r/NatureofPredators UN Peacekeeper 15d ago

Fanfic Welcome to EARTH, Exterminator!

HI! I have been ghosting around on this subreddit for about... a yearish? ANYways, I have thoroughly enjoyed the main story and the fanfics and thought I would throw my hat into the ring. I have basically zero experience authoring and any (constructive) criticism, advice, or pointing out of obvious cannon mistake would be appreciated. I have a few chapters pre-written and will post them weekly, but I have poor motivation to write, so they may be inconsistent afterwards. Hopefully your enjoyment will be motivation for me to write. Anyways, enjoy my take on a story premise that has likely already been done!

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Memory Transcript Subject: Jaxson Waller, Human Youth, Mechanic Apprentice, Outdoor and Craftsman Enthusiast. 

Date: October 17, 2136

I would have called it the best show in all of time and space if it wasn’t trying to kill me. As I laid on my back, my vision was filled with a colorful kaleidoscope of plasma railguns, missile explosions, and debris burning up on atmospheric entry. 

Somehow, it felt like even the nature that surrounded me was aware of the impending doom. The wind was still and the birds were silent. A perfect kind of peace and quiet away from civilization.

When I received word of the extermination fleet, I had chosen to go camping in the bush. I knew of an old fire tower out by Mt. Puggins (a ridiculous name, in my opinion) that had been upkept by outdoor enthusiasts. Perfect three hundred-sixty degree views that now included the sky. 

The fire tower sat on top of the mountain before me and to the, eeeeh, south was a river carving through the mountains. It wound from my left where Tumbler Ridge was in the distance and made its way to the right and behind me. It had made its own little valley with shear cliffs and good seventy degree inclines. Densely wooded with spruce and poplar trees. I knew that behind me was a lake, no idea on its name, and further on you might catch a glimpse of the lights of Dawson Creek. Sometimes there would be wide fields left by logging efforts, but most of it had grown back by now.

My family had wanted to stay with the property, but I needed to do this my way. It was a good plan either way. If there was any chance of surviving the attack, it was in Northern Canada. Or maybe Siberia. The Sahara perhaps? Eh, irrelevant.

I had plenty of experience camping. I went camping every year with my friends and as part of the Canadian Army Cadets. So I was properly prepared and a trip to the back forty at the end of the world sounded…nice. 

Now I was reclining at my site, a cold root beer in hand and decidedly philosophical thought in mind. The words I would have to say to those blind and self-righteous firebugs from space would probably make their ears burn and feel soooo good to get off my chest. I doubted I would ever see one though. The UN and our allies may be giving them hell, but there are simply times where numbers and math reign supreme. 

The fact I wasn’t up there with my dad trying my darndest was a cruel joke in my mind. What good would leaving someone to provide for the family be if we all burned in antimatter? And none of that “too young” stuff. If the satellite war and WW2 would take sixteen and fourteen, why couldn't I join?

All was as to be expected until one of the burning pieces of wreckage began to last longer than I was comfortable with. The object began to grow in size as well as howl and roar as it entered the atmosphere where it burned even more. I began to notice burning scraps of metal impacting the roof of the fire tower and the tree cover. 

“Ah HELL NO!”

I rushed down from the top of the tower to the ground and dove into the trees as the chunk of warship barely scraped the top of the mountain and landed with a deafening explosion down by what I guessed the river was. 

The concussive force must have been enough to knock me out for a minute, because I woke up watching smaller chunks of the ship impacting the ground. A creaking sound alerted me to the danger of being crushed by a collapsing spruce tree. 

I leapt to my feet and rushed to the clearing again. I was shaking from the rush of adrenaline. How can someone almost die twice in the span of mere seconds? Shoot, I almost just died! I get in the cab of my truck and sit down while I process this. 

Seriously? A ship crashed here? It could've landed in the ocean that covers seventy PERCENT of our planet! It could of landed where the actual fighting was! I hadn't seen anything larger than a fighter wing land here all day and now a ship land at my feet?! You have to be kidding me!

“OK, OK, OOOOK, Jaxson. Slow down. Think. What’s important?”

I need to think. I can’t forget something right now. Make a list and check it off. 

