Amount

Recommend Print

Birth of the Undead – Staying Alive 7

Written by kshoo :: [Saturday, 04 June 2022 04:01] Last updated by :: [Saturday, 04 June 2022 11:29]

To be frank, asking her address from Bruce was an unnecessary gesture. It wouldn’t take Supergirl more than a few minutes to quickly comb through Gotham City with a combination of her superspeed and x-ray vision to find the elusive woman. She had initially wanted to follow the Vampirella back to her place, but a bit of vanity plus some inner conflict about being too brash led her to kill that thought. After all, it IS a private place, and definitely not how one would like to make new friends by tailing one home. At least Batman seemed to approve of her plan, and he made it sounds as if Vampirella is not that difficult to get along with.

Rita Campbell’s simple advice lingered in her mind. “Better to have more allies than enemies.” With Vampirella’s own conjecture about both of them potentially being victims of circumstances, there is even more reason for both of them to try and get along. If things are really going the way Vampirella is talking about, the sooner the better. 

Flying leisurely about a thousand feet in the air, Kara identified the house easily enough, and true to Batman’s word it was bordering the Gotham cemetery with its open ground. While not as large as Wayne Manor, it definitely rivaled the size of the Midvale Orphanage, though it seems oddly disproportionate to have only one occupant staying here; the orphanage had made use of each of the ten odd rooms to house thirty energetic youths aged six through eighteen. Disregarding the fallen logs and trees all about the exterior grounds, she instead approached the upper floor, hoping to catch Vampirella’s attention.  

Vampirella had actually just gotten herself comfortable on one of the large lounging chairs with a glass of red wine when she heard a silent rapping on her window pane, the sillihouette of a young woman standing outside illuminated partially by a sudden break of lightning. There can be only one other woman wearing the <S> insignia who could float using only her own powers twenty feet above ground.

image068.jpg

Not even bothering to even stand up, she just said “Window’s not locked” and motioned for Kara to come in. The Maid of Might dropped onto the balcony, gently pushed the double-doored french windows inwards and closed it behind her just as the first drop of rain started to fall.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit this evening?”

“About our discussion last week. I accept.”

“You mean you agree to our deal.” It was a statement, nothing more. “You could have called, rather than come in person.”

Kara replied sheepishly “Well, we didn’t really swap phone numbers the other day so…” that brought a laugh from the vampire, who merely stood up and put her hand on Kara’s shoulder. “I am just teasing. But before we do anything, first I want to give you something.” Without waiting for a reply, she swept out of the room and went down the twisting staircase, with Kara in tow.

“Wait here” she gestured to her guest at the dining room as she disappeared into the kitchen. Kara took the opportunity to look around the place. Despite it being dimly lit at the moment, it looked to be very tastefully decorated. Landscape paintings adorned the walls; dark velvety drapes adorned the large french windows, and a chandelier was installed direcly on the center top of the longish, oval shaped dinner table that can easily sit ten people end to end. One of the pictures caught her eye. Unlike the many which seemed to be painted portraits of long-dead people, one however was a painted landscape. It depicted a desert-like view with two red-coloured suns casting an orange glow over the place. However unlike the Mojave or any deserts on Earth, there is a river running past the ground, and vegetation was abound beyond the usual cactee. The water glowed red in reflection as if inviting the next person to come closer and see for themselves the mystery within it.

“You like it?” Vampirella’s voice sounded from behind, before Kara felt her presence next to her.

“It’s fascinating. This is a very interesting depiction of the desert. The painter seems to be conveying some message, as it had the water clashing so dramatically with the orange-glow that is the sandy ground and dunes.”

“Oh I wouldn’t say that it conveys any particular deeper meaning. It just happens to be a place that I knew well, seeing that I just happened to put it down based on memory.”

“You drew it? Where is this place?” Kara was in awe.

“My home planet. Drakulon.” Vampirella's right hand touched the surface of the framed painting, seemingly in deep thought for a while. “A very different place from Earth, that’s for sure. I did this about thirty years ago when I got bored, so I took up painting classes so that I can at least draw and paint well enough, and put part of my memories down on paper and canvas instead of just keeping all of them in own brain.” She paused for a while before continuing “Keeps the loneliness a little more palatable.”

“You’re an alien?” Now that’s a new revelation.

