Jerry the postman has more guns than our department does!"
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"Figure it out Sheriff!"
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Sheriff Steinberg threw his hands into the air in frustration.
"People care about 2 things Mr. Mayor. Prosperity, and safety. And right now we can't provide either of them. If we don't do somethin' soon then either Morty will walk right into City Hall with the blessin' of the people. Or we won't have a town to fight over!"
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"How many times do I need to tell you to do your job Miles?! You focus on keeping the people safe and let us worry about actually governing!"
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"Keep them safe how Gerald?! I! DONT! HAVE! THE! MEN!"
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"SO! FIND! SOME!"
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With that, the frustrated voice of the Sheriff joined the rest as shouts rang out in the Council Chamber. The Mayor and about half of the council wanting to "wait it out", while the Sheriff and the other half wanted to call for support from the Governor.
"You're just suggesting it because you want the Mayorship for yourself Miles!"
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"Are you fuckin' jokin' Gerald?! You think I give a shit about that?! Especially now when we are on the verge of bein' a fuckin' ghost town?!"
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"Wouldn't put it past you! You hated to lose even when we were in school!"
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"That was 5th grade you fuckin' putz!"
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"I won that debate fair and square! Then you worked your Jew magic on the judges!"
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"Really you goy motherfucker?! Tell me? How long have you held that in your fuckin' fat folds for?!"
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"How dare you?!"
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"Fuck you Gerald! Lign in drerd un bakn beygl!"
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The Mayor tried, and failed, to jump across the table at the Sheriff. Though it amounted more with him flailing about and tumbling over the table, knocking papers and other stationary around.
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The Mayor rolled over the side of the table, the Sheriff easily avoiding the Mayor's outstretched arms as he tried to grab hold of him. Miles looked down at the Mayor with contempt.
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"While you and these fat fucks have been in here runnin' around like headless chickens, me and my boys have been tryin' to keep this Goddamn town from fuckin' fallin' apart! So either you call the Governor or I will, you fuckin' shmuck!"
​
The Sheriff left the Council Chambers as the Mayor tried to stand up. He instead yelled as Miles left.
"Mark my words Miles! If you do, it will be the end of your career! Of all of ours!"
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Miles wasn't listening though, he got into his old patrol car and sped back towards the station. His lights were flashing so he wouldn't have to deal with traffic. Not like there was much lately. People mostly walked during the day when attacks from the greyskinned creatures were rarer.
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"Probably saving it incase they decide to leave town." Miles grumbled as he sped through the mostly empty streets. He only stopped at a stop sign to wait for some people to cross. As he waited he turned and looked up at a few figures hanging from a streetlight.
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The recent casualties of Morty's private army doing what should be his job. The short statured creatures could be mistaken for children, or diseased men. But looking closer revealed that they weren't human. Glassy yellow eyes stared out into nothing as Miles drove off towards the station.
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"What the hell is goin' on around here lately?" He asked himself. It seems like something weird happened and now all these strange creatures are calling Somewhere home. Those little people some time ago were weird but nothing too out there. Then came the creatures. Firefights in the hills. Talks of bigfeet!
​
Something was going on and he didn't like it. The Sheriff pulled up to the station and stormed in with a darkened brow and a string of curses. He was so distracted that he didn't even notice one of his deputies, nor the greeting he received.
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The deputy watched the Sheriff slam his office door with a huff. He sat at his desk and listened to the multitude of curses as his co-worker walked in a few minutes later with a worried look on his face.
"Hey Mark. Where's the boss?"
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"In his office."
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"Doin' what?"
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"I'm not sure. He came in cursin' in Yiddish then he went into his office."
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"Well did he say anythin'?"
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"How should I know? I don't speak Yiddish! All I could get was Gerald, and shmuck. And that was all I needed to hear."
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The deputy shuffled a little nervously.
"Think it'll be alright if I go in?"
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"Doubt you could make his day any worse... right?"
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The look on his face said otherwise.
"What happened?!"
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"Just somethin' that the Sheriff should know." The deputy said and inched closer to the door and hesitated. He looked to his co-worker for support before knocking.
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The Yiddish curses stopped. Then the door opened to a worn looking Sheriff.
"What is it Davey?"
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Deputy Davey shuffled a little and looked a bit unsure if he should speak or not. Sheriff Steinburg rolled his eyes and motioned for him to speak.
"Well, it's just that somethin' happened while you were off speakin' with the Mayor."
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Miles' eye twitched slightly at the mention of the Mayor.
"What happened while I was gone?"
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"Well, I'm not entirely sure myself."
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The Sheriff waited for a moment before Davey continued.
