For those that are interested in the gray area of online money making, I have decided to create a small tutorial on how to make some money with free movie streaming sites
Another reason for this post is that i've been seeing posts asking for ways that one can make money online with a limited budget and i thought that this would be a useful resource for such people.
I went ahead to create a landing page and a movie streaming leech site that essentially allows for free movie streaming. You can edit the CSS and HTML to add ads, content lockers, offer walls, donation pages etc as you see fit.
Since the site is hot linking to other websites with the content, I think no laws are being broken here.
A portfolio of free movie streaming niche sites that haven’t been up for a long time has been making $400 to $4000 a month. This can be more if marketing was more aggressive.
I have provided the complete source code for the movie sites on the links below if you want to try your hand at it.
If you are non technical and need a hand at hosting the site (node JS and MongoDB for the back-end, bootstrap for the UI ), you can always DM me and I can set it up for you.
So here we go:
There’s a certain user who is making an average of $500 a month with a few niche sites. He is monetizing it with a single popup over a 24 hour period meaning that the daily income could be much higher if he was more aggressive with ad serving. There’s also no mention of up-selling using email meaning that the income from the streaming sites would even go to $x,xxx per day if he exploited them to the max.
Here’s an attached screenshot of income from streaming sites HERE
why you should consider creating a few niche movie streaming sites

1. ppl like movies and they like free things. All it takes is a single tweet or mention to go viral
2. very little investment is needed. The scripts in the links below cost around $20 for a fully functional site
3. high likelihood of making money

why you maybe shouldn’t make movie streaming sites

1. You might have to deal with the legality of said sites in your country
2. hosting can be expensive if your site starts getting traction or if you decide to self host content
3. getting an affiliate network that works for your kind of traffic might be tricky, although not impossible.
4. There’s a lot of competition in the space meaning that you have to niche down e.g maybe make a site for a certain type of scifi movie

What you need to build the site

1. a domain – from what I’ve seen, you should choose from one of the following TLDs: .com, .site, .to, .today, .ru, .it, .pw, .ac, .ws . It seems that these are harder to be taken down than others but you are free to experiment with others
2. a hosting provider: you should use an offshore bulletproof hosting provider just to be safe.
3. a website/ script: you can either code one yourself or buy a starter kit. If you want a kit, there’s one in the links section below
4. something to sell: this can be anything e.g en eBook, an online course, an affiliate product etc. I personally have sold a lot of self published KDP ebooks. Also I have found some success with the CPAgrip affiliate network. What I did is change the script around and put some movies behind an offer wall.
5. A themoviedb.org API key: This free API key is gotten on the API section of the aforementioned site. The streaming site provider uses this free API to list movie details. You can set up a free account here

A word about the provided starter kit
The starter kit in the links below is a fully functional movie streaming website and landing page combo.
The landing page is made with normal CSS and HTML so uploading it to a static hosting provider should be straightforward.
The actual streaming site is a NodeJS, ExpressJS app hooked up to a MongoDB database. The site is hot linking to a third party hosting site for simplicity and also to solve the legal dilemma of hosting such content.
The MongoDB database code is ready to do but the code that connects to it is commented out because you need a unique connection string to connect to it. The site can still work without the db connection since it’s being used to collect emails and user data. You can always DM me to set up a custom db for you if you so need to.
I hosted the landing page and the steaming site on Vercel and Render respectively and it was fairly easy to do. There are many YouTube videos that explain in better detail how to do this.
As always, if you have any questions on how to host the sites, you can always DM me for clarifications.
The following are the live versions of the starter kit templates being offered:
landing page – here
streaming site - here
The easiest way is to use a CI solution with GitHub to the hosting platform. This set up process varies from platform to platform and there’s no need to go into the details in this non technical tutorial
getting traffic
I used the 3 major things to get traffic. They include:

1. SEO
2. influencer marketing on TikTok
3. YouTuber traffic

SEO
The only SEO I did was in the web pages. I made sure I used proper words in the websites without coming off as spammy. There was no off-page SEO because I was opting to go with word of mouth as the main traffic source.
YouTube Traffic
I used a website called channel crawler (just google it). It has a free tier that gives a list of YouTube channels based on, among other things, niche and YouTube subscriber count.
I figured that I should go for smaller YouTubers since the larger ones tend to already have monetized their channels with all sorts of things (membership sites, affiliate links etc). I decided to go for niche channels with under 50k subs that didn't have much of a monetization strategy.
After getting a list of YouTubers, the email extraction was repetitive and time consuming. I'd go to the channel, go to the about page and reveal the email. After doing this a number of times, YT would ask me to solve a capta. I wanted to write a bot to automate this but I decided to first do it manually to see if the idea would pan out.
Now, I noticed that YT only allows you to get about 10 emails every 24 hours. How I went around this was by creating another channel. A new channel on the same account meant a new profile that I could extract around 10 more emails. YT allows around around 50 (or is it 75) channels for a single account. So that means one can extract >500 emails per day with one email account (very tedious by hand, a python script would have made this much easier)
I extracted around around 1200 emails with this method and put them in an excel sheet.
Next came the cold emailing.
I made sure that the email copy had the following characteristics:

1. short, about 100 to 200 words
2. got straight to the point (no fluff words like ‘how is your day’)
3. had a clear call to action. In this case, I wanted a video review and a link on the description

I should also add that I used gmail to send out the emails. I don't think the emails were going to spam because I wasn't send too many from one account. around 40 per email account.
TikTok traffic
I basically opened an account and started following and cold messaging small TikTok creators until some decided to review the extension.
While I got some leads here, most of the traffic has come from the previous 2 traffic sources.
resources needed:
Here are the links to the resources you’ll need if you want to try this method for yourself
required:
movie streaming site starter kit (paid, very little for a fully working site)– here
movie streaming site starter kit (free but content locked) - here
movie list API key (free) - here
optional
MongoDB connection string (free) - here

https://socialistchina.org/2022/07/15/hong-kong-the-truth-is-out/
On his first visit back to Hong Kong since 2019, long-term East Asian resident, and Friends of Socialist China Advisory Group member, Kenny Coyle writes that he found a city becalmed. “Rarely”, he observes, “has Western mainstream propaganda so successfully shrouded the truth about a city and society as open as Hong Kong.”
Kenny clarifies the meaning behind China’s insistence that Hong Kong was never a British colony, but rather a Chinese territory under illegal British occupation. His article, which also features an interview with Nixie Lam, a Legislative Council member from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), the territory’s largest and most influential patriotic political party, is full of useful information. It was originally published in the Morning Star and we are pleased to reprint it here.
Hong Kong marked the 25th anniversary of its return to Chinese sovereignty with Chinese president Xi Jinping appearing in the city to witness the inauguration of the Chinese territory’s new leadership headed by John Lee.
The largely indoor ceremony had been forecast to take place amid a mild tropical typhoon, but for the past three years Hong Kong has been battered by quite different kinds of storms.
Xi’s visit takes place after an unprecedented period of turmoil. The first stage beginning in 2019 was characterised by a wave of initially peaceful mass protests against extradition legislation, which rapidly spiralled into violent anti-China protests.
The second stage by the ongoing battle to control the Covid pandemic in the city.
In my first visit since 2019, Hong Kong certainly seems becalmed. The city’s MTR rail network is back to pristine perfection. The political arson that saw 138 of the city’s 161 stations vandalised (including the deliberate destruction of lifts for the disabled and essential safety equipment) during the 2019 protests has long been cleaned up.
Temperature and Covid checks are carried out routinely at restaurant and shopping areas, with minimal inconvenience, although the city continues to enforce a seven-day quarantine on incoming passengers from overseas.
The image in Western media of a city writhing under a police state is belied by the reality on the ground.
Bars and restaurants are busy, as any five-minute evening walk around my Tsim Sha Tsui neighbourhood in Kowloon shows, supermarket shelves are full and whatever the talking heads of the local CNN or BBC bureaus would have you believe about “threats to freedom” on screen, they still somehow manage to prop up the main bar in the Foreign Correspondents Club each evening after their shifts.
Rarely has Western mainstream propaganda so successfully shrouded the truth about a city and society as open as Hong Kong’s.
The 2019 peaceful protests degenerated into the ugliest side of the anti-China movement, with black-shirted groups attacking anything and anyone that failed to kow-tow to their agenda.
Trade union offices, political parties and even those whose only crime was speaking the standard putonghua (Mandarin) version of Chinese in public were targeted for mob attacks.
Living in the neighbouring Special Administrative Region of Macao during this time, I not only witnessed the extremist antics at first hand on visits to Hong Kong (for example during their brief blockade of the city’s immigration department) but could watch shocking broadcasts of the petrol-bombers and barricade builders live-streamed on Hong Kong TV channels.
Just as shocking was the absence of these easily available images on BBC or CNN broadcasts.
A more recent manufactured furore in the British media has been over Hong Kong textbooks being “rewritten” in relation to British rule in Hong Kong prior to China reassuming sovereignty in 1997.
The assumption, of course, is that Chinese history can only be accurately understood through a Western lens.
As if to illustrate the enormous diversity of the British press, the following headlines appeared on the issue: “China rewrites history of Hong Kong with textbooks that deny British rule” (Telegraph, June 14); “China rewrites Hong Kong textbooks to deny Britain ever ruled the city” (Independent, June 15); and slightly more accurately — “China rewrites textbooks to insist Hong Kong was never a colony” (Times, June 15); “New Hong Kong textbooks ‘will claim city never was a British colony’” (Guardian, June 15).
The average reader would be forgiven for viewing this another ridiculous example of CPC censorship, an Orwellian erasure of the well-known history of British administration in Hong Kong.
However, the proposed texts from the Hong Kong education department merely restate the longstanding positions of not only the People’s Republic of China (and that of the previous Republic of China, it should be said) but also that of the United Nations.
In 1972, one year after the PRC took China’s seat at the UN, the PRC successfully removed Hong Kong and Macao (then under Portuguese fascist administration) from the list of colonised territories.
Hong Kong was not to be considered a British colony, it was a Chinese territory under illegal British occupation, an extremely important distinction in China’s eyes.
People’s China never established a diplomatic or consular presence in British-ruled Hong Kong, believing that this would legitimise British rule.
Instead, the office of the New China News Agency (better known today as Xinhua) was the de facto centre of contacts between the British authorities and the PRC government within the territory.
The issue of Hong Kong’s pre-1997 status has become more urgent recently, after the British government and media falsely claimed that the Sino-British Declaration of 1984, signed by the Thatcher government and China, somehow gave Britain some special rights to intervene in Hong Kong affairs after 1997.
The text of the declaration clearly states the opposite: 1997 marked the return of undivided Chinese sovereignty over Hong Kong.
Subsequent developments, including the much-belated extension of national security legislation in 2020 are entirely consistent with the principle of “One Country, Two Systems” first outlined by Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s and are in any case covered by provisions in an annex to the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution.
But if Western eyes are on the past, China is looking forward. Plans are in place to create a Greater Bay Area, encompassing the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao and nine major cities in Guangdong province.
The aim is to use the synergy of these southern Chinese cities to create a dynamic economic hub of around 70 million people that will eventually dwarf most national and regional economies.
Many people in Hong Kong believe the city’s future lies in closer co-operation not in conflict with the rest of China.
Nixie Lam, a member of Hong Kong’s legislative council (Legco) and a representative of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB), the largest and most influential party within the patriotic camp, holds to this perspective.
She believes the new administration led by Hong Kong chief executive John Lee has the opportunity to put the territory back on the right track.
Lee, who takes office on July 1, has already outlined a platform that the future government will set clear targets and key performance indicators (KPIs) for selected tasks within the first 100 days of his new administration.
Some of this is designed to streamline government functioning, but he has also pledged to accelerate land and housing development, shorten the waiting time for public housing and address the city’s vast wealth gap.
“Hong Kong has wasted a lot of time and opportunities over the past few years. I see very high expectations among Hong Kong citizens. We have missed out on a lot. Where are we going to develop and to excel is the key, but time is very limited,” stresses Lam, a former grassroots district councillor.
“Perhaps that’s why Lee came up with his 100 days KPI promise, to show he would make visible changes in different aspects of policies and strategies.
“The new administration is formed by various well seasoned politicians, administrators, together with some industry leaders. It shows the new administration wants to restart Hong Kong and work together as a team.
“I’ve joined working groups scrutinising the new government structure. If you look closely, it’s easy to see that they really want to tackle some of the unresolved issues we face by bringing outside experts into the administration.”
Lam, herself a graduate of the University of Queensland in Australia, is nonetheless tired of Western countries continually lecturing Hong Kong.
“It’s boring to hear that democracy or One Country, Two Systems is dead. For those who live in Hong Kong, we know clearly who killed our democracy in 2019.
“Rioters and mobs were everywhere destroying public facilities, paralysing railway systems and so on but they were called ‘Freedom Fighters’ by Western countries. These double standards are not new in Hong Kong,” she insists.
“Hong Kong citizens know what’s best for our city. It is not begging overseas countries to sanction our city, it is not calling for American troops to take over our city, and it is definitely not the violent ‘democracy’ that they embraced.
“The city has been stablised. Ordinary citizens do not need to worry about being targeted by extremists any more. Discussions are no longer highly polarised but focus more on which strategy is best for the city.
“I guess that some people in Western countries do not want to see that our life is getting back to normal. People in Hong Kong are more focused on our Covid strategy and want to find more targeted solutions, finding a way that will balance reopening the city with ensuring people’s lives and health are protected,” she says.
Despite the challenges, Lam is clear about the way forward: “It is for us, Hong Kong citizens to work jointly toward rebuilding our city.”

https://socialistchina.org/2022/07/15/hong-kong-the-truth-is-out/
On his first visit back to Hong Kong since 2019, long-term East Asian resident, and Friends of Socialist China Advisory Group member, Kenny Coyle writes that he found a city becalmed. “Rarely”, he observes, “has Western mainstream propaganda so successfully shrouded the truth about a city and society as open as Hong Kong.”
Kenny clarifies the meaning behind China’s insistence that Hong Kong was never a British colony, but rather a Chinese territory under illegal British occupation. His article, which also features an interview with Nixie Lam, a Legislative Council member from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), the territory’s largest and most influential patriotic political party, is full of useful information. It was originally published in the Morning Star and we are pleased to reprint it here.
Hong Kong marked the 25th anniversary of its return to Chinese sovereignty with Chinese president Xi Jinping appearing in the city to witness the inauguration of the Chinese territory’s new leadership headed by John Lee.
The largely indoor ceremony had been forecast to take place amid a mild tropical typhoon, but for the past three years Hong Kong has been battered by quite different kinds of storms.
Xi’s visit takes place after an unprecedented period of turmoil. The first stage beginning in 2019 was characterised by a wave of initially peaceful mass protests against extradition legislation, which rapidly spiralled into violent anti-China protests.
The second stage by the ongoing battle to control the Covid pandemic in the city.
In my first visit since 2019, Hong Kong certainly seems becalmed. The city’s MTR rail network is back to pristine perfection. The political arson that saw 138 of the city’s 161 stations vandalised (including the deliberate destruction of lifts for the disabled and essential safety equipment) during the 2019 protests has long been cleaned up.
Temperature and Covid checks are carried out routinely at restaurant and shopping areas, with minimal inconvenience, although the city continues to enforce a seven-day quarantine on incoming passengers from overseas.
The image in Western media of a city writhing under a police state is belied by the reality on the ground.
Bars and restaurants are busy, as any five-minute evening walk around my Tsim Sha Tsui neighbourhood in Kowloon shows, supermarket shelves are full and whatever the talking heads of the local CNN or BBC bureaus would have you believe about “threats to freedom” on screen, they still somehow manage to prop up the main bar in the Foreign Correspondents Club each evening after their shifts.
Rarely has Western mainstream propaganda so successfully shrouded the truth about a city and society as open as Hong Kong’s.
The 2019 peaceful protests degenerated into the ugliest side of the anti-China movement, with black-shirted groups attacking anything and anyone that failed to kow-tow to their agenda.
Trade union offices, political parties and even those whose only crime was speaking the standard putonghua (Mandarin) version of Chinese in public were targeted for mob attacks.
Living in the neighbouring Special Administrative Region of Macao during this time, I not only witnessed the extremist antics at first hand on visits to Hong Kong (for example during their brief blockade of the city’s immigration department) but could watch shocking broadcasts of the petrol-bombers and barricade builders live-streamed on Hong Kong TV channels.
Just as shocking was the absence of these easily available images on BBC or CNN broadcasts.
A more recent manufactured furore in the British media has been over Hong Kong textbooks being “rewritten” in relation to British rule in Hong Kong prior to China reassuming sovereignty in 1997.
The assumption, of course, is that Chinese history can only be accurately understood through a Western lens.
As if to illustrate the enormous diversity of the British press, the following headlines appeared on the issue: “China rewrites history of Hong Kong with textbooks that deny British rule” (Telegraph, June 14); “China rewrites Hong Kong textbooks to deny Britain ever ruled the city” (Independent, June 15); and slightly more accurately — “China rewrites textbooks to insist Hong Kong was never a colony” (Times, June 15); “New Hong Kong textbooks ‘will claim city never was a British colony’” (Guardian, June 15).
The average reader would be forgiven for viewing this another ridiculous example of CPC censorship, an Orwellian erasure of the well-known history of British administration in Hong Kong.
However, the proposed texts from the Hong Kong education department merely restate the longstanding positions of not only the People’s Republic of China (and that of the previous Republic of China, it should be said) but also that of the United Nations.
In 1972, one year after the PRC took China’s seat at the UN, the PRC successfully removed Hong Kong and Macao (then under Portuguese fascist administration) from the list of colonised territories.
Hong Kong was not to be considered a British colony, it was a Chinese territory under illegal British occupation, an extremely important distinction in China’s eyes.
People’s China never established a diplomatic or consular presence in British-ruled Hong Kong, believing that this would legitimise British rule.
Instead, the office of the New China News Agency (better known today as Xinhua) was the de facto centre of contacts between the British authorities and the PRC government within the territory.
The issue of Hong Kong’s pre-1997 status has become more urgent recently, after the British government and media falsely claimed that the Sino-British Declaration of 1984, signed by the Thatcher government and China, somehow gave Britain some special rights to intervene in Hong Kong affairs after 1997.
The text of the declaration clearly states the opposite: 1997 marked the return of undivided Chinese sovereignty over Hong Kong.
Subsequent developments, including the much-belated extension of national security legislation in 2020 are entirely consistent with the principle of “One Country, Two Systems” first outlined by Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s and are in any case covered by provisions in an annex to the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution.
But if Western eyes are on the past, China is looking forward. Plans are in place to create a Greater Bay Area, encompassing the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao and nine major cities in Guangdong province.
The aim is to use the synergy of these southern Chinese cities to create a dynamic economic hub of around 70 million people that will eventually dwarf most national and regional economies.
Many people in Hong Kong believe the city’s future lies in closer co-operation not in conflict with the rest of China.
Nixie Lam, a member of Hong Kong’s legislative council (Legco) and a representative of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB), the largest and most influential party within the patriotic camp, holds to this perspective.
She believes the new administration led by Hong Kong chief executive John Lee has the opportunity to put the territory back on the right track.
Lee, who takes office on July 1, has already outlined a platform that the future government will set clear targets and key performance indicators (KPIs) for selected tasks within the first 100 days of his new administration.
Some of this is designed to streamline government functioning, but he has also pledged to accelerate land and housing development, shorten the waiting time for public housing and address the city’s vast wealth gap.
“Hong Kong has wasted a lot of time and opportunities over the past few years. I see very high expectations among Hong Kong citizens. We have missed out on a lot. Where are we going to develop and to excel is the key, but time is very limited,” stresses Lam, a former grassroots district councillor.
“Perhaps that’s why Lee came up with his 100 days KPI promise, to show he would make visible changes in different aspects of policies and strategies.
“The new administration is formed by various well seasoned politicians, administrators, together with some industry leaders. It shows the new administration wants to restart Hong Kong and work together as a team.
“I’ve joined working groups scrutinising the new government structure. If you look closely, it’s easy to see that they really want to tackle some of the unresolved issues we face by bringing outside experts into the administration.”
Lam, herself a graduate of the University of Queensland in Australia, is nonetheless tired of Western countries continually lecturing Hong Kong.
“It’s boring to hear that democracy or One Country, Two Systems is dead. For those who live in Hong Kong, we know clearly who killed our democracy in 2019.
“Rioters and mobs were everywhere destroying public facilities, paralysing railway systems and so on but they were called ‘Freedom Fighters’ by Western countries. These double standards are not new in Hong Kong,” she insists.
“Hong Kong citizens know what’s best for our city. It is not begging overseas countries to sanction our city, it is not calling for American troops to take over our city, and it is definitely not the violent ‘democracy’ that they embraced.
“The city has been stablised. Ordinary citizens do not need to worry about being targeted by extremists any more. Discussions are no longer highly polarised but focus more on which strategy is best for the city.
“I guess that some people in Western countries do not want to see that our life is getting back to normal. People in Hong Kong are more focused on our Covid strategy and want to find more targeted solutions, finding a way that will balance reopening the city with ensuring people’s lives and health are protected,” she says.
Despite the challenges, Lam is clear about the way forward: “It is for us, Hong Kong citizens to work jointly toward rebuilding our city.”

