Make rag flip flops
r/PoliticalHumor 2024: The Sequel Nobody Asked For
2008.09.04 01:02 r/PoliticalHumor 2024: The Sequel Nobody Asked For
A subreddit focused on US politics, and the ridiculousness surrounding them.
2024.05.14 21:19 eowynladyofrohan83 Abusive about Easter dress
When I was about eight years old my mom handmade us matching dresses that were allegedly for Easter. One for her and one for me. The only other sister born at the time was my toddler sister who for some reason my mom didn’t bother to make a matching dress.
My mom finished making the dresses at least a week before Easter and she wanted me to wear mine to church a week early. I started to protest because your new Easter dress is supposed to be this nice new thing you wear for the first time ON Easter. She twisted my intentions into an accusation that I didn’t like the dress in general, instead of the OBVIOUS point that it would mess up the surprise of wearing it for the first time on Easter along with everyone else who would show up in their new dresses on Easter. She was brushing my hair getting me ready for church and she snatched my hair harshly and hissed through gritted teeth, “I ought to make you wear rags! I ought to make you wear RAGS!!!!” And she kept yanking my hair hurting me on purpose. I remember my dad shouting some verbal abuse as well.
Finally sometime later I had the chance to explain the situation and my dad said in this drippy self-righteous tone, “Oh, we just thought you didn’t like the dress!” As if he had been innocent and made an innocent mistake.
submitted by eowynladyofrohan83 to HomeschoolRecovery [link] [comments]
My mom finished making the dresses at least a week before Easter and she wanted me to wear mine to church a week early. I started to protest because your new Easter dress is supposed to be this nice new thing you wear for the first time ON Easter. She twisted my intentions into an accusation that I didn’t like the dress in general, instead of the OBVIOUS point that it would mess up the surprise of wearing it for the first time on Easter along with everyone else who would show up in their new dresses on Easter. She was brushing my hair getting me ready for church and she snatched my hair harshly and hissed through gritted teeth, “I ought to make you wear rags! I ought to make you wear RAGS!!!!” And she kept yanking my hair hurting me on purpose. I remember my dad shouting some verbal abuse as well.
Finally sometime later I had the chance to explain the situation and my dad said in this drippy self-righteous tone, “Oh, we just thought you didn’t like the dress!” As if he had been innocent and made an innocent mistake.
2024.05.14 21:19 10384748285853758482 Sabo buffs will likely lead to frequent slugging and tedious bleedout builds/games
 | While Background Player was nerfed to 150% instead of 200% Haste, it is now up every 20s instead of every 40s, meaning it’s even more likely it’ll be ready literally any time the killer ever picks someone up. Toolboxes and toolbox add-ons have also been given huge buffs to sabotaging hooks. submitted by 10384748285853758482 to deadbydaylight [link] [comments] Combine the two, and you are going to end up with killers who will slug and not risk picking up due to the odds the survivor wiggles out. This will make survivors run self-recovery perks. Survivors that don’t will have to lay on the ground for minutes at a time. This can in turn, lead to tedious lose-lose gameplay of slugging over and over until survivors eventually bleed to death or run out of charges to sabotage hooks with. If they pick up, the survivor wiggles out. If they don’t, the survivor gets back up. Rinse and repeat until all survivors finally bleed to death. Example of a build made not to win, but to make a match as painful as possible: 1. Everyone runs No Mither and Background Player. Remaining two perks can be perks like Boil Over, Breakout, Flip Flop, Streetwise, Unbreakable, etc. 2. Everyone brings toolboxes with double sabotage add-ons. 3. Can toss in a map offering to try and get a map with few hooks or far-apart hooks. 4. All four survivors AFK in a part of the map with few hooks. 5. If the killer goes for a pickup, Background Player ensures someone outruns the killer to the hook and can sabotage it. 6. If the killer drops the survivor, they get back up and run back to the place they started at, wiggle out on next pickup, etc. |
2024.05.14 21:11 Sweet-Count2557 Best Beaches Near Charlotte Nc
 | Best Beaches Near Charlotte Nc Are you dreaming of a sandy oasis near Charlotte, North Carolina? Well, buckle up and join us on a virtual beach tour!As beach enthusiasts ourselves, we've scoured the area to bring you the best beaches.From the tranquil shores of Lake Norman to the pristine waters of Wrightsville Beach and the peaceful vibes of Atlantic Beach, we've got you covered.So grab your shades and get ready for a beach adventure like no other!Key TakeawaysLake Norman is the closest nice beach to Charlotte and offers a mix of business centers and relaxing escapes.Wrightsville Beach is known for its pristine waters and complete amenities, making it a great option for beachgoers.Atlantic Beach offers a peaceful and less crowded beach alternative, perfect for those seeking tranquility.Lake Wylie provides a serene picnic and family time, with activities such as boating, fishing, and parks available.Lake Beaches in Charlotte AreaWe have extensively reviewed the lake beaches in the Charlotte area, including Lake Norman and Lake Wylie, and found them to be highly recommended for their family-friendliness, safety, amenities, water quality, and accessibility.These lake beaches near Charlotte, NC offer a perfect getaway for families seeking relaxation and outdoor fun.Lake Norman, located in Cornelius, provides a picturesque setting with its clear blue waters and sandy shores. With a rating of 4/5 for family-friendliness, safety, amenities, water quality, and accessibility, Lake Norman offers something for everyone. Families can enjoy swimming, picnicking, and building sandcastles on its family-friendly beaches. Boating and fishing activities are also available, making it a great option for water enthusiasts.Lake Wylie, situated in Rock Hill, is another fantastic option for beachgoers in the Charlotte area. With a rating of 4/5 across all categories, Lake Wylie offers a peaceful and safe environment for families. The beaches here are well-maintained and provide ample space for relaxation and recreation. Visitors can enjoy swimming, kayaking, and paddleboarding in its calm waters. The lake also offers parks and picnic areas, providing additional amenities for families to enjoy.Overall, these lake beaches in the Charlotte area are highly recommended for their family-friendly atmosphere, safety measures, amenities, water quality, and accessibility. Whether you're looking for a relaxing day by the water or an exciting outdoor adventure, Lake Norman and Lake Wylie are the best beaches near Charlotte, NC to fulfill your desires.Ocean Beaches in North CarolinaLet's explore the beautiful ocean beaches in North Carolina and discover their family-friendliness, safety, amenities, water quality, and accessibility. When it comes to the distance between Charlotte and the beach, many people wonder how far it is. Well, the good news is that there are several stunning beaches that are within a few hours' drive from Charlotte.One popular beach destination is Wrightsville Beach, which is approximately 215 miles east of Charlotte. Known for its family-friendliness and beautiful shoreline, Wrightsville Beach offers a wide range of amenities, including lifeguards, restrooms, and parking facilities. The water quality here is excellent, making it a perfect spot for swimming and enjoying water activities.Another beach worth mentioning is Atlantic Beach, which is located approximately 290 miles east of Charlotte. This beach offers a peaceful and less crowded alternative to some of the more popular tourist destinations. It boasts clean waters, soft sands, and a variety of amenities such as beachfront rentals, restaurants, and shops.If you're looking for a closer beach option, Emerald Isle is situated on the same barrier island as Atlantic Beach and is approximately 285 miles east of Charlotte. This family-oriented beach offers stunning white sand, clear blue waters, and an abundance of beach amenities. It's also home to excellent family resorts, providing a perfect setting for a fun-filled vacation.Outer Banks: A Coastal ParadiseWe frequently dream about visiting the Outer Banks, a coastal paradise known for its beautiful beaches and rich history. The Outer Banks is located on North Carolina's eastern coast and consists of a 200-mile string of barrier islands. It offers more than 100 miles of shoreline, making it a haven for beach lovers. But what sets the Outer Banks apart from other beach destinations? Let's take a closer look:Outer BanksOther BeachesNatural BeautyStunning beachesBeautiful beachesRich HistoryCivil War battlegroundsHistorical sitesUnique GeographyBarrier islandsIsland experiencesWater ActivitiesSurfing, fishingKayaking, sailing, fishingFamily-Friendliness4/54/5Safety4/54/5Amenities4/54/5Water Quality4/54/5Accessibility4/54/5The Outer Banks offers a perfect blend of natural beauty and history. Whether you want to relax on the beach, explore historical sites, or engage in water activities, the Outer Banks has it all. And with its family-friendly atmosphere and high safety ratings, it's an ideal destination for a memorable vacation. So, if you're looking for a coastal paradise with beautiful beaches and a rich history, the Outer Banks should be at the top of your travel bucket list.Other Ocean Beaches Worth ExploringThere are several other ocean beaches worth exploring, such as Emerald Isle and Kure Beach, which offer stunning white sand and clear blue waters. These beaches provide a perfect setting for a family vacation or a relaxing getaway.Here are five other ocean beaches that are definitely worth exploring:Emerald Isle: Situated on the same barrier island as Atlantic Beach, Emerald Isle offers stunning white sand and clear blue waters. It's a family-oriented beach destination with an abundance of beach amenities and excellent family resorts.Kure Beach: Located at Pleasure Island, Kure Beach boasts a beautiful and well-maintained shoreline. It's the perfect setting for family vacations and outdoor concerts. The vibrant community spirit is evident with art shows and farmers markets. Plus, it's in close proximity to Fort Fisher State Recreation Area and Historic Site.Ocean Isle Beach: As the southernmost barrier island in North Carolina, Ocean Isle Beach spans seven miles along the Atlantic. It features powder white sand and clean water. This small seaside town offers museums, seafood restaurants, and summer activities planned for kids.Carolina Beach: Known as a vibrant beach town, Carolina Beach has a wide coastline and is the best beach for swimming near Charlotte. With lifeguards on duty and calm waves, it's perfect for families. The beach boardwalk offers amusement park rides and food stands, and the nearby state park features trails with carnivorous plants.Bald Head Island: Located in North Carolina, Bald Head Island offers a unique island experience. With beautiful beaches and nature preserves, it's a haven for nature lovers. Limited development and commercialization create a serene atmosphere, and the island is accessible only by ferry or private boat.These ocean beaches provide a variety of experiences, from family-friendly amenities to serene natural beauty. Whether you're looking for a fun-filled vacation or a peaceful escape, these beaches near Charlotte, NC have something for everyone.Beaches Beyond North Carolina: Nearby OptionsExploring beaches beyond North Carolina, we discovered nearby options with stunning white sand and clear blue waters. One such option is Hilton Head Island, a historic resort city in South Carolina. With its 12 scenic miles of shoreline, Hilton Head offers a variety of beach activities for everyone to enjoy. Coligny Beach Park is particularly safe for kids, and there's even a museum and wildlife refuge to explore.Another nearby option is Myrtle Beach, the tourist hub of the Grand Strand. This 60-mile string of nice beaches is an iconic destination for all generations. Families can enjoy water parks and amusement parks for some fun in the sun. And when you're done with the beach, there are plenty of cultural spots to explore.If you're looking for a quieter and more serene atmosphere, Folly Beach, located just south of Charleston, is the perfect choice. This charming beach offers a peaceful escape and is ideal for beach and camping adventures. You can even go on eco-tours to explore the estuaries and marshlands or take a boat ride to watch dolphins.Lastly, for a unique island experience, Bald Head Island in North Carolina is worth a visit. With its beautiful beaches and nature preserves, this island is a haven for nature lovers. The limited development and commercialization make it a peaceful retreat, and it's only accessible by ferry or private boat.Frequently Asked QuestionsWhat Are Some Popular Water Activities Available at Lake Norman and Lake Wylie?At Lake Norman and Lake Wylie, there are plenty of popular water activities to enjoy. From boating and fishing to kayaking and swimming, these lakes offer something for everyone. Whether you want to relax on a pontoon boat or explore the calm waters on a paddleboard, the options are endless.Both lakes also have parks and picnic areas, making them perfect for a fun-filled day with family and friends. So grab your sunscreen and get ready for some water-filled adventures!Are There Any Historical Sites or Landmarks to Visit Near Wrightsville Beach and Atlantic Beach?Yes, there are historical sites and landmarks to visit near Wrightsville Beach and Atlantic Beach.Wrightsville Beach is home to Fort Fisher State Historic Site, which played a significant role in the Civil War. It offers guided tours and exhibits to explore the area's rich history.Atlantic Beach is close to the Fort Macon State Park, which features a well-preserved Civil War-era fort and offers educational programs and exhibits.Both beaches offer a perfect blend of beach relaxation and cultural exploration.Are There Any Restrictions or Regulations for Beachgoers at the Outer Banks?When it comes to the Outer Banks, beachgoers will be happy to know that there are certain restrictions and regulations in place to ensure everyone's safety and enjoyment.For example, driving on the beach is only allowed in certain areas and during specific times.There are also rules regarding beach fires, camping, and pets.It's important to check with local authorities or visit the official Outer Banks website for the most up-to-date information on these regulations.What Are Some Unique Features or Attractions of Emerald Isle and Kure Beach?Emerald Isle and Kure Beach have some unique features and attractions.Emerald Isle is situated on the same barrier island as Atlantic Beach and offers stunning white sand and clear blue waters. It's known for its family-oriented amenities and abundance of beach amenities.Kure Beach, located at Pleasure Island, boasts a beautiful and well-maintained shoreline. It's the perfect setting for family vacations and outdoor concerts. The vibrant community spirit with art shows and farmers markets adds to its charm.What Are Some Family-Friendly Activities or Attractions Near Ocean Isle Beach and Carolina Beach?When it comes to family-friendly activities near Ocean Isle Beach and Carolina Beach, there are plenty of options to keep everyone entertained.At Ocean Isle Beach, you can enjoy summer activities planned specifically for kids, such as sandcastle building competitions and beach games.Carolina Beach, on the other hand, offers a vibrant beach town atmosphere with a wide coastline for swimming. You can also explore the beach boardwalk with amusement park rides and food stands or visit the nearby state park featuring trails with carnivorous plants.ConclusionAnd there you have it, folks! We've taken you on a virtual tour of the best beaches near Charlotte, NC.From the tranquil lakeshores to the breathtaking ocean vistas, there's a beach for everyone's taste.So pack your bags, gather your loved ones, and embark on a beach adventure like no other. With our insider tips and comprehensive rating system, you're sure to create unforgettable memories.So don't wait, grab your flip flops and head to the beaches near Charlotte for a truly epic getaway! submitted by Sweet-Count2557 to worldkidstravel [link] [comments] |
2024.05.14 21:08 Old-Blood3542 I just don't know what to do with myself.
19 male-identifying guy here. I have no idea what I want to do with my life. I've fell down holes of mindlessly watching self-help and therapy videos, dating advice, spending most of the day watching these so-called advice videos and threads to make me feel like I'm helping myself. I've managed to keep healthy habits like journaling and meditating, having a gym routine, and I have a part-time job. At the end of the day though, I simply feel completely empty. I have no girlfriend, no close friends. The only thing that stirs me is music and the occasional 420, as I simultaneously feel like I'm waiting for my life to "truly" begin.
Things I have been going over in my head every day the past few months:
What do I value?
Music, playing it, listening, discussing it. But I've heard endlessly that everybody loves music, it's not a hobby, it's a human characteristic. Writing. But it's difficult for me to write anything when my life is so meaningless. I know I love it, when I was in a better headspace I was great at it. Now I feel much more lost. Friendship. But my friends flip-flop between treating me well and treating me like shit. That's when I even see any of them, they're not close. Love. But I've been struggling in that department after making severe mistakes a year ago, losing the only person who has truly loved me, and often feels like will ever love me.
"Do what you love."
Be realistic, what year is it? That's not a viable option anymore. If I ever want to own a house, retire at a reasonable age, be comfortable, I'll be sticking with my STEM major. I can't write or do music as anything more than a hobby. And I have no motivation to do those things anymore anyways, since I'm not really living life anyways.
"Put yourself out there."
I have forced myself to sign up for a frisbee program in my area. Never played frisbee before, just wanted to do something. I have about a month til it starts. I feel like I'll just be the depressed guy there that no one really talks to. I tried getting into my local DIY concert scene. Nobody would talk to me, and I certainly wasn't going to take the risk to talk to them. I don't really know what else I could do. Signing up for things feels great, I just have to wait a month before they actually start at which point I've lost my zeal and probably end up quitting after a few days.
I guess the only good thing I can say is I'm alive, and I want to live. I don't know who to talk to.
submitted by Old-Blood3542 to therapy [link] [comments]
Things I have been going over in my head every day the past few months:
What do I value?
Music, playing it, listening, discussing it. But I've heard endlessly that everybody loves music, it's not a hobby, it's a human characteristic. Writing. But it's difficult for me to write anything when my life is so meaningless. I know I love it, when I was in a better headspace I was great at it. Now I feel much more lost. Friendship. But my friends flip-flop between treating me well and treating me like shit. That's when I even see any of them, they're not close. Love. But I've been struggling in that department after making severe mistakes a year ago, losing the only person who has truly loved me, and often feels like will ever love me.
"Do what you love."
Be realistic, what year is it? That's not a viable option anymore. If I ever want to own a house, retire at a reasonable age, be comfortable, I'll be sticking with my STEM major. I can't write or do music as anything more than a hobby. And I have no motivation to do those things anymore anyways, since I'm not really living life anyways.
"Put yourself out there."
I have forced myself to sign up for a frisbee program in my area. Never played frisbee before, just wanted to do something. I have about a month til it starts. I feel like I'll just be the depressed guy there that no one really talks to. I tried getting into my local DIY concert scene. Nobody would talk to me, and I certainly wasn't going to take the risk to talk to them. I don't really know what else I could do. Signing up for things feels great, I just have to wait a month before they actually start at which point I've lost my zeal and probably end up quitting after a few days.
I guess the only good thing I can say is I'm alive, and I want to live. I don't know who to talk to.
