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AMXFs
2018.09.23 21:11 I_do_try_sometimes AMXFs
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2024.05.15 11:18 CringeyVal0451 MARRIED Mary's Many, Many, Many Majestic Members (Part 10)
Welcome back to a little more MARRIED Mary Mania before I wrap things up with The Abridged Goblinization. I decided that this bit deserved its own chapter. Some of you seem to be entertained by Mary (or at least entertained by your own loathing of her), so I hope this will prove amusing. In my life, I've encountered an inordinate number of low-key lolcows (probably because I was far too patient and far too passive for far too long), so I might as well throw just enough distortion on the page to protect the good guys and the genuinely reformed beards. But I'm also gonna shine a bright, unflattering spotlight on the lolcows, creeps, weirdos, pervs, and BEARDS, both neck and leg.
And I'll very, very cautiously tiptoe over the bit where I do a bunch of mental gymnastics, squint my eyes, tilt my head, and convince myself that dating Whisky might be a welcome change of pace. I have no delusions when I look back on it. This was a dumb move in retrospect, but all the mental gymnastics in the world can't bring me to a reasonable scenario where I was psychic and thus able to predict what he'd become once he stopped pretending to be a gentleman. Nor can the most elite, Olympic-level mental gymnastics execute a double salto layout with a half-twist perfectly enough to force me to concede the "logical point" that I should have spotted warning signs that I'd never freakin' seen before. Okay, that's enough saltiness for today. Don't worry. This chapter mostly focuses on Mary's mania. Whisky's just kind of... there.
So there I was... dating a guy who called when he said he would, remained constant in his affections, never asked for weird stuff in the sack (in fact, we weren't even intimate at that point), and claimed to be a secular humanist who practiced elements of Hinduism (as opposed to conveniently becoming born-again whenever it suited his needs to wallow in shame). And we seemed to have similar enough tastes in media, which made for pleasant movie nights and enjoyable conversations about nerdy stuff. It felt like a step up. It felt safe. At that point in time, I was content.
But here's a shameful admission for ya. My original intention was to make Whisky the "for now guy." I knew I could do better. I was formally educated, I was in shape, I was normatively attractive, and I tended to be successful in both my theatrical and academic endeavors. Plus, I was super friendly and good with people. Whisky was kind of a bump on a log. Sure, he seemed nice. He was sometimes able to make interesting conversation. To quote his favorite catch phrase, "Meh."
I knew he was mooching off his mysterious "big bro," and he wasn't doing this with the intention of saving up and eventually becoming self-sufficient. He just kicked up a fuss whenever he wanted something, and... it usually appeared. I still thought he was physically unattractive, too. I hate nasty-ass beards, I have a strong preference for shorter guys (they don't need to be as short as Dennis, but I don't exactly love being towered over), and Whisky had whatever the dude version of resting bitch face is. I admonished myself for being shallow and decided to soldier on. Date after date. And I did kind of get used to all the shallow things I objected to.
But, really... Dating Whisky at all was a dick move on my part. Then again, how many Nice Guy (TM)s want girls to do exactly what I did? Not attracted? Think he's kind of a bum? Find him a bit boring? Just give him a chance!!! Go on a crap-ton of dates with him until you like the familiarity enough to settle for him. That's the key to a healthy relationship!!! It never works. You could flip this around and apply it to Nice Girls who want pity dates, too.
Anyway. Lucy knew I was dating Whisky, and she thought it was great. She was honestly just happy to see that I was no longer pining over Dennis and that Whisky was no longer getting relentlessly stalked by Mary. Speaking of Mary... She'd had an imaginary dramatic breakup with Scumbanger not long after she crashed Lucy's brunch. Murky aside... The following summer, I'd do another show with the pervy pest and I'd find out that Mary had given the former Rum Tum Tugger a tug in the parking lot of The Imp and had let him motorboat her. When dozens of lewd messaged filled his inbox the following day, the most indiscriminate playboy I'd ever met in my freakin' life blocked that clingy legbeard's number and never had any further contact with her. But seeing as neither of them are especially reliable sources, my best guess is that the truth is somewhere in between.
After the dramatic "breakup" with Scumbanger, Mary immediately became obsessed with the new tech guy (and his wife). They allegedly had something of a throuple situation going on, but no one ever witnessed any hard evidence of this. And then Mary and Tech Guy's wife allegedly had a catfight in the middle of the fancy restaurant where the three spent their date nights. Mary did have a shiner and a scraped knee for a few weeks, and she intimated to me that Chuckie was actually the one responsible for her looking a little rough...
I believed her because there was something very different about her demeanor when she told me this. When she was in larger groups, she just screeched about how she thought the catfight was foreplay until Tech Guy ghosted her. Yet again, we'll never know the truth. But I err on the side of belief when someone tells me that DV is going on in their home, even if I generally regard that person as a delusional pathological liar. Plus, Mary had never badmouthed Chuckie before and she never made excuses for her philandering. She just felt entitled to any ding-dong she desired. Bottom line, I think there was an unfortunate incident, and I urged her to report it. She didn't; but that doesn't mean it didn't happen.
And, yes. I think we're allowed to show compassion for Mary if Chuckie did indeed do what she was accusing him of. She absolutely deserved to get dumped in a spectacular fashion. No one deserves violence, though. But I think we're also allowed to laugh at Mary when she's acting like a crank-crazed maniac.
Moving on to lighter topics! Mary claimed to be having a hot, steamy affair with the artistic director of The Imp. At first, this seemed outlandish. But he had been the one to hire her. And he repeatedly refused to replace her when she consistently failed to learned her lines, ran around naked, and contributed little more than muckbangs to the comedy (again, I personally found it funny when she did that, but I was in the minority).
Some skullduggery was definitely afoot. Was it "sexy time," as Mary enthusiastically claimed? Who knows. Chuckie might have been paying the dude to give Mary a hobby. But not long after Mary started boasting about boning the artistic director, he suddenly began calling her out on her unprofessional behavior. They "broke up," but Mary managed to avoid getting kicked out of the improv troupe, bragging that she could sue the director for sexual harassment if he fired her.
And then... there was the pièce de résistance of Mary's misadventures in mating. She met a biker dude at Filthy McNasty's. This guys was disgusting. Most of her previous dudes had been questionable, weird, or possibly imaginary. But we all saw this one. He was as fat as a Hutt, he smelled like a grease trap, motor oil, B.O., and a very specific type of cheese... The few teeth that he had were black and green, his fingernails were yellowed and a few of them oozed pus. Finally, the volume and crackly, bubbly properties of his frequent farts indicated to George Gay that he, "definitely had a virgin booty." Mary's lard-ass loverboy called himself "Hogg," which was probably a reference to the two-wheeled vehicle that he was very obviously too large to actually ride. Or it might have just been an obvious nickname for a filthy fat fuck.
But Hogg, like Tech Guy a few loverboys ago, had a wife. And she made frequent appearances at Filthy's as well. Hogg's wife was shockingly... kind of pretty. A little rough around the edges. Didn't smell the greatest. But she stood in stark contrast to her repugnant hubby, even with her fried hair, her sloppily inked tats, and her imprecisely applied eye makeup. Her teeth were free of obvious rot. She had a beautiful figure. And she had a carefree attitude that was probably attractive to a number of people. She'd fart right along with Hogg, she didn't shave her legs, and the profane compound nouns she came up with always cracked me up (lard-tard, smegma-booger, felch-belcher).
And Mary was once again claiming to be in a throuple with The Hoggs. But this time, there was hard evidence. They'd get busy in some corner of the establishment, and even got booted from the dive bar a few times for lewd behavior, offensive odors, and illegal drug use. On one particular night, Mrs. Hogg lit one of her hubby's gargantuan ass-rippers while Mary was doing her thing, completely shrouded by his big belly. The blue flame ignited some spilt booze on the dingy floor, and a small fire erupted. The staff were able to stomp it out, but the nasty throuple was unceremoniously banished.
Alas, management allowed Mary to re-enter the bar because she apparently had some sort of sway with one of the bartenders. Instead of meeting her...uh... "partners" for some more boom-boom, Mary decided to come back inside and gush about Hogg's majestic rooster to all of us. She smelled like D cheese, ammonia, and burnt farts as she plopped down at our table, already screeching about how much bigger her "new boo" was, compared to that vile turd of an artistic director.
George Gay: Fuck me, Mary!!! You reek. Go wash the uncircumcised methhead off your hands and then you can sit with us.
Mary started to protest. Lucy cut her off. "Your whole body is probably a veritable Petri dish from fooling around with those nasty-ass people." She handed Mary some Purell. "Was the junkie junk off, keep the bottle, and don't you fucking touch me when you come back!"
Mary's bottom lip began to quiver and she looked pleadingly at me. "Just wash up," I told her. "You're too pretty to go around smelling like that.”
Off she went to the dingy bathroom. Maybe I wasn't harsh enough, but flattery got results in this instance. And when she returned, she had managed to dilute the stench enough so that we could stand to sit at the same table with her.
Mary took a deep breath in preparation to gush about something that would have undoubtedly been disgusting, but George cut her off this time. "Mare. How do you even BANG someone with a belly like that?"
Mary (speaking a bit more quickly than usual): Oh, it just takes some creative positioning. We get him to lie down. If Mrs. Hogg is taking in the rod, I hold his bowl of jelly up with both arms and stick my cooter in his face. He eats it like his mommy made it! And when it's my turn to get blasted, the missus uses a bunch of yoga straps to hold it up. I have to take it from behind because my own little tiny bit of va-jiggle-jaggle bumps up against his bowl of jelly if why try to smash like vanilla people. It's so much fun, though!!! And then he props his bowl of jelly up on the coffee table and plays with himself while he watches his honey strap on a dil...
George: I so regret asking.
Mary: They're sooo fun to fool around with! I think they might be my forever partners! (Her hands were too shaky to slide down her body in unbridled ecstasy, so she clasped them together and hid them underneath her itty bitty little gunt.)
Lucy: So when are you gonna dump Chuck?
Mary: Well... Hogg and the missus don't have much scratch. And what they do have, they spend on smokeables. When I meet a real sugar daddy, I'll get rid of Chuckle. He pretended to be a baller before we got married. But he's just middle management and he's content to stay there. Pffffftt. No ambition.
Mary launched into another long, unnecessarily graphic gushing about her garbage partners and their nasty-ass boom-boom. So I decided this would be a good time to clear my conscience about dating Whisky. Mary hadn't so much as mentioned him in months. She was inexplicably smitten with The Hoggs. And her ultimate dream man was obviously some filthy rich dude (perhaps a literally filthy dude who was also rich), which took Whisky out of the running. I still think it would have been amusing if Mary had tried to date Mori...
I waited for her adult film star gasp to wind down before I finally interjected, "Wow. Sounds like you've got a fantastic sex life right now!"
Mary: I do! You need to get over that born-again weirdo and find a real man so that you and I can have good girl talk!
Me: Well... I'm not banging anybody, but I am dating somebody. Sort of. It's not really that big of a deal. I'm not even sure that I'm completely into him. But he's been super sweet to me...
Lucy put her arm around me, almost as if she knew I was about to need protection.
Mary: TELL ME!
I hesitated. "Well... It's Whiskers."
In an instant, George jumped up and grabbed Mary by the shoulders, lest she lunge at me.
But Mary got very quiet. Silent tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. She gasped and buried her face in her hands, now emitting one seemingly endless, impossibly high-pitched whine.
George loosened his grip and began to pat her on the back. Lucy's grip tightened on me and she whispered, "Here we go. Overreaction sequence has commenced."
Mary lifted her red, tear-stained face and glared at me. "HOW COULD YOU???"
Me: Mary, I swear. I thought you hated his guts. I haven't heard you talk about him in ages. When he asked, I thought it would be good for me to give him a chance since he's always been really sweet to me.
Mary: But what about the way he treated ME??? He was such an asshole!
Lucy: Was he? Mary, you stalked the guy. If he was rude, it was only because you weren't taking NO for an answer.
Mary: He never told me he wanted to end things. He just kept ghosting me. But whenever I showed up at his house and jumped on him, we always wound up smashing. Eventually.
I didn't have the gumption at that point in my life to suggest to Mary that it's wrong on every imaginable level to coerce someone into intimate activity, regardless of gender. And even knowing what Whiskers would eventually become, he didn't deserve THAT. I should have called her out. Instead I tried to steer the conversation back to her current bedroom bliss and try to get her to resume thinking the disgusting thoughts that delighted her so much.
Me: Who cares what he's doing now?! Aren't you insanely happy with your fun new lovers???
Mary: NO! THEY STINK! HE'S FAT. I want my sexy Whisky-Boo Whiskers back!!! Give him back, Valley! Puh-leeee-eeee-eeeee-eeeease.
Me: I don't "have" him. I'm just seeing him. If he hurt you this much, why don't you try to sit down and have a real conversation with him? It might be good for both of you to clear the air.
Mary: He blocked me on everythi-iiiiiii-iiiii-iiiiiing. Waaaaaaaaaah!
Me: Well, I guess that's your answer. You probably overwhelmed him. He seems like a bit of a softy. Personally, I need a softy right now. But I think you need a manly man.
Mary rose. She gave me an icy stare. And then she cooed in an unnervingly sweet tone. "I love you, Valley-Boo. I know you didn't mean to break my heart."
Me: Thank you, Mary. Really, I wouldn't have even considered his initial invitation if you hadn't been calling him "Satan," and telling us all that you hated him, and dating all these new guys. I didn't do it to spite you, I swear. It just happened.
Mary (still creepily, icily sweet): Yes. We're so alike, you and I. It's perfectly understandable that the same guy would go for both of us. But you owe me. You owe me big.
Me: I'm gonna disagree with that. If you think I slighted you, just tell me to fuck off. If you really do understand that these things happen, then you'll accept that there was no malice on anyone's part.
Mary: Mmmm-hmmmm. We'll see about that.
She jiggled her Jupiters, tossed her hair, and stalked out of the dive bar...
AND THEN SHE BANGED DENNIS.
submitted by CringeyVal0451 to ReddXReads [link] [comments]
And I'll very, very cautiously tiptoe over the bit where I do a bunch of mental gymnastics, squint my eyes, tilt my head, and convince myself that dating Whisky might be a welcome change of pace. I have no delusions when I look back on it. This was a dumb move in retrospect, but all the mental gymnastics in the world can't bring me to a reasonable scenario where I was psychic and thus able to predict what he'd become once he stopped pretending to be a gentleman. Nor can the most elite, Olympic-level mental gymnastics execute a double salto layout with a half-twist perfectly enough to force me to concede the "logical point" that I should have spotted warning signs that I'd never freakin' seen before. Okay, that's enough saltiness for today. Don't worry. This chapter mostly focuses on Mary's mania. Whisky's just kind of... there.
So there I was... dating a guy who called when he said he would, remained constant in his affections, never asked for weird stuff in the sack (in fact, we weren't even intimate at that point), and claimed to be a secular humanist who practiced elements of Hinduism (as opposed to conveniently becoming born-again whenever it suited his needs to wallow in shame). And we seemed to have similar enough tastes in media, which made for pleasant movie nights and enjoyable conversations about nerdy stuff. It felt like a step up. It felt safe. At that point in time, I was content.
But here's a shameful admission for ya. My original intention was to make Whisky the "for now guy." I knew I could do better. I was formally educated, I was in shape, I was normatively attractive, and I tended to be successful in both my theatrical and academic endeavors. Plus, I was super friendly and good with people. Whisky was kind of a bump on a log. Sure, he seemed nice. He was sometimes able to make interesting conversation. To quote his favorite catch phrase, "Meh."
I knew he was mooching off his mysterious "big bro," and he wasn't doing this with the intention of saving up and eventually becoming self-sufficient. He just kicked up a fuss whenever he wanted something, and... it usually appeared. I still thought he was physically unattractive, too. I hate nasty-ass beards, I have a strong preference for shorter guys (they don't need to be as short as Dennis, but I don't exactly love being towered over), and Whisky had whatever the dude version of resting bitch face is. I admonished myself for being shallow and decided to soldier on. Date after date. And I did kind of get used to all the shallow things I objected to.
But, really... Dating Whisky at all was a dick move on my part. Then again, how many Nice Guy (TM)s want girls to do exactly what I did? Not attracted? Think he's kind of a bum? Find him a bit boring? Just give him a chance!!! Go on a crap-ton of dates with him until you like the familiarity enough to settle for him. That's the key to a healthy relationship!!! It never works. You could flip this around and apply it to Nice Girls who want pity dates, too.
Anyway. Lucy knew I was dating Whisky, and she thought it was great. She was honestly just happy to see that I was no longer pining over Dennis and that Whisky was no longer getting relentlessly stalked by Mary. Speaking of Mary... She'd had an imaginary dramatic breakup with Scumbanger not long after she crashed Lucy's brunch. Murky aside... The following summer, I'd do another show with the pervy pest and I'd find out that Mary had given the former Rum Tum Tugger a tug in the parking lot of The Imp and had let him motorboat her. When dozens of lewd messaged filled his inbox the following day, the most indiscriminate playboy I'd ever met in my freakin' life blocked that clingy legbeard's number and never had any further contact with her. But seeing as neither of them are especially reliable sources, my best guess is that the truth is somewhere in between.
After the dramatic "breakup" with Scumbanger, Mary immediately became obsessed with the new tech guy (and his wife). They allegedly had something of a throuple situation going on, but no one ever witnessed any hard evidence of this. And then Mary and Tech Guy's wife allegedly had a catfight in the middle of the fancy restaurant where the three spent their date nights. Mary did have a shiner and a scraped knee for a few weeks, and she intimated to me that Chuckie was actually the one responsible for her looking a little rough...
I believed her because there was something very different about her demeanor when she told me this. When she was in larger groups, she just screeched about how she thought the catfight was foreplay until Tech Guy ghosted her. Yet again, we'll never know the truth. But I err on the side of belief when someone tells me that DV is going on in their home, even if I generally regard that person as a delusional pathological liar. Plus, Mary had never badmouthed Chuckie before and she never made excuses for her philandering. She just felt entitled to any ding-dong she desired. Bottom line, I think there was an unfortunate incident, and I urged her to report it. She didn't; but that doesn't mean it didn't happen.
And, yes. I think we're allowed to show compassion for Mary if Chuckie did indeed do what she was accusing him of. She absolutely deserved to get dumped in a spectacular fashion. No one deserves violence, though. But I think we're also allowed to laugh at Mary when she's acting like a crank-crazed maniac.
Moving on to lighter topics! Mary claimed to be having a hot, steamy affair with the artistic director of The Imp. At first, this seemed outlandish. But he had been the one to hire her. And he repeatedly refused to replace her when she consistently failed to learned her lines, ran around naked, and contributed little more than muckbangs to the comedy (again, I personally found it funny when she did that, but I was in the minority).
Some skullduggery was definitely afoot. Was it "sexy time," as Mary enthusiastically claimed? Who knows. Chuckie might have been paying the dude to give Mary a hobby. But not long after Mary started boasting about boning the artistic director, he suddenly began calling her out on her unprofessional behavior. They "broke up," but Mary managed to avoid getting kicked out of the improv troupe, bragging that she could sue the director for sexual harassment if he fired her.
And then... there was the pièce de résistance of Mary's misadventures in mating. She met a biker dude at Filthy McNasty's. This guys was disgusting. Most of her previous dudes had been questionable, weird, or possibly imaginary. But we all saw this one. He was as fat as a Hutt, he smelled like a grease trap, motor oil, B.O., and a very specific type of cheese... The few teeth that he had were black and green, his fingernails were yellowed and a few of them oozed pus. Finally, the volume and crackly, bubbly properties of his frequent farts indicated to George Gay that he, "definitely had a virgin booty." Mary's lard-ass loverboy called himself "Hogg," which was probably a reference to the two-wheeled vehicle that he was very obviously too large to actually ride. Or it might have just been an obvious nickname for a filthy fat fuck.
But Hogg, like Tech Guy a few loverboys ago, had a wife. And she made frequent appearances at Filthy's as well. Hogg's wife was shockingly... kind of pretty. A little rough around the edges. Didn't smell the greatest. But she stood in stark contrast to her repugnant hubby, even with her fried hair, her sloppily inked tats, and her imprecisely applied eye makeup. Her teeth were free of obvious rot. She had a beautiful figure. And she had a carefree attitude that was probably attractive to a number of people. She'd fart right along with Hogg, she didn't shave her legs, and the profane compound nouns she came up with always cracked me up (lard-tard, smegma-booger, felch-belcher).
And Mary was once again claiming to be in a throuple with The Hoggs. But this time, there was hard evidence. They'd get busy in some corner of the establishment, and even got booted from the dive bar a few times for lewd behavior, offensive odors, and illegal drug use. On one particular night, Mrs. Hogg lit one of her hubby's gargantuan ass-rippers while Mary was doing her thing, completely shrouded by his big belly. The blue flame ignited some spilt booze on the dingy floor, and a small fire erupted. The staff were able to stomp it out, but the nasty throuple was unceremoniously banished.
Alas, management allowed Mary to re-enter the bar because she apparently had some sort of sway with one of the bartenders. Instead of meeting her...uh... "partners" for some more boom-boom, Mary decided to come back inside and gush about Hogg's majestic rooster to all of us. She smelled like D cheese, ammonia, and burnt farts as she plopped down at our table, already screeching about how much bigger her "new boo" was, compared to that vile turd of an artistic director.
George Gay: Fuck me, Mary!!! You reek. Go wash the uncircumcised methhead off your hands and then you can sit with us.
Mary started to protest. Lucy cut her off. "Your whole body is probably a veritable Petri dish from fooling around with those nasty-ass people." She handed Mary some Purell. "Was the junkie junk off, keep the bottle, and don't you fucking touch me when you come back!"
Mary's bottom lip began to quiver and she looked pleadingly at me. "Just wash up," I told her. "You're too pretty to go around smelling like that.”
Off she went to the dingy bathroom. Maybe I wasn't harsh enough, but flattery got results in this instance. And when she returned, she had managed to dilute the stench enough so that we could stand to sit at the same table with her.
Mary took a deep breath in preparation to gush about something that would have undoubtedly been disgusting, but George cut her off this time. "Mare. How do you even BANG someone with a belly like that?"
Mary (speaking a bit more quickly than usual): Oh, it just takes some creative positioning. We get him to lie down. If Mrs. Hogg is taking in the rod, I hold his bowl of jelly up with both arms and stick my cooter in his face. He eats it like his mommy made it! And when it's my turn to get blasted, the missus uses a bunch of yoga straps to hold it up. I have to take it from behind because my own little tiny bit of va-jiggle-jaggle bumps up against his bowl of jelly if why try to smash like vanilla people. It's so much fun, though!!! And then he props his bowl of jelly up on the coffee table and plays with himself while he watches his honey strap on a dil...
George: I so regret asking.
Mary: They're sooo fun to fool around with! I think they might be my forever partners! (Her hands were too shaky to slide down her body in unbridled ecstasy, so she clasped them together and hid them underneath her itty bitty little gunt.)
Lucy: So when are you gonna dump Chuck?
Mary: Well... Hogg and the missus don't have much scratch. And what they do have, they spend on smokeables. When I meet a real sugar daddy, I'll get rid of Chuckle. He pretended to be a baller before we got married. But he's just middle management and he's content to stay there. Pffffftt. No ambition.
Mary launched into another long, unnecessarily graphic gushing about her garbage partners and their nasty-ass boom-boom. So I decided this would be a good time to clear my conscience about dating Whisky. Mary hadn't so much as mentioned him in months. She was inexplicably smitten with The Hoggs. And her ultimate dream man was obviously some filthy rich dude (perhaps a literally filthy dude who was also rich), which took Whisky out of the running. I still think it would have been amusing if Mary had tried to date Mori...
I waited for her adult film star gasp to wind down before I finally interjected, "Wow. Sounds like you've got a fantastic sex life right now!"
Mary: I do! You need to get over that born-again weirdo and find a real man so that you and I can have good girl talk!
Me: Well... I'm not banging anybody, but I am dating somebody. Sort of. It's not really that big of a deal. I'm not even sure that I'm completely into him. But he's been super sweet to me...
Lucy put her arm around me, almost as if she knew I was about to need protection.
Mary: TELL ME!
I hesitated. "Well... It's Whiskers."
In an instant, George jumped up and grabbed Mary by the shoulders, lest she lunge at me.
But Mary got very quiet. Silent tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. She gasped and buried her face in her hands, now emitting one seemingly endless, impossibly high-pitched whine.
George loosened his grip and began to pat her on the back. Lucy's grip tightened on me and she whispered, "Here we go. Overreaction sequence has commenced."
Mary lifted her red, tear-stained face and glared at me. "HOW COULD YOU???"
Me: Mary, I swear. I thought you hated his guts. I haven't heard you talk about him in ages. When he asked, I thought it would be good for me to give him a chance since he's always been really sweet to me.
Mary: But what about the way he treated ME??? He was such an asshole!
Lucy: Was he? Mary, you stalked the guy. If he was rude, it was only because you weren't taking NO for an answer.
Mary: He never told me he wanted to end things. He just kept ghosting me. But whenever I showed up at his house and jumped on him, we always wound up smashing. Eventually.
I didn't have the gumption at that point in my life to suggest to Mary that it's wrong on every imaginable level to coerce someone into intimate activity, regardless of gender. And even knowing what Whiskers would eventually become, he didn't deserve THAT. I should have called her out. Instead I tried to steer the conversation back to her current bedroom bliss and try to get her to resume thinking the disgusting thoughts that delighted her so much.
Me: Who cares what he's doing now?! Aren't you insanely happy with your fun new lovers???
Mary: NO! THEY STINK! HE'S FAT. I want my sexy Whisky-Boo Whiskers back!!! Give him back, Valley! Puh-leeee-eeee-eeeee-eeeease.
Me: I don't "have" him. I'm just seeing him. If he hurt you this much, why don't you try to sit down and have a real conversation with him? It might be good for both of you to clear the air.
Mary: He blocked me on everythi-iiiiiii-iiiii-iiiiiing. Waaaaaaaaaah!
Me: Well, I guess that's your answer. You probably overwhelmed him. He seems like a bit of a softy. Personally, I need a softy right now. But I think you need a manly man.
Mary rose. She gave me an icy stare. And then she cooed in an unnervingly sweet tone. "I love you, Valley-Boo. I know you didn't mean to break my heart."
Me: Thank you, Mary. Really, I wouldn't have even considered his initial invitation if you hadn't been calling him "Satan," and telling us all that you hated him, and dating all these new guys. I didn't do it to spite you, I swear. It just happened.
Mary (still creepily, icily sweet): Yes. We're so alike, you and I. It's perfectly understandable that the same guy would go for both of us. But you owe me. You owe me big.
Me: I'm gonna disagree with that. If you think I slighted you, just tell me to fuck off. If you really do understand that these things happen, then you'll accept that there was no malice on anyone's part.
Mary: Mmmm-hmmmm. We'll see about that.
She jiggled her Jupiters, tossed her hair, and stalked out of the dive bar...
AND THEN SHE BANGED DENNIS.
2024.05.15 10:54 Constant_Committee51 I am secretly in love with your best friend, who is the half-brother of a famous actor. He invites me to his brother’s movie premiere, but things don’t go as I expected.
I've always had a crush on Grethel, ever since we met in freshman year. He was smart, funny, kind, and handsome. He was also the half-brother of """Josh Gogh""(not his real name)"", the famous actor. Grethel never bragged about it, though. He was humble and down-to-earth, unlike his celebrity sibling.
We became good friends over the years, sharing classes, hobbies, and secrets. We also worked part-time at the same bookstore, where we would chat and joke around during our shifts. Sometimes, I would catch him looking at me with a soft smile, and I would feel my heart skip a beat.
But I never told him how I felt. I was too afraid to ruin our friendship, or to be rejected. I didn't think he would ever see me as more than a friend. After all, he was the half-brother of an actor. He could have any girl he wanted.
Grethel lived with his mom and his younger brother in a modest house near our school and workplace, while I lived in a distant suburb. Whenever we had a long break between classes or shifts, he would invite me to his place to hang out. He said it was more convenient and comfortable than staying at the library or the cafeteria.
I always accepted his invitation, secretly hoping to spend more time with him. His house was cozy and warm, with family photos and souvenirs on the walls. He had a couch, a TV, a fridge, and a microwave in the living room, and a bunk bed, a desk, and a closet in his bedroom. He also had a spare room, where his brother Josh would stay whenever he visited.
