Dog boarding west sacramento

Hi! It’s my first time boarding and a lady reached out to me to board her 2 yr old mixed breed (~55lbs) dog over the weekend. I suggested a meet & greet the next day after she reached out in the evening. After I didn’t get a reply for over an hour and it was getting late, I suggested it was short notice and I could make another day work. She did get back to me that night and said she had college classes til 5pm the next day, but would be willing after. I reached out again around 5:15pm on Monday and haven’t heard a reply and now it’s Tuesday.
I don’t have a dog, just a cat, so I don’t feel too worried about doing a meet & greet because I’m prepared for various situations. I have a fenced in backyard and a fairly roomy house with all the carpeted areas able to be closed off. I have prepared a list of questions I want answered before boarding, but I’m not sure if I should insist on the meet & greet or not. Should I just send the questionnaire. I’m honestly willing to skip the m&g, but I hope she gets back to me. I don’t want to seem pushy. Advice?

Take me back to the start. 2001, the last of the good times for a lot of us who were relatively grown up and not tiny kids at that point due to a certain horrific event we would all witness that year. Watching this season was a nostalgia trip for so many reasons; social media wasn't a thing, cell phones were still in their infancy especially compared to now, the internet was a thing obviously but not to the point where there was a massive presence for any of the contestants, the show was in standard definition, Phil?... actually, that dude hasn't aged much, WTF lol. It's almost like this was just a big experiment, considering all the changes made since and in some cases the very next season. The overall aesthetic was peak 90's - early 00's, the editing, cinematography, etc felt very much like The Real World (makes me wonder if there was some crossover in terms of people working on both shows), and as a 90s kid this made me smile. You get the sense there was a general attitude of "To hell with polish, just film it and whatever shakiness there is we'll leave it, even if it's an awkward super zoom into a contestants face). Plus, another ode to the time period is that there was a particular focus on the interpersonal dynamics within the teams and between them as opposed to more strict focus on the race itself which happened later on, which has its good and bad merits. Bottom line is this felt like a gamble that the producers and network took to take advantage of the reality tv boom, I remember how Survivor premiered and EVERYONE was watching it at some point, even I wound up watching the final few episodes of that first season. After that, it just exploded and how ironic that a few decades later, out of all that came from that time specifically that it is these 2 shows that are still going. One very creepy thing which almost happened was the finish line being the top of the World Trade Center, but they couldn't get the needed permits, and the show premiered 6 days before 9/11, so as I alluded to at the very start, it really is like watching a completely different world when you watch this season for many reasons and the nostalgia hit me hard a lot of times in good and bad ways. But what about the season itself?....
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Rob/Brennan - The first winners are photogenic attorney friends. I have to admit, these 2 didn't make much of an impression on me at all. It's not that they were bad racers, or bad people, as they actually seemed rather kind and intelligent (lawyers, so of course), but I felt they were rather bland TBH. After they won the first ever leg in show history thanks to the fastforward (which was available in every leg, something they thankfully changed), they hit a snag in Tunisia and were on the verge of being eliminated and were one of the teams which got infuriated at airportgate (which I will get into later), but then they really hit their stride once they hit Asia, and wound up winning 4 of the last 5 legs. I know it doesn't seem like I have a ton to say about them, but the truth is they weren't particularly charismatic or even featured in a starring way til it got down to the end legs. A great all-around team, but not really one I ever got behind. I found it interesting that post-race, Brennan was with Emily for a time, unlike other seasons I never got those vibes from any interactions between them but they must have been there. I do know they had befriended both Nancy and Emily during the race and were a part of the airportgate situation and were pretty pissed off about it; like they said, you don't treat women like that if you're a guy.
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Frank/Margarita - Maybe the loudest team, at least he was. Seriously, the guy must have been a mute when he was a child, cause his natural tone was LOUD lol. Anyway, they were the top team going by the composite average score and by the fact they were either 1st or 2nd in the final 8 legs. Their story was an interesting one, while at the same time not ridiculously frustrating. A separated couple with a small child who part of the reason for getting on this was to work on their relationship. You immediately saw why there were issues with them; as he is constantly yelling and flexing, ultra-competitive, making alliances which last just a few minutes before his massive pride has him essentially saying to hell with that. And at times, he even shouted and yelled at her, not necessarily out of anger but his way of motivating, and she showed her disdain for that often. But; there was actual growth from him, as he wound up apologizing when he reached maximum dickhead mode, something I am not accustomed to seeing on here. And, they wound up falling for each other all over again, which was shown more than once, which even if you weren't a fan of theirs, was a bit heartwarming. I thought they had it in the final stretch, going to their literal backyard for the finish line, and they felt it too which may have been their undoing. Thanks to the production and camera work, you literally saw as they were jogging to the finish line the emotions on their faces go from joy and relief to downtrodden when they saw the team they were head-to-head with for what felt like most of the race with how the final legs were strung out, already there. I was not surprised to find out they did indeed reconcile, but then split for good and remained friends, which is cool to know.
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Joe/Bill - Team Guido, sigh. I love that they named their team after their dog, but beyond that, ugh. The ego and smarminess oozed off these guys almost from the start. They made multiple alliances but were so full of themselves that they would break them almost instantly, constantly bragging about how they had lived in Paris, they spoke French, they had traveled a lot. They truly thought they were better than everyone else, even saying out loud at one point that they had no competition. This behavior would be obnoxious enough from a team that was winning constantly, but they weren't. They actually only won 1 leg. Namecalling the New Yorkers by referring to them as 'The Fatties' wasn't exactly classy either. But the moment which cemented them as true douchebags was airportgate as I call it. They flip out when they find out that 3 teams managed to get a flight which would get them to the next destination first, ahead of them, when they had just been beaming over getting what they thought was gonna be the earliest flight. And their response was the mature thing to do obviously; going to the entrance as they were getting ready to board and blocking them and causing a massive commotion to try and keep them from getting on the plane. Security gets involved and at some point one of them pushes/physically restrains the smallest and oldest member of those 3 teams in Nancy, almost knocking her down. That was a scummy and cowardly thing to do, bottom line. They tried to retcon it afterwards, talking about how Kevin/Drew started it with their sarcastic yet threatening talk of breaking their legs earlier that day, and yes that was a bit much and I would be inclined to give them some benefit of the doubt there, except they didn't put hands on either of them and just so happened to target the physically weakest member in that crowded confined space. Now, due to it being so confined, we could only see so much and thus didn't experience the whole thing, but at this point it went from these guys are jerks in terms of strategy or whatever to they are massive pieces of shit. And they were treated as such basically the rest of the race, except by Nancy and Emily of all teams (I don't get that, Emily seemed like she wanted to push them off a cliff and then a few legs later they are hugging?). Their egos were their downfall, as they won a fastforward in Thailand and proceeded to almost get eliminated anyway by taking their sweet time to get to the pitstop. After that, they were hours behind the top 2 teams and as far back as an entire day before getting the clue that told them the race was over as they were still out in the wilderness. They were good sports about it, and even when they won the fastforward, tried to help out Nancy/Emily a bit which was shocking, but they left a bad taste in my mouth, and at times it seemed like they were a little too inspired by the first Survivor winner in fellow gay man Richard Hatch, they even talked a lot like him in terms of vocabulary and their approach to the race. I know they did pop up again in another season, and I admit they were certainly memorable, though not for good reasons.
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Kevin/Drew - I know from looking into this season afterwards that they were the fan favorites this season, and while they weren't my favorite I can see why. They weren't deceivers, they didn't hide their true feelings, they were who they were and loud about it. Their preferred form of talking to each other was insults and putdowns, true guy friends there lol. They were all over the place in this race; at the bottom, at the top, in the middle. Their elimination basically came from the dreaded luck of the taxi driver, even if they had survived they were destined for third place with how far apart they were from the top 2 teams. There was a charm in their upfront attitudes, but some things made me shake my head, like saying Paris was nothing special, being a little too upfront about their disdain for India and them jokingly (maybe) telling Team Guido they would break their legs. But also, like Rob/Brennan, they befriended Nancy/Emily and almost saw them as their own mother and sister. I know they said it would be more beneficial to keep them around than one of the stronger teams, but you could tell by basic body language it wasn't just strategy and that they truly liked them. They were infuriated more than anyone after airportgate, and they made sure Team Guido knew it. I know they came back for an all-star season and also know Drew has had a variety of ailments and injuries unfortunately.
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Nancy/Emily - They might have been my favorite team. Nancy reminded me a lot of my Mom in terms of her kindness but was really most similar to a great Aunt of mine, extremely faithful, prudish but not in a judgmental way but more of a hearing so much cursing and such made smoke go out her ears cause she is that innocent lol. I got to admit, Emily was someone who if I had been watching at the time I would have had a major crush on and even now I thought she was really cute and before anyone comes at me, I am actually several years younger than her and she was an adult at the time and is now a 43 year old wife and mom (way to make me feel old after seeing her be like a kid at times on here lol). Maybe the original underdog story, they even had a little faction on the show they called 'The Underdogs'. It was an interesting switch on the usual dynamic, as Emily took the lead role on the team as Nancy was rather meek and got flustered easily, though as the end neared for them they both were showing signs of having nothing left in the tank. I pointed out Emily was quite cute, even when she had that drastic hairdo change a few legs in (my biggest remaining question of this season is did she do that herself or did someone else do it and if so, why? Boredom? Early-00s fashion? I wasn't a girl at that time, I was busy dressing like a nu-metal punk with spiked hair and playing Playstation, female fashion trends didn't come on my radar lol). She pulled it off, but I remain curious. Anyway, the point I was trying to make was about her being the attractive one there, and it played into things in a good and bad way. Good and sweet when in Tunisia a whole horde of guys her age and younger volunteering to help the team out and Nancy being quick to point out it was probably because they thought she was cute (they weren't nearly as enthusiastic to help out any of the other teams). The bad coming in, sigh, India, where Emily gets propositioned on the street by a guy asking how much she charges. Holy shit, India was a major issue from the very beginning on this show in regards to female contestents, as they were repeatedly refused train tickets as well just because they were women and women are below rats there in terms of rights and importance. And this was where the beginning of the ned came for them, as they were both being swarmed by these males with zero boundaries as well as being deeply affected by the massive poverty, seeing dirty impoverished kids and babies coming up to their taxi, begging, staring, they were barely holding back tears. All of the teams dealt with seeing these things, and being hounded by people begging, but it really hit these two the hardest which was only amplified by the sexism and Emily cracked, she was calling them stupid out of frustration and it didn't get better in Thailand, as Team Guido once again prevailed over them, this time in a race for the fastforward and then they walked around for a few hours trying to find the vehicle the next clue directed them to and no one was being of any help and she just plain and simply says "Screw you" to one of the Thai people and they wind up giving up and taking a taxi to the pitstop. You could call them out for all of this, but it was just a buildup of stress and anxiety which finally broke them. Think about it; the airport incident which really upset Emily, as she was saying do what you want to her but not her Mom (whose biggest concern afterwards was the image this put out of American tourists, not even thinking about herself), they kept on coming in at the back of the pack, the India degradation and claustrophobia-inducing chaos there, coming in 2nd to Guido yet again and then not being able to find anyone to assist them. I said to myself a few legs prior that Emily was showing some fight still but they both just seemed completely battered and defeated and Nancy even admitted as much. And the saddest thing is, they would have moved on if they had just persisted with the task in Thailand due to Bill/Joes epic mistake, they would have finished ahead of them. And making it extra heartbreaking was finding out afterwards that Nancy died in 2011 of Lou Gehrigs disease, which is just among the worst ways to go. Thinking back on it, Nancy may have been showing a few early signs of it during this :-( Just a sad story, Emily is apparently doing fine, she was with Brennan for a while after the race (which raised my eyebrow, considering in interviews before the race she talked about her boyfriend at home more than once, I hope she didn't screw around on him during the race). But still, hard to not root for them and if I had been watching at the time, Emily would have been my first crush on the show FWIW lol.
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Lenny/Karyn - This was a frustrating team to watch as it went on. I am just thankful they weren't married or engaged before this, cause they found out they were not meant to be during this. She says she was ultra-competitive, I say she was the definition of a nag, just incessantly chastising him and the longer it went on it spread to drivers and other public people as well. He wasn't innocent himself; routinely mocking her and being a complete dumbass, like in Paris he goes up to look for the monument and just immediately gives up and then just guesses (wrong) and they would have been gone right then and there if Emily hadn't inadvertently helped him find it. Talk about coldhearted though at the end, where she proceeds to end their relationship and lists every reason why. On national TV. I mean, damn that was brutal, you could see him just leaving his body as she went on and explained basically all his flaws and failings, WTF. They did indeed break up right after, though they said it wasn't because of the race, which I kinda agree with since these fissures were gonna explode regardless of what they were doing. He got married and has a few kids and she started a law firm, so I'm sure she isn't hurting for $$$ lol.
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Paul/Amie - They were opposites, which made me wonder how they got engaged. She was competitve and he wanted to quit every five minutes. That was the tale of this team, and I wanted to genuinely smack this guy. Every leg, he is bitching and whining about wanting to go home, wanting to quit. Struggling to get a taxi? Let's quit. Taking too long at a task? Let's quit. Pulled a muscle? Time to quit. Hard time taking a dump? Let's go home, I quit. It was like a cuckoo clock set to go off every hour with this douchebag. He tried to make excuses a few times during it, saying he was only saying things like that cause he hated to see her get upset, BS dude, you just are being a little bitch, trying to break the telescope in Paris and kicking things as you threaten to, what else, quit. If she had an equal partner in this, this team would have gone much further. Instead, she had a big baby who said he didn't want to do this and was only there for her (to what, make her miserable?). Their end came via getting lost in the Sahara Desert, talk about nightmare fuel there, and they were so lost they wound up driving to the back of the pitstop somehow. She's throwing up in the back of the car, it was torturous to view. They did indeed get married several years later, but are no longer together (damn, none of these couples survived, kinda sad to see). Her near-catfight with the teachers was humorous though, even yelling at one point "You're a fat bitch!" (somewhere, Nancy turned beet red lol).
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Dave/Margaretta - Probably the first team in TAR history to inspire the "Awww" feeling. Immediately, you saw it was gonna be a struggle for them physically due to the age differences, in the very first leg they could have gotten the fastforward but they got outpaced by Rob/Brennan and had to struggle their way back up after struggling all the way down. They continued to persevere though, and continued to struggle, like completely passing the clue in Paris and getting penalized at the start of the next leg as a result. Along the way, they did inspire the other couples with their amazing relationship and love, and provided some insight I actually hadn't thought of before, specifically about how these are all good people who are thrust into an intense, super-competitive, high pressure situation which is also exhausting and that will bring out the worst in people. They were truly kind people to the very end, which was frustrating to see it end sooner than it probably should have, as their taxi driver was an asshole for lack of a better term and was refusing to take U.S. money and arguing with them. And seeing a bunch of the teams at their elimination saying their goodbyes and paying their respects to them (which happened several times this season, can't recall seeing that in any other seasons) just drove home the point these were good people. Finding out that several years later, Dave would lose his soulmate to after a multiyear battle with cancer and pulmonary fibrosis was quite sad to hear, he is still going last I checked but you could tell they were 2 peas in a pod so that was extremely sucky news.
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Pat/Brenda - The first team to go from 1st to eliminated in the span of 1 leg, not a great achievement. They never exhibited the mental togughness I think you need to really compete in this though, as they were freaking out at the airport prior to Paris over issues with flights. They had the fastforward, like, no reason to flip your lid. Unless you get there 10 hours after everyone else I think you'll be fine. But then, they made the huge mistake of going to the wrong Pantheon and get eliminated. They seemed like solid enough people, but I never thought they were a threat in this.
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Kim/Leslie - They were teachers and yet repeatedly did stupiud things and said they were stupid... that makes one feel so secure about the countrys future lol. They weren't good, came off as mean girls (to Amie anyway, though I found out afterwards they were quite the class clowns during their time on there), and were lost on both legs. And yet their run ends because of a damn taxi driver arguing with them over change. Nancy/Emily seemed friends with them, and they both attended one of their weddings a while later. I know Leslie is married with 3 kids and Kim has 2 kids, I assume she is married too judging by her last name being different. They just went on to normal lives it seems.
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Matt/Ana - Forever famous for being the very first elimination in TAR history. Hard to say a whole lot about a team that is gone after one leg, I do know they did get divorced at some point later on. They did get pretty testy with the locals in Africa though for not being able to tell them where a location was. They wouldn't have been eliminated, but they got really lost on their way to the pitstop and thus arrived last. If they hadn't gotten so lost, I would have been deprived of the Nancy/Emily team which would have made this a worse season for sure.
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I can see why this became a sensation of its own, though not on the level of the absolutely top tier of reality/game shows, in terms of ratings and buzz that is, like Survivor, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and (ugh) Big Brother. A pretty good and challenging path, though no trip to South America, and there was certainly a novelty and uniqueness of taking these teams from all kinds of backgrounds and forcing them to travel the world as fast as possible, culture and language issues be damned. A bonus in some eyes would be a lack of stars or 'celebrities' or stunt casting, save for Team Guido who really seemed like they were trying to be what Richard Hatch was to Survivor. You had everyday friends, family and couples racing for the million dollar prize but also being friends for the most part, I think in part because they were enjoying this unique experience and in part because they knew they were a part of something special. Just seeing the way a lot of teams would gather at every pit stop to say their goodbyes and pay their respects to whoever got eliminated was such a departure from the likes of a Survivor, where you had people doing everything but wish death on the other (and I think even that happened once) and that is as much of a reason for TAR thriving and survivng as anything else. So much has changed since then; HD is the standard now, everyone is on about 5 different social media platforms, so many of the casted are already known figures in this era of no anonymity, cameras are always on you somehow, and have it ingrained in them to have a motto of "how many likes can I get and what will generate the most clicks?". Such a different world, and seeing the ages of the contestants from this season now makes me feel old lol (the youngest is now in her 40s and married, I see her on here and she's a college kid who looks like she is still in high school). This was far from a perfect season, a lot of drag in the latter stages due partly to the massive separation that developed between the top 2 teams and bottom 2 teams and later with the top 2 and 3rd place team and partly due to what seemed like an attempt to get to 13 episodes by any means necessary which led to a bit too much filler content which easily could have been trimmed and just felt like they were desperately trying to reach the episode quota. Also had a string of production issues and errors which led to teams placements getting changed, time credits being given, a pit stop being moved due to dangerous weather conditions (which they had no control of obviously, but it counts) and it was not exactly the most challenging in terms of roadblocks and detours, as they really seemed to make it so that the biggest challenge of the race was the actual traveling part, luckily in future seasons they managed to get a better balance so that you had to put max effort into everything and not just the tasks. But for several endearing people and teams, seeing some amazing sights around the world like the Great Wall and that waterfall in south Africa which you didn't get to see unless you read or watched National Geographic up to that point, the final sights of a simpler and better world for a lot of us millennials, the groundbreaking nature of the show, the camaraderie between a lot of teams, knowing with hindsight this was the start of something awesome and a flashback and massive shot of nostalgic warmth to days where I didn't have gray hairs popping up or injure my back from sleeping the wrong way (too many mosh pits lol), I give this inaugural season a 3.75 out of 5. As you can see, that puts it pretty high up there, but it comes up short of reaching my upper echelon. Next time, it will be a later season, since you can't go earlier than S1 lol.
Ratings:
S5 - 4.75/5
S15 -4.5/5
S13 - 4.5/5
S1 - 3.75/5
S27 - 3.5/5
S25 - 3.25/5
S21 - 3.25/5
S23 - 3.25/5
S2 - 3/5
S19 - 2.5/5
S29 - 2.5/5
S16 - 1.75/5
S32 - 0.25/5