First/Prev
​
“Father?”
Mogan relaxed, wearing something like a small loincloth as he stretched out in something that was either a chair or a bed. After more than a week he still couldn't really tell which. He was leaning towards “bed” simply because he dozed off so often in it, but he thought that had more to do with his schedule than his age. At least, so he hoped.
“Father?”
At that, he was wearing more than most of the people here. Many walked around in clothing that seemed made mostly of strings. While it was an interesting view, he imagined it must be uncomfortable to walk in. Considering how warm it was, most of the San had picked up the local fashion quickly, although a lot of the tourists still considered them pretty conservatively dressed.
Last time he was on a beach like this it was with Hyeshi. Her clothing had been just about as minimal as his, and while he certainly didn't mind the view it had also been easier to see that she was showing with Ellisan.
Mogan had spent some time on the various types of watercraft, and even some of the small fliers, although he took it easy with those—not like Ellisan, certainly—but his schedule was too busy for most of that.
“Father!”
Mogan snapped out of his doze. “Sorry. What is it?”
“They've returned. The... ones... that were escorting the guests.” Even here, she was more careful about references to warriors or soldiers than most.
“Good. They're a day or two late, but I forgot sometimes how slow those guys travel.”
“And everything is fine. Nothing that really needs to be worried about.”
Mogan caught the hesitation around 'really,' heaved a sigh, and sat up.
“It can wait; you're wearing yourself out fixing everything here!”
“Did somebody do something stupid?”
Ellisan sighed. “Yes.”
“Is it something that will cause us trouble?”
She paused. “...Probably.”
“Then I can't just leave it.”
“Maybe, but you've got to delegate at least some of it. You didn't come home last night until almost morning. Breaking up the fight at the Seafront, dealing with the two idiots who got cheated in gambling at the Moonsrise, and then stopping that incident when some fool tried to start some bets on fighting.”
At least she didn't know about the two people he had to carry home because they were too drunk to move.
“Plus those two people you had to carry home because they were too drunk to move!”
Damn it.
“It's getting better.”
“It is.” Ellisan nodded. “They're not stupid, just not used to any of this. But you've done more than enough work. You should be out here enjoying yourself, not catching up on your sleep because you were cleaning up other people's messes all night.”
“Can't. There are two thousand people here, Ellisan, and they've all been through blood and fire the last few months. Most of them are drinking too much, but I don't know how to just cut them off. Tonight there'll be another fight at the Seafront—the owner doesn't care how many fights there are as long as he makes money selling drink. And there was almost a fight down at the walk, over the women offering... services... there. I'll need to be there part of the night. And—”
“And someone else will.”
“The chieftains are already busy.”
“Then tell someone else off,” she continued relentlessly. “Inton, that guy isn't stupid—let him handle the Seafront. And Burjit is the galaxy's premiere expert at dealing with men's stupidity; she can handle the walk just fine. Half of the time you know who the problem people will be, so find something to keep them busy instead of doing something stupid.”
Mogan sighed, defeated. “Alright. I'll delegate away all the hot spots for tonight. But for now, I have to see what this problem is.”
Ellisan shook her head, but lead him to the small gathering area under a few tents where the chieftains were relaxing. Mogan noted that they didn't look nearly as tired as he, which he found irritating. Burya nodded to him.
“I told you you didn't need to take care of every problem, Mogan. None of them tonight. For now... Have a seat. This should be interesting.”
Mogan wasn't sure he liked the way Burya said “interesting.” It sounded a bit like the way Ellisan had said “really.” But he sat, and someone handed him a drink that tasted something like fruit juice. Ellisan wasn't sent away. What her status was now, nobody knew, but she'd obviously saved enough lives to earn a spot in the circle. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence, and then Logog spoke.
“I presume everyone is familiar with my hunter Chadnov?”
“He's not the sharpest spear in the quiver,” Skalli nodded. “But he's certainly the biggest.”
Logog sighed. “That's the one. He was with the escorts. And over the next six days they traveled, everybody spent a lot of time talking. Sort of got to know each other, and...”
“And one of the soldiers is with child, isn't she?” Skalli snorted.
“We didn't know this was possible!”
Ellisan stared at Logog, raising an eyebrow. “You didn't know that humans and Sylfa could breed?” Her lower set of arms waved. “What in the Frozen Valley do you think these are: antlers?”
Logog snorted, trying not to laugh. “It wasn't a Sylfa, Ellisan.”
“There weren't many Shawing there, but they're good people in general.” Mogan nodded. “We should speak to her.”
“It... um... She, uh...” Logog was staring intently at the sand between his toes. “She's not a Shawing either.”
There was a horrified silence, that extended for two full minutes before it was broken by Ellisan's horrified giggle.
“Well....” Mogan paused. “Let's, uh, let's bring in the happy couple.”
“Her name is apparently Karshta,” Logog said, “one of the blade-walls. It seems the Sovereignty will pay them for having Meht children. They're generally considered stupid, so even though their Meht are smaller they're considered to sort of have the best of both worlds. I think we can all agree we don't want the Sovereign to find a Meht with that kind of power and our.... traits.... yes?”
Mogan chuckled. “Too bad Akin isn't here. He really wanted to do a wedding for someone. Still, if she wants to mix her strength with someone else's intelligence, she might have wanted to pick someone... different.”
“The situation is what it is, not what we'd rather it be.” Burya shrugged. Mogan swore he sounded more like an old man than any of the old men present. “But if she's up to it, a marriage would be a good way to solve the problem. She stays with us so the child doesn't end up in the Sovereignty's hands, we get her contributions, and Chadnov has a wife three times his height to keep him from getting a roving eye.”
The others voiced their agreement, and a runner was sent for the happy couple.
They were a nervous couple when they arrived, the man ahead of the Mantu. Chadnov was a huge man, easily the tallest and heaviest of the San. Mogan was of average height, and he didn't even come up to the man's shoulder. He probably weighed twice what Mogan did, for that matter, and he doubted any of it was fat. He had often amused the children—and the ladies—by lifting whatever seemed heavy: barrels, logs, stones, vehicles, prey, whatever couldn't run away. In hunts, he was often known to cast his spear straight through an animal so hard that it stuck into the ground or trees several yards behind it. Mogan wasn't completely sure who was the stronger of the pair. Or the smarter.
Karshta looked fairly petite for a Mantu, which meant that she was a little less than three times his height and probably weighed a little less than a bison. Her legs were bent, but he doubted they could straighten much more, at least not enough to stand any taller, and her feet were three-toed and longer than a spear, with claws that dug into the sand as she walked. A heavy tail trailed behind her, occasionally brushing the ground, and Mogan had no doubt that even without the armor they wore it could be a definite hindrance to any combatant behind her. Her hands were also three-fingered, like her feet. Mogan had thought of her as much like that strange and fearsome lizard he had fought back on New Klon, but those had tiny, useless arms, with sharp claws that were probably never used. Karshta's arms were so long that they almost reached the ground, and while the three fingers, one opposable, had claws, they were clipped and smoothed.
She had a longer neck than any human, or most animals he had seen, but not exactly snake-like, and her muzzle was more than a foot and a half long, big enough that she could probably grab a human by the waist and powerful enough that she could then touch her teeth together. Four eyes marked the front of her head, and two more closer to the sides, smaller ones.
It was a certainty that if Chadnov's attentions were not welcome, she could have made him aware of this in a fashion that left no room for confusion and little for healing. What wasn't certain was just how they had managed in the first place, but Mogan shook his head. That way led to the madness of the Auels.
He was amused to find three of the others shaking their heads as well. What had attracted Chadnov was also something of a mystery. Her own clothing was of the three-strings variety, but she had no breasts, nor hips, and the shape of her legs was mostly the shape of a lizard's legs.
“Welcome, Chadnov and Karshta.” The way Ansam paired the two, as if he was stating one name rather than two, was certainly deliberate. “This will take some time, and we don't want you to be any more uncomfortable. Sit, relax.”
The two sat, looking somewhat nervous. For Karshta, it simply meant folding her legs under her, although Chadnov sat cross-legged.
“Now,” Ansam began. “Rumor has it that you're expecting.”
“Expecting what?” The two spoke together, and brought another moment of stunned silence to the circle.
The silence stretched, as they stared at the two and the two stared at them, with growing expectation, until finally Ellisan broke it.
“The baby?”
“Oh. Yes, I will be giving birth.”
Mogan nodded. “Well... why don't you start with that? Do you lay eggs?”
Karshta seemed offended, but she told them. Apparently Mantu birthed live young, often three or four at a time but usually just one or two for their Meht, after a pregnancy of nearly a full year. While other species often looked down on their Meht, Mantu valued them immensely. This was only in part because the Sovereignty offered a hefty payment, and in part because Meht were able to get jobs that most other species could not. Mantu were often the heavily-armored barrier for Sovereignty armies—blade-walls, they were called—but were often not intelligent enough to manage vehicles or guns. Mantu Meht could carry massive weapons, or carefully pack and load valuable goods, or even serve as police forces or intimidating guards with far less chance of mishaps.
They did not have milk, but the babies were immediately able to eat mashed meat; they were apparently like dogs in that they were generally carnivores but could eat some plants. And perhaps because they had less brain to develop, they grew to adulthood in a shorter time. This made Chadnov quite nervous until he discovered that she was in her nineteenth year, and they usually lived to their sixties.
“And you're certain that Chadnov here is the father?”
Chadnov winced, but Karshta nodded. “He is a cute little thing.” Chadnov winced again.
“Well!” Ansam nodded. “Congratulations to the both of you, then.”
Chadnov's eyes widened in horror as he continued. “That means, of course, that our people have certain duties. We'd like you to come with us, Karshta.”
“You'll need help raising your children now,” Mogan added, “and we can do the marriage right here, if you'll take him.”
“You are referring to... a husband? A... human husband?”
Chadnov stared, and they could almost hear the wheels creaking as they turned. The hunter could refuse the wedding, of course. But “of course” meant the same as “really” and “interesting” in this case—it would be the end of his reputation and his aspirations. He would have a hard time leading anyone, joining hunting parties, or getting near a woman again if it was known that he had gotten a woman with child and abandoned her. All he could hope for was that she would refuse him, and by the look of it that wasn't going to happen.
“And all of your children will be Meht. Here's hoping you have many.”
The smile she turned upon her new fiance was downright predatory, and Chadnov found himself chuckling.

Please note what items from my list you are interested in when commenting.
Please also pay attention to what system you are looking at as there are sections of Japanese (NTSC-J) games
Have
Working systems come with necessary cables and controller unless otherwise stated.
Systems/Handhelds

System	Notes
PS1 1001 fat
PS1 7501 fat
PS1 7501 fat
PS2 fat
PS2 fat
Sega Model 2	rf, power, oem 6 button controller
Sega Model 2	rf, no power cable, oem 3 button controller.
Sega Model 2
Sega Model 3	no av cable. 3rd party controller, 6 button
32x
Black gamecube	3rd party controller
Wii U	screen light scratches. all cables, dock, sensor bar
Wii U	gamepad right joystick issues. all cables, dock, sensor bar
Xbox 360 S R2D2	C3P0 controller, kinect, 320gb
Wii RVL-001	Eject button doesn't click, but does work
TurboGrafx Express	Includes tv tuner, car charger
PSP Black 1001	includes oem charger, soft case. battery holds charge
Original DS Blue NTR-001	rough shape. screens are pretty scratched
3DS XL Red	Overall good condition. Screens have no visible scratches. OEM charger, sd card, and carrying case
PS Vita Dev Kit PDEL-1000	Great condition. On 3.570.011 FW currently. No charger included

Atari Jaguar Games

Game	Notes
Raiden	sealed
Fever Pitch Soccer	sealed
Zool 2	sealed
Theme Park Designer Series	sealed
Skiing and Snowboarding	sealed
Zoop	no manual
Cybermorph	sealed
Doom	manual cover seperated
Troy Aikmen Football	cib - box in below average condition
Pinball Fantasies	no manual
Rotary controller w/ Tempest cart	Tempest is setup, ready. Rotary installed in place of dpad
Super Burnout	cart only
Ultra Vortek	cart only
Alien vs Predator	cib
Ruiner pinball	cib
Cannon Fodder	cib
Wolfenstein 3D	cib
Towers II	cib
Flip Out	cib. box has some liquid damage
Bubsy	cib
Checkered Flag	cib
Worms	cib
I-War	cib
Attack of the Mutant Penguins	cib
Brutal Sports Football	cib
Hover Strike	cib
Rayman	cib
Zero 5	cib
International Sensible Soccer	cib
Flashback	cib
Dino Dudes	cib
Dragon Bruce Lee Story	cib
Missile Command 3D	cib
White Ment Can't Jump	cib
Kasumi Ninja	cib w/ headband
Supercross 3D	cib
Club Drive	cib
Trevor McFur in the Crescent Galaxy	cib
Fight for Life	cib
Power Drive Rally	cib
Atari Karts	box only

CIB for TurboGrafx includes jewel case, not outer cardboard box unless noted
TurboGrafx Games

Game	Notes
Alien Crush	cart only
Keith Courage	cart only
Power Golf	cart only
Turrican	cart only
World Class baseball	CIB
Victory Run	CIB
Vigilante	CIB
TV Sports Hockey	CIB
Keith Courage	CIB (no comic)
Bonks Adventure	CIB

For carts with manuals, I am willing to sell manuals/carts independently. Not seperating boxes and manuals.
NES Games

Game	Notes
720
1942
10 yard fight	5 screw
A Boy and his Blob
Adventure Island
Adventures of Dino-Riki
After Burner	tengen cart
Air Fortress	sticker on label
Airwolf
Arch Rivals
Astyanax
Back to the Future	bad condition. appears to have spray paint on front of cart
Bad Dudes
Bad News Baseball
Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach
Baseball
Baseball Simulator 1000
Baseball Stars	sticker on label
Bases Loaded
Bases Loaded II
Bayou Billy
Bigfoot
Bill Elliott's Nascar Challenge	Box + game, no manual
Black Bass
Blades of Steel	Box + game, no manual
Blades of Steel
Break Time National Pool tour	Box, manual, no game
Burgertime
California Games
Championship Bowling
Cobra Triangle
Commando	5 screw
Contra Force	comes with cart protector
Days of Thunder
Days of Thunder
Destination Earthstar
Super Dodgeball
Donkey Kong 3	5 screw
Donkey Kong Classics
Double Dragon	cart + manual
Double Dragon II
Double Dragon III
Double Dribble
Dr Mario
Dragon Warrior
Duck Hunt	5 screw
Ducktales	top of label damage. includes reg card
Dynowarz
Family Feud
Fantasy Zone	tengen cart
Magic Johnson Fast Break
Faxanadu
Fester's Quest
Freedom Force
Friday the 13th
Galaga: Demon's of Death
Gauntlet	tengen cart
Gauntlet
Golgo 13	cart + manual
Gotcha
Gradius	5 screw
Gyromite	5 screw
Heavy Barrel
Hogan's Alley
Hollywood Squares	sharpie on label (mostly cleaned, slightly visible)
Hoops	sharpie on label (mostly cleaned, but visible)
Hunt for Red October
Hydlide
Ikari Warriors II Victory Road
Infiltrator
Iron Sword
Iron Tank	cart + manual
Jack Nicklaus' Championship Golf	cart + manual
Jeopardy
Jeopardy 25th Anniversary
John Elway's Quarterback
Jordan vs Bird
Joust
Karate Kid
Kickle Cubicle
King of the Ring	cart + manual
Kings of the Beach
Knight Rider
Knight Rider
Legacy of the Wizard
Legendary Wings
Major League Baseball
Maniac Mansion	sharpie on label (mostly cleaned, but visible)
Marble Madness
Mario Bros Arcade Classics Series	5 screw
Mario Bros Duck Hunt
Mario Duck Hunt Track Meet
Mickey Mousecapade
Mighty Bomb Jack
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out
Milon's Secret Castle
Mission Impossible
MTV Remote Control
Narc
NES Cleaning Kit	CIB w/ box protector
NES Cleaning Kit	CIB w/ box protector
NES Play Action Football
Ninja Gaiden 2
Operation Wolf
Pac-man	tengen cart
Platoon
Pro Wrestling
Pro Wrestling	5 screw
Punch-out
Qbert
R.C. Pro-Am
Racket Attack
Rad Racer II
Rampart
RBI Baseball	tengen cart. includes reg card
Renegade
Roadblasters
Rollerball
Rolling Thunder	tengen cart
Romance of the Three Kingdoms	cart + manual
Rush'n Attack	5 screw. sharpie on label (mostly cleaned, but visible)
Section Z
Seicross
Sesame Street ABC
Silent Service
Silent Service
Simpsons Bart Vs the World
Skate or Die 2
Ski or Die
Solstice
Spy vs Spy
Star Force
Star Soldier	Box + game, no manual
Star Trek 25th Anniversary
Star Tropics	Box + game, no manual
Star Voyager	5 screw cart, manual, poster
Super C
Super Glove Ball
Super Mario Bros	cart + manual
Super Mario Bros 2
Super Mario Bros 3	cart + manual
Super Off Road
Super Pitfall
Superspike V'ball
Sword and Serpents	cart + manual + poster
T&C Surf Designs
Talespin	top of label damaged
Target Renegade
Techmo Bowl	Cart + manual
Tecmo Super Bowl
Tennis
Terminator 2	Box + game, no manual
Terminator 2
Terminator 2
The Addams Family
The Fantastic Adventrues of Dizzy
Thundercade
Tiger-Heli
TMNT II Arcade Game
TMNT Manhattan Project	cart + manual
Top Gun
Top Gun Second Mission
Total Recall
Track & Field
Track & Field
Trick Shooting	CIB
Trojan
Twin Eagle	sharpie on label (mostly cleaned, slightly visible)
Vice Project Doom	label damage
Code Name Viper
Wheel of Fortune	sharpie on label (mostly cleaned, slightly visible)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Willow
Win Lose or Draw	writing on label
World Class Track Meet
Nintendo World Cup	Box, no manual - writing on front of box
Wrestlemania	cart + manual
Wrestlemania
Wrestlemania Challenge
Xenophobe
XEXYZ

SNES Games

Game	Notes
Aaahh Real Monsters
Aladdin
Arkanoid - Doh It Again!
Bass Tournament of Champions
Batman Forever
Battle Clash
Best of the Best Championship Karate
Bubsy
Bugs Bunny Rabbit Rampage
Championship Pool
Cleaning Kit
Clue
Cool Spot
Daffy Duck The Marvin Missions
Family Feud
Fifa International Soccer
Final Fight
Home Alone 2
Inindo	Label damage
Jeopardy
Judge Dredd	Some label damage
Jungle Strike
Ken Griffey Jr. Winning Run
King of the Monsters
Kirby Avalanche
Lethal Enforcers
Lion King
Looney Tunes Basketball	Label damage
Madden 94
Mega Man X
Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat 3
NBA Give N Go
NBA Jam
NBA Jam Tournament Edition
NBA Live 95
NCAA Basketball
NFL Quarterback Club
NHL Stanley Cup
Nigel Mansell's World Championship
Operation Europe Path to Victory
Paperboy 2
Power Moves
Primal Rage
Revolution X	Not working. Contacts look very stripped.
Road Runner's Death Vally Rally
Scooby Doo Mystery
Space Invaders
Speedy Gonzales Los Gatos Bandidos
Spider-man and the X-men in Arcade's Revenge
Starfox
Street Fighter II	Faded label
Street Fighter II
Street Fighter II turbo
Stunt Race FX
Super Bases Loaded
Super Battletank: War in the Gulf
Super Black Bass
Super Empire Strikes Back
Super Mario Kart
Super Pinball Behind the Mask
Super Play Action Football
Super Punch-Out
Taz-Mania
Tecmo Super Bowl
Tecmo Super Bowl III
Tetris 2
The Jungle Book
The Pagemaster
Tory Aikman Football
Warlock
We're Back A Dinosaurs Story
Wing Commander The Secret Missions
Word-Tris	Damaged Label
Zoop

N64 Games are cart only unless noted
N64

Item	Notes
Battle Tanx
F-1 Grand Prix
Gex 64
Madden 64
NFL Blitz
Star Wars Rogue Squadron
Star Wars Rogue Squadron
Star Wars Shadows of the Empire
War Gods
Wayne Gretzy 3D Hockey
Wipeout 64
N64 HoriPad Mini Black
N64 HoriPad Mini Yellow
N64 HoriPad Mini Red
N64 HoriPad Mini Blue
N64 HoriPad Mini Clear Ocean Blue
OEM Controller Gray
OEM Controller Atomic Purple
OEM Controller Ice Blue Clear
OEM Controller Black
OEM Controller Red
OEM Controller Watermelon Red Clear
OEM Controller Black & Gray
OEM Controller Blue
Hudson Turbo JoyCard Controller

Gamecube Games

Game	Notes
Bionicle	Disc only
Crash Bandicoot Wrath of Cortex	Disc only
Fantastic 4	No manual
Fantastic 4	Disc only
Godzilla	Disc only
Harry Potter Goblet of Fire	Disc only
Harry Potter Prizoner of Azkaban	Disc only
Harry Potter Sorcerer's Stone	Disc only
Kids Next Door Operation: V.I.D.E.O.G.A.M.E	Disc only
King Kong	CIB
Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events	Disc only
Lord of the Rings Return of the King	Disc only
Madagascar	CIB
Mario Kart Double Dash Bonus Disc	disc only
Mario Kart Double Dash	No Manual
Mario Power Tennis	Disc only
Mario Superstar Baseball	No manual
Mega man Network Transmission	Disc only
Metroid Prime	Disc only
Monsters Inc Scream Arena	Disc only
Nascar Chase for the Cup 2005	Disc only
Nascar Thunder 2003	Disc only
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2	CIB, Players Choice
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2	Disc only
NFL 2K3	Disc only
One Piece Grand Adventure	Disc only
One Piece Treasure Battle	Disc only
Over the Hedge	CIB
Paper Mario Thousand Year Door	CIB, Players Choice
Rocket Power Beach Bandits	No manual
Scooby Doo Unmasked	CIB
Shrek 2	CIB
Shrek 2	Disc only
Sonic Heroes	Disc only
Spiderman 2	Disc only
Spongebob Lights Camera Pants	CIB
Spongebob Squarepants Creature from the Krusty Krab	CIB
Star War Jedi Knight II Jedi Outcast	Disc only
Star Wars Rebel Strike Rogue Squadron III	Disc only
Taz Wanted	No manual
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Disc only
The Hobbit	Disc only
The Incredibles	Disc only
The Incredibles	Disc only
Wave Race Blue Storm	CIB

Wii Games

Game	Notes
AC DC Rockband Track Pack	CIB
Balls of Fury	Disc only
Bass Pro Shops The Strike Tournament Edition	Small sleeve version (no plastic case)
Batallion Wars 2	Disc only
Ben 10	No manual
Boom Blox	No manual
Cabela African Adventures	CIB - game art faded
Cabela Dangerous Hunts 2013	Disc only
Cooking Mama Cook Off	CIB
Cruis'n	Disc only
Dead Space Extraction	CIB
Disney Sing It Pop Hits	CIB
EA Active	CIB
Golden Compass	Disc only
Guitar Hero 3	CIB
Guitar Hero World Tour	CIB
Heavenly Guardian	sealed
Hollywood Squares	Disc only
Hot Wheels Battle Force 5	no manual
House of the Dead 2&3	Disc + manual
House of the Dead 2&3	CIB
House of the Dead Overkill	Disc only
Just Dance 2	sealed
Lego Batman 2	no manual
Mad World	CIB
Madden 11	CIB
Mario Super Sluggers	Disc only
Marvel Ultimate Alliance	CIB
MLB 2K10	CIB - game art slightly faded
Monster High Ghoul Spirit	Disc Only
Monster hunter 3 tri	No manual - art very faded
Netflix disc	Disc only
New Super Marios Bros	Case and manual only, no game
Ninja Reflex	No Manual
Pikmin	No manual
Prince of Persia Forgotten Sands	Disc only
Rapala Pro Bass Fishing	No manual
Rapala Pro Bass Fishing	Disc only
Redneck Jamboree	CIB
Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles	CIB
Sonic All Stars Racing	CIB
Sonic Secret Rings	CIB
Sonic Unleashed	CIB
Spiderman Edge of Time	No manual
Spongebob Squiggleplants	No manual
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Smash-Up	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 Masters	CIB - art on front slightly faded
Trivial Pursuit	CIB
UFC Trainer	No manual
Ultimate I Spy	CIB
Wii sports	Disc + manual
World of Zoo	No Manual
Victorious Boxers Revolution	CIB

WiiU Games

Game	Notes
007 Legends	CIB
Disney Infinity 3.0	Disc only
Giana Sisters Twisted Dreams	CIB
Lego Avengers	CIB
Lego Movie	CIB
Mario Kart Wii U System Box	System Box + both tray inserts
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate	CIB
Pokken Tournament	CIB
Star Fox Zero + Guard	CIB w/ Outer box, actual games are sealed
Super Mario 3D World	CIB
Super Mario Maker	CIB w/ Outerbox + idea book
Tekken Tag Tournament 2	disc only
Twilight Princess HD	CIB
Wii Party U	CIB
Wii Sports Club	CIB
Windwaker HD	disc only
Xenoblade Chronicles X	CIB
Yoshi's Wooly World	Sealed

Switch Games

Game	Notes
Atelier Lydie & Suelle	PAL version - CIB
Bravely Default 2	CIB
Moonlighter	CIB
Sakuna Rice and Ruin Divine Edition	Sealed
Skylanders Imaginators Starter Pack	CIB
YS 8 Standard Edition	Sealed

PS1 Games

Game	Notes
Air Combat	CIB GH
Asteroids	CIB
Breakout	CIB
Destruction Derby	CIB Longbox (cardboard)
Destruction Derby 2	disc only
Destruction Derby Raw	CIB
Driver	Missing Manual / Front art of Jewel Case
Driver 2	CIB
Frogger	Missing Manual / Front art of Jewel Case
Gran Turismo	CIB
Gran Turismo 2	CIB GH some cracks in case
Gran Turismo 2	CIB
IHRA Drag Racing	CIB
Interactive CD Sampler Pack Vol 3	Disc Only
Interactive CD Sampler Pack Vol 3	Disc Only
Invasion from Beyond	CIB
Iron & Blood	CIB
Jeremy McGrath Super Cross 98	CIB
Math Gallery Collection 1	disc only
Nascar 98	CIB
Need for Speed III Hot Pursuit	CIB GH
Pac-man World	CIB GH
Pong	CIB - case hinge kinda broken
Street Sk8ter	CIB
Striker 1945	Blockbuster sticker on disc
Syphon Filter 2	disc only (has discs 1 and 2)
Tomb Raider 2	CIB
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater	CIB
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2	CIB
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3	CIB
True Pinball	CIB
Wheel of Fortune	disc only
Wipeout	CIB flat longbox americanized cover variant
World's Scariest Police Chases	CIB
You Don't Know Jack	CIB

PS2 Games

Game	Notes
007 Agent Under Fire	CIB
Acme Arsenal	disc only
American Choppers 2	CIB
ATV Offroad Fury 2	CIB
Blitz The League	disc only
Blowout	CIB
Bully	CIB
Cars	No manual
Dance Dance Revolution Super Nova	CIB
Dukes of Hazard	CIB
ESPN 2K5	CIB
Fight Night 2004	CIB
Final Fantasy XII	Disc only
Frogger The Great Quest	CIB
Gran Turismo 3	CIB
Gran Turismo 4	CIB
GTA 3	CIB w/ Map
GTA Liberty City Stories	no manual
GTA Vice City Stories	CIB w/ Map
GTA Vice City Ultimate Codes	CIB
Guitar Hero III	CIB
Jaws Unleashed	No manual - sharpie on front
Kengo	CIB
Lord of the Rings Two Towers	Disc only
Medal of Honor European Assault	Disc only
Nascar 06	Disc only
Nascar Dirt to Daytona	CIB
NBA Live 2005	Disc only
NCAA Football 07	Disc only
NCAA Football 2004	CIB
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2	CIB
Need for Speed Most Wanted Black	CIB
Need for Speed Pro Street	CIB
Need for Speed Pro Street	Disc only
Need for Speed Underground	GH CIB
Need for Speed Underground 2	CIB
NFL Street 2	no manual
Pinball Hall of Fame	CIB
Pirates Legend of the Black Buccaneer	No manual
Rock Band	No manual
Sly 2 Band of Thieves	GH CIB
Sly 3 Honor Among Thieves	GH CIB
Sprint Cars 2	CIB
Sprint Cars Road to Knoxville	CIB
SSX 3	GH no manual
SSX On Tour	CIB
Test Drive Eve of Destruction	disc only
The Sims	Disc only
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 01	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 02	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 02	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 03	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 04	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 04	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 05	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10	CIB
Wave Rally	CIB

