Sorry for the length. Putting this here as a kind of defense against people saying they hated Johnny, the game was all about him and not V, and he ruined the story, Keanu was a gimmick, his delivery of lines was emotionless, etc. I used to feel like that, but now I think I get the story, and the reason for why it's like that.
Disclaimer: this is just my theory, so I could be wrong, but I think that Cyberpunk is a:

1. Allegory of IP and ID, copying versus creation

Cyberpunk isn't really about flying cars and downloaded consciousness. It's an allegory for RL issues going on in the world today: creative content theft and the conversion of ID into binary code, subsequent theft of personhood and the reinterpretation of identity beyond single individuals. We're moving towards a world where someone's ID is not just conferred by birth but a product of their own creative labor uploaded to digitspace. There are real world analogies here to piracy and NFTs, online personas, corporate ownership of such, AIs and unregulated cyberspaces and so on. Many cryptic lines and events and the different endings are exposed when framed through this lens.
Once people start to upload their creative labor and identities into cyberspace, what happens once they die? The game grapples with these questions via the metaphor of engrams, but we can make 'engrams' today. They are files and programs. The work you pour your 'soul' into today will survive for 100+ years and be possessed by strangers for profit and purposes you might disagree with, but since you'll be dead, who will protect your identity and legacy?

1. Characters (female pronouns used for V for clarity)

(a) Johnny (criminals can be crime victims, too):
Johnny represents the archetypal hypocritical asshole creative artist who says 'smash the system' while profiting from that same system. Johnny's pointing a pistol into the face of his fans, and seconds later rallying them, playing for their entertainment, is a moment of symbolism encapsulating the contradiction and hypocrisy of his character.
The narrative reason for Johnny being an extreme asshole anarcho-terrorist is to challenge the perception that, even if the artist was an appalling dick, is it ok to steal/profane their creative works or pervert their creations for your own gain? Even if Johnny was an incorrigible monster, a thief who steals his IPs is still a thief, and an imposter who reappropriates his identity is still committing fraud. If you get distracted by what a dick Johnny is, you miss the terrible thing V does.
(b) Johnny's engram / ("The Treachery of Images"):
When Johnny died, his story ended. V never met Johnny, nor he her. The engram is a metaphor for Johnny's digitized IP/ID, which V stole. He doesn't play protagonist, deuteragonist, or even a character function. He's a static device, like a McGuffin. As such, you cannot 'cooperate' with the engram, or act in his interest, or serve his 'arc'. The engram doesn't get a 'redemption' arc or arc at all. What looks like a redemption arc is actually conveying that artistic work is lives free from its creator's moral conscience. Johnny died a despised terrorist, but his art is liked, free and pure. The engram can't learn or grow, but like art, can be modified externally (by its possessors/owners), wiped of its creator's sins. The engram speaks as Johnny because it was sourced from him, just as a song you wrote will speak your beliefs. But might not forever...One day after you die, the 'engram' might 'give up the guitar' and never again speak with your voice. People will take your creations and make something new with them. This is only a bad thing insofar as your living voice spoke nice things. It's a great thing if your living voice spoke hate, for your works to untether upon your death and sing of love, friendship, and the victory of good over evil.
This is why the Temperance ending is so mysterious and inconclusive. The engram - as Johnny's creative IP - survives the deaths of V and Johnny and again goes forth into an uncertain world, lacking an ownepossessor, freed from V's friends but also Johnny's conscience. It still echoes Johnny's ideas and beliefs, and inspires a new generation of fans. No one 'owns' Johnny's works, at least no one who will live as long as the work itself. Anyone could possess it, for any end. And it might, for the first time in its existence, impress good things upon the world.
In the temperance ending, V, by contrast, did not create IP, and dies forgotten, swallowed up in the shadow of Johnny's enormous legacy. Maybe if she'd created something from the soul - instead of stealing others' work - this would be different. But's also austerely fair.
The symbolic touch for the engram is how it shades its eyes beneath dark glasses. The eyes are the window to the soul. Similar to how Alt's hair symbolically covers her face. Engrams (IPs) have no 'face'; their creator's referent identity dissolves in time as new users appropriate the property. In 'Temperance' the engram removes its glasses upon living a new life, adopted by a new generation of fans, unmarked by the personal villainy of the art's creator. The art has been freed from corporate and fraudulent possession and re-ignites pure creative soul in the world. For the first time, the art has a chance to be a creative, not destructive influence.
Note, Johnny the person is represented by the 'Magician' tarot card. The Magician creates mystery. His engram is represented by 'the Moon'. The moon is mystery - the thing created - itself.
(c) V / The Fool
Johnny isn't the only 'bad guy' in the story. V is also a 'bad guy', and I think you'll find the bitter tone of the game functions to reflect this. V represents an IP/ID thief. She didn't create something from her soul, but stole someone else's creation for profit. This results in her karmic punishment; the stigma of a fraud and creatively bankrupt, creatively 'soulless' person. The 'sickness' V suffers from symbolizes that once you are identified as a plagiarist or thief, anything you genuinely create thereafter, will be considered suspect. How can anyone be sure her original works aren't also secretly rip-offs? So she has damaged her 'creative soul'.
This is why she's slowly, karmically 'becoming' Johnny while her true self is evaporating. Her dilemma is to desperately figure out how to undo her bad act; disentangle herself from Johnny's shadow, create an original legacy for herself to 'survive' her death and not go to her grave forgotten or buried under her misdeed. This is where Alt comes in.
(c) Alt: a tech wiz who invented tech to create digital IDs and safe space in which to use them. She's anti-regulation but ensures her digital ID subsequently polices the space. Her moniker is unsubtly symbolic (a reference to the 'Alt' key). The fact her engram is a cyber-roving AI and not entirely trusted by other characters probably represents a hive group like Anonymous or even 4chan who sometimes band for good purposes but are ultimately unaccountable. The 'rogue AIs' Alt talks about are like the bad parts of 4chan and it's not clear how connected or influenced by them she is.
Alt's offer to V to cure her problem by making an engram of herself to put back into her body, is a metaphor for V creating a new, original IP - via Alt's tech - to be known for. However, this necessitates the death of her former 'thief' ID. In the 'Sun' ending she then has 6 months of 'retirement' where she's free from the pressure of having to create something to leave a legacy behind. She can use that 6 months with loved ones away from the city grind. Even though V is still dying, this is actually a symbolically happy ending, because during those 6 months, V will be completely free. She used to be an iguana trapped in the corporate box. Now she's a bird flying away. She has a chance to be more content than most people living out much longer lives, still grinding away in NC to create legacies. She's basically achieved not only what Johnny did (become a legend), but achieved what he did not (be remembered for good reasons). Johnny's legacy was an illusion and he gets no grave and his creative property enter cyberspace to be used and enjoyed and reappropriated underground. V will be remembered as the person who shattered the big bad corporation, which even Johnny failed to do. She will be remembered for the right reasons, which (according to the game) is even more important than life itself, or immortality.
*** TLDR:
When you're biologically alive, your art is your property. But when you die, the relationship inverts. Your art survives and your identity becomes its property. In death, your creation/s possess you. And other people can possess them.
* Bonus: What does the Peralez stuff mean?
I thought the Peralez stuff is a reference to the Matrix. Anyone else get that?

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading SpacePaladin15's the Nature of Predators series and all of the fanfics as well. I finally had enough inspiration to start writing my own. I haven't written anything like this since college so it has been a while. Please message me with any suggestions and constructive criticisms. I have never written in the 1st person so this is particularly new to me but I hope I stayed mostly true to the format set in the universe. This is only part one of I don't know how many but I have a detailed outline with 6 1/2 pages and this only took me to half a page of that.
I want to give a HUGE shout out to BiasMushroom who let me use some of their news reports, their character Talen, and gave me some direction for my story. I also want to thank YakiTapioca and SavingsSyllabub7788 for letting me use elements from their stories as well.
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Memory transcription subject: Leena, Capital Spaceport Logistics Coordinator
Date [standardized human time]: August 22, 2136
I opened my eyes to the dimly lit room. Confused, I looked at the blinds, they should be open. My eyes fell onto the cradle. The twins were still sleeping, their tails curled around each other. Glancing at the clock on the bedside table I could see why the blinds hadn’t opened. I still had almost a quarter claw before my usual waking. My eyes shifted to the photo next to the clock. The day my husband and I celebrated finding out I was pregnant. Conflicting emotions of happiness and melancholy filled my mind. It was a wonderful memory but I couldn’t ignore the empty space next to me. The arxur had killed him before Vissa and Tas were born. With not enough time to go back to sleep and no desire to get up yet either, I reached for my holopad to check Prime News. The Anchor woman was mid-sentence when the feed buffered.
“-minion forces have attacked the research outpost hosting the Venlil-Human Exchange Program. The station defenders were able to defeat the raiding party with no damage to the station at all. We have received reports from the Governors Office that there were no venlil casualties resulting from the battle. However, the humans suffered over a hundred casualties and recovery efforts are ongoing. One fighter with a venlil and human pilots is missing in action. According to a source on the station, this defender was able to heroically lure away two of the arxur raiders and fled towards the Federation border. The whereabouts and well-being of the pilots is unknown. In Governor Tarva’s press release, her office stressed that the lack of venlil casualties was the result of the human copilots telling their venlil pilots to eject or in some cases even forcibly ejecting them in some cases.”
Why would predators save prey? We were nothing in their eyes. I can’t fathom how this played into their schemes. The blinds opened and the alarm went off. The twins stirred and I know it is time to get up and feed them. No more news. Set the holopad down and pick up the twins, check their diapers, nurse them, check their diapers again, play with them, hold them, sleep with them. Things had finally settled into a comfortable routine again. This last [week] had been so hectic, the invasion sirens, Governor Tarva’s announcement about peaceful predators, and the closed borders. In a single day we became prisoners in our own space and our leader had all but withdrawn us from the federation. We had no protection anymore. Tarva ignored our protests outside her mansion and even encouraged people to talk to the predators. The only sensible thing to happen was the magistrates announcing they would activate all of the current and former extermination officers and increase recruitment. That was only two days. Vissa and Tas were done. I had been playing with them a while when mom called.
“Hi honey, how are you?”
Dad stepped into the frame. “How are the twins?”
I held the holopad over Vissa and Tas on the bed. The two seemed enraptured by the picture.
Dad cooed. “They are so precious.”
“We are doing better each day dad.” I laid on the bed next to Vissa and Tas and held the holopad so that mom and dad could see me and the twins. Tas reached for holopad while Vissa giggled.
Mom spoiled them with attention, wiggling her fingers at the camera, encouraging Tas. “We would love to come visit you and the kids. Oulo has a rest paw coming up soon. We should get their paw prints cast and take them to the park.”
“That sounds like a great idea. I know the twins would love to see you. I still have some extra train rides on my account from my maternity leave. Message me the details and I’ll book you both tickets.”
“You should save those dear, we can manage the tickets.”
I could see the worry in their tails however much they tried to hide it. “Dad, we don’t use the train in the capital. We use the trolley system to get around so I have extra train rides and I would love to have you. You know I could use the extra help with the babies.”
That won them over and it wasn’t a lie. Living in the capital meant we had more options for transportation. Plus, with the predators at their new complex, I haven’t been getting out except to get food or diapers.
“Oh, ok then. We wouldn’t want those to go to waste.” Dad nudged mom with his tail. “Tell her your good news.”
Mom, sat up and smoothed her fur excitedly. “I just got the news that I got the job at Vikki’s Flowers!”
“Mom, that’s wonderful! When do you start?”
“I start in 5 paws. I was honestly surprised they were hiring at all with things how they are.” When Tarva closed the borders, she cut off all trade with the federation and caused an economic crisis like we hadn’t seen in my lifetime.
“That is wonderful news and I hate to cut this short but it is about time to put them down for their nap. Send me the details and I’ll get you the tickets.”
“Rest well sweetie.”
“Goodbye mom, dad. See you soon.”
I ended the call and put the twins in their crib. Vissa was almost asleep already and Tas wasn’t far behind, despite his best efforts.
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Memory transcription subject: Leena, Capital Spaceport Logistics Coordinator
Date [standardized human time]: September 1, 2136
The alarm started chiming and the blinds opened, flooding the room with light. Vissa and Tas started crying. Checking their diapers needed to be done first. I wish they would stop crying while I changed them. I turned on the news to watch while I fed them. Talen was back and he sported a bandaged head. Did the humans do that? He had only been at the Exchange Program for a couple days. What happened? Talen started his report.
“Breaking news. The venlil and human that have been missing in action since the arxur attack on the outpost station that was hosting half of the Venlil-Human Exchange Program on [August 21st], have made their way back to us in a stolen Federation craft.” Talen sighed. “The human, known as Marcel, was in critical condition, while his partner Slanek was injured but stable. We will now show you a recording of the incident. If you are prone to feinting or other outbursts, please block this show for the next [minute] as the contents of this video are quite disturbing.”
With the twins in my arms, I could not reach the holopad to do anything about the video. Prime news switched to a camera elevated above the humans, who were crowded around the docking bay, craning their necks to see their pilot as the ship finished the docking procedures. Human paramedics rushed through a hole in the crowd as a venlil who I assumed was Slanek, shouted at them and gestured with his tail inside the ship. The camera zoomed in on the entrance to the craft as the paramedics reemerged with a human on their stretcher. He was hardly recognizable as a human. His body was splotchy and obviously emaciated. His skin was taught and his face. Sun and starts what had the Federation done to him. The camera panned back out as the paramedics whisked him through the hole in the crowd. Before the video ended, I noticed that the predators backed away from the paramedics as they drew close. Do they fear being hurt like that? Are they trying to help by making more space? Talen returned to the screen.
“What you have seen here is the after effects of Federation torture of their human prisoner. The story that we have so far is that Marcel made a call to lure the arxur attackers away from the outpost, where their ship became disabled and were rescued by Captain Sovlin. Marcel was fitted with an electric shock collar, beaten, and starved for days before Slanek woke from a coma. Slanek was taken to see Marcel in an attempt to convince him that they are savage beasts. When that failed the Federation Captain attempted to feed Slanek to his human partner. Slanek was later able to convince Captain Sovlin’s first officer, Recel, to betray his captain and save Marcel. The trio stole a federation craft and made their way back to Venlil Republic space where Marcel is still in critical condition but being treated.” The co-host continued, “For those out of there that still believe humans are simply biding their time, or will slip into predatory behavior if they are stressed out, here is proof that even if they are starving to death, they will not attack and attempt to eat a venlil. We have contacted the UN for an official statement on what they plan to do and have been notified they will give an official statement soon. We will continue to cover this story as it unfolds.”
Prime news finished that segment and transitioned to a panel of experts but the twins were done feeding so back in the crib they go while I cleaned up and got ready for the day. A chime alerted me to a new message on my holopad. After showering and drying off, I put Vissa and Tas in a play pen with some toys and checked the Bleat message. It was from, Niit.
“I hope you are doing well Leena. I am sending you a message to let you know that our claws are being cut again due to the lack of Federation trade. There simply isn’t enough traffic but, and this surprised me let me tell you, we will be retrofitting an old Venlil Cruiser. I heard talk that Tarva is trying to increase the number of combat ready ships. If you ask me, I think she knows something we don’t. The predators are up to something and she has finally figured that out and is preparing for it at the roots. Hopefully, the Federation will forgive us if we give them Tarva to make an example of and send the exterminators in force to Venlil Prime to wipe them out. Paws open. Your friend, Niit.”
Well speh! Losing claws was a problem. I logged into my credit account to check the balance. I sighed in relief and sadness. The military survivor’s benefits were deposited a paw ago. That helps. Doing the math, I think we’ll be fine. Even if they cut me down to a claw and a quarter, I think I can still make it work with the benefits and an old ship retrofit will mean a lot of work for me searching for parts, so that bodes well. All that is left for today is to register Vissa and Tas in a care center. I started a search for local care facilities while I absently played with the twins. Vissa got her claws caught in my fur again. Guess I’ll look when they are napping.
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Memory transcription subject: Leena, Capital Spaceport Logistics Coordinator
Date [standardized human time]: September 10, 2136
My first day back and there had apparently been some changes. Niit had started to leave her holopad on to streams of Rux Limpbut, an infamous streaming personality, while she filled out work orders. I didn’t think he was wrong necessarily but did he have to be so obnoxious?
“This is it people, I told you it would happen. The humans are invading the Cradle. The humans are slaughtering their way across Gojid territory. And, AND! And what is our esteemed Governor doing about it? She is helping them. She has sent our soldiers into harms way to die for the predator’s conquest. The humans have revealed their true intentions. They said they came in peace but now they are waging a war of extinction against the Gojid and they are using us to do it. WE KNEW there would be slavery but to force peaceful venlil to commit such atrocities…. I could never have predicted the depths of their depravity. These humans are as bad as the arxur, maybe WORSE, at least you know what to expect with the arxur but with humans they lie and steal and deceive… and they have stolen YOUR government. They have stolen….”
I signaled to Niit to mute the video as I made a call to inquire about a cooling unit for the Cruiser docked in the Capital hangers. When the call was over, Niit immediately unmuted the stream.
“-redators are? I’ll tell you how arrogant the predators are. They think they can convince the federation of their benevolent intentions WHILE THEY ARE SLAUGHTERING THEIR WAY ACROSS THE CRADLE! Only a predator would think that was sane. They claim that they needed to protect themselves, what a load of Speh. If we accept that then they would have reason to kill anyone who dared try to protect themselves. Do you, yes you listener, want to be slaughtered or dismembered, or ripped apart because you picked up your favorite gardening shovel?! But I’ll tell you what I’m grateful for. I’m grateful the predators are so arrogant. I’m grateful they are sending their chief liar to the Federation Council. They will see what the predators are and see Tarva for the traitor slave she is. They will come and rescue us all. We only need to hold on a little longer. Now if you’re exhausted and spent then you need my endurance booster vitamins. These will give you the strength to power through your fears and hold out for the Federation rescue fleet and at only 30 credits for a whole bottle it is available to all venlil….”
“Niit, please turn it off,” I pleaded.
“He is… too much.”
Niit muted the stream and looked at me signaling sympathy with her tail. “I understand Leena, I do. The predators scare all of us.” She put her hand on my shoulder reassuringly.
I learned from Balan, that ever since the predators had arrived and the borders were closed, she had started listening to Rux and was a stalwart fan.
“You need to be vigilant! These predators could strike us at any moment. You should try Rux’s endurance boosters if you are struggling to keep up with the herd.” She reached into her desk and pulled out a bottle of the advertised pills and handed me one.
“I can give you one so you can see how good they are. I recommend buying the bulk pack. You save 5 credits per bottle.” She watched me expectantly.
With no other option, I swallowed the pill. I didn’t feel any different. “Thanks, Niit. I hope it helps.”
She waved her tail satisfied, “It will don’t worry.”
The ride to the care center was a short one. It was a happy coincidence that I had found a care center so close to the space port. The time saved commuting was enough that I did not have to pay for a full two claws of time. Still would have preferred that Governor Tarva had not closed the borders but I would take any blessings I could and Young Pups had a good reputation around the Spaceport. Vissa and Tas were fussy today and it was difficult to keep them awake before we got home. When I finally put them to bed and lay next to them the day finally caught up to me. It is nice that I have a break paw when I wake. I should take the pups to the park down the road. They would like that.
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Again, I would love your constructive criticisms. I work full time and it took me a week to write this so I cannot guarantee a set upload schedule but I will try for one per week. Thanks in advance and I hope you enjoyed. And xXSinglePointXx, please don't pee in my shoes. The babies will be fine, I swear.

