Who is Tristan Da Silva?
Tristan Da Silva is a 6'9" tweener forward coming off a standout senior year at Colorado. Known for his versatile offensive skills akin to Kyle Kuzma, Tristan is this year's "Most Likely to Be Jaime Jaquez Jr." winner. He's set to immediately contribute as a valuable role player in the NBA.
Da Silva is intelligent, adaptable, and performs well both on and off the ball. His ability to thrive as a #3 or #4 scoring option—spotting up from three, attacking closeouts, and exploiting mismatches—makes him a potent offensive threat. Yet, questions linger about his transition to the NBA due to his athletic, strength, and length limitations. In college he was a solid defender but due to his physical limitations his defense is a big question mark for me.
NBA Fit:
I'm all in on players who bring versatility and a high basketball IQ to the table. Da Silva fits this mold perfectly as a high-floor, low-ceiling prospect likely to excel as either a starter or a key bench player, depending on the team's needs. Ideally, he should be paired with a strong, versatile forward or a defensive anchor to compensate for his limitations.
Da Silva is on my short list of players I would love for the Raptors to draft at #19. His fit next to Scottie and Co. is arguably the best out of the available prospects when we will be selecting. Furthermore, Da Silva is ready to contribute today and fits the BBQ timeline. If he can become the high end role player that I think he can be he would be a perfect forward to pair with Scottie.
Strengths:

• Versatile offensive player
• Smart player
• Makes good cuts
• Uses his size on mismatches
• Has some 3-level scoring potential with step back middys off the dribble
• Has a little back to the basket game with short hooks when guarded by smaller defenders
• Not afraid to shoot the ball
• Capable of creating his own offense
• He was the guy at Colorado
• Is a smart and willing passer
• Has a nice turnaround jumper
• Shows ability to create offense off of screens
• Good shooter
• Knows how to get open with off ball movement
• Has projectable NBA role as a versatile scoring forward able to play off ball and provide on ball creation in a pinch.
• Can go coast-to-coast off rebounds
• Not afraid to take big shots
• Good hands on defense
• Smart team defender
• Has a high motor on defense. Willing to do the little things.
• Can protect the rim in a pinch as a help defender

Weaknesses:

• Not very athletic
• Not very long
• Will his lack of athleticism limit his ability to create his offense
• Needs to get stronger if he is going to be a PF/SF
• He is the definition of a tweener. He is not athletic enough to be a wing but he is not strong enough and lacks the frame for an NBA power forward
• Will he be able to get all the way to the hole in the NBA?
• Seemed to struggle when guarded by larger defenders where he isn’t able to leverage his size
• Will his defense transfer in the NBA?
• Questions about his lateral quickness when switched onto quick wings and guards
• Questions about his strength when asked to guard true power forwards
• He will most likely never be a good rebounder

Stats and Analytics:
Here are Tristan Da Silva’s senior year stats and advanced stats at Colorado:
Senior Year Stats:

• GP/GS: 34/34
• Minutes: 33.8
• FG%: 49.3
• 3PT%: 39.5 on 4.8 3PA
• FT%: 83.5
• Rebounds: 5.1
• Assists: 2.4
• Steals: 1.1
• Blocks: 0.6
• Points: 16.0

Advanced Stats (Senior Year):

• PER: 19.8
• Offensive BPM: 5.0
• Defensive BPM: 2.1
• Overall BPM: 7.1
• Usage Rate: 22.5%
• True Shooting %: 60.6%
  
• Isolation & Driving: Only 3.6% of possessions in isolation and drove 8.4% of the time, highlighting limited on-ball activity.
  
• Spot-Up Shooting:
  
  • Ranks in the 94th percentile for spot-up scoring with 1.237 points per possession (PPP) this season.
  • 82nd percentile in shooting off the catch with 1.19 PPP.
  • Shot 40.3% from three overall, increasing to 48.1% when unguarded.
• Historical Performance:
  
  • Last season, scored 1.11 PPP in spot-up situations (84th percentile) and 1.21 PPP shooting off the catch (85th percentile).
  • Shot 39.6% from three last season.

NBA Comparison:
Tristan shows elements of both Kyle Kuzma and Jaime Jaquez Jr. in his style of play, offering a promising outlook for his NBA career.
Game Tape:
For a closer look at Da Silva’s playing style and skills, check out his game tape here.
What are your thoughts on Tristan's fit in the NBA? Let's discuss!

Who is Tristan Da Silva?
Tristan Da Silva is a 6'9" tweener forward coming off a standout senior year at Colorado. Known for his versatile offensive skills akin to Kyle Kuzma, Tristan is this year's "Most Likely to Be Jaime Jaquez Jr." winner. He's set to immediately contribute as a valuable role player in the NBA.
Da Silva is intelligent, adaptable, and performs well both on and off the ball. His ability to thrive as a #3 or #4 scoring option—spotting up from three, attacking closeouts, and exploiting mismatches—makes him a potent offensive threat. Yet, questions linger about his transition to the NBA due to his athletic, strength, and length limitations. In college he was a solid defender but due to his physical limitations his defense is a big question mark for me.
NBA Fit:
I'm all in on players who bring versatility and a high basketball IQ to the table. Da Silva fits this mold perfectly as a high-floor, low-ceiling prospect likely to excel as either a starter or a key bench player, depending on the team's needs. Ideally, he should be paired with a strong, versatile forward or a defensive anchor to compensate for his limitations.
Strengths:

• Versatile offensive player
• Smart player
• Makes good cuts
• Uses his size on mismatches
• Has some 3-level scoring potential with step back middys off the dribble
• Has a little back to the basket game with short hooks when guarded by smaller defenders
• Not afraid to shoot the ball
• Capable of creating his own offense
• He was the guy at Colorado
• Is a smart and willing passer
• Has a nice turnaround jumper
• Shows ability to create offense off of screens
• Good shooter
• Knows how to get open with off ball movement
• Has projectable NBA role as a versatile scoring forward able to play off ball and provide on ball creation in a pinch.
• Can go coast-to-coast off rebounds
• Not afraid to take big shots
• Good hands on defense
• Smart team defender
• Has a high motor on defense. Willing to do the little things.
• Can protect the rim in a pinch as a help defender

Weaknesses:

• Not very athletic
• Not very long
• Will his lack of athleticism limit his ability to create his offense
• Needs to get stronger if he is going to be a PF/SF
• He is the definition of a tweener. He is not athletic enough to be a wing but he is not strong enough and lacks the frame for an NBA power forward
• Will he be able to get all the way to the hole in the NBA?
• Seemed to struggle when guarded by larger defenders where he isn’t able to leverage his size
• Will his defense transfer in the NBA?
• Questions about his lateral quickness when switched onto quick wings and guards
• Questions about his strength when asked to guard true power forwards
• He will most likely never be a good rebounder

Stats and Analytics:
Here are Tristan Da Silva’s senior year stats and advanced stats at Colorado:
Senior Year Stats:

• GP/GS: 34/34
• Minutes: 33.8
• FG%: 49.3
• 3PT%: 39.5 on 4.8 3PA
• FT%: 83.5
• Rebounds: 5.1
• Assists: 2.4
• Steals: 1.1
• Blocks: 0.6
• Points: 16.0

Advanced Stats (Senior Year):

• PER: 19.8
• Offensive BPM: 5.0
• Defensive BPM: 2.1
• Overall BPM: 7.1
• Usage Rate: 22.5%
• True Shooting %: 60.6%
  
• Isolation & Driving: Only 3.6% of possessions in isolation and drove 8.4% of the time, highlighting limited on-ball activity.
  
