I don't know if I'll keep doing this but I had a fun time preparing for the game last time doing it and hopefully it helps get people excited for the game this weekend.

Positional Talent Breakdown

This is my opinion on the state of the two rosters and is subject to being wrong. The scoring is 3 for a push, +- 1 for slight dis/advantage, +- 2 for a big dis/advantage. This is assuming that Nick Chubb out, as expected.

Position	Colts	Browns
QB	2	4
WR	1	5
RB	3	3
TE	4	2
Run Blocking	2	4
Pass Blocking	4	2
Pass Rush	2	4
Interior DL	3	3
LB	4	2
CB	2	4
Safeties	2	4
Specialists	4	2
Play Calling	2	4
TOTALS	36	42

Power Rankings

Colts	Browns	Source
14	12	SportingNews
13	14	ProFootballNetwork
10	12	NBC
12	13	MSN
12	11	NFL SpinZone
11	13	Fansided
14	11	Heavy.com
10	15	The Lines
11	15	NFL.com week 4
11.89	12.89	AVERAGES

Betting Odds/Predictions

Source. All of the point spreads were identical, Browns were picked as the better line in 6 out of the 9 sources.
|Colts|Browns|Pick|Source| |-2.5|+2.5|Colts|DraftKings| |-2.5|+2.5|Browns|BetMGM NJ| |-2.5|+2.5|Browns|FanDuel NJ| |-2.5|+2.5|Browns|PointsBet NJ| |-2.5|+2.5|Colts|SugarHouse| |-2.5|+2.5|Browns|Bet365 NJ| |-2.5|+2.5|Colts|UnibetNJ| |-2.5|+2.5|Browns|William Hill NJ| |-2.5|+2.5|63% Browns|Yahoo!|

Strength of Victories / Weakness of Losses

This is a measure of the quality of the wins and losses. The strength of victory is one of the tie breaker metrics, described here (high number is good). Weakness of losses is a similar metric but to describe how bad a loss is (high number is bad). Because we have no common opponents to date, that metric is not included. These numbers are between 0 and 1. Because the Browns only loss was to the 3-1 Ravens, they have a better loss score than we do, who lost to the 1-3 Jags. We have a slightly better Strength of Victory than the Browns.

Metric	Colts	Browns
SoV	0.333	0.273
WoL	0.75	0.25

Team Rankings

Credit to the Yahoo! app for these values.

Metric	Colts	Browns
PPG	25.8	31.0
PPG Rank	18th	4th
Def PPG	14	31.5
Def PPG Rank	1st	28th
Yards/G	365.5	396.0
Yards/G Rank	22nd	14th
Pass Yards/G	250.3	191.5
Pass Yards/G Rank	20th	32nd
Rush Yards/G	115.3	204.5
Rush Yards/G Rank	15th	1st
Sacks	10.0	11.0
Sacks Rank	8th	6th
Interceptions	7	4
Interceptions Rank	1st	4th

History

The series between the Colts and the Cleveland Browns is tied at 17-17-0. However, since the Colts have been in Indianapolis, they lead the series 12-6, including 8 of the last 9. The two teams have met in the playoffs 4 times, with the most recent one coming in 1988 and the other 3 coming in the Baltimore Colts years.

Keys to winning

For the Colts: - Getting pressure on Mayfield (one of the league's worst under pressure in 2019) - Continued improvement in 3rd down, especially in scoring position - Stopping big plays on Defense - Turning field goals into TDs - (edit) Make Mayfield have to try to beat you deep
For the Browns: - Establish the run game against a strong defensive front - Get OBJ going early - Get pressure on Phillip Rivers - Winning field position battle

Fun fact from last game:

For the last 4 elections, when the Colts have beat the Bears, Republicans have won the presidential election that year. When the Bears have beaten the Colts, Democrats have won the presidential election that year. By this B.S. model, Donald trump will re-elected.
Edit: I originally saw this on the bears subreddit. Didn't realize it had been cross posted to ours before posting.

My Prediction

Both teams are coming into this game with a 3 game winning streak. This feels like a must-win game for the Browns because they have to compete with the Steelers and Ravens in the AFC North. I believe that the Browns offense, even without Nick Chubb will be able to get more done against the Colts defense than the Colt's offense can accomplish against the Browns Defense. Kevin Stefanski will be able to will his team to victory and expose some of the weaknesses the Colts have been able to keep hidden so far this season on defense. Sadly, I think the Browns will win this game 31-20, please prove me wrong, Colts.

I did something I know I shouldn't do and ventured onto the bears subreddit. I was simply trying to see whether they think Foles or Trubisky will start next week and I was bombarded with tons of comments talking about how easy of a win they will have next week against us. I decided to put some thoughts together that will ultimately mean nothing.

Positional comparisons:

3 points for push, +- 1 for narrow margin, +- 2 for big margin. These are a combination of positional power rankings, when available, and personal opinion to fill in the gaps. QB Situation in Chicago and injuries did play a part in this scoring. Probably a bit of homering here.

Position	Colts Points	Bears Points
QB	4	2
WR1	2	4
WR2-5	3	3
RB	4	2
TEs	4	2
LT/RT	5	1
IOL	5	1
CBs	2	4
Safeties	2	4
Standup LBs	4	2
Pass Rush	2	4
IDL	3	3
K	2	4
P	3	3
PKR	4	2
Head Coach	3	3
	TOTALS	TOTALS
TOTALS	52	44

Other numbers:

PR = Power Rankings

Description	Value
Vegas Odds	-2.5 for Colts
CBS Odds	-3 for Colts
SH Odds	-1 for Bears
MGM Odds	-3 for Colts
DraftKing Odds	-2.5 for Colts
NBC PR	IND 12, CHI 16
Fansided PR	IND 16, CHI 12
NFL PR	IND 16, CHI 19
SportNews PR	IND 17, CHI 12
CBS PR	IND 17, CHI 18
SportsNaut PR	IND 16, CHI 17

These are some of the betting odds and spreads, included with some Power Ranking information.

Strength of Victories/Weakness of Losses:

Description	Colts	Bears
SoV	0	0.125
WoL	0.666	NA
Avg PR of win opp	28.125	26.666
Avg PR of loss opp	24.25	NA
Percentage Predicted	35%	65%
Pts per game	28.0	24.7
Pts rank	13th	20th
Points given up per game	15	20.666
Points against rank	3rd	9th
Yards per game	389.7	387.3
Yards rank	15th	17th
Passing yards per game.	249.3	270.3
Pass yards rank	10th	22nd
Rush yards per game	119.3	138.0
Rush yards rank	15th	11th
Time of Possession rank	31st	27th
Sacks	9.0	7.0
Sacks rank	6th	11th
Interceptions	6.0	3.0
Interception rank	1st	7th

I had to make up a weakness of losses category to do the opposite of strength of victory, which is described here. Basically both strength of victory scores for both team are insanely low. A high weakness of loss score is bad, and 0.666 is bad for us. I calculated the average power rankings for both losses and wins. The other rankings are courtesy of the Yahoo sports app.

History:

The Colts lead the series against the bears 24-19-0 all time. The Colts won the last meeting in Indianapolis 29-23. The Colts only superbowl victory in Indianapolis came against the bears, when Peyton Manning lead them to a 29-17 victory. The bears have won 2 of the last 3 meetings between the two teams.

My thoughts:

Neither team has played a difficult schedule so far, whatsoever. Chicago has the better record but the Colts have the more impressive wins. The familiarity of Reich with Foles should benefit the Colts, should the Bears start Foles at QB. On paper, it seems to be a pretty equal matchup and the betting odds mostly agree. I predict a Colts victory with a score of 28-23. I think the Colts defensive will make enough big plays with an uncertain QB situation and Phillip Rivers game manager mentality of 2020 will prevail. The Bears will struggle to get the QB pressure they are used to just enough for the Colts to edge out the win.

This is an example of fundamental DD that takes place at ‘smart’ money institutions based on my professional experience in IBD, Private Equity & most recently at a HF (mods can message me for proof). Not thoroughly fleshed out b/c you autists have limited attention spans, but a summary. Figured I’d take the time to give back to this community that has provided many lolz, & should be a good measuring stick when evaluating other forms of fundamental DD posted here.
NFA.
DKNG - DraftKings, Inc.: vertically integrated US mobile betting operator that also provides retail sports betting & back-end betting solutions through SBTech. Think of SBTech as the tech ‘market-maker’ for traditional sports betting, they do all the funny math to set the betting odds & seem to be working on back-end solutions for DKNG Casino
The Big Picture

• Total annual US Gambling Revenue: ~$90Bn [1]
  • Casinos: ~$75Bn
  • Illegal Sports Betting: ~$13Bn
  • Horse Racing: ~$0.8Bn
  • Daily Fantasy Sports: ~$0.4Bn

Only ~2% of the ~$90Bn gambling revenues were placed online which is the lowest in the world where betting online is legal. For example, in other countries online gaming activity represents ~6% - ~52% of total gambling revenues, with ~12% being the average.
Wall Street expects online gaming revenue to be $20Bn-$40Bn within the next 10 years. For this to be achieved, the online gambling market will have to achieve a ~30% penetration rate on total country gaming revenues. There is an expectation that this is could be easily achievable given penetration trends overseas - see page 11 of this: https://s1.rationalcdn.com/vendors/stars-group/documents/presentations/TSG-Investor-Day_March-27-2019.pdf
Other catalysts include increasing adaptation of sports betting in more states. States that have both legal sports betting + online sports betting permitted: NV, NJ, WV, PA, IA. Sports betting permitted but no online: DE, MS, RI, MO, AR. Prior to COVID there was ongoing discussions across many States, especially ones with growing deficits to explore how permitting sports betting could create a fresh avenue of tax dollars. Post COVID there is an expectation that these discussions will be given extra focus as many States will be hungry for incremental tax dollars. Important to note that currently 43/50 States allow DFS, but given the small share DFS has on total Gaming Revenues, it increasingly looks like DKNG is banking on traditional sports betting for a variety of reasons, more later. There are entire articles on Google arguing this catalyst so I’ll end this here.
Digging Deeper
DKNG’s main offerings are Daily Fantasy Sports (“DFS”) products & traditional sports book products to its clients. Long story short, a metric to look for in my opinion (that is curiously not reported by management or remarked on) is the hold % in traditional gaming sector parlance or the ‘rake’ & compare it to the ‘traditional’ gaming products like sports betting & Blackjack.
For DFS: DKNG takes ~15% of the prize pool (note: used to be ~6-11% [2]). Curiously, their main competitor FanDuel also has moved up to a ~15% rake recently. Google searches show the smaller competitors have a rake in the ~13% range.
This ‘rake’ has grown ~2x in 6 years, but it has been a delicate move on behalf of management. Why? B/c the more ‘sophisticated’ DFS players (equal to autistic day traders on Robinhood) have noted this increase & based on some Googling, some have moved down market to the smaller players. As a side note, many live casino games have their rules altered to grow the Hold %. For example, Blackjack games with 6:5 payouts on 21 have materially higher Hold % than the traditional BJ rules that pay out 3:2. Given the findings so far, DKNG may not have much room to materially increase its hold % in DFS games in the near-term from current of 15%. More on this later.
Now why the fuck is this important? This is important b/c the typical sports book (ex-Parlays) have a ~5% hold %/rake. Parlays have up to a ~30% hold (which is why it’s commonly known as the sucker’s bet), & just for reference, the average Blackjack table clocks in 14.5%. What this means: Every dollar put into these games, the “House” or DKNG, will take 15% of your money for DFS games, for sports bets they will be pocketing ~5%, up to ~30% if you’re into parlays, & we’ll just use the standard 14.5% BJ hold for the DraftKings Casino platform.
So why the acquisition of SBTech & a foray into the traditional sports gambling market? As you can see previously, the illegal sports betting market is >30x the size of the current daily fantasy sports market. So it’s clear that the DFS providers including DKNG are foraying into the space to capture this user base & hopefully convert them into games that have a higher hold %, such as DFS/DKNG Casino.
As of May 2020, DKNG has achieved a 30% penetration rate on its ~4mm ‘monetized’ DFS clientele to its Online Sports Book (OSB), from the OSB+DFS clientele, DKNG has converted 50% into its DraftKings Casino platform.
Including non-monetized users, user base totals at 12mm. Based on these unit economics: every 1mm of additional users -> 333k monetized users for DFS -> 100k users for OSB -> 50k users for DraftKings Casino.
Some Numbers – Italicized/Bolded the important