Before i begin: I wanna start by saying that yes this question has been beaten to the ground and rolled around in the mud, everyone and their dog has come across one of these "should i tell my straight friend i have a crush on him?" but i believe my situation warrants a specific post as i have not come across one that wasn't as serious of a crush, so please bear with me lol.
Now onto the actual post: So i (21 M) have this friend (20 M), who i wouldn't say i'm super close with in the sense that we talk every day, but our friendship has gotten to the point where we're comfortable enough around each other (we're both kind of introverted) comfortable talking about some serious stuff about our life, past troubles, past relationships, family drama, about who our crushes are, who we like, who we'd hit (he knows i'm gay btw), and he's been curious about what my type of men is, nothing to read into, just casual banter.
The current situation that warrants yet another post of these, is that i kinda like him buttttt it's nothing as serious as most of these posts tend to be, with the "deeply in love with my straight friend" and all, this is a casual thing that i might move on from in a couple weeks, maybe not, so if i were to tell him it's not like i would put him on the spot to reciprocate/help me navigate throught my feelings or have to deal with some serious emotional baggage being dumped upon him, it's a casual crush of like i want to make out and that's it, but it's serious enought to where i keep wondering whether i should tell him or not just so i don't keep pondering about what could've been or how he would react, i know he's straight, i wouldn't say 100% but like fairly, fairly straight.
Now you might be asking "dude if this is a casual thing you'll move on from AND he's straight why risk it" to which i'd like to add, he has a crush on one of our friends (20 F) as well, who is currently in a relationship so we both know it's not going past the daydreaming stage, plus he's been bugging me a lot recently to tell him who i like, and since he's so nonchalant about crushing and talking about crushing on friends i was thinking about just ripping the bandaid and straight up tell him i kinda have a thing for him, he's horny, i'm horny we're just horny dudes crushing on people, main difference is that mine is a guy and happens to be him, but i'm a bit worried it might tarnish our friendship a little, not that i think it would be detrimental or anything, if one of my girl friends told me they liked me i would be really appreciative, complimented and we'd move on with our lives completely unaffected, i mean it's happened and we're still good friends to this day but i don't know how masculinity works for straight men, he might be flattered too and also move on, he might be weirded out, he might take it the wrong way, he might end up second guessing how he acts around me.
I'll be seeing him and a couple friends next weekend, where if he asks me again i was thinking of telling him if we had a one on one at any point of the night, but do y'all think it's a good idea? should i just let these feelings peter out and stay wondering what could've been or how he would've reacted?
thank you if you read through all this! i apologize in advance for any grammatical errors/misspellings, constant ramblings or re repeating myself, it's like 5 am and i haven't gone to sleep yet, also english is not my first language and all that.
any help is greatly appreciated!! also please be kind :3

So much backstory here but I’ll try keeping it short and sweet.
If you don’t care about the backstory, here’s the tl;dr version: while opening or closing my jaw, usually when eating but also happens plenty of times when I’m not, I hear a squeaky noise coming from that area. It kind of sounds like a door hinge that needs some WD-40 or something, it’s weird and hard to describe. Is this… normal? I never had it happen prior.
Here’s more info if anyone is interested and/or has more advice!
In September or October I finally managed to get a dentist nearby who took my insurance. Due to years of mental illness and no dentist (so no cleanings or xrays) I really screwed up my teeth and I’ve taken my dental hygiene very serious since then, and if I have a day I’m too depressed anything, I make sure I at least make myself take care of my teeth— I can’t undo the damage I did but I can try to prevent anything worse.
I had 15 cavities, 3 of which needed root canals, and another 3 that needed drilling down and putting on a crown due to the enamel being worn too thin.
Two root canals have been done, but the epoxy put in has long since fallen out and they haven’t even measured for my temporary crowns yet. My root canals were large, and of the two that were drilled out, one is a top left molar and the other a bottom right molar. I basically have two giant holes exposing nerve on each side of my mouth currently. It’s constant pain, especially since I need another root canal and tons of cavities. It makes eating hard and I’m taking ibuprofen way more frequently than is good for me but without it I’d be unable to function due to pain.
I’m allergic to a lot of antibiotics. I’ve named the ones I have allergies to to my dentist, as well as ER doctors as I’ve gone there multiple times because I have no idea what to do sometimes, the pain is so bad I can’t breathe and want to rip my jaw off, it’s horrible. But any antibiotics they could use for tooth infections I am apparently allergic to, so much fun.
Doctor A did my bottom right root canal. Doctor A left sharp pieces of teeth when drilling, and my tongue spent 3 weeks full of cuts and sores, and developing more when I talked as it just went over the rigid texture he left when doing the root canal since my tongue naturally hits that tooth when talking. Luckily it went away but between that, horrible bedside manner, and overall dissatisfaction we made an agreement I wouldn’t come back. They said I could make the crown appointment to finish that job but I didn’t trust him to do it properly.
I then went to Doctor B. He was much better. Noticed things Doctor A said nothing to me about, had amazing bedside manner, etc. He did the left side molar and said he would do the temporary crown for that and my other root canal so I didn’t need to go back to Doctor A again for it even though it technically is considered unfinished and a lot of dentists won’t touch other dentist’s work (keep this in mine for later) he understood my issues.
We never got around to doing the crowns for my root canals, though. I mentioned multiple times, and had multiple emergency exams, how much pain I was in and how much certain teeth were bothering me but he insisted I file down my front teeth and put crowns on them before we do the dental work for the things actually causing me pain because the front teeth enamel was very thin, so I kind of had to go with his word.
When switching the temporary to permanent crowns about 2-4 weeks ago, he told me if there was anything I wasn’t satisfied with at all to please let him know, it’s my front teeth so it’s a time I should be picky. I said they looked great, but I couldn’t bite down properly so I needed the back of them filed a bit. That was it. No screaming crying or throwing a tantrum, just wanted to bite down properly.
I thanked him for filing the back and said I’d see him soon, since I finally had my appointment on May 6th to do my other crowns so I didn’t have a hole in my mouth and could finally eat painlessly. I was also scheduled the same day to do the last root canal. He said something along the lines of them being too booked out for how much I needed done, even though we had a treatment plan prior and it wasn’t an issue. He even said I can book with their “sister” clinic a town over.
Last week I got a letter in the mail dismissing me from their practice. But it had changed and was now due to our doctor client relationship. When I called the receptionist said he felt he wouldn’t ever be able to do dental work I was satisfied with. Even though I had never given a single complaint prior and we got along great. Even with the crowns I said they looked fine, I loved the appearance, I just needed the backs filed so I could bite dowm correctly.
They claimed they’ve never dismissed a client for this reason but I was never once rude to the dentist or unsatisfied with him, I never complained, so I have a hard time believing they didn’t do this with anyone else when they absolutely have more terrible clients than me.
I asked if it’s legal to leave a root canal unfinished with a hole in my mouth and exposed nerve (confirmed by my three separate ER trips) and nothing covering it and was told it actually is finished because they drilled out all of the infection even though it wasn’t properly finished. The reason this is ironic is because when I left Doctor A, they were hesitant touching Doctor A’s root canal because they said nothing a dentist won’t finish another’s unfinished work, yet it was the same stages completed and was considered finished when it came to Doctor B leaving me. I had trouble finding anyone who’d “finish” his root canal but luckily I did find someone and I hope he’s actually a good, professional dentist. He’s nearby, and I go for my emergency exam next week.
So, there’s the very very long version of the story if anyone has other advice. I’ll ask about the squeaky sound when I see him (my mind strayed so far I forgot that was the original topic lol). But is this normal!

me and my husband planned to have a big family. Its been our wish for a long time, but sadly after 3, I cant get any kids without complication anymore. It would be a high risk. Adoption is fine for me and him, but he also wishes to have more his biological kids. The only solution I can see here is to allow him to have another wife or girlfriend, who would accept a family like this. I m not sure because I would always wanna be the only one for my husband, but I also love him dearly and dont wanna rip the dream of his out of him, that is why I was thinking about this idea. I find it not fair for him to be unhappy and I want to see him happy. What should I do?

I've been analyzing Eren's character quite a bit in order to be able to better articulate why I disagree with many of the negative criticisms towards Isayama for the way he portrays Eren near the end of the story. Let me know what you think, or if any of these analyses helped you appreciate something you didn't before.
Why did Eren say "I just wanted to" when Armin asked why he wanted to wipe out humanity outside the walls?
When Eren was a child, his worldview was morphed by the feeling that he was trapped in a cage, and that outside of that cage there were forces that had taken away his natural born freedom. He wanted to explore the world that he saw in Armin's book, he respected his friend's wonderous view of the outside world and wanted to subscribe to the idea that seeing it with his own eyes was quintessential freedom. But Eren's understanding of what he saw in Armin's book was that he wouldn't be free until he was able to see the vast empty world that had been taken from him, while Armin simply took from what he saw in the book as hope, curiosity, and wonder (the main values of the Survey Corps). When Eren stared at his mother getting ripped in half in front of him, that ingrained his convictions and worldviews into his psyche deeply and hit the pause button on his ability to mature past that. He enlisted as a child soldier, and went through countless traumas including being eaten by a titan, seeing his friends die, and realizing that people he trusted were who he classified as the enemy. All of this was so traumatizing to him that he never had the opportunity to be introspective and reflect on his philosophies to develop a more mature version of his beliefs.
We observed this emotionally immature, one-dimensional character for the longest time and people disliked his character for it, and then he went to Liberio after touching Christa. When we see him in Liberio he appears to have matured. He has a calm, cool, and collected personality now. He knows what he wants, and he isn't scared to kill whoever stands in his way to get it. He seems like he is no longer pulled along by the story, but rather pulls it along himself, a proactive character rather than a reactive one. His popularity exploded because he gives off this mature demeanor now, so his motives must also be mature, right? When he was a child he said, "I'm going to kill them all… I'm going to wipe them out" when referring to the titans, but what that actually translates to is that he wanted to wipe out everything outside of the walls to realize his dream of exploring untapped virgin lands, it's just that at the time "everything outside the walls" to him was "the titans." This worldview never changed throughout the story from the beginning to the end. The reason he seems to have more mature and emotionally developed convictions after Liberio is because when he realized the future, the reality of the future atrocities his desires had unleashed upon the world, combined with his newfound understanding that the people outside the wall are the same as the ones within, he became emotionally muted. He knew that what he wanted was evil and unjustifiable, but he wanted it nonetheless. He stopped caring about the present, he couldn't let himself become emotionally invested in the things happening around him anymore because he saw himself as an irredeemable monster that didn't deserve to be sad or upset anymore. And he coped with this by being cold to everyone and suppressing his emotional reactions in a way that made him seem more calculated and mature as a character. He kept moving forward, because the future that he saw through his dad's memories is a future that he created, because it is what he would have done even if he had not seen it beforehand. When he was destroying humanity, the only way he had left to cope with the situation before him was to mentally revert to his childlike state to justify it, genuinely making himself believe that he was finally experiencing freedom. He was consumed by his dream, unable to give up on it.
"I am just me; I always have been. If someone tries to steal my freedom away, I won't hesitate to take away theirs. Our father didn't make me this way, I've been like this since birth," -Eren to Zeke when watching his father's memories. In this way Eren is a slave to his own nature, the nature that he will never fulfill as long as he does not have an enemy that has taken something away from him. "Everyone had to be drunk on something' to keep pushing on... Everyone was a slave to something," -Kenny as he was dying, realizing that injecting himself with the titan serum that ended up saving Armin would only satisfy his selfish dream. One of Isayama's inspirations for AoT was a manga named "Himeanole," a story about a serial killer who was the way that he was because that's how he was born, and that the only reason you AREN'T a serial killer is because of the luck of not being born with the desire to kill. So when Eren says "I just wanted to" to Armin, that's HIS way of interpreting his feelings, but we know why. Isayama didn't do a 360 on us, we did it on ourselves when we tricked ourselves into perceiving Eren as someone who had changed when, at his core, he still held the same murderous, unnatural, and ruthless convictions that he did at the start of the series. We wanted to believe that we could finally be on his side, and that his actions were justifiable, but we were wrong. This idea of determinism isn't to absolve a murderer of their crimes, so we aren't being asked to excuse Eren's actions. The definition of Compatibilism says: We're still morally responsible for the actions we take even in the absence of true free will. When Reiner said at the end of season two "Eren is the WORST possible person to hold the coordinate" it's because it's true, because Eren is genuinely crazy. Eren represents the opposite of the message of the story, the message that the "enemy" is the same as us and should be treated with humanity. Armin, who does represent the actual message of the story, thematically, is the one who must put an end to Eren, no longer being able to overlook his true nature as a monster, one that he had helped create.
Eren lived a life full of trauma and hardship and was deeply ashamed of the irredeemable actions he had driven himself to. He wasn't a good person, but he was a tragic character as an antagonist. When Eren has his moment in his conversation with Armin where he breaks down and confesses his dying regrets to his best friend, he finally allows his emotions to flow out. He whines and cries about how he wants to be with Mikasa and that he doesn't want to die, even though he has no right to any of those things. When asked about this panel, Isayama said he wrote it while in his mind saying "Eren is back." This panel is supposed to resolve the hints we had been given about the true childish nature of himself throughout the post-Liberio portion of the story. If your reaction to that panel is "He is so pathetic," much like Armin does in the scene, then you are reacting in the exact way you're supposed to. This harsh teardown of people's misreading of Eren's character was intentional and was intended to be jarring to people attached to the false image of Eren as a badass, when the reality is that his motive for the rumbling has always been childish and illogical.
Why did Eren tell all Eldians through PATHS that he was doing it to protect the people of Paradis?
He did what he had being doing throughout the entire Jaegerist arc, he lied to everyone to hide what he really wanted. Throughout the Jaegerist arc he deceived the Paradis military into thinking he would go along with the plan to unleash a small rumbling on the global alliance, when he was actually helping Yelena with the Euthanasia plan. But he wasn't actually planning to go along with the Euthanization plan, he was lying to Yelena and Zeke in order to get what he actually wanted, to unleash all the Titans in the walls. And when he said to the Eldians "this is to protect you," he was also lying. He was doing it because he despised the outside world. Also, when he activated the rumbling, he did NOT know that he would be stopped in the end, or that the titan curse would be ended, because all he knew about the future at that point was what he had seen in Grisha's memories, which contained cherry-picked information about the future that Founding-Titan-Eren had sent to him in order to motivate him to steal the coordinate, including scenes from Eren's point of view as he is exploring his own memories with Zeke, which is how Grisha is able to "see" adult Zeke at certain points. Eren's desires when he activated the rumbling were ultimately revealed to be something less driven by the idea of defeating the oppressors of his people, more than anything just wanted to wipe clean the world that didn't match his predetermined idea of it.
Why did he allow his friends to kill him?
He allowed his friends to have the freedom to come after him because at the end of the day he does still value freedom above everything else. Even though he has lost his own freedom by seeing the future of a deterministic world, a future that can't be changed no matter how hard he tries to change it, he wants his friends to have the freedom he can no longer have. He still loves his friends, he isn't so one dimensional that he doesn't value the people that love him, it's just that his desire to wipe out the world is stronger than his desire do what his loved ones want him to. He didn't WANT his friends to stop him, but he didn't want to take away his friend's freedom even more, and the side benefit of his friends being able to end the titan curse and be seen as heroes was a convenient bonus to that particular outcome. Once Eren had activated the rumbling with the full intention of wiping out all non-Eldians, he gained the full power of the founder and was able to see that the outcome of him being defeated by his friends was the one that would happen. So because his defeat was already set in stone, he made it a point to frame his friends as heroes, transforming into a titan to fight Armin in hand-to-hand combat in order to put on a show for what remained of humanity. Another benefit to him being defeated was that deep down, he knew that even if he succeeded and wiped out all of humanity, it wouldn't be enough for him. As hinted at in the zombie spin-off of the manga, when the world is at peace, he becomes bored and unfulfilled, he has always needed an enemy to keep himself going. Levi told Erwin at the end of season three, "give up on your dream and die," and this sentiment was also extended from Levi to Eren, sometimes a person’s dream is so powerful and destructive that the best thing for humanity is for that person to die.
Why did Ymir undo the power of the titans after seeing Mikasa kiss Eren?
Because Mikasa decided to put an end to Eren's life, even while truly loving him. Ymir maintained the power of the titans for 2000 years because she was a slave to her love to King Fritz, and she couldn't bring herself to deny him because of it. Seeing Mikasa defy Eren's wish to finish the rumbling even though she loved him was what Ymir needed to see to justify doing the same, defy King Fritz by discontinuing the power that he had been forcing her to preserve.
Why did Eren say to Reiner "We're the same"?
When Reiner was invading Paradis, he told himself that he was doing it to give his family freedom, to be a warrior for his people and save the world. But deep down, he wasn't doing it for anything so noble. More than anything his driving force was the desire to be impressive. He wanted to be the hero and achieve glory.
When Eren says to Reiner that they're the same, Reiner THINKS that Eren is saying "We both committed atrocities, but we did it because he had to protect what we cared about." Which is why Reiner denies him, because Reiner didn't do it for that reason. But Eren knows what Reiner doesn't think he does, the fact that Reiner did what did for selfish reasons, not honorable ones. So, when he says, "We're the same," what he's saying is "We both commit atrocities under the veil of honorability, but we actually do so for selfish, immature reasons."

