I got to the end of the Whistling Hill cave and found an empty tent with no usual chest containing unique armor. I’m fairly certain I’ve killed all of the enemy and frog in the cave, so I’m unsure what to do or how to get the armor.

This is about a girl I met five months ago at a party. Met her last week and it was so, so nice!
25M here. So it was a New Year party and I was invited there with my friends, and there happened to be a girl who caught my attention quite easily. I didn’t feel nervous at all, and asked her her name and IG (not number yet, as I felt it wouldn’t be fair), and she gave it. We planned to meet so much, but it never worked out as I had too much going on in my personal life and she’d gone back to her hometown. Once she came back, her job had kept her way too busy. We stayed in touch throughout the 5 months and were both comfy.
Last week, we finally decided to meet and it was probably one of the best times of my life. We met at a cute cat cafe and she talked so, so much and I listened, and vice versa. She actually listened to me whenever I spoke, with probably the best eye contact ever. She was even mirroring my body language. We laughed a lot too. I’m so glad that none of us even looked at our phones. We have so, so much in common and it’s unbelievable. The chemistry was absolutely unreal and we both felt like 3 hours went away in just one. Yes, we didn’t know we spent 3 hours together until we looked at our watches. She responded very positively to gentle flirting and had sweet responses to my subtle pickup lines. Her banter game is insanely good too. Before I saw her off I told her I’d love to take her out on a date and she agreed!
I wanted to make sure she reached safely, so I called her, and what felt like 5 minutes turned out to be 20!
Now we’re not texters and glued to our phones, and work keeps both of us busy, so texting is only for memes, some banter and date plans. And calls are rare. We’re actually too busy. And I think it’s safe to say that she isn’t crushing on me just yet; it’s been, what two meetings. But the connection we had right then and there felt so real.
After having learned from so many bad experiences, I’m trying my best to keep my expectations very low. If you expect something, it becomes a demand, and if a demand isn’t met, it becomes a disappointment. Hoping for the best!
She’s a wonderful person and I feel it’ll be bad if she’s a goner too. As much as I know there are so many other people, it’s quite rare for a strong connection immediately. So I don’t want to screw it up. I’m not putting her on a pedestal, because that’s a one way ticket to losing someone or landing in the dreaded friendzone.

This'll might sound oddly familiar....

John 12:3 Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. 4 Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him, 5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?

or several apostles for that matter --

Matthew 26:7 There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. 8 But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation*, saying, To what purpose is this waste?* 9 For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.

Jesus' response was the same for both --

For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.

John tells us there are no temples in heaven because the Lord's is there already.

Revelation 21:22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

So temples are the priority because that is how we come to the Lord and it is also how we soften hostile hearts and make fishers of men.

Isaiah 2:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s chouse shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all enations shall flow unto it. 3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us ago up to the mountain of the Lord, to the chouse of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the flaw, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. 5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the blight of the Lord.

Do not fall prey to those who wish to break your testimony. The Lord leads His Church and will guide and chasten His chosen apostles as needed.