“Very much so. How I ended up on Earth is actually similar to you and your cousin actually, if I remember correctly Lois' interview of the one and only Superman in the Daily Planet piece. While my planet did not explode, our population was dying due our version of climate change as the blood supply dried up. Oh, yes, instead of live-giving water, it is what you call 'blood' that flows in our rivers, Kara, but the twin suns…” pointing to the two red circles “were unrelenting. Fate had other ideas however, and I managed to hitch a ride on a spacecraft from Earth that had somehow crash-landed on Drakulon. They didn’t realise I was onboard as they were so intent of fighting off waves of other vampiri who had detected their body composed of blood. And so here I am, been here since the 50s.”

“I didn’t know Earth had such an advanced science and technology development then.”

“No, and they still don’t. It was a fluke that brought that experimental aircraft into a wormhole and through to my planet. One thing I realisd is that sometimes humans give themselves too much credit for things which might have turned up to be a happy accident.”

Gesturing to the table, both of them took a seat next to each other, Vampirella sitting at the head of the table with her legs crossed, Kara to her left. Still holding on to her wine glass, she handed a bronze goblet offered it to Kara. “I think you need a drink first.” Kara raised her hands and remarked “Oh, I don’t drink, since I don’t really get drunk nor high, so…”

“It’s not wine my dear.”

Realisation dawned on the Girl of Steel, who took the goblet off of vampirella. A quick sniff confirmed what was in it. Vampirella continued “I think you’ve been avoiding it for a while, and if we’re going to do this at least you need to learn to get acquainted with some things. Why don’t you have a taste first. I assure you that I don’t offer anyone anything that is low quality.”

Kara hesitated for a short while before taking a tentative sip. When the liquid rolled onto her tongue and down her throat she could feel her entire body reacting positively, as if it knows that this is one of the life-giving liquid that will sustain her life. Another sip followed; then a gulp followed by more until she bottomed-up the entire goblet, and then placing the cup back on the table. Kara closed her eyes and gave a low contented moan. Even though it was only a cup of it, her body had eagerly embraced the red liquid, and she felt a slight renewed vigour within herself.

image069.jpg

“Feel better?” Kara nodded. Vampirella observed the young girl’s beautiful blue eyes with her own emaralds, observing the inner conflict with the girl of steel easily enough. Holding her own wine glas swith her left while crossing her right arm under her busoms, she remarked “For what it’s worth, that was animal blood.” Kara’s eyes darted down and upwards again to look at Vampirella, slightly agape. “Yes, we need blood for sustenance, but there are all kinds of blood here on Earth. Many vampires walking on the streets have swapped their dietery habits for those from animals, and some even prefers it. Quite a few have professed their love of the hunt of deer, elk and other wild animals as part of acquiring the necessary for their consumption.”

“So...you also do the same?”

“Not really. It’s not really my cup of...'tea' as some of you might say, though it is a viable replacement in emergencies. For a Drakulon like me, while many would equate what I am to a ‘typical’ vampire and it is a logical association, my own physical needs has not really evolved to that extent. I can get by with animal blood, but unfortunately human blood is still preferred. Fresh, if possible; or in a bag like those in the blood bank, if not.” Kara saw vampirella bring up one of her hands up to wipe away a little of the wine on her luscious red lips; it wouldn’t really be out of place if she were wiping away blood as well.

Vampirella continued, sounding more like a mentor now. “From the last time I saw you up in the Arctic until now, I could actual detect a drop in your energy level. Assuming that you haven’t really expanded your powers in any major way, the only remaining reason would be that you’re not eating well. In your particular case, that would mean you have not had blood for some time. While I understand your hesitation about this, unless you push through this mental barrier of yours, else you will find yourself at a significant disadvantage.”

 “I know, as in...I know I'm not at tip-top condition lately and have my suspicions. It’s...it's just that…it’s hard. I don’t want to hurt people. Nor kill anyone.” Kara lamented, though it brought a tired laugh from Vampirella. “Actually, that’s a major misconception among those who don’t know us. We need to feed, but we don’t necessarily have to kill. Think about it. If that were true, then Earth would be a wasteland in no time don’t you think? Why would we purposedly destroy our food source? After all, even the Earthlings talk about sustainability, which in this case is also applicable.” Leaning forward, Vampi looked into Kara’s eyes. “I do acknowledge that it will take a bit of practice to do this, and many newborns lack that self-control initially. But eventually everyone gets it, as I am sure you will too. That’s why I’m here, to teach and guide you, to make sure that not only you know about your new physique, but also to make sure you know how to leverage on your strengths and avoid exposure of your weaknesses, if any.”

