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raphexim · 13 days ago

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I Could Be Honest, I Could Be Human

Chapter 23: I smile at the moon (death is on my face)

<<< Chapter 22 | Chapter 24

Words: 4,262

Summary: Aaron finally stays over for the full moon.

Additional Tags & Warnings: non-graphic nudity, memory issues/loss of self

Aaron is uneasy during his visit. He lingers at the front door, breathless with the concentrated scent of another werewolf. If Ken on his own was one thing, his personal territory is another.

But what ought to be his competition or his enemy simply grins, clasps his arms, and invites him inside.

He is fully stunned at the lack of damage to the home, the way there are no extra locks or security. “I mean, I shredded the carpets a little bit in the beginning,” Ken admits.

“But he also learned how to fix them,” Barbie adds.

“You can still tell.”

“Maybe,” her smile is fond, “but I like it. It’s like our version of baby pictures.” The way she supports him so dedicatedly… No wonder he’s had it good. Aaron watches them keenly, a look of longing on his face. How would it have been if Pete had believed and accepted him?

Though it still makes him nervous – it feels more risky to have so little in the way of prevention – it’s also a resounding testament to the fact that their strategy is effective. The fact that Ken can live in a clean home with no damage, no imprisonment, and able to be around someone else. “She literally brought me to Mattel, remember?” So he’s coming back in a few days, to spend the night. To spend the full moon.

Life doesn’t stop in the meanwhile. Barbie’s friends are over for a movie marathon – they sound very excited about the Princess Diaries news, though they bicker back and forth about which prince is better – so a rewatch is in order.

“I know you said you got a bird, but I dunno…,” Janice eyes the skylight critically. “I guess I thought it would have a special little condo or something.” The creature coos from a loose nest of dry grass and herbs – Ken has been leaving offerings near the seed bowl for it to take. It isn’t much of an architect, but it seems exorbitantly proud of its meager construction.

“Well, we didn’t really expect to have a bird, and it seems happy with the current situation. I mean, free-roaming the house is basically the best it could get, right?”

“Barbara,” Cory intones, “...is that a wild animal?”

“I think it’s more of a self-tamed situation?”

“Barb…”

“It won’t leave! We got it out of the house exactly once and it flew back in the next time we opened the front door. It bodied Ken right in the face, he almost had a heart attack.”

“Don’t they carry diseases?” Jan asks.

Barbie shrugs. “It’s not like we don’t wash our hands. Ken mostly takes care of the cleaning, anyway. His immune system is crazy strong – I don’t think I’ve ever seen him get sick, actually.”

“Must be the trade-off for his condition,” Nova comments apologetically. The others hum their agreement.

And they don’t know how right they are. Barbie figures that Ken’s accelerated healing keeps him pretty healthy – but the cost is agony every month, and the ghost of that pain in every step.

Is it the same for Aaron? Should they do something about the pigeon before the full moon? If not for his safety, then for the bird’s…

Ken continues at the cemetery, taking an extra shift from someone. It’s a relief – he won’t have to ask off this time, unless the moon is particularly bad. Which it could be, when another wolf – and an untamed one at that – is entering his space. But it’s not trespassing, so he’s trying to be optimistic. Aaron is invited. Aaron is his friend. Sunny warmed up to Barbie super quickly because he trusted her. So as long as he can keep the same energy with Aaron, everything should be fine.

Okay, he’s actually still anxious despite all the logic and reason he can conjure. It’s out of his control. So he nurtures his garden, joins Buck and Eddie for some beach volleyball (which he hasn’t done in far too long) and finally starts gathering supplies to paint his room.

“You’re canceling?” Despite its gravelly quality, Rick’s voice is surprised. “But you’ve been so excited to keep moving forward. And I think Bo is starting to warm up to you.”

“I know- I’m sorry,” Ken fumbles. “I’ve got this thing over the next couple days I gotta take care of.”

“Someone’s birthday?”

“Not really.” Ken hates this part. Maybe if he’s evasive enough, Rick will stop asking before he has to lie outright.

“There aren’t any holidays that I’m aware of. Only thing on my calendar is the full moon.” Ken’s stomach starts slithering around like a nervous snake. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those moonlight gardeners. My daughter used to do that.”

The werewolf brightens at the unexpected out. “Yeah- yeah, there’s just- did you know the moonlight affects plants too? And with the season changing I gotta weed and prune, and the timing in the cycle affects their ability to heal and where they’re putting their resources.”

