Does blistex moisturize lips

I'm in my 30s, never had eczema until three years ago. Small patches on my elbow and shin, took lower potency topical steroids and went away on and off but kept it very minimal and to 1-2 weeks max. 2 years ago started getting bad eczema on my eyelids, and have taken Pimecrolimus cream 1% for a week or two and Protopic twice for a week or two, and it always eventually came back. 3 months ago my elbow flare up was getting worse and was prescribed Clobetasol 0.05% which i took for 1-2 weeks ago.
About a month ago, the flare from my inner elbows started spreading and becoming really red (not really broken skin) up and down my whole arms and inner thighs About 2 weeks ago the redness started spreading to my whole neck area and became red, dry and itchy. 3-4 days ago started seeing tons of small bumps all across my stomach and getting bigger by the day.
I had an appointment with my derm and she recommended 2-3 weeks (said in 1-2 week dose is not enough to calm it down and can come back) of Clobetasol 0.05% across my arms/stomach/legs and was worried that the surface area was big and also realized how strong Clobetasol is. She then prescribed Triamcinolon 0.1 % which i can use in most areas and use Clobetasol on the inner elbow where skin has thickened. And she said can use Protpoic whenever on the face and as maintenance on the body once the flare has gone down. Light therapy and dupixent would be next steps if steroids don’t work.
The main question is should I try these steroids to nip this big flare up however am really nervous about TSW. I've never used steroids for prolonged periods of time, maybe 3-4 weeks out of the whole year, but getting prescribed stronger steroids and having larger body-wide flare-ups worries me. Does it look like I am already experiencing TSW as to how fast and red my flare-up has gotten, or if it could possibly be fungal-related?
I have done a huge lifestyle change over few weeks. Diet-wise, no dairy, gluten, and sugar and eating as clean as possible. Started taking probiotics, vitamin d, omega-3 fish oil, zinc and collagen supplements. I did change my detergent to molly suds laundry detergent about 2 weeks ago (wondering if that is making it worse). Take only 2-3 mins lukewarm showers, gentle vanicream cleaners only. Taking Zyrtec twice a day, now trying Beyndrel as end up scratching so much at night and doing most damage there, even when wearing cotton gloves. A handful of different moisturizers from Aveno, Vanicream, La Roche posays and Cerve healing ointment as top layer. In terms of known trigger have a strong allergic reaction to dust mites (skin and blood test done 3 years back), and my allergies have been better the last two years and now Eczema is taking its place lol, and have a follow-up appointment with my allergiest this week.
At this point just don't know what else I can do. Let me know if you have any recommendations or things that I may be overlooking. Appreciate it!

There are a lot of people upset at the moment and some argument over whether or not this game is F2P or P2W. I'd like to keep it open to discussion and opinion, but here's my diatribe on the matter.
Some of the practices that have been shown regarding pool drops, card nerfs, and bundles have been problematic. They aren't overwhelmingly covert about trying to make money from the players willing to pay for things. But, that said, the things are almost entirely cosmetic. And those that aren't, which is basically just getting to a card faster, is not something I would personally consider a P2W system, somewhat in general but especially in this game.
So here goes the hot take while everyone's outwardly upset at the devs at the moment, I really do think that Snap is ultimately a very free to play friendly game.
FWIW, I just got my buddy into the game during this last season and he hit 85 with a Devil Dinosaur and never spent a penny, or will. I was impressed because I came nowhere close to that my first season but that's beside the point lol. This is purely anecdotal but it does reinforce for me how true it is that despite everyone being upset at the prospect of having things be less easy to obtain than they may have anticipated, it is by no means inaccessible, and it is not at all necessary in order to achieve success without being overly arduous.
There is nothing forcing your hand to spend in order to remain competitive. That's part of what P2W is to me. The other part being even less applicable where the whales who spend the absolute most are at the top or every leaderboard, with maxed out units and gear and stuff and things and junk - you'll find no fair equivalent here.
The truth is the game does reward simple consistency. Nothing is barred behind money walls and they also give you the choice of what you want between the seasonal and the token cards for the things that you want most or won't be likely to open.
I've only ever spent a penny on the season bundle and I've hit infinite multiple times. But I wouldn't have needed to in order to do that. I believe that but I won't lie and say I've never spent a thing. But what I can say is that getting there taught me something I had to learn in my journeys to hit infinite, especially the first time. It was never about which specific deck I used. Just consistency. Playing smart with cubes. Playing with experience. And just very simply, maintaining consistency in my climbing.
So while I do think it may be 'pay to have the newest shiniest thing taking over the meta', it really isn't 'pay to win'
It is, in pretty much every way, free to play. And like most free to play games in the modern era, for better or worse, there are things that can be purchased and there are incentives for them; but none of it is needed by a player who's looking to win. It's almost all cosmetics. And the only thing that actually comes close to directly buying power is the season pass to get a single card earlier, meaning within the month that that one said card is released.
There's nothing unavailable to a 100% free to play player. There's no reason, especially for someone who has played a season or two and gotten deep into pool 3, maybe even with a good token choice or two but even that's not necessary, would need to pay in order to win.
They won't have all the neat cosmetic variants people got from bundles. Obviously. And they might not have the meta deck on everyone's lips, but also... they just might. Or be very close to it just looking at what's performing best right now.
The deck at the top of the list last season, and the deck that is still showing top of tier 1 after being updated for High Evolutionary was, and continues to be, Sera Control. Everything in that deck outside of Hit Monkey is Pool 3 or sooner and has plenty of viable alternatives.
The new shiny thing has been High Evolutionary, and now I'm sure we'll see a spike in movement with Ghost Spider and see if it sticks, but neither of those are necessary to be able to play and win. That sounds pedantic. Neither of those are necessary to play and win at a much higher rate than without. That's more to the point. They might not have all the cards for the suggested net deck of everything on said tier list for whatever they're looking at; they might not have as much variety; but patience and smart play may see them win even more than those bouncing around to play what seems to be the best at the time.
You can pay to expedite. Sort of. But unlike most mobile games where that's a thing, getting things faster is not a direct translation to power level. You're not upgrading buildings or levelling up heroes. It's a deck builder, where the vast majority of the cards are obtained freely and at a pretty quick pace. A deck builder with only 12 cards to a deck. Lots of synergies. Lots of strategies. Lots of options. F2Pnewbie27 will be able to find something competitive within their collection pretty quickly if that's their aim.
I get it, the Darkhawk thing is, no pun intended, ruffling some feathers. That's totally fair. Some of what they've done regarding pool drops and nerfs and all that has been very lame. Very discouraging. Some of the bundles are absolutely atrocious with lack of value. There are a lot of things to criticize and be upset by if that's your modus operandi. I don't mean to fight for the game against any of that. The sole point I'm attempting to make, and you can still simultaneously be mad at them about other things, is
as far as any big mobile games go, this game is just about as F2P-friendly as it gets.

Sorry, I just have to rant/vent.
Chocolate….can someone explain it to me? Can someone explain to me how I can hear someone eating chocolate from across a room?
To clarify, I don’t mean the initial crunch of them taking a bite, I mean the wet, sloppy sounds of the chocolate melting and swishing around in their mouths. How the hell do you eat a soft food that loudly that I can hear it over background noise???
A cough drop should not be revolving around in your open mouth like a rock tumbler.
I should not be able to hear you eating chicken, why does it sound like pop rocks? It’s chicken! Close your damn mouth.
I get it, I have misophonia, but why is it considering a condition to be affected by other peoples terrible eating noises? I understand, people make noise when they eat. I’m talking about unnecessary noise. I get it, you eat crackers, it’s going to crunch, I don’t mind. But when you’re smacking your lips, crunching, trying to talk and I can hear the food in your mouth making your voice sound funny, making ungodly popping noises and eating with an open mouth, why is it abnormal to hate that? Chew like a human, not like a god damn cow! It should be a condition to eat without manners, not a condition to react to it.
The last one, I don’t even know how to explain. But the person with the cough drop is sick, obviously, they have been blowing their nose all day, and must have a serious case of post nasal drip because it sounds like their voice has an extra “wet” quality to it. Makes me want to scream! Like imagine trying to talk underneath a shower head with water dripping from your lips, it sort of sounds like that. Not only is it disgusting but this person already has an annoying voice/accent and this just makes it worse.
Rant over

I need some recomendations for a good general moisturizer to use in conjuction with LRP Cicaplast Baume. I've been putting the Cicaplast only on the parts of face where the perioral dermatitis is flaring (mouth and eyes in my case), but the rest of skin is dry and most moisturizers I've tried make it itch, sting, and burn
Also, the instructions on the Cicaplast Baume say to use twice per day but I've been using it more often than that. Does anyone know if that's ok?

Hey! So I’m going to get my lips done Thursday. This is the 4th time I’ve gone since 2021, I only got .5 syringe last time so I just wanted to finish the syringe. The next day(Friday) my friends and I wanna go to bars. Is 36 hours a good mark of time to drink or does it result in terrible bruising. I just don’t want to delay the process!

Hello! I live in Chicago and around this time when summer starts, I get dark spots on the edge of my lips that I suspect is sun damage. I'm currently using the Vaseline advanced healing lip balm daily and I apply moisturizer around the areas at night. I only get these spots when it's hot out. I've tried looking for lip balms with SPF at Walgreens and Target, but haven't find any or the brands there have not worked for me (Carmex, eos, etc.). Does anyone have any SPF lip balm recommendations? Drugstore price/availability a plus.

