🐉 Credits for Sakuya Release & Fairy Tail Rerun <:gasp:692908028412035142>
Sakuya Review - <@910463974817005568> New Legend of the Forbidden Ninja Scroll Act 2 Equipment Info & Review - <@98761877273731072>
Natsu Review - <@98761877273731072> Lucy Review - <@767775211977179166> Gray Review - <@372743358847778816> Erza Review - <@361664519736524801> Fairy Tail Gacha and Farmable Equipment Info & Review - <@574197337732284416> _ _
Born as a Human, raised by a Dragon, and [Redacted]
diff - Natsu -
Fire, Demon

STATS

HP - 6706 +999 ATK - 3022 +463 DEF - 2822 +433

SKILL

12s CT - 1900% Fire DMG (PHY). For 8s, reduce Enemies' DMG RES by 10%. 400 BREAK ～～～ Nice little DMG RES debuff, nothing noteworthy but not entirely redundant as well.

ARTS

27000% Fire DMG (PHY). For 25s, increase own ATK by 100% and reduce Enemies' Burn RES by 50%. 1100 BREAK ～～～ A long-lasting ATK buff and Burn RES debuff. Additionally, the Burn RES debuff can be helpful when paired with his True Arts for enemies with innate Burn RES. Otherwise, his Arts will generally not see use for most situations.

TRUE ARTS

68000% Fire DMG (PHY). 100% chance of inflicting Burn. For 20s, Allies ignore 100% of Enemies' DEF. 1800 BREAK ～～～ What’s there not to like about a decent DMG multiplier with teamwide DEF Ignore buff. One of the few units in the game, as well as the only Fire unit able to give teamwide DEF Ignore. Furthermore, the 100% chance to inflict Burn synergises particularly well with one of his passives, which will be covered below.

ABILITIES

When own HP is above 70%, increase own Arts by 3/s, Freeze and Paralysis RES by 100%. ～～～ Amazing passive 3 arts/s generation as well as a nice 100% RES to both Freeze and Paralysis at the cost of keeping Natsu above 70% HP. With heals or barriers in the team, Natsu should rarely fall below this threshold and should be able to take full advantage of this passive.
Increase BE generation by 10%. ～～～ Nothing much to say here, a nice BE boost, although its impact is usually negligible.
Increase own DMG by 100% against Burnt Enemies. ～～～ Sheeesh~ That’s a significant DMG buff against Burning enemies. As stated earlier, most enemies won’t have innate Burn RES and can be burned by Natsu’s True Arts, allowing Natsu to gain a substantial 100% DMG buff against the Burned enemies.

MATERIALS

x1 Fragment of Flogassa
_ _

SLOTS

Newer players are considered to be those who joined during the rerun of Fairy Tail collab and onwards
5☆ <:lbphys:650796348194422823>
Newer Players
Relic “Radeus” ["The Glowing Sanctuary" (Fosradius) Giant Boss Farmable] Harusame [Shaman King Equipment Banner]

Natsu’s Scarf [Fairy Tail Event Farmable]

Natsu’s Clothes [Fairy Tail Equipment Banner] Erza’s Sword [Fairy Tail Equipment Banner]
Optimal
Harusame True “IZANAGI” [Sakura Mira True Weapon] Izumi no Kami Kanesada [Golden Kamuy Equipment Banner]

Cursed Light Sword “Anestra” [Auge Raid Boss Drop]

Type-30 Bayonet [Golden Kamuy Equipment Banner] Angelas’ Royal Dress [Halloween Equipment Banner] Rishley’s Sunset Bikini [Summer Equipment Banner] True "Drago La’cryma” [Angelas True Weapon] Dragon Knuckle EX [TenSura Equipment Banner] ～～～ For general use, stick to ArtGen equipment. For nuking, use regular buff/debuff equips that affects Physical/Fire DMG.
5☆ <:lbphys:650796348194422823>
Same as above.
4☆ <:lbmag:650796593276256266>
Due to the lack of many good 4☆ <:lbmag:650796593276256266> equipment, the slot is flexible for most situations.
Overall Impressions
Being one of the few units and the only Fire unit able to provide teamwide DEF Ignore in the game, Natsu is definitely by no means a useless unit. Although stages which require DEF Ignore are few and far between, he can still act as a competent DPS unit with his high True Arts DMG multiplier paired with his passive significantly increasing DMG against Burning enemies. Moreover, he is able to passively gain Arts from simply being above 70% HP, which isn’t very difficult to maintain, allowing him to perform well in sustained fights. _ _
Juicy Lucy!
fix Lucy
Light, Human

STATS

HP - 6680 +999 ATK - 2950 +492 DEF - 2663 +409

SKILL

12s CT - 1500% Light DMG (PHY). For 8s, reduce Enemies' ATK by 10%. 300 BREAK ～～～ Not much here, the ATK debuff can help with survivability but not very impactful overall.

ARTS

15000% Water DMG (MAG). Permanently increase allies' Magic DMG by 30% (stackable, up to 150%). 800 BREAK ～～～ Damage is typical for a NA, but also gives a teamwide permanent, stackable buff. It is only for magic damage, encouraging the use of magic-oriented units, though in the worst case scenario, she will give herself a permanent buff at the very least. Using Lucy in conjunction with other sources of artgen can allow her to use her NA 5 times to increase the whole team’s magic damage output by 150%, which is quite substantial. Note that this arts deals Water damage, despite Lucy being a Light unit. This can be helpful if bosses somehow negate or resist light damage, but it generally won't matter much.

TRUE ARTS

50000% Light DMG (MAG). For 20s, increase Allies' Critical Rate by 100% + Increase Allies' Arts by [1 × # of Light Allies in the party]/s. 1600 BREAK Note: This unit's Arts Gen is Type E and will not stack with other Type E Arts Gen. More info can be found in the ... artsgen command. ～～～ Decent multiplier for a support unit, but the most important aspect of Lucy’s TA is that it is currently the only light unit that both gives a teamwide crit rate of 100% while simultaneously supplying arts to the team. The only caveat is that Lucy has to be used in a team with at least 3 light units, and preferably mono-light, for her ArtsGen to be relevant.

ABILITIES

When own HP is above 80%, increase ATK and DMG by 50%. ～～～ Light tends to have great healers and tanks, so it is not unrealistic to keep Lucy at high HP most of the time. The reward for keeping her HP close to max is a sizable buff to both ATK and DMG. _ _
Increase DMG to Dark Enemies by 20%. ～～～ Another buff that, while situational, can be relevant against dark enemies which normally abound in the game.
Increase own Arts by 2 for every 10% of max HP lost. ～～～ Seems nice in theory, but in practice, she will gain too few arts from this passive to be significant, as she would need to take 5 times her max HP in damage to gain 100 arts.

MATERIALS

x1 Fragment of Radachne

SLOTS

Newer players are considered to be those who joined during the rerun of Fairy Tail collab and onwards

5☆ <:lbmag:650796593276256266>

Newer Players
Magical Hat “Akashic Eye” [Freedom Fighters: "Last Wishes Passed to the Future" (Grohl & Onfuan) Side Story Farmable] Celestial Gate Key [Fairy Tail Crossover Equipment Banner]
Optimal
Victoire’s Catsuit [Halloween Equipment Banner] True “Exceed Zechs” [Dark Zeorg True Weapon] Magical Hat “Akashic Eye” Dark Blade “Exceed Zechs” [“The Hero and the Cursed Sword” (Dark Zeorg) Event Farmable] True “Proscris” [Diaz True Weapon] ～～～ Nothing out of the ordinary, fill this slot with ArtGen in most circumstances.

5☆ <:lbsupp:650797466354057228>

Newer Players
Lucy’s Clothes [Fairy Tail Crossover Equipment Banner] Magisteel-Toe Boots [Phantom Snipers: Episode 1 (Hart) Side Story Farmable] Lesser Demonheart [General Equipment Banners]
Optimal
Lucy’s Clothes [Fairy Tail Crossover Equipment Banner] Liza’s Smart Skirt [Halloween Equipment Banner] Fight Club Goku Uniform” [Kill La Kill Crossover Equipment Banner] Santa Liza, Seeking Wisdom [Christmas Equipment Banner] Sacred “Silent Treasure” [Mines Farmable] Any 4+ aps teamwide artgen equip ～～～ Fill this slot with the artgen equip that yields the most arts per second available, and preferably a teamwide artgen equip. _ _

4☆ <:lbheal:650797046218883151>

Newer Players
Shako of Aspiration "Betzfald" [Cross the Blaze Part 7 equip] Flower Cane Irurose [General Equipment Banner] Relic “Force Keratos” [“Glowing Sanctuary” (Fosradius) Giant Boss Farmable]
Optimal
Puck's Pouch [Re:Zero Crossover Equipment Banner] Shako of Aspiration "Betzfald" [Cross the Blaze Part 7 equip] Flower Cane Irurose [General Equipment Banner] Relic “Force Keratos” [“Glowing Sanctuary” (Fosradius) Giant Boss Farmable] Holy Night of Fenrir [Christmas Event Farmable] Flexible ～～～ Fill this slot with the most potent healing available, or either cleanse or revive when needed.

Overall Impressions

Lucy does not hide the fact that she is fairly limited to mono-light teams (or teams with 3 light units at the very least). However, she is a strong support for mono-light teams, being capable of permanently ramping the team’s Magic damage with repeated NAs, or contributing to team artgen. Her role is quite obvious and a bit limited compared to the collab’s other units, but she fulfills that role in outstanding fashion. _ _
Have you seen my shirt? I swear I left it right here...
diff Gray
Water, Human

STATS

HP - 6677 +999 ATK - 2999 +459 DEF - 2859 +438

SKILL

12s CT - 1800% Water DMG (PHY). For 7s, increase own accuracy by 20%. 400 BREAK ～～～ Nothing major to note about, the minor acccuracy buff is appreciated when needed.

ARTS

22000% Water DMG (PHY). Permanently increase Allies' PHY DMG by 30% (up to 150%). 800 BREAK ～～～ Coupled with his passive, this allows Gray to increase the team's PHY DMG, including himself in quests with many prestages, making him very useful as a mob clearer.

TRUE ARTS

50000% Water DMG (PHY). For 20s, increase own DMG by 100%. If used for the first time of the Quest, increase Allies' Arts by 70. 1800 BREAK ～～～ Another great DMG buff, albiet selfish this time, to burn down the boss after clearing all those prestages. The added first time effect of a massive 70 arts boost to the team helps if anyone is falling behind on arts when they reach the boss, something that Gray likely won't have issues with given his unique passive.
_ _

ABILITIES

At the start of a Battle, increase own Arts by own Luck. ～～～ The bread and butter of what makes Gray such a good farming unit. When he's maxed at 120 luck, that allows him to use Arts immediately at the start of each battle without having to rely on any BE or equips. With enough prestages, it'll give him a use of True Arts for free.
Increase Water RES by 10%. ～～～ The very minor resistance to Water is appreciated, but I don't think it'll make a difference very much.
Increase Freeze RES by 50%. ～～～ Once again appreciated to protect him from freeze, but it's basically a coinflip as to if he gets frozen.

MATERIALS

x1 Fragment of Freydal
_ _

SLOTS

Newer players are considered to be those who joined during the rerun of Fairy Tail collab and onwards

5☆ <:lbphys:650796348194422823>

Newer Players
Relic “Radeus” ["The Glowing Sanctuary" (Fosradius) Giant Boss Farmable]
Optimal
True “IZANAGI” [Sakura Mira True Weapon] Izumi no Kami Kanesada [Golden Kamuy Equipment Banner] True “Efkeria” [Fen True Weapon] Cursed Light Sword “Anestra” [Auge Raid Boss Drop] ～～～ Snippity Snips [Kill La Kill Equipment Banner] True “Saint Blaze” [Nies True Weapon] Silent Summonstone [“Faith in the Stars” (Ifrit & Palamicia) Event Farmable] Rishley’s Sunset Bikini [Summer Equipment Banner] Gray's Sword [Fairy Tale Equipment Banner] ～～～ The usual ArtGen or nuking equips depending on what you're up to.

5☆ <:lbphys:650796348194422823>

Same as above.

4☆ <:lbphys:650796348194422823>

Newer Players
Gray's Necklace [Fairy Tale Equipment Banner] Relic “Volkans” [“Trials of the Flame God” (Ifrit) Giant Boss Farmable] Gun Sword “Bray Cannon” [“Weapon with a Heart” (Vicious) Trial Event Farmable]
Optimal
Hatred Claws “Grief” [Subject-β3 Mines Boss Drop] Blaze Coil “Annulus” [Garm Mines Boss Drop] Dark Armor “Evil Death” [“The Hero and the Cursed Sword” (Dark Zeorg) Event Farmable] Gray's Necklace Relic “Volkans” ～～～ Gun Sword “Bray Cannon” [“Weapon with a Heart” (Vicious) Trial Event Farmable] Dark Armor “Evil Death” [“The Hero and the Cursed Sword” (Dark Zeorg) Event Farmable] ～～～ Without Grief, the best you can do here is some ATK or DMG buffs.
_ _

Overall Impressions

Gray comes swinging at farm teams as an effective upgrade to Kazuma from Yu Yu Hakusho. As a Luck unit, he excels at not only clearing waves, but also providing teamwide Arts (for the first time), and even as a decent DPS/Buffer. He provides excellent damage buffs to himself and to the team, with very offensive slots to help in full luck nukes. With all that said, he serves as one of the best Luck units in the game, period. _ _
Boobs.
fix Erza

STATS**  HP - 6696 +999 ATK - 3105 +475 DEF - 2780 +427  **SKILL**  12s CT - 2000% Light DMG (PHY). For 8s, increase own DMG by 10%. 900 BREAK ～～～ Being a small boost to begin with, 10% is a mere droplet in such a large pool of DMG Up buffs provided by Erza's True Arts.  **ARTS**  20000% Light DMG (PHY). For 20s, increase own ATK by 50% and reduce enemies' evasion 30%. 1200 BREAK ～～～ While a 50% ATK boost is pretty decent, you'll mostly just be using Erza's True Arts for the more favorable boosts in damage output and also how you'd want to use her True Arts consecutively to ramp the damage up. However, coupled with accuracy buffs, the 30% evasion debuff can come in handy against highly evasive bosses.  **TRUE ARTS  70000% Light DMG (PHY). For 15s, reduce enemies' Light Resistance by 40% and increase own Critical DMG by [60% × # of times this True Arts has been activated, up to 300%]. 1600 BREAK ～～～ Huge multiplier, potent resistance debuff, and increasingly large DMG up buffs. With passive critical rate as the cherry on top, it will hit harder than a truck searching for isekai victims. Furthermore, it will get more powerful after each use (effects max out at 5 uses, of course). Even without ramping, her True Arts can already unleash a huge amount of damage and provide great damage support for light damage dealers with herself included.

_ _

ABILITIES  When own HP is above 90%, increase own Arts gauge by 4/s. Additionally, increase own Critical Rate by 100% if unafflicted by Status Ailments ～～～

A key component of her kit, this passive is something you'll want to maintain in order for Erza perform her utmost best as a DPS unit. The automatic Arts gauge generation will help greatly in stacking up her DMG buffs, and the innate critical rate boost will ensure maximal damage against enemies with high defense. Against foes with critical resistance, you can bring an additional critical rate boost to land critical hits, assuming that the enemies don't have a resistance value substantially higher than 100% (in which case, you'll bring DEF ignore).  Increase own Light Resistance by 10%. ～～～ The value is pretty negligible, and it's especially so since Erza's not redirecting damage or anything.  Increase own Paralysis Resistance by 50%. ～～～ Being a mere 50%, Erza might occasionally dodge paralysis, but this would mostly reduce the paralysis duration by a bit. Not really special/important to Erza's kit, and you could always just bring a defense item to deal with various kinds of ailments. 

MATERIALS  x1 Fragment of Fosradius
SLOTS**  Newer players are considered to be those who joined during the rerun of Fairy Tail collab and onwards  5☆ <:lbphys:650796348194422823>  Newer Players  Relic “Radeus” ["The Glowing Sanctuary" (Fosradius) Giant Boss Farmable]  Optimal  **True “IZANAGI” [Sakura Mira's True Weapon] Izumi no Kami Kanesada [Golden Kamuy Equipment Banner] Hiei’s Sword [Yu Yu Hakusho Equipment Banner] ～～～ True "Velocity" [Noel's True Weapon] MorNyan Star [A Tail of Mystery (Detective Liese) Event Farmable] True "Drago La'cryma" [Angelas's True Weapon] Rishley’s Sunset Bikini [Summer Equipment Banner] Gem of Ragsherum’s Grudge ["Revenge of the Cursed Armor" (Ragsherum) Event Farmable] Godzilla Earth [Godzilla Equipment Banner] ～～～ Typically bring Arts gauge generation, or bring DMG buffs or resistance debuffs for nuking. _ _
5☆ <:lbdef:650797237286338589>  Newer Players  Relic "Logislett" [“Trials of the Flame God” (Ifrit) Giant Boss Farmable] Guild Flag [Fairy Tail Equipment Banner] Erza's Armor [Fairy Tail Part 2 Event Farmable]  Optimal  True "Flambardo" [Sanstone's True Equipment] Iris's Change of Pace [Summer Equipment Banner] Flexible ～～～ Use your best damage mitigating equipment. For nuking specifically, you'll usually bring teamwide ATK boosting items.  5☆ <:lbphys:650796348194422823>  Same recommendations as the first slot ～～～ Typically bring Arts gauge generation, or bring DMG buffs or resistance debuffs for nuking. Make sure it stacks or doesn't come into conflict with other items.

_ _

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS  Erza can already unleash a great amount of damage on the initial True Arts, and she can increase her damage output until she caps out at a total of five True Arts uses. As such, she can serve as an excellent DPS unit for most content, whether the stage is short or long. The conditions on her passive seem kind of strict, but it ultimately isn't an issue for lengthier content (where it will matter most for her kit) since you're always expected to bring a healer for those kinds of stages anyway. And unlike most ramping DPS units, she doesn't need too much to get the ball rolling, and there aren't really any disadvantages that would deter her usage in general content as she would already be able to deal more than satisfactory damage from the get-go without hassles like stacking Normal Arts or severe health drain.  For nuking, she can provide pretty good damage support, boasting a potent Light Resistance debuff and two 5-star physical slots that could fit more debuffs or buffs to further enhance the team's damage output while also dishing out a fairly large amount of damage herself. As a side note, her innate critical rate and ability to hold fast, hard-hitting weapons like True Grand Destin may be of use for clearing some mob stages on auto (or just in general). _ _

Here’s the story: My tooth, which has had a root canal for 22 years, started aching on Tuesday, so on Wednesday I go to my dentist. Three x-rays later, he says he’s not sure why it’s hurting and I need to see an Endodontist. I call the Endodontist and am given an appointment two months from now, so I call my dentist back and what do you know? There’s been a cancellation and something has opened up on Thursday.
So, on Thursday I go to the Endodontist, who take three or four more x-rays including a 3-dimensional x-ray. Apparently, said x-rays show that this tooth has a “hopeless prognosis”. The Endodontist refers me to an oral surgeon.
I call the oral surgeon, who schedules me for a month from Thursday. So I call my dentist, who calls the surgeon, who magically finds an opening for me on Friday.
When I arrive at the surgeon’s, I’m given yet another x-ray and then asked to wait in the waiting room, where I’m handed a form. I can’t fill out forms because my handwriting was affected by some strokes that I suffered 17 years ago at the age of 24, so I explain this to the receptionist. She begrudgingly agrees to help me fill out the “meaty bits” like my address and insurance information. I agree to fill out the medical bit, which mostly requires checking boxes, myself.
I twiddle my thumbs for 30 - 45 minutes before a surgical assistant calls me back. She begins interrogating me about the medical form. “What are your mental problems?” She begins, and I cringe. But, knowing that I’m grouchy because I haven’t eaten anything in three days, I vow to be polite.
Then we get to the section on illicit drugs. “Any marijuana use?” She asks me, ready to check no. “No, but I do take CBD every night,” I tell her. (CBD helps me to dream, a skill I lost for years post-stroke.)
“Gummies?” She prods. I nod. She types “marijuana gummies” into her computer. Thankfully, I catch her.
“No, I’m not a marijuana user,” I explain.
“I put that!” I roll my eyes.
“I said that I use CBD because I wanted you to know; I’m unfamiliar with its interactions. Marijuana contains two active chemicals: THC and CBD. THC is one that gets you high. CBD relaxes you. Additionally, CBD grows in two plants; mine is from hemp. Please write ‘CBD gummies’.” She dutifully corrects her notes.
She asks about blood thinners, looks at the sheet I’ve filled out, and is like, “Why’d you put a question mark?” I explain it’s because I’m on Plavix, which isn’t quite a blood thinner because it works against your platelets. It doesn’t thin your blood, it just helps you to bleed more when you DO get injured. “So I should put yes?”
“How about you write ‘patient is on Plavix’?” I answer, struggling to contain my frustration.
Then she starts explaining the prescription drugs she’s going to prescribe me for pain. “Something that contains both acetaminophen and Tylenol —“
“I’m going to stop you right there,” I say. “Acetaminophen IS Tylenol. Do you maybe mean to say that you’re going to write me a script for a combination of Tylenol and an opiate?”
“Yes?” Good God. “Yes?” Is NOT what you want to hear from the surgery assistant right before your surgery. Nor do you want her to confuse the kind of pain medication shes going to give you. Nor should you have to debate the merits of Plavix vs other blood thinners. You don’t want to have to explain to her how marijuana works. Nor do you want to tell her “what your mental problems are”. My hackles are raised.
She has me sign a contract for the work they’re going to do: extract tooth #2. Then, we head into the surgery suite. Assistant ducks out and nurse comes in to anesthetize me.
She sticks the swab into the left side of my mouth. I spit it out and say, “You’re going to take out #2, right?”
“No, we’re extracting #15.”
“NO, YOU ARE NOT. IT’S TOOTH #2, MY BACK RIGHT.” She excuses herself from the room and goes to check. Upon returning, she says, “You were right! It’s tooth #2! The surgery assistant wrote it down wrong on our whiteboard.” I look over at her as she erases the instructions on the board in the room and replaces them with the correct ones.
Then, the surgical assistant returns with nary a peep (after all, when have you ever heard a doctor or medical professional apologize?) and the surgery commences. Fortunately, the surgeon is great — the whole procedure takes ten minutes, and recovery has been relatively easy. However, this seems like more than an oversight. What if I had been put under general anesthesia, as the doctor had offered to do? What if they went ahead and extracted #15 and I woke up with both a missing tooth and a toothache? Or would they have gone ahead and corrected their mistake and yanked out both #15 and #2? I was clutching my arm so hard during the surgery that i could see my the imprints of my fingers.
I filled out a scathing questionnaire that evening, but is there anybody else I should tell about this debacle? Would the state like to know, for example? If so, how do I contact them? TIA!

