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​ SUMMARY Italian-based SMEG is known for its '50s retro-look appliances designed in collaboration with some of the world's top architects. This toaster combines iconic midcentury style with modern features, so you can count on perfect toast or bagels every time. Choose from a selection of luscious colors that match other SMEG appliances for a coordinated collection.
Two extra-wide slots. Six browning levels offer precise control of browning. Backlit chrome knob with four functions: Reheat, Defrost, Cancel, Bagel. Self-centering racks hold toast upright for even browning. Removable stainless-steel crumb tray.
DIMENSIONS & MORE INFO Model #TSF01WHUS. Steel with powder-coated enamel finish that resists scratches, stains and corrosion. Anti-slip feet. Built-in cord wrap for safety. 12 1/4" x 7 3/4" x 7 3/4" high; 5 lb. 4 oz. Slot width: 1 1/4". 950W. This product is intended for use in the United States and Canada and is built to U.S. electrical standards. Made in China.
USE & CARE CARE Wipe clean with damp cloth.
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TOASTED BREAKFAST SANDWICH RECIPE Toast the bread in a toaster and spread the butter on one side of each slice. Top 4 of the slices with the cheese, dividing evenly. Set aside.
In a 12-inch nonstick griddle or fry pan over medium heat, warm the oil. Break 2 eggs into the pan and cook until the whites are set and the edges of the yolks are just beginning to set, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining 2 eggs.
Place 1 egg on top of each cheese-topped bread slice, followed by 2 bacon slices. Arrange the arugula on top. Cover each sandwich with one of the remaining bread slices, buttered side down. Serve immediately. Serves 4.
See full Toasted Breakfast Sandwich Recipe.

I've hit some Air Forces on SNKRS earlier this year, ordered UK 11 and got my size delivered. But recently I went for the Toro Bravo 6s and hit on them in my size, and they arrived as a US M size 11 (UK 10) instead of UK 11 meaning I'll have to return them and try to get another pair off GOAT/Stockx.
Is this an issue on Nike's part or should I order in US sizes in the future if I hit again?

So throughout my posts and comments I have already shared a few of mine.
This particular one covers my headcanon on his pre-Hogwarts and summers during his first four years at Hogwarts: https://old.reddit.com/HPfanfiction/comments/13gfgtx/tom_riddle_discovers_his_love_for_reading/
Some other ones that I have:

• Lestrange and Avery were his best friends. Lestrange (the one that was contemporary to Tom's time in Hogwarts) was the closest thing he would ever call a friend. In fact he might have been his first and last true friend, while Avery was mostly what Pettigrew was to James and Sirius. Later in life, when the Death Eaters were formed, the trio wielded almost equal power within the organization. However Tom was the real charismatic leader, while Lestrange was the cautious voice of reason. Avery was pretty much the weak link. When Lestrange realized what direction Tom intended to take the organization in (and refused to listen to his advice) and furthermore saw his children, Rodolphus and Rabastan admiring more Tom's ways than his, he decided to turn informant for the Ministry. This lead to a lot of arrests and even deaths. Lestrange also tried to turn Avery to his side and kick Tom out of the organization, but Avery much more preferred Tom as he saw him as a real leader so he snitched on Lestrange. Upon finding out, Tom was heartbroken and that's the point he became extremely cynical and refused to allow anyone else to get too close to him. He captured Lestrange and brutally tortured him, ripping his tongue out in the process. Then he presented a nearly dead Lestrange to the Death Eaters and said the Aurors did this to him. He convinced his sons to kill him "to put him out of his misery" as a last mocking to his former best friend.
  
• Tom and Dumbledore had a similar relationship as Harry and Snape. Tom perceived Dumbledore as being unfair towards other houses and favoring Gryffindors and while, unlike Snape, Dumbledore never showed direct cruelty or meaness towards Tom, he always kept a close look on him and would often tax even the smallest mistakes he would catch Tom making.
  
• In his first two years Tom was really withdrawn, behaved mostly like at the orphanage. He spent of his time in the library and his classmates found him rather creepy. He was trying to figure out his ancestry but since there were no records of a Riddle family and Marvolo was not a notable man enough to be recorded anywhere, he was getting nowhere. He did however excel in his classes and occasionally helped Avery (who was sort of like Neville and he kind of felt pity for him) with his homework and Avery tried to form an awkward friendship with him. However when the Gryffindors decided to pull a prank on the Slytherin's new chaser, Lestrange by disillusioning a bunch of snakes and hiding them in his Quidditch uniform, Tom Riddle used his Parseltongue to control the snakes (kind of paralleling Harry's reveal in book 2) and chase away the Gryffindor bullies. It was then that he formed a close relationship with Lestrange, after the latter asked him if he was related to the Gaunts. Partially out of interest for the source of information that Lestrange could provide and partially because Lestrange was genuinely a likeable person, Tom developed a close friendship with him. It was also due to the information provided by Lestrange that he was able to track his ancestry to Slytherin.
  
• In the third year, due to unforeseen circumstances, the Qudditch game between Gryffindors vs Slytherins also got switched to the last one to parallel PoA. Tom Riddle, now becoming more outgoing, decides to help the Quidditch team to pull a prank on the Gryffindors. I haven't thought exactly what but likely something to do with hexing brooms. That's when he earns the respect of Nott, Rosier, and Mulciber which are older students in the team.
  
• I have detailed in the link above Tom Riddle's brush with death due to Dragonpox in the link above and how he came to name himself Voldemort as well as his rising interest in defying immortality so I won't bore you again with it. However the Dragonpox epidemics also affects professor Merrythought who is quite old. She has to take a sabbatical year to recover. In turn paralleling the events from OotP, the wife of the first muggleborn head of DMLE is hired as a supply teacher (she's also a Muggleborn). Due to the atrocities committed during WW2, she starts pushing an agenda of Muggle tolerance and using magic to help them. This annoys the purebloods of Slytherin and it is during this time that Tom discovers the Chamber of Secrets. He plans to use the Basilisk to terrify the new professor. After several attacks that fail to chase her out of school, he decides to finally kill her but he accidentally kills Myrtle. This scares Tom and makes him back out of his plan. Still since he already killed someone, may as well try his hand at creating a horcrux. However Myrtle's death does also manage to chase away the supply teacher from the school. This leaves several students without a DADA teacher before the OWLs. In an attempt to fill that demand, Tom starts a study group with his fellow Slytherins where he teaches them dark arts, and paralleling it to Dumbledore's Army, he calls it the Knights of Walpurgis since the study group is started on the night of the 30th of April, as Tom is a huge fan (as I detailed in the link above) of astronomy.
  
• However not all Ministry workers are satisfied with the closing of the Chamber of Secrets case and an over-zealous Auror lingering on, accidentally overhears Tom bragging to his gang about the Chamber of Secrets and how he plans to reopen it again next year. This prompts him to keep a close look on Tom and under the pretense that he thinks a student might have been involved in the murders of the Riddle family, he is reluctantly allowed to return to Hogwarts the next year because of a compelling argument he made to his bosses that he has suspicions a child might have been involved since the Trace got activated despite no known magical child living in Little Hangleton. And since Dumbledore conveniently left the school to get more actively involved in the war against Grindelwald, this Auror replaces him as a Transfigurations teacher. This annoys Tom to no end since he feels the new Transfigurations teacher is hounding him even worse than Dumbledore and he can't afford to reopen the Chamber of Secrets.
  
• Meanwhile Tom learns of a legend that the four founders once saved some goblins from a "sticky situation" and befriended them. At the Hogwarts inauguration, an envoy of goblins came and presented them with four gifts. For Gryffindor it was a sword that would make him as powerful as every enemy he defeated, for Ravenclaw a diadem that retained the wisdom and knowledge of all its wearers and transfer it to the current wearer, for Hufflepuff a cup which when filled with something it would never end (kind of fits the protections in Gringotts) and for Slytherin, who was blind and relying on snakes to guide him, a locket that would allow him to see as far as the soul of humans (hence the eyes within the locket that Harry sees when he opens it). Tom instantly becomes obsessed about possessing this items. Also realizing he has no chance of reopening the Chamber as long as the Auror is within Hogwarts, he will want to leave it as a legacy and thus creating other horcruxes. It is then when he realizes that if he made an object out of each of the founders' relics and the ring he stole from his uncle (which while he didn't know what it was sensed its immense magical power) and becomes fascinated by the idea of splitting his soul in seven. Hence his question for Slughorn.
  
• In the following year, he researches all the relics. He manages to find from Helena what happened to the diadem, learns that the locket stayed with the Gaunts and makes the connection with what Morfin said that his mother stole the locket, learns that the cup also stayed with the descendants of Hufflepuff which are now called the Smiths and learns how to get the sword. So he starts a plot to steal the sorting hat but when he manages, the hat is quick to read his mind and tells him that he'll never be able to make the sword his as Gryffindor left it to the Gryffindor house since he did not have any children and enchanted it so that it will forever remain to the worthy Gryffindors. This prompts Voldemort to drop his plan of making it a horcrux and decide he will in time find another powerful item to use it as a container for his seventh part of the soul.
  

That's it for now. If you have any other headcanons about the lesser known deeds of Tom Riddle, feel free to share. As for me, I have developed a biography for him a while ago, but seeing that I am too old to write fanfiction anymore, feel free to borrow also any of the ideas.

I'm new in this sub reddit so maybe I'm doing this wrong and this isn't the right sub to post it but the blood won't reach the river sooo...
I recently remembered watching a movie when I was 10 or 11 that really struck me as weird. I'd like to find it because I'm a collector of weird movies and this movie really creeped me out as a kid.
For context, I watched the movie on 2017 or 18, I believe. I vaguely recall the movie being religious. It had a very creepy and stillted CGI animation, so it maybe was from the early 2000s, or maybe it just had a small budget. The movie was in Spanish (I'm from Spain) but I'm pretty sure it was not a Spanish film.
So, the movie started with the two protagonists as kids. One of them (I'll call him Man-A) was a white rich kid and had blue eyes and blond hair, while the other one (Man-B) was dark-skinned (I think middle-eastern but he could have been black) and was the son of one of the maids in Man-A's house. The Maid told a story to the two kids about a mysterious artifact (I can't remember what it was), that was protected in a faraway island by a lion and a giant bird. The artifact was locked behind three rooms: The first room was full of fire, the second one full of poisonous gas and the third one full of knives. If you got past the two guarding animals, you'd have to use three keys to put away the fire, ventilate the gas and retract the knives. The two boys were fascinated with the tale but (and this I might be misremembering) the father didn't aprove of the Maid filling his son's head with fairy tales and fired her and her son.
The movie continues some years ago. Man-A is already an adult and he has shipwrecked in an island, which coincidentally is the same from the tale (I don't remember if he shipwrecked in it by accident or if he deliberately was searching for it and just shipwrecked and had luck). He decides to talk to the people living them but they alll run away from him, except a beggar, who wore goggles and had red skin (not in a racist kind of sense, his skin was literally red or pink), who explains in the island they are afraid of people with blue eyes. The beggar proposes Man-A to cover his eyes with a blindfold and pretend to be a blind man, and since he is much younger and handsome than he is, he must help him beg, and in return the Beggar will guide through the island. Man-A accepts, and is able to get some coins, which the Beggar tried to con him out of them but he is smart and isn't fooled.
From here forward I only remember parts of the movie: Man-A found one of the keys in the rubbles of a house. He also finds out Man-B is trying to find the other keys to get the artifact. At some point he meets a 10 year old princess, who proposes a deal: If he can sneak her out of the palace and show her the real world, she'll give him a magic candy that makes him able to speak with the lion and calm it. At some point the Beggar reveals he had blue eyes all along and was covering them with the goggles. Man-A found another key and decided to attempt to enter the pyramid in which the artifact was found. On the sky, Man-B was flying with the giant bird, because he had previously gotten a feather who made the bird obedient. Man-A and B had a fight but they eventually reconciled and used Man-A's two keys to open the rooms, and Man-B reveals that he had the third key. They find the artifact.
As a kid this movie really scared me. I didn't usually get scared by films but this one really affected me for some reason. I mostly remember the lion being very scary, due to outdated CGI and having a roar so off-putting that was uncanny. The characters were all very uncanny, looking like plastic dolls (or somethign straight out of cryptoland) and the knive room was so violent that unnerved me.
Please help a poor bastard find this movie, I want to rewatch it again due to just how utterly weird it was. i've tried googling it or even using ChatGPT but I couldn't find anything. I'd be really thankful if you found it. Maybe you could enjoy it too.

