As a new comer to the city where do y’all meet beautiful women? Baddies. Lol

SERVER IP: PLAY.SPONGECRAFT.NET
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What is SpongeCraft?
* Towny & Resource World - One with Towny claims and another where you can destroy to your hearts desire with custom generated terrain and villages
* Toggleable keep inventory with a small death tax if on
* Slimefun plugin with many addons that adds machines and automation, magical items, spaceexploration, cooking, more provided by custom additions.
* Custom enchantments and relics to upgrade your items
* Shop at player shops, auction houses, or the server shop to acquire any goods you need
* Fun things to do when you're bored such as events, parkour, and other minigames
* EliteMobs dungeons, bosses, and custom items
* Unique ranking system with personalized perks
* Many fun cosmetics that can be acquired without purchasing
* Jobs with awesome, custom level-up perks
* Survival and vote crates (Every crate can be acquired without paying!)
* A friendly, inclusive community and staff team that will help you with any of your needs
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ABOUT US:
With a community rooted from over 6 years back, SpongeCraft is a close knit and active group of people that offers an experience like no other! We welcomes people of all ages, backgrounds, and interests, so you're sure to meet many new friends. SpongeCraft is a friendly, mature SMP type server with many unique perks and plugins you'll love and enjoy with a large focus on the community!
Our server has a big focus on the building, community, and on working on projects together. Players can quickly teleport between builds, towns, shops, and worlds. This means, that we have an active discord with people always willing to chat and keep inventory that can be toggled on or off with a death tax if kept on. We always try to keep the community updated on any changes, and ask for the community's opinions on potential changes.
We host events fairly often, with everyone participating winning in-game prizes, and the winners even winning gift cards sometimes. Some of our players have hosted events themselves in-game such as a Secret Santa and an Easter egg hunt.
Rules
* No griefing, trolling or ruining gameplay for others.
* No hacking or abusing unfair advantages.
* We try to be a server that's for everyone, so please keep it PG-13!
Important Links
IP: PLAY.SPONGECRAFT.NET
DISCORD: https://discord.gg/wSKTsdwhsK
DYNMAP: map.spongecraft.net

After ruling Kashmir homes for decades, the Khanyar Rogni tiles are so low in demand that now only two artisans are associated with the art. With bright finished tiles filling the billion rupee sector, Syed Shadab Ali Gillani meets stakeholders to offer ideas for reviving the heritage craft.
Nestled in the cultural milieu of Khanyar, the heart of Shehr-e-Kashmir, Srinagar lives the region’s last surviving traditional clay tile maker. Aged, he still uses the traditional practices for colouring these tiles, once a fashion statement.
These tiles, popularly known as Roghni or Khanyari tiles, were famous for their fine craftsmanship and distinctive designs for more than a century. Now Haji Ghulam Mohammad Kumhar, 75, is the lone artisan to carry forward this heritage.
Kumhar inherited the craft from his father and grandfather. “I started learning the craft of Roghni tile making at the age of 15 and have been in this profession for around 60 years,” he said.
With his expertise in clay tile-making and the unique art of colouring them, Kumhar has been able to keep the legacy alive. He remembers the days when these tiles were part of every household. Although “various challenges of modern times” have pushed the tiles out of fashion, Kumhar boasts that “one can still find these tiles in some buildings and shrines.”

Out of Fashion

“Tile making was practised throughout Kashmir and Khanyar was full of tile makers like me but now these tiles are on the verge of extinction,” Kumhar regretted as these tiles, considered an ‘essential part of exquisite Kashmiri architecture depicting Kashmir’s rich craftsmanship, are no more in vogue.
There are two major challenges. Firstly, these tiles have been unable to compete with tiles being imported from outside. Secondly, there has not been any mechanical intervention in the craft that could have helped the tile compete better. Finally, when the market dried up, the younger generation of craftsmen showed little interest in carrying forward the craft.
Javed Ahmed, Kumhar’s elder son, said these tiles are not valued in the market. “I belong to a family which has a lineage of tile makers but nowadays one can’t earn a livelihood from this business,” he said. “Looking at the present market conditions and declining demand,” he finds it challenging to survive.

Fall In Demand

Nowadays orders for these tiles have consistently been going down. “Earlier there were many makers and every day we all had orders of around 50000 tiles, but with the decline in demand, I am the only one involved with this art in Khanyar,” Kumhar said. “Considering my health conditions, I can barely produce about 100 tiles.”
Saleem Beigh, the head of INTACH Kashmir admitted the ‘demand is the problem’. “These tiles were typically utilised in sitting areas in houses, but their use was adversely affected by the introduction of new types of flooring and tiles in the market,” he said. “We need to work on the demand side. The use of these tiles in public areas, such as government buildings, public spaces and shrines, will attract more people to these crafts and create a good demand.”

Skill Transfer

Kumhar Sr, however, is undeterred. Market demand apart, he takes great pride in his work and is committed to preserving this age-old tradition. He hopes that someone will continue the legacy, but understands that it may be an uphill task.
His focus, right now, is to inherit the skill. “I want to teach this craft to more and more people so that this art form which has a deep cultural significance lasts long,” he said. “But I don’t have enough space in my workshop. Many people visit here to learn this art form but due to lack of space I am not able to teach them, which is very unfortunate and disheartening.”
Off late, Kumhar has taught a new generation potter Mohammad Umer this craft. Seemingly, this is Kumhar’s major achievement. “My family has been in the pottery business and although many potters are capable of creating these handmade clay tiles, only Haji Sahab is the master of the craft of Roghan clays,” Umar said. “I spent over three years learning this art form from him, and my training is still going on.”
Umer admires Haji’s patience with which he makes these tiles as these are delicate. “A single error might completely wreck the whole process,” he said. Given the fact that these tiles are made manually, more people are required to pick the skill. “After learning this craft from Haji Sahab, I also taught this craft to my brother and now we have set up a small workspace at our residence in Nishat, where presently we are teaching this craft to few others.”

Laborious Exercise

Khanyari tile making is laborious and labour intensive because the entire process is manual. “It begins with the selection of high-quality clay, which is then moulded into intricate designs using traditional tools, then to colour these tiles different materials including copper dust, iron dust, lead are used,” Kumhar said. “It is followed by drying of these tiles at high temperatures in a traditional kiln, which provides them with their unique strength, texture and durability.”
In a world where mass-produced products have become the norm, the Khanyari tile makers stand out as a reminiscence of the beauty and value of Kashmir’s heritage craftsmanship. Kumhar’s dedication to keeping the craft alive led him to knock at many doors in the last few years. Some officers made promises to him at an exhibition last year.
“They told me that I will be provided with a piece of land so that I can set up my workshop and teach people, but till now I do not have any information about that,” Kumhar regretted. Umer said they were told that the file was being processed but later we did not hear anything.
Recently, Umar said he got an order of around 4000 tiles. “It will take me around a month or more because all the work is done manually,” Umar said, insisting these orders are less frequent

A Way Out

Beigh, who earlier headed the handicrafts and the industries department and is aware of the socio-cultural worth of Kashmir, said mere demand, will not help. “I believe people are ready to pay a good price for good quality things,” Beigh said, suggesting the tile’s up-gradation as a piece of art. “Art is valued a lot but it will only happen if we consider the artistic way. The artistic approach can be used by starting studios. We need to do things out of the box, by using these skills to create different things. We have to take risks to create demand among people. The usage should be in modern medium, artists need to step in and when an artist becomes part of architecture and they will create space for these tiles.”
In November 2022, a Kashmir-based architect and professional city planner, Zoya Khan did an exhibition, The Last Craftsman, which was supported by the Department of handicrafts and Handloom. It was aimed at creating awareness and educating people about this dying art form.
“Three years ago, I actually wanted these tiles for a project and that is when I discovered that these tiles are almost on the verge of extinction,” Zoya said. “These tiles were once very popular, people associated with this craft used to get about 3000 tiles made at its peak in the Mohalla and now years passed and these people don’t have any orders.”

Revival Possible

This art is part of the heritage and is deep-rooted in Kashmir’s architectural history. “This profession plays a significant role in our tangible cultural legacy. Therefore, it should be preserved, and I find it fascinating that Haji Sahab, who works in a single small Karkhana in the city, does not, unfortunately, receive the love and care he so richly deserves. I want more and more people to become involved in this and become informed about how this craft is in jeopardy of disappearing entirely if we don’t take action soon,” Zoya stated
Beigh regretted that Kashmir society has failed in popularising its own art. “Even if times have changed, there are still places where many artistic things can be used, and these tiles are one of those,” he suggested. “While the process will take some time, once a trend emerges, more people will become involved. The government could also put up a small industrial area for a number of small businesses that would house these craftspeople.” Beigh admitted that the government must serve as both a consumer and a facilitator to revive this art and make it mainstream.

https://kashmirlife.net/reviving-khanyari-tiles-vol-15-issue-07-317090/

I thought 2022 was a time for healing for me because earlier that year, I broke up with my ex who was also my best friend. I did everything to distract myself from the pain (clubbing, traveling, meeting new people). At that time, I wasn’t really my best self and I was struggling to study for the board exam.
Distracting myself with bad habits wasn’t enough, I needed someone to fill up the void because I can’t get it off my mind that I wouldn’t find someone better for my ex really gave me his best. Every time I went out on dates or at night, all I saw was guys who couldn’t match up.
After all the hookups and partying, I didn’t expect to meet someone I like anymore—until I met him. He really made an effort to be a constant by trying to make the conversation interesting and fun everyday. He was obviously smart, well-spoken and really funny. What was amazing was he didn’t care about looks even though he looked good. I always asked him if he talked to other girls like he talked to me and he would assure me that he only has energy to focus on one girl cause studying post grad is exhausting enough. I was depressed and broke down almost every week and he would always be there to motivate and cheer me up. Honestly, I wouldn’t be able to pass the board exam if I haven’t met him.
There was a time that I felt so f*cked up that I slept with someone else not caring about how he’d feel about it (we’re not together though). I told him what happened and what he did was he never got mad, instead, he tried to understand why I did it and told me that he should’ve gave me more attention. I mean where else do I find someone like that right? His ex cheated on him before so I expected him to runaway but he didn’t. He sounded so hurt and so genuine about his feelings for me and even made an effort to be better while I just kept on wondering why because I wasn’t that pretty, smart nor interesting.
I guess this is what I get for not facing the pain nor loving myself first. So I guess it wasn’t a time for healing for me, I even burdened someone else. I realized that I didn’t deserve someone like him. It’s clichè to hear, I know. I closed my doors and rejected all his invites cause insecurity got the better of me so I wasn’t even able to try what it would be like to be with him.
Fast fwd to 2023, I’m slowly picking up the pieces and becoming the person I want to be, but I really miss him. Its been 5 months since we last talked and I’m still playing the playlist he made and the voice msgs he sent. I can still remember him asking me if I would be there for his bar exam like he was there for my boards. Its making me feel guilty knowing I wont be able to support him. I wanna clear things up and have a proper closure bec we never said our proper goodbyes but my friend told me that I shouldn’t bother his healing. Do you guys agree?

Came to the US on F1 in 2013 as a Bachelors student. Filed for AOS from F1 in September 2022.
I-130 packet filed online by US citizen spouse. I-485 packet filed concurrently (by mail) including I-693. Timeline :
PD - Sep 26,2022
Biometrics Scheduled - Oct 7, 2022
Biometrics Taken - Oct 12, 2022
RFIE requesting to resend form I-485 using the latest edition - Mar 22,2023
RFE response received - Mar 23,2023
Case Approved - Jun 1,2023
Total time - 8 months (including RFE) Interview - WAIVED
Field office - Portland, OR From what I could tell, apart from biometrics, my case was fully serviced at NBC.
I-131 and I-765 still pending & obviously at this point not needed. Thankfully I have had an EAD from STEM OPT, otherwise the wait could have been much worse. I was laid off last week and this comes as a great relief to have the option to work without STEM restriction.
I would recommend you all to include your medical form with your initial file as it saved me a couple months for sure. Now onto the next step, informing school DSO of status change, as well get my SSN unrestricted. Can’t believe I have a green card and I can finally go visit my home country and my parents can meet our newborn.
Thankful for this community, Please comment your questions below, would love to help in any way.

I was performing fine but seriously struggling with my mental and physical health as a result of keeping up to these standards and it was making me suicidal. I'd been waiting since November 2022 for accomodations that were rejected in March but I never signed the paperwork because the whole thing was so f-ed up and ableist (ie, no note taker but my manager wrote the meeting notes up 4 days later from memory. First time i asked he asked me to hand write them and then shredded them while telling my friend at work they were pointless) and they just ignored me after I asked for a second meeting to go over what we could do instead. I didn't even ask for anything that others don't have who aren't on accomodations or flexible working and none of them even cost any money or bothered anyone else. :(
I was the black sheep, odd one out. Made fun of for being weird because I didn't have the same hobbies or life goals. Always accused of starting rumours or doing things I didn't do. On Wednesday all the girls left the cashier group chat because they said I started a rumour that a cashier and a supervisor were having sex and it was the last straw. I wasnt even working that day. I was being bullied and targeted because people thought I was weird and I usually just ignored it but I just couldn't do it anymore. I think it was their way of trying to make me leave.
I'm so tired. I feel so invisible and worthless. I'm tired of being cast out for being "weird" or "too emotional" or being criticised for being too loud or too fidgety or too needy because I asked for a chair to help me when I get really restless. I'm medicated and have most things under control but I can't change my personality, I can only mirror where I can and it wasn't enough. I just wanted to be their friend and fit in.
I was here for 8 years and they didn't even reply when I quit. I just wish I could be normal. :(

Blinken Dismisses Calls for a Ceasefire, Says US Must Build Up Ukraine’s Military
The Secretary of State called for Washington to continue to put militarism before diplomacy
by Kyle Anzalone - Posted onJune 2, 2023
The US will focus its efforts on arming Ukraine and not attempting to bring the war to a negotiated settlement, America’s top diplomat said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken laid out a plan to massively expand Kiev’s military before talks begin.
In a speech delivered in Finland on Friday, Blinken stated, "The United States – together with our allies and partners – is firmly committed to supporting Ukraine’s defense today, tomorrow, for as long as it takes." He continued, "We believe the prerequisite for meaningful diplomacy and real peace is a stronger Ukraine, capable of deterring and defending against any future aggression."
Blinken dismissed the idea of even a temporary pause in the fighting. "Some countries will call for a ceasefire. And on the surface, that sounds sensible – attractive, even. After all, who doesn’t want warring parties to lay down their arms? Who doesn’t want the killing to stop?" He said. "But a ceasefire that simply freezes current lines in place and enables Putin to consolidate control over the territory he’s seized…It would legitimize Russia’s land grab. It would reward the aggressor and punish the victim."
The Secretary of State offered an ambitious vision of Kiev’s future military capabilities. "America and our allies are helping meet Ukraine’s needs on the current battlefield while developing a force that can deter and defend against aggression for years to come." He added, "That means helping build a Ukrainian military of the future, with long-term funding, a strong air force centered on modern combat aircraft, an integrated air and missile defense network, advanced tanks and armored vehicles, national capacity to produce ammunition, and the training and support to keep forces and equipment combat-ready."
It is unclear how long it would take to build the deterrence force envisioned by Blinken. American arms stockpiles are dwindling as Washington attempts to transfer Kiev enough military equipment to keep its army fighting. The US additionally has plans to significantly increase arms transfers to Taiwan.
Blinken claimed, "Our support for Ukraine hasn’t weakened our capabilities to meet potential threats from China or anywhere else – it’s strengthened them." In November, the Wall Street Journal reported, "US government and congressional officials fear the conflict in Ukraine is exacerbating a nearly $19 billion backlog of weapons bound for Taiwan, further delaying efforts to arm the island."
Additionally, the White House may not have the support it needs in the Capitol for such a massive military buildup in Ukraine. Blinken asserted that "in America, this support is bipartisan." However, at the beginning of May, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said future support for Ukraine would be contingent on success in Kiev’s long-planned counteroffensive.
Since McCaul’s statement, Ukraine has slowly lost more territory to Russian forces, including Bakhmut. Zelensky committed endless resources to the city in a months-long battle despite the advice from his Western backers. The White House is now preparing for the counteroffensive to fail.
Washington’s strategy, as laid out by Blinken, calls for arming Ukraine and weakening Russia. "Russia is significantly worse off today than it was before its full-scale invasion of Ukraine – militarily, economically, geopolitically," he stated, adding, "President Putin has diminished Russian influence on every continent."
However, Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the commander of US European Command, told Congress in April that Moscow’s ground forces are "bigger today" than before Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine last year.
While the White House has attempted to isolate the Kremlin, Moscow has weathered Western sanctions by developing relationships in the global south. On Friday, Russian officials met with prospective members of the BRICS coalition, including Saudi Arabia, Iran and the UAE. In September, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said in a meeting with Putin, "The relationship between countries that are sanctioned by the US, such as Iran, Russia or other countries, can overcome many problems and issues and make them stronger."
Blinken justified the Biden administration’s commitment to a militaristic approach by claiming the White House attempted to engage the Kremlin in meaningful diplomacy before the invasion of Ukraine. "President Biden told President Putin that we were prepared to discuss our mutual security concerns – a message that I reaffirmed repeatedly – including in person, with Foreign Minister Lavrov." The Secretary of State continued, "We offered written proposals to reduce tensions. Together with our allies and partners, we used every forum to try to prevent war, from the NATO-Russia Council to the OSCE, from the UN to our direct channels."
In April 2022, Biden administration official Derek Chollet admitted that the White House refused to negotiate with the Krem[l]in on Putin’s core concern, Ukraine becoming a member of NATO. "We made clear to the Russians that we were willing to talk to them on issues that we thought were genuine concerns," Chollet said, adding that the administration didn’t think that "the future of Ukraine" was one of those issues and that its potential NATO membership was a "non-issue."