Rick chuckles indulgently. “She used to tell me all about it. Though what kind of seasonal change either of you thinks is happening in Los Angeles is beyond me.”

“You might not feel it, but the plants definitely do,” Ken assures him, trying not to sound too relieved.

“Promise to squeeze some practice in?”

“Promise.”

Ken keeps that promise, if only to work out a to-do list:

Bird in room Move couch Get bedding Dinner → Pasta bolonese (no nuts!!)

“Bolognese has a G,” Barbie informs him over his shoulder.

“You’re kidding. Why would they do that??”

“It’s a different language. Letters don’t always make the same sounds, and a lot of the time we try to compensate for that when it’s translated into English.”

“That’s dumb. I hate that.”

“And sometimes we get words from languages with completely different alphabets. Like none of the letters are the same at all.”

“Barbie I’m gonna have nightmares.”

“No really, like when people say ‘It’s Greek to me’ it’s because the letters are almost completely different. Have you ever seen written Russian? Or Japanese? I’m so jealous of people who can not just speak more than one language, but understand more than one alphabet. Just thinking about it makes my head spin.”

Ken huffs out a fond laugh, striking the offending word through and rewriting the correct spelling above. “I remember when we used to know every language,” he sighs.

Barbie slides her fingers through his hair. “Me too. Imagine how easy everything would be if we just knew every language. Do you wanna shop together, or go on your own?”

“We haven’t gotten lost in the soup-and-sauce aisle in a while. Grocery date?”

“Only if you do my hair first.”

“Deal.”

Day by day, Ken has been moving the seed bowl. It made its way up the stairs to the landing outside his room. And now it’s just inside the door. The pigeon has been pretty adaptable, flying down to whatever location holds its food. Today is no different. It lands on the floor, confidently pecking away. No attempts have been made against it in some time, and it’s been growing bolder.

Ken, indulging his instincts, has lain in wait. Perfectly still, unbreathing, unblinking, two steps down. A moment after the bird lands, he rushes up. The bird startles and tries to take off, but he blocks the opening with his body; it flees the other direction, deeper into the room, and Ken hauls the door shut. “Got it!” he calls.

“Great,” Barbie lowers her phone. She sends it to the group chat for a laugh. “It’ll be safe in there; Sunny never tries to go up the stairs.” In Sunny’s defense, the stairs aren’t all that dog-friendly. There are gaps between the shadow boxes, they’re large steps, and the only handrail is against the wall – no barrier between ascent and fall. It’s nice in that Ken can sit up on the landing now and then, legs dangling over the edge as he strums a guitar (lately the pigeon has been cooing along) – but it’s no wonder it’s unappealing to a wolf. Hopefully Aaron will be the same.

Barbara and her partner lift the couch together, carefully depositing it against the wall. It’s just the coffee table left to get out of the way.

The doorbell rings. They turn to each other, eyes wide. On an unspoken cue, both take a deep breath, hold it, then let it out slowly, never breaking eye contact.

“I’ll get it, you finish up with this.” Barbie tries to calm her heartbeat. If Ken can hear it, Aaron must also be able to – she doesn’t want to make him nervous. Of course this is exciting, whether for good or bad.

Aaron is there, when she opens the door. He has a small black duffel bag slung over his shoulder, a sweater drooping from his other arm. It would be casual, except for the white-knuckle grip he has on the strap of his bag. Her lips part in a warm smile. “It’s good to see you. Come on in.”

To his credit, he only hesitates for a moment before crossing the threshold. He glances around. The place is bright and airy, holding no threat the way his own home does. The living room has been cleared; Ken is pushing the last bit of furniture up to the walls and out of the way. He straightens, wiping his hands, and makes his way over to Aaron. “Bring it in,” he encourages, looping an arm around the brunet and pulling him close. He doesn’t wait to dip his nose into the crook of the other man’s neck.

Aaron blushes, eyes flickering toward Barbie, but she only raises her eyebrows and nods encouragingly. Their wolves aren’t going to hold back with this, so why put it off? Better to get familiar beforehand. He deliberates a moment longer, then ducks his head closer, shutting his eyes against the awkwardness.

They… ‘analyze’ one another’s scents for several minutes, at least. “Shit,” Ken gasps, drawing back at last. Barbie can see how dilated his pupils are. There’s a giddy, half-frantic vibration under his skin. “Are you drooling? I’m drooling. Good talk. I’m getting dinner on.” He claps Aaron’s arm and turns toward the stove, and that’s that.

“Great. Let’s get your things put away, and you can help me get the bedding out.”