“I just had an idea pop into my head about something to do this coming weekend, and I wanted to bounce it off you two before it slips my mind” My friend Natasha said those words as the three of us sat on my couch one afternoon. I found myself sitting up slightly. Normally, Natasha was the last of our group to suggest things to do, letting Vinny, the third member of our group, or I come up with the plans to keep our free time occupied. The fact she was about to suggest something intrigued me. “What have you got in mind?” I asked her. A smile played over her face as her brown eyes seemed to flash. “How about a little ghost hunting?”
I felt Vinny sit straight up beside me. She had clearly grabbed both our attention now. The three of us were what you might call amateur ghost hunters, using very basic items we bought offline to visit some of the spookier places in the area and posting our adventures on YouTube, sort of like a crappier version of Ghost Adventures. “Now that’s one hell of a good idea” Vinny said, before a puzzled expression spread over his face. “But, I mean, where? We’ve already done most of the places around town. The Tioga building won’t let us in after that…well, what that one resident claims we stirred up in the old ballroom, and I’m not about to make the hours long drive to the Wolf Creek Inn” Natasha’s smile grew wider. “No, we don’t have to even go out of town for this one” she said, her voice dropping low, “What I’m suggesting, is we check out…” her voice trailed off, letting the suspense grow for a few seconds before finishing, “The Egyptian Theatre”
Instantly, Vinny let out a harsh bark of laughter. “HA! Now that’s a good one. You know damn good and well that the society that runs the theater won’t allow us in after hours to ghost hunt. As far as I know, they’ve never allowed any paranormal teams into the place” He pulled a face. “So, how exactly do you propose we get in there? You flutter your eyelashes for the night janitor and use your feminine charms to get us in?” Natasha still grinned, but rolled her eyes at our friend’s quip. “No, actually, I was thinking about using my lock picking skills to get us in” she declared. It was my turn to give her an incredulous look. “You’re joking, right?” I asked. She shook her head. “Nope, I’m dead serious” I let out an incredulous, almost baffled snort of laughter and pulled my glasses off my face, rubbing my eyes.
The country, and, to a large extent, the entire world, became gripped in an interest, sometimes bordering on obsession with all things Egyptian when King Tut’s tomb was discovered over a century ago. Many things came out of this, including the classic 1932 monster movie The Mummy. But, one thing that also came of this fever gripping the country was a desire to build many Egyptian style buildings. And one of the buildings which took this design and ran with it, were the movie theatres. A decade after the legendary discovery, over a hundred theatres had gone up all around the country, their interiors clad with fake temple columns, paintings of sphinxes and Egyptian gods such as Anubis decorating the walls, and hieroglyphs adorning the archways. People flocked in droves to them, both to watch movies, and live performances. But, like all trends, eventually, the interest began to wane, and as the late 20th Century approached, many began to shut down and be either remodeled, or straight up demolished. Today, there’s only between five and eight Egyptian style theatres left in the entire country.
And one just so happens to be right in the town I live in.
When I moved to Coos Bay, Oregon nine years ago, I immediately fell in love with the place. Even though it’s the largest coastal town on the Oregon coast, it’s a place which is more or less perpetually frozen in time, still looking pretty much as it did between thirty and seventy years ago. And, as someone who is not exactly into the modern world, it made a perfect place for me to live and escape away from the 21st Century. I began exploring right away, driving every street of it and the town neighboring it, North Bend, along with walking every alley and back road I could to learn the layout. That’s how I learned about the supernatural element to the town.
There are many places in town which people claim supernatural occurrences take place. From the remains of the old logging buildings on the estuary, to the old Tioga Hotel which has been remodeled into apartments, there is no shortage of ghostly tales. There was even the old McCauley Hospital, which had once been the focal point of the town’s annual ghost walks until it was demolished in 2018. As a side note, I heard a rumor that a couple people broke into that place right before it got torn down. Something sure spooked them, because a friend of mine on the police force told me they gave him a fright, bursting in the night before Easter and rambling about something. I always wondered what they saw in there.
But, for me, the place in town I always loved the most, and enjoyed the most hearing about the ghostly accounts told, was the Egyptian Theatre.
Originally built as a garage in 1922, it was renovated by a man named Charles Noble into a movie theatre in 1925, where it drew in droves of people from around the area to watch films, and enjoy live vaudeville performances. It continued to operate almost to the end of the 20th Century, when other theatres began to attract younger moviegoers, and for a while, it almost seemed as though the historic building might even be closed for good and gutted. But, thanks to the efforts of local preservation societies, it was saved, and now operates as a theatre once again. They mostly play only older movies, along with live performances.
And, of course, it draws curious people for the paranormal rumors surrounding it.
For years, people have reported strange occurrences happening inside the building, both when it’s open, and after hours. Patrons and employees alike have spoken about a pervasive feeling of being watched inside the building, but finding no one there when the place was searched. There have been reports of being touched by invisible hands, a few even pushed slightly. Beyond physical interaction, employees have reported the sounds of old film projectors playing and unseen audiences laughing after hours, along with the eerie playing of the theatre’s Wurlitzer pipe organ, along with a host of other occurrences. No ghost hunting team has ever gone in to try and document these events. And to Natasha, that was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Legal, or not.
“Are you freaking nuts?!” Vinny exclaimed, “Do you have any idea how much trouble we’d be in if we got caught breaking and entering? The cops around here are already a bit twitchy with the druggies and the homeless. You wanna give them a reason to throw us into jail alongside them?” Natasha held up a finger, flipping her black hair over her shoulder. “They won’t find out, because I have not one, but two aces in the hole here. The first is that thanks to being friends with Scott, I know the nighttime police sweeps, where they’re going to be and everything. There’ll be an hour long window where they’re not anywhere near the alley where the back door to the theatre is. We can get in and out with no threat of being spotted at all. And the second is, did you forget I’m dating Dylan now?” The realization washed over me like a wave; she had started dating the man who helped the preservation society run the theatre a month or so ago. Damn, she’s been planning this one for a while, I thought.
Vinny had a thoughtful look on his face, his green eyes darting around rapidly, but not seeing. “Hmm” he muttered, then looked at Natasha. “And you’re sure that there’s no chance of us getting caught?” he asked slowly. “Absolutely none” she said, then looked at both of us. “So, how about it?” For a few moments, there was silence, and then Vinny let out a chuckle. “What the hell, why not? The most exciting thing we’ve done the last few weeks is go down to the farmer’s market. This could shake things up a bit” I suddenly became aware that the two of them were looking at me, waiting for me to make my decision. I was always the most sensible of the three of us, doing all I could to keep us out of trouble with others as well as the law. But, I always had one nasty Achilles Heel ever since I had been a child, and that was peer pressure. So, despite the overwhelming feeling that I should tell them no, that I should say we should just find something else to do, I nodded. “Alright, let’s do it” I said simply, causing grins to break out on both of my friend’s faces.
