I’m trapped. I can hear that thing lumbering through the hallway. My God, what the hell is it? I’m trying my best to keep quiet but I can’t help but whimper. The soft scratching of my pencil on this notepad sounds deafening in the quiet of this tiny closet. I’m almost certainly gonna die in this place. I just hope someone can find this, maybe it will do some good. Or maybe it already doesn’t matter. I’m not sure how long I have until that wheezing thing finds me. Oh God, or that grey stuff might ooze under the door and dissolve me. Oh my God! What it did to Benny, Bill, Jonesy and Donald! To all of them! Even if I don’t survive, the world needs to be warned!
Long story short, I was a cop but I got shot in the head. The doctors said I was lucky, that it went straight through without hitting anything vital. However, I still needed three steel plates to hold my fragmented skull together. Also ended up with permanent tremors in my right hand from brain damage. So it’s no surprise that my cop career didn’t thrive. Just a year later I was a “retired” 45-year-old cop, living on scraps. After a few months, I started to get desperate for work. One evening at my pub, my friend, Graham, mentioned an acquaintance who was looking for employees for some private research institute in the Mojave Desert. “What, are they still blowing A-bombs out there?” I scoffed, eyebrows arched with bemused incredulity. Graham stared down at his beer, “Not sure what the hell they do. But they pay super well, so who cares,” he took a long sip of beer, foam clinging to his lips, “I think it would be a good fit for you”.
Turns out this facility, and it really is known as the “Facility”, was located in the middle of nowhere. When I looked it up online I couldn’t find any information. Later that week I called the number that Graham had scrawled down for me on a beer stained napkin. My right hand was useless to me if I wanted it to do anything that required fine motor function, so when I dialed the number on my phone I had to use my left hand. The phone rang twice before a metallic feminine voice answered and said to hold for an operator. After a few seconds of muted elevator music, I spoke to a soft voiced man who told me my skill set was perfect for their current vacancy: a security management position. He said if I filled out some forms they would pay for me to fly on out for an interview in person.
One month and several NDAs later, I was employed again! By the time I started my new job I realized I had no idea what research went on down here. During the interviews my duties as a security manager had been discussed but any mention of their actual research interests had been carefully avoided, redacted or omitted. The security staff were also told to avoid fraternizing with anyone not from their own department, including security personnel from other sections of the Facility. On my first day I asked others about the nature of the Facility’s research, but no one had any interest. “Just stick to your contract. No point in rocking the boat,” my new boss, Bill, said to me curtly. So since then I’ve not discussed it with anyone else.
If only I had, maybe I would have seen this coming. The section of the Facility which I managed was section B.15. This area, like most of the core Facility, was located several hundred feet below the sun scorched surface of the Mojave Desert and comprised many green painted corridors peppered with tall, wide doors made from dark, stainless steel. The rooms inside were large and sterile. Artefacts were cleaned and studied in these rooms after they were brought from the excavation sites (sites E.1 through E.27). Of course, whether we wanted to know the nature of the research or not, eventually, after patrolling some of the research labs for weeks, it wasn’t difficult to figure out that the scientists were mostly archeologists or paleontologists. I would often find objects of different sizes and shapes lying around in various states of cleanliness. Some looked like ancient amphoras, or large stone bird baths. Others were less identifiable: a chipped statue, a melted lump of some unidentifiable metal or large chunks of a glass-like material. I found this all extremely curious because, as far as I knew, the Mojave Desert didn’t have much in the way of ancient architecture. At least of any ancient civilization that I know.
As the months went by I started to get friendly with the other guards, most of them ex-cops too, and we started playing cards and drinking Irish coffee in the evenings. My two main colleagues consisted of a jovial, short man with orange hair named Jonesy and a much older much grumpier and much balder man, Donald. They were good men and we had a lot of laughs together. My stomach twists when I think about where they are now. Though I grew fonder of my fellow guards, I found myself developing a severe dislike for the white coated researchers. Most of them were pernicious and arrogant. The only scientist my security buddies and me could stand was a scrawny man named Benny. Our favorite thing about Benny was that he never talked about his work.
It was earlier today, at around 1400h, when all the scientists were running from their rooms. They must have received some message a few minutes before and we watched them from the surveillance monitors as they got all excited and leapt up. Their lab coats flapped and flowed around as they jumped to their feet and made for the main exit. Soon after this the large red landline phone near my video surveillance desk began to ring. Expecting the call, I picked up the receiver before the first ring finished, “Hey boss, what’s all the excitement about?” Bill’s voice was uncharacteristically hesitant “The diggers have found a friggin’ huge object out here! The biggest thing they’ve ever dug up, it’s really irregular. They want to bring it to B.15 and I need you to organize the logistics and security”. My brow furrowed, “I guess it’s too big for the main entrance? Maybe we could bring it in via the big doors of the auxiliary hangar?” Bill grunted with agreement, “Yea, we’ll have to improvise a bit but should be manageable. I have no idea what it is… well you’ll see for yourself. I’ll get some of the boys from B.14 to help you out. And just, well…” He paused for a moment, “just be careful.” I grunted, my eyebrow arched from surprise; why was he so afraid? “Um thanks, appreciate it, see you guys soon”.
Donald, Jonesy and I had coffee in the office and called the guards at the hangar doors to arrange clearance. About an hour later we were at the platform near the doors waiting for the cargo to arrive. The massive metal hangar doors had been opened, which was rare. What was more irregular was that nearly every staff member from sections B.11 to B.18 were all gathered together in a silent knot of people. Despite the silence the air sizzled with anticipation, as well as the searing heat. I stood transfixed from curiosity at the massive doorway, waiting in the shade of the hangar as the relentless sun beat down outside. In the distance I saw a black speck grow larger against the bright blue sky. Slowly it took the form of a helicopter which was carrying a large rectangular shaped mass below it.
Within less than a minute the helicopter made its cacophonous approach toward the hangar and gently lowered the object onto an enormous wooden scaffold. I barked orders and signed forms as the guards rushed about, making sure the other personnel stayed a safe distance away. The air was blaring with the sound of the helicopter blades and sand rocketed into my face, forcing me to splutter. “Alright, let’s get this thing processed!” I yelled over the sound of the helicopter as its engines powered down, my colleagues and I wiped dirt from our faces. Bill emerged swiftly from the chopper and shook my hand. We quickly reviewed the paper work he gave me and then he made his way back downstairs to his office in section B.1. He was keen to get away for some reason.
“Alright, it’s officially in my care now. Show’s over. Get the non-essential personnel out of here immediately and secure the object. I want to get Benny up here to analyze it ASAP.” As my colleagues cleared away most of the staff and the excitement died down I was finally able to take a moment to inspect the object. It had been lowered onto the wooden scaffold fitted with wheels just outside the hangar and had been pushed slowly into the center. The few aircraft in this hangar were all currently under repairs and were non-operational, therefore there was plenty of space. As soon as I saw the sheer size of the object, I knew it would be difficult to transport, but not impossible. The object was a wall. Or a large fragment of a wall.
It was about twenty feet long, eight feet thick and ten feet high. At first the wall appeared made from some sort of boring grey stone. However, when I looked closer the wall was… alive. The wall’s surface bubbled slightly. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as I stepped closer. When I was only a few inches away from it I felt cold. A bead of sweat ran down my cheek and I thought I heard something. It sounded like someone far away calling my name.
I felt a strange pressure around my head. A sudden invasive thought wormed to life: throw yourself into the wall. I shuddered and held myself back despite the sudden strong desire. I heard the faint voice of Benny and crashed back to reality. My eyes snapped open and I found my nose an inch away from the wall. It radiated cold like an open freezer and it smelled like rotting clay. The surface of the wall simmered ever so slightly. It reminded me of the fizz of some grey effervescent medicine. I paled as I took a large step backward, “I.. uh, what is this?” I turned to face Benny who stood with another scientist. He glanced at her briefly before he approached the wall to apply more straps. He was careful to avoid touching the wall with his bare skin. “Honestly, we have no idea”.
I got Donald and Jonesy to help Benny transport the wall down to room 278B via the service elevator. Donald grumbled about how badly the wall smelled and Jonesy had eyes as large as saucers when he saw it up close, “It looks so unreal!” Once downstairs I returned to my office to get some more coffee and file away the paperwork. I tried to put the strangeness of the wall out of my mind, but it had truly unnerved me. I felt so tired, my forehead drenched with cold sweat. I had been working extra shifts lately, but I had never been hit by such exhaustion so rapidly. As I sat at my desk facing the surveillance monitors I was unable to fight the sleep forcing my eyes shut.
I’ve had many hangovers in my life, most of them unpleasant, but when I woke up at my desk I’d never felt quite so singularly awful. My clothes were soaked with sweat and my whole body felt exhausted. My arms felt like molasses as I attempted to move. My forehead throbbed and I felt bruised. I also felt a pressure squeezing my head from all sides. It was quite peculiar. I sat back in my seat and rubbed my eyes.
Then I froze.
A hand was lying motionless on the floor just behind the table in the center of the office. I leapt to my feet and rushed forward. I gasped from horror as I saw Donald lying on the floor, his chest sliced to ribbons. Gallons of crimson red stained his blue uniform and his eyes stared up empty and terrified. Pallid and shaking I went to my office landline to call for backup immediately. As the receiver met my ear my stomach dropped into my feet.
The line was dead.
The sole means of communication within the core Facility is done through landlines. The landlines are monitored at all times and any interruption results in an immediate response from security. We had many protocols and fail safes to ensure communication remained enabled, but the line was dead and there was no sign of any response. In fact, how long had I been asleep? What was happening? I rushed back to the monitors. I hadn’t noticed it before but I couldn’t see anyone. The cameras were all operating normally but not a single person could be seen. The corridors were just as green and bare as most late evenings. I looked at the clock, it was only 1817h. I had slept for about two and a half hours. Where were the janitors? My heart was hammering in my chest and I couldn’t catch my breath. Meanwhile my head was throbbing and my eyes were burning. Suddenly I heard an indistinct whisper. Gooseflesh bloomed all over my back and arms.
I’d heard this voice before.
I’d heard this voice from the wall.
I turned to the monitors and searched for the wall. It had been brought back to the surface; the hangar! It sat upon the bare ground right by the massive doors. However, the doors were all sealed. The wall itself looked different. It was enormous! Almost three times longer and taller and wider. Just then, I realized that the titanium blast doors had been sealed as well. My heart rate doubled as I noticed large dents, scorch marks and scratches all over the doors. Someone had tried to break them down. The hangar floor was covered in blood and ash as well as abandoned weapons. My God, I even saw a rocket-launcher lying blackened and fractured near the doors. What the hell had happened?
I spun my head to look at the security control panel on the wall to my left. My heart, already blaring, felt like it leapt out of my mouth. My eyes grew wide as I realized someone, probably Donald, had activated a quarantine procedure. This meant that the entire Facility would be sealed airtight. The only way to open any doors now was from the outside. My God! Why had he done this? Where was everyone? Did he try to wake me? Did I really sleep through all this? I looked back at Donald, my heart still hammering from seeing his dead eyes stare into mine. I sighed sadly and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was currently 1831h. I returned to the monitors and began to rewind the security footage.
Surveying the screens, I watched my past-self enter the security office at around 1600h. By 1610h I had passed-out on my chair, drool dangling from my mouth. “Ok, so let’s see where the wall was at that time. Should be room 278B.” I thought to myself aloud as I clicked on the button that would display the footage from that room as well as the surrounding corridors. The screen was black as the footage loaded and I was about to hit the play button but hesitated. Did I really want to see this? I closed my eyes and took a few slow breaths. I can’t figure my way out of here if I don’t know what’s going on. I have to know. I hit play.
The camera was located opposite the door giving a full view of the room. At first everything seemed normal. Benny and some other scientists had transported the wall into room 278B. It was 1623h when they were taking the straps off the wall. A loud popping sound was heard and the researchers spun around. The lights in the room dimmed and flickered. Suddenly something long and slimy exploded from the wall, curled around Benny, and pulled him in. He screamed in terror as he vanished, his cries immediately silenced. My jaw dropped open and a small yell escaped me.
Without realizing it, I was instantly on my feet, shaking my head in pure denial. My heart burst. What the hell was that? What the hell? What the hell? My head was full of static. I felt tears in my eyes as I watched guards and researchers rush into the room. The wall shimmered, it’s simmering surface began to boil and bubble and it grew three feet higher. I saw it reshape itself so that intricately carved figures appeared on the wall’s edge. I leant in closer and gasped. One of those figures looked just like Benny, his mouth stretched open wide into a permanent scream. I didn’t want to continue watching, but I had to. The guards and researchers were horrified by what they saw before them. Suddenly, without warning, their body postures relaxed, their eyes grew glassy, and their arms fell slack at their sides. Those within the room moved as if sleepwalking. Some stayed still while others left the room. Brow furrowed from confusion and fear, my eyes swiveled to the footage of the corridor outside. The guards and researchers that had just exited 278B immediately began attacking and grappling those around them. I yelped as a vacant-eyed guard lazily shot another man in the leg. The thrall then dragged the wounded guard into room 278B. The mad guard held the wounded guard’s leg fast as he casually walked into the grey wall, pulling the struggling man in behind him. During this altercation I noticed Donald for the first time, he was hiding behind the corner of the corridor at the far end and was firing his gun at the madmen. He didn’t manage to hit anyone though. He then ran over to help a stray researcher to their feet and then they both ran down the corridor and out of view.
I can still hear the cries of pain and pleas for mercy as those who fell victim to the thralls were each dragged into that horrifying wall. With every person it swallowed, the wall wriggled and grew and grew. More and more ghastly decorations began to bloom on its surface, all of them made from the bones or likenesses of those who had been absorbed. The bigger it got the stronger its psychic influence became until it seemed to reach nearly everyone in the Facility, turning them into thralls. I looked on in horror as one by one, all janitors, researchers, guards, diggers, admin staff, everyone gradually stopped what they were doing, mid conversation, their eyes emptying. The janitors dropped their mops and buckets. Researchers dropped precious materials and equipment without care, letting them smash to pieces. In unison they all slowly, with vacant expressions, moved toward room 278B. Among the horde of thralls, I saw Bill and Jonesy, and so many others I knew by face. A guy who’d held the door for me once, a researcher who always slurped her coffee at lunch. Hundreds of people! What filled me with an unnamable dread was that I knew what was gonna happen. I knew what was coming. I tried to shout at the monitors, “Stop! Wait!” I grabbed the monitors and shook them with frustration.
