Watch free scenes from take em down series
/r/AnimeSuggest Suggestions and requests for anything related to anime subculture
2011.08.27 18:15 /r/AnimeSuggest Suggestions and requests for anything related to anime subculture
Subreddit for anime and manga fans which allows suggestions and requests for anything related to anime and manga subculture.
2015.01.20 23:05 PitchforkEmporium
All things pitchforks, pitchfork accessories and OP lynching related.
2018.03.01 22:34 cloverkingdom Jujutsu Kaisen
JujutsuKaisen is a subreddit dedicated to the ongoing manga and anime series "Jujutsu Kaisen" written and illustrated by Gege Akutami, and animated by MAPPA. Check out our sister sub Jujutsushi for serious manga discussion.
2024.05.16 01:58 scribble-muse RECAP: MEMBERS STREAM -- "come join our coffee chat ~ may 15, 2024!"
 | oh, no, not another "coffee chat" đ this is looking like another stan interview-style live stream, so, expect ( and forgive ) the condensed bullet-points once it really gets underway. submitted by scribble-muse to Lifepluscindy_snark [link] [comments] * me-from-the-future here -- this is all very disjointed and pointless, i'm doing my best to group the topics together, but what a mess, tbh. cw: brief mention of self-harm
purple is as purple does |
2024.05.16 01:57 EclosionK2 He had no head, only a floating set of eyes
Mr. Winslow accused my mother of stealing his dead wifeâs jewelry.
I explained it was impossible. He was welcome to search the tiny apartment I shared with my mother and aunt, he could look wherever he wanted.
âWe share a tiny space,â I said. âWe barely have enough room for our clothes. I donât even know where she would hide jewelry.â
I was worried we would lose him as a client. Which would suck because cleaning his house was basically the majority of our rent cheque. But a week later he found the pearl necklace, it had somehow travelled down to his basement.
âIâm still missing the gold bangle though,â he said. âAnd some earrings.â
I told him I was sorry, but I had no idea. If my mom or aunt found it on their next clean, I promised they would let him know right away.
He hummed and hawed. There mightâve been a week where he hired a different maid service, but eventually he called back, asking if he could hire all three of us on-site again.
I thanked him profusely. I told him weâd keep an eye out for the missing valuables.
***
On our drive over, I had my mom and aunt practice the apology we would give him in English. Even though we didnât steal anything, I explained we should still say sorry.
âWhy?â My aunt asked. âThatâs so stupid.â
âEveryone apologizes for everything in Canada. Just trust me. He will want it.â
âWe need the work,â my mom said.
For a second my aunt revved up to say something else, but then let it go. We did need the work.
When we arrived, Mr. Winslow was on a phone call, watching his two large goldendoodles play in the front yard. He waved, then gestured to the front door. My mom and aunt gave small bows and carried their cleaning supplies inside.
Before I could enter, he put the phone behind his ear and approached me.
âIda, hi. Good to see you again. Listen, don't worry about the jewelry. Water under the bridge. Hey. Iâm leaving in an hour or so, and I wonât be back until late tonight. Iâm wondering if youâd be interested in dog-sitting? Youâve been around Toto and Kipper. What do you think? Iâd really appreciate the help.â
I never liked the way he looked at me. It was always too close, and it lingered for too long. My aunt may have been right in that he hired us back just to see me again, but I ignored the thought.
âAnd donât worry, I can cover your cab back. My usual walker is just out on holiday. You can help yourself to whateverâs in the fridge. How does six hundred sound?â
I looked at his house and imagined if I would be comfortable there. Alone at night.
âIâll make it seven-hundred. I know it's last minute. I just hate leaving them alone. Plus Toto has his medicine. You would do me a real solid.â
My apron needed adjusting so I put down my bucket. I focused on the polyester knot, keeping my gaze away from his. I really didnât want to be doing this, but my aunt would call me stupid for refusing easy money. And frankly, so would I.
âI had plans, but Iâm willing to give them up.â I said with a straight face. âEight hundred and itâs a done deal.â
He paused for a second, observing me scrupulously. Then he found his usual, smarmy half-smile. âYouâre a life saver, you know that? An Angel.â
His hand gripped my shoulder. Then patted it twice.
***
Both my mom and aunt were pleased about the extra cash, they said I deserved to make extra for all the bookkeeping I do. But they also both voiced their concerns for safety. They said they could stay with me if I wanted.
âSafety? MamĂŁe Iâm just watching two dogs.â
My mom wiped a caked red stain off his counter. An old wine spill. âYes, but so late in his house? Youâre not worried he might ⊠I donât know âŠâ
Might what? Exploit me?
I met his groundskeeper once, another immigrant contractor. Except the groundskeeper was being paid far less, because he never properly negotiated. Mr. Winslow was certainly capable of exploiting people when he wanted to, and Iâm sure he would try the same on my family.
But I was different. Iâd gone to school in Banniver, and I knew the little maneuvers played by the so-called âprogressive people in North America.â
And Winslow knew it too.
He didnât realize a Canadian-raised daughter organized her momâs cleaning service. Or that she would show up on the first day as a statement. That statement being: You canât get away with mistreating these old Brazilian women. And you certainly canât swindle them out of the going rates in his neighborhood. Iâm onto you.
I had asserted myself with this Mr. Winslow, and felt confident that I could stand my ground if he tried any bullshit.
âMamĂŁe Iâm not worried about him. Really, Iâm not. Heâs a pushover.â
***
6:00PM rolled around, it was just me and the goldendoodles.
My mom and aunt were back at home, watching low-res soaps on a Macbook, but they said if I encountered anything strangeâa sound, a smell, an unexpected car in the drivewayâto give them a call right away.
âMamĂŁe, its two dogs. Iâll be fine.â
âJust keep your phone close Ida. Your auntie has sensed things in that house. Unpleasant things.â
I forgot to mention my aunt thinks of herself as an amateur medium. In the village she grew up in, she claimed she could sometimes see people who were recently deceased.
But I never really believed her. Mostly because it was also my auntieâs idea to charge families who wanted to forward messages to the very same people who were recently deceased.
âOkay mamĂŁe, whatever you say. Iâll phone you if I get scared.â
âThat house has a history Ida, you could feel it in the walls. The outside too.â
It sure does. A history of being owned by a wealthy prick.
***
The sun slinked below the overcast horizon like a dying lantern. It got dark much faster than I expected.
I kept all the lights on, and played with the dogs a bit, trying to encourage them to try piss on the shag rug. Neither did. They mostly wanted naps.
I tried napping for a bit too, but the leather couch felt like it was made of rock. I just couldnât get comfortable.
Eventually I made myself dinnerâsome pasta that had been bought from Whole Foodsâand ate it while scrolling on my phone.
I was just about done, ready to take my dirty plate in the sink when I first heard it.
The first explosion.
It came from the basement. A vibrating KAPOW that rattled the windows and chandelier on my floor. It sounded like someone had set off a cherry bomb.
What the hell?
I turned to the dogs who were just as scared as I was. They came whimpering with tails between their legs.
Could a pipe have burst or something?
I looked at the basement door, an area we were not instructed to clean, and then heard another explosion.
Vases shook. A painting went tilted. It sounded louder. Like full grade firework. I had lived in Rio de Janeiro, by Prianha beach, where they often launched celebratory fireworks. This was just as deafening.
I didnât want to go down to the basement. In fact, I sat by the front door.
Both dogs huddled around me.
***
Twenty minutes passed. It had been quiet.
Out of pride I refused to call my momâI didnât want to admit I was scared. Instead, I spent the time going through all the rational answers in my head that could explain away the noise. Plumbing, terrorism, teen pranks ⊠hot springs?
There were hot springs all over West Bann.
Obviously, some kind of pent-up geyser had lay dormant for a while, and it was now suddenly unleashing a ton of energy below Mr. Winslowâs house. To distract myself, I Wikipediaâd the history of West Banniver, and satisfied this theory.
During the 1850âs gold rush, West Banniver saw rapid settlement as a mining town. The proliferation of mine shafts soon led to a discovery of underground hot springs. Mayfield Briggs Ltd which was the first company to seize the opportunity as a tourist attractionâŠ
Thatâs all it was. A hot spring releasing a buildup of pressure.
Then a third explosion came.
It was so loud and violent that the door to the basement flew open. I fell to the ground and covered my head as several books went flying off nearby shelves.
The dogs yipped and barked like crazy. They stood in front of me, guarding against an unseen force. A voice shrieked from the basement.
âHELP!!! HELLLLP!â
Rivets shot through my hands and knees. I was frozen to the floor.
âPLEEEEEEASE!â
It had the high-pitched desperation of someone whose life was about to end. I raised my head and listened closely to hear haggard, dusty coughing. It sounded like an old manâs cough. It echoed through the basement and into the living room. Between coughs the man continued to plead for his life.
HELLLLP!â
I had no idea who it could be or how he got down there.
Before I could think, one of the dogs shot past me, bolting down the basement steps, barking ferociously.
âKipper!â
I tried to grab the loose leash, but I could only hold the collar of his sibling. âKipper come back here!â
âHELLO?â The voice from below seemed to recognize my presence. âPLEASE, YOUâVE GOT TO HELP!â
I was now upright, breathing as fast as Toto was panting. I tied Toto to the thick rails on the stairs. I had to save the other dog.
Instinctually I grabbed my phone, slipped an AirPod in one ear, and dialed my mother without even looking at the screen.
âMĂŁe. Thereâs ⊠something terrible is happening.â
My mother was suitably confused. Even more so when she heard the screaming of the man downstairs as his voice echoed in the living room. It was a cry of immense, awful pain.
After two slower, more detailed explanations of what I just heard, my mother told me to call the fire department. âPoke your head through the basement, see whatâs happening. Then call the fire department.â
That made sense to me. I inched my way to the basement entrance and tried to see past the doorway. It was complete darkness. There was no light switch.
I turned the torch on my phone, and my auntâs voice came blaring. âGet out of there Ida! I am telling you, there is darkness in that house!â
As I illuminated the dusty wooden stairs, I saw that they only lead only to more pitch black. Yup, plenty of darkness here.
There was some phone-wrestling. My mother came back on. âWhat is it? What did you see?â
âDonât encourage her! Get her to leave!â my auntie yelled in the background.
I told them to pipe down because I could suddenly hear the gentle whimpering at the base of the stairs. The dog sounded close.
âKipper come! This way! Follow my voice!â
I went down a few steps further, expecting the basement floor to appear any second, but there were only more wooden steps. How long was this staircase?
âKipper?â
There was a flat, cold wall on my left, and no guard rail to speak of. I stepped down each step very carefully to maintain my balance, sliding my hand along the wall.
Then the wall disappeared. I flew forward.
***
I woke up lying face-first on rocky floor. My phone was cracked next to me. My mother was crying in my ear. âIda! Ida! Oh my god! Ida!â
I looked up to see I was not at the bottom of someoneâs basement. There were lights all above me. Lanterns. They were illuminating a cavernous, rocky chamber that led to many tunnels with train tracks and wooden carts. I was in the opening of a massive underground mine.
I coughed, and gave out a weak â⊠what?â
âIda is that you? Are you⊠brrzzzzzâ My momâs voice faded.
Before I could reply, I saw the crooked form of a man in tan coveralls, shaking the immobile body of another person in coveralls next to him. In fact, there was a small row of half a dozen miners all slumped against a blasted rock wall. There were bits of granite, wood, rope, and what looked like entrails splattered all throughout.
âOh the cruelty âŠâ the one, standing miner said. He went from body to body and jostled each of his coworkers. âMust I find you all like this ⊠every time?â
I crawled up to a half-standing pose and tried to see the face of the hunched over survivor.
My heart dropped.
He had no face.
The explosion which must have killed some of friends had also blasted away this manâs entire sternum, neck and skull. The miner wasnât hunched over or leaning away with his head, he just simply ⊠had no head.
And up there, floating right in the middle of where his face should be, were a set of eyeballs, glistening under the yellow lights.
The eyes turned to me. âOh. Why hello. Hello there.â
Terrified, I rose to complete standing and opened both my palms in a show of total deference. âI donât know. I donât know who you are or what this is.â
The headless miner walked toward me. I noticed he carried a pickaxe in his right arm. He gestured with his left to where his ear would be.
âIâm sorry I canât hear you. Had an accident.â
Despite him having no head, his voice still came from where his mouth would be. There was an earnestness in his speech, it might have had something to do with his very old-timey accent, but I still felt like he was trying to be friendly.
âAnother batch of faulty dynamite. Everyoneâs dead. But what else is new.â
He brought his left palm to his face, perhaps to wipe away tears, but instead his hand travelled through his nonexistent head to scratch a small portion of his back.
âBeen dead for many years Iâm afraid. But Iâve kept busy. Been a good man. Worked very hard for the boss upstairs.â
He gestured upwards with the pickaxe. I looked up, and out in the distance, I saw a large, ancient, set of wooden stairs that I must have fallen from. They extended far up into the mineâs ceiling and kept going.
âHeâs gotten good ore from me. Good, shining, golden ore. I have a knack for it you see. The same knack that killed me so many years ago. It's probably whatâs still keeping me around though.â
He came closer. I could see he had brown irises, with one of the cataracts deteriorating into milky white haze. The eyes stared at me, unblinking.
âBecause Iâm not done, see. This mine isnât empty. I know thereâs more gold. Much more. And itâs not all for the boss. No, Iâm keeping some to myself. Donât tell him, but Iâve been stashing a large deposit for myself. It canât all be his of course. Itâs my mine after all. Half these tunnels were dug entirely by me. So of course I deserve some. Itâs only natural.â
I lifted my hand and pointed at the staircase behind him. I mouthed very big, obvious words. âI have to go back. Iâm going back up those stairs.â
He shifted his body. His two eyes turned in the air as if they were still inside an invisible skull. I saw nerve endings at the back undulate and twist.
âYes, that is the only way up.â
My heart was in my throat. At least I found some form of communication. I gestured to knee height and nervously asked if he had seen a âlarge, shaggy dog.â
âAh yes. Iâve seen the pooches. They come down here sometimes. When the booms donât scare em that is. Hahah.â
I gave a thumbs up. It felt like a ridiculous interaction with a ghost, or zombie or whatever this was, but at least it was working.
âI think I saw his little tail run over that way. They like the smell of the mineral spring.â
I turned behind to see the long tunnel he was pointing at. It was dimly lit by a chain of smaller lanterns.
I thought I saw a flutter of movement, and I would have kept looking further if it wasnât for my auntâs voice that suddenly exploded in my ear. âBrrrzt ⊠Ida! If you can hear us, we are calling the police to your location. Help is coming soon! ⊠â
I winced and stepped backâwhich saved my life. I just so happened to step right out of the way of a pickaxe. It sparked the ground.
I gasped and stared at the headless miner. His eyes were shimmering with a dark focus, staring directly at mine.
âOh Iâll help you find the dog. Iâll help you find whatever you want. But Iâll need those clean new eyes of yours first.â
He swung at my head. I ducked. He went for the backswing. I ran.
Stupidly, I ran in the opposite direction of the stairs. I ran straight into the long tunnel lined with dim lanterns.
But I couldnât turn around. I had no idea how quick he could move. And the speed of his pickaxe felt supernatural.
The tunnel was narrow, and lined with wooden tracks, I had to skip-run-jump over the panels with immense precision to make sure I didnât trip. Behind me, his voice chased.
âGo ahead. Run. I know where these all lead.â
I ignored the words and kept going. The tunnel bent left, then right, then left again. I ignored several exits before the tunnel spat me out into an open, cavernous room filled with dozens and dozens of minecarts.
I investigated the room for anything useful. A far opposite wall appeared to be the site of the latest digging, loose rock lay everywhere.
There was a small mineshaft holding a chained up cart. And something in the cart shimmeredâŠ
It was gold.
And not just ore either. There were bars, coins, medallions, and jewelry. Mrs. Winslowâs bangles were right on top.
I ran to the cart furthest from the entrance and ducked behind it, breathing heavily, coughing from all the dust.
The headless man emerged from the tunnel, pickaxe raised and scanning where I could have hid. âI may not be able to hear you. But I can follow footprints pretty easily hah. I know youâre in here.â
He grabbed the closest minecart available and pushed it into the tunnel entrance. With an immense show of strength, he lifted and dislodged the cart off the track, cramming it sideways, creating a massive obstacle.
I was sealed inside.
Trying to stay absolutely still, I coughed through my teeth. Lungs burning. My momâs voice came through.
âBrrzzztt⊠The police should be there! I told them you were in danger! They said they sent a unit over. Maybe they broke down the front door?â
I looked up at the mine shaft next to me. If it did connect to the surface upstairs, this was my only chance.
I gave a couple good yells. âHEEEEELP!!! DOWN HERE!! HELP!â
I donât know if it did any good, but it was better than nothing. I turned to see if the miner had heard anything.
He hadn't.
The pickaxe tapped and clanged awkwardly around minecart after minecart.
I had a bigger advantage than I thought.
Although the miner had two floating eyeballs, only the left one was really capable of seeing anything.
So I kept my distance and watched where he was going, always staying behind.
As he limped and peered around minecarts, I was able to evade him, move from behind rock piles and other carts, careful not to leave a trail in the rock dust.
It was all going well until I heard a familiar panting.
âOh look. If it isnât precious.â
The dog had managed to jump over the minerâs blockade. It must have heard my yells. Surprisingly, Kipper was unafraid of the headless villain, and even approached him to receive pets.
âNow why donât you go say hello to our other friend here huh? I know she's here somewhere.â
No. Kipper. Please. Donât.
The dog started sniffing. Within seconds he found my scent. Kipper skipped towards me like Lassie and excitedly licked my face.
âAww there we are. Now isnât that a good boy?â
I stood up and stared at the filthy, ash-stained coveralls. Despite the lack of teeth, I could sense a menacing grin where the mouth should be.
He wasn't going to lose sight of me now. I had nowhere to go.
So I did the thing my auntie said worked on all spirits. I fell to my knees and prayed.
âPlease. I only came here for work. Iâm too young to die. Let me go and I won't tell anyone that you're here.â
He stood over me. Both of his pupils started to quiver. In just a few seconds, his eyes were swimming excitedly within the space of his head.
I took off the only valuable I had. A gold necklace with a miniature version of Christ the Redeemer. A gift I had received as a teen in Rio. I held it out in my shaking hands.
âPlease. Take it. Take everything.â
Suddenly both the eyeballs stared forward again, entranced by the gold.
âWell look at that. How generous. How generous of her. We should reward generosity shouldnât we?â
***
It was hard for me to describe to the police officer how exactly I got out, because I have no idea.
The fiery pain where my eyes used to be overwhelmed my entire reality for hours. All I wanted was for it to stop.
They found me half inside a dumbwaiter bleeding to death from the gouges in my face.
I was taken to the hospital, where I would spend the next four weeks recovering.
The police did not in fact storm the house like my mom said. They waited outside for the homeowner to return. But when they heard my screams coming from the top floor, they broke the back door and eventually came to my rescue.
Iâm told they did a thorough investigation but could not find any of the things I described.
The basement door led into a regular basement. It was filled with old furniture, unused decor, and paint cans. No Mine.
The dumbwaiter was also just a dumbwaiter. It wasnât some mine shaft, and it didnât lead any deeper than the basement. Nothing special.
There were definitely hot springs close by, but nothing close enough to damage Mr. Winslow's property. And there was an old, depleted gold mine not far away either, but it was completely abandoned, closed off, and nowhere near as big as the one I had described.
***
The police, paramedics and doctors all thought my story was some hallucination. That I had been on drugs or had some mental breakdown (even though they couldnât find anything in me other than small traces of weed.)
Thankfully, my mother and aunt believed me. They believed every word. My aunt is the one who encouraged me to make this post, so others could hear my story.
I know it was real.
I know it was.
And Mr. Winslow is fully aware of the mineâs existence.
Putting the dots together, I realized it was likely the source of his wealth. Winslow had some control over that one headless miner down there.
Did Winslow intentionally entrap me? Was he trying to get the miner a new set of eyes? Or was it all an unfortunate accident?
I might never know.
But what I do know is that Mr. Winslow has been paying for our rent ever since the accident.
He feels âterrible about the situationâ and âcanât possibly imagineâ what Iâve been through.
But he knows what happened.
He knows if I really pushed, If I really forced the police, or some private investigator to look into itâthey would uncover something awful. Something really really bad.
âAnything you need. Anything at all. I will cover it, Ida.â He said. âYou helped me out, protected my dogs, and I will never forget it.â
Heâs offered to pay for the rest of my University schooling. And once my face heals up, heâs even offered to cover for some very expensive, experimental eye-transplant. Weâll see how that goes.
âYou and your family will live comfortably from now on. Youâll want for nothing. Tell me exactly what you need, And youâll get it.â
So I told him I'd like my necklace back. It was an heirloom. I said I lost it somewhere in his house.
A few days later, he returned with the usual smug, half-crooked smirk in his voice. He brought the necklace back in a box, pretending he had bought me a new one. Except it felt exactly like my old one.
It was all shined up, completely buffed of scratches, but it weighed the same. It was my old one for sure.
When my mom saw it she asked, âdid it always have it? This dedication?â
As far as I remembered, the backside of the tiny Christ the Redeemer was always plain. I fingered its shape in my hands.
âWhat dedication?â
The new little divots caught my nails. There was writing that was definitely not there before.
My mom described it as a curly, serif font. Like a gift for a lover.
~ Youâre an angel ~
~ W ~
submitted by EclosionK2 to nosleep [link] [comments]
I explained it was impossible. He was welcome to search the tiny apartment I shared with my mother and aunt, he could look wherever he wanted.
âWe share a tiny space,â I said. âWe barely have enough room for our clothes. I donât even know where she would hide jewelry.â
I was worried we would lose him as a client. Which would suck because cleaning his house was basically the majority of our rent cheque. But a week later he found the pearl necklace, it had somehow travelled down to his basement.
âIâm still missing the gold bangle though,â he said. âAnd some earrings.â
I told him I was sorry, but I had no idea. If my mom or aunt found it on their next clean, I promised they would let him know right away.
He hummed and hawed. There mightâve been a week where he hired a different maid service, but eventually he called back, asking if he could hire all three of us on-site again.
I thanked him profusely. I told him weâd keep an eye out for the missing valuables.
***
On our drive over, I had my mom and aunt practice the apology we would give him in English. Even though we didnât steal anything, I explained we should still say sorry.
âWhy?â My aunt asked. âThatâs so stupid.â
âEveryone apologizes for everything in Canada. Just trust me. He will want it.â
âWe need the work,â my mom said.
For a second my aunt revved up to say something else, but then let it go. We did need the work.
When we arrived, Mr. Winslow was on a phone call, watching his two large goldendoodles play in the front yard. He waved, then gestured to the front door. My mom and aunt gave small bows and carried their cleaning supplies inside.
Before I could enter, he put the phone behind his ear and approached me.
âIda, hi. Good to see you again. Listen, don't worry about the jewelry. Water under the bridge. Hey. Iâm leaving in an hour or so, and I wonât be back until late tonight. Iâm wondering if youâd be interested in dog-sitting? Youâve been around Toto and Kipper. What do you think? Iâd really appreciate the help.â
I never liked the way he looked at me. It was always too close, and it lingered for too long. My aunt may have been right in that he hired us back just to see me again, but I ignored the thought.
âAnd donât worry, I can cover your cab back. My usual walker is just out on holiday. You can help yourself to whateverâs in the fridge. How does six hundred sound?â
I looked at his house and imagined if I would be comfortable there. Alone at night.
âIâll make it seven-hundred. I know it's last minute. I just hate leaving them alone. Plus Toto has his medicine. You would do me a real solid.â
My apron needed adjusting so I put down my bucket. I focused on the polyester knot, keeping my gaze away from his. I really didnât want to be doing this, but my aunt would call me stupid for refusing easy money. And frankly, so would I.
âI had plans, but Iâm willing to give them up.â I said with a straight face. âEight hundred and itâs a done deal.â
He paused for a second, observing me scrupulously. Then he found his usual, smarmy half-smile. âYouâre a life saver, you know that? An Angel.â
His hand gripped my shoulder. Then patted it twice.
***
Both my mom and aunt were pleased about the extra cash, they said I deserved to make extra for all the bookkeeping I do. But they also both voiced their concerns for safety. They said they could stay with me if I wanted.
âSafety? MamĂŁe Iâm just watching two dogs.â
My mom wiped a caked red stain off his counter. An old wine spill. âYes, but so late in his house? Youâre not worried he might ⊠I donât know âŠâ
Might what? Exploit me?
I met his groundskeeper once, another immigrant contractor. Except the groundskeeper was being paid far less, because he never properly negotiated. Mr. Winslow was certainly capable of exploiting people when he wanted to, and Iâm sure he would try the same on my family.
But I was different. Iâd gone to school in Banniver, and I knew the little maneuvers played by the so-called âprogressive people in North America.â
And Winslow knew it too.
He didnât realize a Canadian-raised daughter organized her momâs cleaning service. Or that she would show up on the first day as a statement. That statement being: You canât get away with mistreating these old Brazilian women. And you certainly canât swindle them out of the going rates in his neighborhood. Iâm onto you.
I had asserted myself with this Mr. Winslow, and felt confident that I could stand my ground if he tried any bullshit.
âMamĂŁe Iâm not worried about him. Really, Iâm not. Heâs a pushover.â
***
6:00PM rolled around, it was just me and the goldendoodles.
My mom and aunt were back at home, watching low-res soaps on a Macbook, but they said if I encountered anything strangeâa sound, a smell, an unexpected car in the drivewayâto give them a call right away.
âMamĂŁe, its two dogs. Iâll be fine.â
âJust keep your phone close Ida. Your auntie has sensed things in that house. Unpleasant things.â
I forgot to mention my aunt thinks of herself as an amateur medium. In the village she grew up in, she claimed she could sometimes see people who were recently deceased.
But I never really believed her. Mostly because it was also my auntieâs idea to charge families who wanted to forward messages to the very same people who were recently deceased.
âOkay mamĂŁe, whatever you say. Iâll phone you if I get scared.â
âThat house has a history Ida, you could feel it in the walls. The outside too.â
It sure does. A history of being owned by a wealthy prick.
***
The sun slinked below the overcast horizon like a dying lantern. It got dark much faster than I expected.
I kept all the lights on, and played with the dogs a bit, trying to encourage them to try piss on the shag rug. Neither did. They mostly wanted naps.
I tried napping for a bit too, but the leather couch felt like it was made of rock. I just couldnât get comfortable.
Eventually I made myself dinnerâsome pasta that had been bought from Whole Foodsâand ate it while scrolling on my phone.
I was just about done, ready to take my dirty plate in the sink when I first heard it.
The first explosion.
It came from the basement. A vibrating KAPOW that rattled the windows and chandelier on my floor. It sounded like someone had set off a cherry bomb.
What the hell?
I turned to the dogs who were just as scared as I was. They came whimpering with tails between their legs.
Could a pipe have burst or something?
I looked at the basement door, an area we were not instructed to clean, and then heard another explosion.
Vases shook. A painting went tilted. It sounded louder. Like full grade firework. I had lived in Rio de Janeiro, by Prianha beach, where they often launched celebratory fireworks. This was just as deafening.
I didnât want to go down to the basement. In fact, I sat by the front door.
Both dogs huddled around me.
***
Twenty minutes passed. It had been quiet.
Out of pride I refused to call my momâI didnât want to admit I was scared. Instead, I spent the time going through all the rational answers in my head that could explain away the noise. Plumbing, terrorism, teen pranks ⊠hot springs?
There were hot springs all over West Bann.
Obviously, some kind of pent-up geyser had lay dormant for a while, and it was now suddenly unleashing a ton of energy below Mr. Winslowâs house. To distract myself, I Wikipediaâd the history of West Banniver, and satisfied this theory.
During the 1850âs gold rush, West Banniver saw rapid settlement as a mining town. The proliferation of mine shafts soon led to a discovery of underground hot springs. Mayfield Briggs Ltd which was the first company to seize the opportunity as a tourist attractionâŠ
Thatâs all it was. A hot spring releasing a buildup of pressure.
Then a third explosion came.
It was so loud and violent that the door to the basement flew open. I fell to the ground and covered my head as several books went flying off nearby shelves.
The dogs yipped and barked like crazy. They stood in front of me, guarding against an unseen force. A voice shrieked from the basement.
âHELP!!! HELLLLP!â
Rivets shot through my hands and knees. I was frozen to the floor.
âPLEEEEEEASE!â
It had the high-pitched desperation of someone whose life was about to end. I raised my head and listened closely to hear haggard, dusty coughing. It sounded like an old manâs cough. It echoed through the basement and into the living room. Between coughs the man continued to plead for his life.
HELLLLP!â
I had no idea who it could be or how he got down there.
Before I could think, one of the dogs shot past me, bolting down the basement steps, barking ferociously.
âKipper!â
I tried to grab the loose leash, but I could only hold the collar of his sibling. âKipper come back here!â
âHELLO?â The voice from below seemed to recognize my presence. âPLEASE, YOUâVE GOT TO HELP!â
I was now upright, breathing as fast as Toto was panting. I tied Toto to the thick rails on the stairs. I had to save the other dog.
Instinctually I grabbed my phone, slipped an AirPod in one ear, and dialed my mother without even looking at the screen.
âMĂŁe. Thereâs ⊠something terrible is happening.â
My mother was suitably confused. Even more so when she heard the screaming of the man downstairs as his voice echoed in the living room. It was a cry of immense, awful pain.
After two slower, more detailed explanations of what I just heard, my mother told me to call the fire department. âPoke your head through the basement, see whatâs happening. Then call the fire department.â
That made sense to me. I inched my way to the basement entrance and tried to see past the doorway. It was complete darkness. There was no light switch.
I turned the torch on my phone, and my auntâs voice came blaring. âGet out of there Ida! I am telling you, there is darkness in that house!â
As I illuminated the dusty wooden stairs, I saw that they only lead only to more pitch black. Yup, plenty of darkness here.
There was some phone-wrestling. My mother came back on. âWhat is it? What did you see?â
âDonât encourage her! Get her to leave!â my auntie yelled in the background.
I told them to pipe down because I could suddenly hear the gentle whimpering at the base of the stairs. The dog sounded close.
âKipper come! This way! Follow my voice!â
I went down a few steps further, expecting the basement floor to appear any second, but there were only more wooden steps. How long was this staircase?
âKipper?â
There was a flat, cold wall on my left, and no guard rail to speak of. I stepped down each step very carefully to maintain my balance, sliding my hand along the wall.
Then the wall disappeared. I flew forward.
***
I woke up lying face-first on rocky floor. My phone was cracked next to me. My mother was crying in my ear. âIda! Ida! Oh my god! Ida!â
I looked up to see I was not at the bottom of someoneâs basement. There were lights all above me. Lanterns. They were illuminating a cavernous, rocky chamber that led to many tunnels with train tracks and wooden carts. I was in the opening of a massive underground mine.
I coughed, and gave out a weak â⊠what?â
âIda is that you? Are you⊠brrzzzzzâ My momâs voice faded.
Before I could reply, I saw the crooked form of a man in tan coveralls, shaking the immobile body of another person in coveralls next to him. In fact, there was a small row of half a dozen miners all slumped against a blasted rock wall. There were bits of granite, wood, rope, and what looked like entrails splattered all throughout.
âOh the cruelty âŠâ the one, standing miner said. He went from body to body and jostled each of his coworkers. âMust I find you all like this ⊠every time?â
I crawled up to a half-standing pose and tried to see the face of the hunched over survivor.
My heart dropped.
He had no face.
The explosion which must have killed some of friends had also blasted away this manâs entire sternum, neck and skull. The miner wasnât hunched over or leaning away with his head, he just simply ⊠had no head.
And up there, floating right in the middle of where his face should be, were a set of eyeballs, glistening under the yellow lights.
The eyes turned to me. âOh. Why hello. Hello there.â
Terrified, I rose to complete standing and opened both my palms in a show of total deference. âI donât know. I donât know who you are or what this is.â
The headless miner walked toward me. I noticed he carried a pickaxe in his right arm. He gestured with his left to where his ear would be.
âIâm sorry I canât hear you. Had an accident.â
Despite him having no head, his voice still came from where his mouth would be. There was an earnestness in his speech, it might have had something to do with his very old-timey accent, but I still felt like he was trying to be friendly.
âAnother batch of faulty dynamite. Everyoneâs dead. But what else is new.â
He brought his left palm to his face, perhaps to wipe away tears, but instead his hand travelled through his nonexistent head to scratch a small portion of his back.
âBeen dead for many years Iâm afraid. But Iâve kept busy. Been a good man. Worked very hard for the boss upstairs.â
He gestured upwards with the pickaxe. I looked up, and out in the distance, I saw a large, ancient, set of wooden stairs that I must have fallen from. They extended far up into the mineâs ceiling and kept going.
âHeâs gotten good ore from me. Good, shining, golden ore. I have a knack for it you see. The same knack that killed me so many years ago. It's probably whatâs still keeping me around though.â
He came closer. I could see he had brown irises, with one of the cataracts deteriorating into milky white haze. The eyes stared at me, unblinking.
âBecause Iâm not done, see. This mine isnât empty. I know thereâs more gold. Much more. And itâs not all for the boss. No, Iâm keeping some to myself. Donât tell him, but Iâve been stashing a large deposit for myself. It canât all be his of course. Itâs my mine after all. Half these tunnels were dug entirely by me. So of course I deserve some. Itâs only natural.â
I lifted my hand and pointed at the staircase behind him. I mouthed very big, obvious words. âI have to go back. Iâm going back up those stairs.â
He shifted his body. His two eyes turned in the air as if they were still inside an invisible skull. I saw nerve endings at the back undulate and twist.
âYes, that is the only way up.â
My heart was in my throat. At least I found some form of communication. I gestured to knee height and nervously asked if he had seen a âlarge, shaggy dog.â
âAh yes. Iâve seen the pooches. They come down here sometimes. When the booms donât scare em that is. Hahah.â
I gave a thumbs up. It felt like a ridiculous interaction with a ghost, or zombie or whatever this was, but at least it was working.