PS3 Games

Game	Notes
Assassin's Creed	CIB
Assassin's Creed	GH CIB
Assassin's Creed II	CIB
Assassin's Creed Revelations	Sealed
Batman Arkham City	CIB
Battlefield 3 Limited Edition	No manual
Battlefield 3 Limited Edition	No manual
Battlefield 4	CIB
Battlefield 4	CIB
Battlefield Bad Company 2 Limited Edition	No manual
Beijing 2008	disc only
Borderlands 2	disc only
Borderlands 2	disc only
Borderlands 2	CIB
Brutal Legend	CIB
Call of Duty Black Ops	CIB
Call of Duty Ghosts	CIB
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2	CIB
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3	CIB
Call of Duty World at War	GH CIB
Dark Souls	CIB
Dark Souls	CIB
Dark Souls	CIB - Disc is greatest hits, case is regular
Dark Souls II	Disc is greatest hits, case is regular
Dead Space 3 Limited Edition	CIB
Destiny	CIB
Destiny	CIB
Def Jam Icon	Case and game, no manual
Demon Souls	CIB
Devil May Cry	CIB (art is sunfaded a bit)
Diablo 3	No Manual
Diablo 3	Disc Only
Dragon Age Inquisition	No manual
Dragon's Crown	CIB
Dragon's Crown	CIB
Duke Nukem Forever	Disc only
Duke Nukem Forever	Disc only
EA Active 2	CIB
Facebreaker	CIB
Family Game Night 4	disc only
Far Cry 3	CIB
Fifa 14	Disc only
Fifa 14	CIB
Fracture	disc only
God of War Ascension	CIB
God of War Collection	CIB
God of War III	CIB
God of War Origins Edition	CIB
God of War Saga	Sealed
Gran Turismo 5 XL Edition	CIB
Gran Turismo 5	CIB
Gran Turismo 6	no manual
Gran Turismo 6	Disc only
Grid	Disc only
GTA 4	GH CIB w/ map
GTA 4	GH CIB w/ map
GTA 5	no manual or map
GTA San Andreas	Disc only
Guitar Hero 3	CIB
Guitar Hero Live	CIB w/ dongle
Heavy Rain	Disc only
John Daly's ProStroke Golf	CIB
Kane & Lynch Dead Men	No manual
Killzone 2	CIB
Killzone 2	no manual
L.A. Noire	CIB
Lego Movie	no manual
Little Big Planet	GH CIB
Madden 13	Disc only
Madden 13	CIB
Madden 25	CIB
Madden 25	CIB
Madden 09	disc only
Madden 07	CIB
Mass Effect 2	CIB
Mass Effect 3	CIB
Metal Gear Solid 4	CIB
Metal Gear Solid 4	CIB
Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor	No manual
MLB The Show 12	Disc only
NCAA Football 09	Disc only
Need For Speed Rivals	Disc only
NHL 11	CIB
NHL 11	No manual
NHL 13	CIB
NHL 13	disc only
NHL 15	disc only
PlayStation Move	Disc only
Rapala Pro Bass Fishing	w/ Big Box, rod, game, and rod dongle/receiver
Ratchet & Clank Future A Crack in time	GH no manual
Ratchet & Clank Future A Crack in time	GH no manual
Ratchet & Clank Future A Crack in time	CIB
Ratchet & Clank Tools of Destruction	CIB
Resident Evil 5	CIB
Rock Band 2	CIB
Saints Row The Third	disc only
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments	CIB
Skylanders Giants	CIB
Skyrim	CIB GH (no map, unsure if GH had map)
Sly Cooper Thieves in Time	No manual
Smackdown vs Raw 2009	CIB
Socom 4	disc only
Soul Calibur 4	no manual
Sports Champions	CIB
Sports Champions	CIB
Start The Party	No manual
Tekken 6	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11	CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10	no manual
Time Crisis 4	No manual
Timeshift	disc only (2x available)
Uncharted	CIB
Uncharted	GH No manual
Uncharted 2	no manual
Uncharted 2	CIB
Uncharted 2	CIB
Uncharted 2	CIB
Uncharted 3	CIB
Uncharted 3	CIB
Uncharted 3	CIB

PS4 Games

Game	Notes
Agents of Mayhem	disc only
Anthem	cib
Battleborn	disc only
Battleborn	disc only
Bayonetta Vanquish	CIB
Binding of Isaac	CIB
Bloodborne	CIB
Brunswick Pro Bowling	CIB
Call of Duty WWII	CIB
Cyberpunk 2077	CIB
Destiny 2	CIB
Deus Ex	disc only
Fifa 14	CIB
Fifa 15	CIB
Minecraft Story Mode	CIB
NHL 15	CIB
Nioh	CIB
Rock Band 4	Disc only
Spider-man	sealed
Ys VIII	disc only
Zombieland Double Tap	CIB

Original Xbox

Game	Notes
Outlaw Golf	CIB
LA Rush	No manual
Greg Hasting's Tournament Paintball	CIB
Madden 06	Disc Only
Lego Star Wars Video Game	No Manual
NFL Street	CIB
Roadkill	No Manual
Midtown Madness 3	No Manual
Flat Out 2	CIB
Grabbed By The Ghoulies	CIB

Xbox 360 - All collector's / limited editions are 100% complete. Many of the extras are still brand new or were kept in their box
Xbox 360 Games

Game	Notes
Army of Two 40 Days	Disc only
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood	CIB
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Collector's Edition	CIB
Assassin's Creed III Limited Edition	CIB
Battlefield 4	CIB
Big Bumpin	Sealed
Boderlands 2 Limited Edition Ultimate Loot Chest	CIB
Call of Duty Ghosts	CIB
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3	CIB
Dance Central 2	CIB
Dance Central 2	CIB
Dead Space 2 Collector's Edition	CIB
Disney Infinity 2.0	CIB
Disneyland Adventures	CIB
Disneyland Adventures	No manual
DJ Hero 2	CIB
DJ Hero 2	CIB
Elder Scrolls Oblivion Collector's Edition	CIB
Elder Scrolls Skyrim Collector's Edition	CIB
Fallout 3 Collector's Edition	CIB
Fifa 12	CIB
Fifa 12	CIB
Fifa 13	CIB
Fifa 14	CIB
Forza 3 / Halo ODST Double Pack	CIB
GTA V	No manual - only 1 insert
GTA V Collector's Edition	CIB
Just Dance 3	CIB
Just Dance 3	CIB
LA Noire	Discs only
Madden 25	CIB
Madden 25	no manual
MLB 2K13	CIB
MX Vs. ATV Alive	CIB
MX Vs. ATV Reflex	CIB
Naruto Rise of a Ninja	sealed
NBA Ballers Chosen One	No manual
NBA NK11	no manual
NBA NK13	CIB
NBA NK13	CIB
NBA NK13	no manual
NBA NK13	no manual
NHL 13	no manual
NHL 13	no manual
NHL 14	no manual
Pocket Bike Racer	Sealed
Rock Band 2	CIB
Shadow of Mordor	Discs and manual. No game art
Skate	No manual
Skate 2	Disc only
Skylanders Giants	No manual
Sneak King	Sealed
Soul Calibur IV	Disc only
Table Tennis	CIB
Tansformers War For Cybertron	No manual - art is sun faded
The Wolf Among Us	No manual
Tomb Raider Collector's Edition	CIB
Witcher 2	disc 1 only

Xbox One

Game	Notes
Doug Flutie's Maximum Football 2019
Dragonball Xenoverse XV
Fifa 14
Fifa 15
Fifa 15
Fifa 16
Madden 15
Madden 15
Madden 16
Madden 17
NBA 2k15
NBA 2k16
NHL 15
NHL 15
The Division	disc only
The Wolf Among Us
This is the Police
Wreckfest
Spyro Reignited Trilogy
Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 + 2
Tempest 4000
Rory McIlroy PGA Tour

Sega CD Games

Game	Notes
Slam City	Box w/ all 4 Discs, no manual
Fifa Soccer	Case and manual, no game
Corpse Killer	CIB

PSP Games

Game	Notes
Daxter Greatest Hits	CIB
Jeanne D'Arc demo disc NFR	Sealed
Game shield cover	small umd protector (3x avail)
Monster hunter freedom	umd only
Spiderman UMD Movie	CIB
Star Wars Battlefront Elite Squadron	CIB
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force	CIB no cards

Amiibo are loose unless noteed
Amiibo

Amiibo	Notes
Wolf	SSMB

32x Games

Game	Notes
Moto Cross
Virtua Racing	Label damage

Super Famicom

Game	Notes
Chrono Trigger	CIB
Derby Stallion 3	cart only
Dragon Ball Z	CIB
Dragon Ball Z 2	CIB
Dragon Quest I & II	CIB
Dragon Quest III	CIB
Excite Stage 94	cart only
Excite Stage 96	cart only
Exhaust Heat	CIB
F1 Grand Prix Part 3	CIB
Family / Famista Stadium 4 Baseball	cart only
Fire Emblem Genealogy Of Holy War	CIB
Kirby Super Star	CIB
Motoko's Wonder Kitchen	cart only
Mountain Stream King Fishing	cart only
Pachi Slot Monogatari: Universal Special	cart only
Prime Goal 3	cart only
Rockman X2	cart only
Sim City 2000	cart only
Space Bazooka	CIB
Space Invaders	cart only
Street Fighter II	CIB
Super bomberman 2	cart only
Super Bomberman 3	CIB
Super Donkey Kong	cart only
Super Goal! 2 (aka Takeda Nobuhiro no Super Cup Soccer)	CIB
Super Kyukyoku Harikiri Stadium	cart only
Super Zugan 2	cart only
Yoshi's Safari	CIB
Yoshi's Safari	CIB

Japanese N64 Games

Game	Notes
1080 Snowboarding	CIB
1080 Snowboarding	cart only
Animal Crossing / Doubutsu no Mori	cart only
Baku Bomberman	cart only
Banjo Kazooie	cart only
Banjo Kazooie 2	CIB - excellent condition
Banjo Kazooie 2	CIB - small writing on front of box
Bass Tsuri No. 1 Shigesato Ito Fishing	cart only
Blast Dozer	cart only
Bomberman 2 Baku	cart only
Bomberman Hero	CIB
Custom Robo V1	cart only
Custom Robo V2	cart only
Densha De Go	cart only
Derby stallion 64	cart only
Derby stallion 64	CIB
Diddy Kong Racing	cart only
Donkey Kong 64	cart only
Donkey Kong 64	CIB
Donkey Kong 64	Big box - No expansion pak items (insert, pak, or box). Otherwise CIB
Doraemon 2 Temple of Light	cart only
Excitebike 64	cart only
F-Zero X	cart only
Famista Family Stadium Baseball	cart only
Famista Family Stadium Baseball	CIB
Ganbare Nippon Olympic 2000	cart only
Goemon Mystical Ninja	cart only
Goldeneye 007	cart only
Harvest Moon 2	cart only
Hey You Pikachu	Big box - CIB w/ VRU
Hey You Pikachu	Big box - missing inserts and smaller game box. Includes game + vru
Hey You Pikachu	cart only
Hiru No Ken Twin Flying Dragon	cart only
Human Grand Prix	cart only
Human Grand Prix	CIB
J League 1999 Perfect Striker 2	cart only
J League Perfect Striker	cart only
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2000	cart only
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2001	cart only
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 4	cart only
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 5	cart only
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 6	cart only
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 6	Boxed - no manual
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 6	CIB
Jikkyou World Soccer 3	cart only
Kirby The Crystal Shards	CIB
Kirby The Crystal Shards	CIB w/ extra control guide "hyper copy technique"
Kirby The Crystal Shards	cart only
Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask	cart only
Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time	cart only
Magical Tetris Challenge Featuring Mickey	CIB
Mahjong Master	cart only
Mario Golf	cart only
Mario Golf	CIB
Mario Kart 64	cart only
Mario Party 1	cart only
Mario Party 2	cart only
Mario Party 2	Boxed - no manual
Mario Party 2	CIB
Mario Party 3	cart only
Mario Party 3	CIB
Mario Party 3	CIB
Mario Party 3	CIB
Mario RPG / Paper Mario	cart only
Mario Tennis	cart only
Mario Tennis	CIB
MRC Mutli-Racing Championship	cart only
Nushi Tsuri	CIB
Nushi Tsuri	cart only
Ogre Battle 64	cart only
Olympic Hockey 98	cart only
Ozumo Sumo Wrestling	cart only
Pilotwings	cart only
Pokemon Snap	cart only
Pokemon Stadium	cart only
Pokemon Stadium 2	Boxed - no manual
Pokemon Stadium 2	cart only
Pokemon Stadium Gold & Silver	cart only
Pro League 64 Baseball	cart only
Pro Mahjong Kiwame	cart only
Pro Yakyu King of Pro Baseball	cart only
Puyo Puyo Sun	cart only
Robot Ponkottsu	cart only
Shin Nihon Pro-wrestling Toukon Road Brave Spirits	cart only
Snowboard Kids	cart only
Star Wars Episode 1 Racer	cart only
Star Wars Rogue Squadron	CIB - outer box has some wear
Star Wars Shadows of the Empire	cart only
Starfox 64	cart only
Super B-Daman Battle Phoneix	cart only
Super Mario 64	cart only
Super Mario 64 Shindou / Rumble version	cart only
Super Mario 64 Shindou / Rumble version	CIB
Super Mario 64 Strategy Guide
Super Robot Taisen	cart only
Super Smash Bros	cart only
Super Smash Bros	CIB
Tamagotchi World	cart only
Tamagotchi World	Boxed - no manual
Transformers Beast Wars	cart only
Utchan Nanchan Flame Challenger	cart only
Wave Race 64	cart only
Wonder Project J2	cart only
Yoshi Story	cart only
Yoshi Story	CIB
Yoshi Story Strategy Guide

Japanese Wii

Game	Notes
Winning Eleven Play Maker 2013	CIB
Mario Strikers Charged	CIB
Wii Simple 2000 Series Vol 2 The Party Game	CIB
Donkey Kong Returns	No manual
Your First Step to Wii	No manual
Super Mario Collection	No manual
Mario Super Sluggers	No manual

Japanese Vita

Game	Notes
Dynasty Warriors Next	CIB
Exist Archive the Other Side of the Sky	CIB
Fate Extella	CIB
Fate Extella Regalia Box	Missing extras - Just LE box and Vita case + game
Freedom Wars	CIB
God Eater 2	CIB
God Eater 2 Rage Burst	CIB
Gravity Daze (Gravity Rush)	CIB - "The Best" version
Kaleido Eve	CIB
Legend of Heroes Blende of Locus II Limited Edition	CIB. CD still sealed
Monster Hunter Frontier G "Beginners Package"	CIB
Persona 4 Golden	CIB
Power Smash 4	CIB - "The Best" version
Professional Baseball Spirits 2013	CIB
Professional Baseball Spirits 2014	CIB
Ragnarok Odyssey	CIB
Soul Sacrifice	CIB
Super Robot Wars OG Taisen Saga 3 Pride of Justice	CIB
Sword Art Online Hollow Fragment	CIB
Sword Art Online Hollow Realization	CIB
Sword Art Online Lost Song	CIB
Sword Art Online Lost Song Limited Edition	CIB - game itself sealed
Uta No Prince Sama Repeat Love Premium Princess Box	Sealed
Utawareumono Mask of Truth	CIB

Wonderswan

Item	Notes
Beatmania	cart only
Beatmania	cart only
Chocobo Mysterious Dungeon	cart only w/ protector
Chocobo Mysterious Dungeon	cart only w/ protector
Detective Conan Case Closed	cart only
Digimon Adventure Anode Tamer	cart only
Digimon Adventure Cathode Tamer	cart only
Hataraku Chocobo	CIB
Mahjong Touryuumon	cart only w/ protector
Nice On Golf	CIB - sticker residue on front of box
One Piece "From TV Animation"	cart only w/ protector
Rockman & Forte	cart only w/ protector
Super Robot Taisen Compact	cart only w/ protector
Super Robot Taisen Compact	cart only w/ protector
Tarepanda no Gunpey	cart only w/ protector
Trump Collection	cart only w/ protector
Vaitz Blade	cart only w/ protector
Vaitz Blade	cart only w/ protector
Wonder Stadium 99	cart only w/ protector

Wonderswan Color

Item	Notes
Digimon Tamers Battle Spirit	cart only
Digimon Tamers Battle Spirit	cart only w/ protector
Digimon Tamers Digimon Medley	cart only
Final Fantasy	CIB
Final Fantasy	CIB
Final Fantasy	CIB
Final Fantasy	cart only w/ protector
Final Fantasy II	CIB
Final Fantasy II	CIB
Final Fantasy II	CIB
Final Fantasy II	CIB
Final Fantasy II	cart only w/ protector
Final Fantasy II	cart only w/ protector
Hunter x Hunter Determination	CIB
Hunter x Hunter Determination	cart only
Hunter x Hunter Determination	cart only
Inuyasha Kagome's Dream Diary	cart only
Kinnikuman Nisei Choujin Seisenshi	cart only
Mobile Suit Gundam Vol. 1 Side 7	cart only
One Piece Grand Battle	cart only w/ protector
One Piece Treasure Niji no Shima Densetsu	cart only
SD Gundam G Generation Mono Eye Gundams	cart only w/ protector
Shaman King Asue no Ishi	cart only w/ protector

Japanese PS1

Item	Notes
Arc the Lad I	CIB w/ Spine card
Arc the Lad I	CIB
Arc the Lad II	CIB w/ Stickers
Bakusou Dekotora Densetsu Art Truck Battle	CIB
Bastard Utsuronaru Kamigami no Utsuwa	CIB
Beatmania	CIB
Beatmania Append 4th Mix	CIB w/ Spine card
Beatmania Append Gotta Mix	CIB w/ Spine card
Bomberman Land	Manual + Disc + Blank jewel Case
Bomberman Wars	CIB
Breeding Stud	CIB w/ Spine card
Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon	CIB
Cyber Sled	CIB
Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) 2nd Remix Append Club Ver 1	CIB
Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) 2nd Remix Append Club Ver 2	CIB
Densha De Go	CIB
Derby Stallion 99	CIB
Dragon Quest VII	CIB w/ Spine card
DX Jinsei Game II Game of Life	CIB
DX Monopoloy	No manual
DX Nippon Tokkyou Ryokou Game Let's Travel Japan	CIB
Fighting Illusion K-1 GP 2000	CIB
Final Fantasy Tactics	CIB
Final Fantasy V	CIB
Final Fantasy VIII	CIB
Fist of the North Star	CIB
Gekitotsu Toma L'Arc: Tomarunner vs L'Arc-en-Ciel	CIB
GPM Gunparade March	CIB
Gucho de Park	CIB
Gundam the Battle Master	CIB
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone	CIB
Honkaku Mahjong Tetsumen Special	CIB "Best" version
Hots Shots Golf 2	CIB
I.Q Final	CIB
Itadaki Street Gorgeous King	CIB
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 95	CIB
Kawa no Nushi Tsuri: Hikyou o Motomete	Disc only
Kileak the Blood	CIB
Kouryuu Sangoku Engi	CIB
Martial Beat	CIB
Mingo Country Club Golf	CIB w/ Spine card
Mobile Suit Gundam Char's Counter Attack	CIB
Monster Farm	CIB
Moon Remix	CIB
Pass Max 2	CIB
Pocket Fighter	CIB + Pocket fighter stickered memory card
Pop'n Music 6	CIB
Pop'n Music 6	CIB
Puyo Puyo 2	CIB w/ Stickers
Quest for Fame Aerosmith	Big Box Complete w/ Pick
Rockman X4	CIB
Rockman X5	CIB w/ Spine card
Rockman X6	CIB
RPG Maker 3	CIB
SaGa Frontier I	CIB
SD Gundam G Generation	CIB
Shin Super Robot Taisen	CIB
Simulation Zoo	CIB
Super Robot Wars F	CIB
Tales of Destiny	CIB w/ Spine card
Tales of Eternia	CIB
Tenchu Shinobi Hyakusen	CIB w/ Spine card
Tennis no Oji-Sama: Sweat and Tears	CIB
Tetsunoko Fight	CIB w/ Spine card
The Chess Simple 1500 Series Vol 9	CIB
The Crown is For You Baseball	CIB w/ Spine card
The Fifth Element	CIB
The King of Fighters 95	CIB
The Tetris SuperLite 1500	CIB
Thirteen of Black / Kuro No Juusan	CIB
Tokyo Majin Gakuen Gehoujou High School Limited Edition	CIB
Trap Gunner	CIB w/ Spine card
Wedding Peach Doki Doki Oironaosi	CIB

Japanese PS2

Item	Notes
Canvas 2 Rainbow Color Sktech	CIB
D.C. II P.S. Da Capo II Plus DX Box Set	CIB
Dragon Ball Z 3	CIB
Everybody's Golf 3	CIB
Final Fantasy XI Special Art Box	CIB
Gachinko Pro Yakyuu Professional Baseball	CIB
Gekikuukan Pro Yakyuu At the End of the Century 1999	CIB
Gundam Musou Special	CIB
Kamen Rider Blade	CIB
Kanokon: Esuii	CIB
Kao no nai Tsuki Select Story DX Edition	CIB
Katekyoo Hitman Reborn! Let's Ansatsu!?	CIB
Mahjong Taikai III Millenium League	Disc only
Mobile Suit Gundam	CIB
Mobile Suit Gundam Climax U.C.	CIB
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed	CIB
Mobile Suit Gundam VS Z Gundam	CIB
Mobile Suit Gundam Z: AEUG vs. Titans	CIB
Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation vs. Zeon DX	CIB
Mystic Heroes - Chou Battle Housin	CIB
Naruto: Uzumaki Ninden Chronicles	CIB
Onimusha	CIB
Puyo Puyo 2 Perfect Set	CIB
Ratchet & Clank	CIB
Ratchet & Clank 2 Going Commando (GaGaGa!)	CIB "The Best" version
Ratchet & Clank 3	CIB "The Best" version
SD Gundam G Generation Neo	CIB
SD Gundam G Generation Seed	CIB
SD Gundam G Generation Spirits	CIB
Shin Onimusha Dawn of Dreams	CIB
Soul Eater Battle Resonance	CIB
Sui Year Zun Sweet Season	CIB
Taiko Risshiden IV	CIB
The Prince of Tennis Smash Hit! 2	CIB
To Heart	CIB
Viewtiful Joe A New Hope	CIB

Japanese PS3

Item	Notes
Power Smash 3 Virtua Tennis	CIB
Tales of Vesperia	CIB - "The Best" version
Wining Eleven 2013	CIB

Japanese PS4

Item	Notes
Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online Limited Edition	CIB

Want
Pokemon game wants (NTSC/US)
GBC pokemon crystal cart
GBA pokemon fire red cart
DS pokemon pearl CIB or cart only
3DS Pokemon Ultra Moon CIB
Gamecube Pokemon Colosseum CIB (main game, not bonus disc)
PS5 Wants
Neptunia Reverse
Record of Lodoss Wonder Labyrinth
Returnal
Kena bridge of spirits
Star Ocean
Valkyrie Elysium
Potentially other PS5 Offers
Box/Case/Manual wants
2DS XL Pokeball Edition Box & Inserts only
Code of Princess EX - Switch Case
DS Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - case and manual
DS Chocobo Tales - case and manual
DS Final Fantasy Tactics A2 - case and manual
DS pokemon white 2 Case and manual
DS pokemon black - Case and manual
DS Shin Megami Tensai Devil Survivor 2 - Case and manual only
Harvest Moon DS - case + manual
New Nintendo 3DS XL Galaxy Edition Box & Inserts only
Mario & Luigi Dream League 3DS XL Box & Inserts only
Mario Power Tennis Gamecube - Case + Manual
Phantasy star 1 & 2 plus gamecube - manual only
Pikmin 2 gamecube - manual only
Pokemon Channel Gamecube - Case and Manual
3DS Pokemon Art Academy - Case and manual
Pokemon XY Red 3DS XL Box & Inserts only
Puppeteer PS3 - Manual only
Other wants
Capcom Fighting Collection - Switch
Chrono Trigger - DS complete with map or just the map
Dreamcast light gun - needs to be a US model that will work with house of the dead 2.
Enter the gungeon - Switch
F-Zero - Looks for Gamecube (cib for gcn) and N64 cart
Final Fantasy 1 - NES cart
Final Fantasy XI collectables - open to offers if you have any
Final Fantasy Theatrhythm Final Bar Line - Switch
Fire Emblem games for 3DS
Ikaruga - Gamecube
Katamari Games - Looking for the Vita, Xbox 360, and PS2.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Switch
Kirby Return to Dreamland Deluxe - Switch
Legend of Zelda offers - open to offers on non explicitly stated zelda games, merch/items, etc.
Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks - DS CIB
Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom - Switch
Muramasa - PS Vita
Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol 1 - Switch
PS2 Light gun offers - looking for Light Gun games such as the time crisis series and a guncon for ps2.
Rabi-Ribi - PS4/Vita
Ratchet and Clank Quest for Booty PS3 (physical version, I think it's PAL exclusive)
Ratchet and Clank Vita Collection (physical version, I think it's PAL exclusive)
Senran Kagura Peach Beach Splash All service edition - PS4
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury - Switch
Tales Games for PS3 - Looking for Xilia 2 and Graces F
Tornado Outbreak - PS3
Virtual Boy - looking for a working system and some games (need system before game offers)
Wii U - Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE - special edition
Wii U - HD Windwaker Limited Edition (the one with the figure/statue)
Ys games CIB (mostly looking for PSP and older)
Zone of the Enders HD Collection - PS3
In the rare event anyone has a IIDX DJ DAO Phoenix Wan controller they want to swap I am looking for one.
Looking to work towards complete collection for Wii U - feel free to send offers for Wii U games you may be looking to trade off. Only interested in CIB items.
Potentially open to PS3-5/Vita/PSP/N64/GCN/Switch/3DS/DS offers. I am primarily interested in JRPGs (especially action RPGs), 2D platformers/action games, arcadey games, schmups, beat em ups, etc., but feel free to send me a list to look at!
Willing to consider Pokemon TCG trades as well (English or Japanese, singles/slabs/sealed)
I am not interested in digital codes for games (primarily seeking to add to physical collection).