A terror began to fill my stomach, deep and cold and aching. Suddenly I noticed Donald reappear on the screen. He was trying to hold back the researcher he’d helped earlier, but it was useless. I saw Donald, chest heaving from effort, stare with incredulity as he sat defeated on the ground. Everyone else around him stumbled dreamily toward their doom. But Donald refused to give up. I saw him run from corridor to corridor, trying desperately to stop them. He threw chairs and tables in their way but they simply pushed them aside or jumped over them. I saw him run toward this office. I saw him enter, saw myself slumped on my chair still completely unconscious. I saw Donald try to shake me awake, he slapped me a few times and was yelling in frustration. He gave up with me eventually and ran over to activate the quarantine lockdown. I saw him tear down the hall back toward room 278B, pistol in hand.
My best guess was that he saw what was happening in room 278B and decided he was gonna stop it. However, as soon as he got close to the door a long pale tendril burst through the door directly into Donald’s chest. The tentacle had a hooked end and it slashed at him. I saw blood spurt out of him, saw him stumble and fall from the ground in fright. However, he still managed to get a hold of his gun and fired multiple shots at the tendril. It writhed and flailed. Donald took the opportunity to climb to his feet. He grimaced and clasped his chest as crimson leaked to the floor. He moved back down the corridor, much more slowly than before. Eventually he got back to the office. He locked the door and then collapsed. I cried out in frustration. That whole time I was completely useless!
My mind felt like static again for a few seconds. I couldn’t work out what my next move should be. A thought hit me hard, one I should really have thought of before. Why had Donald and I not been psychically affected by the wall? Everyone had been enslaved, everyone had been forced to walk into that wall. Why not Donald? And me? I knew it must be connected to my horrendous sleepiness. My eyes grew wide with sudden realization. “Shit, the steel plates in my head!” Donald had a single steel plate in his skull because of a rock-climbing accident he had in his 20s. When I got close to the wall, had it sensed my resistance? Had it tried to incapacitate me? If so, it means this thing possesses sentience.
While I pondered this, I noticed some thralls re-strap the wall in room 278B. They transported it to the elevator and back up to the hangar. Once there, the thralls moved the wall off the scaffold onto the floor and began to beat heavily on the large metal doors with bare fists. Some even shot at the doors with their handguns. The ricochets killed a few of them but not one single person seemed to even notice. Some of the guards even used a rocket launcher! I yelled with shock as they fired at deadly close range, lazily blowing themselves up, leaving the doors scorched. After this proved futile, the thralls all grew suddenly rigid. Next, they all formed a line in front of the wall and one shambling step after another, all the remaining employees were - assimilated. Even the dead and wounded were not spared. Those still alive carried the corpses of their fellow thralls into the wall.
It was 1705h when the last employee disappeared forever into the grey horror, and the wall expanded to its current size. Without warning, a large writhing mass of twisted limbs emerged from the wall. I gasped from horror. I couldn’t tell exactly what it was because the lighting in the hangar wasn’t good enough, but it definitely wasn’t human. Its silhouette was about seven feet tall and thin and stretched. It had too many legs and it didn’t seem to have a head. This thing lumbered over to the doors and began to strike them with a strength and ferocity one would only find in a starving polar bear. I could tell that the doors were taking strain, and they began to bend, but even then, they would not yield. After about half an hour of smashing the door, the creature stopped and slowly shambled toward the stairs. My heart froze. It was coming here! Or was it here already?
My eyes swiveled back to the main monitor and I was surprised to see Donald still alive. He was scratched and bleeding badly as he shakily pushed himself from the floor. He then looked up at the ammunitions cupboard and began to search through his keys. I saw him curse. He couldn’t find the key with his trembling, bloodied fingers. In the next instant his eyes bulged and he heaved as if vomiting. His body doubled over and long grey tendrils oozed from his mouth and wriggled furiously. He grabbed his throat and fell forward onto the floor. Frozen in horror I watched as his body squirmed and he wriggled as if his intestines were filled with snakes. I continued to watch absolutely transfixed as three long grey tendrils emerged again from between Donald’s lips. Slowly they wriggled free of his mouth. They were about half a foot long, dull grey and thin like spaghetti.
I watched as they slithered toward my unconscious form on the monitor. I bit my lip and stood up. Slowly my brain put two and two together. Bile rose in my throat. I yelled at myself to wake up and see the worms. Just then my stomach dropped and I could feel an itchiness in my belly. I could feel the wriggling itch of a thousand grey eels in my gut. Or was I imagining it?
My stomach writhed and I was about to puke when I saw myself awake and stretch in my chair. The worms somehow realized I was awake and they moved out of view towards the –before I could watch the screen any longer, I heard a hiss and something slimy and long wrapped itself around my throat so tight I couldn’t breathe. I gasped with surprise and strained my neck to look at the monitor that showed the room in real time. I saw from the camera behind my head that something thin and grey had wrapped itself around my throat. I saw two more of those things coming at me from behind as well. They were about to come wriggling up my chair when I grimaced with anger and grabbed my gun from its holster. The thing around my neck was hissing and making awful clicking and guttural noises. Its small worm head had a mouth that bit and it latched onto my neck to suck my blood. I pulled at the leach and pressed my gun up against it. I pulled the trigger. With an earsplitting bang and a sound like a water balloon popping the leach was reduced to sticky goo. I pulled the remnants of the leach off my neck and spun around just in time to shoot and kill the others. I grinned with a mad-joy and yelled with relief. Immediately, a wave of nausea and exhaustion hit me and I fell back onto my chair. “What the hell was that? What the hell do I do now?” I sat still for a moment and tried not to lose my mind completely. I swear I could hear Woody the woodpecker laughing somewhere in the distance. I needed to keep it together. I took a long deep breath and tried to think of a way out.
Summarizing the details of my predicament, I realized I was trapped alone inside the Facility with an otherworldly force. Also, even if I found a way out, I’d potentially be letting an evil into the world that could destroy all life. At once an old thought returned to me, one I’d often experienced as a cop. “If I need to sacrifice myself to save others, I will do so without complaint.” A wry smile spread over my face. “Once a cop, always a cop.” My smile vanished as a I continued to think. “But my God, if this thing gets out. If it gets into the minds of other people. If it gets larger and larger. Could it swallow the world? The solar system? What other monstrosities would it unleash?” I was talking aloud now; the sound of my voice gave a new reality to my situation that made me shudder. I turned back to the monitor. It seems I was all caught up with what had happened. I stared blankly into the screen while I watched my past-self continue to wake and wince from pain. I switched the monitor off and saw my reflection in the blackness of the screen. I was pale and my eyes were wide and unblinking. “What do I do now?” I turned in my chair to look at Donald’s body. Were all those worms gone? Could some still be hiding? And what should be done with his body? Probably best to have it burned. “Poor Donald, he didn’t deserve this”, I muttered softly as I examined his corpse, making sure there were no unexplained twitches beneath his skin. My eyes moved from his body up to the ammunition’s cupboard just above. “Wait, why was he trying to get into the cupboard earlier? We don’t have much…”, my eyes grew large with realization. “Holy crap, he was trying to get the bomb! Me and Donald were gonna use a left-over bomb from the excavation site to blow some random shit up!”
I sighed sadly and heavily. We never got around to it. I stood up quickly and walked up to the cupboard. I pulled out my keys and quickly found the key I’d need. I opened the cupboard with little effort and found the ten kilos of plastic explosive inside. It had already been set up with a sixty second timer and a remote detonator by a colleague. I sat at the table with the explosive, a vague plan forming in my broken mind. “Maybe if I somehow get this wall-thing to eat this bomb then...”
Before I could formulate my thoughts fully, the lights flickered, and the entire Facility was plunged into darkness unceremoniously. My nerves were burning with fear. What had happened? Had that thing knocked the power out somehow? The next few seconds that past were some of the longest I’d ever experienced. However, dim green light bloomed to life and the reserve power kicked in. Then I heard slow, shuffling footsteps in the corridor just outside the office. I froze once again, my insides turning to mush. My mind raced. Had I remembered to lock the door? My stomach leapt into my feet as I heard the shuffling get louder and louder. I heard hoarse, wheezing breaths, as if the thing struggled to breathe. I jumped from fright but remained absolutely silent as whatever the thing was banged on the door with a deafening blow.
BANG! The door shook and bent slightly.
BANG! Silence for a moment.
BANG! BANG! Again silence. My heart was hammering in my ears and I sat deathly still. I could hear that thing breathing louder. After a few moments I heard it shuffle away. My entire body was shaking as relief washed over me. Whatever the thing was, it had walked away and I could no longer hear it. I turned to look at the monitors. Dare I turn them on and check what it was? After a few seconds of consideration, holding my breath, I turned to the monitors and switched them on. I waited in nervous anticipation as the screens flickered to life showing me that all the corridors between me and the wall were currently empty. I didn’t bother checking the corridor I suspected the shambling thing was in. I didn’t want to see it unless I needed to. I’d had just about all the stress and terror I could take and by this stage I felt weirdly calm. It must be shock. A thin sigh escaped me as I stood. The fear in my blood began to feed a furnace of anger in my heart. I thought about all those who I had lost. I felt my expression turn to granite, “It’s time to kill this thing.”
I opened the door slowly, my fully loaded gun in my good hand. Spare ammo along with the explosive and a shotgun was stashed in my backpack, and the remote detonator was tied to my belt. I held a heavy-duty flashlight in my shaky right hand. I moved cautiously through the dark green corridors. I’d never thought of how creepy this place could be until this moment. Gooseflesh crept up my arms and neck as I continued. All I could hear were my soft footfalls and shallow anxious breaths. I cleared the corridors one by one until I made it to the stairs that would lead me to the thing that looks like a wall. I walked up the stairs slowly, my ears honing in on any sound. That’s when I heard it. I heard the soft sound of crying.
Someone was crying. I stopped dead in my tracks. My entire body shook from the adrenaline surging through me. I took one step. Then another. Slowly, I climbed. Once my head could peek over the top, I froze. Jonesy was squatting on his knees, naked. He was between the wall and me, with his back facing me. The terrifying thing loomed enormous before us. It was now framed intricately with the skeletons of hundreds of people, all twisted and screaming in agony. Writhing, tortured souls fused together. Then came the sound of crying and moaning from the wall. I could hear them all. They were all screaming. Screaming for me to help them. To join them. I felt that pressure squeeze against my skull tighter and tighter. I shook my head in defiance. “No! You bastard! NO! I will not join you! You’re not Jonesy!” All at once the moans and wails stopped. I suddenly found myself at the top of the stairs without knowing when I’d finished climbing them. “But we are Jonesy” came a voice that was not human. It was a voice made from all those it had swallowed up. It was as though something had made a distorted copy of the voices of all those people and then just used them all at once to speak. It didn’t understand the concept of individuality. All of a sudden, the wall rippled and grey tendrils squirmed from the flesh of the wall, curling around Jonesy as they teased his face and slowly pulled him in. As he disappeared there was a horrendous sucking, squelching noise. “We are Jonesy. We are all. We can be all. We will be all. All and all and more than all.” The voice was chanting this over and over. Louder and louder.
A deafening blast came from the wall and a slithering, writhing mass of tangled human limbs emerged. It had four legs and several arms. It looked like the bodies of eight or more people shuffled and glued into an otherworldly horror. Its multiple mouths screamed a high pitch squeal that was more horrifying than the screams of the damned, and its sharp pointed teeth gnashed and chomped. I only had a second to dodge this monster. I leapt to the side and fired multiple shots at the thing’s center of mass. Its horrifying body of fused torsos wriggled and bled black ichor. It screamed with pain and jumped at me, grabbing my leg. It tossed me into the air and I almost lost my gun as I slammed into the floor a few feet away. Before I could catch my breath, it was upon me again. From the ground I fired several shots at it. This made it jump away and scuttle down the stairs. With it momentarily out of sight, I quickly got to my feet and kept my eyes on the stairs.
After a second, I decided to kneel and take off my backpack as fast as I could. I pulled out the bomb and started the timer. I also decided to get the shotgun out and get it loaded. I needed to do this now or never. As the final shell clicked into place I heard a roar coming from the stairs. The thing was back. Before I could react, it leapt at me and knocked me to the ground. The bomb flew from my grasp. It bared down on me, grabbing at my throat ready to tear me apart. My reflexes saved me though and I managed to use my shotgun to hold the thing at bay, but it was too strong. Desperate, I kicked it hard in the chest and it let go. I used this moment to grab the bomb that lay behind me; only 37 seconds to go! Terrified and crazed, sweat pouring down my face, my mind in pieces, I rammed the bomb into the creature’s mouth and kicked it back again as hard as I could. I heard it yelp like a wounded dog and it lost its footing. It fell sideways and in that second, I took my shotgun and fired at it in the chest. The force of the close-range blast sent me flying. At the same time the creature was hurled back into the wall where it was enveloped quickly.
My head was fuzzy. I was dizzy and the wind had been knocked out of me. Was the bomb going to work? I felt something warm and wet drip into my ear and touched the side of my head. My fingertips came away soaked in blood. My head was spinning. With a foggy mind I grabbed my bag, collecting my weapons and flashlight. As I stood up I heard a low rumbling sound. The ground beneath my feet shook and for a moment I was confused. Then I looked up at the wall. Its surface was roiling and boiling like I’d never seen before. It was shaking and growing. I turned to run when suddenly there was a massive blast from inside it, and the entire wall exploded into hundreds of small grey chunks. These chunks rained down all around the hangar, smashing several aircraft. The blast knocked me off my feet and this time I definitely passed out because when I awoke I could see daylight through the tiny cracks in the blast door. Where the wall had once been now stood a small blackened crater. I turned around to inspect the wall pieces and found that they – my eyes grew wide and my mouth opened. They were melting. As I approached a fragment of wall, a horrible twisted hand shot out at me. I yelled and jumped away. It was still alive! I watched in dumbfounded horror as the pieces continued to melt and began to merge, just like that scene from Terminator 2.
It was rebuilding itself. Then I heard a groan. My blood became ice. I turned slowly in terror to find the shambling, wheezing monstrosity behind me. Like the creature I'd shot, this one seemed made from bits and pieces of human limbs knitted together randomly. This one had legs which came out its mouth, its head positioned within its torso where the bellybutton should be, and it wheezed in pain. I almost puked from fright but my legs were already carrying me away. I sprinted down the corridors, ignoring all the pain and fear and exhaustion and anger and frustration I had inside me. Without thinking, I leapt into the first janitor's closet I found and locked the door with a dull clunking sound. After catching my breath, I found this notepad and pencil, and have been writing this report in the sterile glow of my flashlight. Hopefully, I have left some useful information for anyone who may find this.
Now I lie in wait for that thing. Now I lie in wait for that grey ooze. What is that thing? Is it truly indestructible? If it can survive a bomb like that, what hope do we have? It’s no wall at all. It’s a membrane. An interface. Somewhere very different is pressing up against us. It has torn a small hole, and was now prying it open further. I should blow up this whole damn place! I should burn it! But would it matter? Or would it just be buried, to be rediscovered? I think even if I survive this, nothing can help us. So here I wait, hoping to be saved, but even as I write this I can hear that thing walking past the door. With a soft click I turn off my flashlight. I try not to breathe. I can hear the snuffling, it’s right outside! I can smell its ugly breath.
Oh God! I hear the jingling of keys. The door is unlocking! How? How?
Oh God! The doorknob is turning...