https://news.antiwar.com/2023/06/02/blinken-dismisses-calls-for-a-ceasefire-says-us-must-build-up-ukraines-military/

Whether you go by feats in general, or gameplay specifically, cutscenes, narration, “character X says Y about character Z” or whatever other method you want, power scaling in GoW is dumb. It’s dumb to the point of being stupid and ridiculous. The games are insanely cool and they tell some great stories, I just wish people didn’t focus so much on the stupid power scaling or comparing who’s stronger between X and Y. GoW works and it’s great as long as you don’t break suspension of disbelief. Dumb stuff like Kratos getting beaten by some random draugr or wretch, or the “stop holding back quotes”, I swear you will enjoy the game more if you just stop thinking about this dumb shit because it makes no sense and it never will. No one from Santa Monica Studios janitors to Cory Barlog put any thought into this nor can explain to justify any of it. Stop trying to make it make sense, you are a bunch of fools and you are making it harder for yourselves to get immersed into the game and like it.
I wish there was a flair to filter all of these discussions out so I don’t have to think “Yea this thing about GoW is dumb” every time I glance over them.

hello all reddit users.
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let's start with the fact that I am a teenager, she too (I won't say the exact age)
I live in Kazakhstan, and the girl in another
city I met her in tiktok in 2021, in November I don't remember exactly
so on
we quarreled in the summer of 2022, she returned on November 4, 2022
, after a couple of months we will begin to meet again, 3 months pass and I understand that I'm starting to infuriate her a little
she constantly chews the cold or sometimes answers briefly like "yeah, ok"
after we start swearing often and so on
I end the communication with the words:
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no
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all
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i can't fucking do this anymore
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fuck you
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we are growing
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no fucking friendship
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you fucked up with your fucking character
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the last month you see yourself as a complete incompetence
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go fuck yourself
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oh, my god, and these words that you love, or what you called cute, are all fucking deception
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you will never change.
end
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Yes, I finished communicating yes, I started it all.
But later, when I saw that I was blocked by her, something came over me, I went to reread all 140 thousand messages, having dug up a huge amount of information, I went to doxbin and leaked there,
my girlfriend did not block me everywhere, only in the telegram I found her Instagram and wrote to her that I had her on doxbin.
Later, a message arrives in a telegram:
are you out of your mind? etc
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I asked her a question
would she forgive me if I hadn't sent the information
to doxbin, she replied:
yes, she would,
you're just an idiot and I'm shocked by you
she blocked me everywhere
and she said
"just leave me alone"
I cried a lot and realized that it was all because of me if it wasn't for my stupidity, everything would be fine, everything would be fine and she wouldn't leave
, I just talked to her since 2021 and she understood that I'm a person, this won't happen in my life anymore because no one understands me, I was completely he was hooked up to this person, because he didn't communicate with anyone else except her I try to forget but I can't
and yes, I write from a translator, so if there are grammatical errors, then I don't care
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just write what you think, write what I can do, just hold me with warm words, please...

Im trying to move states and when i asked about the proces of transfering or ending my lease, my management office gave me this. I edited out the company and emails. Id signed a follow up lease for august 2023-2024 back in november of 2022. Ive been here for 10 months. My Rent is $1100 a month for a 660 sq/ft studio. But i just cant afford to live alone with these prices any more and they just keep going up. I talked to my brother about this and he says they are trying to double dip cause they have 2 fees for doing the same thing while also putting the requiremnt of finding a new tenant on me when its their job. He told me to use MCL 554.633 (I) and (k) as a standing point but ive never had to do this before, so im very lost. Even if i did this, it would use my moving funds.
Properties offers a "Tenant Replacement" option if you wish to end your lease early. If you choose to partake in finding a tenant replacement, please read the following instructions carefully.
• You will owe a $250 tenant replacement fee • You will owe an admin fee equal to one month's rent •You must have a rent balance of $0.00
The interested applicant who wishes to take over the remainder of your lease must apply (website) and be approved! $45 application fee required. The applicant wishing to take over your lease will be agreeing to take the unit/room "as is" and will pay their own security deposit, leasing fees, and rent cost.
The applicant must meet the following criteria: • Income requirement of 2.5 x monthly rent •No homestead bills in collections • Be subject to a full credit and backqround check
Once the interested applicant has met the above criteria and has been approved the next steps are as followed: 1. All current roommates (if applicable) must approve of the new roommate(s). 2. Current roommates must submit in writing (email is fine) their approval of the new roommate(s). 3. New applicant must complete lease signing and their own set of payments. 4. You will pay the $250 tenant replacement fee. 5. You will pay the admin fee equal to one month's rent.