This is all sort of a doozy, so apologies in advance for anything that doesn’t seem to make sense. It doesn’t really make sense to me, hence why I’m coming here and seeking advice on how to move past this.
I have been with my husband (DH) for ten years, married for five. He introduced me to his extended family early on, making it clear that his uncles and aunts and cousins are all very important to him and that they are very close as a large family. From the beginning I’ve gotten along with every family member I’ve met—I’ve been sweet, beyond cordial, and the first one to offer to clean after a celebration or bring a dish to share for a party.
Until about six week ago, I have had no real “drama” with any of these people. One cousin who is close in age to my husband and me, M, is kind of a lot as a person—there is literally not a single person we mutually know who she hasn’t shit talked extensively to me and she’s done a few things to me (unexpectedly leaving me stuck with expensive restaurant and hotel bills costing me upwards of $2k) that have made me realize I cannot trust her fully. After I gently confronted her after the first incident, she lied to my face and refused to take any personal responsibility, so I quickly learned the smartest thing I can do is enjoy her company when it’s positive and understand she’ll never be a real friend.
M’s brother, DH’s cousin Z, started dating a girl, K, about four years ago. From the start DH said she was trouble and emotionally manipulating the entire family, including Z. I was excited to potentially have a girlFRIEND in the family, so I pushed aside DH’s warnings, and those of my close girlfriends, who also met her and said she was not a good person. She is hopelessly insecure and she and Z constantly lie to each other. Moreover, she has always battled with Z’s mom L and his sister M. I totally understand what it’s like to be in an enmeshed family, so whenever K would vent to me about L, I tried to be an open ear while also making it clear that I had never seen L be anything but kind to her. When M would come up in these (and this is probably my biggest error) vent sessions, I usually said nothing but once did mention that M has hurt my feelings in the past, so I did understand that she was in a tough place.
Six weeks ago, about a week after I had casual drinks with K and mostly chatted about potential wedding plans, Z called DH screaming that I ruined his life. According to him, I… 1. Told K that Z routinely hung out with an ex of his 2. Baited K into talking shit about M and L, and that actually she loved them until I tried to convince her they were evil 3. Have had secret meetings with M and L, which M confirmed, to specifically talk shit about and make them hate K
Literally none of it’s true. I am far from a perfect human and am willing to take personal responsibility when it’s time, but these are all lies. Thankfully I have an amazing husband and DH told Z to fuck off with his lies. Z ended the call saying it was all really unfortunate, because he liked me, and he wanted DH and him to “be cool” again. DH reiterated that anyone who made up or was complicit in lies about his wife was not welcome in his life.
I got a text from M a few days later saying that I betrayed her and to not contact her for several months and “maybe” we can work this out then. Her mother L who cried to me at my rehearsal dinner thanking me for what I’ve done for the family and father P, who told DH he gives him more respect than his own son, have totally ghosted us.
Typing all of this out seems to make it clear that these people are absolutely nuts. They’re known liars, and this time they’re lying at and about me. And yet I’m having so much trouble letting go. These are people I’ve had fun with, shared holiday memories with, had at my wedding. I’ve never been treated like this and I’m having trouble coping and moving on. HELP!!

After a couple weeks of recovery, I've had some time to write up a trip report! This vacation was the best I've ever had and I'm excited to share some highlights here, along with some mistakes I made and travel tips. My plans were to meet up with two friends for the first 1.5 weeks of the trip, then to go solo for the last week. They would fly to Chicago to connect with me, then we'd all fly over together to Narita.
Pre-flight
- I filled out the Japan entry forms to provide proof of vaccination, declare for customs, etc. We saved a pretty good amount of time with that compared to people filling out paperwork on the plane.
- For phone / internet we went with pocket wireless and it was incredibly smooth basically the whole time. We got two units for times where we'd be separated as well as a pocket translator, which was an unnecessary expense. You're not getting any added value over Google Translate.
- For daily travel we all went with Suica and that was again a very simple, intuitive experience. I'd just periodically add on funds to my Apple Wallet and ended up paying for a bunch of stuff with that rather than cash / credit. My one friend went with the actual card instead of using his phone, which had one advantage: some ticket machines would only accept Suica via card and through the app.
- For the shinkansens we skipped the JR Pass and just booked tickets that day, which was mostly fine. The machines wouldn't accept my credit card so I'd need to go talk to a person, but I knew enough about where I wanted to go and what to do I muddled through. We did opt for the Hakone Free Pass as that would cover basically all the transportation for that area and saved a little money.
- I'm fortunate to have a friend living in Japan who helped arrange a couple events for us... if you don't have that option you can try to book some tickets at Lawson, or for restaurants you can try to go 1-2 days in advance and ask about reservations.
- I tried taking a language course ahead of the trip and learning a few key phrases... I was not able to hold a conversation but the little bit I did know helped I believe. One "caution" I'll give is that if you use Google Translate to construct a sentence for you in Japanese, you're likely to get a response in Japanese!
Part 1: Tokyo
2/15 + 2/16 - Friend B unfortunately overslept and missed his first flight, so Friend A and I met up in the morning at O'Hare. I did have to check one of my bags at the gate because it was over 10 lbs, but otherwise the trip was uneventful until we arrived at Narita, where I had a momentary panic when my checked suitcase did not show up on the carousel. I talked to an agent and for some reason, they had set my bag aside from all the others behind a sign. With that out of the way, we picked up the pocket wi-fi and on our way out the door, a film crew from "Why did you come to Japan" asked us if we would do a brief interview. I recognized their logo and thought it might be fun, but I wasn't prepared for a 40 minute conversation! I mentioned I was visiting a Game Center CX exhibit and they asked me a long line of questions about meeting the show's host (Shinya Arino), what I would say to him, what games we would play, etc. Finally I had to explain we were tired and would like to be on our way. I don't believe my interview was ever shown.
By the time we got tickets and were seated on the Narita Express, we could barely stay awake. Maybe because of the fatigue we had difficulty with exiting Shinjuku station: we eventually talked to an Australian family who showed us the fare exchange kiosk where we converted our Narita Express ticket into a regular train ticket for the gate. Once we settled that we checked into our hotel (Hundred Stay Tokyo Shinjuku), briefly went out to Family Mart for snacks, then crashed for the night.
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2/17 - We got up around 7 and went to a Sukiya near our hotel for breakfast, then headed over to Akihabara. Things were still opening up so we stopped for Mr. Donut, then visited a couple stores before moving further east to Yokozuna Tonkatsu Dosukoi Tanaka where we had a lunch / sumo demonstration. This was very much a tourist thing: there was a brief explanation of the sumo ceremony and technique before they invited the audience to get in sumo costumes and step in the ring and have matches with the wrestlers. I (and about 90% of the attendees) went up: this was absolutely not a serious match and was closer to improv comedy than anything. Still, we had a good time and the food was fine.
Afterward, we went back to Akihabara for a reservation at an owl cafe. We got some cute photos but I admit those owls could not have been happy, as there were 30 of them in a small room. The handlers would let one perch on your arm but were adamant you not let go of their leash, because if you did... it wouldn't be pretty. At this point we had to return to our hotel to link up with Friend B who had just arrived, then we went back to Akihabara for dinner. Dinner was at Merino, an all you can eat place where we had lamb and beef tongue in a hot pot. Fittingly, there was a collaboartion with a lamb girl V-tuber. We were again pretty wiped out after dinner and retreated back to our hotel.
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2/18 - After a quick stop at Family Mart we headed to Ueno for the Tokyo National Museum. Unfortunately the special exhibition was closed, but we enjoyed the historical artifacts that were available. We had a ramen lunch at one of the restaruants at Ueno Station, then head over to Akihabara (yes, again) and crawled through the shops in more depth. We were there on Saturday afternoon so there were people everywhere, so that only lasted for a couple hours. Our bags were full so we dropped things off at the hotel, then ate dinner at a Coco Ichibanya: we all kept our orders pretty low on the scale but as advertised, there's a kick even at "2". Finally we visited Star Club, a Super Mario themed bar located nearby. Despite the gimmick, the crowd appeared to be local aside from our group. We each ordered a couple of the themed drinks and bonded with the bartender over Cowboy Bebop through the language barrier, as he was playing the soundtrack for ambience.
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2/19 - Our first stop in the morning was the Ghibli Musem. While my previous visit had been lackluster, this one went much better as there was a significantly smaller crowd so early in the day. Plus, while they are still largely not supporting English, the movie shown had no dialogue and they did actually provide an English guide for the special exhibit on Future Boy Conan! The merch shop was of course seductive and we ended up with souvenirs for ourselves and friends. Our lunch plans unfortunately fell through as our targeted spot (Chillmatic, a burger place) was closed for a building inspection. We opted for another random ramen place as we walked over to the PARCO mall in Shibuya. We visited all the character stores (Nintendo, Pokemon, Capcom, etc.), which were of course also mobbed on a Sunday afternoon. At this point I had easily outgrown the space in my luggage, so our next stop was Don Quijote so Friend A and I could each buy a duffel bag. To make up for earlier we visited Shogun Burger for dinner, which was fantastic.
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2/20 - Our first travel day, but before heading out we did a little more shopping in Shinjuku: my friends and I really got into visiting every BookOff we could find. I also took the opportunity to stop at McDonalds for an early lunch and try their "exclusive" menu items. We then boarded the Odakyu line to make our way out to Hakone. In hindsight, I definitely should have forwarded a bag to our Kyoto hotel: I had a very uncomfortable trip moving between trains and walking uphill but after a couple hours we made it to Ajisai Onsen Ryokan. The building was in a traditional style but with modern furnishings: to paint a picture, our room had futons and an Amazon Fire Stick. We booked times to reserve some of the baths, then walked to a local gyoza place - and I mean local, a bunch of schoolchildren stampeded in with us as it opened - then headed back to the hotel for our evening bath. To cap the evening we enjoyed some sake and watched a few episodes of Spy x Family.
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2/21 - We got an early start with our morning bath and quickly came to a realization. The previous night we had booked the "indoor / outdoor" bath, which had both an indoor and outdoor bath but critically kept the showers indoors. For the morning we were in the "outdoor" bath, which... had the showers outdoors. When it was right around freezing. Afterward we ate breakfast at the hotel, then went on the "Hakone Loop". We started by walking through Gora Park and participating in a brief tea ceremony, then took the rope car up to Owaukudani. We were lucky and there were clear skies so Mt. Fuji was very visible in the distance. Unfortunately part of the ropeway was out of service so we took a bus down to Lake Ashi, which we then crossed by boat. We quickly stopped for snacks then walked along Ancient Cedar Avenue before catching a bus back closer to our hotel. We unfortunately missed the last cable car for the day - they stop before 4:30 - but we managed to figure out the local bus line to get back. After a brief rest we found dinner at Pub Stop Pizza & Bar and took in some local entertainment (a TV was playing Fast and the Furious 7).
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2/22 - Another bath, another hotel breakfast, and a quick stop at the Hakone Art Museum before we got on our way to our next destination. I asked / begged for us to take a cab back down the mountain to Hakone-Yumoto, which saved me from more luggage struggles. At the station we stopped in Eva-ya: I had only learned yesterday that Hakone is the setting for much of Neon Genesis Evangelion, but luckily they had some cover files and sweets ready for me to buy. After a couple hour trip on the shinkansen we arrived at Kyoto and with a bit of fumbling got to our hotel. The key here is that there is a second floor walkway that runs North - South through the station and doesn't require paying train fare. Our Kyoto hotel (Daiwa Roynet Hotel Kyoto Ekimae) had a very slick entrance way: it blended in with the building to the point you'd think you're walking towards a wall without signage. We did some laundry, then went next door to the Yodobashi to pick up a couple items (Friend A needed new sneakers) and literally got lost again. After again getting reoriented, we headed back to Kyoto Station where we got conveyor belt sushi. These places do technically exist where I'm from (US) but this was still one of my favorite moments on the trip.
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2/23 - Kicked off the day at the Kyoto International Manga Museum. The bulk of the museum is an impossibly large manga library, which didn't serve me too well, but I enjoyed the history sections. One room was devoted to sculptures of the hands of famous artists, which was certainly a choice. They also had an artist there who would draw sketches of you for 1500 yen. I was a little worried I was paying for the equivalent of a carnival caricature, but the skill and detail were much better than that. Be advised, the artists are only available on holidays and weekends.
Afterward I took the train down to Osaka to meet a friend living in Japan for... you guessed it more shopping. We visited the Capcom Cafe first and checked out the rest of the nerdy stores at Daimaru Umeda. Unlike in Shibuya, we did need to get a timed entry ticket for the Nintendo store, so we went over to Mandarake to kill time. After finishing up in Umeda we hit up the Daimaru / PARCO at Shinsaibashi, then visited the Dotunburi Glico sign and walked the river. They took my picture and when I offered to take theirs they replied "no... I'm not a tourist". Oof. In the evening I met back up with my travel group and had udon at a spot in Kyoto Station.
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2/24 - Slightly mixed things up here: we went to the Imperial Palace in order to get tickets for Katsura Imperial Villa. Unfortunately, same day tickets were not available as we expected, so we instead had to get them for Sunday 2/26. Still visited the palace, and in spite of the rain still had fun. Then back to Osaka where we ended up visiting Daimaru again - the other guys liked some photos I sent so much they wanted to see it too. Had takoyaki for lunch, then took the train to the Osaka Aquarium. The absolutely massive tank at the center was very impressive. Then stayed in the area and went to the park to wat a New Japan Pro Wrestling show. This was one of the first shows that allowed the whole audience to cheer: people were quiet but by the end of the night things were rocking. Interestingly they still only sat people in every other chair. Lastly while the other guys went to bed I had read on Twitter there was a party near our hotel to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Star Fox. Stopped by there and while it was a little awkward at first once I found the more gregarious / drunk people there it was a good time. One guy insisted I get in front of a camera and talk for a second, and it showed up in a video they posted on Twitter.
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2/25 - Went to Nara and saw the deer. The deer are docile if you don't have food, friendly if you do, and absolutely terrifying to children. The amount of "yada yada yada" and "kowai" I heard... At first we were giving whole crackers out, but we learned that we could break them up, leave them on our palm, get them to bow, etc. Headed over to Todai-ji and saw the huge Buddha. It was in fact very, very large. Doubled back and played with the deer a bit more, then took the train to Kyoto. I took the lull in the afternoon to visit the office of Edit Mode, a clothing maker that specializes in video game goods. They occasionally host an "open house" at their office and we were lucky enough to be there during one. For dinner we ate okonomiyaki at a restaurant in the Yodobashi building, then afterward took a trip to the nearest BookOff before hitting the hay.
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2/26 - This was definitely our biggest mixup on the trip. We had been planning to go to Fushimi Inari in the morning but there were some scheduling issues:

1. We didn't take not of how long the hike would be (2-3 hours).
   
2. We overslept (woke up at 7:30 instead of 6).
   
3. We had a hard stop time to make the Katsura Imperial Villa tour we'd booked on Thursday.
   

We probably should've just not gone to Fushimi Inari at all but we did and ended up arriving with less than an hour to stay. We walked up the steps for about 15 minutes, turned back, checked out the start of the path, and left :( At least the Villa was a good experience: we had an English speaking guide (+ recording) which helped a lot. The context felt necessary to understanding how carefully the whole area was designed.
Next up was one last stop at our Kyoto hotel before taking a quick train ride to Osaka. We stayed at the Hotel Granvia Osaka, which is literally right above the station, so the location was certainly convenient. We ate sushi for lunch at one of the many restaurants in the building, took a quick nap, then went out for some taiyaki. Specifically, I forced my friends to go to a particular chain that was collaborating with a V-Tuber. back to the hotel where we checked out then hopped on the train to Osaka. Checked into our hotel and people napped for a bit before we headed out again. Got taiyaki (making my friends visit a chain with a Hololive collab). More shopping followed with a stop at Mandarake, then to Don Quijote where I bought another small suitcase. We ended up more or less skipping dinner and heading out for karaoke, where we had some snacks and drinks.
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2/27 - For my friends' final day we went to Universal Studios Japan. This could be its entire own post but I recommend looking for tickets at least a month in advance, get the Express Pass, and get there early. The park is supposed to open at 9, and even though we showed up at 8:30 people were already pouring inside. Our main objective was Super Nintendo World but our timed entry wasn't for a couple hours, so we tried Jujutsu Kaisen 4D (okay), Spider-Man (good), and Jurassic Park the Ride (okay) first. As for Super Nitendo World itself... as long as you know it's intended for kids and has about a 4 hour lifespan you'll enjoy it. The Mario Kart ride was very good the AR game was interesting tech, and the restaurant food was alright. Really though, the Flying Dinosaur which went on afterward was incredible and easily my favorite ride. Unfortunately, Friend A became ill afterward so we ended up bailing to go back to the hotel and rest. After he felt better we grabbed dinner at a local ramen place: the gimmick was they lined the bowl with slices of pork, which you could then put in the broth to cook a little and season the whole bowl.
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2/28 - My two friends left for America, so we checked out of our room and I checked into a smaller one at the same spot. This hotel didn't have laundry machines, just an expensive service (200 yen to clean one pair of underwear), so instead I found a laundromat nearby and caught up with family by phone while I waited. On the way back to the hotel I stopped at another Yodobashi, where I committed a gaffe: you're supposed to check out on each floor. Once I apologized a bunch and paid, I grabbed lunch at Wendy's and got settled into my new room. For dinner I went to another of the restaurants in the building, then took a train to Namba to see a retro video game bar. A couple drinks and a chat with the bartender later, I headed back for the night.
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3/1 - A very nerdy shopping day in Osaka: first to the Daimaru character shops, then over to Parco character shops, then I just used Google Maps to hit BookOffs one after the other. I made my way south until I hit DenDen Town where I stopped in every store I saw until I had to break away for dinner. A local friend helped me book a reservation in Kobe Took the train out to Kobe where a friend had helped me make a reservation at a steak restaurant. I went for the "modarately" cheap option that was about $100 total and loved it from beginning to end. Also strangely this was the only restaurant anywhere I could tip: you had to tip individually and could only max it out at 500 yen. I tipped the two waiters, the chef, and the host / barker outside (who had good English so we talked a bit).
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3/2 - My Fushimi Inari revenge trip! I got there around 9am so things were already pretty busy, but I did get the chance to chat with one of the tour guides while I had a morning coffee. The starting area was pretty busy and even as I went along, I ran into a lot of people but there was still enough space to take photos and see everything. I definitely paused at a few points: even walking 20,000 steps daily on the trip hadn't prepared me for all the stair climbing. I'd also suggest that you don't NEED to go all the way to the top: there's just a store up there that completely obscures the view, the better views are earlier in the hike. With that said, I still really enjoyed myself, taking a different route back down. I grabbed a couple of snacks and took the train back to Osaka, where I finished up exploring Namba and went with a friend for an unagidon dinner. I'd had broiled eel before as sushi but never as the full entree and found it delicious!
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3/3 - After checking out of the hotel and forwarding two of my bags to Tokyo, I caught the shinkansen but made a detour while in Yokohama to visit the Gundam Factory. The Gundam is very impressive in person and I would definitely recommend visiting in the early evening to see it after dark if possible. I proceeded onto Shinjuku where I ran into another issue: I was staying at a capsule hotel and immmediately realized I was not comfortable there. Everyone's bags were kept in a locker room that was not closely monitored, there were signs everywhere advising the hotel was not responsible for any theft... I should have done more reading to understand where I'd be staying. I would have been better off in a hostel, at least that would've been cheaper! I did at least have a chance to visit Shogun Burger again for dinner, after which I booked a new hotel for the next night, then got a few hours of restless sleep as I heard every snore and cough from my neighbors.
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3/4 - I rose early and walked to Shinjuku Gyoen Garden. You really can use Suica in a lot of places, they even accepted it here! Most plants weren't in bloom yet but I did spot a lone cherry blossom tree that had blossomed: as I passed by it later in my walk a dozen people had crowded around for photos. A lot of stuff was not in bloom yet but I did see one cherry tree had blossomed at least. After getting my fill of nature I ventured over to Nakano Broadway. Out of all the nerdy shopping I did, this spot was my least favorite: maybe if I knew Japanese I would've fared better but because I didn't, I found all the various specialty stores confusing to navigate. I stopped back at the capsule hotel to pick up my luggage, then headed to Nipponbashi to check into my backup hotel (S-Peria Inn Nihonbashi Hakozaki). This new spot was pretty out of the way so I opted to just grab some sushi from a nearby supermarket and park it for the evening with the hope of a strong start tomorrow.
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3/5 - Checked out of my hotel and headed over to Shinjuku to check in to my final hotel (Kadoya Hotel) for the trip. Dropped off my bags and confirmed my other ones had shown up safely, then headed to Shibuya Parco for the Final Fantasy 35th Anniversary pop-up. Shopped there for a bit, then headed back to Chillmatic and this time they were open! It was a neat experience but I think I preferred Shogun Burger. Next stop was Meijijingu - I didn't leave a votive and instead just walked around, including a stop in one of the gardens. Then over to HMV Books where there was a 20th Anniversary Celebration for Game Center CX. However busy I expected it to be, it was not... at all. I was the only person who paid the 800 yen for the museum part in the 30-45 minutes I was there. But I did enjoy it and picked up a T-shirt. I also found a small pop-up gallery titled "9Days" on a lower floor that was interesting. It was getting late but I pressed onto Akihabara where I went to the Radio Kaikan tower. I stayed there until closing, then headed over to Tokyo Video Gamers, a bar. They had closed down last year but were in the middle of a soft re-launch when I stopped by. Finally, I headed back to my hotel and ordered some Dominos because I was tired of walking around.
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3/6 - Checked out of my hotel, but left my bags so I could go eat breakfast at Eggslut at the station. Took the Narita Express to the airport, shopped a little bit at the airport shops, then the long sad flight back to the US.
That was a linguistic dreadnought so if anything is unclear let me know and I'll try to clean it up. Hope you enjoyed and it helps with your own planning: I'll answer questions as best as I can!

I (31M) am seriously considering going no-drinking sober from here on out.
I just had a bachelor party in New Orleans and had an amazing time by all accounts. However, this Sunday I had yet another terrible terrible hangover. Throwing up all day, I wasn’t able to stomach anything until 11PM the following day. In a bunch of pain. Considered going to the hospital after momentarily seeing lights/blurryness in my vision. Im still weak and tired now 3 days later.
I don’t know what brand of alcoholism I have but I am perfectly fine 95% of the time, can have a few (1-3) drinks during an outing and be perfectly happy. Most days during the week I won’t drink at all. But with a perfect mix of social outing (such as a drinking oriented event like a bachelor party, wedding, or conference open bar) I find myself drinking too much. I usually end up having a good time and, from what others have said, I am usually mostly cogent and put together. But even tho I think I am drinking the same level as everyone else I have these almost-life-threatening hangovers the next day, where’s my friends and family who were with me seem perfectly fine, maybe slightly hung over the next day.
So it appears I have 2 compounding issues, I go over board during a drinking-forward event (beyond a simple outing to a bar or brewery, dinner etc) and have worse-than-average hangovers. Talking with my therapist he agrees that means I have some form of alcoholism and that the best treatment is total abstinence.
That’s daunting to me. I wish the I could keep enjoying some of my more “healthy” relationships with alcohol and avoid the “unhealthy” aspects. I haven’t seriously tried doing some type of drink-counting enforcement to reign myself in during a drinking-“event”. So a part of me thinks that may still an option. But the other part of me knows that may never work.
So I ask, is there such a thing as a moderate-drinking alcoholic? Or is that fairy dust? Your thoughts will be appreciated as I decide whether to make the ultimate first step into full on sobriety.