“What will happen to me? Eventually?” Vampirella pondered that question as she downed the last of the wine. “I don’t think you will become any different than what you already are now. No extra heads, no additional limbs. The orthodontal changes…”pointing to her own fangs “…that, you already know. I will say that, other than myself, I have not seen any other converted vampires as resilient as you, being able to go so long without blood, but even so, you should remember that blood IS water for us. It’s our lifeline. The longer you go without it, the more dehydrated you become, and I suspect despite all your sun-fueled superpowers you will start of feel sluggish. Though I don’t know how long you will be able to last before you finally succumb to the unenviable bloodlust, which we should avoid at ALL cost. Other than that...I guess we will find out later.”

“Wait…bloodlust? You mean uncontrollable lust for blood? Even killing for it? Have you ever…”

“Yes. No, I do not want to talk about it. Nor will I wish that upon anyone at whichever end of it. Hence you need to really understand your body and mind to avoid it. You need control.” Kara closed her mouth at that sudden retort, having weirdly hit a rather sensitive spot.

“Now, it is starting to get late. If I remember I think you still have some sort of a curfew in your hidey place. Shall we?” Without waiting for a response Vampirella stood up and walked towards the large doors, pushing through and out towards the large garden. Kara followed suit and saw her host standing on the patio looking around the place. The rain had stopped, and the wet ground gave off a slightly sodden-smell that is indicative of all the plants that she had grown in the large compound. She noted Vampi’s slight sigh from her vantage point, and no wonder; someone must have really wanted a do-over so much in order to brin destruction all about the place, constrasting the surprisingly well-kept interior of the house.

“What happened here?”

“Your cousin and I happened, that’s what. WE started our little sexy romp from here, before taking the session up North after having already half-thrashed this place. This is going to take some effort to clear-up and replant…” Turning to look at Kara sideways she said “You can either have a go at me from the front, but I think it might be easier for you if you drink from the side and back.” With that, Vampirella then tossed her hair to one side and held it there, exposing the right side of her neck to Kara as she looked back out towards the darkened ground.

The Girl of Steel approached her host hesitantly and floated up a few inches to cover the slight difference in height, helped by Vampirella’s heels. Despite herself having no other previous experiences other than her one time with Luke Livingston, Supergirl’s body seemed to work on instinct now, her various senses quickly detecting the plentiful blood that is available within this raven beauty standing just a few steps in front of her. As Kara’s hands briefly touched the deceptively soft skin of Vampirella between her neck and shoulder, she gasped loudly as the latter suddenly moved her right hand over her back and onto Kara’s blonde tresses, pulling her head in and bringing her mouth downwards onto her neck.

“This would be the best spot for you. Go for it. Do it right, and coupled with a few sensual moves it might even heightened the pleasure of the person donating it to you as well. A win-win for both.” Kara didn’t really hear the last utterance of Vampirella, for her vampiric needs seemed to have woken up fully. With her supersenses further heightened and tuned for blood, she could literally smell and detect the energy, the vitality and even the nutrition contained within the blood of the vampire superwoman. Gently kissing and rolling her tongue around the area where the neck met the shoulder, she felt the slight tensing and relaxing of Vampirella’s muscles as the woman seemingly started to get a bit more worked out with the experience.

As both women got more into the mood, Kara moved both her arms under Vampirella’s and towards the front, and tried to hook it over the taller woman’s shoulder in order to improve her hold. But before she could get a proper grip, Vampirella herself moved her hands over Kara’s and instead guided them downwards to feel up her large chest before moving her arms back up to caress the younger blonde’s tresses. Taking heed of Vampirella’s guidance, Supergirl’s hands roamed over the side of both of vampire’s larger boob, feeling up the limited but smooth expansive contours of the red fabric over Vampirella areolas and nipples, their firmness tenting up the thin fabric as if trying to escape from their confinements.