"Think of this as a chance at revenge," Sweeney said.
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Revenge.
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What a moronically quaint idea.
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This jumped up little shit had come into my home, interrupted my retirement and here he was talking to me about revenge, as if he knew the first thing about what I’d seen, what I’d been through, why I’d quit.
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Looking into his eyes, I knew he didn’t understand. I knew he couldn’t.
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I've been hunting vampires for most of my life. I've killed more of them than I can count. But Clementine Di Cesare was no ordinary vampire. Hell, none of the Di Cesares were ordinary vampires, but even among them Clementine was… unique. She was the one all the others quietly feared. The one who was even spoken of with reverence by the Di Cesares masters, those twin Immortals who could not be killed by any weapon of this world. Seeking revenge against her was like seeking revenge against death itself.
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“Revenge?” I repeated, with a dismissive scoff.
“You’re really going to tell me that after what she put you through, you don’t want revenge?” Sweeney asked.
“If you knew what she did to me, you’d know why I don’t want revenge,” I replied.
“Really? Sorry Franklin, but I don’t buy that. Look, I get it if you’re reluctant to jump back into the fight. I do. You of all people know just how dangerous the Di Cesare’s are. Especially ‘La Morte’.”
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I looked over at him as he said that name. It rolled off his tongue so irreverently. To him, it was just a name. An alias assigned to some vampire he’s only heard of stories. He didn’t utter it with the respect it deserved, and I almost couldn’t be bothered to correct him. Any words spent on this small minded glory hound were probably wasted.
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“Yes, I do know.”
“Which is why I need you,” Sweeney said. He almost sounded as if he were pleading with me. “Think of this as an opportunity to set things right… to put that vampire bitch in the ground where she belongs, and save God only knows how many lives in the process!”
I sighed.
He just didn’t get it.
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“Mark my words, Mr. Sweeney, if you chase after Clementine Di Cesare, you’ll end far more lives than you save. She didn’t get a name like ‘La Morte’ for nothing. She earned it. Purchased it with the blood of the tens of thousands she’s sent screaming into the maw of Hell. She is not something you chase, Sweeney.”
“She’s a vampire,” Sweeney said dismissively. “She’s another enemy to destroy.”
“That’s what George Bundy said,” I replied. “Then not too long after, he died.”
“I’m not George Bundy,” Sweeney said.
“No. You sure as hell ain’t,” I agreed, before looking the kid in the eye.
​
He thought he was an up and comer, climbing the ranks of the Brethren. He probably thought of himself as some sort of badass vampire hunter too, when in reality he could never have so much as dreamed of holding a candle to the likes of Bundy… or hell, any of the men who’d died in Brazil.
“You should watch your tone with me,” Sweeney warned.
“Or you’ll do what?” I asked, “You ain’t going to frighten me with vague threats, boy. I’ve walked through Hell, trying to kill the Devil. What have you done?”
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Sweeney bit his lip but didn’t respond.
“There’s nothing you can say or do that will intimidate me,” I said, before lighting myself a cigarette. I stared at the road outside of my porch, old memories flooding back to me before looking over at Sweeney again. He sat in his chair beside me like a sulky child. This was the man who wanted to destroy the Di Cesare family? Pathetic.
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“Exactly how much do you know about the Brazil Job?” I asked.
“I know it was a failure. Clementine Di Cesare killed most of the men the Brethren sent out… all except for you. You were the only one good enough to beat her.”
“Good enough…” I repeated with a huff, “Hardly… whatever picture you’ve got in your head of some glorified battle, throw it away. Trust me, the Brazil Job was anything but glorious. It was a two hour long trek through Hell. And I didn’t beat Di Cesare at the end of it. I survived her. They’re two different things entirely.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” Sweeney said.
“You wouldn’t, would you?” I sighed and took another drag on my cigarette.
​
This kid wasn’t going to leave until I made him understand… so I told him my story. I told him everything even though I knew he’d learn nothing from it.
​
***
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I’d joined up with the Brethren Knights of St. Fontaine back in the 1980s to hunt monsters. Back then, it seemed like the best use of my skills. I’d done my tours with the army, but even after I got out, I was still looking for an enemy to fight. So naturally, once I found out that vampires were real, I set my sights on them. It seemed like the most sensible thing to do at the time.
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The Brethren Knights fancied themselves the descendants of the Knights Templar, and they insisted that their God given mission was to protect mankind from the things that lurked in the shadows. I didn’t really have much love for God at the time, but if the Bretheren were the ones fighting the monsters, then I was happy to tolerate the Jesus freaks in their ranks.
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It was 1988 when we first heard whispers of the Imperium. A supposed cabal of vampires, trying to get them organized. At the time, it’d seemed too crazy to be true. Vampires generally went their own way, in my experience. At most, they might have a partner but other than they they didn’t really socialize with their own kind. But supposedly someone out there had the big fucking balls to keep them in line, and whoever they were, they scared the shit out of the Brethren.
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They’d started targeting high profile vampires, trying to find someone who was involved in this ‘Imperium’, hoping that maybe they might get someone to talk. And it wasn’t long until they found someone who did.
​
From my understanding, the vampire they captured didn’t seem to know much about who was actually running the show. But they knew who their second in command was… and that was when I first head about the Di Cesare family.
​
The name was familiar to some of the higher ups in the Brethren, and I’d heard some stories. Not sure which were true, but the long and short of it was that the Di Cesare’s and the Brethren shared a bloody history, and didn’t particularly like each other too much.
​
George Bundy explained it to me like this at one point: ‘The Di Cesare’s are an old family. Most of them used to be witches, up until their Matriarch turned them into vampires. Now they’re a whole new kind of nasty. Far as I know, the only time anyone’s actually managed to kill one was about 200 years ago. Anyone who’s tried since has ended up dead, so most folks don’t even bother anymore.’
​
I guess it shouldn’t have been surprising they’d be involved in the Imperium, but the mere mention of their name ruffled some feathers higher up on the chain of command, and eventually they put out a kill order on them. Most of the Di Cesare’s were generally pretty hard to track down, but the top brass had a pretty good line on their matriarch, Bianca Di Cesare. Supposedly, she’d been spotted near the family’s private estate in Brazil and rumor had it that most of her daughters were there too.
​
Normally, the brass wouldn’t have sanctioned any kind of attack on them. The Di Cesare’s were already considered off limits, and attacking them at their private estate was considered damn near impossible. The estate was located in a small mining town outside of Manaus called Refugio de Julia, or just Julia for short. The town was fairly remote, being only accessible from a few backroads and most folks tended to avoid it, claiming they’d had various strange encounters in the area. Their accounts described unsettling pale figures with dark hair and large green eyes working in the mines, although some of the more disturbing stories we heard involved sightings of other creatures in the jungle surrounding the town. Massive spiders with humanoid faces, tending rotting corpses filled with stinging bees, giant howling beasts who tore through the forest, hunting prey, and beautiful women who would appear in the nearby towns, betwitching men into coming away with them only to reveal themselves as monsters who fed on the blood of their victims. Some had even claimed the Di Cesares themselves were such beasts… although those claims weren’t taken quite as seriously.
​
A skeptic might say the stories that surrounded Julia seemed like little more than just local superstition… but the Brethren had been dealing with the supernatural for long enough to recognize when something was probably real, and when it was probably fake and they knew damn well that most of the stories about Julia were probably true. None of them had ever dared set foot in Julia to find out for sure, since doing so would probably be suicide, but the theory was that the Di Cesares had created Julia as something of a refuge for other creatures. Other vampires, werewolves, arachne, karah and all sorts of other hellspawn. They offered them a home and safety in exchange for their labor in the mines. Hell, the name of the town more or less spelled it out.
​
Refugio de Julia
​
Julia’s Haven.
​
Julia had been the name of the only member of the Di Cesare family that the Brethren had ever killed, so I guess it was only fitting they named the town after her.
​
I honestly think using other creatures like them as a workforce was a bit inspired… since it made Julia damn near impenetrable. Reaching their estate at the far side of the town would have been impossible without being noticed by every creature of hell living in that town, and odds are they’d tear anyone apart long before they even reached the gates of the Di Cesare estate. And if one had the bright idea to approach the estate from another angle, they’d be trudging through miles and miles of rainforest to do so, only end up face to face with a massive stone wall that kept the rainforest out.
​
In effect - the Di Cesare estate was a fortress. Getting in would be no easy feat, to say nothing of confronting the vampires within. But with the fear of the Imperium gnawing at the back of their minds, the Brethren had finally set their minds to trying.
​
George Bundy had been the one in charge of planning the operation out.
​
I’d known Bundy before I’d joined up with the Brethren. Hell, Bundy was the whole reason I’d joined the Brethren. He’d been my CO a number of years back, and he’d earned his reputation as a hardass just about ten or twenty times over. Bundy was a gruff looking man with a bushy moustache and intense eyes. During the years I knew him, I don’t believe I ever once saw him so much as crack a smile. He only ever seemed to speak when he felt there was something he needed to say. Otherwise, he was usually dead silent.
​
He was somewhere in his late fifties back in 88. By all rights, he ought to have retired years ago. But he refused.
“I’m a soldier,” He said, when I asked him about it once. “That’s all I am. I don’t know what else to be.”
​
Bundy’s initial plan had been to hit the Di Cesare estate from the air. Come in fast and loud with a couple of helicopters and see how those vampires stood up to some good old American flak. The idea got shot down pretty quickly, so to speak. Apperantly, most if not all of the Di Cesares had cursed their own bodies, causing whatever wound one inflicted on them to appear on whoever it was who had wounded them. Going in guns blazing would have ended in a bloodbath… and not for them. There were also some concerns about drawing attention from Julia. With no conclusive data on just what they had living in that town, there was no guarantee we’d be safe in the air. A few eyewitnesses had described seeing giant nests in some of the trees in the jungle, supposedly consistent with the nests made by harpies.
​
Flying in guns blazing was out. So Bundy went back to the drawing board and what he came back with… well, it was ballsy, but it almost seemed like it just might work. During his reconnisance of the Di Cesare’s estate, he’d noticed a large but shallow tributary flowing into the amazon river that led right through the Di Cesare’s estate. Along the tributary was an abandoned water mill, that connected to the Di Cesare estate.
​
He’d suggested using the water mill to gain entry to the grounds, and from there, move on the Di Cesare’s. That plan had been approved, and Bundy had been allowed to handpick his team for the operation. He’d chosen fifteen men, all of them ex military, most of them having served under him before.
​
He’d told us we would be dividing into three teams of five men each. We would leave Manaus by boat, and land at three different areas near the tributary before making our way to the mill on foot, where we would regroup, before moving on the Di Cesares. The reason for the division was to ensure that if any of our teams ran into trouble upon making ground, the entire operation wouldn’t be compromised.
​
Team 1, led by Bundy himself would depart first and land to the west of the tributary. Team 2, led by a man named Ferdinand Hernandez would make land about fifteen minutes later near the mouth of the tributary and Team 3, to be led by me would land fifteen minutes later to the east.
​
On the day of the operation, I sat in my boat, watching as the other two left. It was twilight when we set out, and I remember that as my team and I carried out our final checks on our equipment, the only thing I felt was a familiar anticipation.
​
I’d hesitate to call it fear. Fear is what came later. Anticipation is the better word. I knew we could be walking into a tough situation… but I trusted Bundy. I trusted he’d run a smooth op. God knew, he’d done it a thousand times before.
​
The team assigned to me wasn’t anything particularly special. They were competent enough, but none of them would’ve been my first choices. Jack McMullen, for instance, who was about the same age as I was at the time. We’d both served under Bundy before, although while I respected Bundy, Jack was wholly devoted to him. I swear, if the man had told him to stuff a live grenade up his ass, Jack would’ve done it without a moments hesitation. I dunno if Jack simply saw him as the father he’d never had or what, but he damn near worshipped Bundy.
​
I can’t quite say the same for the other guys we had with us, though. One of them, some greenhorn by the name of Pearce Wilson struck me as an airheaded pretty boy who’d never actually had his boots on the ground before, while the other one, Scott Barber had left a bad taste in my mouth last time we’d worked together. Barber was capable… but he was violent. This was a kid with a hell of a chip on his shoulder, and it looked a hell of a lot like that Confederate flag patch he wore on his jacket. He wanted an excuse to shoot something, and I don’t think he cared what. Under most circumstances I’m not sure I would’ve fully trusted him with a gun.
​
The last one though, Joseph Feng… him I trusted. Feng was the one I knew the least about, and he didn’t seem much for conversation. But he handled himself competently enough and seemed to know when to sit down and shut up.
​
When Team 2’s boat was far enough away, we got the radio signal to follow. Barber was the one steering the boat, so I gave him the order to cast off and we ventured out into the twilight, unaware of just what was waiting for us out there.
​
***
​
We landed in our designated area fifteen minutes after Team 2 confirmed they’d touched down at theirs. Our landing was fairly uneventful. Feng, Barber, and I secured the boat before we radio’d Bundy to let him know we were in position. After that, it was just a matter of making it to the tributary.
​
As we ventured into the jungle, the world around us was quiet. There was wind, the whisper of the river behind us, and the sounds of animals. But little else. The river fell away behind us as we moved in single file toward the tributary, maintaining radio silence as we did.
​
It was about a half hour before we heard the gunshot.
​
Just one, echoing through the twilight. But it was enough to give us pause.
​
“The fuck was that?” I heard Barber ask. Immediately, the kid was on high alert, with his gun raised as if he were expecting every monster in Julia to come charging at us from all angles.
I just listened, waiting to hear if there was anything else. I half expected my radio to come to life, but it didn’t.
“Team 1, status?” I asked.
The radio crackled with static, but there was no response.
​
I tried it again, but still with no success. The radio was working, that much I was sure of. Something had to be blocking the signal.
“What’s going on?” Feng asked.
“Dunno,” I replied. “Comms are down.”
“Down?” Wilson asked, “So we’re flying blind out here, then?”
“More or less,” I replied.
“What do we do? Do we go back… if the comms are down…”
“Just because something’s jamming our signal doesn’t mean we’re made,” I said. “Relax. We keep moving for now. You keep your eyes wide open, and your head on a swivel. We’ll make it to the tributary and see if we can’t meet up with the other teams.”
I could tell Wilson wasn’t a fan of my answer, but I didn’t much care. We had a job to do, and I aimed to do it.
​
I pressed on without a further word and the others followed. Up ahead, I could hear the sound of running water and picked up the pace. I figured the tributary had to be close… and I was right.
​
I emerged from the brush into the stream, only to pause when I saw what was waiting for us in the water.
​
In the dying sunlight, it was impossible to mistake the bodies sprawled out on the rocks as anything else… and all I needed to do was look at their uniforms to know they were our people.
“Jesus…” I heard Wilson say under his breath. He froze up, lingering by the bank as I cautiously approached one of the bodies.
​
It belonged to a somewhat heavyset man with a thin mustache who I recognized as Hernandez. His eyes were still open, although lifeless and staring in different directions, and there was a clean hole in his forehead where a bullet had ended his life. The gunshot we’d heard earlier had likely been the sound of his death.
​
Looking at the bodies around him, I knew they had to be the rest of Team 2… although it was a little harder pinning down their cause of death. Some sort of bladed weapon, perhaps, judging by the state of them. I realized the odds were that they walked into some sort of ambush.
“What about Bundy and Team 1?” Jack asked, “Any sign of them?”
“No,” I said. “These bodies are all from Team 2… Bundy could still be ahead of us.”
“Then we need to keep going!”
​
Jack turned, heading up the stream and Barber was right behind him. Feng paused for a moment, thinking this over before following. Only Wilson remained.
“How do we know we’re not walking into a trap?” He asked.
“We’ll deal with that when we get to it,” I said before moving to follow the others.
“With all due respect, Sarge… that doesn’t sound like the best course of action!” Wilson argued, finally following me. “It sounds just like a good way to get killed!”
“Yeah?” I asked, “I’m gonna tell you an ugly truth, kid. That’s the job. Make your peace with it, and it’ll go a lot easier.”
​
Wilson didn’t like that answer either and trailed off behind me, watching as I continued upstream. For a moment, I half expected him to go back to the boat… but no. I dunno if he found his balls or just didn’t want to get left behind, but he started to follow us again.
​
I kept trying to raise Team 1 on the radio while we walked, although I still had no luck. The light above us slowly faded into darkness as we trudged through the water in silence, guns sitting comfortably in our hands and mosquitos biting at our necks.
​
It wasn’t until we lost Feng that I heard anybody so much as make a sound, and when we lost Feng… it happened almost instantaneously. One minute, he was at the head of the group, walking just ahead of Jack and I. The next, he was gone, only barely having the time to let out a scream as he fell into the river ahead of us.
​
The rest of us paused. Jack seemed to freeze and I pushed past him, calling out for Feng as I did. As punishment for my compassion, I almost went down after him. I only barely stopped myself from stepping on the slippery rocks that had helped send him to his demise.
​
I could see Feng’s body in the water, and I could see the blood pouring out of him. He twitched a few times, but I knew he was dead. The sharpened wooden spikes jutting out of him confirmed as much.
“What the hell…” Jack said under his breath, staring at Feng’s corpse in disbelief. “That’s a fucking spike trap!”
​
Yeah.
​
It was indeed a fucking spike trap.
​
I could see other spikes jutting out of the water ahead of us, just past a small dam of rocks that were just slippery enough to make it difficult to stop yourself from falling. Some of those spikes had other bodies on them… likely members of Team 1. I only counted two, although that still didn’t exactly bode well.
​
“They put a fucking spike trap in the goddamn stream…” Jack said, “Who the hell does that?”
“Somebody who’s expecting us to use the stream,” I replied.
“So they know we’re coming?” Barber asked.
“Clearly…” I replied. “And they’ve got a good idea on what our route is too.”
​
“Yeah, no shit!” Barber snapped. “Christ… let’s get the fuck out of here. There’s probably more fucking traps upstream!”
“Bundy’s orders were clear!” Jack argued.
“Bundy’s probably dead by now!” Barber replied, before looking at me. “Sarge, come on. You have to know this is suicide!”
“Suicide was part of the job description, was it not?” I asked.
“The job is to kill those fucking vampires, not to die in the goddamn process! We need to get out of the stream and into the woods!”
​
“Judging by the fate Team 2 met, I’m not sure the forest is someplace we want to be right now,” I replied.
“Excuse me?” Barber asked, “What the hell are you talking about, Sarge?”
“Five men dead, but only one gunshot. How did the rest die?”
​
Barber didn’t seem to be able to answer that.
“By now… yes. It’s clear we’ve walked into a trap. And yes, I understand that it makes sense to try and leave that trap… but I don’t know if we’ll be safer in the jungle. Something jumped Team 2. Cut them apart, and then shot Hernandez as a warning. They didn’t have to shoot him. They did it so we’d hear.”
“Your point being?” Barber asked.
“I don’t think this is just a trap, Barber. It’s a game. Stop playing, and you might just end up like our friends downstream.”
“A game?” Wilson asked, “Sarge, you can’t be serious!”
​
“From where I’m standing, we have a better chance of surviving in the stream,” I said. “Look, we’re at least halfway to the rendezvous point, and there have to be at least two members of Team 1 left. The safest thing to do right now is to follow them.”
“You’re off your fucking rocker, Sarge,” Barber spat, locking his eyes with mine. For a moment, I thought the boy was going to try and fight me. But no. He was wise enough to stand down.
“If you wanna get yourself killed, go right the fuck ahead. Just leave me out of it! Wilson, come on,” Barber said before trudging over to the edge of the stream. Wilson didn’t even hesitate, just looking back at Jack and I quietly before he disappeared into the forest with Barber.
​
“You’re not gonna stop them?” Jack asked.
“No,” I replied. “God willing, there’s a chance that pigheaded asshole is right… dunno how much of a chance, but a chance.”
“Then how come we’re not following him?” Jack asked.
“There’s also a chance he’s wrong.”
I turned, before making my way around the spike trap.
“Keep a slower pace,” I said. “Watch for traps.”
​
Jack hesitated for a moment, but he followed me without any further questions and we walked in silence for a little longer.
​
We heard nothing from the trees. Nothing that told us about the fate of Barber and Wilson. I wasn’t sure if that was good news or not.
​
In fact, I don’t think we heard a thing until about a half hour later, when we heard the explosion.
​
It came out of almost nowhere, but ahead of us I could see a flash of light and hear the screams of men. On instinct, I found myself picking up the pace and could hear Jack behind me. In the low light, I saw a shape float past me in the stream. It took me a moment to realize that it was a severed human arm.
​
In the water ahead of us, I could see a figure clinging to one of the rocks and trying to pick himself up. I recognized him as George Bundy.
​
Jack was at his side almost immediately, trying to help the old man to his feet.
“Sir! Are you alright?”
Bundy just wheezed, before his legs gave out from under him. I helped Jack drag him to the shore so he could sit and rest for a moment.
“What the hell was that?” I asked, looking back at the stream.
“Grenade trap… I think…” Bundy panted, “Fucking tripwire… Popkov tripped it, I think…”
​
Popkov… odds are he was one of the two mangled corpses lying in the river a few feet away from us. It seemed they’d taken the brunt of the explosion, although Bundy still had some shrapnel in his arm that Jack was tending to.
“Christ… whole fucking ops gone to shit…” Bundy spat. “Team 2 got taken out just about as soon as they landed. Someone killed them and dumped them in the goddamn river. Lost half my boys to the fucking spike trap and half to this…”
​
He looked up at us, before spitting onto the ground.
“Guess you two haven’t done much better.”
“Hard to say,” I replied. “Two of ours took off into the woods, trying to avoid the traps.”
“Then they’re dead,” Bundy replied. “I’ve seen her watching us… always just up ahead, always from a distance… she’s seeing how far we’ll go. How much we’ll take…”
“She?” I asked.
“La Morte. Should’ve figured she’d be the one to greet us.”
“La Morte?” I asked.
​
“It’s Italian. Supposedly, she earned that name around the time the Di Cesares fled Venice. It’s funny, the Brethren like to act like the Di Cesares leaving Venice was some big victory of theirs, since before they did, they finally killed one of them… hard to call it a victory though, considering how many corpses they made before they fled. And most of them came from La Morte…”
Bundy winced in pain as Jack bandaged his arm before he continued talking.
​
“See… when the Di Cesare’s left Venice, one of them stayed behind. Clementine, the Scorpio sister. Guess she was unwilling to leave the fight unfinished… and according to the stories, the death toll she personally amassed in the years after the Di Cesare’s left Venice make the bodies they claimed during the Venetian Massacre a hundred and fifty years prior look like a pittance. The Brethren still occupying the city started to call her La Morte. Death. Cuz wherever she went, death followed in her wake… and it seems we’ve walked right into her open arms, haven’t we, boys?”
​
“You’re sure it’s her?” I asked.
“She’s a Di Cesare… and the shit we’ve seen out here… I don’t see any other Di Cesare setting those traps. It’s her. I’m sure of it. She’s watching us. Seeing how far we’ll go. Seeing if we’ll turn tail…”
“Should we?” Jack asked, and Bundy finally seemed to acknowledge him.
“Excuse me?” He asked.
“Should we? Look, sir… I’d follow you into the mouth of Hell, but right now, we’re down from fifteen men to three. Can’t say I’m optimistic about our chances right now. If this woman is half as bad as you’re saying she is, maybe it’s time we took a step back!”
​
Jack looked at me, hoping I might back him up, but I remained silent.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Bundy asked.
“What I’m hearing here, is that as of right now, the vampire out there could kill us at any time. She hasn’t. Far as I’m concerned, that’s mercy. Maybe we should be taking it while it’s offered.”
Bundy stared at him, before chuckling. I think it was the first time I’d ever seen him laugh.
​
“Just walk away, then?” He asked.
“Walk away, and come back better prepared!” Jack corrected.
“Walk away,” Bundy said again. “We walk away now, and there won’t be a chance to come back better prepared. We get one shot at this. One. Failure is not an option. We go in there and we kill them or we die. End of discussion.”
“And how exactly are we even supposed to kill them?” Jack asked, “That curse they have… bullets aren’t gonna do shit, sir!”
“Yours won’t, mine will…”
Bundy pulled his pistol from his holster. I noticed some sort of pattern crudely engraved on it.
​
“I’ve been doing some research… studied the curse they put on themselves… and I think I’ve found a way to break it. Not sure if it’ll work yet… but we get one chance to test it.”
Jack stared at the gun, then back at Bundy.
“Sir… do you hear yourself?” He asked quietly, “You can’t be serious… right now, even with that gun we don’t stand a chance in he-”
​
The gunshot echoed through the forest and made me jump. Jack’s voice died in his throat as he hit the ground.
​
Bundy stared at him for a moment, before huffing and holstering his pistol again. He draped his coat over his shoulders, before looking over at me.
“No room for failure, Frank,” He said calmly.
I didn’t know what to say to that. I stared down at Jack’s body, my mouth hanging open slightly. When I looked back at Bundy, he was already back in the stream.
​
There was a tense silence between Bundy and I as I followed him along the final stretch of the tributary. He trudged on ahead, covered in sweat and straining with every step, but I could sense the quiet determination he had to see this through. Looking at him, you could’ve told me that George Bundy could wipe out the Di Cesare’s all by himself and I would have believed it in a second.
​
The night around us was full of sound, and each one drew my attention. I watched the forest, expecting to see some sign of La Morte watching us. But I saw nothing, except for what she wanted me to see.
“Mill’s just up ahead,” I heard Bundy say as we pressed on, although I noticed his steps faltering as he seemed to notice something in the trees above us. I stopped behind him, looking up before seeing what he saw, and when I saw it I felt my stomach turn.
​
I’d seen death before.
But what Di Cesare had left out for us… that was something else.
Pearce Wilson and Scott Barber weren’t dead.
But if they could have spoke, I’ve got no doubt they would have begged us to kill them. Wilsons pretty face was covered in blood and his pouty lips were parted as more trickled out of him. His curly blond hair was matted and I could see crimson there. Tree branches portruded from his ribs, while the loops of his entrails dangled out of his opened stomach. And Barber was in just about the same state, only he seemed to at least have the ability to turn his head to look at us.
​
I think he might have tried to speak, but the only sound he seemed to be able to make was a pained whimper.
“Jesus Christ…” I said softly.
“He had nothing to do with this,” Bundy replied. He took one last look at the two dying men hanging from the trees, before moving on.
“We should put them out of their misery, sir,” I said.
​
Bundy paused, before looking back at me.
“Don’t waste the ammo, Frank,” He replied. “They’re already dead.”
“Not yet they’re not!”
“Give them time. They chose to go into the woods. They can live with the consequences… for however long that lasts.”
​
With that, he left them. If I were a more compassionate man, I would have put them out of their misery. But no. Bundy moved on and so did I.
​
He approached the water mill, before examining it. It was an old building, made of stone that had long since been overgrown by moss, and sat right on the wall that separated the Di Cesares estate from the amazon. It hardly looked secure, even if the only entrance hadn’t just been an old wooden door secured with a padlock, finding a way in wouldn’t have been difficult. And it didn’t take much for Bundy to break through that door. All he needed was a couple of well placed kicks and it swung right open.
​
Drawing his gun, Bundy strode inside and I followed him.
“The Di Cesare’s will be in the main house,” He said. “We should find a way in through the back, try and catch them off guard. Main target should be the matriarch, Bianca. Her we should prioritize keeping alive… the rest are expendable.”
​
“Much as you are, I’m sure.” A voice called from deeper in the mill, and both Bundy and I froze.
I noticed movement on the floor above us, and through the shadows, I saw a tall woman watching us. She was dressed all in black, with blond hair tied back in a ponytail and the intense eyes of a soldier.
​
This had to be Clementine Di Cesare.
​
Bundy aimed his pistol at her, although she only barely seemed to notice.
“Only two of you left… I’m not sure the odds are in your favor,” The woman said. Her voice was low, calm and quiet.
“Only one way to find out,” Bundy growled.
“And only one way to walk out of this place alive,” Di Cesare countered. “You can put the gun down, turn and walk away. I won’t stop you. There’s no shame in living.”
​
“All the bodies you’ve left in your wake… that’s rich,” Bundy said.
“I don’t relish what I’ve done. I simply don’t know how to do anything else,” She replied. “Think about this, Bundy. Over my lifetime, there have been countless thousands who have come to kill me. All of them are dead, but I am not. Even if you could kill me… you could not kill my sisters. Not all of them. Not before they came for you.”
“Just you, would be enough…” Bundy said, before pulling the trigger.
​
I knew he’d hit her. I knew the bullet pierced her shoulder. But that woman… she didn’t even flinch. She simply dove out of the way before he could shoot again, taking cover and avoiding his next shot.
“Frank, upstairs!” Bundy snapped, “Flush her out!”
I went, trudging up the old wooden steps with my rifle drawn. Only to see Di Cesare vaulting over the railing and back down to the ground floor as soon as I made it up there.
​
Bundy shot at her again, only to miss for a second time. I saw Di Cesare’s arm move, and heard him cry out in pain. In the low light, I could see a dagger protruding from his shoulder. He stumbled back a step, leaving himself open for only a split second.
​
That second was all it took for Di Cesare to raise her own gun and fire just one shot.
​
George Bundy hit the ground without so much as a final scream. There was just a simple hole in his skull where she had shot him.
​
I felt my heart start to race faster. My eyes settled on Bundy’s gun, and I ran for the railing, vaulting it and dropping to the ground below with a thud. Di Cesare shot at me, and I felt the bullet tear through my leg. I reached out for the fallen gun and grabbed it before turning it on Di Cesare, only to find myself staring down the barrel of her own pistol. My finger rested on the trigger, but I didn’t have the guts to pull it.
​
"Kill me, and you will not see the sun tomorrow." She said, her voice still cold and calm.
“Killing you is part of the job…” I replied, but my finger still couldn’t squeeze the trigger.
“And is it worth your life?” Di Cesare asked. “You fail your mission either way.”
“And die with some goddamn honor…”
“There’s no such thing as honor. There is alive and there is dead. Choose.”
​
I knew what I was supposed to choose.
​
But my hands were shaking, as I stared into the face of death. My finger couldn’t squeeze the trigger.
​
The gun collapsed to the floor and Di Cesare kicked it away from me, before huffing and lowering her gun.
“Do not return,” She said softly. “Or next time, I will unleash a hell upon you that will make you beg for simple traps.”
​
She picked Bundy’s gun up off the ground, and then she was gone. After I finally picked myself up off the ground, I was gone too.
​
As I walked back along the stream… I passed the corpses of the men we’d left behind. Barber and Wilson, Jack, Feng, Hernandez, and his team. The flies were already feasting on them. Animals had already torn at them. And as I looked down at their cold corpses, I knew I had made the right choice.
​
I filed my report with the Brethren. Told them that Di Cesare had wiped us out, and a few months later I quietly retired. I never looked back.
​
***
​
“You walked away from her?” Sweeney asked in disbelief, “You had her dead to rights and you walked away from her?”
“I chose to live,” I replied. “Can’t say I regret the decision either. Because of the choice I made, I met my wife and had my kids. I’ve lived the life I had because I chose not to throw it away on some vampire.”
​
Sweeney just shook his head.
“You could have gotten the first confirmed kill on a Di Cesare in two centuries, and you threw it away you fucking coward! I could execute you for that!” I noticed his hand hovering over the gun on his hip.
“You could.” I replied, before quietly unholstering the pistol I kept at my side. I aimed it at Sweeney’s head.
​
He stared at me like a slack jawed idiot.
“Would you like to give it a try?”
“W-what…?”
“Would you like to give it a try, Mr. Sweeney? Or would you like to see the sun tomorrow?”
He stared down the barrel of my gun, and I already knew what his choice would be.
​
Sweeney took a step back. I saw his hand move away from his holster, and I lowered the gun with a huff.
“Thought so,” I said.
Mr. Sweeney left me without another word.
I knew he would not return.