"So. Got a call from one of the ranchers that they saw some bright light to the west."
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Miles waited as Davey paused once more.
"And?"
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"And so I drive out to take a look. At first I figure it might be aliens or somthin' right?"
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"Sure Davey. What was it?"
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"Well, so I get there and I'm talkin' with the rancher. Doin' my job and investigatin' right?"
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"Right."
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"Right! So, I'm talkin' to him and he's tellin' me that he saw a bright flash of light to the west of his ranch."
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"You said that already Davey."
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"Well I'm just makin' sure I'm tellin' it straight!"
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"Just get to the point numbnuts!" Marc yells from his desk.
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"I'm gettin' there dipshit!"
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"Shut up Marc! Davey? Get with the story already!"
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"Right. So. He's tellin' me about the light and where it was. So I do my job and head out there to investigate. As is my job. So I'm drivin' out there, wonderin' if I should come back and get you or to maybe dress a lil nicer. Especially if I'm goin' to be meetin' aliens!" Davey paused, a little excited.
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"And?!" Miles snapped the deputy out of his excitement.
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"Oh, right. So I get out there and I run into some folks."
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The Sheriff and Marc both pause and wait for Davey to continue.
"Well?!"
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"Well, it was just some folks. A LOT of folks!"
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"Who were they? Or what did they want?" The Sheriff asked.
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"I'm not too sure who they are. But they said they were lookin' for Sanctuary, wherever that is."
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"So where are they now?"
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Davey shuffled a bit.
"Well..."
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It’s the weekend and the weather sucks so I have some time 💅🧋
Thought I’d get around to reading her mom’s book to see if there were any clues about Hillary’s childhood/where did things go wrong and I was especially looking for any references to them spending significant time in Spain.
The original price was like $20 and like $10 for digital copy for a 98 page “book” 🙄….I’m no sucka, I got it for free by trying that kindle unlimited for 30 days.
Y’all it’s a friggin PICTURE BOOK 💀 with badly drawn stick figure pictures at that…. They were rilly charging people 20bucks for 90ish pages of stick figures? I’m shook 💀😂
I was done “reading” the whole damn “book” in less than like 15mins WITH breaks for disbelief, laughing and taking screenshots.
About the book: It basically says nobody leaves childhood without scars and it talks about parenting your inner child. Nobody can “parent” the “little you” but yourself yadayada
She gets into how some people develop certain personalities to get attention from their family and to make them feel more loved and connected to them…. Interestingly, all of those personalities seem to describe Hillary’s 🤔 especially the performer, caretakesuper hero….and even the intellectual (learning Spanish to please her dad?)
The only time Spain is brought up is about two specific trees she had recently seen there 😒
The book is painfully basic, especially considering her education and career background. I was definitely expecting…a lot more lol. She overlooks kids that grew up experiencing actual trauma/abuse/neglect.
She basically says to forgive your caretakers because they were only doing what they knew to do at that time and now you can just go on and choose your chosen family.
After “reading” this picture book, I get the vibe that Hillary’s mom basically washed her hands of having any responsibility of how her kids ended up 🤔 🤷🏻‍♀️
Bonus: the stick figure pictures were drawn by the same artist (Her parents have worked with her for years) that posted a painting she made around the same time Hillary was posting about dreaming about buying a cat….the painting is NSFL, but PLEASE notice the eyebrows, claws and the colors of the Mallorcan flag 🤭

Trying to remember a name of an online game.
I was a kid when I played it and I loved it. A MMORPG or ARPG game with turned based fighting. Nd pop-up fights like how Pokémon and old final fantasy games are. A 2D art style kind of like Path of Exile. You can party up together nd lead controls movement of party and each control their character during the turned based. Custom class, skill tree, the whole works. I think it might have started with an E or T or maybe N 😅. Please help I want to play it again if it’s still running.

I hunt monsters for an international anomaly research center
Part 1
I’m just going to go out and say it. Monsters are real and I’m going to tell my stories about them:
First, Vampires. Vampires like humans come in many shapes and sizes, and unlike what some have stated they are relatively different from the stereotypical Dracula vampire. One of their primary differences is they could be more pretty. They’re not Twilight or Dracula-looking vampires but rather more closely resemble Nosferatu. A fully infected vampire is bald with no eyelashes, eyebrows, or hair atop the head, along with no other bodily hair. They also have much more prominent canines and begin to lose their other teeth making their speech very hard if not impossible to understand. Their eyes start to change and turn yellow resembling closer to that of a nocturnal animal rather than human eyes, and their faces often become more animalistic looking. Some individuals have even sprouted pointed ears.
