So what's this thread for?

• Discussion of yesterday's games
• Excitement for today's games
• General questions
• Mildly interesting facts
• Praising Santa 🎅
• Anything else worth sharing/asking that doesn't warrant its own post

For game threads, use the games schedule on the sidebar to navigate to the team you want a game thread for.

Featured posts and links

• Join the official /baseball Discord server!
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  • This week's MLB Graphical Standing Series
• New to /baseball and baseball? Check out these resources!
  • Newcomer's Guide to Common Baseball Terms by aagpeng
  • Both by cardith_lorda: Fan's guide to picking a new team for the 2023 season and 2023 season survival guide, /baseball refresher
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• Interested in accessing HD baseball video highlights? Check out Baseball Theater created by hellocontrol_
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Thursday's Games

Away	Score	Home	Score	Status	National
				12:35
				1:05
				1:10
				2:10
				3:10
				4:05
				4:10
				6:05
				7:07
				7:10
				7:20
				9:38

^★Game Thread. All game times are Eastern. Updated 6/8 at 5:30 AM
Yesterday's ATH

This Week's Schedule (all times Eastern)

Day	Feature
Sunday 6/4	ESPN Sunday Night Baseball: Yankees @ Dodgers at 7pm EST - Postgame Thread
Monday 6/5	AMA with Liam Hendriks!
	baseball Power Rankings
Tuesday 6/6	baseball Players of the Week
Wednesday 6/7	fakebaseball is recruiting new players!
Thursday 6/8	Division Discussion Thread: The Centrals
Friday 6/9	Friday Complaint Thread
Saturday 6/10	No subreddit features planned

** Fri 6/9 *\*
Fri 4 - 7:30 PM Food Truck Friday Rio Rancho Regional Chamber of Commerce, 4201 Crestview Dr. SE, Rio Rancho We welcome attendees of all ages to gather together and enjoy great food and music
Fri 5 - 7 PM Exhibit Opening: Colors That Speak Words Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, 2401 12th St. NW Join us in celebration of the visual arts, poetry, and calligraphy. "Colors That Speak Words" is a collaborative installation between two writers and two visual artists with words, poetry, and visual arts and speaks to how this combination of mediums can be done in a cyclical way. The artists, Dr. Anthony Fleg, Mallery Quetawki (Zuni), Blythe Mariano (Diné), and Chilán Mustain, worked together to create an installation in motion, and the vision they bring to this space is from a contemporary perspective on how Native art is presented. This is an innovative view for visitors to see that Native art is changing and adjusting to the times. The artists will be present at the exhibit opening to read poetry and talk about this installation. Admission is free; please enter through South Entrance. Light refreshments will be served. This exhibit will be on display through October 15
Fri 5 - 10 PM Car Show & Concert! EXPO NM Home of the New Mexico State Fair, 300 San Pedro Dr. NE Friday night fever Vol 2! CAR SHOW & AWARDs, RAP CONCERT, VENDORS, FOOD TRUCKS, GAMES, ROCK CLIMBING WALL. All Makes and Models welcome. FREE GENERAL ADMISSION. $7 Parking, $10 Car Show judging and awards (only if you want to register and compete) Event brought to you by Expo NM and Desert Sun Event Productions. Car show brought to you by Sins events and NM Lowrider Arte
Fri 6 PM Rugby is a Drag (Show)! Sidewinders Bar and Grill, 4200 Central Ave SE Get out your dancing cleats and trade in that eye black for eye liner! The very popular Rugby is a Drag (show!) and fundraiser, normally held earlier in the year, has moved to June 9th and Pride weekend in 2023! This year's event will be hosted by Miss Sidewinders 2023 Seliah Deleon and Le Femme Magnifique 2017 and fellow rugger SCRUMtious Cox! This year's show is returning to Sidewinders and, as in year's past, will benefit our friends at Casa Q, which provides safe living for LGBTQ+ youth through housing, services and advocacy. This year's event will also feature participation from members of Elevated Roller Derby, NM United and more! (tickets)
Fri 7 PM Movies in the Park - Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Athena Park, 778 Athena Ave, Bernalillo MOVIES IN THE PARK is back this SUMMER! We will feature a different movie at our local parks every FRIDAY night in June. Movies will begin at sundown and we will serve popcorn for free! Bring your lawn chairs, blankets, and beverages. All movies are FREE! In the case of inclement weather, movies will be cancelled
Fri 8 PM - 12 AM Pride Dance Party 505 Spirits, 105 Harvard Dr. SE DANCE WITH US TO CELEBRATE PRIDE UNDER THE STARS @ PRIDE ON THE PATIO! DJ Baby D & DJ Rebel (Rori the Rebel) will drop your favorite hits - Get your dance on and show of your Pride with your best Pride outfit &/or Pride colors! Try our special cocktail: Prickly Pear Pride Punch, plus other great drinks and delicious food! Come early for dinner before you dance, daNCE, DANCE!!! Delicious Value Menu Items: $2.95 - NEW Sliders! (beef & veg) $1.95 - local blue corn dog pops (minis) $5.95 waffle fries & full sized blue corn dogs (veg or beef) Plus our flaky meat & veg hand pies, chunky chicken salad, mushroom pate & more! 21 & over Free Entry!
Fri 9 PM Albuquerque Pride Afterparty Historic Lobo Theater, 3013 Central Ave NE Starring Headliner: Malaysia Babydoll Foxx, DJ: Justin Cristofer, HOST: Vanessa Patricks, MEET THE QUEENS! Avery Martini, Imani Martini, Nova Martini, Kardio Karbdashian, Divyne Intervention. Private Early Entrance Meet N Greet begins at 8:15 p.m. entrance with Meet N Greet starting 8:30 p.m. Champagne Provided (tickets)
Fri 9 PM Fierce Pride: Kandy Muse Effex, 420 Central Ave SW Special guest from RPDR All Stars S13 and AS8, LA, CA, Meet and Greet 10:30 PM, doors 9p, show 11:30p Lounge: DJ Chris de Jesus Patio: DJ Aquattro Side Effex: DJ Mitch
Fri 9:30 PM Salsa under the Stars After Party JUNO, 1501 1st St. NW DJ Pedro, one of Albuquerque’s most loved DJ’s (DJ Pedro, DJ Tony, SoloVino, DJ Louie, DJ Darly + Eli Mix) mixing your favorite dance mix of Salsa, Bachata, Merengue and more! This is one of Albuquerque’s favorite after party summer outdoor events and will begin June 9th following the opening of Son Como Son kicking off the Salsa under the Stars at the Albuquerque Museum followed by the after party at Juno. Free entry to Juno with your stamp from the museum
Fri 10:30 PM Twilight Zone: The Movie - 40th Anniversary Screening! One Night Only! The Guild Cinema, 3405 Central Ave NE Check out the trailer. Dir. Joe Dante, Steven Spielberg, John Landis & George Miller - 1983 - 102m - NO MATINEES. DOOR PRIZES COURTESY OF BUBONICON 54! Based on the popular television series, this film is a collection of four frightening tales of the supernatural, each by a different director--Joe Dante, Steven Spielberg, John Landis, and George Miller! The film opens with Dan Aykroyd and Albert Brooks as two hapless road-trippers who tell scary stories to pass the time. The four segments that follow include some updated re-creations of classic Twilight Zone episodes. In the first, racist Bill Connor (Vic Morrow) is transformed into a Jew in World War II. Next, Mr. Bloom (Scatman Crothers) comes to a retirement home to teach the residents that they are only as young as they feel. In the third, teacher Helen Foley (Kathleen Quinlan) meets Antony (Jeremy Licht), a boy who is not what he seems. In the final segment, panicky plane passenger John Valentine (John Lithgow) sees gremlins attacking his flight
** Sat 6/10 *\*
Sat 8 AM - 2 PM NMHRS Garage Sale 7903 Robin Ave NE Hosted by the New Mexico House Rabbit Society. All sales go into our vet fund so that we can continue to provide medical care to rabbits in need. This is a multi-family garage sale so there will be lots to browse through
Sat 8 AM - 10 PM All The Things: Craft Cocktail & Mixer Launch Tractor Brewing Company, 118 Tulane Dr. SE The next evolution in the craft cocktail experience is here and officially launch in Nob Hill for Pride! What is All The Things? Well, let me tell you. Imagine 100% fresh cold pressed juice, pure cane sugar, and Troubled Minds spirits all in one 1L bottle ready to pour over ice! That's right you can purchase these ready made bottle cocktails now at ANY of our locations! We have: Margarita with Tequila, Paloma with Tequila, Kentucky Mule with Bourbon, Ginger Lemonade with Vodka, Limeade with Vodka & Bloody Mary with Vodka! Grab you one to go for $16! We will be using mixers of these behind our bars so you can get a first hand taste! And offering non alcoholic lavender, ginger, and classic lemonades for you to sip on! These truly are All The Things in one bottle!
Sat 9 AM - 12 PM Family, Fit, Fun Fest Tiguex Park, 1800 Mountain Rd. NW Join us for the Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails 2nd annual Family, Fit, Fun Fest. Bring your whole family to this free, all-ages event to learn about keeping fit and healthy - mentally, physically, and emotionally. Learn new skills and discover ways to keep your mind and body healthy and active, as you visit interactive booths led by community partners. Booths will include hands-on activities like games, puzzles, and brain teasers, as well as interactive lessons in martial arts, dance, mindfulness, and more. Booths will also include information on youth classes, clubs, and teams, as well as opportunities to meet local healthcare providers and learn more about mental health, nutrition, eye care, and dental care for your whole family. Climb to the top of a rock wall, make your way through an obstacle course, try the football toss or the baseball toss, shoot a hockey puck, or score a goal at interactive stations around the event! Meet and take photos with local sports teams and/or mascots and stop by Menchie's Froyo Mobile for a sweet treat. Girl Scout Members can participate in a special event scavenger hunt when they pre-purchase the 2023 GSNMT Family, Fit, Fun Fest patch
Sat 10 AM SOCH PRIDE '23 Albuquerque Social Club, 4021 Central Ave NE Come show your PRIDE at the ONLY place to be SOCHial! We are taking over the parking lot for a FREE ALL AGES event. We have multile bands, musicians and perfromers ready to give a PRIDE you wont forget. Food Truck, Vendors, Face Painting, Car Show, Games, Country Dancing and many other fun events!
Sat 10 - 11 AM Yoga with Kelsi Poulin Marketplace mezzanine, 8600 Pan American Fwy NE Enjoy guided yoga, from local yoga instructor, Kelsi! This will be a fun flow for all levels of yoga practice. $10 per person
Sat 10 AM - 12 PM Play Day For A Cause Kiddie Academy of Paradise Hills, 4590 Paradise Blvd. NW Join us for Play Day for a Cause! This free event has great games and fun activities for your kids while supporting Family Promise, the leading national nonprofit addressing family homelessness. Family Promise started in 1986 as local outreach in a single community and now has more than 200 Affiliates in 43 states. Since their founding, volunteers have helped more than a million family members in need. With a focus on empowering families and children, Kiddie Academy Educational Child Care and Family Promise are working together to give every child what they deserve: a chance to succeed. The event is free and open to the public. Donations are appreciated, but not required to attend
Sat 10 AM - 4 PM Foundational Wellness Grand Opening Party Los Ranchos Bakery, 6920 4th St. NW, Los Ranchos Celebrate our grand opening event by stopping by the B Side of Los Ranchos Bakery! Herbal tea blends, door prizes, free raffle, information on classes and events, and more! Win a free reiki session, teas, discounts on classes, or discounts on nutritional therapy! I will be teaching numerous classes at the bakery this summer. Some topics: How to make Herbal Vinegar Tinctures (aceta), Hormone Health, Healthy Habits for Life, Improve Your Digestion, Prioritizing Meal Prep, Blood Sugar Regulation, and my RESTART Program! You don’t want to miss out! Some of these classes will be free! So come on down and get some coffee and goodies from the bakery, then visit me next door and see what we’ve been up to
Sat 10 AM - 5 PM Pride Day Celebration! Quirky Used Books and More, 120 Jefferson NE Book sales, vendor pop ups, food truck, art, music, and more!
Sat 10:30 AM - 12 PM Wellness Schedule Casa Rondeña Winery, 733 Chavez Rd. NW, Los Ranchos Open to people of all skill levels, Wellness + Wine is a one-hour, outdoor practice, followed by a glass of wine or Sangria, and an invitation to stay and relax on the grounds of the beautiful Casa Rondeña Winery. This experience is $25, and includes glass of wine. Discounts apply for winery members. Reservations are required to participate
Sat 11 AM - 4 PM Papa Bear Market Boxing Bear Brewing, 10200 Corrales Rd. NW We couldn’t forget about our PAPA BEARS! Dads deserve some love and appreciation too! Spend the day celebrating Papa at our taproom. As always this FREE event will include local vendors, food trucks, photo booth, live music, paint your own pint, and, of course, BEER! (click link for full list of vendors)
Sat 11 AM - 5 PM June Used Book Sale Main Library, 501 Copper Ave NW Join us for the monthly book sale. There will be a variety of fiction, non-fiction, children and adults books, videos, DVDs, CDs, comic books, maps, and more available. Free for Members - $2 for Non-Members Free to all after noon. All Sales are held in the Lower Level, Main Library, Validated parking is available on 5th and Copper, kitty-corner to the library. The Friends of the Public Library is a non-profit organization. All proceeds go to supporting the Public Library of Albuquerque & Bernalillo County library programs
Sat 12 - 5 PM Summer Luau - Adoptables, Swag, Brews, and more! Lizard Tail Brewing Industrial, 3351 Columbia Dr. NE Hosted by Pitties and Kitties of New Mexico. We will have some PKR Tees, some PKR Pride gear, and best of all - our adoptabulls! Our booth will have a small auction set up… the prize being Tattoo Certificates with an ABQ tattoo artist! There will be a car show, other vendors, as well as water activities. Hope to see y’all there!
Sat 1 - 3 PM Family Field Day! Montgomery Park, Hosted by ABQ Family Chiropractic. A celebration of all the families who trust us with their care, and an opportunity for families who are considering our office to get to know our team in a fun, low-stakes environment. Food and family-friendly activities will be provided
Sat 1 - 4 PM Zouk with Jaime Arôxa! Alley Kats Tap Company, 222 Truman St. NE We will continue building on, and reviewing everything we have learned with Jamie Arôxa and Kiri Chapman thus far. We will continue to work on Zouk basics and building on the basics including connection and timing, musicality, lateral with variations, Yo-yo, viradinha, cambre, body, rolls, body, isolations, weight transfers, counterbalance, elástico, convergence & divergence, Wi-Fi, head, movement, styling, head movement, varying turns, and Chicote. Classes will be progressive and will be adjusted to the level of each class. Drop in anytime * All levels welcome * No partner needed * Cash preferred - can also accept Venmo and Cash App to $UWDstudios
Sat 1:30 - 4 PM Father's Day Tee Cabezon Park, 2307 Cabezon Blvd. SE, Rio Rancho Celebrate Father's Day with a round of miniature golf or two! Tee-off with dad at our Annual Father's Day "Tee". Enjoy some snacks, and an Arnold Palmer while making a craft with dad. Prizes awarded for the top 3 teams in miniature golf! Each child and parent must register individually. NO DROP-INS. Please contact the Cabezon Community Center at 505-892-4499 for more info
Sat 4 - 5 PM East Coast Swing Group Class Enchantment Dancing, 337 San Pedro Dr. NE Welcome to our Bronze American East Coast Swing Class! Whether you are a newbie stepping on to the dance floor for the first time or a seasoned professional wanting to brush up on basics, as well as anyone in-between, this class is for you! East Coast Swing is an exciting, up-beat dance that is endlessly versatile! No partner necessary, and dropping in is fine! Class cost is only $10, and a punch card for 6 classes is $50
Sat 6 - 10 PM Baddie Fest OT Circus, 709 Central Ave NW let's all have a fun summer night. Fairy Julz (crystals and more to raise your energy) will be at @ otcircus. Market, Music, Dance Performers, Crystal Pop Up Booth, Henna, Woman Vendors. Tag and invite your favorite baddies
Sat 6 - 11 PM Heights Summerfest North Domingo Baca Park, Celebrate warm weather and outdoor fun at a free community gathering during an Albuquerque Summerfest. This free concert series features local businesses with handcrafted products in The Shops, food trucks with freshly made cuisine in the Food Court, libations created by breweries, wineries and distilleries in The Cantina, entertainment by local talent, and a production by a national headliner all at a City park (click here for more info: live music, food trucks, kids' activities, drinks, vendors, parking)
Sat 7 PM Dancing Queens Sunshine Theater, 120 Central Ave SW Throw out your calendar! Buy a new calendar! Mark June 10th as the first and ONLY date in your calendar! Pride weekend, all the dancing queens are descending on the Sunshine Theater for the night of all nights. Juicee Früt presents Dancing Queens! Featuring performances by Red Light Cameras, ABBAquerque, Galaxy, Juicee Früt, Drag Performances from CoCo Caliente & Mr. Rusty Nutz, Forbidden Früt Market, & more! (tickets)
Sat 7 PM Death On The Beach: A Metalcore Beach Party Launchpad, 618 Central Ave SW Join us for a night filled with beach-going shenanigans and some of the best metalcore bands Albuquerque has to offer. Swimwear, flip flops, sunscreen and lais ENCOURAGED! Come out and rage with us, and let's make this a night to remember! Presale tickets are $10 and are available through any band. Just send them a message! Online tickets through Holdmyticket will be available soon. Inhuman Hands, EYE, Secure The Void, One Last Summer
Sat 9 PM Temple of Sound Presents Starry Night Juno, 1501 1st St. NW This event will feature our guest DJ Chris Losack! He's a longtime DJ who primarily spins house and techno but also has roots in industrial and dark music. He will be showing his dark side this time out! Join us for another spectacular event! Sparkly or night sky attire encouraged but not required! 21+ / No cover
Sat 9 PM Pride 2023 Effex, 420 Central Ave SW Spunjy Hicks Lounge: Malik Patio: DJ Chris de Jesus Side Effex: Xblyssid
Sat 10:30 PM Late Nite Comedy Jam The Guild Cinema, 3405 Central Ave NE Ristra Comedy and Chuck Parker Comedy present a stellar lineup of standup comedians! This month's headliner: Josh Fournier Featuring Chuck Parker & Sara Anne Myers and your host Alex Benton
** Sun 6/11 *\*
Sun 8 AM - 2 PM Hot Rods for Hunger Car Show and Poker Run 2801 Eubank Blvd NE Yes, our amazing car show fundraiser is happening again, thanks to Bell’s Brewery and the Mopar Most Wanted car club. This year, for early registration, we are having a Kickstart happy hour with Bells Brewery at O’Niell’s Heights location on Juan Tabo. Join us and register your car. All makes and models are welcome. Come out and see some of the coolest cars in Albuquerque. There will be raffles, food trucks, lots of awards for the cars, and a food drive for the Storehouse food pantry. Enter the Poker Run, the Car Show, or both today!
Sun 10 AM Rocketman Historic Lobo Theater, 3013 Central Ave NE THE HISTORIC LOBO THEATER along with Albuquerque Film & Music Experience is excited to bring Rocketman to the big screen! Showing Starts at 11:30 am Tickets are ONLY $10 for General Admission Come Early Brunch Starts at 10 am Full Buffet Available for only $21 The ticket price is for entry to the movie only. Pajama brunch and a movie. Exclusive Brunch Menu! Made to order pancakes, mimosas and more. 10% off if you come in your pajamas
Sun 10 AM - 2 PM STEAM DAY Rail Yards Market, 777 1st St. SW Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) all put New Mexico on the Map as a unique place. Standing for over one hundred years, the historic Rail Yards of Albuquerque stand as an ode to a period of extreme innovation for the Rio Grande basin area. Albuquerque literally rose and became what it is around the Rail Yards, and railroad era that brought so much innovation. In these industrial cathedrals, we hum with innovation again.. Activating the space for community use, the Rail Yards Market is non-profit (certified 501c3), bringing together small businesses in agriculture, food, and artisan manufacturing on a local scale. Our STEAM stands for Sustainable, Traditional, Educational and Artistic Modalities. In this area we host interactive demonstrations. Mini-Makers Unite! Learn about what makes a laser light up, a 3D printer build, and so much more! Bring out your tech, geek, and inquisitive minds to the Rail Yards Market and visit makers from Quelab. Free for all! Everyone is welcome! EBT doubled with Double-Up-Food-Bucks, ADA Accessible, Senior and WIC programs welcome, Fresh & local produce, Breakfast & lunch prepared food options, 120+ local food, healing, and art businesses, Parking & restrooms, FREE :: LOCAL :: FAMILY FRIENDLY :: PET FRIENDLY
Sun 10:30 - 11:30 AM Mindful Movement - Yoga in the Park Academy Hills Park, 9709 Layton Ave NE Meet us on the southwest side of the park, just southwest of the playground, under the large trees. Looks for the Aumies sign! Bring your mat, block, strap and water!
Sun 2 - 4 PM Lumberyard Jazz Trio Sawmill Market, 1909 Bellamah Ave NW The Lumberyard Jazz Trio is back to bring exciting jazz melodies to Sawmill Market. They use an interchanging group of New Mexican instrumentalists who have traveled nationwide to perform, lead by saxophonist Sean Johnson
Sun 3 PM Pride Tea Dance on the Patio Effex, 420 Central Ave SW 3 - 6 PM: DJ Mike Demarco 6 - 9 PM: DJ Spunjy Hicks Featuring performances by Avery Martini, Jessica K. Daniels, Imani Martini
Sun 4 - 7 PM Music on the Patio: Squash Blossom Boys Canteen Brewhouse, 2381 Aztec Rd NE Based in Albuquerque, The Squash Blossom Boys have played southwestern stages for over ten years. With beginnings as a garage band, they have explored a variety of musical genres including rock, jazz, reggae and more to find the hard driving, high lonesome sound of Bluegrass music. The current central players include Dustin Orbesen (Dobro, Mandolin, Vocals), Kit Murray (Banjo, Vocals), Kyle Malone (Guitar), Peter Lisignoli (Bass)
Sun 5 - 8 PM Mack 'n Cheese Sunday Variety Show Juno, 1501 1st St. NW Variety show with Mack 'n Cheese (Indy Hip Hop), Cali Shaw (Americana), Basilaris Trio (Jazz), Sol de la Noche, Melissa Prada (spoken word) Monthly variety show with Mack 'n Cheese (Indy Hip Hop), Cali Shaw (Americana), Basilaris Trio (Jazz), Sol de la Noche, Melissa Prada (spoken word), vendors. Family-friendly (if your kids already know the F-word). Food available for purchase. On the patio, weather permitting, or in the Gallery
Sun 7 - 10 PM S.O.S - Salsa On Sunday Dance Social 505 Spirits, 105 Harvard Dr. SE Salsa On Sunday Dance Social *With guest DJ's *Latin Dance Performances *The Occasional LIVE Music Performance *And Always... Social Dancing! salsa timba bachata merengue *What is it about a Social* The essence of a Social is for the dance community to get together and dance. Socials offer a relaxed night of dancing. Socials continue to draw dance enthusiasts who get lost in their salsa “addiction” by dancing and enjoying the music. Socials offer something for every level of dancer at any age. Bands and DJs have more freedom to play sets which appeal to the dance-centric crowd. It's about the music. It's about the dance. If you want to have an alternative to the club, are underage, or simply want to get in some good dancing - check out a Social, you might be surprised at how much fun you have
Sun 7:30 PM Brit Floyd Revel ABQ, 4720 Alexander Blvd. NE Brit Floyd returns to the stage in 2023 to perform a brand-new production celebrating 50 years of the ground-breaking and iconic musical masterpiece The Dark Side of the Moon. The show will feature classic tracks from the album such as Time, Money, Us and Them and The Great Gig in the Sky. The 2 and a half hours plus set list will also include other highlights from Pink Floyd’s magnificent catalogue of albums, including tracks from The Wall, Wish You Were Here, Animals, The Division Bell, Medal and much more (tickets)