Grethel and I had an awkward friendship at first, but we soon became closer. He would tease me, make me laugh, and share his thoughts and feelings with me. He would also play video games with me, or watch movies with me, or cook for me. He was the best friend I ever had, and I wished he was more.
One day, he asked me if I wanted to go to his brother's movie premiere with him. He said he had two tickets, and he didn't want to go alone. He said it would be fun, and we could hang out afterwards. I agreed, feeling a surge of excitement and nervousness.
I spent hours getting ready, trying to look my best. I wore a simple but elegant dress, and did my hair and makeup. I hoped he would notice me, and maybe feel something for me.
He picked me up in his car, and he looked stunning. He wore a black suit and a tie, and his hair was styled. He smiled when he saw me, and complimented me on my appearance. He said I looked beautiful. I felt my cheeks flush, and thanked him.
We drove to the theater, where we were greeted by a crowd of fans and paparazzi. Grethel held my hand as we walked through the chaos, and I felt a thrill of being with him. He led me to the red carpet, where his brother was waiting.
Josh Gogh looked just like he did on the screen, only more handsome. He had a charming smile and a confident posture. He hugged Grethel, and then turned to me. He looked me over, and raised his eyebrows.
"Who's this?" he asked Grethel, with a hint of curiosity.
"This is my friend, Marie," Grethel introduced me. "She's my classmate and co-worker. We came here together."
"Friend, huh?" Josh said, looking at our intertwined hands. "Well, nice to meet you, Marie. You're very pretty. Are you a fan of my movies?"
I nodded, feeling a bit starstruck. "Yes, I am. I've seen all of them. You're a great actor."
"Thank you. That's very kind of you to say. You have good taste," he said, flashing a smile. "Well, I hope you enjoy the show. Come on, Grethel. Let's go inside. The movie is about to start."
He pulled Grethel away, leaving me behind. I followed them, feeling a bit awkward. I wondered what Josh meant by his words. Was he flirting with me? Did he like me? Did he know about my feelings for Grethel?
We entered the theater, where we were seated in the front row. Grethel sat next to me, and Josh sat next to him. The lights dimmed, and the movie began. It was a thriller, and it was intense. Josh was the star, and he stole every scene. The audience gasped and clapped, and I joined them.
But I couldn't help but glance at Grethel, who was watching the movie with a serious expression. He didn't gasp or clap, even at the most shocking moments. He seemed distant and distracted, as if he was thinking about something else.
I wanted to ask him what was wrong, but I didn't want to disturb him. I decided to wait until the movie was over, and then talk to him. Maybe he would open up to me, and maybe I would find the courage to confess my feelings.
But as the movie ended, and the credits rolled, Josh stood up and grabbed Grethel's arm. He said he had to go to the after-party, and he wanted Grethel to come with him. He said he had something important to tell him, something that would change his life.
He didn't even look at me, or say goodbye. He just dragged Grethel out of the theater, leaving me alone. I felt a pang of hurt and confusion, wondering what Josh had to say to Grethel, and why he didn't care about me.
I got up, and walked out of the theater. I looked for Grethel's car, but I couldn't find it. I realized he had left with Josh, and he had forgotten about me. I felt tears sting my eyes, and I cursed myself for being so stupid.
I hailed a taxi, and gave the driver my address. I sat in the back seat, feeling miserable and hopeless. I wondered if Grethel would ever call me, or text me, or apologize. I wondered if he would ever know how I felt, or if he felt the same.
I wondered if I would ever see him again.
I remembered the last time I saw him, before the premiere. It was the day before, and we had a long break between our classes. He invited me to his place, as usual. I agreed, as usual.
We went to his house, and he made us some sandwiches. We ate them in the living room, while watching a sitcom on TV. We laughed at the jokes, and commented on the characters. We were having a good time, as usual.
Then he suggested we play some video games. He said he had a new game that he wanted to try. I agreed, as usual. We went to his bedroom, where he had his console and his TV. He turned on the game, and handed me a controller.
We played for a while, and it was fun. The game was a racing game, and we competed against each other. He was better than me, but I didn't mind. I enjoyed his company, as usual.
Then I felt tired, and I yawned. He noticed, and asked me if I wanted to take a nap. He said I could use his bed, and he would use the couch. I agreed, as usual.
He gave me a pillow and a blanket, and told me to make myself comfortable. He said he would wake me up when it was time to go. I thanked him, and lay down on his bed. He left the room, and closed the door.
I closed my eyes, and breathed in his scent. His bed smelled like him, and it made me feel warm and cozy. I cuddled with his pillow, and imagined it was him. I fell asleep, as usual.
I woke up, and opened my eyes. I saw him, and I smiled. He was lying on the lower bunk, playing video games. He didn't notice me, and he was focused on the screen. He looked cute, and I felt happy.
I got up, and climbed down from the upper bunk. I walked over to him, and tapped his shoulder. He turned around, and saw me. He smiled, and paused the game.
"Hey, sleepyhead. How was your nap?" he asked me.
"It was good. Thanks for letting me use your bed," I said.
"No problem. You looked tired. Did you have a good dream?" he asked.
I nodded, and lied. "Yeah, I did."
I didn't tell him that I dreamed of him. I didn't tell him that I loved him. I didn't tell him that I wanted to be more than friends.
I didn't tell him, as usual. ```
submitted by Constant_Committee51 to Secrets_of_Pandora [link] [comments]
We became good friends over the years, sharing classes, hobbies, and secrets. We also worked part-time at the same bookstore, where we would chat and joke around during our shifts. Sometimes, I would catch him looking at me with a soft smile, and I would feel my heart skip a beat.
But I never told him how I felt. I was too afraid to ruin our friendship, or to be rejected. I didn't think he would ever see me as more than a friend. After all, he was the half-brother of an actor. He could have any girl he wanted.
Grethel lived with his mom and his younger brother in a modest house near our school and workplace, while I lived in a distant suburb. Whenever we had a long break between classes or shifts, he would invite me to his place to hang out. He said it was more convenient and comfortable than staying at the library or the cafeteria.
I always accepted his invitation, secretly hoping to spend more time with him. His house was cozy and warm, with family photos and souvenirs on the walls. He had a couch, a TV, a fridge, and a microwave in the living room, and a bunk bed, a desk, and a closet in his bedroom. He also had a spare room, where his brother Josh would stay whenever he visited.
Grethel and I had an awkward friendship at first, but we soon became closer. He would tease me, make me laugh, and share his thoughts and feelings with me. He would also play video games with me, or watch movies with me, or cook for me. He was the best friend I ever had, and I wished he was more.
One day, he asked me if I wanted to go to his brother's movie premiere with him. He said he had two tickets, and he didn't want to go alone. He said it would be fun, and we could hang out afterwards. I agreed, feeling a surge of excitement and nervousness.
I spent hours getting ready, trying to look my best. I wore a simple but elegant dress, and did my hair and makeup. I hoped he would notice me, and maybe feel something for me.
He picked me up in his car, and he looked stunning. He wore a black suit and a tie, and his hair was styled. He smiled when he saw me, and complimented me on my appearance. He said I looked beautiful. I felt my cheeks flush, and thanked him.
We drove to the theater, where we were greeted by a crowd of fans and paparazzi. Grethel held my hand as we walked through the chaos, and I felt a thrill of being with him. He led me to the red carpet, where his brother was waiting.
Josh Gogh looked just like he did on the screen, only more handsome. He had a charming smile and a confident posture. He hugged Grethel, and then turned to me. He looked me over, and raised his eyebrows.
"Who's this?" he asked Grethel, with a hint of curiosity.
"This is my friend, Marie," Grethel introduced me. "She's my classmate and co-worker. We came here together."
"Friend, huh?" Josh said, looking at our intertwined hands. "Well, nice to meet you, Marie. You're very pretty. Are you a fan of my movies?"
I nodded, feeling a bit starstruck. "Yes, I am. I've seen all of them. You're a great actor."
"Thank you. That's very kind of you to say. You have good taste," he said, flashing a smile. "Well, I hope you enjoy the show. Come on, Grethel. Let's go inside. The movie is about to start."
He pulled Grethel away, leaving me behind. I followed them, feeling a bit awkward. I wondered what Josh meant by his words. Was he flirting with me? Did he like me? Did he know about my feelings for Grethel?
We entered the theater, where we were seated in the front row. Grethel sat next to me, and Josh sat next to him. The lights dimmed, and the movie began. It was a thriller, and it was intense. Josh was the star, and he stole every scene. The audience gasped and clapped, and I joined them.
But I couldn't help but glance at Grethel, who was watching the movie with a serious expression. He didn't gasp or clap, even at the most shocking moments. He seemed distant and distracted, as if he was thinking about something else.
I wanted to ask him what was wrong, but I didn't want to disturb him. I decided to wait until the movie was over, and then talk to him. Maybe he would open up to me, and maybe I would find the courage to confess my feelings.
But as the movie ended, and the credits rolled, Josh stood up and grabbed Grethel's arm. He said he had to go to the after-party, and he wanted Grethel to come with him. He said he had something important to tell him, something that would change his life.
He didn't even look at me, or say goodbye. He just dragged Grethel out of the theater, leaving me alone. I felt a pang of hurt and confusion, wondering what Josh had to say to Grethel, and why he didn't care about me.
I got up, and walked out of the theater. I looked for Grethel's car, but I couldn't find it. I realized he had left with Josh, and he had forgotten about me. I felt tears sting my eyes, and I cursed myself for being so stupid.
I hailed a taxi, and gave the driver my address. I sat in the back seat, feeling miserable and hopeless. I wondered if Grethel would ever call me, or text me, or apologize. I wondered if he would ever know how I felt, or if he felt the same.
I wondered if I would ever see him again.
I remembered the last time I saw him, before the premiere. It was the day before, and we had a long break between our classes. He invited me to his place, as usual. I agreed, as usual.
We went to his house, and he made us some sandwiches. We ate them in the living room, while watching a sitcom on TV. We laughed at the jokes, and commented on the characters. We were having a good time, as usual.
Then he suggested we play some video games. He said he had a new game that he wanted to try. I agreed, as usual. We went to his bedroom, where he had his console and his TV. He turned on the game, and handed me a controller.
We played for a while, and it was fun. The game was a racing game, and we competed against each other. He was better than me, but I didn't mind. I enjoyed his company, as usual.
Then I felt tired, and I yawned. He noticed, and asked me if I wanted to take a nap. He said I could use his bed, and he would use the couch. I agreed, as usual.
He gave me a pillow and a blanket, and told me to make myself comfortable. He said he would wake me up when it was time to go. I thanked him, and lay down on his bed. He left the room, and closed the door.
I closed my eyes, and breathed in his scent. His bed smelled like him, and it made me feel warm and cozy. I cuddled with his pillow, and imagined it was him. I fell asleep, as usual.
I woke up, and opened my eyes. I saw him, and I smiled. He was lying on the lower bunk, playing video games. He didn't notice me, and he was focused on the screen. He looked cute, and I felt happy.
I got up, and climbed down from the upper bunk. I walked over to him, and tapped his shoulder. He turned around, and saw me. He smiled, and paused the game.
"Hey, sleepyhead. How was your nap?" he asked me.
"It was good. Thanks for letting me use your bed," I said.
"No problem. You looked tired. Did you have a good dream?" he asked.
I nodded, and lied. "Yeah, I did."
I didn't tell him that I dreamed of him. I didn't tell him that I loved him. I didn't tell him that I wanted to be more than friends.
I didn't tell him, as usual. ```
2024.05.15 09:58 marienbad2 New detective thing, short dialogue scene of her talking to the bartender in a bar where the victim met someone
I drive over to the bar on 44th Street. Doesn't take long to find it. It's got a black sign with silver writing on it, the name is spelled out in some florid style, similar to the Coke name on the cans, lots of flowing ornamentation, much more than on the actual Coke logo. Inside it's a chintzy place with some old 90s EDM playing, sounds a bit like The Chemical Brothers, that big beat style. It ain't loud. The place isn't busy at this time, there's a guy sat at the bar in an old, rumpled suit, and a few guys spotted around the place. There's CCTV all over the bar and I wonder how long they keep it for. I walk up to the bar and the bartender comes over. He's a tall, skinny guy with black pants and a black company top.
He looks me over. "What'll it be, toots?"
He's got a squeaky voice, sounds like he just got here from 1938. I show him my badge and then the picture.
"You know this guy?"
He looks at it carefully, as if he needs to inspect it to be sure. "Sure, sure. He comes here sometimes."
"When was he last here?"
He thinks for a second, rubs his chin. "About a month ago. Ain't seen him since then though."
"Was he with anyone?"
"Not when he arrived," he says with a knowing smile.
"So he met someone here?"
"Oh yeah." He fiddles with his wedding band. "Funny though, didn't think she was his type."
I look at his hands and then back at his face. "Married?"
"Working."
"Did she work for him?"
"I don't know. They left together but another guy left with them," he says.
"What do you mean? They all left together? How did that work?"
He thinks again. "She was chatting with some girl, probably another worker but I ain't seen here around here before. Guy was sat at the bar and then she came to buy a drink. They talk a bit and then when she went back to her friend she kept glancing over. He gets up, walks to a booth, she joins him. They talked for a bit, I can't remember how long, but not long. Then this other guy comes in, sees them and joins them. She buys a round of drinks, they talk, drink up, and all three of them leave together."
I nod as if it makes sense. "What did they look like? The working girl and the guy?"
"Uh, the guy, he was a short-stack." He looks away when he realises what he's said to me. "Not tough looking, small, looked like someone who'd pay, if you know what I mean."
"Client?"
"Possibly. I ain't seen him in here before. He was smartly dressed, not a suit, but a shirt and nice slacks."
"And the girl?"
"Tall, blonde, fake though, bleached. Long legs, short skirt, tight top. You know what I'm saying, right? She's gotta suck 'em in. Worked like a charm from what I could see."
"You think he paid and went with her?"
"If they'd left alone, just the two of 'em I'da said yes, but with the other guy? Who knows. Maybe they wanted a three-way or something, but I didn't get the impression the two guys knew one another."
"What about the girl? She been in before? Did it seem like she knew the other guy, shorty?"
He shakes his head. "Not from what I seen. I didn't hear them talk, but he seemed to be introducing himself to them. Then he sat down and like I said, they talked, she bought drinks, they drank and talked and left. And she's a regular. I think she works nearby."
"Any idea where?"
He shakes his head. "I stay away from that stuff."
"Did this guy," I shake the picture, "talk to shorty when the worker bought the drinks?"
"I didn't look at them, I was making the drinks. They didn't seem to be talking when she got up and came over to the bar."
"So it looks like none of them knew one another but they all left together and she's a working girl?"
"About the size of it, yeah."
"Okay, thanks. One last thing, the CCTV; how long do you keep it for?"
"About a month."
"So they might be on it?"
"It's possible." He looks down the bar to where a guy is waving his glass. "I gotta go, sorry."
I nod and watch him walk off then head back to my car. I ponder what he told me, and realise I'm stuck. I can't think who the short guy might be, and the working girl matches to the description of any number of them in the city. I try to think of a working place nearby and can't figure any. I know a guy who works with them, tries to help them out, stop them working. He's a part of some local church as far as I know. I decide to pay him a visit.
submitted by marienbad2 to FictionSerials [link] [comments]
He looks me over. "What'll it be, toots?"
He's got a squeaky voice, sounds like he just got here from 1938. I show him my badge and then the picture.
"You know this guy?"
He looks at it carefully, as if he needs to inspect it to be sure. "Sure, sure. He comes here sometimes."
"When was he last here?"
He thinks for a second, rubs his chin. "About a month ago. Ain't seen him since then though."
"Was he with anyone?"
"Not when he arrived," he says with a knowing smile.
"So he met someone here?"
"Oh yeah." He fiddles with his wedding band. "Funny though, didn't think she was his type."
I look at his hands and then back at his face. "Married?"
"Working."
"Did she work for him?"
"I don't know. They left together but another guy left with them," he says.
"What do you mean? They all left together? How did that work?"
He thinks again. "She was chatting with some girl, probably another worker but I ain't seen here around here before. Guy was sat at the bar and then she came to buy a drink. They talk a bit and then when she went back to her friend she kept glancing over. He gets up, walks to a booth, she joins him. They talked for a bit, I can't remember how long, but not long. Then this other guy comes in, sees them and joins them. She buys a round of drinks, they talk, drink up, and all three of them leave together."
I nod as if it makes sense. "What did they look like? The working girl and the guy?"
"Uh, the guy, he was a short-stack." He looks away when he realises what he's said to me. "Not tough looking, small, looked like someone who'd pay, if you know what I mean."
"Client?"
"Possibly. I ain't seen him in here before. He was smartly dressed, not a suit, but a shirt and nice slacks."
"And the girl?"
"Tall, blonde, fake though, bleached. Long legs, short skirt, tight top. You know what I'm saying, right? She's gotta suck 'em in. Worked like a charm from what I could see."
"You think he paid and went with her?"
"If they'd left alone, just the two of 'em I'da said yes, but with the other guy? Who knows. Maybe they wanted a three-way or something, but I didn't get the impression the two guys knew one another."
"What about the girl? She been in before? Did it seem like she knew the other guy, shorty?"
He shakes his head. "Not from what I seen. I didn't hear them talk, but he seemed to be introducing himself to them. Then he sat down and like I said, they talked, she bought drinks, they drank and talked and left. And she's a regular. I think she works nearby."
"Any idea where?"
He shakes his head. "I stay away from that stuff."
"Did this guy," I shake the picture, "talk to shorty when the worker bought the drinks?"
"I didn't look at them, I was making the drinks. They didn't seem to be talking when she got up and came over to the bar."
"So it looks like none of them knew one another but they all left together and she's a working girl?"
"About the size of it, yeah."
"Okay, thanks. One last thing, the CCTV; how long do you keep it for?"
"About a month."
"So they might be on it?"
"It's possible." He looks down the bar to where a guy is waving his glass. "I gotta go, sorry."
I nod and watch him walk off then head back to my car. I ponder what he told me, and realise I'm stuck. I can't think who the short guy might be, and the working girl matches to the description of any number of them in the city. I try to think of a working place nearby and can't figure any. I know a guy who works with them, tries to help them out, stop them working. He's a part of some local church as far as I know. I decide to pay him a visit.
2024.05.15 09:56 InsaneComicBooker Wizards...Nine? A proposal
UNMARKED SPOILERS BELOW, I will sadly go into spoiler territorry so often the post would look like a bad SCP Foundation article if I tried to black out every single one.
First thing I thought upon finding out about the Wizard Three in Sigil was to notice an opportunitty to include more iconic characters. As we learned more about their role I noticed several complaints about them. Like, "why are we having epic level NPCs relegating the work to mid-level party"? Or "isn't Tasha evil? What is she doing here?" Or "how the hell did Kas fool Tasha, who knows Mordekainen very well?". And so an idea to fix these issues all at once presented itself to me.
In this version of adventure, the PCs are summonned not by Wizard Three, but Wizard Nine. Nine iconic, high-level wizards or other magic users from across D&D worlds or even beyond. They were all summonned to Sigil, to each tap into one of Outer Planes of appriopriate aligment and channel that power into Wish, so the Will of the entire multiverse wishes of Vecna's death. Once it fails, the wizards realize it means one of them must nto be who they claim, possibly an agent of Vecna. So they immediatelly lock themselves in Sanctuary - only PCs can enter and leave because they weren't i nthe room doing the casting of that super Wish. And every time they return with next piece of the Rod, they find Wizards in most disfunctional game of Among Us ever, often probably erupting into violence - this is nine geniuses working AGAINST each other as everyone suspects everyone.
Now, you could keep the original reveal, where Mordekainen is the imposter. If you do, I would advocate against bringing any magic users who know him, like Tasha, Elminster, Storm Silverhand or Dalamar the Dark. If you decide to change the imposter's identity, you can happily bring in some of them, but I would avoid those who know each other (so if you want Elminster, then no Mordekainen or Dalamar).
Evil characters can work with this group because of several reasons, which they should be open about. They may vary from "You think I don't realize Vecna is going to screw ME over alongside everyone else", through "uppity gods need to be put in their place, especially this one" to "I would love what the guy is promising to do to all creation, but I'm not bending my knee to NOBODY!".
Below is a list of proposed characters to use from as many worlds I could think of. I will be comign back to this post to add more names and more worlds with further research, potentially going even beyond strictly D&D settings. You ca drop your own suggestions, I will happily add them to the list with next edit. All requirements are that the character is able to cast 9th level spells, if you have any notes for potential DM willing to use them, please provide them as well.
Eberron - I noticed most of suggestions for Eberron are of evil variety, due to the setting's lack of high-level heroic NPCs (with two exceptions that cannot leave their seats of power), but we'll work with what we have
submitted by InsaneComicBooker to VecnaEveofRuin [link] [comments]
First thing I thought upon finding out about the Wizard Three in Sigil was to notice an opportunitty to include more iconic characters. As we learned more about their role I noticed several complaints about them. Like, "why are we having epic level NPCs relegating the work to mid-level party"? Or "isn't Tasha evil? What is she doing here?" Or "how the hell did Kas fool Tasha, who knows Mordekainen very well?". And so an idea to fix these issues all at once presented itself to me.
In this version of adventure, the PCs are summonned not by Wizard Three, but Wizard Nine. Nine iconic, high-level wizards or other magic users from across D&D worlds or even beyond. They were all summonned to Sigil, to each tap into one of Outer Planes of appriopriate aligment and channel that power into Wish, so the Will of the entire multiverse wishes of Vecna's death. Once it fails, the wizards realize it means one of them must nto be who they claim, possibly an agent of Vecna. So they immediatelly lock themselves in Sanctuary - only PCs can enter and leave because they weren't i nthe room doing the casting of that super Wish. And every time they return with next piece of the Rod, they find Wizards in most disfunctional game of Among Us ever, often probably erupting into violence - this is nine geniuses working AGAINST each other as everyone suspects everyone.
Now, you could keep the original reveal, where Mordekainen is the imposter. If you do, I would advocate against bringing any magic users who know him, like Tasha, Elminster, Storm Silverhand or Dalamar the Dark. If you decide to change the imposter's identity, you can happily bring in some of them, but I would avoid those who know each other (so if you want Elminster, then no Mordekainen or Dalamar).
Evil characters can work with this group because of several reasons, which they should be open about. They may vary from "You think I don't realize Vecna is going to screw ME over alongside everyone else", through "uppity gods need to be put in their place, especially this one" to "I would love what the guy is promising to do to all creation, but I'm not bending my knee to NOBODY!".
Below is a list of proposed characters to use from as many worlds I could think of. I will be comign back to this post to add more names and more worlds with further research, potentially going even beyond strictly D&D settings. You ca drop your own suggestions, I will happily add them to the list with next edit. All requirements are that the character is able to cast 9th level spells, if you have any notes for potential DM willing to use them, please provide them as well.
Eberron - I noticed most of suggestions for Eberron are of evil variety, due to the setting's lack of high-level heroic NPCs (with two exceptions that cannot leave their seats of power), but we'll work with what we have
- Mordain the Fleshweaver is the most popular suggestion, being a rare Chaotic Evil 18th level Wizard in Eberron. An issue is that Mordain is often used, and even recommended by Keith Baker to be used as Eberron's stand-in for Vecna. If you wanna run adventures with Hand or Eye of Vecna in Eberron, they are hand and Eye of Mordain. This may disqualify him, but you could alternatively play into it. Have Mordain rant Vecna is "ripping him off" or call the lich "a pale immitation of true dark sorcery".
- Hektula is Keith Baker's personal choice for a standin for Tasha. She is a pwoerful Rakshasa Archmage, with passion for collecting forbidden tomes of dark magic, serving one of the Overlords and firmly Lawful Evil. I certainly could see some laughs when wizards realize there's an impostor among them and all eyes turn towards Hektula, who goes "Of course, blame the shapeshifter!".
- I have seen floated idea for Sora Kell or her three daughters. The Daughters canonically in 3rd edition had levels 10 or 11 on top of being half-fiend Hags. You could maybe handwave that they get to cast 9th level spells as a coven, Sora Kell is more ambigious, with no statblock and her lore giving vibes of Baba Yaga, fans compare her to Demon Lords in power level. Personally I feel she would stand out too much.
- the Mighty Nein Reunion got us level 20 versions of Caleb Widogast, so he's great excuse for a DM to do their best Liam O'Brian impression of angsty bi diseaster wizard who really wishes he was back with his boyfriend, instead of being trapped here with all those asshole wizards.
- Not a wizard but a Bard, but if you want to bend a defintion a bit, Scanlan Shorthalt could be pulled out from a moment in time before he lost an ability to cast Wish. Considering this happens in final episode of Campaign 1 and their final enemy was Vecna, it would be thematically appriopriate.
- Raistlin Majere is by FAR msot iconic character of the entire Dragonlance, the go to if you want to include an iconic Dragonlance character. Dragonlance Saga 15 anniversarry lists his aligment as Neutral, while 3rd edition book Legends of the Twins lits him as a Neutral Evil - the latter is after he becomes master of Time and Present and so powerful enough to be included.
- Dalamar the Dark - after Raistlin's demise, Dalamar was touted as new most powerful wizard, he was paired with Mordekainen and Elminster to form original Wizard Three. He is also listed as Neutral Evil, but I would argue he could be Lawful Evil.
- Fistandantilus - the greatest wizard before Raistlin, he is also Neutral Evil, but I woudl argue he's more CHaotic Evil, due to his tendency to backstab other wizards to steal their power. I honestly cannot see this guy working in this adventure, he seems like he would try to bodyjack someone and get 8 Desintegrates to the face.
- Phalin Majere - if you want a good-aligned representative of Krynn, Raistlin's nephew, Phalin is basically a magical prodigy and chosen one and firmly Lawful Good. The issue may be that it may be hard to find a time where he is powerful enough to be here, but before Wizard magic on Krynn went away (because all Gods, including Gods of magic, f*ed off to space and then had the whole planet stolen from under their noses) and he had to reclass to Sorcerer, starting all the way from the bottom.
- My first pick would be Liliana Vess, originally from Dominaria, nowadays hanging out on Arcavios, home world of Strixheaven. Strixheaven book lists her as true neutral, and she has a history full of twists and turns where this character development from original evil could be justified. Personality-wise she could be the easiest quick replacement for Tasha, even if you don't feel like putting in the whole group of nine wizards. Also if you have player bringign back a Curricullum of Chaos PC for this game I can only imagine their jaw drop upon seeing "Provesso Vess" among greatest wizards in the Multiverse, snarking at all of them.
- Teferi Akosa, originally from Dominaria, now his homeland of Zalfir became a separate plane. He was always extremely powerful, what if accidentially phasing his whole country out of time and space, he was always heroic and good intended, but often prone of getting unwaranted suspictions from others, which makes him good for this kind of plot.
- From Ravnica we could pull either Jace Beleren or the dragon-mage Niv-Mizzet, during their respective time as the Living Guildpact, representative of all 10 Guilds of Ravnica. In this position their could fit well for neutral-aligned places of aligment chart, Jace leaning towards Neutral Good or Lawful Neutral somewhat more.
- Speaking of Dragons, here is a crazy idea - Nicol Bolas, one of greatest villains in Magic as Chaotic Evil representative. Okay, it may be not a good idea, I cannot imagine a situation where he doesn't try to hijack the plot and take Vecna's place or just kill everyone when the problem of potential traitor arises. Still, the idea of this really evil demigod-drgon being his petty, snarky self towards other iconic characters is kinda funny.
- For a reach more into Magic's past, we have Urza, original protagonist. He would fit well into Lawful Neutral or even Lawful Evil role, considering last time he dedicated himself to stop multiversal-level threat, original Phyrexia, his means quickly "begun resembling Phyrexian ends". This is the guy who honestly tried to outeugenics a wizard nazi "for greater good". Seriously, so much of Magic lore can be summed up with words "Local Man Ruins Everything" and picture of Urza.
- A different type of Magic candidate is Jodah, ultrapowerful Archmage who is not a planeswalker like others, but had often maneuver around them, so he is used to having to outsmart powerful people. He represents all colors of mana so he would fit for any of middle collum positions.
- Jodah old associate, Jaya Ballard, could also work very well, considering she did eventually ecame so powerful some planes confused her with a diety and established religions to her. She strikes me as a Neutral Good candidate.
- Prince Haldemar of Haaken - protagonist of series of short stories "Voyage of Princess Ark". Daring explorer, captain of flying ship Princess Ark, hero of Empire of Alphatia. Champions of Mystara describes him as good and heroic but having "typical Alphatian chaotic thendencies". As such I'd lean towards Chaotic Good or Neutral Good.