I posted on MCAS page as well but after reading about mastocytosis, just makes me wonder. I know it’s a lot of photos but just wanted to give an idea of what my flushing is like on a daily basis. My biggest symptom is flushing. This is pretty much an everyday thing and can happen multiple times a day. Sometimes tho I can go a few days without this insane flushing. When the flushing happens I start to get extremely hot, but sometimes my hands and feet will be freezing OR my hands and feet will swell and become super red and hot. I also get stomach pains, very irritable, headache and just an over all feeling of blah. Almost like I just did an intense work out. When my flushing episode starts to die down I get extremely fatigued and nauseous.
Other symptoms I have that don’t necessarily happen with flushing is bone pain, mainly in my forearms. It’s a deep pain not surface or muscle.
I also get these red bumps all over my torso , sometimes they itch, sometimes not but they are raised and will break open if I itch them.
I do have the skin writing. Anytime I get scratched or scratch an itch it swells up and gets itchy.
I did a histamine determination blood test and my histamine levels were extremely abnormally high. And that wasn’t even during a flushing episode. My CBC and CMP labs always come back crazy.
I did get an ANA and it came back positive 1:320 homogenous AC-1.
I’m also positive for the HLAB27 antigen.
I just don’t know what to do. I’m just exhausted.

First off I'd like to apologize as there is no way to graciously post a picture of your anus (I tried to cover up what I could) - I'm a 28 year old male - basically I had an STD test last month, the day AFTER I got tested, this rash showed up, it started out thicker and redder but faded and has not left, it seems like it's going back and forth between fading and coming back. It doesn't seem to be healing. The test came back and was negative for everything. However I'm kinda doubting the legitimacy of the results because I was taking Doxycycline for a the presumed UTI that I had around that time
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The time it appeared I also had swollen red testicles, a presumed yeast infection + UTI and since this I have had penile pain in one partcular spot, the yeast problem seemed to go away but my testicles are still a little sensitive. Before this I wasn't sexually active and had one long term partner only. But he was cheating unfortunately.
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- It doesn't hurt
- It doesn't itch
- When it first appeared I had what I presumed was a yeast infection / UTI affecting my penis/testicles
I tried antifungal/antibiotic cream but it didnt seem to go away. Can anyone please help? I actually really cannot afford to see a doctor, I wish I could but I can't. Any ideas?
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https://ibb.co/xm6bwrR