• In total, DKNG has DFS paying clientele of ~4mm, the metric management focuses on is “Monthly Unique Payers (MUP)” which spans across DFS & online sports betting***. As of Q1’20 they reported 720,000*** MUPs, representing +16% YoY growth [3]
  • Average revenue per monthly user (ARPU) of ~$41, +11% YoY
    • Based on previous observation of Hold %, looks like ARPU growth will be limited
  • Since ’17, MUP has grown at a ~11% CAGR & ARPU has grown at a ~19% CAGR
  • As a side note: the ~4mm monetized user base was acquired at ~$122/user over 3 years. Total users cost them $41/user over the last 3 years [3].
• They are currently EBITDA negative & Wall St expects them to be positive by 2023
  • I took a dive into the math driving this, here is a summary:
    • Based on their current cost structure they will need to have ~1.7mm MUPs at an ARPU of ~$46 to break-even. This implies total monetized users of ~10mm from ~4mm currently

Numbers that represent Risks to Long Thesis

• DKNG’s user base of ~12mm is on the low end of the sector vs. its ‘brick & mortar’ competitor's user bases (online betting platforms with physical casino presence)
  • CZR with 55mm, MGM with 33mm, ERI with 10mm (in pending merger with CZR, could have a lot of overlap), FanDuel with 8.5mm
  • Is there a concern for increased marketing costs to increase user base? Let’s look at a case study of NJ, the first state to open both mobile & retail sports betting:
    • FanDuel + DraftKings have held 80%+ of the OSB market share since 12/2018 which is estimated to be driven by the conversion opportunity from DFS that is unique to both companies [4]
    • On the flipside, a case study to examine going forward is how DKNG can get OSB customers in a State that does not allow DFS. Nevada. Home to Las fucking Vegas. Prior to NV pushing FanDuel/DKNG out (highly likely due to casino lobbying), NV was a top-15 State in terms of revenue for them. NV is home to the fattest sports book in the US, & recently the gaming commission started to parse the data on sportsbook wagers done online vs. in-person, & it came out to roughly 50/50. It will be interesting to see how they try to capture market share in a state with no DFS
• Long-term EBITDA margin target of 35% requires huge growth in MUPs
  • Based on their estimated '22 cost structure: Holding ARPU of ~$46, MUPs will have to be ~5.2mm, a 7x increase from current to achieve a EBITDA margin of 35%
    • A focus on future earnings will be management's ability to shift to a more fixed-cost structure which would effectively lower the MUP requirement for profitability

Things to look for when going Long
- Progress of additional States legalizing sports betting – specifically, States with DFS already legalized
- Cost structure evolving to a more fixed mix vs. the mostly variable mix currently as this will be the forward figure that determines profitability
- Increasing User Base (Curr.: 12mm) -> Monetized Base (Curr.: 4mm) -> MUP (1Q’20: 0.7mm)

• Management seems to be focused more on the first step, but one thing to note is that the 33% monetization rate is very high when compared to something like League of Legends which isn’t entirely comparable but in 2013 had a ~4% monetization rate [5]. This, combined with the below implies that this conversion rate may be the ceiling for now
• As a side note, ~6 years ago FanDuel had ~300k monetized on an ~800k user base for a monetization rate of ~37% [6]

Share Price Target
Given the cost structure of the company, I’m going to base the price targets around Enterprise Value / Revenues (driven by MUPs & ARPUs).

• MUP sensitivity of 5mm - 6mm
• ARPU sensitivity from $41 - $47 for an average of $44, just a $3 increase from current of $41.
• Share Price targets based on 2.0x - 4.5x EV / Sales.
  • Note: Flutter Entertainment (FanDuel ParentCo) trades at ~3.6x EV/Sales

Bear Case MUP: 5mm -> $20.32 - $45.73
Base Case MUP: 5.5mm -> $22.27 - $50.10
Bull Case MUP: 6mm -> $24.21 - $54.47
These MUPs imply a monetized customer base of 28mm – 33mm. At the high-end, this implies that DKNG monetized customer base will equal MGM’s current total user base.
At yesterday’s close of $43.70, DKNG is trading at 3.5x – 4.5x forward Revenues on an expected >5,000 MUPs.
Share Price drivers / considerations:
- Continued multiple expansion

• Consideration: A 1x premium to FanDuel's 3.6x, implies a ~15% upside to current. They're bigger than FanDuel, do they deserve the premium?

- MUP Growth exceeding beyond targets

• Consideration: Stock currently implies that they should on average be growing at 40% QoQ – during 2018 they had on average +30% growth QoQ in MUPs, marking their best year

Management Team
Jason Robins, 39 – Co-Founder & CEO. Duke BA, started DraftKings from day 1 in 2011. The 2 other buddies he started the Company with are still at DKNG. Dude navigated the Company through the scandal that rocked them in ’15 & ’16, and was the trailblazer in getting DFS labeled as a non-gambling product that enabled it to open in States without a gaming designation. This shit is the stuff that gets people in history books. His accomplishments make him seem like a very competent guy. Has 3 kids now, and only ~3% economic ownership in DKNG but has 90% of the voting power through his Class B share ownership. Also he actively participates in venture investments, sitting on 10 boards.
His comp plan performance bonus target is pretty murky, but main drivers are EPS growth, revenue growth, then a bunch of margin & return metrics, along with share price returns. Overall, very open-ended & it’s safe to say as long as shit doesn’t hit the fan, he will be eligible for his max payouts year over year. I’m assuming the lawyers tried to encompass everything possible for maximum flexibility to justify him earning his max comp as long as DKNG is still around.
Since he’s got voting control of 90%, I’ll end the specific-person overview here, but want to note that they have a very bloated C-suite. 12 folks at DKNG, 8 folks at SBTech, all with C-suite designations. Whereas their main competitor FanDuel, has 3 guys with a C-suite designations & 1 EVP, but is a sub under a larger ParentCo that has its own management team of ~5 guys.
Looking through glassdoor you can see the biggest complaint among employees giving bad reviews is based on management, all of the specific issues they point out IMO are a result of a top-heavy company. Seems like a good starting point to optimize their cost structure, but given Robins' history of sticking this entire thing through with his co-founders since '11 stuff like this doesn't seem to be a part of his playbook. They’re a public company now though, so it’s going to be interesting to see going forward.
TL;DR:
If I were to initiate a position in DKNG, the stock would have to fall to the $35-$37 range for me to be a buyer of the stock, and based on this rough intro analysis I'll be considering Put options if it breaches $50. I would not touch Calls at this level.
​
[1] Wall Street Research - 6/27/19
[2] https://rotogrinders.com/articles/bang-for-your-buck-a-look-at-dfs-industry-rake-153302
[3] https://draftkings.gcs-web.com/static-files/8f3a5c5a-7228-45bf-aab2-63604111c48d
[4] Wall Street Research - 5/19/20
[5]https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/223071/Dont_monetize_like_League_of_Legends_consultant_says.php
[6] https://rotogrinders.com/threads/how-many-people-actually-play-dfs-regularly-252044

Hey y'all,
So it's becoming clear that states are going bankrupt due to COVID and looking for ways to generate revenue.
One of the most talked about ways is to legalize and tax sports betting. Especially after the success of New Jersey, the state has brought in over $60M since legalizing sports betting.
It's looking like 2/3 of the US will have some sort of sports betting by the end of 2021.
Which public companies are primed to take advantage of sports betting legalization?
I'm using this list to find co's in the sector - these look like the top players:

1. Las Vegas Sands ($38B) - but apparently their chairman is anti-online gaming.
2. Draftkings ($24B) - pretty steep valuation no?
3. VICI ($12B)
4. MGM ($10B)
5. Melco ($9B)
6. Wynn ($9B)
7. Churchill Downs ($6B)
8. Penn ($6B) - Barstool can market but anyone else worried about debt?
9. Boyd ($3B)
10. CZR ($3B) - believe this is pre-merger?

"With seven minutes left on Sunday, the Atlanta Falcons led the Dallas Cowboys 39-24. Their odds on the in-game line was -3333. Someone bet $35,000 to win $1,050 on the Falcons’ moneyline, according to BetMGM."
https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl-bad-beat-someone-bet-35000-on-the-falcons-ingame-moneyline-to-win-10-and-lost-143604165.html

“Sports bettors have waited four months to see the return of major sports in the United States, so it should come as a surprise to no one that they jumped on the chance to place wagers on Thursday’s Opening Day MLB action.
What is surprising is just how eager they were — more money was bet on the New York Yankees game against the Washington Nationals than any other baseball game in DraftKings’ history.
ESPN’s David Purdum reported that the total handle (including in-game bets) was on its way to eclipsing the amount of money wagered on Game 7 of last year’s World Series.
DraftKings was not the only sportsbook reporting a significant handle on Thursday’s games, according to Patrick Everson of Covers. BetMGM took a $40,000 bet on the Nationals at +115, which was placed prior to news that Washington superstar Juan Soto tested positive for COVID-19 and would miss the game.
The book also received a $25,000 bet on the Yankees at -135 (prior to the Soto news) and a $10,000 wager on the Nationals at +115 for the first five innings. Soto’s absence, along with a previously large handle on New York, moved the odds to around -170 and the Nationals’ first five innings price to +125.”
https://www.majorwager.com/books-take-heavy-action-on-opening-day-draftkings-takes-most-mlb-money-ever-on-yankees-nationals/

“Sports bettors have waited four months to see the return of major sports in the United States, so it should come as a surprise to no one that they jumped on the chance to place wagers on Thursday’s Opening Day MLB action.
What is surprising is just how eager they were — more money was bet on the New York Yankees game against the Washington Nationals than any other baseball game in DraftKings’ history.
ESPN’s David Purdum reported that the total handle (including in-game bets) was on its way to eclipsing the amount of money wagered on Game 7 of last year’s World Series.
DraftKings was not the only sportsbook reporting a significant handle on Thursday’s games, according to Patrick Everson of Covers. BetMGM took a $40,000 bet on the Nationals at +115, which was placed prior to news that Washington superstar Juan Soto tested positive for COVID-19 and would miss the game.
The book also received a $25,000 bet on the Yankees at -135 (prior to the Soto news) and a $10,000 wager on the Nationals at +115 for the first five innings. Soto’s absence, along with a previously large handle on New York, moved the odds to around -170 and the Nationals’ first five innings price to +125.”
https://www.majorwager.com/books-take-heavy-action-on-opening-day-draftkings-takes-most-mlb-money-ever-on-yankees-nationals/