• Spot-Up Shooting:
  
  • Ranks in the 94th percentile for spot-up scoring with 1.237 points per possession (PPP) this season.
  • 82nd percentile in shooting off the catch with 1.19 PPP.
  • Shot 40.3% from three overall, increasing to 48.1% when unguarded.
• Historical Performance:
  
  • Last season, scored 1.11 PPP in spot-up situations (84th percentile) and 1.21 PPP shooting off the catch (85th percentile).
  • Shot 39.6% from three last season.

NBA Comparison:
Tristan shows elements of both Kyle Kuzma and Jaime Jaquez Jr. in his style of play, offering a promising outlook for his NBA career.
Game Tape:
For a closer look at Da Silva’s playing style and skills, check out his game tape here.
What are your thoughts on Tristan's fit in the NBA? Let's discuss!

Hopefully this doesn't come off as some sort of incel post or whatever
I'm a normal dude tbh. Not too short, not ugly nor good looking. Face is sort of puffy/fat but it's been that forever to the point where I think it's genetics. I can hold a conversation pretty well. I'm decently active: go to the gym 4/week and play pickup basketball. I have an ok paying job. My male friends describe me as someone you'll never get bored around so I guess that's a good thing.
With all that being said, I've never had a girlfriend. I've been hopelessly in love countless times but never to any reception. Dating apps are something I've used since turning 18, believe it or not all these years later and no real success. I never really capitalized on the environment that college provided for me. Was decently outgoing but never really found someone who was remotely interested in me romantically or sexually. I don't know how everyone else did it
It does suck. Going outside and seeing couples at the store, restaurant or whatever. Social media is full of this. For whatever reason instagram has been recommending posts about love and pictures of relationship goals and that doesn't help. Few of my friends are in such strong relationships that I hardly ever see them anymore. Whenever I call their girl picks up and says they're busy. And don't get me started on airplanes. Because whenever I fly I'll always watch something like Notebook or Benjamin Button and feel dead inside because I've never experienced something like that in a quarter century. My brother is 17 and I saw him the other night carrying and kissing some mystery girl. I wish I could relate. I wish I had someone I could kiss in the car over the bluffs and spin around in the rain.
Starting to lose hope tbh. It feels even worse now when you see your friends less due to becoming busy with work as well as spending time with their gfs, and you feel so lonely.

The novel begins September 3, 2006, a Sunday. In "physical time," our reality, Andre Agassi played and lost his final match of his career. Steve Irwin, the croc hunter, would die the following day from a stingray's three barbed venomous spinal blades puncturing his heart. Senator Barak Obama was still denying he was intending to run for President (he would announce in February 2007.) The number 1 song in America and the UK is Sexyback by Justin Timberlake. Egypt warned of Palestinian terror attacks against Israelis vacationing in Sinai. Charlie Sheen turned 41. 200 Taliban are killed in a major battle in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Iraqi leaders announce the capture of the #2 leader of Al Qaeda. Europe's space agency purposely crash-lands a lunar probe into the moon.
In short, nothing, on balance seems to have happened in the world that has any particular world-historical or even US-historical import. Just a day. Even searching back 4 extra days from September 3 - since we are told that the man viewing the art installation is now on his fifth straight day in the museum - nothing all that *important* seems to have happened on any of those dates, the way saying a novel is starting on June 6, 1944, or (obviously) September 10, 2001, or July 16, 1945 or November 22, 1962 would be of course trying to tell us something.
Q: why is Delillo's purpose (is there one?) for telling us this specific date? Why is it important that the man is there on September 3, 2006 watching this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a31q2ZQcETw over and over.
Q: who is the man? Delillo himself? Just a random unnamed character? Is it definitely Finley and Elster who are the two men who come into the room? The description of the older man "long white hair braided at the nape" [p.7, Scribner] certainly seems to suggest it is Elster, described in Ch. 1 as a man "with silvery hair, as always, was braided down into a short ponytail." If it is definitely them, what does it mean they attended a museum show together? Anything?
This is not the first Delillo novel to open with a scene where a movie, and anonymous characters' responses to watching it, is central to the narrative - Players opens with a movie being shown on a plane that is basically a silent movie of a terrorist machine-gun attack on waspy golfers, only accompanied by a pianist (yes a pianist) in the airplane bar filling in the suspense with improvised show tunes - and it is not the first to open with an examination of an art installation - Underworld, after the fantastic baseball game section - opens at Klara Sax's airplane bomber art installation commune. But this opening seems to introduce two characters obliquely, and of course only if you've paid close attention to the description of Elster's hair could you think back to it being him, perhaps.
"The nature of the film permitted total concentration and also depended on it." "The less there was to see, the harder he looked, the more he saw." [p.5, Scribner]
Q:Who is this person watching and why should we care?
Q: Did the opening sequence provide you any insight other than , perhaps, confusion? Something other than "what the hell did I just read?" What? Does your reaction to the opening sequence change when you know (if you did before this post) that the Psycho installation was and is real?
Moving on to Chapter 1 [p. 17, Scribner], we learn that we are on Day 10 of a 12-day period of time that relates the initial relationship between Elster and Finley. Finley, who is probably in his early to mid-30s and 73-year-old Elster are spending time at Elster's house in the desert to record a one-take movie of Elster's testimony of what it was like to serve in an administration that went to war under less than honest circumstances.
Our narrator is Jim Finley, a documentary filmmaker who has made exactly one film about Jerry Lewis's telethon appearances - Lewis, a "rampaging comic" to whom Elster would merely be a "straight man." [p.27] Elster, who Finley also describes as "not a man who might make space for even the gentlest correction," [p.22] is a non-political theorist being brought in to an administration to provide narrative to their war. I've seen references to him being based on Paul Wolfowitz, the political scientists who became Deputy SecDef in the Bush II Administration who famously nearly swallowed his comb to wet it to comb his hair in an image that likely sealed his fate in D.C. as unserious and ridiculous who was then shuffled off to the World Bank, but would Delillo ape the man AND mention him in the narrative? If so, that seems clumsy.
Q: Do you even take Elster serious as a character or believable as a "brain" behind the narrative of an administration going to war? A man who speaks in bad koans and aphorisms like "Time becomes blind." [p.23] and who reads Louis Zukovsky into the night? (Zukovsky famously worked on an epic poem called "A" for over almost 50 years, finally finishing it a few years before his death in 1978.)
Finley tells us: "To Elster, sunset was human invention, our perceptual arrangement of light and space into elements of wonder." [p.18, Scribner]. Elster has come to the desert to seek - something - we know not what and are not told definitively - but his narrative of what his role was in Washington was to create a interpretation of the "closed world" for the "plotters, the strategists" [p. 28] and ends up delivering to Finley what I think Finley was after - the cynical idea that Elster was giving form and shape to the government's bullshit narrative - "The state has to lie. There is no lie in war or in preparation for war that can't be defended. We went beyond this. We tried to create new realities overnight, careful sets of words that resemble advertising slogans in memorability and repeatability."
Q: Is Elster ultimately right? Did the country have a "shadowy need" [p.34] for such a narrative? See, for instance: "Let's roll." [probably in reality, "Let's roll it" referring to a beverage cart to break into the cockpit.]
"Shock and awe." "Global War on Terror" "Slam dunk" "WMDs" "The Surge" And perhaps most infamously "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques"
At the ends of the chapter, we get what counts as a cliffhanger in this slim novel: Elster's adult daughter would be coming for a visit, Jessie who was "otherworldly" [p. 36].