As Kara rubbed her hands sensually all over Vampirella’s top, she felt her host become more excited as time went by. “Yes…that’s it….oh yes…hold and caress them…and then you can….ugh…..”Vampirella grimaced slightly at the slight pain amidst the increasing pleasure, as she finally felt the pricking on her neck as Supergirl finally sunk her sharp invulnerable fangs into that perfect spot, penetrating the supposedly invulnerable skin and bringing forth a sudden gush of warm blood into Kara Zor-El’s mouth.

She drank, eagerly, trying not to waste any single drop of the red liquid, as Vampirella’s powerful heart pumped more and more of her own life-giving blood. The Last Daughter of Krypton felt so much liquid and the corresponding power that came together. Unlike the first time Vampirella partook her own where the heat of her blood actually caused most of the ground around them to burn into crisp, this time it was just perfectly warm, perfectly tuned seemingly for a Kryptonian vampire who has finally given in to her own primal desires, contented to just drink and consume it as it flows.

The final act had also caused an involuntary reaction from both superwomen. Upon feeling the slight pain on her neck, Vampirella arched her body slightly moaning in response. Her upper body tensed and flexed to its fullest as her powerful chest expanded, the small miracle muscles underneath her chest firming up within microseconds causing her 36Ds to push up and out another few inches, and Kara’s hands together with it. At the same time, her arms became larger than life rivaling those who have been body building for years, her entire back became of maze of ridges while her curvy butt seemingly hardened like steel as her solar-powered muscles’ powerful growth and eventual girth, pushed and liftted Kara’s own torso slightly away.

But the girl called Kara Zor El is unlike any of Vampirella’s previous lover. The newborn Kryptonian vampire’s arms moved forward, the hands opened wider to cater to the sudden firming of her donor’s generous curves and growth in musculature, but then responded by using significantly more of her own sweet strength to slowly close even more powerfully on those two engorged globes, all the while rubbing her palms on the excited nipples in circles. Unnoticed by both women in the throes of their actions, Kara’s arms and hands seemed to be squeezing more and more on Vampirella’s firm mounds and arms, which seemed to be softening as time passed.

Kara also responded by thrusting her chest powerfully against Vampirella’s back muscles, her own firmed-up steel-hard nipples tracing over some of the prominent ridges of Vampirella’s back muscles, while she also moved her deceptively slim thighs over Vampirella’s legs in an attempt to saddle the taller woman and improve her hold, her hips rubbing and pushing back sensually against Vampirella’s beautiful curve that is her ass.

In slow motion, the Girl of Steel’s stance slowly evolved from a koala bear-like, gently hugging onto support, into becoming something akin to a boa constrictor who has a totally different intent as it continued to feast. A move that is reminiscent of Vampirella’s own move during her earlier freeding frenzy that had succeeded in overpowering an Arion Prime male.

If Kara weren’t so focused on her drinking she would have heard Vampirella gasps and moans, her mewls and repeated shuddering in delight as she felt, and slowly gave in to Supergirl’s amazing caresses against her own powerful body and hard curves. For Kara, her body and mind is now on a powerful high as she continued to partake the Drakulon's powerful lifesource, the one, true vampire that is descended from another old alien race whose blood has been enhanced and infused with Kryptonian DNA. She kept up a constant feeding rhythm, the seconds became long minutes before Kara started to feel a drop from the buzz of the feed. Her mind seemingly lifted like the fog dissipating from the morning sunshine, realizing that somehow she needed to stop soon before she does anything that she will regret. Reacting instinctively, Kara reduced the force of her sucking and instead used her tongue to lick, swirl and massage over the open wounds, which seemed to slow, then stop the outflow of blood. When she finally came up, Supergirl felt fully sated for the first time in weeks, her body seemingly regaining and exuding healthiness, a constant abundance of of energy tingling in each and every one of her own remarkable cells that reminded her so much that wonderful, empowering feeling when she emerged for the first time out in the open to feel the yellow sun shining down on her body.

“Wow…Oh Rao….that was…that was…” Kara couldn’t even string together a complete sentence, her entire being felt so fulfilled, so alive. As she let go of her donor however, she noticed Vampirella slumping slightly forward as if she were going to tumble. Shocked, she quickly grabbed hold of the raven-haired woman and turned around to look at her. Vampirella’s beautiful body seemed slightly pained, her skintone paled even more compared to mere moments ago, her breathing labored though she had a funny smile on her face.