Hello All, I am a petite brunette Latina /Mex. that has always liked the idea of being a part of a throuple or Quad. All equally invested in, attracted and loving of the other. I am open to having this with all bi males, cd, trans, pan, etc and myself or with other women, men and myself. (The only thing with other women and me is that I do not enjoy giving oral sex to women. It’s just not my thing but I do enjoy other forms of intimacy with women. I feel I need to disclose that because it could be a dealbreaker for someAnd I would understand them lol )
I am very sexually adventurous and open but what I don’t like, I don’t force. That being said , in my ideal polyamory relationship, everyone involved would be just as sex friendly or genuinely be ok that I am and will continue to support me with it.
Outside of sex, I love to: explore and enjoy nature, travel, go to flea markets,thrift stores, karaoke, live music shows, enjoy tattoos, different festivals, have some drinks and smoke some weed. On top of that, I do enjoy some other party favors on special occasions and EVERYTHING in moderation. No judgement please☝🏽🤣 I’m a good person with a free spirit, a good heart, sometimes I’m a little bit of fun trouble but my intentions with everyone and everything are good always! I am really attracted to wit, lightheartedness, being yourself, sense of humor and open mindedness. I’ll Travel/move to anywhere. Dm me please if interested or have ?’s

I love it so much I can literally feel it in my chest. Like— that same heavy feeling I had when I thought I met my soulmate— it’s here again. I had no idea you could feel this way about art or music I want to rip my heart out and feed it to the band members.
I swear Dogs has got to have some of the greatest moments in songwriting EVER, and Pigs is just so fucking heavy and cool. First time I ever heard it I thought: “Wow. I get it now. I get this music,” and I never stopped getting it. My headphones were maxed and it felt like the cowbell and bass were my walls caving in around me.
I’m so happy.

The Restless God lies trapped, but not idle in its sealed off realm. It writhes and yearns for the day it may again take pleasure in the pain of mortals. To once again play in the blood and baske in the terror only finite creatures can produce.
Many worlds it's fed upon, but never satiated. But the world that fought back against its attacks long ago are the ones it wants all the more. It has become an obsession.
So it waits, and it feels, searching for weaknesses between the borders of our world and itself. Hungry and anxious it salivates at the thought of breaching into our world again. It will be its greatest decadence and pleasure, and our darkest days. Despite this, we must pray to Her Divine! We must beg for mercy and the return of Her light.
-Grand Mage Tellomon the IV on the prophecy of the Dark God's return (Second Age)
Pitch blackness. Pure darkness. A thick void of nothing completely swallowing me up, like a fish in the depths of an ocean.
I was crouched low in a ready position, using my right hand to balance by holding onto the wagon's wheel beside me. My legs burned from forcing myself to remain completely still. But pain had become a constant in my life now.
But I was grateful for the adrenaline burst that would always dampen the ever present burden of hunger and fatigue. At least it helped for a little. But the pain found its way back to me faster and faster each time.
It was hot and humid, almost like the swamps of the eastern bog a good 3 weeks journey from here. The cold wind stopped when the darkness befell our remote town. The breeze no longer ran its cold tendrils across the barren streets.
I grabbed the thin string tied around my neck and pulled out a heavy monocle hanging from it. I held the cold metal up to my eye, to look through the green tinted glass.
The magically infused monocle always remained cool to the touch, with a static shock feeling emanating from it.
I held it to my eye to see the world around me clearly, yet tented in bright shades of green. My eyes roamed across the quiet, motionless street.
Debris and bloated corpses littered the street. With no wind and the unnaturally heavy darkness, this somehow had a dampening effect on the stench coming from decaying bodies. They could only be smelled once you were almost on top of one of them or a meter away. But my dead kinsmen helped even in death, making good landmarks to navigate through the darkness.
There were monsters that accompanied the dark fog. Twisted figures that were the void itself. Maybe they were the cruel thoughts of the Restless God made manifest.
Humans long ago, in the First Age had named them rippers. We all hoped they were just a myth, not actual walking nightmares
The rippers swarmed the town in the blinding dark. They seemed to only kill for killing's sake. They never ate the people they killed, almost like it was just for fun instead of survival.
It made sense in some twisted way. The Restless God must have returned to our realm, and brought these hateful things with it.
Prophets had long told of The Restless One's return by it sending nightmares through the veil of reality, to infest in the minds of our leaders. Centuries of slowly chipping away at the barrier separating us, chipping away at our sanity.
The Restless One birthed itself into our reality like an already dead stillborn abomination. Like a newborn giant, deformed with extra limbs and already rotting from death.
But it was alive! As alive as this strange creature could be. Now it was free, and this did not bring the thing elation, just more anger and restlessness.
How do I know all these things? The nightmare visions sent to all mortals across the realm since the Restless One's returned. Actually there were nightmares for most of the town leading up to the event. I guess it was our omens for being so close to the epicenter of its invasion.
One omen would have been terrible enough, but something this perverse stacked on the misfortune.
Dark signs of its arrival showed themselves all over the Kingdom of Maldune. The signs stretched further across to the neighboring kingdoms. The wretched god's birth pains were so terrible, I wager they were felt thousands of leagues away on The Wild Continent.
But the other Kingdoms didn't have the vast magical communication network like us Modunians, so reports of bad omens tampered off dramatically outside of our borders.
The misfortune of my town was like I said, we were the closest to the epicenter of the entities push into our reality, closest to the cradle of the spoiled god.
An entire mountain range protected us from the shock wave of magical energy, but all livestock siezed up and died. All birds fell from out of the air. All rodents died in their holes. And our very young died in their cribs.
It was a terrible event to have the town's children instantly killed, but now I see it as a mercy for the little ones. The innocent children got to go to Our Divine in their sleep peacefully, or at least quickly. They didn't have to die in the suffocating dark, or by the diseased claws of the rippers.
The town's guard fell quickly. A group of 16 men on loan from The Capitol, to keep peace and protect the trade routes. Our peacekeepers were more used to using words to settle disputes among merchants, or occasionally throw a drunk into a cell overnight.
They were ill equipped to handle the inky blackness that engulfed the town, rolling down from the mountain like a fluid landslide. The confusion of the townspeople quickly turned to pandemonium as the screams began.
That's when we realized we were not alone in the dark. Things moved quickly in the blackness. The Rippers began to slaughter everyone in the pitch blackness.
The first few days are a blur to me even now. But that's how I remember the beginning of the horror, the beginning of the end. I remember the dark engulfing the town, the adrenaline of fear. My last sight was of silent death spilling down from the mountains like a boiling pot overflowing with a viscous poison.
When the black fog first swept over me, my first few breaths of the miasma burned my eyes and lungs. The taste of metal on my tongue. The smell of sulfur and something sweet. Something sweet and rancid. Decay and corruption.
But now I had to shake the fog out of my head and return to the terrible present. I had to embrace the hopeless situation without falling to despair.
My magical sight gazing through the monocle finally spotted the rest of my group. Jillsophie, Tagert, and Fellip. Tag and Fel carrying the heavy burlap sacks of animal feed, while Jill led the three of them through the darkness with her own magical monocle.
We spotted each other from across the corpse littered roadway. The General Goods store had caught on fire early in the supernatural invasion. Somehow the strange darkness had put out the fire, snuffing it out like a heavy blanket thrown over a weak flame. That's why we were back, looting the store, trying to keep from starving to death before the rippers could kill us first.
Jill gave me a series of quick hand signals I had recently taught her. They had scavenged three bags of feed. Fil was carrying two big bags and Tagert one of them, but they were heavy and we were all weak. Jill wasn't carrying anything. She was too busy leading the two of them by pulling on the corded string she had tied around both their waists.
Before I waved the three of them to hurry over, I turned to Caville, my partner in crime on this side of the road beside me. He blinked wide eyed in the darkness, one gloved hand twisting the ends of his graying mustache while the other held a death grip on the pommel of his sheathed short sword.
I had to remember I could see him clearly through my monocle, but he only saw and felt the oppressive darkness. He was just waiting for a claw or fang to strike him from the darkness.
Because of this I lightly placed my hand on his shoulder. The light touch didn't stop Caville from almost jumping out of his boots. He quickly calmed when he realized it was me. The old warrior steadied himself once more.
I place my hand on the flat of his chest so he could feel my finger placement through his light shirt. I signed the question to him through a series of light thumps separating the words.
"Another bag. 40 LBS. Can carry?" I finished my signing by holding the hand placement designating a question mark firmly against his chest. I saw his eyes widen and he grimaced in doubt. His old frame shook a little as he prepared his answer.
Of course he answered back that he could carry the load, but I knew the real answer. It's amazing how much we communicate through non-verbal cues, and how much more when we think we are concealed in darkness.
He was barely standing on two feet. Starving and aching. He was pushing his late 50's, and his joints and muscles carried the pain of being a veteran soldier for over 30 years. He would collapse under the weight of his light armor and newly added bag of feed. No way he could keep quiet or climb back up into the attic we were all hiding at.
But Caville's years of being a proud soldier almost assured me that he would take on the task regardless of his disposition. So I signed back to Jil, "Drop 3rd bag. Later."
I lied and informed Caville that I was incorrect in my assessment. There wasn't an extra bag of feed, and we would be returning to the relative safety of the windmill.
Jil quietly led Fil, with Tagert close behind, across the road. Her own magic monocle making it possible to maneuver around the maze of debris and bodies. They all moved slow enough for Jil to communicate with sharp tugs on the string fastened around both of them. Stealth was key.
When I first saw it I didn't know how to react. I knew what the rippers looked like through my monocle, and I knew the placement of all the dead town-folk. But as I watched my three companions snake around the bloated body of Mr. Dredge, the blacksmith, I saw the faintest quiver of motion within the corpse.
Normally, that would mean some sort of vermin or carrion feeder had nestled within the body. But in this nightmare world we lived in, the Rippers killed everything that wasn't already slaughtered when The Restless One re-emerged into our reality, sending out It's shockwave of death.
To my horror I realized something else. Upon closer inspection of Mr.Dredge's body. I noticed it had somehow moved a couple feet to the left since last time I had seen him. I could even see the wet smear marks in the dirt from where it dragged itself over.
My magical monocle could also detect other magic. It wasn't very good at it but still could. My vision was bathed in illuminating green, but magic showed up white.
That's what I saw rising out of Mr.Dredge's body. Four bright spider-like legs protruded out of the back of the corpse, and hooked into the ground, lifting the stiff dead body into the air slowly, quietly.
Jil in the others were completely unaware of the horror looming up behind them. The jaw of Mr. Dredge fell off with a soggy "plop" into the dirt. What looked like a large inverted scorpion's tail writhed out the body's mouth. The scorpion tale hung down around the body's bloated chest. The tail curling up to point a large stinger at the group.
I could see that Jil had heard the "plop" of the jaw falling off the corpse behind her. She raised her eyebrows, sniffed the air, and froze in an alert state, her two companions bumping into her.
I had temporarily frozen too. I had never seen a monster like this before. Its spider legs lifting the body up to let its human feet brush its toes lightly on the ground. The whole body was ridged from rigor mortis. The body's hands curled to its chest, making fists, stiff legs swaying like the awkward pendulum of a clock. Still bodily juices and blood oozed profusely from hismouth and ripped open guts.
A surreal thought came into my mind. Maybe it was my mind trying to make sense out of nonsense. Mr.Dredges stiff body reminding me of toy soldier from my childhood. They were always stiff jointed when brand new, not dead.
I finally snapped out of my daze when glowing white spikey tendrils pushed the body's guts out with another wet impact noise. The many spiked appendages snaked out slowly towards the back of the unaware Tagert.
"Jil!" my voice boomed out, breaking the silence like a cannon burst. Everyone jumped in surprise. "Run! Run!"
With my off hand I quickly dug into my pocket and produced a phlare, the phosphorus filled stick. I quickly pulled the cap off with my teeth, igniting the flame dangerously close to my face. I didn't care, and barely felt the heat.
Holding out the phlare to signal to Jil and the others, producing a blinding light in the dark. But the blackness was unnatural and dampened the burning flame into a muted orange glow. Regardless, the phlare was still bright enough to signal the unsuspecting trio crossing the street.
Through the monocle I saw all three of them lock eyes on the light and begin to hurry towards me. It was against human instinct to run unaware in darkness. This made them not fast enough, because the Dredge-thing shot out a torso tendril to stab Tagert in the upper back.
Tagert let out a cry of pain, but kept coming. The cry of pain causing all three to break out into a full run. The need to live finally overriding the need to see.
I dropped the phlare as Jill led the other two up to me. They almost ran her poor soul over as she braced to stop them. The Dredge monster seemed to be slow. Her Divine was still blessing us!
I grabbed Caville's shoulder and Jil grabbed the tail of my shirt. We all took off together, back to the windmill.
We tried to go as fast as we could the couple blocks back to our hideout, but It was hard going. Caville lagged beside me, with Tag and Fel huffing as they carried the 40 pound feed bags.
I looked back at Dredge to see it had fallen on its stomach and was skittering after us like a centipede. It was considerably faster now!
I lowered the monocle to put both hands on Caville's shoulders and push him in front of me. Even if I pushed him we still wouldn't be fast enough.
My mind raced, like it had so many times since the birth of the Restless One. My mind swirled with anxious thoughts of decisions and counter-decisions. My sleep deprived and starving brain hallucinated the faces of my people alongside the terrible silver teeth of the Rippers lunging towards me out the colorless backdrop.
But like always, I made a desperate choice. "Drop the feed bags! Its gaining on us!
I expected to hear the "Thump! Thump!" Of the bags hitting the dirt, but I got what I least expected instead.
"No Jack! Don't drop the feed! I'll buy you time!" Caville said as he shrugged free of my grasp on his shoulders and started in the opposite direction towards Dredge.
"I'm so t-tired of running away! A-and I miss my daughter and grandkids!" the old warrior declared, his voice cracking at the end of his statement.
He held out an outstretched hand and fingers. When the tips of them made contact with Jil's dirty clothes, he easily side-stepped around Jil and the other two with grace as they hurried past him in the dark. These were skills long honed from blindfold training to heighten a soldier's situational awareness level.
Jil was the only other to see what was happening. She reached out for him as the other two pushed her forward. She stifled a cry and pushed ahead.
I was glad Jil wouldn't see this, but I felt I had to watch. I had to witness his sacrifice in the depths of this hell.
I saw Dredge's corpse crawl its way up to Caville, one of its longer talons hooking into Caville's upper knee. Caville screamed and sliced horizontally instantly. The sword cut through the air harmlessly over the monster.
Caville took this information and countered quickly as more sharp tendrils stabbed into his lower body. He rose the blade high over his head and let out a final death blow, plunging the sword downwards to impale the monster, staking it to the ground.
The monster pulled the old soldier down and tore into him. Caville's screams echoed out as I turned to run. Worse is when his screams finally choked out and fell silent.
The group of us made it un-accosted for the rest of our journey. We hurried in silence just like we were in mourning. We made it to the edge of town where the river and the watermill stood.
We climbed up the stacked boxes on the side of the building to slide open a wooden panel into the attic.
The inside of the attic had the low glow of multiple lanterns and the stuffy smell of multiple unwashed people living in tight quarters together for a long time.
We piled in quickly to close up the entrance behind us. There were 8 of us now. Me, Jil, Fil, Tag, Mama Denise, her two kids, and Harper sleeping in the corner.
All eyes met mine as they counted the three of us. No one had to ask what happened to Caville. They all knew. I think even the kids knew.
By the best we could reckon, it had been a month since death swept over our town. The rippers patrolled the streets and buildings constantly, searching for survivors to kill in the beginning. They also destroyed any cache of food or weapons they came across.
There was a deeper intelligence behind the rippers. They were vicious and animalistic when encountered, but they would carry out complicated tasks relentlessly, like soldiers receiving orders. It had to be the malicious influence of the Restless One speaking to all of them, like they were the claws at the end of his corrupting grasp.
It was Jil that had the idea for the feed bags at the General Store. Yes, they were for cows and horses, but they had been magically enhanced and would give the human body what it needed also.
It would give us enough strength to try and escape this Divine forsaken town, and hopefully leave the darkness to flee to the safety of the Capitol.
I knew the thought of making it all the way to the Capitol was ridiculous. The longer we headed east, the more likely we ran into the army of rippers that left the town at least two days ago.
It had been hundreds of them! Me and Jil were out scouting the General Store for the feed bags we had just now retrieved.
The going was slow, because the enemy was everywhere. But we knew how to maneuver from rooftop to closely packed rooftop. And the grew closer togeher the closer we got to the center of the town.
From where we started, the watermill in the outskirts of town, it seemed like the town was suspiciously empty of the monsters. But we soon realized that was the opposite. We didn't see any Rippers on the outskirts because they were all gathering together in the town square
The bright figures of humanoid shaped demons clustered together in a giant group. The magical vision of the monocle causing them to glow from whatever evil sorcery created them. So many of them huddling together created a glowing sea, flooding the courtyard.
Rippers were rumored to have always existed. Even before The Restless One returned. But they were rare and only inhabited places of great tragedy and a history of dark magic. Now there was an army of them, amassing to March East towards The Capitol.
Some said The Rippers were phantoms created by The Restless One. They were his only way to reach through dimensions and torment the living.
More scholarly Old-timers theorized the Rippers came from the vengeful spirits of the long extinct elves, hunted to extinction by Man a millennium ago.
Ancient texts mention the long extinct Legacy Elves had a bad habit of dabbling in dark magic, causing The Restless One to specifically target them, repeatedly using the elves innate affinity with magic to breach into our reality to cause havoc.
Many believe Man's genocide against the elves was not entirely warranted, it had help seal The Restless One away. But not all elves worshipped the Restless One. Many of them worshiped Her Divine like we humans do. But relations between elves and humans had always been strained, and this was the excuse humans needed to eliminate their rival for dominance over the lands, once and for all.
"Why must we be punished?" I remembered Tehama asking when all this first happened, back whe. She was alive.
"It's not our fault! It's the fault of our long dead ancestors! The kingdom that commited the atrocity doesn't even exist anymore!" Tehama said in a fit of nervous mania.
We had to hush her for getting too loud. But the truth is, we had no answer. There was no clear reason why we were all being subjected to such anguish.
Like I said, Tehama didn't make it anyways. On a supply run she had grabbed a doll from her old home to bring to Mama Denise and her two girls, but had dropped it in the street when Jil spotted a group of Rippers scaling the rooftops a block away.
We all scrambled to hide, hoping the Ripper patrol moved along. But they spotted the dolly laying in the dirt. And some sort of supernatural intelligence recognized this wasn't here on their last patrol. They knew humans were moving around.
The five of the Rippers in the patrol circled the doll, all letting out a high pitched squeals, like an alarm calling to others.
Me and Jil hid in a nasty bale of hay next to a gutted horse laying beside it, hopefully masking our scent. Our terror rose as we watched more and more Rippers coming out of the shadows. They slid down buildings, out of doorways, from under debris, and they all were all screaming, almost deafening to us.
There were three magical monocle's during this time. All of us had one. And we could all see the count of Rippers going into the hundreds!
They would find us! By flooding every corner of the street, they would come across us eventually!
That's when Tehama made her decision. I didn't see exactly where she hid, but she wasn't hiding anymore. She broke cover and ran directly into the streets, into the crowd of monsters. She tossed her monocle behind her towards our direction, maybe for us to recover later.
Of course they glowed brightly through the monocle, but to the naked eye they were an inky black. A black blacker than their surroundings, making it almost impossible to see them.
When the Rippers got close to their chosen victim, they allowed their prey to see their shiny silver teeth.
The sharp protruding teeth stand out bright and glistening, almost like silver, against the backdrop of darkness. as they moved in to kill the hapless human.
This is all Tehama saw as she dropped to his knees and searched blindly for the dropped dolly. She screamed and cried as the teeth sank into her tearing off little bits of her flesh.
The Rippers began to whoop and laugh like hyenas as they snatched piece by peice of her away. From the little I knew, the Rippers didn't need to eat. They just bit her for the joyful cruelness of it.
Blood soaked, mostly skinless hands of poor Tehama found the dolly that had started all of this horror. She hugged it close to her skinless chest and let out a gurgling scream before tipping over, most likely dead from shock.
That very second! That truly horrid moment! I decided I wasn't going to die in this town. I wasn't going to "wait it out" like all the old-timers advised. They are all dead now anyways! They didn't wait it out.
The King's armies hadn't made it in time. No fireballs from battlemages to shatter the darkness, no royal purple knights lead by The Heroic Prince Julian, no salvation from Her Divine!
If we waited we would all die in the dark. No doubt the King was coming with his armies, but how many days, or years will it take to Him to reach our settlement?
No, I would not die here. I had promised myself this years ago! I would survive like I had also promised! I would save Jil the way she saved me!
Then the army of rippers moved out East towards the Capitol. But there were still wicked things left behind to kill us. But this was our best chance!
As I sat in the darkness of the attic my mind was free to visualize in wonderful colorful detail my last memories before the Restless One tainted our town with its sightless void.
I remembered walking through the town, going towards the training academy. I was going to climb the mountain behind it. I was going to climb it again and again until I graduated and became one of the Royal Warden's Squires. The academy started soon and I never made it to the top without resting and without dropping my pack.
This is why I was one of the first to see our oncoming doom. The inky blackness spilled out from around the mountain to flood towards the town.
I knew I had to run and give warning to the town's guard. I wasn't a Warden's Squire yet, but I still had a duty to protect the people.
Tears heated up my cheeks as I sat in the dark, greatfull Jil and the others couldn't see me crying, as I remembered the death that followed.
But one of my last memories gave me the tiniest blink of hope. I remembered the peak of the mountain stabbing through the blackness. The mountain was tall enough to escape the flood of hell filling the valleys and town around it.
There was a ceremonial watchtower at the top of the mountain, filled with supplies. It's where the academy cadets earned their badges and completed their training. The mountain was the last test to becoming a Warden's Squire. A grueling uphill climb with a nickname given to the mountain by past cadets that like to boast over their hard earned accomplishments.
The mountain was affectionately called Mt. Despair, and it would be our salvation.
Part 2 https://www.reddit.com/Ceslystories/comments/11q7xcw/despairs_peak_part_2/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Part 3: https://www.reddit.com/Ceslystories/comments/11ziluk/despairs_peak_part_3/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Part 4: https://www.reddit.com/Ceslystories/comments/12916odespairs_peak_4_finale/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