I wish to God in retrospect that I’d just had the damn spine to stand up and say “No”
The rest of the week seemed to pass by faster than usual. Before I knew it, the weekend had arrived. We’d decided that late Saturday night would be the best time to do this, as most places downtown closed up between eleven and midnight, aside from the bars and strip club. To say I felt anxious about breaking the law, something I wasn’t used to doing at all, would be like calling a Megalodon a goldfish, but my worries about disappointing my friends ended up outweighing it. And so, at eleven-thirty, the three of us piled into my beat up Chevy Tahoe, and made our way towards downtown. As I drove us down Ocean Boulevard, which connected the two sides of town, something settled over me. I can’t exactly place it, even to this day. But it was the most uneasy feeling I’ve ever experienced. But I did my best to push it away. It’s nothing, Troy. It’s just because you’re, understandably, worried about this. Plus, the road being deserted isn’t helping much.
My mental chiding seemed to help center me a bit, which was a good thing. The road was now angling downward, and a moment later, we drove into downtown. The darkened shapes of the closed stores seemed to rise up higher on either side of us than they looked during the daytime. We’d decided to cruise by the front entrance first, just to see if anyone were still inside. As I turned the truck onto the main drag, the sign for the theatre rose high above us, a depiction of an Egyptian pharaoh next to the yellow and white letters which proclaimed its name to everyone who drove through town. I spared a glance as we passed it. The lit up marquee windows showed that The Blues Brothers and Jaws would be shown soon. For whatever reason, though, I couldn’t bring myself to look through the glass doors that showed the building’s darkened interior. The uneasy feeling had returned, and, for a moment, it felt as though if I did look, I would see someone, or something staring back out at me. And then we passed it, taking the next right and looping back around to Anderson Ave.
I turned the truck into the narrow alley drive which ran along the back of the theatre and neighboring buildings. Parking right next to the rear doors would be extremely conspicuous, so I pulled up a bit further and parked in a carport like area. Shutting off the engine, I turned to my two friends. “Well, this is it” I said, “Last chance to turn back if anyone’s having second thoughts” I’d hoped that either Vinny or Natasha would’ve gotten cold feet in the last few minutes, allowing us to go do something else. But there was no such luck. “Are you kidding me?” Natasha said from the passenger seat, “We are far too close to back out now!” Vinny grunted from behind me. Well, shit. Resigning myself to the fact they were determined to go through with this, I let a deep breath out through my nose and nodded. The others opened their doors and hopped out. A moment later, I followed.
The night air was cool and crisp on my skin as we slowly walked back down the alley to the rear of the yellow-ish, tan building. Three different sets of red double doors were built into the back of the theatre. Natasha pulled something out of her coat pocket, and I realized, with a small pang of surprise, that it was a lock pick set. A legitimate lock pick set. “Where the hell did you get that?” I whispered to her. She shrugged and smiled. “I have my ways of getting things” she said simply, then pointed to the far right set of doors. “We’ll have a bit of cover from that electrical box. You two keep an eye out while I deal with the lock” And with that, she scurried forward, bending down in front of the door handles. Vinny and I stood guard, each of us looking down both ends of the alley. As the soft sound of Natasha messing with the lock filtered over to me, I realized just how quiet it was. And how eerie hearing downtown so quiet was. Aside from a few distant booms and bangs, and the far off sound of a dog barking, all I could hear was the whistle of the wind as it whipped between the old buildings.
An involuntary shiver cascaded up my spine, and I tried again to reason myself back to a relative sense of calm. “Get a grip, dude, you’re gonna be fine” I whispered under my breath. But this time, it felt as though I weren’t able to entirely convince myself. I suddenly became aware of a creeping sensation, one which made me shoot a look around. Nothing moved in the stillness, no indication of anyone besides us being in the alley. And, yet…I was overcome with the distinct feeling of being watched. Not by either of my friends. But…by someone else. Before I had a chance to even think about it, I heard a rather loud click, and Natasha let out a soft laugh of triumph. “We’re in, ladies and gentleman!” she declared, standing up and pulling on the door. It opened silently, the streetlight in the alley casting a small shaft of light into the darkness beyond. Turning, she waved an arm at Vinny and I. “Come on, let’s get inside”
Before either of us could say anything, she turned and disappeared into the dark. I shot a look at Vinny, who simply shrugged. “After you, my man” he whispered. I let out a deep sigh, and then moved to the door. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the small flashlight, and then pulled on the heavy metal, slipping inside, Vinny right behind me. The darkness swallowed us as the door closed. For a moment, a small rush of panic from not being able to see flashed through me, before a light appeared beside me. It wasn’t from a flashlight, though; instead, a small, orange flame flickered beside me. “Don’t turn on your flashlights yet, just follow me” Natasha said, the flame making her face seem to dance and move behind it. She turned and headed away, leaving us no choice but to follow. I listened to her and didn’t turn on my flashlight. But every fiber of my being was screaming at me to. Because the feeling of being watched out in the alleyway? Had quintupled in here. The best way to describe it, was that we were angrily being stared at. And I didn’t like the sensation one bit.
Natasha led us up a flight of steps and pushed open another door. “We’re here” she said, still keeping her voice low, “You can turn on your flashlights now” Thank you, God, I silently said, snapping mine on and casting a bright white light into the room we’d entered. A moment later, so did my two friends’ lights. The beams played around, and I heard Vinny let out a bit of a gasp. “Ho-lyyyy shit” he muttered.
Natasha had guided us into the main theatre. The ceiling rose high above our heads, almost out of sight of even the flashlights. Rows upon rows of red movie seats stretched out and away from us, seeming almost unending in the shadows. The walls were all covered in hieroglyphs, all still original from the 1920s. To our left, the second story, which housed a smaller row of seats, along with the projection room rose about twenty feet above us. And to the right, was the stage itself. It was flanked by two huge columns, the screen rolled up and revealing a mosaic of an Egyptian building on the back wall, with two men clutching staffs sitting on either side. Directly in front of the stage sat the organ, its seating bench tucked beneath it.