This is going to be a post that I both express my emotions which I kept to myself for a long time and ask for advice, so it may be a long one.
In March 2022, I (23F) started dating with a guy (20M) who is very amazing in many aspects and have a great personality. When I first met him online, I didn't like him at all. There was no specific reason but I hated him, told him that I don't trust him. One day, while we were chatting, he told me that he was in town and brought the chocolate from Germany I had asked many months ago. I was very surprised that he remembered that small detail because I didn't even remember it at first. He asked to see me in person and I couldn't say no. I didn't want to meet him until the night before, but our last conversation before the date was so good that we both stayed up all night and talked. In the morning, we went to a naval museum and he told me that he forgot to bring the chocolate but brought something I've asked as a joke (a whistle and a figure). At that moment I knew that guy is different. We had an amazing day and at the end of the day we both knew that there was something between us. However, there was a catch. He was leaving for school in another country in 2 weeks but we wanted to keep it long-distance from time to time. It was the best 2 weeks of my life. Missing each other was hard but it was worth it.
He told me about his dp in June. He isn't diagnosed and he didn't use the word dp but all the things he said and all the actions he's done is related to dp. He assured me that his opinions and feelings on me weren't affected by this. At fall, when he was in Germany, things went worse. His symptoms were worsened and he needed to leave school and come back early. I wanted him to come back because he was suffering there and I wanted him to stay here until he's got better.
In January, 2 weeks after he came back, he told me that he didn't love me anymore and it was nothing to do with me, his feelings towards everyone was the same. It was devastating for me but there was nothing to do. I cried my eyes out but he couldn't show anything. It was the worst time of my life. I wanted to be respectful and understanding but couldn't hold myself and texted him every couple days. A week later, we talked on the phone, and he said he realised that he doesn't need to overcome this alone. I wanted him to be okay. So we met on 14th February, in the very first place we've seen each other. Visited the places we went to in our first date. He held his chest and said "Now I feel it". I thought the worst part has ended. We agreed to see each other twice a week. One time he said "I would love to see you 3 times but I don't really have the energy" and I was okay. Missing him sucked but it was better than being seperated.
In the last week of April, we had good day. We spent time cuddling each other, petting his cat, eating some traditional food I haven't tried before. I was upset that he didn't go cycling with me, so I rented a bicycle and went cycling together. I was getting tired quickly but he was understanding. He told me that we wouldn't talk at the weekend because he had a plan with his close friends and I said okay but text me so I can know that you are alive. I also have anxiety and abandonment fears, so him texting me every 4-5 eases my anxiety. I am aware that it's not a healthy coping mechanism but I was trying to get better and doing my best. He was avoiding saying I love you lately because he wanted to feel it when he says it. On that day, he said it and added "Normally the feeling bar is at 0% but now it's at 20%".
Then he's just stopped texting. Didn't reply my calls. 4 days later, he texted me and told me that he wants to end our relationship because he doesn't want to think or care about me. I asked all the good times we've spent together but he said he didn't enjoy it as much as I did. I was angry at him, so I wasn't devastated as I was in January. After a couple days, my anger faded and left its place to sadness. I tried to reach him. After some time he texted and said that he doesn't see me as an enemy but it's harmful for him to talk to me even as a friend and he doesn't know if we're going to talk again or not. Later he blocked me.
It's been a month. I talked to his friends, none of them knows nothing about our relationship. I called him yesterday to ask how he's been feeling and to see if his elderly cats are fine, but he declined it. People say there are plenty fish in the sea but I had dated other people, he was different. Today, I find myself beautiful because he made me realise it. He was kind and funny. He made me laugh even when I am upset. He supported me in every way he could. We rarely had fights because I missed him and it wasn't toxic in my opinion. I don't think I can get over him easily. I wish there was a way to know if he's going to change his mind. I don't know what to do.
TL;DR: Amazing bf with dp told me he doesn't want to think about me broke up with me suddenly. He doesn't know if we're going to stay this way forever. It's been more than a month, but I still love him.

