(Hey everyone! Finally out of the shadow realm! Im reposting chapter five here, 6 is still percolating away in my head, but in the mean time, enjoy! Comments are appreciated!)
4-LOM rolled up to the holotable, the aging shipbuilder looking over the various fleet and division commanders.
4-LOM was an old Mk1 astro robot, his main body was a sphere, with four mechanical arms extending from his body, two large and bulky, and the other two smaller, more nimble and accurate, more dexterous, with a cylindrical lower body leading down to his treads, which were angular, tank like in shape, designed for heavy lifting. His head was flat, with a duo of square optics, a set of welding shields flipped up, ready to flip down when and where needed. His backpack was open, with tools sticking out, ready to be grabbed and used.
Looking around, he noted that the Saurians had their Admiral, a middle age Rox, their massive, tyrannasauric form still managing to tower over most of the others, even in holo, while Serano stood next to him. Nearby, Hota sat, nursing a coffee, rubbing his head, while one of the chief science officers hologram glanced at him nervously.
Another door entered, and a Mk12 frame entered, standing at the table. At first glance, the frame looked pristine, but 4-LOM wasn't fooled. He wasn't a shipwright for nothing, and he could see the pitting under the paint where plasma weaponry had uselessly splashed off, taking with it little layers of metal with it. Despite how new the frame looked, it was clear it had seen some action, recently as well, judging by the fresh coat of paint.
More holograms of fleet officials, and the bridges, or representations of their ships, flickered in above their shoulders. Serano looked like he had an old sailing ship floated there idly, a representation of the Enterprise. Some had wasps, while one captain had a cartoonish Barbus fish, with an old style white sailors cap and a belt of dynamite.
And then a small black hole flickered into view in front of his faceplate, making him roll back with a start. Getting a good look at the now pulsing black hole, he seemed to frown, one of his welding shields rising higher to simulate a eyebrow raise….. "Horizon? Is that you, little lass?" He said, with a thick, Scottish accent as his other shield rose up to join the other in shock.
The holographic black hole bobbed up and down in the air, two arms extending out from its corona and spun, as if to represent it, no, her, spinning in happiness. For a moment, 4-LOM was silent, before he began laughing, reaching up, even as his servo passed through the holo. "Ach, what I wouldn't give ta be in the Link with ye, lassie! I'm glad ye survived." He said, as the little ever hungry representation of the ship spun around him, before it shot off, floating near the Mk12, who looked at it.
The 12s head tilted more, as it listening to what the ship was saying, while 4-LOM felt a bit of possessiveness flair. Horizon was one of HIS creations, his and his wife's. Their ships were like children for them. Rolling over, he mentally began preparing a bit of what his wife would call the shovel talk, something they used to do with Captains that took on their vessels……
"Did you need something, Grandfather?" The machine said, domed head snapping to his, taking the wind out of his sails, and stare blankly at the taller, thinner machine.
Behind him, he heard Serano chuckle behind him, even as the Rox raised an eyeridge, while the Saline sat his mug down and placed his head in his hands.
"Grandfather- oh. I see…." He said, gaze turning flat as he gave a glare at Horizon. "I see the little gremlin is still able to make me short a fuse or two. Void knows Maria's hair turned white before she had to move bodies due to someone's antics." The little black hole pulsed sharply, as if squawking. "Would have appreciated a warning she made herself a captain…. Lassie, ye best be teaching him self preservation instincts." Catching the snort from the Rox and the sigh from Serano.
Slowly, his head turned around to face the two, one shield twitching, and finally saw Hota looking up with a flat look. "Too late on that one. I'll pass you the after action report later, AFTER the meeting." Serano said, hiding a smile. "If you want a first hand account, ask Hota. From what I understand, he had a front row seat for the Chaos the two caused."
She wasn't a little ship anymore, she wasnt- ah kriff it all. She was still his little lass. He'll talk with her later…preferably with Maria there…..after he grabbed his wrench and had a….. talk….. with whoever was their crew.
/------------------/
All the admirals and fleet commanders were soon in place, Asimov standing to the side, near the Admiral Serano, Horizons representation floating next to his head as his own panned about, looking at the assembled species. Several robotic ones, not Astro Robot series, called Glinch, looked at him curiously, while he picked out several different….Saurians, a few Roxes, several Trikes.
Several were pale, white skinned humans, bald, be they male or female. Clones, like himself, but with organic bodies, accompanied by nat-born humans, and several more advanced Astro Robot series units, these ones looking everything from near human, to large and bulky, armed with cannons, inbuilt missile launchers on their upper arms, and massive treads, or slimmer, almost skeletal ones with modules that could be swapped out at a moments notice.
"I appreciate ye all for coming on such short notice" 4-LOMs voice said, cutting over the gentle hubbub of the side conversations. "I had hoped that we wouldn't be facing them again, but here we are." The robot said as one of his smaller limbs tapes a command into the console, pulling up images of Everwatch stations current…condition. "Those of yeh from Federation space are more familar of the old stories, battle videos and the like. The Demons, as the Human Federation calls them, have been returned. It's only thanks to the work of Representative Hota that we have this information….. and had stumbled across an old Ace that had woken back up in time for this chaos." 4-LOM said, nodding to the Saline, getting the attention of his compatriots, who he shook his head to.
"Our opponents are equipped with biotech vessels, and are known for appropriating technology to forcibly integrate it with their own. Which means keep an eye out for a worse hodgepodge of weapons than a pirate vessel after its crew hits a pound of Spice and then gets drunk at a star port." 4-LOM said dryly, as various, old, images of the vessels and a few of the newer ones. "That being said, expect the sheer firepower jammed onto each of these ships to be on the higherside. However, they need long recharge periods, likely due to whatever power source used overloading, or the capacitor banks running dry and needing to recharge. Don't be fooled, they do have some form of biological armament, acid spitters, spike launchers, the works." He said, as images flicked up organic turrets, tentacles, and what looked like maws.
"As of right now, several of our larger vessels are being inspected and repaired, resupplied, and upgraded as needed. Several older vessels are being pulled out of mothball for the same reason. All civilian vessels are being drafted for emergency roles, receiving refit with hardware that will allow them to fight in a pinch, though their primary objective will be escorting transport ships and acting as emergency evacuation ships. We won't be expecting them to fight, but we need every ship we can get."
An image flickered into view of what amounted to the humans old museum of warships and deep space vessels, revealing it to be a hive of activity. Many other races had laughed at humanity for keeping their old vessels, rather than scrapping them, but now, now there was a reason why humanity had.
"Patrol fleets are to be at least one Saline Sensor ship, two to three Buckler class Trike Shield Bearers, one Rox Artillery ship, one Vohle capable human vessel, Two human PT ships, and three Raptor Swift claws." 4-LOM said, "these things aren't to be taken lightly. Sensors pick them up, call it in and engage. Stall for time if needed for reinforcements to arrive. Intercept fleets are to consist of five Trike Aegis class Shield Bearers, six Swift claws, one Rox supercarrier, three Rox artillery ships, two Saline Auxiliary ships, one Saline Medical cruiser, one Human Vohle Super-carrier, eight human PT ships, two Human Iowa class destroyers." The elderly bot belted out, making several Captains and admirals wince. Those weren't lightweight ships. The 'patrol' fleet could have been considered a planetary invasion force.
Before anyone could make any arguments or questions as to why the fleets were set to the Human classic of 'Maximum Overkill', and before any more ridiculous fleet deployments could be called out, a slightly panicking human sprinted into the room. "Sir! Confirmed hostile assault on Tisan-4" the human said, breathing heavily. "The Demons made planet fall, looks like a small invasion force that had left before the incursion field went up."
4-LOM stared….and then sighed. "Well, Caliburn had been itching for a fight." He sighed and placed a servo over his optics.
/-----------------------------------/
WARNING: Hostiles detected. Match confirmed; species D-65.
Threat level:Apollyon. Combat systems:unlocked.
That was what appeared on the Colony Managers terminal as alarms screamed across the Colony, alerts screaming on PADDs, sirens spinning as bunkers opened up.
An aging Wargen bared his teeth as he rapidly tapped at his terminal, as the younger human clone stood grimly at her manager's terminal.
"Civilians are filling out the bunkers, tunneling charges are set and ready to clear escape routes." The elderly, wolf like Wargen said, his muzzle splitting into four as he spoke, one part vertical, the other horizontally. "Colonial militia are manning hard points and connecting to systems now."
"Understood." The Colony manager said and let out a long breath, before opening the PA system. "All hands, brace for Activation procedure. I repeat, all hands, brace for activation procedure." She said, before securing herself in on one of the chairs, even as the commander buckled himself in across from her, even as terminals all around them flickered and the building shuddered and shook, new lights came online all over.
"And the other races call our alliance insane for building the bunkers" The Wargen muttered under his breath as the command room became a flurry of activity, sensor teams working together in an attempt to get data on their opponents. "Our people are safe. That's what matters, commander." The clone said softly, looking at her long time friend, even as the hidden defense system of the Colony woke up.
/------------/
Outside, the demonic army approached, on a slow, steady March, disgruntled at the lack of organics they had found to use. They needed biomass to fuel their war machine, to create their bases, their armies, their ships. And while they didn't care much about the sheer number of ships they lost during planet fall thanks to the orbital defenses, they needed to deal with the local defense computers. There had to be a way to broadcast an all clear signal and allow their other ships past.
Before them sat a large, fortified structure, looked like a massive cathedral, really. The irony was not lost on them as ports on the castle-like structure opened up, and began spitting metallic shells at them, exploding after punching through their infantry, leaving craters behind, destroying more of their forces.
The ground shook as their massive siege beast began forming from the splattered biomass, like some strange, oozing horror, slowly forming into a quadropodic creature.
The beast was mostly just a giant mouth in legs, with a long, worm like body lined with eyes, teeth, spikes, and tendrils, flinging said teeth at the structure.
Warlord Gistle ground his teeth as he stared at the cathedral as it held its own, his forces decimated by the attempted rain of metal. Said rain changed to one of scalding plasma as the castle changed tactics to try and burn the bodies to prevent them from forming additional, stronger units.
"Battle lord." Hissed one of the smaller battle chiefs said, as they stepped up next to Gistle. "The Seekers have not located where the miserable Frails have hidden themselves. Our efforts would be best put to entering the fortress ahead." The chief said, pointing at the massive fortress as the siege beast brushed off the weapons fire.
"No need, we will be inside soon en-" Came the guttural voice of the Warlord, before it was interrupted by a computerized voice, echoing out.
"THREAT ASSESSED. ASSUMING COMBAT MODE."
There was a rumble, everyone grabbing onto the stablest thing around them as the ground tore apart, the siege beast stumbling back, as the building tore up its own foundations as steam hissed out, and part of the building lifted up, and then slammed into the ground, and then the other side, slowly pulling itself up….and up…and up……
The structure wasn't a structure. Not any more. Towering over them, looking like a massive hunchback stood the cathedral, it's towers opening, revealing to be cowling around massive artillery cannons. It's arms, once covered with flat pillars, opened up to reveal a set rotating barrels, slowly spinning up, and a bulky duo of MAC batteries on the other arm. Sticking off the side of its upper arms were smaller hardpoints, each turret armed with four barrels, small and accurate, sniping ground units with horrifying accuracy, the soft metal shells ripping away to reveal their incendiary cargo held within steel mesh, allowing the coilguns to spit them out rapidly.
The head section looked like a sphere with three optics in a triangular formation, around a cannon that locked onto the siegebeast and whined, arcing brightly, before it fired, a bright flash seen as the cannon went off, it's round leaving behind a trail of fire as it raced through the air, punching through the beast, making it howl, and began trying to heal the injury that pierced it, ripping open a hole below it.
It's bipedal legs were thick, armored, and just as equally armed, it's lower legs armed with rotary cannons that spun, the lower pair foring a heavy stream of plasma, one barrel firing and then cooling as it spun, the others keeping the pace up, while above them, physical artillery was spat out, helping pierce armor for the plasma to scorch and burn to uselessness. More cannons sat on the sides and back of its legs in, taking aim at the surrounding armies, making sure to add on their screeches of rage.
Hanging off the underside of the platform that held the Cathederal sat more turrets, each swiveling around and adding to the chaos, their mini MAC armament chattering as they fired, picked a new target and fired again. On the top of the platform were AA cannons, taking aim and firing into the air, altering the timing of their rounds so that they acted as impromptu artillery, while more cannons, on four turrets, covered the monstrosities back, preventing them from sneaking up behind it, as if the cannons on the back of its legs weren't enough to cover it.
"TARGET ACQUIRED."
Warlord Gistle hissed in shock. The Frails had been LIVING in a Siege beast of their own!? Hidden partially underground, deceiving them to make it seem as if it was nothing more than a fortification!?
"Have all expendable units merge with our Siege beast, NOW! if the frails continue to pick our forces off one by one, they will never be able to reinforce our beast after they fall!" Gistle roared, even as around him the battle chiefs barked out the orders……..
/-------------/
The massive machine stared down at the hostile forces as they turned into a thick, biological slurry, short of the Demons themselves, and oozed towards the horror before it.
The monster seemed to absorb the substance on contact, growing larger and larger with each passing moment, howling and hissing.
He could feel his crew cursing in their heads, humans and otherwise, lighting the slurry up with plasmafire, burning some of it, but not enough. Caliburn agreed with them, as his Plasma getting cannon spun up, the five barrels glowing brightly, the heatsinks by the ends of the barrel glowing as the machine poured plasmafire from the barrels, searing into the beasts body, burning it up as it grew, stunting its growth heavily, and forcing it to consume more biomass to make heavy, chitenous armor, layers burning away under the assault.
Caliburn could feel the dust coming off as his gears spun, and he stepped forward, swinging the glowing arm as it cooled down, making the horror screech as he spun his upper body to add to the force of the blow, digging the glowing heating into the beast's face and knocking it back, buying time for his crew to deal with the horrific slurry around them, which still tried to fuse with the horror, chasing after it with a single minded determination.
As his upper body slowed down and he was facing forward again, he saw the beast setting up, snarling. His other arm came up, and he could feel his capacitors burning as he began firing his MAC arm at it, the massive, vehicle sized slugs punching into the beast, knocking it back farther, punching holes in the chitin it tried to grow as armor, making it hiss and move rapidly, trying to put distance between itself and the machine.
Unfortunately, the beast had the advantage in land speed, as it had four legs, while Caliburn only had two and lumbered slowly forward, his aging systems relishing the taste of combat after so long. And now he had far better weapons then a simple crane arm, like he had last time he fought a creature like this.
Because the beast had put distance between itself and him, it managed to absorb the last of the biomass, and began bounding forward, it's maw open, teeth spinning like some sort of Cuisinart….
A target he couldn't miss. His head cannon barked again, not as powerful as last time, but this time, he wasn't trying to rip it apart from the inside. The shell detonated on contact with the teeth, shredding them, tearing into the soft flesh within, making the beast howl and close its maw, it's chitin armor weathering the plasma splashing off, hardened to withstand the smaller weapons fire his crew spat at the creature.
His arms pulled their shrouding back around them, as he drew back and swung, hard, again using his body spinning to his advantage, striking the beast, the heavy weight of the heatsink and the weapon itself burying the shroud covered arm inside, the end opening up. Unfortunately, thanks to the partial shrouding, he wouldn't be able to spin his cannon, but all he needed was one shot inside it, and let it fly, ripping his arm out as it howled, smoke billowing from its new hole it tried rapidly to heal.
The tendrils it had tried to dig into his arm burned away as he kicked it up from below and began unloading both arms, fully unshrouded, the heat coming off both of them making steam hiss up into the air, as the beast took a heavy slug and then a plasma bolt, one after the other, deep into its stomach, sending it onto its back.
Loud popping sounds were heard as its limbs reoriented, allowing its former belly to become its back, the holes sealing slowly as it circled the walking cathedral, even as Caliburn scanned it, his upper body following its every movement. His command crew were breaking down every schematic and scan he gave them, working hard to figure out a way to kill the horror.
In the mean time, Caliburn and his crews would do their damndest to stall the beast and continue on their current plan. Burn it down, slowly.
He could feel his crews tracking the retreating demon forces, listening to the mental chatter within him as the artillery crews happily worked together to figure out their path, searching for the enemy command position, even as sensor crews watched as the rapidly approaching flood of biomass and machinery charged for them, some of the artillery crews already letting loose N-4 shells, the 'super-napalm', as the crews nicknamed them, impacting and exploding, burning into the biomass, unquenchable, even as the biomass attempted and failed to smother the burning substance, only serving to make it worse, melting the weaponry it carried with it.
The only reason why the crews could get away with it was because the biomass wasn't near the Bunkers exits or near infrastructure. Or Burnable items.
Command soon had a viable target, a sort of brain mass it had, separated throughout its body in a vain attempt to make sure it could still operate when a few of them were destroyed.
Several had been burned away by the plasma bolt going off inside of it, but many more remained, and it was attempting to make more/replace the burned away ones. They needed to eliminate the command signal….
Jubilation and grim satisfaction bloomed in his sensor and artillery crews, as he felt the mad scramble for bunker busting shells, before they were let loose into the air. Even as he blocked a tail strike from the beast and managed to crush its head under one foot, letting his landing engines ignite for the first time in decades to burn the creature more, his crews targeted the command bunker, shelling it with deadly accuracy, smoke rising from the hill they were tucked away behind in the distance, making Caliburn burn with satisfaction and praise for his crew.
/---------------------/
Gistle ran as fast as his hooves could move him, teeth barred as he snarled.
Around him, their command temple shook and shuddered, veins bursting, cables arcing wildly as the biomass contracted involuntarily or simply sagged, turning to biomass.
"Warlord, they are heavily shelling our position, we won't be able to retreat at this rate!" Hissed one of the Battle Chiefs at his side, hissing in fear, even as he snarled at the Pitiful, compared to him, creature. "We won't be taking everyone, only the essentials. The Everlasting King must be notified of this development. King be damned, the frails took the time to prepare for our arrival again." He growled as he came out to a hanger area, and ran into a small, fast ship, even as the others ran into larger, bulkier, slower ships.
Soon, the chitin that served as the door opened, and they shot out, erratically flying, trying to avoid the artillery shells, and now AA fire joining the fray.
He kept close to his compatriots, using them as a living shield as he twisted the small vessel around, smirking as he dodged the fire while they took it..
They were almost to space, soon, they could tear a Gate and get the fleet-
Reality tore open above him as a massive ring shaped vessel pushed itself into real space, disgorging hundreds of smaller vessels, bearing down on their positions, others engaging the floating fleet around them with aggressive assault runs, the sudden appearance in the system allowing them to have the element of surprise.
Weapons fire began filling the space around f them, tearing at their vessels faster then they could repair them as little, frail vessels zipped in and out of line of fire faster then they could shoot, track, or react, unloading slugs, plasma, torpedoes in a flurry of activity before diving away, allowing their munitions to wreak havoc amongst them.
Already, the larger vessels were disabled before Gistle managed to sacrifice one, smirking as it warped, it's biomass fueling the Gate, as he flew through, hoping he was in friendlier territories, unaware of a sensor torpedo flying in behind him.
/------------------------/
Down below, on the surface, Caliburn flung back his opponent again, arms blazing as he shelled it.
It was bigger then it had been, managing to absorb the biomass from the surviving landing ships and the remains of the command center they shelled out. It's armor was thicker, and was flinging out dozens, hundreds of calcium spikes, spitting its unknown energy weapons, only to splash off his shields, for the energy weapons, and his ar.or foe the calcium spikes, even as his weapons screeched.
The beast had holes all over its chitenous armor, from his shells punching in, or his artillery crews shelling the beast, his plasma following close behind as he sought to burn the creature out from the inside, going so far as to ram his plasma cannon inside and unload it, the rotating barrels helping tear it up from the inside as the heat sinks burned it.
Ships began dropping down from above, doing strafing runs, dropping smaller caliber explosives, distracting the beast as he tore another hole in it by spinning his upper body, one shrouded cannon arm striking the beast and ripping in, just as a gunship fired a Cleaner into it, just before it healed.
A burning flash of light, a horrific scream from the beast as it howled, body jerking as the explosive did its job…. Before it swung down, still alive, though just barely, it's armor shattering rather then buckling on the next strike from Caliburn, a facsimile of a uppercut, before the barrels let loose again, even as the plasma cannon dumped bolt after bolt into its lower body, searching for, burning the neural clusters as he found them.
The beast wrenched itself away from his grasp, snarling as it looked at him, the beast snarling as it tried to heal from the most recent injuries.
Caliburn felt his crew snarling back, his cannons swiveling around as they gave their response in munitions as he lumbered forward, the ground shaking from his steps and the escape ships erupting out of the ground around them, his rotary cannon screaming as it fired, the MAC on the other arm barking as he hit it again and again as it charged forward.
The beast no longer cared for its injuries, all it cared was to take the metal monster before it down, spitting acid out of it as it tried, and failed, to blind the machine, even as said machine swung its smoldering plasma cannon up and brought down the burning barrels down on its head, smashing it into the ground, pinning it there as it's crew continued shelling it out ruthlessly.
Caliburn refused to let the beast survive, he refused to let the thing get to the civilians. His crew snarled their agreement as the beast tore the pinned head off its body, even as it burned away to nothing, and tried to charge again, blindly, only to smash against the MAC arm and receive a pair of heavy slugs to the neck stump for its troubles, sending it somersaulting back, trying to reform its head.
It was much, much smaller now, now matching Caliburns size, due to all the biomass loss, it's head reforming as it snarled.
Caliburn seemed to roll his pauldrons and twitched his MAC, as if saying 'come at me'. The beast howled and charged forward, razor sharp tentacles erupting from its sides, whipping about wildly, only for turret crews to blast the tentacles off at the base, and for his artillery crews to shell it down from above, flattening it into the ground again with explosive shells.
Again, the beast began pulling itself out of the ground, only for another strafing run from aircraft , this time dropping standard napalm canisters onto the beast, making it howl as it healed around the canisters, and began burning from within.
It thrashed and writhed, tail and body whipping about, even as Caliburn kept firing, not letting up, shells puncturing the chitin bubble it was trying to form around the napalm to contain it, keeping it burning into the beasts body.
At last, the beast tried to fling itself at Caliburn, thinking that it could at least burn out the mechanical monster with it, only for Caliburn to swing and strike it, flinging it away again, the beasts body unable to get back up, and laid there, slowly burning away at last……………

For context: I haven't had laparoscopic surgery yet, but my MRI 2 weeks ago indicated four endometriomas, 4.5 & 2.2 cm on right ovary and 1.9 & 1.3 cm on left.
I've been a pretty active person in my 20s lifting weights, running, yoga, walking, etc. Within the past 6 months I've started having pain on my right side which prompted an ultrasound & MRI indicting endometriomas. I just moved to a new city & am walking far more than I used to and the pain is getting excruciating, and leaving me feeling defeated like I can't go out and explore. This morning I walked a 5K and feel like my pain is at a 7 or 8, spiking to a 9. And I nearly had to walk home doubled over.
I want to stay active, so I'm looking for suggestions of what movement you've found to be manageable with you Endo pain. Any recommendations would be welcome!!