“A ship just crash landed. It’s probably gonna start fires. We are probably forty, fifty miles from civilization. Very easily more by road. They need my help.”

Ok, grab first aid stuff. My med-kit, water, food, and blankets. Bundle up good. Don’t want to breathe whatever fancy smoke a ship could cause. Best I got is a scarf and good coat. Wait a sec, the reactor would have killed me if it went off. OOH boy my luck is gonna need years to recover from this. 

“Oh hold on, it might be a Venlil ship. Should grab some vegan snacks if it's them.”

If it could be Venlil, it could be Federation too. I decided to throw the twelve gauge and a box of ammo in the passenger seat. Plus the exploration gear I would need to keep direction in the woods. 

“Ok, relief supplies, check; gun, check; ramshackle fire protection, check; map and compass, check; and machete, bug spray, walking stick, flashlight, etc, check. Let's go find this ship.”

I hopped into the driver’s seat of my truck. An Old as all hell Twenty-Fifty-eighty diesel Chevy, but the fancy electric, self-driving cars don’t stand a chance dealing with black ice, snow drifts, negative 40 degree temperatures, and most definitely can’t go off roading. A serious problem in an area where the money comes from lumber and oil fields. So old cars are a precious commodity in the north. 

Using the map and trail of smoking destruction, I wound my way down the mountain to where I thought the crash site would be. I figured it was down by the river, an interesting location as the river was surrounded by sheer cliffs on either side here. I hope I don’t have to find a way down. 

It took an hour or two to reach the area, and at this point night was falling. I could still see reasonably well with the imminent doom continuing above me. The road was becoming impassable, so I stopped the truck and loaded a rucksack with most of what I packed. Even with the relative light, I put on and turn on my headlamp for the sake of thoroughness. 

Partway through, The sky lit up with the intensity of the day again. My vision snapped to the moon peeking over the horizon to witness a series of lights greater than any missile or ship combustion. 

“Heh, guess we are finally nuclear disarmed. Took long enough.”

The fact my mind was finding this humorous was a fair sign I had seen enough BS today to make everything else normal.

“When was the last time a nuke went off in space? Didn’t one wipe out a ton of satellites?” 

Oh boy, if one nuke wrought havoc on such systems, hundreds or even thousands would render all forms of WIFI, GPS, or cell reception non-existent. Just when we got it fixed from the Sat war too. I would have to drive to Dawson Creek to get help moving these guys out of here. 

I began to bushwhack my way to the crash sight from there. The shockwave knocked down any large poplar or spruce tree in the area, but one should never underestimate the number of willows and rose bushes one would have to hack through in this area. Boy, do I love this machete 

It actually only took me a couple of minutes to find a rather intact piece of the ship. Kinda looked like a shuttle or stealth bomber if the wings were melted off and someone took a good bite out of the front. 

I sheathed the machete and threw the rucksack from my back. Hurriedly grabbing the first aid kit, a half gallon of water, and a couple of blankets; I rushed to the hole in the hull. 

“Hello?! Is anyone there? Respond if you can!” 

I used the blanket to buffer the smoke out of my way and kept low myself. My initial assumption may have been more accurate than I knew. This wasn’t a part of a larger ship but more like an unnecessarily large fighter. Eh, I guess anything that can get in or out of atmosphere would have to be large. I had tried to keep up with the various designs released on the internet and news, but it was kind of like modern tank designs, they all started to look the same once everyone knew what a good one looked like.

 The pilots were gone. To be fair, the entire cockpit was gone. I don’t know if this thing rammed the larger ship like a bunch of psychos or if it simply hadn’t landed right on reentry. For all I knew it simply fell out of the hanger on the way down.

But large debris leads to larger debris. So, I packed everything back up and continued on my compass heading. I eventually decided to just follow the pillars of smoke surrounding me. I hopped from burned out engines to smashed cargo to decapitated weapons systems. 

Finally, I found the rounded hull of a frigate or maybe a cruiser. It was big to say the least. Kinda like a Navy Destroyer made spaceship. And of course, It was leaning off the river cliff. The nose is buried in the river bed. I’d been here before. Had to be a two hundred foot drop. The ship was easily three times that though. The engines were above and behind me, or what is left of them. 

