In the USSR, housing was noted for being unusually nasty. Square, mass produced housing units, called khruschchevka were built, cutting every corner possible, and as cheap as they could be built. The result was undecorated, squarish, and bland buildings. The cheapest Singaporean public housing has a similar squarish, de-greebled design.
Yet I would suspect that most people would like such buildings more than the so-called "gentrification buildings" that developers often make renders of. Beyond that, I believe that using the style of architecture exemplified by Poundbury in the U.K would also be a good way for developers to get more buy-in for their proposed projects, as the "classical" style of architecture is far more positively received than "modern" architecture.
I end up dividing architecture into 3 categories, cheap, trad, and modern. And my impression is that, among U.S property coming with new proposals, cheap and trad architecture is virtually nonexistent. I find it bizarre that I so rarely see new developments looking similar to 97 Orchard Street or Queen Mother Square, but rather new designs with a variety of colors and intricate combinations of shapes.
Even if the "modern" architecture proved ultimately a better choice than "trad" or "cheap" architecture, I find it incredibly strange that the 2 latter types of architecture seem to so rarely be showcased in new housing developments proposed by developers.
In particular, the latter styles seem limited to non-democratic polities: Poundbury was a new city built on the initiative of the current King of England, who exercised large amounts of control over the design and architecture, and Singapore and the USSR, homes of "cheap" architecture in their government housing programs, weren't terribly democratic. Considering that they seem to be quite widely accepted by the general public, why aren't their styles more widespread in new developments in democratic countries?

​
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Here is the footage, for those who don't know:

• The cop who makes the joke about "dealing with the aliens"
• The cop with a legendary mustache
• The cop who saw the falling object

TL;DR: they don't find aliens. Or pranksters. It's interesting that the cops' BS meters weren't tingling.
The cops arrive on scene to find the family in the front yard. The cops ask if anyone saw the alien and they describe the basics you all have heard by now, and take the cops to the backyard. The entire backyard scene is redacted.
After leaving the backyard, the cop with the mustache goes to the street and flags down a car driving by to ask if they "saw anything fall out of the sky." Most of you have probably seen that clip by now. It's interesting to me that he's convinced enough the stop random people. He does tell the passersby that they are hoping it's pranksters or something, but "you never know."
After he's done talking to the random family driving by, he gets in his car and searches the nearby area. Presumably for pranksters, as aliens would fly away in their spaceship. He doesn't find anything in the area and returns to the family's home.
The other cop has been at the home for this whole time, but his footage is redacted until just before the cop with the mustache returns. I really want to know what happened during this time, because when the audio comes back in the cop is saying that he's creeped out and has the chills.
Also worth mentioning is that the falling object looks crazy. I've never seen anything falling out of the sky with that sort of color and rotation. Looks nothing like a shooting star or crashing human object that I know of. The size of it makes it hard to believe that it's a meteorite, but I'm not an expert on what meteorites look like when they come down. I think if it caused a streak of that size in the sky, an obvious rock would have been found.
I also find it weird that the only impression of the falling object was a shallow circular rut in the gravel. The object looked like it was falling with some velocity. The family's behavior in the video doesn't raise any red flags for me though, they do seem like they saw something unknown.

All these knives come with original boxes
Timestamp
VIDEO 1
VIDEO 2
Full Immunity (First Production)
LNIB
Bought out of curiosity. Never cut with or carried it. Will probably try a different color way at some point.
SV220
Benchmade TaggedOut
LNIB
Completely unused. Smooth action and great centering.
SV135 SOLD
Spyderco Manix LW Spy27
Completely unused. Swapped the wire clip for a lynch clip. Lynch clip has some minor signs of wear on it. Wire clip not included. Comes with box and docs.
SV125
Chaves Ultramar Liberation Street Flipper DP S35VN Titanium w Green Micarta Inlay
Mint condition. Hard to find these older discontinued versions without some kind of wear on them. Great for custom work.
Back when the skull clip was done right imo
SV270
Boker Dessert Warrior XL
LNIB
Unused. This thing is big.
SV85 SOLD
PayPal FF CONUS Only No Trades
Thanks for looking!

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 75%. (I'm a bot)

China has reached a secret deal with Cuba to establish an electronic eavesdropping facility on the island roughly 100 miles from Florida, the Wall Street Journal has reported, but the US and Cuban governments cast strong doubt on the report.
The countries have reached an agreement in principle, the officials said, with China to pay Cuba "Several billion dollars" to allow the eavesdropping station, according to the Journal.
Brig Gen Patrick Ryder, a US defense department spokesperson, said: "We are not aware of China and Cuba developing a new type of spy station."
The reported deal comes as Washington and Beijing are taking tentative steps to soothe tensions that spiked after a suspected Chinese high-altitude spy balloon crossed the United States before the US military shot it down off the east coast in February.
The Biden administration has pushed to boost engagement with China even as ties have deteriorated over disputes ranging from military activity in the South China Sea and near Taiwan, Beijing's human rights record and technology competition.
The Soviets installed a spy base on the island at Lourdes, just south of Havana, in the mid-1960s, with parabolic antennas aimed at Cuba's northern neighbor.

Summary Source FAQ Feedback Top keywords: Cuba^#1 China^#2 report^#3 spy^#4 state^#5
Post found in /worldnews, /qualitynews, /RedditSample, /AutoNewspaper, /TheColorIsBlue and /GUARDIANauto.
NOTICE: This thread is for discussing the submission topic. Please do not discuss the concept of the autotldr bot here.

Selling stuff for money. Bundle deals are absolutely welcome and appreciated. Prices were pulled from pricecharting & verified with recent, like-condition sold eBay listings.
Game Boys

• Game Boy Color: Full mod treatment: New aftermarket atomic purple shell, purple membranes, transparent green buttons, slider and IR sensor. Q5 IPS v2 with brightness/screen controls via touch pad at the top of the console. Pics $175
  
• Game Boy Color: Full mod treatment: New aftermarket white shell, black buttons, Q5 IPS screen. Pics $170
  
• Game Boy Advance SP: Aftermarket screen (I honestly don't remember which one I put in here), shell, buttons, and battery. Pics $175
  
• Game Boy Advance: Indigo, dropped in an AGS-101 screen and used the original housing, but replaced the lens. Pics $175
  

PlayStation Games & Consoles Take all the PS2 games for $180$130, take all the PS3 games for $58$40

Title	Console & Notes	Price
Console PlayStation 2 Slim SCPH-90001	Loose	Comes with OEM A/V, OEM black controller & a power cord. Tested & works great. Feel free to include any 5 of the $4 & less games for this purchase price. $90
Console PlayStation 3 CECHE01	Mostly complete in box in quite nice condition 80GB backwards-compatible console, never been opened (original thermal paste, so take that as you will), reset to factory default at software 4.81. Comes with original box (matching serial number to console in decent condition, some wear, tear on the bottom corner), instructional inserts, cardboard inserts, Sixaxis OEM wireless controller (no mini USB cable unfortunately), power cord (no HDMI). Pics	$400
American Chopper	PS2	$5
Arctic Thunder	PS2	$5
Cabelas Big Game Hunter 2005 Adventures	PS2	$3
Call of Duty: Finest Hour	PS2	$4
Call of Duty: Finest Hour (Greatest Hits)	PS2	$4
Conflict Desert Storm 2	PS2	$7
Crash n' Burn	PS2	$5
Eragone	PS2	$4
Flatout	PS2 (loose)	$4
Flatout	PS2	$7
The Getaway	PS2	$5
The Getaway (loose)	PS2	$3
Guitar Hero 2	PS2	$10
Hitman 2 (Greatest Hits)	PS2	$8
IHRA Drag Racing 2	PS2	$3
Jet Li Rise to Honor	PS2	$4
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Greatest Hits)	PS2	$4
Madden 07	PS2	$4
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater	PS2 (loose)	$8
MX Unleashed	PS2	$5
MX vs ATV Unleashed	PS2 (loose)	$5
NBA 2K9	PS2	$3
Pop Cap Hits Vol 1 Bejeweled & Astro Pop	PS2	$4
Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (Greatest Hits)	PS2	$8
Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal	PS2	$10
Smackdown! vs. Raw	PS2	$10
Smuggler's Run	PS2	$5
SRS Street Racing Syndicate	PS2	$5
Starsky & Hutch	PS2	$5
Strike Force Bowling	PS2	$4
Tetris Worlds	PS2	$5
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 02	PS2	$3
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 05	PS2 (loose)	$3
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06	PS2	$3
TOCA Race Driver 2	PS2	$5
Tom Clancy Ghost Recon	PS2	$4
Tom Clancy Splinter Cell	PS2	$4
Trigger Man	PS2	$3
World Championship Poker	PS2	$5
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3	PS3	$5
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Base game with map)	PS3	$10
Grand Theft Auto IV	PS3	$8
Killzone 3	PS3 CIB	$5
Little Big Planet Greatest Hits	PS3	$5
Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe Greatest Hits	PS3	$8
Rocksmith	PS3	$5
Rock Band 2	PS3	$8
Sports Champions	PS3	$4
Rock Band 4: Rivals	PS4 - Includes unredeemed Rivals code	$65

Nintendo Games & Consoles

Title	Console & Notes	Price
Skylanders Trap Team/Swap Force/Lego Dimensions	Wii U Bundle - CIB	$10
Hip Hop Dance Experience	Wii (loose)	$25 Yeah, I know
LEGO Star Wars The Complete Saga	Wii	$5
Price is Right	Wii (loose)	$3
Spongebob Squarepants: Creature from the Krusty Krab	Wii - CIB	$10
Super Smash Bros Brawl	Wii Pics	$10
Wii Play	Wii	$5
Wii Sports	Wii	$15
Horsez	NDS CIB	$4
Imagine Fashion Designer	NDS CIB	$4
MahJong Quest	NDS CIB	$4
My Farm: Around the World	NDS CIB	$4
Mario Kart 7	3DS (loose)	$10
Quad Desert Fury	GBA CIB	$5
Lion King	SNES	$8
Tiny Toons Adventures: Buster Busts Loose	SNES	$10
Accessory Wavebird DOL-004	NGC - No receiver, no battery back cover, tested & works well	$20
Accessory Lot of GBA(SP) Parts	As is - no motherboards. Tons of buttons, OEM shells, etc. See photos for details.	$100

Xbox Games Take all for $18$10

Title	Console & Notes	Price
Grand Theft Auto IV	X360 - Platinum Hits	$10
MLB 2K9	X360 - CIB	$3
NBA 2K12	X360 - CIB	$5

Cases *No games, just cases & inserts on games that originally had them.

Title	Console	Notes/Price
Kirby Star Allies	NS	$4
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe	NS	$4
Splatoon 2	NS	$4
Super Mario Party	NS	$4
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions	3DS	(Red case, some liquid marking on the artwork) $10

Shipping costs are not included in prices and will be calculated based upon location. Thanks for looking!

There is nothing. No sound, no smells, no darkness. All that exists is a vast openness of white, a blinding, expansive non-existence, where all that remains is pure, unfiltered light. There is no corner of the vast openness where the light is absent, no room for darkness to hide, to escape the seemingly hungry emptiness.
Suddenly, the world glitches slightly. It is for less than a second, but a hint of gray slices through the sky, warping the world around it with the sound of static. But like everything else, the gray is devoured, blinking out of existence as white becomes the only color again.
The small glitch in the world, the spark of gray in blankness left something behind. Something reformed, floating there, alone in the emptiness. It was motionless, asleep, as still as the world around it. Then it awoke.
Memories instantly began to flood back, memories of fighting crime, of loving, of feeling loved. The figure remembered it all, including its name, Haxxalon the Star Archer.
Haxxalon opened his eyes, or at least he thinks he did, the whiteness so bright that darkness didn’t even take him while asleep. His first thought was that he must have been captured by a villain of some sort, a villain that destroyed earth, maybe destroyed the entire universe.The villain could possibly be searching for the star bow, a weapon powerful enough to fire stars into space. It wouldn’t be the first time a villain attacked him for it. Haxxalon would just need to figure out how the villain attacked earth and reverse it.
Haxxalon brought his arms up, trying to regain his sense of sight by focusing on something not white. The problem is, there is nothing. Haxxalon can feel his arms move, but he doesn’t see anything. Haxxalon screams, or at least the sound of screams comes out, as Haxxalon doesn’t feel his mouth move. A sudden feeling shivers down Haxxalon’s spine and he touches his face.
Nothing.
Haxxalon’s face is mere skin, there are no grooves, no holes: it’s all simply soft skin. Haxxalon feels his heart start to beat in his chest, the constant beat fighting against the oppressive silence of the world.
Then… something strange happens. For a split second, Haxxalon swears he sees a drop of blue for a second. A second later, he sees it again. Small sparks of blue electricity fly around and off of a circular object, an object that Haxxalon is sure is his arm. He doesn’t have electricity powers, and yet, that is certainly blue lightning.
Haxxalon barely has time to process that as between the beats of his heart, he hears something. It’s faint, and non-aggressive, conversational in tone. He can’t make out what the figures are saying, but he’s sure there is more than one. The noise is getting closer.
Haxxalon shifts his body, turning around slowly, ready to encounter whatever captured him.

Doom Patrol Presents:

Can’t Escape the Flows of Time

Created by: u/DarkLordJurasus
Produced by: u/brooky12 and u/predaplant
Ambush Bug paces back and forth across the dry grass, his strides large and fast. It has been ten minutes since the Doom Patrol passed out, and Irwin is still as unsure of what to do as he was when the team originally went unconscious.
On his pacing path, Irwin crosses over to Larry, and slightly pushes at him with his foot. Larry begins to tilt, the brown and green backside of his bandages, stained from the grass and dirt, begin to show themselves, as Irwin removes his foot. Larry’s body shifts back to his laying flat on his back.
Irwin sighs in defeat. That was his fourth time trying that, and the third person he tried it on. He’s not going to try it on Robotman, so it looks like he is out of luck.
Ambush Bug looks out at the horizon, the light blue sky, the large, everpresent sun. Retconn hasn’t arrived yet, and Irwin can’t quite tell if that is a good or bad thing. Maybe the six of them lost Retconn, or maybe the company is biding their time for a larger assault on the team.
Behind him, Irwin hears a groan. It’s deep, and yet, sounds like a voice that was autocorrected one too many times. Irwin turns around as other groans join the first, the team has woken up.
Being the first to awake, Cliff Steele, Robotman, is the first to rise from his position on the ground. Looking around, he asks, “What the everloving fuck just happened?”
Niles Caulder replies, “That’s an interesting question Cliff. To answer that though, we must make sure that we all had a similar experience.”
Rita, Elasti-Woman, responds, “I, I remembered everything. It was like a flood of memories unlocked. I still remember what was implanted, what Retconn wanted me to think my past was, but they seem more distant, but…”
Steven Dayton, Mento, continues, “It feels different, like a movie I saw just yesterday. Still burned into my mind with clarity, but not me.”
Rita nods and looks at Steven. For a moment their gazes lock, their hands slightly touching. Rita is the first to cut their gaze, and jerks her hand back. A sadness enters Steven’s eyes as he nods and looks forward.
Niles nods, “I had quite a similar experience.” Niles stills for a moment, his fingers gently stimming on the arm rests of the wheelchair. “It’s possible,” Niles slowly continues, his mind still working as the words exit his mouth, “It is possible that when our specific atoms reintegrated themself into their reality or origin, we essentially experienced a system wide reset, our minds regaining the memories that were originally wiped.”
“Uhm,” Irwin pipes up, “I’m not a scientist or anything, but from the little I understand about multiverse travel, that doesn’t make much sense.”
Niles sighs and stares down in thought. Picking his head back up, he says, “Until today, I thought of the multiverse as a purely theoretical concept, a mere thought experiment. In truth, there can be hundreds of different reasons for our memory recovery, and each one would be just as plausible as the last.”
The whole team is silent again, their thoughts on the insanity of what is happening. Between all of them is an air of uncertainty, and for some, an air of mourning, their memories telling a story that ended without them even being aware.
Larry, looking down, bitterly asks, “Where’s Arturo or Mallory when you need them.”
Silence once again overcomes the group, but only for a moment. Eyes widening, Larry doubletakes, “Did I just make a reference to Sliders? How the hell do I know what Sliders is, that wasn’t a show before Retconn appeared.”
Larry turns to look at Niles who guesses, “Maybe reality is trying to reconnect us to it through inserting popular culture and current events into our brain?”
Seeing unconvinced faces, Niles sighs, “I don’t know. Let’s just go with multiverse magic for now. That makes as much sense as anything else I’ve seen or learned in the past few days.”
For the first time since waking up, Cliff begins to speak, “Yea, real nice conversation, and maybe a different day I’d give two shits about it, but right now we are standing in the middle of nowhere, and I for one would like to get out of here.”
Upon hearing that, Niles smiles, “Now, that is one problem I do have an answer to.”
Looking out to the open expanse, Niles calls out, “Danny, old friend. This is Niles Caulder. I am in need of sanctuary.”
For a moment, nothing happens. The grassy land remains the same. Irwin and Cliff both look ready to make a comment, but stop due to Niles holding up a single finger.
Then, two large Public Access Speakers grow out of the ground, towering over the assembled team in size. From them, the song “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond is playing.
Buildings begin to rise from the dirt in front of the Doom Patrol, both small and large, these buildings grew out of nothing, seemingly not affecting the ground beneath it. At first, all are monochromatic white, but as the taller buildings begin to rise, color blossoms throughout the seemingly growing civilization.
The buildings are each unique and different, some looking more typical in design, others covered in expertly made graffiti, and some even looking like random buckets of paint were thrown haphazardly onto the walls.
Billboards are plentiful, advertising everything from makeup, to planned get togethers. One of the largest advertises a bar having a Drag event for later that week. Strangest of all was the empty billboards that seemed as plentiful, if not more so than the ones that had advertisements on them.
As the final buildings settle, people begin to rise from the ground, most of them mid-movement of conversation. It does not seem they even realize that they moved, and that is because they don’t; the action so invisible to them, that they don’t even acknowledge it.
Everyone seems happy and aware of their surroundings, although there is the occasional incident of knocking over each other due to conversation or looking at the phone. The reason for the air of happiness may be due to their clothing though. Reds and pinks make up the majority of the clothing, and even for those without, navy blue is more common than pure black, although the streets are not without darker colors entirely. A few people in the crowd look as if they shop exclusively at Hot Topic, and despite their clothing choices not meshing, many are conversing happily with someone else in brighter colors.
The last thing to appear is a sign right outside of the new residential area saying, “Welcome! You Are Accepted Here.”
Quietly, but not as quietly as he wanted, Cliff says, “What the fuck?”
Hearing Cliff, Larry quietly agrees with Cliff’s verbal thought.
Continuing to smile, Niles rolls over to the sign and says, “Danny, I must say thank you for coming in such a timely fashion. It is great seeing you again, have you expanded since the last time we met?”
The sign welcoming the team changes, the words, “Hello Niles. Where have you been? It’s been a long time.” appearing.
Niles nods, his smile becoming slightly strained, “Yes, it has been around 60 years, hasn’t it? The story is long and quite strange, but I promise I will tell it to you in its entirety. First, do you think you can get us a place to regroup?”
The words on the sign quickly change again to say, “Your house is still vacant, Niles. After all you did for me, keeping a place empty for you in case you ever returned was the least I could do.”
Niles nods. “Thank you,” he says, before gesturing for the rest of the team to follow.
The team walks through the street, no one around them giving them a second look of shock or fear. To the other people there, the Doom Patrol does not look an ounce out of place. If that’s assuring or worrying, well, Larry is not quite sure.
Finally breaking the silence of the group, Steven gasps, “A talking street is…” Steven stops himself, not wanting to call the new seemingly-sentient street he is on an it, but not knowing what else to call Danny.
Seemingly knowing why Steven stopped, Danny responds on one of the empty billboards, “You can use they/them when referring to me. I don’t necessarily mind being called other pronouns, but I’m not an it, or a thing, and I don’t feel any more masculine or feminine than I would imagine other cities or towns would feel if they were alive.”
Steven nods, but decides to address Danny directly, “You are obviously fully sentient, but does that mean you have a brain? What about other organs? How do you see?”
It takes a second longer than the last response did, Danny replies, “I am not quite sure. I see, but at the same time, I don’t see like how people have described seeing to me; it is more an echolocation than sight. I have energy impulses going throughout me at any moment, but if that is a brain, or if that is just the energy keeping me alive, I can not say. If I do have organs, they are so well hidden, that I do not even recognize them as such.”
Steven nods at the information as both Larry and Irwin open their mouths to ask a question. Cliff beats both of them to it though as he asks, “Do you have a bar?”
A white arrow appears on multiple billboards, pointing Cliff to a place called Danny’s Bar. Cliff gives a stiff, curt nod and walks away from the group towards it.
Larry is quick to follow, but Niles grabs his arm, whispering to him, “Cliff needs some time alone before he will appreciate your presence.”
Larry nods and continues to walk with the group.
—-----------
Hours later, Larry walks into the bar, a fresh, clean, set of radiation-proof bandages on Larry’s body. The bar is huge, with a lot of people doing a myriad of things. Some are playing pool and billiards, others are singing karaoke, some are hanging out with friends, while others are trying to find someone to spend the night with. It didn’t take long for Larry to find Cliff though. Even in the dimmer light, Larry is able to see Cliff, the golden bronze contrasting with the rest of the bar.
Cliff is sitting at the bar, his metal face staring down at the dark wood. There is a beer in both of his hands, and a good dozen or so empty bottles scattered around him. He is silent, taking a large gulp from the beer in his right hand every ten seconds or so.
Larry walks over and gently places a hand on Cliff, unsure if Cliff will even feel the action. “It’s time to go.” Larry says.
Cliff shakes his head, “You can go, I’m staying here.”
Larry tries again, “The team needs you. We need to figure out how to- -”
Cliff slams his drinks against the table and looks up, his robotic eyes still not facing Larry, “What team? There is no fucking team. We had our lives stolen from us by a fucking TV network.”
Larry responds, “That’s why we need to stick together, we need to ensure Retconn can’t take us again.”
Taking a swig of the right beer, Cliff asks, “What if I want Retconn to capture me again?”
Larry is silent, unsure of how to respond. Cliff lets out a roboticized noise that sounds like a sigh. “I had a daughter.”
Cliff stops for a second, recollecting his thoughts. “I had a god damn daughter,” Cliff continues, “When she was born, when I saw her bright smile and innocent eyes, I swore to be a better dad than my own father. I would be in her life, make sure she knew she was loved. Then I left her.”
Larry softly tells Cliff, “It wasn’t your fault.”
Cliff lets out a roboticized laugh. “But it was. I got in a crash drinking while driving, and I woke up in the show with a robot body. Sure, Retconn kidnapped me, but if it wasn’t for Retconn, I’d be dead, I still would have left her.”
Larry says, “I’m sorry.”
Cliff shakes his head, so lost in thought that he doesn’t hear Larry, “It was almost better with Retconn. Sure, I wasn’t human, but I was a hero, I was Robotman, not the deadbeat dad Cliff Steele. I failed Clara, I failed the only thing that mattered to me.”
Cliff’s left metal fist grips the bottle so hard that it smashes in his hand. “The worst part is, for the hours I’ve been in here, I don’t feel any more tipsy than when I came in. I’m still sober, my mind is still functioning, I’m still remembering. This body can’t get fucking drunk, and I hate it.”
Cliff places down his right beer, and lets out a robotic, metallic sigh. “I’m tired,” Cliff finally relents, “Maybe I can get buzzed with enough persistence, but it isn’t happening tonight. I’ll meet you back at Niles’ house, Larry.”
Cliff walks out of the bar, his stride slow and methodical. Larry sits there for a moment stunned. Larry debates buying a drink, but remembers the bandages wrapped around his skin make doing so impossible. Instead he just sits there for a moment. Larry begins to watch, the four women singing off key in the corner, the guy trying to do a cool darts trick to impress his girlfriend, two guys kissing.
Larry’s skin begins to curl as he watches the sight, his head pounding. He needs to get out of there now. It’s clumsy at best, but Larry begins making his way to the door, struggling to not focus on the memories attempting to resurface. He ends up knocking into a chair, and not even seeing who is there, mumbles out a “Sorry” as he continues to move. He needs fresh air, he craves it. Finally the doors to the bar close behind him, and Larry collapses on the front steps, memories forcing their way to the front of Larry’s mind.
—--------------------------------------
Larry stood in front of the door to his house, his body frozen solid. For a moment, he thought he couldn’t do it, he thought about running away, running away from the screaming, the crying, the cursing, and the occasional slapping. He’s endured it for over a month now, and it hasn’t lessened, he isn’t sure how much more he can endure.
He wanted to scream that it isn’t his fault, that’s it’s not his fault God made him wrong, broken. He doesn’t though. He only ever said something like that once and it led to his father punching him, not slapping him or spanking him, but straight up punching him. Since then, Larry had made sure to repeat what his parents told him. It wasn’t God that made him wrong: Satan was the one to give Larry temptation, and Larry was the one to sin by kissing that boy under the bleachers.
Larry opened the front door, cringing at the noise of rusted metal. There was no chance he could get by his mother without more screaming and crying.
But the screams never began. Instead his mom ran up to him and held Larry in her arms, tears running down her face.
Startled, but not necessarily disliking this change in behavior, Larry asked, “Mom, what happened?”
Larry’s mom responded through sobs, “I-I went to the pastor today and told him about you. Larry, he said he can help you. He told me there is a special summer camp he runs that can help fix people like you, Larry…a camp that can bring kids back to the path of God.”
—---------------------------------
Larry is broken out of memory as the door behind him swings open. A darker skin gentleman with stubble walks out holding a glass of water. The man is wearing a light pink shirt that greatly contrasts with his brown eyes and black hair. Walking down the step, the gentleman sits down next to Larry.
The two sit in silence for a minute, until the man says, “I saw you getting out of there fast. It was my chair you knocked into.”
Larry opens his mouth to respond, but the man beats him to it, “Honestly, it’s fine. Just thought you may need something to drink.”
The man holds up the glass of water, but Larry shakes his head, “I can’t really take off the bandages, but thank you anyway.”
The man gives a curious look, “Is it like plastic surgery or something?”
Larry nods, not really wanting to go into it, “Something like that.”
The two sit in silence for a moment. Letting out a sigh, Larry says, “Listen, I’m sorry, it’s just- -”
The man cuts Larry off, “Something inside messed with you. You don’t have to explain.”
Taking a sip of water, the man continues, “Danny picked all us strays up because the world doesn’t want us. Here, the past is healed and mended, for us to be what we want, and live how we want.”
Larry replies solemnly, “That sounds nice.”
The man nods, “Don’t sweat your reaction today. Healing takes time, and no one is going to fault you if you accidentally bump into a chair on the way to progress.”
Larry is silent, conflicted. On one hand, the idea of being accepted is nice, on the other, well, what if Retconn was punishment for his sin? What if his family was right, what if he doesn’t deserve to be healed?
Standing, Larry says, “Thank you- -” Larry stops, realizing he doesn’t know the man’s name.
The man rises with a smile, “My name is Morris Mingo.” Morris holds out his name for Larry to shake.
Larry shakes the man’s hand, “Larry Trainor.”
“Well Larry,” Morris says, “I hope to see you again, hopefully under better circumstances next time.”
—---------------------
Back at the Nile’s house, or better to say mansion, Rita and Steven are staring at two doors, each going to separate rooms.
Their hands are intertwined unconsciously, their bodies filled with uncertainty. Rita is the first to talk, “I’m sorry. I know we’ve been married for so long, but it just feels…”
Rita doesn’t finish the sentence, not wanting to make the words feel more real by their exiting of the tongue. Instead it is Steven that ends the sentence, “Like everything changed.”
Comfortable silence permeates the room as the two turn to look at each other. “I still love you.” Steven says, his voice almost a whisper.
Tears threaten Rita’s eyes as she responds, “I love you too.”
For both of them, the desire to kiss the other is strong, but both resist. “How about,” Steven suggests, “We start from square one? Build back up to what we once had, that way the new us can get to know each other.”
Rita gives a light smile, “Are you asking me on a date, Mr. Dayton?” she asks in a joking, yet sincere, tone.
“I believe I am. Ms. Farr.” Steven responds in the exact same tone.
Rita’s smile brightens, “Then, I accept.”
A joyish feeling washes over both of them as they go to sleep. They almost don’t recognize the fact that this will be the first time they are sleeping alone in over sixty years as they drift off to sleep.
—--------------
Niles is sitting in his living room parler alone with Irwin. Rita and Steven went up to rest, while Cliff and Larry still haven’t returned to the house.
The two are watching the news, as Niles scribbles on a pad of paper. Irwin asks, “What are you writing?”
Niles stops his scribbling for a moment as he responds, “I am attempting to create a timeline of current events through the news and any books Danny has in order to tell if there are any gaps in the new memories I have.”
“Already?” Irwin asks, “I would think you would be busy processing your memories, not immediately analyzing them for falsehoods. If I learned about my past, first thing I would do is try to connect with it.”
Niles waves Irwin off, “I’ve processed enough. I can’t dilly dally with reminiscing. Retconn could arrive any second, and I refuse to be caught unaware.”
Irwin thinks for a minute, before getting up. Seeing Niles look at him curiously, Irwin explains, “I’m getting a piece of paper myself. Two people trying to understand current events should hopefully make the deciphering process faster.”
Irwin walks away in order to grab paper and a pen, hoping that the help will make Niles’ stress lessen.
Doom Patrol #5- Consequences of Broadcast Televisionl
Author: u/DarkLordJurasus
Book: Doom Patrol
Arc: Another Multiverse Story?
Set: 85
A Retconn Production

City of the Fab Four, Flying high Liver among clouds and sky,
And caverns low below city streets, Playing show after show after show to those seeking hallowed ground.
A city invented if not founded with all aspects of rounded civilisation, Yet known to most, its own proud nation of salt water and stone.
As step by step, side by side, walking astride into the future, never alone. A city of wonder, familiar, yet unknown.
https://www.reddit.com/OCPoetry/comments/144e1pw/colojnf7nyy/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3
https://www.reddit.com/OCPoetry/comments/144ca4t/loveundefined/jnf84tx/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3

Check out our full Durham events calendar.
If you'd like to add an event to our calendar, submit an event here. Please check with the event organizers to see if events change due to weather. Have a great weekend!