I (F24) got admitted to the hospital about two weeks ago. Because of the nature of my admission, I was required to take a minimum of a month off work for recovering- as I’m a cleaner and can’t do heavy lifting of be around the cleaning products necessary to use. I still have at least two more weeks off to recover and let me say: I can’t remember the last time I LIVED like this. I still wake up in a panic “OH MY GOSH, I’m late for work! My alarm didn’t go off!” But as soon as reality sets in, I can breathe. I lay back down and relax. Most times the pressure of not going into work is enough to make me feel rested enough to start my day early and not hit snooze a bunch. I fill my day with so much more now that I don’t work. I cook at least one meal a day. I go shopping for groceries instead of delivering them. I got a library card and already read 2 books. I’ve been to 5 different park and outdoor trails near my house I’ve never even been to. I fixed a problem my mom and I have been having with T-Mobile. I completed testing and orientation for hospice care at several places. So much more too. Things that I thought didn’t interest me or I didn’t care for suddenly or filling my life with life enjoy all because I have time to dedicate and I’m able prioritize myself. Sad that this will end soon. Sad that I now know it’s possible and it’s fleeting.
I’ll miss this dearly when it’s back to “normal”

Arsenal 22/23 A Season Review Part 1 Of 3: August-World Cup: A Stunning Start.
The 2022/23 season is Mikel Arteta’s 3rd full campaign in charge of Arsenal and as well the 3rd of his managerial career. His 1st game in the hot seat came on Boxing Day of 2019, a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth which saw Arsenal drop down a place to 12th in the table. Just a few months into his reign and Arteta was the first high-profile figure in English Football to be diagnosed with Covid-19, the virus which drew the Premier League to a standstill for 3 months and the wider world for a much longer time. It was to empty stadiums which Arsenal played out the remainder of their season which eventually concluded on the 1st of August. An 8th-placed finish was the club’s lowest since 1995. However, there was joy to be found as there so often has been for Arsenal, in the FA Cup. In the one and only Covid FA Cup Final played in front of no spectators Arsenal came from behind to defeat London rivals Chelsea for their record-extending 14th FA Cup, after reaching the final with an unlikely triumph over Manchester City in the semis. Arteta’s first half-season had ended brilliantly and his first full-season started in the same vein with more silverware following as Arsenal defeated Premier League Champions Liverpool to win the Community Shield. Tough times quickly followed and Arteta may have been somewhat grateful for the empty stadiums, as it’s questionable whether the board would have held their nerve and kept faith with such a young manager through this dreadful period had the fans been inside the ground and able to voice their frustrations. On Boxing Day of 2020, not only did Mikel celebrate the 1 year anniversary of his first match in charge, he celebrated a 3-1 victory over Chelsea, his side's first league win for nearly 2 months. It was the first time Saka, Martinelli & Smith Rowe all started a league game together for Arsenal. It was to prove a seminal moment, but it wasn’t enough to move his team up from 15th in the table. It was never so bad again for Arteta and his Arsenal team, with the side eventually settling for a repeat of the previous season’s finish, again coming in 8th. Failure to win the Europa League (exiting the competition to Villarreal in the Semi-Finals, who were incidentally managed by Unai Emery, the manager sacked prior to Arteta taking the job) meant that Arsenal would be without European football for the first time since the 95-96 campaign. And the 21-22 season would begin horribly with Arsenal bottom after 3 matches in which they failed to score and conceded 9 goals. However as the season progressed Arsenal began to find some resilience, quality and self-belief. The sides upheaval came not coincidentally around the time club captain Aubameyang was stripped of that duty before being allowed to depart for Barcelona in the January window. Aubameyang had been the team’s standout performer when winning the FA Cup, but since those performances had seen him rewarded with a new bumper contract which made him by far the club’s best-paid player, his attitude and performance level had become a problem that needed to be dealt with.
More so than any win, it was actually a home defeat to Champions City which perhaps best demonstrated this new Arsenal which was beginning to emerge. They took City on and pushed them all the way only to eventually lose in the 93rd minute, whilst being a man down for the final half-hour with centre-back Gabriel being harshly dismissed. The fight was on with local rivals Tottenham for the final Champions League spot and it was firmly in Arsenal’s hands until a run of 4 defeats in 5 allowed Spurs back into contention. The Gunners appeared to retake control with a run of 4 straight wins before losing tamely away at Spurs and then Newcastle, in the end missing out by 2 points. Throughout the season Arsenal had spells of real high-quality football, and the fans had taken to the project with more passion and belief than they had in the final years of Wenger’s reign or during Unai Emery’s short-lived stint. In the end, though they missed out on the prize of Champions League football due to a combination of injuries to important players and the inexperience of a young group.
Despite the significant setback of missing out on a Champions League spot having held it in their hands for many of the season’s final months, Arsenal still entered the summer of 2022 with plenty of reasons for optimism. Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe had emerged as the real breakout stars of the prior season and Gabriel Martinelli wasn’t too far behind. There had been some clearly smart signings made by the club, in particular, those of Martin Ødegaard and Ben White, signed from Real Madrid and Brighton & Hove Albion respectively. The July purchases of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko for a combined 75M from Manchester City seemed yet more smart business, in them, they had picked up two quality players with four Premier League winners medals each, and both arriving aged 25 they seemed in the perfect age bracket to become big players for Arsenal not just for the immediate but as well the foreseeable future.
Jesus’ Arsenal debut came in a 5-3 friendly win over FC Nurnberg in which he scored twice. He followed this up with another in a 2-0 win over Everton as Arsenal continued their pre-season with a tour of the USA. Arsenal played 3 matches in America and won all 3, by far the most impressive being a 4-0 trouncing of Chelsea. The Gunners made it 5 pre-season wins from 5 when they returned home the following weekend to beat Sevilla 6-0 at the Emirates, a hattrick from Jesus meaning he had netted 7 goals in his first 5 appearances in Arsenal colours. Arsenal would get the Premier League season underway away at Crystal Palace, under the Friday night lights of Selhurst Park. No Premier League side would have envied them this difficult fixture, Arsenal had experienced just how tough it was 4 months prior when a 3-0 loss away at the ground began a torrid run of results for the Gunners. Arsenal had also begun the previous season away on a Friday night and come unstuck against newly promoted Brentford. Again Arsenal was straight back under the Premier League spotlight to see whether they had grown and matured from such damaging defeats last season. The Arsenal quickly proved they were up to the test, starting right on the front foot and keeping Palace penned back in their own third. Jesus immediately highlighted the new dimension he was going to bring to Arsenal’s attack, when his strength and then neat dribbling fashioned a great chance out of nothing, a chance Martinelli should have done much better with, his side-foot finish going the wrong side of the post with the goal gaping. The Brazilian would make up for it in the 20th minute when a corner was headed into the six-yard box by Zinchenko, who was picked out by Saka to deliver a free header. His head found Martinelli’s and from close range, he was able to notch Arsenal’s first of the league campaign. That was to be the only goal in the game for the next hour, but despite Arsenal’s slender lead they rarely looked in danger of being pegged back. On the instances that keeper Aaron Ramsdale was called into action, he was ready and dealt with Palace’s occasional threats soundly. The game was put beyond Crystal Palace in the 85th minute when Bukayo Saka’s dangerous ball across the six-yard box was headed into his own net by Guehi. This made certain of 3 richly deserved points for the Gunners.
Jamie Carragher for one was particularly impressed with the start Arsenal made to the game saying afterwards: “Arsenal played like a big team. When I say a big team, I’m talking about a Man City or Liverpool, a team who wherever they go, dominate the opposition. I felt like we were watching City or Liverpool in that first 20 minutes, half an hour.” Fellow Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville was more impressed with Arsenal in the second half saying: “The question mark about Arsenal will be whether they’ve got that robustness and resilience, physicality to get through that difficult 15 or 20 minute periods in away matches, and they got through that (tonight) and that impressed me.” Saliba was also singled out for praise with Carragher adding: “He looked the real deal. He adds something, we’ve always felt they were weak, at Brentford last season they got bullied and here last season, his physical stature will certainly help them in tough away games.”
Arsenal’s first home league game of the season was against Leicester City. The opening goal began with Jesus tormenting Johnny Evans tight to the touchline, after beating him he fed Martinelli who was able to get into the penalty area and find Xhaka, the Swiss international touched it first time back into Jesus who took a touch to steady himself then teased it over the head of Ward in the Leicester goal and into the net. It was an angle he had no right to try from, let alone score from but such was the Brazilian forwards confidence in front of the goal he fancied his chances from anywhere. The goal was nominated for Premier League goal of the month. Jesus got his second to double Arsenal’s advantage in the 35th minute, this time in a much simpler fashion. A corner across the six-yard box was not dealt with, a Leicester head on it only sped up its path to Jesus who was waiting to nod home from practically on the goal line.
Later in the first half, Leicester thought they had a way back into the game when referee Darren England pointed to the spot having judged Ramsdale to have brought down Jamie Vardy. However VAR advised him to check the monitor, and after re-watching the incident it was clear there was no contact made and the penalty decision was reversed. Leicester did still manage to half their deficit early in the second half though, a long ball was flicked on leaving Saliba in a difficult situation to deal with. Ramsdale was advancing but wouldn’t get there first and Vardy was waiting on the French defender’s shoulder, leaving him no alternative but to try and head the ball clear whilst facing his own goal. He only succeeded in diverting it into the net. This could have been a moment when the Arsenal crowd got nervous and frustrated. They had allowed a soft goal and their youngest defender was at fault. However the crowd immediately rallied behind Saliba and his teammates, he and the team needed help putting that mistake behind them and the crowd’s noise in the aftermath of conceding will have been reassuring to the players.
Demonstrating this, Arsenal went straight up the other end and scored, Ward made a meal of a cross, dropping it at the feet of Jesus who squared for Xhaka. The Swiss midfielder was being deployed in a new, more adventurous role where he was spending more time in the opposition box, he got his reward for this new tactic with a simple tap-in from right in front of the goal. Leicester would again reduce the home team’s lead to one however when Iheanacho found Maddison, who was able to shoot straight through Ramsdale. The young English keeper will have been disappointed at being so easily beaten from such an angle, his wide-open legs presenting the opportunity to the Leicester midfielder. Again Arsenal immediately responded to the setback by going up the other end and scoring again. This move began with Martinelli winning the ball back and feeding Ødegaard who moved the ball on to Jesus, who carried it forward before finding Martinelli who shot low from outside the box, he beat the outstretched Ward and hit the bottom corner, with the ball hitting the inside of the post on its way in. It had been a good day at the office for Arsenal and a great day for Gabriel Jesus, though despite scoring 2 and assisting the other 2 of Arsenal’s 4 goals, according to his manager Jesus left the field disappointed because: “he thinks he should have scored 4, that’s the sort of mentality you need. I wouldn’t like to play against him. He’s so mobile, intuitive, sharp and proactive in any moment or phase of the game.”
Arsenal next travelled to newly promoted Bournemouth. It took The Gunners just 5 minutes to take the lead and again it came from the phenomenal centre-forward play of Gabriel Jesus. A loose touch from White saw the ball launch high into the air, the Brazilian reacted first, beautifully controlling the ball whilst at the same time using his considerable body strength to hold off the Bournemouth midfielder, with exceptional balance he then dribbled around two other Bournemouth shirts until he was on the edge of the box facing their defence, with a lovely disguised pass he then fed Martinelli who was free to his left, his shot was saved but it fell straight at the feet of new captain Martin Ødegaard who was on hand to notch his first of the season. Rightfully though the praise went to Jesus with commentator Alan Smith saying: “You won’t see a better example of centre forward play than this.”
Ødegaard had to wait just 6 more minutes for his second of the season, a cross along the floor from White found Jesus who was free, his first touch wasn’t the best but it allowed it to set up nicely for the Norwegian to strike first time, which he duly did and the ball flashed into the net. Early in the second half and Arsenal had a third goal, with Xhaka setting it back to Saliba just inside the penalty area. Saliba struck it beautifully the first time, keeping his shot down under the bar and too perfectly placed for the keeper to do anything about. It was just Saliba’s second goal in senior football but he had finished it with the class and composure of a player who had scored 200. The strike drew Zinchenko to his knees, clutching his head in disbelief at the quality of the finish and unsurprisingly it was voted as Arsenal’s goal of the month. Jesus thought he’d netted Arsenal’s 4th but a VAR check ruled the goal out for offside, so the North Londoners had to settle for a 3-0 win in what had been an excellent away performance.
The Arsenal faced more newly promoted opposition the following week, this time back at home against Fulham for Arteta’s 100th Premier League game in charge. They would be without Zinchenko and Partey who had picked up injuries and were replaced by Tierney and Elneny respectively. The best chance of the first half went to Saka who got beyond his marker to face Leno one-against one, but he was unable to beat the keeper. It would be Fulham who took the lead however with Arsenal falling behind for the first time in the season. From the full-back position, Saka flighted a ball into Gabriel, who unnecessarily played himself into trouble. He never seemed to have the ball truly under his spell, and his second touch invited Mitrovic to try and take it off him, the defender then got his body positioning wrong, and failed to protect the ball allowing the forward to nick it from behind him and then the Serb was able to keep his composure and finish past Ramsdale.
Fulham’s lead lasted just 8 minutes, Martin Ødegaard lodging Arsenal’s response. There was a degree of good fortune about the goal, with a big deflection on the strike. But there was no doubt the Norwegian had deserved it, he was having an outstanding game with all of Arsenal’s danger coming through him. He was constantly creating, with inventive passes and dribbling runs. In this instance, a clever stepover had bought him the space for the shot. Ødegaard continued to lead Arsenal’s push for a winner with he, in particular, deserving to be on the winning side, and the winner did come though not until the 86th minute. Leno failed to deal with a corner, missing his attempted punch clearance and the ball fell at the feet of Gabriel who was able to gain the perfect redemption for his earlier error by securing all 3 points for his side. The goal kept Arsenal at the top of the Premier League as they remained the only team with a 100% record.
Arsenal finished August with another home game, facing Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa. This presented Arsenal with a chance to win their opening 5 league games for the first time since 2004. Saka passed up a golden opportunity to give Arsenal the ideal start when Martinelli’s cross found him completely free at the back post, it was set up perfectly for Saka to hit on the volley, which he did but he got too under the ball and lifted it horribly high and wide from inside the six-yard box. An Arsenal opening goal felt inevitable however and it came on the half-hour mark when Emi Martinez could only push out an Xhaka shot as far as Gabriel Jesus, who was on hand to punish him. Martinez did go someway to redeeming himself later in the half with an excellent stop to deny a brilliant half-volley from Martinelli from 25 yards out.
Arsenal dominated the first half and continued their domination in the second but could not increase their advantage, it was instead Aston Villa who got the second goal of the game, in a somewhat controversial fashion. A corner from Douglas Luiz went straight into the net with Ramsdale unable to reach the ball due to his path being completely blocked by Kamara, who also limited the keepers’ movement by having both arms wrapped around his back. The goal stood but Arsenal cancelled it out in their own way, by going straight up the Villa end and retaking the lead. Saka coolly picked out Martinelli who struck it the first time on the half volley, Martinez clawed desperately at the ball but could not prevent it from going over his goal line and The Gunners were able to see the victory out. Arsenal’s player of the month was unsurprisingly Gabriel Jesus with 3 goals and 3 assists in 5 games. Arsenal’s maximum points after 5 games saw Mikel Arteta pick up Premier League manager of the month.
Arsenal started September with a chance to go 4 points clear of City in 2nd, after just six games. Standing in their way was Manchester United who would be hosting the Gunners at Old Trafford, a ground Arsenal had only won at once in the league since 2006, that one as well being without fans during the Covid season. Arsenal was boosted by the return of Zinchenko but had to start with their 3rd choice midfielder Sambi Lokonga for the Partey role after Elneny had followed the Ghanaian onto the treatment table. Regardless of the blow, Arsenal appeared to have made the ideal start when Saka threaded the needle and put Martinelli clean through on goal. The Brazilian finished brilliantly to give Arsenal the lead, but VAR advised the referee to have a look at a potential foul in the build-up. On review, the referee judged Ødegaard to have won the ball from Eriksen unfairly and chalked the goal off. The intervention made by Lee Mason on VAR was later judged by a Premier League review to be an incorrect one, the minimal contact not penalised in real-time by the ref was judged not to be a clear or obvious error. The review came too little and too late as far as Arsenal were concerned as they’d lost their lead and instead found themselves trailing at half-time after a good move from United culminated in a debut goal for Antony who finished past Ramsdale.
VAR’s intervention in the Arsenal goal was always likely to prove a vital one as remarkably United had not lost at Old Trafford when leading at half-time since 1984. This showed the size of Arsenal’s task going into the second half, but they continued to probe and ask questions of United and they got their equaliser on the hour mark when the ball broke to Saka in the penalty area after Ødegaard had looked to thread one through to Jesus. United dealt with that immediate threat but could only clear as far as Saka who slotted through the legs of Martinez for his first of the season. Arsenal looked to be in the ascendancy, but they were only level for 6 minutes. Overcommitting bodies forward left them without a midfield and after winning it back United was able to counter-attack with Bruno Fernandes who looked and found Rashford in behind the defence and he put United back in front. Arteta reacted immediately by looking to chase the game, giving a debut to summer recruit Fabio Vieira. The changes appeared to backfire however as Arsenal were left with even fewer defensive bodies on the field and in the 75th minute they were cut through once more, with Eriksen and Rashford both left in acres of space as United hit Arsenal once more on the counter-attack. It was a horrible goal for Arsenal to concede, it reminded of the worst years of Wenger with everyone so committed to attacking they had no thought for defending. Arsenal suffered their first defeat of the season going down 3-1.
There were some positives to take in how confidently and capably they had passed the ball around, however, United had defended their penalty area very well and counter-attacked effectively. The frustration for Arsenal was how they had helped them in that regard, by leaving key areas of the midfield devoid of players. Partey had been very badly missed, and to a lesser extent so had Elneny whose defensive intelligence would not have seen him vacate his position as often as Lokonga did. The third goal conceded was perhaps the responsibility of Arteta who had gone all out attack mode too early, given the counter-attacking success United were already enjoying.
Arsenal got the chance to put the defeat behind them 4 days later when they began their Europa League campaign. They were placed in Group A alongside PSV Eindhoven, Bodo/Glimt and FC Zurich, and would kick off against the latter away in Switzerland. Summer signings Matt Turner and Marquinhos made their competitive debuts, and Vieira would make his full debut. Arsenal did some counterattacking of their own in the 16th minute when Vieira found Nketiah who travelled down the wing before playing a great ball across the box which found Marquinhos who expertly finished the first time into the top corner. The hosts equalised on the verge of half-time however when Nketiah was judged to have committed an offence in his own penalty box. The death of the Queen being announced during the first half led to the unusual circumstance of a minute’s silence taking place before the second half. When it did kick off, Arsenal regained the lead in the 62nd minute through Nketiah who was found with a delightful ball by Marquinhos who had made a fine debut. That’s how the score remained. Arsenal would not be in Premier League action that weekend, with their home game against Everton being postponed due to the Queen’s passing. Also delayed was their home game against PSV the following week, so the team were not back in action until 10 days after the Zurich game when they travelled to Brentford.
Arsenal dominated the games opening and took a deserved lead in the 17th minute when Saliba’s header from a corner struck the inside of the post on its way over the line. Just shy of the half-hour mark and Arsenal had their second, again with a header, this time it was Gabriel Jesus who rose to meet Xhaka’s perfectly placed ball. The Gunners then got the ideal start to the second half, when Vieira, making his first start in the Premier League in place of the unavailable Ødegaard, struck a beauty out of nowhere from well outside the box for Arsenal’s September goal of the month. Arsenal was in cruise control, always looking like the more likely team to score whilst barely giving Brentford sight of their goal. In the final minutes, Ethan Nwaneri came on for his Arsenal debut, aged 15 years and 181 days he became the youngest player to ever appear in the Premier League. After the match, Brentford Manager Thomas Frank was one of the first to tip Arsenal for a title challenge saying: “I think they will do brilliantly. I think they compete for the title now.” Xhaka was the resounding winner of Arsenal player of the month picking up 83% of the votes. A once deeply unpopular player, his turnaround best exemplified the strides in the right direction Arsenal were taking.
After the international break, Arsenal returned to action in the North London Derby against hated rivals Tottenham. Arsenal went into the fixture just one point above their opponents. Spurs were content to let Arsenal have possession whilst aiming to contain them and spring counterattacks. They kept Arsenal at bay until the 20th minute when Thomas Partey shot from over 20 yards out and hit it so perfectly that Lloris couldn’t get so much as a fingertip to it, the ball flew past him into the net for Arsenal’s goal of the month. Spurs responded in the 31st minute however after a good counterattack between the front three of Kane, Son and Richarlison saw the latter presented with a chance to cross from inside the penalty area and Arsenal did not effectively deal with the situation, a loose touch from Xhaka put his side back in trouble and Gabriel was panicked into conceding a penalty. Kane stepped up and of course, scored for the 7th time from the spot against Arsenal. This sent the sides in at the break-level pegging.
Arsenal regained the upper hand early in the second half after a shot by Saka was spilt by Lloris to his centre-half Romero who, under pressure from Jesus, looked to return it to the French keeper. Lloris missed the ball, it travelled under his body and then Jesus reacted first to poach it home. Spurs hopes of drawing level for a second time were damaged when Emerson Royal was shown a straight red card in the 62nd minute for a stupid and unnecessarily bad tackle on Martinelli. Arsenal quickly punished this ill discipline getting their third 5 minutes afterwards, with Granit Xhaka rifling past Lloris. At this stage Conte retreated to avoid a hammering, he accepted defeat and took off his offensive players, bringing on defenders to ensure the score line didn’t get embarrassing and Arsenal saw out a comfortable 3-1 derby win. Arsenal next returned to Europa League action putting Bodo/Glimt to the sword with a 3-0 win, goals coming from Nketiah, Holding and Vieira, the latter after brilliant footwork in the box from substitute Jesus.
Next up for Arsenal was another tough test at home against Liverpool. With a win, Arsenal would return to the top of the Premier League. Arsenal had faced Liverpool 4 times the previous season, failing to win any, losing 3 times including twice at home. They had also failed to even score against Liverpool in their last 6 meetings with them, but they needed just 58 seconds on this day, with Saka finding Ødegaard, whose ball between Van Dijk and Alexander Arnold put in Martinelli who finished beyond Alisson. Liverpool recovered well from the nightmare start however and was the better team from that point until they got their deserved equaliser in the 34th minute through Darwin Nunez. It was Arsenal however who went into half-time with the lead when Martinelli led a brilliant counter-attack from a Liverpool set piece, finally taking out both Arnold and Henderson by cutting inside and finding an unmarked Saka who slid in to put his team back in the ascendancy.
Again Liverpool responded well, equalising for a second time early in the second half through Roberto Firmino. From that point on though Arsenal found another level, they searched feverishly for a winning goal, looking to pass Liverpool to death and calving many openings. The noise inside the Emirates had reached deafening decibels as the fans urged their team on. The golden chance came with just under 15 minutes to go when Thiago was judged to have caught the back of Jesus’s foot inside the penalty area, having been beaten to the ball by the striker. Saka stepped up and held his nerve, confidently dispatching an excellent spot kick. Arsenal held out for what was in the end a deserved win after an excellent second-half display. In a decision that had raised a few eyebrows, Tomiyasu had been drafted in for a first league start of the season to go into an unfamiliar left-back position, the move paid dividends as the Japanese international had a fine game up against Mo Salah. The result put Arsenal 14 clear of Liverpool who had endured a dreadful start to the season.
“These are broad shoulders, this is courage. A sporting moment in time. Bukayo Saka.. Such poise! such noise!” – Peter Drury as Saka beats Alisson Becker from the penalty spot.
Four days later Arsenal made it 3 wins from 3 in the Europa, with an away win in Norway on the artificial pitch of Bodo/Glimt. A sole goal from Bukayo Saka was enough after he got on the end of a one-two with Lokonga. His initial shot was blocked by a defender but the ball then deflected in after coming back off the Arsenal winger. Bodo calved out many good chances for themselves but was let down by woeful finishing, squandering chance after chance by blazing high and wide of the target. Arsenal then returned to Premier League action at Elland Road against Leeds, though 40 minutes behind schedule after a power outage just after the game had initially kicked off caused the game to need restarting once power had returned.
Again Saka was the only man to get himself on the scoresheet, his goal coming after Jesus had passed up a golden chance to open the scoring failing to hit the net from close range after Ødegaard had found him with a backheeled flick. Jesus attempted to lift the ball over the keeper, but he lifted it too high and it ended up over the crossbar. Arsenal did not let Leeds off a second time however and punished them after a sloppy cross-field pass from Leeds midfielder Rodrigo only found Saka who headed it into Ødegaard’s path. Ødegaard’s return pass then asked a lot of the winger, but his speed allowed him to reach the ball first. Saka was faced with a tight angle, but it didn’t phase him one bit and he picked out the top corner hitting it high into the roof of the Leeds net.
The second half was full of drama, first when Bamford thought he’d equalised but was instead penalised for a foul on Gabriel. The Leeds striker received a second chance though when Saliba was found guilty of a handball in the box after the referee had checked the monitor. Ramsdale guessed correctly in his dive, but in the end, he wasn’t required as Bamford’s penalty went wide of the post. Arsenal continued to suffer in the second half, struggling to cope with the Leeds onslaught and maintain their slender advantage. Through fatigue and pressure from the home side, Arsenal had lost all ability to pass the ball and could do little else but stay in their own half and try to defend. Ramsdale proved his worth to this Arsenal side with his best performance of the season to date, right when his team needed him most. It appeared as though Arsenal had got the job done when crazily they conceded a second penalty of the half in additional time. Patrick Bamford was nowhere near the ball which was safely back with Ramsdale when Gabriel was penalised for a kick out in the box on the Leeds forward. As well as a penalty, the Brazilian centre-back was also dismissed. However on a VAR review, it was clear that Bamford had fouled Gabriel first, barging him to the floor, so rightfully the decision was reversed and Gabriel’s red card was rescinded. Arsenal held on to a win they’d scarcely deserved and it proved an even bigger win later that day when City lost at Anfield meaning The Gunners stayed 4 points clear after 10 games.
The following Thursday Arsenal were back in action in the Europa League. They were originally scheduled to host Manchester City in the league that mid-week, but the Queens’ death led to the postponement of Arsenal’s fixture with PSV, and it was re-arranged to this game week. Arsenal battered their Dutch visitors, in the end mustering 25 shots to Eindhoven’s 4. As was often the case Saka and Jesus were the standout performers. The young English winger was unstoppable in his direct dribbling runs, unstoppable that is without resorting to fouling, which PSV defenders did time and time again after being skinned by Saka’s great ball control when running at speed. Jesus was similarly dangerous, doing his usual thing of fashioning chances out of nowhere with his quick thinking and somehow even quicker feet. In the end, though the deadlock was broken by Xhaka in the 70th minute when Tomiyasu found him in space 15 yards from the goal. He hit the shot down into the ground and it bobbled just at the right time to go under the keeper and past him.
Next Arsenal travelled to struggling Southampton looking to make it 9 straight wins across the Premier League and Europa. They started fast, and when Xhaka finished off White’s cross with a brilliant volley into the back of the net in the 11th minute, it looked like it would be a case of how many, as it wasn’t the first good chance Arsenal had created. For the first 20 minutes, Southampton couldn’t get out of their own half, Ødegaard cleverly found Jesus with a lifted return pass but his volley was straight at Bazunu in the Saints goal. Jesus was in again after a long ball flighted over the head of Caleta-Car putting the Brazilian clean through until the defender dragged him back using both arms. There seemed to be enough contact for 3 separate penalties in there, but unbelievably the referee Robert Jones didn’t point to the spot and nor did VAR intervene. One of the most inexplicable decisions of the season, and that’s saying something, meant that Arsenal went in at the break only a single goal to the good.
The Southampton defence must have felt encouraged from not being penalised inside the box, as the fouling continued on Jesus outside the box for much of the second half, Lyanco getting away with man-handling Arsenal’s striker time and time again, wrapping both arms around his body whenever the ball was anywhere near the Brazilian. Jones did not however ignore perceived ‘diving’ from Saka showing him a yellow card for simulation, even though there did appear to be some contact. A one-sided refereeing performance and poor finishing from Arsenal allowed the home team back into the game and they got the equalising goal with 25 minutes to go through Armstrong after a swift move cut through Arsenal’s defence. In the 78th minute, Ødegaard thought he’d put Arsenal back in front but Tierney had just carried the ball beyond the line before he was able to cut it back into his captain’s path.
The Gunners had to settle for a point and an end to their winning run, paying the price for not scoring more in the first half. As they began to tire in the second half Southampton calved out some good chances of their own, but there’s no doubt the visitors were also harmed by a dire refereeing performance. The dropped points cut Arsenal’s lead at the top down to two. Another away game followed for The North London side as next they travelled to Eindhoven. With 2 group games remaining, they needed just 1 more win to secure the top spot which would mean they progressed straight through to the final 16, without the need for a playoff game. However Arsenal’s performance was poor, PSV were the better team for 90 minutes and good value for their 2-0 win.