BACKGROUND
Long story short I spent 8 years on the West Coast holding increasingly important positions in the energy industry, but I hated it with every fiber of my being. I started taking nursing prerequisite courses in January of 2020. Family trauma happened. I moved home to Texas to be closer to my family, quit my job (was making ~$130k with bonus), and took the plunge and went to back to school for nursing at 31. I am half way done with an accelerated BSN program and I have a 4.0 GPA. I love it so much despite it being very difficult. I have externship currently and I have an ICU internship lined up for my final semester, which is basically a guaranteed new grad job.
I currently live with my mom and brother. We are remodeling our house so we are in an apartment for a bit. Very tight quarters but thankful to be with them. Boyfriend just successfully made a big career move and is now a superintendent for an important and well respected organization in town making $60k annually with a 8% bonus. Very proud of him and very excited for our future - we are talking about getting engaged in the next year. He is getting an apartment in the next couple months after living at home with his family due to some major family health issues he has been helping out with so you will see some of the apartment search start to happen in this diary!
Currently boyfriend and I split going out expenses pretty much down the line, but with this new job we had a discussion last week about how he will pay for the majority of our going out costs moving forward once he gets his first paycheck this month until I start working full time again in January!
Previous money diary from August 2022 here.
ASSETS (comparing last money diary to now):
​

	August 2022	June 2023	Difference
401k	$156,400	$158,600	$2,200
Roth IRA	$68,000	$68,500	(500)
Saving's account	$41,001.43	$26,572.63	($14,428.81)
Checking Account	$3,024.58	$915.41	($2,109)
HSA	$8,800	$7,100	($1,700)
Brokerage	$440	$444	$4
UGMA	$85,000	$84,000	($1,000)
Pension	forgot to include	$27,000	N/A

NET WORTH: $373k
**I don’t carry any credit card debt / no student loan debt / no equity in any kind of home. I was lucky enough to be in a position where I saved up over $40k cash to pay for living expenses when in school. My UGMA account will be used as part of a down payment for a house in the next couple years. My current BSN degree is being covered through family. Also, trying to figure out what to do with my pension - depending how finances go the next 8 months I am in school / if I have any emergencies (I have 2 senior pets) I could cash part of it out or completely roll it over into an IRA.
INCOME
Income Progression: I worked in the energy industry for 8 years; my starting salary was $35,000.
I worked in the Seattle area starting out at $35k in 2014. Moved to a new job in 2016 for $65k and then another new job in 2018 for $85k +12% bonus. Got up to $104k + 20% bonus before I quit. Also worked as a CNA on the weekends for about 6 months for $15 an hour during COVID to make sure I really wanted to go to nursing school.
Main Job Monthly Take Home: It varies but the average so far this year it is $535. I have an incredibly flexible externship at a hospital very close to where I live where my director literally just lets me show up whenever I want to work. I make $17 an hour. I met a couple incredible mentors but I think I am going to quit soon since it just won’t be feasible to work this semester and I already have my ICU internship lined up for September. Trying to be easier on myself and put myself first and I feel very lucky that I don’t need to work. Don’t get me wrong the extra money is SO NICE but I want to concentrate on school, myself, family, partner, and friends. Work on top of an accelerated nursing program is too much. I am actually the only one working in my cohort currently.
Any Other Monthly Income Here: I live with my mom right now and she pays for most of the groceries, utilities, etc. I feel incredibly privileged and lucky that I can live with her and that she is able to support me in this way while I transition careers. I do lots for her to support her such as chores, errands, paying for big Costco runs, etc. My boyfriend also helps out with pet expenses and other things I want / need.
MONTHLY EXPENSES

• Rent: $400 to my mom for a very discounted rate at our current apartment. I don’t pay rent when we are at the house. I will not be paying rent when I semi-move in with my boyfriend in the next couple months. Our goal is to get our own luxury apartment next year close to both of our places of employment after a year lease at a cheaper place. Between now and then I’ll split my time with him and my mom.
• Cellphone: $15 (on family plan & I just pay for additional data)
• Spotify: $5.40 (student plan)
• iCloud: $2.99
• Prime: $8.11
• Gym membership: $20
• Regular therapy: $5 a session and I go biweekly
• Health insurance: $122.54 monthly
• Costco: $60 annually

I allocate the following to my biggest expense categories monthly:

• Gas: $120
• Groceries: $300
• Eating out: $400
• Pet expenses: $200
• Other discretionary spending: $400

WEDNESDAY - DAY 1
8:45: I slept 10 hours last night and it was glorious. I worked a 12 hour shift at the hospital yesterday and our patient acuity was very high.
9:30: Make a coffee and walk and feed my pup. I walk over to the pool for a morning swim. I love a quiet morning swim so much.
11:30: I had a nice 500 yd swim, drank a Premier Protein shake & ate overnight oats with blueberries for breakfast, had a relaxing shower, and started some laundry. Feeling anxious about everything I have on my plate currently. Also I feel hungover from work yesterday. I was going to work another 12 hour shift tomorrow but now I don’t know if I can handle it with school also starting on Friday and a very busy social weekend coming up. Luckily, my director literally lets me show up whenever I want so I may do 7 or 8 hours tomorrow instead of a full 12. Try to table my feelings to discuss in therapy this afternoon.
11:40: Sit down to finish some online orientation for my internship that is coming up my final semester.
13:03: Orientation stuff only took about 20 minutes thank god. I ran to the grocery store and grab a 4 pack of watermelon Celsius, frozen veggies, Eggo waffles, tea bags, string cheese, coffee filters, Wheat Thins, and lean ground beef ($37.01). Head up to the rooftop lounge at the apartment complex to FaceTime a friend that lives across the country since there is zero privacy in the apartment.
14:15: Get off FaceTime, work on some more laundry, and head out to therapy.
16:15: Good, productive, fun, and validating therapy session and I make it over to my friend’s condo to check on her kitties. I had set up a reoccurring biweekly therapy appointment now that I know my school schedule for the upcoming semester too. We talked about money fixation and anxiety and trying to let that go. We agree that I should sleep in a bit tomorrow, walk my dog, go for a swim, and then go to work. I don’t ~need~ the money so working 12 hours vs 7 or 8 is not an issue. My mental health is more important. Also the work hangover from yesterday is real.
17:00: Boyfriend comes over after work and jumps in the shower while I’m a couch potato (Disclaimer: he’s friends with my friend too and she’s 100% comfortable with him hanging out too.) We relax and hang with the kitties and catch up on our days.
18:45: We head to dinner. We grab burritos at one of our favorite local spots and I pay ($25.88). We look at houses for fun on Zillow and discuss what apartments we want to tour in the next couple weeks.
20:00: I make it home and have a long talk with my mom about her friend who ended up in the hospital today with a compound fracture. Long story short I’ll need to stay up until midnight to hand off the house keys, garage door opener, etc. to a friend who is driving into town that can take care of her dog. Her dog is a pit bull that is vicious to strangers so no one else can go over to the house other than this friend who pet sits and knows the dog.
23:30: The friend makes it and we hand him the keys and everything he needs. I had spent the evening tidying up and meal prepping and looking at more apartments. It’s amazing to me how much time goes into keeping a clean and tidy home.
12:08: I spent a half hour setting up my June budget and then pass out.
TOTAL: $62.89
THURSDAY - DAY 2
9:05: I finally wake up to a bunch of texts from multiple different friends / friend groups. Ugh. I’m just feeling really anxious about school starting tomorrow, my mom being very distraught over her colleague / friend, working today, and a busy weekend coming up. I make some coffee and walk my pup.
9:33: I call my mom while feeding my pup breakfast and tell her how I’m feeling and we both agreed I ran around too much last semester and I told her I am setting firm boundaries with myself to basically not do anything social during the school week once clinical start (Monday - Thursday) unless it’s like a super casual dinner and I truly have the capacity for it. I burned myself out at the end of last semester and spent weeks putting the pieces back together.
9:55: I make another cup of coffee and take myself for a morning swim. It brings me so much joy and grounds me. I swim 500 yards and then jump into the shower, throw my scrubs on, kiss my pup goodbye and head to the hospital. I drink a chocolate Primer Protein shake and call my friend L on the way to hear how her trip has been going so far. It was nice to catch up even though we saw each other over the weekend lol.
10:54: Ate my overnight oats made with half and half and some blueberries, clocked in, and headed out to the floor. Immediately get asked to be a sitter which literally never happens. Thank you universe. Feeling a little less anxious now that I’m here and feeling thankful for the little bit of extra money I’m making and being here for my community.
14:04: Maybe not thank you universe - the patient slept for a while then got extremely combative and was trying to punch me. I switch off with a coworker and head to the break room to eat a bowl I made with frozen veggies + rotisserie chicken from Costco + cheddar cheese on top.
19:09: I finally clock out. I had a snack of 2 rice cakes and some almonds at one point. Rest of work was wild (i.e. a psychotic patient that pulled out his IV and was throwing things everywhere, someone screaming in pain for hours nonstop, etc.) and had me questioning what I am doing making this career change. I am tired.
19:49: I make it home after swinging by L’s to check on her kitties. Jump in the shower. My mom has dinner ready and I scarf down this gorgeous basil, mozzarella, peppers, tomatoes, avocados, and olive salad + a couple Trader Joe’s dolmas + a couple pieces of fresh bread. Delicious. I force myself to get my food and my school bag ready for tomorrow and lay my scrubs out before I crawl into bed a little after 9.
TOTAL: $0
FRIDAY - DAY 3
06:22: Alarm goes off and I roll out of bed and take my pup for a nice walk. Give him breakfast / shower / throw on my scrubs / pack my lunch / give the pup a big kiss goodbye and I am out the door a little after 7:00.
07:47: I get to school and I am NOT feeling it lol. I stopped at Costco for gas on my way ($20.67) and I also swung by a very Texas niche store that sells all kinds of beef jerky my brother really likes to grab some for his birthday coming up ($17.98).
10:00: Class is boring - it’s tough getting back into it with an 8 hour cardiac lecture. It’s good to see my friends but struggle is real. I run into my favorite professor and she makes my morning. I tell her all about my upcoming internship and my boyfriend’s new job and she was stoked and told me to “lock him down” hahaha. I also make 2 phone calls to apartment complexes we are interested in cause my boyfriend doesn’t get great reception at work during business hours. One place doesn’t have any current availability but the lady was so nice and will be sending me a virtual tour later today. Schedule another tour on Monday afternoon.
11:30: We break for lunch and I eat the same thing as yesterday - rotisserie chicken + frozen veggies + cheddar cheese.
12:30: Spend the afternoon in class completely unable to concentrate. The professor is throwing ECG rhythms around left and right. 8 hours of ECG lecture is NOT a productive way to learn the material. I work on a couple study guides during class cause I cannot.
3:30: We get out a little early and I rush to meet my mom for a walk through of the house. I follow her back to her office because I sent a big Chewy order there. Pick up the box along with a Diet Coke, order us Cava for dinner, pick up Cava, check on my friends cats on my way home real quick, and then have a shower and relax. Mom pays for Cava and I thank her multiple times.
7:00: We eat dinner all together when everyone is eventually home (harissa avocado bowl for me!) and then my boyfriend calls right when I head out to walk my dog. Perfect. I miss him and have been having anxiety around our new schedules. We have a good 30 minute chat about our days before I spend the evening basically doing nothing. I chat with my family and mess around on my phone. Text boyfriend about different apartments.
22:44: Bed time after I brush and floss my teeth. I’m zonked from the week.
TOTAL: $38.65
SATURDAY - DAY 4
08:30: I’m awake! Did not sleep well at all cause thunderstorms. My pup is deathly afraid and will not stop shaking for hours so I end up sleeping on the couch on and off. We were up and down all night but somehow I feel okay. We go for a quick walk, feed him, and start a load of whites in the washer.
09:08: I have a shower, and then I head out to get my family coffee from one of our favorite spots.
10:45: Make it back home with 2 cold brews for my brother and I and a latte for mom. I also picked up 5 breakfast tacos and a German chocolate cake for Sunday dinner tomorrow ($56.24). I eat a bean and cheese taco and a potato and egg taco, start some laundry, and put air in my tires with my home compressor since my low air light has been on in my car for an embarrassing amount of time. Brother needs air in his tires too so turns into a production lol.
12:18: Spent a couple hours putzing around dealing with the tires and more laundry and packing a bag for tonight. We are headed to the lake for a friend’s bday party and I have no clue what I want to wear so I pack a lot of options and clothes for church tomorrow morning too. Now it’s time to drive around for a little bit and check out some potential apartments and do a small Target run.
14:02: I make it home from apartment cruising and my Target run. I bought a 3 subject notebook, tire pressure gauge with valve caps included, two bags of frozen veggies, mini coke zeros, and a bag of Lesser Evil popcorn ($21.50). I was so tempted to stop for lunch on my way home but lines were long everywhere so I made myself some cheesy eggs + 2 Eggo waffles when I got home. Put the valve cap on my tire that is missing one.
14:36: Make it to L’s condo and clean up after the cats and start the Roomba. Boyfriend texts that he is out of work and on his way over! He’s been up since 4 am this morning for work and I am feeling some type of way with everything on my plate / anxiety so we will see how long we make it tonight lol.
15:30: S is showered and we are out the door!
16:30: We make it to the rental, change into our bathing suits, and walk down to the river.
19:00: We hang out in the river for a good 2.5 hours. It was a good time - nice to chat with my school friends and their partners. Boyfriend and I head out before the real partying starts lol.
20:00: We eat dinner at this cute Tex Mex place. Boyfriend has some kind of alcoholic mixed drink and we share a fajita for 2 plate. Boyfriend pays - it was $70.56 with tip. I drive us back because he does not like to drive even after one drink which I am 100% here for. We are so tired lol.
21:15: Make it back to L’s condo and we take a hot shower and get into bed in the guest bedroom. It takes forever for us to both fall asleep.
TOTAL: $77.74
SUNDAY - DAY 5
6:50: Oh boy neither of us slept well. There was another thunderstorm. One of the cats was yowling nonstop outside our door. The ceiling fan was clanking on and off. The bed was way too soft. Up and down again all night for a second night in a row for me lol.
8:11: I’m showered and we are both dressed and we head out to one of our favorite taquerias for breakfast. I get 2 bean and cheese tacos and one machacado + egg taco. Boyfriend also gets 3 tacos and we both get coffee. We sit and chat for a while until it was time to go to church. I pay on the way out ($22.98 with tip).
11:40: After an hour of church and an hour meeting for a committee I’m on - I’m wiped out. Still have a house walk through to do with my family and boyfriend so I head over there and we are there for about an hour.
13:10: Finally made it home, walked my pup, and made myself a late lunch of Dave’s Killer bread toast + peanut butter + banana.
13:54: A girlfriend calls and asks if I want to get a pedicure this afternoon. We decide to get dinner together on Thursday instead. I’m actually very touched she called me because we are friends through another friend and normally don’t get together just the two of us. I’m really happy she reached out. I also invite one of my friends from school - I have been wanting them to meet for a while.
14:30: Nap timeeeee! I knock out for an hour then realize how thirsty I am and how badly I need to get out of the apartment. I get up, take the pup for a spin with my brother, and head to Sonic to get a large diet cherry limeade and then head to L’s condo to check on the kitties and chill ($3.34).
18:00: I spent a couple hours chilling on the internet - working on my google calendar, school organization, church emails, reviewing some apartments we may drive by tomorrow, and I download the remaining episodes of season 1 of Nurse Jackie to watch tonight. I had bought the complete first season over a month ago and still haven’t watched it all lol. That’s how little I watch tv.
20:00: We had bibimbap for dinner and German chocolate cake for dessert. Delicious. I clean up the dishes and do more laundry because that’s my life between school, work, working out, having 2 hairy pets, etc. Unpack my bags from the river day and sleepover last night too. Chat with my family.
22:00: Crawl into bed and watch some Nurse Jackie before passing out.
TOTAL: $26.32
MONDAY - DAY 6
7:33: I slept better but still tossed and turned. Still just anxious with everything going on, especially the start of another intense semester.
8:47: Pup is fed and walked. I open the windows because it is 68 degrees which is unheard of in June in south Texas.
10:06: I ended up doing a deep clean of my room hahah. Wiped down and vacuumed every surface. So much hair. My pup is shedding so bad. I change my bedding and toss my comforter in the wash. Thank goodness I have 2 sets of sheets now. I had only 1 for the longest time lol. I take a break and eat some Greek yogurt + pecans + banana + drizzle of honey.
11:03: I vacuumed the common areas in the apartment, took a long shower, and I’m dressed and ready for my boyfriend to pick me up. I felt like being cute today so I put on this new leather skirt from Alice + Olivia my boyfriend got me as a present that I haven’t worn yet + a white crop top + my cheetah old skool Vans. I’m so tired though lololol. This is one of the only Mondays we both have off for the foreseeable future so I am gonna rally and make the most of it!
11:15: Boyfriend is so tired too bahah. We go grab coffees at this cute little coffee shop I’ve been wanting to check out. I get a cortado. Boyfriend gets an iced caramel almond milk latte and I treat ($11.82 with tip). We sit and chill and map out what apartments we want to check out today.
12:30: Walk across the street to grab Tex Mex for lunch at a pretty famous place in town. I get the enchilada plate and boyfriend gets a chicken quesadilla plate. He pays and it is $27.89 with tip.
1:30: Go for our first apartment tour of the day and it is depressing. We drive around and check out the other apartments we are I interested in and then go on one more tour at a place that we are really impressed by. It’s $1.3k or so for a 500 sq ft one bedroom and that’s a stretch. Ideally he wants the base rent to be $1,000 or less which is quite doable. Yet again - south Texas prices for the win. He is looking at older buildings, but they are well kept up and in good neighborhoods. They are not in the hottest places to be in town, but definitely still nice.
16:00: We go back to L’s condo and chill and take care of the kitties. Discuss the apartments and ask my brother if he wants to get dinner with us and he agrees.
18:00: We head back to my apartment, pick up my brother, and head to dinner. We order a large caesar salad, an arugula and sausage pizza, and a mushroom and pepperoni pizza. This spot does $10 two topping pizzas on Monday and it slaps. I treat my boyfriend and brother to dinner ($48.01 with tip).
20:00: Home and boyfriend walks my pup with me. Brother makes us both tea and we have a nice cup of tea and chat until boyfriend heads home. I put together my breakfast and lunch tomorrow and then lay down to chill and have some quiet time.
22:30: Bed time! First day of critical care didactic is tomorrow and I am feeling mostly excited.
TOTAL: $59.82
TUESDAY - DAY 7
6:22: My alarm goes off and wakes me from a deep sleep. I finally slept a good 8 hours though!
7:10: I am showered and throw on some black Lululemon Align leggings and a swiftly tech tee. I was gonna wear real pants but screw that haha. I am really dragging this morning.
7:50: Make it to school and lecture starts at 8. Honestly - that lecture could have been given in 45 minutes but we spent the first 2 hours simply going over the schedule and clarifying assignments since everything is such a disorganized hot mess at the beginning of the semester.
10:05: We take a break and call a fellow church congregation member to see if we want to meet today to tour an organization that supports people immigrating. We are debating if we want to allocate church donation funds to them. We agree to meet at the location at 1:30.
12:41: We are done with class and I stayed a bit after to start making my study guide for our first test even though it isn’t for 5 weeks. I realize the time and quickly pack up and go heat up my lunch. Chat with an MSN student who I had met in orientation for my internship a couple weeks ago and he expressed his frustration about how the start of this semester is rough for him too.
2:38: We finish our tour and we are very impressed at the clean and organized operation. We agree to each write our own follow up email to the rest of the group before the end of the day supplying the church donating.
3:30: I make some jasmine tea and have some quiet time when I get home before starting on some dosage calculation problems that are due on Friday.
5:45: I end up spending almost 2.5 hours on homework - dosage calculations, an article summary, and start on a medication sheet. Ouch. I lay down for 20 minutes, take my pup out, and then head out to meet my friend for dinner at Cava.
6:30: I get the lemon chicken bowl and pita chips ($13.69) and we sit and chat for a 1.5 hours. We just saw each other a couple weeks ago, but so much to catch up on.
20:00: We agree to go on a double date in the next couple weeks and I head home. I walk my pup with my mom and brother, pack my gym bag and my food for tomorrow, write my follow up emails from today’s visit to the church committee, and relax in bed.
TOTAL: $13.69
TALLY OF DAILY EXPENSES:

• Food + Drink: $240.36
• Fun / Entertainment: $0
• Home + Health: $0
• Clothes + Beauty: $0
• Transport: $30.67
• Other: $17.98

TOTAL EXPENSES: $279.11
REFLECTION
I spent quite a bit on going out to eat this week with my boyfriend, family, and friends. It was the end of my school break and boyfriend is transitioning to a new job so we were a bit out of whack with spending on food. Usually we eat at home with our families more, but it was nice to go out and enjoy ourselves too. It was a super busy week for me too - which is the norm lately. I have a great community and social life here compared to the West Coast and I do not take that for granted. Trying to make myself more of a priority so I don’t burn out again, which is difficult for me.