My state of employment is Missouri if this will help better the advice I may receive
Hello all. I will stick to the facts and what relates to myself directly. This is long, so bear with me. If you want to skip to the end to my legal question before skimming over my story, feel free to. But please, please, please I am in desperate need of advice.
I worked for a contractor for Charter Communications as a Field Technician from early November 2023 until last Friday. Technically, I still work for them, as I was neither terminated nor did I resign.
My concern, and what I need advice on, is in regards primarily to my compensation. The company, when employed, has a ton of paperwork you are supposed to go through and fill out. I filled it out and read through most of them, and was told a summary of what a lot of it meant. My primary tool to help me diagnose problems on the spot would require a $1,000 deposit, but broken up over pay periods, totaling $25 deducted from each paycheck. Tool purchases from them could vary from a single tool of $13, to hundreds of dollars broken up to $25 maximum deducted from each paycheck. The only caveat in the contract I signed with them was that I would not receive reimbursements for either if I left within 90 days of employment. Direct deposit was also not allowed during the first 90 days, so I was picking up physical checks.
Fast forward to December, I am finally exiting my training phase, and instead of being sent into the field I was to be sent 2+ hours away to a large project. I was issued a company vehicle, and a company gas card. The technician in charge of the project drove his own vehicle and was allowed to use my gas card by our supervisor to fill his personal vehicle on multiple occasions.
Again, let’s fast forward now to January. This project lasts us over 4 weeks, running late of course, but nothing we can do. We stay in an AirBNB during the week, but are required to drive home on the weekends. Remember, this is over 2 hours away, and I’m also responsible for driving another technician. And at the end of the project, they stopped giving us an AirBNB, which means we spent ~3-4 days solid driving this distance back and forth every single day. I get my first paycheck from the project and it was a nice one. My second one comes in, and there’s a HUGE red flag: a deduction of $96.73 from my paycheck for gasoline for the COMPANY vehicle. I immediately alert my supervisor who says that is incorrect and he will have it fixed for my next paycheck. Next paycheck hits, and another deduction. Now it’s $53.43. Again, alert him, and I’m told it’ll be fixed and to make sure my gas receipts are being turned in (they are). Next paycheck has no deductions, but the money is not reimbursed. Alert him again. Next paycheck, I receive a new deduction that’s only labeled as “Other” for $48.80 on top of $25 for tools. Alert supervisor again. Told they’ll look into and get back to me. Hear nothing about it. Ask again and told the “Other” was for gas, which doesn’t make sense as it has been labeled as “Gas” on every other paycheck that I had it deducted from. Whatever, right? Well, now I find out as I’m sitting in the office overhearing a conversation that there’s a $15/day limit on the company issued gas cards.
🚩 🚨 ALARMS ARE NOW GOING OFF
The agreement I signed with the company relating to the gas card, as far as I remember, mentioned nothing about a daily limit allocated to each technician. So now I’m pissed, as my supervisor tells me I will not be reimbursed for these expenses deducted. I remind him that it was for a special out of town project, and he says he’ll talk to the front office. Yay! Next paycheck, $37.50 is deducted for another mysterious “Other”. At this point I’m pissed. I’m doing everything right and turning in all of my paperwork. I tell him again. “Waiting on (name).” Okay. Fine.
Fast forward to last week. They call me in and sit me down and inform me that Charter will no longer be routing me in the field due to a customer complaint. Won’t go into detail, but it was petty which was unfortunate as this specific customer and I talked throughout the entire visit about our shared interests which started over something on their wall.
Supervisor informs me I must turn in all equipment and my vehicle ASAP or my paycheck would be held for the next day. I go home, clean out my work vehicle of my personal items, and document myself putting every tool I was issued into a specific container on video as proof of their good condition, and the fact I had them. Since it has been over 90 days, I am under the assumption I will be reimbursed. Infact I am told as much. I am told by my supervisor that once everything is accounted for, I will receive four weeks of pay (all of the hours I am owed), and the next would-be pay day would consist of any reimbursements issued. I once again ask about the gasoline, and he says he will not reimburse me as I went over the $15/day limit. I remind him, for now the THIRD time, that it was for an out of town company project and it needs to be reimbursed. He says he will talk to the front office. Whatever. He drives me home, and that’s that.
*Side note for a moment: I used Voice Memos and recorded as soon as I returned with the company vehicle to turn in all of the equipment issued to me. In the audio it’s clear all the equipment is there as he lists them off one-by-one and checks them off, AND reads the serials of multiple items on clear, legible audio. Mind you, I’m not taking any chances at this point and trying to make sure I’m covering my ass.
Next day comes. I check my bank account for my 4 weeks of pay as promised by my supervisor. And to nobody’s surprise, guess what? $55.14 deducted for gas AND my normal tools/meter deductions for a total of $50. And only 2 weeks to pay totaling 46.5 hours.
I attempted to contact them immediately that day via SMS group chat with both of my supervisors at 11:09 AM. No response. I try again two days later. No response. I try again the next day, and the response given by the supervisor who told me about the pay and reimbursements responds with, and I am quoting this from the text exchange, “Who told you that it wud be a reimbursement”.
At this point, I laid into him in the most professional manner. My reply was simple. “Reimbursement for the gas? From the [redacted] Project trips? You also told me I'd receive four weeks of pay and instead I received a normal pay period check with tool purchase deductions and meter deductions.”
Mind you, I had already been looking for a new job, and I’m on break at my new job trying to figure this out. An hour later, I’m back on the clock, and the now old supervisor begins spam calling me one call after another. To quote his text after I did not answer, “I don't feel like texting all damn day answer the phone”.
Nope. Not playing this game. I inform him I will not answer his phone call, I am not available, and that from this point forward I will only communicate in writing.
And then I found the single modified timesheet. A messed up day to begin with, it started with me arriving at the warehouse at 6:50 AM. I clocked in at that time. I was at this warehouse until almost 7:45 with a drive time of almost 30+ minutes to an 8:00AM drive. Absolutely zero efficiency on their part, but whatever. Mind you the only phone in my possession is my work phone, and my personal is at home. I didn’t see it as a big deal as they have both phone numbers, and I continuously expressed my frustration that they always call or text my personal. Anyways, moving on, I get to my first job and there’s another technician there. I text the supervisor, get asked who I am (mind you there’s a prior text chain, he knows whose phone # it is), and find out I never set an ETA for that job so they pulled me for the day and to report to the warehouse. Fine. I sit there for a few hours, get wrote up for not having my personal phone on me (bullshit), and go home. I did not leave until past noon.
And my timesheet was modified to only pay me for an hour and a half of my time, despite me arriving before the clock-in time it was modified to, and leaving well after the clock-out time it was modified to.
I am waiting for the next paycheck to hit this Friday before I officially move forward and do anything. A final opportunity for them to correct everything despite so many opportunities.
Between tools purchases, gas/“other”, and meter deposit, I calculated a total of $604.70 that should be reimbursed. I have a gut feeling I won’t see a penny of this.
My question is: What legal recourse do I have here? Especially if there are more deductions, or there’s a partial or no reimbursement.
I have tried to contact their front office (what I believe is Human Resources?) directly to resolve this as well, but I was told they can’t help me. The lady essentially told me once I am hired, that’s the last time I’ll ever see or talk to them again, and that all complaints, questions, comments, or concerns go to my supervisors to be forwarded over to them.
I’m at a loss. Help.

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Mission Log: Mission Day 0024

Addendum 02

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The process of getting the remaining four of the Lignignory 'nobility' out of their wagons made the business of carving a roadway out of the surrounding trees, let alone circling the wagons to 'guard' the ragged-looking people and teams of neo-horses seem as simple as falling off of logs. Group after group of servants, addressed alternately by names and insults, flitted around the interior area from one wagon to the next, each one trying to meet one increasingly ridiculous demand after another. ​
True to Stockley's prediction, the other Lignignory House members wasted at least 16.237 minutes arguing from the sheltered doorways of their respective wagons over who should exit first versus the value of 'presenting the star!' as it were. Finally, one persuaded “Master Nehdud” that the Great Navigator favored the bold, and Nehdud Lignignory deigned to follow the advice of his own chief personal servant and descended the rickety wooden stair-steps from his wagon. ​
His eyes kept darting around, landing on various members of the ragged-looking folk who invariably turned out to be 'female' of one species or another. And who, in turn, always found some bit of business that required them to keep a neo-horse or even a whole wagon between themselves and “Master Nehdud” shortly after he focused attention on them. ​
The whole image went on from there, with ribbons and buttons weaving their way across obviously padded jackets and pants, down to the kind of pointy-toed shoes of sky-blue fabric with the tips curling back far enough to nearly touch his ankles. His 'servants', led by a willowy and simpering sort who answered when Nehud gave instructions to 'Stakkeg', produced another shade-producing cloth on arched wire holders, and the four of them made their way toward the foyer. ​
Tianna noted his approach and gestured for the rest of the group inside to screen her. “Tell Stockley I'll wait for him and Packard through there,” she told Radclyffe while jabbing a thumb toward the stairway-door. “And remember that no one, not even the Lord or the Heir himself, get to go past that without Packard's say-so.” ​
Radclyffe raised an eyebrow. “And if he insists? 'Cos you know he's gonna,” he asked. ​
Tianna shrugged. “Tell him that we're making sure that there aren't any soilslingers about.” ​
Radclyffe's expression remained unchanged. “'Soilslingers'?” he asked. “The four-handed little creatures that children born into suddenly-wealthy and poorly-educated families get told will ruin their clothes if they get too close to mudpuddles or drain-grates. Those things?” ​
Tianna nodded. “Fear of ruining his appearance is pretty much the only reliable way of getting him to stay away from somewhere,” she pointed out. ​
Radclyffe nodded once, his shoulders relaxing a bit. “True enough,” he allowed. ​
And with that Tianna slipped through the door and made sure to close it as fully as possible behind herself. ​
The remaining three made their own ways out onto the grass and jockeying for position. The remaining male, Haruinn, gestured frequently, but his hands tended to stay very close to the hilts of his 24 visible knives of various lengths sheathed about his person. His pale face and mousy-brown hair contrasted sharply with the black and dark green color-scheme of his outfit, a quilted vest and fencer's upper tunic, matching loose pants tucked into knee-high leather boots. His servant, “Midmolk”, hauled a tower-shield out from its resting place to one side of the stairs and followed his master as he walked toward the foyer. ​
The other two ladies made their way down with some degree of assistance from their own servants. One woman's coal-black hair had been done up in what I think was supposed to be an imitation of a mountain peak, possibly a specific one with a particular ridgeline, arching across her head like a sort of quarter-rotated mohawk. Below that, a layer of pale yellowish-brown paint covered her face from hairline to the top of his darkly-stained ruffled collar, with daubs reminiscent of 'blusher' and 'highlighter' on her cheeks and even a dark-green 'eyeshadow' ringing her eyepits. And, naturally, her lips sported arches of red not quite matching the actual contours of the flesh. Her outfit had the remains of a lot of feathers and ripped-lace everywhere, dangling from puffed-out shoulders and a curtain-like skirt. A clock-cycle's worth of extrapolations let me I figure that prior to the family's hasty departure from the Capital it might have been rather fancy. Moreso if she didn't stalk like an angry cat, glaring at everything that came within two paces; even the neo-horses nudged each other aside to give her some room as she passed. Bhiocasaid... bee-yo-ca-seyd as her own servant Totra pronounced it... actually met the eyes of one of the bandit-types poking at the walls and floors; Wakeley simply nocked an arrow on his bow and stood, staring back at her, until Bhiocasaid gave a silent snarl and slammed her fist down on one of the picnic tables, growling at anyone who looked at her before heading for the nearest restroom-door. ​
By contrast, the other woman tended to slump as she walked, concealing jaw-cracking yawns behind a handkerchief as she drifted past the neo-horses, on a general heading for the foyer. Unlike virtually every other member of the house, her hair only hung down to just above her shoulders where it didn't flare out into what I would almost swear was bed-head. Her greying, formerly sunny-yellow outfit looked more like a nightgown, and her feet sported something like slippers; someone kept trying to put a kind of shawl around her, taking advantage of the yawning to tuck the thing under first one elbow and then the other until she succeeded in keeping it wrapped in place. ​
“Lady Zoti,” said Lathai, standing guard by the front door, addressing the yawning woman before turning to her attendant. “Yera,” she continued, with slightly more sympathetic tones. The servant nodded with what looked like a bit of gratitude before taking “Lady Zoti” by the elbow and steering her inside, while Lathai held the door for them. ​
Zoti settled onto the bench-seat to one of the picnic tables, crossed her arms in front of her, and promptly fell asleep while resting on the metallic surface. ​
I open up dedicated psychological profile documents for each of the Lignignory family-members. None of them seem like the kinds of guests I want to keep around for very long; even the snoring Zoti gives the impression that she could probably sleep through most emergencies, and judging from her general physique and movements she's going to need a fair bit of diet and exercise before I expect to get anything out of her besides a complaint that she's trying to sleep, here. ​
Still, who knows what I might be able to find buried under those facades with a bit of digging? ​
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Author's note: Many apologies for the delay. I've relocated to a whole 'nother state and in the process of settling in lost track of time for this entry. Hope it's still enjoyable, and look forward to seeing you all next week!