Now there is a caveat to vampires and their symptoms. A vampire does not have to have all symptoms to be considered a vampire. The only universal changes are the teeth and eye changes. The rest depends entirely on the individual. Vampires can also vary due to the cure. Now people being turned into vampires cannot be cured, but a full vampire can be cured mentally. This is due to the fact that our brains deteriorate so quickly when we are turned that we’d be brain-dead if we were turned human again.
Now I should probably address their abilities as it seems pop culture has added many that aren’t true. First off vampires are not immortal. They actually live typically shorter lives due to the toll the disease can have on the body. Second, they are naturally more robust and faster than humans. However, this is due to a lack of restraint and they will often hurt themselves in these shows of apparent supernatural strength. Third, they do have sensitive skin that burns easily however they won’t burn to death in sunlight. Fourth, they cannot turn invisible in any manner although they are very stealthy. Fifth, they cannot disobey gravity in any manner. Sixth, the drinking of blood does indeed strengthen them to a great degree for a short time. Seventh, they don’t transform not in any form or manner. I’ve encountered many vampires in my time. Most vampires tend to slowly become feral the longer they are infected. To the point, they become forest creatures that are often mistaken as wendigos. Eighth and lastly they are invulnerable to a degree. They function similarly to Achilles; they are invincible except for one spot. This spot for vampires is always the chest right where the sternum is. If you can land a clean shot there you can kill a vampire.
My most recent encounter with a vampire was that of a vampire in Idaho. We’d been getting reports of many disappearances in Idaho that sounded suspiciously like vampire activity, so I was sent in to investigate this matter.
I loaded the railgun and checked all my gear. I had everything I needed. I looked over at the pilot and gave him a thumbs up then I strapped the backpack and duffel bag on. The doors to the plane on one side opened and I stood next to the opening at the plane. I gave one last nod to the pilot and then jumped. The wind tossed me around and I rocketed down to the forest below. If you had asked me just a year ago I would’ve been terrified but now nothing scared me. I’d seen so much worse things than heights. I kept my eyes on the forest below as I fell faster and faster getting closer and closer to the ground then. Pop! Www Wish! The parachute caught my fall yanking at my body. Then slowly I lowered the 100 feet separating me from the ground. Most would call me crazy for the stunts like that I pull, and maybe I am crazy to take a monster to hunt monsters after all. Maybe I just pull those stunts because some sick part of me wants to be afraid of the things I fight. I don’t really know I’m not really into character study anyways.
I unbuckled from the chute which was now tangled 20 feet up in a tree, and fell to the ground. I would’ve landed on my feet but a line got tangled flipping me and causing me to fall straight on my helmet with a loud Crack! After recovering I unclipped the bag and backpack and got everything set.
I strapped all the extra gear to my belt and vest then plugged the tube attached to my gun into the gas canister on my back. Then I checked the small gps I had on me. The cave was half a mile away through the fields. I switched on my night vision and I started jogging for the point. It really wasn’t far at all maybe a five-minute jog and I was there. It was a large rocky hole in the middle of a field. There was a tiny rough dirt road leading up to it with a small dirt lot around it. Parked in the lot was a very old tan Ford truck. Sticking out of the hole was an old rusty ladder with a cage around it. I walked over and looked down into the cave. There was probably a 30-foot drop into the large chamber. So I squeezed into the caged ladder and started making my way down. The space was cramped and the ladder was shaky, but I reached the bottom with little incident. The walls of the cave were covered in graffiti of all colors and small circles of rocks looking like makeshift fire pits littered the cave floor. Along with the rocks were beer bottles. They were of all brands, colors, and sizes and they were scattered around it as well.
I scanned the room and saw two tunnels leading in either direction. After a momentary pause to think I went for the larger and more traveled one. The tunnel quickly opened onto another large and very tall chamber although this one did not go to the surface. This chamber was also almost pitch black even for the night vision. I reached up to my helmet and switched the light on. Instantly the second chamber was flooded with light. This chamber had a large high ledge overlooking it and like the other was covered in graffiti. I walked through the chamber and into the tunnel once again. This section of the tunnel was large and long.
I walked along its sandy floors as the tunnel opened into a third chamber to the right of the chamber was a high ledge that looked like people had crawled up on it. I climbed it to see if anything was up there but just more graffiti. I looked around the rest of the chamber and saw another similar but much large ledge. It looked empty as well so I just kept going. The tunnel leading out was low but wide so I had to crouch down in order to go through. The tunnel took a tight turn to the right as the ceiling slowly and gradually got higher. The floor of this section was covered in lots of large sharp rocks and not flat and sandy like the rest. Slowly I made my way through this section until the tunnel was tall and normal again. I walked down it for a while only for it to get low and tight again. I squeed through an especially tall section into the smallest chamber so far. This chamber had a slight turn in it and once I made the turn I saw the first sign of the missing people.
