u/letsgowendigo

Let's give the DoR a moment of silence...

.

.

.

Alright, that's enough, long live Tutum, fuck heads!

Karl stood Infront of the crowd of journalists, holding a piece of paper. He was sweating, a lot. It was a very hot day in Lapovo today and he had to give this press conference outside. As soon as he fully settled into the podium, the crowd before began to break out into a million questions he didn't have any answers to:

"Mr. Ludwig, are there any news about the whereabouts of the Khaness?"

"Mr. Ludwig, what comment does the office of the Khaness have about the massacre in the Lapovo mental hospital?"

"Mr. Ludwig, all of Tutum is afraid for the life of their Khaness and their families, how does the office mean to address these fears and console our people?"

One question after another hammered at Karl as he wipes his brow and tried to speak up with a wavering voice to break the bombardment of questions:

"I-I am sorry, but I can not answer those questions right now. I have only been tasked with calling this press conference t-to announce the new construction project of an international airport in Lap-Lapovo... Which, um, will be called..."

Karl checks his notes.

"Any-Personality International Airport..."

After a moment of silence from the crowd, nearly stunned, the questions started back up again, this time even more furious and desperate for answers as Karl wiped his brow and tried to hobble away from the podium.

...but he could never hobble away from the questions they asked him. And neither could the Khaness, when she chooses to come out of wherever she is.

Hey y'all! :D So, a couple days ago I decided to write a critique to the God awful preface to the edition of Capital that I own. Please give it a read, I worked quite hard on it :)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FQNletA3Za-7wOf_pCR1saqzVGah6c8GtLli9wnRFeE/edit?usp=drivesdk

Also, here's the full preface itself translated into English:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aAOX4q0f8fZ-Pco-KW_alw4AlteEnAyj_kE4fnmikiQ/edit?usp=drivesdk

Rachel was sitting in her padded room, same as always. She felt so blinded by the white rubber covering the walls, floors, and ceilings. She felt so helpless. How long was she going to have to be here? How long? Oh my God. This can't be it. This can't be-

BANG BANG BANG BANG

What the fuck? Were those gunshots?

BANG BANG BANG BANG

Oh, shit, those were definitely gunshots!

Rachel tried to get away from the door as the gunshots continued. By she could also hear screaming. Dear God it was a lot of screaming. And also... Laughing? It sounded as if someone was maniacally laughing. Has she just fully gone insane? That must have been it.

Gradually, though, the screaming and the gunshots cut out, and all that remained was the laughter that was rapidly approaching her location. Feeling as if she had nothing to lose anyways, Rachel made her way to the gap in her door to look and...

...

"...what the fuck?"

Stella stood Infront of Rachel (in her... New form, of course), smiling widely. She was covered in blood, well, more than usual that is.

"I came to rescue you!" She gleefully said.

Rachel took a minute before asking, "Is... Is that all your blood? What were those gunshots? What was that laughing?"

Stella took a minute before she responded, still smiling and casual, "Oh, they were just trying to kill me. They shot at me a bit, but obviously I'm stirnger than that. No, this blood is mostly not mine".

Rachel took a moment. She would be lying if she said she wasn't terrified of the looking figure of her sister infront of her, that seemingly just killed an entire insane asylum's staff worth of people, but after some thought Rachel sort of shrugged and said, "Well, if they were trying to kill you, they deserved whatever came to them. I would have killed them too".

"Aww, you're so kind!" Stella said, seeming genuinely touched.

Rachel stood there for a moment.

"...so can you break down this door?"

Stella realized and laughed a little, "Oh! Yeah, sorry, haha". Before effortlessly knocking the door to Rachel's cell right off its hinges.

Rachel left the room and stretched. It's been a while since she could move so freely. She then turned to Stella, pausing for a minute, before asking:

"Well... Where to now? I don't think I could return to the palace after all... This"

Stella smiled back at Rachel, "Don't worry, dear sister. I'll take you to my place. I'm sure Arisa wouldn't mind the guest and I'm sure you won't be any sort of trouble".

Stella took Rachel's hand (Which was both cold as ice and warm with the fresh blood on it) and she walked with her outside the institutions at an orderly pace. Rachel, in the meanwhile, mostly focused at not making eyesight with the dismembered bodies of the guards.

When Rachel went on that little hunting trip, she figured she might be going away for a long time. She never figured she'd get the full rubber room treatment. She thought that was a luxury saved only for the most paranoid schizophrenics, though, well, she supposes the people working here had no reason to not think of her as schizophrenic.

But... She didn't want to be here. And, she should have, right? She's so influential in Tutum, so adored, why is it she is dropped into a place like this? Why would the police put her here? Did... Did she maybe overestimate the emotions the citizens of Tutum had for her?

No. No! Surely this is all just a big mistake! She just needs to be patient! There must be hundreds of citizens out there protesting for her! A TIKKO cell planning her release! Her sister...! Her sister said she wouldn't abandon her again...