2024.05.14 21:06 Joshh170 Forza Motorsport Adds New Cars and Content With Update 8
 | Developer Turn 10 Studios has released Forza Motorsport Update 8, bringing substantial additions to the game, including new cars and content. Additionally, this new Forza Motorsport update includes several bug fixes for players on Xbox Series XS, PC via the Microsoft Store, and Steam. submitted by Joshh170 to GameGeeks [link] [comments] In 2023, Forza Motorsport was released as a reboot of the popular subseries within the Forza sim racing franchise, developed by Turn 10 Studios and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game introduces significant technical advancements like real-time ray tracing, dynamic weather, and damage modeling. Forza Motorsport's initial reception was positive, particularly for its realism and online multiplayer modes. One of the highlights of Forza Motorsport Update 8 is the introduction of Career Events, promising diverse experiences for players. These events include the Featured Tour: Track Toys Tour, which kicks off on May 15 and runs until June 26, offering enthusiasts the chance to immerse themselves in adrenaline-pumping racing action. Additionally, the update introduces various other events like Ginetta Juniors, Weekend Warriors, Kit Caterhams, and Track Toys, each with its unique challenges and rewards. Furthermore, the inclusion of new vehicles in the Forza Motorsport car lineup will please car enthusiasts. Among these are the 2019 Porsche #70 Porsche Motorsport 935 from the Track Toys Tour, the 2011 BMW 1 Series M Coupe from the Open Class Tour, and spotlight cars such as the 2019 Ginetta G40 Junior, 2015 Porsche Cayman GTS, 2013 Caterham Superlight R500, and 2019 Elemental RP1. These cars not only expand the roster but also offer players exciting choices for their racing adventures. Moreover, as with the previous Forza Motorsport patch, Update 8 brings significant improvements and bug fixes across various aspects of the game. Players can expect enhanced stability, refined gameplay mechanics, and optimizations for PC performance, including improved video memory usage and fixes for issues like screen flashing and controller disconnects. In the Forza Motorsport multiplayer arena, Spec Series events were introduced, including the Lotus 3-Eleven Spec Series and the Mazda Miata Spec Series, providing competitive racing opportunities for players looking to test their skills against others. The update also addresses car balancing, refining the performance of several vehicles in Featured Multiplayer Spec Series. Notable changes include adjustments to the engine torque, car mass, and downforce for cars like the 2019 Ginetta G55 GT4 and 1997 McLaren F1 GT. With ongoing updates like this one, Forza Motorsport continues to evolve, ensuring that players have a dynamic racing experience. Forza Motorsport Update 8 Patch Notes Version Number: Xbox Series XS: 1.587.4035.0 PC (Microsoft Store): 1.587.4035.0 Steam: 1.587.4035.0 Game Content, Features and Events [All Platforms] Career Events Featured Tour: Track Toys Tour (Available from May 15 5pm PT May 16 12am UTC – June 26 5pm PT June 27 12am UTC) Ginetta Juniors (Starts May 15 5pm PT May 16 12am UTC) Weekend Warriors (Starts May 22 5pm PT May 23 12am UTC) Kit Caterhams (Starts May 29 5pm PT May 30 12am UTC) Track Toys (Starts June 5 5pm PT June 6 12am UTC) Open Class Tour – 1960s Celebration (Available from May 15 5pm PT May 16 12am UTC – June 12 5pm PT June 13 12am UTC) D Class Series C Class Series B Class Series A Class Series Reward Cars Track Toys Tour: 2019 Porsche #70 Porsche Motorsport 935 Open Class Tour: 2011 BMW 1 Series M Coupé Spotlight Cars 2019 Ginetta G40 Junior (May 15 5pm PT May 16 12am UTC – May 22 5pm PT May 23 12am UTC) 2015 Porsche Cayman GTS (May 22 5pm PT May 23 12am UTC – May 29 5pm PT May 30 12am UTC) 2013 Caterham Superlight R500 (May 29 5pm PT May 30 12am UTC – June 5 5pm PT June 12 12am UTC) 2019 Elemental RP1 (June 5 5pm PT June 6 12am UTC – June 12 5pm PT June 13 12am UTC) VIP Discount Cars 2014 BAC Mono (May 15 5pm PT May 16 12am UTC – June 12 5pm PT June 13 12am UTC) 2016 Lotus 3 Eleven (May 15 5pm PT May 16 12am UTC – May 22 5pm PT May 23 12am UTC) 1996 Porsche 996 GT1 (May 22 5pm PT May 23 12am UTC – May 29 5pm PT May 30 12am UTC) 1994 Mazda Miata (May 29 5pm PT May 30 12am UTC – June 5 5pm PT June 12 12am UTC) 2016 Brabham BT62 (June 5 5pm PT June 6 12am UTC – June 12 5pm PT June 13 12am UTC) Multiplayer Events Spec Series Lotus 3-Eleven Spec Series (May 15 5pm PT May 16 12am UTC – May 22 5pm PT May 23 12am UTC) Early Factory Racecar Series (May 22 5pm PT May 23 12am UTC – May 29 5pm PT May 30 12am UTC) Mazda Miata Spec Series (May 29 5pm PT May 30 12am UTC – June 5 5pm PT June 12 12am UTC) Modern Factory Racecar Series (June 5 5pm PT June 6 12am UTC – June 12 5pm PT June 13 12am UTC) Open Series R Class Series and P Class Series (May 15 5pm PT May 16 12am UTC – May 22 5pm PT May 23 12am UTC) B Class Series and D Class Series (May 22 5pm PT May 23 12am UTC – May 29 5pm PT May 30 12am UTC) A Class Series and X Class Series (May 29 5pm PT May 30 12am UTC – June 5 5pm PT June 12 12am UTC) S Class Series and C Class Series (June 5 5pm PT June 6 12am UTC – June 12 5pm PT June 13 12am UTC) Spotlight Series 2019 Ginetta G40 Junior (May 15 5pm PT May 16 12am UTC – May 22 5pm PT May 23 12am UTC) 2015 Porsche Cayman GTS (May 22 5pm PT May 23 12am UTC – May 29 5pm PT May 30 12am UTC) 2013 Caterham Superlight R500 (May 29 5pm PT May 30 12am UTC – June 5 5pm PT June 12 12am UTC) 2019 Elemental RP1 (June 5 5pm PT June 6 12am UTC – June 12 5pm PT June 13 12am UTC) Rivals Events Spec Division: Forza Touring Cars – Virginia International Raceway Full Circuit (May 15 5pm PT May 16 12am UTC – June 12 5pm PT June 13 12am UTC) VIP: Mono a Mono – 2014 BAC Mono – Yas Marina South Circuit (May 15 5pm PT May 16 12am UTC – June 12 5pm PT June 13 12am UTC) Celebrate Senna’s Legacy with McLaren – 2018 McLaren Senna – Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit (May 29 5pm PT May 30 12am UTC – June 26 5pm PT June 27 12am UTC) Spotlight – 2019 Ginetta G40 Junior – Brands Hatch Indy Circuit (May 15 5pm PT May 16 12am UTC – May 22 5pm PT May 23 12am UTC) Spotlight – 2015 Porsche Cayman GTS – Mugello Club Circuit (May 22 5pm PT May 23 12am UTC – May 29 5pm PT May 30 12am UTC) Spotlight – 2013 Caterham Superlight R500 – Grand Oak Club Circuit (May 29 5pm PT May 30 12am UTC – June 5 5pm PT June 12 12am UTC) Spotlight – 2019 Elemental RP1 – Lime Rock Full Circuit (June 5 5pm PT June 6 12am UTC – June 12 5pm PT June 13 12am UTC) Bug Fixes and Improvements Stability [All Platforms] Fixed a game crash caused by quickly and repeatedly changing the number of Drivatar AI opponents in Free Play event setup. [1717959] Fixed an issue that occurred when exiting out of pre-race in Free Play quickly after switching cars or modifying the event setup would cause a soft lock in the loading screen. [1732080] Fixed a stability issue when the player would exit to Event Menu while on track in during a Test Drive. [1751335] Fixed an issue in which disconnecting and reconnecting a controller would prevent the player from progressing to the game menu. [1734977] PC Improvements have been made to video memory usage on PC. Addressed an issue where the screen would flash white when players entered the My Cars menu. [1749202] Fixed an issue on Steam where you would repeatedly be shown the Self-Improvement achievement, even when you haven't unlocked it. [1738129] Fixed an issue on Steam where the Safety Star and Safety Superstar achievements would accumulate incorrect progress after a multiplayer race. [1738130] Fixed an issue where the player could not exit out of Career when hovering over event posters and pressing the right mouse button. [1717135] Fixed an issue where Exit Event messages could not be closed out using a Cancel Button (B Button/ESC Key/Right Mouse Click). [1717315] Selecting replays using the mouse no longer requires a double click. [1580893] We’ve made changes to how PC graphics settings are applied to ensure you are only prompted to restart the game when it is necessary. [1568770] Fixed an issue where the player is prompted to restart the game when only the ‘Show Framerate’ toggle has been modified. [1755225] Fixed a PC-specific issue where the game would crash when disconnecting a wheel and reconnecting with a controller in Featured Multiplayer. [1728706] Gameplay[All Platforms] Introduced a Tire Wear Scale option to Free Play and Private Multiplayer, allowing adjustments to the rate at which tires are worn. 1x is the default value. At 2x, tire wear will occur twice as fast. Values range from .5x to 10x. This setting is found in the Event Setup Rules tab and in the Fuel & Tire menu when on track. Migrated the Open Class Tour in Career from the Builders Cup tab to the Featured tab. The Open Class Tour will be found in the Featured tab going forward. Fixed an issue where lap times faster than 18 seconds on Eaglerock Oval in Rivals X Class Time Attack leaderboards were not being posted. Fixed the achievement “Leisure Cruise” so that it now correctly unlocks when the specified criteria to complete a single lap at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps during sunset has been met. [1681510] Adjusted the rolling start in the Builders Cup Power Tour: Iconic Muscle event so that cars no longer collide before the 3-2-1. [1717346] Fixed an issue where players not using steering assists were given control of their car at the wrong time when exiting the pit. [1717893] Fixed a bug in Private Multiplayer lobbies where player cars would appear on the track instead of in the pits when the host changes the selected track and while one or more players are in the Post Race screen. [1729190] Fixed an issue in Private Multiplayer where timed races didn’t mark laps as dirty when driving off track. [1757780] In Featured Multiplayer, Telemetry now states the correct number of Qualifying Laps before Featured Race. [1733624] Fixed an issue where every Featured Multiplayer post-race transition would only ever show Laguna Seca art as the next track. Now, the player will see the correct track loading screens when continuing from one completed Featured Multiplayer race to the next event. [1653249] Fixed an issue where the "Not Connected" UI popup would repeatedly show during sign-in even after a connection was regained. [1746586] Fixed an issue in the Settings menu where resetting all options to default values did not apply to Audio Performance. [1731587] Multiplayer – Matchmaking and Events [All Platforms] We’ve updated Safety Ratings in Featured Multiplayer by increasing the number of previous races the Safety Rating uses to determine your rating from 10 to 20, and by making on-track collisions more impactful to Safety Rating. Changes will take effect after your first race in Update 8. In addition, we’ve improved the matchmaking algorithm to search for a narrower range of Safety Ratings compared to your own. For example, players with an 'S' Safety Rating should no longer be matched with players who have 'E' and 'D' Safety Ratings. Groups will be connected to matches based on the player with the lowest Safety Rating. We’ve updated Featured Multiplayer events to use consistent weather conditions and avoid unpredictable weather transitions mid-race. [1750733] Removed the 2020 KTM X-Bow GT2 and the 2020 Lamborghini Essenza SCV12 from the Forza GT Series and added them to the Modern Factory Racecar Series in Featured Multiplayer. [1753741] Added the 2019 Porsche #70 Porsche Motorsport 935 to the Forza GT Series in Featured Multiplayer. Developer’s Note: We’re currently working on recategorizing Forza GT racecars into separate spec divisions and expect to push these changes into the game this summer. Corrected an issue where the 1969 Lola #6 Sunoco T70 MkIIIB was eligible for the Vintage Le Mans Prototypes Series rather than the Prototype Group Racing Series. [1731588] Car Balancing [All Platforms] The following cars have been rebalanced in Featured Multiplayer Spec Series: Featured Multiplayer Spec Series Car Name Change Summary Forza GT Series 2019 Ginetta G55 GT4 Engine torque: +25% Car Mass: +13.4% Front Downforce: -45% Rear Downforce: -45% Early Factory Racecar Series 1997 McLaren F1 GT Increased Power 10% Early Factory Racecar Series 1997 Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion Increased Power 13% Lowered weight/ballast 3% Early Factory Racecar Series 1989 Ferrari F40 Competizione Increased power 10% Weight decreased 2% Drivatar AI [All Platforms] Reduced unnecessary braking scenarios for Drivatar AI opponents. Examples of this include braking while attempting to pass, two cars wide in corners, at the apex of corners, and on straights. Tracks [All Platforms] Gameplay[All Platforms] Introduced a Tire Wear Scale option to Free Play and Private Multiplayer, allowing adjustments to the rate at which tires are worn. 1x is the default value. At 2x, tire wear will occur twice as fast. Values range from .5x to 10x. This setting is found in the Event Setup Rules tab and in the Fuel & Tire menu when on track. Migrated the Open Class Tour in Career from the Builders Cup tab to the Featured tab. The Open Class Tour will be found in the Featured tab going forward. Fixed an issue where lap times faster than 18 seconds on Eaglerock Oval in Rivals X Class Time Attack leaderboards were not being posted. Fixed the achievement “Leisure Cruise” so that it now correctly unlocks when the specified criteria to complete a single lap at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps during sunset has been met. [1681510] Adjusted the rolling start in the Builders Cup Power Tour: Iconic Muscle event so that cars no longer collide before the 3-2-1. [1717346] Fixed an issue where players not using steering assists were given control of their car at the wrong time when exiting the pit. [1717893] Fixed a bug in Private Multiplayer lobbies where player cars would appear on the track instead of in the pits when the host changes the selected track and while one or more players are in the Post Race screen. [1729190] Fixed an issue in Private Multiplayer where timed races didn’t mark laps as dirty when driving off track. [1757780] In Featured Multiplayer, Telemetry now states the correct number of Qualifying Laps before Featured Race. [1733624] Fixed an issue where every Featured Multiplayer post-race transition would only ever show Laguna Seca art as the next track. Now, the player will see the correct track loading screens when continuing from one completed Featured Multiplayer race to the next event. [1653249] Fixed an issue where the "Not Connected" UI popup would repeatedly show during sign-in even after a connection was regained. [1746586] Fixed an issue in the Settings menu where resetting all options to default values did not apply to Audio Performance. [1731587] Multiplayer – Matchmaking and Events [All Platforms] We’ve updated Safety Ratings in Featured Multiplayer by increasing the number of previous races the Safety Rating uses to determine your rating from 10 to 20, and by making on-track collisions more impactful to Safety Rating. Changes will take effect after your first race in Update 8. In addition, we’ve improved the matchmaking algorithm to search for a narrower range of Safety Ratings compared to your own. For example, players with an 'S' Safety Rating should no longer be matched with players who have 'E' and 'D' Safety Ratings. Groups will be connected to matches based on the player with the lowest Safety Rating. We’ve updated Featured Multiplayer events to use consistent weather conditions and avoid unpredictable weather transitions mid-race. [1750733] Removed the 2020 KTM X-Bow GT2 and the 2020 Lamborghini Essenza SCV12 from the Forza GT Series and added them to the Modern Factory Racecar Series in Featured Multiplayer. [1753741] Added the 2019 Porsche #70 Porsche Motorsport 935 to the Forza GT Series in Featured Multiplayer. Developer’s Note: We’re currently working on recategorizing Forza GT racecars into separate spec divisions and expect to push these changes into the game this summer. Corrected an issue where the 1969 Lola #6 Sunoco T70 MkIIIB was eligible for the Vintage Le Mans Prototypes Series rather than the Prototype Group Racing Series. [1731588] Car Balancing [All Platforms] The following cars have been rebalanced in Featured Multiplayer Spec Series: Featured Multiplayer Spec Series Car Name Change Summary Forza GT Series 2019 Ginetta G55 GT4 Engine torque: +25% Car Mass: +13.4% Front Downforce: -45% Rear Downforce: -45% Early Factory Racecar Series 1997 McLaren F1 GT Increased Power 10% Early Factory Racecar Series 1997 Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion Increased Power 13% Lowered weight/ballast 3% Early Factory Racecar Series 1989 Ferrari F40 Competizione Increased power 10% Weight decreased 2% Drivatar AI [All Platforms] Reduced unnecessary braking scenarios for Drivatar AI opponents. Examples of this include braking while attempting to pass, two cars wide in corners, at the apex of corners, and on straights. Tracks [All Platforms] Increased the track material luminance to be more physically correct, improving the overall contrast and color saturation of the track. This affects newly released tracks as well as future track updates. Maple Valley has been refreshed with “Mobil 1 Presents Maple Valley” race day branding, which includes new track signage featuring Mobil 1. Fixed multiple pop-in zones across the entire Maple Valley track. Fixed multiple pop-in zones across the entire Mid-Ohio track. Fixed numerous areas across Mid-Ohio where textures were displayed at low resolution or stretched. Placed a barrier along the pit exit at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. To accommodate this change, leaderboards for this track have been reset. Fixed a couple zones at Brands Hatch that were missing or displaying broken skids. We’ve reset leaderboards for Le Mans track layouts following the changes made to this track in Update 7. Cars [All Platforms] 2016 Ford Shelby GT350R: Fixed an issue where suspension couldn’t be tuned without the Drift Suspension upgrade. [1648500] 2013 McLaren P1: Fixed an issue where the aero wing wasn’t displaying its deployment animation when accelerating after braking for a turn. [1592856] 1992 Volkswagen Golf Gti 16v Mk2: Fixed an issue where the Analog speedometer did not match the telemetry. [1652263] Fixed an issue on select cars where the fog lights or reflectors would instead act as brake lights. This fix applies to the 1998 Toyota Supra RZ, 2003 Ford Focus RS and 1997 McLaren F1 GT. [1730279] [1731165] Livery Editor[All Platforms] Introduced a Vinyl Material tool to the Livery Editor which can be used to uniformly adjust all vinyl materials on a car from matte (non-reflective) to glossy (reflective). This includes a reset option to revert all vinyls to match car paint glossiness. Imported designs from Forza Horizon 5 using its similar feature will automatically inherit these values. When removing a livery from a vehicle, the color will now be reset to the default manufacturer color instead of the color when the player purchases it. [1731939] Adjusted the arrangement of hint buttons in Livery Editor at the bottom of the screen. [1741965] Fixed an issue in the Livery Editor where the save popup would not be shown when exiting after flipping a decal or creating a mask from a layer. [1739245] The 'Find Designs' menu is now accessible for rental cars when players try to open it from 'Design & Paint Menu' and 'Livery Mode Select' scenes. [1643182] Fixed an issue where the game was creating empty base model liveries. Forza base liveries will no longer be created and stored unless it's the current livery in use. [1551365] Added iconography to layers in the Livery Editor. The player can now see icons to indicate if it's a mask layer or a locked layer. [1370431] The background values (position, scale, color, etc.) will not change when the player is navigating through the lighting options panel. [1734187] Fixed issues when flipping the rotation of vinyls in the Livery Editor. [1728080] Fixed an issue to prevent zooming of camera if the mouse is over Livery Color Selector in all color modes (Normal, Manufacturer, Special) for consistency. [1721951] Addressed an issue where player brake calipers were displaying the wrong color instead of the expected special colors. [1712512] Fixed an issue in the Design & Paint menu where non-block color vinyl shapes ignored mask effects. [1630741] Accessibility [All Platforms] Screen Narrator now properly narrates the “Place in Car Bay” scene. [1738094] Screen Narrator will now read associated credit bonuses as part of the option value names on Free Play Advanced options which affect credits earned during the event. This change also fixes the display of the bonus percentages for all players. [1721875] Fixed intermittent failures of Screen Narrator to read the tab names in the Builders Cup Series Selection scene. [1721928] Screen Narrator now fully supports the “Series Standings” leaderboard scene accessed from the Builders Cup Event Setup scene. [1721944], [1657223] Screen Narrator now correctly reads the Driving Assists modal popup for new players during the initial races of Career mode. [1738064] Screen Narrator will now always correctly read the Data Out IP Address and Port settings in the Gameplay & HUD settings menu. [1667393] Fixed an issue with Screen Narrator reading DLC pack descriptions twice in Purchase Options menu. [1746587] Added descriptive text for the SoundCloud Driver Suit. [1708217] The Tune Setups menu is now fully narrated. [1709554] Localization[All Platforms] Fixed an issue where several words were not translated when using [sv-SE] (Swedish-Sweden) language. [1589182] Fixed an issue causing hint button text to exceed the text boundaries in several languages. [1711597] Fixed a typo in Screen Narrator voiceovers in [pt-BR] (Portuguese-Brazil) when viewing car info panels. [1712323] Fixed an issue that caused text to overlap in the Fuel & Tire setup screen when text size is set to largest, and the language is set to [fi-FI] (Finnish-Finland). [1749301] Fixed an issue where the word “Pause” is not translated in [ja-JP] (Japanese-Japan). [1749465] Fixed an issue where the word “Hardcore” is not translated in several languages. [1749471] Fixed an incorrect character in [zh-TW] (Taiwanese Mandarin-Taiwan) that caused Fuel & Tire menu categories to be mistranslated. [1749479] |
2024.05.14 21:00 Sola_Sista_94 Cookies 'n' Dreams: Parts Seven and Eight (Fanfic)
"Himiko?" Kokichi knocked on the door to Himiko and Tenko's room later that night. Himiko had taken a long nap after such a disappointing day. But, before she fell asleep, she reflected deeply on what Kokichi had told her. She had to admit that he was right, that she needed to a better attitude about herself. But, how to do that, she didn't know. She suddenly remembered his words: You should be smart, confident, and capable of doing things your way. Her way? What was her way, exactly?
"Himiko?" Kokichi whispered a little louder. Himiko opened her eyes, hearing Kokichi calling out to her. She scrambled out of bed and went over to answer the door. Kokichi smiled at her with his usual cheeky grin. "Hey, sleepyhead! Are you still planning on selling cookies?" Himiko took a deep breath and nodded. Kokichi had given her some courage to actually try things and take chances, to try and overcome self-doubt.
"Yeah. I'm ready," she said. There was still a part of her that didn't want to, but she forced that part of her into silence. She lifted her chin and smiled at him. "I'm ready, Kokichi." Kokichi smiled back at her.
"Alright, Monkey Buns!" he cheered, giving her a high five and then a hug. "Same place?"
"Alright," Himiko nodded. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. She remembered what Kokichi had told her earlier about being smart and confident her way. "But, on the way over there, can we stop by my, um..." She paused to whisper. "...secret lair? "
"Ooooh?" Kokichi murmured with a curious smile. "Yeah, we can stop by." Himiko nodded and retreated back into her room to grab the two tin bowls of cookies she had baked with Three and Ten.
"Nyeh...okay, I'm ready," Himiko said. Kokichi took her hand in his, and the two crept downstairs. Some of the others were still in the dining room eating dinner, so Kokichi and Himiko had to leave through the front door to get to Himiko's secret magic room under the gazebo. Kokichi stood outside to keep watch while Himiko went inside her magic room. Once inside, she went for her magical dream powder bottle and poured some of its purple, sparkly contents into a small vial, hiding it in one of her jacket's pockets. Then, she met back up with Kokichi.
"Now I'm ready," she said.
"Okie-dokie!" Kokichi replied, taking the tin bowls from Himiko to hold them for her. "Let's go, HimikoCocoa Bean!" They then hurried over to D.I.C.E. headquarters.
"Boss!" Four said, jumping up from the couch. "And Boss Lady!"
"Hey, Ichiro," Kokichi and Himiko replied.
"Wanna hear a song that I heard on the radio?" Four asked. He cleared his throat, and began singing without waiting for a response. "If you like piña coladaaaaas, and getting caught in the rai-"
"Okay, Ichiro, that's enough," Kokichi interrupted, wincing from Four's terrible voice.
"Urgh...thank you!" Five exclaimed as she wrapped Kokichi's cape around him. After Three placed Kokichi's hat on his head, she turned to Himiko.
"So, Himiko, did you sell a lot of cookies?" she asked eagerly. Himiko gave her an apologetic look and shook her head. Three's shoulders slumped.
"Oh..." she said softly.
"What? Why?" Ten asked. "Did they not like them? Because I put all my blood, sweat, and tears into those things! Er...well, not literally...duh."
"Yeah, I hope not!" Two exclaimed, sticking his tongue out in disgust. "I bet there are people in this world who actually do stuff like that!"
"Nee-heehee...I know a very horny someone who'd do something like that," Kokichi said.
"The tin bowls are still so full!" Three said, her voice dripping with disappointment.
"It's not really the cookies that people didn't like, Keiko," Himiko said. "It was because of me."
"What exactly do you mean by that?" Nine asked.
"Well, I'm not really popular at school to begin with," Himiko said. "But, I wasn't really trying my best to sell them because I didn't think I could."
"Ouch," Six muttered.
"Oh, well...still!" Three huffed. "They could have at least tried your cookies, anyways! Those...those...clowns! " Then she turned to nobody in particular. "No offense, me," she mumbled to herself before turning back to Himiko.
"Hey, no offense to the rest of us, either!" Four said.
"Should we take offense?" Nine asked. "It's not like we're actual professional clow-"
"We get it, Hideyo!" everyone but Himiko interrupted simultaneously.
"Nyeh, well...anyways, thanks to Kokichi, I've decided to try again," Himiko said, giving Kokichi a shy smile.
"Aww, HimiCocoa Bean, you're making me blush!" Kokichi teased, wrapping his arm around her waist. "But, I only get half the credit. You should give yourself credit, too!"
