(Repost because I posted this really late and I was hoping to get some more discussion on the ideas.)
TLDR: Cincinnati seems like an interesting location for a future Fallout game and I break down my reasoning and then give an idea for a story. Maybe Cincinnati, Ohio isn’t as popular as other American cities, but I think it still deserves a shot.
So this post is taking some older ideas in some Reddit posts for a Fallout game and adding some additional ideas for it. I believe that a Fallout game set in and around Cincinnati, Ohio could potentially be a good fit for the Fallout franchise. I’m gonna break down the reasons why I think it could fit the theme/work as a map and then some story ideas for what could work in the area. I’d also like to state that my ideas are based off of information from the Fallout Wiki and Wikipedia. If anything doesn’t add up, I apologize.
MY REASONING FOR CINCINNATI AND WHY IT CAN FIT THE FALLOUT LORE:
-So Cincinnati might not seem like a city as grandiose as somewhere like NYC, Philadelphia, Detroit, New Orleans, etc. To an extent, I totally agree with that sentiment. It’d be really cool to see those cities that were mentioned above as future Fallout locations. However, I believe that those world ideas are also so full of interesting locations that a game trying to capture it all would struggle to get all the significant locations with current technology. Cincinnati is a smaller city that is still rich with culture and history that could be captured more accurately than bigger projects.
-A decent amount of the skyscrapers and more significant places of Cincinnati and the surrounding cities are somewhat older. There is enough buildings in Cincinnati that were built before or close enough to the divergence point that the skyline and city layout could be decently recognizable.
-Cincinnati had a decently sized manufacturing and industrial sector before the IRL Midwest De-Industrialization and Formation of the Rust Belt in the 40s and 50s. Considering that Fallout is themed around the ‘Pax Americana 1950s & Early 60s’ culture, the idea of showing off a Midwest city that continued to boom in those sectors could be an interesting focus for a Fallout game.
-Cincinnati has a large, mostly unused subway system that was never finished. In game, we could see areas of underground activity like the Fallout 3 subway system. The IRL subway eventually had a section that was also reworked to be a nuclear shelter, so a Vault being under the city wouldn’t be far-fetched.
-The Underground Railroad considered Cincinnati to be an important stop along the way, as it was a large destination for runaway slaves. The city was seen as a large region to hide amongst and find work that was just north of the Ohio River, where Slavery was mostly illegal (still not that great for runaways, but better than the South). Any concepts of slaves coming to Cincinnati for newfound freedoms or a system/faction of abolitionists and runaways would make a lot of sense for the themes.
-The Ohio River would be an important location that could go right through the middle of the map. Based off of how irradiated the rivers were in Fallout 3: The Pitt, I think it’d be safe to assume that the Ohio River in Cincinnati would also be unsafe to travel across. This creates something like the Deathclaws north of Goodsprings in Fallout: New Vegas where players can follow a normal path to get to the main city. This also means that it could create fun and challenging ways to get across the river.
-Fallout’s 1950s styled America is still in love with baseball. If you’re looking for a major city with a rich baseball history/culture, Cincinnati’s your place. Cincinnati is the city where the first professional baseball team was created, the Red Stockings. It could be host to a baseball themed faction, a settlement like Diamond City, or maybe even a quest line to reform a pro baseball team.
-The Cincinnati Zoo is a long standing and prestigious zoo that could be an interesting point in this hypothetical game. Since the zoo is home to various creatures that aren’t native to most of America, we could see interesting enemy mobs like mutated gorillas and irradiated hippos.
-IRL Cincinnati is home to major companies like Kroger, Procter&Gamble, and GE Aviation. Fallout companies like Super Duper Mart and Abraxodyne Chemical could be stand-ins for Kroger and P&G. It’d be a cool bit of story building for some of the pre-war companies that have products littering the Fallout wastelands.
-While New Orleans is probably more famous for this point, Cincinnati was also historically home to a developed steamboat industry that made it an important location in the history of American exploration/expansion into the river basins of Midwest America. Fallout 4’s museums based around Massachusetts’ involvement in the American War of Independence show off the cultural significance of the region in American history. Cincinnati could have a museum dedicated to it’s prominent position as a gateway to the west, showing off it’s contributions to expansionist American culture.
-One of the cities in the Cincinnati region is a town south of the Ohio River known as Newport, Kentucky. Historically, before Las Vegas became Sin City, Newport, KY was a huge contender for that role. From the 1920s to the 1950s, Newport was a city filled with criminal bosses and corrupt public officials. Casinos, brothels, and other illegal enterprises made up a good chunk of everyday life for this town. If fans want to recapture the spirit of New Vegas with the focus on moral degradation and a city of ‘Sex, Drugs, and Rock’n’Roll,’ then look no further than Newport.
-Cincinnati was one of the major US cities that had Nike anti-air missile bases around the Greater Cincinnati area. I don’t think it’d be too far of a stretch to assume that after world tensions got worse in the 21st century, that the government would repurpose some of these launch sites into nuclear silos. Maybe we could see another Megaton situation.
-Cincinnati is also home to 3 facilities in the area that were dedicated to nuclear research and enrichment (until these plants were closed due radiation leaking out). These would be some great areas to explore and mess around with nuclear enrichment.
WHEN WOULD THIS TAKE PLACE & WHO WOULD BE INVOLVED:
So I feel like this game could work if it was set between the ending of Fallout 2 and the beginning of Fallout 3. IMO, the ideal starting date would be between 2248 and 2252 due to the ideas I have for the factions that could be used in this game. I don’t have all the details for all the different factions, but I have 4 ideas for 4 major factions. Two new ones and two old ones that could fit the area.
RETURNING FACTIONS:
-The Brotherhood (Chicago Faction) So the Brotherhood of Chicago is an ill defined group that exists only in references. Fallout: Tactics set up a group known as the Midwest Brotherhood, however, Tactics is no longer recognized as a canon game since Bethesda acquired the Fallout series. According to Fallout 3 & 4 though, there is still a group of the Brotherhood that still exists in the Chicago area. Like Tactics, the Chicago group of the Brotherhood arrived in Chicago due to an airship crashing into the area. Beyond this, there isn’t much lore about the Chicago chapter so this is where I’d like to add my ideas. After the crash, feeling disconnected from the rest of the Brotherhood (and their dedicated supplies and supply lines), the Chicago chapter turns more towards the religious aspects of the Brotherhood. Having a lot of connections to the airship that decided their fate, as well as possibly being based out of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, the Chicago Brotherhood turns towards the sky. They begin a process of turning into an Aviation cult, a society that worships and encourages air travel. Like the old Brotherhood, they would hoard technologies, just more focused on air travel and air defenses. Over time, they begin to expand around the Great Lakes region, eventually coming to a manpower crisis. At this point, the Chicago chapter would either loosen it’s recruiting standards to allow in wastelanders who would join due to their acceptance of their new faith system, or the Chicago chapter would create a Spartan styled theocratic dictatorship with the airship survivors acting as foreign rulers over Chicagoans. Either or would have interesting story choices, but I can’t chose which I like more. Anyhow, the Chicago chapter eventually comes across tales of ‘Prophet Wright and Prophet Patterson,’ the founders of flight (and possibly the sky if the chapter is naive/delusional enough). The Chicago Brotherhood learns of a ‘Holy City’ where flight was birthed and worshiped at a ‘Holy Air Base.’ The Chapter would take it’s proudest forces and equipment to claim their perceived Holy Land, the city of Dayton, OH and Wright-Patterson Air Base. Upon arrival, the Chicago chapter realized that the city was already claimed by other forces. Believing that their God (or Gods) was on their side, the Chicago Brotherhood launched an attack for Dayton. Time would pass, and no gains were made by the Brotherhood, revealing a dirty truth that this chapter was not as dominant and guided by God(s) as they thought they were. They also had to accept that an enemy force with Wright-Patterson could challenge their tactical and spiritual hold on the sky. Upon tactical reevaluation, the Chicago chapter noticed that the enemy forces were sending extra soldier South of the battle. The chapter correctly guessed that their enemies were moving to encircle them and stop their Midwestern gains. In response, the Brotherhood would send it’s own forces South to try to counter-encircle the enemy. Both forces, evenly matched and evenly stretching their lines would finally hit the Ohio River. Both sides were stuck countering the influence of the other, eventually both would settle in to starve the other one out around Cincinnati. The Chicago Brotherhood had their work cut out for them, for they would be facing off against.....
-The Enclave After the events of Fallout 2, the Enclave would need to rebuild. Bases of theirs lying in ruins, groups deserting them, Enclave members being hunted down for justice, profit, and fun. The situation looked dire for most. That was until a Mr. John Henry Eden gave orders to regroup and rebuild in the Capitol wasteland. Most Enclave members saw the writing on the wall, and decided that the move East would be better than death. This is where I believe that a certain group of the Enclave would be moving east, eventually stumbling upon Dayton & Wright-Patterson. This group of the Enclave didn’t feel like moving on past this treasure trove would be a smart idea, so the group settled there. Now I was thinking that the leader of this Enclave chapter would eventually get all high and mighty, thus proclaiming that the Dayton Enclave was the true enclave, that their leader was the rightful President, and that Eden and his Capitol Wasteland Enclave was not legitimate. The Dayton Enclave President swore an oath of duty to reunite the Enclave under him, and to invade and conquer the Capitol for their own state. While the older and higher up ranks supported the grand plan, younger officers and cadets had an uneasy feeling over these plans. Some would even go as far to talk about open rebellion and, even possibly, a return to democratic institutions and rules. (I would love to see a quest line where you can influence the Enclave and chose between a status-quo Enclave or a democratic Enclave. However, just because a bad guy says that they’re good now, it does not mean that they will be seen by the people as a good guy now). All of this would have to wait though, as a new enemy has arrived on this Enclave chapter’s borders. In less than an hour after their arrival, the enemy began a siege on the Enclave’s Wright-Patterson base. The Enclave was caught completely off guard, as none of the higher ups believed that ‘No savages of this region could possibly learn how to fly and professionally fight.’ After the initial chaos, the Enclave was able to get their air force up and defending their positions. Amid the siege and dogfights, the Enclave would learn of the name of their ‘new’ enemy: The Brotherhood. The Enclave officers had been both right and wrong. The Brotherhood was not a savage of this region, as they had fought against them in California. They were still in this region though, and they were able to put up an actual fight. Realizing the direness of getting stuck in a constant siege, the Enclave came up with a plan to hopefully solve all their problems. If the Enclave forces could just encircle the Brotherhood forces, then they could possibly cut their supply lines while also conquering lands to keep the Brotherhood from moving any further into Ohio, as well as a start on the Dayton Enclave’s Eastern March to take DC. Their forces moved south, only for the Brotherhood to match their moves to the south. The Enclave tried again, only to meet the same results. This began a race south to try to get under the other army. Evenly they moved along, until both forces hit the Ohio River. While some war-hawks within the Enclave ranks wanted to move into Cincinnati to try to gain the upper hand, the Dayton Chapter President refused, wishing to focus on the Brotherhood and the eventual Eastern March. Unfortunately, the Enclave and the Brotherhood had moved their battlegrounds too close to Cincinnati, and soon, a new force would join the fight.....
NEW FACTIONS:
-The Republic of the Ohio Cincinnati was not spared from the horrors of nuclear hellfire. Being a city with a large amount of manufacturing, commerce, transportation, and nuclear refinement will tend to put you on list for enemy nuclear destruction. As such, Cincinnati has seen better days. It is not 2077 anymore though, and the city has learned to heal. Emerging from vaults long after Nuclear War, but long before the time of this game, a new generation of citizens of Cincinnati began the process of rebuilding. In the beginning, many factions arose, with no central authority. Chaos and violence ruled the scorched streets. Eventually, due to raiders and instability, multiple governing groups formed trade pacts and alliances. These districts would eventually merge due to the economic ties to create the city of Cincinnati once more. While not all districts complied willingly, Cincinnati would continue to grow through a combination of economic ties and small military missions. With trade being such a central idea to the culture of the city, Cincinnati began to work out deals with even more areas that weren’t even part of the Cincinnati Districts. Around this time, the wealth inequality within the city began to grow faster and faster. More individuals were gearing up to meet more locals to enact more trade, of which some profits would go to line the pockets of these traders. Soon, the very well off individuals were producing shipping vessels on the Ohio River. While this meant that Cincinnati could spread it’s wings further, it also meant that more and more land on the river was being gobbled by those who already owned the majority. Nevertheless, the city would continue to work with the ultra rich to expand. By this point, many districts were starting to look worse compared to how they were doing before the city united. Since the city had been set up loosely, it had become a confederation in principle. As such, many districts were on the cusp of declaring their freedom once more. To quell any chance of District independence, the then Mayor of Cincinnati declared the ‘Republic of the Ohio.’ On one side of things, the new government better reflected the new growth on the Ohio River by recognizing new lands as different territories instead of new additions to the city. On the other side, the Republic was formed as a new government level to force territories looking for freedom back into the greater system. While the Districts could still leave the city of Cincinnati, they would still be stuck inside the Republic of the Ohio. The Republic was based off of the government of the pre-war USA, in which succession was illegal and punishable. Not everyone listened, and soon, the poorer districts declared a counter-government to recognize the ‘forgotten man.’ The Republic did not tolerate this, and swept through the districts, taking out any opposition that could be found. It was after this point, very early on in the new republic, that the government tightened the rules until the Republic was only a republic in name. Yes, the freedoms of speech and religion and the right to vote would still exist. But if you did not worship and speak of the Republic in the ‘correct way,’ you might have just found yourself stuck in social shaming and potential revenge. And while you could vote, it mattered not as everyone knew who the ‘winners’ would be. As the Republic embraced a darker side, it began to feel the drawbacks of it’s actions. Social services and protections offered by the state declined more and more, as politicians were more focused on the pay and helping their families. It was very clear that the rich of the republic had it all, while the poor never recovered from the District disassembly and forced reintegration. The Elite cared little though, as the republic grew it’s trading operations further up and down the River. Life was good enough. Or so it seemed until the scouts of the Republic brought news one day. Advanced groups with flying weaponry were moving south, towards the Republic itself. The President of the Ohio makes the call to send all forces to defend the northern walls. Little did they know that they had weakened another front, and a force moving from the South East to meet that weakened border. Known only in the region as a rumor, they are.....
-The Kanawha Coalition Nuclear War came a little bit later for the land of West Virginia, but when it came, it left it’s mark. West Virginia was spared from the worse in 2077, leaving behind a land with great potential. While violence and death was nothing foreign to the WV Wastelanders, it was comparatively tame versus the surrounding states. Eventually, a vault filled with Dwellers opened up. These pioneers would bring about change to the region, leading to more factions showing interest in the region. The population boomed, and it looked as if the region could sustain a form of civilization. Then the bombs came again, and again, and again. The new people of WV were not all as valorous and good-hearted as it seemed they would be. West Virginia was home to a series of active nuclear missile silos. Taking advantage of the chaos that comes with societal formation, certain individuals made their way to these silo sites to bring about new nuclear devastation. So quickly was the flame of law, order, and civilization sniffed out by nuclear destruction. Many would die, possibly even more than the amount of West Virginians killed in the actual war. Many more would just up and leave the lands, hoping to find a better home outside of WV. What was left after the first round of deaths and departures was a network of abandoned communities and other forgotten homesteads. The structures left behind would decay and fall apart, bits flying away along the wind. The locals that stayed were also forced to increase their mineral stripping and scavenging to build better homes, able to stand up to the toxicity of the region. Most of these were in vain, however, as the other survivors of the region were usually the ones still launching the weapons. Many years would pass with this pattern still going the same, only the Earth around them changing. While WV had been polluted even before the war, the leftover junk combined with the constant nuclear war brought the region to a new low. But at it’s lowest, WV would find a solution. Slowly, the psychopathic souls who had fired the weapons became bored of tormenting the region. The nukes were becoming a thing of the past, now the region could focus on the other problems that plagued everyday life. Those issues that had been put to the side were finally in full view. And that view was of a homeland soured by nuclear fires and other pollutants. The people had enough of their rotting home, so they elected to meet and discuss a solution. The meeting brought together a handful of tribes that had somehow survived. Many attending the meeting were no longer human, as the radiation had ghoulified a vast amount of the populace. While most regions struggled with the ostracism of ghouls, many humans within West Virginia had either accepted them or had learnt to tolerate them enough to not cause too much damage. While some grudges still seep into social arrangements, the ghoul-human relations are comparatively better to most other societies. The tribes of ghouls and humans came together to unify, creating a coalition of the West Virginian tribes. The elders of each tribe created a council to organize and direct new objectives for the willing locals. It was decided that the tribes would forgo the technologies that brought about the conditions that they lived in. They would focus their efforts on peace and harmony with the lands that had been ruined, with the eventual goal of creating an ecologically sustainable homeland. In an effort to rebrand the region and connect with a people who focused on the Earth, the coalition would begin to refer to the lands of West Virginia as Kanawha. Consequently, the coalition would eventually come to be known as the Kanawha Coalition. Time would pass and Mother Earth would heal... somewhat. After a long period of partial success, the council would meet and make a drastic choice. No longer would they toil to make a broken land heal, a new, better land would be searched out. The tribes packed up and began a long march towards a new home. A rumored land of a city that continued to kill Mother Earth with no punishments. Now, it was time to punish the wrongdoers and take their lands triumphantly.
WHY SET IT BETWEEN 2248 AND 2252: The main reason I feel like this time period would work is due to the events between FO2&3. According to the DC Brotherhood in 3, the Chicago Brotherhood had gone silent by the time of their eastern journey. It also fits due to the Enclave moving East as well. As such, 2248-52 seems late enough for the Enclave to get out East, while being early enough for the Chicago Brotherhood to disappear by 54/55.
THANK YOU FOR READING THIS, I’M SORRY IF I MISTYPED ANYTHING OR SOMETHING DIDN’T MAKE SENSE.