​

My spouse & I had just moved into an apt complex in Ontario, Oregon, a month prior & were sitting in our living room, reading. We're middle-aged, and interested in paranormal, but never thought something this bizarre would occur in such an nondescript spot.
The complex was set up with the four buildings facing the center where the fenced-in pool area was. It being winter, the pool was emptied as winters in eastern Oregon are frigid at BEST, and brutally cold.
This was in late February-early March of 2012. The air was crisp and clear, the temperature around the 20s Fahrenheit. It was approximately 10pm, and we heard conversation outside. Paying no heed, we continued reading.
But as time went by, it seemed more people were appearing to 'join in' the conversation. After 1/2 hr, it seemed a lively 'party' was taking place. We looked up, quizzically commenting on the oddity of the time and temperature, but soon returned to our books.
After another 10-15 minutes, it grew exponentially louder & louder. It sounded as though 15-20 people were outside, talking and laughing and generally having a good time.
We sat there frowning at one another until, finally, my husband got up and walked to the door and stepped outside. Oddly, as soon as the door opened, all went deathly silent. He stepped out, and shut the door behind him to keep the warm air in and the frigid air out. He was gone for a few minutes, and walked back in with a look of incredulity on his face.
He thought maybe someone had been on a balcony and we'd heard the echoes, so he walked out to the fenced-in area of the pool, and looked all-around at the darkened apartments of our obviously sleeping neighbors. No people, no doors open, no light-on, even. It seemed that we were the only people even awake at that time.
Was this a residual 'haunting'? A replay of a summer's evening from the past going through the motions of a time-gone-by? We never experienced this again, but I found it worthy of retelling here in this forum, and my hair tingles as I type...

https://www.yourghoststories.com/real-ghost-story.php?story=18107

Hi all,
Recently removed the cover plate to the cold air return duct in our future nursery. When we opened it, we thought it was major dust bunnies - realized after trying to remove it that it's insulation!
We live in Northeast Ohio, so I know homeowners will do funny things with insulation and air systems. Never seen this one before though! I'm sure it's not meant to be this way?
Anyway, I feel like I should remove it. Any thoughts? TIA

I have a circuit breaker in my house that keeps tripping. There appears to be no rhyme or reason as to what is causing it. Sometimes it won’t trip for a month, other times it will trip 10 times in a day.
I have an old 12,000 BTU AC hooked up that will sometimes work for an extended period with no issues. I replaced it with a new AC that worked for 24 hours, also 12,000 BTU and then started tripping every 5 minutes. I returned that AC in case it was causing the issue since the old one has continued to work. I then bought another AC, different brand but also 12,000 BTU. Same thing, worked for about 24 hours then tripped every 5 minutes.
Sometimes I can run the AC, 2 computers, and a router with no issues at all. Other times it will trip and not work unless I shut the AC off. I tried the AC in multiple different outlets and locations throughout the room to see if it was a specific outlet and there was no change in what was happening.
My next step was going to be to swap the breaker with another one on the panel that was the same but I have minimal electrical experience and I could not find any kind of main shut off for the panel so I didn’t want to touch anything to risk injury or death. I’ve attached photos of the panel with the cover off and circled the breaker that keeps tripping. Any advice would be super helpful.
Thank you!

1
I live in a suburb surrounded by forest. My house is in a row of other properties built next to a tree line. The neighborhood was always quiet. The sounds of crickets, birds, and sight of black bears were routine on most summer days.
The scenic area was something I was always grateful for. I lived completely alone since the death of my parents. An accidental fire took both of their lives. Once I collected my inheritance, I relocated to a much more peaceful region. I had always fantasized about moving there.
I tried to start a relationship with Samantha. I had gone to High School with her sixteen years before. She had gone on to become a respected Detective. My attempt at something long lasting with her failed. She was too career oriented. I was reeling from grief. Focusing on building something meaningful with her was a pipe dream.
Things around my community changed once the Murphy family went missing.
The first sign that something was off on that Wednesday was how their blinds had closed. Their silver Chevy Chrysler remained parked in the driveway.
A tennis instructor at the country club noticed the wife of that house did not show up for the program. He called their number to make sure everything was alright. When no one responded, he notified the authorities. Rumors abounded immediately among the home owners association about an alleged affair. The gossip only furthered when the married couple and their three kids were not found in the abode.
I watched from my balcony as the patrolmen roped the place off with caution tape. The domicile was a three story building with brick chimney’s and a few peaked roofs in the style of English towers. They were beige, light blue and crimson.
On the morning of the Murphy’s desertion of society, the architecture became a hollow image. It was one that was once filled with activity and life.
The law did what they could. Any success they may have had in the investigation was secret. A few months passed by and they removed the caution tape.
I followed the on-line police logs. The weather was pristine and clear the day they vanished. The fact that there were no witnesses to what direction they may have gone disturbed me.
I had heard how the man, Frank Murphy, had a bit of a temper and always had a bourbon in hand. I had heard mutual friends describe him as an alcoholic in denial of his servitude to liquor. He was an indignant individual who knew no true repercussions for his behavior. He always had bail money from a software company he founded and sold a long time ago.
I was never close to that family, but I peered out at their vacant house far more than I ever had. I was in need of an answer. What could have happened?
2
I called Samantha one evening as I sat on my bed, wondering how she would respond to my reaching out. We were never argumentative or on bad terms. I still worried about her reaction, and hoped it would not be a dismissive one.
I heard her say hello. Her voice still impressed me. I had almost forgotten how silky her tone was. I knew it could change to a much firmer pitch when she was interviewing a suspect.
“Hi, Sam. I’d like to know if you’d be free tomorrow for a cup of coffee. We can go to that place, The Bean Field, off Pond road. It’s been a while and I know you have a lot to tell me about what’s new in your life.”
There was a pause on the other end, and for a second a bout of anxiety hit me. I judged my own words as robotic, stilted, and sure to push her away. I reasoned she was summoning an excuse to get out of having to interact with me. How dare I presume she would even entertain the notion of having a meeting.
“That sounds great,” she said. “Tomorrow is my day off, luckily for you. I’m in the middle of an incident right now. It’s a five car pile-up about forty minutes from where you live. I’ve gotta run. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
When she hung up, I was triumphant. I looked at our old text conversations. I realized we had not been in communication with each other for over twelve months. Now was my opportunity to reconcile that gap of unintended avoidance. I knew it would be an undeserved opportunity.
3
I sat outside of the cafe the next morning at a black metal table. I had a view of rolling hills dotted with trees. A highway with multitudinous shrubberies sat on either side of it. I sipped a piccolo latte while waiting for her.
When she arrived and stepped out of her hatchback in the parking lot, her appearance floored me. She had not dressed up for our supposed date, but that did not make a difference. She had arrived from the gym and wore shorts and a top set. She donned a gray and green hoodie.
She sat across from me and reached for the menu.
“Can you go to the front and order me avocado toast?” Samantha asked. “I’ll also take a mocha with a few shots of espresso. Please.”
I did exactly that. When I returned with her items, she apologized for consuming her meal in less than two minutes.
“I hadn’t eaten since five PM yesterday,” she said between sips.
“I understand,” I said. “I doubt you ever have a consistent schedule anymore.”
“You’re right, but that’s why I have to enjoy my free time when I can.”
We settled into talking about what had happened since we last saw each other. I referenced my trying to learn another language (French) with the hopes of moving to Europe or Canada.
After fifteen minutes of small talk, I asked her about work, but I did so with caution. It started with me wondering about what the call she was on when we were on the phone was about.
“A drunk driver blew a stop sign and hit two other vehicles,” she said. “It was ugly. A few people died. We’ll see if the man in silk pajamas gives him the proper sentence or a traffic citation.”
“You know, I’m curious about what happened to the Murphy’s, if they’re hurt or not.”
“You and everyone else,” she said. “We’ve been getting so many witness accounts, and so far they’ve all been bogus. All I know is what I saw when I got there.”
“I didn’t know you were one of the responders,” I said.
“Yeah. Something about the place was off from the moment I walked in. I found heavy items in placed they should not have been in. The toolbox was not in the garage but on the second story. A disassembled snowblower lay scattered everywhere in pieces. The oven door was on their bed. Frank Murphy was not the strongest guy in the world, either. For him to cause the kind of property damage I saw doesn’t make a lot of sense. At the risk of sounding crazy, inexplicable things happened when I was there.”
“Like what?”
“I was under the impression that something was playing a trick on me. Electrical outlets sparked a few times out of nowhere. The ceiling fan would go from still to spinning when I looked up at it. Books would fall off of the shelves. A volume on black magic, of all things, almost hit the top of my head when I walked on by. Another book about fairies collapsed with it.”
“So the home intruder set up a bunch of weird diversions,” I said. “I’ve heard of that before. These killers or kidnappers want the victims to think there was more than one of them. It’s so their account’s disputed in court.”
I’ll tell you right now,” she said, “we didn’t find any outside DNA.”
“So it’s a case of family annihilation,” I said as I took a long swig of my beverage. “I don’t know if you can substantiate the facts, but a few people have said that Emily had a big life insurance policy. Frank knew about. He may have been using steroids and having an affair, and that could have contributed to-“
It occurred to me that she eyed me with suspicion, as though I was digging too deep. I could also tell she regretted letting information about the forensic results slip.
She stood up and stared at me with a flash of anger in her eyes.
“I thought you wanted to piece something back together with me,” she said. “I didn’t know you wanted to play armchair investigator like every true crime fan. You know, your parents were kind. I wish you’d follow their example. I’ll let you get the bill.”
She walked back to her vehicle and I knew it would be a while before we conversed again.
Later that night, I stared out my window at the Murphy home. I saw a star shoot across the sky, and it almost seemed ready to plummet into the side of their house.
4
The next evening, I took a walk around the suburb. I spotted a thin line of dried red fluid along a path which led into the woods.
I was attempting to get in some movement to get my mind off of the events of the day before. Negativity and self-deprecation were all-consuming. I felt the need for a long saunter to try and release some of the meandering and pessimistic energy I accrued.
When I saw the carmine ribbon along the dark soil, a sense of worry filled me. I was not that far removed from a cul-de-sac with palatial manors a block away. There was no way I could speculate on me being the first to see it.
Could it be a hint where they are? I thought.
The notion seemed absurd, a reach.
I had read in the local newspaper that there was an uptick in bobcat sightings due to recent wildfires. The animals relocated during prior summers. I reasoned it could have been a house pet which became a victim after it got snatched away into the overgrowth.
I followed it, and the uneven road of red stretched on past many bushes and over logs. A shrill chirping in the background became louder. I moved between two conifers with petrified wood and found myself in a part of the forest I had never been in.
There were so many branches that it blacked out the falling sun. Ahead of me was a clearing. A swarm of gnats and mosquitos descended upon it. The sea of insects soared together in chaotic unison as a wave among the sedges and lichen.
I looked towards the right of the meadow and saw a ramshackle tree house. I trailed the red line towards it. I peered in through one of the windows and saw a statue of a woman with wings. I knew she was not an angel. There was no halo, nor were her organs of flight feathery, but rather they were thin and bat-like.
I entered the place knowing the danger I was putting myself in. I had tracked mud in and was oblivious to the incriminating actions I partook in. I was trespassing and risking stumbling into whoever may have owned the land. My curiosity got the better of me and caused me to keep moving forward.
The room was sparse but decorated. The walls had carvings of men and women, also with wings. Their bodies held yogic-like positions as they reached out to one another mid-air.
A piece of parchment with a few words sat in the corner. I picked it up and read it:
‘Humans are the greatest living beings to play tricks on. Especially when they go through a time of drought and extreme cold.’
I sat it down where I found it, unsure of what to make of it.
I touched the central figure’s neck. The chiseling was not only cold, but below freezing, as though I had submerged my hand in a polar pool.
The noise of some kind of bird attempting to escape a confined space reverberated below me.
Something brushed against my leg. I looked down and saw an army of glow bugs float up between the cracks, and they circled around me. They were like dragon flies. At the time I had labeled them as such, but in reality their shapes were far too humanoid.
I walked back home. I went to bed and slept. I was still perturbed at the wine-colored avenue and cabin.
I awoke in the middle of the night after something tapped at my walls from the outside. I peered out and saw the Murphy home, and observed how the blinds over their casements were wide open. A hive of mites filled every inch of the interior.
5
I found the decomposing body of a chipmunk stuffed into the tailpipe of my vehicle the next day.
This horrified me, because the deliberation of the act was too evident to ignore. While I did have a surveillance camera on my porch, the coverage of my vehicle was non-existent. I calmed myself down by thinking it was likely a tempestuous child. I retrieved a pair of medical gloves and disposed of the creature before going on with the errand. The rotting body had a horrible smell. It was like an onion left out in humidity for days, and my stomach turned as I sealed it off in the garbage with the lid.
The next morning, I looked in my closet. Some of my favorite shirts had disintegrated. Holes and patches of destroyed fabric littered them. I found it odd, and even searched on-line for possible answers before I decided it had to be a moth infestation. I sprayed lavender. Information on a website statEd that was a cure-all, but the problem persisted. It bothered me that I had not seen a single aphid, but I pushed that concern away.
A few days afterward, when I had tossed my disheveled pieces of attire, the power in my house went out. This was not such an unusual occurrence during the heavy winter months. For it to occur in the summer was strange.
It was a rolling blackout. Once my house had electricity again, I noticed how someone moved items around.
Something turned my kitchen table on its side and stuffed into a part of the kitchen I would have never placed it in.
I grabbed a butcher knife and did a sweep of the premises, and I did not find anything. There were no footprints or signs of anything else tampered with. When I got to the second story, birds nested along the tree tops, and the repugnant odor of fish attacked me.
My allergies became insufferable over the next month. Nothing purchased over the counter which helped it.
6
I went to the beach on an overcast day. After roughly half a mile of walking, I saw an illustration someone had drawn in the sand with a stick. It was of a being with airfoils.
A light precipitation had fallen earlier. As I trailed along the former part of the sand, a glint in the corner of my eye caught my attention. I looked out at the water and saw what appeared to be a light blue outline of wings beneath the surface.
A phosphorescent wall of creatures surrounded me.
As the days march on, I know I am stalked by something I cannot rebel against, let alone have any agency or autonomy over. My pillowcases have shredded, the pipes in my basement have burst, and someone left me a gift at my front door. When I opened it, I saw mice scurry away. It was a book, and it was one about the history of fairies.
I picked it up and had to blow the dust off of it. Someone had stolen it from a musty subterranean chamber and brought it here.
I theorized that it was Samantha, passive aggressive with her disappointment in me. Yet I flip through its pages and find it all too familiar. I cannot help but wonder if this is a sign of something far more dangerous.