Have you ever been tail down the side of a mountain by a band of angry machete-wielding onion people with Jack o’lantern like faces and major territory issues?
Have you ever been followed through the woods by a mysterious hooded figure crunching through the brush and stalking your every move from just beyond the tree line?
Have you ever been stabbed through the center of your palm by a stumpy little demon shrub with needle like spikes hiding beneath the leaves and running down its trunk like exterior? Not to mention the erratic demonic tendencies some of the plants around here seem to sometimes possess.
Well, if you have experienced any and or all of what I had just mentioned, then you probably already have a good idea of the place and some of the things I am about to tell you.
If you haven’t, however, then are you in for one heck of a tail. Because the stories I am going to be sharing with you during my free time moving forward, might just be some of the craziest things you've ever heard. But before that, there are a couple things you should know about me first.
My name is Blake, and I live on a farmhouse.
It's nothing fancy (obviously) just a big old building right in the middle of nowhere surrounded by layers upon layers of thick bushes, trees, and mountains high as the eye can see. The kind of place where cellular towers are practically non-existent, and the nearest civilization is at least a gazillion miles away. That kind of farmhouse.
I also work here. Making around eighty bucks an hour. Which I guess is a little above average for most gardeners, but I did let the owners know I was just about ready to work for free. All I needed was a roof over my head and a place to sleep. But they insisted I take the money or go find some other place to sleep. And so I did.
Other than being a full-time gardener at the farmhouse, I am also a part time forest runner on most days. Although it's not my second job of choice, it's just something I do on the side whenever I want to. Plus it bumps up my salary a bit, and I appreciate the extra money I get from doing it. Despite how crazy and insanely dangerous it almost always gets.
What is a forest runner? Well, on the one hand, I want to say it is one of the easiest things in the world. Since it mostly involves walking into a single patch of forest, making a loud noise, and immediately turning back to run in the opposite direction. But what you run from is what makes it tricky. And whether or not you are fast enough to outpace whatever hears you, also makes the difference. I can't believe I am about to say this, but I also run away from monsters for a living.
Ferocious, blood thirsty creatures ready to tear you limb from limb The second they grab hold of your jacket and pull you towards them. Those kinds of monsters. But I don't just run away from monsters in the forest. I also run away from other things too. Wildlife. Creatures of different shapes and sizes. Spirits. Ghouls. Ghosts. Goblins. And my list favorite of them all: Mermaids.
Okay. Maybe mermaids aren't supposed to be on the list. I just had that one "experience" with a particular mermaid a few weeks ago, which almost scarred me for life. I kinda have most of the memories a bit blurry but let’s just say because of her, I was literally almost seafood. But before then, I've never actually seen one in person. But I've heard stories.
Stories of how they rarely swim up to the surface and whenever they do, you are not to approach any of them, under any circumstance, unless invited. I wasn't. And I approached one anyway. Safe to say, it really didn't bode well for me when I did that. Lesson learned that's for sure. But do you know what? Let that be the first story I tell you.
The first thing I remember from that experience was the image of a blonde girl sat crying by the riverbank. It was a Saturday evening, and I was out raking a bunch of leaves when her incessive sobbing was carried over to the farmhouse by the wind. At first I chose to ignore it. Hoping that, it was just that. Incessive sobbing carried over by the wind and nothing more. But then the sobbing grew louder, and I promise I had a very good reason to go check it out.
At this point, it was just me at the farmhouse and no one else. My boss "Frank" was out hunting with the farmhouse dog, and his wife "Linda" was out supplying a fresh batch of mixed herb to the nearby villages and markets. Which reminds me.
Remember how I said the nearest civilization was at least a gazillion miles away? Technically, that's not entirely accurate. The nearest civilization is not a gazillion miles away as I initially had you believe. Sorry about that. The nearest civilization for real this time, is actually just a couple walks downhill. Past the field of murdering bush lilies, and through the enchanted trees of killer mushrooms. Then, voila. Civilization. But the nearest 21st century civilization however, that's the One that is at least a gazillion miles away. The place where the rest of present-day humanity lives. Yeah. Super far from wherever this place is. Anyway, back to the story.
So there I was. Standing in the middle of a clearing in front of the farmhouse, a small pile of dried grass and leaves sitting in front of me and starting to Russell over from the wind. I placed the bud of my rake on top of the heap, preventing it from spreading any further and causing me to start over, while I lifted my head up to listen intently to the sounds in the wind. Again, it was just as I described. Sobs. Someone crying. Soft sniffles, coughs, and everything. You didn't need an otolaryngologist to help identify what your ears were picking up in that moment, it was just so clear that the person doing the crying might well have been right next to you.
I jumped at the thought of something sneaking up behind me while I was distracted and began searching my immediate environment for any potential anomalies that might have gotten past the wooden fence surrounding the farmhouse. Poltergeists. Trolls. Ogres. And a sumo sized demon gorilla with red eyes and muscles the size of bowling balls. Believe it or not, but these are just a few of the abominations that have somehow managed to cross on to the compound one too many times before, and if it weren't for the intervention of Frank and Linda, the power couple currently running the farmhouse, the aberrations would probably have done a lot more than break a few things while also nearly giving me a heart attack in the process.
But after a few quick nervous glances over my immediate environment, and finding not one thing out of place, I turned my attention over to where the sobs sounded the loudest. It was coming from a fairly large crack in the fence on the west side of the farmhouse. A demarcation that when gazed through, revealed a whole new world consisting of a deep gray sky, rocks, a bunch of trees that were hopefully weren't harboring zombie tree people, and its most alluring feature of it all. A great body of water that is almost as gray as the sky itself. That is where the sobs were coming from. And like any reasonable person in that situation, my initial thoughts were NOT to check out the strange noise emanating from beyond the fence.
I mean, just think about it. I was all alone, on a hill. In a farmhouse located right in the center of a very large, very enchanted mystical forests, capable of hoarding a huge amount of very dark, very demented creatures, which are seemingly on a never-ending hunt for lonely gardeners, and farmers, and small groups of villagers to torment, or possess, or straight up consume whenever they are feeling a bit frisky.
So yes. I most definitely wasn't about to leave the comforting embrace that the squarish wooden structure around the farmhouse provided, to go investigate a strange sound that just so happens to be coming from the same place I was warned on multiple occasions never to visit. And whenever I asked, I was straight up told mother nature herself was sleeping at the bottom of that very river and waking her up was asking for trouble.
I never could tell when Linda is joking, or when Frank is being serious. But when it comes to things concerning the forest and around the farmhouse, I always listen. So if mother nature herself is sleeping in that very river, then mother nature herself is sleeping in that very river. And instead of investigating the strange sobs, I ignored it. But then, it got worse.
There was a sudden ear-piercing screech as whatever was crying by the river, let out a scream that almost blew out my eardrums. The intense whale only lasted for about a moment, but every second was an excruciating eternity, causing me to let go of the rake I was holding and cover my ears in reflex. It was so loud it must have reverberated round a good chunk of the forest, sending a few hundred birds scattering into the air, and a dozen more rodents dashing for cover. When the screeching finally stopped, it was as if the world fell silent, and nothing moved.
It took a few seconds for me to be comfortable enough to uncover my ears, setting my hands by my side in the process. I blinked a couple times before scanning my environment once more, searching for anything out of the ordinary. For some reason, I was certain a display of such fierce vocal capacity, especially one of such intensity, was bound to disturb the mother of forest, rousing her up from her slumber. But instead of waiting around to find out, I gathered up my equipment, abandoned the rest of my work for that evening, and began marching towards the farmhouse where it was safe. Ish.
Besides. I run away from monsters for a living. I don't face them. If anything, I want to say that was consistent with my character. Also, when that monster is essentially a superpower of the forest resting in your backyard, it kind of puts a lot of stuff into consideration. Plus, I was all alone so. Yeah. Definitely wasn't waiting around to find out.
Approaching the farmhouse in a haste, I made a beeline for the equipment's shed positioned on the east side of the compound, almost directly opposite where the strange sobs were initially coming from. Now, the sobs were quiet. But that doesn't mean something was not still back there.
Reaching for my keys in my lower right pocket, I pulled them out in a flurry of clinks and jingles, while instinctively feeling for the specific key I needed with the tips of my fingers. As the farmhouse is situated in a very remote area of the forest, we don't often get that many unwanted visitors from the nearby villages and settlements who want to take things from us without asking. But it is still advised we lock up anything of value because, well, where do you think some of the creatures around here get their weapons of callus destruction from?
Nearing the doors of the shed, I finally picked out the key I needed from the bunch, then used that to flick open the rusty metal lock and entered the belly of the Makeshift storage unit. Inside were rows after rows of very sharp, very blunt instruments of numerous shapes and sizes, with each one Easley being the perfect leading murderous tool for any band of pissed off bulbus shaped vegetable people to ransack, steal, and utilize to illegally carve out any portion of the forest and claim it as their own.
They were knives. Blades. Scissors. Hoes. Clippers. Shovels. Diggers. Daggers. Slicers. Splicers. And of course. A big ass sword standing in a stone on the opposite side of the far wall. The rest of the stuff were just scattered haphazardly, with some of them still hanging on the metal rings connected to the woodwork lining up the ceiling, while others were resting on the tables, and some lying on the floor.
I dumped all of my equipment, then stepped out closing the doors behind me and remembering to lock it. I continued my march toward the farmhouse, but just as I rushed up the flight of small stairs and placed my hand on the doorknob, I heard it again.
The crying from before.
This time however, it was different.
This time, it sounded more human.
I don't know what came over me. It was as if a million little metal fists shot out of nowhere and punched me right in the gut. The creature's pain became my pain, and its worries became my worries. I did not like the feeling.
The crying took me back to a point in my life I really did not like to think about. It made me sick to my stomach and made my eyes want to water. Every cough. Every sniffle. Every audible inhale I now heard emanating from just beyond the fence, made me felt gross to my core. I wanted it to stop.
But instead of running upstairs and throwing on a pair of earplugs, I decided to do the opposite.
I went to go investigate the strange sobs coming from beyond the fence.
And before you role your eyes at me, I promise. I had a very good reason for doing so. I just can't tell you about it at the moment. Brings up too many unwanted memories. Just know I needed to confirm that whomever or whatever was crying by the river, wasn't going through a similar thing I ones did. And if he or she wasn't peaceful, or friendly, then I will simply not approach them.
That's it.
So after releasing the doorknob and taking in a few deep breaths, I backed away from the front door and took off down the flight of stairs, turning in the direction of the west side of the farmhouse. To where the sobs were coming from.
Although now it wasn't full on sobbing, it was more of a blend between sniffling and coughing. Which was starting to decrease in frequency and intensity as I got closer.
I was halfway across the yard, mere feet away from gazing through the crack in the fence when I suddenly remembered the vicious scream from earlier, which then prompted me to do a quick u turn to go grab a pair of earmuffs from the top of my desk within the farmhouse. Sometimes, strange noises emanate deep within the forest at night, and the earmuffs primarily helps to preserve my sanity whenever that happens. It also helps to block out sounds like annoying chattering crows, shadow whisperers, and sleepwalking inducing river sirens. Amongst other things. But the main reason why I went back for it that evening, was to help protect my ears from the screeching.
I used the opportunity after snagging the pair of blue earmuffs, to gaze out my window overlooking the river on the west side of the farmhouse. I didn't quite catch a glimpse of whatever was crying by the water, on the count of my window not being in exact focus to the sobs, so I threw on the muffs, went downstairs, and headed out the front door.
I once again turned in the direction of the sobs which, I could no longer here as much. But blocking out the crying like I said, wasn't really what I was going for. I wanted to make sure whoever was crying was okay. And just as I was approaching the fence, ready to peer through the crack in the wooden structure surrounding the farmhouse, someone got in my way.
There was a sudden pressure against my back as something had landed so gracefully behind me, that it completely escaped my sense of hearing, bringing me to a literal standstill. I didn't even need to turn around to find out who it was. The scent of fresh blood in the air. The waves of dark aura pushing against my back. The ability to move as fast and as silent, so as to completely evade the senses. There was only one forest aberration I knew could do that.
"And just what do you think you are doing?"
I heard the voice of Sebastian ask from inside the back of my head, sending ripples of dread down the length of my spine. I turned around slowly and came face to face with the thing that would forever be the number one reason why I find owls to be one of the scariest species of birds on the planet.
Sebastian was a part man, part owl hybrid thing, with a ghostly white face, deep black eyes, and a feathered, makeshift winged cloak that was just as deep, dark, and menacing as his eyes. He has no beak. But lips. And it doesn't really matter because when he speaks, they don't move. At all. No matter the circumstance.
"Have you suddenly lost your tongue boy? I asked you a question. What do you think you are doing?" he added, his cold voice bouncing around in my head and his gaze frozen solid.
I tried saying something, but I was so captivated by fear I forgot how to speak. My entire body was shaking like a leaf, and I was pretty sure I was about to piss my pants.
Among all the aberrations in the forest and Frank just so happen to pick the creepiest looking one of them all to serve as my babysitter. Thanks Frank. I really appreciate it.
"Don't make me repeat myself boy," Sebastian said, his tone dropping to sinister levels.
"SPEAK!" he ordered, and the ferocity of his pitch almost caused the inside of my skull to split in two.
I swallowed the fear stuck in my throat and finally spoke.
"There's... It's... Someone needs our help," I said. My words somehow managing to form a cohesive sentence. "I just wanted to..."
Sebastian jerked his head to the side to glance over my shoulder. More specifically, he glanced over my shoulder to stare through the crack in the wooded fence behind me.
We both heard the sniffling noises simultaneously.
After a second or two, Sebastian then snapped his head in my direction, returning his soulless gays back on me.
"Were you invited?" he asked, a hint of calm resignation in his tone.
"What?" I replied, genuinely confuse at his question.
"Were you invited?" he asked again, with his voice starting to shift into enraged annoyance.
In fear of not wanting to piss him off any more than I already did, I simply shook my head in response, hoping that was enough non sassy, non-disrespectful way of indicating I was still at a loss of what he was asking.
Letting out a sigh, he said, "Take a look." And I began to slowly step backwards while keeping my eyes trained on him. It was not until my back connected with a flat wooden surface behind me that I finally broke eye contact in order to turn around, crouch, and gaze out the crack in the fence standing on the west side of the farmhouse. And the view was just as I described.
There was the deep gray sky with all its glory. The smooth dark rocks. The towering trees looming overhead. And the large body of water that had her swampiness resting underneath. Everything was as I described with one exception. Now sitting on one of the rocks by the left side of the river, with her back turned and both of her legs stuffed into the water, was a girl. Or more specifically, a young woman.
Her hair was a mixture of white and yellow, with rows of beads running half circles along the back of her braid, decorating her already very colorful, very voluminous hair all the way down to her lower back. Her shoulders each held three sets of clothing strips, which appeared to act as the primary (hold me up support) for the rest of her slim green looking attire, and the tone of her skin was a pale shade with a hint of Olive undertone. She looked hunched over in her sitting position, with her hands, each one decorated with rows of transparent blue bangles, lifted up to her face, cupping her eyes and nose as she continued to sniffle and sob quietly into the morning breeze. I didn't even have to sight her tail to know what kind of creature she already was.
Some of the creatures in the forest, especially the mermaids, take great pride in the kinds of accessories they wear, and in the way they look. If you were to ask me why, I would say it probably has something to do with ethnic origins or simple personal aesthetic choices. Suddenly, the question Sebastian kept repeating to me made a lot of sense. If you don't ask a mermaid for permission before approaching, things for you can become really painful. And for a brief moment, I wondered if the screeching noise from earlier had anything to do with the kinds of things they are capable of.