But... It's been what feels like a week. Was it more? Was it less? She couldn't tell because her room didn't have a clock. And... She wasn't allowed to leave her room.

For so long she's been without any human contact besides the occasional doctor or meal, and she hasn't had any real entertainment for... Much... Hm...

It... It was cold here. Or was it hot? It was somehow both... Rachel felt her... Skin... Drying up and peeling off...? No, no! She was just imagining things! She's... She's really spiraling. It's okay! Just need to be patient!

They could see, couldn't they? They could see she wasn't insane! Of course she wasn't insane, she was the Khaness! They must just be holding her her until they can feel safe enough to let her out, which shouldn't be much longer!

...

Is... Is this what everyone goes through? Everyone who gets sent to these institutions goes through this? Is she just... Being treated normally?

No. No, NO, NO! She just needs to wait more! Everything is okay! She's the Khaness! She'll be let out! They won't just keep her here! They'll let her out! Someone will! Anyone will!

...

Right?

...

It's cold here. I can't breath well. I can't do anything.

You won't keep me here, right?

...

...Please?

Chief Chernienko was on his fourth cup of coffee for the day. He never was one for coffee that wasn't decaf, it always gave him a migrane. But he had a migrane right now anyways so there wasn't point in not drinking.

Through the one way glass barrier he could look into the interrogation room, where one detective was interviewing the girl sitting Infront of him. The girl's hair was still wet from the nearly hour long shower they made her take to get all the blood off of her (Chernienko nearly gagged just remembering that hellish ordeal), and she was put in the only inmate rags they had her size because there was just no other form of clothing.

This wasn't Chernienko's first interaction with the case. He was there the moment she was discovered in the state she was in. He remembered talking with the disinfectant crew that was sent to the palace, and he remembered the man in the hazmat suit saying it would take at least two weeks of constant work until it was safe for people to be in the palace without getting sick.

What a nightmare... And now he had to deal with the worse nightmare, dealing with the aftermath.

As the detective left the investigation room he sighed and turned to Chernienko, speaking:

"Chief, it just... It doesn't make sense. She seems completely normal, wholly sane-"

"Wholly sane besides the three deers she mutilated in her royal palace, you mean" Chernienko interrupted.

"Yes", replied the detective, in a tone that would be frustrated if it wasn't so shook, "Listen", he continued, "Whatever the hell went wrong with the Khaness we have to get to the bottom of it, and get to the bottom of it properly. Whatever it is, it might be related to the president, or whatever else we don't know, or-"

"Stop", Chernienko once again cut him off, "Do you have any clue who or what we're dealing with here?"

"We are dealing with a woman who seemed to have gone through a psychotic episode and we need to understand what's going on with her before she hurts herself or others"

"No, detective, that's wrong. Who we are dealing with is the Khaness of Tutum, the Mayor of Lapovo, the Chairman of the Lapovo Soviet, the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Tutum, the General Secretary of the KKP, the Defense Minister of the KKP, the Commander-in-Chief of TIKKO, and the president's sister. This isn't a woman, it's a ticking fucking time bomb, and we need to get her off our hands as quickly as possible before we get TIKKO soldiers throwing grenades through the windows of police cars!"

"So what, we're supposed to just let her go?!"

Chernienko thought for a moment and sighed, "No. Just send her to a mental institution and they'll look at her there. This whole shit storm will be their issue from now on, not ours"

The detective seemed as if he was going to protest, but quickly realized how pintleythat would be. So he just let out a grunt of frustration, swallowed his pride, and asked "Would that be all?"

"No", Chernienko responded as he took another drink form his cup of coffee, "I also want us to freeze any investigations into this matter. I don't want the Lapovo PD to be touching this case with a ten foot pole".

"WHAT?!", the detective couldn't let this go as he threw back up the pride he just swallowed, "DROP THE CASE?! ARE YOU INSANE?! JUST KEEP WHATEVER THE HELL HAPPENED IN THE DARK?!"

"Listen", Chernienko said with a firm tone, "The official story is that our poor girl got overworked, and combined with the stress of her sister going MIA, she had a psychotic break and went on a very messy hunting trip. If you value your career, or your sanity, I suggest you stick to that story".

The detective looked up at Chernienko with the strongest look of distaste the old Chief had seen on the young man since he first started working there, and after a moment, he simply said:

"You're a coward, Chief"

"No", Chernienko replied, "I just know when a rabbit hole is too deep to safely come out from".

It was early in the morning. Karl had just finished his breakfast and cup of coffee no more than 30 minutes ago. He made his way to the 'People's' Palace where he would doubtlessly have a long day talking with the Khaness. Or, well, he never worked with her as the Khaness. Only as the "General Secretary of the KKP" or "Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Tutum", or so on and so forth. Frankly he thought it was silly, it would do the girl best to drop the pretenses and just rule as a monarch...