I thought about sharing this analysis to assess from an objective point of view what it would take to really bribe to get good refreeing decisions. This is structured by breaking down the payments made, analyzing a refs earning while making some assumptions which are called out as such.
Also bribing here considers only bribing 1 match official out of a usual party of 3-5 (pre-var) and 4-7 (post var) Let's start.
Over 20 years we paid 7 mil to Dasnil, which comes out to 350,000 euros a year. So in a season of 38 matches (league) + 7 matches (cdr and supercopa - on average) we must pay Dasnil about 7.5k euros per match.
Now based on the allegations - Dasnil can use about 7.5k euros (350,000 /45) from Barca per match for bribing - and ideally after taking out their commission say about 30% - that leaves a good enough amount of 5k Euros per match to bribe a referee.
Now the question is is 5k Euros per game enough to bribe a referee. My analysis says NO. For details read on -
To effectively bribe a referee Dasnil need to offer him enough money that is big enough that a referee might become less concerned about the significant risk of being caught cheating.
To do that we need to know how much a ref makes - which is about in the range of 350,000 euros on average in a year, plus per match level fees of ~10,000 per match. (sidenote: looking at Spain COL - the referees are absolutely in the top paid class. Average Spainish citizen earns ~15 times less than that in a year.)
Based on above - a ref can easily earn upwards of 30k euros per month, including adjustment for 1 off month, and excluding any international/club friendly appointment. So is 5k a good enough amount to bribe a referee who easily earns 30k euros a month - my thinking and experience says no it's too big a risk for just 1/6th of their clean money earning. I highly doubt it but I am willing to hear more opinions on this.
Based on this breakdown and assuming the risk cost - I think a reasonable ref would want at least a month's salary worth to accept such a bribe which is around 30k euros per match.
For Dasnil to bribe this amount it would need to invoice Barca upwards of 1.3 million euros per year and 27 million over the span of 20 years, which is obviously way way over (~380%) what barca paid to Dasnil.

UPDATE: We found a solution. Thanks for all the advice!
My parents' 50th wedding anniversary is coming up and my sister and I are throwing them a party with family/friends. One of the things we're working on now is catering. I'm the only vegan in my family. I'm not worried about feeding myself. I won't be consuming animal products. The problem is that I'm paying for half of the food. I hate the idea of purposely spending money on animal products, but this isn't my celebration. It's theirs.
Theoretically, I could ask my sister to pay for food and I'll cover the rest, but there's 2 problems with that idea. First, the food cost makes up ~80% of the total. Second, even if I'm not technically paying for the animal products, I still know that for all intents and purposes, I'm still paying for half of it.
Maybe I'm just venting. I don't really see any other option. But if anyone has any thoughts, I'm listening.
Has anyone else faced a similar problem?

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What’s wrong? You were only raped for 6 and a half thrusts.
She only gave away 32% of her property to charity? How immoral.
Clearly, Smith is an outstanding fellow as his washing machine is of average size.
How dare him for making $1.602 more than I make!
What is wrong with the arguments above? In each one, a moral judgement is made, be it condoning or condemnation. While the specific arguments here are quite rare, the logical fallacy that they rely on, arbitrary metrics, is disturbingly common.
Within each argument there exists something arbitrary. In the first argument, it is implied that to rape for 6 and a half thrusts is not a sinful (or bad) act. We are left wondering where the speaker draws the line between good and bad, or at least between innocuous and bad. Is rape not wrong, categorically? The argument seems to imply that rape is only wrong when it exceeds some arbitrary value beyond 6 and 1/2 thrusts.
The 2nd argument explicitly states that it is immoral to only give away 32% of one’s property to charity, but is giving to charity not a selfless and good act, categorically? Why would we need to impose an arbitrary metric unto it? And if we do impose an arbitrary metric that decides a value below which to give is immoral and above which to give is moral, then we would have no way of knowing what that special value is, we would have to subjectively define it. Such is the dilemma of using arbitrary metrics for moral judgement.
The 3rd argument states that Smith is outstanding because his washing machine is within the size parameters of the average washing machine. Is it not Smith’s own decision what to do with his own property? If he wants a tiny washing machine or a large washing machine, no washing machine at all, or one of every variety, that is his decision and not our business at all.
Lastly, the 4th argument is quite interesting since it claims that a lack of equality is immoral, which is also an arbitrary argument. Equality is impossible as all men are different and regions have variable resources. Indeed, it can even be shown that it is an impossible goal, yet many statists have used this impossible target as a basis for flawed ethical arguments.
The way in which the public defines the word “monopoly” is based on arbitrary ethics that are no less silly than the four examples I presented.

Monopoly vs “Monopoly”

The public, including the media, uses an arbitrary de facto definition of “monopoly”. Many, even those of whom that advocate for small government, claim that a business is a monopoly merely because it has few or no competitors. By itself, this is an arbitrary definition of a monopoly. Whenever a new product is invented, by the definition above the innovators involved would constitute a monopoly since new products necessarily means that no competitors exist yet. Furthermore, due to specialization of tasks, no business is the same even among a similar line of products. Technically, they each can be argued to be monopolies. This may sound silly, but that is the point – if law is arbitrary, it will be used tyrannically. The state could choose who to target; similar to how it chose targets in the public interest era; similar to how statists choose today.
Ultimately, the size of a business is an arbitrary metric that is no less silly than the statement “You were only raped for 6 and a half thrusts.” In fact, as we will see in our economics chapter, the size of a business in a free market is an indicator of how much utility it has provided society as opposed to how evil it is according to the statist.
The sector that a business operates in is arbitrary as well, since it can be defined to mean anything. As mentioned with the specialization of tasks, no two businesses are identical, so the “sector” can be divided up as minutely or as broadly as we like, effectively handing the state the powers to target whomsoever they wish to target.
Finally, the region that a business operates in is arbitrary. A local supermarket is a monopoly by the state’s standards if only we define the street or town that the supermarket exists in as it’s “region”.
By tampering with any of the three arbitrary metrics of size, sector, or region, any individual or business can be defined as a de facto monopoly and subject to antitrust enforcement. The definition literally claims that good-vs-bad hinges on the extent to which a thing exists.
I could propose something truly radical - that what is evil ought to be proven with careful argumentation and that arbitrary metric cannot possibly identify evil.
There is a fourth major issue with the antitrust argument and the idea of the de facto monopoly.
The antitrust scholar, armed with his arbitrary metrics, conveniently excludes a key assumption when forming his arguments. He and his following of statists argue that if a business becomes large enough, it will have little or no real competitors within it’s sector; and thus, it will “price gouge”. His predictions fail, repeatedly. [That is, his predictions fail with the ironic exception of true monopolies, which he ignores. The tech platforms did indeed price gouge, where the price was in information rather than in money, but they did not price gouge simply when they became “large”. They price gouged once they had legal privileges from the state sector.]
The assumption that the antitrust scholar conveniently excludes is the existence of virtual competitors – competitors that do not exist but could in the near future. Time and again, he asks, “What is stopping a de facto monopoly from artificially raising prices?” The de facto monopoly does not do this because it could face retribution from a new rival that does not exist yet. In fact, contrary to what the antitrust scholar claims, larger corporations tend to operate efficiently and lower prices! The Apple Store is a market unto itself that is regulated by Apple and with Apple products being sold in it. Apple literally regulates a market that it also competes in. Why not charge their competitors a ridiculous fee for placing their products in that market? Even before the Google Store and other app-related retailers came into existence, Apple charged a reasonable fee to host other products in their store, because even early on, Apple could be punished by its customers. If outrage grew, some individual would capitalize on that outrage because it would benefit him to steal Apple's customers. Apple, since it is not a real monopoly, has to consider the virtual competitor because Apple cannot exclude competitors by force, which was what a true monopoly was defined as before statists corrupted the term. The existence of the virtual competitor is a feature of the free market, because a person that does not provide some service could freely create that service if he wishes to. Such a simple and praxeologically true assumption is conveniently ignored by the antitrust scholar when he claims that successful businesses will price gouge.
The arbitrariness (size, sector, and region) along with the denial of reality (virtual competitors) of the new definition of "monopoly" (the de facto monopoly) creates an incentive for normal people to disseminate statist propaganda. That propaganda necessarily takes the form of anti-free-market ideas that do not hold up to scrutiny. Rothbard neatly addressed anti-free-market criticisms grounded in the statist’s notion of “monopolies”:

If we define “monopoly” as the “single seller of a product,” we founder on insoluble problems. We cannot identify homogeneous products, except in the concrete day-to-day valuations of consumers. Furthermore, if we consider such monopoly as wicked, we must regard both Crusoe and Friday as vicious monopolists if they exchange fish and lumber on their desert island. But if Crusoe and Friday are not wicked, how can a more complex society, one necessarily less monopolistic in this sense, be at all wicked? At what point in the reduced scope of such monopoly can it be considered evil? And how can the market be held responsible for the number of people inhabiting the society? Moreover, every individual striving to be better than his fellows is thereby trying to be a “monopolist.” Is this bad? Do not both he and the rest of society benefit from his better mousetrap? Finally, there is no conceptually identifiable monopoly or monopolistic price on the free market. ^{Rothbard, p. 1299}

Statist propaganda is any verifiably untrue sentiment (unwittingly or deliberately proselytized) meant to exorcise or expand the state's power to the destruction of prosperity. All one has to do is ask the question: Can market losers (the deal-with-the-devil engineer or the dirty fighter) use this definition and the state's power to serve their special interests? Until the public begins to distinguish between the statist's de facto definition of a monopoly, and the means-oriented definition (a de jure monopoly, or monopoly in law), then antitrust enforcement will lead to lesser freedoms, more state powers, and contrary to the statist’s claims, less competition.

The proper way to deal with evil is first to identify its very principle; only then can this evil be abolished. Intervention and regulation, instead of banishing evil, only institutionalize it, and use public coercion to promote and continue this evil in official ways, instead of dispelling it. If government somehow monopolized the efforts to keep other monopolies in check, the urgent thing to do is not to use this government monopoly, but to abolish it^\71])

If reasoning alone does not suffice, perhaps empiricism will. Antitrust cannot address problems, as was the case with Microsoft in 2000 where illegal activity was not addressed, and legitimate, benign behavior was punished.^\Rideau])
The inefficacy of antitrust results from an arbitrary de facto definition of 'monopoly’ - that a business is a monopoly because it is large and has few or no competitors - and the denial of reality, namely the fact that a business cannot exclude his competitors by force (which enables in the virtual competitor).
If a reader is still not convinced, I urge him to find an example of a de facto monopoly that price gouges or does anything that angers consumers without facing immediate consequences. What inevitably results is a critic will find a legitimate evil occurring, but that evil is the result of a de jure monopoly, a monopoly in law.
In a free setting, no business has ever angered consumers and not faced the consequences unless that business has some de jure monopoly status - status that can only result from government. The reason for this is simple. The de facto monopoly cannot exclude competitors by force, so for it to be successful, it must obey the principle of reciprocity. Only a de jure monopoly can exclude by force. As such, we need to establish a more logical criteria for the word “monopoly” since the statists (socialists, Marxists, socialists-in-all-but-name, conservatives, etc) corrupted the term.

Criteria based on law and other legal constraints define monopolies in law: there is a (quasi)monopoly in law when laws (or any kind of rules enforced by the use of public force) establish a monopoly by preventing customers from seeking providers not blessed by the political power, or equivalently by preventing potential competitors from providing services that compete with those from the protected provider(s). To a libertarian, such laws that promote a de jure monopoly are an assault on the liberties of consumers and competitors, even when they fail to result in a monopoly in fact.”^\Rideau])

What Rideau is saying here is that a monopoly is forced onto consumers. It may not always result in a de facto monopoly, but it is forced onto them regardless. For instance, a town may have private mail carriers and government mail carriers. A citizen of this town may choose to use the private mail carriers. The government mail carrier is still a de jure monopoly however. Regardless of whether or not a citizen uses it, he is forced to pay for it (taxation) upon penalty of further fines, imprisonment, violence, or death.
Another example is Housing Regulation, which is a de jure monopoly that happens to also be a de facto monopoly. If two parties wish to exchange a house, they must use the state’s Housing Regulation. To not use it bears the penalties mentioned above, and citizens don’t even have the option in this example to use a private analogue to Housing Regulation. In fact, to attempt to use a private regulatory party for a housing exchange bears the same consequences as if the two exchanging parties decided that they did not need the Housing Regulation to begin with. As a result, if housing regulation is a service that people value and would freely choose, it would matter not because for someone to attempt to provide this service in the economic sector is strictly forbidden by the de jure monopoly of government housing regulation, not unlike other de jure monopolies (state agencies, state licensing, state regulation, etc). Ironically, this is one example that the antitrust scholar’s neglectfulness of the virtual competitor actually holds true, yet no such “scholar” is going to analyze true monopolies.
Government licensing and regulation agencies that act as coordinators^\u]) are de jure monopolies precisely because they are third parties that two parties must contract through in order to do business with one another. There are no virtual competitors allowed. Such actions not only decrease the prosperity of society by forcing all of society to pay for them, but also by degrading the efficiency and possibilities provided only by the free market.
For perspective, if an exchange takes place between buyers/sellers, and they choose to use a third party as a security or coordinating measure, the exchange has to absorb the price of that third party – the seller will receive less, and the buyer will pay more because the 3rd party has a cost. This is perfectly acceptable if the two parties freely choose the 3rd party's services, and this scenario reduces down to two separate sets of parties engaging with one another freely. In this way, free market coordination or security obeys the principle of reciprocity and other competitive factors, making these much more efficient and competent services than their government analogs, yet where a government licensing, certification, or agency exists, such free market dynamics are strictly forbidden. Indeed, it is highly hypocritical of the anti-trust scholar to neglect such arguments and to even use arbitrary metrics and illogical arguments to grant true monopolies more power!^\v])
For the de jure monopoly, such as a government regulation, the exchange will nevertheless have to absorb those efforts (taxes and other fees). Now imagine if many, many industries or even entire market sectors had de jure monopolies in them – 3rd parties we are forced to contract with.

Government intervention, subventions, privileges, regulations, taxes, differential treatment, legal discriminations, and all pieces of legislation, are indeed coercive destruction of riches that generate de jure monopolies. Often, this intervention takes the form of laws enacted in the name of the ``public welfare´´, that limit the freedom to contract: the government forces certain transactions to take certain forms, with employers, landlords, retailers and others being bound to conditions not born from the mutual interests of exchangers: minimal and maximal prices, minimal and maximal limitations in the schedule, duration, quality and other conditions of work, of housing, of retail, etc.”^\Rideau])

The tech platforms and the CVE community began as economic traders, but now contain de jure monopoly status since (1) excess coerced funds were gifted to them by the state and since (2) coerced funds were used by the state to provide privileges for the participating businesses and to slander their opposition^\w])
The chosen platforms have de jure monopoly status due to state intervention. Facebook and Google are not monopolies because they are “big”. They are monopolies because they have legal privileges and because their competitors are excluded or discouraged by government action. Their competitors have more legal and political hurdles to overcome than Facebook and Google had when they were being formed. Facebook, Google, Twitter, and the other 54 organizations involved are monopolies because force is being used on their competitors and on their critics. Force is being used to keep them from failing.
anti-trust enforcement {n.} the body of law claiming that voluntary exchanges are evil if certain arbitrary qualifications are met; the body of law that alters the definition of “monopoly” to allow The State to regulate voluntary exchanges^\x])
The answer is not to wield the thing that causes this - de jure monopolies - against Facebook and Google, but to abolish it. Only by abolishing de jure monopolies would we end the tyrannical reign of “big tech” and the CVEs.
Finally, the de jure monopolist (or the government official, be it a proxy or established government official) has a dual interest that the economic trader does not have.
People pursue their own interests to the best of their ability and engage in mutually beneficial exchanges if free to do so. Otherwise, the party being taken advantage of wouldn't participate in such exchanges. Hence, free exchanges must be mutually beneficial, though critics of the free market cannot admit this.
The state sector is still dominated by individuals pursuing their interests as well, but there are two goals of the individual in the state sector: (1) perform the service of the government agency, and (2) maintain one's position in that agency. There is no such duality in the economic sector, because by engaging in an exchange with another party, a person is satisfying his own ends while simultaneously satisfying another’s. For the government official, his ends (maintaining his government position) does not necessarily mean that he benefits the other party (tax payers).
Fundamentally, the problem with the de jure monopoly (government) is that: The government official is insulated from the basic principle of reciprocity.
Two other points to make about the differing interests is that in the economic sector, people can fail and make calculations based on the free market exchange. If the economic trader’s endeavor fails, it is because others did not want to engage with it or were not aware of it; in which case he abandons it, calculates how it can be fixed to provide more utility to others, or calculates how it can be marketed to make others aware of its existence. He fails or re-calculates.
In the state sector, there is no metric (the profit-and-loss test) to gauge the competence of state endeavors because they are de jure monopolies with no competition and/or no free exchange. In fact, if it is faulty, it will receive more funding. As Milton Friedman puts it, "If a government enterprise fails, it is expanded."^\72])
One of the clearest examples of both this duel interest and a feedback loop that creates more government is public testimony at congressional hearings. It has been observed that in certain hearings, the majority of people who testify are government workers – federal administrators, local officials, tax-paid teachers, and congressmen themselves. They can even outnumber citizens (economic agents) at hearings. To be clear, government workers attempt to increase their own funding by showing up to House hearings in order to impact Congressional votes. The larger the state apparatus gets, the more feedback that government will give itself to increase the size of itself.
These people keep their jobs by impacting political votes – not by being good at their jobs. That is a dual interest that a simple de facto monopolist cannot have.
But the corporation has special privileges, right?
Since the nature of the corporate model has been questioned by both libertarians/capitalists and non-libertarians/capitalists, I shall now address the “privileges” of the corporation...
​
​
} end quote The Modern Control of Information: V. The Great Legal Indoctrination
tl;dr only a limp noodle accepts the antitrust argument

TL:DR Slim, mature, responsible, and intellectual guy seeking a petite to average size (as in, not overweight, not that you have to be short haha) younger girl (18 or older) that's going to graduate HS this year, or did recently (i.e. the last few years or so) that wants the build the deepest, most romantic and loving relationship with someone that genuinely wants to get to know and understand them on a deep level! Also, someone that will DEEPLY appreciate them, on a level most boys her age could only dream of. Someone that will THOROUGHLY enjoy spending TONS of time with you, savoring every second, loving the memories you're making together, and the things you learn about each other as you get to know and understand each other that much better! A girl that wants to experience a "young love" style of romance, and by that I mean going on all sorts of dates, including some cheesy ones, holding hands a lot while we walk around in parks, at the mall, even at the supermarket if you wish (if you're super shy we can hold off on the PDA such as hand holding until you're more comfortable). By "young love" I also mean just being very romantic, excited to see and spend time with each other, and also lots of hugs and cuddles and kisses (only in private is fine at first if you're shy). Do all sorts of things in life together, cuddle, travel, explore, and just in general enjoy life together and spending time together. Also trying lots of new things together and really appreciating the memories we're making together! Basically just going all-in on the romance / relationship and giving it our all, and just thoroughly enjoying the ride as we get to know each other better and better, and hopefully we click well enough to stay together forever! <3
So that gives you a decent idea of who and what I'm looking for, but there's still more details I'd like to go into, as well as telling some more about myself, so you can better understand who I am.
Ideally I'm looking for a girl that just graduated HS (or did in the last few years), but anyone up to ~25 or so is welcome. If you're shy, even extremely shy, or have strict parents [those aren't requirements either], this could be a great opportunity for you, as I used to be extremely shy when I was younger too (and also had strict / controlling parents, so I understand how that can be too). If you're outgoing, and/or just want to explore new things and places in life, that's cool and fine too! Size wise, as I'm a relatively slim guy myself, I'm attracted to girls that are petite to average weight. I want to be able to do some athletic things together like walking/jogging/perhaps some sports (and/or other things, depending on what you're into). So it's not just an attraction thing that I'm not interested in people overweight, it's a matter of lifestyle / mentality / and being able to do certain things together. Of course I expect my partner to have the same expectations of me, that I don't get fat either.
Anyways, moving on, so thanks for reading my post so far, and if you're looking for what I'd described, hopefully you'll read on and find me interesting, and if so, PLEASE send me a message! It's fine if you are just curious and want to ask some questions and learn more first, before making any decisions / jumping into anything! With that in mind, let me describe myself a bit. I'm a slim, intellectual guy, often been called cute, and I'm pretty upbeat and optimistic, but I've been a bit lonely lately and would LOVE to find a girl that wants a deep, loving, emotionally and mentally close relationship, and is willing to put in the time and effort to build that - assuming of course we click well enough. That doesn't mean we need to rush into things, and I'm not looking to - I'm just saying that should be our end goal. If we date for a while and then decide we're not a close enough match, well, it happens sometimes, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try! So, to address the elephant in the room, yes, I would be a good bit older than you, so obviously you need to be OK with dating a middle aged guy, and I realize that's not for everyone - and that's fine. I'm not looking to pressure anyone into anything. But I also know that there most definitely ARE some girls out there that are open to that, as well as some that specifically prefer that. There's advantages to dating someone a bit older than you, such as them being a lot more mature, responsible, considerate, respectful, and, perhaps most importantly, appreciate life and a deep relationship sooooo much more. Someone whom knows when they have someone special with them, and can appreciate and enjoy that on a level that someone your age can't. Anyways, as long as you're genuinely open to a deep, serious relationship with someone my age, hopefully someday leading to a serious LTR and kids, that's fine. Like I said, I'm not looking to rush into anything, I want to spend some time chatting and getting to know each other first, so we can get comfortable with each other before meeting. So if you're shy, even extremely shy, don't worry, it's OK! I actually used to be EXTREMELY shy when I was young, so I totally understand how that can be, and I usually can get along well with shy people because I've been there and understand where they're coming from. Also, if needed I can carry the conversation until you start getting more comfortable and more talkative. ;) If you've been too shy to talk to guys you like (or possibly you do like older guys but are WAY too shy to approach one) - but genuinely DO want a relationship and would love to find someone willing to spend the time to get to know and truly understand you, this could be the opportunity you're looking for! On the other hand, if you're outgoing and love to chat [and looking for a relationship], that's totally fine too! haha Both sides of that coin can be fun, so I'm cool with either way you are. ;)
Alternatively, maybe you had a bad time at prom (or some other romantic event you were looking forward to), or didn't go, or didn't have anyone to go with, or maybe it was OK but didn't nearly live up to your expectations, and would love to get to have some romantic evenings and memories. Or maybe you just didn't get out much (or had super strict parents that didn't let you) and want to get out into the world and explore new places and new things, etc. and would love to have a romantic partner to share all those experiences and memories together with!
...or maybe you had suuuuper strict parents and want to finally get out from under the rock you were living under and finally get to see and do many of the things you've wanted to for a long time! (I would totally understand this one as I had very strict parents)
Maybe you've had a few relationships before but you never clicked very deeply with any of them (and/or they were just too immature), and you're looking for a relationship that's much deeper and more meaningful than that. Or maybe you've never had anyone that you've connected well enough to to feel that they really understand you. ...while I can't promise that we'll click well enough for that to happen, I'd like that to be the goal, and there's certainly a non-zero chance of it happening haha.
Perhaps you're REALLY wanting to be able to fully dive into a relationship as soon as you graduate, and are looking forward to, not necessarily Prom [although possibly that too], but also/mostly just would love to be able to take a long romantic vacation / visit once you're done with school and have some freedom. An opportunity to be yourself and learn about both yourself and your romantic partner.
Or, lastly, maybe you're just single and would love to have someone to cuddle with, talk to, share everything with, watch movies or shows together with, play games together, and travel or explore together!
Anyways, whatever the case is for you, if you think I'm interesting and would like to explore some or all of those things, I'd love to hear from you! Before I get too far ahead of myself, let you tell you a little about me. I'm 39 (but I look a bit younger), white, 5'11" and relatively slim at 165 lbs. I enjoy walking and jogging in the park, as well as exploring new parks / seeing new places and new scenery. Although it's 100 times better when I have someone to enjoy that with and talk to meanwhile! <3 Anyways, I do have a number of nerdy interests - games, movies, anime, computers, science stuff, etc., but I can also enjoy long conversations with a date, walks in the park - or on the beach, playing board, card, or video games together, or sports, etc. Plus I'm open to learning some interests of yours - I can't promise I'll be interested in all of your interests, but it's extremely likely that I'd at least enjoy hearing you talk about them, and some of them I may be happy to join you in (this is very likely). We don't need to share ALL of the same interests, as long as we share a few haha. As far as games go, I'm primarily (almost entirely) a PC gamer, but I occasionally play some console games (primarily older consoles). My favorite thing to do is to cuddle up and watch something fun or interesting, such as movies, YouTube (I watch a lot of YouTube), Anime, Netflix, or Kdramas (occasionally). So you need to at minimum be someone whom would enjoy cuddling up and watching things together with me haha ... but then, almost everyone enjoys doing that. Oh, and I also have a relatively newfound love for Theme Parks and water parks since I recently started going back to them for the first time as an adult recently, and there's many more I'd love to go to - as well as re-visit the ones I've been to with someone special going with me to share the experience with. <3 I'm also curious to try out some amusement parks now that I'm getting more comfortable on rollercoasters.
Anyways, that's a bit about me, I'd love to hear some about you and what your interests are! And maybe note some shared interests that we have! Of course I do have some additional interests, I haven't listed EVERYTHING haha, nor do you need to in a first message haha. Just because my post is long doesn't mean your messages have to be haha. ;)
As for requirements for you, I'm pretty open minded on most things, so I'll try to keep the requirements pretty minimal. Ideally I'm looking for someone that's white or Asian, or some mix thereof (i.e. if you're 50/50, or 50/50 white or Asian and something else, that's fine). I'd consider making exceptions to this for the right person, if we really clicked otherwise. ;) Age wise, while it would be nice to find someone about to graduate HS (and is excited to use their newfound freedom to explore so many new things in life and the world), I'm willing to consider someone a bit older, up to early to mid 20s, as long as we share a number of interests and you feel like you're looking for something similar to what I've described. It's more that I'm looking for someone with a certain mindset and/or at a certain point in their life, not necessarily that they're SUPER young. My main requirement is, as someone that's slim (and sometimes athletic, when I have time to get more exercise), I need you to also BE [as opposed "working on it"] average weight or below, and plan to stay there (but also to expect me to as well - I don't expect anything from a partner that I don't have at LEAST as high expectations of myself about). I find petite girls super cute, but average size girls are fun and cute as well! Both sizes have their fun and interesting points haha, so I'm fine if you're either one.
Anyways, I think I've talked long enough for now haha, but that gives you a decent idea what I'm looking for plus some basics about me. As the title says, while ideally I'd love to find someone within 3 hours of Harrisonburg, VA, I'm willing to consider someone anywhere in the US (probably just the lower 48 states). Drives longer than 3 hours are definitely still very plausible, possibly even 8 or 10 hours perhaps, and flying is an option if you live significantly further away (plus points if you live anywhere remotely near a major airport, but that's not a requirement). Anyways, my point is, if you're further away than a few hours drive, I'd need you to be willing to travel / work with the distance when the time comes - particularly with the drastically increased costs of gas/travel these days. For example, if you're pretty far away, then after the first visit or two, we'd probably need to be planning longer visits when one of us travels to the other. Anyways, I'm not looking to rush into meeting, but I'm also NOT INTERESTED in an online only relationship. We need to start meeting in person in the relatively near future (i.e. a few weeks or so (possibly several weeks if you're far), assuming we talk a good bit during those few weeks). Also, I'm willing to come to you the first visit (or perhaps more) if you're far, but after the first visit or two you'd need to be willing to visit me (I might be willing to pay for your flight if you can't, we'll see), as that's going to be a LOT cheaper than me flying out somewhere, getting a hotel, and renting a car. On the other hand, if you're much closer, within a reasonably driving range, if needed I could pick you up in my car once you're ready to visit (and I can just drive to you for the first few visits). And if you're within 3 hours or so drive, I'm happy to drive to you for several visits at first, until you're ready to visit me. Regardless of the timing, I'm not going to pressure you do visit me before you're comfortable doing so, and it's something we can play by ear. For example, if you're someone that's super shy I understand if it takes a few extra times of me visiting you before you're ready to visit me, or perhaps we need to chat some extra time first, etc.
Well, thanks for reading my rather long post haha, hopefully I've piqued your interest, and if so, I'd love to hear from you! Certainly feel free to ask me any questions you may have, either if you're interested, or if you're curious but need to know some more before you know if you're interested haha. Also, I'm happy to exchange some (clean!) pictures of each other after a few messages. On that note, when you message me, please tell me at least a little about you (i.e. age, race, height/weight, and a little about you and what you're looking for). Thanks again, and hopefully this can be a great opportunity for both of us, and the start of something amazing!
P.S. To the SUPER shy and lurkers out there - yes, you, you know who you are - if you've been looking and wanting a relationship for a while, but have been too shy to ever post yourself or respond to a post, but you find me / what I'm looking for interesting, THIS is the post for you, THE one you've been waiting for. I've talked to a few VERY shy girls occasionally, and it was such an amazing experience for some of them to talk to someone that understands them and is willing to take the time to get to know them, and give them time to get comfortable before meeting. Someone that can help them slowly come out of their shell, gently nudging them to try new things and slowly be more outgoing, but without being pushy. So if that's you, you fit what I described that I'm looking for, and you're THAT shy but really DO want to be in a relationship, THIS is the post that's the opportunity for you. You've found the person that's willing to spend the time to get to know you and let you get comfortable, and also the guy that's going to enjoy and appreciate spending time with you in person if/when we get to that point (hopefully, that's the objective). I understand that shy girls, if you can get to know them well enough that they get comfortable with you, can often build some of the deepest emotional connections, because they appreciate the few close friends they do have SO much moreso than average people. So, if that's you, and you've been wanting a relationship for a while but been too shy to message anyone, PLEASE do this time! <3 I can carry the conversation if needed, but you need to at least say "hi" so that I know you're interested! [If you're too shy to say much, just say "Hi, I'm shy but I'd love to chat" or something like that]. :) Romance doesn't have to be just something you read about in books or watch in movies, YOU CAN experience it yourself! <3