So, in light of the sudden Discovery that I was in fact dealing with a potentially hostile mermaid, my drive for wanting to help her process whatever grief she was going through suddenly plummeted. Especially now that I knew she was capable of letting out a screech that could easily rip apart my skull if she wanted to. And because of that, I ceased staring through the gap in the fence to lean back and look up at the frozen stature of Sebastian looming just behind me. He kept silent as always, and continued to observe me with a steady gaze, waiting for me to speak of my findings. I gave myself a second to process the image I had just witnessed before speaking.
"It's a mermaid," I said, perplexed at my Discovery.
"Yes," Sebastian replied, his lips shut, and his voice reverberating around the inside of my skull.
"I can't believe it. I've never seen a mermaid before," I said.
"You should count yourself lucky then rabbit," Sebastian said, unmoving. "Those who sight a mermaid for the first time from such close distance don't usually walk away to tell about the tail," he added. "They always end up doing something stupid."
"Stupid?" I asked, flashing a nervous smile.
Sebastian picked up on my former intentions and shot me a disappointed angry stare.
"Stupid like trying to get nearer for an even closer gander," he said, his pitch-black eyes narrowing and warning. "What were you thinking?" he asked, and luckily for me I did not have to answer the question.
Suddenly, there was a loud crash as if a tree had toppled over in the distance. Sebastian spun his head around, twisting his neck so the back of his head was now facing me. I squirmed at the site of his forward backwards appearance, never having gotten acquainted with most of his characteristics and capabilities in the short time I've known him working at the farmhouse. After a second or two, Sebastian then twisted his neck back into place, returning his dark gaze back on me.
"What is it?" I asked, standing up from my crouched position by the fence and allowing the thought of the mermaid disappear from my mind for a moment.
"You should get inside. Now," Sebastian replied, taking a step back before opening his massive dark wings and spreading them to the sides.
He arced his knees a little bit, and with a single downward flap of his wings, he was airborne. Off the ground by a total of eight feet, before coming to a halt midflight to stare down at me.
"Get inside and lock the doors. Now!" he barked, eyes narrowed, and his wings flapping up and down by his sides keeping his suspended state.
"But you still haven't..."
I never got the opportunity to complete my sentence.
Just then, an almost invisible ball of spiraling blue energy, shot out from somewhere behind me and collided with the body of Sebastian, sending him flying across the front yard and expelling him from the premises entirely.
I immediately took out my earmuffs and was hit with an eerie silence. My heart was pounding. My brain was starting to enter a hyperactive panic mode. And my breathing became ragged and intense. What the hell just happened?
I didn't have to wait for my answer.
I spun around to the sound of rapid approaching footsteps, and almost had a heart attack from what I saw.
Running towards the farmhouse from the other side of the fence. Bare feet. With the lower half of her dress dripping with river water, and the top part of her attire and voluminous hair flowing in the evening breeze, was the mermaid. In full spectacle.
Her eyes were the color of midnight. Her gait, although a little hindered by her dress, seemed just like the way a normal girl would run. The rows of transparent blue bangles on her forearm and wrist, were now a bright luminescent glowing color. And they were streaks of dried-up black makeup tears running down the sides of her cheeks, prove she was indeed the one crying moments earlier.
She resembled something straight out of a marionette's horror movie running towards me and I was a deer caught in headlights. I couldn't believe it.
I started to back off slowly and she snapped her head in my direction, causing my heart to almost leap out of my chest.
"Hey! No! Wait! I'm not going to hurt you!" she yelled, rushing towards the fence, and lifting up her hands defensively. "I just want to help," she added, finally coming to a halt, and staring at me through the gap in the fence.
"Something terrible is coming this way and it's all my fault," she said. "Please. We need to leave"
She continued to stare at me through the crack in the fence, a look of genuine concerned plastered across her face. Her dark blue eyes held a tinge of guilt behind them, and her cheeks and lips were flushed with honest worry. She reached out an arm through the fence, as if physically showing she wasn't a threat. That's when I looked down and found that the rows of bangles on her hand, the same ones that were glowing a bright luminescent color only seconds before, were now dimming back into their original shade, almost as if they were in a state of powering down.
"Please," she whispered, and I lifted my head up to meet her gays once more.
For a second, I didn't move. I was frozen in fear and contemplating weather to Make a run for the farmhouse and lock myself in, or run away with this stranger offering to take me to a new location. The safety of the farmhouse had already been compromised thanks to her, and it was about to become a hotspot for major forest aberration activity.
I took a moment to consider my options. I really did. But the renewed sound of trees toppling over from somewhere behind me, accompanied with the ground shaking rumble of a dozen legs digging into the ground and barreling towards the farmhouse in a rush, suddenly made my decision that much obvious.
"Please. We need to go. Now!" she said, with her arm still stretched. And without a second thought, I carefully placed my hand on hers, and the instant my palm came in contact with the inside of her hand, the rows of transparent blue bangles on her arm lit up, and she immediately let go of my hand and grabbed my forearm instead.
I looked up at her face in horror, but before I could utter a word of protest, the insides of her eyes grew brighter, and she lifted her arm up, flinging me over the fence sooner than my mind was able to comprehend what was happening.
I was airborne. For like 2 and a half seconds. But it felt like a lifetime. And while I was busy somersaulting over the fence, the world around me seemed to slow down, giving me plenty of time to catch an upside-down glimpse of the humongous forest creature now climbing its way into the compound from the other side of the fence.
If none of what I've said so far has remotely sounded crazy in the slightest, this is the part where shit should really start to hit the fan. Because climbing into the compound from the other side of the fence, in a downwards arc of its massive body, was the biggest forest crab I have ever seen.
The thing was huge. Like, really huge. It possessed a dirty brown colored appearance, with some parts of its shell-like armored plating covered in green splotches. Its legs were long and pincer like, and its two main frontal claws were massive, reinforced gauntlets ending in scissor like appendages. It had tiny, jagged needles coating almost every inch of its crustacean, with the most vicious looking ones located on its arms, its legs, and the sides of its shell. And other than the overall monstrous sea creature vibes the think presented, there was another disturbing aspect to the thing.
On its back. The topmost part of its shell. Sitting on what resembled a saddle and wielding a slag of rope that somehow connected to the giant crab's antenna, was a rider. Donning some kind of yellow, red ceremonial armor.
The mermaid had planned to catch me as she already had a hand stretched upwards, ready to somehow break my fall the second I cleared the compound and was falling on the outside part of the fence. But she might have thrown me further than she can catch me because our fingers barely even brushed the top of one another before a look of horror flashed across her face, and I mentally braced myself for the inevitable rough landing.
What followed was almost instantaneous.
The world around me sped up and I watched as a ground littered with sharp rocks and stones rushed towards my face. And the last thing I remember as I fell onto the ground was smashing the side of my head against something hard before going blank.
This next part might have Played out as if in a dream sequence, but it was just the symptoms of my brain going into shock.
I was sprawled on the floor. Unmoving. But I could still perceive most of my surroundings. The side of my face in the ground was warm, and I could make out the sound of something growling and bashing against a wall, and the voice of someone crying out over the noise in the distance.
"Hey! Are you okay? I'm sorry I did not catch you. Please. get up. Hey! Can you hear me? Please. Get up. Please!"
"Easy stone breaker. Easy." A second voice spoke out over the noise, and the bashing stopped. So did the growling.
"Look princess. What you've done."
The second voice belonged to a man. And if I were to guess, I would say it belonged to the same person I saw riding the giant crab.
"Please. Get up," the girl said.
“Disappointing,” the man said. ”You see princess, this is what happens whenever you do this. Death. Destruction. And innocent people suffer for it.”
There was a pause.
“I mean, I try my best to minimize the second one, but you can't seem to stop yourself from causing the first one," the man continued. “If you would just come with me back home princess. Watermeena misses you. Your parents miss you. And I’m sure you must be tired of all this constant running?”
I couldn't quite see what was happening mainly because I had fallen facing a patch of bushes, but the rock my head was now resting on beside a nearby tree, provided enough elevation for my peripheral vision to catch some of the action.
First was that the mermaid was still standing outside the wooden fence surrounding the farmhouse. However she was now in some kind of forward leaning stance, with her arms pushed out in front, holding steady a giant transparent blue dome that had seemingly appeared from nowhere and enveloped the compound. Trapping the giant crab and its rider inside.
Second was that she seemed to be getting tired. She had her head lowered, staring at the ground. Her arms were shaking. Her legs were quivering. And the bangles on her arms were starting to blink on and off, indicating that they were probably stressed and overheating, or were simply losing power. Either way, she looked like she was about to pass out and I felt like I needed to do something.
I slowly lifted my head up and was immediately rewarded with a sharp ache shooting through my skull. I lowered my head and winced in pain, before waiting a few seconds and trying again.
This time, I was able to lift my head up and also shuffle my first step forward. And my second. And my third. Other than what I was certain was a broken knee, twisted ankle, and a bruised rib, which were all yelling at my brain for my body to stop moving, I had no other injuries. At least, so I thought.
“Huh,” the voice of the man said. “It seems as though your pedestrian casualty survived after all.”
Still laying on the ground, I lifted my head up and turned in the direction of the farmhouse. The mermaid had also lifted her head up to stare back at me.
There were fresh tears running down the sides of her cheeks. But she now had a smile plastered across her face. A smile of relief. With a little worry sprinkled in.
“Well, isn't that just wonderful,” the man said. ”Now princess,” he continued, “the ball is in your court. You either bring him along and we all go in search of a healer to help dress his injuries, in which case we leave him there and continue onward to Watermeena. Or you leave the poor fellow here to bleed out, and instead do what you've always done. Run. With whatever charge still left in those rings of yours. Just know I cannot guarantee his safety if you do choose to run. Stonebreaker gets a bit agitated when he hasn't had his dinner. And guess who hasn't eaten all day because of you.”
The mermaid looked up at the rider on the crab, then look down back at me. The smile had disappeared from her face and was now replaced with the familiar flush of worry. I turned my attention away and continued to press forward on my elbows and remaining good knee. And after a little while, I was able to make it to the trunk of a tree and lifted myself up to rest my back on it.
Wait. Did he just threatened to feed me to the crab? And did he just say I was bleeding out?
I looked down and was mortified when I saw a trail of blood smeared along the ground from where I sat, all the way to a collection of rocks sticking out of the ground which must have been my point of impact. I lifted my hand and felt a deep gash on the side of my forehead, and a sticky warm liquid was now between my fingers and running along the side of my face. I was suddenly like headed, and unable to focus on anything around me but the voices speaking in the distance.
“Hey! No! Open your eyes! Stay with me!”
Wait. When did I close my eyes?
“He is going into shock. It's now or never princess. Make your choice.”
“No. Please. Wake up,“ I heard the voice of the girl ask, reminding me of that particular memory I really did not like. I opened my eyes to a blurred mess of the things around me, then turned my attention over to where the blurred figure of the mermaid still stood holding together the blurred dome wall.
“Time is running out princess. A few more minutes and he is going to lose consciousness. You should make your choice now.”
“Promise me you won't hurt him,” the girl said, her voice restrained. “And promise me your beast wouldn't lay a single claw on him either.”
“As the commander of the royal army, you have my word princess.”
There was another pause. And just as I began lowering my head and shutting my eyes closed, I made one last attempt in hopes of saving my ass and also preserving the mermaid's independence since it really seemed like she didn't want to go with him.
“Screech,” I said, mustering some of the remaining ounce of energy I could to say that one word.
“What? The mermaid replied,” sniffling.
“That thing you did earlier. Do it again,” I said. “Scream.”
“But that was an accident,” she replied, “and it can hurt you.”
“Just do it,” I said. “Please.”
"Don't bother princess," the man said. "Your disorientating song might have led us to you, but it is not going to drive us away.”
“Good,” I replied, lifting my head up to stare in their direction and blinking a few times to clear my vision. "There is someone I would like you guys to meet."
I turned so I was now facing the mermaid.
“Do it,” I said. “Now.” And with a reluctant nod of her head, she let out three consecutive wails that were not as vicious as the first one, but still packed enough punch to force My hands to cover my ears in response. Even stonebreaker seemed to stumble on his legs a little, before shaking his head to the sides and brushing off the noise. When she was finally done, she lifted her head to stare up at me, with the look in her eyes begging the question. What now?
Her answer came in form of The River beside us starting to bubble over, with a large dark humanoid shape slowly rising up from the deep.
She was awake.
Suddenly, the bangles on the mermaid's hands sparked a bright flash, forcing her to flinch in pain before releasing her grip on the blue dome and dropping to her knees. The bangles began dimming back into their original shade and the blue dome surrounding the compound evaporated.
The man did not cease the opportunity to steal the mermaid in that moment. Instead he was transfixed on the entity now emerging from the water.
The figure in the river continued to rise, until it was out of the water to its waste and was facing the direction of the farmhouse.
It was big. Very big. Its body was made entirely of dark brown roots and tree bark, and its eyes were hollow circuits of glowing lights. There was a greenish bluish swamp like slime covering its entire body, and the hair on its head was long, dark, drenched, and coated with seaweed. Its overall visage was akin to the top half of a woman, and when she spoke, it was with a thousand voices that came before her.
“I am Kiai Ohana. Mother of nature. Guardian, and protector of all living things in the forest. Crab fender.” The thing lifted her hand to point at the man sitting on the giant crab, which was now 10 times smaller in comparison. “You are currently violating the sanctity of this land with your presence and putting the life of yet another of my own at risk. As you and your men have done on multiple counts before,” she said, lowering her arm. “No longer should I allow such acts from you go unpunished. Leave now and consider this to be your final warning.”
Without saying another word, the crab fender pulled at the rains of his beast, steering his massive crustacean away from the mermaid and exiting the compound by crawling over the same fence he crawled in.
“You too little one,” the spirit said. Turning her attention over to the mermaid. “I must continue to recuperate. You must be on your way. Now.”
The mermaid got to her feet and rushed over to where I had my back against a tree.
“But can you please help him,” she said. “He is like this because of me.”
She tore a piece of her dress and pressed it against my forehead.
I want to say it hurt like hell, but I was already slipping back into unconsciousness, and everything was becoming numb. The girl kneeling in front of me was but a blur again at this point.
“I know,” the spirit replied. “I will see to it that he is treated. But you must go. Now. Like the crab fender, you have also caused a lot of trouble and are now trespassing on private land. And I cannot have that.”
“Okay,” the mermaid replied. “And I'm sorry for all I've caused. I really am. But thank you for accepting to help him. She said. Thank you."
“It's my duty little one,” the spirit said. “Don't thank me. Besides. I know this one. He is a sapling in training. Hopefully he is able to blossom before the start of the dark days, or a simple head injury would be the list of his problems. Now go little one. And don't come back.”
“Okay,” the mermaid replied.
Before leaving, the mermaid ended up wiping the blood from my face with the piece of fabric, then tor another piece from her dress and wrapped it around my head like a Makeshift Band-Aid. After that, she took my hand in hers and leaned in closer.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
And with that, she got to her feet and began bolting down towards the river, and just as she jumped into the water, I blinked a few times to clear my vision, and caught sight of her transformation as she dove into the water. Headfirst, tail last. Then, she was gone.
But the spirit was still there.
“Don't worry little sapling,” the spirit said, as my vision began to tunnel. “Help is on its way,” she added. “Save your strength and get well soon. The dark days are almost upon us. And I am going to need every man and woman of the runners, prepared to trade their lives for the forest. Including you.”
I could only mutter a silent "what?" Before I completely blacked out. And when I woke up a few hours later, the first thing to cross my mind was an echo of what the spirit had said.
"The dark days are almost upon us. And I am going to need every man and woman of the runners, prepared to trade their lives for the forest. Including you."
What the hell are the dark days?