Author note: The Cryopod to Hell is a Reddit-exclusive story with over three years of editing and refining. As of this post, the total rewrite is 222 parts long and 953,000+ words. For more information, check out the link below:
What is the Cryopod to Hell?
Official Discord Server.
Support me on Patreon! Every dollar helps, and you get access to lots of art and other cool stuff!
Want to read the whole story without waiting? Click here. It's free!
...................................
(Previous Part)
(Part 001)
...
Kar and I spend the next several hours following the main 'road' that weaves across Hell Harbor's coastline. Comparing it to streets on Earth makes it seem extremely primitive, given how its surface is made of compacted dirt and not concrete or something more durable. Well-worn ruts in the ground tell a tale of the excessive number of carriages ferrying passengers along the coastline, from the north to the south.
We keep to the forested side of the road, opposite the ocean, ducking behind cover whenever we spot someone coming. Unfortunately, due to how my Wordsmithing functions, I can't keep us invisible forever. Doing so would drain my mana by three times its usual rate, and even moreso if I have to maintain Kar and Blinker's invisibility if we separate from each other.
So, instead, I activate my T-REX and set it to camouflage mode, allowing me to blend into the background scenery without wasting my mana. Kar's green skin allows him to melt into the forest with ease, while Blinker can just hide behind a leaf. When it comes to stealth, being small is an underrated attribute.
[Turtle,] Kar says, transmitting his thoughts to me from behind a tree. [I sense a single person coming around the next bend. Their mana level is unusually weak. I believe they are human.]
I nod. [One sec.]
I deactivate my T-REX and speak a word of power. "Sense."
My senses reach out half a mile ahead, where I quickly pick out a single human female riding a horse. However, unlike the other humans who've passed us, this lady wears extravagantly designed clothes. Her youthful appearance makes her look about twenty-five years old, while her haughty expression instantly reminds me of Beelzebub.
[It's a human woman,] I say. [I'm a little surprised to say this, but I think she isn't a slave. She's dressed like a noble, so she might know something about Ose's whereabouts.]
Kar grunts. [Hurgh. Shall we tie her up and interrogate her?]
[Ooh, good idea!] Blinker chimes in. [I'll disorient her with a little finger waving, while you guys get the rope!]
[What?! No!] I protest. [Jeez. I'll just ask the lady a few questions. Hang tight.]
With my physical appearance still a perfect facsimile of Mara, I stride over to lean against a tree alongside the road. Having absorbed many of Mara's memories, I've already learned more than a few of her quirks, so I pull out a deck of fake Tarot cards and pretend to glance through them, acting as if I haven't any interest in the world around me.
Within a minute or two, the sound of hoofs clopping against the ground reaches my ears. I flick my eyes to the side to spot the young, dark-skinned woman riding toward the Hell Harbor Annex at a speed I would describe as 'leisurely.'
As the woman draws near, I continue to stare at my cards while flipping through them. Eventually, she starts to pass me, only to slow to a stop.
"Hm? Mara? What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?"
Immediately, I get a sinking feeling in my gut.
Shit. She knows me. Knows Mara, I mean. Phoebe?
Phoebe quickly appears at the top of my subconscious. She activates the terminal for Mara's memories and flips through them. "This young woman's name is... Lily! Lily Brown. Uhm, her father's name is Benjamin Brown, she lives at, uh... at the Slithering Spire... uhm..."
That's enough for now. Keep listening and try to give me answers to any of her questions.
I raise my head to stare at the young woman riding the horse. Her bright pink hair shines in the sunlight, giving her a cute and merry demeanor. However, the half-scowl on her face makes her attractiveness drop by several points.
"Lily. Don't mind me, I'm just passing the time," I say, while running a finger through my long, blonde hair.
"Oh, so now you call me by my first name," Lily mutters. "My father told you not to step foot within ten miles of the Spire, especially after what you did the last time we saw each other. You have a lot of nerve showing your face around here."
The sinking feeling in my stomach turns into a bottomless chasm. Goddammit. What were the odds we'd run into the one person who has beef with Mara? Shit. This is going to be a sticky situation.
"I, ah, came to apologize," I say, winging the conversation. "Some things happened that made me re-evaluate my outlook on life. I was abrasive and rude the last time I visited."
"Hmph. Understatement of the century," Lily hisses. "He was my brother, you filthy, bloodskinned bitch. Because of you, Tyrese can't have children anymore. You demons are all the same."
Lily exhales violently, flaring her nostrils in rage.
"If my daddy were here, he'd rip your bloody head off. I don't want your apology. I want you to drop dead."
Hoo, Christ, I think to myself. I really know how to pick 'em. Got the saltiest broad this side of the Mississippi.
"Yeah, you do," Phoebe says sarcastically. "Alright, so looking through Mara's memories, it seems this Tyrese kid made a crude joke about how humans are 'bigger' than the pathetic demonhoods most demons sport, and that pissed Mara off. She ended up castrating him. He screamed the whole time and went into shock, barely surviving thanks to this 'Ben Brown' guy's doctors on call. So, yeah, there's a lot of bad blood between Mara and Lily."
I hadn't noticed...
With a sigh, I don my most apologetic smile. "Look, Lily, I know I've done some terrible things, but I'd like to make it up to you. What would you say if I told you I had a method to, ahem, restore your brother's dignity? I can't undo the suffering I've caused him, but I do feel terrible. After all, a harmless joke is no reason to maim someone for the rest of their life."
A strange look appears on Lily's face. "Huh? What in the seven hells are you on about?! Since when have you ever been the type of person to regret hurting one of us 'filthy fleshbags'?! Admit it, you filthy skank! You're just afraid of my daddy! You know that if you piss him off again, he'll rip you limb from limb! Well, let me just tell you this, little miss pissy; you should be afraid! My daddy is the strongest human you'll ever face! So you'd better turn that ugly, fat ass of your around and haul it on out of here! Hmph!"
The more Lily talks, the more baffled I become.
Who the hell is her father, and how can he possibly be strong enough to instill such confidence in his daughter? Does Lily, perhaps, refer to political power? Are politics an integral part of Hell Harbor's society?
As several questions churn in my mind, Phoebe suddenly pipes up.
"Benjamin Brown! Ah, I remember, now. Jason, don't you recall Tucker's vision? His artifact used to belong to a man named Benjamin Brown, back during the Energy Wars."
That's impossible, I reply. Tucker's visions were from a hundred thousand years ago. Benjamin Brown would have surely died by now, if not during the war. Unless...
Phoebe nods. "Exactly. Marie survived all this time. She mentioned humans who lived on Hell Harbor, too. Benjamin Brown must be one of those 'elites' who obtained immortality and stayed alive long after the Energy Wars."
I see.
With a slight nod, I return my attention to Lily. Thanks to the speed of thought, conversing with my mind-wife only takes a split-second of real-time.
It's no wonder Lily isn't afraid of me. Benjamin Brown once possessed a legendary heroic artifact. He slaughtered Volgrim and demons alike. He's probably a total badass, and that's why even Demon Barons like Mara wouldn't dare to fuck with him.
Maybe I ought to pay him a visit.
After bowing my head, I nod apologetically. "Yes, uhm, you've got me there. Alright. I understand. If I can't make amends for my past actions, I'll leave you alone. Sorry for wasting your time."
I turn away from Lily and start to walk away, only for the girl to speak again, her voice much quieter than before.
"Wait. Something's not right, here. You've been acting awfully odd, 'Mara.' I've known you for a long time, and not once have you ever apologized or said you were sorry about anything. What's going on, here? Who are you?"
My heart skips a beat. Shit. Lily's onto me.
I spin on my heel while intending to reply, only for Lily to continue speaking. "Hah. I should have known. You're not Mara at all. You must be..."
She pauses for dramatic effect.
"...Belial! Oh, for devil's sake! Admit it! I've caught you red-handed this time!"
I groan inwardly. Shit. How am I going to deal with this turn of events?
"Don't worry," Phoebe says. She rapidly clicks and clacks on Mara's memory terminal. "This is actually fortunate for us. Belial and Lily are birds of a feather. It seems they hang out occasionally, though Mara's memory is quite spotty on the relevant details."
That's not good enough! I reply. We already stepped in a fat pile of shit by poorly impersonating Mara! I can't afford to screw up again by poorly apeing Samantha!
A split-second passes as Phoebe considers my words.
"Jason. I have an idea. I want you to allow me to take over your body for a bit. I know Sam much better than you. I think I can imitate her, but I need to have full control. If I try to tell you what to say, you're bound to come off sounding stiff and clunky. Impersonations are not your specialty."
I barely even have to think about Phoebe's request. Sure. You know how to use my Wordsmithing if the going gets tough, right?
"Naturally."
Alright. Here goes nothing. Do your best, sweetie.
With a mental command, I close my eyes, willing my consciousness to lower its defenses. Phoebe's soul quickly engulfs mine, wrapping me in its warmth and allowing her to take control of my body.
Having already done this once, back when my soul departed to investigate Marie and the Volgrim, she still surprises me by completing the mind-swap effortlessly.
My consciousness falls into a dark abyss, one which quickly brightens up, allowing me to step foot inside my very own Mind Realm. My soul, now detached from my body, lands amidst a field of buildings ripped straight out of the 2020's.
"You caught me!" Phoebe says to Lily, her voice lilting cutely. She acts embarrassed for a moment and covers her face, all while secretly whispering, "Disguise," under her breath.
Phoebe, now fully in control of my body and Wordsmithing, uses a word of power to transform from Mara into Belial, shedding her regal Baron appearance for a far less dressed, more striking one.
"Teehee! It's me!" Phoebe says, sticking her tongue out. Her voice perfectly mirrors Samantha's, reminding me further of how versatile my Wordsmithing can be. "I'm surprised it took you so long to figure me out! Aren't we besties?"
"Oh, Beli," Lily says, clicking her tongue. "I should have known it was you! How have you been? I haven't seen you in, what, two years?"
The young woman slides one of her legs around the horse and hops to the ground. Her leather boots clomp against the dirt as she lands, and my wife holds out a hand to steady her.
"Two years? Hmm... you know me! I don't pay much attention to the time! I always- mgm?!"
Before she can finish her sentence, Phoebe gets thrown off-balance when Lily suddenly turns around, grabs the back of her head, and presses their lips together.
I stand within my Mind Realm, eyes wide open at the sudden change in Lily's attitude. Where before, she was a haughty, reserved noblewoman, she suddenly blooms into an erotic-minded temptress.
Phoebe, even more startled than me, only manages to hold herself together by remembering her job of mimicking Belial. She presses back into the kiss and returns Lily's embrace with twice the intensity. Both of them go at it for several long seconds, making me feel insanely awkward as a passive observer.
My wife, who has taken over my body, is now pretending to be her best friend while making out with a woman neither of us knows! What the hell is going on?!
After more than ten seconds of furious tongue-punching, Lily pulls away, her cheeks beet-red. "Devils! It's been a while since you, ahem, retorted so passionately! Have we been apart for so long that you've forgotten to act coy and indifferent?"
Phoebe smacks her lips. Lily's taste lingers just long enough to turn her foggy-brained. "Coy? I, ah... well, what can I say! Haha... I like to do my own thing!"
"No kidding," Lily sighs. She fans herself for a moment before clearing her throat. "Ahm, so, Beli, dear! Why are you out here, all by your lonesome? Don't tell me you were waiting for me to come waltzing by! Pulling such a horrid joke on me is in terrible taste!"
Phoebe doesn't reply for a second or two. Thanks to our mind-link, I notice her use of telepathy increases substantially as she excavates Lily's surface level-thoughts.
"Well, I have my reasons. It's been a while since I returned to Hell Harbor, and you just happened to come trotting down that road. What's a girl to do, if not improvise?"
"Tsk, you've always been an enigma," Lily says, clicking her tongue. "Daddy says you've been on Tarus II, helping out a bunch of humans. Is that what happened, or is his intelligence network wrong again?"
To my surprise, Phoebe doesn't give a direct answer.
"Hmm. What do you think?"
"I think that's exactly the kind of thing you'd do!" Lily replies. She jumps toward Phoebe and wraps her arms around Phoebe's succubus form. "You're always way too kind and compassionate! If it weren't for your help, Tyrese would never have made a full recovery!"
"Oh, I didn't do all that much," Phoebe says, feigning ignorance. "You're giving me way too much credit, Lily, dear."
"Nuh-uh! We only managed to repair half the damage that filthy, sodding Baron bitch did to my brother! It was you who made Tyrese whole again! He still can't have any kids, but daddy said we owed you a great debt! And you know me... I'm not one to let debts gather interest... hehe!"
Phoebe and Lily continue bantering. What surprises me is how, despite Phoebe knowing very little about Lily and Belial's relationship, she manages to improvise time after time, all by using several advanced psychological tricks invented well after the Arthurian era.
Cold reading, a technique often used by so-called 'psychics' from my era, allowed them to speak in broad, generalized terms to gather information about their subjects. Phoebe uses it to determine just how close Belial and Lily's relationship is, while inferring more in-depth information by casually acknowledging and denying statements in a playful manner. Lily, oblivious to Phoebe's intentions, keeps letting more and more details slip, which in turn fuels my wife's knowledge.
The longer the conversation continues, the more adept Phoebe becomes at manipulating Lily. Soon, the young girl becomes putty in her hands.
"Oh, I missed you so much," Phoebe says, grinning from ear to ear. "I've been trapped on Tarus II with only a few friends to keep me company, but none of them are... like you. You know what I mean."
"Indeed, I do," Lily says, blushing. She gazes into Phoebe's eyes as she speaks, both of them sharing more than a hint of intimacy.
However, Lily pulls away and ruffles Phoebe's hair.
"Oh, Beli. Things have changed since we last spoke. I'm sorry that we haven't talked much, but... you remember Beelzebub, don't you?"
"Beelzebub? Of course. What about him?"
"Well, he's the new master of the Slithering Spire. He's become more and more heavy-handed over the years. He won't allow any of us humans to fraternize with Hell Harbor's residents, especially other pureblooded demons. It's tearing me up inside! I haven't spent any time with Bianca in several years- you remember Bianca, right?"
Phoebe nods sagely. Her eyes reveal wisdom beyond her years as she acts like a long-lost friend of whoever 'Bianca' might be. "Naturally. What happened between you two? Did Beelzebub hurt her?"
"No, no! It's just... since Bianca's a succubus, Beelzebub won't allow us to spend any time together! Remember that time when the three of us visited the hot spring? You, me, and Bianca? Well, as long as Beelzebub is the master of the Slithering Spire, it'll never happen again! The fucking rat-bastard always gets in my way! He won't let me do as I please, and I don't dare stand up to him! Daddy doesn't care, either! He's always going on about that damned Operation Stormbringer as if it's more important than his daughter's happiness!"
"Operation Stormbringer?" Phoebe asks. "Forgive me, but I don't recall hearing about that one."
Lily waves her hands nonchalantly. "Oh, some big invasion plan. I don't pay attention to the details, and neither should you. Daddy and the top demon generals are always blustering and blowing their horns about this and that! It's hardly worth our attention! Especially when it involves that damned Ose."
"Ose?" Phoebe asks. "Funny you should mention her. I came to Hell Harbor because I needed to see her."
Lily's eyes widen. "What? You?! Beli, darling! I thought you hated that skank! Any time Ose came up in conversation, you always started ranting and raving!"
Phoebe crosses her arms. She assumes a pouty stance and turns a few degrees away from Lily. "I do hate her! Ose and I have a long, sordid history of backstabbings and betrayal. I'd rather not go into it, because it's beside the point. I'm here on official business, Lily, dear. Humanity's leader sent me to discuss peace talks with Ose. If I can convince her to sign a treaty... well, you and I might get to see each other once in a while. Not only that, but even as the owner of the estate, Beelzebub won't have any legs to stand on. You, me, and Bianca could do as we pleased."
Lily's expression turns curious. "Oh? I didn't peg you as the ambassador type! You must really get along with those humans to treat them so nicely."
"As well as I get along with you," Phoebe says, flashing a radiant smile. "But, um, there's a problem, Lily. I'm a little embarrassed to say it, but it's been bugging me, and I don't know who to ask for help."
Lily practically leaps for joy. She rushes toward Phoebe and grabs her hands. "You can ask me for anything, Beli! I'll always help you!"
Phoebe blushes. She averts her eyes, and for once, I realize that her expression isn't deceitful. My wife is actually starting to develop feelings for this young woman.
"Umm, well, you see... there was this Hydra that appeared on Tarus II. I helped fight it, but due to some terrible accidents that happened during the battle, I hit my head and got knocked out. When I woke up, I had lost some of my memories. How do I put this..."
Phoebe hesitates for a moment, building anticipation in Lily's eyes. "Yes? What's the matter?"
"Well..." Phoebe continues, "...I forgot where Ose's estate was! I'm totally lost! I've been searching everywhere, but I'm too embarrassed to ask for help. Oh, devils, you probably think I'm an idiot!"
"An idiot? No, no, don't be silly!" Lily laughs. "And here I thought some jerk had broken your heart. If you don't remember where Ose's estate is, that's easy. I can show you the way, Beli."