The first indication that the Gnome God arrived was my Emperor's growing tension.
There was no fear in his eyes, only rage and hatred. He gripped his spear tightly as a short Humanoid being walked down our street toward us.
"Well, look who finally found his way out of a measly cave." He spoke with a smile.
He was perhaps slightly taller than us, but not much, dressed in bright colors, a sword at his hip, and the weirdest fucking moustache/beard combination I'd ever seen. Beneath his veneer of joyful exuberance was curiosity, and just below that, the faintest smoldering of anger.
"I have been found and freed." My Emperor spoke plainly. "And now Humans mimic your holy ritual in the hopes that you will eradicate us, just like you did during the Dawn Age."
"Yes, one of my finer pranks." Garl remarked, stroking his beard. "Even to this day, people talk about it."
"You know as well as I do, what happened that day." My Emperor's voice low with threat. "You know well what caused this conflict in the first place. Ever pointlessly causing pain and humiliation for a laugh, no imagined crime is so slight that the punishment is not disproportionate in your gaze."
"What are your intentions, Stingtail?" Garl asked. "Is it your desire to see my people utterly wiped out?"
"There would be no greater justice!" My Emperor hissed. "Yet it is by vow with my Imperator and Bahamut, that in spite of my better judgment, I offer a compromise."
"A compromise?" Garl asked, I wasn't sure if his shock was real or feigned, "From you?"
"We both know our worshipers will never stop hating one another." My Emperor stated. "We know the violence will not end any time soon, yet I am willing to grant you leniency for your crime, so long as you do not harm a single scale upon these people, nor seek retaliation against me for simply trying to rebuild what you destroyed eons ago."
Garl seemed to think about it, then smiled. "If you kneel." He said. "That's your favored tactic, making your enemies kneel? I will allow your spawn to rebuild, but you must kneel and pledge your undying service to me, as my personal fool."
I stood up, snarling. "This is not compromise!" I snapped. "This is far more accommodation than you have ever gotten before, or will ever get, and you demand servitude!?"
"I believe the term your kind uses is 'slave'." He replied. "What would be better than subjecting him to the same conditions he forced my people under?"
"YOUR PEOPLE WERE THE ONES WHO STRUCK FIRST!" My Emperor roared, his eyes wide, pupils narrow with rage, spittle flying from his maw. "IT WAS THEY WHO REFUSED TO LISTEN AS WE ATTEMPTED PEACE! IT WAS THEY WHO BROUGHT THIS UPON THEMSELVES! HOW DARE YOU DEMAND THIS OF ME, WHO HAS LANGUISHED IN SOLITUDE FOR GENERATIONS, SIMPLY BECAUSE YOU CANNOT ABIDE MY EXISTENCE!"
"Then it seems you need another time out." Garl said.
"That, I believe, is enough." We all looked as a group of Kobolds appeared from thin air.
"Ah, Bahamut, you debase yourself before your enemy?" Garl asked in a teasing tone.
"Do not forget, Garl, that we raged at your 'prank'. Clearly, we should have punished you, rather than choosing leniency. Perhaps so many tragedies could have been avoided, if we had simply held you to task?"
"The Justicemaker himself, siding with an evil deity?" Garl asked. "Against a good one such as I?"
With an explosion of wing and light, Bahamut towered above us, his cloudy blue eyes wide with anger. 'Justice chooses the innocent, Garl. I learned my lesson that day the hard way, and I have striven to never lapse in my duty. Watch your tone, Glittergold. I swear by the World Shaper, who granted the only justice on that day, I will denounce you, and declare you an enemy of righteous justice, until you have paid back the blood of every Kobold you have slain- including the ones who fell in the ages since- if you so much as harm so much as a single scale on these innocent victims of my nemesis."
Garl sighed, "It seems even Gods can't take a joke these days." He remarked.
I swallowed my anger and approached Garl, who watched me with curiosity. "You are approaching me?" He asked. "You, a lowly mortal Kobold, approach me?"
I held my hand out. "I swallow my hatred of you, for the sake of peace." I said. He glanced at my hand. "What, you've never heard of a handshake? Are you afraid that I could possibly do something to you?"
"You couldn't so much as scratch me." He replied, grasping my hand. I tightened my grip as the joy buzzer in my palm vibrated harmlessly in his hand. He tried pulling away, confused, the slightest bit of concern in his eyes, before I finally let go.
"What did you do?" He asked, his voice taking on a hint of threat.
"We call it a joy buzzer." I said, holding my hand out and pressing the button. "It's a joke, a prank."
He stared at me with such incomprehension, then at the joy buzzer, then back at me. "You... pulled a prank... on me." He said.
Bahamut chuckled. "Such a simple misdirection, yet all the more humorous, as you- of all Gods- fell for it."
Garl nodded. "I will admit, I could have never anticipated that." He remarked. "Very well, I will rescind my prior condition, I will leave you and your-" His eyes lingered on me. "-people alone for time being, though I must ask to have this 'joy buzzer' of yours."
I took it off my hand and put it in his palm, just hard enough to make it buzz again, startling him.
"I believe the phrase, when it comes to pranks and jokes, is confuse, don't abuse." I said. "May there never be such a gross abuse again."
"Indeed." Garl replied. He looked at the joy buzzer in his hand and gave the merest of smirks, and then he turned around and walked away.
I let out a heavy sigh of relief. "I'll be honest, I was expecting for him to get pissed and pop me like a grape." I looked back at the others, Bahamut had taken Kobold form again. "Thank you, for stepping in when you did."
"It is the very least I could do, to make reparations for that day." Bahamut spoke. He looked at My Emperor and approached him. He knelt and said, "I do not pledge fealty or loyalty, this is not a debasement, but one more reparation."
"Stand." My Emperor spoke. He hopped off the stage as Bahamut did, and after a moment of hesitation, he too knelt. "Understand, I do this only because you have earned my respect, Justicemaker." He stood up. "My people have a long way to go, in order to have the peace they richly deserve. I swear, as long as you aid me in that goal, I will do what is necessary to maintain that peace."
"That is all I need." Bahamut replied. "I hereby grant your faithful permission to perform acts of righteousness in my name, if you ever deign to allow them to worship me."
"Only if you allow your faithful to invoke my name, should they ever need to pay evil unto evil."
"I do not believe that will be necessary." Bahamut replied. "Yet I shall allow this."
They shook hands.
I half-expected Bahamut to just leave at that moment, but he didn't. "Now." He said. "Tiamat has hidden herself from me, and I can not seem to find a trace of her anywhere, save the stench of her evil machinations. Until Garl has left, I will remain here for a time, to ensure he does not have any plans or tricks for you."
"That's just an excuse to stick around as a Kobold for a while." My Emperor teased.
"If the danger has passed, why not take this time to celebrate?" I asked. "We have a week's worth of food stored, why not have a feast?"
My Emperor nodded. "An excellent idea. Bring our subjects up, I want them singing our praises by afternoon."
I went down with Galax, we didn't have to do much to get everyone going up. Food was brought out, ovens were fired up, and food was laid out for everyone to eat, drink, and generally just enjoy themselves for once.
Everyone regarded Rakdo with some hesitation at first, but when he said he was on our side, that trepidation faded and they welcomed him to the Warren.
A handful of people brought out instruments, either kept safe from little over a year and a half ago, or they had made by hand. We still didn't have Bards, and they were most assuredly Awoken, but they played what music they knew with passing skill, making use of the stage so that our sound-amplifying magic items could allow them to be heard by everyone.
Of course, I took a moment to introduce our guests of honor, Bahamut and his seven companions. Though the latter were stern and not at all talkative, they were respectful to anyone who treated their God with respect.
Being guests of honor, they had a place at the table set for myself, my Emperor, and my Council.
Since there hadn't been any formal planning behind this, anyone who thought they could entertain everyone had a chance on the stage. A cadre of teenagers got on the stage, and being former theater kids back when school was something to worry about, they put on performances of Shakespearean plays.
It was in no way, shape, or form professional, but everyone seemed to enjoy it.
"It's been a long time since I've seen you smile like that, brother." I looked at Tallyn. "I'm glad to see the world hasn't completely crushed your spirit."
"I'll crush the world before I let it crush me." I replied.
After the plays, a lone Kobold got on the stage, nervous as all hell, holding a leather-bound book. "I- uh, I would like to read a story I've written." He said. "If it would please our Imperator."
"You can't do any worse than I would!" I called out. "Impress me with your best effort, the content of the story can only enhance it!"
He seemed to take my words to heart, as he began reading a story, of Kobolds and Dragons fighting against an insurmountable foe. Everyone listened, enraptured by the tale he wove. By the time he finished, hours had passed, and he received a standing ovation, his Awakening only intensified the crowd's cheers, we all knew what he was, there was no doubt about it.
"As the first Bard of this Empire, come, have a seat at our table." I spoke. "And please, tell us your name!"
"Hakku, Imperator." He said, bowing.
"Come, Hakku, this honor is well-earned!"
Hakku sat with us, he was shy and soft-spoken. "I took to writing because I'm not good at much else." He said. "I've written ever since I could hold a pen, I've actually amassed enough of a collection of them that I'm not even a quarter of the way done with them."
"Hakku, would you be willing to take on the title of Councilor, to guide our entertainers, our storytellers, to give them the infrastructure they need to succeed?"
"Y-yes, Imperator." He said.
"I look forward to your contributions, Councilor."
Many others tried their hand on the stage, some were absolutely terrible, but everyone was a good sport about it.
As the feast dwindled to food scraps and bones, our Emperor stood and addressed the people.
"There will be no need to retrieve that which was brought down below." He spoke. "This is my domain, and I say now is the time for the symbol of our Empire to rise."
We all hurried to the outside of the town, far enough away that it was small in the distance. We watched as our Emperor channeled his divine power, raising up the entire town along with several strata of earth, before placing it nearby us and making it sink until it was flush with the ground. Then, his hands raised to the skies, Darastrixthurhi rose up from the ground, stone and dirt cascading off of it until what remained was a massive fortress structure.
Walls of stone rose, adjoining the fortress with the town.
Once the signal was given, we walked in, our homes untouched, undamaged, and looming over us was the fortress.
"Behold." Our Emperor spoke with such pride and reverence. "The Fortress-City of Darastrixthurhi, Thousands of empty homes awaiting our habitation, entire sections devoted and dedicated to the comfort and safety of our talented Warren." He looked at us. "The town we stand in is as much a part of it, is as much a vital aspect of our city. You are free to choose where you live, space is plentiful."
"Ah, but your Temple dwarfs mine." Bahamut spoke with a tone of humor.
"It is a fortress fit for Dragons." Our Emperor spoke. "Not a Temple to my glory. Nonetheless, I welcome you to my city as an honored guest, for you have done what no other would in these long years."
"I am honored." Bahamut replied. "May this day foretell many years of peace to come."
With the feast over, the Warren of course went in and explored the Fortress City more closely, marveling at the architecture, admiring the stonework. At the pinnacle of the city was the entrance from the underground. I gazed upon the throne and looked at my Emperor.
"Go." He said.
I ascended the stairs and sat down upon the throne. Even being made of stone, it was comfortable, with a pleasant little nook for my tail. My Emperor stood beside me, his hand on my shoulder. "Unburdened by endless stone, behold the lands beyond." He spoke. I could see for miles, all of the way to the enemy encampment.
"This city is going to need a lot of infrastructure." I remarked. I stood up and walked down the stairs, looking upon the staggered sections of the Fortress City, seeing the potential it had. I could see people gathering in a large empty space below, several people pointed up at me, I waved back.
"Councilors, gather!" I commanded. Within a handful of minutes, they had managed to get up here.
"You needed us, Imperator?" Tudru asked.
"I want you to look down, tell me what you see."
"A defensible position." Tudru spoke, as he looked down.
"A magnificent work of art." Hakku breathed.
"Dead stone, lifeless." Merti noted sadly.
"Nothing that's worth my time and effort." Tatla remarked.
"Long streets and narrow alleyways." Nakk observed.
"A logistical nightmare." Rekka sighed.
"A shrine to self, as delivered by our Emperor." Galax remarked dryly.
"A home, built for us." Tallyn stated hopefully.
"A mighty fortress that serves as the Empire's jewel." Kalith spoke.
"A very long drop." Goss muttered as he backed away.
"A giant fuckin' rock." Kuvli helpfully opined.
"Endless potential."
Everyone was startled when Fox stepped out of the shadows, he darted forward, catching Hakku as he almost fell. He pulled him back up and gave a formal bow. "Asgorath grant you steady footing." The Monk spoke. He turned his head slightly. "And less OSHA violations."
We couldn't help but laugh.
"Who is Osha?" Our Emperor asked. "Have I been unaware of someone who acts with more authority than they are allowed?"
"It's an acronym that stands for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration." I quickly explained. "Their whole thing is making sure workers have the proper safety precautions, and that companies adhere to those standards."
I looked at my Council. "Fox here is correct; endless potential." I said, "My Council, I want you all to gather a large team who can survey the Fortress City. I want empty spaces filled with enough dirt to produce food, I want a sustainable source of water, if at all possible. Infrastructure, trams throughout the main thoroughfares so that the people can get to where they need to go. I give you all free rein to bring Darastrixthurhi into its full glory. I am trusting each and every one of you with this."
They all saluted.
"Dismissed. Take it easy for the rest of the night, for tomorrow, your duty begins in earnest."
They all left.
"I believe we should heed such a command ourselves." My Emperor spoke. "Follow me."
I followed him into a series of hallways, at the far end of which led to a large bedroom. "I intended for this room to be the one in which I kept a harem of women, that I ensure my lineage remained." He looked at me. "Undress, my Imperator."
I did so, and he clipped the lead to my collar before gently, yet insistently pulling me toward a stone bed. He casually decorated it with soft blankets and sheets, and with a single push of one hand, he laid me upon the bed.
"Ruuk Stingtail." He spoke. "This is your reward for your fearless service to me, for daring to stare down a God, and to upstage him." He leaned closer and kissed me, my heart thundered as it wasn't simply a quick peck on the lips.
It was longer, deeper, and I loved every second of it.
​
[Navigation for 'Dragon Rising'- [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]]

hi everyone. i’m a pale girl who, for some reason, was very skilled at makeup in 2015-16 but, lately, i just don’t know what i’m doing / what to do. i often go out to bars or clubbing with friends and, whenever i look back on photos, it seems like i have no makeup on - or my face looks too plain. i have done research in the past and i have a pink-ish undertone, light green eyes, light eyebrows and small lips. none of which i have a problem with, but i’ve learned what accentuates my features (lip stains and glosses over lipsticks, pink blush instead of gold-toned highlighter, dark purple mascara and liner). despite this, when applying makeup i always think it’s either too little or too much, and can’t seem to figure out a makeup look quite right for social events. i’m not afraid of looking like i’m wearing makeup (i don’t want to block my brows or have a noticeably orange face); i want to look like i’m wearing makeup, very pretty makeup!
long story short, how the heck do i do my makeup for the club??? does anyone have any tips or suggestions? thank you in advance :’)