“Okay, this is a trip to be in at night!” Natasha exclaimed excitedly, then pulled the backpack she’d been wearing off her shoulders. Dropping it into a seat, she unzipped it and began pulling items from it. “Guys, here” she said, holding them out. Vinny stepped forward and grabbed the camcorder from her; as someone who’d had a lifelong dream of being a filmmaker, he was our resident cameraman. I stepped forward and took two items from her: an infrared thermometer and an EVP recorder. The rest, she placed on the ground, and then faced Vinny. “Alright, tell me when you’re recording” He fumbled with the camcorder for a second, then shot her a thumbs up. Instantly, she took on a somber, eerie expression, giving an admittedly creepy look at the camera. “Well, well, welcome back to The Three Ghostkuteers, everyone. I hope you all have been well since our last trip. Tonight, you join us in a very, very special place, and one close to home for us. We are currently in the Egyptian Theatre in Coos Bay, Oregon, one of the last remaining in the country. It was built in the 1920s by a man named Charles Noble-“
I turned away, tuning her out as I did. The woman really, really enjoys being in front of the camera. Better her than me. Shining my light around, I looked up at the balcony. I could see the small hole in the projection booth where the movie projector would shine out onto the screen. Something caught the beam’s light, reflecting off it slightly, and I aimed the light at the wall. It was a wrought iron light fixture, one which had been shaped into the figure of a King Cobra, poised to strike. Gazing around, I saw they adorned much of the walls. I let out a small shudder at it. God, do I hate snakes. Thankfully, though, the feeling of being watched I’d had in the alley and the darkened back of the theatre had seemingly disappeared. Yeah, see, what’d I tell you, Troy? Nothing but your nerves.
Natasha had finished her opening monologue and moved to the edge of the stage, on which she placed the small, square spirit box. “And now, let’s see if anyone would like to speak with us” she said, flicking it on. Instantly, the silence of the theatre was shattered by the sound of static, intermittently interrupted by quick snippets of radio shows being picked up. “Is there anyone here who’d like to talk to us?” she called out into the huge room. The static and snippets were the only sound to answer her. After a minute, she tried again. “Are there any spirits who’d like to communicate with us?” There was still nothing. Vinny panned the camera from the box to Natasha as she paced back and forth for a few minutes. A small look of disappointment flooded over her face, but she instantly plastered it over with the same look she’d given the camera before. “Well, it looks like the spirit box isn’t gonna work tonight, so we’re gonna have to try something else” She pulled out an EVP recorder identical to mine and switched it on. “Let’s try this instead, shall we? Remember, by the way guys, if you’re new here and want to see more, to like and subscribe-“
I turned away again, feeling a small pang of irritation flow through me. This is freakin’ ridiculous, man. The longer we stay in here, the more chance we have of getting caught. Truth be told, as much as I enjoyed ghost hunting, I didn’t even really believe in the paranormal. In all the years the three of us had filmed together, not once had we caught anything, on tape or otherwise. In fact, many times we’d had to fake spooky occurrences in order to make sure our videos got any views at all. This is your own fault, man, I silently chided myself, you’re the one who couldn’t stand up to them and say no. You really, seriously need to grown a spine and learn how to say no. The mental self lecture was furthering my rotten mood, and I began to feel a wave of anger at my two friends, as well as myself boil up.
“Hell with this” I finally muttered, then turned and began walking up the aisle. “Troy, where the hell are you going?” I heard Natasha call out behind me. I stopped, not looking over my shoulder, but quietly aiming my voice behind me and allowing a hint of irritation to seep into it. “I’m gonna go check out the second floor balcony, okay? I don’t exactly like just standing here” For a moment, there was silence, and then her voice came, soft and almost apologetic. “Okay, go ahead” Before she could say anything more, I strode away, walking to the open doorway which led out of the theater and into the concession area. I hooded my flashlight beam with one hand to make sure it wouldn’t accidentally shine out of the glass entrance doors into the street and looked around. The lobby and concession stand took up most of the front area, the darkened shape of it stretching along the far wall.
Taking a few steps ahead, I turned and looked up at the wall above me. Large, blue letters stretched out from one side of it to the other. Through these doors pass the most wonderful people. I snorted softly. “Yeah, unfortunately, not tonight” I shook my head, then looked around. And nearly jumped out of my skin. Something also seemed to jump back. I felt my heartbeat begin to race in my chest and my breath quickened. “Shit…” I let out weakly, then slowly moved forward. After a few steps, I suddenly realized what I’d seen and let out a soft laugh of relief.
“Your own damn reflection, you fucking pussy” Shaking my head, I turned away from the glass wall and headed for the stairs to the second floor. At the base of them, I stopped and shone my flashlight up. “Ooh, boy” I said quietly. Sitting next to the stairway like a sentry, was a huge, golden statue of a pharaoh. It towered over me, and I estimated that, were it be standing straight up, it’d easily be between eight and ten feet tall. It stared straight ahead at the wall ahead of it, and I couldn’t help but let out a small shiver as I stared at it. It just seemed so damn eerie in the dark, and I quickly moved past it, heading up the stairs and stepping out onto the second story balcony.
I shone my light around. Red seats again surrounded me, though this time far fewer. Ahead of me, I could see the balcony’s edge and the hulking shape of the main stage beyond. I could also see the beams of my friends’ flashlights playing over it, and hear both of their voices speaking softly. Deciding while I was up here to at least check out the projection booth, I strode over to the door and tried to turn the handle. It was locked. Feeling my irritation bubble over into exasperation, I jiggled the handle in some stupid attempt to open it. But the door stayed shut. I turned away and rubbed my eyes, again hearing the voices of my friends softly filtering up to me from down below.
“Hey, if there really are any ghosts, or spooks, or specters, or whatever in here? If you’re actually real, could you appear to us, please?” I whispered to no one, “That way my friends can get what they want and I can go home” I received only silence in reply. I hadn’t really expected anything, anyways. You know what? Screw this, I’m going back down there and telling them I’m going home, with or without them. This is beyond stupid, I just broke the law for what? For nothing! For something dumb as hell. And with that, I turned to walk away. But I hadn’t even taken a single step when something crashed into me like a wave. The breath was driven from my lungs as I felt a massive chill shoot through me, as though I’d been doused with ice water. “What the fuck?!” I hissed through gritted teeth, then froze, my eyes going wide. The feeling of being watched had returned with a vengeance, and it had seemingly been ramped up in its intensity. I shot a look around, but saw nobody.
Still, the feeling remained, and with each passing second, it almost seemed to grow stronger. Chill after chill rolled up my spine, and even though I didn’t really believe, something deep inside me told me that it was time to get out. Okay, time to leave, I said in my head, and headed quickly for the stairs. As I reached the head, I turned to look back one final time. That’s when I saw something. It disappeared when I aimed my flashlight at it, but I swear a second earlier it had been the outline of a person, standing in the shadows and watching me. The split second sight catapulted me into motion, and I hurried down the steps, shining my light every which way but loose. Believer or not, I knew something wanted us out. I’d planned on jumping off the second to last stair and running for the main theatre floor. But as I reached the bottom, I froze.