Lily presses her head against Phoebe's chest and sighs, taking a moment to inhale her scent. "Ahh... I missed you so much. I'm glad to help you. Never act as if I'll hurt you, okay? We're closer than sisters. Closer than lovers, even."
Phoebe blushes. "Yes. Yes, we are."
...
After a few more minutes, Phoebe bashfully waves goodbye. Lily mounts her horse and waves back at us. "Bye-bye, Beli! Remember, it sits atop the third mountain plateau to the east, the one overlooking Bael and Mephisto's estates! After you visit that skank, please drop by later! I'll have daddy's doctors examine your head. I don't want you to suffer any permanent brain injuries, okay?"
"Right, right," Phoebe says, blowing Lily a kiss. "I'll see you later, lover!"
Both women give their goodbyes, then depart, traveling in opposite directions. Phoebe enters the forest to the east, only to hide behind a tree once Lily disappears from our sight.
"Hoo. That was stressful," Phoebe says. "I didn't anticipate Lily being so... excitable."
"You did great," I say, taking a seat on a bench. "Way better than I could have managed. If Lily had kissed me and done the tongue thing, I'd probably have broken character right then and there. You acted the part perfectly."
Phoebe's face turns beet-red. She slumps to the ground and hides her face in her hands. "Oh, god! Jason, don't bring that up! I'm married! I shouldn't be kissing other people! E-especially not women! It's weird!"
"I don't see anything wrong with it," I reply. "It's not like you planned the kiss, or anything. If it had bothered me, I would have stopped you. Besides, in the era I come from, women kissing other women wasn't weird, nor men kissing men. Maybe it was a little bit rare, but I saw plenty of it growing up."
Phoebe rubs her face furiously. "Argh! That might be true for you, Jason, but not for me! I grew up in... in a proper era! Where men courted women, and both sexes knew their roles! This modern era always makes me feel so weird! So... so dirty."
I keep my voice neutral. "How so?"
Phoebe hesitates. She doesn't reply for several seconds but eventually relents.
"Well. How do I put this? Um. Ever since you and I got married- no, even before then... Samantha has always acted much more touchy-feely than I liked. At first, I didn't want to be rude, but then after our marriage, I started feeling guilty about my passive rejections. Whenever she got too close, I would push her away. I never directly rejected her, and that, in turn, made me feel worse."
My mind-wife sighs. "Not only that, but since I never told you about all the moves she made on me in private, I always felt like I was lying to you, too. Sammy and I never did anything, but I always felt, and still feel, like a complete ass. I should set boundaries, but I don't know how. I don't even know if I should."
She falls silent, waiting for my reply.
I nod. "Yeah. I know all of that. I've always known. The day you and I got married, Samantha came over to me and confessed she was madly in love with you. It caught me off-guard, but I took it in stride. You and Sam have a lot in common, after all. Both of you lost the first men you ever loved. Satan, for her, and Sir Percival, for you. I don't see myself as a fairy tale hero of legend, rescuing a virgin princess. I grew up in a society where marriage was cheap, divorces were common, and love had lost most of its substance."
"I don't believe in true love," I continue. "At least... I didn't. Not until I met you. I knew a lot of people growing up. Good people, the sorts who went to Church every Sunday, and said their prayers before their three meals. I always thought the people who held onto their wives and husbands the tightest had most unhappy marriages. They always broke up and ended their love with explosions of rage and torn-apart families."
"Jason..."
Phoebe starts to interrupt me, but I continue. "There's more. I knew a lot of people who thought of their spouses as possessions. They assumed that marriage entitled them to 100% of their wives or husband's affection. To me, even if that were true in the eyes of the law and God himself, it felt immoral. You have a big heart, Phoebe. There's more than enough room for you to love Samantha and me equally, especially after all she's done for us. For you. She saved your life when I couldn't. If it weren't for Sam, Beelzebub would have killed you, Neil, and all the other people in the Core. She's a good friend. I'd never want to hurt either of you."
After I finish speaking, Phoebe falls silent. Tears well up in her eyes, and she quickly tries to wipe them away. "Jason... I never... I never knew you felt that way."
"Dammit, Phoebe. Don't cry. You're gonna make me cry, too..."
"Sniff..."
Phoebe paws at her eyes, and hiccups. "Oh, god. I feel like such an idiot. Why didn't I just tell you sooner? I always thought you'd be jealous, or that you'd pull away from me. I love you, Jason. You're the only man I have eyes for, but... sometimes, when I speak to Samantha, I just... I have this urge to close the gap between us, yet I never do. It tears me up inside."
"I feel terrible, too," I say. "I never realized you and Sam had such tension between each other. I always assumed when you ended up at the pit stop; you two were making a quick pit stop in each other's pit stops."
Phoebe sniffles. "...What?"
"You know... when you're racing. Sam's your mechanic, remember? That's why I mentioned pit stops...?"
"Jason. Why do you always have to make such terrible jokes at the silliest times?"
"Dunno. It's a curse."
Phoebe laughs. "Haha... ugh. My face hurts. I look like crap. Jeez, the worst part is, I'm not even the real Phoebe. I'm just her mind-clone. My original body doesn't even know I've told you all this."
I shake my head. "No. You are the 'real' Phoebe, equal to your original body. As far as I'm concerned, I have two loving wives. You might as well be her spiritual twin or something. Don't get so down on yourself."
Phoebe doesn't cheer up. She stares at the ground listlessly. "You can say that all you want, Jason. It doesn't change anything. I'm still just an errant soul living inside your Mind Realm. I don't have a physical body. I can use yours when you're not using it, but it's not mine. I'm only borrowing it."
The moment Phoebe finishes speaking, a strange, euphoric idea pops into my head. Like a lightbulb going off, I jump out of my seat and gaze forward with brightness in my eyes. "Ah! That's it! Phoebe, you're a genius!"
Phoebe pulls her head out of her hands. "...I am?"
"Yes. Think about it. You don't have a physical body. You can't interact with me, currently. However, that doesn't have to be the case. I'm a Wordsmith! I can create a new body for you and allow you to enter it whenever you want!"
Phoebe stares at the ground for a few moments before jumping to her feet. "N-no way! Jason, that's genius!"
"Yeah. I don't know if it will work, but it's worth a shot. Try making yourself a new body, then let me take over mine and I'll transfer-"
"STOP!"
Before I can finish my sentence, a masculine voice shouts from behind me, making me jump out of my skin. I whirl around to see Raphael, Gabriel, and Michael standing less than twenty feet away. The expansive city park somehow seems much smaller with Gabriel's giant form towering above the nearest trees.
"Thou shalt do no such thing, foolish child," Raphael hisses. "Already, thou hath cloned thy wife's soul without comprehending the consequences. Verily, I tell thee now, that if thou go through with thy foolish plans, thou shalt irreparably harm the one thou claimeth to love."
With my mind still in a daze, I merely stare at the old man. "Huh? What do you mean, Raphael? Explain."
The Archangel of Wisdom flaps his wings. He slowly hovers nearer to me, all while maintaining a contemptuous grimace.
"Imbecilic child. Thou knoweth nothing of Soul Links. Tell me, Jason, what are souls?"
I shrug. "Um. The essence of a person? Their... core?"
"That description is not far from the truth," Raphael concedes. "However! It is far from encompassing the importance of a being's soul. Souls mustn't be considered trifles and playthings. Those who manipulate souls freely will accumulate terrible injuries, ones incurable by even the greatest healer. Look no further than Valac and Mephisto, necromancers who manipulate the dead to do their bidding. In exchange for tremendous power, they lost the vitality from their bodies."
"Alright," I reply. "What about Satan? He seemed just fine, despite being a soul manipulator like Valac. Hell, he was worse, in many ways."
Michael, instead of Raphael, replies. "Indeed. The Devil was a crafty bastard. He, too, manipulated souls to a fearsome extent. However, while he may not have lost his body, he lost his link to the strands of fate. That is why he eventually perished not ten thousand years after his emergence."
"Put another way, the Devil rapidly accumulated fatal amounts of bad luck," Gabriel explains. "Fate conspired to kill him. The Devil proved incapable of resisting the Creator's divine will, and thus, he expired."
I nod. "Fine. Manipulating souls is evil. I get it. What does that mean, though? What would making a body for Phoebe cost me?"
Raphael shakes his head. "I do not know. Each soul manipulator suffers their own agony. In my case, I ended up trapped alone inside this ring. However, in thy case, I speaketh of the evils of soul manipulation not to protect thee, but to shield thy wife."
Raphael continues. "Every time a soul separates from a vessel, it suffers irreversible trauma. Thou hath cloned thy wife's soul. Her clone has, no doubt, suffered some level of memory loss. Her mood swings are not a mere byproduct of her situation, but directly linked to the circumstances of her creation!"
Raphael stabs a finger toward me.
"Thy reckless use of soul manipulation has caused thy wife's errant soul to suffer! Thou art the cause of her pain. Further, by trading places with her, not once, but multiple times, the two of thee have injured thy souls even further!"
This time, Raphael's words hit home.
"You mean... by allowing Phoebe to take over my body, I've somehow injured both our souls?"
Raphael nods. A solemn look appears on his face.
"That is correct, young Hero. Imagine, for a moment, that someone were to take a piece of paper and draw a face on it. We might call this the creation of a soul. However, if one intended to remove the face and place it upon another piece of paper, how might they do so?"
I shrug. "Um. Maybe they'd wet the paper and place another piece against it?"
"Indeed. They might succeed in copying half of the original image, but in doing so, the copy and the original would only be half as vibrant as before! This situation is a suitable allegory for when thou dids't copy Phoebe's soul from her original body. The copy and the original body were both harmed by thy actions."
"Another method," Raphael continues, "would be to take a drawn face and tear it from the page. Thou woulds't then be capable of gluing the face to another page. And thus, thou woulds't perfectly move the face from one page to another."
I frown. "But wouldn't that damage the original page? It would still ruin the paper and it wouldn't look good at all."
"That is correct," Raphael says, nodding vigorously. "After copying Phoebe's soul, thou inadvertently attached the copy to thy Mind Realm. By detaching thy soul from thy body and allowing Phoebe to take over, she ended up tearing herself away from her anchor point, and then tore her anchor yet again when she returned to thy Mind Realm. These repeated actions have injured thy soul, as well as hers."
Raphael cocks his head.
"Tell me, Hero. Have thou suffered any mental issues over the last few years? Headaches? Indecision? Paranoia? Irrational bursts of emotion?"
After closing my eyes and thinking for a moment, I shake my head.
"No. I don't think I have."
"So thou sayeth. The effects of soul manipulation can be both subtle and dramatic. Tis' difficult to spot their effects until they have become irreparable. However, this aged one has a method!"
Raphael makes a motion with his hands. Several magical symbols appear in the air, forming a diamond within a circle. After a few moments, the sensation of a whirlpool swirls within my head, yanking me out of my Mind Realm.
I awaken moments later, fully in control of my main body. I turn my gaze inward to see Phoebe standing before Raphael, her soul having returned to my Mind Realm.
Raphael forces a grim smile. "'Tis no secret to thee that I am one of the mightiest soul manipulators in existence, young Hero. Worry not. My powers are severely limited, so long as I reside within my ring. I have safely swapped thy mind with thy wife's, but doing so again without harming either of thee would be beyond even my means. Now, look closely at Phoebe's errant soul with thy Wordsmithing."
A sense of worry seizes me as I realize what Raphael just did to me. Without my permission, the old man actually managed to manipulate not only my soul but Phoebe's as well, all while possessing a sliver of his former power.
It's dangerous, allowing Raphael inside my Mind Realm. I'll need to come up with countermeasures to protect myself from not only him, but others of his ilk.
I shift my focus onto Phoebe. "Examine."
Unsure of what to look for, I turn my attention toward my mind-wife's mana pathways, as well as her internal magic structure. As a non-Hero, she possesses a complete lack of mana, similar to any other human. However, thanks to my various Wordsmithing empowerments, she appears far more fit and full of vitality than other people.
I gaze at her with clinical dispassion, but even after five minutes, I don't see anything wrong.
"Sorry, Raphael. What am I supposed to see?"
"Look toward Phoebe's brain," Raphael replies. "Or, more specifically, the area of her soul which she visualizes as a brain."
I frown. "What do you mean?"
"Souls can take any form they wish," Raphael explains. "For example, if Phoebe wished, she could transform her soul into a giant arachnid, or a fearsome dragon. However, 'tis all but impossible for someone untrained in soul manipulation to morph their soul into anything beyond their self-image. Thy wife still remembers her physical appearance, so she materializes within thy Mind Realm as a facsimile of her physical body."
This time, it's Phoebe who responds. "Wait, are you saying I can change my appearance if I just imagine myself looking different?"
Raphael scoffs. "Nay! All beings possess an indelible image of themselves. To merely change thy appearance would require a tremendous amount of willpower and self-actualization, unlike any I've seen before. For example, if I were to imagine my soul possessing four arms instead of two, I might succeed two times out of ten, due to the image of myself I've implanted in my mind over the- what?!"
Raphael stops mid-sentence. He stares, wide-eyed, as Phoebe's hair color changes from white to crimson. Freckles appear on her face, and her height increases by half a foot.
"Wow! This isn't hard at all!" Phoebe marvels. Her skin becomes noticeably more youthful, and her eyes change from green to yellow and red, mimicking a demon's irises. "Amazing! I can feel all the changes happening in my soul every time I imagine them!"
Raphael's eyes nearly bug out of his head. "W-w-what?! Preposterous! How can an untrained mortal- gah! I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it with my own eyes!"
Phoebe laughs, oblivious to Raphael's astonishment. Behind the old man, both of his brothers wear equally long faces.
"Impressive," Michael mutters. "The human wench is a damned natural at altering her self-image."
"Long has it been since I've seen Raphael in such a confused state," Gabriel adds. "The look on his face is more than a little amusing."
It doesn't take long before Phoebe changes her appearance to mimic Belial, then she changes into Daisy, Raphael, and even me. Each change makes her clap her hands and dance around excitedly. "Boo-yah! Haha, I'm the best! That's right; Queen Phoebe is here!"
I smirk, sending a smug look toward Raphael. "You were saying?"
Raphael tugs on his beard angrily. "No! Dammit, Jason! Look closely! Thy wife's situation is far from optimistic. Do as I said and gaze at her mental pathways."
I nod and follow Raphael's instruction. When I peer more closely at Phoebe's 'brain,' all of my smug satisfaction vanishes.
Inside my wife's head, along with the bright blips indicating her brain's activity, I notice several tiny, almost insignificant-looking 'smudges.' Resembling drops of ink spilled onto a piece of paper, each one appears far darker than the area surrounding it.
"Oh my god."
Raphael nods furiously. "Thy wife's actions are far from normal, young Wordsmith. Even her vocabulary has changed since I swapped thy souls. If she is capable of changing her appearance so easily, it can only mean she has lost her sense of self-image. This means her condition is quite dire. Use thy Wordsmithing and attempt to repair the blemishes staining her soul. If we are lucky, thou shalt return her to normal."
Phoebe continues changing her appearance. To my horror, I realize that each time she does, the blemishes on her soul increase in number, adding another spot or two.
"Phoebe. Please, stop," I say. "You can't keep changing your appearance. You're hurting yourself."
My mind-wife scoffs. "Psh! You're just jealous, hubby! I can do something you can't. Nyeh!"
Phoebe sticks her tongue out at me. Her pose makes me nauseous.
The Phoebe I know would never do such a thing. She's always been a stoic person, not someone who indulges in her emotions.
Without hesitation, I target Phoebe's soul.
"Repair. Repair. Repair."
One by one, I target each of the soul blemishes, erasing them bit by bit.
It takes me nearly fifteen minutes to repair the damage. Eventually, I finish, allowing Phoebe to slump to the grass inside my Mind Realm. She rests her face in her hands. "I... I feel like shit."
Raphael places a hand on her shoulder, comforting her with his touch. "Were thou to continue for much longer, I fear thy memories might have degraded permanently."
"Maybe," I counter, "but I did heal all of her soul blemishes. Doesn't that mean I erased all of her soul manipulation's negative symptoms?"
"Perhaps, but I would not bet my life on it," Raphael cautions. "I have done my part to avert thy crisis. Now, moving forward, thou knoweth enough to avoid placing thy loved ones in precarious situations."
With a dismissive wave of his hands, Raphael turns his back on Phoebe and starts hobbling away.
"Continue with thy plans, Wordsmith. However, do not assume thy Wordsmithing is omnipotent. It has many points of failure, like any power. Rely on it at thy own risk."
"Oh," Raphael continues, "be certain to check thy soul for blemishes, too. If thy wife possesses them, thou surely do as well."
Raphael and his brothers fade away, leaving Phoebe and me alone.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
"I don't know," Phoebe replies. "But now I understand why I was so good at impersonating Sam. I doubt I could do it again, the way I am now."
"Maybe. Maybe not," I counter. "Inspect."
I turn my gaze inward, examining my soul with Wordsmithing.
However, after more than ten minutes of searching, I find nothing wrong with myself whatsoever.
My soul remains uninjured.
Why would Phoebe suffer wounds to her soul, but not me?
...Have I, perhaps, overlooked something?
Next Part