[Chapter 1] ;[Previous Chapter] ; [Discord + Wiki] ; [Patreon]
Chapter 118 – Black and white for once
Announcing that one was wearing something solely for the comfort and safety of others and then immediately taking said thing off was of course sending a quite clear message to everyone in the room. Clearer than maybe even words could’ve conveyed.
The gloves, or the breathfilter in this case, had literally come off.
It was of course a much more subtle way to send it than some others would’ve preferred, however it still had its intended effect. A certain, much saying silence fell momentarily over the room as the deathworlder’s predatory gaze wandered through it, now unrestricted by tinted polymer or pretty lights hiding away its nature.
Many of the present representatives surely had not quite forgotten James’ announcement that, much like myiat, humans too were quite proficient in hunting their fellow order members.
Of course, concerns like that were in reality absolutely ridiculous, and everyone definitely should have known that James was not here to hunt anyone. However, that didn’t mean that some of the more insistent instincts from generations past that still lingered in the backs of some of their minds didn’t poke their ugly heads out into the light now that the cold stare of the apex predator among the primate’s searched for any gaze that dared to challenge it.
Few of them dared to even try. Although they were all, in one way or another, important people that were used to having attention on themselves and opposition pushing against them, they were also, in no uncertain terms, a bunch of spoiled, cloistered, and unworldly brats who had hidden away in their marble halls and ivory towers for so long that they had forgotten what the world could even look like outside of them.
Klanneifer tried his best to return James’ challenging look. However, his discomfort could be clearly read on his face. His already squinting eyes narrowed even further and his eyelids trembled as all four of his ears turned in James’ direction to not let the predator out of their attention.
Uton also averted his gaze, though with him it was clear that he didn’t do so out of any sort of fear, but he instead simply did not wish to invite any more of the things James had to say to him out, seemingly not feeling like he could stand up to hearing most of them.
The one that most comfortably faced James’ searching eyes was Losaranarja. Not surprising really. A pixemerrier who sat at the head of a hotel on a station run by predatory deathworlders had surely seen a lot more frightening things than an ambassador that looked the slightest bit displeased at her.
“However,” James then continued his earlier point about what was and wasn’t one of his many mistakes after a long moment of silence he had allowed himself. “Whether you agree with me or not, it does not change the simple facts of the matter. Outer Orbital strikes are illegal. Period. People on Dunnima, including parts of its leadership and children, got injured during a thwarted attempt of such an illegal attack. End of story. Everything else is rationalization. It does not matter if they were not the main target of the attack. It does not matter who or what else may have been present. We are here to discuss the united reaction of the order of the primates to the attack on Dunnima. And the only reaction that there can be is the clear and unshakable condemnation and denunciation of this attack and any of its kind, be it the same method or any other outlawed means of attack. Whether I like it or not, the primates are seen as a galactic role model. Many people do look towards us for guidance. If we do not send a clear signal that such action cannot and will not be tolerated, then we will be putting the entirety of the Galaxy’s peace and order into jeopardy.”
There was a displeased rumble floating about in the room at his words, and many of the present representatives as well as their accompaniments stood up in an uproar.
“You still speak of Galactic peace and order?” Goloribal now fired back up after having gotten over his first bit of disheartenment at James’ earlier showmanship. “You, of all people? You who has singlehandedly threatened the peace of the people to a degree that has not been seen in centuries? You, who now speaks out in favor of one of the Galactic Community’s oldest and most sworn enemies? You want to preach to us about peace and order?”
James…felt oddly in his element, as a dark, conniving smile crept over his face.
“Singlehandedly? You shouldn’t undersell yourself like that, Representative,” he replied with his shoulders lifted into a slight, leisurely shrug. “You and your people, the Captain especially, but also the High-Matriarch of the Zodiatos and several Councilpeople, you have all been more than pulling your weight when it comes to destabilizing the galaxy. In fact, I would say that you did the main bulk of the work. Me? I was merely there.”
Shaking his head and sighing amusedly, James then let his arms sink, moments before his gaze then turned stone cold.
“But fine,” he then continued his rebuttal, now much more serious than before. “Let’s assume for a second that we aren’t all allies here. That this wasn’t a peaceful meeting of the different species of the order simply to discuss how we should act with the Galaxy’s best in mind. And that there really was some sort conflict happening right now that was much bigger than just caution and defense on humanity’s part…Even then, condemning this attack would be absolutely essential. For all of us.”
He wondered if he even needed to say any more than that. After all, it was quite obvious. However, some of the representatives around here had also proven to be rather dense…
Still, James remained quiet for a time, simply wishing to observe for how many of the present people it would click.
“The implication being…?” the Missicapriej representative was the first of those whose faces hadn’t immediately darkened in understanding who pulled together the nerve to ask.
This time, Klanneifer had seemingly understood it without problems.
“If this was a conflict,” he said, using the same conjunctive that James was to keep things to a pure hypothetical while two of his arms fiddled with each other as the two others rubbed along his neck. “Or if it could turn into one…then the Galaxy’s reaction to this ‘first attack’ if we want to call it that…”
He broke off his sentence, seemingly unwilling to speak it into existence.
“It would set the tone for the future conflict,” Losaranarja finished the sentence for him, quickly granting herself speaking privileges as the host. “If the very war crime committed by one side to start the conflict is not condemned, then what reason would there be to not return it in kind – apart from maybe a personal wish to be better.”
The Missicapriej’s face shot around to James and stared up at him with unblinking yellow eyes.
“Ambassador, you are not implying that…” he said in a burst of nervous energy that dissipated before he could even finish his sentence, causing his voice to slowly fade out as James still refused to say anything until he was granted the word, sticking to the event’s rules as if superglued to them.
“I am not implying anything,” James said with harsh emphasis on the word ‘implying’. “I am stating that, no matter what scenario you may believe is going on either behind the scenes or elsewhere, there is only one reasonable reaction to such an attack – like I have done from the very start, I might add. But I’m going to repeat it for the entire rest of the day, if I have to. We humas are quite tenacious, after all.”
Many of the representatives turned to mumble quietly with their company, and news reporters eagerly spoke into the cameras, surely all spinning their own story of what James’ words could’ve meant.
Did he want conflict? No. By no means in fact. It was the furthest thing from his mind to even allow the thought of it being a valid possibility here.
However…the idea that he might be willing to cause one was a useful tool by itself. Even though demonstrations had been rare, by now the galaxy had gotten the chance to get a taste of humanity’s weaponry.
Would it be enough to fight the entire rest of the Galaxy head on? Of course not. Numbers didn’t lie. No matter the advantage their weapon technology would buy them, they were so horribly outnumbered that any chance at victory was basically a rounding error.
However, sometimes the question that people in front of the many screens across the galaxy asked themselves when they heard about talks like that wasn’t ‘could they actually win’, but tended to be more along the lines of ‘who will be the one to take the hit if they try?’
Because, while it was absolutely true that the Community technically had more than enough bodies to throw at any given problem, the approach of trying to see if you had more men or the machine-gun above the trench had more bullets wasn’t exactly the prettiest.
Especially not if Outer Orbital Bombardments would become a valid option in the conflict. After all, even planets were far from indestructible if the very laws of nature were already being bent to one’s will.
“The Galaxy’s eyes are on us today,” James announced to the room while using his best narrator voice, doing his best to sound utterly impartial for a moment. “You know my stance on the matter, of course. You know that and how I would judge you given whatever views you may hold. That I would much rather be judged by my character – flawed as it might be – than by the place that I was born. That I would see the unwarranted violence against those who think and act differently from the accepted norm punished and ceased. Yes, that I stand against the proposed homogeny and grey sludge of a culture that oh so many seem to wish to promulgate across the community and instead wish to invite and celebrate the many different lives and ways that have led us all to the stars. Celebrate it as a true Community, not a homogeny. And that I wish to be open to the new and the unusual, hopefully allowing it to enrich our lives. You all already know this. And usually, I would gladly and fervently fight every single one of you for that simple goal.”
He closed his eyes for a second, releasing a breath, before he continued,
“However,” he said and immediately paused again to give the words its necessary weight after such a declaration. “Right now, I do not care what your views on the treatment of deathworlds may be.”
He reached his left hand out to gently hold Shida by the shoulder as she sat beside him.
“I don’t care what your opinions on augmentations and those who choose to accept them on their bodies might be,” he continued, raising his mechanical arm, making a wide ark with it to present it to the entire room, before finally ending with a brief gesture in Curi’s direction.
“I don’t care whether or not you think an amenable Artificial Sapient is something that could exist or not,” he added, lifting both arms to gesture more towards the entire, open room.
“And I especially do not care whatsoever what you may or may not think of me personally,” he finished, bringing both arms back down to his chest to point at himself. “All I care about right now is that right now there is, as is so rarely the case, a clear right. And a clear wrong. In more ways than one, the damage is already done. All we can hope to do now is mend as much as we can while we still can, lest we allow it to spread to a load-bearing structure. Some people here might see this event as a political instrument, by I do not.”
He not-so-subtly glanced over at the Captain and his representative.
“Hate me if you like. Hate those I associate with if you like. That is something that may concern us at another time. But, please, right now, don’t make the galaxy suffer for it,” James then addressed everyone again, and he even caught the gaze of some cameras pointed directly at him as he spoke. “No matter what you think who is fighting who or what ‘sides’ you may think there are and which of these sides you think yourself on: The rules of war. Must. Stand. Because, no matter who it is that topples them, as soon as they fall, the Galactic Community will eventually fall with them.”
Although the weight of the importance of all of this was still very much pressing down on him and James would honestly still much rather have been basically anywhere else instead of standing here in front of the Galaxy while giving important-yet-heavy-handed speeches, he did have to admit…Monologuing like that was actually kind of fun. No wonder politicians liked to hear themselves talk so much…
However, by now, he was actually starting to wonder just how many times he could reiterate what was basically the same point in different, fancy ways. Or how often he would have to before it would hopefully sink in with everyone that he was being serious here. It honestly wasn’t that hard, after all.
Not to mention that no one had actually even really tried to refute him yet. Not that there was much to refute here, but they could at least pull some bullshit reasoning out of their ass instead of just sticking to ‘James bad’ or ‘AI bad’ here.
After all, even if they didn’t belief that Avezillion was 100% harmless, much like James still didn’t think that, anyone at the very least had to admit that Dunnima was, in fact, not currently a smoldering pile of ashes OR in the process of purging all of its systems in a coordinated cyber attack against the Realized, meaning she had to at least be different from the others they knew somehow.
Pausing his heartful speech-giving for a while to give people time to process, James used the moment of respite to scan across the faces of his company. Well, those who were visible anyway. The breathfilters of his human accompaniment still only let through the basic projections of their professionally stern faces. Well, that was with the exception of Nia of course. After an early, very clear shock and disbelief at what James had presented here, she had eventually calmed down again, although an air of an underlying uncertainty that bordered on disapproval had still remained for a time. However, now that she had heard him talk and give his reasons for a while, the light-pixels on her mask had more and more mellowed out and were now stuck in an expression somewhere in between a ‘you got this’ and a ‘let’s see where this goes’.
Although Curi’s face was of course basically impossible to read, given that it didn’t emote at all, James noticed that the cyborg’s stance was remarkably confident considering the amount of people they had to present themselves in front of. The knees of their massive backward legs were less bend than usual, pushing their body up higher than they normally carried themselves in a way that James equated to pushing one’s chest out.
Moar seemed to be far from happy about the current turn of events, however James was truly relieved to see that the main bulk of that unhappiness seemed to stem mostly from stress and a general discomfort brought on by it, instead of any aversion to what James was saying. Of course, a bit of background noise of worry and slowly creeping dread remained on the old woman’s face as her head turned sideways so one of her eyes could fully focus on him while one of her clawed hands loudly clacked along one of her notched horns, however it didn’t seem like she was ready to turn heel and abandon James with his self-made problems yet.
And, well, Congloarch was…smiling? It was hard to tell with the reptile’s armored skin and stiff lips, however something about the way his mouth stood half-opened, presenting rows of sharp teeth to the world, was a bit different than usual. There was almost a sense of….triumph in it. Or at least James thought so. Tonamstrosite expressions weren’t exactly something he had a huge amount of expertise in reading.
The mumbling and general prattle in the room stayed quite intense for a while, but even so, James remained quiet, still unwilling to speak up and interrupt the proceedings, even if just while whispering to his friends. He would have to see what they thought at a later time. In private, where he could also apologize for having to have kept this from many of them for so long.
It was good that it was finally out. Maybe he would even introduce Avezillion to them, who knew? She could surely use a couple more friends…although Moar might not quite be ready for that yet. The old lady had gotten a whole lot more tolerating ever since he had met her of course, but a Realized wanting to have chit-chat might still cross a bit of a line for now. He would have to ease her into this.
Curi, on the other hand, would likely be completely on board. Or…at least James assumed that they would. Thinking of it, he had never really talked to them about artificial sapients before. He just kind of assumed it would be an enticing idea to them, since they enjoyed anything technological so much AND also generally fell out of line with what the Galaxy did and did not find acceptable. However, it was entirely possible that any experiences or stories that may be ingrained into them could’ve made them just as averse to the artificial lifeform as most other people were. James doubted it, but it was possible.
After all, Nia also wasn’t generally someone who judged others before getting the full picture, but even she had some very choice opinions about AIs, he knew that much. Not that the same wasn’t true for James before he had met Avezillion, of course. Basically every human had grown up with stories about Michael, after all. And with the rest of the Galaxy corroborating the idea that Realized were generally aggressive maniacs, nothing had ever quite challenged those stories.
Everyone else of course already knew Avezillion…well, except for Congloarch. However, he wasn’t the most ‘personable’ person at the best of times, so James couldn’t quite imagine how trying to introduce him to Avezillion as a potential friend would- James suddenly snapped up as a feline tail subtly bumped against his side with much more force than it usually exerted. Apparently, Shida had decided to be a bit more innocuous than an elbow to the side would have been.
Damn it! Had he zoned out? Well, yeah, he had. But what did he miss? Who was talking right now?
The sound of the surrounding world gradually returning to his ears in a wave of noise made it hard to focus on the main voice that was currently speaking to the room, and so James quickly had to follow everyone’s gazes to see where they were looking in order to find the speaker. However, there wasn’t really a ‘speaker’ right now. But there was definitely somebody everyone was looking at.
Admittedly, James probably should’ve noticed them immediately on his own, because they were entirely out of place.
With silverish-grey fur and dark, rust-red markings, the Lachaxet that had, from James’ perspective, popped up from thin air in the middle of the room, but who had in reality most likely simply entered while he had been distractedly wandered lost in his own mind, differentiated themselves quite a bit from their conspecifics that James had met so far.
They had a for the species rather broad head and their solid-green eyes had an almost olive color to them. Said eyes were locked firmly onto Losaranarja as the deathwolrder leaned in to the small primate and whispered something into her ear.
Next to him, James could see Shida’s own listening apparati interestedly twitch, however he doubted that even she would be able to pick up on what was whispered that far away from them.
However, although he had even less chance of hearing anything that was being said, James also leaned in the direction of the conversation suspiciously, wondering whatever could be discussed at a moment like this.
Eventually, Losaranarja nodded, whispered something back to the Lachaxet, and then turned to look up in James’ general direction.
“Ambassador Aldwin and Representative Goloribal, could I maybe bother the both of you and your company to step down to me for a second?” she loudly asked the leader of the two adjacently seated groups up on the top rungs.
Inadvertently, James and Goloribal looked over at each other, clearly trying to see if the other party had anything to do with this interruption. James obviously hadn’t. And, at least if he could believe that face he was making, it seemed that Goloribal didn’t either – although there was a fair chance that he was just acting.
Turning to his company with a movement of his head, James then indicated for everyone to get up while he pushed himself to his feet.
Quickly, a protective formation was formed around him and his civilian company by his guards, who covered every angle of their descend down to the lower level with unshaking vigilance.
Admittedly, for a moment, the urge to simply jump over the railing and thus be down with Losaranarja within a second was quite alluring to James. After all, he had almost made a habit of jumping and climbing around in lower gravities like this one at this point. However, keeping up appearances prevailed over convenience for the time being, and so he decided to not pull a stunt like that after such a serious request from his host.
Instead, the human procession quickly and orderly made their way down the stairs, closely followed by that of the Simmiareskis.
Seemingly bored by the previous proceedings and intrigued by what was now going on, Sky hurried a bit ahead of her group to catch up with her fellow deathworlders, quickly reaching Tuya, who was forming the anchor position in their current formation.
James gave the inquisitive deer an acknowledging nod for a second, however otherwise his eyes were curiously directed at the other out-of-place deathworlder that had interrupted their proceedings.
The Lachaxet was turning their entire head around like an owl to keep their eyes on the descending groups, and the expression on their face was serious.
As the approaching groups were only a couple of measures away anymore, Losaranarja hopped off her podium and quickly hurried into their direction on all sixes, coming to a stop barely in front of James before subtly indicating with her two lower arms that it might be best if someone would lift her up.
Not hesitating to do so, James leaned down and presented his organic arm to her, allowing her to hold on and climb up the limb while James lifted her up into the air. Then, even if slightly begrudgingly so, he took her closer to the other representative.
With the pixemerrier on James’ shoulder and the simmiareskis walking on all fours, all of the primates were more or less on the same level and could therefore stand with their faces closely together as Losaranarja began whispering to them.
“Apparently, active threats have started to reach the security of the station regarding the both of you,” she quickly said without wasting any time with preamble. “Investigations are ongoing, but apparently some of the threats were deemed substantial enough that it was determined by security that it would be irresponsible to let this conference go on as it does for any longer. We do not wish to exclude you from the proceedings, however, and therefore you will be escorted to a more secure location from where you may rejoin the conference remotely. Ristefarreaux here has his team waiting just outside and is ready to immediately escort you there.”
James furrowed his brow while Goloribal turned to whisper something to Uton behind a lifted hand, although the Captain could only shake his head with an unsure expression.
“And do we not get a say in the matter?” James then asked, crossing his arms. “Personally, I’ve not made the best experiences with being escorted or confined by station security.”
While that was true, a much larger concern of his was to be confined in close quarters with these people. And that concern wasn’t exactly for himself.
“Any other course of action would be highly inadvisable,” Ristefarreaux chimed into the conversation, his large ears twitching and turning at the room’s noise. “If you are not compliant with safety measures, we would sadly have to escort you off the station for your own safety. Nedstaniot-Station’s security will not be responsible for any harm that befalls the Ambassador of humanity.”
His gaze was firm, and his voice didn’t exactly sound like he would allow much room for argument there.
James sighed and massaged his brow with his mechanical hand, seeing as the other shoulder was currently occupied.
“Thoughts?” he then asked, turning towards his company, with a specific gaze at Shida, Andrej and Koko.
Andrej rubbed the back if his head in thought, moving some of his long hair around in the process.
“Personally, I wouldn’t mind leaving if we have to,” the Major explained honestly with a tone that told of him not liking this new situation at all. However, after adding a shrug, he ended his sentence with, “But we should probably stick around if we can.”
Koko nodded.
“As long as we tell Earth to send the biggest ship we have if we don’t show back up on that broadcast in the next ten minutes or so, we should be fine,” she suggested casually. “If they want to mess with that, it’s their own fault.”
James nodded at the assertions of his higher-ranking friends. However, then he once again turned towards Shida with an empathic look on his face.
“Treasure?” he asked softly, remembering her earlier demeanor, and how much worse those feelings could become if allowed to stir in close proximity and without a way out.
Shida looked around for a bit, studying his face at first, before turning to throw a clearly heavily held back look with an empty expression over at Uton.
“I’ll be fine,” she then said with a just as empty but definitely decided tone. “This is important.”
James wondered if it would be better to resist here, because although Shida seemed sure about it for the most part, he wasn’t exactly certain if she should. However, he didn’t want to go against her like that. If she felt that she could handle this, he should support her – while also keeping an eye open in case she had misjudged things. Assuming things wouldn’t immediately go to hell as soon as they had reached this ‘secure location’ that the local security had in mind, they would hopefully still be able to pull out and leave the station instead if things did turn too overwhelming for the feline.
Therefore, James grit his teeth before turning back to the Lachaxet.
“I’ll have to make a quick call, but we’ll come with you,” he announced, to which the vulpine firmly nodded.
“We will of course also come,” Goloribal announced not even a second after. “Lead the way.”
After James had quickly allowed Losaranarja to climb off his shoulder again, and then made a ‘prepare for anything’ call back to Earth, the now involuntarily combined human and Simmiareskis groups were ushered outside by Ristefarreaux, where, just as promised, a larger group of Lachaxet security was already waiting for them. The vulpine deathworlders’ green, stiff eyes eerily stared at the emerging primates as they walked out of the conference room.
Despite the added safety, the human soldiers still moved in their defensive formation to make completely sure that no harm would befall their ambassador. Although, at least to a degree, the Lachaxet appeared to be professionals, as they avoided taking the threatened dignitaries to the outside where they could possibly easily be picked off by a sufficiently equipped threat. Instead, they were led “underground” – meaning deeper into the hull of the station.
James was all too familiar with this sort of area in a station by now. After all he had used it to quite efficiently traverse the G.C.S. when he himself did not want to be found. In that sense, they offered a certain comfort.
It seemed that once again this path was quite effective with avoiding any sort of contact with unwanted people, and so their travel was rather undisturbed as they made their way towards whatever destination security had planned for them.
“What kind of threats are we talking about exactly?” Koko eventually asked, seemingly both out of sincere interest in an urge to prepare herself for eventualities, evenly mixed with the sheer desire to fill the tense, dead air that had formed as it seemed that neither party really wanted to talk all that much while the other was this close by.
“I’m sad to say, too many to concisely list,” Ristefarreaux replied with a resigned squeaking noise. “We will gladly brief you once we have reached our destination. For now, let’s focus on getting you there without incident.”
“Ominous,” Koko replied with an eyeroll and a grimace, the humor in her voice poorly hiding her annoyance.
“At least the big lugs will be nice bullet sponges when it comes to it,” Admir whispered in English as he leaned in towards James, inconspicuously nodding in the Simmiareskis’ direction.
James gave him the most tired hint of a smirk as an answer, making full use of the fact that his face was now freed from masking constraints.
Then, he suddenly noticed that Shida had suddenly disappeared out of his periphery. In a moment of shock, his eyes quickly shot over towards Uton, who was walking some measures in front of him and keeping his gaze turned forwards. Not there…luckily…
Beginning to search around in other places after the first skipped beats of his heart, James’ eyes then soon enough landed on the dark shape of his girlfriend again. In actuality, Shida had barely moved at all. She had just slowed her steps ever so slightly, allowing herself to fall back a measure or so, so that she now walked along with a much larger but just as dark from next to her.
“You’re loo’n good,” Sky commented as her doe-eyes looked down at the feline, her head turning in a way that stretched one of her antlers far into the air.
“And you’re still growing like a weed, I see,” Shida commented back, her voice restrained and cordial. “How are you holding up.”
Her ears twitched once, and the movement was mirrored by the many flaps of the Ketzhir’s in a wave-like motion.
“Been be’er,” she replied with a shrug, her dialect still on full display in many spoken words despite Reprig’s previous best efforts to ‘educate’ her. “But also been much worse. Food comes easy now.”
Shida nodded.
“I bet it does,” she said, still very clearly holding a lot back. “And…other stuff?” Sky released a raspberry-like sound.
“Wor’s fine. Bit bo’ing at times, tho. Dun hol’ a candle to the stuff you’re doin’, I bet,” the former thief explained with an enthusiastic nudge in Shida’s direction. “But beats the brick or ta’in’ alms.”
Shida exhaled slowly.
“Does it?” she asked in a raspy sound under her breath.
“Sure,” Sky said nonchalantly. “Cap’n’s nice ‘slong as he wants sumethin’. Wants sumethin’ most of the time. So ‘e’s not too bad.”
Shida visibly clenched her jaw and shut her eyes tightly, clearly doing her best to thoroughly prepare to reply something that was well thought out.
However, Sky was quite a bit faster.
“Don’t worry,” she said in a casual yet calming manner. “I know ‘e’s got a few screws loose. But I’m a diver. I can watch out for it. ‘Sides, somewun ‘as to keep an eye on ‘im.”
“That someone should be an armed guard in front of a door without a key,” Shida replied to that, however James only understood as much because he was watching her as she spoke and could follow the movements of her mouth, because she was speaking so quietly that it was barely in his audible range even while standing almost right next to the conversation.
“Long ‘s it pays for work, I can fill that part as well,” Sky replied jovially with a snicker. Then, her gaze slowly snuck downwards towards the holstered weapon on Shida’s hip. “Would need someone to ‘and me a gun, though.”
In a more genuinve movement of emotion, Shida gave a scoffing chuckle through her teeth.
“Keep dreaming,” she replied to the cheeky doe before her. James could already tell that this was going to be an oh so fun evening…