Over the years I have thoroughly enjoyed throwing together playlists for different occasions (making coffee, working out, weddings, seasons, etc.) and thought I'd share! Please let me know your thoughts, favourite mixes, as well as recommendations for future playlists. All feedback is welcome! Hope you enjoy them:
That Weekend Feeling
Skip to the good bit; weekend grooves to wave away any weekday blues.
Awesome Mix: Ultimate Edition (Mixtape)
A great hero, named Kevin Bacon, once taught an entire city full of people with sticks up their butts that, dancing, well, is the greatest thing there is. The legend of Footloose comes alive with Awesome Mix: Ultimate Edition - Songs from and inspired by the Guardians of the Galaxy series.
Morning Motivation: Steal Some Sunshine
Soak up the sun with energetic jams and breezy classics!
I'd Drink To That: Party Playlist
Mix it up with a party playlist to keep the night buzzing.
I'd Sing To That: Carpool Karaoke
Pack up and take those pipes on a roadtrip! The catchy. The memorable.
Just Jams 🎧
Nothing but jams to fill a pair of headphones or stadium.
Brendan's Listen Local
Funky & Thumpy! Some of my favourite energetic jams, classics, and BBQ party starters from our local Australian & New Zealand artists.
Friday Fire
It's Friday! Friends. Family. Fun.
Groovin' The Brew
Nothing but rockin' party grooves on tap.
Diverse Pop Sounds
It's pop, but not as you know it.
Break Thru
Ear Candy.
Sunday Sesh
Beers & bangers on a weekend!
Run To Paradise
Set up goals, and knock them down with an energetic running playlist.
Summer Daze
The heat is on with a playlist of crisp summer tunes.
Autumn Mix: Volume 1
A breezy & brilliant playlist for the ever-changing Autumn seasons.
Chilled Pop
Soft, chilled winter pop songs.
Warm Tunes
Warm songs of Spring, like a comforting embrace.
A Mid-Summer Night's Drink 🍻
Lord, what fun these mortals be!
Wind Down 🌚
When the night winds down, so does some great music.
90's Baby! 📼
It is the sound of the roller disco, BMX bike track and arcade!
The Hip Hip Hop
Only the hippest of the hip. My modern and classic hip hop favourites.
Indie Bops: It's ALT Good
Get your alternative bounce on.
Not Your Final Form: A Workout Playlist
All the other licks with the pumped up kicks to keep you going during a workout. My favourites and a few other choice tunes for pushing harder, faster, stronger.
Easy On The Ears
Easy, Easy, Easybeats.
Life Is Good ☀️
Today is gonna be a good day.
Dial M For Music
Deep, cathartic music.
JOY
Smile.
Vibe Hard
Get into the zone, and vibe-out to infectious tunes!
Rock & Roll Never Dies
Who says rock & roll is dead? Commercial radio? It's always been around; you've just got to roll with it and look harder. Get your kicks!
Brainfood
Introspective acoustic, calming strings, uplifting anthems, and a touch of nature. Food for the brain, and perfect background noise for studies.
Game Night 🎲
For every occasion... casino, tabletop, videogames; a soundtrack to a brilliant game night!
Sizzlers: BBQ Playlist 🍔
Fire up the burner and the anthems with a barbeque playlist hotter than the bright ball in the sky.
Kickstart My Heart: Classic Rock Radio
Rocking all over the world.
Rush Hour
Grinding Gears.
Riff Raff: Party Rock
Some rowdy rock to turn up the night.
RE : FRESH 🍹
SUPERDOPE. Piña colada's and Caribbean Rum.
The Driver
There's a voice in my head that drives my heel.
Country Road
Might as well cruise. Might as well banjo.
Born to be Wild
Life's an adventure; you can't be tamed.
Night Moves: Dancing In The Moonlight
Unwind with the moonbeams. Night drives & night lives.
Funk Right Off
Get Funk'd.
Rambling Roses 💐
Beauty and Love are as body and soul. Beauty is the mine, Love is the diamond.
Sweat. Reset.
Whatever it takes. 'Cause you love the adrenaline in your veins.
Power Pop: Marathon
Power pop to push and electrify a workout.
Cool Beans: Coffee Playlist
Recharge with some warm tunes.
Kitchen Crooners 🎀
Now we're cooking!
Now We're Cooking!
Tasty tunes for the Kitchen.
Pool Party
Dive in to great poolside swing.
Inspiration 💡 Takes Flight
Reach for the Sky!
Going Places
Always push forward.
First 💍
Songs for special days.
DisNeat - Taking The Mickey
Nothing but Disney favourites.
Road Trip: Spinning Wheels
Hear the call for adventure and hit the road.
Guilty Pleasures 🍨
You like the Grease soundtrack? Word.
Catchy AF POP
Pop that bops. Essentials and the catchiest of the catchy.
Acoustica
Stripped Back.
Playlist + Chill
Cool off with some chilled beats and sweet acoustic.
Making Waves
Unwind with breathy, breezy songs perfect for a walk on the beach.
The Playlist Of The Decade (New Years Eve)
We welcomed 2020 with the ultimate party playlist jam-packed with familiar throwbacks and modern favourites from the 2010's! Good times!
Rhythm Heaven
Step up and dance.
Sax on the Beach 🎷
Gratuitous? Nah! An instrument to elevate a song from good to great!
BedroX 🔥
Sparks.
Pump It Up: The Playlist of Champions 🏆
Winner winner, chicken dinner.
Retro Rewind
Twist & shout to killer Jukebox Classics.
Classic Se7ens
Nothing but 70's favourites.
Great Eight's
Nothing but 80's Favourites.
Noughty & Nice
Nothing but great 00's Throwbacks.
The Best Playlist Never Heard
It's unheard of!
Best Songs You Might Have Missed
Potentially slipped under the radar.
Songs for Soundtracks 🎬
Royale with cheese.
The Grand European Playlist
About to take off!
EPIC 🗡
Fortune & Glory!
SUPERHOT VR : ROCK
The champ is coming.
SUPERHOT VR : HIP-HOP
Kings never die.
SUPERHOT VR : ACTION
John Wick Schtick.
Cowboy Bebop : Spike Spiegel
Spike Spiegel is an ex-Syndicate goon and a bounty hunter aboard the Bebop. He is proficient in martial arts, zipcraft flying, and gunfights, but he also has comical and aloof sides of his personality. If there's three things he can't stand, it's kids, pets, and women with attitudes.
Cowboy Bebop : Faye Valentine
Faye Valentine is a coma survivor of over 50 years and she is trying to regain her memory. She got into a lot of debt upon entering this futuristic world, and she had to resort to a life of crime and hustling to survive... that is, until she decided to live on the Bebop and become a bounty hunter.
Cowboy Bebop : Jet Black
Jet Black is an ex-ISSP Special Forces Officer and the Captain of the Bebop. He is a bounty hunter and is called the "Black Dog" because once he sinks his teeth in he never lets go. Jet enjoys American Jazz music, taking care of Bonsai trees, and has a knack for investigative work.
Cowboy Bebop : Radical Edward
Edward is a net diver from Earth. Edward is a child prodigy for hacking and has an aptitude for anything mechanical, even though Edward has some eccentricities in other parts of her personality. For instance, Edward speaks in third person and sometimes behaves like a wild animal.
At The Movies 🎟
Lights, camera, playlist.
James Bond Classics 🍸
A martini, shaken, not stirred.
The Word Is Bond 🍸
The world is not enough; but this playlist comes pretty close.
Live Love LIVE
Blistering live performances.
Future Nostalgia
Neo-swing, retro swagger; it's future nostalgia.
B-Side Yourself
Hidden Gems, Deep Cuts & Rarities.
Punk'd
You're Gonna Go Far, Kid.
Building Houses: Hit By Hit
Baby let's play house.
Far ALT
A playlist rocking that weird shit.
Stay Home: The Safety Dance
Stay safe out there.
Day Tripper
A playlist for a long drive - a day trip.
In Tents
Music For Camping.
Roots
Bluesy classics to strut to.
All That Jazz
Get jazzy on it.
Focus Features
Take a breather.
Australiana
Paradise.
Drive Time
Coast to coast. Songs for a spin.
Stone Cold Classicals
It's classically classic.
Hall of Fame 💎
Songs for the career climbers and L.A. dreamers. Glitz & glam; all that jazz.
This is Halloween
Everybody Scream!
It's Beginning to Sound A Lot Like Christmas!
Christmas Classics.
Just For Laughs 🎭
What a Joker!
Two Nights In Tao🎙
Karaoke? There's a first time for everything.
GAME
Take control.
Game On : Borderlands Psycho-delic
CHOO CHOO THE PAIN TRAIN'S COMIN'
Red Dead Redemption II
Songs For Bloody Duels, Whiskey-Fueled Gambles, and Rolling Desert Plains.
Energy Shot
Keep animated with an energetic dose of catchy music!
Party Fillers
A background mix for any event.
The Essential AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Although their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and heavy metal, the band themselves call it simply "rock and roll"
The Essential One Republic
OneRepublic is an American pop rock band formed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2002. It consists of lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Tedder, guitarist Zach Filkins, guitarist Drew Brown, bassist and cellist Brent Kutzle, drummer Eddie Fisher and keyboardist Brian Willett.
The Essential Shinedown
Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed by singer Brent Smith in 2001. Shinedown has sold more than ten million records worldwide, and has had the most number one singles on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts out of any band, with 16.
The Essential Dua Lipa
Dua Lipa is an English singer and songwriter. After working as a model, she signed with Warner Music Group in 2015 and released her self-titled debut album in 2017. The success of the singles helped her self-titled album become one of the most-streamed albums on Spotify.
The Essential Preatures
The Preatures are an Australian band from Sydney. The band was formed in 2010 and features Isabella 'Izzi' Manfredi on vocals/keyboards, Jack Moffitt (guitar), Thomas Champion (bass) and Luke Davison (drums). The band won the Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition with their song Is This How You Feel.
The Essential Maroon 5
Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine, drummer Matt Flynn, keyboardist PJ Morton and multi-instrumentalist Sam Farrar.
The Essential INXS
INXS were an Australian rock band, formed in 1977 in Sydney. INXS was fronted by Hutchence, whose magnetic stage presence made him the focal point of the band. Initially known for their new wave/pop style, the band later developed a harder pub rock style that included funk and dance elements.
The Essential Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The group, whose best-known line-up comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, are regarded as the most influential band of all time. The Beatles are the best-selling music act of all time.
The Essential Volbeat
Volbeat are a Danish rock band formed in Copenhagen in 2001. They play a fusion of rock and roll, heavy metal and rockabilly. Their current line-up consists of vocalist and guitarist Michael Poulsen, guitarist Rob Caggiano, drummer Jon Larsen and bassist Kaspar Boye Larsen.
The Essential Chromeo
Chromeo is a Canadian electro-funk duo from Montreal, formed in 2002 by musicians David "Dave 1" Macklovitch and Patrick "P-Thugg" Gemayel. Their sound draws from blue-eyed soul, dance music, rock, synth-pop, disco and funk. As of 2018, the band has released five studio albums.
The Essential Queen
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1970. Their classic line-up was Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar, vocals), Roger Taylor (drums, vocals) and John Deacon (bass). With estimated record sales ranging from 170 million to 300 million, they are one of the biggest.
The Essential Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, and dancer. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century.
The Essential Brian Setzer
Brian Robert Setzer (born April 10, 1959) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and revitalized his career in the early 1990s with his swing revival band, the Brian Setzer Orchestra.
The Essential Florida Georgia Line
Florida Georgia Line are an American country music duo consisting of vocalists Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley. Their 2012 debut single "Cruise" broke two major sales records: it was downloaded over seven million times, making it the first country song ever to receive the Diamond certification.
The Essential KISS
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973 by Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss, and Ace Frehley. Well known for its members' face paint and stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid-to-late 1970s with its elaborate live performances.
The Essential Sheppard
Sheppard is an Australian indie pop band from Brisbane, formed in 2009. At the 2014 ARIA's ceremony, they were nominated for Album of the Year, Best Group, Best Independent Release, Best Pop Release, Song of the Year, Producer of the Year, and Best Video.
The Essential Matchbox 20
Matchbox Twenty is an American rock band, formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995. The group currently consists of Rob Thomas (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Brian Yale (bass guitar), Paul Doucette (drums, rhythm guitar, backing vocals), and Kyle Cook (lead guitar, vocals).
The Essential Coldplay
Coldplay are a British rock band that were formed in London in 1996 consisting of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, and drummer Will Champion. Coldplay have sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making them one of the world's best-selling.
The Essential Daughtry
Daughtry is an American rock band formed and fronted by namesake Chris Daughtry, who was a finalist on the fifth season of American Idol. Their self-titled debut album was released in November 2006 and reached number one on the Billboard 200. To date, Daughtry has sold over 9 million albums.
The Essential Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American musical group, consisting of rappers will.i.am*, apl.de.ap, Taboo, J. Rey Soul and singer Fergie. Originally an alternative hip hop group, they subsequently refashioned themselves as a more marketable pop-rap act and have become best-selling artists.*

This is how I won $129,000 in my 3rd ever poker tournament. Note: don't try this, it probably won't turn out well for you.
I spent about 6 months grinding up a $5,000 bankroll playing home/casino games ranging from .5/1 to 1/3. The week that I hit that $5,000 mark, Matt, one of my best friends from college informed me that his job had placed him in Las Vegas for the next month and that I could crash with him for a few nights if I wanted to come on out west. I had frequent flyer miles for the flight and some Mlife/Fremont hotel comps for the rest of the trip. My grand total for flight and lodging for 10 days came to $200.
Now, I’m not going to bore you guys with low-level cash hand histories. The next 10 days were filled with me playing lowstakes poker for 10-12 hours a day. It’s as fun as it sounds – it’s not. I was having a good time in Vegas otherwise – but towards the end of the trip I had a realization: 1/2’s the same everywhere. I didn’t have to fly out to the desert to raise to $7 preflop.
After 10 days, my grand total from poker (and a fair amount of dumb degenerate shit on Fremont) was -$186. That wasn’t what I came out to do — I knew that I was a better player than my recent results had indicated. The morning of my return flight, I decided I was going to play tournaments until I either busted my $5,000 bankroll or hit something worthwhile.
I impulsively decided to not get on my plane at 11:30am. Checkout time from Luxor was at 11:00 – and I didn’t know where I was going yet. I had 30 minutes to pack up my stuff and figure out where I was going before they’d charge me a fee. I sorted TripAdvisor by cheapest first – I’ve stayed in crappy hostels/motels before and overall am a very low maintenance person. I figured that by staying somewhere for $20 a night, I’d be able to maximize the amount of shots I could take before flying back home. I accepted that there was a real chance I’d go back broke – but I didn’t really care. If I didn’t take my shot now, then when?
I booked the cheapest bed in Vegas - a 6-person shared hostel just past the Stratosphere. Let's just say you get what you pay for — it was not a happy place. A fair amount of the people in there were bordering on homelessness and there was barbed wire surrounding their outdoor gym. In addition to this, I had the constant stress of knowing that all that separated my bankroll from the rest of my roommates was a tiny lock. I took the Deuce to the strip, lived off food comps, and turned down invites from my friends to hang out. I was in town to play poker, nothing else.
Disclaimer: I had never played tournaments prior to heading out to Vegas. My only knowledge of hand ranges was from watching televised events. I downloaded a free Nash chart app on my phone while on the Deuce to the strip and studied it for 5 minutes – whatever, I get the jist of it. Let’s play some cards.
The first day of doing this I played the $140 daily at the Aria. Top 13 spots paid -- I finished in 15th. It was depressing to say the least — I felt as if I was at rock bottom. Before the first night of sleeping at the hostel I called the airline to see if I could get on the flight that I had deliberately missed the day prior. I couldn't.
I made it my goal to at least cash something so that I could get a decent hotel room.
I couldn’t have slept more than 2-3 hours the first night there. One of my roommates was loudly vomiting all night, the sheets itched, and I was going through an existential crisis... like dude, you’ve got a finance degree and you’re really doing this shit?
While on the bus to the strip, I opened Poker Atlas and saw that there was a $200 satellite to win a seat into the $1,600 Venetian main event. I decided that I was going to go take a shot at that.
I was at risk twice in the satellite but after studying the GTO method on how to win coinflips, I persevered and won a seat to the main.
The first day was surreal – once again, I was running on minimal sleep due to my housing arrangements, but I remember the following hands from day 1:

1. Button opens to 2.2x, I’m in the BB with Q9cc. SB folds, we go HU to a flop of 832c. He c-bets, I call. Turn 4x, x/x. River Ax. I check, he bets, I x/r to like 3x his bet, he insta folds. I take it down and show air.
2. UTG+1 opens, MP calls, I flat on the button with K10ss. 3 ways to a flop of Qs43xx. UTG+1 bets 40% pot, MP calls, I call. Turn is the Js. UTG+1 bets 60% pot, MP calls, I flat. River comes the 8s. UTG+1 snap bets 80%. MP flats, I flat. I announce king high flush, they both muck.
3. Folds to the SB, he limps, I look down at Q10o, and check. Flop comes KQ6r. He leads 35%, I call. Turn 10. He bets, I call. River comes a J. He bets, I tank for about 45 seconds then flick in a call, he shows 76o… ship it.

The average stack after day 1 was around 40k, I bagged like 65k. I walked back to the Deuce stop outside of the Venetian and headed on my 30 minute ride back home. I kept thinking to myself, someone’s gotta win this thing, why not me?
I had to get in the money for this tournament to be able to get the fuck out of there. A min cash here was over $3k – that was more than enough for me to get a suite on Fremont for a few nights and party for a bit, then get home with my head held high.
Day 2: I get up at 7am after already being completely awake for the past 4 hours. There’s no way I slept more than 3 hours last night. I hit the Denny’s by the Stratosphere then get on the Deuce.
I get to the Venetian and feel like I’m about to fall asleep. I go to the self-serve coffee/tea dispenser in the middle of the room and make myself an iced coffee. I get to my table, and the cocktail waitress comes around. I ask for another iced coffee and toss her a fiver.
Here are some highlights from the 1st half of day 2:

1. I open 97ss on the button, BB flats. Flop comes AK3s. BB checks, I bet 35%. He throws out a 5k chip – which I interpret as a x/r to my bet. I groan, make a joke about it being the first hand of the day, and start to muck. The dealer stops my cards midway before hitting the muck, and informs me that he didn’t raise, that he called my flop bet. Everyone laughs, I go silent and wait for him to make change. Turn is the 2s. He thinks for a second and bets 30%. I tank for like 30 seconds, then flat. River is a blank. He thinks for a second, then checks. I bet like 30% pot. He tells me that I’m an angle shooter and mucks. I tell him I’m not an angle shooter and show my 9 high. Everyone laughs, we get on with playing.
   
2. CO opens, I 3b 87dd in the SB to 4x, he flats. Flop comes 1032d. I check, he checks. Turn is the 6d. I bet 55% pot, he flats. River comes the Kd. I bet 60%, he tanks, tells me he thinks I backdoored diamonds, then folds. Damn, these players are pretty good.
   
3. I open KK UTG to 2.5x, UTG +1 flats. Heads up to a flop of K43r. x/x. Turn 8, I bet 40% pot, he calls. River 3, I bet 80% pot, he tanks, then calls with AK.
   

I bring my 3 racks of chips to the new table and immediately get some comments – whatever, I’m just on a heater, it happens. At this point, my body was giving out. I was trying my hardest not to fall asleep in between every hand.
Cutoff opens, I’m in the SB, I look down at KK. I put in the 3b, folds back to him. He puts in a healthy 4. We’re the two big stacks at the table – I’d guess he was 50bb effective while I was around 65bb. God damn, am I good enough to fold kings here? No, I’m not. I shove, he snaps, I know that I’ve just fucked up my tournament. He shows the aces. The dealer puts a king in the window, and I hold. I’m for sure the chip leader now.
I lose a few 40/60 and 60/40 flips and chip down a bit. I still have a very healthy stack, probably around 80bb.
The next 3 hands are from the second half of day 2:

1. Aggro Asian guy on the button. Folds to him, he opens to 2.2x, SB folds, I look down at 43ss and raise to 7.5x, he flats.

Flop comes 894cc. I check, he bets, I call. Turn’s another 9. I check, he bets 75% pot, I call. River’s the 10c. I check, he bets 1.2x pot. I ask the dealer for a count of the bet – meanwhile, villain looks like he’s going to shit himself. I flick in a chip, he throws down KcQx. I laugh a little, show my 43ss, and obnoxiously say ship it.

1. I open KQo UTG+1, MP 3bets me. I figure that a 4b from UTG+1 could take it down a fair amount of the time, so I decide to go for it. He thinks for a second and flats.

Flop comes AK4r. I check, he checks back. Turn is a 6, goes x/x again. River’s another brick. I put in a 30% value bet. He does a little grimace and tanks for like 20 seconds. It looks like he’s going to fold so I start verbally telling him that his queens are good. The dealer informs me that you’re not allowed to talk about your hand to another player. I inform him that I’m not talking about my hand, I’m talking about villains’ hand. Dealer laughs and lets me continue to antagonize villain. MP starts talking back, asking if I’m really bluffing. I inform him that once he folds, I’ll show the bluff. He ends up calling, I snap show, he pays me then gets up from the table to go for a walk.

1. We’re playing 6 handed. UTG opens, MP flats, I flat TT on the button. 3 ways to a flop of AT9ccc. UTG bets 50% pot, MP folds, I put in a medium sized raise. He thinks about it and flats.

The turn is the Kd. He pauses for a second then checks. I figured AxKc was his most likely combo. I didn’t think he could fold AxKc to any sizing – I decide to overbet jam 2x pot. He tanks for like 5 min and eventually lets it go. He tells me later he folded AxKc. Nice fold sir.
I finished day two 2nd in chips out of the 64 players remaining. More importantly, I was in the money. My friend Matt offered to give me a ride to the hostel to grab my stuff.
On the way to the hostel I’m telling Matt how trash the place is and he’s kind of like yeah man, whatever, it can’t be that bad. We gather my belongings and head on out. Matt remarked to me that the hostel reminded him of jail mixed with a summer camp.
I open a same night hotel app and see a room at the Four Queens available for $110. The lady at check in was nice enough – however, she informed me that the only room they had available at my price point was a smoking room overlooking the Fremont St. experience. I paid the $20 to upgrade to a non-smoking in the quiet part of the hotel. Vegas man, I swear.
It’s like 2am at this point -- I get to my room, sit on the bed and close my eyes. I open them and it’s 11:00am. Ah fuck man, I gotta get to the Venetian. I hop in the shower, brush my teeth, and freshen up. Even if I don’t have clean clothes, whatever, I’m second in the main, who cares.
Some interesting hands from the first part of Day 3:

1. I had two inexcusable punts in this tournament. This is the first one: I open 5h5c from LP, BB calls. Flop comes J62hhh. x/x. Turn is a 4x. x, I bet 50% pot, BB jams 15bb. I called – and immediately realized I fucked up, big time. He had 2 big chips in his stack that I didn’t see, making his shove effectively like 25bb. In addition, I didn’t have the 5h, I had the 5d. I really didn’t ask for a count or double check my hole cards. Villain turns over 64o and holds. In my defense, I literally didn’t know what ICM meant at the time. Whoops.
   
2. Someone who I recognize from poker TV jams 22bb UTG. I’m in the CO with JJ, I ask him how much it is, he’s talkative and seems genuinely comfortable/down for me to call. I fold – I run into him a few days later at the Aria, he tells me he had AA there. I believe him.
   
3. CO opens, button instantly jams 30bb effective. I’m in the SB with TT and 25bb – live reads, we’re flipping. I call for all in my effective stack, CO folds, button has AQ. I hold. He’s not happy I called with tens. Oh well, sorry bro, gg.
   
4. MP opens, CO 3 bets to 7bb, button jams 20bb. I look down at 2 black aces in the big blind. I reshove, MP folds, CO calls off his 20bb stack. I’m up against AQ and QQ. I hold.
   

Even with my atrocious punt earlier in the day, I’m the chip leader again.
We’re down to about 15 left in the field. UTG opens, I 3b AKo on the button, he jams 20bb, I call. He has 99, a king comes on the flop and he’s gone.
It’s day 3 of the main and we’re playing 5 handed with 12 people left. Let’s fucking go.

1. Button opens to 2.5x, I’m in the BB with A8dd, I flat. Flop comes A104r, I check, he bets, I call. Turn is a 7, x/x. River A, I bet 1.2x pot. He tanks, calls, I show, I’m good.
   
2. CO opens to 2.5x, I’m in the BB with 108dd, I flat. Flop comes Kd4x2d, it goes x/x. Turn is a Kx, I check, he bets 60% pot, I flat. River is the 4d. I check, he bets pot. I tank and let it go. He tells me later he checked back a weak king on the flop.
   
3. SB completes, I’m in the BB with J9o and I check my option. Flop comes Q108r. The SB donks out into me for 60% pot. I flat. Turn comes a brick and he leads into me for 60% again. I raise to 3.5x his turn bet, he thinks for a while then flats. River is another brick. He bets 80% pot into me. I tank for a while, then shove. He starts laughing and folds QQ face up.
   

Less than a week ago I was grinding buffet comps at Planet Hollywood. Now I have guys correctly folding top set to me.
I’ve made it to the final table. I pick up a few small pots and the two shortstacks at the table get eliminated in quick succession.
This is without a doubt the most pointless and just plain out stupid punt of my entire life: I open J2dd on the button into a ~18bb SB and a GTO robot with mid 7 figures in career earnings in the BB. Don’t do this, this is quite literally lighting money on fire. SB folds, BB flats. Flop comes Kh8h3d. I cbet, BB calls. Turn is the Kd, goes x/x.
River comes a 7h, he leads into me for half pot. Whatever, I’m going for it – I put in a raise. He thinks for all of 5 seconds then calls me with KQh. Wow, I just punted away $50,000 in ICM. Jesus Christ dude, what the fuck.
For the next orbit or two, I’m clearly pissed at myself. I get up after my button and do a lap around the poker room – I’m good. The monkey tilt is gone, and I’m ready to get back to playing normal ranges.
Anyway, nothing else really happens for a while – I look down at AKo UTG and raise it up. Folds around to the BB, he thinks for a while, then jams for about 20bb. I snap, he has AQo. I hold. I’m now second in chips. We go on a 10-minute break.
When I get back to the table, the prospect of a 5-way chop comes up. We’re all tired – and the pay jumps are very significant. If you couldn’t tell from this story, I’m a degenerate, but in this spot, I’m willing to reduce variance a bit. We run the numbers and come to an agreement – we all agree to take a very slight ICM bump to give 1st place a bit more money than his stack is worth.
I just won $129,000 -- huh? This was my second tournament cash – not too bad considering that it was my third tournament ever. Maybe I should start learning how to play MTT’s now.
I take $124,000 in a check and $5,000 in cash. I’m leaving Vegas in 4 days and don’t plan on coming home with any of the cash.
The winner of the tournament’s a pretty cool guy and he asks if I want to crash in his guest room tonight… like yeah, if that’s a real offer, I’m down. I pick up my toiletry bag from the Venetian concierge and we hit the Uber.
The next morning Matt picks me up at his house – I hit the Chase bank and deposit the $124,000. I take Matt and my other friend, Spencer out to the Sterling Brunch over at Bally’s – the entire time, Spencer just kept repeating “Davis, what the fuck”. I don’t know dude, seriously, what the fuck.
I get a suite at the D downtown that night and (very) long story short I end up hitting $100 on a number at roulette at 5am. It’s time for bed.
Here’s a link to my Hendon Mob, verifying my tournament result. Hopefully I see some of you guys at the WSOP in 2021.
https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=783521
Davis

1. Liberty Bell

Invented and designed by a San Francisco mechanic named Charles Fey in 1895, the Liberty Bell is the first slot machine. The main symbols here include horseshoes, stars, spades, diamonds, hearts, and Liberty Bells. Once three bells are aligned, the machine pays 50 cents.
Having a coin slot at the top, it features small reels in the middle and a paytable at the bottom. It works like this - players insert a Nickel and pull a lever on the right-hand side to spin the reels. Although the Operator Bell and Liberty Bell have been removed from casinos, the original Liberty Bell on display can be seen in the Liberty Belle saloon in Reno, Nevada.

2. Lion's Share

One of the most famous slot machines, Microgaming’s classic slot Lion's Share, gained a lot of success back in 2014, due to news channels that discussed the topic on how Lion's Share's progressive jackpot hasn’t been hit for two decades. Thousands of people have tried but no one was lucky enough to pull it off.
Although the machine only featured 3 reels and only 1 payline, Lion’s Share has managed to become one of the most popular releases in Vegas, so popular that people waited in line just to put a coin into it and try spinning those reels.
Eventually, a New Hampshire couple hit the $2.4 million progressive jackpot in MGM’s Grand’s Lion’s Share. Soon after, MGM Grand made a decision to retire the Lion's Share machine since it required a lot of maintenance. Still, the game became part of slot history with a jackpot that took 20 years to win.

3. Megabucks

Created by IGT, Megabucks has managed to become one of the world's best progressive slot machines. The game is also responsible for numerous big wins throughout the entire jackpots’ history. Also known as the biggest money jackpots of all time, Megabucks slot machines are described as simple games with a massive progressive jackpot. One of the biggest wins was when an anonymous engineer won a staggering $39.7 million at Las Vegas' Excalibur, back in 2003.
As for the other big wins hit on this machine, there was a cocktail waitress Cynthia Jay Brennan who snagged an incredible $34.9 million at Vegas' Desert Inn, as well as a retired flight attendant hitting $27.5 million at Vegas' Palace Statio­n. J­ohanna Huendl won $22.6 million whereas an Illinois businessman hit $21.3 million on the very first spin.
However, after winning the prize, one of the winner's family members had a tragic accident, which (as some believe) only supported the theory of a Megabucks curse. Other unfortunate stories are just believed to be urban legends, including anecdotes about underage players, as well as casino employees, being big winners but not being able to claim their jackpots because of specific state laws and regulation.