American Dance Festival

BODYTRAFFIC at Reynolds Industries Theater

• Widely acclaimed for its “peerless dancers” who “can do it all from hip-hop to ballet” (LA Dance Chronicle), the company is composed of artists who received their training at some of the finest schools throughout the world, and its smashing repertory includes the works of renowned contemporary choreographers.
• Thu, Jun 8 at 7:00 p.m.
• Sat, Jun 10 at 7:30 p.m.
• $27-43

2023 ADF Fête at Parizäde

• Dance the night away with BODYTRAFFIC and enjoy delicious food and drinks.
• Thu, Jun 8 at 9:00 p.m.
• $150

Rennie Harris Puremovement American Street Dance Theater at Page Auditorium

• The acclaimed work Nuttin’ But A Word by Rennie Harris pushes the boundaries of street dance vocabulary and forces its audience to view street dance through a different lens. Challenging the viewer’s perspective of street dance or Hip-hop dance and its culture, Nuttin’ But A Word takes you on a dramatic and abstract journey while twisting, matching, juxtaposing, and pulling vocabulary and music in ways unimaginable. Harris chooses to end this work in a traditional Hip-hop celebration, which Africanists may refer to as the Bantaba.
• Friday, Jun 9 at 7:30 p.m. ($30-45)
• Saturday, Jun 10 at 1:00 p.m. (Children’s Matinee - $12)

Multi-Day Event

Triangle Restaurant Week

• A week-long celebration of culinary excellence designed to incorporate the premier Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and surrounding area restaurants
• Participating restaurants offer special three-course menu options and fixed pricing
• No reservations, tickets, or passes are required
• Today - Jun 11
• $20-50

Venue Weekend Schedules

Events at DPAC

• Thu, Jun 8 at 7:30 p.m. - Indigo Girls with Full Band
• Fri, Jun 9 at 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. - Shane Gillis

Events at The Carolina Theatre

• Fri, Jun 8 at 8:00 p.m. - The Monti: Freak
• Sat, Jun 10 at 9:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m. - Dancing Through the Decades

Events at The Pinhook

• Fri, Jun 9 at 9:00 p.m. - Severed Fingers / Austin Lucas / DJ Melanoma
• Sat, Jun 10 at 8:00 p.m. - Burlesque: The Rainbow Connection – Boom Boom’s Big Gay B-day Review
• Sat, Jun 10 at 10:00 p.m. - No Visa X The Conjure
• Sun, Jun 11 at 8:00 p.m. - Kym Register + Meltdown Rodeo / Tami Hart / Dunums

Events at Motorco Music hall

• Thu, Jun 8 at 6:00 p.m. - Drag Trivia

Events at The Fruit

• Fri, Jun 9 from 2:00am - Sat, 10 2:00am - SUB: Terranean
• Fri, Jun 9 from 10:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m. - HOUSE OF HER : An All Girls Pride Party
• Sat, Jun 10 from 9:00pm - 2:00 a.m. - Cosmic Gate

Live Music at Blue Note Grill

• Fri, Jun 9 at 6:00 p.m. - The Duke Street Dogs
• Fri, Jun 9 at 9:15 p.m. - Crones of Anarchy
• Sat, Jun 10 at 7:30 p.m. - Addison's Playworld / Durham High Get-Together

Events at Moon Dog Meadery

• Thursdays - Free Board Games
• Thu, Jun 8 at 7:00 p.m. - Trivia
• Fri, Jun 9 at 8:00 p.m. - 2nd Friday Blues Dance Night
• Sat, Jun 10 at 8:00 p.m. - An Offering to Bragi

Live Music at Sharp 9 Gallery

• Fri, Jun 9 at 8:00 p.m. - Angela Bingham w/Jim Ketch Quintet
• Sat, Jun 10 at 8:00 p.m. - Frankie Alexander Quartet

Events at Arcana

• Thu, Jun 8 - Pridechata and Tarot with Rene
• Fri, Jun 9 - Queer Joy: A Party and Fundraiser for Bodily Autonomy and Tarot with Virginia
• Sat, Jun 10 - Tarot with Heiltje
• Sun, Jun 11 - Jay Hammond & Quran Karriem and Tarot with Emily

Events at Rubies on Five Points

• Thu, Jun 8 at 8:30 p.m. - Step Friends with Gentle Junior, Megabitch
• Fri, Jun 9 at 10:00 p.m. - Renaissance Disko Presents: Body Tempo
• Sat, Jun 10 at 9:00 p.m. - Shallow Cuts: Mad Mix Beyond Thunderpop!

Events at Durty Bull Brewing Company

• Thu, Jun 1
  • 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. - Food Truck: Tacos Mama Chava
  • 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. - Thursday Trivia with Nick
• Fri, Jun 2
  • 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. - Food Truck: Tacos Paradise
  • 8:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. - Open Mic Stand-up Comedy
• Sat, Jun 3
  • 12:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. - Food Truck: My Taste of Caribbean
  • 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. - Durty Dog Day
  • 4:00 p.m - 6:00 p.m. - Live Music: Peridot Sun
  • 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. - Bull Durham Screening Series
• Sun, Jun 4
  • 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. - MotoGP Watch Party
  • 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. - Hammered Trivia with Thor

Live Comedy at Mettlesome

• Thu, Jun 8 at 7:30 p.m. - The Uproar, a sketch comedy show
• Thu, Jun 8 at 9:00 p.m. - Standup Comedy Open Mic
• Fri, Jun 9 at 7:30 p.m. - The Uproar, a sketch comedy show
• Fri, Jun 9 at 9:00 p.m. - Well Seasoned
• Sat, Jun 10 at 6:00 p.m. - Improv 101 Graduation Showcase
• Sat, Jun 10 at 8:00 p.m. - The Racket - Pride Edition!
• Sat, Jun 10 at 9:00 p.m. - Sounds Gay, I'm In
• Sat, Jun 10 at 10:00 p.m. - The Alphabet Hour

Events at Glass Jug Beer Lab in RTP

• Thu, Jun 8 from 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. - Beer Garden Jam Sessions
• Fr, Jun 9 from 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. - RTP Food Truck Fridays
• Sat, Jun 10 from 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. - Beer Garden Jam Sessions

Events at Glass Jug Beer Lab in Downtown Durham

• Thu, Jun 8 from 7:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. - Live Music in the Taproom
• Jun 8-11 from 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. - Weekend Food Trucks

Thursday, Jun 8

Thirsty Thursdays at Dashi

• Each month Dashi's Thirsty Thursday drink specials revolve around a monthly theme – spirits, cocktails, special ingredients, brand, location, etc. – with new sips every Thursday. Learn more about upcoming themes on their website or visit them in person – there's always something new to try from their expansive bar!
• 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Vinyl Night with DJ Deckades at Gizmo Brew Works

• Enjoy fresh vibes on the patio with DJ Deckades. Bring your own vinyl to share or just listen to what the DJ is spinning.
• 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
• Free admission

Boulders & Brews Meetup at Triangle Rock Club - Durham

• Show up and climb at TRC Durham, then head over to Hi-Wire for some brews. Don't worry if it's your first time or haven't bouldered before; everyone's welcome.
• Your first visit to the gym with the Meetup includes free admission and gear rental, and subsequent visits with the meetup are $15 and include harness rental (outside of meetups, day pass rates of $19 apply and do not include rentals).
• 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Trivia Night w/Big Slow Tom at Clouds Brewing Brightleaf Square

• Join Clouds Durham for Big Slow Tom's Trivia Night, every Thursday. Win some prizes, drink some beer, and show your smarts.
• Enjoy $4 select draft and $5 rotating bartender's choice all night.
• 7:30 p.m.
• Free admission

Friday, Jun 9

Tasting at Ten at Counter Culture Coffee

• Every Friday morning at 10 am, Counter Culture Coffee opens their Training Centers to coffee lovers who want to learn more about Counter Culture Coffee’s high-quality, sustainably sourced menu.
• 10:00 a.m.
• Free, but donations accepted

Saturday, Jun 10

Durham Farmers’ Market at Durham Central Park

• The Durham Farmers’ Market offers locally grown fruits and vegetables, meats, eggs, cut flowers, artisanal cheeses and breads, home-baked pies, honey, handmade chocolates, preserves, local wines, handmade soaps, fresh pasta, and artwork of all sorts!
• 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
• Free admission

South Durham Farmers' Market at Greenwood Commons Shopping Center

• The market strives to support new and growing farms and vendors in the greater Durham area, and they are also home to some of the most iconic Durham brands around.
• 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
• Free admission

parkrun Durham at Southern Boundaries Park

• A free, fun, and friendly weekly 5k community event. Walk, jog, run, volunteer, or spectate. It's up to you!
• 8:00 a.m.
• Free admission

Crafternoons at Gizmo Brew Works

• Free pint with purchase of craft box. Choose from a variety of craft packages available for all ages.
• 12:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Sunday, Jun 11

Al Strong Presents Jazz Brunch at Alley Twenty Six

• Al Strong, the Grammy-nominated jazz trumpeter, composer and recording artist, will bring a rotating lineup of musicians to perform during Sunday brunch at Durham's Alley Twenty Six. Weather permitting the band will perform in the bar’s namesake alley.
• Brunch from 10:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
• Music 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Food Truck Rodeo at Durham Central Park

• Most trucks accept credit cards but an ATM machine is on site as well. Free parking is available in nearby lots. Bring a blanket or a lawn chair so you can enjoy a relaxing and enjoyable Durham afternoon with friends and family.
• 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
• Free admission

Public Tour at Duke Chapel

• Learn about the history, architecture, and life of Duke Chapel in this tour, which is free and open to the public. The tour begins at 12:15 p.m., or immediately following the conclusion of the Sunday morning service, and lasts approximately forty-five minutes.
• No reservation is required but if you plan to bring a large group please notify us in advance. Meet the docent on the front steps of the Chapel.
• Paid parking is available on a first come, first served basis in the Bryan Center Parking Lot at 125 Science Drive. ADA parking is available in the Bryan Center Surface Lot at the same address.
• 12:15 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Trivia at Navigator Beverage Co.

• Hosted by the Triangle’s Trivia team, Hammered Trivia, gather your team and post up to compete for prizes and enjoy an afternoon of great drinks, great friends, and great games.
• 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
• Free admission

Running Art Exhibits

upstART Gallery: A Jim Lee Project at Pop Box Gallery

• upstART Gallery will host its first group show at Pop Box Gallery & The Art Chose Me’s residency in Old East Durham. The show features 27 artists who were selected through an open call review process. Artists were challenged to create work especially for this unique space, scaled 1:12 (one inch = one foot).
• Wed-Sat from 12:00 p.m - 6:00 p.m.
• Runs through Jul 1

Exhibit at 21c Museum Hotel

• Truth or Dare: A Reality Show
  • Runs through March 2024
• Open 24 hours
• Free admission

“Extra-Spectral” at the Durham Art Guild Truist Gallery

• This exhibit highlights several NC-based artists that, on the surface, use colors that are “extra” (which is where their commonality ends) to evoke their intent through a combination of this color with forms and imagery as well as the concepts embedded in color’s many identities. Artists Jane Cheek, Jerstin Crosby, Zach Storm, Tonya Solley Thornton and Leif Zikade all require color to play a primary role in their work and their relationship to an audience.
• Mon–Sat from 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. and Sun from 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
• Runs through June 4
• Free admission

Donna Stubbs, Featured Artist at 5 Points Gallery

• 5 Points Gallery in downtown Durham introduces a new exhibit featuring the work of our member artist, Donna Stubbs. Donna uses an archaeological approach to painting, as she lovingly photographs her surroundings and unearths discarded items in thrift stores to create abstract mixed media works.
• Free admission

Chieko Murasugi & Renzo Ortega at Craven Allen Gallery

• An exhibition featuring both abstract and figurative works by two artists with international backgrounds. The SEQUENTIAL exhibition invites the observer on a visual journey, generating an organic relationship between the artworks and the gallery's visitors. Through the dynamics of color, form, ideas, and narratives, Chieko Murasugi and Renzo Ortega seek to generate a dialogue and the experience of art appreciation with the audience.
• Sat, May 20 at 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. - opening reception
• Runs through July 8

Spirit in the Land at the Nasher

• Spirit in the Land is a contemporary art exhibition that examines today’s urgent ecological concerns from a cultural perspective, demonstrating how intricately our identities and natural environments are intertwined. Through their artwork, 30 artists show us how rooted in the earth our most cherished cultural traditions are, how our relationship to land and water shapes us as individuals and communities
• Tue-Fri from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Sun from 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
• Runs through Jul 9
• Free admission

Andy Warhol: You Look Good in Pictures at the Nasher

• Andy Warhol: You Look Good in Pictures explores the breadth of the artist’s relationship with photography through several distinct bodies of work including screenprints of celebrities, all of which were taken from photographs, a group of Polaroids and black and white snapshots illustrating his social circles, and an early silent film of the curator Henry Geldzahler from 1964.
• Tue-Fri from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Sun from 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
• Runs through Aug 27
• Free admission

Art of Peru at the Nasher

• This gallery features ceramics, textiles, metalwork and carvings produced by ancient cultures across what is known as present-day Peru.
• Tue-Fri from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Sun from 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
• Runs through Dec 2
• Free admission

With the recent news that a potential consortium of players may boycott their NIL being included due to the $ amount being too low, I propose this as viable options and am curious what the community thinks.
HOW REAL ARE THE PLAYERS, REALLY?
As great as it could/would be to have a roster full of real players on day 1 so we can play as our favorite players and give them virtual glory - real players in a college game is not cental to the overall experience. When we talk about building a dynasty, we do not talk about making sure Jake Plaster, 3-star QB out of Dunedin, FL, who is going to be a true frosh at Florida Atlantic this year, wins a Heisman. We talk about turning FAU into a ACC or SEC powerhouse.
Don't get me wrong, the story we could create with Jake Plaster would be a fun one. But if you're not already a FAU fan, or from Dunedin, FL, would you know if I just made this guy up? Because I did. The actual player is Luke Rucker, 3-star QB out of Sanford, FL.
If we had real rosters with the game, in any given dynasty a maximum of 5 "real" players are going to win the Heisman. Most of us will play for 10, 12, 15, 30 years of a dynasty. Being able to watch the real Luke Rucker do well in college football might be cool if we did something great with him. Or he could be a total flop, transfer to a FCS team after his frosh year, convert to Safety, and end up a sales executive for John B. Stetson hat company in 10 years.
​
THE FOCUS IS THE SCHOOL, NOT THE PLAYERS
What I think we want out of our college football game is that FAU feels like FAU, and Alabama feels like Alabama.
I'm a pretty big college football fan, have been for the better part of 30 years. I'm a Mizzou guy, was at school there in the 90s when Larry Smith was the coach and Corby Jones was our QB and we played in some great games. I was a season ticket holder with my dad for the entire Gary Pinkel era, I earned a reputation among Mizzou online communities for making highlight videos of Mizzou's games from 2006-2010ish, and even contributed a bit to the beginning of www.rockmnation.com with Bill Connelly before Rock M became a part of SB Nation's huge surge and Bill Connelly became the force of nature he is.
I say all of that to say that I don't have a clue who is on Alabama's roster without looking it up. I can name a few players, sure, but I have no idea really. And I'm willing to bet we're all in this boat - we know who some of the big players are, but if you're going to start a new dynasty with Troy you MIGHT know one of their players unless you're already a Troy fan.
What I do know about Alabama is that they should have as much talent on the field as any team in college football. I know Bryant-Denny Stadium is huge, and should be sold out for every game, and have a sea of crimson and cream other than the visiting fan sections in the seats. I know their chants, I know their fight songs, I know they have good looking cheerleaders because it's the south, and I know they expect to win every game they play.
And that's what CFB24 should be aiming at. NIL of the real players isn't icing on the cake. It's not even sprinkles on the icing. It's getting rainbow sprinkles instead of all one color.
​
ROSTER PARAMETERS ARE THE ANSWER
CFB24 and beyond, just like its predecessors, will be great in part if the game is good at generating a balance of realistic fictional players for years to come. If we can't get that, then the rest of this is all meaningless.
In the past, and especially those of us old enough to remember the days even before DT Linder, etc., either named the rosters ourselves or just played with WR #81 for a couple of years. And just like one of my above paragraphs pointed out, it didn't matter that we didn't know his real name because we didn't know his real name anyway. He may have been just like the real WR #81 on that team, but honestly we have no idea. And it was fine because the game was fun.
So, making the assumption that the game is capable of creating balanced, realistic, fictional players - lean into it.
The game, at startup, should create fictional rosters for every single team. Every one of us will get a different roster to start. Each player will have a name, height, weight, skin tone, number, hometown, abilities, style, uniform combo, etc. But it's procedurally generated from the start, so any similarities will be purely coincidental and will never repeat.
Each team can be hardcoded for year 1 to have certain parameters their roster should meet, and it will make schools feel authentic from the start.
Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Ohio State, etc., should be full of players that were recruited as 4-star and 5-star players out of HS, with 3-star players filling the depth chart. You can easily find data from the past 10+ years showing what a typical class breakdown looks like for schools to break it down to what % of the roster is RS SR, SR, RS JR, JR, RS SO, SO, RS FR, FR. What % of the roster is a certain position to meet their current play style. What % of the roster is from home state, vs neighboring states, vs the rest of the country (which will help make Pipeline States feel accurate for recruiting).
So when you start your game, and you get a QB1 at USC named Michael Moss, wearing #5, that is a RS SO, standing 6'3" weighing 225 lbs, is from Las Vegas, NV, is a 86 OVR and looks like a new version of Cam Newton, how many of you are going to take to the streets because "BUT THAT'S NOT CALEB WILLIAMS!"
Of course it's not Caleb Williams. But he's a stud QB at USC, the band is playing 'Fight On' as he runs out of the tunnel and the Trojan is stabbing his sword into midfield, thousands of USC fans have 2 fingers in the air, and you're about to put a beating on UCLA. You're already trying to recruit his replacement because Michael Moss is leading the Heisman Hopefuls for you this season, and as a RS SO he's sure to go Pro after the year you're having with him. And that 5-star Athlete is going to make a great QB.
And by year 2 the rosters are 25% fiction anyway.
I'd say just lean into it and start them fictional from day 1.
The most important thing we can get is the schools are represented accurately and believably. It's not about the players, and honestly never has been.

