My friends teeth are rotting
My Singing Monsters
2013.05.13 04:27 chill_cosby My Singing Monsters
A subreddit for questions, tips, comments, fanart, memes, and miscellaneous content relating to the game My Singing Monsters and its related games!
2019.06.01 03:46 my friends are assholes
when u see someone and think, damn... they need new friends
2010.08.12 10:47 MayaChemicalera Everything MCR
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2024.05.14 01:22 Achilles9609 My experience with Fatesworn
SPOILERS FOR THE DLC AHEAD.
I am a big fan of Kingdoms of Amalur. I discovered it years ago through YouTube, fell in love with the characters and the world and the story and at Christmas, I recieved the game and got to play it myself. I finished the story, ended the war, explored the Teeth of Naros and hunted the Dead Kel on Gallow's End....and was very curious what would happen in Fatesworn. I had avoided most spoilers but got the inpression that many were dissapointed by it. So I prepared myself.
Fatesworn is.....odd. Mithros is a beautiful region. I love the ice and snow, the northern lights, and the new ruins. I like many of the characters they introduced. Colette and her band are nice, Ivan is great, Maisie is a very sweet woman... Making the Fateless One basically Mithros' version of Batman was certainly a....twist I didn't see coming. Some of the new weapons and armor sets are pretty nice looking. In those regards the DLC is great. Very enjoyable.
The things that make Fatesworn less enjoyable however are all related to the story. Both the leader of the Fateweavers and Skald feel out of place to me. They don't fit as nicely into the story as the other characters. Especially Skald. I am getting slight "Delphine" vibes from her. Something about this woman doesn't sit right with me. Also, is she supposed to be part of this Secret Organisation me and Alyn were part of?
Then we have Telogrus. The God of Chaos and King of Destruction. I couldn't quite connect with him. He feels like he should play a bigger part and do more. Sow Discord. Manipulate. Or at least taunt us telepathically instead of sending just another Niskaru. Despite being much, much less powerful, the Dead Kel left more of an impression on me than Telogrus. I expected to....maybe chase him through his Chaos Dimension or dive into his mind to seperate Wulf and Telogrus. Nope. It's just a straight forward fight against a man in the ugliest armor I have ever see. A part of me actually expected to see the "King" of the House of Sorrows again. We're supposedly traveling to Esharra and the "King" is staying in Esharra to guard the Sorrows. What a perfect opportunity for a cameo and to ask for help or at least advice from an old friend!
Chaos and everything that has to do with it. I was aware that the Niskaru Demons would be a big threat in the DLC, but I underestimated how much Skald Atlas alone could use the word "Chaos". Chaos this, Chaos that.....I get it. Please stop. Call it The Big Purple Spooky Thing for all I care! Chaos Enemies are annoying. I didn't like Shielded Enemies in The Secret World and I don't like them in Fatesworn. The Chaos-colored Spiders and Trolls looked kinda cool but after the fifth Portal I was starting to get sick of them already. Purple might be my least favorite color after this DLC. đ¤
The Unbound. I admit, I still don't know how to feel about the Unbound. I was intrigued at first, expecting a faction I could help create.....only for it to turn into a religion. A part of me felt weird about this, not wanting to be turned into a Saint, but another part of me wanted to see where things would go. As it turned out: nowhere. I am not there once and immediately all Hell breaks loose: people die, spirits get broken and I get blamed for not being omniscient and protecting the followers that I didn't ask for. The Unbound make me a bit sad. Not just because they are a tiny group in a ruined temple but because I feel like their quest didn't really go anywhere. Sure, the attack is a big blow, but shouldn't they be able to recover? Same with the Giant Slayer Quest. I expected a small adventure with an experienced Monsterhunter....instead I end up being the Asshole for taking out all his targets.
And then there is, of course, the part that surprised me the the most: The Ending.
When I heard about "The Fateless One has a dissapointing ending" I expected something bizarre like somehow becoming a god and dragging Telogrus back to Esharra or sacrifcing myself to repair the damage done to the web of fate. Both didn't sound very plausible. The actual ending is more mundane but no less weird and dissapointing. In the Elder Scrolls Games the heroes vanish too but it's usually painted as their free choice. In Fatesworn we pretty much have to leave if we don't want to doom Amalur and ,according to Alyn, apparantly we never come back. What kind of ending is that supposed to be? Listen, Game. I have a castle on Gallow's End that needs to be ruled over! I have a Champion Title in the House of Valor that needs to be defended! It is a sad ending but for me it is mostly a dissapointing ending.
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2024.05.14 01:04 LeoCinco Looking for a buddy for my Shiba Inu
Introduction - Will this be your first dog? If not, what experience do you have owning/training dogs?
- I've got a 1-year-and-half neutered red male Shiba Inu and he is my first dog. I have experience in training my dog.
- Do you have a preference for rescuing a dog vs. going through a reputable breeder?
- Describe your ideal dog.
- compatible with Shiba Inu, easy to train, family friendly, no shedding, no drooling, looks scary like cane corso from a burglar perspective, queit, only bark to strangers, medium size or just a little bigger than a standard shiba, black color
- What breeds or types of dogs are you interested in and why?
- None yet still researching. I like the look of Cane Corso but I can't pick due to their size. Reading about American Staffordshire Terrier (AmStaff) right now
- What sorts of things would you like to train your dog to do?
- Do you want to compete with your dog in a sport (e.g. agility, obedience, rally) or use your dog for a form of work (e.g. hunting, herding, livestock guarding)? If so, how much experience do you have with this work/sport?
Care Commitments 7) How long do you want to devote to training, playing with, or otherwise interacting with your dog each day?
- Couple walks daily for 15-30 mins each, 15-30mins fetch daily, 30mins training daily
- How long can you exercise your dog each day, on average? What sorts of exercise are you planning to give your dog regularly and does that include using a dog park?
- Couple walks daily for 15-30 mins each, 15-30mins fetch daily. No dog park. I can let them run around in the backyard daily as well
- How much regular brushing are you willing to do? Are you open to trimming hair, cleaning ears, or doing other grooming at home? If not, would you be willing to pay a professional to do it regularly?
- I can bathe and dry them once every 2 weeks, and I can pay professional for the additional tasks such as trimming hair, brushing teeth and cleaning ears.
Personal Preferences 10) What size dog are you looking for?
- Medium, a bigger than a standard shiba (16.5+ inches height, 25+ pounds)
- How much shedding, barking, and slobber can you handle?
- No shedding or drooling, queit and doesn't bark a lot besides possible burglar
- How important is being able to let your dog off-leash in an unfenced area?
- I will not let my dog off-leash in unfenced area
Dog Personality and Behavior 13) Do you want a snuggly dog or one that prefers some personal space?
- Would you prefer a dog that wants to do its own thing or one thatâs more eager-to-please?
- No preference. I have a shiba that does its own thing but I think it would be nice to have another dog that is eager to please.
- How would you prefer your dog to respond to someone knocking on the door or entering your yard? How would you prefer your dog to greet strangers or visitors?
- Barking when someone is knocking or entering that they do not know. Okay with extended family member but not okay with strangers
- Are you willing to manage a dog that is aggressive to other dogs?
- I have a Shiba Inu so they must be okay with each other but aggressive to other stranger dog is okay I can manager
- Are there any other behaviors you canât deal with or want to avoid?
- Backyard digging and destroying my lawn
Lifestyle 18) How often and how long will the dog be left alone?
- Several hours at most when I need to go out but I work from home and have cameras
- What are the dog-related preferences of other people in the house and what will be their involvement in caring for the dog?
- I will be the mainly caretaker but there is a kid in the household
- Do you have other pets or are you planning on having other pets? What breed or type of animal are they?
- I've got a 1-year-and-half red male Shiba Inu and neutered
- Will the dog be interacting with children regularly?
- Do you rent or plan to rent in the future? If applicable, what breed or weight restrictions are on your current lease?
- What city or country do you live in and are you aware of any laws banning certain breeds?
- What is the average temperature of a typical summer and winter day where you live?
- Summer up to 100, winter as low as 45. Dog will be sleep indoor 75 controlled temp all day
Additional Information and Questions 25) Please provide any additional information you feel may be relevant.
- I've got a 1-year-and-half red male Shiba Inu. He's pretty standard-sized and has all the classic Shiba traits: aloof, stubborn, smart, playful and independent
Since he's not crate trained, I've made the kitchen on our first floor his hangout spot. I can leave him there by himself for hours while I work upstairs. I keep an eye on him through a camera all day. His routine usually involves a morning walk for his bathroom break, some fetch in the afternoon to tire him out, another walk in the evening, and sometimes I let him loose in the backyard for a bit.
Now, I'm thinking of getting him a buddy so he's got someone to hang out and play with. I've been eyeing black Cane Corsos because I love their look, but I'm worried they might be too big for us.
26) Feel free to ask any questions below.
I'm looking for a dog just a tad larger than a Shiba Inu, preferably black and guard-looking like a Cane Corso, and one that can get along with my Shiba. Any breeds you'd suggest I check out and research? What about the American Staffordshire Terrier (AmStaff)?
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2024.05.14 00:58 IamThe2ndBR Hanna in the HCP
The following is an original work of fan fiction. It will only make sense if youâve read Corpies and SP4
âFucking bullshit cock-garglers!â, Hannah, formerly known as Hexcellent, uttered louder than she intended.
Luckily, she was sitting by herself in a third floor private room in the brand new wing of the Sizemore undergraduate library. On the main floor, any sound louder than a fart wouldâve earned a collective, âshhhhh,â and annoyed stares from half the people studying. And frankly, as difficult as these Gen Chem practice exams were, the former PEERS would be spitting out a few more expletives before she was done.
Hannah glanced at her watch and sighed heavily. It was 4:43 PM. She still had two and a half hours before sheâd need to head to the lift to meet Devon and Kacey, two other first year HCP students, for some evening training. Okay, you got this girl. You just fucked up some amped criminal supers, you can handle goddamn mass to mole composition formula and stoichiom-whatever-the-fuck, she thought to herself. With resigned determination, the HCP student began swiping through class presentation slides on her tablet, reviewing problems she had trouble with. For a solid 2 hours her eyes never left the material and she honestly started to feel more comfortable with what she needed to know. Hannah was in the zone. That was until she was interrupted by a knock on the door.
âWhat. The actual. Fuck?â, Hannah said slowly as she looked up towards the door and the adjacent window.
The summoner saw two boys standing outside , one of whom was a short muscular guy with dark brown hair that she recognized. She was fairly certain his name Lucas, and that he was another HCP first year. He was in the alternative class though, while Hannah was in combat, so they hadnât been around each other a whole hell of a lot. The other seemed familiar, but she couldnât put her finger or on where sheâd seen him before. They were each moving their mouths, and pointing a finger at themselves and into the room clearly asking if they could come in. Hannah got up and opened the door.
âHey, Helen, right? You think that we can study in here with you? All the good tables downstairs are full. I just met Tristan here and heâs in the same predicament as me,â said Lucas before he lowered his voice to a whisper, leaned his head in, and pointed to the boy he referred to as Tristan. âHeâs in the same ummmâŚspecial program as us. In his 2nd year.â
With that information, Helen realized where sheâd seen that guy. He was at the freshman party hosted by the second years. She remembered thinking that he came off as kind of a douchebag by the way he was standing around, nursing the same drink with a smug look on his face the whole time.
âYeah, sure, whatever. As long as you guys dont act like complete assholes and make a bunch of noise. I gotta focus for about another 30 minutes then the room is yours. Cool?â
âCool,â the boys said in unison.
âAnd itâs Hannah by the way. Not Helen. Youâre Lucas, right?â She held out her hand towards him.
Lucas politely shook her hand. âSorry about that Hannah. Iâm terrible at remembering names,â he said with a slight shrug. âJust gonna grab a seat on this side so I can stay outta your way.â He held out his arm towards the opposite side of the table from where Hannah had been sitting and started walking over there.
Tristan walked in and closed the door behind himself. He gave Hannah a simple head nod and smirk but never formerly introduced himself. Very similar to his demeanor at the party; as though he couldnât be bothered.
Yep, arrogant douche, she thought. Then she pictured the look of surprise on the 2nd yearâs face if she were to manifest her big furry friend to accidentally-on-purpose kick him in the balls.
Hannah had often wondered if anyone in the HCP realized her summon was the same giant bunny that helped save Brewster almost a year ago. Titan had told her the DVA would hide any association between the tower-sized rabbit and her PEERS persona but she figured that once classmates saw her summon for the first time theyâd make the connection. That didnât seem to be the case though, at least as far as she knew. It helped that when she summoned Hopcules these days, he was about the same height and stature as Titan. None of her combat training took place outside yet, so no one in HCP got to see her manifestation at his full potential size. Heâd also taken on more humanistic facial expressions lately and had been appearing in a variety of different clothes and accessories. Hell, the last time she trained with Kacey, the hulking rabbit materialized in a denim vest, a blue bandanna on his head, metal spiked leather bracelets around his wrists, brass knuckles, and with gold chains around his neck. Kacey couldnât stop laughing during their sparring session until Hopcules had her bound and hog tied. Even with her enhanced strength, she couldnât break free of what evidently werenât just plain gold necklaces. It hadnât dawned on Hannah until later that, the night before, sheâd fallen asleep to an old 80s action flick about a renegade cop taking on a vicious street gang. She wondered if tonight her childhood protector would show up in a lab coat, holding a periodic table. The Sizemore freshman briefly shook her head to snap herself out of her thoughts and sat down to resume her work. Sheâd gotten fully back into her study mode untilâŚ
âYo, does sound carry out of this room?â Tristan asked.
âSeriously?! You do remember that whole bit about NOT being obnoxious assholes, right?âHannah asked incredulously.
âDamn girl chill. I just wanted to ask my guy here a question and didnât want to risk being overheard. You should smile more girl. You know what I mean?â
Relax. Breathe. You donât want to be seen as a troublemaker. It would not be a good idea to kick this fuckerâs ass while inside of the school library. Or would it be? No. No. Definitely not a good idea, she thought to herself.
âWell unless you two were standing outside of here practicing at being mimes as a back up in case you donât make it to graduation, Iâm pretty sure this room is well insulated to sound.â
Tristan grunted in indignation and sarcastically replied, âyouâre hilarious.â
âIâm definitely going all the way through. No way I wonât graduate,â Lucas chimed in, seemingly oblivious to the tension thatâd just arisen between the other two people in the room. Iâve known I wanted to be a hero ever since I was little. My parents have spent a fortune sending me to an elite training camp for the last seven summers to make sure Iâd be prepared as possible for the HCP. Plus Iâve had personal coaches work with me for years on new ways to use my power.â
âBro! Thatâs what I was wanting to ask you about. I saw the logo on on your bag. Holy shit, did you do the SETA training camps?â asked Tristan.
âYeah, I take it youâve heard of it.â
âHell yeah I have. The Super Elite Training Academy. Who hasnât? I hear those workouts are so intense. No wonder youâre so jacked. You mustâve been in great shape for your first day here. Mad props bro. Is it true you get to fight against human looking robotâŚâ
âHey! Tweedledum and tweedle-dickless, I honestly didnât know there was such a thing as a two-man circle jerk, so I really appreciate the show but is there any chance I can get back to work without any more distractions?â
Lucas had mixture surprise and guilt run across his face. He opened his mouth as though he was about to say something, but then glanced over at Tristan and stayed silent.