[I wrote this article about Macbeth for my college's newspaper, and I thought this subreddit might enjoy reading it!]
I have joked before that Shakespeare’s two favorite subjects–surpassing love, murder, madness, and crossdressing–are botany and birds. If you’ve been to New York City you might be aware of the “Shakespeare Garden” in Central Park, whose theoretical aim (though it proves nigh-impossible in practice) is to house specimens of all the plants which Shakespeare mentions in his plays. As it turns out, Bard quotes make for quite a diverse garden: there are roses which assuredly would smell as sweet by any other name; there are daffodils, that come before the swallow dares, and take the winds of March with beauty; there’s holly, heigh-ho; there’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance, there’s pansies, that’s for thoughts, there’s fennel for you, and columbines–no word on whether or not they could find any violets, though. I suppose there’s no objection to be made against those who complain that Shakespeare’s language is “flowery”; even as vicious a villain as Iago deigns to express his philosophy on life by way of botanical metaphor: “Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners.” And, of course, the plot of A Midsummer Night’s Dream revolves around a magical flower which makes people fall in love.
I doubt anyone will object to my claiming of birds as Shakespeare’s other poetical fixation: I suspect that the majority of falconry knowledge which most non-falconers have today comes from reading footnotes in their copies of Shakespeare plays, explaining exactly what Richard II means by “How high a pitch his resolution soars,” or why Hamlet says “Hillo, ho, ho” to Marcellus. But while plants are so common in Shakespeare that I don’t know of one play which we might say is especially densely forested with references to them, there is one play that stands out as particularly full of birds in comparison with the rest of the Shakespearean canon. That play is Macbeth.
This is the sort of thing that one only notices after having read a play so many times that the actual events of the plot become akin to the meter of a poem–beats which must be hit, and which start to feel so natural that one hardly notices them–and one’s attention drifts away from the big, important speeches and toward the more utilitarian words and odd little moments that bridge them. I am not the first to point it out, but it is, all the same, a delightful quirk of the play, and could be a good way for Sophomores to throw their classmates for a loop in seminar [Note: Students at our college study Macbeth during their Sophomore year.]: why are there so many birds in Macbeth?
KING. Dismay’d not this/Our captains, Macbeth and Banquo? SERG. Yes,/As sparrows eagles… -Act I, Scene II
LADY. …The raven himself is hoarse/That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan… -Act I, Scene V
BAN. This guest of summer,/The temple-haunting martlet, does approve/By his loved mansionry, that the heaven’s breath/Smells wooingly here: no jutty, frieze/Buttress, nor coign of vantage, but this bird/Hath made his pendent bed and procreant cradle… -Act I, Scene VI
LADY. Hark! Peace! It was the owl that shriek’d, the fatal bellman… -Act II, Scene II
LADY. I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry. -Act II, Scene II
PORTER. …come in, tailor; here you may roast your goose… -Act II, Scene III
PORTER. ‘Faith, sir, we were carousing till the second cock… -Act II, Scene III
LENNOX. New hatch’d to the woeful time: the obscure bird/Clamour’d the livelong night… -Act II, Scene III
OLD MAN. …On Tuesday last,/A falcon, towering in her pride of place,/Was by a mousing owl hawk’d at and kill’d. -Act II, Scene IV
MACBETH. …Light thickens; and the crow/Makes wing to the rooky wood… -Act III, Scene II
MACBETH. If charnel-houses and our graves must send/Those that we bury back, our monuments/Shall be the maws of kites. -Act III, Scene IV
MACBETH. Augurs and understood relations have/By magot pies and choughs and rooks brought forth/The secret’st man of blood. -Act III, Scene IV
LADY MACDUFF. …the poor wren,/the most diminutive of birds, will fight,/Her young ones in her nest, against the owl. -Act IV, Scene II
LADY MACDUFF. How will you live? SON. As birds do, mother. LADY MACDUFF. What, with worms and flies? SON. With what I get, I mean; and so do they. LADY MACDUFF. Poor bird! Thou’ldst never fear the net nor lime,/The pitfall nor the gin? SON. Why should I, mother? Poor birds they are not set for. -Act IV, Scene II
FIRST MURDERER. What, you egg! -Act IV, Scene II
MACDUFF. …there cannot be/That vulture in you… -Act IV, Scene III
MACDUFF. …O hell-kite! All?/What, all my pretty chickens and their dam/At one fell swoop? -Act IV, Scene III
MACBETH. The devil damn thee black, thou cream-faced loon!/Where got’st thou that goose look? SERVANT. There is ten thousand– MACBETH. Geese, villain? -Act V, Scene III
Above I have listed every ornithological reference that I’ve found in the Scottish Play; as we peruse them, we certainly cannot conclude that every individual reference is of the same kind, or carries the same import. I will not pretend, for example, that, just because geese and ravens are both birds, the Porter’s invitation for the imagined English tailor to cook his goose in Hell merits as much attention as Lady Macbeth’s ominous declaration that “the raven himself is hoarse”. Nor do I think that any individual reference particularly demands explication; by itself, any one of these bird-invocations seems perfectly natural. Shakespeare’s talent is such that he can repeat a motif in such a way that on the macro level it is obvious yet on the micro level it hardly feels present. But that macro level is what interests me here: what impression is created, on the whole, by the presence of so many birds in this play? I have a theory, which, though it may seem far-fetched, I think merits at least some consideration, and which, at the very least, I have not seen stated elsewhere, and so may make a novel contribution to the conversation.
Macbeth is both Shakespeare’s most supernatural tragedy and his most Sophoclean; these two superlatives are inextricably related. The appellative Weird given to the opening scene’s three Sisters–derived from the Old English wyrd, meaning destiny, and famously given its more familiar connotation by Shakespeare himself in this very play–is, among the Bard’s works, unique to Macbeth; and just as that word appears nowhere else in Shakespeare, so is the concept it represents absent in all tragedies but this one. Though Hamlet may cry out against outrageous fortune, and though Othello may rhetoricize about how no man can control his fate, it is only in Macbeth that we truly feel that the events we see play out before us are fated, predestined, inevitable. [See Note 1.] The ghost in Hamlet commands his son to revenge his foul and most unnatural murder, but does not tell him it is certain that he will succeed; indeed, would not the drama be sapped of its intrigue if that level of certainty were present? Meanwhile, the supernatural interlopers in Macbeth offer the Scottish thane not a mission, but a prophecy: All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king hereafter! From its mystical opening word–When, not If–the Scottish play makes us aware of the certainty of all that is to befall our tragic antihero. Macbeth is thus a different sort of tragedy than Shakespeare’s others, and it works by an inverted mechanism. While the tragedy of, for example, Desdemona’s death is that it may have been prevented, the tragedy of Macbeth’s destruction is that it represents the fulfilment of fate; and this is the very same mechanism by which Oedipus Rex operates, complete with its own “Weird” character in the form of the seer Tiresias. Though Calvin managed to accept that some men are destined for greatness and others for ruin, this idea is, to Shakespeare and Sophocles, nothing short of agonizing–the stuff of tragedy.
Now: what does all of this have to do with birds? Consider these words from Antigone, spoken by Tiresias to Creon:
You shall learn, when you hear the indications of my art! As I took my place on my ancient seat for observing birds, where I can mark every bird of omen I heard a strange sound among them, since they were screeching with dire, incoherent frenzy and I knew that they were tearing each other with bloody claws, for there was a whirring of wings that made it clear… (Lloyd-Jones translation)
Consider next these words from Oedipus Tyrannus, spoken defensively by Oedipus to Tiresias:
Why, come, tell me, how can you be a true prophet? Why when the versifying hound was here did not you speak some word that could release the citizens? Indeed, her riddle was not one for the first comer to explain! It required prophetic skill, and you were exposed as having no knowledge from the birds or from the gods. No, it was I that came, Oedipus who knew nothing, and put a stop to her; I hit the mark by native wit, not by what I learned from birds. (Lloyd-Jones translation)
The practice of divining the future from birds–be it from their behaviors, their cries, or their innards–was, to Sophocles and his contemporaries, not superstitious hokum, but a practical science at which one could be skilled or unskilled, and it bodes ill for Oedipus that he is so quick to disregard it in favor of his own native wit. [See Note 2] By Shakespeare’s day, the practice had long been relegated to the realm of outdated hocus-pocus, but the Bard still saw some truth in it; in Macbeth, there is a recurring sense that, when the world is sick with some great wrong, its first symptoms manifest in the behavior of birds. When the “fatal bellman” the owl shrieks in the night, Lady Macbeth takes it as a sign that her husband is about his bloody business. The day after the murder of Duncan, as Ross converses with an Old Man about the strange things they’ve seen the previous night, “unnatural/Even as the deed that’s done”, the killing of a falcon by a mousing-owl–an omen straight out of Sophocles–is mentioned before the madness and cannibalism of Duncan’s horses, even though the latter would surely be more immediately noticeable and ghastly than the former.
These are the most obvious examples of birds as ill omens in Macbeth; yet even the more innocuous invocations of birds throughout the rest of the play continually turn our thoughts back to the ancient Greek understanding of fate and prophecy, and thereby remind us that, however savagely he may fight at Dunsinane, Macbeth’s fate is as fixed as that of Oedipus. The birds have already foretold all.
Note 1: The closest thing there is to this kind of fatalness in another Shakespearean tragedy is the several superstitious occurrences in Julius Caesar–both the soothsayer’s message of “Beware the ides of March” and the bestial portents such as the lack of a heart in an offering and the whelping of a lioness in the streets. Still, I will insist that these omens do not convey a sense of fatedness to the audience as strongly as the Weird Sisters in Macbeth by virtue of their being told to Caesar himself, not to Brutus, the play’s true protagonist, and by the fact that Shakespeare elsewhere uses dialogue to throw some doubt upon the idea of predestination: "Men at some times are masters of their fates:/The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,/But in ourselves, that we are underlings." -I.ii
Note 2: The Liddell-Scott Greek Lexicon identifies at least two separate verbs referring to bird-based divination, both of which are present in the quoted passages: Tiresias uses ορνϊθοσκοπέομαι, observe birds, interpret their flight and cries, while Oedipus uses οιωνίζομαι, take omens from the flight and cries of birds. The latter term comes from οιωνος, a large bird, bird of prey, such as a vulture or eagle, and so distinguished from a common bird, while the former comes from ορνις, which more generally refers to a bird, including birds of prey and domestic fowls. Birds of both kinds are present in Macbeth; there are οιωναι, such as the “falcon, towering in her pride of place”, as well as ορνες, like the Porter’s goose and cock. I therefore see little value in interrogating the kinds of birds invoked by Shakespeare, the specific cultural associations and significance of the owl, the raven, or the wren; rather, if we reduce them down to their barest existence as birds, animals of the class Aves, and consider them in an ancient Greek light, then things become a bit clearer.