Hello everyone! Thanks for waiting, and we have now reached the final round of our Album Survivor. For our last round, yall have chosen to eliminate....
Hands on Me
This song is an absolute highlight not just of the album, but in Vanessa's discography as well. I've always saw this song as a older sister song to A Thousand Miles: both are overdramatic love songs but Hands on Me takes a more colorful imagery and mature approach in its lyricism, and the way Vanessa makes love sound like a supernatural experience is anazing. The layering of the instruments here also enhance the dramatic narrative of the song
And with that, we have our final two:
Tracks remaining:

• Nolita Fairytale
• Heroes & Thieves

Place	Song	Votes	Percentage
3rd	Hands on Me	5/11	45.4%
4th	Fools Like Me	4/9	44.4%
5th	Home	4/9	44.4%
6th	Come Undone	5/10	50%
7th	More than This	4/11	36.3%
8th	My Best	5/9	55.5%
9th	The One	3/8	37.5%
10th	Spring Street	2/6	33.3%
11th	This Time	3/7	42.8%

LINK TO VOTING FORM

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NOTE: This is a remake of the list I made way back in 2022, and it can be found here: https://www.reddit.com/BokuNoHeroAcademia/comments/vx4z7h/providing_some_characters_ideal_real_names_in_my/
Keep in mind that some entries on the list have their names changed over time because of, well, reasons. Check the old list for comparison.
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Providing some characters’ ideal real names in My Hero Academia whose real names are currently unknown and are only referred by their aliases.
Have you ever wondered what the real names of some characters in My Hero Academia may be? There are some who are only refered by their aliases and not their real names. For example, we know that Cementoss’ real name is Ken Ishiyama (石山堅), but Ectoplasm’s real name is unknown. So I thought I would compile a list of characters, whether heroes, villains, or neutral, whose real names are not revealed in any form of media, whether they are anime, manga, game, or light novels. Keep in mind that I made up all of the ideal real names by myself (with my limited knowledge of the Japanese language). We’ll wait if Kohei Horikoshi decided on some of the names to be designated as official real names, so there could be a possibility that if a real name is already revealed and is different from mine.
Crimson Riot: Masayoshi Shinkuyama (真紅山正義, しんくやま まさよし)
Shin (真) means true, Ku (紅) means crimson or deep red, Yama (山) means mountain, Masa (正) means correct or justice, and Yoshi (義) means righteousness. The surname Shinkuyama means deep crimson mountain, which explains his hero name. The given name Masayoshi means justice, since Masayoshi is an alternate reading of Seigi, which also means justice. His sense of justice, and to an extent, chivalry, is what motivated the life of Eijiro Kirishima on his path of training to be a pro hero.
Lunch Rush: Godan Ransei (蘭生五旦, らんせい ごだん)
Ran (蘭) means orchid, Sei (生) means raw or genuine, Go (五) means 5, and Dan (旦) means daybreak. His name is a play on British chef celebrity Gordon Ramsay, only if you mention the name in western order, since Japanese names use the surname-first, given-name order, making his name Ransei Godan instead. The Go in Godan likely refers to the 5 tastes – sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami, while Dan refers to breakfast, which is ironic considering that his hero name is Lunch Rush. The Sei in Ransei also likely refers to his signature insult.
Snipe: Hokori Toki (東木埃, とうき ほこり)
To or Higashi or Azuma (東) means east, Ki (木) means tree or wood, and Hokori (埃) means dust. The surname Toki roughly means “east wood”, a reference to American actor Clint Eastwood, who is known for starring in old west and spaghetti western films. The surname is also homophonous with time in Japanese, Toki (時), probably as in the phrase “the good old times” or “the good old days”. The given name might be a reference to the “Dust Bowl”, the name given to the drought-stricken Southern Plains region of the United States in the 1930’s, or the Kansas song Dust in the Wind.
Ectoplasm: Kazuhiro Masumi (増見数博, ますみ かずひろ)
Masu (増) means multiply or increase, Mi (見) means to see, Kazu (数) means number, and Hiro (博) means command or esteem or win acclaim. The surname Masumi alludes to his quirk, noting that he can multiply or clone his own self, while seeing multiple directions at once through his clones. The given name Kazuhiro is a reference to his profession, a math teacher in UA.
Backdraft: Kansho Kadome (火止看消, かどめ かんしょう)
Ka or Hi (火) means fire, Dome or Tome (止) means to stop or halt, Kan (看) means to watch or observe, and Sho (消) means to erase or extinguish, the same kanji character in Shota Aizawa’s name (相澤消太). In other words, Kadome means stopping fire, while Kansho means observe while extinguishing.
Uwabami: Mamiko Hebita (蛇田真美子, へびた まみこ)
Hebi (蛇) means snake, Ta or Da (田) means rice field, Ma or Shin (真) means true, Mi or Bi (美) means beauty, and Ko (子) means child. Hebi in Hebita refers to her appearance and quirk, alluding to the Greek mythological figure Medusa. Her given name means true beautiful child.
Gunhead: Kenshiro Tsutsuto (銃頭拳志郎, つつとう けんしろう)
Tsutsu (銃) means gun, To or Atama (頭) means head, Ken (拳) means fist, Shi (志) means will or intention, and Ro (郎) means male. The surname Tsutsuto literally means Gunhead, his hero name. Tsutsu in Tsutsuto is the same reading in Lady Nagant’s real name, Kaina Tsutsumi (筒美火伊那). Although written in a different kanji (筒), which means gun barrel, a reference to her quirk, it has the same connotation as the other one. The given name Kenshiro may be alluded to the main protagonist of Fist of the North Star of the same name, although written in katakana, noting that he is a pro hero whose agency specializes in armed combat and martial arts. Also the Ken in Kenshiro is the same kanji character in Itsuka Kendo’s name (拳藤一佳).
The Fly: Kisuke Koba (小羽黄助, こば きすけ)
Ko (小) means small, Ba or Bane or Hane (羽) means wing or feather, Ki or Ko (黄) means yellow, and Suke (助) means help or assistance. The surname Koba literally means small wings, referring to his appearance and quirk. The Ki in Kisuke means yellow, referring to his blonde hair.
Slugger: Sango Sakagami (阪神三吾, さかがみ さんご)
Saka or Han (阪) means heights or slope, Kami or Gami or Shin (神) means god, San (三) means 3, and Go (吾) means I or my. The surname Sakagami is an alternate reading of Hanshin (阪神), a reference to a popular Japanese pro baseball team, the Hanshin Tigers (阪神タイガース). In the west, the baseball team is primarily (and infamously) remembered for being associated with the curse called “The Curse of the Colonel”, a 1985 Japanese urban legend regarding a reputed curse placed on the baseball team by the ghost of the deceased Kentucky Fried Chicken founder and mascot Colonel Harland Sanders, who passed away 5 years prior at the age of 90. The given name Sango is a play on ’35, the year the Hanshin Tigers were founded, 1935; although the next year, they would be officially formed and have their first season as the “Osaka Tigers”. In 1940, amid anti-foreign sentiment, the Tigers changed the name to "Hanshin" and in 1947 changed the name back to "Osaka Tigers". The current team name was assumed in 1961.
Native: Teppei Nishiriku (西陸哲平, にしりく てっぺい)
Nishi (西) means west, Riku (陸) means land, Tetsu (哲) means philosophy, and Pei or Hei or Hira (平) means flat. The surname Nishiriku means western land, most likely referring to America. The given name Teppei is a play on the word tepee or tipi, a conical tent made by Native Americans.
Selkie: Yasuhiro Hirezaki (鰭崎安洋, ひれざき やすひろ)
Hire (鰭) means fin or flipper (body part), Saki (崎) means cape or peninsula, Yasu (安) means peaceful, and Hiro (洋) means ocean. The Hire in Hirezaki means fin or flipper, referring to his seal physique. It may also be a reference to the Japanese word Kikyakurui (鰭脚類), meaning pinniped. They are a widely distributed and diverse monophyletic group of carnivorous, fin-footed, semi aquatic, mostly marine mammals. They are also commonly referred as seals. In fact, the name "pinniped" derives from the Latin words pinna, meaning fin and pes or pedis, meaning foot, thus giving the literal meaning of fin footed.
Sirius: Miya Otomaru (音丸美弥, おとまる みや)
Oto (音) means sound, Maru (丸) means round, Mi or Bi (美) means beauty, and Ya (弥) means all the more or increasingly. The surname Otomaru means sound around, a reference to her quirk, which allows the user to hear high frequencies around her that humans normally cannot. She uses it to communicate with Selkie when they are far apart. She can also use it to detect the number of people nearby. The given name Miya can be also read as Mimi (耳), which means ear in Japanese, also a reference to her quirk and appearance.
Mr. Brave: Yuichi Kamige (上毛勇一, かみげ ゆういち)
Kami or Ue (上) means up or above or raise, Ge or Mo (毛) means hair, and Isamu (勇) means brave. The surname Kamige literally means raising hair, a reference to his quirk. The given name Yuichi means brave one, a reference to his hero name.
Death Arms: Atsuto Aratake (荒武篤人, あらたけ あつと)
Ara (荒) means rough or wild, Take (武) means military, Atsu (篤) means fervent or serious, and To or Hito (人) means person. The Ara in Aratake and Atsu in Atsuto refer to his serious and rough behavior.
Crust: Mutsuo Tatezaki (盾崎六雄, たてざき むつお)
Tate (盾) means shield (type of personal armor), Zaki or Saki (崎) means cape or edge, Mutsu or Roku (六) means 6, and O (雄) means masculine or male. The Tate in Tatezaki refers to his quirk, shield, which allows him to manifest stone-like, hexagonal shields from their body that could be utilized both defensively and offensively. His given name Mutsuo is a reference to his hexagonal shields.
Yoroi Musha: Takeyoshi Furumoto (古本武義, ふるもと たけよし)
Furu (古) means old or ancient, Moto or Hon (本) means origin or book, Take (武) means military, and Yoshi (義) means righteousness. All of the kanji characters are associated with him. The surname Furumoto can be also read as Furuhon, which means ancient book, possibly referring to old records, text, or illustrations regarding Japanese history and society. The Take in Takeyoshi refers to his hero costume, resembling a samurai, while Yoshi refers to his personality, which is ironic after what happened during the war.
Kesagiri Man: Kenjuro Kuroi (黒井剣寿郎, くろい けんじゅろう)
Kuro (黒) means black, I (井) means water well, Ken (剣) means sword, Ju (寿) means longevity, and Ro (郎) means male. The Kuro in Kuroi refers to the color of his hero outfit, while the Ken in Kenjuro refers to the literal meaning of his hero name - slashing someone with a sword diagonally from the shoulder, Kesagiri (袈裟切り).
Water Hose father: Namihiro Izumi (出水波弘, いずみ なみひろ)
Water Hose mother: Kishiko Izumi (出水岸子, いずみ きしこ)
Knowing that the Water Hose Duo is Kota Izumi’s (出水洸汰) parents, we can obviously assume that they are also named Izumi. Izu (出) means outside, and Mi or Mizu (水) means water. Combined together means flood, Izumi (出水). The surname is also homophonous with fountain in Japanese, Izumi (泉).
For the father: Nami (波) means wave or billow, and Hiro (弘) means vast or wide.
For the mother: Kishi (岸) means beach or shore, and Ko (子) means child.
Nezu: Hideyuki Nezu (根津秀幸, ねず ひでゆき)
Assuming that Nezu is his surname, I would give him his given name only. Ne (根) means root, Zu or Tsu (津) means harbor, Hide (秀) means excellence, and Yuki (幸) means happiness or fortune. His surname is meant to be a play on rat in Japanese, Nezumi (鼠), and his given name is a common Japanese male name, which fits his personality.
Kido: Ryota Kido (貴堂良太, きどう りょうた)
Ki (貴) means noble, Do (堂) means temple or hall, Ryo (良) means good, and Ta (太) means plump or thick. His surname is homophonous to that of his hero name (キドウ) and his respective quirk traject in Japanese, Kido (軌道).
Onima: Junji Onima (鬼馬淳次, おにま じゅんじ)
Oni or Ki (鬼) means demon, Ma (馬) means horse, Jun (淳) means pure, and Ji (次) means next. His surname is homophonous to that of his hero name (オニマー).
X-Less: Mitsuyuki Hoshimoto (星本光行, ほしもと みつゆき)
Hoshi (星) means star, Moto or Hon (本) means origin or book, Mitsu (光) means light, and Yuki (行) means line. His name is a reference to his quirk laser, where he fires energy beams from his right eye.
Shishido: Daisho Shishido (獅子戸大昌, ししど だいしょう)
Shishi (獅子) means lion, Do (戸) means door, Dai or O (大) means big, and Sho (昌) means prosperous or clear. His surname is homophonous to that of his hero name (シシド) and the fact that the first two syllables of his surname fits with him being called the lion hero. Shishido is also an actual surname, but written as宍戸 instead, with the initial kanji character meaning muscles or meat.
Airjet: Hayato Kamizora (上空早人, かみぞら はやと)
Kami or Ue (上) means up or above or raise, Zora or Sora (空) means sky, Haya (早) means early or fast, and To or Hito (人) means person. His surname is a reference to the fact that he can shoot blasts of air above the ground as high as he wants.
Fourth Kind: Shugo Shinomiya (四宮修悟, しのみや しゅうご)
Shi (四) means 4, Miya (宮) means temple or palace, Shu or Osamu (修) means discipline, and Go or Satoru (悟) means enlightenment. The Shi in Shinomiya refers to the fact that he has 4 arms in his appearance. Not a Kaguya reference.
Takeshita: Yoshiyuki Takeshita (竹下吉幸, たけした よしゆき)
This character in the manga and anime is named that way, which is an actual surname, which means I would give him his given name only. Take (竹) means bamboo, Shita (下) means below or under, Yoshi (吉) means good luck or joy, and Yuki (幸) means happiness or fortune. The Take in Takeshita is likely a reference to his unnamed bamboo quirk.
Eel Boy: Teruki Unagi (宇凪輝樹, うなぎ てるき)
U (宇) means roof, Nagi (凪) means calm, Teru (輝) means shine or illuminate, and Ki (樹) means tree. His surname is homophonous with eel in Japanese, Unagi (鰻), referring to his unnamed eel quirk. Interestingly, in My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, there is a character with a similar sounding name, Teruo Unagisawa (鰻沢照生), unrelated to the character above. I made that name up without realization, so I must say it’s almost a coincidence.
Briareos: Gosaku Tezawa (手澤郷作, てざわ ごうさく)
Gyges: Gosuke Tezawa (手澤郷輔, てざわ ごうすけ)
Knowing that the two guards present during the Assault on Tartarus are brothers, we can assume that they share the same surname. Te (手) means hand or arm, and Zawa or Sawa (澤) means swamp, referring to their appearance.
For Briareos: Go (郷) means village or hometown, and Saku (作) means make or prepare.
For Gyges: Go (郷) means village or hometown, and Suke (輔) means help or assistance.
Public Safety Commission President: Yasuko Hoki (保喜安子, ほき やすこ)
Ho (保) means protection or guarantee, Ki (喜) means delight or rejoice, Yasu (安) means peaceful, and Ko (子) means child. Combining both the initial kanji characters of both her surname and given name would mean security in Japanese, Hoan (保安), referring to her position in the Hero Public Safety Commission.
2nd user: Hayao Nikaido (二階堂速雄, にかいどう はやお)
Ni (二) means 2, Kai (階) means story, stair or floor, Do (堂) means temple or hall, Haya (速) means quick or fast, and O (雄) means male. For the given name Hayao, the Haya in Hayao is the same one in his quirk "Gearshift" in Japanese, Hensoku (変速). The surname Nikaido has the kanji character for 2, Ni (二), referencing the fact that he is the 2nd user of OFA. Something I would like to share - the first time I encountered the surname Nikaido came from a staff member whose name was credited with that surname in most of Mob Psycho 100's episodes in the end credits. As soon as I saw the name 二階堂 in the end credits, that gave me an idea to use that surname as a what-if name for the 2nd user, so that's how I arrived with that surname. I never intended to name him after an anime staff member whatsoever.
3rd user: Sanjiro Undo (運道三治郎, うんどう さんじろう)
Un (運) means luck or fortune, Do (道) means road or path, San (三) means 3, Ji (治) means reign or cure, and Ro (郎) means male. The surname is read as "oondo" and not in the English word as it appears to be in romanized form. Also, the aforementioned surname is homophonous with movement in Japanese, Undo (運動), as his quirk Fa Jin is used for to build up kinetic energy by repeating regular motions and store it for later use. Kinetic energy in Japanese is Undo Enerugii (運動エネルギー). The given name Sanjiro has the kanji character for 3, San (三), referencing the fact that he is the 3rd user of OFA.
6th user: Enzo Rokuhara (六原煙造, ろくはら えんぞう)
Roku (六) means 6, Hara (原) means field, En or Kemuri (煙) means smoke, and Zo (造) means create or make. The surname Rokuhara has the kanji character for 6, Roku (六), referencing the fact that he is the 6th user of OFA. The given name Enzo is a reference to his quirk Smokescreen, which would give the character's nickname as En. The surname is also the name of a Japanese railway station in Kanegasaki, Iwate. Interestingly enough, two other characters in the series, whom both of them are villains, are also named after real world Japanese railway stations. The villains in question are Twice and Re-Destro. Twice's real surname is Bubaigawara (分倍河原), named after a railway station operated jointly by the East Japan Railway Company and the private railway operator Keio Corporation located in Fuchu, Tokyo of the same name, while Re-Destro's real surname is Yotsubashi (四ツ橋), named after a railway station in Nishi-ku, Osaka of the same name.
Wolfram: Shigeki Kinzoku (金続重樹, きんぞく しげき)
Kin (金) means metal, Zoku (続) means to continue, Shige (重) means heavy, and Ki (樹) means tree or wood. The surname Kinzoku is homophonous to Kinzoku (金属), in which the latter kanji character, Zoku (属), means genus. However, the Zoku in Kinzoku (金続) means to continue, referring to how he manipulates and creates metal continuously in combat. The Shige in Shigeki refers to how generally heavy metal is. Not to mention that his villain name is named after tungsten, whose symbol W means wolfram, and it is one of the heaviest naturally stable elements you can carry or hold (but factually speaking, uranium IS the heaviest element in terms of natural stability).
Nine: Kisho Terunaga (照永起昇), てるなが きしょう)
Teru (照) means shine or illuminate, Naga or Ei (永) means eternity, Ki (起) means rouse or get up, and Sho (昇) means rise up. The Teru in Terunaga likely refers to his intimidating appearance, akin to a god, while Naga likely refers to the fact that he would be invincible like any other villain if he has a great amount of quirks, considering that he is one of the few characters to do so. The given name Kisho is homophonous with weather, Kisho (気象), a reference to his original quirk before amalgamating to All for One, weather manipulation, or Kisho Sosa in Japanese (気象操作).
All for One: Majin Shigaraki (死柄木摩甚, しがらき まじん)
According to All for One himself in a flashback, Shigaraki is his real surname; however, his given name is unknown. Shi (死) means death, Gara (柄) means grip or handle, Ki (木) means tree or wood, Ma (摩) means to scrape or grind, and Jin (甚) means extreme or intense. The given name Majin is homophonous with devil in Japanese, Majin (魔神).
Mustard: Shoki Kitai (北井祥基, きたい しょうき)
Kita (北) means north, I (井) means water well, Sho (祥) means auspicious or good omen, and Ki (基) means fundamentals or basis. The surname Kitai is homophonous with gas in Japanese, Kitai (気体), a reference to his quirk. The given name Shoki is homophonous with miasma in Japanese, Shoki (瘴気), a highly unpleasant or unhealthy smell or vapor, fitting with the properties of his quirk.
Innsmouth: Yakishi Takonuma (蛸沼焼司, たこぬま やきし)
Tako (蛸) means octopus, Numa (沼) means marsh, Yaki (焼) means burnt, and Shi (司) means administer or boss. The Tako in Takonuma is a reference to his appearance, resembling an octopus.
Moonfish: Takanari Habashi (歯橋高成, はばし たかなり)
Ha (歯) means tooth, Hashi (橋) means bridge, Taki (高) means tall or high, Nari (成) means grow or reach. The surname Habashi is a reference to his quirk blade-tooth in Japanese, Shijin (歯刃).
Ending: Shingoki Kurodo (黒道伸剛輝, くろどう しんごうき)
Kuro (黒) means black, Do or Michi (道) means road or path, Shin (伸) means to expand or stretch, Go (剛) means sturdy or strength, and Ki or Teru (輝) means shine, or gleam. The surname Kurodo means black road, referring to how he activates his quirk through a road or highway. The given name Shingoki is homophonous with traffic lights in Japanese, Shingoki (信号機).
Starservant: Noriharu Hoshimiya (星宮典治, ほしみや のりはる)
Hoshi (星) means star, Miya (宮) means temple or palace, Nori or Ten (典) means law or rule, and Haru or Chi or Ji (治) means reign or subdue. The surname Hoshimiya means star temple or star palace, referring to his villain name. The given name Noriharu can be alternatively read as Tenchi (天地), which means above and below, top and bottom, or more symbolically, heaven and earth. The third meaning could possibly be referring to the phrase “Heaven and Earth are about to collide”, one of the taglines to the 1998 asteroid disaster film Deep Impact, since the villain himself is a preacher who ensures the society that the end of the world is nigh.
Dictator: Reiji Shiki (志紀令司, しき れいじ)
Shi (志) means will or intention, Ki (紀) means chronicle or history, Rei (令) means orders or command, and Shi (司) means administer or boss. The surname Shiki is homophonous with command, direction, or supervision in Japanese, Shiki (指揮), while the given name Reiji is reverse for command or control in Japanese, Shirei (司令), both referencing his quirk despot.
Kunieda: Ikunobu Kunieda (國枝育伸, くにえだ いくのぶ)
Kuni (國) means country, Eda (枝) means bough or branch, Iku (育) means grow or raise, and Nobu (伸) means to expand or stretch. The villain name Kunieda, which is written in katakana, is an actual surname in Japan, so I had to use the kanji version of that name. The given name Ikunobu means growing and expanding, both of which are referring to his quirk that has the ability to sprout and grow gigantic flowers, spores, and fungus-like plants from the ground.
Gigantomachia: Goro Onikigawa (鬼木川吾郎, おにきがわ ごろう)
Oni or Ki (鬼) means demon, Ki (木) means tree, Kawa or Gawa (川) means river, Go (吾) means I or my, and Ro (郎) means male. The Oni in Onikigawa refers to his demonic appearance, while his given name Goro is a play on the Japanese onomatopoeia Goro Goro (ゴロゴロ), which describes the sound of thunder, earthquake, or other disasters incoming, fitting with his personality during the Paranormal Liberation War Arc.
Iceman: Geten Koriyama (氷山外典, こおりやま げてん)
Kori (氷) means ice, Yama (山) means mountain, Ge or Soto (外) means outside, and Ten or Nori (典) means law. The surname Koriyama is an alternate reading of Hyozan, which means iceberg, fitting with his quirk. The given name Geten means apocrypha, which is a story of unknown author or origin. While Geten is the real name of Iceman, it is unknown if it’s his given name or surname, so randomly assuming that this is his given name, his surname would be unknown, and that explains the surname’s existence. (NOTE: With the recent release of Chapter 387 on May 8, 2023, it was revealed that Geten happened to be from Rei's side, which means that his surname is Himura, and this made him a relative to the Todoroki family members, so his full name is Geten Himura. It was not explicitly stated how Rei, or even the Todoroki family, and Geten were specifically related and just listed their relation as simply "relative". With this revelation, his full name written in Japanese would be 氷叢外典, or in hiragana, ひむら げてん. As of this writing, this is the only entry on the list with a character's officially confirmed full name in the original source, so I would discard my ideal surname in favor of the original source instead.)
Unnamed Cider House leader: Gyokoten Samukawa (寒川凝古天, さむかわ ぎょうこてん)
Samu (寒) means cold, Kawa (川) means river, Gyo (凝) means stiff, Ko or Furu (古) means old or ancient, and Ten (天) means heaven. The surname Samukawa means cold river. The given name Gyokoten is homophonous with freezing point in Japanese - Gyokoten (凝固点). The first kanji of the word Gyo (凝) is the same as in the given name. His alias or villain name was never revealed as well, so Yeti (イエティ) would be a good choice, named after the ape-like creature purported to inhabit the Himalayan mountain range in Asia of the same name.
Keigo's Father: Keiichi Takami (鷹見啓一, たかみ けいいち)
This character in the manga and anime is named that way, which means I would give him his given name only. Taka (鷹) means hawk, Mi (見) means to see, Kei (啓) means disclose, open, or say, and Ichi (一) means 1. The Kei in Keiichi is the same as his son Keigo (啓悟).
Habit Headgear: Takehiko Kito (鬼頭武彦, きとう たけひこ)
Oni or Ki (鬼) means demon, To or Atama (頭) means head, Take (武) means military, and Hiko (彦) means lad or boy. His surname is a reference to his unnerving appearance. Not a Demon Slayer reference.
Giant Villain: Kiichi Otomo (大友毅一, おおとも きいち)
O or Dai (大) means big, Tomo (友) means friend, Ki or Tsuyo (毅) means strong, and Ichi (一) means 1. His name is a reference to his appearance and personality. Ironic that he is the first villain to appear in the series, yet has a character that means friend.
Sludge Villain: Sohei Dorokawa (泥川創平, どろかわ そうへい)
Doro (泥) means mud, Kawa or Gawa (川) means river, So or Hajime (創) means begin or start, and Hei or Pei or Hira (平) means flat. His surname is a reference to his dirty mud-like appearance.
Swordkil: Takeshi Mekajiki (目梶木丈士, めかじき たけし)
Me (目) means eye, Kaji (梶) means sculling oar, Ki (木) means tree or wood, Take (丈) means height or stature, and Shi (士) means samurai. His surname is homophonous with swordfish in Japanese, Mekajiki (眼梶木), which is a reference to his unnamed sword quirk, as well as his villain name, though close.
Daigo: Daigo Saruno (猿野大悟, さるの だいご)
Saru (猿) means monkey, No (野) means field, Dai or O (大) means big, and Go or Satoru (悟) means enlightenment. His surname is a reference to his beast-like appearance, while his given name is the same as that of Daigo Yamamoto (山本大悟), the character’s voice actor, also simply known (and credited) by his given name, Daigo. He is part of the Japanese comedy duo Chidori (千鳥), who made a cameo appearance in My Hero Academia: Two Heroes as two of Wolfram’s minions.
Nobu: Nobuyuki Katai (片井信行, かたい のぶゆき)
Kata (片) means part or fragment, I (井) means water well, Nobu (信) means faith or truth, and Yuki (行) means line. His surname is can be also read as Heni, which is homophonous with displacement (physics) in Japanese, Heni (変位), a reference to his unnamed displacement quirk, while his given name is the same as that of Nobuyuki Hayakawa (早川信行), the character’s voice actor, also simply known (and credited) by his nickname, Nobu (ノブ). Like the previous entry on the list, he is also part of the Japanese comedy duo Chidori (千鳥), who made a cameo appearance in My Hero Academia: Two Heroes as two of Wolfram’s minions.
Glutton God: Shigeo Shokuzawa (食澤茂雄, しょくざわ しげお)
Shoku (食) means food, Zawa or Sawa (澤) means swamp, Shige (茂) means overgrown or grow thick, and O (雄) means masculine or male. His surname is a reference to his appearance, as well as his villain name in Japanese, Kuishin (食神).
Sanctum: Seizo Jiyumiya (自由宮聖造, じゆうみや せいぞう)
Ji (自) means oneself, Yu (由) means wherefore, Miya (宮) means temple or palace, Sei (聖) means holy, and Zo (造) means create or make. His surname means freedom temple, and Seizo means holy structure, referring to his villain name.
The Mother of Quirks: Seiko Yotsubashi (四ツ橋聖子, よつばし せいこ)
Knowing the Mother of Quirks is the mother of Chikara Yotsubashi (四ツ橋主税), I would give her given name only. Yotsu (四ツ) means 4, Hashi (橋) means bridge, Sei (聖) means holy, and Ko (子) means child. I chose Seiko as her given name for a reason, because her name, when Romanized, is an anagram for quirk in Japanese, Kosei (個性), since she was the first person to use the word "quirk" to describe meta abilities.
Shie Hassaikai boss: Takahito Saijo (斎条崇人, さいじょう たかひと)
Sai (斎) means purification, Jo (条) means article, Taka (崇) means respect or revere, and To or Hito (人) means person. The Sai in Saijo is the same character in Shie Hassaikai (死穢八斎會), while his given name fits given with his position during the time he founded the organization years before Kai Chisaki succeeded him.
Hood: Tsuyoshi Aida (会田強士, さいじょう たかひと)
Ai or Kai (会) means meeting or association, Ta or Da (田) means rice field, Tsuyo (強) means strong, and Shi (士) means samurai. His name fits since he used to be a street punk who made a living as a fierce underground fighter before being turned into a Nomu by the Doctor.
Gunga Mountain Villa Paranormal Liberation Front Commander: Kairo Dendo (傳堂会呂, でんどう かいろ)
Den (傳) means propagate or transmit, Do (堂) means temple or hall, Kai or Ai (会) means meeting or association, and Ro (呂) means spine or backbone. His surname is homophonous with electric or conduction in Japanese, Dendo (電動) or Dendo (伝導) respectively, while his given name is homophonous with circuit in Japanese, Kairo (回路), both referring to his quirk amplivolt, which can conduct and amplify electricity within their body, being able to release it afterwards. Ironic that he was never given a name, yet his quirk, as well as his ultimate move, is named in the manga and anime.
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That is all I can present. If you know a character whose real name is unknown, comment down below and formulate his or her real name based on the character's qualities. Thank you!