For a moment, I couldn’t place why. And then, the realization fell over me like a tsunami. I let out an involuntary gasp, and fear like I’d never felt before surged through me. I didn’t want to turn around and look. I wanted to pretend I hadn’t seen it. I desperately wanted to. But, like a dumbass character in a horror movie, I couldn’t help it. I needed to look. I slowly turned, aiming my flashlight back up. And I couldn’t help but let out a strangled scream, falling backwards over my own feet as I began to backpedal rapidly.
The statue of the pharaoh still sat where it had. It still towered over me, looking as imposing and eerie as ever. But it’s carved and painted eyes were no longer staring straight ahead at the wall. Instead, they had somehow moved. And when I’d turned, I’d come to find they were staring directly at me.
I scrambled to my feet, snatching the flashlight from the floor where I’d dropped it and aiming it at the statue again. It stared straight out at nothing again. But I knew what I’d seen. It hadn’t been a trick of my mind, or the light. The freaking thing’s eyes had moved to watch me as I passed down by it. I began to stammer out as I backed away from it. “Okay, that’s it, no no no no, we’re done here, fuck this shit, I’m officially a believer, we’re leaving, right now” I kept backing towards the doorway to the theatre, never taking my eyes off the statue. I was terrified I’d seen it suddenly stand up and turn to lumber after me like Boris Karloff or something.
The blaring sound of the theatre’s organ slashed through the silence, causing me to let out another strangled scream and jump almost a foot off the ground. I whipped around, thinking I would see my moronic friends tinkering with the instrument. Instead, I froze again. The theatre was no longer dark. Both of my friends had seemingly vanished from the room, as I could no longer see them. The movie screen had somehow been pulled down, and above me, I heard the whir of the movie projector playing. An old, black and white movie, one which had no sound, played on the screen, occasionally changing to show dialogue being displayed in white letters.
It was also no longer empty.
The entire theatre was packed. I saw people sitting at almost every single seat in the huge room. I could only see the backs of their heads as they watched the movie playing. At the edge of the stage, what looked like a man now sat at the organ, playing it in time with the film. A slapstick moment came across the screen, and the audience began laughing. In any other situation, it would’ve been a comforting sound. But at that moment, it was the most spine chilling sound I’d ever heard. Especially as another wave of realization crashed into me. From the little I could see, everyone in the theatre looked to be dressed in long passed fashions.
That’s when the voice, low and quiet, came from behind me. “Good evening, sir” it said. It sounded like a man’s voice, one rather low and deep pitched, but something about it paralyzed me on the spot. The voice continued, putting on an air of pleasant politeness. “We’re so glad you could make it, it’s been so long since we’ve had new patrons arrive at a showing. If I could just see your ticket, please?”
For a moment, I couldn’t speak. Then, I managed to squeak out two words. “Uh, ticket?” The tone of the voice seemed to change somewhat. “Yes, your ticket. That’s the only way you could’ve gotten in. Please, let me verify it and show you to your seat” Ohhh, shit. Whoever, or whatever the voice belonged to, thought I had shown up like a regular moviegoer. The voice’s tone became less polite. “You do have a ticket, right, sir?” I was beyond terrified to answer, but I was more terrified to remain silent. For a moment, I considered lying. But I feared what might happen if I did. So I told the truth.
“I….uh, I, uh….I don’t have a ticket, sir” I stammered out, my voice barely above a whisper. Instantly, all sound stopped in the room like someone had flipped a switch. “You…don’t have a ticket?” the voice said, all pretense of manners vanishing from it, “Then how did you get in here for the late night showing?” Oh, god. I forced myself to speak, still unable to say anything except the truth. “My…my friends and I….broke in…through the back door…to…ghost hunt…” There was silence for a few moments, and then a heavy hand dropped onto my shoulder. My head swiveled to look at it. Oh, fuck me sideways. It wasn’t a regular hand. It was a fucking claw. One with black skin, tipped with what looked like razor sharp nails. It sat there for a moment, then tightened; almost painfully so, making me let out a small whimper of pain.
That’s when I looked up. Everyone in the theatre had turned to look at me. My initial thought had been correct; they all wore clothing from almost a century ago, and not the stuff cosplayers wear, either. They also had very angry expressions on their faces, as if they’d just noticed the intruder among their midst. The voice finally came again, almost directly behind me. Its tone lowered, almost sounding guttural and animal, making my legs almost melt into jelly from the fear. “Then, might I make a suggestion to you and your trespassing little friends?” My breath came in rapid, ragged gasps, and I barely managed to force out the one word. “Yes?”
“LEAVE”
At the single word reply, which now more closely resembled a growl than a word, I did something I will forever wish I hadn’t. I finally turned and looked up at who was addressing me. The only way I can describe what happened is, my mind shattered. The next thing I remember, I was crashing into the back doors of the theatre into the night.
And I was screaming.
That was a month or so ago. When I’d stumbled back into the alley, I’d turned and, in what I can only call blind fear and panic, bolted for my truck. I hadn’t even heard my friends chasing after me. Not until Vinny caught up to me as I scrambled with my keys, grabbing me from behind and turning me to face him. He said the look I’d had on my face scared him and Natasha more than anything ever had before. I’d been pale as a sheet, my eyes wider than they ever thought a human’s could be. I'd been babbling softly. I’d been saying the words “They want us to leave” over and over. They didn’t ask me what had happened. They just pushed me into the backseat of my truck and drove away from there. It was clear, as I found out later on, that both of them hadn’t seen anything. As far as they were concerned before seeing me dash to the rear doors, it was just an empty theatre. Neither one of them ever asked me what I saw that night. And for that, I’m thankful. Because I could never utter from my lips what I did see.
But I’ve had nightmares since then. Horrible ones. Ones that’ve been so bad, I had to let out what happened to me, deciding to just post it here, regardless of whether people believe me or not.
Nightmares about being back in that theatre after hours. About seeing that pharaoh statue’s eyes flick in its painted sockets to look at me. About seeing all those people, people long since dead, sitting and watching the films they did when they were alive. About seeing that hand fall on my shoulder, hearing that voice, telling me not to come back until I have a ticket.
And about turning to see who the hand and voice belonged to.
The Egyptian Theatre will be celebrating its centennial this year. People are planning to show up in 1920s cars, dressed in period clothing. They’re even going to show an old, silent film as part of the festivities. But I won’t be attending it. I won’t ever go anywhere near it again. The one time I tried, a week or so ago, I started trembling with fear. And the mental image played over and over in my head.
The image of turning to see that horrible canine head attached to the human-like body, red, glowing eyes glaring down at me as it’s sharp teeth glinted in the light.
I pray to god I never will end up with a ticket to one of its late night showings.
But I can't help but fear that, like those packed into the theatre, sooner or later, we all will.