4. Wheel of Fortune

IGT’s Wheel of Fortune has proven to be the second most famous slot machine of all time. Featuring a bonus feature just like the real show, the slot machine is usually played by many slot fans and can be found in numerous casinos all over the globe. Although the game comes in more variations, probably the most popular one is still its 3-reel version, with a colourful wheel at the top.
The Wheel of Fortune multiplayer game features a bank of machines where every player gets their own screen. What makes the game even more exciting is the multiplayer edition where people can play the bonus round together, which really intensifies the game show aspect.
In a 5-reel Wheel of Fortune slot, however, Wild symbols will help players land winning combos and, if you’re lucky enough, you may get a Super Wild that will boost your win up to 5x! Last but not least, the Triple Action Bonus is activated by getting at least 3 Triple Action Bonus symbols anywhere on the reels. But still, none of the newer Wheel of Fortune slots measure up to the original one because of the large progressive jackpot involved.
​

5. Mega Fortune

Featuring 5 reels and 25 paylines, NetEnt’s Mega Fortune slot became very popular among players as it usually grows into a multimillion-euro amount before being hit. The main symbols here include luxury cars, yachts, and expensive jewellery, Mega Fortune is an online slot machine game which justifies its theme that comes with the largest ever online slot jackpots.
The game offers a few different features that make the entire gameplay more fascinating, however, by far the most interesting ones are the 3 different progressive jackpots: Mega Jackpot, Major Jackpot and Rapid Jackpot. There are counters for all 3 of these that are displayed above the reels. Champagne is the Scatter and if you land at least 3 of them simultaneously, you will trigger Free Spins bonus round. Likewise, Wheel of Luck is the Bonus symbol, and if you land 3 or more symbols in succession from left to right on an active payline, you will activate the Bonus game.
What’s interesting about this slot is the fact that a Finnish man won a huge jackpot worth €17.8 million while spinning the reels of Mega Fortune. This record from 2013, has been passed by Mega Moolah, but the game is still proof how rich players can get after playing Mega Fortune.
​

6. Mega Moolah

Powered by Microgaming and being among most popular slot games, Mega Moolah is a 25-payline progressive slot which has served as a competitor to Mega Fortune's big jackpots. Followed by African safari music, the game features antelopes, elephants, giraffes, lions, monkeys and zebras as the main symbols.
Landing at least 3 Scatters at the same time will trigger 15 Free Spins. What’s more, all wins hit during Free Spins are tripled, whereas Free Spins can also be retriggered. Players can win one of the 4 Progressive Jackpots within the randomly triggered Bonus round.
The game paid some of the largest slot machine jackpots that have ever been triggered. In 2015,for example, Mega Moolah gained international recognition when a British soldier Jon Heywood won a massive €17,879,645.
​

7. Cleopatra

Inspired by the famous Egyptian theme and Developed by IGT, Cleopatra is a 20-payline classic game that managed to stand out above similar releases. Featuring ancient Egyptian music, the main symbols here include Cleopatra, the Eye of Horus, scarabs, and pyramids. Landing at least 3 Sphinx symbols will trigger the Cleopatra Bonus, which awards 15 Free Spins. All prizes, except for the 5 Cleopatra symbols, are tripled in the Free Spins round.
The game has been so successful that it inspired its creators to make a sequel, Cleopatra II, with richer graphics and engaging sound effects. But even if you choose the original game, you'll be playing a classic that's still enjoyed by various players today. And, in case you land 5 Cleopatra symbols you’ll get a jackpot of 10,000 coins.

8. Book of Ra

Having a popular Ancient-Egypt theme, Book of Ra has always been one of the best choices to play in land based and online casinos. Powered by Novomatic, Book of Ra is a 9 payline video slot that offers plenty of bonus features and big payouts. With entertaining narrative and energising gameplay, there are numerous ways to win here.
In case you land 5 archaeologists simultaneously, you’ll get an impressive 5,000x your line bet. Earning big bucks, however, comes from the Free Spins feature. What players need to do is land at least 3 Scatter books to trigger the Free Spins feature. Pages of the book will flip and randomly determine which symbol will expand during the 10 Free Spins.
Although hitting the jackpot may not be easy, with only a few one in between, when big wins come, they can be big.

9. Starburst

There’s no denying NetEnt’s Starburst slot became kinda legendary in the iGaming universe. With its dark background and shiny space looking gemstones, Starburst slot features 5 reels and 10 paylines. The well-known futuristic music in this release is also easily noticeable, as is the game’s expanding Wild.
More precisely, the Wilds may only occur on the reels 2, 3 and 4, and, once 1 or more wilds appear on those reels, the Starburst Wild feature will be activated. During this feature, Starburst wilds expand to cover the entire reel and remain while the other reels re-spin. Should a new wild land during a re-spin, it expands and stays along with any previously expanded Starbursts for another re-spin.
Another cool feature is that Starburst pays both ways, instead of only paying you for landing at least 3 identical symbols on adjacent reels starting with the reel furthest to the left. The maximum single spin payout for a person (betting the $200 maximum) is $100,000. But, in order for that to happen, you must land five bars on consecutive reels on an active payline. Players love this slot, probably because it’s suitable for both newbies and experienced players.

10. Immortal Romance

Powered by Microgaming, Immortal Romance is based on sci-fi and the cult of Vampires which has become one of the popular casino slot machines in the last couple of years. Apart from superb graphics and great audio and visual effects, the slot features 5 reels and 243 paylines, and the theoretical RTP rate of 96.86%. The four main characters are Amber, Troy, Michael and Sarah.
When it comes to features and bonus games, Immortal Romance offers different variants. Wild Desire feature can occur randomly, and as soon as it does, it can turn 1 to 5 reels completely Wild. Likewise, landing 3 or more Scatters anywhere on the reels in this game, activates the Chamber of Spins feature which cannot be triggered during Wild Desire.
The game is still among the most popular slots, as many players still try their luck in this slot in the hope to get the highest multiplier possible.

11. Gonzo’s Quest

Beautifully designed video slot powered by NetEnt, Gonzo Quest features 5 reels and 20 paylines. The story is based on the famous conquistador Gonzalo Pizzaro who is on his way to the Peruvian ruins and just about to experience the unique quest.
Now, Gonzo’s Quest has become one of the most popular slot games of all time, probably because it comes with a few interesting features, Avalanche Multipliers feature being the most interesting one of all. In Essence, the reels in the slot move in a cascading manner which resemble an Avalanche. As you activate each new Avalanche, you will win a multiplier. Multipliers are displayed above the reels, and go up to 5x, that is if you land 4 or more avalanches simultaneously.

12. Age of the Gods

Being among famous slot machines and inspired by Ancient Greek mythology, Age of the Gods is a 5-reel, 20-payline progressive slot powered by Playtech. The main characters are Athena, Zeus, Hercules, and Poseidon power up 4 free game modes that offer extra wilds and win multipliers! Once you start spinning, you’ll come across a series of bonus features, such as Athena Free Games, Zeus Free Games, Poseidon Free Games and Hercules Free Games.
Wild logo is the game’s wild card and it substitutes for all symbols, with the exception of the Scatter. Landing at least 3 Scatters anywhere on the reels simultaneously triggers the Bonus game. Moreover, landing 5 God symbols in any order on an active payline will get you 200x your line bet!
During the main game, any spin can activate the Age of the Gods Mystery Jackpot. This mini game guarantees a win of up to 4 progressive jackpots. All you gotta do is click on the coins to reveal jackpot symbols, and if you match 3 identical ones, you will win that jackpot.

13. Money Honey

Having a cute theme, Money Honey is a 5-reel and a 243 payline slot themed around honey. With Wilds, Free Spins, Scatters and multipliers, it is a fast-paced exciting creation featuring vibrant colours. Likewise, it is a mobile-optimized slot which may be an excellent choice if you’re new to online gambling or if you’ve been playing for years.
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The 11-story slot machine is decorated with over-sized dice, a glass of martini, a pink flamingo, video reels, coins, and two showgirls - Jennifer and Porsha. SlotZilla offers two different rider experiences - the upper Zoomline and a lower Zipline. This unique machine has a huge video screen with reels and a gigantic arm, replicating a true slot machine experience.

The Resurrection of the Flesh [Tr by Roses]

These first two tales published in Secret Weavers: Stories of the Fantastic by Women Writers of Argentina and Chile, edited by Marjorie Agosin (White Pine Press, 1992):

She was thirty-two, her name was Aurelia, and she had been married eleven years. One Saturday afternoon, she looked through the kitchen window at the garden and saw the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. Men of the world, those four horsemen of the Apocalypse. And good-looking. The first from the left was riding a sorrel horse with a dark mane. He was wearing white breeches, black boots, a crimson jacket, and a yellow fez with black pompoms. The second one had a sleeveless tunic overlaid with gold and violet and was barefoot. He was riding on the back of a plump dolphin. The third one had a respectable, black beard, trimmed at right angles. He had donned a gray Prince of Wales suit, white shirt, blue tie and carried a black leather portfolio. He was seated on a folding chair belted to the back of white-haired dromedary. The fourth one made Aurelia smile and realize that they were smiling at her. He was riding a black and gold Harley-Davidson 1200 and was wearing a white helmet and dark goggles and had long, straight, blond hair flying in the wind behind him. The four were riding in the garden without moving from the spot. They rode and smiled at her and she watched them through the kitchen window.
In that manner, she finished washing the two teacups, took off her apron, arranged her hair and went to the living room.
"I saw the four horsemen of the Apocalypse in the garden," she told her husband.
"I'll bet," he said without raising his eyes from his paper.
"What are you reading?" Aurelia asked.
"Hmmm?"
"I said they were given a crown and a sword and a balance and power."
"Oh, right," said her husband.
And after that a week went by as all weeks do--very slowly at first and very quickly toward the end--and on Sunday morning, while she made the coffee, she again saw the four horsemen of the Apocalypse in the garden, but when she went back to the bedroom she didn't say anything to her husband.
The third time she saw them, one Wednesday, alone, in the afternoon, she stood looking at them for a half hour and finally, since she had always wanted to fly in a yellow and red dirigible; and since she had dreamed about being an opera singer, an emperor's lover, a co-pilot to Icarus; since she would have liked to scale black cliffs, laugh at cannibals, traverse the jungles on elephants with purple trappings, seize with her hands the diamonds that lay hidden in mines, preside in the nude over a parade of nocturnal monsters, live under water, domesticate spiders, torture the powerful of the earth, rob trains in the tunnels of the Alps, set palaces on fire, lie in the dark with beggars, climb on the bridges of all the ships in the world; finally--since it was sadly sterile to be a rational and healthy adult--finally, that Wednesday afternoon alone, she put on the long dress she had worn at the last New Year's party given by the company where her husband was assistant sales manager and went out to the garden. The four horsemen of the Apocalypse called her, the blond one on the Harley-Davidson gave her his hand and helped her up onto the seat behind him, and there they went, all five, raging into the storm and singing.
Two days later her husband gave in to family pressure and reported the disappearance of his wife.
"Moral: madness is a flower aflame," said the narrator. Or in other words, it's impossible to inflame the dead, cold, viscous, useless, and sinful ashes of common sense.

The Perfect Married Woman

If you meet her on the street, cross quickly to the other side and quicken your pace. She’s a dangerous lady. She’s about forty or forty-five, has one married daughter and a son working in San Nicolas; her husband’s a sheet-metal worker. She rises very early, sweeps the sidewalk, sees her husband off, cleans, does the wash, shops, cooks. After lunch she watches television, sews or knits, irons twice a week, and at night goes to bed late. On Saturdays she does a general cleaning and washes windows and waxes the floors. On Sunday mornings she washes the clothes her son brings home—his name is Nestor Eduardo—she kneads dough for noodles or ravioli, and in the afternoon either her sister-inlaw comes to visit or she goes to her daughter’s house. It’s been a long time since she’s been to the movies, but she reads TV Guide and the police report in the newspaper. Her eyes are dark and her hands are rough and her hair is starting to go gray. She catches cold frequently and keeps a photo album in a dresser drawer along with a black crepe dress with lace collar and cuffs.
Her mother never hit her. But when she was six, she got a spanking for coloring on a door, and she had to wash it off with a wet rag. While she was doing it, she thought about doors, all doors, and decided that they were very dumb because they always led to the same places. And the one she was cleaning was definitely the dumbest of all, the one that led to her parents’ bedroom. She opened the door and then it didn’t go to her parents’ bedroom but to the Gobi desert. She wasn’t surprised that she knew it was the Gobi desert even though they hadn’t even taught her in school where Mongolia was and neither she nor her mother nor her grandmother had ever heard of Nan Shan or Khangai Nuru.
She stepped through the door, bent over to scratch the yellowish grit and saw that there was no one, nothing, and the hot wind tousled her hair, so she went back through the open door, closed it and kept on cleaning. And when she finished, her mother grumbled a little more and told her to wash the rag and take the broom to sweep up that sand and clean her shoes. That day she modified her hasty judgment about doors, though not completely, at least not until she understood what was going on.
What had been going on all her life and up until today was that from time to time doors behaved satisfactorily, though in general they were still acting dumb and leading to dining rooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, bedrooms and offices even in the best of circumstances. But two months after the desert, for example, the door that every day led to the bath opened onto the workshop of a bearded man dressed in a long uniform, pointed shoes, and a cap that tilted on one side of his head. The old man’s back was turned as he took something out of a highboy with many small drawers behind a very strange, large wooden machine with a giant steering wheel and screw, in the midst of cold air and an acrid smell. When he turned around and saw her he began to shout at her in a language she didn’t understand.
She stuck out her tongue, dashed out the door, closed it, opened it again, went into the bathroom and washed her hands for lunch.
Again, after lunch, many years later, she opened the door of her room and walked into a battlefield. She dipped her hands in the blood of the wounded and dead and pulled from the neck of a cadaver a crucifix that she wore for a long time under high-necked blouses or dresses without plunging necklines. She now keeps it in a tin box underneath the nightgowns with a brooch, a pair of earrings and a broken wristwatch that used to belong to her mother-in-law. In the same way, involuntarily and by chance, she visited three monasteries, seven libraries, and the highest mountains in the world, and who knows how many theaters, cathedrals, jungles, refrigeration plants, dens of vice, universities, brothels, forests, stores, submarines, hotels, trenches, islands, factories, palaces, hovels, towers and hell.
She’s lost count and doesn’t care; any door could lead anywhere and that has the same value as the thickness of the ravioli dough, her mother’s death, and the life crises that she sees on TV and reads about in TV Guide.
Not long ago she took her daughter to the doctor, and seeing the closed door of a bathroom in the clinic, she smiled. She wasn’t sure because she can never be sure, but she got up and went to the bathroom. However, it was a bathroom; at least there was a nude man in a bathtub full of water. It was all very large, with a high ceiling, marble floor and decorations hanging from the closed windows. The man seemed to be asleep in his white bathtub, short but deep, and she saw a razor on a wrought iron table with feet decorated with iron flowers and leaves and ending in lion’s paws, a razor, a mirror, a curling iron, towels, a box of talcum powder and an earthen bowl with water. She approached on tiptoe, retrieved the razor, tiptoed over to the sleeping man in the tub and beheaded him. She threw the razor on the floor and rinsed her hands in the lukewarm bathtub water. She turned around when she reached the clinic corridor and spied a girl going into the bathroom through the other door. Her daughter looked at her.
“That was quick.”
“The toilet was broken,” she answered.
A few days afterward, she beheaded another man in a blue tent at night. That man and a woman were sleeping mostly uncovered by the blankets of a low, king-size bed, and the wind beat around the tent and slanted the flames of the oil lamps. Beyond it there would be another camp, soldiers, animals, sweat, manure, orders and weapons. But inside there was a sword by the leather and metal uniforms, and with it she cut off the head of the bearded man. The woman stirred and opened her eyes as she went out the door on her way back to the patio that she had been mopping.
On Monday and Thursday afternoons, when she irons shirt collars, she thinks of the slit necks and the blood, and she waits. If it’s summer she goes out to sweep a little after putting away the clothing and until her husband arrives. If it’s windy she sits in the kitchen and knits. But she doesn’t always find sleeping men or staring cadavers. One rainy morning, when she was twenty, she was at a prison, and she made fun of the chained prisoners; one night when the kids were kids and were all living at home, she saw in a square a disheveled woman looking at a gun but not daring to take it out of her open purse. She walked up to her, put the gun in the woman’s hand and stayed there until a car parked at the corner, until the woman saw a man in gray get out and look for his keys in his pocket, until the woman aimed and fired. And another night while she was doing her sixth grade geography homework, she went to look for crayons in her room and stood next to a man who was crying on a balcony. The balcony was so high, so far above the street, that she had an urge to push him to hear the thud down below, but she remembered the orographic map of South America and was about to leave. Anyhow, since the man hadn’t seen her, she did push him and saw him disappear and ran to color in the map so she didn’t hear the thud, only the scream. And in an empty theater, she made a fire underneath the velvet curtain; in a riot she opened the cover to a basement hatchway; in a house, sitting on top of a desk, she shredded a two-thousand-page manuscript; in a clearing of a forest she buried the weapons of the sleeping men; in a river she opened the floodgates of a dike.
Her daughter’s name is Laura Inés, her son has a fiancée in San Nicolás and he’s promised to bring her over on Sunday so she and her husband can meet her. She has to remind herself to ask her sister-in-law for the recipe for orange cake, and Friday on TV is the first episode of a new soap opera. Again, she runs the iron over the front of the shirt and remembers the other side of the doors that are always carefully closed in her house, that other side where the things that happen are much less abominable than the ones we experience on this side, as you can easily understand.