Well fed ahead of moonrise, there is only one thing left to do to prepare.

Barbie presents it to Aaron delicately. “Ken’s is pink, but I figured you might want something more discreet.”

“It’s a little thick,” he comments, eyeing the brown leather strap in her hand.

“To minimize contact.” There was enough spare chain left from Ken’s old necklace to wrap around a second collar. “I got the same size Sunny wears – I hope you’re not crazy huge or weirdly scrawny,” she laughs.

Aaron shrugs. “I wouldn’t know.”

“I believe it. The amnesia is crazy – Ken didn’t even know he was a werewolf for like, half a year.”

His eyebrows rumple together, a heavy frown on his face. “Oh.”

“And he’s okay,” she assures him hurriedly. “And you’ll be okay, and we’ll be okay. Everything will be great.”

“Please touch some wood or something.”

Barbie lays her palm against the whitewashed wood of a shelf. Mollified, Aaron gingerly fastens the silver-adorned collar around his own neck.

“Recommend a potty trip,” Ken advises as he sweeps past, already halfway out of his clothes. “I don’t think we’ll be getting out of the house tonight.”

Ken strips in the living room – all the blinds and curtains closed – comfortable in his skin and unabashed. The only pity he takes on Aaron is to cover himself with his hands.

Too shy to undress in front of either of them, Aaron pulls a corner of a blanket across himself as they count down the minutes until moonrise. Ken teases him gently, but doesn’t push him. After all, he was supposed to do this before – at the exam at Mattel. Ken had been freaked out about it, and Aaron hadn’t forced him to go through with it. He’d preserved his dignity. The least Ken can do is return that kindness.

And he goes quiet when his eyes fall on the scars on Aaron’s side. The bite isn’t nearly as neat as Ken’s – it drags and slashes, and it’s very likely Aaron was intended to be a meal. His own isn’t like that. He thinks he remembers being released quickly, but not why. Do werewolves just have the urge to spread the infection? Or has every victim simply been an inexplicable survivor?

He can hear the uptick in Aaron’s pulse as Barbie’s alarm goes off. It’s strange – his own anxiety usually spikes when he can sense the moon, but with Aaron here it almost cancels out. He takes a deep breath, and holds Aaron’s hands for a moment. “Ly-can-thropy, remember?”

Aaron nods, gulping.

Barbie backs away to give them space, watching from the hallway and ready to barricade herself in the bedroom if worse comes to worst.

Moonrise is as expected: sudden, painful. Barbie watches the ridges of Aaron’s spine split and give way, dark fur sprouting from the break and climbing up toward his neck. The groan he lets out almost seems frustrated, impatient, inconvenienced. Her eyes dart to Ken, but despite his wail of pain, his progress isn’t out of the ordinary. It’s crazy that she just applied the word ‘ordinary’ to any of this.

The sound of ripping flesh and creaking bone stops at last. Sunny’s familiar shape shakes out his fur and throws his head back, howling.

The other wolf does the same half a moment later.

The sound of the two of them, discordant and harmonizing, makes the hairs on Barbie’s arms rise. There are two full-blown werewolves in her house.

As they both drop their noses, they notice one another. Aaron takes a stiff-legged, square stance, straightening as he stands almost nose-to-nose with Ken. Both of their hackles rise, tension crackling through the room; this could turn sour in a heartbeat. They could start tearing each other apart.

In the stillness, Barbie can appreciate just how different Aaron’s wolf is from Ken’s. Sunny has a multitude of colors in his pelt – silvery grays and blacks, cream, tan, russet brown; and that pale blonde sheen. His cheeks are white, and his nose is long, his ears are large; his face triangular and his tail is bushy. Aaron is a rich dark brown, nearly black on his face, ears, and paws; but paler on his underbelly and in the shadows of his shoulders. There is a white patch on his chest. And his eyes are an intense amber, nearly orange.

Sunny is the first to break the standoff, too curious to hold back for long. He creeps around Aaron, one paw step at a time. Aaron doesn’t move, still as a statue; there is a quiet growl rumbling in his throat. Sunny noses his behind, his own tail rising in what Barbie thinks is a show of friendliness. Aaron’s nose twitches, he returns the gesture – they assess each other once more, intently – and seem to realize they already know one another. Sunny leaps back, shifting his paws excitedly, and lets out one bark. His tail is wagging. Aaron’s tension drops, his own tail swaying at least a little. He lets out a whine and presses himself to Sunny’s side. Sunny licks his ear. They are immediate friends, it seems.