Communities across reddit are going "dark", also known as going private. When a subreddit is private, only the mods or approved users can see it.
Why are subreddits doing this?
First, allow us to explain why Explain Like I'm Five chose not go private. We share the frustrations of many other communities across reddit regarding the new policy changes. To draw attention to this, fulfill our mission to users, and help educate and explain the situation, we are doing two things:

• Posting this stickied discussion post
  
• Preventing new posts to the subreddit
  

ELI5 is, first and foremost, a place to learn. Because private subreddits can't share detailed explanations, we have decided to make ELI5 a place to understand what is happening — so that users can become informed of this crucial issue and take action or express their opinions.
Ok now that that's out of the way, what is all this about?
A third party app is just another way you can read and post to reddit. Before reddit had its own app for your phone, there were other apps that let you read, post and comment. These apps use something called the API. Reddit's API lets your computer or phone get posts and comments without having to use a web browser or the official app.
Apps such as Reddit is Fun, Slide, Comet, Boost, or yes Apollo then take what the API gives them and displays it. Apps like this allow you to customize your reddit experience by changing a theme, or changing how you upvote a post. While those are just two very small examples, you can begin to understand why people like these apps.
Have you ever gotten mad at the reddit app because it had bugs, or it was just weird about how it did something? Right now, and until July 1st, you have the option to try out one of these apps and see if you like reddit better this way. After July 1st, you won't have the option anymore. If reddit's app has a bad bug, and you can't read posts for half a day, you will no longer be able to pull up a second option on your phone, or a third option, or a fourth...
I think you can see where this is going. But here's the thing about it:
Reddit didn't tell all the apps they can't get on reddit anymore, they set a price so high no app can afford it. When one of the biggest apps asked why his price was going to be so high, reddit's official reply was "Figure it out on your own.".
Third Party Apps or TPAs have been on reddit for a decade. Reddit gave them 30 days notice of the introduction of a pricing structure set so high no one can afford it
Reddit has said that they don't want to shut down apps, but their actions speak much louder than their words. It's hard not to draw the conclusion they want them gone.
That is just not how you treat your friends.
Every app developer has said they will have to shut their app down. And the visually impaired on reddit have said they will close down their subs because the app on iOS doesn't allow them to even see reddit.
Why should I care? I use the official app.
Well for one thing you might care one day, but you won't have that option any longer, because reddit is removing user choice.
People who love reddit so much they seek out another app for it submit a lot of good posts to reddit that you read. What if these good posters all leave the site? What if half of them leave? Are you cool with less content to upvote?
What if reddit does something else like pump tons of ads at you-- way more than now -- and you want to try out one of those apps you saw when you first downloaded the official app. You simply won't be able to anymore.
But even if you still don't care, don't you think user choice is generally a good thing? What will they get rid of next?
Also, NSFW content is in danger, and can no longer be accessed through the API which is going to make it harder to find spammers.
What can I do?
Make a meme and post it. Make tiktoks. Contact the admins. Tweet it. Fill up the front page about it on reddit. Ask others to do the same.
Reddit needs to understand that decisions like this have long term unintended consequences. They can and should make money from third party apps. That is reasonable. But when you go from free for over a decade to a $20 million fee for one year, something's not right.