I live in a suburb surrounded by forest. My house is in a row of other properties built next to a tree line. The neighborhood was always quiet. The sounds of crickets, birds, and sight of black bears were routine on most summer days.
The scenic area was something I was always grateful for. I lived completely alone since the death of my parents. An accidental fire took both of their lives. Once I collected my inheritance, I relocated to a much more peaceful region. I had always fantasized about moving there.
I tried to start a relationship with Samantha. I had gone to High School with her sixteen years before. She had gone on to become a respected Detective. My attempt at something long lasting with her failed. She was too career oriented. I was reeling from grief. Focusing on building something meaningful with her was a pipe dream.
Things around my community changed once the Murphy family went missing.
The first sign that something was off on that Wednesday was how their blinds had closed. Their silver Chevy Chrysler remained parked in the driveway.
A tennis instructor at the country club noticed the wife of that house did not show up for the program. He called their number to make sure everything was alright. When no one responded, he notified the authorities. Rumors abounded immediately among the home owners association about an alleged affair. The gossip only furthered when the married couple and their three kids were not found in the abode.
I watched from my balcony as the patrolmen roped the place off with caution tape. The domicile was a three story building with brick chimney’s and a few peaked roofs in the style of English towers. They were beige, light blue and crimson.
On the morning of the Murphy’s desertion of society, the architecture became a hollow image. It was one that was once filled with activity and life.
The law did what they could. Any success they may have had in the investigation was secret. A few months passed by and they removed the caution tape.
I followed the on-line police logs. The weather was pristine and clear the day they vanished. The fact that there were no witnesses to what direction they may have gone disturbed me.
I had heard how the man, Frank Murphy, had a bit of a temper and always had a bourbon in hand. I had heard mutual friends describe him as an alcoholic in denial of his servitude to liquor. He was an indignant individual who knew no true repercussions for his behavior. He always had bail money from a software company he founded and sold a long time ago.
I was never close to that family, but I peered out at their vacant house far more than I ever had. I was in need of an answer. What could have happened?
*
I called Samantha one evening as I sat on my bed, wondering how she would respond to my reaching out. We were never argumentative or on bad terms. I still worried about her reaction, and hoped it would not be a dismissive one.
I heard her say hello. Her voice still impressed me. I had almost forgotten how silky her tone was. I knew it could change to a much firmer pitch when she was interviewing a suspect.
“Hi, Sam. I’d like to know if you’d be free tomorrow for a cup of coffee. We can go to that place, The Bean Field, off Pond road. It’s been a while and I know you have a lot to tell me about what’s new in your life.”
There was a pause on the other end, and for a second a bout of anxiety hit me. I judged my own words as robotic, stilted, and sure to push her away. I reasoned she was summoning an excuse to get out of having to interact with me. How dare I presume she would even entertain the notion of having a meeting.
“That sounds great,” she said. “Tomorrow is my day off, luckily for you. I’m in the middle of an incident right now. It’s a five car pile-up about forty minutes from where you live. I’ve gotta run. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
When she hung up, I was triumphant. I looked at our old text conversations. I realized we had not been in communication with each other for over twelve months. Now was my opportunity to reconcile that gap of unintended avoidance. I knew it would be an undeserved opportunity.
*
I sat outside of the cafe the next morning at a black metal table. I had a view of rolling hills dotted with trees. A highway with multitudinous shrubberies sat on either side of it. I sipped a piccolo latte while waiting for her.
When she arrived and stepped out of her hatchback in the parking lot, her appearance floored me. She had not dressed up for our supposed date, but that did not make a difference. She had arrived from the gym and wore shorts and a top set. She donned a gray and green hoodie.
She sat across from me and reached for the menu.
“Can you go to the front and order me avocado toast?” Samantha asked. “I’ll also take a mocha with a few shots of espresso. Please.”
I did exactly that. When I returned with her items, she apologized for consuming her meal in less than two minutes.
“I hadn’t eaten since five PM yesterday,” she said between sips.
“I understand,” I said. “I doubt you ever have a consistent schedule anymore.”
“You’re right, but that’s why I have to enjoy my free time when I can.”
We settled into talking about what had happened since we last saw each other. I referenced my trying to learn another language (French) with the hopes of moving to Europe or Canada.
After fifteen minutes of small talk, I asked her about work, but I did so with caution. It started with me wondering about what the call she was on when we were on the phone was about.
“A drunk driver blew a stop sign and hit two other vehicles,” she said. “It was ugly. A few people died. We’ll see if the man in silk pajamas gives him the proper sentence or a traffic citation.”
“You know, I’m curious about what happened to the Murphy’s, if they’re hurt or not.”
“You and everyone else,” she said. “We’ve been getting so many witness accounts, and so far they’ve all been bogus. All I know is what I saw when I got there.”
“I didn’t know you were one of the responders,” I said.
“Yeah. Something about the place was off from the moment I walked in. I found heavy items in placed they should not have been in. The toolbox was not in the garage but on the second story. A disassembled snowblower lay scattered everywhere in pieces. The oven door was on their bed. Frank Murphy was not the strongest guy in the world, either. For him to cause the kind of property damage I saw doesn’t make a lot of sense. At the risk of sounding crazy, inexplicable things happened when I was there.”
“Like what?”
“I was under the impression that something was playing a trick on me. Electrical outlets sparked a few times out of nowhere. The ceiling fan would go from still to spinning when I looked up at it. Books would fall off of the shelves. A volume on black magic, of all things, almost hit the top of my head when I walked on by. Another book about fairies collapsed with it.”
“So the home intruder set up a bunch of weird diversions,” I said. “I’ve heard of that before. These killers or kidnappers want the victims to think there was more than one of them. It’s so their account’s disputed in court.”
I’ll tell you right now,” she said, “we didn’t find any outside DNA.”
“So it’s a case of family annihilation,” I said as I took a long swig of my beverage. “I don’t know if you can substantiate the facts, but a few people have said that Emily had a big life insurance policy. Frank knew about. He may have been using steroids and having an affair, and that could have contributed to-“
It occurred to me that she eyed me with suspicion, as though I was digging too deep. I could also tell she regretted letting information about the forensic results slip.
She stood up and stared at me with a flash of anger in her eyes.
“I thought you wanted to piece something back together with me,” she said. “I didn’t know you wanted to play armchair investigator like every true crime fan. You know, your parents were kind. I wish you’d follow their example. I’ll let you get the bill.”
She walked back to her vehicle and I knew it would be a while before we conversed again.
Later that night, I stared out my window at the Murphy home. I saw a star shoot across the sky, and it almost seemed ready to plummet into the side of their house.
*
The next evening, I took a walk around the suburb. I spotted a thin line of dried red fluid along a path which led into the woods.
I was attempting to get in some movement to get my mind off of the events of the day before. Negativity and self-deprecation were all-consuming. I felt the need for a long saunter to try and release some of the meandering and pessimistic energy I accrued.
When I saw the carmine ribbon along the dark soil, a sense of worry filled me. I was not that far removed from a cul-de-sac with palatial manors a block away. There was no way I could speculate on me being the first to see it.
Could it be a hint where they are? I thought.
The notion seemed absurd, a reach.
I had read in the local newspaper that there was an uptick in bobcat sightings due to recent wildfires. The animals relocated during prior summers. I reasoned it could have been a house pet which became a victim after it got snatched away into the overgrowth.
I followed it, and the uneven road of red stretched on past many bushes and over logs. A shrill chirping in the background became louder. I moved between two conifers with petrified wood and found myself in a part of the forest I had never been in.
There were so many branches that it blacked out the falling sun. Ahead of me was a clearing. A swarm of gnats and mosquitos descended upon it. The sea of insects soared together in chaotic unison as a wave among the sedges and lichen.
I looked towards the right of the meadow and saw a ramshackle tree house. I trailed the red line towards it. I peered in through one of the windows and saw a statue of a woman with wings. I knew she was not an angel. There was no halo, nor were her organs of flight feathery, but rather they were thin and bat-like.
I entered the place knowing the danger I was putting myself in. I had tracked mud in and was oblivious to the incriminating actions I partook in. I was trespassing and risking stumbling into whoever may have owned the land. My curiosity got the better of me and caused me to keep moving forward.
The room was sparse but decorated. The walls had carvings of men and women, also with wings. Their bodies held yogic-like positions as they reached out to one another mid-air.
A piece of parchment with a few words sat in the corner. I picked it up and read it:
‘Humans are the greatest living beings to play tricks on. Especially when they go through a time of drought and extreme cold.’
I sat it down where I found it, unsure of what to make of it.
I touched the central figure’s neck. The chiseling was not only cold, but below freezing, as though I had submerged my hand in a polar pool.
The noise of some kind of bird attempting to escape a confined space reverberated below me.
Something brushed against my leg. I looked down and saw an army of glow bugs float up between the cracks, and they circled around me. They were like dragon flies. At the time I had labeled them as such, but in reality their shapes were far too humanoid.
I walked back home. I went to bed and slept. I was still perturbed at the wine-colored avenue and cabin.
I awoke in the middle of the night after something tapped at my walls from the outside. I peered out and saw the Murphy home, and observed how the blinds over their casements were wide open. A hive of mites filled every inch of the interior.
*
I found the decomposing body of a chipmunk stuffed into the tailpipe of my vehicle the next day.
This horrified me, because the deliberation of the act was too evident to ignore. While I did have a surveillance camera on my porch, the coverage of my vehicle was non-existent. I calmed myself down by thinking it was likely a tempestuous child. I retrieved a pair of medical gloves and disposed of the creature before going on with the errand. The rotting body had a horrible smell. It was like an onion left out in humidity for days, and my stomach turned as I sealed it off in the garbage with the lid.
The next morning, I looked in my closet. Some of my favorite shirts had disintegrated. Holes and patches of destroyed fabric littered them. I found it odd, and even searched on-line for possible answers before I decided it had to be a moth infestation. I sprayed lavender. Information on a website statEd that was a cure-all, but the problem persisted. It bothered me that I had not seen a single aphid, but I pushed that concern away.
A few days afterward, when I had tossed my disheveled pieces of attire, the power in my house went out. This was not such an unusual occurrence during the heavy winter months. For it to occur in the summer was strange.
It was a rolling blackout. Once my house had electricity again, I noticed how someone moved items around.
Something turned my kitchen table on its side and stuffed into a part of the kitchen I would have never placed it in.
I grabbed a butcher knife and did a sweep of the premises, and I did not find anything. There were no footprints or signs of anything else tampered with. When I got to the second story, birds nested along the tree tops, and the repugnant odor of fish attacked me.
My allergies became insufferable over the next month. Nothing purchased over the counter which helped it.
*
I went to the beach on an overcast day. After roughly half a mile of walking, I saw an illustration someone had drawn in the sand with a stick. It was of a being with airfoils.
A light precipitation had fallen earlier. As I trailed along the former part of the sand, a glint in the corner of my eye caught my attention. I looked out at the water and saw what appeared to be a light blue outline of wings beneath the surface.
A phosphorescent wall of creatures surrounded me.
As the days march on, I know I am stalked by something I cannot rebel against, let alone have any agency or autonomy over. My pillowcases have shredded, the pipes in my basement have burst, and someone left me a gift at my front door. When I opened it, I saw mice scurry away. It was a book, and it was one about the history of fairies.
I picked it up and had to blow the dust off of it. Someone had stolen it from a musty subterranean chamber and brought it here.
I theorized that it was Samantha, passive aggressive with her disappointment in me. Yet I flip through its pages and find it all too familiar. I cannot help but wonder if this is a sign of something far more dangerous.