âWhat? You mad because youâre realizing you canât stack up against the competition. Guess what. My guy here isnât the only one whoâs been preparing for this program long before he was admitted. Iâve been getting ready for years too. Trained in jiu-jitsu and boxing on top of honing my super abilities. Have you even done anything? Or did you just apply and cross your fingers?â
Hannah could see where this was going in. She decided in that moment to just let it play out. Fuck it, she thought. She was basically done studying. Even if she failed the final, which she was confident that she wouldnât, sheâd still pass the class. She stood up, pressed an icon on her tablet touchscreen and began putting other things away in her bag while she spoke. âActually, I never had any special training as a kid. To tell you the truth, I shouldnât even be here. I got into some trouble years ago. The kind of trouble that normally prevents one from getting admitted into an HCP. But, I was on a PEERs team for years and I got to do a lot ofâŚ
âHa! Youâre telling us youâre fucking a Corpie. Can you believe this, dude?â Tristan nudged Lucas, looking for his agreement. To his credit, Lucas appeared visibly uncomfortable and leaned away from the other boy.
âDonât know what it says about your class if theyâre letting Corpies in,â continued Tristan with a sneer. âI guess you really do need to study. Obviously youâre the one that needs a back up plan. And hereâs another thing little girl. Itâs not just about how much youâve trained beforehand, itâs also about who you know. And I know people. My momâs best friend is related to the Hero, Unseelie. So Iâve actually met a few Heroes who Iâm sure will vouch for me when the time comes. Pity you canât say the same. We all know Heroes donât give two shits about Corpies.â
For a moment Hannahâs face expressed a flat affect. Then suddenly she burst into laughter. And not just some derisive laugh as though she was trying to convey to Tristan that she didnât take his comments seriously. But an eye watering, oxygen depriving, honest to the Gods belly laugh. The kind of laugh that wouldâve been contagious had she been around friends. She carried on for a minute until her amusement died down to a just a mild chortle. Hannah wiped her eyes. âYou know people?â She started laughing again, even louder than the first time. âOh my Gods. Stop. Stop. I canât breathe. Is this your fucking power?â Hannah was bent over at the waist still laughing hysterically, holding out one finger as to communicate, âgive me a second.â After another minute, she wiped her eyes again, took a big gulp of air, and collected herself. âWoooh. Now that was some funny fucking shit.â
âWho in the hell do you thinkâŚâ Tristan started to say through gritted teeth.
âNo no no. Please donât get me started again. I donât think my ribs can take it,â said Hannah still chuckling some. âLetâs see what have I done and who do I know? You know I always knew that eventually Iâd tell people about this, I just didnât think it would go down like this.â The summoner raised her hand, then slowly curled it into a fist. Standing 3ft tall and leaning into the corner so as not to be visible to anyone who happened to be looking into the room at that moment, was Hopcules, adorned in the same armor heâd worn on the day he helped to save Brewster. âLook familiar to anyone?â
âThat looks like the giant rabbit that fought robots with Titan. Hare-a-clees or something like that. My little sister has like 5 of its t-shirts ,â Lucas responded.
âWow kid, you really are shit with remembering names. Hop-cu-les is the name I gave him when I was just a kid. Surprised the shit outta me that he came out the size of a skyscraper when those robots nearly killed me and my team, â Hannah stated nonchalantly as she waved her hand and made Hopcules fade away.
With a grudging realization, Tristan began to ask, âwait, youâre not actually sayingâŚâ
âOh look, captain mc-douche-nozzle is catching on. Somebody give the kid a prize. Yes, dumbass, Iâm actually saying I fought with Titan, yes, thee fucking Titan, with every other Hero team in Brewster to stop those mechs from destroying the entire city. Iâm saying the strongest hero alive is my personal mentor and it was his recommendation that got me into this program.â
Lucas looked back and forth between Hannah and Tristan having already realized that the sophomore might be one of those guys whoâd lash out over his perceived inferiority. Lucas was so curious though he had to ask, âbut⌠But, that rabbit is everywhere these days. Not just T-shirts. Toys, a cartoon, and I just read thereâs going to be a next-gen console video game based on his character. If you own the rights to that image, youâd be loaded.â
âEh,â Hannah said with shrug. âYoure leaving out the movie deal Lenny just got for me, but not something I talk about too much . It leaves me enough to be comfortable and to be able to donate a library wing to the university thats giving me a shot at being a hero.â Hannah responded. She gave Tristan a quick wink and glanced over her shoulder towards the door.
Tristan looked in the same direction and noticed something he hadnât bothered paying attention to before, a small engraving on the center of the door of a bipedal rabbit. This wouldâve been the most surprising thing that heâd seen since he set foot in the room if it wasnât for the photo that appeared on Hannahâs tablet now facing him. It was an image of five people: Graham De Soto, the new head of the DVA, Titan in his iconic Hero costume, Dean Jackson, a large muscular young man with a shit eating grin who Tristan didnât recognize, and another person in a generic gray mask, presumably female, and wearing a smile of malicious enjoyment, the same as the women standing before him.
Hannah saw what caught his attention and picked up her tablet. âOh, did you notice this? I love this picture. Titan called me in for back up as a Temporary Emergency Hero Asset. We beat the shit out of a literal army of enhanced criminal supers and took this picture after everything calmed down. All the other HCP deans were there too. Mr. Desoto actually told me if I ever needed a favor, he owed me one.â Hannah wore a wistful expression as she thought back on that day with fondness.
âAnyway, I gotta get outta here. Sâposed to meet up with my training partners. Cause no matter what your background is or who you know, no one is a shoe-in for the final 10. Lucas, feel free to meet us in the combat cells tonight if you want to get a work out in and get tired of hanging out with this fuckwad. Later losers!â Hannah said this last part as she turned around and headed towards door while holding up her middle finger for all to see.
Tristan was obviously livid. His hands had been visibly shaking as he stood and listened to all the ways this 1st year had accomplished more than heâd even thought possible for student. Who does this little bitch think she is? Sheâs full of shit. She has to be. Iâll show her. From his elbows down, Tristanâs arms began to darken. In seconds the two appendages looked like small tree trunks, with his fingers elongating into barbed tendril-liked branches rapidly moving towards Hannah.
Although Lucas had worked for years to improve his ability to cast his energy based illusionary environments-referred to by one quirky coach in the past as a âholodeckâ- speed was an element that he continued to struggle with. He began to cast a simple illusion of darkness, so as to blind Tristan, but he knew almost immediately that it wouldnât reach him in time. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw furry white movement. The miniature Hopcules had reappeared and was running towards the back of the chair Tristan had been sitting in. With a parkour maneuver that would make Jackie Chan jealous, Hopcules leapt from the floor to the chair, then from the chair to the rear wall. He torpedoed off of the wall with the force of both hind paws and made contact Tristanâs head, knocking the arrogant second year to the floor. He laid there dazed and confused about what had just struck him as his branches retracted and his arms returned to normal. The summon vanished before he even touched the ground.
Hannah smiled as she exited the room. Thanks be to the Gods. I was hoping that piece of shit would try something so I could have self-defense as an excuse. Kacey and Devon better be ready. Iâm already warmed up.
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2024.05.14 00:54 OfficialGarwood An Honest Thank You to Rooster Teeth
TW: Bullying / Suicidal Thoughts
Hey guys,
Iâm not entirely sure why I feel the need to write this post; I guess itâs some kind of mental catharsis and acceptance of my feelings about Rooster Teeth, Red vs. Blue, and what it all meant to me, and ultimately a personal thank you.
Before I get all emotional, Iâd first like to lay down a little history about my love for RvB and Rooster Teeth and what it all meant to me. I first discovered Red vs Blue when I was young, probably too young for the type of jokes being told. The year was late 2004, I was 11 years old and the internet was starting to blow up and become a place of community and not just of information.
It was also a time in my life of change, and of pain. I grew up in a somewhat dysfunctional family â parents always arguing and shouting, then Iâd head to school and be constantly bullied and picked on. Life was not great for me at this time and at times I felt suicidal. But when I was feeling low, I had a show and a community I could turn to for laughs and a disconnection. I may have been sad, but hearing and seeing the dumb things the Reds and Blues would get up to â thatâŚthat always put a smile on my face, without fail.
Not only that, but seeing what Burnie, Geoff, Matt, Gus and the team created, it had a big impact on myself and my friends to become more creative. Hell, we even made our own dumb derivative machinima show which is â thankfully â no longer on the internet. It wasnât great, but it was so fun to create and I look back on those memories with glee, joy, and it always puts a smile on my face. That wouldnât have been possible without the inspiration Rooster Teeth provided.
Rooster Teethâs content became the backdrop of my teenaged and young adult life â it helped shape me to be the person I am today. Red vs. Blue, Achievement Hunter, Drunk Tank / RT Podcast, 1-800-MAGIC, P.A.N.I.C.S., The Strangerhood (yes, even the Strangerhood!), the shorts, eventually Funhaus and everything else that came after it. Entertainment and escapism for this depressive, struggling man.
And also, it goes without saying, I fucking love you guys â the community. Iâve had my ups and downs with it personally but Iâve never once felt like an outcast or rejected. I felt seen, I felt heard, I felt communal love (bow-chicka-bow-wow!). Being part of the website, and most importantly, being part of this Reddit community has meant a lot. Iâve been with RT so long I saw community members grow to become part of RT, grow and thrive, and it was so beautiful! Gavino (Gav), Blawndee (Barbara), pp Moocow (Caleb), Brownman (Ray), and so on and so on â Iâd hate to list them all as Iâd inevitably miss someone out! Rooster Teeth allowed so many creative and talented people grow â it really was a community-first company, which was so rare.
None of this hit me properly until I finished watching Red vs. Blue: Restoration and thereâs a certain scene around a campfire â it was at that moment, Burnie and Matt essentially slapped me in the face with a giant fish of emotions because I almost broke down crying.
And now, here we are â the end of the line. Game Over. Fin.
Iâm not sad because Rooster Teeth is gone â I am happy it existed to begin with and how it saved my life and gave me light in a place of darkness.
To every member of this beautiful community, to every single employee of Rooster Teeth, to the founding fathers, to Burnie directlyâŚ
âŚThank you, for everything!
Onwards to new things â Regulation Podcast, 100% Eat, Morning Somewhere, and all the other exciting new things these amazing people will create! The future is bright!
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2024.05.13 23:50 Lisbeth_Salandar Peaches & Honey by R Raeta: love that lasts centuries
I just finished {
Peaches & Honey: These Immortal Truths by R Raeta} and had to come straight here to rave about it!
Synopsis
Anna is a young, poor woman in England 1184, outcasted for her vitiligo. Struggling to survive on her own, she one day saves a girl in dire circumstances. This girl - actually a god in disguise - thanks her with the gift of a divine peach. Anna eats the entire thing, intrigued by its hollow center and lack of a seed. The peach grants Anna a gift: her wounds heal faster than they can kill her. But this gift comes with the challenges of outliving everyone she has ever known or will ever know. As the centuries pass, the only constant in her life is that her creator - Khiran - always returns to see her.
Review
The often-made comparison between this and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue are very apt. That book is pretty polarizing, but I actually liked it quite a bit. However, I liked this one even better. This is the first book in a duology.
This book was excellent for a lot of different reasons:
- Beautiful, lyrical prose
- Anna is a deserving and kindhearted FMC, with not an ounce of sass or irony
- Khiran is an intriguing MMC, a powerful and somewhat depressed man who wishes to live in a world of Anna's creation
- Khiran's chemistry with Anna leaps off the page
- Lovely historical settings, cultures, time periods, and people give each chapter a fresh feel
- More character driven than plot driven, but with characters this great, that's a good thing
- Deeply romantic pining over centuries
- Third person POV
My only complaints about this book are quite minor:
- At some point, it does seem a little silly that Anna just so happens to experience many major world events that a freshman in high school would learn in history class. I mean, yeah she just so happens to be in London during Jack the Ripper and in the US during the Civil War and underground railroad and in Italy during the initial spread of the black plague and in Spain during the first circumnavigation of the world and expansion into the New World and in Boston during the Boston Tea Partyand she's in Germany leading up to WWII At some point those coincidences do seem improbable and very western-centric (only one chapter focuses on the east; a chapter on China and piracy).
- In addition, there are a 4-5 times in the story that anachronisms pop up that really stood out to me; calling the War of the Rebellion / War for Southern Independence the "American Civil War" in the 1860s just doesn't make sense. Referring to German LGBTQ+ people as "gay" in the 1930s when that term just didn't exist in that context then...
These complaints are very minor, however, because the prose is so beautiful and the characters are so wonderful to read about and experience all these different events through their eyes. The occassional incorrect, anachronistic word used every hundred pages or so is truly not a stumbling block to enjoying this book.
I couldn't put this book down and I am very eager for book 2 to come out in early June!
This book is for you if you like:
- Flowery, purple prose
- Slow burn romances
- Subtle, slow-moving fantasy elements
- Historical time periods
- Character-driven stories
- Mature, complex, deeply human characters
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and/or wanted a kinder, more loving version of that book
- Books that are free on KU (and currently on sale if you wanna buy it)
- Stories where even minor characters feel like real humans
- Stories where the FMC is loved because of her genuine kindness rather than for her beauty or some inexplicable quality that draws others to her
- Books featuring insecurity due to feeling like an outsider
- A really cool take on magic / gods / powers that feels almost mythical
Quotes
That night, when she curls up under the blanket and lets the tears drip silently from her cheeks, she wonders how itâs possible to grieve the loss of something she never expected to have.
.
âWhat we want isnât always what we need,â Eira says, setting the jar on the table before reaching out and setting her ancient hands on Annaâs shoulders. âImmortality is a fickle beast, dear girl. Stay too long in one place and youâll rot there.â âBut Iâm happyââ âNo,â she interrupts, âYouâre not unhappy. Itâs not the same.â
.
Truths are for those who can afford to live it, not for those struggling to find any bright spot of light in a world that casts them into darkness.
.
âItâs easy to be righteous, to be angry, when you werenât there to see all the blood and misery that came before you,â he says. âMost of these soldiers will only ever see one war firsthand in their lifetime. The ones who survive will grow old and sit in front of their hearths and pass stories of this battle to their children and grandchildren. Theyâll romanticize it. Sing praises of how bravely their battalion fought. They wonât speak of the squelch of their fellow friend and soldierâs blood in their boots, or the fear that painted every soldierâs face. Enemy and ally alike.â
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2024.05.13 23:49 Lisbeth_Salandar Peaches & Honey by R Raeta: love that lasts centuries
I just finished {
Peaches & Honey: These Immortal Truths by R Raeta} and had to come straight here to rave about it!
Synopsis
Anna is a young, poor woman in England 1184, outcasted for her vitiligo. Struggling to survive on her own, she one day saves a girl in dire circumstances. This girl - actually a god in disguise - thanks her with the gift of a divine peach. Anna eats the entire thing, intrigued by its hollow center and lack of a seed. The peach grants Anna a gift: her wounds heal faster than they can kill her. But this gift comes with the challenges of outliving everyone she has ever known or will ever know. As the centuries pass, the only constant in her life is that her creator - Khiran - always returns to see her.