Got this part finished! It took some doin, but I got there. Anyway, let me know what you guys think, and I hope you enjoy. I'm not very good at these intros.
First / Prev / Next (Coming eventually)
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“-ck.”
David’s apartment wasn’t overly furnished to begin with. He lived with the bare essentials that came with state housing, but the fiks decided to make it more homy. Their idea of a home was converting it into a flophouse. Beds, cots, and pallets soon spread out along the walls while boxes and crates soon took up residence in the middle of the room. His coffee table, end tables, and small dining set were conspicuously absent.
He stared slack-jawed for a moment before a crash sounded from his kitchen. “Saa! No food!”
“Lie! How can human starve?” After a brief pause, “Saa! No food!"
David was about to investigate when a short…well, relatively short fik stood in his way. “Ah, David! Yes, yes, we come as soon as we could.” He was just a few inches taller than David and wearing more ornate garb. About as ornate as something stolen from a seamstress’ dumpster. He was also an albino. That was important to fiks, right?
“Am Wesh. Clan Ermin.” That sounded important, alright.
“Ermin? Are you the one in charge here? Tell them to stop ripping up my-“
Another clatter sounded from the kitchen. “Look, look! Hidden door!” Oh right, the pantry. Great. Now they’re in his walls.
With a content smile the Ermin said, “Yes, this will be good den. The wise clan lives close.” He illustrated his point by interlacing his fingers. “Builds strong bonds. And now with human! Wise human no less!”
“Wise? Look man, if I was wise, I’d be doing better than I am. Now, will you tell them-“
“Bah! Yes, human wise…Maybe David does not see. Or hear. Wesh hears wisdom you recite.”
“…You could hear me in the shower?” he asked sheepishly.
“Saaaaa. Yes. David sings song of fik! Sings of fik’s struggle in new world. About lies and hate fik suffer. But our fighter spirit keeps us going. Keeps us strong. You sing such wisdom without knowing?” He placed his hands on David’s shoulders, “Fear not! Wesh will hear and speak David’s wisdom. Even if David cannot see.” With a pat on the shoulder the albino shuffled away to the warriors who seemed at odds over sleeping arrangements.
“I guess it’s good to know they like Simon and Garfunkel.” He mumbled to himself. David summoned his courage to finally investigate what was happening in his kitchen when the door chimed, and the apartment went abruptly silent.
*****
Sarif didn’t need a canid nose to know something was off. The various tables and bits of broken furniture stacked up beside the building leading a trail of dust and debris to David’s door was a decent tip off. Another would be the small din coming from the building. Sure, any tenant could be having company over making a decent noise, but they wouldn’t stop after pressing David’s chime. But of course, she could also smell the small number of people who’ve passed by recently. It didn’t seem likely David would give up being a recluse overnight. What worried her was the smell of his pursuers from last night.
After a moment of silence, Sarif pounded on the door as a bit of anxiety seeped into her mind.
“Who’s there?” called David.
She let go of a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “It’s me. I’ve come to check on you, and…And apologize.” She struggled to get the last word out.
After a brief pause the door slid partially open revealing David’s suspicious expression. “Apologize?”
“Yes…Who’s in there with you?” She looked above him, but no one was in view. The place looked like a mess.
“Just, uh…Just some friends. Could you maybe come back another time? Now’s a bit…Busy.”
She quirked an eyebrow. “Please let me in. It’s-“ She caught herself before saying ‘my job’ “Important to me that I know you’re safe.”
With a grimace David looked back into his apartment before relenting and opening the door. Her eyes quickly scanned the room looking for the intruders as she stepped through the threshold. The fiks were hiding in the doorways to the kitchen and bedroom. She caught sight of the impromptu bedding and realized this was an infestation.
She took a couple strides to put herself between as many of them and David as she could. “David, what are they doing here?” she demanded in a hoarse whisper. “They were the ones chasing you last night. You’re letting them move in?”
“I’m not letting them do anything.” He replied as hushed as he could. “I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m a bit on the short side. When someone twice my height wants to do something there’s not much I can do about it.”
Her eyes narrowed as she looked over her shoulder before leaning down and whispering in his ear, “Do you need me to get rid of them? If you feel in danger I’ll-“
“No! No. They’re fine. Just a bit…excited? Eager?” He sighed, “Look…Last night was a bit of a misunderstanding. I didn’t know all of this was happening until a few minutes ago. It’ll sort itself out.”
“You can’t let these people stay here. It’s not safe. They’re…”
It was David’s turn to squint, “They’re what?”
“You know.”
“No, I don’t. Enlighten me.”
“They’re dangerous. They steal, they’re violent-“
“Violent? Violent? Everyone in this galaxy is violent. So far, they haven’t stolen anything, and have been polite with everything I’ve asked. Meanwhile the other high and mighty races have done their very best to make my life a living Hell. They haven’t beaten me. They haven’t starved me! They haven’t shoved shit in me without my consent like those fucking snakes or big fuckers did!” David shouted while pointing to the scar behind his ear. He realized he was shouting and leaned around Sarif to see a dozen or so eyes staring at the two.
Sarif closed her eyes and took a breath. “Look, I…I’m sorry. I’m sure they’re fine. I just…” She looked up and around, searching for the words. “I’m trying my best to keep you safe. I really am. Sometimes that…Sometimes that makes me come off a little harsh. You know the galaxy isn’t a nice place. So do I. I tend to see the worst in people.” She looked down into his eyes, “Will you meet me halfway? Help me, help you? I just want to help you however I can.”
The tension left David as he sighed and rubbed his forehead. He opened his mouth to speak when there came a rough knock at the door.
*****
Hilda took a seat at the bar in the Aimless Wind Café. It had mostly emptied out as the breakfast rush died down. She perused the menu on her comm then checked for any upcoming entertainment. Looks like authentic human music was a random flash promotion. After a brief wait, a black furred felinoid walked up behind the counter.
“Can I get you anything?”
“Yeah, I’ll take a tea and is the owner in today?”
She looked the taurian up and down before replying, “Sure. I’ll go grab him.” With that she disappeared into the back. A few minutes passed as Hilda looked around the restaurant. It wasn’t small exactly. The bar and stage took up a good portion of the room, but judging by the tables the place could seat just over fifty patrons.
“Well, if it isn’t our resident human wrangler. A bit wilier than herding troqs, huh?”
Is my accent that bad? The man rose to eye-level on the hidden step that ran the length of the bar. He was dressed in more conservative clothing with a handkerchief tied around his nubs holding his hair back. While he readied the kettle and dug out a large earthenware cup, Hilda cleared her throat.
“We grew nist, but yeah. I’m here to-“
“Learn what you can about our little music-man.” He set the cup down in front of Hilda and began wiping down the immaculate counter. “He’s been here a few times; engaging in his impromptu therapy sessions. Not much of a talker I’m afraid. What were you hoping to learn?”
Hilda went back and forth in her head about just how much she wanted to say, before deciding honesty would be best. “This is…only our second day with David. So far, we’ve only read his file, picked him up from the hospital, then chased him through half the station. We can’t get a word in edgewise because he doesn’t trust…Well, anyone. But, he kept coming here. I just want to see why. Maybe find something we can do to help him.”
The owner raised his eyebrows then leaned on the bar, “Well. I suppose things have nowhere to go but up, now. If you were looking for some great truth or revelation about David, I’m afraid I have none. All I can say is the man loves-no, needs to sing. I don’t know why. Maybe it distracts him from the here and now or takes him back to when life made more sense to him. Though, if I were to guess…I would say he probably always loved singing. Might well have been his drive before everything was stolen.”
She mulled that over. For someone without all the answers the man had a better bead on David than most of the evals in his file. “That’s as good a guess as any. I just don’t know what I can do with that Mr…”
“Rodrik, and it may be a bit selfish on my part, but it also may bring David a bit out of his shell. Maybe you and your partner could finally bring our bard to perform on that stage over there.” He pointed to the back corner. “I’m more than willing to accommodate whatever he needs.” Standing straight again he told her, “I’ll be here whenever if he decides to perform up there or in the back. I live on the floor above. For now, Shasa here will take care of you.”
Stepping back down, the man passed the felinoid and returned to the backroom. Hilda nursed her tea and thought when Shasa spoke. “I do hope you get him to perform again. I’m a bit of a fan now.”
Hilda eyed the woman. She realized her fur wasn’t solid black but covered in hazy, faint spots. A bit on the taller and bulkier side for felinoids she seemed a bit out of place, but she didn’t know why. “Have you spoken to David much?”
“Not as much as I’d like to. He’s adorably uncomfortable whenever anyone is…particularly friendly to him. But I do love a man with baggage. They melt in your hands once they’re comfortable around you. Lean on you for support. Oh, but you’re not here for that kind of advice. Or are you?” She smiled mischievously.
Squinting at the other woman, Hilda rose and paid her tab, “Thanks. I guess.” She left the café and headed for David’s apartment, learning all she could and a bit more besides. I’m gonna have to keep an eye out for that one.
*****
The room was silent for a beat before Sarif opened the door. She was staring at a leather clad chest before she craned her neck back and saw the single largest fik she had ever seen. I didn’t know they could get that big.
The fik woman seemed equally confused to see Sarif and looked past her to the other fiks approaching the door.
“Chief!” called a fik.
“Chief?” parroted David and Sarif in unison.
A grin split the chief’s lips as she bowled past Sarif and strode in to meet her clan.
“Hey! You can’t just barge in here!” cried Sarif as she rebounded off the wall and planted her paws.
“Why? Am chief. Chief can go anywhere.” The fik giant explained as if to a child. Ignoring the canid, the chief’s gaze wandered the apartment before settling on David, “You!” She took a couple quick strides before bending down and scooping David up in a bear hug.
Sarif launched herself with reckless abandon at the fik’s back with teeth and claws bared. The chief spun as she hauled David up throwing Sarif’s lunge off causing her to shoot past. She dug her claws in the floor and spun around. David was effectively a hostage and meat shield.
I’m gonna have to go low or else I’d rip David open with her. But what if she lands on him? That could be just as…Wait, what’s she saying?
The fik, seemingly oblivious to the attack was rocking David side to side saying, “So happy to finally find you! Humans so hard to find. Always hiding. Always running. But now I have you! You’ll be so safe and happy now!”
She blinked. That wasn’t quite what she expected, but violence still hadn’t been ruled out. She was plotting her next move when she noticed a sharp blade of some description enter her peripheral, threatening her to stay still. Right. The others.
Then the door opened.
*****
Hilda heard voices and a scuffle as she approached the door. Deciding she needed to get in there quickly she opened the door and stepped inside.
She didn’t know how to process what she was seeing. There were almost a dozen fiks around the redecorated room. One was just about her size, clutching a squirming David while another was holding a knife to Sarif who had murder in her eyes. And all eyes were on her.
The door slid shut behind her when she turned and glared at the big fik. “Put. Him. Down.”
A confused expression crossed her face. She looked down and saw the human struggling for air then released him. He dropped to the floor gasping for breath, bracing his hands on his thighs.
Her gaze settled on Sarif who was beginning to relax. “What happened?”
“These f-“ She glanced at David, “These people broke in and seem to be trying to move in.”
A white fik stepped forward, “There are lies! Fik was welcomed into new den. David is most gracious. Fik would not break anything!”
“I broke something!” Piped up a fik in the back.
“Silence!” the white fik yelled, spinning around.
“You about broke David’s spine!” Sarif growled and stalked up to the chief. “Where do you get off thinking you can just whip him around like that?”
She seemed unperturbed by the chastisement. “Human is fine. Sulta knows her own strength.” The argument carried on for another couple minutes when the door chimed again.
*****
That’s it! I’m ripping the chime off and bricking up the door! No more visitors! No more headaches! David had slipped out of the middle of the verbal clash in case it became more physical, but that put him closest to the door. With a roll of his eyes and a groan he answered it.
Standing in the doorway was a blue and red colored avian. It gave David a quick glance before handing him a slim paper package. “You must be David. Not a lot of humans running around here. Anyway, have a pleasant day!” he called before striding down the street.
David tried to get a question out but the avian’s long legs carried him away before David even knew what to ask. With a sigh he inspected the package. It was more like an old Earth manilla envelope, bulging with something weighty. It had his address and even a description of him, but no return address or even the name of the sender.
Frowning down at it he turned around and closed the door once again. Then looked up and realized he was once again the center of attention.
“Uh…You all keep doin…Whatever. I’m gonna go check my mail.” He shuffled along the wall until he entered his bedroom then shut the door. Thankfully he was alone.
He sat down in his desk chair by his comically oversized desk and pulled out the envelope’s contents. It held a pad and a card. He set the pad aside a read the card with someone’s face on it.
You are formally invited to attend the celebration of life/graveside service of Mortemer J. Albrecht.
A funeral? I don’t even know this guy. He quickly read the dates and brief life summary on the inside before setting it aside and powering on the pad. It blinked to life before displaying the front camera view. God, I look terrible.
It blinked a couple times before scanning his face, with special attention to the eyes. I wonder if I get to keep this thing. Passing whatever check, the pad displayed the directions to the desolate planet Mr. Albrecht was going to be buried on. It drew up a diagram of the landing zone, gravesite, and where the Guardians will wait.
Guardians? Plural? Realization dawned on him. Multiple humans in one place. They never did that. David never fully understood why. He missed that bit of collective trauma. In some instances, it made him feel more disconnected to humanity than he already was.
He continued reading the invitation. It seems Mr. Albracht wanted as close to a traditional funeral as he could have, but he had no surviving family. That’s where David and the other invited humans come in. He pondered his options. He really didn’t want to venture out. He didn’t want to meet people and see that all too familiar pity in their eyes. Especially other humans. He didn’t know if it’d be worse to see them looking as bad as himself or doing better.
On the other hand…He was lonely. It’d been so long since he’d spoken to another human. Another person with a shared background and experience. Someone who’d just understand. He thought about it for a minute before reaching a decision.
He opened the door, and it seemed everyone really went back to arguing and shouting.
“Hey!” Silence. “You.” He pointed at Ruk’sa, “Keep everyone from wreaking my apartment. You.” He pointed at Sarif, “Keep them from getting into trouble while I’m gone. You.” He pointed at Hilda, “Come here.” He stalked back into his room while everyone looked at each other.
Hilda followed him to his room. “Gone?”
David spun around and squinted at the towering taurian, “You and Sarif really want to help me?” She nodded immediately, “Then take me here.” He pointed at the uninhabited planet displayed on the pad.

The roll is Full Bore/ Polygonal Rifling, Accurized Rounds, Eddy Current(meh) and Adagio with Stability MW. Not a god roll but it's decent.
Adagio despite lowering your RPM but it buffs the damage by 30% and give + 10 range allowing you to 2 tap any resilience @ 0.6ttk.
Personally I would pick Polygonal Rifling instead of Full Bore to have 46 stability but for those who can handle the recoil, Full Bore will allow you hit hit 36m with Adagio active allowing you reach 38m.

I just had my honeymoon (originally scheduled for Jun 2020). My wife and I are in our early thirties. It’s my wife’s first time in japan while it’s my fourth. I’ve benefitted immensely from stalking Tokyo travel reddit and would like to return the favour. I’ll provide some of my tips and observations to the end (skip to the end if the itinerary doesn’t interest you), some of which I think haven’t been mentioned before.
Thank God pretty much everything went to plan, and my wife thoroughly enjoyed the trip. We spent 12 days in Japan, most of it in Tokyo and 2 nights in Kawaguchiko. Many people were surprised to know that we’d be spending most of our trip in Tokyo, but I thought it was just fine because Tokyo had a lot to offer. My wife and I aren’t big on visiting shrines or ticking tourist hotspots off a checklist. We don’t shop much, but we did a lot of it simply because it’s Japan and we bought lots of quality-of-life items (not fashion) for ourselves and others. Given how much my wife really enjoyed the trip, I think others with similar interests could find something helpful too.
Pre-trip planning

• Other than the hotel & flights, I booked the highway express bus to Kawaguchiko one week prior.
• Decided on the airport limousine bus to bring us from the airport to the city a few days prior.
• Studio Ghibli tickets booked one month in advance. International tickets were quickly sold out, so we used a free VPN to get onto the Japanese site which had more tickets & timings available. Simply Google translate the entire page.
• Booked a cooking class on cookly months prior.
• Did Visit Japan QR two days prior. It takes some time so do it earlier rather than later.
• Added all places of interests in a Google list, and all food places in another Google list. I tried the custom Google maps at first but didn’t feel the UI was easy to navigate.
• Planned itinerary based on location proximity, and also highlighted parts that were interchangeable in case we wanted to switch it up (which we did).

Planning during the trip

• The Google maps foods list was always just for consideration: if we had time or were craving something. We didn't hard-code food places into our daily plans. But when food was the primary activity (e.g. visiting Tsukiji market), we'd determine to visit particular food stalls. Otherwise, just needed to do a cursory Google review check on whether a random food place is worth eating it. As a principle, we didn't want to spend time unnecessarily queuing for food.
• I'd plan the next day's itinerary the night before, considering fatigue, interest, and proximity. I would create a brand new Google maps list for the next day, including potential food places.

Day 0 (Wed) - Arrival at Shinjuku Airport- Arrived in Haneda late, about 11. Clearance was quick but baggage took 30mins. I had no choice but to cancel my airport limousine and take the metro to our hotel in Shinjuku.- I tried Apple wallet’s Suica at first. It worked seamlessly but felt that a physical metro card was just faster so I eventually switched over.- Reached after midnight, so do let your hotel know in advance if you anticipate arriving at odd hours.
Day 1 (Thurs) - Shinjuku exploration- Originally planned to visit Tsukiji on day 1, but given that we arrive late the previous night, agreed with my wife to change the plan and spend the first day doing the Shinjuku itinerary.

• Walked to a popular Tsukumen place at 11. Queued for 20mins and it was an interesting experience as there were lines of people standing right behind watching you eat. Wife said it was her best Tsukumen ever!
• Sekaido for art & stationary supplies: My wife does art so it was a haven for her. We spent a few hours there!
• Tokyu Hands Shinjuku: but two floors were under renovation.
• Omoide Yokocho: A quick walkthrough. Many tourists.

Day 2 (Fri) - Kappabashi St., Fabric Town, Akihabara

• Kappabashi Dougu Street: looked at kitchen supplies and to find a nice knife! (Do research on what knife you need beforehand).
• Fabric Town: My wife just passed a seamstress exam so she eagerly anticipated visiting fabric town, we spent a few hours in Tomato.
• Akihabara (Animate, Bic Camera, Gyukatsu Don): It was drizzling the entire day so it was not the most comfortable lugging that many bags around a wet Akihabara in the evening. Wife wasn’t interested but I wanted to let her experience this unique culture. Had dinner at a popular gyukatsu don (beef cutlet that you’d have to cook yourself). It was fantastic and I had never eaten it. But it was a long one hour wait.

Day 3 (Sat) - Cooking class in Shinjuku, Shibuya

• Private cooking class in Shinjuku: Our host was great! We were invited into his cosy house and he taught us how to make Okonomiyaki, Yakisoba, and a Japanese salad. My wife absolutely loved the experience of getting to know a local and understanding his life story, Japanese culture, and some of his horror stories of guests. We got more food recs from him to understand where the locals really ate at.
• Shibuya 109: Paid $5 for a drink to have a bird’s eye view of the Shibuya crossing. It was Saturday so the people crossing was at its full force. Even if you think this is touristy, it’s amazing to see that many people like little ants crossing a street. There are several nice locations here to take some artsy shots.
• Ishibashi Music Shibuya: absolutely loved the vibe in this music store. Back home, I’ve been thinking about getting a particular keyboard but never got a chance to try it. I was able to play this particular one undisturbed and feel totally comfortable. Bought a few Japan exclusive guitar picks as gifts.
• Shibuya Tokyu Hands: This was amazing. I thought Shinjuku Tokyu Hands was the flagship store. So I only stumbled into this because I urgently needed to pee and someone said Tokyu hands had toilets. We were confused as its name was rebranded to simple Hands with a new logo. IF you only have time to visit one Tokyu Hands, visit the Shibuya one. Each floor had 2 sub-floors so that’s a ton of floors! Lots of quality-of-life improvements one could get from this store. My wife got a buckwheat pillow.
• Shibuya Loft: After Sekaido, I didn’t think there was much to look at. But Loft was very different. Similar to Tokyu hands but seems more modern and fashionable. Worth visiting together with Tokyu hands! It also had packaged food available! It was late and my wife and I concluded that we didn’t have to to explore all the floors and that we’d return to Shibuya again.

Day 4 (Sun) - Komazawa Church, Harajuku, Shibuya

• Church in Komazawa: not a tourist activity, but we linked up with some partners from our home church and attended service at a little church held in a nursery. It was an amazing and encouraging experience.
• Harajuku: Way too crowded. I had anticipated this as it was a Sunday, but thought to just try. Takeshita street was so packed my wife feared there would be a trample risk (it wasn’t that bad). We did queue 20mins for pretty tasty crepe. After checking out all the recommended streets (e.g. cat street, uru-harajuku), my wife simply felt that she couldn’t stand the Harajuku crowd and the vibes. So we decided to go back to Shibuya again!
• Shibuya JINS: I didn’t mention this but previously in Shinjuku and Shibuya, I had been checking out recommended optical shops in the vicinity. I had something in particular in mind. Japanese-made glasses are highly-rated, but I couldn’t find something at the right price-point. At JINS, I found a design I liked. Though not made in Japan, it cost me less than 5000 yen. Took them 1 hour to make it. For some reason I loved the vibes at Shibuya, and I earmarked it to return again later.

Day 5 (Mon) - Tsukiji Market, Ginza Muji/Uniqlo, Tokyo station

• Tsukiji market: wanted to arrive before 8 and was 30m late. But the crowds weren’t that bad either. Everything we tried was lovely. Potato/corn fishcakes, strawberry mochi, tamago, wagyu beef, uni inarisushi, unagi. But the star was Masa burger, which we waited till 11am to try. By then, the tourist buses had come and the streets were packed. But Masa burger was in a corner and we were their first customers. We tried fried codfish burger + homemade ginger ale. Both were was so well done and the burger was packed with such fresh and interesting salads! It was so good we had it twice.
• Ginza Uniqlo/Muji: we wanted to take a look at some of Uniqlo’s exclusive items. Apparently they do have exclusive t-shirts for each region (e.g. Harajuku, Shibuya, Ginza). They tend to be collaborations with well-known food places in the area. However, they were always white in colour and not made-in-japan-quality. Muji was a disappointment, not a lot more than the usual.
• Tokyo Station Ghibli & Tenugui: Went to Tokyo station to check out the Ghibli store and to look for a particular traditional tenugui (Japanese towels) store as my wife were hunting these down to give as gifts.
• Shinjuku Ichiran & Mister Donut: We returned to Shinjuku for Ichiran ramen, specifically at 5+pm. No crowds at all. Yummy! We then saw a Mister Donut, and recalled news in our home country that when it first opened, people queued 5 hours for it. We thought to try it to see what the fuss was all about. Cash only, but the donuts were wonderfully textured and not too sweet. My wife doesn’t like sweet stuff, but mister donut really hit the sweet spot (no pun intended).