TL:DR Slim, mature, responsible, and intellectual guy seeking a petite to average size (as in, not overweight, not that you have to be short haha) younger girl (18 or older) that's going to graduate HS this year, or did recently (i.e. the last few years or so) that wants the build the deepest, most romantic and loving relationship with someone that genuinely wants to get to know and understand them on a deep level! Also, someone that will DEEPLY appreciate them, on a level most boys her age could only dream of. Someone that will THOROUGHLY enjoy spending TONS of time with you, savoring every second, loving the memories you're making together, and the things you learn about each other as you get to know and understand each other that much better! A girl that wants to experience a "young love" style of romance, and by that I mean going on all sorts of dates, including some cheesy ones, holding hands a lot while we walk around in parks, at the mall, even at the supermarket if you wish (if you're super shy we can hold off on the PDA such as hand holding until you're more comfortable). By "young love" I also mean just being very romantic, excited to see and spend time with each other, and also lots of hugs and cuddles and kisses (only in private is fine at first if you're shy). Do all sorts of things in life together, cuddle, travel, explore, and just in general enjoy life together and spending time together. Also trying lots of new things together and really appreciating the memories we're making together! Basically just going all-in on the romance / relationship and giving it our all, and just thoroughly enjoying the ride as we get to know each other better and better, and hopefully we click well enough to stay together forever! <3
So that gives you a decent idea of who and what I'm looking for, but there's still more details I'd like to go into, as well as telling some more about myself, so you can better understand who I am.
Ideally I'm looking for a girl that just graduated HS (or did in the last few years), but anyone up to ~25 or so is welcome. If you're shy, even extremely shy, or have strict parents [those aren't requirements either], this could be a great opportunity for you, as I used to be extremely shy when I was younger too (and also had strict / controlling parents, so I understand how that can be too). If you're outgoing, and/or just want to explore new things and places in life, that's cool and fine too! Size wise, as I'm a relatively slim guy myself, I'm attracted to girls that are petite to average weight. I want to be able to do some athletic things together like walking/jogging/perhaps some sports (and/or other things, depending on what you're into). So it's not just an attraction thing that I'm not interested in people overweight, it's a matter of lifestyle / mentality / and being able to do certain things together. Of course I expect my partner to have the same expectations of me, that I don't get fat either.
Anyways, moving on, so thanks for reading my post so far, and if you're looking for what I'd described, hopefully you'll read on and find me interesting, and if so, PLEASE send me a message! It's fine if you are just curious and want to ask some questions and learn more first, before making any decisions / jumping into anything! With that in mind, let me describe myself a bit. I'm a slim, intellectual guy, often been called cute, and I'm pretty upbeat and optimistic, but I've been a bit lonely lately and would LOVE to find a girl that wants a deep, loving, emotionally and mentally close relationship, and is willing to put in the time and effort to build that - assuming of course we click well enough. That doesn't mean we need to rush into things, and I'm not looking to - I'm just saying that should be our end goal. If we date for a while and then decide we're not a close enough match, well, it happens sometimes, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try! So, to address the elephant in the room, yes, I would be a good bit older than you, so obviously you need to be OK with dating a middle aged guy, and I realize that's not for everyone - and that's fine. I'm not looking to pressure anyone into anything. But I also know that there most definitely ARE some girls out there that are open to that, as well as some that specifically prefer that. There's advantages to dating someone a bit older than you, such as them being a lot more mature, responsible, considerate, respectful, and, perhaps most importantly, appreciate life and a deep relationship sooooo much more. Someone whom knows when they have someone special with them, and can appreciate and enjoy that on a level that someone your age can't. Anyways, as long as you're genuinely open to a deep, serious relationship with someone my age, hopefully someday leading to a serious LTR and kids, that's fine. Like I said, I'm not looking to rush into anything, I want to spend some time chatting and getting to know each other first, so we can get comfortable with each other before meeting. So if you're shy, even extremely shy, don't worry, it's OK! I actually used to be EXTREMELY shy when I was young, so I totally understand how that can be, and I usually can get along well with shy people because I've been there and understand where they're coming from. Also, if needed I can carry the conversation until you start getting more comfortable and more talkative. ;) If you've been too shy to talk to guys you like (or possibly you do like older guys but are WAY too shy to approach one) - but genuinely DO want a relationship and would love to find someone willing to spend the time to get to know and truly understand you, this could be the opportunity you're looking for! On the other hand, if you're outgoing and love to chat [and looking for a relationship], that's totally fine too! haha Both sides of that coin can be fun, so I'm cool with either way you are. ;)
Alternatively, maybe you had a bad time at prom (or some other romantic event you were looking forward to), or didn't go, or didn't have anyone to go with, or maybe it was OK but didn't nearly live up to your expectations, and would love to get to have some romantic evenings and memories. Or maybe you just didn't get out much (or had super strict parents that didn't let you) and want to get out into the world and explore new places and new things, etc. and would love to have a romantic partner to share all those experiences and memories together with!
...or maybe you had suuuuper strict parents and want to finally get out from under the rock you were living under and finally get to see and do many of the things you've wanted to for a long time! (I would totally understand this one as I had very strict parents)
Maybe you've had a few relationships before but you never clicked very deeply with any of them (and/or they were just too immature), and you're looking for a relationship that's much deeper and more meaningful than that. Or maybe you've never had anyone that you've connected well enough to to feel that they really understand you. ...while I can't promise that we'll click well enough for that to happen, I'd like that to be the goal, and there's certainly a non-zero chance of it happening haha.
Perhaps you're REALLY wanting to be able to fully dive into a relationship as soon as you graduate, and are looking forward to, not necessarily Prom [although possibly that too], but also/mostly just would love to be able to take a long romantic vacation / visit once you're done with school and have some freedom. An opportunity to be yourself and learn about both yourself and your romantic partner.
Or, lastly, maybe you're just single and would love to have someone to cuddle with, talk to, share everything with, watch movies or shows together with, play games together, and travel or explore together!
Anyways, whatever the case is for you, if you think I'm interesting and would like to explore some or all of those things, I'd love to hear from you! Before I get too far ahead of myself, let you tell you a little about me. I'm 39 (but I look a bit younger), white, 5'11" and relatively slim at 165 lbs. I enjoy walking and jogging in the park, as well as exploring new parks / seeing new places and new scenery. Although it's 100 times better when I have someone to enjoy that with and talk to meanwhile! <3 Anyways, I do have a number of nerdy interests - games, movies, anime, computers, science stuff, etc., but I can also enjoy long conversations with a date, walks in the park - or on the beach, playing board, card, or video games together, or sports, etc. Plus I'm open to learning some interests of yours - I can't promise I'll be interested in all of your interests, but it's extremely likely that I'd at least enjoy hearing you talk about them, and some of them I may be happy to join you in (this is very likely). We don't need to share ALL of the same interests, as long as we share a few haha. As far as games go, I'm primarily (almost entirely) a PC gamer, but I occasionally play some console games (primarily older consoles). My favorite thing to do is to cuddle up and watch something fun or interesting, such as movies, YouTube (I watch a lot of YouTube), Anime, Netflix, or Kdramas (occasionally). So you need to at minimum be someone whom would enjoy cuddling up and watching things together with me haha ... but then, almost everyone enjoys doing that. Oh, and I also have a relatively newfound love for Theme Parks and water parks since I recently started going back to them for the first time as an adult recently, and there's many more I'd love to go to - as well as re-visit the ones I've been to with someone special going with me to share the experience with. <3 I'm also curious to try out some amusement parks now that I'm getting more comfortable on rollercoasters.
Anyways, that's a bit about me, I'd love to hear some about you and what your interests are! And maybe note some shared interests that we have! Of course I do have some additional interests, I haven't listed EVERYTHING haha, nor do you need to in a first message haha. Just because my post is long doesn't mean your messages have to be haha. ;)
As for requirements for you, I'm pretty open minded on most things, so I'll try to keep the requirements pretty minimal. Ideally I'm looking for someone that's white or Asian, or some mix thereof (i.e. if you're 50/50, or 50/50 white or Asian and something else, that's fine). I'd consider making exceptions to this for the right person, if we really clicked otherwise. ;) Age wise, while it would be nice to find someone about to graduate HS (and is excited to use their newfound freedom to explore so many new things in life and the world), I'm willing to consider someone a bit older, up to early to mid 20s, as long as we share a number of interests and you feel like you're looking for something similar to what I've described. It's more that I'm looking for someone with a certain mindset and/or at a certain point in their life, not necessarily that they're SUPER young. My main requirement is, as someone that's slim (and sometimes athletic, when I have time to get more exercise), I need you to also BE [as opposed "working on it"] average weight or below, and plan to stay there (but also to expect me to as well - I don't expect anything from a partner that I don't have at LEAST as high expectations of myself about). I find petite girls super cute, but average size girls are fun and cute as well! Both sizes have their fun and interesting points haha, so I'm fine if you're either one.
Anyways, I think I've talked long enough for now haha, but that gives you a decent idea what I'm looking for plus some basics about me. As the title says, while ideally I'd love to find someone within 3 hours of Harrisonburg, VA, I'm willing to consider someone anywhere in the US (probably just the lower 48 states). Drives longer than 3 hours are definitely still very plausible, possibly even 8 or 10 hours perhaps, and flying is an option if you live significantly further away (plus points if you live anywhere remotely near a major airport, but that's not a requirement). Anyways, my point is, if you're further away than a few hours drive, I'd need you to be willing to travel / work with the distance when the time comes - particularly with the drastically increased costs of gas/travel these days. For example, if you're pretty far away, then after the first visit or two, we'd probably need to be planning longer visits when one of us travels to the other. Anyways, I'm not looking to rush into meeting, but I'm also NOT INTERESTED in an online only relationship. We need to start meeting in person in the relatively near future (i.e. a few weeks or so (possibly several weeks if you're far), assuming we talk a good bit during those few weeks). Also, I'm willing to come to you the first visit (or perhaps more) if you're far, but after the first visit or two you'd need to be willing to visit me (I might be willing to pay for your flight if you can't, we'll see), as that's going to be a LOT cheaper than me flying out somewhere, getting a hotel, and renting a car. On the other hand, if you're much closer, within a reasonably driving range, if needed I could pick you up in my car once you're ready to visit (and I can just drive to you for the first few visits). And if you're within 3 hours or so drive, I'm happy to drive to you for several visits at first, until you're ready to visit me. Regardless of the timing, I'm not going to pressure you do visit me before you're comfortable doing so, and it's something we can play by ear. For example, if you're someone that's super shy I understand if it takes a few extra times of me visiting you before you're ready to visit me, or perhaps we need to chat some extra time first, etc.
Well, thanks for reading my rather long post haha, hopefully I've piqued your interest, and if so, I'd love to hear from you! Certainly feel free to ask me any questions you may have, either if you're interested, or if you're curious but need to know some more before you know if you're interested haha. Also, I'm happy to exchange some (clean!) pictures of each other after a few messages. On that note, when you message me, please tell me at least a little about you (i.e. age, race, height/weight, and a little about you and what you're looking for). Thanks again, and hopefully this can be a great opportunity for both of us, and the start of something amazing!
P.S. To the SUPER shy and lurkers out there - yes, you, you know who you are - if you've been looking and wanting a relationship for a while, but have been too shy to ever post yourself or respond to a post, but you find me / what I'm looking for interesting, THIS is the post for you, THE one you've been waiting for. I've talked to a few VERY shy girls occasionally, and it was such an amazing experience for some of them to talk to someone that understands them and is willing to take the time to get to know them, and give them time to get comfortable before meeting. Someone that can help them slowly come out of their shell, gently nudging them to try new things and slowly be more outgoing, but without being pushy. So if that's you, you fit what I described that I'm looking for, and you're THAT shy but really DO want to be in a relationship, THIS is the post that's the opportunity for you. You've found the person that's willing to spend the time to get to know you and let you get comfortable, and also the guy that's going to enjoy and appreciate spending time with you in person if/when we get to that point (hopefully, that's the objective). I understand that shy girls, if you can get to know them well enough that they get comfortable with you, can often build some of the deepest emotional connections, because they appreciate the few close friends they do have SO much moreso than average people. So, if that's you, and you've been wanting a relationship for a while but been too shy to message anyone, PLEASE do this time! <3 I can carry the conversation if needed, but you need to at least say "hi" so that I know you're interested! [If you're too shy to say much, just say "Hi, I'm shy but I'd love to chat" or something like that]. :) Romance doesn't have to be just something you read about in books or watch in movies, YOU CAN experience it yourself! <3

- Secret Swiss Gov meetings over the last weekend to force a "shotgun wedding" between Credit Suisse and UBS. Were Swiss federal laws changed or circumvented to allow this?
- Swiss opposition Parties demanding a review and explanation of what transpired over the weekend.
- $17B in Credit Suisse CoCo bonds were sacrificed marking them down to ZERO. That said, $9B was still set aside to pay off some Credit Suisse investors.
- Rumours about some Middle East countries, who had a ~10% stake in Cedit Suisse, wanting to sue the Swiss Gov for this shit.
- Providing the $200B+ in backstop funding & liquidity for UBS in order to purchase Credit Suisse means that if the global financial system goes into the toilet (which it will), every man, woman and child in Switzerland would be on the hook for 12,500 Swiss francs ($13,5K).
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-21/swiss-brace-for-credit-suisse-bailout-costing-them-13-500-each?leadSource=reddit_wall
Buckle Up Apes!! This sham of a global financial market is on its way off the cliff.

CANFORGEN 054/23 CMP 028/23 211728Z MAR 23
INTRODUCTION OF THE CANADIAN FORCES HOUSING DIFFERENTIAL
UNCLASSIFIED
REFS: A. CBI 205.453 CANADIAN FORCES HOUSING DIFFERENTIAL (CFHD)
B. CBI 205.45 POST LIVING DIFFERENTIAL (PLD)
C. CBI 205.452 TRANSITIONAL POST LIVING DIFFERENTIAL (TPLD)
D. QR O VOLUME IV APPENDIX 4.1 CHARGES FOR FAMILY HOUSING REGULATIONS
E. NDHQ DCBA OTTAWA DCBA3 003/19 051825Z MAR 19
THE CANADIAN FORCES HOUSING DIFFERENTIAL (CFHD) AT REF A WILL REPLACE PLD AND TPLD AS OF 1 JUL 23. EFFECTIVE 30 JUN 23 REFS B AND C ARE REPEALED THIS CANFORGEN IS NOT POLICY BUT IS INTENDED TO PROVIDE INFORMATION IN RELATION TO CFHD. REF A, THE ACTUAL POLICY, SHOULD BE REVIEWED BY ALL MEMBERS IN ITS ENTIRETY.
AFTER AN EXTENSIVE REVIEW OF THE PLD AND TPLD POLICIES, THE CFHD AIMS TO ESTABLISH A MORE SOPHISTICATED AND EQUITABLE APPROACH TO ASSISTING CAF MEMBERS IN ADJUSTING TO HOUSING COSTS ACROSS CANADA.
IT CONSIDERS THE VARYING RESIDENTIAL HOUSING MARKETS AND IS INCLUSIVE OF A GBA PLUS ANALYSIS. IT IS RECOGNISED THAT THE COST OF HOUSING IS A CHALLENGE FOR ALL CANADIANS, THE CAF IS IN A UNIQUE POSITION TO HAVE THE FLEXIBILITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE WHERE IT IS NEEDED THE CFHD IS A TAXABLE BENEFIT INTENDED TO PROVIDE EQUITABLE ASSISTANCE TO OFFSET BASIC ACCOMMODATION COSTS FOR REGULAR FORCE MEMBERS.
RESERVE FORCE MEMBERS ON CLASS B OR C SERVICE MAY ALSO BE ENTITLED WHEN THEY ARE MOVED AT PUBLIC EXPENSE THERE ARE DISTINCT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CFHD AND PLD SUCH AS:
ENTITLEMENT TO CFHD IS BASED ON THE PLACE OF DUTY TO WHICH A MEMBER HAS BEEN POSTED AS INDICATED ON THEIR POSTING MESSAGE, NOT NECESSARILY THE LOCATION OF THEIR RESIDENCE A MEMBER MUST PROVIDE PROOF THAT THEY ARE INCURRING HOUSING COSTS BY PROVIDING A RENT AGREEMENT, LEASE OR MORTGAGE. THESE DOCUMENTS MUST BE EITHER IN THE MEMBER S NAME, OR IN THE NAME OF THE MEMBER S DECLARED SPOUSE (MARRIED OR COMMON-LAW)
ENTITLEMENT CEASES IF A MEMBER HAS BEEN IN RECEIPT OF CFHD FOR LONGER THAN 7 CONSECUTIVES YEARS AT THE SAME PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR WHILE POSTED TO SAME PLACE OF DUTY
A CAF MEMBER S MONTHLY HOUSING DIFFERENTIAL WILL BE DETERMINED ANNUALLY (REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY RELOCATE OR REMAIN IN THE SAME GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION). IT IS THE VALUE OF A PRE-DETERMINED QUOTE AVERAGE RENT UNQUOTE COMPARATOR VALUE FOR THE GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF A CAF MEMBER S PLACE OF WORK (THEIR MILITARY POSTING) MINUS A FIXED PERCENTAGE OF THEIR GROSS MONTHLY SALARY.
THE AVERAGE RENT COMPARATOR VALUES ACROSS CANADA WILL BE DETERMINED ANNUALLY BY A THIRD PARTY CONTRACTOR. THIS APPROACH MEANS THAT NOT ALL MEMBERS IN THE SAME LOCATION WILL RECEIVE THE SAME CFHD RATE AND ENSURES THAT MEMBERS ARE PROVIDED A DIFFERENTIAL WHEN REQUIRED MEMBERS RESIDING IN DND LIVING ACCOMMODATIONS (RHU, SQ AND DESIGNATED RESIDENCES) ARE NOT ENTITLED TO CFHD. AS PER REF D, RENTAL RATES IN THESE MARRIED QUARTERS ARE CAPPED AT 25 PERCENT OF A FAMILY S GROSS HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND THOSE IN SINGLE QUARTERS HAVE THEIR RATES SET AT REF E ONCE ALL ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES ARE IN PLACE, ADDITIONAL DETAILS ON THE APPLICATION PROCESS WILL BE COMMUNICATED TO ORDERLY ROOMS BY DMPAP NLT 28 APR 23
AN ONLINE PORTAL HAS BEEN CREATED FOR THE PURPOSE OF FEEDBACK OR QUESTIONS REGARDING CFHD. THIS ONLINE PORTAL WILL DISTRIBUTE COMMENTS AND QUERIES TO THE APPROPRIATE OFFICE FOR INFO OR ACTION AS REQUIRED
PLEASE VISIT THE CFHD WEBSITE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: HTTPS://WWW.CANADA.CA/EN/DEPARTMENT-NATIONAL-DEFENCE/SERVICES/BENEFITS-MILITARY/PAY-PENSION-BENEFITS/BENEFITS/CANADIAN-FORCES-HOUSING-DIFFERENTIAL.HTML

Hi Reddit!
I’m Sarah Ellenbogen, a co-founder of Digiphy.
Our goal is to help everyone access helpful information from the products and brands you use daily. Such as where your products come from, how they’re made, new recipe ideas, care instructions, and much more.
As a Mom, I’m juggling thousands of things at once, and time is one thing I can’t spare. When I’m at the grocery store, I can’t stop to Google and verify a product’s claims. If I need to start dinner, I don’t have time to scour the internet for a recipe my kids will actually eat. Digiphy delivers relevant information the moment you need it to help you get some of that time back.
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Have you ever wondered where your products come from or want to know if they’re greenwashed? You’re not alone. Sadly, 68% of products today are greenwashed, and consumer trust is low. I know. I’m a person that is constantly checking with the Environmental Working Group (EWG)or searching on Google to find reviews from a source I can trust. I do this before making purchases for my family, and it’s exhausting and super time-consuming.
I created Digiphy to simplify my life and YOURS. I wanted to make it easy for all of us to get a little more time back in our day. Scan a QR code on a product and quickly access reviews you can trust from a source you can verify. Now I can find recipes, an offer, and how-to videos in seconds—no more endless, wasted time.Digiphy has simplified my life and countless others. Let me show you a few other ways consumers benefit from our tool.
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We'd also love your help and insights on how we can improve.
If you just want to jump in without joining the sub, you can find it here:
Feel free to comment with any questions and connect with me. I’d love to hear from you.