Review
The often-made comparison between this and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue are very apt. That book is pretty polarizing, but I actually liked it quite a bit. However, I liked this one even better. This is the first book in a duology.
This book was excellent for a lot of different reasons:
- Beautiful, lyrical prose
- Anna is a deserving and kindhearted FMC, with not an ounce of sass or irony
- Khiran is an intriguing MMC, a powerful and somewhat depressed man who wishes to live in a world of Anna's creation
- Khiran's chemistry with Anna leaps off the page
- Lovely historical settings, cultures, time periods, and people give each chapter a fresh feel
- More character driven than plot driven, but with characters this great, that's a good thing
- Deeply romantic pining over centuries
- Third person POV
My only complaints about this book are quite minor:
- At some point, it does seem a little silly that Anna just so happens to experience many major world events that a freshman in high school would learn in history class. I mean, yeah she just so happens to be in London during Jack the Ripper and in the US during the Civil War and underground railroad and in Italy during the initial spread of the black plague and in Spain during the first circumnavigation of the world and expansion into the New World and in Boston during the Boston Tea Partyand she's in Germany leading up to WWII At some point those coincidences do seem improbable and very western-centric (only one chapter focuses on the east; a chapter on China and piracy).
- In addition, there are a 4-5 times in the story that anachronisms pop up that really stood out to me; calling the War of the Rebellion / War for Southern Independence the "American Civil War" in the 1860s just doesn't make sense. Referring to German LGBTQ+ people as "gay" in the 1930s when that term just didn't exist in that context then...
These complaints are very minor, however, because the prose is so beautiful and the characters are so wonderful to read about and experience all these different events through their eyes. The occassional incorrect, anachronistic word used every hundred pages or so is truly not a stumbling block to enjoying this book.
I couldn't put this book down and I am very eager for book 2 to come out in early June!
This book is for you if you like:
- Flowery, purple prose
- Slow burn romances
- Subtle, slow-moving fantasy elements
- Historical time periods
- Character-driven stories
- Mature, complex, deeply human characters
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and/or wanted a kinder, more loving version of that book
- Books that are free on KU (and currently on sale if you wanna buy it)
- Stories where even minor characters feel like real humans
- Stories where the FMC is loved because of her genuine kindness rather than for her beauty or some inexplicable quality that draws others to her
- Books featuring insecurity due to feeling like an outsider
- A really cool take on magic / gods / powers that feels almost mythical
Quotes
That night, when she curls up under the blanket and lets the tears drip silently from her cheeks, she wonders how itâs possible to grieve the loss of something she never expected to have.
.
âWhat we want isnât always what we need,â Eira says, setting the jar on the table before reaching out and setting her ancient hands on Annaâs shoulders. âImmortality is a fickle beast, dear girl. Stay too long in one place and youâll rot there.â âBut Iâm happyââ âNo,â she interrupts, âYouâre not unhappy. Itâs not the same.â
.
Truths are for those who can afford to live it, not for those struggling to find any bright spot of light in a world that casts them into darkness.
.
âItâs easy to be righteous, to be angry, when you werenât there to see all the blood and misery that came before you,â he says. âMost of these soldiers will only ever see one war firsthand in their lifetime. The ones who survive will grow old and sit in front of their hearths and pass stories of this battle to their children and grandchildren. Theyâll romanticize it. Sing praises of how bravely their battalion fought. They wonât speak of the squelch of their fellow friend and soldierâs blood in their boots, or the fear that painted every soldierâs face. Enemy and ally alike.â
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2024.05.13 23:22 Same-Philosopher-927 My sister got mad at me for regularly eating in a hospital cafeteria, and got our parents on her side. The rest of the family laid into them for it. So my sister decided to prank me as revenge by literally having my bike stolen and dumped. I nearly called the cops.
I really apologize for the length of this post. But writing down all the details took way longer than I thought. And this situation was downright crazy. I never thought my sister would do something like this. Not too long ago I (23m) posted in
AITAH for advice because my parents and sister were angry at me for regularly eating in a hospital cafeteria because it's close to my work. I enjoy the peace and quiet there on the days I do show up to eat. But this situation escalated so radically, that I can't believe something so dumb actually happened. My sister did the pettiest thing she's ever done to me. And for completely undeserved reasons too.
When my sister found out I was eating at the hospital cafeteria, she went off on me over how that food is just for people who are at the hospital because they need to be. We ended up in a big argument about it in which I told her it wasn't like I was taking food from the mouths of patients. Then she went to our parents to get them on her side like always. And they immediately sided with her just like I thought they would. They backed her up on how the hospital cafeteria was not a place to go eating casually. And we had a big argument. They spent days hounding me and telling me I was wrong, and demanding I stop. So I went to Reddit. And here I learned that not only was I not doing anything wrong. But it's a very common thing for people to go eat at hospital cafeterias just because they like it.
I hoped the situation would just fade away. But a few days later, my sister called me asking if I had stopped eating at the hospital. I said no. And then it started all over again. My parents then called me fuming and acting like I was supposed to stop going because they said so. I reminded them that I don't live under their roof anymore. And this is exactly the kind of reason why I moved out. They take my sister's side in almost everything. They huffed and puffed about it.
This time the fight didn't stay at home though. Other relatives found out because my sister tried to broaden her support. She was so dead set on enforcing her will upon me, that she went looking for help from other relatives. But our parents were the only ones on her side. And my uncle personally admonished my parents and her over the phone for it once I told him what actually happened. He told them they were only siding with my sister because she's their favorite. And they're terrible parents for ever playing favorites to begin with. Then cousin went to eat with me at that hospital cafeteria, and said he'd like to go there once as week too, as he also works nearby and bicycles everywhere. We've run into each other at lunch there once already since then. He was actually rather pleased to find out the food was made healthier than most other places. He's a bit of a picky eater. So this place is kinda like his new lunch hangout. And my sister got even angrier after finding out there were other people in the family eating at the hospital now too.
Once outed, my parents backed down due to embarrassment. They apologized to me, and gave me some malarkey that they honestly thought eating at a hospital was weird, and that they felt like they just needed to defend my sister. I told them they'd been placating my sister for so long, that it's all they do whenever she starts something with anyone. She's been treating me like a condescending control freak and a bully since we were teenagers, even though I'm older. And they just kept enabling that. But I won't put up with it anymore. My parents ended up conceding, and apologized. Then they made my sister apologize to me too. And I could tell she hated every second of it, because she tried to speak through her teeth at first.
Later on my parents invited me to dinner as another form of apology. But it felt more like a show to look good to the rest of the family, because they told everyone about it before it even happened. The dinner was great, I can't deny. My parents had cooked a turkey. Arguable one of my favorite things to eat. I love the drumsticks slathered with gravy. Yeah, I'm kinda a pig when I eat them. But I can't help it. My sister always thought it hilarious. And was one of the few things I didn't mind her laughing about. So I thought nothing of why she was so giggly at dinner.
Later after the family dinner, I noticed that my bike was missing. I'd parked it in the back yard out of sight. But it was just gone. I freaked out because it's my only mode of transportation. My parents did panic a bit with me. But my sister seemed just the opposite. She actually looked happy and was still giggling. I immediately suspected her, and she played innocent. She even gave the "I can't believe you'd think I'd do something like that!" line. I already knew she's extremely petty. But this was a whole new level of it for her. So I said that I was gonna go over to the neighbor because I know they have cameras, and they'd have seen what happened. And then I'd call the cops. My sister suddenly looked panicked, and I got mad and said I knew it was her. And demanded my bike back. She started crying and saying she didn't do anything. And our parents were immediately taking her side while scolding me for daring to accuse her.
So I had enough and said I was going to the neighbor's to ask to check their cameras. And then I'd be calling police. My sister finally fessed up and called me to come back. The looks on our parents' faces after they'd just defended her were priceless. My sister said she was just so angry at me for having made her apologize for something she still believed she was right about. So she planned to have a couple of her friends to come and grab my bike during dinner. She said her friends were in a minivan with it just down the street. She then started saying that I couldn't call police on her anyway, because I'm her big brother. Our parents backed that up too. But I pulled out my phone and started marching outside again. They ran after me with my sister begging and crying for me to stop. I called her a brat. And then I told my parents I couldn't believe they were still defending her when she was acting this way.
Our parents finally hit their enabling limit with her and told her to make her friends bring my bike back immediately. She got on her phone while sniffling and called her friends up. But then she suddenly ran into her room to talk to them. I couldn't hear a thing she said through the door because it was all in whispers. And our parents looked very worried too.
My sister would never have willingly admitted she had my bike stolen. She just kept sobbing that it was only a prank over and over again. And she also kept using the excuse that it's just a cheap bike anyway. I bought it used some months ago for $50. But it's in great shape. And it's my main mode of transportation. My sister kept looking at our parents to back her up. And that time they just couldn't. So she just slumped down in a chair hugging her knees and waiting with the rest of us. My sister looked increasingly freaked out the longer her friends took to bring my bike back, and was repeatedly texting them.
Even though my sister said her friends were just down the street, it took them roughly an hour to bring my bike back. They finally pulled up in the minivan with my bike shoved in the back. And it was completely soaked and all muddy. Like it'd just been pulled out of a wet muddy ditch. The bike is a 700c, so it's too tall for either of them to ride. So they just drove right up and stole the bike by dragging it into the van as fast as they could before taking off. I say they stole it because I was almost certain in the moment my sister had told them to dispose of my bike. Had I not pointed out the neighbors have cameras, I may not have gotten it back.
When her friends did finally arrive, their legs were all muddy and wet nearly up to their knees. They both begged me not report them to police for taking the bike. I asked while recording them to tell me the truth, and pointed out the neighbors have cameras. Did my sister want them to get rid of my bike? They broke down and said yes, my sister wanted them to take the bike and dump it in a pond a few miles away. And they had to go back and get it when they realized they were caught. My bike had been near completely submerged in muddy water. Thankfully I didn't have many added accessories on it other than a detachable headlight and my water bottle. But the water bottle was missing.
I wasn't surprised by what my sister's friends told me. And I had them tell our parents too. They laid into my sister till she was bawling on the floor kicking and pounding like a toddler. I had never seen my sister act that way since she actually was a toddler. And I found it mortifying she was still like this on the inside. Then she shut herself in her room. Her friends were banned from ever coming to my parents' house again. Then my sister was forced to come out of her room by our mother, and make another big apology to me.
Our father then forced her to wash and oil my bike from stem to stern under his supervision while I took apart the headlight and cleaned it out to dry it. By the time my sister was done, it was dark outside. She glared at me like I was the devil when she came back in the house. But our parents shut her attitude right down, and said they've never been more embarrassed by her in their lives. She went back to crying in her room. I had a very frank discussion with my parents about my sister's child-like behavior. And how it stemmed from their spoiling and enabling. I said I couldn't believe I had to be the voice of reason. But the fact that she was on the floor crying like a toddler, kicking and pounding, showed that she's still mentally a child because of them. And they kept making me the scapegoat when she screwed up, so she barely knows any sense of accountability. For once they didn't argue with me about it. And then my father silently drove me and my bike back to my apartment with his SUV. He also gave me some money to replace my bike's missing water bottle before we parted.
My sister and her clique used to harass me a fair bit whenever we ran into each other. They made fun of me as a group whenever possible. And I usually just ignored them because they bored me. And that really seemed to tick them off. But after the bike incident, I got sent numerous messages from numbers I didn't know cussing me out for making my sister cry over a silly prank. Knowing her, my sister probably fed everyone she knew a very different story on what happened. I texted lengthy replies of what actually happened, and even stated I have recordings of her friends admitting the truth.
Some people at my sister's college found out what actually went down. Maybe from my texts, maybe her friends spilled the beans. But it embarrassed my sister so much she came home having a crying tantrum about how people there were calling her and her friends B's and a bike thieves. I may not have gone to college. But I know students who need them are VERY protective of their bikes. A lot of them live on shoestring budgets after all. My sister said someone even joked that they shouldn't leave a bike around her, because it might just disappear if she had to apologize to anyone. My sister ended up so upset that she refused to leave her room for three days to have her pity party.
My parents called me up to try and turn everything on me again. I reminded them about the discussion we had days before, and that they needed to stop babying her, and let her deal with the repercussions of her own actions. If she fails her classes again, it's because she's not trying like she should be. Then I went off on them how were just looking for someone to blame to make her feel better. She made the problem. Not me. And I wasn't gonna be the one they make the scapegoat anymore. My sister is an adult. And she needs to act like it. They sounded defeated, and then apologized before ending the call. Looks like they were genuinely hoping I'd just sit back and take the blame so my sister would get better. But I never will again.
Now my parents are trying to pretend this all never happened, and my sister as well as her clique are avoiding me at all costs. Which I suppose is fine with me. Because I don't want anymore drama. But the next time something like this happens, I won't take it from them.
TLDR: My sister make a big deal of me eating at a hospital cafeteria, and then had her friends steal and dump my bike just because I made her apologize to me. Now she's being ridiculed by everyone.
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2024.05.13 23:17 KyleKKent OOCS, Into a Wider Galaxy, Part 002
~First~ (Got up Early to talk about the CPAP machine and such. Only to be given an appointment on friday. So yeah, in trying to solve a sleep issue Iâm giving myself more of one. Incidentally Friday will be late due to well, the CPAP retrieval and tutorial)
The Pirates
âSo, theyâre here.â Agenda says contently as she finishes feeding her fussiest little girl.
âYep!â Jingay chirps happily as her freshly hatched little children are happily playing on the glowing, shimmering platform that her rattle has brought to life. She canât do anything complicated, but a soft shiny platform for her little slithers to play around in? She can do that, but it takes some focus. The tiny fluffy child of Vuni is cuddling the strong Jungle Nagasha tail that wraps around her own tail.
âHow formal a call do you think we should make?â Miles asks in an amused tone.
âNot especially, after all the babes ensure it will never be properly formal, theyâre too happy and healthy.â Agenda notes.
âI blame you for that.â Miles says and Agenda laughs.
âIf you donât want the blame Iâll take it.â Vuni remarks.
âYouâre just as guilty.â Miles says and Vuni laughs in response.
âWhatâs going to happen?â Jingay asks and Miles is pensive for a moment.
âI donât know.â He notes as his hand gently rubs the handle of his revolver. The constant rubbing had necessitated him re-burning the names of his family back into it. âBut no amount of waffling about will let me know. So if you donât mind. Iâve been... getting something a little ready.â
âIs this what youâve been sneaking around to do for the last three days?â Agenda asks.
âSomething like that. Itâs a bit of a treat I wanted to give you girls so... care to join me?â He offers.
âWhat have you done?â
âMe and the boys got together a great big feast so that we can all talk The Inevitable at once. It took a bit of doing, but when the boys and I get moving, we really get moving.â
âAre you including Red Squadron and Biran in that?â
âAnd a lot of cadets too. Markus gave them a proper mission in setting up the area.â He says.