Day 6 (Tue) - Tokyo National Museum, Fabric town revisit, Akihabara revisit, Ochanomizu

• Tokyo National Museum: We had a good time learning about Japan’s early history, and discovered that so much that we know of Japan resulted from Chinese/korean influence.
• Fabric town & Akihabara revisit, Ochonomizu: We decided that this was likely the right time to go back for items we missed out on or didn’t have time to see. My wife went to fabric town while I went to Akihabara’s Yodaibashi camera, which I felt to be better and with more varied things than Bic Camera. I then went to Ochanomizu to look at more music and sport shops. We met up again at Shinjuku for another Gyukatsu Don before heading to mister donuts again.

Day 7 (Wed) - Shinjuku Gyoen Garden, Mori Museum, Ginza Wakamatsu, Shinjuku

• Shinjuku Gyoen Garden: lovely large garden grounds. We spent almost an hour just lying under a tree and watching clouds float by. Wife was doing some rough sketches of the garden. We had mister donuts from last night for breakfast.
• Mori Museum: Saw the exhibition of Heatherwick studios, which was inspiring and educational. Paid for the rooftop access to have a quick view of Tokyo from 50-ish floors up.
• Ginza Wakamatsu: Because of one of the Uniqlo-ginza-exclusive t-shirts, my wife was curious about this traditional Japanese dessert. So we gave it a check and realised it’s been around for more than a century. There was a short line (mainly Japanese elderly). The shop interior transported us back decades. It felt surreal eating a dessert that the Japanese ate centuries ago. It’s certainly doesn’t excite and overwhelm one’s taste buds immediately as modern desserts do. But there’s an old charm to it.
• Shinjuku Okadaya fabric: Returned to Shinjuku as my wife wanted to check out another of their famous fabric stores. Prices were more expensive than fabric town, but somewhat different items.

Day 8 (Thurs) - Kawaguchiko

• Bus to Kawaguchiko: Packed light to Kawaguchiko, and forwarded our remaining luggage to our post-Kawaguchiko hotel in Tamachi. The Shinjuku hotel staff were very helpful. I was merely inquiring on how luggage forwarding was done, but he picked up the phone, called my Tamachi hotel to confirm the booking, and prepared the documents for me. All I had to do was roll my luggage the next night to them and make payment. Booked a 7:45am bus to Kawaguchiko and managed to catch a glimpse of Mount Fuji when we were on our way there!
• Cycling In Kawaguchiko: We lugged our bags to our ryokan and headed out again. My wife was quite hesitant about cycling overseas and I was also worried it’d tire her out too much. I debated between cycling or simply taking the sight-seeing bus. Eventually felt that it was worth trying to cycling. We unexpectedly walked by an e-bike place and decided - why not? Neither of us had tried an e-bike before and that could reduce the effort required for my wife. So we did and boy was it fun! It took a while to get used to the e-bike but it really reduced a lot of effort up the hills! I barely perspired at all thanks to the e-assist. Kawaguchiko had pretty narrow roads so it wasn’t the easiest to cycle. But I had plenty of road-cycling experience back at home so I was not daunted. We borrowed helmets from the e-bike place but saw that we were the only tourists that wore them.
• Kubota Itchiku Art Museum: Cycled here knowing that this museum would interest my wife. It had a garden that was free entry and it was really charming! The pond had a singular vibrant-coloured Koi swimming in it. The Museum requires tickets. My wife was so enthralled by it. I was kinda sick of museums so I told her I’d wait for her outside. Wife took about 45m inside and even bought a heavy hard-cover book of Itchiku Kubota’s kimono art :/
• Momiji Corridor: was just 50m away. Still beautiful with only green leaves, but I’d imagine it would be majestic in Autumn/Spring.
• Oishi Park: Many colourful flowers! It’s a pity that it had been cloudy the entire day, and Mt Fuji was not visible. That would have made the cycle perfect. Park was crowded with tourists.

Day 9 (Fri) - Fuji Q Highlands, Shimoyoshida Honcho St, Batting Cage
Planning for Fuji Q & Morning Jog: I didn’t plan to go to Fuji-Q highlands before the trip. Always felt it a bit of a waste to visit amusement parks overseas. That’s until I realised that Fuji Q had some of the most exciting, (I mean world-record-holding) rollercoasters in the world. Perhaps not anymore, but that intrigued me enough, because most amusement parks only had 1-2 coasters. Problem was that wife is terrified, and she said cycling on the streets of Kawaguchiko was like a coaster ride for her. So I decided I would reach at opening time, and buy time by paying for the fast passes and try their top three coasters. The night before, we felt that we had to make decisions on our itinerary as it was our last day at Kawaguchiko. If Mt Fuji wasn’t visible, go to Oshino Hakkai, if it was, we could try going to Shimoyoshida to get a nice picture.

• I took a morning jog that morning and my jaw dropped when I saw Mount Fuji towering over Kawaguchiko. I raced back to tell my wife (about 6am) and we both trekked up to a viewing spot to enjoy the view. This made it more urgent to not spend too much time at Fuji Q as we didn’t know how long Mt. Fuji would be visible for.
• Fuji-Q Highlands: Was absolutely amazing. Yes, I blew a lot of cash here buying fast passes for the three available coasters. But they were some of the craziest coasters. Took Eejanaika, Fujiyama and Takabisha. Total time it took probably a little more than 1 hour with the express passes. It was so good but so fast; I have little memory of it, except that there was a 90 degree climb to the top for Takabisha and I had a beautiful view of Mt. Fuji while climbing to the supposed world record of 79m for Fujiyama (this was 2 days before the news reported that Fujiyama got stuck in the middle of a ride and the people in the carts had to climb down :o). Had more time to take a few other rides, and enjoyed all the Naruto statues around for fun photo-taking. What I really enjoyed about the park was that it was mostly filled with Japanese tourists; in fact, there was a Japanese school having an outing there. It was nice to see excited students running about.
• Shomoyoshida Honcho St: This destination was simply to take the famous street view of Mount Fuji with Japanese shops lined in the foreground. It’s not easy to get to, and there was quite a walk. We noticed there weren’t much people around, and most shops were closed. But when we reached the destination, there were many tourists right at the particular traffic light. So much so there was a grumpy Japanese traffic police person managing the crowd. We saw the worst of tourists that day. People were disobeying traffic laws and just running in the middle of the road just to get a shot. We chanced upon a hidden udon shop and it felt like we were transported back to the 50’s! It was super old school, people sat on raised platforms, and several elderly customers were watching the tele while eating. There was only one udon option available, with free cabbage top-ups. We learnt that the shop had been around for 73 years.
• Batting Cage: I had never played baseball/softball and my home country doesn’t have a baseball culture. Yet I had seen batting cages in Japanese drama and always wanted to try. Loved it! My technique was probably pretty bad! I did well at first but as I tried faster balls, I tired out and failed to hit any haha. We ended the day eating ramen outdoors with a view of Mount Fuji.

Day 10 (Sat) - Kichijoji, Ghibli Museum, Kichijoji Jazz bar
Woke up before sunrise for a run and to attempt to catch a sunrise picture of Mount Fuji. Streets were completely empty. Even ran to the famous Kawaguchiko Lawson for a picture. Headed back for an onsen bathe (note: we never used the room's shower, and always went for an onsen bath throughout our stay in Kawaguchiko). Took a 7am bus to return to Shinjuku.

• Kichijoji: Arrived at Kichijoji at about 10. Wife really loved the vibes there. We tried the Tsukuba suisan fish cakes which were really tasty, and my wife was intrigued that a line had formed at the adjacent store named Ozasa. Apparently they sell traditional Japanese desserts and locals would go there as early as 5am to get a ticket. So we queued and managed to get three boxes worth of the snacks! Tried the Amane Taiyaki fish-shaped bean paste snacks, another traditional dessert. It was a small lovely old shop.
• Ghibli Museum: Requires a long walk through Inokashira park. Ghibli was fantastic. Many people have been saying recently that it’s over-rated, and that it doesn’t cater to foreign crowds and most things are in Japanese. We similarly struggled with that at first. But we found out that if you asked the staff, they actually had English language exhibition booklets ready for every exhibition! That was a revelation. And we managed to understand almost all the exhibitions by asking the uniformed staff (except the short film, which had minimal dialogue anyway). I mentioned this to one foreign group and they were really grateful for that. But I saw that many other foreigners that probably came earlier were just bored or simply going crazy at the Ghibli shop. My wife bought the museum book (which also has English explanations of each exhibit), and we understood Miyazaki’s vision for the museum - to make it suitable for kids and adults, with no pre-determined route, allowing for play, exploration, to help people be inspired by the artists’ process. Through that, we saw that everything in the museum was intentionally designed, all of the exhibitions, cafe, shop, and garden. Reading that helped me appreciate and enjoy the museum much more.
• Roaming Kichijoji and Some Time Jazz bar: My wife and I split up to roam kichijoji. I checked out some sports shops and saw that their prices were lower than Ochanomizu. We reconvened for dinner at Sometime Jazz bar. I’m picking up Jazz piano but had never been to a jazz bar. Booked it one day before, but was sad that our table position only allowed us to see some of the drummer and the pianist’s expression. Still, it was a very cool place and we had a wonderful time. We only sat through the first half of the performance that night. Note that there are seating charges, so that + dinner added up to quite a lot. But we rationalised that this was akin to paying for a performance. Checked into our hotel in Tamachi.

Day 11 (Sun) - Tokyo Sky Tree, Shinjuku, Back to Kichijoji, Shibuya
It was a crazy day where we simply hit the places we wanted to revisit regardless of proximity. Headed to Tokyo Skytree in the morning to check out another Ghibli store. If you’re not going to the Ghibli museum, this is probably the best store available. Headed to Shinjuku to try curry udon, then to Kichijoji to try satou beef balls and dangos and to make some purchasing decisions on some sports equipment. Then we ended up at Shibuya (my favourite place!) to the mega Don Quijote and Tokyu Hands to shop for gifts for others. It was a lovely end to our trip!
Day 12 (Mon) - Back home
Best trip ever, says my wife.
Tips for travellers

• Spread out your itinerary: I originally planned to front-load all the must-see tourist stuff and leave the remaining days for shopping. But in May, Ghibli Museum was closed for two weeks so we had no choice but to schedule it at the end of the trip. That was a better arrangement. It felt that each day was distinctly different, and we could remember the highlight of each day. Also, be specific about where you want to go. Don’t simply put locations like - Visit Harajuku, or visit Shibuya crossing.
• Plan your itinerary in consideration of weekend crowds: Places like Tsujiki market, Ghibli Museum, Fuji-Q Highlands and other stuff are likely going to be very crowded on weekends. If you want to shop in Harajuku or Shibuya, try to avoid weekends. I opted to put the cooking class and ‘less-exciting’ Museums on weekends.
• Unless you'll always be in a group, use your telco’s roaming or get an e-sim: My wife and I split up on several occasions, so we already knew the pocket wifi was out of the question.
• Carry more cash than you think you need: In my experience, the cash-to-card ratio was about 40:60. Considering that all metro card top-ups require cash, you'll need quite a bit of cash! Sometimes even bigger restaurants are cash only.
• Bring foldable tote bags, and use lockers where necessary: If you’re buying stuff, packing them in tote bags makes it easier to lug around. Bigger shops will charge you for bags. If you just came from one area with bags and are going to explore another, use the lockers. Most metro stations likely have lockers and they are really affordable and convenient.
• Travel light by planning to do laundry: I only brought four sets of clothing, and we did laundry every 3-4 days or so. It’s really convenient, about 200 yen per 30m wash, and another 200 yen for a 1h dry. It’s worthwhile to check if your hotel has coin laundry available.
• Buy wisely: Many people say the kind of things available at places like Don Quijote or Uniqlo are mind-blowing. Fact is, most of them are made in China or elsewhere. Almost 95% of the items we saw in Daiso were made in China. In fact, many items in Kappabashi street were made in China. You’re more likely to get value for money by buying a made in Japan item. Sometimes the shop will highlight if a product is Japan made. But other times, you have to scrutinise the fine print. Learn to look out for these three words in Kanji: 日本製. This is where the camera function of Google translate is immensely helpful. This was not available or widely publicised when I last visited Japan years back in 2016, so use this tech to your advantage and scrutinise the fine print!
• Plan your toilet trips if possible: If you know you’re headed to low-rise areas like Tsujiki, Fabric town where it’s just shop after shop, it’s going to be hard to find a toilet. Make sure you relieve yourself beforehand at the train station. But if you still need to go, try to find a multi-storey building and chances are, there’ll be toilets available there.
• Avoid queuing for food by timing right: In general, I found that most popular food places that required queuing had queues mainly consisting of foreigners. I wonder if this is because of the reddit/youtube/google maps review effect (not a lot of Japanese review on Google I think). So if you have to queue, there's a good chance you're competing with other foreigners. Simply put, almost all food places open at 11am, so be there at 11, or have early dinner at 5pm and perhaps you may avoid the queuing.
• Scrutinise Google maps to figure out the different train types: for daily travel, there are local, rapid, and express trains. Local trains stop at every station. Rapid skips a few, and express trains likely only stops at key location. They make a big difference to travel time, and to your comfort. When Google maps recommends a route, scrutinise the detail to ensure what kind of train they are recommending. It gets confusing at the station as the platforms on your left and right may end up at the same location, but one could be a local train and the other an express train.
• Learn just 2 essential phrases: I know it may feel weird to some, but just learn to say thank you in Japanese (arigato gozaimasu). The other essential word is - summimasen - excuse me/sorry. Useful for if you need to exit a crowded train, or if you need to get someone’s attention. We survived with just these two phrases. As our cooking teacher told us - it’s better to say something in Japanese than say nothing at all. For the rest, you can use Google translate app’s picture function.
• Other misc tips: as mentioned, bring trash bags. Some shops explicitly tell you not to walk around and eat their food. So the solution is to finish the snack in front of the shop, and say, “summimasen, can you help me to throw this trash?” That helped us avoid carrying trash around a lot. As a traveller, you’re gonna get a lot of carbs (a bowl of udon + a bowl of rice....?) and fried food. Try to go to the basements of shopping centres and get yourself some fruits. Also, if you exercise regularly like me, you'd be concerned about getting some exercise. I did pre-trip research on pools/gyms/parks to visit. But visited none of them. I settled with a daily morning routine of 100 squats and 100 pushups. That and walking an average of 18k steps daily helped. I actually lost some weight somehow.

Observations

• Drinking culture in Japan: we saw quite a few drunk people in the streets. Some of them at the parks. I had never really seen drunkards much in my home country (it could be because I don’t stay out late). When we walked by a bar area with our cooking instructor, he told us some of the people in them had been there overnight.
• The Japanese sleep late: when we arrived, we were still on the train to our hotel at 11:50pm. But the train was still packed with salarymen in suits and many others. In fact, it seemed the later it was, the more crowded the trains.
• Foreigner influx and how they stick out: there were way more foreigners this time than the last I visited Japan. I tended to feel very uncomfortable when large groups of foreigners were around. I had to tell myself not to be hypocritical as I was a foreigner myself. But I suppose one reason is that there were many inconsiderate foreigners. Speaking loudly, making brash comments, and just not behaving like visitors. We saw a foreign couple locked in a head-to-toe embrace on a picnic mat in a park full of families. And they chose a spot right next to the footpath. Many foreigners also leave unkind Google reviews for places just because it’s not up to their expectations. I get it, we worked for our holiday and are paying customers, and there is often an innate tendency to feel entitled or complain when something isn’t up to our expectations. But I think it helps to remember that we are like visitors in someone’s home. Be self-aware, don’t speak loudly, note the traffic customs, where to stand on the escalators, how to behave etc.
• Japanese men have great hair: the Japanese men’s hairstyle feels frozen in time. I didn’t see the typical Korean-inspired center-parted hairstyles in Asian guys nowadays. And balding men were a small minority somehow. As someone whose hairline is slowly receding, I was envious to see many Japanese men have wavy long hair deep into their 60-70s! My wife commented that the women's hairstyles were more or less the same - dyed, curled etc. But the men were rocking so many styles!
• Physical shopping still matters: as the days went by, my wife and I began to covet the "made-in-Japan" label, we realised that we hadn't done such window shopping in years since online shopping became prevalent. I also recall people commenting that you could get these goods online anyway, so why bother shopping in Japan. Well, window shopping makes comparison easy, it allows you to ask for recommendations, and enables you to know the items's size, feel, and look on you (if buying fashion items). It also makes discovery of new items possible. I'm not a huge shopper or a foodie, but in Japan, it's worth it to be one. I suppose it's a blessing in disguise that our honeymoon got delayed 3 years, as we now know our post-marriage lifestyles and the items we'd need in the kitchen/around the house.

I've decided not to mention the specific food places as far as possible because I think there's more than enough recommendations available elsewhere. I also think sometimes that we get a bit fomo if we build up too many must-go spots. Enjoy your trip and the process of discovering new places! But feel free to ask me more if you like.

Everything in my inventory is up for trade. The most valuable items are listed here, the rest you can find in My Inventory

Feel free to Add Me or even better send a Trade Offer. Open for any suggestions: upgrades, downgrades / knives, gloves, skins / stickers, patterns, floats.

All Buyouts are listed in cash value.

KNIVES

★ Butterfly Knife Freehand FN #1, B/O: $2500

★ Butterfly Knife Ultraviolet FT, B/O: $822

★ Butterfly Knife Scorched FT, B/O: $616

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★ Bayonet Tiger Tooth MW #1, B/O: $1300

★ Bayonet Autotronic FN, B/O: $1050

★ Bayonet Tiger Tooth MW, B/O: $629

★ Bayonet Bright Water FT, B/O: $326

★ Bayonet Safari Mesh BS, B/O: $233

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★ Karambit Lore FT, B/O: $1110

★ Karambit Damascus Steel FT, B/O: $840

★ Karambit Freehand MW, B/O: $784

★ Karambit Bright Water MW, B/O: $759

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★ M9 Bayonet Fade FN, B/O: $1801

★ M9 Bayonet Fade FN, B/O: $1801

★ M9 Bayonet Damascus Steel FN, B/O: $751

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★ Nomad Knife Fade FN, B/O: $1156

★ Nomad Knife Slaughter MW, B/O: $544

★ Nomad Knife Blue Steel WW, B/O: $318

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★ Flip Knife Marble Fade FN, B/O: $646

★ Flip Knife Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $574

★ Flip Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 1) MW, B/O: $552

★ Flip Knife Case Hardened FT, B/O: $257

★ Flip Knife Freehand FT, B/O: $255

★ StatTrak™ Flip Knife Bright Water FN, B/O: $287

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★ Huntsman Knife Lore FN, B/O: $461

★ Huntsman Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $436

★ Huntsman Knife Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $353

★ Huntsman Knife Autotronic FT, B/O: $212

★ Huntsman Knife Bright Water FT, B/O: $129

★ Huntsman Knife Forest DDPAT MW, B/O: $129

★ Huntsman Knife Forest DDPAT BS, B/O: $123

★ StatTrak™ Huntsman Knife Rust Coat BS, B/O: $127

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★ Bowie Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 2) FN, B/O: $375

★ Bowie Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 1) FN, B/O: $363

★ Bowie Knife Tiger Tooth FN, B/O: $269

★ Bowie Knife Crimson Web WW, B/O: $192

★ Bowie Knife Bright Water FN, B/O: $159

★ Bowie Knife Ultraviolet FT, B/O: $126

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★ Stiletto Knife Slaughter FN, B/O: $616

★ Stiletto Knife Crimson Web FT, B/O: $412

★ StatTrak™ Stiletto Knife Night Stripe FT, B/O: $227

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★ Falchion Knife Lore FT, B/O: $214

★ Falchion Knife Autotronic FT, B/O: $192

★ Falchion Knife Scorched WW, B/O: $105

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★ Survival Knife Crimson Web BS, B/O: $216

★ Survival Knife Case Hardened FT, B/O: $198

★ Survival Knife Scorched FT, B/O: $111

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★ Shadow Daggers Fade FN, B/O: $368

★ Shadow Daggers Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $228

★ Shadow Daggers, B/O: $201

★ Shadow Daggers Damascus Steel FT, B/O: $108

★ Shadow Daggers Ultraviolet FT, B/O: $105

★ Shadow Daggers Black Laminate FT, B/O: $99

★ Shadow Daggers Forest DDPAT FT, B/O: $85

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★ Gut Knife Doppler (Sapphire) MW #1, B/O: $1700

★ Gut Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 1) FN, B/O: $223

★ Gut Knife Marble Fade FN, B/O: $203

★ Gut Knife Doppler (Phase 2) FN, B/O: $191

★ Gut Knife Case Hardened BS, B/O: $127

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★ Navaja Knife Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $199

★ Navaja Knife Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $199

★ Navaja Knife, B/O: $138

★ Navaja Knife Damascus Steel FN, B/O: $111

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★ Classic Knife Urban Masked FT, B/O: $146

★ StatTrak™ Classic Knife Stained BS, B/O: $168

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★ Ursus Knife Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $476

★ Ursus Knife, B/O: $375

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★ Skeleton Knife, B/O: $1137

★ Talon Knife, B/O: $608

★ Paracord Knife, B/O: $305

★ Survival Knife Forest DDPAT FT, B/O: $97

GLOVES

★ Moto Gloves Transport MW, B/O: $204

★ Moto Gloves Polygon BS, B/O: $142

★ Moto Gloves Blood Pressure BS, B/O: $84

★ Moto Gloves Blood Pressure BS, B/O: $84

★ Moto Gloves 3rd Commando Company BS, B/O: $63

★ Moto Gloves 3rd Commando Company BS, B/O: $63

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★ Specialist Gloves Crimson Kimono WW, B/O: $1215

★ Specialist Gloves Tiger Strike FT, B/O: $672

★ Specialist Gloves Lt. Commander FT, B/O: $305

★ Specialist Gloves Lt. Commander BS, B/O: $140

★ Specialist Gloves Crimson Web BS, B/O: $137

★ Specialist Gloves Buckshot FT, B/O: $75

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★ Driver Gloves Crimson Weave FT, B/O: $359

★ Driver Gloves Imperial Plaid BS, B/O: $229

★ Driver Gloves Overtake BS, B/O: $77

★ Driver Gloves Racing Green FT, B/O: $48

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★ Sport Gloves Omega FT, B/O: $739

★ Sport Gloves Amphibious BS #2, B/O: $733

★ Sport Gloves Arid BS, B/O: $292

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★ Hand Wraps Giraffe MW, B/O: $212

★ Hand Wraps Leather FT, B/O: $160

★ Hand Wraps Desert Shamagh MW, B/O: $101

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★ Broken Fang Gloves Yellow-banded MW, B/O: $185

★ Broken Fang Gloves Needle Point FT, B/O: $67

★ Broken Fang Gloves Needle Point WW, B/O: $59

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★ Hydra Gloves Case Hardened BS, B/O: $65

★ Hydra Gloves Emerald FT, B/O: $65

★ Hydra Gloves Emerald BS, B/O: $62

WEAPONS

AK-47 Case Hardened BS, B/O: $130

AK-47 Bloodsport MW, B/O: $79

AK-47 Fuel Injector BS, B/O: $76

AK-47 Fuel Injector BS, B/O: $76

AK-47 Bloodsport FT, B/O: $70

AK-47 Neon Rider MW, B/O: $60

StatTrak™ AK-47 Aquamarine Revenge FT, B/O: $72

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AWP Fade FN, B/O: $1039

AWP Asiimov FT, B/O: $139

AWP Asiimov FT, B/O: $139

AWP Wildfire MW, B/O: $95

AWP BOOM MW, B/O: $93

AWP BOOM MW, B/O: $93

AWP Duality FN, B/O: $81

AWP Asiimov BS, B/O: $79

AWP Asiimov BS, B/O: $79

AWP Chromatic Aberration FN, B/O: $60

StatTrak™ AWP Hyper Beast FT, B/O: $68

StatTrak™ AWP Hyper Beast FT, B/O: $68

StatTrak™ AWP Electric Hive FT, B/O: $55

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Desert Eagle Blaze FN, B/O: $623