Barbie lets herself start breathing again; her hands are shaking and her whole body begins to tremble as the adrenaline releases.

Dark and light wolf circle one another; nosing, nudging. Sunny is playful, Aaron is restrained. But both are calm; so far, there are no signs of aggression. Barbie knows that can shift at any moment, but now at least she can relax.

Sunny trots over to his toy bin. He makes a soft noise in Aaron’s direction, raising his tail a little. Barbie knows he is summoning the other; he has done the same to her on multiple occasions. She’s had plenty of opportunity to learn his language, but it’s gratifying to see him do it in another context and know she was right. Aaron follows, and Sunny noses toys toward him. There’s a bacon-flavored nylon chew that is his favorite. He picks it up. Nudges Aaron. Places it at his feet. Aaron sniffs it, takes it in his mouth.

Sunny nudges his side, and leads him toward Barbie. He eagerly shoves his nose under her hand, begging scratchies that she gladly indulges. Aaron sniffs at her cautiously while she pets his companion, and she realizes why Sunny gave him a toy: to keep his mouth busy so he can’t bite her easily. “Smart thinking,” she tells her partner. Sunny’s mouth opens in a grin, eyes squinting a little, and if that isn’t just the same expression Ken gives her when she praises him. She offers her hand to Aaron, cautiously. Letting him get to know her. She doesn’t want to move things too fast, even though she’s more confident in the process by now. Cockiness could literally kill her, so best to play it on the safe side. He sniffs, but his posture leans away even as he indulges curiosity. He’s uncomfortable, but not upset. It’s possible that he recognizes her – her eyes stray to the collar, making sure that lock of Aaron’s hair is still twisted into the chain – but it must be residual, because all that hair will do is help him remember tonight. They’ll need to harvest some of the wolf’s fur before moondown, to give it any connection to the rest of Aaron’s life. Right now, it’s just a wolf.

A huge wolf, at that. They both are. She’s not sure Ken loses any mass when he moves from one shape to the other, despite his lankiness. Aaron is just as tall, but a little bulkier – but then, he goes to the gym a lot, according to Ken.

The night proceeds with relative ease. She puts on a horse movie for Sunny; curls up on the couch to read. Aaron more or less does his own thing, sniffing around the house, mouthing at a toy here and there. But mostly, he paces. Back and forth, his eyes unfocused, or ceaseless laps around the room. Both Barbie and Sunny try to snap him out of it, but he just keeps going. Occasionally he’ll pause at the door, sniffing at the seam; digging so agitatedly that he scores the wood. Barbie doesn’t mind, herself – she accepted there might be some casualties in material goods tonight. But she can read concern in Sunny’s face, as he watches the other wolf. He whines quietly. “I know, honey,” she hushes, petting between his ears. “But we’re gonna help him.”

The dark wolf has been trapped in a house or small room every full moon. It has never been outside. It has never had space to run. It has nothing to do with its energy, so it spends its night in mindless circles.

The only real hiccup is around 3 AM, when Sunny launches himself off Barbie’s lap. Both he and Aaron snarl at the door, digging, barking, their hackles raised. This is the only time she removes herself, but she needs to know what is happening. She scurries up the stairs to watch from the landing.

Aaron is in a froth, attacking the door as though it is an enemy. Even Sunny has never done this, whenever that Presence passes their home. But the darker wolf is wild with fury. Barbie can see every single one of his teeth. Her heart jumps into her throat as Sunny turns on him. For one horrible moment she worries if this is all it takes – if their upset can so easily be misplaced that they’ll tear each other apart.

But all that happens is Sunny knocking the newcomer to the ground and pinning him there, mouth open like he’s going to bite the other’s face if he doesn’t behave.

Aaron is so bewildered by this turn of events, he seems to forget the cause of his agitation. He tries to get up, but cannot get out from under Sunny; he shows his teeth, but it’s in submission this time. Expressing his discomfort and showing he’s not a threat. Sunny lets him up, and he immediately goes to grab a toy, turning back toward the pale wolf with a tentative wag.

Sunny lifts his head toward Barbie, still perched on the landing. She nods encouragingly, impressed and relieved at how good of a handle he has on the situation. He gives an excited little bow to Aaron, and the two play for a while, wrestling and chasing one another. Aaron seems able to settle after that, energy spent, and the last couple of hours pass peacefully. Barbie captures as many observations as she can in her journal.