I'm 40 hours in and done 56 shrines and I'm generally shocked at how fucking easy they are. I would say out of the 56 shrines I've done there puzzles / solutions are...
• 4 starting shrines, these are fine
• 4 shrines that teach you basic mechanics like throwing weopns or shooting arrows. These are all 1 minitue long and have no challenge
• 3 shrines that are mini eventide islands, these are to easy but still enjoyable
• 3 shrines that have interesting puzzles / obstacle courses actually fun challenges.
• 6 shrines that are blessing shrines. I know most people don't like these but I thought they where ok the challenge to enter them was ofter good.
• The other 34 are failed attempts at puzzle shrines. All of these shrines suck due to 1 fatal flaw in the game... using ultra hand to move something somewhere and then standing on the object and use rewind on it. I'm not joking all of these shrines just require that basic set of moves to complete. It's a shame to some of them clearly have good puzzles. 1 I just found WANTED me to use blocks and stone tablets to build a catapult, but I just picked up one of the stone tablets moved it to the end and rewinded it... boom problem solved. There was another one that had me building a Minecraft to get through an obstacle courses but I just picked up the Minecraft, moved it in the air, rewinded the Minecraft, and jumped to the end. All of the shrines are like this and there awful.
Attentive mathematicians will notice there's still 2 more shrines to cover which are.
• 1 shrine that also involved building Minecraft that I just sheild surfed on and again that was it. Took less the 30 seconds
• And finally the siwakama shrine. I have no idea what the shrine is suppose to be challenging you on. You see this shrine has 3 gaps you can't jump over and you have to move some stone spheres to do.. something. However there's 1 problem, I lied those 3 gabs can be jumped over easily. That's the shrine you jump over 3 gaps took about 10 seconds to do and I no joke had to put my controller down to think about how that ended up in the game.
I have to ask, what happend here? Did nintendo not know you can use rewind on objects you ultra handed. No they must of known, Right? Honestly if nintendo was going to allow us to break shrines so easily using rewind+ultrahand it brings the question of why didn't nintendo just allow us to use ultra hand on things we are standing on (maybe with a time limit so it dosnt break the game TO much) realy there's no reason not to since you can use rewind to get the same results.
And thoese other 2 shrines that are so ridiculously easy it's not even funny. How did they get passed play testing. How did any of the shrines get past play testing?
I've noticed the 2 dungeons i've done have had 1 or 2 puzzles that are bad but are mostly well designed.
Sorry for the long rant, Loving the game so far 10/10 I just realy hate the shrines ( and the way the story's told ) I just needed to rant a little.

I'm 40 hours in and done 56 shrines and I'm generally shocked at how fucking easy they are. I would say out of the 56 shrines I've done there puzzles / solutions are...
• 4 starting shrines, these are fine
• 4 shrines that teach you basic mechanics like throwing weopns or shooting arrows. These are all 1 minitue long and have no challenge
• 3 shrines that are mini eventide islands, these are to easy but still enjoyable
• 3 shrines that have interesting puzzles / obstacle courses actually fun challenges.
• 6 shrines that are blessing shrines. I know most people don't like these but I thought they where ok the challenge to enter them was ofter good.
• The other 34 are failed attempts at puzzle shrines. All of these shrines suck due to 1 fatal flaw in the game... using ultra hand to move something somewhere and then standing on the object and use rewind on it. I'm not joking all of these shrines just require that basic set of moves to complete. It's a shame to some of them clearly have good puzzles. 1 I just found WANTED me to use blocks and stone tablets to build a catapult, but I just picked up one of the stone tablets moved it to the end and rewinded it... boom problem solved. There was another one that had me building a Minecraft to get through an obstacle courses but I just picked up the Minecraft, moved it in the air, rewinded the Minecraft, and jumped to the end. All of the shrines are like this and there awful.
Attentive mathematicians will notice there's still 2 more shrines to cover which are.
• 1 shrine that also involved building Minecraft that I just sheild surfed on and again that was it. Took less the 30 seconds
• And finally the siwakama shrine. I have no idea what the shrine is suppose to be challenging you on. You see this shrine has 3 gaps you can't jump over and you have to move some stone spheres to do.. something. However there's 1 problem, I lied those 3 gabs can be jumped over easily. That's the shrine you jump over 3 gaps took about 10 seconds to do and I no joke had to put my controller down to think about how that ended up in the game.
I have to ask, what happend here? Did nintendo not know you can use rewind on objects you ultra handed. No they must of known, Right? Honestly if nintendo was going to allow us to break shrines so easily using rewind+ultrahand it brings the question of why didn't nintendo just allow us to use ultra hand on things we are standing on (maybe with a time limit so it dosnt break the game TO much) realy there's no reason not to since you can use rewind to get the same results.
And thoese other 2 shrines that are so ridiculously easy it's not even funny. How did they get passed play testing. How did any of the shrines get past play testing?
I've noticed the 2 dungeons i've done have had 1 or 2 puzzles that are bad but are mostly well designed.
Sorry for the long rant, Loving the game so far 10/10 I just realy hate the shrines ( and the way the story's told ) I just needed to rant a little.

I'm 25 and I've been offered a very rare opportunity to train in my dream field for 3 years starting in the end of September.
Last November I started saving for a deposit and currently have £13.5k and I will have around £6-7k extra to save/spend between now and my course start date.
For the first month of the course I'm unpaid but I will be for the rest. By the end of the 3 year training programme working in a qualified role my salary will go from it's current 30k to 45k-61k (the latter being more likely if I go to Oxford University).
Here's where it gets complicated. I've been offered this programme at two universities.
The programme at a London University:
I could live rent free but unfortunately in a toxic relationship dynamic that is not good for my mental health. But I would have a great support network around which is really important for my mental health.
While at this uni all my work placements are within a 30 minute radius. I also don't have to learn how to drive immediately before the course starts this September.
I would be on a 42k salary (£2600 after tax, NI and SFE) so I would be able to save a very large deposit over 1-3 years. But there is no guarantee this living arrangement will be permanent and I could end up renting in London after the 1st year.
I could comfortably save anywhere between 24k (1 year of savings) to 70k (3 years of savings) in that time for a deposit. This doesn't include a small wage increase half way through the programme (to 44k), LISA bonuses, interest or stocks and shares returns.
The programme at The University of Oxford:
I really want to go. There are so many things I like about the course which I won't delve into here. It was my first choice.Being able to have this opportunity is a big deal. An added bonus is I will be able to leave my current toxic living situation - the fresh start here on this course is really exciting.
But I will lose some of my support network though they are not far in London. Another caveat is the pay will be 35k (£2162 after tax, NI and SFE). I have to learn how to drive by the end of October and I will have to pay some kind of rent/housing expenses. On top of car costs and learning to drive and a deposit for a rental contract (which I could deduct from the 6-7k).
Rent costs could be anywhere between £850-1200 depending on whether I flat share or location. Which would reduce my deposit savings over that 3 years to 14-17.5k.
This is ssuming life doesn't come at me too fast and I can live a very minimal spending lifestyle, an old banger with no holidays. This doesn't include a very small wage increase half way through the programme (to 37k), LISA bonuses, interest or stocks and shares returns.
I was debating getting a shared ownership property (probably new build) property in Oxford as it works out about the same as renting and I'd be able to put down a 20% deposit with what I current have. But I'm not familiar with the process. Legal fees, surveyors and sorting out my driving will eat into the 6-7k I'll be getting between now and September.
Some of these properties are 2 beds with one ensuite. I know some fellow prospective course members looking to flat share to stay closer to the city centre. So I could have a lodger at discounted rent to cover the service charge and ground rent.
Even without having a lodger my ground rent service charge and mortgage combined are the same as just renting further away from work in a smaller property (with out accounting for any potential rent/service charge rises or repairs).
I would also be losing my FTB status and potentially 3k if I waited 3 years to buy with my LISA. but on the other hand I'll be building up some equity. An important caveat to all of this is I'm not sure how mortgage lenders would take my current 1 year contract, then 3 year paid training programme contract and an understanding of my qualified role pay increases.
And if I take too long to close a home ownership deal before September I still have the option to store my stuff for free and I can get a short lets for a few months in Oxford (around 600 a month) which I don't mind.
As generation rent I'm butthurt that huge housing prices has to be factored into rejecting my dreams. I know it should be a no brainer to choose my mental health and my dream course in Oxford, but equally a no brainer to choose the housing ladder but I don't know if I can have both.
I'm caught between whether I should stomach my current scenario for a bit longer for a larger deposit, rent in Oxford or try to buy a shared ownership property in Oxford to build up some equity over at least 3 years? What would you do in my shoes?

Just figured I put these down in writing. You can find the stone tables in the sky [Islands that look like flowers, some you need to zoom in to see.)
I'm putting down both how they're written and Wortsworth's own translation:

1. Account of a Celebration

"So swete the song of kyng Rauru ond so grete the beaute of his susteres daunce, that wer min eies ond eres captif. Ond so hende quen Sonias gasen on us alle so felt y min herte als captif fallen. Seruantes lyf, tho moche laboursum, han moche jolitee as welle. Longe be the lyf of the roial familie y love so."
Wortsworth's Take:
"This is an account of a party from those days. It says King Rauru and his older sister sang and danced together while Queen Sonia looked on. We think of royalty austere and reserved, but these nobles amused themselves with song and dance. But what a vivid recounting of a scene never before related in any history book...The descriptions of their personalities and expressions made this ancient past feel alive again. This stone tablet is a first-class find. Well done, dear Chamberlain in leaving behind this account for us."

1. The Strong Queen and the Receptive King

"Sonia, quen to Hyrule's kyng bi birthe Hylian preesterresse, hirself yborn of londe, nat of skie aboven. Speken she with open herte, eornest to alle, euen even to the Zonais kyng. This kyng ythinke it gode aventure so to lerne of the londes folke. To sen his hed ybent to listenen is swich plesaunce."
Wortsworth Take:
"This one looks to be about Queen Sonia. it claims that Sonia was a priestess before marrying Rauru. Despite his status as Zonai, a people popularly thought to be gods, she would counsel him without any trepidation. Moreover, Rauru heeded this counsel. This account gives us firsthand knowledge of the nature of Queen Sonia and King Rauru's relationship."