Hi cool cooks,
I wonder if anyone can help me with this, though I feel a little silly asking. Does anyone have any tips for getting one's sweet potatoes cooked thoroughly, so they're nice texture-wise, but such that their sugars are NOT caramelized? I can do it with a microwave, but the problem with microwaves is that sometimes you manage to steam out way more of the moisture than intended and end up with a gross dry texture. When I get it right, the taste is exactly what I'm looking for and the texture is moist but not wet, with a smooth creaminess.
I've tried roasting them, but that produces a very caramelized flavor that I fully recognize many people really like and seek to achieve, but I find them to be too sweet that way. I tried boiling them whole in their skins, and got less caramelization but still more than I wanted, and the resulting potato flesh was wetter than I liked. I tried steaming in an instant pot, but once again, that deeper more nuanced flavor is there and I just want my plain cooked but not otherwise chemically-altered sweet potato taste.
Anyone have any ideas?

Howdy, long time buyer first time seller. Unfortunately SHTF for me financially in the past week due to being furloughed (and will stay that way for some time), and I need to sell of just about everything airsoft related I have bought since the new year. I'm effectively treating my situation as a quitting airsoft thing (if you can count not even playing a single game as being in airsoft) and plan to gradually list more and more as time goes til I'm recalled to work or things go even further south. Unless picked up 2nd hand (will specify if it has been), everything has been a catch and release, nothing has ever been fielded, just plinked around with and fired a few shots to make sure internals were working. Can provide more pics or firing videos if requested. Unfortunately I don't have a chrono, so I am unable to provide up to date FPS measurements. Since I'm cash strapped, prices aren't exactly firm and might not include costs of shipping (been selling on eBay recently, shipping is insane a lot of the time, especially for heavier things like airsoft would be).
https://imgur.com/a/q8kSpn2
OspreyScopes Pistol Red Dot Sight - $90 - great little red dot for pistols. Worked great for my MP5k and I think it would be great for a P90 as well.
KSC CO2 Mini Uzi - $130 - Catch and release from this subreddit, have only had it less than a month. This is for the airsoft version and not the dangerous airgun version. Has seen some use and has cosmetic wear around the charging slide and mag. The mag is boneyard, the feeding lip at the top is chipped and won't feed into the gun. The CO2 casing is dented and the screw is kind of stripped. It can screw back in but not without difficulty. I have been able to test the GBB system since this is open bolt, and man it would be so much fun to use, it does kickback a good bit even from dry firing. As a disclaimer, I do believe the internals of the gun are functioning and that it's only the mag that is causing it to not fire. If you buy this from me, you must understand that if you buy/have a new mag for this gun and it still doesn't fire that I was none the wiser and not my fault.
WE Tech G18C Gen 4 w/ upgrades - $120 - Another catch and release from this subreddit. Includes the gun, extra rear grip, x2 23 rd GG mags. Unfortunately the original post for the gun is gone, so I do not have specifics about what was changed, however I do believe all the internals had been changed before, save maybe the trigger (a trigger was a bit mushy from my experience). The gun shot perfectly before, however the pin for the mag release came undone and I haven't been able to get it back into place, so I'm unable to load it or make a shooting video of this gun. Extended mags are pictured however those have sold and aren't included. I'll toss in a propane adapter as well.
Replica ACOG - $80 - A great repro of an ACOG sight. Fiber optic is in working condition and has a great sight picture for longer ranges.
MAG 130rd M4 Midcap bundle - $70 - A lot of 8 STANAG midcaps in grey, never used, made of polymer. Not separating. Shipping included in the cost since they're lightweight.
*PENDING* Tokyo Mauri SPAS-12 w/ metal folding stock + extra shells - $320 - How about something you don't see everyday, a TM with the folding stock? The stock never had the hook at the end, but otherwise it's all complete. Great shotgun that is one of my favorites. It's practically brand new, however there is some cosmetic wear on the rear sight (from folding the stock over) and around the screw point on the stock. Includes 5 extra shells that are all functional and are different brands than TM, but have a fair bit of cosmetic wear on them.
G&G UMG High Cap mags - $70 - 3 UMG 530 round high cap mags. 2 are coupled together and can't be taken apart. Both of those have some dirt on them, the other mag has some silver sharpie written on it. I'll toss in an adapter for M4 style guns that apparently make these mags work with those.
OD Green gear lot - $200 - Price is for the whole lot. Might separate things if the price is right. Comes with plate carrier, triple pistol pouch, triple 5.56 pouch (open design without velcro), x5 UMP/P90 pouches, x1 admin pouch, x1 large dump pouch, hydration carrier (unused, never put on my mouth), x3 7.62/SCAM14 pouches (2 are still in plastic).
UCP gear lot - $250 - Price is for the whole lot. Might separate things if the price is right. Comes with plate carrier, triple AK pouch, x3 UMP/P90 pouches, x1 large mag holder (might be an admin pouch, it can hold 3 STANAG mags loosely), x1 large dump pouch, knee pads, elbow pads, goggles (full seal around eyes, MICH2000 helmet with UCP cover, beanie.
THE BELOW GUNS ARE GOING TO BE FOR LOCAL PICKUP ONLY. Since I don't expect to have much interest for local pickups, pics and timestamp will be by request. Can travel about half an hour or so from the 40509 area. I would love to be able to ship these, however I have been unable to find boxes that are long and only a few inches tall. If you have any suggestions to find them so I can ship them, I'm all ears.
VFC SCAR-H AEG (TAN) - $400 - fantastic externals and shoots great. Includes 1 tan high cap and 2 (hard to find) black midcaps, 2 rail covers in tan (they are kind of loose), and a foregrip. The gun is catch and release from the subreddit, the midcaps are brand new and never used. They are also official VFC mags and are made of a nice metal.
Golden Eagle M16A4 AEG - $100 - basically a pretty standard entry level gun. Comes with the original battery, carry handle, and 4 black rail covers made by different brands (the length is all the same). I swapped out the pistol grip for something a bit nicer, but isn't top of the line.
G&G F2000 - $300 - honestly this might be my favorite gun externally, the polymer is top of the line. This is the tactical version of the gun, without the fancy scope. There is a bit of sticker residue from those lovely compliance stickers, but otherwise brand new. This is the 2nd gen version where it has an ETU in it.
Cybergun FAMAS - $100 - I think I had this for a couple of weeks now? Is yet another catch and release from this subreddit. It's a pretty nifty gun, and while not higher end like the SCAR, it seems like it would be fun to field. Includes a high cap, a midcap, and the bipod. Has a bit of scuffing on it, but nothing major.
CYMA AK47 CM.050A - $250 - Absolutely fantastic polymer on the outside, and it feels great to hold in my hands and shoulder. Internals seem pretty good too, it's a CYMA after all. Includes a foregrip and waffle high cap mag. The orange flash hider was glued on funny a