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Ahh, dear reader, hello there! So lovely to see you once more... well figuratively speaking that is… or is it?
After all, I am exceedingly well versed in The Arts. Maybe I am watching you at this very moment, with Clairvoyance or perhaps a Scrying Spell or maybe an enchanted object like the good old fashioned Crystal Ball? The Magus has one you know…
Just teasing… or am I? …teeheehee…
Anyway, this latest instalment comes to you courtesy via a Voice to Text application my Magus recently acquired for me, as he said listening to me speak aloud while typing is too distracting for him. I find that interesting considering his immense mental discipline yet understandable at the same time. After all, extoling ones inner monolog to an uncaring audience would be tedious to experience. Hmm… I’ve just thought of a new torture for the souls of the dammed, specifically for writers who think they are better than everyone around them. How ingenious of me!
In any case, I would prefer to distract him in other ways, mark you.
I also must say what wonderfully inventive creatures you humans are! An application of mathematical code, the base language of reality. It is very much like a spell in its function and nature I would say, that it allows my phone, yes the Magus got me one, to record all I say and transcribes it into neatly typed words on its electronic pages. It’s like having a monk-scribe in your pocket! Unquestionably wonderful!
So as I relax in my fabulously hot, luxurious scented, oiled bubble bath, I can easily regale you with further tales of the adventures I have had thus far on this wonderous blue and brown spherical rock that is third in line from our star. And I do not have to type with two fingers either, which is a massive bonus let me tell you!
If memory serves… ahh yes, we had just returned to the car where I saw a sign of my Magus’s humour on display in the form of his licence plate.
I do have to admit dear reader, I was indeed highly amused. He knows he’s going to hell, he just insists that it be on his terms! I love it! Such confidence, such audacious willpower.
That is exceedingly… stimulating for Succubi.
Ok dammit, it makes me tremendously horny, and I’m not talking about the ones on my head either you know! We are incredibly lusty beings, us Succubi, after all.
I was already in a highly ‘excited’ state when we got to the car, so much so that I had to use my Cell Adjustment Psionic discipline to tremendously dull down my inflamed senses as I did not wish to leave the tell-tale mark of my inflamed passion on the lower back portion of my new dress and also not on the car-seat when I sat back down in the vehicle.
Ahem…
After a few moments, which caused the Magus to glance up at me with a slightly puzzled expression, of standing outside the car (he had no idea nor cared… hmmph!) I opened the door and folded myself back inside the vehicle and resumed my seat. I later learned that I could have mostly avoided this… embarrassment… by actually wearing what you call absorbent lined underwear! I wasn’t wearing panties at the time as I was totally unaware of their existence. I do so now as its much more comfortable in lots of ways and in addition, stops the shiver when an errant chill wind blows unexpectedly up your gusset!
Moving on…
Getting into the car, the Magus paused until I had done up my seatbelt before starting the engine, waiting for another car to pass us by before safely pulling out and sedately driving off. I later learned that we could have gone screaming down the road in a cloud of burning rubber if the Magus was of a mind to. I would have if given the opportunity! Something to look forward to dear reader.
Instead, we drifted slowly through the placidly moving traffic as I watched the sun descend below the horizon of the ocean. I had only been back here on Earth for a few hours but every second was total bliss. I do not think that most of you humans realize how good you have it here. Even those who do not reside in the more developed and advanced nations, being on Earth is special.
There are infinity more worse places you can be, let me assure you of that.
We drove back mostly the way we had travelled to this particular beach. This time though it was much later in the day, heading in the opposite direction, I became aware of many more things that had escaped my attention earlier on.
We passed by denser zones and clusters of buildings where I could see various shops, food outlets, restaurants and varying vendors, all brightly lit up now as the daylight was fading. I saw incredibly tall metal poles with blazing, glowing lights illuminating the surrounds with a warm yellowy orange glow making it still easy to see. Electric lighting will never cease to amaze me. Yes dear reader, I can experience a sense of wonder and joy at simple things, even beyond the act of slaughter and soul draining. Would it astonish you that I like flowers? Such strange lifeforms that had developed aromas they use as a method of propagation. Delightful.
Anyway… we shortly crested the hill that we had previous ascended westwards earlier on the way to the beach and then I saw it!
I was awestruck once again.
Towering edifices, glittering, shining buildings monstrously higher than Hagia Sophia was, the most immense human made structure in the world when I was last in it. These glistening towers of glass, metal and stone made that church look like a feeble children’s toy. I could see over a dozen of these buildings of varying size, clustered together in less than a square mile.
The Magus glanced to his left and saw me gaping at them.
“They’re called Sky Scrapers Meridiana. They’re generally office buildings, places of business where people daily work in their wage-slave jobs then go home at night. The buildings are left vacant but light up at night as you can clearly see.”
I turned and gawped at him.
“They’re empty at night?”
I could not comprehend why such space, that had amazing views, would be left empty of an evening?
“Yep. Well most of them are. There will be some that still have people in them, conducting various types of business overnight because its what they do for a living.”
“What do they do?” I asked in a murmur as I turned back to see the vista be obscured by a large set of commercial and residential buildings that we were currently passing.
The Magus shrugged.
“They’ll be doing all sorts of things, financial trading, working back late to do their jobs… various affairs of commerce and such. It’s not that important really Meridiana. I’ll take you into the city another day when we have time for you to be a tourist. Now, if I may, I want to know more about your Telekinesis. I got an idea of how much you can lift, probably over 1400 kilograms at least if my guess as to how much a warhorse in armour with a rider would weigh… maybe more? Probably more but we’ll test that later. Anyway, it’s your fine control skills I’m interested in.”
I turned back to the Magus who was looking ahead, driving us through the busy traffic that had become a factor. I later learned that it was a time of day called ‘rush hour’.
“I am capable of very delicate manipulation with my Telekinesis, especially in regards to the erotic arts,” I said to him with a husky, low, salacious purr.
“That’s cute but I really want to know if you could snatch out of the air and control a very small, fast moving bouncing ball, say the size of your thumbnail?” he asked in an offhand manner as he slowed down due to the traffic which was banking up in front of us.
I inwardly sighed once more. Such a challenge he was!
“Yes I can but why?”
He briefly turned to me and broadly grinned before returning his attention to driving.
“There’s a game that we will ‘play’ after dinner. It is called Roulette. The game features a spinning wheel with thirty seven little slots. Into the spinning wheel a little white ball is spun in and circles around, eventually slowing and bouncing into once of the numbered slots. The slots are alternately coloured red or black and all are numbered from 00 to 36. You can bet where the ball will land, either in red or black and specifically in a numbered slot. If the ball lands in a slot you bet on, you get a payout of thirty seven to one. Ever dollar you bet wins you 37 back. You can also just bet on which colour the ball will land in giving you your money back plus it’s value as a reward. Bet $100, you get your $100 back plus another $100.”
“Dollar... that’s money right?” I said as the implications slowly dawned on me. You could make a fortune from this!
“Yes Meridiana. Dollars are what we use as currency these days. Gold is still used but not in the way you were used to. It’s still valuable as are other precious metals but that’s going to take a long explanation which is a distraction for now. So, do you think you could perhaps catch the bouncing ball with your power, directing it into the number we bet on?”
I thought about it for a few moments.
“I will have to see how the ball moves but I think I could, yes.”
“Excellent. You stand to make us a lot of money tonight. There are other games like card games, slot machines which I’m uncertain that your powers would be able to mess with. Roulette is our hunting ground. We must be careful though.”
“Why?”
I was surprised by his tone of caution. We were power incarnate! What could possibly touch us?
“Casinos hate losing money. Roulette is going to be the hardest one they can prove that we’re cheating on if you use your Telekinesis. We will be closely watched the entire time we are in the casino. There are devices called cameras, similar to Crystal Balls, that observe everything they see, relaying the images back to people in other rooms whose task it is to spot potential cheaters in the casino. They also have people walking the floor, disguised as ordinary folk, always watching everyone else. And I want to avoid the eyes of any infernal beings who may be in the casino.”
“Ahh… I see… a healthy paranoia then, for them and us hmm?”
He nodded once, emphatically.
If you have a fortune, you need to protect it, especially from people like me. His caution in regards to our identity was also most prudent and he was correct that there was a possibility that there may be others of my ilk lurking in the shadows, walking in human form as we often do.
I have to confess dear reader, that I am a master thief as well as an expert assassin, in addition to being an accomplished warrior although I rarely fight in hand to hand combat, preferring seduction, subterfuge and skulduggery as my main methods of killing. Yet still, I can fight and kill extremely proficiently with many weapons, being skilled at one of the highest levels of melee combat, the use of weapons and ways of fighting with them. I’ve been around a while you know? You pick up on things like that if you wish to live as long as I have.
Besides… stabby, stabby, stabby, bash, slash and smite can be loads of fun when you’re doing the stabbing and bashing with a well-balanced blade or mace in your hands. But I digress…
“You have it Meridiana. Yes the casinos’ management are extremely paranoid. We will have to alter our appearance as well before we enter the casino. I shall use a minor low level spell while you can take a new face. We will do so after dinner.”
I nodded then a thought came to me. I asked,
“You said we were going to something called a buffet? I know what the word means as my abilities allow me to understand any spoken language, much like the enchantment known as Tongues. Yet I’m finding it hard to match the word with the concept.”
The Magus raised an eyebrow in interest at this revelation.
“Oh right. Just because you know a word doesn’t mean you automatically understanding it conceptually and in context either. Good to know. Well, a buffet is an enormous array of various foods, hot and cold, sweet to savoury, where you merely help yourself and consume as much as you wish. You pay for the privilege of course.”
“Truly? How much will this cost you?” I inquired wide eyed.
I noticed that we had moved through the traffic and had turned down a descending road and were now going into a massive concrete tunnel along with hundreds of other cars, all slowly moving in the same direction. It was quite honestly astounding that everyone was not smashing into one another. All the drivers were…well mostly were, attentive to their immediate surrounds and situation as we gradually merged our car into the main lane of traffic which was making its way under the earth via the huge yawning tunnel ahead.
Such staggering feats of engineering and construction which would have made the Emperor Justinian weep copious, bitter tears of pure envy. Oh how I wished I could make him see this and realise his idiotic boast was pointless when he finished Hagia Sophia. He bragged that he had surpassed Solomon himself with his church. He had but it wasn’t worth it. Justinian nearly bankrupted the Eastern Roman Empire, all for a useless church and his own vanity.
Moron.
Still, I shouldn’t care, his hubris ended up sending him to hell anyway so... yay! His actions also exacerbated the effects of the famine and plague that swept the through the empire and western Europe in the year 535 with his stupid desire to re-unify the Roman empire under his rule. You will be pleased to know dear reader, that he is burning in eternal torment for his multitude of sins so it is all good. My thoughts of deceased, vainglorious emperors and their fate were interrupted as the Magus spoke again,
“Hmm? … it should set us back about $80 each I’d should say? A small price to pay in all honesty when you see what is on offer. Drinks will be on top of that price, unless you just have plain water but tonight Meridiana, I shall introduce you to Champagne, one of humanities greatest achievements.”
This was enticing to hear!
“If you say so Magus. I completely believe you as you will not be lying to me,” I said, nodding and trying to think about Champagne.
So many new concepts were entering my mind, it was hard to keep my mind and thoughts in order. I understood that Champagne was a special type of wine, one which had a fizz embodied within it, making it highly regarded but that’s all I could deduce for now.
Also… I had a thought: the Magus could and would never lie to me. The feeling I had earlier, in being able to trust everything he said to me because of the oath he gave to me, was an unfettering sensation.
All my existence I have dealt with bare faced lairs, deceivers, misshapers of the truth who twisted words to suit their own selfish ends. With the Magus, all I had to be concerned with was his agenda, which actually had my interests aligned with his own. Truly remarkable.
I needed that champagne now!
We emerged from the tunnel, traveling with the traffic over wide dark river, again on another immense concrete bridge this time. There was a gigantic colosseum off to our right, all lit up with multiple coloured lights that ran around the circumference of the structure. It was like as though it was enveloped in a rainbow. Frankly, it was amazing to behold.
Beyond that, I could see many more large towers and structures, lining the sides of the vast road we were hurtling along now. The Magus had increased our speed as traffic had thinned out. Never in my life had I moved so fast, well unless I was using a Haste spell to briefly increase my physical speed, which I use in combat if necessary.
I barely had the sense we were travelling in the car at roughly 80kph. Such an odd experience to have for the first time. There was no rushing of wind, no press of air on my face, just comfort and air-conditioning. Marvellous!
After a few minutes later I saw our destination.
Again I was nearly stupefied by the gigantic structure. Multiple massive buildings, all surrounded by lush green, well-manicured and maintained gardens made my jaw go slack with disbelief.
“That’s Crown Casino, Towers and hotel Meridiana. I can see you are impressed. Let me just say that if you think this is amazing, wait until we go to Las Vegas…” he said as he turned the car into the driveway of the complex.
“There’s even more impressive structures than this?”
My mind boggled dear reader. It was almost too much to take in.
