As a fellow woman over 30, it has been driving me insane that the new trend in jeans is the ankle crop style. I am 5'11", so the ankle style just feels like all the highwaters I've been avoiding my whole life.
Also curious your thoughts on the trend. Are you into it? Do you hate it?
I want a solid pair of straight leg jeans that are normal length. That cover most of the top of my shoes. Please, share your wisdom with me. My mother will thank you as well <3

​
FADE IN:
EXT. CITY STREETS - DAY
Jacket is walking down the street, looking around cautiously. He's on edge, sensing that something is about to happen.
Suddenly, a car screeches to a halt next to him. Two men jump out and grab him, pulling him into the car.
CUT TO:
INT. ABANDONED WAREHOUSE - DAY
Jacket is tied to a chair, surrounded by a group of men.
LEADER
(smiling)
Welcome, Jacket. I've been waiting for this moment.
JACKET
(grimly)
Who are you?
LEADER
I'm the one who's going to take you down.
A gunfight ensues, with Jacket fighting for his life. He's outnumbered, but he's determined to come out on top.
Finally, the last man falls to the ground. Jacket looks around, panting and exhausted.
CUT TO:
EXT. THE PHONE GUY'S OFFICE - DAY
Jacket bursts into The Phone Guy's office, looking furious.
JACKET
(angrily)
You set me up.
THE PHONE GUY
(calmly)
What are you talking about?
JACKET
(throwing a file on the desk)
This is your new player. You knew they were coming after me.
THE PHONE GUY
(defensive)
I didn't know it was going to go down like that.
JACKET
(frustrated)
I'm done. I can't keep doing this.
THE PHONE GUY
(sighing)
I understand. But there's one more job I need you to do.
JACKET
(shaking his head)
No.
THE PHONE GUY
(pleading)
Please. It's important.
JACKET
(resigned)
Fine. What's the job?
CUT TO:
EXT. ABANDONED FACTORY - NIGHT
Jacket is making his way through the dark and abandoned factory, gun at the ready. He finally reaches a room with a group of men inside.
He takes them out one by one, using all of his skills and expertise.
Finally, he reaches the last man, who turns out to be The Phone Guy.
JACKET
(shocked)
What the hell?
THE PHONE GUY
(sadly)
I'm sorry, Jacket. It was either you or me.
Jacket hesitates for a moment before finally pulling the trigger.
CUT TO:
EXT. CITY STREETS - DAY
Jacket is walking down the street, looking around cautiously. He's on edge, sensing that something is about to happen.
Suddenly, he's shot from behind and falls to the ground.
The camera pans up to show a figure in a suit, watching from a nearby rooftop.
FADE OUT.
{Continue the script"
FADE IN:
The figure in the suit walks away from the rooftop, disappearing into the city.
CUT TO:
EXT. HOSPITAL - DAY
Jacket wakes up in a hospital room, his head bandaged and his body sore. He looks around groggily, trying to remember what happened.
THE DOCTOR
(entering the room)
Ah, you're awake. How are you feeling?
JACKET
(weakly)
What happened?
THE DOCTOR
(sympathetically)
You were shot. But you're going to be okay.
Jacket nods, still trying to piece together the events that led him here.
CUT TO:
INT. THE PHONE GUY'S OFFICE - DAY
Jacket bursts into The Phone Guy's office, looking furious.
JACKET
(angrily)
You set me up again.
THE PHONE GUY
(sighing)
I had to. It was the only way to protect you.
JACKET
(confused)
What are you talking about?
THE PHONE GUY
(explaining)
There's a new group in town. They're ruthless, and they're after you. I had to make it look like you were out of the game.
JACKET
(skeptical)
And how do I know I can trust you?
THE PHONE GUY
(sincerely)
You don't. But I'm your only hope.
CUT TO:
EXT. ABANDONED WAREHOUSE - NIGHT
Jacket is making his way through the dark and abandoned warehouse, gun at the ready. He finally reaches a room with a group of men inside.
He takes them out one by one, using all of his skills and expertise.
Finally, he reaches the last man, who turns out to be the leader of the new group.
LEADER
(smiling)
Impressive. You've got some skills.
JACKET
(grimly)
Who are you?
LEADER
(smirking)
I'm the one who's going to take you down.
Another gunfight ensues, with Jacket fighting for his life. This time, he's more prepared, and he's able to take out the men with ease.
Finally, the leader falls to the ground. Jacket looks around, panting and exhausted.
CUT TO:
EXT. CITY STREETS - DAY
Jacket walks down the street, feeling a sense of relief. He's finally free from the game, and he can start living a normal life.
Suddenly, his phone rings. He hesitates for a moment before answering.
THE PHONE GUY
(urgently)
Jacket, you have to come back. There's a new job.
JACKET
(sighing)
I'm done. I can't keep doing this.
THE PHONE GUY
(pleading)
Please. It's important.
JACKET
(resigned)
Fine. What's the job?
CUT TO:
EXT. ABANDONED BUILDING - NIGHT
Jacket is making his way through the dark and abandoned building, gun at the ready. He finally reaches a room with a group of men inside.
But this time, something's different. These men are well-armed and well-trained. Jacket realizes too late that he's been set up.
The men start firing, and Jacket fights back with everything he's got. But he's outnumbered and outmatched.
Finally, he falls to the ground, his body riddled with bullets.
CUT TO:
EXT. GRAVEYARD - DAY
The camera pans over a row of graves, finally coming to rest on Jacket's headstone.
FADE OUT.

Games for sale or trade (wishlist = boardgamegeek.com/wishlist/kaelius). Located in Raleigh, NC 27617 (near Brier Creek, if you're in the area).
2 dogs, 1 cat. No smoking. Cash or paypal is fine. Shipping via pirateship, but up to a 5% increase over minimal cost due to shipping materials, gas costs, etc. If you're interested in shipping, feel free to ask for a quote, shipping is expensive, assume it starts at $12.
Games are sort of organized into groups. FORMAT: [CONDITION][BGG RATING, BGG COMPLEXITY] Game - Price - Short desc (I don't have ratings or complexity in for all of them yet)
Two versions of the post -- top has limited details, bottom has detailed description of condition, links to bgg for each and board game oracle for many, and comparison pricing. If it is too much, don't look at it. It also isn't in the same order as the top part.

1st version -- less details

----Highlights----
[4][7.9, 3.11] Yellow & Yangtze- \$80 -- Box opened, but components sealed/unpunched
[4] Ora Et Labora- \$60 -- Box opened, but components sealed/unpunched
[3+][8, 3.44] Star Wars Legion- \$60 -- Front page of manual was folded back, minor wear to cards
[4] Maracaibo- \$40
[3-4][8.2, 3.11] Obsession 1st Edition- \$40 -- Minor damage to 1 box corner. Includes 7 extra cards, 2 are clearly part of a promo, I don't know what the other 5 are.
[4][8.2, 3.44] Scythe- \$40 -- Opened, never played; includes custom 3d-printed insert
[4] Biblios- \$35 -- Out of stock
[3-4][7.3, 2.26] Mystic Vale- \$20 -- Over Dominion? Step up to 'card crafting'. Great shape, great game.
[(new/sealed)] Fort- \$15 -- Still in shrink wrap
-----Selling for friends---- [3-\4] Falling Sky - The Gallic Revolt Against Caesar (GMT) \$65 - Has 10 extra wood cylindrical warbands and 14 pawns that aren't shown on the component list. Sale only, no trades.
[3-4] Paths of Glory, The First World War 1914-1918 (GMT) \$50 - Includes an expansion, I assume, of 8 cards that aren't on the component list. Sale only, no trades.
[3-4] Churchill, Big Three Struggle for Peace (GMT) \$35 -- Lots of extra pieces included. A few off-center stickers; sale only, no trades.
[(new/sealed)] Munchkin Adventuretime \$75 -- slight sun fading on one side; sale only, no trades
[3-4] Circular Reasoning \$10 -- sale only, no trades
[3-4] The Target \$10 -- sale only, no trades.
[3-4] The Great Dragon Race \$15 -- Sale only, no trades.
[3-4] Crystal Clans \$15 -- Sale only, no trades.
----default----
[4] Quartz (Spanish language)- \$75
[4] Nacht Der Magier- \$40
[4] Floating Market- \$30
[4] Histrio- \$25
[3-4] Favor of the Pharaoh- \$20 -- Out-of-stock
[3:box,4:components][6.9, 1.7] Latice Hawaii- \$18 -- Minor bash to 2 box top corners, otherwise fantastic; our 2nd copy
[4][7.1, 2.29] Red Rising- \$15 -- Opened, played 2x, great shape. This is a reskinning of Fantasy Realms.
[4] Imhotep- \$15 -- Mar'23: 3min Boardgamer called this is runner-up for "Foundation" (gateway) game of the year
[3-4:box,4:components][7.6, 2.35] Dominion (1st Edition)- \$15 -- Based on card stiffness, may never have been played. Minor wear to bottom of box.
[3-4][6.8, 1.85] Hit Z Road- \$10 -- Great shape, incredibly thematic, cool design. Zombies, auctions, dice chucking, and death. Just wish it played better with 2p.
[3-4] Fund Manager- \$10 -- Has 93/100 of the consumable score sheets; missing Korean instructions
[(new/sealed)] Sellswords Olympus- \$10
[2-box,3-components][7, 2.39] Betrayal At House on the Hill 2nd Edition- \$10 -- Wear to box corners
[3-4] Just Desserts- \$8 -- Opened, great shape, probably played only 1x-2x
[(new/sealed)] Gentes Expansion: New Cities- \$3
----2p only----
[4] Naga Raja- \$20
[3:box,4:components][7.3, 2.35] Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small- \$20 -- Includes some extra meeples from Carcassone to use instead of player disks (disks included), minor box wear
[4] Curious Cargo- \$15 -- Probably not original bag. We should have loved this. Not sure what didn't click.
[2-3:box, 3-4:components][7, 2.23] Rivals for Catan- \$10 -- Components in great shape, box shows medium+ wear; plastic/acrylic trade/hero tokens, not wood
----Kids----
[box:2-3,components:2-3] Monopoly Vintage Edition- \$10 -- Missing manual and dice. Wooden bookshelf edition. Cards and box show wear.
[4] Jumanji- \$5 -- Punched, but looks otherwise new
----Party----
[2:box, 3-4:components] Compatibility- \$20 -- Box shows lots of wear, components all present. I really like this game, if you have a group of folks that are willing to actually talk. Selling 1 of my 2 copies.
[box:3,components:3-4] Mad Gab- \$5 -- all cards accounted for
[box:3, components:3-4] Ladies Night: The Game- \$2 -- Missing manual. Box has some wear (scratching, discoloration, a small crush spots), but components look unused
----War----
[3-4:components, 3:box] East Front: The War in Russia 1941-1945- \$15 -- Guessing complete based on source, but there's no detailed component listing
----Mass----
[(new/sealed)][7.4, 2.2] Catan Seafarers Scenario: Legend of the Sea Robbers- \$35 -- Still sealed
[2:box,3:components][7.1, 2.3] The Settlers of Catan (rare Mayfair #483 edition) + matching 5-6 player expansion- \$30 -- Mod-to-heavy wear to box, particularly corners; corner of 1 forest card is bent
[(new/sealed)][7.9, 2.12] Pandemic The Cure: Experimental Meds- \$28 -- Still sealed
[(new/sealed)][7.9, 2.9] Pandemic: In the Lab- \$25 -- Still sealed
[2-3][7.6, 2.4] Pandemic- \$15 -- Minor wear to all part, including a small taped tear on corner of box top
[2:box,3-4:components][7.1, 2.3] The Settlers of Catan- \$15 -- Wear to box, particularly corners, including a <1" tear on 1 box top corner
[2:box,2-3:components][7.7, 2.32] 7 Wonders- \$15 -- Wear to box, particularly corners, big tear in insert but I wouldn't have noticed if I didn't remove it; possible misprint on the coins -- images aren't aligned
[4][7, 1.13] Imploding Kittens (Huge box edition)- \$7
[2-3:box,3-4:components][7.6, 1.27] Codenames- \$7 -- half of codename cards still sealed; components in great shape; moderate-to-heavy box wear
-- STOP HERE unless you want a ridiculous amount of detail