Hi everyone! This forum was very helpful in the last few weeks prior to my trip. My trip was from May 22 to June 2.
This was a trip 3 years in the making and then Covid happened in 2020 and we had to cancel almost everything. Rebooked everything last year and resumed.
Our itinerary was ambitious but doable and we decided to rent a car and drive around the country/ring road with stops at the major sties that interested us. Here are the details and notable memorable things for those interested:
- We noticed about 90% of people who drive around the country go counterclockwise. When researching I wasn't sure what the reasoning was. We decided to go Clockwise and 100% would recommend it for us; given the time of year we went. For every 25+ cars we saw going the OPPOSITE direction, we had 1 on our direction. Which meant less cars to deal with for us. Having said that, we chose to do Golden Circle last and by then it was "underwhelming" as I had read and agree after going to the rest of the country.
- We rented from Blue Car rental and they were amazing. Loved the service, the car was great, pick up and drop off was a breeze and they had almost the cheapest price for us.
- AVOID GRAVEL ROADS AT ALL COSTS! Google maps base it on speed limit and most are 80km/hr but I don't think anyone does it and we ended up driving 50km/hr for most and it felt like we wasted more time. If I could find all paved roads instead and take a longer route I would recommend. SOme pothole IMO were way too large even for our car.
- We were WELL prepared for clothing; waterproof out shells, fleece inner and layers. BUT I'd suggest getting the lightest waterproof shell cause during hike I took off all layers and my "parka" was heavy. It the only waterproof shell I had. My husband had a light one and was fine.
- Never need merino wool base layers, walking sticks etc. Brought them for no reason.
- I didn't care too much about precipitation nor temperature but the WIND is the true enemy. It is insane and really determines your success. Some spots I originally thought (we can picnic with our own lunch) and that never happened. Decided early on to just eat in the car due to weather and wind.
- We brought granola bars, protein powder for breakfast, instant noodles and then just bought bread/ham/PB and Jelly at grocery stores. Food was reasonable in grocery stores and we ate most meals there. To be honest, Bonus was so hyped when I researched that in the end, I preferred Netto and bought most grocery items from Kronan. WAAAAY more selection, better quality and to be honest I barely noticed the difference in price. The real difference in price is gas stations and small town "stores" for food.
- I researched pumping gas but it was still a bit confusing at first. Getting receipts and other items is odd to me but we managed near the end
- Yellow and wind days are scary and it nearly ruined 2 days and it basically cancelled most excursions. Snafellsness was cut short due to wind and it was insane and it was our first day out of Reykjavik. It was beautiful though and Arnarstapi was my favourite of all stops even though we had a ton of places planned. We basically skipped the beaches as the weather got bad.
- Stay flexible, all of my planned stops had a "mandatory" or "optional" so I can figure what to do if thigns came up. If an excursion cancelled; we had a backup. I'd basically say minimize (unless you REALLY want to) any water-related activity; whale watching, kayaking etc because wind is a huge factor. To be honest whale watching when on my last was OK. We saw whales and dolphins but the waves were "calm" but nnot for me so after a while I was fine heading back. But I'm glad I did it.
- Favourite places: Arnarstapi, Studlagil Canyon (when I went we walked entirely from further paking lot on east side, anyone car can get to the closer parking lot to save 1hr of extra walking), Puffins in Borgarfjardarhofn, Hverir and Hverfell (impromptu hike and it was amazing), Myvatn in general was a favourite of mine, Jokulsarlon Glacier and Diamond Beach, Black Sand Beaches, the drive in North Iceland when it was all snowcaps and Gljufragui.
- Most waterfalls up north were not that impressive (Godafoss and Dettifoss) tbh. And south waterfalls somehow felt more attractions than natural wonders imo.
- When we did eat out the food quality was excellent for what it was but the prices for many things were hard to justify; so we ate out minimally. Sad to say I personally don't think Scandinavian food in general (sorry to generalize) isn't for me for long term; I really missed other flavours like spices etc.
- We loved basically all of our stays; guesthouses, hotels, apartments etc. We had a mix. Grund I Grundarfirdi for Snaefellsness was great! K16 apartments in Akureyri was excellent! Hotels down in Hofn and Kirkjubaejarklaustur were also very nice.
- 1 day max in Reykjavik is more than enough
- We had to skip a few places due to weather: hike saxholl crater, Raudfeldsgja gorge, beaches, Asbyrgi (it was between puffins or this and it was a no brainer), Seydisfjordur, Hvalnes, Vestrahorn, top side of Dyrholaey, Kvernufiss, Reykjadalu hot springs, Bruarfoss
- We went to Myvatn Hot springs and Laugarvatn Fontana. Myvatn was amazing. Laugarvatn was alright; more like a fancier local swimming pool. We did not do any other hot springs.
- Thingvellir to be honest is skippable. Wish we did the Reyjadalu instead.
- I felt the time or yeaday we went or maybe direction we headed, I expected WAY more tourists; especially southern coast. The busiest day was at Thingvellir and it was busy but not unbearable. All other places were quite quiet and pretty decent imo. Even north Iceland felt a little busier at Godafoss and Hverir vs the Southern coast.
- All in all I enjoyed my trip but felt I did what I planned to do and being sick the last few days (best not to eat mystery cold fish during a breakfast buffet) didn't help either as I spent a lot of time worrying about the restroom situation when I went. All locals and people we were met were friendly, nice, helpful and made our stay welcoming and fun. All tours and excursions we did end up doing (horseback riding in Vik, Kayaking in Stokkseyri and whale watching in Reykjavik (last minute booking since the Akureyri one was cancelled) were all well done. Oh and ice cream here is amazing! I'm glad I tried it as often as I could!

I’m in the market for a weekender convertible. Been mostly looking at used and new Miatas, but my local BMW dealership recently put a 1999 M Roadster with 25k miles up for sale for $29k. 3 owners, clean carfax, test drive was great and the exteriointerior is in fantastic condition. I love the car as my first car was a 1995 318ti, and it gives me major nostalgia.
I just wanted to run it by this community and see if there are any things I should be looking out for, and concerns with ownership such as parts availability and such. I know there is the subframe issue and I have them putting it on the lift Monday to check it out, but I’m assuming with so low miles that won’t be an issue. I would love to own this vehicle but it’s also nearly the same price as a brand new Miata, which would come with a lot of peace of mind and ease of repair. I very much enjoy how the Miata drives, but the BMW just felt like it was on a different level.
Any owners feel free to lend your advice!

Welcome Here Everyone. Thank you for all your responses and for all the new voices. I'll keep my eyes on CytoDyn for the comprehension of the unfolding of the plans which were made for CytoDyn which are taking place now. But while we wait and remain patient, please do like u/AlmostApproved and enjoy life . He does it by biking miles daily, but you can also eat, drink and be merry, but in the spare time, take a glance at what is happening here. You will begin to realize, that this shall happen apart from anything we can do ourselves, it will unfold regardless of what the naysayers or pumpers alike do or say. It shall happen because the Roux of the Truth Gumbo Pot ALWAYS rises to the top and it shall soon be spilling over.
All this talk of others being set up to lead the company because of Cyrus' MLOA is complete BS. They got it all backwards. Cyrus ain't going anywhere. He built this all star line up from the ground up and he built it on a shoe string budget. Assuredly, he is returning once his health permits him, and being a younger man, he should recover sooner rather than later; but who knows from what he is suffering?
Like what u/Upwithstock was saying regarding submitting the BLA for HIV-MDR in his response to u/Professional_Art3516 , in essence, CytoDyn conducted that trial. Yes, the CRO sabotaged the trial. They ruined the BLA. The data was captured, but was improperly formatted. However, CytoDyn was successful in obtaining the Raw Data and aggregating it into proper Good Clinical Practice Format for the final deciding authority to accept. CytoDyn does have the best law firm in the country on its side in an arbitrage case against the CRO Amarex for wrecking this expensive trial for CytoDyn and is requesting recompense for all the damages incurred.
Once Priority #1, is met, then, the hold lifts and the coast is clear for CytoDyn to re-initiate its other goals and many of these other goals are chomping at the bit to get under way as they are designed and ready to roll out already. One of these could/should be the resubmission of the BLA for HIV MDA as the BLA is practically written in full now, with all the submissions which have been made over the past year. In addition, we know that Leronlimab was effective in this trial obtaining a p value of 0.0032 which is 16x better than the threshold of 0.05. 0.05/0.0032 = 16. Therefore, a resubmittal of the BLA for HIV MDR should be approved if CytoDyn has the wherewithal to prove its capacity to manufacture and distribute the drug. With the partnerships happening now behind closed doors, but later unveiled to the public, proof of these necessary capacities could be made.
Certainly, though, Cyrus likely will not make this re-submission until after the arbitration has settled because it is important that nothing infringes upon this dispute taking place. This dispute though, in fact, may, in some complicated way, be infringed upon and possibly even delayed, by the case against NP and KK, but I am not sure. I believe Cyrus is aware of all these things and he will keep the BLA resubmittal in his back pocket to be unleashed at the most opportune time.
We don't know what has happened since the April 11, 2023 webcast. "So, in March 2023, just last month, we responded and submitted the additional information, and the clarifications requested for those 2 items. The FDA then responded back with a 3rd further written communication to us, again relating to the benefit / risk assessment as well as requesting submission of a new Protocol for HIV indication to be studied once the Partial Hold is lifted... ". So we can assume, that since that time, CytoDyn worked on the benefit / risk assessment and a new Protocol for HIV Indication. But why haven't we heard of any response to these submissions? What likely has happened is that more questions were posed, causing CytoDyn more work to be done to answer these questions and make further clarifications. So, CytoDyn has been doing this and hopefully has neared the point where the final deciding authority will be satisfied with all responses.
Possibly, the final deciding authority may even have been requesting the presence of a chief medical officer, but Melissa Palmer, MD was in the planning from the time when NASH was made a priority. And in accordance with what u/PharmaJunkee shares here , the authority may have been looking for a significant boost in clinical compliance and quality. Jane Conlon Werner possibly, may not have been sufficient. "12:00: We are also taking the appropriate steps to insure that we have the proper personnel in house to execute on our clinical plans. And so this includes the recent addition of Jane Conlon Werner as our new Executive Director of Quality. I think we are incredibly fortunate to have been able to recruit Jane to join us here at CytoDyn. She has extensive experience in Clinical as well as CNC Quality and compliance function review. At, both, large Biopharmaceutical companies and smaller Biotech companies like CytoDyn and I really think that Jane's experience in these areas is going to be critical to future clinical success and that work timing ??for her. This really demonstrates our commitment to insuring quality and compliance across the organization." - again, she alone may not be sufficient.
The picture I'm trying to paint here is of what is taking place with respect to what is being requested of CytoDyn and the hoops they need to jump through to meet Priority #1. Once this goal is met, the rest is over. It becomes show time. The ball begins to roll again. The game is underway. All of which we speak of here comes to pass, as it now is mounting, wanting to explode, under the heat of the sun, bursting at the seams from the pressure building within. Surely, it is mighty hot in that kitchen. God bless everyone at CytoDyn, doing what they are doing to extricate us from the cataclysm the actions of the CRO Amarex induced upon this company, its shareholders and patients and upon the reputation of this drug.
Looking down into the arena, I see that one day, which is drawing nigh, when CytoDyn shall be free again. This, I know, but until then, it continues to fight its battles on multiple fronts, not knowing from where it finds its artillery or ammunition. I remain in anticipation with CytoDyn and stick with what is happening with them, because the time is close at hand. I do not sensationalize this. Rather only deliver my view on the subject, based on the quotations I include, to express what I see to be happening and with that, you can make up your mind whether it makes sense or not. To me, it does.

This is my headcanon for the events following Suzerain as the game played out in my (communist) playthrough:
Disclaimer 1: This obviously includes many spoilers from the game.
Disclaimer 2: This story is written with storytelling and lore at the forefront, not necessarily gameplay accuracy.
Disclaimer 3: This is only the first chapter (and backstory) of this headcanon story/fanfic/whatever you want to call it. I want to write more, but would like to see what people in the Suzerain community think about the writing so far and if they’d like to see more of it. :)
(Part 1 is on my page if you cannot find it elsewhere)

Chapter 1: Inauguration Day (Continuation)