"And you should give us those cookies," Four said, pointing to the tin bowls in Kokichi's hand.
"Himiko, are you still going to sell these?" Kokichi asked. Himiko thought for a moment. She remembered what Tsumugi said about chocolate chip cookies being plain and boring.
"No," she finally answered. "Actually, I've decided to go with Ten's plan from earlier."
"Right! Um...wait, what plan was that again?" Ten asked.
"The plan to make the snickerdoodles," Himiko said.
"Oh, yeah!" Ten remembered, a grin crossing his face.
"But, I wanna add a secret ingredient of mine," Himiko said.
"I hope it's not blood, sweat, and tears," Two said, shuddering.
"Why not?" Seven asked with a creepy smile. "Don't you like that salty, metallic flavor in your cookies?"
"Ew! Yuck! Kokichi, make her stop!" Five said, covering her ears.
"Tsukiko, don't make me tell Emi to get Mr. Sparkles," Kokichi warned. Seven hid under a blanket.
"No, please. Anything but that accursed pink and plushy unicorn!" she hissed. Five grinned smugly at her.
"Can we help you bake again, Himiko?" Three asked hopefully.
"Nyeh...of course!" Himiko answered.
"Neat-o! Let's get started!" Ten said, rubbing his hands enthusiastically. Kokichi nodded to Himiko encouragingly, and she followed Three and Ten to the kitchen. They soon got started on the batter. Himiko removed the vial of dream powder from her pocket.
"Oooo! What is that stuff?" Three asked, entranced by the purple, glittery powder.
"Hopefully the thing that'll win over any potential customers," Himiko answered before pouring the powder into the mixture. She mixed the batter until it became a shiny, glittering harmony of many colors.
"Holy Constantinople-y!" Ten exclaimed. "What the heck kind of secret ingredient is that?!"
"The batter looks so...pretty!" Three breathed in awe. "It's so...shiny and sparkly!" Then, she lowered her voice. "Is this...some of your magic, Himiko?"
"Nyeh...that's right," Himiko nodded.
"I know this is might sound like a dumb question, but...are you allowed to do that?" Ten asked.
"Nobody at school knows about my magic except for Kokichi," Himiko said. "So, technically, it's not not allowed. And besides, Kokichi said that I need to be smart and confident my way. And magic is my way of doing just that."
Part Eight
Sunday afternoon. Himiko took a deep breath, deeply breathing in the warm air as a gentle breeze flowed around her. Today, she felt lucky. She stood behind her table at the front of the school. Above her was a more colorful, glittery sign she and Three had worked on with the word, "Snoozydoodles," written in swirly letters. Hopefully it would be enough to bring in some customers. Her snickerdoodles were laid out on three large trays in front of her so that the other students could see their colorful and sparkly design.
"Hiya, Himiko!" came a cheerful voice. Himiko looked up and was surprised to see Three.
"Keiko?" she whispered. "Nyeh...what are you doing here?"
"I decided to come and cheer you on...and to make sure the turd buckets here buy your cookies," Three replied. "I put some love and special care into those cookies, and I didn't bust my tail just to have nobody buy them!"
"Nyeh...but...Ten and I worked on them, too," Himiko pointed out. "And I put my 'special ingredient' in them."
"I know," Three said. "But, I feel like if I worked hard on something, either by myself or in a group, I'd like for the world to see it, that's all."
"I understand," Himiko said with a small smile. "Wait...this is supposed to be a competition between me and Kokichi! I don't think he'd appreciate you helping me out, especially since I should be doing this myself."
"Well, I'll just be here for emotional support, then!" Three said. Himiko smiled gratefully and nodded.
"I guess that's okay," she said. " Thanks, Keiko. I like your outfit, by the way." Three scanned her outfit proudly. Instead of her D.I.C.E. uniform, she wore an oversized, cream-colored fluffy sweater over a short, pink ruffled skirt. She wore a pair of white tights with some loose pink socks and a pair of black and white checkered lolita shoes with pink straps. In her hair were pink bows over each pigtail.
"Eeee! Thank you!" she squealed happily. "It's not very often I get to go out in cutesy clothes like this, unless I'm undercover! Well...I guess you might say I'm going undercover right now, but...eh, whatever."
"Speaking of which, why are your shoes checkered?" Himiko asked. "Won't that give you away? Part of the reason why people know your organization is because of the checker pattern scarves...which makes me wonder how people haven't suspected Kokichi being part of...you-know-what."
"Heehee...I call that the 'Sailor Moon Effect,'" Three giggled. "But, anyway, when members of the organization are wearing casual clothes, we have to wear some article of clothing with a black and white checkered pattern to let other members know our affiliation. The beauty of it is that there are people not affiliated with us who wear checker patterned clothing, so it gives us a chance to blend in as if we're just regular people. That's why we have a codeword to tell the difference between members and the 'reggies.'"
"What's the codeword?" Himiko asked. Three leaned in closer to Himiko.
"'Funny business,' " she whispered.
"Nyeh...that's actually really cool," Himiko admitted with a smile.
"Yeah! You should really join, Himiko!" Three said. "I think you'll have lots of fun!"
"Fun with what?" asked Tenko, suddenly appearing with Angie and Tsumugi behind her. She had a frown on her face and marched right up to Three. "Himiko, who's this girl, and what's she trying to get you to join? WAIT!! Is this girl the friend you were talking about?! The one who helped you bake cookies yesterday?!"
"Yeah," Himiko nodded.
"Hey! I recognize you!" Angie said. "You're one of the girls who rescued Himiko from that crazy girl many months ago!" Three brightened.
"Yeah! That's me!" she said.
"Tuh...I could have rescued Himiko, you know," Tenko huffed, crossing her arms and glaring at Three.
"Well...why didn't you?" Three asked.
"Urgh...!" Tenko scoffed. "Who do you think you are?!"
"I'm Michika!" Three lied, using one of her aliases. "I'm here to support Himiko with her cookie sale!"
"She doesn't need your support," Tenko said, stepping in between Three and Himiko. "Himiko already has me! Right, Himiko?"
"Umm..." Himiko mumbled.
"Of course you do!" Tenko interrupted.
"But...you didn't even let her finish," Three said.
"I didn't have to," Tenko said. "I already knew what she was thinking because we're best friends."
"Well...then...if you're her best friend, why dont'cha buy a cookie?" Three suggested craftily.
"Hmph! I will!" Tenko scoffed and turned to Himiko. "How much for a cookie, Himiko?"
"Nyeh...same as before," Himiko answered. Tenko paid ¥500 and grabbed a shimmery, glittering light green snickerdoodle from one of the trays. "Ooo, these are pretty, Himiko! Did you bake them all by yourself?"
"No, um...Michika helped me again," Himiko answered. Tenko glared at Three and flipped her hair at her.
"Well...they're okay, then," she said haughtily. "But, they're extra special because you helped, Himiko!"
"What are these cookies called, Himiko?" Tsumugi asked, scrutinizing a glittering blue cookie.
"Nyeh...they're called 'Snoozydoodles,'" Himiko answered. "They're snickerdoodles, but a special kind of snickerdoodles."
"Oooo! Why are they called 'Snoozydoodles?'" asked Angie.
"You have to eat them right before going to sleep to find out," Himiko answered mysteriously. Tenko hovered her cookie in front of her mouth.
"Oh! So, I have to eat this right before bed?" she asked.
"That's right," Himiko nodded.
"Aw, that's so creative, Himiko!" Tenko cried in adoration. "You're really clever, too! I bet you thought of the name!" Three rolled her eyes in annoyance. Himiko provided a little baggy for Tenko to put her cookie in, and provided some for Angie and Tsumugi, as well, after they had paid for their cookies.
"Thank you, Himiko," Tsumugi said.
"Yes! Yes! Thank you, Himiko!" Angie chirped.
"Well...I guess we'd better try out the other cookies," Tsumugi said. "Everyone else said they'd have different flavors of cookies, too. Although, I don't think I'll try Kokichi's after what happened yesterday. I can plainly still feel the burn on my tongue."
"Hmm...I thought his cookies were divine!" Angie exclaimed. "I have never felt such an intense rush of heat before! Especially in a cookie!"
"Leave it up to a degenerate male to bake something so...horrible! " Tenko spat. Three raised a brow at her.
"Degenerate male?" she repeated. She didn't like hearing her boss being referred to that way.
"Yeah! Males are all scum of the Earth!" Tenko said. "Kind of like...best friend stealers."
"I wasn't trying to steal your best friend," Three said, fed up with Tenko.
"Huh...why did you assume I was talking about you? " Tenko asked. "You know what happens to people who assume things, don't you?"
"They end up knocking all 32 teeth out of the person accusing them of assuming things?" Three replied, trying to keep her cool.
"And you're violent!" Tenko shouted. "You're clearly a bad influence on Himiko!" Three stared at her in disbelief, creating an awkward silence to linger in the air.
"Well, um...I guess we should be going then," Tsumugi said, hurriedly yanking Angie away. "C'mon, Angie. Tenko? Are you coming?"
"No. I think I'll stay right here and help Himiko, since she clearly needs my support," Tenko said, glowering at Three.
"Tenko..." Himiko sighed in exasperation, but Three merely smiled sweetly at Tenko.
"Oh, my gosh! Where'd you get your outfit?" she asked. Tenko looked down quizzically at her outfit.
"W-Why...do you want to know?" she replied with suspicion.
"It's just so pretty!" Three replied. "Are you, like, the Ultimate Princess, or the Ultimate Cheerleader, or something?"
"Um...n-no...I'm the Ultimate Aikido Master," Tenko stammered as a small blush appeared on her face.
"Oh, wow! That's even better!" Three exclaimed. "I bet you give those...degenerate males...what they deserve all the time!" The hardened look on Tenko's face from before disappeared.
"You bet I do!" she said proudly.
"Oh...I wish I could be like you!" Three breathed. "You're, like, my hero! I bet you're a hero to girls everywhere!" Tenko lowered her head bashfully, blushing like crazy.
"N-No...I'm not all that...great," she sputtered.
"I bet you'd do anything for girls, huh?" Three asked.
"Oh, yes!" Tenko answered. "So long as you aren't a degenerate male, you're a friend of mine!"
Says the girl who just accused me of stealing her best friend, Three thought to herself. "Hooray! I'm happy to hear that! But...to tell you the truth, I can't believe you just ditched your other friends. They were girls, after all, and you just let them walk right into the school where they could be potential prey for those boys-er...I mean, degenerate males." Tenko gasped with realization.
"Oh, my gosh! You're so right!" she cried. "But...what about Himiko?"
"I'll look after her," Three said. "You trust me, right? I am a girl after all."
"Ohhh...well, okay," Tenko said. Then, she smiled. "I'll trust you, Michika! Take care of Himiko!"
"Oh, I will!" Three said. "Bye! Goodbye!" Tenko waved goodbye, leaving Himiko and Three alone. Three exhaled. "Finally, she's gone!" Himiko stared at her in amazement.
"Nyeh...that was incredible!" she cried. Three shrugged modestly.
"Yeah, I guess I picked up a little bit of manipulation skills from the boss," she said. "He's way better at it than I am, though! That girl was so annoying, by the way! Is she seriously your best friend?!"
"Well, yeah, I guess," Himiko answered. "She wants to support and protect me all the time."
"Sounds more like she wants to breastfeed you, or wipe your butt after you poop," Three said in disgust. She and Himiko shuddered at the thought. "Well, anyways, now that 'Tin Cup' is gone, let's put you on the cookie map!"
"Right!" Himiko said, and gave Three a high five.
submitted by Sola_Sista_94 to danganronpa [link] [comments]
"Himiko?" Kokichi whispered a little louder. Himiko opened her eyes, hearing Kokichi calling out to her. She scrambled out of bed and went over to answer the door. Kokichi smiled at her with his usual cheeky grin. "Hey, sleepyhead! Are you still planning on selling cookies?" Himiko took a deep breath and nodded. Kokichi had given her some courage to actually try things and take chances, to try and overcome self-doubt.
"Yeah. I'm ready," she said. There was still a part of her that didn't want to, but she forced that part of her into silence. She lifted her chin and smiled at him. "I'm ready, Kokichi." Kokichi smiled back at her.
"Alright, Monkey Buns!" he cheered, giving her a high five and then a hug. "Same place?"
"Alright," Himiko nodded. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. She remembered what Kokichi had told her earlier about being smart and confident her way. "But, on the way over there, can we stop by my, um..." She paused to whisper. "...secret lair? "
"Ooooh?" Kokichi murmured with a curious smile. "Yeah, we can stop by." Himiko nodded and retreated back into her room to grab the two tin bowls of cookies she had baked with Three and Ten.
"Nyeh...okay, I'm ready," Himiko said. Kokichi took her hand in his, and the two crept downstairs. Some of the others were still in the dining room eating dinner, so Kokichi and Himiko had to leave through the front door to get to Himiko's secret magic room under the gazebo. Kokichi stood outside to keep watch while Himiko went inside her magic room. Once inside, she went for her magical dream powder bottle and poured some of its purple, sparkly contents into a small vial, hiding it in one of her jacket's pockets. Then, she met back up with Kokichi.
"Now I'm ready," she said.
"Okie-dokie!" Kokichi replied, taking the tin bowls from Himiko to hold them for her. "Let's go, HimikoCocoa Bean!" They then hurried over to D.I.C.E. headquarters.
"Boss!" Four said, jumping up from the couch. "And Boss Lady!"
"Hey, Ichiro," Kokichi and Himiko replied.
"Wanna hear a song that I heard on the radio?" Four asked. He cleared his throat, and began singing without waiting for a response. "If you like piña coladaaaaas, and getting caught in the rai-"
"Okay, Ichiro, that's enough," Kokichi interrupted, wincing from Four's terrible voice.
"Urgh...thank you!" Five exclaimed as she wrapped Kokichi's cape around him. After Three placed Kokichi's hat on his head, she turned to Himiko.
"So, Himiko, did you sell a lot of cookies?" she asked eagerly. Himiko gave her an apologetic look and shook her head. Three's shoulders slumped.
"Oh..." she said softly.
"What? Why?" Ten asked. "Did they not like them? Because I put all my blood, sweat, and tears into those things! Er...well, not literally...duh."
"Yeah, I hope not!" Two exclaimed, sticking his tongue out in disgust. "I bet there are people in this world who actually do stuff like that!"
"Nee-heehee...I know a very horny someone who'd do something like that," Kokichi said.
"The tin bowls are still so full!" Three said, her voice dripping with disappointment.
"It's not really the cookies that people didn't like, Keiko," Himiko said. "It was because of me."
"What exactly do you mean by that?" Nine asked.
"Well, I'm not really popular at school to begin with," Himiko said. "But, I wasn't really trying my best to sell them because I didn't think I could."
"Ouch," Six muttered.
"Oh, well...still!" Three huffed. "They could have at least tried your cookies, anyways! Those...those...clowns! " Then she turned to nobody in particular. "No offense, me," she mumbled to herself before turning back to Himiko.
"Hey, no offense to the rest of us, either!" Four said.
"Should we take offense?" Nine asked. "It's not like we're actual professional clow-"
"We get it, Hideyo!" everyone but Himiko interrupted simultaneously.
"Nyeh, well...anyways, thanks to Kokichi, I've decided to try again," Himiko said, giving Kokichi a shy smile.
"Aww, HimiCocoa Bean, you're making me blush!" Kokichi teased, wrapping his arm around her waist. "But, I only get half the credit. You should give yourself credit, too!"
"And you should give us those cookies," Four said, pointing to the tin bowls in Kokichi's hand.
"Himiko, are you still going to sell these?" Kokichi asked. Himiko thought for a moment. She remembered what Tsumugi said about chocolate chip cookies being plain and boring.
"No," she finally answered. "Actually, I've decided to go with Ten's plan from earlier."
"Right! Um...wait, what plan was that again?" Ten asked.
"The plan to make the snickerdoodles," Himiko said.
"Oh, yeah!" Ten remembered, a grin crossing his face.
"But, I wanna add a secret ingredient of mine," Himiko said.
"I hope it's not blood, sweat, and tears," Two said, shuddering.
"Why not?" Seven asked with a creepy smile. "Don't you like that salty, metallic flavor in your cookies?"
"Ew! Yuck! Kokichi, make her stop!" Five said, covering her ears.
"Tsukiko, don't make me tell Emi to get Mr. Sparkles," Kokichi warned. Seven hid under a blanket.
"No, please. Anything but that accursed pink and plushy unicorn!" she hissed. Five grinned smugly at her.
"Can we help you bake again, Himiko?" Three asked hopefully.
"Nyeh...of course!" Himiko answered.
"Neat-o! Let's get started!" Ten said, rubbing his hands enthusiastically. Kokichi nodded to Himiko encouragingly, and she followed Three and Ten to the kitchen. They soon got started on the batter. Himiko removed the vial of dream powder from her pocket.
"Oooo! What is that stuff?" Three asked, entranced by the purple, glittery powder.
"Hopefully the thing that'll win over any potential customers," Himiko answered before pouring the powder into the mixture. She mixed the batter until it became a shiny, glittering harmony of many colors.
"Holy Constantinople-y!" Ten exclaimed. "What the heck kind of secret ingredient is that?!"
"The batter looks so...pretty!" Three breathed in awe. "It's so...shiny and sparkly!" Then, she lowered her voice. "Is this...some of your magic, Himiko?"
"Nyeh...that's right," Himiko nodded.
"I know this is might sound like a dumb question, but...are you allowed to do that?" Ten asked.
"Nobody at school knows about my magic except for Kokichi," Himiko said. "So, technically, it's not not allowed. And besides, Kokichi said that I need to be smart and confident my way. And magic is my way of doing just that."
Part Eight
Sunday afternoon. Himiko took a deep breath, deeply breathing in the warm air as a gentle breeze flowed around her. Today, she felt lucky. She stood behind her table at the front of the school. Above her was a more colorful, glittery sign she and Three had worked on with the word, "Snoozydoodles," written in swirly letters. Hopefully it would be enough to bring in some customers. Her snickerdoodles were laid out on three large trays in front of her so that the other students could see their colorful and sparkly design.
"Hiya, Himiko!" came a cheerful voice. Himiko looked up and was surprised to see Three.
"Keiko?" she whispered. "Nyeh...what are you doing here?"
"I decided to come and cheer you on...and to make sure the turd buckets here buy your cookies," Three replied. "I put some love and special care into those cookies, and I didn't bust my tail just to have nobody buy them!"
"Nyeh...but...Ten and I worked on them, too," Himiko pointed out. "And I put my 'special ingredient' in them."
"I know," Three said. "But, I feel like if I worked hard on something, either by myself or in a group, I'd like for the world to see it, that's all."
"I understand," Himiko said with a small smile. "Wait...this is supposed to be a competition between me and Kokichi! I don't think he'd appreciate you helping me out, especially since I should be doing this myself."
"Well, I'll just be here for emotional support, then!" Three said. Himiko smiled gratefully and nodded.
"I guess that's okay," she said. " Thanks, Keiko. I like your outfit, by the way." Three scanned her outfit proudly. Instead of her D.I.C.E. uniform, she wore an oversized, cream-colored fluffy sweater over a short, pink ruffled skirt. She wore a pair of white tights with some loose pink socks and a pair of black and white checkered lolita shoes with pink straps. In her hair were pink bows over each pigtail.
"Eeee! Thank you!" she squealed happily. "It's not very often I get to go out in cutesy clothes like this, unless I'm undercover! Well...I guess you might say I'm going undercover right now, but...eh, whatever."
"Speaking of which, why are your shoes checkered?" Himiko asked. "Won't that give you away? Part of the reason why people know your organization is because of the checker pattern scarves...which makes me wonder how people haven't suspected Kokichi being part of...you-know-what."
"Heehee...I call that the 'Sailor Moon Effect,'" Three giggled. "But, anyway, when members of the organization are wearing casual clothes, we have to wear some article of clothing with a black and white checkered pattern to let other members know our affiliation. The beauty of it is that there are people not affiliated with us who wear checker patterned clothing, so it gives us a chance to blend in as if we're just regular people. That's why we have a codeword to tell the difference between members and the 'reggies.'"
"What's the codeword?" Himiko asked. Three leaned in closer to Himiko.
"'Funny business,' " she whispered.
"Nyeh...that's actually really cool," Himiko admitted with a smile.
"Yeah! You should really join, Himiko!" Three said. "I think you'll have lots of fun!"
"Fun with what?" asked Tenko, suddenly appearing with Angie and Tsumugi behind her. She had a frown on her face and marched right up to Three. "Himiko, who's this girl, and what's she trying to get you to join? WAIT!! Is this girl the friend you were talking about?! The one who helped you bake cookies yesterday?!"
"Yeah," Himiko nodded.
"Hey! I recognize you!" Angie said. "You're one of the girls who rescued Himiko from that crazy girl many months ago!" Three brightened.
"Yeah! That's me!" she said.
"Tuh...I could have rescued Himiko, you know," Tenko huffed, crossing her arms and glaring at Three.
"Well...why didn't you?" Three asked.
"Urgh...!" Tenko scoffed. "Who do you think you are?!"
"I'm Michika!" Three lied, using one of her aliases. "I'm here to support Himiko with her cookie sale!"
"She doesn't need your support," Tenko said, stepping in between Three and Himiko. "Himiko already has me! Right, Himiko?"
"Umm..." Himiko mumbled.
"Of course you do!" Tenko interrupted.
"But...you didn't even let her finish," Three said.
"I didn't have to," Tenko said. "I already knew what she was thinking because we're best friends."
"Well...then...if you're her best friend, why dont'cha buy a cookie?" Three suggested craftily.
"Hmph! I will!" Tenko scoffed and turned to Himiko. "How much for a cookie, Himiko?"