Pt 1 If you haven't read it
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Pt 2 If you haven't read it
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Pt 3 If you haven't read it
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Pt 4 If you haven't read it
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To address a point brought up in the comments in Pt 4 about the spread of diseases, since any bacteria or virus would have to evolve to cross the species barrier, the spread of diseases to other species only start to become a concern after prolonged contact, and that's assuming it would even evolve to do that in the first place.
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Hope you enjoy Pt 5 and happy reading!
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After setting up the sound isolators, Will walked over to the portable synthesizer and used it to print these bottles which he then brought into the bathroom, which he had opened the door for. Along with the strange white opaque bottles he also brought that same pair of shorts that he had worn last night, presumably to change into. I think I much preferred it to a human's sleep. Sure it can be boring at times, and because half your brain is off everything feels kind of funky and you lack depth perception, but I just couldn't imagine what it would like to be totally unaware of my surroundings for so long.
Eventually, not too long after he closed the door, I heard these coughing sounds from the bathroom, I suppose when he took off his shawl to give some of it to me he must've inhaled too much dust. That was a really nice thing he did for me. I heard the toiled flushing and shortly thereafter the shower turn on. Wait a minute. Will had only had one meal today! and I haven't eaten at all! But yet, I'm not hungry, now that I think about it this planet seems to have a much faster day-night cycle, at least a half of what I'm used to. Not too long after he finished using the toilet, he began his shower, which didn't last very long, I just hope it's long enough to get that smell off of him.
He exited the bathroom, his damp skin glistening in the warm glow of the lightbulb. It struck me once more, this time much more so as I was closer to him and the lighting was better, just how tightly human skin hugs the body. Even with no depth perception I could still make out a significant number of the muscle groups. He didn't seem to notice my staring, all he did was sit down at the desk and watch a live feed of Kepler on his communicator, who, for the record I still don't trust. I may trust Will, but not Kepler, I will never trust that thing. Eventually, he got up and walked over to his bed, laying down in between the blanket and the mattress, only letting his head poke out, which faced away from me.
A few hours later, as the warm, red light of Ix crept in through the blinds, and the hunger became too much to ignore, I got up, slowly though as my back was rather displeased by the amount of time I had spent lying down. I stretched, and walked around a bit to try and clear out some of that fogginess that tends to linger after hibernation a bit quicker. Big day ahead. Glancing over at Will I noticed he was still asleep, which looked quite funny, eyes closed, drool was leaking from his mouth, occasionally twitching. He looked quite peaceful, cute even. By the time he had woken up, I had already gotten my UV cleanse done, and since he had taken a shower last night, he would need is paint inspected for any cracking, of which I would have to help with since he lacks proper motor function in his right hand. While I waited for him to be done changing in the bathroom, I used the synthesizer to print me a Nutrition Pack, which of course would remedy my hunger. I also tried to print his breakfast for him but apparently only he is allowed to print the hazardous chemicals, which makes sense I suppose. Instead I read over his report he made, was just detailing local flora and small fauna, infrastructure, weather data, architecture, etc, etc. All things considered I was quite proud of how he did.
"Hey so uhh, I wasn't sure if you noticed but, the day-night cycle here, super short." Will said, exiting the bathroom.
"I was just about to tell you that! Oh by the way I tried to print your breakfast but it refused since it included caffeine."
"Well thanks for trying but we typically eat different things for each meal, the categorization really depends on the person, but personally" he walked over to me and leaned over the table, inputting some numbers into the keypad.
"I really like to go for a BLT, some chips with a glass of water for my lunches." He said as the synthesizer spun into action once more.
"What's that?" I asked
"You wanna try it?" Will responded, side-eyeing me.
"Well.. no."
"Can you just tell me what it is?"
"Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Mayonnaise, Everything bagel seasoning, bread, and some thinly sliced, fried potatoes."
"I think I'm sticking with my Nutrition Packs for now."
Will rolled his eyes, and with time to kill before we had to leave to catch the train we just talked some more.
"So has Captain Reloxyn responded to your report yet?"
"Mmm yeah, she said, let's see.. ah, "Good work, forwarding to Central Command.""
"Best response you can hope for."
"Really? Huh. Was expecting something with a bit more... personality."
"We all do at first, but the Federation is adamant that protocol be followed strictly to the letter in dealing with Pre-FTL societies, don't want to risk them finding out."
"I see, let's just hope I don't try to modify that synthesizer again." Will joked.
"You know, you'd make a great surveyor, you should put in a transfer request."
"Well that's new, usually I'm the one suggesting these kinds of things."
"But no, I think I'm good. I quite like being an engineer."
"Oh will you... looks like you got a little something around your mouth."
"Shit I do." He said straining his neck to glance over into the mirror.
"Eh, no biggie, I'm just gonna wipe it off with a paper towel." He said, inputting a new code for the synthesizer.
"So how's the Nutrition Pack treating you so far?"
"Just as flavorless as ever!" I said with a massive, very Will-like grin on my face.
After double checking all the disguise makeup was all intact, we both got ready to go leave to catch the train to Hl'ix. Once we got into the lobby Will tapped the bell on the check out desk to call for a receptionist, who turned out to be the same woman that checked us in the night prior.
"Leaving so soon! You haven't even gotten a chance to explore!" She said, rounding the corner to face Will.
"Yeah well we have a train to catch in about half an hour so we should probably be heading out soon."
"Well in that case your total is $40!"
Will glanced at me in terror, having entirely forgotten the matter of the bill. I got up bringing all our stuff with me over to the desk so I could manage it. Once I got there I reached into a pouch and pulled out the exact amount requested in local currency. Scouts always keep a very small synthesizer on them to produce currency.
"Here you go." I said handing her the money.
"Well have a great day and good luck on your travels!" Za'ul said as we left the building.
Thankfully the wind had died down, Will released another Weather Sheet for data recording, and gave me the weather run down, though this time much briefer than last time.
"It's nice out." He said
"Great, now which way to the train station?" I asked.
Will turned around scanning his environment.
"There! Look, here's a sign pointing to the train station, see, not that far!"
The sign read 1 kilometer, so it would probably take me about 20 minutes. Zorxians like myself aren't exactly known for our speed.
"Hold on, I'll take your stuff." Will graciously offered.
"Oh thank you!" I responded, handing him my suitcase.
Thanks to Will carrying my things for me, we made it to the station in about 18 minutes.
"Hi, could we have two tickets on the 10:30 to Hl'ix?" Will said to the ticket agent.
"Sure thing, here's your tickets! Enjoy your trip!"
Will walked over to me with the two paper slips in hand.
"Just got a transmission from Captain, a day here is about 16 hours. 8 hours of sun, 8 hours of night." He said, talking quietly as to not arouse suspicion in the waiting area.
"10 minutes until the train gets here." He said once again, though in a much less secretive tone.
We both made our way over to the platform. Will handed me my ticket, which indicated a private cabin was booked so we could discuss things without revealing our identities. The train was nice, with a reddish carpet illuminated by the same temperature lighting as from the hotel. The car we entered had a hallway running along the right side of the car, with about 6 rooms to a train. Each room was separated by a glass door which slid open and closed, and could be locked. I closed and locked the door behind me, and Will placed down the sound dampeners in the four corners of the room. Inside were two long couch like chairs running perpendicular to the window, with a table about 2/3rds the length of the room running down the middle. Above the seating were some racks for luggage, but not wanting to risk forgetting even the smallest of things, we placed our luggage right next to ourselves, as we sat opposite from each other.
"So, we should start going over some of our observations so far for the first full report." I said, pulling my notepad out of one of the pouches on my suitcase.
"Yeah, sure thing." Will responded, doing the same thing as I had just done by taking his notepad out.
"One thing I've noticed is that this planet never developed the use of hydrocarbons. When Earth was at this stage in development, we used them everywhere. Not saying it's a bad thing they don't use them, actually it's a good thing, just something I find strange. Looking at the planet's age one would assume that they'd have access to such recourse."
"Well, we used fossil fuels for a short while, but we ditched them long before we got here, technologically speaking."
"Huh. I wonder if we're an outlier, wouldn't be the first time." Will chuckled.
"How come you stayed with them so long?" I asked
"Weren't you aware of how dangerous they were?" I followed up.
"Oh we were, we know just how bad they could be. Now, this was prior to when we achieved post-scarcity so things were a little... complicated, so I'll try to sum things up. Basically, a very small number of people had amassed massive fortunes off of selling and trading fossil fuels, now at this time corruption was rampant, so they used these fortunes to maintain their dominance without actually needing to do anything. They lied to everyone, they influenced policies, funded denial, and tried to keep the science quiet. Things eventually thought got out of hand and it became impossible to deny, at least, outright denial. So instead they just stalled action, prolonged it, made it less effective, and in some cases, reversed it. Things got really bad. But, humans are resilient creatures, and sure, we caused a mass extinction event in the process, but eventually we picked up the pieces, and slowly but surely, reversed the damage we had done."
I had heard of civilization that had gone down that route before, I had even done a scout mission on one of those worlds before, but all that was left were graveyards.
"That's horrifying..." I responded.
"Yeah... that tends to be the reaction I get when I talk about our history. We did some pretty fucked up shit."
"Why...?"
Will sighed.
"It's just, humans are a diverse species, and you meet, more often than not, just some really wonderful people, but... there's also an astonishingly high number of shitheads. And for most of our history, we had societal structures that rewarded these shitheads."
"Huh."
"I should still include that right... the part about no fossil fuels?" He asked.
"Yeah, but just know it's not that big of a deal." I answered.
"Got it."
My communicator beeped.
"Looks like I'm getting a transmission from the ship."
"What does it say?" Will asked as he craned his neck over to me.
"Well it's a weather model, it looks like those big wind and dust storms happen every couple of days- our days I should say, we just happened to be a little bit unlucky with timing our landing."
"Right, when does it say the next one's coming?" Will sat back down in his seat.
"Not for another 3 us days, or about 5 days here."
"You know, I really wasn't a fan of the whole using the local days for sleeping. I much prefer the 24 hour days I've gotten used to on the ship."
"Yes I too agree, but it would be far too risky to do so."
"Suppose." Will said, turning his head to face the window.
"So could you tell me a bit more about your family?" I asked Will.
"Well, I already told you about Mike, he was just an absolute shithead, you already know that. My sister, Kim, she's wonderful. A few years older than me, my parents adopted her since they weren't sure if it was safe to have another kid after Mike... but here I am! So the doctor got that one wrong! Anyways, she helped me a lot, with school, dealing with Mike's bullshit, friends, she was the first person I told I was gay. I don't know where I'd be without her. My dad, he was an inspector for the Department of Agriculture, so always away stars know where to inspect some farm. My mom was a surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital so always dealing with some kind of medical emergency. That's why Mike was able to make my life so fucking miserable for so long, that and he had all his friends do it for him, plausible deniability and all that shit. When I was 12 my mom got this promotion, which meant my dad could quit and stay home, so Mike stopped but that's when he got his friends to do it for him. Eventually when my mom retired a few years later she found out about the shit he did and got his friends to do it for him and cut him off while he was away at University. It served as a wakeup call for Mike, he's now a maintenance technician, inspecting buildings, roads, train tracks, all that stuff. I'm kind of glad he got his shit together, he did apologize, I know he means well now and I do think he's made a change for the better, but it's just so hard to forgive him. Kim, she works for The Federation too, but as one of their ambassadors at the Lunar Embassy on Shackleton Crater."
Unlike last time I asked him, his eyes didn't well up, but he just kept rubbing his face, making the skin all puffy.
"Oh, careful you don't rub the makeup off." I told him.
"I'm thirsty I... I should get some water."
Will opened up his suitcase to grab the synthesizer, pressing a few buttons and quickly making a bottle of water before quickly putting the synthesizer back. I decided it was wise to do the same, but instead grabbing a Nutrient Drink from the outermost pouch of my suitcase. After chugging down the entire bottle, Will turned to me once more and asked:
"Right Tomō, now you have to tell me more about your family."
"So my parents were both professors at the University of Lenage, my mom was a Professor of Language Development and my dad was a Professor of Anthropology, they would often go on research trips together all over The Federation, and since they went together they would bring me, and eventually my brother, along with them. I suppose that's where I developed my interest in Pre-FTL scouting."
"Damn." Will chuckled.
"You know, I don't really blame my parents, I used to, but they did their best. Mom had a late start to her career, didn't realize she wanted to be a surgeon until she was 28, and my dad quit as soon as he could, plus he kept trying to get transferred to a different department so he wouldn't have to travel. They did everything they could."
"KCHH This is the conductor speaking just wanted to give you all a heads up that we are now on final approach to Hl'ix Central with an ETA of 5 minutes. Please start getting ready to disembark. KCHH"
We both stood up, Will collected his things, and I collected mine. He packed up the sound dampeners and we both did a second inspection of each other's sides to make sure we didn't miss anything. By the time we had finished doing so I unlocked the door to the room, and stood in the line that began to form out the door as the train slowly rolled to a stop.
*ding*
The doors had open and we all began to make our way out the car, we both walked over to the right side of the station marked "EXIT" we made no time to inspect the station hall, as to not arouse suspicion. upon exiting we were greeted by buildings no higher than 15 floors, though much taller buildings could be seen under construction off in the distance. That, and the metro station entrance across the street being marked as "Central Station/Historic Hl'ix" lead me to conclude that they had decided to preserve the older, more centrally located parts of their city, and push the newer developments further away.
"There!" Will said over the sound of the crowded sidewalks and jammed roads
"Hotel!"
"Okay!" I shouted back.
The light to cross the street changed and we made our way across and down the block, arriving at the hotel just a few moments later. Upon entering, the building was far nicer than the one we had stayed at in Urup, and Will darted to the check in desk to get us a room, I followed suit.
"Hi there! My name is Rozca, what can I do for you?" The man behind the desk said to Will as he approached.
"Well we would like a room, preferably one on your top floor."
"Well sir, the top floor only has suites, and suites only have one bed, unless one of you sleeps on the pull-out."
After a few seconds of deliberation Will responded.
"Sure thing we'll take that."
"Alright and for how long will you be staying with us?"
"Just for 3 nights."
"Alright, your total is $3,650."
"Here you go." Will said, pulling the money out of the small pouch I had handed him earlier.
"Your room is 1507, Enjoy your stay!"
After grabbing two keys, one for each of us and handing me my copy, we headed over to the elevator, got in, went up to the 15th floor, walked over to our room and dropped our luggage off. Will gestured for me to come inside.
"So, we need a plan for exploring the city." Will said once he had placed down the sound barriers.
"Now I propose that we take the train over to where all the new development is, and meet back at the metro station over there around dusk to head back here." He said standing back up.
"And we can put these trackers on each other so we know where we are." I said, rummaging through my suitcase to grab the tiny, transparent, tracking beacons that adhere to the skin.
"Found them!" I said holding the labeled baggie.
Carefully taking one out I placed it on his right forearm, which felt strange to the touch as I was able to feel the muscle fibers lying beneath the skin. Then, taking the other one out, Will placed it on my right forearm, which I'm sure must've felt equally strange to his touch, the loose skin sliding around. Afterwards, we took our communicators and paired them to each other's beacons.
We both left the room shortly afterwards making sure to lock the door behind me as I left. Heading out the lobby back into the busy sidewalk we made our way to the metro station, descending into the cool underground tunnel. We both bought our tickets, with the train arriving just moments after we got to the platform. The train itself was quite crowded, and a quick change of gloves made it socially acceptable to grab onto the straps hanging from the ceiling. The ride itself only lasted about 8 minutes, stopping at about 3 places along the way. We got the ticket hole punched on the way out, walked up the stairs and went our separate ways to observe and explore the more modern parts of town.
After about 10 minutes of walking I paused to take in my surroundings, craning my neck upwards to examine the under-construction skyscrapers. Lost in observation however, I failed to notice a vehicle coming my way.
I heard the whirr of the electric motors but it was far too late.
I heard the gravel cracking beneath the spinning tires, but I failed to pay any attention to it.
It was only when I felt the hand grab onto the back of my sweater that I finally, truly, paid attention to what was happening.
And now, I found myself in the back of a van, and a piece of black cloth covering my eyes, with another one stuffed into my mouth.
​
Looks like I'm going to leave it off there on a nice cliffhanger, Pt 6 should be coming out Friday since that one's going to be quite the action packed part. Hope you enjoyed!

Figured I'd post here about my baby daddy because honestly I'm so tired of him being awful and getting away with it, and decided to share what I've dealt with for 9 years. This post is going to be long af so hold on to your butts. So I've actually known my youngests dad, let's call him nick (he's 5 days younger than me) since highschool, we never ran in the same crowds so we weren't close. Years later he messaged me on fb, we went on one date and spent the night with nick in his gmas basement. (At this point I was 23 and he had never had his own place) It was on from there, he moved in with me within three weeks in my two bedroom apartment and I was pregnant within three months. The first pregnancy was unplanned but ended in a miscarriage with the first 6 weeks which I'll be honest was a huge relief (I was a single mom of two other children and just went thro losing a child at three months old two years before) but somehow I ended up pregnant a month later which I'm still confused how that happen since I took steps to make sure I wouldn't be pregnant again. But first few months everything was great, I thought nick was amazing and I was happy. Well once my lease was up, we started looking for a new apartment while.i was around 4 months pregnant. We found a new place about 45 minutes away from the town I lived in. I wasn't thrilled about that but it was a better place and a block from my parents house so we moved in. This is the point where I realized he was just making the person he was so for sake of the post I'll try and just bullet point things over the years. While we were living in that apartment he would scream at me for no reason or things that weren't my fault. He was using meth on and off the entirety of our relationship (found that out later). One night he woke me up at 1 am when I'm 6 months pregnant screaming at me and throwing my phone at me because he found dirty texts is my phone... FROM 2 YEARS BEFORE WE DATED. He isolated me to the extent that I didn't have my own phone, bank account or job. He controlled wat I wore, who I talked to, where I went and even seeing my family. There was lots of emotional and verbal abuse and he would trigger me on purpose then call me crazy when I had a PTSD episode because I would hide in closets. I decided enough was enough 5 months after my son was born. One day I packed up my stuff and left no real plan or resources. He said he would help me by letting me keep the apartment until I got on my feet and stay in the area. 1.5.weeks later informs me he is no longer doing that and tells me I have three days to get me, my kids and my stuff out or he's going to burn it. This led to me spending a year getting back on my feet and during this year was non stop verball abuse (In front of our son till he cried), bringing my son to his meth headed dads house and living in his jeep. We went on and off for a few of the months and things when this was happening were ok, very little abuse or controlling behavior. Finally i decided I was done.amd.started dating again. This is where things got worse. He would stalk me when I didn't have my son, dragging our son out at.all hours to see what I was doing. He would force me to have sex with or send nudes for grocery or diaper money for his child. It escalated until he SAed me on his dirty trailer floor with my son in another room. Realizing this post is getting long af so let's just bullet point. He took me to court for custody after I tried to file a restraining order (his gma bankrolls him.) After I filed 22 police reports of harassment and court order violations. I finally gave up and ran with my son after his gf attacked me in front of my son because she thought I wanted him while she was in jail and he kept sending me dick pics. and he filed a court order that I never received because I was in hiding which resulted in my son being taken away with no explanation or information for days since they did it on a Friday evening. We've had joint custody which he continues to ignore whenever it's convenient for him. He forces me to drive 6 hours a day just to pick my son up and drop off simply because our court order is outdated and he knows I can't afford to fight him in court. He still verbally abusing me, and he physically beats his wife. (She sent pics and I'm who she called wen he went to jail, her and I have a very good relationship) and has done so in front of our son. He constantly bad mouths me to our son and flat out lies about things that our son shouldn't know anything about. I've offered to even move closer if he could compromise on a new mediated court agreement. He refused. I truly believe he is verbally abusing my son panics whenever he gets in trouble. Hes denied things that our in court order simply because he's ignorant and it's expensive to file court papers and so are lawyers. He doesn't even see his son more than twice a week. After he beat his wife I fought for an OFP (he only beat it on a case precedent from 2012, even the judge told him this wasn't a win) he cried about how much he missed his son but wouldn't come to the exchange (which I never cause problems at not now or the past) and he picks a job he works nights so he never sees our son. he only speaks to me wen he wants to flex control and I'll b honest I am still scared of him. I coparent with his wife not him. This is a rambling post but I had to vent this all these years of taking the high road, not talking bad about him, not blasting him over social media simply because I don't want to do that to my son, and when/if my son sees him for what he is I don't want him to be able to say I influenced it any way and he has no one else to blame but himself.