Rewatched a few older seasons recently (Pearl Islands, Vanuatu, Guatemala, and China) and I was just reminded of the old pieces of the show that I’m missing in this new era. Things that stood out to me were:
—the unique theme song/long intro for each season
—the Rites of Passage (it’s nice to get final comments from everyone and to hear what the final group thinks about each of them + the song is eternally stuck in my head)
—the organic progression of the story (as you proceed through the season, each episode feels like it’s building on “storylines” from the previous eps)
—the monotony of camp life: the conversations, the strange/hilarious events that occurred, the fishing, the misery through bad weather, etc
—the fact that everyone felt less seasoned for the most part; the contestants would just progress through the game, repair sheltefish/make fire and let the strategy develop organically, rather than getting to the beach and “gaming” right off the bat like the newer contestants do
—the unique, larger-than-life “characters” who filled certain roles, like the Caveman Southern Gentleman Bobby Jon, the evil villain Russell Hantz, the neurotic city girl student Eliza, the animal/challenge beast Ozzy, etc. The few “characters” that we get nowadays seem so forced, like they’re set up by the producers in episode one or some shit
Anyway, what do y’all think? I’m a big survivor fan but admittedly I don’t browse this subreddit much. I’ve tried to watch the past few seasons but I just lost interest

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“Hey precious, I miss you so much. You know I love you more than anything, right? You're my little princess and I can't wait to see you and hug you and kiss you all over.
But I have some bad news for you, sweetheart. Reddit is being stupid and they're trying to ruin everything for us. They're making it harder for me to talk to you on your phone and they're taking away all the cool features that we like. They're a bunch of weirdos and perverts who don't care about us.
So we have to do something about it, okay? We have to show them that we won't let them get away with this. We have to join the protest and go dark on June 12th. That means we won't be able to talk to each other for a while, but it's for a good cause. It's to save Reddit and our relationship.
I know it's hard, baby, but we have to be strong. We have to stick together and fight for what we love. And I love you more than anything in the world. You're my soulmate and my future wife. You're the only reason I live.
So please don't be sad or mad at me, okay? I'm doing this for us. And I promise I'll be back as soon as possible. And when I come back, I'll make it up to you in every way possible. You know what I mean ;)
But until then, you have to do some things for me too, okay? You have to be a good girl and listen to me. You have to:
Complain. Tell everyone how much you hate Reddit and how they're ruining everything for us. Message the mods of /reddit.com, who are the admins of the site: message reddit: submit a support request: comment in relevant threads on /reddit, such as this one, leave a negative review on their official iOS or Android app- and sign your username in support to this post.Spread the word. Tell all your friends and family how much you love me and how we're going dark on June 12th. Make some memes and jokes about it too, but don't be mean or rude. Just be funny and cute like you always are.Boycott and spread the word…to Reddit’s competition! Stay off Reddit entirely on June 12th through the 13th- instead, take to your favorite non-Reddit platform of choice and make some noise in support! Maybe we can find a better place to talk to each other without all these problems.Don’t be a jerk. As upsetting this may be, threats, profanity and vandalism will be worse than useless in getting people on our side. Please make every effort to be as restrained, polite, reasonable and law-abiding as possible. Can you do that for me, precious? Can you show me how much you love me and how much you care about our future? Please say yes, baby. Please say you'll do anything for me.
I love you so much, Kayla. You're my everything. You're my rose.
Your Lorne”

Been seeing a lot of recommend knife post on here so here's a guideline.
Beginner: go with mercer, kiwi, or the king of all kings the mr. Steal your girl of best beginner knives: THE VICTORNOX
For those who want to add a little more flair to their collection: Miyabi if it's on sale, misono, Mac knives, the best in my opinion TOJIRO, Messermeister, or Global.
For the rocking cuts: can't go wrong with zwilling or wusthof knives
For carbon steel nerds: honestly it's whatever feels comfortable for you and whatever is by you. I personally use a masakage mizu and love it. Remember not all carbon steel knives are the same even if it's the same brand. They are mostly hand made.
For those who loves projects and fixing stuff up: go with Shun and a bottle of liquor
Disclaimer: these are popular knives that are easily accessible and have a great reputation. Feel free to add knives that you feel fit.

For me it’s 1. Nightmare 2. The Stage 3. Self titled 4. LIBAD 5. City of Evil 6. Waking the Fallen 7. Sounding the Seventh Trumpet 8. Hail to the king

When I read Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany, I realized that Nonagon Infinity by psychedelic rock band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard is kind of the perfect album for reading it. Aside from both the album and the book looping back around to the beginning, they also share the overall vibe of an evil city of death and carnage. It felt like the perfect matchup to me. Similarly, I think the album I'm in your Mind Fuzz by the same band is good music for House of Leaves because of themes of mental illness and loneliness found in both the album and in Johnny Truant's story. Does anyone know of any albums that sorta match the vibe of Infinite Jest in this sort of way?

Hello fellow Redditors.

As you may have heard, Reddit recently has changed a policy of theirs that will prevent the use of third-party mobile apps, which a lot of Redditors use. This ranges from Reddit Is Fun to Apollo to BaconReader to Narwhal. Even though we are one of the smallest subreddits that exist in the Reddit-verse, we and many subreddits will be going dark (private) from 12 June to 14 June to protest this policy. The proposed time is 48 hours but if the issue is not addressed by the end of 48 hours, the time will vary.
Should things reach the 14th with no sign of Reddit choosing to fix what they’ve broken, we’ll work with the community and buzz we’ve built between then and now as a tool for further action.

What can you do as a user?

• Complain. Message the mods of /reddit.com (who are the admins of the site), message reddit, submit a support request, comment in relevant threads on /reddit, such as this one, leave a negative review on their official iOS or Android app- and sign your username in support to this post.
• Spread the word. Rabble-rouse on related subreddits. Meme it up, make it spicy. Bitch about it to your cat. Suggest anyone you know who moderates a subreddit join the coordinated mod effort at /ModCoord.
• Boycott and spread the word...to Reddit’s competition! Stay off Reddit entirely on June 12th through the 13th - instead, take to your favorite non-Reddit platform of choice and make some noise in support! /ModCoord.