Hey I've had this on my face and under cuticles for a month now it's driving me nuts I pluck them out and they literally chase me around,I can feel when they're coming i can see a dark shape and then I feel them in my feet and they go to the same spot where it was they change into paper,metal go into light bulbs they damage the vacuum they get mad when you mess with them and bite you harder I caught one and I have it wrapped up in tape when I try to get them out my skin they throw a white cotton thing out to make you think they're going on that direction but it's just to fool you and they go the other way they also throw a white web to whoever they want to go and they are camouflaged into the environment if you manage to kill one it turns into 3 back specks that if you don't kill that it puts itself back together into a flying thing that looks like a fruit fly ,the only way I've been able to get them off me is with a magnet but I still have some in my Cuticles it's driving me crazy i need to know what it is I caught one on a nickel and it erased the face of the nickel they seam to be at times chasing another parasite smaller that gets on your open skin and they get on top of it and hold it in place Ive been up many nights and can eat because I see them on everything

Hey hey, over the colder months from November onwards my eczema came back with vengeance. Even without a visible rash, my arms, stomach and legs all had this terrible itch like my skin was just asking for me to give it a reason to flair up. Creams like e45 would irritate any flair up and make my skin 10 times worse.
Turns out, the apple cider vinegar and sea salt bath at a luke warm temperature works wonders for some reason, then a quick drying session so I'm not wet but definitely damp (try to dab with your towel). Whilst damp I apply hypoallergenic moisturiser to all itchy areas followed by additional dabbing with a towel.
On top of this, I asked myself if my diet was really as good as I thought it was (it wasn't). I focused on getting more vitamins A, C and D into my diet. It sounds bad but i always kind of thought the entire vitamin had always been a lie and it didn't matter that much, turns out it's important?? Shocking.
I keep my bedroom reasonably humid (not too much) to make up for working in cold dry conditions all day everyday, I used a humidifier for this.
Finally I forgave my skin for being pretty shit. I'm not sure how much psychology plays into skin care but I genuinely think I saw improvement when I stopped seeing it as an annoyance and instead saw it as another part of me that just needed some tlc.
Sorry for any bad grammar I'm just spitballing on my way to work.

Where do you guys keep your pump tubing? For the whole time I’ve had mine I’ve kept it underneath the loop of my underwear, but recently it’s really irritated that area and made it red. I was wondering if anyone had better spots?

Hi, so when I was a kid I remember driving with some relatives, it was dark out and my uncle suddenly stopped the car and grabbed a can of salted peanuts, emptied it, and came back claiming he got a spider, I got her as a gift, she’s no longer with us but I’d like to know what species she is. Her characteristics was brown/black and sort of red joints (I already looked up the red tarantula but that’s not her) we found her during a trip from the Grand Canyon, dunno if the dark plays a factor in it or not

I don't know how hot the takes will be I title the post before I start writing it. Before anyone asks, I have watched a normal amount of Sands vod reviews and dedicated a reasonable amount of brainspace to storing trivia about it.
Red Rabbits: Ollie. Ollie and Kara are both among the upper echelon of sandkeeper, but Kara has been wanting to get more into running and has mentioned that she mostly sandkeeps because she doesn't usually trust her teammates to do a decent job at it. Ollie is someone she can trust to do a decent job at it. Fein is probably gonna want to run and Chilled does not seem to be enough of an MCC nerd to be trusted with it.
Orange Ocelots: DarkEyebrows. For my own sanity, please Michaela. Shadoune and Owen are gonna want to run and Jimmy has sandkept before but I watched him do it and he did not even one single time fill the timer all the way up. He would be making calls like "90 seconds on the clock, 11 sand in hand". Sir, that is deranged behavior.
Yellow Yaks: Gumi. This is such a classic Sands team. Three people who really prefer running and one person who really prefers sandkeeping. Gumi is great at it too. No notes. Let her cook.
Lime Llamas: Dubfan135. Quite possibly the only player I rate equally highly as both a runner and a sandkeeper. H and CPK both profoundly do not fall into that particular category, bless their hearts. Iskall is also the Vault Hunter himself and is definitely gonna want to Hunt some Vaults and already has a lot of the necessary skills like [checks notes] absurd amounts of greeding.
Green Geckos: Scar. I believe in Sand Daddy Scar. Also despite his reputation for being incredibly scatterbrained, Scar is capable of locking in when the situation calls for it. It's entirely possible that Xisuma might also be capable of locking in, but I don't know that I've ever seen it before.
Cyan Coyotes: Elaina. Two reasons. First, she's a good, experienced sandkeeper. Second, "Ant, how much sand do you have? Not you, Ant. What were you saying Ant? Ant you need to come back. Not you Ant, you keep going. Where are you, Ant?"
Aqua Axolotls: fWhip. Listen. He hasn't played in a while, sure, but he's one of the guys who invented sandkeeping. It's your rightful place, dude.
Blue Bats: Michael McChill. Okay, here's an interesting one. Ollie and Kara was easy because they're both sandkeepers first but Kara wants to run. Eret and Michael are both sandkeepers first and prefer to stay that way. They're also both generally gracious and accommodating and the type to get each other stuck in an "oh, whatever you prefer" loop. On balance, I think Michael is just a slightly better sandkeeper. Not that Eret is bad at it or anything, I just slightly prefer Michael's style.
Purple Pandas: Guqqie. Scott is also an OG sandkeeper but he's been shifting over more to running and I haven't watched enough of Guqqie to know their specific strengths and weaknesses, but they have the opportunity to be trained by Aimsey, who is one of the best sandkeepers out there.
Pink Parrots: Impulse. He's the only one with experience sandkeeping and he's gonna wanna maximize the time his buddies can spend playing the video game. I think Skizz has the potential to be a phenomenal sandkeeper if he decides to learn though and I wouldn't mind him stepping up here if he wants to, but Impulse is the safer bet.