Seems like ReddX enjoyed the last story he narrated, and people here seem to want more... Far be it from me to deny you that all-too-enticing hit of cringe, so we'll get after is again today. Before we do though, I'd like to invite you into my head. It might help explain my reaction (or lack of one) to the previous dating nightmare. I was young, I was raised by alcoholic parents, and I was taught that speaking up about anything only brings trouble.
I don't need pity, I've been to therapy and moved past it for the most part, it's simply to shed some light on why I remained so passive through these events. Truth be told, this series of strange and awful dates slowly helped to bring me out of the shell that I'd built for myself, so it was all happening for a reason I guess... but we aren't there quite yet.
Dean was the worst date, but he wasn't the first date that I subjected to myself from Tinder. No, that honor belongs to Ben the Bellybutton Boy. Cast lists are unnecessary, TLDR is at the end. Let's get the cringe-train rolling.
Ben's profile wasn't very intricate. A single line about wanting something meaningful, which doesn't hold much water for me anymore... but I was 18 and naïve. Some might say that I was also fairly shallow. In one picture he was drinking a Natty Ice, in another he had on a backwards hat. I was close to swiping left on yet another bro-dude and carrying on... But then I got one look at Ben with his shirt off and I was hooked.
It might be a catfish, but for a body like that? I was more than willing to take my shot. Suffice to say, that he was a gorgeous human being. I should've been looking more than skin deep though, because Ben had some deep dark secrets. He did match with me though, and I was super flattered. We had a meandering conversation. I learned that he loves his mom, and is absolutely terrified of horror movies. Those things will come into play later. He didn't seem to have much to say that was interesting or clever, but I let it all slide. Ben's abs were blinders, a 3 pack on each side.
He seemed to push for a meetup rather fast, which usually made me go ghost in the few Tinder conversations I'd had before... But I thought to myself that now I was finally ready for an actual date with an internet stranger. Maybe he was way more interesting in person. (He was interesting, but not in the way that I'd hoped.) The fact that his body was chiseled from granite-turned-flesh had nothing to do with my decision. Again, isn't it funny the lies that we tell ourselves?
Ben wanted me to come over to his place and stupidly, I agreed to do so. We'd only been talking for about a week, and now I was going to deliver myself to his front door? Walk right into the wolf-den and hope for the best? God... I swear, I'd love to shake the living shit out of my past-self... but I truly didn't know better at the time. Maybe we would actually watch some Netflix and chill? Could he actually be looking for something meaningful?
Ben's place was in a lower-middle-class section of the LA outskirts. At the time, I thought it looked pretty busted but compared to some of my later encounters? It wasn't the worst house. Sort of non-descript and uninteresting, but well-maintained... much like Ben himself, I suppose. I scoped it out for a few minutes. Surfboards on the porch, a few potted plants, a bench-seat out front. It seemed very normal, so I collected myself, headed up to the front door, and knocked.
Ben answered and he was all smiles. He lifted my arm above my head and I gave him a little twirl. After a wolf-whistle, he commented that he'd like to see something that showed a bit more of my midriff. He gestured for me to show my stomach to him, and I did. I didn't mind. I put work into it. A strong body starts with a strong core. Ben seemed satisfied. Maybe a bit more than that in hindsight. His eyes devoured me, but he was a hunk. So I didn't mind. His predatory nature would soon be revealed to me, but I had no idea what I was in for quite yet. Instead, I let him scoop me up into a hug before he invited me inside.
The house was sort of bohemian. Lots of incense holders and dreamcatchers. Definitely not the sort of thing I'd pick, but he was a stoner-surfer bro-dude. Maybe all of this stuff was just evidence of a more sensitive side to him? I asked about some of the knick-knacks, just trying to initiate idle conversation and maybe dig past the surface level. It worked a bit. He ended up telling me about spending time in India. He seemed to harbor a lot of disdain for the country. Said people were shitting all in the streets and he couldn't find clean water anywhere. "It's like Mexico with way more poop and a few less beheadings."
I laughed. The line wasn't that funny, but the laugh also served to diffuse some of the tense atmosphere that had been created after endless jabs about everything from the caste system to the "dirty" street food and everything in between. He didn't overly-focus on a lack of attention from women, but it was mentioned. I made a mental note. Ben definitely had some entitlement issues, and with that rage simmering below the surface? It could be an explosive combination. I made a note to mind my P's and Q's and shifted the subject, asking what he had planned for Netflix.
He led me to the couch without answering and handed me the remote. "I'll leave that up to you. I've gotta finish preparing the feast." There had been a couple of red-flags so far, but nothing that would make me go screaming into the night. At least, not yet. I hit 'surprise me' on Netflix, and Ben came back into the room with a platter covered in fish. They were sardines. Even before my seafood surprise from part 1, I wasn't a huge fan of fish. Ben saw the look on my face and presumed that he should explain his dining choices. I really wish that he hadn't.
"I try to eat sardines and pineapple almost exclusively because I'm load-maxxing." he said with a nod.
I thought it was a weight-lifting term, and I just sort of nodded right back... but my face must've still look quizzical because he continued.
"You know how some male porn stars can shoot like the biggest loads of jizz? I think that's super hot, and I wanna be able to do that... But also have it taste good too. Not that I'm gay or anything, I don't eat my own cum like some [redacted] but I just think it's super sexy when a girl is enjoying herself. I'm also taking selenium supplements too and it's totally working. I can fill up a whole shot glass now. Before I started load-maxxing it was just like, this sad little poot of semen... But now I'm shooting ropes of the stuff! I might show you later, if you're lucky."
I frowned and shook my head, but I don't think he took much notice of it as he went to work obliterating those smelly, oily little fishies. I didn't speak up, but like any sane person... I knew at this point that I was wrong about my assessment aaand it was time to make my escape. However, due to the constraints of the social contract that we've all unwillingly signed, I'd need to bide my time and find the proper strategy. I definitely didn't want to have this jizzed up meathead explode in my face, if you'll excuse the pun. You don't just declare war, y'know? You prime the press, you square things with the UN, you make up your reasons.
The 'surprise me' movie that I can't remember rolled on, and he offered me the fish-plate. I politely declined. My brain was occupied with the perfect exit, and hunger is a decent motivator. When you combine that with the unpredictable meatball that I was seated next to? I should've been launching off that couch like a rocket. Truth be told? I should've just blitzed the front door and not bothered to explain myself. He might get upset, but I'd be safe in the car... But then I wouldn't have this story to share.
Eventually, the sardines all went to meet poopoo-Jesus and he leaned back on the couch. He snaked his hand onto my shoulder and pulled me backwards. I wasn't in the mood to cuddle so I'd scoot away, then he'd inch closer. I hated every second of this awkward little dance, but the strangeness got turned up to 11 when I hit the edge of the couch... And he started running his oily unwashed fish-fingers around my bellybutton. I squirmed away and stood up. I told him that this was all getting to be a little bit too much, too soon... but Bellybutton Boy wasn't about to let me escape that easily.
He stood up in that same moment and blocked the walkway to the front door. He asked me to please sit back down while at the same time 'guiding' me by the shoulders. He was far too forceful for my liking. It was a gentle pull into his arm, a gentle push back into the couch... But this was our first date. I've seen things like this before between my own parents. This toolbox is one bad argument away from throwing a cinderblock at the back of my head. I took a deep breath and used my go-to tactic of avoiding conflict at that time: submission.
As I sat back onto the couch, he dropped to his knees. I was expecting the worst to happen, but instead he started to baby-talk me... Which is still pretty fucking bad.
"Does wittle Dawnie want to see baby Ben's tongue? I can wick your wittle bewwybutton. Then maybe we can go pway wiff somefing ewse. My woad is about to expwode..."
I still wonder if he meant for it to rhyme. It was effective, in a way. I still remember those words many years later. The thousand-yard stare, I had adopted as my defense, started to gaze through time and space. Trying to find any reality that wasn't this one. Just because my body was stuck there, didn't mean that my brain had to be... So I disconnected as much as possible, but even Terri Schiavo would take notice of the horror that would befall me next.
I suppose baby Ben the bellybutton bully boy took my silence and disaffected staring at the ceiling as consent, because he lifted my shirt enough to expose my bellybutton. The first this he did was give it a really deep sniff before letting out a satisfied "ohhhh yeahhhh". Was he looking for a good scent? A bad one? Was he just THAT excited to unveil the mysterious allure of a teenage navel? The debate rages on until this very day. It doesn't matter much, because he didn't stop at smelling it.
His tongue slipped into that umbilical scar and started to explore. I never wanted this. I didn't consent at any point, but I didn't outright say "NO" either. I've unpacked this experience with multiple therapists. I think what I remember most vividly was looking down and seeing his oily fish lips. They were sucking on my stomach like my navel was the last source of oxygen on the planet. I recall seeing his tongue, covered in the desiccated and masticated remains of a sardine meal, fishing around for whatever the hell it was he wanted. He kept muttering to himself between spelunking expeditions, weird shit like "ooo baby wike your bewwy" and "mama make benny's peepee so hawd".
The cringe-meter was redlining, and I finally realized that he wasn't going to stop unless I made him stop. I told him that I had to pee, and that he should PLEASE drink some water. I was hoping it might wash away some of the sardine leftovers, if I really did need to come back. At this point, my plan was to bail out the bathroom window. Until I got to the bathroom and saw that the window was only about 6 inches tall. Just enough to air out sardine-and-selenium-laden ploppers, but not enough to do me any good.
I must've stood in that bathroom for 20 minutes or so. There was no escape. If I wanted out, I'd need to go through. Just as a reminder from the universe, every once in a while I'd hear Ben let out a large belch. At least he was washing his fishy mouth out. I steeled myself and headed back into the living room. I lied that I had a text from my mom and had to leave, but Ben wrapped his arms around me and begged to finish our date. I could clearly smell beer on his breath. Memories of dear old dad must've kicked in, because I found myself agreeing to sit on the couch again.
He continued rubbing his stale-beer-smelling mouth all over my stomach, except this time there was the added benefit of pauses to burp every so often. "Isn't dat so funny? Doesn't dat sound wike a echo mama?" I truly did want to die in that moment. I had to find some way to at least pump the brakes, if not bail out completely. I squirmed away from him, again. I told him this was moving too fast, again. He didn't ignore me this time. So I suggested that we watch a new movie. This time I chose a Chucky movie. Either he would get scared and give me an out, or I'd pretend to be scared and make the exit for myself.
If I knew how he'd actually react, I might not have taken this measure. The moment the movie started, Ben was immobilized. He had stopped trying to molest my bellybutton. All he did was apply a nervous death-grip the arm of the sofa. I asked if he was OK, but he insisted he was fine. He was not fine however, and after the first onscreen murder I looked over to see tears rolling down his cheeks.
This was my moment. It was either act like a cold-hard bitch, or continue being assaulted. I asked incredulously, "ARE YOU CRYING??" He nodded and started his whining baby-talk, but he didn't follow me as I leapt from the couch, called him a sissy, and flung the front door open. I quickly walked to my car. My brain had second thoughts, but I turned the key in the ignition. I legitimately wanted things to work with Ben. I would've been mommy. Whatever. But he didn't ask for consent at any point and was overly-pushy about everything he wanted.
While I felt bad about doing that to Ben, and piling an unneeded insult on top of it... I felt much more delight than despair. This situation was headed for a place that I didn't want it to go, and I was able to scratch and claw my way back to freedom. The bellybutton boy had unveiled his Achilles heel as a silly talking point, and I thanked my lucky stars that I was able to use that to my advantage. He could've flown into a rage over it, but he didn't. The guardian angel on my shoulder was working overtime on that day, I have no doubts about that. Looking back, should I have called the cops and reported him? Probably. Instead, I just thanked my lucky stars and tried to move past it in my own way...
You'd think that would be the end of this tale, but there was a follow-up to the bad date. Remember when I mentioned that Ben was close to his mother? Well, she charged into battle in defense of her little bellybutton man... I answered the first time she called. I wouldn't make that mistake again. She accused me of abusing her special boy, she threatened me with everything from death to lawsuits, she slung every curse under the sun at me. After 5 minutes, I realized I was trying to talk sense into a lunatic and blocked her number.
Bellybutton matriarch wasn't done yet though... I would get sporadic VOIP calls for weeks afterwards. She contacted my job to report me. She attempted to harass MY mom and every other contact she could find. I suppose that's the unfortunate part of social media. I explained to everyone what had happened and they all agreed that she was completely unhinged. Luckily, it seemed like her harassment was confined to the internet. I went dark for a month, and I guess she found a new target. Ben wouldn't have trouble getting more dates, even if he was a certified navel-gazer.
It was at this point that I swore off of Tinder for the first time. That wouldn't stop me from meeting up with maniacs though. My therapist says that I demonstrate a concerning amount of thrill-seeking behavior, and that these encounters are a manifestation of that. While I don't disagree 100%, I still think I overanalyze and avoid uncertainty in a lot of other areas of my life. Maybe the comments will let me know how they feel about that diagnosis?
Speaking of therapy... In hindsight, I can absolutely see how that insane woman could've produced a self-absorbed, baby-talking dunderhead. If you look at it through that frame? Then the tale of Ben the bellybutton boy takes on a much more depressing tone. He's like a modern-day Frankenstein... but he does still bear some responsibility for his actions. At least, that's what I tell myself when I start feeling guilty.
I did manage to stay off Tinder for a while, but in our next installment we are headed to Craigslist for a real treat. Be afraid. Those are tales for another day though... Thanks to ReddX if he reads this. Please subscribe to him on YouTube if ya haven't. I'll see you again next time my little Tinderlings.
-Dawn
TL;DR Lunatic lugnut baby-talks my bellybutton with his fish-lips.