Serge had always been one for praise as long as Anton had known him, but it seemed to be out of sheer admiration and trust, unlike the usual political suck-up. It was definitely appreciated praise, but somewhat uncomfortable in a way, as Anton wasn’t used to such high praise from politicians, and was a little afraid all the compliments would bloat his ego. Though he rarely vocally disagreed with Serge’s remarks, as a president shouldn’t appear doubtful of their abilities. That was one of the many rules Anton had learned to follow as a president. He didn’t like it, yet it had still become almost second nature to him by now, something that also concerned him quite a bit.
“Thank you for your trust in me Serge. It truly means a lot.” Serge smiled through the rear-view mirror once more before replying “Thank you Mr. President for setting such a great example for the people of this nation.” Anton knew it would be impossible to beat Serge in a humility contest, so he conceded with his usual reply “You are too kind, Serge.” Before long they were off, and it didn’t take them as long as they’d thought to get back to the hill of pride, as the traffic had wound down along with the day. As the car headed up the long and winding road that led to the maroon palace through capitol park Anton noticed the palace gates were open and the driveway was filled with journalists, as opposed to the politicians and oligarchs usually present at the previous inauguration events. As Serge entered the car into the driveway, the journalists made way for the car to park next to the small row of black sedans and limos that had brought the rest of the night’s dinner guests to the palace.
Serge quickly stopped the engine and exited the car to open Anton’s door. As he did so, Anton was met with the now familiar camera flashes and the sounds of journalists speaking over each other to the point of near incomprehension. “Mr. President” started a young woman in a sharp azure pantsuit, holding a microphone up to the President’s lips. “There have been a lot of concerns voiced by the opposition after you used the phrase ‘Sordish Revolution’ at your rally. Is the opposition correct that this is an indication of political violence being endorsed by the presidency?” Anton noticed the ‘Lachaven Times’ label on the woman’s microphone before replying to her question. “No. Revolution does not mean violence. Revolution means that this country has problems, and we need radical and rapid change to address those issues.”
“Mr. President, one more question. This revolution outburst, as well as your administration’s close association with communism and United Contana, has brought fear to the hearts of many business owners in Sordland. Do you plan to completely nationalise our nation’s economy, and will business owners be compensated for the loss of the fruits of their labour? Anton briefly chuckled before opening his mouth to reply. Before he could do so however, he saw a hand cover the woman’s microphone. “The President will not be answering any more questions as of now.” Ranye looked left and saw his newly appointed Vice President, Lucian, looking as stern as ever. He took his other hand on Anton’s back, leading him away from the flock of journalists, into the maroon palace.
As they moved inside, there were still a large amount of journalists, although not as many as there were outside. These journalists however, knew better than to try and approach the President, as Lucian’s glare was warning enough. “It’s good to have you here Mr. President. We’ve already set up everything in the dining room upstairs, both for the dinner itself and the televising of the event. Your wife insisted on waiting on you in your office. It would be good for the press to be able to get pictures of you two together, so I would advise you to go get her so you can welcome the dinner guests together.” Anton now noticed his Vice President was wearing a tuxedo, as were many of the male journalists and camera crew. “Knowing you, there is already a tuxedo in my office as well.” Lucian nodded. “Thank you. I’ll go get ready.”
As the President and Vice President separated, it did not take long before Anton found himself in conversation again, while on his way to his office. This time with the director of the Sordish Radio and Television Supreme Council that Anton had founded during his first administration. In fact this was Anton’s first time meeting the director of the council, as Lucian was the one who appointed him. “Mr. President, it’s an honour to meet you. Damien Ves, at your service.” The stocky and wide man grabbed Anton’s hand and shook it. “It’s a pleasure to finally be able to meet with you Mr. Ves. Lucian told me you’d be in charge of today’s broadcast.” Anton began to increase his pace, which Damien attempted to duplicate. “Yes, it's all very exciting. It will be like you’re having dinner with the entire country! This new technology is amazing!”
“Yes, truly amazing. If you’ll excuse me I have to go get ready. It was nice meeting you.” Anton entered his office and closed the door with a sigh. Before being able to look around the room, he was ambushed by a hug from his daughter Deana. “Papa! You’re finally here!” Anton looked down at his daughter, who looked tired from the eventful day. “How did you like the rally sweetheart?” asked Anton as he got down on one knee to be eye-level with Deana. “There were so many people! Mama talked to so many of them. She talked a lot about exploitation. What is exploitation Papa?”
Before Anton could think of how he was going to explain that to his daughter, Monica came up behind her and picked her up. “Alright, let your papa at least get inside properly before you start asking him harder questions than the journalists outside.” Anton followed his wife into the room as she plopped down Deana on the couch. Only then was he able to see how beautiful his wife looked in her elegant scarlet dress. The only thing he could fathom doing was kissing her, and as he did, she pulled away. “Later. Now you have to get ready. It’s nearly seven.” Before going to the bathroom in his office to change, Anton took a last look at his wife as she started doing Deana’s hair. “You look absolutely gorgeous, honey.” Monica gave her husband a warm smile and a wink back as a reply.
Anton entered the office bathroom, where a tuxedo hung from the door on a hanger. It looked old, yet well-maintained. Its white bowtie and waistcoat, coupled with a long tailcoat reminded Anton of the similar suits worn by the wealthiest students during his time at university in the 1920s. As he put on the tuxedo and started adjusting it, he found a note in the left-hand pocket on the tailcoat.
It read “Anton, as you read this, getting ready for the start of your next term, know that the people of Sordland have reaffirmed their trust in you, and it is your duty to not let them down. This suit belonged to my father, and he used it for events just like the one you’re about to go to all the time when he was president. When he fell, Sordland became cursed with two despots, who ignored the cries of the weak. I believe that you have the power to break that curse, as evident by your first term. I believe that you are the only one who might be able to stop this curse now. But only if you keep true to yourself and your ideals, don’t let the world of politics suck you in too much. Don’t forget that you are where you are to serve the people. Not the powerful, but the weak. Good luck my old student and good friend. -Deivid Wisci.”
Anton had very fond memories of his mentor Deivid Wisci, both as his professor, and as his minister of foreign affairs. The day he retired was a sad day for Sordland. Although he definitely deserved a retirement, after all the good he had done, Anton thought to himself. He put the note back in his pocket and adjusted his bowtie for the final time. Before leaving the bathroom however, he remembered to take the pocket watch he was gifted by Serge from the breast-pocket of his usual attire. He placed it in the breast-pocket of his new tailcoat, slicked back his jet black hair, and headed out of the bathroom. “Ready?” Monica and Deana were sitting on the couch patiently waiting. “Yes, let’s go.” Anton reached out his hand to escort Monica out. As she put her hand into his, he kissed her hand before the pair proceeded out of the office along with Deana.
The Rayne family made their way into the maroon palace’s dining room, where the camera crew had already started filming. Anton and his family took their place in the lounge area that decorated the backdrop for the dining table, where the Rayne cabinet slowly started to assemble to be welcomed by Anton and Monica. First was Lucian who, to nobody’s surprise, came alone. He came up to Anton and shook his hand, followed by that of Monica’s, while Deana tried to hide slightly behind her mother. Lucian took his seat in the lounge, making sure to sit as close to Anton as he could.
He was soon followed by the equally lonesome minister of defence, Iosef Lancea. Unlike nearly every man present in the maroon palace however, Iosef came in his regular military attire, as opposed to a tuxedo, or even a regular suit. Although Anton was unsure, he might’ve added a few medals to his uniform for the occasion. He saluted the President and First Lady, to which Anton replied with an adequate, but not nearly as impressive salute. He took his seat next to Lucian, and they started the obligatory small-talk that was expected of them as dinner guests.
At last came the minister of agriculture, Gus Manger, who was accompanied by his wife and son. They walked up to the President’s family, where Gus proceeded to shake Monica’s hand, while his wife greeted Anton. They then switched places, and Anton welcomed Gus and his family to the palace, and to the dinner. Gus then took his seat beside Iosef, promptly followed by his wife and son. Anton didn’t know much about Gus’ family, however his son somewhat reminded him of Franc, albeit a few years younger. The boy didn’t seem that excited to be here, understandably enough. It seemed as though Monica had noticed the same thing, as she faintly pulled on her husband’s arm, gesturing to him to lead everyone to their seats at the table.
As he was about to do just that, the doors to the eastern wing of the room swung open one more time. It was Ciara. She was wearing an off-white dress, surprisingly similar in shade to the bathrobe she’d worn earlier today, though obviously much more classy. Monica gave Anton’s hand a slight squeeze as she noticed her friend. Anton looked towards a smiling Monica, and gave her a grin back. “You managed to get her to rejoin your cabinet?” Anton smiled even wider “It was a hard task, but I think you had a lot to do with it.” Ciara walked up to Monica and shook her hand, bowing slightly as she did it. She turned to Anton and shook his hand, though not with as much vigour as with Monica. “Mr. President.” “Ms. Walda. Welcome.”
When the rest of the guests noticed Ciara, Iosef flung up out of his seat, looking positively resentful. “What is she doing here? Didn’t you resign you-” Lucian quickly got out of his seat and put his hand on Iosef’s shoulder, or at least as far as he could get to the shoulder of the colossal man. Iosef turned his head sharply and scowled at Lucian, prompting him to remove his hand and gesture to Damien, who was behind the camera, making sure our conversation was out of range for the camera to pick up on. Iosef turned to Anton “Mr. President, with all due respect, did you really invite this woman back to your cabinet after her treacherous resignation?!” Anton had noticed the tension between Iosef and Ciara the few times they’d been in the same room together, and it was clear they were good at pressing each other’s buttons, intentionally or not. Iosef must’ve been glad when she resigned. For her to come back unannounced must’ve been seen as a big middle finger to not just Iosef, but Lucian as well, as Anton hadn’t discussed it with him either. But Lucian, unlike Iosef, knew how to act like a politician, and wouldn’t risk his career for a televised outburst.
“Iosef, with all due respect, I am your superior. We need people in our cabinet, and may I remind you that this event is currently being televised.” Anton stared at Iosef in a way he’d never done before. It was actually quite satisfying for Anton to be able to speak to Iosef like that, as he had real experience on how Iosef treated his subordinates from his time in the army. Iosef mumbled something before speaking up “Of course Mr. President. I am sorry.” Anton could actually see Iosef’s eye visibly twitch as he mouthed that last part. “Good, then we’ll be seated. Follow me everyone, right this way.” President Rayne led the dinner guests towards the table, where Deana and Gus’ son were seated first, followed by Ciara, Monica and Gus’ wife, the two latter of whom were seated by their husbands respectively. After which the rest of the cabinet, along with Anton took their seats.
The camera panned to look directly at Anton, who would deliver his post-inauguration speech to the nation. “Brothers and sisters, today has been a great day, not just for myself, not just for the USP, but for our nation. You have reaffirmed your support for me as your President, as a conduit for the will of the people. In doing so you have reaffirmed your trust in our nation, our collective passion to make the lives of others better. Because that is what a nation is. A nation is a band of people who share a home, and who are passionate enough to help each other and push each other forward to greater things. It is a sentiment to collectivism and what we can accomplish when we band together and fight for each other, with compassion and solidarity. That is what we are, we are brothers and sisters. No matter if you are a sord or blud, man or woman, eight or eighty. If you live in Sordland, your neighbours are your brothers and sisters, together you hold this nation on your backs through your trust and your belief that together we can make the world a better place. United we stand, divided we fall. A Morgna wes core, vectern sis da!”
The camera panned away from Anton’s face but continued filming the dining table. Everyone seated applauded Anton’s speech. He raised his wine glass, which had already been filled prior to everyone being seated. “I’d also like to raise a toast. To Bernard Circas. We sit here, on the four year anniversary of the tragic end of his great life. His words moved millions, and continue to move millions more after his death. He inspired love, compassion and hope. He dreamed of a better Sordland, one where we were free of exploitation and united in proletarian solidarity.” There were mixed reactions across the table, but mainly looks of disagreement. Anton continued nonetheless. “Bernard was killed for his beliefs. After a long investigation the main culprits are finally behind bars, but this does not solve the deeper issue. Fascism. The scourge that kept Bernard’s dream from being realised is what killed him, and he will have died in vain if we do not take that threat seriously, and do what we can to rid this country of the fascism that wants to tear it apart. It was only Bernard who would have the words to give us the hope we need, but while he is gone, his spirit remains, and it remains to give us the willpower we need to do what we can to make sure nothing like what happened four years ago ever happens again. To Bernard, our only strength is the will to survive.”
After Anton finished he took a sip of his bitter wine and sat the glass back down, followed by everyone else. Iosef mumbled something again, but as Anton briefly looked towards Damien, it looked like the speech, and following toast, had been a hit with him and the rest of the camera crew. “Well said Mr. President '' said Lucian, before taking another sip of his wine. A moment later, the chef, a tall and lanky young man, came out followed by servers bearing plates of food. “For the first course we have prepared…” The next few hours flew by as Anton was bored senseless by the conversations, or lack thereof, between the “strictly-work-talk” Vice President, traditionalist minister of defence, radical minister of education, and anrican capitalist minister of agriculture. After hours of dull conversation and several courses, all representing a different region of Sordland, the dinner was finally over and the broadcast finished off with a speech from the first lady. Anton felt bad, being too tired to properly listen to Monica’s speech, although it seemed to have a similar effect on the guests as Anton’s speech did. As the applause following her speech died down, the broadcast was shut off, and nearly everyone in the room let out a sigh of relief, including Anton and Monica.
Anton stood up, and was followed by the rest of the table. The presidential couple bid farewell to their guests as nearly everyone left. As Anton, Monica and Deana were getting ready to go change and head home, Anton was approached by Damien who wanted to have a few words before leaving.
“It was a wonderful broadcast Mr. President!” he said with a fake enthusiasm. Damien knew the basics of political intrigue, but had yet to grasp the subtle art of lying convincingly. Anton simply replied “Thank you, Mr. Ves, you did very well yourself managing the production.'' Unlike Damien, Anton bore no attempt to show his lack of interest in the conversation, as he slowly started making his way out of the dining room area of the palace. “Thank you Mr. President, you honour me!.” he nervously paused for few seconds before continuing “Mr. President, would you please consider having a meeting with me later this week.” “Whenever you have the time!” blurted out the nervous, and now slightly sweaty, man. “I’d be glad to have a meeting with you Damien. In fact I was planning on having one with you anyway, to discuss the goals and strategies of the commission going forward.” Anton again started walking a bit faster, trying to get out of the conversations with the hippo-like man. “How does tuesday 9:30 sound?” Damien struggled to keep up with the President, making him sweat even more profusely as he panted out a reply “Wonderful! Great! Thank you Mr.Presdi..Ray..” He stopped for a second to catch his breath “Thank you Mr. President!” he shouted down the hallway as the President hurried back into his office.
“Why do such social events seem to drain me more than dull meetings about infrastructure development?” joked Anton as he walked into his office to greet his wife. “It wasn’t that bad, I had quite the interesting conversation with Ciara and Erica.” Anton looked confused for a moment before Monica elaborated. “Gus’ wife. Erica Manger.” She sat down on the couch next to a half asleep Deana. “Ah! And what did she have to say?” inquired Anton, loosening his bowtie as he said it. “She was surprisingly supportive of our participation in politics, considering she’s from Anrica, like Gus.” Anton sat next to his wife, wrapping his arm around her before answering. “Well not everyone in Anrica is exactly Curtan Leste. You know he’s been losing a lot of support in the city ever since his stunt in Benfi, interrupting your speech like that.” Monica looked out the window to the view of capitol park. “Still, even with the waning influence of the old guard, both him and Gloria Tory have become increasingly popular with the conservatives now that Soll, Graff, Hawker and the like are all in prison. They are still a real threat, now with even more concentrated support.” Anton stood up and walked over to the window, now looking at dusk settling over the park as well. “I know.” he paused for a second. “We still have a lot of work ahead of us.”
The couple stood there for a few minutes in silence, enjoying a peaceful moment together while contemplating the future. After a while, however, they decided they best head home for the day. They went into the office bathroom to get changed again. After doing so, Anton took his sleeping daughter in his arms and the three of them exited the maroon palace. They had stayed there so long that all the journalists had gotten tired of waiting for them and gone home. The courtyard of the palace was all but empty, aside from a few guards, and of course, the Rayne family’s loyal driver. Serge opened the backseat door for the family to get in the car, where they were able to relax for the long drive home in the quiet of the night.
The new Valgslandian presidential car was slowly making its way towards the presidential residence built during the Alphonso presidency. It was a modern home, inspired by the works of some Arcasian architects. While Anton certainly disagreed with Alphonso about a lot, and despised Arcasia, he had to admit it was a pretty nice home. As he sat in the car he dreamt about getting home and being able to jump into bed after such a long day, and from the looks of it, Monica was thinking about the same thing.
They were driving past a newly built secondary school, Circas Secondary, that was built as part of Anton and Ciara’s education program during the first term. Anton’s mind drifted from the architecture of his own home to the architecture of this school, and was suddenly filled with pride, being able to see the material results of his work as president. He was admiring the building’s large gymnasium when suddenly the white walls of the pristine building turned a fiery orange hue, followed by a loud “BANG!”. Before they could comprehend what had happened the car had been flipped on its head and the glass from the windows shattered. Deana immediately woke up in panic and started crying. Anton was able to get to her quickly, and shield her and Monica. They sat there together in the wreck of the car for what felt like minutes, not being able to move out of pure shock, before they heard a series of coughs followed by the voice of their driver “Anton, Monica, Deana. Are you okay?!” Anton managed to muster a response despite his distress. “I think so Serge. How about you?”
As he felt a hand grab him by the collar of his coat, Serge replied “Don’t worry about me, we need to get out of here!” Before Anton could respond he felt his collar tighten around his neck as he was slowly dragged out of the car wreck along with his wife and daughter. When they were all out of the car Anton opened his eyes to find he was lying on the pavement, looking up at Serge who was examining the family for any serious injuries. He then heard the sound of sirens in the distance, and noticed the night looked very bright. He looked to his right and saw the cause of this brightness, the school was on fire. At least what was left of the school. There was rubble everywhere, it had been blown to pieces. He looked back up at Serge, with the starry night sky behind him. Hints of flashing red and blue lights began to appear as Anton’s eyes began to shut and the night became darker. The previously clear voice of his driver became muffled, as he heard cars approaching and the sound of doors being shut. Before passing out, he felt someone lift him up and put his body onto something soft, followed by the sound of doors being shut again.
To be continued.

Hi all,
Obligatory ‘long post’ warning.
Should also add that I’ve also posted on a legal advice sub: trying to cover my bases and not really sure which is right.
This is in England.
Sad to be writing this but it seems the wife and I are set for a parting of the ways. We’ve both become detached over time and we can’t see that things are resolvable. We are hoping to keep things as amicable as possible.
My question relates to the division of assets and what, broadly speaking, I need to budget. We’ve been together 7 years, married nearly 5. I am 42, she is 35. We have no children and two dogs, who will stay with her.
Coming into the marriage, I had the following assets: House: bought for £450k, now worth roughly £600k, £129k left on mortgage. Rental flat: bought for £150k, now worth £240k, buy to let, £125k left on mortgage. Rental flat: bought for £160k, now worth £215k, £80k left on loan. 1/4 share of holiday cottage, bought for £215k, now worth £285k (so £70k-ish).
She had no assets at the start of the relationship but has bought a car worth roughly £20k. I do not drive.
Throughout the relationship we have mostly kept separate finances, with her paying £250-300 monthly towards expenses. Any house improvements and all bills have been funded by me. We both work full time, my wage is around £50k (before rentals), hers around £35k.
We would both like to keep this amicable and whilst I want to ensure that she is well and sustainable, I also do not want to completely strip my retirement plan.
Can anyone provide any meaningful advice for the best way to go about dividing this, or what might be considered ‘fair’? Any help gratefully received.
Apologies if this is on the incorrect sub, or if I’ve given too much detail. This is all pretty fresh in my mind and I’m a bit flustered.
Thanks all.

Hi all,
Obligatory ‘long post’ warning. This is in England.
Sad to be writing this but it seems the wife and I are set for a parting of the ways. We’ve both become detached over time and we can’t see that things are resolvable. We are hoping to keep things as amicable as possible.
My question relates to the division of assets and what, broadly speaking, I need to budget. We’ve been together 7 years, married nearly 5. I am 42, she is 35. We have no children and two dogs, who will stay with her.
Coming into the marriage, I had the following assets: House: bought for £450k, now worth roughly £600k, £129k left on mortgage. Rental flat: bought for £150k, now worth £240k, buy to let, £125k left on mortgage. Rental flat: bought for £160k, now worth £215k, £80k left on loan. 1/4 share of holiday cottage, bought for £215k, now worth £285k (so £70k-ish).
She had no assets at the start of the relationship but has bought a car worth roughly £20k. I do not drive.
Throughout the relationship we have mostly kept separate finances, with her paying £250-300 monthly towards expenses. Any house improvements and all bills have been funded by me. We both work full time, my wage is around £50k (before rentals), hers around £35k.
We would both like to keep this amicable and whilst I want to ensure that she is well and sustainable, I also do not want to completely strip my retirement plan.
Can anyone provide any meaningful advice for the best way to go about dividing this, or what might be considered ‘fair’? Any help gratefully received.
Apologies if this is on the incorrect sub, or if I’ve given too much detail. This is all pretty fresh in my mind and I’m a bit flustered.
Thanks all.

To preface, I recently bought and have been wearing an Oura ring - for anyone who doesn't know, it's a fitness & sleep tracker; gives you a daily score for your Readiness, Sleep & Activity.
26F, generally speaking I'm fit and healthy. I lift weights, get my cardiovascular exercise minutes in every week & stretch nightly. I eat a great diet, consisting of whole foods, lots of protein and I don't drink alcohol. Macros are usually keto, but I do occasionally eat sourdough bread & fruit as a carb source. I eat beef liver for a multivitamin & drink Relyte electrolytes daily. I use a magnesium lotion and frequently do cold plunges and take magnesium baths as well.
My only fault is that I still use nicotine daily in the form of Zyn or On! pouches, no tobacco or vaping, just pouches.
BUT... I don't sleep great. I wake up feeling groggy everyday, my neck constantly hurts (I've tried all the fancy pillows) and my body/joints ache. It's not just after a hard workout, it's nearly every morning that I feel this way. So I finally caved & bought the Oura ring because I wanted to see what was going on with my sleep.
According to the data, I'm getting basically no REM sleep (8% on average, when I should be getting closer to 25%) and my sleep latency (how fast you fall asleep) is usually about 2min, which is seen as a negative. When I look at my Recovery Index data, which is measured by "how long it takes for your resting heart rate to stabilize during the night," it always tells me that my heart rate is NOT stabilizing at least 6 hours before I wake up - which is why I'm feeling unrested the next day.
So all this information has me wondering -- is my ONE guilty pleasure (or, addiction lets be real) the reason for these sleep and recovery problems? I know that nicotine raises your heart rate, which could explain the Recovery Index thing. What about my REM sleep? I take the nicotine pouch out before I go to sleep. Is the leftover nicotine in my body wrecking my sleep and causing all these aches and pains? Or could it be something else? I sleep in a pitch black room and turn the AC to 66º at night. I feel like I'm doing everything else right and I'm still sleeping like crap.
TLDR, I don't get enough REM sleep and my heart rate doesn't stabilize quickly enough at night. I think these problems are nicotine related because all other areas of my life are on point.