An aging artist pontificates over the utility of his art in a place of perpetual war.
Under a month-long lockdown in Kashmir, the streets are deserted, the stone-throwing protesters are locked away in their homes, and winter is settling on the valley. In a dialogue with himself, an aging artist creates the illusion of company while he pontificates over the utility of his art in a place of perpetual war. The dialogue deepens as the artist’s mind digresses between legends and newspaper headlines, pondering the creative ways the people of Kashmir carve out freedom in the interstices of spaces that imprison them.
Originally published by Mountain Ink, the story explores the resistant possibility of art, imagines a moment of isolation, and subverts it in its execution

He was losing count of the days now. It was a month-old lockdown and the September sun had just begun to smile readily at the mountain peaks.
“What day is it today?” wishing to be ignored, he almost murmured.
It was Tuesday, September 2 in that year of warlike situation.
“Word has it that the taskmasters desire people to lose count of the days and sooner the better, for it would be less embarrassing to justify this forgetfulness.”
“No, no! For Heaven’s sake, no, don’t call that forgetfulness.”
“What else if not forgetfulness? I am already losing count of the days.”
“So what?”
“Fatigue has already entered my spine. My vision is becoming blurred. I am getting sick.”
There was nothing to act on. Sunlight already appeared growing weaker and the chill in the mornings and evenings had made humans return back into their skin, to remember that it was time for a change of the season. Yes, the summer sun has shifted its glance. There were no more vertical sun rays gazing at the deserted streets. This year stones were missing from the streets.
“Are the stones cleared away from the streets?”
“Where from? The streets that wind along the lake and disappear in the forest?”
“I don’t care where. You know what matters are the missing stones or more likely preemptive disappearance.”
“Indeed, what must matter is the absence of the stones.”
“Absence and disappearance are two distinct states, aren’t those? Artista, you are a free man who doesn’t have to risk anything for the arrival of his expectations. You, I know, are waiting for the leaves on some trees to fall and to turn crimson on many others. You do not have to pretend to be self-unconscious to the fatigue so you could feel the numbness of silence of whatever surrounds you. You are waiting for the stones to hurl into the air so you can clench the textures within your color palate. You rather wait for the sun to change its direction and that explains to me your indifference to the night sky to reveal the secrets of peace unto you. You count the hues that are embedded in the seasons to give directions to your thoughts and capture the moments of sadness.”
“I do not wait for the crimson to smear the streets for the emancipation though you understand me as a free person. I am no more a believer in dreams and I know that someday I shall leave forever to dream my great dream. Waiting for the great dream to come true or as you like to understand it, the arrival of my expectations, I am tied to that moment in time that shall comfort me from my bondage.”
There once lived a woman amidst erudite pandits who refused to die. In her youth, when she would rest down to eat after completing the daily chores nothing would take her by surprise then. She had realized that her wait to take the infinite inside was not far. She sang about the darkness that surrounded her only in the wilderness. She defined the void. She bore no children and marked in her verses the certainty to meet the infinite and pass on in peace from here unto there. Every night she washed the stone hidden underneath the crust of rice served in the bowl for dinner. She left behind the stone for the young.
**Hond maaran kina kath Lalli nalwut tsali na zanh*"
(Whether they killed a big sheep or a lamb it was all the same Lalla had always got a stone to eat).
“Bring me those diamonds bedecked in the sky. Rise to the sky and snatch not one but all those tiny stars in an entire vault that shield your land from anonymity.”
“I do not wish to wither away in void nor lose my way across the vast deserts. Journeys across would become not just difficult but impossible without those dimly-lit stars in the sky. Aren’t all landscapes grief-stricken? What would become of the landscapes if the horizons as well were measured and guarded?”
“You sound utterly eccentric to disregard the light of the day that guards us all. There is nothing to help you but to do away with this ridiculousness.”
“Death catches those young by the tail of the daylight. There is nothing solemn to bring oneself in loving the light. I have nothing left but my small indifference to offer. At least there is nothing doubtful about this smallness like many of those impressionist strokes, at chance, that create an illusion of ecstasy. I struggle to handle the landscape without striving for the exotica. Landscapes without humans cannot become a site for self-reflection.”
“Why don’t you paint the arrival?”
“There is no shade on my palate that could help me prophesize. It is impossible to paint that which doesn’t hold me. I cannot paint certainty.”
Nothing would be worse than a political discord that generations wriggle against and wither away with. There was a land of valleys up in the Himalayas believed to be of saints and demons. In “Abduction,” painted in the year 2005, a demon carries away a piece of a mountain — that led to a series “Whose Kashmir?” This strife is neither ahistorical nor sacred. Yet there are stories in the beginning when there was no time. The water that filled up the valley was emptied so the demon could be trapped and killed to end the conflict forever. Demon was driven away yet the water in the lake remained. Troops after troops were washed away ashore on the land. The journey through mountains in search of permanence and certitude continues
“Who owns the strength of character to resolve the strife?”
“Theories nurture cults. At times resolutions are created only to morph imagination into images that speak something beyond any resolution. Landscape is not a passive player. The harder it gets to paint, the easier it is to be consumed with nostalgia. To paint a landscape has become an agony.”
“Artista, you mix up everything to get confused. These are not days to stay confused leisurely.”
“Who has lost count of days? I, who is incapacitated, either to grieve the loss or to bear the burden of not feeling forgetfulness can’t be more astute, clear-sighted, and regimented than this. I live on that street in the city, which is openly exposed to the dogmatic gaze however isn’t threatened with what I do. I paint the banal and possibly could survive in the worst of the conditions, which is boredom. My remorse will anyway kill me soon. Yes, I mix. I mix colors to grasp the shade that discloses the anatomy of illusions.”
“Artista, is it you alone for whom illusions bespeak of truth or is it me who sees confusion not separate from illusions. Illusions lure you into believing that you can’t grieve over the loss and the disappearances. It’s been a while now that we are living in a state of deception and absolute vulgarity.”
“Well then, this is not the first time that the enforcer has tuned in to portray the nakedness of its presence vulgarly. Everything is equipped. How must one imagine a landscape bereft of fatigue figures marching up and down every day? Interestingly, the landscape has turned those prowlers significant for the game that was shaped, of late, seven decades before.”
“And do those prowlers know anything about the determination to choose for the self? Over the years, such will is invalidated. How then must we understand the desire to be emancipated? Have you got any map to look at, to paint a landscape?”
“When I was summoned to prove my being, oddly I forgot my address. I was numbered as an incorrigible reprobate. All efforts to paint a landscape were labeled as a ploy that possibly could threaten the syntax of the sovereign self. When I was executed, that bored wound was stamped as the void. And as I survived after throwing up the clot, my discharge from confinement was realized only after I agreed to sign an undertaking that I shall be a regular reporter of my case. It was called detoxicating progress. You see, the stamp out stink takes a lifetime to go.”
“Now that the autumn is approaching, you might pack up your color and brushes to paint the landscape of this wailing vale in all possible shades. I remember you painted landscapes earlier with much pleasure and ease.”
“I have lost the temperament to paint!”
“Don’t forget that your hallucinatory will could turn the upheaval inside you into spite.”

https://www.guernicamag.com/the-final-landscape/

I need wheelset recommendations for my stitched 720 I do a lot of street stuff so rims need to be indestructible and the hub should have many contact points.
I prefer colored options my bike's color scheme is white gold and purple (white frame). gold hub purple spokes gold nipples if possible Rear(135x10mm) front (15 x 100 mm) rims I am already considering are: DT Swiss fr560 rims (thanks to this nice guy) halo chaos (pilgrim) spank spoon 32 (cheap) dt swiss ex471 (light thanks to ↑) carbon wheelset(donate to me I can't afford lmao) hubs I am considering are: hope Pro 4 trial (nice sound ) industry nine hydras (expensive so probably a nono)
on spokes and nipples, I don't have any idea I've heard a combo of 1.8 and 2.0 is good but feel free to speak your mind because I don't know anything about wheel building.