My hair depicts all typical signs of being curly. It's frizzy when combed, even frizzier when hit by moisture, curls at the ends when wet. If I put in curl products/use a curly routine, it does curl, but never holds those curls for more than a few hours. It just, looks bad by default no matter what i do or put in. Help people

(This was longer than I intended; there is a TL; DR at the end.)
I think Marvel Strike Force is a great game. I will 100% stand by that belief. The problem is Scopely. And by Scopely, I don’t mean the devs or the community managers. When I say Scopely, I mean the decision-makers.
The problem with Marvel Strike Force is that Scopely does not seem to make any genuine effort to design the best game that they can. They seem to have no interest in making a game that is simultaneously fun, thoroughly QA’d, and extremely profitable.
Instead, Scopely seems to take almost the opposite approach. Scopely’s goal seems to be to try and make the game just not quite bad enough for players to quit, and make money by any means (regardless the cost to product quality or players’ experiences).
The last few years it feels like Scopely has increasingly designed this game to have an adversarial relationship with their players/customers. Too often, I have felt like the challenge in MSF was dealing with Scopely obstacles, not game content.
Information and events are so unnecessarily convoluted. Scopely is actively trying to make the game less approachable, if not outright sabotaging players and/or alliances from being successful. Moreover, many of these events feel like mindless, low quality screen time designed solely to coerce us to hoard/spend resources how Scopely tells us and when.
Lately, new content seems crafted almost solely for the purpose of making old teams prematurely obsolete and sell new teams (that pretty much come with shorter and shorter expiration dates). From the Incursion raids to seasonal room buffs, Scopely has made their intentions abundantly clear.
The latest example is players need 20 g18 non-horsemen characters to complete dd6. For the last entire year, players spent money and time unlocking and building horsemen. Yet, Scopely went out of their way to make sure the horsemen would be completely obsolete for the purpose of gaining access to dd6 content.
Maybe all of this allows Scopely to make a lot of money, but it makes for a horrible customer and playing experience. When I play other games like Marvel Snap, I feel appreciated. My time, my money, and my playing experience all feel appreciated. I feel like Scopely appreciates none of these.
For the record, I want MSF to make money. I am proud when I see the game is doing well. But at the end of the day, this product is supposed to be a live service mobile game. That means things like QA and fun should be more than just punchlines and lip service.
TL; DR - Some jobs pay just enough so employees don’t quit. Scopely has taken that philosophy into mobile gaming. They try to design MSF to be just not quite bad enough for players to choose the option of quitting.

Author note: The Cryopod to Hell is a Reddit-exclusive story with over three years of editing and refining. As of this post, the total rewrite is 1,937,000+ words long! For more information, check out the link below:
What is the Cryopod to Hell?
Join the Cryoverse Discord server!
Here's a list of all Cryopod's chapters, along with an ePub/Mobi/PDF version!
Want to stay up to date on TCTH? Subscribe to Cryopodbot!
...................................
(Previous Part)
(Part 001)
...
Two hundred and fifty miles. A long walk under normal circumstances, and certainly not a distance any person would trek if they didn't have to. Today, such a voyage feels ten times worse for Hell's elites, given the situation that begins to arise.
Yardrat leads the Mephisto Assault Force competently. As a vice-leader of the strongest Hell, he is no slouch when it comes to killing or commanding others. Despite having his spatial powers heavily suppressed, he still presents a lethal cocktail of destruction, able to dish out ridiculous levels of damage by turning his unstable spatial abilities into destructive attacks aimed at the weak points of Glinch's aberrants.
The problem is, as the assault force begins to push toward the center of the Stitched Wasteland, they meet far heavier resistance than they anticipated.
Originally, Auger planned to have the assault force move slowly, picking off enemies, one by one. But unexpectedly, Glinch decides not to play by the rules, and his minions begin deliberately approaching the demon elites in twos and threes.
At first, this horrifies Yardrat and the others, but they quickly realize the creatures Glinch sends aren't all merely the strongest aberrants he's ever made. Instead, they represent a diverse set of skills, strengths, and weaknesses tailored to the hunting party.
The first two monsters they fought were the Brute and the Snakedra. The next three end up being creatures that even the Dukes in the party can deal damage to, somewhat, but they end up forced to split into three groups to deal with these new enemies.
"Glinch, that bastard!" Emperor Fae yells. "He's toying with us!"
"He's treating us like an experiment." Yardrat says coldly, as he, Crow, and Fae take turns whaling on the strongest of the three monsters. "This is little more than a game in his eyes."
At the same time, Bael, Dagon, and ten Demon Dukes battle a slippery gelatin-like monster that breaks apart when struck and melts together, as if made of slime.
"Gross!" Bael moans. "It keeps stickin' to Big Bonk like glue!"
Dagon blasts it with corrosive chemicals, causing it to melt and reform. "It won't stay dead!"
The third monster ends up being a replicator-type entity, a mid-level elite on the weaker end of the Emperor spectrum that Nymph, Kristoff, Serena, and Melody have to battle with their own complement of Dukes.
Serena uses her powers lightly on the Dukes around her, boosting them to the bottom of the Emperor tier, temporarily upgrading their abilities without straining their bodies too heavily. She also sends Soul Webs to the minds of the others, linking their thoughts so they can better coordinate their attacks on the creature.
The multiplying monster boasts a ridiculous regenerative capability on par with Beelzebub, as well as the power to occasionally split its body in half, with the new form possessing the same level of strength as its original form.
In this battle, Kristoff's two Dukes end up shining the brightest. Vespera, the Duke of Gloom, and Rhesus, the Duke of Predation, both of them upgraded to the lowest level of the Emperor hierarchy by Serena's magic.
Vespera. A vicious and violent demoness with powers somewhat reminiscent of not only Kristoff's fallen wife, Fenrir, but certain abilities that echo those of the once-mighty Emperor Lucifer. Able to summon legions of darkness-imbued minions, as well as the ability to lock enemy minds within prisons of nightmares, the Duke of Gloom is a person Kristoff has high hopes for, especially if she manages to ascend to the rank of Emperor.
Her appearance is quite seductive. She wears skimpy robes that only technically shroud her skin from sight, though their semi-transparent nature leaves little to the imagination. Most notably, one of Vespera's defining traits is her utter lack of the red skin characterized by most demons. Hers is light blue, for she is actually a Satyr, one of the few that still survive to the modern era. Were someone to try and make a move on Vespera, they might find that despite being beautiful, she is a cruel and blackhearted woman who enjoys tormenting the minds of lesser beings.
As for Rhesus, he is a demon who focuses purely on the brutal nature of killing and slaughter. As the Duke of Predation, he combines the features of vampires and werewolves into one body, allowing himself to gain power by devouring the blood, skin, and bones of his enemies. His strength might not match up to that of Emperors Belial or Crow, but his ability to take a beating and continue enduring grants him longevity in battles that would leave any other Duke dead. He proved this by surviving the battle against the Cherubiim while the rest of the Third Hell's Dukes perished.
Rhesus wears a set of finely crafted demonstone armor, plated with a thin layer of silver to give it a metallic sheen. His glowing red eyes speak to the hunger in his heart, and the Slaughter Blade affixed to his right gauntlet ensures he is always ready to end the lives of those he hates. Much like Emperor Wolfram, Duke Rhesus has an animalistic werewolf-like appearance, but unlike Wolfram, he also sports vampiric fangs, demonstrating that he is the offspring of two different demonic subspecies. Every movement Rhesus makes speaks to his killing nature.
Vespera, temporarily evolved to the rank of Emperor, conjures dozens of shadowy monsters to attack and bind the bodies of the Replicator aberrant. She attacks the creature with a giant halberd made of pure darkness, keeping out of its range to slash and cut it while infecting its wounds with corrosive miasma.
Rhesus, on the other hand, brawls up close and personal, taking on the same role as Crow and Bael in the other two parties. When the Replicator beats and batters him with its club-like fists, Rhesus only grins maniacally, biting at its shoulders and hips to rip off its limbs. He greedily devours whole chunks of the chimera's body, swallowing them to boost his own strength in the smallest ways.
"Delicious!" Rhesus roars. "High quality food for this Emperor!"
The aberrant silently snaps its fist at Rhesus, battering his head and knocking him back half a step. He immediately returns the favor with a brutal punch to the monster's stomach, doubling it over while running his single gauntlet-blade through its gut.
"Nice hit! Here's my retort!"
Rhesus sweeps his arm to the right, and then the left, slicing the creature in half. He pounces on its severed body, ripping it apart with his teeth and claws, spraying blood everywhere. As he greedily devours the monster, two more copies replicate and lunge at him from both sides.
"Rhesus, you glutton. Pay attention." Vespera says with a frown. She aims her palm at one of the newly replicated copies and fires a shockwave of darkness at it, sending it flying backward. The creature hits the ground headfirst and spins, landing in a sprawled-out heap.
As for the other copy, Rhesus leaps and rams his fist into its chin, uppercutting it into the air while also shattering its jawbone.
"Not today!"
Emperor Melody finds that, unlike the Brute from earlier, she can actually deal heavy damage and even kill this replicating aberrant, but no matter how fast she does, the creature always manages to copy itself multiple times from its other living selves, defying every law of energy conservation.
BOOM! BOOM!
Melody sends dual shockwaves of concussive force into the bodies of two Replicators, making them shudder and freeze, while allowing other Emperors to land killing blows. Nymph swings a giant log of magically hardened wood at the head of one monster, crushing it into meat paste. Kristoff rams his fingers into the other one's heart and sucks its blood dry, leaving behind only a desiccated husk.
"How does it keep conjuring so many clones?" Kristoff asks, bewildered. "And each one is as strong as the others! Is this aberrant secretly a Wordsmith?!"
He doesn't receive an answer. None of the others know. However, as they fight on, they become more attuned to one another through Serena's Soul Web. They move more in unison and adjust their teamwork to kill the Replicators faster than they can duplicate themselves.
Eventually, Melody delivers the final blow on the last remaining duplicate, blowing its body apart with a grenade-like explosion of sound, causing viscous chunks to splatter her comrades. To their utter relief, after killing more than a hundred of the duplicating freaks, no others appear.
Kristoff's squad rushes over to help finish off the other two deviants in Yardrat and Bael's squads, only to arrive just in time for both to kill off their respective foes.
"Whew!!" Bael exclaims, doubling over and gasping for air, every inch of his Matriarch Armor drenched in blood. "Oh, Satan the Devil! That was- aahhh... I need a breather, woo!"
He isn't the only Emperor out of breath. Sweat lines the foreheads of every single elite, except for Serena, whose support duties kept her out of the direct line of fire. Yardrat's body shakes from exhaustion. Crow's biceps pulse fiercely with adrenaline-fueled blood. Vespera's bloodshot eyes tell a story regarding how much mana she's expended.
"We've only killed five monsters!" Nymph exclaims, her beautiful red skin glistening with sweat. She conjures a handful of leaves to daintily dab and dry herself off. "Just five! How could Glinch's minions be so powerful?"
Bael lifts his head. He looks toward the distant center of the Stitched Wasteland.
"Woo... ho-boy, not gonna lie, fellas. I don't know how many more of those I've got in me."
"We have to keep pressing on." Yardrat says through gritted teeth. "Can't you feel the slow thickening of mana in the air? Mephisto's time to ascend must be arriving soon!"
The other elites grimace. They look toward the center of the Stitched Wasteland, fearing they won't have energy to make it there, let alone ultimately kill Mephisto.
"Let's take a five-minute breather." Kristoff suggests, recovering from his exertion a bit faster thanks to the vitality of his blood. "But keep on your guard. It's clear Glinch isn't going to make things easy for us."
The other elites nod. Nobody sits down, but they all stand in place, steadying their breathing and borrowing leaves from Nymph to dry their sweaty bodies off. Even Bael temporarily removes his armor to dab himself dry.
One demon is the exception, though.
Now reverted back to his Duke form, Rhesus greedily bites and chews at the corpses of Glinch's fallen monsters. He hungrily rips them apart like a wolf that hasn't eaten meat in ten years. Some of the more squeamish demons curl up their lips in disgust, while Vespera and Kristoff appear unmoved. They've long grown used to his ways.
Suddenly, Rhesus looks at Bael.
"Hey!"
Bael looks back at him. "What?"
Rhesus points to the corpse of the slime-creature Bael helped kill. "You gonna eat that?"
Bael slowly shakes his head. He nudges it toward Rhesus with his foot, then takes a step back. "Nah, bro. Uh, help yourself. I'm................... full."
"Great!" Rhesus yells, rushing over to chew and slurp up the slimey remains of the once-human-shaped creature Bael ultimately helped slay.
"Some fellas..." Bael murmurs, looking away.
As Rhesus takes these precious five minutes to ravenously devour Glinch's subordinates, Yardrat suddenly looks up in the sky. "Bloody hell! How long has that been there?!"
The others, except Rhesus, follow his gaze.
"What the-?!" Bael exclaims.
"What is it?" Melody asks.
Serena, unable to make out anything but a glowing mass of mana, blinks her unseeing eyes. "A physical description would be nice."
Nymph rests her hand on Serena's shoulder. "It's an... egg. A flesh-colored egg."
"By flesh-colored, you mean...?"
"Sorry. Demon-flesh-colored. Red." Nymph clarifies.
The egg hovers in the sky for only five seconds before suddenly rushing downward toward the demon elites. They quickly raise their fists and weapons, ready for battle, as it crashes into the dirt a hundred meters away.
The egg cracks open. Its shell explodes into fragments, spilling a disgusting green liquid all over the dirt, the stench of which makes many of the elites want to puke.
"Oh, that's awful!" Bael whines, before reactivating his Matriarch Armor so he won't have to suffer the foul odor.
As a cloud of thick green gas evaporates, a bipedal creature steps out of the crumbled egg's remains. Its sleek, moist body makes it resemble a fish. Its mottled green skin makes it appear as if it were born of the forest, a soil-based life-form coated in viscous fluids.
But strangely, its faceless head makes it feel... alien.
Upon seeing this new threat, one demon loses all their color.
Emperor Melody's pupils shrink to pinpricks. A cold chill sweeps across her skin as she immediately takes a step back. "No... no, no, no..."
The other Emperor glance at her in confusion, then back at the monster.
"What is it, Melody?" Kristoff asks quietly, as the creature remains standing in the distance, not yet moving toward them.
"P-P-Pla... Plague..." Melody whispers, a lump in her throat making it hard for her to speak. "That's- that's a- a- K-K-Kuh-Kolvax...ian..."
The temperature around the elites seems to plummet ten degrees. They look at the monster in horror.
"No.. Glinch wouldn't..." Yardrat whispers. "He'd never go this far..."
As the Emperors and Dukes remain standing, uncertain of what to do, the creature's head changes.
Its faceless facade morphs. A line spreads across the middle, where its nose would normally be. The Emperors become unsettled as a giant mouth begins to materialize, filled with shark-like teeth.
"Not....... Quite....." The 'Kolvaxian' says.
The voice that escapes the creature's mouth causes Yardrat to frown. He recognizes it immediately.
"Glinch? Is that you?"
The monster doesn't speak for several seconds.
When it does, it only utters one slow, halting word.
"........Yes."
"What is this?" Yardrat asks. "Did you... did YOU create the Kolvaxians?!"
The monster slightly cocks its head.
"No."
A pause.
"Pale. Imitation." It says.
"Imitation?" Yardrat repeats. "You're trying to copy the Kolvaxians? Why?!"
The creature once again remains motionless for several seconds. Emperor Serena frowns. She detects a faint microburst of mana rising from the ground, entering the monster's body.
"Because." The monster says, its voice still very much an eerie copy of Glinch's voice. "Curiosity."
It pauses.
"Must... Investigate. Many... Mysteries."
"Are you protecting Mephisto?" Yardrat asks. "Don't you see? If you let him ascend, he'll kill you! He's an enemy to all demonkind!"
The fake Kolvaxian 'smiles', its creepy, wide mouth curving up at the far corners.
"Enemy. Demons. Yes. Me? No. Insurance."
Abruptly, the Kolvax-clone leans forward, and a look of pain spreads over its face. Before the other demons can figure out what's going on, the creature makes a strange motion with its stomach.
"Gurr... gurrk... BLERK!"
It vomits green liquid all over the ground, and a hundred tiny marbles filled with mana land amidst the vomit, all of them glowing red visible to the naked eye.
The monster returns to its standing position, that same creepy smile on its face.
"Here. Present."
"What?" Kristoff asks, looking at those marbles of mana.
"Present." The Kolvax-clone says. "For. You."
"Whoaaa," Bael says, "you don't expect us to... eat those. Do you?"
"Beneficial." Glinch says. "Healing. Restoration."
"You're out of your mind." Serena says, narrowing her eyes. "You're mad, Glinch."
"No." Glinch says. "Not... Mad. Curious. Survive. Face... Me. Become... Stronger. Mephisto... Hungers."
The demons watch, stone-faced, as the pseudo-Kolvaxian begins to descend into the dirt, allowing the decrepit soil of the Stitched Wasteland to swallow it whole. It melts into the dirt in the same way as the Kolvaxians have always done, causing Melody's shivering to intensify.
"...can't just be a copy...." Melody mumbles, her shrunken pupils gazing in horror at the facsimile of the creatures that tore her Hell apart.
When it vanishes, all of the Emperors become quiet. Yardrat cautiously approaches the mana-infused pellets, then scoops them all up in his hands and walks back to the others.
Yardrat glances at the faces of the other demons. He holds the pills up, allowing them to look at the blood-colored beads of highly condensed mana.
"Well?" Yardrat asks. "Thoughts?"
Rhesus, having finished devouring the blood, skin, and bones of Yama's monsters, cracks his neck. "I don't know what those are. I'll pass."
"Serena?" Yardrat asks, looking at the Emperor of Soul Whispers.
"These pills are not harmful." Serena says, though her expression appears grim. "In fact, they're highly beneficial. They will restore our mana reserves and replenish our fighting capabilities quickly. There is no harm in taking one."
Despite the confidence in her statement, nobody moves to grab a single pill.
"The problem being?" Yardrat asks, still gazing at Serena.
"It should be obvious." Serena says, pressing her teeth together tightly. "Think of the message this sends us. Glinch doesn't take us seriously as a threat. He's worried we'll be defeated and die to his minions too easily. He wants us to fight in our optimal condition."
Kristoff sniffs the pellets. "There's more. These are infused with the blood of powerful monsters. They don't smell familiar to me. I bet Glinch obtained the blood through his Volgrim connections. The blood likely comes from exobeasts on Psion hunting worlds."
"Even I can guess what that means." Bael says. "These pills won't just bring us back to peak condition. They'll make us stronger."
"Especially the Dukes." Serena points out. "Glinch is... fattening us up."
"The fact he can create pills capable of uplifting demons is a statement in and of itself." Dagon says coldly. "It means he possesses an ability not unlike the Wordsmith's Belial Booster. He can create pills that will uplift lesser demons."
"This much should be expected." Kristoff retorts. "We've seen the strength of his minions. Pound for pound, each one is far stronger than any of us individual Emperors. He must have discovered a way to condense energy into these pills. If he wanted, he could... build an army."
"There's another player in the game." Yardrat mutters, glancing toward the center of the Stitched Wasteland. "He wants to compete with Auger."
"And Gorn." Serena says, glaring at Yardrat.
"Not so fast." Nymph says. "Aren't you guys forgetting? If Mephisto ascends, neither Auger nor Gorn will have the power to contend with him. In a galaxy where a Demon Deity reigns, Emperors will become mere minions. Glinch isn't telling us he wants to raise an army of loyal minions. He's never given a damn about ruling our people."
The other elites lower their heads, grimacing as they realize what she's saying.
"We're just... food." Vespera says quietly. "He intends to raise me and the other Dukes to Emperor... so Mephisto can... eat us."
As the elites stand around, no longer sure of what to do, Bael scratches his head.
"Welp! If you can't beat 'em, beat 'em off, that's what I always say! Gimme one of those pills!"
He snatches a a pill out of Yardrat's hand before the Emperor of the Void can react.
"Wait, Bael, we haven't determined-!" Yardrat starts to say, too slow to stop Bael.
"Nom!"
Bael casually removes his armor once again, pops the pill in his mouth, and swallows it. A second later, his demonic energy condenses, his fatigued body restores back to its pristine state, and his muscles bulge beneath his clothes.
"WOO! OH YEAH, BABY! That's that GOOD SHIT!"
A fire ignites in Bael's eyes. He roars to the sky and pumps his muscles, while steam pours from his nose.
"Oh MAN! WHOA! I could fight a bat! I could kick a dog! I feel AMAZING! You guys have GOTTA pop one of those bad boys!!"
Bael begins dancing around, full of hype. As he has the time of his life, the other demons frown.
"Is it just me, or..." Dagon mutters.
"Yeah." Yardrat says. "His breasts did get bigger."
Vespera blinks. "Give me a pill."
"Emperors first!" Fae exclaims.
While those two hastily grab themselves a pill, the other Emperors only decide to take theirs after seeing the effects of the pills on their comrades.
Emperor Serena glances at the spot where Glinch's fake Kolvaxian disappeared into the dirt.
This isn't a game. She thinks silently. We're balancing on the edge of a knife. One wrong move, and we'll fall to our doom.
....................................................
Artwork for Vespera!
Artwork for Rhesus!