Desert Eagle Emerald Jörmungandr FN, B/O: $241

Desert Eagle Cobalt Disruption FN, B/O: $81

Desert Eagle Cobalt Disruption FN, B/O: $81

Desert Eagle Cobalt Disruption FN, B/O: $81

Desert Eagle Printstream FT, B/O: $54

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M4A1-S Blue Phosphor FN, B/O: $434

StatTrak™ M4A1-S Bright Water MW, B/O: $55

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M4A4 Poseidon FN, B/O: $1465

M4A4 Asiimov BS, B/O: $55

M4A4 Hellfire MW, B/O: $50

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USP-S Kill Confirmed MW, B/O: $72

USP-S Printstream FT, B/O: $69

StatTrak™ USP-S Kill Confirmed FT, B/O: $139

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AUG Flame Jörmungandr FN, B/O: $234

P90 Run and Hide FT, B/O: $147

Five-SeveN Candy Apple FN, B/O: $61

Trade Offer Link - Steam Profile Link - My Inventory

Knives - Bowie Knife, Butterfly Knife, Falchion Knife, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Huntsman Knife, M9 Bayonet, Bayonet, Karambit, Shadow Daggers, Stiletto Knife, Ursus Knife, Navaja Knife, Talon Knife, Classic Knife, Paracord Knife, Survival Knife, Nomad Knife, Skeleton Knife, Patterns - Gamma Doppler, Doppler (Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, Phase 4, Black Pearl, Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald), Crimson Web, Lore, Fade, Ultraviolet, Night, Marble Fade (Fire & Ice, Fake FI), Case Hardened (Blue Gem), Autotronic, Slaughter, Black Laminate, Tiger Tooth, Boreal Forest, Scorched, Blue Steel, Vanilla, Damascus Steel, Forest DDPAT, Urban Masked, Freehand, Stained, Bright Water, Safari Mesh, Rust Coat, Gloves - Bloodhound Gloves (Charred, Snakebite, Guerrilla, Bronzed), Driver Gloves (Snow Leopard, King Snake, Crimson Weave, Imperial Plaid, Black Tie, Lunar Weave, Diamondback, Rezan the Red, Overtake, Queen Jaguar, Convoy, Racing Green), Hand Wraps (Cobalt Skulls, CAUTION!, Overprint, Slaughter, Leather, Giraffe, Badlands, Spruce DDPAT, Arboreal, Constrictor, Desert Shamagh, Duct Tape), Moto Gloves (Spearmint, POW!, Cool Mint, Smoke Out, Finish Line, Polygon, Blood Pressure, Turtle, Boom!, Eclipse, 3rd Commando Company, Transport), Specialist Gloves (Crimson Kimono, Tiger Strike, Emerald Web, Field Agent, Marble Fade, Fade, Foundation, Lt. Commander, Crimson Web, Mogul, Forest DDPAT, Buckshot), Sport Gloves (Pandora's Box, Superconductor, Hedge Maze, Vice, Amphibious, Slingshot, Omega, Arid, Big Game, Nocts, Scarlet Shamagh, Bronze Morph), Hydra Gloves (Case Hardened, Emerald, Rattler, Mangrove), Broken Fang Gloves (Jade, Yellow-banded, Unhinged, Needle Point), Pistols - P2000 (Wicked Sick, Ocean Foam, Fire Element, Amber Fade, Corticera, Chainmail, Imperial Dragon, Obsidian, Scorpion, Handgun, Acid Etched), USP-S (Printstream, Kill Confirmed, Whiteout, Road Rash, Owergrowth, The Traitor, Neo-Noir, Dark Water, Orion, Blueprint, Stainless, Caiman, Serum, Monster Mashup, Royal Blue, Ancient Visions, Cortex, Orange Anolis, Ticket To Hell, Black Lotus, Cyrex, Check Engine, Guardian, Purple DDPAT, Torque, Blood Tiger, Flashback, Business Class, Pathfinder, Para Green), Lead Conduit, Glock-18 (Umbral Rabbit, Fade, Candy Apple, Bullet Queen, Synth Leaf, Neo-Noir, Nuclear Garden, Dragon Tatto, Reactor, Pink DDPAT, Twilight Galaxy, Sand Dune, Groundwater, Blue Fissure, Snack Attack, Water Elemental, Brass, Wasteland Rebel, Vogue, Franklin, Royal Legion, Gamma Doppler, Weasel, Steel Disruption, Ironwork, Grinder, High Beam, Moonrise, Oxide Blaze, Bunsen Burner, Clear Polymer, Bunsen Burner, Night), P250 (Re.built, Nuclear Threat, Modern Hunter, Splash, Whiteout, Vino Primo, Mehndi, Asiimov, Visions, Undertow, Cartel, See Ya Later, Gunsmoke, Splash, Digital Architect, Muertos, Red Rock, Bengal Tiger, Crimson Kimono, Wingshot, Metallic DDPAT, Hive, Dark Filigree, Mint Kimono), Five-Seven (Neon Kimono, Berries And Cherries, Fall Hazard, Crimson Blossom, Hyper Beast, Nitro, Fairy Tale, Case Hardened, Copper Galaxy, Angry Mob, Monkey Business, Fowl Play, Anodized Gunmetal, Hot Shot, Retrobution, Boost Protocol), CZ75-Auto (Chalice, Crimson Web, Emerald Quartz, The Fuschia is Now, Nitro, Xiangliu, Yellow Jacket, Victoria, Poison Dart, Syndicate, Eco, Hexane, Pole, Tigris), Tec-9 (Rebel, Terrace, Nuclear Threat, Hades, Rust Leaf, Decimator, Blast From, Orange Murano, Toxic, Fuel Injector, Remote Control, Bamboo Forest, Isaac, Avalanche, Brother, Re-Entry, Blue Titanium, Bamboozle), R8 Revolver (Banana Cannon, Fade, Blaze, Crimson Web, Liama Cannon, Crazy 8, Reboot, Canal Spray, Night, Amber Fade), Desert Eagle (Blaze, Hand Cannon, Fennec Fox, Sunset Storm, Emerald Jörmungandr, Pilot, Hypnotic, Golden Koi, Printstream, Cobalt Disruption, Code Red, Ocean Drive, Midnight Storm, Kumicho Dragon, Crimson Web, Heirloom, Night Heist, Mecha Industries, Night, Conspiracy, Trigger Discipline, Naga, Directive, Light Rail), Dual Berettas (Flora Carnivora, Duelist, Cobra Strike, Black Limba, Emerald, Hemoglobin, Twin Turbo, Marina, Melondrama, Pyre, Retribution, Briar, Dezastre, Royal Consorts, Urban Shock, Dualing Dragons, Panther, Balance), Rifles - Galil (Aqua Terrace, Winter Forest, Chatterbox, Sugar Rush, Pheonix Blacklight, CAUTION!, Orange DDPAT, Cerberus, Dusk Ruins, Eco, Chromatic Aberration, Stone Cold, Tuxedo, Sandstorm, Shattered, Urban Rubble, Rocket Pop, Kami, Crimson Tsunami, Connexion), SCAR-20 (Fragments, Brass, Cyrex, Palm, Splash Jam, Cardiac, Emerald, Crimson Web, Magna Carta, Stone Mosaico, Bloodsport, Enforcer), AWP (Duality, Gungnir, Dragon Lore, Prince, Medusa, Desert Hydra, Fade, Lightning Strike, Oni Taiji, Silk Tiger, Graphite, Chromatic Aberration, Asiimov, Snake Camo, Boom, Containment Breach, Wildfire, Redline, Electric Hive, Hyper Beast, Neo-Noir, Man-o'-war, Pink DDPAT, Corticera, Sun in Leo, Elite Build, Fever Dream, Atheris, Mortis, PAW, Exoskeleton, Worm God, POP AWP, Phobos, Acheron, Pit Viper, Capillary, Safari Mesh), AK-47 (Head Shot, Wild Lotus, Gold Arabesque, X-Ray, Fire Serpent, Hydroponic, Panthera Onca, Case Hardened, Vulcan, Jet Set, Fuel Injector, Bloodsport, Nightwish, First Class, Neon Rider, Asiimov, Red Laminate, Aquamarine Revenge, The Empress, Wasteland Rebel, Jaguar, Black Laminate, Leet Museo, Neon Revolution, Redline, Frontside Misty, Predator, Legion of Anubis, Point Disarray, Orbit Mk01, Blue Laminate, Green Laminate, Emerald Pinstripe, Cartel, Phantom Disruptor, Jungle Spray, Safety Net, Rat Rod, Baroque Purple, Slate, Elite Build, Uncharted, Safari Mesh), FAMAS (Sundown, Prime Conspiracy, Afterimage, Commemoration, Dark Water, Spitfire, Pulse, Eye of Athena, Meltdown, Rapid Eye Move, Roll Cage, Styx, Mecha Industrie, Djinn, ZX Spectron, Valence, Neural Net, Night Borre, Hexne), M4A4 (Temukau, Howl, Poseidon, Asiimov, Daybreak, Hellfire, Zirka, Red DDPAT, Radiation Hazard, Modern Hunter, The Emperor, The Coalition, Bullet Rain, Cyber Security, X-Ray, Dark Blossom, Buzz Kill, In Living Color, Neo-Noir, Desolate Space, 龍王 (Dragon King), Royal Paladin, The Battlestar, Global Offensive, Tooth Fairy, Desert-Strike, Griffin, Evil Daimyo, Spider Lily, Converter), M4A1-S (Emphorosaur-S, Welcome to the Jungle, Imminent Danger, Knight, Hot Rod, Icarus Fell, Blue Phosphor, Printstream, Master Piece, Dark Water, Golden Coil, Bright Water, Player Two, Atomic Alloy, Guardian, Chantico's Fire, Hyper Beast, Mecha Industries, Cyrex, Control Panel, Moss Quartz, Nightmare, Decimator, Leaded Glass, Basilisk, Blood Tiger, Briefing, Night Terror, Nitro, VariCamo, Flashback), SG 553 (Cyberforce, Hazard Pay, Bulldozer, Integrale, Dragon Tech, Ultraviolet, Colony IV, Hypnotic, Cyrex, Candy Apple, Barricade, Pulse), SSG 08 (Death Strike, Sea Calico, Blood in the Water, Orange Filigree, Dragonfire, Big Iron, Bloodshot, Detour, Turbo Peek, Red Stone), AUG (Akihabara Accept, Flame Jörmungandr, Hot Rod, Midnight Lily, Sand Storm, Carved Jade, Wings, Anodized Navy, Death by Puppy, Torque, Bengal Tiger, Chameleon, Fleet Flock, Random Access, Momentum, Syd Mead, Stymphalian, Arctic Wolf, Aristocrat, Navy Murano), G3SG1 (Chronos, Violet Murano, Flux, Demeter, Orange Kimono, The Executioner, Green Apple, Arctic Polar Camo, Contractor), SMGs - P90 (Neoqueen, Astral Jörmungandr, Run and Hide, Emerald Dragon, Cold Blooded, Death by Kitty, Baroque Red, Vent Rush, Blind Spot, Asiimov, Trigon, Sunset Lily, Death Grip, Leather, Nostalgia, Fallout Warning, Tiger Pit, Schermatic, Virus, Shapewood, Glacier Mesh, Shallow Grave, Chopper, Desert Warfare), MAC-10 (Sakkaku, Hot Snakes, Copper Borre, Red Filigree, Gold Brick, Graven, Case Hardened, Stalker, Amber Fade, Neon Rider, Tatter, Curse, Propaganda, Nuclear Garden, Disco Tech, Toybox, Heat, Indigo), UMP-45 (Wild Child, Fade, Blaze, Day Lily, Minotaur's Labyrinth, Crime Scene, Caramel, Bone Pile, Momentum, Primal Saber), MP7 (Teal Blossom, Fade, Nemesis, Whiteout, Asterion, Bloosport, Abyssal Apparition, Full Stop, Special Delivery, Neon Ply, Asterion, Ocean Foam, Powercore, Scorched, Impire), PP-Bizon (Modern Hunter, Rust Coat, Forest Leaves, Antique, High Roller, Blue Streak, Seabird, Judgement of Anubis, Bamboo Print, Embargo, Chemical Green, Coblat Halftone, Fuel Rod, Photic Zone, Irradiated Alert, Carbon Fiber), MP9 (Featherweight, Wild Lily, Pandora's Box, Stained Glass, Bulldozer, Dark Age, Hot Rod, Hypnotic, Hydra, Rose Iron, Music Box, Setting Sun, Food Chain, Airlock, Mount Fuji, Starlight Protector, Ruby Poison Dart, Deadly Poison), MP5-SD (Liquidation, Oxide Oasis, Phosphor, Nitro, Agent, Autumn Twilly), Shotguns, Machineguns - Sawed-Off (Kiss♥Love, First Class, Orange DDPAT, Rust Coat, The Kraken, Devourer, Mosaico, Wasteland Princess, Bamboo Shadow, Copper, Serenity, Limelight, Apocalypto), XM1014 (Frost Borre, Ancient Lore, Red Leather, Elegant Vines, Banana Leaf, Jungle, Urban Perforated, Grassland, Blaze Orange, Heaven Guard, VariCamo Blue, Entombed, XOXO, Seasons, Tranquility, Bone Machine, Incinegator, Teclu Burner, Black Tie, Zombie Offensive, Watchdog), Nova (Baroque Orange, Hyper Beast, Green Apple, Antique, Modern Hunter, Walnut, Forest Leaves, Graphite, Blaze Orange, Rising Skull, Tempest, Bloomstick, Interlock, Quick Sand, Moon in Libra, Clean Polymer, Red Quartz, Toy Soldier), MAG-7 (Insomnia, Cinqueda, Counter Terrace, Prism Terrace, Memento, Chainmail, Hazard, Justice, Bulldozer, Silver, Core Breach, Firestarter, Praetorian, Heat, Hard Water, Monster Call, BI83 Spectrum, SWAG-7), M249 (Humidor, Shipping Forecast, Blizzard Marbleized, Downtown, Jungle DDPAT, Nebula Crusader, Impact Drill, Emerald Poison Dart), Negev (Mjölnir, Anodized Navy, Palm, Power Loader, Bratatat, CaliCamo, Phoenix Stencil, Infrastructure, Boroque Sand), Wear - Factory New (FN), Minimal Wear (MW), Field-Tested (FT), Well-Worn (WW), Battle-Scarred (BS), Stickers Holo/Foil/Gold - Katowice 2014, Krakow 2017, Howling Dawn, Katowice 2015, Crown, London 2018, Cologne 2014, Boston 2018, Atlanta 2017, Cluj-Napoca 2015, DreamHack 2014, King on the Field, Harp of War, Winged Difuser, Cologne 2016, Cologne 2015, MLG Columbus 2016, Katowice 2019, Berlin 2019, RMR 2020, Stockholm 2021, Antwerp 2022, Swag Foil, Flammable foil, Others - Souvenirs, Agents, Pins, Passes, Gifts, Music Kits, Cases, Keys, Capsules, Packages, Patches

Some items on the list may no longer be available or are still locked, visit My Inventory for more details.

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I (17F) and my younger sister (14F) named Sophie (fake name) joke around a lot. In the past, I would often go too far with teasing her and upset her. I wouldn't be able to tell when it was too far because she continues laughing and poking back at me until she suddenly blows up. She would sometimes say "stop teasing me" but she would say it while laughing and smiling, which threw me off. She'd also say it while insulting me at the same time. So, we came up with an arrangement that has been working for the past few months: when either of us actually go too far, we will say "red peppers" and the other person has to stop. This "safeword" strategy has worked well, we can continue joking around with each other and we have a surefire way of knowing when to stop.
Recently, I was teasing Sophie by pretending I couldn't see her. She was asking me to drive her to her friend's house and I was looking past her saying things like "Where is that voice coming from? Where is Sophie?" just dumb stuff like that. She was laughing and calling me stupid and being playful with it, and then I guess she started to get actually upset. She said "oh my god, stop it" in a sort of annoyed tone but she had a big smile and was rolling her eyes. She didn't say "red peppers" so I figured she was being playfully annoyed, I squinted and said "who is that... there's a blurry shape right there" pointing at her. She suddenly exploded and started yelling at me about how annoying I was being and how she told me to stop. She was SO angry and I was shocked, she didn't even indicate that she was actually annoyed until like three seconds before the yelling and she didn't say red peppers.
She stormed upstairs and my mom came down asking what happened. I told her and she said I was in the wrong because I should have stopped when she said stop. This is true, but we both often say "stop" in a playful way when we're teasing each other. The entire point of the red peppers thing was that it was a way to say "I'm serious now, stop." If she wasn't going to use it, then the entire thing was useless and she shouldn't have agreed to it in the first place. I'm so confused because she's used it a couple times since we invented it so I have no idea why she decided not to now. I was going to go talk to her about it, apologize, and figure out why she suddenly decided to stop using red peppers, but she wasn't in the mood to talk to me. AITA?

Lemme just get my little plot bunnies out of way! I am willing to play either M or F, with any pairings as long as my partner is above 21+! If interested in any plots below, please send me sample of your writing inspired by said plot. If all is kosher, we will pop on over to Discord!
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Writing Requirements: 3rd Person, Literate, be willing chat OOC (I like to talk, okay)
​
~Familiar Troubles~ Inspiration via Kamisama Kiss
Genre: Romance, Slice of Life, Supernatural
The once tranquil pavilion rippled with visible tension as the saggy-faced elder tapped her oak cane against the ground. A low hum rippled over wrinkled lips as onyx eyes twinkled with mischief much to the thinly veiled discontent of her guest. All Resignments seemed to make Familiars so uneasy, the elder could never figure out the reason behind that. To her old eyes, it was the start of a new adventure.
"Ah yes. The clerks have drawn up all the proper paperwork, your Assignment will be to one of the new saplings. Consider it a worthy reward for all your hard work-"
There was a loud snap of wood as the delicate fan shattered between the once composed Familiar's hand as crimson eyes burned with unspoken emotion. Still not a single word escaped their lips to go against the Elder Council would all but drown them in shame. A Sapling God/Goddess was mortal human elevated to the skirts of Godhood, responsible for lesser tasks in their realm. The whisper of spring breezes, the first notes of an instrument. Yet with time, saplings could grow into the tallest of trees with the right nurturing and environment. Most of all the luck to avoid the axes of hunters seeking to strip them of their budding power. Hence their forced partnership with far more experienced Familiars.
Requirements: Literate (I tend to be overly wordy and would prefer to have partner help paint the picture so to speak) Romantical Slice of Life, Cast Building (Help me design the other beings of this new world)
~Road Less Traveled~
The low rumble of oxen and creaking wheels were as good as coffee for the members of the caravan blinking sleep from their eyes still. A low whisp of smoke slipped from tightly pinched lips as one of the driver's blew out the hazy perfume from his pipe. Mixing sweet tobacco with the crisp morning dew of the grassland. It going to be several days before the party arrived to their destination. A little village of herders renowned for their wool products. It wouldn't be long till the white fluffy boulders would begin dotting the horizon. A nostalgic sight for the driver as he had spent more than a few nights in the back of the wagon curled up after a night of drinking under a dyed blanket. Alcohol warmed the belly as well as the blanket did, yet the aftermath was far more regrettable come morning. Even those touched by the Arcana couldn't fend off a hangover. Nor could those of his kind resist the allure of the road and unseen sights. Its why many became merchants and the like to soothe their restless souls. Those that ignored the urges seemed to be blown up in some magical misfortune.
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However, caravanning came with its own sets of dangers. Monsters, bandits and above all catching strays were common problems for the impatient caravan master. Still, he continued on the roads, goods ladening his wagons and his eclectic party. So it wasn't surprising when he was notified by a scout that another onlooker wished to join up.
Requirements: Literate, Romance, Adventure mixed up with Slice of Life. Gimme your best monster ideas and quests!
Shopkeep Romance (He ran an inn and she ran the bakery across the road?)
Foreign Royal X Reclusive Mage
~Fandom~
Arcane (I would adore playing against a Viktor or Silco! Would be willing to double! Do keep in mind my knowledge is show lore.
Black Butler
Overlord
Would be willing to discuss other plots if we vibe well but nothing ticks all the boxes! Once again please DM me a writing sample so we can get the ball rolling. If you have any questions DM me or leave them below!
I would prefer my partner be in UTC-6.

Its a long Post. But you will understand WHY.
Bungie added a new way of choosing what Exotic Armor you want, instead of the random drops Destiny had in the past seasons. Even if the cost was a bit high, 3 Ascendent shards, 50,000 glimmer and 1 Exotic cipher. Remember, because you can only get 1 Exotic cipher per week from Xur, so the Cipher is actually FAR more expensive/Rare than the 3 Ascendant Shards are.
I decided to trade my resources believing I would get not only a High Stat armor, but also with Perfect stat distribution for these 3 reasons. 1) Since this is the 1st season to have this, Bungie would start the Decrypting on good terms. 2) The amount of resources and Time invested should warrant armors with better Stats and Rolls , than normally found in Lost Sectors or in game. 3) As noted before, being that Exotic ciphers are so RARE, only 1 per week. A High stat armor with Perfect distribution would be expected. Expected?
I should have Expected from Bungie, what I received in turn. I traded 3 Ascendant Shards, 50, 000 Glimmer and 1 Exotic Cipher for a Lorely Splendor with...60 Points. 60. Ive found Better in Lost Sectors. Not only was the Stat Number pathetic. But the Stat Distribution was even more pathetic...for a Titan main. 16 Mobility. 6 Resiliance. 7 Recovery. 15 Discipline. 10 Intellect. 6 Strength.
What am I supposed to do with this? Except Scrap it. As I said earlier. EVERY Lore;ly splendor I have found in randon drops from Legend Lost Sectors have been Both better in overall Stats and Distribution. My current Lorely Splendors are 62, with average distribution.
I foolishly thought Bungie would have a system in place, that took into account the players CURRENT Exotic Armor's overall Points and how they were distributed. Ex.. I should have at the Least been given a 67-69 stat armor, with Distributions that would give me a Triple 100 build without ALL of my fragments going to Reselience, Recovery, Discipoline.
Some players may say..But this is RNG. And RNG is part of the Game.
That is absolute NONSENSE. And here is why. Not only does it take a considerable amount of Time to gather 3 Ascendant Shards, BUt you also have to MasterCraft the armor. Which takes another 3 Ascendant Shards..thats 6 Total Ascendant shards.. But thats not the true COST.
The TRUE COST is...the Exotic Cypher from Xur. Not only does the player have to play 21 Vanguard playlists matches, But YOU can only obtain 1 Per Week. And remember...there are only 10 Weeks per Season. Remember that Fact. 10 Weeks per Season.
AND..it doesnt end there. Its 50 Asendant Prisms for 1 Ascendant shard. Armor + Masterwork = 6x50=300 Ascendant Prisms. Can YOU or anyone grind for 300 Ascendant Prisms and the Glimmer , Per Week? And 1 Ascendent Prism = 10 Enhancement Cores. Thats 3000. Yes, 3,000 Enhancement cores,.
In Truth..I Traded 1.500 Enhancement cores..100,000s x N ,in Glimmer. You can only hold 250,000 in Glimmer at any given time. AND, you can only hold 1 Exotic Cipher. How much Time did it take to accumulate 1500 Enhancement cores?
In reality, a player can maybe Decrypt 2 per Season? So shouldnt ALL that effort be rewarded a GOD Tier Exotic Armor? And how many Exotic Armors are there? See how Insane this is?
Bungie has a history of saying that the changes made will make the effort spent more rewarding. But in Truth/Reality. the game has become More of a Grind, for Less "Rewards. Look at Red Border Weapon farming.
My advice. Do NOT waste your Time, literally, in Decrypting Exotic Engrams. Just take the Random Drops from RaHool. or in my case.."RaFOOL". Because I felt like a FOOL, in taking Bungies 'Words".
Do NOT see it as "Just" 3 Ascendant shards. See it as what it Is...1,500 , YES..1,500 Enhancement cores. For that Amount of Time played. I should have gotten a Lorely Splendor with 68 Base. With 2 Mobility. 20 Resilience. 12 Recovery. 20 Discipline. 2 Intellect. 12 Strength.