The Unmistakable Smell of Wood Violets [Tr by Womack]

Translated for the first time in Ann and Jeff Vandermeer's Big Book of Science Fiction (Vintage, 2016):

The news spread fast. It would be correct to say that the news moved like a flaming trail of gunpowder, if it weren't for the fact that at this point in our civilization gunpowder was archaeology, ashes in time, the stuff of legend, nothingness. However, it was because of the magic of our new civilization that the news was known all over the world, practically instantaneously.
"Oooh!" the tsarina said.
You have to take into account that Her Gracious and Most Illustrious Virgin Majesty Ekaterina V, Empress of Holy Russia, had been carefully educated in the proper decorum befitting the throne, which meant that she would never have even raised an eyebrow or curved the corner of her lip, far less would she have made an interjection of that rude and vulgar kind. But not only did she say "Oooh!," she also got up and walked through the room until she reached the glass doors of the great balcony. She stopped there. Down below, covered by snow, Saint Leninburg was indifferent and unchanged, the city's eyes squinting under the weight of winter. At the palace, ministers and advisers were excited, on edge.
"And where is this place?" the tsarina asked.
And that is what happened in Russia, which is such a distant and atypical country. In the central states of the continent, there was real commotion. In Bolivia, in Paraguay, in Madagascar, in all the great powers, and in the countries that aspired to be great powers, such as High Peru, Iceland, or Morocco, hasty conversations took place at the highest possible level with knitted brows and hired experts. The strongest currencies became unstable: the guarani rose, the Bolivian peso went down half a point, the crown was discreetly removed from the exchange rates for two long hours, long queues formed in front of the exchanges in front of all the great capitals of the world. President Morillo spoke from the Oruro Palace and used the opportunity to make a concealed warning (some would call it a threat) to the two Peruvian republics and the Minas Gerais secessionist area. Morillo had handed over the presidency of Minas to his nephew, Pepe Morillo, who had proved to be a wet blanket whom everybody could manipulate, and now Morillo bitterly regretted his decision. Morocco and Iceland did little more than give their diplomats a gentle nudge in the ribs, anything to shake them into action, as they imagined them all to be sipping grenadine and mango juice in the deep south while servants in shiny black uniforms stood over them with fans.
The picturesque note came from the Independent States of North America. It could not have been otherwise. Nobody knew that all the states were now once again under the control of a single president, but that's how it was: some guy called Jack Jackson-Franklin, who had been a bit-part actor in videos, and who, aged eighty-seven, had discovered his extremely patriotic vocation of statesman. Aided by his singular and inexplicable charisma, and by his suspect family tree, according to which he was the descendent of two presidents who had ruled over the states during their glory days, he had managed to unify, at least for now, the seventy-nine northern states. Anyway, Mr. Jackson-Franklin said to the world that the Independent States would not permit such a thing to take place. No more, just that they would not permit such a thing to take place. The world laughed uproariously at this.
Over there, in the Saint Leninburg palace, ministers cleared their throats, advisers swallowed saliva, trying to find out if, by bobbing their Adam's apples up and down enough, they might be able to loosen their stiff official shirts.
"Ahem. Ahem. It's in the south. A long way to the south. In the west, Your Majesty."
"It is. Humph. Ahem. It is, Your Majesty, a tiny country in a tiny territory."
"It says that it is in Argentina," the tsarina said, still staring through the window but without paying any attention to the night as it fell over the snow-covered roofs and the frozen shores of the Baltic.
"Ah, yes, that's right, that's right, Your Majesty, a pocket republic."
Sergei Vasilievich Kustkarov, some kind of councilor and, what is more, an educated and sensible man, broke into the conversation.
"Several, Your Majesty, it is several."
And at last the tsarina turned around. Who cared a fig for the Baltic night, the snow-covered rooftops, the roofs themselves, and the city of which they were a part? Heavy silk crackled, starched petticoats, lace.
"Several of what, Councilor Kustkarov, several of what? Don't come to me with your ambiguities."
"I must say, Your Majesty, I had not the slightest intention--"
"Several of what?"
The tsarina looked directly at him, her lips held tightly together, her hands moving unceasingly, and Kustkarov panicked, as well he might.
"Rep-rep-republics, Your Majesty," he blurted out. "Several of them. Apparently, a long time ago, a very long time, it used to be a single territory, and now it is several, several republics, but their inhabitants, the people who live in all of them, all of the republics, are called, they call themselves, the people, that is, Argentinians."
The tsarina turned her gaze away. Kustkarov felt so relieved that he was encouraged to carry on speaking:
"There are seven of them, Your Majesty: Rosario, Entre dos Rios, Ladocta, Ona, Riachuelo, Yujujuy, and Labodegga."
The tsarina sat down.
"We must do something," she said.
Silence. Outside it was not snowing, but inside it appeared to be. The tsarina looked at the transport minister.
"This enters into your portfolio," she said.
Kustkarov sat down, magnificently. How lucky he was to be a councilor, a councilor with no specific duties. The transport minister, on the other hand, turned pale.
"I think, Your Majesty...," he dared to say.
"Don't think! Do something!"
"Yes, Your Majesty," the minister said, and, bowing, started to make his way to the door.
"Where do you think you're going?" the tsarina said, without moving her mouth or twitching an eyelid.
"I'm just, I'm going, I'm just going to see what can be done, Your Majesty."
There's nothing that can be done, Sergei Vasilievich thought in delight, nothing. He realized that he was not upset, but instead he felt happy. And on top of everything else a woman, he thought. Kustkarov was married to Irina Waldoska-Urtiansk, a real beauty, perhaps the most beautiful woman in all of Holy Russia. Perhaps he was being cuckolded; it would have been all too easy for him to find that out, but he did not want to. His thoughts turned in a circle: and on top of everything else a woman. He looked at the tsarina and was struck, not for the first time, by her beauty. She was not so beautiful as Irina, but she was magnificent.
In Rosario it was not snowing, not because it was summer, although it was, but because it never snowed in Rosario. And there weren't any palm trees: the Moroccans would have been extremely disappointed had they known, but their diplomats said nothing about the Rosario flora in their reports, partly because the flora of Rosario was now practically nonexistent, and partly because diplomats are supposed to be above that kind of thing.
Everyone who was not a diplomat, that is to say, everyone, the population of the entire republic that in the last ten years had multiplied vertiginously and had now reached almost two hundred thousand souls, was euphoric, happy, triumphant. They surrounded her house, watched over her as she slept, left expensive imported fruits outside her door, followed her down the street. Some potentate allowed her the use of a Ford 99, which was one of the five cars in the whole country, and a madman who lived in the Espinillos cemetery hauled water all the way up from the Pará lagoon and grew a flower for her which he then gave her.
"How nice," she said, then went on, dreamily, "Will there be flowers where I'm going?"
They assured her that there would be.
She trained every day. As they did not know exactly what it was she had to do to train herself, she got up at dawn, ran around the Independence crater, skipped, did some gymnastic exercises, ate little, learned how to hold her breath, and spent hours and hours sitting or curled into strange positions. She also danced the waltz. She was almost positive that the waltz was not likely to come in handy, but she enjoyed it very much.
Meanwhile, farther away, the trail of gunpowder had become a barrel of dynamite, although dynamite was also a legendary substance and didn't exist. The infoscreens in every country, whether poor or rich, central or peripheral, developed or not, blazed forth with extremely large headlines suggesting dates, inventing biographical details, trying to hide, without much success, their envy and confusion. No one was fooled:
"We have been wretchedly beaten," the citizens of Bolivia said.
"Who would have thought it," pondered the man on the Reykjavík omnibus.
The former transport minister of Holy Russia was off breaking stones in Siberia. Councilor Sergei Vasilievich Kustkarov was sleeping with the tsarina, but that was only a piece of low, yet spicy, gossip that has nothing to do with this story.
"We will not allow this to happen!" Mr. Jackson-Franklin blustered, tugging nervously at his hairpiece. "It is our own glorious history that has set aside for us this brilliant destiny! It is we, we and not this despicable banana republic, who are marked for this glory!"
Mr. Jackson-Franklin also did not know that there were no palm trees or bananas in Rosario, but this was due not to a lack of reports from his diplomats but rather a lack of diplomats. Diplomats are a luxury that a poor country cannot afford, and so poor countries often go to great pains to take offense and recall all the knights commanders and lawyers and doctors and even eventually the generals working overseas, in order to save money on rent and electricity and gas and salaries, not to mention the cost of the banquets and all the money in brown paper envelopes.
But the headlines kept on appearing on the infoscreens: "Argentinian Astronaut Claims She Will Reach Edge of Universe," "Sources Claim Ship Is Spaceworthy in Spite of or Because of Centuries-Long Interment," "Science or Catastrophe?," "Astronaut Not a Woman but a Transsexual" (this in the Imperialskaya Gazeta, the most puritan of the infoscreens, even more so than the Papal Piccolo Osservatore Lombardo), "Ship Launches," "First Intergalactic Journey in Centuries," "We Will Not Allow This to Happen!" (Portland Times).
She was dancing the waltz. She woke up with her heart thumping, tried out various practical hairstyles, ran, skipped, drank only filtered water, ate only olives, avoided spies and journalists, went to see the ship every day, just to touch it. The mechanics all adored her.
"It'll work, they'll see, it'll work," the chief engineer said defiantly.
Nobody contradicted him. No one dared say that it wouldn't.
It would make it, of course it would make it. Not without going through many incredible adventures on its lengthy journey. Lengthy? No one knew who Langevin was anymore, so no one was shocked to discover that his theory contradicted itself, ended up biting its own tail, and that however long the journey took, the observers would only perceive it as having lasted minutes. Someone called Cervantes, a very famous personage back in the early years of human civilization--it was still debated whether he had been a physicist, a poet, or a musician--had suggested a similar theory in one of his lost works.
One autumn dawn the ship took off from the Independence crater, the most deserted part of the whole desert republic of Rosario, at five forty-five in the morning. The exact time is recorded because the inhabitants of the country had all pitched in together to buy a clock, which they thought the occasion deserved (there was one other clock, in the Enclosed Convent of the Servants of Santa Rita de Casino, but because the convent was home to an enclosed order nothing ever went in or out of it, no news, no requests, no answers, no nothing). Unfortunately, they had not had enough money. But then someone had had the brilliant idea which had brought in the money they needed, and Rosario had hired out its army for parades in friendly countries: there weren't that many of them and the ones there were weren't very rich, but they managed to get the cash together. Anyone who was inspired by patriotism and by the proximity of glory had to see those dashing officers, those disciplined soldiers dressed in gold and crimson, protected by shining breastplates, capped off with plumed helmets, their catapults and pouches of stones at their waists, goose-stepping through the capital of Entre Dos Rios or the Padrone Giol vineyards in Labodegga, at the foot of the majestic Andes.
The ship blasted off. It got lost against the sky. Before the inhabitants of Rosario, their hearts in their throats and their eyes clouded by emotion, had time to catch their breath, a little dot appeared up there, getting bigger and bigger, and it was the ship coming back down. It landed at 06:11 on the same morning of that same autumn day. The clock that recorded this is preserved in the Rosario Historical Museum. It no longer works, but anyone can go and see it in its display cabinet in Room A of the Museum. In Room B, in another display case, is the so-called Carballensis Indentic Axe, the fatal tool that cut down all the vegetation of Rosario and turned the whole country into a featureless plain. Good and evil, side by side, shoulder to shoulder.
Twenty-six minutes on Earth, many years on board the ship. Obviously, she did not have a watch or a calendar with her: the republic of Rosario would not have been able to afford either of them. But it was many years, she knew that much.
Leaving the galaxy was a piece of cake. You can do it in a couple of jumps, everyone knows that, following the instructions that Albert Einsteinstein, the multifaceted violin virtuoso, director of sci-fi movies, and student of space-time, gave us a few hundred years back. But the ship did not set sail to the very center of the universe, as its predecessors had done in the great era of colonization and discovery; no, the ship went right to the edge of the universe.
Everyone also knows that there is nothing in the universe, not even the universe itself, which does not grow weaker as you reach its edge. From pancakes to arteries, via love, rubbers, photographs, revenge, bridal gowns, and power. Everything tends to imperceptible changes at the beginning, rapid change afterward; everything at the edge is softer and more blurred, as the threads start to fray from the center to the outskirts.
In the time it took her to take a couple of breaths, a breath and a half, over the course of many years, she passed through habitable and uninhabitable places, worlds which had once been classified as existent, worlds which did not appear and had never appeared and probably would never appear in any cartographical survey. Planets of exiles, singing sands, minutes and seconds in tatters, whirlpools of nothingness, space junk, and that's without even mentioning those beings and things, all of which stood completely outside any possibility of description, so much so that we tend not to perceive them when we look at them; all of this, and shock, and fear more than anything else, and loneliness. The hair grew gray at her temples, her flesh lost its firmness, wrinkles appeared around her eyes and her mouth, her knees and ankles started to act up, she slept less than before and had to half close her eyes and lean backward in order to make out the numbers on the consoles. And she was so tired that it was almost unbearable. She did not waltz any longer: she put an old tape into an old machine and listened and moved her gray head in time with the orchestra.
She reached the edge of the universe. Here was where everything came to an end, so completely that even her tiredness disappeared and she felt once again as full of enthusiasm as she had when she was younger. There were hints, of course: salt storms, apparitions, little brushstrokes of white against the black of space, large gaps made of sound, echoes of long-dead voices that had died giving sinister orders, ash, drums; but when she reached the edge itself, these indications gave way to space signage: "End," "You Are Reaching the Universe Limits," "The Cosmos General Insurance Company, YOUR Company, Says: GO NO FURTHER," "End of Protected Cosmonaut Space," etc., as well as the scarlet polygon that the OMUU had adopted to use as a sign for that's it, abandon all hope, the end.
All right, so she was here. The next thing to do was go back. But the idea of going back never occurred to her. Women are capricious creatures, just like little boys: as soon as they get what they want, then they want something else. She carried on.
There was a violent judder as she crossed the limit. Then there was silence, peace, calm. All very alarming, to tell the truth. The needles did not move, the lights did not flash, the ventilation system did not hiss, her alveoli did not vibrate, her chair did not swivel, the screens were blank. She got up, went to the portholes, looked out, saw nothing. It was logical enough:
"Of course," she said to herself, "when the universe comes to an end, then there's nothing."
She looked out through the portholes a little more, just in case. She still could see nothing, but she had an idea.
"But I'm here," she said. "Me and the ship."
She put on a space suit and walked out into the nothing.
When the ship landed in the Independence crater in the republic of Rosario, twenty-six minutes after it had taken off, when the hatch opened and she appeared on the ramp, the spirit of Paul Langevin flew over the crater, laughing fit to burst. The only people who heard him were the madman who had grown the flower for her in the Espinillos cemetery and a woman who was to die that day. No one else had ears or fingers or tongue or feet, far less did they have eyes to see him.
It was the same woman who had left, the very same, and this calmed the crowds down at the same time as it disappointed them, all the inhabitants of the country, the diplomats, the spies, and the journalists. It was only when she came down the gangplank and they came closer to her that they saw the network of fine wrinkles around her eyes. All other signs of her old age had vanished, and had she wished, she could have waltzed tirelessly, for days and nights on end, from dusk till dawn till dusk.
The journalists all leaned forward; the diplomats made signals, which they thought were subtle and unseen, to the bearers of their sedan chairs to be ready to take them back to their residences as soon as they had heard what she had to say; the spies took photographs with the little cameras hidden away in their shirt buttons or their wisdom teeth; all the old people put their hands together; the men raised their fists to their heart; the little boys pranced; the young girls smiled.
And then she told them what she had seen:
"I took off my suit and my helmet," she said, "and walked along the invisible avenues that smelled of violets."
She did not know that the whole world was waiting to hear what she said; that Ekaterina V had made Sergei Vasilievich get up at five o'clock in the morning so that he could accompany her to the grand salon and wait there for the news; that one of the seventy-nine Northern States had declared its independence because the president had not stopped anything from happening or obtained any glory, and this had lit the spark of rebellion in the other seventy-eight states, and this had made Mr. Jackson-Franklin leave the White House without his wig, in pajamas, freezing and furious; that Bolivia, Paraguay, and Iceland had allowed the two Peruvian republics to join their new alliance and defense treaty set up against a possible attack from space; that the high command of the Paraguayan aeronautical engineers had promised to build a ship that could travel beyond the limits of the universe, always assuming that they could be granted legal immunity and a higher budget, a declaration that made the guarani fall back the two points that it had recently risen and then another one as well; that Don Schicchino Giol, the new padrone of the Republic of Labodegga at the foot of the majestic Andes had been woken from his most recent drinking bout to be told that he had now to sign a declaration of war against the Republic of Rosario, now that they knew the strength of the enemy's forces.
"Eh? What? Hunh?" Don Schicchino said.
"I saw the nothingness of everything," she said, "and it was all infused with the unmistakable smell of wood violets. The nothingness of the world is like the inside of a stomach throbbing above your head. The nothingness of people is like the back of a painting, black, with glasses and wires that release dreams of order and imperfect destinies. The nothingness of creatures with leathery wings is a crack in the air and the rustle of tiny feet. The nothingness of history is the massacre of the innocents. The nothingness of words, which is a throat and a hand that break whatever they touch on perforated paper; the nothingness of music, which is music. The nothingness of precincts, of crystal glasses, of seams, of hair, of liquids, of lights, of keys, of food."
When she had finished her list, the potentate who owned the Ford 99 said that he would give it to her, and that in the afternoon he would send one of his servants with a liter of naphtha so that she could take the car out for a spin.
"Thank you," she said. "You are very generous."
The madman went away, looking up to the skies; who knows what he was searching for. The woman who was going to die that day asked herself what she should eat on Sunday, when her sons and their wives came to lunch. The president of the Republic of Rosario gave a speech.
And everything in the world carried on the same, apart from the fact that Ekaterina V named Kustkarov her interior minister, which terrified the poor man but which was welcomed with open arms by Irina as an opportunity for her to refresh her wardrobe and her stock of lovers. And Jack Jackson-Franklin sold his memoirs to one of Paraguay's more sophisticated magazines for a stellar amount of money, which allowed him to retire to live in Imerina. And six spaceships from six major world powers set off to the edges of the universe and were never seen again.
She married a good man who had a house with a balcony, a white bicycle, and a radio which, on clear days, could pick up the radio plays that LLL1 Radio Magnum transmitted from Entre Dos Rios, and she waltzed in white satin shoes. The day that her first son was born a very pale green shoot grew out of the ground on the banks of the great lagoon.