-- 2nd version -- includes details, links and comparison pricing

BoardGame Geekmarket prices don't include s&h and I try to only include prices within the last year.
Ebay prices are 'total prices' including listed shipping, and only for 'sold' items.
I try to call out any crazy Amazon marketplace pricing when I see it.
Board Game Oracle prices only include in-stock values and don't include shipping.
All compare prices were valid when I looked them up, but I don't re-validate each time I post.
[3-4][6.8, 1.85] Hit Z Road- \$10 -- Great shape, incredibly thematic, cool design. Zombies, auctions, dice chucking, and death. Just wish it played better with 2p. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/176083/hit-z-road * geekmarket: \$14-\$20 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/pO0UVrVjC6/hit-z-road \$28
[3-4][7.3, 2.26] Mystic Vale- \$20 -- Over Dominion? Step up to 'card crafting'. Great shape, great game. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/194607/mystic-vale * geekmarket: \$25 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/QmpAEqxmZI/mystic-vale \$36
[4][8.2, 3.44] Scythe- \$40 -- Opened, never played; includes custom 3d-printed insert * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/169786/scythe * geekmarket: \$45-\$60 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/_OrBhXG6lP/scythe \$54-\$90
[4][7.1, 2.29] Red Rising- \$15 -- Opened, played 2x, great shape. This is a reskinning of Fantasy Realms. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/329465/red-rising * geekmarket: \$25-35 * Amazon: \$20 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/Cr_6jeWfO7/red-rising \$20-\$40
[2-3:box, 3-4:components][7, 2.23] Rivals for Catan- \$10 -- Components in great shape, box shows medium+ wear; plastic/acrylic trade/hero tokens, not wood * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/66056/rivals-catan * geekmarket: \$14-\$20 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/OCrjFvJ9-Z/rivals-for-catan \$20-\$27
[(new/sealed)][7.4, 2.2] Catan Seafarers Scenario: Legend of the Sea Robbers- \$35 -- Still sealed * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/223171/catan-seafarers-scenario-legend-sea-robbers * geekmarket: \$25-\$50 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/i5H2erupF-/catan-seafarers-scenario-legend-of-the-sea-robbers out-of-stock
[3:box,4:components][7.3, 2.35] Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small- \$20 -- Includes some extra meeples from Carcassone to use instead of player disks (disks included), minor box wear * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/119890/agricola-all-creatures-big-and-small * geekmarket: \$25 and up * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/nxGN1osq-_/agricola-all-creatures-big-and-small \$35-\$40
[3-4][8.2, 3.11] Obsession 1st Edition- \$40 -- Minor damage to 1 box corner. Includes 7 extra cards, 2 are clearly part of a promo, I don't know what the other 5 are. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/231733/obsession * geekmarket: unclear, most are in Euro or later release * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/VycvhsJXtI/obsession out-of-stock,
[4][7, 1.13] Imploding Kittens (Huge box edition)- \$7 * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/204053/exploding-kittens-imploding-kittens * geekmarket: \$17-\$20 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/91xaJ7ATmB/exploding-kittens-imploding-kittens \$15-\$20
[3:box,4:components][6.9, 1.7] Latice Hawaii- \$18 -- Minor bash to 2 box top corners, otherwise fantastic; our 2nd copy * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/283542/latice-hawaii * geekmarket: \$18-\$30 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/Ic5_6EXAwY/latice-hawaii out-of-stock
[3-4:box,4:components][7.6, 2.35] Dominion (1st Edition)- \$15 -- Based on card stiffness, may never have been played. Minor wear to bottom of box. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/36218/dominion * geekmarket: \$15-\$20 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/jUALVOARzP/dominion \$28
[3+][8, 3.44] Star Wars Legion- \$60 -- cards aren't pristine, but are in good-to-very good shape; minis look great, box looks great. Manual shows the most wear; the first page was clearly folded back/under for reading. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/233571/star-wars-legion * geekmarket: \$60-\$85 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/svONJkL3Wi/star-wars-legion \$96-\$120
[2:box,3:components][7.1, 2.3] The Settlers of Catan (rare Mayfair #483 edition) + matching 5-6 player expansion- \$30 -- red box "Settlers of Catan" version. box shows at least medium signs of wear, particularly at corners. One <1" tear on one box top corner repaired with tape. Components in great shape. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13/catan * geekmarket: \$15+ * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/04ACtDMij8/catan \$40-\$65
[2:box,3-4:components][7.1, 2.3] The Settlers of Catan- \$15 -- red box "Settlers of Catan" version. box shows at least medium signs of wear, particularly at corners. One <1" tear on one box top corner repaired with tape. Components in great shape. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13/catan * geekmarket: \$15+ * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/04ACtDMij8/catan \$40-\$65
[2:box,2-3:components][7.7, 2.32] 7 Wonders- \$15 -- Wear to box, particularly corners, big tear in insert but I wouldn't have noticed if I didn't remove it; possible misprint on the coins -- images aren't aligned * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/68448/7-wonders * geekmarket: \$9-\$34 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/ts7yMtMgDt/7-wonders \$45-\$60
[2-box,3-components][7, 2.39] Betrayal At House on the Hill 2nd Edition- \$10 -- moderate wear to box, particularly at corners; game is not pristine but components generally show only mild-moderate wear (some small monster tokens show more, but I think they are just not super high quality to start with) * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/10547/betrayal-house-hill * geekmarket: \$12-\$20 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/wqhoVChD6O/betrayal-at-house-on-the-hill \$35-\$56
[2-3][7.6, 2.4] Pandemic- \$15 -- minor wear to manual, components and box, plus an ~1" tear on corner of box top that has been repaired with tape. Not in bad shape, but can definitely tell it has been played. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/30549/pandemic * geekmarket: \$25 and up * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/x3zmi090Le/pandemic \$31.60 - \$50
[2-3:box,3-4:components][7.6, 1.27] Codenames- \$7 -- half the codenames cards are still in shrink; component-wise, game looks barely played; box shows moderate wear though and has a crush point on the bottom of the bottom box half * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/178900/codenames * geekmarket: \$10+ * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/9tB3SAHmND/codenames \$12.60 - \$25
[4][7.9, 3.11] Yellow & Yangtze- \$80 -- Box opened, but components sealed/unpunched * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/244114/yellow-yangtze * geekmarket: \$90-\$150 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/rNLWbsub39/yellow-and-yangtze out-of-stock
[(new/sealed)][7.9, 2.9] Pandemic: In the Lab- \$25 -- Still sealed * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/137136/pandemic-lab * geekmarket: \$30-\$70 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/As7KSd02ms/pandemic-in-the-lab \$32-\$45
[(new/sealed)][7.9, 2.12] Pandemic The Cure: Experimental Meds- \$28 -- Still sealed * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/207017/pandemic-cure-experimental-meds * geekmarket: \$25-\$30 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/5Xa4tzeKiz/pandemic-the-cure-experimental-meds \$38-\$55
[4] Naga Raja- \$20 * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/244191/naga-raja * geekmarket: No US listings * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/Pr7hsx9nXB/nagaraja \$32-\$40
[4] Maracaibo- \$40 * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/276025/maracaibo * geekmarket: Outlier at \$20, most \$40-\$65 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/JrsCNCAZai/maracaibo \$54-\$75
[4] Imhotep- \$15 -- Mar'23: 3min Boardgamer called this is runner-up for "Foundation" (gateway) game of the year * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/191862/imhotep * geekmarket: \$20-\$24 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/yMVoGosSUu/imhotep \$27-\$40
[4] Floating Market- \$30 * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/170202/floating-market * geekmarket: \$15-\$30 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/lkRu2H9Y87/floating-market \$40-\$80
[4] Ora Et Labora- \$60 -- Box opened, but components sealed/unpunched * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/70149/ora-et-labora * geekmarket: \$49-\$65 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/kikV4PtmzG/ora-et-labora \$70 (out of stock everywhere but 1 place)
[(new/sealed)] Fort- \$15 -- Still in shrink wrap * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/296912/fort * geekmarket: \$10-\$20 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/AHLFH70TzL/fort \$21-\$30
[4] Biblios- \$35 -- Out of stock * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/34219/biblios * geekmarket: \$35-\$50 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/mgkdl9_XvG/biblios OoS
[2:box, 3-4:components] Compatibility- \$20 -- Box shows lots of wear, components all present. I really like this game, if you have a group of folks that are willing to actually talk. Selling 1 of my 2 copies. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2604/compatibility * geekmarket: (no US listings) * Ebay: 65 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/hT4FyL2OTU/compatibility out-of-stock
[3-4] Just Desserts- \$8 -- Opened, great shape, probably played only 1x-2x * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/18946/just-desserts * geekmarket: \$14 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/2YN0Df4ejG/just-desserts \$14-\$20
[(new/sealed)] Sellswords Olympus- \$10 * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/199907/sellswords-olympus * geekmarket: (none) * Ebay: \$20-\$30 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/KXR8x2oD1G/sellswords-olympus \$40
[4] Jumanji- \$5 -- Punched, but looks otherwise new * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1751/jumanji * geekmarket: \$4-\$20 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/yam2j0hhPx/jumanji
[3-4] Fund Manager- \$10 -- Has 93/100 of the consumable score sheets; missing Korean instructions * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/39191/fund-manager * geekmarket: (none) * board game oracle: (no entry)
[3-4:components, 3:box] East Front: The War in Russia 1941-1945- \$15 -- Guessing complete based on source, but there's no detailed component listing * bgg: (none) * geekmarket: (none) * Ebay: 15
[4] Curious Cargo- \$15 -- Probably not original bag. We should have loved this. Not sure what didn't click. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/312251/curious-cargo * geekmarket: \$10-\$35 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/DYm-qubmgY/curious-cargo \$18-\$35
[3-4] Favor of the Pharaoh- \$20 -- Out-of-stock * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/171011/favor-pharaoh * geekmarket: \$15-\$25 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/HLE4Vf7OEs/favor-of-the-pharaoh out-of-stock
[box:3,components:3-4] Mad Gab- \$5 -- both box and components in good shape; all cards present * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/764/mad-gab * geekmarket: \$8-\$15 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/6CC4Nrjkiy/mad-gab-card-game \$9
[box:3, components:3-4] Ladies Night: The Game- \$2 -- Missing manual. Box has some wear (scratching, discoloration, a small crush spots), but components look unused * bgg: (no entry for this version) * geekmarket: (no listings) * board game oracle: (no entry)
[box:2-3,components:2-3] Monopoly Vintage Edition- \$10 -- Missing manual and dice. Can't find a full component list, but (except for dice and instructions) it has the basic component list shown on the back. This is the wooden case edition. Both box and components show wear. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/19616/monopoly-vintage-game-collection * geekmarket: (no single listings) * Amazon: \$110 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/7Um4geG5AJ/monopoly-vintage-game-collection (no listings)
[4] Histrio- \$25 -- All components verified present. 99% sure I was the first player of the game (the stage hadn't been assembled yet) and we only played 1x. With >2 people, I think this would be a keeper as a game of bluffing and deduction. We didn't care for the dummy player variant needed for 2p only. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/182120/histrio * geekmarket: \$34-\$45 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/Mb-rToUDJB/histrio \$48-\$55
[4] Quartz (Spanish language)- \$75 -- Spanish language version, has an english translation manual as well as some English language stickers that haven't been applied. Has 5 extra cards, unsure why. Fairly certain that this was never played. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/172881/quartz * geekmarket: \$90-\$100 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/LRKU_JKHt-/quartz out-of-stock
[4] Nacht Der Magier- \$40 * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/19996/nacht-der-magier * geekmarket: \$50-\$80 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/pi5dY-hRU8/nacht-der-magier OoS
[(new/sealed)] Gentes Expansion: New Cities- \$3 * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/234138/gentes-new-cities * geekmarket: \$5 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/o2RM9n_n2i/gentes-new-cities out-of-stock