âHow is that a mission?â
âIt involves deploying a military force to secure and prepare an area for higher ranking officers to approach and remain there for a time.â Miles says before offering his hand. âThereâs plenty of space for all our little ones, and for all our allies. Give them all a big impression. How does that sound?â
âWell, if youâve been planning this for days.â
âI have. All of us have.â
âThen I suppose we HAVE to show up, donât we?â Agenda says in a luxurious tone. âIâll get my coat.â
â˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘
The hall that Miles leads them to is a massive refurbished hanger that has all kinds of carpets put down, tapestries hanging from the ceiling and tables upon tables of different treats of all sorts already out. The Undaunted Cadets are all rushing around putting down more meals and treats and between the richness of the carpets, the crystal bowls and platters and expensive drinks and foods. But the sort of... scrambled way itâs been put together by the cadets lends it an earnestness that bleeds through. More important though are numerous floating platforms where a child can be safely put down and be right beside their parent.
âOh this is a treat. I havenât even been one of you guys for long!â A four part harmony says as Moira walks in with little LiÇ ShĂš napping in the arms of the four bodies that didnât speak. The toxic little girl not only has numerous of the protective pendents on her and woven into her clothing, but is in a dark jumper that lets her bright skin stand out as if for presentation.
âWell, as their novels say, all for one, and one for all.â A new voice says as a pair of Cannidors lead in their own family. More and more and more people pour in from all entrances, many in uniform, many of them her own girls. Some of them she barely recognizes. Every single one of them that notices her looking raises a glass, nods, salutes or somehow pays their respects to her.
Her little one squirms ever so and is softly comforted. For a moment there is almost a feeling of vertigo. There was a time where all this wasnât even a dream of a dream. She could remember the feeling. How could she forget it? The sensation of something gripping your very mind and soul and stopping you from even thinking of disobeying. Then so long trying to get things right, trying to be in control of her own destiny, before finally achieving it and learning just how hard that was. How many sacrifices and concessions she made before what seemed to be one of her final concessions... turned out to be final in the best of ways.
âAlright! We have a connection to The Inevitable! Who wants to say hello to the next batch of humans in the galaxy?â Ryu calls out.
âMy Lady?â Miles asks as he smiles up at her. She gives him a raised eyebrow at that.
âMy lady is it? Well then, I better live up to it.â She says.
âConnect us!â She commands and there is a cheer through the room before a massive projector uses one of the tapestry covered walls as a screen. âGood Ship Inevitable! Can you hear me?â
âWe can, you are on a friendly frequency.â A man of Asian Descent says sitting stiffly in his command chair. âI am Observer Wu, sent from Earth to conclusively determine what is going on outside our corner of the galaxy. Identify yourself please.â
âI am Duchess Agenda Lilpaw! I am the ruler of the Vucsa System an Undaunted World! I greet you, because I have long learned my lesson to stay on the good side of humans!â
âHave you now? If Iâm not mistaken that is a fully grown human right next to you. You look like you could take him fairly easily.â Observer Wu says in an amused tone.
She looks down to Miles before shaking her head.
âI made that mistake once. My entire ship was not enough.â She says fondly before pulling him close. âThen I was offered a deal, and he used it to help make me a duchess. So youâll forgive me if I think humans are a good thing to have around.â
âDid he now? I didnât realize galactic conquest was the intent of The Dauntless and her crew.â Wu notes.
âWell, as one of the conquered, I would like to say I prefer this result. After all, being able to walk about the city without a bodyguard is a welcome change of pace.â Vuni says drawing attention to herself with a slight bow. âAmbassador Vuni Luxed at your service.â
âSo this world prefers to be conquered?â Observer Wu asks.
âThis world was a slum at itâs best. A hellscape at worst.â Mari Horny states as the Carib woman waves to the camera. âMari Horny. I was here to witness it all. Iâve seen slaves freed, monsters hunted down no matter what kind of power or influence they have, be they person or beast. With them Iâve seen the children I worked so hard to protect grow stronger and thrive. Doom has come to this world time after time, and they met it each time. If youâre here to observe, then observe this room! Everyone here saved, aided or inspired by the people youâve come to evaluate! There are ten pure blooded humans in this room, but beyond it is nearly a billion souls who will vouch for them from the first to last! And so will I!â
âNo need to be so dramatic maâam. Iâm an observer, not a judge. I am here to see and hear without bias or illusions. Things are odd, and odd things have happened. The governments and officials back home need to understand clearly and without any doubt. So that is why I am here. There was confusion in the first message sent back. The second furthered the confusion due to multiple parties having separate interests. I have been tested, tried and guaranteed numerous concessions and payments for an utterly neutral perspective.â
âSo your word is going to be how all is, then they decide if we committed treachery.â Franklin notes as he floats up with several bundles around him, many of them laughing. âBehold this then. My children. All healthy, with myself as the only human parent. My daughters take after their mothers, my son takes after me, but has his motherâs strength.â
âHe is nearly transparent.â Observer Wu notes before Franklin gives the little boy a tickle and he flickers in and out of visibility while laughing. âMost interesting. This Vucsa world of yours, before I do my research upon it, is there something you would like to say about it?â
âThis is a world on the edge of Wild Space. Which means that itâs often been used in the past as a place where experiments happened.â Miles says.
âInteresting. Such as?â Observer Wu asks.
âSuch as my daughter here. I am Moira Octalliry, I will cut through the details and simply state that my anatomy allowed me to be experimented on a great deal.â She says and Observer Wu looks at her oddly.
âAre you one, or many?â
âI am one, but I am eight as one.â She says. âAs is my daughter, I have named her LiÇ ShĂš. She was a piece of myself remade to produce a weapon. She and I were both rescued. I was forgotten in darkness for thousands of years, as was my daughter. Held in a single moment in time and left to rot.â
âAnd... is she a weapon?â
âI am told you have creatures similar to her new ability back on your homeworld.â
âWe do? What is the name of this creature?â
âThe Poison Dart Frog.â She says and Observer Wuâs eyebrows go up.
âDonât forget about the fact that we fought off that robot witch!â
âRobot Witch?â Wu prompts.
âA weapon of war created by a very large, dangerous and expansive criminal family. A death robot known as Mother Massacre.â Moira says. âSo consider that. Without them going... I donât even know what to call it, I saw the contradicting orders, without them going sane for lack of a better term, I would still be in a slowly failing stasis capsule, buried and forgotten in the darkness.â
âAnd so, in summation, and from the mouths of those that clearly trust them what is your opinion of The Undaunted and the humans that make it up?â
âWhen I was brought to this world it was as a slave, my dignity ripped from me, my home destroyed and in less than a day I had my freedom, dignity and a new home.â One of the Erumenta that Agenda cannot recognize out of hand announces.
âAnd my own. My whole family, those that were enslaved are freed, those that were indoctrinated into that wretched way of life have been allowed time to recover.â Biran says grandly.
âThey took me in.â A smaller voice says as Karim rises up. âIâm a HloâShab. Death Born. I could have reasonably only expected to have my core shattered, or shunned for my entire life. Instead I have a home.â
âAnd... to be Death Born means what?â
âI am a Slohb. By blood I have only one true parent. I was broken off of them far too soon and they died as I survived. Death Born. Or... well, I donât have blood but... you get the idea right?â Karim asks.
âI understand.â Observer Wu notes. âI have more calls incoming. Is there more from Vucsa for me to see or hear?â
âOver here!â A jubilant voice calls out and the room turns to see Hewhew standing on the shoulders of Heffer to tower over everyone with the Agelaâs height added to his own. âRed Five calling it in! The Vucsa Defence Fleets fly fast and proud to keep our home safe!â
The crowd around him, pilots all, throw up their right arms and cheer along with Hewhew. âWelcome to the Galaxy Observer! Weâre ten tons of awesome in a two pound bag! Letâs rock!â
Observer Wu smiles as he looks around. âI look forwards to discovering the truth of things.â
âThatâs the fun part of the galaxy sir, itâs so absurd we donât need to lie.â Miles states and Observer Wu turns back to him with a smirk.
âWell, we shall see, wonât we?â He asks. âIs there anything more?â
âI take it youâre not in the mood for a display of flight prowess? Weâve been working on a new routine.â Hewhew calls out.
âPerhaps later. I have numerous calls waiting.â Observer Wu states. âNow if youâll excuse me...â
~First~ Last submitted by
KyleKKent to
HFY [link] [comments]
2024.05.13 23:08 loky-blrd Iâm a joke to the universe
I know people donât really care about venting post but Iâm hoping for something
I tried to go for an internship in Berlin and after making me hope for months, the employer sent a last minute email that I actually couldnât do the internship for some bull excuses.
I got rejected from my dream school after passing the first entry exam and praying for months.
Know all I keep seeing are my friends with their projects and dreams being realised while Iâm just rotting away like a bad joke.
Whatâs the point after all. Honestly I just feel like a universal joke that canât accomplish anything. Everytime I have a project or a dream that come to me at first I get some glimpses of hope that thing can maybe get better juste for everything to come crashing down in my face.
I feel like a character in a cartoon that constantly gets bullied the entire time because the audience find it funny.
Hell I canât even connect to people properly and Iâm struggling to keep my friendships.
I want to end it all but Iâm scared of whatâs going to happen to me and the impact on my family.
submitted by
loky-blrd to
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2024.05.13 22:56 loky-blrd Iâm giving up
I tried to go for an internship in Berlin and at the last minute the employer send me an email that I actually couldnât do the internship.
I got rejected from my dream school after passing the first entry exam.
Know all I keep seeing are my friends with their projects and dreams being realised while Iâm just rotting away like a bad joke.
Whatâs the point after all. Honestly I just feel like a universal joke that canât accomplish anything.
I canât even connect to people properly.
I want to end it all but Iâm scared of whatâs going to happen to me and the impact on my family.
submitted by
loky-blrd to
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2024.05.13 22:54 Trash_Tia I can smell when someone is going to die, and my Scholastic Decathlon team stink of rotting lemons.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to be dead in the next 24 hours.
Whether that's the Costella family, or whatever this is, I'm not sure.
The police are taking forever, and part of me knows they're either refusing to believe me, or RC got them too.
I'm holed up on our school bus, so I've got nothing better to do.
I want to tell you about my team.
We met in our sophomore year.
Strangers standing outside the club room.
Levi was the freckled brunette who wouldn't stop talking about Game of Thrones.
Sunny, a pretty redhead, told him to shut up.
Tom, a sandy blonde, nodding his head to music corked in his ears.
I just wanted to be part of a club, and get away from my overbearing mother.
I won't say it was a perfect start. Our school was lacking in funding, so anyone could join, which made us more of a Quiz Club. I had some serious anxiety, so I stayed on the sidelines for a while, watching, rather than taking part.
It's not like we actually talked to each other initially. The first few weeks, we played Jeopardy, and attempted to find more members to cement us as an official Academic Decathlon club.
Unfortunately, though, it was just the four of us.
Which made it extremely hard for us to be taken seriously.
According to Google, Academic Decathlon teams were made up of nine members, placed by their GPA.
Our principal laughed at us, but he did let us become official.
Which was out of pity, I assumed.
The club was assembled, and we started meeting up after school.
Sort of.
Sunny barely showed up, and Levi didn't take anything seriously, preferring to spend the time telling us about his weird family turf-war.
Our principal dumped us in a tiny classroom with a resident rat living under the floorboards.
There was barely enough room to move, and the four of us crammed together for three hours was less than appealing.
Still, though, I wanted to be part of a club.
I had grown up with parents who were obsessed with board games, so I was pretty good at general knowledge questions. Our club room was too small for anything else but three desks (Sunny and I shared one) and a whiteboard we had to shove through the door.
But, again, we didn't start as an Academic club.
It was more akin to Story Time Club.
Arriving late on my third day, armed with quiz cards from home, I found Tom and Sunny completely mesmerised by Leviâs storytelling skills, drowned in shadow.
They didn't even turn the lights on.
I strictly remember squeezing next to Sunny, and hearing the words, âBut there was so much blood all over the floor, and my Mom told me to go upstairs and hide under the bedâŚâ
Sitting in front of them was Levi, perched on a desk, his legs swinging, a whiteboard marker between his teeth.
Sometimes he'd get up, and illustrate parts of his story.
It sucked that his drawings were all stick people.
I won't go into full details of his life, but Levi grew up as part of a family who had⌠interesting methods of making a living. I had seen the guyâs father multiple times when we hung out at his place, and, yeah, my friendâs family definitely had Soprano vibes.
Leviâs Draw My Life was nothing to do with the club, but it did bring us closer.
Even if, at that point, I was considering leaving.
But it's not like it was easy to walk away from these guys. It's like finding your soulmates. Levi wasn't the only one with an interesting life. Sunny Lang was an ex kpop trainee, who was kicked out for being too fat, which led her to develop a severe eating disorder, and a hatred for her own body.
Sunny explained her family were originally from Boston, her mother growing up in Korea.
She signed up for an idol agency focusing on creating a new girl group, and had gotten all the way to the final stages, before being kicked for her weight. Sunny told us her story with a smile, though there was a hollowness in her eyes I couldn't ignore. The other girls were judgemental bullies, and the idol diet and brutal regime almost killed her.
Sunny lived in a tiny apartment with 9 girls, who would tear each other apart for a chance to debut. Sunny said all the other girls debuted, and when we (not so patiently) asked for names, she shrugged, admitting she signed an NDA that prevented her spilling the beans.
What she did say, was the K-pop idol is a product, not a personâ and are made and moulded into a product.
She had zero interest in throwing her humanity away to become a manufactured doll.
So, one of us was the son of an underground family, and the other was an ex idol.
Tom was an aspiring horror writer with a famous older step-brother.
His story times were usually, That one time I went to the Met Gala.
When it was my turn to reveal my story, I told them the only interesting thing about me.
I could smell when something bad was going to happen.
They laughed, but I was being serious.
When I was a kid, I smelled my motherâs brain tumor.
I remember it smelled like curdled milk.
I asked Mom why her head smelled of mouldy milk, and Mom laughed and said it was her shampoo.
It was actually a grade two tumor growing inside her brain.
Thankfully, the tumour was found quickly and removed.
Growing older, I became sensitive to smell. The little girl choking on the bus smelled of singed wood, and the old man crossing the road stunk of gasoline.
In the fourth grade, my classmate Alex Castor smelled of lemons all morning.
I sat behind him, choking on the stink all the way through class.
Ever since I met him, Alex had always smelled⌠off.
It was a distinct smell I could never understand, and as the days and months and years went by, that smell morphed into a subtle orangey musk that was so strong I had to cover my mouth and nose. Then, he smelled like lemons.
During Recess, I watched Alex fall off of the jungle gym, straight onto his head.
Alex Castor was dead before the paramedics arrived, my panicked teacher attempting CPR when his brains were leaking out of his ears.
The school claimed it was an accident, but Alex would have been fine if the jungle gym wasn't built on solid concrete.
I told my team members this, and Levi was sceptical.
âYou can smell bad things?â He said, his lips curved around his milkshake straw. In the early days, we hung out in the local bar. It's not like we were allowed inside, but Levi could get us in anywhere.
I was squeezed between Tom and Sunny, while Levi took the seat opposite us. I couldn't help noticing our waitress was insisting on free milkshake refills, her frantic eyes glued to Levi.
I had zero idea why. Levi Costella was about as intimidating as a fruit fly.
Wearing a white shirt with a popped collar, a leather jacket thrown over the top, Levi was giving rebellious Harvard student, rather than son of a crime family.
Leaning forward, he raised a brow, clearly not believing me.
âSo, you're like a stink psychic?â
I shrugged, sipping my own shake.
âSure.â
I wasn't planning on telling him the club room smelled off on our first day.