Fresh cans sitting on rocks, a backpack leaning against the wall, an expensive camera is next to the backpack, and a few jackets and water bottles are set on the rocks. I started scanning the room to see where’d they gone. I saw two holes leading to the same place. They were about 2 ½ feet tall and 3 feet wide. That’s when I caught on to the sound just beyond the holes. It was faint but it sounded like a sucking-smacking type noise. I knew that sound I’d heard it a hundred times before. It was the sound of a vampire feasting.
I grabbed a tool from my belt that looked like a bulky glow stick and cracked it open. Blinding amounts of light erupted from it, so much so that my helmet immediately tinted. I threw the glowing stick into one of the holes and instantly screeches of pain and terror came from the room. Good, I thought. It must’ve hurt the thing. After a couple of seconds, it came crawling out of the other hole. The one I hadn’t thrown the stick through.
The creature was absolutely disgusting and horrifying to look at. This vampire looked like a crossbreed between a naked mole rat, a bat, and a person. Its eyes were yellow with slits for pupils. Its face was wrinkly and closely resembled that of a vampire bat. Its mouth bore four large fangs with additional smaller fangs. Its ears were pointed and much larger. The top of its head was bald and smooth just time the rest of the body. I saw its face was covered in blood as it looked up at me. The rest of its body was fairly normal besides some noticeably large claws on its five fingers.
It screeched with anger again when it looked up into my light and started scampering away the way I’d come. I grabbed another light stick and threw it where the vampire was going. It yelled in pain and terror and turned around back into my light. I could tell it was trying to make a decision, so I took the chance and shot at it. I hit it in the throat the large stake for a bullet bounced off and clambered on the ground. The vampire smiled and then rushed toward me. I almost took another shot but it was too fast.
It slammed into my legs toppling me to the ground. I heard the sound of ripping fabric and then quickly I threw myself atop the vampire trying to wrestle it to the ground. I tried but it was stronger than me and eventually threw me off. It backed away studying me then in a blink it dove for my throat its teeth sinking through my armor and barely piercing my flesh. I pulled my knife, shoved it off, and then made a stab at its chest. It pierced the skin but the thing scampered away so fast it didn’t kill it.
The light stick was starting to go dim and before I threw another the vampire started darting down the tunnel. I chased after it but it was faster than me. I knew that. My only hope was that this thing didn’t know how to climb up a ladder. I crawled through the tight sections and sprinted through the tunnel. Suddenly I entered one of the chambers. This was the one with the ledge on either side. I scanned my light on and around both ledges but it wasn’t there.
Just as I was about to walk into the second chamber I remembered something. It had a large ledge just above where I was about to walk in. I picked up a large rock and threw it into the chamber. I heard the vampire shuffle and almost jump off the ledge, but it seemed it realized before it was to jump. It hissed in frustration but stayed up there. I stood there trying to figure out what to do. Finally, I just walked into the cave backward so I’d be facing it when it jumped for me. Just as I thought it did, and I shot. The stake bullet pierced the vampire directly in the center of the chest, and it was slammed into the rocky face.
The stake bullet had pierced it in such a way the vampire was now pinned to the stone wall by it. Despite this tremendous injury, it yelled in pain and finally spokes its first words
“Mors tua tarda erit.” It sputtered out in a barely understandable voice.
It was Latin and it roughly translated to “your death will be slow.” Right after it said that it pushed itself off the stake breaking even more of its chest. Vampires didn’t die quickly or slowly this one would die soon I knew that but he’d put up a fight until he did.
He lunged at me slashing through my armor and tearing my arm open. He dove for my throat sinking his teeth in again. For a quick moment, I felt its fangs begin to suck the blood from my body before I grabbed my knife and started stabbing it in the stomach. Since I’d hit the mark it was now just as vulnerable as any human. It pulled away and I raised the gun and made two quick shots at its face.
The vampire collapsed backward dead. I hauled myself out of the cave and told my team over my phone the job was done. In just 5 minutes they had the whole investigation team out there. Turns out that thing had managed to drag 22 people past the small hole it had been in. All the corpses were identified and a quick cover story was made.
I had to take the antidote, but I was fine. This isn’t even the worst time I had with a vampire. This one was a walk in the park compared to some of the others I’ve had to deal with. But anyways I’m running out of time so I suppose I’ll tell you all more about that next time, and please tell me what kinda cryptids you’re wondering about because I guarantee I’ve probably fought it. Anyway over and out.