"Nyeh...same as before," Himiko answered. Tenko paid ¥500 and grabbed a shimmery, glittering light green snickerdoodle from one of the trays. "Ooo, these are pretty, Himiko! Did you bake them all by yourself?"
"No, um...Michika helped me again," Himiko answered. Tenko glared at Three and flipped her hair at her.
"Well...they're okay, then," she said haughtily. "But, they're extra special because you helped, Himiko!"
"What are these cookies called, Himiko?" Tsumugi asked, scrutinizing a glittering blue cookie.
"Nyeh...they're called 'Snoozydoodles,'" Himiko answered. "They're snickerdoodles, but a special kind of snickerdoodles."
"Oooo! Why are they called 'Snoozydoodles?'" asked Angie.
"You have to eat them right before going to sleep to find out," Himiko answered mysteriously. Tenko hovered her cookie in front of her mouth.
"Oh! So, I have to eat this right before bed?" she asked.
"That's right," Himiko nodded.
"Aw, that's so creative, Himiko!" Tenko cried in adoration. "You're really clever, too! I bet you thought of the name!" Three rolled her eyes in annoyance. Himiko provided a little baggy for Tenko to put her cookie in, and provided some for Angie and Tsumugi, as well, after they had paid for their cookies.
"Thank you, Himiko," Tsumugi said.
"Yes! Yes! Thank you, Himiko!" Angie chirped.
"Well...I guess we'd better try out the other cookies," Tsumugi said. "Everyone else said they'd have different flavors of cookies, too. Although, I don't think I'll try Kokichi's after what happened yesterday. I can plainly still feel the burn on my tongue."
"Hmm...I thought his cookies were divine!" Angie exclaimed. "I have never felt such an intense rush of heat before! Especially in a cookie!"
"Leave it up to a degenerate male to bake something so...horrible! " Tenko spat. Three raised a brow at her.
"Degenerate male?" she repeated. She didn't like hearing her boss being referred to that way.
"Yeah! Males are all scum of the Earth!" Tenko said. "Kind of like...best friend stealers."
"I wasn't trying to steal your best friend," Three said, fed up with Tenko.
"Huh...why did you assume I was talking about you? " Tenko asked. "You know what happens to people who assume things, don't you?"
"They end up knocking all 32 teeth out of the person accusing them of assuming things?" Three replied, trying to keep her cool.
"And you're violent!" Tenko shouted. "You're clearly a bad influence on Himiko!" Three stared at her in disbelief, creating an awkward silence to linger in the air.
"Well, um...I guess we should be going then," Tsumugi said, hurriedly yanking Angie away. "C'mon, Angie. Tenko? Are you coming?"
"No. I think I'll stay right here and help Himiko, since she clearly needs my support," Tenko said, glowering at Three.
"Tenko..." Himiko sighed in exasperation, but Three merely smiled sweetly at Tenko.
"Oh, my gosh! Where'd you get your outfit?" she asked. Tenko looked down quizzically at her outfit.
"W-Why...do you want to know?" she replied with suspicion.
"It's just so pretty!" Three replied. "Are you, like, the Ultimate Princess, or the Ultimate Cheerleader, or something?"
"Um...n-no...I'm the Ultimate Aikido Master," Tenko stammered as a small blush appeared on her face.
"Oh, wow! That's even better!" Three exclaimed. "I bet you give those...degenerate males...what they deserve all the time!" The hardened look on Tenko's face from before disappeared.
"You bet I do!" she said proudly.
"Oh...I wish I could be like you!" Three breathed. "You're, like, my hero! I bet you're a hero to girls everywhere!" Tenko lowered her head bashfully, blushing like crazy.
"N-No...I'm not all that...great," she sputtered.
"I bet you'd do anything for girls, huh?" Three asked.
"Oh, yes!" Tenko answered. "So long as you aren't a degenerate male, you're a friend of mine!"
Says the girl who just accused me of stealing her best friend, Three thought to herself. "Hooray! I'm happy to hear that! But...to tell you the truth, I can't believe you just ditched your other friends. They were girls, after all, and you just let them walk right into the school where they could be potential prey for those boys-er...I mean, degenerate males." Tenko gasped with realization.
"Oh, my gosh! You're so right!" she cried. "But...what about Himiko?"
"I'll look after her," Three said. "You trust me, right? I am a girl after all."
"Ohhh...well, okay," Tenko said. Then, she smiled. "I'll trust you, Michika! Take care of Himiko!"
"Oh, I will!" Three said. "Bye! Goodbye!" Tenko waved goodbye, leaving Himiko and Three alone. Three exhaled. "Finally, she's gone!" Himiko stared at her in amazement.
"Nyeh...that was incredible!" she cried. Three shrugged modestly.
"Yeah, I guess I picked up a little bit of manipulation skills from the boss," she said. "He's way better at it than I am, though! That girl was so annoying, by the way! Is she seriously your best friend?!"
"Well, yeah, I guess," Himiko answered. "She wants to support and protect me all the time."
"Sounds more like she wants to breastfeed you, or wipe your butt after you poop," Three said in disgust. She and Himiko shuddered at the thought. "Well, anyways, now that 'Tin Cup' is gone, let's put you on the cookie map!"
"Right!" Himiko said, and gave Three a high five.
2024.05.14 20:57 dd_phnx Karma takes a swing at a Karen after almost becoming victims of her bad driving.
I'll try to make it as quick as possible.
Last Sunday, after a small dinner party at one of my relatives' house, it was about time to go home. That night, I took my mother home, as it was on the route to mine. At one point, we turn right into a one-way street before arriving, and that's when a wild Karen in a red Toyota appeared.
As it turns out, I had to hit the brakes hard enough as she almost face-plants her car into mine, so to speak. Yet she honks frantically, flips me off and yells something at me, which I couldn't distinguish because I had my windows shut. My mother and I were like, "What the...?" as that woman drove off. That Karen was brave (or fool) enough to go the wrong way, almost colliding with us and even throwing insults. We eventually arrived at my mother's house, shaking our heads at the scenario we just had.
Today, I went to my mother's place again, as we were to pick one of my nephews to the hospital because of a harsh fever, and on the exact same corner, I saw the same Karen, but this time yelling at the repo dude as her car was towed - I recognized the same red Toyota car that almost rammed into us, because its left rearview mirror was one of the countless cases of "If you can't fix it with duct tape, you ain't using enough duct tape".
After picking up my mother, she got me the gossip that the Karen woman recently moved around that area and was rather known for being rude and violent to pretty much every neighbor under the sun. Her car was towed because someone needed to leave for work - Her car was blocking the driveway and she didn't give a damn about moving it out of the way. I just concluded and told my mother "Treat everyone the way you would like to be treated".
TL;DR: A Karen goes obnoxious after almost hitting our car, and her car gets towed in a twist of Karma.
submitted by dd_phnx to AmITheJerk [link] [comments]
Last Sunday, after a small dinner party at one of my relatives' house, it was about time to go home. That night, I took my mother home, as it was on the route to mine. At one point, we turn right into a one-way street before arriving, and that's when a wild Karen in a red Toyota appeared.
As it turns out, I had to hit the brakes hard enough as she almost face-plants her car into mine, so to speak. Yet she honks frantically, flips me off and yells something at me, which I couldn't distinguish because I had my windows shut. My mother and I were like, "What the...?" as that woman drove off. That Karen was brave (or fool) enough to go the wrong way, almost colliding with us and even throwing insults. We eventually arrived at my mother's house, shaking our heads at the scenario we just had.
Today, I went to my mother's place again, as we were to pick one of my nephews to the hospital because of a harsh fever, and on the exact same corner, I saw the same Karen, but this time yelling at the repo dude as her car was towed - I recognized the same red Toyota car that almost rammed into us, because its left rearview mirror was one of the countless cases of "If you can't fix it with duct tape, you ain't using enough duct tape".
After picking up my mother, she got me the gossip that the Karen woman recently moved around that area and was rather known for being rude and violent to pretty much every neighbor under the sun. Her car was towed because someone needed to leave for work - Her car was blocking the driveway and she didn't give a damn about moving it out of the way. I just concluded and told my mother "Treat everyone the way you would like to be treated".
TL;DR: A Karen goes obnoxious after almost hitting our car, and her car gets towed in a twist of Karma.
2024.05.14 20:55 kaleidoscopekittyy Pedicure dayyy for these little flip flopped toesss!! What color should I get?!
 | submitted by kaleidoscopekittyy to flipflopfeet [link] [comments] |
2024.05.14 20:51 grandmalamadingding I have a friend who is a delusional stalker and I need advice.
So, a few years ago he went out on a few dates with a girl he’s known in passing since he was a teenager. He’s in his 50s now and he always had a thing for her.
Thing is, he had a major head injury when he was young and he just isn’t right, she picked up on that pretty quickly and told him she didn’t want to see him anymore.
To him, this is all some big test. I was unaware there was an issue and looked up some photos for him about a year ago which I texted to him. (He isn’t tech savvy and uses a flip phone). I didn’t think anything of it.
Once it became clear to me that he had some bad stuff going on, I regretted getting those photos for him.
He accidentally erased everything on his phone recently and he asked me to get them back. I told him I couldn’t remember how I found them.
This isn’t something that has happened all in his head either. He went to visit her parents, bought gifts for her and left them on her porch, changed his vehicle plate to a vanity plate with his and her initials. She started with a no trespassing order and then when he broke that to put gifts on her porch again she had him charged with stalking.
The reason I ask here is because he’s completely delusional. He thinks it’s all a big test and she wants to see how much he will take and still love her. He spent three days in jail already and he said, “it isn’t what it looks like. It’s all a big show. This person was at court and they winked at me. The judge is in on it. She’s a very prominent person in the community and knows all the right people. It isn’t real!”
He is totally, dangerously convinced.
He had stopped going over to her town, but after he lost the pictures he started going to places he knows that she might be so he can get a glimpse of her.
I know nothing about the psychology behind what’s going on with him, and I can’t help but wonder if having a picture might help or if it would make it worse.
His dad came to me crying yesterday. I’m the last person on the planet who still tolerates him, and only barely, and only because I am trying desperately to influence him away from this mess.
He is definitely going to end up in jail for awhile if it doesn’t stop (and honestly if he don’t get help, that’s for the best). I told his father to have him committed yesterday. He’s been committed before over delusions about money that ended with him being divorced. His kids are great people and they’re totally humiliated at this point. Everywhere they go it’s, “So, your dad, woooooooow. He’s not ok at all is he?”
What’s your advice?
submitted by grandmalamadingding to askpsychologists [link] [comments]
Thing is, he had a major head injury when he was young and he just isn’t right, she picked up on that pretty quickly and told him she didn’t want to see him anymore.
To him, this is all some big test. I was unaware there was an issue and looked up some photos for him about a year ago which I texted to him. (He isn’t tech savvy and uses a flip phone). I didn’t think anything of it.
Once it became clear to me that he had some bad stuff going on, I regretted getting those photos for him.
He accidentally erased everything on his phone recently and he asked me to get them back. I told him I couldn’t remember how I found them.
This isn’t something that has happened all in his head either. He went to visit her parents, bought gifts for her and left them on her porch, changed his vehicle plate to a vanity plate with his and her initials. She started with a no trespassing order and then when he broke that to put gifts on her porch again she had him charged with stalking.
The reason I ask here is because he’s completely delusional. He thinks it’s all a big test and she wants to see how much he will take and still love her. He spent three days in jail already and he said, “it isn’t what it looks like. It’s all a big show. This person was at court and they winked at me. The judge is in on it. She’s a very prominent person in the community and knows all the right people. It isn’t real!”
He is totally, dangerously convinced.
He had stopped going over to her town, but after he lost the pictures he started going to places he knows that she might be so he can get a glimpse of her.
I know nothing about the psychology behind what’s going on with him, and I can’t help but wonder if having a picture might help or if it would make it worse.
His dad came to me crying yesterday. I’m the last person on the planet who still tolerates him, and only barely, and only because I am trying desperately to influence him away from this mess.
He is definitely going to end up in jail for awhile if it doesn’t stop (and honestly if he don’t get help, that’s for the best). I told his father to have him committed yesterday. He’s been committed before over delusions about money that ended with him being divorced. His kids are great people and they’re totally humiliated at this point. Everywhere they go it’s, “So, your dad, woooooooow. He’s not ok at all is he?”
What’s your advice?
2024.05.14 20:48 Canitrusthimagain674 Looking for separation advice
I’m looking for some advice from partners that chose to separate right after their first or second Dday- either living in two different homes or within the house. Did it help? Were you able to support his recovery while living with him or did you need to physically live separately?
My (34m) husband of five years has evidently been struggling with compulsive sexual behaviors, mostly porn for over 10 years and I just found out the fullextent of it and how bad it’s been about 2 1/2 weeks ago. I immediately asked for us to separate and he’s been staying elsewhere and also looking for an apartment. He’s told me that after he finds a place he’ll be getting scheduled with a CSAT and he has referrals to reach out to from a couples counselor we were seeing just a month ago. He’s letting me check his phone and devices if I feel the need to and we installed accountability software. but that’s really all he’s said so far about what he’s going to do to recover and work on himself. I’ve read the betrayal bind and your brain on porn by Gary Wilson and I do feel like I understand how this addiction started. He was physically and emotionally abused as a child and has had ADHD for most of his life. Evidently this makes him very susceptible to this addiction. I understand but I’m so heartbroken and it feels hopeless.
Most of the times we’ve tried to talk the last 2 weeks It’s turned into a huge argument and I’m left sobbing on my own. We have one toddler and are having to co-parent and he’s been very helpful but it’s all been so hard and stressful. But last night we set boundaries and took a break from it all and had a great evening together and it’s making me doubt whether we need to live separately. It’s honestly making me doubt all of my decisions. living separately is going to be a huge extra expense financially because I’ve been a stay at home mom and the cost-of-living is so high where we live. I don’t know what to do. I just constantly need space and then I want him around and I flip flop between anger and loneliness…I feel crazy some days. This was/is a huge shock for me. I can’t believe I didn’t catch him sooner.
How long does it take to feel stable again? Any advice? I have my own therapist and I’m also starting to see a CSAT at the end of the month. My close friends and my siblings know and I’m getting support. I just don’t feel capable of working right now but I’m also not sure if I’m capable of living with him right now.
submitted by Canitrusthimagain674 to loveafterporn [link] [comments]
My (34m) husband of five years has evidently been struggling with compulsive sexual behaviors, mostly porn for over 10 years and I just found out the fullextent of it and how bad it’s been about 2 1/2 weeks ago. I immediately asked for us to separate and he’s been staying elsewhere and also looking for an apartment. He’s told me that after he finds a place he’ll be getting scheduled with a CSAT and he has referrals to reach out to from a couples counselor we were seeing just a month ago. He’s letting me check his phone and devices if I feel the need to and we installed accountability software. but that’s really all he’s said so far about what he’s going to do to recover and work on himself. I’ve read the betrayal bind and your brain on porn by Gary Wilson and I do feel like I understand how this addiction started. He was physically and emotionally abused as a child and has had ADHD for most of his life. Evidently this makes him very susceptible to this addiction. I understand but I’m so heartbroken and it feels hopeless.
Most of the times we’ve tried to talk the last 2 weeks It’s turned into a huge argument and I’m left sobbing on my own. We have one toddler and are having to co-parent and he’s been very helpful but it’s all been so hard and stressful. But last night we set boundaries and took a break from it all and had a great evening together and it’s making me doubt whether we need to live separately. It’s honestly making me doubt all of my decisions. living separately is going to be a huge extra expense financially because I’ve been a stay at home mom and the cost-of-living is so high where we live. I don’t know what to do. I just constantly need space and then I want him around and I flip flop between anger and loneliness…I feel crazy some days. This was/is a huge shock for me. I can’t believe I didn’t catch him sooner.
How long does it take to feel stable again? Any advice? I have my own therapist and I’m also starting to see a CSAT at the end of the month. My close friends and my siblings know and I’m getting support. I just don’t feel capable of working right now but I’m also not sure if I’m capable of living with him right now.
2024.05.14 20:44 Avaylon The Surprising Lack of Fear
My 3.5 year old son spilled his ice water during lunch. He was being a little careless, but it was an honest accident.
I looked at the water spreading over the table and tile floor and said. "Well, that's why we don't play around with our water cups. That's a lot of water. Let's get a big towel to clean it up."
My son trailed me to the closet. I handed him a towel and grabbed a couple of rags. He mopped up the floor while I handled the table. He said he was all done and then went off to play in the living room.
While I finished cleaning the wet spots he had missed I found myself frustrated that my son didn't apologize or seem overly contrite for making the mess. When I was a kid I would have practically begged forgiveness for such a mistake. There would have been a coin flips chance of getting yelled at by my mother for being inconsiderate and careless. I was terrified of making a mess. But my son isn't. And he shouldn't be. I have lost my temper and yelled at him, but not about things like spilling a cup of water and not often.
By the time I put the wet rags away I was happy for my son. He is learning to help clean up the messes without feeling like a failure for having a small accident. I'm sure I'll make mistakes in raising him, but today at least I feel like I'm doing alright.
submitted by Avaylon to ParentingThruTrauma [link] [comments]
I looked at the water spreading over the table and tile floor and said. "Well, that's why we don't play around with our water cups. That's a lot of water. Let's get a big towel to clean it up."
My son trailed me to the closet. I handed him a towel and grabbed a couple of rags. He mopped up the floor while I handled the table. He said he was all done and then went off to play in the living room.
While I finished cleaning the wet spots he had missed I found myself frustrated that my son didn't apologize or seem overly contrite for making the mess. When I was a kid I would have practically begged forgiveness for such a mistake. There would have been a coin flips chance of getting yelled at by my mother for being inconsiderate and careless. I was terrified of making a mess. But my son isn't. And he shouldn't be. I have lost my temper and yelled at him, but not about things like spilling a cup of water and not often.
By the time I put the wet rags away I was happy for my son. He is learning to help clean up the messes without feeling like a failure for having a small accident. I'm sure I'll make mistakes in raising him, but today at least I feel like I'm doing alright.
2024.05.14 20:40 Front-Feedback-2469 Triggered?
 | Do y’all think it makes alix mad / envious that xandra has 1/6th her following but is still getting all these cool opportunities like sports illustrated and going on very well known and commonly listened to podcasts? I feel like besides getting signed into unwell and her energy drink - she’s flopped. submitted by Front-Feedback-2469 to AlixearleSnark [link] [comments] |
2024.05.14 20:33 unheimliches-hygge Meet up?
Hi "Oonagh,"
Hey, how have you been? I was wondering, would you ever have time and willingness to meet up with me, and just have a conversation about things? It's coming up on two years since "Clive" broke up with me, but I still struggle with a lot of heartbreak and trauma over how it happened and all the fallout afterwards. It has just been a hard thing to process, that someone would be so nice to me as a friend for so many years, and then treat me so horribly when we dated and after, when I was at my most vulnerable, and also knowing that I was a trauma survivor with trust issues. I had a few conversations with "John" that were sort of helpful, but I have tried to minimize what I told either of you, for various reasons that I've told you already. But, I feel like it might help me if you and I could sit down and I could talk really openly about what happened, and if I could just hear your take on things. Like I shared with you, I had some theories that would explain a good portion of why it all turned into such a dumpster fire, but I keep feeling like there are things I'm just missing that you might be able to help me figure out, as the person who is closest to him.
The question I really keep going back to at the heart of it all is - did he ever actually care about me? And if he did, why did he stop caring and stop wanting to be my friend? After three months of us dating, he broke up with me by telling me that being with me made him feel consumed with guilt, because it reminded him of all the other times in the past that he hurt women because he didn't care about them at all and was just using them as an ego boost. It came across as him telling me that I was just another one in a long line of women he had used and didn't care about. Maybe I wouldn't have found that so easy to believe, but in the three months before that, he had seemed to change pretty dramatically from the guy I knew and loved before things became physical between us, into someone erratic who would flip back and forth unpredictably from acting like his old self, to behaving very coldly and devaluing me. Sometimes I felt like I was seeing a mask slip, sometimes I was just baffled, and sometimes it seemed to me that he was just very troubled and scared and it was a kind of self-protective strategy, one that was unfortunately hurtful and toxic to the person on the other end of it, me.
I tried so hard afterwards to accept that for whatever reason, he had decided I was garbage to him and that just was how it was. But part of me couldn't really believe it for a long time. Because, why? I kept wanting to think it was all a series of sad misunderstandings. It took me like a year of processing things in therapy before I could wrap my head around the fact that it wasn't misunderstandings that were to blame - at a number of crucial points, he just blatantly lied about things. He lied by omission, and also lied by saying things that were just plumb not true. He lied to me, he lied to "Javier," he lied to you, he lied to other women he'd been with ... But the lies were weird, because he would say them with so much confidence, I would think I must have just misunderstood when he'd said almost the exact opposite before. It wasn't clear in retrospect whether he actually believed what he was saying, or was delusional, or just didn't feel any compunction about bending the truth. But then, a big question that lingers in my mind is you - is it really possible that you could live with him for 25 years, or however long, and not notice the lying? You are maybe the biggest mystery about him. How could a guy who has such severe issues with how he treats women maintain a long term relationship with you - someone who clearly cares a lot about ethics?
Those are some of the mysteries for the ages, and maybe you can offer me no insights, and maybe you wouldn't want to try to help me understand even if you could. But, I've been at a place of "aporia" with this for a long time, so it seems worth trying one more time to see if any light could be shed on these awful experiences. Of course, understanding the "why" of him discarding me can't change the fact that he did discard me. And most likely the real answer is that it wasn't my fault, he is just a dishonest, uncaring person who uses people and then discards them. That's been all the answer I've been able to discover for the last two years, and it hasn't made me feel a ton better. And since he clearly stopped caring about me at some point if he ever did care about me, does it actually matter whether he was ever sincere and ever did care? I wish I could forgive him and feel at peace about things, but it's hard to forgive a person who I think doesn't care about whether I forgive him or not, and would continue to treat me with contempt regardless. I'm also scared because I wouldn't trust him not to try to hurt me more if he could. And I'm scared of him hurting more women in the future, since I understand from what he and others told me that he has a long history of hurting women.