Once we actually started the club, Levi surprised us as the smartest member, and getting to know him further, I came to the realization his family were infamous in our town.
However, his parents hid it well. Lucy and Michael Costella were the owners of a popular ramen store in our town, hiding under the facade of two successful business owners. The Costellaâs were an attractive family.
Lucy was a sophisticated brunette with a lipstick smile, Michael, a handsome fluffy haired man who looked like he modelled glasses.
The two were fiercely protective over their youngest son, not so casually reminding us behind grinning smiles, that if anything happened to Levi, we would automatically be involved in the family.
I mean, they did laugh and say, âWeâre joking! Look at your little faces!â when Sunny went deathly pale. But there was definitely truth behind their words.
Being Leviâs friend was⌠challenging at first.
Tom and I were in his room studying for finals, and an alarm went off, flooding Leviâs room in red light.
I had zero idea where it was coming from, but it locked all the doors and windows, forcing the Costella residence into temporary lockdown. Levi didn't seem fazed, casually mentioning his parents were taking care of it.
He had a whiteboard set up in his room, and was standing in front of it, cramming all of our textbook notes into one easily digestible drawing.
Levi wasn't just smart.
He was Ivy League smart, so we had struck gold with him.
His family were questionable, and yes, sometimes I did fear for my life, but as the more time we spent at his house, the Costella household became a second home. We got used to the alarms.
I just brought along ear plugs.
I wish I was writing this post about Leviâs family, and sure, they are a factor in what is going on right now, but I want to preface this by saying the events below involve the 2024 scholastic decathlon final in our town with the schoolâs listed:
Starbrook High School.
Ratcliffe High School.
Please note, the incident that took place last night was immediately covered up, and all phone footage was destroyed. Our town is mostly out of the way, and does not show up on Google searches.
We also have our own version of the academic decathlon, which is a more town-level competition, due to lacking funds. The four of us were desperate to start competing with our schools.
So, we started taking things a little more seriously.
We got a coach.
Mr Hanes, who was hesitant at first.
In his words, âYou will hate me as your coach.â
He started by recruiting more members, announcing, âIf you want to be taken seriously as an actual club, then I'll be taking the reins from now on.â
He did, and with our teachers guidance (and sometimes brutal honesty), we reached a level where we could start competing with other schoolâs in town. Now, none of us knew this, but Mr Hanes was obsessed with winning.
So, club meetings were twisted into two hour study sessions with no talking, followed by Mr Hanes Jeaprody, which was Jeaprody, without the actual fun.
We were quizzed multiple times, answer cards and practise questions quite literally thrown directly in our faces.
I hate to admit this (I really hate to admit this) but Mr Hanesâs tactics worked. Sure, we had been mildly brainwashed by our slightly unhinged coach, but with Levi Costella, we destroyed our competitors. Like I said, our town held their own version of the academic scholastic decathlon, but it was pretty much the same, with some changes.
Ten subjects. Language and Literature, Math, Social Science, Economics, Art, Music, Interview, Speech, and Essay.
Unlike the official Decathlon, ours was more like a game show, with the ability to be knocked out if a team member answers a question wrong. Whoever answers the most questions correctly wins. Team meet ups were either tests, study sessions, or quizzing each other.
Which leads me to last night.
The finals were held in the reigning champions, Ratcliffe High Schoolâs, auditorium.
And we were about to win our townâs Scholastic Decathlon 2024 Championships.
WellâŚI was knocked out in the music section. Standing next to my coach who I was sure was going to asphyxiate from excitement, I could smell the sudden potent stink of lemon. I tried to ignore it at first, but the more questions my team were answering correctly, the smell got worse, suffocating my senses.
This wasn't just lemon. The stink was like a burning, singing smell trickling into my nose and the back of my throat.
It was stronger than what Alex smelled like.
This was suffocating, drowning my thoughts.
âAre you okay, Cassandra?â
Mr Hanes nudged me when a Ratcliffe girl was struggling to answer a question, only for Sunny to jump in with the answer. âYou look quite pale.â
I nodded, forcing a smile.
My gaze was on the Ratcliffe coach, a scary looking blonde woman, whispering in one of her studentâs ears.
The Ratcliffe kid freaked me out. He was way too tall, dark blonde hair, and bulging eyes I swear were not blinking.
His gaze was glued to Levi, who wore a smug grin.
There was a smaller girl next to the Ratcliffe kid, a Macbook balanced on her knee. Every so often, he leaned into her, the two of them in deep conversation.
âI'm just nervous.â
I jumped when Ratcliffe scored a point, their side erupting into cheers.
During the break, we had a mini team meeting.
Sunny rushed to the bathroom to freshen up, and I noticed a Ratcliffe girl with a bouncing ponytail following her.
Ignoring our coachâs speech, I joined the two girls in the corridor, that lemony scent hanging thick in the air.
I caught them in an awkward position.
The Ratcliffe girl had her fingers pinched between the material of Sunnyâs dark blue shirt bearing our schoolâs name.
Sunny looked confused, her lips parted like she was going to yell.
Ponytail dropped her hand, suddenly, with a nervous laugh. âOh! I'm so, so, sorry,â she gushed. âYou had, like, the biggest spider crawling on your back.â
Sunny caught my eye, shooting me a reassuring smile.
âThanks.â She made sure to keep her distance. âUh, where's your bathroom?â
The Ratcliffe girl nodded down the hallway. âIt's just down there. I'm going there too if you want me to show you?â
Sunny motioned for me to go back to the auditorium. âUh, sure! That'd be great!â
I did try to follow them, only for Sunny to cough loudly.
I took the hint, reluctantly heading back into the auditorium.
My team was hyping each other up, Levi in the centre, sweating through his team shirt. He ran a trembling hand through his hair. âI can't do this,â He groaned. âRatcliffe High is known to play dirty, man. They're unbeatable.â
âIn what way do they play dirty?â I asked, joining them.
Levi gulped down water, shrugging.
âI dunno! They're already trying to distract me with the stink eye.â The boy narrowed his eyes at a grinning Ratcliffe kid who, after noticing our stares, jumped to his feet, waving at us.
âHey guys!â
âThat's Harry Cartwright, the son of the Cartwright family who tried to kill my parents in the third grade.â Levi mockingly waved back. âAs you can see, their kid is a fucking sociopath.â
Huh. I wasn't expecting the smiley kid to be the mobsterâs son.
Harry Cartwright was not what I expected.
Unlike his team members, he was the only one in casual clothing, a short sleeved white shirt and jeans, a pair of sunglasses perched on top of his head.
Tom went pale.
âFuck.â He hissed. âHeâs one of you? Then those bastards will have a reason to play dirty, right?â
Levi shrugged, averting his gaze. It was the first time I saw his eyes darken, like he was subtly telling the boy to back off.
âThe Cartwrightâs have been trying to buy our land for a while,â he muttered. âI wouldn't put it past them to use the Decathlon as a way to attack.â
âAttack?!â April, another member of our team, hissed. âLike, attack attack?â
Mr Hanes grabbed the boy, resting his hands on Leviâs shoulders. âIgnore them,â he said. âHey. Look at me.â
Levi did, raising a brow.
âYou're losing that spark in your eye, young man.â
âSpark?â
Our coach nodded. âLook at me, kid.â
Levi rolled his eyes. âI am looking at you, Mr Hanes.â
The man was shaking. I was guessing his whole career (or coaching career) was on the line.
âThey know they're losing, Mr Costella.â
Hanes shook the boy, squeezing his shoulders. âYou are being positive and Ratcliffe doesn't like that. They want you to be nervous. They want to make you second guess yourself and lose confidence. Don't let them get into your head.â he smiled, giving the boy a playful shove. âKick their asses.â
âExactly!â
I didn't realize Sunny was back from the bathroom.
The faint smell of lemons had followed her. I noticed a wet patch on her shirt collar, though she was quick to smile at me, admitting she'd spilled water down herself. Sunny wrapped her arms around Levi, squeezing him into a hug.
She hung on for a little too long, Tom dragging her away with a laugh. âGood luck, all right?â she backed away, ruffling his hair. âWeâve got this!â
When I hugged Levi good luck too, I had to resist covering my nose.
The smell of lemon was unbearable, just like fourth grade Alex.
But it wasn't as potent as earlier.
I vaguely remembered the smell starting to fade once Alexâs body was being carted away on a stretcher.
Following my captain through the crowd, I was right. The smell was less suffocating. Before he went back to the stage, I grabbed the back of his shirt.
The material was soaking wet.
âHow are you so wet?â I said, swiping my hands on my shirt.
âHuh?â
I shook my head. âNever mind. Do you remember what I told you in sophomore year?â
Levi settled me with a confident, but nervous smile. âThaaaat you're scared of clowns?â
âNo. I mean the boy who smelled of lemons.â I gritted out.
Levi surprised me with a laugh. âWhat are you talking about?â
Something ice cold trickled down my spine.
Levi did know what I was talking about. He brought up my stink sense a day earlier in front of his parents, and I had to cover his mouth to shut him up.
Leaning close, I whispered in his ear. âYou stink of rotten lemons.â
He nodded slowly, pulling away. âUh⌠thanks?â
I bit back a hiss of frustration. âNo, you don't understand what I'm sayingââ
âStarbrooke High School,â The host announced. âCan all members please return to the stage.â
Levi held up his hand for a high five.
âCan we do this later?â He winked. âI'm kinda busy carrying this spelling-bee on my back right now.â
I nodded shakily, high fiving him, and letting him jump back onto the stage.
Before his words hit like a tidal wave, ice cold water slammed into me.
Spelling Bee?
Slowly making my way back to the stands, Leviâs mistake was circling around my head. He did win a spelling bee, but that was in middle school.
Thankfully, the smell of lemons was gone when I returned to my seat.
Mr Hanes handed me a soda. âChill out, Cassandera, it's just a game.â
He could talk. The guy was on his fifth coffee.
Mr Hanes was not chilled out in the slightest.
Surprisingly, the event went well. I was half expecting my team to be crushed by the rafters, or caught in a blaze started in the crowd. But we were doing well. No, we were winning.
Reaching the climaxing round, Sunny choked against a smug Ratcliffe boy, joining me on the sidelines.
Levi answered the next question with a confident smile.
We were winning, but Ratcliffe could still catch up with a miracle.
The second to last question was to Ratcliffe, and it was general knowledge.
âWhere on the human body would one find the *orbit?*
I knew the answer, and so did Levi, his lips breaking out into a smile when the Ratcliffe boy was hesitating, eyes wide.
Our schoolâs buzzer went off, Levi slamming his hand down.
Bzzz!
The host turned to our team. âStarbrooke, can I have your answer?â
Levi nodded, shooting our team a victory grin.
âIt'sâŚ!â He opened his mouth to answer, his jaw slackening suddenly.
The boyâs shoulders slumped.
âUh⌠â
âUmâŚâ
âHuhhhhhâŚâ
Levi inclined his head, blinking, his eyes glazing over. There was a sudden, hollow vacancy that sent chills down my spine. It was like someone had reached into his skull, and yanked out his brain, leaving a shell in his place.
To my confusion, our team captain frowned at his buzzer like he'd never seen one before. He pressed it, exploding into child-like giggles.
Bzzz!
The audience laughed along nervously.
Tom nudged me. âWhat the fuck is he doing?â
Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz!
Leviâs entire body was slumped, his hand slamming down on the buzzer.
I caught something pooling down his chin.
âIs he⌠drooling?â I whispered.
Mr Hanes looked mildly horrified. âHas he been drinking?
âLevi?â Tom spluttered. âDrinking?!"
Whatever we were watching, however, was definitely influenced by⌠something.
Bzz. Bzz. Bzz. Bzz. Bzz!
âYoung man, that is not a toy!â
The host wasn't amused. âStarbrooke High School, I need an answer from you,â He nodded to Levi, who was pressing the buzzer, his smile growing.
âOnce again,â The host backed away, like Levi was contagious. âWhere on the human body would one find the Orbit?â
Levi cocked his head, lips parted.
His gaze found the overhead lights, and he winced, his lips curling into a frown.
âStarbrooke High School!â
Levi jumped, tipping his head back and blowing a raspberry. âPalm tree?â
The audience laughed, and I started feeling nauseous.
Across from us, I could see the twist of a smirk on the Ratcliffe coachâs lips.
Bzzz! Levi slammed the buzzer again giggling.
âStarbrooke High School, if your team member continues to act like this, I will be forced to disqualify all members.â
Our captain stopped, gaze glued to the host, his hand creeping towards the buzzer, like it was a big red button.
The audience loved it, laughing like they were watching a sitcom.
âHe wouldn't.â Tom whisper-shrieked.
The auditorium was silent for a moment, awaiting Starbrookeâs response.
Levi stuck out his tongue, slamming his hand down.
Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzâ
When Tom dragged Levi away from his podium, a Ratcliffe girl hit her buzzer.
âStarbrooke High School, you are disqualified,â the host announced. âRatcliffe High School, do you have an answer?â
It was Ponytail who nodded with a grin.
âThe answer is the eye socket! The Orbit is part of the eye socket!â
âThat is the correct answer.â The host was distracted, his eyes glued to Levi.
âRatcliffe High School wins.â
Levi jumped when the Ratcliffe wide erupted into cheers.
His eyes were wide, clinging onto the buzzer for comfort.
Next to me, our coach looked like he was going to faint.
I barely noticed Ratcliffeâs victory, too busy watching our team captain, who was Harvard bound, tipping his head back and smiling at the ceiling like a new-born baby. Tom dragged the stumbling boy over to me, his mouth twisted.
âThis was Ratcliffe, right?â He hissed, shaking our captain, who was struggling, squirming in his grip.
âDid they put something in his drink?!â He prodded Levi. âHey! What did they do to you?!â
Still, though, drugging his drink didn't make sense.
Levi never left the auditorium, and kept his water bottle with him the whole time.
How did they even manage to slip something into his drink in the first place?
Did I smell our competitors drugging him?
Sure, intentionally inebriating my teammate was morally wrong and illegal, but why could I smell lemon?
âI doubt it was Ratcliffe.â Sunny squeezed next to me. âI've been watching them. They're harmless.â
âThen how the fuck do we explain this to his parents?!â Tom whispered, grappling with Levi, who was fighting to get back to the buzzer.
When Tom let go of him, he dropped onto the floor, crawling over to his podium. It was like watching a child.
Who was determined to piss off the adults.
Levi jumped back to instead feet, his gaze was glued to the host, a smile curved on his lips, when he slammed the buzzer again.
Bzzz!
âSomeone, please remove the Starbrooke boy from the stage!â
I was embarrassed, our whole team ducking our heads as our captain was forcibly removed from the podium.
Mr Hanes grabbed Levi, pulling him off of the stage.
I expected our coach to be mad at him, but I think the teacher was more worried, a phone pressed to his ear while he forced the boy into a sitting position.
No, I don't think it's influence from alcohol, I could hear his conversation.
Levi kept trying to get up, mesmerised by the buzzer. The teacher was firm but gentle. âHey. Sit down, all right? Keep still.â He went back to his phone call, gently prying Leviâs eyes open.
From what I can see, there's nothing wrong. He's just kind ofâŚ
Mr Hanes swiped his own hands on his jeans. ... wet?
Team Ratcliffe came over to rub it in our faces, though I was still tuned into our coachâs hissed whispering.