Foundations of Humanity 29 (Healing Words) - an NoP fanfic
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Thank you u/SpacePaladin15 for establishing the Nature of Predators Universe, and for allowing Fanfics to flourish! Thank you again, u/Braquen, u/Acceptable_Egg5560, u/BiasMushroom721, and last but not least u/Liberty-Prime76 for proofreading! This is my side of the Nature of a Giant crossover!
First -- Previous -- Next
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Memory transcription subject: Valek, Venlil tourist
Date [standardized human time]: Sept 11th, 2136. Middle of 3rd Claw
Tarlim was the first to see me as I marched toward the table, tossing the still-open pad into its center.
“Predator Disease is anything! Whatever they need to put you away!” I cried, vacillating between grief and outrage while Tarlim looked through my research.
“They don't work! None of them do! Hundreds are being thrown into those facilities for everything from active murder, to jaywalking,” And Tarlim met my gaze, “to complaints. Complaints! The most positive source said ‘a dozen cured every year’. From a sample of hundreds! No names! No sources! Just their word and a ‘trust me, bro!’ And that’s only maybe from the ‘jaywalking’ section, not even the people who need real help!”
I pulled my ears down taut, embracing the pain to distract my panic, blind to Alvi’s desperate attempts to calm and comfort me. “The facilities don't help anyoneI But every one of them punishes, no, tortures Venlil for something they cannot control or choose. Not criminals, not those who did something, just… just so many people who did nothing wrong! Who had no record beyond a-a single half-shorn screening!!"
I stopped to breathe, my voice faltering as I started again, “And we sent you there. I checked, you did nothing! Not even a complaint! The only charge on your record, even according to that pro-exterminator trash ‘Moralen’s Pred Guide,’ was ‘resisting arrest’; whatever the brahk that’s supposed to mean. You were only barely an adult, and… we still sent you there. I’m… I don’t… I’m so sorry, Tarlim. I won’t plead innocence; we did this. Our people, all of us, failed you in the most impossible, embarrassing way. I’m…”
You’re what?? Sorry?!
My body went limp as I felt the weight of my people’s sins against all of us, distilled into this Person’s real experience. “No. Just a sad ‘sorry’ doesn’t even begin to make up for what happened to you. I don't know how to make this right, or if it’s even possible to do so at this point. But for what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
I looked up at him. At Tarlim. He… he had begun breathing erratically, short and fast, tossing his chest wool about. His ears twitching in fear. Had- had I said something wrong? I saw Alvi lean towards him with worry in her affect. “Hey, you okay?”
Tarlim didn’t show any sign of having heard. He grabbed onto his knees and pulled them to his chest. Jacob stood and began running his hand along Tarlim’s back. I didn’t know what to do! How do I fix this? Should I do something? Wait? I-
I heard a chime coming from Tarlim’s shoulder pack. As soon as it was heard, it was like he transformed. The look of panic and confusion was replaced by a determined calm as he began taking steady breaths. He seemed to be coming around again.
Maeve leaned forward, looking uncertain at her words. “It’s alright Tarlim. We are here with you. You’re not alone. ”
“C’mon buddy, you got this.”
A murmur, too small for a Venlil of his size, “Th-Thank you.” Then Tarlim’s ears swiveled back to me, “Valek… you… you are the first to say that. To really say that, and to mean it, too.”
My tail swayed in honest joy, while I closed my eyes to give him comfort, as he started again, choking on phlegm brought on by tears,
“It has been years since my lawsuit. In that time, I can count the people who supported me on one paw. One paw!” He held up four claws for emphasis. “They helped me get on my feet. Let me release my feelings. And just… they were there for me. They gave sympathy, but you…” I panted, trying to control my breathing. “You didn’t. You called me dangerous. Feared me. You were… you were them.” He swept his arms at the oblivious crowd below, “In all those years, all that time, nobody, not one, had ever apologized. Not sincerely.”
I tried to show kindness and welcome, happy to have another friend. “You’re a good person Tarlim. I know I won’t be the last.”
…
A short silence fell over us all, before Maeve spoke up, “Not to give conversational whiplash, but absolutely to change the subject: What do you think about Venlil Cuisine, Jacob? I am quite partial to the Juicefruit, even if I need a small towel for every bite.”
“Good subject change,” he took a drink of his soda and set it on the table. “There’s this thing that translates to Firefruit, and it’s amazing! Got this nice zest like a lime but a sweet spice like a jalapeño! Its juice goes great on a lot of things!”
“Oh then you may like this,” she shifted a plate of fried veg across the table, “This one is fried Deeproot. It’s got quite a ginger kick to it, but the fry brings out a lot of sweet too!”
Tarlim’s affect softened as we spoke on kinder things. “Deeproot? That’s rather tasty.” He uncurled himself and swung his ears genially, “Have you… have you been on the planet long?”
Maeve met my eye, and pulled Alvi onto her lap, her voice taking on a wistful remembrance, “Feels like a new life… but my calendar says just over two weeks! A lot has changed since I walked on the station.” Her voice trailed off, while my tail flicked comfort and Alvi leaned her weight against Maeve.
Tarlim continued his curiosity and asked Maeve, “So what do you think of our planet? Apart from the… poor welcoming.”
Maeve waved her hand dismissively, “Oh those poor pups were just doing as nature intended; honestly it just made your planet more familiar! Really that’s the surprising thing, despite twenty lightyears across the galaxy, everything is still so familiar! You have trees that remind me of the Redwoods, you have cities that are just like ours, if shinier, and Alvi here worked in customer service!” She ruffled Alvi’s crown affectionately. “I never imagined I would feel so at home on another world!”
I stepped back from the conversation and helped myself to what was left of the food, enjoying the sharp tang of the Deeproot.
Maeve breathed a contented sigh under her veil, before facing Jacob, “How about you, Jacob? How are you handling the planet?”
Jacob finished another drink of his soda. “Ah would say that outside of the station incident, it has been going well. After we’re done here, ah am going to be getting my own apartment to live in since Tarlim’s isn’t big enough!” He snorted in amusement. “Don’ worry about me living in an apartment. Ah have mah ways of winning people over.” He picked up the last of his fried dough. “Relatedly, be careful with Venlil drinks. Their ‘lite beer’ is our equivalent to distilled whiskey.”
Maeve laughed lightly, “Glad to see they know how to party! It’s an equal trade though, what they call an ‘energy drink’ is on par with weak tea. I was so glad my handler got me a 10lb bag of beans and a french press.”
“Lite beer? What do you guys consider strong?” Alvi asked, and I had to agree with her concerned tone.
“Tarlim called it distilled Ipsom,” Jacob responded. “60% alcohol. That’s pretty strong fer most humans. Our whiskey is usually 40-50%. What about y’all? What do you call strong?”
Alvi perked up, excited to share one of her happy memories, “I used to hang out at The Roost when I was in the capital, and they kept a bottle of 90% behind the counter for Venlil only: distilled and fermented Goji juice, aged in Nishtalian hardwood casks. It was really good, but I’ve had stronger.” I had to admire how proud she was to say that. Even I would struggle at that amount!
Jacob leaned back, his shoulders tense with surprise. “Jeezus! And this is just drinkable Ethanol, right? Not Methanol?”
I recoiled at the awful memory of my first time with Methanol. That disgusting stuff? Blech!
“Ew, no, I hate the taste it leaves on your tongue. And after what happened at my 16th, I’m not touching that stuff any time soon.” Alvi seemed to share in my distaste for that glorified spoiled speh.
“Yeah,” Tarlim chimed in between sips of his Sprunk, “I hear the Zurulians experiment with drinking that stuff specifically, but it seems to be just them. Even they don’t usually drink at our level.”
“That’s incredible!” Maeve chimed in, “That stuff makes us go blind. Doesn’t stop people from homebrewing it anyway though.”
My tail flicked in concern; I mean, methanol is bad, but were humans so frail that it would make them go blind?
Tarlim, however, seemed somehow amused! “You guys are crazy. Why would you do something that would cause you to be disabled?”
“I never said we were smart!” Maeve, to my astonishment, laughed along with Jacob. “Seriously though, it's complicated. The insultingly short version is: humans experimented with alcohol for literally our entire history, some post industrial nits thought it was evil and banned it, so people made their own. Bootlegging Moonshine became its own culture, even the not so smart parts, so methanol based drinks are still around.”
“But seriously though, to turn blind.” Tarlim’s voice was full of worry, and his tail didn’t hide it. “Why do something that would cause them to be cast out?”
“Cast out??”
A silence fell over the table, while Maeve and Jacob watched Tarlim, who began to shrink under their gazes. I hadn’t been expecting this reaction; wouldn’t humans do the same? Isn’t that what… Wait. Maeve wouldn’t, not in a million years! Why did I think that humans would do this?
“Why,” Jacob asked, “would you think we would cast someone out?”
“B-because that’s what… we… oh Speh!” Tarlim did his best to bury his face in his paws, and I hid behind my ears. “Why did I think that? It isn’t true- of course it isn’t! The exterminators said it! Gods!”
“Yeah,” Jacob said as he shook his head slowly, “that ain’t what we do. We try to help them live as normal a life as possible.”
“Yeah,” Maeve agreed. “We teach them how to use guiding sticks, give correctional implants, or help them learn braille!”
That last word caught my attention. The translator seemed to struggle with it, saying it was some form of communication for people who couldn’t see, but not how. “Braille? What’s that? The translator didn’t quite get it.”
“It’s a kind of writing.” Maeve explained, “Little bumps whose patterns translate to a letter. A blind person can pass their fingers over the bumps to feel the pattern and thus read through their hands.”
“Don’t y’all have something similar?” Jacob directed his question at Tarlim, “you told me once that the Xeno-what’s it hospital.” He twirled his hand dismissively, “You said it had classes. Don’t they teach stuff like that there?”
“Those…” Tarlim spoke up, then hesitated. “Those classes are for families. Teaching them how to care for their herd members. Not for… us.”
Jacob shook his head. “Okay? Ah mean, that’s fine fer families, but what about someone without one? Or if they go somewhere the rest of their herd doesn’t?”
"It depends on the family," Alvi added her voice, "some will go without to stay with the weak, but some will just…" Her ears fell, "leave them. And for those that don't have… don't have a herd they…"
A deep sadness drifted from the Giant, “Sleep on the streets.”
“Bullshit!” Jacob slammed his hand against his table. “I’m not gonna lie and say we humans don’t have homeless, but no support if they don’t have a family or herd? None? What about shelters? Food banks? Those… those bunkers everybody evacuated to in panic!”
“We have food banks!” I piped up, wishing to add some hope to the gloom, “We don’t let people just starve! If people are tight on money, they are completely free to visit one of the social centers or food banks! They have services there to match you with a herd, and sometimes they give community service. It's considered pre-disease treatment.” But I couldn’t ignore the Tarlim in the room. "Sometimes people fall through the cracks. And sometimes, as I just learned… they are dropped through."
"Oh my god…" Maeve sighed, her face pointed at nothing.
“Hold it. Pre-disease?” Jacob’s voice dripped with skepticism. “So you're saying that someone visiting one of those places would be saying they have your Predator Disease?”
I answered immediately, "Not necessarily. It is more supposed to prevent herdless behavior. I've never been in the system, though, so I don't know what it looks like inside."
“It’s a big room.” I wince at Tarlim’s tone as he interrupts. “A bunch of bunk beds crammed together in the center with Exterminators watching over at all hours as you eat, sleep, and… everything else. Watching for the slightest excuse to cry Predator Disease.” He let out a huff of distaste. “When I was in the facility, there were five inmates who tried to stick around me despite what the faculty said.” He stared directly at me as he said the final words. “Three of them were snatched in one of those places. There’s a reason I slept in the streets.”
“But… but they wouldn’t…”
I remember the photo. I remember the corruption on Emerald Marble. I remember the testimony from Clegal Falls. So many children, abandoned by their families.
"Who am I kidding. I want so badly to believe we aren't like that, but…" I pointed despondently at my pad in the center of the table.
"It's ok, Valek, this is actually familiar to us." Maeve's voice soothed my melancholy, as she tried to rub my head with her elbow, "We haven't solved those problems ourselves, but we have made huge strides. Hopefully, more opportunities and less facilities may give them a fighting chance."
“Here’s hoping,” Jacob agreed.
I heard Tarlim sigh, but his tail… wagged?. “And as little as it may be, there is now at least one city with no Facility at all.”
A city with no facility. Somewhere that people with… possible Predator Disease roamed free. For two years. And yet, this place… it wasn’t bad. It wasn’t in chaos. There weren’t people being devoured in the streets at all times. There was… there was nothing. Just a normal city…
How could so few have realized…
“By the way,” my train of thought was interrupted by Jacob’s voice, “bit of a subject change, but Maeve. Are you going to eat any of your food?” He gestured to our plate. “You haven’t even touched that since we arrived.”
Maeve flipped her hand, and her voice was light and kind, "It's quite a pain to eat through this. I'd already had enough before you guys got here, I'll be fine."
Jacob shook his head. “Ah don’t buy that. There’s only one plate in front of you, and it’s only been nibbled.” He leaned forward, placing his elbow on the table. “It’s the teeth thing, isn’t it?”
Tarlim signaled concern, while his ears locked onto Maeve. “Are you not eating just so I don’t see your teeth?”
Maeve was quiet for a moment. She was thinking about her next words, like I had seen so many times before. "... I'm sorry I lied to you, I should have seen you're more comfortable than the average Venlil. Teeth is a part of it, yes, but I have had the most intense reaction from my eyes and hair. I'm red-headed, rather brightly I'll add."
Jacob leaned back in his chair, and chuckled, "Oh, No!"
Tarlim’s affected slid to confusion, "I don't get it, what am I missing?"
"Uhh, there's no easy way to say this bud, but her hair makes it look like she's doused and speckled in Venlil blood."
Of course, there really isn’t a good way to say that. It was the most alarming thing about Maeve when we first met, and Alvi took almost three paws to get used to it! I hoped that Tarlim wouldn’t freak out too badly.
He stared blankly. “Ooookaaay? And why is that a problem?”
Whut.
“Wait,” Alvi was the first to speak, “you aren’t bothered?”
Tarlim cocked his head quizzically, “Why should I be? It’s a fur color. I have seen pictures of Sulians with a pigment that makes them look like the color of our blood.” I could only stare in shock as he simply sipped from his soda. “Don’t starve yourself on my account.”
Ok Tiny, you're laying it on a little thick. You don’t have to be that nonchalant.
My ears focused on him as I called him out, “Alright, how are you so calm about this? Even the braver Venlil on the station were nervous around humans that weren’t their partners. Why aren’t you?”
“Guys, look at me. I tower over all of you. What could they do to me that a prey couldn’t? That…” His whistling laugh dripped with irony, “that a prey hasn’t already done?”
What they… that hasn’t… that has to be the most cynical reason for bravery I’ve heard.
I remembered the video of the station incident. My father’s rifle, ready to fire. The shuttle driver dropping us in the middle of a forest. And through it all, Maeve’s smile never left me.
I joined the four of them in boisterous laughter at the ridiculous reversal of everything I have ever known and been taught. When the world is upside down, what can you do but laugh?
Shortly after, Maeve regained her breath and answered, "I'm glad you can laugh about it! Well, consent given…" and she removed her veil entirely.
I watched as Maeve removed her head covering, marveling at the luscious waves of sunset falling against her shoulder. I couldn’t stop my tail from swaying as I saw her bright smile light up the entire room, and set my heart ablaze; a fire more hungry than any Exterminators’ torch. And in that moment I wanted nothing more than to feel her hair in my paws, scent her salt on my tongue, and hear our jubilations rattle off the walls of wherever we stood. To know her, completely. And maybe ‘biblically’.
Tarlim spoke with certainty, as if stating a fact that was beyond obvious, “You have very nice eyes,” Damn right, she does. And my snout bloomed at the well deserved compliment. “The color reminds me of a freshly sprouted Darkwood leaf.” Tarlim turned his attention to me, “From what I understand, you two are very brave to have seen her without her mask.”
I flapped my ears to shake off my reverie, and I breathed deeply as I remembered how we began. "It took time. We had talked by text for a couple weeks before the meetup, and our introduction in the room went smoothly. But when she took off her hair wrap, I… I could hear the sound of blood on the ground. I tried to dive under the bunk, but I missed. Woke up in the clinic with a nasty bump." and I laid my paw on the place of impact, now well healed.
Jacob chuckled. “You certainly weren't the only one to react by freaking out.” He turned his visor towards Alvi. “What about you?”
"My first time was in the forest." Alvi started, "Maeve was… having a hard time. I caught her eyes when I was trying to talk to her and… I uhh… I fainted!" She pulled her ears in front of her face, "and the second time! We were in Valek's b-" her voice caught in her throat.
I met Alvi’s eye while she sat on Maeve’s lap, reaching out to offer comfort as I picked up her story, "It's ok, Alvi. Our first rest at the farm we were all sharing a bed, Maeve's spare room wasn't finished yet. Maeve's uncovered face was the first thing Alvi saw when she woke, and she locked up. At least we took the opportunity to get used to eye contact."
"How about you two?" Maeve spoke to Tarlim directly, "You mentioned you were from the first wave on Prime Station? I'm glad you both made it out of the attack!"
“Nah,” Jacob waved his hand, palm facing out, “Only one of us was on the station.”
Tarlim sighed in disappointment, “Yeah, I’m certain you can guess why it wasn’t me.”
Maeve sympathetically returned his disappointment, “Ah. I can see why your size would be a prohibitor. Though I’m certain a human would have gotten creative to make a fix. But no use lamenting what is already done. And you, Jacob?” She switched to facing Jacob, and asked through a bite of fried sweetwood. “How did you fare in the attack?”
Jacob shrugged, “ah volunteered to help recover drifters after the raid cause, well, Spacesuit.” he gestured at his sadly un-blue pelts, “But Ah’m sure we can talk about that even more in a bit. Fer now,” he shook the now empty fried dough bags, “Ah don’t think these were filling enough. Do any of y’all have suggestions on what else to eat?”
“Not around here if you’re looking for ‘filling’,” Maeve answered, “If I’m being honest, as delicious as I find their food, everything has been very calorie-light. I would ki-- uh… be very excited for some pasta. This girl needs her carbs!” Her giggle was adorable. I could tell she was about to say something else, but she recovered well.
“Well why not eat some Stringfruit?” Tarlim offered, excited to be helpful, “It’s one of the more dense foods, more content and less juice, and has a good amount of protein inside. Good savory taste, in my opinion. Or maybe some more Bunt leaf salad. Hearty plant. Bit neutral, but that makes it good with just about everything. And even though it’s not my taste, firefruit is a good option for calories.”
I was impressed; He was more familiar with some of our foods than even my parents! Maeve and Jacob looked at him in surprise before he clarified, “I’m big! Need to eat more to fuel my size!”