âI think I saw his little tail run over that way. They like the smell of the mineral spring.â
I turned behind to see the long tunnel he was pointing at. It was dimly lit by a chain of smaller lanterns.
I thought I saw a flutter of movement, and I would have kept looking further if it wasnât for my auntâs voice that suddenly exploded in my ear. âBrrrzt ⊠Ida! If you can hear us, we are calling the police to your location. Help is coming soon! ⊠â
I winced and stepped backâwhich saved my life. I just so happened to step right out of the way of a pickaxe. It sparked the ground.
I gasped and stared at the headless miner. His eyes were shimmering with a dark focus, staring directly at mine.
âOh Iâll help you find the dog. Iâll help you find whatever you want. But Iâll need those clean new eyes of yours first.â
He swung at my head. I ducked. He went for the backswing. I ran.
Stupidly, I ran in the opposite direction of the stairs. I ran straight into the long tunnel lined with dim lanterns.
But I couldnât turn around. I had no idea how quick he could move. And the speed of his pickaxe felt supernatural.
The tunnel was narrow, and lined with wooden tracks, I had to skip-run-jump over the panels with immense precision to make sure I didnât trip. Behind me, his voice chased.
âGo ahead. Run. I know where these all lead.â
I ignored the words and kept going. The tunnel bent left, then right, then left again. I ignored several exits before the tunnel spat me out into an open, cavernous room filled with dozens and dozens of minecarts.
I investigated the room for anything useful. A far opposite wall appeared to be the site of the latest digging, loose rock lay everywhere.
There was a small mineshaft holding a chained up cart. And something in the cart shimmeredâŠ
It was gold.
And not just ore either. There were bars, coins, medallions, and jewelry. Mrs. Winslowâs bangles were right on top.
I ran to the cart furthest from the entrance and ducked behind it, breathing heavily, coughing from all the dust.
The headless man emerged from the tunnel, pickaxe raised and scanning where I could have hid. âI may not be able to hear you. But I can follow footprints pretty easily hah. I know youâre in here.â
He grabbed the closest minecart available and pushed it into the tunnel entrance. With an immense show of strength, he lifted and dislodged the cart off the track, cramming it sideways, creating a massive obstacle.
I was sealed inside.
Trying to stay absolutely still, I coughed through my teeth. Lungs burning. My momâs voice came through.
âBrrzzztt⊠The police should be there! I told them you were in danger! They said they sent a unit over. Maybe they broke down the front door?â
I looked up at the mine shaft next to me. If it did connect to the surface upstairs, this was my only chance.
I gave a couple good yells. âHEEEEELP!!! DOWN HERE!! HELP!â
I donât know if it did any good, but it was better than nothing. I turned to see if the miner had heard anything.
He hadn't.
The pickaxe tapped and clanged awkwardly around minecart after minecart.
I had a bigger advantage than I thought.
Although the miner had two floating eyeballs, only the left one was really capable of seeing anything.
So I kept my distance and watched where he was going, always staying behind.
As he limped and peered around minecarts, I was able to evade him, move from behind rock piles and other carts, careful not to leave a trail in the rock dust.
It was all going well until I heard a familiar panting.
âOh look. If it isnât precious.â
The dog had managed to jump over the minerâs blockade. It must have heard my yells. Surprisingly, Kipper was unafraid of the headless villain, and even approached him to receive pets.
âNow why donât you go say hello to our other friend here huh? I know she's here somewhere.â
No. Kipper. Please. Donât.
The dog started sniffing. Within seconds he found my scent. Kipper skipped towards me like Lassie and excitedly licked my face.
âAww there we are. Now isnât that a good boy?â
I stood up and stared at the filthy, ash-stained coveralls. Despite the lack of teeth, I could sense a menacing grin where the mouth should be.
He wasn't going to lose sight of me now. I had nowhere to go.
So I did the thing my auntie said worked on all spirits. I fell to my knees and prayed.
âPlease. I only came here for work. Iâm too young to die. Let me go and I won't tell anyone that you're here.â
He stood over me. Both of his pupils started to quiver. In just a few seconds, his eyes were swimming excitedly within the space of his head.
I took off the only valuable I had. A gold necklace with a miniature version of Christ the Redeemer. A gift I had received as a teen in Rio. I held it out in my shaking hands.
âPlease. Take it. Take everything.â
Suddenly both the eyeballs stared forward again, entranced by the gold.
âWell look at that. How generous. How generous of her. We should reward generosity shouldnât we?â
***
It was hard for me to describe to the police officer how exactly I got out, because I have no idea.
The fiery pain where my eyes used to be overwhelmed my entire reality for hours. All I wanted was for it to stop.
They found me half inside a dumbwaiter bleeding to death from the gouges in my face.
I was taken to the hospital, where I would spend the next four weeks recovering.
The police did not in fact storm the house like my mom said. They waited outside for the homeowner to return. But when they heard my screams coming from the top floor, they broke the back door and eventually came to my rescue.
Iâm told they did a thorough investigation but could not find any of the things I described.
The basement door led into a regular basement. It was filled with old furniture, unused decor, and paint cans. No Mine.
The dumbwaiter was also just a dumbwaiter. It wasnât some mine shaft, and it didnât lead any deeper than the basement. Nothing special.
There were definitely hot springs close by, but nothing close enough to damage Mr. Winslow's property. And there was an old, depleted gold mine not far away either, but it was completely abandoned, closed off, and nowhere near as big as the one I had described.
***
The police, paramedics and doctors all thought my story was some hallucination. That I had been on drugs or had some mental breakdown (even though they couldnât find anything in me other than small traces of weed.)
Thankfully, my mother and aunt believed me. They believed every word. My aunt is the one who encouraged me to make this post, so others could hear my story.
I know it was real.
I know it was.
And Mr. Winslow is fully aware of the mineâs existence.
Putting the dots together, I realized it was likely the source of his wealth. Winslow had some control over that one headless miner down there.
Did Winslow intentionally entrap me? Was he trying to get the miner a new set of eyes? Or was it all an unfortunate accident?
I might never know.
But what I do know is that Mr. Winslow has been paying for our rent ever since the accident.
He feels âterrible about the situationâ and âcanât possibly imagineâ what Iâve been through.
But he knows what happened.
He knows if I really pushed, If I really forced the police, or some private investigator to look into itâthey would uncover something awful. Something really really bad.
âAnything you need. Anything at all. I will cover it, Ida.â He said. âYou helped me out, protected my dogs, and I will never forget it.â
Heâs offered to pay for the rest of my University schooling. And once my face heals up, heâs even offered to cover for some very expensive, experimental eye-transplant. Weâll see how that goes.
âYou and your family will live comfortably from now on. Youâll want for nothing. Tell me exactly what you need, And youâll get it.â
So I told him I'd like my necklace back. It was an heirloom. I said I lost it somewhere in his house.
A few days later, he returned with the usual smug, half-crooked smirk in his voice. He brought the necklace back in a box, pretending he had bought me a new one. Except it felt exactly like my old one.
It was all shined up, completely buffed of scratches, but it weighed the same. It was my old one for sure.
When my mom saw it she asked, âdid it always have it? This dedication?â
As far as I remembered, the backside of the tiny Christ the Redeemer was always plain. I fingered its shape in my hands.
âWhat dedication?â
The new little divots caught my nails. There was writing that was definitely not there before.
My mom described it as a curly, serif font. Like a gift for a lover.
~ Youâre an angel ~
~ W ~
2024.05.16 01:49 UnchieZ I TRAINED her. Yet dad makes her piss inside
~~~ skip to this if you just want dog rage
My bf's mom decided to get a whole new dog after their old one passed away from old age. She now has a chronic illness that prevents her from doing even the smallest task (i wish her well, and she is not really the problem here).
The parents decided on a whim to adopt one without my bf's approval. Thats fine and all, they're adults and they can do whatever they want, right?
It turns out the mom was the main caretaker and trainer for the dogs. Now the burden is put on my bf alone even though he didnt even want the darn dog.
Bf works a full time job, studies, and does all the responsibilities he had before, plus his mom's share (this includes cleaning, vaccuming, dusting every week all by himself with a POMERANIAN. I could knit a little baby onesie with all the fur it shed this year alone). The mom has honestly been improving, but her mobility is so limited that her menial tasks take up 15 minutes every hour of his free time
And his dad is the breadwinner of the house that works from home, so it's natural that he... also tells my bf to do things (that he is able to do himself), like putting a mattress pad on his own bed. Or letting the dogs out when he's literally seated by the back door. Or waking my bf up when he wakes up to go to work (at 5am) just to make him feed the dogs (since middle school! 5-6 hours of sleep is the norm for him at his own house)
~~~
Ive been staying at my bf's house some days to help them out in emergencies. In fact, ive potty trained the 2 year old (now 3 year old) pom after about 3 weeks of excrement-filled night terrors. She is the sweetest little thing that wont bark unless theres intruders...
Which means the dad doesn't know when the hell to let her out. He puts in no effort to put them on a schedule DESPITE being the only one in the house during the daytime.
During work hours its okay because he has them corraled in his work room. But as soon as he takes a break in the living room, he zones out on the couch with whatever game or movie he's watching. His work, having constant meetings from 5am to around 11am, is not the problem.
He would literally take them out to pee at his lunch break at 11am and not even check on them until my bf gets home. At that point, just put them in the kennel! But he'd rather they be laying all around the living room or cuddling up to him on the couch. Suddenly, when my bf comes home, there's a puddle right outside the door! Who'da thunk?
Doesnt play with them. Doesnt remember to take them out aside from 1) after their 5am meal and 2) when he remembers to eat a snack/breakfast).
Yet he still wants them to roam around like theyre not just fluffy accessories at this point. Hell, if the game/show is really good, he will forget to feed them altogether and TELL MY BF to do it when he gets back (2.5 hours after their feeding time.... 4 shitstains and 2 pee puddles later. Several occasions). No arthritis or debilitating conditions either; he's just lazy.
The worst thing is that he pretends that she's not trained because she has "puppy brain". Sir, that dog is over 3 years old (vet confirmed). She'd be a grown adult with a partner and a mortgage on a small house in the outskirts of Mississippi if she were a human. Stop calling her dumb just because you wont do the bare minimum
And he totally ignores when she walks her happy ass to the door when i say "outside," and she needs to pee. I LITERALLY DID THE HARD WORK. YOU JUST NEED TO SAY A PHRASE EVERY HOUR OR SO. And every day he cares for her is another little bit of my training being flushed down the toilet. Just like my sanity these past few months.
And if it were not for my bf, they would just LEAVE THE SHIT AND PISS THERE TO DRY AND ATTRACT ANTS. He stayed at my apartment for like 3 days and there was....
1) shit by the front door (they have a puppy door to prevent them from going there) 2) a COMPLETELY DRY piss puddle under a solid wood chair by the back door. Complete with that wrinkly, hairy looking debris that you get with piss on tile. 3) 3 SEPARATE instances of poop. One had a 2 foot long snail trail that was connected by some sort of hair??? DISGUSTING. How could you not pick that up. 4) a freshly pissed puddle by the back door. According to the tile length, about 1 foot by 1 foot in diameter. IMPOSSIBLE TO MISS
And absolutely no intent on training the dogs either themselves or with a trainer đ€
I swear to dog all these bad dog owners have in common are their laziness and excuses. Plus a dash of weaponized incompetence. Anyone else have experience with a good dog but terrible owner? Just like with kids, i feel like they'd thrive if they lived in a better home.
Tl;dr Why leave the đ¶ dogs OUT of theđkennel as someone who đ„ works from đ home? Because the đ© poop and đ”pee stains give the house đcharacterđ and we get our money's worth out of our son-maid đ„°
And sorry if the post was too long đ
submitted by UnchieZ to TalesfromtheDogHouse [link] [comments]
My bf's mom decided to get a whole new dog after their old one passed away from old age. She now has a chronic illness that prevents her from doing even the smallest task (i wish her well, and she is not really the problem here).
The parents decided on a whim to adopt one without my bf's approval. Thats fine and all, they're adults and they can do whatever they want, right?
It turns out the mom was the main caretaker and trainer for the dogs. Now the burden is put on my bf alone even though he didnt even want the darn dog.
Bf works a full time job, studies, and does all the responsibilities he had before, plus his mom's share (this includes cleaning, vaccuming, dusting every week all by himself with a POMERANIAN. I could knit a little baby onesie with all the fur it shed this year alone). The mom has honestly been improving, but her mobility is so limited that her menial tasks take up 15 minutes every hour of his free time
And his dad is the breadwinner of the house that works from home, so it's natural that he... also tells my bf to do things (that he is able to do himself), like putting a mattress pad on his own bed. Or letting the dogs out when he's literally seated by the back door. Or waking my bf up when he wakes up to go to work (at 5am) just to make him feed the dogs (since middle school! 5-6 hours of sleep is the norm for him at his own house)
~~~
Ive been staying at my bf's house some days to help them out in emergencies. In fact, ive potty trained the 2 year old (now 3 year old) pom after about 3 weeks of excrement-filled night terrors. She is the sweetest little thing that wont bark unless theres intruders...
Which means the dad doesn't know when the hell to let her out. He puts in no effort to put them on a schedule DESPITE being the only one in the house during the daytime.
During work hours its okay because he has them corraled in his work room. But as soon as he takes a break in the living room, he zones out on the couch with whatever game or movie he's watching. His work, having constant meetings from 5am to around 11am, is not the problem.
He would literally take them out to pee at his lunch break at 11am and not even check on them until my bf gets home. At that point, just put them in the kennel! But he'd rather they be laying all around the living room or cuddling up to him on the couch. Suddenly, when my bf comes home, there's a puddle right outside the door! Who'da thunk?
Doesnt play with them. Doesnt remember to take them out aside from 1) after their 5am meal and 2) when he remembers to eat a snack/breakfast).
Yet he still wants them to roam around like theyre not just fluffy accessories at this point. Hell, if the game/show is really good, he will forget to feed them altogether and TELL MY BF to do it when he gets back (2.5 hours after their feeding time.... 4 shitstains and 2 pee puddles later. Several occasions). No arthritis or debilitating conditions either; he's just lazy.
The worst thing is that he pretends that she's not trained because she has "puppy brain". Sir, that dog is over 3 years old (vet confirmed). She'd be a grown adult with a partner and a mortgage on a small house in the outskirts of Mississippi if she were a human. Stop calling her dumb just because you wont do the bare minimum
And he totally ignores when she walks her happy ass to the door when i say "outside," and she needs to pee. I LITERALLY DID THE HARD WORK. YOU JUST NEED TO SAY A PHRASE EVERY HOUR OR SO. And every day he cares for her is another little bit of my training being flushed down the toilet. Just like my sanity these past few months.
And if it were not for my bf, they would just LEAVE THE SHIT AND PISS THERE TO DRY AND ATTRACT ANTS. He stayed at my apartment for like 3 days and there was....
1) shit by the front door (they have a puppy door to prevent them from going there) 2) a COMPLETELY DRY piss puddle under a solid wood chair by the back door. Complete with that wrinkly, hairy looking debris that you get with piss on tile. 3) 3 SEPARATE instances of poop. One had a 2 foot long snail trail that was connected by some sort of hair??? DISGUSTING. How could you not pick that up. 4) a freshly pissed puddle by the back door. According to the tile length, about 1 foot by 1 foot in diameter. IMPOSSIBLE TO MISS
And absolutely no intent on training the dogs either themselves or with a trainer đ€
I swear to dog all these bad dog owners have in common are their laziness and excuses. Plus a dash of weaponized incompetence. Anyone else have experience with a good dog but terrible owner? Just like with kids, i feel like they'd thrive if they lived in a better home.
Tl;dr Why leave the đ¶ dogs OUT of theđkennel as someone who đ„ works from đ home? Because the đ© poop and đ”pee stains give the house đcharacterđ and we get our money's worth out of our son-maid đ„°
And sorry if the post was too long đ
2024.05.16 01:48 JStevinik Premise for a Comedy-Drama Series About a Technocratic Reeducation Camp
I was at work, where one of my co-workers brought up the statistic that over 5% of respondents in a poll believe that chocolate milk comes from brown cows. He claims that the people doubled down and asked whether such people deserve to be placed in a re-education camp. I paused before responding with a definitive "yes".
I noticed that Americans, in particular, express re-education camps as a very particular dystopian punishment. However, I noticed that some people express re-education as rehabilitation since attendees would be trained in skills to have better economic integration in society to prosper. Many Americans advocate for their prison system to be reformed into rehabilitation. I am not surprised that (re)-education would be regarded as a punishment since there is a literal sitcom titled Saved by the Bell.
As an aspiring show-runner of a comedy-drama, I think that a premise about re-education attendees in a technocratic future may or may not work. It has thematic questions, which is necessary for any story or arc. They are: "Is re-education rehabilitation or punishment? Can people be rehabilitated? Another question: Can people be rehabilitated? I got that idea for the latter from the hippie teacher in Beavis and Butthead being challenged (for the sake of comedy). Another question. The former is self-explanatory. I broader question is: Can technocracy fulfill consistent goals as implemented politics, despite its lack of an ideology? I got inspired by my mixed-feelings on technocracy because as someone who studied pharmaceutical sciences, I somewhat wish for humanity and economics to behave less irrationally.
For the characters, I have the facility commandant who gets challenged by both the attendees, who either show lacking progress or defiance, and the re-evaluations made by the changing procedures by the government. The attendees are a varying range of cranks: an easily manipulated poll taker who thinks chocolate milk comes from brown cows, a legit terrorist/conspirator, a "sovereign citizen", a NEET Reddit moderator requested by his parents to attend, a trucker displaced by automation, an underemployed, traveling lab tech seeking transfer credits to get more fitting positions. Each would only last at least one season. I got that idea from a statistic on how most Americans change jobs within 10 years; rendering The Office (at least the US version) unrealistic. I think it can have better settings by having optional, remote classes.
Before you ask, yes, I am aware of the overlap with Dead Poet's Society. I have not seen it beyond its most iconic scene that gets referenced. I watched a Qunton Reviews video on the career of disgraced showrunner Dan Schneider, in which he was in a forgotten sitcom Head of the Class about a gifted high school class and underemployed teacher. I have not watched it yet. I read that PIXAR refused to even read the premise to a Disney-only produced, mid-2000s straight-to-DVD Toy Story 3 to avoid unconsciously plagiarizing material. I am not sure if it is the correct way to avoid material similar to my premise. However, the Toy Story writers studied buddy comedies (and prison escape films for Toy Story 3) to identify common strengths to follow and avoid common weaknesses. Maybe I should catch up on many sitcoms and dramas. However, I work about 60 hours a week, so it is easier said than done. Even I am pushing a little behind (but not late) due to writing this.
Of course, I really appreciate even the harshest dismissal because former Simpsons co-writer and co-showrunner, in his co-authored memoir Springfield Confidential, stated that no amount of talented writers can save a fundamentally bad premise, referring to his first TV writing job at Nine to Five. I hope it is not as problematic as Mr. Enter's (infamous for complaining that Turning Red did not reference post-9/11 paranoia) novel and proposed independent series of kids running adult roles (people do not age backward).
submitted by JStevinik to Screenwriting [link] [comments]
I noticed that Americans, in particular, express re-education camps as a very particular dystopian punishment. However, I noticed that some people express re-education as rehabilitation since attendees would be trained in skills to have better economic integration in society to prosper. Many Americans advocate for their prison system to be reformed into rehabilitation. I am not surprised that (re)-education would be regarded as a punishment since there is a literal sitcom titled Saved by the Bell.
As an aspiring show-runner of a comedy-drama, I think that a premise about re-education attendees in a technocratic future may or may not work. It has thematic questions, which is necessary for any story or arc. They are: "Is re-education rehabilitation or punishment? Can people be rehabilitated? Another question: Can people be rehabilitated? I got that idea for the latter from the hippie teacher in Beavis and Butthead being challenged (for the sake of comedy). Another question. The former is self-explanatory. I broader question is: Can technocracy fulfill consistent goals as implemented politics, despite its lack of an ideology? I got inspired by my mixed-feelings on technocracy because as someone who studied pharmaceutical sciences, I somewhat wish for humanity and economics to behave less irrationally.
For the characters, I have the facility commandant who gets challenged by both the attendees, who either show lacking progress or defiance, and the re-evaluations made by the changing procedures by the government. The attendees are a varying range of cranks: an easily manipulated poll taker who thinks chocolate milk comes from brown cows, a legit terrorist/conspirator, a "sovereign citizen", a NEET Reddit moderator requested by his parents to attend, a trucker displaced by automation, an underemployed, traveling lab tech seeking transfer credits to get more fitting positions. Each would only last at least one season. I got that idea from a statistic on how most Americans change jobs within 10 years; rendering The Office (at least the US version) unrealistic. I think it can have better settings by having optional, remote classes.
Before you ask, yes, I am aware of the overlap with Dead Poet's Society. I have not seen it beyond its most iconic scene that gets referenced. I watched a Qunton Reviews video on the career of disgraced showrunner Dan Schneider, in which he was in a forgotten sitcom Head of the Class about a gifted high school class and underemployed teacher. I have not watched it yet. I read that PIXAR refused to even read the premise to a Disney-only produced, mid-2000s straight-to-DVD Toy Story 3 to avoid unconsciously plagiarizing material. I am not sure if it is the correct way to avoid material similar to my premise. However, the Toy Story writers studied buddy comedies (and prison escape films for Toy Story 3) to identify common strengths to follow and avoid common weaknesses. Maybe I should catch up on many sitcoms and dramas. However, I work about 60 hours a week, so it is easier said than done. Even I am pushing a little behind (but not late) due to writing this.
Of course, I really appreciate even the harshest dismissal because former Simpsons co-writer and co-showrunner, in his co-authored memoir Springfield Confidential, stated that no amount of talented writers can save a fundamentally bad premise, referring to his first TV writing job at Nine to Five. I hope it is not as problematic as Mr. Enter's (infamous for complaining that Turning Red did not reference post-9/11 paranoia) novel and proposed independent series of kids running adult roles (people do not age backward).
2024.05.16 01:40 Turbulent-Tonight975 The All Quiet On Set documentary (on Nickelodeon) is a hit piece against Dan Schneider and is unfairly presented
I watched several parts of the documentary All Quiet On Set that was released recently and it absolutely stunk as a ridiculously unfair hit piece against Dan Schneider.
The documentary discusses the experience of many childhood actors who starred in a variety of Nickelodeon shows. It talks about the 'toxic' environment and how these kids were not protected and so on. The whole piece feels like a joke that goes out of its way to blame everything on Dan Schneider in ways that are not fair or intellectually honest.
Much of the documentary talks about moments in the shows that seem to be inappropriate for children with adult themes that are implied, or that the child actoactress is sexualized. The documentary does a great job of implying that Rob is responsible without giving real context or perspective. The documentary is literally taking tens of thousands of hours of programming from shows that appeared over 20 year period and shows many moments that from an adult perspective seem inappropriate.
The documentary fails to actually put it in terms of the perspective of the audience watching these shows. I watched these shows and as an 11 year old I didn't even know what a c**shot was, someone getting 'slimmed' was just funny. I'm guessing that the young audience watching probably didn't have a clue what any of the dialogue that was questionable actually meant either BECAUSE WE WERE KIDS. Its such a load of crap showing these few cherrypicked moments from thousands of hours of content and viewing it from an adult perspective the way nobody seemed to care about doing for 20 years until now.
Even better is how the documentary implies that Dan is the one responsible. All the scripts were written by writers, reviewed by other people, reviewed by executives, then brought to set where the parents (or guardians) of the minors were present and could form objections. That is 4 or 5 levels to get to the point of shooting these shows and it is all Dan's fault that some potentially inappropriate dialogue got to that point? Not the writers, or Nick executives, or review groups, or the parents of the actors on scene; none of these hold any responsibility? The documentary sure thinks so, that Dan should have been rewriting the scripts on set when all the groups that failed to excise the inappropriate dialogue all failed numerous times by the time it even got to Dan.
Even better is Dan being difficult to work with and unprofessional. You mean to tell me that a guy who produced so many high quality and successful shows was sometimes difficult to work with because of the standards he had? Sorry to break it to the snowflakes of the world but most successful people are difficult to work with because they demand quality and won't accept mediocre. There is a reason Dan's shows were highly successful. Most successful people in business and entertainment are difficult. Look at director James Cameron. The guy directed Titanic, Avatar series, Terminator series, and Alien. He is also notoriously difficult to work with demanding a lot out of the actors in his movies. Like Dan, James Cameron demanded quality and pissed off many people who worked with him. Maybe the success of both men had something to do with their ability to be adequate and made very successful shows and movies.
Also the 'unprofessionalism' attacks on Dan seem a little over the top. You mean a guy who demands quality professionally can be temperamental and say insensitive things on set at times? Go to any high pressure workplace and the same thing happens. The difference is that people there handle it. He also got 'shoulder massages' on set from adults. GASP!!!! Give me a break.
The part of the abuse from Drake Bell is a very sad part that happened. The documentry could have cared about the truth that Dan didn't hire the people that did the abuse, and kept them out as soon as it was known. Dan did what he could. Because the documentary is a hit piece, these details to exonerate the character of Dan Schneider get ignored.
The documetary and former child actors and actresses should have been honest with a little more perspective that in 20 years of making award winning series, things happen. They could look more in to the writers, executives, review boards that looked at scripts. They could look at how the child stars had parents and guardians ON SET yet seemed to never say or do anything when it came to these supposedly horrible experiences. They could blame the parents for putting these young kids in these difficult acting roles at such young ages. Those won't happen because it is easier to blame Dan for every shortcoming of an entire multibillion dollar company and system that led to the final product that was the shows.
The attacks on Dan seem like something made by his enemies that is absolutely unfairly biased against him, and makes little attempt at intellectual honesty. It goes along with this woke world we live in where everyone wants to be the victim and has to find fault in anyone who is in a position of authority or control. Dan just happens to be the guy in position so blaming it all on him is easier than having any sense of nuance and looking at all parts that went into this at every level of Nickelodeon and especially the parents of these children who performed on set. Maybe the question of how things should be for child actors generally is a question that needed to be asked more.
It really felt like it just wanted to make Dan into the boogieman in all of this when in reality, I don't think very many people if they were put in his position of doing award winning shows for 2 decades with thousands of hours of content, and involvement of that many people and production- could have done any or much better. Most people never have any position of responsibility that puts them in charge of so many people and so many high level situations or high level projects. I'm sure anyone who produced that amount of content under the same circumstances would have a few things they could cherrypick out that were questionable in the thousands of hours of content over 20 years.
I don't know Dan and I never met the guy, I am just tired of hearing him get dragged through the wringer in ways that seem completely unfair by the cancel culture mob. The system had failures at all levels and making him the fall guy is not fair. He apologized for his shortcomings in professionalism and how he could have treated some people better. People talking about him like an abuser he never was, and dragging his name through the mud seems unreasonable form all I saw. It feels like the guy did the best he could in such difficult situations, and more to the point, I don't think all those maligning the guy could have done any better themselves. Its very easy to attack someone when you don't have the same responsibilities because of course the person can imagine doing a perfect job knowing what we know now and having 25 years of hindsight- the hindsight Dan and everyone there didn't have.
submitted by Turbulent-Tonight975 to TrueUnpopularOpinion [link] [comments]
The documentary discusses the experience of many childhood actors who starred in a variety of Nickelodeon shows. It talks about the 'toxic' environment and how these kids were not protected and so on. The whole piece feels like a joke that goes out of its way to blame everything on Dan Schneider in ways that are not fair or intellectually honest.
Much of the documentary talks about moments in the shows that seem to be inappropriate for children with adult themes that are implied, or that the child actoactress is sexualized. The documentary does a great job of implying that Rob is responsible without giving real context or perspective. The documentary is literally taking tens of thousands of hours of programming from shows that appeared over 20 year period and shows many moments that from an adult perspective seem inappropriate.
The documentary fails to actually put it in terms of the perspective of the audience watching these shows. I watched these shows and as an 11 year old I didn't even know what a c**shot was, someone getting 'slimmed' was just funny. I'm guessing that the young audience watching probably didn't have a clue what any of the dialogue that was questionable actually meant either BECAUSE WE WERE KIDS. Its such a load of crap showing these few cherrypicked moments from thousands of hours of content and viewing it from an adult perspective the way nobody seemed to care about doing for 20 years until now.
Even better is how the documentary implies that Dan is the one responsible. All the scripts were written by writers, reviewed by other people, reviewed by executives, then brought to set where the parents (or guardians) of the minors were present and could form objections. That is 4 or 5 levels to get to the point of shooting these shows and it is all Dan's fault that some potentially inappropriate dialogue got to that point? Not the writers, or Nick executives, or review groups, or the parents of the actors on scene; none of these hold any responsibility? The documentary sure thinks so, that Dan should have been rewriting the scripts on set when all the groups that failed to excise the inappropriate dialogue all failed numerous times by the time it even got to Dan.
Even better is Dan being difficult to work with and unprofessional. You mean to tell me that a guy who produced so many high quality and successful shows was sometimes difficult to work with because of the standards he had? Sorry to break it to the snowflakes of the world but most successful people are difficult to work with because they demand quality and won't accept mediocre. There is a reason Dan's shows were highly successful. Most successful people in business and entertainment are difficult. Look at director James Cameron. The guy directed Titanic, Avatar series, Terminator series, and Alien. He is also notoriously difficult to work with demanding a lot out of the actors in his movies. Like Dan, James Cameron demanded quality and pissed off many people who worked with him. Maybe the success of both men had something to do with their ability to be adequate and made very successful shows and movies.
Also the 'unprofessionalism' attacks on Dan seem a little over the top. You mean a guy who demands quality professionally can be temperamental and say insensitive things on set at times? Go to any high pressure workplace and the same thing happens. The difference is that people there handle it. He also got 'shoulder massages' on set from adults. GASP!!!! Give me a break.
The part of the abuse from Drake Bell is a very sad part that happened. The documentry could have cared about the truth that Dan didn't hire the people that did the abuse, and kept them out as soon as it was known. Dan did what he could. Because the documentary is a hit piece, these details to exonerate the character of Dan Schneider get ignored.
The documetary and former child actors and actresses should have been honest with a little more perspective that in 20 years of making award winning series, things happen. They could look more in to the writers, executives, review boards that looked at scripts. They could look at how the child stars had parents and guardians ON SET yet seemed to never say or do anything when it came to these supposedly horrible experiences. They could blame the parents for putting these young kids in these difficult acting roles at such young ages. Those won't happen because it is easier to blame Dan for every shortcoming of an entire multibillion dollar company and system that led to the final product that was the shows.
The attacks on Dan seem like something made by his enemies that is absolutely unfairly biased against him, and makes little attempt at intellectual honesty. It goes along with this woke world we live in where everyone wants to be the victim and has to find fault in anyone who is in a position of authority or control. Dan just happens to be the guy in position so blaming it all on him is easier than having any sense of nuance and looking at all parts that went into this at every level of Nickelodeon and especially the parents of these children who performed on set. Maybe the question of how things should be for child actors generally is a question that needed to be asked more.
It really felt like it just wanted to make Dan into the boogieman in all of this when in reality, I don't think very many people if they were put in his position of doing award winning shows for 2 decades with thousands of hours of content, and involvement of that many people and production- could have done any or much better. Most people never have any position of responsibility that puts them in charge of so many people and so many high level situations or high level projects. I'm sure anyone who produced that amount of content under the same circumstances would have a few things they could cherrypick out that were questionable in the thousands of hours of content over 20 years.
I don't know Dan and I never met the guy, I am just tired of hearing him get dragged through the wringer in ways that seem completely unfair by the cancel culture mob. The system had failures at all levels and making him the fall guy is not fair. He apologized for his shortcomings in professionalism and how he could have treated some people better. People talking about him like an abuser he never was, and dragging his name through the mud seems unreasonable form all I saw. It feels like the guy did the best he could in such difficult situations, and more to the point, I don't think all those maligning the guy could have done any better themselves. Its very easy to attack someone when you don't have the same responsibilities because of course the person can imagine doing a perfect job knowing what we know now and having 25 years of hindsight- the hindsight Dan and everyone there didn't have.
2024.05.16 01:31 Mindless-Staff-1716 Stepping up my wight training, some questions on my mind
So for about 2/3 months now I have stepped up my weight training...getting a lot of info from the youtubers, books and mags but still have some questions (as always lol):
thanks
submitted by Mindless-Staff-1716 to WeightTraining [link] [comments]
- Rest between sets. I was taught (back in the glory days of high school gym class lifting) that it's good to keep your heart rate up while "resting" between sets. like stand up do a light jog in place or at least move your limbs a bit. But these days I see people just hunched over on their phone between sets. Yeah I get that 2-3 minutes is good (especially for heavy reps) but isn't it good to keep the heart rate up, not max, but up a bit at least?
- Biceps: I'm not seeing much results and i'm doing 2/3 exercises twice a week. For many years I just went up to 25lbs standing curls with dumbbells but lately i've incorporated incline curls, preacher curls (machine mostly), reverse close grip pull down, mtn row, easy curls and concentration curls. steppin up the lbs and close to fatigue with last set. Sure they are solid but just not that distinct bulge of well-defined flexed bicep. and don't worry i'm not neglecting triceps...but still not seeing much progress there as well... except a bit firmer.
- Smith Machines: My gym (planet fitness), though I do some light "maintenance workouts at home once a week, doesn't have "free weight benches and squat racks, just the Smith Machines. I have got to like them, but am I missing out on more gains by not doing bench presses and squats "unassisted"?
- Good reads: Any books you can recommend regarding bodybuilding, fitness or motivation etc? Not necessarily about exercises and form but maybe some nonfiction about inside the bodybuilding industry or history etc. Just starting watching the classic "pumping iron" and digging it fyi!
thanks
2024.05.16 01:25 Caringcoder 24 [M4F] Netherlands/Europe - Looking for a partner/player 2
A little about me: I'm a 24yo guy from The Netherlands, I'm 196cm tall with brown hair and blue/grey eyes. I'm patient, love to have a good laugh, enjoy a deeper conversation from time to time and am mostly down to earth. I'm currently taking a break from studying but will start in September again.