Thanks to u/Kaimeera for posting all of the voice lines
Here is every Madam Nazar voice line and my own/generally accepted interpretation of each one. With so many easter eggs packed into one cabinet, I believe this is Rockstar's biggest "hint dump" yet, and a clear indication they haven't given up on us mystery hunters.
If I am wrong on anything or you know one I missed please let me know in the comments.
​

• 0x00408006 = ~z~Have you seen... Gavin? -Reference to the infamous NPC searching for Gavin across the world of RDR2.

​

• 0x01682558 = ~z~I see many shadowy figures, sent to kill you... -Could be a number of things. Many things come to kill you in both GTAV and RDR2, but I don't know what could be considered "shadowy", outside of the disappearing aliens in the Gunrunning easter egg.

​

• 0x02455C87 = ~z~I see a three-legged man. And a long-legged woman. And they are happy. -Lester and Georgina after the Casino Heist. The "third leg" is Lester's cane.

​

• 0x04026A1E = ~z~I see a... strange man in a tall hat. He frightens me. -The Strange Man that appears in both RDR and RDR2.

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• 0x0BC2CA7C = ~z~I smell lupins. So many lupins, they fill the valley floor... -Lupins are flowering plants. There are many valleys and plains filled with them in RDR2.

​

• 0x0C906264 = ~z~Good, I have been waiting for you. -Generic fortune teller voice line.

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• 0x0F60D1BE = ~z~I see a man. His name is... Johnny. He sits at home, but he longs to be on the spot again. -Reference to the GTA Online mechanic, who frequently refers to himself as "Johnny on the spot" when called.

​

• 0x1B98B32A = ~z~I see bitterness, and ambition, and madness. They shall all come to this city... -Reference to Michael, Franklin, and Trevor respectively.

​

• 0x1DA394D2 = ~z~I see the heavens opening, and the rain. -Both GTAV and RDR2 have post-rain sunshine as a weather effect. Some easter eggs are also rain-sensitive.

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• 0x1E00F616 = ~z~I see a vengeful figure from your past, and a reward for your death... -Arthur has a bounty on his head for most of RDR2. The vengeful figure could refer to Dutch or Micah.

​

• 0x2B1ABB8E = ~z~I see mists and fog. -Either a generic fortune teller voice line, or refers to the intense fog in the forested regions of RDR2.

​

• 0x3AF43DBB = ~z~I see palm trees high in the sky, and shimmering pools of warm water, and people in, oh, oh dear... -I'm not too sure on this one, but it could potentially be a reference to the tendency for cars to end up in pools around Vinewood Hills after big stunt jumps.

​

• 0x3D56B345 = ~z~You were looking for Nazar, I think. -Generic fortune teller voice line.

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• 0x4A17A267 = ~z~I see danger in your future. You must take care crossing the road... -Getting hit by cars is a common problem in GTAV, as is running over people with your horse in towns in RDR2.

​

• 0x4CE892E1 = ~z~Kifflom... -The signature saying of the Epsilon Program.

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• 0x4D535F3B = ~z~Ah yes, the mists clear... -Generic fortune teller voice line.

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• 0x4F2D953F = ~z~I see numbers... one, two three. -One third of the phone number easter egg.

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• 0x4F9C57D0 = ~z~Nazar, teller of fortunes, finder of lost things... -Madam Nazar offers the Collector role in Red Dead Online, hence "finder of lost things".

​

• 0x5AD8779F = ~z~I see a rooftop, and a briefcase, and death. No, no, no, no, no, it is not... not a rooftop... -Reference to the GTA Online mission Rooftop Rumble, which was extremely popular for money grinding in the first year of release. Despite the name, this mission does not actually take place on a rooftop.

​

• 0x5C41619D = ~z~Yes, all is clear... -Generic fortune teller voice line.

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• 0x5D6EF371 = ~z~You were looking for me, yes? -Generic fortune teller voice line.

​

• 0x5EDCDFD8 = ~z~Hmm, interesting... -Generic fortune teller voice line.

​

• 0x5F900619 = ~z~I see you in high spirits. -Generic fortune teller voice line.

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• 0x6FE9F6D6 = ~z~Too soon, too soon have you come back... -Possible reference to the player repeatedly using the machine to hear many voice lines.

​

• 0x7B74C501 = ~z~I see a web, still tangled after years of unravelling. Will you be the one, I wonder? -Reference to either the spider web easter egg, or the Chiliad mystery in general. I believe this remark is a clue that there is more to solve, and a challenge of who will be the first to do so.

​

• 0x7EC016A1 = ~z~I see a beautiful diamond. The largest in the world. Ah, it is cracked... -The grand Diamond Casino and Resort being broken into and robbed.

​

• 0x7FEBF1E1 = ~z~Nazar bids you farewell. -Generic fortune teller voice line.

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• 0x8D17F800 = ~z~I see, I see... -Generic fortune teller voice line.

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• 0x8F6A344E = ~z~I see a lazy river, flowing by a scorched town... -There is a town burnt to a crisp in RDR2.

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• 0x26F2F1F2 = ~z~I see a ridge in the land, and a falconer, and the black smoke rising to the east... -This has to be an RDR2 reference, though I don't remember any falconers. It is possible I missed a detail, it is a very long game.

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• 0x37C69C95 = ~z~I see the sky covered by clouds. -A cloudy sky is the loading/respawning screen in RDR2. GTA loading screens are also often cloudy.

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• 0x40EB3A6A = ~z~I think you were meant to stop by here, yes? -Generic fortune teller voice line.

​

• 0x71B9557C = ~z~Madam will be here when you return. -Generic fortune teller voice line. She indeed is confined to her glass cabinet.

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• 0x76C62201 = ~z~I hear birds, beautiful birds singing in a cage... -???

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• 0x78CEE40F = ~z~See you soon, I think. -Generic fortune teller voice line.

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• 0x80B3DB7F = ~z~I see great and furious judgement descending from the clouds to strike you down... -God? Lighting strikes? The Thor hammer easter egg in RDR2? The orbital cannon in GTA Online?

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• 0x86A7C5E6 = ~z~Come closer, Nazar wishes to speak to you. -Generic fortune teller voice line.

​

• 0x87B9130C = ~z~Safe travels. -Generic fortune teller voice line.

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• 0x93CA7E4A = ~z~You were looking for me, yes? -Generic fortune teller voice line.

​

• 0x94ABA9D8 = ~z~I see the meaning of a song upon a stone. One is done, two was fun... -The rhyme written on the rocks in Blaine County for the Infinite 8 killer easter egg.

​

• 0x95D1F984 = ~z~I see trees. Such tall trees. -The Tall Trees region of RDR2.

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• 0x97B943D7 = ~z~I hear a voice calling again and again, forlorn. A relative. He wants to do something. -Reference to Roman excessively calling Niko to go bowling in GTA IV.

​

• 0x178ED0A8 = ~z~I see the ruins of a battle fought long ago... -There is a Civil War battlefield point of interest in RDR2.

​

• 0x181E4BBE = ~z~I see a man in a white shirt, and a red vest. He is afraid to go to work... -The Diamond Casino valet Felipe, who players routinely murder for fun.

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• 0x203F9619 = ~z~Madam Nazar has a beautiful collection. And she is generous. Go, see what trophy she gives you. -Madam Nazar buys valuable collectibles from the player in Red Dead Online. Could she also unlock a trophy in the arcade trophy shelf, like the one for owning all arcade games?

​

• 0x234DC9AD = ~z~Beware, not all love is kind. Just climb the mountain, and ask my poor Jolene. -The ghost girl easter egg of the late Jolene.

​

• 0x516A5CC8 = ~z~Welcome, wanderer, would you like to know the future? -Generic fortune teller easter egg.

​

• 0x532DDEEF = ~z~Come, come... magpie. -???

​

• 0x645D35FE = ~z~I see wet ground, and figures in the dark, and the spirit of a lonely girl... -Probably the Agnes Dowd ghost easter egg in RDR2.

​

• 0x746E2173 = ~z~Ah, you have found me. Come, come, hear your fortune. -Generic fortune teller voice line.

​

• 0x811A2BFA = ~z~You seek some purpose, some meaning in the chaos of this life... -Many theorize the answer to the Chiliad Mystery is some underlying karmatic "true ending" to the game. Part of Story Mode's main conflict is Michael dealing with some existential quandaries about morality and death.

​

• 0x5895B9F1 = ~z~I see thunder, and lightning. -Thunderstorm weather is present in many easter eggs across both games.

​

• 0x6233DB6A = ~z~No, no, no, no, no... You must be patient, my love... -We need to wait for more updates to further the mystery?

​

• 0x8887A74F = ~z~I see... a bright sun in a clear sky. -Another weather line, but there usually isn't anything special associated with sunny weather.

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• 0x9276E6BB = ~z~Remember, Madam Nazar is always listening. Ask and you may receive. -Generic fortune teller voice line.

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• 0x10124A92 = ~z~At the stroke of twelve, when the moon is fat, the beast will awaken within you. -The Beast, a werewolf the player can turn into in some Freemode Events and Adversary Modes in GTA Online, as well as a secret Director Mode actor for beating him in his secret fight against Bigfoot.

​

• 0x33199ECB = ~z~Welcome to Nazar's cabinet of wonders. -Generic fortune teller voice line.

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• 0x71588BAE = ~z~I see a scorched land. A river along a border that cannot be crossed... -The border of Mexico is visible in RDR2, but cannot be crossed.

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• 0x77702F37 = ~z~I see a secluded isle, and upon it I see, ah... it is gone. -???

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• 0x96949B4F = ~z~Your line is tangled, but I see it now... -Generic fortune teller voice line.

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• 0x813078CC = ~z~I see numbers... seven, six, four. -One third of the phone number easter egg.

​

• 0x5085380D = ~z~I have revealed your path. Now... you must walk it... -Potentially a hint that Nazar's sayings are a clue toward something.

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• 0x34880013 = ~z~The future cannot be changed. Return when it has become the past... -Francis Sinclair's appearance in RDR2 introduces an aspect of time travel into the mystery. Some parts of GTAV story mode occur before online, maybe there is something to be found by going back to the beginning?

​

• 0xA0CBFA2E = ~z~Madam Nazar sees your future, shall I tell you? -Generic fortune teller voice line.

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• 0xA76B6838 = ~z~Remember, the stars favor those who leave no stone unturned. -Much like "he was wrong to start his hunt on a Tuesday," this is as blatant as Rockstar can get at telling us there is still mystery to uncover. The unsolved Panoramic Map in RDR2 does portray star positions.

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• 0xA84C88A8 = ~z~Your every move is watched. Be careful... avoid even the smallest misdemeanor... -Minor crimes can get you wanted in both games. Could also be another suggestion at the karmatic/pacifist playthrough theory.

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• 0xA370B8EA = ~z~Safe travels. -Generic fortune teller voice line.

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• 0xA507B91E = ~z~The future is open to me... -Generic fortune teller voice line.

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• 0xA3075AF7 = ~z~I see beautiful trees in an arid land... -Another line talking about trees. Could refer to trees in the desert in both games. Los Santos/California has trees grow despite desert climate because of irrigation systems.

​

• 0xA3408FC2 = ~z~Come closer, let me see you. -Generic fortune teller voice line.

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• 0xAC37F487 = ~z~I see a door in the shape of a circle, and behind it endless opportunities opening to you, if you are able to adapt. -The circular vault door of the Diamond Casino, protecting cash, gold, artwork, and diamonds. "Able to adapt" refers to the random spawns and different approaches of the heist.

​

• 0xAC710EE1 = ~z~Let me see... -Generic fortune teller voice line.

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• 0xB05CDEAD = ~z~Ahh, of course... -Generic fortune teller voice line.

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• 0xB4DECB38 = ~z~I see a face beneath the ice. Yet, not the face of a man, or a woman... -The alien under the ice in North Yankton in Prologue.

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• 0xB6FA4AA9 = ~z~I see many people bowing down before a yellow statue of a... no, no that cannot be right. -???

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• 0xB7BEACD4 = ~z~I see an emerald covered in filth, lying on a beautiful plain... -Likely refers to Emerald Ranch in RDR2. It is a farming community, so manure and livestock are everywhere (filth) and it is indeed located in a plain.

​

• 0xB8C7E398 = ~z~Come back soon. -Generic fortune teller voice line.

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• 0xB1172B6F = ~z~Ah, it is you. I'm glad you have come. -Generic fortune teller voice line.

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• 0xC5BC5495 = ~z~The spirits draw close... -Generic fortune teller voice line.

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• 0xCBF36971 = ~z~I see grizzled mountains, and hungry eyes... -Could refer to the Grizzlies region of RDR2. Hungry eyes might be that of bears or wolves.

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• 0xCC31A50E = ~z~I see numbers... five, one, one, two. -One third of the phone number easter egg.

​

• 0xDAF70F50 = ~z~I see a man with red hair, and a red mark upon his face. He does not belong here. -Francis Sinclair. He really doesn't belong here, as he presumably time traveled outside of his own reality.

​

• 0xE08ED444 = ~z~I see many cars in a white room. No, no, no... they are all the same car. And I see great wealth. And great boredom. This is a strange vision... -Reference to car duplication glitches, a popular way to make money in GTA Online.

​

• 0xE113C9F4 = ~z~The future is open to me... -Generic fortune teller voice line.

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• 0xED3B9610 = ~z~I see true love in your future, but only if you act quickly! -???

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• 0xEF1DAB95 = ~z~Take care... Your next drink will go to your head... -The Online Protagonist will pass out and wake up elsewhere after enough alcohol, which is necessary for the UFO tattoo easter egg. There are some moments in RDR2 where drinks have similar effects, such as the Witch's Brew, or the drink offered at Aberdeen Pig Farm.

​

• 0xEF6F7672 = ~z~I see... snow! -Both games feature snowy weather online for the holiday season.