Maeve lit up in another smile, “I will take those notes! The three of us can check a cafe that we passed on the way. But Jacob, what were your first impressions when you got to Venlil habitations? The smell took some getting used to, but at least it’s not sour…” Her question surfaced memories of her teeth on my neck, and I hoped my bloom wasn’t noticeable.
Tarlim’s ears turned in confusion, “Smell? What scent do you mean?”
Maeve shrugged, “It’s just something I noticed while on the station. Humans have their own scents, some stronger than others, but I noticed that the Venlil are especially thick; might be a consequence of having to taste the air. You, for example, remind me of when I took a nap in a field of honeysuckle.”
In response to Maeve’s words, Tarlim leaned forward for a scenting breath.
It was an interesting part of our biology. While our lack of a physical nose caused many to assume that we Venlil had no sense of smell, that wasn’t quite true. Our mouth and tongue had more taste receptors than most other races, so we could taste the air much like other races could smell it; though we were less sensitive and more specialized. We would be able to discern the difference between fruits one day apart in age, but things like petroleum products were completely scentless to us. Maeve and I had a wonderful conversation about the differences in our biology when that was first brought up.
Tarlim appeared to approve of our choice of shampoo. “Interesting. If multiple people were using the same scented fur-care, I can see how it would be overwhelming at first. But Jacob is going to get his own apartment. We’re just waiting to hear from the magistratta with news. Should be on this paw or the next. I’m sure that sleeping on a couch wouldn’t be an accurate impression.”
“Certainly not,” Jacob agreed. “Just thankful the apartment is tall enough!”
“Yeah, I can stand straight with my ears flat. Barely fitting for me, but good headroom for humans!” Tarlim flattened his ears, mimicking his issues with low ceilings, before laughing amiably.
“But fer now,” Jacob calmly stood from the table, “my stomach demands to be satisfied. Perhaps we could all check out that cafe y’all noticed?”
Alvi’s ears excitedly perked, “That would be fantastic! They had a stringfruit soup bowl with spiceleaf and nightberry on the window that I’d love to try! They're just leeward of the Dome, about two streets over.” Maeve set her down before standing as well.
Tarlim was next to rise, agreeing and swinging their tail in clear joy and friendliness. Maeve and Jacob reapplied their coverings before we all walked as a herd to the exit.
​
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It's still early, so we go and find a cafe and have lunch. Once again, I don't have to use my voice, they just give us our meal for free. I really should get an idea about money though. I know they are called Skys, I know at least part of them are small green metallic coins - actually they look like the same metal the Throne and Chairs are made out of, I wonder if they are - and I know that everyone uses them here to buy stuff. I should ask about banks. We should pay a visit to one. I'm sure they'd be... happy to explain it to me.
That's for later though. For now, we work our way to the dock, and find the internal docking bay that Omar found.
Walking in, it becomes clear that we have a lot of work ahead. High Line is in here thanks to Omar earlier and it's...
It's junk.
Even when it was operating, it was clearly made up of a hodgepodge of between three and five different starships. This thing has been limping along on patches and ad hoc repairs for centuries it looks like.
Human ships from our side of the galaxy tend to be very personalized. Riots of color, patterns, little flourishes here and there that speak to the tastes and preferences of the operator. It's probably a function of the fact that all our ships are AI operated. It's their body, and they decorate and personalize it.
High Line is... downright drab in comparison.
Grey on grey with streaks of soot and... is that rust? It looks like rust. What would rust on a spacecraft hull? High Line is all boxes and blocks stuck together where they fit or where a need was found. I'm much more used to the sweeping, flowing shapes the Starjumpers have. In addition to looking fast, they look much more elegant. Even our smaller ships, the Frigates and Destroyers tend towards looking more like living creatures than... a box.
As I walk around staring at things and - apparently - making a sour face, Starlight, Ocean and River are standing there, looking nervous and worried. "So Empress... Here is High Line. We admit, it's a little more worse for wear than the ship you came to us on, but.." Starlight stands a little taller. "It got my forebears here all those years ago and through all that time put many light-years on it shuttling people around the system and still held air and gravity. It's not much to look at, but it was ours."
I mean, they're right. Maybe I'm being too hard on it. They got centuries of use out of with with barely any maintenance. All the more reason to refit it right and make it soar once again.
Omar seems like he's having a great time. Walking around, taking measurements going in and out. "Melody, it might not be much to look at now, but it's actually a pretty good foundation! We can add some improved thrusters, beef up the armor, add a wormhole generator and some laser batteries and while we won't be able to take on a dreadnought or even a Starjumper, we'll be able to hold our own against anything local we've seen. It's got plenty of room inside too. You won't have a suite of rooms like at the Royal Dawn, but I should be able to make you an... appropriately royal room.
"At this point a starship is better than no starship so I'll take what I can get. How long will the refit take, Omar?"
He looks at the ship, at the Aviens and then at me. "It will depend on their printer and how well we can integrate the designs from my copy of the database but maybe a month? Hopefully less?"
"Well then, you had better get started Omar. You spend your time getting High Line up to your satisfaction, and let me know about your progress. For now, we will be staying at the Royal Dawn. I don't know if there's other royal quarters that we just haven't found or if the hotel is made out of the original royal quarters, but I'm satisfied with our current accommodations. Make your own schedule and if you need something or someone, just let me know. Starlight" - I look pointedly at them - "can help you with any personnel needs you have." Starlight bobs their head eagerly. "If you need to speak to me or the others, you should be able to though the Reach. Just... concentrate and it should work."
"Okay Melody, I'll get on it. Come on Starlight, show me the printer. Ocean, go see what kind of help you can find for us. River, go see about the condition of the other starships. Some of them have to be operable, how else is food getting here?" Omar looks up at us as the Aviens run off in different directions to obey Omar. "What happened to Ottarn, that Mariens who took their ship and tried to run? If nothing else, we could use that ship."
"They went with FarReach. They told me that they scooped up Ottarn and their ship and were going to take them where they wanted to go."
"Hmm, do you think that means back to human space?" Um'reli asks and she's looking at the ship.
"I have no idea, I don't think so? I'm not sure what they'd find out there to benefit them."
This time Ava puts her hands on her hips and stares at us. "You mean, other that some sympathetic ears to listen to their story about a human who has installed herself as Empress in their space and might be willing to lend a hand with a couple of Starjumpers and their assorted lasers and missiles? You did lock the Gate after FarReach left, right?"
Uh oh. I forgot.
"Uh, sure thing Ava, let me just go... double check that it's locked. I reach out and I can feel the Gate from here though it's faint and... fuzzy. The lock was simple enough though I push here... pull that... and...
"Okay, yes, it's locked."
"Good. We don't want Ottarn coming back with reinforcements or something just yet. Later though... let them come. We'll show them." Ava's grin is worrying me a little bit. She seems much too excited about showing off.
I grab Ava and Um'reli "Come on, let's leave Omar to his work. We have other things to take care of. I think we're going to have to hire on some help, but before that we're going to have to figure out money."
Ava scoffs as we walk "You're still going on about money? Just make people help us out."
"Ava we're looking to help out here, not be overthrown in a couple weeks. If I make people help us, the moment we walk away people will start to wonder why they're helping us at all."
"Melody has a point Ava. What is it that we do here?" Um'reli is really good at throwing cold water on Ava's plans. I'm glad she came. Without her I have a hunch that Ava would be talking me into all kinds of bad ideas.
"Builders seem to work like the AIs on Starbases back home. So it's not like we have no job."
"Well then, let's go back to the Throne and do some work. I'm tired of walking around trying to mooch free stuff from people because they're scared of Melody." Um'reli stars walking back towards the Throne. I really don't have anything else to do, so I follow. "You coming, Ava?"
"I guess. I don't have anything else to do." Ava looks around somewhat wistfully and follows. I wonder what she was hoping to do instead. Probably have me order people to give her something.
As we walk into the entryway to the Throne - there's still no back door, I really need to find one or make one - something catches my eye. I walk over and... "It's a shrine"
"What?" Ava peeks over my shoulder "Oh, it's beautiful."
It really is. Someone made a drawing of us in some kind of pastel medium, like pencils or chalk. It's... me at the top, my wings spread wide and I'm glowing. Below that, it's Um'reli, Ava and Omar standing tall and proud looking up. Under that is a decent representation of hundreds of people bowing before us. Written on the bottom in the same local script I see all over it says "May They Protect Us." The drawing is on a little easel and there are flowers and candles all around it in a semicircle.
Protect them from what though?
"These flowers are amazing! I've never seen ones like this before" Um'reli bends down to get a closer look. She takes a deep breath "And they smell so good, Ava, Melody, you should smell them!"
Well if Um'reli, a K'laxi can smell them and not immediately break out in allergic hives, it's probably fine for us to smell too. I bend down low and... they smell... familiar? Why is that?
Ava straightens "These were grown. We need to find out where the gardens are and visit it!"
Um'reli stands as well. "After we get some work done Ava. We need to show everyone that we do something and aren't a drain on resources because Melody can order them around and they can't say no."
"What's the point of all this power if we don't use it!"
"Ava, we 'use it' like you want to and people will come after us with guns and knives. Who was the Empress before Melody?" Um'reli is looking hard at Ava.
"We have no idea."
"Exactly." Um'reli continues up the stairs to the Throne itself. I follow and Ava pouts but doesn't say anything further.
In the Builder room, Um'reli and Ava sit down. Their bodies go distant and they are integrating. "Okay Ava, Um'reli. You get down to work, I'm going to see about finding a bank and talking to them. Any idea where one is?"
"One moment Melody..." Ava is searching. "Okay, looks like a bank is down the street from the Administration building. It's not far."
"Thanks! Just reach out to me if you need anything." I head back out and down the stairs of the throne, passing by the little shine again. It really is cute, though I wish they put something a little more specific about what they wanted us to protect them from. Oh well, with our luck we'll find out soon enough.
It's not actually a long walk to the bank, Ava was right, it was just down the street from the Administration building. As I walk past I see that a couple people are cleaning up the barricades finally. I wave as I walk by, and they stand smartly and bow. Nice.
Soon enough, I come across what I assume is the bank. It's a large building, made out of the same material as the Administration building, marking it as very old. There is a large double door in the front made of what looks like the same metal as the coins everyone uses. The doors stand open with two people (an Azurian and a Mariens) standing out front. With a little wave to them, I walk in.
It's... a bank. Really. Tellers, little booths where people can discuss finance, even a little table before you get in line to fill out small slips of paper. I walk over to an Aviens who is sitting at a desk by the front door. They look up and do a double take when they see me. I'm not wearing my wings and crown anymore, but I still have on the gown from earlier.
"Uh, good day Holy One, what may this one help you with?" Holy One. Interesting.
"I would like to speak to the Bank Manager, please."
They rush to stand and their chair slides back with a squawk. "Of course, Holy One. Please, wait right here." The gesture over to a small group of chairs up against the wall. I can't really think of a reason why not, so I go over and sit.
Next to me is one of the pressure suited people. Up close, I can see how their suits are segmented metal colored bronze and completely decorated in elaborate carvings. They really are quite beautiful. Their helmets are almost completely featureless except for a bar where human eyes would be and there is what looks like a speaker on their neck.
I clear my throat. "Pardon me, I'm so sorry, but I haven't met one of you yet. Can you tell me your name and the name of your people?"
With just the most subtle clank and whir, they turn their head. "I am known as Vaaqo, and here, people call us Falor in your tongue." His head inclines slightly. "That is to say, the language that most people here speak call us Falor. I do not know your word for us in your Builder tongue."
"Falor is fine with me." I say brightly, and then stop. "Unless it is insulting to you or something."
They make a gesture with their hands. The Nanites indicate that they are indicating no. Oh, that makes sense! If they're suited all the time, most body language markers are lost. Hand gestures could take over for a bunch of nonspeaking conversation.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Vaaqo, thank you so much for the information. I have so many questions, but I will only ask one for now. Do you have to stay in your suit all the time?"
The same gesture meaning no. "We are fortunate that the upper sunward lobe of the Reach has a pressure door. We're able to maintain our helium methane atmosphere and higher ambient pressure and live suit free. The remains of our starship are installed up there, and we use it to control our own breathing gas."
They took their ship apart to survive? "Oh but that means you're trapped here! Once we open the gates and build more ships, we can send a message to your people."
Another gesture. The Nanites say it might be a smile "That is kind of you to offer, Empress. Before... well before, we were in the middle of a war. We were offered refuge here and so we do not know if any others of our kind remain. It will be... nice to find out for sure."
They're holding something back. I think they don't want to insult you.
It's fine. I see no need to compel them to tell me what they're hiding. It's probably something embarrassing to them or they think to me.
Luckily for all of us, you have no shame.
Ha ha.
As I argue with my Nanites, a Mariens walks up, looking nervous. "Hol-Empress, what a pleasant surprise. Thank you for taking the time to visit our fine financial establishment! My name is Utaid and I am at your service." He bows elaborately.
I stand and try to tower only slightly. I want to impress, not intimidate. "The pleasure is all mine Utaid, I am happy to have met you. I wish to open an account so that I will be able to pay people for services they render me."
They look shocked. "E-Empress, of course. We will do everything in our power to help. Since... all here is yours that of course includes all the money stored in the different banks across the Reach."
I nod. "While this is true, I am not a tyrant. I wish to make sure that people are paid and that operations continue as closely to before as possible. Please accept payment requests that come in from people in my name and keep records. We will do our utmost to make sure that the money going in is equal to or greater than the money coming out... in the long term."
They visibly relax. I wonder if they thought I was just going to come in and demand all the currency?
"It will be our most sincere pleasure Empress. We are proud that you have selected us to carry out your financial orders in Your name. We shall set up everything and dispatch a runner to you when it has been completed. I assume you are residing at the Royal Dawn hotel?"
"Yes, that's correct. How did you know?"
They look smug and embarrassed? How did they manage that? "Even though Reach of the Might of Vzzx is a very large starbase, rumors still seem to fly faster than light."
"Ah, thank you Utaid for all your help. I await your runners." They bow low again and I walk out.
Huh, that was easy. I guess people are starting to realize that I really am Empress and I really am trying to help everyone. Feeling very happy, I begin to walk back to the Throne.
"Uh, Melody there might be a problem." Um'reli's voice sounds worried in my head. She figured out how to contact me directly, very nice!
"What is it Um'reli?"
"Just a minute ago, I saw what looked like an alert. Ava and I checked it out and there's something going on at the main transit hub station. We either don't understand the alert or can't ready it yet. Can you check it out please?"
"Oh neat! I haven't been there yet. Sure, I'll go down and check it out. You two stay up there and be my eyes and ears."
The transit station is right around the corner from the bank. It reminds me a lot of photos of transit stations back on Earth. platforms, people milling about, advertising. But I see no crowds or anything worrying. I connect to the Starbase and think to Ava and Um'reli "I don't see any problem here, what's going on?"
"It's not here, it's at the main station. Get on the next train and ride two stops, you'll see it."
Oh, okay. Just as Ava finished speaking, a train rolls up. Like a lot of this place, it clearly was very fancy a long long time ago. The fact that it's still working is pretty impressive, even if it looks a bit run down. I walk on, and look around. There are seats all along the walls of the train car and poles along the middle to hang on to. Mentally I shrug and sit down near the door. After a moment, there's a trilling chime and the doors close.
With a lurch and a hiss of brakes, we get moving. I wonder if this train is automated, or if someone drives it. I should ask later. I'm lost in thought for the ride through the first station stop, but then I look around and realize everyone is staring at me.
"Oh, Hello!" I say brightly.
Immediately, the people closest to me drop to the ground, bowing their heads. "Oh, thank you, but you don't have to do that right now, please just sit. I'm just riding the train over to the hub station. My Builders tell me there's some kind of issue and I'm going to check it out."
"But, Empress... Surely you have people that you can send to do that for you?" It's a Mariens sitting across from me. They look amused.
"Oh not right now. I'm... between retainers and assistants right now. One of my Builders, Omar is helping to repair the High Line, that Aviens ship, and my other two, Ava and Um'reli are sitting in their Chairs, assisting with the operation of the Reach." Oh wait. "Do you want a job? I do find myself needing more people to help out with-" I gesture "-all this. I'm not sure how much to pay yet but I did just come back from the bank, so I'll be able to pay you; I'm sure I'll work all the rest out soon enough."
The Mariens chuckles "Thank you for the generous offer Empress, but I quite like my job. If you so order it... of course I'd help. If you're just asking though, no thank you."
"Oh, that's quite all right. I don't want to order you. But, if you know anyone that would like to help, have them come to the Throne chamber tomorrow, we'll see what we can do!" I look around at everyone trying very hard to look like they're not listening in. "That goes for anyone here too! If you want a job, come see us, if you know someone that does, send them. I need help, and I would love for it to be you!"
And with that same trilling chime, the doors open and I'm at the hub station.
Ah. Okay. I see what Ava and Um'reli are talking about.
There's a riot.
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• CIB Hey! Pikmin - $40
• CIB Story of Seasons Trio of Towns - 50
• CIB Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley - $25
• CIB Harvest Moon Skytree Village - $25
• CIB Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate - $20
• CIB Monster Hunter Generations - $20