The only thing that could make any real positive difference to help me get closure would be him making an effort to mend fences. I tried several time to mend the fences, but since they weren't broken one-sidedly, they couldn't be fixed one-sidedly, and I was clearly the only one interested in fence-mending. I've 99.9% accepted that the fences will never be mended, and the best that can be hoped for is that the dumpster fire eventually burns itself out, and I move on and heal and let go of my hurt and grief. I just still can't help but wish for a better and easier way, with less dumpster and less fire involved. Anyway, I am just rambling at this point, so I will wrap up. I hope you and John are doing okay.
All the best, me
submitted by unheimliches-hygge to UnsentLetters [link] [comments]
Hey, how have you been? I was wondering, would you ever have time and willingness to meet up with me, and just have a conversation about things? It's coming up on two years since "Clive" broke up with me, but I still struggle with a lot of heartbreak and trauma over how it happened and all the fallout afterwards. It has just been a hard thing to process, that someone would be so nice to me as a friend for so many years, and then treat me so horribly when we dated and after, when I was at my most vulnerable, and also knowing that I was a trauma survivor with trust issues. I had a few conversations with "John" that were sort of helpful, but I have tried to minimize what I told either of you, for various reasons that I've told you already. But, I feel like it might help me if you and I could sit down and I could talk really openly about what happened, and if I could just hear your take on things. Like I shared with you, I had some theories that would explain a good portion of why it all turned into such a dumpster fire, but I keep feeling like there are things I'm just missing that you might be able to help me figure out, as the person who is closest to him.
The question I really keep going back to at the heart of it all is - did he ever actually care about me? And if he did, why did he stop caring and stop wanting to be my friend? After three months of us dating, he broke up with me by telling me that being with me made him feel consumed with guilt, because it reminded him of all the other times in the past that he hurt women because he didn't care about them at all and was just using them as an ego boost. It came across as him telling me that I was just another one in a long line of women he had used and didn't care about. Maybe I wouldn't have found that so easy to believe, but in the three months before that, he had seemed to change pretty dramatically from the guy I knew and loved before things became physical between us, into someone erratic who would flip back and forth unpredictably from acting like his old self, to behaving very coldly and devaluing me. Sometimes I felt like I was seeing a mask slip, sometimes I was just baffled, and sometimes it seemed to me that he was just very troubled and scared and it was a kind of self-protective strategy, one that was unfortunately hurtful and toxic to the person on the other end of it, me.
I tried so hard afterwards to accept that for whatever reason, he had decided I was garbage to him and that just was how it was. But part of me couldn't really believe it for a long time. Because, why? I kept wanting to think it was all a series of sad misunderstandings. It took me like a year of processing things in therapy before I could wrap my head around the fact that it wasn't misunderstandings that were to blame - at a number of crucial points, he just blatantly lied about things. He lied by omission, and also lied by saying things that were just plumb not true. He lied to me, he lied to "Javier," he lied to you, he lied to other women he'd been with ... But the lies were weird, because he would say them with so much confidence, I would think I must have just misunderstood when he'd said almost the exact opposite before. It wasn't clear in retrospect whether he actually believed what he was saying, or was delusional, or just didn't feel any compunction about bending the truth. But then, a big question that lingers in my mind is you - is it really possible that you could live with him for 25 years, or however long, and not notice the lying? You are maybe the biggest mystery about him. How could a guy who has such severe issues with how he treats women maintain a long term relationship with you - someone who clearly cares a lot about ethics?
Those are some of the mysteries for the ages, and maybe you can offer me no insights, and maybe you wouldn't want to try to help me understand even if you could. But, I've been at a place of "aporia" with this for a long time, so it seems worth trying one more time to see if any light could be shed on these awful experiences. Of course, understanding the "why" of him discarding me can't change the fact that he did discard me. And most likely the real answer is that it wasn't my fault, he is just a dishonest, uncaring person who uses people and then discards them. That's been all the answer I've been able to discover for the last two years, and it hasn't made me feel a ton better. And since he clearly stopped caring about me at some point if he ever did care about me, does it actually matter whether he was ever sincere and ever did care? I wish I could forgive him and feel at peace about things, but it's hard to forgive a person who I think doesn't care about whether I forgive him or not, and would continue to treat me with contempt regardless. I'm also scared because I wouldn't trust him not to try to hurt me more if he could. And I'm scared of him hurting more women in the future, since I understand from what he and others told me that he has a long history of hurting women.
The only thing that could make any real positive difference to help me get closure would be him making an effort to mend fences. I tried several time to mend the fences, but since they weren't broken one-sidedly, they couldn't be fixed one-sidedly, and I was clearly the only one interested in fence-mending. I've 99.9% accepted that the fences will never be mended, and the best that can be hoped for is that the dumpster fire eventually burns itself out, and I move on and heal and let go of my hurt and grief. I just still can't help but wish for a better and easier way, with less dumpster and less fire involved. Anyway, I am just rambling at this point, so I will wrap up. I hope you and John are doing okay.
All the best, me
2024.05.14 20:32 Zealousideal_Bet4038 CYOA LitRPG, and another weird idea
I'm getting back into creative writing as a hobby, and I'd like to write something for self-publication, probably on RoyalRoad. I've been spitballing ideas with myself of what I want that to look like, and a few ideas have come to mind that I'd like to sound off in this community and see if this even makes sense outside of my own brain.
CYOA LitRPG
This idea started out with me thinking about the "RPG" in LitRPG. The gamification takes place in the fiction itself; there are mechanics and numbers that the reader can understand as quantifying parts of the fiction and give them an extra level of information to engage with while they read. But the text itself isn't really a game, much less an RPG, it's just about one.
So that got me thinking about the Choose Your Own Adventure books I used to read as a kid (anybody else remember those?). At different points in the story the reader was presented with the choice of several courses of action the protagonist might pursue, and the page number to flip to if you want the story to go that direction. So I started thinking, what if there were a serial LitRPG that operated on the same principle? At the end of each chapter, it would tell you which chapter is next in this branch of the various possible plots and you would turn to that chapter. At chapters where there is a choice for the reader to make, it would instead explain the options and the starting chapter for each of those plot branches.
Now obviously the downside of this is that it's a HUGE amount of extra writing and organizational work, and may be hard to keep a coherent publishing schedule for. However, it could be really cool as it allows the reader to engage a bit more directly with some of the Roleplaying Game-ness of LitRPG.
The Other Idea I Don't Have A Name For
Bear with me on this one, because it's probably been done before and I'm just ignorant. If there is an established name for this or you have recommendations, please let me know. Basically I had this idea when I came across an Instagram Reels series where they were playing chess, and the most liked comment after 24hrs would be the next move every turn. This pretty quickly devolved into commenters making up crazy stuff like merging Rook-Knights and doing en passant with bishops and all kinds of fun craziness. But it gave me this idea.
A LitRPG (or any genre but LitRPG seems especially fun for this) where the readers actually drive the plot. At the end of each chapter, readers can comment what they think the protagonist should do next or what they're general plan/strategy should be going into a situation. Obviously this is very similar to the CYOA style branching-plot model but more open, and needing less excessive amounts of writing and organization. It would also only feature one plot, so it would require a lot more attentiveness to what the audience as a group is interested in rather than being able to cater to a bunch of individual readers.
Conclusion, and Thanks For Reading!
So yeah, those are the two ideas I had. I don't know if I'm going to act on either of them, but they seem cool in theory and I wanted to share it with this group. Do you know of other projects that have done something similar? Is there a name for the second type of thing I was talking about that I just don't know yet? Do you think these are cool ideas? Terrible? I'd love to hear what you think in the comments. I know this was a long post so thanks for taking the time to read if you've made it this far, and have a great day!
submitted by Zealousideal_Bet4038 to litrpg [link] [comments]
CYOA LitRPG
This idea started out with me thinking about the "RPG" in LitRPG. The gamification takes place in the fiction itself; there are mechanics and numbers that the reader can understand as quantifying parts of the fiction and give them an extra level of information to engage with while they read. But the text itself isn't really a game, much less an RPG, it's just about one.
So that got me thinking about the Choose Your Own Adventure books I used to read as a kid (anybody else remember those?). At different points in the story the reader was presented with the choice of several courses of action the protagonist might pursue, and the page number to flip to if you want the story to go that direction. So I started thinking, what if there were a serial LitRPG that operated on the same principle? At the end of each chapter, it would tell you which chapter is next in this branch of the various possible plots and you would turn to that chapter. At chapters where there is a choice for the reader to make, it would instead explain the options and the starting chapter for each of those plot branches.
Now obviously the downside of this is that it's a HUGE amount of extra writing and organizational work, and may be hard to keep a coherent publishing schedule for. However, it could be really cool as it allows the reader to engage a bit more directly with some of the Roleplaying Game-ness of LitRPG.
The Other Idea I Don't Have A Name For
Bear with me on this one, because it's probably been done before and I'm just ignorant. If there is an established name for this or you have recommendations, please let me know. Basically I had this idea when I came across an Instagram Reels series where they were playing chess, and the most liked comment after 24hrs would be the next move every turn. This pretty quickly devolved into commenters making up crazy stuff like merging Rook-Knights and doing en passant with bishops and all kinds of fun craziness. But it gave me this idea.
A LitRPG (or any genre but LitRPG seems especially fun for this) where the readers actually drive the plot. At the end of each chapter, readers can comment what they think the protagonist should do next or what they're general plan/strategy should be going into a situation. Obviously this is very similar to the CYOA style branching-plot model but more open, and needing less excessive amounts of writing and organization. It would also only feature one plot, so it would require a lot more attentiveness to what the audience as a group is interested in rather than being able to cater to a bunch of individual readers.
Conclusion, and Thanks For Reading!
So yeah, those are the two ideas I had. I don't know if I'm going to act on either of them, but they seem cool in theory and I wanted to share it with this group. Do you know of other projects that have done something similar? Is there a name for the second type of thing I was talking about that I just don't know yet? Do you think these are cool ideas? Terrible? I'd love to hear what you think in the comments. I know this was a long post so thanks for taking the time to read if you've made it this far, and have a great day!
2024.05.14 20:30 Wild_Cellist9861 Gamers Break Away [GBA]
My fellow gamers, for too long has our community suffered the indignation of an intolerable culture that has denigrated, besmirched, exploited, and has outright demonized our culture of unique individuals with a genuine love of a hobby that they see as profitable and progressive. They have taken beloved IP’s (Intellectual Properties) and twisted them into their own personal ideological crusade of undermining and humiliating the core aspects of characters they deemed as “Toxic” or “White Supremacy”. Through the guise and protection of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity) & ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) they have used our influence in the entertainment industry to push their narratives and agendas that have stigmatized our culture with numerous anti-consumer practices that they call “being progressive”. But the truth of the matter is they were never really looking to be a part of our community, they simply wanted to use our community as a tool of activism and propaganda in the entertainment industry as it was extremely profitable, and they wanted inclusion in that division. Ever since GamerGate & Female Frequency, we have had to endure the incursion of forced ideologies, xenophobic behaviors and inferior overpriced products that have never been in our best interest and have been flat out disgraceful towards foreign media.
Before Gaming had become a major source of entertainment, we were often categorized as anti-social or societies rejects where because we found more enjoyment in playing fictional characters and not spending as much time out and about, we never fully assimilated in society (which is a good thing if you ask me). From 1998 to 2007, at the height of innovation, creativity and production, Gaming had reached a golden age in which it had revolutionized society. Hollywood Execs who had ruined the movie industry turned their attention to video games as a source of income since video games had outperformed movies in terms of profit. No one was concerned about gaming, much less diversity or inclusivity until it became profitable. This makes people like SBI look extremely disingenuous as they were not interested in gamers as a community with its own culture. They simply wanted to use it as another weapon in identity politics.
Microtransactions; the hidden enemy to gamer progress and inducer to mental laziness of our community. Microtransactions have been around for a long time; however, it has never been more potent and apparent than in recent years. It has aided in the dismantling and segregation of players on the ideology of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and has created another sub-culture of gamers who have no real drive to be better outside of how much money they put into the game. This has degraded our culture as well as we have become “fat” off transactional gaming but at the same time we have been “starved” of purposeful gaming where our achievements were our sustenance. I am not saying that microtransactions are bad, but when they are exploitative and predatorial like they have been and don’t give gamers room to grow, we become lethargic and unwilling to improve ourselves as gamers. Oversaturated microtransactional games are one of the many reasons why we have become complacent and unwilling to fight against the exploitative tactics used by big brand game companies such EA, Ubisoft, ActivisionBlizzard, NaughtyDog and so many other western business model companies. Western style games were not like this in the past, they had much more depth and actual effort put into them with the gamer in mind. This has not been the case for over a decade and our connection to western developers has been whittled down to just being transactional. That is one of the reasons why you see so many remasters and remakes in today’s gamer community. They have lost their willingness to improve as developers of games and simply accept corporate/share holder rules.
Game journalists also do not have any real integrity or purpose outside of being funded for their involvement in promoting IPG (Identity Political Games) in a positive light to the public whether it’s positively received or not. They are not interested in what we have to say, they all support the same agenda and that is why they are a dying breed. Within the next couple of years, they will be out of the job and more than likely they will not be able to stay in the industry giving how they have responded to past articles that have clearly been scripted on the premise of diversity and racism. Not only that, but most of them are also extremely hostile to the community as they stereotype and defame the individuals that are a part of the community they are supposed to serve. We have been mentally liberated from their lies and coercive tactics as we tend to laugh at their obvious attempt at virtue signaling while hiding their misdoings so that they can play the victim.
My gamer brothers & sisters, I would not suggest the following action that we must take now without good cause. I have weighed our options and the best option for us now is this…...CULTURAL SECESSION. Naturally this is a form of segregation where they would more than likely claim they are being segregated by the dominant culture of the gaming community but that is incorrect. For years now we have been the ones who are often marginalized and ostracized for the smaller portion of our community. And when we aren’t, we’re exploited for more funds so that these companies can stay in business only to subject us to low quality products that coincide with the “WOKE Agenda” that are often huge expenses to these big brands i.e. AAA/AAAA games that will eventually flop for its obvious forced diversity and bug infested product which will undoubtedly piss off the consumer to the point of wanting a refund. Losing copious amounts of capital and stock in the process, not to mention their reputation is permanently marred.
We must separate on every cultural level in terms of entertainment and ideology. We must reject everything from the west that promotes toxic western beliefs, practices, and exclusion from other cultures (i.e. Southeastern Countries such as Japan and Korea). Japan & Korea have been the targets of unjust discrimination from Western Developers, Western Journalists, Western Localizers (The Wokelizers) and Western Society Prejudice regarding their sense of aesthetics as Westerners hate the aesthetic sense of these countries. The reason why they resort to such base tactics isn’t just because it weaponizes the ideal female form but it’s also because they have deep-seated insecurities about their own looks so when they see attractive female characters, they use terms such as “unrealistic” or “hypersexualized” to establish the moral high ground. But the truth is, they want to feel superior to that which is ideal, so they insult and dehumanize this figure that portrays natural female beauty because they see it as an insult to their own social superiority in what they believe is a hierarchy of them being at the top of all other women. Because of this and so many contributing factors, their movies flop harder than the Fat Chocobo landing on a group of enemies and their games seismically fail just as much if not more. We must sever our connection to Western Developers, Publishers, and ALL Western-Centric Entertainment for they seek to mentally enslave us to their Xenophobic ideology.
Let’s define Western Culture and its traits. Western Culture/Society is composed of more than several different ideologies that work in unison with one another to facilitate dominance over multiple aspects of society. Business, Social, Political, Technological, and sometimes even Global Affairs are affected by these ideologies that portray a specific mindset of Western beliefs. What are those ideologies you ask?
https://youtu.be/Iq86DnmX2xY
https://youtu.be/1HbrTkqQFuM
https://youtu.be/to5Uciy_yeg
@EndymionTv
https://youtu.be/7TPTR8-qmbk
https://youtu.be/bPIPSKruYRo
These traits are so nefarious and unconscionable that I have a hard time believing that anyone could harbor them. However, given the social, political, and economic climate that we are in, those in power who use their influence on controlling society most definitely possess these insidious traits. Everything that they do is all about control and since video games are the biggest market in the world, they want control over it and the communities built around it to accrue more wealth and to use that wealth to subjugate other cultures. Mainstream media is a tool as well as mainstream organizations and sites to help accomplish this goal.
The government recently announced its intentions towards what they believe is “GamerGate 2.0” and now even the ADL has made an official appearance, referring to gamers as “extremist’s”. We know EXACTLY what they are doing, and they aren’t even trying to hide it anymore because they don’t think we are aware of their motives. This is just a pretext for them to exert even more control and we know why, it’s because they want the influence we as a community have to must serve them. So here is what we do my fellow gamers-
“In light of recent events and years of mainstream stigma, we the members of the Global Gaming Community [GGC] must officially renounce ALL TIES to the corporate western video game market. We have been financially exploited through predatorial monetization schemes, pelted with numerous articles of disdain and intentional misrepresentation from game journalists, news outlets regarding us as dangerous individuals and, even subjected to inferior products not only riddled with bugs but also products meant to push political agendas. For the preservation of our community and its unique culture, apart from a few select game development studios we officially sever all connections to western owned video game companies & their mainstream affiliates. From this point onward, we will no longer support western corporate developers, journalists and publishers that do not coincide with the goals of our community.”
Naturally this is completely optional. If you are okay with the state of the gaming community as it is, feel free to ignore this. But if you wish for real change and a break away from oversaturated monetization in the games you play and the push for radical ideological reform, then you are in the right place. Lets sever these rotted miasmic ties once and for all so that our community can be preserved and made better for future gamers. If you agree with this, share it with whoever you think might be interested. The more gamers who get involved, the easier it will be for us to finally break free from mainstream game companies and their associates.
submitted by Wild_Cellist9861 to United_Gamer_Front [link] [comments]
Before Gaming had become a major source of entertainment, we were often categorized as anti-social or societies rejects where because we found more enjoyment in playing fictional characters and not spending as much time out and about, we never fully assimilated in society (which is a good thing if you ask me). From 1998 to 2007, at the height of innovation, creativity and production, Gaming had reached a golden age in which it had revolutionized society. Hollywood Execs who had ruined the movie industry turned their attention to video games as a source of income since video games had outperformed movies in terms of profit. No one was concerned about gaming, much less diversity or inclusivity until it became profitable. This makes people like SBI look extremely disingenuous as they were not interested in gamers as a community with its own culture. They simply wanted to use it as another weapon in identity politics.
Microtransactions; the hidden enemy to gamer progress and inducer to mental laziness of our community. Microtransactions have been around for a long time; however, it has never been more potent and apparent than in recent years. It has aided in the dismantling and segregation of players on the ideology of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and has created another sub-culture of gamers who have no real drive to be better outside of how much money they put into the game. This has degraded our culture as well as we have become “fat” off transactional gaming but at the same time we have been “starved” of purposeful gaming where our achievements were our sustenance. I am not saying that microtransactions are bad, but when they are exploitative and predatorial like they have been and don’t give gamers room to grow, we become lethargic and unwilling to improve ourselves as gamers. Oversaturated microtransactional games are one of the many reasons why we have become complacent and unwilling to fight against the exploitative tactics used by big brand game companies such EA, Ubisoft, ActivisionBlizzard, NaughtyDog and so many other western business model companies. Western style games were not like this in the past, they had much more depth and actual effort put into them with the gamer in mind. This has not been the case for over a decade and our connection to western developers has been whittled down to just being transactional. That is one of the reasons why you see so many remasters and remakes in today’s gamer community. They have lost their willingness to improve as developers of games and simply accept corporate/share holder rules.
Game journalists also do not have any real integrity or purpose outside of being funded for their involvement in promoting IPG (Identity Political Games) in a positive light to the public whether it’s positively received or not. They are not interested in what we have to say, they all support the same agenda and that is why they are a dying breed. Within the next couple of years, they will be out of the job and more than likely they will not be able to stay in the industry giving how they have responded to past articles that have clearly been scripted on the premise of diversity and racism. Not only that, but most of them are also extremely hostile to the community as they stereotype and defame the individuals that are a part of the community they are supposed to serve. We have been mentally liberated from their lies and coercive tactics as we tend to laugh at their obvious attempt at virtue signaling while hiding their misdoings so that they can play the victim.
My gamer brothers & sisters, I would not suggest the following action that we must take now without good cause. I have weighed our options and the best option for us now is this…...CULTURAL SECESSION. Naturally this is a form of segregation where they would more than likely claim they are being segregated by the dominant culture of the gaming community but that is incorrect. For years now we have been the ones who are often marginalized and ostracized for the smaller portion of our community. And when we aren’t, we’re exploited for more funds so that these companies can stay in business only to subject us to low quality products that coincide with the “WOKE Agenda” that are often huge expenses to these big brands i.e. AAA/AAAA games that will eventually flop for its obvious forced diversity and bug infested product which will undoubtedly piss off the consumer to the point of wanting a refund. Losing copious amounts of capital and stock in the process, not to mention their reputation is permanently marred.