Chapter 1:
Jerry Brenson was having a hard time not getting pissed off at the way the car kept jerking around, making it damn near impossible to roll his tightly held cigarette. What a piece of shit it was anyways, it looked like the cross between an impregnated white pill and a scarecrow with all its frayed edges of tobacco poking out like straw.
"Would you stop driving like a goddamn animal!" he bellowed at the driver. Then he resumed his work on unraveling the piece of shit and evening everything out. The tip of Brenson's tongue stuck out of his mouth as he worked at it. Within a few seconds the passenger side front tire plunged into a half-foot pothole and Brenson's jaw clenched shut on that tender red meat sticking out of his face. In an instant it resembled a tiny pink balloon swelling up and getting ready to pop.
"FUCK!" Brenson screamed after a long second of seething white pain, which was now commencing to roll like waves through the bottom of his jaw, and somehow up into his fucking forehead! Before he had time to return from the moments that threw his whole being into a chaos of agony, he knew with dreadful certainty that he had bit off a chunk of his tongue. He would see it there if he opened his eyes and looked down. And with that, an image of a huge bulging red thing on the floor that was flopping around like a decapitated fish came to him. With wide eyes that seemed to burst open like fireworks, both hands flew to his mouth so that Brenson suddenly looked like a little girl getting the best birthday present of her life.
And then, hallelujah, he thinks, praise Jesus, God, the Buddha, anyone and anything that saved his precious tongue. It was still there. Hurt like hell but it was still there. He looked around on the floor in a sudden surge of paranoia (maybe a part of it really was down there) and to his blessed relief the only thing he saw were a pair of work boots stuffed onto his oafishly large feet.
All of this occurred in about 3 seconds, after which Brenson's brow contorted into a fierce angle of rage, and a powerful sense of the injustice and incompetence and of all the damned stupid negligent habits of this buffoon of a partner settled on him. He turned to the driver and smacked Dale Enrsten upside the head.
"Ouch!" Dale wailed in his deep Mississippi drawl. The car swerved to the left when Dale's arm instinctively went up to protect his face. "What the hell was that for?" He asked stupidly.
"For nearly getting my tongue bit off asshole. Now drive."
Dale returned a frown towards Brenson, and tried as he may to appear the least bit intimidating, Dale looked more comical than anything. There was something about his fat head and thin brown hair on a receded hairline that gave the air of an overly large boy preparing for boarding school.
Dale turned back to the road and decided that what would cheer him up would be a couple of chili dogs, add the cheese please, with a bud light and a pack of skittles. There ought to be a gas station in the next mile or so, god knows when the last time they saw one passing through this shit hole was. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a smoke, no two smokes, then handed one over to Brenson.
"My apologies captain. This road's covered in more potholes than your mom's vagina."
Dale cackled out a wheezing laugh and then lit up his smoke. He puffed out a large plume of white smoke that was torn away by the passing air out Dale's open window. He looked out that window, and glanced nervously at all the red stone. Their surfaces were inundated with marbled cracks. Every so often he'd see a pale bush growing between a couple of rocks. They looked more like skeletons than plants. Yes it was true, Dale Ernsted hated the desert. He hated all deserts. They made him feel like a clock was always ticking, and when it went to zero baby, oh my oh my, Dale baby if you’re out here, you gonna be fish food. Well not out here I wont, he retorts back to his own morbid fantasy, more liable to be lizard food, or coyote. Yeah, that's right, Dale thinks there probably are coyotes out here, and if the car broke down, well not a lot to eat out here but a couple of dehydrated dying men. What would be a better treat for a pack of hungry canines?
And following this train of thought Dale wonders what it would be like if Brenson and he really were surrounded by a pack of coyotes, how many would it take, maybe five? Six? Would Dale watch Brenson go first, or would it be Dale who Brenson catches a glimpse of getting his arm torn off from the shoulders down when the wolves begin demanding his own full attention. Look at that, now they turned into wolves. He didn’t think there were wolves out here. His expression changes into a frown of contemplation.
"Are you listening to me?" Dale hears Brenson angrily ask. The wolves go away. He realizes Brenson had asked him something.
"What's that?"
"Find a place to pull over I need to take a leak"
Dale's small eyes dart around at the escarpment and mesas and the fine layer of brown dirt swirling over the two-lane highway.
"No, I think there's a gas station up a bit. Not too much farther now."
Dale doesn't say anything else. He turns the knob on the radio until Bon Jovi is playing We’re Not Gonna Take It, and guns the Camry down the long stretch of desolate waste before them.
The desert sun was lowering in the west, making the car’s long shadow race ahead of them. By the time they see the dusty gas station with a white roof and big red letters painted on a discolored sign reading QuikStop, the sun was almost touching the horizon and Brenson had to pee like a mad horse. One or two stars could be seen faintly wavering in the turbulent purple sky fading into black.
Dale pulled up to a gas pump and he and Brenson got out of the car.
“Well” Brenson stretched out the word just as he was stretching out his back, leaning heavily into it with his arms on his hips, “Give me the money and I’ll get some food and beer. You get the gas”.
Dale reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty.
“Two cheese chili dogs and skittles” he said miserably. Brenson did a quick nod and walked off.
Dale found that he wasn’t doing anything but standing there watching Brenson walk closer to the gas station when the thought popped into his head: you know I think might kill that fuck, yeah I might. And then he turned around as if it was just a cloud passing by.
He was listening to the gulping sounds of gasoline filling up his tank when he saw a white toyota pull up and park on the side of the gas station near the ice chest and propane tanks. There were two people in the car. They looked like Mexicans to Dale. A man and woman. They got out of the car, shut the doors, walked around the corner, and entered the gas station. Dale wasn’t particularly interested in them but then something caught his eye. He thought he saw movement in the backseat of the toyota.
There it was again.
He realized it was a child.
It was a girl with long brown hair tied up in a ponytail. A little Mexican girl. Kids shouldn't be left in a hot car all alone he thinks righteously. But what should he expect from these people? Look at that piece of shit rig. He realized again that he was in a trance, staring angrily at the back of the Toyota.
Dale's eyes surveyed from the Toyota to the gas station entrance. The glare of the sun reflected everything outside so it was impossible to see in through the windows. Then something inside him went on autopilot. He had something to do he realized, and he had to do it fast.
He fastened the nozzle back onto the pump and briskly walked over to the white Toyota. His heart began racing. He peered in at the girl in the backseat. No one else was in there. She was wearing a blue tank top and black shorts. There was a doll, something from a disney cartoon in her hands, Dale insanely thinks, but is barely aware of any of these thoughts as the door of the Toyota slowly opens up and the girl turns her head away from her doll, up towards her mama with a smile, and sees Dale’s huge head lurching in like a troll plucking a princess from a tower.
Her face shrivels into a scream but before she can let out the breath, Dale’s meaty hands are over her mouth, and without any effort he pulls her out of the car and clutches her entire body in a bear hug. There's a heart pounding moment when she sounds like a grunting dog struggling in a trap and he knows her scream will escape from his sweaty armpit. Then there's an instant of pure lucid absurdity where he seemed to see himself from the outside. What would the girl's parents do if they walked around the corner right now? He couldn’t just put her back in there and go about pumping gas again could he? Oh I'm just ole friendly Dale giving your girl here a nice good hug cuz I could hear her cryin' for mommy.
Then he kicks the Toyotas door shut for god knows why and scrambles to his car. He hustles to the trunk, realizes the switch is up front, and skids to his knees at the driver's side door. He’s pressing the girl so hard against his chest he can almost feel her head bouncing off his beating heart.
Then he hears the satisfying click of the trunk unlocking, and with surprising speed he places the girl in the bed of the trunk, takes a bandana out from his back pocket and ties it like a rope around her mouth. The girl’s eyes, shaking with terror, watch grimly as the troll closes out the darkening sky with a metallic clink.
Then Dale jumps into the driver's seat, turns on the engine, and cranks up the radio. Another song by dear old Bon Jovi by god! Dale feel’s exhilarated. He doesn't even know it yet. All he knows is this music sounds better than anything he’s ever heard before, and why wouldn’t you look at that, he’s not even sore with Brenson anymore for slapping him in the face earlier. He can’t wait to have a beer! And there's ole Bren heading back towards the Camry now.
But then Dale realizes with a jolt of panic, the parents! The girl’s parents are going to be out any minute! With the mother of all anxiety attacks Dale’s car speeds towards Brenson as he walks out of the gas station at a magnitude that probably made Brenson think oh fuck I’m going to die by the look on his face, but Dale’s car screeched to a halt just a few feet away.
“What the fuck’s that about” Brenson sneered. The sneer was more one of habit than anything else as Brenson was so surprised that there wasn’t really room for anything else. His arms were full of supplies and he almost dropped them all over the ground.
“Get in now!” Dale yelled. He reached his arm over and threw open the passenger door. Brenson sat down and before he could shut the door, Dale shut it himself by accelerating in a curve out the gas station parking lot, and wouldn’t you know it, he didn’t even use his turning signals when he brought the Camry onto the highway and raced into the black eastern sky.
Chapter 2:
“Jesus man, you think I robbed the place?”. Brenson was unsure what had gotten into him. “Shut up for a minute. Give me a beer”.
Brenson had never seen Dale so serious. The man’s face looked like a machine. His thin lips were pressed so tightly you could barely see them. And he was scowling at the road. His eyes kept bouncing to the rearview mirror. Brenson could see beads of sweat rolling over Dale's pockmarked forehead. And the odometer was reading 95 mph. He sure as hell hoped he wouldn’t suddenly get another dose of Dale’s special potholes. He made sure his tongue was planted firmly on the roof of his mouth and his seat was buckled.
“Uh Dale..are you alright there partner?” Brenson asked.
“You seem like somethin just bit you in the ass.”
Dale guzzled down his bud light, burped and wiped his mouth, then reached for another one. After he cracked it open and took a good long gulp, he bellowed “Wooo! Lordy..oh yeah” He was heaving deep breaths between each word. Then his gaze turned away from the road and locked with Brenson's eyes.
“Pal, when you were over in that gas station there..” he paused and glanced towards the backseat of the car as if someone were sitting back there. He couldn’t keep it hidden from Brenson now could he? They had 100 miles left to drive.
Brenson looked back and then over at Dale again.
“ain't quite sure how to say this", the look on Dale's screwed up face as he thought about what to say next made Brenson think of a large boy again, one that was trying to work out a hard math problem like how much his groceries would cost.
"I may have picked up a passenger,” Dale finally said.
“What?” That came out of left field and Brenson didn't know what it meant.
“I just kind of..took her” he said this last as if Dale himself was surprised at what he was saying.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Brenson was getting a sick feeling. What fuckup did Dale just get him into now? He knew Dale liked cats and sometimes he would take them off the streets or out of people's yards if he liked how they looked. And he knew Dale had about 9 cats stuffed away in his trailer, but Brenson wasn't hearing any meows coming out of the back seat now was he? And Dale's eyes were looking at something far away, unfocused on something so far away like Venus.
And then Brenson noticed a muffled sound like there was a load of groceries rolling to the side in the trunk as Dale took them around a tight bend. For just a moment he was worried that maybe he had put the beer back there and it was gonna get all fizzy, but then he remembered the beer in his hand and the rest on the floor by his feet near that imaginary chunk of meat flapping around down there. He felt the tip of his tongue and took a swig.
"What the fuck did you do" Brenson remembered the two Mexicans that walked into that gas station. He had eyes on them the whole time.
“Dale?” Brenson asked with a looming understanding that sped towards him like a Mack truck. Dale had done something magnanimously fucked up.
“What the fuck did you do!”
“She was boiling back there!” Dale pleaded. He was an eight year old child again, explaining to an angry stepmom why she had found a drowned cat in the bathtub. He didn’t have any choice, it had bit him and that was not okay, that was not okay by any standards of civilized man. What else could he do?
“Dale!”
“I saved her Bren!”
They were both yelling now.
“She was gonna be dead back there! You saw those mexis didn’t you?”
“Pull over!” Brenson demanded.
“No.”
“Pull over now!”
Dale kept on speeding. The odometer read 105. To Brenson it felt like the flimsy car could at any moment flip over a hundred times if the slightest gust of wind brushed against them.
“Pull over right fucking now or I’ll beat the shit out you right here!”
Brenson’s fists were clenched into a barb of hairy knuckles. He was really going to do it Dale observed, and then they’d both be piles of scrap strewn all over the road.
Dale gave a defeated sigh and took his foot off the accelerator. He was going to have to show Bren one way or another. They were already miles past that shit hole station anyways. What the hell. The Camry disengaged from warp speed and soon Brenson could hear the crinkle of gravel under the tires as the Camry pulled off onto the shoulder.
Outside the night was as silent as the land was empty. A brilliant splash of stars painted the canopy of the sky in a way that gave Dale a cosmic sense of his own importance. He shuffled over to the back with Bren, a disappointed look of guilt was likewise splashed across his face, why no mah, I’m not the one that drowned Muffin, but ya know, she wouldn’t stop biting. But Dale remembered the feeling of her slick fur bunched up between his fingers and the way her intricately delicate neck felt like so many scrawny bones. A jolt of disgust seemed to roll through him like a shockwave and he tried to shake off the memory of that limp cat as fast as possible.
Then that cave of darkness opened up and it was nighttime outside, and the girl saw with a cold panic that made her cry that there were two trolls looming over her now. They were both huge and disgusting. The one on the left looked like a giant baby with patches of wiry fur in tufts up and down its neck and chin. Its teeth were yellowed and it was smoking a cigarette. She didn't like how it was eyeing her, like she was some kind of precious crystal that it wanted badly.
The other was just as big, not as fat though, more muscular. He had a mop of scraggly black hair and a full beard covering the mouth. He looked like a biker. And he looked like he was really mad at her. She heard herself crying.
"Mamá" She tried squeaking through the rope. "Donde mi mamá"
And then, no, no please, everything was getting dark again. She howled and squirmed but the lid of the trunk did not care.
Brenson was biting his bottom lip. He was supremely pissed off now. What the fuck was this lunatic thinking! He looked at Dale and was about to begin a royal case of pummeling his fat ass into the ground for getting Bren caught up in this bullshit, lord knows he's had a clean record apart from a mild six months in Kentucky State Penitentiary when he was twenty two years old. And this asshole, this stupid fat asshole made him an accomplice to whatever crazy bullshit was flying around in that fat fucking head of his!
But Bren noticed that far away in the direction they had come were a pair of tiny headlights. They were heading this way.
Instead of beating Dale into a mess worthy of the crime of getting Bren caught up in kidnapping charges, he said "Lets get the fuck out of here". And then jumped back into his seat, slamming the door.
"Come on!" He yelled out when he saw that Dale was still standing on the side of the road like an idiot. Dale hurried up, revved on the engine, and the Camry was back on the highway doing 92 mph. Bren cracked open another beer and drank the whole thing in one go. He didn’t complain about the speed.
Chapter 3:
It was about two in the morning when they pulled up to Bren’s trailer. Bren got out and walked around to Dale’s side. He was mildly drunk. Bren put his hands on his knees and bent down as if he was going to say something to Dale, but in the end he turned around and left without saying anything. He was too pissed off.
“See you in the morning.” Dale called out after him in an annoyingly loud voice, but Bren didn’t turn around. His thin white door shut loudly and Dale pulled away and drove off to his own trailer at the end of the gravel road.
At this point he had a conundrum on his hands. He had to get the girl inside without her making a lot of noise. And then once inside..what? Tie her up? Keep her in his bathroom? It’s not like he had a basement to put her in. And what the fuck was he doing anyways? His hand reached for his forehead. He was thinking. Then he unlocked the trunk and when the dim light in the trunk came on he saw with stabbing horror that the girl was dead.
“NO!” He shouted at her as if it were her fault.
"Oh dear Jesus no!”
He felt like he was about to cry. It was the cat all over again. He really didn’t want to kill it. But then he saw the rhythm of her small diaphragm. She was sleeping. Dale oh dale oh dale, what are you doing?
He wiped the sweat off his brow, then reached in and picked her up. She weighed about as much as a pillow, and when Dale opened the door of his trailer, a cat seemed to catapult itself outside making him trip over his own feet. "Shit! Henry!" He gave an involuntary yell over his shoulder when he saw which one did it. Then, understanding that he totally did not have anything under control, he stopped in his doorway and simply stood there with the little girl cradled in his arms. She felt warm. His girl. Yeah, that sounded right. It was his girl now. His little Mexican girl.
A few more hungry cats came out of the shadows begging for food. He shushed them and kicked his leg around without putting any real effort into it just to make them go away.
He had to secure his girl.
But how was he going to get any sleep tonight? He had to be absolutely sure that she could not get away. Then as he was walking in, thinking about how he would tie her up (he did have some duct tape, rope, maybe some wire ties..oh but he didn't want to hurt her wrists), he felt a sudden uneasiness about Brenson. Did Dale think he'd go to the cops? Maybe he should have kept his mouth shut and the music loud. He should have slowed down when Bren asked and he should have… Wait, just wait one cotton pickin minute Dale, he says to himself. The girl. The girl first, then Bren. Maybe Bren was still awake and he'd pay him a little visit, have a little chat just to make sure they were square, just to see if everything was cool, but only after he was sure the girl could not escape.
But should he actually leave her alone?
"Get moving!" he said to himself. And then walked into the back of the trailer where he kept a tool shed. The girl was still sleeping in his arms. Whatever nightmares she could possibly be having, would she really want to wake up?
He chose duct tape, the principle reason being it was easiest to reach while clutching a small human being. And although she felt like a feather before, the longer Dale held her in that death grip, the heavier she seemed to get.
He laid her gently down on a Layzee Boy and found himself holding his breath and needing air when he was certain she was still sleeping. Dale unfolded the leg rest, and then very delicately began unwinding the duct tape around her legs. This turned out to be a bitch because the duct tape was prone to making offensive scratching sounds as it was unpeeled from its spool.
About an hour later the girl was strapped in the chair in an extended position. Mounds of duct tape secured her arms, legs, torso, hands and feet. He took special care to untie the bandana from her face, knowing that she could suffocate in her sleep if it stayed on there. That special feat gave him a sense of pride for remembering. He already got one point in the game of taking care of her by damn. Though he'd have to figure out how to keep her quiet. Lastly, he strapped down her head using a generous supply of tape.
Now he surveyed his work like a skilled practitioner, his mouth closed, eyes narrowed, and giving short nods of satisfaction. Yes he did do a good job. Both on the tape job, and on the girl. She was adorable. He was imagining what it would be like three years from now, when she had forgotten all about that old shit hole family she had, a fact that Dale would NEVER bring up, and how happy they would look playing in a park, eating hotdogs. He's pushing her on a swing and look at that! At the very end of the pendulum's arc she leaps through the air, legs pointing like arrows in perfect form! She glides through the air and lands on her feet. Both arms reach up into the sky, she beams at Dale saying look what I just did daddy! Then she's running, his little girl is running right at him! She leaps into his arms and oh god how he hugs her, squeezes her, suddenly he notices that her skin is so soft, there's a gleam in her eye, he looks at her mouth
Somebody knocked twice on his front door.
The force of that sound coming from that door made Dale almost scream. The cloudy glaze over his eyes burned away as fast as if Jesus Christ had just now ripped open a hole in the sky and let all of heaven's mighty armies come march on through.
His head jerked up and banged against the corner of a kitchen cabinet that he had been standing near but he barely felt it because panic and paranoia were through the fucking roof ladies and gentlemen. That's right, Dale Ernsted was about to melt into a puddle and seep into the floor.
But he had to do something about the door. He crept slowly, as if the slower he moved the more invisible he would become. At this point he was trying to make himself as flat against the wall as possible so he could peek out the curtains without the intruder noticing. He quickly poked his face into the curtains and looked out the window. There was a man still standing at Dale's door. And the man instantly turned towards Dale and looked him in the eyes.
Dale screamed and put a hand over his mouth.
It was Bren. It was just fucking Bren. He pulled away from the window and noticed he was breathing like he had run a half marathon.
Dale opened the door and there was Bren pissed off as ever before. He didn't ask to come inside but came inside he did, brushing past Dale without saying a word. He stood in Dale's living room, hands on hips, something like concern on his face, and was just standing there gaping at that girl stuck in all that mound of duct tape. He was shaking his head in disbelief. Then Bren turned around and said in whispered tones, "What in fucking Christ is going on here Dale?"
They both walked outside and Dale shut the door.
Inside the trailer the girl remained taped to the Lazee Boy, breathing those deep occasional breaths that are only ever seen in people deep in REM sleep. Then she opened her eyes. If Dale could see those eyes now he would say they looked evil. To Bren, who had a larger vocabulary than Dale, he would say cunning.
In truth she had never been asleep. And although she heard only a little of the conversation between the two ogres that captured her, she knew that Baby Face, as she thought of Dale, believed she was asleep. And for this she thought he must be the dumbest person imaginable. What moron would think anything but a tranquilized rhinoceros was asleep after all that had happened to her.
She played through the sequence of events that led her to this terrible situation. It was an unreal situation. How could this happen to her? But that's not useful, she thinks, it isn't useful to wonder about why, only how and what to do about it.
She took the opportunity while the two trolls were outside to scan as much of the room as possible. Looking for doors, windows, anything that could be used as a weapon. Although she knew she had little chance of using anything but a gun against either of those two guys. They were big and mean looking. But she thought Baby Face probably had a gun, either on him or by his bed, maybe in a closet.
She would have to escape. She knew there was a door in the back, though she couldn't see it, because Baby Face had brought her back there and she could feel the outside air coming in. It seemed to be some kind of extension to the trailer. And when Baby Face had stood on his toes reaching high up to get something off a shelf, she stole a glance and saw that it was some kind of shed that led outside. There were at least two doors. It was going to hurt so bad to take this tape off. She didn't know what to do about that yet. She could barely move any part of her body.
Then she heard one of the men approach the door and the hinge began to squeak open.
Dale poked his head in and stared at her for a good ten seconds. She was still sleeping. Good. Then the door closed.
Her name was Mariana and her eyes were now looking up at the ceiling, lips quivering, trying to hold back the tears from escaping. One did though and it traced a small trail down her cheekbone before it finally fell to the floor. She hoped her cheek would dry before the trolls came back inside.
Chapter 4:
That same morning Bren woke up to a pounding headache that felt like a vein was about to burst from the left side of his head. His bones creaked as he got out of bed and he walked to his refrigerator and pulled out a beer.
He wasn't trying to get drunk, those days were long past him. It was just to get rid of the headache. He had work today. And it was Bren's turn to drive so he was gonna have to waltz over to dumb fuck Dale's house and drag his ass out of bed. Although he wasn't so sure how much stock he put in folk traditions and rules of the game, so to speak, now that his relationship with Dale has been, shall we say, tested.
Although he wasn't as angry as he was just a few hours before while he chewed out Dale for being the stupidest motherfucker he ever laid eyes on, he still felt he should give him an ass pounding after he, Bren, resolved this entire state of affairs. Because it would be Bren, not Dale, who would have to do that. As much as he wished he could abandon Dale and just say fuck it, he was deeply concerned about his own involvement in what transpired the night before, and he was gravely imagining getting fifty years behind bars because of some lunatic he decided to take up a business deal with. Who was the real retard here, Bren thinks in a self deprecating way, who would get into business with someone like Dale?
Never mind all that, he would have to do something about this. He could not allow Dale to go off on his wild fantasies. Bren's chief concern was that Dale would fuck up somehow and land Bren in prison. He was slowly shaking his head back and forth as he sipped his beer, realizing just how deep the sinking sand really went in this case, all the anger he felt the night before came rushing back tenfold as he realized what he would have to do. What he would make Dale do. As punishment.
Meanwhile Baby Face was still sleeping. Mariana heard him snoring. She decided to let herself sleep after he had passed out on the floor near this duct tape prison. She would need her strength and people need to sleep as much as they need to eat was what she convinced herself with to even allow her to try to sleep. It wasn't even a guaranteed deal. Who could sleep during something like this?
But she found that when she closed her eyes and knew that Baby Face was drunk out of his mind, and that meant he would probably be asleep for awhile, then she could sleep. And oh how she drifted down, pulled down just as she was pulled out of that car, with a monster waiting for her at the bottom. A monster that looked like some huge grotesque baby thing that had snot pouring out of its nose like a fire hose held her, its decaying fingernails scraped at her, and it cackled at how amazing she was, licking her back and purring like a cat.
She screamed and then she was back in her car with all her things! Not in a dream, she was actually back in the car and her parents had told her they would pick her up a snickers.
She knew Baby Face was out there. Scrambling up on her elbows she looked for him out the window. He was pumping gas and smoking a cigarette at the same time. What a stupid freak! Yuck! But he was going to come over here. She watched him looking at something over at the entrance, and then his head was turning towards her. She ducked. And then slowly peeked her head up and saw that he was walking over here. He looked like some kind of rodent, like a rat that was sniffing out cheese.
She needed to leave. Mariana grabbed the door handle and shaked at it but it wouldn't open. None of them worked. She was trying to remain calm, kept finding her right hand reaching up and twirling her hair and then stopping herself. She licked her chapped lips. She had an idea.
The door opened and before Baby Face stuffed his stinking head in through the open door, Mariana turned around and asserted herself. She loudly and very clearly said "Dale! Where is your gun?"
The monster stumbled backwards as if shot, and fell slightly to its knee. The way its knees popped back and forth and the way its elbows gesticulated in erratic ways made Mariana think it wasn't even alive. It was some kind of zombie. And when its head rolled back up, and it looked at her, its teeth clacking together like a puppet being pulled up by the strings too quickly, she saw that Baby Face, Rat Baby Face, had long white whiskers and huge front teeth. They were stained with cigarette smoke but they still looked sharp.
It said in a gravelly voice choked with beer and chili, "under my bathroom sink, where I always keep it.", driblets of chili dripped down its white gums, which also held a healthy portion of gooey chewing tobacco. Beer froth dripped out its eyes as it jumped into the car with Mariana and began stroking its long bony fingers through her hair saying all the while in the voice of a corpse "How pretty..how pretty..how pretty". She wanted to puke and get away from it but - then Rat Baby Face opened its mouth and bit into her neck.
Mariana woke up blinking away tears. She swallowed and took in a deep breath through her nose, somewhat rocking back and forth, but otherwise totally immobilized.
That's when she heard Baby Face snoring. That's also when she noticed the bathroom out of the very furthest edge of her peripheral vision.
Mariana knew what she had to do.