As a way to spend my free time I like to play games, read, watch movies and series/anime and I'm getting into painting mini's. The games that I like to play are League of Legends, Baldur's Gate 3, and many other games being either solo or coop. I also like to go out and be with friends or play Dungeons and Dragons or Magic the Gathering with them. I'd love to go trave
What I'm looking for: I'm looking for someone who's at least somewhat close in age to me and preferably lives in The Netherlands but anywhere is fine.
submitted by Caringcoder to ForeverAloneDating [link] [comments]
As a way to spend my free time I like to play games, read, watch movies and series/anime and I'm getting into painting mini's. The games that I like to play are League of Legends, Baldur's Gate 3, and many other games being either solo or coop. I also like to go out and be with friends or play Dungeons and Dragons or Magic the Gathering with them. I'd love to go trave
What I'm looking for: I'm looking for someone who's at least somewhat close in age to me and preferably lives in The Netherlands but anywhere is fine.
2024.05.16 01:25 Obsequium_Minaris The Vampire's Apprentice - Chapter 11
First / Previous / Royal Road / Patreon (Read 12 Chapters Ahead)
Alain kicked in the door to the gun store, and they all flooded in. There was nobody there, as expected, so that gave them free reign to take whatever they needed. Alain immediately stocked up on ammo for his revolver and shotgun, slotting cartridges into the spaces on his bandoleer and belt. All the other men did the same, and a few of them grabbed an extra gun as well.
"Everyone good?" Alain called. They all answered back in the affirmative, and he motioned for them to follow after him as he sprinted back outside.
The remaining undead had taken notice of them now, and were closing in once more. Their group opened fire as Sable and Az rushed forwards.
"Watch your fire!" Alain warned as rounds passed dangerously close to the two of them.
"What the hell are they doing?!" Rusty called.
"They're clearing a path for us!" Alain shouted back. "Come on, we need to-"
A pair of sickening gurgles from behind him caught his attention. Immediately, Alain turned around, and saw the two sheriff's deputies standing there, their hands thrust through the backs and out the chests of Jack and Redd. Rusty raised his rifle to try and engage, but he didn't get a chance to fire before one of the deputies drew his own revolver and put a round between his eyes. Alain could only watch in shock as he fell backwards, dead.
The two deputies pulled their arms out of their unfortunate victims, then shook them to get some of the blood off as they advanced on Alain and Felix. Both men took a step back as they shouldered their long guns.
"Deputies Timms and Brayton," Felix surmised, looking at each man in turn. "You know, I almost didn't want to believe it when Alain first told me you were involved with all of this. The sheriff put you up to it?"
Timms ran a hand through his beard, uncaring of how the blood and gore from his victim left a trail of slick red through it. "He told us what we stood to gain if we helped him. After learning about that, how could we refuse?"
"And what would that be?" Alain growled.
Brayton grinned, showing off yellow teeth as he twirled his revolver almost absentmindedly. "What do you think would coerce someone to sacrifice other people?"
"I don't know."
"Ah, well⊠it doesn't matter; you'll all be dead soon, anyway."
"So confident of that, are you?"
"I'm confident enough, we'll say." Brayton turned to Timms. "You take the bartender, I'll handle the drifter."
Timms nodded, and then before Alain knew what was happening, Brayton had rushed towards him. He just barely managed to avoid the incoming arm thrust, the deputy's fingers brushing against his shirt, tearing through the fabric with ease. Alain fell back, discharging his shotgun as he went; the load of buckshot struck Brayton in the chest, opening it enough to expose his blackened heart, and he stumbled back, but recovered quickly.
Brayton let out a low growl, then drew his revolver and began firing off shots. Alain was forced to dive for cover behind a nearby building to avoid the incoming shots. Just as he reached concealment, however, a series of moans from nearby caught his attention. He turned and found several undead moving towards him. Without missing a beat, Alain fired off the remaining shell in his shotgun, taking one out, and then held it in one hand as he drew his revolver and killed the other two with a series of well-placed shots.
Alain wasted no time in reloading his guns once the trio of undead had hit the ground. He broke his shotgun open and ripped the spent shells out, then shoved two fresh ones in and closed the weapon. Before he could cock the hammers back, however, the building behind him erupted in a shower of splinters, and Brayton came marching through.
"I must say, you're not making this easy," Brayton told him.
"I thought you would've learned that by now," Alain replied as he cocked the hammers back on his shotgun. "After all, I did plenty of damage to you two back in the jailhouse earlier."
"A shame it didn't last."
"This will."
Alain shouldered his weapon and fired both barrels in the same motion. To his dismay, Brayton was able to duck back into the destroyed building at the last minute, avoiding most of the buckshot; a few pellets lodged in his throat and face, but it wasn't nearly enough to kill him for good.
It did succeed in getting under his skin, though. Brayton stepped out of the building, a scowl etched across his face. Without missing a beat, he advanced on Alain's position, drawing his revolver and firing it as he went. Several shots rang out, and Alain felt a sudden, searing pain in his left shoulder; he turned and saw a bloody patch on his shirt that was growing more intense with every passing second. He only stared for a second though, then turned and began to run, desperate to put some distance between himself and Brayton.
"There's no point in hiding," Brayton answered as Alain ducked back into Felix's bar, stepping over a small mountain of undead corpses in the process. "I'll find you eventually."
Alain sat down behind the bar, then tore open his shirt to get a better look at the wound. Brayton's round had apparently nicked his artery; it wasn't spurting blood, but it was bleeding heavily. Alain didn't waste any time, instead tearing his cartridge belt off his waist and cinching it tight just above the wound as a makeshift tourniquet. He then forced himself back onto his feet, and with shaking hands, reloaded his shotgun as he looked around.
The undead horde seemed to have been thinned out substantially in this part of town. That led him to believe that Az and Sable had instead moved on to another part of town, most likely closer to the mines, and were working on clearing a path for the rest of them. That meant they'd be of no help to him anytime soon â they were almost certainly too busy fighting the undead to realize him and Felix needed help.
So the two of them were on their own. Alain grimaced as the thought crossed his mind.
He needed to take care of Brayton and Timms, and fast.
Alain vaulted over the bar, wincing when he felt the movement disturb the bullet in his shoulder slightly.
"Not doing anything like that again any time soonâŠ" he muttered as he propped himself up against a wall next to the opening where the door had once stood, then peered out into town.
From here, he couldn't see either of the deputies, but he could still hear sporadic gunfire throughout town, along with the moans of the living corpses that were still walking around. Cautiously, Alain stepped out from behind cover, his shotgun already readied against his good shoulder. He looked around once more, trying to see where either of the deputies or Felix had ended up.
The click of a revolver's hammer being thumbed back struck his ears, and Alain hit the dirt just in time for the bullet to scrape across the top of his head, taking a few of his hairs with it.
There was little time to dwell on that, however, as another round came from out of the darkness soon after that one. Alain rolled to avoid it, and just barely managed to get out of the way in time for it to embed itself into the ground next to him. Dirt, pebbles, and bits of spall impacted against his back, but once again, he managed to avoid serious injury. A vein pulsed in his forehead, and Alain forced himself to stand up before firing off two shotgun blasts towards where he thought the shots came from. He was rewarded with the sound of buckshot impacting against flesh, and knew he'd hit his target.
Before Brayton could have time to recover, Alain slung his shotgun and drew his revolver, then advanced upon his position. Sure enough, Brayton was busy pulling himself up off the ground; Alain emptied his revolver's cylinder into the deputy's head. Blood, bone, and bits of brain arced through the air, staining the ground and the nearby wall with a macabre mixture of crimson, white, and gray. By the end of it, the deputy's head had been sheared almost in half, with the remnants of his brain exposed to the outside world.
Alain stood there, wisps of smoke curling up from the end of his revolver's barrel. That should have been it for Brayton â no mortal would have been able to survive something like that.
Unfortunately, Brayton was no mere mortal. He let out a shuddering breath, then began to lurch forward. His movements were sluggish and slow, and there was a dull expression of pain on his face, but he was still alive. Alain paused at the sight of it, his eyes wide with surprise.
"Oh, you've gotta be fucking kidding me."
That was all he managed to get out before Brayton raised his revolver once again. Alain dove for cover; the bullet scraped across his lower back, just a few inches away from his spine. He scrambled to his feet, and only once he was back up did he realize that in the confusion, he'd dropped his revolver.
Alain went to reload his shotgun, but found that he was once again out of shells. He let out a muffled curse, then looked around for something he could use. Sable had told him that there were three ways to kill wights â removing the head, destroying the brain, andâŠ
Alain's gaze landed on a nearby lantern hanging from an abandoned shop, swinging precariously from a rope. Even from here, he could see oil sloshing around inside it. A manic grin crossed his face, and he immediately made a mad dash for it. He got lucky â the deputy was caught in the middle of a reload, and was unable to shoot him. Alain ripped the lantern off the building, then hurled it at Brayton; it shattered on impact, coating him with oil. Once that was done, Alain reached into his pocket and retrieved a match.
"Mom always said those cigarettes couldn't be good for me," he said to himself as he struck the match against the building, lighting it. He turned toward the deputy, still coated in oil, and his eyes narrowed.
"I wonder what she'd say if she could see this."
He flicked the lit match towards Brayton, watching as it soared through the air. The flame made impact with the oil-slick deputy, and he caught alight immediately. An inhuman screech erupted from Brayton's throat, loud enough that Alain winced and had to cover both his ears. Brayton fell to the ground, his revolver dropping against the dirt and discharging harmlessly into the air as he rolled to try and put out the fire, but it was no use. In a matter of seconds, his movements stopped completely, his body reduced to little more than a charred corpse.
That wasn't enough for Alain. He sprinted over to where his Colt had fallen, retrieved it, and emptied the cylinder into what was left of Brayton's head, just for good measure. The body didn't even twitch as the rounds made impact, and by the end of it, his head had been reduced to little more than a jawbone still attached to the neck. Alain stood there for a moment, panting from exertion, before letting his arm fall.
Footsteps took him by surprise, and he rounded on them, only to relax when he saw that it was Felix, and he was apparently completely unharmed. The two exchanged a glance, and Felix's eyes widened.
"ShitâŠ" he breathed. "What happened to you? You're covered in blood."
"I killed Brayton."
"Yes, I can see that. But did you have to put yourself through a meat grinder to do it?"
"Is Timms dead?" Alain asked.
"Yeah, he's done."
"How'd it happen?"
"I shot him in the head a bunch with my rifle. Why didn't you just do that to Brayton?"
Alain just scowled. Before he could reply, there were more footsteps â they both looked over and saw Sable and Az approaching. Both of them seemed a lot worse for wear, sporting more grievous injuries than they had before. Still, as Sable approached, her eyes widened when she saw Alain lying there.
"What happened to him?" she asked.
"Got shot," he grunted. "Hey, you needed blood, right?"
"Well, yes, but-"
Alain didn't wait to hear anything else, instead loosening his tourniquet. The blood began to flow once more, and he motioned towards his shoulder.
"Help yourself for a bit."
Sable went red in the face, but her shame didn't stop her. She immediately moved over to him, then latched onto the wound on his shoulder and began to drink. Alain winced when he felt her teeth lock into him and her tongue begin to lap up his blood, but he didn't stop her.
"I'm gonna be sickâŠ" Felix said, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth as he watched the display in front of him.
Thankfully, Sable pulled herself away shortly after latching onto him. Alain turned towards her, and was surprised to see that many of her wounds were healed, though not all of them. Before he could inquire further about that, Sable began tearing strips off her gore-soaked dress, taking care to search for the few clean parts only, then wrapped his wound with them.
"You need a doctor," she declared. "But for now, that'll have to do. You can sit this one out if-"
"Stop," Alain managed to get out. "I'm not missing this. Help me up."
"Alain-"
"I said, help me up."
Sable hesitated, but ultimately obliged, pulling him to his feet. Alain stumbled a bit, lightheaded from pain and blood loss, but managed to maintain his footing. He slung his shotgun and reloaded his revolver, then turned back to the rest of them.
"Alright," he said. "To the mines."
Special thanks to my good friend and co-writer, Ickbard for the help with writing this story.
submitted by Obsequium_Minaris to HFY [link] [comments]
Alain kicked in the door to the gun store, and they all flooded in. There was nobody there, as expected, so that gave them free reign to take whatever they needed. Alain immediately stocked up on ammo for his revolver and shotgun, slotting cartridges into the spaces on his bandoleer and belt. All the other men did the same, and a few of them grabbed an extra gun as well.
"Everyone good?" Alain called. They all answered back in the affirmative, and he motioned for them to follow after him as he sprinted back outside.
The remaining undead had taken notice of them now, and were closing in once more. Their group opened fire as Sable and Az rushed forwards.
"Watch your fire!" Alain warned as rounds passed dangerously close to the two of them.
"What the hell are they doing?!" Rusty called.
"They're clearing a path for us!" Alain shouted back. "Come on, we need to-"
A pair of sickening gurgles from behind him caught his attention. Immediately, Alain turned around, and saw the two sheriff's deputies standing there, their hands thrust through the backs and out the chests of Jack and Redd. Rusty raised his rifle to try and engage, but he didn't get a chance to fire before one of the deputies drew his own revolver and put a round between his eyes. Alain could only watch in shock as he fell backwards, dead.
The two deputies pulled their arms out of their unfortunate victims, then shook them to get some of the blood off as they advanced on Alain and Felix. Both men took a step back as they shouldered their long guns.
"Deputies Timms and Brayton," Felix surmised, looking at each man in turn. "You know, I almost didn't want to believe it when Alain first told me you were involved with all of this. The sheriff put you up to it?"
Timms ran a hand through his beard, uncaring of how the blood and gore from his victim left a trail of slick red through it. "He told us what we stood to gain if we helped him. After learning about that, how could we refuse?"
"And what would that be?" Alain growled.
Brayton grinned, showing off yellow teeth as he twirled his revolver almost absentmindedly. "What do you think would coerce someone to sacrifice other people?"
"I don't know."
"Ah, well⊠it doesn't matter; you'll all be dead soon, anyway."
"So confident of that, are you?"
"I'm confident enough, we'll say." Brayton turned to Timms. "You take the bartender, I'll handle the drifter."
Timms nodded, and then before Alain knew what was happening, Brayton had rushed towards him. He just barely managed to avoid the incoming arm thrust, the deputy's fingers brushing against his shirt, tearing through the fabric with ease. Alain fell back, discharging his shotgun as he went; the load of buckshot struck Brayton in the chest, opening it enough to expose his blackened heart, and he stumbled back, but recovered quickly.
Brayton let out a low growl, then drew his revolver and began firing off shots. Alain was forced to dive for cover behind a nearby building to avoid the incoming shots. Just as he reached concealment, however, a series of moans from nearby caught his attention. He turned and found several undead moving towards him. Without missing a beat, Alain fired off the remaining shell in his shotgun, taking one out, and then held it in one hand as he drew his revolver and killed the other two with a series of well-placed shots.
Alain wasted no time in reloading his guns once the trio of undead had hit the ground. He broke his shotgun open and ripped the spent shells out, then shoved two fresh ones in and closed the weapon. Before he could cock the hammers back, however, the building behind him erupted in a shower of splinters, and Brayton came marching through.
"I must say, you're not making this easy," Brayton told him.
"I thought you would've learned that by now," Alain replied as he cocked the hammers back on his shotgun. "After all, I did plenty of damage to you two back in the jailhouse earlier."
"A shame it didn't last."
"This will."
Alain shouldered his weapon and fired both barrels in the same motion. To his dismay, Brayton was able to duck back into the destroyed building at the last minute, avoiding most of the buckshot; a few pellets lodged in his throat and face, but it wasn't nearly enough to kill him for good.
It did succeed in getting under his skin, though. Brayton stepped out of the building, a scowl etched across his face. Without missing a beat, he advanced on Alain's position, drawing his revolver and firing it as he went. Several shots rang out, and Alain felt a sudden, searing pain in his left shoulder; he turned and saw a bloody patch on his shirt that was growing more intense with every passing second. He only stared for a second though, then turned and began to run, desperate to put some distance between himself and Brayton.
"There's no point in hiding," Brayton answered as Alain ducked back into Felix's bar, stepping over a small mountain of undead corpses in the process. "I'll find you eventually."
Alain sat down behind the bar, then tore open his shirt to get a better look at the wound. Brayton's round had apparently nicked his artery; it wasn't spurting blood, but it was bleeding heavily. Alain didn't waste any time, instead tearing his cartridge belt off his waist and cinching it tight just above the wound as a makeshift tourniquet. He then forced himself back onto his feet, and with shaking hands, reloaded his shotgun as he looked around.
The undead horde seemed to have been thinned out substantially in this part of town. That led him to believe that Az and Sable had instead moved on to another part of town, most likely closer to the mines, and were working on clearing a path for the rest of them. That meant they'd be of no help to him anytime soon â they were almost certainly too busy fighting the undead to realize him and Felix needed help.
So the two of them were on their own. Alain grimaced as the thought crossed his mind.
He needed to take care of Brayton and Timms, and fast.
Alain vaulted over the bar, wincing when he felt the movement disturb the bullet in his shoulder slightly.
"Not doing anything like that again any time soonâŠ" he muttered as he propped himself up against a wall next to the opening where the door had once stood, then peered out into town.
From here, he couldn't see either of the deputies, but he could still hear sporadic gunfire throughout town, along with the moans of the living corpses that were still walking around. Cautiously, Alain stepped out from behind cover, his shotgun already readied against his good shoulder. He looked around once more, trying to see where either of the deputies or Felix had ended up.
The click of a revolver's hammer being thumbed back struck his ears, and Alain hit the dirt just in time for the bullet to scrape across the top of his head, taking a few of his hairs with it.
There was little time to dwell on that, however, as another round came from out of the darkness soon after that one. Alain rolled to avoid it, and just barely managed to get out of the way in time for it to embed itself into the ground next to him. Dirt, pebbles, and bits of spall impacted against his back, but once again, he managed to avoid serious injury. A vein pulsed in his forehead, and Alain forced himself to stand up before firing off two shotgun blasts towards where he thought the shots came from. He was rewarded with the sound of buckshot impacting against flesh, and knew he'd hit his target.
Before Brayton could have time to recover, Alain slung his shotgun and drew his revolver, then advanced upon his position. Sure enough, Brayton was busy pulling himself up off the ground; Alain emptied his revolver's cylinder into the deputy's head. Blood, bone, and bits of brain arced through the air, staining the ground and the nearby wall with a macabre mixture of crimson, white, and gray. By the end of it, the deputy's head had been sheared almost in half, with the remnants of his brain exposed to the outside world.
Alain stood there, wisps of smoke curling up from the end of his revolver's barrel. That should have been it for Brayton â no mortal would have been able to survive something like that.
Unfortunately, Brayton was no mere mortal. He let out a shuddering breath, then began to lurch forward. His movements were sluggish and slow, and there was a dull expression of pain on his face, but he was still alive. Alain paused at the sight of it, his eyes wide with surprise.
"Oh, you've gotta be fucking kidding me."
That was all he managed to get out before Brayton raised his revolver once again. Alain dove for cover; the bullet scraped across his lower back, just a few inches away from his spine. He scrambled to his feet, and only once he was back up did he realize that in the confusion, he'd dropped his revolver.
Alain went to reload his shotgun, but found that he was once again out of shells. He let out a muffled curse, then looked around for something he could use. Sable had told him that there were three ways to kill wights â removing the head, destroying the brain, andâŠ
Alain's gaze landed on a nearby lantern hanging from an abandoned shop, swinging precariously from a rope. Even from here, he could see oil sloshing around inside it. A manic grin crossed his face, and he immediately made a mad dash for it. He got lucky â the deputy was caught in the middle of a reload, and was unable to shoot him. Alain ripped the lantern off the building, then hurled it at Brayton; it shattered on impact, coating him with oil. Once that was done, Alain reached into his pocket and retrieved a match.
"Mom always said those cigarettes couldn't be good for me," he said to himself as he struck the match against the building, lighting it. He turned toward the deputy, still coated in oil, and his eyes narrowed.
"I wonder what she'd say if she could see this."
He flicked the lit match towards Brayton, watching as it soared through the air. The flame made impact with the oil-slick deputy, and he caught alight immediately. An inhuman screech erupted from Brayton's throat, loud enough that Alain winced and had to cover both his ears. Brayton fell to the ground, his revolver dropping against the dirt and discharging harmlessly into the air as he rolled to try and put out the fire, but it was no use. In a matter of seconds, his movements stopped completely, his body reduced to little more than a charred corpse.
That wasn't enough for Alain. He sprinted over to where his Colt had fallen, retrieved it, and emptied the cylinder into what was left of Brayton's head, just for good measure. The body didn't even twitch as the rounds made impact, and by the end of it, his head had been reduced to little more than a jawbone still attached to the neck. Alain stood there for a moment, panting from exertion, before letting his arm fall.
Footsteps took him by surprise, and he rounded on them, only to relax when he saw that it was Felix, and he was apparently completely unharmed. The two exchanged a glance, and Felix's eyes widened.
"ShitâŠ" he breathed. "What happened to you? You're covered in blood."
"I killed Brayton."
"Yes, I can see that. But did you have to put yourself through a meat grinder to do it?"
"Is Timms dead?" Alain asked.
"Yeah, he's done."
"How'd it happen?"
"I shot him in the head a bunch with my rifle. Why didn't you just do that to Brayton?"
Alain just scowled. Before he could reply, there were more footsteps â they both looked over and saw Sable and Az approaching. Both of them seemed a lot worse for wear, sporting more grievous injuries than they had before. Still, as Sable approached, her eyes widened when she saw Alain lying there.
"What happened to him?" she asked.
"Got shot," he grunted. "Hey, you needed blood, right?"
"Well, yes, but-"
Alain didn't wait to hear anything else, instead loosening his tourniquet. The blood began to flow once more, and he motioned towards his shoulder.
"Help yourself for a bit."
Sable went red in the face, but her shame didn't stop her. She immediately moved over to him, then latched onto the wound on his shoulder and began to drink. Alain winced when he felt her teeth lock into him and her tongue begin to lap up his blood, but he didn't stop her.
"I'm gonna be sickâŠ" Felix said, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth as he watched the display in front of him.
Thankfully, Sable pulled herself away shortly after latching onto him. Alain turned towards her, and was surprised to see that many of her wounds were healed, though not all of them. Before he could inquire further about that, Sable began tearing strips off her gore-soaked dress, taking care to search for the few clean parts only, then wrapped his wound with them.
"You need a doctor," she declared. "But for now, that'll have to do. You can sit this one out if-"
"Stop," Alain managed to get out. "I'm not missing this. Help me up."
"Alain-"
"I said, help me up."
Sable hesitated, but ultimately obliged, pulling him to his feet. Alain stumbled a bit, lightheaded from pain and blood loss, but managed to maintain his footing. He slung his shotgun and reloaded his revolver, then turned back to the rest of them.
"Alright," he said. "To the mines."
Special thanks to my good friend and co-writer, Ickbard for the help with writing this story.
2024.05.16 01:17 woohooguy Thank you Carvana - Bridgecrest - SilverRock (5 year review)
I wanted to share my experience with the entire Carvana package now that our car is paid off and all monetary transactions with them are over.
This will get long, as it started in 2019.
We bought our 17' Rogue from Carvana in April of 2019. I was researching vehicles for close to 3 months before finally pulling the trigger on this particular model. It was about 34k miles, 2.5 years old, located in Illinois. I liked the geographic area for chances the vehicle hadn't seen a lot of snow for the first 2 years of it life as Carfax activity showed it was most likely in the southern part of the state.
I also chose this specific Rogue as the VIN indicated the vehicle was made in South Korea, as opposed to Tennessee. The difference is all Rogues made in South Korea received engines and CVT's from Japan, while US made models had engines from Japan or US, and CVT's from Mexico which was a no go for me. I will also go one more and state Korean labor for assembly is far more disciplined than what you find in the US and especially mexico. Fun fact for those still paying attention - The Nissan Rogue's that have the flat Nissan logo on the grille behind smoked plastic were made in South Korea. They stopped production there in early 2020.
What interested me in Carvana was-
After the soft credit pull and a single pay stub, Carvana pre-approved me for any car up to 90k, with zero money down. I laughed. Hard. I had decent credit but wasnt going to bury myself.
After I settled down to a few models, I worked through the trade-in portion of the site, and found it was real easy to get a quote to trade in our 2005 Escape XLT which was a great car, but in Ford fashion the frame was rotting away. I had a fair offer for the trade in, described it honestly.
We also opted for the SilverRock warranty. Nissan, CVT, etc.
The big sale!
After watching how quickly some cars came and went early on, I got everything I needed for the trade in. Scan of the title, picture of the milage, car pictures. We were putting 2k down on the car, so the cash was waiting in my account, ready for transfer or cashier check if we were going to go with Carvana final loan offer.
The day I pulled the trigger on our Rogue, the entire process took all of 20 minutes. I was amazed, and honestly thought at the time "This should be illegal for how easy that was".
The offer for Carvana finance was within a couple tenths of my credit union, so I opted to simplify the process and go with them. Carvana performed a hard pull on my credit, confirmed the terms, and required confirmation from my bank that the money for deposit was in my account. I provided my bank login credentials and the process was done in minutes.
I had to provide a copy of my license and items related to the trade in, and it was done, in literally 20 minutes. I wondered if I was making a mistake..
It was an amazing deal, every dealer in the area was selling the same model for well over 2k of what we paid, so the SilverRock warranty was pretty much free after the additional 500 discount off the final price of the car.
Delivery - Trade in!
It was delayed. Twice. Pretty disappointing. Some pretty lame excuses. Honestly I should have expected a reasonable delivery date as the I knew the car I bought was 1500 miles away, but Carvana makes unrealistic delivery promises and is my biggest gripe regarding them.
When delivery day finally came, the Rogue was everything I had hoped it would be. While on the delivery truck I asked to inspect the undercarriage, and the driver was super friendly and allowed me to take my time. I looked it all over, looking for rust, oil leaks, you name it and I found nothing nothing, including nothing suspect like it had been cleaned. It was a 2-ish year old car with light dirt and surface rust where you would expect.
Once the Rogue was unloaded I was free to look it over with a fine comb, pop the hood, check the fluids, look for dents and dings, paint issues, interior issues, you name it. I found nothing major, just some minor things like paint polish slag in small corners and what not. Interior was very clean and detailed.
While I was looking over the Rogue, the delivery driver was loading the trade-in. He took some pictures, verified the mileage, checked the "check engine" light was off and started loading it on his truck.
I live in Massachusetts with very strict license and registration requirements. A few days before the delivery, someone from the Danvers site reached out to me about the registration details. I was transferring the plates from the trade in and they were finalizing the paperwork. I was provided the new registration, and the delivery driver had the new registration in hand so we could just put the plates on the Rogue and be ready to roll.
I took the Rogue for a 20 minute test drive, signed off on the purchase and trade. Driver headed off with the trade in and that was it. Carvana never called or questioned what they gave me for the trade.
Post delivery!
The very next day I brought the Rogue to work, I work in transportation/logistics and my site has ASE mechanics that I know very well. I asked him to go over the Rogue with the white glove and let me know if they think anything is wrong, as I have 6 days to return the car. They did so and they didnt find anything, just amazed at how clean the undercarriage, engine, and fluids were.
If I didn't have access to an ASE certified mechanic in this situation that I really trusted, I would have paid for a purchase inspection from a Nissan dealer. I did pay for the trusted inspection, just not in dollars lol.
After the personal vehicle inspection, my wife and I took off for a long weekend road trip roaming the White mountains of New Hampshire. Three days across many miles that easily blew out the initial vehicle 7 day warranty mileage. The Rogue was amazing through the mountains getting a ridiculous 30mpg through the entire trip. I wasn't concerned as people I trust cleared the car, and I also had the SilverRock warranty to cover the rest..
Speaking of warranty..
SilverRock!
The first, and pretty much only issue with the Rogue, was at about 48k miles. Massachusetts has a comprehensive yearly vehicle inspection program. At about 48k miles, the Rogue failed inspection for a bad inner tie rod, passenger side. Contacted SilverRock, and they gave me the local network shop here in Massachusetts, Monro.Monro is a regional repair shop here in MA with many locations. I take the Rogue to them and they diagnose that indeed the passenger side inner tie rod has gone bad. Repair tech states he has never seen one go bad on a Nissan at the current mileage.
The service manager starts looking around for the parts, called about 5 places, then calls a Nissan dealer. The Nissan dealer informs him the inner tie rod is not available for the 17, the only way to to repair the defect is replace the entire electric steering rack which comes with the inner and outer tie rods complete.
I call SilverRock with the service manager. I provide my name and vehicle make, SilverRock knows who I am right away. SilverRock rep asks whats wrong, service manager laid it down. SilverRock rep transfers us to a manager, manager asked about a few more details and then asked the service manager of Monro to send the estimate.
I get a call from the manager of Monro the next day, he said he went back and forth with SilverRock for about 20 minutes and got the entire job covered, throwing in a free front end alignment, for 1500 dollars using a genuine Nissan OEM steering rack.
SilverRock paid everything but the 100 dollar deductible. I picked up the Rogue 2 days later, paid 100, and went back for inspection. It passed.
Anyone reading this that knows about car repair, an inner tie rod costs maybe 150 dollars OEM. The fact it wasn't available and they had to replace the entire rack was absurd, yet they did it with a new OEM rack. At the time SilverRock could have required a rack used from a salvage yard, but they didn't.
I have nothing but positive things to say about SilverRock.
Bridgecrest!!
The silent partner.
I have NEVER spoken to someone at Bridgecrest. I have never called them. They have never called me.
I have NEVER emailed Bridgecrest. They have emailed me every single month for the life of my loan, after making a payment.
They fronted me the money, and expected it back. I paid it back, as expected. On time.
5 stars, and they will return the favor on my credit now that the loan is clear.
WHY YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY
Do your homework - buying a car is a capital investment in your future that loses money. You need a car to be reliable for your job, your family, your life. You need to spend money on a regular basis to keep that car reliable, on top of your car payment.
Know your budget - Dont fall for finance traps. Only buy what you can comfortably afford, again, owning a car costs you more money than what's on the final loan payment.
Get your car inspected ASAP - Pay a dealer for a purchase inspection. Schedule it ahead of time. Inform Carvana of the issues within 3 days of delivery and ask them to pick up the car. Carvana will make the car right, as they dont want to take the car back from qualified buyers. Keep on top of them until the car is what was expected.
Why Carvana may be bad for you
You have bad credit - Better know what you are signing on for. The majority of complaints in this sub are from people that have bad credit, cant read, and cant learn from past mistakes. Thats a personal problem, not a Carvana problem.
Closing
Aside from some delays in delivery, We have had an amazing 5 year journey with Carvana and associated companies. Our Rogue is now at over 100k miles and still drives and looks like new. We perform all maintenance as required, without question.
Living in MA, the last 5 years our Rogue has taken us thousands of miles over the White Mountains of New Hampshire, all through the Mountains of Maine, and multiple trips to Canada to visit the iconic Niagara Falls.
My wife travels every day for work, and the Rogue is her daily driver putting 3k miles on the clock every 2.5 months. We change the oil every 3k miles, perform the required CVT services at the dealer, and keep the tires rotated every 8K.
The tires that came on the Rogue from Carvana were in fact new, but the kind of tires that have a 30k mile treadwear warranty. The first snowy New England day we slipped through a stop sign in light snow, the next week we replaced the tires all around with BF Goodrich Advantage TA sport tires and the Rogue has been amazing in the snow ever since.
After getting our Rogue, my coworker was so impressed he bought not 1, but 2 cars from Carvana. Bastard got both cars delivered on time, on the same day, from different parts of the country.. I was so jealous lol. His cars had some minor issues, but Carvana took car of them.
My daughter bought a Nissan as well from Carvana. It had a few front end issues, but ultimately was taken care of through constant communication with Carvana during the 7 day test drive.
Will I use Carvana again? Yes.
Will it be soon? Not really.
Our other car is a Hyundai and running strong.
Hope some of my diatribe will be useful to anyone considering Carvana as usually is all bad mouth drival posted here.
submitted by woohooguy to carvana [link] [comments]
This will get long, as it started in 2019.
We bought our 17' Rogue from Carvana in April of 2019. I was researching vehicles for close to 3 months before finally pulling the trigger on this particular model. It was about 34k miles, 2.5 years old, located in Illinois. I liked the geographic area for chances the vehicle hadn't seen a lot of snow for the first 2 years of it life as Carfax activity showed it was most likely in the southern part of the state.
I also chose this specific Rogue as the VIN indicated the vehicle was made in South Korea, as opposed to Tennessee. The difference is all Rogues made in South Korea received engines and CVT's from Japan, while US made models had engines from Japan or US, and CVT's from Mexico which was a no go for me. I will also go one more and state Korean labor for assembly is far more disciplined than what you find in the US and especially mexico. Fun fact for those still paying attention - The Nissan Rogue's that have the flat Nissan logo on the grille behind smoked plastic were made in South Korea. They stopped production there in early 2020.
What interested me in Carvana was-
- Buying a car is the sleaziest most frustrating process from a dealer
- I could hand pick from an inventory of cars across the country willing to pay for delivery
- They offered me 500 dollars off the final price of a car in a letter campaign, as they were still growing
After the soft credit pull and a single pay stub, Carvana pre-approved me for any car up to 90k, with zero money down. I laughed. Hard. I had decent credit but wasnt going to bury myself.
After I settled down to a few models, I worked through the trade-in portion of the site, and found it was real easy to get a quote to trade in our 2005 Escape XLT which was a great car, but in Ford fashion the frame was rotting away. I had a fair offer for the trade in, described it honestly.
We also opted for the SilverRock warranty. Nissan, CVT, etc.