Proof read, edited, and formatted to hopefully be easy for The Trip Keeper to read on YouTube.
A lil about me: I have a family history of schizophrenia with two people in my family being diagnosed. I think that's why psychedelics hit me like a train. I know I'm one of the folks they say shouldn't tripping but I've already done it and I am not stopping anytime soon. I'm quite the spiritual hippie type. I live for the esoteric, bizarre, and werid side of tripping. I'm also quite experienced with psychedelics and drugs in general having tried alcohol, cigarettes, vapes, kava, Kratom, weed, oxycodone, hydrocodone, percocet, Hospital Morphine, Adderall, Ritalin, Vyvanse, Conserta, Nitrous, Acid, Shrooms, n-BOMEs, Synthetic shrooms, random Acid non n-BOME RCs, Hydroxyzine (only snorted while drunk), Phenibut, Promethazine w/o codeine, blue lotus, and a bunch of random herbs and nootropics.
A little context to story, I had got some liquid Acid dropped on Bottle Caps Candy from a family member we'll call R. R had called me up informing me he had liquid LSD and to bring a chalky candy when I came to pick it up. He dosed the candy in another room when I picked them up. When he brought them back there was a thick layer of liquid struggling to absorb into each hit so we smooshed another piece on top of each one, 3 tabs altogether. He told me each one was an equivalent of 2 to 3 hits of high quality LSD. I also hadn't tripped in 6 months at this point but that's a story for another sub. Though the reason why didn't have much to do with tripping itself nor anything fun like psychosis.
A couple days later I found myself with my bills caught up, a slow night on Doordash so no work, extra money, weed, some cigarettes, and my roommate was out visiting Family. I had showered and ate some Chinese before taking a short nap. When I woke up it was around 9pm, obviously already dark outside. I was in a good mood, had nothing to do, and didn't want to go back to sleep so I slapped an LSD bottle cap on my tongue and went for a walk.
One of the pieces dissolved really quickly, like less than a minute quick, while the other piece took atleast 15 to 20 minutes fully dissolve. I was slightly nervous about tripping the days prior and was even a lil scared before placing it on my tongue; but, that fear was completely annihilated when 5 to 7 minutes in I felt this electric tingle that started in the back of my head go down my spine. I started smiling, feeling super happy, and chilled out when the tingle reached the base of my spine. I thought to myself, "Wow, I can't believe I was scared to trip again, I feel amazing right now!!" I lit a cigarette and enjoyed my walk for awhile until I started coming to the end of a col-de-sac, the street I was on was on a downward slope I think this affected things but the end of the col-de-sac and the houses started stretching super tall and became super thin kind of like a fun house mirror. I was completely mesmerized by it till I was interrupted by this electric beeping that made my skeleton nearly jump out of my skin. I had looked over and saw this gray box with 2 pink lights on it sticking out of the ground and assumed that's where the beeping came from. I then straight sprinted home cause I wasn't sure if it was hallucination or not. I did go back a few days later and couldn't find the box.
After opening my front door the night is hard to remember linearly but I will try my best. I don't have the texts anymore from this night since I got a new phone. Once I got back home, I had to use the bathroom so I went did my business but while washing my hands I looked in the mirror and noticed my pupils are starting to look a lot like bowling balls. It was then, I noticed the reflection of the SpongeBob, Sandy, and Patrick on ketamine meme my roommate printed out and pinned on the wall. Their eyes were dilating more than normal and they were all swaying back and forth. I texted R to tell him I finally tried the acid and it's strong. It's roughly 10:40p.m. by this point, even though it had been 1 hour 40 minutes since dropping it had only felt like 30 or 40 minutes ago at the most. I was about to sit down and do a dab but I got a almost telepathic sense I was about to throw up rather than a physical feeling I was about to. After throwing up I texted R freaking out questioning if it was acid since it's not supposed to make you nauseous. He just told me "too much too fast" "calm down put your phone down and be safe". I didn't put my phone down.
I started finally doing some dabs after 2 or 3 big rips I looked over and saw 2 shadow people. One was a little girl with blonde hair, a yellow sun dress, no face, instead was an empty void. It was as if her head was an empty shell and her face was the hole. The other one was a middle aged man with short blackish gray balding hair dressed in overalls, no shirt, work boots, also no face. The second shadow person looked a lot like one of my deceased uncles. They didn't feel menacing or demonic nor even holy as one would expect an encounter of this type. I got up and walked to my kitchen probably to get water but I got distracted by a third shadow person who was a woman but I didn't get too good of a look before being distracted by my thoughts. I started stretching and thinking to myself, "well atleast the dark isn't so scary anymore compared to being schizophrenic" at the time it did feel very profound aswell as I am now genuinely less scared of the dark. There's also cardboard cut outs of the Elysian Full Haze and Full Contact IPA cans hung up in my kitchen. People were walking in and out of the giant head on the Full Haze poster, I thought they were sacrificing themselves to the massive head. Thought the dude on the Full Contact poster was holding my brain aswell.
I remember it was around this time the body load and vasoconstriction was getting so intense that my arms and legs felt lankier than normal and my jaw felt like it was wired shut. I drank some water and brought a glass back to my room. When I came back the ocean thunderstorm tapestry above bed had the clouds and ocean actually moving with the lightning striking. I have string lights behind that tapestry that wrap around to the conjoining wall. The string lights looked like technicolor rainbow stars forming beautiful constellations. Normally, they are only blue, yellow, green, red and twinkle but during the trip some were changing colors to pink, purple, violet, orange, and more colors that don't exist. While the tapestry was animated, it had no sound. There's a framed painting of a deer in a forest during the sunrise on the same wall. The light in the painting was actually coming through the painting as if it was a window with sunlight shining through. The deer even had his head down grazing when normally he has his head turned towards the viewer of the painting. I layed down and decided to throw on some music. I couldn't decide on a song, I hit skip on Spotify at least 30 times before settling on Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb, cliche I know, but they're one of my favorite bands and usually seem to find me when things start getting intense on psychedelics. I couldn't actually read anymore so I only knew it was Comfortably Numb by the hook and album art.
As I layed in bed I started stretching out and looking around the room. I finally started to relax a lil and calm down from thinking these were possibly nBOMes. I started to really lose myself in the trip. The slight movement of my air mattress made feel like I was floating on the ocean sea, which gave way to a euphoric sense of oneness and that I am an ocean of pure consciousness. The string lights above my bed were twinkling and reflecting slightly off the ceiling. The reflections were blending with the moving geometry on the ceiling. Next, I looked up at my Pokémon 20th anniversary poster. It was a bunch of black and white silhouettes of starter Pokémon from the first five or six gens with the ones in the middle being colored and shaped like Pikachu's head. Every silhouette was pulsating and almost bubbling.
At one point, I watched this abstract splatter colored tapestry for what felt like two hours, in reality it was probably only 30 or 40 minutes at the most. There were rotating hexagonal and octagonal pillars shooting out of the tapestry between the pillars it appeared to boil, the bursting bubbles had sparks flying off of them.
I can't remember exactly when this happened in the night so might as well stick it here. While hanging out in my bedroom, I got up to do what else but smoke more dabs. I did multiple in a row where I would do the whole ritual and forgot I had done so and follow it up with another. While sitting there, I light a cigarette to pass time and to just smoke more while conserving a lil on the wax. On my second or third cigarette in a row I started thinking to myself out loud that, "Ya know, Family Guy is right!! Vaping does look pretty fucking goofy. My twin flame out there probably thinks vaping looks goofy as fuck!! And smoking might look cool to some bitches but they give you cancer and shorten your life. It's less money for weed and psychedelics. I think after tonight I'm done smoking forever." I chain smoked a few cigarettes.
I think this is when I started hearing voices in my head. I was hearing random YouTubers, friends, celebrities, family members, and other random voices saying random words over over again. I truly thought I was hearing my sleeping neighbors' thoughts. I genuinely believed I had Telepathy. The only words I could make out vividly; however, was The Trip Keeper saying, "Gassid" over over like it was a soundbyte looping. At the time I took this as a sign to do Nitrous with Acid and that there was something spiritual I needed to see/experience from it. I was right, however this wasn't the night I did that combo as I had no nitrous at the time and it's an equally crazy experience but shorter story. I'm planning on posting that experience soon, also DO NOT huff nitrous it actually KILLS your brain cells.
Thoroughly freaking out again about hearing voices. I start frantically texting R, however I can't remember what for though. I even vividly remember asking R what would happen if I took more phrasing it "will things get more colorful or last longer?" He never responded. Since I couldn't read I was using speech to text to text R. I also had got up to pace through the house. Ordinarly, I would've left to go on another walk but I had convinced myself if that I had left again one of my cats would get out of the house and somehow I'd get arrested. I look up from my phone to notice a swirling florescent neon colored vortex of geomtry in the middle of my living room. The vortex started swirling towards me and started to suck the words out of my mouth. I saw the phrase ,"The only words that make sense are the ones I say out loud" get sucked out of my mouth by the vortex in bubble letters that distorted and mixed with geometry. As the bubble letters got closer to center of the vortex they would distort super cartoonishly, individual patterns and a mix of colors appeared over each letter. The vortex itself had a wigwag shape to it. At the time I thought in my head, "Damn this is what Jerry Garcia probably ment by "Steal your face right off your head"". I actually attempted to draw this out later on. See the drawing here if I can get imgur to work. I don't really remember turning the lights on all through my house but I vividly remember all the lights being off when the vortex stole my words. I don't remember how the vortex incident ended just that next all I know is all the lights are on suddenly and I'm walking out of my bedroom. It's probably 3 or 4am at this point cause I started hearing my neighbor cough and going in and out for cigarettes the rest of the night. I had laid my recliner, the voices had stopped but that was replaced with an intense loud buzzing inside of my head. I had my head on one of armrests, legs hanging off the other armrest, chair reclined, facing the wall. I was watching the logo on my clawhammer wall flag drip like white blood. My cats, of which I had 10 at the time, 5 being kittens still nursing, were running back and forth and playing with each other. Below the wall flag is a table with a wooden CD tower, my cats Cinderella and Oreo had jumped on the table at the same time. Completely in sync and as one fluid motion they stood up, turned to look at me, arched their backs, and sat down. Their coats were flowing and Cinderella had extra golden stripes in her fur. They stared deep into my eyes for a long time and were trying to ask me telepathically if I was doing okay. I more or less alternated between laying on the floor and my recliner for the next couple hours.
Every now and then I'd hear my neighbor out front coughing. I was debating whether or not to go talk him and wait for the sun to come up. Normally, I would've put on a show from myself at various points through the night but I had no internet at the time.
As the sun was starting to really come up and I was starting to really come down, I went outside and talked with my neighbor for awhile. Told him about my night, he's actually a little bit of a hippie too. I walked to the gas station to get some food. I felt like a zombie the whole way there and back. The light made my eyes sizzle like bacon on the Texas pavement in the middle of July. It felt like my brain was a steaming bowl of scrambled eggs. My jaw felt like I got my shit rocked by Mike Tyson. I came home, ate my powdered donuts despite only being able to taste it's texture which was low-key wigging me out, and watched either Space Ghost Coast to Coast or The Trip Keeper on my phone till I passed out.
The next morning (afternoon), my dad picked me up and we hung the whole day while I recovered and slowly returned to feeling human again. I bummed a cigarette off my dad and decided while smoking it that it was my last cigarette. I actually quit all nicotine for a month and half after this night. I started back up purely because of a bad (tested real) Acid/Nitrous Trip.
I do wanna add while not using nicotine I had vivid dreams about smoking cigarettes and vaping. Keep posted for the follow up stories about my bad Acid/Nitrous Trip, Smoking Dreams, and Snorting Hydroxyzine with Alcohol cause I bet The Trip Keeper wants to hear that last one.

I went into urgent care yesterday for some intense pelvic and abdominal pain that originally started about 3 weeks ago and has continued to get worse, and was redirected to the ER to check for appendicitis. After about 7 hours there, a CT, and both transabdominal and transvaginal ultrasounds I was told by a nurse I had a hemoragic cyst on my left ovary and told to take a few days off work then follow up with an OBGYN in a day or two. Despite all that, I never actually got a chance to speak with a doctor, so im left with more questions than answers. After looking at my results, rethinking my own history, and browsing though this subreddit im wondering if its worth bringing up PCOS to my doctor at my visit (separate from the cyst, which I know isnt directly a symptom of PCOS.)
I had my IUD routinely replaced last year after having it originally placed when I was 20. As a result, I haven't really had a period in the last six years outside of some occasional spotting. When the abdominal pain started, my uterus wasnt really on my list of concerns aside from maybe thinking the IUD had shifted. Before the IUD I always had super irregular periods, which peaked when I was at my heaviest at 18 and had a period for over 6 months straight. After losing weight it became sparse but relatively more normal, and when I finally got the IUD placed as a birth control they didnt check for anything else (outside of mentioning a retroverted uterus making it difficult to see my ovaries.) I also struggle with huge weight fluctuations, depression/anxiety, a lifelong sleep disorder, and grow dark hairs on my chin, chest, and aureolas.
After looking at my results, my right ovary (the one without the cyst) seems pretty big, especially for being on birth control, and is more in line with where I was experiencing the pain. But I am also not an ultrasound tech and would love if anyone could give me some more insight on these results. I would also love to know if there are any questions I should ask my gynecologist so I can get as much information moving forward as possible, and find a way to best manage this pain. Thank you so much for any help!
UTERUS:
The uterus measures 7.3 x 3.4 x 4.1 cm.
The endometrial stripe measures 3 mm
There is an IUD along the endometrial stripe.
Cervical Region: There is no definitive abnormality in the cervical
region.
OVARIES-ADNEXA:
Right Ovary: There is flow in the ovary. The right ovary measures
5.2 x 2.2 x 5.7 cm. There are greater than than 12 peripheral
follicles. The ovarian volume is 14 cc.
Left Ovary: There is flow in the ovary. The left ovary measures 4 x
2.2 x 3.1 cm. There is a hypoechoic area with internal echoes in the
ovary - although probably benign, and likely a hemorrhagic cyst -
recommend correlate with symptoms and history, and at least follow-up
with OB/GYN to exclude other much less likely etiologies - ex
mass-infectious. The area measures 2.5 x 1.9 x 2.5 cm.
Free Fluid: There is a small amount of free fluid.
IMPRESSION:

1. Complex structure in the left ovary - recommend follow-up

I got this movie from the library forever ago and I never finished it and I havent been able to find it anywhere. I remember the title being Japanese, like there wasnt an english translation for it, at least from what I saw on the cover.
It was set in the future and computers/the government (?) watches peoples every move. The main character was a school aged girl, and she had a friend, and they meet this mysterious guy who is their age but he doesnt go to school with them and lives by himself on an island with a red windmill I think.
I remember very distinctly this one scene where the mc is at her friends house in her basement, and the friend was really good with technology and computers and she said something along the lines of "I'm good with computers because I'm a wizard. It's my magic" or something like that.
I didnt see the whole movie but there was this random turn and the boy killed a whole office building of people? Idk it was kinda random and the mc finds him and is like "why the heck did you do that" but that is all I remember ughh! I THINK the main character girl had brown hair and MAYBE the boy had black or dark blue hair, not 100% sure.
Any help at all would be soso appreciated!

Nervous I messed up!
I'm at the end of day 5 post extraction of one impacted lower wisdom tooth . Don't see the clot anymore and chewed too much earlier. I was so careful all week and got too brave tonight I think. Been watching the site and it suddenly looks empty in the socket with just a piece of cilantro stuck in it (so annoyed can't rinse it away ) and some white stuff at the bottom that's either bone or tissue I can't tell. It was filled up with dark red all week until a few mins ago..I check almost hourly. . and I felt something weird while eating, like a change in the site when tongue hit it. No pain yet but scared ! No bleeding either btw , just suddenly the socket isn't dark red and i can see aforementioned things inside .
I drank water after the food bites so the clot was prob washed down with the food is what i think

You can now insert images as comments when you seek for in-game help in Megathreads! Check out this mod post HERE for more information.
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Use this Megathread if you have general questions or need advice! e.g. asking for EX / Candy recommendation, gems usage, "Should I pull this banner?", "How do I build a team on this stage?", etc.
If you need team building help specifically for Champion Stadium, you may use the Champion Stadium Megathread to receive a quicker response.