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

My name is Thomas Saul, I am a member of the Skatin Nations tribe in British Columbia, Canada. I am of Salish, and European descent. I began this project around May 2021 when news broke about the Kamloops residential school where the remains of 215 children were allegedly found. As a teenager I briefly Attended Norkam secondary in Kamloops, and have friends and family who still live in Kamloops, so this hit close to home. Upon my research into The origin of this residential school I found that Israel wood Powell, a Freemason, was the Indian Superintendent at the time it was built. Four generations of my family attended residential schools, some in Port Alberni and some Mission City, so naturally I wanted to know more. I have come to the conclusion that Colonisation, Freemasonry, and residential schools go hand in hand. Its a Fact, both the United States and Canada would not exist without Freemasonry, Therefore many Freemasons played a leading role in the genocide of Indigenous Americans. “Freemasonry, as it exists in various forms all over the world, has a membership estimated at around 6 million worldwide.”
Genocide: The UN definition, which is used in international law, states that genocide is: "any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group," as such:(a) "Killing members of the group;"(b) "Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;"(c) "Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;"(d) "Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;"(e) "Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group."
The supreme governor of the Church of England is the head of the Church of England, a position which is vested in the British monarch. The father of the Royal Proclamation of 1763 King George III was not a Freemason, George III had announced that the colonies would no longer seize Native lands or purchase them without treaties. Starting in 1763, no English settlers could legally travel through or acquire land west of the Appalachian Mountains. The proclamation specifically stated that Native Americans had been subject to “great Frauds and Abuses” and that their sovereignty should be protected. Freemason Thomas Jefferson in his list of 27 grievances accused the king saying “He has excited domestic Insurrections among us, and has endeavoured to bring on the Inhabitants of our Frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known Rule of Warfare, is an undistinguished Destruction, of all Ages, Sexes, and Conditions.’’ Thomas Jefferson did this to build support for the revolutionary act that the Declaration of Independence would represent. It was suspected that the Freemasons were behind the Boston Tea Party, the American War of Independence, the french revolution, and Napoleonic France triggering British prime minister William Pitt’s, the Unlawful Societies Act of 1799 where he aimed to see Freemasonry abolished. Some Freemasons addressed Pitt explaining how vast their membership is and its connection to Royalty and As a result, Freemasons were excluded from the Act, but lodges were obliged to return a list of members to the local Clerk of the Peace every year, which are recorded in the Quarter Sessions.1. King George IV reigned from the death of George III until 1830, he was the first of many British Freemason kings and was the head of the Anglican church. William IV, Edward VII, Edward VIII, George VI were also masons. In the 209 years since the Union of the Premier and Ancient Grand Lodges to form the United Grand Lodge of England, a member of the Royal Family has been its Grand Master for more than 150.
A Freemason warrant of constitution is the Document which authorizes or gives a Warrant to certain persons therein named to organize and constitute a Lodge, Chapter, or other Masonic Body. The first Warrant for a military Lodge was issued by the Grand Lodge of Ireland in 1732 to the First British Foot Regiment. Within a few years the Grand Lodge of Scotland and both the Grand Lodge of England, Modern and Ancient were issuing Warrants to military Lodges. In 1733, 18 men gathered at the Bunch of Grapes Tavern on King Street in Boston and organized the first Masonic Lodge in North America. The first record of a military Lodge Warrant being issued in the new world happened during the French and Indian Wars. It was issued by the then Provincial Grand Master at Boston to the 28th British Foot in an expedition against the French at Crown Point. Edward Cornwallis became founder in December 1748, of a military Lodge in his regiment, the 20th. Foot, No. 63, on the registry of the Grand Lodge of Ireland. The warrant was issued to Lord George Sackville, Lieut. Col. The Hon. Edward Cornwallis and Captain Milburne. When in 1759 this famous regiment gained new honors at the battle of Minden, that name was immediately adopted as the name of the lodge. Cornwallis’ second lodge was founded in Halifax early in 1750 or possibly earlier, under a “deputation” or dispensation from Major Erasmus James Philipps of the 40th. Regiment at Annapolis Royal, Provincial Grand Master for Nova Scotia under Henry Price of Boston. Of this lodge, known as the First Lodge, Cornwallis was the first Master. Cornwallis In October 1749, issued an order that came to be known as the Scalping Proclamation. His government would pay a bounty to anyone who killed a Mi’kmaq adult or child in a bid to drive them off mainland Nova Scotia.
Sir William Johnson, an agent for the British Indian Department met Joseph Brant, a 9-year-old Mohawk boy while doing a land deal with Joseph's father King Hendrick. Sir William eventually started a common-law relationship with Joseph's sister Molly giving him incredible power over her tribe. Johnson groomed young Joseph Brant to become a loyal warrior and eventually leader of the six nations tribe. At 13 years old Joseph accompanied Johnson on his first tour with the military. Missionary Samuel Occham, a student of Eleazar Wheelock (father of The Great Awakening) procured a 19-year-old Joseph Brant to attend Moore's Indian charity school in Lebanon Connecticut with the blessings and charity of William Johnson. Freemasons Benjamin Franklin and Benedict Arnold had also donated money to Wheelock’s cause. William was the British Crown's first superintendent of Indian Affairs for the colony in 1756 and Joseph Brant was appointed as a captain in the Indian Department. Many Freemason colonists were high-ranking military who waged many wars on the Indigenous American population, scientists say so many Indigenous people were killed as a result of colonization it caused a mini ice age. After the North American wars, many Freemasons took positions as Indian agents helping to remove and segregate the native population. Anyone who wanted access to the six nations had to go through Indian agent Sir William Johnson and his family which includes the Brant family and the Kerr family through various marriages. At one point Johnson proposed that the moor's Indian Charity School move from Lebanon, Connecticut, to Johnstown but it never happened. Eventually, Johnson withdrew the support for Wheelock. In a letter Wheelock had suggested to Lord Dartmouth "The Nations will not make war with us while their Children, and especially the Children of their chiefs are with us” Dartmouth college claims that In 1766, Johnson was invited to join the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG), the largest and most influential Anglican missionary society in the 18th-century British-Atlantic world. He began working to place Anglican missionaries like Freemason and bishop Charles Inglis, rather than Congregationalist and Presbyterian ones, among the Six Nations. I believe Moore's dubbed “the great design” was the original model for the Mohawk Institute and the Canadian residential school system.
On April 10, 1766 Sir William Johnson was raised to the position of Master Mason of St Patrick's Lodge No. 4 where many Freemason Indian agents like John Butler, Guy Johnson, Sir John Johnson, William Johnson Kerr, Christian Daniel Claus, Gilbert Tice, George Croghan and A protégé of Reverend Eleazar Wheelock, Rev. Samuel Kirkland attended. In 1770 Johnson's fellow St Patrick's lodge Freemason Rev. Samuel Kirkland coincidentally parted ways with Wheelock and Moors charity school. Eventually Kirkland founded the Hamilton-Oneida Academy as a boys' school in central New York. In 1776 Joseph Brant was initiated into the Freemason fraternity in London England where it is rumoured a benefactor of Moors charity school king George III gave Brant his masonic apron. When Brant returned to Canada he became affiliated with Lodge No. 11 at the Mohawk village on the Grand River, of which he was the first Worshipful Master, and later affiliated with Barton Lodge No. 10. Joseph Brant invited fellow Freemason and grandson of Eleazar Wheelock to be a minister to the Mohawk. To Joseph It was imperative that Freemason Rev. Davenport Phelps was made minister of the Mohawks, so he reminded the Bishop, through Sir John, of the pledge which the Archbishop of Canterbury had made to him in the presence of the King, that whenever the Indians, by the erection of a church, should be ready for religious instruction, he would do all in his power to supply their wants. A Freemason named Rev. Robert Addison helped make this happen. Mr Addison, a relative of William Johnson, had been minister to the Six Nations and Joseph Brant and Freemason John Norton were his translators. Freemason Reverend Davenport Phelps and Jarvis Wheelock, the brother of Eleazar, were invited to Canada and granted land by Freemason and founder of the family compact John Graves Simcoe, the man behind the Simcoe patent. Mrs Simcoe in her Diary says, “In April of the following year Mary Brant (sister of Freemason Joseph Brant and common-law wife of Freemason Indian agent Sir William Johnson) successfully prescribed a favourite Indian remedy, the root of sweet flag (acorus calamus), for Governor Simcoe, who had been extremely ill with a persistent cough. The medicine relieved his malady “in a very short time. This brought the Brant family and Simcoe family close together. Davenport Phelps became the Worshipful Master of The Barton Lodge under Freemason William Jarvis and he was the first chaplain at the Mohawk Chapel. Davenport was the leader of many Indian agents who were members of The Barton Lodge. I suspect Davenport's mission was to help with the so-called Indian problem.
Chief Joseph Brant has been accused on many occasions of selling off land for his own enrichment and in a lot of cases he sold land to Freemasons. He granted 999-year leases to many families, the Nelles, the Young’s, the families of Adam Young UE, his three sons, Lieutenant John Young (Indian department) UE, Sergeant Daniel Young UE, and Private Henry Young UE, along with Captain Henry William Nelles UE and his families (Rev. Abraham Nelles). Many of these Indian agents were members of The Barton Lodge. Both Captain Henry William Nelles UE and Adam Young UE, fourth great-grandfather of Robert Collins McBride UE, were also the first Freemasons to settle in Haldimand County. Freemasons Robert Kerr and Rev. Robert Addison, William Kennedy Smith, also had land there. "There were very few outright legal sales of our land; 90 per cent of the leased land has never been paid for or paid to Six Nations," according to a research document prepared by Six Nations. Many Freemasons were involved with the Simcoe patent and the Haldimand Proclamation. Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe stated that the Indians could not lease their land since British subjects could lease land only from British subjects. Freemason William Jarvis signed the Haldimand proclamation, Freemason Thomas Ridout surveyor-general was behind the Ridout survey, Freemason Sir Peregrine Maitland lieutenant governor informed them that they had no title to the northern part of the grant, Freemason John Butler acted as an agent of purchase on behalf of the government, Freemason chief John Brant) and Freemason Robert Johnson Kerr finally went to England to lobby on behalf of the Six Nations.