The big sale!
After watching how quickly some cars came and went early on, I got everything I needed for the trade in. Scan of the title, picture of the milage, car pictures. We were putting 2k down on the car, so the cash was waiting in my account, ready for transfer or cashier check if we were going to go with Carvana final loan offer.
The day I pulled the trigger on our Rogue, the entire process took all of 20 minutes. I was amazed, and honestly thought at the time "This should be illegal for how easy that was".
The offer for Carvana finance was within a couple tenths of my credit union, so I opted to simplify the process and go with them. Carvana performed a hard pull on my credit, confirmed the terms, and required confirmation from my bank that the money for deposit was in my account. I provided my bank login credentials and the process was done in minutes.
I had to provide a copy of my license and items related to the trade in, and it was done, in literally 20 minutes. I wondered if I was making a mistake..
It was an amazing deal, every dealer in the area was selling the same model for well over 2k of what we paid, so the SilverRock warranty was pretty much free after the additional 500 discount off the final price of the car.
Delivery - Trade in!
It was delayed. Twice. Pretty disappointing. Some pretty lame excuses. Honestly I should have expected a reasonable delivery date as the I knew the car I bought was 1500 miles away, but Carvana makes unrealistic delivery promises and is my biggest gripe regarding them.
When delivery day finally came, the Rogue was everything I had hoped it would be. While on the delivery truck I asked to inspect the undercarriage, and the driver was super friendly and allowed me to take my time. I looked it all over, looking for rust, oil leaks, you name it and I found nothing nothing, including nothing suspect like it had been cleaned. It was a 2-ish year old car with light dirt and surface rust where you would expect.
Once the Rogue was unloaded I was free to look it over with a fine comb, pop the hood, check the fluids, look for dents and dings, paint issues, interior issues, you name it. I found nothing major, just some minor things like paint polish slag in small corners and what not. Interior was very clean and detailed.
While I was looking over the Rogue, the delivery driver was loading the trade-in. He took some pictures, verified the mileage, checked the "check engine" light was off and started loading it on his truck.
I live in Massachusetts with very strict license and registration requirements. A few days before the delivery, someone from the Danvers site reached out to me about the registration details. I was transferring the plates from the trade in and they were finalizing the paperwork. I was provided the new registration, and the delivery driver had the new registration in hand so we could just put the plates on the Rogue and be ready to roll.
I took the Rogue for a 20 minute test drive, signed off on the purchase and trade. Driver headed off with the trade in and that was it. Carvana never called or questioned what they gave me for the trade.
Post delivery!
The very next day I brought the Rogue to work, I work in transportation/logistics and my site has ASE mechanics that I know very well. I asked him to go over the Rogue with the white glove and let me know if they think anything is wrong, as I have 6 days to return the car. They did so and they didnt find anything, just amazed at how clean the undercarriage, engine, and fluids were.
If I didn't have access to an ASE certified mechanic in this situation that I really trusted, I would have paid for a purchase inspection from a Nissan dealer. I did pay for the trusted inspection, just not in dollars lol.
After the personal vehicle inspection, my wife and I took off for a long weekend road trip roaming the White mountains of New Hampshire. Three days across many miles that easily blew out the initial vehicle 7 day warranty mileage. The Rogue was amazing through the mountains getting a ridiculous 30mpg through the entire trip. I wasn't concerned as people I trust cleared the car, and I also had the SilverRock warranty to cover the rest..
Speaking of warranty..
SilverRock!
The first, and pretty much only issue with the Rogue, was at about 48k miles. Massachusetts has a comprehensive yearly vehicle inspection program. At about 48k miles, the Rogue failed inspection for a bad inner tie rod, passenger side. Contacted SilverRock, and they gave me the local network shop here in Massachusetts, Monro.Monro is a regional repair shop here in MA with many locations. I take the Rogue to them and they diagnose that indeed the passenger side inner tie rod has gone bad. Repair tech states he has never seen one go bad on a Nissan at the current mileage.
The service manager starts looking around for the parts, called about 5 places, then calls a Nissan dealer. The Nissan dealer informs him the inner tie rod is not available for the 17, the only way to to repair the defect is replace the entire electric steering rack which comes with the inner and outer tie rods complete.
I call SilverRock with the service manager. I provide my name and vehicle make, SilverRock knows who I am right away. SilverRock rep asks whats wrong, service manager laid it down. SilverRock rep transfers us to a manager, manager asked about a few more details and then asked the service manager of Monro to send the estimate.
I get a call from the manager of Monro the next day, he said he went back and forth with SilverRock for about 20 minutes and got the entire job covered, throwing in a free front end alignment, for 1500 dollars using a genuine Nissan OEM steering rack.
SilverRock paid everything but the 100 dollar deductible. I picked up the Rogue 2 days later, paid 100, and went back for inspection. It passed.
Anyone reading this that knows about car repair, an inner tie rod costs maybe 150 dollars OEM. The fact it wasn't available and they had to replace the entire rack was absurd, yet they did it with a new OEM rack. At the time SilverRock could have required a rack used from a salvage yard, but they didn't.
I have nothing but positive things to say about SilverRock.
Bridgecrest!!
The silent partner.
I have NEVER spoken to someone at Bridgecrest. I have never called them. They have never called me.
I have NEVER emailed Bridgecrest. They have emailed me every single month for the life of my loan, after making a payment.
They fronted me the money, and expected it back. I paid it back, as expected. On time.
5 stars, and they will return the favor on my credit now that the loan is clear.
WHY YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY
Do your homework - buying a car is a capital investment in your future that loses money. You need a car to be reliable for your job, your family, your life. You need to spend money on a regular basis to keep that car reliable, on top of your car payment.
Know your budget - Dont fall for finance traps. Only buy what you can comfortably afford, again, owning a car costs you more money than what's on the final loan payment.
Get your car inspected ASAP - Pay a dealer for a purchase inspection. Schedule it ahead of time. Inform Carvana of the issues within 3 days of delivery and ask them to pick up the car. Carvana will make the car right, as they dont want to take the car back from qualified buyers. Keep on top of them until the car is what was expected.
Why Carvana may be bad for you
You have bad credit - Better know what you are signing on for. The majority of complaints in this sub are from people that have bad credit, cant read, and cant learn from past mistakes. Thats a personal problem, not a Carvana problem.
Closing
Aside from some delays in delivery, We have had an amazing 5 year journey with Carvana and associated companies. Our Rogue is now at over 100k miles and still drives and looks like new. We perform all maintenance as required, without question.
Living in MA, the last 5 years our Rogue has taken us thousands of miles over the White Mountains of New Hampshire, all through the Mountains of Maine, and multiple trips to Canada to visit the iconic Niagara Falls.
My wife travels every day for work, and the Rogue is her daily driver putting 3k miles on the clock every 2.5 months. We change the oil every 3k miles, perform the required CVT services at the dealer, and keep the tires rotated every 8K.
The tires that came on the Rogue from Carvana were in fact new, but the kind of tires that have a 30k mile treadwear warranty. The first snowy New England day we slipped through a stop sign in light snow, the next week we replaced the tires all around with BF Goodrich Advantage TA sport tires and the Rogue has been amazing in the snow ever since.
After getting our Rogue, my coworker was so impressed he bought not 1, but 2 cars from Carvana. Bastard got both cars delivered on time, on the same day, from different parts of the country.. I was so jealous lol. His cars had some minor issues, but Carvana took car of them.
My daughter bought a Nissan as well from Carvana. It had a few front end issues, but ultimately was taken care of through constant communication with Carvana during the 7 day test drive.
Will I use Carvana again? Yes.
Will it be soon? Not really.
Our other car is a Hyundai and running strong.
Hope some of my diatribe will be useful to anyone considering Carvana as usually is all bad mouth drival posted here.
2024.05.16 01:07 Mrmander20 [Hard Luck Hermit] 2 - Chapter 7: Early Retirements
Two years ago, Corey Vash got abducted by aliens, and a few months after that, he saved the universe -even if it was mostly on accident. Thanks to the skills of his new bounty hunter friends and no small amount of luck, Corey Vash saved the day, but hero status isnât all its cracked up to be. The parades and the free drinks are over, leaving the bounty hunters with nothing but the expectations of a frightened universe and the overbearing attention of governments who want picture perfect heroes the only mostly sober crew arenât cut out to be. With the shadow of another invasion still looming, a murderous new threat starts to stalk their every move, forcing Corey and the crew of the Wild Card Wanderer to move past the mess of bullets, booze, and blind luck thatâs kept them alive and become actual heroes -even if they arenât very good at it.
[First Book][Previous Chapter][Cover Art][Patreon]
Though Kamak did not accept the âjobâ to attend the new military installationâs unveiling, he still kept an eye on it. The Wild Card Wanderer had taken to the stars, orbiting Centerpoint at a distance, to watch the installation far away from any pomp and ceremony. The massive gun battery drifted into place and was joined to the rest of Centerpointâs honeycombed platforms, fusing the weapons to the neighboring residential and business districts. The platform full of short-range cluster armaments was an effective deterrent to any Horuk attacks, and a blighted eyesore on the otherwise sleek, modern space station.
Kamak scowled. Centerpoint had been designed as the shining beacon for universal society, the best of everything cooperation could accomplish. Now theyâd strapped a gun to it. There had always been outlying defensive stations and security fleets, but seeing a cluster of guns the size of a small city right next to the arts district felt different. It felt wrong.
âI donât like any of this,â Kamak said. âSmells like theyâre up to something.â
Kamak had, naturally, gotten his crew up to speed on everything Ghost had said, to predictably mixed reactions.
âLuckily for us, I think their intent is fairly transparent,â Farsus said. âThey see more value in us as propaganda than as bounty hunters.â
âItâs never that simple,â Corey sighed.
âNo offense, Corvash, but youâre a little paranoid to begin with,â Tooley said. âAnd the whole Morrakesh thing probably didnât help.â
Corey owned a laser sword now, and he still carried a knife in his boot everywhere he went. Heâd also insisted on installing an upgraded security system in the Wild Card Wanderer, and, thanks to the fact that Tooley now slept next to him regularly, she knew he was an incredibly light sleeper, frequently waking with a start at even the smallest noise.
âHow is some secret Ghost assassin guy showing up to threaten us not something to be worried about?â
âI just think Farsus has a point,â Tooley said. âNow that weâre bigshot heroes they want us retired so we canât fuck up and get ourselves killed or embarrass ourselves.â
âIâd think youâd be more offended by that,â Corey said.
âI am very offended, but theyâre also giving me lots of money,â Tooley said. As boring as the rich people gigs were, they paid well. âItâs creating some very conflicting emotions.â
Tooley had an ego the size of a galaxy, but a love of money that was just as big if not bigger. She had already paid off the sizable cost of the Wild Card Wanderer, and was stocking up savings for the future, and maybe even a new, better ship.
âGod, I know,â Kamak said. The money was making it very hard to be as mad as he wanted to be. Having been on the bad side of a conspiracy to make the entire universe hate him, he found it hard to be mad about a conspiracy to keep him famous and successful. âIâd almost rather they were being assholes about it. Itâd make it a lot easier to be mad.â
âWe keep being stubborn about it, weâll probably get them there,â Corey said.
âWell Iâm real good at being stubborn,â Kamak said. âSo I guess weâll find out.â
âDo we have to?â
All eyes went to Doprel. His massive frame looked hollow and deflated.
âWhatâs the point?â Doprel asked. âWhatâs the endgame? Whereâs our win condition? Even as a matter of pride, like, to prove weâre not fuckups, isnât saving the universe enough for that?â
Kamak nodded. That was a pretty big boost to the ego.
âMaybe it is a good idea for us to quit while weâre ahead,â Doprel said. âEven just logistically speaking, itâs going to be fucking hard to top stopping the Invasion, guys.â
âYeah, well, thatâs an easier choice for you guys to make than me,â Kamak said. âRest of you fuckers are going to be dead in a few decades. I still got the better part of three centuries in me, at least.â
Kamak leaned back in his seat and watched the guns on Centerpoint spring to life, scanning the stars for any sign of an incoming threat. For a moment, one of the colossal guns turned their direction, and Kamak stared right down the barrel. Corey watched the guns turn as they all drifted through empty space.
âDo you guys want to take a vacation?â
âVacation? Now?â
âYeah,â Corey said. âWe havenât really taken a breather since we stopped the Invasion. I think maybe we all need to take some time to relax and unpack.â
âI donât know. Feels like weâd be giving these assholes a taste of what they want.â
âLet them think that,â Corey said. âLetâs take a break. Not think about work for a while, and see how we feel about retiring or not retiring in a week or two.â
âYou want to take some time off, I wonât stop you,â Kamak said. âTake your vacation, if you want.â
âIf heâs going, Iâm going,â Tooley said.
âAh, of course you are,â Kamak said. âI try to forget you two are shacked up.â
âYou can always pay for shuttles,â Tooley said. âIâm not the only pilot in the universe. Even if I am the best.â
âNot ditching me that easily,â Kamak said. âFine. You kids pick somewhere to go and take your fucking vacation. Iâll get dragged along.â
submitted by Mrmander20 to redditserials [link] [comments]
[First Book][Previous Chapter][Cover Art][Patreon]
Though Kamak did not accept the âjobâ to attend the new military installationâs unveiling, he still kept an eye on it. The Wild Card Wanderer had taken to the stars, orbiting Centerpoint at a distance, to watch the installation far away from any pomp and ceremony. The massive gun battery drifted into place and was joined to the rest of Centerpointâs honeycombed platforms, fusing the weapons to the neighboring residential and business districts. The platform full of short-range cluster armaments was an effective deterrent to any Horuk attacks, and a blighted eyesore on the otherwise sleek, modern space station.
Kamak scowled. Centerpoint had been designed as the shining beacon for universal society, the best of everything cooperation could accomplish. Now theyâd strapped a gun to it. There had always been outlying defensive stations and security fleets, but seeing a cluster of guns the size of a small city right next to the arts district felt different. It felt wrong.
âI donât like any of this,â Kamak said. âSmells like theyâre up to something.â
Kamak had, naturally, gotten his crew up to speed on everything Ghost had said, to predictably mixed reactions.
âLuckily for us, I think their intent is fairly transparent,â Farsus said. âThey see more value in us as propaganda than as bounty hunters.â
âItâs never that simple,â Corey sighed.
âNo offense, Corvash, but youâre a little paranoid to begin with,â Tooley said. âAnd the whole Morrakesh thing probably didnât help.â
Corey owned a laser sword now, and he still carried a knife in his boot everywhere he went. Heâd also insisted on installing an upgraded security system in the Wild Card Wanderer, and, thanks to the fact that Tooley now slept next to him regularly, she knew he was an incredibly light sleeper, frequently waking with a start at even the smallest noise.
âHow is some secret Ghost assassin guy showing up to threaten us not something to be worried about?â
âI just think Farsus has a point,â Tooley said. âNow that weâre bigshot heroes they want us retired so we canât fuck up and get ourselves killed or embarrass ourselves.â
âIâd think youâd be more offended by that,â Corey said.
âI am very offended, but theyâre also giving me lots of money,â Tooley said. As boring as the rich people gigs were, they paid well. âItâs creating some very conflicting emotions.â
Tooley had an ego the size of a galaxy, but a love of money that was just as big if not bigger. She had already paid off the sizable cost of the Wild Card Wanderer, and was stocking up savings for the future, and maybe even a new, better ship.
âGod, I know,â Kamak said. The money was making it very hard to be as mad as he wanted to be. Having been on the bad side of a conspiracy to make the entire universe hate him, he found it hard to be mad about a conspiracy to keep him famous and successful. âIâd almost rather they were being assholes about it. Itâd make it a lot easier to be mad.â
âWe keep being stubborn about it, weâll probably get them there,â Corey said.
âWell Iâm real good at being stubborn,â Kamak said. âSo I guess weâll find out.â
âDo we have to?â
All eyes went to Doprel. His massive frame looked hollow and deflated.
âWhatâs the point?â Doprel asked. âWhatâs the endgame? Whereâs our win condition? Even as a matter of pride, like, to prove weâre not fuckups, isnât saving the universe enough for that?â
Kamak nodded. That was a pretty big boost to the ego.
âMaybe it is a good idea for us to quit while weâre ahead,â Doprel said. âEven just logistically speaking, itâs going to be fucking hard to top stopping the Invasion, guys.â
âYeah, well, thatâs an easier choice for you guys to make than me,â Kamak said. âRest of you fuckers are going to be dead in a few decades. I still got the better part of three centuries in me, at least.â
Kamak leaned back in his seat and watched the guns on Centerpoint spring to life, scanning the stars for any sign of an incoming threat. For a moment, one of the colossal guns turned their direction, and Kamak stared right down the barrel. Corey watched the guns turn as they all drifted through empty space.
âDo you guys want to take a vacation?â
âVacation? Now?â
âYeah,â Corey said. âWe havenât really taken a breather since we stopped the Invasion. I think maybe we all need to take some time to relax and unpack.â
âI donât know. Feels like weâd be giving these assholes a taste of what they want.â
âLet them think that,â Corey said. âLetâs take a break. Not think about work for a while, and see how we feel about retiring or not retiring in a week or two.â
âYou want to take some time off, I wonât stop you,â Kamak said. âTake your vacation, if you want.â
âIf heâs going, Iâm going,â Tooley said.
âAh, of course you are,â Kamak said. âI try to forget you two are shacked up.â
âYou can always pay for shuttles,â Tooley said. âIâm not the only pilot in the universe. Even if I am the best.â
âNot ditching me that easily,â Kamak said. âFine. You kids pick somewhere to go and take your fucking vacation. Iâll get dragged along.â
2024.05.16 01:01 Chemical_Reideer1 Anybody ever had a PA dad?
Okay do where do I start? I figure that this post is suitable to post here because I feel like it has something to do with PA. So my dad has always been a good dad but I got a bunch of examples of him being a PA, the signs were all there when I was a kid but my mind was still developing.
-At my parents wedding in the 90s, he got drunk and was grabbing EVERY woman's ass dancing! Including my mom's sisters, my grandma, etc. Being drunk is no excuse but now that I think about it, it does make me shudder. That's so gross omg like it really is wild. If I were my mom I would've caused a scene and the wedding would be canceled. Just how nasty do you have to be? And to do that with his side of the family there!! Madness
-When I was under 10 years old, he told me that women were objects after I said that they were people.
-when my mom and him were out on a date , she told me he flat out was staring at a black lady's đ in front of her
-When I was a kid I stumbled upon porn magazines and would look at them sometimes. I always thought porn was cheating even as a kid, I did feel sad for my mom at the time too.
-when my dad would take my brother and I to the dentist , he would leave us in the car for an hour or more to go to an adult video shop. Looking back, why couldn't have that been done on his free time when he was alone? Was he really that controlled by his last?
-also when I was a kid , there was this show on spike called manswers and it was pretty sexual. He would watch that show in front of me, which is pretty odd.
-also as a kid, I was at my grandma's house from my mom's side and the male family members were in the garage, and I was in there too. I see my dad flipping through a magazine with scantily clad women (the magazine was my older cousins, which he isn't any better)
-Dated a 13 year old when he was 18 and their families knew -when he first made an IG account (he's a boomer), he was following some women younger than me (I'm 24), it's weird as fuck. Shouldn't ones taste in women change as they get older?
I'm telling yall, I'm so fucked up from dating addicts as well. My dating life is no acception. It just sucks that so many guys are slaves to lust. I got severe trust issues. There is so many weak guys, what happened to real men? I don't want to but I find male sexuality very revolting. That is my vent. I feel like how my dad seen women is the root of why I think every guy will be that way even behind my back.
submitted by Chemical_Reideer1 to loveafterporn [link] [comments]
-At my parents wedding in the 90s, he got drunk and was grabbing EVERY woman's ass dancing! Including my mom's sisters, my grandma, etc. Being drunk is no excuse but now that I think about it, it does make me shudder. That's so gross omg like it really is wild. If I were my mom I would've caused a scene and the wedding would be canceled. Just how nasty do you have to be? And to do that with his side of the family there!! Madness
-When I was under 10 years old, he told me that women were objects after I said that they were people.
-when my mom and him were out on a date , she told me he flat out was staring at a black lady's đ in front of her
-When I was a kid I stumbled upon porn magazines and would look at them sometimes. I always thought porn was cheating even as a kid, I did feel sad for my mom at the time too.
-when my dad would take my brother and I to the dentist , he would leave us in the car for an hour or more to go to an adult video shop. Looking back, why couldn't have that been done on his free time when he was alone? Was he really that controlled by his last?
-also when I was a kid , there was this show on spike called manswers and it was pretty sexual. He would watch that show in front of me, which is pretty odd.
-also as a kid, I was at my grandma's house from my mom's side and the male family members were in the garage, and I was in there too. I see my dad flipping through a magazine with scantily clad women (the magazine was my older cousins, which he isn't any better)
-Dated a 13 year old when he was 18 and their families knew -when he first made an IG account (he's a boomer), he was following some women younger than me (I'm 24), it's weird as fuck. Shouldn't ones taste in women change as they get older?
I'm telling yall, I'm so fucked up from dating addicts as well. My dating life is no acception. It just sucks that so many guys are slaves to lust. I got severe trust issues. There is so many weak guys, what happened to real men? I don't want to but I find male sexuality very revolting. That is my vent. I feel like how my dad seen women is the root of why I think every guy will be that way even behind my back.
2024.05.16 00:52 secretredditman97 26M [M4F] USA - Looking for my partner in crime :)
TLDR - Straight male, 26, looking for a relationship preferably from USA but interested in long distance if we really click. Shoot me a DM if you'd like to talk :)
Hello! I hope everyone is having a phenomenal day today.
I will start this by saying I'm a yapper when it comes to introductions so I'll try my best to keep this short lol. My name is Caleb, I'm 26, and I live in the United States! I work in telecommunications as a project manager but I am (slowly) working on switching careers to data analytics because I think I'll have a better chance at making a long lasting career doing data analytics than I would project management.
Hobbies: I enjoy doing lots of things! I'm usually pretty laid back and open to do anything and I love joining in on my friends/partners hobbies. I mostly spend my free time going to the gym(working on getting healthier), listening to music, watching tv/movies (Harry potter is the best movie SERIES change my mind) and playing video games!
What am I looking for? I am looking for someone who IDEALLY lives in North America so it's easy to travel. Outside of NA is debatable, I think it would be quite hard to see each other, and the goal is definitely to close the distance. If I click with someone then i would be willing to make it work, however I am not interested in moving outside of America at this time, so if we were to have a long lasting relationship I would want you to move to America down the line.
I am also looking for someone with a good personality, a good sense of humor, and someone who can be as bubbly as I am but also be serious when it's needed. I think it's important to have that balance. I am looking for someone who is dating for the long term and someone to hopefully build a future with, I don't want something short term/casual. And most importantly I need someone who is a strong communicator as that is THE MOST important thing in a relationship IMO. Exercise has recently become pretty important too me in my life, not saying you HAVE to be into exercise haha but i think it would be cool to have an accountability buddy :)
Anyways, I tried to not make this too long but also not too short, did I succeed? Probably not, but I'll leave that up to you. If I sound somewhat interesting I'd love it if you shot me a message with an intro of yourself!!!
Start it off by answering this question: If you could drop everything and go on a 2 week paid vacation right now, where would it be and why?
I hope to hear from all of you, regardless have a fantastic day! :)
submitted by secretredditman97 to ForeverAloneDating [link] [comments]
Hello! I hope everyone is having a phenomenal day today.
I will start this by saying I'm a yapper when it comes to introductions so I'll try my best to keep this short lol. My name is Caleb, I'm 26, and I live in the United States! I work in telecommunications as a project manager but I am (slowly) working on switching careers to data analytics because I think I'll have a better chance at making a long lasting career doing data analytics than I would project management.
Hobbies: I enjoy doing lots of things! I'm usually pretty laid back and open to do anything and I love joining in on my friends/partners hobbies. I mostly spend my free time going to the gym(working on getting healthier), listening to music, watching tv/movies (Harry potter is the best movie SERIES change my mind) and playing video games!
What am I looking for? I am looking for someone who IDEALLY lives in North America so it's easy to travel. Outside of NA is debatable, I think it would be quite hard to see each other, and the goal is definitely to close the distance. If I click with someone then i would be willing to make it work, however I am not interested in moving outside of America at this time, so if we were to have a long lasting relationship I would want you to move to America down the line.
I am also looking for someone with a good personality, a good sense of humor, and someone who can be as bubbly as I am but also be serious when it's needed. I think it's important to have that balance. I am looking for someone who is dating for the long term and someone to hopefully build a future with, I don't want something short term/casual. And most importantly I need someone who is a strong communicator as that is THE MOST important thing in a relationship IMO. Exercise has recently become pretty important too me in my life, not saying you HAVE to be into exercise haha but i think it would be cool to have an accountability buddy :)
Anyways, I tried to not make this too long but also not too short, did I succeed? Probably not, but I'll leave that up to you. If I sound somewhat interesting I'd love it if you shot me a message with an intro of yourself!!!
Start it off by answering this question: If you could drop everything and go on a 2 week paid vacation right now, where would it be and why?
I hope to hear from all of you, regardless have a fantastic day! :)
2024.05.16 00:52 secretredditman97 26 [M4F] #Online Looking for my partner in crime :)
TLDR - Straight male, 26, looking for a relationship preferably from USA but interested in long distance if we really click. Shoot me a DM if you'd like to talk :)
Hello! I hope everyone is having a phenomenal day today.
I will start this by saying I'm a yapper when it comes to introductions so I'll try my best to keep this short lol. My name is Caleb, I'm 26, and I live in the United States! I work in telecommunications as a project manager but I am (slowly) working on switching careers to data analytics because I think I'll have a better chance at making a long lasting career doing data analytics than I would project management.
Hobbies: I enjoy doing lots of things! I'm usually pretty laid back and open to do anything and I love joining in on my friends/partners hobbies. I mostly spend my free time going to the gym(working on getting healthier), listening to music, watching tv/movies (Harry potter is the best movie SERIES change my mind) and playing video games!
What am I looking for? I am looking for someone who IDEALLY lives in North America so it's easy to travel. Outside of NA is debatable, I think it would be quite hard to see each other, and the goal is definitely to close the distance. If I click with someone then i would be willing to make it work, however I am not interested in moving outside of America at this time, so if we were to have a long lasting relationship I would want you to move to America down the line.
I am also looking for someone with a good personality, a good sense of humor, and someone who can be as bubbly as I am but also be serious when it's needed. I think it's important to have that balance. I am looking for someone who is dating for the long term and someone to hopefully build a future with, I don't want something short term/casual. And most importantly I need someone who is a strong communicator as that is THE MOST important thing in a relationship IMO. Exercise has recently become pretty important too me in my life, not saying you HAVE to be into exercise haha but i think it would be cool to have an accountability buddy :)
Anyways, I tried to not make this too long but also not too short, did I succeed? Probably not, but I'll leave that up to you. If I sound somewhat interesting I'd love it if you shot me a message with an intro of yourself!!!
Start it off by answering this question: If you could drop everything and go on a 2 week paid vacation right now, where would it be and why?
I hope to hear from all of you, regardless have a fantastic day! :)
submitted by secretredditman97 to r4r [link] [comments]
Hello! I hope everyone is having a phenomenal day today.
I will start this by saying I'm a yapper when it comes to introductions so I'll try my best to keep this short lol. My name is Caleb, I'm 26, and I live in the United States! I work in telecommunications as a project manager but I am (slowly) working on switching careers to data analytics because I think I'll have a better chance at making a long lasting career doing data analytics than I would project management.
Hobbies: I enjoy doing lots of things! I'm usually pretty laid back and open to do anything and I love joining in on my friends/partners hobbies. I mostly spend my free time going to the gym(working on getting healthier), listening to music, watching tv/movies (Harry potter is the best movie SERIES change my mind) and playing video games!
What am I looking for? I am looking for someone who IDEALLY lives in North America so it's easy to travel. Outside of NA is debatable, I think it would be quite hard to see each other, and the goal is definitely to close the distance. If I click with someone then i would be willing to make it work, however I am not interested in moving outside of America at this time, so if we were to have a long lasting relationship I would want you to move to America down the line.
I am also looking for someone with a good personality, a good sense of humor, and someone who can be as bubbly as I am but also be serious when it's needed. I think it's important to have that balance. I am looking for someone who is dating for the long term and someone to hopefully build a future with, I don't want something short term/casual. And most importantly I need someone who is a strong communicator as that is THE MOST important thing in a relationship IMO. Exercise has recently become pretty important too me in my life, not saying you HAVE to be into exercise haha but i think it would be cool to have an accountability buddy :)
Anyways, I tried to not make this too long but also not too short, did I succeed? Probably not, but I'll leave that up to you. If I sound somewhat interesting I'd love it if you shot me a message with an intro of yourself!!!
Start it off by answering this question: If you could drop everything and go on a 2 week paid vacation right now, where would it be and why?
I hope to hear from all of you, regardless have a fantastic day! :)
2024.05.16 00:49 AnnaNamyss Mama Makwa
I was invited by a couple of friends to go camping a few days ago. I'm honestly still exactly not sure if any of it was real, but I wish to share my story nonetheless. It began last Monday, when friend number Six invited friends One through Five to a girls get away. She claims to have found this beautiful spot in the mountain on one of her hikes and she says itâs perfect for seeing the stars at night. I was skeptical at first, to be honest I don't really like being outdoors, but it sounded like an experience worth having, so I thought "why not, this will be a wonderful memory to look back on!". I had just purchased a new camera as well, so I was honestly starting to warm up to the idea. I could take pictures of our excursion into the woods and make cute little picture frames for everyone for their birthdays, it would've been so cute! But things did not go at all as I had envisioned.
So the day of the trip arrives, a bit faster than I would've liked, but honestly I think I was just anxious about⊠I kept feeling this weight in my chest that made it uncomfortable to breathe, but I was going into the woods, strange things happen to women in movies; Jason Voorhees, Sasquatch, Shia LaBeouf! Who knows what could happen! Not to mention there is always the chance I could fall into a lake and get covered in leeches, or get surrounded by wolves, or chased up a tree by a bear⊠Hopefully a very soft bear so I'll at least know one pleasure before I die! There are all sorts of fears I had envisioned before the day of the trip, but anxiety just be like that.
I met up with my friends at the trail and learned that friend Six decided to bring her bf along, which I was upset about but I guess he was just going to get a hotel room nearby so he'd be close enough to her to feasibly show up if we needed any help. She later told us that he worries all the time because his father went missing in these woods years ago and he's worried the same might happen to her. This is where I learned that men tend to stay out of those woods because men have been going missing in those woods for years, but according to friend Six, she's been coming to this forest for a while now and hasn't had any bad experiences. Hearing that did oddly put me at ease, but now all I could wonder at the time was what happened to all those poor men.
Deep into the night we're all chit chatting, talking about where we are in our lives, things that are bugging us, what our hopes are, and dancing to the music of nature⊠but which of course I mean we got shit drunk, smoked some great wee, talked about sex, laughed over silly anime scenes, and twerked to slipknot girly bops!. It was such a fun night at that point that I honestly wish I could go back and never let that night end. It was intoxicating how beautiful the sky looked, and when gazed up it was almost like we could scoop the stars into our hands and sip from the sea of stars. I was worried we'd just be on our phones all night filming tiktoks or something but even with no signal, no one really seemed to be too stressed about it, we all just kind of felt safe⊠Almost welcomed into the forest, like being embraced by a loving mother. But unfortunately, heaven isn't forever, and men come not but to steal, kill, and destroy.
As we were drinking we decided to tell some scary stories⊠or well I decided to because I thought "it's so clichĂ© but we have to do it. It feels like tradition almost." plus I would've regretted it if we didn't do it, so fuck it, right? Right. So we go around telling scary stories to one another, and I mention to friend Six that I keep thinking about those poor men that went missing. I then asked if any women had gone missing, and surprisingly she said yes⊠it was way back in the 1800's but after that there had never been a single missing woman in that forest. The forest was actually named after the first young woman who went missing all those years back, and now there are all these rumors about it but I don't believe in that stuff so I didn't really pay much attention⊠I kept thinking "I'll just wait for the manga⊠or the shitty Hollywood cash grab of itâŠ" but I DO vaguely remember the history cause I find dark history lore to be super fascinating. So there was a time when the area had more indigenous citizens living here, before gentrification moved into town. She went on to tell us that indigenous people eventually began to keep to themselves because as more white people moved in, more of their daughters went missing. There are yearly parades to honor the missing daughters and to spread awareness to those living in the town. The police try to shut it down but they still do it every year.
Not long after hearing that we hear something howl in the distance. Friend Three howls back and friend Five falls on her out of her camping chair laughing. I tell them to knock it off because the last thing we need is for her to accidentally attract a wolf during mating season! I don't know if thatâs a thing, but it sounds like something thatâs a thing⊠So I'm just going to assume that it is. Don't judge me. She then says "But what if it's Taylor Lautner? Or Joe Manganiello? Personally⊠I'm more of a Meatloaf guy myself⊠But you know⊠RIP⊠But Joe is pretty fine and my mom did always hope I'd marry a black man to get melanin back in our family⊠But I don't think a splash of melanin is gonna override this asian/african skin so⊠Anyways! So these guys come walking past our camp site, and we're all drunk and high so we're already all on edge upon seeing random men this deep into the forest, but friend Four gets up and says "who the fuck are you and what're you doing here!?" One of the men quickly apologizes and tells us they're actually out here camping as well. They said a friend of theirs found this waterfall in the forest that glows because it captures the moon's light. Friend Two hears this and asks if we can go with them, to which we all begrudgingly agree.