Water? No, I don't think it's water. It smells⌠no, I haven't told his parentsâŚ
âYou guys did awesome!â Ponytail's voice was sugary sweet. Too sugary.
She held the 2024 trophy, bearing a satisfied smile. I noticed the Ratcliffe members were surrounding Harry, like guards.
âBetter luck next time, okay?â She held out her hand, her eyes twinkling.
âNo hard feelings?â
âControl your dog.â Harry said, amused eyes flicking to Levi, who was once again sprinting back to the fucking buzzer. His eyes had visibly darkened, lips curled into a triumphant smile.
Harry Cartwright was watching Mr Hanes chase our team captain like it was his own personal entertainment.
I had to look away before I died of second hand embarrassment.
âWhat did you put in his drink?â Tom demanded. âWeed? Edibles?â the boy attempted to shove Harry, only to be pushed back. âWhat the fuck did you do to him?â
Harryâs smile didn't waver. âLike I said. Control your mut.â
When the Ratcliffe team walked away, our red faced coach struggling with Levi, who was behaving progressively more erratically, informed us we were longer welcome inside the school.
Tom suggested calling an ambulance, but our coach was hesitant.
We all knew who Leviâs family were.
On the way out, Tom matched my stride. He was frowning at our team captain struggling to walk.
The way he was acting was already eyebrow raising.
But walking at an angle and being unable to stand up straight was worrying.
âI don't think they drugged his drink.â Tom muttered.
We pushed through the doors out of the school, and I revelled in the cool night air grazing my cheek. âIf they did, he would be acting out of it, right? So, what's the deal with him acting likeââ
âA child.â I finished for him.
âYeah.â Tom leaned closer. âDo you think this has something to do with their turf war?â
I slapped at a bug creeping across my cheek.
Levi fell over again, this time bursting into giggles.
âAlmost definitely.â
Levi was right about Ratcliffe playing dirty. I didn't realize how dirty until we were on the losers bus home. Levi was in the seat next to me, and the kid hadn't moved since we left Ratcliffe, his eyes wide, lips pulled into a dazed grin.
Bzzz!
The noise startled me from slumber. I was drooling, my head pressed against the window. Outside, the sky was pitch dark, and squinting through the glass, I couldn't get a bearing on where we were. I thought I was hearing things, but when I sat up, I heard it again.
Bzzz!
It was close.
Leaning over the boy, I glimpsed a smear of scarlet on his headrest.
I choked on my next words.
âTom.â
Tom was in front of me, listening to music.
He didn't reply, his head of dark blonde curls nodding to the beat.
âLevi.â I managed to get out. I prodded him, and his head lolled into his shoulder. âHey. Can you⌠sit up?â
Bzzz! Bzzz!
When the boy didn't move, I gently grabbed his shoulders and pulled him forward myself, something contracting in my stomach.
I don't know how long it takes for your mind to fully register something, but my body was already reacting.
Leviâs seat was infested with bugs, eating their way through the upholstery. I was aware of my body moving back. I threw up, instantly, screaming into my hand.
The back of my best friend's skull resembled a deflated soccer ball, what was left of his brain leaking from his skull where a swarm of skittering bugs chewed their way through brain tissue, metallic legs scratching the curved, pearly white of the base if his skull.
Leviâs head hung, his body flopping into mine.
But his eyes were still open, lips still stretched into a smile.
Blood ran in thick rivulets from his nose and ears.
Bzzz!
I could see them, black writhing dots alive in his eyes, wriggling movement under his skin.
âTom!â
I jumped up, stumbling into the aisle, my stomach heaving.
And it was only when I was on my knees, swiping bile from my lips, when I realized the others weren't reacting.
Tom wasn't moving.
I pulled an Airpod out of his ear, a long, slithering string of pink attached to the end.
There was a stray bug skittering across his hand, his face starting to twitch and writhe.
Moving back, I checked myself over, my hands shaking.
Head.
Shoulders.
Hair.
Clawing through it, my breath was stuck in my throat.
Arms.
Legs.
Feet.
Mr Hanes was slumped against the window, a reddish froth bubbling from his mouth.
Sunny.
I started towards the back of the bus, but all I had to see was her bowed head, half of her skull chewed through.
Sunny was in a far more deteriorated state, her face had been ripped through, a skeletal smile glinting in the dim.
The thick black smear on the window next to her was moving.
When I screamed for the driver to stop the bus, he ignored me.
If anything, he stamped on the gas.
I moved forward to shake him, before glimpsing a bug creeping down his face.
Calling 911, the operator laughed at me.
âBugs are eating your friends.â He said. âDo you know the penalty for calling with bullshit pranks?â
The bus didn't stop, so I stayed at the front, while the bugs took over the back, eating through my teammates.
After four hours, I risked leaning over the seat next to Tom to check on Levi.
They were eating him.
Chewing all the way through skin, muscle and bone.
I tried to stop the bus, but the driverâs hands were tightly wrapped around the wheel.
Another hour, and blood was seeping down the aisle, crawling with bugs.
Levi was gone, and in his place, a buzzing skittering pile of bugs, that I thought were going to move to a second victim, maybe burrowing into the seats.
But, no.
These things began to tremble, replicating.
Building.
Slowly, nothing became static, and static became muscle.
Then bone.
Then flesh.
When a body began to slowly form, moulded from the dead boy, I stumbled back.
These things weren't eating Levi Costella.
They were rewriting him.
âŚ
Edit: I'm still on the bus. I'm 99.9% sure that I'm infected with whatever this thing is. I can't stop fucking itching.
I keep picking them off me but they won't stop. This bus isn't going to stop until I'm like the others.
âŚ
Edit 2:
I can feel them chewing into my skull. They're in my ears. I keep spitting them out. Please, someone get them off of me. Help me. I don't want to die at 17.
Edit 3:
Still alive. Still breathing. Maybe they're leaving me alone????? I think I'm okay. There is a pile of bugs at my feet, but they're crawling off of me.
Edit 4:
Levi really wants to go home. Like, he just told me he REALLY wants to go home. He's got a gift for his parents.
~~Edit 5 :) ~~
Levi is next to me right now, an odd smile on his face.
The bugs are not finished building him yet, but he'll be ready soon.
We will be ready soon.
Your son says hello! He is a wonderful boy, is he not?
Mr and Mrs Costella, I cannot wait for you to meet him.
He is our greatest achievement, and rest assured, you will give us what we want.
Warm regards.
The Cartwright's.
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2024.05.13 22:54 Torino617 Maybe Iâll find someone this time. 17M EST
Do you rot in bed doing nothing all day? Do you constantly have bags under your eyes because you canât sleep at night? Do you have literally no friends and are lonely constantly and just want ONE person to obsess over and nobody else? If so you just got super lucky finding this post because I never see shit like this so I figured I might as well write one myself.
Hi! My discord user is torino617 and lifeâs a bitch, hence me looking for discord friends on Reddit :/ Iâm on literally all day so we can constantly talk to each other, and Iâve got nothing better to do besides playing video games, mindlessly watching tv, drawing, and thinking about being productive (Iâve got zero motivation).
So yeah if your in my age range and you also hate your life feel free to write me, maybe we can hate life a bit less together lol Ps- if you write me the word âfiddlesticksâ you get a nice song and a picture of my dogs.
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2024.05.13 22:54 CompleteJinx Solo* OD&D Fighter vs Lost Mine of Phandelver part 4. Yeemik. (Spoilers Below.)
Recap- The fledgling fighter, Serenity Steelheart, has just invaded Cragmaw Hideout hoping to save veteran adventurer, Sildar Halwinter. After weathering the hideoutâs first few lines of defense, Serenity's temporary ally, Beatrix the goblin, has revealed her whole plan. Beatrix hopes to form an alliance with a splinter faction of the Cragmaw goblins in order to overpower the current leader and take control for herself.
Story- âSo, do you trust me?â Beatrix asked with a smile.
âI trust you about as far as I can throw you.â Serenity said with a sigh. She then ended the light spell cast on her scimitar before continuing, âYou are quite small though, you may actually catch some air.â
Beatrix let out a triumphant laugh before taking Serenityâs hand and leading her back into the stream. Serenity winced as her feet sunk into the cool water, the slick stream bed seemed more treacherous without the benefit of her eyesight. As she sloshed blindly through the water Serenity began to second guess herself, this was hostile territory and sheâd just put her life in a near strangerâs hands.
Beatrix stopped wordlessly and received a quick kick in the pants as Serenity stumbled into her. The goblin grumbled to herself before leading Serenityâs hands to the charred wood of the lookoutâs destroyed bridge, âTheyâre up there.â
Serenity pulled on the worn wooden boards to test their strength before climbing up and finding herself in another more narrow cave with faint light visible in the distance. She took a breath and gagged as her nose was assaulted by the foul smells further ahead. After a slight nudge from Beatrix, Serenity hesitantly moved towards the light. The narrow passage quickly opened up to reveal a large chamber furnished with broken crates, soiled bedding, and a firepit that acted as a light source. Serenityâs presence, of course, did not go unnoticed and before long she found herself surrounded by confused, angry goblins.
Beatrix pushed further into the cave as the other goblins shouted commands and questions at Serenity. âYeemik!â
After a few moments a robust looking goblin with a scowl trudged out from the deepest part of the cave and growled, âThe hellâs all this noise f-â He cut himself off as his eyes fell on Serenity, âWho the- How the- Explain!â
âThis is Serenity, sheâs crazy strong. With her help weâll finally be able to oust Klarg!â Beatrix said in a hurry.
âShe donât look too strong to me.â Yeemik glared at Serenity before continuing, âWhat makes you think you can take on a bugbear? You ever done that before?â
âShe-â Beatrix started before Yeemik raised a hand to silence her.
âI asked your girl. She knows how to talk, donât she?â
Serenity cleared her throat as Beatrix shot her a worried look. âI believe my skill can speak for itself. I was able to take out your ambush single handedly, I survived your flood trap, and Iâve fought my way past every line of defense you had to protect your living quarters. To doubt my abilities after all of that would be a brutal condemnation of your own.â
Yeemik snorted, âYou think Iâm too proud to admit that Iâm surrounded by jokers, eh? Weâre out in the middle of nowhere fighting for scraps! We ainât here because of our sterling track record, weâre just the riff raff Grell was willing to lose.â
An uncomfortable murmur spread throughout the cave as the rest of the goblins exchanged looks of frustration and disappointment. Then Beatrix spoke up again, âYeah, but we finished our mission! We got the dwarf the Spider wanted! When a reward gets passed down to us do you really want it to go to Klarg?â
Yeemik raised an eyebrow, this goblin wasnât as slow as the others. âAlright, you want to take care of our Bugbear problem. Whatâs in it for you, miss⌠Whoever you are.â
âSerenit-â
âDonât care!â
Serenity took a sharp breath. âI will assist your faction in eliminating Klarg. In return I demand the safe release of my ally, Sildar Halwinter. I already know heâs being held here.â
Yeemik looked confused for a moment before a flash of realization hit him, âOh, you mean Oldman Mumbles! Yeah, I think Iâd be willing to lose him.â
âExcellent. I suggest we head out now, our combined power will be more than enough to defeat Klarg.â
âHold up! What do you mean combined?â Yeemik barked, âYou really expect me to take on Klarg myself and then pay you for the inconvenience? What kind of nonsense deal is that!?â
âI-â Serenity stammered.
âNo! You just gave us a whole spiel about how great you are, Klarg should be light work for someone like you. Less you were lyinâŚâ Yeemik said, venom in every word.
âWell, I- Iâve expended a considerable amount of energy getting here, I donât know if I can beat him if Iâm not at full strength.â Serenity said.
âOh so now you're asking if you can take a nap to feel better?â
âYes, resting would be an absolute godsend right now. If I could get my magic back, that could give me the edge against Klarg.â
âOh really, you gonna ask me to make you supper too?â Yeemik sneered at Serenity.
âWhat?â
âYou must think Iâm pretty slow, miss adventurer. If I let you leave, we both know youâre just gonna come back with more humans and wipe the lot of us out!â
âNo, I-â
âIf I even THINK you left these here caves, Iâm gonna crave you friend like a pig!â Yeemik yelled.
Serenity glared at Yeemik, âSo you wonât let me rest, you wonât give me assistance, and you expect me to take on a foe that even you're too scared to fight.â
âShouldnât have shown your hand so fast little lady.â Yeemik laughed.
âCan I at least keep the goblin that I brought with me or do you intend to sabotage me further?â
Yeemik looked at Beatrix and shrugged, âEh, I donât care about that one.â
Serenity turned to leave before stopping dead in her tracks, âWait! Let me see Sildar! I need to know that heâs still alive!â
Yeemik looked surprised before motioning one of his goblins to go, âHeh, maybe you aint a complete tool afterall.â A goblin ran off and after an uncomfortably long wait returned dragging a half-conscious man behind him.
Serenity made eye contact with the prisoner for a moment before it clicked, Sildar had been beaten almost beyond recognition. She felt a growing rage in her core as she saw the way Yeemik had treated a hero. âCan you hear me?â
It took longer than it should have for Sildar to react, he slowly turned to look at his would-be rescuer and stared at her before something stirred in him, âSerenity!â He croaked, âYou, what are you doing here?â
âIâm here to save you, Sildar.â Serenity said, trying to hide the uncertainty in her voice.
âNo! You- agh- You have to get out of here!â Sildar panted, âTheyâll kill us both, Serenity. -huff- Save yourself.â
Sildarâs desperate warning was cut off when a goblin kicked him in the ribs. The creatureâs sadistic cackling ended abruptly as Serenity drove her scimitar into his shoulder. In an instant all of the goblins had weapons drawn as their injured ran for cover.
âHold! Everyone stop!â Yeemik shouted as ran between Serenity and his goblins. He then smeared as he looked at Serenity, âYou are getting too damn comfortable girl!â
Serenity grit her teeth and refused to lower her weapons. She took a step forward before being stopped as Beatrix grabbed onto her leg. âSerenity stop! If you do this, theyâll just kill Sildar to spite you.â
âShe ainât lying.â Yeemik said.
Serenity glared at Yeemik as she spoke, âI swear to you Yeemik, if you do anything to Sildar while Iâm gone you will WISH you were dealing with Klarg!â
âDeal! You take care of your business and Iâll keep my boys off yours.â Yeemik said with a fake smile, âNow get walking before anyone does anything they might regret.â
There was a tense silence for a few moments before Serenity turned to leave, âLetâs go, Beatrix.â
Notes- I cut skill rolls out of the narration since someone said they didnât like it and there were no voices in favor of them. For anyone curious, there were several Persuasion rolls made throughout this encounter to determine what would happen. As you can likely surmise, the dice were cold tonight.
Final Thoughts- Sorry for the long wait for this one, I had major trouble coming up with a way to make the story feel like it's moving forward despite Serenity failing on every level. Hope you were able to enjoy seeing Serenity struggle more than usual. The wait for the next part should be a lot shorter than this one was.