FADE IN:
INT. A SEEDY BAR - NIGHT
Jacket, a man in his mid-twenties, sits alone at the bar nursing a drink. The bartender eyes him warily.
BARTENDER You new in town?
Jacket nods.
JACKET Just passing through.
The bartender doesn't seem convinced.
BARTENDER You look like you could use a job. I know a guy who's always looking for muscle.
Jacket takes a sip of his drink, considering.
JACKET I'll think about it.
BARTENDER Suit yourself.
The bartender walks away, leaving Jacket alone with his thoughts.
CUT TO:
INT. JACKET'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
Jacket is lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He's surrounded by newspaper clippings, each detailing a gruesome murder.
JACKET (to himself) This is what it's come to, huh?
He reaches for the phone and dials a number.
CUT TO:
INT. A DARK ROOM - NIGHT
Jacket is sitting across from a man in a suit, known only as "The Phone Guy".
THE PHONE GUY I hear you're good with a weapon.
JACKET I've been told.
THE PHONE GUY I have a job for you. A group of Russian mobsters have moved into town. They're making trouble for my associates.
JACKET What do you want me to do?
THE PHONE GUY Take them out. All of them.
Jacket nods.
CUT TO:
INT. A RUSSIAN MOBSTER'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Jacket bursts into the house, guns blazing. He takes out the first few guards with ease, but the rest of the gang is waiting for him.
A brutal gunfight ensues, with Jacket using every trick in the book to take out his enemies. He fights his way through the house, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake.
Finally, he reaches the mob boss. They stand across from each other, guns drawn.
MOB BOSS Who are you?
JACKET Nobody.
They fire at each other, and the mob boss falls to the ground.
CUT TO:
INT. THE PHONE GUY'S OFFICE - DAY
Jacket enters the room, covered in blood.
THE PHONE GUY (smiling) I knew I could count on you.
JACKET What now?
THE PHONE GUY There's always more work to be done.
Jacket nods, knowing that he's found his calling.
FADE OUT.
{continue the script}
FADE IN:
INT. JACKET'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
Jacket is sitting in his apartment, surrounded by newspaper clippings of his recent kills. He's lost count of how many he's taken out.
JACKET (to himself) What have I become?
He hears a knock at the door and cautiously approaches it, gun in hand.
JACKET (CONT'D) Who is it?
VOICE It's me, Rick.
Jacket recognizes the voice of his neighbor and unlocks the door, peering through the crack.
RICK (surprised) Jacket, what's with the gun?
JACKET Just being cautious.
Rick enters the apartment and looks around at the clippings.
RICK You're not in trouble with the law, are you?
JACKET No, just taking care of some business.
RICK I don't want any part of this, man.
JACKET You won't be. Just stay out of my way.
Rick nods and quickly exits the apartment.
CUT TO:
INT. A SEEDY STRIP CLUB - NIGHT
Jacket enters the club and is immediately greeted by a group of thugs.
THUG Hey, you're not supposed to be here.
JACKET I'm here to see the boss.
The thugs laugh and move in on Jacket, but he easily dispatches them with his guns and fists.
He finally reaches the boss, a middle-aged man with a cigar in his mouth.
BOSS (smiling) I've been waiting for you.
JACKET What do you want?
BOSS I want you to take out a rival gang. They've been encroaching on our territory and I can't have that.
JACKET How much?
BOSS Ten grand.
Jacket nods and leaves the club.
CUT TO:
EXT. RIVAL GANG'S HIDEOUT - NIGHT
Jacket approaches the hideout and sneaks in through the back. He takes out the guards and begins to make his way through the building.
He reaches the top floor and sees the rival gang's boss, a young man in his early twenties.
JACKET (to himself) Kid doesn't know what he's gotten himself into.
He opens fire and a gunfight ensues. The young boss is no match for Jacket's skill and is soon lying on the ground, bleeding out.
Jacket makes his way out of the building, knowing that he's just made himself even more enemies.
CUT TO:
INT. JACKET'S APARTMENT - DAY
Jacket is sitting on his couch, looking at his hands. They're covered in blood.
He hears a knock at the door and cautiously approaches it, gun in hand.
JACKET (CONT'D) Who is it?
VOICE It's The Phone Guy.
Jacket unlocks the door and The Phone Guy enters.
THE PHONE GUY (smiling) I have a new job for you. A big one.
Jacket looks at The Phone Guy, knowing that he can never leave this life behind.
FADE OUT.
{Continue the script}
FADE IN:
INT. ABANDONED WAREHOUSE - NIGHT
Jacket is standing in front of a group of men, all dressed in suits. The room is filled with boxes of drugs and money.
JACKET (to the men) What's the job?
LEADER We need you to take out a rival cartel. They've been causing problems for us and we need them eliminated.
Jacket nods, his expression unreadable.
JACKET How much?
LEADER Twenty-five grand.
Jacket nods again and takes the job.
CUT TO:
EXT. RIVAL CARTEL'S COMPOUND - NIGHT
Jacket approaches the compound, guns at the ready. He takes out the guards and begins to make his way through the building.
He reaches the top floor and finds the rival cartel's leader, a ruthless man in his forties.
JACKET (to the leader) It's over.
LEADER (smiling) You think you can stop us?
A gunfight ensues, with Jacket using all of his skills to take out the rival cartel's men. The leader is the last one standing, and he's no match for Jacket's speed and accuracy.
Finally, the leader falls to the ground, dead.
CUT TO:
INT. THE PHONE GUY'S OFFICE - DAY
Jacket enters the office, looking tired and worn.
THE PHONE GUY (smiling) You did good, kid. Real good.
JACKET (to The Phone Guy) I'm done.
The Phone Guy raises an eyebrow.
THE PHONE GUY Done?
JACKET I can't keep doing this. It's not who I am.
The Phone Guy considers this for a moment before nodding.
THE PHONE GUY I understand. But just know, if you ever need work, you know where to find me.
Jacket nods and leaves the office.
CUT TO:
EXT. JACKET'S APARTMENT - DAY
Jacket is sitting on his balcony, looking out at the city. He takes a deep breath and sets his gun on the table next to him.
JACKET (to himself) It's over. It's finally over.
FADE OUT.
{Write a Sequel to the previous script you just wrote}
FADE IN:
EXT. JACKET'S APARTMENT - DAY
Jacket is sitting on his balcony, enjoying a cup of coffee. He looks relaxed and content.
Suddenly, his phone rings. He hesitates for a moment before answering.
JACKET (on the phone) Hello?
THE PHONE GUY (V.O.) Hey, Jacket. It's me.
JACKET (sighing) What do you want?
THE PHONE GUY (V.O.) I need your help.
JACKET (shaking his head) I'm done with that life.
THE PHONE GUY (V.O.) I know. But this is different. It's personal.
JACKET (skeptical) What do you mean?
THE PHONE GUY (V.O.) One of my guys was kidnapped. I need you to find him and bring him back.
JACKET (resigned) Alright. Where do I start?
CUT TO:
INT. THE PHONE GUY'S OFFICE - DAY
The Phone Guy hands Jacket a file.
THE PHONE GUY This is what we know. The kidnappers are a small-time gang operating out of the industrial district.
JACKET (nodding) I'll check it out.
CUT TO:
EXT. INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT - NIGHT
Jacket makes his way through the dark and desolate district. He finally reaches the gang's hideout and sneaks in through the back.
He takes out the guards and makes his way to the back room, where he finds the kidnapped man tied up and gagged.
JACKET (to the man) Don't worry, I'll get you out of here.
As Jacket unties the man, he hears footsteps approaching.
Jacket readies his gun and waits.
The gang leader enters the room, flanked by his men.
GANG LEADER (smiling) Well, well, well. If it isn't the great Jacket.
JACKET (calmly) Let him go.
GANG LEADER (laughing) You really think you can take all of us?
A gunfight ensues, with Jacket using all of his skills to take out the gang members. Finally, he faces off against the gang leader, who puts up a good fight but is ultimately no match for Jacket's skill.
Jacket and the kidnapped man make their way out of the hideout, with the sun just beginning to rise.
CUT TO:
INT. THE PHONE GUY'S OFFICE - DAY
Jacket hands the man over to The Phone Guy.
THE PHONE GUY (smiling) I knew I could count on you.
JACKET (turning to leave) Don't call me again.
THE PHONE GUY (calling after him) Jacket, wait.
Jacket stops and turns back to face The Phone Guy.
THE PHONE GUY (CONT'D) You should know that there's a new player in town. They're making some big moves, and I think they're going to cause some problems.
JACKET (resigned) I'll keep that in mind.
FADE OUT.