There’s a saying in my hometown: “Nobody leaves Copper Hill for good.”
For years, I’d mostly managed to defy it. In the decade that followed my graduation from Copper Hill High School, I hardly set foot in its vicinity.
Instead, I absorbed myself in my studies at an out-of-state university and, eventually, my career. I spent the little free time I had with my girlfriend, who I’d met as a sophomore in a chemistry lab, and her friends. When we eventually broke up, I lost not only her, but also what little social life I had.
It was in this state of loneliness that I found a letter from my old high school in the mail. This surprised me, as I hadn’t realized that anyone there even knew my current mailing address.
I opened the envelope to find an invitation inside. Its design was fancier than I’d expected, complete with gold-colored glitter, a royal blue background, and a finely-drawn silver border. It read, in cursive letters: Cheers for 10 Years! Zachary R. ___, Please Join Us for the CHHS Class of 2013 Official Reunion. It went on to list a start time and the school’s address.
On its back, it even contained a personalized handwritten note: I know you live far away, Zach, but it would mean so much to me if you can make the trip. Paul and I will be there, and Arthur may fly in as well. I’d love to catch up! Hope to see you soon – Vince K___, Co-Chair, CHHS Reunion Planning Committee.
Vince had been one of my best friends, once. You see, Copper Hill is one of those rare small towns where you can easily graduate from high school alongside the same friends you first made in kindergarten – in my case, my buddies Arthur, Paul, and Vince.
I’d spent most of my youth with them. The four of us were in the same scout troop, played on the same sports teams, and took mostly the same classes. On weekends – and on weeknights, when we felt like sneaking out without permission – we often stayed up late together playing video games and drinking whatever cheap beer we managed to keep hidden from our parents.
We’d meant so much to each other once. So why, since graduation, had I neglected them so badly? I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d talked to any of them.
Perhaps this reunion could serve as an opportunity for me to reignite friendships I’d let fade. At a minimum, I knew that spending time – even just one evening – with my old pals would do me a lot of good, especially considering how lonely I’d been lately. Accordingly, I resolved to attend.
~
By the time I reached Copper Hill, I was an hour behind schedule due to congestion caused by an accident. As I approached town, I observed amidst the fading evening light that it appeared even quieter and more deserted than I remembered. Bars that had reliably drawn decent crowds on a Friday night ranged from boarded-up to barely occupied. Meanwhile, the few other cars on the street drove lethargically at speeds far below the limit, and I spotted no pedestrians.
In my memory, the school was only a short distance from the courthouse, city hall, and post office that formed most of ‘downtown,’ but my GPS took me down a long, unfamiliar route bordered on both sides by tall cornfields. I was about to pull over and double-check the address I’d entered when, sure enough, my headlights illuminated a sign in the school’s distinct black and red colors that stated: CHHS: Home of the Patriots.
The brick building that loomed behind it was just as I remembered, from its tall, towering middle section to the two narrower wings that stretched out to the left and right. Through the rectangular windows that lined the main building, I made out indistinct, shadowy figures milling about inside.
A banner displaying Welcome – 10 Years – CHHS Reunion stretched over the stairs that led to the main entrance. Underneath it, a familiar figure scurried towards the main entrance. “Arthur,” I said to myself with a smile.
Seeing Arthur improved my mood. He was the only other member of our class to leave town after graduation, and I suspected that he might share somewhat of an outsider status with me.
It’ll be just like old times, I reassured myself as I approached the building. Strangely, though, it still didn’t feel that way.
For one, the air had a staleness to it that was difficult to describe. It felt artificial and thin such that, as I climbed the front steps, I found myself needing to breathe in more of it than usual to avoid getting winded.
Plus, the school’s location still seemed off somehow. It didn’t make any sense – it’s not like a building this large could have been relocated. But, amidst the eerily quiet surrounding countryside, everything felt more isolated and remote than I remembered it being.
I tried to stop worrying. After all, with any luck, I’d soon be laughing and reminiscing with old friends who’d be happy to see me.
Inside, balloon garlands, multicolored streamers, triangle flags, and small banners welcoming attendees decorated the main corridor. I observed tables stocked with snacks, pamphlets, and information about fundraisers.
The only noise came from the intercom, which planned an era-appropriate Calvin Harris song. Everything necessary for a reunion was there, with only one notable exception: the people.
As I approached an unmanned table marked “Check In,” I wondered where everybody had gone. Perhaps the event had moved to a different room? I was late, after all.
As I added my signature to a sign-in sheet, my eyes scanned the list of other attendees who were marked as having already arrived. I recognized many names on it.
Like Alice, who’d shared a stand with me in orchestra. Our conductor was a hard-ass, a real disciplinarian who snapped at us constantly, and Alice was one of the many students he’d driven to tears on a semi-regular basis.
I’d had this petty fantasy of comforting her after class, and then mustering the courage to ask her out. But I never did it. It was Vince, actually, who’d ended up with her.
That had always annoyed me. I’d confided in Vince about how I felt about Alice and, soon after, the two of them were together. It felt as frustrating as it sounds. But, oh well, that’s what I get for hesitating for as long as I did.
Drifting down the hallway, my eyes caught the words “Reception” displayed over double-doors that led to the gymnasium. It made sense as the main location for the event – that’s where homecoming, prom, and plenty of major sports events were held, after all.
I could hear chatter, laughter, and the loud thump of dance music just beyond the gym doors. I approached it excitedly.
But, when I stepped inside, all the noise instantly cut out, leaving me in an eerie silence. Even more perplexingly, the room before me, like the entrance corridor, was entirely devoid of people.
A party had just been here, no doubt. I spotted a makeshift bar stocked with a standard assortment of liquor, tables holding half-finished drinks and refreshments, and an area cleared for a dance floor in the room’s center, but there were no people around. Had I missed everyone again? Where had they gone?
“Hello?” I called out, to no avail, as I drifted around the room in a state of bewilderment.
As I did so, I came across the entrance to the boy’s locker room. Just a whiff of the musty, sweaty smell emanating from it unlocked long-buried memories of the time I’d spent in there.
I remembered one occasion, in particular, where Paul had gotten pissed at me. Paul was usually a pretty low-key guy, but when he lost it, he went wild. On that particular occasion, he’d been angry with me, hadn’t he? But why?
I recalled his hot breath as he got in my face and screamed at me. When I gently nudged him away, he responded by slamming a locker door into my head.
My memories from that moment forward were hazy. There was a growing pool of blood, the pain of his fist against my cheek, and the cheering of the classmates who had encircled us. They were egging us on to continue the ‘fight,’ as if my beating could be called that.
I hadn’t thought about this event in years. How could I have forgotten something like that? My mind churned in confusion. Feeling dizzy, I took a seat on a bench that appeared to be part of a crude photobooth setup as my mind continued to replay this repressed memory.
As Paul had continued to pummel me, I’d spotted Vince among the gathered crowd. I’d begged for him to intervene. But neither he, nor our strangely absent instructor, had done anything to help me. It was only when Arthur got between us that Paul had reluctantly cooled off.
It had taken weeks for those bruises to heal. Had Paul ever been punished for it, or even apologized? Surely he must have. We’d remained friends, after all.
A strange pressure around my shoulder and a sudden bright light jolted me back to the present. The flash on the camera facing the bench I was sitting on had…gone off, somehow, even with nobody around to operate it. How was that possible? Maybe it was automated to go off every so often?
It didn’t make sense, just like so much else that was happening. Where was everybody, and whose voices had I been hearing? I’d seen people from the road, and I’d even watched Arthur come inside, but, as far as I could tell, the event was deserted.
I texted Arthur asking if he’d found anyone. For all I knew, he could have changed his number in the many years that had gone by since I’d last used it, but I figured it was worth a shot. To my relief, he responded right away.
Hey man, long time no see! Paul just called me. He says everyone’s up on the third floor, in Mr. Minelli’s old room. I’m on my way there now. Meet you there soon.
I couldn’t fathom why the entire event would relocate from the area clearly designated for it to the third floor. There wasn’t much up there, after all, aside from classrooms and a few administrative officers.
Nonetheless, I resolved to head up there. Arthur was there, after all, and hopefully the rest of my friends would be as well.
Navigating off my memory of the building’s layout, I hopped up a small set of steps that connected the gym to the second floor. From there, it would just be a short walk past a few classrooms before I’d arrive at the central staircase, which would take me to my destination.
I’d never seen the school quite this gloomy before. Each footstep echoed through the halls. The classrooms were weirdly empty, too, bereft of any decorations or other signs of use.
I recognized one as my calculus classroom. I remembered how, after class had ended one day, I’d come across a group of students congregating in the hallway.
Mary, Michelle, and Abby, like so many of my classmates, had grown up with me, and I’d always gotten along with them. But that day, they were harassing a shy girl – Morgan, I think. Calling her all sorts of names – ‘slut,’ ‘whore,’ ‘bitch’. She was trying to get away from them, but they wouldn’t let her leave. Their taunting of her became a regular thing, and it often left Morgan in tears.
What ever happened to Morgan? Like most of my friends, I’d known her since I was a little kid. She was quiet, but she was perfectly nice.
Then, one day, gossip about her started to spread. The type of nasty, embellished rumors that often make their way through high schools, full of sexist undertones and double standards. Her former friends shunned her, and she’d been subjected to taunting and ridicule as she walked to class and sat alone at lunch. And, one day, she was just…gone. I’d always assumed that her family had moved away, but was that true?
Growing up, Mary, Michelle, and Abby had always been sweet girls. I’d never seen them treat another person the way they’d treated Morgan. But Copper Hill High School had a way of bringing out the worst in people. There was just something about this building, this place, that ate away at their – at our – souls.
Had I bullied Morgan, too? Maybe not, but, once her mistreatment started, it’s not like I’d made an effort to be kind to her, or ever invited her to sit with me and my friends in the cafeteria. I could have done more.
I reached the central staircase. With each step that I took up towards the third floor, a feeling of dread ran through me. I’d seen something terrible happen up here, hadn’t I?
It was Paul and Vince. Arthur had done something to offend them. It could have been the rumors spreading about his reasons for never having a girlfriend, his diminutive size, or the way he’d reacted when Paul had beaten me half to death.
Whatever the reason, Paul and Vince – without my knowledge – had decided to subject Arthur to a cruel prank. After school one day, they’d lured Arthur up to the third floor, where they’d taken hold of him and tried to wedge him into his own locker.
Now, there’s a reason this sort of thing occurs primarily on 90s sitcoms: most people simply can’t fit inside of a locker. Arthur, as short and skinny as he was, turned out to be no exception, but this only made things worse for him.
As Arthur later related to me, Paul and Vince laughed rowdily as they slammed him repeatedly into the metal frame. By the time they finally relented, Arthur had bruises all over his body.
There were other horrible acts, too. Other victims, other beatings. It dawned on me that this place had been an absolute hellhole. It’s no wonder I – and Arthur, too – had gotten as far away from it as we could at the first opportunity.
The peculiar thing was that, in the years that had passed, I’d somehow forgotten all of this until just now. Instead, my recollections of high school were all happy, all positive. Had false memories of camaraderie and friendship drawn Arthur back as well?
Finally, I reached the third level. The overhead fluorescent light fixtures flickered sporadically, revealing, in brief spurts, dilapidated lockers, litter, and layers of dust and dirt that coated the floor.
I approached Mr. Minelli’s classroom. Through the shaded hallway window, I could discern the outlines of roughly a dozen figures inside. I heard a voice, too. It was muffled and indistinct, but I could tell that the speaker was giving some kind of speech. She stopped, and a loud round of applause followed.
I reached for the door handle, unsure of what to expect. Hopefully, it would just be the people I’d driven four hours to see. But, after the events thus far, I half-expected the room to be empty. If so, I was jumping ship and going home.
To my surprise, just before I made contact with it, the door slowly opened on its own. The brightly-lit room before me was filled not with people, at least in the general understanding of the word. Rather, the still, bony forms before me resembled the kind of props a biology teacher might use to teach human anatomy.
The skeletons that stood silently throughout the room – that stood posed with drinks, that sat at desks, and that had assembled around a speaker - had to be props, right? Even though Mr. Minelli was a history teacher?
My mind searched desperately for some kind of explanation. This had to be an elaborate prank, right? Had Vince and Paul lured me, and maybe Arthur, too, out here just to freak us the fuck out? I wouldn’t put it past them – it’s precisely the kind of thing they’d do, even if the whole set-up, complete with an array of prop skeletons, was a bit extreme.
But, then, who was making all the noises I’d been hearing? Was that part of the prank, too?
Fuck it, I thought. If this was a big gag at my expense, then I’d just have to deal with the embarrassment later. I was getting out of there.
“Zach,” called a strained voice in the hallway.
“If this a joke, then it’s not-”
The voice interrupted me. “Zach, help me, please!” It was Arthur’s voice, and it was coming from the hallway nearby.
He sounded like he was in serious trouble, so I hurried after him. Eventually, I found myself in a corner of the hallway – one where, if I remembered correctly, he and I used to have lockers. But, once again, I found myself alone.
I yelled out his name several times: “Arthur! Arthur!” It was no use. I appeared to be at a dead end.
That’s when the locker next to me shook. I jumped back, surprised.
It was shut, but not locked. I gripped the handle and pulled it open.
Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw inside: it was Arthur’s torso. The rest of his body was gone, and something was dragging what was left of him further away, further back into a dark abyss where the wall should have been.
Blood gurgled out of his mouth as he gasped my name one last time. He reached out a blood-covered hand. Hoping to somehow pull him out, I tried to take it, only for whatever unseen force had taken hold of him to pull him away, leaving behind a wide hole in the back of the locker. More blood gushed through it, leaking onto the hallway floor.
“So glad you could make it,” said a monotone voice behind me. I whirled around to see two fleshy arms emerge from another locker across from me. The skinless figure left wet, red stains on the white surface as she got to her feet and stepped towards me. “Don’t you recognize your old crush? Surely ten years haven’t been that rough on me.”
“A-alice?” I stuttered, stepping backwards.
Lockers all around me started opening, each accompanied by a new pair of bloody, seemingly boneless arms of figures that slowly crawled outwards.
My survival instincts kicked in. I sprinted away, my legs frantically carrying me towards the main staircase. All around me, figures emerged, reaching out to me as I passed by. Through an open door, I noticed that another classroom was filled with skeletons, just as Mr. Minelli’s had been.
When I reached the main staircase, it was guarded by a tall, fleshy figure. “Don’t you want to be with us?” it asked in a familiar, deep voice that I knew to be Paul’s. “We can be complete. A full class. All of us, together again. Like old times.”
He lurched for me. Just barely, I managed to dodge him, but I lost balance in the process. Before I knew it, I was tumbling down the stairs. Pain shot through me as I collided with step after step.
Finally, I landed on a level surface. Dizzily, I climbed to my feet and did my best to ignore the soreness that spread throughout my body.
A quick glance upwards confirmed that the bloody figures – the ones that somehow resembled my old classmates – were, indeed, heading towards me.
Meanwhile, the temperature inside was rising noticeably, and the walls around me were steadily changing in color from a dull gray to a deep red.
As I scrambled down the rest of the stairs and across the main corridor on the first floor, an intense tremor ran through the building, sending me sprawling to the ground. Despite a sharp pain that spread through my ankle, I hobbled as quickly as I could to the exit.
I didn’t look back as I made my way across the parking lot to my car. I started the ignition, backed out, and headed towards the long road I’d used to get there.
In my rearview mirror, I chanced a glance back at the school. It was shaking violently, like it was being struck by an earthquake.
My car lurched in different directions as the ground underneath me also started to rumble. In an effort to avoid my car being sent off the road and into the neighboring fields, I frantically steered it to the center, between the lanes heading into and out of town.
When I looked back again, the school was, somehow, even closer to me than it had been before. How was that possible? Was it following me?
I floored the accelerator. Row after row of cornfield flew by me as I drove at the fastest speed of my life.
~
I was on the edge of town, close to the nearest interstate ramp, when local police pulled me over.
As the officer approached me, I stared into the rear view mirror. At the first glimpse of whatever it was that had chased after me, I’d hit the road again, law enforcement be damned. In truth, I hadn’t seen my pursuer since I’d exited the cornfield a few minutes ago, but I hardly felt safe.
“Clocked you going nearly a hundred, son,” said the officer.
I stayed silent. My baffled self was unsure of how to best handle the situation.
The officer gave me a quizzical look as he examined my ID and registration. “You’re Don and Fran’s son, aren’t you? The one who left town?”
I nodded.
“Why’d you come back?”
“There was, uh, a ten-year reunion. For my graduating class.”
He shook his head. “I doubt that.” He looked down, then at my perplexed face. “Where, exactly, was this ‘reunion’?”
“At the school,” I said. I struggled to understand his reaction. What about my story didn’t make sense? And, regardless, was I about to be booked for driving fifty miles over the speed limit? Is that something they throw you in jail for?
“Wait here,” barked the officer. He went to his car where he proceeded to have a long conversation over his radio. After a few minutes, he returned to me. “Get out of here, son. Leave, and don’t come back. Don’t do something like this again. You hear me?”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s fine,” I said, astonished.
“Then scram,” he ordered.
I obliged and began the long journey home.
~ I had no idea what to make of what occurred. I can hardly find anything at all online about Copper Hill High, or any of my classmates who went there, and I’m not exactly eager to reach out to any of them.
I can’t make much sense of what happened, but I am sure of one thing: that I barely made it out of that situation, and that I shouldn’t press my luck much further.
My ankle needs some more time to heal. Once it does, I’m going to try joining a social club and making new friends. After what happened to me in Copper Hill, I decided that the past is not a place where I need to dwell any longer.
Two weeks have passed since the reunion. Today, an envelope with no return address arrived with my mail. It contained a single photograph on glossy paper with a short note written underneath.
The photo featured me on the bench in the photo booth. Sitting to my side, with his arm over my shoulders, was Vince. He wore a blue collared shirt and looked…normal. No missing skin, no bloody imprints on the surface around him.
Paul crouched behind us, a dopey grin on his face. He, too, looked just as I’d imagined he would in his late twenties. To Paul’s right, Abby, Morgan, and Michelle posed together with their arms around each other.
It was…a perfectly ordinary image - the exact kind of photo you’d expect to be taken at an event like that.
The handwritten caption underneath read, “Although your visit was briefer than we preferred, we all had a splendid time catching up with you, Zach! Please feel free to come by anytime! Nobody truly leaves Copper Hill, after all. – Vince K___, Co-Chair, CHHS Reunion Planning Committee.
P.S., the note continued, We are delighted that Arthur has finally joined us. Maybe you will, too, at our 20th.
The writing up to this point was cursive font in traditional black ink. The last few words, however, were larger in size, messily scrawled, and colored a deep shade of red: See you then, buddy, if not sooner.
X

This is Part 2 of this write-up. Please read part 1 first. This is the link:
https://www.reddit.com/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/143r7l9/felix_vail_the_pedophile_serial_killer_caught/

PART 2:

ANNETTE CRAVER:

Born on the 7th of December 1965, Annette Craver was intelligent and creative. At 15 she was a singer-songwriter and in her senior year at a private school that specialized in medicine. Her dream was to become a midwife.
http://charleyproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/vail_annette6.jpg(A photo of Annette Craver.)
In the summer of 1981, she and her mother, Mary Rose greeted people at a friend’s yard sale in the Montrose neighborhood in Houston, Texas. They had just returned from a vacation in Mexico, and Annette felt heartsick, still infatuated with a boy named Adolfo, who was unable to join her in America.
VAIL MEETS ANNETTE
While people browsed the sale, Vail pulled up on a motorcycle and spoke with Annette. He was 41 and had done some carpentry work in the area. “When I saw her, I thought, ‘That’s going to be my new girlfriend,’” he said about the 15-year-old.
In April 1982, Rose and her daughter invested in a Tulsa home that had a rental cottage behind it. Rose began renovating both. After graduating from high school, Annette joined her mother in Tulsa. Vail appeared a few days later, and convinced Annette to leave with him on his motorcycle. They lived off the $500-a-month Social Security check that she received from her father’s death 3 years prior. It would be over a year before Mary Rose would see her daughter again.
That fall, Annette (who was still 15) would fall pregnant, and Vail would force her to have a painful abortion.
Jerry Woodall, reportedly friends with Vail later recalled an embarrassing scene, where the 42-year-old Vail was in a sleeping bag, having public sex with a 16-year-old Annette, only 20 feet away from him and his then-wife Meredith McMackin. Annette grinned and waved at them. Woodall and McMackin did their best to ignore them.
McMackin would later say that Vail had “this coldness and controlling aspect to his personality. Annette was so open and alive, but I think he just totally dominated her. He would try to convey that he was this higher form of being. At first, I thought maybe he was evolved, but then I realized it was this arrogant act.”
Later that summer, police in California would arrest Vail for violating probation a dozen years earlier. Annette telephoned Woodall, who gave her $200. After Vail walked free from prison, he and Annette decided to get married. However, as a 17-year-old she needed permission.
Annette told her mother that she loved Vail, that they were already “spiritually married” and that they would travel to Mexico and get married there if she refused. Not wanting to lose her daughter completely, Rose said OK.
On August 15th, 1983, in Bakersfield, California, the couple were wed.
AFTER THE MARRIAGE
Four months after the marriage, Annette turned 18, allowing her to collect more than $98,000 ($293,500 today) from life insurance policies on her late father. Accompanied by Vail, she withdrew all the money in cash from a San Antonio bank. She bought a Fiat convertible that Vail liked and paid for his dental work.
In April 1984, Rose returned home to find Annette waiting at her door. She told her she wanted to divorce Vail, and enroll in college. She talked about Vail’s temper, including an incident where he had broken his hand trying to punch his wife. He missed and hit a wall.
A few weeks later, Vail showed up. The couple fought constantly, and Vail left after a few days. Mary Rose said that Vail was “insanely jealous” and would become furious when Annette spoke of her desire to go out with younger men.
She and Annette worked on renovating the two homes after Vail left, enjoying their time together. The 2 even started a garden together.
Annette received a letter from Vail, who vowed their time apart would fuel their love. He wrote to her: “After we hung up, I went out to a park and ran and hung and talked with God and smoked some and shot some pool and rode with the top down out through the marsh playing ‘Iron Butterfly’ [“In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”] and bathing every inch of your body-spirit being with love.”
He referred to being away from Annette as “deprivation jail” and to her ego as “his jailor.”
“The idea of her cutting away ego’s “feeder roots and creating roots between your spirit and the cosmic ground of loving makes me hot for you. My mind is kissing you everywhere.”
After that, Vail would return to Annette’s life. Rose said, “Annette told me, ‘Felix is the wisest person in the world, and I can’t make decisions without him.’” His influence on Annette had only grown stronger. According to Rose, she even compared Vail to God, a comparison Vail agreed with.
After this, the couple angrily insisted that Rose move out and deed the house to Annette. Accompanied by suicidal thoughts brought on by Vail’s continued control over her daughter, Rose left for California to stay with family and friends, deeding the house to Annette for $7000 ($21,000 today) before she did.
Annette would add Vail to the deed, and a month later had deeded him both homes, leaving him as the sole owner.
ANNETTE’S DISAPPEARANCE
Mere weeks after deeding the houses to Vail, the couple told neighbors they were leaving on vacation. When Vail returned in October, he was alone.
Vail told a neighbor that Annette had a lot of money wither her when he’d left her, and that she was likely visiting friends in Denver.
Upon learning that Annette hadn’t come back with Vail, Mary Rose called him. “He told me that while they were camping, Annette had a sexual dream about being with other men in Mexico, and she wanted to go there,” she recalled to an investigative reporter years later. “He claimed that the dream made them both realize that she should have her freedom.” The next day, Vail told her he had put Annette on a bus with $50,000 ($150,000 today) but didn't elaborate.
On Oct 22, 1984, Rose filed a missing person’s report. She told the Tulsa Police Department that each person who spoke with Vail “gets a different story about the amount of money that Annette took with her and where she might be. We all believe that he knows where she is or has done something with her.”
On January 22, 1985, Detective Dennis Davis and another officer questioned Vail at his home (This is obscenely late to start questioning him). By this point, Vail had filed for divorce, citing an inability to find her after a “diligent search.” Davis said her mother, Mary Rose, mentioned her daughter had received more than $90,000 from her father’s estate. Vail confirmed this was true, saying the couple had spent much of that money traveling in foreign countries. He said they kept their money in cash because they didn’t trust banks and that he had found about $10,000 in cash when he returned home.
The next day, Vail called a lawyer, who promised to talk with the officers and tell them to “leave me alone,” as he wrote in his journal.
When Davis returned five days later, Vail had a detailed alibi: The couple left Tulsa between noon and 3 p.m. on Sept. 13, 1984, and stayed the night in a hotel in Claremont, Oklahoma. After two nights of camping on the river, Annette woke up and told Vail she had decided to leave him. He took her to the Trailways Bus Station in St. Louis and left before she bought the ticket. (There is no Trailways Bus Station in St. Louis, and there has never been a Trailways Bus Station in St. Louis.)
He told the officers that she had told him she was headed for Denver, where she planned to get a fake ID card and leave for Mexico. When asked if he would take a lie detector test, Vail said no.
After Davis left, he wrote a letter to Rose. He blamed her for the “bad things” about Annette, told her that after the couple had returned from Costa Rica Annette had been “seeing friends and relatives --- completing her relationships with them for the purpose of getting ready to drop everybody and start over.” He wrote that Annette “disappeared herself from you” because Rose kept imposing her “value system” on her, and said Annette viewed her mother, grandmother, and herself as “zero self-image whores for approval.”
He explained the 2 had no plans to communicate, he did not know where she was, and that “I also assure you that even if I did know, I would not tell you.”
When Rose returned to Tulsa in April 1985, she entered the cottage Annette used to live in, only to find almost all the young woman’s belongings were gone, including her clothes and her diary.
Inside a Barbie suitcase, Rose found a photograph of her daughter and several of her identification cards. She also located things that Annette had written, including a Feb. 17, 1984, note that contradicted Vail’s claim that the couple had spent most of her inheritance on their travel to Mexico and Central American countries.
Instead, the note detailed how they used the money to buy the Fiat, pay off all of Vail’s loans, and deposit $36,000 into Louisiana Savings. It said that as of that day, they had $41,600 ($125,000 today) in cash.
Rose shared the information with the police. Detective Davis showed up again, and Vail told Davis the couple divided the money into smaller cashier’s checks, contradicting his earlier statement that they kept the money in cash.
After a while, Davis left, and despite the (seemingly obvious) suspicious behavior of Vail, closed the missing person’s case.
AFTER ANNETTE’S DISAPPEARANCE
Rose kept calling Vail after this and was finally able to reach him on September 14th 1985.
When asked about Annette’s whereabouts he refused to tell her.
When asked about Annette’s missing clothes he said he gave them to charity.
When asked about the insurance money, Vail told her ‘That’s all she really cared about.’ Rose hung up.
Two years later, fed up with the lack of progress in Annette’s case, Rose would return to Tulsa. She spent thousands of dollars on private investigators to locate Vail. When that failed, she simply went and found him herself.
Tipped off that he was staying at someone’s house, she went there with a friend and found him sitting outside. When asked where Annette went, he replied “Mexico.” When asked where in Mexico, he said the 2 had made a pact to contact each other every 5 years, contradicting his statement that the 2 didn’t have plans to communicate. Rose didn’t believe a word of it.
The whole time Vail never looked up, never stood up and never looked her in the eye.
BETH FIELD
Some time after this, Vail began dating Beth Field. Soon the couple had began arguing, and Vail would call her a “whore.” During a December 1987 argument, he would strike her so hard he ruptured her ear drum. She told Vail there was no justification for violence, to which he responded, “If you quit behaving like a whore, I’ll quit hitting you.”
In August 1988 Beth received a call from Rose, sharing details about the disappearance of her daughter, Annette. From that point forward, Field said she began to examine Vail’s words more closely, realizing that he had likely murdered her.
Four months after the call, he entered her home unannounced. Already drunk, he accused her of “imagined promiscuity,” according to a court order. He slapped her, struck her, and threw her across the bedroom. She asked if Vail was going to kill her, to which Vail replied, “It depends on what you tell me.”
A judge gave her a protective order, requiring Vail to keep his distance. Two weeks later, the sheriff reported that Vail was nowhere to be found.
While Field was visiting a meditation center in Texas in 1990, Vail arrived. After composing herself, she told him “There is a part of you that goes off, and it’s sick and it’s dangerous.”
He looked at her and asked, “Really?” She said “yes, really.” This time, the message seemed to go through. Vail left the next day, and with a single exception about five years later, she never saw him again.
MARY ROSE LEARNS ABOUT THE OTHER 2 CASES
In the summer of 1991 (6 years after Annette's disappearance), Rose drove over 2000 miles to Canyon Lake, Texas to speak to Sue Jordan, Felix Vail’s sister. Jordan said that Vail had told her that Annette wanted to leave, that he took her to a bus station and that she left with some Mexican men, heading for Mexico. Jordan also mentioned that Vail’s first wife had drowned, which was news to Rose.
Before she left, Jordan also told her, “Oh, you know, there was another woman that disappeared. I remember her mother calling my mother for years, checking to see if they’d heard from her. I think her name was Sharon.”
After the conversation, Rose sat down at a typewriter, writing every word she could remember. She also called the public library in Lake Charles.
The librarian remembered the 1962 drowning of Vail’s first wife, Mary Horton. She told Rose that he had taken out life insurance policies on his wife prior to her drowning and that the insurance companies were suspicious and didn’t pay the full value. The librarian made copies of newspaper articles and mailed them to her.
After reading them, Rose reached out to Mary’s family in Louisiana, speaking to Will Horton. He shared her suspicions about Vail and a copy of the 1971 National Enquirer article made after Vail's son Bill reported him to the police. When she read it, she learned that Sharon’s last name was Hensley.
In 1994, she read in the newspaper about Dolores Strehlow’s disappearance from Medford, Oregon, seven years earlier. Police had just arrested her husband, thanks to the work of Detective Terry Newell. She contacted Newell, who helped her find the family of Sharon Hensley. When Rose dialed the Hensley family, Sharon’s mother, Peggy, answered. Rose asked if Peggy knew a Felix Vail. Peggy replied with "you bet I do"
THE INVESTIGATION HEATS UP… AND COOLS DOWN
The detective who helped Rose before, Terry Newell, contacted Jim Bell, a national expert in serial killings working for the FBI. When Rose talked with Bell, she felt like she'd finally gotten somewhere. He was interested in working on the Vail case if he could swing the time. He still remained busy with active serial killer cases, helping train task forces across the U.S. Vail’s son, Bill, told Rose that he was willing to testify, as long as authorities provided protection to his family. Both the Tulsa police and the district attorney’s office in Lake Charles revived their investigations into Vail, now considered a suspected serial killer.
Bell suggested the victims’ families gather with authorities at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, to share information on Vail. He was unable to work on the case and left the FBI in 1995. The meeting in Quantico never materialized, and the cases involving Vail grew cold once again.
A QUICK RUN DOWN OF EVENTS
In the fall of 1997, family and friends held a mural for Annette.
Diagnosed with esophageal cancer, Vail’s son Bill heard from doctors that he didn’t have long to live. He’s quoted saying “now I’ll get to be with my mom.” Months before passing away in 2009, Bill talked about his father in a recorded interview with his pastor at Grace Church in Overland Park, Kansas.
On Jan. 3, 2009, Bill died, and Vail wrote in his journal, “I feel a large empty hole in my being where his life presence has been for 47 years,” before writing about getting a good haircut. He drove to Kansas but didn’t attend his own son’s funeral. If he had, he would have heard the recording, with his son detailing how he had overheard his father talk about murdering Bill's mother, Mary.
When Vail learned of the recording, he wrote to Pastor Tim Howey, asking for a copy. He blamed his son’s statements on “false memories,” saying, “I have not known about it until now and am stunned.”
In 2012, while attempting to confront Vail with reporter Jerry Mitchell whom she had contacted to write about Vial, Rose was stopped by Kaye Faulkner, Vial’s sister. She told Rose and Mitchell of the recording and urged Mitchell to get a copy of it. She also said that she believed Vial had murdered Mary Horton, Sharon Hensley, and Annette Craver.
She gave the reporter Vial’s number, as well as the numbers of her other brother, Ronnie, and her sister, Beth. Vial didn’t answer those calls, so Mitchell left a message. Ronnie promised to speak to his brother on his behalf.
MITCHELL INVESTIGATES
Mitchell arrived in Lake Charles and stopped by the Southwestern Louisiana Genealogical and Historical Library, which shared copies from old city directories. He began tracking down people who had lived in the Maree Apartments with Felix and Mary.
Many described Mary’s fair of drowning. A close friend of Vails, Judson McCann II described Vial as a ladies’ man, and insinuated he was a cheater. “Many nights, his car wouldn’t be home, and Mary would be there with the lights on. When Felix was gone, it wasn’t because he was trotline fishing.”
Another close friend, Bob Hodges described Vial’s story of Mary ‘falling’ in the river as “horse manure.”
A college roommate of Mary, Sandra Sudduth Pratt, said “Nobody believed it was an accident.”
Mitchell shared Mary’s autopsy report with pathologist Dr. Michael Baden of New York City, who concluded that foul play had taken place in her death.
The report showed large bruises with bleeding into tissues on the left side of the neck, which he said suggested she suffered forceful neck trauma before entering the water. There were hemorrhagic bruises to the right calf and left leg above the knee, which he said were consistent with a struggle before her submersion. But most convincingly of all was the scarf authorities found around her neck that extended 4 inches into her mouth, which suggested traumatic asphyxia before entering the water.
“Somebody had to push that scarf into her mouth. She had to have that scarf wedged in her mouth before she was put in the water.”
A cousin put Mary’s brother Will Horton in touch with former detective “Rabbit” Manuel, who had headed up the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Office’s investigation back in 1962. He had never forgotten Mary’s death. “Felix’s story just didn’t add up. The fishing tackle was dry. The trotline was dry. The boat was dry. Even Felix’s cigarettes were dry, despite him telling the deputies he dove straight in the water to save Mary.”
He and Manuel met with “Lucky” DeLouche, who directed an elite task force unit that investigated homicides. Three young detectives took notes as they talked. Manuel shared details from the case, saying deputies (officers) wanted to prosecute, but the district attorney wouldn’t let them. Horton shared the autopsy report, Vail’s letters and his belief that Vail was a serial killer. Horton said DeLouche replied, “This absolutely fits the profile of a serial killer,” to which the other detectives agreed.
Shortly afterwards, DeLouche left the task force, and for seemingly the hundredth time, grew cold again.
After Mitchell posted a story about Vail titled “Gone” (It’s nearly 9,000 words long, and the precursor to the 35,500 word story I have drawn heavily from) a man named Wesley Turnage contacted him. He told him of a conversation he had had with Vail in 1963 during a car ride.
According to Turnage, Vail called Mary a bitch and said she thought another child would help solve their marriage problems. He quoted Vail as saying, “She wanted to have another kid. I didn’t want the one I got. I fixed that sorry bitch. She will never have another one.”
Mitchell would make another discovery. District Attorney Salter Jr. had ordered that the judge dismiss 882 criminal cases — more than three cases for each working day.
Will Horton told Mitchell the original detectives in the case told him that Salter wouldn’t allow them to present the evidence they had collected against Vail. That matched the stories Mitchell had heard from grand jurors’ families.
Horton then contacted District Attorney John DeRosier, who said he would be willing to reopen the case if there was enough evidence.
Then came an interesting wrinkle in the story. Finding Vail.
He’d disappeared, returning on Labor Day weekend 2012 to sell his property, before disappearing again. Luckily, another reader of "Gone" came to the rescue. He phoned Mitchell, telling him where Vial was. Canyon Lake, Texas.
Mitchell then contacted Enzo Yaksic, founder of the Serial Homicide Expertise and Information Sharing Collaborative. Yaksic then contacted Armin Showalter, acting chief for the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, which specialized in serial homicide investigations.
Yaksic shared a copy of GONE with Showalter, who in turn called Calcasieu Parish Deputy Randy Curtis, now taking on the Vail case. Curtis phoned Mitchell to find out where Vail was. A few days later, he called back to say the FBI had discovered Vail purchased property at 737 Shadyview Drive in Canyon Lake.
On Jan. 18, 2013, Curtis decided to confront Vail. He found him at that address, living in a storage shed. Curtis said he read Vail his rights before asking him about the death and disappearances of the women. Vail refused to say anything, accusing families and The Clarion-Ledger (Where "Gone" was published) of lying about him. The whole time, Vail couldn’t stop smirking.
​
Will Horton gave Mitchell the number of his cousin, who was a caretaker for 90-year-old Isaac Abshire Jr. When Mitchell sat down with the man, he shared a haunting story.
Abshire had worked with Vail and offered him a room to rent out. Once Vail and Mary were married, Vail had moved out. Abshire viewed himself as “a big brother” to Mary, calling her “a sweet little girl.”
After the marriage, Vail had become angry at work, talking about how ugly his wife was when she was pregnant, and how he didn’t like his baby. On the Friday before she was killed, the couple visited Abshire, bringing Bill, who was still an infant. Mary privately asked Abshire if he thought Vail could take her baby away.
Two days later, Mary was dead.
Abshire and two other workers went out the next day to drag the river. The next morning, Oct. 30, 1962, he returned with one of them, Jimmy May, to continue dragging.
Abshire said while they were talking, “something popped up. A guy with binoculars asked, ‘Does she have blonde hair?’ I said, ‘Yes, that’s her.’”
They recovered the body, and Abshire could never forget what he saw. Her body was rigid, and a scarf was wrapped around her neck before going into her mouth. Blood boiled on the boat, everyone voicing the same opinion. Vail had killed Mary.
Abshire had kept photos from that day for over 50 years. He said he had given them to Deputy Curtis as well as a copy of the 1962 sheriff’s report, which listed 15 points suggesting Vail’s guilt.
Despite being behind on major bills, Vail had managed to pay an entire year’s premiums in advance for a $50,000 ($150,000 today) life insurance policy on his wife. He had a second life insurance policy on her for $8,000 ($24,000 today), which promised to pay double if she died by accident.
It was almost as if he knew she was about to die.
Deputies had reported witnesses claims that Vail had told them he didn’t love his wife, that she looked stupid and vulgar, and that he had had sexual relations with multiple women, and at least one man.
Vail told deputies that his wife was wearing an off-white leather jacket when she went into the water. But she wasn’t wearing the jacket when her body was recovered. Inside his boat, deputies found two life preservers. Mary had not been wearing one, despite her fear of drowning. As for the trotline the 2 were supposedly running, deputies found it still inside Vail’s tackle box.
Most witnesses the Deputies had spoken too felt that Vail was capable of killing his wife.
When asked if he believed Vail killed his wife, Abshire said “Oh, my God, yes.”
THE CHASE & THE FINAL CLUES:
Ever since Vail had sold his Mississippi property, Mary Rose had wondered if he would eventually sell the Tulsa property, the one she and Annette had lived in. He did. Vail sold it for $149,000. Rose asked the question on the mind of everyone investigating. “What is he going to do with all that money? --- He could be running.”
On April 30th Mitchell got a call saying that Vail had left Texas. He was pulled over by police in Columbus, Mississippi after hopping the fence of his now dead brother Ronnie’s property. Curtis told Mitchell that the Columbus police were sending him a photo of Vail and the white pick-up truck he was pulled over in. He once again warned Mitchell that Vail could be running.
Vail’s sister called again, saying she heard her brother was heading to Montpelier. She wondered if he was driving to the home of possible witness Wesley Turnage.
Mitchell called Turnage to let him know that Vail might be headed his way. Turnage replied “If he sets foot on my property, there won’t be no trial.” He called Mitchell back later, saying no one in Montpelier had seen Vail.
Private Investigator Gina Frenzel, who had questioned Vail herself, including pretending to be his girlfriend, called Mitchell with good news. Vail had contacted her and told her he was back in Canyon Lake. Mitchell informed Curtis.
On May 17th 2012, authorities arrested Felix Vail for the murder of his wife Mary Horton.
In telephone calls from the jail in Lake Charles, he shared his explanation of what happened the night of Oct. 28, 1962, when Mary died.
He referred to his first wife as a “coon-ass lady,” saying she was “half kneeling” on his feet when she “saw one of the float buckets that were on the line.” He said the boat was “going real slow along the edge of the bank when the boat hit a stump ... and it dumped her right out.” Vail said he shut off the motor and dove in “where she had plopped in the water. I mean, nothing. The river had sucked her right in.” He said he “dove around until I was exhausted, and came in immediately to the police station in town and reported the accident and that was it.”
This story differed greatly from his story in 1962 when he said his wife was sitting on top of a boat seat when she fell out, not that she was kneeling on his feet. Back then, he said nothing about hitting a stump — just swerving to miss it.
It also differed from the story he had told his son, where a wave from another boat had dumped Mary out.
Vail told Frenzel that the case “has been an avalanche coming down the mountain all that time, waiting to hit my head, and it finally has.”
He blamed the families and Mitchell, “an evil, shrimpy reporter,” for what had happened, calling the charges “fabricated” and insisting that “a large amount of money, hate and political ambitions are behind them.”
At Vail’s request, Frenzel returned his truck to his home and went inside to take care of a few tasks. While there, she spent 16 hours photographing all his journals, more than 2,400 pages. She also photographed letters, documents, photographs and business cards, some dating back to the 1960s. She found a collection of women’s jewelry, old buttons, pins, and even a glass dildo.
Disturbingly, if at this point unsurprisingly, she found a photograph of a naked 3-year-old girl. Frenzel later spoke with the girl, now a woman. The journals revealed that Vail had stalked her for years.
Frenzel discovered the birth certificate of Annette Craver, who had used it for previous trips to Mexico.
Mitchell and Frenzel poured through the journals she had photographed. They noticed gaps in them that lead them to believe Vail had ripped pages out, including times when he should have been with Sharon and Annette.
His journals were dominated by sex, dreams of sex and reflected an obsession with children. In a March 27, 1986, entry, Vail wrote about the visit of a woman and her daughters in his home. “The little girls were delicious --- We massaged some, hugged & kissed some & it was 12 (midnight) & time for them to go.”
On Aug. 29, 1992, Vail walked into the Wal-Mart in West Point, and as he wrote in his journal “a 1-year-old white girl looked in my eyes loving me like there was no age difference between us.”
When Mitchell interviewed Kert Germany, a co-worker of Vail in 1977 he said that Vail attracted women wherever he went, and that Vail had told him the best sex of his life had been with 2- or 3-year-old girl.
It was that this time that Alexandra Christianson, Vail’s ex-wife called Mitchell and told him her story. She also put him in contact with Bruce Biedebach, the man she had been on a date with when she left with Vail. Biedebach would tell Mitchell that during a party in 1965 that turned into a “boast-fest” Vail had boasted about something he had done, that no one else had done.
Killed his wife.
He told the men at the party that he had held his wife’s head underwater until she drowned.
Biedebach then put Mitchell in contact with Rob Fremont, who had bicycled around California with Vail when he was 13. He said that while riding with Vail, he had told him that he hit his wife on the head and drowned her. Fremont never rode with him again after that.
With as much evidence as they could possibly gather, the case went to trial.
THE TRIAL:
Vail’s trial began on August 8th, 2016.
District Attorney John DeRosier laid out the evidence clearly.
He spoke of the evidence against Vail about Mary’s murder on October 28th, 1962.
He spoke about Vail swearing to Sharon Hensley’s mother that she wanted to start a new life in 1974.
He spoke about his letters to Mary Rose, telling her he wouldn’t tell her where her daughter Annette was “even if he knew.” Vail smirked at that one.
Finally, he spoke to the jurors.
“Mary Horton Vail is gone, Sharon Hensley is gone,” DeRosier said, “and Annette Craver Vail is gone.”
“You’re going to write the last chapter, and it’s simply going to read, ‘And justice was finally done. William Felix Vail, guilty as charged.’”
Prosecutors called all three families to testify.
Will Horton told jurors of his sister, “Mary was the kind of person you would want as a friend.” He broke while talking about visiting his nephew after he death in 1962. “I just wanted Bill to know how much his mother loved him.”
Brian Hensley told jurors that he last saw his sister, Sharon, with Vail before the pair left Bismarck, North Dakota, in 1972. Other than a telephone call and letter in the months that followed, he said no one had seen or heard from her since.
When Mary Rose took the stand, Vail bowed his head.
This was the woman who had been working for 32 long years to bring him into this court.
This was the mother who had waited 32 years for this moment.
She called Annette “a huge light in my life. We were always loving toward each other.” She testified that Vail ran off with her daughter on his motorcycle and married her. She testified that Annette, who inherited nearly $100,000 and received two homes, disappeared weeks after deeding those homes to Vail.
Wesley Turnage, Rob Fremont, and Bruce Biedebach swore under oath that Vail said he killed his first wife. Biedebach said he asked Vail if Mary was a bitch, to which Vail had said yes. Vail laughed in court as he told the story.
The current coroner, forensic pathologist Dr. Terry Welke, testified that in most drownings, the body comes up in a “dead person’s float,” with the back of the head surfacing first and the limbs hanging down in the water.
After sharing a series of pictures to show it, he showed the court two black-and-white photographs of Mary Horton when her body was recovered on Oct. 30, 1962, less than two days after she reportedly drowned. Her body was stiff, with her hands over chest as if she was in a coffin.
They also saw the videotaped testimony of Isaac Abshire Jr, who had died in 2014. He said her body was stiff when it surfaced either sideways or face up when she bobbed up in the Calcasieu River.
That testimony helped contribute to Welke’s homicide conclusion. So did the unbroken grease-like stain across her Chi Omega sweatshirt, which he believed could have come from a tarp covering her. Welke concluded Mary was dead and stiff before her body went into the water, explaining why rigor had set in.
Testimony was heard of Vail not paying for his own wife’s funeral, despite having made thousands from her life insurance.
THE VERDICT
The jury didn’t even take a half hour to reach their verdict.
William Felix Vail Sr was unanimously found guilty of murdering Mary Horton. He was sentenced to life in prison.
After the verdict, the prosecutor also revealed that the FBI had found out that Vail had molested a child over 30 years ago. They were unable to put him on trial for it, as the statue of limitations had passed.
Finally, nearly 54 years after she was murdered, Mary Horton had found justice.
Finally, 42 years after her disappearance, Sharon Hensley had found justice.
And Annette Craver, with the help of her mother Mary Rose’s tireless efforts, had finally found justice after 32 years.
https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/f75084c7dce4fb08e12e45ccba5e40a1
This a photo of Mary, Sharon and Annette. I felt it was fitting to end off with. May they all rest in peace.
MY SOURCES:
https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/8284?nav
https://charleyproject.org/case/annette-michelle-craver-vail
https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/local/felixvailgone/2016/12/29/felix-vail-gone-one-wife-dead-two-other-missing-jerry-mitchell/95895894/
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5796622/mary-elizabeth-vail
https://charleyproject.org/case/sharon-hensley
https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/20525?nav

When I was a teenager about 15 or 16 my mom attacked me.
My mom liked to stalk me on my high school's website called parent connect. A program she that allowed her to see what I ate at lunch, she would know my attendance she could keep up on my grades ect and she would go on this website at least five times a day if not more.
As a kid I hated homework, I didn't get the point of it. I thought it was stupid and pointless, so a lot of the time I didn't do it but because of that it did affect my grades. so I had gotten in trouble and was out on a plan to do all of the homework I hadn't done including what was to be given. well I worked really hard the week before Christmas break to get it all in and have a good break. the last class I went to to turn in my homework was my math teacher, unfortunately she did not put that in on parent connect that I had turned my homework in so it looked like on that program that I did not even though I did. I handed the homework to my teacher and we had a conversation and I left she did not put it in on parent connect so when I got home my mom was livid because it looked like I did not turn my homework in. she did not believe me that I had gone to my teacher and handed her the homework directly and had a conversation with her. All because it didn't show him parent connect. When my teacher just wanted to leave it was the end of the school day it was the Friday before Christmas break she probably wanted to get the heck out of there and for her to go on to that program and put in that I had done my homework would mean that she had to stay late instead of leaving but she would just put it in when she came back if not over break.
I had always had resting bitch face and I told my parents I don't do it on purpose it's just the way my face rests especially when they're yelling at me, which my mom did all of the time. that was her form of communication to me was to scream at the top of her lungs.
And my dad had given her permission to slap me whenever she didn't like a face that I was making. he told her to just slap it off so that's what she tried to do. she stood on the other side of her small sewing table and told me she was going to slap me and I needed to approach her, I did not want that to happen because I had been getting hit multiple times before so I did not willingly want to walk up to somebody so she could slap me. She didn't like that I said no or resisted so she grabbed my forearm and tried to drag me to her and I kept backing away and she would not let go.
She had a death grip on my forearm and at one point I was backing away from her and she was holding on to me so much trying to pull me to her I was actually pulling her while she was not moving.
Eventually she was able to start swinging and I covered my head with both of my arms so she couldn't hit my face, so she started hitting me with both hands screaming at the top of her lungs to put my hands down and let her slap me.
I screamed no, so she hit me harder and she clawed at my arms with her nails and slapped my arms trying to slap my face, while screaming at me to put my arms down. eventually she backed me into a corner and I fell to the ground she then proceeded to still attack me swinging at me with both hands hitting me with both of her hands her nails whatever she could do whatever she could on me while standing over me.
Eventually all I remember is my leg went up and it kicked her in the stomach and she flew backwards into a chair
She was livid because I had pushed her off of me while she was attacking me.
After that I had no rights in that house I didn't even have a bed, she took away any forms of communication with the outside world, I was not allowed to go to my brother's Christmas choir concert that he had when he was in elementary school. they did eventually let me go to that but that was the only thing I was able to do in the week away from school.
I had no phone, no computer, no music nothing.
My mom took my bed away because she saw an episode on Dr Phil on how to deal with terrible teens and the episode suggested taking the child's bed away. I've honestly somewhat hated Dr Phil because of this episode.
So I had to sleep on the floor. the first night I rolled up some towels into a pillow and laid one down and I took a blanket off my bed to use. when she walked in the next morning she was livid because I was supposed to just sleep on the floor with absolutely nothing no blankets no pillows just the floor and myself -I don't even let my dogs sleep like that on the floor
And that morning I asked her what gives her the right to treat me so bad to hit me without any care in the world and she said I'm your parent and that gives me that right to do whatever the fuck I want to do to you.
Sometime later not that week whether it be weeks later or months later I don't remember she tried to sleep me again. I ended up blacking out and hit her and it was her screaming at the top of her lungs that brought me back. I had no clue what had happened, or what I did. I had never blacked out before. I was standing there like a deer in headlights trying to figure out what had happened when she grabbed a yardstick and came at me with the yardstick and in a few seconds I was able to run into my room close the door which she proceeded to try to get through, so I sat in front of the door. I had to prop my legs up on a play table my brother had in the shared room we had so she could not get through the door.
She put a hole in the door and she almost broke the door and half trying to get to me.
After that she proceeded to always get in my face and dare me to hit her. And in my face I mean she would get her nose to my nose and tell me to hit her,I dare you to hit me give me a reason to kick you out of this house, give me a reason to call the cops on you, hit me in my house I dare you.
And at the time I was very naive to law enforcement so in my head it didn't matter how cruel and mean my parents were if I put hands on my mom then I was the one who would be getting in trouble and going to juvie while my parents just let it all happen. As an adult I know it would not be like that, hopefully.
One thing that had always stuck is I never hit first. I only hit after so I can say it was out of self-defense. never hit first, but she still proceeded to get in my face constantly whenever there was an argument or anything that happened, daring me to touch her so she could proceed to beat the hell out of me and call the police and then claim that I was the one who struck her.
What's even better is in her dementia she proceeded to tell the entire family about these incidences about how I attacked her first and she did absolutely nothing to provoke it.
My family never questioned my mom they believed her 100% on that so I never got to have a relationship with family because that's what they thought of me.
My dad never came to my defense. he never did anything. He always just sat by and let my mom handle the punishment however she saw fit. And if it sounded like I was becoming too much for my mom that's when he would give her permission to hit me beat me whatever my mom wanted to do and that gave her the courage to always strike me.