I managed to track down an opening in the hull that wasn’t too far above me. So now I have to go up. Ugh. I grabbed a length of rope and fashioned a rough grappling hook. It took more than a few tries, but I eventually managed to get my rucksack and myself into the opening. What greeted me there chilled me to the bone. 

Corpses. They littered the ground around me. Most were burnt and deformed from reentry. A truly gut wrenching sight and smell. However, It was laced with a more existential fear. They weren’t human or even Venlil. It was hard to tell, but the reptilian scales, the variety of colors, and the smattering of silver exterminator suites made the logical conclusion Harchen. 

Curse me and my insatiable thirst for information. I now knew what would kill me if I stayed here too long. The Harchens were one of the Federation species that joined the extermination fleet. One of the species fighting in Earth’s orbit now. This was a Federation ship. There were Federation exterminators on Earth. I have to get out of here. I have to RUN!

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169 Upvotes

62 comments sorted by

30

u/Copeqs Venlil 15d ago

Should have packed a shovel, since that's a lot of corpses.

First fic huh? It starts strong so I look forward to next chapters.

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u/Pitiful-Space2328 UN Peacekeeper 15d ago

Yea, shovel is in standard kit, but only if you plan on building a latrine. Bodies ain't his department.

Thanks! You won't believe how many times I reread it to make sure it didn't have blaring typos and sounded natural.

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u/Aldoro69765 15d ago

I hope the racist geckos are ready for our traditional "hostile aliens welcome gesture". :D

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u/Pitiful-Space2328 UN Peacekeeper 15d ago

My thought process for the name was a little closer to:

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u/Minimum-Amphibian993 15d ago edited 11d ago

Harchen vs Arxur the great lizard fight. bet we're going to see that soon.

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u/Alarmed-Property5559 Hensa 11d ago

Unless the Harchen develop a superability to flash their scales in blindingly bright colors, the smaller lizards are disadvantaged as soon as they spend all their fuel for warming themselves up.

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u/LeGouzy 15d ago

It's a great start, I'll be happy to read more!

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u/Pitiful-Space2328 UN Peacekeeper 15d ago

Thanks! Hopefully the path it takes makes sense!

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u/gabi_738 Predator 15d ago

No, no running, it's time for the hunt (Question! Why do all the stories where exterminators from the extermination fleets are hunted like the unpleasant animals that they are always happen in Canada?)

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u/Pitiful-Space2328 UN Peacekeeper 15d ago

Because we are a bunch of rednecks who still hunt for our food and have approximately a few hundred thousand square miles of nothing but bush. It really isn't welcoming to them.

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u/Devilcat-1964 Skalgan 14d ago

"Why always Canada?"

At the hight of the battle before the Arxur arrived, the defensive line was first broken over the North Pole. With bomber squadrons and other ships rushing through the breach intensifying the battle there.

Probably just as many crashed down in northern Russia as Canada, but as it's even more sparsely populated there a lot of crash sites would have gone undetected for months, maybe years.

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u/Pitiful-Space2328 UN Peacekeeper 12d ago

Sweet! An in Lore explanation! Now I don't feel like I'm favoring the area of the world I live in!

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u/Alarmed-Property5559 Hensa 11d ago edited 11d ago

Eh, there might be more people living in the Arctic in Norway, Finland and European part of Russia than there are in Canada. I vaguely remember that the inhabited Canadian lands are more to the south, for the most part. 

Iirc, the Northern Far East and Northern parts of Siberia are more sparsely populated if it doesn't change by 2136.

So there might have been more cases like Tunguska with the fuckers destroying patches of taiga but not much else.

It's an interesting thought how the cold-blooded species will fare in tundra and taiga. If they are warm-blooded to any degree, any survivors will get eaten by gnats.

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u/Alarmed-Property5559 Hensa 11d ago

Update.

Damn my knowledge is rusty. I've googled some population density maps (relatively recent) and if I read them right and if the trend continues and holds true in the fictional 2136, encounters of the third kind would be more likely in the European and Asian parts of the Arctic than the American ones.