Freemasons King George IV, and King William IV, reigned from January 29 1820 to June 20 1837. The idea of residential school was brought forward by the Freemason Governor of Upper Canada, Sir Peregrine Maitland, within the context of a proposal he made in 1820 to the Colonial Office "for ameliorating the condition of the Indians in the neighbourhood of our settlements." Maitland's proposal contained most of the civilising concepts and techniques that would be adopted in the next three decades. The American Freemason, President Andrew Jackson succeeded in pushing the Indian Removal Act through the United States Congress in 1828 leading to the trail of tears. John Brant solicited help from the New England company to build the Mohawk institute, the first residential school in Canada. The mohawk institute operated from 1831 to June 27, 1970. John Brant appointed Rev. Abraham Nelles son of Freemason Robert Nelles as principal of the Mohawk Institute. Abraham after over 30 years was succeeded by Freemason Robert Ashton. Oronhyatekha aka Peter Martin was also a Freemason and played an important role in the development of the Mohawk Institute. The Arthur of the Historical sketch of the Barton Lodge, No. 6, G.R.C., A.F. and A.M., says “the name of Brother John Brant is connected with important events in the history of Canadian Masonry.” John Brant is responsible for the formation of at least 12 residential schools in Ontario, while Freemason Israel Powell the superintendent of Indian affairs in British Columbia Powell “was able to boast that the government had established seventeen Indian schools, one for each year in office.”. Powell sought to establish several boarding schools across the province and particularly pushed for creating a school in Kamloops to address communities in the province’s interior.The school opened in Kamloops in 1890 and became one of the largest residential schools operated by Indian Affairs. The Freemason Organisation is vicariously liable for all abuses in those residential schools.
In 1837 a Rebellion in Upper Canada was led by William Lyon Mackenzie, who was a fierce critic of Simcoe’s Family Compact, an elite clique of businessmen and many Freemasons. Mackenzie opposed a system of land grants that favored settlers from Britain. Many Freemasons such as William Botsford Jarvis and Sir Allen Napier Macnab who was Joint premier of the Province of Canada helped stop this rebellion. Sir Allen Macnab was succeeded by Freemason Sir John A. Macdonald as Joint Premier. This Rebellion of 1837, this triggered the 6th generation Freemason Lord Durham to write The Durham Report, he was appointed governor in chief of British North America. In his 1839 Report on the Affairs of British North America, he recommended that Upper and Lower Canada be united under a single Parliament, with responsible government. In 1863 a steamboat named the Brother Johnathan) carried smallpox from San Francisco to British Columbia killing 1/3rd of the Native population. Many Freemasons like Thomas Harris the first mayor of Victoria, Israel Wood Powell who served in the Victoria Rifle Volunteer Corps which was established to protect the colony from the indigenous population, Amor De Cosmos who was the extremely racist editor of The Daily British Colonist, and Ronald J. NcDonell clerk for magistrate Pemberton who forced The Nuu-chah-nulth to leave their camp, escorted by two gunboats. There are many many more who may have purposefully mishandled the smallpox epidemic of 1863. British freemason Edward Jenner created the life-saving smallpox vaccine but on the other hand Freemasons Jeffrey Amherst and Col Henry Bouquet have been accused of distributing smallpox contaminated blankets to their enemies.
As early as 1866 Israel W. Powell, with his colleague Amor De Cosmos, had proposed confederation with the Canadian colonies. Israel Wood Powell, Superintendent of Indian affairs also outlawed potlatching an indigenous ceremony In British Columbia. Following the Lord Durham’s report, Freemason Henry Howard Molyneux Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon proposed The British North America Act, 1867 Under section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867, the federal government has exclusive legislative authority for "Indians, and Lands reserved for the Indians." Of the 36 Fathers of the Canadian confederation, 11 were Freemasons. One being Freemason Sir John A. Macdonald, He was named by the United Grand Lodge of England as their Grand Representative near to the Grand Lodge of Canada. Sir John A. Macdonald took a page from American Freemason Andrew Jackson's book by removing the Indigenous people from their land. He was proud that he was able to subdue the Indigenous people with less blood shed than his American brethren. One Of Macdonald's Legacies is the Canadian Pacific Railway which displaced many tribes across Canada. Sir John A. Macdonald's campaign promise in the 1870s was that he would have a railway built that would link the country from coast to coast. Freemasons Richard Marpole, Sir Sandford Fleming, Sir George J.A. Bury And the Chinese Freemasons of Vancouver and Alberta made Macdonald’s promise come true. As quickly as the railroad was laid Freemason lodges were erected. Louis Riel a Métis hero, led two resistance movements against the Government of Canada and its Freemason Prime Minister, John A. Macdonald. Riel sought to defend Métis rights and identity. The Wolseley expedition was a military force authorized by Sir John A. Macdonald to confront Louis Riel and had been dispatched to Red River under Freemason Colonel Garnet Joseph Wolseley. Another of Mcdonald's legacies is the North West Mounted Police. Macdonald established the N.W.M.P in 1873 which boasted 750 Freemason members in its time. He claimed that “it was intended to have a body of mounted rifles to protect the people from the chance of an Indian war.’’ Meanwhile, The Pacific Scandal, the first major post-Confederation political scandal in Canada, Sir John Macdonald and senior members of his Conservative Cabinet were accused of accepting election funds for the contract to build the C.P rail.
The near completion of the railway allowed troops from eastern Canada to quickly arrive in the territory causing Riel to surrender to Canadian forces. The NWMP barracks was where Louis Riel was detained after his arrest in 1885 for leading the North-West Rebellion. Many Freemasons were involved in the defeat of Louis Riel. The RCMP museum had a display of the noose which hung Riel. Macdonald said this about Riel "He shall die though every dog in Quebec barks in his favor." John A. Macdonald is also one of the fathers of the Canadian Indian act First passed in 1876. In 1879 Freemason Nicholas Flood Davin wrote the Report on Industrial Schools for Indians and Half-Breeds, otherwise known as The Davin Report. An amendment to the Indian Act in 1894 under Freemason Prime Minister Sir Mackenzie Bowell, made attendance at day schools, industrial schools, or residential schools compulsory for First Nations children, resulting in over 100000 Indigenous children being forcefully removed from their families by Indian agents and the RCMP. From 1740 to 1896 The Mexican government's response to the various uprisings of the Yaqui tribe have been likened to genocide particularly under Freemason Porfirio Diaz. Due to slavery and massacre, the population of the Yaqui tribe in Mexico was reduced from 30,000 to 7,000 under Diaz's rule. One source estimates at least 20,000 out of these Yaquis were victims of state murders in Sonora. It was during this period of the conflict that the United States Army fought the last battle of the American Indian Wars, the final battle being the Wounded Knee Massacre December 29, 1890, and in the subsequent Drexel Mission Fight the next day. In recent history the statues of Freemason John A. Macdonald, Freemason Edward Cornwallis, Freemason George Washington, Freemason Lawrence Sullivan Ross, Freemason Robert E. Lee and Andrew Jackson have all been vandalized but no mention of their affiliation to the Freemasons in the news. We can't point fingers at the church or government without first confirming whether or not the accused are Freemasons. The Order of the Eastern Star, Job's Daughters, and Rainbow Girls are masonic fraternities for women such as the daughter, widow, wife, sister, or mother of a Master Mason. All masons will cry out that Freemasonry has nothing to do with what an individual member has done, yet they all praise these men and prop them up as heroes. Freemasons claim to have superior morality compared to the average person, that they are the most honorable men on the planet, yet they refuse to acknowledge their members role in the genocide of the Indigenous Americans.
You may believe Freemasons are irrelevant nowadays but that is far from true. Winston Churchill is regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the 20th century. Churchill was initiated into Studholme Lodge No. 1591 on 24 May 1901. He said of the Pashtun people “all who resist will be killed without quarter,” Pashtun territory was occupied by the British in 1848 and divided into two areas. Winston Churchill's policies caused a famine that claimed more than 3 million Indian lives during the The Bengal famine of 1943. President Harry Truman, known as one of the most dedicated men to have joined Masonry on the morning of August 6, 1945, ordered an American B-29 bomber to drop two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians. John Edgar Hoover, more commonly referred to as J. Edgar Hoover, was an American attorney and director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Hoover was raised on November 9th 1920 in Federal Lodge No. 1 in Washington D.C. In 1919 Hoover became the head of the Bureau of Investigation's (predecessor of the FBI) new General Intelligence Division. The division was also called the Radical Division because it was the task of the division to find radical elements in American society to monitor and disrupt their activities. The Duke of Kent was initiated as a Freemason in Royal Alpha Lodge No. 16 in London on 16 December 1963. The Duke of Kent, is now UGLE’s longest-serving Grand Master. The Duke’s brother, Prince Michael of Kent, is also a Freemason and is Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons, and Provincial Grand Master of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Middlesex. On 6 March 1953, HRH Prince Philip progressed to the Second Degree of Freemasonry, before advancing to the Third Degree on 4 May 1953.
I encourage those who have been affected by the actions of Freemasons to begin a class action lawsuit against this organization in what ever country, state or province you live in and hold Freemasonry accountable for genocide. The first thing a Freemason will say when presented with this evidence is you don't know how masonry operates, that the lodge is not responsible for individual members actions. That is exactly what the Catholic church said before the Canadian Court of Appeal on July 28, 2020 had found the Archdiocese vicariously liable for abuses committed by a civilian employee. I witnessed countless people stand up against the Catholic Church for what they have done and the Pope came to Canada and apologized. Now it's time to turn your sight toward Freemasonry. You must understand that all Freemasons on the American contenent have greatly benefited from the genocide of Indigenous Americans.
“ Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's acceptance of an inquiry's finding that Canada committed genocide against Indigenous people could have tremendous legal impact if a court ever weighs Ottawa's responsibility for crimes against humanity, experts say.”
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/trudeau-s-acknowledgment-of-indigenous-genocide-could-have-legal-impacts-experts-1.5457668
"I didn't use the word genocide because it didn't come to mind but I described genocide," Pope Francis told reporters on the papal flight from Iqaluit to Rome on Friday.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/pope-francis-residential-schools-genocide-1.6537203
“The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths, and to secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it.”
― President John F. Kennedy
“President Kennedy issued an Executive Order prohibiting use of facilities on military bases by groups not integrated. The result was to bar Masonic lodges from using the bases.” Masonic Parallels with History - A Chronology of General and Masonic History by Alphonse Cerza. themasonictrowel
THE MILITARY AND FREEMASONRY
Freemasonry in Nova Scotia
Freemasonry at the Two Sieges of Louisbourg 1745 and 1758
Freemasonry in Quebec
Sir William Johnson, the Brant family, the Kerr family and the British Indian Department
MOOR’S INDIAN CHARITY SCHOOL
Mohawk Institute (Mush Hole)
The rebellion of 1837
Manitoba Freemasons
Saskatchewan Freemasons
North-West Rebellion
Provincial Premiers Alberta masons
The Canadian Pacific Railway
Smallpox epidemic of 1862
British Columbia Freemasons
Freemason Prime Ministers
American Freemasons and the genocide of the
Indigenous peoples.
Spanish Freemasons
Royal Freemasons
300 Years of Freemasonry Celebrated at Royal Albert Hall Global Event
Freemasonry according to Masons.
The Fourth Council of Toledo Canon 60 and Indian Residential Schools
Sources
https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQ4QiANX3BnEdEwD94FXfh1Nkg_RJ-XN5UhN0_gLX10isR2i08xUziA9ZX7sErUMdp4PTKKPhP0P7F2/pub#h.fpjzhjnusgk1