Disclaimer: Registered trademarks and copyrights are properties of their rightful owners. As this series jumps realities very often it is hard to track that info.
DM, the Digitalman, the Scion of Variable is a creation of my good friend who does not use Reddit and is used with permission.
The Pokémon Lucario is © The Pokemon Company.
“To a father growing old nothing is dearer than a daughter.”
Euripides
The Daughter that Follows
Chapter 27
Reunited
Part 2
Anna woke up in a mostly bare room, the only decorations were a few pictures of animals and dinosaurs that her father had collected. Rio was sitting and meditating, facing the rising sun. Anna watched her for a few minutes before standing to get ready.
“Anna...” Rio asked, some small fear was hinted at in her mental voice. “What happens to me when this is over?”
Anna paused, she was slightly confused by the question. “What do you want to do?” Anna asked.
Rio herself emanated some confusion and fear. “I don’t know. My parents will not be happy I took off the stone or that I evolved.”
Anna hugged Rio. “Well you can stay with me and my dad. Like I said, I adopted you.”
“I’m serious Anna.” Rio sighed.
“So am I.” Anna pushed the thought. “As far as family is concerned, you’re a part of mine.”
Rio let a low contented rumble escape her, then stood and walked out.
A few moments later Anna walked out into her father’s small, but comfortable living room. He had apparently upgraded from a trailer to an on site home. Dr. Wu had also apparently insisted he do so, if only because the trailer had recently lost a roof to a mysterious glowing phenomena.
“So I got eggs, toast and if you can beat Rio, bacon.” Alan laughed.
“No one beats me at bacon.” Rio smiled and yipped.
Anna laughed as she took a few scoops of scrambled eggs with a few slices of toast and bacon. Alan joined the both of them and sat smiling. “So how’s V?”
“Probably driving Salem insane.” Anna nodded.
“Not hard.” Alan chuckled. “Once we’ve had the time to relax and reconnect, I’m gonna head out, you give me a week then you follow.”
Anna nodded.
“What, no objections?” Alan laughed.
“I’m going to get my people together during that time.” Anna smiled.
“You have people now?” Alan laughed.
“Uncle Stephen.” Anna nodded, “Endara, a few others like SideEffect.”
“Jesus!” Alan jumped up and looked around. “Sorry, the fact that he exists outside of Dross City has always left a permanent fear of him just finding me.”
Anna stared and nodded at her father. “I’d say I’d invite Wraith’s variant but I don’t think that’s a smart idea.”
“No Agatha or Danny.” Alan pointed at her, “They’ll be targets.”
Anna nodded, “Oh, I know. I might get Shepard...”
Alan burst into laughter and a glint of maniacal glee glinted in his eyes. “You leave them to me.”
“Kratos?” Anna asked.
“Go ahead.” Alan smiled.
Anna shifted, slightly uncomfortable at seeing her father become slightly unhinged.
“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna rip apart the multiverse, I just know more than a few Shepards I can call on for help.” Alan sighed. “Trust me, please. “
Anna nodded, then perked up. “OH! The Spider-Men!”
Alan smiled, “You get the ones you met, I’ll get the others.”
“The others?” Anna asked.
Alan sighed, “Look, the less I have to explain about the Spider-Verse and the lunatics there, the better.”
“Spider-Verse? Anna laughed.
“Don’t laugh, it’s a serious thing in their section of the multiverse.” Alan explained. “Keeps all their worlds held together.”
“Through a web, right?” Anna smirked.
“The Web of Life.” Alan nodded.
Anna stopped as she realized her father was serious. “You mean that, how does that work?”
“Reality is as deep as we can perceive, and the Spiders heroes in that part of the multiverse cna perceive just that much deeper than most others.” Alan explained. “The fact that the majority are absolutely fueled by doing the right thing is a benefit those realities don’t even realize they have.”
Anna stared and blinked.
“They’re more powerful than most realize and the ones who do, usually think they’ll break at some point.” Alan laughed and closed his eyes with a sigh.
When he opened them though Anna saw something different in his eyes. A mist of white just beyond the iris seemed to be there and it called to power deep in her. Anna gasped.
“I think we both know that though.” Alan smiled. “So, you’re gonna be heroism.”
Anna blushed.
Alan looked at Rio. “They got a spot for you yet?”
Rio shook her head.
“Give’em time.” Alan laughed.
Rio grasped her Megastone and nodded.
“Think I’ll go pick up Release.” Alan laughed. “See if he wants to go for one more adventure together.”
“I think he’d love that.” Anna smiled.
“Bonds beyond life and death.” Rio nodded as she looked at her own megastone.
“Exactly.” Anna smiled. “So what’s happening today?”
“Today, I’m either going to be working with a very picky pachy, or Billy’s going to give me a call.” Alan sighed. “Tuesdays.”
Anna nodded. “I’d like to help, either way.”
Alan nodded and smiled, then a dark though clouded his joy. “Anna, what else have you fought? I know the Heartless, the Organization and Atropos’ goons.”
“And Stockman.” Rio added.
Alan nodded. “He’ll be handled. Trust me.”
“What’d you tell Perfection last night?” Anna asked.
Alan smiled. “I gave a good friend an idea for a magic lesson for his student.”
Anna paled. “You didn’t.”
“Alex needs to learn.” Alan smiled.
Anna shook her head. “Well other than them, borg-Reavers, but only at a distance.”
Alan nodded with a look of worry. “I remember that story.”
“Draal...” Anna said with a murderous glare.
Alan telekinetically moved the sharp knives he owned back into their drawers. Rio stared at Anna with a look of concern.
“While I completely agree, I can’t help but feel maybe I should be the one with that much anger towards him.” Alan gave a nervous laugh.
“He kept showing up and insisting he wanted to help.” Anna hissed.
“Yeah, I’m Tiger Dropping him into a star.” Alan growled.
“Wouldn’t that hurt?” Anna asked.
“Tiger Drop negates all damage.” Alan smiled, “Not that you’d get that. Please tell me you don’t get that? I don’t want to have to kill a Majima.”
Anna stared at her father and shook her head.
“Good.” Alan smiled and nodded.
“Rio?” Anna asked.
“I have no idea.” Rio shrugged.
“Then there’s Dinal.” Anna said. “If I ever see her again, I’m gonna nuke her.”
Alan nodded. “Not if I see her first.” He smiled.
“I don’t think the Scareek can follow me but I think I made them think humans in that reality were psychic.” Anna explained as she continued, ignoring her father's prodding.
“Damn.” Alan laughed, “We can try and fix that after.”
Anna shook her head. “I kinda should have died. Perfection saved me but made it look like I did.”
Alan stared at his daughter. “Well then they get a wonderful news flash because if Perfection’s involved there’s a plan at work and someone is getting f’d in the a.”
Anna snorted at her father’s phrasing. “No saying hi. MAybe let them see us?”
“You feel guilty.” Alan smirked.
“I...” She sighed. “I messed up big.”
Alan nodded. “Then we’ll see what we can do.”
“Oh!” Anna slammed her fist. “Sindri and Odin!”
“Right, Thor is back there too.” Rio added. “He isn’t a monster anymore.”
Alan paused and looked at Rio. “I have a distinct memory of my barriers being casually obliterated.”
“He’s changed, for his daughter.” Anna explained. “To be better.”
Alan looked at Anna and nodded. If there was one thing he could understand it was that. “Kratos okay with him?”
Anna nodded. “They’re trying to make everything as peaceful as they can, but Sindri and Odin are working with Atropos.”
“Damn.” Alan hissed. “They weren’t kidding.”
“They’ve been keeping you informed, haven’t they?” Anna asked.
Alan nodded as his phone went off with a K-pop song. He answered the phone and watched his daughter fall out of her chair laughing.
“Yeah, I can be ready in an hour. Got my kid with me, she’s got the skills to help keep one of them calm.” Alan said in a serious tone.
Anna popped back up and shoveled food into her mouth as fast as she could.
“Trike herd and...” Alan paused as he wrote it down. “They made another I-Rex?” He sighed as he clearly received confirmation. “We’ll take the Rex, you guys can handle the herd and if we have to put this one down we can do it quickly.” He ended the call and nearly tossed his phone across the room.
“It’s not a normal dinosaur is it?” Anna asked.
“Made in a lab, originally to be a more ‘exciting’ dino.” Alan hissed. “Raised it and it’s sibling without other interactions.”
“Oh god.” Anna gasped.
“It went berserk once it got out, and it’s extremely smart. Part Raptor and rex with some squid thrown in to help it cloak.” Alan explained. “This one was specifically raised to be a weapon but it’s a juvenile, it can have a chance.”
Anna nodded. “I can keep us safe.”
Alan smiled. “I don’t doubt that. You keep us safe I’ll get in her head.”
Anna smiled as she again shoveled food into her mouth.
Alan laughed. “Eat, get your gear.”
“May I stay?” Rio asked.
Anna nodded. “Are you sure?”
Rio nodded, “This area allows me to meditate with ease.”
Anna nodded and finished her meal, then ran to get ready.
(T)(D)(T)(F)---(T)(F)(T)(W)
Hours later Alan was staring at Anna’s gear, she was dressed in her red hoodie, a shirt that had a t-rex with grabby arms, torn jeans and steel toed boots. Of course under all of that was some of the best light armor that the Sixth World could afford with some bonuses only a very mean man could obtain for his goddaughter.
“Punk.” Alan nodded.
Anna smiled. “Sheena is a punk rocker.”
Alan rolled his eyes, “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised given your sisters.”
Anna giggled. “At least Arlina was a proper lady.”
Alan burst into a fit of raucous laughter then stopped. “Oh, you’re serious.”
Anna blinked. “What was she for you?”
“Rebellious adult daughter who only listened to dad when she and her boyfriend caused more trouble to explode from tiny issues.” Alan smiled. “And a loyal daughter who went out of her way to protect her dad.”
Anna smiled. “She really was brave.”
Alan nodded. “Always was. She’s smiling on you kiddo.”
“All right.” The pilot said from the front of their plane. “We’re getting to the drop zone.”
“Awesome.” Alan smiled.
“Drop zone?” Anna asked.
“We’re jumping!” Alan smiled with a deeply disturbingly happy laugh as he handed his daughter a parachute and hit a button that opened the rear of the large plane they were on.
“We can fly!” Anna shouted.
Alan nodded as he put on his parachute, smiled and walked to the edge. “God I love a good jump!”
Anna watched as her father leaped out of the plane. Anna shook her head and dropped the parachute, ran forward and dove forwards as Hong Long roared to life around her. She looked over to see her father shaking his head, his parachute was still not deployed. He leaned into his dive, much to Anna’s shock. She and Hong Long Lurched forward, careening towards the ground, faster and faster. She watched her father’s parachute open two thirds of the way down. Then she felt the world pull on her less and Hong Long slowed down as a purple energy wave washed over them both. Then she passed her father’s parachute and he was no longer in it, he was now rocketing towards the ground.
“CHEATER!” Anna roared as she tried to push Hong Long’s power forward. She focused hard and grit her teeth as she watched Hong Long’s scales and mane turn golden, and they plowed straight through the field and past Alan, straight to a landing position on the ground.
Hong Long coiled and sat up straight to howl in victory.
A few seconds later Alan landed with just a flutter of the ragged edges of his now dull blue jacket. He looked his daughter and her tulpa over, then nodded in approval.
“So this is what Sayain energy does to your dragon...” Alan observed.
Hong Long nodded happily.
“Okay then.” Alan smiled, “Let’s see how much you’ve learned.”
Anna stared at her father. “What?”
“Find our target.” Alan smiled.
“I thought I was our defense.” Anna crossed her arms.
“Kid I can make a barrier that it takes a God of Thunder to break.” Alan snorted. “And I want to see you work.”
Anna gave a huff but closed her eyes to try and focus. She reached out as far as she could, which was admittedly a lot farther than it used to be. She could now reach out close to seven or eight kilometers. She felt nothing but random animals skittering and hunting, but nothing abnormally aggressive. She looked at her father and shook her head.
“Really?” Alan took a breath. “Can’t reach that far I guess.”
Anna nodded. “About eight kilometers at my highest focus.”
Alan nodded, “Well then we’re heading that way.”
“Is it that way?” Anna asked.
“Maybe!” Alan smiled.
Anna rolled her eyes but followed her father, pulling Hong Long back into her being. She was also really regretting wearing her hoodie as they had landed in a jungle, likely near the border of Central and South America. They walked for hours before Alan finally stopped and paused.
“What’s wrong?” Anna asked.
“What do you hear?” Alan asked.
Anna stopped and heard nothing. The animals had gone silent.
“There’s a predator nearby.” Alan said.
Anna focused and felt a mind focused on them. It was watching and stalking from above.
“Do they hunt in trees?” Anna asked,
“No.” Alan sighed, “They don’t.”
“Then what’s hunting us?” Anna asked as a tremble of fear rolled down her spine.
“Something that’s about to make a horrible mistake.” Alan sighed. “This one doesn’t belong here.”
“NO!” The voice of Ragnis bellowed as he appeared high in the trees and tossed the stalker to the ground. He then followed the creature and lopped its right arm off at the shoulder. “It doesn’t.”
Alan pulled the arm to him and with more than enough force to turn the bones in the arm to mush, launched it skyward where it exploded in a brilliant explosion about a minute later, well above the atmosphere.
The creature laid on the ground, clearly in shock. Alan wrenched a metallic mask that was covered in bones, off the face of the green-blooded stalker. Anna saw the crab-like face and flinched, she remembered the movie this creature was from.
“This is a yautja.” Alan explained.
“I thought it was a Predator.” Anna asked.
“That’s the name of the movie.” Alan said. “These guys can be a pain or a threat.” He bent down to inspect the alien’s face.
Anna felt something hungry approaching and pressed herself against a large tree.
Ragnis moved and pulled a trident from his back which he used to pin the creature to the ground through its gut.
“Bad-blood.” Alan nodded and pointed to a burn on the alien’s forehead. “He’s been disowned by his clan for breaking sacred rules. Likely hunting young prey or unarmed prey.”
“And he’s not from the neighborhood.” Ragnis scoffed. “Honestly, she tried this? I’m bored.”
“Get him out of here, will you?” Alan asked, “We have an Indominous Rex to find.”
“Dad.” Anna nodded towards where she felt the large hunger coming from.
“Well, enjoy the hunt!” Ragnis said as he winked and vanished with the hunter.
Alan focused ahead and nodded to Anna. “Now you take the defensive.”
Anna nodded and stood next to her father. She felt another set of eyes looking at her, then another set of eyes and she froze for a moment.
“There’s a second one, dad.” Anna hissed.
“Of course this one’s social with a sibling.” Alan nodded. “Okay, so we need to take one each.”
“Dad?” Anna looked at her father.
“What have you fought?” Alan asked. “You stood up to Daleks. To Dinal. We just need to calm them down.”
Anna nodded and focused, not bringing Hong Long forward, she did not want to be seen as aggressive to whichever of these dinosaurs ended up benign her opponent.
She watched for a few minutes and then the jungle blinked and nodded at her. Then jaws caming rushing at her and her father and they each went a different direction.
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First
Previous /// Next
SPOTIFY LIST!
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S: So clearly I did not finish this over the weekend.
DM: Nope.
S: But like half my plans didn’t pan out so I was mapping the depths of Hyrule.
Wraith: The last one was so stupidly hidden.
Perfection: And now we have a Biggorn Sword Sword.
Wraith: I have to admit the fuse system is hilarious.
Perfection: Now if Only we could sword-chuck.
Wraith: No! We are not going back there!
DM: Everytime we go there there’s one less Black Mage in reality.
Perfection: Look, I can’t help it if he pisses Wraith off.
Wraith: SPINE-ECTOMY! (rage fueled sputtering)
S: Right, well the fight will continue into the next chapter with two I-Rexes.

I just rolled:

• arrowhead / corkscrew
• armor piercing / flared magwell
• snapshot sights
• moving target
• fitted / hand laid
• stability MW

curious what y’all think

I've been sober 15 years, through job changes and losing family members and getting married and having two kids. I have an amazing life and am quite happy.
I got sober by going to residential treatment and then staying at a sober living house for a year. I was introduced to AA here and it was a requirement that I attend 3 meetings a week and work with a sponsor, which I did for many years even after leaving the sober house.
Fast forward to today. I have two little kids and work full time. My long-time sponsor left AA a year ago. I got a new sponsor who is super chill and makes really no demands of me. For the past 3 or 4 years I've only been going to my home group once a week, no other meetings. I like my home group just fine, the people are nice and I always leave happy that I went. But I have always struggled with "the God thing", and now several of my friends have left AA, and my kids and job are very needy, and Monday night rolls around and I just REALLY don't feel like going to my meeting.
My only perspective of people who have left AA is from the side of the ones that come back to meetings after a while, about half the time after relapsing despite leaving with several years of sobriety. I truly have zero desire to drink. Not even a little bit. The thought of having a drink, let alone getting drunk, sounds absolutely awful to me.
So I'm just wondering... do people stay sober after leaving AA if they've been in it for a while? Can I just kinda... take a break from it if my heart isn't in it right now and may or may not be again in the future?

Sorry I've been gone for a bit, I had a storyline to finish up and a few bad bouts of writer's block, but I managed to get to this finished up! Here's Season 4, eps 1-13! Be sure to leave some feedback!
Season 4 (March-April):

1. Truth: First change (shared with Lies): Lukanette/Adrigami are clearly established to have been a thing over multiple weeks/a month, with the NY special being the second(?) time they’re truly established. I doubt it’s truly satisfactory, but stuff still has to work within this specific season/the larger narrative, so… eh. Second change: Andrew Hendrol is present for the concert on the Liberty (“I might have to challenge you guys to a battle of the bands one day.”) and slips off to transform into Dragonus just before Luka arrives akumatized. He absorbs Truth/Eyebeam’s (renamed Light Eye) powers then buggers off to appear later in Lies. Third change: Shadow Moth’s design. While I personally like it, it wasn’t terribly popular. So here's a slight redesign: the main body can stay the same with its purple overcoat and black lapels but make the purple a bit darker and the lapel is the same as it was on Hawk Moth. His cowl is now a chromed blue with a peacock feather “eye” right on the forehead instead of his Zuko monocle. His skin turns indigo like Mayura’s and his eyes are like Duusu’s, but more malevolent. The biggest change to his costume is the function of the tailcoat itself: its tail is like a male peacock’s train, long and vibrant blue with pinkish feather eyes in the back, and it opens and spreads in reaction to his emotions. For example, if he’s pleased or angry, it opens up and spreads out behind him, and if he’s exasperated/neutral, it folds back down. Fourth change: Marinette’s transformation into Ladybug is fixed this time around.
   
2. Lies: First change: Marinette isn’t as fan-girly over the Adrien life showing, instead wondering if he’s doing alright with his schedule. Tikki and the others assure her that he’s probably used to it, and she doesn’t have to be so worried about it. Of course, this doesn’t dissuade her nerves, especially not when the modeling session the show films has Lila in it. Second change: The art room scene gets a couple added lines of dialogue (“Adrien. Our parents raised us for perfection, but we don’t need that. We’re already perfect. We’re perfect. Just show me your truth.” “But… I’m not sure what that truth is.” “Let me show you.”) before their class starts. Third change: the Hendrols are present for Prince Ali’s birthday party – it’s why Dragonus skedaddled from the fight – and Andrew manages to hide and transform without anyone noticing, avoiding Lies’ sphere. Even Dragonus can’t risk touching the sphere, even if his cravings for power – much like a vampire – don’t go away.
   
3. Gang of Secrets: First change: Tikki attempts to console Marinette after she talks about worrying about Shadow Moth and Dragonus (“Well, Duusu had always been a bit chaotic. I could imagine that he might be causing Shadow Moth a problem or two. As for Dragonus… he can’t have it much better than you right now, right?”), which cuts to Andrew Hendrol and the Dark kwamis all having a dance party to unknown song that sounds suspiciously similar to “Hips Don’t Lie”. Second change: Instead of the girls just barging up, Tom and Sabine give them permission to go up and check on Marinette. “She hasn’t been answering for us, maybe she will for you.” And the dollhouse doesn’t break from Rose taking off the roof. Rather, Rose trips on something – maybe a roll of thread or a screwdriver or loose paper – and knocks into it. Same result, though, but Alya rightfully calls Mari out: “Okay, Marinette, something is really wrong with you. I’m sorry we can in uninvited, but your parents said we needed to check up on you, and I’m sorry Rose broke the house, but it was a complete accident and you’re blowing up over it. There’s more going on here than just boy trouble, isn’t there? We’re your friends, girl, we want to help.” To which Mari replies: “Maybe I don’t want your help, or your friendship anymore. Get out!” Third change: Dragonus swoops in during the fight and knocks around the Gang of Secrets himself after LB catches Lady Wifi, which inadvertently gives LB time to talk LW into rejecting her powers. Fourth change: Rena Rouge doesn’t look as off in this episode, where her skin was a few tones too light. Dunno if it was intentional, but that still could be fixed. The episode ends as normal.
   
4. Mr. Pigeon 72: First change: a biggie. Alya acknowledges Lila’s number of akumatizations and says, “You know, even if you couldn’t tell me about Lila’s lying about being BFFs with Ladybug, you still could’ve told me – or anyone, for that matter – about how she threatened you in the bathroom. No one threatens my BFF with impunity.” I know a lot of people were upset with Alya’s passiveness over the whole Lila situation, but this line will have impact throughout the rest of the rework. Second change: I found this out on a whim, but it turns out city pigeons are a kind of dove, so Bob Roth wasn’t entirely wrong. Fun. Third change: Andrew Hendrol is watching the evil pigeons transform people outside and figures out he can’t go out, transformed or not, without getting touched. Vorrath: “When has that stopped you before?” Andrew: “I’ve got it.” Cut to later, he invades the fight between the illusions and Mr. Pigeon in a giant mech made out of a sentimonster that he teleported into so he could fight. Overkill doesn’t begin to cover this guy. Fourth change: I’m tempted to change Ladybug’s Lucky Charm suit to her permanent one, but if I did, certain episodes wouldn’t have as much oomph later… hmmm. For now, her suit can stay the same.
   