“Yep. My city is a small one compared to others around the globe. We will travel to them, in due course. I know you can use your powers of Dimensional Walking, moving through other planes of reality and appearing on a different part of the planet. However, there will be times when we will need to travel together conventionally. Perhaps one day, if I learn the right spells, we will be able to avoid having to fly in an aeroplane and by-pass the utter tediousness of baggage check-ins, airport security and so on…” he muttered darkly.
“HUMANS CAN FLY!?!” I said in a loud strangled astonished voice.
The Magus chuckled with genuine amusement.
“Think back Meridiana. I said humanity has been to the moon and back. I said we can travel safely and comfortably in a machine, called an aircraft, across the planet. Some ‘planes are huge while others are not much bigger than the car. Oh, that reminds me, we will have to construct an identity for you. We will begin that process tomorrow. You are going to need a passport soon enough,” he said as he found a relatively unoccupied parking area west of the massive structures.
He saw my puzzled expression and mistook it for wondering why we had parked here.
“It’s free to park here and there are hardly any security cameras in the vicinity.”
I nodded dumbly.
“But of course Magus…”
He saw my expression as he switched off the engine. A tiny look of… sympathy appeared on his face. He spoke to me in a soft, calm, soothing tone,
“Take a breath Meridiana. Close your eyes and focus upon the stillness within the vehicle. You are safe here with me. Nothing will harm us. Just breathe and relax, let each breath calm you. With every breath you are at peace within yourself and the world around you.”
I did as he said and instantly sensed my whirling mind begin to centre itself, become still.
I may be an ancient and powerful demon dear reader, however I have been imprisoned for nigh on a thousand years and now have been released into a world that I was unable to recognise at all.
The Magus later told me I was suffering from a psychological malady called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Yes dear reader, even us demons can get mentally fucked up. I mean, compared to the average human, we’re all demented, tormented psychopaths which explains a lot about ourselves but still… even a psychopath can suffer from mental trauma. Demons can go insane.
I breathed rhythmically, each exhaling breath calming me. With one final exhalation, I opened my eyes, turned to my Magus and softly smiled at him.
“Thank you,” was all I said. I meant it.
He nodded briefly, his intensely burning eyes boring into mine, deeply searching, looking for signs of any madness that may still be lingering within. Well, there’s always the hunger for sex and mayhem, but that’s natural for me.
“Come on, you look fine now, let’s go,” he said as he got out of the car.
I followed his example, releasing my seat belt and stepping out of the car. Closing the car door behind me, walked over to the Magus then I threaded my right arm around his left as we walked off like a normal couple, casually strolling through the car park towards the casino and hotel.
I could hear the noise of all the adjacent traffic all still travelling busily along the massive road that went past the enormous complex. There was the calls of various birds I’d never heard before, the waft of scented flowering plants and the heavy aroma of moisture in the air from the nearby river. I closed my eyes for a second just to let it all wash over me as I sedately walked along with my Magus.
Soon we came to the entrance. Huge dark glass doors magically opened for us upon our arrival. To my right I could see various coloured signage, advertising the types of ‘fast food’ eateries that people could choose to dine at. They were all brightly lit and mostly clean.
It was at that moment I saw my first wretch.
A dishevelled, unkempt, shabby man sat listless outside the fast food eateries upon the low stone wall that contained a small, well-kept garden. He looked up at us as we approached, his eyes full of misery and despair.
“Got any spare change?”
“Sorry mate, no one carries cash anymore,” lied my Magus to him with a conciliatory voice, a sad but brief compassionate smile appeared briefly on his face.
The wretched man’s face became even more resigned. He nodded back in understanding, returning his fallen face back to morosely contemplating the ground at his feet.
We kept walking, leaving the broken man behind us.
I was about to congratulate the Magus in his treatment of the beggar when I had to stop as I was confronted by an incredible sight.
Before us, in the huge well-lit lobby of the building, was a huge pair of MOVING METAL STAIRCASES!
One staircase ascended while another came down from the landing some 50 feet above us. On either side were normal, marble clad stairs that some people were using. Yet many other people were on the moving metal stairs, all just taking the experience of being raised or lowered completely for granted.
“It’s just an escalator Meridiana. A simple machine that makes life a little more comfortable. Take it, go for a ride. I’m taking the stairs as I need the incidental exercise,” he said to me as he pried my clutching hands from his arm. I had been unconsciously gripping him tightly in my amazement at seeing such a machine.
The Magus walked off to the left, climbing the steps briskly while I gingerly walked forwards, watching the metal stairs endless appear and ascend upwards. The hand rail also moved in synchronicity with the metal stairs. I observed as a pair of young women, chatting intently to each other, walked past me and up to stand upon a metal stair which was part of dozens of metal stairs it seemed. I saw them be lifted by the moving stairs, rising above and away from me.
Summoning my courage, I stepped forwards onto a moving stair, wobbled slightly as I was not used to the speed which it moved, making me grab the moving banister tightly to steady myself as I rode my way upwards. I let out a small laugh as it was such a novel experience. The young women in front of me turned around at my laugh, raising their eyebrows at me as well as actually truly seeing me for the first time. Their smiles faded as I grinned back at them.
The young women could see my infinitely superior beauty on full display. They looked hesitant, now uncertain of themselves as they mistakenly believed themselves to be beautiful. They were, passible, not ugly but not worthy of a harem to be perfectly honest. I later learned dear reader that many foolish young women, especially in what you call the western world, regard themselves as queens, rating themselves ten out of ten on a scale of dazzling good looks. These sad women are delusional. I mean, if they were that beautiful, why weren’t their faces on the covers of the glossy magazines I see in various ‘supermarket’ check outs? No matter, vanity and hubris are all ways to damnation and misery. So many people sending themselves to eternal torment simply because they were raised by idiotic parents who never properly taught their children the need for humility. It’s all win-win for the pits you know…
My Magus met me at the top of the stairs, holding out his hand to me and then leading me through the vast interior of the complex.
“That’s the casino,” he indicated to our right.
Looking, I could see dozens of people making their way inside into the brightly lit and noisy interior of the casino. I caught the whiff of desperation, despair, avarice, lust, elation and a strong aroma of human urine. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. Yes, even I have some standards dear reader.
“Magus, why does it reek of piss?” I asked as we strolled by and proceeded into the most immense, glass covered atrium I have ever seen.
“Oh, you can smell that?” He looked intrigued.
I nodded with a mild look of disgust.
“Hah… interesting. Well… some gamblers get stuck on a poker machine. They sit there for hours, desperately hoping that the machine they are playing on will pay out. The poor fools stupidly believe that if they play at the machine long enough, they’ll win big. So they stay seated, ignoring the need to relieve their bodily urges, to the extent that they prefer to piss themselves rather than abandon the machine that is draining away their money. The poor fools are incapable of understanding that the machine is designed to rarely pay out. Every time they play, it has a simple algorithm that calculates the chance of a payout. Most machines will payout a small amount of money occasionally, thus keeping the gambler hooked in the mistaken belief that the big one is just around the corner. It rarely, if ever, is.”
I stopped, stunned at what I just heard. The Magus stopped and looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
“That’s… diabolically genius!” I stuttered as I considered the fiendish brilliance of the whole concept.
Someone had made hell on earth not only possible but also could make a fortune from it as well as breaking people’s souls and spirits in the process! The concept of dangling hope in front of a damned soul, then snatching it away was one of the oldest known tortures of hell. This was a magnificent, a culmination of the perfection of thousands upon thousands of years of the torture, all neatly packaged in a fairly simple machine designed to beggar it’s user and turn them into slaves to it. Gobsmacking was the only word I could think off that fully encapsulated the way I felt at that moment.
“Yes it is, isn’t it? I have always suspected that those machines were most likely invented by a demon. It makes perfect sense,” he said as he shrugged, then tilted his head, indicating we should proceed onwards.
I noddled dumbly as again, I had been totally overwhelmed by the latest piece of information the Magus informed of. I barely registered the hundreds of people all wandering around the massive lobby of the hotel atrium. Many were dressed finely while others, mostly men, were dressed casually. My Magus was one of them, still wearing his novelty T-shirt and hemp pants. They were clean though and his shoes, a brand known as Babuuk, made him look somehow better dressed then the other men who were similarly attired. Maybe it was just his subtle aurora of power, his sheer confidence and his towering Will that made him stand out from the mouth breathers all around us? I guess it was.
We arrived at the entrance of the restaurant and the Magus was greeted by a short Asian woman, dressed neatly in the hotels livery.
I started to realise that there were people from so many different races of humanity all around us. I had come from a time where only what was left of the Eastern Roman Empire was this diverse, and even then it was but a shadow of the heyday of the full glory that was Rome. Here were people from almost all the lands of earth, all happily co-mingling, getting on with having dinner with family and friends. Very surprising indeed.
The Asian woman at the reception counter spoke to us with a friendly smile,
“Good evening sir, madam. A table for two for you then?” she asked politely, her voice tinged with a broad accent I had not heard before. She spoke English yet I could tell that wasn’t her first language.
“Yes please,” politely replied the Magus.
This was something I did not expect. Despite his and my obvious power, he was respectful and even kind to the servants. All of them. He didn’t condescend nor sneer down at the servants of the hotel. It is still something I have difficulty reconciling. I said nothing, just observed. Oh, he has since instructed me not to call them servants, they are members of staff and will be treated with respect until they show they do not deserve it, then they are fair game. I can live with that.
“Table seventy one is ready for you both, have a lovely evening.”
She actually meant it! I could see it in her eyes, she was truly enjoying her task. She was smiling and joking with her fellow staff members, politely greeting the next people behind us with her cheerful friendly demeanour.
Astonishing.
In my prior experiences, servants and slaves were a miserable lot but then again, that was understandable. They had no choice as to their circumstances. They had to obey lest they suffer harsh punishment.
As we proceeded into the large dining room, with over a hundred tables of varying sizes, I could see off to my left where the food was.
I stopped again and stared dear reader.
I have been to banquets with Emperors and Kings, Popes and Princes, all sumptuous feasts but nothing was like what I saw before me. Dozens upon dozens of people had plates in their hands, all calmly wandering around the incredible cornucopia of varieties of food that were on display, all brightly lit up for them to simply help themselves to as much as their plate could hold.
Roasted meats, all neatly carved by expert chefs, freshly shucked oysters all seated in enormous silver ice-filled serving bowls, trays upon trays of cooked vegetables of kinds I had never seen before and… a dazzling array of sweet desserts and treats that made me almost go weak at the knees at the very sight of them.
“Come on Meridiana, you’re starting to drool,” whispered the Magus gently into my ear as he dabbed my wet lips with a soft piece of paper that he withdrew from his pants pockets.
Once again I nodded dumbly as I allowed him to escort me to our table. He even seated me, pushing me and my chair in one I had sat down. After he had taken his seat, a young man, quite a handsome one from the Indus I believed?... came over to us, again dressed in the livery of the hotel.
“Good evening, sir, madam. Would you care for something to drink?” he inquired ever so politely.
“And good evening to you sir. Yes indeed, may we please have a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, two glasses and a bottle of San Pellegrino sparkling water?” he asked with a real smile to the servant… no member of staff.
“Of course sir, I shall get that for you immediately,” replied the waiter with a pleased smile at being spoken to so politely.
“Thank you,” said the Magus then he turned to me and asked,
“Do you need a moment Meridiana? I understand this might trigger you again…”
I shook my head.
“No. It is overwhelming… but in a good way Magus. I have to ask, how can a place like this provide so many people with so much food? Even in the height of the Empire, there were magnificent feasts to be sure but… you say this happens everyday, that this is just a Tuesday and not a busy night?”
He nodded.
“This is the age of abundance Meridiana. Many of us, who live in what is known as The West, have dwelt in an age of such wealth and richness that almost all here never think on their incredible luck and privilege to live in such times. They do not know that it will come to an end. Maybe that is a small mercy. All golden ages end as you well know. So I say, let them dwell in ignorant bliss for now. We can enjoy it while it lasts.”
“Huh? Why do you believe that your golden age will end Magus?”
“It’s a long explanation and one I do not wish to go into detail here and now Meridiana but later, I will share my thoughts with you on this. Ahh, here comes our champagne.”
The waiter and another staff member had returned, with one carrying two bottles while the other had a metal bucket partially filled with ice. The waiter from the Indus placed both bottles on our table, displayed the label to the Magus who briefly nodded. Then, the waiter removed the cork from the bottle with an adroit twist of his wrist. It made a pleasing pop and I could see a little haze of cold… smoke? lightly emanate from the neck of the bottle. He poured the brightly bubbling and fizzing wine into both our glasses, carefully making sure the foam did not overflow them. He was very good at his task.
“Thank you good sir,” said my Magus to the waiter who beamed back at him with a happy smile. He placed the bottle into the bucket of ice and withdrew, leaving us alone, amidst the crowed dinning room.
The Magus took up his glass, holding it in front of him. I mirrored him.
“Here’s to a good dinner with interesting company and later, ripping the shit out of a casino Meridiana.” He pushed his glass gently forwards, lightly clinking it against mine. I wasn’t familiar at the time with that form of salute and toast but went with it anyway, after all… when in Rome as they used to say.
“That sounds… delightful Magus. I am eager for it all.”
I then took a sip of my champagne and was transported into a realm of heavenly bliss.
It was exquisite.