1. The Harmonious Couple

"Oft wys Rauru, kyng of kene blade, weyve his werk real in favor of the hunte. Ond oft queynte Sonia, quene of kene insight, seke out him and repaire this kyng to kyngly besynesse. in hir sapience semes she divin, that she cunne him ever finde and for hes folly semes him the mor humain. Ond the kyng? O, he laughe, Nat him hir equal for hir wit, he kunne. Ond the quen, she laughe to, als even she scolden."
Wortswoth's Take"
"This is a tale of King Rauru. Apparently, he would vacate his offical business from time to time in order to go out hunting. I had the impression he was a stricter, more serious king, but I guess he had a lighter side as well. However, Queen Sonia was always a step ahead. She would put a stop to King Rauru's hunts and bring him back. We rarely get a glimpse into the down-to-earth side of royalty i this way. It's an important find, to be sure."

1. A Pilgrimage of Light

"The kyng was late y-come this aven, so maked the quene to sharen tales of hir lond, of shirines al grene yglouen. Of erli daies sinnes Hyrules funding have diverse monstres hir reaume biseged ond assayllede. Uncesinge in striffe, thei broughte to despeir folkes lyfen. Kyng ond quen ysete thamselue to bringen scurge to ende. With might of light od pouere, driven abak ybeen, ond the roial couple made thes shirines to selen hem awei. These holi selen ben yclept Shirines of Light. Gret kyng, grete quen, y thank ye. Ye foughte whan y wer maiden-child, that y kude pes toknouen."
Wortsworth Take:
"The subject here is the actions of King Rauru and Queen Sonia undertook not long after Hyrule's founding. With the kingdom established, they were worried for their people, so they set out to eradicate the monsters troubling them. They created structures called Shrines of Light to seal the monsters away so that they could never be revived. There's more here about light...and tie too...The sense I get is that the to of them may have had supernatural powers. Though it's part of ancient history, it's a feat those of us living today should still be grateful for. Truly an important discovery."

1. The Researcher Mineru

"Queynte Mineru, the kynges elder suster, falles so dep in hir bokes swich that she oft foryetes to eten. In min wieried wei don I what much I con, but y fer haven that it ben litel avail. Of late treteth she of 'contructes,' thinges did she make with hir hondes as vessel for spirit whan bodi-lich failen. So seyde she, micht she liven longe, in spiret yhused within this construct.' Though Mineru ne semes to holden ani deceyte,,,Bi my feith, y kan nat als trouthe thes wordes bileven."
Wortsworth's Take:
"Here, we learn a bit about Mineru. It says that she neglected to eat or sleep while making something called a...construct? It was part of her research into a means of returning to life as a spirit possessing a new body, should her original one die. To you or I, this sounds less like history ad more like some sort of ghost story. But remember who we're dealing with. They may have had unfathomable powers that made such things possible. The revelation that Mineru was a fellow researcher makes her feel like a kindred spirit to me, and yet...The chamberlain who inscribed these tablets treats Mineru with such care and kindness that it warms my heart.

1. The Foreign Princess

"Ful fyn is the weder this morn, ond have y audience with theos princes seyd ben kin bi fer distaunt yeres to quene Sonia. Bi gras has she bee given a name most swete, of Zelda she been yclept. In certain folk stered suspecioun, for straunge wer hir garnementes ond sodein wer her aparaunce. Yet wolde hir contenonce ond bering maked proof of hir right blod and bond to quene Sonia. Als be Zelda to remainen for a wile with us, y wil mi-self als hochmayde offre ekein hir servis."
Wortswoth's Take:
"This is another fascinating entry. If my translation is correct, the Zelda described here is Sonia's distant relative. According to this, she arrived in Hyrule unexpectedly from another kingdom. It seems she was a beautiful princess. Her strange clothing perplexed the people of Hyrule, and many were suspicious of her at first. But this Zelda had such an undeniable air of nobility that those who doubted she was of royal birth were soon silenced. Note how clearly this convey's the writer's feelings regarding Zelda. Once it was clear Zelda would be staying, she applied to be chamberlain to the princess. That suggests real admiration."

1. The Free-Spirited Zelda

"Princesse Zelda recent comes to sen Mineru, the kynges older suster. I co eck, for hir to seruen. Todai cam hit ipassen that Mineru sheued to Zelda construct althergrettest y hav ysen. Zelda, she much desired on hit to riden, ond ne conne nat y seien coust hir stoppen. Though I dyde protesten. Loudli. Neuer the lesse she made to sitten heighe upon the constructes sculdres ond to riden like an hors, al ful of grace. Min lausion, so graunt alredy, dyde grouen al the mor."
Wortswoth's Take:
The subject here Zelda and Mineru. Zelda apparently visited Mineru often to assist with her research. I have no idea what kind of thing this 'construct' that allowed people to ride it was. But Zelda rode it so well that our author the chamberlain was again impressed by her skill at everything she tried. That's the long and short of it here. But more than the narrative, what strikes me is the back and forth between the chamberlain and Zelda. The chamberlain tried to warm Zelda of the danger, but Zelda pushed past her and rode the construct anyway. It's short, but so evocative of both the level of technology found in this era and the character of their visitor Zelda. The 'treasure' found in these stone tablets is the pearls of wisdom and nuggets of personality contained within."

1. The Latest Trend

"Faciou nou favereth garnementes adourned with muscheron patrons, ond fer ond wid beon thei wern. This tast for muscheron com of the casteles seamestre, who sogte to seuen clethes for princesse Zelda to plesen. This facioun, Zelda telled to the seamestre, waere in hir treu hom wel loved. in hir time werd everichon patrons of bright hewes, in the shap of mucheron. Anou our hende seamestre set herte on these patrons copien, which sele to main happi persoune. Y seche after som for min on but ne coude nat an on yfinden."
Wortsworth's Take:
"Here we learn something about the fashion trends of that era. The story's catalyst is their Zelda tellng a tailor about the mushroom-patterned outfits becoming popular in her homeland. Intrigued, the tailor fashioned some clothing in that vein, and it caught on in ancient Hyrule. Do you know Cece from Hatenon Village? Imagine the look on her face if she were to find out! They say that trends go in cycles, but...I didn't expect mushroom patterns to have been in fashion so long ago! One last thing about the chamberlain...Her interests in fashion shows there was more to her than devoted service. She was just like anyone else in the kingdom."

1. An Ancient Ghost Story

"Of late have y herd it told a straunge ladi walkes around the castel in the derk of night. She ond princess Zelda semes ala twinnes two, but this on nadda ne light in hir eien--or als a ded thing than not. When She is asked about thes walkes, princesse Zelda of that ben no-thing remembren. What monstre, or spirit of darknesse, be this visioun? So afeard y am of min imagaenninges that I con nat slepen."
Wortsworth's Take:
This one is an ancient ghost story. My understanding of ancient Hyulean isn't perfect, but I know a ghost story when I see one. It's a firsthand account of a ghostly or maybe corpse-like woman who appeared each night looking just like their Zelda. No matter the era, it seems, people can't resist sharing a good ghost story. A bit like how there have been eyewitness accounts of our Princess Zelda in the newspaper, even though she's missing...Could our Zelda be a ghost too? No...of course not."

1. For the Hero's Sake

"Sith hire founding has Hyrule swich hardshippe ysene, but that is onli smale moment of time. Mineru, the kynges elder suster, seyes of this kyngdom that hit ne mot nat awaren aye be ycaccht, nat evenforth fer futur. Princesse Zelda tells hire that this futur be wrat alredi, that a champion bith form t he skie comen. Bitwee the two, thei imaked to finden a wei this champion in that distaunt time to helpen. Her min treuthe, sogte thei to up-reisen the Temple of Time, into the skie to warden hit onyenes ivil. Al dyden so in fer distauntdai, our kingdo mighte b e safed. In min herte y woot y helpen mot, ond y asked of Mineru, canst yow devyse the menes to upreisen in the skie thaes stane. Min wordes iseie nat enow, but thei thaes memorie safen, of the roial familie, heigh in the skie for that future time."
Wortswoth's Take
That one is all about the feats Zelda performed for the sake of the hero. The details are unclear, but essentially, the chamberlain trusted in Mineru and Zelda's predictions and wanted to help. She put forth the suggestion that could make her stone tablets float in the sky. Which I take it are the very tablets you foud, Link? But it doesn't end there. If my translation is correct, it suggests that their Zelda worked with Mineru to raise the Temple of Time into the sky! The idea of the Temple of Time--a grand edifice built in that ancient era--being lifted to the skies to await a hero...Althought given the appearance of the sky islands after the Upheavel, perhaps it's not so far-fetched as it seems. What must it have been life for the chamberlain to live through such miraculous times?"

1. The Day the Land Rose

"Swich wondrous sight y hav behelden that ne con hit nat justli be described. The Termple of Time y sawe, ond al londe yheld it, reise to the skie, both ferful ond majestatic. As princesse Zelda itold mi, in fer distaunt future comes a champion to that place, the hope that Hyrule safen. For that champion be hit that y thes grete stane inscriben. The kygnes elder suster, Mineru, sendes nou thes stane to the skie, that the champioun mount hem ireden."
Wortswoth's Take:
"This is an eyewitness account of the day the Temple of Time floated into the sky. It's a landmark discovery for the history of Hyrule. It may be one of the tip 10 most important discoveries of all time! Even among all the breathtaking displays of power, we knew of from the era, to raise the land and its buildings into the sky...That was a feat impressive even to those accustomed to wonders. Yon can tell as much from this account. Zelda predicted that a hero would appear in the land they raised into the sky and that he would save Hyrule. The chamberlain took this on faith and wanted to know how she could help. So she inscribed these records on the stone tablets that Mineru set into the sky. Give me a moment. I need to view these accounts as a historian and not get so swept up in personal sentiments...

1. A Parting Resolve

"Rauru, Hyrules kyng. Sonia, hir quen. His elder suster Mineru. Ond eek princesse Zelda. Al whom y served, ond loved. al whom thurghgon. Alon kerv y thes wordes yoin this stan. This stand, ond all thritene, serven als roial families recorde, min werk final, ful-wroht for al age. Mani the mark made bi thes much biloved peples--som eth-sene, som unsene. Whan y make remembraunce of hir markes, fele y flaume of hope, though ful small, within mi. Hit be als though thes markes som graunt design describen. I ne con nat met princesse Zelda hir love for hir londe. What mor than, ask y, can y, do for Hyrules peples. Let min lyf lede mi fro hennes-forth an answere ful-worthi to this questioun.'
Wortsworth's Take:
It seems this is the last of the records. The royals whom the chamberlain served so faithfully were gone, one by one...It's heartrending to read. Her pain comes across so clearly in her words. What's less clear from these entries is the cause of all these partings...Well, each new mystery is an opportunity to do more research. If I keep digging, someday I'll unravel it."
I'm curious who this chamberlain was, considering they took care of the royal family could it haven been a Sheikah of those times? Just speculating of course.