Hey there! Looking for some new people to talk to, down to chat about pretty much anything as long as you can somewhat hold a conversation haha. Not really great at writing these things so I'll just list off some of my interests and things I'm looking for.
About me:
-i like watching sports; baseball, hockey, F1, sometimes basketball.
-i love video games, I play mostly on my PC, but I also have a PS5 and a switch. Right now I'm mostly playing dota 2 and r6 siege, but I have and play a lot of other stuff too.
-I have two cats that I love to death, totally down to show you how cute they are!
I love movies, I have a pretty large physical movie collection of blu rays and 4ks, I especially love horror but I'll watch most genres.
-I also enjoy music a lot, mostly metal, but also pop punk, pop, rap, country, and some other random stuff too. I've been to A LOT of concerts over the past 10 years but haven't been to many recently.
-im pretty introverted, I work a lot and when I'm not working I like to pretty much stay in and relax for the most part.
-i work night shift, i I have a pretty unorthodox schedule and sleep during the day and I'm up all night haha
I have 6 tattoos!
I don't smoke or drink, I don't really mind or care if you do though!
Physically im 6 foot tall hazel eyes with glasses and short brown hair. Medium build, a bit of a dad bod.
That's pretty much it, I'm sure there's a lot more I could include but I'll save that for later. Now here's some things I'm looking for!
What I'm looking for:
-someone who can somewhat hold a conversation and is actually interested in getting to know each other
-down to share selfies and possibly down to voice chat in the near future
down to switch to another platform, I don't really want to use the chat feature on here, sorry.
-open to the possibility of something flirty, and or just friendship. I'm not strictly looking for friendship only.
That's mostly it I think. Shoot me a message with a little about yourself if you're interested

Remember: Don’t be sad bc sad backwards is das and das not good!
Hope you’re doing well!!
Someone always needs at least one person to talk to even if it’s just for a short time and I’d like to provide that support bc we don’t like seeing people down!
We can talk about anything you’re into or even things we have in common. Some things I’m into are:

• sports (basketball, soccefutbol, American football mainly)
  
• anime/manga/manhua/webtoons (always looking for recommendations!)
  
• video games
  
• Naps!
  

I also work in healthcare so if I do delay in replying, could be due to me having just passed out from being tired haha
Anyways, thanks for reading and have a good rest of your day :)

Oh you're still here? Here's a few things about me then~
I am really into writing! I have a few short stories written that you can read. I'm also pretty into roleplay and dnd so I write a lot for those. I usually do sci-fi, romance and horror.
I am an enjoyer of basketball (if you know you know). We can talk about nba drama, our favorite teams, players. If you play we can talk about that too. Anything really.
I enjoy hiking a lot. I have tons of pictures if you wanna see them. I used to live in Hawaii so you can also ask me about that wonderful place.
I love science fiction if you ever want to chat me up about shows, movies, or games. I can talk about literally anything.
Philosophy and psychology are really interesting to me. I could talk for hours about paradoxes, evolutionary psychology, among other things.
Saving one of my favorite things for last is music. I like pretty much everything. I'm mostly into rnb, soul, hiphop, rap, and jazz, however I can appreciate every genre. Even classical music! Don't even get me started in how much I love fugues lol.
Anyway this post is coming to a close. I'd like to warn that I have really bad anxiety and I am 99% sure I am autistic so yeah. If you think we might vibe then send me a chat! Whether you want to stay for a couple minutes, a couple hours, a couple days, months, years, or maybe even forever! Also if you need to vent I am happy to listen. I promise I don't bite and contrary to my posts I'm not sad all the time. If you've read this far tell me your ideal date idea! Also include your age and gender in your message! Thanks!
-Izzy