At the "mooncuzi" I like to call it, we all sit around this beautiful natural pool lit up by the moon, and we were worried it would be cold but I was surprisingly warm, if I had to guess I'd assume there's a magma vein under there or something? Idk, I'm not a geologist or volcanologist, but something kept it warm and it wasn't my tiny bladder! Everyone was really relaxed and the guys honestly seemed super cool, and guy One honestly seemed really nice. I call him guy One because he's number 1 to me, we're still together now, and we even have another partner now, so yay! We all began talking and some of us were hitting it off, clearly⊠but we had all been drinking and smoking more which, honestly we had stopped⊠but we couldn't pass up the opportunity to get cross-faded in a mooncuzi. Nuh. Nope. Not on my watch. But someone clearly didn't get the vibe memo, because friend Two screams out "bro what the fuck I said no!"
The next thing we hear is "You don't have to yell about it like some kind of cunt!" Everyone runs over to try and figure out what's going on. Turns out guy Five didn't like being told no. He and friend Two were playing a drinking game with friends Three and Four and guy Three and Four. We learned that guy Five dared friend Two to take her top off, to which she said politely refused, and the guys didn't seem to like that. They tried to convince her it's part of the game. One of the guys said she was already in her underwear anyway, so she might as well⊠My guy, One, and guy Two scolded their friends for their behavior, which is why guy Two and friend Two are married now⊠Guess nice guys don't finish last, huh? Anyways, They scolded their friends for their behavior, I remember my guy yelling "you never speak to a woman like that!" and "If I ever catch you trying to peer pressure a woman again I'll take your testicals in my hand and squeeze on them slowly until I know what it's like to feel one pop in my hand." and it was honestly the hottest thing I've ever heard a man say⊠a bit violent⊠but fuck was I glad I was in the water!
Guys One and Two apologized for their friends' actions the whole way back. I asked them why they remained friends with them and guy One had gone off to college while guy Two went into the service, so the two of them had been away for a few years, but they swore their friends never used to be like that. This was actually supposed to be a reunion hike of sorts since they both happened to come back around the same time. After meeting up with guys Three, Four, and Five though, they realized their friends had been warped by these podcasts about alphas and betas and maximizing your sigma or something, and tried to convince him to listen to some pickup artist that claimed to know the secret to unlocking the female brain. Also known as, stupid useless slop grifters make to get rich off young boys with zero confidence and zero bitches. Lastly, he tells me guy Three was actually raised by a single mother alongside his two sisters, so he really wouldn't expect that kind of behavior from him. Guy Four was always sort of sketchy but they thought he was "just being funny", men right? The only thing they felt was weird about him was this one time when they were teens his sister moved away and he got really quiet afterwards, but then he dated a few people that looked almost identical to her, but for some reason he didn't see it, so they started calling him "little sister" (or did they? oooo) or "Lil" for short, joking he had an undiagnosed sister complex⊠Ew. Thatâs all Iâll say to that. The last guy, Five, they said always seemed fine to them, they didn't elaborate, so idk what their idea of "fine" is, sorry to disappoint.
Not long after we got back to the camp we heard engines in the distance, and as they got closer and closer we all stared in confusion. No one should be riding vehicles out this way, and friend 6 knows her bf wouldn't come out here without alerting us.
The vehicles stopped after surrounding us with their lights pointing right at us. We heard the familiar voices of guy Three, along with 4 new voices. He whined about how we hyurt his widdle feefees or something obnoxious. I tried to listen but it's just so hard to listen to some overgrown pissbaby go on about their fragile ego. Guys One and Two went to confront guy Three and his posse, asking why they didnât wait at the car. Guy Three told them they wouldnât understand because theyâve given themselves over to feminist ideas and allowed themselves to become beta cucks. He told them that simps deserve to die so other men wonât be warped by feminist witch pussy magic like they have⊠Like we just met these guys and heâs already acting like we had sex⊠This man's logic was like a runaway train, the cars are all there but they ainât making it to their destination. Guys One and Two continue to argue with guys Three, Four, and Five, before guys Six and seven come up behind them and put knives to their necks. At this moment I noticed a gleam in guy Threeâs eyes. He now thinks heâs invincible⊠I can see the depravity in his eyes as he looks upon friend Two, stripping her down in his mind, imagining all the sick things heâll do. And as if to validate my suspicions, he walks up to her and says âYou never did complete that dare⊠How about we start a new game⊠But this time we wonât have any need for truths.â I watch as fear washes over Twoâs face, as she begins to imagine what he is implying, almost as if his depraved thoughts were being projected into her mind, instilling suffering on her before he had even begun to touch her. She catches herself, refusing to give him the satisfaction of fear and spits in his face. She then tells him âyou couldnât even please your hand with a prick that small.â The look of anger on his face was honestly delectable. If I could, I would put it on canvas and call it âPortrait of a Scorned Manâ or âMan who just realized being a dick doesnât make yours biggerâ. ANYWAYS, he then began to yell something about "it's up to real men to show women their place in society!" OOO so angwy! They started circling around us like starving wolves. One of them placed themselves against friend Fiveâs back and said "I always wondered if trans women looked different down there." Which angered friend Five, but not as much as it did friend Four who tends to be a bit of a hot head.
Friend Four may look like a pretty cute petite princess, but she's manlier than most men I know. She's a competitive marksman, as well as being a gymrat who likes to build cars on the weekends. She's also the girlfriend of friend Five, not that thatâs important but I feel like it should be important. So anyways, she starts blasting right? And one of these guys yells "what the fuck theyâve got funs!? Who the fuck gave these stupid bitches guns!?" I then hear one of them try to antagonize her by saying "pretty young thang like you shouldn't be carrying such a big piece until she's used to it! AYO!" So she shot a round off at the tree he took shelter behind as if to mock him by letting him know his life is in her hands⊠She looked like a real boss bitch, like for real! That girl is HIM! She has always been him, she will always be him! While this was taking place, friend Six reached out to her boyfriend now that we could finally use the radio without fear of them taking it. We explained what was happening and asked him to bring help. He told us to tie the button down and to hide it from sight so that he could listen in while he headed to the station to get help. I feel so bad for that man, having to listen to all those screams, feeling completely powerless to do anything in the moment, but weâre so thankful to him for being there in the way that he was.
Gun fire kept ringing out as Four kept firing rounds into the forests yelling âI shoot to maim!â and âYouâre not safe here!â hoping to scare the men enough to make them retreat because none of them seemed to have rifles on them⊠But then we hear it⊠The first scream⊠Everyone freezes in their tracks, their heart stilled by this sudden shriek of terror that seemed to only further race towards the all consuming darkness. The moment it stopped nothing remained but the slow encroaching crawl of raindrops and the rapid beating drums of the fear in our hearts. It's then that the rain came down like a closing curtain on the chapter of our innocence, because thatâs when we heard the second scream, a scream just as chilling as the first, ascending high into the tree tops before we see something that shocks everyone to their core; the haunting image of a manâs face still screaming, a face still unaware its going to meet, a face that still hopes to be saved but never will. Within unison, as if hell had a chorus, we all screamed in silence as we turned to run. With no other means of safety, my friends, guys One and Two, as well as myself ran for the tent. We don't really know what happened after we got into the tent, but not a second went by that we didn't think we wouldn't be next. We know better now, but in that moment I felt both relief and fear for my life. I just kept thinking how lucky I was that I was fortunate enough to die with my dignity still intact⊠I kept thinking "at least those man babies didn't get to do whatever depravity they had in mind"
Well by now everyone knows what happened, it's been on the news. Those 3 guys and all of their cronies turned up missing⊠But what the news won't tell you is that we were saved by Mama Makwa, we call her that due to the sounds we heard, as well as the site we saw afterwards. The bellowing sound of vengeance that came in the form of a bearâs roar was as loud as the mean screaming they saw a 9 ft tall bear with skin dripping off of its bone like fur. We later learned that men referred to it as âSlippy Skinâ aka "Wejuk", as it seemed the bear would change appearance depending on who gazed upon its visage, but this was not "Wejuk". One by one, we heard those men scream for their lives, describing a creature with a mouth made of human hands that had palms covered by teeth shaped like hypodermic needles. It had claws that seemed like stone daggers that were etched by native americans. They warned each other "Don't look into its eyes!" before proclaiming how sorry they were for the things they'd done⊠They complained of the putrid stench suffocating them as they were pulled into its gaping maw. They screamed of the creatures rotting viscous flesh melting into their own, and making their skin a part of it, as if their skins were fuel for the fear this best could instill by its mere dominion over them. But we never saw that creature⊠Instead, after the screams stopped, we were greeted by this beautiful creature that looked like a bear, only it had this glow about it, and its fur seemed almost like the softest of opalescent feathers. Its eyes looked just like the aurora borealis, and she was mesmerizing. We felt safe, and welcomed, and most of all protected⊠After everything that happened, I think we will be coming back, because we know Mama Makwa will be there to protect us. We believe Mama Makwa is an avenging spirit born from the fear those women felt, here to make sure no other women ever have to suffer like they did within this forest. We also now understand why those men all went missing. My boyfriend and friend Two's husband weren't attacked by Mama Makwa⊠Only the men who felt any sort of ill intent toward us women that night saw Mama Makwa in that form, the form they confused for Slippy⊠But knowing there is a safe haven for women out there, I'm thinking we will have another girls night next year, anybody wanna come?
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So the day of the trip arrives, a bit faster than I would've liked, but honestly I think I was just anxious about⊠I kept feeling this weight in my chest that made it uncomfortable to breathe, but I was going into the woods, strange things happen to women in movies; Jason Voorhees, Sasquatch, Shia LaBeouf! Who knows what could happen! Not to mention there is always the chance I could fall into a lake and get covered in leeches, or get surrounded by wolves, or chased up a tree by a bear⊠Hopefully a very soft bear so I'll at least know one pleasure before I die! There are all sorts of fears I had envisioned before the day of the trip, but anxiety just be like that.
I met up with my friends at the trail and learned that friend Six decided to bring her bf along, which I was upset about but I guess he was just going to get a hotel room nearby so he'd be close enough to her to feasibly show up if we needed any help. She later told us that he worries all the time because his father went missing in these woods years ago and he's worried the same might happen to her. This is where I learned that men tend to stay out of those woods because men have been going missing in those woods for years, but according to friend Six, she's been coming to this forest for a while now and hasn't had any bad experiences. Hearing that did oddly put me at ease, but now all I could wonder at the time was what happened to all those poor men.
Deep into the night we're all chit chatting, talking about where we are in our lives, things that are bugging us, what our hopes are, and dancing to the music of nature⊠but which of course I mean we got shit drunk, smoked some great wee, talked about sex, laughed over silly anime scenes, and twerked to slipknot girly bops!. It was such a fun night at that point that I honestly wish I could go back and never let that night end. It was intoxicating how beautiful the sky looked, and when gazed up it was almost like we could scoop the stars into our hands and sip from the sea of stars. I was worried we'd just be on our phones all night filming tiktoks or something but even with no signal, no one really seemed to be too stressed about it, we all just kind of felt safe⊠Almost welcomed into the forest, like being embraced by a loving mother. But unfortunately, heaven isn't forever, and men come not but to steal, kill, and destroy.
As we were drinking we decided to tell some scary stories⊠or well I decided to because I thought "it's so clichĂ© but we have to do it. It feels like tradition almost." plus I would've regretted it if we didn't do it, so fuck it, right? Right. So we go around telling scary stories to one another, and I mention to friend Six that I keep thinking about those poor men that went missing. I then asked if any women had gone missing, and surprisingly she said yes⊠it was way back in the 1800's but after that there had never been a single missing woman in that forest. The forest was actually named after the first young woman who went missing all those years back, and now there are all these rumors about it but I don't believe in that stuff so I didn't really pay much attention⊠I kept thinking "I'll just wait for the manga⊠or the shitty Hollywood cash grab of itâŠ" but I DO vaguely remember the history cause I find dark history lore to be super fascinating. So there was a time when the area had more indigenous citizens living here, before gentrification moved into town. She went on to tell us that indigenous people eventually began to keep to themselves because as more white people moved in, more of their daughters went missing. There are yearly parades to honor the missing daughters and to spread awareness to those living in the town. The police try to shut it down but they still do it every year.
Not long after hearing that we hear something howl in the distance. Friend Three howls back and friend Five falls on her out of her camping chair laughing. I tell them to knock it off because the last thing we need is for her to accidentally attract a wolf during mating season! I don't know if thatâs a thing, but it sounds like something thatâs a thing⊠So I'm just going to assume that it is. Don't judge me. She then says "But what if it's Taylor Lautner? Or Joe Manganiello? Personally⊠I'm more of a Meatloaf guy myself⊠But you know⊠RIP⊠But Joe is pretty fine and my mom did always hope I'd marry a black man to get melanin back in our family⊠But I don't think a splash of melanin is gonna override this asian/african skin so⊠Anyways! So these guys come walking past our camp site, and we're all drunk and high so we're already all on edge upon seeing random men this deep into the forest, but friend Four gets up and says "who the fuck are you and what're you doing here!?" One of the men quickly apologizes and tells us they're actually out here camping as well. They said a friend of theirs found this waterfall in the forest that glows because it captures the moon's light. Friend Two hears this and asks if we can go with them, to which we all begrudgingly agree.
At the "mooncuzi" I like to call it, we all sit around this beautiful natural pool lit up by the moon, and we were worried it would be cold but I was surprisingly warm, if I had to guess I'd assume there's a magma vein under there or something? Idk, I'm not a geologist or volcanologist, but something kept it warm and it wasn't my tiny bladder! Everyone was really relaxed and the guys honestly seemed super cool, and guy One honestly seemed really nice. I call him guy One because he's number 1 to me, we're still together now, and we even have another partner now, so yay! We all began talking and some of us were hitting it off, clearly⊠but we had all been drinking and smoking more which, honestly we had stopped⊠but we couldn't pass up the opportunity to get cross-faded in a mooncuzi. Nuh. Nope. Not on my watch. But someone clearly didn't get the vibe memo, because friend Two screams out "bro what the fuck I said no!"
The next thing we hear is "You don't have to yell about it like some kind of cunt!" Everyone runs over to try and figure out what's going on. Turns out guy Five didn't like being told no. He and friend Two were playing a drinking game with friends Three and Four and guy Three and Four. We learned that guy Five dared friend Two to take her top off, to which she said politely refused, and the guys didn't seem to like that. They tried to convince her it's part of the game. One of the guys said she was already in her underwear anyway, so she might as well⊠My guy, One, and guy Two scolded their friends for their behavior, which is why guy Two and friend Two are married now⊠Guess nice guys don't finish last, huh? Anyways, They scolded their friends for their behavior, I remember my guy yelling "you never speak to a woman like that!" and "If I ever catch you trying to peer pressure a woman again I'll take your testicals in my hand and squeeze on them slowly until I know what it's like to feel one pop in my hand." and it was honestly the hottest thing I've ever heard a man say⊠a bit violent⊠but fuck was I glad I was in the water!
Guys One and Two apologized for their friends' actions the whole way back. I asked them why they remained friends with them and guy One had gone off to college while guy Two went into the service, so the two of them had been away for a few years, but they swore their friends never used to be like that. This was actually supposed to be a reunion hike of sorts since they both happened to come back around the same time. After meeting up with guys Three, Four, and Five though, they realized their friends had been warped by these podcasts about alphas and betas and maximizing your sigma or something, and tried to convince him to listen to some pickup artist that claimed to know the secret to unlocking the female brain. Also known as, stupid useless slop grifters make to get rich off young boys with zero confidence and zero bitches. Lastly, he tells me guy Three was actually raised by a single mother alongside his two sisters, so he really wouldn't expect that kind of behavior from him. Guy Four was always sort of sketchy but they thought he was "just being funny", men right? The only thing they felt was weird about him was this one time when they were teens his sister moved away and he got really quiet afterwards, but then he dated a few people that looked almost identical to her, but for some reason he didn't see it, so they started calling him "little sister" (or did they? oooo) or "Lil" for short, joking he had an undiagnosed sister complex⊠Ew. Thatâs all Iâll say to that. The last guy, Five, they said always seemed fine to them, they didn't elaborate, so idk what their idea of "fine" is, sorry to disappoint.
Not long after we got back to the camp we heard engines in the distance, and as they got closer and closer we all stared in confusion. No one should be riding vehicles out this way, and friend 6 knows her bf wouldn't come out here without alerting us.
The vehicles stopped after surrounding us with their lights pointing right at us. We heard the familiar voices of guy Three, along with 4 new voices. He whined about how we hyurt his widdle feefees or something obnoxious. I tried to listen but it's just so hard to listen to some overgrown pissbaby go on about their fragile ego. Guys One and Two went to confront guy Three and his posse, asking why they didnât wait at the car. Guy Three told them they wouldnât understand because theyâve given themselves over to feminist ideas and allowed themselves to become beta cucks. He told them that simps deserve to die so other men wonât be warped by feminist witch pussy magic like they have⊠Like we just met these guys and heâs already acting like we had sex⊠This man's logic was like a runaway train, the cars are all there but they ainât making it to their destination. Guys One and Two continue to argue with guys Three, Four, and Five, before guys Six and seven come up behind them and put knives to their necks. At this moment I noticed a gleam in guy Threeâs eyes. He now thinks heâs invincible⊠I can see the depravity in his eyes as he looks upon friend Two, stripping her down in his mind, imagining all the sick things heâll do. And as if to validate my suspicions, he walks up to her and says âYou never did complete that dare⊠How about we start a new game⊠But this time we wonât have any need for truths.â I watch as fear washes over Twoâs face, as she begins to imagine what he is implying, almost as if his depraved thoughts were being projected into her mind, instilling suffering on her before he had even begun to touch her. She catches herself, refusing to give him the satisfaction of fear and spits in his face. She then tells him âyou couldnât even please your hand with a prick that small.â The look of anger on his face was honestly delectable. If I could, I would put it on canvas and call it âPortrait of a Scorned Manâ or âMan who just realized being a dick doesnât make yours biggerâ. ANYWAYS, he then began to yell something about "it's up to real men to show women their place in society!" OOO so angwy! They started circling around us like starving wolves. One of them placed themselves against friend Fiveâs back and said "I always wondered if trans women looked different down there." Which angered friend Five, but not as much as it did friend Four who tends to be a bit of a hot head.
Friend Four may look like a pretty cute petite princess, but she's manlier than most men I know. She's a competitive marksman, as well as being a gymrat who likes to build cars on the weekends. She's also the girlfriend of friend Five, not that thatâs important but I feel like it should be important. So anyways, she starts blasting right? And one of these guys yells "what the fuck theyâve got funs!? Who the fuck gave these stupid bitches guns!?" I then hear one of them try to antagonize her by saying "pretty young thang like you shouldn't be carrying such a big piece until she's used to it! AYO!" So she shot a round off at the tree he took shelter behind as if to mock him by letting him know his life is in her hands⊠She looked like a real boss bitch, like for real! That girl is HIM! She has always been him, she will always be him! While this was taking place, friend Six reached out to her boyfriend now that we could finally use the radio without fear of them taking it. We explained what was happening and asked him to bring help. He told us to tie the button down and to hide it from sight so that he could listen in while he headed to the station to get help. I feel so bad for that man, having to listen to all those screams, feeling completely powerless to do anything in the moment, but weâre so thankful to him for being there in the way that he was.
Gun fire kept ringing out as Four kept firing rounds into the forests yelling âI shoot to maim!â and âYouâre not safe here!â hoping to scare the men enough to make them retreat because none of them seemed to have rifles on them⊠But then we hear it⊠The first scream⊠Everyone freezes in their tracks, their heart stilled by this sudden shriek of terror that seemed to only further race towards the all consuming darkness. The moment it stopped nothing remained but the slow encroaching crawl of raindrops and the rapid beating drums of the fear in our hearts. It's then that the rain came down like a closing curtain on the chapter of our innocence, because thatâs when we heard the second scream, a scream just as chilling as the first, ascending high into the tree tops before we see something that shocks everyone to their core; the haunting image of a manâs face still screaming, a face still unaware its going to meet, a face that still hopes to be saved but never will. Within unison, as if hell had a chorus, we all screamed in silence as we turned to run. With no other means of safety, my friends, guys One and Two, as well as myself ran for the tent. We don't really know what happened after we got into the tent, but not a second went by that we didn't think we wouldn't be next. We know better now, but in that moment I felt both relief and fear for my life. I just kept thinking how lucky I was that I was fortunate enough to die with my dignity still intact⊠I kept thinking "at least those man babies didn't get to do whatever depravity they had in mind"
Well by now everyone knows what happened, it's been on the news. Those 3 guys and all of their cronies turned up missing⊠But what the news won't tell you is that we were saved by Mama Makwa, we call her that due to the sounds we heard, as well as the site we saw afterwards. The bellowing sound of vengeance that came in the form of a bearâs roar was as loud as the mean screaming they saw a 9 ft tall bear with skin dripping off of its bone like fur. We later learned that men referred to it as âSlippy Skinâ aka "Wejuk", as it seemed the bear would change appearance depending on who gazed upon its visage, but this was not "Wejuk". One by one, we heard those men scream for their lives, describing a creature with a mouth made of human hands that had palms covered by teeth shaped like hypodermic needles. It had claws that seemed like stone daggers that were etched by native americans. They warned each other "Don't look into its eyes!" before proclaiming how sorry they were for the things they'd done⊠They complained of the putrid stench suffocating them as they were pulled into its gaping maw. They screamed of the creatures rotting viscous flesh melting into their own, and making their skin a part of it, as if their skins were fuel for the fear this best could instill by its mere dominion over them. But we never saw that creature⊠Instead, after the screams stopped, we were greeted by this beautiful creature that looked like a bear, only it had this glow about it, and its fur seemed almost like the softest of opalescent feathers. Its eyes looked just like the aurora borealis, and she was mesmerizing. We felt safe, and welcomed, and most of all protected⊠After everything that happened, I think we will be coming back, because we know Mama Makwa will be there to protect us. We believe Mama Makwa is an avenging spirit born from the fear those women felt, here to make sure no other women ever have to suffer like they did within this forest. We also now understand why those men all went missing. My boyfriend and friend Two's husband weren't attacked by Mama Makwa⊠Only the men who felt any sort of ill intent toward us women that night saw Mama Makwa in that form, the form they confused for Slippy⊠But knowing there is a safe haven for women out there, I'm thinking we will have another girls night next year, anybody wanna come?
2024.05.16 00:44 worried_ganja 37 / PC / GMT+2 / EU / Hello, wanna do some fortnite? And other things!
I've just gotten back into fortnite and wanna grind out the battlepass but playing solo is kinda meh, so i'm looking for someone that wanna duo up! I would call myself decent (have around 1100 hours in build and maybe 250 in zb(?)) I'm only down for ZB though since i haven't played build in years and would be very bad at it now.
I drink a ton of coffee, watch a lot of horror movies and is a huge fan of series like Twin Peaks and X-files! Other games i play from time to time and are down to play too is
I have other games too! But yeah, these are the ones i most wanna play! I'm LBTQ friendly so no bigots :)
Have a good day / evening and take care! Peace!
submitted by worried_ganja to GamerPals [link] [comments]
I drink a ton of coffee, watch a lot of horror movies and is a huge fan of series like Twin Peaks and X-files! Other games i play from time to time and are down to play too is
- Apex Legends
- Vanilla MC
- FortniteZB
- Stardew Valley
- Terraria
- Helldivers 2
- Warframe (maybe)
- GTA V
I have other games too! But yeah, these are the ones i most wanna play! I'm LBTQ friendly so no bigots :)
Have a good day / evening and take care! Peace!
2024.05.16 00:43 Affectionate-Pomelo2 22 [M4F] #Georgia #South Carolina #Online #Anywhere - Seeking Friend or Gaming Partner, Open to a relationship
Hey there! M22 here, straddling the border between SC and GA, but my heart's open to connecting online from anywhere! If you're ready to dive into some genuine chemistry. Then you're ready for me!
I'm all about Anime, Gaming, whipping up comfort food (seriously, my comfort food game is strong but I'm also exploring new recipes), flexing my writing muscles, and actual muscles when I'm hitting the Gym, headbanging to Metal, doing a lil coding with my COMP SCI Cyber Security Degree on the way (Should be done in January 25), dabbling in Crafts (I'm no pro, but I can MacGyver some old stuff), and going full Indiana Jones mode with Retro Game Collecting! đź
I know it's a bit embarrassing since I'm in comp sci without a PC, but, I'm on my way to getting my dream PC just giving it time for now.
Here's the deal: I'm all about genuine connections and finding that perfect gaming buddy. Long-term? Maybe, but let's take it one level at a time.
Just a heads up, NSFW topics aren't taboo, but I'm here for connection first and foremost. So, if you're up for geeking out over gaming and anime, shoot me a message! PS5, Xbox, Switch, and Steam Deck for PC Stuff! Let's kick back, nerd out, and grind together!đźâš
( Not that kind of grind lol )
Scroll down for a list of everything I've played and watched Gaming and Anime wise
[ W A R N I N G ]
It's a long ass list for both
List of Game's I've Played This is a roughly compiled list of everything
Destiny ( 1 and 2 ) Warframe Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6 Siege Overwatch 2 Call of Duty (any of them doesn't matter which) Halo (Only MCC or Infinite) Minecraft Diablo IV Tekken 8 MK 11 Guilty Gear Strive Smite Predecessor Back 4 Blood Sker Ritual Bethesda Games (Elder Scrolls Fallout) (Played most but not beaten all) Yakuza Series (I've played them all except I need to finish Infinite Wealth still) Sonic Games (Played all but not beaten all) Legend of Zelda Games (Played most but not beaten all) Mario Games (Beaten most but not all) Kirby Games (Played most but not beaten all) F-Zero GX Resident Evil Series (Played but not beaten all of them) Borderlands (Prequel 2 and 3 and Wonderlands need to play 1) Transformers Devastation Transformers War For Cybertron games Sly Cooper Series (Played but not beaten all of them) Uncharted Series (Played but not beaten all of them) Star Wars Games (From Dark Forces to Jedi Survivor) Ratchet and Clank Series (Beaten most of them) DBZ Fighterz Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 Naruto to Boruto Shinobi Strikers Pokemon (Only a few games Red Gold Emerald Y Sword and Scarlet) Xenoblade Chronicles Series (All beaten still working on Future Redeemed) Metal Gear Solid Series (Beaten 3 and 5 I know the lore of the others and played 2)
List of Anime I've finished and seen This is a roughly compiled list of everything
One Piece (Caught up) Dragon Ball Z Blue Exorcist Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Rising of the Shield Hero Mushoku Jobless Reincarnation Sword Art Online (Pretty much the whole thing) Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans Gundam 1, 2, 3 the original stuff and movies Mob Psycho 100 Black Clover Bleach Naruto and Shippuden Boruto (Not caught up) That Time I got reincarnated as a Slime Danmachi Jujutsu Kaisen (0,1, and 2) Yu Yu Hakusho Hunter X Hunter My Hero Academia Nichijou Keep your hands of the eizouoken High School DxD Chunibyou Attack on Titan JJBA (Up to Stone Ocean) Kill La Kill Gurren Lagen Darling in the Franx Death Note Radiant Goblin Slayer Space Dandy Dorohedoro Durarara One Punch Man Beastars Rust Eater Dr. Stone F-Zero GP Legend"
submitted by Affectionate-Pomelo2 to r4r [link] [comments]
I'm all about Anime, Gaming, whipping up comfort food (seriously, my comfort food game is strong but I'm also exploring new recipes), flexing my writing muscles, and actual muscles when I'm hitting the Gym, headbanging to Metal, doing a lil coding with my COMP SCI Cyber Security Degree on the way (Should be done in January 25), dabbling in Crafts (I'm no pro, but I can MacGyver some old stuff), and going full Indiana Jones mode with Retro Game Collecting! đź
I know it's a bit embarrassing since I'm in comp sci without a PC, but, I'm on my way to getting my dream PC just giving it time for now.
Here's the deal: I'm all about genuine connections and finding that perfect gaming buddy. Long-term? Maybe, but let's take it one level at a time.
Just a heads up, NSFW topics aren't taboo, but I'm here for connection first and foremost. So, if you're up for geeking out over gaming and anime, shoot me a message! PS5, Xbox, Switch, and Steam Deck for PC Stuff! Let's kick back, nerd out, and grind together!đźâš
( Not that kind of grind lol )
Scroll down for a list of everything I've played and watched Gaming and Anime wise
[ W A R N I N G ]
It's a long ass list for both
List of Game's I've Played This is a roughly compiled list of everything
Destiny ( 1 and 2 ) Warframe Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6 Siege Overwatch 2 Call of Duty (any of them doesn't matter which) Halo (Only MCC or Infinite) Minecraft Diablo IV Tekken 8 MK 11 Guilty Gear Strive Smite Predecessor Back 4 Blood Sker Ritual Bethesda Games (Elder Scrolls Fallout) (Played most but not beaten all) Yakuza Series (I've played them all except I need to finish Infinite Wealth still) Sonic Games (Played all but not beaten all) Legend of Zelda Games (Played most but not beaten all) Mario Games (Beaten most but not all) Kirby Games (Played most but not beaten all) F-Zero GX Resident Evil Series (Played but not beaten all of them) Borderlands (Prequel 2 and 3 and Wonderlands need to play 1) Transformers Devastation Transformers War For Cybertron games Sly Cooper Series (Played but not beaten all of them) Uncharted Series (Played but not beaten all of them) Star Wars Games (From Dark Forces to Jedi Survivor) Ratchet and Clank Series (Beaten most of them) DBZ Fighterz Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 Naruto to Boruto Shinobi Strikers Pokemon (Only a few games Red Gold Emerald Y Sword and Scarlet) Xenoblade Chronicles Series (All beaten still working on Future Redeemed) Metal Gear Solid Series (Beaten 3 and 5 I know the lore of the others and played 2)
List of Anime I've finished and seen This is a roughly compiled list of everything
One Piece (Caught up) Dragon Ball Z Blue Exorcist Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Rising of the Shield Hero Mushoku Jobless Reincarnation Sword Art Online (Pretty much the whole thing) Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans Gundam 1, 2, 3 the original stuff and movies Mob Psycho 100 Black Clover Bleach Naruto and Shippuden Boruto (Not caught up) That Time I got reincarnated as a Slime Danmachi Jujutsu Kaisen (0,1, and 2) Yu Yu Hakusho Hunter X Hunter My Hero Academia Nichijou Keep your hands of the eizouoken High School DxD Chunibyou Attack on Titan JJBA (Up to Stone Ocean) Kill La Kill Gurren Lagen Darling in the Franx Death Note Radiant Goblin Slayer Space Dandy Dorohedoro Durarara One Punch Man Beastars Rust Eater Dr. Stone F-Zero GP Legend"
2024.05.16 00:43 EclosionK2 .
Mr. Winslow accused my mother of stealing his dead wifeâs jewelry.
I explained it was impossible. He was welcome to search the tiny apartment I shared with my mother and aunt, he could look wherever he wanted.
âWe share a tiny space,â I said. âWe barely have enough room for our clothes. I donât even know where she would hide jewelry.â
I was worried we would lose him as a client. Which would suck because cleaning his house was basically the majority of our rent cheque. But a week later he found the pearl necklace, it had somehow travelled down to his basement.
âIâm still missing the gold bangle though,â he said. âAnd some earrings.â
I told him I was sorry, but I had no idea. If my mom or aunt found it on their next clean, I promised they would let him know right away.
He hummed and hawed. There mightâve been a week where he hired a different maid service, but eventually he called back, asking if he could hire all three of us on-site again.
I thanked him profusely. I told him weâd keep an eye out for the missing valuables.
***
On our drive over, I had my mom and aunt practice the apology we would give him in English. Even though we didnât steal anything, I explained we should still say sorry.
âWhy?â My aunt asked. âThatâs so stupid.â
âEveryone apologizes for everything in Canada. Just trust me. He will want it.â
âWe need the work,â my mom said.
For a second my aunt revved up to say something else, but then let it go. We did need the work.
When we arrived, Mr. Winslow was on a phone call, watching his two large goldendoodles play in the front yard. He waved, then gestured to the front door. My mom and aunt gave small bows and carried their cleaning supplies inside.
Before I could enter, he put the phone behind his ear and approached me.
âIda, hi. Good to see you again. Listen, don't worry about the jewelry. Water under the bridge. Hey. Iâm leaving in an hour or so, and I wonât be back until late tonight. Iâm wondering if youâd be interested in dog-sitting? Youâve been around Toto and Kipper. What do you think? Iâd really appreciate the help.â
I never liked the way he looked at me. It was always too close, and it lingered for too long. My aunt may have been right in that he hired us back just to see me again, but I ignored the thought.
âAnd donât worry, I can cover your cab back. My usual walker is just out on holiday. You can help yourself to whateverâs in the fridge. How does six hundred sound?â
I looked at his house and imagined if I would be comfortable there. Alone at night.
âIâll make it seven-hundred. I know it's last minute. I just hate leaving them alone. Plus Toto has his medicine. You would do me a real solid.â
My apron needed adjusting so I put down my bucket. I focused on the polyester knot, keeping my gaze away from his. I really didnât want to be doing this, but my aunt would call me stupid for refusing easy money. And frankly, so would I.
âI had plans, but Iâm willing to give them up.â I said with a straight face. âEight hundred and itâs a done deal.â
He paused for a second, observing me scrupulously. Then he found his usual, smarmy half-smile. âYouâre a life saver, you know that? An Angel.â
His hand gripped my shoulder. Then patted it twice.
***
Both my mom and aunt were pleased about the extra cash, they said I deserved to make extra for all the bookkeeping I do. But they also both voiced their concerns for safety. They said they could stay with me if I wanted.
âSafety? MamĂŁe Iâm just watching two dogs.â
My mom wiped a caked red stain off his counter. An old wine spill. âYes, but so late in his house? Youâre not worried he might ⊠I donât know âŠâ
Might what? Exploit me?
I met his groundskeeper once, another immigrant contractor. Except the groundskeeper was being paid far less, because he never properly negotiated. Mr. Winslow was certainly capable of exploiting people when he wanted to, and Iâm sure he would try the same on my family.
But I was different. Iâd gone to school in Banniver, and I knew the little maneuvers played by the so-called âprogressive people in North America.â
And Winslow knew it too.