Ten minutes to moonset. Barbie unrolls the floor mattress and covers it in sheets and blankets. Sunny knows the drill, climbing on and getting comfortable. “Come on, Aaron,” she beckons, patting the bed. He lowers his head and creeps closer, placing a hesitant paw on the bedding. Sunny gives a little ‘boof’ of encouragement, and the dark wolf warily allows Barbie to drape the comforter over him. She clips a strand of hair off his shoulder, and retreats to give them space.

The transformation is just as painful as always, but there seems to be a note of relief to it as they find their humanity once more. They catch their breaths together, exhausted. “See?” Ken says into his pillow a few minutes later, muffled and worn. “Ly-can-thropy.”

It’s a couple hours of dozing before Barbie offers them some breakfast. Aaron rouses himself with a groan; Ken rolls onto his back, eyes squeezed shut. “Can’t get up,” he mumbles.

“Oh? Is it ly-can’t-thropy now?” she smirks.

He grumbles, and forces himself upright to shovel some eggs and ham into his mouth and get his collar off.

This is the only time they’ve seen Aaron eager for anything; his usual reserve is cast aside to empty his plate twice, but he also doesn’t seem altogether present; he hasn’t recovered his walls or inhibitions yet. Hopefully they’ll be able to shorten his recovery time with his own charm or talisman or whatever they’re calling the hair thing. While they curl back up together, exhausted but fed, Barbie works on twisting the hair of man and wolf together, and setting it in the necklace watch Aaron had handed her. Come next full moon, he’ll keep the same consciousness that Ken does, as long as he wears it regularly. She glances at them, wrapped together, and smiles to herself. This is going to work. Aaron can finally start trusting himself. He can finally be free.

There’s a warm body in his arms. For the briefest moment he thinks it’s Pete – but logic swipes that away with the force of a driver cutting a ball off the tee. He opens his eyes to find a sleeping Ken, forehead nearly resting against his own, warm breath wafting against him. His lashes are dark against his skin; his face is peaceful and young-looking.

When was the last time Aaron shared a bed with someone? When was the last time he let anyone come this close? His heart twists. Could he have had this all along if Pete just- if Pete just- ?

Ken’s arm is slung lazily around him, and his have somehow made it around Ken. He should feel embarrassed. But in this moment, all he feels is warm. The subconscious Aaron right after the change, stripped of all his boundaries, craved contact – and Ken let it happen. He opened his arms the way he opened his home, inviting Aaron into his life. What Aaron feels in these sparse few moments, is safe.

His eyes trace Ken’s features, noting what is different from when he was a doll. The faint brush of freckles across his cheeks, the peach-fuzz coating his skin; the color of his hair, the lines in his lips – he must chew them. He’s so much more complicated now. Textured, less smooth, less even. Soft. The shell of his ear looks too fragile, small and childlike. His pulse ticks in his throat, slow and even.

Aaron’s eyes fall further, to the line of scars on his freckled shoulder. Their situations were so different. Ken made all of this out of that terrible moment. He’d built himself from the ground up, become so much. All while Aaron had holed himself away, diving into his job and putting bars on his windows and holding his friends and family at a distance.

“I need to ask you something,” a voice hushes, and Aaron hurriedly pulls his eyes back to Ken’s face. The blond meets his gaze. “Have you ever…hurt someone?”

Aaron’s heart tightens. He’s quiet for a long time. “Yes,” he answers at last. “I’m pretty sure I have. I don’t know how many.”

“Have you ever killed anyone?”

“I wish I knew. Why? Gonna kick me out after all?” he jokes. They already know as much as he knows, and still asked him here regardless of his history.

“No.” Aaron is alarmed to see Ken’s eyes gloss over with tears, his voice a strained whisper in the silence. “But I think I might have.”

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raphexim · 16 days ago

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I haven’t really seen any of the more recent U.S. election news hitting tumblr yet so here’s some updates (now edited with sources added):

There’s evidence of Trump cheating and interfering with the election.

Possible Russian interference.

Mail-in ballots are not being counted or “recognized” in multiple (notably swing) states.

30+ bomb threats were called in and shut down polling stations on Election Day.

20+ million votes are still unaccounted for, and that’s just to have the same voter turnout as 2020.

There was record voter turnout and new/first-time voter registration this year. We definitely should be well over the turnout in 2020.