这是我曾经向我的朋友倾吐我身上的灾难，发泄压力时所作的解释。老实讲，不熟悉英文的话，机翻就好，内容有些部分换成中文会难以启齿 The thing is about 2019, I have accumulated a little influence through activities in some of the larger online communities. but,I have not used that for my personal image. Since I certainly thought that the Internet in China could be intentionally controlled by the government (not just censorship), I analyzed the state of public opinion at the time and found the target of someone I thought was an official.
He pretends to be a sane populist ,and, while uninteresting, always conducts relatively influential online activities. I deliberately pretended to be close to the same point of view as him and then kept shifting our conversation in other direction, implying that I knew he is official, he finally admitted, the evidence is that after that I tried to do something that might normally would get hit by censorship in common, but unexpectedly didn't get any.
When I say officials here, I don't mean the very obvious kind of robot opinion-controller who serves an unintelligent public. He disguised himself as a sane person to engage in so-called opposition activities, and, most importantly, he had the power to cross the distance of social software through personal connections to keep me safe from the direct hit of censorship.
I kept in touch with him until June 2020. At that time, China's internet censorship became very strict and I thought it was time for me to do something else, so I alienated him. Looking forward to 2021, I think the opportunity is ripe. At the time, a group of what I thought was a government-manipulated opposition group developed, all operating outside of GFW, at the time - mostly reddit. I was there to help build that community, like I didn't know that the administrators of that community and the manipulators behind it were the government. I did a lot of activities pretending to be someone who happened to be very smart, undermining their control, including debating with all kinds of people, making predictions about what was to come (my predictions were accurate enough to prove that I was obvious genius). When the time was right and that group had grown very influential (although a lot of the opposition who held by GFW didn't look there at all, but there was a great reputation there, so... ), I disclosed the purpose of what I did , continuing to announce to everyone that this is a hoax. My approach works. since I started doing it, knowledgeable, creative users keep silently leaving there. I put out a lot of evidence of experimental action, and that community quickly became unsustainable. But these so-called opposition groups are people with no economic motivation and little ability to organize, so I don't intend to let things develop too much. I'm just here to bust the government's scam. I don't know how important my actions are, but after I've been doing it for a while, there are people who are suspected officials who start doing unusual things, and they go around saying don't overdo it.
Chinese people are very stupid, they see these unusual things, a small number of people know what's going on, they don't help me but leave on their own, most people pretend it's not under the control skills of social psychology occur,choosen ignore. That's when I realized that if I continued, I'd only be able to develop this into something that I couldn't go back to, and I'd hit the upper limit of tolerance they've been hiding for control. So I gradually moved away from the opinion where I expressed my surrender.
The end result was that I brought 4 months of chaos to that community, but the subsequent impact was not measurable. That group can no longer grow up now. Although many people are silent, occasionally someone suddenly remembers my prophecy and what I said. I'll make an example of how important that community is. I think that in the West, both racists and feminists are, to a certain extent, tools of the government to control public opinion, and they have both been for a long time. This practice is only going to get worse in China. The meaning of that community in China is the sum of racism + democracy + good populism, and the voices of rogue feminists can't be compared to them, and can't seem to be comparable to them when they are active. But after my campaign, their voices are very weak compared to feminists. (I don't think feminists = bad people, but they will never become a group with sincere intentions under the manipulation of the government... omit this part)
My living conditions were so bad that I had no way of getting a job under very strict censorship, after I suffered a lot from worrying about the future: I tentatively disclosed my previous activities to the official I knew before identity in. I can't be a part of the work they do, I just want to prove my abilities and try to be their advisor and find opportunities to immigrate (sounds like adventurers from the colonies). If they don't accept it, they may arrest me right away. But surprisingly they didn't, I was terrified at first, and then I waited for the opportunity with peace of mind. I've been waiting since January of this year, until May to test their receptivity, and even started to do something outrageous (usually at least result in my account being banned), but nothing happened. until June. Because I see that the government's lockdown policy due to the coronavirus is about to lead to famine. I thought that was bound to happen, so quickened the urging of their voices
After I've said the above, I need to briefly describe my story and what that means. (They are all successful examples, I have not made a prediction of failure since 2020)
Basically a very early prophecy: I told them a week before the war in Ukraine that war was coming.
I think the US will find various reasons to ease the blockade of China
I think Xinjiang is more likely to be the focus of attention than the human rights situation of Chinese nationals or Tibetan/Myanmar
i think switzerland will suddenly take a stand in the ukraine war
The predictions I have made so far include:
The United States will focus on many social problems to one-time solution, and in fact has always regarded China as the target of its actions
Putin had a back deal to start the war in Ukraine (I said it here too, and showed that the war would last a long time. Now I say if the US is ready to act against China, the war in Ukraine will end)
Enthusiasm for these actions which going to China in the United States will suddenly rise, and tech giants and social media giants are looking for opportunities to indulge public opinion
Europe will temporarily remember the justice of colonialism
Apart from international issues, my predictions on social issues require too much explanation to write here,so ,I will explain the impact I have made.
The current enthusiasm for constitutionalism and enlightenment in China is the result of my previous actions
The smooth progress of the current power struggle within the ccp is partly the result of my previous actions. Roughly speaking, I have spread that China is not an autocratic monarchy but an aristocratic republic.
The acceptance of elitism among Chinese people is improving, which is also the result of my previous actions.
As you might imagine, these influences were caused by my Voltaire-like "performance". . .
No one else is on the same path as me but me, so you can almost be sure that it's all my credit
The public opinion environment in China is a very bad place. People are so stupid and lack personal credibility that they are actually easily manipulated by the government, so you can also think that I influenced public opinion by influencing individual officials. A lot of the public have long forgotten me, just as they have forgotten many things, but the officials who manipulated them had remember
After I finished my previous actions, I chose a new place (an anonymous board) to negotiate with them anonymously (what happened here is not new to me). This is the third time I've been looking for them, I don't know who I'm treating/how much power he has, I don't know how widely my deeds have spread, but since June, all this has made me Crazy development.
At first I was just urging them normally that they should hire me as a consultant, then I found out that some kind of response to my words was going on for a long time and still happening now. When I say I'm short on money right now, another person complains "My girlfriend doesn't reply to me, just asks me for money". I did not ignore such replies this time. A big part of my mental illness is because I'm an mtf and it's impossible to disclose that identity in the environment I'm in. I haven't made it public, but if they were an officer with knowledge of psychology, they would probably guess. So I jokingly said, "I'm so ugly, I'm pessimistic because I can't dress as a woman," and they started responding with a lot of encouragement.
It was an open environment, so our conversation went on in a signal for a few days, and I kept making it clear that my attitude was that I wanted money. Here's the summary: There is one specific individual, as an official, who knows about a recent selfie on my phone (government and business unite, a commonly invasion of privacy), and wants to be in a relationship with me! ?
I don't know his gender, age, position, attitude towards what I've done, what he's been up to lately, but he encouraged me to say I'm not ugly and that he's okay with rough dress.
I'm pretty confident about my appearance as a man, but chronic stress has made my skin really bad. Because I'm an mtf, I've been giving up on my male appearance all the time, and there are even many small accidental wounds on my body (he doesn't know this). As a woman, my appearance can only be said to be more like a child, but I is taller.
I realized that even though we were not publicly identified, officials like each other would not be low-ranking officials. I politely declined, guessing that the other person might actually be a female (older), but that the other person indicated that he was male and would not mind some violence if I had been refusing.
It looked like a shit story.
and when it happened, it was really bad. I can't just say no outright, it's dangerous, and I really need the money to get away from China's impending disaster, so I can't provoke him.
From June 4th to June 8th (I said it here, and...I actually meant it), I negotiated quite a lot, and finally chose to accept his proposal, but kept my desire to emigrate (I hope He will give up when he sees me in person). The final answer to the matter was ,the limited frame he said yes is june 8. he refused , let the negotiation stand in the am 0.00, saying "I hope we can easily have sex with each other and not think about it in the first place. my identity". He said he wished he and I would start with some sex-related conversations, almost wishing me to flirt.
Here, I thought that he might just be dissatisfied with me because of my previous actions, and at the same time dare not really hurt me, so he used this method to insult me. So I have always refused, my negotiating condition is unless he can guarantee to let me immigrate.
Our "negotiations" have since broken down, and I've even begun to do something dangerous that would make me re-emerge as troublesome by the government that he was forced give me answer. He tolerated these, but made no statement. Knowing now, I still don't know what my future holds and how exactly this happened. I still haven't seen him in person, don't know his age or gender, and haven't been punished for what I did.

Credit to u/SpacePaladin15 for his amazing worldbuilding.
[First]-[Previous]-[Next]
~~~~
Sorry for the delay, I was again busy with a university project. Woe be upon me for I forgot the NOP: in the title.
~~~~
Memory transcription subject: Ryan West, Runner Date [standardized human time]: November 25th, 2136.
It’s hard to tell if you’re moving in space. If there’s no close point of reference it can feel like you’re motionless. The engines run at quarter capacity to lower our heat signature. Even with our target, the green, barren moon of Turadus, in sight I can’t tell if we’re approaching or slowly drifting away. I sink into my seat and close my eyes, a bit tired.
“Would the Nevok actually attack the ship if they detected it?” I ask Tsanma as she manually pilots the ship.
“No, it’s very unlikely they’d take any direct action, especially against a cargo ship. But the intel the Countess can provide will be more useful if the Imperium is unaware that we possess it.”
“I see.” I say halfheartedly. I open my eyes again and the moon seems to have gotten a bit closer.
***
The station comes into view, various metal structures and domes poked from the green rock. The surface of the moon was very jagged, like an emerald badland. I make sure I’m out of view of the camera as Tsanma hails the station. The visage of a masked Nevok appears.
“Hello Compact representative, you are clear to land at bay two.” Tsanma dips her head in response and the feed cuts as quickly as it started.
I head to the back of the ship, I’ll be waiting in the bunks until we leave. We’ve done nothing but stare at a slowly approaching moon for nearly half a day. It's been the most exhausting part of the job so far.
Memory transcription subject: Reossa, Nevok Imperium Countess Date [standardized human time]: November 25th, 2136.
“Oh Lady,” Maylak is on the verge of tears, “must you leave? The estate is so safe.” She holds my bag for me as we walk to the landing bay; she’s not been taking it well.
“The plot came directly from the capital Maylak, it’s safe for now, but it’s only a matter of time before the Imperium sends someone here. Then none of you will be safe.” A small entourage of my personal servants has conglomerated in the steel halls as I walk. Most have taken the news with somber acceptance, but Maylak has been my chambermaid since she was a kitten.
I push through the doors to the bay, the small crowd stopping at the doors. Some cry their final goodbye, some just stand in silence. I see the fissan standing at the top of a small landing platform, she must be the captain. I grab my bag from Maylak who whines and holds it for a moment longer than she should have, I walk towards the ship. As I approach, the fissan dips her head in greeting.
“Hello Lady Roessa, I am Tsanma, a representative of the Fissan Compact.” She says with the flat tone of one who’s recited the phrase a thousand times before.
“Hello Tsanma, I hope my background doesn’t invoke any hostility between us.” I’d weighed my options of who to go to for a long time. In the end the Fissans were the closest, and obviously had a great deal to gain from my cooperation.
“Nonsense, the Compact is always open to those willing to do business.” I almost instinctively voice an objection to the statement. No point in wasting breath defending an empire that wants me dead.
“Alright, please, show me where I’ll be-” I’m cut off by a cry from Maylak, she runs towards me, jumping over a guard who tries to stop her.
“Please Lady, I need to come with you,” she grabs onto one of my paws with both of her own. I’m shocked she’d go this far. I look over to Tsanma pleadingly.
“She can come, we have enough room for the both of you.” she says. I sigh, it had taken a lot of mental preparation for what I thought would be the rest of life servantless, what a waste.
“Then I suppose,” I look to Maylak, “you can come.” she signals joy with her tail. She quickly sprints back into the crowd of servants by the door, and comes back holding her own bag.
“My Lady, you won’t regret it.” She says, holding the small bag.
“You seem prepared.” I give, she holds her ears down in shame though her tail still says joy.
“A very touching scene, but please hurry, we have a schedule to meet.” Tsanma says as she walks back into the ship. Maylak and I follow her in. “I’ll go over everything once we’re voidborne, for now please just sit down.” She mans the ship and the engines begin to lightly rumble. The rumbling quickly eases as we leave the artificial gravity of the station. Tsanma activates auto-pilot and the ship begins a very slow ascent from the moon’s green surface.
“I can’t help but notice the lack of personnel. Where is everyone?” I ask.
“We keep our cargo ship crew light. I’m knowledgeable enough in ship maintenance that a dedicated mechanic is unnecessary. Though currently we have an exceptionally low crew.”
“Who else is there?” Maylak asks.
“Besides myself we have a single security contractor on board. I’ll show you around the ship.” Tsanma walks out of the cockpit, pointing to the various rooms of the ship.
Only two crewmembers? I consider as she points to a closed door,
“This is the dorm room you’ll be staying in.” She doesn’t open the door and continues the small tour. After a short time we’re back in the cockpit. “I hope you find the ship acceptable for our short journey.” She sits in the pilot seat and deactivates the auto-pilot.
“I’ll go prepare your quarters my Lady.” Maylak says as she walks out. Half a second later Tsanma turns back to her,
“Wait!” she says, the slight delay of the translators stopped the words from reaching her before she left the cockpit. Tsanma sighs, but just looks forward in her seat.
“What’s the matter? I presume the security guard was in the room but I’m certain Maylak won’t disturb them.”
“That’s not exactly the issue.” she says.
“Well what’s-” I hear a scream come from the back of the ship, my ears shoot up in alert. “Maylak!?” I run out of the cockpit, I hear a loud deep voice yell,
“Fuck, OW!” I almost run into Maylak as she comes sprinting out of the dorms.
“LADY IT- THERE- A- AH-” She speaks erratically, placing a hand on my shoulder. A large body comes from the door, a clawless hand rubs its face as it groans. Maylak scurries behind me. The being is without fur save a long patch that comes from its head to its back, unfamiliar clothes cover most of its body. A single piercing eye peaks through it’s hand.
“Ah, you must be the Countess, and…”, it looks between Maylak and I. Neither of us say anything for a few long moments.
“Are you a human?” I ask. It removes it’s hand from it’s face, revealing it’s second forward facing eye. The gaze is nearly paralyzing, but I maintain my composure.
“Tsanma didn’t explain to you? I’m the security detail.” I feel Maylak release her paw from my shoulder as she slumps to the ground, unconscious.
“A fine mess you’ve made Ryan, and in only a few minutes since we’ve left.” Tsanma’s voice comes from behind me.
“I hardly see how this is my fault.” He says as he walks towards Maylak, he stops right before he’s upon me and says, “Ah, I’m just going to lay her on one of the beds. Also, who is who?” He carefully grabs Maylak under her legs and neck. The sight of the predator holding her shoots fear through me. The only thing keeping me calm is the assurance that the Compact wouldn’t bring a predator if it was a danger to me. I repeated this fact through my head like a mantra.
“The one who didn’t faint is the Countess, Reossa.” Tsanma answers for me, “The one you hold is one of her servants.” The man, Ryan was his name? He looks at Maylak as he listens to Tsanma.
“I see, well if she wakes up in my arms she’ll probably have a heart attack.” He walks into the dorms. I feel my heart rate lower as he leaves my sight. I turn to Tsanma,
“Why a human?” A much more direct question than I hoped for, but the stress made it come out.
“Various reasons, chiefly their intimidation factor. The strength is certainly another qualifier.” She says as if it weren’t a mad calculation. A moment later Ryan comes back from the dorms.
“Also, I’m a really good dancer.” Ryan adds. Tsanma lowers her horn slightly towards him.
“We will not discuss that event in the presence of the Countess.” she says sternly, causing Ryan to give a small, rhythmic growl.
“Anyways, I’m a bit hungry,” he checks his holopad, “I’m eating.” He walks into the kitchen and Tsanma returns to the cockpit. He’s eating? What would he eat? Images of the human tearing into dead flesh made me sick, but a morbid curiosity consumed me.
Certainly they wouldn’t keep flesh on the ship. I peek into the kitchen and see Ryan procuring various tools. He flips a switch on the counter, and a small flame raises from a burner.
“You need something,” he pauses for a moment, considering his words, “countess?” He says unsure, “Sorry I’m not sure what would be an appropriate way to address you.”
“Just Reossa is fine.” I say, I don’t want to make the predator see me as above him, a contender for dominance. “But no, I’m just curious.”
“About?” He procures a small bag from the refrigerator and I sit in a metal chair.
“What you’re making.” I don’t know where the bravado to risk a glimpse of dead flesh came from.
“Oh, I’m making stir fry,” he dumps a small amount of oil into the pan, fat oils? I shutter slightly. “It’s like, well actually the name says it all, basically you put anything in a pan and stir it as it cooks. Though I don’t have a wok so it’s a bit hard.” he tears open the bag and a large amount of mixed Fissan vegetables falls into the pan. “I’m not sure what most of these are called actually. Tsanma keeps on telling me but I never eat any of them separate from the rest. Er, I guess I know the white beans are called urag beans, but that’s it.”
“And that’s all you’re having?” I ask
“Oh, you’re right, I’m missing something.” he returns to the fridge and my heart rate spikes, he must’ve forgotten the flesh. He pulls out a small opaque jar. He returns to the burner and opens the jar, he puts a spoon in and out, a small glob of black goo comes with it. He flicks the substance into the pan.
“What is that?” My eyes are wide, congealed blood?
“Uh, some sort of bean sauce, It’s a bit sweet, I don’t remember what it’s called though.”
“You’re not eating,” I shrink in the seat, “flesh?” I add quietly. He pauses, continuing to stir in the pan. He says nothing for a few moments.
“I know you probably think Tsanma is crazy or whatever for having a predator on board. But it’s not like she’s emotionless, eh? Please don’t go lookin’ at her like you do at me, she wouldn’t keep meat on the ship.” I was relieved for a moment before realizing the implication; he’d keep meat on the ship if he could, it’s merely not allowed. Neither of us speak for a moment.
“Well!” He says suddenly, “Want to try some when it’s done?” He asks. I consider the proposition, I saw everything he added, none of it seemed poisoned or from a living being. I quickly recall the oil he put in,
“What type of oil was that?”
“I don’t know, something fissan probably, Tsanma just called it ‘oil’.”
“Then, I will accept.” We sit in silence for a while until he declares the food ready, he walks towards a small cabinet with securely held bowls and plates. He grabs two bowls and fills them, he places one in front of me and sits across the table.
“I feel a bit bad, I gave you almost half of what I got but,” his eyes run up my body, “you’re about half my size though, so I guess it works out. I hope it’s up to your standards.” He quickly starts eating, when his mouth opens, the slightly lustrous, dulled ends of canines flash into sight. I find my attention drawn to his mouth every time it opens. I take a scoop of the food, various vegetables sit on the spoon, wilted from the heat. I put the spoon in my mouth.
“It’s alright. For someone who doesn’t know what they’re cooking, you did well.” He quickly finishes his food before I’m done half of my own.
“Alright, I’ll be with Tsanma, when you’re done we need to go over sleeping schedules.” I swish my tail to signify I understood, he seems to get what I mean, and leaves.
I slowly eat the rest of the food and look around. The internal design of the fissan ship is unfamiliar to me. I can’t name the food I’m eating. I’m on a ship with a predator. How long had it been since I had felt anything akin to this instability? I feel rootless, lost, betrayed by my nation for reasons completely unknown to me. With the fear of the predator subsiding, I realize it wasn’t the worst of what I felt. Perhaps this is why I stayed and watched him. I wish he was back so I could replace this feeling with fear and detest. I put another spoonful of the food into my mouth. I close my eyes as I chew— a tear falls into the bowl. I had lied; the food was amazing.
Memory transcription subject: Nittal, Takkan Mercenary Date [standardized human time]: November 25th, 2136.
I rhythmically tap a claw on the dashboard of the ship. The Imperium requested we give them the ship’s landing location, the fact that it had landed on the moon was supposedly a big deal. I wasn’t happy to be kept waiting after tailing the fissan ship manually, in real space for such a long time. Suddenly the ship is hailed from Turadus, Laz quickly answers the call. The visage of our contractor appears on screen.
“Hello, the deal is being updated,” I almost yell an objection before he continues, “we’re increasing your pay,” typically the ‘deal being updated’ was code for ‘we’re screwing you’, I quickly calm down “There’s a nevok that was picked up by the fissan ship, we want you to kill her. If you can confirm her death there’s another hundred thousand credits in the deal.”
“We will gladly take that update.” I give.
“Great. Since the ship took such great lengths to avoid detection from the colony, they’ll no doubt be doing the same while leaving. You’ll have plenty of time to intercept them on their path. Do not fail us.” The feed cuts, always so direct these people, but I wasn’t complaining.
The ship is currently resting in a small crevice on the surface of Turadus’ moon. For a bit the ship had been visible with the naked eye. I resist the urge to merely gun the ship down, we’d have to dock in order to capture the fissan agent. That means waiting until they were out of the moon's gravity well. Laz sits in the seat watching the radar, those stimulants were a godsend, neither of us were a bit tired. If anything I felt excited, dangerously so. By the great dissolution, this mission will be a test of will more so than anything.