- Bargle the Infamous - Chaotic Evil, if D&D ever had something close to the Joker, it was Bargle. Bargle was originally an evil wizard who kills mentolove interest of the player in introductory adventure of Red Box, but this made him enemy #1 of whole generations of players and elevated to first iconic evil wizard. I would be wary of using him, as any D&D veteran or grognard may forget about Vecna in favor of trying to strangle the guy with his bare hands.
- Demetrion Karagentreropolus - most powerful Archmage in Empire of Thyatis (think: fantasy Roman Empire), he is of lawful aligment and described as sometiems working secretly to undermine Emperor's decisions that he finds to be bad for the Empire and its people. As such he could slot as Lawful Good.
- Empress Eriadna the Wise of Alphatia - current Empress of Alphatia, canonically of Neutral aligment, she rules msot powerful empire in the world and probably haven't conquered all of it only because her subjects care more for magical research and getting high. She's 80-years old.
- Prince Zandor - 40-years old son of empress Eriadna, described as "chaos personified", his aligment is "Chaotic (very)". Thanks to Mr. Welch it became popular to play him as wizard version of Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. Use him if you want a comic relief.
- Master Terari - former Emperor of Alphatia, he abdicated in favor of Eriadna and disappeared, he now runs magic school in a small kingdom of Karameikos, he is working to ascend to Immortality (basically godhood without calling it so).
- Principalities of Glantri have multiple Princes of various all kinds of aligment. The country got 2e book which gave them classic aligment., I will list them below, but two I would avoid are Eitienne d'Amberville and Jaggar von Drachenfels, since they are actually Immortals (Rad, patron of magic and Diamond,, discount Bahamut, respectively). Immortals officially aren't Gods, but this is often a distinction without difference, so I cannot see them showing up in Sigil without Lady of Pain nuking the whole building.
- Princess Carnelia de Belcadiz y Fedorias (Lawful Neutral, extremely beautiful, known for her horrible temper) and Princess Carlotina Erewan ((LG, basically discount Galadriel) rule two Elven principalities, the latter rules more traditional Elves, the former's subjects are...Spanish Elves. Yes, really. They do not like each other.
- On the evil side we have Prince Morphail Gorevitch-Woszlany (wizard Nosferatu, which is like Vampire with less weaknesses, he's Strahd on steroids), Princess Dolores Hilsbury (actually a Night Dragon, undead dragon-shaped mosnter, in disguise) and Prince Brannart McGregor (lich, he's actually from real-world Scotland, I kid you not). All three are Chaotic Evil and hide their true nature, though considering Morphail looks like he walked out of set of Dracula, they aren't trying very hard.
- Rounding Glantri princes we have Prince Jherek Virayana (Neutral, master of illusions, he deflected to Glantri from their mortal enemies, Ethengar Khanates, so he is used to being under suspiction for treachery) and Prince Harald Haaskinz (LG, he's kinda new guy in the club).
- I don't want to spend much time on Oerth since I suspect anyone using this will use either Mordekainen and/or Tasha, who are already in the module. But some alternatives could be any of wizards who have spells named after them - Bigby is neutral, Tenser is Lawful Good, Leomund is Lawful Neutral or Lawful Good, Nystrul is Neutral, Rary is Neutral Evil
- Alustriel was already included. She and her five sisters (not counting Dove Silverhand, who is a Ranger and a Ghost) all fit similair role as "big good immortal sorcerress". With exception of Alassra Silverhand a.k.a. Simbul the Witch-Queen, who is Chaotic Neutral, they're all Chaotic Good, so I see little point switching Alustriel for another one if you want CG spot to be fit by someone from Toril. I would also be wary of using Storm Silverhand, who, according to Ed Greenwood, helped real Mordekainen recover after his role in Curse of Strahd and has a "friends with benefits" relationship with him.
- Elminster is also Chaotic Good, I don't get why WotC shy away from using him. I get he is controversial, but his exclusion has been kinda awkward here. They really don't think Kas can fool Elminster, but he can fool Tasha? As far as I know only one of them slept with Mordekainen, like come on! Anyway, if you want to use him, Elmisnter is also Chaotic Good, so kinda redundant with other Choosen of Mystra.
- Larloch the Shadow-King or Szass Tam could each work as a powerful lawful evil lich, that allies with the good guys out of spite against interloper god that dared throw their weight around and claim godhood over THEIR world. Larloch in particular is no stranger of going against gods and their servants, who seek to rewrite rules of magic that is basic of his power - just ask Shar and her servants at Shade Enclave.
- While characters from Baldur's Gate 3 end their adventure around 13th level, Book Minsc & Boo's Journal of Villain contains statblocks of multiple characters from previous two games. Edwin Odesserion, infamous Red Wizard of Thay, is among them, powerful enough to fit in the group.
- from Forgotten Realms, we could reach for semi-official suppliment minsc and Boo's Journal of Villainy, written by lead writer of first two Baldur's Gate games. It suggests an alternate fate for main villains of Baldur's Gate II - Jon Irenicus and his sister Bodhi - that places them in Demiplane of Dread, leading their own evil cult working towards their escape. He is neutral evil, she is Chaotic Evil
- From Mystara we have Meredoth, main antagonist of classic Ravenloft module Ship of Horrors, condemned to Demiplane of Dread afre his negligence caused his subjects to die of starvation. TWICE!. He is cursed to be unable to discover new magic on his own and having to steal knowledge, so he would be itching, as a mole, to steal from other eight wizards in the room. He's Chaotic Evil.
2024.05.15 09:55 Dontoptiontrade I broke up with a girl because of my Asian mom, don’t make the same mistake as me.
I am Japanese Chinese American. I am in SoCal, very diverse. I was with a half Mexican/half black girl, after a few months of dating her I showed a picture of her to my mother. At first she said oh nice, and that was basically it.
Over the next few months, she would bring up random questions:
“Are you sure she’s a good person?” “You know you can get many girls in the future, no need to settle” “You know you’re young, you’ll have much more choices in the future”
All that random bullshit continued for a couple of more months.
Then she realized yeah I really did like that girl. That’s when the hell started. In the middle of an arguement she brought up my girlfriend and how I should break up with her. Went on a very extremely racist rant about how all black people are terrible and I will never fit in with them, that they’re violent and how I’ll never be accepted by my gf’s family.
Then she told me I had to break up with her or else she would stop supporting me financially for school (I was 20). So everyday she would ask me if I broke up with her. I eventually caved and did. And when I told her, she looked so happy, and said “finally!” but I was dying inside. And she stopped bothering me about it.
Now I’m dating a girl for past few months that is Mexican, I’m 22 now. Never going to tell her about her, and I plan to just leave this house and cut all contact with this terrible toxic family. My mom is Chinese, even drives my dad crazy.
Can’t wait to move out and live in a car. Only a matter of time.
Just came across this sub, it feels good to see others with similar situations.
submitted by Dontoptiontrade to AsianParentStories [link] [comments]
Over the next few months, she would bring up random questions:
“Are you sure she’s a good person?” “You know you can get many girls in the future, no need to settle” “You know you’re young, you’ll have much more choices in the future”
All that random bullshit continued for a couple of more months.
Then she realized yeah I really did like that girl. That’s when the hell started. In the middle of an arguement she brought up my girlfriend and how I should break up with her. Went on a very extremely racist rant about how all black people are terrible and I will never fit in with them, that they’re violent and how I’ll never be accepted by my gf’s family.
Then she told me I had to break up with her or else she would stop supporting me financially for school (I was 20). So everyday she would ask me if I broke up with her. I eventually caved and did. And when I told her, she looked so happy, and said “finally!” but I was dying inside. And she stopped bothering me about it.
Now I’m dating a girl for past few months that is Mexican, I’m 22 now. Never going to tell her about her, and I plan to just leave this house and cut all contact with this terrible toxic family. My mom is Chinese, even drives my dad crazy.
Can’t wait to move out and live in a car. Only a matter of time.
Just came across this sub, it feels good to see others with similar situations.
2024.05.15 09:47 Useful_Coconut9495 Not sure about one of my boyfriend’s friends
I, (22F), have been dating my boyfriend, (20M), for about nine months now. Our relationship is pretty good overall. We hardly get into arguments, and when we do we resolve them pretty quickly. My boyfriend’s friend (21F) has been giving me very weird vibes since I started dating him. They’ve known each other since grade school, and she has a boyfriend that she’s been dating for about the same amount of time I’ve been dating my boyfriend, however, I always feel like she’s trying to one up me in my relationship. For example, one time we were all on a discord voice call, and my boyfriend ran out of cigarettes. They live pretty close by (like walking distance from each other) and I live about 25 minutes away, plus she has a car (my boyfriend doesn’t have a car). My boyfriend had just recently talked to me about quitting smoking, so in call I basically told him to try to exist without cigarettes. However, she insisted on going to the gas station and getting him cigarettes. This kinda pissed me off because 1.) she was enabling him, and 2.) it felt like she was brown-nosing a bit. When she dropped off his cigarettes she also brought him beer (he’s also trying to drink less alcohol) so once again just enabling him. She also likes to bring up a lot of inappropriate things from their past. Again for example, before my boyfriend and I met apparently they went to an event together and shared an hotel room. She randomly brought this up one day, and sent videos in our shared group chat of them in their room. They were relatively innocent in nature, however the way she filmed him felt more crush-y than platonic. Now I’m not one of those weirdos who think men and women can’t just be friends. I’ve had male friends who I had strictly platonic feelings for. However, those videos felt like the kind of videos you take of your crush to send to your girlfriends later. She also has apparently seen his balls before, which is…? Like I get that they’ve known each other for a long time, so her seeing his balls in a non-sexual context isn’t far fetched. However, why tell me? Like why do I have to know that you’ve seen my boyfriend’s balls. She has also asked about details of our sex life and whether or not my boyfriend whimpers. I will say that I did indulge her when she asked, half because I wanted to lay claim, and half because I wanted to see how she’d react. Also going back to our group chat, originally when my boyfriend invited me she kicked me out because she “wasn’t comfortable with someone she doesn’t know in there”. I also went through the old messages to see how everybody else reacted to my boyfriend inviting me, and nobody else cared but she said “I don’t think it’s a good idea to mix relationships and friends but whatever” very passive aggressively. Eventually I was re-invited, but after I had been kicked out the first time specifically because of her I’ve been side-eying her ever since. Even yesterday while we were all in voice call she turned on her camera. After awhile of literally nobody noticing that her camera was on (except for me because I tab’d out of my game to type something) she pulled out her vape and tried to get my boyfriend’s attention. She was literally like “Hey (bfn) look at this vape I just got, you want it?”. Once again I got the ick because it felt brown-nosey. Luckily my boyfriend was too invested in his game to respond so I spoke up and said “He doesn’t vape anymore, he mostly smokes cigarettes.” So again it just felt like….girl. There’s lot of other little things she did/does that I don’t feel like typing out in depth. Like when she dropped off some weed for him and was talking to him in a low sultry voice and starring deep in his eye right in front of me (it was weird, but I quite literally was tweaking so I didn’t say anything). Also the time that one of their nonblack friends said the nword and I wasn’t okay with it (I’m black). So me, boyfriend, and a few other friends decided to distance ourselves from them and she tried to gaslight me into believing it wasn’t bad enough to stop talking to them… Like I said earlier she has a boyfriend that she’s apparently super in love with, but she seems to always direct her attention towards my boyfriend, and I want to know if I have a right to feel a type of way about it. I know that I could just be over thinking it, especially given that I have BPD, but my intuition is usually correct on things. How should I even go about this?TLDR; My boyfriend’s friend seems like she likes him despite having a boyfriend herself. Am I overthinking things?
2024.05.15 09:25 Knugget_Knight Formal (Prom) fit Circa 2018
 | Hi Everyone! Figured I'd post the photos of my co-ord I wore to my graduation Formal way back in 2018 Ft: My big sister in gothic lolita inspired style. My date ditched the night before so I took my plush octopus as a date instead ❤️ 🐙 submitted by Knugget_Knight to Lolita [link] [comments] This may sound narcissistic of me but after being terribly bullied during my last year of highschool, I could tell that many of my bullies wanted to somehow deter me from attending senior Prom (as Americans call it) so instead I was determined to "outdress" everyone there. If I could do something differently, it would be to do my own makeup and not go for an expensive "prom makeup artist" since I don't quite like how they did my face. Doesn't suit the lolita style tbh! Some deets for anyone curious: The tiara was from a local pagent winner way back in the 70s and I braided fake roses all around it. My mom helped me sew a hem on the black veil as it was made from expensive lace that would fray given the chance. Jsk is "Pirate Woman" from AaTP Boots were Innocent World that have long since passed away And the blouse is a lucky thrift shop find! All items aside from the blouse were heavily discounted closetchild finds! Compared to Formal dress prices, mine didn't make up half of what they sell for. Feel free to ask any other questions too. |
2024.05.15 09:15 deseyfashion Top 10 Corporate Photoshoot Services in Singapore 2024
 | Corporate photography is essentially about taking photos for businesses to help them showcase their brand, products, and services. These photos play a crucial role in building the company's image and promoting what it offers to its audience. They're used across various platforms like company websites, brochures, social media, and press releases. Additionally, they serve individuals who want to build a professional portfolio to highlight their skills and expertise. submitted by deseyfashion to u/deseyfashion [link] [comments] Within the realm of corporate photography, there's a diverse range of styles and purposes. The most common type is corporate portraits, which include professional headshots and outdoor portraits. These portraits are often featured on company websites, employee profiles, and corporate directories, giving a face to the company's workforce and conveying a sense of professionalism. Another popular style is capturing 'business-in-action' shots, which provide a glimpse into the daily operations of the company. These photos showcase employees at work, giving viewers an inside look into the company's culture, values, and working environment. They help to humanise the brand and build connections with the audience. Group portraits are also prevalent in corporate photography, highlighting teamwork and camaraderie among employees. These photos often feature the entire workforce together, conveying a sense of unity and collaboration within the company. In addition to indoor studio settings, environmental or outdoor portraits are gaining popularity in corporate photography. These photos are taken outside of the traditional office environment and often tell a story or evoke a specific mood. They provide a more relaxed and natural look while still conveying the desired message or brand image. In Singapore, the corporate photography scene is thriving, with numerous photo studios offering specialised services tailored to business needs. However, with so many options available, choosing the right studio can be overwhelming. To assist in this process, we've compiled a curated list of the top studios in Singapore for corporate photography, each renowned for their expertise, creativity, and professionalism. Whether you require headshots, product photography, or event coverage, these studios excel in delivering high-quality images that meet the standards of Corporate Photoshoot Singapore. Read on to learn more about the Top 10 Corporate Photoshoot Services in Singapore 2024. 1. Mount Studio In Singapore's bustling photography scene, Mount Studio stands out for its reliability and creativity. Embarking on its journey in 2017 within the cosy confines of a 1,300-square-foot studio, Mount Studio soon found itself outgrowing its original space, prompting a move to a more expansive locale capable of housing both photo and video studios under one roof. They offer a wide range of photography services, including corporate, wedding, fashion, and event photography. They also allow others to rent their studios for their own projects. Key Features: ❖ Mount Studio now operates three studios within a spacious 2,400-square-foot facility. ❖ With over 15 years of combined experience, the founders ensure top-quality service. ❖ Conveniently located near Marymount MRT station, Mount Studio is easily accessible to clients across Singapore. ❖ They have worked with prestigious clients like OCBC Bank, Visa, IBM, Klook, and Philip Morris. Corporate Photography Services: ● Corporate Portraits - Professional photography at Mount Studio includes retouching three selected photos per person and the option for one backdrop. All photos are provided in low-resolution JPEG format for selection, with the final edited high-resolution JPEGs sent via Dropbox within 7-10 working days. ● On-location Photography Service: Their services include sending a professional photographer and assistant to the client's chosen location. Clients get up to three carefully retouched photos per person, with professional lighting and various backdrop options. All photos are provided in low-resolution JPEG format for easy viewing, and the final edited high-resolution JPEGs are delivered via Dropbox within 7 to 10 working days. ● Outdoor Photoshoots: At your preferred Singapore location, you'll get professional photography with editing. Expect around 30-60 edited photos per hour, all delivered in high-resolution JPEG format via Dropbox within 7-10 working days. Contact Information: Address: Foo Wah Industrial Building, 45 Jalan Pemimpin #07-04 Singapore 577197 Phone: +65 8875 8092 Email: [contact@mountstudio.com.sg](mailto:contact@mountstudio.com.sg) 2. Firefly Photography Firefly Photography is a photo studio in Singapore that offers various services like corporate, family, and wedding photography. It started in 2012 with a partnership with a tech company and introduced outdoor family photoshoots, which were unique at the time. Over the years, it grew, securing contracts with big names like Nestle and Wildlife Reserves Singapore. Since 2014, it's been part of the National Day Parade. Key Features: ❖ With 10 years of experience, Firefly Photography handles corporate projects for various clients, from government agencies to small businesses and multinational corporations. ❖ They have a fully-equipped studio for corporate headshots, group photos, and commercial shoots. You can also choose to shoot at your preferred location. ❖ Their professional team ensures a comfortable experience during the shoot. ❖ They offer a 360 Virtual Tour service to enhance your brand's online presence. Corporate Photography Services: ● Professional Corporate Photoshoots: Tailored photography sessions designed to meet the specific needs and branding of corporate clients, ensuring high-quality images for marketing and promotional materials. ● Corporate Headshots: Expertly captured portraits focused on individuals within the corporate environment, ideal for professional profiles, websites, and marketing materials. ● Group Corporate Photoshoots: Sessions designed to capture teams and groups within the corporate setting, promoting unity and teamwork through visually engaging images. ● Lifestyle Photography: Photography sessions that capture the essence and atmosphere of the corporate environment, showcasing the culture, values, and daily life of the organisation. ● Commercial and Stock Photography: High-quality images suitable for commercial use, including advertising, marketing, and editorial purposes, available for licensing or purchase. ● 360 Virtual Tour: Immersive virtual tours that provide an interactive and engaging experience, allowing viewers to explore corporate spaces remotely and gain a comprehensive understanding of the environment. ● Corporate Video Production: Professional video production services tailored to corporate clients, including promotional videos, training videos, interviews, and corporate event coverage. Contact Information: Address: 1 Yishun Industrial Street 1, A'Posh Bizhub, #07-19, Singapore 768160 Phone: +65 9147 3301 Email: [info@fireflyphotographysg.com](mailto:info@fireflyphotographysg.com) 3. Memoire Photography https://preview.redd.it/0xonmzusij0d1.jpg?width=597&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b10c8765aaf3d1e91cc009f1e37c8d7b3c7ea6c1 In the dynamic world of corporate photoshoot, where professionalism meets creativity, Memoire Photography emerges as a beacon of innovation and excellence. Nestled in the heart of Singapore, Memoire Photography isn't just a studio; it's a testament to the fusion of artistry and business acumen. Specialising in corporate photo shooting, as one explores what makes Memoire unique, they invite you on a journey where every picture tells a powerful story of corporate identity and success. Key Features: ❖ Strategically situated in the bustling heart of Singapore, Memoire Photography enjoys a prime location easily reachable for clients from all corners of the city. ❖ Memoire Photography has a really advanced studio with the latest technology. They're great for corporate headshots, team photos, and commercial shoots. ❖ At Memoire Photography, clients can expect a seamless and enjoyable experience, From initial consultation to the final delivery, they prioritise client comfort and satisfaction, ensuring a stress-free and productive photo session. ❖ With a keen eye for detail and mastery of post-production techniques, they ensure that every image is meticulously edited to perfection, resulting in polished and professional visuals that truly stand out. ❖ Prior to the shoot, clients receive personalised style consultations to ensure that the visual aesthetic aligns seamlessly with their brand identity and objectives. Corporate Photography Services: ● Tailored Corporate Photoshoots: Professional photo shoots are available to encapsulate the essence of any company, ranging from the dynamics of office spaces to discussions in boardrooms, aiming to generate imagery that enhances marketing materials. ● Executive Portraits: Catering to companies seeking to exhibit their team's professionalism, expertly captured executive portraits offer an ideal solution, suitable for incorporation into websites, profiles, and promotional materials. ● Team Building Sessions: Fostering unity and collaboration, interactive group photoshoots encapsulate the collaborative spirit, whether involving the entire team or specific departments. ● Company Culture Photography: Lifestyle photography sessions breathe life into corporate culture by capturing its values, ethos, and daily activities, providing a window into the core of the organisation. ● Commercial Imagery: Premium-quality product photoshoot commercial imagery boosts brand visibility, serving various purposes ranging from advertising to editorial requirements, poised to augment marketing endeavours. Contact Information: Address: 246 MacPherson Road #02-01 (Betime Building) Singapore 348578 Phone: +65 9686 9665 Email: [contact@memoire.sg](mailto:contact@memoire.sg) Website : https://www.memoire.sg 4. The Beautybox Studio Since its establishment in 1998, The Beautybox Studio has been a premier destination for creative and personalised photography services. With a focus on both studio and location photography, the team at The Beautybox Studio is committed to delivering exceptional portrait photography and image styling. With a collective experience of 25 years, they aim to maintain their position as one of Singapore's top makeover and photography studios. The Beautybox Studio offers a comprehensive experience, combining a sense of luxury, visual appeal, and exceptional service. Key Features: ❖ Their experienced photographers take the time to understand each client's needs, ensuring a tailored experience. ❖ Beautybox constantly explores new angles and expressions to make each image special. ❖ With full-time makeup artists and hairstylists, they offer convenience and expertise to enhance clients' appearance for the shoot. ❖ Their beauty professionals have at least five years of experience, guaranteeing top-notch service and confidence in front of the camera. Corporate Photography Services: ● Headshot Passport: The Beautybox Studio takes professional headshot photos that are great for resumes, applications, and company IDs. ● Half-Body Photoshoots: They specialise in half-body photos that show off your personality for business purposes. They offer makeup and hairstyling to make you look your best. ● Lifestyle Photography: They also do lifestyle photos that are more casual and friendly, perfect for social media or professional profiles. ● Black+White Photoshoots: They offer classic black and white photos that focus on your expressions and presence. ● Premiere Photography: With professional makeup and hairstyling, they ensure you look confident in every photo. They take high-quality photos for business use. ● Group Photoshoots: They take photos of corporate teams for internal or external use, showing unity and professionalism. ● Cabin Crew Photoshoots: They provide studio-quality photos at your office, with expert lighting and backgrounds, perfect for cabin crew and other corporate needs. Contact Information: Address: 452 North Bridge Road #02-00 Chan Brothers Bldg, Singapore 188733 Phone: +65 6835 3012 Email: [enquiry@beautyboxstudio.com.sg](mailto:enquiry@beautyboxstudio.com.sg) Website : https://www.beautyboxstudio.com.sg/ https://preview.redd.it/fbluzv5vij0d1.jpg?width=597&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=103db6dc180c00ee3aaf2d74789e2ba7d6ceef34 5. Shoot You SG Highly recommended for budget-friendly professional photo sessions, Shoot You SG was founded in 2017, specialising primarily in corporate photography. Alongside corporate services, the studio extends its expertise to family, wedding, and event photography. Adding to its offerings, Shoot You SG provides photo booth rentals for corporate gatherings. Key Features: ❖ Collaborations with renowned corporate entities like AIA, BreadTalk, Smollan, Great Eastern, and IPP. ❖ Flexibility for off-site shoots at locations of your choice. ❖ Esteemed for its prompt and expert photography services. ❖ Spacious and cosy studio setup, including a dedicated area for outfit changes. ❖ The photographer team prides itself on being affable, approachable, and supportive, guiding clients with poses and angles." Corporate Photography Services: ● Corporate Full-Body: Up to 20 images to choose from. 1 selected softcopy (retouched/edited) in full-body & head-crop (from same image) (3600px by 2400px), only applicable for 1 (white, grey & black) backdrop. ● Corporate Half-Body: Up to 20 images to choose from. 1 selected softcopy (retouched/edited) in half-body & head-crop (from same image) (3600px by 2400px), only applicable for 1 (white, grey & black) backdrop. ● Half-Body Portfolio: Up to 50 images to choose from. 1 selected softcopy (retouched/edited) in half-body & head-crop (from same image) (3600px by 2400px), only applicable for 1 (white, grey & black) backdrop. ● Corporate Group Photography: Expertly composed and lit portraits that showcase the unity and professionalism of your corporate team. ● Event Photography: High-quality portraits of attendees, speakers, and VIP guests, showcasing their engagement and participation in the event. ● Photo Booth for Events: The team begins its process once clients reserve the photo booth session. They tailor logos, fonts, and designs to ensure each one possesses its unique flair, aligning seamlessly with the chosen theme. The team suggests maintaining simplicity and minimalism in the designs to ensure guests remain the focal point of the event. Contact Information: Address: Wintech Centre, 6 Ubi Road 1, #06-01 Singapore 408726 Phone: +65 9382 8465 Email: [reachus@shootyou.sg](mailto:reachus@shootyou.sg) 6. Dato Photograph For over a decade and a half, Dato Photograph has been the go-to destination for diverse photography needs in Singapore. With a rich history of fifteen years, they've solidified their reputation as a trusted provider of top-notch photography services. Founded by a collective of seasoned professionals with backgrounds spanning photography, modelling, magazine editorial, and event coordination, Dato Photograph brings a wealth of expertise to every project they undertake. Key Features: ❖ Dato Photograph's portfolio includes collaborations with renowned publications like the esteemed corporate magazine, AsiaX. ❖ Clients enjoy the perk of unlimited shots during their sessions, ensuring every angle and moment is captured flawlessly. ❖ Need to spice up your shoot? Dato Photograph provides a selection of complimentary accessories and themed costumes to add that extra flair. ❖ Convenience is key, as the studio extends complimentary transportation services for location shoots, making the entire process hassle-free for their clientele. Corporate Photography Services: ● Passport Photo: Passport photos serve as a visual identification tool, capturing the essence of an individual in a standardised format, ensuring seamless border crossings and official documentation worldwide. ● Corporate Headshot: Skilfully captured portraits spotlighting individuals within the corporate realm, tailored for enhancing professional profiles, websites, and marketing collateral with a distinctive touch. ● Location or Outdoor Photoshoot: Capture the essence of your story amidst nature's canvas. Let Dato Photography frame your moments in the breathtaking backdrop of the great outdoors. Contact Information: Address 1: 12 Arumugam Road, Singapore 409958 Address 2: 115C Canberra Walk, Singapore 753115 Phone: +65 9484 4344 Email: [datophotograph@gmail.com](mailto:datophotograph@gmail.com) 7. Our Momento Our Momento, a family-operated photography collective based in Singapore, specialises in providing a range of photography and videography services since its establishment in 2023. Their focus lies in outdoor photography, including corporate portraits, led by Jori Goh and Cynthia Lim, the studio's principal photographers. Key Features: ❖ Our Momento offers straightforward pricing without hidden fees or extra charges per photo. They also give discounts for regular business collaborations. ❖ Specialising in outdoor shoots, they provide a fresh perspective for corporate portraits, alongside traditional studio options. ❖ Clients can discuss their ideas freely in an initial consultation at no extra cost. ❖ With a turnaround time of 7 to 10 days, clients receive edited photos promptly for their projects. Corporate Photography Services: ● Professional Headshots: Let your team's professionalism shine with expertly captured headshots, highlighting their confidence and approachability. ● Team Photoshoots: Showcase your team's unity and spirit with group portraits that capture the essence of collaboration. ● Company Events Coverage: Preserve the excitement and success of your company events with comprehensive photo coverage. ● Environmental Portraits: Tell your company's story with portraits that incorporate your workspace or industry, adding authenticity to your brand. ● Candid Photos: Capture genuine moments of connection and laughter with candid snapshots that reflect your company culture. Contact Information: Address: Jurong West Street 42, Block 419, Singapore 640419 Phone: +65 8020 2902 Email: [contact@ourmomento.sg](mailto:contact@ourmomento.sg) 8. White Room Studio Looking to capture a memorable moment? Look no further than White Room Studio. This family-owned establishment has been a fixture in the photography world since 2009. Their studio is a one-of-a-kind space flooded with natural light, ensuring your photos stand out. Whether it's a corporate event, a family gathering, or a glamorous photoshoot, their creativity and spacious studio are ready to bring your vision to life. Key Features: ❖ Step into their studio, a quaint shophouse filled with natural light. The absence of harsh studio lighting creates a soft, welcoming atmosphere that enhances every photograph, ensuring a natural and captivating feel. ❖ Their studio isn't your typical sterile environment. It's a space meticulously designed to ignite creativity. Offering a variety of backgrounds and settings, clients can bring their unique visions to life. Whether it's a rustic backdrop or a modern setting, their studio serves as a versatile canvas for creative expression. ❖ Their studio offers a variety of photoshoot options to suit every story. Whether it's a romantic couple shoot or a playful family portrait, they've got something for everyone. Their team works closely with clients to ensure each session reflects their unique style and personality. Corporate Photography Services: ● Headshot: White Room Studio offers corporate headshot photography that's redefining the industry. They specialise in creating professional images that enhance clients' presence on platforms like LinkedIn and within their professional networks. From CEOs and small business owners to fitness instructors, musicians, life coaches, doctors, and recent graduates, White Room Studio crafts headshots that exude confidence and professionalism for individuals from diverse backgrounds. ● Corporate Branding: They prioritise listening to clients of all sizes and industries. Whether it's in recruitment, shipping, insurance, construction, hospitality, healthcare, aviation, financial services, or banking, they ensure that every corporate portrait reflects the message represented by the business. ● Personal Branding: showcases your unique personality. Whether you aim for a warm and professional attitude or a vibrant and approachable vibe, they tailor your approach to suit your style. Contact Information: Address: 219 River Valley Road . Level 2, Singapore 238277 Phone: +65 6235 7037 Email: [enquiry@whiteroomstudio.com.sg](mailto:enquiry@whiteroomstudio.com.sg) 9. Lumiere Photography Pte Ltd Meet Lumiere Photography – the premier option for partnering with leading corporations, global VIPs, and governmental dignitaries. Renowned for their prowess in crafting striking corporate photo shoot in Singapore, this team is adept at leaving a memorable mark. Their skilled crew, consistently attired with finesse and fluent in English, adds a layer of elegance to each endeavour. Lumiere Photography has adeptly captured prestigious occasions featuring influential personalities, ensuring prompt delivery of impeccable images ideal for urgent press releases. Key Features: ❖ Lumiere Photography gets your press photos to you quickly, helping you meet your media deadlines without hassle. ❖ They create impressive videos and photos that tell your corporate story in a visually stunning way, ensuring your content stands out. ❖ With a talented team dressed to impress, Lumiere Photography not only captures amazing shots but also upholds your company's image at every event. Corporate Photography Services: ● Portrait Photography: Are you always rushing to find a good photo for your LinkedIn, resume, or Facebook? No need to worry anymore! With lots of experience taking pictures for big companies, Lumiere Photography Pte Ltd will make sure you look great in your suit and tie. ● Studio Photoshoot: Lumiere Photography Pte Ltd offers clients the opportunity to indulge their friends and/or family in a delightful one-hour photoshoot experience within the comfort of their studio. They ensure a bug-free, sweat-free environment, allowing everyone to enjoy the session to the fullest. Contact Information: Address: 1 Yishun Industrial Street 1, A, #07-19/22 Posh Bizhub, Singapore 768160 Phone: +65 9023 8794 Email: [info@LumierePhotographySg.com](mailto:info@LumierePhotographySg.com) 10. Oh Dear Studio Established in 2010, Oh Dear Studio in Blair Plain, Singapore, offers expert photography services capturing the city's timeless charm. Led by founder Melody Lin, the studio specialises in corporate and personal portraits, blending professionalism with artistic flair. Set in a charming colonial shophouse, Oh Dear Studio boasts tasteful decor, abundant natural light, and a serene rooftop oasis. Melody's passion for photography and dedication to storytelling ensure that every moment, from family gatherings to corporate events, is immortalised with authenticity and warmth. Oh Dear Studio is more than a photography studio; it's a sanctuary where memories are transformed into timeless treasures. For corporate photoshoots Singapore, Oh Dear Studio offers unparalleled expertise and creativity, capturing the essence of your brand with finesse. Key Features: ❖ They're experts at taking professional photos for businesses and individuals, having done it for over 15 years. ❖ They specialise in business photos but also do pictures for couples, grads, and families. ❖ People love their work and say great things about it. The studio is in a neat old building with a stylish inside that makes for great photos. ❖ They have a private rooftop with lots of plants where you can take outdoor pictures in a peaceful setting. Corporate Photography Services: ● Professional Corporate: Oh Dear Studio places a strong emphasis on attentive client engagement across a diverse spectrum of industries and company scales. From recruitment and shipping to insurance, construction, hospitality, healthcare, aviation, financial services, and banking, they are dedicated to ensuring that each corporate portrait resonates with the unique identity and message conveyed by the business it represents. ● On-site Outdoor Corporate Photography: Oh Dear Studio endeavours to deliver exceptional professional business images, whether it's an outdoor Corporate Photoshoot or an on-site Office Corporate Photography session. A minimum booking of 2 hours is required, with the flexibility for clients to choose the location or office setting. The package includes the return of all soft copies captured, ensuring high-quality images at 3600 pixels x 2400 pixels and 300 DPI resolution.Contact Information:Address: 87 Kampong Bahru Rd, #02-01, Singapore 169381 Phone: +65 9738 3447 Email: [hello@ohdearstudio.com.sg](mailto:hello@ohdearstudio.com.sg) |
2024.05.15 09:14 Global-Change606 Once a quality staple product but should now be avoided.