Sega Genesis

• Boxed Wings of Wor - $90
• Loose Truxton - $50
• Boxed Forgotten Worlds - $35
• Boxed Strider - $40
• Boxed Star Control - $30
• Boxed Raiden Trad - $65
• Boxed Raiden Trad (cart wouldn't read) - $45
• CIB Cool Spot - $20
• CIB X-Men - $25
• CIB Sonic Spinball - $20
• CIB 6-Pak - $25
• CIB Ms. Pac Man - $10
• loose Street Fighter 2 Special Champ Edition (destroyed manual) - $20

DREAMCAST (all disc only)

• Marvel vs Capcom clash of Super Heroes - $55
• Sonic Adventure - $35
• House of the dead 2 - $20
• Jet Grind Radio - $40
• Trick style - FREE IF YOU BUY 3 OTHER SEGA GAMES

PS1

• CiB Silent Hill Black label (gutted manual) - $160
• CIB Primal Rage Long Box - $60
• CIB Tekken Long Box - $60
• CIB Battle Arena Toshinden 2 Long Box - $40
• CIB Parasite EVE 2 - $110
• CIB Parappa the Rapper - $120
• CIB Mega Man Legends with damaged manual - $70
• CIB Resident Evil 3 Nemesis 2 Disc (damaged case) - $55
• CIB Alien Resurrection - $45
• CIB Metal Gear Solid - $50
• Boxed Metal Gear Solid - $40
• CIB Final Doom - $40
• CIB Ace Combat 2 - $35
• CIB Road Rash - $25
• CIB Chronicles of the Sword - $20
• CIB Krazy Ivan LONGBOX (damaged manual) - $18
• CIB NHL Face Off LONG BOX - $10
• CIB Arcade's Greatest Hits LONG BOX - $15

PS2

• CIB Shadow Hearts + CIB Shadow Hearts Covenant - $200
• CIB Predator Concrete Jungle - $70
• CIB Neo Contra (x2) - $25
• Boxed Bouncer - $20
• CIB God of War 2 - $20
• CIB The Guy Game - $100
• CIB Final Fantasy X - $10
• CIB Auto Modellista - $30
• CIB Disaster Report - $60
• CIB Raw Danger! - $35
• CIB Siren - $50

PS4

• Factory Sealed WATA 9.6 A+ Liar Princess and the Blind Princes - $100
• Factory Sealed Star Wars Bounty Hunter Premium Edition - $120
• Factory Sealed Kingdom Hearts 3 Deluxe Edition - $55
• Last Guardian - $23
• Heavy Rain & Beyond Two Souls Collection - $22
• Middle Earth Shadow of War Gold Edition (with steelbook) - $20
• Root Letter Last Answer with art book - $20
• Knack 2 - $18
• Shenmue 1 & 2 - $17
• World of Final Fantasy - $15
• Sealed Minecraft Dungeons Hero Edition - $22
• Atari Flashback Cassics Vol 1 - $15
• Far Cry 5 - $10
• Skyrim VR - $12
• Payday 2 The Big Score - $12
• Nioh 2 - $8
• Assassin's Creed origins - $8

PSP (all CIB)

• Trails in the Sky - $110
• Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling together - $35
• Ghost Rider - $17
• Star Wars battlefront Elite Squadron - $16

Xbox 360

• NCAA Basketball 10 - $110
• College Hoops 2k8 - $110
• College Hoops 2K7 - $25
• NCaa Basketball 09 - $35