Brace yourselves, this is gonna be a long one.
Table of Contents
1…… The Main Goal
2…… What I’m Seeking
3…… Personality
4…… Interests
5…… Physical Characteristics (with pics)
6…… Expectations of You
7…… Living Situation
8…… Deal Breakers
9…… Closing Remarks
(1)
The Main Goal:
Well if you’re browsing this subreddit then much like me, you were alone this weekend and I’m sure you’d like to change that as much as me. I won’t lie, I am going through a rough part of my life right now. It’s difficult for me to find the energy for anything at the moment and I’m just really seeking affection in general, anything that will give me a push. I don’t want to be that person who brings everyone down but I could really use someone to talk to right now. I’d really like to find someone who’s similar to me so much to the point that we do everything together and talk about everything while not having to pretend to be interested. I want someone with whom we can mutually spew our emotions onto and have those feelings reciprocated. Not an emotional punching bag, but an emotional teddy bear to hug and cuddle until everything feels better as many times as we need. There’s people who I’m sure have told you the same, they’ll be there no matter how many times you need the support, no matter how many times the insecurities and bad thoughts come back but they don’t mean it. I will be the exception, I’m not so ignorant to think some nice words and tales of relating to you will magically forever heal whatever ails you then get mad when you seek the same support again. Mental ailments are rarely temporary and I don’t care about someone because they’re perfect, caring about someone means being there no matter how many times they need you to be. It doesn’t feel like a chore, it doesn’t get old, and it never will.
(2)
(2.a)
What I'm Seeking:
I will upfront let you know if I’m clicking better with someone else or if you’re the one, I’m not here to tread the sea of fish or keep my options open, I’m here for one singular person.
(2.b)
Relationship:
A relationship is difficult for me right now, it’s been nearly half a year since I got out of my last relationship and the reasons for it ending are partially responsible for how I’ve been feeling and why it’s so hard for me to seek the comfort I so desperately crave. I will tell you about it but for the sake of not treating the entirety of the internet as my therapist, it’ll be in private. I really need the comfort of intimacy and the warmth of someone who cares. I'm not going to feel better if I just sulk and don’t move on. This is my attempt to get better, I’ll admit I’m not great right now and I don’t expect you to be either. If we can help each other heal, then I’d be more than happy :) A relationship isn’t just being there for when someone’s at their best. Even if a relationship is hard at the moment, I do want a life partner and I don’t want to be alone. Things aren’t going to get easier without you so I don’t want to hesitate. I view my other as an equal, I don’t like categorizing us into specific roles. We take care of each other and treat each other how we like to be treated, whatever that is, it's as simple as that. I don't care if you're "successful" or not, living simple lives with our days filled with love is the ultimate measure of success to me.
(3)
Personality:
(3.a)
On the Surface:
As you can tell I can be rather… stoic but that’s largely due to my current stressors, I truthfully am goofy and fun loving but I just can’t find it in me right now. I want to return to that but without someone to light up my world it’s been difficult to just have fun and enjoy stuff. I’m definitely more introverted, you won’t catch me at any parties or really outside at all. I definitely prefer being home though the occasional outing is not out of the question and one day I’d like to travel to other countries because I think that kind of perspective is important.
(3.b)
The Core of My Being:
I like being a spectator to it all and if we bear witness to humanity burning or its miraculous recovery, I want to watch it with you. I enjoy watching humanity advance, less so when it devolves but I want to watch it to the end nonetheless. I’m both a realist and someone who lives with my head in the clouds dreaming of scenarios or worlds that don’t exist. I’m saying that I enjoy a good narrative and can suspend my disbelief to enjoy something but you won’t catch me refusing vaccines or ignoring blatant facts for the sake of some pseudo science or witch doctor’s remedy. I’m an atheist but I do not rule out existence after death, not because I’m agnostic but because due to the nature of potentially infinite time at some point after how many googol years with a googol amount of 0s after that, something’s bound to replicate your consciousness perfectly at some point. It’s actually a really fascinating topic I like talking about. If infinite time and infinite possibilities exist, does non existence exist? Though that’s an awfully existentially dreadful thought process considering the ramifications of infinite existence and infinite possibilities during said infinite existence. I would say I’m confidently left leaning and I don’t think I could truly get along with anyone right leaning, at least America’s definition of right leaning. Left and right seems to have just become; do people deserve to suffer or do they deserve to live good lives? Being political is not something I expected to become but how can you not be when crimes against human rights are being passed on a daily basis and at the end of the day, everything’s political. Oftentimes I imagine the perfect moment as relaxing with my significant other playing games or cuddling in a cold room under blankets.
I value that special someone above all of the existential thoughts, the bad of the world, the good of the world, they practically become my world. So many worries wash away when I’m with them. I don’t know if that’s the defense mechanism my brain created to not feel bad 24/7 but if it is, I’m currently without it.
(3.c)
Insecurities:
I talk of philosophy and politics here but really I spend most of my time just playing games, watching stuff, and trying to not be sleep deprived. I’m also nowhere near as well spoken, heck sometimes I feel like my speech is broken. I won’t claim to be something I’m not, I sit at home while I complain about the world doing nothing about it wishing I had someone here with me. I’m not noble nor do I really want to be, I have morals I uphold but much like most other hypocrites I acknowledge that my comfortable life is built on the suffering of others without doing anything about it. Why? My sleep problems? Am I depressed? Is that why I have no energy to do anything? Do I just think nothing I could do could help? I can’t nail it down myself, maybe it’s a mix of everything, maybe I’m just a bad person. I have always told myself that if I had wealth I would help people but if I get that kind of wealth will I just become a wealth hoarder who tries to justify my riches as something I earned rather than something given to me through incredibly lucky circumstances? If I do help people is it because I’m a good person or out of guilt? Will I die alone? I feel like I drive everyone away with my clinginess, I get paranoid often and need reassurance often. It’s something I want to work on, something I’ve been trying to work on. Hearing that someone cares about me just never gets old. I value self awareness even if it’s painful.
(3.d)
Socializing:
I’m definitely a socially anxious/awkward mess, especially around strangers. I do feel a large amount of anxiety in public, people can’t tell by looking at my face since I kind of go stone faced in an attempt to block everything out but yeah you’ll notice that if we go out in public. Growing up my pediatrician said I was probably autistic, never got a formal diagnosis so that’s just great. But yeah that explains why I can’t make eye contact with people, I kinda just stare at the ground and avoid their gaze at all costs. A lot of these social struggles go away to a great degree once I know you for a bit but yeah I apologize for how terrible I am at socializing at first. Don’t let my social struggles fool you though, I love cuddling and being close with my person.
(3.e)
Sexuality:
I am a heterosexual male, though I’m not very masculine like at all. I may even be a bit feminine sometimes. Not that I believe any activity or manner of acting belongs to a gender but I don’t know how else to describe it. I’m definitely super affectionate and love it when my partner is too. I am open to dating demi people but I do have a libido so I don't think asexual would work out.
(4)
Interests:
(4.a)
Video Games:
As stated before, I do spend a lot of my time playing video games. It’s been hard lately with me having no energy but I really do want to play more games and have a good time playing them with you! I primarily play on PC though I do have a switch. I’m primarily into platform fighters, roguelikes, open world, survival, and sandbox games. As for single player story games, I enjoy watching them through twitch or youtube but for the most part I don’t play them myself. I’d watch you play them though!
Here’s a list of games we can play:
-Minecraft (Java)
-Risk of Rain 2
-Gunfire Reborn
-Roboquest
-7 Days to Die
-Phasmophobia
-Rust
-Unturned
-Bloons TD 6
-Platform fighters: Super Smash Bros. Melee, Slap City, Multiversus, Flash Party, Fraymakers
Whatever you want to play I’ll give it a shot! I will say that League bores me to death but I’ll play it for you :) I try to avoid MMOs, not because I don’t like them but because of how addicted I can get to them. I enjoy learning games in-depth so MMOs can be a fast track to addiction.
I recently got Kerbal Space Program 2 and ehhh not really worth it right now but hopefully later it will be? I’m super excited for Tears of the Kingdom! In the far off future I’m excited for Rivals of Aether 2 which is a platform fighter releasing in 2024, let me know of your most anticipated releases and I’ll see if I could play them with you!
Also I never got into FPS games but I could totally see myself playing like CoD with you or Escape From Tarkov. Any FPS really, I’m down.
I am a fan of Pokemon but with how things have been lately I don’t know how long that will last. Pixelmon is a common Pokemon mod I play for Minecraft if you want to play that! Also if I say I want to play something with you I mean it but there are often times when no matter how much I want to I'm just drained and can do little more than lay in bed so please don't think I'm making an excuse.
(4.b)
Science:
I really enjoy keeping up with the latest advances in pretty much everything, it could be biology, technology, astronomy, anything! I love seeing progression and I love talking about it! Really I could go on and on about what I’m obsessing about that day. I particularly love technology, ask me for my laptop specs I dare you. When I was little I always wanted to be a scientist of any kind but then insomnia and fear of college stuff hit me like a truck aaaand that’s the end of that dream.
(4.c)
Anime:
You got me, I like anime but I’d like to think my tastes are benign.
Here’s some of my favorites I can list from the top of my head:
- To Your Eternity
- Vinland Saga
- Spice and Wolf
- Re:Zero
- Mob Psycho
- Dr. Stone
- Attack on Titan
- Spy x Family
- My Hero Academia
- Ranking of Kings
- Demon Slayer
Okay I can go on and on but I will say I don’t like pointless fan service and the spamming of cliche anime moments. I mostly enjoy action and anything well animated if it doesn’t have a potato story. Heck Demon Slayer could be my top 3 out of season 2’s animation alone. I don’t watch slice of life often or romance but I would with you!
(4.d)
Misc:
I’m not going to go on and on about the tiniest little things when the main ones are covered but I’ll watch pretty much any show with you and anything really. I like random youtube videos that explain some kind of lore or mystery, sometimes mini documentaries too.
As for food I looove sushi and I’m a sucker for fast food. Okay and candy, definitely candy.
I used to play tennis but haven’t really had the opportunity nor friends to play it with and I’m way too socially anxious to seek it out. Also I will say that when we move to something like discord I type waaaay more casually. I’m not going to expect long paragraphs back and forth like we’re writing English papers for each other, I do enjoy long conversations but seriously don’t worry about having to put the utmost effort into every response, I just like making good first impressions I guess.
(5)
(5.a)
My Physical Characteristics:
I’m 5’8 (172cm), 128 pounds (58kg), with curly brown hair and blue eyes. I like keeping my hair long in the winter and cutting it in the summer. I’m pretty slim in general so if you’re looking for someone large, that’s not me. I don’t work out but my work is pretty physical so at least I’m not totally inactive. I don’t have the urge to work out or gain muscle but I do want to maintain my slim figure so if I start losing control of that I’ll work out. I like to keep my face shaved because I don’t think I look good with a beard/mustache so if you’re into those I apologize. I have an average amount of body hair? I’d prefer to be completely shaved but it’s easy to lose motivation with that battle, if you prefer shaved then I’d have no problem complying. Anyways here’s what I look like: https://imgur.com/a/MZZgf2t
(5.b)
My Physical Preferences:
Having physical preferences makes me feel shallow, if I could make myself not have them I would but unfortunately that’s now how that works. I don’t care if you’re shorter or taller than me and I don’t care if you weigh more or less than me. All I ask is that you’re slim-average weight. I would never ask for someone to be something I’m not. I don’t care about tattoos or piercings.**(6)Expectations of You (Relationship Only):**I am not looking for someone “exciting” or someone to “keep me on my toes” I’m not looking for someone to cater to my every whim or anything like that. I don’t care if you’re “boring” or if you aren’t “successful”. I know it’s a common thing for people to not want a “boring” relationship and to seek something argumentative or something with constant challenges but I just want to be with you. During the exciting times, the boring times, and everything in-between, all of it will be great with you! Maybe we do argue sometimes or maybe there will be challenges but that will never be something I purposefully seek out and I don’t want that to be something you seek out either. I will not play tricks on you and I will not play mind games, I expect the same from you. We all have personal measures of success we may or may not have lived up to but what I care about most is our commitment to each other. If we have each other we can get through tough times, near the ends of our lives I want us to look back and feel that this life together was worth more than anything. That’s not saying I want us to be haphazard, I don’t want us to make poor decisions for the sake of yolo and I want us to always be rational, especially with each other. I want you to be someone I can trust to make decisions and weigh the options with a level head, I’ll try my best to live up to the same for you. Most of all I want empathy, understanding, someone to feel the utmost comfort and trust in.
(7)
Living Situation:
Currently my life is pretty relaxed, I work 3 times a week as a night shift stocker. I currently live in a 2 bedroom apartment with my roommate but we’re looking to move into someplace larger by the end of the year if everything works out. The internet is weirdly great for Ohio too like I have fiber and later this year we’re supposed to be getting dedicated fiber so that’s neat. I’m not attached to Ohio so the ultimate goal living location wise is probably moving to a country that won’t send you into a lifetime of dealing with the repercussions from one medical emergency.
(8)
Deal Breakers:
Might as well make this simple and make it a list.
- Anti-vaxxers
- Unironically believing astrology
- Right wingers
- Hard drugs (occasional 420 and alcohol is fine, may even join you)
- Wanting children, there was a time when I was younger when I wanted children but with the state of the word that’s a definite no and I feel like I wouldn’t be able to handle the stress. I’d love a stress free life with as much time with you as possible.
- Homophobic
- Transphobic
- Racist
- Super Religious
- Don’t be a bigot and don’t deny facts.
(9)
Closing Remarks:
Well you made it, I was thinking that finding someone I’d be willing to put a lifetime of effort into at least required this much effort. If I think of anything more I’ll update the post. Also about timezones, it really doesn’t matter where in the world you are. I don’t have a sleep schedule and I have most of the week off from work so it really doesn’t matter.
I request that in your response you do put effort into it, it doesn’t have to be anywhere near as long as this but at least enough so I know that you read this and enough about you so I know why you saw potential compatibility. I will seriously read all of it and respond the best I can. I do also request a pic included in your response (sfw please) or one soon after we start talking to prove identity, I’ll send identity proving pics too. As long as this post is up, you can send a reply!