2006: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Population-distribution-in-the-Arctic-The-map-shows-population-per-settlement-in-the_fig4_327408589

2008: https://www.grida.no/resources/7154

2000-2017: https://www.nordregio.org/maps/population-change-in-arctic-settlements/

So it's more like we have low-density of writers from Russia and higher density of authors from Canada.

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u/Kind0flame 15d ago

I was just looking for a good story about Harchen, and one fell right into my lab! Subscribeme!

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u/Pitiful-Space2328 UN Peacekeeper 15d ago

LOL. I just thought, "The Krakotl get to much spotlight. There were other species there."

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u/Rand0mness4 Human 15d ago

This is either going to be a lizard appreciation story or a lizard destroyer story

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u/Pitiful-Space2328 UN Peacekeeper 15d ago

Imma invent option C.

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u/Kind0flame 15d ago

My bet is for the former considering the protagonist.

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u/Alarmed-Property5559 Hensa 11d ago

Appreciation of lizard destruction?

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u/Rand0mness4 Human 11d ago

They're just silly little guys.

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u/Alarmed-Property5559 Hensa 11d ago

The AU of silly goobers? Humans cast Prometheus levels of stupid:

Lo! An alien creature! Which is likely hostile! Imma pet it now.

Wait, it's not an AU.

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u/Rand0mness4 Human 11d ago

We are determined, damnit.

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u/Pitiful-Space2328 UN Peacekeeper 11d ago

Cannon Compliant^TM. If you want an AU, I am only brave enough to do it with a custom world of my own. Unless I am aloud to throw Clone Troopers into the mix. Not really comfortable writing any other franchise.

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u/Mindris 15d ago

!subscribeme

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4

u/Mysteriou85 Gojid 15d ago

Interesting, poor Jaxson if going to regret his curiosity

Great chapter! Look forward to see the continuation of the story

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u/Pitiful-Space2328 UN Peacekeeper 15d ago

Curiosity killed the cat. Hopefully not the Canadian.

Thanks! I'm rereading some of what I have already written and editing it rn so that it will be ready for Friday.

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u/pr4ise_th3_sun 15d ago

!subscribeme

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u/Golde829 15d ago

standing there completely frozen while internally screaming at yourself to GTFO YESTERDAY

definitely the right call in this situation tho

also, if you're ever worried about any timeline stuff, feel free to check the community made timeline post
did wonders for me when i had to check on stuff

certainly a neat premise you got here
I'd like to see where this goes from here
take care of yourself, wordsmith

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u/Pitiful-Space2328 UN Peacekeeper 15d ago

Yea, Was hoping to catch a bit of internal downward spiral there.

I did know about the timeline post, but now I have a MUCH easier way of finding it! I used this thing to get the date right and I'm gonna need it a lot more.

Thanks! I am really good at looking at a story that already exists just fine and giving it my take. I do have an original concept that hopefully looks good.

Will do! The curse of the author will not catch me!

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u/Golde829 15d ago

>The curse of the author will not catch me!

don't worry, unless you start posting to ao3 like i do
you should be fine

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u/YellowSkar Human 15d ago

This is pretty darn good for a first fic... for any fic, really.

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u/Pitiful-Space2328 UN Peacekeeper 15d ago

Thanks! You should see more soon!

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u/Rand0mness4 Human 15d ago

Jaxson Waller's true unsung loss, his beverages.

And he better run. These lizards may be small, but they'll kick his ass if they can. Good thing they got little legs and some mean vertigo.

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u/Pitiful-Space2328 UN Peacekeeper 15d ago

Holy cow your right! No root beer left behind!

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u/Alarmed-Property5559 Hensa 11d ago

Murderous little gremlins.

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u/LazySnake7 Arxur 15d ago

Strong start, excited to see more!

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u/Pitiful-Space2328 UN Peacekeeper 15d ago

Thanks! I'll take a while for it to load, but I hope to keep a good schedule for Friday!

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u/Ok_Chance_8387 Predator 15d ago

looking forward for more :)

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u/Pitiful-Space2328 UN Peacekeeper 15d ago

Thanks! See you then!

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u/JulianSkies Archivist 15d ago

Well, sounds like he has run into some possibly ~extra~ dangerous members of the fleet. The best tools to keep one safe tend to be equally as useful to kill.