I was a huge supporter of Chubbies going back to around 2015 and they became my favorite shorts brand. I discovered them through Nordstrom and after receiving the first pair, I quickly ordered all the other colors they sold as well. They became the only shorts I'd wear and this is still true to this day. Their "Original Stretch Short" in 5.5" was the one I'd gravitated towards. After realizing they had a website and at times offered a minor discount and had occasional sales, I started ordering from them directly.
What I immediately loved was the length, as I never was able to find short of similar length that were flattering and so easily wearable. They were a good quality short made of durable material with the kind of minor details that really displayed the thoughtfulness of the company. These kind of things showed that whoever ran the company or created the shorts really loved and believed in their product. I went on to buy the original stretch shorts in every color available.
After they sold the company, in 2001 I believe it was because that's when some of the minor details of the shorts started to disappear. Some of the most notable changes were the text inside of the fly next to the zipper and the material used for the pocket linings had been changed. This was probably in order to save money or time on manufacturing. However, the core elements of the shorts including the durable material, the quality of the manufacturing and the apperance of the final product, remained otherwise mainly intact. They still seemed to be a worthy product.
Now let's jump to the second half of this past year. I ordered four pairs of shorts and a variety of colors that hadn't been available before or that I just hadn't previously ordered. Due to owning so many pairs of the same shorts in such a variety of colors and their amazing quality and durability, I hadn't even opened any of the packages for the last shorts that I ordered until this past week. After opening the bag with the first pair, they seemed different. I don't know if it was the fact that the weight was off or that they had a weird gleam to the fabric but I immediately sensed that something wasn't right. Once I put them on I could notice that they didn't fall the same as the other shorts and they didn't have the same weight and they just felt like a completely different pair of shorts.
So my friend and I decided to open the bags of the remaining shorts and see if these were the same or if it was just this one particular color that maybe used a different material. We concluded that all four pairs of shorts were now using a new material unused in any of the previous shorts that I had purchased. This material is extremely thinner and has a weird coating on the fabric, that gives it a sort of shimmer. Material is not only cheaper but the quality of the sewing and the stitching is abysmal. The hemming is completely different then the original manufacturing of the shorts as well as the subsequent manufacturing of the shorts that featured less details. Shortcuts in the hemming of the shorts were one thing but that's not even taking into account that the stitching is completely uneven and even frayed and loose in some spots. This was how they came directly out of the bag, never having been worn or touched by anyone previously but the stitching and hemming was already loose or coming undone. Quite possibly we thought this was only the one pair of shorts so we checked the three other pairs from the same order and come to find out that these also have shoddy stitching and lazy him work and were already coming undone at certain points mainly in the hems of the legs and around the waist.
This was highly disappointing to me as I realized that I no longer had a go-to shorts brand and would have to eventually find something else once all the original pairs of shorts that I'd purchased will someday be unwearable due to normal clothing lifespan running it's course. I highly doubt that the company will go back to making a more costly product or one of the quality of their original shorts. It's sad that they cheapened everything about the item yet remain priced the same and higher for other products. I haven't bought many of their other clothing, such as shirts or slacks but after seeing what's become of an item I once really adored, I'm glad I never wasted money on branching out to their other items. I still own over 35 pairs of their higher quality releases and I'm sure it'll take me time to actually wear any of them out but I feel bad for the people now finding this company, and it's a pale, diluted version of what it once was.
As I stated before when I made the order of last year, I hadn't ordered in quite some time I'm not sure really how long it was, so I can't stay the date of when the products certainly transitioned into what it is now. I only know that the order I placed last year that I just recently opened was not the quality of anything that I received previously. It was also the unfortunate sign that I would no longer be shopping with this brand or recommending its products to anyone any longer. The drop in quality was just that vast, so far removed from what they originally had offered. I don't believe now that the shorts should be sold more than $15 a pair and they're probably honestly worth far less than that to manufacture in their current iteration. It's crazy to think that over the years I've spent more than $2,000 on a single product but that's how much I loved them. Just think about how much money I would have spent in the subsequent years replacing and buying the shorts in a variety of new colors released. Sadly, that will no longer be a part of my future fashion endeavors.
I'm a big believer and supporter of brand loyalty, which is exactly why I've bought so many pairs previously but when a brand veers this far off course it has to be recognized and shared with the community who may be thinking they're buying a worthy product. It's almost as if all the praise for the original product has been used and squandered in order to confuse the consumer, like a bait and switch maneuver, and now sell them this cheaper imitation of what it once was. Although I have more than enough pairs to probably wear them for the next decade, I can't get over the betrayal of the drop in quality without a change of pricing to reflect the lower quality material and the completely shoddy manufacturing.
When Chubbies came to be, they brought with them one product that they made unique again using a style of many years past, something that had long been forgotten in men's fashion. Something that was apparently missed by people or at least wanted by those who came of age after the style of shorts had long been enlongated. At that time there weren't many other brands making a stylish and durable pair of short shorts for men. However I have noticed after the success of Chubbies, both mass produced and high end designer brands now occasionally offer shorts of similar length. I cannot vouch for any of their quality or design attributes as I've been so dedicated to chubby's for these past years but I am aware of other brands now offering their take on men's shorter length shorts. If any of the brands are of good quality regularly, I would imagine that these shorts that they've released would be generally the same. So if you're looking for good quality shorter shorts for men I would check with other brands that you have known and trust their integrity of producing a high quality product that doesn't have to cut so many corners and in turn, destroying the legacy of what was once their reason for existing.
submitted by Global-Change606 to malefashionadvice [link] [comments]
What I immediately loved was the length, as I never was able to find short of similar length that were flattering and so easily wearable. They were a good quality short made of durable material with the kind of minor details that really displayed the thoughtfulness of the company. These kind of things showed that whoever ran the company or created the shorts really loved and believed in their product. I went on to buy the original stretch shorts in every color available.
After they sold the company, in 2001 I believe it was because that's when some of the minor details of the shorts started to disappear. Some of the most notable changes were the text inside of the fly next to the zipper and the material used for the pocket linings had been changed. This was probably in order to save money or time on manufacturing. However, the core elements of the shorts including the durable material, the quality of the manufacturing and the apperance of the final product, remained otherwise mainly intact. They still seemed to be a worthy product.
Now let's jump to the second half of this past year. I ordered four pairs of shorts and a variety of colors that hadn't been available before or that I just hadn't previously ordered. Due to owning so many pairs of the same shorts in such a variety of colors and their amazing quality and durability, I hadn't even opened any of the packages for the last shorts that I ordered until this past week. After opening the bag with the first pair, they seemed different. I don't know if it was the fact that the weight was off or that they had a weird gleam to the fabric but I immediately sensed that something wasn't right. Once I put them on I could notice that they didn't fall the same as the other shorts and they didn't have the same weight and they just felt like a completely different pair of shorts.
So my friend and I decided to open the bags of the remaining shorts and see if these were the same or if it was just this one particular color that maybe used a different material. We concluded that all four pairs of shorts were now using a new material unused in any of the previous shorts that I had purchased. This material is extremely thinner and has a weird coating on the fabric, that gives it a sort of shimmer. Material is not only cheaper but the quality of the sewing and the stitching is abysmal. The hemming is completely different then the original manufacturing of the shorts as well as the subsequent manufacturing of the shorts that featured less details. Shortcuts in the hemming of the shorts were one thing but that's not even taking into account that the stitching is completely uneven and even frayed and loose in some spots. This was how they came directly out of the bag, never having been worn or touched by anyone previously but the stitching and hemming was already loose or coming undone. Quite possibly we thought this was only the one pair of shorts so we checked the three other pairs from the same order and come to find out that these also have shoddy stitching and lazy him work and were already coming undone at certain points mainly in the hems of the legs and around the waist.
This was highly disappointing to me as I realized that I no longer had a go-to shorts brand and would have to eventually find something else once all the original pairs of shorts that I'd purchased will someday be unwearable due to normal clothing lifespan running it's course. I highly doubt that the company will go back to making a more costly product or one of the quality of their original shorts. It's sad that they cheapened everything about the item yet remain priced the same and higher for other products. I haven't bought many of their other clothing, such as shirts or slacks but after seeing what's become of an item I once really adored, I'm glad I never wasted money on branching out to their other items. I still own over 35 pairs of their higher quality releases and I'm sure it'll take me time to actually wear any of them out but I feel bad for the people now finding this company, and it's a pale, diluted version of what it once was.
As I stated before when I made the order of last year, I hadn't ordered in quite some time I'm not sure really how long it was, so I can't stay the date of when the products certainly transitioned into what it is now. I only know that the order I placed last year that I just recently opened was not the quality of anything that I received previously. It was also the unfortunate sign that I would no longer be shopping with this brand or recommending its products to anyone any longer. The drop in quality was just that vast, so far removed from what they originally had offered. I don't believe now that the shorts should be sold more than $15 a pair and they're probably honestly worth far less than that to manufacture in their current iteration. It's crazy to think that over the years I've spent more than $2,000 on a single product but that's how much I loved them. Just think about how much money I would have spent in the subsequent years replacing and buying the shorts in a variety of new colors released. Sadly, that will no longer be a part of my future fashion endeavors.
I'm a big believer and supporter of brand loyalty, which is exactly why I've bought so many pairs previously but when a brand veers this far off course it has to be recognized and shared with the community who may be thinking they're buying a worthy product. It's almost as if all the praise for the original product has been used and squandered in order to confuse the consumer, like a bait and switch maneuver, and now sell them this cheaper imitation of what it once was. Although I have more than enough pairs to probably wear them for the next decade, I can't get over the betrayal of the drop in quality without a change of pricing to reflect the lower quality material and the completely shoddy manufacturing.
When Chubbies came to be, they brought with them one product that they made unique again using a style of many years past, something that had long been forgotten in men's fashion. Something that was apparently missed by people or at least wanted by those who came of age after the style of shorts had long been enlongated. At that time there weren't many other brands making a stylish and durable pair of short shorts for men. However I have noticed after the success of Chubbies, both mass produced and high end designer brands now occasionally offer shorts of similar length. I cannot vouch for any of their quality or design attributes as I've been so dedicated to chubby's for these past years but I am aware of other brands now offering their take on men's shorter length shorts. If any of the brands are of good quality regularly, I would imagine that these shorts that they've released would be generally the same. So if you're looking for good quality shorter shorts for men I would check with other brands that you have known and trust their integrity of producing a high quality product that doesn't have to cut so many corners and in turn, destroying the legacy of what was once their reason for existing.
2024.05.15 09:13 Timely-Worldliness-3 I just needed a little compromise
I know it was your first relationship. At 28, you had already been through so much, having been on your own for 13 years. You were forced to grow up too fast, and had to prioritize yourself, building a life from nothing. I get it. It was your fierce independence that made me fall for you in the first place.
I always knew that trying to build a life with you was going to be a struggle. I thought it would be worth it, for both of us. You deserve to have someone in your corner, that always has your back. You shouldn’t have to be alone. I don’t know if you believed the same.
I think I gave up too much of myself for you. Was that my mistake or yours? Did you really ask for too much, or did I give too freely without expectation for anything in return? Maybe both. Probably more on me. I’m not perfect by a long shot.
Compromise. It really does all come down to that. I tried to show you its importance, but in the process I ended up being the only one willing to do it. Me getting to pick what movie we watched or getting to plan a date became something I only got to do on special occasions. You said you felt like you didn’t know me, but so many times in so many ways I offered up little pieces of me to you. I share myself by sharing the things I love with the people I love. But more and more towards the end, all you’d say was “no”. Ignoring any context. Ignoring those pieces of me.
I know you don’t like movies about kids. I know asking to watch Home Alone during Christmas was a big ask. But it was a tradition that I shared with my dad, who I lost just over a year before. I know you think that traditions are pointless, but it was important to me. My earliest memories are of that. I needed to continue on, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it alone. I needed you there, your support. It was such a small gesture I was asking of you, but all I got was “no”. Instead we watched a movie you picked: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. A movie made by the exact same people that made Home Alone, and with even more kids.
We wanted to go to Ireland. Personally I’ve been wanting to go for years, but couldn’t because of my dad’s illness along with everything else going on. You knew that in the last 3 years I lost all of my grandparents, two uncles, my dad. I couldn’t risk going so far away for so long while everyone was sick. My mom saw me giving up the latter half of my 20s for my family, when she was hoping I would be enjoying life and seeing the world. That’s why she was happy to give us the money to have the trip of our dreams. I explained all of this to you while you were struggling to find a way to save for the trip. All my mom wanted in return was a single nice photo of us. That wasn’t even a requirement for the money. She just wanted to see me with the person that I love making our dreams come true. I know you hate having your picture taken. The only attention your dad ever gave you was when he wanted to test a new camera. It’s a trauma trigger. But I was only asking for one picture. You’d compromise for your friends, you’d compromise for your sister. You’d take pictures with them. Why wouldn’t you compromise for your partner, and the other most important person in your partners life? After a year, we have 3 pictures together, none of which are very good. I know that I was asking for a lot, but I felt so less important than everyone else in your life. Maybe you felt that as your partner, I was to be held to a higher standard? I honestly don’t know. All you said was “no”.
You admitted yourself I was so supportive. I always prioritized you. From always making your tea before mine, to giving you the better looking plate at dinner, to planting all of your favorite flowers in my garden. I always complemented you, how smart you are, how beautiful you are, how driven and independent you are. Your friend needed a ride to a 5k and someone to cheer them on? I was there. You needed someone to drive you around while your car was in the shop for 2 months? No problem. Accidentally overdrew your account again, and you couldn’t afford the late fees? Here’s $50. Need to move on short notice? I’m the guy tearing apart and moving your furniture. You have a migraine so bad you can’t eat? I’m bringing you pedialyte and sleeping on your couch, even though I didn’t actually get any sleep. I learned all your rituals so not to trigger your OCD. There are countless other examples. I never said no. I never complained. You rarely said so much as “thank you”.
The big one. The thing that ended us. You’re right, we did sit down like adults time and time again and talked things out. You said you needed me to anticipate your needs. You’d get overwhelmed, and couldn’t articulate what you needed from me. You couldn’t stand being asked what you needed. You just needed me to start helping. “Mental loads” and all that. I took that to heart. But I’m not perfect. Sometimes I’d miss the mark. Tried to support you, but in the wrong way. Even in my failures I showed effort, but you never seemed to see that. You only focused on how I failed.
We recognized that this was a problem caused by both of us. The communication wasn’t getting through. But I had already adapted to your communication style as much as I could. My exited, rambling, almost impulsive way of generating ideas became slow, methodical, thoughtful. I put intention behind everything so not to overwhelm you. I learned not to jump at the obvious solution.
Yes, we sat down like adults and talked things over time and time again. You told me what you needed from me, but I also told you what I needed from you. If I was missing the mark, please just guide me to what you needed. I’m not a mind reader. I did it for you all the time. You were honestly awful at anticipating my needs too. If I was venting, had a bad day, all you’d say was “I’m sorry”, and pat me on the back like a puppy. No effort to dig deeper. No words of support or encouragement. So I had to show you how I needed support. I just needed you to do the same for me. “No”. Again.
One final time, I sent you words of support when you were having a bad day. It wasn’t enough, you wanted more. A phone call? For me to come over so you could vent in person? Did you actually want me to directly help for once? I don’t know. You never told me. Instead of guiding me to what you needed, you immediately shut down. Full silent treatment. I’ve been in abusive relationships where the silent treatment was welded as a weapon. I know you didn’t mean it in an abusive way, you were just overwhelmed again. But I never expected it from you. I didn’t see it for what it was. I only ever asked one thing from you to save us. I put in the work, got us 80% of the way there. I knew I couldn’t bridge the gap on my own. I wasn’t even asking you to put in effort on my behalf, it was for your benefit. I begged you time and time again for help. To communicate. Not to put it all on me, because I couldn’t do it on my own. But instead, you did the opposite.
You said that you felt like you were putting more effort into the relationship than I was. I’m sorry, but I can’t see that effort. I’m trying to give you the benefit of the doubt, but I can’t. Maybe you mean you put effort into forgiving me every time I messed up? Maybe you mean that you were always planning dates, always picking what we watched, where we went, what we ate, what we drank? Again, mental loads and such. But I had things that I wanted to do and share with you that you always turned down. You only had to plan everything after my plans were rejected. It would have been more efficient for you to show love, patience, and compromise. Maybe we would have worked out then.
But then you left.
submitted by Timely-Worldliness-3 to UnsentLetters [link] [comments]
I always knew that trying to build a life with you was going to be a struggle. I thought it would be worth it, for both of us. You deserve to have someone in your corner, that always has your back. You shouldn’t have to be alone. I don’t know if you believed the same.
I think I gave up too much of myself for you. Was that my mistake or yours? Did you really ask for too much, or did I give too freely without expectation for anything in return? Maybe both. Probably more on me. I’m not perfect by a long shot.
Compromise. It really does all come down to that. I tried to show you its importance, but in the process I ended up being the only one willing to do it. Me getting to pick what movie we watched or getting to plan a date became something I only got to do on special occasions. You said you felt like you didn’t know me, but so many times in so many ways I offered up little pieces of me to you. I share myself by sharing the things I love with the people I love. But more and more towards the end, all you’d say was “no”. Ignoring any context. Ignoring those pieces of me.
I know you don’t like movies about kids. I know asking to watch Home Alone during Christmas was a big ask. But it was a tradition that I shared with my dad, who I lost just over a year before. I know you think that traditions are pointless, but it was important to me. My earliest memories are of that. I needed to continue on, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it alone. I needed you there, your support. It was such a small gesture I was asking of you, but all I got was “no”. Instead we watched a movie you picked: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. A movie made by the exact same people that made Home Alone, and with even more kids.
We wanted to go to Ireland. Personally I’ve been wanting to go for years, but couldn’t because of my dad’s illness along with everything else going on. You knew that in the last 3 years I lost all of my grandparents, two uncles, my dad. I couldn’t risk going so far away for so long while everyone was sick. My mom saw me giving up the latter half of my 20s for my family, when she was hoping I would be enjoying life and seeing the world. That’s why she was happy to give us the money to have the trip of our dreams. I explained all of this to you while you were struggling to find a way to save for the trip. All my mom wanted in return was a single nice photo of us. That wasn’t even a requirement for the money. She just wanted to see me with the person that I love making our dreams come true. I know you hate having your picture taken. The only attention your dad ever gave you was when he wanted to test a new camera. It’s a trauma trigger. But I was only asking for one picture. You’d compromise for your friends, you’d compromise for your sister. You’d take pictures with them. Why wouldn’t you compromise for your partner, and the other most important person in your partners life? After a year, we have 3 pictures together, none of which are very good. I know that I was asking for a lot, but I felt so less important than everyone else in your life. Maybe you felt that as your partner, I was to be held to a higher standard? I honestly don’t know. All you said was “no”.
You admitted yourself I was so supportive. I always prioritized you. From always making your tea before mine, to giving you the better looking plate at dinner, to planting all of your favorite flowers in my garden. I always complemented you, how smart you are, how beautiful you are, how driven and independent you are. Your friend needed a ride to a 5k and someone to cheer them on? I was there. You needed someone to drive you around while your car was in the shop for 2 months? No problem. Accidentally overdrew your account again, and you couldn’t afford the late fees? Here’s $50. Need to move on short notice? I’m the guy tearing apart and moving your furniture. You have a migraine so bad you can’t eat? I’m bringing you pedialyte and sleeping on your couch, even though I didn’t actually get any sleep. I learned all your rituals so not to trigger your OCD. There are countless other examples. I never said no. I never complained. You rarely said so much as “thank you”.
The big one. The thing that ended us. You’re right, we did sit down like adults time and time again and talked things out. You said you needed me to anticipate your needs. You’d get overwhelmed, and couldn’t articulate what you needed from me. You couldn’t stand being asked what you needed. You just needed me to start helping. “Mental loads” and all that. I took that to heart. But I’m not perfect. Sometimes I’d miss the mark. Tried to support you, but in the wrong way. Even in my failures I showed effort, but you never seemed to see that. You only focused on how I failed.
We recognized that this was a problem caused by both of us. The communication wasn’t getting through. But I had already adapted to your communication style as much as I could. My exited, rambling, almost impulsive way of generating ideas became slow, methodical, thoughtful. I put intention behind everything so not to overwhelm you. I learned not to jump at the obvious solution.
Yes, we sat down like adults and talked things over time and time again. You told me what you needed from me, but I also told you what I needed from you. If I was missing the mark, please just guide me to what you needed. I’m not a mind reader. I did it for you all the time. You were honestly awful at anticipating my needs too. If I was venting, had a bad day, all you’d say was “I’m sorry”, and pat me on the back like a puppy. No effort to dig deeper. No words of support or encouragement. So I had to show you how I needed support. I just needed you to do the same for me. “No”. Again.
One final time, I sent you words of support when you were having a bad day. It wasn’t enough, you wanted more. A phone call? For me to come over so you could vent in person? Did you actually want me to directly help for once? I don’t know. You never told me. Instead of guiding me to what you needed, you immediately shut down. Full silent treatment. I’ve been in abusive relationships where the silent treatment was welded as a weapon. I know you didn’t mean it in an abusive way, you were just overwhelmed again. But I never expected it from you. I didn’t see it for what it was. I only ever asked one thing from you to save us. I put in the work, got us 80% of the way there. I knew I couldn’t bridge the gap on my own. I wasn’t even asking you to put in effort on my behalf, it was for your benefit. I begged you time and time again for help. To communicate. Not to put it all on me, because I couldn’t do it on my own. But instead, you did the opposite.
You said that you felt like you were putting more effort into the relationship than I was. I’m sorry, but I can’t see that effort. I’m trying to give you the benefit of the doubt, but I can’t. Maybe you mean you put effort into forgiving me every time I messed up? Maybe you mean that you were always planning dates, always picking what we watched, where we went, what we ate, what we drank? Again, mental loads and such. But I had things that I wanted to do and share with you that you always turned down. You only had to plan everything after my plans were rejected. It would have been more efficient for you to show love, patience, and compromise. Maybe we would have worked out then.
But then you left.
2024.05.15 08:49 Global-Change606 Used to be one of my favorite wardrobe staples but sadly it has come to an end.
I was a huge supporter of Chubbies going back to around 2015 and they became my favorite shorts brand. I discovered them through Nordstrom and after receiving the first pair, I quickly ordered all the other colors they sold as well. They became the only shorts I'd wear and this is still true to this day. Their "Original Stretch Short" in 5.5" was the one I'd gravitated towards. After realizing they had a website and at times offered a minor discount and had occasional sales, I started ordering from them directly.
What I immediately loved was the length, as I never was able to find short of similar length that were flattering and so easily wearable. They were a good quality short made of durable material with the kind of minor details that really displayed the thoughtfulness of the company. These kind of things showed that whoever ran the company or created the shorts really loved and believed in their product. I went on to buy the original stretch shorts in every color available.
After they sold the company, in 2001 I believe it was because that's when some of the minor details of the shorts started to disappear. Some of the most notable changes were the text inside of the fly next to the zipper and the material used for the pocket linings had been changed. This was probably in order to save money or time on manufacturing. However, the core elements of the shorts including the durable material, the quality of the manufacturing and the apperance of the final product, remained otherwise mainly intact. They still seemed to be a worthy product.