Two hundred and fifty miles. A long walk under normal circumstances, and certainly not a distance any person would trek if they didn't have to. Today, such a voyage feels ten times worse for Hell's elites, given the situation that begins to arise.
Yardrat leads the Mephisto Assault Force competently. As a vice-leader of the strongest Hell, he is no slouch when it comes to killing or commanding others. Despite having his spatial powers heavily suppressed, he still presents a lethal cocktail of destruction, able to dish out ridiculous levels of damage by turning his unstable spatial abilities into destructive attacks aimed at the weak points of Glinch's aberrants.
The problem is, as the assault force begins to push toward the center of the Stitched Wasteland, they meet far heavier resistance than they anticipated.
Originally, Auger planned to have the assault force move slowly, picking off enemies, one by one. But unexpectedly, Glinch decides not to play by the rules, and his minions begin deliberately approaching the demon elites in twos and threes.
At first, this horrifies Yardrat and the others, but they quickly realize the creatures Glinch sends aren't all merely the strongest aberrants he's ever made. Instead, they represent a diverse set of skills, strengths, and weaknesses tailored to the hunting party.
The first two monsters they fought were the Brute and the Snakedra. The next three end up being creatures that even the Dukes in the party can deal damage to, somewhat, but they end up forced to split into three groups to deal with these new enemies.
"Glinch, that bastard!" Emperor Fae yells. "He's toying with us!"
"He's treating us like an experiment." Yardrat says coldly, as he, Crow, and Fae take turns whaling on the strongest of the three monsters. "This is little more than a game in his eyes."
At the same time, Bael, Dagon, and ten Demon Dukes battle a slippery gelatin-like monster that breaks apart when struck and melts together, as if made of slime.
"Gross!" Bael moans. "It keeps stickin' to Big Bonk like glue!"
Dagon blasts it with corrosive chemicals, causing it to melt and reform. "It won't stay dead!"
The third monster ends up being a replicator-type entity, a mid-level elite on the weaker end of the Emperor spectrum that Nymph, Kristoff, Serena, and Melody have to battle with their own complement of Dukes.
Serena uses her powers lightly on the Dukes around her, boosting them to the bottom of the Emperor tier, temporarily upgrading their abilities without straining their bodies too heavily. She also sends Soul Webs to the minds of the others, linking their thoughts so they can better coordinate their attacks on the creature.
The multiplying monster boasts a ridiculous regenerative capability on par with Beelzebub, as well as the power to occasionally split its body in half, with the new form possessing the same level of strength as its original form.
In this battle, Kristoff's two Dukes end up shining the brightest. Vespera, the Duke of Gloom, and Rhesus, the Duke of Predation, both of them upgraded to the lowest level of the Emperor hierarchy by Serena's magic.
Vespera. A vicious and violent demoness with powers somewhat reminiscent of not only Kristoff's fallen wife, Fenrir, but certain abilities that echo those of the once-mighty Emperor Lucifer. Able to summon legions of darkness-imbued minions, as well as the ability to lock enemy minds within prisons of nightmares, the Duke of Gloom is a person Kristoff has high hopes for, especially if she manages to ascend to the rank of Emperor.
Her appearance is quite seductive. She wears skimpy robes that only technically shroud her skin from sight, though their semi-transparent nature leaves little to the imagination. Most notably, one of Vespera's defining traits is her utter lack of the red skin characterized by most demons. Hers is light blue, for she is actually a Satyr, one of the few that still survive to the modern era. Were someone to try and make a move on Vespera, they might find that despite being beautiful, she is a cruel and blackhearted woman who enjoys tormenting the minds of lesser beings.
As for Rhesus, he is a demon who focuses purely on the brutal nature of killing and slaughter. As the Duke of Predation, he combines the features of vampires and werewolves into one body, allowing himself to gain power by devouring the blood, skin, and bones of his enemies. His strength might not match up to that of Emperors Belial or Crow, but his ability to take a beating and continue enduring grants him longevity in battles that would leave any other Duke dead. He proved this by surviving the battle against the Cherubiim while the rest of the Third Hell's Dukes perished.
Rhesus wears a set of finely crafted demonstone armor, plated with a thin layer of silver to give it a metallic sheen. His glowing red eyes speak to the hunger in his heart, and the Slaughter Blade affixed to his right gauntlet ensures he is always ready to end the lives of those he hates. Much like Emperor Wolfram, Duke Rhesus has an animalistic werewolf-like appearance, but unlike Wolfram, he also sports vampiric fangs, demonstrating that he is the offspring of two different demonic subspecies. Every movement Rhesus makes speaks to his killing nature.
Vespera, temporarily evolved to the rank of Emperor, conjures dozens of shadowy monsters to attack and bind the bodies of the Replicator aberrant. She attacks the creature with a giant halberd made of pure darkness, keeping out of its range to slash and cut it while infecting its wounds with corrosive miasma.
Rhesus, on the other hand, brawls up close and personal, taking on the same role as Crow and Bael in the other two parties. When the Replicator beats and batters him with its club-like fists, Rhesus only grins maniacally, biting at its shoulders and hips to rip off its limbs. He greedily devours whole chunks of the chimera's body, swallowing them to boost his own strength in the smallest ways.
"Delicious!" Rhesus roars. "High quality food for this Emperor!"
The aberrant silently snaps its fist at Rhesus, battering his head and knocking him back half a step. He immediately returns the favor with a brutal punch to the monster's stomach, doubling it over while running his single gauntlet-blade through its gut.
"Nice hit! Here's my retort!"
Rhesus sweeps his arm to the right, and then the left, slicing the creature in half. He pounces on its severed body, ripping it apart with his teeth and claws, spraying blood everywhere. As he greedily devours the monster, two more copies replicate and lunge at him from both sides.
"Rhesus, you glutton. Pay attention." Vespera says with a frown. She aims her palm at one of the newly replicated copies and fires a shockwave of darkness at it, sending it flying backward. The creature hits the ground headfirst and spins, landing in a sprawled-out heap.
As for the other copy, Rhesus leaps and rams his fist into its chin, uppercutting it into the air while also shattering its jawbone.
"Not today!"
Emperor Melody finds that, unlike the Brute from earlier, she can actually deal heavy damage and even kill this replicating aberrant, but no matter how fast she does, the creature always manages to copy itself multiple times from its other living selves, defying every law of energy conservation.
BOOM! BOOM!
Melody sends dual shockwaves of concussive force into the bodies of two Replicators, making them shudder and freeze, while allowing other Emperors to land killing blows. Nymph swings a giant log of magically hardened wood at the head of one monster, crushing it into meat paste. Kristoff rams his fingers into the other one's heart and sucks its blood dry, leaving behind only a desiccated husk.
"How does it keep conjuring so many clones?" Kristoff asks, bewildered. "And each one is as strong as the others! Is this aberrant secretly a Wordsmith?!"
He doesn't receive an answer. None of the others know. However, as they fight on, they become more attuned to one another through Serena's Soul Web. They move more in unison and adjust their teamwork to kill the Replicators faster than they can duplicate themselves.
Eventually, Melody delivers the final blow on the last remaining duplicate, blowing its body apart with a grenade-like explosion of sound, causing viscous chunks to splatter her comrades. To their utter relief, after killing more than a hundred of the duplicating freaks, no others appear.
Kristoff's squad rushes over to help finish off the other two deviants in Yardrat and Bael's squads, only to arrive just in time for both to kill off their respective foes.
"Whew!!" Bael exclaims, doubling over and gasping for air, every inch of his Matriarch Armor drenched in blood. "Oh, Satan the Devil! That was- aahhh... I need a breather, woo!"
He isn't the only Emperor out of breath. Sweat lines the foreheads of every single elite, except for Serena, whose support duties kept her out of the direct line of fire. Yardrat's body shakes from exhaustion. Crow's biceps pulse fiercely with adrenaline-fueled blood. Vespera's bloodshot eyes tell a story regarding how much mana she's expended.
"We've only killed five monsters!" Nymph exclaims, her beautiful red skin glistening with sweat. She conjures a handful of leaves to daintily dab and dry herself off. "Just five! How could Glinch's minions be so powerful?"
Bael lifts his head. He looks toward the distant center of the Stitched Wasteland.
"Woo... ho-boy, not gonna lie, fellas. I don't know how many more of those I've got in me."
"We have to keep pressing on." Yardrat says through gritted teeth. "Can't you feel the slow thickening of mana in the air? Mephisto's time to ascend must be arriving soon!"
The other elites grimace. They look toward the center of the Stitched Wasteland, fearing they won't have energy to make it there, let alone ultimately kill Mephisto.
"Let's take a five-minute breather." Kristoff suggests, recovering from his exertion a bit faster thanks to the vitality of his blood. "But keep on your guard. It's clear Glinch isn't going to make things easy for us."
The other elites nod. Nobody sits down, but they all stand in place, steadying their breathing and borrowing leaves from Nymph to dry their sweaty bodies off. Even Bael temporarily removes his armor to dab himself dry.
One demon is the exception, though.
Now reverted back to his Duke form, Rhesus greedily bites and chews at the corpses of Glinch's fallen monsters. He hungrily rips them apart like a wolf that hasn't eaten meat in ten years. Some of the more squeamish demons curl up their lips in disgust, while Vespera and Kristoff appear unmoved. They've long grown used to his ways.
Suddenly, Rhesus looks at Bael.
"Hey!"
Bael looks back at him. "What?"
Rhesus points to the corpse of the slime-creature Bael helped kill. "You gonna eat that?"
Bael slowly shakes his head. He nudges it toward Rhesus with his foot, then takes a step back. "Nah, bro. Uh, help yourself. I'm................... full."
"Great!" Rhesus yells, rushing over to chew and slurp up the slimey remains of the once-human-shaped creature Bael ultimately helped slay.
"Some fellas..." Bael murmurs, looking away.
As Rhesus takes these precious five minutes to ravenously devour Glinch's subordinates, Yardrat suddenly looks up in the sky. "Bloody hell! How long has that been there?!"
The others, except Rhesus, follow his gaze.
"What the-?!" Bael exclaims.
"What is it?" Melody asks.
Serena, unable to make out anything but a glowing mass of mana, blinks her unseeing eyes. "A physical description would be nice."
Nymph rests her hand on Serena's shoulder. "It's an... egg. A flesh-colored egg."
"By flesh-colored, you mean...?"
"Sorry. Demon-flesh-colored. Red." Nymph clarifies.
The egg hovers in the sky for only five seconds before suddenly rushing downward toward the demon elites. They quickly raise their fists and weapons, ready for battle, as it crashes into the dirt a hundred meters away.
The egg cracks open. Its shell explodes into fragments, spilling a disgusting green liquid all over the dirt, the stench of which makes many of the elites want to puke.
"Oh, that's awful!" Bael whines, before reactivating his Matriarch Armor so he won't have to suffer the foul odor.
As a cloud of thick green gas evaporates, a bipedal creature steps out of the crumbled egg's remains. Its sleek, moist body makes it resemble a fish. Its mottled green skin makes it appear as if it were born of the forest, a soil-based life-form coated in viscous fluids.
But strangely, its faceless head makes it feel... alien.
Upon seeing this new threat, one demon loses all their color.
Emperor Melody's pupils shrink to pinpricks. A cold chill sweeps across her skin as she immediately takes a step back. "No... no, no, no..."
The other Emperor glance at her in confusion, then back at the monster.
"What is it, Melody?" Kristoff asks quietly, as the creature remains standing in the distance, not yet moving toward them.
"P-P-Pla... Plague..." Melody whispers, a lump in her throat making it hard for her to speak. "That's- that's a- a- K-K-Kuh-Kolvax...ian..."
The temperature around the elites seems to plummet ten degrees. They look at the monster in horror.
"No.. Glinch wouldn't..." Yardrat whispers. "He'd never go this far..."
As the Emperors and Dukes remain standing, uncertain of what to do, the creature's head changes.
Its faceless facade morphs. A line spreads across the middle, where its nose would normally be. The Emperors become unsettled as a giant mouth begins to materialize, filled with shark-like teeth.
"Not....... Quite....." The 'Kolvaxian' says.
The voice that escapes the creature's mouth causes Yardrat to frown. He recognizes it immediately.
"Glinch? Is that you?"
The monster doesn't speak for several seconds.
When it does, it only utters one slow, halting word.
"........Yes."
"What is this?" Yardrat asks. "Did you... did YOU create the Kolvaxians?!"
The monster slightly cocks its head.
"No."
A pause.
"Pale. Imitation." It says.
"Imitation?" Yardrat repeats. "You're trying to copy the Kolvaxians? Why?!"
The creature once again remains motionless for several seconds. Emperor Serena frowns. She detects a faint microburst of mana rising from the ground, entering the monster's body.
"Because." The monster says, its voice still very much an eerie copy of Glinch's voice. "Curiosity."
It pauses.
"Must... Investigate. Many... Mysteries."
"Are you protecting Mephisto?" Yardrat asks. "Don't you see? If you let him ascend, he'll kill you! He's an enemy to all demonkind!"
The fake Kolvaxian 'smiles', its creepy, wide mouth curving up at the far corners.
"Enemy. Demons. Yes. Me? No. Insurance."
Abruptly, the Kolvax-clone leans forward, and a look of pain spreads over its face. Before the other demons can figure out what's going on, the creature makes a strange motion with its stomach.
"Gurr... gurrk... BLERK!"
It vomits green liquid all over the ground, and a hundred tiny marbles filled with mana land amidst the vomit, all of them glowing red visible to the naked eye.
The monster returns to its standing position, that same creepy smile on its face.
"Here. Present."
"What?" Kristoff asks, looking at those marbles of mana.
"Present." The Kolvax-clone says. "For. You."
"Whoaaa," Bael says, "you don't expect us to... eat those. Do you?"
"Beneficial." Glinch says. "Healing. Restoration."
"You're out of your mind." Serena says, narrowing her eyes. "You're mad, Glinch."
"No." Glinch says. "Not... Mad. Curious. Survive. Face... Me. Become... Stronger. Mephisto... Hungers."
The demons watch, stone-faced, as the pseudo-Kolvaxian begins to descend into the dirt, allowing the decrepit soil of the Stitched Wasteland to swallow it whole. It melts into the dirt in the same way as the Kolvaxians have always done, causing Melody's shivering to intensify.
"...can't just be a copy...." Melody mumbles, her shrunken pupils gazing in horror at the facsimile of the creatures that tore her Hell apart.
When it vanishes, all of the Emperors become quiet. Yardrat cautiously approaches the mana-infused pellets, then scoops them all up in his hands and walks back to the others.
Yardrat glances at the faces of the other demons. He holds the pills up, allowing them to look at the blood-colored beads of highly condensed mana.
"Well?" Yardrat asks. "Thoughts?"
Rhesus, having finished devouring the blood, skin, and bones of Yama's monsters, cracks his neck. "I don't know what those are. I'll pass."
"Serena?" Yardrat asks, looking at the Emperor of Soul Whispers.
"These pills are not harmful." Serena says, though her expression appears grim. "In fact, they're highly beneficial. They will restore our mana reserves and replenish our fighting capabilities quickly. There is no harm in taking one."
Despite the confidence in her statement, nobody moves to grab a single pill.
"The problem being?" Yardrat asks, still gazing at Serena.
"It should be obvious." Serena says, pressing her teeth together tightly. "Think of the message this sends us. Glinch doesn't take us seriously as a threat. He's worried we'll be defeated and die to his minions too easily. He wants us to fight in our optimal condition."
Kristoff sniffs the pellets. "There's more. These are infused with the blood of powerful monsters. They don't smell familiar to me. I bet Glinch obtained the blood through his Volgrim connections. The blood likely comes from exobeasts on Psion hunting worlds."
"Even I can guess what that means." Bael says. "These pills won't just bring us back to peak condition. They'll make us stronger."
"Especially the Dukes." Serena points out. "Glinch is... fattening us up."
"The fact he can create pills capable of uplifting demons is a statement in and of itself." Dagon says coldly. "It means he possesses an ability not unlike the Wordsmith's Belial Booster. He can create pills that will uplift lesser demons."
"This much should be expected." Kristoff retorts. "We've seen the strength of his minions. Pound for pound, each one is far stronger than any of us individual Emperors. He must have discovered a way to condense energy into these pills. If he wanted, he could... build an army."
"There's another player in the game." Yardrat mutters, glancing toward the center of the Stitched Wasteland. "He wants to compete with Auger."
"And Gorn." Serena says, glaring at Yardrat.
"Not so fast." Nymph says. "Aren't you guys forgetting? If Mephisto ascends, neither Auger nor Gorn will have the power to contend with him. In a galaxy where a Demon Deity reigns, Emperors will become mere minions. Glinch isn't telling us he wants to raise an army of loyal minions. He's never given a damn about ruling our people."
The other elites lower their heads, grimacing as they realize what she's saying.
"We're just... food." Vespera says quietly. "He intends to raise me and the other Dukes to Emperor... so Mephisto can... eat us."
As the elites stand around, no longer sure of what to do, Bael scratches his head.
"Welp! If you can't beat 'em, beat 'em off, that's what I always say! Gimme one of those pills!"
He snatches a a pill out of Yardrat's hand before the Emperor of the Void can react.
"Wait, Bael, we haven't determined-!" Yardrat starts to say, too slow to stop Bael.
"Nom!"
Bael casually removes his armor once again, pops the pill in his mouth, and swallows it. A second later, his demonic energy condenses, his fatigued body restores back to its pristine state, and his muscles bulge beneath his clothes.
"WOO! OH YEAH, BABY! That's that GOOD SHIT!"
A fire ignites in Bael's eyes. He roars to the sky and pumps his muscles, while steam pours from his nose.
"Oh MAN! WHOA! I could fight a bat! I could kick a dog! I feel AMAZING! You guys have GOTTA pop one of those bad boys!!"
Bael begins dancing around, full of hype. As he has the time of his life, the other demons frown.
"Is it just me, or..." Dagon mutters.
"Yeah." Yardrat says. "His breasts did get bigger."
Vespera blinks. "Give me a pill."
"Emperors first!" Fae exclaims.
While those two hastily grab themselves a pill, the other Emperors only decide to take theirs after seeing the effects of the pills on their comrades.
Emperor Serena glances at the spot where Glinch's fake Kolvaxian disappeared into the dirt.
This isn't a game. She thinks silently. We're balancing on the edge of a knife. One wrong move, and we'll fall to our doom.
....................................................
Artwork for Vespera!
Artwork for Rhesus!