"Think of this as a chance at revenge," Sweeney said.
​
Revenge.
​
What a moronically quaint idea.
​
This jumped up little shit had come into my home, interrupted my retirement and here he was talking to me about revenge, as if he knew the first thing about what I’d seen, what I’d been through, why I’d quit.
​
Looking into his eyes, I knew he didn’t understand. I knew he couldn’t.
​
I've been hunting vampires for most of my life. I've killed more of them than I can count. But Clementine Di Cesare was no ordinary vampire. Hell, none of the Di Cesares were ordinary vampires, but even among them Clementine was… unique. She was the one all the others quietly feared. The one who was even spoken of with reverence by the Di Cesares masters, those twin Immortals who could not be killed by any weapon of this world. Seeking revenge against her was like seeking revenge against death itself.
​
“Revenge?” I repeated, with a dismissive scoff.
“You’re really going to tell me that after what she put you through, you don’t want revenge?” Sweeney asked.
“If you knew what she did to me, you’d know why I don’t want revenge,” I replied.
“Really? Sorry Franklin, but I don’t buy that. Look, I get it if you’re reluctant to jump back into the fight. I do. You of all people know just how dangerous the Di Cesare’s are. Especially ‘La Morte’.”
​
I looked over at him as he said that name. It rolled off his tongue so irreverently. To him, it was just a name. An alias assigned to some vampire he’s only heard of stories. He didn’t utter it with the respect it deserved, and I almost couldn’t be bothered to correct him. Any words spent on this small minded glory hound were probably wasted.
​
“Yes, I do know.”
“Which is why I need you,” Sweeney said. He almost sounded as if he were pleading with me. “Think of this as an opportunity to set things right… to put that vampire bitch in the ground where she belongs, and save God only knows how many lives in the process!”
I sighed.
He just didn’t get it.
​
“Mark my words, Mr. Sweeney, if you chase after Clementine Di Cesare, you’ll end far more lives than you save. She didn’t get a name like ‘La Morte’ for nothing. She earned it. Purchased it with the blood of the tens of thousands she’s sent screaming into the maw of Hell. She is not something you chase, Sweeney.”
“She’s a vampire,” Sweeney said dismissively. “She’s another enemy to destroy.”
“That’s what George Bundy said,” I replied. “Then not too long after, he died.”
“I’m not George Bundy,” Sweeney said.
“No. You sure as hell ain’t,” I agreed, before looking the kid in the eye.
​
He thought he was an up and comer, climbing the ranks of the Brethren. He probably thought of himself as some sort of badass vampire hunter too, when in reality he could never have so much as dreamed of holding a candle to the likes of Bundy… or hell, any of the men who’d died in Brazil.
“You should watch your tone with me,” Sweeney warned.
“Or you’ll do what?” I asked, “You ain’t going to frighten me with vague threats, boy. I’ve walked through Hell, trying to kill the Devil. What have you done?”
​
Sweeney bit his lip but didn’t respond.
“There’s nothing you can say or do that will intimidate me,” I said, before lighting myself a cigarette. I stared at the road outside of my porch, old memories flooding back to me before looking over at Sweeney again. He sat in his chair beside me like a sulky child. This was the man who wanted to destroy the Di Cesare family? Pathetic.
​
“Exactly how much do you know about the Brazil Job?” I asked.
“I know it was a failure. Clementine Di Cesare killed most of the men the Brethren sent out… all except for you. You were the only one good enough to beat her.”
“Good enough…” I repeated with a huff, “Hardly… whatever picture you’ve got in your head of some glorified battle, throw it away. Trust me, the Brazil Job was anything but glorious. It was a two hour long trek through Hell. And I didn’t beat Di Cesare at the end of it. I survived her. They’re two different things entirely.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” Sweeney said.
“You wouldn’t, would you?” I sighed and took another drag on my cigarette.
​
This kid wasn’t going to leave until I made him understand… so I told him my story. I told him everything even though I knew he’d learn nothing from it.
​
***
​
I’d joined up with the Brethren Knights of St. Fontaine back in the 1980s to hunt monsters. Back then, it seemed like the best use of my skills. I’d done my tours with the army, but even after I got out, I was still looking for an enemy to fight. So naturally, once I found out that vampires were real, I set my sights on them. It seemed like the most sensible thing to do at the time.
​
The Brethren Knights fancied themselves the descendants of the Knights Templar, and they insisted that their God given mission was to protect mankind from the things that lurked in the shadows. I didn’t really have much love for God at the time, but if the Bretheren were the ones fighting the monsters, then I was happy to tolerate the Jesus freaks in their ranks.
​
It was 1988 when we first heard whispers of the Imperium. A supposed cabal of vampires, trying to get them organized. At the time, it’d seemed too crazy to be true. Vampires generally went their own way, in my experience. At most, they might have a partner but other than they they didn’t really socialize with their own kind. But supposedly someone out there had the big fucking balls to keep them in line, and whoever they were, they scared the shit out of the Brethren.
​
They’d started targeting high profile vampires, trying to find someone who was involved in this ‘Imperium’, hoping that maybe they might get someone to talk. And it wasn’t long until they found someone who did.
​
From my understanding, the vampire they captured didn’t seem to know much about who was actually running the show. But they knew who their second in command was… and that was when I first head about the Di Cesare family.
​
The name was familiar to some of the higher ups in the Brethren, and I’d heard some stories. Not sure which were true, but the long and short of it was that the Di Cesare’s and the Brethren shared a bloody history, and didn’t particularly like each other too much.
​
George Bundy explained it to me like this at one point: ‘The Di Cesare’s are an old family. Most of them used to be witches, up until their Matriarch turned them into vampires. Now they’re a whole new kind of nasty. Far as I know, the only time anyone’s actually managed to kill one was about 200 years ago. Anyone who’s tried since has ended up dead, so most folks don’t even bother anymore.’
​
I guess it shouldn’t have been surprising they’d be involved in the Imperium, but the mere mention of their name ruffled some feathers higher up on the chain of command, and eventually they put out a kill order on them. Most of the Di Cesare’s were generally pretty hard to track down, but the top brass had a pretty good line on their matriarch, Bianca Di Cesare. Supposedly, she’d been spotted near the family’s private estate in Brazil and rumor had it that most of her daughters were there too.
​
Normally, the brass wouldn’t have sanctioned any kind of attack on them. The Di Cesare’s were already considered off limits, and attacking them at their private estate was considered damn near impossible. The estate was located in a small mining town outside of Manaus called Refugio de Julia, or just Julia for short. The town was fairly remote, being only accessible from a few backroads and most folks tended to avoid it, claiming they’d had various strange encounters in the area. Their accounts described unsettling pale figures with dark hair and large green eyes working in the mines, although some of the more disturbing stories we heard involved sightings of other creatures in the jungle surrounding the town. Massive spiders with humanoid faces, tending rotting corpses filled with stinging bees, giant howling beasts who tore through the forest, hunting prey, and beautiful women who would appear in the nearby towns, betwitching men into coming away with them only to reveal themselves as monsters who fed on the blood of their victims. Some had even claimed the Di Cesares themselves were such beasts… although those claims weren’t taken quite as seriously.
​
A skeptic might say the stories that surrounded Julia seemed like little more than just local superstition… but the Brethren had been dealing with the supernatural for long enough to recognize when something was probably real, and when it was probably fake and they knew damn well that most of the stories about Julia were probably true. None of them had ever dared set foot in Julia to find out for sure, since doing so would probably be suicide, but the theory was that the Di Cesares had created Julia as something of a refuge for other creatures. Other vampires, werewolves, arachne, karah and all sorts of other hellspawn. They offered them a home and safety in exchange for their labor in the mines. Hell, the name of the town more or less spelled it out.
​
Refugio de Julia
​
Julia’s Haven.
​
Julia had been the name of the only member of the Di Cesare family that the Brethren had ever killed, so I guess it was only fitting they named the town after her.
​
I honestly think using other creatures like them as a workforce was a bit inspired… since it made Julia damn near impenetrable. Reaching their estate at the far side of the town would have been impossible without being noticed by every creature of hell living in that town, and odds are they’d tear anyone apart long before they even reached the gates of the Di Cesare estate. And if one had the bright idea to approach the estate from another angle, they’d be trudging through miles and miles of rainforest to do so, only end up face to face with a massive stone wall that kept the rainforest out.
​
In effect - the Di Cesare estate was a fortress. Getting in would be no easy feat, to say nothing of confronting the vampires within. But with the fear of the Imperium gnawing at the back of their minds, the Brethren had finally set their minds to trying.
​
George Bundy had been the one in charge of planning the operation out.
​
I’d known Bundy before I’d joined up with the Brethren. Hell, Bundy was the whole reason I’d joined the Brethren. He’d been my CO a number of years back, and he’d earned his reputation as a hardass just about ten or twenty times over. Bundy was a gruff looking man with a bushy moustache and intense eyes. During the years I knew him, I don’t believe I ever once saw him so much as crack a smile. He only ever seemed to speak when he felt there was something he needed to say. Otherwise, he was usually dead silent.
​
He was somewhere in his late fifties back in 88. By all rights, he ought to have retired years ago. But he refused.
“I’m a soldier,” He said, when I asked him about it once. “That’s all I am. I don’t know what else to be.”
​
Bundy’s initial plan had been to hit the Di Cesare estate from the air. Come in fast and loud with a couple of helicopters and see how those vampires stood up to some good old American flak. The idea got shot down pretty quickly, so to speak. Apperantly, most if not all of the Di Cesares had cursed their own bodies, causing whatever wound one inflicted on them to appear on whoever it was who had wounded them. Going in guns blazing would have ended in a bloodbath… and not for them. There were also some concerns about drawing attention from Julia. With no conclusive data on just what they had living in that town, there was no guarantee we’d be safe in the air. A few eyewitnesses had described seeing giant nests in some of the trees in the jungle, supposedly consistent with the nests made by harpies.
​
Flying in guns blazing was out. So Bundy went back to the drawing board and what he came back with… well, it was ballsy, but it almost seemed like it just might work. During his reconnisance of the Di Cesare’s estate, he’d noticed a large but shallow tributary flowing into the amazon river that led right through the Di Cesare’s estate. Along the tributary was an abandoned water mill, that connected to the Di Cesare estate.
​
He’d suggested using the water mill to gain entry to the grounds, and from there, move on the Di Cesare’s. That plan had been approved, and Bundy had been allowed to handpick his team for the operation. He’d chosen fifteen men, all of them ex military, most of them having served under him before.
​
He’d told us we would be dividing into three teams of five men each. We would leave Manaus by boat, and land at three different areas near the tributary before making our way to the mill on foot, where we would regroup, before moving on the Di Cesares. The reason for the division was to ensure that if any of our teams ran into trouble upon making ground, the entire operation wouldn’t be compromised.
​
Team 1, led by Bundy himself would depart first and land to the west of the tributary. Team 2, led by a man named Ferdinand Hernandez would make land about fifteen minutes later near the mouth of the tributary and Team 3, to be led by me would land fifteen minutes later to the east.
​
On the day of the operation, I sat in my boat, watching as the other two left. It was twilight when we set out, and I remember that as my team and I carried out our final checks on our equipment, the only thing I felt was a familiar anticipation.
​
I’d hesitate to call it fear. Fear is what came later. Anticipation is the better word. I knew we could be walking into a tough situation… but I trusted Bundy. I trusted he’d run a smooth op. God knew, he’d done it a thousand times before.
​
The team assigned to me wasn’t anything particularly special. They were competent enough, but none of them would’ve been my first choices. Jack McMullen, for instance, who was about the same age as I was at the time. We’d both served under Bundy before, although while I respected Bundy, Jack was wholly devoted to him. I swear, if the man had told him to stuff a live grenade up his ass, Jack would’ve done it without a moments hesitation. I dunno if Jack simply saw him as the father he’d never had or what, but he damn near worshipped Bundy.
​
I can’t quite say the same for the other guys we had with us, though. One of them, some greenhorn by the name of Pearce Wilson struck me as an airheaded pretty boy who’d never actually had his boots on the ground before, while the other one, Scott Barber had left a bad taste in my mouth last time we’d worked together. Barber was capable… but he was violent. This was a kid with a hell of a chip on his shoulder, and it looked a hell of a lot like that Confederate flag patch he wore on his jacket. He wanted an excuse to shoot something, and I don’t think he cared what. Under most circumstances I’m not sure I would’ve fully trusted him with a gun.
​
The last one though, Joseph Feng… him I trusted. Feng was the one I knew the least about, and he didn’t seem much for conversation. But he handled himself competently enough and seemed to know when to sit down and shut up.
​
When Team 2’s boat was far enough away, we got the radio signal to follow. Barber was the one steering the boat, so I gave him the order to cast off and we ventured out into the twilight, unaware of just what was waiting for us out there.
​
***
​
We landed in our designated area fifteen minutes after Team 2 confirmed they’d touched down at theirs. Our landing was fairly uneventful. Feng, Barber, and I secured the boat before we radio’d Bundy to let him know we were in position. After that, it was just a matter of making it to the tributary.
​
As we ventured into the jungle, the world around us was quiet. There was wind, the whisper of the river behind us, and the sounds of animals. But little else. The river fell away behind us as we moved in single file toward the tributary, maintaining radio silence as we did.
​
It was about a half hour before we heard the gunshot.
​
Just one, echoing through the twilight. But it was enough to give us pause.
​
“The fuck was that?” I heard Barber ask. Immediately, the kid was on high alert, with his gun raised as if he were expecting every monster in Julia to come charging at us from all angles.
I just listened, waiting to hear if there was anything else. I half expected my radio to come to life, but it didn’t.
“Team 1, status?” I asked.
The radio crackled with static, but there was no response.
​
I tried it again, but still with no success. The radio was working, that much I was sure of. Something had to be blocking the signal.
“What’s going on?” Feng asked.
“Dunno,” I replied. “Comms are down.”
“Down?” Wilson asked, “So we’re flying blind out here, then?”
“More or less,” I replied.
“What do we do? Do we go back… if the comms are down…”
“Just because something’s jamming our signal doesn’t mean we’re made,” I said. “Relax. We keep moving for now. You keep your eyes wide open, and your head on a swivel. We’ll make it to the tributary and see if we can’t meet up with the other teams.”
I could tell Wilson wasn’t a fan of my answer, but I didn’t much care. We had a job to do, and I aimed to do it.
​
I pressed on without a further word and the others followed. Up ahead, I could hear the sound of running water and picked up the pace. I figured the tributary had to be close… and I was right.
​
I emerged from the brush into the stream, only to pause when I saw what was waiting for us in the water.
​
In the dying sunlight, it was impossible to mistake the bodies sprawled out on the rocks as anything else… and all I needed to do was look at their uniforms to know they were our people.
“Jesus…” I heard Wilson say under his breath. He froze up, lingering by the bank as I cautiously approached one of the bodies.
​
It belonged to a somewhat heavyset man with a thin mustache who I recognized as Hernandez. His eyes were still open, although lifeless and staring in different directions, and there was a clean hole in his forehead where a bullet had ended his life. The gunshot we’d heard earlier had likely been the sound of his death.
​
Looking at the bodies around him, I knew they had to be the rest of Team 2… although it was a little harder pinning down their cause of death. Some sort of bladed weapon, perhaps, judging by the state of them. I realized the odds were that they walked into some sort of ambush.
“What about Bundy and Team 1?” Jack asked, “Any sign of them?”
“No,” I said. “These bodies are all from Team 2… Bundy could still be ahead of us.”
“Then we need to keep going!”
​
Jack turned, heading up the stream and Barber was right behind him. Feng paused for a moment, thinking this over before following. Only Wilson remained.
“How do we know we’re not walking into a trap?” He asked.
“We’ll deal with that when we get to it,” I said before moving to follow the others.
“With all due respect, Sarge… that doesn’t sound like the best course of action!” Wilson argued, finally following me. “It sounds just like a good way to get killed!”
“Yeah?” I asked, “I’m gonna tell you an ugly truth, kid. That’s the job. Make your peace with it, and it’ll go a lot easier.”
​
Wilson didn’t like that answer either and trailed off behind me, watching as I continued upstream. For a moment, I half expected him to go back to the boat… but no. I dunno if he found his balls or just didn’t want to get left behind, but he started to follow us again.
​
I kept trying to raise Team 1 on the radio while we walked, although I still had no luck. The light above us slowly faded into darkness as we trudged through the water in silence, guns sitting comfortably in our hands and mosquitos biting at our necks.
​
It wasn’t until we lost Feng that I heard anybody so much as make a sound, and when we lost Feng… it happened almost instantaneously. One minute, he was at the head of the group, walking just ahead of Jack and I. The next, he was gone, only barely having the time to let out a scream as he fell into the river ahead of us.
​
The rest of us paused. Jack seemed to freeze and I pushed past him, calling out for Feng as I did. As punishment for my compassion, I almost went down after him. I only barely stopped myself from stepping on the slippery rocks that had helped send him to his demise.
​
I could see Feng’s body in the water, and I could see the blood pouring out of him. He twitched a few times, but I knew he was dead. The sharpened wooden spikes jutting out of him confirmed as much.
“What the hell…” Jack said under his breath, staring at Feng’s corpse in disbelief. “That’s a fucking spike trap!”
​
Yeah.
​
It was indeed a fucking spike trap.
​
I could see other spikes jutting out of the water ahead of us, just past a small dam of rocks that were just slippery enough to make it difficult to stop yourself from falling. Some of those spikes had other bodies on them… likely members of Team 1. I only counted two, although that still didn’t exactly bode well.
​
“They put a fucking spike trap in the goddamn stream…” Jack said, “Who the hell does that?”
“Somebody who’s expecting us to use the stream,” I replied.
“So they know we’re coming?” Barber asked.
“Clearly…” I replied. “And they’ve got a good idea on what our route is too.”
​
“Yeah, no shit!” Barber snapped. “Christ… let’s get the fuck out of here. There’s probably more fucking traps upstream!”
“Bundy’s orders were clear!” Jack argued.
“Bundy’s probably dead by now!” Barber replied, before looking at me. “Sarge, come on. You have to know this is suicide!”
“Suicide was part of the job description, was it not?” I asked.
“The job is to kill those fucking vampires, not to die in the goddamn process! We need to get out of the stream and into the woods!”
​
“Judging by the fate Team 2 met, I’m not sure the forest is someplace we want to be right now,” I replied.
“Excuse me?” Barber asked, “What the hell are you talking about, Sarge?”
“Five men dead, but only one gunshot. How did the rest die?”
​
Barber didn’t seem to be able to answer that.
“By now… yes. It’s clear we’ve walked into a trap. And yes, I understand that it makes sense to try and leave that trap… but I don’t know if we’ll be safer in the jungle. Something jumped Team 2. Cut them apart, and then shot Hernandez as a warning. They didn’t have to shoot him. They did it so we’d hear.”
“Your point being?” Barber asked.
“I don’t think this is just a trap, Barber. It’s a game. Stop playing, and you might just end up like our friends downstream.”
“A game?” Wilson asked, “Sarge, you can’t be serious!”
​
“From where I’m standing, we have a better chance of surviving in the stream,” I said. “Look, we’re at least halfway to the rendezvous point, and there have to be at least two members of Team 1 left. The safest thing to do right now is to follow them.”
“You’re off your fucking rocker, Sarge,” Barber spat, locking his eyes with mine. For a moment, I thought the boy was going to try and fight me. But no. He was wise enough to stand down.
“If you wanna get yourself killed, go right the fuck ahead. Just leave me out of it! Wilson, come on,” Barber said before trudging over to the edge of the stream. Wilson didn’t even hesitate, just looking back at Jack and I quietly before he disappeared into the forest with Barber.
​
“You’re not gonna stop them?” Jack asked.
“No,” I replied. “God willing, there’s a chance that pigheaded asshole is right… dunno how much of a chance, but a chance.”
“Then how come we’re not following him?” Jack asked.
“There’s also a chance he’s wrong.”
I turned, before making my way around the spike trap.
“Keep a slower pace,” I said. “Watch for traps.”
​
Jack hesitated for a moment, but he followed me without any further questions and we walked in silence for a little longer.
​
We heard nothing from the trees. Nothing that told us about the fate of Barber and Wilson. I wasn’t sure if that was good news or not.
​
In fact, I don’t think we heard a thing until about a half hour later, when we heard the explosion.
​
It came out of almost nowhere, but ahead of us I could see a flash of light and hear the screams of men. On instinct, I found myself picking up the pace and could hear Jack behind me. In the low light, I saw a shape float past me in the stream. It took me a moment to realize that it was a severed human arm.
​
In the water ahead of us, I could see a figure clinging to one of the rocks and trying to pick himself up. I recognized him as George Bundy.
​
Jack was at his side almost immediately, trying to help the old man to his feet.
“Sir! Are you alright?”
Bundy just wheezed, before his legs gave out from under him. I helped Jack drag him to the shore so he could sit and rest for a moment.
“What the hell was that?” I asked, looking back at the stream.
“Grenade trap… I think…” Bundy panted, “Fucking tripwire… Popkov tripped it, I think…”
​
Popkov… odds are he was one of the two mangled corpses lying in the river a few feet away from us. It seemed they’d taken the brunt of the explosion, although Bundy still had some shrapnel in his arm that Jack was tending to.
“Christ… whole fucking ops gone to shit…” Bundy spat. “Team 2 got taken out just about as soon as they landed. Someone killed them and dumped them in the goddamn river. Lost half my boys to the fucking spike trap and half to this…”
​
He looked up at us, before spitting onto the ground.
“Guess you two haven’t done much better.”
“Hard to say,” I replied. “Two of ours took off into the woods, trying to avoid the traps.”
“Then they’re dead,” Bundy replied. “I’ve seen her watching us… always just up ahead, always from a distance… she’s seeing how far we’ll go. How much we’ll take…”
“She?” I asked.
“La Morte. Should’ve figured she’d be the one to greet us.”
“La Morte?” I asked.
​
“It’s Italian. Supposedly, she earned that name around the time the Di Cesares fled Venice. It’s funny, the Brethren like to act like the Di Cesares leaving Venice was some big victory of theirs, since before they did, they finally killed one of them… hard to call it a victory though, considering how many corpses they made before they fled. And most of them came from La Morte…”
Bundy winced in pain as Jack bandaged his arm before he continued talking.
​
“See… when the Di Cesare’s left Venice, one of them stayed behind. Clementine, the Scorpio sister. Guess she was unwilling to leave the fight unfinished… and according to the stories, the death toll she personally amassed in the years after the Di Cesare’s left Venice make the bodies they claimed during the Venetian Massacre a hundred and fifty years prior look like a pittance. The Brethren still occupying the city started to call her La Morte. Death. Cuz wherever she went, death followed in her wake… and it seems we’ve walked right into her open arms, haven’t we, boys?”
​
“You’re sure it’s her?” I asked.
“She’s a Di Cesare… and the shit we’ve seen out here… I don’t see any other Di Cesare setting those traps. It’s her. I’m sure of it. She’s watching us. Seeing how far we’ll go. Seeing if we’ll turn tail…”
“Should we?” Jack asked, and Bundy finally seemed to acknowledge him.
“Excuse me?” He asked.
“Should we? Look, sir… I’d follow you into the mouth of Hell, but right now, we’re down from fifteen men to three. Can’t say I’m optimistic about our chances right now. If this woman is half as bad as you’re saying she is, maybe it’s time we took a step back!”
​
Jack looked at me, hoping I might back him up, but I remained silent.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Bundy asked.
“What I’m hearing here, is that as of right now, the vampire out there could kill us at any time. She hasn’t. Far as I’m concerned, that’s mercy. Maybe we should be taking it while it’s offered.”
Bundy stared at him, before chuckling. I think it was the first time I’d ever seen him laugh.
​
“Just walk away, then?” He asked.
“Walk away, and come back better prepared!” Jack corrected.
“Walk away,” Bundy said again. “We walk away now, and there won’t be a chance to come back better prepared. We get one shot at this. One. Failure is not an option. We go in there and we kill them or we die. End of discussion.”
“And how exactly are we even supposed to kill them?” Jack asked, “That curse they have… bullets aren’t gonna do shit, sir!”
“Yours won’t, mine will…”
Bundy pulled his pistol from his holster. I noticed some sort of pattern crudely engraved on it.
​
“I’ve been doing some research… studied the curse they put on themselves… and I think I’ve found a way to break it. Not sure if it’ll work yet… but we get one chance to test it.”
Jack stared at the gun, then back at Bundy.
“Sir… do you hear yourself?” He asked quietly, “You can’t be serious… right now, even with that gun we don’t stand a chance in he-”
​
The gunshot echoed through the forest and made me jump. Jack’s voice died in his throat as he hit the ground.
​
Bundy stared at him for a moment, before huffing and holstering his pistol again. He draped his coat over his shoulders, before looking over at me.
“No room for failure, Frank,” He said calmly.
I didn’t know what to say to that. I stared down at Jack’s body, my mouth hanging open slightly. When I looked back at Bundy, he was already back in the stream.
​
There was a tense silence between Bundy and I as I followed him along the final stretch of the tributary. He trudged on ahead, covered in sweat and straining with every step, but I could sense the quiet determination he had to see this through. Looking at him, you could’ve told me that George Bundy could wipe out the Di Cesare’s all by himself and I would have believed it in a second.
​
The night around us was full of sound, and each one drew my attention. I watched the forest, expecting to see some sign of La Morte watching us. But I saw nothing, except for what she wanted me to see.
“Mill’s just up ahead,” I heard Bundy say as we pressed on, although I noticed his steps faltering as he seemed to notice something in the trees above us. I stopped behind him, looking up before seeing what he saw, and when I saw it I felt my stomach turn.
​
I’d seen death before.
But what Di Cesare had left out for us… that was something else.
Pearce Wilson and Scott Barber weren’t dead.
But if they could have spoke, I’ve got no doubt they would have begged us to kill them. Wilsons pretty face was covered in blood and his pouty lips were parted as more trickled out of him. His curly blond hair was matted and I could see crimson there. Tree branches portruded from his ribs, while the loops of his entrails dangled out of his opened stomach. And Barber was in just about the same state, only he seemed to at least have the ability to turn his head to look at us.
​
I think he might have tried to speak, but the only sound he seemed to be able to make was a pained whimper.
“Jesus Christ…” I said softly.
“He had nothing to do with this,” Bundy replied. He took one last look at the two dying men hanging from the trees, before moving on.
“We should put them out of their misery, sir,” I said.
​
Bundy paused, before looking back at me.
“Don’t waste the ammo, Frank,” He replied. “They’re already dead.”
“Not yet they’re not!”
“Give them time. They chose to go into the woods. They can live with the consequences… for however long that lasts.”
​
With that, he left them. If I were a more compassionate man, I would have put them out of their misery. But no. Bundy moved on and so did I.
​
He approached the water mill, before examining it. It was an old building, made of stone that had long since been overgrown by moss, and sat right on the wall that separated the Di Cesares estate from the amazon. It hardly looked secure, even if the only entrance hadn’t just been an old wooden door secured with a padlock, finding a way in wouldn’t have been difficult. And it didn’t take much for Bundy to break through that door. All he needed was a couple of well placed kicks and it swung right open.
​
Drawing his gun, Bundy strode inside and I followed him.
“The Di Cesare’s will be in the main house,” He said. “We should find a way in through the back, try and catch them off guard. Main target should be the matriarch, Bianca. Her we should prioritize keeping alive… the rest are expendable.”
​
“Much as you are, I’m sure.” A voice called from deeper in the mill, and both Bundy and I froze.
I noticed movement on the floor above us, and through the shadows, I saw a tall woman watching us. She was dressed all in black, with blond hair tied back in a ponytail and the intense eyes of a soldier.
​
This had to be Clementine Di Cesare.
​
Bundy aimed his pistol at her, although she only barely seemed to notice.
“Only two of you left… I’m not sure the odds are in your favor,” The woman said. Her voice was low, calm and quiet.
“Only one way to find out,” Bundy growled.
“And only one way to walk out of this place alive,” Di Cesare countered. “You can put the gun down, turn and walk away. I won’t stop you. There’s no shame in living.”
​
“All the bodies you’ve left in your wake… that’s rich,” Bundy said.
“I don’t relish what I’ve done. I simply don’t know how to do anything else,” She replied. “Think about this, Bundy. Over my lifetime, there have been countless thousands who have come to kill me. All of them are dead, but I am not. Even if you could kill me… you could not kill my sisters. Not all of them. Not before they came for you.”
“Just you, would be enough…” Bundy said, before pulling the trigger.
​
I knew he’d hit her. I knew the bullet pierced her shoulder. But that woman… she didn’t even flinch. She simply dove out of the way before he could shoot again, taking cover and avoiding his next shot.
“Frank, upstairs!” Bundy snapped, “Flush her out!”
I went, trudging up the old wooden steps with my rifle drawn. Only to see Di Cesare vaulting over the railing and back down to the ground floor as soon as I made it up there.
​
Bundy shot at her again, only to miss for a second time. I saw Di Cesare’s arm move, and heard him cry out in pain. In the low light, I could see a dagger protruding from his shoulder. He stumbled back a step, leaving himself open for only a split second.
​
That second was all it took for Di Cesare to raise her own gun and fire just one shot.
​
George Bundy hit the ground without so much as a final scream. There was just a simple hole in his skull where she had shot him.
​
I felt my heart start to race faster. My eyes settled on Bundy’s gun, and I ran for the railing, vaulting it and dropping to the ground below with a thud. Di Cesare shot at me, and I felt the bullet tear through my leg. I reached out for the fallen gun and grabbed it before turning it on Di Cesare, only to find myself staring down the barrel of her own pistol. My finger rested on the trigger, but I didn’t have the guts to pull it.
​
"Kill me, and you will not see the sun tomorrow." She said, her voice still cold and calm.
“Killing you is part of the job…” I replied, but my finger still couldn’t squeeze the trigger.
“And is it worth your life?” Di Cesare asked. “You fail your mission either way.”
“And die with some goddamn honor…”
“There’s no such thing as honor. There is alive and there is dead. Choose.”
​
I knew what I was supposed to choose.
​
But my hands were shaking, as I stared into the face of death. My finger couldn’t squeeze the trigger.
​
The gun collapsed to the floor and Di Cesare kicked it away from me, before huffing and lowering her gun.
“Do not return,” She said softly. “Or next time, I will unleash a hell upon you that will make you beg for simple traps.”
​
She picked Bundy’s gun up off the ground, and then she was gone. After I finally picked myself up off the ground, I was gone too.
​
As I walked back along the stream… I passed the corpses of the men we’d left behind. Barber and Wilson, Jack, Feng, Hernandez, and his team. The flies were already feasting on them. Animals had already torn at them. And as I looked down at their cold corpses, I knew I had made the right choice.
​
I filed my report with the Brethren. Told them that Di Cesare had wiped us out, and a few months later I quietly retired. I never looked back.
​
***
​
“You walked away from her?” Sweeney asked in disbelief, “You had her dead to rights and you walked away from her?”
“I chose to live,” I replied. “Can’t say I regret the decision either. Because of the choice I made, I met my wife and had my kids. I’ve lived the life I had because I chose not to throw it away on some vampire.”
​
Sweeney just shook his head.
“You could have gotten the first confirmed kill on a Di Cesare in two centuries, and you threw it away you fucking coward! I could execute you for that!” I noticed his hand hovering over the gun on his hip.
“You could.” I replied, before quietly unholstering the pistol I kept at my side. I aimed it at Sweeney’s head.
​
He stared at me like a slack jawed idiot.
“Would you like to give it a try?”
“W-what…?”
“Would you like to give it a try, Mr. Sweeney? Or would you like to see the sun tomorrow?”
He stared down the barrel of my gun, and I already knew what his choice would be.
​
Sweeney took a step back. I saw his hand move away from his holster, and I lowered the gun with a huff.
“Thought so,” I said.
Mr. Sweeney left me without another word.
I knew he would not return.