He didnât realize a Canadian-raised daughter organized her momâs cleaning service. Or that she would show up on the first day as a statement. That statement being: You canât get away with mistreating these old Brazilian women. And you certainly canât swindle them out of the going rates in his neighborhood. Iâm onto you.
I had asserted myself with this Mr. Winslow, and felt confident that I could stand my ground if he tried any bullshit.
âMamĂŁe Iâm not worried about him. Really, Iâm not. Heâs a pushover.â
***
6:00PM rolled around, it was just me and the goldendoodles.
My mom and aunt were back at home, watching low-res soaps on a Macbook, but they said if I encountered anything strangeâa sound, a smell, an unexpected car in the drivewayâto give them a call right away.
âMamĂŁe, its two dogs. Iâll be fine.â
âJust keep your phone close Ida. Your auntie has sensed things in that house. Unpleasant things.â
I forgot to mention my aunt thinks of herself as an amateur medium. In the village she grew up in, she claimed she could sometimes see people who were recently deceased.
But I never really believed her. Mostly because it was also my auntieâs idea to charge families who wanted to forward messages to the very same people who were recently deceased.
âOkay mamĂŁe, whatever you say. Iâll phone you if I get scared.â
âThat house has a history Ida, you could feel it in the walls. The outside too.â
It sure does. A history of being owned by a wealthy prick.
***
The sun slinked below the overcast horizon like a dying lantern. It got dark much faster than I expected.
I kept all the lights on, and played with the dogs a bit, trying to encourage them to try piss on the shag rug. Neither did. They mostly wanted naps.
I tried napping for a bit too, but the leather couch felt like it was made of rock. I just couldnât get comfortable.
Eventually I made myself dinnerâsome pasta that had been bought from Whole Foodsâand ate it while scrolling on my phone.
I was just about done, ready to take my dirty plate in the sink when I first heard it.
The first explosion.
It came from the basement. A vibrating KAPOW that rattled the windows and chandelier on my floor. It sounded like someone had set off a cherry bomb.
What the hell?
I turned to the dogs who were just as scared as I was. They came whimpering with tails between their legs.
Could a pipe have burst or something?
I looked at the basement door, an area we were not instructed to clean, and then heard another explosion.
Vases shook. A painting went tilted. It sounded louder. Like full grade firework. I had lived in Rio de Janeiro, by Prianha beach, where they often launched celebratory fireworks. This was just as deafening.
I didnât want to go down to the basement. In fact, I sat by the front door.
Both dogs huddled around me.
***
Twenty minutes passed. It had been quiet.
Out of pride I refused to call my momâI didnât want to admit I was scared. Instead, I spent the time going through all the rational answers in my head that could explain away the noise. Plumbing, terrorism, teen pranks ⊠hot springs?
There were hot springs all over West Bann.
Obviously, some kind of pent-up geyser had lay dormant for a while, and it was now suddenly unleashing a ton of energy below Mr. Winslowâs house. To distract myself, I Wikipediaâd the history of West Banniver, and satisfied this theory.
During the 1850âs gold rush, West Banniver saw rapid settlement as a mining town. The proliferation of mine shafts soon led to a discovery of underground hot springs. Mayfield Briggs Ltd which was the first company to seize the opportunity as a tourist attractionâŠ
Thatâs all it was. A hot spring releasing a buildup of pressure.
Then a third explosion came.
It was so loud and violent that the door to the basement flew open. I fell to the ground and covered my head as several books went flying off nearby shelves.
The dogs yipped and barked like crazy. They stood in front of me, guarding against an unseen force. A voice shrieked from the basement.
âHELP!!! HELLLLP!â
Rivets shot through my hands and knees. I was frozen to the floor.
âPLEEEEEEASE!â
It had the high-pitched desperation of someone whose life was about to end. I raised my head and listened closely to hear haggard, dusty coughing. It sounded like an old manâs cough. It echoed through the basement and into the living room. Between coughs the man continued to plead for his life.
HELLLLP!â
I had no idea who it could be or how he got down there.
Before I could think, one of the dogs shot past me, bolting down the basement steps, barking ferociously.
âKipper!â
I tried to grab the loose leash, but I could only hold the collar of his sibling. âKipper come back here!â
âHELLO?â The voice from below seemed to recognize my presence. âPLEASE, YOUâVE GOT TO HELP!â
I was now upright, breathing as fast as Toto was panting. I tied Toto to the thick rails on the stairs. I had to save the other dog.
Instinctually I grabbed my phone, slipped an AirPod in one ear, and dialed my mother without even looking at the screen.
âMĂŁe. Thereâs ⊠something terrible is happening.â
My mother was suitably confused. Even more so when she heard the screaming of the man downstairs as his voice echoed in the living room. It was a cry of immense, awful pain.
After two slower, more detailed explanations of what I just heard, my mother told me to call the fire department. âPoke your head through the basement, see whatâs happening. Then call the fire department.â
That made sense to me. I inched my way to the basement entrance and tried to see past the doorway. It was complete darkness. There was no light switch.
I turned the torch on my phone, and my auntâs voice came blaring. âGet out of there Ida! I am telling you, there is darkness in that house!â
As I illuminated the dusty wooden stairs, I saw that they only lead only to more pitch black. Yup, plenty of darkness here.
There was some phone-wrestling. My mother came back on. âWhat is it? What did you see?â
âDonât encourage her! Get her to leave!â my auntie yelled in the background.
I told them to pipe down because I could suddenly hear the gentle whimpering at the base of the stairs. The dog sounded close.
âKipper come! This way! Follow my voice!â
I went down a few steps further, expecting the basement floor to appear any second, but there were only more wooden steps. How long was this staircase?
âKipper?â
There was a flat, cold wall on my left, and no guard rail to speak of. I stepped down each step very carefully to maintain my balance, sliding my hand along the wall.
Then the wall disappeared. I flew forward.
***
I woke up lying face-first on rocky floor. My phone was cracked next to me. My mother was crying in my ear. âIda! Ida! Oh my god! Ida!â
I looked up to see I was not at the bottom of someoneâs basement. There were lights all above me. Lanterns. They were illuminating a cavernous, rocky chamber that led to many tunnels with train tracks and wooden carts. I was in the opening of a massive underground mine.
I coughed, and gave out a weak â⊠what?â
âIda is that you? Are you⊠brrzzzzzâ My momâs voice faded.
Before I could reply, I saw the crooked form of a man in tan coveralls, shaking the immobile body of another person in coveralls next to him. In fact, there was a small row of half a dozen miners all slumped against a blasted rock wall. There were bits of granite, wood, rope, and what looked like entrails splattered all throughout.
âOh the cruelty âŠâ the one, standing miner said. He went from body to body and jostled each of his coworkers. âMust I find you all like this ⊠every time?â
I crawled up to a half-standing pose and tried to see the face of the hunched over survivor.
My heart dropped.
He had no face.
The explosion which must have killed some of friends had also blasted away this manâs entire sternum, neck and skull. The miner wasnât hunched over or leaning away with his head, he just simply ⊠had no head.
And up there, floating right in the middle of where his face should be, were a set of eyeballs, glistening under the yellow lights.
The eyes turned to me. âOh. Why hello. Hello there.â
Terrified, I rose to complete standing and opened both my palms in a show of total deference. âI donât know. I donât know who you are or what this is.â
The headless miner walked toward me. I noticed he carried a pickaxe in his right arm. He gestured with his left to where his ear would be.
âIâm sorry I canât hear you. Had an accident.â
Despite him having no head, his voice still came from where his mouth would be. There was an earnestness in his speech, it might have had something to do with his very old-timey accent, but I still felt like he was trying to be friendly.
âAnother batch of faulty dynamite. Everyoneâs dead. But what else is new.â
He brought his left palm to his face, perhaps to wipe away tears, but instead his hand travelled through his nonexistent head to scratch a small portion of his back.
âBeen dead for many years Iâm afraid. But Iâve kept busy. Been a good man. Worked very hard for the boss upstairs.â
He gestured upwards with the pickaxe. I looked up, and out in the distance, I saw a large, ancient, set of wooden stairs that I must have fallen from. They extended far up into the mineâs ceiling and kept going.
âHeâs gotten good ore from me. Good, shining, golden ore. I have a knack for it you see. The same knack that killed me so many years ago. It's probably whatâs still keeping me around though.â
He came closer. I could see he had brown irises, with one of the cataracts deteriorating into milky white haze. The eyes stared at me, unblinking.
âBecause Iâm not done, see. This mine isnât empty. I know thereâs more gold. Much more. And itâs not all for the boss. No, Iâm keeping some to myself. Donât tell him, but Iâve been stashing a large deposit for myself. It canât all be his of course. Itâs my mine after all. Half these tunnels were dug entirely by me. So of course I deserve some. Itâs only natural.â
I lifted my hand and pointed at the staircase behind him. I mouthed very big, obvious words. âI have to go back. Iâm going back up those stairs.â
He shifted his body. His two eyes turned in the air as if they were still inside an invisible skull. I saw nerve endings at the back undulate and twist.
âYes, that is the only way up.â
My heart was in my throat. At least I found some form of communication. I gestured to knee height and nervously asked if he had seen a âlarge, shaggy dog.â
âAh yes. Iâve seen the pooches. They come down here sometimes. When the booms donât scare em that is. Hahah.â
I gave a thumbs up. It felt like a ridiculous interaction with a ghost, or zombie or whatever this was, but at least it was working.
âI think I saw his little tail run over that way. They like the smell of the mineral spring.â
I turned behind to see the long tunnel he was pointing at. It was dimly lit by a chain of smaller lanterns.
I thought I saw a flutter of movement, and I would have kept looking further if it wasnât for my auntâs voice that suddenly exploded in my ear. âBrrrzt ⊠Ida! If you can hear us, we are calling the police to your location. Help is coming soon! ⊠â
I winced and stepped backâwhich saved my life. I just so happened to step right out of the way of a pickaxe. It sparked the ground.
I gasped and stared at the headless miner. His eyes were shimmering with a dark focus, staring directly at mine.
âOh Iâll help you find the dog. Iâll help you find whatever you want. But Iâll need those clean new eyes of yours first.â
He swung at my head. I ducked. He went for the backswing. I ran.
Stupidly, I ran in the opposite direction of the stairs. I ran straight into the long tunnel lined with dim lanterns.
But I couldnât turn around. I had no idea how quick he could move. And the speed of his pickaxe felt supernatural.
The tunnel was narrow, and lined with wooden tracks, I had to skip-run-jump over the panels with immense precision to make sure I didnât trip. Behind me, his voice chased.
âGo ahead. Run. I know where these all lead.â
I ignored the words and kept going. The tunnel bent left, then right, then left again. I ignored several exits before the tunnel spat me out into an open, cavernous room filled with dozens and dozens of minecarts.
I investigated the room for anything useful. A far opposite wall appeared to be the site of the latest digging, loose rock lay everywhere.
There was a small mineshaft holding a chained up cart. And something in the cart shimmeredâŠ
It was gold.
And not just ore either. There were bars, coins, medallions, and jewelry. Mrs. Winslowâs bangles were right on top.
I ran to the cart furthest from the entrance and ducked behind it, breathing heavily, coughing from all the dust.
The headless man emerged from the tunnel, pickaxe raised and scanning where I could have hid. âI may not be able to hear you. But I can follow footprints pretty easily hah. I know youâre in here.â
He grabbed the closest minecart available and pushed it into the tunnel entrance. With an immense show of strength, he lifted and dislodged the cart off the track, cramming it sideways, creating a massive obstacle.
I was sealed inside.
Trying to stay absolutely still, I coughed through my teeth. Lungs burning. My momâs voice came through.
âBrrzzztt⊠The police should be there! I told them you were in danger! They said they sent a unit over. Maybe they broke down the front door?â
I looked up at the mine shaft next to me. If it did connect to the surface upstairs, this was my only chance.
I gave a couple good yells. âHEEEEELP!!! DOWN HERE!! HELP!â
I donât know if it did any good, but it was better than nothing. I turned to see if the miner had heard anything.
He hadn't.
The pickaxe tapped and clanged awkwardly around minecart after minecart.
I had a bigger advantage than I thought.
Although the miner had two floating eyeballs, only the left one was really capable of seeing anything.
So I kept my distance and watched where he was going, always staying behind.
As he limped and peered around minecarts, I was able to evade him, move from behind rock piles and other carts, careful not to leave a trail in the rock dust.
It was all going well until I heard a familiar panting.
âOh look. If it isnât precious.â
The dog had managed to jump over the minerâs blockade. It must have heard my yells. Surprisingly, Kipper was unafraid of the headless villain, and even approached him to receive pets.
âNow why donât you go say hello to our other friend here huh? I know she's here somewhere.â
No. Kipper. Please. Donât.
The dog started sniffing. Within seconds he found my scent. Kipper skipped towards me like Lassie and excitedly licked my face.
âAww there we are. Now isnât that a good boy?â
I stood up and stared at the filthy, ash-stained coveralls. Despite the lack of teeth, I could sense a menacing grin where the mouth should be.
He wasn't going to lose sight of me now. I had nowhere to go.
So I did the thing my auntie said worked on all spirits. I fell to my knees and prayed.
âPlease. I only came here for work. Iâm too young to die. Let me go and I won't tell anyone that you're here.â
He stood over me. Both of his pupils started to quiver. In just a few seconds, his eyes were swimming excitedly within the space of his head.
I took off the only valuable I had. A gold necklace with a miniature version of Christ the Redeemer. A gift I had received as a teen in Rio. I held it out in my shaking hands.
âPlease. Take it. Take everything.â
Suddenly both the eyeballs stared forward again, entranced by the gold.
âWell look at that. How generous. How generous of her. We should reward generosity shouldnât we?â
***
It was hard for me to describe to the police officer how exactly I got out, because I have no idea.
The fiery pain where my eyes used to be overwhelmed my entire reality for hours. All I wanted was for it to stop.
They found me half inside a dumbwaiter bleeding to death from the gouges in my face.
I was taken to the hospital, where I would spend the next four weeks recovering.
The police did not in fact storm the house like my mom said. They waited outside for the homeowner to return. But when they heard my screams coming from the top floor, they broke the back door and eventually came to my rescue.
Iâm told they did a thorough investigation but could not find any of the things I described.
The basement door led into a regular basement. It was filled with old furniture, unused decor, and paint cans. No Mine.
The dumbwaiter was also just a dumbwaiter. It wasnât some mine shaft, and it didnât lead any deeper than the basement. Nothing special.
There were definitely hot springs close by, but nothing close enough to damage Mr. Winslow's property. And there was an old, depleted gold mine not far away either, but it was completely abandoned, closed off, and nowhere near as big as the one I had described.
***
The police, paramedics and doctors all thought my story was some hallucination. That I had been on drugs or had some mental breakdown (even though they couldnât find anything in me other than small traces of weed.)
Thankfully, my mother and aunt believed me. They believed every word. My aunt is the one who encouraged me to make this post, so others could hear my story.
I know it was real.
I know it was.
And Mr. Winslow is fully aware of the mineâs existence.
Putting the dots together, I realized it was likely the source of his wealth. Winslow had some control over that one headless miner down there.
Did Winslow intentionally entrap me? Was he trying to get the miner a new set of eyes? Or was it all an unfortunate accident?
I might never know.
But what I do know is that Mr. Winslow has been paying for our rent ever since the accident.
He feels âterrible about the situationâ and âcanât possibly imagineâ what Iâve been through.
But he knows what happened.
He knows if I really pushed, If I really forced the police, or some private investigator to look into itâthey would uncover something awful. Something really really bad.
âAnything you need. Anything at all. I will cover it, Ida.â He said. âYou helped me out, protected my dogs, and I will never forget it.â
Heâs offered to pay for the rest of my University schooling. And once my face heals up, heâs even offered to cover for some very expensive, experimental eye-transplant. Weâll see how that goes.
âYou and your family will live comfortably from now on. Youâll want for nothing. Tell me exactly what you need, And youâll get it.â
So I told him I'd like my necklace back. It was an heirloom. I said I lost it somewhere in his house.
A few days later, he returned with the usual smug, half-crooked smirk in his voice. He brought the necklace back in a box, pretending he had bought me a new one. Except it felt exactly like my old one.
It was all shined up, completely buffed of scratches, but it weighed the same. It was my old one for sure.
When my mom saw it she asked, âdid it always have it? This dedication?â
As far as I remembered, the backside of the tiny Christ the Redeemer was always plain. I fingered its shape in my hands.
âWhat dedication?â
The new little divots caught my nails. There was writing that was definitely not there before.
My mom described it as a curly, serif font. Like a gift for a lover.
Youâre an angel.
submitted by EclosionK2 to EclosionK2 [link] [comments]
I explained it was impossible. He was welcome to search the tiny apartment I shared with my mother and aunt, he could look wherever he wanted.
âWe share a tiny space,â I said. âWe barely have enough room for our clothes. I donât even know where she would hide jewelry.â
I was worried we would lose him as a client. Which would suck because cleaning his house was basically the majority of our rent cheque. But a week later he found the pearl necklace, it had somehow travelled down to his basement.
âIâm still missing the gold bangle though,â he said. âAnd some earrings.â
I told him I was sorry, but I had no idea. If my mom or aunt found it on their next clean, I promised they would let him know right away.
He hummed and hawed. There mightâve been a week where he hired a different maid service, but eventually he called back, asking if he could hire all three of us on-site again.
I thanked him profusely. I told him weâd keep an eye out for the missing valuables.
***
On our drive over, I had my mom and aunt practice the apology we would give him in English. Even though we didnât steal anything, I explained we should still say sorry.
âWhy?â My aunt asked. âThatâs so stupid.â
âEveryone apologizes for everything in Canada. Just trust me. He will want it.â
âWe need the work,â my mom said.
For a second my aunt revved up to say something else, but then let it go. We did need the work.
When we arrived, Mr. Winslow was on a phone call, watching his two large goldendoodles play in the front yard. He waved, then gestured to the front door. My mom and aunt gave small bows and carried their cleaning supplies inside.
Before I could enter, he put the phone behind his ear and approached me.
âIda, hi. Good to see you again. Listen, don't worry about the jewelry. Water under the bridge. Hey. Iâm leaving in an hour or so, and I wonât be back until late tonight. Iâm wondering if youâd be interested in dog-sitting? Youâve been around Toto and Kipper. What do you think? Iâd really appreciate the help.â
I never liked the way he looked at me. It was always too close, and it lingered for too long. My aunt may have been right in that he hired us back just to see me again, but I ignored the thought.
âAnd donât worry, I can cover your cab back. My usual walker is just out on holiday. You can help yourself to whateverâs in the fridge. How does six hundred sound?â
I looked at his house and imagined if I would be comfortable there. Alone at night.
âIâll make it seven-hundred. I know it's last minute. I just hate leaving them alone. Plus Toto has his medicine. You would do me a real solid.â
My apron needed adjusting so I put down my bucket. I focused on the polyester knot, keeping my gaze away from his. I really didnât want to be doing this, but my aunt would call me stupid for refusing easy money. And frankly, so would I.
âI had plans, but Iâm willing to give them up.â I said with a straight face. âEight hundred and itâs a done deal.â
He paused for a second, observing me scrupulously. Then he found his usual, smarmy half-smile. âYouâre a life saver, you know that? An Angel.â
His hand gripped my shoulder. Then patted it twice.
***
Both my mom and aunt were pleased about the extra cash, they said I deserved to make extra for all the bookkeeping I do. But they also both voiced their concerns for safety. They said they could stay with me if I wanted.
âSafety? MamĂŁe Iâm just watching two dogs.â
My mom wiped a caked red stain off his counter. An old wine spill. âYes, but so late in his house? Youâre not worried he might ⊠I donât know âŠâ
Might what? Exploit me?
I met his groundskeeper once, another immigrant contractor. Except the groundskeeper was being paid far less, because he never properly negotiated. Mr. Winslow was certainly capable of exploiting people when he wanted to, and Iâm sure he would try the same on my family.
But I was different. Iâd gone to school in Banniver, and I knew the little maneuvers played by the so-called âprogressive people in North America.â
And Winslow knew it too.
He didnât realize a Canadian-raised daughter organized her momâs cleaning service. Or that she would show up on the first day as a statement. That statement being: You canât get away with mistreating these old Brazilian women. And you certainly canât swindle them out of the going rates in his neighborhood. Iâm onto you.
I had asserted myself with this Mr. Winslow, and felt confident that I could stand my ground if he tried any bullshit.
âMamĂŁe Iâm not worried about him. Really, Iâm not. Heâs a pushover.â
***
6:00PM rolled around, it was just me and the goldendoodles.
My mom and aunt were back at home, watching low-res soaps on a Macbook, but they said if I encountered anything strangeâa sound, a smell, an unexpected car in the drivewayâto give them a call right away.
âMamĂŁe, its two dogs. Iâll be fine.â
âJust keep your phone close Ida. Your auntie has sensed things in that house. Unpleasant things.â
I forgot to mention my aunt thinks of herself as an amateur medium. In the village she grew up in, she claimed she could sometimes see people who were recently deceased.
But I never really believed her. Mostly because it was also my auntieâs idea to charge families who wanted to forward messages to the very same people who were recently deceased.
âOkay mamĂŁe, whatever you say. Iâll phone you if I get scared.â
âThat house has a history Ida, you could feel it in the walls. The outside too.â
It sure does. A history of being owned by a wealthy prick.
***
The sun slinked below the overcast horizon like a dying lantern. It got dark much faster than I expected.
I kept all the lights on, and played with the dogs a bit, trying to encourage them to try piss on the shag rug. Neither did. They mostly wanted naps.
I tried napping for a bit too, but the leather couch felt like it was made of rock. I just couldnât get comfortable.
Eventually I made myself dinnerâsome pasta that had been bought from Whole Foodsâand ate it while scrolling on my phone.
I was just about done, ready to take my dirty plate in the sink when I first heard it.
The first explosion.
It came from the basement. A vibrating KAPOW that rattled the windows and chandelier on my floor. It sounded like someone had set off a cherry bomb.
What the hell?
I turned to the dogs who were just as scared as I was. They came whimpering with tails between their legs.
Could a pipe have burst or something?
I looked at the basement door, an area we were not instructed to clean, and then heard another explosion.
Vases shook. A painting went tilted. It sounded louder. Like full grade firework. I had lived in Rio de Janeiro, by Prianha beach, where they often launched celebratory fireworks. This was just as deafening.
I didnât want to go down to the basement. In fact, I sat by the front door.
Both dogs huddled around me.
***
Twenty minutes passed. It had been quiet.
Out of pride I refused to call my momâI didnât want to admit I was scared. Instead, I spent the time going through all the rational answers in my head that could explain away the noise. Plumbing, terrorism, teen pranks ⊠hot springs?
There were hot springs all over West Bann.
Obviously, some kind of pent-up geyser had lay dormant for a while, and it was now suddenly unleashing a ton of energy below Mr. Winslowâs house. To distract myself, I Wikipediaâd the history of West Banniver, and satisfied this theory.
During the 1850âs gold rush, West Banniver saw rapid settlement as a mining town. The proliferation of mine shafts soon led to a discovery of underground hot springs. Mayfield Briggs Ltd which was the first company to seize the opportunity as a tourist attractionâŠ
Thatâs all it was. A hot spring releasing a buildup of pressure.
Then a third explosion came.
It was so loud and violent that the door to the basement flew open. I fell to the ground and covered my head as several books went flying off nearby shelves.
The dogs yipped and barked like crazy. They stood in front of me, guarding against an unseen force. A voice shrieked from the basement.
âHELP!!! HELLLLP!â
Rivets shot through my hands and knees. I was frozen to the floor.
âPLEEEEEEASE!â
It had the high-pitched desperation of someone whose life was about to end. I raised my head and listened closely to hear haggard, dusty coughing. It sounded like an old manâs cough. It echoed through the basement and into the living room. Between coughs the man continued to plead for his life.
HELLLLP!â
I had no idea who it could be or how he got down there.
Before I could think, one of the dogs shot past me, bolting down the basement steps, barking ferociously.
âKipper!â
I tried to grab the loose leash, but I could only hold the collar of his sibling. âKipper come back here!â
âHELLO?â The voice from below seemed to recognize my presence. âPLEASE, YOUâVE GOT TO HELP!â
I was now upright, breathing as fast as Toto was panting. I tied Toto to the thick rails on the stairs. I had to save the other dog.
Instinctually I grabbed my phone, slipped an AirPod in one ear, and dialed my mother without even looking at the screen.
âMĂŁe. Thereâs ⊠something terrible is happening.â
My mother was suitably confused. Even more so when she heard the screaming of the man downstairs as his voice echoed in the living room. It was a cry of immense, awful pain.
After two slower, more detailed explanations of what I just heard, my mother told me to call the fire department. âPoke your head through the basement, see whatâs happening. Then call the fire department.â
That made sense to me. I inched my way to the basement entrance and tried to see past the doorway. It was complete darkness. There was no light switch.
I turned the torch on my phone, and my auntâs voice came blaring. âGet out of there Ida! I am telling you, there is darkness in that house!â
As I illuminated the dusty wooden stairs, I saw that they only lead only to more pitch black. Yup, plenty of darkness here.
There was some phone-wrestling. My mother came back on. âWhat is it? What did you see?â
âDonât encourage her! Get her to leave!â my auntie yelled in the background.
I told them to pipe down because I could suddenly hear the gentle whimpering at the base of the stairs. The dog sounded close.
âKipper come! This way! Follow my voice!â
I went down a few steps further, expecting the basement floor to appear any second, but there were only more wooden steps. How long was this staircase?
âKipper?â
There was a flat, cold wall on my left, and no guard rail to speak of. I stepped down each step very carefully to maintain my balance, sliding my hand along the wall.
Then the wall disappeared. I flew forward.
***
I woke up lying face-first on rocky floor. My phone was cracked next to me. My mother was crying in my ear. âIda! Ida! Oh my god! Ida!â
I looked up to see I was not at the bottom of someoneâs basement. There were lights all above me. Lanterns. They were illuminating a cavernous, rocky chamber that led to many tunnels with train tracks and wooden carts. I was in the opening of a massive underground mine.
I coughed, and gave out a weak â⊠what?â
âIda is that you? Are you⊠brrzzzzzâ My momâs voice faded.
Before I could reply, I saw the crooked form of a man in tan coveralls, shaking the immobile body of another person in coveralls next to him. In fact, there was a small row of half a dozen miners all slumped against a blasted rock wall. There were bits of granite, wood, rope, and what looked like entrails splattered all throughout.
âOh the cruelty âŠâ the one, standing miner said. He went from body to body and jostled each of his coworkers. âMust I find you all like this ⊠every time?â
I crawled up to a half-standing pose and tried to see the face of the hunched over survivor.
My heart dropped.
He had no face.
The explosion which must have killed some of friends had also blasted away this manâs entire sternum, neck and skull. The miner wasnât hunched over or leaning away with his head, he just simply ⊠had no head.
And up there, floating right in the middle of where his face should be, were a set of eyeballs, glistening under the yellow lights.
The eyes turned to me. âOh. Why hello. Hello there.â
Terrified, I rose to complete standing and opened both my palms in a show of total deference. âI donât know. I donât know who you are or what this is.â
The headless miner walked toward me. I noticed he carried a pickaxe in his right arm. He gestured with his left to where his ear would be.
âIâm sorry I canât hear you. Had an accident.â
Despite him having no head, his voice still came from where his mouth would be. There was an earnestness in his speech, it might have had something to do with his very old-timey accent, but I still felt like he was trying to be friendly.
âAnother batch of faulty dynamite. Everyoneâs dead. But what else is new.â
He brought his left palm to his face, perhaps to wipe away tears, but instead his hand travelled through his nonexistent head to scratch a small portion of his back.
âBeen dead for many years Iâm afraid. But Iâve kept busy. Been a good man. Worked very hard for the boss upstairs.â
He gestured upwards with the pickaxe. I looked up, and out in the distance, I saw a large, ancient, set of wooden stairs that I must have fallen from. They extended far up into the mineâs ceiling and kept going.
âHeâs gotten good ore from me. Good, shining, golden ore. I have a knack for it you see. The same knack that killed me so many years ago. It's probably whatâs still keeping me around though.â
He came closer. I could see he had brown irises, with one of the cataracts deteriorating into milky white haze. The eyes stared at me, unblinking.
âBecause Iâm not done, see. This mine isnât empty. I know thereâs more gold. Much more. And itâs not all for the boss. No, Iâm keeping some to myself. Donât tell him, but Iâve been stashing a large deposit for myself. It canât all be his of course. Itâs my mine after all. Half these tunnels were dug entirely by me. So of course I deserve some. Itâs only natural.â
I lifted my hand and pointed at the staircase behind him. I mouthed very big, obvious words. âI have to go back. Iâm going back up those stairs.â
He shifted his body. His two eyes turned in the air as if they were still inside an invisible skull. I saw nerve endings at the back undulate and twist.
âYes, that is the only way up.â
My heart was in my throat. At least I found some form of communication. I gestured to knee height and nervously asked if he had seen a âlarge, shaggy dog.â
âAh yes. Iâve seen the pooches. They come down here sometimes. When the booms donât scare em that is. Hahah.â
I gave a thumbs up. It felt like a ridiculous interaction with a ghost, or zombie or whatever this was, but at least it was working.
âI think I saw his little tail run over that way. They like the smell of the mineral spring.â
I turned behind to see the long tunnel he was pointing at. It was dimly lit by a chain of smaller lanterns.
I thought I saw a flutter of movement, and I would have kept looking further if it wasnât for my auntâs voice that suddenly exploded in my ear. âBrrrzt ⊠Ida! If you can hear us, we are calling the police to your location. Help is coming soon! ⊠â
I winced and stepped backâwhich saved my life. I just so happened to step right out of the way of a pickaxe. It sparked the ground.
I gasped and stared at the headless miner. His eyes were shimmering with a dark focus, staring directly at mine.
âOh Iâll help you find the dog. Iâll help you find whatever you want. But Iâll need those clean new eyes of yours first.â
He swung at my head. I ducked. He went for the backswing. I ran.
Stupidly, I ran in the opposite direction of the stairs. I ran straight into the long tunnel lined with dim lanterns.
But I couldnât turn around. I had no idea how quick he could move. And the speed of his pickaxe felt supernatural.
The tunnel was narrow, and lined with wooden tracks, I had to skip-run-jump over the panels with immense precision to make sure I didnât trip. Behind me, his voice chased.
âGo ahead. Run. I know where these all lead.â
I ignored the words and kept going. The tunnel bent left, then right, then left again. I ignored several exits before the tunnel spat me out into an open, cavernous room filled with dozens and dozens of minecarts.
I investigated the room for anything useful. A far opposite wall appeared to be the site of the latest digging, loose rock lay everywhere.
There was a small mineshaft holding a chained up cart. And something in the cart shimmeredâŠ
It was gold.
And not just ore either. There were bars, coins, medallions, and jewelry. Mrs. Winslowâs bangles were right on top.
I ran to the cart furthest from the entrance and ducked behind it, breathing heavily, coughing from all the dust.
The headless man emerged from the tunnel, pickaxe raised and scanning where I could have hid. âI may not be able to hear you. But I can follow footprints pretty easily hah. I know youâre in here.â
He grabbed the closest minecart available and pushed it into the tunnel entrance. With an immense show of strength, he lifted and dislodged the cart off the track, cramming it sideways, creating a massive obstacle.
I was sealed inside.
Trying to stay absolutely still, I coughed through my teeth. Lungs burning. My momâs voice came through.
âBrrzzztt⊠The police should be there! I told them you were in danger! They said they sent a unit over. Maybe they broke down the front door?â
I looked up at the mine shaft next to me. If it did connect to the surface upstairs, this was my only chance.
I gave a couple good yells. âHEEEEELP!!! DOWN HERE!! HELP!â
I donât know if it did any good, but it was better than nothing. I turned to see if the miner had heard anything.
He hadn't.
The pickaxe tapped and clanged awkwardly around minecart after minecart.
I had a bigger advantage than I thought.
Although the miner had two floating eyeballs, only the left one was really capable of seeing anything.
So I kept my distance and watched where he was going, always staying behind.
As he limped and peered around minecarts, I was able to evade him, move from behind rock piles and other carts, careful not to leave a trail in the rock dust.
It was all going well until I heard a familiar panting.
âOh look. If it isnât precious.â
The dog had managed to jump over the minerâs blockade. It must have heard my yells. Surprisingly, Kipper was unafraid of the headless villain, and even approached him to receive pets.
âNow why donât you go say hello to our other friend here huh? I know she's here somewhere.â
No. Kipper. Please. Donât.
The dog started sniffing. Within seconds he found my scent. Kipper skipped towards me like Lassie and excitedly licked my face.
âAww there we are. Now isnât that a good boy?â
I stood up and stared at the filthy, ash-stained coveralls. Despite the lack of teeth, I could sense a menacing grin where the mouth should be.
He wasn't going to lose sight of me now. I had nowhere to go.
So I did the thing my auntie said worked on all spirits. I fell to my knees and prayed.
âPlease. I only came here for work. Iâm too young to die. Let me go and I won't tell anyone that you're here.â
He stood over me. Both of his pupils started to quiver. In just a few seconds, his eyes were swimming excitedly within the space of his head.
I took off the only valuable I had. A gold necklace with a miniature version of Christ the Redeemer. A gift I had received as a teen in Rio. I held it out in my shaking hands.
âPlease. Take it. Take everything.â
Suddenly both the eyeballs stared forward again, entranced by the gold.
âWell look at that. How generous. How generous of her. We should reward generosity shouldnât we?â
***
It was hard for me to describe to the police officer how exactly I got out, because I have no idea.
The fiery pain where my eyes used to be overwhelmed my entire reality for hours. All I wanted was for it to stop.
They found me half inside a dumbwaiter bleeding to death from the gouges in my face.
I was taken to the hospital, where I would spend the next four weeks recovering.
The police did not in fact storm the house like my mom said. They waited outside for the homeowner to return. But when they heard my screams coming from the top floor, they broke the back door and eventually came to my rescue.