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2024.05.13 22:47 Remarkable_Fudge_342 Being called ugly in public
I (20f) have very unattractive facial features, wide forehead, small eyes , big nose ,crooked teeth and an asymmetrical face, I have been ok with being an ugly teen , but being ugly as an adult is just different, I started seeing how much beauty is valuated, and how much that effects the treatment I receive , yesterday I was out with a friend and she was getting approached by many men , that always happens and I absolutely have no problem with it but one guy walked past us and shouted that it was his first time seeing and ugly girl going out with a pretty girl , now that definitely hurts , I was bullied as a kid and just ignored as a teen , the only compliments I receive are from family and friends , which honestly feel like they are just out of pity , my parents aren't ugly , but everyone of them has a few features that are not that attractive,all my siblings are good looking , I am the combination of those ugly features, my crooked teeth bother me the most beacause I feel like they could have been fixed , my older sister did get braces ,but but my parents couldn't afford to get them for me , now I just see that I will never be able to experience being pretty or just average, I will just exist and hopefully not meet many of those who feel the need to voice their opinion about my looks.
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2024.05.13 22:41 Snazzlefraxas My Helldiver Dissertation
My word, thereâs a lot of salt in the air. In my opinion, this subreddit is missing the appreciation of some of the really well done aspects of this game. There are issues, to be sure, but so much of the balance is working as I think Arrowhead intended, and itâs unfortunate that so many of us are missing out on the beautiful team synergy, communication and Fun that my friends and I are enjoying.
I leveled to 50 primarily fighting bugs. You can get away with four people playing relatively independently and still succeed with them. My buddies and I tried bots a handful of times and we would get absolutely overwhelmed. At the time I didnât feel like it was cheap. I knew they required a different play style, and once I had everything unlocked in the game I set out to find the methods to destroy them competently.
Honestly, it took a good while. I can see why many players donât get there, and want them to tune the difficulty down, but I disagree. The game has Nine difficulty settings. Nine. And I see them comparing high level players to Dark Souls snobs. Well, Dark Souls snobs relish their single punishing difficulty level and would never condone nine different settings so that you can have your power fantasy.
That said, I like where the bots are at. Itâs supposed to feel overwhelming. The teams I see fail at Helldive difficulty are not communicating, they will respawn you and run away, leaving you to retrieve your gear with no fire support. A Bot Drop will scatter their ranks, sending all four players scattering, never to recover. Etc.
The balance in high level play feels right to me. Itâs best on mic, but typing a little works, and you can do away with all of it if team lead pings the next location and everyone knowingly fills out their role. The biggest difference is that skilled players know how to prioritize targets, when to push and when to retreat, when and how to split off and regroup, how to choose a load out with squad synergy, when and what to save certain strategems for, how to decimate a Bot Drop preemptively or effectively cover a retreat.
It takes a long time to learn to carry all that out, and be natural at ammo/reload management for many different weapons, aware of cover opportunities, skilled at shooting on the move, taking slight cover for reloads while having the maximum amount of uptime, and how to be aware of what your mates are up to while youâre under your own pressure.
Iâm currently a lv 139 10-Star General. A lot of time went into that. Surprised I havenât gained 20 pounds. What I believe is, this gameâs high difficulty levels become manageable with real, actual, utilized experience. The ability to communicate, learn, and apply new information, both acccrued and on the fly. Not just XP.
So many players are essentially saying that they want the guns themselves, and the high level unlocks to manage the difficulty for them. They may not realize it, but they are often playing as four individuals, not a trained squad. That will work alright up to about difficulty 7. After that we need to apply real time experience and skill to the battlefield. We need four people playing as oneâ a well oiled machine. That concept is what the devs set out to achieve, and for my friends and myself, it seems like theyâve met that goal pretty well. Honestly, if it became âBigger Boom = Winning Time,â Iâd likely have gotten bored and moved on by now.
I certainly donât feel elitist. Iâm not saying âItâs a skill issue, stop complaining.â I just think that a very skillful player, or four of them, will not succeed at high level play or have fun if they arenât skillful at refining their team dynamic. I think thatâs how the game is designed, and for my squad itâs doing its job quite well.
Yes, there are bugs. There are lackluster warbonds. There are balancing issues. No game is perfect. As a Helldivers 1 vet, I felt prepared that high level play would be inaccessible to most. The core philosophy of that game is still well intact here, but the bombastic 3rd person action dynamic attracted a lot of players who mainly want the power fantasy, and frankly, just arenât very good at teamwork. Of course they will drop off in time. The game really wasnât made for them. It doesnât want PvP. It doesnât want solo play. Iâm not saying they should leave, just that for some, it was inevitable.
Helldivers, I implore you to be confident in your critiques, but not to overlook that this game may be achieving its own aims well, even if it doesnât suit your tastes. For those Helldivers that are still having a riotous time defeating the hordes with their mates, laughing and quipping with friends while the battlefield rightfully overwhelms you, just to see you eek out a successful dive by the skin of your teeth, play on undeterred. Donât let the squall of the Unsatisfied Gamer Community sour your victories. The Illuminate are coming, and we need reinforcement.
We dive so humanity survives.
For Democracy.
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2024.05.13 22:40 the_gab_myzter Is the equity worth it?
My husband (M41) and I (F34) currently rent a unit in a triplex in Atlanta. Last Spring, the landlords approached us about buying it from them. After some back and forth we landed on a price somewhere around $640k. My husband works in the film industry, and soon after being pre-approved for a loan, the film strike happened. We told them we needed to put the purchase on hold, and they said they were willing to wait.
Now we are back at the negotiation table. In the last year, they got the house appraised at $850k! We are fairly certain the appraiser was a friend. On a call, they admitted they felt it was too high for the property and wanted to land somewhere in the mid-$700k. That is still $100k more than our offer last year. Additionally, they do not want to use realtors, as they don't want to pay the fees.
This time around we have more information about the property and what the other tenants are paying. All of us in the house are paying below market value, and the house needs some repairs (trees need to be taken down, the pool deck needs to be resurfaced, there is a sunroom/patio that is rotting and needs to be demolished, and the whole electrical system should be rewired). Their monthly rent revenue between all the units is $4650 ($55800 annually), and they spend about $19290 a year in expenses/property upkeep. Since 2017, they have spent about $34k in additional expenses (replaced the water heater, got the basement waterproofed, installed a new pool liner, etc.).
Combined, we make about $210k in a slow year. We would need to do an FHA loan and think that with some paint and updated fixtures, we can eventually (after we move out) bring in somewhere around $5,500 a month in rent. The online mortgage calculator comes out to $5,600 a month ($750,000 mortgage, 3.5 down), meaning we would be paying about $20,000 a year for property upkeep, not making anything back.
My question is, is the equity worth it? What should be our next steps? Should we get estimates on all the renovations we think need to happen and deduct that from their asking price? Do we try to get approved for the $750k and hope the lender's appraiser says it's worth less? Do we subtract the fees they would pay a broker from our offer?
They do have other offers from investors but they want to sell to us. Their target deadline to sell and be rid of the home is fall '24, and I have made clear that we plan on taking the time to do our due diligence, which they seem totally fine with (especially considering we are doing this unrepresented). Without a realtor, we are leaning on all the web forums and online resources we can find. We are first-time home buyers and willing to walk away if the math does not work. $100k more for the home in less than a year is just ridiculous.
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2024.05.13 22:37 the_gab_myzter [Tenant] Is the Equity Worth It?
[US-GA]
My husband (M41) and I (F34) currently rent a unit in a triplex in Atlanta. Last Spring, the landlords approached us about buying it from them. After some back and forth we landed on a price somewhere around $640k. My husband works in the film industry, and soon after being pre-approved for a loan, the film strike happened. We told them we needed to put the purchase on hold, and they said they were willing to wait.
Now we are back at the negotiation table. In the last year, they got the house appraised at $850k! We are fairly certain the appraiser was a friend. On a call, they admitted they felt it was too high for the property and wanted to land somewhere in the mid-$700k. That is still $100k more than our offer last year. Additionally, they do not want to use realtors, as they don't want to pay the fees.
This time around we have more information about the property and what the other tenants are paying. All of us in the house are paying below market value, and the house needs some repairs (trees need to be taken down, the pool deck needs to be resurfaced, there is a sunroom/patio that is rotting and needs to be demolished, and the whole electrical system should be rewired). Their monthly rent revenue between all the units is $4650 ($55800 annually), and they spend about $19290 a year in expenses/property upkeep. Since 2017, they have spent about $34k in additional expenses (replaced the water heater, got the basement waterproofed, installed a new pool liner, etc.).
Combined, we make about $210k in a slow year. We would need to do an FHA loan and think that with some paint and updated fixtures, we can eventually (after we move out) bring in somewhere around $5,500 a month in rent. The online mortgage calculator comes out to $5,600 a month ($750,000 mortgage, 3.5 down), meaning we would be paying about $20,000 a year for property upkeep, not making anything back.
My question is, is the equity worth it? What should be our next steps? Should we get estimates on all the renovations we think need to happen and deduct that from their asking price? Do we try to get approved for the $750k and hope the lender's appraiser says it's worth less? Do we subtract the fees they would pay a broker from our offer?
They do have other offers from investors but they want to sell to us. Their target deadline to sell and be rid of the home is fall '24, and I have made clear that we plan on taking the time to do our due diligence, which they seem totally fine with (especially considering we are doing this unrepresented). Without a realtor, we are leaning on all the web forums and online resources we can find. We are first-time home buyers and willing to walk away if the math does not work. $100k more for the home in less than a year is just ridiculous.
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2024.05.13 22:30 the_gab_myzter Need Help Navigating a Multi-Family Home Purchase
My husband (M41) and I (F34) currently rent a unit in a triplex in Atlanta. Last Spring, the landlords approached us about buying it from them. After some back and forth we landed on a price somewhere around $640k. My husband works in the film industry, and soon after being pre-approved for a loan, the film strike happened. We told them we needed to put the purchase on hold, and they said they were willing to wait.
Now we are back at the negotiation table. In the last year, they got the house appraised at $850k! We are fairly certain the appraiser was a friend. On a call, they admitted they felt it was too high for the property and wanted to land somewhere in the mid-$700k. That is still $100k more than our offer last year. Additionally, they do not want to use realtors, as they don't want to pay the fees.
This time around we have more information about the property and what the other tenants are paying. All of us in the house are paying below market value, and the house needs some repairs (trees need to be taken down, the pool deck needs to be resurfaced, there is a sunroom/patio that is rotting and needs to be demolished, and the whole electrical system should be rewired). Their monthly rent revenue between all the units is $4650 ($55800 annually), and they spend about $19290 a year in expenses/property upkeep. Since 2017, they have spent about $34k in additional expenses (replaced the water heater, got the basement waterproofed, installed a new pool liner, etc.).
Combined, we make about $210k in a slow year. We would need to do an FHA loan and think that with some paint and updated fixtures, we can eventually (after we move out) bring in somewhere around $5,500 a month in rent. The online mortgage calculator comes out to $5,600 a month ($750,000 mortgage, 3.5 down), meaning we would be paying about $20,000 a year for property upkeep, not making anything back.
My question is, is the equity worth it? What should be our next steps? Should we get estimates on all the renovations we think need to happen and deduct that from their asking price? Do we try to get approved for the $750k and hope the lender's appraiser says it's worth less? Do we subtract the fees they would pay a broker from our offer?
They do have other offers from investors but they want to sell to us. Their target deadline to sell and be rid of the home is fall '24, and I have made clear that we plan on taking the time to do our due diligence, which they seem totally fine with (especially considering we are doing this unrepresented). Without a realtor, we are leaning on all the web forums and online resources we can find. We are first-time home buyers and willing to walk away if the math does not work. $100k more for the home in less than a year is just ridiculous.
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2024.05.13 22:14 Blankboo97 The Lost Women of NXIVM Part 7
PRODUCER: Do you have the suicide note?
HEIDI CLIFFORD (As âAnonymous Classmateâ): (Reading purported âsuicide noteâ aloud): This is a copy of the suicide note.
âI attended a course called Executive Success Programs, aka Nexium (sic), based out of Anchorage, Alaska and Albany, New York. I was brainwashed and my emotional center of the brain was killed and turned off. I still have feeling in my external skin, but my internal organs are rotting. Iâm sorry, life. I didnât know I was already dead.â
âNo need to search my body.â
Was this potential suicide letter in Krisâs car coerced?
Was it her willingly writing it?
You donât know.
As we have discussed in previous posts, nothing about the Kristin Snyder missing person case makes any sense whatsoever, and the purported âsuicide noteâ found in her vehicle is certainly no exception.
Before we start analyzing the âsuicide note,â here are a few factors to keep in mind:
⢠We know through information from multiple sources that Kristin was a prolific journal writer and letter writer, so we have a plethora of writing samples to compare with this alleged âsuicide note.â
⢠We refer to âthe writerâ in our discussion of the âsuicide noteâ below. The reason for this phrasing is because the actual writer of this note is unknown. Did Kristin herself write it, either as a explanation for killing herself, or for the purpose of faking her own death? Did someone else write it to make her disappearance appear to be a suicide? Was part of the text written by Kristin and added to by another party? Was the entire note faked? Was the note written by Kristin, but under duress/coercion as Heidi pondered?
⢠See notes under each section below regarding clear discrepancies between Kristinâs baseline writing style based on the hundreds of writing samples we have obtained from multiple sources through varying times throughout her life.
Now, without further ado, letâs take an in-depth look at this âsuicide noteâ â line by line.
âI attended a course called Executive Success Programs (aka Nexium) based out of Anchorage, AK + Albany, NY.â
⢠Who is the note intended for? There is no salutation. We have tons of samples of Kristinâs letters and there is always a salutation â AND a date. If this is really her âsuicide note,â why wouldnât she address it to her partner Heidi, friends, coworkers, and/or family â as she always had addressed people in her letters? Similarly, wouldnât she document the date of the most significant letter of her life, as she did routinely with her letters? In fact, she often even included the specific time (for instance, 7:15 p.m.) that the letter or journal entry was written.
⢠In addition to a salutation and date on other writing samples, Kris also typically indented her paragraphs and she also usually wrote on each line of the paper in her letters and journal entries, unlike this âsuicide note,â which does neither.
⢠Related to the numerous writing samples we have acquired though multiple sources, Kris also primarily wrote in cursive in both her letters and in her journal. This âsuicide noteâ is an odd hybrid of cursive and print.
⢠Why would anyone start a suicide note with âI attended a courseâŚâ? Clearly, the writer of this note is directing the reader to correlate ESP with the disappearance, but it seems like a very odd place for anyone to start a suicide note. Also, Kris attended two courses, not âa courseâ; a fact that Kris would have clearly known.
⢠âaka Nexiumâ is another oddity. Kris did not take any NXIVM classes, not even one, despite the extensive recent propaganda linking her to NXIVM. Why? Because NXIVM did not even exist at the time of Kristinâs disappearance; it was still in the planning stages. The writer had obviously heard about these plans as evidenced by the phonetic spelling. Again, it is obvious the writer of the note is clearly directing the readerâs attention to ESP/NXIVM â but if Kris were distraught enough to write a suicide note (and as functionally incapacitated as reported by her partner), why/how would she focus on minutiae like this?
⢠Speaking of minutiae, it gets even more obvious in the next words: âbased out of Anchorage, AK + Albany, NY.â First of all, WHO CARES where ESP was based? That is in no way pertinent to the reasoning, and apparently is another clear attempt by the writer to direct the reader toward ESP/NXIVM. Secondly, this information is actually wrong. ESP wasnât âbased out of Anchorage, AKâ â they held classes in Anchorage in a rented hotel space. The home base was in NY. Furthermore, Kris knew very well that this information was wrong, having recently visited their NY headquarters herself weeks before her disappearance!