Lydia gives off a soft groan as she turns, no longer asleep but wishing that she was. There were no duties today, she thought to herself, so why wake up early? rubbing her face on the pillow she smiles, enjoying the comforting warmth of Caldera. It is not long ago that she started sleeping in the dungeon, but she cannot think herself stopping anymore, being outside now feeling cold and empty compared to the feeling she gives her. Lydia stretches, knowing she cannot lie in bed and enjoy the feeling forever, even if she'd like to, and opens her eyes, ready to great Caldera a good morning
​
for a mass of eyes and meat to greet her instead
​
jumping up immediately, Lydia's instincts took over and delivered a knee kick to the mass, for her leg to simply sink into the malleable mass, the strike not yielding any results except stopping the eyes from looking at her. shaking, she looked around the room just to find it an amalgam of flesh, sinew and bone, somewhat resembling the shape of the room she fell asleep in, her bed itself being a tumour whose warmth she confused for that of her partner. dashing towards the exit, her Ki enhanced jumps leaving plopping and squelching sounds in her wake, she found herself outside, her short lived hope that the aforementioned room was an exception shattered as she looked upon Caldera's territory.
​
The whole area was covered by unnatural growths, stalks consisting of multiple sinewy bones with a bulb of opaque liquid as well as meaty tendrils writhing towards the sky making up most of the "flora", if it can be called as such, every one of them different than the last, the lake that was once filled with frogs and lunar lilies now a putrid pond of gastric juices with a mix of brown, red and green, an occasional bony star floating above it, like a solidified explosion. She turned around, her horror only growing as she saw where she just came out of.
​
A tree of meat stood tall, the eyes that replaced it's leaves gazing at it's surroundings lazily, bright red spores dispersing from it's bursting pustules, the sickening miasma spreading throughout the air, covering the sky in a red mist. the light of the pulsating red stars in the night sky left just enough light for Lydia's enhanced eye sight to make out the veins that covered the tree, all running toward it's center, her improved ears picking up the pulsating that permeated throughout the tree, the ground, and the world as a whole; the stars themselves beating in unison with the expansion and contraction of the veins, the pustules syncing their release with each beat.
​
whatever this substance is, it is in the Air, and though she cannot feel any direct effects on her body, she does not want to find out what will happen to her if she gets more of these spores inside of her so she slows her breathing, her ki flow slowing down as well, in an attempt to buy time from whatever was happening potentially happening to her too.
​
Lydia slowly starts to walk around in search of anything familiar, something or someone to ask what was going on, how to change her partner back - if she even was still in Caldera's dungeon, that is. but how could it not be? it is all in the same forms and places, though twisted beyond anything but recognizing the most basic semblances. What if this is how it would remain? what if that is what Caldera became? What if she was dead or subsumed? or even worse, what if this is what she became, unrecognizable and without a way to return?
​
Lydia wipes the tears off her face, her professionalism focusing her on the task at hand: to find anything with a semblance of reason. continuing the walk that her train of thought stopped, she walked along the Lake of fluids, the smell of digestive acid, sweet rot and decaying blood making her want to throw up, each breath as shallow as can be. walking along it, she notices the two forms in the middle above the lake, the former twin scions swimming in the air
​
one of them was covered in diseased scales, the green infection that permeated their whole body leaving them a bloated whiteish green carcass that yet moved, the infectious substance decaying with proximity to the other form, which had it's flesh melt and fall of in chunks and drip off in a brownish-black liquid, yet always regrowing just as fast as it fell off, the two continuing their existence in an unholy balance of growth and decay.
​
reaching the spa that now had burning blood as it's water, with hearts beating in the aforementioned synced pulse to pump the liquid corruption, she found the corpses in it, still in a form as if they were just conversing in a casual talk, with some showing signs of panicked exits. there were no expressions on any of them, their eyes and mouths covered in scar tissue as if someone gouged and cut them out just to leave them regrow. unable to hold it in, Lydia vomits on the ground, the nightmare only worsening - whatever this was, it was not just a twisted version of Caldera, but it also was murderous - or had a sick sense of humor replicating that scenario.
​
"This isn't funny, Caldera!" Lydia shouted shortly after emptying whatever her stomach had. "If this is another one of your weird horror attractions, then you really went to far with this one!! please, just stop, if you can hear me...". yet her only answer was the continuous pulsating of the place, uncaring about the tears streaming on her face or the sobs from within her chest. so she cried for some time, before breaking up to continue her search.
​
just as she walked out, she saw Jackie, staring at the dungeon entrance. with renewed hope, Lydia sprinted towards the Jackalope, the tears that flew now being those of relief, as she called out to her. right before she reached her though, one of her legs sunk into the fleshy ground, and any attempt at pulling it out failed. "Jackie! help me, please! what is going on with this place? " there was no answer, the hope slowly turning into doubt and suspicion, as the jackalope which was staring at the ground slowly raised it's head, the front still not visible.
​
"We...we have to save Caldera! you see the flesh too. don't you have any Idea how to free her from it? why are you not doing anything?"
​
The Jackalope simply turned to face her, And Lydia's blood froze. staring at her was a skull only half covered with flesh, some of it melting and some spreading out from the eye sockets, as a gurgling, deep voice came from within it. "Why...Would I Want To Return To What I Was Before..?", no comprehensible sounds being heard yet the meaning still blasting through her mind. She tried to run away, panic holding her mind prisoner, but she just sank deeper into the molasse made out of fat and muscles, restricting her movement further and further as the jackalope started slowly approaching, each step consisting of tendrils forming between her and the ground, pushing and pulling her where necessary to allow the unnatural movement.
​
"NO! DON'T COME CLOSER! GET AWAY!! GET AWAY!!!!" the screams doing nothing to stop Jackie's approach, she now stood above the body of Lydia, the lower part of it being swallowed by the ground. reaching out, the fur peeling back to let her uncovered flesh hold Lydia's face gently, the touch burning marks into her cheek, she spoke It Is All Right. There Is No Need To Be Afraid. You Will Join Us Too, And We Will Be One" Lydia simply screamed and trashed around, as the paws started melting together with her face, Jackie standing above her with her melting flesh flowing upon Lydia, Threatening to drown and burn her at the same time as Lydia's world spun, the eyes, The very stars pointing their looks at her and piercing her with their glares, a chorus of "Join Us" and "We Will Be One" filling her ears and heart, her whole body aflame, Her spirit feeling like it was being pulled from her body as "Lydia!" joined the chorus, repeating and repeating, "Lydia!" "Lydia!" "Lydia!!"
​
"LYDIA!!"
​
I Scream, my lungs feeling hoarse as if that is all I was doing, My body aching all over as I jump towards the corner with a battle ready stance. green, white, light brown, colors in my blurry vision as the only Instinct is just survival, fight against the enemy. the enemy. what enemy? I shake my head to clear my vision, My Brain in too much turmoil to focus my Ki willingly, and see a fearful and the dungeon core, the one meter diameter Emerald giving off a green light in pulses, it's focus entirely on me as her panic bleeds through, though said panic is about me and nobody else. An Involuntary Whimper comes out of my mouth as my body tries to speak yet my brain is frozen in shock as my legs give out and I collapse on the floor of the hollowed out tree trunk, feeling the hot tears flowing on my face as I bawled, the terrible feeling still inside my chest.
​
In my peripheral vision, I see the beast moving towards me, wrapping it's paws around me - and immediately having my knee land in it's face as I push the monster away. no, nonononono, not again, you will not do that to me! the panicked thoughts stop as my mind seems to catch up with reality, as I see the somewhat malformed snout of Jackie covered in blood from my strike, a mix of surprise, shock, worry and hurt together on her face. I just hurt her. she probably was trying to comfort me, and I just retaliated by trying to kill her. oh shield, what am I doing? what happened to me? The sickness in my stomach now makes itself even more noticeable and I find myself sitting on the floor, still in the corner, bawling my eyes out as my body tries and fails to say something, only making some unrecognizable noises like those of a dying animal. I see Jackie standing up, approaching me carefully, as if still trying to comfort me, but feel myself tensing up and trying to back away even further, an unnatural panic holding me prisoner in a way that even my training cannot keep up with. seeing this, she stops, a wounded yet mostly worried expression still on their face, their mouth moving yet no understandable sound being processed by my head, as if hearing itself was dangerous to my very being.
​
this went on, as I sat in the corner and continued to cry as my body produced sweat without end, the lingering sensation of being burnt alive enough to cause it to go into disarray, my coarse, dry throat signalling me that it was strained before hand and is strained even more now as I waited, unable to do anything else against the panic except let it wash over me, a loss of control I hated but had no choice in, as any attempt at saying something or moving towards them was met with incomprehensible noises or another wave of panic as my tense, shaking body refused to move, instincts triumphing over logic as emotions, which I thought I had in check, overpowered me instead. their gazes remained on me, not being distracted by anything else for a second, worry, sadness and anxiety remaining throughout the whole time.
​
at last, I eventually was able to get up, moving towards the core and Jackie slowly as my body burned through most of the energy it could have used to holding me in the state of panic, and I fell into the arms of the mostly healed Jackalope, her magic having mostly patched up the wound I inflicted upon her, her paws immediately wrapping around and holding me. I was still shaking, though now just as much due to exhaustion, and simply let Jackie comfort me in silence. That was a terrible nightmare, and I was quietly wondering how it even came to be, considering that I never saw something like that before nor read about such a thing, neither as an account of reality nor even fiction. and why did it feel so real - why why do I still feel as if it actually happened, as if my body is about to melt? and...could it ever become true?
​
Would Caldera ever do something like this? _Could_ she ever do something like this? I want to answer yes, but something tells me that what I was was the result of a life affinity too, though I do not understand, actually, how a life affinity, something associated with plants and balanced eco systems could turn into flesh, since flesh does not even fall into the domain of life. I look upon Caldera's core, which is glowing with a reassuring green light, as if she never could do serious harm upon anyone who did not deserve it through their own actions.
​
yet while my head told me it could physically not be, my emotions still harboured fear, the affinity acquisition by her scions already being a development not speaking favourably for the impossibility for such a happening.
​
As I thought this, I felt myself drifting away, becoming more tired by the second. I guess being in such an emotional state leaves you exhausted, no matter how much endurance you have... I should...probably ask her... if the dream.....has any........meaning.........
​
***
​
deep inside the trunk, Alexa and Giorno were discussing the details of the latest development. "We cannot bring her into the network again" stated Giorno, Alexa nodding in affirmation. "She got knowledge and information that she should not be able to after being connected through us. We cannot take what she has seen, and it is likely that she only saw it subconsciously, but we cannot reveal anything more to her, especially considering the importance she has for the Don". thinking for a moment, he added "and the Don herself cannot know about it either, if possible. it's best if she continues her life as is, without having this to occupy her mind" "that is what we are here for" agreed Alexa, sharing the order to keep quiet to everybody except the core and Jackie, the voice being too connected to Caldera to hide information that the Jackalope herself has from her master.