Installing Pokémon Masters

Pokémon Masters is available worldwide except for Belgium and The Netherlands due to bans on loot boxes.
We will go over the two main platforms on installing the game, IOS and Android.
According to the official site, the game is most compatible in these devices:
iOS: 11 or higher / 64 bit / at least 2 GB of RAM
Android: OS 7.0 or higher / 64 bit / at least 2 GB of RAM
IOS:

1. Via Apple Store: HERE

Android

1. Via Google Play Store: HERE
2. Others

If the game is unavailable in your country or shows as not available for your device, you can download the APK directly from APKPure or QooApp.
You can also use VPN to download it from the application store, but it requires longer downloading time compared to the above recommended methods.
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Reroll Guide

Reroll means that you make a new account and look at what you got from your scout. If you don't like your first few multi-pulls, you delete the account and create a new one again and so on until you are satisfied.
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Why reroll?

• You're a new or returning player and you want to get your hands on meta Sync Pairs for easier clears.
• A favourite/meta Sync Pair has been released and you want to get him/her no matter what.

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How to Reroll?
If you're an existing player, delete your local data or cache first. Otherwise, do not link your account to Nintendo. Doing so will bind your Pokémon Masters account to your Nintendo profile permanently and can no longer be removed.
As of now, if you progress up to the point when co-op mode is unlocked, you can get at least 21.000 gems, the equivalent of 7 multis, earning at least 231/400 scout points (33 scout points per multi scout), allowing you to scout at least 77 Sync Pairs. Completing the following checkpoints will let you receive gems as completion rewards:

Completion Requirement	Notable Rewards	Additional Notes
Starting the game (Part 1)	MC & Pikachu, Misty & Starmie, Brock & Onix	Choose Kanto Starter (Movesets HERE)
Starting the game (Part 2)	MC & BulbasauCharmandeSquirtle, Blue & Pidgeot (5★ Guaranteed Scout)	Kanto Starter Egg Hatches
Finish Champion Stadium: Kanto Challenge (Normal)	150 Gems	You can reuse the same Sync Pairs after each round
Special Completion Rewards: Champion Stadium (Normal)	500 Gems	Accessible in the Poké Center as an icon on the top-left corner
Finish Champion Stadium: Victory Road	5000 Gems, SS Red & Charizard/SS Blue & Blastoise/SS Leaf & Venusaur (5★ Guaranteed Ticket Scout)	Also scoutable in the Triple Featured Poké Fair banner (3 days)
Finish Chapter 1 (Normal)	90 Gems, Rosa & Snivy
Finish Chapter 2 (Normal)	200 Gems, Barry & Piplup, Professor Oak & Mew and Legendary Arena unlocked.	Professor Oak & Mew upgrade materials available in Bingo Rewards
Finish Chapter 3 (Normal)	150 Gems
Finish Chapter 4 (Normal)	170 Gems, Erika & Vileplume
Finish Chapter 5 (Normal)	160 Gems, Skyla & Swanna
Finish Chapter 6 (Normal)	200 Gems, Korrina & Lucario
Finish Chapter 7 (Normal)	250 Gems, Norman & Slaking
Finish Chapter 8 (Normal)	170 Gems, Pryce & Seel
Finish Chapter 9 (Normal)	240 Gems, Iris & Haxorus
Finish Chapter 10 (Normal)	280 Gems, Hapu & Mudsdale
Finish Interlude 1 (Normal)	60 Gems, SS Brock & Tyranitar
Finish Chapter 1 (Hard)	100 Gems
Finish Chapter 2 (Hard)	200 Gems
Finish Chapter 3 (Hard)	100 Gems
Finish Chapter 4 (Hard)	200 Gems
Finish Chapter 5 (Hard)	100 Gems
Finish Chapter 6 (Hard)	200 Gems
Finish Chapter 7 (Hard)	300 Gems
Finish Chapter 8 (Hard)	200 Gems
Finish Chapter 9 (Hard)	300 Gems
Finish Chapter 10 (Hard)	300 Gems
Finish Interlude 1 (Hard)	100 Gems
EX Plaza: Special Training Battle Techniques	60 Gems

These missions are completed progressively as you play the game, so they are not listed in numerical order.
These missions can be completed multiple times as the player reaches new checkpoints.

Checkpoint (Missions)	Notable Rewards per level
Mission 1: Log in to the game	10 Gems
Mission 21: Raise team strength	10 Gems
Mission 3: Obtain Pearl	10 Gems
Mission 4: Obtain Big Pearl	10 Gems
Mission 5: Obtain 1★ Level-Up Manual	10 Gems
Mission 6: Obtain 2★ Level-Up Manual	10 Gems
Mission 7: Obtain 3★ Level-Up Manual	10 Gems
Mission 62: Evolve a Pokemon	10 Gems
Mission 91: Obtain a Lucky Cookie	10 Gems
Mission 125: Raise your player rank	10 Gems
Mission 262: Have a number of interaction(s) in Trainer Lodge	100 Gems
Mission 263: Reach friendship level 100 with a number of guests	100 Gems
Mission 264: Reach a certain friendship level with any guest	100 Gems

These missions can only be completed once but give a high amount of gems.

Checkpoint (Missions)	Notable Rewards per level
Mission 82: Link to your Nintendo account	600 Gems
Mission 89: Participate in the Battle Villa	1000 Gems

If you are not satisfied with your pulls, click on the Poryphone at the right-bottom corner in the Pokémon Center -> Account -> Delete Save Data. Repeat the above steps until you pulled the Sync Pair you want.
Now that you're ready to go on an adventure, link your account through Poryphone Menu by tapping "Account", then "Link a Nintendo Account" to save your progress. After that, try to get any free Sync Pairs as you progress:

• Professor Oak & Mew: Complete his Sync Pair story and finish the bingo missions from Professor Oak & Mew Special Missions.
• Rosa & Serperior: Complete all bingo missions from "Rise to 6★ EX with Rosa!" and upgrade her to 6★ EX.
• Legendary Event Sync Pairs: Obtainable via Legendary Adventures. Reach the end of story to obtain the legendary Sync Pair, character-exclusive 5★ promotion tickets and event vouchers. Try to upgrade them to 5/5 20/20 as soon as possible and invest in their Sync Grids; they will be valuable assets for content clearing. Do note that exclusive materials such as Champion Spirit and Sync Grid expansion for these Sync Pair are only obtainable in event reruns, and hence event-limited.

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EX Gear Type Chart

Note that these co-op stages only drop 2★ Gear as the highest rarity for their corresponding Gear Type. 3★ Gear is restricted to Type Gear Events and Pokémon Masters Day every month, and it can be obtained in the time-limited event shop and in the General tab in exchange for 3★ gear material co-op stage drops.

Stage	Gear Type
EX Brock	Grass/Steel/Rock
EX Misty	Flying/Fairy/Steel
EX Barry	Grass/Dragon/Water
EX Flannery	Bug/WateGhost
EX Erika	Fire/Poison/Ground
EX Skyla	Rock/Normal/Flying
EX Korrina	Fire/Fighting/Psychic
EX Pryce	Electric/Ice/Bug
EX Marshal	Psychic/Dark/Ice
EX Hau	Ground/Electric/Fairy
EX Clair	Dragon/Dark/Fighting
EX Janine	Poison/Normal/Ghost

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In-Game FAQ

1. When is anniversary coming?

Half-year	28 February 6AM UTC
Full-year	28 August 6AM UTC

2 Why hasn't my Pokemon evolved? It's at Level [X]!
Evolution requires an evolution item available in the Training Area (Evolution Material Area). Upon earning the Evolution Materials, you need to go to the Sync Pair Stories to trigger the Evolution Story.
3. Should I save to do 11 multi-scouts instead of single scouts?
You can now get x11 units instead of 10, so yes, but we strongly recommend you to save gems for Poké Fair or Master Fair banners (which has a higher rate for 5★ characters).
4. How many gems are required to receive a Sync Pair of my choice?
36.600 non-paid gems (or 36.300 gems + 100 paid gems for a daily single pull), which is the equivalent of 400 scout points. Scout points do not carry over between banners.
5. What does [X]/5, [Y]/20, etc mean?
When you obtain a Sync Pair, they're at 1/5 Sync Move level. Rolling a dupe of that Sync Pair, or using a Move Candy will increase it by 1 level. 3/5 is the minimum for most sync pairs to complete their full Sync Grid, but some Poké Fairs have grid expansions that require their Sync Move to be completely maxed out at 5/5 for their full Sync Grid.
At the same time, Sync Pairs are at 0/20 Potential when they're just obtained. Giving Sync Pairs Powerups will raise their Potential and stats. When a Sync Pair is given 20 powerups, their star level will be increased. Getting a unit to 5★ 20/20 is mandatory for it to further upgrade to 6★ EX (if it has one).
6. How do I Unlock The Level cap of my units?
Training Area (Cap Unlock Area), (Cap Unlock Area 2), Exchange in the shop, Events.
7. Where do I get the manuals to level up my sync pairs?
Training Area (Level up Area), Exchange in the shop, Events, random drops in Trainer Lodge.
8. How do I get Sync orbs?
Training Area (Sync orb Area), Exchange in the shop, Events, Champion Stadium Master Mode (6K & 7.5K), random drops in Trainer Lodge.
9. What are Theme Skill and how do I get items to power them up?
Theme Skill is a new ability that raises the stats of your Sync Pairs if any of them has a common position, type, region, trainer group, or other features with another pair (or pairs) in the same team. Skill Spheres, which can be obtained in Theme Skill area and Champion Stadium Master Mode, are required to upgrade them.
10. What Lucky Skill should I roll for [X]? How do I get Lucky Cookies and Scrolls to unlock a Sync Pair's Lucky Skill?
Refer to Sync Grid Builds & Lucky Skills (by u/MomoSpark) for more details.
In general, the choices of Lucky Skills follow the roles of Sync Pairs:

• Strike:
  • Critical Strike 2 (3★ Crunchy)
  • Weathered Warrior 3 (3★ Deluxe) if used exclusively in weather
    • Boosts the damage of attack moves and sync moves but not max moves
• Support:
  • Vigilance (3★ Creamy), unless the Sync Pair already has Vigilance in their kit
  • Head Start 1 or Adrenaline 1 (both 3★ Deluxe) for -3 sync countdown acceleration
• Tech:
  • Refer to Strike if the Sync Pair's kit is Strike-based (e.g. Marnie & Morpeko, May & Swampert, P Serena & Whimsicott, etc.)
  • Refer to Support if the Sync Pair's kit is a tanker and/or a healer (e.g. Prof Oak & Mew, SS Leaf & Venusaur, etc.)
  • Head Start 1 or Adrenaline 1 (both 3★ Deluxe) for -3 sync countdown acceleration
• Sprint:
  • Head Start 1 or Adrenaline 1 (both 3★ Deluxe) for -3 sync countdown acceleration
  • Refer to Strike if the Sync Pair's kit is Strike-based (e.g. Nemona & Pawmot, Paulo & Lycanroc Dusk, etc.)
• Field:
  • Refer to Strike if the Sync Pair's kit is Strike-based (e.g. Victor & Spectrier, Variety Giovanni & Rhydon, etc.)