“Ngg…Not bad…for one who has little experience…knowing when to stop.” Vampirella had to lean back against the railing now for support, feeling quite drained, literally. Motioning upwards, Kara understood her intent and moved her arms over Vampi’s waist to grab hold of her. In moments, vampirella found herself lying on her large king-sized bed.

“Vampirella. I’m so, so sorry…” Vampirella hushed Kara, instead saying “Oh, come on. I’m just weakened, not dead. Given that I’ve been to hell and back numerous times, even regenerating a few times, this is nothing. Now, if you can fetch me a few of the packs from the fridge downstairs, I’d be as good as new in a while…” before she even finished Kara had reappeared with 5 packs of blood bags. As Vampirella sat up on the bed Kara used her fingernails to slice the top part of the bag before passing it to her host. The Maid of Might sat on the bed watching Vampirella down the first bag, before the taps opened.

“Oh please. It’s not that bad. You did well.” Kara sobbed a little more before she finally pulled herself together, wiping the remaining tears from her face, before looking up. “I did promise you my life didn’t I? Looks like it’s the right decision, and unlike any of those mindless converts, Supergirl indeed is a remarkable woman. A true heroine. One who is intent on saving lives irregardless of the situation nor consequences.” That brought a wry smile to the younger woman’s teary face.

“Before I forget, there’s also a small chiller box in the fridge. Can you please bring it for me?” In moments, the box is in her hands. Opening it up, she showed the two small vials within the little box to Kara. “As I mentioned, I want to find out more about my new self. I’m not sure what you can use to test it out, but I want you to protect this with your life, if possible.”

“What is it?” as the girl of steel raised the red-coloured vial, though she had her suspicions.

“Sample of my blood, and my cum.” Vampi again laughed at Kara whose face blushed slightly red at that comment. “Just extracted today before I met all of you at Batman’s hidey hole. I wasn’t sure if any of the scientific equipment of those labs can get anything out it, and I definitely don’t want these to fall into the wrong hands. So I am hoping maybe we can get it tested at your own place?”

Kara closed the box and pushed it back to Vampirella. “I can try to run it through the Fortress’ supercomputer. We can go up there a few days later, will that work?“ Vampirella nodded after thinking for a while. “And if you go up there personally, you don’t even need to extract those…fluids so early. So you’ve spilled these for nothing, actually.”

“Nothing goes to waste, my dear. You can have the rest of the blood, if you want.” Kara merely shooked her head. “Or not. Well, I can always destroy it later.”

Kara helped Vampi to put the box away on the side table as Vampirella started on her third bag. Just as she was about to take a leave, Vampirella called out to her. “Kara, for what it’s worth, you also need to get ready. Are you working on anything to help yourself get ready for an upcoming war?”

“Well…” Supergirl’s eyes confirmed Vampirella’s suspicions. “I can help you on some things, but you need to think about getting stronger. Mentally and physically. Even for Kryptonians, the combined brainpower and physical might of Lex Luthor with Mandi Olson, plus any other villains that they recruit on their side, is going to be a difficult match-up.”

“I…Well, I have thought about it, a little. I was wondering if I could, you know…” and made a fighting stance.

“Ah yes, I can spar and work with you on that. However, most of my work tends to be more…subtle, if you know my meaning. Walking in shadows; Intelligence gathering, working on people and influencing them, instead of knocking them down upfront. Even if I have no problem holding my own against anyone. I am still willing to share whatever tricks and skills that I know, but you should also look to other options, practice and hone various crafts and skills regularly for you to really elevate yourself beyond just relying on your superpowers.”

“However, a more pressing situation is that each one of us – Kal, you and me – is currently at a disadvantage when we consider raw strength and power alone. I’ve gone up against Mandi, and while I got out of my jam on Mars I truly think it was down to luck rather than actual skill or power. The sheer musculature and the amount of raw power she unleashed upon myself was nothing short of amazing, overpowering even for anyof us. To think that she has almost all the same powersets as a typical Kryptonian here on Earth. Coming from a warrior race, I am sure she and Luthor will find ways to pick us apart one-by-one so as to avoid having us coming together to face them in an alliance.”

“Does she not have a weakness? I thought that when you drank her blood you managed to read her memories.”