â˘The words âbased out ofâ (city, state) are odd as well. None of Kristinâs other writing samples did this. Nowhere does she mention elsewhere that anything is âbased out ofâ anywhere in any of her copious writing samples we have obtained.
⢠Furthermore, why would the note say âAnchorage, AKâ anyway? Presumably, Alaska law enforcement would be able to deduce that Anchorage is in Alaska without this unnecessary clarification.
âI was brainwashed + my emotional center of the brain was killed/turned off. I still have feeling in my external skin but my internal organs are rotting.â
⢠If Kris was brainwashed, she wouldnât know (at least at the time) that she had been brainwashed. Again, this seems to be yet another clear attempt by the writer to direct the reader to look at ESP.
⢠Furthermore, if Kris finally did realize that she had been brainwashed, why would she then kill herself?
⢠The writer switches âmyâ and âtheâ in a sentence â something Kris never did, even once, in the hundreds of pages of writing we have obtained. The sentence should read âthe emotional center of my brain,â not âmy emotional center of the brain.â
⢠Another oddity is in the redundancy of âexternal skin.â Again, this sort of mistake does not appear to be Krisâs style, based on other writing samples. She had a Master of Science (M.S.) in Biology and she worked as an environmental consultant to the National Guard. She was a precise, clear, scientific, and articulate writer.
⢠This passage clearly implies that Kris was suffering from Cotardâs syndrome; per WebMD: âPeople with Cotardâs syndrome (also called walking corpse syndrome or Cotardâs delusion) believe that parts of their body are missing, or that they are dying, dead, or donât exist.â We have talked to multiple people who Kris had visited in her January 2003 trip immediately prior to her February 2003 disappearance, and nobody reported any observations of any mental health issues, suicidal ideation, depression, psychosis, nor delusions of any sort. All of the people who discussed Krisâs reported mental health decline stated that they had not personally witnessed any symptoms, but rather, they were told of a rapid decline following Krisâs disappearance.
⢠If Kris thought she was already dead, why would she kill herself?
âPlease contact my parents Bob + Jonnie Snyder at (number redacted) in Dillon, SC if you find me or this note.â
⢠Why would she specify to contact her parents, who lived out-of-state? Why not her partner? Why, in fact, is Heidi, the love of her life and civil union partner not mentioned AT ALL in the entire note?
⢠The inclusion of Krisâs parents as the sole contacts listed in the note contradicts a specific story told at the time of the disappearance alleging that Kris had uncovered memories of abuse during the class and that these purported memories were the reason/a factor in her alleged suicide. But: if that story was true, why would she include her father in the note? It should be noted that there is no evidence whatsoever that Kris was abused. As with the alleged rapid mental health decline, people who reported that story were not told of the purported abuse by Kris themselves, but rather, they were told of the purported abuse allegations after her disappearance. In fact, we even have been given a copy of a text message exchange in which the person who spread this abuse claims refers to it as âthe lie.â This is yet another example of the myriad of inconsistencies and contradictions that plague Krisâs case.
⢠Why mention âDillon, SCâ? There is already a phone number given, so the city/state is irrelevant, and also, it is not her typical style. Again, it seems like someone with a quirky tic to mention a city and state wrote this.
⢠âif you find me or this noteâ is similarly nonsensical. If someone found her but NOT the note, they wouldnât see the note, would they? Again, this oddity of wording is inconsistent with Krisâs typically precise style.
âI am sorry, life, I didnât know I was already dead. May we persist into the future. KRISTN (sic) SNYDERâ
⢠Again, if she thought she was already dead, why would she need to kill herself?
⢠Why is she addressing âlifeâ?
⢠âMay we persist into the futureâ is interesting. âPersist into the futureâ is a phrase used in ecology, which could potentially mean a couple things: a). Kristin wrote this herself; b). Kristin wrote this phrase elsewhere and someone traced/copied it onto the âsuicide noteâ; or c). the writer had seen a document that referred to this phrase and used it.
⢠WHO LEAVES A LETTER OUT OF THEIR OWN NAME???? The second âIâ is missing in âKRISTN.â Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, Kris predominantly wrote in cursive and she typically signed her name in cursive as well. Why, in the most important document of her life, would she BLOCK PRINT her name, and even more bizarre, why would she leave a letter out of her own name? The writer appears to drop letters and cram letters together, but there is no evidence from other writings that Kris did these things.
âNo need to search for my bodyâ
⢠Why was this written on the BACK of the page on the âsuicide noteâ? And why was the note left inside of a notebook to begin with?
⢠Kris was a member of the Anchorage Nordic Ski Patrol, and therefore, she was involved in search and rescue. Therefore, she would already know that THEY WOULD SEARCH FOR HER ANYWAY. Also, more importantly, why would she intentionally hide her own body and therefore put her colleagues/friends on the search and rescue team through the extensive trouble and potential dangers of conducting the search for her?
⢠Why write âmy bodyâ on the back of the page but write âmeâ on the front of the page of the note? That is yet another incongruity.
⢠Why the emphasis on not looking for a body? The writer clearly has a very specific reason to mention this; there is a reason the writer does not want the body found. It is very rare for a person to want to hide his/her own body, and even more rare to be able to successfully do so.
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2024.05.13 22:09 blightsteel101 Guess I've got one for yall
| Nothing too exciting. Just someone that popped into my PMs over a recent comment. I pointed out that incels claiming women would be angry about AI girlfriends seemed to forget that women could just get AI boyfriends if they wanted. I said that by incel logic, they could never compete with a perfectly sculpted robot. submitted by blightsteel101 to IncelTears [link] [comments] |
2024.05.13 21:44 AnExcessiveTalker My permanent retainer came unglued from the last tooth. Am I doing the right thing?
My permanent retainer was installed on my lower teeth 15 years ago when my braces came off. It consists of two metal wires secured to the teeth; they came off the last tooth and unwound and are resting below it.
I got a dentist recommendation from a friend. The dentist quoted $322 to recement it or $769 for a new retainer. Is this what I should expect? Should I recement it to the tooth given that it's 15 years old and it might pop off other teeth later (from reading some dentistry sites, that's not unexpected after 10 years)?
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2024.05.13 21:30 hunter180 There's something wrong with my laptop
Iâm typing this on my phone because Iâm too scared to use my laptop. I threw it into the back of my closet and covered it with clothes to try to dampen the high-pitched ringing sound it keeps emitting, but I can still faintly hear it from where Iâm sitting in the living room. I tried shutting it down â it wouldnât turn off. Doesnât restart either. I closed the screen but that didnât do anything. Tried to let the battery die and once it hit 0%, it stayed on as if it were fully charged. This thing canât be turned off. Iâm sure this all sounds silly and nobody is going to believe me, but there is something wrong with my laptop.
The easiest option would be to just get rid of it but Iâm tight on cash and my job requires a laptop. Iâm a marketing assistant at a small creative agency. Itâs not the most glamorous job, I mostly fill out grids and review decks but it took me nearly a year to find this position. Itâs completely remote which is a plus, the benefits are decent, and the pay is low but itâs something.
I was hired about a month ago. I hadnât bought a laptop since 2017 and I wore out my last one so badly it basically refused to hold a charge and had to be plugged in all the time. I thought it made sense to get a new one â a new job, a fresh laptop, the beginning of a new career era. All the new Apple models are insanely overpriced, well above my price range. I could buy a new one in a few months after I save up a bit, but I needed something asap.
I browsed the internet and found a used electronics site. They refurbish phones and laptops and resell them at an affordable price â perfect. I found a 2022 Mac, placed the order, and it was delivered less than a day later. I actually think there were only three hours between purchasing the laptop and it showing up on my doorstep.
Excited to get it set up, I ripped open the box and sitting atop the neatly packaged laptop was a jet black business card with small white lettering in an odd font choice.
HANTERâs REFURBISHMENTS
Thank you for supporting small businesses. Enjoy your product.
609-3006
Ignoring the card, I threw it away and dug into the laptop. Beautifully dark brushed metal, no trace of fingerprints anywhere. It looked almost new save for a couple of scratches on the underside. I plugged it in, turned it on, made a new user profile, and clicked through the setup guide. The setup screen faded away and the preloaded wallpaper appeared. It didnât really look like the typical Apple wallpapers that weâre all familiar with. Not Big Sur or the Sierra Nevadaâs. It was a landscape photo of a farmhouse sitting in a field of tall yellowing grass, a single oak tree bending its awkward limbs over the decaying porch. There was some dark beauty to it. The sunset behind the farmhouse cast bands of golden light on the grass making it appear as if it were shimmering. Maybe it was taken on the East Coast? Some farm in New England? Didnât really matter to me. I had a new laptop and it was working perfectly. I gave my ancient 2017 one a quick eulogy and tossed it.
â â â
- Good morning! Marie needs the TOOTHPASTE deck to go out by EOD for client review.
-- Morning! Got it, should be ready by afternoon. Iâll upload it to Monday and ping you when itâs up.
- Thanks!! :)
The first time I noticed something was the next day. I was sitting at my desk going over my bosses notes on a deck for some toothpaste commercial when I minimized my Chrome window and saw something I hadnât noticed before. On the front porch of the farmhouse was a figure sitting in a rocking chair. I brought my face closer to the screen to try to make out any details but the farmhouse was so far in the distance, the scale of the figure was smaller than the cursor. It was so tiny I guess I just hadnât noticed the day before. Itâs not like anyone really stares at their computer wallpaper. The figure had a pale white face and was draped in some sort of black cloak but again it was so tiny I was basically making guesses. I shrugged it off and went back to Outlook to keep working â I had a deadline to meet.
My bedroom darkened as evening fell, the only source of light being the blue glow of my laptop. I uploaded the deck and sent a note back to Marie to let her know I was finished. Iâd gotten so caught up in the day that I had forgotten about the figure in the rocking chair. I went back to the wallpaper and studied the landscape again before deciding to just change it to another preloaded one. Something less spooky. I chose a sunrise off a blue coastline.
I love watching Netflix in bed as I fall asleep, so that night I got comfortable and logged in on my laptop to put some Arrested Development on. I mustâve been exhausted because I fell asleep almost immediately. I always just end up sleeping with my laptop either next to me on my comforter or on my nightstand and let the episodes keep going until Netflix realizes Iâm no longer watching. I guess that must've happened, but at around 3:00a I bolted awake to a screeching ringing tone coming from my laptop. It was ear piercingly loud, almost at an unbelievable volume for a laptop. Gone was Arrested Development, the laptop screen was static white like an old VHS tv, illuminating my otherwise pitch black bedroom in a cloudy light. I scrambled to turn the volume down, afraid my neighbors would come banging on my front door, but the sound stopped as quickly as it had begun. The screen went dark, the room went dark, the night got quiet.
I sat and stared bewildered in a drowsy daze at my laptop, the quiet hum of cicadas in the night outside, when suddenly it felt as if I were being watchedâŚ. I could barely see my own hand in front of me. The night seemed darker than usualâŚI slowly turned over my shoulder to the open door of my bedroom and in the darkness I could just make out the faint silhouette of a hunched figure standing right outside the doorway. Staring right at me. My blood chilled, I froze. I fumbled for the lamp on my nightstand and turned it on. Warm light extinguished the blackness. Nothing in the doorwayâŚjust the long stretch of hallway to the living room. It felt kind of similar to that movie that came out last year, Skinamarink. You sit in the darkness of your bedroom long enough that suddenly you start seeing things in the inky black. I thought it was nothing, but I swear I could make out the faintest trace of a pale white face grinning at me.
The next day Iâm back to work as usual, tired from the night before. I clicked out of Chrome to my desktop to open up Adobe when I noticed the farmhouse wallpaper was back⌠It had changed by itself. It wasnât exactly the one from yesterday though, no, the figure wasnât in the rocking chair anymore. Instead, the figure had moved off the porch and was now standing in the field, closer to where the photographer would be. I could really make it out now. A pale white grinning face with distended lips, rotting teeth. That wasnât the worst part though. Where its eyes should be were instead empty pockets of nothing. Just completely grotesque, definitely not a fucking preloaded wallpaper for a laptop. I changed it back to the beach and dug around in my trash can for the refurbishment card that came with the package. I wasnât going to wait around to see what happened. Maybe one of the tech guys there was playing a trick and had programmed some jump scares into the computer or something? Maybe thatâs something they do. Similar to jailbreaking an iPhone or pretending to control someone's computer remotely. I donât know.
I found the card and dialed the number. It rang once before a young woman with a pleasant voice picked up.
- âHi, Hanterâs Refurbishments! How may I help you?â
-- âUm hey I recently ordered a laptop. It came the other day and setup was normal but thereâs something going on with the wallpaper. I changed it but then it changed back by itself and the photo â.â
- âOne moment let me place you on a brief hold. Thank you!â
I hadnât even finished speaking when she cut me off and put me on hold. Hold music began playing, some upbeat jingle shrill enough to drive anyone insane. I sat on hold for twenty minutes, then an hour. I ended the call and tried again, went through the same motions with the same woman only to continuously be placed on hold. Maybe they were really backed up with calls and other people experiencing issues with their orders. I called again and instead of the woman answering, an automated voice greeted me and sent me to hold immediately. Fuck it. I decided to wait it out. The fucking jingle was boring a hole into my head â the most annoyingly enthusiastic hold music. I couldâve strangled someone.
Suddenly the music stopped. Finally, someone was becoming available to help me. But instead of the call being redirected to a person, the automated voice returned with a simple
âGoodbye!â
And the call dropped.
I screamed, I literally screamed out of agony, out of pure fucking frustration.
I turned back to my laptop. The wallpaper changed itself again, back to the farmhouse and the pale faced thing. It moved in the field again. It was getting closer. Gaping holes for eyes, distended lips wet with saliva. It looked like it was laughing at my misery.
I left my laptop closed on my desk that night. No Netflix tonight, I needed to sleep and didnât want the computer near me. I scrolled on TikTok for a bit before I dozed offâŚ
The jingle woke me.
The fucking hold music. I picked up my phone in my fatigue thinking maybe Hanterâs was calling me back. It wasnât coming from my phone. It was coming from my closed laptop.
I looked to the doorway, thinking the figure from the night before would be back, before getting out of bed and crossing to my laptop to shut it off. I opened the laptop and a wave of nausea crashed over me. The pale faced thing was even closer. The farmhouse was barely visible now, its face nearly filling the entire screen. Still grinning, still laughing. Bits of red stuff wedged in its teeth.
No matter how many times I held the power button, nothing was happening. It wasnât shutting down, the jingle wasnât stopping.
I fucking cracked. At that point I didnât give a fuck if I needed the laptop for work. I picked it up and smashed it on the floor. Threw it again and again till the screen was shattered and keys were flying off. I just needed the jingle to stop and the pale face to be gone. I threw it down one last time with a final blow, satisfied with the damage Iâd caused.
I picked the laptop up thinking it would be dead, but the screen was still glowing with light. Through the splintered glass of the screen I could see the farmhouse, the field of yellowing grass, the rocking chair, the oak tree â everything was there except for the pale faced thing. As if my havoc had caused it to flee the wallpaper.
The screen flickered off. The room went black. The cicadas outside filled the silence.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up.
It felt as if I were being watched.
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