Iâm told they did a thorough investigation but could not find any of the things I described.
The basement door led into a regular basement. It was filled with old furniture, unused decor, and paint cans. No Mine.
The dumbwaiter was also just a dumbwaiter. It wasnât some mine shaft, and it didnât lead any deeper than the basement. Nothing special.
There were definitely hot springs close by, but nothing close enough to damage Mr. Winslow's property. And there was an old, depleted gold mine not far away either, but it was completely abandoned, closed off, and nowhere near as big as the one I had described.
***
The police, paramedics and doctors all thought my story was some hallucination. That I had been on drugs or had some mental breakdown (even though they couldnât find anything in me other than small traces of weed.)
Thankfully, my mother and aunt believed me. They believed every word. My aunt is the one who encouraged me to make this post, so others could hear my story.
I know it was real.
I know it was.
And Mr. Winslow is fully aware of the mineâs existence.
Putting the dots together, I realized it was likely the source of his wealth. Winslow had some control over that one headless miner down there.
Did Winslow intentionally entrap me? Was he trying to get the miner a new set of eyes? Or was it all an unfortunate accident?
I might never know.
But what I do know is that Mr. Winslow has been paying for our rent ever since the accident.
He feels âterrible about the situationâ and âcanât possibly imagineâ what Iâve been through.
But he knows what happened.
He knows if I really pushed, If I really forced the police, or some private investigator to look into itâthey would uncover something awful. Something really really bad.
âAnything you need. Anything at all. I will cover it, Ida.â He said. âYou helped me out, protected my dogs, and I will never forget it.â
Heâs offered to pay for the rest of my University schooling. And once my face heals up, heâs even offered to cover for some very expensive, experimental eye-transplant. Weâll see how that goes.
âYou and your family will live comfortably from now on. Youâll want for nothing. Tell me exactly what you need, And youâll get it.â
So I told him I'd like my necklace back. It was an heirloom. I said I lost it somewhere in his house.
A few days later, he returned with the usual smug, half-crooked smirk in his voice. He brought the necklace back in a box, pretending he had bought me a new one. Except it felt exactly like my old one.
It was all shined up, completely buffed of scratches, but it weighed the same. It was my old one for sure.
When my mom saw it she asked, âdid it always have it? This dedication?â
As far as I remembered, the backside of the tiny Christ the Redeemer was always plain. I fingered its shape in my hands.
âWhat dedication?â
The new little divots caught my nails. There was writing that was definitely not there before.
My mom described it as a curly, serif font. Like a gift for a lover.
Youâre an angel.
2024.05.16 00:41 ArminGame Analysing protection in vol. 5 Blood on the tracks
 | There are interesting themes in this subplot about protection, bond between two and what is mother to someone that Oshimi explored as well as some interesting parallels between characters. submitted by ArminGame to ChinoWadachi [link] [comments] Fukiishi is lacking connection and is searching for someone to have a deep understanding of them and Seiichi is that person. Since they both suffer from bad mothers she can relate to him and understand him better. There are a lot of scenes that show us Fukiishi now playing a role of a mother for Seiichi as well as being a parallel to her previous mother or Seiko in this case as Seiichi sees his mother in her. Even tho the idea of ditching mother is main thing in this chapter it seems like Seiichi cannot escape his connection with the mother which we see later comparing to Fukiishi that mentally ditched her. This is the first example of Fukiihi being a new mother.. First when she touches him and says not to mom like that as she will be now the mother and holds his hands dragging him home like Seiko do. https://preview.redd.it/vcj037iwqn0d1.png?width=712&format=png&auto=webp&s=b8f43d79ab2f3b197635ae95c76c168652f9456e We see with Fukiishi bed sheets there are bunch of ribbons on which symbolize two bonds of persons that share something in common showing us Fukiishi and Seiichi new connections. https://preview.redd.it/ss05ozmxqn0d1.png?width=482&format=png&auto=webp&s=d0d4a7d8ffb0549abd04458e2e17ebe92742f314 The title of chapter 35 being "her room" but its not very different from Seiichi room. Seiichi is on top floor so when Fukiishi is coming the sound remind him of his room when Seiko comes to him as well as there being same window with curtains and the clock that is loud like in his room. https://preview.redd.it/c1z5utx4rn0d1.png?width=726&format=png&auto=webp&s=1076da5cf63cb937c569fd7db3308173a8b4c893 Fukiishi giving him food and watching him. Food brings people more together and connect them., it makes people more relax and happy. Also if we go back to chapter 3 when Fukiishi saw a cat and pet it Seiichi is seeing blushing. Seiichi is like a cat he gets easily friendly with a person who is being nice to and fed him food. This scene is very similar to that moment when Fukiishi asked Seiichi for the date. The rice balls with black and white color just like the cat in chapter 3. https://preview.redd.it/b9o38vjarn0d1.png?width=725&format=png&auto=webp&s=a7229a0d7ab640d15c7e4236c71f46e676c35f15 And since Fukiishi said they are alone because the dad went drinking it creates the same scenario like Seiichi would be at home with his mother. A panel with teddy bear is shown three times its a foreshadowing that Seiichi will replace it at the end of the volume when Fukiishi and Seiichi goes to sleep together. https://preview.redd.it/duzuy6qcrn0d1.png?width=737&format=png&auto=webp&s=339babc316ec154275bcadfe23ba89b86d6b161b The window that is covered with curtains showing us Seiichi is separate of mother. There are two windows when Seiichi looks one side is closed and the other is reflecting him as that window is him and the other is the mother which is not with him anymore also Seiichi doing that triggers the change of Fukiishi character as in next panels when she left to shower and comes back to room she is in complete white after showering and Seiichi still being in black is her apperance starting to change as Seiichi getting reminded of his mother more and more in later scenes. https://preview.redd.it/81u6e1cz6o0d1.png?width=770&format=png&auto=webp&s=0c51cf3214238f2512e4c502ae7602d5cec1bdb5 Fukiishi fear of abonnement comes from relationship with her mother but also her words reminding Seiichi of his mother and thinking that moment when she said help me after pushing Shigeru. Seiichi didnt ditch her back than meaning he already decided from the start he will not abandoned her he also says yes to Fukiishi even tho he is thinking of that event also showing us that he didnt really ditch the mother last volume it was more an action to protect Fukiishi. This also tells us that this story will be about Seiko and Seiichi trying to help her. https://preview.redd.it/pgglgcjnrn0d1.png?width=584&format=png&auto=webp&s=539fd72a54c6c390c84c516c323df825fc903315 https://preview.redd.it/a4whiggorn0d1.png?width=720&format=png&auto=webp&s=faf7872e822d5bb642f6f444eb51b0f32ebb69e9 A close shot of Fukiishi lips as the bubble saying Sei as Seiko is calling him again the parallels between them too as Seiichi seeing her as Seiko. https://preview.redd.it/wo52v7dprn0d1.png?width=776&format=png&auto=webp&s=462396eadea64f3cb2f14e087ac02a3b0670efb5 With imagery we see how Seiichi is getting more and more away from Fukiishi after he wakes up when he is in bathroom we see two windows facing him and at the back is one window that represend Fukiishi alone and the other two him and the mother. Its like wherever Seiichi goes the connection is there no matter where he is. She is also placed like her head is in the frame of the window and Seiichi is not able to see her clearly as he is thinking of his mother. https://preview.redd.it/5nz8b8krrn0d1.png?width=234&format=png&auto=webp&s=f78ece7309ca4cf7b844cf6fdc8564b67766cd4a https://preview.redd.it/4mkdok5srn0d1.png?width=342&format=png&auto=webp&s=355c0b1e5791fbfb8933ebb5ef55270995abdef3 Just like in his home Seiko pushes the father away and wants to be with just Seiichi alone just like Fukiishi is doing right now. Showing us bad side of her as he is flawed since she has traits from previous mother. Later in the room we can see this time the curtains are being more open and both windows are shown foreshadowing Seiko coming back to Seiichi. But also showing us rain witch also plays role as a foreshadow. https://preview.redd.it/li44a2urwn0d1.png?width=772&format=png&auto=webp&s=0df96d5b7cfef48c554b57ca33ae407430173a12 Seiichi being in darkness and is clinging to Fukiishi who is bigger than him and in light. https://preview.redd.it/iaeotvnurn0d1.png?width=503&format=png&auto=webp&s=ab3561262ba249ed73a424c6d0d52b289d061a27 When Seiko comes to visit Fukiishi and Seiko are placed that Seiichi cant see Fukiishi fully anymore she is not what he is thinking of anymore as the window is blocking her but see Seiko as she is in center of attention and he is looking down at her from above. https://preview.redd.it/hagnes3bsn0d1.png?width=509&format=png&auto=webp&s=b19e8371d468d4f481ee26fe134f427f837030e8 Seiko is soaked from rain and the rain has a lot of different meaning but one of the main thing is the mood it create which is sadness but also being something to clean the dirt away or in this scene Seiko since before she was being show like a monster to Seiichi but the rain is now washing all of the sins from her as she is wet and Seiichi now seeing her without guilt and "real" her. Seiko keeps apologizing and repeating words like sorry and forgive me. We do not know if Seiko is saying what she really is feeling or just acting but as this story is told from Seiichi view and her words seems very true to him. She think she is alone in this world and only have Seiichi which is her reason to not disappear. She cannot live without him and she is pain. While screaming Seiichi name her fingernail starts bleeding showing us her internal pain growing as well as her crying which also makes Seiichi cry. Seeing person who you truly care about and love cry you cannot help yourself to be in pain as well as that person. As they both cry they are both suffering even tho their pain is different is still show us their love for each other in this moment. https://preview.redd.it/w6giy445zn0d1.png?width=522&format=png&auto=webp&s=12d39973c78c7243884125295cd7cb222db6195f A panel with Seiko reflection in Seiichi eyes. This is important since Seiichi sees her weak and feels bad for her but later Fukiishi tells Seiichi that the mother is teriifying and scary. Showing us how Fukiishi perceive his mother and how Seiichi at this moment. https://preview.redd.it/htje7wmgsn0d1.png?width=408&format=png&auto=webp&s=a0d5e395dda9207d10f07f0e76165a14f581c067 This panel as Seiichi sees the rain which removed all bad things from his mother and is alone without any protection as Fukiishi dad saying to take umbrella a panel later she do not responds thus not taking it. She is alone and is shown very weak looking for Seiichi which he is the protection. https://preview.redd.it/twzacwsosn0d1.png?width=454&format=png&auto=webp&s=48adaf9458b03d67571f541ccc1adf80f5a065a4 Seiichi now feels very guilty about this. When Fukiishi says I will protect you Seiichi is now thinking about protecting his mother and him being that protection as he also feels in this moment like he did something very bad and sinned. The new location we have another 2 choices shown through environment which is one that Seiichi could go another way with Fukiishi or go back to his mother. https://preview.redd.it/351kc0ausn0d1.png?width=788&format=png&auto=webp&s=d748f71ffdc5a1b34b5760fec934964d7367de8a Seiichi gives his jacket to Fukiishi as protection from cold but she do not accept this but rather wants with him fully and get closer her being desperate to connect more as the jacket is not enough but later Seiichi decides to go to mother and be that protection for her instead. Fukiishi words saying to take her away showing as now her weak side as she wants someone to save her from but Seiichi already promise to his mom to go with her away from the home in volume 3 adding more guilt to Seiichi as he going to break in next couple of pages as he feels she is watching inside of him. Seiichi giving Fukiishi jacket and shoes showing us Seiichi do not want to this and leave Fukiishi alone but he has no other choice as he already decided from the beginning of this story to help his mother and be protection for her. This time there is no photo album but instead we get a drawing of Seiko by Seiichi in middle school as well as two letters which are pretty interesting. https://preview.redd.it/s749x0o7tn0d1.png?width=945&format=png&auto=webp&s=11d821efa4a6d68261232aa3f012e9943eb34d12 https://preview.redd.it/xiba3018tn0d1.png?width=945&format=png&auto=webp&s=42d434f68a84be6c3ca84e29cc6936c13105d480 |
2024.05.16 00:39 Peacock-Shah-III A Summary of President Philip F. La Follette's Second Term (1949-1953) Peacock-Shah Alternate Elections
 | submitted by Peacock-Shah-III to Presidentialpoll [link] [comments] Philip Fox La Follette, 34th President of the United States. Administration: Vice President: Michael A. Musmanno Secretary of Peace: Douglas MacArthur (1951-1952 (interim)), Clarence Dill (1952-1953) Secretary of State: Douglas MacArthur (1949-1951 (Department placed under Peace)) Secretary of War: Ralph Immell (1949-1951 (Department placed under Peace)) Secretary of the Navy: Francis P. Matthews (1949-1951 (Department placed under Peace)) Secretary of the Air Force: Charles Lindbergh (1949-1951 (Department placed under Peace)) Secretary of Production: Ralph Immell (1952-1953) Secretary of the Treasury: Rexford Tugwell (1949-1951 (resigned to assume office as Governor of New York)), Harold Lord Varney (1951 (interim)), Ralph Immell (1951-1952 (department placed under Production)) Secretary of the Interior: Mildred H. McAfee (1949-1952 (department placed under Production)) Secretary of Energy: Floyd Dominy (1950-1952 (department placed under Production)) Secretary of Agriculture: Gerald Nye (1949-1952 (department placed under Production)) Secretary of Labor: George Meany (1949-1952 (department placed under Production)) Secretary of Science and Technology: Karl T. Compton (1949-1952 (department placed under Production)) Secretary of Prosperity: Francois Duvalier (1952-1953) Attorney General: David Lilienthal (1949-1952 (department placed under Prosperity)) Secretary of Health: Francois Duvalier (1949-1952 (department placed under Prosperity)) Postmaster General: Gerald T. Boileau (1949-1952 (department placed under Prosperity)) Secretary of Education: Sara Gibson Blanding (1949-1952 (department placed under Prosperity) President La Follette would announce a major reorganization of cabinet departments following his 1951 impeachment, uniting the Air Force, Navy, War, and State Departments into one grand âDepartment of Peace,â despite opposition from both military leadership and Secretary of State MacArthur, who would depart from the Administration at the commencement of 1952 and be replaced by Farmer-Labor doyen Clarence Dill. The President has framed the move as embodying the national seal of an eagle carrying both arrows and an olive branch, while promoting centralization to improve efficiency while avoiding involving the United States in entangling alliances, an effort that has led to the end of the effort to unite American allies on both sides of the Pacific into a mutual defense pact. First Lady Isen La Follette, personally notably introverted, has been brought before the public as the chief public campaigner for the Department of Peace. With the centralization of foreign and military policy in full swing at the executive level despite the opposition of Congress, the spring of 1952 would see a second round of mass centralization, with longtime ally Ralph Immell appointed as the head of a new Department of Production, devised by Texasâs Lyndon B. Johnson, to supervise the old Treasury, Interior, Energy, Agriculture, Labor, and Science and Technology Departments, while Dr. Francois Duvalier has been appointed to lead the centralization of the Justice, Health, Education, and Post Office Departments into a united Department of Prosperity and Human Services, commonly referred to only by the former. As in the case of the Department of Peace, the former departments are slated to remain at a sub-cabinet level, and the efforts of opposition forces have successfully left the proposed integrations largely on paper for the time being. On the level of sub-cabinet departments, the Bureau of Investigation has been merged with the Office of Strategic Services to form the National Security Agency (NSA), an intelligence agency combining the foreign and domestic. Meanwhile, an executive order would begin the National Aeronautics and Space Administration with former President Charles Lindbergh appointed as its first head, however, Lindbergh would soon be dismissed as a part of the executiveâs compromise with congressâs impeachers, with businessman Howard Hughes taking his place. Opposition Representative Richard Nixon shakes hands with Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie during the Emperor's visit to the United States, where President La Follette would emphasize American support for non-communist anti-colonial movements. Foreign Policy: -President La Follette has found rare common ground with the opposition on matters of foreign policy towards the Soviet Union, echoing Arthur Vandenbergâs declaration that âpolitics ends at the waterâs edge.â The Administration has secured funding for the rebuilding of Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, and Korea under social democratic anti-communist governments, with President La Follette describing the initiatives as building an âiron curtainâ against communism. -President La Folletteâs term would see the death of two of the worldâs premier foreign leaders: Marshall Philippe Petain of France and Chinese General Feng Yuxiang. President La Follette would visit Paris in 1951 for the funeral of Petain after nearly four decades in power, having hailed the French publicly as future allies in the battle with communism. Yet, already suspicious of the new government of Petain protege Charles De Gaulle after the leaking of Americaâs role in Smedley Butlerâs assassination by Ambassador Gaston-Henry Haye, La Follette would find himself increasingly disenchanted with the French, with private reports indicating his horror at the mass deportation of Flemish, Germans, and Catalans into the French Congo from areas in Europe newly annexed into France. -However, the President would nonetheless side with the French-supported Roman Legion rebelling against Greece in 1951, marking the creation of the Republic of the Pindus as the first state for the Aromanian people in world history. However, the new state has been accused of engaging in the ethnic cleansing of the Greek population. -Meanwhile, touring China after the death of Feng Yuxiang, La Follette would become increasingly worried about the possible alignment of the nation towards the Soviet Union and controversially refuse to return the island of Taiwan to China until the election of a successor to Feng. With Communist leader Zhou Enlai rising in popularity and an election planned, American support would be thrown behind former warlord Yan Xishan, who would be selected President by the National Assembly in January of 1951 and promptly announce an indefinite delay on elections. Despite rising tensions with Chinaâs Bolshevik-backed Communist Party, La Follette would sign a treaty of return in February of 1952 relinquishing Taiwan to Chinese control. However, after six decades of intense Japanization under colonial authorities, Taiwan has found itself culturally isolated from the rest of China, speaking almost entirely Japanese and Hokkien rather than Mandarin. -A similar issue has emerged on the formerly Japanese territories of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. Owing to their close location to the Soviet Union, La Follette has authorized it as the site of dozens of American nuclear tests throughout his term and refused to cede sovereignty, with China, Japan, and Russia all harboring alternate claims to the islands. -The President has impounded funds from the 1950 and 1951 budgets passed by Congress to distribute for the reconstruction of American allies and occupied regions in the Third Pacific War, enacting the MacArthur Plan without the authorization of Congress and repeating to Chinese Premier Yan Xishan his famous remark that âvermin are infesting and polluting democratic organizations and the government itself.â -Working with the Latin American and East Asian nations in the American sphere of influence in the aftermath of the Franco-British Conflict, the President has moved the United States into the new Parliament of Nations headquartered in Rome, sending New Hampshire Progressive Senator Robert P. Bass as the first United States Representative to the largely powerless global body intended to facilitate global cooperation. Notably, however, the La Follette Administration has resisted efforts to include communist-aligned nations into the fold despite the membership of many French-aligned authoritarian regimes and absolute monarchies such as the Ethiopian Empire or the Caliphate. -1951 would see the formalization of the Treaty of San Diego, officially ending the United States occupation of Japan, and with it La Follette's rule by decree of the islands, while maintaining an American military presence on the island chain and transferring to American control the Ryukyu Islands, Iwo Jima, Samoa, and the Japanese stake in the Nicaraguan Canal shared with Argentina, where former Milford W. Howard associate Harold Lord Varney has been appointed as High Commissioner. -President La Follette held a summit with Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, and Madagascar Prime Minister Joseph Raseta in 1951 to commemorate the longstanding American support for independent nations in Africa, hosting, among others, independence activists Seretse Khama of Botswana, Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya, and Hastings Banda of Nyasaland. Further, American jazz artist Andy Razaf has taken the throne as King of Madagascar following the lack of an heir apparent to deceased Queen Marie-Louise, however, unfamiliar with the island of his ancestors, the newly-crowned Andriamanantena I has been sidelined by Prime Minister Raseta. -With rumors of Lazar Kaganovich planning Bolshevik expansion into Central Asia abounding, President La Follette and Secretary of Peace Dill would issue a joint statement in January of 1952 promising American opposition âby any means necessaryâ to âone more inchâ of Bolshevik expansion, with Dill describing Kaganovichâs policy towards France and the United States as âtrying to play both sides against the middle.â Destiny launches off the coast of Puerto Rico, inaugurating a new era in human history, Domestic Policy: -âOur attainments in space are a major element in the competition between the Soviet system and our own, they are part of the battle,â so would declare James E. Webb, Deputy Administrator of NASA, on October 4th, 1951, mere weeks after the failure of the impeachment of President La Follette, as he, former President Lindbergh, and gasping crowds of onlookers watched Destiny take flight, the first manmade satellite in human history to orbit the Earth. President La Follette would tout the achievement as the administration having begun the conquest of âthe final frontier.â -Working with Japanese scientists in the aftermath of the occupation, space policy has reached the fore as La Follette launches an aggressive series of follow-up satellites, beginning with Lewis and Clark and most recently including Stagecoach. However, rumors hold that the French have begun construction on their own site for space rocket launches. -Staring down the barrel of Speaker Joseph McCarthyâs aggression and Senator Estes Kefauverâs investigation into the assassination of Smedley Butler, La Follette turned away from Congress in 1949 to fulfill his promise to âwin the peace.â Acting first in April of 1949 shortly after the arrest of John L. Lewis, La Follette would issue Executive Orders 15092 and 15093, authorizing the building of an interstate highway system and national system of hydroelectric plants to be overseen by General Lucius D. Clay and the Army Corps of Engineers under the supervision of the Department of the Interior for the former and Department of Science and Technology for the latter, while authorizing the creation of a new Department of Energy, operating entirely on impounded funds and largely focusing on research on the utilization of nuclear energy. -In the latter effort, the President has found the support of prominent opposition financier Lewis Strauss, who has nonetheless argued that the development of nuclear energy is hampered by New State bureaucratic centralization. -Opposition politician Joseph Alioto has criticized the interstate highway system, pointing to the funding of La Folletteâs campaign by the Firestone Tire Company and arguing that road dependent companies have colluded to impede the further expansion of rail infrastructure. -Most controversially would be Executive Order 15097, issued in June of 1951 and seen as largely the brainchild of Secretary of the Treasury Rexford Tugwell, declaring the complete and total nationalization of the healthcare industry and authorizing the establishment of a National Healthcare Service (NHS) in the United States under the Department of Health. Although implementation has been plagued by legal challenges and billions in funding from healthcare providers to opposition candidates, the President has utilized impounded funds to subsidize healthcare for the elderly and impoverished. -Executive Order 15102 in December of 1951 would establish under the Department of Labor an employersâ syndicate led by former General Electric CEO Gerald Swope called the Business Council, leading to denunciations from across Farmer-Labor despite the low participation in the attempted employersâ union. -However, the 1946 executive orders declaring a national moratoria on the payment of mortgages and enacting wage and price controls were ended soon after the 1948 election. -In the face of a rapidly growing economy, La Follette has worked with new Federal Reserve Chairman Bernard Baruch to digress on the expansionist monetary policy that characterized his first term, with interest rates quadrupling to 15% in an effort that has successfully brought inflation from 13% to a mere 3% annually. Unemployment has fallen to 3.2% as the GDP as a whole has grown nearly 9% over La Folletteâs second term, an economic boom fueled by mass exportation to Europe and newly decolonized nations elsewhere. While the President has continued to voice support for the nationalization of the Federal Reserve, the issue has remained on the backburner. -An executive order in January of 1952 has set the new national minimum wage to $7.00 an hour from a previous $3.25, causing mass business outcry despite the Presidentâs argument that the increase is necessary to guarantee a âliving wageâ after post-war inflation. The Department of Justice has been authorized to prosecute offenders, however, critics have argued that businesses aligned with the Presidentâs political opposition have been unfairly targeted. -Rufus B. von KleinSmid of the Un-American Activities Board, appointed by the President to monitor journalism for seditious content, would attempt to suppress the release of an account by actress Frances Farmer of her forced confinement to a mental institution in 1948, where she was sterilized under La Folletteâs Executive Order 14768 from 1946, authorizing the mass sterilization of the mentally ill and those with âcriminal tendencies.â Further investigations into the ramifications of the order have led to staggering revelations of up to 200,000 sterilizations performed annually since 1946, largely under duress, on Americans in prison and mental institutions as well as former criminals. The President has defended the policy while authorizing a Department of Justice investigation into abuses by low level doctors. -The President would support the prosecution of a half dozen prison wardens accused of citing Executive Order 14767, establishing cooperatives for prisoners to work without pay on natural beautification projects, to turn prisoners into de facto slave laborers working 18 hour shifts as contract labor on farms. While the President has argued that the system itself has brought boons to the environment and American agriculture, critics have claimed that abuse remains widespread. -While delaying and, in some cases, entirely pausing the implementation of his executive orders in the wake of the promises of moderation amidst the impeachment trial that rescued his presidency from the brink of collapse, fascist Blackshirts and radical Mormon Destroying Angels have become increasingly violent in the months since impeachment, with headlines telling tales of opposition presses raided and armed men watching poll stations. Another conspiracy theory has held that the death of Committee for the Preservation of the Republic chairman Thomas Schall in a motor accident over the winter of 1951 was the result of an intentional Blackshirt hit-and-run. -While many have blamed the fiery speeches of Vice President Musmanno for encouraging Blackshirts, President La Follette and his brother in the Senate have fiercely denounced all violence on behalf of their movement, appealing to supporters for calm as they call for the speedy prosecution of the allegedly Blackshirt bombthrowers that took the life of elderly comedian Will Rogers. Nonetheless, fear of political violence has led to the cancellation of the 1952 Progressive-Federalist presidential primary in favor of a convention held in tandem with the Liberty League under the auspices of the Committee for the Preservation of the Republic. -Meanwhile, Washington Senate candidate Marion Zioncheck would throw himself off a building while campaigning to succeed Clarence Dill. In a coma, Zioncheckâs supporters have accused the administration alternately of reigniting his documented mental health issues and being behind the attempted murder themselves. -September 14, 1951, the height of Blackshirt violence in Philadelphia, St. Louis, and New York City, has been labeled the âKnight of the Long Knivesâ by opposition critic Styles Bridges. Vice President Musmanno has stood alone in the administration in defending the actions publicly despite condemnation from President La Follette that has carried into the authorization of NSA prosecutions of Blackshirt perpetrators. Representative Richard Nixon, the lead impeachment manager in the La Follette trial, has credited J. Edgar Hoover with the investigations rather than La Follette and accused the administration of only condoning them under pressure from his brother. -âPeople of America, wake up!â The last words of House Minority Leader Eduardo Chibas, broadcast into a million homes seconds before his suicide on live radio, has fueled the creation of local opposition organizing groups calling themselves âWide-Awakesâ and aiming to bridge opposition interests against the La Follette Administration. -The President has made a half a dozen speeches across the nation under the banner of his loyal National Progressives of America calling for the ratification of a 20th Amendment to shift to the president the powers of Congress, restricting the republicâs legislative branch to a mere veto power, while arguing that the need for a strong legislature would be replaced with a 21st Amendment establishing a process for national referendums. Although not passed by Congress, several state legislatures, including those of Alabama and Washington, have passed resolutions indicating a willingness to ratify the amendment. -The President further floated the concept of reforming the legislature into a âChamber of Corporationsâ balancing representatives from the General Trades Union and Business Council. -With the arrest of CIO leaders John L. Lewis and Tony Boyle, leadership of the nationâs chief opposition union has fallen to Walter Reuther and Jimmy Hoffa, representing the left and right of the organization. With widespread prosecutions against members and supporters such as Fulgencio Batista, however, Reuther and Hoffa have found themselves fighting to prevent the CIOâs collapse. Nonetheless, the CIO would hold a 1950 celebration of the life of former Vice President Lena Morrow Lewis, with President Alf Landon hailing her role in the opposition and using the funeral as a means to rally anti-La Follette sentiment. -Following a career in national politics spanning nearly seven decades, former President William Randolph Hearst would stop the presses for a final time on August 14th of 1951, passing away at the age of 88 in his castle in San Simeon, California. Having been alternately king and kingmaker in American politics for a half century, Hearstâs funeral would leave the streets around the Grace Cathedral full for blocks, with his son and heir William Randolph Hearst Jr. managing proceedings. Yet, in light of Hearstâs turn to the opposition and support for Fulgencio Batista, President La Follette would be notably absent from the funeral of the man who once coronated him the Farmer-Labor Partyâs nominee for the presidency. -President La Follette would push for the statehood of the territory of Tannenbaum, initially in a tandem effort with Territorial Representative Ernest Grueningâs push for Jewish colonization of the region as an alternative to the increasingly violent Palestine. However, with public sentiment against statehood riled up by Father Charles Coughlin in a campaign tinged by anti-semitism, Senator Henrik Shipstead would filibuster the statehood bill, prompting the Administration to declare a moratoria on statehood efforts and a reconsideration of whether statehood stands in line with national security interest. -At the urging of singer turned Tennessee Governor Roy Acuff, a group of anti-La Follette Hollywood stars have formed The Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, including Jane Russell, Ronald Reagan, Zasu Pitts, Gloria Swanson, June Allyson, Pat Buttram, Orson Welles, and Shirley Temple. -Senator John Horne Blackmore has proposed an additional tax on chain stores to encourage the development of small business, while he, former New York Governor Ezra Pound, and publisher James Laughlin have called for the revival of the American social credit movement. -Alabama and Illinois have established themselves as the fastest growing states in the nation, demonstrating success in Single Taxer Paul Douglasâs new âIllinois Modelâ as well as the continued prosperity of Alabama in the wake of Milford W. Howardâs fascist âAlabama Modelâ that has inspired emulation globally. -Farmer-Laborite Maine Senator Benjamin Bubarâs investigation of Hollywood has led to the firing or blacklisting of several dozen actors on charges of alleged homosexuality, with the Administration attempting to tie the issue to support for the Presidentâs political opposition, citing the blacklisting of Greta Garbo and Tennessee Williams as precedent for the firing of longtime members of the foreign service on charges of possible homosexual activities. -Notable inventions and scientific breakthroughs during President La Folletteâs term include the discovery of DNA by scientist Rosalind Franklin; the hydrogen bomb, newly tested on the island of Sakhalin; the first successful kidney transplant; and a revolutionary new vaccine for polio invented by University of Alabama doctor Jonas Salk. In John L. Lewis's stead, dynamic young Jimmy Hoffa has led the independent labor movement. The Supreme Court: -Justice Thomas C. OâBrien, appointed in 1939 as a part of President Lindberghâs takeover of the court, would die in November of 1951 at the age of 64. With the Presidency still reeling from impeachment, La Follette would nominate Michigan Supreme Court Justice Evo DeConcini to the position. However, the hostile Senate would overwhelmingly refuse to confirm the appointment, with Progressive-Federalist Leader George Pritchard vowing to oppose any La Follette nominee. With neither side budging, the position has remained vacant. Map of the world as of 1952. World Events: -After 9 years of prolonged conflict, the Franco-British War would conclude in August of 1950 with the Treaty of Amsterdam signed by Marshal Petain and British Prime Minister Oliver Baldwin, largely ceding French colonies to the British Empire, with the exception of the Congo, on the time table for independence, and Guiana and Algeria, incorporated directly into metropolitan France. Meanwhile, French dominion has been de facto recognized over most of Western Europe, with the west bank of the Rhine, Catalonia, Luxembourg, and Belgium directly incorporated into France while Germany has been divided into a series of puppet states. -Although the Spanish Republic has survived, the French-influenced, Catholic monarchist CEDA led by JosĂ© MarĂa Valiente Soriano has received significant funding in challenging Prime Minister Jose Ortega y Gasset, with a similar situation emerging in Italy following the democratization of the nation by former dictator Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, who has been succeeded by the pro-French Achille Lauro. -Alongside the neutral Netherlands, Portugal has stood outside of the French bloc, as fascist leader Francisco RolĂŁo Preto has held onto power while courting the support of both Bolshevik Russia and the United States, explicitly citing Milford W. Howard as his model for rule. -In what the French government has labeled âle Ă©puration de la frontiĂšre,â (the border purification), a forced exodus has occurred from newly annexed territories, driving millions from their communities and largely to French Africa, where the government has resettled hundreds of thousands each of Catalans, Germans, Greeks, Flemish Belgians, Italians, and the Occitan as French settlers claim their former homes. -Meanwhile, the international process of decolonization has sped up rapidly, with a proposal by Choudhary Rahmat Ali being adopted by the British to partition the former Raj and form the states of India and Pakistan, alongside a Christian state in the far east. -Mexican Prime Minister Manuel Gomez Morin has emerged as the primary center of power in the Empire after the crowning of 8 year old Maximiliano II as Emperor. -Under the leadership of Prime Minister George Drew, the Progressive-Conservatives have won yet another Canadian election, yet the rise of the Social Credit Party in Quebec has driven them to status as the nationâs official opposition. Drew has hosted an Anglo-American Summit alongside President La Follette and Newfoundland Prime Minister Joey Smallwood. -With Bolshevik Russia as the senior partner, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics has been established as an alliance between Russia and its satellite states in Kazakhstan and the Caucasus. -The Hashemite Caliphate has experienced increased unrest in both Palestine, where radical Jewish and Muslim militias have clashed, and the majority Christian regions of Mount Lebanon and newly annexed Nubia, where order has been nearly impossible to enforce. -Following the death of Jorge Carlos Mariategui after two decades at the helm of Peru, Jorge del Prado Chavez has succeeded him, shifting the nation further towards Bolshevik Russia and ending all possibility of Peru entering a Pacific defense pact. -The National Partyâs oppressive regime of white rule in South Africa has been used as a model by a growing movement for a white minority government among the displaced, largely German white population in the French Congo, slated for independence within the decade. -Social Democrat Mohammed Mossadegh has been elected President of the Republic of Iran, bringing the Georgist nation closer to Bolshevik Russia geopolitically as a counterweight to fiercely pro-British Caliph Abdullah and pro- French Turkish President CelĂąl Bayar. -Greek dictator Konstantinos Logothetopoulos would be deposed in a 1952 revolution following the successful secession of the Aromanians, with communist Markos Vafeiadis leading a Provisional Democratic Peopleâs Government with Bolshevik support. However, prominent author Nikos Kazantzakis has emerged at the fore of an anti-Vafeiadis protest movement for democratic socialism influenced by Georges Sorel. -Adopted throughout the Habsburg Realm, Soviet Union, and among many Jews in Palestine and Europeans in the Congo, the Esperanto language has gained nearly 50,000,000 speakers and become the official language of diplomacy for the newly founded Republic of Korea. Bolshevik Russia's \"Iron Lazar\" Kaganovich. View Poll |
2024.05.16 00:33 Responsible_Meet6498 Is There What's the to watch Bellator Champions Series: Paris live streams - MMA live?