We must separate on every cultural level in terms of entertainment and ideology. We must reject everything from the west that promotes toxic western beliefs, practices, and exclusion from other cultures (i.e. Southeastern Countries such as Japan and Korea). Japan & Korea have been the targets of unjust discrimination from Western Developers, Western Journalists, Western Localizers (The Wokelizers) and Western Society Prejudice regarding their sense of aesthetics as Westerners hate the aesthetic sense of these countries. The reason why they resort to such base tactics isn’t just because it weaponizes the ideal female form but it’s also because they have deep-seated insecurities about their own looks so when they see attractive female characters, they use terms such as “unrealistic” or “hypersexualized” to establish the moral high ground. But the truth is, they want to feel superior to that which is ideal, so they insult and dehumanize this figure that portrays natural female beauty because they see it as an insult to their own social superiority in what they believe is a hierarchy of them being at the top of all other women. Because of this and so many contributing factors, their movies flop harder than the Fat Chocobo landing on a group of enemies and their games seismically fail just as much if not more. We must sever our connection to Western Developers, Publishers, and ALL Western-Centric Entertainment for they seek to mentally enslave us to their Xenophobic ideology.
Let’s define Western Culture and its traits. Western Culture/Society is composed of more than several different ideologies that work in unison with one another to facilitate dominance over multiple aspects of society. Business, Social, Political, Technological, and sometimes even Global Affairs are affected by these ideologies that portray a specific mindset of Western beliefs. What are those ideologies you ask?
- Perpetual Victimhood: By weaponizing the fact that they are marginalized and of a small portion of western society, they can push their agenda to absurd standards that ultimately ostracize the main demographic. And when companies don’t capitulate, they are labeled as anti-progressive/misogynist’s or cohorts of White Supremacy. They use this to cancel their targets and silence them through societal defamation to keep the public on their side. They also use this mindset to justify their own lack of self-agency as they tend to throw companies who do adhere to their demands but miserably fail to turn a profit under the bus so that they can maintain face in front of the public while denying their actual involvement. They will never accept “Sense of Agency” when it’s negative but will gladly accept it when a positive outcome shines on them as if they are entitled to it.
- Societal Terrorism: This is another form of ideology weaponization that they use in order to make companies “toe-the-line” with their agenda. By weaponizing cancel culture, they exert dominance over these companies but in exchange they also reimburse those companies with DEI & ESG funds that raise their credit score as well as having social status with the marginalized demographic. However; cancel culture has not succeeded in years and developers and publishers probably only want the money and the DEI ESG rating. But they have to maintain the image of having social economic power so that they can continue to strong-arm other developers into compliance and promoting financial benefits of DEI & ESG. In other words, if you are not for sale, they discredit and stigmatize you in the industry.
https://youtu.be/Iq86DnmX2xY
- “Its not us, its you who’s wrong” Mentality: This mentality is especially annoying as they tend to use it to hide their incompetence. They often look down upon gamers who are not in the industry to hide their obvious lack of knowledge on game development thinking that their job title grants them special status that they believe gives them the right to be condescending. But the truth they never wanted revealed has already strangled their careers of all credibility. They were never GAMERS, they were INVADERS. Community Colonists that seek to indoctrinate next generational gamers into their hive-mind and brand previous generations of gamers as villains.
https://youtu.be/1HbrTkqQFuM
- Double-standard Enforcement: By labeling something as “unrealistic” or “hypersexualized”, they can claim this is morally wrong if it promotes traditional dynamics between men and women. Heterosexual relationships are condemned while at the same time Same-sex relationships are praised. Additionally, heterosexual relationships with main white male characters turn antagonistic and spotlight stealing. This is deliberate as to promote the “Girl Boss” ideology to indoctrinate women into the Feminazi state of mind. While at the same time, should a male character also adopt the “I don’t need male/female” ideology its seen as Toxic Masculinity which isn’t even a real thing. The idea of a strong male character is taboo while enforcing strong female characters is the ideal.
https://youtu.be/to5Uciy_yeg
@EndymionTv
https://youtu.be/7TPTR8-qmbk
- Dehumanization/Demonization: This is something that most military branches use in order to remove conscious inhibitions such as mass slaughter is wrong or categorization. By enforcing ideologies to denounce humanity in certain targets, it deactivates your conscience by saying this is not human therefore its ethically okay to treat this target without compassion and deny the fact it has sentience. We gamers fall under this category for journalists, developers, companies and society at large. This is a tactic we are familiar with to an extent as it implies that we are not normal when we do not do what everybody else is doing. “Geeks are the worse” or “Nerds need to fall into a pit of lava” are verbal dehumanization forms that most people in society say and we as Gamers tend to be relegated to those categories. This is their way of imposing the social hierarchy on us by establishing superiority. We know this as Gamers as we see it very often in the games that we play and some times experience it in real life.
- Deflection/Projection: This is basic psychology 101. By redirecting the conversation away from their mistakes and back on to the opposing view to avert blame and justify their innocence they can avoid criticism. However; deflection is a CONSCIOUS decision, meaning they have no real argument to justify their incompetence. If you can consciously process the situation, you have self-agency which means you don’t have a legitimate excuse. Projection is something else entirely. Most times, Projection doesn’t work on conscious decisions rather it is automatically deployed when feeling threatened, anxious or both. Instead of accepting accountability for feelings or actions that are deemed socially unacceptable they accuse others of committing that unacceptable behavior thereby exonerating themselves and proving that those feelings and/or actions are not their own.
https://youtu.be/bPIPSKruYRo
These traits are so nefarious and unconscionable that I have a hard time believing that anyone could harbor them. However, given the social, political, and economic climate that we are in, those in power who use their influence on controlling society most definitely possess these insidious traits. Everything that they do is all about control and since video games are the biggest market in the world, they want control over it and the communities built around it to accrue more wealth and to use that wealth to subjugate other cultures. Mainstream media is a tool as well as mainstream organizations and sites to help accomplish this goal.
The government recently announced its intentions towards what they believe is “GamerGate 2.0” and now even the ADL has made an official appearance, referring to gamers as “extremist’s”. We know EXACTLY what they are doing, and they aren’t even trying to hide it anymore because they don’t think we are aware of their motives. This is just a pretext for them to exert even more control and we know why, it’s because they want the influence we as a community have to must serve them. So here is what we do my fellow gamers-
“In light of recent events and years of mainstream stigma, we the members of the Global Gaming Community [GGC] must officially renounce ALL TIES to the corporate western video game market. We have been financially exploited through predatorial monetization schemes, pelted with numerous articles of disdain and intentional misrepresentation from game journalists, news outlets regarding us as dangerous individuals and, even subjected to inferior products not only riddled with bugs but also products meant to push political agendas. For the preservation of our community and its unique culture, apart from a few select game development studios we officially sever all connections to western owned video game companies & their mainstream affiliates. From this point onward, we will no longer support western corporate developers, journalists and publishers that do not coincide with the goals of our community.”
Naturally this is completely optional. If you are okay with the state of the gaming community as it is, feel free to ignore this. But if you wish for real change and a break away from oversaturated monetization in the games you play and the push for radical ideological reform, then you are in the right place. Lets sever these rotted miasmic ties once and for all so that our community can be preserved and made better for future gamers. If you agree with this, share it with whoever you think might be interested. The more gamers who get involved, the easier it will be for us to finally break free from mainstream game companies and their associates.
2024.05.14 20:29 Brodozaur Theory how cards series works noe
With new drops, btw mutch better then last ones, i make theoryhow it works now. Pool five- card generaly good, new cards, cards with future potential, or archetype define Pool 4- card generaly good, but with more specific usage, not overall 100% flexible. This have some logic, like in other card games, mythic/epic, ofc between them r some craps, flops, failed experiments, and imho system like this is clear, and in general works fine. Unfortunately now this system habe many flaws. Even if use grand mathematic mr JH, f2p player get 32 cards in a year( btw i wonder how many of u have new card in every other spotlight) from 64 realeased, add to this old cards and it sucks like hell. I dont have answer how make this system better, ofc easiest option is more resources, but i have some idea, bcs dup protect is unreal. Maybe when player open cache and hit variant, give him option to chose for example 500 tokens? With this economy its add 3-4 cards to f2p in a year, and probably dont destroy this fragile economy, and give players soem agenda what they want?
submitted by Brodozaur to MarvelSnap [link] [comments]
2024.05.14 20:28 Wardez Ran a throwing net using TechDisc to track stats all week at LVC. Here's a data dump!
 | There were over 3,000 throws! The data set I'm posting here I kept to 2,000 throws since that's the limit of the throws page (unless someone can tell me a better way to open that up). And it's for throws from Tuesday the 7th of May till Saturday the 11th. I didn't include Sunday because we had a lot less action on that day. submitted by Wardez to discgolf [link] [comments] The net was open to anyone and everyone who wanted to try it. We had a leaderboard and fun stuff setup like DDO island challenges and driving range top golf bullseye stuff. Was really fun. But for me, as a nerd who loves stats, it was fascinating running the throwing net and watching everyone's approach to throwing with TechDisc. For a lot of people, I'd say around 85% it was their first time ever throwing one. I've had a TD since October of last year so I was happy to step up to help run it. Some takeaways I had:
Thanks for reading, enjoy the screengrabs I got, and let me know if there are any other detailed stats or sets you'd like to see! https://preview.redd.it/9hwugaunqf0d1.png?width=1381&format=png&auto=webp&s=fb8dabf9da85bbe46554dca81cf241cc992f0ac2 https://preview.redd.it/8zkleltnqf0d1.png?width=1369&format=png&auto=webp&s=1d4f90e968528e2c33048e74d3f4b17be054cd59 https://preview.redd.it/6wgnmhtnqf0d1.png?width=1458&format=png&auto=webp&s=aacc1ddd9d66cd8ce26078b57f98a63c468a991c |
2024.05.14 20:26 samw_99 My story “I got grabbed” was removed
Can someone explain to me specifically why this was removed, and how I’d be able to edit it without defeating the purpose of the entire story?
It was removed for breach of the “CORROBORATION/PROOF” rule, though after reviewing those terms, I don’t believe that I’ve broken them.
“A dream, a nightmare, a hallucination, a vision, a bout of sleep paralysis, is drunk and/or high, was in a coma or otherwise an altered state”— none of these are the reason behind my main character’s paranormal experience, and I’ve given no indication whatsoever in the story to suggest that they are.
In fact, I’ve outright denied the idea that my main character imagined her experience about as much as I possibly could for a story with a first person perspective.
The main character says “it definitely happened. It’s not the kind of thing you can just imagine, and I’m sure now that it wasn’t a dream,” in the second paragraph— a sentiment which she consistently attests to throughout the story, and a sentiment which is never walked back on or brought into question by the narrator.
My narrator was in a sound state of mind at the moment of her encounter, and is practical and methodical in her investigation of what happened. Any implication that she has become mentally unwell occurs long after the inciting incident which the story is built around.
I would like to respectfully request that this story be reevaluated. In the short time that it was active on nosleep, it clearly connected with people. If it cannot stand as is, then I need someone to help me make it fit the guidelines without defeating the entire purpose of the story and betraying its themes.
The nosleep subreddit is filled to the brim with stories in which the narrator’s words are taken at face value. When a narrator in a different story says “I walked to the store,” it’s not like the author HAS to give tactile, irrefutable evidence that the narrator actually walked to the store. The audience simply accepts that the narrator walked to the store. This concept of innate credibility is the bedrock upon which my entire story is built.
I do not believe my work would benefit from being altered to fit these guidelines as rigidly as possible, nor do I think that is a fair standard to hold it to. In fact, if I were to change the contents of my story in such a way, the themes which set it apart from others like it would be lost.
In short, I do not understand why my story was deleted, I do not know how to alter it to fit the guidelines beyond any shadow of a doubt without destroying its central purpose, and I refuse to believe that nosleep is not the right place for this work. I implore you to reconsider my submission, or to at least work with me to find a solution which keeps the story’s themes intact.
Here is my story:
I got grabbed
Last night, when I was home alone, a hand reached out from under the couch and grabbed me.
Nobody was there to see it, and nobody that I’ve told believes me, but it definitely happened. It’s not the kind of thing you can just imagine, and I’m sure now that it wasn’t a dream.
I was watching TV when it happened. The remote fell under the couch and I started fishing around for it without really looking, not wanting to get up from my seat. I brushed it with the tips of my fingers and it slid further underneath.
I was super annoyed— I had to get down on my knees to reach it. I finally found the remote, and that’s when it grabbed me.
As I pulled the remote out into the light, a hand shot up from under the couch and wrapped its fingers around my wrist.
I was able to yank myself away quickly. It didn’t hold on tight— just enough that I felt a little resistance. I jumped to my feet, obviously terrified.
I didn’t scream or anything. I was honestly too scared to even make a sound. My heart was beating so fast that my ears started to ring. The TV was still going, commercials droning on while I tried to process what had just happened.
The hand had only come out about a foot from under the couch. It had an arm attached to it, though I wasn’t able to see past its elbow, and it slinked back below the couch as soon as I pulled myself free from its grasp.
It didn’t hurt, and it didn’t leave any sort of bruise or mark or anything on my wrist, but I definitely felt it, and I definitely saw it.
All I could do was stare at the spot where the hand had appeared. I stood there for what felt like an eternity, until I heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps right outside my front door.
I live in a second-story apartment. It’s a pretty cramped place and a pretty old building, so whenever someone comes over I can usually hear footsteps from the moment they enter the building downstairs.
I guess I was so freaked out by the hand that I didn’t even notice someone was outside until they were already opening the door.
My roommate walked in on quite a scene. She immediately registered how off the vibe was. I could see it on her face.
She found me standing upright in the middle of our living room, TV remote in hand, facing away from the screen while Full House’s laugh track filled the air. I’m sure I’d think it was odd too.
“Hey…” she said, shifting a paper bag full of groceries in her arm while she pocketed her keys, “You good?”
I felt like I was caught with my pants down, but just seeing a familiar face brought some of the blood back to my fingers.
“N—yeah,” I stuttered. I came back online, and flicked the TV off.
I felt her eyes on me as she walked over to the kitchen. There’s no wall or anything dividing the two rooms. Like I said, the place is pretty cramped.
She started putting her groceries away as if everything was normal, but I could tell she wanted to ask what was up.
I kept looking back and forth between her and the couch. I can’t explain it, but I already knew that if I looked under there, I wouldn’t find any trace of whoever (or whatever) grabbed me.
As she started loading up the fridge, I dropped to my hands and knees once again. Without taking even a second to ready myself, I brought my head down to the ground and looked under the couch.
Nothing.
Pretty much what I expected. There was barely enough room for me to squeeze my arm under there for the remote. No way a whole person could fit beneath that thing, and even if they could, there’s no way I wouldn’t have seen them or heard them or something before they grabbed me.
“Seriously, what’s up?”
I looked up to see my roommate standing right behind me, arms crossed, clearly concerned.
I knew I was acting strange, and I knew that nothing I would come up with in the next five seconds could possibly excuse my behavior. I made a judgement call, honestly not really caring about how it would be received.
“I uh… something grabbed me earlier.”
“What?”
“Under the couch. I dropped the remote, and when I picked it up, a hand reached out from under the couch and grabbed me.”
Took her a second to respond.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“That’s it. A hand reached out and grabbed me by the wrist. It happened like a minute before you got here.”
That part might have been a lie. I actually have no idea how long I had been standing in the middle of the room before she showed up.
“Wait so like someone broke in?”
“No. It’s just like I said. A hand reached out, grabbed me, and then it was gone.”
She just kinda looked at me for a while. I don’t blame her, but it’s not like there was any way for me to sugarcoat it.
“Are you sure?”
“What do you mean ‘am I sure?’ Yes, yes I’m fucking sure!”
My voice broke a little when I said that. I was still down on my knees, like I was praying for her to believe me.
“Okay well obviously that didn’t happen Sam.”I let out a desperate laugh and threw my hands up in the air. I slapped them down on my thighs dramatically and shook my head in exasperation.
“Yeah obviously it sounds fucking crazy but you asked what happened and that’s what happened. I don’t know how else to describe it. I’m just being honest.”
I pulled myself up to my feet and walked around to the armrest of the couch. She kept studying me, probably thinking this was all a prank or something.
“What are you doing?” She asked, arms still glued across her chest.
“I’m checking under the couch.”
I pushed one end of the couch away from the wall. It was pretty heavy, and the coffee table stopped me from moving it too far. I dragged the coffee table towards the TV to free up some space.
My roommate started staring at the spot I was clearing as if she expected to see something there too.
I went back over to the armrest.
“Can you help me?”
She snapped out of her trance and silently went to grab the other side. We pulled the couch away from the wall, revealing a thick rectangle of dust that had not seen the light of day since we moved in a year ago.
I dropped to my knees once more and began wiping away the grime with my bare hands. There was nothing but the floorboards beneath it. No surprise.
I sat there for a second, eyes darting around the floor. No fingerprints in the dust, no scratches or marks or anything. I felt the tension in the room dissipate as my roommate found her voice again.
“I think you must have imagined it.”
I didn’t. There’s no way.
“Dude, no. I felt it and I saw it. Clear as day. It was a hand, and it grabbed me. That’s not the sort of thing you can just imagine.”
She scoffed, any fear left in her giving way to frustration.
“Whatever. This is fucking stupid. I’m going to bed.”
She stomped off towards her room.
“Wait.”
She spun on her heels as I stood up, probably expecting me to tell her I was joking about the whole thing.
“Can you help me flip the couch over?”
She rolled her eyes.
“Sure. But I’m not helping you put it back.”
She helped me lift the couch off of its legs and tilt it onto its front cushions, exposing the fabric underneath. She disappeared into her room and I went to work studying the underside of the sofa.
There was a zipper lining the bottom, but I found nothing inside when I opened it up. Just a hollow wooden frame and a bunch of crumbs.
I sat back against the wall, more tired than scared at that point.
I can’t believe she thinks I’m making this up. Why would I even do that? What purpose would it serve?
As I solemnly went about rebuilding our living room, I decided that the next day (today) I was gonna take off work, wait for her to leave, and really get to the bottom of this.
I didn’t sleep at all last night. Every nook and cranny of my room felt like a door left wide open, with something sinister waiting on the other side.
What if the hand comes back? What if it wants to hurt me next time? How can I even protect myself?
After like ten restless minutes in bed, I decided to move to the floor. I couldn’t help it. I kept imagining the hand reaching up from under the bed and grabbing me again.
I made a makeshift sleeping bag out of my comforter and some pillows, and I laid on my side so I could keep an eye on the underside of my bedframe while I slept. Maybe “slept” isn’t the right word. Even down there, I couldn’t bring myself to close my eyes for longer than a minute.
Eventually sunlight began to peek through the blinds, and I heard some movement within the apartment. My roommate was finally up. I heard the front door close, and it was time to get to work.
I nearly threw my back out yanking the couch away from the wall to reveal the floorboards underneath. They aren’t real floorboards, just the kind of cheap-o fake shit they put in crappy houses to make them look more modern. Our whole apartment is like that— a thin coat of paint slapped over an old building from the 40s or whatever.
My dad actually owns this building. He lets me and my roommate stay here as long as we pay him $500 a month, which is way cheaper than most places in my area.
It’s not really an apartment building to be honest. You can tell it used to be a family home before some realtor swooped in and broke it up into apartments. There are a lot of those around here.
Anyway, the fake wood came up easy. It was only about a quarter inch thick. I was able to pull up the first plank by hammering a kitchen knife into a slit between the boards, and then I peeled a few more away by hand.
After prying away about a dozen of these fake floorboards, I started to realize that I wasn’t going to find anything without making a significantly larger dent. Right beneath the thin layer of fake wood was a layer of very real, very thick wooden beams that seemed to span well beyond the hole I had managed to claw open.
My back crackled and popped as I sat back on my heels to admire my handiwork and contemplate where to go from there. I knew I would need a power saw or some kind of heavy duty tool to get any deeper, but I was afraid of two things:
I can’t stop thinking about that fucking hand.
I’m not supposed to have it, but my dad gave me a master key for the whole building in case of emergencies. He could really get in trouble if anyone found out, but if this isn’t an emergency then idk what is.
There’s a service shed around the back of the building, which has seen none of the love that the main building saw when it was renovated. Decades worth of rusty antiques and rotting furniture line the walls. A shiny, modern tool bench sits unnaturally in the middle of the chaos.
I rifled through all of that shit as fast as I could. I’m not really close with my dad all things considered, and I’m sure he’d be super pissed if he found me out there. He’s so secretive about random shit all the time, and he’s constantly dropping by the building unannounced.
I found the jigsaw under a pile of old newspapers and ran back upstairs.
I probably should have checked the driveway to see if anyone was home first, because the saw made so much noise. The cord barely reached from the outlet to the spot where the couch used to be, but as awkward as the angle was, I was still able to get it in there.
I went as small as possible with my first few cuts. I started with a single beam, cutting out a section about 6x6 inches wide. I slid the chunk of wood out, and, to my relief, didn’t immediately see the plaster that would be my downstairs neighbor’s ceiling.
A tuft of insulation stuck out where I made the hole. I didn’t know that stuff is made from fiberglass or whatever, and I got a really bad splinter when I went to yank it out.
I fished some leather gloves out of my roommate’s closet and got to work on the insulation. I pulled and pulled but couldn’t get a good enough grip to remove anything more than a few bits about the size of a tennis ball.
I went back in with the jigsaw, cutting bigger and bigger chunks until I had cleared a hole about two feet in diameter.
No sign that I was gonna bring the building down, that’s good.
I hacked away for hours. More wood came up, more insulation came up, and when I finally hit a fragile-looking layer of drywall, I knew the jig was up. That’s definitely my neighbor’s ceiling. Fuck.
My roommate and I got in a screaming match when she got home. I made a pretty big mess but I don’t really give a fuck honestly.
I don’t give a fuck if she believes me. I fucking hate that bitch. I told her if she tells my dad what I’m doing, I’ll bash her brains in with the hammer. That shut her up. She left with a bag full of her clothes like an hour later.
Tomorrow I’m going to wait for our downstairs neighbor to leave and start investigating from the bottom-up. If there wasn’t any evidence on the floor up here, there HAS to be something on the ceiling down there.