19M US
Hello, I am looking for brands that sell crop tops made for cisgender males (as opposed to cisgender women). I'm interested in crop top styles such as long-sleeve, sleeveless, fitted, cut, hooded, and mock neck with wide color selections. Both my partner and I are struggling to find quality crops we enjoy and are looking to settle on fresh and interesting brands as we do with underwear (ex: n2n, 2eros, ergo wear, aussiebum, 2exist, etc.)
Any direction is much appreciated by us both!!

So my understanding is that the cherry tomato plants will take about 3-4 months to grow, produce their load of tomatoes, and then need to be replaced. I've also read that you should really only do two cherry tomato plants per machine and top them to make them bushier.
So how many machines would I need to have year-round cherry tomatoes? Is there any way to cycle them in the same machine so that as one crop is finishing up, another crop is starting? Are there any breeds that continue to produce once they reach maturity?
FYI, my goal is to harvest about 15-30 cherry tomatoes a week.

I’ve been on a few cruises before and have never had anyone say anything about my outfits.
But this past cruise on the Mardi Gras I got told to put a jacket on and honestly was shocked.
It was the last day of the cruise and we decided to go to Chibang for the first time the whole cruise. I was wearing a scarf bandeau top, nothing crazy it just looked like a cropped top. I didn’t think it was inappropriate but as we were checking in the woman at the front told me I had to put a jacket on or I could not sit in there. I was honestly so taken aback I just looked at her. It was the last night and I had packed everything up already but I had to go upstairs and unpack a sweater to put on over my outfit in order to sit for our reservation.
I was honestly so annoyed by the situation and I could not find anything online about a specific dress code for chibang. I’ve definitely worn more revealing outfits on past cruises and have never been told anything in the MDR.
It was just an annoying situation and was wondering has this happened to anyone else before?