Just assume that what I just said is true. You always thought I was a cheating whore so that's what I told you in the songs I put out. I thought the way to get you to let me go was to say that every word of truth I had previously spoken, was a lie. I thought that would finally get you to take down the playlist. But it's still up. It'll be easier if you just hate me so that I can move on. You don't have to hide the fact that you love her. If you're openly speaking to her in letters now, there's no need to cover your tracks. I guess I wanted to see if I “admitted” to cheating, what would come out and I guess I found my answer. I understand that I was the one standing in between "fate". I get it. I was the mistake, the distraction, and the placeholder until she could return. You're free to think of me that way and you're free to want them to be the one to return. If you think I'm the one standing in the way, why don't you give me the closure to have me exit and leave you to two to face each other? I think you're waiting for them to officially return before you end me. You want to hold me on the line so that I see you two back together happy. Maybe this is all just to drag out my pain. That's my guess.
Just please take down our playlist. Can you do me this one favor? I have been trying to get mutual closure for I don't know how long and I have gone down every avenue I could think of now including saying I had another man and that I've been living a life of debauchery. Basically feeding into the kind of person you believed me to be when I came back. I think I know why you think that, but I'd rather be misunderstood now. I don't care anymore. Take it as the truth instead and continue your story without me. Just have the decency to bring this to full closure with me. I am trying to move forward but I just can’t knowing our things still stand. I am asking you to take it down. If you plan on waiting for them or you always were waiting for them you will eventually have to take it down. So you might as well do it sooner than later. Things have already devolved into something unrecognizable. Let’s both agree to lock this door so that it doesn’t get any worse. I don’t want to feel like I have to grow hatred for you to gain distance from what was always going to be heartbreak for me. I don’t want to remember us this way. I want to keep at least one good memory.

So have an all white interior on a house I just brought. It won't be staying that way, eventually I will decorate.
In the meantime just to get in I am going over the white with white just to freshen up and be livable.
But I accidently brought contract paint rather than emmulsion.
I've only just realised while painting a room and it not covering quite like I expected and being a chalky.
Can't really take the paint back now. So will I be able to just decorate over the top as per normal with emulsion when I decide on the final colour or do I have to do something different as contract paint has been used?

Feeling Xenophobic lately... time for a story!
(First Fanfic on the sub! Feedback appreciated.
Memory Transcription Subject: Harold K. Clarkson, UN mobile headquarters comms officer
Date: [Standard human time] October 17, 2136
It wasn’t enough… for days our forces hounded away at this nightmare trying to stop it from reaching us… in and out of warp constantly, needing to stop at checkpoints where we blasted all the ships we could. But despite all our best efforts nothing we did was enough… and now? We have genocide approaching our doorstep.
There are so many of them, and they’re closing in fast with the intent to kill people that have done nothing but want to help them… they claim that this is all “Inatala’s will”, a “Righteous act against the predator menace”. I can’t believe this is happening, I can’t understand how the universe decided to simply go about and give us this fucking filth…
I didn’t like the response I saw at Noah’s Summit of Aafa. There were too many species.
Not the fact that there was 300…
Sorry… 299...
Species that saw humanity as so much of a blight… that 24 of the entire collection of species are going to slaughter us, for all their “empathy”, are going to attack us intending to bring us to ashes…
Oh God, please be with us… They’re closing in, but all our guns are trained on them they’re gearing up their plasma lances to attack us, but they’re not too high in terms of numbers, we might stand a fair chance against them, it’s not like we’re alone… The Venlil, or at least their government, have sent us support in aiding in our defense… they were fearful folk, but they had the potential to really help us kick those bird-brain’s beaks straight into the-...
… No…
This isn’t happening…
This comms chatter is absolute chaos right now, Ladar detection systems are showing that 67% of the Venlil’s forces are breaking away from formation… Reading the chatter I see messages like, “I’m not fighting the Krakotl for a predator’s life”, “This isn’t worth it”, "We're meant to defend the republic! Not the predator savages!”
…
The exterminator’s fleet has us within their firing range, and unleash their plasma Lances full force into our formation, the blasts are visible from our viewport, and we return to sender all we can… but with the Venlil’s forces gone, we are far more outgunned than was acceptable… We launched everything we had in the magazines, we fired our railguns as fast as we physically could, but no matter how much we tried, bombs were beginning to run through our defenders.
We couldn’t do anything about it, we were outnumbered 2-1…
Well, looking at the comms chatter we were actually outgunned even more… the 33% that didn’t flee with the other Venlil Forces were practically flailing about, I could hear them screaming in fear through the comms chatter. They barely resemble anything coherent enough for the translator to properly… translate.
This is so much worse… so much worse than anything I could ever conceive… The terminal was beginning to flood with information regarding where bombs were dropping on our capitals, our major cities, our bunkers… they targeted the largest populations with each bomb. They were determined to see us extinct, rather than the actual predators responsible for all of their problems. They thought it was oh so genius to rally behind the flag of their WORTHLESS GODDESS and see us fall despite us not doing ANYTHING TO THEM!
So many bombs… so many cities… Our surface to air defense isn’t enough to stop all the bombs dropping! Soon enough there won’t be any surface to air defenses! Why us?! WHAT DID WE DO TO DESERVE THIS?! I can’t take this!
This shouldn’t have happened when the Odyssey’s grand journey took place! Extraterrestrial life shouldn’t be this moronic! This is illogical! To think all predators were evil when they only met one? ONE? And to use them as an example? The worst of the worst… comparing us to those baby-eating-Nazi-Gators?!
I can’t help but cry, others join me as we watch as all our achievements, all our culture, our history, is being wiped before our very eyes…
…
…
Why is it like this?
WHY LIKE THIS!
This whole situation could have gone so much better! I’m not even talking about how our first contact could have been actually competent ETs! If those Venlil weren’t such cowardly brainwashed fucks! If they weren’t such racist fools! If they weren’t so… so…
Herd-like…
…
…
…
I hope all this filth burns in a hell of our own making… that is what they all deserve…
Burn! BURN!!!
BUUUURRR-
Error: Memory transcription Failure… Emotional imbalance disruption…
Likely emotion for failure: Wrath
(It's shorter than I expected for a first Chapter... Sorry, I'm still trying to figure out my Rhythm...)

Hi Everyone,
I'm seeking some advice, as a new sink pisser and ecological warrior.
Let me start from the beginning. To understand my journey you will need to understand the origins of my sink pissing obsession.
I was born in the dark, cold hinterland of northern Scandanavia - a fishing village. I won't give you the name for fear of my anonymity being compromised. During the lighter months, fishing boats with tough, hardy men used to come and go at our small harbour, and the fishermen would unload their hauls of salmon; and then unload their piss into the sinks in the local taverns.
The locals called them savages. When I was a boy - old enough to be influenced by what I saw - I went into the toilet at my local public house, and there I saw a great big man, with a huge, hairy back and, leathery skin... He was standing on his tiptoes, completely naked, groaning with pleasure as he pissed heartily into the sink, the golden nectar from his member letting off a gentle steam that wafted delicately through the air, juxtaposed with the harshness of his body.
"SEVEN LITRES" he groaned, as he finished up, and started putting his clothes back on, stuffing his newly-relieved dong back into his overalls. I didn't know what he meant, but I didn't have time to ask, as he shuffled past me and back to the bar, spitting blood on the floor as he went.
I ran home right away.... "Mama, Papa!" I shouted, "Brothers, Sisters..." I gathered everyone in the toilet, eager to show them my new trick. I took off all my clothes, grabbed my boyish penis, white and untouched like the rest of my body, and began to piss in the sink. "Edgar, what are you doing?!" shouted Papa. He slapped me around the cheek and I was sent to my room for a week, only to eat bread and water. My family told me I was shameful, and that I must never do this again.
Years passed, and I left home. I studied to become a plumbing engineer. I left home and went to work for bathroom company in the USA. I invented new toilets, sinks... showers, with more efficient effects. I got married, and had two children.
I was obsessed with pissing in the sink, but I could never bring myself to do it. Even in my own home. The shame was too much. My father shared my shame. On my wedding day, he couldn't look me in the eye.
My wife thought I loved her, but how could I love another when deep down I felt this overbearing shame? I looked at my kids. "Do you love us, Papa?" They asked. I looked away in disgust.
Therapy was no help.
"Why don't you just... piss in the sink?" One of these $200-an-hour-charlatans asked me." I spat in his face, threw my money on the ground, and walked out... "It's not that simple."
I didn't sleep, but when I did, I dreamt of the burly man in the fishing village, butt naked, pissing into the sink. So eco-friendly, such as good way to save space in the bathroom... but requiring such confidence and freedom. That I did not have. I broke every mirror in my house in a blind rage. I got drunk and sang sea shantys and hit my wife.
Then, one day I got a call. "Edgar, it's your father."
Heart attack. The funeral would be held two weeks later.
I gathered my family, who cowered in fear under my fists and alcoholic rage, and told them to pack their things. My children, whose names I could not often remember, were glad to be out of the house.
On the plane over, I drank ten beers and locked myself in one of the toilets. I heard a knock on the door after an hour or so. "Excuse me, are you okay in there." It was a woman's voice. I told her to go away. I was in floods of tears, looking at the sink, willing myself to piss. But I couldn't. I smashed the mirror with my forehead and heard more knocks. "Leave me alone, I yelled." Eventually a woman opened the door. I smacked her around the face with the plastic cup I was drinking from, causing a bruise. I was immediately apprehended by several passengers and the flight was diverted. I spent several days in an airport holding facility before finally being let out again.
Luckily, we were already back in the fatherland, so we could continue via train. My family cowered next to me as I drank an entire bottle of vodka on the six hour journey northward, listening to Genesis on my phone and spitting at any of the other passengers who tried to tell me to turn it down. "What have I become?" I said to myself, as Invisible Touch reached its crescendo on the tinny sound of my scratched iPhone 11.
We arrived at the funeral in poor spirits. I was becoming increasingly consumed with the idea of pissing in the sink, and my tragic inability to follow through. I spoke loudly to the other guests about my failing marriage and disappointing children, making sure they were in earshot. "Just look at her," I said, motioning to my wife, as I told my Uncle Olaf about our intimacy problems.
I continued to get drunk throughout the funeral, drinking heavily throughout the morning, into the main proceedings. I vomited heavily during the ceremony, dropping to all fours and spitting chunks all over the floor. "Don't look at me!" I bellowed at my mother. What an embarrassment.
I went to the toilet. I looked into the mirror and saw myself - a shadow of a man - looking back at me. But hang on a second, there was someone else there. A burly, hairy hand gripped my shoulder. It was the sailor, from all those years ago. But he looked like he hadn't aged a day. Still naked. Still strong and proud.
Without a word, he grabbed my penis from inside my vomit-soaked trousers. He pulled it out, and motioned towards the sink. "Now... you can," he said. I pissed... slowly at first, and then; the dam broke. I hadn't pissed all day. My vision was blurry, I was shaking uncontrollably and swaying too and fro because of the booze. But my sailor held me steady, guiding my excited member into the sink... The feeling of liberation was instant. I saw the ghosts of my forefathers standing by me. My father was there, he was nodding with pride. He looked my in the eye, his ghostly figure glancing between my eyes and my stream of piss.
My wife was there too, in all her natural beauty, and my children! And, I remembered their names. Little Kobe and Le Bron - my brood. And they were beautiful too, and I loved them. I felt the weight of years of failure and shame lift off me as the flow of my de-hydrated piss filled the sink, skimming the outside of the rim like a beyblade which has just been let rip, and then dancing towards the plughole with joy.
At the end, I was done. I collapsed in a heap. Soon after, my wife came to find me.
"Oh Edgar..." she saw immediately in my eyes that I was healed. She came to me and held me close on the floor, covered in piss and vomit. My penis had again flopped out of my trousers and immediately became erect at my wife's touch. "I am going to make you feel like a woman" I said, slurring through the alcoholic daze and elation, as the sailor watched over us both. I mounted her right there on the toilet floor, and my children gathered around, and all of my extended family, watching and cheering as we climaxed together. After we were done, I got up, spat on the floor, a mixture of vomit, blood and whiskey, and walked out of the bathroom, standing taller than ever, holding one arm in the air like a champion.
"Did you see him?" I asked my wife as we walked past the procession.
"Who? There was no one in there but you, Edgar"
I smiled... My guardian angel, I thought to myself.