Is There What's the to watch Bellator Champions Series: Paris live streams - MMA live? Bellator Champions Series: Paris - Fight card, start time, live streams - MMA Uncensored, Here is everything you need to know about Fridayâs (May 17th) Bellator Champions Series: Paris fight card.
Watch: Bellator Champions Series: Paris live
Watch: Bellator Champions Series: Paris live
Bellator return to Paris for the fourth time, for the Champions Series 2, wtih an event headlined by Patchy Mix's Bellator bantamweight championship defence against Magomed Magomedov.Patchy Mix vs. Magomed Magomedov: Bellator Paris date, start time, TV channel and live stream Bellator Champions Series: Paris - Fight card, start time, live streams - MMA Uncensored
Sean is back to preview Bellator Champions Series 2, which takes place on Friday in Paris. He discusses what the Champions Series may mean for Bellator's future in general before breaking down every matchup on the card.McPeek has stated heâs not committed to entering Mystik Dan in the Preakness. have owners made this call before?
Bellator Champions Series: Paris is kicking off from Accor Arena in Paris, France, with a bantamweight title fight sitting atop the main card. Bellatorâs defending champ, Patchy Mix will defend his throne against Magomed Magomedov in a high stakes rematch. The co-main event will enjoy former two-time GLORY Kickboxing champion, CĂ©dric DoumbĂ©, in his third PFL bout against Jaleel Willis.
Bellator Champions Series: Paris fight card
Main card
â Patchy Mix vs. Magomed Magomedov: Bantamweight Title
â CĂ©dric DoumbĂ© vs. Jaleel Willis: Welterweight
â Gregory Babene vs. Costello van Steenis: Middleweight
â Thibault Gouti vs. Archie Colgan: Lightweight
â Yves Landu vs. Jonas Bilharinho: Featherweight
Prelims
â Slim Trabelsi vs. Louie Sutherland: Heavyweight
â Mansour Barnaoui vs. Yusuke Yachi: Lightweight
â Aspen Ladd vs. Ekaterina Shakalova: (W) Featherweight
â Steven Hill vs. Mike Shipman: Middleweight
â AsaĂ«l Adjoudj vs. Bruno Fontes: Featherweight
I don't care if there is a small delay or anything, but it needs to be at a good bitrate at 1080p or it isn't worth watch for me. Also preferably I would want a way to watch it on a smart TV in some way but im expecting to sacrifice that luxury honestly.
ESPN, ABC or MMA Network. I'm sure you can stream as well as way to watch it but I want to see what you guys recommend.
submitted by Responsible_Meet6498 to Xbox_One_X [link] [comments]
Watch: Bellator Champions Series: Paris live
Watch: Bellator Champions Series: Paris live
Bellator return to Paris for the fourth time, for the Champions Series 2, wtih an event headlined by Patchy Mix's Bellator bantamweight championship defence against Magomed Magomedov.Patchy Mix vs. Magomed Magomedov: Bellator Paris date, start time, TV channel and live stream Bellator Champions Series: Paris - Fight card, start time, live streams - MMA Uncensored
Sean is back to preview Bellator Champions Series 2, which takes place on Friday in Paris. He discusses what the Champions Series may mean for Bellator's future in general before breaking down every matchup on the card.McPeek has stated heâs not committed to entering Mystik Dan in the Preakness. have owners made this call before?
Bellator Champions Series: Paris is kicking off from Accor Arena in Paris, France, with a bantamweight title fight sitting atop the main card. Bellatorâs defending champ, Patchy Mix will defend his throne against Magomed Magomedov in a high stakes rematch. The co-main event will enjoy former two-time GLORY Kickboxing champion, CĂ©dric DoumbĂ©, in his third PFL bout against Jaleel Willis.
Bellator Champions Series: Paris fight card
Main card
â Patchy Mix vs. Magomed Magomedov: Bantamweight Title
â CĂ©dric DoumbĂ© vs. Jaleel Willis: Welterweight
â Gregory Babene vs. Costello van Steenis: Middleweight
â Thibault Gouti vs. Archie Colgan: Lightweight
â Yves Landu vs. Jonas Bilharinho: Featherweight
Prelims
â Slim Trabelsi vs. Louie Sutherland: Heavyweight
â Mansour Barnaoui vs. Yusuke Yachi: Lightweight
â Aspen Ladd vs. Ekaterina Shakalova: (W) Featherweight
â Steven Hill vs. Mike Shipman: Middleweight
â AsaĂ«l Adjoudj vs. Bruno Fontes: Featherweight
I don't care if there is a small delay or anything, but it needs to be at a good bitrate at 1080p or it isn't worth watch for me. Also preferably I would want a way to watch it on a smart TV in some way but im expecting to sacrifice that luxury honestly.
ESPN, ABC or MMA Network. I'm sure you can stream as well as way to watch it but I want to see what you guys recommend.
2024.05.16 00:32 Responsible_Meet6498 What's the way to watch Bellator Champions Series: Paris live streams - MMA live at reddit?
What's the way to watch Bellator Champions Series: Paris live streams - MMA live at reddit? Bellator Champions Series: Paris - Fight card, start time, live streams - MMA Uncensored, Here is everything you need to know about Fridayâs (May 17th) Bellator Champions Series: Paris fight card.
Watch: Bellator Champions Series: Paris live
Watch: Bellator Champions Series: Paris live
Bellator return to Paris for the fourth time, for the Champions Series 2, wtih an event headlined by Patchy Mix's Bellator bantamweight championship defence against Magomed Magomedov.Patchy Mix vs. Magomed Magomedov: Bellator Paris date, start time, TV channel and live stream Bellator Champions Series: Paris - Fight card, start time, live streams - MMA Uncensored
Sean is back to preview Bellator Champions Series 2, which takes place on Friday in Paris. He discusses what the Champions Series may mean for Bellator's future in general before breaking down every matchup on the card.McPeek has stated heâs not committed to entering Mystik Dan in the Preakness. have owners made this call before?
Bellator Champions Series: Paris is kicking off from Accor Arena in Paris, France, with a bantamweight title fight sitting atop the main card. Bellatorâs defending champ, Patchy Mix will defend his throne against Magomed Magomedov in a high stakes rematch. The co-main event will enjoy former two-time GLORY Kickboxing champion, CĂ©dric DoumbĂ©, in his third PFL bout against Jaleel Willis.
Bellator Champions Series: Paris fight card
Main card
â Patchy Mix vs. Magomed Magomedov: Bantamweight Title
â CĂ©dric DoumbĂ© vs. Jaleel Willis: Welterweight
â Gregory Babene vs. Costello van Steenis: Middleweight
â Thibault Gouti vs. Archie Colgan: Lightweight
â Yves Landu vs. Jonas Bilharinho: Featherweight
Prelims
â Slim Trabelsi vs. Louie Sutherland: Heavyweight
â Mansour Barnaoui vs. Yusuke Yachi: Lightweight
â Aspen Ladd vs. Ekaterina Shakalova: (W) Featherweight
â Steven Hill vs. Mike Shipman: Middleweight
â AsaĂ«l Adjoudj vs. Bruno Fontes: Featherweight
I don't care if there is a small delay or anything, but it needs to be at a good bitrate at 1080p or it isn't worth watch for me. Also preferably I would want a way to watch it on a smart TV in some way but im expecting to sacrifice that luxury honestly.
ESPN, ABC or MMA Network. I'm sure you can stream as well as way to watch it but I want to see what you guys recommend.
submitted by Responsible_Meet6498 to Xbox_One_X [link] [comments]
Watch: Bellator Champions Series: Paris live
Watch: Bellator Champions Series: Paris live
Bellator return to Paris for the fourth time, for the Champions Series 2, wtih an event headlined by Patchy Mix's Bellator bantamweight championship defence against Magomed Magomedov.Patchy Mix vs. Magomed Magomedov: Bellator Paris date, start time, TV channel and live stream Bellator Champions Series: Paris - Fight card, start time, live streams - MMA Uncensored
Sean is back to preview Bellator Champions Series 2, which takes place on Friday in Paris. He discusses what the Champions Series may mean for Bellator's future in general before breaking down every matchup on the card.McPeek has stated heâs not committed to entering Mystik Dan in the Preakness. have owners made this call before?
Bellator Champions Series: Paris is kicking off from Accor Arena in Paris, France, with a bantamweight title fight sitting atop the main card. Bellatorâs defending champ, Patchy Mix will defend his throne against Magomed Magomedov in a high stakes rematch. The co-main event will enjoy former two-time GLORY Kickboxing champion, CĂ©dric DoumbĂ©, in his third PFL bout against Jaleel Willis.
Bellator Champions Series: Paris fight card
Main card
â Patchy Mix vs. Magomed Magomedov: Bantamweight Title
â CĂ©dric DoumbĂ© vs. Jaleel Willis: Welterweight
â Gregory Babene vs. Costello van Steenis: Middleweight
â Thibault Gouti vs. Archie Colgan: Lightweight
â Yves Landu vs. Jonas Bilharinho: Featherweight
Prelims
â Slim Trabelsi vs. Louie Sutherland: Heavyweight
â Mansour Barnaoui vs. Yusuke Yachi: Lightweight
â Aspen Ladd vs. Ekaterina Shakalova: (W) Featherweight
â Steven Hill vs. Mike Shipman: Middleweight
â AsaĂ«l Adjoudj vs. Bruno Fontes: Featherweight
I don't care if there is a small delay or anything, but it needs to be at a good bitrate at 1080p or it isn't worth watch for me. Also preferably I would want a way to watch it on a smart TV in some way but im expecting to sacrifice that luxury honestly.
ESPN, ABC or MMA Network. I'm sure you can stream as well as way to watch it but I want to see what you guys recommend.
2024.05.16 00:30 AutoModerator General Questions Thread, May 15, 2024
A thread for new collectors to ask basic questions of the community.
Frequently Asked Questions below!
A longer version of the subreddit rules is here.
For questions specifically concerning bootlegs or vendor legitimacy, please ask in the Bootleg Megathread.
NSFW & Spoiler Guidelines
Any collection posts containing bootlegs, comments advocating buying bootlegs, or links to sites selling bootlegs, recasts, or unlicensed merchandise will be removed.
People often ask about the legitimacy and/or safety of a number of websites which sell large resin statues. The more commonly-asked of those deal primarily in resins from studios which do not have a license from the Japanese IP holders to produce merchandise. Therefore links to those sites are not permitted here. Another sign is if MyFigureCollection doesn't list the either the statue, its manufacturer, or the shop it's being sold on.
MyFigureCollection
My Figure Collection is like MyAnimeList... but for figures! Their database includes thousands of items which been produced during the last couple of decades, along with reviews of shops and other helpful articles. One can also list their own collection and post gallery photos.
Shops
Thatâs going to depend a lot on what works for you, but most people around here buy them from Amiami, Big in Japan, Hobby Search, HobbyLink Japan, or Tokyo Otaku Mode. If none of those work for you for whatever reason, thereâs a list of reputable retailers in the sidebar that you can check out at any time. Be extra careful when ordering figures from websites like Amazon or ebay, as there are a lot of bootlegs on those sites. Donât be afraid to ask in our Bootleg Megathread if youâre unsure.
2. What differences are there between the shipping options I get from most Japanese shops?
Below is a rundown of the main shipping choices youâll get at most retailers. Keep in mind that if an order is large enough you will be forced to use one of the more expensive options, as SAL shipments have lower size and weight restrictions.
Most shops will ask you to pay shipping on a per-order basis, but here are some that will allow combined shipping:
4. When will I get charged for my preorder?
Most Japanese shops charge you once the item is in stock and ready for shipment. When that happens, they will send you an email asking for payment. Some shops (mostly overseas ones), will allow you to pay for the item up front though, if youâd like. A few with that option are:
5. Should I expect to pay customs fees when importing figures?
That depends on where you live. Hereâs a quick rundown:
You have three options for this:
A. Big in Japan is known to stock exclusive figures and ship to other countries. Usually the price is higher because they build in their proxy fees, but itâs easier than worrying about using a forwarder or proxy service. If you live in the US, Crunchyroll, Right Stuf, and Tokyo Otaku Mode also get exclusives sometimes, but out of the states the shipping can get expensive.
B. Forwarding Services: A forwarder is someone who you ship an exclusive item to so that they can forward the package on to you, usually for a flat fee + shipping. When using a forwarder you still make the purchase yourself, and enter their address into the shipping field. When the box arrives at the forwarder they will then stick your address onto the package and send it on its way.
Some popular forwarders are:
Be sure to read each sites instructions on forwarding carefully!
C. Proxy Services: With a proxy, you tell them what the item youâre looking for is and they will purchase it in your stead. This is handy for when a company doesnât accept foreign credit cards, or youâre having trouble navigating a Japanese website.
Some popular proxies are:
7. I see a bunch of really cheap figures that ship from China on ebay. Are those okay to buy?
Generally, no. Theyâre most likely bootlegs. If you want a second opinion on that, feel free to ask in the Bootleg Megathread thatâs always stickied at the top of the sub.
8. Whatâs a bootleg, and how can I avoid buying them?
A bootleg is a counterfeit figure often made using rejected molds of the official product. They are usually priced significantly lower than the genuine article, and in order to make their profit, bootleggers use lower quality materials and have less attention to detail- resulting in a substandard figure.
The Bootleg Megathread that I mentioned in question 7 is a great tool to avoid buying any bootlegs. It has a few tips and tricks to avoiding them to begin with, and a few more on how to spot them if youâre worried you might already own one.
9. Does anyone know when figure X is going to be released? How do I know if it was delayed?
My Figure Collection (sometimes referred to as MFC) does an excellent job of staying on top of information like release dates and delays. If youâre curious about an upcoming figures release date, check there first. This information can be found directly under the âReleasesâ section on a figureâs entry. If you only see a month and a year in that section, it means the release date has not yet been announced by the manufacturer, and there is still a chance the figure could be delayed.
If you make an account on MFC you can also subscribe to comments, changes, and pictures via a checkbox on the right hand side of a figureâs listing. Subscribing to any of these things will allow MFC to send you an email anytime the subscription in question updates. Subscribing to âchangesâ is a great way to keep up with release dates and delays, among other things.
10. The figure I want is long sold out at normal retailers! Whatâs the best place to pick it up in the aftermarket?
A list of reputable retailers can be found under the âShopsâ section of the /AnimeFigures sidebar. They all sell legitimate products, and many of them also sell figures second hand. However, the most frequently suggested second hand sites are Mandarake and Amiami- who has a preowned section that they update every night save Sundays and Japanese holidays around 1PM JST and again around 6PM JST.
AmiAmi grades their pre-owned items on a letter scale. The general consensus from buyers is that their ratings are conservative, so unless the item and/or packaging is specifically indicated as having significant flaws, pre-owned items from them are usually in at least as good a condition as their rating suggests.
Note: When you search Mandarake, youâll get the best results by using the Japanese characters for whatever you are searching. If you donât know them, you can find them on MFC by clicking on any of the âdetailsâ in that figureâs listing.
11. Amiami has a figure Iâm interested in labeled as âFor sale in Japan onlyâ. Does this mean I canât order it without a proxy or forwarder?
No, you can still order it. Amiamiâs English site has that warning on many items, and itâs mostly meant to inform you that this product was made for a Japanese market, and as such, will have Japanese speaking/writing in it- so donât expect any instructions to be in English. If Amiami doesnât want foreigners buying a certain product, they wonât even list it on their English site.
If you live near an Ikea try out one of these:
If you donât live near an Ikea, Amazon has a few display options, though they are more expensive. Also keep an eye on your local Craigslist (or your countryâs equivalent) and stores near you that are closing up.
13. What lighting do you guys recommend?
Ikeaâs Dioder LED strips were discontinued after a long run. A current version is the Vattensten, if you're inclined to buy your case and lights at the same time.
LED strips have become very commonly available in recent years; most hardware and home furnishing stores carry a selection now. Just make sure that the lights donât get too hot!
14. What are those clear plastic boxes that I see under everyoneâs figures in their collection posts, and where can I get them?
Those are called risers. Most of us use standard acrylic risers like these. Some other, easy to find things that have been suggested are:
Another common suggestion is to visit The Container Store if you have one near you. They have a lot of things to choose from that can suit a variety of needs. Be sure to check out their standard acrylic risers, their Amac boxes, and the various display cases they sell (baseball cases, mini car cases. hockey puck cases, etc).
15. Should I keep my figures sealed?
That is, of course, up to you really, but here are a few things to keep in mind when debating this question:
Those are classifications for figures based on a few factors.
17. There are so many figure companies! Who makes good figures?!
Obviously this is a very subjective question, but as a general starting point, here are a few well renowned figure companies:
My Figure Collection can be your best friend here. Simply do a search on the name of the series or character using the search bar located at the top right of the screen, and all associated figures pop up!
Alternatively, if youâre looking at a figureâs MFC entry, most of the text under the âDetailsâ section can be clicked on and used to run a search.
19. How can I commission a custom figure?
None of the major figure companies (Alter, Kotobukiya, Good Smile Company, etc.) will take a commission for a single figure. This thread has a few websites in it that you can check out, or you can look into garage kits. Some kit painters would be willing to resculpt, frankenstein together, or otherwise modify kits for the right price.
If you're looking for help completing a garage kit, /brushforhire may be useful.
Most people use a MFC combined with any or all of the following news sites:
To use MFC for this Iâll quote question #9.
21. Everyoneâs excited about something called WonfesâŠ.. what the heck is that?!
WonFes (short for Wonder Festival) is a biannual figure expo where many figure producers (both large and small) show off new sculpts and updates to figures already under way. Most companies save their most exciting announcements for WonFes, so we all look forward to the expo whenever it rolls around! Winter Wonder Festival is usually held in February, while Summer Wonder Festival is usually in July. The event has also spread to Shanghai, in the late spring.
22. One or two (or 15) figures were announced at WonFes that Iâm really excited about! How can I keep track of their progress once the event is over?
MFC is always really quick about getting new WonFes announcements (or any others throughout the year, for that matter) listed in their database, so we suggest using that. To find a figure from the event you can search any number of things, including the name of the character or the name of the show. You can also use the tag search to search âWonderFestival 20xx_[season]â to see all items announced at that event.
submitted by AutoModerator to AnimeFigures [link] [comments]
Frequently Asked Questions below!
A longer version of the subreddit rules is here.
For questions specifically concerning bootlegs or vendor legitimacy, please ask in the Bootleg Megathread.
- For Self Posts: include a bolded NSFW note next to links in that post.
- For Links to sites/images: If the figure is NSFW, or the website has any NSFW content (including ads) be sure to tag your post NSFW and use the appropriate link flair.
Any collection posts containing bootlegs, comments advocating buying bootlegs, or links to sites selling bootlegs, recasts, or unlicensed merchandise will be removed.
People often ask about the legitimacy and/or safety of a number of websites which sell large resin statues. The more commonly-asked of those deal primarily in resins from studios which do not have a license from the Japanese IP holders to produce merchandise. Therefore links to those sites are not permitted here. Another sign is if MyFigureCollection doesn't list the either the statue, its manufacturer, or the shop it's being sold on.
MyFigureCollection
My Figure Collection is like MyAnimeList... but for figures! Their database includes thousands of items which been produced during the last couple of decades, along with reviews of shops and other helpful articles. One can also list their own collection and post gallery photos.
Shops
Retailers:Blogs/News:
AmiAmi HobbySearch Mandarake (sells rare figures) Good Smile Company Online Shop (often has exclusives) Good Smile Company US shop Crunchyroll Store Hobby Link Japan (aka HLJ) Solaris Japan (MFC partner) BigBadToyStore (MFC partner, US retailer) Big in Japan (also has proxy service) Tokyo Otaku Mode FigureHaven Archonia (EU) Yorokonde (EU) Figuya (EU) Gamersheek (UK) Jungle
List of retailers on MFC
/AnimeFigures' List of Retailers
Community Guide to Shopping in Japan
Nekomagic (News/Previews) NyaaFigurines (Reviews/Releases) Kahotan's Blog (News/Reviews) Figma Blog (JP)
Buying & Shipping
1. Whatâs the best place to buy my anime figures from?Thatâs going to depend a lot on what works for you, but most people around here buy them from Amiami, Big in Japan, Hobby Search, HobbyLink Japan, or Tokyo Otaku Mode. If none of those work for you for whatever reason, thereâs a list of reputable retailers in the sidebar that you can check out at any time. Be extra careful when ordering figures from websites like Amazon or ebay, as there are a lot of bootlegs on those sites. Donât be afraid to ask in our Bootleg Megathread if youâre unsure.
2. What differences are there between the shipping options I get from most Japanese shops?
Below is a rundown of the main shipping choices youâll get at most retailers. Keep in mind that if an order is large enough you will be forced to use one of the more expensive options, as SAL shipments have lower size and weight restrictions.
- Unregistered SAL: Sometimes referred to as uSAL, is usually the cheapest method. It does not come with any tracking or insurance. Usually takes up 2-4 weeks for delivery.
- Registered SAL: Sometimes referred to as rSAL, is insured for the declared value up to 6,000 yen. It comes with a tracking number and usually takes 2-4 weeks for delivery.
- EMS: This method of shipping is much faster than either SAL options, usually arriving within a week of shipment. EMS shipments are insured for the declared value up to 2,000,000 yen.
- Airmail
- E-packet
- Surface: Shops don't offer this very often. It's an actual cargo ship and slow as a result.
- DHL: Becoming more available as an alternative to EMS on AmiAmi and other sites. Can be less expensive than EMS and of comparable speed, but may be more reliant on the specific geographical area being shipped to. The price is also determined by the size of the box. Offers their own tracking.
Most shops will ask you to pay shipping on a per-order basis, but here are some that will allow combined shipping:
- Amiami: You can combine orders here, as long as the orders ship in the same month. It doesnât matter if the item is new or preowned. Any preorders that are set for that month can also be combined with other orders for that month. However, be aware that if the preorder gets delayed, Amiami will remove that item from that monthâs shipment and place it on a new order. To combine orders on Amiami, use the âCombine Ordersâ feature under âMy Accountâ.
- Hobby Search: Hobby Search will let you combine orders that release in the same month, but you cannot combine in stock items with preorders. If you want to combine multiple preorders, or multiple in stock items, you can do so using the âOrder Recombinationâ feature on your account page.
- HobbyLink Japan: At HLJ, you have the option to send paid orders to their âPrivate Warehouseâ, where you can store them for up to 2 months. When youâre ready to ship the items, you simply select which items to ship and HLJ will combine them into one shipment for you. To use this, just select the âPrivate Warehouseâ option as shipping when you order.
4. When will I get charged for my preorder?
Most Japanese shops charge you once the item is in stock and ready for shipment. When that happens, they will send you an email asking for payment. Some shops (mostly overseas ones), will allow you to pay for the item up front though, if youâd like. A few with that option are:
- Big in Japan (Japanese store)
- Tokyo Otaku Mode
- Anime Island
- Crunchyroll
5. Should I expect to pay customs fees when importing figures?
That depends on where you live. Hereâs a quick rundown:
- Australia: 10% GST is now assessed up front.
- Canada: Minimum declared value for charges is around CAD$20 for regular shipments, and CAD$60 for gifts (gifting something only seems to lower the declared value by about CAD$40, not deplete it completely). When using Amiami, try their Small Air Packet option. It comes with tracking, gets there in about the same time as EMS, and is better at avoiding customs.
- European Union: As of 1st July 2021, VAT has to be paid on all goods imported from outside of the EU. Retailers are supposed charge VAT for purchases under âŹ150, however many Japanese retailers currently do not, so VAT will be charged when your order arrives in the EU. Orders that are >âŹ150, VAT and duty will be charged by your local customs.
- UK: As of 1st January 2021, VAT is to be charged by retailers for orders <ÂŁ135. However, customs isn't currently charging VAT on parcels valued at <ÂŁ135, even if the VAT hasn't been paid. Goods >ÂŁ135 will have their VAT and duty calculated and charged by customs.
- Mexico: Minimum declared value for customs fees is USD$300 for shipments by post, and USD$50 for shipments by courier.
- United States: A shipment has to have a declared value of USD$2,000 before customs starts hitting you with fees, so you most likely wonât have to worry about them at all.
You have three options for this:
A. Big in Japan is known to stock exclusive figures and ship to other countries. Usually the price is higher because they build in their proxy fees, but itâs easier than worrying about using a forwarder or proxy service. If you live in the US, Crunchyroll, Right Stuf, and Tokyo Otaku Mode also get exclusives sometimes, but out of the states the shipping can get expensive.
B. Forwarding Services: A forwarder is someone who you ship an exclusive item to so that they can forward the package on to you, usually for a flat fee + shipping. When using a forwarder you still make the purchase yourself, and enter their address into the shipping field. When the box arrives at the forwarder they will then stick your address onto the package and send it on its way.
Some popular forwarders are:
Be sure to read each sites instructions on forwarding carefully!
C. Proxy Services: With a proxy, you tell them what the item youâre looking for is and they will purchase it in your stead. This is handy for when a company doesnât accept foreign credit cards, or youâre having trouble navigating a Japanese website.
Some popular proxies are:
- Big in Japan (Wonât proxy for Yahoo Auctions)
- From Japan
7. I see a bunch of really cheap figures that ship from China on ebay. Are those okay to buy?
Generally, no. Theyâre most likely bootlegs. If you want a second opinion on that, feel free to ask in the Bootleg Megathread thatâs always stickied at the top of the sub.
8. Whatâs a bootleg, and how can I avoid buying them?
A bootleg is a counterfeit figure often made using rejected molds of the official product. They are usually priced significantly lower than the genuine article, and in order to make their profit, bootleggers use lower quality materials and have less attention to detail- resulting in a substandard figure.
The Bootleg Megathread that I mentioned in question 7 is a great tool to avoid buying any bootlegs. It has a few tips and tricks to avoiding them to begin with, and a few more on how to spot them if youâre worried you might already own one.
9. Does anyone know when figure X is going to be released? How do I know if it was delayed?
My Figure Collection (sometimes referred to as MFC) does an excellent job of staying on top of information like release dates and delays. If youâre curious about an upcoming figures release date, check there first. This information can be found directly under the âReleasesâ section on a figureâs entry. If you only see a month and a year in that section, it means the release date has not yet been announced by the manufacturer, and there is still a chance the figure could be delayed.
If you make an account on MFC you can also subscribe to comments, changes, and pictures via a checkbox on the right hand side of a figureâs listing. Subscribing to any of these things will allow MFC to send you an email anytime the subscription in question updates. Subscribing to âchangesâ is a great way to keep up with release dates and delays, among other things.
10. The figure I want is long sold out at normal retailers! Whatâs the best place to pick it up in the aftermarket?
A list of reputable retailers can be found under the âShopsâ section of the /AnimeFigures sidebar. They all sell legitimate products, and many of them also sell figures second hand. However, the most frequently suggested second hand sites are Mandarake and Amiami- who has a preowned section that they update every night save Sundays and Japanese holidays around 1PM JST and again around 6PM JST.
AmiAmi grades their pre-owned items on a letter scale. The general consensus from buyers is that their ratings are conservative, so unless the item and/or packaging is specifically indicated as having significant flaws, pre-owned items from them are usually in at least as good a condition as their rating suggests.
Note: When you search Mandarake, youâll get the best results by using the Japanese characters for whatever you are searching. If you donât know them, you can find them on MFC by clicking on any of the âdetailsâ in that figureâs listing.
11. Amiami has a figure Iâm interested in labeled as âFor sale in Japan onlyâ. Does this mean I canât order it without a proxy or forwarder?
No, you can still order it. Amiamiâs English site has that warning on many items, and itâs mostly meant to inform you that this product was made for a Japanese market, and as such, will have Japanese speaking/writing in it- so donât expect any instructions to be in English. If Amiami doesnât want foreigners buying a certain product, they wonât even list it on their English site.
Displaying Your Figures
12. What display cases do you recommend?If you live near an Ikea try out one of these:
- Klingsbo
- Billy (Often used with Morliden doors (now the HĂGBO and glass shelves.)
- Detolf: Formerly the go-to choice for inexpensive display cabinetry, the Detolf was first made flimsier around 2020 and then essentially phased out of the name, to become the BLĂ LIDEN. Knockoff versions of widely-varying quality are commonly found on other shopping sites these days, though.
If you donât live near an Ikea, Amazon has a few display options, though they are more expensive. Also keep an eye on your local Craigslist (or your countryâs equivalent) and stores near you that are closing up.
13. What lighting do you guys recommend?
Ikeaâs Dioder LED strips were discontinued after a long run. A current version is the Vattensten, if you're inclined to buy your case and lights at the same time.
LED strips have become very commonly available in recent years; most hardware and home furnishing stores carry a selection now. Just make sure that the lights donât get too hot!
14. What are those clear plastic boxes that I see under everyoneâs figures in their collection posts, and where can I get them?
Those are called risers. Most of us use standard acrylic risers like these. Some other, easy to find things that have been suggested are:
- Plastic picture cubes
- Card Deck Boxes
- If youâre feeling adventurous, try making your own!
Another common suggestion is to visit The Container Store if you have one near you. They have a lot of things to choose from that can suit a variety of needs. Be sure to check out their standard acrylic risers, their Amac boxes, and the various display cases they sell (baseball cases, mini car cases. hockey puck cases, etc).
15. Should I keep my figures sealed?
That is, of course, up to you really, but here are a few things to keep in mind when debating this question:
- Keeping it sealed can actually damage your figure. PVC figures usually have something called plasticizer in them, and that plasticizer needs to be able to breath. If a PVC figure isnât exposed to oxygen, after a period of time the plasticizer starts to break down and form a sticky substance on the surface of the figure. Simply opening your figures and taking them out of the box prevents this from happening. If you happen to find plasticizer goo on one of your figures, Kahotan has a handy guide for dealing with it.
- Unlike some other figure markets, keeping an anime figure sealed wonât raise its value by a whole lot. In fact, because of the plasticizer problem mentioned above, your figure could actually be in better condition if you open it versus keeping it sealed.
Finding the Right Figure(s) for You
16. What are "scales" and "prizes"? What is the difference between them?Those are classifications for figures based on a few factors.
- "Prizes" are generally more simply produced figures which are intended to be given as prizes for playing arcade games. They are inexpensive and lack the detail of scale figures, though some prize figure lines have standouts which may approach lower-end scales in quality. That is uncommon and often depends on the individual figure.
- "Scales" are called such because they are nominally designed to be proportional to the dimensions of the character which they are based on. They are generally of much better manufacture and materials than prize figures, allowing for more detail in painting, accessories, or complex poses.
- "Trading" figures appear in gashapon machines or as blind boxes on shop counters, often as sets which include multiple characters. As suggested by the class name, the randomness encourages trading. They are usually very inexpensively-produced, though as with prizes, some series are better than others.
- "Non-scale" encompasses a variety of other categories. It is often used to describe poseable figure lines such as figma and Nendoroids.
17. There are so many figure companies! Who makes good figures?!
Obviously this is a very subjective question, but as a general starting point, here are a few well renowned figure companies:
- Alter
- Max Factory
- Good Smile Company
- Kotobukiya (usually hit or miss for people. Use your best judgement based off of the prototype)
- Flare
- Stronger
My Figure Collection can be your best friend here. Simply do a search on the name of the series or character using the search bar located at the top right of the screen, and all associated figures pop up!
Alternatively, if youâre looking at a figureâs MFC entry, most of the text under the âDetailsâ section can be clicked on and used to run a search.
19. How can I commission a custom figure?
None of the major figure companies (Alter, Kotobukiya, Good Smile Company, etc.) will take a commission for a single figure. This thread has a few websites in it that you can check out, or you can look into garage kits. Some kit painters would be willing to resculpt, frankenstein together, or otherwise modify kits for the right price.
If you're looking for help completing a garage kit, /brushforhire may be useful.
Keeping Up with New Announcements
20. How can I keep up with figure news (announcements, updates, etc.)?Most people use a MFC combined with any or all of the following news sites:
- Neko Magic
- Alterâs Blog (In Japanese)
- Kahotanâs Blog (Only GSC and their sister companies)
To use MFC for this Iâll quote question #9.
If you make an account on MFC you can also subscribe to comments, changes, and pictures via a checkbox on the right hand side of a figureâs listing. Subscribing to any of these things will allow MFC to send you an email anytime the subscription in question updates. Subscribing to âchangesâ is a great way to keep up with release dates and delays, among other things.Most companies have one or more Twitter accounts. Some examples: Good Smile Company sales, Good Smile's USA branch, Max Factory, AmiAmi Hobby News.
21. Everyoneâs excited about something called WonfesâŠ.. what the heck is that?!
WonFes (short for Wonder Festival) is a biannual figure expo where many figure producers (both large and small) show off new sculpts and updates to figures already under way. Most companies save their most exciting announcements for WonFes, so we all look forward to the expo whenever it rolls around! Winter Wonder Festival is usually held in February, while Summer Wonder Festival is usually in July. The event has also spread to Shanghai, in the late spring.
22. One or two (or 15) figures were announced at WonFes that Iâm really excited about! How can I keep track of their progress once the event is over?
MFC is always really quick about getting new WonFes announcements (or any others throughout the year, for that matter) listed in their database, so we suggest using that. To find a figure from the event you can search any number of things, including the name of the character or the name of the show. You can also use the tag search to search âWonderFestival 20xx_[season]â to see all items announced at that event.