“I don’t know if it's even conclusive. There were fragments in there that contained snippets of her being weak, but again I was so focused on getting away that I didn’t really start processing those thoughts until I was fully recovered a few days later. While it is important to figure out eventually what is her weaknesses are, the fact remains that we have to get stronger and better. Superman might not say it outwardly or mean it that way, but given that he doesn’t really have true competition beyond a select few, as such he might become overconfident. You, however…” Looking directly at Kara’s eyes, Vampirella emphasized her point “You are a true survivor. You’ve seen the horrors, and you have experienced first-hand what it is like to lose everything you hold dear. And if I read you well, I would venture that you would do anything to make sure that history doesn’t repeat itself, here. So perhaps that could be something of a positive drive for you.”

As Supergirl flew back towards Midvale, that thought churned in her mind. She knows what Vampirella talked about is true,  the need to prepare for the potential brutal war ahead. But given her remarkable physiology, how can she become even stronger? It’s not a matter of question of becoming strong enough to mate with the only Kryptonian male remaining, but to become strong enough to defeat another  whose physical and mental prowess is such that she can annihilate the world almost single-handedly.

She still doesn’t have an answer as she finally changed and got into bed.

______

Vampirella made a call across town after Kara left.

“How was it?”

“I survived the ordeal, if that’s what you’re asking. We parted amicably enough too, if that’s what you’re implying.” Vampirella replied without any other emotion.

“I actually have another proposal for you, that is if you’re willing to hear it.”

A dark chuckle coming across the line. “Another one. What am I now, your client?”

“I assume that you will be doing much more research and reconnaissance on our friend Lex Luthor and the elusive Mandi Olson. I propose that we swap information, regularly. I will also keep you posted on anything that I find. This is, of course, above and on-top of the human and creature trafficking operations that our friend from Metropolis seems to still be fully engaged in.”

A pause. “The human trafficking piece is yours. Go wild with it. On the other item however, I might need to think about that. After all, some of those might be beyond my jurisdiction as well.” Definitely being cautious now, and even more so if Superman is still not onboard. Politics, human or creature, can be such a pain.

“I’ll sweeten the deal for you then. A sample of my blood and my cum, for your own private keepsake and research. Oh, I know that you’ve been diligently gathering my hair and skin samples whenever you come by. I thought I’d just simplify your work and just give it to you straight. I know you’re paranoid enough to keep everything locked and secured, so at least it should not fall into the wrong hands. Maybe you can figure out what is it that the Arion woman is after.”

Another longer pause. “Drop it off at the Manor at the usual place.” A click concluded their conversation.

Placing the smartphone back on the sidedesk, she looked at her own reflection in the mirror as she pondered her next steps. The bite marks on her neck had all but disappeared. Even though she had not taught her to do so, Kara Zor-El had instinctively licked the open wounds when she was done, allowing the healing powers contained within the saliva of a vampire to help her heal faster. Perhaps she is even more capable than she thought she was, or let on.

image070.jpg

Giving herself another once-over, she noted how her current physique is slimmer than her previous more buxom figure. Letting out so much blood did take its toll. Feeling like being under the weather, the Last Daughter of Krypton had truly partaken much of what her own Drakulon body was ultimately able to give without ultimately collapsing. While it was Vampirella who had allowed and guided the young woman initially, eventually it’s as if they have both became enthralled with each other as she gave up her blood so readily as Kara played and massaged her generous curves so boldly. Caressing and eventually squeezing the softest part of her Kryptonian-DNA infused body with more strength than Vampirella normally used to grope herself, it felt so sensual, so right, for some reason.

That last memory seemed to make her body tingle slightly, seemingly remembering what had just transpired not too long ago, and also a hollowness in anticipation of what might be the possible future, for her and the one they call Supergirl. She smiled as she felt and saw a wet spot appearing on her bottom, darkening the golden flamebird sign of the vampiri race that had been placed strategically over her cunt, and the slow tenting of the two thins strips covering her rising areolas and nipples further confirming her body’s unconscious reaction.

Looks like Supergirl does have an arousing effect on this particular Drakulon woman.

Kara Zor-El. The last female of her race. Young and blossoming into womanhood. Steely yet still malleable. Lots of potential, with unknown upper limit.

How does one unleash that full potential; harness and eventually control it... now that will be an interesting point to ponder.

Add comment

Security code
Refresh

Comments (0)
There are no comments posted here yet