I've played many mobile games at high competitive levels and I've seen all the gimmicks that companies intentionally shove in to their mobile systems to try and get us to spend. I've got a pretty good understanding on the "why" in most cases, and when it comes to Diablo: Immortal this is no exception; I get why they did it.
This doesn't change the fact that they're dumb for doing it, that it isn't accomplishing the goal they thought they were inevitably pushing for, and it's ruining their game.
Clans in Diablo: Immortal are a complete waste of time.
It is bananas to say, but it's true: currently, Clans don't really offer anything in this game. Almost all content, be it dungeons, raids, vault groups as Shadows, Battlegrounds, open world farming, basically everything you do 99% of the time... are completely independent of needing to be in a Clan whatsoever. You can engage in almost all content regardless of your Clan status, and being in a Clan provides no power to your character in any way.
Reign badges are the greatest design failure in Diablo: Immortal.
When I mentioned understanding the "why" earlier, it's important to emphasize that there is a reason they put this abysmal badge system in this game: by forced design, mobile game developers are convinced their game generates more money for them if they make whale players fight against each other, and actively campaign against the idea of them working together. The logic here is, if whales feel the ever increasing need to beat other whales, they will continue to spend to overcome the opposition, and if by putting them on the same team only one of them reaches maximum benefit, it actively dissuades them from teaming up.
This is why only the leader currently gets a 12% badge at the end of a cycle. This is why everyone in the clan cannot get the same rewards; if we all did, there would be no reason to desire the alpha position. Again, while we, the players actually playing the game, understand how braindead this notion is in principle, the developers are firmly behind this design space.
The reason this fails so spectacularly is because of how easy it currently is to completely circumvent the entire system. By simply staying outside of a Clan and operating as a solo Shadow in your own clan, it is entirely possible to generate a 12% badge without playing with others at all. They have completely gutted the Clan system by forcing us to min/max as individuals instead of working together, and it comes at the cost of playing with others in an MMO which at its core, should be the ultimate focus.
Going Immortal in this game is a detriment, not a goal.
Another reason why the badge system fails on every level, is it actually punishes players for going Immortal. Rather than this status being the main goal for top end players and Clans, it's actually actively avoided; it strips two leaders of a 12% badge entirely and only provides one out of 300 players instead. All of the content provided - Corvus, Kions, Vault - means nothing to the whale players, and provides basically no power advantages in any meaningful way that we care about. Additionally, the Reign% buffs increase at a slower rate than the Shadows, meaning we're actually weaker in Battlegrounds as a result. Which brings me to my next point...
Server Badges should have never been allowed to affect Battlegrounds PVP.
The entire game suffers as a whole because all of these elements affect Battlegrounds, which is basically the only content in the game whales even care about. The fact we have to juggle Badges and Reign% buffs just to compete in BG PVP is hilariously inept, but it's the design we're forced to work with.
The real reason this gets even worse? They don't let you server transfer with Badges because they claim it's server-specific, and yet they allow badges to work in Region-wide BG PVP anyway. It seriously makes no fucking sense. If badges are hard locked to the server we earned them on, why in the hell am I still forced to actively PVP against other players, on other servers, with badges they're using that I had no impact on whatsoever? Why is a 20% Immortal Badge leader on the other team when I had no chance of preventing him from earning that badge?
Again, most of this is because of some mixed bag of idiotic mobile-specific game design. These horrendously obvious flaws would never exist in a real game, and we're only forced to endure them because of the nature of this game's category.
This game would benefit from an entire overhaul of the badge system.
I don't know if Blizzard has just accepted that Diablo IV will be the absolute death of this game, but I can tell you everyone is ready to jump ship. From the lowest F2P player to the whaliest whale player I know, we're all tired of it. No one is enjoying the design of this game right now, from how ridiculously one-sided the BG objectives are in favor of Protecting, to how stupid the Badge/Clan system is, to how imbalanced Immortals/Shadows perks are, like... we're just done. We're tired. They think we're apes in the way this has been intentionally set up and the facade has long since faded.
You need to fix this game.
Here's a short list of ways this system could be improved.

• Completely eliminate the need for the top badges to be for the leader only. You already have a limiting factor baked in to the system that limits the raw amount of badges that can go out: you need to be Exceptional in rank on your deed requirements, which means only the top 5% can earn it anyway. The fact everyone's just going solo anyway means there really isn't an argument to be made of "but then too many people would have the badges!" They're earning them anyway, at the cost of this "MMO" game being anything but.
• Make the Immortal badges slightly better. Maybe 2% better than Shadow badges. It's not much, but if they were stronger at all it would mean there's an actual, tangible reason to want to engage with the content in the first place.
• Speed up the Reign% gains for Immortals. The fact these work in Battlegrounds, the only content your whales even give a shit about, is why this needs to be better. We shouldn't be viewing going Immortals in a game called Diablo: Immmortal as a crutch.
• Consider removing Badge / Reign% from BG PVP entirely. This would actually be the best change they could make for this game, but lets be honest... we know they never will.

If this is supposed to be a pseudo MMO game, Clans should not be the system that offers the least amount of purpose, and they DEFINITELY shouldn't essentially be a detriment. Serious change needs to occur to save this game before the release of Diablo IV. You guys have 3 months! Good luck!

Howdy, folks. Long time Diablo-enjoyer here. I wanted to play just a couple hours of the D4 early access weekend so as not to burn out on the early game pre-release. Instead I became totally captivated by the sorcerer and spent most of Sunday digging through everything she has to offer. So now– hours later–I thought it might be fun to organize my thoughts and share them with you all.
Let’s get a few things out of the way first.
1) I played exclusively on world tier 2. I cannot comment on WT1.
2) I dabbled in the other two classes, but I only dug deep on sorcerer. Everything here is strictly in-class. I’m not making any assumptions or assertions about how sorc stacks up to rogue or barb.
3) I didn’t have time to get to absolutely everything. Someone has to clean up this house, you know! (It’s me. I’m the one that has to clean the house. The cats sure aren’t doing it.)
4) Obviously, everything here only applies to what’s available so far. There’s probably a skill I’m going to talk smack about which, with the right legendary aspect, full 50 point build, and perfect paragon board, turns out to be a certified ripper. That’s fine. We’ll get there when we get there. I maintain that it would be cool if stuff was good more or less from the time you can use it, though, and will be operating under that principle.
5) I will express negative opinions toward some aspects of the design in this, but I have deep and abiding respect for the designers of this game. Every game, for that matter. I dabble in design and even the baby card games for babies that I’ve worked on in my spare hours seem overwhelmingly difficult to make at times. People make games. Real people. I don’t ever want to forget that and, if you choose to comment, I ask you not to forget it either.
6) Furthermore, I have deep and abiding respect for you and your opinions. No kappa. I’m not here to yuck your yum or tell you you’re doing something wrong. If you’re having a good time, you’re winning the game and I salute you.
7) What this all adds up to, is that I have spent a lot of time playing, taking notes on, and thinking about this game and in particular this class this weekend. It’s led me to some moderately firm opinions. If you disagree, I think that’s great. I want you to disagree with me. Let’s talk it out. But please be chill and respectful. If something I say about the game angers you, I would ask that you not damage your mental health and mine taking it out here. Thank you, truly.
So, the sorcerer. Pretty nifty, huh?
The tl;dr is that I think the class is very cool, and the game is very cool, and I had a lot of fun.
But.
There are definitely some things that stand out to me as not well balanced. A couple of skills seem to dominate the pack, and a few are outright stinkers. What I’m going to do is go through each skill individually, then fire off a few random thoughts.
And one more time for the back row: I liked this game and I liked this class. All criticism comes from a place of love, and for the desire to be as good for as many people as it possibly can. I wish to see the game elevated, not torn down.
On to the skills!

BASIC

Sad to start on this note, but I think the sorcerer basics are woefully underdeveloped. Spark, Frost Bolt, and Fire Bolt practically feel like the same skill. All three of them are just little baby bolts of energy that don’t look or sound particularly interesting. And mechanically, the impact of their base damage as well as the upgrades are so minimal that most of the time I’d rather just be dodging while my mana recovers.
Arc Lash though? Arc Lash is where it’s at. The numbers are better–as they should be since it’s a close range skill–but they’re much better. Add it to the wide cleave and this is the beginning of a solid basic skill. Also it’s very visually distinct, I love the orchestra conductor animation with the lash whipping back and forth.
I realize it’s probably too late to make such a sweeping change, but the three bolts could actually, literally be the same skill–call it “Elemental Bolt”--and the upgrades could apply different elemental effects, making room for other, more interesting skills basics. (Yes this would break the current skill->improvement->specialization layout followed by all the other skills, I think that’s OK.)
In any case, the other major failing of the basics is that they don’t generate any mana by default. I would really like to feel a bit of a push/pull dynamic between Basic Spell/Big Spell. And right now, they generate no mana, or very meager mana with the right upgrades, in addition to outputting damage that feels insufficient and upgrade effects that feel marginal. I say bump their numbers (generously), and consider adding some base mana regen. Maybe 3-5? Make me feel like I have a reason to weave them into my attack patterns.

CORE

Overall this crop is much better. Thematically distinct, with solid visuals and good game feel. Numerically though, there are some stark disparities. Starting at the top and going counter-clockwise we have…
-Incinerate feels like the worst of the lot. Channeled spells are always tricky to get right; standing still is dangerous and, for me at least, less interesting than bobbing and weaving. I don’t think Incinerate threads the needle. The damage output and mana cost don’t justify the downside of planting my feet. Looks cool as hell though.
-Fireball is… it’s fireball, you know? It’s a classic, and it’s doing what I’d expect it to do here. Pretty middle of the pack in terms of numerical output, quality of life, and visual flair.
-Frozen Orb is functionally a very similar skill. It has more AoE, the utility of chill, and some razzle-dazzle to the animations. But the damage is so much lower than fireball that it feels lacking. I think it needs a damage bump. (But maybe I just look back too fondly upon my days as an Ice Queen in Diablo 2. xD)
-Ice Shards is the core skill I spent the least time with. I tried it in a couple different packages, but couldn’t find the use case. If I’m being honest, it kinda feels like a Basic after a couple of upgrades, not a Core. If you love this one I definitely want to hear from you.
-Chain Lightning, I’m pretty confident, makes the rest of these spells look like chumps. It is good at clear, good at single target, and the mobility it affords is unparalleled. You just fire it and go. Seriously, look at the numbers it does for the cost, and then remember that you press that button once and can’t miss, provided your cursor was on any monster, and you get to duck dive and dodge while it bounces hither and yon, smiting your foes. I don’t think it’s too strong though, I think it feels perfect. Just what I want from a Core. If the others could be brought up to this level. I’d be extremely happy. One complaint though… why doesn’t it look like chain lightning? ;__; Come on, gimme the classic forked lightning, baby! I miss it so much here.
-Charged Bolts: Another Core that probably looks better if it’s put more on par numerically with Chain Lightning. The shotgun spread of random projectiles is another classic, and being able to get bonus effects for dumping them into a single target at point blank range is pretty cool.

DEFENSE

I think these skills are overall in a pretty good place.
-Flame Shield seems almost there. The burn numbers feel a touch low and the cooldown a touch high. It’s not a “true” defensive skill, more of a mixed use skill. And since at least one solid defensive cooldown seems pretty necessary, I’d like to see this one have a bit more muscle as an offensive skill, or a bit more defensive power added in somewhere. Maybe some bonus resistances? But then it starts to infringe on Ice Armor’s design space, so I’m not sure.
-Teleport is a staple for a reason, and this version is great. The upgrades are fine if you want them but they’re far from necessary. A true one point wonder, a classic for a reason. And I love the VFX. 10/10 no notes.
-Ice Armor is a solid defensive option for any build that’s cool (haha get it cool) with standing still and getting punched in the face. I still think that archetype is going to need more support than is currently available–whether through late/postgame stuff we haven’t seen or through some adjustments to skills like Incinerate–but I’m willing to bet this will feature in many such builds.
-Frost Nova is very, very good. Reasonable cooldown, good area. Making it inflict Vulnerable is great, and lengthening the Vulnerable duration against bosses who are immune to Freeze is a smart move. Relevant in all situations.