Rockets at -4500 against the timberwolves (+1500) and the warriors at -1400 against the spurs (+900). I understand they are heavy favorites and vegas doesn’t want to get burned by people all betting on them but -4500!?
For those of you who aren’t familiar with American betting odds -4500 would mean the payout on a $4500 bet on the rockets would only make you $100. So when its negative that is how much you have to bet to win $100 and when its positive thats how much you win for every $100 bet. What do y’all think about the odds?
Other series odds
Pelicans (+190) vs trailblazers (-230) Jazz (+120) vs thunder (-140)
Raptors (-700) vs wizards (+500) Celtics (-165) vs bucks (+145) Sixers (-500) vs heat (+375) Cavs (-700) vs pacers (+500)
Odds taken from MGM properties sports book.
Edit: THINK YOU CAN THROW ME SOME OF THAT REDDIT GOLD KLAY?

Kar and I spend the next several hours following the main 'road' that weaves across Hell Harbor's coastline. Comparing it to streets on Earth makes it seem extremely primitive, given how its surface is made of compacted dirt and not concrete or something more durable. Well-worn ruts in the ground tell a tale of the excessive number of carriages ferrying passengers along the coastline, from the north to the south.
We keep to the forested side of the road, opposite the ocean, ducking behind cover whenever we spot someone coming. Unfortunately, due to how my Wordsmithing functions, I can't keep us invisible forever. Doing so would drain my mana by three times its usual rate, and even moreso if I have to maintain Kar and Blinker's invisibility if we separate from each other.
So, instead, I activate my T-REX and set it to camouflage mode, allowing me to blend into the background scenery without wasting my mana. Kar's green skin allows him to melt into the forest with ease, while Blinker can just hide behind a leaf. When it comes to stealth, being small is an underrated attribute.
[Turtle,] Kar says, transmitting his thoughts to me from behind a tree. [I sense a single person coming around the next bend. Their mana level is unusually weak. I believe they are human.]
I nod. [One sec.]
I deactivate my T-REX and speak a word of power. "Sense."
My senses reach out half a mile ahead, where I quickly pick out a single human female riding a horse. However, unlike the other humans who've passed us, this lady wears extravagantly designed clothes. Her youthful appearance makes her look about twenty-five years old, while her haughty expression instantly reminds me of Beelzebub.
[It's a human woman,] I say. [I'm a little surprised to say this, but I think she isn't a slave. She's dressed like a noble, so she might know something about Ose's whereabouts.]
Kar grunts. [Hurgh. Shall we tie her up and interrogate her?]
[Ooh, good idea!] Blinker chimes in. [I'll disorient her with a little finger waving, while you guys get the rope!]
[What?! No!] I protest. [Jeez. I'll just ask the lady a few questions. Hang tight.]
With my physical appearance still a perfect facsimile of Mara, I stride over to lean against a tree alongside the road. Having absorbed many of Mara's memories, I've already learned more than a few of her quirks, so I pull out a deck of fake Tarot cards and pretend to glance through them, acting as if I haven't any interest in the world around me.
Within a minute or two, the sound of hoofs clopping against the ground reaches my ears. I flick my eyes to the side to spot the young, dark-skinned woman riding toward the Hell Harbor Annex at a speed I would describe as 'leisurely.'
As the woman draws near, I continue to stare at my cards while flipping through them. Eventually, she starts to pass me, only to slow to a stop.
"Hm? Mara? What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?"
Immediately, I get a sinking feeling in my gut.
Shit. She knows me. Knows Mara, I mean. Phoebe?
Phoebe quickly appears at the top of my subconscious. She activates the terminal for Mara's memories and flips through them. "This young woman's name is... Lily! Lily Brown. Uhm, her father's name is Benjamin Brown, she lives at, uh... at the Slithering Spire... uhm..."
That's enough for now. Keep listening and try to give me answers to any of her questions.
I raise my head to stare at the young woman riding the horse. Her bright pink hair shines in the sunlight, giving her a cute and merry demeanor. However, the half-scowl on her face makes her attractiveness drop by several points.
"Lily. Don't mind me, I'm just passing the time," I say, while running a finger through my long, blonde hair.
"Oh, so now you call me by my first name," Lily mutters. "My father told you not to step foot within ten miles of the Spire, especially after what you did the last time we saw each other. You have a lot of nerve showing your face around here."
The sinking feeling in my stomach turns into a bottomless chasm. Goddammit. What were the odds we'd run into the one person who has beef with Mara? Shit. This is going to be a sticky situation.
"I, ah, came to apologize," I say, winging the conversation. "Some things happened that made me re-evaluate my outlook on life. I was abrasive and rude the last time I visited."
"Hmph. Understatement of the century," Lily hisses. "He was my brother, you filthy, bloodskinned bitch. Because of you, Tyrese can't have children anymore. You demons are all the same."
Lily exhales violently, flaring her nostrils in rage.
"If my daddy were here, he'd rip your bloody head off. I don't want your apology. I want you to drop dead."
Hoo, Christ, I think to myself. I really know how to pick 'em. Got the saltiest broad this side of the Mississippi.
"Yeah, you do," Phoebe says sarcastically. "Alright, so looking through Mara's memories, it seems this Tyrese kid made a crude joke about how humans are 'bigger' than the pathetic demonhoods most demons sport, and that pissed Mara off. She ended up castrating him. He screamed the whole time and went into shock, barely surviving thanks to this 'Ben Brown' guy's doctors on call. So, yeah, there's a lot of bad blood between Mara and Lily."
I hadn't noticed...
With a sigh, I don my most apologetic smile. "Look, Lily, I know I've done some terrible things, but I'd like to make it up to you. What would you say if I told you I had a method to, ahem, restore your brother's dignity? I can't undo the suffering I've caused him, but I do feel terrible. After all, a harmless joke is no reason to maim someone for the rest of their life."
A strange look appears on Lily's face. "Huh? What in the seven hells are you on about?! Since when have you ever been the type of person to regret hurting one of us 'filthy fleshbags'?! Admit it, you filthy skank! You're just afraid of my daddy! You know that if you piss him off again, he'll rip you limb from limb! Well, let me just tell you this, little miss pissy; you should be afraid! My daddy is the strongest human you'll ever face! So you'd better turn that ugly, fat ass of your around and haul it on out of here! Hmph!"
The more Lily talks, the more baffled I become.
Who the hell is her father, and how can he possibly be strong enough to instill such confidence in his daughter? Does Lily, perhaps, refer to political power? Are politics an integral part of Hell Harbor's society?
As several questions churn in my mind, Phoebe suddenly pipes up.
"Benjamin Brown! Ah, I remember, now. Jason, don't you recall Tucker's vision? His artifact used to belong to a man named Benjamin Brown, back during the Energy Wars."
That's impossible, I reply. Tucker's visions were from a hundred thousand years ago. Benjamin Brown would have surely died by now, if not during the war. Unless...
Phoebe nods. "Exactly. Marie survived all this time. She mentioned humans who lived on Hell Harbor, too. Benjamin Brown must be one of those 'elites' who obtained immortality and stayed alive long after the Energy Wars."
I see.
With a slight nod, I return my attention to Lily. Thanks to the speed of thought, conversing with my mind-wife only takes a split-second of real-time.
It's no wonder Lily isn't afraid of me. Benjamin Brown once possessed a legendary heroic artifact. He slaughtered Volgrim and demons alike. He's probably a total badass, and that's why even Demon Barons like Mara wouldn't dare to fuck with him.
Maybe I ought to pay him a visit.
After bowing my head, I nod apologetically. "Yes, uhm, you've got me there. Alright. I understand. If I can't make amends for my past actions, I'll leave you alone. Sorry for wasting your time."
I turn away from Lily and start to walk away, only for the girl to speak again, her voice much quieter than before.
"Wait. Something's not right, here. You've been acting awfully odd, 'Mara.' I've known you for a long time, and not once have you ever apologized or said you were sorry about anything. What's going on, here? Who are you?"
My heart skips a beat. Shit. Lily's onto me.
I spin on my heel while intending to reply, only for Lily to continue speaking. "Hah. I should have known. You're not Mara at all. You must be..."
She pauses for dramatic effect.
"...Belial! Oh, for devil's sake! Admit it! I've caught you red-handed this time!"
I groan inwardly. Shit. How am I going to deal with this turn of events?
"Don't worry," Phoebe says. She rapidly clicks and clacks on Mara's memory terminal. "This is actually fortunate for us. Belial and Lily are birds of a feather. It seems they hang out occasionally, though Mara's memory is quite spotty on the relevant details."
That's not good enough! I reply. We already stepped in a fat pile of shit by poorly impersonating Mara! I can't afford to screw up again by poorly apeing Samantha!
A split-second passes as Phoebe considers my words.
"Jason. I have an idea. I want you to allow me to take over your body for a bit. I know Sam much better than you. I think I can imitate her, but I need to have full control. If I try to tell you what to say, you're bound to come off sounding stiff and clunky. Impersonations are not your specialty."
I barely even have to think about Phoebe's request. Sure. You know how to use my Wordsmithing if the going gets tough, right?
"Naturally."
Alright. Here goes nothing. Do your best, sweetie.
With a mental command, I close my eyes, willing my consciousness to lower its defenses. Phoebe's soul quickly engulfs mine, wrapping me in its warmth and allowing her to take control of my body.
Having already done this once, back when my soul departed to investigate Marie and the Volgrim, she still surprises me by completing the mind-swap effortlessly.
My consciousness falls into a dark abyss, one which quickly brightens up, allowing me to step foot inside my very own Mind Realm. My soul, now detached from my body, lands amidst a field of buildings ripped straight out of the 2020's.
"You caught me!" Phoebe says to Lily, her voice lilting cutely. She acts embarrassed for a moment and covers her face, all while secretly whispering, "Disguise," under her breath.
Phoebe, now fully in control of my body and Wordsmithing, uses a word of power to transform from Mara into Belial, shedding her regal Baron appearance for a far less dressed, more striking one.
"Teehee! It's me!" Phoebe says, sticking her tongue out. Her voice perfectly mirrors Samantha's, reminding me further of how versatile my Wordsmithing can be. "I'm surprised it took you so long to figure me out! Aren't we besties?"
"Oh, Beli," Lily says, clicking her tongue. "I should have known it was you! How have you been? I haven't seen you in, what, two years?"
The young woman slides one of her legs around the horse and hops to the ground. Her leather boots clomp against the dirt as she lands, and my wife holds out a hand to steady her.
"Two years? Hmm... you know me! I don't pay much attention to the time! I always- mgm?!"
Before she can finish her sentence, Phoebe gets thrown off-balance when Lily suddenly turns around, grabs the back of her head, and presses their lips together.
I stand within my Mind Realm, eyes wide open at the sudden change in Lily's attitude. Where before, she was a haughty, reserved noblewoman, she suddenly blooms into an erotic-minded temptress.
Phoebe, even more startled than me, only manages to hold herself together by remembering her job of mimicking Belial. She presses back into the kiss and returns Lily's embrace with twice the intensity. Both of them go at it for several long seconds, making me feel insanely awkward as a passive observer.
My wife, who has taken over my body, is now pretending to be her best friend while making out with a woman neither of us knows! What the hell is going on?!
After more than ten seconds of furious tongue-punching, Lily pulls away, her cheeks beet-red. "Devils! It's been a while since you, ahem, retorted so passionately! Have we been apart for so long that you've forgotten to act coy and indifferent?"
Phoebe smacks her lips. Lily's taste lingers just long enough to turn her foggy-brained. "Coy? I, ah... well, what can I say! Haha... I like to do my own thing!"
"No kidding," Lily sighs. She fans herself for a moment before clearing her throat. "Ahm, so, Beli, dear! Why are you out here, all by your lonesome? Don't tell me you were waiting for me to come waltzing by! Pulling such a horrid joke on me is in terrible taste!"
Phoebe doesn't reply for a second or two. Thanks to our mind-link, I notice her use of telepathy increases substantially as she excavates Lily's surface level-thoughts.
"Well, I have my reasons. It's been a while since I returned to Hell Harbor, and you just happened to come trotting down that road. What's a girl to do, if not improvise?"
"Tsk, you've always been an enigma," Lily says, clicking her tongue. "Daddy says you've been on Tarus II, helping out a bunch of humans. Is that what happened, or is his intelligence network wrong again?"
To my surprise, Phoebe doesn't give a direct answer.
"Hmm. What do you think?"
"I think that's exactly the kind of thing you'd do!" Lily replies. She jumps toward Phoebe and wraps her arms around Phoebe's succubus form. "You're always way too kind and compassionate! If it weren't for your help, Tyrese would never have made a full recovery!"
"Oh, I didn't do all that much," Phoebe says, feigning ignorance. "You're giving me way too much credit, Lily, dear."
"Nuh-uh! We only managed to repair half the damage that filthy, sodding Baron bitch did to my brother! It was you who made Tyrese whole again! He still can't have any kids, but daddy said we owed you a great debt! And you know me... I'm not one to let debts gather interest... hehe!"
Phoebe and Lily continue bantering. What surprises me is how, despite Phoebe knowing very little about Lily and Belial's relationship, she manages to improvise time after time, all by using several advanced psychological tricks invented well after the Arthurian era.
Cold reading, a technique often used by so-called 'psychics' from my era, allowed them to speak in broad, generalized terms to gather information about their subjects. Phoebe uses it to determine just how close Belial and Lily's relationship is, while inferring more in-depth information by casually acknowledging and denying statements in a playful manner. Lily, oblivious to Phoebe's intentions, keeps letting more and more details slip, which in turn fuels my wife's knowledge.
The longer the conversation continues, the more adept Phoebe becomes at manipulating Lily. Soon, the young girl becomes putty in her hands.
"Oh, I missed you so much," Phoebe says, grinning from ear to ear. "I've been trapped on Tarus II with only a few friends to keep me company, but none of them are... like you. You know what I mean."
"Indeed, I do," Lily says, blushing. She gazes into Phoebe's eyes as she speaks, both of them sharing more than a hint of intimacy.
However, Lily pulls away and ruffles Phoebe's hair.
"Oh, Beli. Things have changed since we last spoke. I'm sorry that we haven't talked much, but... you remember Beelzebub, don't you?"
"Beelzebub? Of course. What about him?"
"Well, he's the new master of the Slithering Spire. He's become more and more heavy-handed over the years. He won't allow any of us humans to fraternize with Hell Harbor's residents, especially other pureblooded demons. It's tearing me up inside! I haven't spent any time with Bianca in several years- you remember Bianca, right?"
Phoebe nods sagely. Her eyes reveal wisdom beyond her years as she acts like a long-lost friend of whoever 'Bianca' might be. "Naturally. What happened between you two? Did Beelzebub hurt her?"
"No, no! It's just... since Bianca's a succubus, Beelzebub won't allow us to spend any time together! Remember that time when the three of us visited the hot spring? You, me, and Bianca? Well, as long as Beelzebub is the master of the Slithering Spire, it'll never happen again! The fucking rat-bastard always gets in my way! He won't let me do as I please, and I don't dare stand up to him! Daddy doesn't care, either! He's always going on about that damned Operation Stormbringer as if it's more important than his daughter's happiness!"
"Operation Stormbringer?" Phoebe asks. "Forgive me, but I don't recall hearing about that one."
Lily waves her hands nonchalantly. "Oh, some big invasion plan. I don't pay attention to the details, and neither should you. Daddy and the top demon generals are always blustering and blowing their horns about this and that! It's hardly worth our attention! Especially when it involves that damned Ose."
"Ose?" Phoebe asks. "Funny you should mention her. I came to Hell Harbor because I needed to see her."
Lily's eyes widen. "What? You?! Beli, darling! I thought you hated that skank! Any time Ose came up in conversation, you always started ranting and raving!"
Phoebe crosses her arms. She assumes a pouty stance and turns a few degrees away from Lily. "I do hate her! Ose and I have a long, sordid history of backstabbings and betrayal. I'd rather not go into it, because it's beside the point. I'm here on official business, Lily, dear. Humanity's leader sent me to discuss peace talks with Ose. If I can convince her to sign a treaty... well, you and I might get to see each other once in a while. Not only that, but even as the owner of the estate, Beelzebub won't have any legs to stand on. You, me, and Bianca could do as we pleased."
Lily's expression turns curious. "Oh? I didn't peg you as the ambassador type! You must really get along with those humans to treat them so nicely."
"As well as I get along with you," Phoebe says, flashing a radiant smile. "But, um, there's a problem, Lily. I'm a little embarrassed to say it, but it's been bugging me, and I don't know who to ask for help."
Lily practically leaps for joy. She rushes toward Phoebe and grabs her hands. "You can ask me for anything, Beli! I'll always help you!"
Phoebe blushes. She averts her eyes, and for once, I realize that her expression isn't deceitful. My wife is actually starting to develop feelings for this young woman.
"Umm, well, you see... there was this Hydra that appeared on Tarus II. I helped fight it, but due to some terrible accidents that happened during the battle, I hit my head and got knocked out. When I woke up, I had lost some of my memories. How do I put this..."
Phoebe hesitates for a moment, building anticipation in Lily's eyes. "Yes? What's the matter?"
"Well..." Phoebe continues, "...I forgot where Ose's estate was! I'm totally lost! I've been searching everywhere, but I'm too embarrassed to ask for help. Oh, devils, you probably think I'm an idiot!"
"An idiot? No, no, don't be silly!" Lily laughs. "And here I thought some jerk had broken your heart. If you don't remember where Ose's estate is, that's easy. I can show you the way, Beli."