Regardless, he wasn't paid to judge. And Rachel was a good boss, if rather irresponsible at times. But she was never outwardly mean or abusive towards him in any sense. And she paid really quite well.

He always enjoyed the morning walks to the palace. He lived just a few blocks away, so it wasn't really a bother. He always enjoyed stretching his legs and enjoying the early morning sunlight before he'd certainly be spending the rest of his day sitting down in a drab office.

He sighed to himself. His walk has reached its end and he was just a few steps away from the palace and the beginning of his da-

...

Karl looked blankly ahead of him. The door to the palace, usually closed and locked at such an hour, requiring his keys to open it... It was wide open. And... And there was a streak of blood leading from the outside into it.

Karl immediately bolted into the palace, his mind racing at whatever worst case scenario he could think of. Dear God, was the Khaness in danger? Was she already dead? No, it couldn't be! But the blood kept sprawling out throughout the corridors of the palace, and he followed the trail while attempting not to be made dizzy by the metallic smell throughout the entire manor.

Karl was a soldier, he served in the Third Multum Civil War before he moved to Tutum. As such, he had all the preconditioning of a soldier. He knew how to fight, and more importantly, he knew when to fight. He was taught what constitutes danger and how to respond to it without thinking. As such, it was a good thing he didn't have his gun on him this morning, for if he had when he reached the end of the blood trail and saw the Khaness, he would have shot her dead out of pure instinct.

The Khaness was sitting on the floor. She was covered in blood. All of her. It was nearly impossible to perceive a single color on her body that wasn't crimson red. She simply sat on the floor, covered in blood, smiling at Karl.

Karl had no time to even consider what was happening, he immediately ran over to the Khaness and inspected her as carefully and quickly as he could to make sure she wasn't hurt. And... No. Besides a few scratches on her knees, shins, forearms and such, she was completely fine.

The shock hasn't yet worn off when Karl began to look around and have a closer inspection of the entire room. And then he saw what must have been the source of all this blood.

Two deer carcasses were hanging from hooks attached to what usually served as the attachment for the chandeliers from the ceiling. They were hanging by their feet, their throats were slit and some blood was still dripping from it onto the floor. There was so much blood in this room the metallic taste could be felt in Karl's mouth.

Another deer carcass was sprawn over the floor. It had seen to be butchered. Just then did Karl notice another smell, that until now was completely masked by the smell of metal coming from the blood. It was a smell of cooking. Of venison.

Karl looked back down at the Khaness, who was still simply smiling back up at him. He wanted to scream, he wanted to ask her at the top of his lungs just what the absolute hell was going on, but he couldn't bring himself to. All he could muster was to say, in a weak voice...

"W-what the hell happened here...?"

Rachel looked around and laughed a little, before looking back at Karl and saying, innocently, through as if stifling laughter, "Oh? All this? Just a hunting trip. Sorry for the mess".

...

...

...

Weary fingers trembling picked up the landline and dialed again.

...

...

...

A response.

"Thank you for calling the office of the president of the Democracy of Reddit. Unfortunately no one is currently available to answer your call. Please leave a voice mail after the tone. BEEP"

The handset is thrown violently against the body of the landline phone.

...

...

The phone is picked back up. A tired, shaky, frustrated voice speaks into the transmitter.

"Listen... I don't know what the hell is going on. But I've been calling your office for THREE HOURS now. And... And you don't fucking pick up. Is it cause you know my number...? Next time I'll call from a different one..."

"I have picked up and hung up this same fucking phone... 38 times... And you STILL won't answer me..."

"Where the hell is my sister? It's been weeks since I last saw her... Since I last TALKED to her... Since I last even HEARD of her... I called her... No response... I... I asked her wife... She doesn't know where she is too..."

...

"WHERE THE FUCK IS MY SISTER?! ARE YOU SERIOUSLY SO FUCKING USELESS THAT YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHERE THE PRESIDENT OF THE GODDAMN COUNTRY IS?! THE PRESIDENT YOU'RE THE OFFICE OF?!"

...

...

"If I find out anything happened to her..."

...

"If I find out you somehow had anything to do with it..."

...

"If I find out you knew where she was and didn't tell me..."

...

"I will kill you."

The phonecall hangs up.

Hey there sport! Have you ever wondered what socialism really is? Are you tired of people around you confusing you with lies and misrepresentations of what Marx and Lenin really meant? Do you want to really expand your knowledge of the economics, philosophy, and politics that all come together into communism?

Well, worry not, my young comrade! P.O, and Senior Pioneer, Rachel Wendigo Woolf is here for you! I will be hosting readings of selected Marxist-Leninist texts followed with discussions and questions for anyone who wants to join up!

This is a serious offer by the way! If you are a curious young leftist, hit me up and I'd love to schedule something if enough people are interested!

See you in the library, oh future Pioneer!

(Note, this offer also extends to current pioneers and really just anyone that's interested. I'm not exactly sure how I'll make it, but I'll think something up!)