Now let's jump to the second half of this past year. I ordered four pairs of shorts and a variety of colors that hadn't been available before or that I just hadn't previously ordered. Due to owning so many pairs of the same shorts in such a variety of colors and their amazing quality and durability, I hadn't even opened any of the packages for the last shorts that I ordered until this past week. After opening the bag with the first pair, they seemed different. I don't know if it was the fact that the weight was off or that they had a weird gleam to the fabric but I immediately sensed that something wasn't right. Once I put them on I could notice that they didn't fall the same as the other shorts and they didn't have the same weight and they just felt like a completely different pair of shorts.
So my friend and I decided to open the bags of the remaining shorts and see if these were the same or if it was just this one particular color that maybe used a different material. We concluded that all four pairs of shorts were now using a new material unused in any of the previous shorts that I had purchased. This material is extremely thinner and has a weird coating on the fabric, that gives it a sort of shimmer. Material is not only cheaper but the quality of the sewing and the stitching is abysmal. The hemming is completely different then the original manufacturing of the shorts as well as the subsequent manufacturing of the shorts that featured less details. Shortcuts in the hemming of the shorts were one thing but that's not even taking into account that the stitching is completely uneven and even frayed and loose in some spots. This was how they came directly out of the bag, never having been worn or touched by anyone previously but the stitching and hemming was already loose or coming undone. Quite possibly we thought this was only the one pair of shorts so we checked the three other pairs from the same order and come to find out that these also have shoddy stitching and lazy him work and were already coming undone at certain points mainly in the hems of the legs and around the waist.
This was highly disappointing to me as I realized that I no longer had a go-to shorts brand and would have to eventually find something else once all the original pairs of shorts that I'd purchased will someday be unwearable due to normal clothing lifespan running it's course. I highly doubt that the company will go back to making a more costly product or one of the quality of their original shorts. It's sad that they cheapened everything about the item yet remain priced the same and higher for other products. I haven't bought many of their other clothing, such as shirts or slacks but after seeing what's become of an item I once really adored, I'm glad I never wasted money on branching out to their other items. I still own over 35 pairs of their higher quality releases and I'm sure it'll take me time to actually wear any of them out but I feel bad for the people now finding this company, and it's a pale, diluted version of what it once was.
As I stated before when I made the order of last year, I hadn't ordered in quite some time I'm not sure really how long it was, so I can't stay the date of when the products certainly transitioned into what it is now. I only know that the order I placed last year that I just recently opened was not the quality of anything that I received previously. It was also the unfortunate sign that I would no longer be shopping with this brand or recommending its products to anyone any longer. The drop in quality was just that vast, so far removed from what they originally had offered. I don't believe now that the shorts should be sold more than $15 a pair and they're probably honestly worth far less than that to manufacture in their current iteration. It's crazy to think that over the years I've spent more than $2,000 on a single product but that's how much I loved them. Just think about how much money I would have spent in the subsequent years replacing and buying the shorts in a variety of new colors released. Sadly, that will no longer be a part of my future fashion endeavors.
I'm a big believer and supporter of brand loyalty, which is exactly why I've bought so many pairs previously but when a brand veers this far off course it has to be recognized and shared with the community who may be thinking they're buying a worthy product. It's almost as if all the praise for the original product has been used and squandered in order to confuse the consumer, like a bait and switch maneuver, and now sell them this cheaper imitation of what it once was. Although I have more than enough pairs to probably wear them for the next decade, I can't get over the betrayal of the drop in quality without a change of pricing to reflect the lower quality material and the completely shoddy manufacturing.
When Chubbies came to be, they brought with them one product that they made unique again using a style of many years past, something that had long been forgotten in men's fashion. Something that was apparently missed by people or at least wanted by those who came of age after the style of shorts had long been enlongated. At that time there weren't many other brands making a stylish and durable pair of short shorts for men. However I have noticed after the success of Chubbies, both mass produced and high end designer brands now occasionally offer shorts of similar length. I cannot vouch for any of their quality or design attributes as I've been so dedicated to chubby's for these past years but I am aware of other brands now offering their take on men's shorter length shorts. If any of the brands are of good quality regularly, I would imagine that these shorts that they've released would be generally the same. So if you're looking for good quality shorter shorts for men I would check with other brands that you have known and trust their integrity of producing a high quality product that doesn't have to cut so many corners and in turn, destroying the legacy of what was once their reason for existing.
submitted by Global-Change606 to ChubbiesShorts [link] [comments]
What I immediately loved was the length, as I never was able to find short of similar length that were flattering and so easily wearable. They were a good quality short made of durable material with the kind of minor details that really displayed the thoughtfulness of the company. These kind of things showed that whoever ran the company or created the shorts really loved and believed in their product. I went on to buy the original stretch shorts in every color available.
After they sold the company, in 2001 I believe it was because that's when some of the minor details of the shorts started to disappear. Some of the most notable changes were the text inside of the fly next to the zipper and the material used for the pocket linings had been changed. This was probably in order to save money or time on manufacturing. However, the core elements of the shorts including the durable material, the quality of the manufacturing and the apperance of the final product, remained otherwise mainly intact. They still seemed to be a worthy product.
Now let's jump to the second half of this past year. I ordered four pairs of shorts and a variety of colors that hadn't been available before or that I just hadn't previously ordered. Due to owning so many pairs of the same shorts in such a variety of colors and their amazing quality and durability, I hadn't even opened any of the packages for the last shorts that I ordered until this past week. After opening the bag with the first pair, they seemed different. I don't know if it was the fact that the weight was off or that they had a weird gleam to the fabric but I immediately sensed that something wasn't right. Once I put them on I could notice that they didn't fall the same as the other shorts and they didn't have the same weight and they just felt like a completely different pair of shorts.
So my friend and I decided to open the bags of the remaining shorts and see if these were the same or if it was just this one particular color that maybe used a different material. We concluded that all four pairs of shorts were now using a new material unused in any of the previous shorts that I had purchased. This material is extremely thinner and has a weird coating on the fabric, that gives it a sort of shimmer. Material is not only cheaper but the quality of the sewing and the stitching is abysmal. The hemming is completely different then the original manufacturing of the shorts as well as the subsequent manufacturing of the shorts that featured less details. Shortcuts in the hemming of the shorts were one thing but that's not even taking into account that the stitching is completely uneven and even frayed and loose in some spots. This was how they came directly out of the bag, never having been worn or touched by anyone previously but the stitching and hemming was already loose or coming undone. Quite possibly we thought this was only the one pair of shorts so we checked the three other pairs from the same order and come to find out that these also have shoddy stitching and lazy him work and were already coming undone at certain points mainly in the hems of the legs and around the waist.
This was highly disappointing to me as I realized that I no longer had a go-to shorts brand and would have to eventually find something else once all the original pairs of shorts that I'd purchased will someday be unwearable due to normal clothing lifespan running it's course. I highly doubt that the company will go back to making a more costly product or one of the quality of their original shorts. It's sad that they cheapened everything about the item yet remain priced the same and higher for other products. I haven't bought many of their other clothing, such as shirts or slacks but after seeing what's become of an item I once really adored, I'm glad I never wasted money on branching out to their other items. I still own over 35 pairs of their higher quality releases and I'm sure it'll take me time to actually wear any of them out but I feel bad for the people now finding this company, and it's a pale, diluted version of what it once was.
As I stated before when I made the order of last year, I hadn't ordered in quite some time I'm not sure really how long it was, so I can't stay the date of when the products certainly transitioned into what it is now. I only know that the order I placed last year that I just recently opened was not the quality of anything that I received previously. It was also the unfortunate sign that I would no longer be shopping with this brand or recommending its products to anyone any longer. The drop in quality was just that vast, so far removed from what they originally had offered. I don't believe now that the shorts should be sold more than $15 a pair and they're probably honestly worth far less than that to manufacture in their current iteration. It's crazy to think that over the years I've spent more than $2,000 on a single product but that's how much I loved them. Just think about how much money I would have spent in the subsequent years replacing and buying the shorts in a variety of new colors released. Sadly, that will no longer be a part of my future fashion endeavors.
I'm a big believer and supporter of brand loyalty, which is exactly why I've bought so many pairs previously but when a brand veers this far off course it has to be recognized and shared with the community who may be thinking they're buying a worthy product. It's almost as if all the praise for the original product has been used and squandered in order to confuse the consumer, like a bait and switch maneuver, and now sell them this cheaper imitation of what it once was. Although I have more than enough pairs to probably wear them for the next decade, I can't get over the betrayal of the drop in quality without a change of pricing to reflect the lower quality material and the completely shoddy manufacturing.
When Chubbies came to be, they brought with them one product that they made unique again using a style of many years past, something that had long been forgotten in men's fashion. Something that was apparently missed by people or at least wanted by those who came of age after the style of shorts had long been enlongated. At that time there weren't many other brands making a stylish and durable pair of short shorts for men. However I have noticed after the success of Chubbies, both mass produced and high end designer brands now occasionally offer shorts of similar length. I cannot vouch for any of their quality or design attributes as I've been so dedicated to chubby's for these past years but I am aware of other brands now offering their take on men's shorter length shorts. If any of the brands are of good quality regularly, I would imagine that these shorts that they've released would be generally the same. So if you're looking for good quality shorter shorts for men I would check with other brands that you have known and trust their integrity of producing a high quality product that doesn't have to cut so many corners and in turn, destroying the legacy of what was once their reason for existing.
2024.05.15 08:49 casefilesofVJ The Love Tunnel
-Jack
Every kid growing up in Gympie in the early 90- 2000s knew about the Love Tunnel.
The love tunnel was located over the hill from the skatepark on the Riverbank. It was a massive storm water drain filled with spray paint and lore unbound throughout the generations; the glowing dick, whose name is the furthest in, the people who live inside, the bull shark that lived under the bridge just outside, all that fun stuff.
It collapsed in the late 2000’s in a flood and was eventually rebuilt, but it was all fancy, modern, safe and not the same. Back in the day it had decades of graffiti, crumbling cement, jagged metal pole framing bent and jutting out from the sides. You know, real character.
I remember when I was just a kid at the skatepark and I spotted a bunch of other kids at the metal grating of a drain. I joined them and gazed down a few metres to some older teenagers, they had trekked through this “love tunnel” under the massive hill all this way. Badass I thought. LEGENDARY.
I talked about it at school, about this mysterious “love tunnel”. It was in view from the road when I crossed the bridge everyday on my daily commutes from the backseat of mums car.
I would gaze down at the weir and see the top of the love tunnel, sliightly hidden from view by a hill. It fascinated me.
I learned all these mysterious tales; this person slept with this person there, someone took a dump at the entrance and some other girl stood in it and now she had a nickname, someone found needles, another found a homeless woman and she screamed at them. I was pumped for the next weekend. I was going to go see it for myself.
I saw too much.
Early Saturday morning I was riding my push bike through town and toward destination adventure! I started out at the skatepark, met up with a few of the regulars, a mix of 5-19y/o everyone on the half pipes and ramps had a code of comrady that I've never found in a public place anywhere else and you always had someone to hang with.
My usual crew slowly arrived through the morning, a bunch of other 10/11 year old misfits like myself and we headed on our first place on our journey, Hungry Jacks. Now we never technically stole, we found a loophole…
One or two would order a stunner meal, then we'd take privilege of the free refills and fill up the empty plastic 4L juice jugs that we all had prepped in our backpacks. Coke and red Fanta for days.
So we got our supplies and headed behind HJ, past the volleyball courts and headed down a bush track down to the river.
We walked along the banks to loop back down to where the bridge was, we passed a few teenagers fishing and a couple other groups of kids swinging from rope swings into the water or huddled in groups smoking things they shouldn't.
We eventually arrived at the weir and the stormwater drain that I had been so intrigued by. The Love Tunnel.
Climbing up the hill and seeing it up close when you were just a tiny human. It was like staring into the dark abyss of hell.
There was a small stream of water flowing out of the big grey cylinder and it was covered in multicolored quotes and crude pictures that was very eye opening at the time.
Our voices echoed as one by one we climbed up the grassy, eroding clay edging that was the makeshift path into the mouth that probably changed each time it rained. Each of us had pulled out clumps of grass that we thought were handholds. If you fell, you fell down an embankment of slippery jagged rocks poking out from the fast flowing river.
So were inside and began to walk a couple of metres in then around us the light abruptly disappeared into complete darkness. And I remember the way the sounds traveled you could feel it through your chest it was mesmerizing.
I remember bravely stepping into the darkness and taking five or six steps in. That thick darkness was something else, I ran myself back to that entrance and light, heart pounding from the adrenaline.
This turned into a game of who could go in the furthest. This stopped when one of the boys screamed out from the darkness in pain.
He was back in the light teary eyed a few moments later wet on one side and feigning a laugh. He'd slipped down and cut open his knee, it was hilarious. We teased him saying he was going to get gangrene and leprosy and a myriad of other ailments we had no idea actually was.
We decided to bail, we forgot torches, we didn't plan that part out too well, and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon being little menaces.
We met the next day with a game plan, we had an array of various sized torches, from small ones that didn't do anything, one of those giant rectangle ones that was our main light source, a couple of handheld ones, one which flickered and the other stopped working before we even got into the tunnel.
We got in safely and tested out our torches and began walking into the unknown. It was pretty much the same as before, but there were strange things, old makeshift bongs, shopping bags, random shoes, a shopping trolley, a mattress that was all moldy and rotted. I still to this day do not understand how people managed to get that shit in there.
We passed a section where someone had thrown a can of red paint all over the walls, the amount of those ‘S’ symbols was more terrifying.
We saw light up ahead, we were passing our first grate. It was kind of daunting looking up towards it. Even getting on each other's shoulders we couldn't reach. There was an array of broken beer bottles and glass was everywhere, under the grate was a dead snake amongst some debris.
We had a debate whether to go further, we ended up going on at least until the next grate, we came to a fork, one seemed like a smaller offshoot so we stuck to the bigger side.
There were more offshoots and we came to a part where the big pipes split off into three under another grate. We gazed up hoping to get an identifier of our location, but all we could see was blue. We called out to see if we could get anyone's attention.
“Cooooweeee” we shouted in unison, the sound echoing in all directions.
We were laughing and having a grand time until something shouted back, something that still shakes me to my core to this day.
Some yobbo crackhead chick in her fifties with this ratty pink tank top that was all stretched half showing her saggy titties. “What the fuck you think you little cunts doing down here.” This chick screeched at us through her few teeth or something along the lines of that. She just exploded at us with a barrage of threats.
We were shocked silenced moving together to make one mass.
One of the boys screamed when a skinny guy emerged from the darkness. He was covered in tattoos with scraggly hair and a beard, he was all crazy eyed and pantless.
Someone yelled out to run and it was all the motivation we needed.
We could hear them screaming and the guy ran after us, we heard glass shattering behind us, they must have thrown a bottle. We were legging it.
We got split up in our running, I fell down, tripping over some rubbish, one mate stayed back to help me, this left us without a torch. We came across the same kid who slipped over yesterday, he had slipped down again cutting open his other knee. He wore those with badges of honor at school, but he was blubbering like a baby at this point.
He had the flickering torch and it disoriented us more than helped, as it turned on and off every time he took a step. I thought we were lost but we found the other grate, then eventually the entrance.
The others were already climbed down, we were soon by their side panting in the grass and wiping away our tears so the others couldn't see.
We ran back over to the skatepark and immediately told every kid we saw.
That was the wildest shit we had ever experienced. Sure we’d seen crazy up on the street but to have it jump out at you from the shadows in a storm water drain was next level.
By that night one of the other boys had spilled to his parents about our escapades and a couple of other mums got phone calls, three got in trouble, two of us didn't, including me.
I never stepped foot back in that tunnel, I swam at the weir more times than I could count afterwards though and never encountered anyone else too sketchy.
I think only a year or two later I saw on the news people dying in storm water drains somewhere else in Aus, we never realized how dangerous they could be back then. Lol.
Every party or get together afterwards it was a crowd favorite to bring up. It was a good conversation starter and joined the tales amongst my friends of the weird shit that happens in ‘Helltown’.
Growing up and looking back they were probably just homeless drug addicts freaked out from a bunch of children's voices yelling out coooweee from the underground where they thought they were alone. That would have scared the shit outta me if I was them.
Good times.
.VJ
Tl:Dr kids go into storm water drain and find creepy couple who scream at them.
submitted by casefilesofVJ to creepyencounters [link] [comments]
Every kid growing up in Gympie in the early 90- 2000s knew about the Love Tunnel.
The love tunnel was located over the hill from the skatepark on the Riverbank. It was a massive storm water drain filled with spray paint and lore unbound throughout the generations; the glowing dick, whose name is the furthest in, the people who live inside, the bull shark that lived under the bridge just outside, all that fun stuff.
It collapsed in the late 2000’s in a flood and was eventually rebuilt, but it was all fancy, modern, safe and not the same. Back in the day it had decades of graffiti, crumbling cement, jagged metal pole framing bent and jutting out from the sides. You know, real character.
I remember when I was just a kid at the skatepark and I spotted a bunch of other kids at the metal grating of a drain. I joined them and gazed down a few metres to some older teenagers, they had trekked through this “love tunnel” under the massive hill all this way. Badass I thought. LEGENDARY.
I talked about it at school, about this mysterious “love tunnel”. It was in view from the road when I crossed the bridge everyday on my daily commutes from the backseat of mums car.
I would gaze down at the weir and see the top of the love tunnel, sliightly hidden from view by a hill. It fascinated me.
I learned all these mysterious tales; this person slept with this person there, someone took a dump at the entrance and some other girl stood in it and now she had a nickname, someone found needles, another found a homeless woman and she screamed at them. I was pumped for the next weekend. I was going to go see it for myself.
I saw too much.
Early Saturday morning I was riding my push bike through town and toward destination adventure! I started out at the skatepark, met up with a few of the regulars, a mix of 5-19y/o everyone on the half pipes and ramps had a code of comrady that I've never found in a public place anywhere else and you always had someone to hang with.
My usual crew slowly arrived through the morning, a bunch of other 10/11 year old misfits like myself and we headed on our first place on our journey, Hungry Jacks. Now we never technically stole, we found a loophole…
One or two would order a stunner meal, then we'd take privilege of the free refills and fill up the empty plastic 4L juice jugs that we all had prepped in our backpacks. Coke and red Fanta for days.
So we got our supplies and headed behind HJ, past the volleyball courts and headed down a bush track down to the river.
We walked along the banks to loop back down to where the bridge was, we passed a few teenagers fishing and a couple other groups of kids swinging from rope swings into the water or huddled in groups smoking things they shouldn't.
We eventually arrived at the weir and the stormwater drain that I had been so intrigued by. The Love Tunnel.
Climbing up the hill and seeing it up close when you were just a tiny human. It was like staring into the dark abyss of hell.
There was a small stream of water flowing out of the big grey cylinder and it was covered in multicolored quotes and crude pictures that was very eye opening at the time.
Our voices echoed as one by one we climbed up the grassy, eroding clay edging that was the makeshift path into the mouth that probably changed each time it rained. Each of us had pulled out clumps of grass that we thought were handholds. If you fell, you fell down an embankment of slippery jagged rocks poking out from the fast flowing river.
So were inside and began to walk a couple of metres in then around us the light abruptly disappeared into complete darkness. And I remember the way the sounds traveled you could feel it through your chest it was mesmerizing.
I remember bravely stepping into the darkness and taking five or six steps in. That thick darkness was something else, I ran myself back to that entrance and light, heart pounding from the adrenaline.
This turned into a game of who could go in the furthest. This stopped when one of the boys screamed out from the darkness in pain.
He was back in the light teary eyed a few moments later wet on one side and feigning a laugh. He'd slipped down and cut open his knee, it was hilarious. We teased him saying he was going to get gangrene and leprosy and a myriad of other ailments we had no idea actually was.
We decided to bail, we forgot torches, we didn't plan that part out too well, and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon being little menaces.
We met the next day with a game plan, we had an array of various sized torches, from small ones that didn't do anything, one of those giant rectangle ones that was our main light source, a couple of handheld ones, one which flickered and the other stopped working before we even got into the tunnel.
We got in safely and tested out our torches and began walking into the unknown. It was pretty much the same as before, but there were strange things, old makeshift bongs, shopping bags, random shoes, a shopping trolley, a mattress that was all moldy and rotted. I still to this day do not understand how people managed to get that shit in there.
We passed a section where someone had thrown a can of red paint all over the walls, the amount of those ‘S’ symbols was more terrifying.
We saw light up ahead, we were passing our first grate. It was kind of daunting looking up towards it. Even getting on each other's shoulders we couldn't reach. There was an array of broken beer bottles and glass was everywhere, under the grate was a dead snake amongst some debris.
We had a debate whether to go further, we ended up going on at least until the next grate, we came to a fork, one seemed like a smaller offshoot so we stuck to the bigger side.
There were more offshoots and we came to a part where the big pipes split off into three under another grate. We gazed up hoping to get an identifier of our location, but all we could see was blue. We called out to see if we could get anyone's attention.
“Cooooweeee” we shouted in unison, the sound echoing in all directions.
We were laughing and having a grand time until something shouted back, something that still shakes me to my core to this day.
Some yobbo crackhead chick in her fifties with this ratty pink tank top that was all stretched half showing her saggy titties. “What the fuck you think you little cunts doing down here.” This chick screeched at us through her few teeth or something along the lines of that. She just exploded at us with a barrage of threats.
We were shocked silenced moving together to make one mass.
One of the boys screamed when a skinny guy emerged from the darkness. He was covered in tattoos with scraggly hair and a beard, he was all crazy eyed and pantless.
Someone yelled out to run and it was all the motivation we needed.
We could hear them screaming and the guy ran after us, we heard glass shattering behind us, they must have thrown a bottle. We were legging it.
We got split up in our running, I fell down, tripping over some rubbish, one mate stayed back to help me, this left us without a torch. We came across the same kid who slipped over yesterday, he had slipped down again cutting open his other knee. He wore those with badges of honor at school, but he was blubbering like a baby at this point.
He had the flickering torch and it disoriented us more than helped, as it turned on and off every time he took a step. I thought we were lost but we found the other grate, then eventually the entrance.
The others were already climbed down, we were soon by their side panting in the grass and wiping away our tears so the others couldn't see.
We ran back over to the skatepark and immediately told every kid we saw.
That was the wildest shit we had ever experienced. Sure we’d seen crazy up on the street but to have it jump out at you from the shadows in a storm water drain was next level.
By that night one of the other boys had spilled to his parents about our escapades and a couple of other mums got phone calls, three got in trouble, two of us didn't, including me.
I never stepped foot back in that tunnel, I swam at the weir more times than I could count afterwards though and never encountered anyone else too sketchy.
I think only a year or two later I saw on the news people dying in storm water drains somewhere else in Aus, we never realized how dangerous they could be back then. Lol.
Every party or get together afterwards it was a crowd favorite to bring up. It was a good conversation starter and joined the tales amongst my friends of the weird shit that happens in ‘Helltown’.
Growing up and looking back they were probably just homeless drug addicts freaked out from a bunch of children's voices yelling out coooweee from the underground where they thought they were alone. That would have scared the shit outta me if I was them.
Good times.
.VJ
Tl:Dr kids go into storm water drain and find creepy couple who scream at them.
2024.05.15 08:48 JLGoodwin1990 I gave AWII an honest shot, and well...
So, I haven't been able to play AWII up until now because I simply don't own a Series X or game on PC (I still game on a base Xbox One and 360). I'm a massive fan of the original game and the American Nightmare digital add-on. I even purchased the novelization of the original game, and downloaded the little live action mini series they made years ago. I stayed away as much as I could from playthroughs on YouTube as I didn't want to be spoiled in terms of story or gameplay. Happily, a friend of mine who owns both a Series X and the game let me take a spin on the game from the beginning. I felt so excited to sit down and play it, especially after hearing the rave (non-spoiler) reviews it got. I played for about three and a half hours before choosing to hang it up.
Now, before I say anything more, I just want to say that these are merely my own feelings, thoughts and opinions on the game. If you loved the game, I genuinely am glad for that. Not all games are going to appeal to everyone, and the decisions and changes Remedy made for the sequel were what they thought was best.
That being said, as much as it pains me to say, after giving it an honest chance, I find it simply is not for me. To be completely honest, I didn't like much of it. There were a few things I did like, such as the Dark Place version of NYC, and especially the updated version of Bright Falls, as the town itself was one thing I adored about the original game. Watery was also a welcome addition. And Coffee World flat out cracked me up. And I also liked the updated look of Wake, and the character of Alex Casey.
But that's about where my likes end. I will try and avoid any spoilers in my own personal criticisms. But, the massive change in tone from the first game was one thing I honestly didn't like. I very much liked the, what I can only describe as Action-Horror style of the original, over the flat out Horror style of AWII (And I say that as a horror writer myself!) Maybe it's simply because I've played the original since I was 20 years old in 2010 to now, but it was just too jarring for me. The best way to phrase it, was that it felt like it was trying to emulate the Resident Evil remakes too much. I also missed the cliche, somewhat cheesy 70s and 80s movie tone the original had as it went more serious. To me, that sort of sucked the fun out of things. The same with the whole concept of the cork board and connecting pictures together. With either Alan or Saga. It just wasn't my personal cup of tea. It slowed things down too much.
I also disliked the change in combat. Many people found the combat of the original to be tedious, but I personally liked the swarming enemy mechanics. I like the rush of panic as you swing Alan around, pointing the flashlight and trying to land your shots. Making the enemies much harder and fewer just felt less engaging and tense to me, and making them venerable bullet sponges also wasn't that enjoyable to me. In addition, I also missed the driving segments that the first game had. Again, I know others didn't enjoy them, but I personally did. Getting behind the wheel and ramming into the Taken was a highlight for me.
One other thing I wasn't a fan of either, was adding a new, playable character. I won't delve into this too much, as way too many people have muddied the waters over this as I've stumbled across YouTube videos with titles about it. Suffice to say, the actress who portrayed Saga Anderson did a great job, but, if it makes sense, in a game called Alan Wake II, his character was the one I wanted to play, not another, even if it was chosen for story direction.
Beyond that, I also missed the licensed soundtrack that the first game had. It made the game, to me at least, feel more connected to the real world, which always helps increase immersion. Plus, a game filled with songs by artists I love such as Roy Orbison, Poe, The Black Angels, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and more just was all that and a bag of chips. Plus, to be honest, I wasn't a big fan of the new rendition of the in game band Old Gods of Asgard. The original songs sounded genuinely like ones a 70s rock band would have put out 50 years ago; the ones I heard didn't. Maybe I didn't get far enough in to the game to find they were supposed to be new songs that the Anderson brothers recorded, but still.
Honestly, I think I would more have preferred the version of Alan Wake II we were supposed to get 11 or 12 years ago, before it was shelved. I watched that footage back again when I returned home tonight, and found myself enjoying watching it more than what I played.
Again, if you did enjoy the game, I am truly happy for you, as it makes all your lives that much more enjoyable. Please don't let my negative reaction detract from your positive one! Enjoy the game!
But, for me?
I think I'll just stick to playing the original and American Nightmare.
submitted by JLGoodwin1990 to AlanWake [link] [comments]
Now, before I say anything more, I just want to say that these are merely my own feelings, thoughts and opinions on the game. If you loved the game, I genuinely am glad for that. Not all games are going to appeal to everyone, and the decisions and changes Remedy made for the sequel were what they thought was best.
That being said, as much as it pains me to say, after giving it an honest chance, I find it simply is not for me. To be completely honest, I didn't like much of it. There were a few things I did like, such as the Dark Place version of NYC, and especially the updated version of Bright Falls, as the town itself was one thing I adored about the original game. Watery was also a welcome addition. And Coffee World flat out cracked me up. And I also liked the updated look of Wake, and the character of Alex Casey.
But that's about where my likes end. I will try and avoid any spoilers in my own personal criticisms. But, the massive change in tone from the first game was one thing I honestly didn't like. I very much liked the, what I can only describe as Action-Horror style of the original, over the flat out Horror style of AWII (And I say that as a horror writer myself!) Maybe it's simply because I've played the original since I was 20 years old in 2010 to now, but it was just too jarring for me. The best way to phrase it, was that it felt like it was trying to emulate the Resident Evil remakes too much. I also missed the cliche, somewhat cheesy 70s and 80s movie tone the original had as it went more serious. To me, that sort of sucked the fun out of things. The same with the whole concept of the cork board and connecting pictures together. With either Alan or Saga. It just wasn't my personal cup of tea. It slowed things down too much.