If I do find something, I’ll post again. I doubt anyone will even believe me, but at this point I just want everything written down somewhere accessible in case something bad happens.
There has to be something down there. Something grabbed me. And I’m going to find out what it is.
submitted by samw_99 to NoSleepAuthors [link] [comments]
It was removed for breach of the “CORROBORATION/PROOF” rule, though after reviewing those terms, I don’t believe that I’ve broken them.
“A dream, a nightmare, a hallucination, a vision, a bout of sleep paralysis, is drunk and/or high, was in a coma or otherwise an altered state”— none of these are the reason behind my main character’s paranormal experience, and I’ve given no indication whatsoever in the story to suggest that they are.
In fact, I’ve outright denied the idea that my main character imagined her experience about as much as I possibly could for a story with a first person perspective.
The main character says “it definitely happened. It’s not the kind of thing you can just imagine, and I’m sure now that it wasn’t a dream,” in the second paragraph— a sentiment which she consistently attests to throughout the story, and a sentiment which is never walked back on or brought into question by the narrator.
My narrator was in a sound state of mind at the moment of her encounter, and is practical and methodical in her investigation of what happened. Any implication that she has become mentally unwell occurs long after the inciting incident which the story is built around.
I would like to respectfully request that this story be reevaluated. In the short time that it was active on nosleep, it clearly connected with people. If it cannot stand as is, then I need someone to help me make it fit the guidelines without defeating the entire purpose of the story and betraying its themes.
The nosleep subreddit is filled to the brim with stories in which the narrator’s words are taken at face value. When a narrator in a different story says “I walked to the store,” it’s not like the author HAS to give tactile, irrefutable evidence that the narrator actually walked to the store. The audience simply accepts that the narrator walked to the store. This concept of innate credibility is the bedrock upon which my entire story is built.
I do not believe my work would benefit from being altered to fit these guidelines as rigidly as possible, nor do I think that is a fair standard to hold it to. In fact, if I were to change the contents of my story in such a way, the themes which set it apart from others like it would be lost.
In short, I do not understand why my story was deleted, I do not know how to alter it to fit the guidelines beyond any shadow of a doubt without destroying its central purpose, and I refuse to believe that nosleep is not the right place for this work. I implore you to reconsider my submission, or to at least work with me to find a solution which keeps the story’s themes intact.
Here is my story:
I got grabbed
Last night, when I was home alone, a hand reached out from under the couch and grabbed me.
Nobody was there to see it, and nobody that I’ve told believes me, but it definitely happened. It’s not the kind of thing you can just imagine, and I’m sure now that it wasn’t a dream.
I was watching TV when it happened. The remote fell under the couch and I started fishing around for it without really looking, not wanting to get up from my seat. I brushed it with the tips of my fingers and it slid further underneath.
I was super annoyed— I had to get down on my knees to reach it. I finally found the remote, and that’s when it grabbed me.
As I pulled the remote out into the light, a hand shot up from under the couch and wrapped its fingers around my wrist.
I was able to yank myself away quickly. It didn’t hold on tight— just enough that I felt a little resistance. I jumped to my feet, obviously terrified.
I didn’t scream or anything. I was honestly too scared to even make a sound. My heart was beating so fast that my ears started to ring. The TV was still going, commercials droning on while I tried to process what had just happened.
The hand had only come out about a foot from under the couch. It had an arm attached to it, though I wasn’t able to see past its elbow, and it slinked back below the couch as soon as I pulled myself free from its grasp.
It didn’t hurt, and it didn’t leave any sort of bruise or mark or anything on my wrist, but I definitely felt it, and I definitely saw it.
All I could do was stare at the spot where the hand had appeared. I stood there for what felt like an eternity, until I heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps right outside my front door.
I live in a second-story apartment. It’s a pretty cramped place and a pretty old building, so whenever someone comes over I can usually hear footsteps from the moment they enter the building downstairs.
I guess I was so freaked out by the hand that I didn’t even notice someone was outside until they were already opening the door.
My roommate walked in on quite a scene. She immediately registered how off the vibe was. I could see it on her face.
She found me standing upright in the middle of our living room, TV remote in hand, facing away from the screen while Full House’s laugh track filled the air. I’m sure I’d think it was odd too.
“Hey…” she said, shifting a paper bag full of groceries in her arm while she pocketed her keys, “You good?”
I felt like I was caught with my pants down, but just seeing a familiar face brought some of the blood back to my fingers.
“N—yeah,” I stuttered. I came back online, and flicked the TV off.
I felt her eyes on me as she walked over to the kitchen. There’s no wall or anything dividing the two rooms. Like I said, the place is pretty cramped.
She started putting her groceries away as if everything was normal, but I could tell she wanted to ask what was up.
I kept looking back and forth between her and the couch. I can’t explain it, but I already knew that if I looked under there, I wouldn’t find any trace of whoever (or whatever) grabbed me.
As she started loading up the fridge, I dropped to my hands and knees once again. Without taking even a second to ready myself, I brought my head down to the ground and looked under the couch.
Nothing.
Pretty much what I expected. There was barely enough room for me to squeeze my arm under there for the remote. No way a whole person could fit beneath that thing, and even if they could, there’s no way I wouldn’t have seen them or heard them or something before they grabbed me.
“Seriously, what’s up?”
I looked up to see my roommate standing right behind me, arms crossed, clearly concerned.
I knew I was acting strange, and I knew that nothing I would come up with in the next five seconds could possibly excuse my behavior. I made a judgement call, honestly not really caring about how it would be received.
“I uh… something grabbed me earlier.”
“What?”
“Under the couch. I dropped the remote, and when I picked it up, a hand reached out from under the couch and grabbed me.”
Took her a second to respond.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“That’s it. A hand reached out and grabbed me by the wrist. It happened like a minute before you got here.”
That part might have been a lie. I actually have no idea how long I had been standing in the middle of the room before she showed up.
“Wait so like someone broke in?”
“No. It’s just like I said. A hand reached out, grabbed me, and then it was gone.”
She just kinda looked at me for a while. I don’t blame her, but it’s not like there was any way for me to sugarcoat it.
“Are you sure?”
“What do you mean ‘am I sure?’ Yes, yes I’m fucking sure!”
My voice broke a little when I said that. I was still down on my knees, like I was praying for her to believe me.
“Okay well obviously that didn’t happen Sam.”I let out a desperate laugh and threw my hands up in the air. I slapped them down on my thighs dramatically and shook my head in exasperation.
“Yeah obviously it sounds fucking crazy but you asked what happened and that’s what happened. I don’t know how else to describe it. I’m just being honest.”
I pulled myself up to my feet and walked around to the armrest of the couch. She kept studying me, probably thinking this was all a prank or something.
“What are you doing?” She asked, arms still glued across her chest.
“I’m checking under the couch.”
I pushed one end of the couch away from the wall. It was pretty heavy, and the coffee table stopped me from moving it too far. I dragged the coffee table towards the TV to free up some space.
My roommate started staring at the spot I was clearing as if she expected to see something there too.
I went back over to the armrest.
“Can you help me?”
She snapped out of her trance and silently went to grab the other side. We pulled the couch away from the wall, revealing a thick rectangle of dust that had not seen the light of day since we moved in a year ago.
I dropped to my knees once more and began wiping away the grime with my bare hands. There was nothing but the floorboards beneath it. No surprise.
I sat there for a second, eyes darting around the floor. No fingerprints in the dust, no scratches or marks or anything. I felt the tension in the room dissipate as my roommate found her voice again.
“I think you must have imagined it.”
I didn’t. There’s no way.
“Dude, no. I felt it and I saw it. Clear as day. It was a hand, and it grabbed me. That’s not the sort of thing you can just imagine.”
She scoffed, any fear left in her giving way to frustration.
“Whatever. This is fucking stupid. I’m going to bed.”
She stomped off towards her room.
“Wait.”
She spun on her heels as I stood up, probably expecting me to tell her I was joking about the whole thing.
“Can you help me flip the couch over?”
She rolled her eyes.
“Sure. But I’m not helping you put it back.”
She helped me lift the couch off of its legs and tilt it onto its front cushions, exposing the fabric underneath. She disappeared into her room and I went to work studying the underside of the sofa.
There was a zipper lining the bottom, but I found nothing inside when I opened it up. Just a hollow wooden frame and a bunch of crumbs.
I sat back against the wall, more tired than scared at that point.
I can’t believe she thinks I’m making this up. Why would I even do that? What purpose would it serve?
As I solemnly went about rebuilding our living room, I decided that the next day (today) I was gonna take off work, wait for her to leave, and really get to the bottom of this.
I didn’t sleep at all last night. Every nook and cranny of my room felt like a door left wide open, with something sinister waiting on the other side.
What if the hand comes back? What if it wants to hurt me next time? How can I even protect myself?
After like ten restless minutes in bed, I decided to move to the floor. I couldn’t help it. I kept imagining the hand reaching up from under the bed and grabbing me again.
I made a makeshift sleeping bag out of my comforter and some pillows, and I laid on my side so I could keep an eye on the underside of my bedframe while I slept. Maybe “slept” isn’t the right word. Even down there, I couldn’t bring myself to close my eyes for longer than a minute.
Eventually sunlight began to peek through the blinds, and I heard some movement within the apartment. My roommate was finally up. I heard the front door close, and it was time to get to work.
I nearly threw my back out yanking the couch away from the wall to reveal the floorboards underneath. They aren’t real floorboards, just the kind of cheap-o fake shit they put in crappy houses to make them look more modern. Our whole apartment is like that— a thin coat of paint slapped over an old building from the 40s or whatever.
My dad actually owns this building. He lets me and my roommate stay here as long as we pay him $500 a month, which is way cheaper than most places in my area.
It’s not really an apartment building to be honest. You can tell it used to be a family home before some realtor swooped in and broke it up into apartments. There are a lot of those around here.
Anyway, the fake wood came up easy. It was only about a quarter inch thick. I was able to pull up the first plank by hammering a kitchen knife into a slit between the boards, and then I peeled a few more away by hand.
After prying away about a dozen of these fake floorboards, I started to realize that I wasn’t going to find anything without making a significantly larger dent. Right beneath the thin layer of fake wood was a layer of very real, very thick wooden beams that seemed to span well beyond the hole I had managed to claw open.
My back crackled and popped as I sat back on my heels to admire my handiwork and contemplate where to go from there. I knew I would need a power saw or some kind of heavy duty tool to get any deeper, but I was afraid of two things:
- That these beams were supporting the entire second floor of the building, and cutting through them would make the whole thing collapse
- That going any deeper would lead me into the ceiling of the apartment below us, and whoever lives there would call my dad before I could see what I needed to see.
I can’t stop thinking about that fucking hand.
I’m not supposed to have it, but my dad gave me a master key for the whole building in case of emergencies. He could really get in trouble if anyone found out, but if this isn’t an emergency then idk what is.
There’s a service shed around the back of the building, which has seen none of the love that the main building saw when it was renovated. Decades worth of rusty antiques and rotting furniture line the walls. A shiny, modern tool bench sits unnaturally in the middle of the chaos.
I rifled through all of that shit as fast as I could. I’m not really close with my dad all things considered, and I’m sure he’d be super pissed if he found me out there. He’s so secretive about random shit all the time, and he’s constantly dropping by the building unannounced.
I found the jigsaw under a pile of old newspapers and ran back upstairs.
I probably should have checked the driveway to see if anyone was home first, because the saw made so much noise. The cord barely reached from the outlet to the spot where the couch used to be, but as awkward as the angle was, I was still able to get it in there.
I went as small as possible with my first few cuts. I started with a single beam, cutting out a section about 6x6 inches wide. I slid the chunk of wood out, and, to my relief, didn’t immediately see the plaster that would be my downstairs neighbor’s ceiling.
A tuft of insulation stuck out where I made the hole. I didn’t know that stuff is made from fiberglass or whatever, and I got a really bad splinter when I went to yank it out.
I fished some leather gloves out of my roommate’s closet and got to work on the insulation. I pulled and pulled but couldn’t get a good enough grip to remove anything more than a few bits about the size of a tennis ball.
I went back in with the jigsaw, cutting bigger and bigger chunks until I had cleared a hole about two feet in diameter.
No sign that I was gonna bring the building down, that’s good.
I hacked away for hours. More wood came up, more insulation came up, and when I finally hit a fragile-looking layer of drywall, I knew the jig was up. That’s definitely my neighbor’s ceiling. Fuck.
My roommate and I got in a screaming match when she got home. I made a pretty big mess but I don’t really give a fuck honestly.
I don’t give a fuck if she believes me. I fucking hate that bitch. I told her if she tells my dad what I’m doing, I’ll bash her brains in with the hammer. That shut her up. She left with a bag full of her clothes like an hour later.
Tomorrow I’m going to wait for our downstairs neighbor to leave and start investigating from the bottom-up. If there wasn’t any evidence on the floor up here, there HAS to be something on the ceiling down there.
If I do find something, I’ll post again. I doubt anyone will even believe me, but at this point I just want everything written down somewhere accessible in case something bad happens.
There has to be something down there. Something grabbed me. And I’m going to find out what it is.
2024.05.14 20:23 timcooksfood Friends’ trip highlight picture ruined by rain, please help out!
 | Main request: Superimpose the version with better lighting (photo #2 & 3) into the photo with the better framing (photo #1). I tried myself but couldn't properly merge the cut off shoe at the bottom. Also fix the faint rain blur on them, remove the sunglasses from his hand if necessary, remove the cord behind his waist if necessary, remove the nipples poking on his shirt, and fix the flipped up bottom of his shirt. submitted by timcooksfood to PhotoshopRequest [link] [comments] Bonus request: Make the entire scene appear to be a bright, sunny day, which also involves removing some of the rain shimmer from the ground. I don't have another reference shot from this spot with better conditions, but there might be something close out there. I do want each version, so I will pay $10 for the main request and $10 for the bonus request that I'm satisfied with ($20 potential total). |
2024.05.14 20:18 Sad_Bat7625 Feeling guilt for messaging my abusive ex
About a year ago, I [29 M] was in a toxic relationship with J [29 M]. While there were no serious stakes in it (no kids or messy finances), the relationship and breakup ended up emotionally affecting me in a way I had never really thought possible. I feel guilty because after the relationship I tried to be friends with my ex still, which I now see as a mistake in the context of this relationship, and then after a few months, he blocked me because I didn't respect a boundary he had set about not sending him long messages. He said he didn't feel safe since I "completely ignored" the boundary.
I was devastated, but over the course of the next few months, came to understand a great deal of ways that I feel that I had been abused during the relationship. I felt angrier and angrier, and even though I was seeing a therapist, it eventually boiled over. My ex had blocked me on discord and probably on text, but I went onto an astrology app called Co-Star that he had had me download, and sent a message using it that said something like, "You were an abusive partner, but you can make it right with an apology."
Now, I have no idea if he actually saw the message. It was sent with a weird feature of the app called Chaos Mode that apparently chooses to send the message at some future time, so who knows if it actually ever sent. I don't know if he still has the app, if he unfriended me, or whatnot. But I feel guilty because I enacted exactly the caricature of me that he had created--I hadn't respected his boundaries, and I sent the message anyways.
At the same time, I am still feeling very victimized by the relationship. To give you a sense of the kinds of things that were going on in the relationship, here's a few examples that I currently find a little horrific [Note: this kind of turned into a summary of the relationship after I wrote it]. I'm aware that to heal I should probably not be ruminating about these things, especially if they lead me to boil over and message him, but here you go.
The first time I had sex with him, he slammed the door on me for not being able to finish and said "finish yourself." When I came to bed, I told him I felt shame. He said "good." The next time we had sex, he set a timer for me and said I had to finish within 5 minutes. These were the first times I ever had sex. He was manipulative in bed, telling me he didn't want to perform certain acts because I didn't give him enough praise for them, so that I started exaggerating my pleasure; he blamed me for why certain positions weren't working and was frustrated with how my body worked. On top of this, he admitted at the end of the relationship to having had sex with me around five times after he decided to break up with me (before he did), which just makes me feel a bit icky.
He would put me down in pretty transparently cruel ways. One example was when I exerted myself, he said I sounded like a muppet and that he "didn't want to be dating a muppet." When I offered him a blanket but apologized that it might not have been washed in a while, he called me a baby. He would insult my ability to give complements, asking me to tell him what color his eyes are but then rejecting everything that I gave him, telling me I was bad at complements repeatedly (and saying that it wasn't fair of him because his other exes were artists, so no wonder I was bad). Now, there were times that he was complementary to me--he told me I was hot, good at singing, good at writing, smart--but also times where he would put me down for things I was less good at, like cooking.
He constantly made me feel insecure about my gender. (For context, we are both men, but he was raised as a woman). So he would make pretty sweeping feminist critiques over fairly mundane things, like if I complained when I was sick he would go off about how men are always babies when they are sick and women don't get attention. When I confronted him about some of the things he was saying, telling him that while I wanted him to express these kinds of social problems so that I could be aware and adapt, I was feeling insecure in the relationship--he flipped it around and told me that if I didn't feel loved, he could say "I love you" less, and that I hadn't been grateful enough for when he came to visit me. (I had written him poetry, deep cleaned my apartment, taken time off work, sent my roommate off for the week, bought him a bus pass, planned his visit, met him in the airport despite not having a car, and just an insane amount of work to be turned into, "you weren't grateful enough").
Other than namecalling, he was just plain controlling. The reason that the boundary around me not sending long messages exists is that when I felt insecure--which I think makes sense given the ways he would talk to me--I would often send him a few paragraphs apologizing and explaining how I was growing. Even though long messages were the first thing he said he loved about me, and that he said our communication was like magic, he eventually set up what he called an "Essay embargo" and told me not to write them. The first time he set the "embargo", he had said it was only until we met in person because he didn't want me to write anything that would make him nervous. After we met in person, I assumed the embargo had lifted. Yet shortly after, he set it again, giving a few explanations--the main one just being that he wanted to appreciate our relationship without overthinking it. It seemed playful. He definitely did also say that long messages made him uncomfortable because he felt obligated to send a response. So, when I did send messages, I would add that he didn't have to respond (which I realize is not fully respecting the boundary). I did ask after sending messages whether they were ok and he never responded to those questions.
Despite this, there were times during the relationship that I continued to send long, often apologetic messages. I had felt like this boundary was set playfully and I also was feeling overwhelming guilt that I, for whatever reason, needed his affirmation for. I am conflicted because on the one hand, I was definitely ignoring his boundary--but on the other, I feel like the boundary was not very thoughtful of my own needs, either.
Prior to the breakup, it was hell. He was getting angry at me for everything--for pretty mundane things like using the bathroom before him and stinking it up. He told me he had to show me how to do everything, but I realize now that a lot of this was just him being particular (e.g, he told me I don't know how to drink tea because I left the bag in, when I just like it strong). Unfortunately, I had flown 5,000 miles to visit him and was sort of trapped in his proximity, and was drunk on love still since I was trying very hard, it was my first relationship, and he had sold me on notions of fairytale romance and told me we were cosmically meant to be together and other lovebomby sort of things. At one point, he missed a turn while driving with GPS and got angry at me for not helping--he disconnected his phone and threw it sideways at me (I guess so I could navigate for him, but it was a pretty retaliatory motion). We flew to a convention and I met some of his friends, and at one point he introduced me to a girl he had almost dated before, saying I was a friend and not a partner. I pointed this out to him later and he just said "does that make you angry?". He flirted with a woman at a party, telling her she was pretty while demanding that i bring him snacks (I feel so, so weak for not confronting him about this). He got drunk and I stayed with him as he passed out, but he was angry at me in the morning. When one of his friends told me they thought I was nice, because i was opening doors for everyone, my ex said "Is he really?" Questioning them.
The breakup itself was cold and calculated. He started it by telling me that he thought about not giving me any reasons for the breakup because I always overanalyze things. He told me he wouldn't have broken up with me if I was a woman. He told me I didn't take care of him and he needs a partner that takes care of him, and that his partners always feel taken care of. He threw some things I had said at the beginning of the relationship back at me--misquoting and misunderstanding them.
After the relationship, I had no idea what to think. It was my first relationship. It had started with fairytale romance. I had been passing his tests, I had been an exception to his long string of abusive relationships. He presented himself as this incredibly moral person (vegan, environmentally conscious, telling me of all of the ways others had abused him that he would never do, even his closest friends). I had completely internalized criticisms that he had had of me throughout the relationship, many of which had led to serious self reflection and my writing messages about my growth. Within a week I told him I still loved him and that I always would. He reminded me of his boundary around long messages and said they made him anxious. I was desperate. We took a few weeks of no-contact. We messaged short-messages back and forth, with a few life-updates to eachother each. He told me he was rescuing a kitten that he found, and I remembered how he could be kind.
But as I processed, more and more, I felt angry. I wrote unsent angry letters in the notes app on my phone for a month. I wrote myself a 20,000 word summary of the relationship. This was not a healthy way to process. It elevated me. (Some of you will probably comment that maybe I shouldn't have written this post for the same reason, but oh well--I wanted to process and I want to hear if others have similar stories). Meanwhile, my ex kept pushing back the date for when we would verbally connect again. Eventually, I boiled over. I did not insult him. But I wrote a long message explaining that I wanted to take 3 months of no-contact. I had entered another relationship and told him that even though I was feeling angry at him, he shouldn't be worried because even though I had baggage from the relationship, I was communicating well with my new partner. I also told him that I felt like if I did talk with him, that I would end up tearing him a new one, and that I needed time to cool down. I'm not proud of the message in general, but I didn't call names, tell him he was awful, or anything like that. I was just insensitive and told him I was angry.
And like that, I was blocked. It was over. A period of about 9 months, five of which we were together, with two before escalating towards love bombing and two after escalating towards my boiling over.
And yet, I had never expressed to him that I thought he had been abusive. I felt frustrated that I had told him that I would always love him, when in many ways now I hated him.