OCOC

Back again dear reader?
How lovely!
As I sit here in the well illuminated Magus’ office, I can hear the soft pattering sound of falling raindrops outside plus there is the scent of Petrichor in the air, gently drifting in through the open windows.
It is…gorgeous.
Such simple things that are part of the miracle of life on this planet that drifts along, circling a massive ball of nuclear fire through the inky black void of space.
Being with my Magus has made me ever so philosophical these days but I do still so much enjoy butchering people like bleating, terrified sheep. That can be so entertaining! The blood, the screams, the pleading and crying… all as wonderful as the sound of raindrops descending from the sky, landing on the roof with a pleasing resonance.
Oh I do wax lyrical at times… teeheehee…
Now then, back to my amazing story:
I had just sampled my Rum & Raisin Gelato for the first time, taking in the icy, milky sweetness and pungent flavour of the rum blended into the creamy concoction when… WHACK!
A ball flew out of nowhere, smacking me rudely in the side of my head, knocking my Gelato out of my heads, causing me a moment of stunned incredulity.
I felt no pain if that was your concern dear reader.
As my Magus said, it takes more than a surprise sneak attack with a leather clad football to harm me. Normally I would have plucked the offensive object out of the air yet I was so intent upon savouring my Gelato that my guard was down for an instant.
I spun around to see a group of six buff, fit, muscular looking young men, probably in their early twenties in age, all considering me and my Magus with derisive smirks.
One in particular, the one who had hit me with his ball, a tall, well-muscled, shirtless young man called out to us, with an arrogant snide tone in his voice,
“Hey, give us our ball back!” he demanded as I now had the offending item in my hands.
“Apologise to the lady and buy her a new Gelato,” said the Magus in a cold flat tone as he stood up, glaring daggers at the overly muscled moron.
“What? It was an accident man, don’t get upset, ok boomer?” the young offender laughed out aloud mockingly at us.
I was burning with fury at this point as was my Magus. I could feel his power itching to smite this fool.
The strutting, ignorant, puffed up idiot pushed out his muscular chest and strode the twenty or so feet towards us, trying to look threatening, thinking he could intimidate us and make us cower before him.
“What you going to do about it you, eh? Come on you fat fuck, you wanna have a go, do ya?” he called out as he stopped right in front of the Magus, daring him to act.
My Magus didn’t flinch an inch as the cretin had no idea he was seconds away from something extremely unpleasant. My Magus never took his eyes of the cretin but spoke to me,
“No but she will. Meridiana, remember what I said, no killing but everything else is fine. Teach this muscle brained mouth breathing imbecile a lesson he will never forget lest I butcher him...”
The arrogant young fool suddenly appeared apprehensive as I stood up, his ball now in my left hand. I extended my talons from the fingers in my hands, just enough to puncture and rip the ball apart into pathetic shreds which I tossed aside once done.
His eyes widened in total shock as he stumbled a step backwards.
“Tremens!”
I unleashed my power of Id Insinuation, a Psionic discipline of the mind which we Succubi possess that reduces our victims to apoplectic quivering wrecks, losing all control of their bodily functions from experiencing all-consuming pain, psychic misery and abject terror. I am a master at this Psionic Discipline if you are curious.
The arrogant, blustering fool had no mental discipline or defence against such an assault, collapsing down upon the ground with a low groan of wretched pain, his bowels and bladder immediately releasing as he began fitting uncontrollably, foam appearing from his mouth.
My Magus, went over to the now prone young man, rolled him onto his left side, removing a small leather-bound wallet (I learned the name later) from the back of his flimsy short pants and took out a colourful, small rectangle from it. Then he dropped the wallet back onto the spasming idiot on the ground.
“HEY! YOU”RE STEALING FROM WAYNO!”
“No. I am taking compensation from your inconsiderate dickhead who shall now be called Wanko as he owes the lady a Gelato. Pray that is all we take from your idiot friend,” my Magus said in a harsh growl.
‘Wayno’s compatriots were taken aback by the harshness of the glare from my Magus, not knowing what to do.
They had seen their leader felled with nothing but a word from me. I gave them a very wide, open smile, briefly showing them a glimpse of my fangs for just a second then made them normal human teeth once more.
Their eyes widened hugely in astonished fear.
I looked at my Magus with a beaming smile. This was how to use Power.
Reduce your enemies into snivelling, gibbering terrorised wrecks.
People started stopping and began staring at the scene that was unfolding around us. In a way I was a little sad as my perfect experience was ruined by an utterly inconsiderate, thoughtlessness of a bunch of overly charged testosterone filled idiots playing a stupid game with a ball when it was clearly obvious that there were many people about and one missed catch would result in… well a lost Gelato for a start!
The Magus focused his will, them waved his right hand with a small gesture saying,
“Sapiens Obscura!”
Everyone in the nearby vicinity all immediately stopped with a blank look on their faces, staring hollow eyed at the Magus.
“There is nothing to see here, you will remember nothing of this. Walk on, go about your business and have a lovely day.”
The crowd who had stopped to watch, were starting to get out their phones to film the incident, all suddenly did as the Magus commanded, just walking away with a faint puzzled smile on their faces as though nothing had happened.
Even the idiots’ friends walked off in a daze, leaving him still trembling and fitting in his own filth upon the ground.
I glanced back in almost adulation at my Maus.
What Power!
He saw me looking at him, shrugged and sighed.
“Here, you can have my Gelato, Meridiana. I shouldn’t eat it anyway, bad for my blood sugars. We should go as the glamour will not last and we do not want to attract more attention to ourselves.”
“That was wonderous Magus, to be able to influence so many minds like that…” I almost gushed at him.
He stared balefully at the still writhing, convulsing moron who had thoroughly soiled himself at this point, then shrugged.
“A simple use of The Will and The Way, combined with a hypnotical charm, makes it easy to do however I only had one prepared so we should not linger here. Let’s just walk away further down the path to a less crowded area and appreciate the sunset.”
I nodded in agreement, taking a small, tentative taste of the Magus’s Vanilla Gelato. Delightful!
Vanilla was far a more subtle flavour, not as bold as my now destroyed Rum & Raisin waffle cone. Perhaps a better flavour in the end as subtlety is a hallmark of refined taste. I enjoyed it immensely.
With my Gelato in my left hand, I took the Magus’ arm in my right, we gently strolled away from the scene of the destruction of my Gelato and the mind of a callous, bullying, cretinous idiot. He might recover… I hoped not. One less muscle bound thuggish oaf was what the world could do with right now. He would have made for a tasty snack though…
“I thought you said we should be careful, not use our power like that?” I asked after a couple of minutes of sedate walking.
I noted, glancing briefly to our rear, that there was no commotion behind us although after a few minutes some new passers-by had stopped to try to help the fallen fool.
“If he genuinely apologised to you for his oafish stupidity rather than try to bully us, I would not have done anything. Oxygen Thieves like that deserve a short, sharp shock. It is better than Percussive Cranial Adjustments.”
“What?”
“Punches to the head. If your hands are not conditioned and strengthened, you risk breaking bones within them by punching people in the head. There is a strong risk that you may render your foe unconscious, causing them to collapse, smacking their head on the floor resulting in them getting more damage to their already asinine cerebellums. Then the screaming and wailing starts, police are called, arrests are made, lives are ruined blah blah blah.. not worth the trouble no matter how tempting it is. However, in certain cases, a swift kick, punch or hard knee to the balls of the miscreant can solve a lot of problems extremely quickly and not result in a brain injury,” he added with a dark smile.
I erupted in evil laughter!
My demonic cackling drew some apprehensive eyes from passers-by but at this point I didn’t care. Even my Magus winked at me with a dry, faintly amused smirk.
“Oh Magus! That is most amusing. I shall use that tactic from now on as you are correct but you missed one minor detail,” I said with an infernal glint in my eyes.
“I did? Do tell,” he replied with a glimmer of mild curiosity.
“By ‘kneeing them in the balls’ as you so delightfully put it, you do damage to their second brain as almost all men think with their balls!”
The Magus stopped, then briefly chuckled at my cutting wit, shaking his head lightly.
“Very true Meridiana, very true. Come, here’s a free and clean enough bench for us to sit and watch the ocean and sunset,” he said as we came upon another empty park bench that looked out over the beach and sea.
I nodded and took my seat, focusing again upon my delightful, sweet snack while enjoying the ambiance of just being at the beach, watching humanity blithefully and ignorantly walking by, their minds closed to almost everything around them. Many had their faces glued to their phones, or had devices covering their ears, walking along at a brisk pace, ignoring the beauty that surrounded them. If I wasn’t a demon, I would had felt sorry for these people… but I didn’t. It made me despise them all for being such thoughtless idiots, so completely self-absorbed, locked inside in their pathetic little heads.
My Magus interrupted my musings,
“So what was that you did to that reprobate then Meridiana? I need to fully understand what powers and abilities you possess so we can properly plan for the missions ahead.”
“I see,” I replied primly as I crossed my legs, with them facing towards my Magus. I took another small bite from my Gelato then said, “How about you tell me what you think you know then I will… be honest with you Magus. Hmm… my that was difficult to say… no matter, I will fill in the gaps of your knowledge after you speak. I am so extremely curious as to what you think you know.” I sat back and observed him intently.
He shifted in his seat, turning more towards me, pausing in thought before speaking once more,
“Well… I know you can do the following: you can Shape Shift, altering your appearance to appear like different being, but does extend to animal forms?”
“No Magus but that is a good question! I can appear as other humans but there is a limit as I can only do so within a certain size range limit to the power. I cannot appear as a small child nor a giant man. I can appear as another type of demon, just not the massive ones like say a Pit Fiend or other large demons and I dare not appear as a Demon Lord or Prince as if they ever found out that a demon or someone was impersonating them… the torment they would inflict would be… beyond extreme for such an affront. Go on.” I took another little bite of my Gelato. So Good!
“Interesting… ok…your kiss will drain the life energy from your victim, reducing them to a crumbling lifeless husk?"
I nodded with a wide smile as I extended my long, deep red tongue, lapping and twirling around my Gelato seductively. He ignored it. Sigh.
“How long does it take for you to fully drain your victim?”
My eyebrows were raised at that question. My Magus was wise to ask this and it made me consider it too.
“I am impressed Magus, no one has ever bothered to ask that. I estimate maybe twenty to thirty or so resting heartbeats, perhaps a little longer? To be honest I never really paid attention as to how long the kiss took to drain my victim as I am normally in the moment, relishing the sensation of drinking a human’s lifeforce and energy but now I will. Thank you Magus. This makes me more aware of my abilities for my own purposes.”
“Hmm… I suppose we can time it in the future, but not here in this city. A withered husk appearing will attract too many questions for now. Next then, I understand that you can become Ethereal? Stepping into the that plane of existence briefly and becoming untouchable here.”
I nodded.
“How long can you maintain that ability, and how often can you use it?”
“Another excellent question Magus. I can use it at will as often as I like. As to maintaining it… you know I have never truly thought about that as I only use it to step away from threats that might actually harm me. Perhaps this is something else we can experiment on together Magus?” I said with a hopeful, demure smile.
This time I received the glimmer of approval from him which made me grin inwardly. His desire for knowledge! That’s his weakness! Oh happy day. And it included Gelato as well!
“That we must do as it may be vital for your own safety and survival. Knowing how long you can safely stay in the Ethereal Plane will be paramount. Next… I know you can Charm, use the power of Suggestion and Domination, that you have the power of Extrasensory Perception, which you used on me earlier on and you have the power of Clairaudience which allows you to listen in on your targets from a distance. Quite useful in combat and stealth situations I would say?”
“Yes it is Magus. I have used that many times to spy upon my victims and enemies, gaining much useful information without them ever being aware.”
I smirked once more as that power enabled me to ferret out so many secrets that were thought to have been spoken without anyone else listening. I now nibbled on the sweet wafer biscuit cone of my Gelato, oh how glorious that was.
“I know that you have Psionic Abilities, powers of the mind, but this is now where my knowledge falls short. I also believe that you are an adept in The Arts, capable of wielding magic and spells.”
I smiled broadly back at my Magus. He was indeed well informed.
“Yes, that is all true. Now I will tell you what I am fully capable of. Firstly I can walk… travel between the dimensions if I so choose. I do not need to create a Gate to travel between realms, I simply picture where I wish to go and I appear there. I can only do this for myself though. In addition, I must take care in not pushing to go beyond my limits, try to cross too many dimensions in one trip, as I could strain my mind and lose myself between dimensions. Next, I can go Invisible at will,” and did just that right in front of him, for a couple of seconds before reappearing once more. He nodded briefly and I was somewhat disappointed that I did not receive a bigger reaction. Oh well. There was still some waffle cone left.
With another little sigh I carried on,
“I can also detect the presence of magic within a thirty foot radius for over an hour or so but I have to maintain my concentration for this to continue otherwise the detection ceases after a minute. I have the power of Telekinesis…”
Now my Magus’s eye lit up with real interest. I stopped speaking as I knew he wanted to ask questions.
“Now that is an impressive ability. How much weight can you lift at your maximum exertion? What is your range? Are you able to use the power in a delicate, fine tuned way for minor manipulation?”
His enthusiasm was immensely gratifying. It was the most animated that I had seen him be thus far.
“Oh my Magus… so many questions! I had no idea that such an ability would intrigue you so much… perhaps I should have demonstrated that power when we first met?” I said with a teasing smirk.
He harrumphed but waited for me to continue.
“I know I am able to lift a war horse in full cataphract armour as I did so a few times during the campaign of General Flavius Belisarius against the Persians at the Battle of Dara, much to their shock and horror. It turned the tide of the battle I have to say with a little modesty. Empress Theodora was the one who summoned me and used me for a decade to help her favoured General. I liked her. She was utterly ruthless and exceptionally intelligent." I took a moment to have another bite of my Gelato before continuing,
"At the end of my service to her, I gifted her with Cancer which took her life painfully. And that leads us to another of my abilities, Cell Adjustment. I can, if I so choose, alter the very cells within mine or your body Magus, healing you and reshaping your metabolism. I also can do harm with it too, although that takes a lot more power and isn’t an instant way to kill people but it still can be fairly quick way to murder someone, often painfully so. I may cause a blood clot to form which travels to the brain or thicken the arteries of a victims heart making it have a seizure or perhaps flooding their body with so much adrenaline that they fit uncontrollably… so many options….” I mused openly as I tried to remember the ways I had killed with this power before.
I am a Master of Human anatomy by the way, having spent tens of thousands of years eviscerating my victims, inspecting their corpses afterwards as well as later studying under learned Greek physicians back in the early days of the Roman Empire.
My Magus gave me a cool assessing, calculating stare. I could see he had taken the hint, that I could completely alter his physiology, potentially removing the excess weight from his body, repairing the damage that such a condition had done to him. My hook was baited.
“I… see… go on Meridiana.”
There was a very cautious tone in his voice now. My inner smile only grew.
“Moving on, I can shield my mind exactly like you did with an Intellect Fortress and Thought Shield. The power I used upon the thoughtless buffoon, the Id Insinuation, I can also employ over a twenty by twenty foot area. All within will feel my wrath and despair as he did. Unless they are incredibly strong willed or have mental defences like we do. I can also let loose a Psionic Blast if I so choose but that is a wasteful use of the power in my humble opinion. And of course I have my spells,” I said as I used my power to open the tiny pocket dimension to where I had hidden my tome of magic and other priceless treasures.
A small tear in the fabric of reality briefly appeared in front of us and the Magus looked in, seeing my not insignificant horde of treasures, which included my priceless tome of spells.
“This is another of my abilities, Pocket Plane. It can access a tiny alternate reality, where I keep all my precious things. Only I can access it, no one else can,” I said with a pointed glance at the Magus. He understood instantly and was deeply fascinated by the pocket plane.
Everything was stashed carefully away from all who would covert its contents, including my Demon Lord who despite all the torture he and his minions inflicted upon me for nigh on a thousand years, was never able to break me, denying him from stealing my treasures from me!
I would rather cease existing than let that happen which he eventually learned thus giving up on the attempt as he preferred to keep tormenting me for eternity anyway, rather than end my existence. I quickly closed the portal lest it attract unwanted attention.
"Now as you mentioned earlier, I am an Adept in The Art, ranked at a power-level of fifteen I am proud to say. I suspect that you are a few levels higher than myself but do not have as many spells as I have, do you?”
I took one last bite of my waffle cone, casually dangling the prospect of more power to the Magus. Such a wonderful combination, frozen sweet cream and sugary crunchy biscuit. The Roman Byzantines would have gone mad for it. Ahh well.
“You are correct Meridiana. Spells and magic are extremely rare these days. I have some theories as to why that is however we can discuss them later. Sufficed to say, I will need more spells and that is also why I summoned you, to teach me as much as I am teaching you and I know full well you are going to try and ensnare me with that,” he said with another dry, cold laugh. “Instead of you trying to enslave me, how about we do deals instead?”
Now that was a language I could speak and my smile grew ever so wide.
“But of course my dear Magus, just give me control of what is left of your soul…” I laughed.
He had the temerity to laugh at me.
“Oh no Meridiana… you fail to grasp your situation. This is not you holding power over me, it is me holding power over you… oh you see it now don’t you? I have turned your face to alabaster, because you discovered that what you thought was your servant was all along, is your master. You are wrapped around my finger,” he said pointed to a shining band of gold around the third finger on his left hand. I stared in horror at it.
“Yes, not only are you bound to me body and soul, but your essence is bound within my wedding ring. My wife bought that for me with pure love in her heart. You know certain objects have power. This is one of them… one ring to rule you… “ he laughed chillingly again at my dismay. Oh how deliciously evil he can be.
I was stunned.
He had trapped my essence in a Phylactery. How, I did not know?
The wedding ring, an object that bound two hearts together, the circle a symbol for eternity, now held my essence within its golden circle of eternal love.
“Oh don’t look so pissed. You’d have done it to me, well not via a wedding ring that's for sure but still, you would have enslaved me. Again, I do not seek to control you but I am not stupid, I know the parable of the Frog and the Scorpion. You will always try to enslave and dominate me, it's who you are, it's your nature. Look, Meridiana and think before you lose control again. I am not your usual chump of a wanna-be Magus. Times have changed. I am prepared to unleash you upon the world to spread chaos and mayhem. If anything, you OWE me from getting you out of hell. And I am housing you, feeding you, clothing you, giving you knowledge and will protect you from other demons that WILL come looking for you. Oh yes, don’t think that your former lord hasn’t noticed by now that you’ve flown the coup! He will be furious. And that binds us together even more so because part of my plan is that we kill him and seize his throne for ourselves," said the Magus casually.
Dear reader… in all my existence, nothing has ever floored me with it’s sheer breathtaking audacity. My face was already drained of colour when he revealed his total control over me but more so, the scope of his plan… beyond incredible.
I bowed my head to him in total subjugation…for now.
“I am yours Magus. I will do as you say. Your plan to gain our…freedom… is audacious in the extreme. If we can achieve this…” I said breathlessly, my eyes alight with burning lust for him now. Again, to my immense disappointment, he ignored my sultry steamy gaze.
“Always aim as high as you can Meridiana. The Will and The Way will get us far, further than you can imagine but I need more knowledge and power as do you. Now do you see why I want you as a partner? We have a target painted on us and the clock is already ticking. Soon your former lord will start to try to send his minions through the void to retrieve you and drag me there as well. We don’t have time for games Meridiana, that is if you wish to stay here?”
“I do want to stay… I will do as you ask Magus but I must ask…why? Why take such a risk?”
“It’s better to rule in hell then serve in heaven don’t you think?” he said with a evil grin as he stood and offered his hand to me. “And your old boss needs his head blown off with a sawn-off double barrelled enchanted shotgun, filled with 12 gauge 000 buckshot made from the metal from the nails of The True Cross… right to his fucking face!” my Magus snarled savagely.
Oh how beautiful that sounded.
“Absolutely! I am all in. I have no real choice anyway do I?”
I took his hand in mine and ever so gently squeezed it.
“You do. I admit that I have forced this upon you but look at the alternative, spending eternity, eventually going insane from boredom, within your cell because Pope Sylvester II confessed on his death-bed. That wasn’t your fault. Mind you, you did underestimate the willy priest now eh?”
I nodded with a sigh and chagrin upon my face.
“Yes, that is true.”
“Your lord throws an epic tantrum, what I’d call “chucking a wobbly”, even though you were one of the top demons in soul possession and ruination. What a stupid cunt. Only a complete fuckwit throws away his best employee in a fit of pique like that.”
I burst out laughing at that dear reader. No one would EVER dare to call my former lord those things but my Magus did. I felt the ebullient elation once more. This man had an epic vision.
“Now then, I assume you are still hungry? And for food for now Meridiana.”
“Yes Magus,” I said with a small smile.
“Good. We’ll go grab dinner at the best buffet in town as that will be the the most effective way you can satisfy your appetite. It’s only Tuesday so it won’t be overcrowded. Then we can go to the casino next door where you can use your skills to steal a fortune from those rapacious bastards!”
My smile could not be wider dear reader. The promise of all I can eat (sadly not human souls or hearts) and the chance to steal from those who steal with their rigged games!
This was turning out to be the most amazing day in all my life.
We made our way back to the car when I noticed that all the cars had little metal plates on both the front and the back, inscribed with Arabic numerals and roman letters.
As we got to the car, I noticed what the Magus had on his metal plates:
HWY2H3LL
Oh rapture!
Part 6