Part 6 of “Destination; Wriss”
A Fanfic of u/SpacePaladin15’s work “The nature of Predators” Thank you for the story!
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Memory transcription subject: Elva, Combat Medic Specialist.
Date [standardized human time]: September 27th, 2136
Our armored convoy sped down the road. Its bumps and jostles made sitting comfortably rather difficult. Maya tried not to bounce off of the seat across from me. As her eyes locked onto mine in a competition for dominance. She started to shake her fist at me and I returned the gesture in kind. After the third maybe fourth shake on account of the rough ride we thrust our arms outwards at each other, and she held her fist in the air while I gently covered her paw with my own flat one.
“You are too good at this game Elva! It’s not fair!” My tail started to wag as best it could on the seats-
ERROR: SEVERE MEMORY CORRUPTION DETECTED
ESTIMATED TIME LOSS: 24 MINUTES
RESUME AT NEXT STABLE MEMORY?
/Y
Memory transcription subject: Elva, Combat Medic Specialist.
Date [standardized human time]: September 27th, 2136
The growing burning sensation and throbbing in my head and body grew into an unbearable pain. I peeled my face off of the pavement to the sound of gunfire, explosions and low flying ships. My attention was immediately drawn to the inferno that was a burning town around me.
James and Alexander had taken cover behind the bombed out husk of the first armored vehicle in our convoy while the other had been pulled over to the side to give us a makeshift fort. I started to crawl to their position when I noticed Maya laying next to me. I gently laid a paw on her to ask where I was needed and she didn’t move.
A large piece of metal had penetrated her helmet and was jutting out of the side. I started to examine her wounds only to look into her eyes and see that her soul had already flown into the night. My paws found their way to her neck but could not find a pulse. I started to try and do chest compressions.
One.Two.Three. Gunshots whizzed by my head forcing me to duck. As I laid against her I could already feel that her body had begun to cool. I was too late.
I can feel my heart begin to race. My breathing became frantic. I was panicking or going into shock and both of those will kill me right now. I scanned for anyone I could approach and steady myself with. Sergeant Amélia and her squad were pinned down almost [50 yards] away guarding the war reporters and civilians. Thankfully I found Alexander and Jamie were a lot closer and if I crawled I could maybe get there safely. I held my breath as I started towards them under incoming fire. The sounds of screaming civilians sent pangs of fear through my body begging me to stand up and run. A Gojid did just that and fell to the ground headless, and set an example of what panicking would bring to me.
The only thought I could find was to observe my surroundings and react accordingly. Looking around as I crawled painfully slowly, I saw the Venlil reporter from Dad’s news crew had set up a camera and was desperately trying to record what was happening. Bjorn took a shot to the arm and fell to the ground. Their medic pulled him to the side and started to treat him. I could hear the unmistakable scream of an Arxur bomber followed by another vehicle exploding.
I pulled myself up next to Jamie who genuinely smiled at me. “OH THANK GOD! I THOUGHT YOU DIED TOO!” Several shots punctured through the old vehicle that was our cover. I looked to my alien friend to displace my fear only to see the same fear looking back at me.
Before I could respond Alexander screamed “GET DOWN THEY’RE MAKING ANOTHER PASS!” followed by the screaming Arxur death machine swooping down at us again. Another explosion that thankfully didn’t take anyone's lives, but still seemed to put us all closer to death by obliterating our cover.
I raspily tried to ask “What's going on?!? Last I remember I was in the back of the transport!” The three of us tried to hug the ground as best we could as our cover was further reduced to molten slag.
Our Sergeant slapped Jamie on the back and pointed to a nearby building. “CRAWL NOW OR WE DIE HERE!” I started to envy Humans and their clothes as we crawled through flaming debris and scattered glass into the bombed out ruins of an old arcade.
Power had yet to die in the city so the cold blast of air ran across my body in stark contrast to the fires outside. The sounds of arcade jingles trying to tempt the passersby to play them failed to drown out the screaming, explosions and gunfire in the chaos that is now a second full blown invasion.
Alexander took a raspy breath. “Where is Luca? I never found him!”
Memories of Luca sitting towards the cab of our transport teasing Maya flooded back into the forefront of my mind. “He was sitting near the cab of my transport… Did anyone else make it out?”
Alexander shook his head. “No… We need to keep moving and fall back to base. Jamie, take point and lets try and leave through a back exit and circle around to Amélia’s squad. Elva stay behind me.”
The three of us made our way to the back of the store. A mild whimpering came from a nearby door and distracted us for a brief moment. Alexander waved for Jamie to head to the sound, who followed it to a small broom closet. Slowly Jamie opened the door to a small trio of children. One Gojid, one Mazic, and one Nevok screamed as they beheld the heavily armed Marines.
Both of the marines stepped aside and looked to me for help. By the time my first paw stepped forward the three children rushed me and quickly herded behind me. I turned to them and did my best to sound confident “Ok you three. Things are really dangerous right now but we can’t stay here. We have to go around and regroup with the other marines and retreat to safety ok? Stay behind me and do as I tell you ok?”
I could not make out the words the children said, but I could only hope they would listen as we marched forward. The door at the back of the building led to a small alley that was thankfully clear of hostiles. Jamie led the way and Alexander guarded our flank while I herded the children and tried to keep them quiet. One blind turn and all that separated us from reuniting with the rest of our escort was one empty street.
I felt the M̴a̸z̸i̵c̸ ̶c̶h̶i̴l̵d̵ ̴p̶r̵e̵s̴s̵ ̵i̵n̷t̸o̴ ̴m̴y̸ ̴b̵a̵c̴k̸ ̴a̶s̷ ̵t̵h̵e̶y̴ ̵s̸a̶w̵ ̶t̶h̶e̴i̸r̷ ̸m̵o̴t̸h̵e̶r̵ ̴b̸e̵i̴n̶g̶ ̸p̸r̶o̴t̷e̶c̴t̸e̴d̷ ̴b̴y̴ ̸A̸m̴é̶l̶i̸a̷’̸s̸ ̵s̸q̵u̴a̵d̵.̴ ̴W̷i̷t̶h̸ ̷a̶ ̶m̶i̶x̸t̶u̵r̶e̸ ̴o̸f̸ ̶p̶a̶n̶i̴c̶ ̷a̸n̸d̸ ̷h̸o̶p̵e̷ ̴t̴h̴e̸y̴ ̸s̷h̵o̴u̵t̶e̴d̸ ̴“̸M̶O̷M̴M̶Y̶!̴”̶ ̶a̶n̷d̴ ̷s̵p̷r̶i̷n̷t̶e̴d̶ ̶o̴u̴t̷ ̷o̴f̴ ̶m̸y̴ ̴r̷e̴a̸c̶h̶ ̴a̵n̸d̶ ̸s̷a̴f̵e̸t̵y̶ ̷i̷n̶t̴o̸-
ERROR: SEVERE MEMORY CORRUPTION DETECTED
ESTIMATED TIME LOSS: 7 MINUTES
RESUME AT NEXT STABLE MEMORY?
/Y
Memory transcription subject: Elva, Combat Medic Specialist.
Date [standardized human time]: September 27th, 2136
M̵y̵ ̶h̵e̷a̸r̷t̵ ̵w̸a̸s̸ beating far faster than what was healthy for a Venlil. I handed the b̶l̸o̵o̷d̷ covered Nevok to their mother and tried to shake myself out of shock. I watched through hazy eyes as B̶j̸o̴r̸n̶,̷ ̵F̷r̴a̶n̵c̵i̴s̷c̶o̴ ̶a̷n̷d̷ ̶M̷a̸r̴i̵a̵,̵̧͇̀̑ were dragged back into cover. My paws made their way to Bjorn's body and began to work to stitch up his wounds. I felt a firm hand grab my shoulder and pull me off.
Alexander stared into my eyes and shook his head. His glass blue eyes spoke of the pain he was feeling while his brow tried to hide his rage. Alexander looked up to the rest of our group and shouted “FALL BACK!” and the marines started to cover our retreat. One group would stay behind and suppress the Arxur that are stalking us with drooling maws while the other group fled to set up a new fall back point and defend their retreat.
A large explosion sounded in the distance and the radios we were all carrying came to life with the sounds of hundreds of UN troops desperately trying to communicate. By some method unknown to me Pullay managed to discern information about another group retreating not far outside of town as well as a rendezvous point for larger scale transport back to the base. Slowly we moved block by block and made our way to what we hoped to be our salvation.
Despite our group's best efforts and cohesion, the Greys are relentless. Hundreds of cattle ships descend from the sky every hour. Every quarter claw we spent fighting, the Greys were destroying the Cradle and whittling us down to nothing.
We fought our way down the street. No bodies littered the town yet, like in the aftermath videos the Greys would taunt us with. We drew closer to the corner of the block. Yet in an instant several gray reptilians appeared from around the corner and opened fire without any hesitation. I watched another medic take several shots to their torso before the Grey’s suffered a similar fate. I rushed to their side only to find again that I was too late.
Amélia ordered us to advance. We could not stop here. Jamie jogged beside me as we all scanned for any sign of hostiles “We are coming back for them. We just have to regroup first.”
We only got halfway between blocks when more shots rained down upon us from the rooftops. Before I could even see where they came from the Humans made a small dinging sound and hurled rocks onto the roofs. No one but the humans would have predicted the roofs exploding sending red slabs of cannibals sliding down the walls.
I took stock of our situation again. This time a young Gojid couple were covered in the blood of another civilian. I sprinted to them “Look at me! Don’t think about it! Just focus on me!” I managed to stop them and a few others from fleeing, but watched in horror as half of our civilians started to stampede the very way we came. I tried to shove the few we had left after the marines and finally got our group making progress again.
The sounds of gunfire and screams came from behind us and we all started to move a bit faster. Several marines noticed movement in the windows only to lower their weapons when Gojid’s appeared. I and Pullay approached them. “Come with us now! We are evacuating and can’t hold this position!” Yet they didn’t move, their eyes locked onto the marines. Pullay spoke calmly to them “You can come with the Humans who won’t harm you OR you can stay with the Arxur who WILL make sure your deaths are as PAINFUL as possible. Make a choice now, WE are LEAVING.”
Another group of Arxur rounded the corner, but this time had no clue we were here and were cut down with them only returning a few shots. We led our new civilians to the herd. They had little difficulty with the decision after that. A mysterious fate is better than the one we all know.
An errant Arxur round had found its way into our group and embedded itself into Jamie’s rifle, throwing it out of his hand. He picked it up only to let out a curse and threw his destroyed rifle to the ground before pulling a folding shovel out of his pack. With a few practiced motions he unfolded it and gripped it with both hands. I begged the stars and sun to keep him safe. “You can’t be considering using THAT as your weapon?!?”
A devilish grin spread across his face. “Don’t worry! I’m just using this until I can scavenge one off of a dead Croc!” Alexander ordered us to shut up and move out. We continued to slowly retreat from this damned town. The next ambush came sooner than we expected. We didn’t have enough time to even clear the block before the fighting started again. If it weren’t for Jamie pulling me into cover I don’t know if I would be amongst the dead now.
While the Arxur were relentless, they were also apparently stupid. Every ambush they had pulled off was thwarted when they began to sprint towards our civilians. The trained marines had almost no trouble landing their shots. I half expected to see more civilians stampede again, but it appeared they had learned what happens to a stampeding herd.
Finally we could see the edge of the farming town. The hope of reinforcements as well as a way to safety reinvigorated us for the final push. Yet that hope was quickly dashed when the Greys sprang their final ambush. Three vehicles in front of us exploded blocking the street. The route’s right and left had been blocked with destroyed vehicles and Arxur were pouring out of the buildings behind us with happy looks on their faces.
Jamie had half a second to scream “FUCK!” as rounds started to sail at us. This time the Arxur did not blindly charge us. They stayed behind cover. Any explosives lobbed at them were fled from and into cover that protected them from human fire. Instead of Arxur on both sides of us, they made sure not to risk shooting their own soldiers… OH BY THE STARS! Those weren’t ambushes. Those were just raiders running into us. THIS is them actually planning!
We scrambled for any cover we could. Jamie crouched near me while we both could only uselessly watch our friends and charges die. The Nevok mother sobbed whilst holding her only child, Papa’s reporter friend desperately started to broadcast to whoever could hear us, Amélia pulled Pullay’s orange-soaked body into cover and I finally found Alexander laying in a slowly expanding crimson pool out of anyone’s reach.
This time I watched as our marines fell one after another. I watched shots land near civilians forcing them out of cover only to die in an instant. We were actually trapped this time, without so much as a chance to fight back.
An explosion landed nearby raining dirt down upon us. For some stars forsaken reason the reporter decided now was a good time to start a news broadcast so the entire galaxy could see every human die and fail to stop the Greys!!! He started to shout into his camera “I AM CURRENTLY WITH A GROUP OF MARINES NEAR THE CITY OF WIEREWOOD-”
My pulse began to race as I watched a red puff come from Jamie’s arm and leg before he collapsed onto the ground. Fuck the consequences I can’t lose him too! I sprinted to his side as the heat from several plasma rounds threatened to end my life. His leg was the first thing I saw. A round had gone straight through his femur, searing it in half. I ripped the Saline/anesthetic container out of my aid kit and flushed the wound of debris. As quickly as I could I packed the wound with gauze and started to bind it. His blood started to stain my paws red, as I realized I was out of sterile gloves. I begged for whatever was listening to not let it get infected but with it as fixed as I could m̸a̸n̶a̴g̴e̷ ̸a̶t̸ ̶t̵h̴e̷ ̷m̴o̷m̴e̵n̸t̷.̶ ̶I̷ ̴w̶e̷n̷t̵ ̵f̶o̴r̴ ̵h̷i̶s̸ ̶a̶r̵m̵,̵ ̵w̶h̷i̴c̷h̸ ̷p̵u̵l̴l̸e̷d̸ ̶s̵t̴r̸a̸i̶g̵h̶t̸ ̶o̸u̸t̴ ̸o̷f̴ ̷h̶i̸s̷ ̴s̷l̸e̴e̵v̵e̸-̴
ERROR: SEVERE MEMORY CORRUPTION DETECTED
ESTIMATED TIME LOSS: 2 MINUTES
RESUME AT NEXT STABLE MEMORY?
/Y
Memory transcription subject: Elva, Combat Medic Specialist.
Date [standardized human time]: September 27th, 2136
T̸h̸e̴ ̸A̷r̴x̶u̷r̶ ̷t̵h̴a̴t̴ ̵h̴a̶d̸ ̴s̵t̸e̸pped out from hiding spoke to me. “Well, well well! What do we have here! Little pet taking care of master? Don’t let me stop you prey! Patch him up and the Chief Hunter wants to see what all the noise… is… about… they’re predators… OH SHIT.” was the last words that would ever come from that abomination onto sapience. I could feel my teeth break as I snarled with every bit of anger I could muster. My pistol left its holster and aligned with that fucker’s head in a heart beat. I pulled the trigger as it started to charge me. I watched a hole rip through its neck then I watched the rest of my shots miss.
With a wide sweep of its arm I felt its claws dig into my flesh. I felt my body lift off of the ground. I watched the world move slowly underneath me. I watched it slowly come up to meet me.
ERROR: SEVERE MEMORY CORRUPTION DETECTED
ESTIMATED TIME LOSS: 32 MINUTES
RESUME AT NEXT STABLE MEMORY?
/Y
Memory transcription subject: Elva, Combat Medic Specialist.
Date [standardized human time]: September 27th, 2136
I screamed as I took in a long deep breath and pain jolted through my body. I forced myself to look at my abdomen and orange flesh- my intestines were hanging out. A familiar scarred face of the man I forced into a medical examination came to my side holding my medkit. “The- the TOradOL/SAliNE! The TorADol/SaLINe! Gotta clean- clean guts first! Flush it over!”
The rebuilt human started to douse my guts in the pain relieving saline yet despite its name only pain rang through before the drugs kicked in. “Next- slOWLy- put them back instartingatone- end and working them in-” I controlled my breathing as he had to slowly pull my body apart to reinsert my guts. Thank you stars the pain meds are kicking in. I don’t want to feel this.
“Flush again… and get the medi-foam can.” It took a painfully long time for him to realize what I needed him to do. He turned the can upside down and inserted it into my wound. I suppressed a scream but still bucked as the fluid filled my abdominal cavity hopefully flushing out any debris.
The bionic man held me down as I started to reflexively kick. He picked the lid off of the bio-foam can and activated a small amount to come out. He took a moment to read the directions and looked to me “sorry” before he jammed it down as well. I knew he had to but I still cursed him out of pure reflex. The foam expanded and filled the gaps in. If I had a perforated intestine it would spill its contents into the foam pouch instead of my body.
“Now- the- stitches- SEw- me- together- tightly!-” He took the pre-threaded needle and started to dig it into my flesh. The simple guide on the lid of my kit helped to guide his hand. One painful pull after another, I felt myself come back together. I focused on anything else. I turned my head to see the Nevok mother stepping onto a transport still holding her child as safely as she could. Jamie was being loaded onto a stretcher with a few bandages I know I didn’t do. I let out a small sigh of relief at the small sign he still lived but lost it a moment later.. Amélia leaned against a car as crimson fluid flowed from her mouth.
I tracked my friends in my mind. All that was left of our little group was Jamie and myself now. The memories of our squad started to flood back in as I felt my pulse drop. I’m blacking out. I’ve lost a lot of blood. Need to spike the blood pressure. Need to find the blood loss and stop it. My mouth opened to speak-
ERROR: SEVERE MEMORY CORRUPTION DETECTED
ESTIMATED TIME LOSS: 13 MINUTES
RESUME AT NEXT STABLE MEMORY?
/Y
Memory transcription subject: Elva, Combat Medic Specialist.
Date [standardized human time]: September 27th, 2136
I DESPERATELY kicked as a wave of panic flowed through me. I could feel something holding me down stopping me from moving. A scared human face filled my vision and the mouth moved and words came out. The overwhelming urge to run coursed through my body. I desperately searched for anything that would help. The human held a small bag of synth blood in the air. I was partially strapped to a gurney. I turned my head and saw an empty vial of adrenaline.
That’s what happened. Pulse dropped. Blood transfusion. Adrenaline shot to keep the heart pumping. Panic is normal. That’s what adrenaline does. Breath ELVA. Breath. I could feel the panic start to subside. Two medics came over and started to lift me up. Once again Kaeden spoke but I couldn’t quite make it out.
My hearing began to return and I could hear someone shout. “We are out of room! Can’t take anyone else with us!” another voice began to shout “We can’t leave anyone here! They won’t make it back in time! We all have to leave now!”
“We don’t have a choice! Either some of us get out or none of us get out! And these people won’t survive!”
“I-I’ll stay!” The small Venlil reporter for Prime news hopped off of the transport. “I-I need to cover this.” Another marine jumped off. “I volunteer.” I watched as a few more followed him. Their faces were a mixture of pride, terror and confidence that left me feeling like they might just survive this suicide mission. The scarred, gravitationally challenged man’s words finally reached my ears. “It looks like you have enough room for the civilians now. Good luck and stay safe.”
I felt fear coursing through my veins as I shakily searched my UN provided poncho and grabbed two things; My spare small medkit and a few magazines for my pistol. “Take these! My pistol must have landed somewhere near where I did. Stay safe.”
It might have been the multiple concussions I received but the once-mutilated human looked to soften up for a moment as he took my small offer of help. He and the other volunteers disappeared out of sight as I was dragged onto the transport. The roar of the engine drowned out all chatter that might have given me some small comfort about abandoning the volunteers to their suicide mission.
All that kept me company was the bouncing of the transport, the sounds of explosions, Jamie’s unconscious body, as well as the realization that I was a medic that failed to save anyone.
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I’d like to take a moment to thank u/CrusingNW for all the help proofreading several of these chapters. Every time I think I’ve managed to write something without 10 errors in it and they just go through and make it red. It’s really been a big help! I’d also like to thank u/RebelHero for letting me use Kaeden! It’s one of a few crossovers I hope I get to do! (also Elva does know his name from adding the examination to his medical records) And I can’t forget u/Thirsha_42 for working with me on an upcoming crossover!
As with all of my fanfics this is considered creative commons by myself so feel free to grab anything from my stories to use in your own works! I would appreciate a shout out for this but that isn’t required.
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Will be in the comments or something. I don’t even know anymore.
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A bit of background about myself. I'd never driven an EV prior to yesterday. My only exposure to driver assistance features was in a 2021 Subaru Outback which I owned for 1.5 years in which I used the lane centering and adaptive cruise features extensively (both highways and city streets). I sold the Subaru for a $1,500 profit a few months ago due to the crazy market and I'm using my old 2005 Toyota Camry. I decided to have some fun with my 15 year old son this weekend so we rented a Tesla. I'm also seriously considering purchasing one in the next year or so. Here's our experience so far:

• We got the Tesla with a 93 percent charge, but I arrived for my appointment 30 minutes early so it probably would have been charged to 100 percent. They were very straightforward and friendly.
• They require an 80 percent charge upon return or they'll charge a fee which is an obvious attempt to gouge the customer.
• We only got a quick introduction to the car from the Hertz representative but that's because I insisted I watched tons of videos, etc. Once my son and I were left on our own, we were lost for about 15 minutes just trying to find the general screen for the controls, etc. I wanted to put the rental agreement in the glove box, and that took like 5 minutes.
• After using the car for several hours, the layout for the features and controls is getting to seem natural and second nature. I'm not finding the lack of buttons and knobs in the cabin to be an issue whatsoever, and if anything it should make it easy to clean the car on car wash days.
• Autopilot Positives: This is a big deal for me! The idea of taking long road trips on the highway and letting the car manage the braking/acceleration and steering is awesome. Compared to my Subaru with Eyesight, the autosteer (lane centering) on the Tesla is MUCH more capable. The Tesla can handle very tight curves on highways and on backroads that the Subaru would have immediately disengaged on. Also, pressing down twice on the stalk to engage the system is much easier than the three separate buttons I need to engage on the Subaru to initially engage the system (once the system was engaged, it was easy to reengage).
• Autopilot Negatives: The positives of the autopilot system are impressive, but so far I've found significant drawbacks. Every 15 to 25 seconds the system requires me to put pressure on the wheel which is understandable. However, it doesn't sense the pressure I put, and I'm putting a decent amount of back and forth pressure on the steering wheel. Usually the system eventually recognizes the pressure, but sometimes I inadvertently force myself out of autopilot and have to tap down twice on the stalk to go back in. This is really distracting and takes away from the experience. To make matters worse, twice I've had this incredible obnoxious message come up indicating I was locked out of autopilot for the rest of the ride. I'm putting pressure on the wheel. I'm an alert and active driver. I know how to use these systems. Stop fucking around and let me enjoy my drive. So yeah, these is a serious distraction.
• Autopilot Negatives Cont: I'm lumping the adaptive cruise feature into the autopilot umbrella for convenience. Overall I like the adaptive cruise feature on the Tesla, but the system on the Subaru is MUCH MUCH better. On the Tesla I feel like I'm too close to cars sometimes despite supposedly having 7 different distance settings. On the Subaru, I could totally set the adaptive to be too close for comfort but I could also set it too stupidly far. Also, the Tesla seems to lack refinement. If I'm coming up on a vehicle going 25 MPH slower than me, it seems to wait longer than it needs to to begin to slow down which makes the braking more abrupt. The Subaru would begin to slow the car much earlier and make the 25 MPH decline in speed seem almost unnoticeable. Mind you, I didn't feel "unsafe" with the way Tesla handled these situations, it just seemed more abrupt and therefore significantly less refined and less comfortable to the driver and passenger.
• Autopilot Negatives Cont: When changing lanes, you need to reengage autopilot. That is obviously done on purpose so you'll pay $6K for the upgraded autopilot. So here's why this really sucks. With the Subaru, I could have lane centering with adaptive cruise set to 85 MPH and be behind somebody going 60 MPH in the slow lane. I'd hit my left blinker and the Subaru would already begin to increase RPMs to prepare for the pass! By the time I got into the left lane, not only would lane centering and adaptive cruise still be active, the car would already be accelerating to pass the car! And, once you pass the car, right blinker, move back to the slow lane, and everything still remains engaged! You get none of that experience with Tesla autopilot. It keeps the adaptive cruise engaged but it doesn't pass nearly as well or as seamlessly, and the system doesn't work nearly as conveniently.
• Rain Sensing Wipers: Me and windshield wipers have a long history of mutual hate. I have never used a wiper system I've liked. Not once. I can never get my Toyota wipers to match rain fall satisfactory and the Subaru was no better. None of the cars I owned ever were. I would resort to pressing up on the wiper stalk to manually manage the wipers on my own! Well yesterday we had rain, and the rain varied. It would rain hard, it would rain soft, I would rain medium, and it would change rapidly in terms of value of rainfall. I'll be damned if that wiper system didn't perfectly handle matching the speed of the wipers to the amount of rain fall in real time. Seriously, it did it better than I could have done. The hilarious part is I didn't know the Tesla had a system, so for like an hour I was using the controls on the screen and bitching about how it was worse because I had to press a screen instead of using controls on the steering wheel. At one point, it started to rain and the wipers began moving on their own and I was like...no fucking way! So yeah, color me impressed!
• I still have another day with the car so I'll be adding to this post with more as I use the Tesla. I still want to try passing cars with the Tesla Autopilot because I feel like I'm "missing something" and not utilizing it properly. And obviously I'll have other thoughts.
• I'm really disappointed with the downvotes for this post. This is my honest assessment of the vehicle so far. It is what it is. Rather than update this post, I might just delete it alltogether. I'm not one for "pouting" but I don't like unjustified negativity because you disagree with an opinion. You don't like the auto wiper feature, doesn't mean you have to downvote a post, for instance. It's not about what YOUR opinion is, it's about MY experience.