Hi folks!
I'm posting from a different account as I used to last year when I started asking around info when I was thinking about switching careers from a cook job to cs/programming, and I got a lot of wisdom and tips here, so together with an update, I was looking for some other tips and wisdom.
After being sent on my learning journey, with a good amount of tips and a lot of support from all the interactions I had, I did my part starting from zero February 2022 , kept studying part time ( worked 6 days a week + a young daughter) and got to land my first job April 2023 as a full stack web developer for a company that makes custom software for manufacturing companies.
It is a really cool and fun job, I am really interested and passionate and I am learning a lot at a fast pace.
When I started studying I wanted to "learn all the things in tech", but soon found out, that a part from being likely impossible, I really am more passionate and interested in the full-stack web application field and services automation.
I plan on sticking around here for at least a couple years (full time employment), but I am already planning on what to do next, meaning in a 3-5 year time period.
I will keep learning and making progress in Node and Angular during my day job, but I am looking into what to do in my personal time in order to branch out and widen my future hireability.
Due to my previous career I had always suffered some anxiety that I then realized was defendant upon me not really having many options if my workplace shut down and there were not many offers (like lockdown times...), so I am interested into developing and learning other languages that might be a good addition for my future.
Like lately I was considering learning Java a lot, I like backend services, I see it being highly requested even offering a lot of remote jobs from all around the world;Plus it is also used for Android apps development ( I also did some small app projects last year, but using Kotlin ), so I figured it might be a solid investment with a good potential return, now that I don't have to just meet the minimal requirement to just land my first job, and I can plan on dedicating like next 3 years of my spare time to it.
So, finally, my question is, am I thinking out of my ass? Does it make sense, or is it just me being over confident?
Or again, do any of you have other recommendations or stacks I haven't considered, like .NET or something??
I might add I never touched anything Java or C# or higher languages, i'm just like low level Js/Ts using Angular and Node, a bit of React and Python.
Edit: It's not so much about landing a much higher paying job ( although it'd be cool ), but I'm really more interested into being in a position where I will be able to meet the requirements to apply for most job offers and have a higher scoring chance.
Thanks a lot, it would mean a lot for me

Hey there good folks of Reddit,
TLDR: I’m asking for an honest portfolio review of sorts and could really use your help. I’m prepared to hear criticism that I wouldn’t necessarily want to hear otherwise so that I may change my current situation…
https://mattboney.artstation.com
I have been a traditional artist (with the BFA degree and all of that) for about 25 years now. In April of 2022, I (re)discovered the world of 3D and was overjoyed with how accessible it had become with today’s quality of hardware, etc. I have been practicing with Blender almost every day since, and plan on using my enjoyment of 3D as my ticket out of my current day job of seven years that I really hate.
I have begun applying to Juniointern/contract jobs for 3D prop, environment, and generalist jobs. Some of which have descriptions and qualifications that I meet (even some with no experience required). Of course there are several where I know I’m applying over my head as well, but you get the idea. Big studios, small studios, sometimes even one guy looking for a couple assets. I know to avoid character modeling or anything too advanced given my current skills. Not a single bite, just a bunch of automated rejection letters, or nothing at all.
I’m asking you folks the tall order of taking a moment to offer a brief portfolio review and/or for some input on what may be going wrong! Maybe just keep going and get better is the answer, I don’t know at this point. I did recently see I ought to really do some fully fleshed out environs and I am going to have to up my details and scene density overall when looking at some other portfolios out there…
Please help! Many thanks in advance, you are appreciated.

Respect the Doctor

🎵

"Bit of adrenaline, dash of outrage, and a hint of panic knitted my brain back together. I know exactly who I am. I'm the Doctor. Sorting out fair play across the universe. Now please. Get off this planet while you still have a choice."

So you've come to see my respect thread? mmmm I love respect threads. In fact, I invented them right after 4 slice toasters. So... where was I? Oh, that's right. Me. Doctor, the Doctor. I was born on this little planet on the Constellation of Kasterborous... or was I? Things get a bit complicated there... where I came from or who I am. I've been lots of people, some of them I don't even remember. The person reading this might be the Doctor too (?)... Anyway, back on point. The person who I am now is an easy-going travelehigh-speed engineebiscuit-lover. Me and my fam explore the universe in muh good old TARDIS, righting wrongs and chilling like there's no tomorrow (which is a possibility wink-wink). I'm happy to be your bezzie mate if you play nicely, but if not --- well, you'll get an idea if you keep reading. (scronch)

Source Key

Hover over a feat to view its source.

• Doctor Who (2005) series # episode # = S#E#
• Twice Upon A Time = TUAT
• Resolution = R
• Revolution of the Daleks = RotD
• Eve of the Daleks = EotD
• Legend of the Sea Devils = LotSD
• The Power of the Doctor = PotD

Intelligence

Technological Aptitude
Understanding Technology

• Assures the "safe" crash-landing of a spaceship.
• Identifies the futuristic technology used by Krasko as well as their limitations.
• Identifies the various technology stolen by the Skithra.
• Makes correct conclusions about a spacecraft beyond even her level of technology and puts the techno jargon involved into understable terms.
• Identifies the technology at the Sea Devils' base and how it keeps the place airtight under the sea.

Using/Operating Technology

• Works the Tsuranga's touchscreen controls.
• Uses the Thijarians' own transmat locks to keep them out of Umbreen's farm.
• Uses Kerb!am's prototype robot to hack into the system and prevent an act of terrorism.
• Uses an alien space shuttle to distribute the antidote to Praxeus all over Earth.
• Operates a ship's computer using harp controls.
• Pilots a cyberfighter which uses an unothrodox control scheme.
• Uses a 1960's brain scan device to stun some Weeping Angels.
• Pilots a Lupari ship.
• Uses the Master's TARDIS to bring his cyber-conversion planet to 2022 and thwart his plan to erupt all of Earth's volcanos by converting the lava into steel.

Building Technology

• Crafts her own sonic screwdriver out of Stenza technology and spoons.
• Builds a transport pod out of various electronics to send her to the TARDIS, only to end up sending her companions and herself into outer space because the TARDIS had relocated to a planet out of orbit.
• Builds an ionic membrane from scratch and claims she could make a human out of crayons and half a can of spam.
• Rigs up a cloaking bypass in a minute to access to the Orb of Thassor's data.
• Helps Nikola Tesla finish Wardenclyffe Tower so they could use it to banish the Skithra from Earth.
• Rigs up a CCTV out of a 1960's television and some odds and ends found in her pockets.

Modifying Technology

• Reboots Ryan's phone into a tracking device.
• Reprograms the Master's Kasaarvin-summoning device to shut down when it detects the Kasaarvin.
• Thwarts the Sea Devils by rigging their power core to implode.

Disabling Technology

• Stuns the Gathering Coil with a loose cable upon first seeing it then stuns it again later by overloading its sockets with a more elaborate setup.
• Deactivates a group of self-rebooting sniperbots using an EMP found inside of the destroyed bots.
• Disables the security system inside Karvanista's ship using the Hopper virus.
• Teaches Victorian soldiers to sabotage the Sontarans' life support systems.
• Deactivates a space train's electromagnets to make a group of CyberMasters float away.

Repairing Technology

• Tunes up the TARDIS' wiring in her spare time.
• Figures out how to repair a transport pod by mutating a necessary fuel source.
• Fixes Vinder's ship in a hurry.

Computing

• Decrypts an obscure alien code from an interdimensional species.
• Hacks the guest list of Daniel Barton's party to get invites.
• Types up a debug script in an alien dialect to neutralize the Hopper virus.

Observation

• Recognizes that a tent is holographic upon first glance.
• Recognizes that a building's life support systems have been disabled from the noises heard.
• Can tell what setting Krasko's temporal displacer is on from behind her back.
• Identifies Krasko as a former prisoner of the Stormcage Containment Facility from a wrist tattoo.
• Sees the connection between a series of spider-related incidents occuring all over Sheffield.
• Realizes that the hospital she's being treated at is a spaceship from the vibrations present. Though her wooziness causes her to take a while to figure this out.
• Reaches multiple conclusions about the mud zombies from observing one.
• Notices that something is up with a random house seen from afar.
• Notices that there's another person present with Erik when he claims otherwise.
• Roughly guesses the century she's been transported to while recovering from a daze.
• Points out that a "linen cupboard" is not really a linen cupbard.
• Discovers a secret tunnel that the current homeowner was not aware of.

Deduction

• Exposes Tzim-Sha as a cheat.
• Figures out why Krasko uses non-hostile means to prevent the Montgomery bus boycott.
• Realizes what the P'ting's intention is by hijacking Tsuranga.
• Figures out that Becka Savage is infected with an alien creature.
• Discovers that a ducking stool is a piece of alien technology.
• Realizes that the dimension she entered is a Solitract by remembering a bedtime story from childhood.
• Realizes that the Recon Dalek mutant is revived by ultraviolet light and recalls this fact when it's used again to send a bunch of them into their casings.
• Forces the Master to give up his ruse when she notices a discrepancy between his words and the information she read about the man he's impersonating.
• Works out the Kasaavin's grand scheme.
• Learns about the Dreg's capabilities from the measures taken against them.
• Discovers the key to destroying the CyberMasters from something uttered by the Lone Cyberman.
• Deduces that they have ended up in the middle of the Crimean War.
• Gets interrogated by the Grand Serpent and manages to learn more about him than he does about her.
• Figures out the Sontaran's strategy against the Daleks and Cybermen.
• Deduces what the Sea Devils' ultimate goal is.

Persuasion, Trickery & Manipulation

• Gives Ryan some moral support to overcome his dyspraxia.
• Gets information from Rosa Parks by pretending to be a market researcher.
• Negotiates with an untrustworthy alien.
• Encourages her companions to reject the Solitract's allure before convincing the Solitract itself to release her.
• Coaxes Paltraki into trusting her after his mind was disturbed by psychotropic waves.
• Uses Noor Inayat Khan to frame the Master as a double agent to the Nazis.
• Forces the Alpha Dreg to let her and Bella go using its dependency on carbon dioxide.
• Tricks the Skithra Queen into holding a teleportation device.
• Posing as an imperial regulator, she negotiates with a Judoon captain using both real and made-up legal jargon.
• Helps Tahira conquer her fear so she can control her nightmare monster.
• Defeats the Death Squad Daleks by luring them into what appears to be her TARDIS, only to reveal that it's another TARDIS which she has rigged to self-destruct with them inside.
• Persuades an Ood to go against his superior's wishes and help her.
• Uses a Sontaran commander's obsession with human snacks to get two allies onto the Sontaran ship.
• Lures a Sea Devil into a trap.
• Fails to convince King James that she's not a witch, but likely sows enough doubt in his mind to prematurely end her trial.

Resourcefulness

• Destroys the Remnants by igniting a cigar in a field of acetylene.
• Isolates a giant spider using vinegar and garlic.
• Alleges she used spider web to stop a plane in flight with Amelia Earheart.
• Contains a swarm of giant spiders by luring them into a panic room using the vibrations of loud music.
• Kills two birds with one stone by feeding the P'ting the Tsuranga's bomb, thereby sating its hunger for energy and containing the explosion.
• Puts together a chemistry set on a Punjabi farm in the 1940's to analyze a sample her sonic couldn't.
• Uses peanut butter as a mechanical lubricant.
• Uses a car's rear-view mirror to reflect a deadly laser.
• Forms a circle of fire out of the chemicals in Thomas Edison's factory.

Medical

• Diagnoses General Cicero with Pilot's Heart.
• Can identify the exact cause of death of victims of alien attacks through a quick examination.
• Treats Ryan for the Hopper virus the moment he contracts it.
• Leads a team to develop a cure for Praxeus.
• Can't help Graham with his cancer worries because of... um, social awkwardness(?).

Planning & Strategy

• Places instructions onto Barton's plane in the past to help her companions pilot it in the present when it almost crashes. Her prediction of their responses is so accurate it makes the recording she left resemble a live conversation.
• Gets rid of the Defense Drone Daleks by summoning the Death Squad Daleks to wipe them out, knowing they would prioritize eradicating "impure" Daleks over harming humans.
• Quickly devises a formation for the Lupari ships to successfully defend Earth from the Flux.
• Hijacks the Sontarans' plot to eliminate the Daleks and the Cybermen using the Flux to get rid of all three forces at once.
• Comes up with a plan to break a time loop and dispose of the Daleks pursuing them at the same time.

Miscellaneous Skills

• Uses Venusian Aikido to temporarily paralyze or render humanoids unconscious.
• Translates an alien language without the TARDIS.
• Claims she is a doctor of many things.
• Thanks to Harry Houdini, she single-handedly escapes when chained to a ducking stool and submerged in cold water.
• Impractically summons her sonic screwdriver from her coat pocket into her hand with both arms tied.
• Tails a Sontaran without being spotted.
• Thinks at such a fast rate her surroundings appear slowed while inner-monologuing.
• Sword-fights handedly with a Sea Devil.