Hey guys! First post here so bear with me if I get anything wrong. I’ve finally decided to cover up, hopefully, the dumb tattoo my 17 year old self thought was a good idea. I’m a huge LOTR fan and was thinking Witch King with Minas Morgul behind him and sauron with his tower behind. I don’t have a large arm but I’m just lost in the process right now. I live in Texas so please let me know artist recs! Please help me get rid of this thing lol. I link the tattoo and arm space. Let me know if it doesn’t work.
https://imgur.com/a/vL0WZ9P

i'm new to this sub and haven't read back through all the posts for TDiM, but i did see some people comment on Du'Met's name still on the curator's list at the end of the game after Hector Munday's name had been crossed off.
my thoughts (several theories, really):
i assume we can all agree that The Curator is either Death or an Agent of Death by now, yeah? there are lots of supporting details for this (the opening credits song, some of his dialogue with the player especially lines about having met famous writers who have long been dead, his background appearances in moments where characters can die, and so on). So with that in mind, what if the list he has is kind of a list of souls to reap (much like Saint Peter has a book of names of the people who can get into heaven sort of thing)? and what if The Curator is cheating a bit with Munday, crossing his name off and leaving Du'Met's name there? there's the bit of dialogue between Erin and Kate in the maze (and a bit of chat between Kate and Jaime) about how he might have these two different personalities caused by the trauma he went through. ...and what if The Curator split his soul, with "Munday" dying but "Du'Met" living on to continue the killing spree?
the game is heavily influenced by the Saw series but also by Friday the 13th / Halloween, where the antagonist cannot die and is constantly stalking the victims (also bits of The Shining, Psycho, and others, of course). what if it's something akin to that, where Du'Met is now an unholy servant who is also immortal, especially now freed of his original self as Hector and why we see Hector's name crossed off but not Du'Met's? we see proof of that after he falls from the roof and his body is quite twisted and broken-looking. a moment later he's getting back up as if nothing happened (no pained movements, no broken limbs), along with the final moments after The Boat where -- regardless of whether he was chopped up bloodily by the propeller or blown up in the explosion when the boat hit the rock outcropping -- he's picking up his mask on the beach.
the main reason for this line of thinking is the thunder and room-shaking that happens after he rips the page out of the book. he seems a bit aggrieved or angry about the situation and then the rumbling happens, giving it a feeling that a higher power (Fate? God? Death?) is not happy with him for what he just did -- whether it was ripping out the page or not crossing off (or freshly writing in?) Du'Met's name. who knows for sure if he's not happy about fudging the ledger or that the killer is to be left alive or what... personal interpretation is up for debate. that said, the list is very short, with the large gap in years between HH Holmes and Hector Munday. note, too, that Manny Sherman isn't on the list. ...however, the first two names on the list are Herman Mudgett and H.H. Holmes (both the same person), much the way that Hector Munday and Granthem Du'Met are the same person. [coincidence that Hector and Herman share the same HM initials?] if it was an evil soul passed continually through the generations to take over someone, one would expect there to be no gap in the list, yeah? ...but maybe that is why The Curator is not happy about this page of names; not that there is the gap, but that the evil entity/soul/whatever of Mudgett / Holmes was brought back out into the world to continue killing, this time through Hector Munday. (also note: Granthem Du'Met is an anagram of Herman Mudgett).
i commented in another thread in this sub that part of the story (especially involving HH Holmes' hat) reminds me a lot of the Twilight Zone episode "Dead Man's Shoes" (later remade as "Dead Woman's Shoes" in the 1985 TZ series, starring Helen Mirren by the way). a homeless person finds a dead body in an alley and takes the nice pair of shoes the person was wearing. upon slipping them on, they are possessed by the spirit of the person who was killed, seeking revenge on the people who had a hand in the murder. the hat reminded me a lot of that sort of possession, especially after Kate tosses it onto Du'Met's broken body from the fall, only to have him get right back up once she tossed it to him. (granted, he's not wearing the hat on the boat so the idea that the hat itself is "magical" in that Frosty the Snowman way is a bit far-fetched, but i'm postulating that it's more of a vessel to help with the possession]. i may be off track with that idea, but being a huge TZ fan for the last 40+ years, the idea at least popped in my head.
...and in the end, all of that talk about possession by a serial killing spirit really brings home the title of the game "The Devil in Me", whether it's being directed by The Curator (via the names in the book) or his "boss" or by H.H. Holmes' hat. essentially, don't take the game at face value of it just being a sick serial killer who invites groups of people to their slaughter, but as a story of something a bit more supernatural going on, puppeted by unforeseen forces.
one last thing to consider, too... Hector Munday apparently died in the fire when he was found out to be the Shoeshine Killer (circa 1998). i've read a couple things about him faking his death, but that doesn't make a lot of sense to me. the tape recorder audio says that his body was identified by dental records. sure he could have pulled out his own teeth and planted them at the scene, but later on during The Boat, you can get a good look at his teeth when Mark hits him with the anchor and they look like natural teeth, not dentures or fakes. maybe that gives a bit more credence to some sort of evil spirit inhabiting people and it's not Hector Munday that is Du'Met, but someone else? maybe someone inspired by Munday in much the same way that Munday was inspired by Manny Sherman? maybe that's also why when the cast confront him at the lighthouse, he doesn't really react to them over the statements they are throwing at him. (i think you have to have seen enough Secrets to do this, much like in Man of Medan where the characters chat about what's really going on, based on the secrets you've unlocked) There's no other supporting details on this theory of mine other than the dental records vs character model's teeth, but it's some food for thought at least... there was also the video / tape recording about the evidence from the Munday / Shoeshine Killer being taken from the evidence locker. one would assume that if Munday was to walk into the police station, someone would have recognized him... if it was a nobody (a cop, fbi agent, or otherwise) that was inspired by Munday's work, that also might make more sense as to how the evidence went missing from the station without anyone knowing who took it.

Mario ate a shit ton of fast food, spaghett and candy for breakfast again, but since he never brushes his teeth, as it was teased in the "My Roommate Mario" episode, his teeth are full of caries causing toothache, preventing him from eating.
In attempts to still continue his lifestyle he tries different things out to get rid of his pain, by taking painkillers, ripping out his teeth and consume his favorite food by blending it into a smoothie.
At the end he goes involuntary or voluntary to a dentist. After which someone lectures him about brushing his teeth regularly and caring for his dental health, but Mario completely ignores him/her, because he is too busy eating obsessively, since now he can finally eat again. It ends with the lecturer making a facepalm.
​
PS: Why isn't there a Flair for video ideas?

Hi there!
(EDIT: GDI, Pressed send at 1 am with title unfinished. RIP. Games and Routes)
Due to recent events:

• Video essays on the history of the Fire Emblem legacy,
• Finding someone doing a FF Legacy run of all the numbered titles before 16 comes out
• The close of the Eshop and all it's capabilities for Awakening and Fates, and a "new age on the grand line" as it were, beginning from it.
• Wanting to play the legacy of the FE franchise for research on their game designs

I've given some serious thought to doing a full legacy run of the franchise. I had some general idea questions for people, given some things I've heard online. This is an opinionated question, so I wanna know how people would recommend playing the games nowadays. The ones I most need opinions on are the first two.
​

1. Would this be something that people are interested in watching? Either as a stream or in a video essay format?
2. With Shadow Dragon and Mystery of the Emblem, Would it be better to do a full playthrough of each with their remakes, their remakes as packaged, or the remakes with removed dialogue added in?
3. Similar question for Gaiden. How necessary is it to play FE2 if I can play FE Echos? How massive is the modernity of the system (besides turnwheel) is there to the impact on gameplay?
4. For games with multiple paths, (i.e. FE6, FE8, Fates, 3H), would you feel doing every route is necessary? If not, which routes would you say are necessary for this?
5. For Awakening/Fates, are the DLCs required due to wanting to analyze their story and gameplay? Same for Echos. And even more so for Ashen Wolves.

I've seen a lot of posts/lists on here for individual heroes, but I decided it would be neat to see one for a general area of the universe such as cosmic beings (Gods, concepts, etc.) so here we go. There will be some repeats of ones known to exist in Amalgam already, but characters are reused in creative ways and new combinations just like Amalgam proper. I personally will be coming up with these as if they could be fit into the already existing Amalgam canon and interact with the established Amalgam characters, but they could also be applied to a theoretical new continuity. Please comment any neat ideas you may have, either for alternate takes on these characters or new ones in the same wheelhouse!
Thanoseid - Darkseid + Thanos (This one is just too perfect)
Galactiac - Brainiac + Galactus
Oa the Living Planet - Oa + Ego the Living Planet
Night Specter - Nightmare + Specter
The Living Phantom - The Living Tribunal + The Phantom Stranger
The Klyntarians - The Klyntar (symbiotes) + Kryptonians (Basically the Klyntar but their home planet was destroyed like Krypton, scattering them about the galaxy. Bizarnage would be one of these.)
The Anti-Force - The Phoenix Force + Galactus + The Anti-Monitor (A condensation of all of the negative energy from Oa the Living Planet, which Oa separated from itself, turned into pure psychic energy, and sent back to the creation of the universe to die. It survived only by forming a symbiotic bond with the first lifeform, and using said host's physical body to devour the psychic energy of others. It travels from host to host, granting them extreme power in return for satiating its hunger by devouring the psychic energy of whole planets at a time. One day it hopes to grow strong enough to do this to whole universes, and maybe grow strong enough through doing so to manifest a permanent physical form again.)
Death the Blackness - Death (Marvel) + Death the Endless (DC) + Black Racer
Mr. Mexystptlk - Mephisto + Mr. Mxyzptlk (A demonic imp from the fifth dimension who has an unhealthy obsession with Super Soldier and those related to him, including Spider-Boy.)
Eternigon - Trigon + Eternity (Brother of Infinirath, an abstract aspect of all of the evil and ambition in the universe.)
Infinirath - Azar + Azarath + Infinity (Sister of Eternigon, an abstract aspect of all of the goodness and peace in the universe.)
Heimtron the Watcher - Heimdall + Metron + The Watcher (Heimtron is a New Asgod of knowledge, and once sought to share this knowledge with lesser life forms to uplift them. When this backfired disasterously and resulted in the self-destruction of the races he "helped", Heimtron vowed to never again leave his chair or share his knowledge with those who are unworthy. His chair in which he sits is able to summon the Mobius Bridge, which allows passage to and from New Asgard and lets Heimtron observe the whole universe at once.)
The Source Above All - The Source Wall + The One Above All (The creation point/creator of the universe, it is the beginning of all things.)
The Source Below All - Barbados + The Source Wall + The One Below All (The until recently unknown opposite of the Source Above All. It channels its influence through gamma-irradiated zombies in an attempt to open portals to the Dark Universe--the dimension where it resides that is a culmination of all of the fears of the people in the "normal" universe. It particularly torments Skulk and Darkclaw, and pits them against each other for its own ends. It is the end of all things.)
Raother - Rao + The Other (Raother is the Kryptonian god of the sun and 'snarebeasts'--animals they had which were similar to Earth spiders. Spider-Boy talked to this entity after getting his arm ripped off by Morlun and being mortally wounded. Raother told him that he was the lead deity of the planet where Spider-Boy and Super Soldier's powers originated--Krypton--and that he had chosen Spider-Boy as his vessel, which was how the latter even survived being woken up out of his cloning process early. Raother did this so that Peter would be able to carry on the legacy of the dead world in a way that Super Soldier, as a naturally born Earthling who heavily prescribes to Earthling ideals, never could. Peter, however, had rejected Raother subconsciously because his mind was not yet mature enough to comprehend the depths of his own power. Raother said that if Spider-Boy accepted him, he would live, but his human side would die and his Kryptonian side would live on. Spider-Boy accepted and was reborn, fully healed, with new abilities including organic webs that shoot from the tops of his hands and even further enhanced strength.)
The Thani'ar - Thanagarians + The Shi'ar (Bird aliens, man. But they have wings on their backs AND cool triangle hair lol)