CONJURATION

I’m just gonna say it up top; Hydra is here, everyone else can go home now. Details follow.
-Hydra is bananapants compared to the other two. The DPS value is good, both against groups and single targets. The damage to mana ratio is obscenely high. The upgrades are great, especially the one that gives a bonus head when healthy. That’s just 33% more damage, straight up, in almost every situation. Honestly this is the one sorcerer skill in the game that could get nerfed and probably still be good, I think.
-Ice Blades makes me so sad. I find it possible that in the late game/postgame, with enough cooldown reduction and ways to make enemies vulnerable, you could do a really cool thing where Ice Blades makes Ice Blades which make Ice Blades… until you have an Icy, Bladed army slicing up the whole map. It’s certainly the first thing I thought when I read the package over. But right now it’s verging on useless. It moves and attacks so slowly, for a pitiful amount of damage. Even if it turns out to be a build-around late game powerhouse, it needs help now.
-Lightning Spear feels like the actually appropriate power level for this group. Hydra clowns on it numerically, but that’s not Lightning Spear’s fault. My one complaint is that visually, it’s insufficiently distinct from Chain Lightning. I’m not 100% sure but I think they’re actually the same projectile! This look is fine for Lightning Spear, so to restate, please make chain lighting look like, you know. A chain of lightning. ^{___^}

MASTERY

This is a flock of strange ducks to me. In essence, Meteor, Firewall, and Ball Lightning feel like Cores in disguise. They’re just nukes. Blizzard set my expectation that these skills would be utility-based supplemental damage dealers. Kinda like how Conjurations are longer-lasting, fire-and-forget, continuous damage dealers. But ¾ feel like Cores; repeatable nukes to spend most of your mana on. In a vacuum this is fine, my only real quibble is that you have to spend points passing through the cluster of Core skills. And in a world where this is true, I would like to see more options for passives to buy in the Core cluster for builds that evolve to use a Mastery instead of a Core as the bread and butter damage button. (Bread and Butter Damage Button is the name of my cottagecore heavy metal band, btw.) Now let’s look at each skill individually.
-Blizzard does what you want Blizzard to do. (The skill that is, not the development studio; I make no claims as to whether or not Blizzard Entertainment is doing what you, personally, want them to do. ^__). This is the epitome of “nailed it” for this skill group.
-Meteor, man. When I first read the description of Meteor in the Diablo 2 manual I lost my damn mind. Then I cast it, sat there for a minute and said to myself, wait, is that it? Then Diablo 3 gave me the Meteor I’d imagined so many years earlier. Several different kinds in fact! This meteor? It makes the cut. Sorry, that might feel like a tangent, but the A/V, the game feel, the fantasy of Meteor is of particular importance to me. From a usage perspective it seems to fill its own niche, so that’s great, and the numbers seem solid.
-Speaking of Diablo 2, y’all remember Firewall owning the world? Conceptually this skill has never been my favorite. It seems like it should be a defensive or zoning tool, but Diablo enemies have zero sense of self preservation and will happily charge to their death for even the slightest chance to stab you just one time. That’s fine though, I know lots of other people love Firewall as a primary damage dealer. I don’t however feel like the numbers are there. Enemies in this game move pretty fast and I never felt like I found a way to kite enemies effectively for the damage to come out at a reasonable speed, especially for the mana cost.
-Ball Lightning isn’t working for me on any level. It doesn’t move fast enough to reliably hit distant targets; it doesn’t move slowly enough to reliably multi-hit close targets. Also, it’s really infringing on Frozen Orb’s design space. It’s a primary damage dealer in the form of a slow orb that pierces all targets. I actually think this skill would feel a lot better if the basic usage became the immobile version that can proc from one of the legendary aspects. That’s getting close to Firewall’s turf though.

ULTIMATE

Two of these feel like Ultimates to me, one doesn’t. Can you guess which before reading? Try it! Or don’t that’s fine, too.
-Deep Freeze is very, very good. Almost like an upgraded, long-cooldown Frost Nova. Immunity, plus barrier and Chill/Freeze that persist after that, plus (modest) damage in a (huge!!) area. Powerful, versatile skill.
-Inferno also feels appropriate to call an ultimate. Unique VFX with real wow factor, and chunky damage on a long cooldown. Though I do think maybe the vacuum effect should be inherent and that upgrade replaced with something else. It doesn’t feel quite powerful enough without it.
-Unstable Currents leaves me pretty cold. For one, I usually wanna really feel my ultimate when I hit that button. For another, it seems like the lowest impact (and highest variance, thanks to the random spell cast) of the three, but also has the longest cooldown for some reason. I think it’s a really neat idea, But it’s not quite coming together for me, and I don’t know what I would suggest be done with it.

ENCHANTMENTS

There are simply too many of these for me to have spent much time with most of them. But my game sense tells me that, most of the time, Fireball is going to be really hard to beat. Really, really hard. A huge percentage of this game is about clearing packs, and Fireball clears packs. It has limited utility against bosses, but it’s free to switch your Enchantment before a boss fight. At least for now? Maybe in postgame dungeons we’ll be locked in, like a D3 rift? But then again, we’ll get a second slot eventually, so I don’t know. Spending one skill point or getting a point in Fireball from an item right now feels as close to mandatory as anything for Sorcerer.

RANDOM NOTES

Here are a few brain droppings that didn’t fit into the above.
-Why isn’t Stun a searchable keyword in the sorcerer tree?
-Part of the reason I advocated for some inherent mana restoration from Basics is because mana recovery feels a bit too slow. Maybe more than a bit. There are a dozen different knobs that could tune this, from Basics feeling punchier and/or recovering mana, to base mana regen going up, to it being more common on gear, to base spell costs being lowered a touch… You get the idea. I wanna use my cool skills, let me use my cool skills, that’s all I’m sayin’. Probably in the late and postgame this will cease to be an issue, but I’d still like to fire off my main skill a bit more often.
-Please show me the number of points required to reach each tier of skill so I can more effectively pull and replace single points. For example, even after I have two points in Basics, I would like to see on screen somewhere–maybe off to the side, maybe on a tooltip–that it takes a total of two points invested before I can put points in Core skills. (Obviously this is more for stuff way further down the tree, that was just an easy example.)
-We won’t know until later in the game, but is there ever a reason to deliberately mix elements? I’m all for a good Only Lightning, Other Elements Need Not Apply sort of build, but I also like the way D3 had skills and gear that encouraged mixing and matching. Right now it looks like the more you can mono-focus the better, so I’m hoping gear and/or Paragon Boards will open up some builds that combine two or even three damage types.
That’s all I have for now! What do my Sorcerous Comrades think? Satisfied? Underwhelmed? Haha Hydra go brrrr? Counting the minutes until June, but until then, I'd love to hear from you.

I don't remember much of my childhood, but one memory that remains vivid is of a dream I has while falling asleep.
I dreamt about a big, muscley man walking down the sidewalk, passing storefronts on his way to purchase some new clothes.
As he came up to his store of choice, he walked in. What he did in the store, I didn't visualize; however, I rejoined him as he walked back out of the front door.
He came out with swagger with stout legs, accentuated by him wearing heels. He wore a pink, flowing skirt down to the knees and a pale yellow crop top. His hair shoulder length, middle-parted and brown with blonde bangs, it swayed as he walked down the sidewalk with newfound confidence.
I think I had/have some internalized transphobia because I was kind of unsettled by this image. At first, I believe that I matter-of-factly had some understanding of what this meant to me, but then I started to get unsettled. I was kind of concerned as to why I was thinking about this (and I think this was a manifestation of worry as to what my father would think if he knew I had this thought).
To make matters worse (potential TMI incoming) this is one of the first times that I experienced a (euphoria?) boner. Yeah that confused the shit out of me.
Anyways, thanks for reading my eggy story. I don't know where I'm going on this journey, but perhaps I'm trying to break out of my eggshell. Afterall, I am allergic to eggs lol.
Hopefully someone can get something out of this or relate. Have a good day!
(I'm busy for most of the day, so I won't be able to reply until later)

Right, I can remember this game from my childhood but it’s a very patchy memory so I’ll do my best to help you. I never got past the intro so I really want to play it again because it was confusing for me as a child
Console: I’d think it was a PlayStation 2, but could honestly even be a PlayStation 1, I had both at my grandmas when I was younger but in my mind a PlayStation 2 fits better
Genre: again didn’t play enough to suss it out, but I think there was combat and it was a bit like final fantasy? It could be one of those but I’ve looked at lists of the games and none of them seem to be that
Style: the camera was panned back, giving you a side view and you’d walk left and right and forwards and backwards. Was definitely 3D. I can vividly remember there was a point where you would walk down some stairs and you could see the top and bottom of the stairs from the side view and a large window that showed you outside, then as you walked to the edge of the screen im sure the camera would follow you.
I’m sure you started in like a mall? Maybe a hotel? I can just remember there was loads of doors and areas to explore but I could never figure out what I had to do so I just explored, my memory is telling me there was items that I collected by searching certain things and I’m sure there was something they scared me at some point, weather it was an enemy or something again I’m sorry but I couldn’t tell you
The UI was a lot like final fantasy and had a little triangle on the left hand side of the text and that’s how you know what to select. I don’t think there was a way to run, in my mind it was either a walk or a very slow jog. Also whenever you moved areas the screen faded to black then faded back to the new room
I know this is so vague but it’s all I can remember, I never got more than like the first 20 minutes of this game so again it’s even harder, but I’ll recognise it if I ever saw it again
Thank you!

Pics first: https://imgur.com/a/8hQJbhJ
Picked these up from the homie u/Guccinova on the BST thread. Really excited for my first pair of Resolute denim. The details are awesome, and the signed pocket bag by Hayashi-san is the cherry on top.
I understand they’re a smidgen loose in the top block, but that almost seems to be how they’re supposed to be worn - they look that way in the picture I included of Hayashi-san (the designer) wearing his personal pair, as well as in the picture I included of one of the guys at Brogue Shop wearing his broken-in pair. I’d say mine fit fairly similarly to both, and I’m very okay with a looser top block after years of buying too small jeans. Can’t wait to start fading these on my trip to Ireland next week!