A short Zuihitsu poem I strung together for the monthly prompt, "New and Old".
Morning. Monday. The sun peeks between the cracks of my window blinds, spilling out onto my floor. He’s tentative – he’d rather not wake me too strenuously, but I have to get out of bed.
A boy wanders under a freeway – aimless, he is – with his little brown eyes surveying the rubbled ground. It’s dark and noisy and clammy down here, but a flash of silver jumps out to grab ahold of his flashlight and yank him its way.
I haven’t forgotten anything, have I? Keys, coat, wallet; I’m always on a time crunch even when I’m not.
Drive to work: upbeat, perfervid, vivacious.
The fork the boy picks up is antique, ancient, like it’d been dumped straight out of a tear in time into the wrong era. It tries to speak to him and tell him all about its endeavors, but the rust coating it muffles its voice.
I’m wearing a new suit today; I bought it a little while back, although the saleswoman wasn't sure I could afford it. Well, I proved her wrong – and as I traipse into the office with as much vigor as I can muster, I wonder if any of my colleagues will comment on it.
My old suit was tiresome and down-at-the-heels. It pioneered for a great while and served its purpose grand and supplemental – I rescued a dog in it, I was promoted in it, I tore a hole in it.
“I mean, it’s corroded–
No one has a lick to say to me about my new suit, but I linger patiently for it anyway – an offhanded quip or a, “hey, nice suit”. I spend the day waiting for something that doesn’t want to arrive.
Had to get that hole stitched up, by the way. It was a whole lot of trouble. I’d hired this old babushka to do it, but she wouldn’t stop giving me dirty looks, as if I did something to offend her. Maybe I looked at one of her thousand cats the wrong way, or pushed open the door to her abode too loudly.
The boy carries his fork all the way home like a lost kitten. He steals – borrows, more accurately – his parent’s tools so he can polish it up all mutton-fisted. For hours upon end, he scrapes away at the rust, fleck by fleck, until the fork's voice isn’t so stifled.
Drive to home: dreary, tedious, toilworn.
–and what’s so great about a used-up fork, anyway? You might as well throw it away and buy a new one, you know? I wouldn’t go through all that trouble.”
As soon as I’m home, I take off my new suit. I place it in the wash. Run a cycle; squeaky clean. I crawl into bed.
His parents remark about the fork that night when the boy uses it to eat dinner. He should sell it off at a pawnshop, they’d simultaneously said; he’ll fetch a good price for it. He argues otherwise. It’s pretty and besides, finders, keepers!
Anyway, I ended up throwing out that old suit. I grew weary and bored of it.
Morning. Tuesday. The sun bulldozes through the cracks of my window blinds, pouring out onto my floor. He’s unabashed – he wants me to know loud and clear I have to get out of bed and wear my suit again.

⁠⁠⁠Age: 32
Description: 5'5" I have a beard I intend to keep.
No rush on your end but I will send photo immediately.
⁠⁠⁠Age Range that you would want/require in a prospect: 26 to 39ish
Location: Northern Virginia. Looking for someone from NOVA as well.
Ethnicity: Parents from Cambodia but I am open to all ethnicities.
Status: Never married but open to single, divorced, single moms, etc. NOT open to polygny.
Timeline: 6 months - 1 year
Five important characteristics you look for in a prospect: Compassionate. Nurturing. Playful. Practicing. Health conscious.
Religiosity: Pray daily prayers. Follow the 5 pillars. Trying to be better with knowledge of the history/teachings
Level of education, and what are you looking for? I have a bachelors but it's not required. Education is good though and doesnt ever hurt.
⁠⁠⁠Current Job Status: Full time and from home.
Children: I want children and only interested in women that want or already have children.
Hobbies, or things you like to do in your free time: Basketball. Hiking. Sports. Video games. Hope to become a reader.
Add something short and interesting about you that makes you stand out!
I'm not very fancy but I do have a Premium Costco and Premium Barnes and Noble membership.
I'm allergic but still want a cat as a pet. Inshallah there is a Russian Blue in my future.

I realized that all my life I’ve loved to write way more than a normal person would. I would sit on the computer for hours writing stories as a kid. Throughout my life I’ve written short film scripts, fiction novels, so many lists of other things I liked, analyzed characters, make songs. I write poems like every second of the day. In middle school i was inspired by “The Raven” wanted to be a writer and would write stories to read to the class and scary poems. My favorite class was ELA because sometimes we’d get to write creative writing or argumentative essays. I don’t do hours of research about writing because honestly learning grammar and structures just makes it not as fun for me and I don’t read much real books but I read an extreme amount of fanfiction and lately comic books too. I consume a lot of tv and animated media which when you think about it is all about storytelling. I like to listen to people talk like audiobooks when it’s a real book. These are some of the reasons I didn’t think writing could be considered a special interest because most my special interests I know so much about that I infodump facts about it a lot but i realized that most people don’t write as excessively as I do and I didn’t even realize but I was infodumping to a friend about some stories I’ve written and realized that it’s really been my life long interest.

Hey there, I graduated college last year and now that I have been working and have some money, looking to get myself a late graduation gift, and start my watch collection. Does anyone have any recommendations? Budget is around $500 but could increase if I find something I really like.
Update for more info:
I work in construction management, so now that I think about it wouldn’t wear it to work. I live in Hawaii so nothing too big and clunky. Love to play basketball and weight lift but wouldn’t wear it during those activities either. My clothing style is casual, shorts/slacks and polos usually, a lot of linen clothes.

I (24f) have a sister-in-law (31) who is in the process of transitioning to female. She's been transitioning for about 2 years now (I've been with my spouse for 3). She's already quite feminine in appearance, with features that many would associate with femininity.(she literally has better eyebrows than me, thicker and longer hair to style,etc.) However, she seems hesitant to fully embrace her feminine side in her clothing choices.(she wears tornup hoodies, basketball shorts, tennis shoes and tees with holes in them)
I want to support her and help her feel more confident in expressing herself, but she seems insecure about it. She's interested in girly things (she does her nails and makeup regularly, which she doesnt need makeup she is beautiful and feminine w/o it) but avoids dressing in a way that reflects that. I've offered to go shopping with her (which she has tried on stuff with me before) and even offer to buy her clothes, but she's hesitant and insecure.
How can I help her feel more comfortable and confident in her own skin? I don't want to force her into anything, but I'd love to gently encourage her to explore different styles that align with her identity. Whether it's jeans and button-ups/sweaters or girly tees (like just a v neck), I just want to help her feel more comfortable as a woman. Any advice on how to approach this delicately would be appreciated. Thank you.

Hello all,
I'm looking for the best blogging/self-publishing platform where I can publish my stuff and hopefully get paid. I write short stories (usually around 10000 words), essays (on topics like mental health, food, music, politics), poems, and really just very random little pieces about whatever interests me (a lot of it has to do with the everyday agony of life). I'm hoping to find a site where all my stuff fits in, to avoid having to subscribe to multiple platforms. Please let me know if there's one you think would work for me.
Thanks for your help!