​

• 0xF0CA2115 = ~z~Mine is the all-seeing eye. -All seeing eyes are a common visual in GTAV, especially on the SecuroServ app and the Chiliad Mural. They've even been featured in official artwork on Rockstar's website.

​

• 0xF8E39799 = ~z~Nazar sees all... -Generic fortune teller voice line.

​

• 0xF84EB9E1 = ~z~Welcome. -Generic fortune teller voice line.

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• 0xF9577296 = ~z~I see... a man with evil intentions. He comes to take what is yours... -Could be any number of antagonists, Micah, Dutch, the Pinkertons, Devin Weston, Steve Haines, Avon Hertz, etc.

​

• 0xFC3052B7 = ~z~I see a great stone window, looking down upon a cold river... -???

​

• 0xFCDA6BA2 = ~z~I see cliffs in a silent desert. -???

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• 0xFDB09265 = ~z~No, no, no, no, no, the mists do not clear... You must give me time... -Generic fortune teller voice line.

​

• 0xFEA2C689 = ~z~Look into my eyes.- Generic fortune teller voice line.

Don't forget this isn't the first fortune teller in GTAV, as Michael, Trevor and Franklin can use the Psychic Shoutout website in story mode.

In spite of how long GTAO has been a thing I still see daily posts about people who struggle to make money in GTAO and there are always new players trickling in. Since the game has been out for so long some players might also be concerned what info is outdated and what still matters. I've been playing on and off since the import / export update and until the Diamond Casino I've never completed a heist because the originals required 4 players and randoms sucked so I have no advice there. None of what I'm going to talk about is a glitch.
To start, 2 huge quality of life tricks to know
Getting a solo lobby: Can confirm this works on xb1 and should work on ps4, no idea about pc.
Requires a hard wired connection, meaning you have an ethernet cable running from your router to your console.
Step 1: Before opening GTA unplug your ethernet cable and let your console pick up a wireless connection
Step 2: Open GTA and get into any online session
Step 3: Plug your ethernet cable in while walking around
That's it. There should be a momentary disruption that splits you from your lobby. It will be very hard for other players to join your lobby unless they are invited or join you off your crew tag. You may get booted from GTAO but in my experience if it doesnt work the first time it usually works the second. This trick has worked for years and will probably continue to work for the life of GTAO
Idle forever in GTAO: Go into any building you own with a security camera or TV. Watch the security camera or the TV (must zoom in in tv)
That's it, very useful for turning supplies into products at MC biz, bunkers, or night clubs without having to actually do anything. Just walk away for a few hours then buy more supplies as needed until the biz is full.
Making money:
Active money makers: vehicle warehouse, special cargo warehouse, hangar
Vehicle warehouse is typically considered best because its missions are almost all easy and quick. You can source only high end cars by filling your warehouse with all the low to mid range cars. The game wont have you source the same license plate twice so if you only sell high end cars eventually you will only source high end cars. Another trick is to use a cargobob to transport the cars to risk less damage.
Cargobobs are very slow so if you have helicopters chasing you then you can still take plenty of damage. I recommend getting to max altitude so you dont need to slow down to gain altitude when running from the helis. Delivery missions almost never have helis so cargobobing is safe and easy. The last alternative is to trigger the helicopters and cars chasing you and kill them. Typically there are 3 or 4 waves of enemies before you can proceed unmolested.
Payout is 80k - damage to car
Supply crates warehouse: is very tedious but a great payout. Roughly 1/3 supply missions will let you source all 3 crates in 1 truck. The rest of the time you have to make 3 trips which is a huge pain. I believe the payout of a large warehouse is 1.7m after you deduct the cost of the crates. This would be easy to google if you want
Would not recommend if you dont have an oppressor mk2 or at least a buzzard. Personally with the oppressor mk2 I think this might be better active money than cars considering 1/3 of missions dont require 3 trips. Much less instant gratification though.
Hangar: I did very little with the hangar. It's a lot like crates but all the missions use aircraft and are typically harder than car / crate missions. Would only recommend for people who absolutely love flying.
Passive income:
Mc businesses and the bunker all work the same way. You buy or steal supplies that get turned into product over time. Profitability goes in the order of bunker (no research), cocaine, meth, counterfeit cash, weed, and I dont even remember the last one because it's barely profitable buying supplies.
Location matters, the best locations are in the middle of the map, the grand senora desert region. City locations can make you go all the way to paleto bay and vice versa.
Playing solo you want to make sure you sell before your product is more than half full to limit the number of delivery vehicles.
Buying supplies hurts profits but the time investment of stealing supplies isnt worth it. That time is better spent on cars or crates. The power of the passive income is to have several going at once. The exception to this is if you have help. The more people on a steal mission the more supplies the mission generates.
Nightclub: requires you already have passive income set up. Let's you generate free product without worrying about supply. Product generates very slowly in relation to other businesses. If you spend a lot of time idle at your security cams though this is a big winner.
Getting raided: Your bunker / mc businesses will always have a hidden timer ticking whenever you are an MC president in free mode and outside of a building and not in a mission. Security upgrades increase this timer and you can limit raids by disbanding your MC before you leave buildings and right after sales. Done right and you should only lose seconds per sale and lose no time when resupplying.
Diamond city casino heist: Will probably take 3-4 runs to pay for the arcade if running with 4 players. Heists are a much better experience with friends imo and really only recommend doing them with friends in general. Arcade location matters slightly. There are a few prep missions that will always be in the city. Would only recommend for players who already have a strong income because the passive income is shit for the money you have to invest.
Big con / group sechhs is easiest. Nobody bothers you until you get to the top of the elevator and you can easily get to the noose outfits upstairs once you have done it a few times and walk right out whatever exit you like.
I recommend leaving from the staff entrance. Theres an underground tunnel nearby that you should google and makes losing the 5 stars a joke.
Always do the duggans optional prep. The difference in guard weapon and armor quality is massive. This is exceptionally important for the aggressive and stealthy approaches.
Always hire cheap gunman / driver and expert hacker. The duggans mission make guards tissue paper, and the tunnel makes it so any vehicle is fine as long as you can get in there.
You can afford a cheaper hacker if you have 4 people who know what their doing, or 3 with artwork because its quicker.
The tunnel also eliminates the need to spend money on a clean car or gunman distraction.
I hope all of that will be useful to a few of you and if anyone wants to comment any other good advice there are still people who could use it
Edit: even though a lot of people are shitting on the newest heist it's a strong contender for the best active income at this time. Unlike the original heists your passive income buildings will be generating product while you do the preps and those that have been running the heist a lot claim to be knocking the preps out in under 2 hours once getting used to the missions. If you can do them in that kind of time your income is much better than crates or vehicles

LINK TO THE UP-TO-DATE TREYARCH CIPHERS WIKI
Welp, what had to happen finally happened. The Treyarch ciphers megathread has reached its characters limit. So, time to make a Black Ops 4 ciphers megathread!
You can still find all the BO2 and BO3 ciphers (as well as comicbooks ciphers) in the main thread or the new Wiki!

Voyage of Despair

Voyage_1

• Cipher type: Flag semaphore
• Solved by: Gemgamer

You have questions of your family's history. You may not like where the answers lead.

Alchemy ciphers

These ciphers use alchemical symbols as text. Each alchemical symbol matches a symbol in the periodic table. A straight line in front of one of the alchemical symbol means the second letter of a symbol in the periodic table doesn't appear.

• Periodic table and corresponding alchemical symbols: https://i.imgur.com/bzt9GPg.png
• Solved by: GuideZ, lowlight227, nayrcraig and a handful of contributors.

Voyage_Alchemy1

The horde will not be contained.

Voyage_Alchemy2

Prove your worthiness.

Voyage_Alchemy3

That which you need is within reach.

Voyage_Alchemy4

You must be empowered, the horde will not yield.

IX

IX_1

• Cipher type: Substitution
• Solved by: certainpersonio

Your resolve is weakening you will soon succumb

IX_2

• Cipher type: Caesar
• Shift: 24
• Solved by: deservesmorelikes

If you are not the betrayer. You will be the betrayed

IX_3

UNSOLVED

IX_4

• Cipher type: Beaufort
• Key: Nine
• Solved by: Lizizabirdnerd

Even a fool such as you may prove useful turn around before it is too late

IX_#5

• Cipher type: Substitution
• Key: YJUFQBEXITHPALWMNDOZKVGRCS
• Solved by: coldstone_the_gamer

All that you believe in will crumble to dust

IX_HIP

• Cipher type: Text written with stars from the Hipparcos stars catalogue.
• Solved with: Papers around the map with names of starts from the HIP catalogue written on them.
• Solved by: webrow and his brother, certainpersonio, za0820, SavageXanchez & icyrizard

The library must stay hidden

Alchemy ciphers

These ciphers use alchemical symbols as text. Each alchemical symbol matches a symbol in the periodic table. A straight line in front of one of the alchemical symbol means the second letter of a symbol in the periodic table doesn't appear.

• Periodic table and corresponding alchemical symbols: https://i.imgur.com/bzt9GPg.png
• Solved by: GuideZ, lowlight227, nayrcraig and a handful of contributors.

IX_AlchemyRa1

Above the scorching deserts beyond the sea the lord of the sun sees all His eye has stood watch over farmer and pharoah rising and setting the same All seeing sight shall be ours as well in shadow no evil shall hide For we are the lord of the sun, our light, reveals truth. In chaos, it shall be done.

IX_AlchemyRa2

Gold and silver are worthless on the journey to enlightenment.

IX_AlchemyDanu1

In the ancient forests of island green the mother of life bears fruit. Her children, the trees and people alike, she whispers her love as they grow. Barren lands shall grow at our touch, that which is green shall spread. For we are the mothers of life, our roots run deep. In chaos, it shall be done.

IX_AlchemyDanu2

Worship of earth and nature alone does not lead to our gateway.

IX_AlchemyZeus1

On the meridian shores of sand and stone the king of the gods holds court. With lightning, his will, and thunder, his voice, he directs all creation to follow. Our words shall ring loud and clear; sky, sea and storms. One golden voice in every ear. For we are the kings of the gods, our reign is nigh. In chaos, it shall be done.

IX_AlchemyZeus2

The many gods you worship will not have all the answers you seek.

IX_AlchemyOdin1

Through the northern seas and mountains cold, the wandering father guides men. In battle, in verse, in life, in death, his wisdom is often disguised. Our deed shall echo in glorious songs, lessons of blood saved and spilt, Through the northern seas and mountains cold the wandering father guides men.

IX_AlchemyOdin2

The sacrifice of another is not enough to gain our knowledge.

IX_AlchemyOrionSerket

Orion (left) Serket (right)

IX_AlchemyOrionSerketPlan

Tail: UNSOLVED Bottom text: Death of Ori

IX_AlchemyArena

Prove your fortitude unlock the gates

IX_AlchemyTemplePillars

Only the worthy will cross the threshold and be transformed Singing creation from the matter poured The world floating in fires four Sacred knowledge we now guard The corrupter's mind must be barred Only the worthy will cross the threshold and be transformed

IX_GraveMarkers

IX_Intro1

Breath deeply

IX_Intro2

The lords are nine, holding the truth To hear the truth, we must listen To see the truth, we must open our eyes To speak the truth, we must cross the threshold and forever be transformed

IX_Intro3

The dark heart The lords nine The last gates The third eye The rose cross

IX_Intro4

Unsolved

IX_Outro1

Poseidon

Perk Statues sent to Youtubers/Streamers & Teaser

These ciphers are also alchemy ciphers.

Perk_Odin

That which destroyed the past will also save the future.

Perk_Zeus

The transmutation will be absolute.

Perk_Ra

Energy cannot be destroyed, only transformed.

Perk_Danu

The knowledge of the past will reshape humanity's destiny.

BO4_Teaser

The destiny of the 9 is set in stone

Blood of the Dead

BOTD_#1

• Cipher type: Playfair
• Key: GEDZXYFLWPAINVTMSQORCBUHK
• Solved by: Richkiller, oxin8, Randomiser & coldstone_the_gamer

Thru
Three of torrio's guys payed a visit to sal's grand opening at the cabana room. One of 'em happened to be a buddy of mine from the barber shop job, and I knew he was sweet on the devils dandruff. Lure him out back for a taste,cut his throat and clip the other two, as they come runnin' out. Clean as could be, but not clean enough,evidently. First of the low rent hitters gunnin' for Sal.Caught this one riggin' Sal's cherry red chariot, Caught this one posin' as a waiter,slippin' a cyanide mickey into the cognac. This guy was creative for an idiot,tried pushin' a chifferobe out of a #th floor window when Sal walked out on the street. I catch the guy, stuff him inside the chifferobe and put three through the mahogany,instant coffin. This one was a dame goin' for a stiletto in her updo. I been with enough casino harpies to know they ain't all fur and fake diamonds, but Sal, he was disappointed I didn't like seein' that.
Thru
We had our laughs with amateur hour, but soon enough torrio stepped it up. Four man hit squad packin' tommies,whacked two real good guys. One of which was Jerry, who got all squeaky and snorty when he was drunk and I didn't like seein' him go down. so I went with the molotovs, called off the fire brigade too, just to watch those four burn well done.
Thru #ish
Just ball parkin' it here, this was an honest to nuts shoot out. OK, corral type stuff. I burned through the tommy,the smithy,the big barker,all my favorite pieces squirtin' every pellet they had. Both sides had to lay low after that and Sal gave me some much needed time off for good behavior and amateur hour. The brothers of two stiffs from the shoot out found me in a motel outside shorewood dupage river. Was right there so I sent 'em for a mid night swim.
Thru
I'm relaxin' in a shithole bar mindin' my own business,when three low lifes decide they didn't like what I had on the radio. I thought about lettin' it go for a second, honest.

BOTD_#2

• Cipher type: Playfair
• Key: OVDAXSRWIPKNUTCLMZBGFQHYE
• Solved by: Richkiller, lizizadolphin, waterkh

Thru
At least Sal calls me off vacation to trash some warehouse. I figure I like fire, why not burn it down? Still shit faced, I do, and it's the wrong one and a bunch of migrant workers go up in smoke. Sal was pissed, but he bought the land cheap after, so he got over it and I got more time off.
Bar fight. Bar fight. Car wash. Another bar fight. No, wait. No, yeah, bar fight.
Thru
I came to standin' upright in some general store in Manteno or some damn place. I smell like an Irish bachelor party. I got my Smithy outta the holster and everybody's lyin' facedown, so I figure I'm robbin' the place. The local flatfoots show up and start sprayin' through the glass and wouldn't ya know it, one clips me in the shoulder. I just start laughin'. Never been shot before. Then cops were so shocked to hear me cackle that I woulda had enough time to make a sandwich, eat it, and then take 'em out.
Woke up the next day with the devil clawing his way outta my skull. Sat in a police cruiser wrapped around a tree. There was a lot of blood on the hood, so I guess that made #, who knows.

BOTD_#3

• Cipher type: Playfair
• Key: OUZXHMTKDCPLFIAESWRNQGYVB
• Solved by: coldstone_the_gamer, Richkiller, oxin8 & lizizadolphin

I got back and Sal was done nickel-and-dimin'. We were after the heavy hitters, too.
Kouteli the Knife comin' outta church with his grandma.
Dirty Fazzi eatin' ice cream in South Side park, smelled him from a mile away.
Joey the MLP smokin' a cigarette on the back deck of the Michigan Queen. Rumor has it he had the locations of thousands of bodies memorized in that big melon of his, and put most of 'em there himself. Guy like that makes me look like Saint Peter.
Tony Dynamite, there was a real whack job. Found him sat in an up-town apartment surrounded with enough boomboom to start a second World War. I just lit the match.
Ricci the Rope, old fashioned kinda guy. Liked stringin' up my buddies in very public place. I'll give ya one guess how I took him out. Wrong! I backed over him with a refrigerated truck -- twice!
Sent us McDink the Irish Bare-Knuckle Champ. This guy you hoped he'd shoot ya before he got out the knuckle dusters. I emptied about a barrel and a half in to his chest just to make sure.
Solomon -- seriously his name was just Solomon -- used to like to beat information outta people, and when he was done he'd chop 'em in half with an industrial press, just like King Solomon in the Good Book. Except, this mad fucker went through with it -- through a lot of it. Shit still keeps me up at night and I'm dead, far as I know.
And the Scotsman and the Brit, don't ask me how these two got wrapped up in the outfit with a bunch of Italians, but they sure as hell made their presence known. Truth is, they found me and tore me up pretty good. Lost about a hundred pints of blood before I rolled a grenade under their getaway car. The scariest thing about bein' in Hell right now is thinkin' they might show up.
Thru
I think there were about # or # of 'em but there was so much blood and guts flyin' around, I can't remember all the fuckin' names. Plus, I'm gettin' bored and I gotta finish this thing, or else my immortal soul can't get outta purgatory. Yada-yada-yada.
Thru
The big, ahhh, Valentine's Day, what a way to finally go out, one for the history books. That ratfink, lyin', schemin', little fucker Weasel.