Exactly what the title says, I just need to vent. So today started alright, I got up, got some coffee, and started chatting with my mom and dad. My dad for some reason wanted to be annoying today and would ask me a questions or I would talk to him about something and he would immediately start playing a video very loud. I start getting annoyed but whatever. Something that I wanted to do this morning is do a doggy DNA test on my two mutts. I start preparing that but my dad had given them some treats so I had to wait longer than I wanted to, but whatever. As I’m waiting my dad starts making the weirdest sounds, I am somewhat sensitive to sound so it felt like nails on a chalk board, but I did my best to ignore it. Then my parents start talking about politics, and I jokingly said I have slightly different thoughts than them (within the same political party but a different direction) and they threatened to hit me with a belt :). Were they joking, probably? I couldn’t tell to be honest but I was familiar with the belt growing up (im 21 now). Finally the timer for me to do the dna test for my dogs goes off, my dad leaves the house, and things start to calm down. As I pull out the swab to do my first dog and start getting the cheek swabbed, my other dog sees a delivery person, freaks out, which causes the other dog to freak out, making me drop the swab. Mind you, each test is over $100 and this was the one step in the process that could not go wrong. At this point it was like a rubber band that had been stretched all morning finally snapped and I screamed at my dogs, scaring them (they are very sensitive and I rarely raise my voice), then making myself feel incredibly horrible. I finished the tests on the dogs (on the bright side if the ones comes back inconclusive then they will send another), and I cried for an hour. It was about 10am at that point in the morning. So yeah now I feel incredibly guilty but dogs have short term memory and probably don’t even remember anything.

Selling lots of classics, many Japanese pressings in pristine shape. Info regarding pressing version, inserts, OBIs, and sound quality (if I had the chance to listen to it) are noted in the spreadsheet below:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1q56B6gEH28roEyLT400zTw2Q9XXbwMta4nwHM8fQDrA/edit?usp=sharing
Shipping is from Honolulu, Hawaii via media mail for an added $5 on the listed price. Shipping only to US. All opened records are packaged outside of their covers inside poly outer sleeves. LPs are placed in either antistatic rice-paper inner sleeves or plain white inner sleeves as opposed to their custom printed sleeves. This doesn't apply to sealed records.
Note: Shipping via media mail from Hawaii can take up to 4-8 weeks according to USPS. If you'd like to switch to Priority Shipping, I can come up with an accurate shipping quote depending on the records you purchase. Priority generally comes out to an average of $15, but again, it all depends on the titles you purchase. However, I so far haven't had any issues with media mail; Previous sales have taken a maximum of 3 weeks to arrive.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions and requests for pictures if you're considering purchasing. I want to make sure we're all on the same page about the grading and hope that whichever record you're interested in meets your expectations.
​

1. Abbey Lincoln - That's Him (E- / VG+) = $30.00
2. Al Green - Livin' For You (VG+ / VG+) = $10.00
3. Al Kooper Introduces Shuggie Otis - Kooper Session (VG+ / VG) = $10.00
4. Albert Ayler Trio - Spiritual Unity (E / E-) = $35.00
5. Archie Shepp - Four For Trane (E / E-) = $40.00
6. Archie Shepp - Fire Music (VG / VG) = $40.00
7. Aretha Franklin - I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You (VG++ / VG++) = $30.00
8. Aretha Franklin - Aretha Now (G+ / G+) = $10.00
9. Aretha Franklin - Spirit In The Dark (VG / VG) = $20.00
10. Arthur Lyman - Island Vibes (VG / VG+) = $50.00
11. Bill Evans - Conversations With Myself (E- / E-) = $40.00
12. Bill Evans - At The Montreux Jazz Festival (E / E-) = $40.00
13. Blue Mitchell - Boss Horn (VG+ / VG+) = $45.00
14. Bob Dylan - Self Portrait (VG+ / VG+) = $20.00
15. Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan (G+ / G+) = $10.00
16. Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited (VG+ / VG) = $15.00
17. Bobbi Humphrey - Blacks And Blues (VG+ / VG+) = $35.00
18. Bobby Caldwell - Cat In The Hat (E- / E) = $40.00
19. Bobby Caldwell - Cat In The Hat (NM - Sealed / NM - Sealed) = $50.00 (Unsure which exact pressing)
20. Bobby Lyle - The Genie (VG+ / G+) = $20.00
21. Buckingham Nicks - Buckingham Nicks (VG / VG) = $40.00
22. Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else (E / E-) = $65.00
23. Change - Miracles (E / VG++) = $35.00
24. Change - The Glow Of Love (VG / VG) = $15.00
25. Charles Mingus - Oh Yeah (E / E-) = $35.00
26. Charles Mingus - Blues & Roots (E / E-) = $40.00
27. Charles Mingus - Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus (VG+ / VG+) = $70.00
28. Chet Baker - Chet Baker Sings (E / E) = $70.00
29. Curtis Mayfield - Curtis (E / E-) = $75.00
30. David Bowie - "Heroes" = 英雄夢語り（ヒーローズ） (E / E-) = $60.00
31. David Bowie - Low (E / VG++) = $60.00
32. David Bowie - The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (VG / VG) = $25.00
33. David Bowie = David Bowie - Hunky Dory = ハンキー·ドリー (E / E-) = $70.00
34. Deerhunter - Fading Frontier (M / M) = $20.00
35. Duke Ellington & John Coltrane - Duke Ellington & John Coltrane (E / E) = $45.00
36. Duke Ellington • Charles Mingus • Max Roach - Money Jungle (VG / F) = $40.00
37. Duke Ellington And His Orchestra - Anatomy Of A Murder (VG / G+) = $15.00
38. Eddie Kamae And The The Sons Of Hawaii - This Is Eddie Kamae (VG / VG+) = $20.00
39. Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Duke Ellington Song Book, Vol. 1 (VG+ / VG) = $20.00
40. Ella Fitzgerald - Sings The Rodgers And Hart Song Book (VG+ / VG+) = $20.00
41. Emitt Rhodes - Emitt Rhodes (VG / VG) = $20.00
42. Evelyn King - I'm In Love (VG / VG+) = $15.00
43. Fela Kuti And Africa 70 - Zombie (VG+ / VG+) = $40.00
44. Fela Kuti And Africa 70 With Ginger Baker - Live! (VG / G) = $40.00
45. Frank Ocean - Endless (SEALED (Presumably M) / SEALED / VG++) = $380.00
46. Frank Zappa - Waka / Jawaka - Hot Rats (VG+ / VG+) = $20.00
47. Freddie Hubbard / Stanley Turrentine With Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Jack DeJohnette, Eric Gale - In Concert Volume One (VG+ / VG+) = $15.00
48. Gene Harris - Astralsignal (VG / VG) = $45.00
49. Graham Nash - Songs For Beginners (VG+ / VG) = $5.00
50. Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel (VG / VG) = $20.00
51. Hank Mobley - Workout (E / E) = $60.00
52. Hank Mobley - A Caddy For Daddy (VG+ / VG+) = $50.00
53. Happy End - 風街ろまん (E / E) = $80.00
54. Herbie Hancock - Takin' Off (E / E) = $50.00
55. Herbie Hancock - Fat Albert Rotunda (VG / VG) = $45.00
56. Herbie Hancock = Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage = 処女航海 (E / VG+) = $50.00
57. Horace Silver - Horace Silver Trio (VG+ / VG+) = $35.00
58. Howlin' Wolf - Howling Wolf Sings The Blues (VG / G) = $40.00
59. Jaco Pastorius - Jaco Pastorius (E- / VG++) = $35.00
60. João Gilberto - The Boss of the Bossa Nova (VG / VG) = $30.00
61. John Coltrane - Transition (E- / E-) = $40.00
62. John Coltrane - Coltrane's Sound (E- / E-) = $40.00
63. John Coltrane - Coltrane Jazz (E / E) = $40.00
64. John Coltrane - Blue Train (E / E-) = $70.00
65. John Coltrane - Kulu Sé Mama (Juno Sé Mama) (G+ / G+) = $15.00
66. John Coltrane - Blue Train (VG+ / NM) = $25.00
67. John Coltrane - Meditations (VG / VG) = $40.00
68. John Coltrane - Ascension (Edition I) (VG / VG) = $75.00
69. John Coltrane - A Love Supreme (VG / VG) = $40.00
70. John Coltrane - Expression (VG / VG) = $40.00
71. John Fahey - Volume 1 / Blind Joe Death (VG+ / VG) = $25.00
72. John Fahey - The Best Of John Fahey 1959 - 1977 (VG+ / VG+) = $20.00
73. John Tropea - Short Trip To Space (VG+ / VG) = $15.00
74. Johnny Cash - Johnny Cash At San Quentin (VG / VG) = $15.00
75. Joni Mitchell - Blue (VG / G+) = $20.00
76. Kalapana - Kalapana II (E / E-) = $30.00
77. Kamasi Washington - The Epic (NM / NM) = $100.00
78. Kate Bush - The Kick Inside = 天使と小悪魔 (E / E-) = $45.00
79. Kate Bush - The Dreaming (E / E-) = $40.00
80. Kate Bush - The Whole Story (E / E-) = $50.00
81. Kate Bush - Hounds Of Love (VG+ / VG+) = $85.00
82. Kate Bush - Never For Ever = 魔物語 (E / E-) = $40.00
83. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly (NM / NM) = $25.00
84. Kendrick Lamar - Untitled Unmastered. (M / M) = $90.00
85. Kevin I. - Kevin I. (VG / VG+) = $40.00
86. King Crimson - Red (VG / VG) = $20.00
87. King Crimson - Starless And Bible Black (VG+ / VG) = $20.00
88. Leonard Cohen - Ten New Songs (VG+ / VG+) = $45.00
89. Leonard Kwan And Raymond Kane - Slack Key Guitar In Stereo (VG+ / VG+) = $25.00
90. LeRoy Hutson - Hutson (VG / VG+) = $30.00
91. LeRoy Hutson Featuring The Free Spirit Symphony - Feel The Spirit (VG / VG) = $30.00
92. Lonnie Liston Smith And The Cosmic Echoes - Expansions (VG+ / VG+) = $40.00
93. Lonnie Liston Smith And The Cosmic Echoes - Visions Of A New World (VG / VG+) = $35.00
94. Lonnie Liston Smith And The Cosmic Echoes - Renaissance (VG / VG) = $35.00
95. Lou Reed - Transformer (VG / G+) = $20.00
96. Louis Prima Featuring Keely Smith With Sam Butera And The Witnesses - The Wildest! (VG / VG) = $25.00
97. Mac Demarco - Another (Demo) One (NM / NM) = $30.00
98. Marc Benno - Minnows (VG / VG) = $20.00
99. Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - Watchout! (VG+ / VG+) = $20.00
100. Marvin Gaye - How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You (E / E-) = $40.00
101. Marvin Gaye - I Want You (E- / E-) = $45.00
102. Marvin Gaye - Marvin Gaye Live! (E / E-) = $40.00
103. Marvin Gaye - What's Going On (E / E-) = $65.00
104. Marvin Gaye = Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On = レッツ·ゲット·イット·オン (E / E-) = $40.00
105. Max Romeo & The Upsetters - War Ina Babylon (VG / VG) = $25.00
106. McCoy Tyner - Live At Newport (VG / VG) = $40.00
107. Merry Clayton - Merry Clayton (VG / G+) = $15.00
108. Michael Jackson - Thriller (VG / VG+) = $10.00
109. Miles Davis - Miles Davis (E- / VG+) = $45.00
110. Miles Davis - Agharta = アガルタの凱歌 (E- / E-) = $50.00
111. Miles Davis - On The Corner (E / E) = $50.00
112. Miles Davis - Sketches Of Spain (VG / VG+) = $25.00
113. Miles Davis - A Tribute To Jack Johnson (VG+ / VG+) = $25.00
114. Miles Davis - In A Silent Way (VG+ / VG) = $25.00
115. Miles Davis + 19, Gil Evans - Miles Ahead (VG+ / VG+) = $20.00
116. Milt Jackson - Sunflower (VG+ / VG) = $20.00
117. Mtume - Juicy Fruit (VG+ / VG+) = $20.00
118. Ned Doheny - Hard Candy (E- / E-) = $40.00
119. Nina Simone - Little Girl Blue (E- / E-) = $60.00
120. Nina Simone - Forbidden Fruit - Nina Simone Collections Vol. 1 (E / E-) = $45.00
121. Nina Simone - Here Comes The Sun (E / E-) = $45.00
122. Nina Simone - Baltimore (VG / VG+) = $45.00
123. Nina Simone - Pastel Blues (E- / E-) = $65.00
124. Nina Simone - I Put A Spell On You (VG / VG) = $65.00
125. Nina Simone - Silk & Soul (G+ / G+) = $30.00
126. Oliver Nelson - More Blues And The Abstract Truth (VG- / VG+) = $20.00
127. Ornette Coleman - The Shape Of Jazz To Come (E- / VG++) = $40.00
128. Otis Redding - Otis Blue / Otis Redding Sings Soul (E / E-) = $45.00
129. Otis Redding - The Dock Of The Bay (E / E-) = $45.00
130. Patrice Rushen - Posh (VG / VG) = $20.00
131. Philip Glass - Koyaanisqatsi (Life Out Of Balance) (Original Soundtrack Album From The Motion Picture) (VG++ / VG+) = $30.00
132. Philip Glass - Glassworks (VG+ / VG+) = $30.00
133. Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon (VG+ / P) = $40.00
134. Prince - Sign "O" The Times (E / E-) = $70.00
135. Prince - 1999 (VG- / VG+) = $15.00
136. R.E.M. - Reckoning (VG+ / VG+) = $25.00
137. Ramsey Lewis - Mother Nature's Son (VG / VG+) = $35.00
138. Ray Charles - Yes Indeed! (VG / VG) = $10.00
139. Ray Charles - The Genius Of Ray Charles (VG / VG+) = $15.00
140. Robert Wyatt - Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard (VG++ / E-) = $30.00
141. Roland Kirk - The Inflated Tear (E- / E-) = $35.00
142. Roland Kirk - I Talk With The Spirits (E / E-) = $45.00
143. Ronnie Laws - Pressure Sensitive (VG+ / VG) = $10.00
144. Rotary Connection - Aladdin (VG+ / VG) = $10.00
145. Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure (VG+ / VG+) = $20.00
146. Roy Ayers Ubiquity - Everybody Loves The Sunshine (VG+ / VG+) = $60.00
147. Ryuichi Sakamoto - Neo Geo (VG+ / VG+) = $15.00
148. Ryuichi Sakamoto Featuring Robin Scott - Left Handed Dream (VG+ / VG+) = $15.00
149. Sandy Bull - Inventions (VG+ / VG) = $15.00
150. Sonny Rollins - Way Out West (E / E-) = $40.00
151. Sonny Rollins - The Bridge (E / E-) = $40.00
152. Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Colossus (VG / VG) = $50.00
153. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy (NM / NM) = $20.00
154. St. Vincent - St. Vincent (NM / NM) = $90.00
155. Stan Getz / João Gilberto Featuring Antonio Carlos Jobim - Getz / Gilberto (VG / VG) = $10.00
156. Steely Dan - Aja (G+ / VG) = $15.00
157. Steve Reich - Music For 18 Musicians (VG+ / VG+) = $50.00
158. Steve Reich - The Desert Music (VG+ / VG+) = $20.00
159. Steve Reich / Richard Maxfield / Pauline Oliveros - New Sounds In Electronic Music (Come Out / Night Music / I Of IV) (VG / VG) = $45.00
160. Stevie Wonder - Hotter Than July (VG / VG) = $10.00
161. Stevie Wonder - Signed Sealed & Delivered (NM - Sealed / NM - Sealed) = $40.00
162. Stevie Wonder - Talking Book (VG / VG) = $10.00
163. Stevie Wonder - Innervisions (G+ / VG+) = $10.00
164. Stevie Wonder - My Cherie Amour (VG+ / VG) = $20.00
165. Suburban Lawns - Baby (VG+ / VG+) = $20.00
166. Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell (NM / NM) = $20.00
167. Sufjan Stevens - Chicago (Demo) (NM / Generic) = $25.00
168. Syd Barrett - The Madcap Laughs (M / M) = $25.00
169. T. Rex - Electric Warrior (E / E-) = $45.00
170. Talking Heads - Remain In Light (E / E-) = $45.00
171. Tame Impala - Currents (NM / NM) = $65.00
172. Tame Impala - Tame Impala (NM / NM) = $100.00
173. Tenement - Bruised Music, Vol.2 (NM / NM) = $5.00
174. Terry Riley - Shri Camel (VG+ / VG+) = $30.00
175. Terry Riley - In C (VG / VG) = $30.00
176. Terry Riley - A Rainbow In Curved Air (VG / No Cover) = $5.00
177. The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds / Carl And The Passions – So Tough (VG+ / G+) = $15.00
178. The Beach Boys - Sunflower (VG+ / VG+) = $25.00
179. The Beach Boys - The Beach Boys Today! (VG / VG) = $10.00
180. The Beatles - The Beatles (VG+ / VG) = $20.00
181. The Beatles - Please Please Me (VG+ / VG+) = $30.00
182. The Beatles - The Beatles (VG+ / G++) = $60.00
183. The Bill Evans Trio - Portrait In Jazz (E / E-) = $55.00
184. The Bill Evans Trio - Waltz For Debby (E / VG++) = $60.00
185. The Bill Evans Trio = The Bill Evans Trio - Explorations = エクスプロレイションズ (E / E-) = $40.00
186. The Bill Evans Trio Featuring Scott LaFaro - Sunday At The Village Vanguard (E / E) = $65.00
187. The Brothers & Sisters (2) - Dylan's Gospel (VG / VG) = $20.00
188. The Clash - Sandinista! (VG+ / VG+) = $25.00
189. The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out (VG / VG+) = $15.00
190. The Fall - Cruiser's Creek (VG+ / VG+) = $10.00
191. The Gabby Pahinui Hawaiian Band - The Gabby Pahinui Hawaiian Band (VG / VG) = $15.00
192. The Horace Silver Quintet - Song For My Father (Cantiga Para Meu Pai) (E- / E-) = $50.00
193. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced (G+ / VG) = $10.00
194. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland (VG+ / VG+) = $30.00
195. The John Coltrane Quartet - Africa / Brass (E- / E-) = $40.00
196. The John Coltrane Quartet With McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison & Elvin Jones - Ballads (E- / VG+) = $40.00
197. The Kinks - The Kink Kronikles (VG+ / VG+) = $25.00
198. The Kinks - Arthur Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire (VG / VG) = $25.00
199. The Makaha Sons Of Ni'ihau - No Kristo (VG+ / VG+) = $30.00
200. The Miles Davis Quintet - Cookin' With The Miles Davis Quintet (E / E-) = $40.00
201. The Miles Davis Sextet / The Miles Davis Quintet - Miles At Newport (VG+ / VG) = $10.00
202. The Mothers - Uncle Meat (VG+ / VG) = $25.00
203. The Mothers - We're Only In It For The Money (VG+ / VG+) = $25.00
204. The Ornette Coleman Trio - At The "Golden Circle" Stockholm - Volume One (VG / VG) = $45.00
205. The Pop Group - Y (E / E-) = $40.00
206. The Pretty Things - Parachute (NM / NM) = $20.00
207. The Rolling Stones - Aftermath (VG / VG) = $15.00
208. The Rolling Stones - Beggars Banquet (VG / VG+) = $15.00
209. The Rolling Stones - Exile On Main St. (VG+ / VG+) = $35.00
210. The Sons Of Hawaii - The Folk Music Of Hawaii (E / E) = $20.00
211. The Thelonious Monk Quartet - Monk's Dream (VG+ / VG+) = $30.00
212. The Turtles - Present The Battle Of The Bands (VG / VG) = $15.00
213. The Velvet Underground - Live At Max's Kansas City (VG+ / VG+) = $15.00
214. The Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat (E / E) = $50.00
215. The Velvet Underground - VU (VG+ / VG) = $30.00
216. The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band - Part One (VG- / VG) = $45.00
217. The Who - Live At Leeds (VG+ / VG+) = $15.00
218. The Who - A Quick One (E / VG++) = $20.00
219. The Witch Trials - The Witch Trials (VG / VG) = $10.00
220. Thelma Houston - Summer Nights (M / M) = $15.00
221. Thelonious Monk - Monk. (VG+ / VG+) = $25.00
222. Thelonious Monk Septet - Monk's Music (VG+ / VG+) = $40.00
223. Tom Waits - Rain Dogs (VG++ / VG++) = $80.00
224. Various - Even A Tree Can Shed Tears: Japanese Folk & Rock 1969-1973 (M / M) = $55.00
225. Various - A Christmas Gift For You From Philles Records (G+ / G+) = $30.00
226. Various - The Harder They Come (Original Soundtrack Recording) (VG / VG) = $20.00
227. Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes (VG+ / VG) = $40.00
228. William Onyeabor - Atomic Bomb (NM / NM) = $25.00
229. Wilson Pickett - The Exciting Wilson Pickett (VG / VG+) = $10.00
230. XTC - Oranges & Lemons (VG+ / VG+) = $25.00
231. Yellow Magic Orchestra - BGM (E- / E-) = $35.00
232. Yellow Magic Orchestra = Yellow Magic Orchestra - Solid State Survivor = ソリッド·ステイト·サヴァイヴァー (E / E) = $35.00
233. Yumi Arai = Yumi Arai - Misslim = ミスリム (E / VG+) = $45.00