Graduated from a three-year advanced programming diploma. Programming was all I ever wanted to do since I was eight years old. I think the quality of work reflects my passion.
Right out of school, got a sweet job at Google Maps. But it wasn't good for me mentally. Every Friday when I got off work, I'd take the bus with the worst schedule down to Finch Station in Toronto, down to Dundas, wait in the Greyhound for up to two hours, and take the bus for another two hours back to London just to be with my girlfriend and tight group of friends. So I was quickly looking for work in London. Applied to a job at a local ISP (yes that one), packed up all my things, moved back to London.
First day of work they hand me my contract and it's for $10k less then we had agreed. I said, "Didn't we agree on ...?" "Oh, well we'll reevaluate after three months." I was pissed. Livid. I had moved my entire life back to London on a salary that wasn't commensurate with my work. But, I actually did cut my teeth on that job. Sitting in that chair 8 hours a day brought me up to speed really quickly.
I even asked them, "Why did you hire me?" "You did the best on the programming test." ... k, so you hired me with what you thought was little experience so you could pay me less even though I do a better job. Okay.
I was the lead programmer for their best client's site. I can't tell you what site, but the work I did was impeccable, and I'm sure it's made him heaps of money over the years.
Welp. Three months came and I started looking for a new job. I applied to a random post looking for a programmer who had experience with nmap. Interviewed three times for that position. I was the one they wanted. I even made this config editor for IP tables rules that you could drag and drop the lines in different orders. They loved it. They called me and asked me if I could meet with their CEO at a cafe downtown less than a five minute walk from my work just before the end of the work day. I typed up my resignation letter that night, signed, sealed, burning a hole in my backpack. Took my last break the next day, walked down to the coffee shop, the CEO handed me an offer letter for $10k more than I was asking. Went back upstairs, went into my bag, walked into the CEO's office, plopped down the envelope and said, "This is my two-week notice."
Stunned. Stunned. It was so delicious to see that look on his face and I'll never forget it. It took him a good ten seconds to get the gears in his head turning again. He was so pissed he said, "Can you just leave today?"
I needed the money, but he didn't know that. I said to him: My project is almost done. Let's get on my project and finish it before I leave. He told me to go back to my seat, visibly upset. Calls me into his office right at the end of the day. "Here's what we're going to do: will finish up what he's doing over the next two days and join you and finish up.
That new job, I was there for three days when my boss comes over to me, says, "Come with me." Takes me into this ultra-secure room, and one of my co-workers had just hacked into a business and was playing around as Domain Admin. I'm like ... "WE'RE HACKERS?" lol. I had no idea. Spent seven years programming exploits and doing pen tests. Three years in I went to my boss and said, "I'd like to go back to school and get my degree." "Good. We'll put you on part time. You can work whenever you want. We'll change you to hourly at the same rate. Submit time sheets." Such a great place to work. I'll never forget it.
So I'm doing my new job for like 6 months when I get a message from my buddy from college: "Guess where I am." "Where?" Sends me a picture of my old chair at that work.
"Omg. Seriously? I quit there because they didn't pay me enough in a nefarious way."
Four months after that he sends me another message: Just quit. Pays too little.
Sometimes I lie in bed at night with a smug look on my face just imagining the steam coming from the CEO's ears when my buddy dropped that news.
I now make 4 times as much as I did with that ISP.

Looking for a drag and/or pride-focused entertaining experience to take my wife to this Friday evening. We don't go out very often, so please feel free to recommend something touristy BUT ONLY IF IT'S REALLY WORTH IT - prefer a more authentic NY experience. We love comedy, she loves drag, food and drink would be nice. Not interested in dancing.

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Wednesday's Games

Away	Score	Home	Score	Status	National
				12:35
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				1:10
				2:10
				3:10
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				6:05
				7:07
				7:10
				7:20
				9:38

^★Game Thread. All game times are Eastern. Updated 6/8 at 4:25 AM
Yesterday's ATH

This Week's Schedule (all times Eastern)

Day	Feature
Sunday 6/4	ESPN Sunday Night Baseball: Yankees @ Dodgers at 7pm EST - Postgame Thread
Monday 6/5	AMA with Liam Hendriks!
	baseball Power Rankings
Tuesday 6/6	baseball Players of the Week
Wednesday 6/7	No subreddit features planned
Thursday 6/8	Division Discussion Thread: The Centrals
Friday 6/9	Friday Complaint Thread
Saturday 6/10	No subreddit features planned

Two weeks ago, I spoke on the phone with Tom Ono, the manual writer for Heroes of Might and Magic III. As usual, Tom asked how things were going. I said things were good... then proceeded to whine and complain for the next five minutes (much to Tom's amusement).
When the conversation concluded, Tom said, "Don't complain too much. Some people would give their eyeteeth to be in the game industry." I responded, "Who are these people and why haven't they been beaten for their own good?"
My name is Gregory Fulton, game designer for Heroes of Might and Magic III (developed by New World Computing, published by 3DO). You may call me Greg. Like most game designers, I'm sure you'll find me a bitter and cynical man, aged beyond my years, full of sarcasm, and inexplicably drawn to the horrors of game production like a lobotomized moth to the "pretty" flame.
As I guide you through your weekly tour of my memories, I promise the recollected images will be truthful and sincere but written with a smirk and a wink.
Undoubtedly, we will interact with the following animals: artists, level builders, managers, producers, programmers, testers, and monkeys. To help ensure your safety, I request you fasten your seat belts, keep your hands to your sides at all times, and be sure to not make any quick and sudden movements. Remember... we will be passing through the game production process.

12/05/98
It's Saturday. I'm at work with three other members of the Heroes3 team. I'll be in again tomorrow.
Smells like "crunch time."
Everyone in the game industry knows the term "crunch time." Those not in the industry may ask, "What is crunch time?" Long hours: 10-18 each day. We're starting our fourth crunch month. We have at least one more after this.
Bad take-out food: Mexican and Chinese food are New World's favorites. Today we had Taco Bell and Domino's pizza as part of NWC's "work for food" program.
Social Life: To work in the game industry you must already have some form of social retardation. When crunch mode begins, you may only speak in code to coworkers. Immediate family and friends may be seen on brief occasions so they don't file a missing-persons report. I'm one of the lucky ones; I don't remember having any friends or family.
Hygiene: Haircuts and showers become optional in favor of more sleep time. For me, showers are a must, but my hair is sprouting wings and a tail. Pretty soon I'll look like the lead singer from Flock of Seagulls.
Stress: Anger and frustration are frequent companions. If bridges are burned, this is usually the time. Earlier this week morale was low. In a fit of anger concerning team interactions, I was heard shouting, "I feel like a kindergarten teacher. Can't everyone just keep their hands to themselves and play nice!"
Murphy's law: Any potential hazard will be encountered. I'm writing this diary from the NWC conference room. My computer refuses to function for more than five minutes without seizing up.
12/06/98
This weekend I'm taking care of my PR duties (hence this diary). Not the most exciting stuff, so I'll relate a short story from earlier this week.
David Mullich (producer), Mark Caldwell (NWC vice president and programmer), Jon Van Caneghem (NWC president, creator of all things Might and Magic, and company design visionary), and I found ourselves crowded into the sweltering office of Scott White.
Scott did all the town screens in Heroes III except the Rampart, Necropolis, and Fortress. Since he finished his 3D duties, he's turned his skills to the game's interface. Believe it or not, we were in Scott's office arguing about color: interface colors and player colors.
After much arguing about the interface colors, we decided to leave it virtually untouched. Player colors were a different subject.
Originally, we used light blue, dark blue, red, green, purple, brown, black, and white. These colors needed to change. Light blue looked like the blue used in the main menu. Brown clashed with the brown used in the general game interface. Game text disappeared against white. Black and green disappeared with the terrain colors shown on the game mini-map.
OK. We agreed some of the colors needed to change. After this, the agreements stopped. I don't know what is more ridiculous... arguing over what colors to use or the twisted logic behind the arguments. Red, blue, and dark green were safe choices. We still needed five other colors. The conversation went something like this....

"I don't want yellow. Yellow is the urine color."
"What about brown?"
"I don't like brown."
"Brown is the s**t color."
"What about pink?"
"Pink is a sissy color."
"We won't call it pink. We'll call it 'rose'."
"Rose?"
"The rose player?"
"I don't know. If I saw a pink hero, I'd turn and run away. You know any hero secure enough to use pink as his color is bad ass."
"What about magenta?"
"What about cobalt? What about cadmium?"
"Have we accounted for all the fecal colors?"
"What about orange?"
"Phelan (our art lead) doesn't like orange. It looks bad."
"So. I don't think it looks bad."
"Fine. You tell her you want orange."
"She'll kick your ass."
"Oh. Fine. We won't use orange."

So it went. Fifteen minutes later everyone agreed to disagree, and Jon was made the final judge. Here are the final colors: red, blue, yellow, green, orange, purple, aqua, and rose (pink).
12/07/98
Today we stopped all map production. From here until we ship, I join the mapmakers and testers in playing maps and writing bugs... or so I thought.
Today, I had dropped into my lap the assignment of converting the 144-plus pages of the game manual into a help file. Anyone who has written a help file knows how huge this task can be. I could probably finish it in a day, but it requires no one bothering me for an extended period of time. Ha!
At this late stage of the production cycle, my entire day is spent meeting with people, making sure people are doing their work, and confirming that what is being done is correct. I don't have time for work. I've made the ugly evolution from game designer to middle manager.
It wasn't like this at the beginning of the project. At the beginning of the project the game designer is the screaming prophet, lost and alone in the desert (or the design process if you prefer).
In the middle of the production process the prophet is being screamed at by all his fellow coworkers who are wondering what to do because the design doc is behind schedule.
At the end of the project, everyone's a screaming prophet, and everyone is screaming at everyone else.
Sometime in the middle of all this screaming I've got to write this help file. Maybe I could give the assignment to Christian Vanover (H3 assistant director). Isn't it the job of a middle manager to delegate?
12/08/98
Yesterday I was wondering where I would find the time to write the game help file. Today I have the answer.... I think I have the flu. This doesn't feel like any 24-hour "see-ya-bye" flu either. This feels like "kneel before Zod!" flu.
All right. I've got a story for you.
Earlier today we "officially" stopped making maps. From here on out, we play, test, and polish the game. This could mean a little, or a lot. If the maps play well the first time out, revisions will be minor. If we end up chucking whole maps, we may find ourselves back to making maps. Thus, we started playing them today. JVC (Jon Van Caneghem, New World's president) ended up playing a notorious map named "Barbarian Breakout."
Ten minutes after he starts, JVC pages me over my phone intercom: "Hey Yoda." (He's been calling me Yoda lately. I don't know why. I'm not sure if I should be honored or offended. On one hand, Yoda is wise and he trains Jedi Knights. On the other hand, he is a short ugly green dude with big ears.) "Enemy hero with six behemoths (one of the highest-level creatures) knocked on my front door on week two, day one."
"Oops. I'll be right there."
As soon as I walked into JVC's office, the razzing began.
"What's with the six behemoths? Is this one of the balanced scenarios?"
"OK, OK. Something's wrong. Turn off the fog."
Jon restarts the scenario, turns off the fog of war, ends turn four times in a row, then right-clicks the enemy hero to see the extent of his forces. Aside from his other three stacks of creatures... he has one stack of six behemoths. Oops.
"All right. Open the map in the editor."
Jon opens the map in the editor. What do we discover? First, the enemy hero starts at level three, and the mapmaker (Dave Botan) has given him four stacks of creatures. In addition, the enemy hero's starting town has three of seven creature generators already prebuilt.
No wonder the enemy was able to recruit behemoths on day four.
Remember the story about the father who comes home from a bad day at work and yells at his wife? She in turn yells at her kid. The kid in turn kicks the dog.
At this point, I'm looking for a dog to kick. So, I hunt down Dave Botan. Immediately, Dave states his defense.
"Everyone says the map's too hard. It isn't. The AI's cheating." (Recently, we discovered the artificial intelligence was exploiting an undiscovered bug allowing it to recruit more creatures than were actually available.)
"The AI doesn't need to cheat. It's already got a huge advantage."
"There's a bug."
"Doesn't matter. Set all players to normal starting conditions."
At this point everyone begins to playfully dog-pile on Dave telling all the reasons why his maps suck. In the end he relented and fixed the map.
12/09/98
I'm not writing from work today. I'm writing from home. I have seven-way-straight-from-the-bottom-of-the-Amazon-flu.
With this kind of flu the logical course of action would be to rest, drink lots of fluids, watch lots of movies, maybe see a doctor. However, I am a game designer and unfamiliar with the ways of logic. A day at home with the flu means I have the opportunity to finish the H3 help file.
Wow.
How pathetic can you get? On my day off to rest and get better, I use the uninterrupted time to convert a 144+ page manual into a help file.
I should get sick more often. I get more work done.
12/10/98
I'm back at work today. Good news... I finished the help file. Bad news... I still have the flu, and because I was so efficient in writing the game help file... I've been given the task of writing the map editor help file. Oh yeah, finish it by Monday.
Monday? There's so much pressure in my head, when I sniff, my eyes want to flee their sockets. My voice has the auditory consistency of sandpaper. Monday? Sure, I'll have it done by Monday.
12/11/98
Well, it's Friday night, and I have yet to see Star Trek: Insurrection. Doubt I'll be seeing it anytime soon.
One of the unmentioned symptoms of crunch time is cultural unawareness. In my time at a previous company I almost missed the entire O.J. trial. I haven't seen a movie since Starship Troopers. I'm not kidding.
12/14/98
I shouldn't have come in to work Thursday and Friday. It really pushed me over the edge. For the past two days I've been laid up with fever and chills. Remarkably, it was the one thing to take my mind off work. Aside from a froggy throat, it seems to have passed.
Enough about my illness. From here on, assume I'm always ill with the flu.
12/15/98
Today NWC (New World Computing) took a brief pause from game development to listen to Trip Hawkins (president of 3DO, NWC's parent company).
Twice a year, Trip makes a formal visit to talk about the company and where we're going as a company. It's a nice break from things.
However, Trip wasn't half as exciting as David Richie (our tools programmer) who sat next to me. Turns out David is coming down with the flu.
Over the course of the meeting, the air conditioning didn't turn on. With over 50 people crammed into a room, it got hot very fast. As the minutes passed, I could see David slowly whither.
I thought he was going to vomit. So basically, for most of the meeting, I sat envisioning how I was going to get out of the way when the volcano erupted.
Luckily, the volcano did not erupt. David left in the middle of the lecture and I haven't seen him since.
12/17/98
Welcome to the end of another working day at NWC. There is still no sign of David Richey. Another one of our programmers, John Krause, called in sick today. David Mullich (the Heroes III director) was ready to take bets on who would call in sick next. Of course, everyone blames me for getting them ill.
As far as your average NWC workday goes, this one was hectic and full of revelation.
Revelation?
Yes. Revelation. Only today did I look at my calendar and realize Christmas was next Friday.
Hectic?
Yes. Hectic. Every now and then I need to wipe my desk clean. This means catching up on all the hand-scrolled notes and stray post-its littered about my desk. When my desk is clean, I'm caught up.
This very act of cleaning makes for a semi-chaotic day. There is much gear shifting and subject changing to close dangling issues.
Add to this my usual parade of visitors, and my first chance to test multiplayer, and it takes great effort to avoid turning into a screaming monkey. Yes, I said screaming monkey.
Frequently, I find myself held hostage in my own office as a line of visitors (testers, programmers, artists, producers, etc.) quickly assemble outside my office in a short period of time, all wanting a piece of my brain.
Today it happened to occur while I was in the middle of a multiplayer game with Jeff Leggett (H3 multiplayer programmer). Simultaneously, I had three people show up and cram themselves into my small office. Each began jockeying for position to ask a question. Meanwhile, Jeff waited on the phone intercom, with Heroes III continually chiming in the background, letting me know it was my turn to play.
At this point you may apply the screaming monkey metaphor.
Despite the great potential for chaos, I asked Jeff to wait, gave my three suitors a number, told them to wait in line, then answered each of their questions.
On the surface, everything looked under control. Little did these poor souls know there was a screaming monkey, trapped in my mind's steel cage, wildly thrashing about in a desperate attempt to escape and turn me into a volcano of anger and lunacy.
When it was over, I took a deep breath, noted the walls weren't sprayed with the blood of innocent coworkers, and returned to my multiplayer game with Jeff.
Heroes II multiplayer wasn't friendly in the least. When it wasn't your turn, all you could do was sit at the computer and stare at the screen like a moron.
Well, thanks to our wonderful network programmer, Jeff Leggett, a moron you will no longer be.
Jeff has finished implementing multiplayer support. Now we're on a bug hunt. So, today, Jeff and I played a multiplayer game in the background while we went about our work.
I must admit, I had a blast. Moments like this make me forget my job is serious work.
12/18/98 Friday
Today I actually managed to catch up on all my notes. Next up, International Translation Kit. It can wait until Sunday. I don't get to enjoy these moments of accomplishment very often.
Being a game designer is nothing more than a life of delayed gratification. You spend the first month of the project "being creative," then spend the next 17 as a bricklayer implementing low-level details and boot-strapping the game design when unforeseen consequences arise.
Tomorrow we have our annual company Christmas party. I won't be going. I see my coworkers every day at work. I don't want to see them in a social environment. It'd be too weird. They'd have, like, spouses and dates and stuff, and wear dress clothes.
We've been told we can dress formal or casual. To me this means torn jeans and a food-stained white T-shirt. To everyone else, this means dress formal, because no one wants to underdress.
I don't want to see any of my coworkers dressed up. The thought frightens me. We're a bunch of geeks. We don't look good in casual wear. Formal wear will only amplify our geekiness.
Only one thing could entice me to go to the Christmas party - seeing the wives go off on the management for working their husbands so hard. I'd pay to see that... provided I wasn't on the receiving end.
By the way... hello to Chris Cross and Brian Reed, two friends I made when I briefly worked at Dreamworks Interactive (I didn't work on Trespasser). They called me today. They'd read the first entry in the Designer Diary and called to tell me what they thought. They then tied me up on the phone for the next 30 minutes while simultaneously sending me e-mail with bizarre and obscene attachments.
01/02/99 Saturday
Well, I'm back at work. The Christmas break was needed. I spent the first three days drinking eggnog, sleeping in 12- and 16-hour shifts, and watching Clinton get impeached.
After I was well rested, the eggnog was all gone, and Clintion was impeached, I did what any game design loser would do... worked on the game while on vacation. Ugh. I'm so pathetic.
My initial goal was to play existing maps. After playing five maps, it was obvious the AI hadn't been fully tested. It tended to sit back and never struck out until it had enough forces to guarantee a win.
This made for very extreme game experiences. Either you never saw the AI, or it came storming out of nowhere, knocked on your door, and politely introduced itself as your doom.
When our AI programmer (Gus Smedstad) gets back from vacation, I'll need to share my findings with him.
Well, seeing as I couldn't really play the game, I turned my attention to our 144-page game manual... much to my horror.
It turns out our second draft of the manual was full of errors. So, with red pen in hand, I promoted myself from game designer to fact checker. Over the next three days, I proceeded to bloody the pages of our beautiful manual.
To say it was tedious would be an understatement. When it was all over, I couldn't read anything if it wasn't written in fine print.
01/04/99 Monday
Today was another screaming monkey day. Why? One word: programmers.
I won't say who, but one of our programmers came into my office and proceeded to yell at me over a feature request he'd been given to program.
Why was he yelling at me? On the surface, it was because I hadn't given him enough details, or I hadn't thought through its impact enough. Or it could have been because it was simply a stupid feature, I didn't know what I was doing, and I was ruining the game.
The real reason? He wasn't sure how to program the task he'd been given, and the specified time frame was short. Instead of calming down, thinking it through, and telling me whether it could or could not be done in the given time frame, he panicked, and chose to vent at me.
Programmers are a unique breed. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. Some of my best friends are programmers.
I must admit I am fascinated. I've watched each of our team programmers code. It's very amusing. How they code gives me a unique insight to their personality. For instance...

John Bolton (lead programmer): When John programs, it looks like he's playing chess.
David Richey (tools programmer): David doesn't code. Beforehand, he thinks about his task in depth, like contemplating philosophy, then simply writes it up. Quite often you can look through David's office window and see him bent over in his chair, chin on fist, like The Thinker.
Mark Caldwell (NWC VP): You need to know Mark to really understand, but when Mark codes, it's like he's in a boxing ring, ducking shots, trading blows, and trash talking with the program.