BOTD_#4

• Cipher type: Playfair
• Key: BXMNIPYOSDRKWTFQALZUHCVEG
• Solved by: lizizadolphin

So yeah, that's the big list. Do I feel better? Kinda. Lots a laughs and memories there, which I guess is all I got in this hellfire juke joint. But, I dunno about redeemin' my eternal soul, or whatever Sal is yakking about.
But, as for being a ghost, I definitely got unfinished business. I'd kill that judge Chauncey for his high and mighty attitude. I'd kill my arresting officers for bustin my chin and rippin' my best suit. I'd kill that wise ass Doc Tormose for classifying me psychologically fit to stand trial. I'd kill my second grade teacher Miss Carmichael for sayin' I'd never amount to nothin'. I'd definitely put a few bullets in Mr. Benedict, fuckin' sadist piece of shit, owner of the White Wood Correctional Facility for Boys. People who hurt dogs, people who talk at the movies, people who talk about the weather, pretty much everybody who hates country music.
I got more, but I'm bored so fuck it. Great idea, Sal, you got all the great ideas.

BOTD_#5

• Cipher type: ADFGX
• Transposition Key: BloodOfTheDead
• Alphabet : IQMXFSTKZWEALVUOCPGNYDHBR
• Solved by: Richkiller

Forgive me father for I have sinned. I took the life of an innocent man, a profoundly stupid man, but yeah an innocent one, Weasel Albert Arlington. I ain't sure what he was thinkin' when he sent us on that goose chase, but that didn't mean he had to die. We didn't have to kill him, I know now that you must've sent him to test me, O lord and I failed my last chance at redemption. I don't know if my confession will make a difference or if anyone will ever hear it, but it feels right to get it out there with the utmost humility. I pray you hear the contrition of myself and my associates and have mercy on our immortal souls. Amen. Salvatore DeLuca.

BOTD_#6

• Cipher type: ADFGX
• Transposition Key: BloodOfTheDead
• Alphabet : BZNLEYPQXDMCFIRHOVKAWGTUS
• Solved by: Richkiller

Forgive me father for I have sinned. This is my second mortal confession, my first big score was a shipment of Irish whiskey jacked from a few goons at the north slip. Nobody got killed thanks to you, but I shot one through the knee. Yeah, the guy was a crook, but he didn't deserve to limp around for the rest of his life, that didn't matter to me then. I saw what I wanted and did what I had to do to take it. Told myself it was fair, even natural, the strong surviving and all that malarkey. Now I know that wasn't the way. O lord, I wish I woulda seen that then, but it only got worse from there. Salvatore DeLuca.

BOTD_#7

• Cipher type: ADFGX
• Transposition Key: BloodOfTheDead
• Alphabet : TKYVHWGCZOLIENPQUAFBDXSRM
• Solved by: Richkiller

Forgive me father for I have sinned. I coveted another man's girl, his business and eventually took his life. I destroyed him, O lord, and celebrated doing it. Guy's name was Giuseppe Rioni, real big shot, bootlegger in the north side, not a bigger shot than me. I put him on his knees and put two in his skull and if that wasn't enough, I let that mook Jimmy Alessi take the heat for it, they killed him too, and the one after that, and the one after that. I started a war, O lord, and I got rich off it. The killing didn't stop there, either just got real good at getting others to do it for me. Salvatore DeLuca.

BOTD_#8

• Cipher type: ADFGX
• Key: BLOODOFTHEDEAD
• Alphabet: MFXKCQEVDJHRYNGPBSOTIYLWUA
• Solved by: Richkiller

Forgive me father for I have sinned. I saw the evil inside of Billy, and I stoked the fire til it was red hot. When I let him off the leash, the streets ran red with Torrio blood. Men, women, children. Whoever it took and whoever had the bad luck to be around when we took 'em. In my head, I was a great man, the king I always wanted to be. Doin' what kings do to rule the world at the top. That's where I got stupid, O lord, that's where I killed that poor girl over not a damn thing. That brought me here to your justice and that's where I belong. Salvatore DeLuca.

BOTD_#9

• Cipher type: ADFGX
• Key: BLOODOFTHEDEAD
• Alphabet : IOAKDXPBGLUFHCVQTYNMWZERS
• Solved by: coldstone_the_gamer

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
My last confession was a lifetime ago. Sorry about that Lord, and I ain't just saying that 'cuz I'm stuck in this place. I've done lots of bad things and squandered your gifts, O Lord.
I'll start with my mother and father. They did the Ellis Island thing, came over with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Grandma, Bella, Silvercup, and me growin' in mama's belly. All things considered, I grew up pretty good -- stick, ball, open hydrant baths, lotsa pals, and at least a meal a day paid for by pops, shoe repairs... but me being a mook, that wasn't enough. I'd run around all day and night liftin' this and that from corner stores, smokin', drinkin, carryin' on. I wanted to be king, not the kid of a couple poor, dumb wops taking' beatin' after beatin' from the city that didn't want 'em. So I ran, Lord. I ran to the Windy City and I didn't look back, forsakin' my mother and father. That's a sin bad enough for an Italian, but for a Roman Catholic too? I guess I had all this comin'.
Salvatore DeLuca

BOTD_#10

• Cipher type: ADFGVX
• Transposition Key: BLOODOFTHEDEAD
• Alphabet: 0Y1J234Q5IN6UV7GXMHKLOE8RBAZCTDFPSW9
• Solved by: coldstone_the_gamer

Dear Angelina,
Well baby, you were right. You always said I could go to hell for all the shit I put you through, and sure enough here I am burning for what's probably forever. I know I said alotta things when they came and took me away, putting it all on you -- but I was always headed here, and as much as I miss ya baby I'm glad you ain't here with me.

BOTD_#11

• Cipher type: ADFGVX
• Transposition Key: BLOODOFTHEDEAD
• Alphabet: LUMRAFEO1J23SG4YBOK56P7HN8TIVD9MW0QCM
• Solved by: waterkh, certainpersonio

Remember that night you were all dolled up, dressed to the nines in that giant, mink coat of yours? Tip toing outta that gala premier into the 12 below of Chicago January, legs naked as the day you were born. I never had trouble talkin' to dames, but with you I almost choked. Wasn't til you doubled over into a snow drift that I mustered the stones to run over. Thought I had it in the pocket when I fed you that line about the perfect icebreaker, but you fired back with an eat shit-and-die look that almost knocked the wind outta me. Then you smiled that smile and finished the job. You told me I looked pale, offered to buy me a coffee and we were off to the races. Wish I woulda slowed down, taken more time, been a better man.

BOTD_#12

• Cipher type: ADFGVX
• Transposition Key: BLOODOFTHEDEAD
• Alphabet: DCIAF1G3MXB679HWS2TYP8LJQZ0ERO45UKVN
• Solved by: waterkh

I let you down, Angelina. I let that town crawl inside my head and make me think I was some kinda big shot hustler. You wanted to be an actress and instead I made you an accomplice, dragging you through the worst shit of Chicago with me. And when I didn't let you go, you found your own way out, just like the way you got up outta that snow. I dunno if you'll ever get this letter, or if it's even real, but if you do, I wanna let you know I agree to the divorce.

BOTD_#13

• Cipher type: ADFGVX
• Transposition Key: BLOODOFTHEDEAD
• Alphabet : ESVMXKAC6FHGDTP23J908O7WQRILZB4U5NY1
• Solved by: waterkh

You deserve better, Angelina, some honest guy, with an honest face, and an honest living, maybe have a couple good lookin' kids that take after their mother. Strong enough not to take any shit from this fucked up world we live in, but smart enough not to take the easy way through. You don't have to tell 'em it's from me, but just tell 'em the easy way ain't fuckin' easy and maybe leave out the "fuckin'" part -- at least til they're older

BOTD_#14

• Cipher type: ADFGVX
• Transposition Key: BLOODOFTHEDEAD
• Alphabet: D4UFXRK1BSIPLAWVQ79E85J0ZO3GH6M2NYTC
• Solved by: waterkh

As for your new squeeze, whoever he is, I got a message for him too: take good care of our angel and make sure you listen to her real good -- she won't steer you wrong, but if you even think about hurtin' her or layin' hands on her in an unkind way, you better believe I'll bust outta this place and climb out of hell just to rip the skull off your neck. So Angelina, this is goodbye for real. I'm not sure if Sal is right and this letter makes a damn bit of difference, but I really hope someway, somehow, I finally did something right.
Love you forever, baby.
Finn

BOTD_ScrapPaper

• Cipher type: Playfair
• Key: HRMPLQWCTVYUZXINAOKFSGEDB
• Solved by: lizizadolphin

Alright, guess I got nothin’ better to do in this shithole than to sit on my ass and scribble for Sal’s holy-rolling homework assignment. So strap yourselves in, cats and kittens, for a few of Billy’s greatest hits.
They say you always remember your first, but I was so drunk, I didn’t realize he was dead ‘til later. Caught this guy Rudy cheatin’ in a round of dice and cracked his melon with a whiskey bottle. Had a laugh, drank more, and woke up the next day to the cops at my mother’s front door. Welcome to juvi Billy Boy happy #th birthday.
I’m a free man, came home, found my mother strung out on somethin’ her new squeeze was givin’ her, in addition to a few bruises. So I followed him to the bar that night and brought the knife my old man gave me. Piece of shit broke off in his ribcage. No cops that time though. Mom saw the blood and kicked me out, so I wound up on the street, sleepin’ at a bus stop. Some old timer tried to get fresh, so pop! -- there went his head on a bench corner.
First job with the old crew, I was a whistle boy posted up on the corner, while the fellas raided the general store. Shop owner shows up and pulls out his iron, so I pounce on him and wrestle for it. Gun goes off along with the man’s head, and that’s how I got my very first special. Miss that gun... nothin’ special... knocked over a store and shot a cashier goin’ for his shotgun. It was a piece of shit, so I let him keep it.
Thru
What a night. I got roped into a posse to go scare some sense into a few Commie union boys, but they turned out to be packin’ heat. They whacked my whole crew by the time I got to cover. But I took it slow and steady. Shots, bodies so neat and pretty, people took to callin’ me handsome. How ‘bout that.
Thru
Got paid big bucks for a solo hit, four wise guys at a barber shop. Fish in a fuckin’ barrel.
Some schmuck named Larry Sweets threatenin’ to squawk, garrotted in the park. That shut him up.
Another dice game, even drunker. Could’ve sworn the guy was cheatin’, but never found the other pair of dice. Oops. And officers Malloy and O'Reardon, couple a flatfoots too dumb to be on the take. They found the scotch -- they had to go.
Slumlord wouldn’t sell his slum to Johnny. Torrio turned him into a flaming scarecrow in front of his building. Wouldn’t ya know it the whole neighborhood fell in line.
Bar fight and a pool cue. Guess the guy had a soft head -- corner pocket!
Thru
Ahh, the day I met Sal. He was just an underboss back then, but we just clicked, I could tell. Had a meet at the docks. Somebody got spooked, and out with the bullets. Sal and me, we hunker down back-to-back, poppin’ anyone with an attitude, and when the blood and guts settled, we had the money and the booze. That was the beginning of the Deluca crime family and a beautiful friendship.

Classified

Class_#1

• Cipher type: Playfair
• Key: CLASIFEDBGHJKNOPQRTUVWXYZ
• Solved by: Richkiller, certainpersonio & coldstone_the_gamer

CLASSIFIED
11th July 1961
MEMORANDUM FOR SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
SUBJECT: DIVISION 9 ACQUISITION AND THE ELEMENTAL SHARD
I’ve had my men examine all materials acquired from Division 9 in 1946 and have been unable to find the elemental shard. According to our records it was on the original manifest for the formal acquisition of materials and verified as delivered. So I’m more than a little perplexed as to where it’s ended up. I see two possibilities:
1) It was lost/destroyed in transit which seems highly unlikely given both it’s size and density
2) It was intentionally taken by a specified individual and is being kept from us. As to who might have taken it, I have my suspicions. For several years Groom Lake was our primary storage for all Division 9 materials.
Perhaps Pernell may have answers as to the fate of the elemental shard.
--Colonel Sawyer

Class_#2

• Cipher type: Substitution
• Solved by: wcownz12233

CLASSIFIED
2nd November 1963
MEMORANDUM FOR FILE
SUBJECT: HANFORD PROJECT INVOLVEMENT
Today the Hanford project has formally been integrated with the Broken Arrow Initiative
We’ve requested they immediately begin investigating weaponized solutions to “combat” the Samantha threat. Groom Lake is delivering a shipment of element 115 to the site in Washington so they may begin testing.
The Hanford project has requested access to all research regarding the MPD reconstruction project, However I declined this request.
At this time this project should remain at Groom Lake – in recent months they have proven more than capable. It may be our greatest asset in the fight against this threat.
--McNamara

Class_#3

• Cipher type: Ubchi
• Key: Classified
• Solved by: Richkiller & coldstone_the_gamer

CLASSIFIED
23rd March 1946
MEMORANDUM FOR FILE
SUBJECT: DOCTOR RICHTOFEN'S REQUESTS - OPERATION STAPLER
1. The following is the transcription for record of Richtofen's Requests. For OPERATION STAPLER to go into effect, these stipulations had to be met.
2. This list specifically details Richtofen's personal demands - it does not specify scientists recommended for acquisition
- One Portrait of Richtofen to be hung in the Pentagon - One American Baseball signed by Your Babe Ruth - Twenty of Your American Dollars: Ten Pennies, Four Nickels, Two Dimes, Two Quarters, Four 1's, One 5, One 10 - One of these "American Hot Dogs" I've been Hearing So Much About - One American Teddy Bear, speaking of... - Teddy Roosevelt's Moustache from Cold Storage (I know you have it) - One Polarization Device to be constructed [coordinates to be specified] - Titanium Cog of My Precise Specifications - J. Robert Oppenheimer's Chalkboard (not cleaned) - Build a nice flower garden outside your Pentagon Facility - it desperately needs the color - President Truman's Hat
--Major Sawyer

Class_#4

• Cipher type: Vigenère
• Key: Classified
• Solved by: Randomiser

(cough)
Field Report...
(heavy cough)
I don't know why I'm doing this. Is anyone even receiving me?
(cough)
If you are, then all hope is lost. I'm the last one. The others... they're... gone. We failed.
(cough)
I don't know if there are multiple outcomes, or if this has always been the only one. No matter what we do, what we fix, we still end up here... this time travel shit, multiverses, shit fries your brain.
(cough)
I hope Richtofen established contact with the others. Woke them up. It's the only way now. It's up to them.
(cough)
Damn it's cold... very cold...
(beat)
Not much time left now.

Class_#5

• Cipher type: Modified collumnar transposition
• Solved by: Richkiller and coldstone_the_gamer

August 8th, 1947
I've been logging materials acquired from Group 935 for some days now (Major Sawyer has asked me to evaluate files pertaining to undead experiementation) and this afternoon I happened upon an old friend.
Hidden deep away in storage was Dr. Maxis' Original Matter Transference Prototype. Apparently, it was one of the items the Americans acquired when splitting Group 935's resources with the Russians. Unsurprisingly, it's in a terrible state of disrepair. Missing pieces, badly damaged, completely non-operational.
To be fair, Maxis himself stopped using it after the failure of those initial tests in 1939. While useless in its current state, it will provide great reference when we begin teleporter development at this facility. One thing I had never noticed before - scratched into the bottom of the machine was a message:
"For M, who started me on this Journey."
It struck me as odd… I can't recall anyone at Group 935 who went by that initial. I haven't the faintest idea who Maxis could have been referring to.
--Schuster

Dead of the Night

DOTN_Alchemy1

A shadow of what they seek

DOTN_Alchemy2

Serve or sever