Mental Abilities

Mental Resistance & Willpower

• Quickly overcomes of the nightmare-inducing power of Zellin.
• Identifies a perception filter and instructs a group of humans to move past it.
• Breaks out of the Matrix by overloading it with the memories (stock footage) of her past lives.

Mind Reading & Communication

• Communicates with the Master over a long distance.
• Looks into a Dreg's mind to learn their origin.
• Shows Commander Gatt the future of Gallifrey.
• Looks into Percy Shelley's mind so she can learn something his mental state prevents him from telling her.
• Attempts to locate the Master by linking with his mind, however he senses this and misleads her in response.
• Enters Claire's mental space to communicate with the Weeping Angel inhabiting her mind.
• After being split thrice, the three Doctors network with each other.

Mind Manipulation

• Wipes Noor Inayat Khan's and Ada Lovelace's memories of her.
• Performs an "Old Time Lord Trick" on Percy Shelley to extract the Cyberium from him; mentally simulating his death to trick the Cyberium into leaving its host.

Sensing & Feeling

• Receives the Thijarians' telepathic message, though it is painful for her.
• Senses the Kasaavin approaching even though the sonic can't detect them.
• Gets a vibe of unrelenting evil in Villa Diodati.
• Sees and feels the universe breaking down from the Flux.
• Finds her biomodule from hearing it reach out to her - a noise that an Ood (a telepathic being) could not hear.
• Feels that the time loop they're trapped in is shortening with each loop.

Other

• Like all Time Lords, the secret of the Timeless Child hides deep in her memories.
• When made to relive a past event as the Fugitive Doctor, she converses with her past self after seeing the physical difference in the mirror.
• After the Master hijacks her regenerations, the Doctor's mind enters a subconscious plane where she is met by manifestations of her past incarnations. They inform her that even though her body has changed, the forced regeneration has not yet passed its threshold and can still be reversed.

Physical Attributes

Strength

• Frees an elderly woman chained to a ducking stool then drags her out of the water.
• Pushes one end of a ducking stool from a lake.
• Keeps a Skithran from busting through a door.
• Keeps both her companions from drifting away in space.

Speed & Agility

• Leaps from one crane to another.
• Strategically avoids being shot by robot drones as she flees the area.
• Avoids Dalek blasts at point-blank range and rolls into cover.
• Draws that same Dalek's fire so her companions can close in on it.
• Ducks under a close-range laser blast.
• Sidesteps a shot from a Silurian blaster.
• Ducks under a trio of swarming Cyberdrones.
• Flips herself upside-down to right-side up onto a gravity bar, utilizing tricks she learnt at a high-gravity workshop.
• Moves fast enough to pull her companions and herself into the center of the Time Force before Swarm could vaporize Yaz.
• Dodges lasers from behind the moment she enters the area.
• Ducks under sudden Dalek blasts from behind.
• Does a front-flip while avoiding a Sea Devil's sword swipes.
• Steps away from the energy blast of a CyberMaster that just transmatted in.
• Avoids blasts from multiple CyberMasters as she flees into the TARDIS.
• Dodges a close-range Dalek blast.

Durability

• Remains in good spirits when an electric shock violently shoves her backwards (thought this likely due to her post-regeneration rush).
• Recovers from the vacuum of space faster than her human companions.
• Tries to hold back an explosion big enough to take out an airplane's cockpit with only its door to shield her.
• Travels in warp drive without adverse effects.
• Her biology can withstand the Time Force that would be overwhelming for humans, allowing her to briefly jump into Dan and Yaz's timestreams. However, the pressure would eventually kill her.

Senses

• Feels the DNA bombs in her collarbone that none of her companions notice.
• Determines that they've landed in Norway by tasting the grass.
• Discovers an alpaca farm 25 miles away by tasting the soil.
• Determines the century a skeleton originates from by tasting its boney powder.
• Tastes the residue of a stun cube used by the Lupari.
• Incorrectly deduces the decade from sniffing a man's coat, noting he must have owned it for a while.

Regeneration
Time Lords can survive fatal injuries through the process of regeneration whereupon every cell in their body is rewritten, radically transforming their appearance and personality. This regeneration produced some interesting changes...

• This ability is restricted to 12 regenerations across 13 incarnations. Due to the Doctor gaining a second regeneration cycle and the whole Timeless Children revelation, this limit might no longer be in play.
• Excess regeneration energy affords a Time Lord a degree of invulnerability within the first few hours of their regeneration. The newly-regenerated Thirteenth Doctor fell from her airbourne TARDIS in the stratosphere down to a nearby train, crashing through its roof and getting up completely fine.
• Side-effects following regeneraiton include memory loss, fainting and slowed movement.
• The Master uses a machine to force her to regenerate into him so he could go around the universe causing destruction in the Doctor's name. This process was reversed shortly after using the regeneration energy from his CyberMasters.
• Regeneration can be temporarily delayed without suffering negative effects, which the Thirteenth Doctor did for a little while to eat ice cream.
• The Thirteenth Doctor's regeneration into the Fourteenth Doctor was unique from past regenerations in two respects; firstly being that this form strongely resembled her Tenth incarnation instead of a totally new body and secondly in that it also changed the Doctor's clothing (the only other time this happened was the First Doctor's regeneration into the Second).

Miscellaneous Time Lord Biology

• Has two hearts and therefore two pulses.
• Has a much longer lifespan than humans. In this body, she spent several decades imprisoned without visibly aging.
• The Cyberium chooses her as a host over the Lone Cyberman.

Equipment

Get the full rundown of the TARDIS and Sonic Screwdriver in the comments

Psychic Paper
The psychic paper is a blank piece of paper that telepathically projects the Doctor's thoughts into the eyes of whom she presents it to.

• Poses as a crisis investigator to get answers from Jack Robertson.
• Gains employment at Kerb!am by presenting fake references.
• Seizes control of a witch hunt by posing as a Witchfinder General.
• Gain access to Tranquility Spa's command centre by posing as a Pan-Galactic Standards and Practices officer with several areas of expertise under her belt.
• Claims to be part of the Institute of Psychic Investigation to intervene in Professor Jericho's psychic experiments.
• Claims to be members of the local council when investigating a storage facility.
• Gives Ryan and Graham their own psychic papers so they can continue investigating strange goings-ons without her.
• Fails to pass her off as the Witchfinder General to King James due to his sexism so she is instead designated the Witchfinder's Assistant.
• Doesn't work when wet.

Futuristic Technology

• Makes her companions scour a junk planet for spare part using modified metal detectors.
• Gains a comm dot at Tsuranga which she and her companions use on another occasion.
• Uses neural balancers so she and her companions can enter the planet Ranskoor Av Kolos without succumbing to its psychotrophic waves. She later uses them to block the Ux's psychic signal.
• Prepares communicators, codebreakers, trackers, grenades and a remote-detonated bomb during their visit of Ranskoor Av Kolos.
• Gives a woman some medicine to help her recover from Dalek possession.
• Wears an O2 cannister when forced to brave Orphan 55's hostile environment.
• Uses a Braxium Bouncer Mk III to teleport herself, Yaz and Nikola Tesla out of the Skithra's spaceship and then later to send the Skithra Queen back inside the ship.
• Uses a device to take an instant blood sample from a Praxeus patient.
• Carries a flip phone (presumably boosted by the sonic) to contact her companions across time and space.
• In their fight against the Cyberman, she equips her companions with technology that unsuppress the Cybermen's emotions, project gold particles which Cybermen are allergic to and generate forcefields.
• Attacks the Lone Cyberman with a grenade.
• Owns a pair of voice-activated handcuffs, but they aren't very responsive as they were likely set up by a past incarnation.
• Hands Vinder a communicator with a direct line to the TARDIS.
• Owns at few copies of the orange spacesuit she acquired in her Tenth incarnation.
• Places a small device on a Dalek traitor's casing to extract the information about its race's plans.
• Leaves Yaz a device which projects a recorded adaptive hologram of the Doctor to give her guidance after two weeks of no contact. The hologram was later upgraded into a fully-interactive AI made from the Doctor's data collected over thousands of years which only activates during the gravest of emergencies. The Doctor imprinted this AI onto Yaz, Tegan and Ace via sonically-triggered nano-implants resembling static electricity.
  • This hologram can perceive its surroundings through the ocular nerves of the Doctor's companions.
  • The hologram is predictably intangible so lasers harmlessly pass through it. The CyberMasters were also unable to recognize it as a hologram.
  • The hologram's interface will inadvertently change according to the emotional memory of who it's addressing in the moment, causing it to resemble past Doctors to past companions like the Fifth to Tegan Jovanka and the Seventh to Ace. It also willingly assumed the form of the Fugitive Doctor to fool the Master even though her history is shrouded in mystery.

Mundane Items

• Lends Graham a pair of sunglasses she got from either Audrey Hepburn or Pythagoras.
• Writes with a special marker pen that can be concealed by the sonic.
• Uses a stethoscope to auscultate people and places.
• Uses chalk to write up a message for her companions without letting a blind girl know.
• Unravels some string so they don't get lost in the Anti-zone.
• Gives Ryan a ginger humbug to help him recover from motion sickness.
• Hits a Sontaran's probic vent with a slingshot.

Miscellaneous

• Opposes the use of firearms, even against robots and mutant spiders, but is fine with using explosives to take out structures.
• Has Elvis' phone number.
• Strongly implied that she's the mysterious street artist Banksy.
• Featured in a whole chapter or volume in the Book of Celebrants.
• Officiated Albert Einstein's wedding and Yaz's grandmother's first wedding.
• Claims to have invented wellies.
• Keeps companions around to show off.
• Lord Byron fancied her.
• Was arrested and imprisoned by the Judoon for at least seven thousand offenses. In that time, she recited Harry Potter to entertain herself which really shows how out of the loop she was with human affairs.
• The very notion of meeting the Doctor is enough to convince a stubborn Sontaran to agree to her terms.
• Bit narcissistic.

"She was the universe."

Respect the Doctor

"You know what they call me in the ancient legends on the Dalek home world? The Oncoming Storm. You might have removed all your emotions, but I reckon right down deep in your DNA there’s one little spark left... and that’s fear. Doesn’t it just burn when you face me?"
🎵
At the conclusion of the Time War, the withered and wartorn Doctor started his life anew. Though he reclaimed his name after it was disowned by his War incarnation, he tried to distance himself from his past as the last remaining Time Lord in existence. He continued fighting injustice throughout time and space with steely determination while also remaining detached and brooding over his trauma. This incarnation may not have been among the longest in the totality of the Doctor's regeneration cycle, but marked a crucial period in the Doctor's life.
Make sure to check out the Tenth Doctor's thread because he uses the same versions of the sonic screwdriver and TARDIS as his predecessor.

Sources

Hover over a feat to view its source.

• Doctor Who (2005) series 1= E#
• The Day of the Doctor = 50th

Intelligence & Skill

Technological Aptitude

• Realizes that something is up with Platform One when the reported issues are not accurate.
• Deactivates the Adherents of the Repeated Meme by ripping off one of their arms and pulling out a wire.
• Correctly deduces that Cassandra used a teleportation feed to escape, quickly finds its hidden location and reverses it to teleport her back to face justice.
• Upgrades Rose's phone so she can call across time and space. Additionally, this phone could receive signals from inside a bunker and required no special input to pinpoint which specific time she wished to call.
• Understands the technology behind the Slitheen's skin suits shortly after learning about them for the first time.
• Hacks into the Navy with Mickey's help to launch a missile at 10 Downing Street.
• Shows a stubborn human how to play an alien musical instrument.
• Searches through a box full of alien weapons, sorting out which are broken and which are functional from a quick inspection.
• Works the security of a secret facility during a crisis.
• Understands how a data-sharing brain implant works while observing it in action for the first time.
• Knows the name, century of origin and manufacturer of Jack's sonic blaster.
• Identifies the type of spaceship Jack stole and the nanogenes found in another stolen vessel.
• Uses the nanogenes to end the Empty Child plague then sets the vehicle that released them to self-destruct.
• Discovers and understands the device Blon intends to use to escape Earth.
• Locates Rose in the Game Station using its difficult-to-crack computer system.
• Uses the Game Station's technology to build a delta wave transmitter to stop the Daleks, despite knowing full well it would destroy the Earth in the process. Even though the Doctor completes the machine in a matter of hours opposed to the days he estimated it would take, he refused to use it out of principle.

Observation & Deduction

• Exposes Cassandra as the true culprit behind Platform One's sabotage, even when she used robot drones as a scapegoat.
• Quickly identifies the "ghosts" as gaseous beings and understands how they can possess human corpses.
• Can tell that an "alien" is actually a mutated pig.
• Deduces that an alien spaceship crash was faked for a greater malicious purpose.
• Exposes 10 Downing Street's alien expert meeting as a trap.
• Figures out the Raxacoricofallapatorians' weakness by narrowing down what they know about them so far.
• Deduces what the Slitheen's end goal is.
• Discovers a conspiracy behind Satelite Five from minor details about its culture and later concludes its true purpose.
• Can tell that Nancy has lost a loved one due to her motherly nature towards the local urchins.
• Deduces the origin of the Empty Child plague and reveals that Nancy is the mother of the child in question, thereby bringing an end to the plague.
• Sees through Blon's attempt at distracting him and poisoning his drink.
• Escapes the Big Brother house by intentonally getting himself evicted and calling their bluff at the risk of disintegration.

Social Skills

• Improvises a way to charm different aliens.
• Takes charge of a group of soldiers holding him at gunpoint.
• Buys time by threatening to weaponize a wine bottle in an impractical way.
• Sends away a group of gas mask zombies by exploiting their child-like mentality.
• Fools Rose into going inside the TARDIS so he can send her home and out of harm's way.

Resourcefulness

• Uses a champagne bottle to expose Auton Mickey and aggravate it.
• Saves Rose and Harriet Jones from a pair of Slitheens by spraying them with a fire extinquisher.
• Counters Blon's poisonous breath with breath freshener.

Miscellanous

• Understands the Nestene Consciousness' roars and shrieks when trying to negotiate with it (the TARDIS translation circuit doesn't seem to be at play because Rose doesn't appear to understand it).
• Can exit and enter rooms very stealthily.
• Pickpockets Jack's sonic blaster and replaces it with a banana.
• Claims he can speak five billion languages.
• His knowledge of history is not always on point.

Physical Attributes

Biology

• Can survive fatal injuries or — in War's case — the toll of old age and exhaustion by regenerating his body into a renewed and radically different form. This incarnation met his end when he absorbed the energy of the Time Vortex.
• Has a much longer lifespan than humans. He is allegedly 900 years old by the time he meets Rose.
• Has two hearts.
• The DNA of a time traveler is potent enough that it rejuvenates a crippled Dalek into working condition with a touch. Though we only see this happen with Rose, it's safe to assume the same would apply to the Doctor.

Strength

• Pulls off Auton Mickey's head with his bare hands.
• Flips an Auton over his shoulder.
• Rips the arm off the lead drone of the Adherents of the Repeated Meme.
• Kicks a locked door open.
• Easily dispatches a human guard.
• Can be restrained by at least two Autons or reanimated humans.

Speed & Agility

• Catches a strike from one of the Adherents of the Repeated Meme.
• Makes it across a catwalk to pull a switch before the sun's rays can disintegrate Rose. While he is initially helped by slowing down the giant rotating fans in his way, this help expires by the last fan so he manages to cross it moving at rapid speeds through deep concentration
• Saves Rose from being devoured by a Reaper.
• Catches Blon's poison dart while glancing at a menu.

Durability

• Resists being strangled by a detached Auton arm. This exact arm was strong enough to slice open a steel pipe in a single swipe.
• Doesn't seem bothered by the excess amounts of gas filling up the room.
• Not only withstands an electric shock fatal to humans, but places the device discharging the electricity onto one of the alien perpetrators.

Senses

• Claims he can feel the Earth rotate, though is possibly just being overdramatic.
• Senses the Gelth moving through the walls of a mortuary.
• Tails an elusive girl through smell.
• Claims he can see the past, present and future simultaneously which is too overwhelming for a human mind.

TARDIS

The TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimensions in Space) is the Doctor's mode of transport as well as his home. By traveling through the Time Vortex, it can materialize to any point in space and time. Though this model is rather old and semi-functioning, it's still a very powerful object in its own right. Oh, and it's also bigger on the inside.
Space Travel & Mobility

• Lands in a secret, highly-secure facility 53 floors underground.
• Lands inside Jack's warship so he can escape its destruction.
• Saves Rose from a hostage situation on the Dalek mothership by materializing around her into the safety of the TARDIS. However, this also brings a Dalek inside that is quickly disposed of.
• Intends to go to Naples in 1860 but ends up in Cardiff in 1869.