I also disliked the change in combat. Many people found the combat of the original to be tedious, but I personally liked the swarming enemy mechanics. I like the rush of panic as you swing Alan around, pointing the flashlight and trying to land your shots. Making the enemies much harder and fewer just felt less engaging and tense to me, and making them venerable bullet sponges also wasn't that enjoyable to me. In addition, I also missed the driving segments that the first game had. Again, I know others didn't enjoy them, but I personally did. Getting behind the wheel and ramming into the Taken was a highlight for me.
One other thing I wasn't a fan of either, was adding a new, playable character. I won't delve into this too much, as way too many people have muddied the waters over this as I've stumbled across YouTube videos with titles about it. Suffice to say, the actress who portrayed Saga Anderson did a great job, but, if it makes sense, in a game called Alan Wake II, his character was the one I wanted to play, not another, even if it was chosen for story direction.
Beyond that, I also missed the licensed soundtrack that the first game had. It made the game, to me at least, feel more connected to the real world, which always helps increase immersion. Plus, a game filled with songs by artists I love such as Roy Orbison, Poe, The Black Angels, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and more just was all that and a bag of chips. Plus, to be honest, I wasn't a big fan of the new rendition of the in game band Old Gods of Asgard. The original songs sounded genuinely like ones a 70s rock band would have put out 50 years ago; the ones I heard didn't. Maybe I didn't get far enough in to the game to find they were supposed to be new songs that the Anderson brothers recorded, but still.
Honestly, I think I would more have preferred the version of Alan Wake II we were supposed to get 11 or 12 years ago, before it was shelved. I watched that footage back again when I returned home tonight, and found myself enjoying watching it more than what I played.
Again, if you did enjoy the game, I am truly happy for you, as it makes all your lives that much more enjoyable. Please don't let my negative reaction detract from your positive one! Enjoy the game!
But, for me?
I think I'll just stick to playing the original and American Nightmare.
2024.05.15 08:34 CzarHerod420 26 [M4F] #Virginia #online Looking for a real relationship
I understand that there is an inherently negative side to online dating and would prefer someone within a realistic travel range (if it's too far for you to go then what would make it closer for me xD) I work nights and sleep during the day so the size of my town has made it so I do not really come into contact with anybody
I'm 6'3" bald regular build black beard and hazel eyes willing to trade sfw pictures to gauge interest between us
Avid chess player so if you happen to also we should play a game
Also a fair advance warning, I'm rather dry but my active listening is a major strong point so I may not always carry the conversation but will always keep it pointed and moving
Love language is touch which isn't an option here but if we were to ever be together I don't want that to be a deal breaker (this is not speaking in the sexual aspect, I like being close, more like sitting near each other with some contact between us like a hand on a knee or such)
submitted by CzarHerod420 to r4r [link] [comments]
I'm 6'3" bald regular build black beard and hazel eyes willing to trade sfw pictures to gauge interest between us
Avid chess player so if you happen to also we should play a game
Also a fair advance warning, I'm rather dry but my active listening is a major strong point so I may not always carry the conversation but will always keep it pointed and moving
Love language is touch which isn't an option here but if we were to ever be together I don't want that to be a deal breaker (this is not speaking in the sexual aspect, I like being close, more like sitting near each other with some contact between us like a hand on a knee or such)
2024.05.15 08:32 ThatGuiii Try not to laugh challenge 😅
 | So, after a bit of advice on what to do. Due to the nature of my work I only have till the 2nd June to grow my beard and make it look a proper, filled out beard else I gotta shave it off! submitted by ThatGuiii to BeardAdvice [link] [comments] I’m desperate to be able to have a beard as I’m only 24 and losing my hair on top rapidly so hoping to be able to grow a decent beard but not looking likely lol. I was thinking of dyeing the beard to make it more fuller and due to the fact that the hairs on cheekbone areas and around mouth (moustache included) are very light, almost transparent. What would you bearded men advise? (Blacked out photos taken after just short of 1 and a half weeks of growth, the others taken at 2 weeks of growth.) |
2024.05.15 08:26 Aeogeus Do Not Fight Monsters
“What do you mean it’s wrong?” said Tamara, becoming frustrated with Samuel.
“I'm trying to tell you that plants do not eat earth. They just absorb nutrients from it,” Samuel replied, equally annoyed as this was the fourth time he had explained it. “Look, just take my word for it, OK,” he added.
“Fine, but you will have to explain it again,” Tamara retorted.
Samuel and Tamara were partners in a scientific study of their forest home. It was genuinely idyllic in every sense of the word; the trees stretched high into the sky, and everyone was covered in succulent leaves, a deep and gorgeous shade of green. Around their trunks were rings of flowers gathered from every continent, and a thick carpet of grass lay on the ground.
The two sat underneath a chestnut tree, writing up their findings for the day. It had focused mainly on tree sizes and growth rates, and they had continued this study for, on and off, almost a year.
Samuel turned to look at his assistant and found that she was just as remarkable as the day they had first met: golden locks, like living sunlight, tied neatly in a bun. Her eyes were an emerald green, and all in all, she was gorgeous. However, it was when you came to her waist that things became truly incredible because rather than a pair of legs, there was a long and wide snake’s tail.
It was huge, at least seven metres long and as wide as her torso. The scales were the same beautiful colour as her hair and reflected the sunlight in such a way that she appeared to glow. She was wearing an ultramarine tunic with a black diamond in the centre. She was like this not because of a plague, a curse or some mutation; Tamara was a Lamia; it was how she was born.
Samuel, on the other hand, looked far less impressive. He was around five foot ten, with dull brown hair and equally dull eyes. His stomach stuck out from the rest of him. No amount of exercise was able to get rid of it.
He was by every description a ‘dull as dishwater’ human. His clothes, however, were slightly more interesting. He wore a navy blue tunic with a thick leather belt wrapped around his waist. On his feet was a pair of excellent leather boots, able to withstand whatever the world threw at them and on his forearms and shins, he wore something Tamara had never seen or even heard of before: a pair of vambraces and greaves, Samuel called it armour.
Three strips of rugged leather layered on top of one another made up each piece, and between each layer was a collection of tiny metal beads. When Tamara asked what they were for, Samuel said they were for protection.
All of this would have been inconceivable to Samuel two years ago, but he had become used to it in time. Samuel was not born into this world; he had arrived. How? He did not know, but he remembered it all vividly; his senses had been overloaded, and at first, he believed he had died.
“What’s wrong?” Tamara asked Samuel, who had been silent for over a minute.
Samuel snapped out of his daydream and said: “nothing, just thinking about that day again.”
Tamara nodded and said nothing else; she knew exactly what was wrong.
Samuel went straight back to writing. When Samuel first showed up, there had been no paper or pens, but what was even stranger than the lack of these apparent necessities was that Samuel had had to invent both of these items.
Tamara and those like her did not possess a written language; they relied entirely on their memories, and until Samuel had shown up, Tamara had not even conceived of the notion, but she had picked it up astonishingly quickly.
“It still sounds like eating to me,” said Tamara, bringing the conversation back to the original topic.
“Well, it isn’t; eating requires a mouth and stomach,” Samuel replied.
“Says who?” Tamara asked defiantly.
“Says me,” Samuel answered.
Samuel jotted down the last of his notes and left the pages to dry in the sun. Samuel then turned to his right and looked at a large book, the size of a chair’s seat, bound in yellow leather and knotted by animal tendons. He picked it up and began to leaf through the pages.
His eyes glanced over paragraphs about oak trees and orchid flowers until he finally reached the section he sought; the page was titled Silver Birch (Betula Pendula).
“Have you finished the drawing on Silver Birch yet?” Samuel asked without looking.
Tamara was currently focused on a drawing of sunflowers, but she understood his request and, without looking up or saying a word, handed him the picture he wanted.
Samuel took the drawing and took several moments admiring it. Like all her work, the picture was astounding; not only did it look like an actual Silver Birch, but it also seemed to be alive, as though it would start blowing in the breeze.
Samuel punched four holes along the sheet's left side, undid the tendon strings and then attached the drawing behind the title page. He added eight more pages to his book, four of text and four illustrations.
Their work was now done; there was no more writing or drawing today, and he placed their work into a knapsack Tamara had brought with her. Samuel turned to his partner and asked: “so what do you want to do now?”
Tamara looked up through the canopy and could make out the silhouettes of several birds and finally said: “I’d quite like to fly.”
Samuel smiled, chuckled and said, “Yes, so would I, but that would require every member of the village working together for decades.”
Tamara looked Samuel in the eye and said: “are you making fun of me?”
Samuel did not reply; he just looked Tamara dead in the eye. She observed every minute twitch on Samuel's face and concluded he was not.
“How could a person fly?” She asked, suddenly intrigued.
“I don’t know, I’m not an engineer,” Samuel answered, “So apart from flying, what else do you want to do?”
Tamara let out a sigh and said: “I guess we will just have to walk.”
These were the moments Samuel lived for, just a quiet afternoon with his best friend enjoying a stroll; he was utterly content.
“You seem chipper,” Tamara said, noticing the growing smile on Samuel’s face.
“That’s because I feel chipper” he replied
They passed through the trees, heading towards their favourite spot, a beach by the side of a lake so large you could not see the other side.
“So, how is everyone?” Samuel said, trying to spark a conversation.
“You mean every single one because that could take a while?” Tamara replied.
“Let’s start with your mother” he clarified.
Tamara’s mother, Pancha, was more or less just a larger version of her daughter, just as brash and headstrong.
“She’s fine; she has finally stopped asking me what happened every time I come to meet you,” she said.
“Really, and it only took her two and a half years,” said Samuel with a smirk.
Yes, that first year here, had been a real trial. Samuel had never felt so scared, isolated and persecuted in his life. When he thought about it, he could still feel the fear and the hopelessness.
A gust of air slammed into Samuel’s face, bringing him back to the present, and what a wonderful time it was. The water was crystal clear, the beach was covered in sparkling white sand, and the distinct aroma of water wafted through the air. Samuel breathed it all in as Tamara spread herself over the beach.
The cooling breeze that Samuel found so enjoyable, Tamara found far less agreeable. Tamara was ectothermic or cold-blooded. She could not maintain her body temperature; she needed to absorb it from her environment, and the wind was slowly draining her.
“Comfortable down there?” Samuel asked.
Tamara turned her head, looked up at him and said: “Actually, yes, not as good as my bed, but still fine.”
Samuel left Tamara to her thermoregulation and strolled down to the water’s edge, “stay where I can see you!” Tamara called.
“Yes, MOM,” Samuel answered sarcastically, though he knew it was more for Tamara’s sake than his; she had a problem with open spaces.
Samuel closed his eyes, stretched his arms above his head, feeling his muscles strain against the tension, and yawned. Small tears formed in his eyes and wiped them away. He had only been up for a few hours but was ready for bed.
“Too much thinking, that was the problem,” Samuel mumbled to himself.
The sunlight sparkled on the water’s surface. It seemed as though millions of diamonds were suddenly brought into existence, danced for a few moments, and then vanished as quickly as they came. It was beautiful, just like everything else here.
He climbed up a rock that jutted from that sand and sat down, his legs dangling over the edge. As he kicked his legs, a ray of sun caught his greaves, and although the leather was rather dull, it still dazzled him.
Samuel heard a sound reminiscent of sandpaper brushing against wood, and he knew at once what it was. He waited four more seconds and said, without moving an inch, “Don’t even think about it!”
“How did you know?” Tamara asked, feeling simultaneously impressed, confused and disappointed.
Samuel looked her in the eye and replied: “who do you think you’re dealing with?”
Tamara had not clambered up the rock like Samuel; she had simply raised herself on her tail so she stood over two metres high.
“Are you feeling better?” he asked.
Tamara smiled and answered, “yes, thanks for asking.”
Tamara moved behind Samuel and then began to coil around the boulder, and if he had not experienced it all before, it would have been unnerving. Tamara was only twelve and a half, yet she was already far stronger than him. Samuel was sure if Tamara really wanted to, she could crush a bison to death. After the graceful dance around the stone, she sat down beside Samuel.
The pair was silent for a few minutes, except for a quick coughing fit by Samuel; they took in the unnatural beauty of their surroundings.
“Hey, I have a question,” said Tamara, coming back to her senses.
“What is it?” Samuel replied.
“You still haven’t told me why we are studying the forest?” She asked.
In an instant, Samuel became deeply confused. To him, it seemed all too obvious why they were doing it.
“There is no practical reason for doing it. We do it so that we know,” Samuel answered.
Tamara became silent. Samuel realised that she was deep in thought and decided to give her all the time she needed until she finally said: “Is this one of those human things?”
Samuel, upon hearing this, gave a small chuckle and answered: “yes, if you like.”
Suddenly, something caught Samuel’s eye. It was a crab, no bigger than a golf ball. Its back was powder blue, and it held its arms upright, its claws pointing down. The tiny creature would walk forward, scoop some sand into its mouth, and then leave a small pellet behind.
“Look at that!” said Samuel, nudging Tamara’s shoulder and pointing at the tiny crustacean. Tamara turned her head and looked directly at where he was pointing; she strained her eyes at what she thought was a pebble; she was about to climb down and collect it when it suddenly moved, and she squealed.
Tamara dragged the bottom end of her tail up from the beach and timidly said, “What’s that?”
Samuel remembered that tone of voice all too well, and it brought with it some unpleasant memories, but he pushed them to the back of his mind and said: “it’s a crab.”
Samuel was certain he had seen this type of crab before but could not put a name to the image. Samuel was sure he had read about them, watched a documentary, or attended a lecture, but he could not remember. Ultimately, he decided to drop it for now and see if the answer would come to him.
Tamara kept staring at it as though she believed it would pounce if she took her eyes off it for one second.
“Is it dangerous?” she asked, her voice hushed to ensure the creature did not notice her.
Samuel sighed and answered: “it’s a crab, Tamara, unless you happen to be a nematode then…”
Samuel paused mid-sentence as his brain finally connected the dots and asked, “Wait, you have never seen a crab before?”
This perplexed Samuel for a moment until he remembered that Tamara did not have a television, a car, and she could not fly a plane, so it was not unexpected that she would not know what a crab was.
Tamara shook her head in response to his question, and Samuel added: “you know what a woodlouse is, right?”
Tamara nodded and said, “I like woodlice.”
“Well, a crab is just a type of woodlouse that lives near water,” Samuel concluded.
However, he could tell from her face that she was unconvinced, so he got off the rock, walked over to the tiny creature, wary of its pincers, and picked it up by its backside.
“What are you doing?” Tamara called in alarm.
Samuel held the animal, its legs flailing wildly in an attempt to escape, and said, “showing you there is nothing to be worried about.”
Taking care not to crush it, Samuel clambered back up the rock and presented the animal to her. Tamara stared at it for some as the crab bobbed its eye up and down and tried in vain to find a part of Samuel it could nip.
“It’s actually kind of… cute,” Tamara said after two minutes of silence.
She relaxed her tail and let it rest on the beach once more. “Can it hold it?” She asked Samuel, fear being replaced by interest.
“Of course, you can. Just make sure you hold it by its back and be careful of the pincers; if they get you, it will hurt.”
Samuel handed the crab over to her and watched as Tamara began to inspect the animal from every angle. The crab had a white underbelly and purple joints.
“You think you could draw it from memory?” Samuel asked.
“Hmm?” Tamara replied. Samuel let out a sigh and repeated. After three more attempts, Tamara finally took notice and said, “Yes.”
Five minutes later, Samuel said, “we should probably put him back now.”
Tamara moaned about it, but Samuel said: “he has his own life, Tamara; you can’t keep him!”
She conceded, grumbling under her breath, and gently placed the animal back on the sand. As the crab dashed away, the two noticed that while they had been fixated on that single crab, thousands more had emerged on the beach.
Upon seeing the swarm of animals make their way across the beach, Tamara let out a squeal and once again pulled her tail up off the beach. The army of crabs marched along the shore. The collective walking produced a sound loud enough to hear from fifty metres away, and at last, Samuel remembered what they were and said, with no small amount of satisfaction in his voice, “they’re soldier crabs.”
“What are they going to do?” Tamara asked, concerned by the sudden appearance of so many creatures.
Samuel kept staring at the gathering, but he heard her question and replied, “They’re just feeding,” and added quickly, “But we are far too big for them.”
“That's odd,” Samuel said under his breath.
“I know there are so many of them,” Tamara said, deeply unnerved by the sheer vastness of the swarm.
“No,” Samuel said, “There should be this many of them; it’s where they are that is strange.”
Tamara momentarily took her eyes off the army and asked, “So where should they be.” There was a slight flicker of fear in her voice at the prospect of being invaded; rats and mice where bad enough. They did not need another pest.
“By the sea, not a freshwater lake,” he answered.
“The Sea?” Tamara almost yelled. Samuel was a little surprised by this enthusiasm and turned to face her.
“Yes,” he said.
“Have you ever been to the sea,” she asked.
“Yes, many times,” Samuel said, uncertain where this was going.
“I bet it’s wonderful,” Tamara added with a smile.
Samuel was silent as his brain connected a few dots and asked: “how can you know about the sea if you don’t know about crabs?”
She smiled; Tamara enjoyed it when she knew something that he did not, “there is a story that my mom told me that before we came to this forest, we were a different people that lived by the sea.” Tamara paused for a breath.
“But then humans came and drove us from the water, and we fled inland. Our people split into two. One half went to the mountains, and the other settled in the forest.”
Tamara finished and waited for his reply. Samuel, however, just kept looking at her. Tamara was concerned that she had upset him; he did not like it when humans were labelled as the enemy, yet his face and posture were not those of one who was sad or angry.
“You people blame us for everything, don’t you?” Samuel said with a chuckle.
“If there is a fire, it’s a human’s fault. If there is an earthquake, it’s a human’s fault. If a little Boreray boy drinks all their apple juice in one gulp, it’s a human’s fault.”
“So, getting back on topic, where did these “Soldier crabs” come from anyway? We have visited this lake for over two years and never seen even a glimpse?” Tamara asked. Samuel looked back to the slowly advancing army, and several ideas flashed through his head.
“Maybe they have been dormant up until now; perhaps they make a large circle around the lake shore, and it’s simply luck that we were here on the day they passed by, or maybe the migrated here from somewhere else.”
They watched the crabs' ceaseless march until Tamara said, “These things are still giving me the creeps. Can we go now?” Samuel could not argue that there was something eerie about all of these animals appearing, seemingly, from nowhere; however, there was still one thing he had to be certain of.
“You think you could draw one from memory?” he asked.
Tamara’s face contorted in a scowl. Samuel, for all his good points, could become far too focused on his research, which often caused him to become ignorant of other people.
Yet she knew sitting here yelling at him would accomplish nothing, so she told him the truth: “Yes, can we go now!” Samuel nodded and then slid off the rock. Tamara copied him, and they both slinked back to the cover of the trees.
Now that she was beneath the canopy, Tamara let out an enormous sigh of relief as the anxiety slowly left, and the close air warmed her body. On the other hand, Samuel began to chafe at the stagnant air while his head began to bead with sweat, but it was nothing he had not experienced before, so he gritted his teeth and bared with it.
With their plans now ruined, Tamara and Samuel wandered aimlessly through the woods, chatting about what they could do to fill the rest of the day. Several ideas arose, including visiting a nearby waterfall and a set of monument stones, but none truly appealed to them.
In the end, Tamara said, “how about we just call it a day?”
Samuel was happy about this. Tamara was his only form of human contact, yet he could not deny the pointlessness of wandering around the woods, so he said, “Ok, but let’s take the long way.”
Samuel heard a sound above him and saw a red squirrel scampering through the trees.
“Is it difficult?” Tamara asked.
Samuel looked at Tamara and replied, “Well, it can give me a crick in my neck sometimes.”
Tamara let out a short laugh and clarified, “No, I mean, is it difficult being so inquisitive? It looks exhausting.”
He was not entirely sure what she meant by that. To Samuel, Tamara was every bit as curious as him, so he stated: “you tell me, you went out looking for me just because you wanted to know.”
“True,” answered Tamara, “and everyone has always said that I am always asking questions, but you’re like a boar that just ate sugar beat.”
“I have no idea what that means,” Samuel said, shaking his head. “But I do know that people always told me, when I was a boy, that humans are, by their nature, infinitely curious, but personally, I think that it’s just how I was born.” there was a pause, and he quickly added, “just like you.”
Tamara’s fingers started to numb as she brushed them against the bark of passing trees. She took a good look at the trees around her. Tamara had lived her entire life sheltered by these trees. This place was her home, her family’s home and her friend’s home, and she loved it, a perfect example of the innate beauty of nature.
Samuel, however, was of a different opinion this forest disturbed him, though this feeling had diminished with time. The trees all grew in perfect symmetry, four and a half strides form each other.
From Tamara’s perspective, there was nothing strange about this, yet Samuel often said that this should not be possible, that the wood should be a mess and that the trees should grow in an unorganised fashion. Yet to Tamara, the idea of messy forests was just as impossible as a structured one was to him.
Noon came and went, and Samuel’s stomach began to rumble. His breakfast was becoming a distant memory; he thought he might be able to bear it for another hour or so, but as they travelled closer to the village, Tamara started to become irritated by Samuel’s constant growling.
“We need to find you something to eat before that sound drives me nuts!” Tamara stated bluntly.
“That’s all well and good, my dear, so long as you can materialise food out of the aether,” answered Samuel, with just a hint of condescension in his voice.
Tamara did not know what the aether was, but it did not matter. “No, but I do know a nearby tree with some great fruit in it,” she replied.
Samuel found this strange for two reasons. Firstly, he found it very difficult to believe there was a source of food in this forest that either he had not found, or Tamara had not told him about yet.
Secondly that, Tamara would know much about something she could not eat. Tamara was strictly carnivorous; she ate nothing but meat.
He wanted answers fast and asked: “So why haven’t you told me about this before?”
“Because I can’t stand the smell, that’s why, and I didn’t want you stinking up the place,” she explained.
“If it smells disgusting, what makes you think I will eat it?” he asked.
“Because the Boreray can’t get enough of it, some of them say that they taste like all the best parts of every fruit and vegetable we grow, which is a shame because they smell like all the worst,” she added.
He asked no more questions. He was too busy thinking; this fruit sounded so familiar, but he could not remember. The need to survive day in day out had pushed most of his standard learning, from school and university to the back of his mind, not forgotten mind you just buried.
I'm back with Tamara and Samuel latest adventure. If you like what you've read so far and want to know where it's going you can find the complete story by following the links below.
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“I'm trying to tell you that plants do not eat earth. They just absorb nutrients from it,” Samuel replied, equally annoyed as this was the fourth time he had explained it. “Look, just take my word for it, OK,” he added.
“Fine, but you will have to explain it again,” Tamara retorted.
Samuel and Tamara were partners in a scientific study of their forest home. It was genuinely idyllic in every sense of the word; the trees stretched high into the sky, and everyone was covered in succulent leaves, a deep and gorgeous shade of green. Around their trunks were rings of flowers gathered from every continent, and a thick carpet of grass lay on the ground.
The two sat underneath a chestnut tree, writing up their findings for the day. It had focused mainly on tree sizes and growth rates, and they had continued this study for, on and off, almost a year.
Samuel turned to look at his assistant and found that she was just as remarkable as the day they had first met: golden locks, like living sunlight, tied neatly in a bun. Her eyes were an emerald green, and all in all, she was gorgeous. However, it was when you came to her waist that things became truly incredible because rather than a pair of legs, there was a long and wide snake’s tail.
It was huge, at least seven metres long and as wide as her torso. The scales were the same beautiful colour as her hair and reflected the sunlight in such a way that she appeared to glow. She was wearing an ultramarine tunic with a black diamond in the centre. She was like this not because of a plague, a curse or some mutation; Tamara was a Lamia; it was how she was born.
Samuel, on the other hand, looked far less impressive. He was around five foot ten, with dull brown hair and equally dull eyes. His stomach stuck out from the rest of him. No amount of exercise was able to get rid of it.
He was by every description a ‘dull as dishwater’ human. His clothes, however, were slightly more interesting. He wore a navy blue tunic with a thick leather belt wrapped around his waist. On his feet was a pair of excellent leather boots, able to withstand whatever the world threw at them and on his forearms and shins, he wore something Tamara had never seen or even heard of before: a pair of vambraces and greaves, Samuel called it armour.
Three strips of rugged leather layered on top of one another made up each piece, and between each layer was a collection of tiny metal beads. When Tamara asked what they were for, Samuel said they were for protection.
All of this would have been inconceivable to Samuel two years ago, but he had become used to it in time. Samuel was not born into this world; he had arrived. How? He did not know, but he remembered it all vividly; his senses had been overloaded, and at first, he believed he had died.
“What’s wrong?” Tamara asked Samuel, who had been silent for over a minute.
Samuel snapped out of his daydream and said: “nothing, just thinking about that day again.”
Tamara nodded and said nothing else; she knew exactly what was wrong.
Samuel went straight back to writing. When Samuel first showed up, there had been no paper or pens, but what was even stranger than the lack of these apparent necessities was that Samuel had had to invent both of these items.
Tamara and those like her did not possess a written language; they relied entirely on their memories, and until Samuel had shown up, Tamara had not even conceived of the notion, but she had picked it up astonishingly quickly.
“It still sounds like eating to me,” said Tamara, bringing the conversation back to the original topic.
“Well, it isn’t; eating requires a mouth and stomach,” Samuel replied.
“Says who?” Tamara asked defiantly.
“Says me,” Samuel answered.
Samuel jotted down the last of his notes and left the pages to dry in the sun. Samuel then turned to his right and looked at a large book, the size of a chair’s seat, bound in yellow leather and knotted by animal tendons. He picked it up and began to leaf through the pages.
His eyes glanced over paragraphs about oak trees and orchid flowers until he finally reached the section he sought; the page was titled Silver Birch (Betula Pendula).
“Have you finished the drawing on Silver Birch yet?” Samuel asked without looking.
Tamara was currently focused on a drawing of sunflowers, but she understood his request and, without looking up or saying a word, handed him the picture he wanted.
Samuel took the drawing and took several moments admiring it. Like all her work, the picture was astounding; not only did it look like an actual Silver Birch, but it also seemed to be alive, as though it would start blowing in the breeze.
Samuel punched four holes along the sheet's left side, undid the tendon strings and then attached the drawing behind the title page. He added eight more pages to his book, four of text and four illustrations.
Their work was now done; there was no more writing or drawing today, and he placed their work into a knapsack Tamara had brought with her. Samuel turned to his partner and asked: “so what do you want to do now?”
Tamara looked up through the canopy and could make out the silhouettes of several birds and finally said: “I’d quite like to fly.”
Samuel smiled, chuckled and said, “Yes, so would I, but that would require every member of the village working together for decades.”
Tamara looked Samuel in the eye and said: “are you making fun of me?”
Samuel did not reply; he just looked Tamara dead in the eye. She observed every minute twitch on Samuel's face and concluded he was not.
“How could a person fly?” She asked, suddenly intrigued.
“I don’t know, I’m not an engineer,” Samuel answered, “So apart from flying, what else do you want to do?”
Tamara let out a sigh and said: “I guess we will just have to walk.”
These were the moments Samuel lived for, just a quiet afternoon with his best friend enjoying a stroll; he was utterly content.
“You seem chipper,” Tamara said, noticing the growing smile on Samuel’s face.
“That’s because I feel chipper” he replied
They passed through the trees, heading towards their favourite spot, a beach by the side of a lake so large you could not see the other side.
“So, how is everyone?” Samuel said, trying to spark a conversation.
“You mean every single one because that could take a while?” Tamara replied.
“Let’s start with your mother” he clarified.
Tamara’s mother, Pancha, was more or less just a larger version of her daughter, just as brash and headstrong.
“She’s fine; she has finally stopped asking me what happened every time I come to meet you,” she said.
“Really, and it only took her two and a half years,” said Samuel with a smirk.
Yes, that first year here, had been a real trial. Samuel had never felt so scared, isolated and persecuted in his life. When he thought about it, he could still feel the fear and the hopelessness.
A gust of air slammed into Samuel’s face, bringing him back to the present, and what a wonderful time it was. The water was crystal clear, the beach was covered in sparkling white sand, and the distinct aroma of water wafted through the air. Samuel breathed it all in as Tamara spread herself over the beach.
The cooling breeze that Samuel found so enjoyable, Tamara found far less agreeable. Tamara was ectothermic or cold-blooded. She could not maintain her body temperature; she needed to absorb it from her environment, and the wind was slowly draining her.
“Comfortable down there?” Samuel asked.