To preface, I recently bought and have been wearing an Oura ring - for anyone who doesn't know, it's a fitness & sleep tracker; gives you a daily score for your Readiness, Sleep & Activity. 26F, generally speaking I'm fit and healthy. I lift weights, get my cardiovascular exercise minutes in every week & stretch nightly. I eat a great diet, consisting of whole foods, lots of protein and I don't drink alcohol. Macros are usually keto, but I do occasionally eat sourdough bread & fruit as a carb source. I eat beef liver for a multivitamin & drink Relyte electrolytes daily. I use a magnesium lotion and frequently do cold plunges and take magnesium baths as well. My only fault is that I still use nicotine daily in the form of Zyn or On! pouches, no tobacco or vaping, just pouches. BUT... I don't sleep great. I wake up feeling groggy everyday, my neck constantly hurts (I've tried all the fancy pillows) and my body/joints ache. It's not just after a hard workout, it's nearly every morning that I feel this way. So I finally caved & bought the Oura ring because I wanted to see what was going on with my sleep. According to the data, I'm getting basically no REM sleep (8% on average, when I should be getting closer to 25%) and my sleep latency (how fast you fall asleep) is usually about 2min, which is seen as a negative. When I look at my Recovery Index data, which is measured by "how long it takes for your resting heart rate to stabilize during the night," it always tells me that my heart rate is NOT stabilizing at least 6 hours before I wake up - which is why I'm feeling unrested the next day. So all this information has me wondering -- is my ONE guilty pleasure (or, addiction lets be real) the reason for these sleep and recovery problems? I know that nicotine raises your heart rate, which could explain the Recovery Index thing. What about my REM sleep? I take the nicotine pouch out before I go to sleep. Is the leftover nicotine in my body wrecking my sleep and causing all these aches and pains? Or could it be something else? I sleep in a pitch black room and turn the AC to 66º at night. I feel like I'm doing everything else right and I'm still sleeping like crap. TLDR, I don't get enough REM sleep and my heart rate doesn't stabilize quickly enough at night. I think these problems are nicotine related because all other areas of my life are on point.

To preface, I recently bought and have been wearing an Oura ring - for anyone who doesn't know, it's a fitness & sleep tracker; gives you a daily score for your Readiness, Sleep & Activity.
26F, generally speaking I'm fit and healthy. I lift weights, get my cardiovascular exercise minutes in every week & stretch nightly. I eat a great diet, consisting of whole foods, lots of protein and I don't drink alcohol. Macros are usually keto, but I do occasionally eat sourdough bread & fruit as a carb source. I eat beef liver for a multivitamin & drink Relyte electrolytes daily. I use a magnesium lotion and frequently do cold plunges and take magnesium baths as well.
My only fault is that I still use nicotine daily in the form of Zyn or On! pouches, no tobacco or vaping, just pouches.
BUT... I don't sleep great. I wake up feeling groggy everyday, my neck constantly hurts (I've tried all the fancy pillows) and my body/joints ache. It's not just after a hard workout, it's nearly every morning that I feel this way. So I finally caved & bought the Oura ring because I wanted to see what was going on with my sleep.
According to the data, I'm getting basically no REM sleep (8% on average, when I should be getting closer to 25%) and my sleep latency (how fast you fall asleep) is usually about 2min, which is seen as a negative. When I look at my Recovery Index data, which is measured by "how long it takes for your resting heart rate to stabilize during the night," it always tells me that my heart rate is NOT stabilizing at least 6 hours before I wake up - which is why I'm feeling unrested the next day.
So all this information has me wondering -- is my ONE guilty pleasure (or, addiction lets be real) the reason for these sleep and recovery problems? I know that nicotine raises your heart rate, which could explain the Recovery Index thing. What about my REM sleep? I take the nicotine pouch out before I go to sleep. Is the leftover nicotine in my body wrecking my sleep and causing all these aches and pains?
Or could it be something else? I sleep in a pitch black room and turn the AC to 66º at night. I feel like I'm doing everything else right and I'm still sleeping like crap.
​
TLDR, I don't get enough REM sleep and my heart rate doesn't stabilize quickly enough at night. I think these problems are nicotine related because all other areas of my life are on point.

1
We underestimate the trials the dead have gone through.
This obvious mistake leads to avoidable missteps in life. It is still all too common.
When my Grandfather passed away, I inherited a house in the mountains. The view was breathtaking. It had a sweeping vista of infinite pine trees. The place was nowhere near as large as the properties surrounding it.
It was a summer home for him and my Grandma. The interior of it contained many of his items. This included tobacco pipes, cabinets of obscure teas, and cupboards of whiskey bottles.
One Saturday evening I went through the attic and found a dozen stacks of boxes. The majority of them remained unlabeled. Several contained pulp paperbacks and stacks of old photos. Towards the end of his life, he gave up his old pastimes of hunting and fishing. He stayed at home and watched old game shows instead.
I tried to clean the roof space in one day. I found myself unable to complete it before tiring and going to bed.
The next morning I resumed the activity. It was no longer about trying to declutter the area and fill it with my own possessions. It was now a way to learn more about the man.
All I knew about his reputation was how he had served in World War II. My family told me how he was as short on words as he was on patience.
I found an old newspaper article, dated 1983. There were other period pieces around it. The topics varied. This included the US invasion of Grenada and the debut of Cabbage Patch Kids dolls. A device known as the mobile phone received a mention.
Yet what caught my attention was the first piece. I brushed aside cobwebs to find it buried underneath a pile of cardboard with burnt edges.
The picture was of my Grandfather, Roy Davies. He held a check for fifty thousand dollars. This was an amount I later found out equaled to one hundred and fifty two thousand in today’s money. The mystery of how he could afford the place he gave me was no longer one worth pondering.
The wall behind him had an illustration of a ramshackle house on a hill. The title of the write-up was NORTHERN CALIFORNIA MAN WINS IN THE PILOT FOR NEW SHOW ‘THE TRIANGLE GAME.’
I read the five hundred word account. It detailed how he flew to Los Angeles to be a participant in an allegedly syndicated program. There were two other people he competed against. The editorial feature did not go into detail about what the goal of the game was. How to win or get disqualified was unknown to me. Still Still, my Grandfather walked out a much richer man before he flew back home.
It did mention the couple he played against, a man called James Grover and a woman named Daisy Francis.
I flipped the article. I found were words written in orange ink with a marker on the back, CC ENVELOPE EXIT.
I searched online for the triangle game. I found variations on the pastime ‘I Spy’ first. Players would spot triangular items in their immediate vicinity. I discovered a few board games, along with IQ-related quizzes.
No information was available about a television broadcast.
2
It took almost a month of research to find where James Grover lived.
I managed to find his house by paying for a background checking website. He had gotten a criminal charge for running a red light in front of a cop. Otherwise his record was clean. That single infraction allowed me to find him since it put him in that specific database.
I stood outside his red brick house in a suburb. It was a Wednesday afternoon in a neighborhood located in an upscale part of Illinois.
Frost caked the lawns near the heated sidewalk I stood on. I imagined the place to be serene in the summertime, even if it was a vacant-seeming region now.
A stretch of abodes stood before me without their lights on. Nervousness coursed through me. The idea of having traveled all this way for the information to be wrong made me anxious.
I walked along the concrete pathway towards his front door. I stepped on a creaky porch. I set aside my awareness of the likely pending disappointment and knocked.
A shuffling of feet was on the other side of the entrance. as well as A remote control clicked as the volume of a television blaring a news report got turned down.
He answered. The man fit the correct age range I calculated he would fall into. He wore a flannel jacket and slacks, He had on a blue pair of slippers. His gray mustache bristled as he saw me.
“James Grover?” I asked.
“If you’re trying to sell me something I’m not interested.”
“I’m very sorry to bother you sir, and I promise I won’t take up much of your time. I’m here to ask if you would be willing to let me ask you a few questions about something you might know about. See, I make documentaries for a living, and I have concluded that you might be able to help me.”
I could not take a good photograph when asked, but it was a stringent falsehood I conveyed well in the moment.
In reality, I was a podcaster. The term documentarian, though not as modern, seemed more legitimate. Especially to an older gentleman.
“Alright,” he said after a moment’s hesitation. “What are you making a movie on? Also, where’s your film crew?”
“I gleaned that you were the type to prefer remaining anonymous. The conversation‘s recorded. This will be with your consent, of course. The subject I want to discuss with you involves the triangle game.”
Grover took a few steps away from the threshold and broke eye contact with me as his lips pursed. His eyes wandered over to the corner of his living room, and he brought his gaze back to mine.
“Why do you want to know about that?”
“Because I can’t find anything about it anywhere,” I said. “I’ve even been to the National Archives of Game Show history in search of it. It’s as though it never existed. I know it did because I found this article.”
As I brandished the piece of writing to him, his eyes bulged as he focused and scanned the text.
“Ahh,” he said as he took in a deep inhalation, “I remember that man. Tell you what, come on in. Would you like some coffee?”
I took a seat in one of his recliners as I asked him a few generic questions about his life.
James spent a considerable time of his youth in North Lawndale, one of the rougher places in Chicago. He escaped his impoverished upbringing by pursuing a career as an inventory clerk. He worked his way up to management in a warehousing company.
“I beat the odds in a big way,” he said as he folded his hands and sat across from me.
“So, what can you tell me about your experience on set that day? Do you know about anything that happened post-production?”
“They made us sign contracts where we would promise not to talk about what we went through with anyone. Still, I’m at the point where I’m not very worried, or I don’t think I should be. I was much younger then, about your age. I lived at the boxing gym and had dreams of going pro. Of course that didn’t happen, but when I wasn’t training I was drinking and doing stupid things that young men do. Bar brawls I didn’t deserve to get away with but somehow did. My mother watched a lot of game shows. Without my knowledge, she submitted my name for consideration to become a contestant. She thought it would make me a better person if I had some kind of hope for helping the family. One besides crushing peoples noses for a living.”
“How did she hear about it?”
“I have no idea. I wish I asked her.”
“How did you find out you were going to go on?”
“Back then, everything was a phone call, so that’s what we got. They flew me out there, I took a taxi to get to the set. It was not a traditional studio. The place was closer to a factory with a fake space ship built inside of it. In the center of the room was a neon triangle with the same spaciousness of a house.”
“How was the game played?”
“Before it started, they told us to write down three things we were good at. I put boxing, organizational skills, and running. Daisy listed hers as poker, math, and long distance swimming. Roy - that was his name, the person in the picture you showed me - put outdoor survival, shooting, and cooking. We would stand at each point of the triangle. We’d get asked a question by the host, and we had three minutes to answer it. If we got it right, they gave us a reward being able to attack one of the other two people using the skill sets we put down. The goal is to make the other two quit by getting enough questions correct. Of course, we went into the game blind to the rule set. Otherwise I may have chosen the most aggressive ability imaginable. Roy won because he chose aptitude with a firearm, which trumps any martial art, whether I like it or not.”
James lifted his pant leg and showed me a scar above his knee.
“At least he was kind enough to not make it a fatal blow,” he said.
I showed him the words written on the back of the newspaper clipping. He shrugged and told me he was unaware, dismissive of it as someone’s scrapped note.
I asked him if he remembered the name of the host or could give me a physical description.
“I don’t remember anything about what we called him, if he even told us what he went by. His hair was black and a pompadour style. He wore a purple suit with a bright orange tie.”
“Two last questions,” I said. “Do you know what happened to Daisy, if she’s still alive? Also, do you recall the address of the place where they filmed the game?”
“I wrote to Daisy twice a year before she vanished. We did have one conversation over the phone, and she told me that bad luck was going to follow the losers of that pilot. There was no media coverage about her passing that I ever saw. As far as the location, sure. I wrote it down in a journal I kept with me even when I traveled. I used to keep track of my workouts and diet regiment back then. Let me grab it.”
3
The location where the Triangle Game took place four decades earlier stood in a squalid part of the city.
I passed the ruins of the old LA zoo on my way to the spot. I contemplated how the sight I was about to take in could not get any stranger. I was wrong.
The building was five stories, but the front only had a trio of stained glass windows. Bullet holes surrounded the casements. The place had a nave roof and flying buttresses on both sides. Multi-colored graffiti littered the outside.
It sat in a neighborhood filled with homeless people who slept on benches.
I went there mid-afternoon. I approached the front and found two locked doors. I scaled around back. I stepped over heaps of trash in the process, and saw an opening in the form of a hole large enough to crawl into.
A surge of adrenaline hit me me as I belly crawled through. I was taking a bet on how there were no cameras, guards or residents who would make a scene out of my trespassing.
It is amazing the rules one will bend for the sake of new content on social media, I opined as I made way into the space.
I turned on the flashlight of my phone and saw nothing but an enormous dusty chamber made of concrete.
I moved into the next room. A hoarders lifetime supply of broken antiques sat. Spray painted devil-horned faces grinned from the ceiling.
What caught my attention the most was a camera’s tripod. It stood alone in the far left corner.
I approached it to get a better look. I kicked aside a bunch of cans. As they clattered away, I looked down and saw a pointed tip of something drawn on the ground.
I removed most of the trash by shoving the majority of it aside and saw what was underneath.
The large triangle, which took up most of the flooring in the chamber, was still there after all these years.
In the center of it was a thin line of blood. I crouched down and peered at it.
The fluid was still wet, and a horrid stench met me. I gagged and recoiled, and in my backing away, my shoulder bumped against a dusty and discarded shelf.
Gunfire rang out.
I did not know if it was outside or near me, but I did not wish to find out. I exited the way I came in with a relentless sprint and drove as far away as I could.
4
A year later, I was finally wrapping up my recording of the podcast. I titled it ‘Three Ways to Die.’
While the name of the series was quite sensational, I felt the story merited a bit of clickbait. I had no followers and was unsure of how it would perform.
I reasoned that giving the story any publicity I could would help me find the lost piece of media. Even if it was on the cutting room floor of that very space I had to leave.
I went to call Grover, to try and collect an email address so I could send him the pre-uploaded production.
A woman answered.
“You’re looking for my father. He lost his life six months ago. Someone killed him. I would appreciate it if you got rid of this number.”
She ended the call less than a second after the last word. She wrote me off as an insurance agent looking to take advantage of a grieving family member.
I paced around my room. Although I did not know him well, I had come to like him, and his gruesome end was not one he deserved. I researched crime news to find out what had happened to him, to no avail.
The newspaper piece I had collected that fateful day sat at the edge of my desk.
I lifted it towards me and flipped it over again. I stared at the words — CC ENVELOPE EXIT.
The sentence was nonsensical. I had applied my own meanings to the gibberish phrase. Like it was a cryptic and silly way of saying ‘outgoing mail.’
I do not know whether it was desperation, a creative inclination or an admixture of both. I decided to run it through an anagram generator I had searched for on the web.
It came up with many phrases, some of them surreal, but the one that popped out to me was EXPECT VIOLENCE.
My stomach turned as I realized how my own personal investigation yielded nothing. I opened the window and was soon exposed to some fresh Sierra air, which was therapeutic but not curative.
I decided to take a long walk. I had been sedentary over the last week due to intensive editing. I figured a jaunt would help me smooth a few psychological knots things out.
I slid my closet door open to try and find a pair of sweat pants.
The sound of thunder reverberated outside. I stared out to find the sky had become overcast.
The closet door creaked even louder than I could remember it having been before.
Orange ties hung on the rack, and a triangle painted a pastel green was visible behind it.

1
We underestimate the trials the dead have gone through.
This obvious mistake leads to avoidable missteps in life. It is still all too common.
When my Grandfather passed away, I inherited a house in the mountains. The view was breathtaking. It had a sweeping vista of infinite pine trees. The place was nowhere near as large as the properties surrounding it.
It was a summer home for him and my Grandma. The interior of it contained many of his items. This included tobacco pipes, cabinets of obscure teas, and cupboards of whiskey bottles.
One Saturday evening I went through the attic and found a dozen stacks of boxes. The majority of them remained unlabeled. Several contained pulp paperbacks and stacks of old photos. Towards the end of his life, he gave up his old pastimes of hunting and fishing. He stayed at home and watched old game shows instead.
I tried to clean the roof space in one day. I found myself unable to complete it before tiring and going to bed.
The next morning I resumed the activity. It was no longer about trying to declutter the area and fill it with my own possessions. It was now a way to learn more about the man.
All I knew about his reputation was how he had served in World War II. My family told me how he was as short on words as he was on patience.
I found an old newspaper article, dated 1983. There were other period pieces around it. The topics varied. This included the US invasion of Grenada and the debut of Cabbage Patch Kids dolls. A device known as the mobile phone received a mention.
Yet what caught my attention was the first piece. I brushed aside cobwebs to find it buried underneath a pile of cardboard with burnt edges.
The picture was of my Grandfather, Roy Davies. He held a check for fifty thousand dollars. This was an amount I later found out equaled to one hundred and fifty two thousand in today’s money. The mystery of how he could afford the place he gave me was no longer one worth pondering.
The wall behind him had an illustration of a ramshackle house on a hill. The title of the write-up was NORTHERN CALIFORNIA MAN WINS IN THE PILOT FOR NEW SHOW ‘THE TRIANGLE GAME.’
I read the five hundred word account. It detailed how he flew to Los Angeles to be a participant in an allegedly syndicated program. There were two other people he competed against. The editorial feature did not go into detail about what the goal of the game was. How to win or get disqualified was unknown to me. Still Still, my Grandfather walked out a much richer man before he flew back home.
It did mention the couple he played against, a man called James Grover and a woman named Daisy Francis.
I flipped the article. I found were words written in orange ink with a marker on the back, CC ENVELOPE EXIT.
I searched online for the triangle game. I found variations on the pastime ‘I Spy’ first. Players would spot triangular items in their immediate vicinity. I discovered a few board games, along with IQ-related quizzes.
No information was available about a television broadcast.
2
It took almost a month of research to find where James Grover lived.
I managed to find his house by paying for a background checking website. He had gotten a criminal charge for running a red light in front of a cop. Otherwise his record was clean. That single infraction allowed me to find him since it put him in that specific database.
I stood outside his red brick house in a suburb. It was a Wednesday afternoon in a neighborhood located in an upscale part of Illinois.
Frost caked the lawns near the heated sidewalk I stood on. I imagined the place to be serene in the summertime, even if it was a vacant-seeming region now.
A stretch of abodes stood before me without their lights on. Nervousness coursed through me. The idea of having traveled all this way for the information to be wrong made me anxious.
I walked along the concrete pathway towards his front door. I stepped on a creaky porch. I set aside my awareness of the likely pending disappointment and knocked.
A shuffling of feet was on the other side of the entrance. as well as A remote control clicked as the volume of a television blaring a news report got turned down.
He answered. The man fit the correct age range I calculated he would fall into. He wore a flannel jacket and slacks, He had on a blue pair of slippers. His gray mustache bristled as he saw me.
“James Grover?” I asked.
“If you’re trying to sell me something I’m not interested.”
“I’m very sorry to bother you sir, and I promise I won’t take up much of your time. I’m here to ask if you would be willing to let me ask you a few questions about something you might know about. See, I make documentaries for a living, and I have concluded that you might be able to help me.”
I could not take a good photograph when asked, but it was a stringent falsehood I conveyed well in the moment.
In reality, I was a podcaster. The term documentarian, though not as modern, seemed more legitimate. Especially to an older gentleman.
“Alright,” he said after a moment’s hesitation. “What are you making a movie on? Also, where’s your film crew?”
“I gleaned that you were the type to prefer remaining anonymous. The conversation‘s recorded. This will be with your consent, of course. The subject I want to discuss with you involves the triangle game.”
Grover took a few steps away from the threshold and broke eye contact with me as his lips pursed. His eyes wandered over to the corner of his living room, and he brought his gaze back to mine.
“Why do you want to know about that?”
“Because I can’t find anything about it anywhere,” I said. “I’ve even been to the National Archives of Game Show history in search of it. It’s as though it never existed. I know it did because I found this article.”
As I brandished the piece of writing to him, his eyes bulged as he focused and scanned the text.
“Ahh,” he said as he took in a deep inhalation, “I remember that man. Tell you what, come on in. Would you like some coffee?”
I took a seat in one of his recliners as I asked him a few generic questions about his life.
James spent a considerable time of his youth in North Lawndale, one of the rougher places in Chicago. He escaped his impoverished upbringing by pursuing a career as an inventory clerk. He worked his way up to management in a warehousing company.
“I beat the odds in a big way,” he said as he folded his hands and sat across from me.
“So, what can you tell me about your experience on set that day? Do you know about anything that happened post-production?”
“They made us sign contracts where we would promise not to talk about what we went through with anyone. Still, I’m at the point where I’m not very worried, or I don’t think I should be. I was much younger then, about your age. I lived at the boxing gym and had dreams of going pro. Of course that didn’t happen, but when I wasn’t training I was drinking and doing stupid things that young men do. Bar brawls I didn’t deserve to get away with but somehow did. My mother watched a lot of game shows. Without my knowledge, she submitted my name for consideration to become a contestant. She thought it would make me a better person if I had some kind of hope for helping the family. One besides crushing peoples noses for a living.”
“How did she hear about it?”
“I have no idea. I wish I asked her.”
“How did you find out you were going to go on?”
“Back then, everything was a phone call, so that’s what we got. They flew me out there, I took a taxi to get to the set. It was not a traditional studio. The place was closer to a factory with a fake space ship built inside of it. In the center of the room was a neon triangle with the same spaciousness of a house.”
“How was the game played?”
“Before it started, they told us to write down three things we were good at. I put boxing, organizational skills, and running. Daisy listed hers as poker, math, and long distance swimming. Roy - that was his name, the person in the picture you showed me - put outdoor survival, shooting, and cooking. We would stand at each point of the triangle. We’d get asked a question by the host, and we had three minutes to answer it. If we got it right, they gave us a reward being able to attack one of the other two people using the skill sets we put down. The goal is to make the other two quit by getting enough questions correct. Of course, we went into the game blind to the rule set. Otherwise I may have chosen the most aggressive ability imaginable. Roy won because he chose aptitude with a firearm, which trumps any martial art, whether I like it or not.”
James lifted his pant leg and showed me a scar above his knee.
“At least he was kind enough to not make it a fatal blow,” he said.
I showed him the words written on the back of the newspaper clipping. He shrugged and told me he was unaware, dismissive of it as someone’s scrapped note.
I asked him if he remembered the name of the host or could give me a physical description.
“I don’t remember anything about what we called him, if he even told us what he went by. His hair was black and a pompadour style. He wore a purple suit with a bright orange tie.”
“Two last questions,” I said. “Do you know what happened to Daisy, if she’s still alive? Also, do you recall the address of the place where they filmed the game?”
“I wrote to Daisy twice a year before she vanished. We did have one conversation over the phone, and she told me that bad luck was going to follow the losers of that pilot. There was no media coverage about her passing that I ever saw. As far as the location, sure. I wrote it down in a journal I kept with me even when I traveled. I used to keep track of my workouts and diet regiment back then. Let me grab it.”
3
The location where the Triangle Game took place four decades earlier stood in a squalid part of the city.
I passed the ruins of the old LA zoo on my way to the spot. I contemplated how the sight I was about to take in could not get any stranger. I was wrong.
The building was five stories, but the front only had a trio of stained glass windows. Bullet holes surrounded the casements. The place had a nave roof and flying buttresses on both sides. Multi-colored graffiti littered the outside.
It sat in a neighborhood filled with homeless people who slept on benches.
I went there mid-afternoon. I approached the front and found two locked doors. I scaled around back. I stepped over heaps of trash in the process, and saw an opening in the form of a hole large enough to crawl into.
A surge of adrenaline hit me me as I belly crawled through. I was taking a bet on how there were no cameras, guards or residents who would make a scene out of my trespassing.
It is amazing the rules one will bend for the sake of new content on social media, I opined as I made way into the space.
I turned on the flashlight of my phone and saw nothing but an enormous dusty chamber made of concrete.
I moved into the next room. A hoarders lifetime supply of broken antiques sat. Spray painted devil-horned faces grinned from the ceiling.
What caught my attention the most was a camera’s tripod. It stood alone in the far left corner.
I approached it to get a better look. I kicked aside a bunch of cans. As they clattered away, I looked down and saw a pointed tip of something drawn on the ground.
I removed most of the trash by shoving the majority of it aside and saw what was underneath.
The large triangle, which took up most of the flooring in the chamber, was still there after all these years.
In the center of it was a thin line of blood. I crouched down and peered at it.
The fluid was still wet, and a horrid stench met me. I gagged and recoiled, and in my backing away, my shoulder bumped against a dusty and discarded shelf.
Gunfire rang out.
I did not know if it was outside or near me, but I did not wish to find out. I exited the way I came in with a relentless sprint and drove as far away as I could.
4
A year later, I was finally wrapping up my recording of the podcast. I titled it ‘Three Ways to Die.’
While the name of the series was quite sensational, I felt the story merited a bit of clickbait. I had no followers and was unsure of how it would perform.
I reasoned that giving the story any publicity I could would help me find the lost piece of media. Even if it was on the cutting room floor of that very space I had to leave.
I went to call Grover, to try and collect an email address so I could send him the pre-uploaded production.
A woman answered.
“You’re looking for my father. He lost his life six months ago. Someone killed him. I would appreciate it if you got rid of this number.”
She ended the call less than a second after the last word. She wrote me off as an insurance agent looking to take advantage of a grieving family member.
I paced around my room. Although I did not know him well, I had come to like him, and his gruesome end was not one he deserved. I researched crime news to find out what had happened to him, to no avail.
The newspaper piece I had collected that fateful day sat at the edge of my desk.
I lifted it towards me and flipped it over again. I stared at the words — CC ENVELOPE EXIT.
The sentence was nonsensical. I had applied my own meanings to the gibberish phrase. Like it was a cryptic and silly way of saying ‘outgoing mail.’
I do not know whether it was desperation, a creative inclination or an admixture of both. I decided to run it through an anagram generator I had searched for on the web.
It came up with many phrases, some of them surreal, but the one that popped out to me was EXPECT VIOLENCE.
My stomach turned as I realized how my own personal investigation yielded nothing. I opened the window and was soon exposed to some fresh Sierra air, which was therapeutic but not curative.
I decided to take a long walk. I had been sedentary over the last week due to intensive editing. I figured a jaunt would help me smooth a few psychological knots things out.
I slid my closet door open to try and find a pair of sweat pants.
The sound of thunder reverberated outside. I stared out to find the sky had become overcast.
The closet door creaked even louder than I could remember it having been before.
Orange ties hung on the rack, and a triangle painted a pastel green was visible behind it.