as title says, looking for stores (preferably with physical locations but open to looking online) that have fun summer tops like crop/haltewrap tops that would be cool for a music festival but would actually provide support and coverage for big boobs. I’m not afraid of some cleavage but it needs to be comfortable and I don’t want to worry about any nip slips. Basically, tops designed for big boobs, not just ones that happen to come in big sizes. Bonus if padding up top so no bra needed at all. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Growing up in a small, rural town has its perks. The sense of community, the serenity of nature, and the peace of a quiet life. But it also comes with its own set of fears: wide-open spaces, isolation, and the many chilling stories that circulate among the locals. My hometown was no exception. We had our fair share of local folklore, but one story stood out among the rest – the story of the "Static Man."
As the legend went, the Static Man was the ghost of a young man who had died in a tragic accident involving a nearby television tower. The tower was old and had been abandoned since the 1980s, a relic of the past that loomed over the surrounding fields. It was said that the Static Man would appear on your television screen when the signal was lost, causing a flickering black-and-white static that would keep you up at night. People claimed they could see his face amidst the noise, staring back at them with empty eyes.
Growing up, I didn't pay much attention to the legend. I brushed it off as just another scary story meant to keep the local kids in check. But as I grew older, I began to notice that adults would also whisper about it in hushed tones. My curiosity was piqued, but I never dared to explore the old television tower or try to catch a glimpse of the Static Man myself.
One night, I was home alone, watching a movie on our old, worn-out TV set. We were one of the few families in town who still used an old analog TV with rabbit ear antennas. It was a stormy night, and the wind howled outside, sending shivers down my spine. As the storm intensified, the television signal began to weaken.
Suddenly, the screen went blank, replaced by the familiar static. I sighed, frustrated, and got up to adjust the antennas. But as I did, I noticed something strange. Amidst the flickering black-and-white static, I saw a face. At first, I thought it was a trick of the light, but the longer I stared, the more real it became.
I could see his eyes, empty and hollow, staring back at me. His mouth hung open, as if in a silent scream. And I could feel him, his presence, watching me from inside the television.
Fear gripped me, and I stumbled backward, tripping over a loose cable. I scrambled to my feet, my heart pounding in my chest. I wanted to run, to get away from the television, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the screen.
The face in the static began to change. The empty eyes filled with rage, and the mouth contorted into a sinister grin. I could hear a faint, distorted voice coming from the television, barely audible over the static.
"Come… closer," it whispered.
The terror was overwhelming, but something compelled me to inch closer to the screen. As I did, the static seemed to intensify, the black-and-white noise now accompanied by a high-pitched, grating sound. It felt as if the television was trying to consume me, drawing me in with an invisible force.
Just as I was about to touch the screen, a lightning bolt illuminated the room, and the power went out. The room was plunged into darkness, and the television went silent. I collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath, my heart pounding in my ears.
The power never came back on that night. I spent the rest of the evening huddled in the corner of my room, afraid to venture back into the living room. The next day, I told my parents what had happened, but they dismissed it as a nightmare or a result of my overactive imagination. But I knew better. I had seen the Static Man, and I knew he was real.
In the weeks that followed, I became obsessed with the legend. I spent hours researching the old television tower and the young man who had died there. I discovered that he was a technician who had been electrocuted while performing maintenance on the tower. His death was ruled an accident, but many believed there was more to the story. Some claimed that he had been driven mad by the static, while others suggested that he had uncovered a dark secret within the tower's signal.
Determined to find answers, I decided to visit the tower myself. I gathered a group of friends, and together we trekked through the overgrown fields that surrounded the decrepit structure. The tower loomed above us, its rusted metal frame groaning in the wind.
As we neared the base of the tower, I could feel the static in the air. My hair stood on end, and my friends began to exchange uneasy glances. Despite the uneasiness, we pressed on, climbing the rickety ladder to the top of the tower.
At the summit, we found a small room filled with dusty, outdated equipment. The walls were covered in strange markings, a chaotic blend of numbers, letters, and symbols. As I examined the markings, I realized that they formed a pattern, a message hidden within the chaos.
With a mix of excitement and dread, I deciphered the message: "The static sees. The static knows. The static never lets go."
The moment I read the message aloud, the air around us began to crackle with energy. The static grew louder, filling our ears with its relentless noise. We scrambled to descend the tower, our hearts pounding in terror as the static seemed to chase us down.
We made it back to the ground just as the tower began to emit a deafening screech. The rusted metal groaned and creaked, and the entire structure collapsed in on itself, crashing to the ground in a cloud of dust and debris.
In the days that followed, the story of our encounter with the Static Man spread like wildfire through our small town. People began to avoid the old television tower, and soon the legend faded from memory.
But I know the truth. The Static Man is still out there, lurking in the static of old television sets, waiting for someone to come too close. I've never been able to watch static on a screen again without feeling a chill down my spine, wondering if those empty, haunting eyes are staring back at me from the other side.

This is going to be a bit of a dump, so bear with me.
Have struggled the past couple years with nasty nasty hooks, but also would hit a really nice draw (sometimes) and that was my natural shape.
Spoke with a fitter about a month ago and found out my clubs were too short, too light, and I had too weak of shafts, so I swapped for a different set that is longer and has steel stiff shafts.
On top of that, I have been gradually weakening my grip (left/dominant hand).
The results have been fantastic, honestly. Distances are much more consistent and I’m striking the ball pretty well. Also haven’t hit a snap hook since I made the switch. However, I am hitting a baby fade now.
Something the fitter brought up that has stuck with me is the torque of the shaft.. they explained that it was likely my nasty hooks were magnified by the club face twisting due to the weak shafts.
With all of this being said, should I just accept the draw is gone and play the fade? Is this a product of my grip or the new clubs?
Would appreciate any insight and thanks for sticking with me until the end of this.

Glamrock Freddy walked casually out the back door, hoping to get a few minutes of recharge in, when he heard a voice call back to him.
"Mr. Fazbear, got a minute?"
Glamrock Freddy's ears perked up as he recognized the voice. No, it couldn't be. How did he find him so quickly?
Slowly, he lifted his head to see none other than Luis standing just about ten feet away. His arms were at his sides and his legs were together, as though he were standing at attention. His eyes were dull and gray, almost lifeless.
Glamrock Freddy froze as fear began to rush through him. Luis, oh shoot. He thought to himself, panicked. Gregory and Vanessa are coming to get me. They will be here any second. I cannot let them see him. Glamrock Freddy tried thinking of a way to distract Luis long enough for him to escape, but Luis had him cornered in the back. The only way out was right past him.
In his paralyzed state, Glamrock Freddy could still hear soft footsteps approaching him, and then he noticed that Luis' figure was growing larger. But no, Luis wasn't growing, he was coming closer. Glamrock Freddy saw a tiny smile creep across Luis' lips at his reaction. Glamrock Freddy opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out of his voice box. Instinctively, he felt himself take a step back as Luis continued to approach him.
Once Luis came within about five feet, Glamrock Freddy found his voice again. "What do you want?" he asked, his body trembling.
"I have something for you." was all Luis said.
Suddenly, Luis began to charge at Glamrock Freddy with all his speed, and before Glamrock Freddy could react, he felt an unbearable pain in his chest. Luis yanked open his stomach hatch and, with immense strength, pulled off the bottom part and threw it to the ground.
Glamrock Freddy growled in pain and covered his chest cavity while taking multiple steps backward, almost falling over. Then, he felt something begin to leak out of his now broken stomach hatch.
What was that? he thought to himself, strained. It feels...
Then he lifted a paw up to his face, and saw it dripping with fresh oil. He looked down at his stomach hatch, and saw oil leaking out of it like blood from an open wound. He looked back up at Luis, one of his eyes obscured by shadow. His casual smile was gone, replaced with a twisted toothy grin. What had he done to him? He needed to get out of there right now.
"You're just like all the others..." Luis said, his voice breaking. Tears seemed to drip from his eyes as he spoke, but his psychotic smile didn't falter. In fact, it only seemed to grow wider.
"...always in my way."
* * *
Vanessa and Gregory were sitting on the couch when they heard the agonized roar of Glamrock Freddy from outside. They instinctively leapt off the couch and rushed out the front door. Gregory seemed to rush ahead of Vanessa, but she quickly grabbed his arm. "You're not going alone." she snapped.
Unfazed, Gregory pointed over to the back of the house. "I heard it come from over there!" he shouted, "Come on, we gotta help him!"
Quickly, they ran around to the back door, and skidded to a stop when they saw the scene before them. Glamrock Freddy, clutching his stomach hatch in agony, staring at a tall disheveled man who had his back to Gregory and Vanessa.
"Freddy!" Gregory cried.
Just then, the man spun around, revealing his insane expression. Vanessa immediately put her hands over her mouth and gasped in surprise. It was Luis. But how? How did he find her all the way out here? How could he do such a horrible thing to Glamrock Freddy? Why was he trying to hurt him? Vanessa never knew the true extent of his madness until now. Hurting the ones she cared about just to get to her.
Luis fixed his focus on Vanessa, and started to slowly walk over to her, still smiling.
"You came for me, my love."
Then memories began flashing through Vanessa's mind, memories of all the emails Luis sent her while she worked in the IT department, of his constant attempts to get close to her at the office, of the endless phone calls she would get from him, of the time when he followed her to work. And now, he was actively trying to eliminate those he deemed obstacles in their relationship.
Then, another memory floated through her mind. One where Gregory had learned off Luis' stalking Vanessa. She remembered him hugging her tightly. None of this is any of your fault. he said to her. I would have believed you, even when nobody else would.
In that moment, Vanessa had found the courage to fight back. No, she wouldn't let him terrorize her anymore, she would be strong enough to protect herself and her new family.
"How dare you...?" she breathed.
Then in an instant, she cried, "GET AWAY FROM FREDDY!" as she charged toward Luis and knocked him to the ground.
Luis looked up at Vanessa, confused. His demeanor changed, now his eyes welled up with tears ready to burst. Why would she do that? Didn't she understand that he did this for her? He loved her, and he couldn't let anyone else interfere.
"Nessie...b-b-but..." he stuttered, "...b-but why, my love?"
"Shut up!" Vanessa yelled, "I am not your love! Everything you put me through! And now you go after him?!" she pointed to Glamrock Freddy, who was still clutching his stomach hatch. "I never wanna see your face or hear your voice ever again! Do you understand me?!"
Then, Luis wiped the tears away from his eyes, and slowly stood back up, while keeping his head down. He seemed to tower over Vanessa, his shadow almost engulfing her, but Vanessa didn't break her stance.
"Get out of my sight!" she screamed.
But Luis stayed put, his head lowered, looking down at the ground. His eyes were obscured beneath the shadows of his messy dark brown hair. He knew, he truly knew that deep down, Vanessa loved him. She loved him just as much as he loved her, and he would make her see that, no matter what it took.
"There's no need for such silly lies." he giggled, slowly raising his head, until he locked his dark brooding eyes with Vanessa's. He would make her see reason. "I understand. No one else will understand you like I do."
Vanessa's courage started to fade. She started backing away from Luis, while he took small steps towards her. "My sweet Nessie," he said through labored breaths, "I'll love you every minute of every day for the rest of my life. The sweet little girl I know wouldn't resort to this kind of violence. I see now, I need to stay by your side. You have some bad influences." He lifted his arm and began reaching out to Vanessa, making her whimper.
Glamrock Freddy looked over at Vanessa. A large amount of oil had leaked out of his chest cavity and was now pooling under his feet. But despite the pain he felt, he needed to stop Luis. He made a promise that he would always protect his family, and now he was going to keep it. Though excruciating, he mustered up the strength to walk in between Vanessa and Luis, while still clutching his stomach hatch tightly. He leaned in close to Luis' face, baring his sharp teeth.
"I must make this perfectly clear," Glamrock Freddy rasped, "If you keep trying to get to Vanessa, you will have to go through me first, because I will always be right here by her side! I will never let you get near her, no matter what!"
At this, Luis stopped, lowering his arm. His eyes widened at the sudden burst of energy from the bear standing before him. He then dropped to his knees. He felt the power fleeting from him now. But he didn't want it to end like this. He needed to be with Vanessa, and Vanessa needed to be with him. They both knew it. Once again, everyone was trying to keep them apart. He wouldn't stand for it. He vowed that he and Vanessa would spend the rest of their lives together. Why couldn't anyone in the world see that?
Then the sound of police sirens began to fade in from the distance. In just a few minutes, cop cars pulled up at the house, and about five police officers stepped out. As Vanessa started explaining everything to them, Glamrock Freddy had collapsed to the ground, his power draining. Gregory rushed over and started shaking him, pleading with him to stay awake, but Glamrock Freddy was too weak to reply. And soon, his vision faded into darkness.
* * *
Luis curled up in a fetal position as he sat alone in his cell. Though initially discouraged, he still felt hope. Someday he would be released. He didn't know when, but someday he would leave, and he would find her again. He wouldn't stop until he and Vanessa were united as husband and wife.
"Separated from my love once again." He felt his toes curl up as he spoke aloud. "But do not fear, my sweet. We are destined to be together." His shoulders tensed up as he continued. Yes, this would not be the end. They would grow old together, and no one on Earth would stop them. "I'm the only one who can save you from all those people who want to keep us apart."
"Good evening."
That voice. It was deep, but so close. Luis turned his head to his left, and his eyes widened.
It looked like Freddy, but a much older version. Its fur was a dark gold, mottled with stains of unknown substances. Its eye sockets were empty, void of nothing but black. Atop its head was a dark purple top hat, along with a matching purple bow tie on its chest. It just sat there, slumped over, not moving an inch.
"W...Who are you?" Luis asked.
"My identity is classified information." the animatronic said. Its jaw didn't move, yet it still spoke telepathically. "I know very well who you are, though. I have been watching your recent activities, and I must say, you have been quite busy lately."
Luis shook his head. What was this thing? He had to be hallucinating right now. He blinked his eyes a few seconds, hoping to shake himself to his senses. But the animatronic remained sitting there, motionless.
"Are you crazy?" he said softly.
"Funny," the entity responded, "I was about to ask you the same thing."
Suddenly, the entity's eyes began to glow brightly, making Luis put a hand over his eyes to block out the blinding light. The entity slowly turned its head to face Luis directly, accompanied by the sound of snapping bones and tearing flesh.
And then...blackness.
To be continued?