Tamara turned her head, looked up at him and said: “Actually, yes, not as good as my bed, but still fine.”
Samuel left Tamara to her thermoregulation and strolled down to the water’s edge, “stay where I can see you!” Tamara called.
“Yes, MOM,” Samuel answered sarcastically, though he knew it was more for Tamara’s sake than his; she had a problem with open spaces.
Samuel closed his eyes, stretched his arms above his head, feeling his muscles strain against the tension, and yawned. Small tears formed in his eyes and wiped them away. He had only been up for a few hours but was ready for bed.
“Too much thinking, that was the problem,” Samuel mumbled to himself.
The sunlight sparkled on the water’s surface. It seemed as though millions of diamonds were suddenly brought into existence, danced for a few moments, and then vanished as quickly as they came. It was beautiful, just like everything else here.
He climbed up a rock that jutted from that sand and sat down, his legs dangling over the edge. As he kicked his legs, a ray of sun caught his greaves, and although the leather was rather dull, it still dazzled him.
Samuel heard a sound reminiscent of sandpaper brushing against wood, and he knew at once what it was. He waited four more seconds and said, without moving an inch, “Don’t even think about it!”
“How did you know?” Tamara asked, feeling simultaneously impressed, confused and disappointed.
Samuel looked her in the eye and replied: “who do you think you’re dealing with?”
Tamara had not clambered up the rock like Samuel; she had simply raised herself on her tail so she stood over two metres high.
“Are you feeling better?” he asked.
Tamara smiled and answered, “yes, thanks for asking.”
Tamara moved behind Samuel and then began to coil around the boulder, and if he had not experienced it all before, it would have been unnerving. Tamara was only twelve and a half, yet she was already far stronger than him. Samuel was sure if Tamara really wanted to, she could crush a bison to death. After the graceful dance around the stone, she sat down beside Samuel.
The pair was silent for a few minutes, except for a quick coughing fit by Samuel; they took in the unnatural beauty of their surroundings.
“Hey, I have a question,” said Tamara, coming back to her senses.
“What is it?” Samuel replied.
“You still haven’t told me why we are studying the forest?” She asked.
In an instant, Samuel became deeply confused. To him, it seemed all too obvious why they were doing it.
“There is no practical reason for doing it. We do it so that we know,” Samuel answered.
Tamara became silent. Samuel realised that she was deep in thought and decided to give her all the time she needed until she finally said: “Is this one of those human things?”
Samuel, upon hearing this, gave a small chuckle and answered: “yes, if you like.”
Suddenly, something caught Samuel’s eye. It was a crab, no bigger than a golf ball. Its back was powder blue, and it held its arms upright, its claws pointing down. The tiny creature would walk forward, scoop some sand into its mouth, and then leave a small pellet behind.
“Look at that!” said Samuel, nudging Tamara’s shoulder and pointing at the tiny crustacean. Tamara turned her head and looked directly at where he was pointing; she strained her eyes at what she thought was a pebble; she was about to climb down and collect it when it suddenly moved, and she squealed.
Tamara dragged the bottom end of her tail up from the beach and timidly said, “What’s that?”
Samuel remembered that tone of voice all too well, and it brought with it some unpleasant memories, but he pushed them to the back of his mind and said: “it’s a crab.”
Samuel was certain he had seen this type of crab before but could not put a name to the image. Samuel was sure he had read about them, watched a documentary, or attended a lecture, but he could not remember. Ultimately, he decided to drop it for now and see if the answer would come to him.
Tamara kept staring at it as though she believed it would pounce if she took her eyes off it for one second.
“Is it dangerous?” she asked, her voice hushed to ensure the creature did not notice her.
Samuel sighed and answered: “it’s a crab, Tamara, unless you happen to be a nematode then…”
Samuel paused mid-sentence as his brain finally connected the dots and asked, “Wait, you have never seen a crab before?”
This perplexed Samuel for a moment until he remembered that Tamara did not have a television, a car, and she could not fly a plane, so it was not unexpected that she would not know what a crab was.
Tamara shook her head in response to his question, and Samuel added: “you know what a woodlouse is, right?”
Tamara nodded and said, “I like woodlice.”
“Well, a crab is just a type of woodlouse that lives near water,” Samuel concluded.
However, he could tell from her face that she was unconvinced, so he got off the rock, walked over to the tiny creature, wary of its pincers, and picked it up by its backside.
“What are you doing?” Tamara called in alarm.
Samuel held the animal, its legs flailing wildly in an attempt to escape, and said, “showing you there is nothing to be worried about.”
Taking care not to crush it, Samuel clambered back up the rock and presented the animal to her. Tamara stared at it for some as the crab bobbed its eye up and down and tried in vain to find a part of Samuel it could nip.
“It’s actually kind of… cute,” Tamara said after two minutes of silence.
She relaxed her tail and let it rest on the beach once more. “Can it hold it?” She asked Samuel, fear being replaced by interest.
“Of course, you can. Just make sure you hold it by its back and be careful of the pincers; if they get you, it will hurt.”
Samuel handed the crab over to her and watched as Tamara began to inspect the animal from every angle. The crab had a white underbelly and purple joints.
“You think you could draw it from memory?” Samuel asked.
“Hmm?” Tamara replied. Samuel let out a sigh and repeated. After three more attempts, Tamara finally took notice and said, “Yes.”
Five minutes later, Samuel said, “we should probably put him back now.”
Tamara moaned about it, but Samuel said: “he has his own life, Tamara; you can’t keep him!”
She conceded, grumbling under her breath, and gently placed the animal back on the sand. As the crab dashed away, the two noticed that while they had been fixated on that single crab, thousands more had emerged on the beach.
Upon seeing the swarm of animals make their way across the beach, Tamara let out a squeal and once again pulled her tail up off the beach. The army of crabs marched along the shore. The collective walking produced a sound loud enough to hear from fifty metres away, and at last, Samuel remembered what they were and said, with no small amount of satisfaction in his voice, “they’re soldier crabs.”
“What are they going to do?” Tamara asked, concerned by the sudden appearance of so many creatures.
Samuel kept staring at the gathering, but he heard her question and replied, “They’re just feeding,” and added quickly, “But we are far too big for them.”
“That's odd,” Samuel said under his breath.
“I know there are so many of them,” Tamara said, deeply unnerved by the sheer vastness of the swarm.
“No,” Samuel said, “There should be this many of them; it’s where they are that is strange.”
Tamara momentarily took her eyes off the army and asked, “So where should they be.” There was a slight flicker of fear in her voice at the prospect of being invaded; rats and mice where bad enough. They did not need another pest.
“By the sea, not a freshwater lake,” he answered.
“The Sea?” Tamara almost yelled. Samuel was a little surprised by this enthusiasm and turned to face her.
“Yes,” he said.
“Have you ever been to the sea,” she asked.
“Yes, many times,” Samuel said, uncertain where this was going.
“I bet it’s wonderful,” Tamara added with a smile.
Samuel was silent as his brain connected a few dots and asked: “how can you know about the sea if you don’t know about crabs?”
She smiled; Tamara enjoyed it when she knew something that he did not, “there is a story that my mom told me that before we came to this forest, we were a different people that lived by the sea.” Tamara paused for a breath.
“But then humans came and drove us from the water, and we fled inland. Our people split into two. One half went to the mountains, and the other settled in the forest.”
Tamara finished and waited for his reply. Samuel, however, just kept looking at her. Tamara was concerned that she had upset him; he did not like it when humans were labelled as the enemy, yet his face and posture were not those of one who was sad or angry.
“You people blame us for everything, don’t you?” Samuel said with a chuckle.
“If there is a fire, it’s a human’s fault. If there is an earthquake, it’s a human’s fault. If a little Boreray boy drinks all their apple juice in one gulp, it’s a human’s fault.”
“So, getting back on topic, where did these “Soldier crabs” come from anyway? We have visited this lake for over two years and never seen even a glimpse?” Tamara asked. Samuel looked back to the slowly advancing army, and several ideas flashed through his head.
“Maybe they have been dormant up until now; perhaps they make a large circle around the lake shore, and it’s simply luck that we were here on the day they passed by, or maybe the migrated here from somewhere else.”
They watched the crabs' ceaseless march until Tamara said, “These things are still giving me the creeps. Can we go now?” Samuel could not argue that there was something eerie about all of these animals appearing, seemingly, from nowhere; however, there was still one thing he had to be certain of.
“You think you could draw one from memory?” he asked.
Tamara’s face contorted in a scowl. Samuel, for all his good points, could become far too focused on his research, which often caused him to become ignorant of other people.
Yet she knew sitting here yelling at him would accomplish nothing, so she told him the truth: “Yes, can we go now!” Samuel nodded and then slid off the rock. Tamara copied him, and they both slinked back to the cover of the trees.
Now that she was beneath the canopy, Tamara let out an enormous sigh of relief as the anxiety slowly left, and the close air warmed her body. On the other hand, Samuel began to chafe at the stagnant air while his head began to bead with sweat, but it was nothing he had not experienced before, so he gritted his teeth and bared with it.
With their plans now ruined, Tamara and Samuel wandered aimlessly through the woods, chatting about what they could do to fill the rest of the day. Several ideas arose, including visiting a nearby waterfall and a set of monument stones, but none truly appealed to them.
In the end, Tamara said, “how about we just call it a day?”
Samuel was happy about this. Tamara was his only form of human contact, yet he could not deny the pointlessness of wandering around the woods, so he said, “Ok, but let’s take the long way.”
Samuel heard a sound above him and saw a red squirrel scampering through the trees.
“Is it difficult?” Tamara asked.
Samuel looked at Tamara and replied, “Well, it can give me a crick in my neck sometimes.”
Tamara let out a short laugh and clarified, “No, I mean, is it difficult being so inquisitive? It looks exhausting.”
He was not entirely sure what she meant by that. To Samuel, Tamara was every bit as curious as him, so he stated: “you tell me, you went out looking for me just because you wanted to know.”
“True,” answered Tamara, “and everyone has always said that I am always asking questions, but you’re like a boar that just ate sugar beat.”
“I have no idea what that means,” Samuel said, shaking his head. “But I do know that people always told me, when I was a boy, that humans are, by their nature, infinitely curious, but personally, I think that it’s just how I was born.” there was a pause, and he quickly added, “just like you.”
Tamara’s fingers started to numb as she brushed them against the bark of passing trees. She took a good look at the trees around her. Tamara had lived her entire life sheltered by these trees. This place was her home, her family’s home and her friend’s home, and she loved it, a perfect example of the innate beauty of nature.
Samuel, however, was of a different opinion this forest disturbed him, though this feeling had diminished with time. The trees all grew in perfect symmetry, four and a half strides form each other.
From Tamara’s perspective, there was nothing strange about this, yet Samuel often said that this should not be possible, that the wood should be a mess and that the trees should grow in an unorganised fashion. Yet to Tamara, the idea of messy forests was just as impossible as a structured one was to him.
Noon came and went, and Samuel’s stomach began to rumble. His breakfast was becoming a distant memory; he thought he might be able to bear it for another hour or so, but as they travelled closer to the village, Tamara started to become irritated by Samuel’s constant growling.
“We need to find you something to eat before that sound drives me nuts!” Tamara stated bluntly.
“That’s all well and good, my dear, so long as you can materialise food out of the aether,” answered Samuel, with just a hint of condescension in his voice.
Tamara did not know what the aether was, but it did not matter. “No, but I do know a nearby tree with some great fruit in it,” she replied.
Samuel found this strange for two reasons. Firstly, he found it very difficult to believe there was a source of food in this forest that either he had not found, or Tamara had not told him about yet.
Secondly that, Tamara would know much about something she could not eat. Tamara was strictly carnivorous; she ate nothing but meat.
He wanted answers fast and asked: “So why haven’t you told me about this before?”
“Because I can’t stand the smell, that’s why, and I didn’t want you stinking up the place,” she explained.
“If it smells disgusting, what makes you think I will eat it?” he asked.
“Because the Boreray can’t get enough of it, some of them say that they taste like all the best parts of every fruit and vegetable we grow, which is a shame because they smell like all the worst,” she added.
He asked no more questions. He was too busy thinking; this fruit sounded so familiar, but he could not remember. The need to survive day in day out had pushed most of his standard learning, from school and university to the back of his mind, not forgotten mind you just buried.
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Also the e-book will be at a reduced price until the last chapter it published on reddit.
2024.05.15 08:08 Different_Bedroom942 Attempting to make Solo Sikoa into a baby face part 2
Welcome back to attempting to make Solo into a babyface. Here are some important notes from part 1.
-Smackdown has the men’s MiTB (Andrade holds it)
-Jacob Fatu debut was at Summerslam.
-in the smackdowns leading up to Fastlane, Jacob Fatu and the Tongas turned on Solo
-Jacob Fatu def Solo Sikoa at Fastlane with the help of Zilla Fatu (and sort of Jimmy Uso)
-Jacob Fatu challenged Solo for the position of Tribal Chief, causing Roman Reigns to return.
-Jimmy Uso joins Solo and Roman after hearing Roman is back.
-Jey Uso agreed to return for one fight at Survivor Series
-We sit at the survivor series with the Fatus and the Tongas vs Roman, Solo, and the Usos
On the Smackdown before Survivor Series, Roman and Jacob have a standoff. It was announced that tonight there will be a match between the Usos and Tongas for the advantage in the war games match. Ultimately, a guerrilla warfare hit on Jimmy would end the match, giving the advantage to the new bloodline.
Before we even get to the war games, it's the Rock vs Cody Rhodes for the Universal title, and the match is intense. The Rock goes for a peoples elbow, but is countered. Then he goes for a rock bottom, but is countered into a cross-Rhodes. He hits the first, and goes for a second, and hits that too, and goes for a third, but unlike when he beat Roman at WM40, the Rock is able to get out of it. It’s a brutal fight that goes on for a while. Cody is in a corner, and is thrown on the ground. The Rock goes for his people's elbow again, and is dodged again. Cody looks to dodge the upcoming rock bottom, but the rock expects it, instead hitting Cody in the head and sending him down to the floor. The Rock goes for his third peoples elbow, and lands it this time. 1, 2, 3. The Rock was the champion. Cody Rhodes had lost, giving even more momentum to the new bloodline.
With the team captains and orders set, it was time for the men’s war games match. Roman vs Jacob started it off, and it was clear off the bat Roman hadn’t lost a step. He hit move after move after move on Jacob, but Fatu was resilient. He knew his team had the advantage, and if he waited, his brother would be there soon enough. For the first 5 minutes it’s all Roman Reigns, until Zilla Fatu entered the ring. Even for Roman, 1vs2 monsters was hard. Jacob Fatu looked more insane than ever, and Zilla didn’t look much better. Roman was getting overpowered, and the Fatus were going in on him. But it was time now for the next person to enter. Solo Sikoa was in the match, and instantly went for a big hit on Zilla Fatu. The fight was now back in control for the old bloodline. Solo was beating on Zilla, and Roman was back on top until Jacob. But like before, it was about to get ugly, as now Tama Tonga was in the fight. Tama Tonga went straight for Roman. It was back to Roman getting overrun, and to make matters worse, Zilla had turned the tides against Solo. The old bloodline hoped things could change with the introduction of Jey Uso into the fight, as he went for the quick spear on Tama Tonga, but Tama Tonga was smart, and got out of the way. Now it was Tama beating down Jey, and now Roman was so exhausted it was hard to keep up with Jacob. Things got even worse when Tonga Loa got into the match. It was really bad, especially for Jey Uso, who was now the target of a double team. Eventually, everyone in the new bloodline hit a finisher on the old bloodline, but they couldn’t pin them yet. However, in came Jimmy Uso, and it was now up to him. He looked at Tama Tonga, the man who took his place, and he hit him with a spear, but Tonga Loa didn’t let that slide, hitting his own spear on Jimmy. But now Jey was up, and hit Tonga Loa with his own spear. It was a spearfest, and Roman looked to get involved, going for the spear and pin on Jacob Fatu, but Jacob kicks out at 2. It was the old bloodline in control, except for Solo, who was still getting wrecked by Zilla. However, it was Jimmy who came to save him, and they lock eyes, with Jimmy nodding his head to Solo. The match rages on, and the tides slowly turn back in the favor of the old bloodline. Multiple 2 counts happen with very close calls. Eventually, everyone’s on the ground except Solo and Tama Tonga. The original new bloodline members stared eachother down, and charged. Tama Tonga went for a finisher, but he missed, which opened the door for a Samoan Spike. He goes for it, and hits it, but before he can go down for the pin, Jacob Fatu, who got up after a vicious Roman spear, hits Solo with a spear of his own. 1, 2, 3. The new bloodline were the winners of the war games match. It’s was a nightmare. The new bloodline had both that match and the WWE Universal title. Things looked bad.
As if things weren’t bad enough, Jey Uso kept his word and went right back to Raw, not wanting any more involvement. However, before he did leave, he quickly let Roman know “if my brothers gonna rock wit yall, don’t let him get hurt real bad, aight?” Roman simply nodded.
It’s the smackdown after survivor series, and now it was time to look ahead to the Royal Rumble. But there was an issue about last match. Was Jacob Fatu the new tribal chief? Well, in his eyes, yes, but to almost everyone else, no. Jacob Fatu realized this, and would come out to confront Roman. They eventually decided to settle it all at the Royal Rumble, a main event of the show with Fatu and Reigns fighting for the official title of Tribal Chief. Not much of note besides the typical run ins from the bloodline happen, so we go straight to the Royal Rumble.
If you want a fun fact, the woman’s winner is Zoey Stark, but we aren’t focused on anything until the men’s Royal Rumble match. Not much of note happens until number 13, which has our first main story entrance, Zilla Fatu. He lasts to about 20, and unfortunately, no backup really arrived, and he was out. At 21, out came Jey Uso, and his brother Jimmy followed at 22. Then it felt like everyone involved with the bloodline came. 24 was Tama Tonga, Cody Rhodes was 25, Tonga Loa was 26, and Randy Orton, who’s back for the first time since his injury against Jacob Fatu at 27. Then we get the grace period in it with 28 being Sheamus. However, at 29, we get someone who’s familiar with the bloodline that hasn’t been mentioned up to this point. Sami Zayn. He’s had a very good run and only recently dropped the IC title to Ilja Dragunov at Survivor Series. Then, at 30, it’s none other than Solo Sikoa. Eventually, we’re down to 6. Tama Tonga, the Uso brothers, Solo, Sami, and Carmelo Hayes. Carmelo Hayes had been here since number 7, and was targeted quickly, but he was good. Eventually, Tama Tonga got his hands on Solo, looking for revenge from that Samoan Spike at Survivor series, and is about to take him over. However, this is when the bond between Jimmy and Solo is truly reformed, and Jimmy saves Solo. However, Tama Tonga takes the chance to eliminate Jimmy Uso, and it’s down to 5. Sami Zayn lands a Heluva Kick on Carmelo, and he seems finished, but Tama Tonga is on a rampage, and looks to eliminate him. However, in a move that’s questioned by a lot of fans, Solo Sikoa eliminates himself to also eliminate Tama Tonga. He looks on at Jey Uso, telling him to win. Jey and Sami, who had been together a lot on raw, team up and eventually eliminate Carmelo, meaning it’s Jey Uso vs Sami Zayn. In the end, after some brutal fighting, it’s Jey Uso who wins the Royal Rumble, getting his shot to win back the World Heavyweight Championship he lost at Summerslam.
With that behind, it was time for Jacob Fatu vs Roman Reigns in a normal match, meaning if anyone got involved, it was over. And indeed, someone, specifically the Rock, got involved. The Rock explains that he’s the tribal chief, and that Jacob Fatu has just been his stand-in for the time being with Roman. But now, it was the road to wrestlemania, and the Rock declared he end Roman for good in Las Vegas. The universal title match was on st wrestlemania.
In the weeks leading up to elimination chamber, we begin to find out who’s gonna be in the match, and the very first 2 to get in are Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu. They are followed by Randy Orton, LA Knight, Carmelo Hayes, and Tammaso Ciampa, who at this point has broken off from DIY. Then, it’s time for the match. The winner (seemingly) getting a shot the universal title at wrestlemania. It’s expected that the winner will either kick Roman out of the match or make it a 3-way.
The men’s elimination chamber begins with Melo and Ciampa. Sadly for Ciampa, he’s pinned before the next person, Randy Orton, can even come out. Then, it’s move after move as Solo, then Jacob, then LA Knight all exit their pods. Sadly for this story, and great news for Solo, Jacob Fatu is the second out, being target by everyone else in the ring. However, they then turn their eyes to Solo, but before LA Knight can charge, Randy Orton stops him, saying that “Solo changed, even if he’s still an asshole”. That was all LA Knight needed to hit Randy Orton with a BFT, but is unable to get the 3 count, as Solo stopped him. However, he didn’t need to, because off the top rope came Carmelo Hayes, who goes for the p- RKO OUTTA NOWHERE! 1, 2, 3, Carmelo was done. Now down to the final 3, completely out of it, Randy Orton was the next to go, beating by LA Knight. Now it was Solo vs LA Knight, winner goes to wrestlemania. It was close, with so many 2 counts. However, as LA Knight went on the top rope and going for the jump, Solo Sikoa revealed a new version of the Samoan Spike, as he was somehow able to catch LA Knight with an RKO style Samoan Spike, and that was it for LA Knight, with Solo winning.
Now came the big question. What was Solo going to do. Well, to a lot, it was obvious, and it’s was announced that the match for the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship was a triple threat between The Rock, Roman Reigns, and Solo Sikoa.
Over the next few weeks, the new bloodline and old bloodline fueds grew. It was heated, and eventually, the Tongas challenging the Uso brothers to a tag team match for the tag team titles (remember they’re still held by the tongas). One half agrees, but unfortunately, Jey Uso declines. Jimmy Uso needed a tag partner, but was it going to be. Nobody new. Over the weeks, the pecking order became clear to almost everyone when the rock, out of anger, went in on Zilla Fatu for losing a match on Smackdown. Jacob Fatu at first went to bat for his brother, but would eventually also indulge in putting Zilla down. This was the opportunity anyone in the old bloodline was looking for. They wanted a crack in that new bloodline, and they got it. They planted the seeds for Zilla Fatu to turn on the new bloodline, but he wouldn’t do it.
Jacob Fatu was still very clearly angry about Elmination chamber, and every chance he got to attack Solo, he took it. It was back and forth, eventually resulting in a challenge by Jacob Fatu live on stage to Solo, the main event of night one for the chance to fight in the title match against the rock and Roman. However, before Solo could take the match, someone came out to his rescue and offered to take the match himself, none other than the former Universal champ, Cody Rhodes, claiming that this chance shouldn’t be taken from Solo. However, he did have one stipulation for Solo, and that’s if Solo won, Rhodes would get a shot at the title quick. Solo agreed, and Fatu, looking annoyed, also agreed. If Rhodes won, not much would happen, but if Fatu won, the fight would become a fatal four way.
It’s the smackdown before the smackdown before wrestlemania, and tensions are high. There’s a huge argument, and it results in a lot of shouting. It eventually spins to Zilla Fatu, and how he is so young and so raw that he hasn’t matured enough. But that’s when Jimmy makes his move. He tells Zilla “don’t make the same mistake I made a year ago. Do it.” But Zilla didn’t move. Tama Tonga made sure Jimmy Uso knew that he can’t talk like that, but that’s when the big moment happened. Zilla Fatu super kicked Tama Tonga. It was the same thing that happened with the original bloodline. Zilla Fatu had turned, and stood by Jimmy Uso. It was quickly set up that the match for the tag titles would be between Jimmy Uso and Zilla Fatu vs the Tongas. As the camera panned to the crowd at the very end, if you stopped it quickly, you could see Jey Uso, at the top of the stairs, smiling.
It was time for the smackdown before wrestlemania, and again, tensions were so high it was insane. With Zilla turning, everything was crazy. Fights broke out, blood was shed, and it was a huge fight. At the end, the rock declared it was his title, and he would end this entire thing by winning. Roman declared the same thing. Solo, well Solo just stood there. However, little did they know, at the end of the show, there stood LA Knight, Randy Orton, AJ Styles, and Kevin Owens, seemingly looking at someone, and declaring that “the master plan was ready for wrestlemania”.
And that’s where part 2 ends.
There will be a finale part 3 that will probably be shorter than parts 1 and 2.
Hope you all enjoyed
submitted by Different_Bedroom942 to fantasybooking [link] [comments]
-Smackdown has the men’s MiTB (Andrade holds it)
-Jacob Fatu debut was at Summerslam.
-in the smackdowns leading up to Fastlane, Jacob Fatu and the Tongas turned on Solo
-Jacob Fatu def Solo Sikoa at Fastlane with the help of Zilla Fatu (and sort of Jimmy Uso)
-Jacob Fatu challenged Solo for the position of Tribal Chief, causing Roman Reigns to return.
-Jimmy Uso joins Solo and Roman after hearing Roman is back.
-Jey Uso agreed to return for one fight at Survivor Series
-We sit at the survivor series with the Fatus and the Tongas vs Roman, Solo, and the Usos
On the Smackdown before Survivor Series, Roman and Jacob have a standoff. It was announced that tonight there will be a match between the Usos and Tongas for the advantage in the war games match. Ultimately, a guerrilla warfare hit on Jimmy would end the match, giving the advantage to the new bloodline.
Before we even get to the war games, it's the Rock vs Cody Rhodes for the Universal title, and the match is intense. The Rock goes for a peoples elbow, but is countered. Then he goes for a rock bottom, but is countered into a cross-Rhodes. He hits the first, and goes for a second, and hits that too, and goes for a third, but unlike when he beat Roman at WM40, the Rock is able to get out of it. It’s a brutal fight that goes on for a while. Cody is in a corner, and is thrown on the ground. The Rock goes for his people's elbow again, and is dodged again. Cody looks to dodge the upcoming rock bottom, but the rock expects it, instead hitting Cody in the head and sending him down to the floor. The Rock goes for his third peoples elbow, and lands it this time. 1, 2, 3. The Rock was the champion. Cody Rhodes had lost, giving even more momentum to the new bloodline.
With the team captains and orders set, it was time for the men’s war games match. Roman vs Jacob started it off, and it was clear off the bat Roman hadn’t lost a step. He hit move after move after move on Jacob, but Fatu was resilient. He knew his team had the advantage, and if he waited, his brother would be there soon enough. For the first 5 minutes it’s all Roman Reigns, until Zilla Fatu entered the ring. Even for Roman, 1vs2 monsters was hard. Jacob Fatu looked more insane than ever, and Zilla didn’t look much better. Roman was getting overpowered, and the Fatus were going in on him. But it was time now for the next person to enter. Solo Sikoa was in the match, and instantly went for a big hit on Zilla Fatu. The fight was now back in control for the old bloodline. Solo was beating on Zilla, and Roman was back on top until Jacob. But like before, it was about to get ugly, as now Tama Tonga was in the fight. Tama Tonga went straight for Roman. It was back to Roman getting overrun, and to make matters worse, Zilla had turned the tides against Solo. The old bloodline hoped things could change with the introduction of Jey Uso into the fight, as he went for the quick spear on Tama Tonga, but Tama Tonga was smart, and got out of the way. Now it was Tama beating down Jey, and now Roman was so exhausted it was hard to keep up with Jacob. Things got even worse when Tonga Loa got into the match. It was really bad, especially for Jey Uso, who was now the target of a double team. Eventually, everyone in the new bloodline hit a finisher on the old bloodline, but they couldn’t pin them yet. However, in came Jimmy Uso, and it was now up to him. He looked at Tama Tonga, the man who took his place, and he hit him with a spear, but Tonga Loa didn’t let that slide, hitting his own spear on Jimmy. But now Jey was up, and hit Tonga Loa with his own spear. It was a spearfest, and Roman looked to get involved, going for the spear and pin on Jacob Fatu, but Jacob kicks out at 2. It was the old bloodline in control, except for Solo, who was still getting wrecked by Zilla. However, it was Jimmy who came to save him, and they lock eyes, with Jimmy nodding his head to Solo. The match rages on, and the tides slowly turn back in the favor of the old bloodline. Multiple 2 counts happen with very close calls. Eventually, everyone’s on the ground except Solo and Tama Tonga. The original new bloodline members stared eachother down, and charged. Tama Tonga went for a finisher, but he missed, which opened the door for a Samoan Spike. He goes for it, and hits it, but before he can go down for the pin, Jacob Fatu, who got up after a vicious Roman spear, hits Solo with a spear of his own. 1, 2, 3. The new bloodline were the winners of the war games match. It’s was a nightmare. The new bloodline had both that match and the WWE Universal title. Things looked bad.