Ahh, dear reader, hello there! So lovely to see you once more... well figuratively speaking that is… or is it?
After all, I am exceedingly well versed in The Arts. Maybe I am watching you at this very moment, with Clairvoyance or perhaps a Scrying Spell or maybe an enchanted object like the good old fashioned Crystal Ball? The Magus has one you know…
Just teasing… or am I? …teeheehee…
Anyway, this latest instalment comes to you courtesy via a Voice to Text application my Magus recently acquired for me, as he said listening to me speak aloud while typing is too distracting for him. I find that interesting considering his immense mental discipline yet understandable at the same time. After all, extoling ones inner monolog to an uncaring audience would be tedious to experience. Hmm… I’ve just thought of a new torture for the souls of the dammed, specifically for writers who think they are better than everyone around them. How ingenious of me!
In any case, I would prefer to distract him in other ways, mark you.
I also must say what wonderfully inventive creatures you humans are! An application of mathematical code, the base language of reality. It is very much like a spell in its function and nature I would say, that it allows my phone, yes the Magus got me one, to record all I say and transcribes it into neatly typed words on its electronic pages. It’s like having a monk-scribe in your pocket! Unquestionably wonderful!
So as I relax in my fabulously hot, luxurious scented, oiled bubble bath, I can easily regale you with further tales of the adventures I have had thus far on this wonderous blue and brown spherical rock that is third in line from our star. And I do not have to type with two fingers either, which is a massive bonus let me tell you!
If memory serves… ahh yes, we had just returned to the car where I saw a sign of my Magus’s humour on display in the form of his licence plate.
I do have to admit dear reader, I was indeed highly amused. He knows he’s going to hell, he just insists that it be on his terms! I love it! Such confidence, such audacious willpower.
That is exceedingly… stimulating for Succubi.
Ok dammit, it makes me incredibly horny, and I’m not talking about the ones on my head either you know! We are intensely lustful beings, us Succubi, after all.
I was already in a highly ‘excited’ state when we got to the car, so much so that I had to use my Cell Adjustment Psionic discipline to tremendously dull down my inflamed senses as I did not wish to leave the tell-tale mark of my inflamed passion on the lower back portion of my new dress and also not on the car-seat when I sat back down in the vehicle.
Ahem…
After a few moments, which caused the Magus to glance up at me with a slightly puzzled expression, of standing outside the car (he had no idea nor cared… hmmph!) I opened the door and folded myself back inside the vehicle and resumed my seat. I later learned that I could have mostly avoided this… embarrassment… by actually wearing what you call absorbent lined underwear! I wasn’t wearing panties at the time as I was totally unaware of their existence. I do so now as its much more comfortable in lots of ways and in addition, stops the shiver when an errant chill wind blows unexpectedly up your gusset!
Moving on…
Getting into the car, the Magus paused until I had done up my seatbelt before starting the engine, waiting for another car to pass us by before safely pulling out and sedately driving off. I later learned that we could have gone screaming down the road in a cloud of burning rubber if the Magus was of a mind to. I would have if given the opportunity! Something to look forward to dear reader.
Instead, we drifted slowly through the placidly moving traffic as I watched the sun descend below the horizon of the ocean. I had only been back here on Earth for a few hours but every second was total bliss. I do not think that most of you humans realize how good you have it here. Even those who do not reside in the more developed and advanced nations, being on Earth is special.
There are infinity more worse places you can be, let me assure you of that.
We drove back mostly the way we had travelled to this particular beach. This time though it was much later in the day, heading in the opposite direction, I became aware of many more things that had escaped my attention earlier on.
We passed by denser zones and clusters of buildings where I could see various shops, food outlets, restaurants and varying vendors, all brightly lit up now as the daylight was fading. I saw incredibly tall metal poles with blazing, glowing lights illuminating the surrounds with a warm yellowy orange glow making it still easy to see. Electric lighting will never cease to amaze me. Yes dear reader, I can experience a sense of wonder and joy at simple things, even beyond the act of slaughter and soul draining. Would it astonish you that I like flowers? Such strange lifeforms that had developed aromas they use as a method of propagation. Delightful.
Anyway… we shortly crested the hill that we had previous ascended westwards earlier on the way to the beach and then I saw it!
I was awestruck once again.
Towering edifices, glittering, shining buildings monstrously higher than Hagia Sophia was, the most immense human made structure in the world when I was last in it. These glistening towers of glass, metal and stone made that church look like a feeble children’s toy. I could see over a dozen of these buildings of varying size, clustered together in less than a square mile.
The Magus glanced to his left and saw me gaping at them.
“They’re called Sky Scrapers Meridiana. They’re generally office buildings, places of business where people daily work in their wage-slave jobs then go home at night. The buildings are left vacant but light up at night as you can clearly see.”
I turned and gawped at him.
“They’re empty at night?”
I could not comprehend why such space, that had amazing views, would be left empty of an evening?
“Yep. Well most of them are. There will be some that still have people in them, conducting various types of business overnight because its what they do for a living.”
“What do they do?” I asked in a murmur as I turned back to see the vista be obscured by a large set of commercial and residential buildings that we were currently passing.
The Magus shrugged.
“They’ll be doing all sorts of things, financial trading, working back late to do their jobs… various affairs of commerce and such. It’s not that important really Meridiana. I’ll take you into the city another day when we have time for you to be a tourist. Now, if I may, I want to know more about your Telekinesis. I got an idea of how much you can lift, probably over 1400 kilograms at least if my guess as to how much a warhorse in armour with a rider would weigh… maybe more? Probably more but we’ll test that later. Anyway, it’s your fine control skills I’m interested in.”
I turned back to the Magus who was looking ahead, driving us through the busy traffic that had become a factor. I later learned that it was a time of day called ‘rush hour’.
“I am capable of very delicate manipulation with my Telekinesis, especially in regards to the erotic arts,” I said to him with a husky, low, salacious purr.
“That’s cute but I really want to know if you could snatch out of the air and control a very small, fast moving bouncing ball, say the size of your thumbnail?” he asked in an offhand manner as he slowed down due to the traffic which was banking up in front of us.
I inwardly sighed once more. Such a challenge he was!
“Yes I can but why?”
He briefly turned to me and broadly grinned before returning his attention to driving.
“There’s a game that we will ‘play’ after dinner. It is called Roulette. The game features a spinning wheel with thirty seven little slots. Into the spinning wheel a little white ball is spun in and circles around, eventually slowing and bouncing into once of the numbered slots. The slots are alternately coloured red or black and all are numbered from 00 to 36. You can bet where the ball will land, either in red or black and specifically in a numbered slot. If the ball lands in a slot you bet on, you get a payout of thirty seven to one. Ever dollar you bet wins you 37 back. You can also just bet on which colour the ball will land in giving you your money back plus it’s value as a reward. Bet $100, you get your $100 back plus another $100.”
“Dollar... that’s money right?” I said as the implications slowly dawned on me. You could make a fortune from this!
“Yes Meridiana. Dollars are what we use as currency these days. Gold is still used but not in the way you were used to. It’s still valuable as are other precious metals but that’s going to take a long explanation which is a distraction for now. So, do you think you could perhaps catch the bouncing ball with your power, directing it into the number we bet on?”
I thought about it for a few moments.
“I will have to see how the ball moves but I think I could, yes.”
“Excellent. You stand to make us a lot of money tonight. There are other games like card games, slot machines which I’m uncertain that your powers would be able to mess with. Roulette is our hunting ground. We must be careful though.”
“Why?”
I was surprised by his tone of caution. We were power incarnate! What could possibly touch us?
“Casinos hate losing money. Roulette is going to be the hardest one they can prove that we’re cheating on if you use your Telekinesis. We will be closely watched the entire time we are in the casino. There are devices called cameras, similar to Crystal Balls, that observe everything they see, relaying the images back to people in other rooms whose task it is to spot potential cheaters in the casino. They also have people walking the floor, disguised as ordinary folk, always watching everyone else. And I want to avoid the eyes of any infernal beings who may be in the casino.”
“Ahh… I see… a healthy paranoia then, for them and us hmm?”
He nodded once, emphatically.
If you have a fortune, you need to protect it, especially from people like me. His caution in regards to our identity was also most prudent and he was correct that there was a possibility that there may be others of my ilk lurking in the shadows, walking in human form as we often do.
I have to confess dear reader, that I am a master thief as well as an expert assassin, in addition to being an accomplished warrior although I rarely fight in hand to hand combat, preferring seduction, subterfuge and skulduggery as my main methods of killing. Yet still, I can fight and kill extremely proficiently with many weapons, being skilled at one of the highest levels of melee combat, the use of weapons and ways of fighting with them. I’ve been around a while you know? You pick up on things like that if you wish to live as long as I have.
Besides… stabby, stabby, stabby, bash, slash and smite can be loads of fun when you’re doing the stabbing and bashing with a well-balanced blade or mace in your hands. But I digress…
“You have it Meridiana. Yes the casinos’ management are extremely paranoid. We will have to alter our appearance as well before we enter the casino. I shall use a minor low level spell while you can take a new face. We will do so after dinner.”
I nodded then a thought came to me. I asked,
“You said we were going to something called a buffet? I know what the word means as my abilities allow me to understand any spoken language, much like the enchantment known as Tongues. Yet I’m finding it hard to match the word with the concept.”
The Magus raised an eyebrow in interest at this revelation.
“Oh right. Just because you know a word doesn’t mean you automatically understanding it conceptually and in context either. Good to know. Well, a buffet is an enormous array of various foods, hot and cold, sweet to savoury, where you merely help yourself and consume as much as you wish. You pay for the privilege of course.”
“Truly? How much will this cost you?” I inquired wide eyed.
I noticed that we had moved through the traffic and had turned down a descending road and were now going into a massive concrete tunnel along with hundreds of other cars, all slowly moving in the same direction. It was quite honestly astounding that everyone was not smashing into one another. All the drivers were…well mostly were, attentive to their immediate surrounds and situation as we gradually merged our car into the main lane of traffic which was making its way under the earth via the huge yawning tunnel ahead.
Such staggering feats of engineering and construction which would have made the Emperor Justinian weep copious, bitter tears of pure envy. Oh how I wished I could make him see this and realise his idiotic boast was pointless when he finished Hagia Sophia. He bragged that he had surpassed Solomon himself with his church. He had but it wasn’t worth it. Justinian nearly bankrupted the Eastern Roman Empire, all for a useless church and his own vanity.
Moron.
Still, I shouldn’t care, his hubris ended up sending him to hell anyway so... yay! His actions also exacerbated the effects of the famine and plague that swept the through the empire and western Europe in the year 535 with his stupid desire to re-unify the Roman empire under his rule. You will be pleased to know dear reader, that he is burning in eternal torment for his multitude of sins so it is all good. My thoughts of deceased, vainglorious emperors and their fate were interrupted as the Magus spoke again,
“Hmm? … it should set us back about $80 each I’d should say? A small price to pay in all honesty when you see what is on offer. Drinks will be on top of that price, unless you just have plain water but tonight Meridiana, I shall introduce you to Champagne, one of humanities greatest achievements.”
This was enticing to hear!
“If you say so Magus. I completely believe you as you will not be lying to me,” I said, nodding and trying to think about Champagne.
So many new concepts were entering my mind, it was hard to keep my mind and thoughts in order. I understood that Champagne was a special type of wine, one which had a fizz embodied within it, making it highly regarded but that’s all I could deduce for now.
Also… I had a thought: the Magus could and would never lie to me. The feeling I had earlier, in being able to trust everything he said to me because of the oath he gave to me, was an unfettering sensation.
All my existence I have dealt with bare faced lairs, deceivers, misshapers of the truth who twisted words to suit their own selfish ends. With the Magus, all I had to be concerned with was his agenda, which actually had my interests aligned with his own. Truly remarkable.
I needed that champagne now!
We emerged from the tunnel, traveling with the traffic over wide dark river, again on another immense concrete bridge this time. There was a gigantic colosseum off to our right, all lit up with multiple coloured lights that ran around the circumference of the structure. It was like as though it was enveloped in a rainbow. Frankly, it was amazing to behold.
Beyond that, I could see many more large towers and structures, lining the sides of the vast road we were hurtling along now. The Magus had increased our speed as traffic had thinned out. Never in my life had I moved so fast, well unless I was using a Haste spell to briefly increase my physical speed, which I use in combat if necessary.
I barely had the sense we were travelling in the car at roughly 80kph. Such an odd experience to have for the first time. There was no rushing of wind, no press of air on my face, just comfort and air-conditioning. Marvellous!
After a few minutes later I saw our destination.
Again I was nearly stupefied by the gigantic structure. Multiple massive buildings, all surrounded by lush green, well-manicured and maintained gardens made my jaw go slack with disbelief.
“That’s Crown Casino, Towers and hotel Meridiana. I can see you are impressed. Let me just say that if you think this is amazing, wait until we go to Las Vegas…” he said as he turned the car into the driveway of the complex.
“There’s even more impressive structures than this?”
My mind boggled dear reader. It was almost too much to take in.
“Yep. My city is a small one compared to others around the globe. We will travel to them, in due course. I know you can use your powers of Dimensional Walking, moving through other planes of reality and appearing on a different part of the planet. However, there will be times when we will need to travel together conventionally. Perhaps one day, if I learn the right spells, we will be able to avoid having to fly in an aeroplane and by-pass the utter tediousness of baggage check-ins, airport security and so on…” he muttered darkly.
“HUMANS CAN FLY!?!” I said in a loud strangled astonished voice.
The Magus chuckled with genuine amusement.
“Think back Meridiana. I said humanity has been to the moon and back. I said we can travel safely and comfortably in a machine, called an aircraft, across the planet. Some ‘planes are huge while others are not much bigger than the car. Oh, that reminds me, we will have to construct an identity for you. We will begin that process tomorrow. You are going to need a passport soon enough,” he said as he found a relatively unoccupied parking area west of the massive structures.
He saw my puzzled expression and mistook it for wondering why we had parked here.
“It’s free to park here and there are hardly any security cameras in the vicinity.”
I nodded dumbly.
“But of course Magus…”
He saw my expression as he switched off the engine. A tiny look of… sympathy appeared on his face. He spoke to me in a soft, calm, soothing tone,
“Take a breath Meridiana. Close your eyes and focus upon the stillness within the vehicle. You are safe here with me. Nothing will harm us. Just breathe and relax, let each breath calm you. With every breath you are at peace within yourself and the world around you.”
I did as he said and instantly sensed my whirling mind begin to centre itself, become still.
I may be an ancient and powerful demon dear reader, however I have been imprisoned for nigh on a thousand years and now have been released into a world that I was unable to recognise at all.
The Magus later told me I was suffering from a psychological malady called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Yes dear reader, even us demons can get mentally fucked up. I mean, compared to the average human, we’re all demented, tormented psychopaths which explains a lot about ourselves but still… even a psychopath can suffer from mental trauma. Demons can go insane.
I breathed rhythmically, each exhaling breath calming me. With one final exhalation, I opened my eyes, turned to my Magus and softly smiled at him.
“Thank you,” was all I said. I meant it.
He nodded briefly, his intensely burning eyes boring into mine, deeply searching, looking for signs of any madness that may still be lingering within. Well, there’s always the hunger for sex and mayhem, but that’s natural for me.
“Come on, you look fine now, let’s go,” he said as he got out of the car.
I followed his example, releasing my seat belt and stepping out of the car. Closing the car door behind me, walked over to the Magus then I threaded my right arm around his left as we walked off like a normal couple, casually strolling through the car park towards the casino and hotel.
I could hear the noise of all the adjacent traffic all still travelling busily along the massive road that went past the enormous complex. There was the calls of various birds I’d never heard before, the waft of scented flowering plants and the heavy aroma of moisture in the air from the nearby river. I closed my eyes for a second just to let it all wash over me as I sedately walked along with my Magus.
Soon we came to the entrance. Huge dark glass doors magically opened for us upon our arrival. To my right I could see various coloured signage, advertising the types of ‘fast food’ eateries that people could choose to dine at. They were all brightly lit and mostly clean.
It was at that moment I saw my first wretch.
A dishevelled, unkempt, shabby man sat listless outside the fast food eateries upon the low stone wall that contained a small, well-kept garden. He looked up at us as we approached, his eyes full of misery and despair.
“Got any spare change?”
“Sorry mate, no one carries cash anymore,” lied my Magus to him with a conciliatory voice, a sad but brief compassionate smile appeared briefly on his face.
The wretched man’s face became even more resigned. He nodded back in understanding, returning his fallen face back to morosely contemplating the ground at his feet.
We kept walking, leaving the broken man behind us.
I was about to congratulate the Magus in his treatment of the beggar when I had to stop as I was confronted by an incredible sight.
Before us, in the huge well-lit lobby of the building, was a huge pair of MOVING METAL STAIRCASES!
One staircase ascended while another came down from the landing some 50 feet above us. On either side were normal, marble clad stairs that some people were using. Yet many other people were on the moving metal stairs, all just taking the experience of being raised or lowered completely for granted.
“It’s just an escalator Meridiana. A simple machine that makes life a little more comfortable. Take it, go for a ride. I’m taking the stairs as I need the incidental exercise,” he said to me as he pried my clutching hands from his arm. I had been unconsciously gripping him tightly in my amazement at seeing such a machine.
The Magus walked off to the left, climbing the steps briskly while I gingerly walked forwards, watching the metal stairs endless appear and ascend upwards. The hand rail also moved in synchronicity with the metal stairs. I observed as a pair of young women, chatting intently to each other, walked past me and up to stand upon a metal stair which was part of dozens of metal stairs it seemed. I saw them be lifted by the moving stairs, rising above and away from me.
Summoning my courage, I stepped forwards onto a moving stair, wobbled slightly as I was not used to the speed which it moved, making me grab the moving banister tightly to steady myself as I rode my way upwards. I let out a small laugh as it was such a novel experience. The young women in front of me turned around at my laugh, raising their eyebrows at me as well as actually truly seeing me for the first time. Their smiles faded as I grinned back at them.
The young women could see my infinitely superior beauty on full display. They looked hesitant, now uncertain of themselves as they mistakenly believed themselves to be beautiful. They were, passible, not ugly but not worthy of a harem to be perfectly honest. I later learned dear reader that many foolish young women, especially in what you call the western world, regard themselves as queens, rating themselves ten out of ten on a scale of dazzling good looks. These sad women are delusional. I mean, if they were that beautiful, why weren’t their faces on the covers of the glossy magazines I see in various ‘supermarket’ check outs? No matter, vanity and hubris are all ways to damnation and misery. So many people sending themselves to eternal torment simply because they were raised by idiotic parents who never properly taught their children the need for humility. It’s all win-win for the pits you know…
My Magus met me at the top of the stairs, holding out his hand to me and then leading me through the vast interior of the complex.
“That’s the casino,” he indicated to our right.
Looking, I could see dozens of people making their way inside into the brightly lit and noisy interior of the casino. I caught the whiff of desperation, despair, avarice, lust, elation and a strong aroma of human urine. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. Yes, even I have some standards dear reader.
“Magus, why does it reek of piss?” I asked as we strolled by and proceeded into the most immense, glass covered atrium I have ever seen.
“Oh, you can smell that?” He looked intrigued.
I nodded with a mild look of disgust.
“Hah… interesting. Well… some gamblers get stuck on a poker machine. They sit there for hours, desperately hoping that the machine they are playing on will pay out. The poor fools stupidly believe that if they play at the machine long enough, they’ll win big. So they stay seated, ignoring the need to relieve their bodily urges, to the extent that they prefer to piss themselves rather than abandon the machine that is draining away their money. The poor fools are incapable of understanding that the machine is designed to rarely pay out. Every time they play, it has a simple algorithm that calculates the chance of a payout. Most machines will payout a small amount of money occasionally, thus keeping the gambler hooked in the mistaken belief that the big one is just around the corner. It rarely, if ever, is.”
I stopped, stunned at what I just heard. The Magus stopped and looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
“That’s… diabolically genius!” I stuttered as I considered the fiendish brilliance of the whole concept.
Someone had made hell on earth not only possible but also could make a fortune from it as well as breaking people’s souls and spirits in the process! The concept of dangling hope in front of a damned soul, then snatching it away was one of the oldest known tortures of hell. This was magnificent, a culmination of the perfection of thousands upon thousands of years of the torture, all neatly packaged in a fairly simple machine designed to beggar it’s user and turn them into slaves to it. Gobsmacking was the only word I could think off that fully encapsulated the way I felt at that moment.
“Yes it is, isn’t it? I have always suspected that those machines were most likely invented by a demon. It makes perfect sense,” he said as he shrugged, then tilted his head, indicating we should proceed onwards.
I noddled dumbly as again, I had been totally overwhelmed by the latest piece of information the Magus had informed me of. I barely registered the hundreds of people all wandering around the massive lobby of the hotel atrium. Many were dressed finely while others, mostly men, were dressed casually. My Magus was one of them, still wearing his novelty T-shirt and hemp pants. They were clean though and his shoes, a brand known as Babuuk, made him look somehow better dressed then the other men who were similarly attired. Maybe it was just his subtle aurora of power, his sheer confidence and his towering Will that made him stand out from the mouth breathers all around us? I guess it was.
We arrived at the entrance of the restaurant and the Magus was greeted by a short Asian woman, dressed neatly in the hotels livery.
I started to realise that there were people from so many different races of humanity all around us. I had come from a time where only what was left of the Eastern Roman Empire was this diverse, and even then it was but a shadow of the heyday of the full glory that was Rome. Here were people from almost all the lands of earth, all happily co-mingling, getting on with having dinner with family and friends. Very surprising indeed.
The Asian woman at the reception counter spoke to us with a friendly smile,
“Good evening sir, madam. A table for two for you then?” she asked politely, her voice tinged with a broad accent I had not heard before. She spoke English yet I could tell that wasn’t her first language.
“Yes please,” politely replied the Magus.
This was something I did not expect. Despite his and my obvious power, he was respectful and even kind to the servants. All of them. He didn’t condescend nor sneer down at the servants of the hotel. It is still something I have difficulty reconciling. I said nothing, just observed. Oh, he has since instructed me not to call them servants, they are members of staff and will be treated with respect until they show they do not deserve it, then they are fair game. I can live with that.
“Table seventy one is ready for you both, have a lovely evening.”
She actually meant it! I could see it in her eyes, she was truly enjoying her task. She was smiling and joking with her fellow staff members, politely greeting the next people behind us with her cheerful friendly demeanour.
Astonishing.
In my prior experiences, servants and slaves were a miserable lot but then again, that was understandable. They had no choice as to their circumstances. They had to obey lest they suffer harsh punishment.
As we proceeded into the large dining room, with over a hundred tables of varying sizes, I could see off to my left where the food was.
I stopped again and stared dear reader.
I have been to banquets with Emperors and Kings, Popes and Princes, all sumptuous feasts but nothing was like what I saw before me. Dozens upon dozens of people had plates in their hands, all calmly wandering around the incredible cornucopia of varieties of food that were on display, all brightly lit up for them to simply help themselves to as much as their plate could hold.
Roasted meats, all neatly carved by expert chefs, freshly shucked oysters all seated in enormous silver ice-filled serving bowls, trays upon trays of cooked vegetables of kinds I had never seen before and… a dazzling array of sweet desserts and treats that made me almost go weak at the knees at the very sight of them.
“Come on Meridiana, you’re starting to drool,” whispered the Magus gently into my ear as he dabbed my wet lips with a soft piece of paper that he withdrew from his pants pockets.
Once again I nodded dumbly as I allowed him to escort me to our table. He even seated me, pushing me and my chair in once I had sat down. After he had taken his seat, a young man, quite a handsome one from the Indus I believed?... came over to us, again dressed in the livery of the hotel.
“Good evening, sir, madam. Would you care for something to drink?” he inquired ever so politely.
“And good evening to you sir. Yes indeed, may we please have a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, two glasses and a bottle of San Pellegrino sparkling water?” he asked with a real smile to the servant… no member of staff.
“Of course sir, I shall get that for you immediately,” replied the waiter with a pleased smile at being spoken to so politely.
“Thank you,” said the Magus then he turned to me and asked,
“Do you need a moment Meridiana? I understand this might trigger you again…”
I shook my head.
“No. It is overwhelming… but in a good way Magus. I have to ask, how can a place like this provide so many people with so much food? Even in the height of the Empire, there were magnificent feasts to be sure but… you say this happens everyday, that this is just a Tuesday and not a busy night?”
He nodded.
“This is the age of abundance Meridiana. Many of us, who live in what is known as The West, have dwelt in an age of such wealth and richness that almost all here never think on their incredible luck and privilege to live in such times. They do not know that it will come to an end. Maybe that is a small mercy. All golden ages end as you well know. So I say, let them dwell in ignorant bliss for now. We can enjoy it while it lasts.”
“Huh? Why do you believe that your golden age will end Magus?”
“It’s a long explanation and one I do not wish to go into detail here and now Meridiana but later, I will share my thoughts with you on this. Ahh, here comes our champagne.”
The waiter and another staff member had returned, with one carrying two bottles while the other had a metal bucket partially filled with ice. The waiter from the Indus placed both bottles on our table, displayed the label to the Magus who briefly nodded. Then, the waiter removed the cork from the bottle with an adroit twist of his wrist. It made a pleasing pop and I could see a little haze of cold… smoke? lightly emanate from the neck of the bottle. He poured the brightly bubbling and fizzing wine into both our glasses, carefully making sure the foam did not overflow them. He was very good at his task.
“Thank you good sir,” said my Magus to the waiter who beamed back at him with a happy smile. He placed the bottle into the bucket of ice and withdrew, leaving us alone, amidst the crowed dinning room.
The Magus took up his glass, holding it in front of him. I mirrored him.
“Here’s to a good dinner with interesting company and later, ripping the shit out of a casino Meridiana.” He pushed his glass gently forwards, lightly clinking it against mine. I wasn’t familiar at the time with that form of salute and toast but went with it anyway, after all… when in Rome as they used to say.
“That sounds… delightful Magus. I am eager for it all.”
I then took a sip of my champagne and was transported into a realm of heavenly bliss.
It was exquisite.