Part 1
Part 2
Hello again! I was going to post this on my own page but a few people mentioned that they think it’s nice to read on AITAH, so fuck it, here’s the “met Mikes family” update. And it's a doozy, or at least felt like it at the time for a girl who grew up with a small, dysfunctional family.
So first up, you know what people (at least me) don’t think about when dating a guy who’s always sitting? Height. I know he’s taller than me because we cuddle a lot, and he’s taller sitting on the couch, but I didn’t reeeeeeally get it. So we drive up Friday night after work (actually south and west, lol, but to my brain it’s always up) in his vehicle, which is modified to be driven entirely using his hands. Neat, right? He’s a really good driver too. One more green flag. We get to the house, and it’s…. It’s huge you guys, LOL like not a mansion, just kind of a sprawling one floor rancher. Real estate was wild back in the day.
Anyway we get out, and I meet his mom. I’d like to point out I am no slouch, I’m 5’-friggin-7. His mom is TOWERING over me. But she was the nicest lady ever. We go inside and I meet his dad (who funny enough is apparently the only short one in this family) and his youngest sister, who is living there with his one year old niece. She gets up to hug me and SHE IS ALSO REALLY TALL. It’s already a bit late then, so we eat and head to bed, I get to see his cute as shit room from when he was a teenager, and I casually ask “hey, so uh, I don’t know how this works and stuff, but how tall are you?” and Mike is all “I dunno, like a bit over 6’4? Been a while since I checked.” A BIT OVER 6’4. “So, is everyone in your family tall?” “…..kinda?”
We met the Nordic Basketball team he calls a family properly the next day. (Actually they’re Irish, but they’re blond and tall so it conveys the idea better.) The ONLY one of reasonable height, and still taller than me, was his oldest sister, lol.
They are also LOUD. Like not really shouting or anything usually, just, PRESENT. Mike is a lot different around them, but in the cutest way, like he just beams all the time and you can see how happy he is to be home. One of his brothers put him in a headlock and gave him a dang NOOGIE as a greeting, and got elbowed in the side for it, and all of them laughing. And his mom smacked one of his brothers with a rolled up magazine for putting his feet on the table. More laughing. Just… intimidating but in the happiest way imaginable. I’ll admit I was a little shut down for a bit, but Mike kept checking in with me to make sure I was okay, and they were all really nice, so I got into the spirit after a bit.
I mentioned this in another comment, but Mike has a special sports wheelchair he uses for, well, sports. And he and his siblings play basketball. And he is GOOD. Apart from just having a hell of an arm, he’s quick as hell. And this magnificent bastard that I love will absolutely, purposefully, GLEEFULLY run someone’s toes over. He AIMS for it. They all have this yank-back-the-foot maneuver that’s hysterical to watch.
So it was this crazy day of loud people playing and having a blast, nieces and nephews running around, and just noise. My ears are still ringing. The food was catered in advance because his mom “had seven babies, all I make on mother’s day is margaritas.” They also have a pool, it’s a bit chilly still but the pool is HEATED so we actually all got to swim, which was a lot of fun because I got to show off that I too am athletic…. I can do a backwards somersault off a diving board! Yeah. I’m a real catch lol. They at least pretended to be impressed.
We all stayed up late drinking and bitching that it was too overcast to see the aurora (boo) and I had the worst hangover I’ve had in a while on Sunday. We slept in a bit late, and then joined Mike’s family for the BBQ part of the BBQ weekend. His dad can GRILL, people. And he’s fast, food coming off the grill at lightning speed. I asked Mike about it and he laughed and said “there was seven of us to feed. Ever see a nest of baby birds? He had practice.” Which, fair enough.
I don’t have much experience with babies, but I got to hold his youngest niece (the one living at home with his sis until her husband gets back from deployment) and we had a light talk about kids in the future. I told him that I never put much thought into it but if they were going to grow up in a happy home like his and not how I grew up, I’m pretty sure I’d be open to having them with him someday. But later. I need him all to myself for a while first. He seemed really really happy about that, which makes ME feel all goofy and happy. I’m sappy.
We had to drive home Sunday night, but before we went his mom hugged me and said she’s NEVER seen her son like this, and thanked me for taking good care of her baby. And asked if we’d be back for the 4th of July or if we were doing something with my family. And I tried to be all “haaaa no we’ll be here if you don’t mind, I don’t see them much” and I think she caught on that there’s more to the story so she just hugged the shit out of me (vikings, all of them I swear) and told me she can’t wait to see me again.
My ears are still ringing from all the noise and chaos, but it was an absolute blast and I can’t wait to see them again in July. Also, pretty much sure Mike is the man I’m going to marry. I literally can’t think of a single reason why I would ever let him get away.
Anyway thanks for reading, hope you all had a lovely weekend, and those of you who got to see the aurora I’m happy for you but you suck, lol.

What is it with the Irish and digging? I asked my shovel knee deep in the garden Digging space for dog who couldn’t dig anymore. I couldn’t really handle a spade, just like my old man, we struggled away in turns and old clothes.
weak after forty minutes of cutting rock and clay. I stopped a few inches short of four foot and rested but had to resume the position; working to a deadline.
I kept digging. I wasn’t sure whether It was sweat or rain on my skin but I removed my jumper for the moisture. The roots in the hole’s side drew blood and tears scratching my bare arms as I delved in to scoop up more soil.
I kept digging. Half expecting to uncover bones, treasure or even turf but continuing I shook hands with the endless hard clay.
Dog went fifteen minutes later, in pain but relatively peaceful. It was the first time I saw death happen in my twenty four years.
Tiny Red breasted vultures now congregated around the hole looking for worms. We put dog in a throw and I put her in place
mother hugged brother as mourners do. Teary eyed father in a fitting role delivered a short, stoic sermon before I resumed the part of custodian and filled the hole.
I couldn’t stop for rest I couldn’t even think about my task. Longing to swap my compatriot spade for a squat pen or one more walk. I topped the mound off with her old kennel.
I’ve never been haunted before but hours later I can’t forget the smell of her final moments, I hope the memory of that smell leaves me alone.
What is it with the Irish and digging? I read the poem that evening, I could no longer see the romance in digging, repetitive, joyless a thankless task. I almost resented my pen. this turf to my clay these potatoes to my rocks. Heaney’s unsung heroes to my little role that morning, gravedigger.

I’ve seen a few posts asking people who they think the best and worst of the main actors are, but I think the truly criminal acting comes from many of the side characters.
I’ve only been watching the next generation recently so it will likely change as I continue to watch but here’s my list…
Best: (it’s short)

• Mrs Torres: her Karen-esque delivery when Drew and Adam start at Degrassi made me despise her in a very true way
  
• maybe not a true “side character” but in TNG Snake’s character goes through so much and it was fantastically done
  
• Mrs Bhandari
  

Worst:

• Fitz obviously
  
• Ms Dawes (who set up Eli and Clare) her delivery was so blah
  
• Dave’s tall girlfriend- this one is especially frustrating because they talk about how cool she is and how she plays basketball and then when they show her on the courts outside school it’s HORRENDOUS. Like they couldn’t teach her to at least shoot with form or basic defensive position?!
  
• Chantey: uses the exact same energy for every single scene.
  
• Bobby: his character’s storyline was so huge and I just feel like a better performance would have made it more powerful
  
• every single person that the OGs interact with in college. They were all just so awful.
  