As if things weren’t bad enough, Jey Uso kept his word and went right back to Raw, not wanting any more involvement. However, before he did leave, he quickly let Roman know “if my brothers gonna rock wit yall, don’t let him get hurt real bad, aight?” Roman simply nodded.
It’s the smackdown after survivor series, and now it was time to look ahead to the Royal Rumble. But there was an issue about last match. Was Jacob Fatu the new tribal chief? Well, in his eyes, yes, but to almost everyone else, no. Jacob Fatu realized this, and would come out to confront Roman. They eventually decided to settle it all at the Royal Rumble, a main event of the show with Fatu and Reigns fighting for the official title of Tribal Chief. Not much of note besides the typical run ins from the bloodline happen, so we go straight to the Royal Rumble.
If you want a fun fact, the woman’s winner is Zoey Stark, but we aren’t focused on anything until the men’s Royal Rumble match. Not much of note happens until number 13, which has our first main story entrance, Zilla Fatu. He lasts to about 20, and unfortunately, no backup really arrived, and he was out. At 21, out came Jey Uso, and his brother Jimmy followed at 22. Then it felt like everyone involved with the bloodline came. 24 was Tama Tonga, Cody Rhodes was 25, Tonga Loa was 26, and Randy Orton, who’s back for the first time since his injury against Jacob Fatu at 27. Then we get the grace period in it with 28 being Sheamus. However, at 29, we get someone who’s familiar with the bloodline that hasn’t been mentioned up to this point. Sami Zayn. He’s had a very good run and only recently dropped the IC title to Ilja Dragunov at Survivor Series. Then, at 30, it’s none other than Solo Sikoa. Eventually, we’re down to 6. Tama Tonga, the Uso brothers, Solo, Sami, and Carmelo Hayes. Carmelo Hayes had been here since number 7, and was targeted quickly, but he was good. Eventually, Tama Tonga got his hands on Solo, looking for revenge from that Samoan Spike at Survivor series, and is about to take him over. However, this is when the bond between Jimmy and Solo is truly reformed, and Jimmy saves Solo. However, Tama Tonga takes the chance to eliminate Jimmy Uso, and it’s down to 5. Sami Zayn lands a Heluva Kick on Carmelo, and he seems finished, but Tama Tonga is on a rampage, and looks to eliminate him. However, in a move that’s questioned by a lot of fans, Solo Sikoa eliminates himself to also eliminate Tama Tonga. He looks on at Jey Uso, telling him to win. Jey and Sami, who had been together a lot on raw, team up and eventually eliminate Carmelo, meaning it’s Jey Uso vs Sami Zayn. In the end, after some brutal fighting, it’s Jey Uso who wins the Royal Rumble, getting his shot to win back the World Heavyweight Championship he lost at Summerslam.
With that behind, it was time for Jacob Fatu vs Roman Reigns in a normal match, meaning if anyone got involved, it was over. And indeed, someone, specifically the Rock, got involved. The Rock explains that he’s the tribal chief, and that Jacob Fatu has just been his stand-in for the time being with Roman. But now, it was the road to wrestlemania, and the Rock declared he end Roman for good in Las Vegas. The universal title match was on st wrestlemania.
In the weeks leading up to elimination chamber, we begin to find out who’s gonna be in the match, and the very first 2 to get in are Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu. They are followed by Randy Orton, LA Knight, Carmelo Hayes, and Tammaso Ciampa, who at this point has broken off from DIY. Then, it’s time for the match. The winner (seemingly) getting a shot the universal title at wrestlemania. It’s expected that the winner will either kick Roman out of the match or make it a 3-way.
The men’s elimination chamber begins with Melo and Ciampa. Sadly for Ciampa, he’s pinned before the next person, Randy Orton, can even come out. Then, it’s move after move as Solo, then Jacob, then LA Knight all exit their pods. Sadly for this story, and great news for Solo, Jacob Fatu is the second out, being target by everyone else in the ring. However, they then turn their eyes to Solo, but before LA Knight can charge, Randy Orton stops him, saying that “Solo changed, even if he’s still an asshole”. That was all LA Knight needed to hit Randy Orton with a BFT, but is unable to get the 3 count, as Solo stopped him. However, he didn’t need to, because off the top rope came Carmelo Hayes, who goes for the p- RKO OUTTA NOWHERE! 1, 2, 3, Carmelo was done. Now down to the final 3, completely out of it, Randy Orton was the next to go, beating by LA Knight. Now it was Solo vs LA Knight, winner goes to wrestlemania. It was close, with so many 2 counts. However, as LA Knight went on the top rope and going for the jump, Solo Sikoa revealed a new version of the Samoan Spike, as he was somehow able to catch LA Knight with an RKO style Samoan Spike, and that was it for LA Knight, with Solo winning.
Now came the big question. What was Solo going to do. Well, to a lot, it was obvious, and it’s was announced that the match for the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship was a triple threat between The Rock, Roman Reigns, and Solo Sikoa.
Over the next few weeks, the new bloodline and old bloodline fueds grew. It was heated, and eventually, the Tongas challenging the Uso brothers to a tag team match for the tag team titles (remember they’re still held by the tongas). One half agrees, but unfortunately, Jey Uso declines. Jimmy Uso needed a tag partner, but was it going to be. Nobody new. Over the weeks, the pecking order became clear to almost everyone when the rock, out of anger, went in on Zilla Fatu for losing a match on Smackdown. Jacob Fatu at first went to bat for his brother, but would eventually also indulge in putting Zilla down. This was the opportunity anyone in the old bloodline was looking for. They wanted a crack in that new bloodline, and they got it. They planted the seeds for Zilla Fatu to turn on the new bloodline, but he wouldn’t do it.
Jacob Fatu was still very clearly angry about Elmination chamber, and every chance he got to attack Solo, he took it. It was back and forth, eventually resulting in a challenge by Jacob Fatu live on stage to Solo, the main event of night one for the chance to fight in the title match against the rock and Roman. However, before Solo could take the match, someone came out to his rescue and offered to take the match himself, none other than the former Universal champ, Cody Rhodes, claiming that this chance shouldn’t be taken from Solo. However, he did have one stipulation for Solo, and that’s if Solo won, Rhodes would get a shot at the title quick. Solo agreed, and Fatu, looking annoyed, also agreed. If Rhodes won, not much would happen, but if Fatu won, the fight would become a fatal four way.
It’s the smackdown before the smackdown before wrestlemania, and tensions are high. There’s a huge argument, and it results in a lot of shouting. It eventually spins to Zilla Fatu, and how he is so young and so raw that he hasn’t matured enough. But that’s when Jimmy makes his move. He tells Zilla “don’t make the same mistake I made a year ago. Do it.” But Zilla didn’t move. Tama Tonga made sure Jimmy Uso knew that he can’t talk like that, but that’s when the big moment happened. Zilla Fatu super kicked Tama Tonga. It was the same thing that happened with the original bloodline. Zilla Fatu had turned, and stood by Jimmy Uso. It was quickly set up that the match for the tag titles would be between Jimmy Uso and Zilla Fatu vs the Tongas. As the camera panned to the crowd at the very end, if you stopped it quickly, you could see Jey Uso, at the top of the stairs, smiling.
It was time for the smackdown before wrestlemania, and again, tensions were so high it was insane. With Zilla turning, everything was crazy. Fights broke out, blood was shed, and it was a huge fight. At the end, the rock declared it was his title, and he would end this entire thing by winning. Roman declared the same thing. Solo, well Solo just stood there. However, little did they know, at the end of the show, there stood LA Knight, Randy Orton, AJ Styles, and Kevin Owens, seemingly looking at someone, and declaring that “the master plan was ready for wrestlemania”.
And that’s where part 2 ends.
There will be a finale part 3 that will probably be shorter than parts 1 and 2.
Hope you all enjoyed
2024.05.15 07:42 perfumepalace_ Elegance in Every Spritz: Exploring Ajmal Blu Perfume and Armaf Club de Nuit at Perfume Palace
In the intricate world of fragrances, finding the perfect scent can feel like an art form. At Perfume Palace, we take pride in offering a curated selection of the finest perfumes that cater to diverse tastes and preferences. Among our exquisite collection, two standout choices are Ajmal Blu Perfume and Armaf Club de Nuit. These fragrances embody the elegance, sophistication, and unique character that define true luxury.
The Allure of Ajmal Blu Perfume
Ajmal Blu Perfume is a modern classic that captures the essence of freshness and refinement. Crafted by the renowned Ajmal brand, known for its dedication to quality and tradition, Blu Perfume is a versatile scent that appeals to those who appreciate subtle yet impactful fragrances.
A Symphony of Freshness
Ajmal Blu Perfume opens with a burst of citrusy freshness, featuring top notes of bergamot and lavender. This invigorating start is complemented by heart notes of juicy watermelon and floral jasmine, creating a balanced and harmonious blend. The base notes of sandalwood, musk, and amber add a warm, earthy depth, making the fragrance both refreshing and grounding.
Versatility in a Bottle
One of the key attributes of Ajmal Blu Perfume is its versatility. This fragrance is suitable for a variety of occasions, from casual day outings to formal evening events. Its light, refreshing profile makes it an excellent choice for the warmer months, while its sophisticated undertones ensure it remains appropriate for cooler seasons as well.
The Ajmal Legacy
Ajmal has been a distinguished name in the perfume industry for over 60 years, renowned for creating fragrances that blend tradition with innovation. Ajmal Blu Perfume is a testament to this legacy, offering a modern scent that retains the timeless elegance characteristic of the brand.
The Charisma of Armaf Club de Nuit
Armaf Club de Nuit is another gem in our collection, known for its bold, captivating scent. This fragrance has garnered a dedicated following, thanks to its unique composition and the brand’s commitment to excellence.
A Bold Statement
Armaf Club de Nuit opens with a striking combination of citrusy bergamot, black currant, apple, and pineapple, creating an immediate impression of vibrancy and energy. The heart of the fragrance features a floral bouquet of rose, jasmine, and birch, adding a layer of sophistication and complexity. The base notes of musk, ambergris, vanilla, and patchouli provide a rich, lasting finish that exudes confidence and allure.
Perfect for Special Occasions
While Ajmal Blu Perfume is known for its versatility, Armaf Club de Nuit is particularly suited for special occasions and evening wear. Its bold, distinctive profile makes it a perfect choice for events where you want to make a lasting impression. The fragrance’s long-lasting nature ensures that its captivating scent will accompany you throughout the night.
Armaf’s Commitment to Quality
Armaf has quickly become a favorite among fragrance enthusiasts, thanks to its high-quality formulations and innovative designs. Club de Nuit is a shining example of the brand’s ability to create luxurious, memorable scents that stand out in a crowded market.
Choosing the Perfect Fragrance at Perfume Palace
At Perfume Palace, we understand that selecting the right fragrance is a deeply personal journey. Both Ajmal Blu Perfume and Armaf Club de Nuit offer unique scent profiles that cater to different preferences and occasions. Here are some tips to help you decide which fragrance might be the best fit for you:
Consider Your Lifestyle
Think about when and where you plan to wear the fragrance. Ajmal Blu Perfume’s fresh and versatile nature makes it ideal for everyday wear and various settings. In contrast, Armaf Club de Nuit’s bold and luxurious profile is perfect for evening events and special occasions.
Reflect on Your Personal Style
Your fragrance should complement your personal style and enhance your overall presence. If you prefer a subtle, sophisticated scent, Ajmal Blu Perfume might be the right choice. If you’re drawn to bold, attention-grabbing fragrances, Armaf Club de Nuit could be your perfect match.
Test and Experience
Whenever possible, test the fragrances before making a decision. At Perfume Palace, we offer samples and testers to help you experience the scent on your skin and see how it evolves over time. Remember, a fragrance can smell different on your skin than it does in the bottle, so taking the time to test it can ensure you make the right choice.
The Perfume Palace Experience
Shopping for fragrances at Perfume Palace is designed to be a luxurious and enjoyable experience. Our knowledgeable staff is always available to assist you in finding the perfect scent, whether you’re drawn to the fresh elegance of Ajmal Blu Perfume or the bold charisma of Armaf Club de Nuit.
We take pride in offering a wide range of high-quality perfumes that cater to diverse tastes and preferences. Our collection includes both timeless classics and contemporary favorites, ensuring that there’s something for everyone.
Conclusion: Elevate Your Fragrance Collection
Whether you’re a long-time fragrance aficionado or new to the world of luxury scents, Ajmal Blu Perfume and Armaf Club de Nuit are exceptional choices that can elevate your collection. Each fragrance offers a unique experience, capturing different aspects of elegance and sophistication.
At Perfume Palace, we invite you to explore our collection and discover the perfect fragrance that resonates with your personal style. Visit our website or come to our store to experience the exquisite world of luxury perfumes. Let us help you find a scent that not only enhances your presence but also tells your unique story.
submitted by perfumepalace_ to u/perfumepalace_ [link] [comments]
The Allure of Ajmal Blu Perfume
Ajmal Blu Perfume is a modern classic that captures the essence of freshness and refinement. Crafted by the renowned Ajmal brand, known for its dedication to quality and tradition, Blu Perfume is a versatile scent that appeals to those who appreciate subtle yet impactful fragrances.
A Symphony of Freshness
Ajmal Blu Perfume opens with a burst of citrusy freshness, featuring top notes of bergamot and lavender. This invigorating start is complemented by heart notes of juicy watermelon and floral jasmine, creating a balanced and harmonious blend. The base notes of sandalwood, musk, and amber add a warm, earthy depth, making the fragrance both refreshing and grounding.
Versatility in a Bottle
One of the key attributes of Ajmal Blu Perfume is its versatility. This fragrance is suitable for a variety of occasions, from casual day outings to formal evening events. Its light, refreshing profile makes it an excellent choice for the warmer months, while its sophisticated undertones ensure it remains appropriate for cooler seasons as well.
The Ajmal Legacy
Ajmal has been a distinguished name in the perfume industry for over 60 years, renowned for creating fragrances that blend tradition with innovation. Ajmal Blu Perfume is a testament to this legacy, offering a modern scent that retains the timeless elegance characteristic of the brand.
The Charisma of Armaf Club de Nuit
Armaf Club de Nuit is another gem in our collection, known for its bold, captivating scent. This fragrance has garnered a dedicated following, thanks to its unique composition and the brand’s commitment to excellence.
A Bold Statement
Armaf Club de Nuit opens with a striking combination of citrusy bergamot, black currant, apple, and pineapple, creating an immediate impression of vibrancy and energy. The heart of the fragrance features a floral bouquet of rose, jasmine, and birch, adding a layer of sophistication and complexity. The base notes of musk, ambergris, vanilla, and patchouli provide a rich, lasting finish that exudes confidence and allure.
Perfect for Special Occasions
While Ajmal Blu Perfume is known for its versatility, Armaf Club de Nuit is particularly suited for special occasions and evening wear. Its bold, distinctive profile makes it a perfect choice for events where you want to make a lasting impression. The fragrance’s long-lasting nature ensures that its captivating scent will accompany you throughout the night.
Armaf’s Commitment to Quality
Armaf has quickly become a favorite among fragrance enthusiasts, thanks to its high-quality formulations and innovative designs. Club de Nuit is a shining example of the brand’s ability to create luxurious, memorable scents that stand out in a crowded market.
Choosing the Perfect Fragrance at Perfume Palace
At Perfume Palace, we understand that selecting the right fragrance is a deeply personal journey. Both Ajmal Blu Perfume and Armaf Club de Nuit offer unique scent profiles that cater to different preferences and occasions. Here are some tips to help you decide which fragrance might be the best fit for you:
Consider Your Lifestyle
Think about when and where you plan to wear the fragrance. Ajmal Blu Perfume’s fresh and versatile nature makes it ideal for everyday wear and various settings. In contrast, Armaf Club de Nuit’s bold and luxurious profile is perfect for evening events and special occasions.
Reflect on Your Personal Style
Your fragrance should complement your personal style and enhance your overall presence. If you prefer a subtle, sophisticated scent, Ajmal Blu Perfume might be the right choice. If you’re drawn to bold, attention-grabbing fragrances, Armaf Club de Nuit could be your perfect match.
Test and Experience
Whenever possible, test the fragrances before making a decision. At Perfume Palace, we offer samples and testers to help you experience the scent on your skin and see how it evolves over time. Remember, a fragrance can smell different on your skin than it does in the bottle, so taking the time to test it can ensure you make the right choice.
The Perfume Palace Experience
Shopping for fragrances at Perfume Palace is designed to be a luxurious and enjoyable experience. Our knowledgeable staff is always available to assist you in finding the perfect scent, whether you’re drawn to the fresh elegance of Ajmal Blu Perfume or the bold charisma of Armaf Club de Nuit.
We take pride in offering a wide range of high-quality perfumes that cater to diverse tastes and preferences. Our collection includes both timeless classics and contemporary favorites, ensuring that there’s something for everyone.
Conclusion: Elevate Your Fragrance Collection
Whether you’re a long-time fragrance aficionado or new to the world of luxury scents, Ajmal Blu Perfume and Armaf Club de Nuit are exceptional choices that can elevate your collection. Each fragrance offers a unique experience, capturing different aspects of elegance and sophistication.
At Perfume Palace, we invite you to explore our collection and discover the perfect fragrance that resonates with your personal style. Visit our website or come to our store to experience the exquisite world of luxury perfumes. Let us help you find a scent that not only enhances your presence but also tells your unique story.
2024.05.15 07:26 Trax_190 Album re-ranked
Not so long ago I posted my list and it was not very well aclaimed. Here's the new list. I have listened each album twice before casting my votes. If you are not agreing with me, I don't care because I'm right!
submitted by Trax_190 to Muse [link] [comments]
- Black Holes And Revelations. This one is perfect. My favorite song from Muse, Knight of Cydonia, is on this album. If I want to do any activity that I need to perfom great, this is the one to put at max sound level. My head can't stop noding on every track.
- Absoliton. It is like Showbiz and Origin Of Symmetry mixed and it is really good. The lyrics, the musical parts and maybe everything in it is near perfect.
- Sowbiz. Such a nostalgic album (I wasn't even born when it came out) and the heavy guitar and all the solos and riffs make this in the top three. I haven't listened to it alot, but I liked all the minutes passed listening to it.
- Drones. It is one of my favorite album, but the top three is unbeatable. Nothing that I can say will be negative about this one. It may be different than the others, or not so Muse-like, but I am enjoying its music, maybe less its lyrics.
- Origin Of Symmetry. This is a good album and the only two complains are that I didn't listen it sooner and that half the album is like one long song. If I am listening to the album, I will have a hard time seperating the songs from eachother.
- Simulation Theory. It deserve this spot. It is not bad, at all. In fact, it is the only album that I have in CD. It is good, but the style doesn't fit everyday's mood. If we count the Super Deluxe edition, it would be 5 because the songs with new styles are really interesting.
- The 2nd Law. I like this album, but that's it. After listening to the other albums, they are supperior than this one, even though there is Supremacy and the part when he says "SUUUPREMACYYYYYY!!" and same thing with Survival. Matt's voice on both of these songs is so good.
- The Resistance. People rank this higher but I can't find two good song from them that I can listen whenever I want. There is Uprising and that's it. The album is good, but not the songs themselves
- Will Of The People. Each songs are good, as always, but they dont make the album good, the opposite of The Resistance. No theme, no style(?) and no bangers make this album bad
2024.05.15 07:15 shandromand Writing Prompt Wednesday #394, 5/15 - Thanks for the Memeries
Greetings, Huntsmen, Huntresses, and gender neutral Hunters! Welcome to another week of writing prompts! If you are new here, this is a community-driven weekly event, and the purpose is primarily to generate creativity and have fun while doing so (whether you are a 100% real-meat person or not, we don't judge).
SPOILERS:
Reminder that the spoiler embargo for Volume 9 and the Justice League movie has been lifted! You are all now free to make posts about the two without needing to spoiler tag it.
Find us on Discord at The Qrow's Nest! The permanent invite has been deleted due to Discord bot shenanigans, so dm shand if you want an invite!
Team RWBY, plus Zwei, and Team JNPR play pirates. RWBY, except all songs are written by Sabaton. Atlas makes a space elevator near Vale and Vale is not happy with it. All out war resumes and the use of aerial drones are being used. As a joke, Yang sends pretend Valentines between the most random pairings of people she can think of. She’s shocked when all of them end up together. Team RWBY somehow travels back in time and encounters Team STRQ of the past. When Blake left her family to stay with the White Fang, she became the extremist, not Adam. Ozma agrees with Salem's plans to rule both humanity and the Faunus as the new Gods of Remnant, and has no regrets. After forsaking her mortal inheritance, Weiss is now eligible to be a Queen of the Winter Court of Fae, which is returning to Remnant for the first time since the Brother Gods abandoned it. "'s good as new. Maybe even a little better." "While bullets may wear your name, a hand grenade simply says 'to whom it may concern.'" An Atlas experiment accidentally fuses earth and remnant, hyjinks ensue. Free from Cinder, yet lost without a female figure to commit to, Emerald begins her quest for a new sistemothebestie/lover in Vacuo. The one time Port told a completely realistic and believable story. Yang and Blake discover another bonding point after realizing they both like a certain musician. Instead of Crocea Mors, Jaune has the Moonlight/Darkmoon Greatsword from any From Software Games you choose (boss fight included). Weiss and Ruby host a series of events to determine who has the best big sister. Instead of instilling fear into the hears of the people to make Beacon fall, Watts' hack sparked the Great Meme War!
Optional prompts that must be combined with one or more of the above:
The Prompts:
No matter how bad things may get, words will always have meaning. Now get out there and write something, but most importantly, have fun! :)
submitted by shandromand to RWBY [link] [comments]
What will be involved Special Note for Spoilers!:
Each week, three RWBY-related topics will be posted (subject to ties and special events!). Participants can write a short piece of fiction or dialogue based on that prompt. When writing, the suggestion is to aim for 1k-3k words, however, this is not a requirement. There is no goal - this is not a popularity contest - just write and have fun! If you have any questions, feel free to ask! :)SPOILERS:
Reminder that the spoiler embargo for Volume 9 and the Justice League movie has been lifted! You are all now free to make posts about the two without needing to spoiler tag it.
Rules (gore, NSFW, spoilers etc.)
The rules are the same as the sub's posting guidelines. Nobody here wants to see your story taken down, so please refer to them before contributing! If someone chooses to ignore these rules, the post will be removed.Additional information
Pre-writing is welcome! /rwbyprompts is a sub with writing as a focus - there you will find an archive of all the threads as well as a somewhat fleshed-out wiki with odds and ends. :) A detailed spreadsheet of WPW things is here! Keep in mind that this houses a lot of the old prompts, but it also has links and things like early participation to previous WPW threads. We're trying this whole week-to-week thing in the face of the bajillion prompts we had built up. We might do something with them, or people might cycle them back in, who knows what could happen??Find us on Discord at The Qrow's Nest! The permanent invite has been deleted due to Discord bot shenanigans, so dm shand if you want an invite!
The Prompts!:
Surprise! We're doing them all this week - have fun! :DTeam RWBY, plus Zwei, and Team JNPR play pirates. RWBY, except all songs are written by Sabaton. Atlas makes a space elevator near Vale and Vale is not happy with it. All out war resumes and the use of aerial drones are being used. As a joke, Yang sends pretend Valentines between the most random pairings of people she can think of. She’s shocked when all of them end up together. Team RWBY somehow travels back in time and encounters Team STRQ of the past. When Blake left her family to stay with the White Fang, she became the extremist, not Adam. Ozma agrees with Salem's plans to rule both humanity and the Faunus as the new Gods of Remnant, and has no regrets. After forsaking her mortal inheritance, Weiss is now eligible to be a Queen of the Winter Court of Fae, which is returning to Remnant for the first time since the Brother Gods abandoned it. "
Optional prompts that must be combined with one or more of the above:
Next Week's Poll:
[The Poll! is on vacation this week, see below!]()Previously, on Writing Prompt Wednesday:
The threadThe Prompts:
- Blake tries to catch a mouse. Cue Tom and Jerry-esque hi-jinx.
- Nora and Ren get into a heated argument and start dividing team RNJR's camp in half with duct tape. Jaune and Ruby have to fix things.
- Glynda takes a day off, and comes back the next day to see Beacon in a state of...
- Jaune and Ruby have a Pokemon battle with NPR and WBY as their Pokemons.
- Blake discovers all of "White Fang" had apparently redeemed themselves via "The Power of Friendship"
- [Insert character] establishes the Revolutionary Insurrectionary Black Army of Argus.
- The heroes react to finally learning what Headmaster Theodore looks like.
- The unfortunate way Yang learned that flammable and inflammable mean the same thing.
- An event from your fanfic/AU described in the style of the Armchair Historian.
- A Hero and Villain go out on a date. What happens during the date?
- A meeting between Signal Academy Instructors Qrow Branwen and Taiyang Xiao Long with Beacon Academy professors Peter Port and Bartholomew Oobleck to discuss Yang and Ruby as potential students at Beacon.
- Blake enters a dating show where Ilia, Sun, and Yang are vying for her affections.
- A comedy skit with the different Grimm as characters with different personalities as they discuss about their life and interactions with the Human/Faunus characters of RWBY.
- Domestic Team WTCH.
- A character mentally rehearses a conversation they imagine having with another character. They quickly blow things way out of proportion.
- Jaune, Salem, and Hazel reenact the scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom where the title character is forced to drink the Blood of Kali.
Upcoming Events:
New Year, new events! And now we have the quarter of spring leading into summer and the 4th of July FFA, I hope you all had a great holiday!Important Stuff and Things!
I have managed to rescue /RWBYFanfiction from an untimely demise! If you would like to share your fanfic or make recommendations, head on over there! I know that I've said something special was coming for this, but Ruby on Rails is hard and not cheap to operate. The fanfiction indexer that I was trying to set up just isn't working and probably needs someone with more experience in RoR programming/design. I haven't completely put it to bed, but it might be a while before I can circle back to it. In the meantime, the fanfic sub has actually had a decent amount of postings - head on over and say hi! :)2024.05.15 06:58 AzgrymnThePale [Roll20] [Discord] [18+] [Dark & High Fantasy] [Saturdays 10pm EST][Biweekly]
Demon Gate: Dreamcatcher
- Setting: Demon Gate: (a dark/ high fantasy campaign)
- System: Chaos System by Arcanum Syndicate
- Time/ Day: Saturday 10pm EST till 1 am EST
- Platforms: Roll20 & Discord
- Character Classes: Create your own or choose a premade
Magic is untrusted in this world. Many blame magic and those who use it on the arrival of the Pale Plague. Necromancers, once hired by the empire during the Black Arbitration, were meant to quell this pandemic. Yet, they could not stop it. For the sick were not undead, they were something else entirely. They were not able to be controlled by black magic. Now, the Arbiters have been disbanded, blamed for the disease by the Aticraulian Empire, the very ones that gave them power to stop it. Now, they are hunted down to be burned at the stake. It is true that magic is dangerous, but the elves believe they can control it. They believe that great things lay hidden within its mysterious secrets.
You have come here to some of the finest schools of magic in the northern lands. All manner of species dwell here, living in harmony in their quest for knowledge. You have come to the Academy of Thaumaturgical Investigation to advance your career, gain power, reputation, coin... well, the rest is for you to decide. Not all of you need to be spell casters. We have plenty of jobs for you to do. For we need all the heroes we can get.
Setting and System: We are playing Demon Gate, and the system is the Chaos System. This particular campaign is a mix of dark fantasy and high fantasy. Some of you can play as new students to a school of magic. Where you are learning your skills for the first time. Even those who are not playing caster classes will be training in combat or other skills they will be learning. During the course of the stay, it will become apparent that there is something amiss.
Platform: Roll20 and Discord: If accepted, I will send you a link to my Discord for the game to be set up in a private room. We are using it as a home base and the link to the Roll20 game is there.
Game Time: 10pm EST Bi-weekly every other Saturday until the campaign is complete. The game runs about 2 and a half to 3 hours where we have a hard stop.
GM: I am a GM with many years of experience, but I am fine with beginning players and I am happy to help out. There are character sheets available or you may choose a premade. This is a module I am creating and would love to run you through it as a playtester. If you are okay with it I will use your name or alias in the publication as a playtester. There will be a questionnaire to fill out so I can get to know what style of play you like and a bit about yourself. Please feel free to message me if you have any questions.