i have been considering under-eye fillers as i think?? i have pretty sunken eyes. it's not the entire eye, just the inner corner. and it's not a dark circle because no matter how much full coverage concealer i put over it, no matter how much sleep/wateetc. i get, it does not go away. experiences with under eye filler?? keep in mind i've had cheek filler and lip filler!

I 19m have had a painful "lump" under my nose and beneth my skin for about 2 weeks now. I ignored it at first because it wasnt that painful but 5 days ago I went to kaiser to get it checked out because it was extremely painful and made my upper lip swollen. The doctor didnt know what it was but prescribed me an antibiotic, the next day i went with my dentist and got an x-ray and they dont know what it is either, they also prescribed me an antibiotic and painkillers. I went to the doctors again and the only thing new they told me was to go to the hospital if it got bigger. Has anyone else had this or something similar happen? Or does anyone know what this could be?

Title says it all. Metonboss is indubitably one of the, if not the, best knife scale maker who works with zirconium. Zirc is one of the hardest materials to do stuff with, so there are not many people who will actually make scales with it. Zirc dust can literally set itself on fire in reaction to moisture. Meton does amazing stuff, hands down one of the best knife scale makers in general. Fit and finish on his work is impeccable. I bought these scales on a whim off of him on Facebook, but then realized shortly after purchase that I did not in fact own a Para 3.
TS + close ups // Metonboss listing for item - price hot off the press: 219usd
These arrived today, haven't put them on anything because I don't even own the knife they're for. No blemishes or flaws; sv: 93ppgs

I've been listening from the beginning, and right after they go independent around ep 177, it becomes incredibly obvious and constant for John to smack his lips and just be incredibly moist into the mic. Does this continue for the rest of the pod or do they start to edit it out? I love the pod but can't stand lip smacks.