Now take such individuals and do the unthinkable... Make them into a team. Worse yet, force them to have meetings in which they must interact on a social level and agree to work together. Worse yet, force them to interact with right-brained artists and game designers.
It's a wonder any games ever get made.
Join designer Greg Fulton as gives us his very last Designer Diary entry, which tracks the last days of Heroes of Might and Magic III. In these last few days, the team waited anxiously to approve the gold candidate. But there is no rest for Greg, as he mentions a little something about the expansion disc. Join us as we count down the final development of Heroes III.
01/07/99
Ever heard the phrase "thousand tile stare"?
It's a phrase used by our mapmakers. You get the thousand tile stare from making H3 maps all day long.
Today I got the thousand tile stare after making a map for our eventual game demo.
It's a very simple, small map, letting players experience a portion of the game. Hopefully they'll experience enough and feel compelled to buy the game. I've been calling the map "Dead and Buried."
When I finished, I gave it to Chris Vanover (H3 assistant director) to play. Chris is an expert Heroes player. He's a good gauge of the map's difficulty.
Watching Chris play was a lot of fun. It allowed me to take a break from work and finally see the game in action. However, I am the worst person to have over your shoulder when you play.
Why? I'm a backseat driver. It's a bad habit from playing console games with friends.
Thus, I watched Chris play and second-guessed him all the way. We were like two old men spitting and complaining about the best strategy as Chris clicked his way through the game. It was rather humorous.
01/08/99
Today I gave the Dead and Buried map to a few select people to see if anyone could beat it in the allotted time frame of four game weeks.
One of my candidates was Jen Bullard. Jen is the only female tester in the QA area.
Upon entering the test area, I found Jennifer burning a candle at her desk. She wasn't afraid to comment aloud how everyone else in the test area doesn't wash their clothes often enough. She thinks they stink.
No sooner did I sit down to watch Jen play than the verbal bantering between the testers began.
Ryan Den, another one of our testers, was sure he found a bug and asked aloud if anyone had encountered the same bug. No one had. Immediately everyone began shouting "user error." Ryan thought they were all high... until he realized it was user error. Everyone then proceeded to playfully tear into Ryan yet again.
I must admit, our testers are pretty cool. Their interactions are quite amusing. They banter with the voracity of a knife fight, but it's rarely cruel.
01/14/99
Last night was my last chance to revise the game manual. Thus, I decided to pull an all-nighter to finish it. This was my first time being at NWC so late. I also experienced something completely new.
I had been drinking many free Cokes when my bladder reminded me who was really in charge. Without hesitation, I raced to the bathroom. I opened the door. It was dark. This is not unusual. The lights are hooked up to a motion sensor. To save energy, they turn on and off based on the presence of a moving body. Confident the lights would turn on, I strode into the bathroom.
The lights did not illuminate.
Fumbling around in the dark, I was able to find the light switch and flip it on.
Nothing.
Fumbling around some more, I found the door handle and exited the bathroom.
Moving quickly to Mark Caldwell's office (Mark and George were also working late), I told him, "The bathroom lights won't turn on." He said, "Yeah. The bathroom lights don't turn on after midnight." I asked, "How do you go to the bathroom with the lights off?" He answered, "Usually I just feel my way to the urinal."
"I need to take a crap."
"Hey, I wouldn't know anything about that. Get the flashlight from George."
"I need a flashlight?"
"Yeah."
So, I walked to George's office.
"I need the bathroom flashlight."
Giggling to himself under his breath, George reached into his desk and gave me a pocket flashlight. With flashlight in hand I returned to the bathroom where everything went according to plan.
I know game production has its odd moments, but... this one was really odd.
01/18/99
In the last days of a game's production, the game designer makes a desperate attempt to prevent features from being cut to make the deadline. However, if I got all the features I wanted, the game would never ship. Thus, there is always a tug of war between the game designer, management, programmers, and artists, to decide what gets into the game and what gets pushed back to the expansion or sequel.
Today I was doing my best to get a new hero into the game without too much additional programming or art. I realized I could get the results I needed by simply adding a new graphic and customizing an existing game hero. Even better, I could get the graphic from existing art in the intro movie. All the artist had to do was crop a freeze-frame from the movie and give it to our asset manager to be put into the game. I could customize the hero in the editor. All the programmers had to do was recognize the character's unique identification.
Well, we did.
I wonder how much longer I can push my luck.
01/19/99
I have become the Walmart floor manager.
No. I haven't quit my job.
Let me explain.
At this stage in the making of the game, I find myself spending most of my time walking the halls with my Notepad of Oppression waiting for people to call out my name.
The notepad is a list of issues needing resolution. Most people find the notepad humorous unless their name is on it. Ironically, I end up putting my name on the notepad more than anyone else's (I'm oppressing myself).
Regardless, when I am walking the halls and someone calls out my name, I duck into their office to answer their questions. Sometimes this means getting on their phone and calling someone else to clear up an issue. If I don't have the answer, I'm the intermediary.
Thus, I feel like the Walmart floor manager, roaming the isles, taking care of arising issues. All I really need is the blue vest.
01/20/99
For a moment, consider most game manuals. Usually, a manual details the game interface and introduces you to the various game elements. Rarely do these manuals give you true game statistics.
For Heroes III , we wanted to buck this trend. Using the Heroes II strategy guide as a model, we decided to make a big manual loaded with information. This is exactly what we did - 144 pages.
Today we signed off on the manual. Well, no sooner did the ink dry than we discovered some errors. It was terrifying. I literally sat at my desk, looking at the errors I had discovered, and heard the manual mocking me with the chittering of a wild hyena.
There was nothing I could do. It was carved in stone. Now understand, most manuals ship with some errors. This is what the Readme is for. However, several people had gone over this manual time and again, and still there were errors.
I'll never make a big manual again. It's too much upkeep considering the fluidity of game design.
I'm sure I'll lose some sleep over this.
1/25/99
Today the Coke machine caught fire.
Let me repeat this.
Today the Coke machine caught fire.
Since we started crunching, around 7:00pm each night, Mark Caldwell (NWC VP) has been unlocking the Coke machine for free drinks to go with our evening meal. We don't continue pressing the selection buttons for the various drinks. Instead, we literally open up the front half of this big, red, half-ton refrigerator, made to withstand the assaults of the most juvenile of delinquents.
Now, I'm not exactly clear on the details, but one of the testers pulled open the front door to grab a soda from inside. Apparently, some of the electrical wires were sheared, followed by fire and smoke.
Upon seeing the fire and smelling the smoke, the tester grabbed Ben Bent (NWC office manager and part-time game director). He then pointed out the fire in the Coke machine.
With perfect calm, Ben simply unplugged the Coke machine. Poof. The fire went away.
I must admit, I can't help but see the fire in the Coke machine as a metaphor for Heroes III in production. A fire starts, someone panics, and someone else calmly solves the problem.
Truthfully, it's the story of the game production process.
2/07/99 Sunday
Today could be the day.
We've decided to make a "final candidate" CD-ROM for 3DO approval. A final candidate is what we consider "ready to ship." We then send the final candidate to 3DO for them to do shrink-wrap testing.
Tonight, no one leaves the building until the game is finished.
2/08/99 Monday
It's 5:00am Monday morning.
We just started burning the final candidate.
About half the team is still here.
We've been crunching too long. Everyone's burnt.
About 15 minutes ago, Mark starting broadcasting Money For Nothing over everyone's speakerphone.
Ironic.
02/13/99
I am literally weak-kneed. Except for writing this entry, all I intend to do is just sit in my office chair and do everything I possibly can to do nothing.
As of 8:30 Saturday, February 13, we're calling it good Barring last-second crash bugs, the game is done.
It's 9:30, and with the realization the game is done, already I'm beginning to crash.
After crunching for so long, the crash is the aftereffect. This is the time when you finally realize you can relax and return to a somewhat normal life. This is also the flag signaling the release of all the pent-up stress and illness you've been holding off by sheer will for the past six months. Thus... crash.
Wow.
We're done.
02/14/99
Four days after announcing Heroes has gone gold, we're already talking about the expansion pack. Already, I've assembled my map makers. They're good people. With H3 under their belts they should make even better maps for the expansion.
The downside? Chris Vanover is moving onto a different project. Technically Chris was H3's assistant director, but I adopted him as my assistant designer. He was a big help in many of the grunt areas. I was hoping to hand the expansion off to Chris so I could concentrate on the next Heroes.
No such luck.
Ultimately, this means vacation must wait.
(whimper)
Where is a monkey boy when you need one?
02/19/99
David Mullich's (Heroes III director) wife was pregnant and expecting about the same time as E3 last year (Atlanta '98). So, he couldn't go and demonstrate the game.
I was the next logical choice. I know the game better than anyone else, and when needed, I can turn on the charm.
Now don't get me wrong, when I have demoed the game, it has been a delight. Yet, as a game, Heroes III doesn't demo well. It's a turn-based game. It's not a first-person shooter or real-time strategy game. There's no real immediate reward for your attention span to latch onto.
However, Heroes does have a very large, very dedicated following. Thus, most people who want to see Heroes are already fans. This was the case at E3.
At E3 I did the vast majority of the presentations. I did so many I ended up losing my voice. Almost all the people who saw the game were fans of Heroes and liked what they saw. We were so successful, people were taking chairs from the other game stations to sit in front of ours.
Well, the downside to my work at E3 was... I became the demo guy. The downside of being the demo guy is traveling.
I hate traveling.
Once I arrive at my destination, there's no problem. I'm just impatient by nature. I'm also 6'1" and hate sitting in supercramped airline seats.
So, today I got to fly up to 3DO with Peter Ryu (MM7 producer), Keith Francart (MM7 director), and Jeff Blatner (new Heroes producer) to give presentations on MM7 and Heroes III to our Ubi Soft partners and a smattering of European journalists.
As much as I hated getting up at 5:30am and traveling to San Francisco (less than one week after going gold), the trip was amusing for a number of reasons.
Since I have been at New World, Peter Ryu has always worn shorts and sandals. For the presentation, Pete was ordered to wear pants and shoes. Throughout the day, he was wincing as the shoes rubbed his feet raw.
The other amusing part was hanging out with the French chicks from Ubi Soft and the European press.
Last time I was at 3DO I did an H3 presentation to a number of European journalists. Not a French woman among them. It was different this time, and dare I say, worth the trip.
02/22/99
David Mullich (H3 director), George Ruof (H3 programmer), and I are the only members of the team in the building today. Everyone else is on vacation.
Over the weekend I began my self-rehabilitation for returning to the real world.
When you do nothing but work 12-14 hours a day, seven days a week, and then it all comes to an abrupt halt, you suddenly find you have all this spare time on your hands.
Ultimately, you become bored. You don't know what to do with yourself because your "normal" situation meant working on the game... but the game is finished. Normal has become different and no longer normal.
A logical assumption for curing this boredom would be a vacation. Not yet. I've got to write the design for the expansion disc. I've got two weeks before it is due. After hammering out the specs, everyone will be briefed, then I can go on vacation.
I've got it all planned out. I haven't seen my parents since Christmas of 1997. So, I'm going to go back home and sit in the rocking chair in front of my dad's big-screen TV and watch nothing but cable television for at least two weeks. You heard me. Nothing but CNN Headline News for two weeks. If by then I'm not properly vegetated, I'll watch it for another week. Then I'll track down my old high school girlfriend and see if she's still single.
I've set up an e-mail address for your feedback about the game when it hits the shelves. This e-mail is merely for player feedback and suggestions. I will be the one reading the e-mails, and most likely, I won't be answering any of them. So, don't flame me if I don't respond. [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]).
I've enjoyed writing these diaries. I wish I had been able to dedicate more time to them.
My apologies to Elliott Chin (who made these diaries possible). Elliott wanted me to talk about the design philosophy behind H3. After practicing design philosophy 12-14 hours a day, I couldn't bring myself to write a diary about it. So, I thought I'd do "a day in the life." I hope you enjoyed my tongue-in-cheek account.
I leave you with the following words I once heard the great Jon Van Caneghem speak, "When it's all over you'll forget how hard it was and do it all over again."
He's right. We will.

I was listening to the episode that came out this past Friday and the story about a father pranking his son brought this memory flooding back to me and I figured why not post it. This is the story of the 7 month prank war in my family home as a teen.
My mum has always been (and always will be) a kid at heart so growing up it was common for her to start a new game that me and my sister's would play with her, her favourite games are usually prank wars. Once my mum sets her mind on something she will dedicate hours, weeks, months to her plans and she passed that determination down to all her girls so things can escalate very quickly.
The family consisted of my mum (36f at the time), my older sister (15f at the time), myself (13f at the time) and my little sister (6f at the time).
It all started with my mum digging out some old decorations from the attic and finding our old Rosie and Jim dolls. The Jim doll always creeped all of us out a little but nobody hated it more than my big sister do my mum being a prankster hung him on a clothes hanger and draped him across the back of my big sisters bedroom door to scare her after school. It worked like a charm, not long after getting in from school we heard her screaming and she ran out of her room laughing and said she was gonna get my mum back.
Later that night I was in the kitchen and was scared shitless when my older sister came bursting out of the cupboard above the oven. She is a very petite person so she had climbed up on the counter and in amongst the tins to get mum back but got the wrong person. My mum came in laughing and said "better luck next time bitch" and I knew it was On.
Over the next 6 months we were pranking each other almost daily, never knowing the others' next move, but we were loving it. It was escalating fast, at one point my mum his in the cupboard under the stairs for 2hrs+ when I thought I was home alone and emerged in a Halloween mask crawling like a demon. My heart has never beat so fast and she almost got a foot to the face in the panic. At this point we had to talk about maybe scaling back a little because I almost kicked mum in the head but the pranks went on.
After spending a weekend at our dads we had told him about our prank war and (him also being a child at heart) I guess he wanted in. When he dropped us off he often stayed for a coffee and a chat and my mum popped upstairs to do a face mask. When she went back to her room she could see over the stairs that my dad was creeping slowly upstairs toward the bathroom door to scare her so she hid behind the laundry basket and waited for him to reach the door. When he swung it open and stood confused for a second my mum jumped out and he FELL DOWN THE STAIRS IN FRIGHT.
This caused us to consider stopping the prank war all together but stupidly we continued it for a few more days. It finally ended with my older sisters prank which caused the ban. My mum needs complete pitch black to sleep so doesn't keep a lightbulb in her bedroom so my sister snuck under her bed and waited. Just as my mum was about to drift off to sleep big sis grabbed her ankles and dragged her out of bed. What my sister had completely forgotten is that our mother has been through a lot of bs so sleeps with a hammer next to her bed. Cue my sister dodging around mums room while mum screams 'GET OUT OF MY HOUSE' and swings her hammer at the supposed stranger (remember, the room is pitch black). After a moment she finally recognised my sister and we had a very serious talk the next day in which we set a ban on pranking each other in the house.
Although it ended in chaos I remember it fondly, here are my favourite pranks from each of us:
Mum - "The cat is in labour!!" shouted from the garden, greeted by mum with a water gun and absolutely drenched all 3 of us. A classic.
Big sis - A childs Spiderman suitcase unzipping itself and her rolling out of it wearing lil sisters Spiderman costume (it did not fit). Unexpected and marvellous.
Lil sis - Saw big sis trying to find a spot to hide and hid in the wardrobe before big sis could get in. While big sis was waiting to scare her she leaned in and whispered "Mummy?" in a little ghost girl voice. Never seen someone sprint so fast, brilliant prank skills for a 6yo
Myself - pretended my arm was stuck in the window, painted it blue with eyeshadow to really sell it. My most savage work
Hope someone can find some humour in our antics, we really had fun with it

I am not The OOP, OOP is u/TOMATOES-4-EVER
OOP HAS SINCE DELETED THEIR ACCOUNT
My(24m) parents(49m),(49f) disowned me 5 years ago for false accusations, now they want to talk
Originally posted to TrueOffMyChest
TRIGGER WARNING: Homophobia, mentions of rape, mentions of death of a child, verbal abuse, emotional abuse emotional manipulation
Original Post March 15, 2023
English isn't my first or second language I'm sorry
I am bisexual, when that happened I was still in the closet and didn't tell anyone about my ex our relationship.
My ex and my family were my whole world. I thought I had a good relationship with my parents. I had inside jokes with my dad. Shared hobbies with my mom. I also had a good relationship with my sister(10)at the time. I didn't drink, smoke, or be late most nights. I wasn't perfect. But I wasn't that troubled teenager of a boy that didn't even deserve to be fucking heard.
In the summer, my ex and I planned "sleep over" at his parent's house. I know it was a stupid decision to sleep at his parent's house when no one knew about our relationship, but I was 19, stupid and hormonal. His parents heard us and his father entered the room and beat my ex-boyfriend, when he tried to hit me, his wife grabbed him and I quickly grabbed my clothes and ran away and went to my home. In the evening of the next day my father entered my room and grabbed my hair while my mother was crying and telling me if I had raped my little sister as well? I didn't understand what she was saying, and I told her of course I didn't rape her, but my father said that I was just a mistake and dragged me out of the house and told me that if I didn't run away from him now like i ran away from my victim house yesterday, he will turn himself in to the police because he will be murdering me.
I tried to call my ex-boyfriend to make sure he was okay, but he didn't answer. When I called my grandmother, she told me I should be ashamed of myself and i should surrender myself to the police, and that she would support me if I did this. I tried to ask her what was happening, but she said that she couldn't bear to hear my voice and hung up the phone. I went to the house of my close friend Angle, she wasn't at home, but her father was(I call him uncle) I did not plan to talk to him, but I could not stand it and cried in front of him, he listened to me and assured me that i had a place in his house and to not worry.
The next day, my uncle sat me down and told me that he spoke to my father, and he told him that I had raped my ex-boyfriend and forced him to do things he didn't want to do, had it not been for his parents discovering us, I would continued the rape. I was shocked and showed him the messages that were between us. I don't remember what happened but I was crying hysterically and Angle was holding me and my uncle calling the ambulance. After I got out of the hospital, we spoke with a lawyer and reached an agreement with my ex-boyfriend that he would confess to my family that it was a lie, otherwise I will file a defamation case. All the evidence was against my ex-boyfriend and he accepted, but it wasn't enough for my parents because they sent me a legal disowned letter.
I will spare you from the details, but know that I am fine now. Two days ago, my parents sent me a long message, asking to"talk" they said my sister died, and they wanted me at the funeral on Friday, and to "talk", I told them to fuck off and to give the funeral location, they told me ethier I talk to them or they won't give me the time/location.
I want to see my little sister, but I don't want to see my parents, the thought of them only make me sick. what did I do wrong to deserve this? Be gay?
Edit: my uncle is actually my friend father i call him uncle out of respect for him, he isn't related to my family and doesn't know anyone except my parents
Edit: I couldn't find my sister's death record online as some suggested, but I spoke to my aunt, and she assured me that my sister had died. I asked her about the location of the funeral, but she refused to tell me.
I see alot of comments saying they are lying about my sister death i don't think they are i have nothing, I'm not successful, I don't own my own company or my own home I don't even have kids.
Update March 26, 2023
English isn't my first or second language I'm sorry
Summary:- I was in a secret relationship with my ex-boyfriend. We were discovered and my ex-boyfriend accused me of raping him. My dad then disowned me 5 years ago. Two weeks ago my dad told me that my little sister had died. They asked me to talk to them, otherwise they would not give me the location of the funeral.
I would be referring to my relatives by U an A, U for my uncle and A for my aunt, I would be calling my friend father uncle.
Before the update I want to answer some questions:- Why did they accuse you of raping your sister and who accused you?
I don't know
Why don't you search for your sister's name online instead of talking to your family?
I tried, but I couldn't find her name. My friend told me that sometimes these things take up to two weeks to go public.
Why not ask funeral homes?
I tried, but the law in my country is different
Why don't you lie and tell your parents you'll talk after the funeral?
My parents were very clear in the messages that they wanted to talk before Friday
Why not ask your family members?
I did. I asked U and A. U told me that he doesn't want to be in a family fight, and A confirmed my sister's death, but she didn't want to give me the location. I didn't want to continue asking because my family is small, and I didn't want to risk my parents knowing about my search for the funeral location
About my ex:-
When my ex-boyfriend confessed, he said that his parents wanted to kick him out and stop paying his college fees ,so he told them that I had raped him, and he wanted to report me to the police to shut his father up, but his father told him not to do that so he thought his parents dropped it. He didn't expect his parent's to go and talk to my parent's.
The update:-
Thanks Reddit I took a lot of your advice
(This happened two weeks ago)After the post and talking to A and U, I decided to meet my parents. I didn't have much time until the day of the funeral, and I didn't want to miss it. Many of you advised me not to go, but I hope you understand my position. She is my only sister. I know that she has changed and isn't the same person anymore. But I was going to say goodbye to that child that I remember, not the person she is now.
On Wednesday evening, I told my uncle about my decision. I didn't need to ask him if he could come with me or not. He beat me to it and said he would go with me. I asked Angel and another dear friend of mine, and they accepted. I spoke to the same lawyer who handled my rape allegations. I asked him to supervise my meeting with my parents. I did not expect him to accept, but surprisingly he did, he tried to confirm my sister's death, but unfortunately, due to lack of time, he couldn't. On Thursday morning, I spoke to my parents and told them that I would meet them this evening, but on my own terms:-
1) I will have a lawyer and we will meet at a law firm. 2) Half an hour after our meeting, my parents will give me the funeral location, or I will leave. My parents tried to argue, but I put my foot down and they agreed to my terms.
When I got to the law firm and saw my parents for the first time in years, they smiled at me and waved like nothing had happened. After they sat down, the lawyer started recording the meeting and introduced himself before mentioning my first and new last name (my father disowned me and I legally lost my last name). I heard my new last name a lot in the past 5 years, but in that moment, it felt real. I don't know how to describe it, but the realization that I was actually disowned hit me. I feel that my parents felt the same way because the joy on their faces disappeared after hearing my name. After the lawyer finished explaining everything, the meeting started and my parents spoke to me as if the past 5 years had not happen. I was disgusted when my mother tried to hold my hand, but I pulled away.My parents didn't say anything worth mentioning. After half an hour, my lawyer asked my parents to give me the funeral location. My father said that when the family goes through difficult circumstances, they support each other. My friend interrupted him and told him my new last name. My parents seemed devastated, but my mother continued and said " do you know those feelings that you felt when you heard the news of your sister's death?, I will feel them soon". I was confused and asked her, What does this have to do with the funeral location? My lawyer spoke and asked my parents if my sister died or not? My father tried to change the subject, but my lawyer repeated the question and my father said no.
You were right reddit, it was a lie. My sister didn't die. The writing was on the fucking wall, but I couldn't see it. Nothing written in the message was real. After my father told me that my sister wasn't dead, my body felt very heavy and I couldn't breathe. That's all I remember. I was told that I looked like a ghost, my lawyer tried to talk to me, but I didn't respond, so he decided to end the meeting, but my father objected and started yelling at me, I tried to run, but I fell and started vomiting excessively before I passed out on the floor. I feel like an idiot. I can't believe I fell for this lie. I kept telling myself that my parents wouldn't lie to me about this. We're not in a TV show or a movie. I kept telling my self that U who hates family drama wouldn't get involved in something like this, I can't believe they did this to my sister, FOR FUCK SAKE I AM THEIR SON! When my dad told me that he was going to kill me, I never thought he would do it, but now I'm not sure. I don't know who my parents are anymore. I don't even know why they lied. After the meeting, they sent me a message asking if I was okay? They didn't apologize or even give me any explanation what so ever.
I filed a restraining order against my parents and anyone who's involved, including U and A. Some of my relatives contacted me and swore to me that they had nothing to do with what was happening and that they thought that my parents were going to talk to me about my grandmother's illness and her desire to see the family together. some of them even sent me medical reports proving her illness and her wanting to see me, but I don't want to see her or any of my family members ever again. When my ex confessed his lies she didn't believe my ex, she said I pressed my ex legally to lie about not being rape by me and I should stop lying and confess so everyone can move on. What hurt me the most was that she wanted to "fix me", she was sending me places that treat rapists and "me too" stories until I gave up and blocked her.
The police were called on my parents, my sister is currently living with one of my relatives, and no I didint talk to her. My therapist advised me not to. I currently live with my uncle. I feel safe near him. He helped me a lot without question or hesitation. He even took care of my pet bird for free. I owe him,Angel and my friend a lot. Even in my teenage years before this happened, they were always by my side. I don't think I would have survived without them. I hope my sister have the same support too. I don't know why my parents resorted to lying about my sister, and I don't think I want to know, I lost what little respect I have for them.
Thank you reddit. I don't know how this would have ended without your advice
THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM NOT THE OOP