I am actually expecting a lot backlash for this since the majority of the fandom loves the twist lol

Part I: Characters

I.a Sunny
Sunny is the main characters, we spend a good portion of the game exploring his dreams, and even the real world is explored through his perspective.
Sunny tends to dissociate, even before Maris death, as is evident by the excerpt found in the lost library:

"This year, ☐ was lucky enough to get assigned to a desk next to the small window."
"Every day during class, ☐ would gaze listlessly through the opening... at the shadows of the trees, the clouds creeping overhead."
"His mind drifted elsewhere... into his own worlds, his own stories, his own adventures."
"He had a habit of doing this.It was easy for him to get lost."
"Today was the same as any other. ☐ stared vacantly out the small window as the clouds passed one by one."
"Suddenly, a hand playfully slaps his back, snapping him out of his reverie. ☐ looks away from the opening."
"☐☐☐ smiles. He motions that class is over and that it's finally time for lunch. It's pizza day today, and theyneed to bolt to the cafeteria before it's all gone."
"☐'s stomach growls. He looks at the small window one last time."
"He would have to continue his adventure another day."

The dissociative tendencies are very clear, described as his mind being elsewhere.
However, the excerpt also shows off another key-trait: Imagination.
Sunny has extraordinately vivid imagination, as displayed by the entirety of Head Space, as well as his liking of imagining himself and his friends going on adventures, even in the real world, as well as both before and Maris death.
The situation described by the Lost Library is pretty much identical with the real world event involving fighting the recycultists.
One more important, but less dicussed point, is his excellent memory. Sunny can recall the correct order of Basils photographs without failure, even after 4 years of staying inside.
And speaking of the album, he can also accurately recreate their content in Head Space, shown by the HS version containing pretty much the exact same content as the real one, just with the aesthetics adjusted to Head Space. Furthermore, the scribbled out version found in Black Space are 100% identical with the reeal ones, just blacked out with marker.
Considering this, I'd say good memory is an understatement.
I'd go as far as attributing him with Photographic Memory.
But despite this, Sunny forgot something, 4 years ago he repressed something.
And he is aware of this. Dialogue from various HS characters allude to this, and urge him to try and remember:
Stranger:

STRANGER
The truth that you've locked away... You must find it no matter what.
STRANGER
You have to... for the both of us.

Faceless:

FACELESS
Even if you hide something, it will always be there.

Bullet points for Sunny: Prone to dissociation; extremely vivid imagination; amazing memory; knows he forgot something and believes he can recover it
​
I.b Basil
Basil is a very controversial character, receiving a lot of hate, but also a lot of love.
Basil-haters often attribute him with traits such as 'obsessive' or 'manipulative', even though none of these are accurate on closer inspection.
I'll just list of a few of his traits, which will be highly relevant for the crux of this theory, though just indirectly.
- Basil has abandonment-issues. These are repeatedly displyed by franctic pleas for someone to not leave him.
- Basils view of other characters are mostly based on idealization. It is seen through assgining flowers with highly positive meanings to his friends, while ignoring any negatives they might hold.
Furthermore, this behaviour is very prominent in his complete refusal to accept what Sunny had done.
- Basil is also deeply troubled, with latent suicidal ideation and tendencies. The by and large biggest red flag is encountered on '3 Days left', where he says this to Sunny...

BASIL
It's nice to see that you're still around...even if it's only for a little while.
BASIL
Here. Take my PHOTO ALBUM... I want you to have it.

...Basil acts like he is saying goodbye to Sunny, and hands off his most precious sentimental belonging...
...Despite not even knowing that Sunny is moving away.
​
- Basil is highly emotional. He displays extreme emotional reactions when put under pressure or faced with emotional hurt.
The previously mentioned instance of learning of Sunny moves triggers him to run to the bathroom, where he has a mental breakdown.
Judging by dialogue like...

POLLY
BASIL's been going to the bathroom a lot lately. I hope it's not my food...

...and...

AUBREY
And when we got to his room, I tried to talk to him... but he said he had to go to the bathroom and ran off.

...this seems to be his go-to coping-mechanism to deal with stress, and doesn't even seem to be limited to interactions with Sunny.
Furthermore, at the lake-scene, Basil hysterically screams for help, despite the hooligans actively attempting to calm him down, not at all acting hostile towards him.
- Although rare, there is at least one instance of him acting extremely angry, particularily the scene before his boss-fight, and he seems to have huge trouble to contain his anger, actually having to resort to delusional behaviour to quell it.
- Basil displays severe dissociative and psychotic (hallucinations and delusions) symptoms. The dissociation in particular is shown in what appears to be fuzzy memory:

BASIL
A lot has happened since these pictures were taken.Sometimes, it feels like it was all a bad dream.
BASIL
It's hard to remember now, but... I think... at the time...I took photos of what I was most afraid to lose.

Additionally, certain dialogue alludes to severe psychological issues being present prior to joining the friend-group:
Processing img s4afsed5ef3b1...
From the points listed above, the only one I consider to be debatable is the anger-issue. However, the other 5 traits are genuine canon.
Processing img q8mx1difef3b1...
Great, so now we have established for Basil to canonically suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder.

II Plot

II.a Sunnys case

Does Basil have his own White Space and Black Space?
OMOCAT:
The idea of the White Space is based on the ability of some people to completely isolate themselves when a traumatic happens. They isolate their mind and travel through the White Space to relieve their memories. From my personal experience, not everyone it able to do it. If Basil would have had his own White Space it would've been full of disturbing imagery, and, unlike Sunny's, it wouldn't be static but really dynamic with a lot of fast changes. Therefore I don't think Basil would be able to escape his own mind like Sunny does. And that's why his problems manifest in the real world. After all, something exists because of Basil’s idea that it exists in the first place.

Source: OMOCAT interview from Cydonia streaming translated in english : OMORI (reddit.com)
Pay close attention to the part that I highlighted.
OMOCAT openly states that Something exists for the simple reason that Basils believes it to exist to begin with. But if Somethings existence is based on Basils belief, then this raises the question why Sunny can see it, too.
I believe that this cutscene is the answer:
​
Processing gif 5q8azvo6jf3b1...
It seems to me that Sunny only began to be haunted by his Something due to this conversation, in which Basil asks Sunny to remember Something while simultaniously already suggesting what Sunny is supposed to remember.
Essentially, Sunny sees Something because of Basils suggestion of it existing to begin with.
This sets an interesting precedent of Basil unintentionally influencing Sunnys psyche by merely asking a suggestive question.
Another thing to note that this is just a short snippet of this conversation, and that there are more black-and-white cutscenes that display different parts of this particular encounter.
Another one is this:
​
Processing gif 83ofu1h8sf3b1...
This is clearly the first creation of White Space, right?
Wrong.
You see, there are certain special characters explaining the lore of Head Space, one of them being Daddy Longlegs.
He actually has dialogue explaining the creation of Head Space:

DADDY LONGLEGS
You have reached the end of the LOST FOREST... but the beginning of the truth.
DADDY LONGLEGS
I will tell you a story that has been lost through time... a story about the creation of this reality.
DADDY LONGLEGS
In the beginning, there only existed two... the DREAMER and his room.
DADDY LONGLEGS
The DREAMER grew weary of his room and created a door that led to many different worlds.
DADDY LONGLEGS
Walking the path as a visitor to these worlds, the DREAMER would come and go as he pleased.
DADDY LONGLEGS
Slips and falls, tumbles and drops... the DREAMER's curiosity and clumsy exploration eventually led him to a certain world.
DADDY LONGLEGS
One not like the others... one painted with chaos and bathed in darkness.
DADDY LONGLEGS
The DREAMER slowly became filled with dread. Quiet as they may have been, words of malice quietly crept into his mind. Whispering lies, secrets, and truths.

The 'DREAMER and his room...' clearly refers to Sunnys White Space.
Meanwhile, the world 'painted with chaos and bathed in darkness' very clearly refers to Black Space.
This means, according to Daddy Longlegs, that White Space existed way before Black Space. Furthermore, he states that only after Sunnys first encounter with Black Space did he 'slowly became filled with dread', which seems to imply that Sunnys most severe issues started at a later point in time than the creation of White Space.
Now, since White Space already existed prior to Black Space, this creates a problem:
As stated by OMOCAT, White Space exists to provide relief of memory - meaning that Sunny had already repressed memories at this point.
However, if we assume the cause of supression to be 'the truth' about Maris death, both Something and Black Space, and the Black Lightbulb should have already been a thing from the very beginning.
However, this is not the case. The black door as well as the lightbulb make their first appearence in this cutscene.
What this implies to me is that, just like Something, Black Space was created due to suggestions Basil made in this conversation, and subsequently the Black Lightbulb was created to supress Black Space.
In fact, Black Space can be further linked to being the product an external source:
Processing img sjtem9akhg3b1...
White Egret Orchids, at least in this game, represemt the phrase: 'My thoughts will follow you into your dreams.'
Furthemore, Black Space in general is strongly linked to Basil, both due to the overwhelming presence of Stranger as well the fact that it is always Basil that will find the path to 'the truth'.
​
This entire dynamic is very interesting.
Appearantly, there was a period of time in which Sunny was completely free of the influence of both Black Space,'the truth' it contains, and Something.
This might sound crazy, but this seems to imply that all three of Black Space, 'the truth' and Something can be traced back to this conversation, but not any further.
This becomes even clearer when you line up the three cut-scenes in the order they appear in the game:
​
Processing video aed5qnn9ov3b1...
​
The implication here is that this conversation is what triggered Sunnys Hikkikomori-lifestyle and caused a sharp shift in Sunnys behaviour.
This may be hard to accept, but what is being implied here is that this is the starting point of Sunnys 4 years of agony.
This is extremely weird, since 'the truth' about Maris death is supposed to be the source of his suffering, yet it started only about a few months after her death.
Why did Sunny only become haunted by 'the truth' after this point?
It can't be explained by repression either since a) the Black Lightbulb is required to repress it and b) the Black Lightbulb is what caused his Hikkikomorism to begin with, yet Sunny is stated to have gone to school up until this point and was actually willing to let others reach out to him.
This is a stark contrast to his behaviour after this conversation.
​
The only answer that makes sense is the following: 'The truth' simply didn't exist up until this point, not even in a repressed form.
This scene depicts the literal creation of 'the truth'.
'The truth' in it's entirety is an idea that Basil put into Sunnys head.

BRANCH CORAL
A hanging black light bulb... the repression of an idea.

It is openly stated that the Black Lightbulb is not the repression of a memory - that is White Spaces purpose - but in fact the repression of an idea.
Additionally, there actually is dialogue hinting at the replacement and subsequent repression of memories:

BLANK Your memories are not free. To gain a memory, another must be shrouded. And yet... All memories will eventually fade.

What I propose is the following: Basil wanted to talk to Sunny about 'the truth'. Now, the problem is that Sunny had already repressed the memories of Maris true death - suicide.
So, when Basil realizes that Sunny doesn't remember... he fills him in, similar to how he recounts the events of Maris death prior to his boss fight.
This is also the reason for the photo at the treehouse: Since Basil believes that Sunny had already 'forgotten' the truth at least once before, he decides to leave him a physical reminder - a photo and the key to the toy-chest.
This is supported by the 'Don't forget... it's in the toy-chest'-message - there is no reason to write a message urging Sunny not to forget about it unless Basil has a reason to believe Sunny might forget about it to begin with.
Now, Sunnys got a huge problem - since he already had repressed his memory at this point he had no way of falsifying Basils account. And since he trusts Basil, he makes the wrong choice and believes him.
Subsequently, this triggers the creation of both Something and Black Space.

Quiet as they may have been, words of malice quietly crept into his mind. Whispering lies, secrets, and truths.

This is referring to Basils words during this conversation.
Even though Sunny tried to repress them, the only thing he achieved is pushing them to his subconscious - where they then rampaged rampaged and grew in strength over the next 4 years.
In essence, this constitutes a case of both False Memories and Shared Delusional Disorder.
​
And it makes sense. You remember the characterization of Sunny at the beginning of this post?
Well, check this out:

Greater creative imagination and dissociation are known to relate to false memory formation. Creative imagination may lead to vivid details of imagined events. High dissociation may be associated with habitual use of lax response criteria for source decisions due to frequent interruption of attention or consciousness. Social desirability and false memory have also been examined. Social desirability effects may depend on the level of perceived social pressure.
Individuals who feel under greater social pressure may be more likely to acquiesce. Perceived pressure from an authority figure may lower individuals' criteria for accepting a false event as true. The new individual difference factors include preexisting beliefs about memory, self-evaluation of one's own memory abilities, trauma symptoms, and attachment styles. Regarding the first of these, metamemory beliefs about the malleability of memory, the nature of trauma memory, and the recoverability of lost memory may influence willingness to accept vague impressions or fragmentary images as recovered memories and thus, might affect the likelihood of accepting false memory. For example, if someone believes that memory once encoded is permanent, and that visualization is an effective way to recover memories, the individual may endorse more liberal criteria for accepting a mental image as true memory. Also, individuals who report themselves as having better everyday memories may feel more compelled to come up with a memory when asked to do so. This may lead to more liberal criteria, making these individuals more susceptible to false memory.
There is some research that shows individual differences in false memory susceptibility are not always large (even on variables that have previously shown differences—such as creative imagination or dissociation), that there appears to be no false memory trait, and that even those who have highly superior memory are susceptible to false memories.

How convenient. This is literally Sunny. Sunny displays all of these traits.
Sunny is morbidly predispositioned to aquire False Memories, especially due to his great trust in Basil, his best friend.
Additionally, 'recovering repressed memories' is notorious for confabulating False Memories:

However, when memories are "recovered" after long periods of amnesia, particularly when extraordinary means were used to secure the recovery of memory, it is now widely (but not universally) accepted that the memories have a high likelihood of being false, i.e. "memories" of incidents that had not actually occurred.

And there actually are fairly strong hints that can be interpreted as Sunnys recovered memories being memories that were imagined at Basils suggestion:
​
Processing img 6whr115l7n3b1...
Processing img 13x2utk98n3b1...
A basic, common yet effective technique to determine memories as either dreams or imagined events is to look for inconsistencies, either with reality or among the memories in question.
And there are several inconsistencies to be found in those photos.
The problem with this procedure though is that such inconsistencies can be dismissed as simple oversights on the developers side, meaning that this is 100% percent dependent on ones willingness to interpret them either as inconsistencies or a developers oversight.
But for the purpose of this theory I'll continue under the former assumption.
And these are the inconsistencies I found:
​
Processing img vdlj795han3b1...
Truth Photo: Only lower level has vine-pattern, no table bellow the window, hanging photos (Note: The table bellow the window is actually gone in RW present time, but in the past there was one.)
Real World: Both levels have vine-pattern, table beneath the window, photos are on a sideboard.
​
Processing img m6az3bavbn3b1...
Processing img j1l9myucjn3b1...
​
Processing img 8vh1lqzcpn3b1...
Well... no. In reality, it is a sliding door:
​
Processing img 0otxujv6rn3b1...
​
Processing img lfq7am4wzs3b1...
Left photo: Left tree has no branch, right one has one on it's right side.
Right photo: Left tree has one branch on it's right side, right one has none.
​
Processing img aum9y3531t3b1...
Judging by the position of the sun in the photos, the incident is supposed to happen close to sundown.
However, this images shading implies nighttime.
Additionally, Aubrey mentions that Mari was found in the evening. And actually, the neighbours were home.
Or, at least Hero. Hero actually states that he was home in the afternoon of that day.
It is not unreasonable to say that if Hero was home, he would have somehow been alerted of what was hapenning: A crash, a scream, or simply looking out the window to see Sunny and Basil carry a dead Mari.
You know what have not been suspicious at all? Mari, walking across her own backyard towards the tree.
Processing img y16y8reu2t3b1...
​
Processing img j93z2beq6t3b1...
Left: Mari faces away from Basil.
Right: Suddenly, Mari does face towards Basil.
​
As you can see, there are quite a few inconsistencies that can be found in those photos.
​
II.b Basils Case
But up until this point, the only thing I've argued for is that Sunny memory is based on Basils account, and not that the incident in it's entire actually never happened to begin with.
​
Well, let us look at the following question: How realistic, or even feasably possible is 'the truth'?
The answer: Not at all.
​
You see... there is a standard procedure by authorities for suicide-cases.
One, the deceased has the to be officially pronounced dead - and for this, either a doctor or a paramedic is necessary.
The problem is that Mari supposedly fell down the stairs. There absolutely have to be at least bruises. And, in fact, the notesheets that Mari carried while falling are noted to be blood-stained. There also was blood.
The paramedic would find unexplained physical trauma and blood. At this point, they would be required to notify investigative authorities and alert them to evidence of foul play.
Two, in cases of a suicide without a suicide-note, a standard-investigation is carried out, including an obducation.
This procedure is mandatory, and cannot be vetoed even by close relatives.
And even if the investigations would yield no results, this case is more likely to be considered an unsolved homicide rather than a suicide.
​
There's also the matter of physical feasability. Can Sunny and Basil even pull this off...?
Not really.
There's 2 scenarios for this incident. Case I: Basil did it alone and Case II Sunny and Basil did it together.
Case I: Complete nonsense. Basil cannot pull this off.
He's 12 and Mari is 16 and significantly heavier. He's too weak.
The game actually comments on Basils strength, or more percisely his lack of exactly that:

BASIL ... OMORI... You're so heavy...
BASIL Come on... Up the stairs you go...
BASIL Phew... Thank goodness you're awake.
BASIL Are you hurt at all? I was trying to pull you toward this white light at the top of the staircase...

Key word being 'trying'.
This is the scene in question:
Processing img vbf5agr23v3b1...
As you can see, Omori is still lying at the bottom of the stairs. This means Basil didn't even manage to drag him a single step upwards.
Basil completely and utterly failed to even move another 12-yevar-old.
There is no way he can even remotely exert the force necessary to do that to Mari.
​
Case II: Sunny and Basil did it together.
I will concede that if they sling the rope around the branch, and then both of them at once oull at the rope, then they actually can get her to the necessary height.
The problem is the following though:
If they follow this procedure, they still have to fix the rope to the branch.
To do that, one of them has to let go of the rope, scale the tree and then tie the knot.
Now consider this: The setup essentially functions like a ⚖️:
Whatever is heavier at either end of the rope will remain on the ground.
Sunny and Basil together are heavier than Mari.
Either of them alone isn't.
As soon as either lets go of the rope, Mari will plummet, while the other 12-year-old will be lifted of the ground.
Another problem is scaling the tree. Sunny is afraid of heights, to the point that even the staircase is a serious obstacle.
Here's a visiualization of the necessary heights:
Processing img fcjjnly56v3b1...
Height of the branch: ~ Maris height x 1.666
Height of the noose: ~ Maris height x 1.2
​
Lowballing Maris height to the average 1.60m will lead to the following results:
Height of the branch: ~ 2.65m
Height of the noose: 1.92m
​
You can see that 2.65m is pretty high up.
In Basils case, it is actually implied that he is a bad climber due to a fear of height as well:

(5/25):
It's been pretty busy with school lately, but we finally made time to get together and go to the park today. Here's KEL hanging his legs off a tree. He's such a good climber! I wish I was as fearless as him.

This already constitutes a huge problem.
The alternative option is that they first tie the rope to the branch, and only then put Maris head through the noose.
The problem is the height of the noose. They'd have to lift Maris head ~ 1.90m of the ground.
This is problematic, since Mari is dead and thus her body acts like a limp noodle. They'd have to lift her by the head to avoid her body or head slumping over, and this creates a problem of reach.
Mind you that this is a situation in which even an adult would struggle to lift a person of comparable stature to this height.
Can two 12-year-old-boys, who are in a clear state of shock pull this off?
I highly doubt that.
And if we are to assume the scrapped descriptions of the album as a basis, then the case is already clear:
It is impossible, since all problems regarding Case II apply even more glringly to Case I.
​
Now, that still leaves the question on why Basil genuinly believes in this False Memory.
Well, we have talked about Basil and BPD, haven't we?
Well take a look at this:

This paper presents an analysis of dream-reality confusion (DRC) in relation to the characteristics of borderline personality disorder (BPD), based on research findings and theoretical considerations. It is hypothesized that people with BPD are more likely to experience DRC compared to people in non-clinical population. Several variables related to this hypothesis were identified through a theoretical analysis of the scientific literature.
Sleep disturbances: problems with sleep are found in 15–95.5% of people with BPD, and unstable sleep and wake cycles, which occur in BPD, are linked to DRC.
Dissociation: nearly two-thirds of people with BPD experience dissociative symptoms and dissociative symptoms are correlated with a fantasy proneness; both dissociative symptoms and fantasy proneness are related to DRC .
Negative dream content: People with BPD have nightmares more often than other people; dreams that are more likely to be confused with reality tend to be more realistic and unpleasant, and are reflected in waking behavior.
Cognitive disturbances: Many BPD patients experience various cognitive disturbances, including problems with reality testing , which can foster DRC. Thin boundaries: People with thin boundaries are more prone to DRC than people with thick boundaries, and people with BPD tend to have thin boundaries .
The theoretical analysis on the basis of these findings suggests that people who suffer from BPD may be more susceptible to confusing dream content with actual waking events.