U.S. citizens are using this site to demand, not only a recount, but a complete investigation into election fraud and interference for the reasons stated above:

Here is what I submitted as an example:

An investigation for election interference and fraud is required. We desperately need a recount or even a revote. The American people deserve the right to a free and fair election. There has been evidence unveiled of Trump cheating and committing election fraud which is illegal. There is some evidence of possible Russian interference. At least 30+ bomb threats were called in to polling places. Multiple, notably swing states, have ballots unaccounted for and voting machines not registering votes. Ballots and ballot boxes were tampered with and burned. Over 20 million votes that we know of are unaccounted for. With record turnout and new voter registration this year, there should be no possibility that there are less votes than even in the 2020 election.

Sources (working on finding more links but if anyone wants to add info, it’s appreciated):

FBI addressing Russian interference and bomb threats:

Emails released by Rachael Bellis (private account, can’t share original tweet) confirming Trump committing election fraud:

Pennsylvania's Centre County officials say they are working with their ballot scanner vendor to figure out why the county's mail-in ballot data is "not being recognized when uploaded to the elections software:”

Wisconsin recount:

[ID:

Multiple screenshots and images.

The first is a screenshot with a link and information for contacting the White House directly regarding election fraud. The instructions include choosing to leave a comment to President Joe Biden directly and to select election security as the reason.

The screenshot then instructs people to include any or all of the following information in a paragraph as a comment to the president:

32 fake bomb threats were called into Democratic leaning poll places, rendering polling places closed for at least an hour.

A lot of people reporting their ballots were not counted for various reasons.

This all occurred in swing states.

This is too coincidental that these things happen and swing in his favor after months of hinting at foul play.

Directly state that an investigation for tampering, interference, fraud is required, not just a recount.

The second image is from the FBI Twitter account that reads:

The FBI is aware of bomb threats to polling locations in several states, many of which appear to originate from Russian email domains. None of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far. https://t.co/j3YfajVK1m — FBI (@FBI) November 5, 2024

The next four Gmail screenshots of an email sent to Rachael Bellis from Chris T. Spackman that read together as follows:

Dear BELLIS, RACHAEL E., The Dauphin County Board of Elections received a challenge to your absentee ballot you applied for in the November 5, 2024 General Election. The challenge argues that a provision of the Pennsylvania Election Code takes precedence over the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), which requires states and counties to permit U.S. citizens who move overseas to vote by absentee ballot for federal offices based on their last U.S. residential address.

The full text of the challenge that was filed appears below this email.

You may respond to the challenge in any of the following ways:

1. Call the Bureau of Registration and Election at (717) 780-6360;

2. Email a statement to the Bureau at Election [email protected]. Any statement you submit regarding the period during which you lived in Dauphin County, any family or connections that you still have here, and why you are now residing abroad would be read into the record.

3. Appear in person at a Board of Elections hearing scheduled for Friday, November 8 at a time to be determined in the Commissioners Public Hearing Room, 4th floor of Dauphin County Administration Building, 2 S 20d St, Harrisburg, PA 17111. The meeting is also likely to be livestreamed on Facebook on the Dauphin County channel.

Sincerely,

Christopher T Spackman

TEXT OF CHALLENGE BEGINS

Dear Dauphin County Board of Elections,

I am submitting this challenge to an absentee ballot application pursuant to 25 Pa. Stat.

3146.8(f).

25 Pa. Stat. 3146.8(f) Any person challenging an application for an absentee ballot, an absentee ballot, an application for a mail-in ballot or a mail-in ballot for any of the reasons provided in this act shall deposit the sum of ten dollars ($10.00) in cash with the county board, which sum shall only be refunded if the challenge is sustained or if the challenge is withdrawn within five (5) days after the primary or election. If the challenge is dismissed by any lawful order then the deposit shall be forfeited. The county board shall deposit all deposit money in the general fund of the…

The rest of the forwarded email is cut off.

The last image is a screenshot of the official statement from the Centre County, Pennsylvania Board of Commissioners released on November 6, 2024 that states:

Centre County Working with Ballot Scanner Vendor to Export Election Results.

(Bellefonte, PA) -Centre County Elections Office is working continuously to provide mail-in ballot data in order to post unofficial results.

To this point, all ballots have been scanned, including all mail-in ballots.

Centre County's Election team and IT team have identified that the data are successfully being exported from the mail-in ballot scanners, but that the data is not being recognized when uploaded to the elections software.

Centre County's Administrator, John Franek, Jr. stated, "We have not stopped working, and we will continue to work until unofficial results are posted and reported to the Pennsylvania Department of State."

As a next step, Centre County has begun working with the equipment vendor to adjust configurations to make the two systems-the mail-in ballot scanner and the elections software where data are uploaded -compatible with one another.

We will provide updates as we make progress.

/end ID]

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