PART EIGHT HUNDRED AND FORTY-ONE
[Previous Chapter] [The Beginning] [Patreon+2]
Friday
It was the middle of a bright, sunny day, and Phillipa was jogging through Central Park, listening to whatever music her playlist threw at her. She was enjoying the rush of moving without puffing … without feeling lethargy at all. She paused and put her fingers on her throat like she’d seen all those fit people in the park do, but couldn’t find anything that even remotely felt like a pulse.
Well, in her mind, that had to mean she was so comfortable; her pulse wasn’t killing itself, which was awesome. Especially considering she’d been running …
She frowned and turned back the way she came. How many blocks had she run? And when did she actually start running? She wasn’t a runner, like at all, and she enjoyed chocolate and caffeine and worked too much.
Right on cue, an annoying water ripple which she used for her general ringtone (because it was quiet and wouldn’t disturb a meeting much if she were sitting in with Tucker) sounded, and she squeezed her right earpiece stem to accept the call.
Only it kept chiming in her ear.
Her frown deepened as she dug through her clothes, looking for her phone to connect the call manually, promising herself to replace the headset on her way to work. Except why wasn’t she at work now? It was daylight. Bright daylight. Why was she running during the day? Was it the weekend?
She found her phone in the front pocket of her business jacket, where it was always located during business hours, but when she lifted it to her face, the main screen wouldn’t wake up. It remained blank, no matter what she did to bring it online.
Plus, the music was still playing. The music should have cut out the second a call came through. She shook the phone and pressed the buttons along the side, hoping to reset it over and over again, harder with each pass, yet nothing worked.
What in the world…
Phillipa came awake with all the finesse of someone having a heart attack, her fingers biting into the hardened plastic edges of … her TV remote. The TV was still madly scrolling through whatever buttons Phillipa had been mashing in an effort to get it to work as a phone, but more importantly, her real phone was still dinging away on her bedside table.
“Phillipa Webber,” she said as soon as she connected the call, swinging her feet over the edge of the bed. It didn’t matter that she’d been sent home with the supposed promise/threat of a weekend off. Calls at five-thirty in the morning meant something was horribly wrong, and she used the adrenaline to clear away the cobwebs.
“Phillipa, it’s Michelle Winthrop. Tucker’s family is in trouble.”
It took Phillipa’s brain half a second to tie the woman’s name into one of the three senior partners of Pike and Hubble LLC, and from there, it was all systems go. “What do you need from me?”
Michelle outlined the security they wanted for both Tucker and the laptop he had in Pensacola. When Phillipa mentioned Helen, Michelle’s snort of disgust made her smile. “She’s commandeered Donald. That should be enough for her.”
Phillipa went into the living room/kitchen combo and slid into the bench chair that doubled as a workspace for her. She flipped open her personal computer and powered it up, going through layers upon layers of security protocols before accessing the business mainframe. With each one, she hoped and prayed Colton hadn’t followed through on his threat of having her clearances temporarily revoked.
Yesterday had been a wash as Martin’s driver dropped her outside her condo building and waited alongside the car while she walked to the main doors. It had annoyed her immensely when she turned to see why he was still standing there, filming her with his phone.
“Forgive me, Miss Webber,” he said, not lowering his hand in the least. “Mister Laurier has insisted on proof of you walking into your apartment building before I am permitted to leave.”
Phillipa had ground her teeth and eventually let out a long-suffering breath of annoyance, reminding herself she was too old to flip off Martin Laurier, as much as her sleep-deprived, caffeine-infused brain insisted on it being the greatest idea in the whole world.
She’d been polite to any neighbours she’d come across on her way to the apartment, but it wasn’t until she’d run herself a bath and sank beneath the warm bubbles with Samantha (her Burmese cat) perched by her head that she felt the first vestiges of anxiousness slip away. Samantha's meows had been so deep and so constant throughout the whole bath had been a non-stop tirade, no doubt a lecture for leaving her alone for a few days.
Not that she’d been completely left alone. Before she’d flown to Florida, Phillipa had arranged for an elderly neighbour who was the resident cat lady to pop in and feed Samantha and change her litter, but that wasn’t what her girl had a problem with. When Mrs Beaton came, she reeked of her own horde of cats, and Samantha hated all their smells in her space.
Thankfully, she wasn’t a boy cat and didn’t take to scent-marking her territory every time there was a threat, but for the next few days, Phillipa had known she’d need to air out the condo as much as possible.
Which was why she’d been dreaming about jogging when she’d never jogged a step in her life. For her, there were two speeds: a brisk walk or a flat-out run, with the latter only acceptable when someone or something murderous was chasing her. But with the bedroom window open and the smells of the city wafting through on the early morning breeze in waves, her dreams had interpreted that as movement.
A minute or so later, she was in.
Security teams were going to take time to assemble. Very few places would enable her to scramble a team with the necessary clearance levels, but putting one together from here and sending it down would take thousands of dollars and four hours of travel time.
She stroked her jaw, ending with a silent drum of her fingers against her cheek. “Boots on the ground … boots on the ground … someone with the right clearance…” Her brain was whirring as the options wound down on such short notice.
One was a super longshot, but given he had already passed the security checks and his history with the company was exemplary, Phillipa decided to risk it. She went into the HR listing of all staff members and clicked on the list of inactive personnel. Skimming down the list, she clicked on his name and quickly typed the personal number into her phone.
“C’mon …c’mon…”
* * *
Thomas was awake with his hand plunged under his pillow for the M3 trench knife kept there. It was a habit he picked up after his time in the sandbox, although back then, it had been a gun rather than a knife. (Nine years of rooming with Donald had him switching it out when he’d pointed the weapon at Donald before he was properly awake, and the other man had warned him that if he did that again, he’d be force-fed every bullet in the magazine.)
His phone sounded nearby, but the ringtone meant it wasn’t anyone he knew. If it’s a fuckin’ telemarketer, I’ll hunt them down and… he thought to himself, even as he crossed the room dressed in only his briefs and picked up the phone. It wasn’t like he had company. “Yeah?” The word was barely a question, more of a threat. It was intentional.
“Mister Cole?”
The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn’t place it. Walking over to the window, he pulled back the curtain to let in the early morning rays through the palm leaves of the trees that separated him from the beach. “I’m here.”
“Mister Cole, might I ask where you are at the moment?”
“Darlin’, until I know who you are, I’m not going to tell you anything except you’re messing with the wrong man.”
“It’s Phillipa Webber, Mister Cole. Tucker Portsmith’s EA.”
Thomas sucked in a sharp breath. He’d assumed walking away from the job and leaving the state soon after would be a big enough hint that there wasn’t enough money on the planet to have him going toe to toe with whatever it was protecting the Nascerdios family. Even now, his eyes dropped fearfully to the three-dimensional, circular brand on his chest of a snake that slithered around his flesh, hissing menacingly at him.
“Where are you, Mister Cole?”
“Nowhere near New York,” he answered evasively.
“Mister Cole, how close are you to Florida at this time?”
“I’m in the Bahamas. Why?” He had amassed a small fortune working around the clock for the Portsmiths with no vacation time for almost a decade, which was why he’d decided to grant himself an extravagant tropical holiday. Though every time he looked down in his swimmers and saw the living snake brand, he wondered if he shouldn’t have gone the other way and headed for the slopes.
“Mister Cole, would you be interested in temporarily coming back to work for us in Florida?”
Thomas couldn’t shake his head fast enough. “No.”
“Mister Cole, I wouldn’t be calling if it weren’t critical. You have the clearance to protect Portsmith Electronics’ interests, and if you’re in the Bahamas, you are our closest asset to our CEO.”
I’m not your asset anymore! “Where’s Donald?”
“He’ll be returning with Mrs Portsmith shortly. However, both the laptop and Mister Portsmith are in Florida, and the one bodyguard they took with them is spending more time with Mrs Portsmith than Mister Portsmith. I need a second set of eyes, and despite your sudden departure from the company, your loyalty to us prior to that was impeccable.”
“Where is Geraldine and … S-Sam?” God, he hated the slight tremor in his voice as he said that name, but damned if he could stop it. Going after Sam had put him into a torturous living nightmare that not even two tours in the sandbox had gone close to doing. At least once a night, he had woken up either trembling or screaming due to that inhuman voice and the way they’d imprinted the snake brand on his consciousness.
He knew it wasn’t really there because he’d asked several one-night stands what they saw on his chest, and they only described his regular tattoos and scars. He looked at his chest’s reflection in the door and shuddered when the snake turned to look at him in the reflection and opened its mouth wide to hiss at him.
“They’re in New York completing exams. Why?”
Thomas shuddered a second time if only to get it out of his system. “It doesn’t matter. I’m sorry, I don’t think I can help you…”
“Thomas, we’ll triple your hourly rate and cover the cost of rearranging your vacation once this is sorted. It should only be a day or two…”
Thomas reached over his head and hooked his fingers around the architrave of the sliding glass door, hanging his near-full weight off his fingertips to stretch out his arm and core.
“Thomas, please. You’re the only one with the clearance who can be on-site in a couple of hours. Even if I get things moving here, it’ll be at least five hours before I can have boots on the ground in Pensacola.”
Thomas released the door and dragged his fingers through his hair. He and Donald had already been paid triple the going rate for bodyguards, and to triple that again… “Miss Webber…”
“Thomas, name your price. At the moment, you have us over a barrel.”
“Full intel.”
“Excuse me?”
“That’s my price, ma’am. If you want me in on this, I need to know what you know about the people you’re going up against. No more going in blind.”
“Thomas, I’m not sure…”
“You asked for my price! That’s it! I’m not about to walk into a situation blind again if can help it.” On an exhale, he added, “Never again.”
“Alright. Alright … I’m not entirely sure what you’re talking about, Mister Cole, but if it’s in my power to give you everything you think you need to complete this task, I’ll see to it personally.” Her voice dropped away, but not before Thomas heard her mutter, “It’s not like I’m doing anything else this weekend.”
“I can walk out of my bungalow in three minutes or seven if you need me showered and shaved.”
“Take the seven minutes, Mister Cole.”
“Yes, ma’am. Where do you need me to be after that?”
“I’ll text you the details.” She paused for a moment, then added, “Consider this your first piece of personal information you wouldn’t normally know. Tucker Portsmith and I went to college together, and I consider him my best friend. It’s why I want you down there, looking out for him.”
With that, Phillipa hung up on him, but Thomas was already moving.
* * *
((All comments welcome. Good or bad, I'd love to hear your thoughts 🥰🤗))
I made a family tree/diagram of the Mystallian family that can be found here
For more of my work including WPs: Angel466 or an index of previous WPS here.
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Tuesday's Games

Away	Score	Home	Score	Status	National
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				6:40
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				7:07
				7:10
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				7:40
				8:05
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				9:38

^★Game Thread. All game times are Eastern. Updated 6/7 at 4:25 AM
Yesterday's ATH

This Week's Schedule (all times Eastern)

Day	Feature
Sunday 6/4	ESPN Sunday Night Baseball: Yankees @ Dodgers at 7pm EST - Postgame Thread
Monday 6/5	AMA with Liam Hendriks!
	baseball Power Rankings
Tuesday 6/6	baseball Players of the Week
Wednesday 6/7	No subreddit features planned
Thursday 6/8	Division Discussion Thread: The Centrals
Friday 6/9	Friday Complaint Thread
Saturday 6/10	No subreddit features planned

It is incredibly hot where I live during the summer. No one leaves the air-conditioned paradise that is their home unless they absolutely have to. Watching the news one night the weatherman speaking in his usual drone informed us that there was a heat wave incoming and that it would be even hotter than it normally is over the weekend. "Oh hell no," my husband says to me, clearly irritated. "Well, why don't we go to my grandpa's cabin Friday night to avoid it?" I replied. He definitely liked the idea. My grandfather gave us his permission to go up there for the weekend, just asking that we do a few things to help him keep it cleaned up and do some fire hazard reduction for him. We agreed, looking forward to a weekend alone and out of the heat. Thursday evening we pick up the keys from him and pack up our truck to leave early in the morning. Friday morning we're headed up there and stop in a small town at the base of the mountain to get some gas and snacks. We're standing outside the truck, eating push pops, waiting for the gas to pump when my husband smiles at me wryly. "Don't you dare." I say, knowing full well what is about to come out of his mouth. He starts chuckling between licks of his push pop and whispers in my ear, "SLENDERMAN. HAHAHA. SLEEEEENDY IS WAITING FOR YOU UP THERE." " You're hilarious," I reply sarcastically. If only. We reach the cabin and get the lights and water going. Take our bags and the groceries in. It's a little chilly, so I decide to grab some firewood from the back while he finishes unloading the truck. I stop abruptly at the side of the house, as I notice some scratch marks. Long, thin, and going along the side like someone was dragging a rake almost while walking along. Those weren't there last time I was here, but it had been a very long time since I had been there, so I shook my head and continued on to the back to grab a few logs. The rest of the day goes by without incident. We go fishing, ride the ATVs, make some s'mores. We're sitting comfortably, cuddling on the sofa, flipping through channels on whatever the rabbit ears on the TV will pick up when we hear scratching and knocking along the side of the house. My husband must have felt me tense up because he immediately says, "It's probably rats." I look at him and say, "Are you fucking kidding me? Rats? No way." The sound suddenly stops and doesn't start up again, so after an hour or so we go to bed. The next morning I go outside to grab more firewood. Curiosity gets the better of me and I decide to go look on the side of the cabin where I heard the banging and what I see immediately makes me want to puke. Sure, the sound was rats. Being nailed. To the wall. There are half-eaten rat carcasses all over the wall, surrounded by those same scratch marks that I had seen the day before. That was enough for me. I start yelling for my husband to show him. "Woaah, that's messed up," he says when I show him. "I want to leave. Like, today. I don't want to stay another night." He makes another joke about Slenderman and tells me we'll be fine. "If it makes you feel safer, we'll shut all the window and door coverings." The cabin had these big wooden doors and window coverings that lock to prevent anyone from breaking in while no one is there. I agree to this and say we'll stay another night. Just before dusk, we lock everything up and barricade the front door, mostly because I demanded it so I could sleep easily. Just as the night before, as we're sitting down watching television I hear the dragging, scratching, and knocking. I sit there petrified. My husband yells, "Stop it! Whoever you are you aren't funny!" Just as he says that the knocking intensifies and we hear a deep growling through the cracks in the wood, puffs of breath say in a crackling inhuman voice, "Come....out....to play...with....me..." I run up the stairs faster than I have ever run in my entire life, heart thundering heard against my chest, barely able to breathe. I hide under the covers. What the heck that's going to do I don't know, but it brings me an inkling of comfort. I sit there cursing my husband for not leaving when we had the chance. Whatever is out there laughs in that horrible voice for hours. Knocking and knocking all over the house, claws scratching the walls. Rattling the doors and window covering trying so hard to get them open. Eventually it stops and we fall into an uneasy sleep. That morning we pack up our shit in a hurry and get into the truck. The house is covered in torn-in-half animals. Raccoons, squirrels, foxes, there's even half a DEER on the deck. We throw all of our shit into the truck and just before we leave, I remember that my grandpa keeps motion capture cameras on the trees surrounding the house because he likes the pictures of the wild life. I grab them and flip through them as we're driving off, happy to be getting the heck out of there. The pictures are nice enough. Some deer, a few blue jays, which makes me smile because they're his favorite. Just as I finally start to relax and breathe easy, I start to see pictures of the animals being nailed to the cabin. The next picture has me shaking so hard I'm about to drop the camera. Written in blood on the side of the cabin where I had originally seen the scratches are the words, "Good bye. Thanks for playing." The final picture is what makes me scream. The first thing I notice is the yellow cat slit eyes, glaring into the camera. The miniscule, pin prick teeth covered in fur and blood and all manner of viscera. It's hunched over, its spine in an arch, waving at the camera. Furry stick like legs ending in cloven hooves with the torso of a man. Its emaciated and gangly thin. It's clearly laughing at us and the fun it's having. I drop the camera, willing the image out of my mind and look out the window, just in time to see it waving at me as we drive out of the woods.

PSA: There’s no tolerance for racist, homophobic, discriminatory, troll or unhelpful comments. If a post about events in DFW triggers you, keep on scrolling. I have zero Fs to give so if you insist on commenting something unhelpful, you’ll never have to be subjected to these free, helpful posts again bc you’ll be blocked.
This is not a top things to do in FW (plenty of posts if you search this sub), these are events specific to this week. There may be mistakes/things change so do your due diligence & search more info online. None of these events are vetted, they’re just copied & pasted.
Join the Fort Worth discord to connect w/other folks in FW, chat & check out different meet ups: https://discord.com/invite/9KUdWdQVdJ
[Wednesday June 7th]
ITB Puttnight Lola's In The Bucket Disc Golf 6-9PM Sign ups Flex Start $10 Buy-in. Cash payout for Top 3. Bring three (3) of your own putters
Summer Arts Program Wed, June 7-Wed, June 28 1-2:30 p.m. Lenora Rolla Heritage Center Museum Free Explore Tarrant County’s rich African American history through art, conversation, & activities during a four-week workshop.
Lunchtime Music Series in Burnett Park 12-1P Free
Indoor Vendor Market Rahr & Sons Brewing 5-9P 25+ local businesses to shop, live music, food trucks, snacks, sweets, acrylic paint pouring class
Ronda Ray Fort Brewery & Pizza 6-9P
We Run Wednesday’s The trailhead at clearfork 6:30P
NoiseROT Presents: Victim of Suffering Haltom Theater Sidestage 7-11PM
Tall Bearded Guy Trivia Funky Picnic Brewery 7P
STFU Open Mic 8-11PM Twilite Lounge FW Free jokes, drink specials & delicious po' boys! Hosted by Claws Out Comedy w/featured performer Marissa Nieto
Karaoke HopFusion Aleworks 8PM
[Thursday June 8th]
Paul Metzger & Friends 8PM Scat Jazz Lounge
Fort Worth Movies That Matter Modern Art Museum 7-9:30PM Ernie & Joe: Crisis Cops (2019, 96 min., TV-MA) is an intimate portrait of two Texas police officers who are helping change the way police respond to mental health calls Movies That Matter is a FREE film series that highlights important human & civil rights issues. Each event features a film screening, followed by a moderated discussion w/special guests. Register for free tickets on Eventbrite
Join us every second Thursday to connect with art through cocktails, conversations, & creativity The Carter 5-8PM
Beatles vs. Stones Ridglea Theater 6:30P Jam to a musical showdown $25+
Justin Tipton Fort Brewery Pizza 7PM
Greater Tuna Downtown Cowtown at the Isis 8PM comedy show until 6/10
Anand Wilder of Yeasayer The Post at River East 8P $25+
Midnight River Choir Live Rusty Nickel IceHouse 6PM $10+
Tribute Band Thursday: Local Yoakam Jun. 8 8 p.m. Fat Daddy’s, Mansfield Free live music, Happy Hour drink specials & $12 build-your-own jumbo pizzas
Evenings on Oak Street: Roanoke Austin Street Plaza 6:30PM After Party: Modern Dance Party Hits
Geeks Who Drink Trivia Night HopFusion Aleworks 8P
[Friday June 9th]
Lindsey Kate Band 8PM Birdie's Social Club FW
A Taste of Herb 8PM Scat Jazz Lounge
Zizi’s food truck Neutral Ground Brewing Company 5-8PM
Friday on the Green, Magnolia Green Grab your lawn chair for live music from 4 local musicians 5-10P free
Kimbell Happy Hour 5-7P Kimbell Art Museum free music by Allegro Guitar Society
Dustin Massey w / Generational Wealth at Lola's Doors 8PM, Start 9PM
Brent Cobb Billy Bob's Texas 6PM $18+
Koe Wetzel Dickie’s Arena 6:30P $39
Kung Fu Vampire Black Heart Machine Tour Haltom Theater 7:30PM
Stockyards Championship Rodeo Cowtown Coliseum 7:30P $35
Neon Wave Pool Party Whiskey Garden 8PM
Jimmy Wallace at Twilite Lounge FW 9PM-12AM No Cover
FWSO’s Concerts in the Garden Festival Gates open 6:30 p.m. start 8:30 p.m. Music of the 80s
Dustin Massey (Band) w/ Generational Wealth Lola's Doors 8pm Show 9pm $10 advance tickets, $15 at door
Tab Benoit Tannahill's Tavern & Music Hall 8P $40
REYES - Nuestra Fiesta Dedicada a la Realeza de la Música Latina Tulips FW 9P $15
[Saturday June 10th]
Sharon Goodspeed Keyton 8PM Scat Jazz Lounge
The Weathered Souls Birdie's Social Club FW 7PM
Drag Show & Brunch Pride Edition 11AM-2PM Funky Picnic Brewery Join Kiki w/the Kweens for our monthly drag show & brunch!
Glizzy Fest presented by Fletcher’s Original Corny Dogs Martin House Brewing 12-5PM Live Music, Craft Vendors, hot dogs/corn dogs. Tickets $15 if drinking = 4 beers + souvenir pint glass. not drinking = do not have to pay
Smoke n Bone bbq Neutral Ground Brewing Company 2-6PM
Arlington Pride Celebration Levitt Pavilion Arlington 6-11PM (doors open 5) ft. performances from RuPaul's Drag Race Queens Angeria Paris VanMichaels, Symone & Kennedy Davenport, DJ Al Farb w/a street fair full of vendors
FWSO’s Concerts in the Garden Festival Gates open 6:30 p.m. start 8:30 p.m. Star Wars
Wandering Roots Market Tanger Outlets Shop local pop-up, live music, vendors, food trucks + kid-friendly 10AM-4PM
Jim Suhler & Monkey Beat LIVE Ridglea Room 7PM $25+
Live Jazz Performance Feat. The Rob Holbert Group The Warehouse 8P
LOCALS ONLY VOL. 3 Whiskey Garden 8P
Fenne Lily + Christian Lee Hutson Tulips FW 8P $20+
Dope City Comedy Tour FW’s Hyena's Comedy Club Doors 8:30P
Guttersluts perform Alice in Chains Unplugged w/ Garrett Owen Twilite Lounge FW 9PM-12AM No Cover
Live music HopFusion 7PM
[Sunday June 11th]
Black Dog Jam 8PM Scat Jazz Lounge
Big Mike Live Birdie's Social Club FW 1PM
Farmers Market 10AM-2PM Funky Picnic Brewery
Giddy Up Drag Brunch Concrete Cowboy FW 1-4PM
Monthly Book Club Funky Picnic Brewery 3-4P Will be discussing The Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Matt Hillyer & Kayla Ray The Post at River East 6-8P $20+
LanceBattalion Fort Brewery 7-9PM

Thought I'd share why I had been out for a while and while I cannot share too much, wanted to shed some light into what I have been up to. Decided to slowly get back into the game with a mix of dating apps, some daygame, and nightgame over the weekends. Shut off almost all of reddit and decided to go all in on game yet again. Pulled off 3 lays in one week.
Lay 1: Half-Asian and Half-White mix from New York.
I was at an outdoor bar the Saturday before this one and had done a handful of approaches. Night starts out rough as I try to chat with a couple of blondes but get brutally rejected. I keep probing and then hit it off really well with this tall brunette with a tan. Things were going well but her friends find her and practically drag her away. I cannot do a thing about it. Lately, I have been gaming solo since I find wingmen to be highly unreliable.
So I keep at it and then out of nowhere as I am heading to one of the nearby bars to order my first drink, I run into this one girl wearing a tanktop and yoga pants. We chat a bit and banter. She went to school at Marist and played Volleyball there, was in her 20s too. She was tall but I had a couple of inches on her given that I am 6 ft (or slightly below lol).
I decide to move her from one end of the bar to the next and get no resistance from her. Then I try to figure out her logistics but she says she is with a few friends. I look over and notice a couple of her friends seem gay and the others are these white girls who look chill. So I decide to get her IG and then keep talking to her. As the friends come over, I talk to them as well. They were all cool but I know not to talk to them too much.
To my surprise, they let me talk to the girl but then I work my familiarity of the city's nightlife scene to my advantage. Propose to all friends that I know of a great rooftop with nice views and we can go there, they decide to go with me. I know a few of the staff at the rooftop and they get us a decent spot to sit in. Friends get a little drunk and the girl is only somewhat drunk. I pull her off to a more secluded part of the rooftop and propose we go to my place. She pushes back but I hang around.
After that, we make out a bit and I tell her we should check on her friends. Two of them are heading back and I propose to the girl we check out my place, she is now down for it. Pull her back and as soon as we get to my place, we start making out. I take off her top and suck on her tits. As soon as she gets in just her panties, I could not help but smack her ass and bite and kiss those cheeks, she loved it. I smash with protection on that night and then we chill nude on my couch watching Netflix. I get hard again and she blows me while we are watching a horror movie.
We then fuck again a couple of hours later, protection on obviously, and go to sleep. Wake up in the morning and this time I hit it raw but we ended up spending the morning and the afternoon together nude fucking. She proceeds to tell me that she loves Indian guys and has a thing for them but just not many "bold" ones up in New York. Wow, my theory was right. I keep in touch but she has to fly back the next morning, a fun lay after a long time.
Lay 2: Armenian girl from LA.
I went out daygaming that Sunday and was hitting a lot of brick walls, ended up not getting much of anything at first. Then I saw this Kendall Jenner lookalike and decided to shoot my shot. The girl was shockingly receptive and after a long while of talking, probably 10 minutes, I got her IG. She could not go on a date because she had to meet friends for dinner and it was getting kind of late too (like 7). The next day, we go on a date but I make it near where I live. She loved the drinks and the bartenders + staff at the place know me well.
We talk and I banter with her on and on and on, teasing her a good deal. Finally, I decide to show her my spot which has a nice rooftop view. She tells me I better not try anything and I look at her puzzled. Take her to my spot, show her a nice view, and then try to get intimate. No one else is around and it is just us so I go for the kiss which I get no resistance from.
Then I tell her I have one better view to show her, she says "uuhhh you are not going to pull me into your bedroom are you?". I tell her "not exactly". She goes along and I pull her to my apartment, she loves it and she loves the view I get. Then I get intimate with her again and end up smashing. We once again do it a few times but then she says she has to see her friends at the club. We shower nude together before I have to kiss her goodbye. She was actually really fun too but so sad that she has to leave.
Lay 3: Korean and White mix from LA.
This one was just the past Friday night for me. I was at a huge bar and striking out to start the night. After that, I chat up these two girls, one was a tall redhead and another was this brunette with exotic looks. I grab a guy who seemed to be by himself that night and introduce him to the redhead as I talk to the brunette. The brunette laughed and said "smooth", I sort of ignored it. She tells me she is from LA and I jokingly say "yeah and ur Armenian", she says she is Korean and white.
We seemed to hit it off well from the start, she let me touch her and all. The redhead is making out with the guy I introduced her to and I make out with my girl, not much resistance. We spend a lot of the night together with her grinding on me and me kissing her behind the ears, gently. She was down for it and I tell her that I got some nice rooftop views for her, she agrees.
Take her to my spot, show her a nice rooftop view, make out some more, bring her back to my apartment, and smash. Just like with the first Asian and white mix, I ate her out and we fucked multiple times that night. Woke up next to each other and fucked probably 3 times that morning, twice without protection.
She later tells me that she is into Indian guys....
This is not the first time I have heard of Hapa girls being into Indian dudes.....
But yeah, sadly she has to leave as she was a tourist :(