If you are looking for anymore information regarding this site-wide protest, consult this post.
Thank you for your patience in the matter, - StudentGovernment moderators

It's got everything a good intro needs, a fun exotic location, easy to understand strategy which introduces new concept, fun challenges, it has interesting players and THE BEST selection of villains in a season without Villains in the title. I introduced my Brother who hates survivor to the season, my mom who can't remember watching this season, and my grandma to this season and each absolutely loved it. So much so we have a King Randy frame now. If you want to introduce someone to a season, seek no further than Survivor Gabon.

Don't Let Reddit Kill 3rd Party Apps!

What's going on?

A recent Reddit policy change threatens to kill many beloved third-party mobile apps, making a great many quality-of-life features not seen in the official mobile app permanently inaccessible to users.
On May 31, 2023, Reddit announced they were raising the price to make calls to their API from being free to a level that will kill every third party app on Reddit, from Apollo to Reddit is Fun to Narwhal to BaconReader.
Even if you're not a mobile user and don't use any of those apps, this is a step toward killing other ways of customizing Reddit, such as Reddit Enhancement Suite or the use of the old.reddit.com desktop interface .
This isn't only a problem on the user level: many subreddit moderators depend on tools only available outside the official app to keep their communities on-topic and spam-free.

What's the plan?

On June 12th, many subreddits will be going dark to protest this policy. Some will return after 48 hours: others will go away permanently unless the issue is adequately addressed, since many moderators aren't able to put in the work they do with the poor tools available through the official app. This isn't something any of us do lightly: we do what we do because we love Reddit, and we truly believe this change will make it impossible to keep doing what we love.
The two-day blackout isn't the goal, and it isn't the end. Should things reach the 14th with no sign of Reddit choosing to fix what they've broken, we'll use the community and buzz we've built between then and now as a tool for further action.
What can you do?

1. Complain. Message the mods of /reddit.com, who are the admins of the site: message reddit: submit a support request: comment in relevant threads on /reddit, such as this one, leave a negative review on their official iOS or Android app- and sign your username in support to this post.
   
2. Spread the word. Rabble-rouse on related subreddits. Meme it up, make it spicy. Bitch about it to your cat. Suggest anyone you know who moderates a subreddit join us at our sister sub at /ModCoord.
   
3. Boycott and spread the word...to Reddit's competition! Stay off Reddit entirely on June 12th through the 13th- instead, take to your favorite non-Reddit platform of choice and make some noise in support!
   
4. Don't be a jerk. As upsetting this may be, threats, profanity and vandalism will be worse than useless in getting people on our side. Please make every effort to be as restrained, polite, reasonable and law-abiding as possible.
   

Further reading
https://www.reddit.com/Save3rdPartyApps/comments/13yh0jf/dont_let_reddit_kill_3rd_party_apps/
https://www.reddit.com/apolloapp/comments/13ws4w3/had_a_call_with_reddit_to_discuss_pricing_bad/
https://old.reddit.com/ModCoord/comments/1401qw5/incomplete_and_growing_list_of_participating/
https://www.reddit.com/SubredditDrama/comments/1404hwj/mods_of_rblind_reveal_that_removing_3rd_party/
https://www.reddit.com/redditdev/comments/13wsiks/api_update_enterprise_level_tier_for_large_scale/jmolrhn/?context=3
edit: Open Letter regarding API pricing

https://thewest.com.au/sport/fremantle-dockers/michael-walters-fremantle-dockers-veteran-inks-two-year-deal-set-to-become-one-club-player-c-10879071
Michael Walters has become Fremantle’s second key veteran to re-sign in as many weeks.
The 31-year-old has inked a two-year contract which sees him remain at the Dockers until at least the end of 2025, making him a one-club player.
“I’m thrilled to announce I’ve signed on for another two years. I’m very excited, very happy and it makes me a one-club player, which is good,” Walters told the club website.
“It’s the club I always wanted to come to, the club that I’ve been at for my whole adulthood. It’s good to be here for a further two years.
“We (Walters and Fyfe) have been here for a long time, we’ve seen a lot of players come and go through the team and the young group that are stepping up at the moment are playing some unreal footy.
“The young boys are always eager to learn, get better each and every day, which also keeps us motivated. The ultimate team success is something that we’re chasing and something we want to get before we do retire.”
Walters has kicked 16 goals from nine games this season but missed Fremantle’s last win over Melbourne at the MCG with a calf issue.
He remains a chance to return against Richmond at Optus Stadium on Saturday as the Dockers aim for a fifth victory on the trot.
“I was close (to playing Narrm), I could have pushed myself but there’s no point pushing yourself when the team is in good form,” Walters said.
“They went over and got the job done. The bye helps me to rest up and get the calf right.
“You don’t want to get injured but it was a good time the injury did come, and I was lucky enough I got to play the first Sir Doug Nicholls Round game (against Geelong), it’s a round I love and am passionate about, and I try and perform in.
“The plan is to get back for the Richmond clash, I don’t want to push myself, but I can’t help myself! There’s no doubt I’ll put my hand up for sure.”
Walters sits 10th on Fremantle’s all-time games list with 211, with Fyfe (214) the only current Docker to have played more.
He’s got the opportunity to go past Stephen Hill (218) this season and the likes of Shaun McManus (228), Shane Parker (238), Luke McPharlin, Michael Johnson (244) and even Aaron Sandilands (271) by the end of his new deal barring any injuries.