Lily presses her head against Phoebe's chest and sighs, taking a moment to inhale her scent. "Ahh... I missed you so much. I'm glad to help you. Never act as if I'll hurt you, okay? We're closer than sisters. Closer than lovers, even."
Phoebe blushes. "Yes. Yes, we are."
...
After a few more minutes, Phoebe bashfully waves goodbye. Lily mounts her horse and waves back at us. "Bye-bye, Beli! Remember, it sits atop the third mountain plateau to the east, the one overlooking Bael and Mephisto's estates! After you visit that skank, please drop by later! I'll have daddy's doctors examine your head. I don't want you to suffer any permanent brain injuries, okay?"
"Right, right," Phoebe says, blowing Lily a kiss. "I'll see you later, lover!"
Both women give their goodbyes, then depart, traveling in opposite directions. Phoebe enters the forest to the east, only to hide behind a tree once Lily disappears from our sight.
"Hoo. That was stressful," Phoebe says. "I didn't anticipate Lily being so... excitable."
"You did great," I say, taking a seat on a bench. "Way better than I could have managed. If Lily had kissed me and done the tongue thing, I'd probably have broken character right then and there. You acted the part perfectly."
Phoebe's face turns beet-red. She slumps to the ground and hides her face in her hands. "Oh, god! Jason, don't bring that up! I'm married! I shouldn't be kissing other people! E-especially not women! It's weird!"
"I don't see anything wrong with it," I reply. "It's not like you planned the kiss, or anything. If it had bothered me, I would have stopped you. Besides, in the era I come from, women kissing other women wasn't weird, nor men kissing men. Maybe it was a little bit rare, but I saw plenty of it growing up."
Phoebe rubs her face furiously. "Argh! That might be true for you, Jason, but not for me! I grew up in... in a proper era! Where men courted women, and both sexes knew their roles! This modern era always makes me feel so weird! So... so dirty."
I keep my voice neutral. "How so?"
Phoebe hesitates. She doesn't reply for several seconds but eventually relents.
"Well. How do I put this? Um. Ever since you and I got married- no, even before then... Samantha has always acted much more touchy-feely than I liked. At first, I didn't want to be rude, but then after our marriage, I started feeling guilty about my passive rejections. Whenever she got too close, I would push her away. I never directly rejected her, and that, in turn, made me feel worse."
My mind-wife sighs. "Not only that, but since I never told you about all the moves she made on me in private, I always felt like I was lying to you, too. Sammy and I never did anything, but I always felt, and still feel, like a complete ass. I should set boundaries, but I don't know how. I don't even know if I should."
She falls silent, waiting for my reply.
I nod. "Yeah. I know all of that. I've always known. The day you and I got married, Samantha came over to me and confessed she was madly in love with you. It caught me off-guard, but I took it in stride. You and Sam have a lot in common, after all. Both of you lost the first men you ever loved. Satan, for her, and Sir Percival, for you. I don't see myself as a fairy tale hero of legend, rescuing a virgin princess. I grew up in a society where marriage was cheap, divorces were common, and love had lost most of its substance."
"I don't believe in true love," I continue. "At least... I didn't. Not until I met you. I knew a lot of people growing up. Good people, the sorts who went to Church every Sunday, and said their prayers before their three meals. I always thought the people who held onto their wives and husbands the tightest had most unhappy marriages. They always broke up and ended their love with explosions of rage and torn-apart families."
"Jason..."
Phoebe starts to interrupt me, but I continue. "There's more. I knew a lot of people who thought of their spouses as possessions. They assumed that marriage entitled them to 100% of their wives or husband's affection. To me, even if that were true in the eyes of the law and God himself, it felt immoral. You have a big heart, Phoebe. There's more than enough room for you to love Samantha and me equally, especially after all she's done for us. For you. She saved your life when I couldn't. If it weren't for Sam, Beelzebub would have killed you, Neil, and all the other people in the Core. She's a good friend. I'd never want to hurt either of you."
After I finish speaking, Phoebe falls silent. Tears well up in her eyes, and she quickly tries to wipe them away. "Jason... I never... I never knew you felt that way."
"Dammit, Phoebe. Don't cry. You're gonna make me cry, too..."
"Sniff..."
Phoebe paws at her eyes, and hiccups. "Oh, god. I feel like such an idiot. Why didn't I just tell you sooner? I always thought you'd be jealous, or that you'd pull away from me. I love you, Jason. You're the only man I have eyes for, but... sometimes, when I speak to Samantha, I just... I have this urge to close the gap between us, yet I never do. It tears me up inside."
"I feel terrible, too," I say. "I never realized you and Sam had such tension between each other. I always assumed when you ended up at the pit stop; you two were making a quick pit stop in each other's pit stops."
Phoebe sniffles. "...What?"
"You know... when you're racing. Sam's your mechanic, remember? That's why I mentioned pit stops...?"
"Jason. Why do you always have to make such terrible jokes at the silliest times?"
"Dunno. It's a curse."
Phoebe laughs. "Haha... ugh. My face hurts. I look like crap. Jeez, the worst part is, I'm not even the real Phoebe. I'm just her mind-clone. My original body doesn't even know I've told you all this."
I shake my head. "No. You are the 'real' Phoebe, equal to your original body. As far as I'm concerned, I have two loving wives. You might as well be her spiritual twin or something. Don't get so down on yourself."
Phoebe doesn't cheer up. She stares at the ground listlessly. "You can say that all you want, Jason. It doesn't change anything. I'm still just an errant soul living inside your Mind Realm. I don't have a physical body. I can use yours when you're not using it, but it's not mine. I'm only borrowing it."
The moment Phoebe finishes speaking, a strange, euphoric idea pops into my head. Like a lightbulb going off, I jump out of my seat and gaze forward with brightness in my eyes. "Ah! That's it! Phoebe, you're a genius!"
Phoebe pulls her head out of her hands. "...I am?"
"Yes. Think about it. You don't have a physical body. You can't interact with me, currently. However, that doesn't have to be the case. I'm a Wordsmith! I can create a new body for you and allow you to enter it whenever you want!"
Phoebe stares at the ground for a few moments before jumping to her feet. "N-no way! Jason, that's genius!"
"Yeah. I don't know if it will work, but it's worth a shot. Try making yourself a new body, then let me take over mine and I'll transfer-"
"STOP!"
Before I can finish my sentence, a masculine voice shouts from behind me, making me jump out of my skin. I whirl around to see Raphael, Gabriel, and Michael standing less than twenty feet away. The expansive city park somehow seems much smaller with Gabriel's giant form towering above the nearest trees.
"Thou shalt do no such thing, foolish child," Raphael hisses. "Already, thou hath cloned thy wife's soul without comprehending the consequences. Verily, I tell thee now, that if thou go through with thy foolish plans, thou shalt irreparably harm the one thou claimeth to love."
With my mind still in a daze, I merely stare at the old man. "Huh? What do you mean, Raphael? Explain."
The Archangel of Wisdom flaps his wings. He slowly hovers nearer to me, all while maintaining a contemptuous grimace.
"Imbecilic child. Thou knoweth nothing of Soul Links. Tell me, Jason, what are souls?"
I shrug. "Um. The essence of a person? Their... core?"
"That description is not far from the truth," Raphael concedes. "However! It is far from encompassing the importance of a being's soul. Souls mustn't be considered trifles and playthings. Those who manipulate souls freely will accumulate terrible injuries, ones incurable by even the greatest healer. Look no further than Valac and Mephisto, necromancers who manipulate the dead to do their bidding. In exchange for tremendous power, they lost the vitality from their bodies."
"Alright," I reply. "What about Satan? He seemed just fine, despite being a soul manipulator like Valac. Hell, he was worse, in many ways."
Michael, instead of Raphael, replies. "Indeed. The Devil was a crafty bastard. He, too, manipulated souls to a fearsome extent. However, while he may not have lost his body, he lost his link to the strands of fate. That is why he eventually perished not ten thousand years after his emergence."
"Put another way, the Devil rapidly accumulated fatal amounts of bad luck," Gabriel explains. "Fate conspired to kill him. The Devil proved incapable of resisting the Creator's divine will, and thus, he expired."
I nod. "Fine. Manipulating souls is evil. I get it. What does that mean, though? What would making a body for Phoebe cost me?"
Raphael shakes his head. "I do not know. Each soul manipulator suffers their own agony. In my case, I ended up trapped alone inside this ring. However, in thy case, I speaketh of the evils of soul manipulation not to protect thee, but to shield thy wife."
Raphael continues. "Every time a soul separates from a vessel, it suffers irreversible trauma. Thou hath cloned thy wife's soul. Her clone has, no doubt, suffered some level of memory loss. Her mood swings are not a mere byproduct of her situation, but directly linked to the circumstances of her creation!"
Raphael stabs a finger toward me.
"Thy reckless use of soul manipulation has caused thy wife's errant soul to suffer! Thou art the cause of her pain. Further, by trading places with her, not once, but multiple times, the two of thee have injured thy souls even further!"
This time, Raphael's words hit home.
"You mean... by allowing Phoebe to take over my body, I've somehow injured both our souls?"
Raphael nods. A solemn look appears on his face.
"That is correct, young Hero. Imagine, for a moment, that someone were to take a piece of paper and draw a face on it. We might call this the creation of a soul. However, if one intended to remove the face and place it upon another piece of paper, how might they do so?"
I shrug. "Um. Maybe they'd wet the paper and place another piece against it?"
"Indeed. They might succeed in copying half of the original image, but in doing so, the copy and the original would only be half as vibrant as before! This situation is a suitable allegory for when thou dids't copy Phoebe's soul from her original body. The copy and the original body were both harmed by thy actions."
"Another method," Raphael continues, "would be to take a drawn face and tear it from the page. Thou woulds't then be capable of gluing the face to another page. And thus, thou woulds't perfectly move the face from one page to another."
I frown. "But wouldn't that damage the original page? It would still ruin the paper and it wouldn't look good at all."
"That is correct," Raphael says, nodding vigorously. "After copying Phoebe's soul, thou inadvertently attached the copy to thy Mind Realm. By detaching thy soul from thy body and allowing Phoebe to take over, she ended up tearing herself away from her anchor point, and then tore her anchor yet again when she returned to thy Mind Realm. These repeated actions have injured thy soul, as well as hers."
Raphael cocks his head.
"Tell me, Hero. Have thou suffered any mental issues over the last few years? Headaches? Indecision? Paranoia? Irrational bursts of emotion?"
After closing my eyes and thinking for a moment, I shake my head.
"No. I don't think I have."
"So thou sayeth. The effects of soul manipulation can be both subtle and dramatic. Tis' difficult to spot their effects until they have become irreparable. However, this aged one has a method!"
Raphael makes a motion with his hands. Several magical symbols appear in the air, forming a diamond within a circle. After a few moments, the sensation of a whirlpool swirls within my head, yanking me out of my Mind Realm.
I awaken moments later, fully in control of my main body. I turn my gaze inward to see Phoebe standing before Raphael, her soul having returned to my Mind Realm.
Raphael forces a grim smile. "'Tis no secret to thee that I am one of the mightiest soul manipulators in existence, young Hero. Worry not. My powers are severely limited, so long as I reside within my ring. I have safely swapped thy mind with thy wife's, but doing so again without harming either of thee would be beyond even my means. Now, look closely at Phoebe's errant soul with thy Wordsmithing."
A sense of worry seizes me as I realize what Raphael just did to me. Without my permission, the old man actually managed to manipulate not only my soul but Phoebe's as well, all while possessing a sliver of his former power.
It's dangerous, allowing Raphael inside my Mind Realm. I'll need to come up with countermeasures to protect myself from not only him, but others of his ilk.
I shift my focus onto Phoebe. "Examine."
Unsure of what to look for, I turn my attention toward my mind-wife's mana pathways, as well as her internal magic structure. As a non-Hero, she possesses a complete lack of mana, similar to any other human. However, thanks to my various Wordsmithing empowerments, she appears far more fit and full of vitality than other people.
I gaze at her with clinical dispassion, but even after five minutes, I don't see anything wrong.
"Sorry, Raphael. What am I supposed to see?"
"Look toward Phoebe's brain," Raphael replies. "Or, more specifically, the area of her soul which she visualizes as a brain."
I frown. "What do you mean?"
"Souls can take any form they wish," Raphael explains. "For example, if Phoebe wished, she could transform her soul into a giant arachnid, or a fearsome dragon. However, 'tis all but impossible for someone untrained in soul manipulation to morph their soul into anything beyond their self-image. Thy wife still remembers her physical appearance, so she materializes within thy Mind Realm as a facsimile of her physical body."
This time, it's Phoebe who responds. "Wait, are you saying I can change my appearance if I just imagine myself looking different?"
Raphael scoffs. "Nay! All beings possess an indelible image of themselves. To merely change thy appearance would require a tremendous amount of willpower and self-actualization, unlike any I've seen before. For example, if I were to imagine my soul possessing four arms instead of two, I might succeed two times out of ten, due to the image of myself I've implanted in my mind over the- what?!"
Raphael stops mid-sentence. He stares, wide-eyed, as Phoebe's hair color changes from white to crimson. Freckles appear on her face, and her height increases by half a foot.
"Wow! This isn't hard at all!" Phoebe marvels. Her skin becomes noticeably more youthful, and her eyes change from green to yellow and red, mimicking a demon's irises. "Amazing! I can feel all the changes happening in my soul every time I imagine them!"
Raphael's eyes nearly bug out of his head. "W-w-what?! Preposterous! How can an untrained mortal- gah! I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it with my own eyes!"
Phoebe laughs, oblivious to Raphael's astonishment. Behind the old man, both of his brothers wear equally long faces.
"Impressive," Michael mutters. "The human wench is a damned natural at altering her self-image."
"Long has it been since I've seen Raphael in such a confused state," Gabriel adds. "The look on his face is more than a little amusing."
It doesn't take long before Phoebe changes her appearance to mimic Belial, then she changes into Daisy, Raphael, and even me. Each change makes her clap her hands and dance around excitedly. "Boo-yah! Haha, I'm the best! That's right; Queen Phoebe is here!"
I smirk, sending a smug look toward Raphael. "You were saying?"
Raphael tugs on his beard angrily. "No! Dammit, Jason! Look closely! Thy wife's situation is far from optimistic. Do as I said and gaze at her mental pathways."
I nod and follow Raphael's instruction. When I peer more closely at Phoebe's 'brain,' all of my smug satisfaction vanishes.
Inside my wife's head, along with the bright blips indicating her brain's activity, I notice several tiny, almost insignificant-looking 'smudges.' Resembling drops of ink spilled onto a piece of paper, each one appears far darker than the area surrounding it.
"Oh my god."
Raphael nods furiously. "Thy wife's actions are far from normal, young Wordsmith. Even her vocabulary has changed since I swapped thy souls. If she is capable of changing her appearance so easily, it can only mean she has lost her sense of self-image. This means her condition is quite dire. Use thy Wordsmithing and attempt to repair the blemishes staining her soul. If we are lucky, thou shalt return her to normal."
Phoebe continues changing her appearance. To my horror, I realize that each time she does, the blemishes on her soul increase in number, adding another spot or two.
"Phoebe. Please, stop," I say. "You can't keep changing your appearance. You're hurting yourself."
My mind-wife scoffs. "Psh! You're just jealous, hubby! I can do something you can't. Nyeh!"
Phoebe sticks her tongue out at me. Her pose makes me nauseous.
The Phoebe I know would never do such a thing. She's always been a stoic person, not someone who indulges in her emotions.
Without hesitation, I target Phoebe's soul.
"Repair. Repair. Repair."
One by one, I target each of the soul blemishes, erasing them bit by bit.
It takes me nearly fifteen minutes to repair the damage. Eventually, I finish, allowing Phoebe to slump to the grass inside my Mind Realm. She rests her face in her hands. "I... I feel like shit."
Raphael places a hand on her shoulder, comforting her with his touch. "Were thou to continue for much longer, I fear thy memories might have degraded permanently."
"Maybe," I counter, "but I did heal all of her soul blemishes. Doesn't that mean I erased all of her soul manipulation's negative symptoms?"
"Perhaps, but I would not bet my life on it," Raphael cautions. "I have done my part to avert thy crisis. Now, moving forward, thou knoweth enough to avoid placing thy loved ones in precarious situations."
With a dismissive wave of his hands, Raphael turns his back on Phoebe and starts hobbling away.
"Continue with thy plans, Wordsmith. However, do not assume thy Wordsmithing is omnipotent. It has many points of failure, like any power. Rely on it at thy own risk."
"Oh," Raphael continues, "be certain to check thy soul for blemishes, too. If thy wife possesses them, thou surely do as well."
Raphael and his brothers fade away, leaving Phoebe and me alone.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
"I don't know," Phoebe replies. "But now I understand why I was so good at impersonating Sam. I doubt I could do it again, the way I am now."
"Maybe. Maybe not," I counter. "Inspect."
I turn my gaze inward, examining my soul with Wordsmithing.
However, after more than ten minutes of searching, I find nothing wrong with myself whatsoever.
My soul remains uninjured.
Why would Phoebe suffer wounds to her soul, but not me?
...Have I, perhaps, overlooked something?
.......................................
FOR RETURNING READERS FROM CLASSIC: Please use spoiler tags when commenting on anything that might ruin the story for new readers, especially if that information is based on your knowledge of Classic!
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>!This is what a spoiler looks like! Click it to reveal the text!!< 