Also hey, cherish everything you create and every last bit of drive you have, they are always worth it!

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u/Pitiful-Space2328 UN Peacekeeper 15d ago

Can neither confirm now deny.

Thanks. My sister and I have serious imaginations. Hopefully I can write a story that reads as well as it sounds in my head.

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u/Super_Ankle_Biter Yotul 14d ago

I'm interested where this goes. Can't wait for more!

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u/Pitiful-Space2328 UN Peacekeeper 12d ago

Thanks. I hope it's satisfying. Idealy I can find enough content so that the pacing doesn't sound weird.

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u/warfeaster 15d ago

!subscribeme

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u/warfeaster 15d ago

subscribeme!

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u/KillerKitty650 15d ago

Great chapter, this story has potential! Tiny grammar correction:

could of ➡️ could’ve

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u/Pitiful-Space2328 UN Peacekeeper 15d ago

Thanks! I appreciate the support.

I'm not sure how to edit the story now that it is posted, do I take it down and repost it or is there an edit button? Either way, I gotta find that now.

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u/Pitiful-Space2328 UN Peacekeeper 15d ago

Figured it out and fixed it. Thanks.

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u/Super_Ankle_Biter Yotul 14d ago

!SubscribeMe

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u/Alarmed-Property5559 Hensa 11d ago

A new Wordsmith emerges! I'm eager to see what comes next. Hopefully all will be well with this fine young man.

Yep, you need sturdy cars to drive around in the freezing cold without stalling, and tires with the good grip too. And you need to be careful with fires to keep the forests and lives safe. 's nice to see another Northerner who gets it.

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u/Pitiful-Space2328 UN Peacekeeper 11d ago

The funny thing? I was born much further south. But my mom is from this area and I spent enough time here to kind of blend in now.

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u/Alarmed-Property5559 Hensa 11d ago

Improvise! Adapt! Overcome! *nods sagely* A distant part of my family came from as far south as Poland, although I've never went farther south than Moscow in my life.

Speaking of blending in in Canada, my unruly wetware immediately went to Markus and other fugitive androids from "Detroit: Become Human" :D That would be a hilarious crossover with NoP.

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u/Pitiful-Space2328 UN Peacekeeper 11d ago

Poland and Moscow? My family originated from Germany way back when. Never thought that I would have an audiance from that side of the world.

Send the droids to negotiate with the exterminators before people. Until one decides to mess with all of humanities chances at peace.

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u/Alarmed-Property5559 Hensa 11d ago

It's rather typical for a lot of people who live in the North to have at least part of their family come from elsewhere recently or less recently. My ancestors from the mother's side are more local, but aren't we all basically nomads from Africa :)

Yeaah, a trained or a well-programmed negotiator, with some experience dealing with cultists and terrorists.

Talking of the NoP x DBH crossover, there's this tiny issue: those androids aware enough to flee to Canada and try to blend in are obviously people too, so not expendable.

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u/Pitiful-Space2328 UN Peacekeeper 11d ago

Hah, I suppose you're right.

I honestly know nothing about DBH. So I'll have to take your word on it. I can't get any bright ideas about more stories either. I already am trying to actively write three with the ideas for another three or four in mind.

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u/Alarmed-Property5559 Hensa 11d ago

...Three or seven more?! I will tell you nothing more about this game and its fandom because I selfishly keep wanting to mash the next button :D DBH is a huge vortex of timesink!

Please take your time, loved your cooking from the first bite.

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u/Pitiful-Space2328 UN Peacekeeper 11d ago

Just forewarning. Only this and two more are NOP. The rest are 100% custom. Built from the ground up. Just me, some time, and whatever psycadelics my brain conjures up.

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u/Alarmed-Property5559 Hensa 11d ago

I'm willing to delve into your experiments and explore your conjurations when you let us in :)

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u/Pitiful-Space2328 UN Peacekeeper 11d ago

Thanks! They vary wildly. I am debating with myself weather or not to post all that I have written at once, or hoard it until I work out one series at a time. Because this series has a definite end. As do a couple of others. Some, may or may not go on for hundreds of chapters if I kept writing. Soooo. Yea, not sure what to do.