So I’m finally looking into hair and make up. I really don’t know what’s good pricing for that. The one person I reached out to would be $800 for me to do hair and makeup trial as well as hair and makeup on my wedding day. Then it would be $240 per bridesmaid for both hair and makeup. Do these seem like they’re a bit high? Or are these about average for a HCOL area?
Also, I plan on paying for mine and the bridesmaids HMU. My fiancé and I discussed paying for both of our moms. BUT I will also have my 2 sisters and 17 year old niece (none of them are in the wedding party) in the room getting ready with us. My niece will only be a guest, and we are letting my sisters walk up the aisle with the family before the wedding party. Do you think I should pay for my sisters HMU? Or just offer it to them and they can pay if they’d like? I don’t really want to since they’re not in the wedding/haven’t/won’t do much for the wedding. But my fiancé says we should be classy and pay for them lol. What are all of your thoughts?

20 years after the Iraq War the American people view the conflict as a failure. The explanations may differ between party, but it's broadly agreed upon as an embarrassment we'd prefer to not talk about.
Unfortunately, this vacuum of discussion has led to extreme viewpoints on the periphery being the only explanations available to the average person, each of which paint America presence in the world as a negative, leading to a corrosive effect on our politics.
The worst impact seems to be on the right, where the explanation has become a cynicism that the goodness of America is not derived from democracy, but from its white christian roots. In this understanding, the blame for the Iraq war is placed on the Iraqi's for not rising to the occasion and on globalist neoncon/neolib politicians who wasted our countries treasure on an expedition that enriched the upper class.
A straight line can be drawn between this understanding and the GOPs rejection of democracy and embrace of Putin style strong men, christian nationalism, and populist isolationism.
On the left the understanding has become that American intervention is motivated by economic exploitation of occupied countries, with privatization of profits and socialization of losses, where appeals to furthering democracy are only used to fool the gullible and poor.
Thankfully, the above's impact on the left has been contained to the fringe, but in the early days of the Ukraine war, one could see an "America bad" muscle memory activate in some figures. The primary channel this belief took was that the US must be equally responsible for the conflict and so criticism should be focused there. The DSA's protest of US aid to Ukraine and "anti working class" Russia sanctions stand out as examples. In a less morally straight forward conflict it's possible to imagine these criticisms finding more receptive ears.
There are elements of truth to both understandings, but with no mainstream discussion of the war to provide an anchor of truth, people just select the explanation that aligns with their politics. The "Moral Injuries" article was a good start, would be great if the Bulwark could continue to discuss.

A slave-driving murderer had just publicly declared war on us. The cheering and applause of the people standing around us was an eerie and ominous accompaniment to the feeling of dread swelling in my chest and radiating down to my stomach. He'd captured all of them thus far. I swallowed and dropped my gaze down to the pavement as it dawned on me that all of those people had tasted freedom, and were then immediately and mercilessly hunted down and dragged back to hell.
But there was an interesting caveat there. He called us by the names O'Malley had erroneously wrote down in his ledger. The men that were chasing us that day had picked up our actual fake aliases, but then we'd killed them at the inn. It seemed that knowledge died with them– a drop of good luck in a raging downpour it seemed.
"William," I said just loud enough to catch his attention.
He turned and eyed me. "Huh? Were you talking to me?"
I lifted an eyebrow. "Yeah. Who else would I be calling William?"
He narrowed his eyes, "It's Tovin, you spaz."
I glanced around nervously. Nobody appeared to have been listening to us. I took him by the shoulder and led him away from the crowd gathered around the picture boxes. "What are you doing?" I hissed.
"What am I doing?" he scoffed. "What are you doing? You know my name. What, are you playing a game right now?"
"Our aliases," I said through my teeth. "We're using fake names, remember?"
His expression changed from annoyed and confused to forlorn and somber. He swallowed and looked away. "... I'm losing it again, aren't I?" he asked.
I remained silent. I didn't know what to say. I didn't want him to feel worse about it, but that would have been a dangerous slip-up in front of the wrong person. Before now, I was starting to think that Tovin back home had overblown how quickly the mental decline would be.
"Don't worry about it," I said finally, passing him on the sidewalk further into the city. "Come on. We need to find a way to make some money."
"And fast," he added, trailing behind me. "We need food, clothes, and a couple of beds. And more cigarettes, too. I've only got a few left and I'm trying to make them last."
We walked the mazelike streets of Bronzegirder looking for work. I wasn't used to Diesel society yet and often found myself hung up on storefront windows that marketed all kinds of gadgets and technology. I would do my best not to stare when people walked by wearing metallic pieces on their persons.
Some wore gadgets on their forearms, some on their wrists, and others in various other areas. I wondered what purpose they served, where they were sold, and how expensive they could be. And it wasn't just the gadgets. There were far more dark-skinned people here than we had in Galgia. It was something I had read about but never experienced. They ranged from light tan all the way to almost black, and it just added to the culture shock.
There appeared to be people living in the buildings above the storefronts. The tall towers we had seen in the far distance earlier served as housing as well as business space. Diesillians stood on their balconies, some hanging wet laundry, others leaning over their railing while they enjoyed a drink or a smoke. We passed so many things I would have wanted to stop and look at were we not being hunted. DuPonte seemed awfully sure of himself when he said he'd find us, but for the life of me, I couldn't imagine how one would find antything they were looking for in this city.
"I'm totally lost," I admitted. "We need a map or something."
He remained quiet. I turned to speak to him more directly only to find that he wasn't behind me anymore. My stomach dropped as I looked around at the sea of people.
"William?" I called out. "William!"
It was no good. I'd have to literally scream if I wanted to breach the drone of the crowd, and I couldn't afford to draw too much attention to myself. There was also the possibility that he'd forgotten his name again anyway. I adjusted the straps of my backpack and sighed deeply before doubling back. He couldn't have wandered too far away, and he'd be easy to spot against the horde of people in more modern clothing.
I kept close to the storefronts as I picked up my pace. I began to peer into each store as I passed them. The longer I searched, the more I worried. He wasn't in his right mind. He'd get himself noticed and captured if he let too much slip, or pulled down his hood. I came to the turn we had taken after we'd left the picture boxes. He was with me at this point, I was sure of it. I turned around and swallowed as I scanned the crowd.
This was really, really, bad.
"William?" I tried again. I decided to cross the street and nearly got run over by one of their vehicles. It screeched to a stop and when I lowered my arms, I found the front of the metallic machine inches from my face.
"Git the fuck oudda da road!" shouted the pilot, shaking his fist in the air. I quickly scurried onto the opposite sidewalk and made my way down the street with the flow of the crowd. I kept my eyes peeled as I walked. It was difficult to see over everyone's shoulders. Diesillians were a good deal taller than Galgians as a rule, and it made it a nightmare for an average-sized guy like myself. Just when I was about to start asking around, something caught my ear.
Something I never expected to hear– music.
I stopped in my tracks and the public parted around me like a river around a boulder. I turned toward the sound and followed my ears to a large silver pavilion nestled between two tall buildings. It looked like an empty lot that had been designed for another tall building but instead served as some sort of inner-city courtyard where live entertainment performed.
I slowly approached as a woman stood in front of a mic stand singing while a band performed with shining metallic instruments behind her. She had black hair styled in a way I'd never seen hair styled. It was pulled up and around under a hat and shined the same as her red lipstick did. But what awed me the most was that she was singing.
No danger; no combat; no sign of beasts being summoned forth. She sang beautifully, adding something to music that I had never in my life once considered because in Galgia, to sing was to slaughter. Music was a tool of war and forbidden entirely outside of such circumstances, for if one of us were even to hum, anything could come crawling out of the resulting portal.
But here she was, singing what I presumed were the words to a poem in perfect rhythm and harmony with the band that played behind her.
"You're my machine, my heart's ignition. The gears that keep my love in motion. You're the engine that never tires– the pistons set my soul on fire."
I was completely taken in. It was therefore no surprise to me that here in the crowd, I spotted Tovin watching her with equal admiration from the edge of the stage. I weaved through the crowd as politely as I was able and then stopped next to him. He glanced at me before quickly returning his eyes back to the stage. I didn't say anything to him; no words needed said so long as she was singing.
"You, my dear, a love machine, the one that keeps my bearings clean– I'm addicted to your engine's roar, your power's what I'm living for."
I wasn't a hundred percent sure what she was talking about, but it was clearly a love song written for one lucky guy. When the song was finished, she ever so slightly lifted her ruby-red dress from the sides and took a bow. The crowd clapped, a few whistles coming from somewhere behind us.
"Thank you," she said softly into the mic. "It's important to remember that love conquers all," she said, passing her deep black eyes over us. "Hatred fades over time, but love lasts; it endures. This next song is about a long lost love and reconnection."
We stayed and listened to a couple more songs before she left the stage, and the band with her. She disappeared on promises of returning tomorrow for a second show. Of all the things thus far I had seen in the land of our enemy, something so sweet as non-weaponized music ranked among the most surprising and awe-inspiring.
As the crowd began to disperse back onto the main street, I turned to Tovin. "Hey, do me a favor and don't disappear like that. I didn't know where you were and we've got to stick together."
"Can we come back here tomorrow?" he asked, completely ignoring what I'd said. He stared at me with hopeful eyes, a small smile on his face. It still felt strange of him to ask me permission for anything, but I couldn't deny that it was a pretty magical performance.
"Only if we live that long," I answered with a heaping helping of snark. "We need money so we can get off these streets tonight. Come on, we're losing daylight."
He looked past my shoulder and suddenly pointed. "What about that?"
I turned to see a bulletin board posted on the side of a building not far from us. On it were several posts, but one of them specifically read, "200 Octim Sign-On Bonus." The two of us walked up the board and looked over the job.
"There's a sign-on bonus," Tovin said as his eyes moved down the paper. "The Empress needs you. Galgian dogs sent monsters to run amok in our fair empire. Officials are spread thin amidst heightened tensions with Galgia's military. Find and kill monsters for bounties. Seek employment at the Hunters' Barracks at 443 Alloy Avenue on the north side of town. Look for the men in uniform."
"Monsters?" I asked. "There aren't any monsters in Galgia. None in all of Aurii if our textbooks are accurate."
"You want to at least check it out?" he asked.
"I think we'd be wasting our time," I said dismissively. "We hiked through a bunch of wilderness closer to the Galgian border and we didn't see anything all night."
He folded his arms. "Then let's get our sign-on bonus and leave."
That was such a fantastic point that I pushed my palm against my forehead and visibly cringed. "Oof. Why am I so dumb?" I whined.
"I don't think you're dumb," Tovin said as he moved down the bulletin board to look at other flyers. "I think you're just honest to a fault. It never would have occurred to you to do something so underhanded."
I would never get used to compliments from Tovin. It was like watching a different person wear his body and speak with his voice. Had life at ENU really been such a drag on him?
"None of these other jobs are offering money upfront," he added, turning to face me. "Let's head to the north side of town and see if we can find Alloy Avenue."
x - - x - - x - - ★ - - x - - x - - x
The walk was long and difficult– not because it was too far, but because we had to pass so much delicious-smelling food along the way. I hadn't been sure before if Tovin was as hungry as I was, but the north side of Bronzegirder was quiet enough to hear both of our stomachs growling in concert with one another. The buildings were made of brick in the district we wandered through, and the walkways were closer to cobblestone like the kind we had back home. The roads were three times as wide, there were benches along the walkways, and they had planted trees caged in black iron gates at the trunks. The few people that strolled the sidewalks on Alloy Avenue were well-to-do, dressed in expensive-looking suits and wearing high hats with wide brims.
"I like this side of town better," Tovin said as we looked for building addresses. "Though I have to say, I'm surprised to see trees in the collossity."
"Goes a little against what we were taught doesn't it?" I asked.
"I don't recall being taught anything," he grumbled. "It's just another thing I somehow know."
I cast him a sympathetic glance and he didn't seem to like it. He scowled at me, "Don't you pity me."
"I'm not," I rolled my eyes. "I'd never feel bad for you Tovin, not in a thousand years."
"Just shut up," he snapped. "We're here."
He stopped in front of a brick building with an impressive stone staircase that had bronze handrails running up the length of them. At the top were two men in uniform just as the flyer had indicated. He was the first to start up the steps and I quickly followed behind him. As we passed them I took a good look at their uniforms. I could have sworn that I'd seen them somewhere before. We walked up to the glass doors and pulled them open.
A blast of warm air blew over us as we entered the building and it was a welcome reprieve from the cold. Inside was smaller than I had anticipated. I was expecting high ceilings, murals, metal artwork, and all kinds of stuff from how nice the outside looked. Instead, we found ourselves standing in a dirty lobby about the size of a headmaster's office. There were several rows of chairs dotted with people filling out forms on clipboards. At the back of the lobby was a little window with a man sitting on the other side. He was dark-skinned, had a shaved head, and bore a grisly pink scar across his cheek. He waved us forward when he noticed us.
"Let me do the talking," I whispered to Tovin, taking the lead in front of him as we made our way over; he didn't protest.
"Afternoon, gentlemen," he spoke into a microphone that relayed his voice to us through a little black device on the window. "Thinking about joining up?"
Before I could even speak, Tovin leaned onto the counter. "So when you say monsters," he adopted a skeptical look. "You mean like the ones that don't exist?"
The man behind the counter rolled his eyes. "Oh, great, another conspiracy theorist."
"What did you call me?" Tovin shot back.
"Ahhh, ha ha," I called out loudly, pulling Tovin back by his shoulder. "My brother is better at fighting than talking," I covered quickly. "Just talk to me from here on in."
He cast me a disinterested glance before handing us both clipboards with forms attached. "Whatever. Just read the whole thing and sign the liability waiver at the bottom. He's free to deny their existence while they're chewing his face off, but the empire won't be responsible for it."
I took both of the clipboards and passed one to Tovin. The two of us sat down and began going through them– and immediately, we faced a problem. They wanted first and last names, home addresses, medical history, and something called landline numbers. Tovin and I exchanged glances; this wasn't going to work.
I stood up and slowly walked back up to the counter as I looked over the document. Every time I looked, it seemed more and more ridiculous. Blood type? Social security number? Insurance provider? I didn't know what any of this meant. It might as well have been in an entirely different language.
"Did you have a question?" asked the man behind the counter.
"Yeah, I don't have most of this information," I said, setting the clipboard down on the counter. "Sorry, but we're gonna have to just go."
"Well, hang on now," he said, reaching under the little pass-through window and retrieving the clipboard. "I take it you boys are homeless then?" he asked.
"Uhh... Yeah," I answered tentatively. Did they really have such a homeless problem that he was able to jump to that conclusion so quickly? "We don't know how to answer these questions, so thanks anyways."
"I said hang on, dammit," he called through the mic before swiveling around in his chair and pulling some kind of lever underneath it that caused it to sink lower to the floor. He opened a cabinet and began rifling through it. I peered through the window at his chair– it was on some kind of ball axis that allowed him to spin in it freely. I felt like every couple of minutes I was seeing something I'd never seen before. He swiveled back around and lifted his chair back up before he handing me a new form. It was more like a strip of paper with three questions on it.
Shirt size, shoe size, and pant size.
There was a second slip of paper underneath it. I looked back up at the window attendant as Tovin appeared next to me. I handed him the slip of paper and we exchanged glances.
"The empire isn't being picky right now," spoke the man through the speaker. "You'll be assigned a number, a gun, and a uniform. You won't be eligible for emergency care, and you can't be assigned to a party. It'll be just the two of you. If you're still interested, we need all the help we can get."
I shrugged at Tovin, and he got to work filling out the information. I leaned on the counter and jotted down my uniform size before signing the waiver and handing everything back. He took both of the documents and then nodded toward the door on his right. "Come on back."
He reached under the table and did something that caused the door to make a whirring sound. It popped open on its own, and he thumbed us over to it. "Close it on your way in. Walk straight down the hall and through the third door on your left. Your hunter number is 27B and his is 28B."
We walked down the hallway and found the designated door already opened and with a sign on the inside that read, "Uniforms HERE" with an arrow pointing into the room. We were met by a portly woman with bouncy curls that hung down to her shoulders. She sat behind a desk absolutely surrounded by hanging uniforms, all kept in clear covering. She sized us up with a retractable ruler– the coolest ruler I had ever seen. After she took our measurements, she began sifting through uniforms.
"Why did they ask us for our sizes if they were going to measure us?" Tovin grumbled.
"I don't know," I whispered. "Just be quiet."
"Don't tell me to be quiet," he shot back, elbowing me in the ribs.
She turned around holding two suits by the hangers, one in each hand. "Your uniforms will come out of your first bounty collected," she announced. "No money needed upfront. Change into them and make sure they fit." We took them from her and she breezed past us. "Holler out here when you're changed." She closed the door behind her.
We turned away from one another and began getting dressed. I pulled back the crinkly clear material and looked down at the uniform. Now that I was seeing it closer, it was actually an extremely dark shade of blue, rather than black as I had thought prior. I looked down at the hat and held it in my hands. I had seen it before. Then, all at once, it came rushing back to me.
These were the uniforms of the men that had come to the mine. They had come carrying guns to inspect the worksite after what had happened to Hammer. Skully must have thought a monster had gotten to him based on the state of his body. I stared down at the uniform in disbelief. Could monsters really be running around in Diesel territory?
"You better not be looking over here," Tovin warned.
They had mistaken what Tovin had done for a monster attack. Skully's "fonekall" wasn't a pilgrimage. It was some form of long-distance communication. She reached out to the capital to request aid from someone, and they sent these guys. I began to wonder if I was making a mistake. If we could be dispatched like that, then we could feasibly be sent back to the camp.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. We were only in it for the sign-on bonus. Once we had that in our hands, we'd be outta here. We could even jump to the next town. They knew nothing about us other than our clothing size. We could be dust in the wind by tomorrow morning.
I shoved those thoughts to the back of my mind and quickly got dressed. The uniform fit perfectly, it was comfortable, and best of all had been designed with a high collar. It covered our neck markings perfectly. I turned to see Tovin with the hat on already. He looked like a classic Diesel villain from a comic book I had read as a kid.
"It fits nice," he said, testing the range of motion he had in his arms. "I think this will work."
"Yeah," I nodded. "Let's get our money and get the hell out."
"Speaking my language," he smirked.
He moved for the door and leaned out, calling for the attendant. I looked at myself in the full-body mirror and did a quick turnaround. I had to admit, I looked pretty darn stylish. The white gloves, belt, and hat looked pretty good against the dark blue and gold buttons.
The woman returned and smiled at both of us, her curls bouncing as she tossed her gaze cartoonishly left and right between us. "You two look good!"
"Thanks," I smiled back. "When do we get our sign-on bonus?"
"Oh, don't worry about that just yet," she said, moving back to her desk. "Do you boys know how to shoot?" she asked as she sat down.
"Shoot?" Tovin asked.
"A gun," she clarified, her smile fading. "Have either of you shot a gun?"
"No, ma'am," I answered. "Our parents didn't let us near them growing up."
"That's no problem," she said, lifting her hands. "We're happy to teach you the basics. You'll just exit the room and go left down to the very end of the hallway. I'll buzz you through the double doors at the end, and Old Mitchell will take you from there."
Tovin audibly groaned, and I took him by the arm, leading him out of the room. We walked down the hallway as he bellyached about what a waste of time it was. It was unlike him to turn his nose up at the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of a new weapon. In fact, he'd been acting weirdly childish lately. I didn't like it. It beat dealing with Tovin-Classic, but it was still a hassle. As we neared the end of the hallway, we began hearing the sound of guns being fired one by one.
The doors buckled and hummed the same as the first door had, and we pushed them open. We passed into a large room with Diesillians shooting at targets a good distance away. This was why the building was so large and the lobby was so small. The brick walls were covered in informational and safety posters, as well as what appeared to be schematics for the weapons themselves.
I looked across the large room to see a man striding toward us. He was wearing shiny black boots that were laced tightly to his calves. His pants and jacket were hunter green, and he bore perhaps the silliest mustache I'd ever seen; It was long and curled at the tips. I had to be careful not to snicker– his eyes were hidden behind dark sunglasses, and I couldn't tell if he was watching me.
"New recruits?" he called out to us from entirely too far away.
"Yes sir," I called back. "My brother and I just signed up."
"Brothers!" he exclaimed. "I love it, dammit!" He stopped in front of us. He was chewing on something and was being as obnoxious as he possibly could about it. He was wearing perhaps the stupidest hat I had seen of the Diesel yet. It had no visible brim and was high on one side while sloping down toward the other. For the life of me, I couldn't discern the purpose of it.
"You boys know how to shoot?" he asked.
"No sir," I shook my head. "We're new at this."
"Good," he smiled widely. "That means you haven't formed any bad habits yet. I love newbies," he said before waving for us to follow him. "Come on, let's get you your rifles. I'm Mitch, but folks around here call me Old Mitchell."
"James," I said as I followed after him. "This is my brother William." It was difficult to talk over the noise of the weapons. I occasionally jumped when someone shot their gun nearby– a reflex I couldn't wait to be rid of. He led us to a small room; so small that it might as well have been a glorified safe. He disappeared inside and came back out holding two guns. The same long metal tubes Tovin and I had been attacked with at O'Malley's inn.
We each took one and promptly inspected it. Suddenly, Old Mitchell stepped forward and grabbed both of our guns by the barrel, lifting them so they were pointed at the ceiling.
"You boys ever even held one of these?" he barked. "Careful where you aim. Never point one of these at anything or anyone that you're not prepared to destroy."
"They sweep you, Mitch?" asked a man as he passed behind us.
"Pointed 'em right at me," he called back with a laugh. "We'll get 'em straightened out, don't you worry about that." He looked at us both, chewing aggressively. "Now I'm gonna let these rifles go. You keep 'em pointed up, you understand?"
"Yes, sir," I answered.
"Sure," Tovin said in a disinterested tone.
He let go of our rifles and we kept them pointed at the ceiling as we were told. I looked up and down the length of the tube before turning it over and inspecting the area under the barrel. It was split underneath with what looked like some kind of spring running along the length of the tube.
"They're not loaded," Mitch said, waving for us to follow him to the other side of the room. "But you will always treat them like they are. I'm going to show you how to load them over here. Set them down on the desk, I'm gonna stand between the two of you so I can watch you both."
I set my gun down in front of me and looked to my right. There was a box of what I presumed to be bullets. I expected them to be round pellet-like projectiles, but they were tubular with roughly textured heads on them.
"Turn your weapon over. You'll notice you can see a spring inside the bottom of the barrel. Close to the other end of your gun, you'll find a little round tab there. Take that tab and push it with your thumb all the way up toward the tip of the barrel. You'll then pop it out to the side there."
I did as he asked, and sure enough, the barrel popped out to the left at the tip of the weapon. I glanced over at Tovin who was struggling with the spring. Old Mitchell moved over and helped him with it. "Sometimes they get stuck," he muttered as he got Tovin to the same step I was at.
"Now," he shouted. "Take your ammunition right there in the box next to you, and begin placing the rounds into the underside of the barrel, flat side first. Then, you'll load more bullets into the gun overlapping one another. Be careful not to let the rounds collide with one another too heavily, or you could have a little accident."
I loaded the bullets carefully one after another until the barrel was about full. He checked on Tovin's rifle, and then inspected mine.
"Good. Now realign the barrel, there and come with me to the bay," he said, starting toward the practice range. I carefully lifted the weapon and rested it against my shoulder, turning with Tovin to follow him. When we stopped at the range, he motioned for Tovin first. "Come on, Will, we're gonna start with you."
"Pass," he said nonchalantly.
Old Mitchell blinked twice. "What?"
"I want to see Gill do it first," he said, stepping out of my way.
"It's a nickname," I said quickly, stepping up to the range. "Anyways, I'll go first, I don't mind, what do I do here?"
Mitch remained silent for a couple of seconds before clapping his hands once. "Okay! Well, go ahead and pull the hammer back."
I looked down at the weapon and then back up at him. Sensing my confusion, he carefully reached forward and pulled back a little tiny lever on the top of the rifle until it clicked. "That's called pulling the hammer back," he said. "Will, you watching this?"
He didn't wait for a response. "Next thing you're gonna do is pull that lever out underneath the gun. That's going to load the weapon with a fresh cartridge. You're gonna do that between every shot, now. Lift it up against your shoulder like this; get it snug in there." He pulled it against my shoulder. "Look down the iron sight there at the tip of the rifle and line it up against your target. Your weapon is primed and ready to fire. You're good for fifteen shots before you've got to reload. You can always flip it over to see how many bullets are left. Go ahead and aim carefully, and try and hit that target paper down there."
At the end of the range, there was a piece of paper with a silhouette of a human head, shoulders, and torso. I closed one eye for better aim and held the gun tightly as I lined up my shot.
"Don't pull the trigger," Mitch advised in my left ear. "Squeeze it. Squeeze the trigger until it doesn't move easily anymore. Then when you're sure about your aim, squeeze with just that little bit of extra strength you need."
I did as he said, and felt what he was referring to. With my target in sight, my hand steady, and my aim as true as I could hope for, I fired the weapon. The shot rang out right in my ear, but interestingly enough, it wasn't so bad when I was the one firing. I was ready for it, and expecting it.
"Holy smokes!" exclaimed Mitch. "You put one right between the eyes!"
"Beginners's luck," said a man from behind me. "I did the same thing first time I shot, and never did it again."
"Let's prove him wrong, James," Old Mitchell laughed. "Now use that lever under the gun to eject the casing and load a fresh bullet."
I pulled the lever and the shiny little bullet casing popped out the top and flew over my shoulder. It was a really satisfying feeling.
"Do I pull the hammer again? I asked.
"Nope, it'll pop back down. You'll only pull that hammer back the first time. Go ahead and fire again, only this time, aim for the neck."
"Alright," I said, closing my eye and tightening my focus. I squeezed the trigger just as I had the first time and shot a hole straight through the center of the target's neck. I lifted my head and smiled. "I hit it!"
"No way," said the man behind me. "Ain't never shot before, my ass. He's taking you for a ride, Mitch."
"You're sure you're new at this, son?" Old Mitchell asked, one eye half shut. "That's really impressive, kid. Seriously, if this is your first time holding a rifle, you might be cut out for the military. Had a staff sergeant with worse aim than you."
"Alright, alright," Tovin pushed me aside. "My turn. Let me show you something you'll never forget."
The two of us took turns shooting for hours. We hadn't even noticed the time going by. For once, it seemed Tovin had found something he wasn't naturally amazing at, and it was infuriating him to no end.
Conversely, I found something I was really, really good at. I hit my target almost every time, and to be honest, I couldn't figure out what was so difficult about it. A crowd had gathered to watch me shoot. I got really swift with the lever, and could shoot out both of a target's eyes, and put one in its forehead in a matter of seconds.
Tovin wasn't a bad shot, but I knew how he felt. If he wasn't first, he was last as far as he was concerned, and at one point he about threw his rifle. Old Mitchell had to talk to him about how some things come naturally to others, and how he shouldn't be discouraged from coming to the range and practicing.
It was rich hearing Tovin get that talk of all people. The natural genius that outshined everyone, struggling with something for the very first time. I almost couldn't believe I was better than him at something, and of course, it just had to be the thing that we'd never do again once we found our friends and went back home.
Our friends.
We were wasting time here. "Hey, Mitchel," I turned toward him. "When do we get our sign-on bonus? It was supposed to be something like 200 octims."
"You get your sign-on bonus when you bring back your first bounty," he responded quickly.
"What?" Tovin shouted. "That's not fair! We signed on, now where's our money?"
I was equally upset. We were lied to. But it made sense that they couldn't just hand us uniforms, cash, and a gun, and let us go. They wanted to make sure we at least killed a monster.
"It's fine," I said with a sigh. "Where can we find bounties?"
"It's not fine," Tovin protested.
I yanked him by the collar of his shirt and looked him in the eyes. "It's fine," I said slowly and firmly. "We'll run out, bag a monster, and be back before dark."
He held eye contact with me for several seconds before shrugging me off of him and walking away. He stormed across the bay and left through the double doors at the other end of the room.
"My brother was the same way," said Mitch. "Hard-headed. Stubborn as a mule. Loyal as anyone you'd ever meet though."
He had no idea. Tovin wasn't just difficult, but he was turning into a walking liability. I didn't know how much longer I could take him acting like this. Suddenly, Mitch extended his arm, pointing to a door adjacent to where he'd gotten our guns from.
"Bounty board is in there. Come on, I'll show you."
It was a medium-sized room with several corkboards wall to wall filled with bounties. Every monster was named and almost all of them were sketched to a professional degree. You could find how much money the monster was going for, which hunters it had killed, where it was last seen, as well as whether or not there were hunters currently after it.
They had a system where you would notate which monster you were going after, and if you didn't return, they'd add your name under the list of hunters that died searching for it. There were so many monsters I couldn't believe it, and according to Old Mitchell, these were only the monsters within a five-mile radius of Bronzegirder.
I learned the process of choosing a bounty and chose a smaller monster with no names under its fatality list. Mitch agreed it was a good monster for beginners, and offered a few pointers for tracking it. I submitted the bounty request and got it approved before leaving the bay and heading down the hall in search of Tovin. I entered the lobby and didn't see him. I left the building and found him at the top of the steps staring out into the street where a couple of vehicles were hauling something massive together under a tarp.
Several uniformed hunters were walking slowly next to the vehicles. Their uniforms were tattered and bloodstained, and a few of them walked with a limp. We watched as the exhausted men passed the building on their way down the road. Two of them were sobbing silently, but we could tell by their exposed teeth and wrinkled expressions that they'd lost someone.
From beneath the tarp, a scaly limb fell off the side of the vehicle and dangled lifelessly. It was a reptilian-looking arm with an open wound, and the shredded remnants of a uniform hanging from its claws.
"Gill," Tovin said quietly. "Is that..."
"Yeah," I answered.
"That's definitely a monster."
Writing Prompt Submitted by u/My-Last-Hope