Hello,
Here's my poor attempt to sell myself like a bad infomercial. My social circle is pretty much limited to people I work with or short conversations with customers. I live in the US on the East Coast but grew up on the West Coast. I have two high-energy dogs, an Australian shepherd mix and huskie mix. I have a 1 year old son. I do enjoy cooking and making new dishes, but I am by far the worst baker. My favorite TV show is the office, please don't say parks and rec is better. I've had many random jobs in the past, with even random stories to go along with. I'm a bit of a nerd, I have a comic collection and random Star Wars collectibles, but I'm not ashamed. I have a few tattoos that have no meaning at all, and I plan on getting more soon. My music taste is stuck in the early 2000s rock, punk, and screamo. I'm just trying to make a friend outside of work.

Hello,
Here's my poor attempt to sell myself like a bad infomercial. My social circle is pretty much limited to people I work with or short conversations with customers. I live in the US on the East Coast but grew up on the West Coast. I have two high-energy dogs, an Australian shepherd mix and huskie mix. I have a 1 year old son. I do enjoy cooking and making new dishes, but I am by far the worst baker. My favorite TV show is the office, please don't say parks and rec is better. I've had many random jobs in the past, with even random stories to go along with. I'm a bit of a nerd, I have a comic collection and random Star Wars collectibles, but I'm not ashamed. I have a few tattoos that have no meaning at all, and I plan on getting more soon. My music taste is stuck in the early 2000s rock, punk, and screamo. I'm just trying to make a friend outside of work.

Hello,
Here's my poor attempt to sell myself like a bad infomercial. My social circle is pretty much limited to people I work with or short conversations with customers. I live in the US on the East Coast but grew up on the West Coast. I have two high-energy dogs, an Australian shepherd mix and huskie mix. I have a 1 year old son. I do enjoy cooking and making new dishes, but I am by far the worst baker. My favorite TV show is the office, please don't say parks and rec is better. I've had many random jobs in the past, with even random stories to go along with. I'm a bit of a nerd, I have a comic collection and random Star Wars collectibles, but I'm not ashamed. I have a few tattoos that have no meaning at all, and I plan on getting more soon. My music taste is stuck in the early 2000s rock, punk, and screamo. I'm just trying to make a friend outside of work.

Hi friends! - There is copy pasta below but I just wanted to share and say that this event is three years in the making. We have an Associate Board who are all volunteer that planned this whole thing. In 2020, it was planned for April and was canceled for reasons. (you know).
We want this to be successful so that we can raise money for our mission but also to make sure our volunteers can celebrate their success too! So please come. It's only $20 and that money will go directly to helping us build more inclusive playgrounds. If you've never seen one of our playgrounds, check out Arbor Lodge Park, Couch Park, or Gateway Discovery Park. We are also building the biggest one ever at Marshall Park in Vancouver and Esther Short Park in Vancouver will open really soon!
We are completely funded on donations. This event will help us! And it will be FUN! We will also have some really cool merch for sale. Inclusion is Dope yall!
🙏
love u/linzphun and Harper's Playground

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rhythm-play-tickets-577515553567

Play is vital to being human. Even the United Nations says so.

Join us on April 13th to PLAY!

This show is where West Coast, East Coast, and Southern hip hop sounds collide.
Featuring soulful chops, dance throwbacks, and all-original hits.
Plus, DJ Drew the Universe will be spinning sounds from the early 2000s.
Featuring Performances By:

• BLACK GARDENING
• YABOYJDUB
• TIZZY NUNCHUCKU
• WOLF WIZARD

Get ready to dance, drink, and support building local, inclusive playgrounds by Harper's Playground!
Doors open at 7 pm.
Performances begin at 7:30 pm.
21+ event. Full Bar.
​
Harper’s Playground continues to create thriving community gathering spaces that foster diverse connections. You can find our work in Portland, Vancouver, and far away spaces like Tokyo.
By designing areas where people of all abilities play together, we encourage them to see similarities and also value differences in their peers— helping to cultivate lifetime values of equity and a worldview centered on inclusion.
We welcome ALL to participate in and benefit from the full power of vibrant, natural, outdoor play.

Thank you for supporting our mission!

Hello,
Here's my poor attempt to sell myself like a bad infomercial. My social circle is pretty much limited to people I work with or short conversations with customers. I live in the US on the East Coast but grew up on the West Coast. I have two high-energy dogs, an Australian shepherd mix and huskie mix. I have a 1 year old son. I do enjoy cooking and making new dishes, but I am by far the worst baker. My favorite TV show is the office, please don't say parks and rec is better. I've had many random jobs in the past, with even random stories to go along with. I'm a bit of a nerd, I have a comic collection and random Star Wars collectibles, but I'm not ashamed. I have a few tattoos that have no meaning at all, and I plan on getting more soon. My music taste is stuck in the early 2000s rock, punk, and screamo. I'm just trying to make a friend outside of work.

Hello there!
I am traveling over to Seattle for a week and need someone to look after my pug. He's about 6/7 years old (rescue so don't know his exact age) and he gets along famously with all dogs and cats. The only times he ever barks is a knock at the door or airplanes/helicopters flying over and he quiets right down.
I've looked into boarding but it's far too expensive for my income so I was going to see if someone on here has room for him and I could negotiate a fair price. I'd also be open to someone just coming and letting him out twice a day and putting food in his bowl (although I'm embarrassed at how dirty my place is).
Please let me know if you have any suggestions or may be willing to do it. Thanks!

any texans here? there’s gotta be…
it’s march which means the TSF is merely 6 months away.. which means everyone around me is talking about it! and the articles with the newest fried food will be rolling out soon! i’m dreading it lol. not that i ate anything but a fletchers corn dog and a funnel cake but damn.. i wish someone out there could open a gluten free fried food vendor, you know guys? it wouldn’t hurt to have that availability, it’d probably taste pretty bad depending on the method they use for most things (the type of gf flour), but come on!! i went to a festival/parade this weekend (again if any texans are here you might know which one😉) and i was taking mental notes of everything i COULD eat that wasn’t the fried food.
caramel apples, ice cream, barbecue, turkey legs, cheesecake on a stick (this depends, i saw some with no crust and some with), nachos (no cheese sauce if made with roux!) and tacos, and pickles i guess(🫣) haha.
here’s to a new year of fried charcuterie boards, fried blts and fried honey i won’t eat! probably for the best anyways. let me know your go to guilty pleasure fair food!!!