I need advice in a bad way...
Do I say something and risk our friendship, do I just stifle my feelings and try and move on, or so I just exit stage right and go no contact?
10 years ago, I (32m) started a new job at a big company. I was 22 at the time. When I started I was placed on a manager's team- he (38m) took a special interest right from the start. He was 28 at the time. About 6 months after starting, due to nature of my work, I was placed on a different team with a new manager. My first manager asked for my phone number to check in on me from time to time.
Shortly after, he would reach out to see how my day was going, see what I was up too, or just chat about life. We slowly but surely became close friends, going out to grab dinners and talking until early morning hours texting or on the phone.
I'm gay. He has said he "isn't really into all that". Which was totally fine- I continued on as friends.
Over the next 2 years, we were great friends. And I would be lying if I didn't admit that I was actually in love with him. We talked all day, texting or on the phone. We hung out several times a month, frequently saw each other at work, and went out to events together. He even went as far as to make me a custom piece of art for my new apartment I was moving into at the time.
Around 7 years ago, out of what seemed to me like nowhere, he started talking about this woman (29f) who was 19 at the time, he had an interest in. Context- he said he was seeing someone who lived in another state for the first year I knew him, then he said that they broke up. This new talk about finding a potential girlfriend was both exciting and slightly crushing. Shortly after, he started seeing her and our friendship drastically changed rapidly. I wouldn't hear from him for days, no calls and no response to texts. We'd make plans to connect but he'd call as I was pulling into the restaurant to say that his girlfriend needed him and he would have to reschedule. After 6 months of this, I finally told him that I was going to fade into the background of his life if this kept happening.
For the next 6 years, that's exactly what happened. He completely stopped reaching out, and would respond within a couple of weeks if I reached out to see how he was doing. It got to the point where I was only reaching out a couple times a year to just make sure he was alive. We would do the typical "how are you" and "how is life" but just pleasantries, never real connection.
Then, 8 months ago, he finally decided he wanted to get dinner and actually showed up. We had an amazing time catching up, talking, it was like no time had passed at all. After dinner that night, he text me when he got home to tell me he really needed that time and how much he missed me.
He is still with his girlfriend- they aren't married, no kids, and don't own anything together. She still lives with him.
Since that dinner, he has been back to the guy I knew 10 years ago... texting every day, calling, and we've been going out to events. Side detail, I've never been a basketball fan, but he has always been so we've gone to a couple games this year as well. He called yesterday to say "I think you've been the missing magic piece to make out team champions".
So, naturally, I'm feeling my feels again. He's been so playful, flirty, and affectionate.
I have more thoughts on why he is still with her, but they are likely blurred by my feelings for him so I'll refrain from sharing.
So what do I do?
Say something knowing I risk the friendship with him?
Stifle my feelings, try and move on, and just accept this is the type of person he is and is just flirty?
Or, go no contact and try and forget about him for good?
Help me please! 🤣