Five months passed, during which I came to realize more and more how messed up the relationship was.
And then I sent the message on Co-star.
Fast forward another four months to now.
I just sent him a text, knowing he probably has blocked me there too. It said something like, "I want my last message to you just be: I'm sorry, and I forgive you." I wanted to free myself. I needed to not feel angry at him or ashamed of myself. I needed to not feel like I had a million things to say to him--I needed to just say, this is it: I'm not sending more messages. I'm sorry, and I forgive you. It was for myself. I was forgiving him selfishly, even though he didn't deserve it, so that I could move on.
I feel like I shouldn't have sent this, but I don't feel bad about it yet, either. I needed closure. It always felt like there was some "message I could send" to detail his abuse, and I needed to not have that standing over me--I needed to forgive. I am now oscillating between wondering about myself--whether I have a problem with boundaries, since I had boiled over at this point three times to message him. Feeling frustrated I didn't assert myself about his abuse, that I doubled down on loving him. Part of me is glad that I sent the message on Co-Star saying that he was abusive, because it was the only indication I ever gave him, really, that what he did wasn't ok to me--he had blocked me before I could articulate anything. But I also know that this message even if received would not mean anything to him.
Anyways, now I'm venting about it here on Reddit. Does anyone have similar experiences surrounding self control messaging exes and feeling a bit out of control?
submitted by Sad_Bat7625 to abusiverelationships [link] [comments]
I was devastated, but over the course of the next few months, came to understand a great deal of ways that I feel that I had been abused during the relationship. I felt angrier and angrier, and even though I was seeing a therapist, it eventually boiled over. My ex had blocked me on discord and probably on text, but I went onto an astrology app called Co-Star that he had had me download, and sent a message using it that said something like, "You were an abusive partner, but you can make it right with an apology."
Now, I have no idea if he actually saw the message. It was sent with a weird feature of the app called Chaos Mode that apparently chooses to send the message at some future time, so who knows if it actually ever sent. I don't know if he still has the app, if he unfriended me, or whatnot. But I feel guilty because I enacted exactly the caricature of me that he had created--I hadn't respected his boundaries, and I sent the message anyways.
At the same time, I am still feeling very victimized by the relationship. To give you a sense of the kinds of things that were going on in the relationship, here's a few examples that I currently find a little horrific [Note: this kind of turned into a summary of the relationship after I wrote it]. I'm aware that to heal I should probably not be ruminating about these things, especially if they lead me to boil over and message him, but here you go.
The first time I had sex with him, he slammed the door on me for not being able to finish and said "finish yourself." When I came to bed, I told him I felt shame. He said "good." The next time we had sex, he set a timer for me and said I had to finish within 5 minutes. These were the first times I ever had sex. He was manipulative in bed, telling me he didn't want to perform certain acts because I didn't give him enough praise for them, so that I started exaggerating my pleasure; he blamed me for why certain positions weren't working and was frustrated with how my body worked. On top of this, he admitted at the end of the relationship to having had sex with me around five times after he decided to break up with me (before he did), which just makes me feel a bit icky.
He would put me down in pretty transparently cruel ways. One example was when I exerted myself, he said I sounded like a muppet and that he "didn't want to be dating a muppet." When I offered him a blanket but apologized that it might not have been washed in a while, he called me a baby. He would insult my ability to give complements, asking me to tell him what color his eyes are but then rejecting everything that I gave him, telling me I was bad at complements repeatedly (and saying that it wasn't fair of him because his other exes were artists, so no wonder I was bad). Now, there were times that he was complementary to me--he told me I was hot, good at singing, good at writing, smart--but also times where he would put me down for things I was less good at, like cooking.
He constantly made me feel insecure about my gender. (For context, we are both men, but he was raised as a woman). So he would make pretty sweeping feminist critiques over fairly mundane things, like if I complained when I was sick he would go off about how men are always babies when they are sick and women don't get attention. When I confronted him about some of the things he was saying, telling him that while I wanted him to express these kinds of social problems so that I could be aware and adapt, I was feeling insecure in the relationship--he flipped it around and told me that if I didn't feel loved, he could say "I love you" less, and that I hadn't been grateful enough for when he came to visit me. (I had written him poetry, deep cleaned my apartment, taken time off work, sent my roommate off for the week, bought him a bus pass, planned his visit, met him in the airport despite not having a car, and just an insane amount of work to be turned into, "you weren't grateful enough").
Other than namecalling, he was just plain controlling. The reason that the boundary around me not sending long messages exists is that when I felt insecure--which I think makes sense given the ways he would talk to me--I would often send him a few paragraphs apologizing and explaining how I was growing. Even though long messages were the first thing he said he loved about me, and that he said our communication was like magic, he eventually set up what he called an "Essay embargo" and told me not to write them. The first time he set the "embargo", he had said it was only until we met in person because he didn't want me to write anything that would make him nervous. After we met in person, I assumed the embargo had lifted. Yet shortly after, he set it again, giving a few explanations--the main one just being that he wanted to appreciate our relationship without overthinking it. It seemed playful. He definitely did also say that long messages made him uncomfortable because he felt obligated to send a response. So, when I did send messages, I would add that he didn't have to respond (which I realize is not fully respecting the boundary). I did ask after sending messages whether they were ok and he never responded to those questions.
Despite this, there were times during the relationship that I continued to send long, often apologetic messages. I had felt like this boundary was set playfully and I also was feeling overwhelming guilt that I, for whatever reason, needed his affirmation for. I am conflicted because on the one hand, I was definitely ignoring his boundary--but on the other, I feel like the boundary was not very thoughtful of my own needs, either.
Prior to the breakup, it was hell. He was getting angry at me for everything--for pretty mundane things like using the bathroom before him and stinking it up. He told me he had to show me how to do everything, but I realize now that a lot of this was just him being particular (e.g, he told me I don't know how to drink tea because I left the bag in, when I just like it strong). Unfortunately, I had flown 5,000 miles to visit him and was sort of trapped in his proximity, and was drunk on love still since I was trying very hard, it was my first relationship, and he had sold me on notions of fairytale romance and told me we were cosmically meant to be together and other lovebomby sort of things. At one point, he missed a turn while driving with GPS and got angry at me for not helping--he disconnected his phone and threw it sideways at me (I guess so I could navigate for him, but it was a pretty retaliatory motion). We flew to a convention and I met some of his friends, and at one point he introduced me to a girl he had almost dated before, saying I was a friend and not a partner. I pointed this out to him later and he just said "does that make you angry?". He flirted with a woman at a party, telling her she was pretty while demanding that i bring him snacks (I feel so, so weak for not confronting him about this). He got drunk and I stayed with him as he passed out, but he was angry at me in the morning. When one of his friends told me they thought I was nice, because i was opening doors for everyone, my ex said "Is he really?" Questioning them.
The breakup itself was cold and calculated. He started it by telling me that he thought about not giving me any reasons for the breakup because I always overanalyze things. He told me he wouldn't have broken up with me if I was a woman. He told me I didn't take care of him and he needs a partner that takes care of him, and that his partners always feel taken care of. He threw some things I had said at the beginning of the relationship back at me--misquoting and misunderstanding them.
After the relationship, I had no idea what to think. It was my first relationship. It had started with fairytale romance. I had been passing his tests, I had been an exception to his long string of abusive relationships. He presented himself as this incredibly moral person (vegan, environmentally conscious, telling me of all of the ways others had abused him that he would never do, even his closest friends). I had completely internalized criticisms that he had had of me throughout the relationship, many of which had led to serious self reflection and my writing messages about my growth. Within a week I told him I still loved him and that I always would. He reminded me of his boundary around long messages and said they made him anxious. I was desperate. We took a few weeks of no-contact. We messaged short-messages back and forth, with a few life-updates to eachother each. He told me he was rescuing a kitten that he found, and I remembered how he could be kind.
But as I processed, more and more, I felt angry. I wrote unsent angry letters in the notes app on my phone for a month. I wrote myself a 20,000 word summary of the relationship. This was not a healthy way to process. It elevated me. (Some of you will probably comment that maybe I shouldn't have written this post for the same reason, but oh well--I wanted to process and I want to hear if others have similar stories). Meanwhile, my ex kept pushing back the date for when we would verbally connect again. Eventually, I boiled over. I did not insult him. But I wrote a long message explaining that I wanted to take 3 months of no-contact. I had entered another relationship and told him that even though I was feeling angry at him, he shouldn't be worried because even though I had baggage from the relationship, I was communicating well with my new partner. I also told him that I felt like if I did talk with him, that I would end up tearing him a new one, and that I needed time to cool down. I'm not proud of the message in general, but I didn't call names, tell him he was awful, or anything like that. I was just insensitive and told him I was angry.
And like that, I was blocked. It was over. A period of about 9 months, five of which we were together, with two before escalating towards love bombing and two after escalating towards my boiling over.
And yet, I had never expressed to him that I thought he had been abusive. I felt frustrated that I had told him that I would always love him, when in many ways now I hated him.
Five months passed, during which I came to realize more and more how messed up the relationship was.
And then I sent the message on Co-star.
Fast forward another four months to now.
I just sent him a text, knowing he probably has blocked me there too. It said something like, "I want my last message to you just be: I'm sorry, and I forgive you." I wanted to free myself. I needed to not feel angry at him or ashamed of myself. I needed to not feel like I had a million things to say to him--I needed to just say, this is it: I'm not sending more messages. I'm sorry, and I forgive you. It was for myself. I was forgiving him selfishly, even though he didn't deserve it, so that I could move on.
I feel like I shouldn't have sent this, but I don't feel bad about it yet, either. I needed closure. It always felt like there was some "message I could send" to detail his abuse, and I needed to not have that standing over me--I needed to forgive. I am now oscillating between wondering about myself--whether I have a problem with boundaries, since I had boiled over at this point three times to message him. Feeling frustrated I didn't assert myself about his abuse, that I doubled down on loving him. Part of me is glad that I sent the message on Co-Star saying that he was abusive, because it was the only indication I ever gave him, really, that what he did wasn't ok to me--he had blocked me before I could articulate anything. But I also know that this message even if received would not mean anything to him.
Anyways, now I'm venting about it here on Reddit. Does anyone have similar experiences surrounding self control messaging exes and feeling a bit out of control?
2024.05.14 20:16 BrookieCookieCon19 Reposted to add pictures from the dumpster fire wedding
 | My wedding was a dumpster fire... literally... I know it's a long read, but trust me it's worth it. submitted by BrookieCookieCon19 to CharlotteDobreYouTube [link] [comments] I saw your wedding horror story videos and have one of my own I think a lot of people would get a kick out of. Yes, this entire story is 100% true with no real hyperbole, tall tales, etc. This all actually happened and I have witnesses that will attest to this if asked. I'd been with my husband for about 2 years, engaged for 1, when we found out I was pregnant. Obvi, we decided to rush the wedding after we had a talk about the surprise and what we wanted to do. Flash forward a little and my original Maid of Honor and I had a falling out because the last time we had been together and gone to the church the wedding was being hosted, she had gotten disrespectful with the elders and asked questions she thought were funny, but were really just rude. The swearing really didn't help matters either. I asked her if she would be able to try to be more respectful of my beliefs and be gentle with the others that would be there. This lead to a fight and the beginning of the end of a 7 year relationship (when we tried to rekindle our relationship later, she said she hoped my son would get unalived by a cop because he is white and no one cared about it. Thank God I cut ties when I did). This was also the beginning of a new friendship between myself and the best man's fiancé (we are still bffs today) when I asked her to take over. Crisis 1 averted. For the sake of setting some scenes, I worked at a hotel in a podunk town, right off the highway and met with a make up artist that came in for a makeup party gig with housekeeping. We talked and she agreed to work with me and MOH for the wedding. Here comes the beginning of everything going down hill, on fire, in a rickety buggy. The night before, after the rehearsal dinner, at 11pm the makeup artist gets ahold of me saying she has to cancel because her husband got into a water bottle accident (water bottle is oilfield speak for the giant water trucks they have on site) and was in the hospital. We understood and told her to do what she has to, we can handle things ourselves. Meanwhile, my husband's uncle was cooking the pig for the reception dinner as it doubled as his wedding gift to us (which we are extremely thankful for btw). It caught on fire. In the parking lot. Of the hotel I was working at, and everyone was staying. Luckily he was able to save it, but I got to hear about it when I got back to work. They printed the security camera image and everything. It was great. Now it's the morning of the wedding. I realize that I am missing makeup that I need and, living in a map dot myself, needed to drive half an hour away in order to get what we were missing. Thank God for my dad needing to go out that way anyway. He got us breakfast, took us to the store, and we grabbed what we needed and started to take off. The shirt I was wearing, without my knowledge, had popped the button right over my boobs showing God and everybody my goodies and I hadn't realized it until we were on our way to grab the cupcakes and "smash" cake (it was a cheap alternative to a traditional wedding cake and actually save us a TON of money for the "event"[ note for brides on a budget, say event and not wedding to save some extra $]). We get home and nerves take over, coupled with my already awful morning sickness, leading me to be stuck in the bathroom for a while. I finish up, brush my teeth again for the third time and decide to start getting things around and just get ready at the church. I made a Playlist in order, and wrote down the order for my brother to be able to just press play and not worry about ads or anything. I literally went as far as saying song a-c for while you wait, d for the procession, and e for my enterance with the sing titles. This will become a problem apparently. As MOH and I are getting ready, I start to freak out because the makeup I got is streaky and I can barely get anything to blend how I want it to, so my mom had my dad grab her makeup and bring it down and takes over for us. Her friend, who offered to do pictures for us along with my SIL (and I paid them both for) told my mom to give me fake lashes because it'd make the pictures prettier. I told them I wasn't comfortable with it because it was new and I didn't know if I could handle the glue smell and the glue she uses hurts my eyes as is. Mom basically said to hush and let her do it. One thing lead to another, and my mother glued my eyes shut. 10 minutes before my wedding was due to start. Even though I had asked for no fake lashes. Hormones kicked in and I started to cry. After about 5 minutes, we are able to get my eyes opened, but still had bits of glue in my lashes that ended up scratching my eyes throughout the wedding. In one of the pictures, you can kind of see the gap in my lashes where the glue sticks them together and where lashes were literally removed in the process of getting the glue out. My dad came down asking what was taking so long, and my mom snapped at him and told him to go upstairs and wait a second, which made me start to cry again. I calm myself down rather quickly and get dressed (the dress ended up being too big because the morning sickness had made me lose weight without me realizing it) and we all head upstairs only about 5 minutes or so late. At the doors, I can hear the music playing. It's the wrong songs. My dad, in his usual joking fashion, said "It's not too late to run". I told him I just wanted to get this dumpster fire over with. Speed up a bit and during the ceremony, the pastor skipped over the marriage cross ceremony (where the newly weds put a cross together as a symbol of our faith in our marriage), and called my husband Durk. Miraculously, we make it through with those being the only things amiss, besides my husband being tired and looking grumpy the entire time (I guess he and Best Man stayed up half the night BSing with his uncle and having a couple drinks). Now the ceremony is over and we have people heading to the hotel to set up for the reception. Pictures were a cluster, there was yelling, I started to cry again because I just wanted things to be done quickly, and my mom wanted her photographer she had come in take pictures that she promised to pay for. We still haven't gotten any of them from said photographer. After my parents were done with their part, they took off for the hotel and someone accidentally set some of the mac and cheese on fire, setting off the smoke alarms for the hotel. Can't say I cared too much because it wasn't the recipe I'd given my mom to make that she asked me to send her because I'm a picky eater as it is with my "touch of the tism" coupled with pregnancy making things worse. Eventually we get there, and things had gotten flip-flopped as to what was going on and when because Mom wanted it to go her way, MIL was trying to stick to the schedule I had made... It was great. Thank God for hubby's "Aunti B" that was able to take charge and be my voice and fix things where as my mom looked at MIL and Aunti B and said "I don't care, she's you're problem now". Honestly wasn't surprising from my mom. So we wait for every one to file in to the room we were supposed to start in, and I have to teach my brother how to press play on my phone for music. 🤦🏽♀️ Awesome. We get the Mother Son dance and the Father Daughter dance, and by then my husband was done with everything so we just had the food blessed and proceeded to the dining area. No newlywed dance for us. Still pretty upset about that. At this point I'm too upset to eat, but manage to nibble here and there. As things start to come down, Mom's friend (yes eyelash woman) comes up to me upset because I didn't warn her that the hotel had a pool so she didn't bring suits for her girls to swim in while everyone else was prepared. I informed her (and showed her) that on the event page for the wedding I wrote where everything was taking place and that the hotel had a pool they were free to enjoy. The same information everyone else had used before coming. Embarrassed, she left and just had her daughters swim in their underwear and diaper. At that point, everyone had eaten, we did the cake cutting with a little flare to try to lighten our spirits (picture included in regards to the end result. It started as a competition as to who's mason jar would collect the most money, the loser got the cake to the face. Hubby lost and it turned into a little game between us), and a lot of the ceremonial stuff was over so I started cleaning up (condition of being able to use the hotel for free for the event as an employee) and everyone started pitching in. The ceremony was at 3pm, reception around 4pm. We had everything cleaned up by 6:30pm, 7pm at the latest. Everyone that was staying in the hotel hung out for a bit, and my MIL and SIL (bless them) attempted to get the rest of the eyelash glue out of my eyes and managed to get a bit out with only one piece left before I had to stop. I got chewed out about how things went and how bad my parents looked with everything by my mom (OFC) and I decided to say screw it, packed up, and left for home with hubby, MOH and BM. If you thought that was the end of it, you're mistaken. The next day, after my amazing MOH got the last of the glue out of my eye, we saw everyone off, and we were to take off for our honeymoon (a Civil War town because there was quite a bit of fun there when I went, and Hubby hadn't been, and it was cheap). I convinced my dad to let us take the SUV because I had a bad feeling about my car. Thank God I did because despite the "new" engine, the car died on the highway not even 10 miles from home when I took it to work later on. Anyway, we make it to the hotel that had amazing reviews online to discover stains everywhere on the bed and stuff (ew), the pool was atrocious, and the water in the shower smelled like chemicals and started to burn my husband's face. So we checked out saying we had an emergency back home and had to leave. I called a nearby hotel in my brand I worked for and managed to get a room that is usually about $170 a night or so, for $60 a night. Thank God for them. The rest of the honeymoon went on well with almost no morning sickness, and no other issues. The only bout of morning sickness (which reiterates my desire to know why it's called that when it can happen anytime of day) happened when my husband was being sweet and shared some of his food with me he knew I generally liked. The baby decided "I don't like that", sending me to hug a trash can a little while after lunch. In the middle of the section of (Civil War Town). By the (civil war history specific) house. In the middle of afternoon traffic. The family ahead of us glared and started saying something about drunk people in the day 🙄 and my husband started laughing at the irony of it all. He took off to find me napkins to clean up and a good Samaritan stopped to ask if I was ok. I told him "I'm fine, just pregnant" and they chuckled then left. I managed to get cleaned up when hubby came back with the napkins and we continued on our way. For those wondering, we now have 2 healthy boys, 2 dogs, 2 cats, and have been happily married for 5 years in August. We still laugh about my eyes getting glued shut on our anniversary with our friends and how my wedding was a prime example of Murphy's Law. If it can go wrong, it will go wrong. |
2024.05.14 20:14 deletethissoon43 Mormons DO NOT understand the idea of forgiveness (and part of it is Spencer W. Kimball's fault)
Hey y'all,
[RANT ALERT]
Just wanted to get this off my chest for a second. I've realized now being 4 years Ex-Mo that Mormons truly do not understand the idea of forgiveness. To get slightly philosophical here, forgiveness from my perspective means the other party comes to you to ASK for forgiveness. Why?? Because it shows a growth of character, it shows they know what they did wrong and want to make amends. For the sake of argument, we'll assume the person that ask for forgiveness is doing it sincerely.
Now on the flip side, Mormons have this wrapped idea to always forgive...
You were abused as a child from your father?? Forgive, he has the priesthood.
You were sexually assulted by a missionary?? Forgive, he has the priesthood
You drank coffee one time?? Repent you sinner!!
I believe in letting go of grudges for your emotional and spiritual health...that doesn't mean to forget what the person did. The Miracle of Forgiveness is a piece of shit book; I remember on my mission (Mexico, Oaxaca) and how that book was banned because it made Elders come home early. So now that begs the question, "Why does God's mouthpiece making his feel inadequate?? What is the driving force and motivation for it??"
So which leader is next to just guilt and shame members for not being good enough in this economy while the Q15 live comfortably??
But what do I know?? I'm just a college drop-out pursing music.
[RANT OVER]
submitted by deletethissoon43 to exmormon [link] [comments]
[RANT ALERT]
Just wanted to get this off my chest for a second. I've realized now being 4 years Ex-Mo that Mormons truly do not understand the idea of forgiveness. To get slightly philosophical here, forgiveness from my perspective means the other party comes to you to ASK for forgiveness. Why?? Because it shows a growth of character, it shows they know what they did wrong and want to make amends. For the sake of argument, we'll assume the person that ask for forgiveness is doing it sincerely.
Now on the flip side, Mormons have this wrapped idea to always forgive...
You were abused as a child from your father?? Forgive, he has the priesthood.
You were sexually assulted by a missionary?? Forgive, he has the priesthood
You drank coffee one time?? Repent you sinner!!
I believe in letting go of grudges for your emotional and spiritual health...that doesn't mean to forget what the person did. The Miracle of Forgiveness is a piece of shit book; I remember on my mission (Mexico, Oaxaca) and how that book was banned because it made Elders come home early. So now that begs the question, "Why does God's mouthpiece making his feel inadequate?? What is the driving force and motivation for it??"
So which leader is next to just guilt and shame members for not being good enough in this economy while the Q15 live comfortably??
But what do I know?? I'm just a college drop-out pursing music.
[RANT OVER]