5. Psycomedian: Honestly don’t know what to do with this one, it’s a fairly solid little episode; funny, love square-y, gives Gabriel some background and Cat Noir some spotlight. I guess I can really just add Dragonus to the mix: Psycomedian tries his emotion-gimmick on him and he no-sells it (there is a lot, and I mean a lot of lore behind Dragonus/Andrew Hendrol, so I think it would be easier to link my original fics with him up to the point I’m at for posting and you can explore his background there, as well as his powers) then proceeds to quickly skirmish with Angrybug: “There’s the fire I sensed when I absorbed your powers! Why don’t you let loose like this a little more? Finish the job!” (Again, lore makes sense if you read my main fics, I’m sorry, but he’s such a big character in my works that I don’t know how to condense it down. I’ll try but expect that later.)
   
6. Furious Fu: First change: I’m really, really confused as to why Fu and Marianne are not referred to as husband/wife or at least married. They would’ve gotten married, right? It’s not a thing that I or the fandom seem to be upset about, I’m just super confused, and if anyone is willing to enlighten me, I’d be thankful. For now, Fu and Marianne are a couple, husband and wife, like they should’ve been since Backwarder or before. Second change: During the fight between LB/CN and Su-Han, guess who shows up but Dragonus. Su-Han freezes for a moment, which gives LB/CN time to snatch the Miracle Box, but Su-Han tries to pull it back. SH: “Ladybug! You did not tell me the Dark Dragon Miraculous was in Paris!” CN: “Sounds like you never asked!” Dragonus: sarcastically “Aw, now you’ve hurt my feelings.” Draws sword and points it at SH. “So you’re the Celestial Guardian I heard about. Head honcho, I’m guessing.” SH turns his aggression towards Dragonus. SH: “You and your kind are a blighted spot amongst the history of the Miraculous, demon!” Lunges. “Heavenly Retribution! The Righteous Will of the Justiciar Breaks the World’s Evil!” Dragonus dodges most of the attacks and matches a few of them, but Su-Han lands one good punch to the stomach. Dragonus: “growls Alright, then. You aren’t as much of a pushover as they are… or the Guardians at the Temple were. If we’re going to talk in metaphors, here's mine.” Flies away from SH and presses center of sword, opening a compartment and pulls out a purple pendant on a chain, emblazoned with a stylized T-rex face. “The grand unity of dinosaurs and dragons humbles the arrogant monk. Rexx, Vorrath, Unify!” (See here for appearance: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42733506/chapters/114090748 use ctrl-F and search "Thero"). “Thero Dragon flies as the Dark Guardian!” This reveals to everyone present that Dragonus has more of the Dark Miraculouses at his disposal and subsequent “oh crap” from Su-Han reveals how serious it is. By this point, LB/CN ran off, Thero Dragon taunts Su-Han and flies off, then doesn’t return until the battle with Furious Fu in the stadium, where he absorbs FF’s powers and briefly fights LB/CN before flying off again, proclaiming that “You haven’t seen the last of Thero Dragon!”. Episode ends as normal, but Su-Han will appear again this rewrite before Ephemeral.
   
7. Sole Crusher: Okay, major change time again. I know a lot – almost utterly ridiculously so – of people do/did not like Zoe in the slightest. But, since I’m trying to stay fairly… fair to the source material (while adding new and interesting concepts), we are including Zoe, only her introduction is going to be quite different. Zoe has come to Paris because her time at her boarding school was cut short due to complete and total bullying, and her own father, a man we know as Robert Lee from Audrey, is too distant to think of another arrangement within NY and sends her to Paris to be with her mother. So, Zoe is going to be quite sullen/angry with her situation, and this becomes apparent when Marinette runs into her. Marinette apologizes profusely, but Zoe gives her a glare and basically tells her to bugger off. Marinette, though, recognizes something is wrong and pries just a little more (and it’s framed as Marinette trying to keep Zoe from attracting Shadow Moth’s attention while simultaneously trying to help), and Zoe reveals a bit of what’s happened – including the one friend – but not the full story nor which family she’s living with. Marinette, being the all-but-Lila-loving hero she is, preps a bag for the new girl. “Even if life has been bitter, it helps to have something sweet!” Marinette says. Zoe gives her a strange look. “What’s your angle? Everyone has one. Why’re you helping me?” Zoe asks, confused and suspicious. Marinette blinks in surprise and shrugs. “It’s the right thing to do, especially when you’re in a new place. I gave you my number if you’d like to chat.” Zoe blinks twice, clearly surprised by the generosity and seeming genuine nature of the girl in front of her. “Okay, then. I guess I should give you mine so… you know.” Marinette holds out her hand. “So I don’t lose it.” The first step to breaking Zoe’s rough exterior has been taken, but said rough exterior still persists when Zoe arrives at the hotel. Another major change: Audrey, while trying to be more supportive of Chloe, still has her preferred child, and that preferred child is Zoe, because, and this will cause drama later, “Zoe is one of only four people in my life who don’t grovel at my feet.” Chloe walks into the lounge/dining hall and hears this and immediately goes nuclear, but her rant is cut short by Zoe snapping at her to “Shut your mouth, you little brat.” Chloe is, of course, horrifically offended, but Audrey breaks it up before it escalates and sends them to get to know each other better… which, given this Zoe, goes about as well as expected. She snaps at all of Chloe’s rules, throws the diamond heels, and when Chloe calls her a “horrible half-of-a-sister”, Zoe throws it right back at her. This back-and-forth continues to school, where Zoe doesn’t bend to Chloe’s whims, but instead blows up at her again – which inadvertently does two things: it proves that Zoe isn’t like Chloe, but she’s quote-unquote “bad” in other ways. Of course, someone – Andrew Hendrol – sees this whole debacle and comments, “Such a powerful response to Chloe’s bratty self, such a temper. Oh, yesss, I like her.” There’s still “scaring Damocles” and “Marinette/girls talk about Zoe and Chloe”, but it’s less of Chloe’s influence and more “wow she’s scary but I bet Chloe had something to do with it.” Marinette and Zoe’s text still goes through, and Chloe still snaps at her for texting Marinette, but Zoe just snaps at her. “It’s none of your business, Chloe.” Chloe, on the other hand, makes it her business and goes back to her notebook, eventually landing on cockroaches in the locker (reused material, really?) to punish Marinette, and Zoe actually stumbles, a haunted look in her eyes. She staggers out of the room (taking the heels with her) and out to the roof, prepping to throw the shoes away in anger (perhaps a metaphor for something more disturbing) before losing the will to and she just breaks, resting her head against the bar and starts to cry. Andre comes up to her, they talk, and Zoe reveals her original dream of acting. “I’m good at it, but then everyone expected a different Zoe and they pressured me and I broke and now I can’t think of acting or anything without getting angry… I don’t like being angry. Not with the people who don’t deserve it, not with Chloe, not with anyone… I just want to be me, but I’m scared that the angry one is me…” Andre sighs. “You know, it might be good for you to… put a little bit of time between your past and now. Choose what you want to put in the Dream Cellar, and once you’ve… adjusted, you can come get it. Or you can leave it. The choice is yours.” Zoe’s akumatization stays the same, the general akuma battle remains the same, except for Thero Dragon Siphoning off Sole Crusher’s powers and stomping a few civilians for big kaiju battle time while taunting Chloe (“You can run, but I know I’m in your nightmares!”), which provides LB/CN enough time to find the akumatized sneakers and break them. The barge scene is a little different: Zoe explains what happened, and while her backstory with the crowds and roaches hasn’t changed too much, she adds, “I had one friend, but even she wasn’t around very much… not enough to help me when I needed it. I don’t blame her, she had a rough childhood, too, but I still pent that up. I’m sorry you had to see my outbursts. I get it if you don’t want to be my friend.” Of course, huggy happiness still ensues, the Bourgeois confrontation still happens, though Chloe’s basis for her demands is “If she stays here, she’ll make me stress out and ruin my perfect me!” and her threat is to crush you like your NY classmates did, while Audrey just rolls her eyes. “Chloe, quit being melodramatic. I understand Zoe’s not been the best sister – which is a discussion we will have later – but she’s not going back to New York now. I’m certainly not going to be responsible for her return fares.” The episode ends with Andre asking Zoe to “Call me Dad. I know your father is… distant, and I don’t know if I can replace him, but-” Zoe hugs him. “Thanks, Dad. Promise me you’ll make the choice to take your past out of the cellar, too.” The episode ends the same, with a much happier Zoe thanking Marinette for everything as a photo album (with dates so we can at least see it was a week or two between this and Queen Banana!) plays across the screen.
   
8. Queen Banana: First change: Chloe’s “half-of-a-sister” bit when she bursts into the art room is now “Giving the lead role to my half-of-a-sister who just came out of nowhere a week ago?!”, and all of the talk of going back to New York is replaced with snappy but ultimately toothless posturing about ruining her life. Zoe, of course, is having none of that and snaps back at her with “The only way you’re ruining this movie is if you pry it from our hands!” The art room scene ends the same way as in the original, but the scene in Bob Roth’s office is changed a little bit: Not as much mention of going back to New York and more mention of Chloe’s pride as she says “You said our hands, which apparently includes the producer’s hands, too. Oh, I love a good loophole!” Zoe is oddly okay with this and confidently whispers to the others “We just need to outlast her, trust me.” Second change: Andrew Hendrol is part of the filming crew – “Live soundtrack design” he calls it, while Chloe calls it useless – and escapes the ‘enchanted sleep’ part of the filming, and is shown to get increasingly more annoyed with Chloe, to the point of risking his secret identity as Thero Dragon by offering to play the fire-breathing dragon suggested by Alya (“Lemme do it, I’ll knock that role out of the park, just let me actually blast her with fire.”). Third change: After Marinette’s rousing soapbox speech, Zoe pats her on the shoulder. “See what I meant about outlasting her?” Fourth change: Not to be outdone, Everett Hendrol, Andrew’s father (who is also present in the theater unlike Gabriel, showcasing the closer relationship Everett has with his son than Gabriel does with his), has also chipped in some pocket change (an amount of several thousand euros in Europe money I guess), so the film is entirely cut off from the city’s funding and Chloe’s interference, and when Chloe runs off, Everett darkly chuckles once as Andrew calls out “Cry me a river, Queen Banana!” (Everett is aware of Chloe’s antics and the Hendrols as a family have no sympathy for those, especially the rich, who act like fools). Fifth change: Again, Chloe’s revenge plan isn’t to get Zoe sent back to NY, she’s going to crush Zoe in a way only she can come up with… which is banana. Sixth change: There’s less of a “my fault” moment from Zoe and that weird “promise” bit is gone, now it’s just Zoe deciding to face down her sister and give her a reality check. “You want to know why we waited until you were gone to shoot the movie? Why we talked Gabriel Agreste into funding it? It’s because no one could stand your bratty behavior! Not because we hate you, not because anyone turned against you, but because you couldn’t swallow your pride and work as part of the team. If this is how you acted as part of Ladybug’s team when you were Queen Bee, it’s no wonder you were kicked off!” Queen Banana gets infuriated, Ladybug saves Zoe, they scooter off into the subway, where Ladybug commends Zoe’s bravery, but definitely winces a little bit regarding Queen Bee. “Chloe, for all her faults, wasn’t terrible as Queen Bee, but she really had attachment issues to the Miraculous, even after I tried… and failed to explain to her that her secret identity was compromised. But I doubt I’ll have that issue with you. Zoe Lee, (insert Miraculous speech here).” Seventh change: Once Queen Banana’s banana gun is glued up and she realizes she’s about to lose and runs, guess what, Thero Dragon drops in front of her, triggering Chloe’s trauma from the Miracle Queen incident. Thero Dragon Siphons off Queen Banana’s banana powers for the fun of it, then activates the power of the Dark T-rex Miraculous, Silver Tongue, which manifests as a purple blast of energy that, if it hits a human target, allows the T-rex holder to manipulate the minds of their target… which Thero Dragon uses to break down all of Chloe’s confidence and restraints, all the while tormenting her with things like “Your mother hates you,” “Your so-called friends despise you,” and “You’re utterly ridiculous.” Ladybug and Cat Noir start driving him back, but he managed to do enough damage as he needed. “I don’t know why you bother defending a traitor,” he says. “She wouldn’t do the same for you.” Queen Banana by now has fallen back, crying, and freeing her from Shadow Moth is an act of mercy, but Chloe still refuses the Magical Charm based on her own (self-nurtured) hatred for Ladybug and Vesperia, both for replacing her and failing to save her from Thero Dragon. Eighth change: Chloe, in her anger, swings at Zoe when she declares her hate, only for Zoe to catch it way too fast and lower Chloe’s fist while she gives her speech, and once Chloe takes the Charm and the akuma is repelled, Andre steps in and reprimands her for trying to hit Zoe, even going so far as to… “Chloe Bourgeois, your behavior is becoming completely unacceptable. You are embarrassing yourself and your family. Give me your phone. You are hereby grounded for a week.” Chloe looks shocked. “WHAT?!?” Andre is stern. “I’ve failed as a father. I should’ve tried to keep your behavior in check when you acted out, and I see I’ve failed terribly. There are so many people we will have to apologize to, especially your classmates for everything you’ve done to them.” The episode ends with Marinette and Tikki wondering if this new approach to Chloe’s behavior will do anything good.
   
9. Gabriel Agreste: First change: Shadow Moth’s monologue is merged with Gabriel’s scene in the mausoleum under the mansion, first with Gabriel with his back to Emilie’s coffin before he turns to face it. Second change: When Nathalie offers Gabriel half of her sandwich, he initially refuses (“You need your strength.”) and she insists, then he crumbles (“You’ll need your strength, too.” “…Alright. Thank you.”). Third change: Andrew Hendrol is not present at the art-room fairy-tale-comparison blah thing, but Zoe’s response to Marinette’s question changes to “My mother has been attempting to treat her kids equally. Unfortunately, that means when Chloe got grounded for a week, I had to miss out on the dinner party. Had I known this was gonna happen, I would’ve put up more of a fight.” Also because of this, Zoe is NOT in Marinette’s room, but she is patched into the whole conversation thanks to Max and Markov. Fourth change: Audrey Bourgeois is throwing glares at Andre (apparently over punishing Chloe) and takes note of the solitary gold-trimmed black mask shaped like a lion’s head. “Don’t tell me he’s coming. You invited Hendrol?” “I had to. Otherwise he’d invite himself and ruin everything unexpectedly. At least now we can expect it.” Continuing the trend, after the Tsurugis arrive at the party, a shiny silver sedan rolls into the front gate, and Everett and Andrew Hendrol step out. Everett is in a pure white suit, in complete contrast to the rest of the party, and the hostility in the air is palpable as the car mogul and his son enter the foyer. “Gabriel.” “Everett. I would… like to welcome you to the party. Though the dress code specified darker clothes for all attendees.” “Really? I didn’t notice that, but even if I had, my black suits are all being cleaned. This is all I had.” “Indeed. Your mask, as requested.” Everett weighs the black lion mask in his hand. “Well, it’s not quite the cut obsidian I had hoped, but given your work, I shouldn’t be surprised.” Gabriel is imperceptibly seething. “I must ask you to stow your device-” “Neither of us will do that, and your little scrambler isn’t going to work on it, either. Your tricks, Gabriel, have been done by men greater than you a thousand times. And I’m the only one still standing.” Of course, when Chloe and Marinette sneak into the ballroom, everyone is giving Everett Hendrol a wide berth as he’s drinking something. Sixth change: The transformation into Shadow Moth from civilian form is still “Nooroo, Duusu, Unify!” I always hated that Dual Metamorphosis nonsense. Seventh change: Andrew Hendrol is fiddling on his phone – the only one that works, but Chloe can’t take it bc he already slapped her hand – when people start to leave Adrien’s room. Eighth change: Gabriel’s threat to Felix is more explicitly “I just need to snap my fingers, and you will be thrown out of here and I will tell everyone the truth about what you did and what you are. Think of your mother, Felix. She’d be devastated to see her only son hauled off for stealing from me… or the Hendrols. Everett is easy enough to provoke, and all I’d have to do is blame whatever I do on you. He’d personally see your life become pure torment.” Ninth change: Thero Dragon pounces on the Collector and Siphons from him, chuckling darkly as he does. “Clever plan, Shadow Moth, clever plan, indeed. But you aren’t fooling anyone.” Tenth change: We get a second epilogue: after Gabriel’s scene, we cut to a scene in the Hendrol mansion. Everett Hendrol is sitting at his desk, watching a chess board on the surface. The white pieces are miniature statues of him and other people, including Andrew, the black pieces are mini statues of Paris’s elite and relations: Gabriel as the king, Emilie queen, Tomoe and Amelie as bishops, Audrey and Andre as knights, Bob Roth and one unknown person as castles, and the pawns are their kids (Adrien/Chloe/Kagami/Felix/XY and three blank ones). The pieces are all at rest like the beginning of a game, but the queen (Emilie) and one castle (as yet unknown) are lying down. Everett just smirks, moves one of the white pieces a space forward, then a black piece. Everett Hendrol declared war.
   
10. Mega Leech: First change: Polymouse or Manimouse for Mylene’s super-name? I want public opinion on this. Second change: Andrew Hendrol is present at the “Stop Project Oxygen” rally and reveals a bit more depth to his character (and potentially a motivation for Thero Dragon): he is very conscientious about the environment, and he becomes increasingly annoyed with the ad and brutally picks it apart. “Two of my best friends’ parents work for the Hendrol Motors Advertising Division and this is exactly what they said a bad ad looks like. Also, Paris’s investors are brainless idiots who barely know how to stand up for themselves, let alone save the planet.” And he snaps at Chloe. “Wasting water? You mean like you do by existing? And don’t get your dad in this, my dad would destroy him.” All in all, he sides with Mylene first. “I’m getting my dad to counter-fund this scheme, he’s already gone to war.” Andrew then leaves right before the Minidiktators show up to transform into Thero Dragon. “After all, they can’t get me if my ears are covered.” Thero Dragon is just brutally attacking Mega Leech by himself… revealing a scary level of contempt for sentimonsters. Third change: The Minidiktator possessing Cat Noir is expelled through his real ear, not the cat one. Fourth change: Ladybug’s suit doesn’t weirdly swap between Lucky Charm suit and normal near the end, it just stays normal. The rest of the episode… ends as normal. Even that scene at the end.
    
11. Guiltrip: I don’t really have too many problems with this episode, nor do I really remember any complaints about (though I’m sure I’ll be corrected in the comments), the most I can really think of is adjusting it to fit my current ideas. So… First change: Juleka speaks clearly and no one’s parroting her words. Second change: While the first half of the episode plays out the same, Andrew Hendrol is noticeably absent, but once the second half starts, he shows up and he’s very unhappy/unpleasant to be around. It’s explained that he had to take a day off for stomach flu (and, little lore bit, he’s always very temperamental after a bout of sickness). As such, he doesn’t have much in the way of patience for the second half’s antics, but unlike Chloe, he’s quietly stewing and not drawing too much attention to himself. This extends to the later fight within Guiltrip (after he leaves the science lab when he realizes the only ones left are him, Chloe, Sabrina and Lila), as his negative emotions as Thero Dragon end up being so bad that Guiltrip gets hurt by them… and he flies off the handle once a bubble pops against him. He cools off eventually, but yeah. Third change: No animation errors. God, this episode was a doozy.
    
12. Crocoduel: First change: Luka acknowledges that Marinette hasn’t been around since Zoe first joined the group instead of not seeing her since their breakup. Gotta love the writers forgetting characters being in places at times ugh. Second change: Fix the animation errors. Third change: About half the partygoers (Mylene/Ivan/Rose/Nino/Alya) know that Jagged Stone is the twins’ father. Fourth change: The sky doesn’t immediately become overcast the moment Jagged and Anarka are akumatized. That was just weird. Fifth change: When Cat Noir complains that he and Ladybug don’t have wings, Thero Dragon flies over them and taunts “But I do!”, he flies up, Siphons from Guitar Villain and Captain Hardrock, then pits them further against each other for giggles. Then he reappears to Siphon off Purple Tigress’s power. Sixth change: The Tiger Miraculous transformation phrase is “Paint my Stripes!” not “Stripes On!”. The episode ends otherwise normally.
    
13. Optigami: First change: As an extra precaution to keep potential suspicion from Ladybug away, Gabriel makes sure Audrey invites Adrien’s entire class plus two extra invitations that go to Luka and Kagami. Second change: The first elevator bit with the entire class is stupid, so it’s getting changed to “Andrew Hendrol (who is in the elevator) rolls his eyes and punches the close button while Marinette tries to avoid Alya”. Third change: Andrew Hendrol slips out just before Audrey gets akumatized and discreetly transforms into Thero Dragon, and he immediately picks up on the smell of Shadow Moth in the building. He starts prowling around the building, waiting for the right moment to strike. This moment comes when Style Queen is about to hit the elevator Marinette/Adrien are trapped in, just before Shadow Moth calls her off. He blindsides her with his clamp weapon, then disarms her (literally) with his sword before Voyaging to the floor below, cackling the whole time. Fifth change: When Ladybug realizes that “Nino” is actually a sentimonster and calls out Shadow Moth, “Nino” starts laughing as his eyes glow gold and his body starts to deform into a monstrous shape. Thero Dragon’s voice starts echoing out of it. “And to think you almost got revealed because of an ally’s actions, Ladybug,” he said. “First the Turtle brought out without your explicit orders, then what? Someone betrays you for the Miracle Box? The only way to protect what you hold dear is this: ally yourself with me, and I can grant you access to powers you could only dream of. Consider my offer, because if the trend continues, you might lose more than just your privacy because of a fake butterfly.” Ladybug runs off to get the Turtle Miraculous Cataclysmed. Sixth change: Marinette is a little shaken by the end of the episode and some of her words are a little more barbed than intended, to which she apologizes and offers a solution to the problem faced that day, giving Alya the Fox Miraculous full-time, but gives her a few rules to follow. “If I find out you broke one, I’m taking the Miraculous back. Understand?” The episode ends pretty much the same. Oh, and that phone in the Miracle Box container? It’s (a little clunkily) mentioned that Marinette created the one during a “random creation attempt” session with Alya.
    

So, yeah. Now that I've finished working on my main Dragonus storyline and summer's on the way, I might be able to get the second half (plus the halves of Season 5!) out relatively quickly. As I promised, here is the link to the main Dragonus storyline, I'm almost finished posting it all. It's a divergence from Season 3 with some concepts pulled from the NY special and Season 4/5, but all in all it's a pretty good read (I don't exactly redeem Chloe as much as punch her until she understands that she's been horrible but she definitely becomes better): https://archiveofourown.org/series/2798386
Give me feedback, please! Your feedback helps me make this better!