There are exceptions to some Sync Pairs. For example,

• Iris & Haxorous favours Lessen Confusion 9 (2★ Crispy) to increase DPS under confusion with Confusion Boon 5 in grid.
• Serena & Delphox and most other sleep-inducing units favour Troublemaker 1 (3★ Crunchy) to increase the accuracy of sleep-inducing status moves.
• Zinnia & Rayquaza can go for either Dauntless (3★ Creamy) to mitigate SP ATK debuffs after each use of Draco Meteor, or Weathered Warrior 3 (3★ Deluxe) to stack with her weather-based multipliers.

Lucky Cookies and Lucky Scrolls can all be obtained in Battle Villa (Single Player & Co-op), Blissful Bonanza, and Legendary Gauntlet. Legendary Gauntlet can provide unlimited 3★ Lucky Cookies as well as Deluxe Cookies exclusive to that mode after each successful stage clear, and their drop chance increases with longer win streaks.
11. What are the Sync Move effects of 6★ EX Sync Pairs of different roles? Who should I promote to 6★ EX first?
Each role gives different effects to Sync Moves when upgraded to 6★ EX.

• Strike: Sync Move becomes AoE. (Its power is not reduced against multiple targets.)
• Support: Sync Move raises sync buff by +2 instead of +1 when it is used for the first time. (Each sync buff increases damage output by 50%.)
• Tech: Sync Move power x1.5
• Sprint: Sync Move reduces the user's sync move countdown by 3.
• Field: Sync Move applies a field effect before dealing damage and extends its duration by 50%.

Support is usually prioritized for promotion to 6★ EX because its EX effect effectively doubles the damage of all allied sync pairs after first sync and is more widely applicable across most game modes, and the increased stats from raising the support's Potential greatly enhances its bulk to tank stages.
For Strike, if its kit has a very high DPS (e.g. SS Red & Charizard, Diantha & Gardevoir, etc.), or includes a powerful Sync multiplier (e.g. Steven & Metagross's Haymaker, Barry & Empoleon's Inertia, etc.), you are highly recommended to upgrade it to 6★ EX to apply the damage to all opponents. This applies to Tech as well, but only if the unit is a Sync nuker (e.g. Marnie & Morpeko, May & Swampert, etc.).
Since Field applies a field effect that can boost its own damage and potentially that of its allies as well, upgrading it to 6★ EX is also recommended. Sprint enables faster sync buffs and usually come with innate Sync Move multipliers like Tech, but its EX effect does not improve damage as directly as the other roles.
Promoting Support-type units to 6★ EX is not a must, but it's always an added bonus, especially if their Sync Move can provide any additional effects via passive or grid skills.
Always remember to upgrade Rosa to 6★ EX because the materials are obtainable for free.
12. Which Sync Pair should I use my candy on?
Refer to Which Sync Pair Should You Give Your Candy To? (Infographic) (by u/MuddyDummy) for more details.
Always save your candies unless the Sync Pair is exclusive to Seasonals, Poké Fairs or Master Fairs. Most Sync Pairs are usable at 1/5. You can always "accidentally" pull the unit you've been looking for from the normal pool, but you never know when limited Sync Pairs will rerun again. This may not apply to Sync Pairs that are your favorite.
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Common Technical Questions/Errors

Below lists all common technical errors you may encounter during the game, as well as how you can fix it. You are strongly encouraged to contact DeNA with any problems at [support@pokemonmasters-game.com](mailto:support@pokemonmasters-game.com) if any of these advice do not help.

1. Error 20103 — Please check your connection and try again: Usually caused due to lack of connection or sudden disconnection. Try playing the game in a place with more stable connection.
2. Error 10102 — An error has occurred. Restarting the game: This error is often triggered because it detects your phone is rooted, or that you are using external applications which allows opening multiple accounts on the same device. For rooted phone users, make sure you hide your rooted status.
3. Game crashed mid-battle: Restart the app and clear your cache. This option is available in the bottom-left corner of the title screen.
4. Does Pokémon Masters work on emulators? No. As of now, PM is not compatible with any of the emulators (including Bluestacks, Nox, etc.) However, playing two accounts on the same device is possible on Android by cloning with Island.

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Tools

• Events Countdown Timer (created by u/antocs, updated by Thunder#4694)
• PoMaTools (u/stdk12)

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Guides

• A Beginner’s Guide for Building Teams and Training Pokémon (u/Stitch426)
• Pokémon Masters: Tier List & Resources (PokemonMasters Guide Writer Team, Gamepress)
• Pokémon Masters EX: Datamine Analysis (PokemonMasters Guide Writer Team)
• Sync Grid Builds & Lucky Skills (u/MomoSpark)
• Eggmon Compendium (u/Zinfogel)
• Pokémon Masters Damage Formula (u/stdk12)
• More guides can be found HERE.

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Reminders

• To receive quicker response from other fellow users, it is strongly recommended to enlist your roster, Lucky Skills, Sync Grid builds and other information deemed necessary, such that you can be provided a strategic team with higher chance of success when battling.
• If you would like to provide images and videos, you may use external websites such as Imgur, Gyazo and Streamable to embed links.
• Do not force your own playstyle onto others as it is completely subjective. Different kinds of players, veterans and novices, casual and hardcore, may all share different opinions and playstyles. It is fine to give suggestions, but forcing your ideas and way of playing onto others is not something to be condoned here. No one's way of playing is completely right.

I was suddenly woken up at 4:32 am in the morning by the sound of something hitting the ground outside my bedroom. I fully expected it to be the new vase composed of plastic- long, slender, unconventional, which could have fallen as it was kept on a minimalistic shoe rack, but, anyways I got up to check, knowing my alarm would ring in just half an hour. As I got up, the sudden anemia hit me like a drug dose. I wobbled trying to take support of the wall and my nightstand, as my vision entered the world of an endless variety of patterns and shapes, similar to that of a kaleidoscope. After struggling for what seemed like a few minutes, I reached out towards my nightstand, feeling around for my specs. Surprisingly, i couldn't find them. I tried to recollect when I could have left them, but I couldn't think of anything substantial. I quit the search for my glasses and walked towards the switch board to switch the lights on in order to have better vision while searching for my glasses. You see, the window in my room faces the south direction. I know, it's stupid, so, minimal moonlight enters through it at night and as the nail in the coffin, it was a new moon today, so moonlight was far from ready to reach my room. I pushed my palm towards the wall side of the switchboard, realizing each attempt of switchboard-searching that I wasn't anywhere near it. I had half expected to have memorized where the switchboard might have been by now, as I had moved in this house 2 months ago, but my memory seemed to have betrayed me. Out of the blue, something hit me. Not “hit me” hit me, but the act of sudden recognition or realization. The sound I had heard was eerily similar to the sound of meat hitting the ground. How do I know that? For 20 years or so, I had worked for a mortuary as it was administered by our family. I left that job after my uncle passed away and I left my sister to handle it.
This sudden realization left me astounded. It was unexpectedly something I had heard within my house. To be very clear, I live very much alone. Within my house, as well as in my neighborhood. The nearest neighbor lives 2 kilometers away from my location. It was close to impossible that it was a human body falling to the ground that could have caused that sound. But it was possible that it was a burglar…if he was very bad at his job. Now, frantic, I opened the door just enough to peek through the crack in the door to look at the empty and serene hallway. I couldn't find anything out of place among the darkness of the night. I was anxious to find what it could be, I mean I could have just imagined the sound, maybe a recollection of the many times I had to handle a corpse, then again, day by day, hearing has caused me many problems. I was completely dazed in my over-the-top thoughts as I heard a second thump on the ground. My body was ready to shrivel up as a chill ran down my weak spine. I was right. It WAS the sound of a body hitting the ground. I was nowhere in hell curious to know what it was. At that moment, I was fascinatingly more eager to stop sweating a bucket load of sweat and calm down to assess my situation. I ran a wet towel on my face and finally took to investigating the sound after hiding in my room like a 10 year old. To be completely honest, a 10 year old would most likely beat me in a bravery contest.
I remember crying at the sight of bodies being carried and put inside those inhuman, cold and poorly made metal lockers where the bodies would rest until their inevitable burial. I mustered up the courage to finally open the door and step outside. I walked through the hallway, creeping towards my kitchen with the slightest tip-toe. I stood a few steps before the entrance, looking around to see if I could spot anything unusual or any of the burglary signs. He or whoever it could have been probably left after taking some stuff. I was a bit relieved that I didn't have to deal with them, and a bit sad for the things I could have lost, but I paid no mind to it as within those thought spans I noticed the sound yet again. Thump, it went. As I located the area from where the sound came from. I began to sweat profusely. It was my room. My bedroom. The same place I had gotten up from due to that very sound. A tear ran down my face as I realized that i had been in the same goddamn room as that sound. Why didn't I notice it earlier?? Did the thing or person enter my room after I got out searching for it?? Did it get in my room while I looked for my glasses? Or was it in there with me all along….An array of scenarios went through my head as I unconsciously walked back towards my room. I didn't even notice myself moving until I had reached the very door I had opened to see the hallway from. I couldn't do this anymore. My mind was too weak for it. As I looked at the door, I saw a slight crack from the door. A crack in the door that I didn't leave. And through the crack, I saw a pair of eyes staring right back at me.

I [M26], have suddenly been getting terribly itchy all over my body whenever I start getting hot (mainly during mild-moderate exercise, even including doing chores/cleaning/etc.). I don't have any official diagnoses, but from what I've researched, it seems to align mostly with cholinergic uticaria/miliaria. I don't really notice any physical/visual symptoms (bumps/rashes); there may be some mild redness, but it may just be from me scratching there. But the one thing that's not making sense is that it's coming out of no where/hasn't happened to me before.
The first time in my life I noticed this was last year when I was thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail. In the beginning of the days when I would start hiking, I'd get itchy all over, but it would eventually subside within a half-hour or so, and it mostly went away after a month or so. After I finished the trail, it was fall/winter, and I would occasionally still get the itching whenever I'm inside being active/doing chores, but it wasn't that severe.
But its been getting WAY worse. Maybe it's due to warmer weather (I live in PA, USA). But its never been nearly this bad before. Whenever I get even remotely warm, I get intensely prickly/itchy all over.
This is probably unrelated, but I did (maybe still do) have some sort of fungal skin condition. It was slightly dark pigmentation in my groin region, but it's entirely asymptomatic. It's come and gone over the past years but it was never enough for me to go get it looked at.
M26, ~160 lbs, 5'8", Caucasian, NKA, 30mg Adderall/day (prescribed for ADHD), occasional Kratom, and Fluticasone 50mcg spray. Taking anti-histamines (pills/creams) may or may not help (I'm not really sure), but its still not enough for me to actually go outside and exercise/do the things I want to do. I used to play baseball with friends every week, but now I have to stay home because it would be unbearable.
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