I see a lot of posts on here saying "Vegas says this" or "Vegas says that". But did "Vegas" really say that? Chances are, they didn't, and you are unknowingly aiding and enabling a scam artists scam operation by rebroadcasting it. Let me outline this for you.
Vegas is a city, not a gaming entity
When attributing something to Vegas, check who you are attributing it to. Las Vegas is a city. They are not the ones operating sports books.
Gaming entities operate sportsbooks, not casinos
In Las Vegas you have various gaming entities, such as MGM-Mirage, CG Technology, William Hill, and more. These are the entities that operate the sportsbooks. However, they are not the ones who originate the odds and lines.
Consultants originate lines, not sportsbooks
Another thing to keep in mind, is that consultants are the ones who crunch the numbers and deliver opening lines to the gaming entities. LVSC is the group that originates lines for Las Vegas books, and CRIS is the one that does it for offshore books. When you are attributing something to "Vegas", are you attributing it to an offshore book?
If someone is attributing something to "Vegas", and it is not a line that can be bet on in Las Vegas, it is certified 100% bullshit
A lot of people last night were posting about a tweet that came from known tout RJ Bell and his Pregame.com scam website. Basically Bell tweeted that "Vegas says TCU would be favored over Clemson and LSU on a neutral field" and also tweeted out "The Top 10 according to Vegas".
Here is the deal. If you can not walk into a sportsbook in Las Vegas and put money down on a line someone is tweeting out, its bullshit. As I outlined above, only the LVSC originates lines, and I can guarantee you they won't share their information with outsiders, especially a known scam artist like RJ Bell and Pregame.
So if someone is tweeting out a hypothetical line, such as "Alabama would be favored by 3 over Clemson on a neutral field", and you can't go into a sportsbook in Las Vegas and bet that Alabama -3/Clemson +3 line, its bullshit.
So where is it coming from? It's probably just the opinion of a sportsbook manager, an ex-sportsbook manager, a sportsbook employee, a gambler, or a tout. In other words, its not coming from the mouth of a consultant who actually originates the line, so therefore, its worthless.
Same goes with power rankings. Unless these supposed "Power Rankings" are coming from the LVSc themselves, its just someone's opinion, and therefore garbage.
What is a tout?
A tout is someone who tries to sell you their picks for sports betting purposes. They will use a lot of shady techniques, scam tactics, and hard selling techniques to suck you in.
Here is the deal with touts. If you truly were a great handicapper and could consistently beat the spread in the long run, why would you need to sell your picks or info? Why not just become filthy rich using your info instead? Answer: Because touts do not have long term winning records, and are simply looking to exploit suckers.
Touts and scam artists use these "hypothetical lines" as bait to suck you into their scam tout operations like lambs to the slaughter
Touts and scam artists like RJ Bell and Pregame love to use gimmicks like "Vegas says hypothetical line between Team A and Team B would be X" because it allows them to act like they have inside information. When they act like they have inside information, they get retweeted and rebroadcast. When they get retweeted and rebroadcast, it appears they have credibility. When it appears they have credibility, people go to their website. When people go to their website, they see flashy headlines pushing their expensive pick packages.
Unsuspecting victims think "Oh, well these guys have inside information, and seem to know their stuff, so I will plop down money on their pick packages and become rich betting on sports with their information!".
Unfortunately, there is no way to verify the long term records of their pick packages without buying the picks yourself. This way, they are allowed to lie and embellish and spin their records to suck people into buying their picks.
Independent watchdogs with money have bought their picks just to track their records, and they have found they are losers long term and will lose their clients money. So basically, they scam people into buying their picks with false advertising, and using gimmicks like the hypothetical Vegas lines to establish false credibility as if they know their stuff and have inside info.
They use other scam tactics and techniques to suck people into buying their expensive pick packages as well, that I will go into another time.
If RJ Bell and Pregame is a scam, then why does ESPN give him a radio show, why does Grantland give him a column, and why does the New York Times cite him as a gambling expert?
ESPN has a stake in the Pregame website and scam. By giving RJ Bell a radio show, this lends him credibility, which leads unsuspecting media outlets like the New York Times to cite him as if he is a gambling expert.
What can be done
If you see someone on twitter talking about a hypothetical Vegas line, check the source. Most likely its not passing the smell test. If it doesn't, don't retweet it, don't rebroadcast it. Just ignore it.
If someone is attributing something to "Vegas", and it can not be wagered on at a Las Vegas book, then its just someone's opinion, and therefore a bunch of malarkey.
"Vegas" is a broad term used to establish credibility, but as I pointed out, "Vegas" could be anything.