Two men with a stretcher pick up Tojo as Diver walks limply to the exit. After a few hours of reconstruction on the stage, Apple introduces the next fighter. They snap their finger and point to the East entrance.
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Apple: "In a modern world, there's a hidden martial art. What if someone brought them back to the modern-day world? Well, look no further. The dreaded Fūma Clan kept the Clan's secrets locked away until one man took them away. His reason? Because "they weren't using them." Standing at 6'0" and weighing 194lbs, welcome, u/Dolphinsarenotreal!"
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A gust of wind comes from the East entrance, as a whirlwind comes from there. A spinning figure of air stops in the ring, revealing a man wearing a grey ninja-yoroi with no head cover, showing a well-kept face and greyish hair. His hands are in his pockets, and a red scarf is around this man's neck. He pulls out his hands and shows them off, showing a pair of metal gauntlets with sharp ends on the fingertips.
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Apple points at the West entrance as he starts the following introduction.
​
Apple: "The blade has been around since the dawn of man. But only one martial art is mainly used for the public's eye. And that style is none other than Kendo! This next fighter has the Olympic title of "Kendo Master!" Winning one gold medal after another! Here he comes, standing at 6'2" and weighing 238lbs! Welcome, u/Ruisus!"
​
The spotlight shines on the entrance, but no one exits the gate. Apple tilts their head in confusion, but soon someone places their hand on Apple's shoulder, scaring them. Apple turns to see Ruisus.
​
Ruisus is wearing a casual Hawaiian shirt and tan cargo pants, and glasses rest on his face. But behind the man, a shinai case is holding his sword, resting on his back. Ruisus turns to Dolph and looks him up and down. With one motion, he pulls out his bamboo sword.
​
Ruisus: "I'll give you this one chance, surrender."
​
Dolph closes his eyes, putting two fingers in front of his face.
​
Dolph: "Sorry, but surrendering is not the way of the ninja."
​
Ruisus rolls his eyes as he points the shinai's tip at Dolph. Apple raises their hand and shouts. "BEGIN!" As Apple finishes that word, Dolph opens his eyes and rushes at Ruisus. After a few steps, he throws a kunai at the swordsman. The knife flies at Ruisus, but Ruisus dodges it without looking away. But when Ruisus moves in, he goes for a downward swing, aiming at the head.
​
Ruisus: "AHHHHH!"
​
The swing almost hits the top of Dolph's head, but while it looks like it hits, Dolph dodges it. The sword phases through him and taps the ground. From behind Ruisus, a voice says.
​
Dolph: "Fūma style: Vanishing Leaf."
​
Ruisus turns around, but when he does, an egg gets thrown at him. The egg hits him in the face, shattering. But he feels a stinging feeling in his eyes, for this was no ordinary egg, but a metsubushi! Dolph moves in at a fast pace. When he gets close, he jumps in the air and does a flip, sticking one of his legs out further than the other.
​
Dolph: "Fūma style: Cyclone Kick!"
​
Dolph's heel hits the top of Ruisus's head and sends him to the ground. Dolph lands on both feet and backs away. Before Apple can run over and count to ten, Ruisus gets back up. He picks up his sword and aims it at Dolph. When he opens his eyes, they're bloodshot and pink. Tears form in them.
​
Ruisus: "Ok, my turn."
​
He sprints at Dolph and goes for another downward swing to the head, screaming his lungs out. But when it gets in range, Dolph uses Vanishing Leaf again. But, Ruisus slams his foot to the ground and swings sideways. He turns his whole body with the swing. Soon, he hits Dolph in the side. The blow pushes Dolph to the ropes. Dolph looks surprised.
​
Dolph: "How... How did you hit me?"
​
Ruisus: "It's simple. Your technique requires you to pivot around the opponent before they can hit you. I felt you go left, so I swung left, hitting you before you could stop."
​
Dolph places his hand on his side, the blow hurting, for it has broken a rib.
​
Ruisus: "Welcome to the real world, kid. Your style died out for a reason!"
​
Dolph frowns, reaching for three kunai. He pulls them out and throws them at Ruisus. But in a swift swing, he hits them all down from the air. Dolph is holding a rope, gasping for air. Ruisus steps closer.
​
Ruisus: "Like I said, my turn."
​
Ruisus moves in closer to Dolph, raising his sword and swinging downward.
​
Ruisus: "Renewal Kendo Style: Triple Ippon!"
​
Before Dolph can react, he gets hit in the side again, then the head, then a jab to the throat. Dolph falls to the ground, gasping for air. But soon, he gets back to his feet.
​
Dolph: "I can't lose. I'll show you how hard I've worked to get here!"
​
Dolph sticks out a thumbs up and slams the thumb into his chest.
​
Dolph: "Fūma forbidden style: Awaken!"
​
A gust of wind comes from Dolph, but soon he vanishes. But suddenly, he appears behind Ruisus, kicking him in the back. The blow is so powerful it sends him sliding toward the ropes. Ruisus turns around to see Dolph approaching at a fast pace. He lowers his sword for a counterattack and rushes him. When he thinks Dolph is in range, he swings for a sideways strike, but it touches nothing. Suddenly, a sharp pain fills his side, for Dolph has used his gauntlets to slice into his side. He looks down to see blood dripping from his shirt.
​
Dolph goes in for another attack, but Ruisus is too slow to turn. He gets cut again as Dolph's fingers slice through his body. Ruinus closes his eyes and summons a black cloud of smoke.
​
Ruisus: "I didn't think I would have to resort to this tactic, but you left me with no other choice."
​
The cloud of smoke takes the form of Niccolo Machiavelli.
​
Ruisus: "I am the prince of this ring now. Fear me!"
​
Dolph goes in for another strike, but Ruisus predicts the attack and swings.
​
Ruisus: "Renewal Kenpo Style: Wrist breaker!"
​
In two consistent swings, he breaks Dolph's right wrist. Dolph stops running as the effects of Awaken wear off. He looks at the opponent swordsman, knowing he's running out of tricks. A cloud of smoke comes out of Dolph as he prepares his Gear.
​
Soon, the cloud takes the form of Johnny Appleseed. Appleseed sticks his hand up, spawning trees all over the arena. The six-by-six-meter ring is soon engulfed by trees, making it look like a small forest.
​
Inside the forest, Ruisus looks around, not having much space to move, as the trees block his way. He frowns.
​
Ruisus: "I can't use Machiavelli's speed here. Not enough room."
​
A few words come from the forest in the form of a whisper.
​
Dolph: "But there's enough room for me."
​
Suddenly, a red scarf shoots around a tree and wraps around Ruisus's neck, pinning him to the tree. Dolph stands on the tree, using all his weight to strangle Ruisus.
​
Dolph: "Welcome to the Forest of Death, Mr. Swordsman."
​
Ruisus struggles for a moment before letting out a scream. But after a few minutes, the trees start returning to the ground. Apple finds themselves back in the ring. But they notice that a limping Dolph is carrying an unconscious Ruisus. Two men with a stretcher carry Ruisus away as Apple declares Dolph the winner.
​
Dolph picks up Ruisus's sword and carries it to the knocked-out Ruisus. When he gets to the man, he says.
​
Dolph: "Go, be a ninja."
​
Back on the stage, Apple points to the jumbo screen.
​
Apple: "Next up is u/NothingWaste7654 versus u/PrimartTheGod!"
​
​
Round 1, match 2, winner, u/Dolphinsarenotreal

The guitar might be worth 6 figures, as it is a seminal guitar in rock & roll history. Ive been looking at selling it through an auction house or just trying to find a gazillionaire from Japan, as this band were like gods in Japan.
I've read and researched, but have yet to find a way to eliminate or drastically reduce the capital gains tax for an auction or private sale to a collector.

Hey, fellow basketball disciples! Let's take a moment to appreciate the undeniable celestial force that is the Phoenix Suns. Brace yourselves for a cosmic journey through the untapped depths of NBA brilliance. Buckle up, because this post will be hotter than the surface of the sun!
First off, can we talk about Devin Booker? This guy is the embodiment of a basketball supernova. His scoring prowess is akin to the radiant energy emitted by a collapsing star. Booker's silky-smooth stroke is pure art, transcending the boundaries of mere mortals. No wonder he's the chosen one to lead the Suns' interstellar quest. If only he wasn't Luka's child XD
Next, let's hail the point god himself, Chris Paul. This man is the celestial conductor orchestrating the Suns' cosmic symphony. He's the maestro of alley-oops, the grand architect of the pick-and-roll. Paul's court vision transcends human comprehension, like an omnipotent being seeing all possible futures. Witnessing his basketball IQ is like glimpsing into the fabric of the universe.
Now, let's ascend to the realm of Deandre Ayton. This prodigious young big man is a basketball quasar, radiating untapped potential with every rebound and thunderous dunk. Ayton's gravity-defying leaps and monstrous wingspan are akin to the cosmic forces shaping galaxies. The rim quivers in fear whenever he's near, for he controls the very fabric of basketball's space-time continuum.
And how can we forget about the best endowed player on the team, Kevin Durant the lockdown defender with the wingspan of a pterodactyl, glides across the court like a shooting star streaking across the night sky. Imagine, if you will, a shooting star streaking across the night sky, leaving a trail of awe in its wake. That shooting star is none other than Kevin Durant, whose ethereal presence on the court defies human comprehension. His wingspan extends like the reaches of the cosmos, while his jump shot illuminates the court like a supernova. Durant's shooting touch is otherworldly, as if he harnessed the energy of distant stars to propel his ball through the net. His fadeaway jumpers are like shooting stars gracefully descending from the heavens, leaving defenders gasping in their celestial wake. His three-point stroke is akin to a comet blazing through the atmosphere, leaving opposing teams in its smoldering trail.Not to mention the absolute bombs he is dropping from deep, call him Barrack Obama!
Let's not overlook the guiding star of Monty Williams who fucking knows, the mastermind coach who has molded this group of basketball supernovas into a cohesive force. His strategic brilliance is like the gravitational pull that keeps the Suns' galaxy in perfect harmony.
So, my fellow Suns enthusiasts, let us revel in the brilliance of this overlooked cosmic phenomenon. The Phoenix Suns are on an intergalactic journey to claim their rightful place among the NBA constellations. Brace yourselves for a supernova of success that will radiate for years to come!
Praise the Suns, for they are the stars that shine brightest in the NBA universe!

After all the talk about the health pools for the bosses in the Dungeon this week, and unless Arbalest is meant to be trick, which I doubt, I'm having some serious concerns that we will once again see an activity that forces players to run Well or lose, and literally just bounce Guardians off the map. Because there is nothing the designers can do given the conditions under which they can make an activity that's compelling. Which is confusing, because they did do it, they just over did it.
Consider the mechanics for Ghosts of the Deep's final boss. I did this blind with some buddies, BUT, I watched a few streamers struggle with understanding what they were supposed to do, even when they triggered it. I think the mechanic for this boss was enough, that this boss did not require a hefty immunity shield, that currently feels like Arbalest is required for; Well and Bubble and debuffs feel required for. Your reward for working through these mechanics is a chance at damage unless you just happened to know about this Arbalest gimmick or exploit, or you were running with a team that's practiced and farmed the god rolls of stuff. Look, that's fine, but, it's leading down a path we have been down before. And now there is a post that notes that "RoN weapons can get an extra 20% damage increase vs the new dungeon's bosses." Seems like a lot of power creep!
I would love to hear from Bungie how and why this encounter was designed in the way that it is because, I have a bet. I believe it certainly feels like particular items and subclass supers are required for it to be a 3 phase on average. The problem with the mechanics, and granted, I don't have any issue with the mechanics, is that they become incredibly tedious after the third time. So, Bungie is telling me, have these specific items, or you're just going to have a boring and tensionless time.
Working on this boss the first time with average dudes who are just trying to do a dungeon blind, I can tell you, unless it's just a power delta (which begs another whole discussion about how scaling in this game tends to be incredibly uneven because the encounters disagree with scaling, cash me outside), this was an unfun hour that spoiled what was up until that point a feeling of being blown away at what Bungie could do with dungeons. It felt cheap. It felt like we were not actually being rewarded for blindly figuring out the mechanic to enable the damage phase. It felt like we suddenly had requirements we were not aware of, but we were in it, we were sticking with our guns, and we didn't wipe, and we kept going, and I had 4 shitty chest pieces to show for it through the dungeon. That felt awful.
Thanks for the ornament, though. Thankfully I have enough earned synthweave bolts in stock that I didn't have to pay for that. No thanks for the onscreen flash that I could kickstart, excuse me, preorder, a new item at the store. I didn't even bother to check it out.

for context, i’m south asian, which is fine and everything, except i’m the only girl in the family and i’m completely burnt out from all the years of constant berating, comparisons, restrictions, and so on and so forth. no matter what i did nothing was ever good enough for either of my parents. i could do a million things for them but the second i slipped up, they made me feel like a complete failure.
the second i got home from school when i was younger, i would already have a list of things endless chores to do while my older brother did absolutely nothing. on weekends, i was parenting my younger brother and waking up at 7 in the morning to give him breakfast, deal with his crying, and provide him with everything he needed while everyone was sound asleep. everything my brothers ever wanted, they had it. ipad after ipad, gaming console after gaming console. they were spoiled and accustomed to being catered to.
on top of that, i had to worry about my grades because my parents not only relied on me to take over for them at the house, but they also relied on me academically. made me out to be some kind of gifted child just because i had straight A’s and an honor roll every stupid semester. so, imagine that, having to carry this entire household on my back and make sure i don’t slip up in school just to appease to two impossibly stubborn people.
sometimes, i would be grounded for months on end for some silly mistakes i would make and they would isolate me from the world. no tv, no phone, no computer, no leaving the house. i had no entertainment, no way to talk to my friends, literally nothing. people tell me i should be grateful that my parents didn’t resort to physical abuse and i guess in a way i am, but that kind of isolation was torture especially with seeing my brothers get off with a slap on their wrist and the tiniest lecture. my parents isolated me for 6 months at one point simply because i didn’t brush my hair and it was all in knots.
i vividly remember my older brother crying because my dad grounded him for a week or two and my dad telling him, “i don’t know why you’re crying. i do more for you than I do for [my name]. the second you want something, i drop everything to deliver it to you.”
that’s been stuck to me ever since he said it. it’s one thing to unconsciously neglect your children. it’s another to be aware and do absolutely nothing about it. my mom has also repeatedly told me (and still does) that i was the most difficult birth and that makes me the most difficult child. meanwhile, i literally sit in my room and do nothing.
they would barely let me leave the house and i hated being there so much, i would lie about having after school activities just so i can have some time to myself.
i had to mature at an age way too young and parent children who were older than me and weren’t even mine. i had to fight for everything i have today. every screaming match i had with my parents was just another step towards getting what i wanted. if only i could have just had a normal teenage life.
now i’m so burnt out. i’m turning 20 this year and can barely keep my room clean and am struggling to maintain my college GPA above a god damn 3.0. i have bpd, severe depression, a hundred different kinds of anxiety, and i self sabotage everything good in my life.
after finding out about my depression, my parents did a full 180 and began treating me good. and for a while i was so happy. but all the damage they did is already done. i’m grateful my dad and i are extremely close now and that we can talk without raising our voices for once, but everything he’s said to me growing up never leaves my mind.
and i’ve completely given up on expecting anything from my mom. some days are good and then some days are really really bad. we’ll have our moments where we are just mother and daughter bonding, bringing my hopes up about some kind of relationship but then she’ll completely flip the switch and start berating me for being useless and that i’ll never be fixed.
i have more freedom now than before but absolutely nothing to do with it. i wasted my entire childhood training to become my mother. my little brother is 11 and doesn’t know how to wash a fucking dish. i told him to wash his plate and he asked me which side of the sponge to use.
and i’m so scared of my brother getting married while i’m still living with my parents because i’ll have to watch them shower his wife with the love i was begging for growing up.
this is super long but thanks for whoever read this rant. i’m just tired and wanted to vent about this.

Everything in my inventory is up for trade. The most valuable items are listed here, the rest you can find in My Inventory

Feel free to Add Me or even better send a Trade Offer. Open for any suggestions: upgrades, downgrades / knives, gloves, skins / stickers, patterns, floats.

All Buyouts are listed in cash value.