Link to original nosleep post:
https://www.reddit.com/nosleep/comments/1bsb26v/i_found_a_set_of_blank_cassette_tapes_at_the_junk/
What began as an innocent adventure, had ended in the loss of our innocence.
But the journey wasn't over yet. Somewhere... out there in the fog, were five more bodies and a killer. A killer that, according to the tapes that I'd found in the junk store, was responsible for eight deaths, and now a ninth...
...My friend Mike.
"If you're listening to this, you've found the first three bodies. To find the fourth, fifth, and sixth, look for the island in the marsh, and proceed to the dock on its easternmost side. Not far from it, you'll see a pile of stones. Remove the stones, and beneath them, you'll find the next three bodies. Once you find them, switch to tape six."
CLICK.
I took the headphones from around my ears, placed them back around my neck, and began to relay the instructions to Jess.
But before I could even finish what I was saying, the fog had cleared, and my friend had already spotted the very location of the next burial site.
"The island!" Jess called out, pointing to a forested mass of land that stood out in the distance from the marsh's otherwise flat horizon.
—
After traversing another hundred yards or so of muddy terrain, something that, by now, Jess and I had both become quite accustomed to, we finally reached the dock.
We had spent most of the walk in silence, still unable to comprehend what we'd seen back at the wrecked boat, and still unsure who exactly to blame for Mike's death.
But after climbing up onto the dock and following it to the very mound of stones described on the tape, Jess finally spoke.
"The faster we move these rocks, the faster we find the clue, and the faster we wake up from this nightmare."
I didn't know what to say, so I just started grabbing stones and tossing them to the wayside as fast as I could, as my friend joined in and did the same.
We'd cleared out all but two of the rocks, when suddenly, Jess stopped what she was doing, and simply stared at one of them.
"What's wrong?" I asked, before she proceeded to turn the stone around and reveal the letter "N" carved into it.
"It's one of the clues." Jess said, as I found the letter "E" carved into the other.
Remembering the first two clues we'd found, I spelled out each of the four letters that we'd discovered.
""J" "A" "N" E"" I said, throwing the rock away.
"But who could that be?" Jess asked, doing the same with hers and revealing the spot on the ground where the next three bodies were buried.
"I don't know, but we'd better keep going." I said, as I began to dig in the dirt, already huffing and puffing from exhaustion.
But Jess put her hand on my shoulder and urged me to stop.
"Wait. What's the point?" She began, "You already know that they're down there. Why dig them up? Haven't you seen enough dead bodies for one day? And we already have the clues. Just play the next tape."
She had a point, and I was much too tired to argue, so I switched tape "5" for tape "6", called Jess over to share my headphones, and pressed play.
CLICK.
"If you're listening to this, it means you've found the fourth, fifth, and sixth bodies. That of a family. A mother. A father. And their child. Guilty of perpetuating the myth of familial love, and instilling in their offspring, the very values that keep that myth alive. Should the child have gone on to live to old age, it too, would either have become like the widow, or left one behind. To find the seventh and eighth bodies, switch to tape seven."
CLICK.
I did as the narrator suggested, and switched tape "6" for tape "7."
CLICK.
"If you're listening to this, you've found six out of the eight bodies, and are ready to search for the last two. To find them, simply follow the path into the woods, until you reach the old cottage with no windows, and knock on the front door. The man who lives inside will welcome you in, and take you to the last two graves."
CLICK.
—
We'd been following the path through the woods for some time, when we finally arrived at the old cottage, its exterior windowless, exactly as the tape had described.
Jess and I walked up to its front door and stood there for a moment, both shaking in fear.
These tapes found their way to you, not us. They chose you. You were the one who was meant to get us into this mess, and you are the one who's meant to get us out of it. Reminding myself of what Jess had told me after we'd met the old fisherman, I worked up the courage to go on, knowing that something terrible was very likely waiting for us inside the cottage...
...And knocked on the door.
After less than a minute of waiting...
...Someone opened it.
Contrary to my expectations, he was a rather short man with a bald head and a boyish face.
"Welcome. Come in, come in." He said, gesturing for us to enter, his high-pitched voice counterpoint to the ominous one that I'd heard on the tapes.
It can't be him. I thought to myself. Plus the tapes referred to the man who lived in the house in third person, not first.
—
A few minutes later, Jess and I were sitting inside the home, warming our ironically cold bodies by a fireplace that our host had started for us.
"Are you the killer?" I asked, wasting no time.
"A killer of what?" The man squeaked, answering my question with one of his own.
"People!" Jess added, "The ones buried out there in the marsh."
"There's people buried out there?" He replied, "That's news to me."
"Then why'd you ask... of what?" Jess asked.
"Well, a man has to kill all sorts of creatures to survive out here. Birds, squirrels, even mice. Speaking of which, you must be hungry."
He stood up, walked over to a door in the back of the room, and began to open it.
"Wait!" Jess called out, "What's in there?"
"Dinner." He replied.
"Let us come with you then." I insisted.
"Very well."
—
Upon stepping inside, the man reached for an old string light switch.
I gripped Jess' hand, fearing the worst, but when the dim bulb turned on, hardly emanating any light into the dark room, I could see that he wasn't lying...
...Hanging there on hooks, were all sorts of creatures. Birds, squirrels, and even mice, just as he described.
Jess and I both took a step back, clearly disgusted by the dinner options, when the man laughed.
"Oh, come on. Meat is meat, and you said you were starving. Now, I'll cook them up, just take a seat over there in the corner." He said, pointing to the shadowy corner of the room.
Despite her better judgment, Jess looked into the darkness, and did as he suggested.
That's when I heard her fall to the ground, and start screaming.
"Jess!" I called out, as the man laughed.
He simply smiled at me and pointed to the darkness. "Go on, take a look."
I backed away from him, took a step into the shadows, and looked down, to find a pair of side by side graves, each dug deep into the dirt, and one currently occupied by Jess.
"You said you weren't the killer!" I cried out to him.
"I lied," He replied.
"But the voice on the tapes?"
"Oh him? He was just a guy I hired to record them. Told him the tapes were for a game."
"Our friend died because of those tapes!"
"Did I kill him? Or did curiosity?"
"He said he saw you, and you left him there to die."
"Indeed I did, but only because he wasn't supposed to be there. None of you were supposed to be there. Or find the tapes in the first place."
But wait, Jess said I was chosen to find them. But if not me, then who?
"Jane!" I called out, remembering the clues. "Who's Jane?"
"She was the one who was supposed to find the tapes. I would tell you to listen to the last cassette, to hear the full story, but I'm afraid you won't have a chance to do that. Anyways, as I was saying, the tapes were meant for Jane, as was the grave your friend is standing in. But..." The man continued with a smile, "...You two will do."
That's when suddenly...
...He lunged at me, in an attempt to tackle me into the other grave.
What transpired next happened too fast to comprehend, but the next thing I knew...
...The man was lying there at the bottom of the other grave, his eyes wide in disbelief...
...As the broken, rusty tooth from the bear trap that I'd taken with me to remember Mike's death, protruded from the killer's neck.
And as he lay there dying, his body writhing, blood pouring out of it, I reached down into the second grave and helped pull Jess up to safety.
She gave me a great big hug, and we both stood there shaking for a minute, before I removed my headphones, held them up for us both to share, switched tape "7" for tape "8," and pressed play.
CLICK.
"If you're listening to this, you've found the last two bodies in the marsh. That of myself, and my dear Jane. A pair of lovers guilty of the most tragic love of all... unrequited love. Myself, with nothing but love to give, and Jane, having given all her love away to another. And if you must know how I lured her out here, you have to understand our bond over the macabre. Our fascination with disappearances, cold cases, and unsolved mysteries. Surely if Jane made it this far, she found the tapes that I'd left for her in the store, and couldn't resist the call to find the bodies in the marsh. And after making her way all the way out to me, here we'll lie, unrequited lovers meant to die apart... united in death for all eternity."
CLICK.
"What the-" Jess said.
"Um." I replied, gripping Jess even tighter, my wounded arm, wrapped in my plaid shirt, draped around her shoulder.
Now that the journey had ended, and after all we had gone through, the thought of finally kissing Jess right then and there crossed my mind, but before I could...
...She called out. "Hey, Tyler."
"Yeah?" I replied.
"Is that what I think it is?"
"What?"
I turned around to find, of all things, another wooden box, resembling the ones we'd found at the first couple burial sites, just lying there on the floor.
And after crouching down to pick it up, I opened it to find, not another clue, but instead...
...Eight more tapes, wrapped in a flimsy old rubber band, just like the ones that I'd found in the junk store.
"Let's not listen to those." Jess said.
"Definitely not." I replied.
—
A few days later, as news of Clinton's reelection flooded news headlines, my town did their best to keep what happened under wraps, and held a private funeral for Mike.
As a reward for us finding the serial killer, and his eight bodies, the police withdrew any charges associated with the meddling that Jess and I had done, out there in the marsh, and kept the first set of tapes for themselves.
Unbeknownst to anyone else, Jess and I kept the second set, and ironically, buried it behind our house, in the town where the marshland is so expansive that it was named for it. A town that we got married in, had kids in, and still live in to this day, making humble livings, and keeping as far away from the marsh as we can.
To this day, whenever we pass the spot on 139, where the bend of the road meets the sharp turn sign, we think of Mike, and keep our eyes on the road, careful not to look out into the marsh, towards the scarecrow, or the boat, or the island.
Oh, and that basketball season that Jess had a good feeling about on the night that we set out on our adventure... is still the worst season on record for the boys in green. I still tease her about it daily.

KEEP GOING

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWXgojWut_o
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9 hours away from now

Please give me some tips to improve my life.
Here is information about me
Hey all, I am an ENTJ. Just took the test some days ago and found this subreddit just now. Am I a true ENTJ? I have some aspects of my personality here.
I have been in student government 3 times
Won multiple local and global writing competitions
I am like a student coach
I want to be a lawyer - primarily for the money and status but also because I like winning and debating
I am smart - top 3 in a class of around 36
I like reading books ever since I was a child
Now I know that ENTJ's are supposed to be like cutting and stuff but sometimes I find myself holding my tongue when friends or adults say something stupid. I would think the cutting or mean remark but not say it. I think it has to do with my mom as she is a very nice person and does not like me saying mean things. Does this mean i am not an ENTJ?
I like my friends but I realize most if not all of them are fake, and are using me because I am smart and nice. Does this mean I am not an ENTJ? How would other ENTJ's approach this?
I also love sports.
I set goals for my self both short term and long term
I also am working on my focus for school work but when I am driven no one can stop me and i'll be the best but sometimes I find it hard to get drive, how do I do that? I know if I tap into it all the time I will be practically unstoppable in my school.
I really want to be sucessful in my last years of school and in college. I am really starting to think about completely isolating myself from everybody except my mom and just studying and focusing. I'll stil exercise and play sports but in terms of friends I am seriously considering isolation. Although all of my friends drink and party and have sex and stuff I already don't do that, I rarely ever see them out of school.
I am in late highschool
I want to make a lot of money
My family is not wealthy
I go to a wealthy school with wealthy kids
I usually get asked questions by this kids in my class and asked to help them understand topics
Some want to see my answers and copy off of me. I let them because they might me useful to me in the future
They are jealous of me and not my true friends because everytime I do something copy me.
I deleted all social media to focus on my school work some more
I like basketball and like watchiing movies and series about ENTJs to try to better understand my type.
I love writing and history, my favorite person in History is Alexander the Great
I am a good public speaker and I don't mind speaking in front of crowds(in fact I love it, it makes me feel powerful)
I can lead but usually don't either because it is too much work or i'm to lazy
I am working on being lazy and not drived but scared to tap into my potential.
I have fears about tapping into my full potential. I really want to but I feel like if I fully do I will be to focused driven and/or competitive. I feel like I will push people including my family aside to reach my goal of being a highly sucseful lawyer. I want to achieve that goal but I am scared of what I will become
Please give me any advice that you have.