Time Travel & Manipulation

• Travels 100 years in the future, then 10,000 and finally 5,000,000,000 years.
• Rose claims she can go on countless journeys and arrive back in 10 seconds, but didn't either because the TARDIS malfunctioned or she just forget.
• Along with twelve of his past and future incarnations, he uses the TARDIS to freeze Gallifrey in time and seal it in a pocket dimension.
• Certain points in time are in flux, meaning somebody's existence in the future does not always ensure that undesirable outcomes will not happen.
• Means to take Rose home 12 hours after her departure, but messes up and takes her 12 months after she left.
• Takes Rose back to witness her father's death, then takes her back again thereby creating two sets of the Doctor and Rose in the same place in time. When Rose prevents her father's demise, the original pair disappear. This violation of time brings upon the Reapers to devour anyone in sight and turns the TARDIS into an empty shell. All of this is reversed when Rose's father follows out his death and lets himself get run over by the same car which had been forced into a perpetual loop by Rose's actions. Though the timeline is restored, miner changes from its first iteration remain.
• Chases a spacecraft to Earth and ends up weeks behind it when they land.
• The Doctor's heroic deeds at one point in time have negatives consequences that he encounters first hand when he ends up in the same place 100 years later.
• The Doctor can't just use the TARDIS to go back in time to avert the current problem.

Navigation

• Tries to locate the Nestene Consciousness by connecting Auton Mickey's decapitated head to the console.
• Marks the flight path of a spaceship from 12 hours ago.
• Gets taken off course by a mysterious signal.

Security & Defenses

• The assembled hordes of Genghis Khan allegedly couldn't get through the TARDIS Door.
• Can fly into the heart of a plasma storm without getting critically damaged.
• Implies that the TARDIS could withstand the explosion of Jack's warship with the doors open or not, comparing it to a draft.
• The Chamelion Circuit allows the TARDIS to change its exterior to blend in with whatever time or place it lands. Because it malfunctioned in the 1960's, the TARDIS has been stuck in the form of a police box ever since.
• The TARDIS is protected by a forcefield capable of withstanding missiles from the Dalek mothership and direct blasts from Dalek rayguns.
• Remotely sends Rose home to keep her out of harm's way and to keep it out of the hands of those who would misuse it.
• Before using a recovery vehicle, Mickey fails to pry open the TARDIS console using a chain hooked to his car.
• The Daleks kidnapped the Doctor and his companions from within the TARDIS using a transmat beam. This beam had to be particularly powerful since a regular one wouldn't be able to breach the TARDIS.

Heart

• The power of the Cardiff Rift forces the Heart of the TARDIS open. When Blon Slitheen looks into it, it connects with her telepathically and reverts her back into an egg so she can live a new, crimeless life.
• After snapping open the console using a recovery vehicle, Rose absorbs the power of the Time Vortex through the Heart of the TARDIS. She then mentally sends the TARDIS back to the future where the Doctor is, having become the legendary Bad Wolf. Rose uses this power to destroy the entire Dalek empire, revive Jack Harkness (and consequently make him immortal) and scatter the words "Bad Wolf" throughout time to form a self-sustaining paradox. However, such power is too much for her mind and body so the Doctor transfers it into his before returning it to the TARDIS.

Console

• Because it's an old model, the Doctor has to sometimes hit the console with a hammer to get things going.
• Plays music.
• Has a scanner capable of viewing the TARDIS' surroundings and local television channels.
• Has a working phone, yet the phone located on the outside is typically non-functional and just for show.
• Plays a holographic message the Doctor prepared for Rose in times of emergency.

Miscellanous Features

• The TARDIS translation circuit allows the Doctor and his companions to understand and speak the local language of wherever they visit.
• Contains a wardrobe full of clothes to help blend in with different time periods.
• The TARDIS key glows when it's about to materialize nearby. It could also summon the TARDIS remotely, even during a temporal disturbance.
• Cancels the Slitheen's galactic advertisement signal.
• Needs to refuel. A few days standing by the Cardiff Rift will do the job.
• Was used by Blon's extrapolator to open up the Rift which could potentially destroy the world.
• Reveals that the disintegrator ray used at the Game Station was actually a transmat beam.

Sonic Screwdriver

The sonic screwdriver is the Doctor's multi-purpose handheld tool. It's mostly used for opening or unlocking doors, but can fulfill a myriad of other functions.
Locks

• Locks a metal door that holds back Auton Mickey for a while.
• Removes a circuit panel.
• Frees the Doctor from futuristic restraints.
• Opens the backstage door to a nightclub.
• Opens a padlock.
• Locks a doorway to keep out a group of gas mask zombies for a few hours.
• Opens handcuffs.
• Can't break Rose out of a jammed door from the future.
• Can't break out of a steel bunker.
• Can't unlock a door with a deadlock seal or smash through exoglass unless an outside force allows it.

Scanning & Tracking

• Ends up in Rose' flat while following a signal for Autons.
• Discovers that the gas mask zombies have identical symptoms by scanning them.
• Gets multiple energy readings from scanning the Game Station.

Manipulating Technology

• Disables an elevator.
• Renders an Auton arm inanimate by cutting off the signal controlling it.
• Hacks into a digital keypad.
• Keeps Platform One's sun filter up even when the system actively fights to make it descend.
• Controls an elevator.
• Hacks into a futuristic ATM to give Adam some digital money in unlimited amounts.
• Hacks into Satelite Five's mainframe.
• Destroys Adam's home phone.
• Transfers the power from a common battery into the TARDIS key.
• Intercepts Blon's teleporter, causing her to keep teleporting in his direction.
• Damages a security camera.
• Activates the TARDIS from the outside.

Physical Alteration

• Removes the bolts on a cat flap.
• Attempts to loosen concrete bars by sending a resonation pattern through them.
• Reconnects severed barbed wire.

Other

• Being sonic, it's not every silent.

Other Equipment

• Carries around a piece of psychic paper that telepathically projects his thoughts into the minds of those who read it, allowing him inflitrate spaces or pose as figures of importance or authority. He has used it to pass himself off as an invited guest to Platform One's Earth destruction party, a member of management at Satelite Five and a member of the Ministry of Astronauts.
• Destroys a department store housing Autons using a homemade explosive.
• Kills the Nestene Consciousness with a vial of anti-plastic.
• Hands Mickey a disc containing a computer virus that would erase all mention of the Doctor on the internet.
• Spies on a building with high-tech binoculars.
• Supervises Blon during her last meal using special armbands from Jack which strike her with 10,000 volts if she goes further than 10 feet away from him.
• Unlike other incarnations, he is more willing to use firearms in desperate situations but may just equip it as an intimidation tactic.

Miscellanous

• Witnessed the Kennedy assassination, the eruption of Krakatoa, the fall of Troy, and World War V. He also pushed boxes for the Boston Tea Party and was on the Titanic when it sunk but not before warning a family not to go.
• MILF magnet.
• Oop North.
• Considered something of a celebrity.
• Santa?
• Makes Daleks back away in fear.

"Fantastic"

Hi everyone! 😊 There's this section on VK where fans can ask a GC character some questions, and the most interesting one(s) will be illustrated by artists. Of course, the answers are considered to be canon, since they are issued by the author of GC himself 😁
Before we get into it, I am not a professional translator, I only relied on both Yandex and Google Translate. Here's the link to the original post, so you may add corrections to my post here 😊
Alright, let's get into the interview with the lovely (and suspicious) Hotch 🥰😈
☆☆☆☆☆
DATE POSTED: November 6th, 2022
❗All information is official and provided by our wonderful Dmitry❗
On this Sunday, Hotch came to visit us. And he didn't just look, but gave a whole interview 😈🔥
Enjoy reading, friends :)
❤
"Hey-ho, strong citizens and charming citizens. I demand an apology for such an unceremonious intrusion on my frequency. Kidding, kidding, just breathe out."
1. Will there be a love line with you after all?
"And with you, our curious one? 😏"
2. Hotch, have you shared a room with someone before? Are you comfortable, or is it easier to live alone?
"One is calmer, but who said that I'm looking for peace? I can't live without any action in my life, so I perceive the opportunity to exchange a couple of words as heavenly semolina."
3. Are you a love branch or a storyline???!!
"I am the terror flying on the wings of the night!" **
^\ ** Note: I've googled this up and apparently, it's quite similar to a quote by) ^{Darkwing Duck that goes, "I am the terror that flaps in the night!" … Interesting, and very adorable 👀\})
4. What have you done to annoy thousands of men so much that they want to erase your smile with the whole camp?
"Charming, I would answer, but for this we need to get to know each other a little closer 😉"
5. Tell me, how did you end up in Cassius' frumentarii squad? What moment of the service is most vividly imprinted in your memory (not counting the explosive sortie ... )?
"Usually gladiators become frumentarii, but for me it's the opposite. Some friends of Cassius suggested my candidacy as a plucker and burglar. The old man turned his nose around for a long time, but we all understand that he had no choice.
He organized a test for me, an impromptu test strip. It's easy to sneak past the gladiators unnoticed. Hacking is even easier.
And then Flavius asked him to surprise him. And he raises his eyebrow, saying I didn't impress him. What to do, I had to return the rosary to the surprised old man, without which he unexpectedly remained ;)
Eh, Cassius... I'll miss you."
6. Dear Hotch, what was your childhood like? You never talked about your family and you growing up.
"It's not the time for that yet. I can only say that I was born into a family of artists touring all over the world. That's what they called themselves. In fact — traveling circus performers ... but... Damn, there was a lot of love and warmth in it."
Note: The appearance of Hotch's parents in this fanart is not canon unfortunately. But I love to think they looked like this anyway, beautiful and handsome just like Hotch 😜
7. What is your most vivid childhood memory?
"When I first sat on the splits and did somersaults. Bomb feeling! Try it. In splits, the main thing is not to sit down, but to stand up ;)"
8. What kind of music do you prefer?
"It's not that important to me, and I don't have to listen to it very often."
9. Would you like to watch a sunset or sunrise with your loved one?
"I would like to meet a loved one :)"
10. It feels like you had an extremely traumatic relationship experience in the past ... can you at least mention it in passing ... share it with me?
"Oh, I see a line of those who want to get to know each other better here 😏"
11. If you had a choice: complete the task or save the person, what would you choose?
"I would have been torn to pieces, but I did both."
💘💘💘
12. Do you consider our group of frumentarii not just comrades-in-arms, but friends?
"Oh, those poor bastards? Let them live, friends 😄"
https://preview.redd.it/di9ycdy14t3b1.jpg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=566b2ec227a084407c92b424cf82dc3eb14de42d
13. I would very much like to know some story related to your past or childhood. Where you were born, how did you grow up, what happened to your family, some significant moment?
"Frostkitsune, why am I cuter in your art than in real life?! Alice, this applies to you too! **
With my family... Everything is complicated there. I think I will be able to answer this question one day, but... In general, I don't want to talk about something sad right now. Enough, away with these thoughts.
But thanks for asking. Memories hurt, but this pain makes it clear that I am still a person, and not a soulless metal bucket with nuts."
^{( \}* Note:) ^{'Frostkitsune' is famously known for their many Hotch fanarts like this one \}including the spicy Rix/Hotch ones, but I'm keeping this post PG-13 so I'm not sharing it here lol]) ^{& 'Alice' is the artist who illustrated some of the Q&As in this interview.})
14. What is the decisive factor for you when choosing people who are trustworthy? Has your trust ever been betrayed? If so, how did you get through it?
"The decisive factor would be the presence of a sense of humor. I don’t get along with someone who doesn’t understand jokes or takes this life too seriously. No, no, I can be serious too, but do it all the time? Pf...
I don't really trust people. To do something - yes, it is possible. But mostly by myself. It's easier. Even during operations there is some nervousness. We often work separately, so the fear that someone will mess up is still present, but over the years it has become less."
15. If you had to take care of a cybercat, would you feel better?
"If a cat with implants is a cybercat, then it turns out that I am... CyberHotch?!"
ARTIST: Alice/Alisa - vk.com/zintazamelmao
☆☆☆☆☆
Aaand that's it, folks 😊 When I read Hotch's profile in S3E3, I immediately thought of this interview lol, I just had to post it here! Hotch didn't give a straight (pun intended) answer when he was asked about the infamous question... instead he flirted with thousands of people 🤣🤣🤣
Yes, there are interviews with other GC characters. So far: they've done Paulina, Labelle, Afiy, Augusta and Cassius. They're doing Stortia's interview at the moment 😄 Whose interview would you want me to post next? 👀

So first of all, I just want to thank Sanderson, I have no idea if he'll see it(probbly not), but nonetheless, I still want to thank him for creating such amazing books. It's a few days early, but I started reading Way of Kings exactly one year ago, in June 2022, when my medical condition gradually worsened and I found myself with cancer despite my young age(21). I spent the majority of this year in hospitals, doing tests, CTs, MRIs, chemotheraphy and a surgery, these books kept me sane, they helped me relax at times, they helped passed the nights were I couldn't sleep due to various medical reasons and such, they helped me pass the time, though it seemed to stand still, when I felt my life were "stuck" due to my condition while my friends started working, etc. So anyway, my condition is a lot better now and continuing to improve, so I just to say "thanks" to Sanderaon and this amazing community.
So after that, I'll share my highlights from Rhythm of War. Keep in mind that's just me rambling.
First of all, I love how this book focused on Navani, how she grew, how she became a better person, a true scholer, a woman who made great discoveries like the anti-Voidlight and anti-Stormlight(though I now wonder if the new Odium will try to create anti-Lifelight?), the pure tones of Roshar, etc, and how she sought to understand the Singers, their culture., and her relationship with the Sibiling(how is the Sibiling gonna react in future books to Navani's relationship with Dalinar, the Stormfather's Bondsmith?🤣🤣🤣 that would be funny to see.)
Also, at first I thought Raboniel to be some kind of a manipulative bitch(which she IS), but I've grown to like her, her intention, her goals, and her relationship with Navani, she's an amazingly-written character.
I loved Shallan's and Adolin journey in Shadesmar, though the honorspren WERE assholes throughout much of it, I saw how Adolin started to grow, to become the man he wants to be, not Dalinar's shadow, and of course Maya !!!! Holy shit Maya! Can't believe she spoke and shut them all up!
I loved seeing how Shallan started to confront herself again, finally picking sides - cutting ties of the Ghostbloods and this "Master Thakiddar"-something, finally picking sides. I can't believe she really gave Mraize Wit's message! I laughed so hard at that. I'll miss Veil but she'd done her part, and I hope Shallan can help Testament heal.
I loved seeing Dalinar experimenting with his powers, his conversation with Ishar was..... weird. I think he took most of the burnt(besides poor Taln) and truly went nuts. It's scary how OP is Bondsmithing when it's "unchained", terrifying to think what Dalinar would be able to do is he reached his 5th Ideal.
Jasnah and Wit. Oh I loved to see Jasnah's character getting more focus, being developed, confronting her insecurities, trying to truly lead her people, and of course it's always amazing seeing Wit. I LOVED their relationship, how Jaanah doesn't understand emotion, I wanna see more of THAT.
FUCK MOASH!!!!!!!!!!!! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DO TEFT DIRTY LIKE THAT?!?! HE WAS FINALLY FORGIVEN, HE FINALLY BECAME THE MAN HE WANTED TO ME!!!!! WHY SANDERSON WHY?!?!
Wow Kaladin's arc in this book was amazing, how he dealt with his depression, trying to fix his relationship with his family, eventually reconciling with his father, how he overcame his weakness, trying to heal himself over and over only to fall deeper and climb back up with Tien's help. just AMAZING. I could kinda guess what was the theme of 4th Ideal from the start of the book but it was still SO GOOD!!!!!! So the 4th Ideal gives a Radiant his Plate which is made from certain types of spren(like windspren for Windrunners), eh? I also have a theory for what the 5th Windrunner Ideal would be, it's based on the Skybreakers' 5th Ideal - "I'm the Law", I thought it would be "I will lead" or something along these theme as it is consistent with Jerizen and the Windrunners theme of honor, protection and leading, a Windrunner of the 5th Ideal would decide what is right, what is moral.
And finally Wit's meeting with the new Odium(T-Odium?), anyway weird to see Wit being ouplayed. Also I saw some weird things in the books, terms like "Breaths", the white sand, Zhael's weird powers, Nightblood, and many more, guess I'll learn more as I keep reading the cosmere. I think some of it is related to other types of Investure of other Shards.
I'm still a bit confused on Dalinar's and Odium deal, could some explain it to me just in case?
Now I think I'll start reading Warbreaker and then Mistborn era 1, then maybe the two novellas as Stormlight was my first Sanderson.

So I’m trans. I’ve written and presented on this important topic. It is also clear to me that the time for papers and presentations is over. I’d like to see a cross-country joint effort protests by therapeutic bodies as well as doctors and nurses. This is clearly a civil rights issue.
This is an excerpt from an email I haven’t yet sent calling on my local chapter:
However, the events of the last year as a continuation of trends of legalized hate indicate that the holding of conferences and writing of papers are no longer timely nor sufficient actions when considering the magnitude of violence facing us today. Let us not trivialize the extent of this harm; the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention clearly identifies anti-trans initiatives and their backers in the gender critical movement as a “totalitarian and genocidal social force that targets not just transgender people, but also all the institutions of democracy that protect individual and collective human rights” (2022). Although these attacks are aimed at the trans community today, the profession of social work would do itself no favors by assuming that these acts have limited potential to become a virulent force capable of destroying the NASW’s mission, “to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty.”
How are you all feeling about this current moment in our history?