KNIVES

★ Butterfly Knife Freehand FN #1, B/O: $2500

★ Butterfly Knife Ultraviolet FT, B/O: $822

★ Butterfly Knife Scorched FT, B/O: $616

⎯

★ Bayonet Tiger Tooth MW #1, B/O: $1300

★ Bayonet Autotronic FN, B/O: $1050

★ Bayonet Tiger Tooth MW, B/O: $629

★ Bayonet Bright Water FT, B/O: $326

★ Bayonet Safari Mesh BS, B/O: $233

⎯

★ Karambit Lore FT, B/O: $1110

★ Karambit Damascus Steel FT, B/O: $840

★ Karambit Freehand MW, B/O: $784

★ Karambit Bright Water MW, B/O: $759

⎯

★ M9 Bayonet Fade FN, B/O: $1801

★ M9 Bayonet Fade FN, B/O: $1801

★ M9 Bayonet Damascus Steel FN, B/O: $751

⎯

★ Nomad Knife Fade FN, B/O: $1156

★ Nomad Knife Slaughter MW, B/O: $544

★ Nomad Knife Blue Steel WW, B/O: $318

⎯

★ Flip Knife Marble Fade FN, B/O: $646

★ Flip Knife Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $574

★ Flip Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 1) MW, B/O: $552

★ Flip Knife Case Hardened FT, B/O: $257

★ Flip Knife Freehand FT, B/O: $255

★ StatTrak™ Flip Knife Bright Water FN, B/O: $287

⎯

★ Huntsman Knife Lore FN, B/O: $461

★ Huntsman Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $436

★ Huntsman Knife Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $353

★ Huntsman Knife Autotronic FT, B/O: $212

★ Huntsman Knife Bright Water FT, B/O: $129

★ Huntsman Knife Forest DDPAT MW, B/O: $129

★ Huntsman Knife Forest DDPAT BS, B/O: $123

★ StatTrak™ Huntsman Knife Rust Coat BS, B/O: $127

⎯

★ Bowie Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 2) FN, B/O: $375

★ Bowie Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 1) FN, B/O: $363

★ Bowie Knife Tiger Tooth FN, B/O: $269

★ Bowie Knife Crimson Web WW, B/O: $192

★ Bowie Knife Bright Water FN, B/O: $159

★ Bowie Knife Ultraviolet FT, B/O: $126

⎯

★ Stiletto Knife Slaughter FN, B/O: $616

★ Stiletto Knife Crimson Web FT, B/O: $412

★ StatTrak™ Stiletto Knife Night Stripe FT, B/O: $227

⎯

★ Falchion Knife Lore FT, B/O: $214

★ Falchion Knife Autotronic FT, B/O: $192

★ Falchion Knife Scorched WW, B/O: $105

⎯

★ Survival Knife Crimson Web BS, B/O: $216

★ Survival Knife Case Hardened FT, B/O: $198

★ Survival Knife Scorched FT, B/O: $111

⎯

★ Shadow Daggers Fade FN, B/O: $368

★ Shadow Daggers Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $228

★ Shadow Daggers, B/O: $201

★ Shadow Daggers Damascus Steel FT, B/O: $108

★ Shadow Daggers Ultraviolet FT, B/O: $105

★ Shadow Daggers Black Laminate FT, B/O: $99

★ Shadow Daggers Forest DDPAT FT, B/O: $85

⎯

★ Gut Knife Doppler (Sapphire) MW #1, B/O: $1700

★ Gut Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 1) FN, B/O: $223

★ Gut Knife Marble Fade FN, B/O: $203

★ Gut Knife Doppler (Phase 2) FN, B/O: $191

★ Gut Knife Case Hardened BS, B/O: $127

⎯

★ Navaja Knife Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $199

★ Navaja Knife Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $199

★ Navaja Knife, B/O: $138

★ Navaja Knife Damascus Steel FN, B/O: $111

⎯

★ Classic Knife Urban Masked FT, B/O: $146

★ StatTrak™ Classic Knife Stained BS, B/O: $168

⎯

★ Ursus Knife Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $476

★ Ursus Knife, B/O: $375

⎯

★ Skeleton Knife, B/O: $1137

★ Talon Knife, B/O: $608

★ Paracord Knife, B/O: $305

★ Survival Knife Forest DDPAT FT, B/O: $97

GLOVES

★ Moto Gloves Transport MW, B/O: $204

★ Moto Gloves Polygon BS, B/O: $142

★ Moto Gloves Blood Pressure BS, B/O: $84

★ Moto Gloves Blood Pressure BS, B/O: $84

★ Moto Gloves 3rd Commando Company BS, B/O: $63

★ Moto Gloves 3rd Commando Company BS, B/O: $63

⎯

★ Specialist Gloves Crimson Kimono WW, B/O: $1215

★ Specialist Gloves Tiger Strike FT, B/O: $672

★ Specialist Gloves Lt. Commander FT, B/O: $305

★ Specialist Gloves Lt. Commander BS, B/O: $140

★ Specialist Gloves Crimson Web BS, B/O: $137

★ Specialist Gloves Buckshot FT, B/O: $75

⎯

★ Driver Gloves Crimson Weave FT, B/O: $359

★ Driver Gloves Imperial Plaid BS, B/O: $229

★ Driver Gloves Overtake BS, B/O: $77

★ Driver Gloves Racing Green FT, B/O: $48

⎯

★ Sport Gloves Omega FT, B/O: $739

★ Sport Gloves Amphibious BS #2, B/O: $733

★ Sport Gloves Arid BS, B/O: $292

⎯

★ Hand Wraps Giraffe MW, B/O: $212

★ Hand Wraps Leather FT, B/O: $160

★ Hand Wraps Desert Shamagh MW, B/O: $101

⎯

★ Broken Fang Gloves Yellow-banded MW, B/O: $185

★ Broken Fang Gloves Needle Point FT, B/O: $67

★ Broken Fang Gloves Needle Point WW, B/O: $59

⎯

★ Hydra Gloves Case Hardened BS, B/O: $65

★ Hydra Gloves Emerald FT, B/O: $65

★ Hydra Gloves Emerald BS, B/O: $62

WEAPONS

AK-47 Case Hardened BS, B/O: $130

AK-47 Bloodsport MW, B/O: $79

AK-47 Fuel Injector BS, B/O: $76

AK-47 Fuel Injector BS, B/O: $76

AK-47 Bloodsport FT, B/O: $70

AK-47 Neon Rider MW, B/O: $60

StatTrak™ AK-47 Aquamarine Revenge FT, B/O: $72

⎯

AWP Fade FN, B/O: $1039

AWP Asiimov FT, B/O: $139

AWP Asiimov FT, B/O: $139

AWP Wildfire MW, B/O: $95

AWP BOOM MW, B/O: $93

AWP BOOM MW, B/O: $93

AWP Duality FN, B/O: $81

AWP Asiimov BS, B/O: $79

AWP Asiimov BS, B/O: $79

AWP Chromatic Aberration FN, B/O: $60

StatTrak™ AWP Hyper Beast FT, B/O: $68

StatTrak™ AWP Hyper Beast FT, B/O: $68

StatTrak™ AWP Electric Hive FT, B/O: $55

⎯

Desert Eagle Blaze FN, B/O: $623

Desert Eagle Emerald Jörmungandr FN, B/O: $241

Desert Eagle Cobalt Disruption FN, B/O: $81

Desert Eagle Cobalt Disruption FN, B/O: $81

Desert Eagle Cobalt Disruption FN, B/O: $81

Desert Eagle Printstream FT, B/O: $54

⎯

M4A1-S Blue Phosphor FN, B/O: $434

StatTrak™ M4A1-S Bright Water MW, B/O: $55

⎯

M4A4 Poseidon FN, B/O: $1465

M4A4 Asiimov BS, B/O: $55

M4A4 Hellfire MW, B/O: $50

⎯

USP-S Kill Confirmed MW, B/O: $72

USP-S Printstream FT, B/O: $69

StatTrak™ USP-S Kill Confirmed FT, B/O: $139

⎯

AUG Flame Jörmungandr FN, B/O: $234

P90 Run and Hide FT, B/O: $147

Five-SeveN Candy Apple FN, B/O: $61

Trade Offer Link - Steam Profile Link - My Inventory

Knives - Bowie Knife, Butterfly Knife, Falchion Knife, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Huntsman Knife, M9 Bayonet, Bayonet, Karambit, Shadow Daggers, Stiletto Knife, Ursus Knife, Navaja Knife, Talon Knife, Classic Knife, Paracord Knife, Survival Knife, Nomad Knife, Skeleton Knife, Patterns - Gamma Doppler, Doppler (Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, Phase 4, Black Pearl, Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald), Crimson Web, Lore, Fade, Ultraviolet, Night, Marble Fade (Fire & Ice, Fake FI), Case Hardened (Blue Gem), Autotronic, Slaughter, Black Laminate, Tiger Tooth, Boreal Forest, Scorched, Blue Steel, Vanilla, Damascus Steel, Forest DDPAT, Urban Masked, Freehand, Stained, Bright Water, Safari Mesh, Rust Coat, Gloves - Bloodhound Gloves (Charred, Snakebite, Guerrilla, Bronzed), Driver Gloves (Snow Leopard, King Snake, Crimson Weave, Imperial Plaid, Black Tie, Lunar Weave, Diamondback, Rezan the Red, Overtake, Queen Jaguar, Convoy, Racing Green), Hand Wraps (Cobalt Skulls, CAUTION!, Overprint, Slaughter, Leather, Giraffe, Badlands, Spruce DDPAT, Arboreal, Constrictor, Desert Shamagh, Duct Tape), Moto Gloves (Spearmint, POW!, Cool Mint, Smoke Out, Finish Line, Polygon, Blood Pressure, Turtle, Boom!, Eclipse, 3rd Commando Company, Transport), Specialist Gloves (Crimson Kimono, Tiger Strike, Emerald Web, Field Agent, Marble Fade, Fade, Foundation, Lt. Commander, Crimson Web, Mogul, Forest DDPAT, Buckshot), Sport Gloves (Pandora's Box, Superconductor, Hedge Maze, Vice, Amphibious, Slingshot, Omega, Arid, Big Game, Nocts, Scarlet Shamagh, Bronze Morph), Hydra Gloves (Case Hardened, Emerald, Rattler, Mangrove), Broken Fang Gloves (Jade, Yellow-banded, Unhinged, Needle Point), Pistols - P2000 (Wicked Sick, Ocean Foam, Fire Element, Amber Fade, Corticera, Chainmail, Imperial Dragon, Obsidian, Scorpion, Handgun, Acid Etched), USP-S (Printstream, Kill Confirmed, Whiteout, Road Rash, Owergrowth, The Traitor, Neo-Noir, Dark Water, Orion, Blueprint, Stainless, Caiman, Serum, Monster Mashup, Royal Blue, Ancient Visions, Cortex, Orange Anolis, Ticket To Hell, Black Lotus, Cyrex, Check Engine, Guardian, Purple DDPAT, Torque, Blood Tiger, Flashback, Business Class, Pathfinder, Para Green), Lead Conduit, Glock-18 (Umbral Rabbit, Fade, Candy Apple, Bullet Queen, Synth Leaf, Neo-Noir, Nuclear Garden, Dragon Tatto, Reactor, Pink DDPAT, Twilight Galaxy, Sand Dune, Groundwater, Blue Fissure, Snack Attack, Water Elemental, Brass, Wasteland Rebel, Vogue, Franklin, Royal Legion, Gamma Doppler, Weasel, Steel Disruption, Ironwork, Grinder, High Beam, Moonrise, Oxide Blaze, Bunsen Burner, Clear Polymer, Bunsen Burner, Night), P250 (Re.built, Nuclear Threat, Modern Hunter, Splash, Whiteout, Vino Primo, Mehndi, Asiimov, Visions, Undertow, Cartel, See Ya Later, Gunsmoke, Splash, Digital Architect, Muertos, Red Rock, Bengal Tiger, Crimson Kimono, Wingshot, Metallic DDPAT, Hive, Dark Filigree, Mint Kimono), Five-Seven (Neon Kimono, Berries And Cherries, Fall Hazard, Crimson Blossom, Hyper Beast, Nitro, Fairy Tale, Case Hardened, Copper Galaxy, Angry Mob, Monkey Business, Fowl Play, Anodized Gunmetal, Hot Shot, Retrobution, Boost Protocol), CZ75-Auto (Chalice, Crimson Web, Emerald Quartz, The Fuschia is Now, Nitro, Xiangliu, Yellow Jacket, Victoria, Poison Dart, Syndicate, Eco, Hexane, Pole, Tigris), Tec-9 (Rebel, Terrace, Nuclear Threat, Hades, Rust Leaf, Decimator, Blast From, Orange Murano, Toxic, Fuel Injector, Remote Control, Bamboo Forest, Isaac, Avalanche, Brother, Re-Entry, Blue Titanium, Bamboozle), R8 Revolver (Banana Cannon, Fade, Blaze, Crimson Web, Liama Cannon, Crazy 8, Reboot, Canal Spray, Night, Amber Fade), Desert Eagle (Blaze, Hand Cannon, Fennec Fox, Sunset Storm, Emerald Jörmungandr, Pilot, Hypnotic, Golden Koi, Printstream, Cobalt Disruption, Code Red, Ocean Drive, Midnight Storm, Kumicho Dragon, Crimson Web, Heirloom, Night Heist, Mecha Industries, Night, Conspiracy, Trigger Discipline, Naga, Directive, Light Rail), Dual Berettas (Flora Carnivora, Duelist, Cobra Strike, Black Limba, Emerald, Hemoglobin, Twin Turbo, Marina, Melondrama, Pyre, Retribution, Briar, Dezastre, Royal Consorts, Urban Shock, Dualing Dragons, Panther, Balance), Rifles - Galil (Aqua Terrace, Winter Forest, Chatterbox, Sugar Rush, Pheonix Blacklight, CAUTION!, Orange DDPAT, Cerberus, Dusk Ruins, Eco, Chromatic Aberration, Stone Cold, Tuxedo, Sandstorm, Shattered, Urban Rubble, Rocket Pop, Kami, Crimson Tsunami, Connexion), SCAR-20 (Fragments, Brass, Cyrex, Palm, Splash Jam, Cardiac, Emerald, Crimson Web, Magna Carta, Stone Mosaico, Bloodsport, Enforcer), AWP (Duality, Gungnir, Dragon Lore, Prince, Medusa, Desert Hydra, Fade, Lightning Strike, Oni Taiji, Silk Tiger, Graphite, Chromatic Aberration, Asiimov, Snake Camo, Boom, Containment Breach, Wildfire, Redline, Electric Hive, Hyper Beast, Neo-Noir, Man-o'-war, Pink DDPAT, Corticera, Sun in Leo, Elite Build, Fever Dream, Atheris, Mortis, PAW, Exoskeleton, Worm God, POP AWP, Phobos, Acheron, Pit Viper, Capillary, Safari Mesh), AK-47 (Head Shot, Wild Lotus, Gold Arabesque, X-Ray, Fire Serpent, Hydroponic, Panthera Onca, Case Hardened, Vulcan, Jet Set, Fuel Injector, Bloodsport, Nightwish, First Class, Neon Rider, Asiimov, Red Laminate, Aquamarine Revenge, The Empress, Wasteland Rebel, Jaguar, Black Laminate, Leet Museo, Neon Revolution, Redline, Frontside Misty, Predator, Legion of Anubis, Point Disarray, Orbit Mk01, Blue Laminate, Green Laminate, Emerald Pinstripe, Cartel, Phantom Disruptor, Jungle Spray, Safety Net, Rat Rod, Baroque Purple, Slate, Elite Build, Uncharted, Safari Mesh), FAMAS (Sundown, Prime Conspiracy, Afterimage, Commemoration, Dark Water, Spitfire, Pulse, Eye of Athena, Meltdown, Rapid Eye Move, Roll Cage, Styx, Mecha Industrie, Djinn, ZX Spectron, Valence, Neural Net, Night Borre, Hexne), M4A4 (Temukau, Howl, Poseidon, Asiimov, Daybreak, Hellfire, Zirka, Red DDPAT, Radiation Hazard, Modern Hunter, The Emperor, The Coalition, Bullet Rain, Cyber Security, X-Ray, Dark Blossom, Buzz Kill, In Living Color, Neo-Noir, Desolate Space, 龍王 (Dragon King), Royal Paladin, The Battlestar, Global Offensive, Tooth Fairy, Desert-Strike, Griffin, Evil Daimyo, Spider Lily, Converter), M4A1-S (Emphorosaur-S, Welcome to the Jungle, Imminent Danger, Knight, Hot Rod, Icarus Fell, Blue Phosphor, Printstream, Master Piece, Dark Water, Golden Coil, Bright Water, Player Two, Atomic Alloy, Guardian, Chantico's Fire, Hyper Beast, Mecha Industries, Cyrex, Control Panel, Moss Quartz, Nightmare, Decimator, Leaded Glass, Basilisk, Blood Tiger, Briefing, Night Terror, Nitro, VariCamo, Flashback), SG 553 (Cyberforce, Hazard Pay, Bulldozer, Integrale, Dragon Tech, Ultraviolet, Colony IV, Hypnotic, Cyrex, Candy Apple, Barricade, Pulse), SSG 08 (Death Strike, Sea Calico, Blood in the Water, Orange Filigree, Dragonfire, Big Iron, Bloodshot, Detour, Turbo Peek, Red Stone), AUG (Akihabara Accept, Flame Jörmungandr, Hot Rod, Midnight Lily, Sand Storm, Carved Jade, Wings, Anodized Navy, Death by Puppy, Torque, Bengal Tiger, Chameleon, Fleet Flock, Random Access, Momentum, Syd Mead, Stymphalian, Arctic Wolf, Aristocrat, Navy Murano), G3SG1 (Chronos, Violet Murano, Flux, Demeter, Orange Kimono, The Executioner, Green Apple, Arctic Polar Camo, Contractor), SMGs - P90 (Neoqueen, Astral Jörmungandr, Run and Hide, Emerald Dragon, Cold Blooded, Death by Kitty, Baroque Red, Vent Rush, Blind Spot, Asiimov, Trigon, Sunset Lily, Death Grip, Leather, Nostalgia, Fallout Warning, Tiger Pit, Schermatic, Virus, Shapewood, Glacier Mesh, Shallow Grave, Chopper, Desert Warfare), MAC-10 (Sakkaku, Hot Snakes, Copper Borre, Red Filigree, Gold Brick, Graven, Case Hardened, Stalker, Amber Fade, Neon Rider, Tatter, Curse, Propaganda, Nuclear Garden, Disco Tech, Toybox, Heat, Indigo), UMP-45 (Wild Child, Fade, Blaze, Day Lily, Minotaur's Labyrinth, Crime Scene, Caramel, Bone Pile, Momentum, Primal Saber), MP7 (Teal Blossom, Fade, Nemesis, Whiteout, Asterion, Bloosport, Abyssal Apparition, Full Stop, Special Delivery, Neon Ply, Asterion, Ocean Foam, Powercore, Scorched, Impire), PP-Bizon (Modern Hunter, Rust Coat, Forest Leaves, Antique, High Roller, Blue Streak, Seabird, Judgement of Anubis, Bamboo Print, Embargo, Chemical Green, Coblat Halftone, Fuel Rod, Photic Zone, Irradiated Alert, Carbon Fiber), MP9 (Featherweight, Wild Lily, Pandora's Box, Stained Glass, Bulldozer, Dark Age, Hot Rod, Hypnotic, Hydra, Rose Iron, Music Box, Setting Sun, Food Chain, Airlock, Mount Fuji, Starlight Protector, Ruby Poison Dart, Deadly Poison), MP5-SD (Liquidation, Oxide Oasis, Phosphor, Nitro, Agent, Autumn Twilly), Shotguns, Machineguns - Sawed-Off (Kiss♥Love, First Class, Orange DDPAT, Rust Coat, The Kraken, Devourer, Mosaico, Wasteland Princess, Bamboo Shadow, Copper, Serenity, Limelight, Apocalypto), XM1014 (Frost Borre, Ancient Lore, Red Leather, Elegant Vines, Banana Leaf, Jungle, Urban Perforated, Grassland, Blaze Orange, Heaven Guard, VariCamo Blue, Entombed, XOXO, Seasons, Tranquility, Bone Machine, Incinegator, Teclu Burner, Black Tie, Zombie Offensive, Watchdog), Nova (Baroque Orange, Hyper Beast, Green Apple, Antique, Modern Hunter, Walnut, Forest Leaves, Graphite, Blaze Orange, Rising Skull, Tempest, Bloomstick, Interlock, Quick Sand, Moon in Libra, Clean Polymer, Red Quartz, Toy Soldier), MAG-7 (Insomnia, Cinqueda, Counter Terrace, Prism Terrace, Memento, Chainmail, Hazard, Justice, Bulldozer, Silver, Core Breach, Firestarter, Praetorian, Heat, Hard Water, Monster Call, BI83 Spectrum, SWAG-7), M249 (Humidor, Shipping Forecast, Blizzard Marbleized, Downtown, Jungle DDPAT, Nebula Crusader, Impact Drill, Emerald Poison Dart), Negev (Mjölnir, Anodized Navy, Palm, Power Loader, Bratatat, CaliCamo, Phoenix Stencil, Infrastructure, Boroque Sand), Wear - Factory New (FN), Minimal Wear (MW), Field-Tested (FT), Well-Worn (WW), Battle-Scarred (BS), Stickers Holo/Foil/Gold - Katowice 2014, Krakow 2017, Howling Dawn, Katowice 2015, Crown, London 2018, Cologne 2014, Boston 2018, Atlanta 2017, Cluj-Napoca 2015, DreamHack 2014, King on the Field, Harp of War, Winged Difuser, Cologne 2016, Cologne 2015, MLG Columbus 2016, Katowice 2019, Berlin 2019, RMR 2020, Stockholm 2021, Antwerp 2022, Swag Foil, Flammable foil, Others - Souvenirs, Agents, Pins, Passes, Gifts, Music Kits, Cases, Keys, Capsules, Packages, Patches

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The Oni Broodlord.
It began on a relatively small and insignificant planet. Nivion was from most of the warring and conquering in the milkyway and had few troops stationed there. So when a report from a nobody says they saw, what they described as 'flying fish' land in the middle of nowhere, in the dead of night, most soldiers hardly took it seriously. Yet, insistent higher ups made sure a small squad headed out to confirm that it was in fact nothing. It didn't take long for the transmission to come in. Through the coms cried a voice screaming for backup, begging for help. Quickly troops mobilized. As more and more requests for help came back, and more men were sent out, it only confirmed this xenos threat to be of Tyranid origin.
Nobody remembers when it happened, but it was decided that the few Spacemarines should be sent to quash this futile attempt at an invasion. When they arrived they saw not swarms of Termagaunts, nor Warriors. Instead, in the shadow of the night, coming through the six foot corn field were Genestealers. Not many, and so once the Spacemarines arrived the tide quickly turned in the imperium's favor. It became clear to the commanding Lieutenant that this was no large invasion. This small unit of troops was not meant for out right battle. No, he realized these foul creatures were an escort, and that meant the true target was so far unseen. "Burn it!" He commanded, and in a moment his troops had lit the entire field a blaze. The few hidden vermin came out screeching as they made a last ditch effort to kill the onslaught of soldiers. These too were swiftly killed. Although there were casualties, most had begun to celebrate their victory. This did not last long, the Lieutenant remarked that they had only killed genestealers, and had not yet found their source. So their hunt began.
The Spacemarine's search lead them to the accompanying barn. When approaching it, even the mighty Spacemarines could feel a presence. It was as if their skin was the wrong size, or their bones wouldn't support them anymore. But their iron will allowed them to burst open the door, and inside it stood, it's enormous form nearly filling the barn, making even giant Spacemarines seem small. It's red eyes seemingly piercing them, although did not move they could feel it's attack. Their skulls grinding against itself, every one of their muscle fibers wanting to collapse in on itself. Their very hearts on the brink of imploding. One of the wounded Marines collapsed, blood launching itself from his mouth, will crumbling under the creature's silent threats.
Screeches of death broke the deadly silence as more wretches pounced on the Marines. The monster still had more minion's to unleash, but they would not last long, as flashes from boltguns lit up the barn. The Lieutenant's men stood their ground as he charged forward at the beast, chainsword in hand he slashed at it's evil form. The horror let out a scream of agony as the Lieutenant's blade dug into it's arm. He prayed on The Emperor he could rid this planet of this xenos. At the same moment he brought his Plasma Pistol to where the creature's heart should be. Although he wasn't too sure if such a thing could have a heart.
But then he felt it again, the deep soul crushing sense. This organism was watching inside his mind. He grit his teeth, now was not the time to fail. All he needed was this single shot. But the sensation wasn't simply of this organism, nor of some other, unseen, xenos psycher. No. This poison in his mind was far beyond one single creature, or a single thought. For but a moment he could feel and see battles lightyears away, creatures and planets he'd never heard of. This one singular moment could last for all eternity, he saw what it all was. Then he felt the cool rush of blood on his tongue, and so he was jolted away from the omnipresent hive mind, and back to Nivion, back to the battle. There he was, realizing what had just transpired. He quickly realized he was no longer in the barn, nor could he see his battle brothers. He saw the sky, the beautiful sunrise, all was bathed in crimson, and as the red colour overtook his vision he had a realization. He couldn't feel his legs. In fact, he could feel less and less of his body. He hopes his Marines dealt with those Genestealers alright.
The sound of gunfire came from the barn as soldiers came to back up the Marines, but as they arrived they were greeted by the visage of a cruel monster. It stood a the hill, it's unfeeling eyes sunken into it's hideous horned skull, casting it's malicious spell upon the Imperial guard bellow. The only sign of the Spacemarine's was the torso of one, still impaled on it's blade. At it's feet lay the one victory they'd claimed. One butchered arm, shards of a chainsword mutilated the limb. The wretch's blood mixed with that of the glorious Marines.
With one hand it removed the corpse from it's weapon, while it's arm raised, extending a talon towards the men in it's path. All those who didn't flee felt a surge of energy run through their spine, as their nerves felt as if they were going to be ripped from their skin. For many, this was their doom, but for those lucky enough to survive this torture came a swift end. The monster descended upon them, it's blade ripping through their bodies with ease. They fell, very few even had time to fire their guns before the onslaught.
That night on Nivion, the Imperium declared that a Genestealer cult's establishment had been prevented. Although in none of the reports the word victory was never mentioned, the few survivors were proclaimed to be heros of Nivion, and so the planet was put at ease. If only it had been that simple.
Marcos and his wife were sleeping in bed. It had been a long days work for Marcos, and after finally being able to put his infant daughter to sleep, there was nothing more comforting or godly than being able to go to sleep next Vivian. Of course half an hour later Elise began crying. The pair turned to each other. "Tonight it's your night." Vivian spoke softly, her eyes barely open. "Honey she's been like this every night.. She stopped after five minutes yesterday." Marcos responded, trying his best to think of any excuse not to leave the bed. "Okay... " Vivian yawned. "But if she doesn't, then you know the deal." She said, making sure he agreed. He begrudgingly nodded, and collapsed into his pillow again. As the crying continued, he mustered up the strength to get out of bed. "Maybe it's because you insist on leaving that window open, she might be cold." Vivian commented as he left the room. Not long after the crying halted abruptly. Vivian was surprised by her husband's efficiency. Maybe they could actually get some sleep tonight. She rolled over towards the door. Ready to compliment when he returned. The clock ticked by, a minute passed. Then another. She called out for him, thinking maybe he'd gone to the bathroom. She waited longer, and longer. Finally she arose. She called out once more, her concerned voice echoing throughout the apartment. She moved through the corridors towards her daughter's room. A strange tingling in her spine intensifying as she approached it. "Marcos, this isn't funny." She said as her hand clutched the handle, a pulse through her muscles giving her pause, just for a moment before opening the door.
The window howled from the window as she entered the room, then the heat left her body. Two red eye's glared at her. A demon sat in her window. It's enormous form filling all of the frame. It's horrid deformed face had a sick resemblance to a person, but every feature was wrong. It's glowing eyes too sunken for any human skull. Instead of lips it had a tooth maw, and it's bald head was adorned with five horns. But it was not simply it's appearance that repulsed her, the creature seemed to silently whisper curses and spells at her. It took her much too long to notice, it had one arm too many, and each hand was tipped with sword like talons. Then her heart sank. One of it's hands had claw's longer than her arms, and in it's evil grip was Elise. She dropped to the ground, screaming, and that's when it vanished. Leaping from the window into the night. Vivian lay on the floor screaming for her child. It was a while before she even noticed that the floorboards were caked in blood. Her already blood shot eyes turned to it source. There, up against the wall was seemed to be a man, but he was mangled. All his organs had seemingly been forcefully ripped out through his skeleton. She could barely recognize it as Marcos. It took the neighbors two hours to finally be awoken by her screaming an sobbing. It was another four before the Adeptus Arbites arrived at the scene. By then she had gone catatonic and wouldn't move from her husbands remains.
It was only later that they could put together a full report, along with a description of the beast. Vivian wasn't the last for this to happen to. Over the course of the next six months twelve other reports came in with near identical stories. All described a huge, three armed demonic creature coming to steal their child. Each survivor also described an intense feeling of dread, as if it was coming from inside their very being. As more of victims appeared the situation was escalated from Adeptus Arbites to Astra Militarum. Many soldier's hunting in the streets to capture this menace. But they were always a step behind, never being able to predict where it'd show up next. Eventually the reports slowed down, and all leads ran dry. After two years the whole case was considered a dead end and a waste of resources. That's when reports of this demon came from other planets, and other tyranid invasions. Seemingly appearing and vanishing as it wishes. The few soldiers who survive encounter's with it have dubbed it the Oni. After an old Terra legend of a large flesh eating demon. Now as the oni has seemingly moved on to other planets, and to terrorize other civilians many people on Nivion would rather forget about it. But the recent of a red eyed creature abducting a child seems to want to give Nivion a grim reminder of the past.
I don't do a lot of writing so any criticism is welcome. I'm also pretty new to Warhammer so there may be some lore inaccuracies.