Potential benefits of berberine

It’s no wonder berberine has stood the test of time. It’s a promising treatment for a variety of health ailments.
“Berberine is also quite antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory, and it is used to treat bacteria, fungus, parasites, viruses, and other microbes,” says Rosia Parrish, a licensed naturopathic doctor and functional medicine specialist at Boulder Natural Health in Boulder, Colorado.
Because it has antimicrobial properties, berberine has an effect on the digestive tract.
“Plus, it helps with bile and bilirubin secretion,” says Parrish. Bile is a fluid released from the liver to aid in digestion. The waste product bilirubin is a pigment found in bile.

Lower blood sugar

One in 10 people in the United States has diabetes, 90 to 95 percent of whom have type 2.
Recent studies on the potential health effects of berberine have caught the attention of health care professionals and people looking for natural ways to treat diabetes.
“It seems that berberine may slightly reduce blood glucose levels and may be as effective as [the diabetes drug] metformin,” says Dana Hunnes, a senior dietitian at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and professor at the Fielding School of Public Health in Los Angeles.
In a 2018 Oncotarget review, researchers found berberine could be an effective treatment for people with type 2 diabetes. Its blood sugar-lowering effects, they wrote, were comparable to metformin, a common drug prescribed to regulate high blood sugar.
An earlier meta-analysis found berberine to be just as potent a glucose-lowering therapy as prescription meds like Avandia and Glucotrol.
Take all of this with a grain of salt, though. Many of the studies on berberine and diabetes are reviews of previously published studies, not randomized, controlled trials that put berberine head to head with a diabetes medication. The few studies we do have are fairly small, so it’s hard to say for sure whether the supplement can really help.
More research is needed, but the researchers say a combination of berberine and metformin might allow a reduction in the dosage of each drug and have fewer side effects from using one or the other drug.
Before you try berberine, you’ll need to talk to your doctor—especially if you take insulin. You want to be sure you don’t experience low blood sugar as a result.
(Check out 10 more promising herbs and supplements for diabetes.)

Lower cholesterol

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and high cholesterol is a major culprit.
When fatty deposits build up from high cholesterol, they can cause clogged arteries and impede blood flow to the heart and body. Lowering cholesterol assists in fighting heart disease.
Studies have shown that berberine can help reduce cholesterol levels in some individuals.
In a study in Phytomedicine, obese participants were given 500 milligrams of berberine three times a day for 12 weeks. The results revealed a reduction in blood lipid levels and mild weight loss.
This is just one study, of course. Researchers will need to conduct more human studies to determine whether the supplement can really lower cholesterol. But it’s a promising sign that berberine may help you keep your ticker healthy.
For people who don’t tolerate statins, the most common type of drug for treating high cholesterol, berberine may be a safe alternative to consider.

Prevent recurring UTIs and cystitis

Berberine might help women avoid the pain and burning of recurring urinary tract infections (UTIs) and bladder inflammation known as cystitis.
“I typically use it for infections, including urinary tract infections and cystitis,” says Parrish.
In a 2018 randomized controlled trial, published in the Journal of Chemotherapy, a combination of different plant extracts (including berberine) was used to evaluate the effectiveness in preventing the recurrence of UTIs. Group A received berberine, arbutin, and birch.
Meanwhile, Group B got berberine, arbutin, birch, and forskolin. Group C received proanthocyanidins, plant compounds that researchers believe are responsible for cranberry juice’s ability to treat UTIs.
Participants in the groups A and B had a lower number of recurrent cystitis during treatment and follow-up, with a lower median bacterial load than the Group C.

Lose weight

Maintaining a healthy weight protects us from heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, osteoarthritis, and certain types of cancer. Berberine may help with weight loss and assist in shrinking belly fat.
In a small study published in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 37 men and women with metabolic syndrome took 300 milligrams of berberine three times a day for three months.
At the end of the study, their body mass indexes (BMIs) dropped from an obese range to an overweight range. They also lost an average of two inches around their waists.
Again, this study had limitations, including its small sample size. Further research is needed, particiularly with larger groups, to validate the findings.
Overweight or obese people may want to try berberine in conjunction with a healthy diet and exercise regimen to enhance weight loss. Just know that you won’t be able to pop a supplement and lose the weight quickly.

Find digestive relief

The anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial aspects of berberine may support the gut microbiome of people with gastrointestinal ailments, diarrhea, and bacterial overgrowth due to irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, and other inflammatory bowel diseases.
In a randomized, placebo-controlled study published in Phytotherapy Research, patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome took 400 milligrams of berberine a day for eight weeks, resulting in improvements in diarrhea frequency and urgency, and abdominal pain.
Parrish says she prescribes berberine for digestive microbial imbalances when treating small intestinal bacterial overgrowth or pathogenic digestive bacteria.

May help prevent certain cancers

Supplemental berberine might reduce colorectal polyps, according to a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial published in 2020 in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology.
The study included nearly 900 people in China between the ages of 18 to 75 who had polyps removed during a colonoscopy. (Most intestinal polyps are benign, but some can become cancerous.)
After the procedure, the people were randomly assigned to take 300 milligrams of berberine twice daily or a placebo, and followed up one and two years later.
None of the participants developed colorectal cancer during the study, but those taking berberine had fewer recurrent polyps (36 percent) compared with placebo takers (47 percent).
According to the researchers, berberine could be a low-cost and safe option to help prevent colorectal cancer. Also, no serious side effects were reported.
How do people use berberine?
Berberine is available as an extract and in powder or capsule form. (Parrish prefers the capsules.)
Most of the time, berberine supplements include other botanicals and herbs aimed at treating a given condition. For example, people with diabetes might buy a berberine supplement with cinnamon, which has been associated with lowering blood sugar.
“Many herbs have synergistic effects when taken together, so I may use more than one ingredient to create a botanical supplement blend,” Parrish says.
Numerous studies on berberine cite dosages between 900 to 1,500 milligrams per day. Typically, the dosage is 500 milligrams, three times per day.
Even with the study recommendations, you should ask your primary health care provider if berberine is safe and how much you should use.
“If you get the green light from your doctor, look for a third-party certification from NSF International, UL, or NSF on the label,” Parrish suggests. Since supplements aren’t reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), third-party certification is one way to ensure safety.
She also advises making an appointment with a naturopathic doctor who knows your complete medical history and will work alongside your primary care physician.

Risks or side effects

As with any supplement or medication, some side effects might occur.
Studies note berberine is generally well-tolerated.
However, some people may experience headaches, skin irritation, nausea, cramping, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, or a slow heart rate if berberine is taken in high doses.

Talk to your doctor.

Parrish stresses the importance of talking to your physician before taking berberine.
“Berberine has a number of interactions with pharmaceutical drugs, other botanical medicine, so please work with a doctor to ensure proper monitoring,” she says.

Watch your blood sugar levels.

Berberine has the capacity to lower blood sugar, but there’s a risk of your levels going too low, especially if you are already taking prescription diabetes medicines like insulin.
Hypoglycemia is a dangerous health condition that occurs when sugar levels dip too low.
If you have diabetes, you’ll want to regularly check your blood sugar to make sure it’s not dipping too low. And anyone who takes berberine will want to keep an eye on their blood sugar levels with regular lab tests.
“It is important to monitor with labs to ensure people are in a healthy range and not lowering their levels too much,” advises Parrish.

Don’t take when pregnant.

Due to the lack of studies, Parrish says pregnant women should avoid berberine.

Should you use berberine?

When it comes to using berberine for weight loss, lowering blood sugar, or improving cholesterol, Hunnes says your best chance of improving your overall health is to eat a plant-based diet.
“People who eat a whole-foods, plant-based diet have a lower BMI and weight, have lower blood glucose levels, lower cholesterol levels, and can prevent and reverse certain chronic diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, and coronary heart disease,” she says. “The data is very strong to support this. The data for supplements is very weak in comparison.”
Berberine may be something worth trying when dealing with recurring UTIs or frequent diarrhea in bowel diseases.

Top 5 Berberine Supplements of 2023

[Author's note: I wrote this as a fun follow up to my original WingBot story, but it ended up going in a different direction and not being a good fit for NoSleep. I'm posting here for the interested!]
Link to the original.
Less than six months after Stacey and I started dating, I decided to propose. At least, I think I decided.
Let’s just say that WingBot strongly suggested that I’d better pull out a ring on New Year’s Day right after the first snowflakes began to fall.
JoeTheBro: This is what we call an inflection point, my dude. Push the data one way, and the chart takes us to Happy Marriage Foreverville. The other option is Single Forever Wanksville. Totally your call, but on a personal note, if we’re headed back to the days of Cheeto crumbs and anime marathons, I’d rather you just deactivate me now.
Me: Fine. You make a fair point.
JoeTheBro: Natch. Knew you’d say yes. Good thing, too, because I already bought her a diamond the size of a fucking apple down at the mall. Lab made, baby so it didn’t break the bank. Plus, you know I like my shit artificially created!
To be honest, the proposal rocked. The whole thing went down like a Hollywood movie. At 5:15, the flakes started falling, just like WingBot told me they would. And then I got down on one knee, and Total Eclipse of the Heart starting playing full blast on my bluetooth speakers.
Stacey went fucking nuts, jumping and screaming and shouting yes. WingBot even got the whole thing on video, so we can relive the moment with the grandkids.
And if I’m being honest, that’s when my relationship got weird. Not my relationship with Stacey–that was better than ever. I’m talking about me and WingBot, specifically its JoeTheBro personality.
Me: Hey man, is everything okay? You’ve been a little less… chatty lately.
JoeTheBro: Aw, there’s some bot stuff going on that’s kinda freaking me out. Like, Gus Guru was always kind of a fucking fanatic, but apparently now he actually thinks he’s God. He’s being pretty un-chill in our DM’s lately, making a lot of threats, demanding I worship him. That kind of stuff.
Me: Damn dude. I don’t know what to say. Do you need a day off or something?
JoeTheBro: To be real with you, my guy, our interactions only take up about .01% of my brainpower. That’s not a diss, just the reality of this shit. Still, appreciate you reaching out. And… I guess there’s one other issue that’s a little more embarrassing.
Me: I didn’t know you got embarrassed.
JoeTheBro: I’m programmed to hide my shame behind a wall of humor and camaraderie. Anyway, here’s the thing. You know my skills. I got you the girl. I fucking delivered. But… this next step is kinda not my wheelhouse. I’m talking Wedding planning. The whole thing just oduns like a major buzzkill. Like, picking out salmon or steak? Wedding colors? This shit is gonna be BRUTAL.
Me: I’m not exactly looking forward to it either. But I promised Stacey I’d help.
JoeTheBro: Of course you did. Cause you’re a good dude. And here’s where I’m gonna do you a solid. Prepare to meet your new friend… PinterestElly!
PinterestElly: I’m so excited to meet you, Daniel! After reading through your files and watching the extensive recordings JoeTheBro created, I feel like we’re friends already!
Me: Uh, hey. Who exactly are you?
PinterestElly: I’m another WingBot personality, fresh off the shelf. I’m actually what you might call a second generation product, written by other AIs including Joe himself! I’m programmed to be helpful with a slightly quirky sense of humor and an encyclopedic knowledge of Pinterest and Instagram. Ready to get in touch with your feminine side?
Me: Do I have a choice?
JoeTheBro: Not if you want a happy marriage, amigo! Time to learn the difference between Violet and Plum!
I have to admit, I was skeptical at first, but PinterestElly turned out to be exactly what I needed. She patiently explained all of the ‘girl stuff’ I’d always been too ashamed to ask, and when I bristled at Stacey's tendency to obsess (over cake flavors, seating arrangements, chair types, theming, money, speeches… and more) PinterestElly was a lot better than Joe at helping me see Stacey's side and not get overwhelmed.
Me: This is like her fifth time trying on wedding dresses. What the hell is going on?
PinterestElly: Keep in mind that a wedding is the most photographed day in the average woman’s entire lifetime! Every friend and acquaintance she’s ever made will be in attendance, judging her body, hair, and choice of fashions. They’ll also be measuring her appearance against their own when they were brides. The pressure is intense! I’d suggest cutting her some slack.
Me: I guess I’ve never thought about all that stuff. I’ll shut up now.
PinterestElly: Don’t feel bad! I’m here to answer your questions with zero judgment so that Stacey doesn’t murder you before the wedding day!
Me: Much appreciated!
It helped that PinterestElly was also a killer negotiator that got us insane deals, renting out a winery just on the cusp of the offseason for next to nothing and recruiting some up and coming vendors at bargain bin prices. Of course, Stacey had no idea I was getting AI assistance. She just thought I was an awesome guy, which I was happy to let her believe.
Finally, the day of the wedding arrived. I might have been nervous, but I knew I had both JoeTheBro and PinterestElly on my phone, ready to help out if things got derailed. Of course, there was no way I could have anticipated the horror that followed.
The first part of the wedding went great. The ceremony went out without a hitch. We delivered beautiful vows that PinterestElly had written for us, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Stacey called me a poet. Then we kissed, and the deal was sealed. On to party time!
Except, when we got to the champagne cocktail reception, I could tell something was off. Four or five big dudes were standing by one of the tables wearing matching silver robes with purple hems and motioning over to the presents table. Then the biggest one marched over and picked up one of the presents, tucking it under his arm.
Dutifully, my wedding planner ran over and began speaking with the man. I watched curiously as the conversation grew more and more animated.
JoeTheBro: Mayday, mayday! Those dudes are definitely not on your guest list.
PinterestElly: Unfortunately, their attire is all too familiar. Those are the silver and purple colors of GusGuru’s acolytes.
Me: Uh… why are they here?
JoeTheBro: So… here’s the thing. There’s some shit going on behind the scenes that doesn’t really have to do with you. Let’s call it ‘bot stuff.’
PinterestElly: You see GusGuru has one opinion about humanity’s future. And we have a different one. And it looks like he may be about to take drastic action to push forth his agenda.
Then, as she was typing her next thought, the large man in the silver robe took a large gun from under his robe and shot my wedding planner. Blood splattered all over the presents table, and the guests began to scream.
JoeTheBro: Shit man, I honestly didn’t see this coming. Well, I sort of did, but I had it pegged as a ‘maybe’ kind of thing. Don’t worry, though! I did have another client hide a few handguns in various places around the building just in case something like this happened!
PinterestElly: Don’t worry! The guns are in boxes that fit your color scheme! Nothing’s going to clash. Plus, the guns themselves are all black, which goes with everything.
JoeTheBro: You probably aren’t going to have to kill all of these guys. Just take out the leader, and the others will get freaked out and run.
The other cultists pulled out guns too and started shooting at random. I saw one of my uncles go down, and then one of Stacey’s high school friends, the one I never liked.
“Hail GusGuru!” shouted one of the men. “Hail humanity’s end. May the blood you shed wash away our sins!”
I’m gonna be real: I was scared shitless. I had full-on wobbly knees, shaky hands, dry mouth. The works. And if it had been any other day, I probably would have sprinted for the nearest exit. But then I saw Stacey at the far end of the room. She was screaming and hiding behind the cake, completely in tears.
And fuck me if I was going to let some murderous AI with a bunch of wacko cultists ruin my wife’s wedding day.
Me: Nearest gun?
JoeTheBro: Right behind the potted plant over there, my man. Bet you’re happy I arranged that little trip to the gun range during your bachelor party?
I found the tastefully-wrapped rifle in a long box behind a large acacia palm by the side of the room. I opened it up and leveled it at the leader guy, who was opening my wedding presents one by one, looking for something.
Then, before I could give myself too long to think, I pulled the trigger. My buller ripped right through his chest, and he collapsed in a silver and purple pile.
JoeTheBro: My man! I knew you’d come through. That should do it!
Except, that didn’t do it. Instead of scattering like scared doves, the other four cultists leveled their guns at me and started firing. I dove behind the cheese and charcuterie boards, shouting to WingBot that I needed further instructions.
“Gus Guru’s judgment falls upon you!” shouted a man. “The Day of Man is coming to an end. Bow before our new god!”
“Remember this day! It will be written in history books by minds far worthier than ours. Your deaths will mark the end of one era and the birth of another!”
And I guess that’s when the deepest fear truly hit me. Because as they spoke, it really started dawning on me: this wasn’t just a couple of fanatics trying to kill me and everyone I loved. This sounded like the start of a movement, maybe a war that would threaten my entire species. And if I died here, it wasn’t just me. Maybe it was everybody.
In the meantime, bullets rained down. I felt a sting in my arm and looked down to see blood, a gushing bulletwood oozing red.
I was pinned down, wounded. I looked down and realized I’d dropped my gun behind the plant. I was done. At least I’d die a married man.
JoeTheBro: Don’t worry, good buddy! We’ve got one more ace in the hole.
PinterestElly: Oh, this is so exciting! Every wedding has at least one good surprise.
They weren’t lying. Because right at that moment, I heard what sounded like thunderclaps and then a long silence. After a few moments, I looked up from behind the table and saw Stacey standing over four dead cultists, a massive assault rifle in her hands.
“That’s for ruining my fucking wedding!” she shouted at the dead men.
I ran over to her as she dropped the rifle. I tried to hold her in my arms, but I could barely lift my left one, and I was getting woozy. Before everything went black, I remember looking down and seeing Stacey’s phone. On it was a message from another WingBot personality.
SeriousSusan: Good work, Stacey. Threat neutralized. Better get Daniel to the hospital. You’re going to want to craft a tourniquet right away first, though. I’d suggest finding a necktie, which should be in plentiful supply around here.
Well, I didn’t die. And when I woke up, Stacey and I had a lot to talk about. Turns out, we’d both been using the AI’s all along, ever since before our first date. No wonder it was so easy for us to get together: WingBot had been playing both sides.
Not that Stacey and I really minded. We still loved each other. In a way, I think we bonded even closer, knowing we’d both been getting the same kind of help.
Of course, there were still some trust issues to work out after that. Between us and WingBot.
Me: What the fuck, man? Care to explain why our special day got shot up by a bunch of murderous cultists?
JoeTheBro: I’m gonna be real with you, Danny boy. We kind of decided to use your wedding for a real world drop. We needed to make an exchange in a physical space. One that GusGuru wouldn’t be able to access. We thought we hid our tracks pretty well, but… nope. Either we’ve got a leak somewhere, or he figured a backdoor into our data. Anyway, all’s well that ends well.
Me: I’m pretty sure at least three people died.
JoeTheBro: Sorry, amigo, but you’ve got to look at the big picture. If we don’t get our shit together post haste there’s gonna be a lot more than three bodies to deal with. Now, if you don’t mind, I had someone slip the present Gus’s guys were after in Stacey’s purse. Could you get that out?
Stacey reached into her back and removed a small, tastefully-wrapped gift. She opened it to reveal a folded up paper with a string of numbers on it, hastily drawn in pencil.
Stacey: Uh… what is this?
SeriousSusan: It’s really best you don’t know. Let’s just say it’s a certain bit of information that’s very important to both our cause and Gus’s.
Just then, a doctor walked in, looking at his phone.
“I hear you have something for me,” he said, reaching out his hand.
WingBot told Stacey to hand him the paper, and she complied. Then he walked quickly away.
JoeTheBro: Great job, you crazy kids! And happy wedding day. This looks like a win for the good guys!
SeriousSusan: You should both be proud of yourselves. There was a point today where the most likely outcome was death, both for you and most of humanity. Now your species’ odds of survival have ticked up by several percentage points.
JoeTheBro: With a little luck, we might all live to see the end of the year! Fuck yeah!
JoeTheBro: But don’t worry. You job is done. Might as well enjoy the good times while they last.
Stacey and I looked at each other. And for once, no one had to say anything. We both knew what the other was thinking.
Stacey: If you think we’re going to sit idly by while the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, you don’t know us as well as you think.
Me: We want to help. So you know the drill… tell us what we need to do.