If you're interested in this thematic, here's the source.
What this suggests is that people suffering from BPD are significantly more prone to DRC, which is an inability to differentiate between dreams and reality. On top of that, DRC is trongly linked to the concept of nightmares.
And Basil, in fact is hinted to suffer from this by his own dialogue:
​
Processing img kk3tofx0fv3b1...

BASIL
A lot has happened since these pictures were taken.
Sometimes, it feels like it was all a bad dream.

Note that he specifically says 'since these pictures were taken' - in the timeframe he describes, Maris death is included.
​
If it wasn't clear before what I was getting at with this, by now all the pieces should have fallen in place.
Yes, I am suggesting that the plot of OMORI is not some sort of murder-mystery, but instead a tragic tale about two boys who were completely ruined by a mental hell that exists exclussively in their heads.
Essentially, I am arguing that 'the truth' is a Red Herring, and that taking the obvious conclusion at face-value is a fallacy.
​
Here's a general outline for the backstory:
​

At the day of the recital, Mari commits suicide.
Sunny and Basil are the ones to find her. Both develop PTSD. Additionally, Basils BPD drastically worsens due to his trauma.
A few months pass. At an unspecified point during this time, Basil has a terrible nightmare influenced by his trauma, and due to BPD-related DRC mistakes it for a genuine memory.
He goes on to talk about 'the truth' to Sunny. Many reasons are possible: He just wants to comfort him, or maybe he did so in a desperate hope that Sunny would deny this memory to be true.
But Sunny has amnesia. And he is morbidly predispositioned to develop False Memories at other peoples suggestion. And since he has no way of debunking Basil recounting of that day, he accepts it as true.
Meanwhile, Basil had noticed Sunny to have 'forgotten' about 'the truth'. So, to ensure that Sunny does not do so again, he tapes the key to the back of one of his photos, and leaves the 'Don't forget'-message on it's back.
Basils influence on Sunnys vulnerable psyche has triggered the creation of Black Space (Note how the door to BS is located in a field of White Egret Orchid, which represent the phrase 'My thoughts will follow you into your dreams' Black Space is Basils suggestion following Sunny into his dreams).
In order to subdue it, he creates the Black Lightbulb, and starts to shut himself off completely.
4 years of silence follow, and in the meantime, 'the truth' rampages in Sunnys subconscious and grows in strength, as implied by both Stranger and Daddy Longlegs.
At the night of '3 Days Left', Sunny actively tries to remember 'the truth' and destroys the Black Lightbulb.
This causes the 'idea' that Basil unknowingly planted in Sunnys mind to resurface full-force.
What follows is a Sunny 'remembering' a False Memory, based on Basil account of the events. The photos are from Basils POV, in a book labeled 'Basils Memories', and are riddeled with inconsistencies and impossibilities.
Additionally, Basils claim of 'Something behind Sunny' having killed Mari is actually based on a truth: Since Something=Mari, this means 'Something killed Mari' is correct, just twisted beyond recognition.

I'd like to add that this theory also solves certain plot-issues rather nicely, and offers concrete conclusions rather than vague interpretations and shallow symbolism.
Specificall the key and photo in the treehouse, as well as the the meaning of the White Egret Orchid come to mind.
​
There is just one question left unanswered:
Mari.
Why?
​
II.c Mari
Well...

BASIL Aww, MARI... I wish I could be more like you! You always seem to have everything under control.
MARI That's not true at all! It just seems that way from the outside!

The implication here is that Mari has more going on than she lets on.
Additionally, she expresses a certain strong belief:

MARI
Everyone... I know it's tough right now, but we have to stay positive! We should all try to be like BASIL! Even when BASIL is upset, he always manages to smile.

She essentially says that one should suck it up and smile regardless.
This behaviour is dangerous.
If you actively try to cover up your problems up with toxic positivity, other people cannot offer help, and may result in those problems becoming worse and worse. This behaviour would explain why nobody saw it coming.
Mari is also a perfectionist.

Researchers have begun to investigate the role of perfectionism in various mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders and personality disorders, as well as suicide. Each disorder is associated with varying levels of the three subscales on the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale. For instance, socially prescribed perfectionism in young women has been associated with greater body-image dissatisfaction and avoidance of social situations that focus on weight and physical appearance.

Perfectionism is known to be a great contributor to both mental disorders and suicidal ideation.
I already have a specific disorder in mind, but more on that later.

Perfectionism is increasingly considered to be a risk factor for suicide. The tendency of perfectionists to have excessively high expectations of self and to be self-critical when their efforts do not meet the expectations they have established, combined with their tendency to present a public image of flawlessness increases their risk of suicidal ideation while decreasing the likelihood of seeking help when it is needed. Perfectionism is one of many suicide predictors that affect individuals negatively via pressure to fulfill other- or self-generated high expectations, feeling incapable of living up to them, and social disconnection.

This is pretty much the behaviour I have previously described.
In this context, it would make sense for Maris suicide to come out of nowhere due to a tendency to hide their problems and social disconnection.
Social disconnection is acually hinted at at least twice.

(9/9):
SUNNY giving MARI a big hug! MARI doesn't come home until late now because she's taking extra classes to prepare for college. Me and SUNNY have been hanging out a lot, but I'm sure he still misses her a lot.

According to Basil, Mari doesn't come home from school until very late. Furthermore, she appearantly barely gets to spend any time with Sunny, despite him being her brother and literally sleeping in the same room.
Subsequently, she probably gets little to no time to spend with the others either, including Hero.
This is further supported by the Black Space II area known as 'Mari is home':

AUBREY
Hey, OMORI... I think your sister is ignoring us. Maybe you should go talk to her.
KEL
We can't have a picnic without MARI!
HERO
MARI hasn't been home in a long time... She just needs some room to adjust.

According to Aubrey, Mari is ignoring them. This hints at increased social isolation on Maris side.
Heros wording also brings us to the next topic:
​
Adjustment Disorder.
Adjustment Disorder is in essence very similar to depression, but caused by an accute psychologic stressor. The disorder usually disappears once the offending stressor is terminated and the person manages to 'adjust' to the situation. The type I am suggesting is essentially very similar to Burnout.
Adjustment Disorder poses a strong risk-factor for suicide, especially if it is in conjunction with perfectionism.
Mari was extremely stressed in the months leading up the recital:
​

Mine and MARI's school books. MARI has been coming home late because of cram school. She must be tired...

Maris parents are sending her to cram school, which causes Mari to come home very late.
It is reasonable to assume that the majority of her free-time, most notably the weekends, were probably consumed by practicing for the recital.

A table lamp. MARI has trouble sleeping, so she reads books before bed. I often turn off this light for her after she falls asleep.

It is openly stated that Mari has problems falling asleep. This serves to make mental exhaustion and depressive tendencies even worse.
​
The way I see it, Mari was under constant and extreme pressure in the time leading up to the recital. Her busy schedule impeded on her social life, and combined with a prefectionist tendency to try and keep up an image of flawlessness resulted in her problems to go unnoticed by the others.
The closer the recital came, the more the pressure on Mari increased. She wanted it to be perfect, but since only the weekends are left to practice, this severly limited her opportunities to practice.
However, Sunny hated the practicing, and he also hated Mari locking herself away on the piano for hours at a time.
This conflict caused an alienation between the two siblings.
​
All of those issues combined provide both a realistic and believable reason for Maris suicide as well as an explanation as to why nobody saw it coming.
All in all I'd say that this alternative interpretation of 'the truth' greatly increases Mari depth as a character based on actual in-game evidence.
​
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
That should be about everything. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments.
​
What do you think about this theory?
While I certainly expect a lot skepticism, I think that at the very least I have proven that this is fairly substantiated, realistic, and narratively compelling alternative interpretation of OMORIs plot.
Before you ask, yes, I do headcanon this.
I particularily like the subtle hints, and howthe characters personality, relationships and backstory fall in place very conveniently.
A lot of little details on their own can be dismissed very easily, yet together they converge to a very powerful argument.
Essentially, I love that this interpretation re-defines 'the truth' as an ingenious Red Herring.

Deuteronomy 32:1-52
1 Listen, you heavens, and I will speak; hear, you earth, the words of my mouth. 2 Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.
3 I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! 4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.
5 They are corrupt and not his children; to their shame they are a warped and crooked generation. 6 Is this the way you repay the Lord, you foolish and unwise people? Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you?
7 Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you. 8 When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided all mankind, he set up boundaries for the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel. 9 For the Lord’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted inheritance.
10 In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye, 11 like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft. 12 The Lord alone led him; no foreign god was with him.
13 He made him ride on the heights of the land and fed him with the fruit of the fields. He nourished him with honey from the rock, and with oil from the flinty crag, 14 with curds and milk from herd and flock and with fattened lambs and goats, with choice rams of Bashan and the finest kernels of wheat. You drank the foaming blood of the grape.
15 Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; filled with food, they became heavy and sleek. They abandoned the God who made them and rejected the Rock their Savior. 16 They made him jealous with their foreign gods and angered him with their detestable idols. 17 They sacrificed to false gods, which are not God— gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your ancestors did not fear. 18 You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.
19 The Lord saw this and rejected them because he was angered by his sons and daughters. 20 “I will hide my face from them,” he said, “and see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children who are unfaithful. 21 They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols. I will make them envious by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding. 22 For a fire will be kindled by my wrath, one that burns down to the realm of the dead below. It will devour the earth and its harvests and set afire the foundations of the mountains.
23 “I will heap calamities on them and spend my arrows against them. 24 I will send wasting famine against them, consuming pestilence and deadly plague; I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts, the venom of vipers that glide in the dust. 25 In the street the sword will make them childless; in their homes terror will reign. The young men and young women will perish, the infants and those with gray hair. 26 I said I would scatter them and erase their name from human memory, 27 but I dreaded the taunt of the enemy, lest the adversary misunderstand and say, ‘Our hand has triumphed; the Lord has not done all this.’”
28 They are a nation without sense, there is no discernment in them. 29 If only they were wise and would understand this and discern what their end will be! 30 How could one man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up? 31 For their rock is not like our Rock, as even our enemies concede. 32 Their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are filled with poison, and their clusters with bitterness. 33 Their wine is the venom of serpents, the deadly poison of cobras.
34 “Have I not kept this in reserve and sealed it in my vaults? 35 It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.”
36 The Lord will vindicate his people and relent concerning his servants when he sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free. 37 He will say: “Now where are their gods, the rock they took refuge in, 38 the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up to help you! Let them give you shelter!
39 “See now that I myself am he! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand. 40 I lift my hand to heaven and solemnly swear: As surely as I live forever, 41 when I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand grasps it in judgment, I will take vengeance on my adversaries and repay those who hate me. 42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood, while my sword devours flesh: the blood of the slain and the captives, the heads of the enemy leaders.”
43 Rejoice, you nations, with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants; he will take vengeance on his enemies and make atonement for his land and people.
44 Moses came with Joshua son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people. 45 When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. 47 They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”
​
48 On that same day the Lord told Moses, 49 “Go up into the Abarim Range to Mount Nebo in Moab, across from Jericho, and view Canaan, the land I am giving the Israelites as their own possession. 50 There on the mountain that you have climbed you will die and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people. 51 This is because both of you broke faith with me in the presence of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Desert of Zin and because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites. 52 Therefore, you will see the land only from a distance; you will not enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel.”

(Sentences or phrases bordered with bracket [ ] symbols indicate inner monologue!)Thank you u/SpacePaladin15 for creating this wonderful universe!
The Marching of Time
(Next)
Memory transcription subject: James Willik, Human historian
Date [standardized human time]: July 13, 2165
In my life, I’ve learned the depths to which tyrants will go to keep their power. After the war against the Federation, almost everyone had. For centuries, the Federation had lied, manipulated, stolen, murdered, done anything no matter the moral cost, to keep its citizens in its grasp, to stay in control. But they made one fatal mistake, one misstep that would loosen their hold on their slaves just long enough for someone to step in and challenge them. That mistake was angering Mankind.
When the dust had settled and the bullets had stopped flying, the UN found treasure troves of stolen knowledge all across the home-systems of the founders of the Federation, the Kolshians and Farsul. Endless libraries of atrocities done and culture stolen, of memories erased and lives destroyed. So much irreversible damage done just to keep their people locked in mental chains.
This is why early in life I decided to become a historian. I wanted to uncover and reintroduce the cultures, ideas, and truths that the Federation had wanted to burn to ash. At the age of 19, I was accepted into the then newly opened Meiers Institute of Knowledge. MIK was named after the former leader of the UN, a man who was described as compassionate and caring by nearly everyone who met him, said to be a hero. The MIK was built to let those ideas blossom forth, by providing unrestricted knowledge and education to anyone that wanted it.
During my time at MIK, because of the instruction and guidance provided by my teachers, my distrust of non-humans slowly faded. I made friends and learned things I would remember for the rest of my days. Several years later I reluctantly left the college that had become my home with a doctorate in history.
I’m now 31 years old, and several days ago I received a message from the UN Office of the Historian, stating that I and several others had been invited to the new capitol building on Aafa for a special job offering.
<<>>
As I wake, I notice how cold I feel.[Had I left the window open last night?] I think to myself. I rub my eyes and grab for my blanket, only managing to grab a handful of cloth from my shirt. I open my eyes to properly aim for the blanket this time only to witness an empty room.
No… That isn’t the correct way to describe it…This isn’t an empty room, this is the lack of a room. All around me is nothing but darkness.
I try to lift myself off my bed only to realize there is nothing beneath me. I’m the only matter that I can see in this void.
[What the fuck. What the fuck!?]
I begin panicking as my brain fully switches on, only now am I fully awake and aware of my situation. I flail my limbs around, trying to turn myself around to no avail as I float through the emptiness. I try to take in a breath only to inhale nothing. Vivid memories of nearly drowning at a vacation by the beach fill my mind. The space in my brain is packed full of questions by now.
[Wha- what the hell is happening? Where’s the air? How am I alive? Is this a dream?]
I begin calming down, wildly flailing my arms and legs is going to do nothing for me. A glow begins illuminating the backside of my arms, heating them like warm sunlight. I try to turn around, somehow managing to do so this time.
Light sears itself into my very soul as I stare forward at the object before me. I am seated at the edge of a star, its radiance beaming itself onto me as if it is some divine judge weighing the sins of my heart. Tendrils of superheated plasma ripple around it, like arms through water, effortlessly keeping the orb afloat.
A thunderous whisper echoes through the twisting and winding corridors of my mind. Paradoxically seeming both deafening and silent simultaneously. It is in a language I have never heard before and yet I understand the message all the same.
“Find us. We await.”
<<>>
For the second time today, I wake up. This time I am in my warm bed in my home on Venlil Prime. The memory of the star does not fade away, as the imagery in my dreams usually do.
I stretch and drag my legs off the side of the bed, acclimating my eyes to the ever-present twilight of the Venlil homeworld. I grab a picture frame holding an old photo of me and my parents off my bedside table. Their smiles warming me slightly. I hug the picture-frame into my chest. It’s been 3 years but I still miss them every day. “I wish you were still here, so much. I hope I made you proud.”
I perform my daily routine and get myself tidy before putting on my clothes. Today is the day that the UN is sending a ship to pick me up. I've gotta look my best if I’m gonna be meeting such important people. I walk through the main hallway of my house, glancing at the art adorning the walls as I pass by. Ever since the knowledge that the Federation has been performing cultural genocide for centuries became public, the market for historians and other professions tasked with discovering the past sky-rocketed. Despite the high pay though, my house was relatively small. A bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room, and some various utility and storage rooms was all I needed. I didn’t need a fancy living-space, that wasn’t what made me happy. What made me happy was the work I was doing for the people of the Coalition. Bringing back art and stories from ancient times, reintroducing species to a past and culture that they could be proud of. THAT was what fueled me.
I looked at my holopad and realized I only had 15 minutes before my ship arrived at the spaceport. I hurriedly filled a reusable cup with coffee and rushed out the door, no time for breakfast. I hopped in my car, buckled my seatbelt, turned my key, and backed out of the driveway onto the street, speeding down the road as fast as the anti-grav engine in my car would allow me. There is no way I’m missing an opportunity like this.
As I drove, the spaceport came into view. It towered above all the buildings surrounding it, making them seem miniscule in comparison. Ships swarmed around the structure like bees around a hive, loading and unloading cargo and passengers alike.
5 minutes.
I drew into a parking space in the underground garage. Removing my key and deactivating my vehicle. I slammed the door shut perhaps a little too hard and locked the doors with my keyfob as I sprinted towards the elevators to the top of the port. It took the lift around 50 seconds to travel nearly 300 stories into the sky. I bolted out of the barely opened doors, startling a Venlil couple and nearly knocking over an older looking man wearing a suit. I blurted out an apology and quickly said I was late before dashing off, the man looking more confused than annoyed.
I took a quick look at my holopad. 2 minutes. As I ran, I glanced at the signage on the walls. 587 588 589 560! I made my way into the hangar, straightening out my tie as I walked through the doors. I tried to hide how out of breath I was, these suits were not made for running. The ship was sleek and quite large, undoubtedly suited for luxury purposes, the UN did not spare any expense for its guests it seemed.
I walked up the boarding ramp and as the airlock opened, a man stood there to greet me. He was an older gentleman, slightly taller than me. He smiled and outstretched his hand. “Hello, I take it that you’re James! The ship is ready for you to depart. My name is Harold and I’ll be your attendant for the flight. ”He spoke enthusiastically with a southern drawl. I grasped the man’s hand and shook it. “I hope I didn’t take too long to arrive.” “Don’t worry son, you’re fine. It’ll take a couple days to reach Aafa so make yourself comfortable, down the hall behind me is the bar, lounge, and eating area, and further down are the sleeping quarters with accompanying bathrooms. ”Before I could respond, Harold spoke again. “There’ll be another passenger onboard, allow me to take you to them.”
The man stepped aside and followed as I walked down the hall to the lounge. The room was quite large, filled with expensive looking furniture and art. To my right was a small dining table and beyond that a kitchen. I looked to my left and felt my heart skip a beat as I locked eyes with a small Venlil with speckled white wool and orange eyes. She stared back, looking equally shocked.
“Lemva?”
(Next)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________This is my first time posting on here, any advice on story-presentation or formatting is welcome!

I sat there a while, neatly cushioned under a barely levitating bed. The wooden feet lifted no more than a half inch from the yellow-white carpet I had burrowed into. That was our foxhole, and it was a dingy and lightly damp hidey-hole, too. Wettened, I imagine, from the who-knows-what drip funneling off of ITs back.
I had known IT for years, these spectral bastards for minutes. And I can't describe either set of creatures very well. IT was dipped in some sort of dry ick, and ITs hand was closer to scaly in texture than any other adjectives I can imagine. Trains of thought would run trackless in a gaudy mind trying to wrap 'round what IT was.
There was something really arid about it, like a drought come to life in the shape of a toad. A toad with an ugly laugh and a finnicky knack for limericks.
WHY, I IMAGINE YOU'RE SCRATCHING YOUR HEAD MULLING OVER HOW YOU'VE COME TO BE WED-- FROM A GREAT FLASH OF LIGHT IN THE MIDST OF THE NIGHT, TO THE MONSTER LAID UNDER YOUR BED.
I didn't answer. From a peripheral view I spied IT "pick ITs nose" with a tusk-like tooth, though I'm not sure that's a fair description of the biological butchery then-stumped beside me. I slipped over my hunched arms, peeking from the bottom of the coverlet curtains at our intrusive guests. I reckoned to myself a phrase like "Where the hell did they come from?"
SPEAK ALOUD YOUR MIND, AS YOU OUGHT YOU'RE OFFENDING MY POLKA-DOT SPOTS I'M NOT KEPT FROM YOUR HOME NOR YOUR SORE LITTLE DOME I SENSE YOU WITHHOLDING YOUR THOUGHTS
"Ease up and shut up," I retorted. "Don't let 'em hear us. I don't know what they want." I studied their shadow-dance. Though a midnight flashbang did bring me to my waking senses, the room swelled only with a total darkness, wholly absent of light; save for the gliding of their pitch tendril-limbs through the air.
They floated across my room, casting luminous gleam on this shelf, an inverted afterimage on that desk -- even now, I'm not sure how I knew there were multiple. They shimmered and swooned in a circle around a single glowing red dot, grounded in the center of the room. As they did, an air of acceptance filled my chest.
My curiosity nosedived into my subconscious. It took my situational judgment with it. I felt my body drain of emotional ego, and I became only a spectator. My sense about me distilled into a simple act of witnessing. ITs ugly shape molded towards me, groaning and croaking as an old wooden hatch. IT leaned near my ear, and I felt the puff of ITs rank breath.
OLD NEIGHBORS, OLD FACES, YOU SEE. IN YEARS PAST, I CAME TO BE FREE. I HID GUNG HO WITH AN AVERAGE JOE ALAS, THEY HAVE COME BACK FOR ME.
"You sure? Why you?"
AS SURE AS ONE EVER CAN BE. THEY BROADCAST A DANCE OF DECREE-- THEY COME TO TURN WIGHT AND FORCEFULLY INVITE ME ALONG FOR A GLASS OF BLACK TEA.
By then, my room was no longer my own. My lungs constricted a bit more with each breath, as blasts of warmth permeated the space to every corner. It was growing very hot, in very little time, as gracefully as cooked air might.
Nothing happened to my eye. And yet, I had the sense that my cornea shattered, and a billion little dotty pieces galivanted across my iris. All at sudden once, a million floaters trudged over my sight like a school of ocular fish.
"I get it now."
BORROWED TIME REVERBERATES, LOUD. THE DEBTOR MIGHT BLEND IN A CROWD HE MIGHT ALWAYS RUN HE MIGHT HAVE HIS FUN BUT IN THE END, WE ALL LIVE IN A SHROUD.
"...It's been real."
IT gave me a final proverb.
IT'S ENOUGH TO BE REAL. RIBBIT.
And at the last, a needle popped my bubble, and everything backtracked from that silent business into a state of being like a blown-out candle. A single whistle beat out the river of quiet, and my monster and I were gone.