Got into LAS on a non-stop from my home airport at about 10:30pm. Ordered a Lyft when I was approaching baggage claim and by the time I got to 2M where the rideshare is for terminal one the ride was there.
Arrived at Vdara after a ~18 min ride (normal strip traffic). Staying on a comp, got upgraded (no sandwich) to an Executive Corner Suite which was a nice room with a full sized kitchen and 1.5 baths. Went out to check the Bellagio Conservatory, walk the strip with the people I was with. Conservatory is a rotating floral display that's huge and always interesting with cool displays and fun themes. It's free and always fun to check out, I recommend it if you're in the area.
Ended up at Haute Doggery at the link, ate a Billionaire dog which is delicious as always. On the way back to Vdara stopped at Aria for some green chip BJ. Ended up slightly at about 230am went back for bed.
Up early the next day at 8:00am. By 8:30am we were at Wicked Spoon for their brunch and bottomless drinks. It's 53$ (before tax and tip) for all you can eat and all you can drink miller lite, champagne, bloody marys or house wine. We went with champagne, but they let you switch if you get tired of your choice. There's something about Wicked Spoon servers; they are always so nice, friendly and boy do they give you a lot of booze! They will just bring the whole bottles of champagne to the table so you don't have to constantly ask for refills.
Food is of good quality, Bacchanal is better overall quality wise but for value and booze I think Wicked Spoon wins overall. Stand outs were their bone marrow and roast sirloin which was cooked to a perfect rare. Note: aside from some sushi/sashimi there's no crab/shrimp at this brunch buffet, which is one of my only complaints about the place.
Wicked spoon gets very busy on weekend brunch, so go early unless you're okay with a wait. By the time we left at ~11am the line was probably 150 people long.
After wicked spoon walked back through Aria to place bets on the Kentucky Derby and the NBA playoff games. One of us ended up picking Justify, so that was a fun win. I ended up having a decent amount on the Celtics straight up at +375 (plus another Celtics +9 bet) so I ended up doing well on the day sports betting. Long lines at the sports book even at 11:15am due to the Derby.
After that went to pool at Vdara. Despite being smaller and at prime time, finding chairs was not hard. Staff very nice and came around with free ice waters. Bought some beers at the pool bar and they were not too bad price wise: about 6$ which for a bar at a pool on the strip is pretty dang good.
Went up to the room, changed real quick and then went down to play some more green chip BJ at Aria. Played okay and ended down slightly. Nice dealers and good drink service. Be careful on your table selection though: I saw a 50$ table that only paid 6:5!
After that went back up to the room at Vdara to watch the end of the Cs game and catch a nap. After the nap woke up and got ready. We had tickets to Opium a new Spiegelworld show (the people behind Absinthe) for the 8pm showing at the Cosmo. Got excellent discount codes from vitalvegas.com so the tickets were only about ~27$ each which is totally worth it. Show was great: It's a small theater and definitively a variety show. Mix of humor, contortionist, singing, drag, dancing, juggling, and more. Is part of a newer wave of smaller, more intimate, more "hipster" shows popping up on the strip like the Great Miss Behave's Gameshow I saw a few months earlier.
After the show took a Lyft downtown. Downtown was INSANELY busy. By far the busiest I've ever seen it. I've been there for the Superbowl, March Madness, etc. and I've never seen downtown like that. Couldn't get a table downtown for BJ it was so busy! Went to Oak and Ivy at the Container park which is an amazing whiskey/cocktail bar I always recommend and the drinks were excellent.
After that took a Lyft back to the strip. Were hungry so ate at Shake Shack at NYNY which is a decent and quick burger. I remember going to the original Shake Shack back in NYC so it was not anything too exotic but a solid burger non the less. I got the Shack Stack which has a cheese-stuffed fried portabello mushroom on top of a burger. Very good.
After that some more green chip BJ at Aria were I ended up slightly up on the session, but down a little on the trip from the previous session in the day. Because of the Cs coming up big though, I ended up quite a bit on the trip.
Went to bed and woke up at 7am and out the door at 7:45am. Had a flight at 9:15am. The last few times I've flown out of Terminal 1 C gates they've had the "everyone is pre-check" policy which ends up taking a bit longer for more me since I already have pre-check and it just makes the line longer. Took about 20 mins to get through security, so timing was no problem for my flight home.
Takeaways:
Vdara was very nice and a good location overall but it is a bummer there's not a lot of food options without having to walk.
Vegas is all in on the Vegas Golden Knights and it's cool to see. All hotels/casinos had staff wearing jerseys and all the marquees had messages for the Knights, even casinos that compete with MGM. (MGM is a part owner of the arena they play in)
Downtown is becoming more and more popular. Each time I'm there it's more crowded. I think this is a good thing because hopefully it spurs more development downtown but also a little worrisome because I worry it will bring the bad parts of the strip downtown like increasing prices, worse gambling odds, and pricing out locally owned restaurants and bars.
It's a busy summer so my next trip will not be till August! Thanks for reading!